ESTGYC&I'FA,EIDEA OF
W&Nry@RA
SADHU SANTIDDV
VOLUMIi I
COSMOPUBLICATIONS r999
INDIA
AJl! ish tr reserved.No par t ofthis publicadon nay be rcproduc-ed, ot starcd in rctrival system,or tratsmitted in arylonl or by any Dteans without the piorpermjssion ofcosmo ntbljcatbns.
@ CosmoPublications FirstPublished1999 (set) ISBN81-702G863-7 81-702G8ff'5(volumel)
CONTENTS Meaning ol TantJa ClassiticationoiTantras Antiquityand continuityof Tantra OriginalHomeofTantra Contents of Tantra HumanBodY,A l,4icrocosm KOSzl
Published br
MRS.&qNI KAPOOR foTCOSMO PUBLICATIONS Div of GENESISPUBUSHINGPVT LTD. 24,B,AnsariRoad, Daryacanj, NewDelhi-1 10002, INDIA
Nadis SahasBHPadma HumanNature Sadhana-Pafrcalattva Kundalini-Yoga Puja siddhi Purcscarana Yoga KaYa(or Deha)-Siddhi Natureof TantricDoctines Theoryof Creation-Siva,Sakti Tantraand SaktaWorks Dasamahavidy,r ACEQ Gut!, SisYa, Diksa, Abhiseka
3l
Mull ra, Mandala,yantta, Nyesa Sava-Sadhana CakraBjja Waysto Liberation BhakliinTantra Yuganaddha NumberofTantras SaktaSect-a generaiview ScienceinTantra Causesof CompositjonofTantras LrleraryValueofTantra Tantrabeyondjndia TantraandTimaeus Tantraand Christianity TantraandJews WasTantraot ForeignOigin?
VedicOriginofTantricpractices
85
Whatis SivaLinga ?
i01
5.
TantricPracticewith Maktras
117
6.
Gradationsot Approachingthe Divine
r33
3.
Gradalionsof Approach
curu(t) Guru(ll) c u r u( i t j ) curu(lV) Guru(V) Guru(Vl) Guru(Vll) Guru(Vlll) GuruandGod Guru andParents Gurus Word nere
HolyCompany Holyt\ren(l) Holylt en(ll) Birlh(l) Human Human Birth(ll) lmages lmmediate InnerAnd Ouler(l) InnerAndOuler(ll) lnnerTrulh (l) Intellectual Knowledge (ll) lnlelleclual Knowledge Japa(l) Japa(ll) Japa(lll) Japa(lV) JapaAndDhyana JapaAndStotra JivaAndShiva JuslUse Karma Kaula(l) Kaula(ll) Sell-Revealing Shiva-Shakli SinsOlTheDisciple SupremeTrulh (l) TanlraSadhana (ll) TanlraSadhana TanlraSadhana(lll) (lV) TanraSadhana Upasana Upasana Gradalions
VedaAndTantra VerbalKnowledge Worship(l) Worship(ll) Worship (lll) Worship(lV) Worship(V) Worshjp(Vl) Yanlra Yantra AndI\,4antra YOga Yogin(l) 7.
Glossary orTantricTerminology
Chapter-1 195
Meaningof Tantra
Chapter-1 ol fanlra. loundin lexicons Among thevariousmeanings stutisekhe the followingmaybe noted:s/iidhdnta(conclusion), (a branch of sfurl, i.e., Vedas),itika avya6 (sel of duties), (a parlicularszistra). pfubandha(composilion),seslravrbesa 'Tantra'issometimesusedlo denotegovernance. Kdliddsa 'prajahtanttayiva' usesthe expression \havinggovernedlhe (V.5). subjecls)in lhe Abhinanasakuntalam x. 7.42) ln lhe Vedas\e.9.,RgvedaX. 71.9. Atharvaveda 'tanlra'appears lo be usedto denolea weavingmachine,a loom.The samesenseof lhe wordis foundalsoinlhe Taitti ya Bftthnana(11.5.5.q. fhe wordlarlrakaoccursin lhe Astr4dhy.iyi as a derivaliveol the tantra,and meansa cloth taken trom lhe toom. lnthe SatapathaBftihmanaand TendyaBHhmara,'tanlra' denotesthe chiefporlionor ihe essenceof a thing.Perhaps in thal age,Tanlrawasconsidered to represenl lhe quinlessence ol Sastras. Thelerm lanlra'hasbeenusedal severalplaceslodenole a syslem of lhought,a set of doclrines,elc-, e.9., Kapilasya Iantra(i.e..Sdmkhya), usedby Samkara. The word'tanlrais used by BhaskaraRayalo denote lvlimdms;i'sristra, etc. Tanlra,when denotinga kind of Sdslra, standsfor a sel of dockines, practices, mysticsyllables, metaphysical speculations, magic.elc. 'Tantra'is derivedfrom lhe rool tan 10 sptead. Tanyate vistatyetejnefiam anera - knowledgeis increasedby il. In this sense, any branchol knowledgeis called Tantra,e.9., Sdmkhya systehsarecalledrespeclively andNy:iyaphilosophical Kapilatantrc,Gotama-tantrc.fheAyurvedic work,sitributedto Agnivesa,is cafiedAgnive'alantra.'fanlra', derivedlrom lhe sarneroo1.is takenby some1odenolea Sdslrawhichdilales
Chapler-t
uPon lattvas and mantfas. Accordi
sho'enins
Jl"L"!"*i:l::-l:l l:-l'""s rl """iii"'il'i;n "",,1,Y;,X wh,ch wourd ll""T::l::n l!" ",;il;;";;l;ilt"X; "'n;o;;;;,"",.i
ran,ra ,ssoca,,ed "" ,l!l""""oilll"oltiT,l?&,i11#:::,
ro?r.,iii,S"riiifli,ili,j"li r.arrrosdver. fa,fra ?l:, ja",l'"'',i,i[T andlare rojfl,J;'i;j,_::1,rrom denore,r,i,
or cuslom,lhe workconcern€d withpractrce is Safiolherwise is Asat. work a Tanlrasare also classifiedas isrka {Vedic)and Ne ka The works of the former class are divided, (non-Vedic). of the deily,as Sekta, Sajva, accordingto the predominance Saura Genapalyaand Vaisnava. TheSdklaTankasaredividedintotenclassesin accordance wilhthe namesof len Mah6ldyes.Of these,the Sodasi-tantra rs known as Sflvldfi. Anothermode of classificationis inio S/otas, pilha and Anraya.3 Tanlrasare also classifiedinto Kddi, Hedi and Kaha\diol SadF.This classifjcaiionappearsto havebeen in accordance wilh lhe injliallellersol mantrcs.ThemanttahavingKa as lhe inilialsyllableis Kedl,lhat with Ha as the iniliatletter is Hddl, and that beginningwith the unionof K:idiand Hediis Kahadi Sakt is supposedlo be inherentin Siva as the properly of burninginheresin fire. Thefollowing fivefacesol Sivaarelakenas representing the five functionsof Saktl,jn the spheresnotedagainstlhem: Isena - Cit (consciousness), Tatpurusa- Anahda (bliss), Sadyojyoti- i cchd (witl), Vemadeva- Jheha lknowtedge),
#:*iit1#*ti'i,ii$i*iry;i#1, # Classification orTantras
i$nfr ft,qnHl tri*tinsii,ffi
,i::Jx##[11i ,",llii'!:*l{",:kffi eft ;l;:x",j;;""T3,;:1;:1',:.,
"",
regi;:ly-four
f "!::,!:r:: i,,f ii.l. {::::
Tantrasare believed to bet{Jngro eachof Ihese
Aghota-K y6 (aclion). The five houths of Siva are said lo have originally producedten Agamas,viz., KAmika,yogaja,Cihtya,Mukut;, Ansumdn, Dipta,Ajita, Siksha, Sahash, Suprabheda of thefollowing .These-in lheirlurn,ledto ihe composilion erghteen RaudraAgamas: yraya.Nihsvasa(ot Ptodgita\parcmesvara, Mukhabjmba, -. stddha.Santana.Narcsmha.Candramsu,lor, Candahasa)-
tr-i;#'rd*ilhfr:t?,,",;,{*tii'l,ril:***
Ctlager-1
Viabhadta lot, Bhadra), Agneya, Svayambhu, Visata lo(. Virckta).Rautuvalot Bau@vya).Vimatalor. Mukutq. Kiena, Lalita, Saumeya lo(, PaG). Theabovelwo classestogelherconsliiutethe lwenly-eight Saiva Aoamas. Anot-hertradition makes the DaksinaMukha ol Siva represenlnon-dualily;il is calledyogini-vakra.The otherfour facesarestatedto represent thefourcondiljons, viz.,Denotaljve. Denoted.Extinguishihg and Extinguished. Theworks,produced bylhese,togelherconslttulethe64 BhaituvaAqamasclassified into lhe followingoctads: 1. Bhairaviislaka: Svacclanda,Bhairava,Canda,kodha, Unmatta,AsitAffga,Mahocchisma, Kaht6li6a. 2. Ydmafdslaka: B'ahtrA, Visnu,AthaNan,Rutu, VetAta, lncl@,Svacchanda. Again,Tantrasare divid€dinlo Hinduand non-Hindu. Those ol the latlerclassare BuddhistandJaina.BuddhislTanlrasare divided,accordihg to thelhreebroaddivisionsof laterBuddhism. as vayaydna.SahajayanaandK|tacaknana I hereis a sectarian classificalionof Jaina Tanlrastoo. Both Buddhistand Jaina Tantrasbelongto the ltrisfika class, mentionedabove. A hode of classification is basedon lhe hythologicalages; e.9., vatahakalpa,KAlakalpa,etc. The Veahitant@menlionsa classof work"scalled Upatahln. Thereis a lradition(e.g, Etahnayamata, Ch.XXXTX Sroionimava Sectlon)ot classifyihgTantricwotks as Daksina,Vemaa;d Madhyama,also calledDivya,Kaula,and yama,each beinq sub dividedas Harda(inner)and BAhyaloutet\. A divisioninto Astaka,Mafigah, Cakraand S/khdis also lound (Jayadratha-y{nala,1.47). A class of Tantrasis called ydmala. Besidesthe well, kna n RudhtAnala, thereareYdmalasassocialedwilh Ganesa_ Visnu, Sakti and severalolhers.
dividedinto lwo classes viz ln anotherway,Tantrasare Kalikuta a^d St)kula four broad SomedivideTanlricworksintothe lollowing classes: A. Agama oy NarratorSiva' lisienerParvali'approved as usually Vdsudeva lts conlents are DevArcana' iorfow"'- sr"ti' PBlaYa' satktma' Dhyanayoga Purascanrana, B. Ddmara Narratedby Siva Six kindsof Ddmaraare
Brchme' iig,", sui' Durye'sarcsvata'
Ganclhalava C. Yamala(lii meaningpair' couple) s,ix'viz BrchM Visnu Budta' Ganesa Ravi, AditYa Generalcontents: Jyotisa' AkhyenaNilya Karna, kama"tttra Vanabheda Jatibheda' Yugadharma D. Tantra
Sdkiasastra Also cailed Nigama'Rahasya Arnava' etc GeneralConlents: SamhitA, Sarca Prctisarya Devala'samslhana Tnfuvarmna,ls ranp'dtan1a \enta' ntMya ' Kosa'varnana vrata Jvitis PurAnakhyAna vivarana'Saucae'auca'Naraka'Stti'purusa' laksana,Baiadhama' Dana Yugadhatma etc, Saktatantrasare by lar lhe most well_ known
Antiquity and continuity of Tantra lt is given It is nol knownpreciselywhenTantraoriginated
#
Meaningol Tanlra
the slatus of Srull in some works. ll is slated bv H:irita. as quoled in Kallukabhallas commentary on Manu (ii t). as
and llsing(675) relerslo Tanlra c. Tuccilhinks6thal Tanlrashark back to the limes ot andAsanga(4lh cent A D ) Hisopinionis based Harivarman on the facl that they allude lo a Somas/ddhdnlawhich he Winternilz wilh lhe Tdnlricsecl ot the K:iPdlikas. identifies Tantra No Buddhist Tucci's viewdoes nol accept ho!^rever. 7 650 A.D appearsto haveexisledbefore The {irst clear referenceto Tanlric lileratureappearslo occur in lhe Bh gavata'purana(nol later than 800 A D accordingto some). These reasons led some scholarslo probably earlierthanlhe thalTantradid noloriginate conclude lt may be cenlury A.D. sixlh Pointedoul that the lifth or centuryA.D., the sevenlh work of about aBengal Devipuhna, of Tantra. deep influence reveals a highantiquilyol Tanlra,holdlhat, Those.whoadvocate (Rgvedax. 125) there are ol lhe Devisina the slanzas in coverlreierencesto Durgddeviwho represenlslhe earlierform of Sakiior Kdli, lhe principalgoddessol Tanlra.lt ls also pointedoul that the ,gatrisuha(Bgveda\ 127)reters10Durg.i lo Somethinkthal Rdlri is the precursorof Kali.According into the olhers lhis Stikfa is a supplement(Khila)inlerpolaled Rgveda. l1is also poinledoutthalrhe M*fuandeyaand Lingapuanas according oldeslpad of theformer, revealTrinlric inlluence.The lo Pargitermay datebacklo the lhirdcenturyB.C.or even
Srutisca dvividhe prcka vaidikl tant k tathe The earlieslrecordof Tdnlricelementsis lhe Atharvaveda fn lhis Veda,we find, intet alia,abhic'tika practicesdesigned lo causemischief to olhers.Thereare olherelements of white and black magic.These foreshadowthe Tanlras. The myslicsoundp/,at,so familiarjn Tanlra,occur in the VejasaneyiSamhita.ln the ApastambaStautasttrc,phat is used in offeringSoma stalks in abhidra. The numberol exlanlTanlEs is large.ll maybe presumed lhal severalcenlurieselapsedbeforethe Tanlrasgrew into a hugebulk. Manuscriplsof some Tanlrasreveal palaographyof the Gupla Age.5The oldestof lham is the Kublkdmataoreserved in AsjatrcSocielyCalcutta. The Southlndian SaivaAoamas -dating are mentioned in an insc ptionol Rdjasimhavarman, backto the sixlhcenturyA.D.in Kaildsan:itha Tempte. Al feastfourTantras, viz.,Sircscheda,Vinasikha, Sammoha and Nayotlarcare known hom th€ inscriplionot Sdok-kakThom,to havebeeninlroducedinlo Kambu,a(Cambodia) about 800 A.D.by a Brahmin. The oldesl BuddhistDh{rcnts ot Tdntric characlermav. perhaps.b€ supposedlo datelrom the 4th centuryA.D. Tibetanlranslalaon only is availabteof lhe BuddhistTdntric worksby severalBengalischolars inctudingSdhtaraksita(70S762 A.D ) and Alisa Dipamtarawhoare knownlo haveset ed in Tibel. The earliestNepalesemanuscriptsol Tanlrasappearto havebeencopiedbelweenthe sevenlhandlhe ninlhcenluries The faler porlions ot lhe MaldtbhAtata,lhough relerringto Ilih'sa, PutAna,arc silentaboulTanka.Noneof the well-known Chinesetravellers, Fa,hien(401,410), HiuenTsang(630-649)
(C. 8lh cent.) has accepledTantraas Samkarac:irya aulhorilativein his Anandalahatland S:ikldmoda.The six Cakrasof Tantrahavebeenmenlionedby himin his griakabtrsya (7thcent.)and Bhavabhfii(C. nh Theworksof B6nabhatta or 8lh cenl.) refer lo Tantricviews and practicesu. lhal lhe names ll was poinledout by JogesVidyanidhi Br:ihmiand Devaniigari, appliedlo Indianalphabel,betray TanlricinlluenceBrdhmiis one of the Mdtrkdsot Tanlra.He lhlnks that, in ancienllimes, lhere was lhe practiceol
10
Chapler-l
worshrpping painledsymbols of thegoddess. Onesuchsyrnbol was Devanagara(abodeof god)trom whichDevanagarisctipl was so cailed. ln lhe Yasatilaka-canp, (AsvasaV) Bhdsa,whoflourished earlierlhan K:ilidiisd, is statedto havesaid.wilh the Tilnlric Vdmecerain view that one should drink sura and put on grolesq!edress. The Lalitavistaraof aboutlhe first cenlury A.D.appears lo referlo Tdnlricelemenls. Amonglhe relicsof IndusValleyCivilisalion, there are lerracottaliguresoI natrkAsand male figuresin a si ing posture.Somescholarsthinkthat, even in thosepre-Vedic limes.Durgdas Molherof the universeand Sivaas Fatherlsed lo be worshipped. Thus the germof Tanlrawas there. B. Footeclaimsto havefoundphalliamonglhe neolithic rematnsdiscovered by him in Deccanr. TheGaigddharaStoneInscription (424A.D.)of Visvavarman menlionsMdllsor Mothergoddesses and Tanlra. Ihe BrhalsanhitA(57. 56) ot variihamihira(C. 475 550 A.D.)meniionslhe groupof Mdhs. fhe Visnupurana, one ofthe earlieslof lhe extantpuriinas. speaksof ihe Saktlol Visnu.lt mentionsseveralnamesof Durgii.andsialeslhat.it worshipped withwine,llesh. etc.,She lulfilsall desires. Whaleverlhe date of originof Tanlramay havebeen,il appearskom spigraphical and ljleraryevidences lhat Tdnlric praclicesprevailed widelylongbetorethe sixlhcenluryA D ll rs nol unreascnable lo supposethal cenlufleseldsped belween lheperiodof Ongin ot Tankicdeasandthetrcodit'cal.on and evenlualelaboralion. Abundanlevidenceis availablelo provethalTanlrareached lhe zenilhol popularitV in lhe period belweenlhe seventhand the lweltthcenluryA D. Winiernilzi0 concludes thatno realTanlra canbe provedlo haveexisledbeforelhe 7th centuryA.D.He is ol the opinon
i hat neither I he SuvartapBbha\sanotlhe Mahem4yti is a lrue occur thatTadricelemenls He comeslo theconclusion Tantra. in eallierwoIks. pul forwardto establish a laleorigin Themainargumenls, ol Tanlra,are as lollows: (i) Tanlra, as a S:istra, has nol been mentionedin lhe famouslexicon N6naliiganusAsanaor Amarakosa. (mukli-khanda) stalesthalthecustoms (ii) The Srtasamr,ilS lo lhosewho are fallen of Paicar6tra,etc.,willbe beneficial thalTanlraaroselong fromthe Vedicwayof lile.Thisindicates afterthe VedawhenVedicaulhorilywas on the wane. (iii) The Naryasaslra, which,in ils presenlform,is generally lo haveoriginated aboulthe fifthcenluryA.D does supposed nol menlion Ndd/,Caktaot Ni\daatisinglrom them;this tends lo orovelhai eilherTanlradid nol existbelorethis workor was noi yel eslablishedas authorilative.Ever since ils inceplion. of Tdnlricworks lhe Tdnlricfaithhas inspiredto composition n some lorm or olheri il will be evidentfrom the chapter describing lhe conlentsof the workson Tantra.The flow oJ Tdnlricwrilingsconlinuedrighldown1othe 191h.cenlury. ln conclusion,we cansaylhal lhoughTAntricworksappeal lo havecomeinlobeingprettylohgafterChrist,Idttrlcbeliels and oracliceswereDartof lhe livesof a seclionol lhe Indian populalion as earlyas lhe Vedictimesand evenearlier. Somescholarshavepointedoulthattherelicsof the Indus Valleycivilisalion(C.3000 B.C.)containtlAtrh'nittis. Ihey holdlhal yantras,mud6s (finger'pose), the mysticmonosyllabic Bijas like KLIM, KRIM, e|c., testify lo the primitivepictorial wrilingand languageconsisling of singlesounds.The black riles of Tanlrahaveparallelpraclicesin primitivelimes. li seemslhal Tantacaraot F'nltic practices,whichform a bulkol Tanlraliterature, werederivedlromveryearlytimes. Wilh the progressoi civilisation, philosophical sophisticated speculalions gol inlo lhis lilerature. Thal is why we find a curiousmixture philosophy of prolound wilhlhewildestsuperstitions
.-
Chapler-1
and most confusedoccultism,of a faul ess social code ol moratrtyand rigidascetjcjsmand a cull disfiguredby wild orgiesinculcating i. extremely reprehensible moralsi OrigihalHomeof Tahtra Nolhingdefinaleis knownaboul the regjon whereTantra originaled.some believethal Tantrasof ihe Agu.u iii"" originatedin Kashmir.Whal is knownas Tantramai travefeen producedfor the trrsltime.In Bengal.Thisoprnionis staieJ oy.wrnlernitz An evrdencethoughnol conclusivF. rn sLrpporl or rheafrovehypothesis is lhatmanuscflpts ol Agamas,wt:|en In sardoascflpl aboundin Kashmir. and lhoseoi the ,anlrd ciass.in Eengaliscript, are available in abundance in Bengal. Theworksol theSamhilaclassarebelieved to haveoriginaied in differenlparlsof India,parlicularly in Deccanana dengai K:im.ikhyd,r,in Assam, is a slrongholdof Tanlra. ll is knownthat Saiklismwas preachedthere-bythe BengaliSdkta. Krsnar;imaNyiiyav;igisa. TheAhomking,Rudrasimh;.became hasdisciole The EengaliTiinfrikscafijedTantrato the tar-offHiml:ijin ^ , Baluchistant lheBengatiBrahmiinandaandhisdiscipte Jiiiiniin;da preachedT;inlricphilosophyand Sadhana:c]'ete. TantrrcSddranain Nepalappears lo havebeenInlJJenced by Benqalsjdhakas,r Tiinlricismin Chinaand Tibet is believedto haveowedils orrgrnlo spreadof Buddhismtrom Bengal.Alisa Dipamkara (980-1053 A.O.)and severalother schol;rstromBenqalwenl overro Ttbel.seltledlhereand wroleon Tantra In supportol lhe Bengalofigin ofTanlra. a furlherevidence. polniedoul by some,is lhal lhe Mah nitv6na-lantra mentions (vi.7 3 )lhree kindsof tishfor use in riluatsilneseare tound n ptenlyafd widelyconsumedin Bengal,,. An anonymo!sverse stales thal lhis Sdstra. having ongrnaledjn Gauda.developedanl\,4ithil:i. existedat som-;
MeaningolTanlra
13
and was deslrovedin Gujarat Gaude ota.eso' lvlahdraslra '/acahtd rdva ma hilaih abaliktlakvaci kvactnmahaaslre gutjarepnlaYam gatla/ The Bengalwork,P/iinaloslriquolesthe Varcdatanlra(x) whrchis staled lo containa descriptionof somesoundsol lhe we learnthat tprecedlng NitgaraalphabetFromthisdescriPlion as v is pronounced as./h.Again,h preceding y is pronoLrnced are like/. Thesecharacteristics b, Iniliadlyy is pronounced nolablein lhe dialectsof Bengal,and,in somecases.in Easl Bengal. .r.enlions vinirfia\ya The colophonlo the Mahekaulaihana as tts provenance, Gaudadvipa lheoriesalsopoinloulthalmanyof lheold Thepro'Bengal parlicularly Tanlra,havebeenlound Buddhist worksonTanlra. of delinilelyBengal Tantric works the n Bengal.Moreover. rituals thanof philosophy: provenance of riles and containmore their earlier oragin. lhis is a sign of Many oJ the Sdkla Pithasare in Bengal.Thoughnot situatedin this province,the Pilhas,kdmardpa,Srihalla. arein lhe (Orissa, according lo some)and Purnagiri Oddiyana of Bengal. neighbourhood Contenlsof Tantra Tantradeals with live topics- Crealion. Tradilaonally powers. Communion ot supernalural Acquisilion Dissolution. Worshlp. withlhe SupremeBeang slales the conlenlsof lhe difterenl fhe Varahi-lantra c asses of Tanlricworks as lollows: adhana, Wtascarana i\gama - ststi,pralaya,devapLijA, salkatma,(nAana, uccAtana,stambhana. vasikatana,vidvesa,santi) Y Amala- srsli,jyotisa,ekhyAna,nityakarma,karma' sitstra,vamabheda,i1tibhecla,yugaclharma Tanlra-_ srsli Walisrsti,tantla'nirnaya.devatAkrlt
Chapter,l trrtha-esrana, BAhmana. pani -la ksana,yantra, devotpa tti, kaIpa vrksa, jyoti sa,p ranAk'hyena, kosa, vrata, saucA-sauce, naraka icAra, strtpurusa Iaksana, rajadharma,denadharma, yu9adharma, vyavaharavidhi, adhyetma varnana, elc. The conlenlsof a completeTantricwork rnay be broady , divided as Jiana at Vdva - (nowjedge.n,,,d ng p, osophral ano nerapFysica I do. trinFswlh d To, otnF ,Uc tendencyand sometjmesa rorr sr c otas This part contains occulltsm Lrcruotnga knowledgeof the myslic bas Ths part . o n r a , n sf o | t r t a e a , o L g u r e . . 2. Yogaot Upaya - means ot mind-conlfot. especralty w t r ht h e o b l e L o r t d c q u ,n g n a q , cp o s p r . 3. Xrya - containjnginslruciions for makrngrdotsand ior conslrucltngand consecfatng rernpes. Carya ot Siddhi- rutesabout flies, lestivars ano soc a duties. -Ih s tourfolddivisionol contenlsis generar oul does nol appry to each and every Tanlncwork. A>-re9d_rds worshto,lhree asppclsoi ,Fe dF y. wo,,hippoo L. a.e recogn,seo.Tnese are sllrura ,,-nage :i,:_":":'": s u K s . mt am a 1 t r aa) 1 dp a r ar h r g h e s r . .boe a o o , a ' e - d e o by.,.
Broadtyspeaking, lhe contents ot Tantratleralurelall into two classes, onephrlosophicaland spiriluallne oiher popular a o prdcliLal Tne latter includes .raqL, mandata, nya9a, cakra, yantz. elc
The principataimotTantrais trberatron and
S/ddhl(supernalura
ij.,'
'oo
l"
5
l.
HUMAN AODY,A MICROCOSM The body s supposedlo consislol five kosas (shealhs), ! t. amianaya (madeoi iood), praramaya(consistinqol v tal fiea\h) nanomaya (made of mind), vtjn^namaya\canssltng Anandamaya(conssting of loy) .1 speca consciorrsness),
The body s be eved to conlan lhree crores and a hali" ol r.:d,s {arleries and verns). Of these, seventy'two are rcgarde.las prominenl.of theseaga n, Iourleenor ten are the t)f fr pal ones.ol theseiourteen,the mosl prom nenl are /da I'r)oa/iiand Sus|/rrni'". The ast and the ongesi one exlendslrcr]. mhhdh,ra lo moksanr;rga. 8/nlrr'arrrdhraln lhe head.Alsocalledbrahmanedi.at r s be eved to contarnlhe universe.Throlgh \ Kundaliit ts s!rplr!s-.dto rnoveupward./de is on the eft side o{ lhe spinal r]or.l A symbol ol lhe moon, it is while, and represenlslhe Amfii aspect of Sakti.Enterng Suslmnd, ils exit s lhrough llre eft nostril Pingala s an the righi side oi the spinalcord Ris f! irom \he \|ibdh'ra. t ends in the righl noslr . Aso ca ed Srrya N;jdr, il symboliseslhe waking condlion. and a.is persons10 v olence. _ Cir{/as The body is believedlo conlain six Cakras ic r. € or nerve-plexus). These afe as fo ows: l'.4uladhAran the middleol lhe body,silualedin the lowest l a r t o l t h e s p n a c o r d , l r a n g u a r n s h a p ew l h i l s a p e x dowfward ll s like a red lotus wlth lour pelas. Kundaltniis s r r p p o s etdo c o a r o u n di t . ' abovelhe milAdhara,brl belawlhe navle Sva.lhislhana .s ke a lotusof srxpalals.presidedover by GoddessRakin I'lafrlpufa I the navel.It is like a lotusol len pelals eacrr rr(rlafofta n ng a leller.Also calledNabhicakra,it conlarnsa lrLrn(re o i t h e c c l o u fo l t h e n s n g s u n .T h e o u l e rs d e s o f l h e lr irrr(.lLe a.e representedby lhre€ Svasilka symbos ll s
Chapter.l presrciedovef by a goddessLakini. AnA.hAb- in the region of lhe heart. lt is like a deep red . . lolus with lwelve pelals. Seal of air, it is presadedover bv goddess Kdktni. V;sttddhaot Bhaatt - n lhe rFgronof lhe nech Sear ol Sarasvati.il is grey and Ike a lotusof stxleenpetals Dresided over bV goddess Lakinj. iTnd between the eyebrows. Also ca ed paramakatAol Muhlatuvent.tl is lthea lolus of lwo pelals whtre n .olour .r 's from lhrs caftla thal lhe lhree nadls, /dd, el(. soaeadoul lo diflerentdrreclions.Svmbolisedby the letlersHa and A.sa rl rs lhe seal of mind. presrdedover by goddessHahrn| Ihe woroA/nameansorder orderof guruwhois supposedto restoe tn tl. . ^Caktabheckat Satcakrabheda(lilerallymeanrngpenetralron or cakras) means lhe manifestal|onor acltvaltonof Cakras. rl rs necessarylor keepingthe body fil and for the dttainmenl of Siddhls. lhe stx Cakras are idenltlied in sor.le fa.tflc works withthe five elementsand the mind,s. Thjs idea appearslo have been based on lhe ancienl Upanisadiclheoraesifor example. the hearl is comparedto a lolus, and il is statedlo have 1Oj Nadls; one ot lhem penetrales the crown of the head: a man movingupwardby il reachesimmortalrty. In this,.onnextol,.he rollowlng Upanlsadsmay be consulted: Chandagya IJpansad Vlll. l. l. viii.6.6.Katha vi.16, prasna iii.6. Ceriiin diagrams also are called Cakfas. Diflerenl works differ in the name: and number of Cakfas.The S//bak,a is oflen menlioned,,.A Tantra called Caktabheda (Deccan College MS. No.962 ol tBa4-87) menlronsthe followingfive Caklas used in Durgdpiij:iaccording b Kauhgama. Raiacakra, Mahecakra, Devacakra, Vhacakra, pasucakra \see Catalogue,vol. XVI on Tantra, p. .163). In anolher m a n u s c r i p(lD e c c a nC o l e g e M S . N o . 9 6 4 o f t A O T9 l t s o m e Olner OaAlas are described as Akactamacakz. nnaclhand Sodhanacakta,Rasicaka, Naksatftcakra (Catatogue. vol XVi
ol Tantra Ntreaning
17
. .251) o n T a n l r aP SfrraAra also called Sttyanlaor lrpuacakta connecled lhe wlh S/rv,dvd has been descnbed in verses quoled in p and Samiara;Fya ot A^a.dagirtrBib Indlcaed 1868) 255 i\ I.he Selubandha commenlary on lhe NilyAsodasikarnava fhe it.:t-sa) quoting lrcm Yamala (prchably Budrcyamah\ somewhdl {verse I1) also describesil A rauncta,yalahart dillFienl des.ripllon oLcurs In a work called Deviahasva (DeccanCollegeMS. No 49Oot 18s5 98) A descriplionol lhe batra is as lotlows.A Cakrais lo be drawn wilh lhe bindu In a small triangle The birdu slands for Sakfi or Mtlaptakrtt The;eare ninelrianglesfiveof whichhavelheir apex solidrlied. downward:these represenls Sakll and four, represenlingSiva have their apex upward The b/rdu is situaledin lhe smallest t ar,qe po'.llinqdownwardThere are two parls of ltiangles lolus l6 petalledlolus rnen'14irianqles lhen elghl_pelalled wilh four gales lhese lines boundary lhen 3 circles.thenlhree yanlra and lhe loluses of the section ten laltertJeinglhe ouler Yantrc'Ihete of the section inner pelals the being ol 8 and 16 Cakra inside lhe parl the of The angles is a lotal of 43 ol Yanlra is The worship bhupurais called boundary lines lhe lhrough Kunda'ni awakened is laklng bahryaga Anlarvaga wlth il unilinq and lhen rrorn i/racaita Muladhardlo Calrasl S va in the Sahasfara-cakra lhe six Cakras are identitied w h the five elemenlsand the mind. Sahasfiira Padmd' At lhe cenlre ol lhe head is localed lhe Brahmarandhra throuqhwhich vital brealhor life is supposed10 exit al dealh li is c;nceived as a mullicolouredlolus of a lhousandpelals' facingdownward. The Cakras, accordinglo the Kaula syslem are as follows in lhe ascendingorder : NadicaktainlheianmasthanaBased ort il is M yecakta in the navel (lrom here il prevaoes everwhere). iogacaka (in the hearl, centre ol yoga\. Bhdanacaka (in lhe ti/u regi;n). Dipticakta\Bindusthenainbelween the eye'
18
Chapler1
brows),Sanlacakfa (in lhe niidaslhdna). fhe SAdhakarealisesil as lustrouslikea croreof suns andcoollikea croreof moons.8y rousinglhisenergyonecan reachthe higherslate of exislenceWhen it is roused lhe enlrrebeingof a personis {loodedwithverydelicaleambrosia oi music lhis music is called Kundalini-kujana(sang of Rele idenlifiesKundaliniwilh the righl vagus nerve.Bul. (Avalon)discardsthe view:he sayslhal I is not Woodroffe a nerve.r any olherphysicalsubslance or mentaltacullyiii rs ratherlhe groundsubslanceol bolh Kuvalaydnanda also rejecisReleslheory.The Rudtayemala (XXXVI6 168)gives 1008namesof Kundallni. allbeginning wrlhKa Sabdabrahma ls supposedlo resideh Kundalint. Besideslhe individualkurda lini,fa .amenlionsaMalakundali The formerdevelopspersonalexistence.By gellingupon Mahakundalione canlranscendthe narrowpersonalslale.and eslablishhimselfin lhe wideuniversal slaletMahi\kundaliis al lhe rool ol lhe universe. HUMANNATURE In accordance withthe preponderance of ihe qualilies ol Sattva.Rajasand lamas,humannalureis dividedinlo three classes.On lhe basisol lhesequalities, humanpropensilies have been dividedinto three classes,v1z Divyabhava Vtrabhavaand Pasubhava. Ihe i"4ailryupanisad \vi. 21) menlionsSusumnaNadi as movingupwardfhe BrhAdaranyaka \11.119)speaksof72.000 The Cakrasare somelimesidenlifiedwilh lhe nerve p exusesoJ modernphysiology. Thrsappearslo be wrongin vew of the lacl thal, in Tantralhese are inraginary lhings belonging 1olhe subtlebodyand nol the grossbodyso that lhesedisappear with the deathof a person. A personwilhthepreponderanceof Pasubldva1stiedwith
Meanlngo! Tantra
19
shamehalredfamllv ,h4rpllersol klndnesslnlaluallonleal 'i'""I'"i over an r" hrmlhrlA rs elcpssol Fdl;s gulU ''",}ili'"" in lairh no has He "r" "r.i" idleanddrowsy '"l"'n"itr, ',11n'irr)it.'a. lo Tanlra iuu*es vedrcpraclicesAccoldrng ro rhF '"" A pelson wrrhvrrabhavadue lead ::'-';;;";.;;; "i qualiiyol Falas doessuchaclsas ll";:".,""""" ol1"e "i,n" tnepreoon"nance ::"":.'j' 3?;;;l ;;';a'va navins l r u lhlul pule I s t h e b e s lH e i s k i n d p i o u s ^",]i,^, " i . s r r r t , alriluderowardslrrendsand loes :;: :-::;;";" SADHANA- PAftCATATTVA is the meanslo lhe Sddhanelworship propitiaiion)'l wavsol sadhan; o' s/ddhr{successpowerr he - ^ ol saslras /apr "r".ini :':' ,;," ,;,;,;r' or rnenlal)knowledge e'c (incanlar'on) i,oas {penance'manrra i" ' "'i.''noi:"""'i and sedhlkasare divided in accordance loJl menlaland moral qualrl'esr'\'o l a l "uon"r"" n,',, n.ri-pnys'cat a n d A d h m d t t a h a a) . , " r , * . r ' i . r r f M d u t 2 l M a d h y a nB Tanlia lhe sadhaKas Accordinglo the Kaulaschoolof are ol the followingclasses: and olhel 1 Pr2k I- yirdcdlrn- engagedin sacrilrce pancalallvas rllualsand resorlinglo lhe dilJerence 2 MadhyamaKaulika- llke Prakrii wilh that his mindis moreattachedlo med[aton' and concenlrallon' knowledge - lhose who go beyondritualism and 3 Kautikotiama meditaleon the SupremeBeing ol ln I antricworship.patcafaltva' also calledKuladravya role imporlanl Kulalall;a. denotingI i\te Mararas'plays an muda rt l7)rJy*'t*i"e) rr,amsa(meal)'matsya\fisl'') """ "i. (linger'pose). ;aitilna (sexualinlercourse)' whenthe sexualintelcourse SomeTanlrasrecommend energy sexual and her t"."r" f"ri""i i" i" n"r monlhlyillness
2A Chapler-1
ijrjr: ti:ffi;"; il:[1 ;tri,i?fu"]i''*i ,i",,iTill
MeanlngolTanlra
21
i a Kautika.but nol in a devole of the pasu lype Maithuna dualityol the aPparenl lhe basicunilyunderlying ;ymbolises ever!'1hing. madhuratraya fhe Maftanitvana \\iii. 170 173)recommends madya Fol lot as substilutes subslances) sweet Ithree iallhu,'ra it substitutesmedilaiionon lhe feel ot Deri andiapa ot lhe desiredmarha. Paicatattvais not prescribedfor all S:idhakas.One who hasreacheda highslageof spirituallife,canlakea paicata va of the gufu Asa saleguard andlhal alsounderlhe guidance againsl unreslralnedenjoymenlof pancalatlvas,alletnaltve Jorthosehavingan excessof animal ailiclesare prescribed propensities, and, as such, lackingin the requisileselt @sl(ain|.Pancatattvaiscommendedlor Sadhakasal the Vira of selfconlrol.Some explainthe type lhey are possessed js makdrasas follows:Madya the slreamof neclarissuingfrom the abodeof the soul.Ma,syastandstor the brain-cavity. of vilalarr. suppression Mdmsameansvowof silence-Mirthunameansmeditation on creationand deslruclion. appearsto describehow lhe three Ihe Kaularchasya2s L4akards,Madya, MAmsa,Maithuna,were enjoyed by the wineup lo throat.eating commonpeople.li speaksof drinking lnealandenjoyingbeaulifulwomen.Ouolinglhe Kaulatahasya 1heHamsaviksa(p. 104)says thal bhogaand moksado nol women.bolhlhese coexislBut.for one,whoenioysbeautilul
ji:: fi,:"',,""'i,:#t',"1;t{*t*ni5ii*t*'*ii:T"r ^
As regardsthe modeo, Tanlric se)
qt:,.##i".*q#.i,1"ffi frli,."d higfr
j;; ::,Jl:ffi,rid,.r,eJi:,:i:"f,,,i"xli,:x..;r_
;i'i.:::.;*rJ ;drn';x.:";* ryfi *' 5i j::ii:.' :;',**l*,g'*lhz* h""
:::"":,.-" l ii i'Ji:l:; ;f n.f ";i;"y,lfiii{,#:H'"":iff""lffi :i'l: ;::t;::" ::1.,,ii',i T*:rff i;:hTgilift.
*"Jjli{iffH""4.ff$:[+#Fil"iiiil#,j nli{ii":rft fr;}tillx',l;"#irp,=##li'
to low-classpeople,are entitledto All ffom Brdhmanas Kauladharmaaccotdingla the nah,nirv4na \ti't 144) lhe following suggests TheKaukvali'nimaya \V. 113-123) ioney In a can use subslitulesfor lhe Maka\rcs.A Bdhmana bellmelal in a coppervesselor cow'smilkor coconulwaler ginger be used garlic and can vessel.ln lhe absenceol meat. Roasled used lorfish BullalomilkorlhaloJlhesheepmaybe lru ls and rools may be usedIot Maithuna.
'"iidrillfi il#i*r"#"4;:1,+i*,,-l,l=ni; :lx #lll hxr:;;i'li*:1:*#Tili?i
""n'"*j ;"*xT,,:rffi ffi";Jj :,;:""""',',T ri;"Hi,g#fitr
22
Chapier-1
, r : o t r h e o p , n t o n, h d t l h a s , g n t l i c d n c e ,..,1or" ot rt4atdlas was detiberdtelvpreverleobv viuiouspeople. I n e
o*,li",l:: ,",^",11;"'-"il' ;:fl,'ff,i'i,l,,[XT"""" *::l"J i;: sugges|ng
symbolcinrFrprelations ol
ffi'_t'n9'n''.'ut,"o
d 'ecogntsesrhe fdcl that.for progress drongthe polL one has lo prFpa,ethe boOV. inO minc bod! Ldn be made it by dtfferenlposturos ";ratOrearr. ,usanasl ,r.1e Tor' pr6pa n9 lhe v,rdJbrearl-.onp has to pract( a p € nol".u ino ts ptepatedhy bhavana(contemplationJ Three stagesof sddhana are rientioned Ihese are 1. Suddhi _.ridding oneself of pnysrcat and mental impurilies. 2. Sthiti _ gelting rid of the darkness ot dejusion and lhe tight of knowJedgeshining. 3 Arpana_ realisationof ore,s identtty with the objecl ot meditation , .Tant
loj,rlrirrrr*r, "nO
"""
entiatarenana,taryana,sandhyA,ptijA
Kundalini-yog.irz
,n" basicrhingfof Tiinlricsdonara.rhe -^,",lll: energv : dormant splflrudl is supposedlo corlroundnutuanura lir:i a serpent,' lis gradual ascenl
by penettali rheap.^rbrahmatanon*, 3:ff;:" " " i,i"'",,".,i1i13,1T
Tanlraprovidesrhatone must tdenttfy onesettwtlhIhe de,ry . - - *9*n'q: Nvasa dhydna.japa ate ;mporrant ::: etemenlsin pLla_lhe olfeflngs mav be fivF to IFn in number. Jn lanlrd. .1:1:., p't. rmental worship) ,s regaroeo as sLrpFflorlo
erld..1he sahtananda.taran\tni lvrr saysrnai rnI :J-:l:aj searci tot god
oulsjde havrngdis.cga'rdedgoOwtlf;n onsell
jewe n s rhe like the quest ot glass ignoringthe Kaustubha pula cs fenltic one s own hand Se l_surrendercharacierst siddhi S/ddhl.allainablethroughsddhara,may be ol many k nds mantrasiddhi(Successin mattras), vaksiddhl(success e a.. -speech). By lhe lormer,manlra s madeto secureihe desired !n result. By the latter, the speech becomes infallible Aller reachng lhe peak of spirtla I fe, one can posses lrle e gnl siddhis.vlz, anlma (power ol assuming an atomic lrg!re) nahime lpawe( of increasing one's size al wilt) laghtme (acquiring superonly excessiveLghtnessal will),lsilva (assLrming wt to ones (subduing all ) Praptl over olh;rs), vasliva w l) kamavasayita (irresistible (obtalninganyllngai w ll)prakamya (suppressionoi Passon or des re) mantrasled According1oihe Mah6nlrvdra(1114_15),Vedic in Kali Age But, Yugas other \o deslredresuls n Salya and In berngs' ike dead or venom these are ke serpentsw lhout lead lo quick and resLllts, yield ths aqe. Tentrc manlras sa vation.Th s Tantraprescribes(iii 14) that lhe mantra Om sac-cid'ekambrahma in lhe besli mere perfecton ln ths manta causesthe soul to rnergein Brahma' lor sometimes,the repett on 01a mantta s recommendeo like conlro great ellect ensure to a lac or even ilve lac times ol even a klng ln some cases,Tantricmantrasate requiredlo be recited ke a Veclicone, wrth the names oi the sage' the meter,tlre de ly and Viniyaga(aPPllcallon). Some Ved c maniras also are used in Tantra, bul lor purposesotherlhan thoseln lhe Veda.For example,lhe manlra jatavedase sunavamalRv l.99 1), thoughaddressedlo Agn ' is employedin invocation10 Durge. Mantradllerc irom prayer in that, whle the forrner has lixed syllables,the latter may be said in any form The syllable; of a mantra ate regardedas the manilestalionoi
ChapleFl
Sakti. Varielres ol manlradre calledby vaflousname! luch a _ Aavaca,Hrdaya,Astrc, Raksa elc. As seedis sownon a soilwhichis cultivated andwalered, pul a disciptes r,ea wr.,i,n,, p ,,e :2: .inlo " ano ::f nas .!:!'rj been drenched by lhe walero, Cod.smercy.Ihe MahAnivana(V. 1a-19)statesthal gr.aslike Hrim, Kri; make the form of the deityvisjble. Mostol lhe Tanlrasparitcutarly lhe pdlasuF'ma katpast)tra ,_ Jnanatnava tne SandAtttakahold thal marllas possess wondedvl andincomprehensibie pafas power.The ,]-l-111.,1""1:9":.rarrh ", ".u.k;tr;;;,; as lhe cause ot this power rhe s.aradautahd (ll 57.59)divtdesmanlrcsr:|lolhreerlasses vrz. masculnefemjnine andneulerThoseendtngIn Hum Phalaremaje.thoseendingin lhaarelemaleanOihose and enOlng In /vamasate neuter
o:n:rmjngor carryinsourbetoresomethrng ." ^,tJi.",]:ll.T":* ^utarlava{xvii 8/) stales,hal purdscafana ts so called ,:ll oecausF. DVlt e live-loldupasara lhe desrreodehy moves
'?!* conterrhg herfavour onnrm.Accordrns 1":f *1",r:',f." l9r the pedellinq to t".e vayavtya-samhltii.
o, lhp p,ocedures oj' lhe,MuhmanttaE Lalledpunscatana: because rr has to be pertormedbeforelhe acts in whichil is to be empjoyed. In lanlra,it meansa rile in whichVedicandTdnlric mantras are pulascarunaol a mantrc repealed has lhe lollowina ,The,, rn^n, pula ldpa.horna taryana.abh9ckaana "-.onstrtuer']1. t-eut I rranmanas lr d shoder fo,.n lhe rtr!l ,hree are per,tormedDasarga puescatana conststIn lhe lollowtng surl,2tshvaptp,7712 tKautdatn,ma,: ?11."'11"11:.:-iq"r,?rrsana | -as Deendeall w;rh In many lantras ot whrchthe !\v,
M;hantuanatv7b85).Kurarrva
l,j.Y ,, ) | 'i?"":::?:il,:li /zl 5arodr,lokd(.t1-1381|4AtAhtrbudhnya,r.X (xv 5p 53). J tvahhrasamhta(pal;la jq versej 13-331.ia, !9amgama sunddri lll 1rS 56 XIV 45 46. G a n a h a t v a\ x | l l l 7 . g
Meanrngol Tanlra
25
a'knlra lv'6-7'Krsnananda's aryenava, v l. p.41g' Ke!ivilas Pu rasc TantGsata. Raqhavabhalta,in his commenlaryon lhe Saradalilaka wrlh detailsol ,xvr-56i.dedrs e)(haustively ARE cornmon 10 al\ manlras. manrfa 11is regarded as indispensabletor making the grip ot a in the eflectiv;. R;ghavabhatiasays that as a man' Putascarana do anything,so a manlrawiiholl Jisease,cann-or ls abortive.
place -ver T n e D l a c p ss, J l a o l e i o r l h l s r i l e a r e a h o l y lop ol a mounlaln conlluenceol nvers' rool ol a o"n* happy "ri" Bilvatree,temple,seashore,any placewhereone leels lood oblalred One. periormlnglnrs nle is requlredto eal vegelables bv bpqglnorfor E.ahrnacatinandYatl havisyan4d fruils. nilk, bulbous rools, Darley The practices,to be avoided'are sexualintercoursemeal' w ne, speaklngwilh women and Sudras' Japa should be done lrom mornlnglo noon' Aiter lhe rite is commenced'the devoteemay encounler remains obslacles, disiurbancesand terrible sights.lf he lo sticks ll he results. unmoved,he will achievemiraculous pleasant dreams, joy, see lhe prescribedlong time' he will get lhe hear sweel musicand enloylragrance;theseare someol signs of the perlectionof lhe mantta'
There are varying modesot Purascaranain accordance with the natureol the devotees'Pasu' Vira and Divya Yoga
ln Tantra, yoga is mainly lwoiold, hathayogaand pavlng discipline in physical lot;er consists sanadhiyoga.lf,e lhe way lo mind_conlrol. insleadol lhe HalhayogahasIhe lallowingfiveaccessories Patanjali eight prescr;ed in lhe yoga syslem of
26
Chapter-1 Yama-
conlrcl ol the senses, non,violence,etc sludy ol Saskas, meditationon God. - controloi brealh. -
wrthdrawlof lhe sense lrorn lhe wordly
Asana -
a particularpostureoi lhe body SamAdhiyogais sixlold:
Dhyena, NAda, Basenanda, Layasiddhi, Bhakti, RAja. The iundamentaldrlferencebelween the yoga of lhe Yoqasaslra ol PalaFjali and yoga in fanta is this. In Tantra. there is no driterencebelweenSakli and Tatlvaso lhat Sakt surrnountsattobslacles,and effectslhe unionol the yogl, wilh lhe SupremeSiva.Pataajati,however,does not recogniseany Supremepower exceptingprakrll so lhal lhe yogl/r has no 'arrllla.irv w'll^ any Saklt beyoao pGhtn. KAya (ot Deha) -
Siddhi A lundamentaldillerence betweenthe BrehmanicatSdstra and Tanlia is thal, whilethe formerordatnsphysicalsuilering or sell-moftificationas a means to lhe goal. the la er emphaslsesthe valueof the body as meanslo sadhana.Th s is nol lo say ihal the BriihmanicalSdstra neglectsthe body On the contrary,it regardsthe body as the very firsl means lot lhe ptaclice ol dharma As Kalidasasays (Kumarasambhava, V.) sariram adyam khalu dhatmasadhanam.fhe Smlti_sasl/a containselaboraterules lor havjnga good healthand recipe for long |ie. But, it lays a great stress on long last, arduous and slren!ous rites and rituals,abslenlionlrom wtne, elc.. conlinenceand restraintin enjoymentsot the objeclsoi sense Tantra,however,allowsthe devoleeto indulgein enioyrnent ol the objectsoi sense, ol course within timits.The core 01 TantraSadhanais muklllhroughbhukli,a conceptabsolulety lorergnto lhe orlhodoxreligionand philosophy. ManLrunwquivocally sIaIes
Prcvtnirese bhitanem nivtttistu mahephab/ oJcreatulesfor thesethings;cessatrlon Thereis inclination to gleat result' leads of des re, however, Whlle orthodoxlndianphilosophyis concernedmore wrln philosophyvigo'oJsly sd\alion .n I_e other world. Tdntric lile) in (liberahon advocaleslvanmuktt lhinkersused 1obelievethat' A schoolol Tdnlric'Alchemic and chemicaldrugs lhe processes mantras yogic bv certaln imperishableso that be made blood could oiav ot iteitr-ano Mtlyuniaya lanltas ana KAbdahana deat^.1\e ,L cor.o de'v (makingtne body Kayasiddhr ol tethods to .ont"in "'" ,t"t"d fit or unconsclonablylonglived). lhai when keyaslddhilakes place,the Eooy lr LsbeLieved full ol yollhful lustre,does nol become Valra and slronq as and death.Theconceplionis nothrng disease lo decay, subie;t new wilh the Buddhistsand Alchemistsin whose lreatisesit has been deall with in delail.The power oJ yoga in rendenng the body lree irom ihe i1ls,to which it is ordinarilysubjected has bee; clearly stated in the iollowing lines ol the Svetasvalara Upanisad \2, 12): na tas|a rogo na iara na mrtYuh / pnptas|a YogAgnimavamsairam / One. havinga body conditionedby yoga' has no orsease' no decrepitudenor death The oreal eJlicacyoJ mercury and mica, in imparting adamantiie strength io the body and preservingit for an rncrediblelengthof time, has been recognisedparlicularlyin lhe works on;lchemy. Mercury is called Pa@dde o( Rasa ll rs be leved to be Slva's Sernen (Slva-vlrya) and mica is supposedto be derivedtrom Sakti 1 is intereslingto note that the Nalha seci oJ Yogl's tradlionallyorigrnatedby Adinathaand inkod!ced amonglhe laler inlluencedby ihe Baulsand leople by i,4atsyendranalha, Sahayrya-sadhakas, iollowinglhe Vajrayanamode' vigorously
theNarhas berieved inaprocess which lJx?i:",if fii]i.'ornr The rhousand-petalled lotLrswtlhinIhe heao
'"J#il3.',1 ;ff#; i'.:"":ff f:i,J,i:l*1"5:,1;?: ,"
ts lLrneddown.
I Om{a.arrs to be mFdjtaledupon.I he gatewav oI Behmatanclhta rhese thrngsberngdoie. lhe downward ftow ol l1: 9:,:h.rr amotosra ls checked.Thts process ts called AiasacandtaYog;na.tt is supposedthar tho 91:d,:,,:u lurce axuded wnhrr lhe lh". body is drilled upwardOylhe.rpotow,ng winA,anJ slored In Sahas/ara The believersIn rhtstheori 'c admil lou. lk,')ds of Candra(moonl vt/ . Adicandta Nlacanaa. Unmadacarnta
?::^?:,:!::::":1
6
N.iiacandra which;sor rhenaru,eoi rujce
8 9
10 12
J,4SA XXVI 1930 pp. 129 Ll. O n l h e q u e s t i o n o i l h e p r o r i t y o i B u d d h i s lT a n l r a o v e r N nd! Tanrraor !ice versa see B Bhanacharya Saclhananala ( n l r o , I P L X X V I I) a n d W i n t e r n i t zH L L l p 4 0 1 F o r e x a m p l e ,H a r s a c i t a ( e d K a n e ) , l . p p 1 0 2 s 5 0 e l c ' Kadanbari lett Kale) P 56 Uide Foate Collectian al lndian Pre'histoic and Prato h i s t a . i cA n t t q u i t i e s ,M a d r a s , 1 9 1 6 K R S u b r a m a na r n Arigin af Savisn and its Histary in Tanil land' Madtas 1 9 2 0 . l y e n g e r S t a n eA g e i n / n d j a , M a d r a s H/L i
p. 635.
W i n l e r n l z . H , s r o r ya l l n d i a n L i t e n t u r e , l , 1 9 2 7 p . 5 9 1 A c c o r dn g l o s o m e , t h e n a m e i s t h e H i n d us e d i o m 0 1 k a r n e - k h a t, h e n a r n eo i a g o d d e s sw o r s h i p p e db y l h e K h a s trbe n rhe iorm oi a yoni \lelr'aleorgan) see N N. Bhairacharya Histary at Tantric Religion, p. 143
?,i:l,.xTl?,1_,?[,]: :ri!l.-.',{3:1,:l# i,i"i,",iiil1,xJl,ff minina invisorares rhesysrem l:.J[li:ryano
ilT [#:
BuddhislsandVaisnava Sahajivasbelievein Kayasiddhi .The as the obiecl ol sadhana
i3
Vide Vanglat Sadhana by K. [,'1.Sen, pp 47 43 W e s h a l s e e t h a l i h i s T a n l r a o r i g l n a t e di n B e n g a l
15
A c c o r d i n gl o s o m e , 7 2 , 0 0 0 .
16
See Pranatosni, l. 4 9alcakranirupana, Raghavabhaltas corirn. on Sarcdatlaka xxv. 38
*'i?"S;Jfl i"l?.',ifl ,",iif i""l",'IJ,"ilii",,,li"Sil::#
lo refer to a body oblainedby some sort ol kayasajhana. Foolnotes
2 l
5
l l r . - b e l i F \ , e oh a ' l t , e s e , e g o - s w e " so lrnoo dcco.dtng '^" o r L a n s p o , r u s e o r . h e r | v 1 , ,J L 1 d ' h a A s vl la" :. :L, "; .a b n e a - . a s p € c t , v e . ys e a - q o , n q h o r s ea n d e t e p h a n t . F o f l h e r e g i o n s i n d i c a t 6 db y r h e s e n a m e s see ctossary V i d e T a n t r i kl e x t s , V o i . 1 , e d A . A v a t o n tnrro, pp r-rv V i d e P C . E a g c h i , S t u d i e si n T a n t r a s p , .3 4 See Bahvrcapanisad _ Saisa para saktih hadividyeti va sadtytdyer; Atso see comm V i d e H . P S a s r r i N e p a l C a t a t o g u e I, p p 1 0 , Bs ti7
17 18
E g Saundaryalahati, v. 9
19
See Sakrl and Sakia by Woodrolle (3rd ed ) p 399 G Kav ral describes the syslem ol Cakras according to G o r a k s a n a t h lan S a r a s v a t i b h a v a nsat u d i e s ,l i p p 8 3 9 2 l n t h e l r a n s a r i o n o 1 S a t c a k n n i r u P a n a{ p a t e s i v i ) A v a o n l 1 ! s l r a t e sl h e s i x C a k r a s a n d S a h a s r a r a( p l a 1 eV l ! L )a l o n g w r h t h e i r r o o u r s e l c F o f C a k f a s - w i t h i l u s l r a l o n ss. e e C W. Leadbeatet, Cakras. S e e P V . K a n e H i s t o r yo f D h a r n a s a s t r aV, p t . 2 p p 1 1 3 7 _ 3B
20 21 22
S e e s a l c a k f a n i r u p a r aX L I X L l l Somellmes called Sura which, aceording to l"'latrkabheda )s l a n t r al i 4 0 ) i s s o c a l l e d a s i l i r n p a r t ss u r a l v a( d i v i n i t v a
23.
A c c o r d i n gr o s o m e , a p r e p a r a r b no t h e m p c a r t e o V/ara ol
24.
y1"- atsoot the Kaulainana nnnaya M. .tB.1s) I:f::l!: a n o B r a s k a r a r a y aI n h r s ( v 6 r s e s8 7 - 9 1 ) .
25
27.
24. 29.
cornm on the Lal asahasra.nana
D - € c c a hC o € 9 6 V S . N o . 9 5 9 o t 1 g 8 4 . 8 7 r C o p r € o Srnval 1 7 9 0 - 1 7 3A 4 D) E.g. D. N. 8ose, Tanttas - then phjtosoprl 6rc. p. jto F o r . t h € s c i € . t i . i c b a s t s o t K r r r d a l r n ra - o t L e a l r r r u d eo l noo€rr screntits to L se€ cop Krishnr A/orogrcal Easrs a I H e h g t o na h d G e n t u s .a n d i l s n t , o d u c t r o -o y W e r z s a c k 6 , l l s e 6 m s l o b e a ^ t t c r p a l e do y s a r p a l a / n{/ s e , p e n . . o _ e € - , o. the Fgvada
ay copinalh Kavnaj,repuredas a Tanrric Sadhaka at hi9h ord6r, He not€s thal o n e , R a m a t i n g a S a s t r t n a Cidambaram,Madras (Tamil N a d u ) , w h o t i v e d a b o u t o t a hundr€dyears ago, atlain€dKayasiddhi. See G. Kavnaj, Tanttic sadhaha o siddhanta, |', p 166
Chapter-2
Natureof TantricDoctrines
Chapter-2 Dva,la(DuaIslrc)d_d I hese dre Adlalia (1o.-dualistrc). 64 BhairavaAgamas, Dvaitadvaita(dualislic-non-dualistic).The stated to have emanaled Jrom lhe mouth of Siva arc AdvitaTen Saiva Agamasa e DawG. ln l8 RaudraAgamss lhere rs a mixlure ol ditterentdoclrines. Theory ot Creation -
Siva, Sakti
The SupremeBrahmanis eternaland unchanging.He is both niskala and sakala: ka6 mea s Ptakrlt. The Saktiof Brahmanis eternaland inseparablekom Him. This saklr is nifgura (without altribules)and saglna (wth aitributes).As goddess in lhe torm ol consciousness,she manifeststhe being and, throughher as goddessin lhe lorm ol bliss (dnanda). ErahmanmanilestsHimself.Sakti pervadeslhe universe likeoil in sesamum-F om Brahma-Sakti aroseNadalrom which ptoceeded Bindu. The subtlebody of the goddessis reJe(edto as mularnantatnikal (consiituledby the basic mantra). Siva, enlangledin the web ol Maya, and the lalent Sakli are conceivedas the supreme8/ndu. The Bmda,circularin shape,is boundedby lhe circumJerence oI Maya. Al ils cenlre is lhe place ot Brahman,the abode ol Prakrti-Purusa.'lh\svety Bindu is Prakrti-Purusa,SabdaBrahmanor Apara-Brahman. As a result ol the union of Siva and Saklj, lhe goddess becomesinclined(unmukhl)lo Siva.Then the web of M6ya is snapped,and crealronproceeds, The relaiionshipol Siva and Saktiis conlroversial.According 10 lhe Kularnava(i. 110), some advocalenon-dualily,others desire duality.
Chapter-2 Sabda,Brahmanmanifests itseti in lhree Sakl/s, viz., Jtiira (knowledge), /cchii (desire) and Kriya (actian) iollowinglerms are used lo conveyrne compteteness . -The ol S va. Syata?,rdla ttndeoendencer. nrlyJtarete.na.tlyt . nt!,a-trptdld {oUaiirvOl ba'ng ever COrlentedr,Sarla/rala rOrt-,SCrenCe/. FromParamasiva a ses Sambhu,from SambhuSadasiva. , lrom Sadasrvatsanaand Rudra,Vishnu,Siva arise wrth lhe|l own Saklrs wiihoul which they have no power. Inlhe AlahAniry'ana Siva has been ca ed Sambhu.Sadds va ^ Sankara.lvlahesvara, etc., each lerm indrcatng the d Lerent con0[tons, qualitiesor rnanifeslalion of the single srva. thtaJg^ gr ooth Meya and Ay'utaD.a^.t, .-^::u' powe." olln:.fo'.n Ire Maya. B.ahna- corLeat5 Hrs ow. .o,.r, a;d appea'c,n dllferenlmanleslations. Mutapta^ r rs Jnn an .6s.ed. 'n rna rranttesl.ondition, she restde!in thc urrverseconstsl,ng ol diverse names and iorms. Siva-Saktr resides in lhe maadhara and Kundatini within Ine human body.In all processes,Sabda grahmanresides n llre lorm ot Kundatiniand in rnanifestedas aksaras(tetters). The orderof creation,accordingto Tantra,is as iollows Mulaprakrti-Sak|,(resor|ng to S va) tMahat
Ahamkara
t"i;""! o,.
(Vaikarika
Rajasika
r"illk"
Ahamkara Sallvrka
beings Pancabhuta
S-.aft, is var ouslv catled Maya, Mahdmaya Dev,, pahnl elc. s ltoth Vdya aad Awdya. A< Avtdya \he LaL
Natureof TantricDoctrines
35
36
Chapler.2
be l,ealed-ds rne h:grest o,v n,ry.-lhese .nay oe ^::::::, Veda .Y agnoc',c tic or Sankhyatre - ou, ook. B. B,arr"cnarya ( n lntro. lo Sadhanamale//) may have overemphasised the npo.tdncr!l SJll, bV laytng rnat a rearJanrramus, r ava a.r e erienl ol .9dlt lr sho j,o be noleolFat Srklr s lh. oc\,gndtton atso ot the woman (one,sown wrteor wtle ol anotherp;rson) wlth whom qexual,ntercourse lmalhuna as one o, the ,ve ma^aras)t> to be had in a T anlrtc te She rs arsocalled I ald and lhls rilual ts called La6sedhana (L4ahenirvena. 1.52).
DASAMAHAVIDYA I' Tdnl'a, Sa{/l is also careo yidya o. (arre 5a{/i r/ho ,s se,o-d to none,haSbeen a.oerr< So trey are coltecttve'yknown as rne narnesdrtferin difierentworks ln the CamundAlantra, the names are as io ows : Kali,Ta.a, Sodast.Bhuvanesva. Bharravr.Chtnnamaqtd. ^, unurnavalr,vagala, I\,4dtanqr, Kamata. Ihe Malint-vijaya gives the fo owing list : Kdll,Nilri,Mahiidurgd, Tvaritd,Chinnamasiakd, Viigviidini, . Ann-aDr.na, P atya19,.as.Kamd\Lya.Vasa,. Ba a. Nfatangr r a r a v a s t n t .h e n u m b e r s 1 3 The ils! in the Mundameb-hntratatles wrth lhal rn lhe -.. Cemunda-lanlraabove. beFnd,vided.in some rantrac.e.g . y"n^"!Ov1t ^,.-.r.:: .n"ve /v/.uld,d.(r 6,8) Inrolwo groups_ thoseDeto^gtngloKahAuta ano lnose betonginglo Sr \uJa r,d.n y o, l'::^_:T]_,"t,K"") La{sml rothe .ortre' belongKati.Tara. ChinnamastaBhJvanes;dr. Mahrsarra.di^., Tr.pura, Tvar:la,Durga.Vidvaand pja,va-gr,as. ro rne a|,er.lreto-gSundar..Bhairavr.Bara.Vagara.(aiata unLndval. llatangt,SvaD.avalt l\ladlrmat and Va,dvtdya lhe lolal number is 20 Some scholars are ol optnion lhal lrom the Buddhisi SedhanamataI appears lhai lhe rdea ol I\,4ihavidyds was derivedlrom BuddhisiTantra.
Narureoi TantricDoctrines Acdra are recognisedThese In Tantra,var ous modesol saidhan:i accordlnglo offlers n ne are sevenaccordingto someTantras' are menlrone0l modes lollowing lnlhe KuEmava lchap.ii),lhe t) Vedace!a.| ) Va'navacera |t) SaNacata\''tl Da|sinacata \\l iamavarc tv ' SddhanhceG Nr) Kaulacara preceorng Each succeedlngin the list is higherlhan the ln lhe riiuaLs Vedic oJ yedicara consistsin an abundance one. lirm has fallh, and gives a blind Llp secondone, the Sddhaka on of devot way li is lhe iailh In lhe savrngpowerol Brahman of knowledge way into the ln lhe thirdone lhe devoleeenlers Lnit, he comb nes bhakljand sakljw th iaith;he triesto acquife sak, ln the lourlh mode, lhe sadhaka becomes able lo medilale upon the three saklis ol ktiyii' iccht; and JiAna ol Brahman.and acquirelitnesslor the worshipol the three viz In the lifth one lhe sidhaka Brahman-Visnu and lvlahesvara. (cessatlorol desire) 'rorn lo pravrriir Droceeds lacllvrly) t,vrlli etc witl_wFich a shamo delusron. ol in rt he cJls Ihp bondc Patananda-sutra lhe to According pasubhava is tled oersonol vz Madhyama1r kinds' ol two \s vemecAta io.o. 1'3. 13), in which Ulfama io, and resorted are l''talaras *ni"r, a tt e iiue v\ord lo The teso.Ieo \Aai'Jna ate drd M"&a on.y lvaoya. l'om DaAstna Va-a appa"nl'r n'ars lelf as drstingLs'eo yjmi (worran): ' ll as ta\e So'ne D'lislndadtd rohl, VJmaca,a,ac^o,ot^q\o them,mea's lhat acardwhiche'nphas5es woman as an essentialelemenlin sddhana The way to lhe alta nmenl oi Sivahood,got in this acara is compleledIn lhe srxlh He can now,wih lhe help ol lhe guru, teach Kailacara ln thLscond lion, he becomesliberatedin life (Jivanmukta)and withthe knowledgeolBrahman'reacheslhe siaieol Paramahamsa lhis is the hlghesl goal ol Tantricsidna'a fhe MahenirvAnalxl l2) holdsthat one does nol become Abhiseka a Kaulaby merelydrlnkingwine' but by unde.goi.,g as Kulecata knowr is Makaras live wlth lh; y'worsnip Genera Accordinglo rhe Mahenitvena(vii 97_98)'Kula is the Akdsa' desrgnalion; lhe in,iividualsoul, Prakrti space'time
Narureol Tantrr(Doct nes
earth.water,lireandwind.Thewayof life,by which one tooks upona| lheseas Brahman,ts calledKubcera. .". ktsamgamd tK atikhandd,Chap, . 32) -..,j:-"1!i9 ]" AU;a mears Upjsalas ", lworshipDers) ol Katt.ltspKutatnav,a srarFsrhatKuk meansgatq. a^o that artsesf.o,r Srvaand ra(r. A Tan is called Kaultkarr ne alows .rlar Moksa $ attainedlrom that,i.e. Sivaand Sakr. Siva is ca|ea iiuli, - orna,wor(s,e.s K^r//d aresuggesreo ^LutuasamaB ...9:-11.-'tpalata ll_lir Lp p v riot lr^eSau,songan). " 61.prelace. ta-a\nandd. In sone Tanlrastf.erearelhreeMargas viz. Daksina,Vamaand L|ltara,each succeeotng rp-alhs,. one betng superiorto the preceding one. Daksjna mergais thatwhtchii declaredrn the Veda,Smrtiand purana.yrma is declaredn theVeda,SmrtiandAgama.Ufiarars wharrs dectared by the wordsol the Vedaand oI the Gurr. In some lexts,Acjras are broadlydivided .Aghotaara Yoga.Agharc,s lhe nane ot rne oy Agfo ns, a satva sect Guru1, Sisy+, Diksa!, Abhisekaa Tanlra beltevesthdl one can fake lo sjdDana o-ty when . '',, lraled by lLe gu.rr The guru rnusl have cerratnquat.t w oecloerhe sL labir:lyol a manttalot parttcJ,ar es. de a dtsctplF. . A Ie.n.aleguru is highly suiiabletone,s molher rs one,s best guru.Inrliationby one,sfalheris torbidden. The husbandis nol arowed Io initiatehis wlfe. conceptoi Dlks;iis Vedic.Vedicrnrltattof was a rnust .- _The F:gl-ercastes.I was, however.oenredlo women :'l:..!h:"" rn smrl. tant.ic D/ksi rs more elaborate. and rs allowedeven ro women and Sldras o,erson, ltt for beingGuru,mustbe calm,ol unjmpeachable ^L-A c-drarter, vers€di. SJst,a,lree i.on\ avaflce.trJthlul Buddr sl lanrras. llke lne Jhanastddht,rdenlrty lhe Gul, wilh the Euoona, and regard hrm as omn,scrent. In sone Ta^tras, warningagainsthypocritjcalGurl?shas been sounded.
39
menlionfour c asses ol SomeTantras,e.g. Ntrvanatantrc, patapatd'gLtru andpaQmcsthqutu patanaguru outu<,\t2 , Sa\l' 's T3l Ooddess ir,,,, ncco orrg to lhe Ntlatanlra{V 'Parapara-guru, preceplor is his one's SLvaisParetuesthi-guru' /e g works Sore Patamagutu gu, t, aadou,Lts gutu s Pataot -Ntlatartta vi2 classes gurrs lrree inlo !!.65. 66, drvrde Menavaugha (sages) and Slddhalgha Divyaugha(d! nebe ngs), (humanberngs).ll appearsto dividegultrs.in anotherway rnlo iwo ctasses.vlz . TarAguru(V 64) a.ld Devaguru lv 71) Some alsogivethe aboveclassilcation otherTanlras(e g., Syemairahasya) aI gurus. ll ls slaied lhat the names ol male gurus should end in or r)zitha(e g , [.'latsyendranatha, ;nanda (e.g.,Brahmananda) lemale preceplorsin - amba' the those of Minanalha),and Alter naming some gulus, lhe Nilalantracharacterises lhem as belongingto Tarinikala,i e , a lrneol g{rrusrmpanrnq Tatini-mantralV6a) The positon o! lhe grru amongthe TantricSddhakasis so exaitedlhat he s regardedas even superiorlo ones lather' Ihe Nilatantra.lornstance,ciles the verse (1i 146) ol Manu' which extois the pfeceplor,impartlngVedic inlllatronlo a person,as superlorto the progenitor;obviously,i1 substrlutes ThisTantra,in anolhercontext Tanrrc dlksi for Vediciniliation. (giretol ma,lra) issupenor manlrada declareslhalthe 1V.68) Indian culiure does noi sel iath€r to one's \janakedadhika). musl slore by the physicalbirth ol llesh and blood which is commonto loweranimals.ll lays greaterslresson inlellectua meregenerating as morelmporlantthan andspirluairegeneration the mass ol Ilesh. The wise Indians ot old expressedlhe subllmeldea thatthe body is sureto perish(ekenbvidhvamsD whereas merits lasl through ages \Kabenta-slhAyina guneh) Among olher qua ilies ol a Sisya; he must be respecllul and ook upon lhe Guru, Deva6 and Manlra as one ll ls lncumbent upon h m to keep secrcl lhe manl2 and puja mpartedio hrm by his Gulu He should surrenderhis body. wealth and even lile to the Grru.
40
Nalureol Tanlrc Doctines
The positionof the Tenhc Gutu ts so rmporlant lhat he is consrderpdas capabteof appeasrngeven Srva,l ," u;;ry. bul thA'e s no nea-s Io pacifytne lnd.gnan, ""As mantra Gu,r,. was o6trovedto be erl.e.nelyDowey'Lt. lhe p"rron *no g"u. I Came lo occupy an exalted postlion. paranandasutla(pp jS-j6, Sukas 56,63)cteartysets ,ro_rrh,.nr.Ihe funcrron oi a Grruwno. amo,q ur-er Dra.trce! s,o ,,o asx rne eophyte,who has accepled the r,.e" Mafa,as ol Madya and lUalthonaoflered by him, to tollow rhe iauia eMudra Ihe l\,4ahenirvana slales (V 201 202) lnat lhe person of the s?me sect, Saiva, Vaisnava,Saura or canapatya, as ^S;kti, thal ol lhe S/sya can be his Guru. s o r m o o r l a ni L , d tr n e K U l a / n c r d , , t , , b J - - , Kthp a u l Mahantvana acatawas a-o |v.42r nald rnat o-e Ltno nds stroreo lhe Vedab-.ul is ignoranlol Kuladharma, is nteflorto a Candata.
A:"l;;f"*"n,
awateot Kutadharma, is supenorto a
lo the Mah6nituena,a)|, itom Btahmanas to the _.nccording untouchables, have right tO Kula practices.Some, however. hold lhat^one,who has nol conqlered one,s senses,has no
;:ilJ",i,lXH:""'.
rhepara "ommentatoror suramakatpasutra.
has been exhaustivetydeali with in some well ,,-Drksa6 (_own ldntras.e.q..prcpahcasaratv.v,t,Kutarnava la SS tt) 5at,adat,tta^a. ,Palala4r. Jnananava tpalata 24t p!anabstnt 1 t ) . - M G n a r t r v alnXa. 1 1 2 - 1 1 9 ) . l t h a s b e e n O , s - J s s e o ,t1n e ,4 u,AsapraA,)sika ot vrsnubha d, pt,prt ol satyan"noanathd. composedin Sakt j7j9 (j797 A.D.). Dlksd is generaltyderivedrrom lhe root dd (to ^ ^11"-y9rd grve). and ks/ (to destroy).Thus, it rneanslhal rl conters on the drsctplea dtvineslale or knowledge, ano oestroyssins Diksb is ol two kinds, viz. - consisttngoI puja, homa and olher eriernat r.le€ahlrdiksa
rhe Saltv/ra ieelng is aroused by il. AntatdiksA- it helps ln the awakeningot Ihe kundalin) energy Accordingto some, diksziis ol three kinds viz. Sembhavi- by it the mind is purilied Sakl)- by ii the spirilualenergy aroused. n arouses the power ol manaraano goos. Ihe Visvasara-tantraprovides for four torms oI tlikse' viz Kriyavati, Kaaval) Varnamayi and Vedhamayl These have been defined in lhe Glossary. The Kularrava (XVl) stales seven kinds, viz Kriya, vatna' Kala. Sparsa, Vak, Drk, Manasao According to lhe Rudrayemabe, dlksa is oJ three kinds. vz.. Anavila, Sekti and SdmbhavA. The otherlorms oi diks:i arc Krama, Pancayatana Ekananlra" elc. By dikszia person advanceson the way lo salvationby gellrngthe malas (impurilies)in him removed The malas are Anava - \l causes the rise oJ the narrow/Jvahoodof Siva, wllhoulits remova the realisationof the identityoi Saktlrs not possible. Buddhigala -by rcmoving il one acquires real knowledge i\ 's the cause ot Ahamkdra,tne 'ool ol Mdyiya the knowledgeol vlsayaand vlsayln Salvalion is not possiblewiihout ils removal. ^,|anlri -
Accordingto Ihe Ke vi6sa Tantra\vi 3'4),lhe besl lrme for Diksa is Svati Naksalraon Fridayon the ftlh tilhi of the dark hal ol Phalguna. fhe Saktisamgama \f dr,ikhanda,xvii.36-38)holdsthal an eclipse oi ihe sun or the moon, parlicularlythe latter,is lhe best t me when consideralionii necessaryregardingihe week day. tilhi,naksatn, month,etc.The Jnarartava (quoted n ihe Srnrli-digest,Ninayasndhu p. 67) prelers lhe solar eclipse
:Chapter-2 The Yogini!anlra,quoted in the same worx, conoemns Dlksa on a lunar ecliDse, The conceptot Djkszj(initiation) is not new in Tantra.lt has . oeen an age-otdone havingprevailedsincevedic limes. In the Rgveda, lhe wotd djksd is used as the name oi the wife of Soma.In lhe Purdnas,it rs the name ot the wile ot Budra uora o RLdraVamadeva.In the Mahabhetab.Har,vamss.s1".,i61 wo'OOenolesany seriouspreparalton(as tor oa le). lr words rKe ,teha.otAsa, srngara-diksa,etc. diksi rneans seli.devo o'r lo a person or god, complete resignalionor restricllon to, exctuslveoccupationwith. eic. ln the Vpdic sacra,nenlol lJpanayana,Inrt,altonby lhe 4ca.ya i essentjal. The idea u')delytngA,lsa is regenerat,o". 's ln s./s c,ear tron lhe word d/lva ttwtce-bornl.By upanayana one is born lor the secondtime;that is, alter receivingphys cal bi-lF lrom th4 parents, a persor gets lhe second o rlr. . e., Inrelec'Laland sprritualb,rlh lrom lhe preceptor. AnateyaBrehmana(i. 3) cleartybr,.gs oJt thF tr
Natureol TantricDoclrines The BuddhistsTantra,enlilled Guhya-sam'ja' t€minds one it .t lhe aforeasaid secrel socielies. In this conneclion, initialion ol Buddhist general principles ;eselves nolicethatthe lribal ,re fe euea lo have been influencedby the systemof nilialron' lnit ation ol a special type is called abhiseka. Abhisekas oi drllerenlkindsate applicableto disciplesin ditlerentslages ot spiritual lile. These arc \i) S1ktebhiseka' (ii) Pitnebhiseka, lv) ,, ji K'amadiksabhtseka. (iv) Sdmdiyabh6eka l) lv YogadtksabhEeka MahasamraDabhtseKa \\i) eka. p i ksebhis M u na' d ka ah a Pranacliksa bhise l\iiiJ The lirst lwo are lhe mosi important.Abhlsekaconsists n sprinklingholy waler on the neophytewhile recrlingmanlras ro Dropliate dilferentdeilies,especiallytor warding oll evil spirits,For Purrabhlseka,one has to undergosevereoroeals; t rs beiievedto confer divinityon the devolee Mudre, Mandala, Yantn, NYAsa Mandalas ot diagtams are an indaspensableilem in Tanlric worsho. ll also becamean essentialteaturein some orthodox Brahmanca rites and ritualsIhe JfrAnernava(xxiv.8-10,xxvi. 15-17) holds thal Manclala and Cakra ate svnonymous. lt describes seve?l Mandalas f h e S e r a d e i h A a( l l l . 1 1 3 ' 1 1 8 1, 3 1 - 1 3 41, 3 5 ' 1 3 9 )a n d s o m e otherworks describesome Mardalas. Both Hinduand BuddhistTantrasattachgreai imporlance \a Mandalas. Some Tankas, e.g., Mahenirv^na (X. 137_138)' telq \a Mandatas drawn with coloured powders ln lhe Maitiusrinfrtakalpa, Mandalasare describedwith speciald irection lor painling Ihe.r'.fhe GuhyasamAjaspeaks ol a Mandala 01 s xleen cu6its wllh a Cakn inside. fhe Nispanna'yogevali oI Abhayzikaragupta of the lime ol the Bengal king Rimapdla (111h-12th cent-) describeslwenty'six Mandalas,each in a separatechapter, Some of lhe Mahadalas are SaNatobhadrc' Caturlingatobhadra, P reseda-vestu-mandala,Grhav6stu-nandala, H ai hara'
Chapler-2 mandala.Ekaljngato-bhadra.IheSarvatobhadra(auspcrouson all srdes)has been common to all ktnds of worship. The wo"d ldandalaalso denoles a gatheringof T;jntric devoteeswho collectrvely perlormflluals involvingpancama, karas. They, along with lheir female partners,surroundlhe ead-r tndal,a) wFo. dccorrDa.iedoV tss conso,..s,,: - ,.e ':gdle- The Kautavaltnnnaya \V|t, and the Manant^ana\vt,l I54 56) deal w)lh Mandata. MudrA is one ol lhe Makans ot padcalattvas, essenlial lor Tanr,rc gener.lly means poses o ne nano or _Sddhalia.lr r_ger esotenc rneaningsot lhe woro nave oeFn s.aled rn connex/onwith Paficatattva.IheKubrnava (xvll.S7) derrves the word irom rool mud (to give delignt,pleasurelanO.dravay' (causalrveor.dru), and says thal ii s so called as il grves oerrghlto gods, and rneJtiheir mjnds Slt:de kkl (XX 106) atso gives rhe erymotogical ^-:,h: or th: wolg as that by whrcha gods are detigliled. TjanrnS r ne commentalor, Rjghavabhaltam der veslhe wordas mudam rati daddti \that which g'ves detight). a greardivergenceamongthe Tantrasregarding ."^ rne Il-.-r:'. names,numberand deltnilionol MudrAs.fheTbntric Texti (l p.46{) containalislol f,4udreswtthnames and delrnritons. l r _ , s l d t e d. n a rA v d D r naj n d e t g h o t l h e r sa r e r n en r - ec o T n o n tvtuot.aslhen nrneteenMuorras espectallysuttdbp lor V sn.r wors- o are me.ltoned.Ten M{rdlas.sutlable lor Srvd, d.e enumeraled.One lor lhe worshipof lhe sun and seven for lhal Lranesaare rnenlionedThe i/tudramghantu alsa, a.res ano oF'lnes nlne Mudrcs r'cludT,g Avahant. Then ,l , are<, 19 tutuotas.I be Natadatanlra, quored:n tne VatsaKnraAaumdt ol u,ovlnoonand6,desc,tbesthe ltludtas specatty sJ,ldote !o. fhe Serade hka (XX t. 106-114)namesand deJrnes ,, nine Mudras.fhe.Jhenernava (iv.3j _47,S1-56,XV.46_68) nrenlrons over lhl.fv Mudras TtseJayakhya-samhla {palala8) ncnrrons Il'IV elgnl. lhe ViSnusa4jhtla lv 45) says lhat A,lttJtas ate lnn!meraoe, I namesan.r,jefinesaboltthirly.The Kamakalavjtasa
Nalureoi Tanlrc Doclrines
relers(verses46, 47) to nine Mudrasfhe Nlyesodesika
-.. Son" olre, noledTanlras.oedr'ngwilh IVLdrdt " "nr,on" " (xv 90_931KaulavatLntnaVavii5'14\' KuE'nava e -.; 1Y177) MahenirvAna ' ate fhe nne Mudras,describedin the Saftdatilaka'r 1 2 l.
I a 6
7
a
I
Foldingboth hands in a hollow Lllrngthe hollowlullY with llowers Sthepani Same as lhe above,bul the lolded hands are held upsldedown Sannidhepana-fwo handsformedinto a closed||sl, and joined togetherwith only lhe lhumbs raLseoup. Sannipdhani- Same as lhe above with lhe lhumbs closed inside lhe list
AvehanA-
Sammukhikaani Two closed tisls hed upwards Sakaiikrti- Action ol maklng lhe Nyasa ot the srx limbson ihe limbsol the imageot lhe de ly wofsnppeo. Avagunthana- Closingthe f ngers he d straightand turned downward'wavingthe hand rouno lne lmage. Pultinglhe right small tinger over lhe nghl Dhenu inlertwininglhe lormerw lh the ring_irnger, the left smalllingef,as it s, lelt ring-linger, to be inlertwinedwllh the right I ng-linger, the left linger to be passed over the ell midde fingerand the lefl thumb' and lo be intertwned withthe righthandmiddlefinger broughtto lhe right side ol the leli index lingerand ihe righthand indexlingerlo be joined with lhe leil hand middle lrnger' Mahemudre- Inierlwiningthe lhumbs ol both hands and holdingthe other lingers slrarghl
Natureol TantricDoctrines
ssn2(DeccanCollegel\4S.No.29.jor t887 ^. )ieats .Ihe,Mud.rata4 9r wrthMud.zisappropnatefor ile worshrD ot V.snuand
; I!i.i!,,!i!t',: H:fr : ilEi:;;:: i:J: * :i,T;!' ri: emproyed: e,s..s"*"-s.^*"olia-*.Jii,i"t"1l*l'j,, l:i:"';:
j!-':;':;':::'#r:::i1;ff JH::,l-,:JI#1':'l;:11# i.: Dossesslonto alll Unmddinilcausingiunacy;.
y:i,1'f" :ni';:ixx::t: i:-ifi!!i'ii!1il1"tr1# (c. 4lh, cent. A,D. accordjnglo somej is the eart:eslexlanl
;:il:,:fJ:
ffji".
descnbe (chap.ri) vanous poses s, rr,g
j. I g.
Tarka-
Bighthandraisedto lhe chestand slighlly conskicled. Sarana (Of refugeor prolection). - (PoseoJ higheslperfeclion) lJttarcbodhini
that both It is, perhaps,not an accidentalcoincidence Hinduand BuddhistTantrasmeniionninecommonMudris'lhe _unbe' rs nrnein bolh.thoughlheir namesvary ln some cases,lhe term mudd appearsto meanYogrc One postureof the body-Twosuchmudfasareverylmportanl. in is Khecariand ihe otheryonl.Thesehavebeendescribed G ossary. on the lhe Jainasalso had Mudriis-They had lwo works23 subjecl.calledMudreviceradesctibing73Mudas and Mudravidht d e s c r b i n1g1 4 . yarlE is anotheressential itemin Tantricrite.Sometimes alsa calledCakra,it is diagramor figure engraved,drawnor difference painled on metal,stone,paperor othermaterials.The n the applicalional Mandalaand Yantrais that, while the in lhe worshipoi anydeity,the latter iormermaybe employed deilyor employed lor theworshipof a parlicular s appropriate particular purpose. Ior a fhe KulArnavadetives Yantrafrom lhe root ol yantt. At anolherplace,r1slatesthatyartrais so calledas it savesthe fromYamaor Godof Dealhand goblinsand other worshrpper dangers.Again,it saysthal yattra is so calledas it removes yanlranasot painsatisingfrom suchfaulls as loveand anger. or ThisTantrastates(vi.85)thatyanlfais a developmenl ptodrcl ol mantra.Ihe Kaulavalinitnaya holds that worship wilhaul a yantra is lutile. Some wo(ks, e.9., Merutantra {XXXlll. 13) evolveda yantrc-gayall. lt appearsthal yantra of lhe mind.yanlra theconcentralion wasdesigned to facililate s regardedas ihe body ol lhe deity. Tantraqwhich The followingare sone ol lhe well-known yanlras. deal with
*!:iTi,i\:f :]zlli:;,i:I;i:"##*::'#':"1","i:Tii ;"fi:il:J,:'.":'J,i:; :#isy:-,!:.:jT!il":r::#13ffi
srghtty ditfer lrom Waddells descnptroi: 1. 2. 3.
4. 5.
6.
Bhim6prc ot Bh1misparasa,j_ An attitude oi Sdkya Buddha (makjngthe earth a witness) Dhatmacakra - lfeaching attjtude) nbhaya (ble.:1s,];,The. tetl hand rs open o, ltse Jap Ine flghl nand raised In lronr ot lhe chest wlrn lhe ttngersand lhumb ha,l exlenoed and with the palm facing lorward. Jnana (Dlvena?) ot padmasaDa(posture of comemptatlon). VaG or Vatada,2- Right hand hanging down over lhe Knee,the paln turnedoutwardsyrrboltstng cnafllv, Lalila - (Enchanting).
47
NatufeoJTantricDoctrnes Prapafrcaserc (patalas 21, 34), Sarcda hka Nii. 53-56. XXIV\, Kdmak'lavitesa 1VV.22..26. 29, 30, 33), Nityasoclas e,i,ava ll. 31-43), Nttyalsava|p.p.6.64-65), Tan!Hrcp-tantra\|.44.51 viil. 30,f. xxxiii),Abhlbudhnya \Chaps. 23-26),Man!@mahodadhi (20th Taranga), Kautajnana,nhnaya \XJ, KaulavaliDirnavaliii. 105-135).Meru(Prakasa 33), Mantra-maharnava(Ultarakhanda. T a . a r g aI I ) . Yantra,drawnon cloth,leal, stone,melal,etc., is a svmboi or geomet'icalligure representtnga oetty.It ts conceivedas lhe body or abode ol a deity_In some cases, il is taken to represenlmentailaculliesorpure consciOusness, and microcosm ol lhe human bodv. Someyanlrasare prescribedfor malevolenipurposes.For example, lhe Seraddtilaka (vii. 58-59) prescflDes an Aqneva_ yanlra lo be drawn on a garment gatheredlro,n a p,;e ,n a cemeteryand buriednearthe houseofhis enemvtor lhe laiter,s destrucllon.Two yantas tot lhe destrucnonot ihe enemy are described (xxiv. 17-18, 19-21). The p G pa hacasera ]Xxxi;.3g) proytdes a yantralor rousing passion jn a woman, and makino her run lO lhe persor concerned.Some orherTa-tras.Oealini wlh yantta, ate lhe candhaya. pti), Uatr*ameOa Vt A li Kula.nava (vi. x\ii). Sakttsatngama, TaG. x 2A3. LL2, Purascaryafiava.lvi), Ianlrasafaol Krsnananda,Saundarvalaheri lxr) Besidesthe worship of yartras, there is provision{e.o.. Tant6Hlarantra,Patale8. verses30.32) tor wear -g thern;r Ine neao, arms, nec,\,warst or wrisi A very interesting yantra is thal called S/r. lt symbolises crealion There is a cenlraldownward-pojnting irianglewhich rs red. There are several interwovenlriangles, four male pornlrngupward,and tour female pojnling downward. Their Inlerpenelralion resulls in circuils ol lesser lriangles,which appearlo showlhe subdrvision ot the ofigrnatcreal,vee-e,gies 'nlo more deftnle forces. There are outer ctrclesand r 'rgs ol lotus-pelalssymbolisingthe !niolded beauty ol the w;fld. Thus, all lhe differentstages ol the creativeprocessapoear
49
to be al one place. yanlra,see Glossary For var ous meaningsof lhe lerm (to cast) The term Nyzisais derived frorn the rool as 'rl, and ljterallymeans plac ng or depositingin precededby or on somelnlnu Accordinqto lhe Kubnava' Nyasa is so called because' way are in it. lhe ric-heslhal are acquired in a righleous prolection is deoosiied,placedwith personswherebyall-round wrth limbs noi- So uu t'" rilual touch oi lhe chest and other with it. r"o"irlp. and lhe palm of the rghi-hand along bad oi mrdsl -ant.ai. tne worstrippercan acl fearlesslyin the people and becomes like a god fhe layekhya'samhttA \Palala x . 1 3 ) a s o e x p r e s s e sa s l m l l a rl o e a Nyisa rs an imporlanlparl of Tantricriies ll means lne body rnysti;a sanclilcationof the severalparts or limbsol the It has been dealt wi1h,inter atia in the tolLowingTanlras: (vl) Kuta'nava Java| hva'samhla \Palala xl\ ' PGpahcasan tll ''l Mahanttvena tN 181h.SaGdautdka(|v,29-a1 V 5'Tt TantBsa'a s ttx K64ananda rua'tanlQ 2) 43.V 1 3 1'8, Gandha o 169 Puuscarvatra'a P 93, fa^Gn an.3. TarrsaktrcudhanavaV ate Hamsanyasa' Nyasas xii.p. 1166.Someol lhe well-known Anganyasa Kannyasa Pranavanyasa,Matrkanyasa,Manlanyasa' p'tn"iru""u.Each of ihese is accompaniedby a manlra Fal om examie, in Anganyasa, one has to rc'ile lhe mantra elc svaha h,Clayayanamah am Strasc Kelt' Six kinds ol Nyesas are applied in regard 1o VidyAs I is as according is two_lold Tzire,elc. ln Metkenyesa,which 10 be are (Matlkas) letters antah (inlernal)or bahih The Sakti (84a) rectum e"i"rnrty te t on tl" f'ead IBSI),lacelchandas)' leqs (Saktr)the enlire body (Kilaka) which the MahAniNena|V176'178)specitiesthe limbson is This alphabet ol lhe letters there should be Nydsa ol the Reghavabhana's 58l' or"""riU"O a"o in lhe Serad6tilakalV quolesverseslaying iommeniaryon v +ol ol the same work
N a l u r eo l T a n l f r cD o c t r i n e s
down how each leter is to be meditaled upon. Woodrof,e
pp.LxxrLxxvrl) corroaresNyasaw\n
'-e ::,:,:,i!": ",Tante. UnrslraOracticeoi ma^,nglhe s g- or tFe cross. SAVA.SADHANAA
Some Tantras prescribe Saya sadhana The Kaulavalintrnaya\nv.75-260), Tzirjbhakii,sudhdrnava (x. pp. S45 ff.)
(vr. rs.28) erc.. oa, w l I Ar.rone
Z'^o^^:._!-ii::":--":/ benqa ianlras l\e Tanlraseato Krsna.andadesc,tbes ,1. fhe Kautavelidescribesit as lo/lows :
go to a cemelery or some ortse,tone,y . ^^ll:^o-"."""]"," :i*'d tn: trrst warch or lhe nighr.a.rd secure a corpse. :?:rjtli: Ine oe"d Oodyshouldbe ol a youngra-dso.ne warro., k,rreo l'or ov Ine devolee)in ba'l'e.He shoutdwast lhe corpso,oi,er and ro Dursa. and ,epear rhe mantra om dlttsp ::.:::^1. ] svJ/ri. ra^sant uuree lf lhe devoteers not scareOoy rerrroie srghlsthal he .nay see. he securesmanlrasldd,i/ aller a lono orocedLre lt rs statedthat manttasjddhiispo."ioi" Lv sadnana even in a single night. "r-uri Caknpijds ll means worship in a cicle. Cakra-puja may be brieity . describedas lollows.The Devrts represenreo In a lanlla.There s-ourooe a teaderot lhe Cakra.On,ype,sonsol lhe y//a slate are lo be admlled, and lFose or ll-e pasu type are to be excluded_The women,who assemble,shoutdpul ofl lheir jnner upper garmentsin a receplacle.Eachoi men, who assemble, should secure a iemale compantonlor thal ntght by ,ol. Le., oy raxrnq a tadys bodtce out oJ lhose contdrnedin the receplacle. Thus,promjscuous sexualinter_course was a owed tn a Cakra_ lr ,s ordained te.g . Kutatnava,x,. 79. 84. B5J Inal the . actvrt es rr a Ca*ra rnuslneverbe disclosed:these should be tike rhe pregnancyot one.s morher caused by l::'-:,::"*t paramour ner
51
Ihe l.\ahanirvana prcvides lot Bhairava and Tattvacakras Ways to liberation Ihe Per'nanda-sitra (Gosed; pp. 1-3 13) stales lhree paths lor lhe attainmenlof lhe goal These afe : O Daksina prescribedin the Veda,Smrti and Purana declaredin Agamas. lt is so cailed elher (ii) Vama becausewomen(yAmzi)p ay an importanlrolein il or because It s a crookedway practisedsecretly ll is ol two krnds vrz Madhyamainwhich all lhe makarasare resortedla and Utlama rn which one madya, maithuna and mudra are used {iii) Ullara- shownby the word of lhe veda and lhe Guru wha is Jivanmukta. A iew more paths are suggestedby some Tantras The Kutanava lii.7-8) rnentionssix paths,viz., Vaisnava'Saiva Daksna, Vama, Siddhenla, Kaula: each succeeding is higher than the precedrngone, The above palhs or modes (icdra) are dividedinto lhree groups according as the aspiranl has Divyabhavaldivine propensites). varcbheva (hercic mental stale) ot Pasubhava (animality).The mode, ptesctibed lot Divyabheva is Kaulecaa fhose lot Viabhava ate Siddhen6ce? a^d Vamacara fhe mades lat Pasubhava ate Vedecera,Vaisnavdc^ra,Saivecara and Dakstnacara, Tanlra recognises Jivanmukti llibetalion while a ive) For examp\e,lhePerenandaholds(p. 9, sul/as3_8)thalit consists n visualisingthe deityworshipped.A person,who is liberated n lile, is nol atlecled by Kaman, meriloriousor sintul. Bhakti in Tantra The Vaisnavawotks, patliculatly lhe Bhegavata,lay slress on bhaklias a meansto the highestgoal The Bhegavala\vii 5-23-24) slales nineJold bhaktl towards Visnu. These are savana (heating),kirlana(recitingnames),smarana(remembering), padasevanad (shamposingthe ieet) arcana (worship)' vanda,a
Nalureoi Tadrc DoclrrnPs /salulalloll drsya tServtce], satrya (he-Oshtpt,alma-nryectana lserrsLrrrenoer). Some Tanlrasalso recognisenine modes ot bhakli. Far example the Rudrayemab (xxvij. 103-104) mentions nine nodes wltn 5jigFlvar,ations.lt p,ov.oesmanana tot stavana, onyanatot sakhya lt may be notedIhal the lanlra tedveg our rnp worOVrsnu.me'll:onedIn the BhagayaiaIn rhrsconnexroIhp PaGnandasutfa{pp. 6-;. Sut/as 35. 38. 59J dccords .,,? h,ghesrposirronamong the mears ro rhF goat. ::.1:r_,:a n says bhoqa-svary;pavarga-kamkstndm bhaAtt cva ekah panlhah, bhakt; ,S Ina so,e mears iof r-ose w_o oesr,e enloyment,heavenand salvation. Yuganadc!ha rl s a symbo ooinr,nqto lhe Jn.queFarr.rony and Jnoor, rnascut-.ly and tenininrry.ot btunllrJl.r dno symbotrctruth or rnrelecl and humanrly. lt representsthe r.rnionoi l\,4ate and Femajeprincipteirt is ..'"e_no. dua' 5la e of lhe lnny al SLthyataandKaldnaaccorotnq lo BuddhrstTanlra,6 ln hlsrbook.enlttledYuganadha. GLe-tFer o, lhe basrsol ^EUOOn,St lanl'as, t.|es to show .nat Buddh,stTantflkd! ,oo( upon a life as a whole. They do nol advocate excessive p":: 1or do rheyreac'rrejecron or o, escape 9* ;,::'s:1.:.1 requtrecomplete.econcrt,arron to lFe fdcls ol rre. | -e cexudtasoecl,foJ-d In Tanlras. ts a corectir'eaga,ns, inle ecluatismand ralionatismoi philoiophy l:: :ne-srded wnrcn rs not capabteol lacklinglhe probtems or oay,lo-daytite. Number ot Tantas There_isno consensusabout the number and names oi _lanlras. Accordjng 10 the Nityt4sodasikamava \.22), lhe nJnber rLnslo .rtlliors.The orthooor s!t-o d,s gtver.F n-noe. In somF Tdntras.lhe rJmber is 64 As we n a v e s r a t e d , n c o n r e x t o nw , l h t h e c , a s s t l t c a t t o tn T d - l r a q , eacn ol the lhree geographicaldivjsions, cajled Fathakranla,
53
h a v eo r o dl c e d6 4 V : - r . d l d a _ d A s v a ( r a n l ar s b e l i e v e Ido 'eqarde'' as -e usuallv class are Yamala Tanr.as fant a: a' sources erghl i 'umDcr. the names drller In drllete'l
n
Accordlngb the SammohaTantra'Cina has 100 ma ones,Dravidahas 20 principaland Tantrasand 7 subsidiary and 5O0 23 secondarYworks.Kerelahas 60 chiel works salattva'samhtta,lne Nihsva to the ones Accordlng sLrbsldiarY tlral A g a m a sa r e 1 8 in number.The l\leru'ta ntra lells (i 2l ) us Tantras Siva composed108 lhe VaemtantQ menllons54 Tanlras fhe SiddhanlaAgamasol SouthIndianumber28; lhere s drlierenceoi opiniontegardingtheir numberand exlent The numberal PancarataAgamasis generallyslated to be 108. Their number is actuallyovef 200 The number ol ValsnavaTantras is 25, according lo the Agnipurana fhe numerousTantras(1_7)includlng enumerates Kautavah-ninaya Yamalas\2'14). lrrere li lB) ol Abhinavagupta, Accordng to the Tantrcloka Tantras Saiva sixlyjour and eighteen qroups le;1, oi are Sikla Secl -
d general view
The worshippersol Saktias lhe FemaleEnergyare ca e0 Sdkias.Sakti has been conceivedin dilierenttorms,ol whrch Kali'?sis lhe commonest The other well known lorms are Tripurzi,Lohita,Sodasrk:i,Kaimesvari. Sakla worksand Tanlrahave manythingsin common The lundamentaldiflerenceis that while,in lhe lormerSaktior Devr s worshrppedas lhe highestdivinlly,in lhe latterthe w0rshrp is not conlinedto Devi Tantra may be agnostic,Vedantc or approach Samkhyaitein ils phiiosophical greal That lhe S;jktasdevelopeda philosophyhavrnga mpacl on lhe sociely s proved,lnier a/ia by lhe lact lhal the ph losophLcaL Viyupurana (104.16) includes il among the schools.There are evidencesto prove lhal the Sikla cult prevalledlong belore the eighth cenlury A D especiallyrn
Natureol TantricDocvines Assam. the lwo s.rongho,osor Tanr,rcrotrgror. g-I 5aktd Kset.dsare mentronedin Bathabparya I:"^1gr--il9 sa ; \, . 123-124). word Sakli occurs severaltrmesin the Rgveda (e.g., --The t.t:3: ' 4 u 31.6 v . 20.1O,x. 88. t0l, our rs co.rca.vpdas '-e Fne gy o' qods alo nol as a seDerdteL,edttveo. rc.p.e. A.V. v. 47.4 (Catuea im bjbharti. erc.) ls rnierpreted relerringlo the S.ikta doctrines.But thrs rnlerpretation as is not acceptabteto a . Some UpanisadsmenliorlSaktj,Forexampie, the Svelasvatara says lhat the Brahmavadinshad a vrston ol Sakti as nol diilerentfrom cod. lt holds(vi. B) thai Branmanpossesses the h gtsesl,Sakll wLrcn,sv€r,ou(tyr.ea.d Syabhav,h; na nabdta^nva t
andactron,r- rhr|onno).ronr l:r'rl1 li?wreqse _st,ensrh rhal p ;:I
V Xane pornrso r, thdl Upan,5s6',1,^"
:: "oo"d
:;,:;:ffili'::fl
IiJ"
'abr'cared bv ie sdkrds rop overhe
L,he,Tanr,d the Sakra cu,t orovidFs,or both yoga dno "" lh" .ranner ot Tanrrd ir p,e5croFs worsnrp wrrl ?i?9j-.1. pancatattva, and holds ihat there is ro means greaier ot happrnessand Iberationlhan lhe lifth lallya or sexuatIntercourse. conceived as the o|mord,a or n.rpie or at, .^..S:ll acr v os n:,lhe i'ltverse.The basi. do.tIne ts Inarcod ts one. uo c to be concFived as mother as we a! destroyF.,Sd(li rs ger]eraly,calledDevi who has been eutogtsedin some e:9 V:nma:18-ist. Devibhasdvat.f" |, | 27) Btahmancta :::y: afi ng l a a mahatmva. M ats va t xi 24- 5n,. X L,,. tarnt a rt. t i -l t'o al .he Markandeva.puftna,s Ona ol I lhe -Ucwmanatm|a prncrpa works.ofthe cujt. In the puranas-Saffi ls vartusli
A:::i"n:
* Mahisamardini, Kunda/ini, Dursa,Katyayani,
dockine that Brahmais one ano ihat he has a^,r ^The-V-ed.jnta powtersmight have suggestedthe uniiy and o.nipo;;;; rs int€restingto nole that, jn lhe Kurma .lt \1.12.261-262J, certatn Sislras, including cerlain classes oj Tantra, are
condemned.ll is statedthat ihe S:istras,noted below,which are opposedto Veda and Smrti, were propogaledby Devi n order lo coniirsethe people,and were based on gnoranc€ 3/rrhata These Sastrasarc Kepeb, BhairavaY;jmala,Vina, Like the iollowersol Tantra the Saktas also developed certain debas ng practices,For example,the Kaulavali-nirnaya declaresthat all women are tit for inlercourselo a Sakta exceptng lhe wives of his Guruand oi lhose Saklaswho have altained the slate al Vira. ll goes (viii. 223'225) so tat as ta allowincestuoussexualunion.The Kalivlasa'lanlta\x 20'21) allovlsi licit sexua relationlo a Sakta pfovidedhe does not c o n t n u e u p t o t h e e m i s s i o no f s e m e n ;l h u s h e c a n h a v e masteryover supernaturalpowers. LrkeTantraagain Saktasastradeclareslhai the pr nc pa ainr oi a Sakta should be 10 realise his identty wilh Yantra, Mantra, Guru and Devi. You,lhe omnipotentone,are indeedSakliof the wor d. You are lhe cause of everthing.You sport in the web ol de rs on creaied by you, as an actor in the dramaticrepresentatron createdby himself. A popularSAktasupersiilionis thatjackals(Slv;) are Sakli ncarnateiofferingsol iood to lhem are supposedto be highly Seklavidyes lmantras) ate divided into three c assesrc, v 2., Kadi lKA, E, I, LA, HBIM, Hedi WA, SA, KA, HA, LA, HRIM and Sedi \SA, KA, HA, LA, HRIM. Siklism developedin Eengaltoa greatextent.In the Sakta Taftras of th s regionthe main idea is lhai Sakli s the pivot round which Sakta philosophyrevoves. She ls both manifest (yyakla) and unmalnfesllAvyakla).Evetyihingtrom the principle al f,4ahatup to ihe m nulesl atom is her creaton, Creatures are.r nafiow manlieslation of Sakli by worshippingwh ch they can realiseMahasakli,and thus rea ise lhe Supremeprinciple and ultrnately attain Sivahood.The main object of Saki/sadhanais to realisethe deniily of J va and S va.
Nalureol TantricDoctrines It should not be supposed thal the worship of Female Energywas an isolatedphenomenonin Indraor an absolutely novel conceptionin Tantra. Researchesinto the socralcond lions arnonglhe primitve people,rnc lding the lribes of lndia, revealthe domrnalionof temaies3r. This appearsto be projectedrnlothe conceplionol the superiorty ot MoiherGoddess.In manyprimitrvesocieties. lhe pflestessis regardedas superiorto the priesl.Amongsucf people,descenlis kaced throughthe mother,and lhe r ght to propertydevolvedthroughher. In the religionof lhe Semitesof oid, the superiorityol the motherwas recognised.Frazerlhinks3,that, in ancientlimes, rl was widespreadthroughoutAsia Minor.He poinls out:3that rne anc ent systemoi mothersuperiorrty lingeredon n Egypt down lo lhe Roman limes (4th,Sthcentury). Brifiaull is, perhaps, fight34tn thinktng rhat, wrh the progressol agriculture,the matriarchalslatus ot women as ownersand heiresses of cultivabJe landsand alsoas prieslesses lunclroningin magic rites lor securingfertiliiy,was bolstered up, Thoinpsonthinksthat,in the huntingstage,whitemenwere engagedin kilhngbeastsand birds,the comparalivetysolter, yel essentral,work ol food.galhering was enlrusledlo women. So ong as lhe socely dependedlor lood on garden-tiage, rt was w thin lhe sphereol women'saclivily.He thinksthat,wilh garden'lillagereplacedby tield cultivationand ihe hoe by the catlle'dnven plough, the work oi agriculturebecame the exclusivework oi men.lhus, matria-potestas yietdedplaceto paltia-potestas. Tracesol woman-superiority still inger on ln s L c h r i b a r r s l t l Lo n s a s m a l r , r o c am a r r ' a g e a v J - c r a l F temale dominaledreligion,elc. He holds thal all induslriesin ancienl linles were Industries.As such, il is but natLrral lhal wonrenprayeoa vrlal role in them. With the growlh of large,scaleinduslries perhaps,look lhe eadingpalt in industrres.As in the lields,
so n the lactoriesrhey tiguredwithoultheir temale partners or w th lhem playingonly the roleof assistantsand associates In anothercontext,we havedisc!ssedthe wide prevalence ol the cu t 01 lvother Goddess in various counlries. revealfemale In India,the relicsol IndusValleyCivilisation perhaps, idea ot Sakli as the testily lo the which, Iigurines Deity. Supreme In the Simkhya philosophy,as we shall see, Prakrti,the She is Pradhdra.Thus, she femae principle,is all-imporlanl; aoDearsto be a retlexol the dominanttemalein the natriarchal The dominalion oJ temales is undoubted in lhe Slri-rAlyas (womens kingdoms)in ancientIndia.Suchkingdomstlourished and north-western bordersof Indla. ma n y in the north-eastern l\,ieqasthenes,iollowed by Arrain and other, refer36lo lhe female rulersol the Pindya country in the soulh.Tracesof mother' superiorityare still Jound in the region concerned.Such a countryIn the Kumaon'Grahwalregionis referredto by Hiuen Tsang3' (7th cent. A. D. ). in the Garuda Prr.jna (ch. lV) and ta \xviii.57). B hana's (11lh-l2th cenl.J Viktamdnkadevaca The Chinesepilgrim-traveller also records36 a Slri-rajyanear Lingala n modern Baluchistan.Varihamihira(5th'6th cenl. xiv.22) as located A D.) appearslo reler lo it. (Brhatsamhita, n norlh-westernIndia.Woman'srule prevailedin lhe Nu-wang tribe oi Tiber3,. V:itsydyana speaks oJ Sfrilalyas among ihe Vahlikas'o. l^ lhe Mahabharata(Vlll. 45.13),there is the pracliceol a man's inheritlngthe propertyol his maternaluncle. Bes des ierary relerencesto malriarchyand the superionly ol lemales,we Jind the survivalof lhis system among some peop e. particularlylhe lribes,even loday.Among such tribes, the prominenlare the Khasisof Meghalayaand the Garos'r. Among the lormer,lhe priest (Lyngdoh)acts as lhe agenl oi
58
Chapler-2
Among the Ndydrs,the joint family(lalwad)is conslituled by a woman and her daughters.A woman is allowedlo have more husbandslhan onelr. Inherlancelhroughthe motheris widelyrn voguein South India" and MadhyaPradesh"5. So are matrilocatmarrage and Tesrdence. Ehrenlelsis ol lhe opinionthai femaledorninatron in Indran socielywas widerand deeperthan in any other countryot the world. According10 him, this systemreceiveda jon, and was overthrown throughlhe instliutions oi hypergarny, childmarlage and Sa, (burningoi widows).The system was, however.so deep-rooledthat, despite the above unlavourabtetaclors, I survrvedamong the aboriginesand also some peopleof the civrlisedsociely, as shown above46. The greal imporlance altachedlo womenin Tanlra,remindsone ol lhe abovesyslem. The cult ol vfigingoddessis, perhaps,the resuI oi fernale superiority. The worshipof Kanyjkumiri in lhe extremeSoulh ol lndia, whose shrine ts mentionedin the perplus, and the provs on ol Kumeri"pijein Tantricrites are remjniscenloi the pracliceot looktngupon women as powerlul. It may be addedlhai the A.yansof hoaryantiqurlyappear lo have altachedgrealer impodanceto women lhan lo men. ll we go deep into lhe slgnificance ol the words ptt6 ard meb. lhe desrgnalions ot lhe iwo principalpersonsin the lamity,we lrnd thal lhe latterappearsto have been more imporlant.She s ma-ta, t.e., nirmata(Ihe builderol the chjld) or one who measureslhe lood lor her child4?. Thus, hef lunclion s vita . whereasp/ta (from root pa- lo protector rear) js so calledas he prolectsor lostersthe child (palanatpila)aBt thus. the word does not hind at the lalheis role as the maker ol lhe chitd. ln the Veda (R. V X.85-46), a bride is exho(ed by lhe husbandlo be santrejfiiinhis house,havingto look after her lather-in-law, mother-in-law, and sister-rn-taw. brolher,in-taw ln lhe Manu-smrti (ii. 45), the oldesl and lhe most authorilatve ot lhe Smrtis, the mother is stated to excet a lhousandtathersin poinl ot honour.
Natureol TantricDocirines
59
A I lhese atiitudesseem lo testilyto lhe lraditionot female superiorly n the lhen society. Sikia philosophy,in courseol time, developedsubtleties, and became complex.The basic elementsof lhis philosophy are the lolowing 36 Tattvas:Siva, Sakli, Sadasiva,lsvara, Vtdya,Mey6. Avrdya,Kala, Raga, Kala, Niyati,Jiva. Prakrtl, f.4anas,Buddhi, Ahamkera, Panca,tanm.ilra,Dasendriya, In Sakta philosophy, Siva is the Supfemeprinciple.Though yet He is coupledwith inherent he is Advaita(non-dualislic), Sakt . He is beyondall guras, wilhoutdesire,wilhoutvibrationl yelHe is Saccidananda (Sal-existenl, C/t consciousness, Anarda - bliss).He s Nirylsesa(withoutallribules).Saktl is the nherentpower ol S va, which underliescreation.Sakli s the manilestatron ol Sivaas the raysare ol lhe sun,the burning power o{ tire and lhe eflulgenceot a jewel. The iniernal parinema ol Sakli consists in Sadisiva, svara,Vidya,el.. Ftom Meye,(illusion)the externalparlndma ol Sakt. emanale lhe %ltvas up to five gross elements lpaicab huta). Ihe Tattvasf(om Maya lo Niyati pattake ol ,the 'dlure ol borh exlernaldnd inle'nal parinama. Jiva, dependenl on Mi;y!i, Avidya, Keld, Rega, Ki;ta ard Nryali,is nothingbut a part of Siva, bul coveredby Katcukas ll-ollers) and Mala limput,ly). The gross body of Jiva is lhe bhoga-dehathe basis ol which is Prakrti.Thus, everything, from Sivalo Jiva or createdbeingsis dependenton Sakti.The manilestalionoi Sakti is somelimesdorraant,sometimeslike a dream, and at other times, grossly active, Sakti resides wlthln the body as Kundalini. Sdkla sedhane has Jiva at lhe centre.As staled above, J va is S va, but coveredwith M:iye,subjectto attachmentand fate and full ot suffering. Sekb-sedhane aims at the redemplion al Jiva hom the clulchesoJ sulJeringand eslablishinghim in everlastingb rss and consciousness. In order to reach lhis goal, the characterislics ol the body ol Jtva have been analysed.lt is a microcosmwilh a tegion
60
Chapier-2
ol vernsand arlerieswhich go Onacling,and the internalvital breath continuesto blow incessanlly.There are, withtn the Dody,stx lotus-likeCakr'asand one ln the head; ali these are stringedby lhe centralnerve,Susumra which has one nerve on each side, the ieil one being called /da and the righl pingala. The Supreme Siva resides in lhe sanclum sanctotum 01 lhe Sahasrala lotus at ihe apex. Kundalini being awakened, residing at ihe M{i/rdh.ira Cak a at the base, beginsthe upward march;rt graduallypenelratesthe Cakras,and linallyreaches the Sahasrarawhereshe is unitedwilh Siva resuttingin pertect inexpressiblebliss, the enjoymentof which is Ihe summum Bonum ol Ihe aspirant's devotionai life. Szikla philosophy advocales parinema-veda according lo which the unmanilestSakti Herselfis evolvedas the maniiest objects. ln the Nityasodsikarnava(vi j6), it is slated ramate svayam avyakta t pura khyatimagata at vyaktimagata. The doctrineis also called Sa*etyaveda, i.e_,the eilect rnheresin the cause as the sprout in a seed, Accordinglo Vedzinta,the world is unconseioLlsll!sion. The illusion created by Brahman, who is the conscious principle,is false and devoid of consciousness. Accordingto Tantricphilosophy, however,the power.MbyA, oi the conscious Brahman, is also conscious as there ts identilyof the Saktim:inand his Sakti. The doctrine oi Saktipa nema s also calledAbhasavada; it rs lhe manifesiationol objects by the consciousprrnciple which itself remainsunaitected_ fhis SAdhaneis rntimatelyconnectedwith ihe Iaftvas by crossingor oblleratingwhichthe asp rant is eslabtishedin the ultimale Taltvaol Siva. fhe Sedhaneof Sakti has siages and its mode varies accordjng lo the propensityand capacily of the devotees Eqlal place is accordedin il10 Jfrena(knowledge),Karma, (action)and Bhalll (devotion),which are, n fact, ro ed into one. Slartingwlh Bhakti,il requiresthe aspirantioact n lhe
Natureol TantricDoctrines
61
' , l a l l yh e r e s l sw l l f ' t l ' ek n o w l e d g oe f ptes Ioponcnne a_d, nor dLahly oJ Srva and Saklr. As stated In rhe Inlroduclion dependng on the nalure and capabilityof the aspirant,lhere are seven modes (ac;ira).Ol lhe aspiranis,one wilh Divyabhava is ihe besl. He is a voiaryol knowledge,(jtzinayogin)For his SAdhane,Ihetes no need oi an image,nor of exlernalriles. Absorbedin Anlatyega,he medilatesupon Mother Goddess whose maniiestationis the eniire warld, Pancamakara in i1 does not mean the gross substances,bul has a spirlual srgniiicance,As has been indicatedin the iniroduction.The atlillrdeoi such an aspiranl has been declaredas lhe best lsarva-bhevaltama). fhe Sadhand lor one, who is endowed wllh VircbhAva, conssting in exiernalritesand fast, etc., is exkemelydrtficult as the aspiranthas to iace severetesls.Sucha personresorts la lhe live Makaras in lheir gross forms, and Sadhana is pedormedrn a cemeleryor olher lonely spots. ll necessrty arses, the personconcernedresortsto the six Tantricacls ol M4rana, Uccalana. elc. Such a Sedhane, as the name Vira suggests,betits one who is, indeed,a Via, slrong,learless, self-conlroled, activatedby the inculcatronoJ the power of The worship oi Tripura,Tripuresundarior Mah;jiripura' (SuprcmeConsciousness) sLrndar,who is identifiedwilh Pare-samvit wh ch aga n is conceivedas Erahmanwho is beyondthe 36 Ialivas, is twofold, viz., Antaryega \ nle.nalJ and Bahiry6ga (exlernal). She is worshlppedn three forrns,viz., Sthula,Suksmaand Para.lA the flrslform,she has anthropomorphic iraiis,and is accessible to the eyes and hands oi those possessed al mantrasiddhi. The secondone,consislingin marlla, is comprehended by the ears and speech oi the holy persons.The third lorm is comprehendedby lhe mind ol holy devolees. The first and the third are sarupa and arupa respectivey. The second one partaking oJ lhe nature ol bolh is nol consideredseparaley.
Chapter2
NatLrreol Tanlr c Doctrines
In lhe externalworship,dirlerentsvmbolsol lhe coddess are worshipped. Ol these, Stiyanta ot Sricakra is the best. St;kta-sedhanehas been more haled than understood by the commonrun ol people.Devoteesol low propenstties and vrlementaliiyuse it as a prelextand coverJorse{t-rndulgence. Hypocritical gulus exploitthe naiveand lhe guilibte,and earn a living. Generally,Tankic rites are tooked down uoon bv people, especiallythose who are staunch tollowers of the orthodox.Brahrnanical religion,as encouraginglevity.lecherousness and debauchery. In reality,however,Sakt/-sadhana aims at the elevatronol man lrom animalttyto; a spiritualheightthrough the reslrarnedenioymenlof worldlypteasuresand nol by therr ascetrcden'al.l(espectiveol casteor colour,everybody,male or lemale,can take to ii lo appeasehrsor her spiritualhunger. while living a worldly life and nol renouncingit. ll synlhess all modes ot approach, and aims al the singte object of realrsrngnon-dualismso that there is no scope ior communal drscordor disharmonyand narrowness. There are pillallsin this Sadhar.i. But one who, resorting 10a true guru,slrivesunwaveringly for lhe goa , can enloylhe blissand the wealthot detachmenlby securingwhich one can do good to olher people.
statedlo be attainablethroughsedhane ll seems ihal these Dy s,ddhlscouldactomplishwhat can be achievednow_a-days elc' radio telelhetapy oi lelevLsion, means ln Tantra.each deily has a particularcolour.The Buddhas, n lhe Dhyanaposture,are representedas havrngsome co our or olher ln regardlo creation'BuddhislTanlraadvocaleslrle theoty ol nihilism(sinyaveda\ Ftom lhis lacl as well as lrom were lhelr knowedge ol colourssome think lhai Tantra_wrrlers primordial ol slate in the its diflusion and the ighl ol aware woro. a rnaler the What ls called cosmic ray was nol, perhaps,unknownlo ihem The scientilicbasis ol Kundaliniisrecognisedby some Tanlras. e.g., Matkebheda Tantra, lay down a process of preparlngrnercuryash To med cal sciencethe contribuiionol Tantraappearslo Accordinglo Tantra'lhe humanbody' havebeen considerable. ihe m crocosm, s all importanlTo keep il tit nol only varlous asaras were dev sed. Variousdrugs were also discoveredior preservaton oi youthand vir lrty Medicinesfor cur ng diseases, reluvenalionand counleraclingpoisonswere also invenleo The TanlrlcFasa schoolof alchemyplayeda greal role In
This topic may be concluded with a quolaton ot Sr Arabrndo's conceptionoi Sakti,as expressedin this cetebrated wotk, The Mother. Says the savant: Eachol lhe worldsis nolhingbut one play oi lhe Mahasakl ot the sysiemof worlds,who is there as lhe cosrnc Soul and Personality of the lranscendenlI\,4olher. Eachis somethrngthat she has been in her vision,galheredinto her hearl ot beauly and powe. and caealedin her. Ananda.
the soc e1Y.
Science in Tantraae [/any thrnkthat Tantrasare merelyspeculativeworks,But, a carelulsludy ol Tankasrevealslhal some scientilicelements are lhere. Some s/Udhis(powers)includeseeing and hearing lron atar, medicalttealmenltrom a greatdistance;these are
The very namesof ihe eightprincipadiv sionsol Ayurveda, \te Salyatantra.SatakyalanlG,Kaya'cikitsalantra Bhulavidya' Ianta. Kumarabhtlya-tantta,Agada'IantG' vaii'karanalanlra Rasayana-anlra,appearlo hini at their Tantricorrgrn Thesemean respeclivey healingol woundsand dlseases cf ower lmbs ihroughsurgery,ointmenlsand drugs;healing oJwoundsand drseasesof upperlimbs;healingof exlernaland nterna diseases ol a general nature; dealing wiih mental diseases;dealingwilh diseasesol chlldren;lox cology;prescnplon 1lrrenchancingsexua vigou( elc,;scienceof chemlcalpreparatons Iof medicinesand other purposes. Some texts, dealing wilh Hasayana slill survive whre othersare known only trom relerences
Natureof Tantic Ooclrnes
A type of Tantrickeatmenl,calledAvadhautika-clk/tsa. siitl survivesin some pafts of Indja. Causes ol Composition ot Tantrasso Severalfactorslead to the composition of Tanlras.The Vedas,lollowedby otherworks,weretoo learnedtor the oeoole at large.Theorthodox philosophical systemsweretooabstruse ior ihern.The ritualistic worksprescribed ritesand fitualstoo eraboraleand requiringrigorousdisciplineand meliculous aitentron to delails.The Smrtiworksdeniedthe riohtio the oerfo..nance .iteslo Sidrasandwomen. ot importanl religrous The Buddhists advocaled ascelicism. The Brahman cal works laughlrenuncjalion as the highestidealjn liie. Thus,r,1eneedwas gradually teltlor easierwor^ctaying . oowr 0octflnes more;ntelligible lo commonpeope, p.escribtng lesscomplicated practices andgivingfreedomof religio!sritea to Sidras and women The resultwas lhe composilion of Tantras. works hold praclices that the and precepts, taughl .These a lhe Veda.are loo drtftcult for our age.Insteadof rigoro-us ascercrsm anOrenuncialion, lheTanlrasallowpaop,eto Iollow lheirnaturalpropensilies likedrinkingwine,enjoyrng women, etc Mukrl{salvation) is possiblethroughbhu&1, rentoynenrJ Whileserl-morl ltcation wasadvocaled bylhe o,thodoy Saslraq, lheTantras laildstresson the preservation of the bodyandthe marntenance ot health.ln fact,the bodywas regardedas a mrcrocosm; whatts not in the bodyis not in the universe, The body is the best meansol sadhaDa. Tantraholdsthat the body containslhe highestpowerwhichcan makeone capabte; conlrolling the universal energy. Literary Value ol Tantra Tanka is partly philosophical, par y ritualistic. So, we cannotexpectmuchliterary valuein it. But,it mustbe admiiled thatTantrasuppliedsomethemesto lalerwritersnot oniy in
Sanskrit,but also in vernacularlrleralures. ln the analyss ol humanpsychologyand in lhe deprction ol the conditlonoi humanbeings,deludedby wrong ideasand subjectedto sulferng ol various klnds, Tantra exciies our admiratlcnand pity. the Sakbnanda'tarcnglni (l) of Brahm:inanda of Bengal bea!lifullyexpresseslhe miserableconditlonot humanbeings sullerng from s n, atiachmentto worldlyobiectsand consumed by lhe lire of hostilityor halred : pepa-sila-vinihhinnam siktam visaya'satptsa / regadvesanalaihpakvam-mrtyur-asnetimenevam // Death devours man who is pierced by the spear ol sln' by the clarifiedbuiterin the torm of the oblectsol sense \ryetied and cooked by the iire oi ailachmeniand animosity No less atlraciiveirom the literarypolnt ol vlew are the h nl, conlained in Tanlra, at mystic praciices based on tne biologicalrelationshipo{ man and woman and the ensulng feelingwhich beggarsdescriplion. T erlia Savasedhana,Latesedhana,hufian sacl'ilice,oiier ol human blood to ihe goddess,the grotesqueand hideous practicesof some Tentric sects, etc, have motivatedsome later wrilers in their portayalo{ liierary picturesevokingthe sentlments of gibhalsa (disgust) Bhayenaka (fierce) and We have dealt with Tantricelemenlsin Adbhula(rnarvellous). literaturein a separatechapter. Poetic beauty flashes ai some places of the Taintra literature.For example,the descriplionof the six Cakrasllke ioiusesof varyingcoloursand varyingnumberof petals Some mudras ard mandalas arc arlistic both in conceptlon ano descripton. SomeT;intricscholarsappearto have had poetc abilityol no mean order in their descriptionoJ Kundaliniand lolus supposedto be within the head' lhe lhousand-petalled These pen-plcl!res are beautifulin lhelr use of flgures oi speech and the mode ol expresslon.
Nalureol Tantrc Doclrnes Tantra poetically concerved /dziand p/ngalA as lhe moon ano rhe sun fespectiveiy. The fo owingdescriptrcn aI Susumna ca s up a vrvid imagery. _vtdyunmela-vilAsa m unima nasi las anantu rupa sus i ksma ltLea gaaand lor a sor as) or ,g-l- ^qs r-l r.R-esole.de-t e ' l . , d o ' t r e s d g e e x t r e m e t y s r F n o e . r , \ e a s n , n , nr.g.si f ,."o The lottowrngdescripton ol Kundatjnis a prece ot frne poerry: tasyarddh e wsa_tanl u sodara -lasaI suksma Fganmoh jnj brahma-dvara-mukhammukhenamaonuram sacchadayantL Sankhavart anibha navina-capalamata _vjlasaspada supta sarpasama sivapari lasat-sardha-trivrttakrtih // kulanli kulakundatinica madhuram ma atj-sphutam vacan komata-kavya -bandha-racanabhedalt bheda-k ramah sa nuhmDuta_qahvare wlapatt proddama diptava i 1/ Satcakra_nirupana.11 12. A D o J ei t . r h e e n c F a n t eor t t n e w o r , o ,s n r n , n g d-d stFnder ,, a.rorL5-rbre l - a v , - gc o v e r e oI n e B r . h n a d v d . aw : l h t s ,race, (a tres asteep,like lhe circularmarks on conch-shel and ha cortstrkea se,pe')r,on S,va Corpo,,nq :]ll:_,_* t "10 irnpoopmsIn vartousrnetfes,hurrrri-g swee y ttte lor , o.ed o e e s d - d s J s l d . r n gl h e l r e o l a c r e a t L r E In erFdalo- a,o inhalalron.She shines tike a seriesoi very power,ut tighlsIn rhe cavily of the lotus in lhe shape al Mitddhaa o"to,rl elfecrrs cna,rr,rg I n t h e d e s c f i p . o ' lo t r , e -5d/).s';/a wFicFhas InoJsanOpe'd,s,wnicl-,s l^hrr. .p fhe IUllnoon r whtchlhe potrensa.e ocd\.rr r_t .ka th6 , ewlyr sa I rs decoratedwilh divine trees eterna y bearing iiil-1n'"n rrowersand iruits. lines.sraphicay presenlthe rmaseor Ady;oevr betore our minds' eyes: "^..t|:,1:!"y'*
m trinayanem aklambara m bibhtal im Meghangim sasi -sekhara4 penibhyamahayam varamcavikasad-aktaavinda slhitam nrtyantam purato neiya madhurammadhvika madyammahe-kelamviksya vikAsite nanavarem edyem bhaje kelikem // Mahanitvana tantta, v ( worshipAdy:i Kali;Her body s like c oud, She is mooncfesled.three'eyed,clad n red clolh. ln her two hands,there a.e lhe poses oi boon and lreedom tear.Slandingon a red lolus.She has Her lace laughingat the sightol lvlahakala who. hav ng dr!nk Madhvrkawrne5'.is dancingbetore her.) The IollowLngdescriptioncan comparefavourablywrlh a veTseor any gooo poem, Vahantistndua m prabala kavaribharalimi ra dvtsam vrndai-vandikrtam iva navinarka-kranam / tanotu ksemam naslava vadana-saunciaryalahati panvaha sralah satanir iva simanla-saranth// lSaundarya-lahari, verce 44) (CJCoddess,may lhal parlinglineol your ha r, wh ch looks ke lhe overilowingwatercourseof the wave ol the beally ol y o u r f a c e , w h r c h ( . e . , p a r t i n g l i n e ) , b e n g s m e a r e dw i t h verm ion, il seernsas lhoughthe mornrngsun capt valed by the darknessin lhe lorm of ihe mass ol hairs ol the enemy.) lasat -samkha -cakra-calat-khadga-bhima nadat sim havaha-jv alatt ungamauIih / dravad daityavatga stavat siddha-samgha tvamevesi dutgapi sargadihine // Prapancasa ra-tanlra, attr butedto Samkaracarya (O goddess,you Durga,too devoidoi creation,etc., have a shiningconchand a disc,you are lLercewilh a mov ng sword, haveyour lion-mountroaring,your hrghheadis brrght,fromyou lhe host of demonsare runningaway,a group of Siddhasare euloqisingyou; you are rndeedlhe SupremeGoddess.A vivrd descripton in lhe malodiousBhujafiga-prayata melte-
68
Chapter2
Thereare a so instancesof arlil cial and labouredcomposition wh ch characlerisesSanskritpoetry oi the decadentperiod. Wh le such composttions testily to the tearningof lhe author, these are jejune and as insipjd as poetjcatpieces. In the lollowinglines,everywordcommenceswithlhe letterKa whtch ls the initial lettet tn'Kei and the first consonant of the alphabel. Kamale KAIi -darpaghni Kapatd isa Krpanvia, Kdlike Kebnab
ca Kahnala.samadyutih /
Tanlra Beyond India We do nol know whelher lantra was importedinlo india or exporled trom lhis country to other coLlntries,Tantric nlluenceis, however,cleariar beyondthe limitsol lndia,China and Tibet are the lwo mosi prominentptaces beyond India. whrchreveaithe inJluenceol Tanlra.SeveralSanskritTanlras are preseruedonly in Chineseand Tibetanlranstations,the originalworks beinglost. Evidencesare avaitabtethal Tantric philosophers and scholarsfromIndiavisjtedthe abovecounlries. GoddessTriri, in her Buddhistgarb, got a niche in the panlheonol Tibetwhereshe is knownas Sgral-maor Dol_ma. lrany lorms ot lhe deity have been conceived. The Tir;i cult travelledalso lo Chinaas Sakli of Avaloktie svara. lt is inlerestingto note thal, under the pre-Buddhisl Taoismand Confucianjsm, which recognisedIVotherGoddess as lhe representalive ot Yin (Femaleprinciple), Avatakitesvara.2 was iranslormedinlo a goddess.By the 7th and 8th century A.0.,Tarawas complelelymergedwithAvalokilesvara who to; hrs male character,and was transmutedinlo goddessKuan_ yin ol Chtna. The double lotm ol Iete became very poputar in lhal counlry.GraduallyTaoistritualsmade lheir way into lhe Tara CultandYlnismor Exaltation ol the FemalePrincipleIn Taoism This, in its turn, inlluencedIndian yemAcjra in bolh its Buddhisticand Hinduforms_
Nalureol TantricDoclrines wnh P C. Baqchi has soughl lo idenllly MahecinaqrA lhe recovered have to Si;dha N:igrrjuna is said Ekajata53. Ekaiataculi in Tibel is similarto that ot MahdcinaThe descriptionol Ekaiald54 krama-tdre.55 The Hindupanlheonhaslhe tollowinggoddessescorrespondrng lo lhe above divinilies: T;irzi, Ugralzir;i,Ekajatd' [/|aha'Nila'Sarasvali' goddesses 11should be noled thal lhe dhyrinas ol lhese lound rn wilh those in HinduTantra,agree verbatim occ,.rrrlng BuddhislTantra t'Jgratar;i Ihe Sammaha'tanlrastatesthat Nila Sarasvatior which west ol Meru was born in the lake, calledcola, on the was a Parl ol Ci,tadesa. perhaps' to be Baqchi is ol the opinion lhat Cola is' lor lake Kul word conneciedwirh rhe Kol or Col, lhe common west and to lhe lakes cJ, f"r"o wilh ihe names oi many "r north of T'ien_shanin Mongolra Sammaha At leasl iour Tantras,viz ' Sirascheda,Vinesikha' SdaL_Kakol lhe Inscrlpllon antl NdvallaQare known irom (Combodia)aboul ih;m to hdve been InlroducedintoKambula is slated lo Simkaivalya, ioo n.O..;.fnu Royal High Priest' Hiranya named nave oeen initiatedio Tantraby a Brahmana' dama. Sa'va Some other Cambodjaninscriptionste{er to lhe
on relersto lhe inscrlpl r"nti", siiraga.u. An Angkorvat Paramesvara'lanlra. in Cambodra lmagesol lheTantricGanesahavebeenlound where Monaoliaand Japanare someof the othercountries an Ganapatitattva' Tanrraw;s introducedOl theTdntricwork, old Javanesetext only ls availabie (5th Cent-A D ) ol Champa'there ln the [4vsonrnscription are lound l..utriarronio Manesvaraand Umi lmagesol Devi {\,4aalrngeslara' in variousptacesin CnampziShe is vadouslycalled
7A
ChapteF2
Gauri, l\,4ahadevi, etc. Jn.Java, rmagesof Siva, both in his calm and iurious ^ ' ,^":.*"" iound. In lt e Funous aspect.he rc ca eo 3.^"^:.^1.atso aooears.. lwo aspe.ts. l. t1e /vLsel-n. lheredre sone :magesof IVah,sarnarOtnt.Barava I ne Sahlr o- tJnirravaor \,4ahakdJa ts Bnatrav:or\,4ahakatr. She ts sealed o..: with hLl an sku s In her nec^ drd Fead and ; q a a a::.or: n do l h U m a ns k u l l sO n h e r body.. The /mage of Ganesa, iound in Java, shows the deity seaiedon humanskullswhich leave no oout'taboutHis Taniric characler. Tantra and Timaeusss n sr'tkingstrri,antiesare noticeaote C_erld between Tantra and 1tne t nmacust at pao t42B-348 B.C t. P alo_op-at,sro lwo .onou,ls on lwo s,oe! 01the ve(ebral L o u n n l t e s e a p p e a rt o b e s t r r r ' d rt o l h e Janl c tda and Ftngab an lh" rwo sides o, rne Susumqa.
the earthas a cube,nre as a rrjanguJar -..,_P19jo 9on""lu"1 as octahedrat and wateras tcosaheOra/. llSTlq,rtr Tiese app_ear to corresprnd1otheT anlic mandalas wf,icn are squJr"el rflangte,,lwo equiJateral triangles, oneupontheotner,cresceni noon;etheris represented by a cirCleis, Tho,,obove stn:'aril|esrn,ghlbe acctoentd, co,ncroence, ., ^
Natureol TantricDoctrines
71
Woodroile. Baplism includes a iormLra similar lo Tantric manlra.Baptism s supposedlo ensure|ie n heaven,whereas lhe unbaptisedhavea dubiousfulure.Sim larly,Tanlrabelieves rn the atlaintmentol lhe spirrlualend lhroughphyslcalmeans. n the Roman Chruch,the rite includesexorcismand the use ol sall, oil and lights.This is very much like s rnilarpractices in Tanlra. Tantra and Jews Like the tollowers of Tantra, the adherents oi lhe Kabbah doclrine oi the Jews believe in the myslic power of lelters, etc. mag c, amulets,the unlly ol microcosmand macTocosm, These deas probablypassedfrom Indiato Egyptwhencethey spread about lhe ninth centuryover Europe.Indo European contacts,long belore the above date, have been proved. Was Tanlra oI Foreign Origin ? India had commercial,culturaland religiouscontact with many loreign couniries,easlern and weslern,ln very remote (C.3000 B.C.)reveal The relicsof IndusValleyCivilisation pottery,etc., whch tend 10 indicatelinks wlh Sumeria and I\,'lesopolamra.
r o igF ooss,b trv or lhe one counl,y Itr Jencrng ,lf'e lhe othe. .dnnol be,ruleo our CultJ.atconta.tbat;eenIndraand creeLe a pelod much anter'ors ro A'exnder 'nvas,on s :.';;t:ti,t
Indias contaci w th toreigncounlrieswas not a one way relationbetweenlhis country tratfic.Therewas a give-and-lake and commerce,Buddhisnr the ioreign lands. Besides lrade and contacts.In ihe was a potent faclor fosteringexlraterritorial Indiahad some linkswith certaLn realmof art and archilecture, foreigncounlries.
Tantra ahd Christianity Accordingto C. Eljol, urj there uiereare some parallelisms paralleli between
Amonglhe Asiatrcneighbors,Indiacame into contactwilh China, repositoryoi a very old civilisation,particularlyin lhe poslBuddhistc per od, but long before Chrlsl.
jn chruch l::11:,-T9,Ch'",]a."fliuals.Even rhe AnsrJcan
ifl:."'.i;i[,1"] ilj Xli",fjjJ'l; 111;.;^s "' *",",'" s-si,,.,Ia. ro Aol,;";; ;"; J;
iii::l:;;:: l:":l:: _ra"lr of the Christian " cross resembtestanir;;r;:;,";;;"J.;";::
That Chinesesilk was importedinlo India,and was very popularis amp;y'borne out by literaryreierences. Buddhisrnsirengthened the lies betweenIndiaand China.
7?
c|,^^t-,-t
Conlrarylo the generalimpressionthat Fa,hlenwas ihe ljrst Chineseto get himseliinterestedin Buddhism,and to come to Indiaas a placeof pilgrirnage, severalChinesecame to lhis country before him. Some BuddhistSanskritworks,particularly on Tantra,exist only in Chinesekanslation,the orlginalworks berng lost. In connexionwith Tanlra Beyofd India,we have reierred 10 ChineseTaoismand IndianTantra.The Chinesefecognised the Male and Femaleprrnciplesrespectlvely as yang and yin as underlyingthe creation.This naturallyled to the sexualrites. The Chinese recogniseHlse, (immortalily)ihrough certain practiceswhichinclude(1) regulation disciplinary oj respiration, (2) gyrrnaslictechnique,{3) sexualtechnique,(4) atchemrcal anq pharrnaceuljcai technique,etc. These have parallelstr Tantraalso.For example,lhe respiratorypracticecorresponds la Prcnayama, the gymnasiic technique to hatha-yoga and KAyasedhana. Alchemtcallechniquehas close simitariiywith lnd an Tantricsystemwhjchproducedseveralworks on alchemy_ The sexual praclice,as we have seen, is a very important paraletisms laclorin lfdianTentricrites_Whiie do notconclusively prove oorrowrngon any side, yei the traditionol Chinese lniluence on lanl'a, Cinacara, etc. seems to be rendered probabe by the above stmiiarities. Besides China, wilh many other Aslatic countriesIndia came tnlo contact through kade and commerce as well as Buddhsm, e.g. Babylon. The land of Snow, Tjbet, became very lamilar to India lhanksio the advenluresoi SaratDas (1849-j917)who,defying the reslrclions imposedby the mlghtyBritishRaj, and braving the inhospitableweatherand lhe hazardousrnountarnroute, went overto that counlry,and wrotean illuminaling monograph on it. Ceniuriesago, culluralandcommercialiniercoursebegan betweenihese two countries.Like China, Tibet also tooied upon India, the birthplaceol the reveredLord Buddha,as a place of pilgrmage.l\,4any Buddhislscholarsof india.noton y
Natureoi TanlricDoctrines
73
wentto Tibet,bul alsosellledthere,andwrotemanylreatises The in Sanskril,especiallyrelating1o TantricBuddhismor g nas of manyof suchworkshavebeenlosi;lheirTibetan translatonssurvlvedin lhe Taniur.Of lhe galaxyof Indian schoars,who chose Tibel as the land ol their scholarly actv I es,manywereiromBengal, Amongthe Bengali scholars agan, ihe mostrenowed wasDipankara Srijnana Atisa(980or 982 1053or 1054)who,at ihe imporlunate req!estof thethen Tibeianruler,visled (1042)thatlandior reformjng thedelinqunt Tlbelansocietyand the degenerated Buddhislreligionthere. He livedtheretill his death. The deep nterestoi Tibet in Indiais reflectedin Lama Taranatha's(b. 1573) learned History of Buddhismin India ( 1 6 0 7o r 1 6 0 8A D ) . Thereis enough oi evidence of closeIndo-Egyptian contact s nce pre Chrlstian itmes.fheChendogya Upanisad lvllj.A.S) seemsto reler to mummiiicalion; perhapsit retersto the Egyptan praclice.Egypiran colonieswereset up in Indiaand lndlancolones in Egypt.Amongotherthings fromIndia,Indian womenwerea parloi lhe procession of the Egypttan monarch, Plolemy. The pleasure'boat of PtolemyPhilopatore (221B.C.) was decorated withIndiangems.Thesymbolsof a wheeland tridentover a graveappearto be mute witnessto lndian ini uence.An Indianidol,discovered ai Memphis, testifieslo lhe same influence. An importantpointerto this iact is an lndian'sdedication60, to the deityPan,ot a templeo{ Rhodesia on ine deserl-route lowardslhe red Sea.Hultzschinlorrnsus thata s lvercoinoi an Egyptian King,ptolemywasdiscovered n a marketof Bangalore, FromPlinywe learnthattheEgyplian king,ptotemy (285, 247 B.C.)sent an envoylo an Indjanking. Indras contaciwithforeigncouniriesin Asia,Europeand Africahas beendiscussed. We shallexaminewhetheror nol Tanlrismof Indiawas bo(owedfrom externalsources. Fromwhatwe haveseenaboutSino-lndian ties,Chinese ' 1 ' i e - c eo n I n d t a -T a - l r at s n o t Lnlikey.
Chapler-2 Woodroffe(Avalon)does not subscribeto the theory thal the fundamentalprinciplesof Tantrawere importedinio India lrom China.The pro-Chinatheoristspoint out, among other th ngs, thai the ,gudraydmala,a noted Tantra, mentions Ch na. Buddha (Buddhistdoctrine)was establisnedrhere. The sage Vasistha is sialed to have been initiatedto Pancalattva by the Buddha himself.The same story occurs in lhe Teretantrawherc the sage is staied 10 have brought home the cull ol l,lahecina-krcmecara prcviding lor lhe worship oi MahecinaUrA. The above story appears, with a little var/alion, n ihe Brahma-yamala (Palala l). Apart from lhe mythicalnature oi the slory, a few potnls are significant.ll should be noted ihal Vasisthawas a Vedic sage. He at firsi characlerises Cincara tiles as Vedavahiskrta (opposed lo the Veda). Vasistha'sconversionto Tantrism appears lo be the symbolicalexpresson ol the lusion ot Vedrsmor orihodoxBrahmanismand Tantrism. The relerenceto Vasistha'sperformanceoi Tdrri r tuals in miiacara, lhe seai oi Kemdkhyzi,may hinl at Assam as the homelandof Tanlra,A Vasisth;israma near Gauhat seernsto conlirmthis irnpression. The wordsTA-RA,RU-D-RA,used in Tantra, are believed lo be loan,wordslrom lhe Chinese language. Anoiherargument,thoughnot very convincrng,in support oi Chineseorigin,is lhat the flowerJay;i, regardedas highty suitabe in Sakti worship,is called Chinese rose. There s a work called Mahecin4cerclantra. China may or may not have been the originalhomeand of Tanlra.The fact, however,remainsthat Tantricdoctrinesand riteswere widelyprevalent,for a longtime, in lhe regioncalled Mahacna. lt is iderlifiedwilh ArabiaFelix(i.e.Aden)by some, with China by olhers. The pro-Chinatheoristsput iorwardsome morearguments. The myslicsyllableshrim, krim, eIc.,tegatdedas so rmportanl
Naiureol TanlricDoctrines
75
in Tentric practices,show the predominanceof the nasal of the Chineselanguage6l. The Tantric sound,a characteristic diayams (Yantra,Mandala) remind one ot the piclorial writing of the Chrnesealphabet.A mode ol TantricSadhara is called Cinacara whch, accoding lo Ihe Taratantra,came from Mahacina, The FemaleEnergies(Yoginis), mentionedin Brahmanical In Tibetan,it is Lhamo or Shedevil. Tanlras,includeLzim;i6,. This word has been taken to denote Devi or Sakti. The Jayadratha-yamala mentions lwenty'four types of Lamas. The wordsD:ikini,Hikini, SekiniandLaikini,63 etc.,afe also exot c, and appear to point to their foreign origin. Ihe Sammohalantra mentions thal Tankic culture of loreignlands lke Bhalika(Balkh),Kirz,ta,Bhota (Tibet),Cina, lvlahzicina, P:jrasika(Persia),Airiika (lraq), Kamboja,HLina, Yavana,Gandharaand Nepala.l\,4ay be that these couniries had sorne esoterc practicesknown by Indiansas similarlo their Tantric practces; borrowing on any side cannot be established. Accord ng to the Tibetan Pag Sam Jon-Zan, Buddhtsl Tantraoriginaledin uddiyanas'. Accordingto B. Bhatlacharya, VajrayanaTantraarose in Uddiy.ina65. Thls place (also written as Oddiyana,Odry;ina)is identiiiedby some with Udyana in or near the Swal Valley,while others place it in Kashgarh. HaraprasadSastriand some otherscholarslocateil in Orissa, wh e others th nk lhai it was a part of Bengal. Lokesh Chandra lhinks lhal Oddjyanawas lhe name ol Kanc, In considering the probability oi loreignjnlluenceon Tanlra, we shoud thinkof one thing.Of Kemaripa,PUrnagiri, LJddiyana and Ja andhara,as many as three ate situatedon long roads connectingIndiawith loreigncountries.Kamarupahad been a centre ol loreign aclivitiesfrom very remote times. The locatronoi the above Sekta,Pjthasmay tndtcateeither loreign nlluenceon Tantraor the passingof Tantricrdeasto 1l-re loreign counlries.
76
Natureoi TantricDoctrinec Sorne scholarsthink thal the conceptionand worshp of Sdlli ,s un-l.didn TFLs, Tanrrais exol,c. H. P Sastri, on the basis of a verse66in the Kubjikenatatanlra,believedthat Tantrawas ol foreignorigin.He thought that the idea of Sakti, the worshipof which js the kernel of Tantra,was borrowedfrom WesternAsra rrom wnere rl was broughi by the Magi priests of ihe Seylhians. Woodroifeis of the opinionthal Tantrawas mportedlrom ancient Chaldea,the regionaroundwhich, accordingto h m, was Szikadvipaof Indiantradition6T. In this conneclion,it s Interestng to note that GoddessNana-Nina,Nansia_lnanna, who was originallythe crty-goddess of Urk, was, al a tatert me, rdenlifredwith the molherof Attis and the lran an Anatila.The cull of lhis Goddessspreadto India.Her name is foundon the corns of lhe Kuszinaperiod.Na na Devi of Kutu Va ey, Na ni Devi oi Narnila etc. are nstances of the iniluence of the goddessol the Nana group. Accordingto a Tbetan iradition,T;intric princpes and pracliceswere introducedby the BuddhistAsanga nlo Ind a. P V Kane does nol altach much jmpo ance of lhis lraditron based as it rs mainly on the Hlslofy of Buddhism by fa.anatha (b. 1573 of 1575) who wroie over one thousandyears afler Asanga. Some seek 10 esiabiishlhe loreignorigin oi Tantraon lhe groundthat ihe exaltedposition,accordedin Tantrato Guru, has nothrngcomparablein lhe Vedaand pur:ina.Othersrejects lfrs lheory on the groundthat a high place of honouris given lo Guru rn the Nirukta (ii.4), Svetasvatara lJpanjsad (vi. 1A. 23), Lingapurana,Devibhagavata,elc.ll may be noted thal ihe Mahabhatata(presenlfrom C_4th cent. A.D./ mentionsguru as a hrghlyrespeciableperson. Towardsthe end oi the 191hcenl.and the beginningof the 20th., rnany peoplebelievedihat lhe cull ol Mothercoddess onginatedin Phrygiaand spreadin difJerent counlres.This led B. Bhattacharyato poslulatethe theory of the fore gn origin ol Sakli worship6s.
77
Aiter exam ning the differentviews, P V. Kane concludes that cerlain mystic practices like Kulacara, Vamacarc r",ghl have been borrowedirom outside,bll lhere is no conclusive evrdenceoi Tantfahavingbeen borrowedin lolo irom fore gn counlres. On the conlrary,he thinks thal Tantricdoctrlnes rnrgraledto toreigncountries,notablyChina and Tibet. P C. some evidencesot loreignelemenisln Bagch puls forward6e Tantricdoctrines. Againstthe view that Tantrawas borrowedby lndia trom ouis de, it may be pointedout that, whereas many Sanskril TantrasweTelrans aled into Chineseor Tibetan,there is no evidenceoi any Tantfic work of lhese places having been lrans ated lnlo Sanskrit. In discussng the questionol Ch nese iniluenceon Tantra, we shou d conslderthe pointof similariiybetweenthe Taoism ol China and the Tantraol lndiaTo. The Taost doctrinerevolvesround the pivotalconceptoi yang and yin. The former is the Male positivepower of light and heat, and the latter the Female negative power of darkness.The harmonisation oJ lhese two powersis believed to enableand cold.These lwo underlreeverythingin life and beng man lo lranscend his physical limits, to reach lhe sp ritual plane lo acquire preternaluralpowefs and even to ach eve mmortally in this very liie. For.acquiringmudane r.no'alhy (H ,S,en).rFe rojlowingpraclices- a'e ^ecessdry iechn ques, O respiratoryexercise,(ii) heliotherapeuiic (ii) gymnaslicsn lhe prescribedJorm,(iv) disciplinedsexual (vi) intercourse, (v) achemicalandpharmaceuticaltechniq!es, reguated dlet. A comparisonof the above with the principlesol Tantra clearly reveals close similarity.Tantric philosophyhas the centralprinciplesoi Siva (Male)and Sakti (Female). Physicaland mentaldisciplinesare ordainedin Tanlra,too, powers,physicalfilness for acquiring and longevily; superhuman - racr. la-lra look
7A
Chaprer2
resprratoryexercise,advocaledrn Taoism.has ils oarallelin fanltrc pranayima. The heltotherapeuliclechntqJe ot tle iormer has its Indiancounierpartin a series of solar nluals. The gymnastictechniquesoi Taoismare matchedby Tjntr c Halhayaga and Keyas;idhana.Stress on dietary is common io bolh. The alchemicai-pharmaceutical lechniquesare found in both the syslems;in lndia we have severalworks on Tantric alchemy.ll is significantthat, accordinglo tradition,Bhoga (Bogarin Tamil),a ChineseTaoislloundeda seci ol the South lfdian TantricS/ddhas(Silfarin _Iamil) who cultivatedaichemy vigorously. The emphasison sexualpracticesis remarkablys rnilarin Taoismand Tentrism.
Nal!reol TanrncDoctrines Promscuoussexual intercollrsewas a featureof a Greek lesliva in hono!r oi the goddesses,Demelerand Persephone The riluals connected with the union ol Cybele and AllLs, Aphroditeand Adonis,lshtarand Tammuz,Demelerand Zeus were marked bY sex-riies. Frazer te ls us?5about ihe lact thal [/olher Goddess, symbo isinglhe reproductrveenergiesol nalure,was worshipped under difierenlnames, by many peoplesof West Asia. how pervasivewas the worshLpot Hogarth describesT6 Asia Minor and aroundthe lvlediierranean. MotherGoddessin R. P Chanda poinis oul77the slmilarityol Sakti cult with the rnoclesof worshipol the lemale deity in Asia Mlnor,Syria.
fhe Sammoha-tantra statesthat,in Chinaalone,there are one hundredma]ofTantrasand sevenminorTanlrasllJDatanten\. Some scholarsT, have pointedout the similarilvof the word Tara,aa.ne o' an imporlantTant c goddess.with'lhename ol Astarteor lshlaror Ashtaroth,the renownedMothercoddess oi WesternAsia, though no definiteconclusioncan be drawn aboul the tntluenceo, one on the other, In consideringioreign influenceon Tanlra, il deserves notice thal, according to the Sammoha-tantta, goddess NjlaSarasvatiapprovedat a placesupposedto have been included in N,4ongolia73. It is curiousthat the ancient religioussyslems of manv countfies,especiallythose systemsin whichthe cuttol lVothef Goddess played a vilal role, reveal belieis and practrces srmliar,to a greatextenl,lo those in IndianTantriccults,4.As inslances,we may cite the galliof the Syriantvlothercoddess, Astarte of Hierapolis,the Eleusinianand Phrygian. Phrygian mysteries, the Dinonysian riles, the I\,4ariarr secreis,eta.Secret,orms of worship,resemblingTdntricrites. prevailedin Phrygia,Syria, Lydia, Cappadocia,Ponlus and 9alatia, in all ihese regionsthe cult ot N4otherGoddesswas ooDUlat.
1
2.
3. 4. 5.
6
Footnoles See Rudrayanala,Uttara ll, KularnavaXI, Xll Xl XlV, xv 1,Pnn atasinill. 2. lll.1, V14, KularnavaXl Tantra'raja ll, esp ll 143_44 GandharvaUl, XXUI,Saradatilaka ( R a g h a vsa c o m m . ) ,M a h a n i r v a nX a 2 0 0 _ 0 1X Vr 3 9 PrcpancasaraXXXVI, K.snananda'sTantusara,p. 3, Kanakhya'tantta1V, Kaulavalinirnayax, Parasuranakalpasutrax 75 (Famesvara s comm). L)\lata,llPtapancasara SeeKulanava,Xl,XlV Rudrayamala, XXXVI.50, Krsnanaflda'sTantnsatap. 3. Satadatilaka,ll U\latall l.23-24. Rudrayamala, 745-50,153 Tan!rcraia X Parasurcmakalpasutra Kulanava xll Kaulavatinirnaya x.74. See Pranalosinill. 4, p- 118, Kulatnava,xlv. See SandatilakalV1 (Baghava'scomm).Pranalostni| 5, p. 143,SaktEangana,Kali Xl, 29-37. Ianlr c Namesof someSouthIndianladies,nol necessarily S a d h i k a . ,e n d i n - a n b a , e , g , R a m a c h a d r a m b a , elc. Tirumalamba, For delails, see SastramutakBhatatiyaSaklisadhanalin Bensalr),lsl ed., ChaP-14.
N a l u r eo 1 l a n l a c u o c l n n e s
7. L 9.
See Pranalosini. See ctossary. See Pranatosini,tt.4.
10.
See clossary. tbid. W Crooke in Jout of Anlhropatogicattns ute. XXV| p, 246
1t. 12. 13.
15. 16. 17. 18, 19. 20. 21.
22. 23. 24. 25. 26.
27
F o r i n s t a n c e ,r h e N i t a s o l l a s i k a r n a v(a1 . 1 3 0 2 2 ) m e n l r o n s 64 Tanrras. See Tanlra in lhe lexicon, Sabdakalpadruna rhe Saundaryalahati, attribuled lo Samkara-carya, lhe g t e a l A d v a i t a p h i l o s o p h e r ,a l s o m e n l i o n s 6 4 T a n l r a s i n
28.
See Chapler on Kali.
29
r s c o n c e p l i o no i S a k t i i s s e t l o r l h i n l h e l o l l o w i n gl i n e s ( i . 1 42) tvam saktireva jagatan akhilaptabhava
B. Thomson,The Fizians,p. 1|6. B- Spencerand F.Gillen,NativeTribesaf CentratAustratia, p.401. A.W- Howi , Native Ttibesot S. E. Austatia, p. S3O. H. Webster,PrimlrlyeSecret Societies,pp. 34-35, 49-66. SeeCha[opadhyay. lokayaia.p.485 .: N.N.Bha.ra.ha,/a Ancienl lndtan P,rrsls, pp. 78-80. As describedby P V Kane. fhe Auddhismol Tibet ot Lanaisn, 1895, pp. 336-337. lA, vols.xxvi, 19a7,pp.24-25. see P v Kane, Hist.of Dha.nsastra,v pl. 2, 1962,p. 1 t29 See A. Coomaraswamy, Buddha anc! Gospet of Buddha rorrls represenlation in Ceyton(t8th cent.AD) Grunv/edet, BuddhistAtt in tndia. (rrc. A. C. Gibson),rigure 126 B Bha acharya.Buddhisttconog,aphy ptate xxv t: \. K. LJnanashati,/co,iog.aphy o{ BuddhEt and Btanmanrcat Su/plures,ptate V l. See N. K. thaitashati,opi clt.,ptatesXX, XXt. See P.Shah in Jour of Orienlal/nstitule,vot. vi, No. 1, pp. t-35. For^Saya-sadiana accordingto Bengatiwfiterc, see Chapier on BengalTanlra_ S_eeKautava-ninaya, V|t,76t Kutarnava,xi, 79, 84, 85i Tanlrcia-tantra, XXXV 6. Saclhananata,|, p. 5o5.
a1
tvannimittam ca sakalan khalu bhavanatram / tvan k dase nija-vjntmita-nahajate natye yatha viharate svakrte natavai // Y o u , l h e o m n i p o l e n lo n e , a r e i n d e e d S a k i i o f t h e w o r l d . Y o ! a r e t h e c a u s e o f e v e r y l h i n gY . ou sporl in the web of delusion crealed by you, as an actor in the dramalrc r e p r e s e n l a i i o nc r e a t e d b y h i m s e l i .
30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35.
See Bahvrcopanisad, p. 62. See Ency. of Rel. and Ethics, V, p. A2A. Adanis, Attis Osirs, p.p. 394-95. lbid, p.393. T h e M a t h e t s ,l l , p . 2 5 1 . A s c h y l u sa n d A t h e n s , p p . 1 5 - 1 6 .
36
R. C. Majumdar, Classical Accounts of tndia p. p. 222223,456-454
37. 38. 39. 40.
wallerc, On Yuan Chwangs etc., . p. 330. lbid,
. p. 257.
C . A . S h e n n g , W e s t e t n T i b e t ,p . 3 3 8 . K a m a s u l r a ,V a n q a v a s ie d . , p . 3 5 8 . A . p l a i j a i r , l h e G a r o s ,p . p . 8 0 f . f .
42
P R . T . G u r d o n , T h e K h a s i s ,p . p . 6 2 L t . E. Thursron, Castes and Tribes af Southetn lndia, v, pp. 294-323; L.K.A.K.lyer, Cochin Tibes and Castes, ll, p. 49, K. M. kapadia, Marriage and Fanity tn lndia, pp.386 t.r.
a2
ChapleF2
Nal!re of TanvrcDoclrnes
lyet, op. cit, . pp. 28-29, 76, 98.
46.
Ianta p 7. See Bergaignna, lnscriptian de Canpa et der Canbodya, 1, 157, 384, 389'92. See F C. lMaiumdar Ancient Indian Colanies in the Fal East, l pp. 2, PP. 102-103. O n t h e t o p c s , s e e J F i l l l z a t ,C l a s s i c a lD a c h n e o f l n d i a n M e d t c t n e ,p p . 2 3 4 ' 3 5 .
T h u r s l o n ,o p . c l . l l . p p . 6 6 , 2 9 6 , / 1 ,p p . 3 3 , 7 4 , e t c . : t V , p p . 3 5 0 , e r c . , V l l , p . 1 6 3 i H . V . N a n j u n d a y y aa r d y e t , I l t y s o r c T r i b e da n d C a s t e s , L p p . 3 , 7 , 1 0 8 ; l l l , p p . 1 4 9 2 4 7 , e I c r V p p . 1 0 , 1 3 8 ,4 2 2 .
57
R. V Russell, Tribes and Castes of Centrat prcvhces af l n c t i a ,t l p . 2 2 1 : l l l , p p . . 1 , 3 9 ,2 9 9 , 3 9 4 , l V 6 5 1 8 7 . 4 0 8 . O. R. EhrenielsM , o l h e r - i g h ti n l n d i a ,p p . 1 A ,I t . 1 Z t - 1 2 9 . 201-4
59
See A Avalon Tantraic Texts, vol. ll
60.
S e e C h a r l e s w o r l h ,T r a d e ' r o u t e sa n d C o n m e r c e a t t h e Fonan Enptre, p. 59.
61
see Matrkabheda-tantra, Parala 12.
62
See c, Tucci, J4SA NS, LXXVI, 1930, pp. 55ff. Lama . e r e ,h o w e v e r ( T l b e r a nA / a - m a )g e n e r a l l yd e n o t e ss c l r o l a rH i l r e f e r st o a g r o u p o f e x p e r t sw h o h a d t h e i r o w n e s o l e r i c a n d m y s l i c p r a c l i c e s ,L lw a s b e l i e v e dt h a l a s s o c i a l r o nw r l h t h e n r e n s u r e s s p i r i l u a l p r o g r e s s .T h e s e L a m a s a r e a l s o known as Eup,ka(ass!ming difterenlforms dur ng nlerco!rse wth men) and Cumbika (Kssing men at the very trrsl , p.49 5a m e e r i n g ) .S e e P C . B a g c h i ,S t u d i e si n T a n t r a s p
63.
T h e s ew e r eo r i g i n a l l yh u m a nl e m a l e s ,a n d l a l e r o n e l e v a l e d l o l h e s r a l u s o f d i v i n l i e s . F o r i n s l a n c e , i W e s t e r nT i b e l , a c l a s s o l s o f c e r e r sa n d w i t c h e s ,c a l l e d L h a _ K a , e d l o I h e r i s e o l t h e d e s i g n a t i o nL a k i n i . S a k n i i s b e l r e v e dt o h a v e b e e n d e r v e d f i o m S a k a s ( S c y l h i a n )a n d D a k r n it r o m D a s s ( p e o pe o f D a g s l a n ) .
The rool ma may means to bulld or to measure. 48.
K a l r d a s a ,w h i l e r e f e d n g t o t h e g o o d q u a l i l i e so t a k i n g says - pralanan vinayadhanad raksana(t bharanadapi s a p / i a ii o r t r a n i n g ,p r o t e c t i n ga n d m a n l a i n i n gl h e s u b j e c l s , h e w a s t h e i l t a r h e t .l R a g h u v a n s a ,i . 2 4 ) . See B. BhaltacharyaS , c entiiic Backgro!nd of Auddhist Tanlras /HO, xxxl, Nos. 2, 3. For scienriiic bass oi Kundaljni Yaga,see c.Ktishna, Bialagtcatbasis af Retigion and Genius and ils iflro. by We zsacker.
50 51.
S e e G . K r i s h n a ,o p . c t r .
58.
S p r i t u o u sl l q u o r ,d i s l i l e d i r o m t h e f l o w e r co f i h e M a d h u k a rree or rrom grapes.
52. 53. 54
S e e S . K . C h a l l e r i e e ,J , 4 S ,l , 1 9 5 9 , p . 1 8 0
55. 56.
i b i d ,N o s . 1 0 0 1 0 1 .
S e e S a d h a n a n a l a ,N o . 1 2 7 .
See P C. Bagch. Studies in the Tantns, pp 37'40 Grosset /|l ir€ foolsleps ol the Buddha, pp. 109_110i /HO. X , pp 142,144;B. Bhattacharya,Inrro.ro BuddhlslEsloertsm.
/b,4 Nos. 123-128. S e e B u l l e t i nd e E c o l e F h n c a i s e . . . O r i e n t X V , p p I O - 7 j l B B. Chatterji, lndian Cuttural lnfluence in Canbocjia, pp.273-74. F o r n f l u e n c eo l T a n t r ai n i h e F a r E a s l , s e e P C B a g c h i s Studies in Tantraq R- C. Majon'dat, lnscriptions of Kambuja anci JAS, 1950. Also6ee S. C. Banetji's Sansk.it Beyand
65. 66.
l n t r o . t o B u d d h i s tE s o l e r i s m ,p . 4 6 . S t e r n b a c hF e l i c i t a t i o n Volune, , P. 491 flgaccha lvan bhasrate vaBe adhikarayrl sarvatah / p l r h e p i t h ek s e l r e s m i nk u r u s r s l i r n a n e k a d h a/ / See Neqal Catalogue
l l r s I n t e r e s l i n gl o n o l e t h a t s o m e s y m b o s i n i h e n a l u r a l c a v e r n so i P a l a e o l i l h i cE u r o p e( C . 2 0 , 0 0 0 B . C ) r e s e m be t h o s e s t i l l ! s e d b y t h e T a n l r a i k a s .S e e P F a w t i n s o f ,
P.LXXIX.
67.
See A. Avaon Mahanitvana Ianrra, 3rd Ed., p 560
ChapleF2
68
S e e B . B h a l l a c h a r y aB , u d d h i s tE s o t e r i s n ,p . 4 3 2 . S e e H . P S a s t r i ,N o l i c e so l S k t . M S S , 2 n d S e r i e s ,i , X X X l l , p . 1 5 2 i P r o r .S . K . C h a l l e r j e e J, , 4 S ,I , 1 9 5 9 ,p . l i 3 ; S . L e v i , N e p a l , l , p . 3 4 6 i W o o d r o f , e ,S a k t i & S a k t a , 8 l h e d . p . 1 2 3 .
69.
Studies in Tantta, p. p. 45-55. Also see Bagchi in lHO, vir, 193 Lt.
7Q
O n t h i s q u e s l i o n ,s e e S . K . C h a l l e r j ii n J 4 S , l . 1 9 5 9 . P 1 O 4 t1 1 3 t G o e zi n A S O R ,3 5 , 1 9 5 5 ,p . p . l 3 3 f l i J . N e e d h a m Science and Civilisation in China, tt, pp. 149-51,425-za.
71.
See J. Needham, op. cit
72.
See N. N. Bhalfacharya, Histoty at Tantnrc religion, p. 104.
73.
S e e o u r o b s s r v a t i o n si n l h i s r e g a r d u n d e r T a n l r a B e y o n d See N. N. Bhallacharya! book. op'ctl pp 87ff.
75.
See Adorts Allis Osirts, pp. 34-35.
76.
See Ency. ot Aeligion and Ethics, I, p. 147 See tndo-Atyan naces, pp. 148-49.
Chapter-3
VedicOrigin of T6ntric Practices
Chapter-3 Most ol the scholarsare of the viewthatlhe relrgion of the Tantrasis quitedistinctfrom thal oi the Vedas.Some in the Tantras,in particular, occultpraclicesprescribed are quile opposed10the pathprescribed in tf'e Vedas. saidlo be on lheotherhand,holdlhatiheT,intricreligion Sornescholars, is notdifferent Iromthe Vedicreligion. In realily,however, lhe Tanlrasare of lwo types:someare pro-Vedic and someare are alsool two non-Vedic.'Accordingly, the Tentricpraclices types'pro'Vedic andnon-VedicThisposition canbe supported by lhe tacl lhat lhe philosophical ideasand pracliceslound in someTantras,suchas,lheKilarnava-T6\nlra,lhe l"4ahdoirvanaTantra.lhe Pnpartca-sarae1c.bear remarkable similarilies wilh thoseof the Vedas.Someof the Tantrasot this group claimto haveoriginated tromlhe Vedas.TheKuldrnava-Tantta saysthaltheTentricpathis lhe essenceol theVedicreligion., ln theviewol Bh:iskararava. lheTantrasconlaintheessence prescribed On the otherhand, practices in ol lhe Upanisads. sometantras,suchas, the Yoni-Tantra,lhe Kuman-Tanlra,lhe NiruItaa-Tantra,the Gupta-sedhana-Ta,lra elc. seem lo be very lar lfom thoseof the Vedas.Particularly, the praclices Ciniic:iras or practices in someTanlras calLed oi cina,enjoined of lhis group,are in all probability ol non-Vedicorigin.Ol course,the philosophy behindthe praclices of the non Vedic Tantras, rs nolquiledislincifromlhatof thepro.Vedic Tanlras, theonly femarkable dillerence betweenihese twobeingth s ihal In the non-Vedic Tantrasgreaterconcession has been grvento the sensualpleasures and leelingso{ the common greater humanbeings.s whileinthepro-Vedic Tantras emphasis has beenlaidon the reslrainloJthe commonhuman{eelings. TheVedicreligionhastwo prlncipalpalhs- (i) Kamakenda or the palhol actionwhichis meantior the preservation and smooih runningof societyal]d lii) jfiena-kdndaot the palh Thetormeris the of knowledoe whichleadsmento liberation.
88
Chapler-3
palh ol pravrttiot bhogai.e. enjoyment;lhe latteris the palh ot nrvrltiot tyega i.e. renuncialion.These two paths are thus contradictory lo each alher. fhe karma-kanda advocales the rnainlenance of societylhroughactionsand wordlyenloyments, while lhe jnana-kandapreachesthe renouncementoi atl lhe worldlyenjoymenlslorthe altainmentof liberation, the summum bonumof 1e.Herelhe problem s: if liberationis to be attained only throughrenuncation,wrlllhe personsperforrningactions and iving householdlives be deprived of llberaton? The Tanlra cornesforward lo solve the problem by alliliattngpravrtti or enlovmenl 1o niv lior ren!nctalion.lt says thal bhoga or wordlyenjoymentalso can be directedtowardsIberat on. The Kuhrnava-Tantrasaysihal in Tantra bhoga re appears n lhe form of yoga.' That means, herc bhoga is enjoyinednot for bhogailsell,hul lot yoga or re-unionwith the UltimaleReatily. Fot,inTar'lra,bhogaor enjoymentappearsas bhogaonlyout wardly,while inwardlyit is lyaga or renunciation.Hence the practicesprescribedin lhe Tantra embraceboth lhe elemenls ol enjoymentand renunciationlound in karma kAndaand iiZnakanda, respectively.And from a comparatlvestudy ol the T:intricand the Vedic practices,il witt be seen lhat mosl ot the Tenlr c practicesexisl in some forrn orother or, alleasl, n lhe form ol a seed in lhe Vedic praclicesretatingeitherto karma-kendaat 10 ifiena-kenda. The T;inlic practicesmay broadlybe d vided nlo three classes as follows: (1) Some practces are regarded as olrlrgatoryor extremelynecessarylor spiritual upliit and are accepledby people in generalwith reverence,being neither dreadlynof extrernelysecrel, (2) Some praclicesare considered as obLrgatory or highly necessarylor the attainmentof an enlightenedlife but are generallylooked upon as dreadtutor exlremelysecrel.(3) There are slill otherpracliceswhrchhave lltle relalionor no relationwith religionor spiritualuptittand are perlormedlor lhe tullilmentol some wordlv desire or for the gratification ol some evil motive. (1) The tirst kind ol practicesinclude diksa or initation trom some gum or preceptor,lapaor mutteringol mantrasol
VedicOrigin oJTiiniric Praclices
purascaranaor muftering oI mant@s holywordsand sentences, greal performances, number with homa in a along someolhei physical posl!rc, pdnayame ot b.ealhor sacrifice,asanaor of the control,dhyanaor meditalion,dhararaor concentraiion yanlra-sddhane |",ind, or praclice diagrams, and on symbolical so on. The mostimDorlant oracliceol lhis kindis that of salcakra-bhedaor raisingthe kundalinipowet lying al the base of the spinalcordto the brchma-Bndhraot sahasraralying al thelooeol the samecord.ll is heldthaltherear€ six cakras or medilalionalcentrescalledmuladhem, manipuq, svadhisthana, anah^b. visuddhdand a/ra withinthe neruecalledsusumnd runningihfoughlhe spinalcord.Thesesixcentreslie parallel to lhe evacuative organ,the generative organ,the nevael,the heart, the throatand lhe brow,respectively. The duiy of a s;idhakais 10raiselhe kundalini-powetlying helow mihdherc la brahma-randhra ot sahasrrrathroughthesesix medilational (2) The principalpracticesol the secondtype a.e those performed withpa6ca-ma-kdras or fivethingshaving'm'asthe 'n llal lelrer in lheir names.Theseli've fia-ka:'asarct maclye or wine,rrinsa or meat,malsyaot lish, mudfuor ealablesand maithuna oI sex-enjoymen]-.CakG-sadhana ot practiceperlomed n an assernblyol males and females with lhe five makafas - at some dark In a secrelplace- proferably in a cemetery nightrs alsoa praclic€of thislype.The praclicewithmeat necessarly bringswith it the performance of yali or animal sacrifice including nan-valiotlhe sactiliceol humanbeings. Oiher practices ol this typ€ atet svagatn-rudhira-mensasadhana or lhe practice ol olleringbloodandlleshout ot one's own body,cila-sddhaneor praclicewiththe helpot the luneral pyrc, sava-sedhaneotiho practiceol meditationby sitting on a dead body in a secretplace- preterablyin a cemeteryat dark nighl, munda-sealhand ot pactice to be perlormed by sitlingon threeor live heads ot menor ol ditferentanimals includingone ot man,and so on. {3) Practicesol lhe third lype consist mainly ot the sat' karmansat slx kinds ol occult practices called abhicercs.
90
Chapter3
These are: sajnlior practiceslot lhe cure ot some dtsease or Ior warding ofl som€ evjls, vesikaama or practtces tor enLhantlngorov6rpowenngsomeperson,stamDhanaot Vaclices ror barringlhe kurtionol some event, yrdyesanaor praLlices tor creating an inimical relation between persons, ucatana or practices tor creating imbalancein some one.s mtnd and marana or ptacllces lor killing some person. Let us now see howlarlhese practicescan be rraced lo lhe vedrc l,lerature. I Djkszior initialionfrom some guru or preceprorts d^ essenllalSacramentOt the VediC trad,lion.In ne Attarcya BQhmana l'h.1) and lhe Tajthiya Aranyaka \Ch.2) we hno oerafledctescrjplions of lhe nte ol initialton or diksantyesti. Ch?ndoqyl Up. says that rt is onty a man who acqLir6s :h: proper knowledgelrom an acaryaOr preceDtOr thar Lan .epell nrs rgnoranceaboul the self or Brahmans.Japa or multeirng ol manlasand puascaraata or rnuterjng ol /rarlfas in a greal numoer are bul improvemenlsover svadhyayaor regr.rtar ttudy ol the Vedas.Thathornaswere regutarandobtigaloryperiormance; or Ine vedrc peopte does not requrreany detarl.The Vedic peoplehad to pertorm lhe nte ol agnihotradaity. In whrchrhey had to ofter milk to the fire ca ed garhapatya.Besrdes,rhere were ,orras oi numerans types, Pracllces like asara, prenayema, dhyana ot nddhyesana, .. onarana etc, were quile tamrliarlo the Upan,saoicway ol spifltual life fhe Upanisads say that medrtation shoutd be oedormedby sining and keeprngthe chest. neck a-o head slraighl.s ln a numbor ol places of the lJpanj;ads, we l|r,d relerences to prana and apana, ihe knowledge of which is essenllallot prenayAmaorbreath-control.The ChandogyaUp (1.2) and the BrhaderanyakaUp. (1.3) have shown in derail lhe superiorityol prcna olet all lhe sense-organs.The fve kinds ol Nena or vilal air are menlioned in lie prasna uD. 13.5').Pdneyama is clearfy reterred lo in the Katha Up. \2 2 3) a d lhe Svetasvatara Up. l2.S).t Dhyada or rneditatjon and dharanaor contentrationoflhe mind werethe principal practices ol the Upanisadicsages. The well,known passage ol the
BrhadaranyakaUp., stotavyomantavyonididhy(tsitavyah 12.4.5), clearlyordainslhe pracliceol mediation.In the latefUpanisads tike lhe Yogasikha, the Yoga-cudamanietc. there are plentv references to asana, pranayama, dhyoena, dhi;rana elc. Though the Tzintric mono,syllabiamani'as or sounds calledvtasseemoulwa.dlylobe meaningless, muchimporlance is altached1othem. Taces ol such mono-syllabic marlras are iolnd in the Vedas. The use ol'phat is probablymentioned in the Fyand is clearly lound in lhe Vejasaneyi-Samhib \7.3).3fhe Taittiiya-Aranyaka(4.27Jme ionsa distinct charm c o n s l s t n go f l h e s o u n d s ' k h a / , ' p h aat n d ' k a t . s T h e T a n t c methodot symbolising spiritualprinciplesthroughsome ie ers of lhe alphabel can clearly be traced to the hinkercpesane an.i aumkaro-pesane ol the Chendogya Up_ (1.1), and the Asvabyana Srcula -stlra (1.1).1a The practiceof worshippingyartrasor symbolicatdiagrams .r'ay be lraced lo the /yand the fa tinya AanyaAa. fhe design ot the sacriticia,allar described in dilrercnl Brehmanas, Aranyakas and Silva-sitrcs also might have contributed to the formationof the idea o{ the symbolicaldiagramsof the Tinlric practices.Laksmidhara,whilecommentingon Soundarya/arari(32), quoles some passagesfrom lhe Ia ittiriya-BEhmana and lhe Taitliriya Aranyaka and explains them as referring to the Sri vidya ol Tantra.Swami Vjsnutirthaalso quotessome passagesfrom the "Saubhagyakanda'ol lfie Ayto show thal the idea ot Sri vidyi alongwiththat ol symbolicaldiagrams rs traceablein the AY. The most importantpracticeof tantra,Yoga,Vaisnavism, Adva la,Ved;inta etc. is that of satcakrc-bheda. ln short, all olher practices ol these schools are meanl {or this sal-cakrabheda.ll is generallyopinedthatlhis practiceoriginatedin the schoolof Tantrawherelrom it was bofiowedlaterby the other schools.But a study of the Upanisadiclilerature shows that llre idea oi the cakfas or medilalionalcenlresand lhe nerve susurrnawithinwhichthe cakasaresaid to exislwas already there in lhe Upanisads.fheKalha I.Jp.12.1 12,2.3.17)and lhe svetasvataraUp. (3.13) say that the Highest purusa exists
92
Chapler-3 VedicOriginot TentricPractices
in the lolus of the heart in lhe shape of the thumb. The Chandogya Up. lA 1l) and lhe Kaivalya up. (j.6) refer lo rhe htlpundaika ot hearl,totus.', The Katha IJp. (2.3.16) refers to a nerve originatinglrom the heartand extendingup to the tope oJ lhe head, which is noting bui lhe nerve susumna. Further,the same Up. (2.2.1)describes the body as having eteven gates whichcertainlyjnctude- besidesthe ninewell, known passages ot two ears, lwo eyes elc. - muhdhi\ra and brahma'randhra,the passagesal the base and at the lop respeclively,of lhe nerve s./sumna.'3 The Aydescribes the body as a city havingeighl cakrasor circles and nine gates. Here 'eighl cakras' prcbablyincludebesides the six well, known cakrcs - sahas/ara lying at the iope ol the head and lalan-cakrclying helween ajna and sahasGra.il Again,lhe AV slates that lhe spinal cord containsthirly-sjx aksaras o( letlers.'5This correspondstotheTantric idea otplacno lhe aksaraslo lhe dilferent catfas ot the sprnatco.d t- lh;et,. known simile ol two birds restingon the same tree, lhe bird tree from all sofiows represenls Brahman staying in brahma randhra at sahastara, and lhe bird subiectedto sorrows stands lor lhe jiva lying at the base of the spinal cord.,6The tree described as'urdhva-mulovak-sakha'(Katha,2.3.j) .e. as nav,ngils rools aboveand tne branchesbetow,rerersto lhe nerve susumna;tot at the lope ol the nerve exisls Brahman and in its lowerpartsiie the pfinciplesof liie. Further,ihe series o' L'eaIon lound n lhe Sa'ntnya-yogasyslemcorresoondsto lhe 0r'le'e'l calras.Tl^espacebelweensahasraraand lne drrid cakta lying pa?)le) lo the brow accomodaies the cateqories Ito.r prak.ti to ahamkara, white the cakras o' V!i;ddha. anahata, manipura, svadhi,thana and muladhara tying at the throal, lhe heart, the navel, the generauveorgan and rhe evacualiveorgan, respeclively, correspondlo the cateqories or elher.air. rlre,walerand earth.respectrvetyTne ChanAogya Up. (5-16)describesthe generatjveorganas a placeof wale;,r fhe Yoga-sitra ol Palaijali refers lo lhe nabhi-cakra at navel cente, hrdaya ot head, kanthakupaot lhrcal and murdha-ivot6 ot brahma-rcndhta6The yoga-sasl.aoiDattatr.yadrscUises In clear terms lhe posilion of lhe nerve susumrd and lhe
93
cakaslying within il-reThe later Upanisadslike lhe Kaivalya' he Yoga-aikha.lheYoga'cidAmanietc deal in delail wilh the nerve susumra and the cakfas.From all lhese, we can co_cludewil- ^erlarnly that lhe ioea ol the ne've susumnj ard lhe cakras was lhere in the Vedic tradition. 2. Of the secreiand dreadlulpracticesof Tantra,the most commonand rernarkablepracticesare those performedwith Ihe I ve ma-karas. Ol them, mudrii or lhe praclice of offer ng cookedrice and vegetableelc. tolheMoiher and takinglhe samealterwardsis not at all an elemenlol secrecyor censure, This pracliceol mudre may be traced io the Vedic praclice ol oflerlngpurodasa,a kind ot cake, to the gods and eating the remains of it. sacriticesused lo oller ln lhe Vedic soma-sacriiices.lhe gods and lake ihe same after to the the l!ice ol soma-creeper This was a kind ol liquor,as il is the offering. soma'iuice clearlyundersloodfrom lhe behavjours of the gods and lhe scariliersafier dr nklng il (RV 2.19.1) ,Somawas very much favouritelo lndrawho becomeintoxicatedbydrinking il,and, accordinglyhe was ve(y oltencalledsomapaor soma-drinker, Ihe SatapathaBrehnara (5-4.5.19)says ihat spirituousrquor was offered lo Indra.Asvinaand Sarasvati:n the Sautramani sacri{rce.Soma sacritice,soma-iuicewas exiricatedlhree timesa day in ihe morning,in the noon and in lhe eventngand was offered to gods. Parlicularly, in lhe atietaVpe ol somasacr fice. Somawas !sed in large quantiiyat night.Thus, the Tdntricpraclicewlth wine was a verv commonelemenl oJlhe Ved c rites. Anrmal-sacriftce ot pasu-yegawas also a very common perlormanceof lhe Vedic people.ln the Brdhmanictiterature, tlrereare detailed descriptionsol the killing of animalsin the anrmal-sacrifice. In this sacrjtice,a spol was demarcatedtor killinganimals.wherea yipa or wooden-l'a.r'eforbindingthe anrmals was kepl tixed.Ajler choppjng ofl the head oi an anirnalthere,the yap;ior fat oftheanimal was taken outot ls abdomen.11was then cleansed,cooked in an earthenjar and ofiered to the gods, after which it was laken by ihe
94
Chapter'3
scariliers.Animalscommonly killedin animal-sacrifrces were rams and goats.In horse,sacrilices, horsesalono w/th a
nLnber ol w,ld dnd oofleslic antma! were ^tl,Fd y/eabr,as or bullsalso were probablykilledin some sacrifices.According t0 sorne,humanbeings were also killed in the sacriiicesof purusamedhaand sarva-medha,whie accordingto olhers, human beingswere simply offeredalive and n01killed.,0In any case, lhere shouldbe no doubt thai the Tjnlrjc oractce ol human sacriiice or narc vali has its root n the Ved c sacritlcesol ol purusa-medhaand sarva-meona. The ro e of sex-elementsin connectionwilh religiousrites rs aiso lound rn the Vedic literature.In the descrption of goddessUsas,thereare elements which are pronelo arouse sex-ree ngs. tn the vejasaneyi-samhit4 aI the yaiuFveda, lhere occursa hymn (23.22-31)whichseems to nd cate that sexual unronwas employedtorihe promotion oi agricultural products.The descriptlon ot the horse-sacrifice occufiino in th. Satapatha Bahmana(r.1.-8,20.21) bearssomecexeterre:ts. The descripliongoes thus: The horse io be sacflfced is covered wilh a garmentand siain. The queens go round lt thrice frorn leit io rlght and thrice from right to tefi. The chief queen goes near the horse,The queen and the horse are lhen coveredwilh a garmentand are givento lie iogelher. n the rneantime,the priest,the maidensand olher queens ndulge n vulgar and sexual ialks. This part oi the horse, sacrificehas thus a clear relerence lo sex and hence may lre Interpreied as havingsomethingto do with the lertrttv-culi.,i Further, n the SalapathaBrahmanawe cofiP- across numerous passage n which sexual union is identitiedwth sacrifice 5h . 1e. 6 ) . 12,4.422 1 .; 5 1 . 1 , 5 . 1 31 9 ;5 . 2 . 5 . 8 ; 6 . 3 . 3 0 ; 6 . 3 . 3 . 3 8 i 7 . T Altareya-Annyaka\2.1.1: 2.3.7) also relers to sex-eement when it describesseed and woman-bloodas AdilVaand Aont. respeclively.r, In a numberof Upanisadicpassages,woman is conceived as the sacrilicialfire, her lowerprivaiepo11ion as the sacrrlicial wood,lhe generative organas theflame,andso on (Ch.Up.5.1B.j 22,8r.Up.6.2.13). The BrhadaranyakaUp.(6.4.3) descrbeslhe
V€dc Ongn ol Tant c Practces ower private parl of woman as the sacrilicial altar and lhe srnallerparts oi lhe same as representingdifferentparts or maierialsol sacrifce. lt is addedthat one who remembersthis during copulatrongets the result of the vajapeya-sacrtice. This means that sex-enioymentshould be regardedas a sacriice and that it should be done wilhoutany attachment. it ol the ChandogyaUp.(2.13.1'2), n the "Vdmadeva-upiisane" rs hrmmade by a man to a woman is said that the sign kara (thesound'him'),hls lying with her is udgltha(the sound (inspiration) and so hum)hlslacinq iowards heris pralihar.a Taillrriya Aranyaka say ltat lha Tartit;ya Up. ard the an Praiapaiiin lhe form oi immo al bliss existsin the generalive atgan.l',lhe Brhaderanyakaup. also says lhat all the elemenls of b ss culrnnate in ihe bliss of the generativeorgan-'?s Thus, a I lhe elemenls ot lhe Tiintric practiceswith ihe ritesof lhe Vedas Iive ma-kArascan be lracedto the sacri{icial and ihc ph,lo(op!.a discoursesof Ihe Upanisads. The Tentric practice of the ofleringoJ blood and llesh by the sadhaka out oJ his own body might have developed irom the idea of self-immolation Joundin sarua-yajiaor Jrom the Vedic idea that the yajam;inaor saciiicer is to be looked Lrponas the pasuor animaltobe saciliced.Though lhe Tenklc practlces01cit;i's,idhand, sava-sddhane and munda-s;idhan;i cannol be direcllytracedto ihe Vedic lradition,lhey seem to be later developmentsol some or the other Vedic riles. The Tzinlricpractices o{ sal-karma or six kinds ot abhicaras or magica rites are explicillydeallwith in the Vedic literature as tollowsl Senlt: the RV deals with spells lor curing diseases (10.162)and prescribesantidoteslor poison( 1.191;7.50. In the AV, we lind numerousspellsfor curingdiseasesimaginedas demons (5.2.2). Further,in this yeda we tind a number ol hyrnnscalled pauslikaniby which one could gain happiness and avold danger.There are also hymns calledsammanasya by which peaceand harmonyof a familycouldbe broughtand unitybeiweenhusbandand wite could be reslored.The use of
96
Chapl€r-3
protective amuletsis seento be very popularal the time of Vasikarana:The Taittirliya"Samithiri(2.3.1) prescrbes s:imgrahani by whicha personcouldbe wonoverand rnantras prominenlor powedulpersonsand unrulywives could be (2.3..10) tamed.The Tailtiriya-Brehmana says lhat Sitalried to win somathroughso.cery.In lhe AV, lhereare numerous sDellsbv whicha husbandor lovercoLlldallraclhis wite or In lhe sameway,spellsare belovedtowardshim (3.25.1-2). loundwhichcouldbe usedby a ladyto win overthe heartof someman.we comeacrosssomeacrosssomelormulasalso by whichonecouldappease lhewrathof a grealmasleror galn oTominence in an assemblv. Stambharar ln theAV,we meelwithwildcharmsby which a womancouldbe madebarrenor a mancouldbe robbedol power.fnIhe ebhicekahymnsottheAV,lhere his generative are also magicformulasto loil lhe magicalacls ot some Vidvesana.ln the RV, we lind spells or praclices lor removlng co-wlves (10.145.159), In theApastdmaaas rsclarified In the AV also,lhereare spellswhich Gthyasitrc(10.5-8.9. couldbe appliedby a woman10ousther rivals. Ucdlana:In lhe AV we see spellscomingunderlhe class calledslri-karmeni by whichonecouldcreateloveintrrgues and disturbances in a madiedlite,Therealsospellswhicharesard to be capableol makingsomepersoninsane.Again,we come acrossspellsforinflaming theloveoJsomewomanlKausikasukta, 3s,28). Meana: ln lhe Vejasaneyi-Samhita 17.3),the Ketyeyana (4.27),there Srayta-sitrc\9.4,39Jandthe Taithriya-Arcnyajka are charmsagainstdemons.In lhe abhicarika-hymns of the AV, we lind charmsby whichenemiescouldby destroyed. Fromthe above, it is seenthal almoslall the e emenls ol the T6ntricpractices can be iraced lo the Vediclilerature, and, hence.lhey must be regardedas originaling lrom the
97
VedicOrlgin oi TdntricPraclices
also' lhe Tanlras Vedas. Accordingto lhe kadllional view tror rf'e: Sar oragya-kdndaollhe Ay TnPhalikulitnava' i"Joea lhe d'scourse fa.t,a c'early'ocusesthlslraditionwhen ll slarls ahe Rudtd ;;, N"* D;"' says in ihe AthatuanaSamhna Alnarava_Vedasak"r' 1-anatarCt.ttl alsoreierslo Mahedevras rs eurogrsed Da'nodara by Tanlra_work ^ tf," virio.r'"tu."ni Kulatrdva' as.ontarnrnql^e essenceof IHeAy Fulnet lhe Ine palh ol Tanlta calleoKulamargaas lhe irnr,,0"."i0"" of Vedas ln the view ol Bhaskaraya'lhe Tenttas :' ""a"na" oJlhe Upanisadicsectionol lhe Vedas mart
BEFERENCES 1.
v i d e U K D a s s " U p a k r a m a n i k ; i t' o \ h e K u l a t n a v a Tanta, P 4
Sara_ vedagama'maharnavam malhilvAnena_manthena Kularnava_ samuddhrlah anarmomavr{dev kLrla-dhafmah viddhl i . " t , u . z i l o ; l a s m 6 d v e d 6 t m a k a ms a s l r a m 86' 2 ibid karlatmakam PnYc Ch 11:Kumar Chs 5 and7; Nila-Tanlra videYoni_Tanlra, Ch 4 Tanira.Ch. 6 and Gupta's6dhana'Tantra 4. 5. 6.
T
8. 9.
voqa b'rogalnakan xaulam y o ; o b h o g a y a l e- i b r d , 2 2 5
h i arnavd_'arr'a 2 2r'
Up ' 6 14 2 purusoveda- Chendogva itcdryavdn -Karvalva sucihsama'grive_srtah_sarirah sukhdsanaslhah samansa i'ar nrdindr'vdn' up, ii ri i --rr" "rnepv; Up 2 I -"nu"u t"nn' u"tv" - Svelasvarara p a n a n - P r a s n du p 3 5 a l h a l \ d l o r d h v a oavuosrhF apa"dn '"lo 3 T t dhvamp'anamunnavarv ,l!"'". praordvena prdryagasyalr- Katha up 2 23 prarda up z 5 samvuklaceslah- svetasvalara T3 phal prenavatva vyanayalvd - Vaiasaneyi_Samhila k h a t - p h a d - j a h i ,c h i n d h i b h i n d h i h a n d h i k a l
Ialt'va
Chapler3
98
VedicOriginol Teniric Practices 24.
10 11
12.
13.
15.
a u m - i t y - e t a da k s a r a m - u d g i l h a m u p e sl a 1 . 1 . 1 s e e l b i d ,1 . 1 2 - 1 3 .
C h i : n d o g y aU p ,
puram hanlrimukham visva-mdlrjave rekha svara-madhyar'r tadesa. brhal-lilhir disa panca ca nllya sasodasikam p u r a m a d h y a mv i b h a r t i - q u o l e d b y S v a m V r s n l n r t h a i n Saundarya-lahari, p. 334. p u j r u s o m a d h y ad l m a n i t i s t h a l - K a l h a anguslha-mdlrah U p ,2 . 1 . 1 2 :a n g u s l h a - m a l f aphu r u s on l a r a l m 6s a c l aj a n d n 6 m h r d a y es a n n i v i s f a h- S v e l a s v a l a r aU p . 3 . 1 3 : b r a h m a p u r e daharampundarikam- Chandogya Up, A.1.1: hd-putidukam v r a j a m v i s u d d h a m- K a i v a l y a U p , 1 . 6 saiam caik6 ca hrdayasya n6dyas ldsdm murdhdnam a b h i n i h i r l a k 5- K a r h a U p , 2 . 3 . 1 6 ip u r a m e k 6 d a s ad v a r a m - ibid,2.2.1. a s r a - c a k r dn a v a . d v e r a- A t h a t v a - V e d a ,1 O _ 2 . b r h a l i h k i k a s e h* i b i c l , 9 . 1 2 .
16
dva suparnasay!ja sakhey6 saminam vrksam parisasvajate t a y o fa n y a hp i p p a l a ms v a d v - a l l y ' a n a s n a n n - a nayboh i c a k a s i t i - MundakaUp, 3. 1.1.
17.
vide Chandogya Up, 5.16 and Sankara s comt. on it.
18.
n a b h r . c a k r ek a y a - v y u h a - s l h a n a r n Y o g a - s u t r a m3 . 2 9 : hrdaye cirta-samvitibid, 3-34; kanrha-kupe ksut p i p a s a n i v r l l i-h r b l d ,3 . 3 0 ;m u r d h a - j y o l i ssil d d h a d a r s a n a m - lbid,3.32.
19
v t d e D a t t a t F y a Y o g a . s a s r . av e r s e s 1 0 7 - 1 1 8 vide Clnva Svami yajha-tallva-pnkesa, pp 38-39, 1081?2.
2A 21.
p u r u s e h e v e a y a m a d i t y o g a r b h o b h a v a t i y a d - e t a dr a j a h - A i t a r e y aA r a n y a k a , 2 . 1 . L
22.
A. B. Keilh, Religion and Philasophy ol lhe Vedas and lhe Upanisads, p. 345.
23
upamanlrayalesa hinkaro,jnapayalesa prastavah,strlydsaha s e t e s a u d g i t h a h ,p r a l i s t r i m s a h a s e l e s a p f a t i h a r a h Chendogya Up, 2. 13.1.
25
26.
27
p r a j a p a r l ra m r r a n a n d ai l y _ u p a s l h e3
99 T a j l t t n v au p 3 1 1 '
s a r v e s a m a n a n d a f a m L r p a s l h a e k a y a n a mB r h a d a r a n v a k a - ib'd U p . 2 . 4 l 1 i e k a k i n a r a m a t es a d v i l i y a ma i c c h a r 3 4 1 . 4 . 3 i s e e i b r d ,6 . 4 s a r v a b h v o v a e s a d e v a l a b h v aa l m a n a m a l a b h a l e l a d _ Ajlareya devafabhyo yaiamana atmanam nlskrinite a tharva p a s L r m p u r u s a m Brahnana, 6.31 avadhnan 12 35 3 Aranyaka Taitlniva 7 10 and 19. 1 Veda. r a n l r a n a mu p a n i s a c ' c h e s a t v a- l B h a s k a r a r a r y acso m l o n Ntlya-sodasikanava. l 22
Ir"
c. G
(tl IE
f ct .=
a
i.e CL (E (!-C
5=
ChaPter-4 T I he wo'shipof S va-linqa placedon a roundplareca lad aryhyaat yanipatais a commonpracliceprevalentin the culi ol Saivism.Practically,in this cull the worshipof Siva' nga s much more popularthan the worshipoi the image ol Siva. It is said by the Saivitesthai lhe worshipof Siva can nol be Ihe Siva-purAna completew thoul the worshipol Siva-liRga. p the worship that lhe worsh ot /lnga is higher than declares r m a g e . oi Svas As lo the existence oi the practiceot Siva-|ngaworship in ancientInd a, there is no deliniteprooi at o!r hand. Some fainl marks of the worship of Siva's lmage are, of couTse, foLrnd n the Vedic llerature-For example,Ihe Rg-Vedarelerc to some ciru cltra or beaulilul image or arl oi S va-'zfhe Yajurveda also seernsto hinl to the existenceof lhe practlceof lhe worshp ol S va's mage, when it speaks ol the worship ol Tryambakamatked with sweetscent.3tsulno signifcant h nl lo ihe ex slence oi lhe worshp of Siva-lnga is to be lound in the Vedic leterature. p as a iorrn ot pha sm Those who ook upon iinga-worsh 'slsnadeva'occurring as discussedbelow,hold thal lhe term in the Rg-yedaameanssomebarbariansfollowng the practtce ol phallicworship.Bui this view can not be accepled on the ground lhat no refeTenceto such a lraditon s lound in lhe of anc eni India.Y;iskain h s /vlfukiasays vedic nterprelalions lhat sisradeva'means one who is devo d ol brahmacaryaol sex-control.D$gAcAtya also explans the lerm in the same way. Sayana explainsthe term to mean peopleaddicledto lheword'slsnadeva'cannoibe sensua peasure.5Accordingy, sa,d ro _dv ng ra alro_ with phallicworsFip. sometimesol shortshaped ln the remainsoi Mohenjodaro, flat stone or burrt clay have been lound.A iew round_shaped and plain things aLso have been discoveredirom these
ChapleF4
Whalls S va Laga ?
105
r e m a n s . A c c o r d n g i o s o f i r el h i n k e r s l,h e l o r m e rc a s s o l rlems are probablylhose of Sva- ngaandthe atter class of iems. those al yanipatasot arghyas. George Marshal, n partcu ar. is keen to rdentiy some oblecls made of slcalite and lefia colta as pha ic syrtbo s.6 But th s s a mere conJectur€ hav ng no del n te proof whatsoever. This v ew can b - o r e { u l e db y t h e i a c tl h a l e v e nw t h n a p e n o d o f a b o u t t w o tho!sand years aiter the l\,4ohenlodaro c v sation. no sLlcha trad lion ot S va llnga worship cou d be lound in Indra
organ We afe heremaklng an endeavourto so ve thisproblem , o ' n d o - r L. . c l n a l u ' eo l S v d E a .
ln the lvlah;ibhirala, thereare clear marks 01the practce oi S va- nga-worshp. In the 'Arus;sana-parvanof the same. there s c ear reJerence to Siva nga ln the 'Sauplikaparvan' (Ch 17.21 3) also a referencelo the Siva- nga is folrnd n the Vana-paivan,Arjuna is seen 1o be worshpp ng Siva in lhe lornr of an a ter which certarnlystandsfor Slva nga.tThe worshipoi S vaOlngawas howev€rnol popuar in anc ent Ind a. Patanlalireiers lo Sivam, but not lo Siva- nga. In lhe cons oi lhe Kushanadynasty,imagesof S va and Uma are lound, bul there s no evidenceof Slva- nga. t seems that S va-linga b e c a m e p o p u l a r d u r n g t h e G u p t aa g e i . e . a r o u n di h e 4 t h centuryA.D.The connectionol Siva-linga with yonpataseens to be slr laler.
1 The S/ye Pur:jra says thal once Siva, desirng lo lesl . a.l , . c \ d r - r - n F d d b e d l l t l Ltto r - r . d p o l r o n r r i e dr o a l l L r et t s e! r r v o
No!v,lhe probem beiore us s; What s th s S va- nga? The popuar idea aboul the natureoi Sva linga s thai t s a symbo ol the generativ€organof Siva,the p ate be ow. known as arghyact yonlpata,Iepreseniing lheiernaleorganoi Ga!ri the fulolherGoddess.This idea is coupled with lhe general beliei thal Sva s a god lull ing the desires oi men in ther marlal liie. A great majorly oi scholars also oprne, n c o n l o r ml y w i t ht h e p o p u l a br e l i e i t h a l S i v al i n g a L s a s y m b o l oi Sivas generalveorgan. ln supporl oithsview, some s c h o a f s h o d t h a l d i l e r e n tf o r m s o f p h a l c w o r s h p w e r e prevaent amongihe primlive societiesof countres like Egypt, Greek. Roman etc., and the worshp of S va nga s stmply a varietyol lhat primitivelraditionof pha lism.eSomescholars, on the other hand contradicl th s v ew, saying thai Siva nga is lhe symbo of Siva himself,and not of h s generalive
Before mak ng an observalionon lhe controversy,il s to benoted that n lhe Purenas,there is a numberot ep sodes aboul S va' inga. some of which describeS va'linga as the manfeslaton of lhe generatrveorgan of Siva, wh e some olhers describeil as a revelationof S va hirnseliin lhe iorm ol lyotrlingaof brllianl iorm. Eprsodesdescribing Siva nga , r\e re p o vp o gdn o'Siva a e ll e lollow_9: 'o
{b) In lhe same Purana the episode s describedrn a s o m e w h adl l i e r e n tw a y .l i i s s a i d t h a l a f t e rt h e d e a t ho t S a l , S va s consorl, in the sacriliceol Daksa, S va became mad with the feejingol llst and began to move hitherand thither. He. thus. reached the hermitage oi lhe Bzrlakhiyasand d s t ! r b e d t h e w i v e so J t h e s a g e sw l h t h e i e e i n g o i u s t .A t
ChapleF4 107
thrs,he sagesbecame angryand cursedthat his lingashould al once fall lo the ground. Siva's ,nga at once lel to the ground,'3but it beganto lrighlenthe wholewodd. In lear, the gods began to sing in praiseof Siva. At lhis, Siva became pleased and told that it Brahma,the gods and the Brahmins worshippedlhe linga,the world woutd be saved Accordingly, Brahme,the godsand the Erahminsworshippedthe Siva-linga and lhe world was saved. 3. Ihe V.imana-Purena says that alter the death of Satr, Sva became mad with lust, lravelledhitherand lhither and then enleredthe foresl called Diruvana where he disturbed lhe wives ol lhe sages.Al this, the sages cursed him as a resultof which the /lrga of Siva iell to the ground.tmmediatety afler thls, Siva vanished and his /inga expanded to such an exlent that il louchedboth the lower region and the upper region.rlAt this, the world becameafraid.Visnu and Erahma lhen approachedthe lingaand, with a view to Jinding out its end,went lo its lowerand upperregions,respeclively. But they returnedin vain and beganto sing in praiseoi Siva. Sivathen appearedand Visnuand Brahme requesiedhim to take back his ,rga. Siva agreed 1olake back his ,nga providedthe gods worshippedSiva-linga.Visnuagreed and Brahmiiworshipped 9oldenSiva'linga. 4. ln an episode ol the Siva-Purena, it is said thal once Kali,lhe black-complexioned conso ol Siva,was engaged in deep meditalionwjth a view to becominggauri or while-complexroned.Ai that time Siva becamemad with the pangs of separationtrom Kiili and, being beautilullydressed,entered a loreslof the hermitsin a nakedpositionwilh his companions. ExceptArundhal, ali the wivesot the hermilsbecamedislurbed w(h the leeling ol lust to see him. Seeing the condrtions ol their wives, lhe hermitsbecame angry and gave Siva a good beating.In a blood-stained condilion,Siva reachedthe hermitageol Vasistha-Arundhatiservedhim with greal care. Siva blessedher and wenl oul of the hermitage.The wtves oi the hermilsfollowedSiva agajn, and the sages also went on bealing him. Thus passedotl lwelveyears. Atter thal. Bhrgu
and olher sages cursedSiva that his ,nga shouldlall to the ground.Siva's /lngafell to the groundbut, in a beautilul and brlilianltorm,rt expandedallaroundand then entereddeep nio the earlh. At this,the wholeworldbecamedark and the hearis ot the sagesalso was envelopedwith darkness,Arundhatithen came to know the identityol Siva and cured his wounds by her power ol merits. The sages atso recognisedSiva and slarled singing in his praise.Then a voice was heard lrom above which advsed the sages to worship the S/va-tinga, say ng lhat the worshipof the Siva-lingais greater lhan the worship oi lhe image ol siva.15 5.Ihe Padma-Purcnasays that once SvdyambhuvaManu pe ormeda greal sacrilice in the mountainol l\randara.The sages who attended the sacrifice asked the Vada-knowino Bra mrn5 Wno is the greatestamong lhe gods? i he queslro; was put 10 lhe great sage Bhrguwho advised the sages to examrnethe characlersof Brahma,Visnu and Siva for havino Iha a_swe lO r^e qLestron.Bhrgu satd that, of lhese three, the one who wouldbe tound to have a pure characteroi the qually ot sattvawoutdbe regardedas th€ greatest.Then, the sages alongwithBhrguweni to Kailasalo examjnelhe character ol Siva. They met Nandin al the gate and requestedhim to Inlorm Siva oi their presence.Nandjntold them that.as Siva was lhen engaged'- entoymentwith Umd. it was not possrb,e -o lhem lo app'oach him at that ltme. The saoes warledal lhe garF lor a long lime. but yet they dictnot g;t permrssron 'on Srva lo meet him. At lhrs, Bhrgu became very angry a'rd cJ'sed Srva. saying that as he disregardeOrr,e sagei In.hs mood ot lustiveenjoyment with his consort,he should
:19, the lolm ol yoni-tingaor rhe lemateand maleorgans
ln lhe 'Sauptrka.parvan",? of the Mahabhairata, rl rs sard ,.-_6. ' ,dr a|.Fa rirre ot lhe cosmic crealion,wh6n l4ahddevawas erqaged In penance wilhrn waler, Brahmd created another -aiaoali and direcred h,m to createaflthe berngs.Accordrngty. creal4d Innumerabtebeings. Atter that Mahddeva ^-ralapali !q' ,e out ot water and found that lhe acl ol creattonwas
Whalrs SrvaLinqa? alreadvcornpleie.Al this, he consideredhis /inga Lrnusetul and, h;vinq lorn t olf, he went to the mounlain oi lvlilaval Ihe tinga ol Sva was sluck to the earth fp sooes desc'iolng Slva_lingaas lhe syrrbor ol lha drvineano orilllanliotn ol S,va are lhe lo"owlng saysthatoncelherearosea quarrel 1. the Skanda-Purana between Brahmaand Siva on the questionoJtheirsupenorly The ouarrelultimatelyresultedinto a fight between the two, whr;h continuedfor one thousandyears Alter thal a belween thelwo'' lyatir tingaat briliant //nga appeared in irom lighl ng refrain to them sky advlsed lrom the uolce ana a lt was sa d that the jyolirlinga was lhe Siva ltnga' and ne who could reachlhe end oi ihe lingawould be treated as the qrealer belweenthe two Brahm, wenl upwards and Vsnu Jownwards lo see the end ol the linga' bul nerlhercould succeed in his venture. 2. This slory ol ihe revelalianol lhe jyolitmaya orbrLlranl also " ll ls sardlhat //rga s lound \n the Brahmenda'Purana on tne when Brahme and Visnu were engaged in quarrel _ a' on d In no'lfe o-esl o'r ol supe or Iy, a firpdppeared lhe ( q _ r cr'l ' g h l s i . e b r i l l a n c eo l I _ e " ' e ' n a d e d l o l h e r Seerncrthat surprisingfire, Brahmaand Visnu ran towards t lo kn; whal ilwas. The lire graduallypervadedlhe sky and lhe earlh, and Visnu iound an indescribable/inga withrnthe iire. Brahm:and Visnuwenl upwardsanddown-wards,respecnvely' and lried tor one hundredyears10reach the end ol the /inga bul lailed. Alter thal Siva appearedbejore them 3. Ihe Stva'Puranaalso descrbes the revealion ol lhe Natir-hnaaal the time of the quarrel belween Brahmuiand pillar Vlsnu. ttere llte iyolir'tingais described to be a fearlul remained:! formless the of lire wilh n which N,4ah6deva, 4. ln anotherepisodeof lhe Siva'Potena'it is said that yoga_ a{ler his birth lrom lhe navel'lotusol Visnu lying In Brahma wakelulness and ntdh a slale belween sleep lhe desirinqlo know the secretoi his birth,travelled through yearsand hundred torone .tutt oitn" navel-lotusolVisnu
109
- o d I l r d v a l e or ' l o L g n l n e l o w e ' r e g o no l l h e s l a l l ' i o a n o l h e t o;e r_d eo years. bul he drd not llno l'e end ol lhe slalk Alier lhal, by the directionof a voice irom the sky, Brahma ror ora.r seo penance lwelveyears Allet lhal VisnJ appeated .na oo_r,'edhinsellas the crealorol Brahmd Al thrs Blahfla became angry, abused Visnu and slarted fightingwrlh hrm' During therr lighl,a iyotir-tingaappeafedintheir midst,which havingneilher begrnnrng vrasextremelybrilliantand indescnbable, nor end and neilherincreasenor decrease lt was lormless Then, by and was known lo be the cause ol the universe-'?j 10 lind lried VisnLr Brahmd and ol Visnu,both rhe DrooosaJ we'' uoward< hp Brdhma tie'y suoslance sol|ce o lhe o rl and Visnu downwards,but find ng no end io lhe iyottr'ltnga lhey began10 meditaleupon t for one hundred years' Then ten handedand tive'headedMahadevaappearedbeforethem' Brahma and VLsnusanq hymns in praise of Siva and Srva p eased by the songs advised them lo make Siva'linga wilh clay and lo worship and mediateupon it. The same episode rs found ln lhe same languagein lhe ltnga-Purenaalsa 5. Accordingto anotherepisodefoundin lhe Sivapurena"' Brahmziand V snu were once engaged in tighlinglo lesl who L!as sLrperorbetweenthem. In lhis iighl, VisnLrappliedlhe and Brahm;ilet loosethe P;isupataweapon l\4rhesvara-weapon as a resullol v/hch the world was on the br nk ol destrlcllon (.. q thr). Vahadevaappeared n belween lhe lwo In lhe iorrn ol a priar ol Iire, and the weaponsol Visnu and Brahmi dissolved into lhal pallarol lire. 6 Ihe Kirma Purina describeslinga as inexpressrble, and as ol the natureot bliss ll s sard brillianl.ndestructibie thal r/hen Brahmaand Visnuwere engagedin fighling to tesl their slrperorilv upon each other,a iyolit'linga or p lar ol f re appeared n belween lhem. the jyalirlingawas wthoul any oeq - r rg o. end. wilhoulany Increaseol oec'edse and wa( pervaded the whole!nrverse. exlremey bn hanl.:rThisiyotir-linga respe-lrvplv B ., dno V snr wcnl upwatosa'rddow'r_wards "r Then lhey starled to lind out rhe end ol the rnga, bul iailed prayng lo Siva. and Siva appearedbelore them
Wha!rs S va Liiga ?
7. Ihe K.;lika' Putena says thal after destroying the Daksayajnaor sacriliceperformedby Daksa, Siva took lhe dead body ol Sati,his consort,on his shoulderand wandered all around n extremeanguish. Findinglhis aci oi Siva to be dangerouslo lhe world,Brahmd,Visnu and Sani entered the body of Saii,cut it into piecesand droppedthem on the eadh. And Siva remainedin the form of /lnga in those ptace where the head of Sati lell, and took the form ol tauha-maya Siralinga or Siva-lingahaving iron as its materiat.?o From lhe above study,il is clear thal bolh the said vrews aboul Sivalrngahave lheir rools in lhe Plra, ic traditian.Now. the problem betore us is: which of these two vews can be regardedas genuine.On lhis problem,the ioiowing points may be considered for coming to a conclusion. 1. The ierm '/t/,ga'didnot originallymean the generalive organ. 11meanl the fine state of something.Viicaspatiin his Samkhya tattva-kaumudl says that '/irga'means lhat Jine slate ol somelhing inlo which the gross form oi thal thing is desolved.?5TheSkanda-Puranaalso exptainsthe term in the sarne way, In the general usage ot the term, 'lnga' means some specralmark which poinls to lhe existenceof something ese. ll s Lrsedlo denote the generatlveorgan only tn a secondarysense,and this sensedevelopedonly al a lalerlime Hence, the term '/tnga'can nol be laken lo mean ihe generative organ, if lhe conlext does not requireit 2. In Vira-Saivism, the term 'linga'is used lo denoteany drvine lorln. Accordjngto lhis school, there are six /lrOa, s,halas or lorms ol Siva. namety, mahahng a rrhe gre;l). ptasada-linga {the gracious), carc-finga (,the dynamic) stya,nga (the auspicious), gutu-hnga llhe preceptive) and acafa,rga (lhe praclical).16These ,hga-sthalas have not even lhe s ighleslrelationwilh the generativeorgan. lt is notable that the Saivitesof this school are the most devotedfollowers ol Siva-linga.They are called Lingiiyetsalso, as they loltow the praclice ol hanging a Sivalinga on the neck.2? Even in such a syslem, Sivalinga does not ftean the generative
ltl
organ 3. The practce of attachrngyonipatabelawthe Sivalinga is nol un vefsal.There are numerous Siva- ngas which are not altached10 Yani?ala. 4. Though lhe linga-wotshipis speciallyrelaled lo lhe Sva-cult. il is not monopolisedby lhis cull. For lhere are relerences lo Ihe linga-wotship ol other gods like Visnu and Brahma. For example, the Kelika-Pur1naspeaks ol lhe /ingas of Brahmaand Visnu.'?8 wilh eyes,moulh,nose 5. Thereare numerousSiva-irngas elc. and aso some with tour mouths, On the slrength oi lhe above iacts, some think thal il s as a symbolor represenlation reasonabe lo lookuponSiva-linga o l S i v a h i m s e l ia n d n o t o f h i s g e n e r a l i voer g a n . I n t h e v i e w ol MahesvarDas and Haridas Bhallacharya,Siva linga was neverconnecled with the phallicworship: it simplyslood lor Absolule.'?e lhe Indescribable HaridasBhattacharya and Ramesh ChandraMajumdarholdthat Slva-lingais a subslituleol Siva, il lusl as lhe sa/agramaslone s a subslitute of NdrAyana,r0 s assurnedby some thinkers that the idea of represenling Siva by S va-linga might haveoriginatedfromthe Upanisadic stalementslike Brahman is stable like a tree', Though wrthoul any iool or hand, it moves and receivesrlhough wrthoulany eye, il sees; and thoughwithout any ear, it hears elc which speak oJ lhe unchangeablenature01 Erahrnan ll rs. however,an extremeview lo hold that the worshp ol Srva-lingawas not al all connectedwilh phallism.The dea ol pha sm was lhere, bui lt was blendedwith ihe idea ol Siva as lhe absolulecause.The poinl is lhal, Siva conioined wrlh Sakt.lhe Mother'coddess,is regardedby the Saivitesas lhe ulmale cause of the world. This idea compared wlth lhe Irorldy lact oi procrealiontrornthe organiccontaclbelween rnaleand lemale,lead to the idea ol organiccontaclbetween srva and lhe {\rother-Goddess, Ior the explanattonol lhe cleallonol the world. In reality,view,rrom the lranscondenlal poinlol v ew Sivaand Sakliare lormless; they assumedivrne
112
cnapt.r-+
lorms only lor the satistactionoi ihe devolionalsentirnents ol the spiritualaspirants.Hence, the idea ol the aenerative o.gan ol Srva and the Molher-Goddessdoes not aurl lo lhe iranscendental nalureot Sivaand the l\'lother. Even n lhe state of divinelroms, Siva and Sakti are not to be taken on a oarl wilh otherbeingsen,oyingorganicpleasure.The Jormsol Siva and Saktt are divine and are completelytree lrom sensual pleasure.This divlne existenceor sport ol sva and Sakt or Gaurihas ils parallelonly in the sport betweenSrikrishnaand Badha or lhe gopis. ln lhis divine existence.there is no dillerencebetweenthe body and its partsor ofgans lor every pa ol the bady is cinmaya or divine. Accordingty,it is loolishnessto distinguishbetweenthe body ol Siva and his organ.The so calledditferencebetweenthe whoteand the oad is -rade only fo' the satislactionol the sentrme.l ot d v ne love ol the devotees.Again. it is not the orqanic retaton oelween Siva and Saktr,but the total relationbetweenthem that is the causeol the universe.Hence,it is Sivarn his totalitv thal may oe comparedlo lhe male generatrve o gan and Sa(tl in her lotality,to the temalegenerativeorgan.Tl this kind his idea that degeneratedinto the nakedsex,beheaviours ol Siva depicted in the above rnentionedPuranic episodes.Thts shameluland pitiabledelineationol Siva,otherwse knownas Yogireja or the kjng of the selr-controlled yogins, most be attributedto the credit ol some aulhorsol low grade.And 1 is the mythslashionedby such authors01low qradethat have Ini'ueaceda class of thinkers or devoleesloiake the Srva. linga as lhe generativeorgan of Siva. What we men to say s thisthal Siva-lingaprimadlydenotesthe brilliantd v ne iorm of Siva, it is ihe pratikaor symbolof the tota ity of Srva, mav oe ,s gainedas lhe male generattveorgan,In vtew cl Ine lacr ihat lhe creation of the wodd proceeds lrom ihe conlact belweenSiva, the Absolute,and Sakti,the conscious power ol Siva. This very idea is Joundin the Ketika-pur;ina and the Brahma-Samhitawhich declare that Sambhu, Sankara or I\,4ahesvara is ol the lorm ol linga.3,To be moreexplcit, even whenthe conceplionof generativeorgan is app ied, Sivatinqa rs lo oe ia(eT to representthe lolatityor Siva. a"o nor rie
list"s d'd o e n e r a l r vO e , g d no l S i v a l l T a y b e a d d e o l h a l o l S va lhal hac l h e l o l a l r t y o i s y ' n b o l t h e o ' s r v a . t r n q aa s progress ol lhe practices or spiritual religious ieteuanceIo ol lhe a symbol as ol Siva-linga The concept devotees. relrgrous with the do to has nolhing Siva oJ ve organ oeneral The concepl iractices or spiritualprogressol the devotees of Siva has generatjve organ ol the a symbol nga as ol Siva-l noihinglo do with the religiouspraclicesnor with the sprrtual progressol a devolee.
REFERENCES
2. 3.
5
6. 8 9 10.
s a n k a r ap r a l r m a v a sl u l i n g a ' p u j ag a n y a s r S i v a P u r a n a Dharma Sanhna, 10. 2O5 r a v a s r i y e m a r u l a m a r j a y a n l ar ' r d r a y a t i e l a n r m a c a r u c l l r a n r- F Y 3 . 8 1 6 . 3 . t v d r b a k a ' n v a l a m a h e s 'usgr va n d h i m p u s n v r t d h d n a m ki ana va oevala Bb.ord ri qroreo bv V Das S e h n y ap a t i k e , p . 5 5 C a l c u t l a U n i v o r s i l y ,1 9 6 7 - 8 l v , l as i s n a - d e v aa p i g u r r l h a m n a h - R V 7 2 1 5 s l s n a ' d e v da b r a h m a c a r y a h- N n u k t a ' 4 1 9 i s r s n a d e v a n s i s n e n a n r t v a m e v a p r a k i r n a b h i hs l n b h i h s a k a m k r i d a n l a a s a l e s r a u i r a n i k a r m a n i u t s d y a - D u r g a c a r v ao n i b t d : s i s n e n a d r v y a n t i k r i d a n l a i t i s a s n a d e v a ha b r a h m a c a r v a - S a y a n ao n 8 V 7 2 1 . 5 iryafrhah See supra "Siva as a Vedlc God . " 7 21'3 See Mahebhanta. "sauptika_paruan1 d h a v a mm r n - n r a y a ms t h a n d i l a mk r l v a m e l y e n a p d j a v a b ' V a n a ' P a r u a n "3, 9 6 5 Mahebhera?. pp See H N Bhartacharya, Hindudet Devadevl Vo t p 1 6 4 C u l l u t e 118-9 and A. C Das Rg'Vedic - Srv:r' lvadiyam caica lingam ca palatam prlhvitale Purena Jhana sanhi!6 42 15 y o n r i u p a b h a v e cc e d v a i t a d a t a t s l h r r a l a mb h a i e t t b r d ' 42 21
12
l a l a s l a t p a t i a m l i n g a m i a t k s a n a c _ c h a n k a r a s ycaa
114
Chapter-4 S k a n d a - P u . a n a ,p r a b h i s a - k h a n d a . 18722.
13.
l a l a s c a i v a p a t a t i n g a mt a t k s a n a rt a r - lbtd, PUra-dvrsah 39. 15.
14.
l a r a hp a p a i ad e v a s y at i n g a mp L v r mv y a d a r d y a r . r a s a t a t a m v l v e s a r n aD r a h m a n d ceo r d h v a t ob h r n d t_ v a m a n ap u Q n a 6.66-7.
15.
See labove.
16.
voni-linga-svarupam vai tasrrad bhavisyat, _ r . u . a r a . - u [ a r a - k h a n d a " .c h 7 8
18 19. 20. 21
22 23
24.
25
26 27. 2A.
See Arahmancla-pu?na, Ch. 60. m a n a n a t a - s l a m b h a - v j b h i s a n a kvnaibf h u v al a n - n r a d h y a t a l e as nrskalah ._ Sjva-purana, Vidyesvara-samnna, 4. 11. j y o r i r l i n g a m t o d o t p a n n a ma v a y o r m a d h y e dbhuram _ e a u D a m y a . n I d r s t a m . a v y r k t a m v r s vsra m b h a v a r _ srra Purana, Jnana sanhita, 2. 62.4 See Siva-Purana. Vidyesvara-sanhjta, Ch 4 p r a b o d h a d h a mp a r a mt r n g a mp r a d u r b h L r a m srvarnatamk s a v a - v r d d h t s v i n r m u k raaomr m a d . y a . t a - v a i , . r a _ r 4urmd. Furana, ftrva-bhaga, 26 75. r a r . a l a t r aT a h a d e v a h s v a y a m t , n g a - s v a r u p a . d r , h . . r(ar^d P D t a n a 1 8 . 4 / , g a t \ a s i t a t v a mt a t r a r v at r n g a t v a m garava. h a r a h . . . . . . l l r i d1.8 . 5 4 . ili llngar. Sam^hyarakv.-"cuaua. on 5 d m ^ h v a . A a h \ a5. a t a y a h s a r v a - o e v a n a mt d v d n d Ingam ucyate - Skanda-Punna. quoted by M. Das op c,r. p. 56 See Srikaru-bhasya o n B r a h m a - s u t r a1, . 1 . 4 , I r . 2 j - 2 9 S e e J . N . S i n h a , S c h o o t sa t S a i v i s r : 'p. . . 1 5 2 . Karta
184j.yi"lyh sira.svar;pena brahma.rinsa_ s:.i:?.,:: v a f u p a -l:. d h f k- i b i 4 80.36.
29.
30.
31
32 prdda-
1 4 a h a b h a n t . S a u p l i k a - p a r y a ,n C h 7 a ! , r b h u l 3 r m a h a - t r n g a md , v y a m r e t o - r r a / a n , L b . a n _ rKanoa-Fuana. 34 13
s v a y a mv i s n u rl i n g a - r u ptia r r a s t eb h a g a v a nh a r i h_
W h a l r s S r v aL n q d ?
See M. Das op ci! pp. 55-6 and H. Bhallacha.ya. Ire
I 15
Foundatrcns ol Living Faiths, pp. 224'9 "An S e e B h a f l a c h a t y a l,o c c i l a n d K . A N i l a k a n l h aS a s l n . ot lndta Hetitage Cultural H sroncal Skelch of Saivism," Vol. lV. P. 67 vrksa iva srabdho divi listhaty'ckah - svetasvatata up 3 . 9 t a p a n i p a d oj a v a n og r a h i t ap a s y a t y _ a c a k s usha s r n o l v _ akarnah ib,d,3.19. s a k l l m a np u r u s a hs o y a m l i n g a _ r u pmi a h e s v a r a h B ' a h m a _ K a l ika'Putana S a . , h i t a .5 . 1 4 1 p u i a y e l i n g a _ s a n k a r a m l a l ra svayam b h a g a v a n _ c h a m b h u a 8c. 6: Iniga_svarupi slhilah - /bid 80.36.
o (u .G
(E
ta =
.c
r
G
o
o ()
=
z
i.o
ro (!rr
.c(E ()F
Chapter-5 T I o rhe qereralpeople,Tantraand lhe Tdntri[asor rhe oi Tanlraare obiectsol bolhdislikeand fear.Some followers whichhaveliltlerelalions occullpracticescalledabhicercs, pursued wllhreligion, andalsosomereligious by theTdntrikas pract/ces for this-Of the religious oJTantra, are responsible lhe ma kArasAdhanasor practiceswilh 7he ma-kdfts, in parlicular, havebeen subiected lo seriouscriticisms. namely, madyaor wine, Thesemakerasate livein number, mansaot meal, matsyaor lish, mudr6 or crookedrice ard and mailhona or sex-relalion.'These arecalledma vegelable k;jras,becauseall lhe wordsdenoting theseobjeclshavema kalaor the sound'm'inlhe beginning. Andma-kera-s,dhanes practices are lhosereligious lhatare pursuedby lheTantrikas wilh the help ol these ma'kiais. Ol the live mekeras,mudrA by noneas an objectcomingundermudrearc nol s described al a I harmfulto our morallifeand are usedby all oi us in our day-to-daylife. But the olher lout ma-kerasare seiously including Euddhisrn, criticised by allthescriplures ol Hinduism Jainismand Sikhism,and also by the peoplein generalas directlyopposedto religionand ethics. Of course,scriptures liketheManu-smttiand lhe likehave prescribed lish and mealas lood,but theseprescriptions are meantfor the peopleol lowgradewhohaveno ideaaboutthe higherand purerplaneol spirituallite.This is clearfromthe lactthat,whilegivinghisfinalassessmenl, l,,lanu hasdeclared non-ealing ol lishand meatas lhe ,ltamaor lhe highesllorm ol practice, aspiranls lo abandon and hasadvisedlhe spiritual lhe pracliceol eatinglishandmeal.,Likewise, drinking ol wine has alsobeenallowedto the peopleof lowerrank,and sexrelationhasbeenprescribed lor the house-holders, lhoughal the end,the abandonmenl of thesehabitshasbeeneulogised as givinggreatlr!its.3This meanslhal thesetour ma-kafas arelreatedas opposed Underlhese to religious or spiriluallile.
120
Chapter5
c r r c u m s r a n . Fas ,o u e s l i o n . , a r . r r adl lnys e sI n o u r m r n da s l o why these things have been"declaredin Tanlraas means for spirilualuplift. In some authoritativescriptures,it is held lhal the ternrs 'madya, mansd etc.laundln the Tzjntricprescriptions do nol. n reatrty,rneanwine, fish etc. with whtch we are acouainted. These lerrnsare here said io be used in lechnicalsenses to denotedilterentstepsor stagesin the pathot spiriluatprogress and fealisaljon.Thus, in the Tjnlrjc scriptures,we find the explanatlonsal lhe ma-k4as in diiterentways as iollows:(1) The practlceof drinkingmadyaot wtnemeansthe pracliceoi last ng the ilow of nectar oozing trom lhe t6/u o I Brahmatandhra sltualedat the lop of the spinal cotd.'Mensa'rneansspeech (ma = tongue, ams6 = speech) and, hence, the practiceof ,Malsya' ealing md,sa means speech-conlrol. means sydsa. the oulgoingbreaih,ancjpraskisa, the ignoringbreath,of lhe lwo torms ol air lying jn the nervescalled canga i.e. ide and Yamunai.e..pinga6. Hence, the praclice of eating matsya neans ptunayamai,e.breath-conlrol or aircontrol. The practice ol eatrngmlldrdmeansdigestingthe sentimentsot desire.lear. h a l ' e d .v a _ l V .s h a n e e t c . . o V b O , t - g . n e n b y r r e l i r e ol Knowledge.'Maithuna' meansunionbetweenBrahmanand the indivdual self.a 12) 'Madya' means bliss derived from the enjoymenioi Brahmanthroughthe Wacliceol yoga.,MAtsya, means lhe dedicalionol all actions to B.ahman. ,l4atsya, meansfeelingthe joys and sorrowsol all beingsas one.sown loys and sorrows.Mudlri'meangivingup the companyof evil petsons. 'Maithauna' means unjon oJ lhe seff with S]va. the Highesr.5r3\'Mddva means absorplionin the med alton ol B . a h n a na d i n t h e b l t s sa r , s i n g, r o ms u c hT e o ( a l , o n . . M a n s a means absorptionln lhe meditationol Brahmanthroughthe deslructionot mefits (punya), demerits (papa), angei etc. 'Malsya' meanssense-control and absorptionin the m;ditaijon ol lhe_seil.'Mrdrdmeans.boiling'ordestroyingdesire,greed, elc. Maithuna'means absorptionin Brahman.6 Madya giving \4) ase 1o happrnessand miserystandsfor rakla or blood.Mdnsa energislnglhe body and lhe mind representsvAyu at at. Matsya increasing the power of iert ltty signilies wa1et.Mudn
Tanlrc Practicewrth Makaras
ol all lhe livingbeings dr veoelablelormrngthe loundation root ol mulliplicilyrepresenls ."mb;rses lhe earth.Mailhura,the -,uoa", practice ol the llve ma_kdras Hencethe o, "pur" ol lhe anddedication ol all lheseelements ;ears divinrsalion llow ot lhe lasling means same ol the Lotd' (5)'Madya' ol lotus lies in lhe necla. (which oozingkom bindu sLpreme the as lunchons and cord at lne lop ol the spinal ,ainasrara lhe as a resulto{ the unionbetween ;ootol all manifestations) 'Mensa' menls destroyrng means kuntlalini-powetand bindu. by lhe anlmalto (punya)and demerils(papa)- symbolised by mansa represented heart lhe ne sicriliced and ol{ering - lo the Lord.'Malsya'meansconkollinglhe sensesand ol|no_a rhe'n Io lne contaclof the sell Mailhunameans selfin contactwrlnthe SuprerreSel'3 r,"ni,ni rne .ndividuar iere tf'e questionis: il ihe saidwordsare reallyusedin their lechnicalsensesto symbolisespiritualpraclrcesot diflerentgrades,as presenledabove,why havethe Tiintrikas chosentiese wordswhichin their generalusagecarrythe thingsandtherebyarousedollbtsand oJundesirable meanings people? Tothis,somesaythalthese minds ot in the d sresp;ct the ordinarypeopleor people lo attraci used been wordshave qrade to such things But lhis are addicted who low of cannotbe accepledon tho followinggrounds: interoret;tion to altractthe ordinarypeoplesimply (1) First,it is notpossible by utteringa fewwordsdenotingthingsoJalluremenlToallract the ordinirypeople,thoselhingsmustactuallybe olferedto lhemior lheir enioymenl.(2) Secondly,in theTeintricscriptures, ol'lhe makerasare foundas lollows: delaileddescriptions lJttamamadyaot madyaof highqualilycan be producedlrom andhoney.Mrinsaor mealcanDeacqulreo molases, sesamum Iron rhe lhreelypesor animalslivingin waler.landand air' Amongstmatsyasor Jishes,sii/a, bodeb and rohila are.tne - when besl ones. Sd/irice- whitelike the moon'beams cookedor baked wilh thee becomessuitableto be used as mudra.eFlowersare also worthy of being used as mudte ln ''.ecdseol lhe praclrceol [/larthuna Sadhakasown wite is have Allthesedescriptions decared10be the bestassociale.ro we rralerialthings are to the corlesponding clearreferences
ChapteFs acqurarntedwith. lt is neitherpossiblenor, desirable give to acquaintedwith. lt is neilher possiblenor desirable to dive 5ym0ottL, or, spintual inrerprelalionsto all these ler.ns. {3) r nlroly,the ltve ma-kaas in lhts directorpopular senses are seen to be used nol onty by the ordrnarysddha*ds but also ov sadnak€sof high rate, in the pursurtot spiriluatJte. crear sadDakastikeBemaksepaand othersused to take wtne neat etc. in their spiritual practices. Srj p K. Chanopadhayayin his Sadhusanga inlorms us how great iantrikas ,Tanlebhihist navrngsuper-sensuous experiencesajso used to p,acltcewtth rne rve makdlas.An evenl descflbed,nlhts work w r su,lrce . In rhe dark night of a new_moonday. a numoer l:"to:'l'.o" or I antnkas, each having his female assoctate with him,
ll. tonerycemetery, sar In a crrcu,arway. 1 ::::1!i_d consurnedsulficienl
meal and wtne along wllh lheir ternate associatesand practisedtor the wholenight.ln this assembly, tne cakresvara ot the head ol the circte and the bhairavi, his temale associate,embraced each other in a naked position and attajnedsamddhr,loosinglheirexlernatsenses.iiThis description shows thal even lhe sedhakasot high,are pracr.se w th .he rve makaras tn their populat senses Now, we are conlrontedwilh two problems:{1) First. il . wrne, meal,etc. are really meanl lor spirjtualpraclices, why have lhe Tdntrikasgiven the aforesaidsymbotic or spirituj
o!rhg.l?8+aras? whydJd^esrear \2) Seco^dty, l:l,eleretarlgr5 lottowers of Tantra
lrkeRamakrjshna and olhersnot praclice with lhe ma-karas? ln solvingtheseproblems,the Trintrjkassay thal sridhakas or sprntual aspirants aredividedin{othreetyp;s,according to three types ol bhevasot menlal atilude_ihe ttrreerypei ot bhAvasarc: (al pasubhevaot tamasika-bh.iva _ the animalistic alfd{deor the a iludeot the quatityol lamas, vtebhava \h) ot tne tatasika-bhdva * the neroicalliludeor the a rruoe o, lhe q,.jalityol rEas, and (c) divyabhevao. se vi|a-bhava lhe divinealtrtudeor lhe altrtudeol the quatilyol sattva.,! Thoughthesethreebhdyasaresofietimesdesc;ibed as three slepsin the pathol sprrituat progress, rl is morereaso-ab,e
r^-r". Practrcewilh l/lakaras
123
,^,eod'o l'e'r as three di{lerenlways of sprnlualpraclice ol threediflerenlathtudesOlthese oy ff'" sadf'akas "i.'".i"0 a sedhakaol the pasubhavais ool sedhakas, ol in,"" ryp"s ma'kArasin lheirpopularsense wit|. lhe ."r,rtei to o.actise may bringdownlallin hrs ma-kalas pru"ii"". with the i'n"" lorthe ma_ or substllules atukalpas some l'le. Hence, ..,r rJal tollows : as ol saalhakas class prescribed lor this i'aras a'e honey' milk' arc cocoanul'watel' matsya lol The substitules on The subslitutes so with molasses ginget mixed juice ol lhe garlicand so on The lat mansaate salt,ginger,sesamum, (mulaka), brinial,salt, radish red malsya ate lor substitutes paddy. nce etc The are lor mudra subslitules Jhe elc. ;rnoer, for malhunarsofleringol llower'BForthe sad'akas i.lo-sr.trres also.lhelrvemaka@sate nol prescribedsince ol d,vvaDhava ol lhis class,berngalwaysabsorbedIn divine the sadhaka io practisewiththeseexternal lhoughls,considerit superfluous elem;nts.The sadhakasof lhis classare advisedio; takeonly thesvmbolicorspirilualmeaningsofthe ma-karasasmenlioned in lheirpopulersensesareprescribed aoov;.T.e fivema-ftalas 'or lhe sadhatasot viabhava only Accotdinglo some.the lor the sadhakasol diryabhava are prescribed exiernalma-karas also." But it is more reasonableto attachlhe practicewith lhe externalma-karaslo lhe sadhakasol viabhava only' as it is the sadhakasof virabhavaonly Ihal lty io attainsprrilual withthe nalu.allendencres enlighlenment throughconlrontation the ma'karasmighl be whomsoever ol the mind-boby.But lor prescribed,a sadhakais nol allowedto practicewith lhem accordlngto his sweet will. A sadhakamay ptaclisewith lhe ol lhe capabilily considering makafas;nlywhenthe preceptor, the sadhaka.allows him to do so. In someTantras,the five rta'kei.ashave been described as obligatorylor allkindsol sadhakas.lheMahenitvena'Tantra says lhat withoutthe p:€,cliceol ma'kiircs,a sadhakacannot as he is liable excepilo makeprogress in his spiritualiourney' lo be conlronledwith obstaclesat every step of his journeyfhe MAtkebheda-Tan lra says lhat withoutdrinkingmadyaor w ne, no personcan acquirelhe highestknowledge and thal by drinkingmadyaevenlhe worst sinnercan acquirereal
124
ChapleF5
knowledge and atlainliberation. A person,it is said,altains srralilaor godliness al lhe very momentoi drinkingsuraor wine.Likewise, the Kularnava-Tanlra and someotherTantras also sav that lhe oracticewilh the ma-karasis essentiai lor spiritual upliil.l5 In all lhesecases,however, the ma-karas arc to be acceptedin lheirsymbolicor spirjlualsense,sincelhe practicewith the spiritualma-karasis obligatorylor all. lt is in the caseol the sadhakasolvirabhavaonlythat practicewith thema-*afas in lheirdirector popular sensehasbeenregarded as necessary.ln realily in lhe case ol lhe sadhakas 01 virabhavaelso, praclice wilh lhe external ma-kerasis noi obligatory. Thesadhakas o1thisclassare simplya jowed,and not compelled, praclise lo with lhe ma-karas. This is known tromtheJactthatlhereare numerous greaisac/hakas whodid nol practise with lhe external ma-karas, and that a great sadhaka like Bamakrishnadescribedthis wav ol soiritual pracliceas'a pathfull oI rubbish."nd ll cannot,however, be denied thal praclice with the exlernal ma-keras- be il obligaloryor optional- has been regardedin Tantraas a meanslor spiritualuplifl. Now,as saidabove,the non-Tanlric lhinkershavealwavs decred the ma-kdasas greatevils,on the groundthal they bringdownfall in ourelhicalandspirilual life.Hence,theTantric prescriptionol lhese ma-kiitasas means tor spirilualuplift nalurallyevokesthesequesiions: First,why havelheseantispiritual thingsbeenconsidered inTanlraas meanslor spirilual uplifl?Secondly,is it reallypossibleto make progressin spiriluallife with the help ol lhese ma-karcs? In solvingthe lirst question, it will haveto be noledthat Tantrahas neverdescribedthe enjoymentoJ lhe ma kdrasas such io be ihe meansfor spiril!al progress,Tantrahas described lhe ma-karas simplyas sub-servient to the spirriual progressot a sadhakawho,havinghis aim {rxedon spirilual enlighlenment, underlakes lhe relevanlpraclices wilhthe help ol thesema-kdras. A personwhosepurposeis simplyto eal Jishand meat,lodrinkwine,andto enioysexualpleasure can neverbe expectedto makeprogressin lhe spirilualpalh. lJ
rantricPr!491!M99I39
125
'egardeo as ,ha en,ovmenlol lhese ma-karasas such be '-1,."'il, ,o'titu"r ptogressor lor the atlarnmentol hberation wilhoul ,n""n.o.t oitne p"opte wouldbe entitledto liberalron person o' a the exception Tantrasaysthat wlth ,.-r endeavour. fish_ealers all sense .uttuu In rls symbolicor spiritual l,ili.h.,t"n commrttingviolenceagainsl *g"tc"o l" 'J ]i" srmply "i l",mals. lqa'n. rl is said that a persondnnkingwrne enioymenl unbriddled that qt""l sinner.and ,'^,.n'ou."nr '. tlom lhe enloymenlby lhe lower i ri"'rr.*r.a. '"" 'iot Ortlerent helplng a ,n,mats. T"e ma'heras arc lhus regarded as lheVa'e wl-en oi'ry or enlightenment laonaia atta n tiUe,ation proper wilh and iniunctions fJe use ol accotdingto scriptural ma-karas BLI rhe quest'onstill remainsas to how lhese help a can sprrituality lo wnah a.e drametricallyopposed lo we have this to ln reply progress. sadhakain his spirilual namely kinds two is ot ot .piriiuallndeavour llu tn"i "ualrn" or lhe palh ol renuncialion and pravtllimarga oI n.' rtn.marca '' palh a sedhaka Lfreoarnoieniovment Accordinglo the lirst and phys cal menlal those againsl tint drreclly . ,"ou'rs6 16 lhe ,.".J"c,"" rn"iut" oppo."J to sprrilualprogress Here abhyasa osDIart is to ma'1lainrlgoroussell controlthrouqh lhe o, i.e oracfice a'O vatraiya or delachmentand lo desltoy lhis lor And i."J".i"i"" or desire,lusl, greed etc to the rootlhal oJroose,he 's lo grveup lhe enjoymentol all lhose lhrngs palh ol ln lhe are Lableto aroule these menlal lendencies the destroy to ,r""rrri o" rft" other hand, a sedhaka is nol mentallendenciesnaiuralto humanbeings;nor is he requlred thal are liablelo arouse lo o've uo lhose lhlngsot enJoyment ir'"-.. t"ni"n","". rr iirhrough bhogaor enloymentdeclarelhe yoga sasiras ol thrs path' lhal a sadhaka can allain or liberationBul bhogaas such cannotleao a enliohlenment sad;aka lo enliohlenmenl or liberation li is bhoga through the purification of the naturalhumanlendenciesihal or d-ivinisation can leada sadhakalo spiritualenlighlenmentThis puritication or divrnrsalion rs posslble.whenlhe naturalhumantendencles dre drrectedlowardslhe Lordor lhe Mother'That means when
Chapler-5
the sadhakaenloys anything,he is to think and rea se lhat lhe objectol his enjoyrnenlis but a maniiestationoi the Lord or the fvother.Accofdingly,a sedhaka is hete a owed to enjoy all lhose thingsfor which he has a naluralaitachment.What lhe sedhakais requiredto practiseis that he shoutdthink and realrsethe bliss derlved from the enioymentof those th ngs to be the bliss ol Brahmanor the l\,lother. A sedhaka by a reguar pursuanceof ihis pracljce,can lransporl his mind lo lhe divine land ly ng beyond the land oi materralenjoyment. lt s thereioresaid n Tantrathal a sadhakacan rise io lhe spiritualplane with the help of those things that are iiableto br ng downfallin the lifeoi man.16 The signiticancehere is thal, a szidhakais to enioydivinebliss in the very enjoymenlol the worldlythings,and thus iry 10detachhis mindlrom the objects oi worldly enjoymenl.When a sadhakais successfutin lhis praclice,the v/hole world reappearsto him as div ne. This clearly shows lhat pravrfti mArya is simply a slep towards ntvrttrmerga. And it is this pravrtti-mdrga is s rnpty a step |o\Natds nivrttimerga. And it is this pravrttLmarga lhal s prescrbed rn Tantra.Tanlrathereloresays lhal in )l ptavrttiis lranslormed lnto lyrtr, or rather, bhoga teappears as yaga,,s This path is meantparticuJar y for those who lead a dom;stic le, and also ior lhose who are not capable ol praclising rigorousself-control. ll rs now clear that the five ma-kerasarc prescrbed in Tantra from the viewpoinl ol pnvrtti-mArga. Here the sedhaka ls requ red 10reatjse,at the time ol enjoyingthe ma karas,lhal lhe enjoymenthe gets is but a manitestationoi lhe bliss of Brahman. ln other words, he shoutd enjoy Brahm;inanda tlrroughlhe enjoymentol the wortdlythings.A pointto be noled nere s ihal alllhe enjoymentsol the worldoriginate,tn reality, Irom Brahmzinanda. The ordinarypeopte cannot reaiisethis o a c a J s eo t t q n o . a l c ea n d t h e r e s u l t i n tgm p u r t vo r I , e m _ d w - . ' I n o o s et i . r i l a l i o nosf l h e i re n l o y m e nol, o l i s - a s d d t r A d who, trtrougrtproper practicesdirects h s mjl]d lowards the S!preme, can deslroythis ignoranceand the resultingimpurtiy ol lhe mrnd.As a result,lhe limlationsimposedby gnorance and the impurty of the mind vanjsh and ihe unljmiieddivine
T:nr L Pra.tl.e dth Ti,4akaras
121
'div nisation When b iss reveas itsei. Thrs is whal is called a sidhaka ls successiul in dlvlnlsing his nalura hLrman lendencies.he linds no dlllerencebelweengood and bad or betweef truth and lasiy. To him, lhe so_calledevl deed s reveaed as a good deecl;lhe |]nlrue,as truei the undrinkabe as drinkable the unealable,as ealable;and the unenloyalre e t h l h e m a - k a r a sl h u s , s h o w s t n e b : ' T h e p r a c t i cw asenjoyae us how to inf nit se our I n le and leaches on patlr oi divinisal n reply to the second queslion,we may say, lrom an analysisol lhe natura human tendences, that it is certa n y possibleto rise to lhe plane ol pure and divinebliss lhrougn !"/ord y enjoymenl.ll we can enjoyworldlythingsas Brahman our enjoymenlbecomespure and deep, as a resuLlol whlch our nalurallendences r se to a divine p ane Th€ enloymenl 01lhe beaulyol a f ower becomespurerand deeper,whenllrat is enioyedand realisedas the beautyol Brahman.Such beaLrly an -.floymenidestfoysihe boundsimposedon us by the m n0' bocly,and uniles us with lhe unboundedb ss ol Brahrnan In the same way.ihe b ss derlvedlrom the enloyrnentof the ma kares risesto an intinlteand divineplane,when it s realised as denlrcalw th lhe blissol BrahmanThe iruth oi this pos tion rs attestedby the I fe histores ol numeroussidhakas Ol lhe iive ma kiras, the lilth one caled malfhu,aor sex re al on has naluraly becornethe obiectol worsl cr tic sm To clarfy the postion, kema or lusl s regardedas lhe greatest r o b s l a c l el o s p r i i u a p r o g r e s sa, n d t l s l h e s e x _ r e L a l l o n i re ndles lhe that enk female relaion betweenlhe male and oi llrsl:r Hence,the questionnaturallycomes: how can sex reLatron be regardedas a path for spirtua progress?To ths, our rep y ls llrat, in Tantra,a sadhakals advisednot to enloy h s jema e assocate throughthe leeling 01 ust. but 1o look on of the Divine upon and enjoy her as a human representat lVolher to lransformthe woman into Mother Lrkewlse a sadhlkeor iemale aspirantis aso advlsedlo ook llpon ano of S va' enloy her male associaleas a human representalion ln realty, k;ima or lusl and preman ot love are Dul lwo
l\.aharas Tanlflc Practrce wrth
aspecisof the samepsychological altitude.ll we can turnih€ directionof kAmalowads the Lord or the l\,4other, il reveals itsellas p/emar.Grealsagesof ages have shownin th€ir praclicalliveslhat kajmacan be translormedinlo pteman and that, accordingly, all the conditions€vokingkima can be translormedinto conditionsevokingpreman.We havealreadv relerred to theevenlol an assembly ol theTant haswhe.eth; headof lhe circleand his femaleassocialeembracedeach other in a naked posilion and were absorbed in samadhi. KrsnadasaKavirajain his Caitanya-caritamrta intormsus that Ramananda Raya,aVaisnava-saint anddevotee of SriCaitanya, usedto practisewith some deyadssis- girls in the services of the deitiesin a temple- as his associates. Ramananda Rayausedlo balhethesegirlsin his own hands,ornamenls lhem and applyperfumeto theirbodies.And whitedoingso, he usedlo be absorbedin the planeol divine realisation.We cannol doubt the sanclityof the behaviourol Raya and the heighlof his realisation,becauseof the fact thal a great sainl and staunchfollowerof self-controllike Sri Caitanvaoaid his highesltribulesto Raya,sayingthal he was matchless in his self-controi, and thal likea stonehe everrernained unmoved by ihe lellingol lust.c reatdevoteeslikeCandidasa, Vitvamangala andJayadeva alsousedto practise withlheirfemale associates. In the lile of Sri Ramakrishna also,we find thal one day,by the direction oJhis lady-preceptor BhairaviBrahmani, he had to sil on lhe lap ol a naked,beautiJul girl;bLtt and tull,grown even in this conditionhe remainedunmovedby lust and behavedlikea child.The keyto the attainmentol sucha mental balancelies in lhe divinisaiionor molherisationot woman.ll will not be out of place to menlionh€rethat Srikrsna'sRasasporlwilh the goplswas playedin sucha divineplane.And throughthe pracliceoI maithuna,Tanltaleachesus this gr€at secretol divinisation or molhedsation of woman. We may thusconclude lhat all lhe practices withthe mak;jras teach us lo divine the objects of our atlachmentor enioymenl. Whena s4dhakais successtul in lhis divinisalion, he sees lhat the materialma-kerasate translormedinto the spirilualma-karas. In otherwords,in thisplane,he enjoysthe
129
as represen|_g dr.Aaras In lherrsyrroolicor splrilualsenses He now derves l"e reaiisal'on ;i;erenr oanps ol sprrrlual ol lhe bliss lhe neclar ol enjoyment ii"u,"rt o,"""rt" lro. lre his existence whole ol lmudlal includinq AlatrrlanInadyal: the by him as is realised vital air Imalsya) th" prana-n"yu or the actions all ol lhe Supreme; existence identicalwith lhe his conkol are broughl under his mind-body lo Imdnsa]i retaiing and his self becomes ,ully absorbed in Btahman lmaithunal. Ol course, rl is very risky lo practisewith lhe ma-karas. parlicularly, with mailhuna,as in this paththereis very chance ot downla al every step.The Kulamava-Tantratherefore says lhat thesepractrcesare moredangerouslhan waJkingthrough the edge of a sword,or claspinglhe neck ol a tigeror catching holdot snake.Thal is why the practiceswilh the ma-karasate generallykepl secret within the circleol a selectedlew, and greal religiousleachers concernedwith the mass do never propagalethem.
r.
2 3. 4
REFERENCES .nadyamminsam tathi malsyammudr; mailhunameva ca sakti-puid'vidhivddye paica-tattvamprakirtitamMahanirva na-Tente,5. 221see atsoMundanala-Tantra. 2. 59. tasm:i6mafsy:invivaiayer- Manu-Samhtta,5. l5i nivadeta safva-mansasya bhaksana _ ,b/d.5. 48. na m:tnsa-bhaksanedoso na madve na ca maithune. pravrttiresa bhuanamnivrllis tu mahdohati_ ibld. 5. 56. soma-dh:iriksared yd tu brahrna-randhrad varanane. p(yandnda-mayim tam yah sa €va madya-sevakah. masaDdadrasanajneya iad-amsanrasanapriye.sada yo bhaksayed devisa evamansa-sadhakah_ ganga,yamLnayor madhyematsyaudvaucaratahsada,tau matsyaubhaksaved yas rL sa bhave'lmalsya-sadhakah. asarrsra-iugupsaohaya-visada,ghma"mana tajjabhisangah. brahma-gnavasra mudrah para sukrrir nah japacyamanahsamastat tadajalo mahanando brahma,jnanau sudunabham ?ihani larare yasm;idarm;irimastad-ucyate- Agamasara.
130 5.
Chapter-5 y a d - u k t a mp a r a m a mb r a h m an t v r k e r a mn i r a n j a n a mt a s m i n o r a m a d a n a . , n i n a mt a n m a d y a m p a r i k i r t t a m e v a f r m a m . alsyamanam s a n o t ih i y a l k a r m al a n m a m s a mp a r i k i d i l a mm s a r v a - b h L j t es u k h a - d u h k h a m i d a m p f y e . a s a l ' s a n g a m u d r : j n a my a t t a n m u d r i p a r i k i n i l i . k u l a - k u n d a l i nsi a k l i r d e h i n a m d e h a - d h a r i n il.a y a s i v a s y a s a u y o g o m a i l h u n a m p a r i k i r t i l a m- q u o t s d b y S v a m i N i g a m a n a n d a ,I a r k i k Gutu,pp. 1A-9. vyoma-pankaia-nihsyanda-sudh?i.p:ina'ralonarah. sudh;i. p ? i . a m i m a m p r o k l a m i t a r e m a d y a - p a y i n a hp. u n y a p u n y a pasum halv:i jntna-khadgena yogavil. paie layam nayec crltam palijsi sa nigadyate. manasa cendriya'gafam s a r n y a m y a l r n a ny io j a y e l .m a l s y a s is a b h a v e d d e v i . . . . p a r e s a k l y a l m a - m i t h u n a - s a d r y o g a n a n d a ' n i r b h a r ayha. a s t e mairhunam rat syad apare slri-nisevakah - KularnavaTantra, A 1OA-112.
Tantrc Practicewilh l\Iakaras
131
MundanAh-TanlG, 2- 59: pasor na divya-virayoh- vog,n, Ianrra. 6. 14i see C. L. Gaulam, op cit, vol. I, pp. 250 72. and Brahmafsl Salyadeb, Pu./a-lallva,pp. 169-70.
15
p a n c a - l a t l v a mv i n e p t t e a b h i c 6 r i y a k a l p a l e .n e s l a _ s i d drh bhavel lasya vighnes lasya pad€ pade - Mahennnna Ianka, 5,23; kul6-c6ramvind devi sakli-manlro na srddhidah - ibld,5.21t see also Maltka-bhecla-Tantra.3. 32, 3. 3a and 4.9 and asa Kulamava-Tantta, 7. 1AA.
1 s ( a ) vide Srl Sri Banakrishna-kath'nrta, Retlect Publication. 16
C a l c u t l a .p p 2 3 6 , 3 3 5 , 9 5 2 . s u d h i h- K u l a r r a v a _ m e d - p a n c a k a mi s e n i d e v a l 6 - p r i t a y e I a r l r a , 1 0 6 t s v e c c h a y dp a s u v a tr a n a mp a s u ' p e n a mi l r i l a m - Mah|njrv'na-Iantta, 7.95; see also Kuhmava.Tantra. 2. 11A-32 and 5. 110, and also Nila'Tantta, 9. 2'4 and
17.
p r a v r t t a mc a n i v r l t a m c a d v i v i d h a m k a r m a v a i d i k a m -
18.
yan eva palanamdravyaihsiddhistan eva codila- Kuriirrava_ Tantra. 5. 44. b h o g a - y o g a t m a k a kma u l a . r -' i b i d , 2 . 2 4 ; b h o g a y o g a y a t e ibid.2_ 25.
S e e M a h a n i r v a n a - T a n l r8c ., 1 0 3 - 1 11 . 8.
9.
ll
12.
13.
s a h a s r 5 r o p a rbi i n d a u k u n d a y 6 m e l a n a ms i v e . m a a l h u n a m s a y a n a md i v y d m y a l i n a m p a r i k i t t i t a m- Y o g i n i - T a n t r a . 6 4 l I k u n d a l y am i l a n a db i n c j o hs r a v a l ey a t p a r a m r l a m .p i v e d yogi mahesani satyam salyam varanane Yogint-Tantra. ultameslividhd malsyahsdla'palhina'rohilah MaDantpana' Iarlra. 6. 8; mrLnsam trividhamprcklamjala-bhucara-khecalam - ibid, 6. 5t gaudi paisti talha madhvitrivdha coltanrd surd- lbid, 6. 2; see also Kularnava-TantQ,Ch. 5i candra' bimba-nibh3subhra sali-landula'sambhavayava-godh umajd vapi ghrla-pakva'manohara quoled by Svami N gamananda, op cit p. 31. svakiya kevala jneya sarya-dosa"\iva(ji1a- Mahanirvanavide P K. Chalfopadhyay, Tantrcbhilasit SAdhusanga. yol , pp. 237.8. sakli prddhanyddbh6vandmtmyanam s5dhakasyaca. divya, vira-pasUnamca bh'iva-rtayam udahtlam - Rud.a yamala. quoled by Svami Nigamananda, op cit, p. 43. See Yogini-Tantra,Ch.6, Kukrnava-Tantra, Ch.5 and C. L. Gartam, Ianta-nehavijian, pp. 245-72. d i v y d n d m c a i v a v l a n 6 m s a d h a n a b h a v a - s i t d h a n a m-
t9 20
anecdrah sadac6raslv-ak6ryam. karyam utlamam, asalyam a p j s a r y a n s y a l k a u I k a r a m k u l e s v a r i a p e y a ma o i o e y a r s y d d a b h a k . s y a mo h a k s v a m6 v a c a a g a m v a r ra p i g a m y d r syal kaulikanam kulesvai - ibtd 9. 57.
21
ei. Fhisatrum mahavahok6maripam dulasadam Gita 3. 43
thagavad_
ct) .=
.tr o tu
o
CL CL
o 9ot ,^ o.= Y.E>
g €i5
.s-' !E o)
5 65
Chapter-6 VI Gradalions of Approach The nalural state ol communian is lhe highest; meditalton and concentation are the mtddle; japa and chants oI praise lawer; ritual and outer worship ate lhe lowest, (9 34) THERE are several modes ol approachand communon w th the Divine,each approprialeto the inner developmenland conditionof mind of ihe seeker.Those that are the leasl developed,the most exlroverl, need lhe external material support ol ritual, ceremonres,etc. lor keeping lhemselves turnedlo the D vine; thosewho are a littlemoredevelopeddo nol ieel the need of physicalmodesol worshipand lhey resort lo /apa and chantsol praise.Those who are stilltu(her up on lhe ladderof evolutiondiscardall physicaland semi'physical means and take to concentrationand meditationupon the objeclof lheir quest.The higheststale, however,is arrivedat when communionwilh the Divineis conslanland nalural:one does not need any specialpracliceto live in the consciousness ol onenesswilh the Divine.
136
Chapt€r-6
G U R U( r )
cradationsol Approachingthe Divine
137
G U R (Ur D
Thete is no lruth grcater lhan lhe Gutu. (3.113)
All holy actions are @otedin the Curu. 112.14)
TO the seekerlhe Guru€mbodies thekuth to be realised; gives theGuruit is whocommunicates th€lruthlo thedisciple, him the powerto assimilate it and b€comeone with it. Thus doesthe Gururepresenl to ihe disciplelo ldeal10be attained and lhe meanswherebylo seekil. The Guru is all because he can give all.To the disciplethere is noihingbeyondlhe Guru,
ALL ritualin lpiisare, innerdiscipline,dependstor its liledynamismon lhe spiritlal energylransmifledby the Guru in The powerwhichflowsiniolhe disciplewhenhe the niliation. is laught the rilualisticaction by a competentGuru emerges the act and makesil alive.Wilhoutit ritualis mechanicaland does nol yield its intendedtruit.
138
Chapler-6
cuRu( t) -- Guru is the fathet, Gutu is the mothet, Guru is God lvlaheshwaraHimself. i12.49) _ THEGuruis the motherwhocarriesthe seekerin the womb ol his conscjousnessbeforehe gives him birth inlo the life ol lhe Spirit. _ The Guruis the fatherwho tendsto the growthand welfare ot the initiate in the difticultpath. _ The,Guruembodiesthe Lord for it is throughthe person ot the Gufu lhat He manifeslsHimselfro the disciple and reachesto him His saving crace.
139
GURU(lV) Form his transcendentstation,the Lord in the form of the curu frces one lrom animalbonds. I.t2.26) WHATis achievedin the discipleas a resultof the force of of the Gurudoesnot dependuponthe human capacities atlaintments or lackof lhem theGuru.Forit is nothispersonal oneselfto lhe thal decidesthe issue.Whenone surrenders it is to the Divine Lord that one opens itself throughhim. Guru, And the Powerol the Lordis supreme;it is not handicapped of the humaninstrumenl; it achieveswhal by the limiiations the Lordwills. The Dlvineacts throughlhe human Guru.The Guru the Divineaccessible tunclionsas ihe channel,rendering to theaspiranl whocannotenterintodirectrelation withtheDivine
Chapier6
140
the Divine cradalonsol Approaching
r41
G U R U( V D
GURU(v) The sighl of lhe Guru of the Kula Path is difficul! lo oblain in all the worlds; only by lhe happy ripening of previous metils is that obtained, nol othetwise.
(e.s1) THEGurLr, whoshowstheTruth, opensthewayto realise it and imparlsthe strenglhwherewith10iread it, is nol secured by human effort.He appearson lhe scene when one is ready to receivehis message,whenone is developedenough,across lhe lives, to be able to get into the spiril of lhe Teachingo1 the Guru, lo live in tune with his liberatedand liberaling consciousness. When the seekeris lhus preparedby his past presenl and evolulionlor the decisivestep, he is eilher laken by circlmslancesto where lhe Guru is or the Guru himsell
Thete is no Mantta highet than the padukaano God higher jnitialian higher than the sakIa,and na mell than the Guru: no highet than the Kula warshtq 11212) upon the To rernemberand dwell in one's consciolrsness padukii more elfectve ls by the symbolised feel oi the Guru a direcl on wlth it is commun Mantra; lio ol any lhan lhe repet a living Power. The Guru is a represenlativeol lhe slpreme God an embodmenl ol God lo the disciple.He LsaccessibleIn every wav.One can have persona relationwrthhLrnnamannerlhat s ;oi normallvpossiblewilh Deitieswho are nonphysicain Inltialion,d/ksa,ts ot severalkinds eachaequlreslls own nstrumenlation.But lhe saka diksa, direct transmissronol sprritualdynamism,needs nolhingby way oi channelor r tual to be etieclive.ll s sponlaneousand ellectivelnstanlaneously Men seek lo acquire merit by vanous means- elhlcal rellgiousand olhers - bul lhe best way s io accuslomlhe pour ng to dwell upon God by a concenlrated consciousness ln the chosenlorm' at all leve s oi ol onesellupon H m physicalOnlyso is one ellecively lhe be ng, rnenla, emotlonal, liftedup Godwards- and that a is the meaningol teal punya
142
Chapter,6
GURU(VID
G U R U( V l l l )
At the raot ol dhyenais the lorm ol the curu; at the rcol of puja is the feel of the Guru;at the rcat of the mantrals the wotd of the Guru:and al the root of all liberutjonis thegrace (12.13) THE Guru it is whom lies the key io the successof all sadhanasin the life spirituaJ. To begindhJaina, meditation, the firslstep is io visuatise the fofm of the Guru,focus all lhe mentai{acullieson il, connectoneselllo the inspiration that liowsfromrt and Iead the mindin the desireddirection. Belore any pije. wotship, is begun, one oiters menlal worshjplifstto the feetol the Gurulor it js the spiritual power thal {lows frornthe feei that efrectsthe conjunctionbetween the worshipper and the Deityinvoked. No manlrais lruly ellectiveunlessil has been received throughthe mouthol the curu. In communication the manlra, the G!ru transmils his lapas-shaktlto lhe disciplethroughthe wordand thal powerworksin the lorm o{ the mantra. - the culminalion Liberation of all spiritualsadhanacannotbe effectedby one's own strength.lt is only a Power grealerthan ones own,from outsidethe rangeol the lriple lgnoranceof this creation,that can cut the iinat knot oi bondage. Andlhatpowerconesthrough theGraceof theGuru.
When the superb Teachergives Io his disciple then daes the disciple get liberated: there is na further bitth for him (12.19) does nol THE real Guru, high of souland Jullcompassron, holds He receive his adoration the disciple and merelyinitiale dlsope, weliare oJ the spiritua responsible tor the himsel takes upon himselithe burdenof his destiny,lays open lo hlm his own resourcesol the spirit and mind.The Guru nol only takes the discrpleinto is own being bul also gives himsel with all his atta rrtments- to him-And 1 is the spirilualpower of the Guru which passes into ihe being of the d scrpleand He freedlrom the cycleof birlh goes on io eltecthis liberation. and death.
a " r a d d l o n so l A p p r o a c h i n qt h e D i v i 4 e
GURUANDGOD
145
GURU AND PABENTS
Even when God Shjva is wtoth, the Gutu is lhe savjour; but whehthe Guruhimsellis annoyed,therc is none to save.
The parents are indeed to be deliberctely adored because hey ate the cause af your birth; bul the one to be worshipped espectally is lhe Gulu who shows whal is dharma and what ts
(12.45) lN a mannerof speaking, the displeasure of lhe godscan be facedif the crace of the Guruis lhere.For he is capable ot averting the consequences of lhe djspleasure eitherby his ownspiritual poweror by interceding wirhthe gods.Butil the uum htmsett wereto be displeased. thenwoe to the discrplel Thereis a deeperrelationbeiweenlhe Guruand the disciple thal normallyadmilsol no interference.
(12.48)
::: :t
I
{ i
d 1
THE parentshave a claimupon lhe graiiiudeand iealty of man becauseit is they who givenhlm birih and rearedhim up But lhe GLrruis to be adoredmuch more. For wh le the parenls give him only physicalbirth,and bring hlm to materilalife,lhe G!ru g ves a greaterb rth, birlh into lhe Trulhof God, opens his eyes to the right palh, and launcheshim rnlo a lile lhal assures a gloriousfuture in this world and lhe nexl.
146
Gradaions of Approachingthe Divine
cnaDreF6
147
HERE
GURU'SWORD
ll one does nal temedy lhe ills ol hades here itsell, what tndeed can the alllicted hope for there where medicine is nol?
A singlewotdol the Gurugiveslibe@tion;all sciencesare
\1.24)
(1.107) THEvarious branches of learning cultivate anddevelop lhe mind in the ways ol the intellect.Bul they do not by lhemselvesgivesliberationto manfromlhe roundsof birthand dealh.Al besllhey may bringhometo himthe realnatureol his bondage,how his laculliesare limiledon everyside by ignorance anddivisionandevenindicate thewaysand means by whichhe can free himsell.But the acllal workingoui oi lhat processof liberation cannotbe donefrom this learning alone.lt has lo com€ from anothersourcethat is the Word of the Guru.Thiswordis potentbecauseil is not the speechot lhe commonkind, lt representsthe expressivepowerol the spiritual consciousness of the Guruwhohasrealised theTruth in hirnselt. ll asan outermeansol cornrnunication oi his inner slare of Knowledgeand tapasyeto the seeker.Tfirs word implantsin the beingof lhe disciptethe dynamicsof the realised Truthwhichis selJ-eltectualing andwhichreallybuilds the way, the sAdhanAin him.
.',
THE maladythal aillictsliie on earlh is to be cured whrle one is on earth itset. For lhe meansto do so are providedlo manwhenhe is living.He is giventhe faculiiesof understanding, vision,will ll he lails to utilisethis opportunilylo cure himselt ol lhe dsease ol ignorance,egoism and divisionby proper elforl duringhis lilei me, it is idle 10 expectthingsto be betler atter death.In the wodds lo which man departs,there are no possibilities oi suddenchangeand cure; lhal 6an be done only on earlh whichis lhe appoinledtieldfor evolutionand progress Greatis lhe predition,saysthe Upanishad,il one lails io make rt here.What is therecan only be a conlinuation of whal is here. The problemis projecledhere and it must be faced and solved on its own ground.
148
Chapter-6 HOLYCOMPANY
lhe Oivine cradationsol Approaching
149
HOLY MEN O}
Company ol the holy is the remedy and the cure. (1.56) ASSOCIATION has an influencelargerthan is admiited. Especiallyfor those who seek to achievethe higher ends ot life, lhe companyol the holy is invaluable.lt is nol so much lheir words or teachingbut their very presencethat makes a greal dilterence.They live normally in a higher slate of consciousness, ailunedtolheTruthol theirldeal.andconstantlv emanalevibralionscharacteristics oJtheirstale oi rea isation. These vibralionsol higher consciousnesscreate a specral atmosphereoi purity,peaceand spirilua poweraro!nd lhem, and whoeverbrealhesit comes under ils uptiltinginfluence_ One is exposedto the higherchargeall the time and without any special etforl changes are seen to be initiated in his person;the good elementsget nourishment and increasewhile the opposiieones are depressedand dwindleaway.A natufal changecomes over as wilh logs ot Juel,in varyingcondiilons, gelting dry and ready in lhe warmth ol a fire.
I do not dwell in Kailas nor tn Meru not in the Mandan mountains:I am lherc where the Knowers of lhe Kula-Turthare. (9.94) THE Dvne is not lo be soughlin the geographical locations ce ebraled n mylhology.Whatever the symbolic significance ol lhesetradjlions,the Divineis lound moreeasily lhrough those who have realisedthe Truth ol the Divine in themselves. They have perceivedthe Reality,attainedidentily wrlh il in lhe depths ot their being and emanate the direcl vibrationsot lhe D vinitywith whom they are in union.To come undertheir inlluence,to establishcontactwith them and to be wilh them mentally,vitallyand physicallyis a sure means to realisethe DivineReality.Not pjlgrimagesto distanlplacesbul companyol lhe holy is the way.
r:ha^tor_A
QI449!9$ 91App,o""r'insthe Divine
151
HUMAN BIRTH (I)
HOLY 0t) "EN Wherc the Knowet ol the Kula-Truthtives, that place is
The Knowledge of the Reality cannot be obtained without human btth.
(s.97)
( 1. 1 4 )
HE who has realisedthe Truthof the Divinedoesnol livewithina closedcircleof existence, cul oif tromall.On the c€nlraryhe radJates incessany lromeveryporeot hrsbe.ng rne nrgn Uonscrousness that he breathes,and all ir hia env'rons absorbs ilsvibrations. EveMhingunCiergoes a change. rnosethalare/eadycatchtheflameof aspr,atior andprogrJss rhose{hatare not yer ripe_ lhe str wel togs :]llruet lip.lyl - are warmedup and madeready, or knownor unknoin 'o tfemselves. All quickensin pace. The stamp oi his rearsatonts t.npressed on all ordersol crealionaroundhtm.
THE Tantraspeaksol the innumerable birlhsthal lhe soul has to pass throughbeforeil can arriveat matufity,a condition suitablefor lakingand supporlingthe humanembodiment. And thrs human orgafism alone is endowed wilh lhe means ol understanding the natureoJ liie, ils goal and the way to arrive al it, rn a word, of coming into possessionof the Knowledge oi the truth of onesell and oJ olhers,of the Truthwhich gives meaning10 all existence.I\ranalone, of all crealurestn lile, has ihe intelligence, the awakenedsoul to acquireand wield the Knowledgeof ihe Trulbin manilestalion. Humanbirth,thus, rs a rare opportunilypresented by Nalure after aeons ol preparalionthrougha successiveseriesol inleriofbirihs and t behoavesman to pui it io the best use open to him and nol friilef ii away in lesser pursuiis.
152
Chapter-G
lhe Divine Gradatons ol Approaching
HUMANBIRTH(D IMAGES
Human birth, Iadder to liberation,is difticult to obtain. Who is more la be pitied than he who gets this birth and yet does no! save himself? i1.16) THE humanbirthis a culminaiion ol a long,long series ol preparalorybirths in the journey of the soul; it marks a delinitestagewherefullawakening lromthesleepof Inconscience is eflectedandlhe possibility of breaking throughthe bondage ol lgnorance by a purposiva growthinlo the freedomof selt knowledge is placedbeloreman.He is gjvenalllhe meansol will,feeljng,thoughtby whichhe can outgrowihe tutelageof Natureand buildhimselfin the imageof God,his creater.No olhertypeof beingin creatjon is givensuchan opportunity and the wherewilhalto lullili the great object ol tife,- Freedom, Ljght, lmmorlalityof Consciousness. Woe unlo the man who denieshimselflhe highdestinythat is spreadbelorehim I
Milk is formed thtough the entire body al the cow but iI pours aut only lhtough the teats af the udder; even so lhe Divinitypervading everywhereradtateslhrough the Images and (6.7s) THE Divine is indeedspfead everywherejn its lorrnless Infinily.Bul on thal accoLrnti rs nol all beyond perceplion, beyondthe reach of the humantacullies.The Divine reveals tsell in linite Form as well. In fact all iorms are uliimalelythe se t-i gurationsof lhe DivineBeing.Of lheseformsagaln,there of lhe Divinity;ihey are some which are specialconcentrations reveallhe ensoulingDivinemore readilylhan others.Such are lhe lmages, ldols, elc., that have come lo be worshippedas signiticantiorms and living symbolsof the Divine-
154
Chapler'6
Gradatons of Approachinglhe Divine
155
INNER AND OUTER(I)
IMMEOIATE Do today what is lor tomoitow. do in the forenoon what rc fot the aftenoon; Death does not wait to see il things arc done \1.42)
Thete is no Mantra highet than meditation; no god highel than the Self; no worship is higher than inner pursuit; lhete is no fruil greater than contentment. (9.37)
lF time is fleeling,lhe wise man forestallsii by aniicipalion. He is noi laken by surprise, he does not wait lor the turn of lhings.Not only does he nol poslponeanylhing,bul he always believes in completingin advance. He seizes time by the foreiockand achievesin the immediate.For no one knowswhal the next momenthas in slote,whatnew unforeseenpossibilities may not come intoihe situation.Besjdes,he knowsthal Dealh, the endero, lhings,is alwayson lhe prowl-And this unwelcome guest has no considerationlor the convenienceol man.
ALL practiceol Manka leadslo communionwith the Deity dwels and whenthls communionis perlecl,the consciousness solely on lhe Deity - there ts dhyana. Ihus dhyana is a culm nalion ol llantra. There are several gods and goddessesin lhe universe. They are so many emanalionsput out from the Supreme Bul He Himseltis Creatortor purposesof lhe manifestalion. presenl in the crealion,in each lorm in creation,as ils Sell. The sell is the Divine ilsell while the gods are Powersand Personalitieso, Him. The aim oi all worshipis to establishrelationwith the Deity and invokeils Presence.Oller rilualis only a supporl.a help. The real processis inner;lhe mind and the heart aspire and pourthemselvesin adoralionand pursuilgraduallyleadingthe consciousnessto onenesswith the Adored. There is kuit and lruil but the one {ealurecommonto most is fuiillmenl of desires. Bul thal does nol bring lasting happiness.A desire salisfiedbreeds anolherand there rs no respite.There is real happinessand peace only when one is able lo touch the reposeol lhe soul within.This contentment depends upon nolhing externaland is the Jruitof truits.
cradai ons ol Approachinglhe Divine Chapier-6
156
151
INNERTRUTH
INNERAND OUTER(ID Theone withautitual is the higherworship,silencets lhe highetjapa, thaughtfrce state is the higher meditalion,and dlsrelessnessthe highet ftuil. (s.38) i s o t t w o k i n d s : l h e o n e w i l ho u l e rr i t u atl o WORSHIP worship;the islhe bAhyapii6, extetnal supportthecommunion purely worship, a f ow ol adoraton inner outerandhigheris the the rilual ol ot lhe Deitywith or withoutmentalenaction Japa is of two kinds: audible,with lhe word or words physicallyrepeatedby moulhithe olher and h gher s the silent,in whichonedwellsuponthe Manlra mental,inaudible, repeatingit inwardlywithoutmovinglhe lips. is lwo kinds:the one whichpursuesa lineol Medilation thoughtorganisedaroundthe objectchosen;lhe otherand higheris lhe slaiewithoutthoughtaclivily,the mindis silent idea-novemeni. withoulany occupying Thereare many Andwhalis ihe fruitoJallthes€praclices? healthol malerial advancemenl, sought, e.9., kindsthat are liberation slates beyond, in heavenlier and mind, afrluence body lrom birthand death.Noneol lhese,sayslhe lext, is woflh is to be lree lrom desire,evenlhe the pursuii.The objective Personaldesirelotallyeliminaledand desirefor liberation. by the DivineWill is the idealcondilion displayed
Ta perditian he goes who regards lhe Gutu as human, the Mantra as r,ere letlers and the Images as slone. (12.45) THE l.ue volaryof the Tantrais nol misledby appearances. He knows lhal lhe truth oJ things is wiihrnlhem, nol on therr s!rlaces. The Guru to him is not merey a human being like a lothers, albeltbetterendowedthan the olhers,and he does not dea wilh h m on that basis.The Guru representsand embodieslo h m lhe very Divrnelhat he aspiresto realiseand he adores hrm n lhe light oi his experience. Similary the Mantrahe practisesis nol srnply a slring ol letters sel logelher with some rhyme or no rhyme. lt s the solnd body ol the Deity he prayslo. ll rs nol lusl a means or techniqueto take him to his goal. lt is both lhe way and the goar In one. Ne ther rs lhe lmage he worshipsmerelya maleria tigure. It s the physrcalForm in whrchthe Deityis presenl.The lmage or dol rs lhe nodusfor lhe meetingoi the humanconscrousness that seeks and adores and the Dvine Consciousnesslhat nranlesls rn responseto the asprrafron.
Chapter-6
158
G r a d a l i o n so f A p p f o a c h i n gl h e D i v i n e
159
(ID INTELLECTUAL KNOWLEDGE The head caffies the tlowersbut it is the nose that gels
(I) KNOWLEOGE INTELLECTUAL Notknov/inglhe Truthwithinhimsell,the deludedone gets (1.96) [,lENstudyand poreoverbookswithoulnumbeiin order lo knowthe Reality.Bul the Trlth of thangsis not lo be lound in lhe pagesol any books;it cannotbe gol simplyby reading. And the besl place lo It is to be seen and experienced. For there one has a direcl experience it is withinonesellThe perception. feeling which is unmislakable. an inlimate renders himself most is in heart ol things and Divine the from accessible al this core.Io withdrawlhe consciousness in a hundred direclions outsideandcenke its pre-occupalions it withinoneseltis the sureslwayto becomeawareol lhe Truth slationedwithin and to realiseit.
(r.e5) THE mere fact ol earningand schoLarship does not by iisellgive the powerof wisdomunlessone equtpsoneselland entersinto lhe hearl o, thal Knowledge-Only he who aspires for lhe libefativeactionot lhe Truih-Knowledge wilhoul losing himsell n the inie lecluallormulations ol it, gest its full beneil. Olherwiseit remainsa barren menlal acquisition-
160
chaolalr-.
JAPA(t)
Gradalionsof Approachinglhe Divine
161
JAPA (ID
Japats ofthree kinds.Japadonealoudis the lowest;Japa donein low tonesis themiddle;Japadonementallyis lhe best. (15.54) WHENthe Japais donealoud(in the hearingol olhers) thereis a lendencylor the repetition to gel mechanicat. The so!nd predominates overthe senseand muchof the benetit Whenit rs donein low tones{withthe rnovemenl of ps but outsidethe hearingol others)thereis less d straclionol sound.Butstillthe ellorlof repetition of the wordsatfectsthe concenlraiion of the consciousness. S!ch a concentration is fullypossiblewhenthe Japa proceedswilhoulverbalrepelition (withoutany movement ot lips).One dwelJsuponthe meaningand the consciousness participates uninterruptedly in theaffirmation andre-allirmaiion ot lhe invocation. Thelettersor wordsare repealedverysubtly wilhinthe beingas supportslo thisflowor consctousness lo the Deity.
lf the repetitton is too clipped, it causes disease, if toa exlended, ft causes decay of tapas; when letterc are stuck to each other. lhe Mantra does not fructify.
WHEN lhe lapa is done one much be carelu lo see lhat the lettersare pronouncedwith full regardto their lorm and ndividuality.No letters shall be suppressedor only pa(ly pronouncedr10 give them only parlial expresslonresulls ln suppresson ol health.so also if in pronuncialionthe letlers are undulyextended,1l resultsrn waslageo{ spirrlualenergy. Care shoulCbe takenio ultereach lelterdistincllyso lhat each s o u n d - v b r a t o nh a s i t s l u l l c o u r s e .O n l y s o i s J a p a i r u r l l u l .
162
Chapier_6
JAPA0r0
JAPA 0V)
How can there be lulllllments if learning is acquied lor the sakeof debate,Japadone lor the sakeol another,gifts given for lhe sake of lame !
ll the mind be in one place, Shiva in another, Shaktt in anather and life'brcath sli!! in anothel place, even a crare ol
(1s.102)
(1s.10)
JAPAin sadhanais meanlto enterintothe consciousness ot the oeity and becomeone with il_ ll is only lhe Japa thal rs ctonewilhthissoleob,ective lhatis spirituay tulti ing.One rearnsto torgetonesellmoreand morecompletety and,al lhe besl,becomesthe Deityitselt.But if the Japais underiaken lor lhe sakeoJanother, in orderto workforthe spiritual welfare ol somebodyelse,jt cannotbe equa y successful. For it is a matteris cultivaling one'sconsciousness and leadingit to contacland livein the greaterconsciousness of the D;jty.lt rs lor eachpersonto nake lhe eflortand work oul the process anhimsell.In lhis filed lhere can be no Japa by proxy.
FOR Japa to be trlittul il is indispensablelhat all the and pouredinlo il Distractions is concerrlraled consciousness slalesol mindand leelingare an impedimenl and drsorqanised The mind-muslbe gatheredroundthe objeclof the Japa; the active consciorlsness(Shakti) must coverage on it all ils currents;the passivebeing(Shiva)must be lully iurned to lhe must be gearedlo lhe repelition,lor eliortiand the llje_brealh only so can the mindwith all its lacultiesbe easilyquietedand locussedon the Japa
164
Chapter-6 Gfadalionsol Approachingthe Divine
JAPA AND DHYANA When ttrcd-by Japa. take to Dhyana: tircd to Dhyana: take ot htm who does both Japa and Dhyana. he i?::i 1"p1.. tvantrc achleves most(1s.13)
165
JAPA AND STOTRA Statra,laudatton,temembercdmenlally,lhe Manlra repeated verbally, are both useless like water in a brcken vessel. (1s.56)
DICIOUScomb,nation of Japaand Dhydna(Medrldlron/ _-,AJU. mahes tne sadhanaless slrenuousand morelruttlut.When lhe mrndsiows signs oi exhaustiondue lo long concenlraiion on the repetiliono1thel\lantra,it shouidbe rela;edinto meditation on the meaningand signiJicance of the l\,4antra. The mind musl bp djloweolo toltowthe unrofljngof the tdeaIn tne Mantra;thts rereaseOr the lhought_energies gives ,est lo lhe nerves ano rne Derngsoon gets resloredlo norma cy. But il lhe rnind ts a/'oweo lo slay loo long In th;s state ol release. thougl-15 oegrnglo wander and a tirednessol aimlessmovemenl;ets in. lt is then lime to draw back allthe lacu[tes and tocuslhem i-lhe conce^lrat,onon J€pa.Thus both Japa ano Dhyanaare rnerwowheetsuponwhtchthe updsardnrovesto tls dest,narion.
STOTRA,hymn of praise,is inlendedlo be clearly articulated n words, expressedin ils {ull sound-valuesand lhus affirmed n the physcal universe.The physicalvibrationsso released create an atmosphere,lorm a magnelicfield as it were, and lhe Presence ot the Deity thal is lauded is srJccessfully Invokedon lhe spot. so The Mantrais to be dwelt upon ln one'sconsciousness lhat the Deity ensoulingthe [,4anlragraduallyyields lsell to lhe consciousnessthat is concentraledupon it. Mere verbal repetilionremainsonly on lhe surface withoui allecling the nner domainsoi the be ng wherelhe contactis to take place.
166
cradationsof AoDoachr'rqrhe Div.ne
ChapteF6
167
JUST USE
JIVAAND SHIVA
Da nat cul aff even a blade of qrass uselessly.
Jiva is Shiva;Shivais Jiva; the Jiva pure is Shiva.When the bonds il is Jiva: fteed lrom bonds t! is Sadashiva.
(5 46)
le.42)
CREATIONhas a rneaningand a purpose Everythrng each ihing - big or small ln the wor d has a signilicance; place total in the scheme.And to deslroyanyihrngIn has its use for which it is intendedis a wanton li{e regardlessoi the order of CosmicNaiure Thls is not to say inlerierencewith the utilised. Everythingis to be used lor be that nolhing should bul not put li by L4other'Nature, purpose which s forth Jor lhe has a special man As an being, wasled. awakened missedor in ihis regard one must learnto underslandthe responsibilily put onesell in tune with 1 and act in in Nalure, intentron wil. That is the sign and lhe way oJ its with consonance progress.
THEsoulassociated withNat!re,involvedin its movements, is Jiva.In ilselfil is a portion,amsa,o{ the Divine. The Divine projectsitselt inlo ihe manifestation and lhis projectionis the soul.Whenlhe soul is involvedin the activities oJ life-nature it getscoveredbut its essential character is not affecled. The jorgedin the process momeniit freesitsellfromthetrappings ol the evolulionin whichit is cast,its innalecharacleras a selttormulation of the Divinebecomespatent.
I
Chapler6
168 KARMA
Of whal is dane here the fruit is abtained elsewhete: of lhe lree whose raats are watered the frutts show on lhe bnnches.
G r a d a t i o n so f A p p r o a c h i n qt h e D i v n e
KAULA (r) Away fram misery, contended,devoid al qualities, free frcm jealousy, given ta the Knawledge of the Doctrine, peaceful, the Kaula is always devoled to the Divine. (s.84)
EVERYaclionhas its reaction- now or alter. t is n vain of one'sdoingsin lilehere to hopeto escapethe consequences by going away elsewhere. Whaleverbe the worldsto whichone goes,the impujsons generateddurng the bodlly life on earih iollow man in hs subllerbodiesand insislon working lhemselvesout.Th s may be etfected parlly in the period belween death and re embodimentand party in subsequentbirlhs. The laws of Karma are, as a rule, ne uclable.
THE true Kaula - parlicipantof the Kaula Dharmain the Tantratraditionharmonisingthe Truthof the DivineBeingwith - is lo the manilestationoi the D vlne Consciousness-Force be dlstinguished not lrom exlernalmarksof appearance,|iual etc., but be the grade of the consciousnesshe has atta ned. He is one who is not lost in the miseriesof the petty world ot des res, d sappontmenls and atflicitonscommon to most. He s content with what is given to him by the Divine,finds his source ol happinesswith in hinself.He is not sublecl to lhe currentsof likes and dislikes,good and evil, that sweep the mind oii its balance.He does not burn himselfwith envy at the good fortuneof others.He knows and lives in the Truth oi the Divine, rts Oneness, its overpoweringBliss. Nolhing d slurbs him; he is ever al peace, with hiinselland with the world.All his atlentron,all his energiesflow towardsthe Divine, the supreme object of his adoralion.
Chapier-6
1to KAULA (ID
Without insolence, anget, show, desirc and ego, truthful in speech, nat enslaved lo the senses, the master of the Kaula path is steady, not fickle. (9 85) BUT on that accounl,becauseol his high slatus,the Kaula he does nol show ofl his powersor is not proud,not haLrghty; his knowledgeto impress upon the less tortunaleand gain a following.He is rootedin the divinecentrewithin,nol in lhe ego; he is not swayed by ihe impulses ol nalure, but ls governedby the impulsionso{ lhe soul, the Truth wilhin and he expressesin speechand actiononly what is consistenlwilh thal verily. He is lirmly sel in his pursuil ol the ldeal and nothing can dislracl him.
Gradationsof Approachingthe Divine
171
SELF.REVEALING Not by thinking but by itself alone is the Reality reveated.
(s.1o) THE Divinecannotbe lhoughtout. No amountoi reasonlng, lhoLrghtdeliberalron can bringone lace to face with the Reality ol the Divine. Normallysuch mental activityonly weaves a lhoughtwebaroundlhe person.At the most,mentaldeliberation can processlhe mind,free it lrom its dross of materialityand vrlalcolourng and prepareit lor a highergrowth.But il cannol serzethe Drvin€even in its highestllight.The Divineis beyond. It revealsitseli by its own choice and il the being is ready it can receiveand imbibethe revelalion. Thinkingcan be an aid bul never the means to realiselhe Divine.
Gradationsol Approachingthe Divine '172
C h a p l e t6
SINS OF THE DISCIPLE SHIVA.SHAKTI The wa d is made ol Shiva and Shaktt (2.83) THE universeis not a transientproducto{ an i usivePower' It is a creationof a divinePuissance,Shakl , that not only puts it oul into birth but builds it into a progressivemanifeslation of the Divine, she is lhere in lhe creatlon, omnpTesenl' omniscienl,omnipotent,as the consciousnessthat intorms and guides,as the Forcelhat execulesBut thisConsclousnessFarce, cit-sakti,is not alone.The Poweris of one who wields ii, ihe Sakfibelongsto the Sakla;the Consciousnessis of the Being,the Shiva,the SupremeExistent.lt is emanaledby an0 based upon Shiva; il brings out into manitestatlonwhat rs containedin the illimitableBeing ot Shava ln iacl, the Shakli is none other than Shiva himself,Shiva as Shakti Wherever Shakti is, there ls Shiva ioo - whether in this world or any olher.The Truth is One, revealingitself in its double aspect when turned io manilestation,and all that is manifest is constitutedo{ lhis double t.uth ol exaslence-
The blemish af the ministet touches the king; the blemish af the wte lhe husband; and the sins af the disciple, withoul daubt, are visiled upon the teacher. (ri.109) When the GurLracceplsone as disciple,he takes hlm into h rnself,makes him part ol h s own beingand, n the process, . e s h a r e sh i s l l i e w l h t h e t a k e sh i s d e s t n y u p o n h i m s e l i H d sc p e There is an inlermngl ng ol the two conscousness t ll they becomeone. Naluraliya that lhe discipledoes h s thoLrghls,his words, his actions- has its own reaclions n the be ng of lhe Guru and his Karam allects the Guru. sins ot the dscples, even Ths s how th6 collective devoiees,come lo ieave a mark on the body of the Guru and even lnflct physicaldamage upon it.
Chapter6
174 SUPREMETRUTI-
Some seek the truth non'dual, otherc the truth dual But lhey do not know my Truth which exceeds both (110) dispuleendlesslyaboutthe natureor lne PHILOSOPHERS rea|ly.Some holdthatlhe Realilyis one which does not perm I any other; all else that seems to be ls only an appearance, there cannot be anythingelse other lhan lhe so e, absolule, One.There are otherswho challengelhis posilionand assert thal thereare alwaystwo kuths - God and Nature,Sptriiand [,4atter- and all is an interaction, a play of the Two And so the dispulationsgo on, each proclaiminghis own view as the sole lrulh. The real lrulh ol lhe matter,however, s thal the 11is an omnipresent Realityis abovealt mind-madedistinclionsRealitywhichpermtsmanypossibleexpedencesol itcorresponding lo lhe viewpointsfrom which it is perceived;it is the supreme Trulh in whichallexperiencesand the slalemenlsbasedupon them lind their reconcilialion.lt is none ol them solely but conlainsall of lhem in its inlegralityand exceedsthem in ils transcendenceoi all lolmulalions,
Gradalions ol Approach ng lhe D vine
175
TANTRASADHANA(I) Fron lhe nulAdhAra ga up to the brahmarandhraagain and agatn: bltss tssues out of his meeting of the Kundaltni Shakti and lhe l'"'laanot Full Consciousness.Whal flows from Ihrclotus in the suprene Ethet is the wine. the real wine to be lasled by man: what ts drunk alherwise, is anly ltquaL ( 5 . r0 7 . 8 ) HEFE s ihe sadhana of the Tantra and ils ecslatc iu lilment in a nuishell.Awakenthe concentraleddynamtsm ol Powerlayingcoiledup al the base of lhe sp ne in the body and lead I upwardsrn lhe system by approprraterneansol Dhyana,Japaetc.and takeil lo the summilol the consciousness of supreconscrence, Whenlhe two meet,the Powerrisingfron-t below- lhe Krndalini andthe superconsciousness awailrng above - the Sanasrara there is a llow ol pure bliss.This is lhe rea ecslasy, the yield of the myslic wine thal is celebratedn the Tanlra,and nol the inloxication causedby the phys ca subslancecal ed wine which can be qualted by any body wilhouthavingto go lhroughlhe elaborateand strenuous processesol the sadhana. Materialwine is only an outer symbol n fitua oi ths inner tlowtng
176
Chapt€r6
TANTRASADHANA(|D
Gradationsot Approachingthe Divine
177
TANTRA SADHANA(III)
Knowingyoga, cut asundeLwith the swordof knawledae. the animat of duatily - metit and demetil. anct meee;hc consciousness in lhe Suprcme.Thatis the true eatinqol meal. (5.10s) THEanimaltobesacrificed is nollhefourlegged quadruped thal is the viclimof commonsuperslition, but the notionol goodand bad,lhe obsession of dualitythatdogsthelootsteps of man.This constantpreoccupation with what is good and whal is bad, what storesup metit and what accumulates dernerit createsan unhealthy sell-occupation thatstandsin the way of true enlatgement and lreedomIn conscrousness. Besidesgoodand bad are very relativeterms;whai is good at one ljme,al one stageof development, becomesnol qood al anolher.whatis bad now maylurn out to be goodtate;on. To eliminatethis involvement in the net of papa andpunyaand findone'slevelin a consciousness ihal transcends bothis the
Bnng lhe host al the sense under conlrol by the mind and yake them to the sell That is lhe lrue ealtng af hsh: all else is simply to hurt the crealures. (5.110) THE sensesare ever on lhe move,draggrngthe m nd with them lnlo lhe world ol their objects.Man is always prone to this distracton ol the sense and consequenly lails to make lhe best ol lhe opporl!nityand the time givento h m. Inslead ol being his own master, abe lo drrecl and utlise the c rcumstancesaround him for his properadvancement,he is a s ave ol the senses,heiplesslydriftingwhereverlhey lead. Br ng ihese senses under thy conlros, calls the scrplure, lel lhy mind assertits righttulmasteryoverprata in whosecurrenl lhe senses aTerunning,Once the pntic energyis controlled, absorbedand the way a I lhe sense-motons are automatically is open lo p ace lhe sense under the directionol the soul. This s the lrue 'ealrn9',lhe jusl utilisaiionol the sensesand the oblectslor the teedingoi lhe soul-experience tor growlh, not the indulgingot the senses lor lher own salislaclon,
174
Chapter-6
G r a d a l L o nosl A p p , o a c h i n gt h e D i v i n e
179
UPASANA
TANTRASADHANA(IV) The Woman ta be waited Waited is the Shak that is datmant in the animal man but awake in the votary of the path. The rush of bliss that ensues upon the meettng of the pair, the Supreme Shakti and the Self abave, is the reat Cangrcss: aU else ts mete copulatian. ( 5 . 1 1 11 2 ) THERE is a divinepower tatenitn man waitingto be awakenedlnto aclion,All the powersthat are normaly active and make ltie possibte are only derivations,diminutions, secondaryformulationsof this Motherpower that is dormant within.Thts puissance,the Shaktr,js lo be awakened,aroused intoan upwardmovementtowardsthe Self,lhepure Consctousness srluatedat the higheslcentfe ot ihe beingoJ man. And when thrs union betweenthe Shakti dartingirom ils seat beiow in lhe otus ol the Muladharaand ihe Lord waitingabove in the olus ol inftniie petats, the Sahasrara,is etfected in lhe consciousnessol the practitionerthere is an ebulition ol inlenseAnanda, That is the true Congress,the real btissthat is aimed at, not lhe physicatinierchangeal the animat tevet.
',^/ithoutupesane the Presence does nat fructtfy. (6 7e) especiallyln the THE Divineis ndeedpresenteverywhere, human body.B!t lhal by itselJdoes not make any difference he lakes stepsto rea rseit in his conscousness. lo man Lrnless Self awareness,sel{-puriicalion, adorationand evocalionol the indwellingD vine are ihe main sleps for awakeninglhis Presencein h s conscousnessand makingll a dynamrcpower lo prepareand n lile. Suchan innerdlsciplines indispensable purity and rnlensrty raisethe humansystemto the levelof thal n seeking whLchalone can move the Divine to reveal and man fest lsell in the person ol the seeker. Otherwiseihe potentialtyremainsuntappedand dormant.
180
Chapler6 Gradationsol Approaching the Divine
UPASANA GRADATIONS La.udalionjs worth a billion af worsnps; Fpa, a bi ion ol , taudatton: meditation.a biltion ol Fpas: and absorptrcnts worth a Dlltoo ot meditalions (9.36) THERE is a gradationin the discipline, saonaDathat ieads lo the Divine.Worship,with externalmeans lo supporl the dedicalion,is the tirst with which lhe cornmunton starts. the rexl is less physrcal: rt is the repet.tio'land oweltingLpo. lhF Name or lhe Word ol Invocatron ot the DerryHrgherthan lhat r:eltat ]eaf ot meditat,onon rhe iorrr and lrurn ot the :-l:e uelly. Hrghesl o. all ts the srale or one^ess thdt .s the curmtnatron ol all successlulmeditanon:one rs absoroeoInlo lhe objectoJpursuit- the conditionof samadhi. Thereis thus aL.sle-ady lrogression in this discjpline : physrcat,semr_ pnysrcal,mental,spirilual.The character of the means keeps with lhe nalure of the developingconsciousness.
141
VEDA There is no science greater than the Veda. (3.113) THE Veda s the revealedknowledge.ll is cherishedas the Wordwhichhas rssuedfromlhe Supremealongwith ihe words thal conslilutethe universe.lt holds all the knowledgeof the truthsof [/an, Natureand God, the way to harmoniesthem in oneself,eilecl the lunctionof Nalure and God in oneselfand fulfrllhe cosmic purposein the manilestalion.ll conlainsthe key to the problemsof ljle in lhe instilulionof Sacrificewhich s an outer symbol oi the irrnerprocessof consecralionand selj'surrenderby man to lhe Divinity(in appropriatelorms) callingforth the blrth ol the gods ol divineKnowledge,Power, Bliss and Harmonyin his hallowedbeing.
142
Chapter6
the Divine of Approaching Gradatrons
183
VERBAL KNOWLEDGE
VEOAANDTANTRA Know the lruth of the Vedato be the Doctrineol lhe Kauta. (2.85) THETantrais notalienlo theVeda.Thetruththal ensouls the Tantrais essentially the subslance of the Veda.The lruth ot a DivineRealitypervading all formsin existence, all states ol consciousness andpowerin crealion, the possibility of man awakinglo thistruenatureof liie,andhimselldeveloping into a liveinslrument ol the Divine,particjpairng in the cosmicpiay - allthesebasickuthsof theVedaenterinlo ol lhe Supreme lhe slructureof lhe Tanlricsystem,The Tantrarepresents a contlnuation, an enlarged application suitedto the developing mind oi humanily,of the Vedic tradition.
verbal knowledge is not adequale lo destroy lhe delusions of the worldly raunds. By mere talk of the lamp lhe darkness 1.97) THE lgnorancethal holdsman in slaveryto inferiorNalure cannot be dispelledby a readingol books or inslruclionsby At best mouth.Words remainmere words and are inefiective. problem no but more of lhe lhey g ve a menia underslanding is by /ivlrg ll only The solulionhas lo come trom elsewhere. ior change in lhe it live force the knowledge,by building as a lt s nol can be eiiecled. consciousness,that the liberalion can remove darkness, thal a lamp enoughlo know and say it is necessarylo fetch rl and keep it alighl on lhe scene
C d d . l i o , l \ o l A p p r o d . h i n qt n e D i v r ' l e
185
Chapter6
144
woRsHtP0) WINE Warship with the tnsltuction of the curu. lf by the mere dinking af wine one were to altain pertec on, all drunkard-creatureswould be perfecl.
(6.5)
\2. t17)
TO worshp s io communewithihe Deity.Totakeand foltow a sel oi procedureot ritualsby onesell is nol the way to do l. One musi Iirsl receivethe initiation,lhe aulhorityio hotd conrmunon w th the Gur!. For the Guru is one who has realised n h mself,in whatevermeasure,the realityof the Deity and can put olhers n relationlo that Deityby meansof his tapaspower.When he inlliales,he rmplantsth s connectingpowerin the beingo{ the discipleand the outer riluatis only a phys ca support to the repealed atfirmalionand buitdingup of this relai/on.W thout this aulhorsationand chargelrom the curu, mere ritualislicworship is ineltective.
lT is a commonnotlonthat in the Tantrawine-drinking is a means oi spiritualperfection.li thal were reallyso, says the text, all the low types ol men that are addictedto drink would have reachedihe supreme stale. Note the wo(J pamarah, low creatures, used lo describe those that take to the intoxicatng drink.One who aims high can never resorlio th s type of drink which weakens and ultimatelybreaks the wi wh ch s the fulcrumof all determinalionand effortof man. ll is a delusionlo think that the sense oJ abandonmenithal comes over the senses on takingalcoholcan be a means oT a foretasle of the real freedom oJ the soul- Actually it is a precursorol the disintegralion of the centralisingpoweroJwill.
r86
Chapter6
woRsHrP 0r)
G r a d a t i o n so f A p p r o a c hn g t h e D i v i n e
147
woRsHtP(Ir)
Worship the Sri Chakra by uniting the I'4antra. (6.s)
Sel aside the faded petals of lgnorance and worship wth the cansciausness of 'He and l', (9.42)
TO worshipby mechanica{ly repeating the prescribed Manlrasis no trueworship. The l/anlrais the sound-body ol the Deily.Each Deity has its l\rantra.To reach the Deily the mostnatufalwayis to approach throlghihe Manirathatis its sound-formAndlhat can be donenol by simplyuiteringthe leltersthat conslilute the Manlra,but by joining,yoga,one's conscrousness lo the ldea,the Truththat is ensouledin the Nlantra. By thinkinguponlhe ldeain the Manlra,by dwetting upon 1 in the consciousness, and conslantlyaffirmingit in onesef whilerepeating the l\,4antra, one irnbtbes thevibrations of the Deityand movescloserand closerto it. This growng communionleadrngto an eventualunion is the objectol
WHILEworshippingthe Divinedo not offerio hinrthe slaie f owers o{ thy desires,passions,ignorantmovements.Throw them behind lhee and realise thal thou art another,nol a creal!re of lgnorance.Know it in lhy heart lhat thou arl none olher than Fle,the Divine,ailirmthjs truthin thy consciousness and n th s feelingof identiiyofter thy worship.So with thou grew nto the likenessoJ thy ideal.
Chapler-6
188
Gradationsof Approachingthe Divine
woRsHlP 0v)
189
(v) woRsHrP Arouse lhe soulJorce lo ils full potency and salisfy the Deities in the body. (6.96) THE body ot man is conceivedlo be an minialureuniverse in itself. The various cosmic Deities occupy appropriale stalions in lhe various limbs ot the body. They are to be awakenedand activisedlo participatein the worship.And the meanslo do il is lo arousethe innatepower of lhe soul which is for the mosl parl inacliveand b€hindthe veil. The Shakti lying dormant is to be aroused by concentrationand evocation with the aid ol the Manka and directed upwards where She meets the Lord sealed in lh€ sahasraraand the shower of Bliss ensues. The Deilies presiding over the severai limbs ol the body share in this celestial downpour, become contented and join the whole movement ol worship.
Worshtp wtlh exclusve concenlralion. (6.71) WORSHIP is nol a mechanicalduty to be somehow completed.Theinvocationot the Divinity,its reception,adoration, se I surrenderand linally,the terminationof the meeting,are parls of a soul-processol growthinto godhoodand they call for all the attentionand concenlralionol the mind that the practitioneris capableol. ll lhe hands participatein the rilual wrthoutthe properconsciousness in them, jl the mouthmerely parroislhe form!las withouithe mind and the heart dwelling upon the sense in lhem if one is only bodily presenton the scene ol worshipwhilelhe mind wanderselsewhere,lhen lhe purposeot worshipis nol served-Not only the mind but all the facultiesof lhe being musl learn to convergeon the objecl ot
Chapler6
190
(vD woRsHrP
Gradalronsol Approachingthe Divine
191
YANTRA
lf, fickle-minded,you call one Deity and worshipanother, you receive the curses of bolh.
As lhe body is lo the jtva, as oil is to the lamp. so ts yantra the eslabhshed seal of all the Deitles.
( 6s 1 )
(6.87)
BEFOREone undertakesworshipand invokesa Deily,one must be Jirm in one's laith in thal Deity.lf, in the absenceot such failh, one changeslhe object ol the Call in the course ol lhe upesana,prelers anotherDeity losinglailh n the one both.The lirsl Deity s called alreadyinvoked,ihen one oJJends the secondis offeredworshipthal has been but leftunatiended; alreadydedicatedin spirit and tasted in parl by anolher.ll is disrespectto bolh.
THE Oely needs a physical nodus lo lunction in the physca world.And lhal need is providedby lhe Yanlrawhich is a diagrammaliclorm corresponding to the conliguraton of the lorces lhai accornpanythe manifesiationol lhe Deity on rls own plane.When lhis tigure- revealedlo lhe vis on oi the Seer in his lapasya - is drawn and concenlraledupon, t recreales,as il were, lhe very condilionsin which lhe Deity becamemanilestoriginallyand the Deily is movedlo manitest Thus lhe Yantrais more than a symbol.lt is the body ot the Deily.
192
ch"pt"t-6 YANTRAANO MANTRA
Gradationsol Approachingthe Divine
193
YOGA
The Yantrais ensouled by the Mantra, and the Deity is in the form ol the Mantrc.
The union ol the jiva and the Sell is Yoga. (s.30)
(6.85) WORSHIPof the Yanlrais the same as worshipof lhe Deity.For eachYanlrais the form-pallernol a particularDeity. ll representsdiagrammatically lhe contiguralionol the linesol manitestation of the Deity.The soul of the yantra- whatgives lite to it - is the Manka that is used to consecrate and energjesil. Andlhis Mantraagain,is the sound-patern ot the Deity.Each Deityhas its characteristic sound-vibralions and theyconstilule itssoundbodywhichis revealed to theaudition o, the Seerin the lorm ol the Manka.
THE beingof man rs one in its essencewith the Divine Seli whichbasesand supportsall life.But it is not awareol this divineoriginand character becauseit is involvedin the operations By awakening ot Nalurein lgnorance. lo lhis lrulh ol hrmselland by the adoption of a psychological andspirilual ior manto disengage disciplne,it is possible himselJ fromh s manysidedinvovementirl the lfe ol lgnorance, tncrease the growinlolheconsciousness awareness of hislruenature,gradually of the Sellwithinandevenlually realisehisidentilywithit.This union and Iha maanslo il - is Yoga.
Chapler.6
194
YOG|N(r) The yogin should regularlyperfom sandhya withaul mantra and water, austerity without puja and fie-sacrifictal, warchtp withoul ceremontes. (e.39) THE yogin does not need to undergo all lhe ritualislic exercse lhat the ordinaryman does lo gain communionwilh the Div ne. Bul he conl nues the modesoi communionlhough he dispenseswith the aciive supporls which are no longer necessafyin his stage ot developmeni. The yogin dwells in his consciousnesson lhe Divine al peak periods.He undergoescontinuousseltdiscipliningol the mind, lite and body-His being flows in adorationlowards the Divine,even in submissionand sel'.consecration.Medilation, concentralion ol will,adorationol the Divine,are iniegralparls of his etfort.
Chapter-7
GLOSSARY
Chapter-7 T I he vasl Tanl.a lileratureconlarnsa large nLmber ol technicalterrns and wordswhichare nol commonlyused.Here we have noted only such words as are ollen necessarylor the study ot Tantras. For the convenienceoi ihose who are interestedonly in the sclentiiicelementsn Tantra,we have givena separatelisl containing exclusivelylhe scienliJicterms, based mainly on
In English Alphabetical Order Abhic:ira A rite designedto harm olhers. Seradeilaka, Saklisamgama, Abhiseka Consecralion ol theTanlricdevoleewhohas holywaler sprinkledover him. lt is ot two broad kinds : &ikhbhiseka and Ptrnabhiseka. Satadatilaka (Raghavabhatta'scomm. iv. 1). Prcnatosini. Saktisamgana,
Acara Rulesol conducias meansot spiritualatlainment. Thereare generally sevenkindsol such rules;e.9., Veda,Vaisnava,Saiva, Daksina,Vadma,Siddhanta, Kaula.Theseare comprisedin two main categones, viz., Vamaand Daksina-Kaulamargarchasya, Pranatosini, Matrkabheda,
ChapterT
r98
Glossary Saklisamgama,fa'a,
Adhara Literally,receplacle.fhe Cakta (q.v.), supposed to exist in the loweslextremityol the spinalcord,is called MLihdhara.
(3)
Nlalantra,
Lellers connectedwilh the elemenlot Jire.These are irom Yato Ksa in order.
presidedover by One ot the six geographicaldivisions Buddhist and Jan deities, Vaglsvari, Vairayogrni, Nairrtesvari,etc. PEnatasini,
Saradalilaka(Raghavabhalta's comm. on il), Aiapd A lorm ol elforllessmeditatron. The sounds ham and sah. arising automaticallydue to the movement ol brealh constrlulethis manlra.Th s automaticformalion al ihe hamsa-mantralakesplace in mtladhera, anehata and Aliacakras. Ajapa is twolold, secret and open The laller rs sub divided into lwo calegories,sound and sighl. GheQnda,
Procedure of purifying lhe body consisilng ol six adhvas, viz.. varna, pada, manlra, kala. lattva, and Saradalilaka (Raghavabhaltas cornm. on rt). Adyd Sakti
Saradalilaka.Xlvgl (Raghavabhatlascomm. on i1). Aifrd-cakra The nerue'plexusbetweenthe eyebrows.Look ng like a two-pelalledwhite lotus, il is symbolisedby lhe lellers Ha and Ksa.
Primevalenergy conceivedas a goodess. Aghamarsana Lterally meaningthe wiplng oll oi the sin kom lhe body.ll is done by sprinklingwaler on dilierenlparts ol the body. Ianlrasdra of Krsnananda (on authority ol Malitilanlra, Aghdta
Satcakranihpana, Aksam6lii A rosary of beasds made ot Budr6ksa, crystals,elc Akula Srva aspect ol Sakti.
PRnayama. Aghora
(2)
One ol lhe broaddivisionsoJTantnceceras,as d siincl
Agneya-varna
Saklls mgama, Sundar,
(1)
r99
Tantra\toka,
A form of Siva, black and lierce,supposedto preside over the soulhero region.
Ati
PrAnatosini, (on authorlty ol Nitvana'tant ra).
Atidha A posturein whichtherightleg s slretched lorwardand the leli rs slighllybenl.
Name oi a Siva secl resorling lo vamacara.
Sp rtuous iquorusedin Tanlrc worship.
200
Chapler7
Amnaya Zone ol T6nlric culture,live or six n numb€r. Ku16nava, Saklisamgama, Sundari, V Andhata (l)
A nerve plexus (Cakra) in the region of the hearl. supposedlo look like a lwelve'pelalledred loius.
(2)
Nanre ol a partclar sound without anylhing berng stuck,
Glossary
Aniaryr9a l\/entalworship^ which'thePancalanvasare concetved as abslracland nol langiblelhings Mahanirvana, GautamiyaTantra, GendharvaTantra, Anukalpa c '5
Anavasthollasa The lasl slageof spirit!alprogress,accordinglo some Tanlrc schools. Parasurema-kaIpaslt ra, Anavi diksd A {orm of Tantricinilialionin which mantrc, arcana. asana nyasa),dhyana and various arlicles ol worship are required.ll is ol varrouskinds,e.9.. Sp6rsh,Vacik!
A melhodot feelinglhe limbs in a Tanlrc rile. lt rs ol tlveor s x kinds.The cenlresare hearl,head,protective symbol,eyes and inlestine. Nilatantra, Antardasara Internalbody ol myslic diagrams.Inner shade ol lhe flames ol Ca*ras, called Bindu, Ttikonaa^d Astakona. Manrlesl ray al lhe Navatikonaor Navayonrcakra consislingot nine lriangles. Kamakaavilasa, 30; Nlyasoda sikatnava,
.^.^n,r
!r,-or ror w,ne.
Apy:iyana Processingol a manira. Krsndnandas lanlrasala, Armbha-ulldsa F rsl slage ot spirilualaltainmenl. Parasuremakalpa, Ardhaparyanka A siti ng poslurein whichbothihe egs are on the same pedeslal,one knee being bent and the other raised.
comm.on il), SAradAulaka, V.127-4o (Raghavabhaila's Pranalosini, Anganyrisa
201
Arka : Jhana saktt. AsarnprajietaSamadhi 'ee Samedhi. Asana Poslureas an accessoryoI yoga. Astadala-padma Eight-pelaliedlolus conceived as a symbol in the maklngol Caklas insideand outsidehuman body as also in diagrams.The pelalsare slatedlo; contarnthe Ielters K,4, CA, TA, TA, PA, YA, SA, LA Astamdtrk6 Eight Mothe.goddessessupposed to reside in the VjsnurekhaolBht|pura-yantrc,Nityasodasi kanava
oEplsz
202 169,71.
A$apes. viz.,ghrna(hatred), Eighlbondsol humanexist€nce, lajja (shamel, bhaya lleatl, sarka (apprehension), ./ugupsa(aversionor reproach),kula (pedigree),si/a (conduct),latl (birth or cast€) Astasiddhi See Siddhi Astra : Same as Astrabia (q.v). Artrabiia Syllabe Phat Nilatantft, Asvakrrntd The vast tract ot land etlendinglrom the vindhyahills ils to the great ocean. ln lhe MahAsiddhaseratantra, w€stern boundaryis lhe river Karatoyain Dinajpur districtot WestBengal,and lhe easternboundaryis in Yavadvipaor Java. Accordinglo some authoriiiesil Persia, ext€nds lromabovehilltolho west,comprising Egypl and Rhodesia. It is one of the threetractsinlo whichIndiais divided in cadainTantras. AvadhUta dvaita-jhAna-vihino yah saNa-bhita- hite ratah/ tyakta-vanAs ramah santah paqa-lasaPaBnmukhah// avalipta nd kutrcPi dhutaqaPah sadaiva hi / avadhutah sa viineYas-talktte // cina-sadhanam (1) A Tantric devoleeot a very high order'
Glossary
203
An Ayadh! ta of the highesl grade is ca ed Kulayadhula. Avadhutasate dividedintotwo classes: Househotders ano recluses. Kulernava, Pftinatosini, MahalniMena, (2) Name ol a nerve. Avadhdii The centralnerve,accordingto Buddhists,corresponding lo Susumna of Hindu Tanlra. Avaranadevatd Also calledYogini,presidingover nine Caklas ca ed Prakala, Guptas, elc., which are differentlrom the welt_ known Salcakras. Aiyasodasikamava, (SetubandhaComm.). Avidy:i Fa se knowledge, nescience, Moha.
Tentricdisciple belonging to theprobatjonary stagesof aramDha,taruna,yauvanaand praudha,parasuramakalpa-sutram, (Ramesvara's Comm.). Avrli Avarana, Veilot delusion. Avyakta Unmanifested. Denol€sprakrti(q.v.). Bahirdasara Exlernalappearanceot the mysticdiagramsintended lo representlive grossand fivesubtleelements.These elernenlsare symbolisedby ten ieftersbeginninEwilh
204
Chapter-7
Thetentriangles, represenling lhetheme,aresupposed to be presided over by len goddesses,called Kulakaulayogini. Nityesodasikenava, Banalinga A form of Siva-phallus, supposedto resrdein ihe ltiangleol Anahata-cakft . Bhairava Paramasiva BhairaviCakra A ritualin whichPaficatattvas are used.In it, males and lemalesparticipate and indulgein dr nk ng and sexualinlercourse. MaheniruAna, Kaul6val-ninaya, Kularnava, BhairaviMudrd ll is that condiljonwheneverything is withdrawnnto a personin the shapeot his soul. BhArali Sameas Yisuddha(q.v.). Bhumispaise A mudralq.v.)in whichthe palmol the righthand s lumedinward, andthelingersoutstretched w th thetips of Jingers louchingthe ground. BhUpura A iour-cornered figurewithJourdoorsand a lriangle within. GandharvaTantrc, Nityesodasikarnava,
Bh0iaps6rana Wardingofi evil spirils and disturbancesby means ol mantfas. Saradatilaka, (Raghavas comm.). Krsndnanda'sIanllasara, Bhiitasuddhi Parl oi a rile in which the live bhttas or elemenls oi lhe body are purllied. Nilatantra, Bija (1)
lvystic syllableslike Hrim, Hum. e1c.
\2)
Semen.
Cidatman. {3) BindLr (1) \2) (3)
One dot representsundividedmaniieslationof Siva. Double doi ( ylsarga) represenis Sakti. Accordingto Saivas, an evoluteol Nada.
(4)
ln Kashmir-Saivism, one of lhe len Vidyallattavas.
(5)
Para. Accordingto some, it has threelorms, Prakas? lslalic). Vimarca (kinetic) and Ptakas'a-Vimatsa (comblnationof bolh). SArade laka, Tantaloka, PGpafrcasera, KAnaka l6.vil sa, (Cidvalli).
Brahmadvara The passagethroughwhich Kutdarti (q.v.) moves.
206
Chapler-7
Brahmagranlhi Oneof thethreeknotsin lhe MllAdhea-cakra. Ntlatantra Brahmdndi Sameas SusrmDa(q.v.). Brahmapura : Humanbody. Brahmarandhra An aperturein lhe crownol the head,throughwhich the soul or vitalbreathis supposed10escapeon ils leavingthe body. grahmavartman : Sameas Susumra(q.v.). Cakra (a) The six mysticalcirclesor nerve-plexuses, supposed to exjslwilhinthe bodylromlhe lowerextremity ot the spinalcordupto thehead.Thecirclesin theascending otdetate'.MiLldhera,Svedhisthena, Manipira,Anehata, Visuddha,Ajne. Ihe Sahasara-padma totus)is supposed 11ooo-petatted lo be locaiedwithinthe crownof lhe head. (b) Designalion of an assemblyof Tantricdevoteeslor certain rites, e.9., BhaitaviCakra. (c) Endlessrotationof Sakti. (d) Yanteot myslicdiagtam,e.9.,Trkonacakn,Astakanacakra. See Satcakranir0pana. Cakrap'ild A Tiintricworshipin the companyol some tanlric devoleesunderthe leadership of the Gulu. Nitatantra, Cakrabheda Literalltpenetration ol Cakras.[,4anilestalion or aclivation
Glossary
207
which s necessarylor keepingthe body lit and lor atlainmentol Siddhis.A f'nltic SiLdhane. Caksusrdiksa A lorm ol anitiationin which the Guru iniiiates hrs discipleby a moreglanceKulanava, Saradalilaka, (Reghava's comm.). Candra A Vamacarisect. Sak!isamgama.Ied, Candrakald Symbolol cresentmoon supposedto exisl on the crown ot the goodess.lrom which nectar is believed to exude. MaheniNena, Candranadi Anolhernameof /da(q.v.),supposedto ropresenlSakti in the form ol the moon, Satcakrcnitpana,L caram6ld Rosaryol Frdrdksa,crystal,etc.,lor Japaor muttering the nameol god. Krsnanenda's TantrasAra, Caturdasara A diagramconstiiutedby '14triangles6ach of whichis presidedov6r by a goddess.Such goddossesare calledSampradd-ya-yoginis. ll is believedto leadlo lhe acquisitionol /sitva,one of the s/ddhis (q.v.).
Chapier-7
ilityasodasikernava, Gandharvatanlra, Caturvimsatitaliva 24 lundamental thjngsatsorecognised inTantra. These are lrve gross elemenls,five sub e elements,five sensoryorgans,live motororgans,mind,intellect., egolrsn,pramordial substance (p/akrl,). Catuskdtd A partrcular arrangement of leltersfor use in the cull ol Srividya. Krsndnanda's lanlrasdr'a, Cholikd SyllablePhal Cindcdra A modeof Kaulacara. TeAEntra, Citrini Nameof a nerue,alsocalledSrahma-Diidi, Someiirnes regarded as one of lhe threeconslituents of Sosurnnd (q.v-);oftenidentiJied with Susumra. Pknatosini, Cdddcakra A kindot spirilualexerciselor ylra type01devolees ll involvesLala-yoga(q.v.). Ddkini A class of minor deilies associatedwrlh parvati, Chinna-masta, etc.Supposed to be the presiding deity oI tt4ilAdherc. Krsnananda's Iantasdra,
Glossary
Satcakraniipana, Daksindcdra withoutPa6camaOrlhodox wayot spiritual attainment kar.ain conformilywith Veda, Smrti and Pu16na. Vedecara,Vaisnavecera and SalvicAraare includedn it. Daksinamerga (q.v.). Sameas Dakslracara Daksinasrolatantta currenl,viz.,Yogiri Tantrasbelonging to the southern jala, Yaginihrdaya,Manlrc-mali ni,Aghores),Ktieghoresvari, Lakin)kalpa,Marici,Mahemanct. Damara ll denolesuproar,ajlray,riot,the bustleandcont!son oi lestivityor slrile.ll slandstor a classoi Taniras, staledlo havebeennarraledby Siva. Dasasamskara See Samskara. Oasamah6vidy6 : Kali,Terli,Sodasi, Bhuvanesvari, Tentdntricgoddesses Dhumavati. Vagala,N/elangi, Bhairavi,Chinnamasla, Kamal4.Pranalosini, Dehasddhana Same as Kayasadhana(q.v-) Devacakra A kind of Cakrarilual. Devicakra Sameas Cakla(q.v.). Devyastra 'I he mysrlc svllablesHRIM PHAT
21O
Chatter-7
Nilatantra,ll. 7. Dh6ranayantra A dragramusuallyusedas an amulet,ll is drawnon a leai,and dedicatedto a deity. Kfsnananda'sIadtaasdra, Saktisamgama, Tala, L. Dhiirani Protective spellused by TankicEuddhists. Dh6tusakti Designation oJ Oakini,Rdkini, etc., the presiding deitiesof Cakras. Dhydna l\,4editation on a deity. Easicelementin TaniricSadheraand an accessoryof YOga.
Digambara (1) A nakedorderol Avadhutas (q.v.)havingthe quatity ol Siva. (2J A Vemalcerisecl. Pranatosini,Vll. 7, Saundaryalahai,(Laksrnicomm.). Diksd lnitiation, According 10 Vbvasaa lartra, il is of four k\nds,viz., Kriy,vati, Kalavati,Vanamayiand vedhamayj. Pft\natosini, Accord,nglo Kulanava il is seventold,viz., Kriya, Varna. Kala, Sparsa, Vak, Drk and Manasa. Each ol theseis subdivided. According to Rudrayamala, it is oJ lhree lorms,viz., Anavi. Sakti and Sambhavi.
Glossary
211
Pr6natosini, Other types are Karma, Pancayatanaand Ekamanl@, elc.
oipana Processing ot manlra. Krsnananda's ,ldsara, Divya-bh:iva The higheslspiritualattainment ol a Tantricdevotee. Oivyacakra NameoJ a Cakraritual,in whichthe Pafrcatattvas ate used,meantlor lhosewho havemadeconsiderable spiritualprogress. Mahanirvena. Divyamudrd Same as Khecallmudfa(q.v.). Oivyatattva A categoryal Pahcatattvalq.v.). Divyaugha A line of succession of Tantricgurus. Syemerahasya, (quolation lromBhavacudaman l. Drk-diksd Sameas Caksusldlksd(q.v.). Sameas Lata(q.v.). Dfiiy6ga Ritual union ol a Tankic devoteewith his female parlner.Her organis tanciedas sacriticial fire into whichthe semenof the malepariner,conceivedas
212
Chapter-7
clarifiedbutler,is olleted. Patasurema-katpasitrc, Ekalinga A tield or a place in which (up to five krosas)lhere is bul one Sivalinga: designation ol a Sivalinga al such a place. Nilatantra, Gajak16ntd
Glossary
Gunaspanda Oualitiesoi Satlya,elc. Guptatarayogini Designation of goddesseswho arc Avaranaclevatas (q.v.). Gandharvantantra, Gupti
Same as Asvaknirta (q.v.).
Keepingthe manfa secrel.
Gandhdstaka EighttragrantsLlbstances laken togetherand used as substitute Jor wine of thtee kinds - Sakti-sambendht, S ivasambandhi and Visnusambandhi. Sarade aka, Gauda Sampradaya A sect ol Tanlricdevoleesbelongingto easlern India andlollowing VaritcAra. lt depends entirely on parcatallya (q.v.), and advocates the unily oj devalA, guru and mantfa as manitestationol the energy ol the Greal Goddess. PurascaryArnava,
Krsnenanda'sIanlrasera, Gurubila Lelters H, S, KH, M, L, V R, Y Um. HSdividya,Hddimata yldyd, denoling knowledge,manlla or deity, emanating Ircm KAmareja bija. A school named aller Ha, the symbot ol Siva, anC influentialin Keralaand Kashmir. Saktisamgama,fa"a. H6kini Presidingdeity of lhe Ajna-cakra(q.v-),conceivedas srx-tacedand while in complexon. gatcakranirupana.
Sa k tisamg ama, stndatl, Gauripatta Base upholding Siyarrga. Looking like lhe female organ, tt is also called yonl. Gdyatri The bastc manlra ot an initialed dy4a. Grh6vadhdta An Avadhuta(q.v.)leadingthe life of a househotder.
213
Hamsa (1)
SupremeSoul, Erahman.
(2)
A symbolic fiantra involving inhaiation(ham) and exhalation(sa)oJbreath.Sameas A/apd(q.v.).Regarded as Para-mamantta.ll is of two kinds, yyakla (manifesl) and Gupla (hidden). Ham is lhe symbol ol Sindu lPurusa, firale Princjp]eot Creation, and Sah ol Visargal (Prakrti,FemaleFrinciple).
Chaple-7
214 Satcakranirupana, (Observalions of Kalicarana). Hamsa-manlra
Also called AjafA-mantrc. Name ol lhe /ranra, consisling ol ham and sah symbolism,for lhe awakenjngof Kundalini lq.v.). Ham6apitha Region ol Hamsa, supposed to exist within sahasaras (q.v-).Indicaledby A-KA-IHA lriangle,and markedby letters HA-LA-KSA. In it, lhe devolee should medilate on guru as ideniicalwith Siva. Padukapancaka,I (KalicaranasComm.). Hirdhakald (1) \2)
Alsoknownas Sex-organ drawnon mysticdiagrams. Hamsapadaot Yoni. unron. Waveof blissresulting lrom Siva-Sakli
Halhayoga A kind ol lorced yoga or abslracl meditationpedormed with greatselt-morlification, such as standingon one leg. ln it, the mind is forcedto wilhdrawJromexternal objects. ln the Yogasikhopanisad(l-33), it is described as the unity of ihe sun (Ha) and the moon (Tha). ln lhe Hathayoga-padipika (1.10),it is regarded as lhe source ol all kinds ot Yoga. Havisya Food preparedwith rice lhat has been dried in the Nilatanta,
Glossary
215
Homa A rite in whichoblationis pouredinlo fire. lt is ol variouskinds,e.9.,Sthila (gross),Srksma(sublle), Para(transcedental), Eehya(exlernal), Anlara(internal), (hatmlul (benelicial), Nignha acl), Saumya etc. Matuebheda, tanlraBla, Krsnananda's IantraSala, SeradAtilaka, TAdbhaktl-sudhanava, Nilatantra, Hotri diks6 A type ol initiationin which the gutu petlorms homa tor purilyingthe six quarters. SAradAtilaka, Hsien(Chinese) lmmorlality Hrllekha the Baia Hrim. tdd
Oneol lhe fourteenmainnerves.Symbolol the rnoon, it is on lhe lett ol the spinalcord. Supposed1obe ol whitecolour l. Satcakraninipana, lddhi (Irom Pddh,) powerslaled in Buddhisttexts like lhe l\,liraculous Bahma-hla-sutta, Cullavagga,
ChapterT
216
Glossary
as a newelybornchild. Saktisamgama,Ifue,
1 1 m( A r a b i c ) Accordinglo Sulis, knowledgegatheredlrom experience. Indrayoni A nerve-plexus belween Visuddha and Ajie Cakras. ndj : Kriyasakti. lndubij6 Dram. Ntlalantra, lsilva A kind ol Sddhl (q.v). lstamantra The ma,lfa taught by one's guru. Itaralinga A, latm ol Sivalinga. Saradatilaka, lV. .raPa lVulteringor repeatinga manl€, or the r]ameoi a deity. Kuhrnava, Saktisamgama,IatA, Gandharvantantta, lt rs of three kinds, viz.. Vyakta (expressed), Avyakla (unexpressed),Suksma(subtle),alsocalled,respeciively, Vacika, Upamsu and Manasa. Jetakusuma Menslrualblood ot a woman. Nilatanlra, Jilasilaka Newelybornchlld.Mantrais conceivedduringinitiation
2t7
Jivana Processing a manlra, Krsnananda's larlrasdra, Jivanmukti Liberation in lile. Jivasakti Nameaf Cund ni, the vitalenergywilhinthe body. TanlrcrajaTantra, Jfr6nahoma HamapedotmedIn rnlernalworsnip. Pranabsini, {Ouolaliontrom Nilyatantra). Jyesthe A destructiveSakti by which Sivahoodol exkemely personsis obslructed. enlightened Jyotirdhy6na l\,leditation on the Sell, believedto rcsidein Kundafini (q.v.) in the form of lighl. Also called Tejodhyena. Kadaimata A principalTantric schoolwithKa as ils symbol.Texts in gloriflcation oi l,,lahatripurasundari, especially those describrng the modeof Her worship,elc.,are known chieflyundertwodivisions,one ol whichisMadhumatimala at K+dimatta. fhe Tanttaraja, Mattkamava,Tripunmavaand Yoginihrdaya comeunderthis class. Saktisamgama, fata
214
Chapler-7
Do, Kali, Kddividy6(K{dlndta) Knowledgederivingils name kom the initial letter ol VegshavaBija (q.v.). gla&tilaka, Kahddimata One ot the three main Tantricdoctrines. Saktisamgama,fafa, K6klnl (1) Presidingdeily of the Anehak Cak a (q.v.),conceived as yellow and residingwithin a twelve-petalledred lotus. Satcak@nitupana, KA is called Kekinl Biia. l2l K.l6 (1) Aspect of the Great l\4otherGoddess, symbolically reprcsentedby yrfr6 or letter 38 Kalesare supposed lo hav6 emanaledlrom the lhree grcups ot letiers, called Saunrya, Saua and Agneya. PEpafrcds'ra,
(2)
(3) (4)
Sarcdatilaka, Accordinglo anolh€atradrllon,50 Ka6.remanatedfrom the tive oonstituentsoi Pnnava (Omkenl, viz., A, U, MA, Bindu, Nedd. SAra&tilaka, Prakrli, Saldi, May6. ge&tilaka, Prcpaficaserc, Lettors lrom A to KSA. /lf6da.
Glossary
219
Kdlacakra A minor nerve-cycleahove VisuddhaCakra(q.v.)but below lhe AjfiAcakra(q.v.).Atso known as tala/dcakfa,it denot€sthe wheelof time and the chiel deity ol Tdntric Buddhists'KehcakrayAna. Kal6 (Vati) diksd A Jormol anitialionin which the guru locatesthe five Kalds, called Niv ti. Pratisth,, Vidhya, Santi and ganlyatitain dilletenlpa{s of the bodyof the discipie and anointshim. K6l.imikha A V6miichariSaivasect,muchsimilarof Kepalikas. Th6y are knownto havedweltin SouthIndia. KaliimUdi Framentaryform of lhe ligure of Sakti. Sakliof any deiiyis dividedintosixteenparts{Kai6). Garlandof Letterc, Kaliinydsa Perceptionol the deity in ditferentparts ot the body of the female partneroi lhe devot€e. Krsndnanda's Ianffasdra, Kelibiia The syllableKrim. Kdlimala Textsin glorilicationot Mahatripurasundari, especially those describingthe modo ol her worship,etc., are knownchieflyunderlwo divisions,one of whichis the K'limata o, Malinimala. Kdinabila The syllablesKlim, Krcm, elc.
Chapier-7
224 Kemakale (i)
Sexual art.
12)
it is ol the natureol lmaginedas l/ahdltipurasundari, Cil (consciousness),A nanda lbliss), iccha \will), Jnana (knowledge)and Kiya(aclion).ll is supposedto be in a lriangle wilhin the Candramandala ot the Sahasrarapadma\q.v.).li is regardedas a comb nalionol lhe thtee Bindus ol Ravi, Agnland Soma. In some Tantras, Karnais the equilibrium oi Prakesa(stalic)and ylmalsa (dynam c) Sakli oi Siva. Nity6sodasikernava,
Gossary
Kdpalika An exlremst Saivaresorting 10the cultof Sakli,and dr nk ng w ne in hurnanskulls. Saktisamgama,Keli, Kaftrnl6tl6l
The hand used as a rosary. Krsreranda s Tantrase ra, Nilalantra, Karamkini Mud16 Accordingto those,who have attainedperteclknowledge, it is a mentalstate when the body of lhe five elemenls resls n the greal lirmament,and the world appearslo be ke a corpse and devoid oi al actions.
(Setubandha comm.). Satcakruniipana, (Obseruations of Kalicarana). KAmakela vilAsa, CidvalIi \comm.) K6mamandira House lor union with Sakt/. Nilatantra, Kdmarajabija Designation of lelters HA, SA, KA, HA, LA, HRAN, each symbolisingan aspect ol Sakll or Vidye. Serada laka, Kdmesibija or Kiimabiia The syllable Klim or Klhrin.
221
aarana In aslronomyit s the name given to halt of a illhl. Kdrana Wine used rn Tantricriluals.The word meanscaused. Such wine is supposedto be the cause ol knowedge ol dharma, arlha, kAma, and moksa. Panatasini.. KaranyAsa
Partot a rilernwhichthe handis placedin a particular poslion.In ii, the fingersandthe reverseof the palm are used to invokedeiliesin lhe lorm of letters. Krsr]ananda'sTan|lasar.a,
Kiimika Name 01 lhe seal lot K mya Japa ar lhe mutter ng of a manln ^ame 01a deilyfor a specialpurpose.I\,4ade of the skin of deer, liger or ram or cane.
Purascaryernava, Kafrcuka: PAsa,evil,MeYe,e1c.
Kartari A mantra at two letters. Tantraraja, Kaftrik6 A krndot.4slra (q.v.)or weaponwhich is seen in the
222
Chapter-7 land ot Adw-Sakti. Nilalantra.
Kiismira Sampradiiya Tantrc devoteesoJ Kashmir.Sakl/samgama. Sundari, Purascaryernava, Kaula One who periormsTankic riteswith five Mak:ifas, .e., lallaws Kulacara. Kaulas ate divided into many sects, e.9., Kapallka, Ksapanaka,Dlgambara. Nilatantra. Kaulamdrga A way of spiritualexercise(ec6fa)coniinedw thin the sp ritual lineageof a particulargrcup \Kula). ln it, lhe devoiee worships with the Pancamakaras. It rs of two krnds,wel and dry. Kaulam'rga-rahasya, Nivenalantra, Kulatnava, Rudrayemala,Vllata, Kaulajnananimaya, Mahanirvana, Kaulavalininaya, Pranatosini, Krsnananda'sIanrrasara, Warning against abrse al Kaulamt\rga, ParcsurAma Kalpa sutra, Mahenitvana,
Kaulika Sarneas Kaula (w. v.). One who lollowsthe /(irlaot Kaulamodeol Sadhatrt, NirvAnalantG,Xl. Kul6nava, Nilatantra, KaulikaSakti Same as Kheca Sakti (q.v.). KaulikaSiddhi I4aksaaccoding lo Kulamataof KashairSaivism. Patatrimsika, Kaulini Same as Kandallrl (q.v.). Kavaca Prayerwith certain mysiic syllablessupposedto protectthe devoteeas an armourprotectsthe body. Protective spell. SyamArahasya, KeralaSampraddya A Tdntric secft whose followersare spread over 19 counlriesfrom Ary4varlata the sea. Saklisamgama,K6li, Siddhanta-samgraha. Puras'caryamava, Khapuspa [,4enstrual blood. Khecari Mudrii AYogicposturewhichleadsto spiritual attainment, and enabtesa pefsonto overcome diseaseand death.By lhis mudr6movemenlon the outskirlsof the sky of Clf
224
Ct€pbr-7
becomespossible. Ghelanda, Khecarl Sakti Kha meansBrahman. The pow€r,which movesas the kinetrcenergyoI Brahman,is calledKhecai. Thoughon€, it is manitestedin variouslorms. Parctrimsika, Kllaka Litorallya small stick, It is a kind of L/ydsa(q.v.). Nilatant/a, Krsnananda's fantrasara, Koaa Sheath.The Humanbodyis supposed to consistof the five shealhs as follows : Annamaya, PtAnamaya, Manomaya, VijfiAnamaya, Ananclamdya. Kramad6ksd A type of initiationto the mantrasot Kati, Tdrd and Tripurasundari,meant lor cerlain special kinds ol dovotees. PAnatosini, KJamamalt A Tdntricsystomof Kashrnir,deattwith in Abhinavagupta's Knmakeliand Kama-slotrc.lt is twotoldaccordingas it relatesto Saivismand Sdktism. Ta Aloka, Krlytu.kll Throe kinds of my6ticpower,viz., Maojavitva(having
Glossary
225
speedlikemind),Kdmal.rpilva(assumingformsal will), Vikaaanadharmifua linlinitementalpowerto consume and lransmit). K,iyavati diked A tormol initiationin whichmanyritualsare perlormed, and the gLlrusanlifiesthe disciple'sbody; inculcales his own consciousness inlo the disciple. Pdnatosini, Kriydyoga A kind oi yogic exercise,Sakti-samqalra,Sundari, KrodhaniMudrd Accordingto lhose, who have achievedsuccess in mantra,il meansthat which is containedin the 24 tattvas. Krlyd An evil goddesssupposedto causeharm. Nilatantrc, Kula (1) Familyand lhe mode of worshiphandeddown by the traditionof the lamily. Tantricriteobtainingin a particularregionwilh reference 12) to a particllar deity. (3) The Saslra which expoundsthe group of objecls includingthe knower,the knownand lhe knowledgeor the worshipperand the object ol worship. (4) Body. {s) Adheracaka,Constiluenlsol lhe word are Ku (earth) and liyale(merg€s). Spirituallineagefrom Paramasivalo one's own gurt-r. {6) La t,sahasehama,1
226
Chapt€r-7
(SaubhegyabhAskaa comm.l. Kulabhakta One who is devotedto a KautikaSedhaka. Nilatantn, Kulacakra A kind ol Tentric rit€ in which several devotees assemble. Nilatantta,
Kulectua Same as Ka!/an6r9a (q.v.). Nihtantn, Kuladravya Same as Pal-calattua(q.v.). KaulAvalinimaya, Nilatantq, Kuladrsti Sight of Kuladevi;Kaufika,s. Sight of th6 desired deity. Nilatante, Kulaiana A devoteeof th€ Kaullkaclass. NilatantH, Kulaiffa One who knows Kulacara. Nilatanta, Kulaifiena Knowledgeol Kulanterya. PaGsunma-kalpasuta,
Glossary
(Ramesvara'scomm.). Kulakaulayogini Presidanggoddessesof cakras ol the Bahi-dasera (q.v.)class. Gandha atantrc, Kulakundalinl Sameas Kurdarnl(q.v.). Kulam6.ga Safie as Ka2lamarya\q.v.l Kulamrta wilhin\he Nectarllowingdownlromlhe Candamandala head when Kundalinilq.v.)penetralesthe six Cakras. Kulaftiyaka Besi among lhe KaulikaSadhakas,Heree Siva. Nilatantta, Kulapadma lotuswalhinSahasdra(q.v.). Six-petalled Kulapatha (q.v.)ascends. The passagethroughwhichKundalini Saundaryalahatl, KulaoUiana Worshipol the desireddeilyof a Kaula{q.v.). Nilatantta, Kulapuspa Flowerslike Aaklar'ara(redChinarose);hereit means the menslrualblood of a woman. Nilatantn, Kularasa or menstrualblood ol a woman. Svayambhu-kusuma
Glossary Nilatantra, Kulasamketa
Kulayosil AlsocalledKau ni, il is lhe name ol Kundalinilq.v.l. Saundaryalahari (Laksmidhara's comm.). Kullukd Designation ol a mantrarecited before /?pa aller the worshipoI Mahevidye.
Technicalmysleriesot Kautamerya lq.v.),e.g.,Kramasanketa,pijA-sanketa,Mantra-iankera, eti. Kuhnava, ParasuAna-kalpasitra (Ramesvara s comm.). Kulasdstrc Kuternava,KaulAvati-nirnaya, eIc. NilatantH, Kulasundra crcat Kautika(q.v.). Nitatantra, Kulasunalari Femininegenderof Kulasundara(q.v.). Kulatattva Sarneas Kutadravya. KuldvadhUta See Avadhuta. Kul{vidyd The mantra used by a Kaulika. NilatantG, Kula-vrksa The followingtrees regardedas sacreq by Kaulas : S/6smdlaka,Kaaitjaka, Nimbe.Asvattha, Kadamba. Plaksa,Vata,lJdumbaa,Anca.
i
Kulodaka Semen, Nilatanln, Kumbhaka A kind ol PAnayemain which the breathls held up. Nilatantra, Kundagolodbhava 'l\renslrual blood,regarded as sacfedtortheGoddess. Kundodbhavais the blood of a marriedwoman,and Golod-bhavais of a widow'. N- N- thattacharya. Hist. ol Tantric Religion, p.443. lhe vtord Kunda, occurringin \he Manusmtti,iii. 156, 158, 178, and Yejfiavalkya-smni,1.1O, 222,224,hasbeeninterpreted as an illegitimate issueof a Brahminwomaa,whose husbandis alive,by anotherBrdhminmale. The word Gora,occuringin Manusmrti,lll. 156, 174 and Yejfravalkya-smrti, l. 10, 222, has been taken to denole an otfspringof the clandeslane union ol a Brahminwidowand a Brahminmale. Kundalini The serpenl,symbolol vitalenergy,suppos€dto coil
230
231
Chapter-7 atound lhe Miladhera (q.v.). TantEAja, cheranda, Salcakranidpana, Sarad6tilaka, Nilatantra. Pranatosini. MAtkebheda, Rudrayamela,Ullata Sa undarya-laha ri, lLaksmi-dhara).
Kircabiia The myslic syllable HUlt|. Kurukulld Letters,A, E Laghim6 See Slddhi Ldkini Presiding deity ol Manipura Cakra (q.v.). Laksmi Name ol bllia S.im. Nilatantra, Lalandcakra See Kahcakft, Lambikagra. Lambik6gra A nerve-circle located above the Vtsuddha and hetow the A,hii. Also called Lalana ot Kalacakra. Lai6 Sakli or woman with whom one should associaleor
pe orm Maithunaas pa.l of a Tenkic Poja. Also cal1edDrli. Latdsiidhana Riiualinvolving. Paficamakara. Layabhogdnga-vidhAna Malasor Pesas(q.v.)lrom the Proc€ssol separalrng body.A part ol Srrdrt dikse (q.v.). Setadetbka, Purascaryarnava, Layaslddhiyoga-samedhi State ol perlectbliss. In it, lhe devoleeacquires spiriluapower,and enjoysthe pleasurelike sexual enjoymentleadingto lhe realisalionof idenlitywilh lhe SupremeBeing. Gheranda, Layayoga A lotn ol Hathayogawhich d€stroys all mundane aboutthe desiresandleadslo eternalblissby bringing mergerol one'smindin the SupremeBeing. Lelih6naMud16 again to Saklas.thatwhichlickseverything According and agarn. Linga lrale organworshippedas Siva-phallus. Lingapuspa The flower,calledFaklaka.ati,usedas a substiluteIor sexualunion, PatasuA ma-kalqasit ra,
232
Chaplef-7
Lop6mud16 IVankas, relating lo S,vidyi,consisling of l5 symbolic lelters. Ianlrasara, Krsnananda's Madhyam6 A kind ot sound midwaybetweenPasyanti(q.v.Jand Vaikhati\q.v.).Connecledwith intellecl.Represenls equilibriumof Paraa d Pasyanti. Prapafrcasen, Kdmakaliivilasa, Lalita\sahasranama, (Saubhagyabhaskara). MadhyamasrolaTanlra Tanlrasbelongingto the middlecwtent, viz., Vijaya, NihsvAsa,Sveyambhuva, Vetula,Virabhadra,Raurcva, Makuta and Vircsa. Mah6cakra A Cakra tilual in whichone'smolher,slster,daughler, daughterin-law and wife are lo be worshippedas Paicasakti. Nittut!an, Mahdcindcdra, Mahecinakrama Sameas Cmacdra(q.v.)Mahdh.ada Pu(e Cidatman. Mah6m6msa Fleshof lhe{ollowing crealures, regarded as sacredfor otteringto the deity: man,cow,ram,horse,bultalo,boar,goat,deer. SyemArchasya,
Glossary Krsndnanda's Ianllasara, Mahamudra (1) A torm ol poslure(2)
Ghennda, Womanin general. Femaleorgan.
Mahdpasu An uninitaled person, Nitut!ara, Mahdsitmrdjya-diksd A lorm of initiationwhich is an essentialprerequisile ol Kaub Sedhana. Mahesetu Designation oi a manta recited before lapa afler the worship ol a Mah vidya. Higher lrom of Selu (q.v.). Nilatanlta, Mah6vidy6 Ten Tdntricgoddesseswhose namesvary in difierent lexls. They are usually called Kali, Tara, Sodasi, Bhuvanesvari, Bhairavi, Chinnartasta, Dhumaveri, Vagah, Mehngi, Kamak, Prenatosini, It ls intereslingto nole lhal the lerm also denotes Kevalanvayihelu,i.e., a purely posilive probans in logrc or Nyayasdstra(VideMahavidya-vidambana ol Vadind?. ed. l\r. R. Telang,Baroda,1920). [4ahim6 A kind ol slddhl (q.v.). Maithuna Sexual intercourse,consideredas one of the tive
234
ChapteFT
Glossary Manodikse A form of iniiiationmerely by lhe gulu's lhought and mental action.
l,4ahAnitvena, Pnnatasini,
Kuhrna'a,
Mala Fetterscausingrebifthand sulteringof worldtyex slence. Threefoid,viz., Anava, Kerma and MAyjya.
Manonmana Transcendental blisscomingout as a resultof bhakllyoga_
Mdlinimata Gheranda,
Same as K.i/imata(q.v.). M6nasadiks6 Same as Marodiksa (q.v.). Mdnavaugha A line or successtonof Tankic aulus. Mandala (1)
A penod ol 49 days.
(2)
Atlaa Cakrain which the devotees,sittingw th lheir lemale parlners around the ieader, lnduge In the enloymenl ol live Makaras.
Mantra Generallyincanlalionrelalinglo a male deity. Mantra-adhva Blood lo be purified for S+dhana. Adhva denotes a constiiuentoi the body which is ot six kinds, viz., Bhuvana (cetebal o(gan), Mantra (blood and flesh), Pada and Varna (muscles and vein), Dhetu and Reta (bonesand tluids).Saraditr;hka,V 24-25(Raghavabhatla). Manlracailanya Consciousness,inherentin aarlra, lo be roused by exerton, PAnatasini, Gandharvatantra,
(3)
D agramslike Sarvato-bhadra, used in Tantrc r tuals. l\,,lanjpura A Cakranear the navelregion,atso called Nabhicakra. Conceved as a 10 petaled lotus oi b ue co our, each petal contaning a te er. \t/ithtnthe lotus s concerved a tnangleol the colourof lhe risingsun.Theouler sides of the lrange afe representedby three svastika symDors, Satcakra-niripana, Nilatantra,,
Mantraydna Name of Tanlric Buddhism. M6ntri diksd A iorm oi initialionin which the gufu at tirsl purifies h mseii and ihen consceraleshis disciple. SAr|deihka,
236
ChaplerT
Glossary
237
Manu thread pass beiore being lied in a knot.
Nilatantn, Mdrana The rile for killing. Marifat
Nilatante, Mudre (i)
According to Sufis,knowledge obtained throughdivine_ grace. lretr : Yogifri,Sakti Katii. lrakkii : See Asbmetke. Miitrkinydsa Perceptionol Metk6s (q.v-)in the lorms ol lettersin differentparis ol the body.Tvtolold_ Antarmettka\nyAsa and Bahj rma!t ke-nyAsa, Krsnenanda's Iarfrasara, Mritrkerna M'trkevarna:lener ol the alphabet. Nelatantra, Mdtrk6varna See Matrk4na. M6ye Name ol Bija Hin. M6ydbila Nelatantra, [,4ayiya mala : Such a feelingas,l,,,Nrine,. Meru The beadin a rosary,throughwhichthe endsof the
Derived lrcm rcol Mud, it iiterally means lhat which givesdelight.Posesot handor fingersused in worship, e.9., Matsya, Krrma, Samkha, elc. Ihe Gheranda-samhita nenlrons 20 Mudnis.
(ii)
Postureot lhe body al the lime of yoga., e-g-,Asviini
(iii)
One of lhe five Makafas essential in Tanlric Sddhana. lt means Jried or parched cereals, e.9., Yogiii-tante, or geomelricalfigures.
(lv)
ln Buddhist Tantra it denotes woman. The Prcgfiopeya and Sekoddesatika \p.56) take to mean a woman with whom a TdntricYoginassociates.
Mudrevirya Condition ot Khecari(q.v.). Mukta-triveni same as Alta (q.v.). MUla (1) AlsocalledMiddhaQ G.v.). (2) Mulamantralq.v.). MUlacakra Same as Muladhara(q.v.). Milatantra, MUlidhdra The lowesio{ the six Cakaras(q.v.),supposedto be at the lowest extremityol the spinal cord whete Kundalini(q.v.) is supposedto reside.
238
Glossary
Satcakenhipana, Mrilamantra
Napumsaka manlra A mantfawhichis neithermale(i.e.,meantlor deilies) nor female(i.e.,meantlor femaledeities).
The main or basic mantraimpaftedby one's spiritual preceptorat the time of initiation. Mdlavidyd Sameas M{tamantq (q.v.). Nilatantft, Mursid Guru or spiritualpreceptoraccordinglo Sulis. N6bhipadma Same as Manipua lq.v.), Satcakmniipana, Mida Sound.First vibrationof pafti Sakti expressingitsef rn creataon. Maniteslationof the consciousnesso, lhe Supr6meBeing,rev€aledin sound. SAtadAtitaka, t.6lI. SatcakEnin)pana, (Katicarana). Prapancdsara, Nddi Artery or vein in lhe body.Supposedto be 72,OOO In number.Ol these,72 are the maiorones,of which agafnthe lhree mosl jmportantare tda, pinga/i.,and Susumt6PrAnatosini, Nakuli Ha. {akutisa Ham.
239
Saradeflaka, NapumsakaVaina LetlersB and L. SAnde laka, (Raghavabbatta). Nal6camud16 A hand-pose in whichthetipol the rightthumbas,oined with the lop mark ol the righl forefingerand then slretchedoui whileotherting€rsare bentlow. Nali Dancingwoman,Goddess(Sakti)supposedto dance in delightat the perlormanceof rituals. Navacakra Nine Cakatas,of which live belonginglo Sakti and pointingupwardand lour to Siva pointingdownward, constitutingthe S.iantla whichis lookeduponas lhe bodiesol Siva and Sakli, ioined together. lX. Saundaryalahai, (Laksmldhara's comm.). NityatsodasikAhava, (Seftrbandha comm.)Navanada lo (1) Nine Nedasor specialkindsol sound,supposecl reveallhe nalure ol Kundalihi. KemakalvilAsa, lcidva i).
240
Glossary
LettersA, inilial letl€rot €ach Varya,Ya,Sa and Ksa. Saundaryalahad, (Laksmidhara). Nimcsa Sakti lryill pou,er,by which the concept of Sadasiva is characterisedin KashmirSaivism. lsvataqatyabhijfre, Nirvikalpa Samddhl Blisslul state of mind in which the distinctiono{ the knower,knowledge andobjeclol knowledge is obliterated. Ny6sa (1) A pa.l ot Tantricritual,in whichditiasare placed(i.e., felt) on differentlimbs of the body. There are vadoustypes ol /Vyasa,e.9., tlAtkanyesa (feefingMetfkds),Pitha-nyasa lleelingthe holy resorts ol Sakti), etc. (2) Subtle identilicationwith Cakfas. Kfsnananda'aTantrasafa, Nilalanla, Odra.puspa Javellowet. Also called Jape. China rose. Odrawas the nameof modernOrissa.Perhaps,il was believedthal this flower originallyused to grow in Orissa. Padmiisana A sitting poslure,in which the right foot is placedon the lelt thigh and vic6 versa. Paficabandhana
P66cabhula viz.,Earth,Waler,Fire,W;ndand Favegrosselements, Ether. Pancagavya Five productsol the cow, viz., cowdung,cow's urine, milk,curd and ghee.
12)
Five tetters as a resull ol Avidye $alse knowledge).
241
Nilatantra, Pahcaka16 Five aspects ot Sakti, viz., Nivttti, Pratisth*, Vidya, Santi and Santyatita, stedenaka, Paficakahcuka Five impurematerialelemenls,viz., Kal6,Niyati,Kela, Vidfe and FlAga,which causes bondageol diflerent kinds. Pahcakles'a Five lelters, viz., AvidyA,(talse knoweldge),Asmila (egotism), Raga (attachment),Dvesa (hatred) and Atthiniyas'a(adherence). Pa6cakriy{ or Pa6caktya Five actions of Sakti, viz., Srsti (creation), Slhlti (Preservation), Samrera(Destruction), Irodhada(Disappearance), AnugrehalFavoutl, Tantrcloka, Paicamak6ra Five things,whose namesbegin wiih the lettersMa, necessarylor Tdntric sedhana. rhese are Maclya,
ChaplerT
l,16msa, MaEye,Mudra,Mailhuna. Pancamnaya (zones) FiveAmnayas well-known torTentricculiure. Paacamundi An asana(seat),bt fa\rIt)c Sadhana. made with lhe seveteoneaos ol two Candalas, one jackal, one monKeyano one snaKe. Paica6lra Originallyused, in SalapathaBrehmana,as an adjecltve ol Purusamedha, it later came lo be used as an independenl word meaninga sacrificeto be perlormed in live successive nighls.Thewordhas been nierpreled in as many as erght diflerenl ways (Vide K. D. Bharadvaj'spaper'Pancariitrain Aruna BhAratt.A. N. Jani Fel. Vol-, pp. 59 ll.) The Patcalitra deals wilh philosophy, and iconography medilalion,lemplearchitecture and some mallers peculiar10 the secl. Pafrca Sakti Molher,sister,daughler,daughter in-lawand preceplor's wiie worshippedas live greai Sakis. PafrcaPrela Brahmii,VisnLr,RLrdra, lsa, Sadasiva,forminglhe seal of Goddess,logethercalled Panca Preta. Paicatanm6tra Five subtle elemenls, viz., Sabda, Sparca, Ripa, Rasa, Gandha,corresponding, respeclivey, to Sky or Ether,Wind, Fire,Water and Earth. Pafrcanga-suddhi Fivelold purilication,viz.. atma-suddhi,sthena-suddhi, mant@-sucldhi,dnvya-suddhi ancl deva suddhi-
qlg!:!ry
243
Paicataltva Sa.I]'eas PahcamakA? (q.v.). Paiciiyatani diksd Initialionintothe cults ot Siva,Sakti,Vtsnu,Sirya and Ganesa. Krsnanandas lanllas6ra, Pafrcopdcra Flve arlicles ior worship,\tiz., gandha (sandalpaste and othertragranlsubstances),puspa (flowe4,dhrpa (incense), dlpa \larnp), naivedya (tood oflering). Purascaryanava, Parakiye Wrleol anolherperson,somelimeslaken by a devotee as nrs panner. Paralinga (1)
lmaginarymale organ in terms ol which the EirdLlor vacuum in lhe Sahasfti/alrianglein conceived. A lype ol Sivalinga.
\2) Paramahamsa
A devoteewho has s!cceeded in Hamsa-manlra. Paramakula Same as Alid (q.v.). Pararr1esihi Guru The lourth spiritualancestorof lhe guru. Mahenirvena, Paramitil Periection,lranscendenlal virlue.Generallysix or leni viz., Dama. Sila, Ksanti, Virya, Dhyana. Prajna. fo lhese are, somelimes, added Salya, Adhi-slhana, Maitra, Upeksa.
Glossary Chapl€r-7
Palamudra Sublle lorm ot Mudra. Tantranja, Parapa€Guru Thirdspiritualanceslorof lhe guru. MahAniNAna, Pard Sakti (1) SupremeGoddess.An aspeclo1lvlother Goddess. Femaleparlner ot the tantric Sedhaka.Sa.rcdatilaka, 12) 1.7 (Comm.).Nitya-sedasikamava, Mahenitu{na,V.2. Kulernava, Salcakranirapana, L (Keicarana). P6sa Same as Mala (q.v.). Anu.Jiva.That whichis tied by pAsasor letlers. A man in whomanimalprop€nsities are predominant. Regarded as the weakesttypeof humanbeings. A low class ol Tenlric devoiees. Twofold- sabhaya(intluencedby knowledge)and vibhevalulitha mark letl by knowledge).A pas! may again be drksita(initialed)or adlkslta(uninitiaied). PesupabsAta. Kauhvaiinirnaya, Nilatantra,Vlll. Pasubhdva The atlitudeol a Pasu {q.v.).
245
Rucircyamda, Ullata, Pasucakta A kind ot Cakra ritual. Pasu Siistra Tankasolherthan thosebelongingto the Kaulagroup. Pasvecdra cenerai name 01 VedAcan,VaisnavecAra, SaivAcan and DaksinecAra. Pasyanti Belonging lo the regiono, the navel,it is lhe second slageoi the development of soundwithinihe body. Prapahcasera, Paustika A rite designedto causeprosperity. Nilatant@,Xll. 26. Pindabrahminda-m:irga Passageof the ascentof Kundalinilq.v.). Pi6gal6 One ot lhe three principalarteries- rising from MilAdhAraand reachingthe right nostrit. Possesses the characteristics oi lhe Sun, il is also called SltyanAdi. Serad tilaka, (Comm.of Rdghava). Satcakrani pana | (Sammohanalaolra quoted ln Kalicarana's comm.). Pir (Persian) Gufuor spifllualprecepior, according to Suis.
GIos,sary
247
Pithahyesa The Vedic syllableOm. Prdney6ma
See Nyiiga. Pithasakti
Lit. ihe expansionol brealhi a breathingexercise.
Colleclive name of goddesses /cche, Jtena, etc., each represenlingan aspecl ot sakli.
ll is ol three kinds, viz.,
Sfanarahasya,
Piraka li..halalion), Kumbhaka lholdi^g lhe brealh),
Pradhdna-tatlva
Fecaka (exhalalion),
Equilbriumol lhe fellingof joy or Sorrow. Prdkdmya
NilaIantG,
A kind oi Sddhl (q.v.).
Pranabsini, Praty6hdra Yogic process of withdrawinglhe senses frorn iheir conlact with external objects. Pratyalidha A sitlingposlurein which the shooterhas the left knee advancedand lhe rightleg slighllybent and relracted. Nilatantta, Prthvibiia The letters LAPUraka A process of prdniiyama (q.v.). Pdlha A holy place in which a limb ol the severedbody ol Sali (Siva'sconsorl) is supposedto have iallen. Nilalanlra. Pilha means a place where a devolee of high order used lo live or seat on which such a devoleeailained Siddhi.Generally51 Pllhasare recognised.Ol lhese, quile a few are in Bengalor in nelghboringareas.
Prakrti (1) \2) (3)
Sakli. one's temale pa.lner in a T:inlric rite. Female Principleof crealion. The SLrpremeSakli accordingto the Saktas. Nilalanta,
Purascarana A Tdntric rile designedto cause the potency ol a mantra. ll gene(ally consisis ol len pa.ts, vtz., japa, homa, tarpana, abhiseka, aghamarcana, siryArghya. lalpana, pranema, pLije,brAhma-nabhojana. ln ll. lhe person concerned has lo iake havtsyenna \q.v.) and pancagavya lq.v.). Kaukvalinirnaya, NilatantG, ll may consists ol live parts also. viz., Japa, Homa. Ta,Dana. Abh6eka. Bahmanabhotana. Krsndnanda's Iartrasara, PUrndbhiseka H thesl form ot Abhiseka i.q.v.).
Glossary
ChapteFT
Prenabstni,
Ivlaleand FemalePrinciplesof creation.
Gheranda,
Puryastaka
Rambha
Five kinds, viz.,
Designationof a woman ot any of the lour castes endowedwiih noblekails ot characler,eminentlyfit ior T.intric rites.
Parc (llo\Nes made oJ jewels, etc.), Apara ltnade with cui pieces of variegatedclolh), Uliama (obtainedJrom planls),
Ntruttaraianlra,
Madhyama lftuils) , Adama (leaves, waletJ.
RathakrAnta A vasl stretchof land from ihe Vindhyasto l/lahdcina includrngNepa. China was called Nlahacinain the medievalperiod..
Putita A manlrain betweenlwo Bias, one in the beginning, anolherat the end.
Recaka
N)latantra,
A process ol pranayama (q.v.).
Putikrta Same as pulita (q.v.). RahasyaYogini Eighlpresiding deiiies of the Aslakona Cakra lq.v.). Gandhatua, Raidcakra A formof Cakraworship. preceptols ln it,mother, sistef,daughler, dautherinlawand wile are lookedupon as Saktis. Raiani A specialtype ol woman recomrnended tor being worshipped in Taniricril!als. Ntruttara-tantra, RS,ayoga A iormol yogain whichihe mindautomatrcally merges in Brahman,
249
Bikt6 Name of a llthl oi evil inlluence. Nilatantra, Fludragranthi A knol obslructingthe ascent ol Kundalinilq.v.). LalifasahasranAma, \S aub hagyab haskara cofitm.). 56di Vidy:i A branchol knowledge,so namedafterthe initialletler at Ihe Sakti Bija. Sahaja (1)
The easiestand most naturalwayof sp ritualexercise.
\2)
Ultimalerealiiyaccordingto lhe Sahal/yds or adherenls ol the sahala doctrine.
Sahasr:ira
It
I
Thousand-petalled multicolouredlotus supposed 1o ex sl in Brahmarandhra (q-v.).
ChaplerT Satcakrcnitpana, NilatantG, Saivdc6ra
Glossary
251
Srividyatatnasulra, (Dipika camm.). Saklibija
A lotm ol DaksinecaQ emphasising lhe cult 01 SivaSakti. Vedic mode, eightfoldYogic praclices and animal sacfilice;lhese are lhe charocler,sltcs o'lhis iaala Pranatosini, Presiding Goddess ol the Visuddha Cakra (q.v.). Satcakranirupana, (Krilicarana's comm.). Sdkteyi
Saundaryalahai Sakticiilani A mudrzicausing great success. By it the breath is held up by Kumbhaka. The wind so confined pushes Kundalin)upwatd. S:iktidiks6
A kind of Diks6 (q.v.).
sakti (1) rhe BijaHrim.
(3) (4)
Name ol the live Sakli trranglestn Stiyantra\q.v.). (Laksmidhara s comm. citing Bhairavayemala).
S6kini
12)
Sakticakra
The lemaleparlner ol a TantricSiidhaka. Ol three kinds,viz., Syakia (own wite), ParakiyAlanolhet man'swife), Sadharanl (proslitule). Femaleprincipleo, creation. A limd ol Mantta. Kubrnava,
Initialionbased on pure knowledge,in which there is (Raghavabhatta). no externaltile. Seradelilaka, Prenalosini Sakti-karanavrda The doctrinethat Saktiis boththe efficieniand malerial cause of the universe. Nnyasodasikernava. Saktisamgama,Ta'ia, Saundatyalahan, Kaulafteryarahasya. Laliksahasrandma, Saktipala
Krsnananda's Tanlrasara, Candhalva, PrAnatosini, Nilatantta,
Touch of lhe lustreof Siva, by which even a man ol no strenglhcan realise Cil. Saktitrikona Sakli trianglesconceivedas existingin differentparts of the body. lhe lhree lines ol a itiangle symoorsrng
252
Chapter-7
any set of threetheories, and the angtessupposed lo be presidedoverby difterentgoddesses. Saktivarna S red titaka, Samddhi An accessoryol yoga,Stateof jnlenseconcentration and bllss,in whichthe worldof sensedisappears. 11 ls, ol. two kinds. Savikatpa(q.v.t and Nivjkata \q.v ) whlchare afsocalledSampralhdtaatd Asampralnita, respeclivety. cheranda, GandhaNa.Kuknava, Sdmarasya Equitrbrium of Siva and Saktrlot lJpaya and palFe n EUO0n|sm), o enconcerued insexuallerms.lhe conplele comprehenslon ol whichleadsto the perceptionoJnon_ duatjty. Samaya(Prijd) Worshipin and by lhe mind. Samdydcira A mode ot lhe Srividye cun. Saundaryalaha. (Laksmidhara's comm.), lsa ubhegyabh's kara comm.l. ParasuAma-kalpas[tra, (Ramesvara s comm.). Sdmbhavidiksi A Iormot initiation ol a superior levetdoneby the mere louch, glanceor will oJ the galrr/. Relatedto the secret cult ol Kamesvan. Nlyotsava,
Samheracakra A part ol Navacakralq.v.). Nityesodasikarnava, l. Sampradayayogini See undet Catutdasea. Sampraifrdta Samadhi See Samddhi Samputa The desiredmantra,rcciledbelorc andaller the name ol lhe Sedhya(i_e.,one agajnstwhom any of the six matevotent rilesis performed). Nilatantta, Samskdra Sacramenl, usually10,prescribed tor the lhreeupper classesol the Brdhmanacal society_ 56nta-Sakti A lorm of Sakll containingwi (rbch6),knowtedge (Jtdna) and action (kriy6). Sdntibiia Svaha. Sastre SyallablePhat. Satcakrabheda Sameas Cakrabheda (q.v.). Satcak.amarga Sameas Pindabrch mandatnarya\9.v.). Saikarma Six acls calculated to do harmlo an enemy:
ChapleFT
Metuna (killir'g), Slambhana (causingparalysis), Uccelara (exzplusion),Vasikarana(bringrngothers undef control), Yidyesana(creaiingbad blood) and Srirll (pacilication). N)latantra, Savikalpa Samddhi A state ot perlecl concentrationand bliss in which a leelingoi ditferenceexistsbelweenthe knowerand lhe oblectsoi knowledge. Sdvilri Manlra called Gayatri lq.v.). Nilalantra, Setu (1)
Deslgnationol a mantrareciled belore iapa aflet lhe watsh)p ol Mahevidye.So called as it is believed lo be ke a bridge lor crossing the ocean ol sutterng. According to Tantrasera,Omkera proceeds a ma,lra. Accordrng lo Pranatosint,Prcnava lomkAra) s cd)ed Set, lor Brahmanasand Ksatriyas.For va syas Phat s Selu.
\2)
Fourieenvowelsfollowedby anusvAn aad nada Nilatantra.
Siddha Vidyd Same as Mahavidye (q.v.). Siddh6nlaciir:i Alot.r. aI Vamacara,designedlor devoteesol lhe Yira
Glossary type. It lays greaterstress on antar'figa lhan on external rites. l1sadherents worshipVisnuby day while.esortingio panmcamakaraal nighl. Siddhaugha A line of successionof FanTricgurus, siddhi l\/ystical power. S!pposed lo tle eighl, viz., Anima (assuminqa very smallform),Laghlma(makingthe bodyvery lighl),Pnpti\powetol oblaining anything), Prakamyallrtesisliblewill), Mahima(increasingone's size at will), /sllva {superiority,grealness), yagitya (bringing (suppression othersundercontrol), Kamavasayta ol passion). Sometimesthe numberis given as ten, wilh the addilion ol Bhuktisiddhi, lcchi\siddhi. Sivabiia Narneol mercury, Siva Cakra The tour Sivatrianglesmakingthe Sriyanlra(q.v.). Binducakra,Astadala-padma, Bhipura, e1c.,ate also called Sivacakra. Saundaryalahari, (Laksmidhara's comm.)Smdrtidiksd Iniliationol the disciplein his absence-In it, the preceplor lreefromihe mentally rendersthe neophyte threetoldimpurityof 6nava,k,ma al.d mayiyalypes, and elevaleshis soul so as 10enableit to be united wiih the SupremeBeing.
256
ChaplerT
Seradetilaka, (Rdghava's comm.). Sodasadala-padma Sixteen-petalled lolus a, each petalof whichhas a vowelrepresenlinga Mdrrki. Sodasopac6ra Sixteenarlicfesfor worship;asana, svagata.padya. Arghya,Acamaniya,madhupa*a, puna-racamanya, snaniya, vasana, bhisana, gandha, puspa. dhtpa, dipa, naivedya,vandana. Mahenirvana, Sodhiinydsa A lorm ot Nyasain whichlhe deiliesare rndrvidualy perceivedin lhe body.lt has six methods_ Terabhakti-sudharneva, Sarcdalilaka, Krsnananda's Ianlrasara, Sonilapuspa Sameas Jetakusuma (q-v.). Nilatantrc, Sparsa(Sparsani)diksd initialionoJ lhe discipleby lhe touchal lhe guru. KuLirnava, SA/adiilllaka,(Beghava'scornm.). Sricakra See Sriyantra. Srikula A prominentTantic schoolotwhichlextslikelrtrudrahasya. Prapaicasara,Saradalilaka.elc-, belong.
Glossary
257
Srividy, (1)
ftrahavidy:.
(2J
A patliculat manfra.
Sriyantra The mosl importantdiagram relaiing lo lhe cult of SrividyA. Aiso called Sricakla and Ttipurccakra. It containsI lrianglesor yo,ls, five connectedwilh Saktiand lour with Siva,lhe tormertufnedupwardand the laltef downward, NityAsodasikemava, KamaKalAvihsa, Saundaryalahari,\Laksmidhara'scomm.). Srola See Daksina Srcta. Madhyama Srota. Ststicakra Ore-lhid al Sriyanlra. I ep resentinglhe crealive aspecl ol Sakti. Selubandha comm. on Nitt'asodasikanava. Stambhana One of lhe s x Tantricrites,renderingthe eliorls ol lhe enemy aborliveor causing paralyss to his body. Send tilaka SthUladeha Gross budy. SthUlaDhyina lvedilationbased on an object like the image oi lhe de ly concerned.
258
ChapteFT
Strivarna
Glossary Svacchanda Independent.Siva.
Long vowes. SendAlilaka,
Sv:idhisth6na Name of a Cakra within lhe body, supposed lo be locatedabove MilAdhAra.11looks lke a s x-peialled t o I !s .
( c o m m).. Suddhaiattva Paramasiva.
Satcakrantripana,
Suddhavidyii
(Laksrndhara'scomm.).
Knowledgeof Tatlvas.
Nilatantra.
Thal wh ch impartsthe knowledgeol Siva. Suddhi Designationof meat, fish, Mud,?, frurls, roots, etc., olferedwh le ofleringwine to the goddess. Paficamakeras(q.v.) are also called Sucldhi. Siiksmadeha
Sarcakranirupana, Nilatantr3, Svakiy6 Wlle oi lhe devoteeas his parlner in SAdhana. Svapuspa The Iirst menstrualblood of a marrledwoman, sacred lo Goddess.
S!btle body. Sulabija
SvayambhuKusuma
The mysiic sound Phat. Sdnyatd Void or vacuiy conceived in terms oi lhe Female Principle.
Menslrualb ood ol a maiden, Tddana Processingof a mantrc.Each letteroi I s reciled 10 o r 1 0 0t m e s .
Surya Nddi Anolher name ol pingalt\ lq.v.). Susumnd A NAdi supposed to exist between tda and pingala. Aso called Brahmanadiar Bhahmavartman. li extends from l\4tladhAra \q.v.) Ia Branmaranonra (q.v.). Throughit Kurdarnl ascends.
259
Iadara s donealsoby writingthe lettersand spflnkling waler oi sandalwood over lhem. Krsndnanda'sIanirasAra, TaiiasaVarna AgneyaVarna. .e., t, I, Ai, Kha, Cha, Tha, Tha, Pha Fa. Ksai staled lo have origlnatedfrom lelas (heat) Tamas Almabhmiina.
q!9!91rv thumb.
Tanmdtra Subtle elemenls, ganoha. Taoism
261
saooa, sparsa, ripa, rasa,
A schoolot Chinese lhoughtaccording to whichMolher yin, i.e., the iemale principle Goddessrepresents underlying creation. T6rdbiia
Nilatantra, Teiodhyanii Same as Jyatirdhyana (q.v.). Tha An rmitativesound, as il a metallicjar rollingdown sleps. Trailokyamohana-cakra
The mystic sy|able Kram. Trirdsodha A kind ol Nlaisa used in the worshipol Tdra. Nitatantra, fariqal According to Suf;s, the way ot understanding the relationbetweencod and the individuai and withl h e
matefialworld_ Tdrinimata
Same as Khadjmala(q.v.). Tarpana (l) Libationo{ waterof deities,sagesanOloretathers. Krsndnanda's Ianlrasdra, i/lahanitvana, 12) A Ternodot processtng marllas. -,JntrasAra, op. cit,, NilatantG, Tatlvacakra Same as Divyacakra(q.v.). Taltvamudra Thetopol the rjngJinger jojnedwithrhetip of lhe righl
A lotm ol Sricakra ot Stiyantra (q.v.). Trikona (1)
The myslic syllableem.
\2)
Triangle,alsocalledyori necessaryin Tanlricworship. Pare Sakti ot ydk is at the middle point. Three arms represenlsthree lorms ol sound (Pasyanti,Madhyana, Vaikha4, ot, accotding to some Tantras,/cche (desire), Jtena (knowledge) and Kr.ya (action). Three Btas, lhree Saktis, three goddesses,three Plhas, and other conceplsinvolvinga lriad. KundaliniiscalledMaMIikona. Kamakalavilasa, NityAsodasikernava I Setubandha comm.). Pa rasurama-kalpa€it E, GandhatualantG, TanttaAja-tantra,
Trilinga Threephallus-symbols ol Siva,viz., BAna.HaH, Parc. Tripitha Collectivename oJKamar(lpa,Pirnagiriand Jalandhara Pithas. K makalAvilasa,
262
Ca'l."r-l
Glossary
Tripuracakra
Upemsu
Same as Srcakra ot Sriyantra lq.v.). Tripurasundarimata
Japa tn a vety low voice so that it cannotbe heared. Uttariicdra
Name ol Hadimata (q.v.). Saktisamgama,
Uttarakaula
Turiya (1)
The way shown by Vediciniunctionand the Guru who ts Jivanmukla,
Higheststate.
(2)
A very high state. A tietd of knowtedge,which is atso known as lalr.iya, is supposedlo be containedin lhe Sahasrara Cakft. L,ccdlana One of the six malevoteniriles,by whichthe exputston or menlal agilationof the enemy is ensured. SeradeUlaka, Unmana, Unamani Sixlh stage in spjrituatnexerciseThe devolee,in lhis stage,expeflencesgreatjoy in Whichhis sens_organs stop lunclrontng, UpacSra Arlicles ror worship_These may range irom five lo sixiy iour, SAradeitaka, (Riighava,s comm.). Krsnananda'sl"artras6ra, Mahenilvana, Up6diinakerana Materialcause.
A sect ol Kaula worshippers. Saundar)talahari, Uitaramnaya Northerr]zone ol Tantraculture. Vacika (Vak) diksa The lorm of initiation with mantra. Sara.latilaka, {Raghava's comm-) Vadhubila STRlM. Nilalantra, Vagbhdva ll denoles br'a, and is also the name ol a lrlangle. vahniiaya Svaha. Niletantra, Veikhari One oi the four kinds ol sounds.Carriedby lhe wind insde the body, t is articulatedin the throat as senlences. Saradatilaka,1.1 (Conm.).
Ull:isa Srages ot Tdnlflc Secthdna.viz.. Aambha, Iatuna. Yauvana,Prcudha, Praudhenb, lJnmana, Anavastha. Pa rasurama-kaIpas i Ira,
N ityasodasikanava, (Selubandha comm.). VaisnavAcdra A way oi Sddhana to be lollowed by a Tantric devolee.
ChapteFT
264
Gossary unoerconllol.
Nilatantra, Vaira (1) a weaponojtenloundin ihe handsol the Thunderbolt, TantricBuddhistimages. Diamond. 12) Vajrapuspa llower,valuable llower,lheblossomoi sesamum. Diamond Nilatant@. Vairayana A iorm of TantricBuddhism. Vrik-diksi See VecikiDiksa. V:im6cdra A Tenlric way ol SAdhana.Followersol it resort to Pfraca-makra. Tdra l. 90 fJ. Sakti is worshippedas Saktisamgama, of Siva'swife.According lo some,a a personification ritein whicha woman,whois placedon the leflof lhe man, playsan rmportanlpart, or rs a crookedway practisedsecreily. Vema is ol kinds, Madhyamain whichall the five MaliA.asare resorledto, and Ulrama in which Madya, Maithuna and Mudd a,e used. Vamamarga Sdmeas Yanacafa(q.v.). varna (mayi)Diksa The Jormof inilialionin whichlhe spirilof lettersis inlLrsed inio the ditlerentparlsol the disciple s body. Seradatbka, Vasikarana Oneoi lhe six blackriiesby whicha personis broughl
265
Sarcdalilaka, Vedicera A mode ol Sadhana. ln il Vedic way is followed. Prenabsini, Vedha (mayi) diksd Same as Manodiksd (q.v.). For technicalmeaningin Tanlra,see our observations in connexionwilh posiiionof women in Tanlra Vibhiva See under Pasu, A black rile by which animosityis created between persons. vidy, (1)
Trueknowledge.
12) (3)
Female deily.
(4)
Mantra telating lo a iemale deity. Female panner of a Tanltic sedhaka. Nilatantra,
Vil:isa A principalTantricschool. Vira A T6niric giidhaka ol lhe second grade, who has advanced menlal laculties,and follows
Virecera lq.v.).
li 266
ChapleFT
Rudrcyemah,UlIara, Paas u16ma-kalpasi tla,
Glossary Visnukrdntd The lract oi land extending irom the V ndhyas to CallaLa{Chittangongin Bangladesh)or, accordingto some, lo Java in lhe Far East.
Nirvenbntn, KAmAkhy,hntn,
Visuddha
Saktisamgama,Sundati. P16natosini, Virabhava A partjcularattiludeof a fanltic Sedhaka. Viracakra A cakra ntual in which five Sakiis, viz.. mother sister(Svapacl), lBhumindn-kanya\),daughler(Balakl3uta), (Kapiir)andwile( yoginl)areworshipped. daughter-inlaw
One of the six Cak@s, above lhe Anahala (q.v.) in the regronof lhe neck. Supposedio look iike a sixleen petaled lotus. Seal of Sarasvali. Satcakraniipana, Vitarka Retlectionlike this -
| am Siva Hirnsell.
Vydpaka-nyesa See Vyapaka-traya. Nilatantra,
Virdciira A way of Sddhanalo be lollowedby a Tantricdevolee. Virasiidhana .9edharapractisedby a Vin lype of devolee. Virisana Sitlingposlurein whichone reststhe body on the heels. Visarga It representsbothPaniand Apa,?aspectsol the Sakii. Also called Kaulika Sakti,il is the FemalePrinciple (sah)as complementary (ham), to the MalePrinciple Bindu.Tanlra-loka, lll. 120 If., Salcakrcniripana,XLlll (K6licarana's comm-quotingPraspaAcasAra). Visnugranlhi Akno\in lhe AnehatuCakralq.v.)whichKundalinihas to penetralein ds ascent,
Vyiipakatraya A kind o{ Nydsa. The three are : 1.
Touchingthe head and ioot wilh the hand.
2.
From loot lo head.
3.
From head to foot.
Ydmala L r l e r a l lm y e a n i n g ' p a ,i f' c o u p l e ' .
Yang The [,4alePrinciplein Chinesephilosophy. Yantra D agram,geometrical figure,paintedwithvariouscolours thal worship. al the time of The worshipper imagrnes resides deily, being worshipped lor lime being, lhe .the in thediagram.Diagrams to the lorms difleraccording oi lhe deitiesworshipped. Variouslyinterpreledas
264
ChapleFT
rnstrument,lhe body and abode of a deily, amutel. mentallaculty,pureconsciousness, doclrinal,niceties, mrcrocosmol human body, etc, Gandharva, Kularnava, Saktisangama, Iata,.
A form ol initialion.In it, the gulu, in a sublte iorm. enters lhe body ol his discjpte and idenlifies his personalitywiih lhat ot the discipte. SeGdeilaka. 'I
he FemaiePrincipiein Chtnesephilosophy.
Yogini
(4)
\2) (3)
FourfoldSakti, viz., AmbA, Jyesthe,Raudtj, VAma. Femaleorgan.See caud-pitha.
\2)
Yaugi diks6
(3)
Nilatantra,
Nilatantra, Flowers like JavA, Aparajita. Raktakarvira. elc. Nilatan!G,
A class ol goddesses,64 in number,betievedto be manifestalionsol lhe eight Metrkiis. Femaiepanner of the SedhakaGoddessespresrdingover lhe takras. Name oJ a Tanlricschool_
(s)
A class ol Female ascetics spreading knowtedge among lhe masses.
{6) (7)
Medicinewoman. Woman possessedby the goCdess.
269
Dragramresembln9 the temaleorgan.
Saundaryalahari. Yantrapuspa
12)
il)
Yonimudra (1) A i nger-pose ooking like the temaleorgan
Krsnanandas Ianllasara,
( r)
Glossary
A poslure ol lhe body,ln which the devoteefixes hrs anus on hrs eil hee/,longue on the palale,and eyes on tfre lrp ol the nose. ll is supposed to rouse Kundalini. Pranatosini. SeradAltlaka,(Ouotationlrom thrtasuddh i-ianIraJ. N)latantn. Black Apamjib tlower symbotingsexuat Intercourse. PurasuAma kalpasttra,
Yoniyugma A lnangle with ls apex upwardintersecting a trtangle with its apex downward. Nilalanlra, Yuganaddha M a l e P r n c i p l eu n l l e dw r t h F e m a e p r i n c i p l ea, m o t l oflen represenledin Tiintric Buddhistart. The non-dualstate ol un ty al SUnyatAand Karune. SedhananAla,
ESSGYGDOPAEE
WRA
SATJHUSANTIDEV
VOLUMT'2
COSMO PIIBIICATIONS
[A
.Ul t-i-!:htsrcserved. No part ofthis pubication may be repnduced, or sLotadin retrival system,or b'atsmitted ilt anyfornl orbl'any nieans without the p or permission of CosmoPublications.
CONTENTS firstPublished 1999
1. ISBN 8f702G 8{i:l'7(set) (volunre 81702G1l6tll 2)
?ublishcd by MRS,RANI KAPOOR tbr COSMOPUBUCATIONS Div.of GENESISPUBUSHING PYf LTD. 24-B,Ansari Road, DaryaGanj, New Delhi-110002, INDIA
CosmoPublications
SalientFeaturesof Tantra Whatis Tantra Lexicalandesotericmeaning ofTantra TantricTradition Founderc ol Tantra Principles ol Tantra Principle oJPolarity Principle of ldentity Nlacrocosm andlllicrocosm Concrete andpositiveviewot Realily TanlricSymbolism TantraSymbols Linga Atdttanaivara Yajfra-Sactifice Pancamakaa:s M's t/ladya-Wine Mamsa-Meal Matsya-Fish Mudra--Grain Maithuna-Copulalion -Conclusion
-Symbol andTheirTherapeutic Value 3.
-
TheSix Systemsof Yoga 37 Nirvan Tantraand 53 WhoSeeksNirvana? TheLamb,theHero,andtheMan-cod AlirheGodswithinus Metaphysics ofTantra 93 ...-.
TantraSchools MeiaphysicalSchools: Sarvism,Saktism,Vaisnavism SadhanaSchoolsolfan.r'a: VemAcAra. Daksinecercand Miste: VemaceH Daksinecen ot Samayecara MisrA a.Ultimalely RealityandWorld b. Individual 6elt c. Liberation 8.far,tta Sedhane Essentials 01Tantrasadhana guide:Guru a. Spjriiual b. lnitialion: Dlksa c. Puritication o{ body:thuta Suddhi d. Pu dicationol Mind:Nyasa e. lnslallation of liie:Pranapratt*ha g. Japa h. Bhava:Menlaldisposilion Via bhava Divyabhava Conclusion
5.
Awakeingof the KundalinlSakli lnlroduciion Theoteticaland aPPliedasPecls of the KundaliniYoga a.TheorelicalasPecl b. Appliedside oi the KundallnYoga: ol lhe c. TherapeuticaPPlication of KundaliniSakll Variousaspecis
Applied side of Tantra: Dance,Music, AstrologY,Sarcraments
-
-
135
lntroduction A. Dance of theDanong meaning 1,Esoleric Postureot Siva Danceol Kallorenergy LasYaNritva DanceandHaihayogltechnique B. Music l.Theoryol Nada 2-Conceptoi NedainTantra 3.Theoryof Faga to centers RagaswithReterence or Cakras C. Astrology D.Sacrraments Samske? 1. Gatuhedhana Conception Samskara 2. Pumsavanana PregnancY 3. Sina ntonMYana Samskara 4. Jata'karmaSamskAn.Brlh Samskara 5. Nema-kanna name Giving thechild's
-
7.
6. NiskramanaSamskaft [s FirstViewof ihe Sun 7. Anna-pEsanna Samskera Firsteating 8. CidekatmaSamskea Tonsure 9- UpanayanaSamske.a lnvestiture 10.UdvehaSamskara l\,4arriage Conclusion
Oegenetation ofTantra 161 Inlroduction Tantra, a conscious approach Positiveviewot Life Realization ol Supreme Consciousness Conclusion HumanAnatomyandTantra 173 lntroduction A. Anatomygivenby theA opathy System 1.TheNervousSystem 2. ctandSystem B.TantraAnalorny 1.Theoryot SixCentres 1. Mibdhan Caka 2. Swedhisthana Cakra 3. ManipuraCakra 4. Anahah Caka 5. VisuddhaCakra 6. AjhACakra 7. SahasramCaka
8.
Nadl:Theoryot Channels Conclusion
j 85 HealingAspectotYanlraand Mant.a tntroduction A.YanlraTherapy Introduction A) l.Yantraandjts symbolicMeaning SymbolicmeaningofYantra a. Do|j Bindu b.TriangletTrikona c. Saki Kona d. Circle e.Squa(etBhupuh 2.Themeaning of SriYantra a. Formulalion ol SriYantra b.Symbolicrepresenlation of Sriyantra presenlation C. SriYantra as Symbilic of HumanBody Physicalbody as represented in SriCakra 3.Therapeulic aspectol Yantra Conclusion Appendix B. Therapeutic aspectol Mantra 1. lvleanings oJMantra 2. Bta Manlra:SeedLetters C.Japa 1. Nityajapa 2. KamyaJapa 3. AcalaJapa 4.CataJapa 5. VacikaJapa 6. Up2rnus Japa
-
7. MansikaJapa L Ajapajapa Therapeutic AspectoJJapa D-Therapeutic aspectsof l\rantra
TherapeuticAspect ofTantra 219 lnlroduction A.Puritication of PhysicalBody 1. Hathayogicway01 Purification of body: a. Dhauti b. Neti NasalCleaning: ct Trataka d. Kapahbhati e. Nauli f. BasaiCleaning oI lowercolon 2.fanl.r.icWay ol Nedi Purilication 3.Theoryol Base:ATanlrc wayof rejuvenalion B.Various Tantric Waysol Healing 1. SatKama: Six actions 2. SvarodayaiA ScienceoI Breathing 3. Mrdra:Geslures PrunaMudrc SunyaMudra SuryaMudra JfienaMudra
Chapter-1
SalientFeaturesof Tantra
Chapter-1
A.Whatis Tantra: Desireol pleasureand removalol painwas and still is the humantendency.Like oiher conmunitiesot the world,Hindus powers alsobelievedlhat lhey wefesurrounded by supernatural whichtheyconsidered as the causeol lheirpleasLre andpain. Forthe benignintluenceof powerand removalof the evilimpacl, they gavethema slatusot deatyand worshipped themthrough Maniras.The importantoccasionswhichstartfromthe concepI on of wombto the cremalionground,accordingto lhe oriental view,lhey are sixteenin number.knownas Sodas Samskaras, the humansubjectis protectedfromthe evil intluencesthrough patte.n Iheproouncialion of Manlrasas a partofcertainrilualastic of lradition. Physicaldisordersandmentalailrnents alsowereconsidered as wrathof supernaturalpower For lhis they haveworkedout Manlrictherapy,in whichManlrais considered as havinghealing power.Does Mentrareallycontainsuch power? Apparentlyil looks as a collectionof syllabusbut in realilythey are highly polentbuttherrprtencyis latenl.Onehaslo chargethe Mantra withhisowninnerpowerforthedesiredresults.Buthowto charge ? Or how to awakenthe innerlatentpower? As we haveseen bolh in the prelaceand in lhe introduction lhal Tanlrashowsthe wayot expansionot innerpower. ButwhatTantrais ? One may havequeslion.This chapteris chieilydevotedJorthe exposilion ot lhe SubtleandsoundmeaningofTanlraandils relatednolions. 1. Lexicaland esotelc meanlngolTanlra : Manydelinitionshavebeengivefor the t6rm'Tanlra'.In ihe Samskritlexiconlhe termTantrahasusedin manysenses.This term is derivedfrom the rootr'tanmeans'to spreadoul'.l8ut whalis to be spreado!t? lt is the spreading outthe expansion ol worldlyand olherworldlyknowledge.2 Esoterically, lhe meaning.
Chapter-1
thecultivation of latentphysical and expansion alsorepresents Nowlet us penetratedeeperintolhe verytermand seewhal ? ThetermTanlra is a combination ol twoworldnamely, it represenls Tanotiand Travatewhichstandfor expansionand liberationreButwhatis to be expanded andwhatis to be liberated speclively. ? Hereit is an expansionoJmindand liberationol energy.Let us illLrstrate thlspoint. withina specific circleor lirnit.ll workthrough lVindfunctions We cansee onlythosethgingswhich the daiegiveby senses. ouroolicsvstem allowsustosee.Wecannotseebehindthewall arealsominuleobjecisin theworldwhich withnakedeyes.There eyesbecause of itslimitations. Likewise, we cannotseethrough we canhearonlythosevoiceswhichcomefromthespeciiicrange. that mindis Sameis ihe casewilh all senses.This indicales ol lhisitsexperiences on sensestimuliand because dependeni areverVlimited. of mind,it canhavenfiniteexpelf we breaktheboundaries riencesol variedtypes.Just now il is a slave oi senses.lf ll comesoui of the clutchesol senseorgans,it can llow every whereandcan enioydesiredexperiences.This can happenonly or liberation of mindfromtheclutchesol sense alterlheexpansion the modiJication oi lhe powersof sense organs.Simultaneously, praclicealsoexceriain of senses thaough or the transformation pandsthe areaof lhe lunctionsof mindinfiniiely. helpinihisregards? Tanlrashedslightontheway HowTanira (Oneol themeaning olTantrais expansion though techniques oI Tanlrasaysthat allowyourmindto moveevery also technique). where.Expandthe areaol mind.3Manirahelpsin this regards. ll's a vehicletor awakeningthe deeperlorces lyingwilhin one self.A soundis a wavewhichcarrieselectricalvibrationol ento conergy.Thepronounciation of llanlragivesa newdimension sciousness whichpenetrates deeperintoinnerrecessesof mind. hasalsoprescribed uniquetypes oJmethodof Forthis,Tanlra though butil is a medilation meditation. Tantrais alsomeditation, (Mantra) geographical may linguislic syllables or be sVmbols.These
SalientFeaturesoi Tantra figures(Yantra). Tantricway of dealingwith mindis that,in which one has lo allend each and every thought as a mere witness or seer and not to suppressthe lhoughl Give lolal independence one can come out lrom the boundariesol mindand can exoand the arenaol mindbecauseonlyunconditioned mindand can real, ise the intinite.The observationso1 Dr. Lalan prasad also leads us lo lhis facl- In his own words,'TanlraSedhan:lthereforemeans a sp riiual path which leads10the expansionof one's mental objecl vity.IVleanxs"the arena oi mentalprojectionjs also increased. When a Sadhaka atiains the projectionof mentalarena ot 3600 he becomesone withthe cosmicmind",4 This is about lhe iormer portion of the term Tantra, lhat rs Tanyate.Now somethingaboirl the laier portion of the term, that rs Trayate.As we have seen,Trayatestands for the meaning,'liberalion".We can liberateonlythosethingswhichare in bondage. FofT?rntra,Kundalinl,the cosmic universalenergy,lying dorrnant in humanbody in lhe pelvicregionorthe Miladhad cakra in coiled form s io be liberaied.lf oncethe Sadhaka(praclitioner)liberates this energy,he becomesthe masler of all mani{estationsol energybecausehe hasgrrppedthe verysourceol energy.Theway olliberalon js Iqe vervcoreotTantraSadhana. The other meaningolTantra is lhat which savesor protects.5 li saves the Sedhaka frorn the wordly bondage by the constant mediiation(l\,4anana) o1the HighestBealityin theform ol N,4antra.6 It alsoprotectsSadhakakcmphysicalandmentalailments. Thus it worksas a Therapy.The Sabdakaipadrum, a Samskritdictionary also gjves the meaningol lhe termTantrain which it declares Tantraas rnedicineand doclrine.T SoTantrasavesSadhakaboth as knowledgeand as therapy. With the lamp ol knowledgeil saves Sadhakafrom the darkness ol nescrenceand with the healing process il protecls him trom physicalandmenlaldisorders.Henceil savesSadhakalromboth, sprnlualas well as psycho-somaiic calamities.lt is righllyre markedby Hastingsin the encyclopedia of Religionand Ethics That, it has been estimatedthat two-thirdsof Hindu relioionsand one thirdof Hindumedicineis Tanlric.s
chapter-1
we ln the meaningsot Tantra,giveby theSabdakalpadruma, or syslem' lhe doctrine haveseenthat.termtantraalsosignilies canbecalledTanlraForinslance' (Sddhaata). Soanyphilosophy Stee Tanlraetc.Theg'eatvedantrsl lantra, Galitamrya Samkhvd tor the Tanlra" term "Vainasika hasalsousedthe Samka;acharya e ol theBuddhisls ksanabhangavada definilion Thelerm Agamais the synonymeol Tanira.l0The all Siva' includes Tantra a Vaisnava oive bv lhe Par,m Samhita, whrc-h is thal it Agama to According 5altr and vrsnu aspects ts byVasudeva' approved and goes Parvati lo Siva comeslrom anyhesila_ having without WiththehelpofsuchinJormation, ghostand ol literature cheap is not a tion.we can savlhatTantra is so consldas il and sorcelies magic olobinor a cullof black to lhe Sadhaka leads which process or method 6red.Tantrais a Hereweclose innerlorces of the cuhivation though sellrealization this pointwith the myslicdelinitionol Tantragivenby Dr' Lalan PrasadSingh."Themysticdefinitionof Tantrais lhat it is a spirigno' ofcrudenessand lromthebondage ilualcullwhichliberales rool)ot crudness (acoustic rance.fhe wordta islhebiia-Mantra Tanlrais a processof Sddhanawhichrelievesone lromlhe lel_ which isaninluitionalscience (ta)Thus,Tanlra tersof crudenoss liberates standstor the progressiverealizationof the Divine ll one kom ihe cimmedandarknessand leadsintothe divineeffuloence.lt is a palh ol Salvationlt is a science of the soul The ;uthorirativedelinitionol lheTanlra,is lhat whichbringsemanci' (talraya ayal kayel yaslu sa pationfromthe bondageof [,]?ry2r tantrapariklrtitah)l'r2 withthe meaningol Tanlraone Afterhavingbeenacquainted may be eagerto knowaboutits antiquityor traditionNowlet us glanceoveritskadilion. B.Tanfic Tradition: Various scrip' insc plures. isconlained heritage lndianspiritual point.Tantra at one which culminale luresshow!s dillerentways is alsooneof them.lt is lhe greatestpathwhichhasbeenforgolsaviourol TanvaArlhurAvalonhastried ten ratherneglecl€d.The
Salent Fealuresol Tantra
to givea vividdescriptionol supremacyol Tantra.Let us havea pleasurein his own wods, 'ln lhis greatlestival,in this ancienl philosophy,smriti, purana,Veda, India,astrology, Durgafeslivalol instrumonls ar€ playingin lhe Veddntaand manyolher musical grievedto find Bul we are extensivecourt-yardol lhe universe. great instruments ol theTantra Saslra, in which allolher thatthe depend, are included, on which all other instruments instrument andwhichis the solesourceol alYanlrasand Mankas.is today silenf'j3.This is not a tancybul il securessoundbasewhichis S.B.whoconcludesallthe alsorellectedin the viewot Dasgupta, as tho ofi-shoots ofTantricism.ra Off-shoolpreschools esoteric Butthequestion is: when seedwhich is underlhesoil. supposes the Tantraseed had beenplanled? Forthis lel us proceedwiih antiquily. theTanlra Antiquityol Tanlrais a very conkoversialproblsm.A completeanddecidedansweatothisenigmahasnotyel beengiven. Antiquitycan be answe@donlyin lermsof time but not in terms Ancientness is nottheonlymeasureof soundnessof principles. mentfor the iustification of any systembut it shouldhavesome soundbase.Tantriclladitionis fortunaleto haveboth ancientnessand soundness.For anci€ntnesswe will haveto oo back (3500B.C). lndus-Valley civilizalion. amongthescholarwhetherTantra Thereisa greatcontroversy has its originin Vedaor vice versa.The reporlsof the excavaiions of Indls-Valleycivilization, belorethe Aryancame into India, havelavouredthe lirst possibility. Sivaand Saktisymbolsare highlyattachedwithlhe Tenlric metaphysics. Theywereso deeplyrooledin themindof pre-Aryan peoplethal they took the lorm of Gramdevata. The idol ot Siva and Saktiwas and slill beingworshippedby €achand everyvillage.We shallexpoundlhis vi€w wilh the helpol the authenlic reporloJlhe archaeologisi DonaldMackenzie.As he reports,'The clayliguresand imagesand phallicbaclylicstonessuggestthat Durga'and Siva'worshipwasol a muchgreateranliquityin lndiathanhas hithertobeensupposed.is Ghose,N.N.alsosupporlslhesameview."..people weealsointensely religious isproved oy lhed scovery of a number of beautiful temples stillpreserued
Chaple.l in lineshape,whichtheyusedas placesoJworshipof the Mother Goddessandlhree headedSival'16 Vedasare composedby the Aryan peoplewhile Tantra s ihe gitt of pre-Aryancivillzalion. Dr. Lalan Prasademphatcallydehisloricalev dence,il can be claresthat,"Fromaltheseavailable sad with ce ainty that Iantra is the cult and spirtual farthoi The ancientIndia.ll is lhe giii of the non-Aryanc vilizationl'17 v ew of ih€ Ram Chandra Rao is nothing but lhe echo ol lhe abovemenlionedviews.The originsare lostin the pre-hislory. In HereFam Cahndra any caseis is as old as Vedarnaybe older.18 Rao accepts lhe ancientnessof Tanlra than Veda as possibi ty. But he is sure to accept Tantra as old as Veda, As we know In Veda,we loundamplereferencesof Siva-Saktiwhichare lheTanlric deities.The Rgvedaand the AtharvavedaalsoconlainmanyS uklas, like Ratri Sukta, Prithvi Sukta, Usa Sukta elc. and also Purusa Sukta, Rudra Sukta, which are relaledwilh lemale and male dei' ties.Thisis enoughpointerlo declareTantra as mucholderlhan Veda.Here lhe view ol NandulalKunduwill not be oul ot place-ln his own worlds, "ll is remarkablefact to be noted here lhal no '[,lalini-Vijaya where in some ol lhe oldest Tantras such as the Tanlra the Budra-YamalaTantraetc., no trace o{ lhe vedic inllu' ence and no menlion ol the vedas can be lound; whereas in the Vedaswe haveclearevidenceofTantricinlluenceor rnfluence ot lhe Agama and Nigama whichgoto provethatbelorelhe Aryans migraledto the lndiansoil,lheTanlras andTantricCullwerelhere as iormingthe core oi lhe non'Aryanor lhe pre-Aryanciviliza. tionl'19 Saivismand Sakism are lhe schoolsof the Tantra-tradition. Both Siva and Sakli as god and goddesswere prevalenlin the non.AryanCuLt. We againherequoteGhose,N.N.regarding this. "The religionoi lhe peopleseemsto be iconic,ihe imageoi Siva takingthe placeoi honouf.The worshipof phallc emblems,lhe This necessarilyleadsus to lingaand the yoni also prevalid.20 concludethat Saivismand Sirklismare the two pillarson which lhe spiritualedillce oi non-Aryanwas eslablished. Here we have lried lo proveTantraas much older than Veda in lerms ol lime. But this does not mean lhat they are conlrary to
SalienlFeaturesof Tantra
eacholher.In the Tankiclreatiselike lhe 'Kularnava' and the 'Mahanirvana'Tantra it isdeclared thalTanka isa scriolurelorthe kaliyugawhileVedais for the Satyayuga2l The one principleis presented indifferent waysaccording tolhemo.alsiandard otthe peopleof theparticularage.Wearethe peoplehavinglimitedlifegraspVedasthal is whyLord spanandsenses.lt is impossibleto sivahasgiftedTantra{orthepeopleof theKaliyuga, ArthurAvalon hasbeautilully compromised thisconlroversy by declaringTantra as a perfumeexislingin VedicFlower22lt can be fu her asked who has perlumedthe Vedicllower ? For this, let us proceed lowardsthe loundero{Tantra. C. Founders ofTantta VedicFloweris pertumedby Tantra.Butwho has perfumed Tantrais our problemof investigation. Thoughwe knowverylittle aboutit.Scholarshavetriedto fix lhe authorship otTanlra.There are two superficialcontraryviewsregardingthis nationamong themone supportsdivienoriginwhilelhe other lavourshuman authorship, whoevermaysecuretheauthorship, we are notconcernedwithit.Weare highlyconcernedwiththe coreof philosophy.Anysystemcan endureonlyby the strengthof its essence. We haveseenlhat Tantricphilosophyhas beenprevalentsince lrvethousandyearsil not more.This is enoughevidenceof iis soundness. Thissoundness is infused by divinelorces.Howis it so ? Forlhiswe willhavelopeepinto th6related nolions ot this Tantrais generallyconsiderodas Agama.Eachsyllableof lhrstermis Fullol significance. As Chakravarti, C., notes.'.The IermAgamais explained as thalclassolTantrawhich isaddrossed to Parvati by Siva.2r" Thisexposition stjpporls divineorigin.But al lhesameI mewe havegotsomeolherTantras whicha16asso_ clatedw'rhnumannames.Forinstance, SanatKumera,Daflalreva Flc Wl'o are consiciered as authorsot severatTanras. Of courie, Ineywere not lay man like us bui at the sametime we cannol considefthem as Lord Siva.We haveacceptedlhem onlv as seers, Dr.LalanPrasadhas very distincllyworkedoul lhe authoF
10
Chapter-1
ship. He is againslacceptingall these scripturesas of divine neitherTantra "Butlromourpoinlofview hisownwords, origin.In inluitivevithe Both embody ol divine origin. Vedas are nor the is an of Tantra god ot the Vedas and Th6 head ol seers. sion enlily.lt is not a infinite,eternal,lormlessand lranscendental personalgod.ltdoesnothaveanyvocalchord.There is no tran_ thatTantraorVedais lhevoice validityin theargumenl scendenlal of providence(AptaVakya)l'" Nol with slanding he accepls siva as originatorolTdntrabul notSivaas we haveaccepledas ood.In hisownwords,"TheFounderol Tantrais LordSiva He ls yogi)anda great inownas AdiGuru.He asa greatascelic(Mahar Tantrika(Mahakaula)he hasonenesswiththesupremeGod He ailainedoccullpowersthroughTantraSadhana.lt is beyondhuman mindto measurelh€ depthand dimensionol his spiritual powerand personality. Peoplerevered,worshippedand adorecl He is conceivedlobe Gunatilirand Nirguna himin ancienttim€s. Purusa.25 The greatadheranlof Tantra,ArthurAvalondilterson this point.ltseemslhat h€ hasacceptedthefoundersolTantranotas a scholarbut as a devolee.He has triedlo proveconclusively As thaiVedasandTanlrasareAptaVzlkyaor voiceolprovidence. authors, he thinks."As the courtiersof a royalccud are nol the bul merelyihe interpretersol state crafts,so the trulh seelng Risis are not the originatorsof th€ SddhanaSastra' but merely.ll is nol a Sdstramarredby mistake' rememberenc€rs knower Bhavan,lh€creatorolallcreatures, errorsanddeception, of all heans,is ils revealar26 two pointsare opposedto each oiher Theabovementioned but what I thinkis that.lhis controversyis only al an apparent levf. lf we go intothe rootof theseviews we tind thal lhe bolh lheirviewslromthe sameground' respectodscholarsr€Present Lel us ditfusethis slate_ lhat is the groundol consciousness. ment. Thereis incrediblemovementin the lniversein everyalom Universeis a Movemenlis a characlerislicof consciousness. ol dillerentatomsand they are full ot conscioilscombination buttheoceanol conscrousness is nothing ness,Henceuniverse
SalienlFeaturesof Tanlra
11
pervadesin lhe manandin Theoneandthesameconsciousness the animalworldalso.Butwhalmak€smansuperiortoanimal? Thereare certainobslruclionsol nescienceon consciousness Onlymanpossessesthe capacitylo removetheseobstruclions whichis not possible{or animal.Animalis at sub-consciousnes lev6l.Beyondsellconsciouslevelwhilemanis at self-conscious areknownas Super_conscious' nesslherearecedainlayerswhich ness.lt is nol easyto reachas it seemsso. Man shouldhav€ powertoconlrollhenaturaltorces,lhen he canrealtremendous Hereindivid!al s€lfmerges withsuper-consciousness. izetheidenlity powers which secures allthe inlo universalsell.At thislevelhe Prasad that Dt Lalan god. my humble view li is we ascribeto thinksSivaas a founderotTantra,as a realizedsoulor as a soul is samein man Thoughconsciousness or superconsciousness, ot name the limitations he has off all bul shattered andsuperman garthly oneas buta divine not be form.This type of soulcan and declarethal both Arlhur Avalonaccepts.We can conclusively Voiceof realised haveaccepteddivineorigindirectlyor indirectly. soulcomes,lrom the donain ol divinityandlar remotelrornhumanterritorY. hasfrelgranced all Whatis lhai in theTanl c perfume-which the scriptures? ll is not its hoaryantiquityor divine aulhorship butits soundprincipleson whichediticeofTantrasyslemstands Nowwe shalllry to seethe bricksol Tanlraedificeundertheiille "Prnciple6 olTantra". D. P nciDledol Tantra: The solidityof edilicedependsuponthelirmnessof lounda' tion and qualityof bricks.Tantraprinciplesare very soundon whichTantric systemis stillsustainedsince{ivelhousandyears. 1. Pfinciple ol Pola ty: sloneof TantrasysTheprincipleol polarityis thefoundation principle let us beacquainled tem.Beforegoingintotherootolthis wilh whal polarityis.The term'polarity'is relatedwith the word 'pole''pole'is eitherol ihe two The lexicalmeaningol lhe word ponts ol a body in whichthe attracliveor repulsiveenergyis
12
Chapter-1
concentrated, as e.g-in a magnet.27 Tantrahas very unaquely workedoul thesetwo polesin the humanbodywhichis syrnbolically represented inTantrictreatise as Siva-Sakli.Biologically, it representsthe malejemalepoles whichis pre-requisite foranycrealion. Tadricprinciple of polarily worksnotonlyat physical level butit alsoapplies at universal level.ForTanlra, likehuman,universorsalsoanofJ-spring oftheHighest Reality.The literalmeaning (Vacyartha) ot the Firstverseol lhe Saundraya laharlretlectthis fact.2sThe sameviewis alsodepictedbylhe RasarnavaTantra tn whichsiva tells Pravatithat He is lhe Fatherand She is the MotheroJthe universeand worldlyobjects2s Pfinciple ol ldentity: Howthispolarilyresidesin the humanbody? Everyhuman beingcontainsihesetwopoleswithin;oneis expressed whilethe olher js latent.The exlernallyhimselfexpressedpoteindicales either maleor femalecharacletll a personis male,temaleis alreadytherebut in a lalenlform.Same is the case ol female. This newconceptin biologyis knownas b,sexuality. But is nol a new notionfor a Tdnlricseer.lt has alreadybeen revealedby themandexpressed itintermsolHemo,phrodite (Ardhanarisvara). Letusseehowtheexponent ofTanlratradition, Ajil[,,lookerii throws lighton lhispoint."Thebi-sexualpotential existin equalmalelemale(M/F)ratioin the reproduclion of prooyplasm.Visuallyit has beendepictedas the formoI Ardhanarisvara (Siva-Parvali), maleand femalealtribllesshownas partof the samebody, joined. hermophrodiiically Theideathatmascuiar ty andteminitv js are tow factors as illusoryas that of the dualityof body and soul.30 Sivaand Saktiare the lwo polesof one thing.Tankarepresenlspolaritybut notdualily-Sivaand Saktiare notlwo ultimate Bealiliesbul theyare idenlical.This identityhas beenprolusely descrioedin manyTantras,We herequoteonly oneor lwo.In lhe MaherniruarnaTantra LordSivaemphatically tellsParvatithat there is no dillerencebetweenthem.3lTheSuddhaSiddhanta Paddhati ol Goraksanalha depiclsthe sametruthby givingthe illustralion
SalientFeaturesof Tanla ol moon and moon lighl. As moon light is not dilJerenttrom moon and mooncan nol exislwilhoutmoonlightin the sameway Siva and Saktiare dentical.32 This idenlilyis alsoexplainedwilh the helpof the illustration ol creation.ln lhe processot crealon Srvais not able to do anyth ng wilhoutSakti.S va is consideredas corpse(Sava)devod Laharlpurports of Sakti(i).Theveryllrstverseof lhe Saundraya ihe same view.In wh ch il is declaredlhal withoulthe un on ot S va Saktino crealionis possible.Not on y lhal bul when S va The Today un tes withsakti onlylhen he usableto do anything.33 Tantraa so rellectthe same view34We can't go aheadwiihout q!otingthe wordsot SreeRamakrisna whichare citedby Swam 'ShriRamkrisna Prabhavananda. was wonllo saythatiustaslire so inseparableare Brahma anditsburningpowerareinseparable, and Sakti".When I medilate upon Bealily as al rest, he once rernarked, that is, withoutihe aclivitiesot creation,preservation and dissolution. I call il Brahman.When I meditaleuoon Realitv as crealive,I call il Sakli. In eilher case I am concernedwith one and lhe same lruth,lhe ditterencebeingonly in lhe name and 2. Macrocosm and Microcosm: HenceSiva and Saktibecomethe lnv sibleseed ol the fu I grownup lreeol universeAs lhe seedperuadesin the branches, n lhe lru ts of the tree likewise,Siva and Saktia so pervade n the Lrniverse and in the humanbodyalso.This is enoughto raise a queslon aboutlhe relallonship betweenlhe universe(Macro' cosm)andlhe ind vidualse f (l\,4rcrocosm). lf thereis a coldin the universe, we also iee coldness,It thereis a heat,we also teel neal in the body_How is il possible? Tanlra has lound out that vvnaiever is in unverse also residesin humanbody.The third cnaplerofthe S ddha-Siddh:lnta oaddhatiotGorakanath is com pleley devotedto this aspect.The slighestchangein universe co,l Fq'rFnllyrellectsin body.Thus Tanlraacceplsrhe rdenhry oelwepnmacrocosmdnd mrcrocosm on whch lhe wholedslrology s based. Beinga replicaof universe, bodvcontainsallwhateverthere
t4
Chaptar-1
is in the universe.H€ncelor the realizaiionof Realilybehindthe universe,it is not necessarylo roamintothe world.Bodyis the besl meanslor realization. Thecitationot the RalnasaraTantra whichis quotedby Ajil lilookerjiisverysuggeslive.'Hewho €alizesthetruthof the bodycanlhen cometo knowthe lruthof the 3. Concrcte and posltlve vlew ol Eaelily. Thisalsorelleclslhe viewotTantraaboullhe natureof Fleality.ForTanlra,Realityis notan abstractentitybutcan be reatized throughphysicalor morlalbody.Bodyis not merelya grossprod, ucl oi Prakritibut is a divinegift of natureand becauseol this, the TanlralikeKularnavadeclaresbodyas the templeof God.37 Thls retleclsthe posiliveviewof Tantraregardingbodyelemenl whichis highlyneglected by Jainisn,Christianity andBuddhism. This showshow humanbeingenjoysgreal signiticancein Tankatradition.TheKubrnavaTantrahas laidgrealerstresson thisaspect.AsVishvasera Tantradeclares.There is no birthlike unio lhe humanbirth.Both Devasand pitrasdesireit. For the Jiva,the humanbodyjs out of all bodies,the mosidifficultto come by.For this, it is said that humanbirlh is attainedwilh extremediiliculty".3s Indianphilosophy believes thalsoulhasio crossthecycleot birthsaccordingto the deedshe has commiltedin previouslile. Humanbirthis th€ only bidh in whichhe gets completesway overthebirthcycleby doingselllessdeeds-(Niskamakarma).To do anythingwithorwithoutintensionis a properlyol mind-Hence mindshouldbe first conlrolled.lt is not the worldlyobjeclslhat bindus bul the aftitudesof mindtowardit createsDleasureand pain.This is lhe wisdomand ignorance of lhis is the knolof nescience. The knotshouldbe brokenand lhat is the liberation (Moksa)advocaiedbyTanlra.3o Buthowmindbecomes thecauseol pleasure andpain? lt is (Bhava)which lhe mentaldisposilion responsible is lor thisand lor Tanlramentaldispositionis the propertyof mind.40 Worldly obiectsare neithergoodnor bad.Theyare as it is. Bul is our mentadisposilion lowardslhemwhichbindsusor liberates. Scrip-
SalienlFealuresot Tanlra
15
tureslikeDharmaSastradisclosesthistrulhby givingillustration ol a personwhokisseshiswrleandhisdaughlerwithlhesame which rntentton.4l Soil is thementaloutlook timbbutwithdrtferent is beaulilully This lact not anything else. world and lhe dislorts depictedby lhe KaulavaliTantrawhich is cited in the Karpura siava B:ria.a2 Somindcanbethemeansforbothbondageaswellas Salvalio as considered sexis generally Amongall the mentalinstincts, view hasa heallhy ButTantra andpowerfulone. themosibinding viewssexas a positivelorce.Therearelwo this.Tanira regarding I rnay of thisJorcelf it is misused, possibiities in theutilizaiion Al lhe sametirneJ il proveto bea curseanda sourceof misery. il provesto beboon Toui lize s usedproperlywithunderslanding acceptslheposilivity itas a boonorcursedependsuponus.Tanlra ol sexenergyto ihal exlentlhat it becomesthe sourceoi Salvaol lhal inslinctwhichas lion.Tanlrashowslhe wayo{ sublimation generally as thecauseol downlall43 considered In conclusionwe saythatTanlralaysgreaterslresson menrnavaTanira,if anythingis lal aspect.As it is declaredin the Kular puritv virtueandpheol mindevensin becomes donewlththe would doorto divinity44ll bernoreproper becomes norrenalworld to say that the approachof Tantrais to avoidthe iwo exlremes, Thusil showslhe balanced andindulgence. that s renunciation _eallny itsa"airs regaroing worlo and vrew a d Fromlhis we canconcludewithoulhavinghesiiationthal the bricksol Tantraedijiceare very so!nd and rational.But whatis thal whichhasdislortor Shakenthe loundaliono, lhe sysiemol Tanta? ol its symboliclanguage It is nolhlngbui misinterprelataon wish to knowwhicharelhe One may forlhiswhichis responsible jusiified. Forthislel us see unduely symbolsand howtheyare proper srgniicancewilh lheir wjth someoi theTantricSymbols lhehelooi Tantra treaiiseE.Tentic Symbolism: theValmiki lt is a lactthatthe revealeroJthe epicRamayana,
16
Chapted
presidedover by a goddessLakini. Andheh - in the regionof the heart. tt is like a deep fed . lolirs wtlh lwelve petals.Seat of air. il is presided over by godcless K;ikini. Visuddhaor Bhatati in lhe regtonof lhe ne.k. Seal ol sarasvali.it is grFyand like a lolusot sixteenpetats presrded over by goddessLiikini. A/.ia - belwaenthe pyebrows.Also ca ed patamaiata ol ._ wtu.Rtatrtvent, tl is like a loius ol lwo pelals whtte In colour ll rlT rn': cakra thar lhe lhree ,adrs. /c*i er. . spread oul l: Io.drrrerert directions.Symbolisedby the le ers Ha a-d Asa 'I rs rhe seal of mind. presrdedover by goddessH.k.n, fhe woro 4/na means order.order ol gufu who ts supposecllo restcJF ot Satcakrabheda(hletallymeantngpenelral,on ^Caktabheda ol, (.a{ras) means lhe manileslaltonot acltvalionol Cakrds rl.rs-necessary lor keepingthe body fit and for lhe a atnmenr or s/do,t/s I he six Gakr.asare tdentiliedin some lanlnc works with the five elementsand lhe mindis This rcea appears lo have
lheancrent Upanisadic rheories: tor oxampte
ll"llTSO "" rne hearlts comp:tred lo a lolus,and tl is slaledto havet0l /Vadrs;one ol lhem penetralesthe crownof the head;a man movingupwardby it reachesimmortay.tn thisuonnexton, the upanlsadsmay be consutted.Chandagvat_)pan$ad l:1l9yln9 v'll I l. vllt.66. Kathavi.16.prasnaiti.6 Ceria,n dragra,ns also.arecalledCakras.Differentworksdifler in the name-s and numberof Cakras.The Srcakfa is oftenlnentionedie. A Tanlra.
coflese r/s.No.e62at 1884.87)
:)!:,1-9a!!1gh:0".\D.:can menlrons lhe followingfive Cakr,as usedin Durg.ipdjdaccording Io Kaulagama. Ralacakra.Mahacaka, Devacakra.Vtnca.rc, pasucaka , calaloS_ue vot. XVI on lanlra. p. 163). In anolher \l?e manuscflpt (DeccanColtegeMS No 964 ot 198/_91)some .r,,ri. are describedas Akadamacakra.nnadhana :19,! saohanacakta,RastcaAra, 1t1411s61ra""kH (Catatoguevo. XVI
Meaningot Tanlra
17
o n T a n l r ap. . 2 5 1 ) . Srrcakrdo alsoLalledShyanlraor lttpuaca|E connecled wilh Stividya.has been describedin verses, quoted 'n the (Bib Indicaed 1868)p 255and o! A^andagiri Samkara-Vijaya n the Selubandhacommenlaryon the Nityesodasikarnava yamala(ptot'ablyRudrayamala)Ihe {1 31-34)quoling lrcm (verse11) also descllbesll A somewhal Saunaatvatahatt dltlFrentdps'npl'on occursin a work calledDevnahasla of lhe MS No.490of 1895'S8)A descriplion (Deccan College in lhe bl,du with CakE rs as follows.A Cakla is lo be drawn or Mllaprakrti Sakli a small lriangle.The bmdu stands for iiveo{whichhavelhelrapex Thereareninelriangles solidifled Siva Saktl andfour,representing represenls downward:these the smallest in is situated The b/rdu haveiheirapexupward. Thereare lwo pairsol triangles. trianglepoinlingdownward. pelalledlolus'16 pelalledlotus eighl then then14 triangles. lineswilhlourgales lhese lhree boundary lhen3 circles.then of the yattraandlhe lotuses section ouler ten lallerbeinglhe of the Yant? lhete inner seclion pelals being the of 8 and 16 part Cakra inside lhe ol the The angles of 43 rs a lolal ol Yantrais worship The bhuputa is called lines boundary the Klndal/nllhrough awakened Antaryagaislaking bahiyaga. il wilh uniting and then Mutadharalo Cakras.lrcm Nlecakra' with Siva in lhe Sahastaracaka; lhe six Cakrasate adenlilied the live elemenlsand lhe mlnd Sahas6E Padm4' At the cenlre of the head is localedihe Brahmarandhra lo exilal death ihrouohwhichvitalbrealhor life is supposed lolusot a thousandpelals ll is c;nceivedas a mullicoloured facingdownward. The Cakras,accordingto the Kaulasyslem are as follows in lhe ascendingorder: NadicakainthejanmaslhanaBased oi il is M|Acakra in the navel (from here il prevades (inlhe heart,cente dyoga)' Bhedanacakrc everwhere),yogacakra betweenthe eye_ (inthe faiureqion).D/iDtbakn(Bindusthenain
18
Chapt€r-1
posrlively. Notonlythatbutalsogavea highslalusas a sourceo, satvatton_ . We haveseebelorelhatTantricviewis outand outspirilual. It alsoviewslifrgain a spiritualmannetTheTanhictext,Anubhava S-irlrarnclearlydeclaresihe lifrgaas a sourc€ot creationand o,ssorrrrron, thal sourceis nothingbut lhe LordSivaHimse.ag rhe a4other Tarntric lext.lhe vetulsuddhakhya Tanlraalsoerr. phaticallydeclareslifigaas a creatorand desiroyer.49 v'ewis atsosupponed by the Abhinava Oupta.I^ his -ranra-roka, .TJ_rs hedeclares lhatthewisemanshouldconsider l,iga as a causeof creationand destruction.In the term linqa.,L;, rndicares drssotution {Laya)whrte.castandstoranivat(Ag;mana'. une shouldworshrplhe Atmalingaand avo,dothertingis.so Not oJ]ryabovementionedTantrasbut pu.analikeSivapirana and lrngapuranaalsosupportthe sameview_ TheSivapuranaconsjderlifrgaas afjrsrcause,thesource of consctousness and substanceol universe.si Whileaccordingto thelingapurana, ldgarsbolhthecauseol c,rssolutron andev6lu. relerences inTantra whjchsuggest thjsmeaning. _ Thereareample Theabovementroned references areenoughto conclude thatTantra nas-nolapplied liigaas phystcalor grossphaltus buras a priTe causeot crealtonof unjverse.This view js also supported by 'WhenHindus Darrelou.,Alain, Worship thetiiga.they;onolde.iy a o^ysrcat tealJre, theymerelyrecogntze thed;vine, ete.-allo.rt rnanrlesln the microcosm. ll is Ine hu.nanphalluswltch iSa divineemblem ot theeternal causal form,theal pervadjng linga.s3 A devotee worships linga.Likeoihertoros of worship, this arsosecures someresults. Inothersystems ofSedhana, Sbdhaka garnssatvatron lhroughpenance whileT:rnlric worship oflingars veryposilivein natufeas it secures bothindulgence andliberano.. Thrsultq,.ieness ltesin theapproach ol Tantra lowardssex Fiowrrsecuresbolhthalhas beenrcflected in the v,ew ot karapatrijr, 'Thos€ who do not recognizethe divinenalureof the phallu;, wno do nol measurethe imporlanceof sex ritual,who consider lhe acl ot iove as low or contempatible or as a merephystcal lunclron, areboundto lailin theiraflempts at physical as wellas
SalientFealuresol Tanlra
l9
To ignorethe sacrednessol the lingais spiritualachievemenl. and rtsworshiptheioy of lle (bhuklr) lhrough whereas danqerous, (Mukti) areoblained.s4 lheioyol liberalion aboutthe lihgaconceptlet us proHavingseensomething ceedwiththe othersymbolwhichis alsorelatedwithsex notion, (Ardhanarisvara). thatis,svmbolHarmophrodit€. B.Ardhanefisvan: Ourfirstsymbol aboutsymbolism. Wehavebeendiscussing linga as a sourceol creawaslifrgainwhichwe haveconsidered pole is nol sufticieniior lifrga or male know. only tion.Bul as we demands on which is resull of copulation a Creation anvcrealion. the pole represents yoni, Tantra pole, is thelemale that the other lhroughlhe symbol formo{ iiiga-yonior Siva-Sakti Synlhesized lorm {emale halJ male_hal{ or of Ardhanarlsvara is nota fancyoI Tantraseers The conceptof Ardhanarisvara and scientiticsignilicanceUni' bolh spiritual but it alsocontains pre-supposes ils creatorwho conlalns This a crealion. verseis poles.Tantra hasproiectedihis M/F posiiive negative or and boih polarityin the HigherReality.The Tankictreatiselhe Saundrya andbeautilullydeclaresuniverseas an Lahariveryemphatically lanlra symoff-spflngof the univsrsalparentslhe Siva-Sakli.s5 identical aspectsol theHigher inseparableand bolizesthesetwo Tantra TheVitalSuddhakhya Realityin thelormoi Ardhanarrisvara alsoaftirmsthis fact.As il declareslingais Sivaand yoni is s6 is lne resullintouniverse Sa(t. Therrcopulation lhe dilletent NoionlyTanlrasbutVedasalsohavemenlioned by pairsforpre-creation. A listof lhe pairshavebeenmentioned Aggarwal. VasJdeva.in h,sboox Stvalrahadeva. But what thesepairsindicaie? Accordingto Tanlra,these pairsof oppositeis nothingbul the torrnol energy.We maycoln elc.butal Siva_Parvati Kumera-kumari, anynamelikeNara-Nari, thesecan he reducedintoone HigherRealitt lhat is, lorTanlra is energy.Whenthe crealiveposiliveenergycombineswrihthe negativeenergy,interactionstartswhich resultsinto creation Zimmer.Henricnviewsthistacl likelhis:"Asthe symbolof male
20
ChapteFl
creative energy,the lingam is lrequen y combinedwith the pri_ marysymboloflemalecrealiveenergy,the yoni,lf,ealerformtng lhe baseof rhe trragewiththe tormer s,ngl.om ,ts ce^r.e.Th,; serves as a representalronol lhe crealive union that procreates and sustainSlhe irteol lhe Unlverse. Ltngamand yont,Srvaano hrsgoddess,symbokze the anlagonistic yet co-operatrve torces ol the sexes.Theirsacred lllarriage(Greek : hieroes-gamos) is multifariouslyfiguredin the varioustraditionsoi worldmyiho_dlogy. They are the archetypalparents,Fatherand Motheroithe worl'i, lherrselveslJ"etrrstborn ot the parrsol opposiles,ttrslbiturca. llon ot lhe primalcosrnogentc realtly,now re.unrledIn producltve harmony.Underthe forrnof FatherHeavenand MotherEarth thev wereknow4to lhe Creeksas Zeusand Hera.Uranosand Gara, to the ChineseT'tenandTi. yang andyin."57 Tantraprojeclsthe natureol Hefmophroditeof H gher Realily . In rts manirestation,thal is lhe objecls of universeaiso. Betng a pait and parcelof lhe HigherRealilywe atso conlatn rhe sdme quarty.Everymatehas femalepole and lemalenas pole.in male 'dtentforn. TFts TanlFc lruthhas efi,ergedout urde. lhe lane ot br-sexJal,lyn rrodern bio-Ohystcs. Accordingto the raw ol o _ sexuatrty io tellsomebodyas meremaleor femaleis opposedlo the concept ol bi-sexuality_ We biturcate the fwo sexes Uy itre expressedpole. Bul in realitywe are both male and lemale, Siva and Sakti Tantra is not only confinedto the bi_sexualilybut it has also . localedlhe exaclplaceof maje-,emale potern the body where rheb'o-physics hasyel to reach.Accordingto lheTantra. the righl sroe atways represenls male.sun or posiltve pole whrle lhe l-eit eoe represenlsrematernoonor negativepole.lntheTripuraSarnLita. uevt oeclares,_| he wrseshouldknowthe bastclact lhar lhe female gene residesin lhe lelt side of all males.He can not discover the selt when he is alienatedfrom his own nalure.,,ss Like liiga symbol,this has also been negtectedon the ground that it is relaled with the sex drive.Tantravlews sex as a neans to'realzrngwnoleness.Though we are,ntinjteand whore,due to lhe lacko' wisdomol it we conslantry feetiinrLeness. Thatts why we always try to reach lhal whojeness.This tact is reflectedbV
Sal ent Featuresol Tantra the attractronol the oppositesex. lran tries to lell compleleness by Lrnilingwith the outerwoman.LikewiseWomanalso leelswhole_ n;ss bv the unilical on with outer man Tanlrasays lhat satislac' tion oi sex drive is the only easiestway for realizng intlnite ol it willcrealenothingbul becauseil s our nature.Suppression words of Mookerii Ajit' "The comIn the disordersand distortion. male and half Jemale as hall and Paruali posrle ligure of Siva are balancedin bothof and Jemale elements indicaleslhat male realization ol lhis our pation upon is dependent them.F! i emanc fact,59 In conclusionwe can say withouthavingany doubtthat lhe symbol oi Ardhanarivarahas nolhing lo do with gross physical Iorm ol sex.On the contrary,it leadsus from grossto subtleAs the lo Sociologisl, Sree N4aithiav ews this svmbo, "According male and Iemalesecrelhas an exlernalas well as lnternalaspecl Io elevalehrmsellto a higherpLanol thoughtand exrslence manshouldgrasp the meaningot theconceplArdhanarisvara'60 symbolthat Now et us proceedwiihthe olher misinterpreted s Yajara. C. Yaifia : Sac fice: The lirsl two discussed symbols linga and Ardhanarisvara are allachedwilh sex notion.The third symbolwhich we are goingto discuss1salso partiallyrelatedwith rl The nameof the symbol,as t is mentionedabove s Yajfraor sacrf ce lrom grosslo sublle.Accotding Tantrais way ol sublimation toTanlra,the pleas!rewhichcomesoutlromthephysicalcopula_ lion can be sublimatedinto the spirilualbliss This is lhe real mportof the SymbolYajna. Beforegoing into the root,Iet as firstsee the etyrnoogical meaningol the lerm Yajna.' yaj is the rool verb ot lhis term whrch slands lor propitialion.6lFor Tanlra every acl is a prop'tiationor worshipol the HigherReality.Eventhe actionlikecopulationwhich we genera y consideras low is viewedwithvenerationNow lel and intetnally us see how lhisYai6ais pertormedexternally In lhe exlernalIormationof sacrilice,an allar is lormedout
22
Chapl6r.l SalienlFeaturesol Tanka
lrom specialmaterials and by experls.Burningfire is placed insidelhe aliar.DuringtheperfornanceotYajia,clarifiedbutteris constanilvoouredintolhe sacriticial,ire. Somelimesanimals are alsousedas an obiectol cblalionforthesatislaclion of diety. TheYajia takesplacein lhe physicalbody.Accordingto Tantra, body is an altarin whichlhe someor elixiris beingconstantly droppedlromlhe SahasrarCakraor brain.This elixiris beinqconsumedby the tiresituaiedin lhe navelregionor lhe l/anipura Cakra,Semenis thegrossformof elixiror sonawhichis ejected inquanlity in inlercourse. Constanl orfrequent maxirnun section resullsintodecaybecause oi semennaturally semenis thevery retains baseoi life.ATankicSadhaka this consumpiion through practrses.This theKundaliniyoga orolherTantric isihe realTantric yajia which lakesplacewilhinthebodywilhtheresultthalSadhaka enioysthe immodality. Tanlricnotionof yajia alsoleadsone hom the individualily to theuniversality.The conceptoJYajia isthecoreof the Sadhana aspect.In Sadhan:r,Sadhakaollers manyobiectslike Jlowers, lampoJfire,fragranlpowder,varioustypesol cornsnamelyTilt, Cookedrice,Java,milk etc. Bul in TantraSadhanalhere is no needto olleralilhese lhingsin grosslofm. Because a Sadhaka menlally olfersall the live elemental torcesor lhe fivegross ele'nenls rPanca Malaohuta) namely Earth( Pflthvi). Wate'(Apj, F re (Teja).Vayu(Air)and Ether(Akasa)in the placeof flower, 1amp,powderetc.Whateverhedoesphysicallythat s not irnpor tant in TanlraSadhan:lbut he is mantallyattunedwith the universeandofiersitlo desireddiely.Thiskindol yajia removeslhe boundaryof limitations andSeldhaka leelsidenlitywiththe entire Now let us see whal seemsobjectionable to lay manin this symbol.As we havementioned, in Sacrifice, sometimes animals are also otfered.But Tanirahas nevertaken the gross This misinterprelation animals. happensdue lo lackof proper knowledge Tantric of meaning oJanimal. TheTantralikeYogni Tanlra, Anadakalpa etc.haveclearlymentioned thattheanimas likevice shouldbe killedwiihthe swordol knowledge.62 From lhis reierence we can saywithouthavingdoubtihat i, we lake
23
the realmeanng oi ablation,thereis nothingoblectionable. On the conlrarylhe properviewleadsoneto lhe inlinitelromJiniteor lrom individualilv to universalilv. Now aparl i.om these symbots,which are targelyrelatedwilh sex concept,lhere are also some symbolswhich are highly sig, niiicantin the TantricSadhana.Amongthem,Symbolof S [r,s ]s lhe basicone. Now let us see aboutit, D. Panca makara:5 M's: The m sinterprelatlon ot ihe Symbol5 4,4's playsprominent roe In the degeneration of the Tantrictraditionand system.In Tanlrsm, lhere are also some sub-sectsnamely,VAmacara, Daksinacara, Divyacaraelc- Among them 5 I\,4's. comes under lhe litle Vamacara.Lel us see firsl why it is known as 5 lvl's.lt is known as so because either are five iiems in it start with the syllable M'that is why it is recognizedas 5 M's.These are namety Nladya(Wine),l\,/amsa(meal), l4aisya (Fish),[,1udra(crain) and lMadhuna (Copulalion). Let us see each of the svtlablerespeclrveV. i. Madya-Wine: Madyameanswine.Theinherentq!alityoi Madyais to make man aloof ftom lhe ouier world.To torget the frusltation creaied frornlhe machineage,man resortsto lakewine.whichgiveshim temporary reliei. lradya is not utilizedin Tantrain lhe sense ol wine. In Tantra madyais nol a liquorbul as the KuiarnavaTantradeclares,it is an energy.63All ol us have a lreasure ot energy which is hidden in our body.Tantrashowsthe approacholawakeningof it. Sedhaka, who awakensihe cenlresol energy(Cakraireleaseshis senses Iromiheengrossment (P:rsa)olthe outerworid.Theutilizalion of thisTantriclvadyaresulisintonot in a temporaryreliefas it so nappensnthe gross winebut itgiveslife-timeblisstothe Sadhaka. By do ng so he yokeshis seltwilhhis originalnature,that s Siva or lrmtlesslnlintteelement.The peculiarity ol Tantricmadyais Inat.as lhe Kularnava Tanlradeclaresit leadsSadhakato Brah man.64or a slale knownas Brahmisthiti{ie. identitywith utti-
24
Chapler-1
mateRealitv). HencelorTantra,Madyais nola wineandTantricSadhakais of Saktior energy nota drunkardbuthe is a worshipper ii. I/hmsa-Meat: The meaningoJ l4amsais meat.lt is meal lt is one ol the sevenconponenlsot lhe bodyi e rakla(Blood)RasaIfslencel (Veat),Majja(Veins]Asthr(BonelSukra(Seren)and [,4amsa ([/iarrow). is uli||zed{orfood purposeoy anrmalsac I\,4eal IVeda wilhTanlra? human Bulhowthrsmeatis related berngs. wellas ln lheTaniricpuia,meatof an animal'somelimesol a numan ol diety Butto beinqalsois otferedto a deitylor the salistaction meaningol with theT?rntric utiliz; a orossmeaiis nol consistent mayquesone of meal meaning meal.Wiat is thenthe Tarntric iron. we gel meatby killingthe animal ln TantrawhenGenerally, ever the term animalis used' lit does not indicateanimallike slale sconsld qoal,donkey. deerelc lnTanlramanin a natural meanslo raise animal Tosacrllicethls !redas Pasuorananrmal o'evenlo lhe nalural state a Supra Io state manlromhrsnatural trom process sublimation, ol means meal Otfering soiritualslate. does who lhose kuldrnavaTantra the to According o;ossto subtle. ;o is lhe realeaterof meatand restare the killersof liie' ot any grossanlmal SoTanlrahas neverfavouredthe killang gross instincts like his animal bui one has to kill iii.Matsya-FIsh: Matsyastandslor fish ln Tantrait symbolicallyrepresenls mindand prana,theVitallorce. As lishfloatsin lhe water,mindalsolloatsin the seaof sense oblects,Mtndalwaysmovesfromone senseobiectlo lhe olher ani due lo ils conslantmovemenl looseits powers So far ihe midshould accodingtotheTantra, ol mentalpowers, channelization o{ Saldhanar.' not be a entrappedbythe Theanothersubtlemeaningof Matsyais pranaor vilalforce Vayu(ai4 is the grosslorm ol it As has beenexplainedin the
Sa ient Fealuresof Tantra
Heathsyogapradipika,mindand prdnatollowone another.By theone,another canautomatically controlling be conlrolled." So is alsoconsidered as {ish.ButhowTantra herelikemind,prerna pranaas lish one mavwishto know consrders pranapervadesin the entire Accordrng to theTantra,lhough body;we breath,whichis the grossformof pranathroughright and eft nostrilswhichin termso, Tantra knownas pingala,the sunandlda,themoonrespectively.ln theyougic terms,lifespan uponthe amountoJPranaconsumed depends throughrespiraI on.The moreamountof it we utilize,we can enioymorelife or Pranafloatseitherin Pinglaor in ldawhichwe feelit in ongeviiy. theIormol respiralion. So to minimizethe amountof respiration or n otherwordsto enjoylongevilyonehasto controlthe prana, whichmoveslikea fishin ldaandpingla. Fromthis we can conclusively saythat the Tantricmeanjng oi I\,4atsya is iotallydilferenifromthe grossone. iv.MudB-Grain: Mudrameansgrainor cookedfood.Therootvelbof Mudrais mudmeansto please.67 We eat lood lor the sustenanceol lile w ihoutwhich ourbodycannotpersjst. Foodnourishes bodyand w th the resuitbodybecomeshealthyandwilh healthybody,we enjoyaLlpleasures, Tantrahas nol takenonly the grossmeaningof Nrudrd.Accordrng to it,intherealmol Sadhana, thespiritualbody ofa Sadhaka shourdbe slrenglhened by the spiritualloodl;keJi:lna Varragya, lapaetc.TheTantratailavaprakarsa has mentionedeighttypes oI MJdraorgrainlrkedesire, greed,anger. greedanger,lusletc..., wh ch shouldbe cookedorsublimatedintothefireol Brahman.6B Tiis istherealJood of Sadhaka by whichhesuslains hisspirituai llle.So this is the Telntricmeaningof [Iudra. . Ivudraalsois a partof TantraSadhanaandthereit is a rneans ror dentifyingspirituallyvariousparts of the bodywith cosmic Iorceor energy.So in Tantra,Mudrais not merely a cookedtood otrtil alsoconlainssoiritualmeanino. v Maithuna- CoDulation: lvlaiihuna indicatescopulation. Copulation is an unionof male
26
Chapl€r-1
togethertor polesrequired to bebroughl opposite andtemale;the the purposeol creationbYnalure. Tanlrahas presentedthe subtlemeaningoJcrealion,lhat rs, spirilualcreationfor whichtwoopposilepolesarerequiredThese (brain) lwo polesareSivaandSakti.Sivaresidesatthe Sahasrara between (pelvic ln region) Cakra whileSaktiat the Mirlardhdra lhesetwo thereare six centresol energyaroundthe spinalcord, a^d Cakraawakens al theMirladhara Theenergywhichresides Siva at the Sahasrara with and unites penekates alllhecentres Cakra.Thls is the realTenlricmaithunaor copulalionwhichoccurs in the Sadhka.6s So il is not a grossmaithunaor copulationtakingplacebe_ tweentwo phvsicalbodiesbul il is a spiritualcommunionwilh lhewholepersongivesbi(h orlransforms SivaandSaktiwhich Sadhaka. alityot a With the help ol Tanlrictreatise,we havetried lo see lhe correclmeaningofTantrasyrnbolsTankicwayoJSadhanais so efleclivewhichgivesquickresultsSo to avoidmisuseoJil, lhis So symbolsare svsiemis armouredin the symboliclerminology. ol its proper to iack But due its secrecy. maintain to d;signed a distortiontakesplaceintotheTantrasyslem. knowledge, thereis ol thesymbollhat Wecouldseefromthedescriplion, a Tanlric gross and meaning a dillerence belween World-wide a N4aithuna etc. meaning.The symbolslikelinga,Ardhanarisvara, wiih sex nolion. relevance ol their because disto ed largely are but as the Kularnava We considersex as a causedegeneralion canaswellbea means sayslhatwhichbrjngsabouldegeneralion Thuslhe subtlemeaningof symbolis enough Ior sublimation.To to decideils soundness. Conclusion: anygoai.Diseaseproves Bodyistheonlymeanslor achieving lo be obstaclein lhe pathoi gainingthe goalTankais a sadhanal' Sedhakahasto facemanyphysEal system.Inthewayof SAdhana, disordersand mentaldisiurbancesTanlrahas not over lookecl this fact.To come out {romthis, it has mentionedcerlalnproc'
Satenl Fealuresof Tantra
27
for skenglhening bodymindcomplex esseswhicharedesigned lortitying the insirument thereby for g allgoalsphysiach ievjn and calas wellas supraphysical. li we glaceoverihe contentoi the lirstchapterwitha viewlo examinelhe lherapeuticaspectof it, will be loundhightysiEnifiol Tankareflectsits lheraoeutic canl.Thevery deJinition asoect. As we haveseen,one oJthe meaningolTantraaccordingto the is medicine (ousadhi). Sabdakalpadruma Theolhermeaning liberaion is also deal withlhis aspect. ll liberaiesSirdhakafrom and menlalailments. lhe physical HowTantradoesthisthatwe havealreadyndicatedas and whenwe havefoundan oooortun ty. StiI howevefby way oi statingthe investigations we have loundclearly,we wouldliketo recapitulated brieJlyas follows: Tanlradoeslhis bytwoways:Oneby thecultivaljon ot skong willpowerand second,by the utilization of p?rrad or mercuryand rIspreparallons. As has beenaccepted,generallyeverybodyhasgol its own medicine,that is, its powerot inbuiltresistanceagainstaltacks iromdisease.This can be furthercultivaledbv the cultivation of sr'o.gwillpower, Fromtheprinctples ot Tantra w€ couldseelnal, TanlraSadhaneis nothingbutthe awakening of innerpowersoi senses, bodyand mind.Willpower is the k€yof all powers. With lhe cultivation of it, one can opendoorsto the otherlaientpow_ ers.The powerof resistanceagainstdjseasesis also included wrlhinit. Tantraalso does this samejob by the utilizationol mercury , . lparada)and its prepa.ations. llercury is consideredas highly medicinal metal.Butis can notbe usedin a naturallormbecause ol itspoisonousnature.T?rntric seershavefoundoutthisfactfive Inousand yearsbackandalsoworkedoullheprocess(Samskara) lo makemercuryfit lor medicinaluse. Lord as the oiginatorof thisprocessof ^ c"eTy S,vars considered d whois atsothereveller olTantra. Withthehetpot these 'woonlya HathayogroraTAntricSadhaka survivedon thesnowy stlnmrlsof mountatns wilhouthavinganyantibiotic drr-rgs. This - uurlre physicat sideof Tantrjcwayof deatingwithbodilyait-
29
SalienlFeaturesof Tanlra
ments.we nowlurn lo its mentalside. Symbot and thefuthenqeutic value: body As is the casewith Paradaor mercuryin strengthening it And ailments mental Jor so also,Tantrahas a distinctmedicine or synbols psychologlcal uses to notethatTantra s surpflsing lor curlngthe menlal0lseases as symbols alphabets ||nouislcal polent mentalpowers by cultivalinginner Svmbolsare also highlysignilicanlin this regardsin ly'ng rolein mentaland Vindptayspromrnent mentataspect. streJJon some_ expressed are Dhvsicaldiseases.Mentaldislurbances sometimes physical dislurbance or iiriesin a physicaldisorders mat
FOOTNOTE fromlhe Penini,va,4,4zt-loext€nd,tospread.Taken Tan,Tanyare, Delhi' OrientalPublishers, dictionaryolSirMonierWilliams,p. zK)5, 6. TanyaleVistaryateJanananonaiti Tanttam.Citedby Shri Ram by Samskrrl Partl, p. 171.Published TantlaVijnena(Handi), Sharma, ln rhe Tanta Sadhan;.ther€is a Mantrain whichSadhakaor a mentallvoilefsthe earthelsmenlol lhe universeas a Dracliiioner fragranceol llowsr. (Lan Prilhvilaltvalmakamgandham parkalpayami) Likewis€he oflersalllhe fiveelementsol lhe uni verseln hiswo6hip.In doingso, he haslo expandhis areaol im_ till he mentallyoffatslhe €nu16uni_ aglnationas lar as possable verseto his deslredd€rty. and Scienlificbasis,p 1, Singh,LalanPrasad.Tanlra:lts l\,,|ystic ConceptPublishingCompany,Delhi1976. H.P Saslri.Nep Vidurbudhaha.l Tdryate NityamTantfamitham 5 . Tanute Tanlras-stud' ll, p. 69. Citedby ShreeChakavarti,Chinlaharan, p. 2, PunthiPustak,Calcuxa-4, es on theirrcligionand literature, 1963. Tranamcakurute hwamanlram samnvitam TanotiVipulananhan yasrnZrl KamikaTanl€, Citedby Shah tantramithamabhidhtyale. JainSirhilyaMandir,1961. DhirajlalI Tantronu.TdEna(Gujaddi), Partll, Ta.olitanyateiliva lOusadhi,SidhenlaSabdakatpadruma, Delhi,1961. oD.584 a5. MotilalEanarsidas, ReligionandEthics,Editedby Hasl_ 8 GedenA'-S., Encyclopediaof ings,Vol.8,p. 193,Vol.Xll. 9 Sarirakamimanasa Commenlryon lhe bhasyaol SamkaracArya. papatlescaI BrahmaSulra2.2.32Sarvathanu 10 Agamonama eiilyupsargalagamdhatohacapratyayenrsapannah I avabodhakah tanlraSaslrarupoartha 11 AgatamPancavakatrafla gatamca girijananeI MatamCa vasudeasya tasmatAgamaucyate 12 Slngh,LalanPrasad.Tantra-lts Myslicand Scienlilicbasis,p. 2 ConceplPublishingCompany,Delhi,1976. 13. Avalon,Arthur,Principles olTantra,Pa l, p.99, Prcface.Ganesh
30
Chapterl
a n d C o , L 4 a d € s ,1 9 6 9 . 1 4 . D a s g u p l aS h a s h i B h u s a nA, s p e c t so l I n d i a nF e l i g i o u s T h o u g hpl ., , 4 8 a . [ , 4 l h h e r . eaen d C o , C a l c u l t a1 9 5 7 . 1 5 . K u n d u ,N u n d oL a l l , N o n - D u a l i s m i n S a i v aa n d S a k l ap h i o s o p h y p 3 (Who has cited from Prefacelo pre-historicancienl Hindu-lndian by Donald A. Mackenzie)Si Ahairabi Jogeswal l\,4ath,Caf 1 6 . G h o s e ,N . N . , E a r l yh i s t o r yo f I n d i a ,p . 1 7 .T h e I n d , a nP f e s s( P u b) Privale Lrd., 1960, Fourth edirion. 17. Singh, Lalan P€sad, Tantra-lls Mystic and Scientfic basis, p4 C o n c e p lP u b l i s h i n g C o . , D e l h i1 9 7 6 ,F i r s tE d i l i o n . 18. Bev ew ol Ram Chandra Hao's book'The lrulh aboul Tanlra'by S. K . R a m C h a n d r aP . u b l i s h e di n T h e T i m e so f I n d i a ' ,A p r | 1 9 , S ! n d a y ,1 9 8 1 . j n S a i v aa n d S a K a p h i l o s o p h y . 1 9 . K u n d L iN . u n d oL a l l , N o n ' D u a l i s m p 8 S . B h a ' r a b r J o g e s w aMn a t h .C a l c u x a . 20. Ghose N. N., Early history ol India, p. 16. Indian Press (Pub.) Pflvale Ltd., Allahabad, I960, Fourlh Edition. 21. Krle SrulyuhacharaslretayangSmrlisam-bhavahI Dvapare lu puranoktangKalau agamlakevalam ll T a k e nt r o r nl h e P r i n c l p l eos f T a n l r aA , f l h u r A v a l o nP, a r l I , p . 3 6 , l n " l.oduclion. Ganesh and Company. 22. Arlhur Avalon,PrinciplesofTanlra, Part I, p.48. canesh and Com23. Chakravarly,Chintaharan,'TheTanlrasStudieson lheir.eligionand literalurc'.p.2. Punlhi Pustak,Calculta 1963, Firct Edition. 24. Singh, Lalan P.asad,Tanlra-lts Myslic and Scient,f,cbasis, p. L Concepl PublishingCompany,Delhi 1976, Firsl Edilion.
25. lbid.,p.L 26. AvaLon, A hur,Principles ol Tanlra,p. 110,Parl L Ganeshand Company,Madras,1969,Fou h Edition. 2 7 Chambers Twentieth Centurydictaonary. Editedby A.[L Macdonald B.A.(O xan),p. 1035,AlliedPublishersPrivateLtd..1974. 2A SivasaktyohjayapatinyayenaieyayA Saktya Yuklascat
SalienlFealuresof Tantra prapancarupasanlanam nirmalum sakno!,tay,rviyuklascel nasknorl 29. Tvamm)la sarvabhirianampila caahamSanetanahI Dvyoscayo rasodevimaharmailhunasambhavahll Rasarnava Tanlra.Ediledby Panta,Tarananda, ParatI, p.34. SanskrilSeries.1939. Chaukhamba 30 tv,lookeiiAjit,Tanl€ Asana-A waylo self-realizarion, p. 62. Publlshedby BaviKuma(1965,FirctEdilion. 31 [4amal|]pasidevilvamna bhedoslilvyarmamaI Thel,lahanrvanaTanlra. Ediledby Avalon,Arthur,Chaps.1-95,p. 9. l\,4otilai Banarasidas, Delhi,Beprinted1977. 32. Sivasyabhyanlare SakUhSaklerabhyanta€h Sivahl Anlafm naivajaniyaccandracandfikayoiv Siddha-Srddhanra-Paddhari and otherworksof the NarhYogis.8y Sml.I\,lallik, kaiyani. p.21.PoonaodentalEookHouse, Upadesa.4-26, 33. SivahsaKlya yukloyadibhavatiSaktahPrabhvitum nacedevam devo na kualukusalab Spandilymapi I SundryaLahariVerse-|. Sri SankaraBhagavatpadecharya. Edled by Klppuswami, A. The Minislry of Educalion & SoclaWet fare,Government of India,1976. 34 Yasmintyaha I\/ahakaliSaktihlnahSadasivahI Saklyayulo yadedevi,ladaivSivarupakah I SaklihineSavahSaksert purusatvam na muncatill TodalTanrra. rakenlromkarpnraStavaraja(Hind)by Mahakala,p. 00 l\,4o1 lal Banarsidas. 35. SwarniP€bavananda. The SipritualHeritageol India,pp. 14-45. G€orage Allen andUnwinLtd.,London, 1962,Fi.slEdition. 36. Mookerji,Alir-Tantfa p. 16.PubAsana-A wayto self reatization, lishedby Ravikumara, 1965.Fifsl Edition. 37 DehadevalayodevijivodevahSadasivahI The Kularrnava Tantra.Ullasa-g-41.
32
Chapter1
ofTantra,Pafl 38. Visvas:rra Tanlfa.Citedby Avalon,Arthur.Principles I, p. 118,Ganesh andCompany, 1969. yah-Samoksaiti KalhyaleI 39. Ainanagranlhibhedo Tantra.Takenlrom LuptaagamaSamgraha. Saryalnabhairava 40. Bhavaslumarnaso dharmSabdasyahi Kalhambhavet.Nigama Kalpananda. Citedby Dikshil,Sadasivain KarpirfaSlavaRajaor p. 84, MoiilalBanarsidas. N4ahakala, Manaeva manusyanam KaranambandhamoksayohI Yalhaivalingila Kanlatalhaivalingila Sula I DharmaSastra.Quoledin the KarpnraSlavaRaja,p. 34. 42. A1aevayadayasyabhavanakulsilabhavelI Tadadosayabravar nanyalhadusara.rlKva-|L KaulavaliTantra. Ciledin karpuraStavaBaja,p. 34. 43_ YairevapalanamdravyaihSiddhihitaiheva Cauditar The Kularnava Tantra.5-48. BhogoyogayaleSaksatpalakamsukruiayale Moks;yateca Sans:rahKuladharma Ku klesvafI tbtd.2-24. 45 Danielou, Alain.HinduPolytheism. Routledge and KeganPaul.
London. 1964.FirslEdilion. vasrumalramtu yaddrasyam Samsarerrigunahilal ll69llDrasyarn ca nirgunam lokenabhirtam nobhavisyati I Nirgunah Parmalmassou na lu drsyahKadacana ll 70ll Vyes,KrusnaDwaipayana. 3 6.69-70. Sinad DeviBhagavalam. Kashi1956. Ediledby PandeyRamalejaPanditaPuslakalaya, Yalha GavamSarvaiajamKsiramStrevetaSlana-[,4ukhad Tath,rSa agatodevahpratimAdisu rajatell The Kularnava Tanlra6-75. ll 48 Liyalegamyaleyalrayenasarvamcaracaram Tadeladlingamitiyuktam lingalatlvaparayanaihI yohetuhirlalvat ll Layagatyadha Satuadehinam Sakalaniskalah ll Anubhavasntram. Lingamiliucyate Seksatsivah
SalienlFeaiuresof Tantra
33
(3)Ediledby Shukla, Verse3-4.Yogalantra-Granthmala Adhikaran---3. firstEdilion SanskrilVisvaVidhyalya, Varanaseya BadrinathPad-1. 1970. LayamlasminPrakirtitaml 4 9 . a) LingatSarvamSamulpannam Tanl€ 1-51. Vitul Suddhakhya ll b). Lingelu iayateSarvamjagal Sthavarajangam tbid.1-72. (3), p. 181 TakenhomYogatanlra-Granthmela I Karranam 50. LingaSabdenaVidvansahSrustisamhala padamavyam I layad)gaman,rccahubhavanam 131. Tantrakaloka-4/ tingana pljayet I l\,lrucchailadhalyrahadibhvam lingamyalra linamcaracram Yajedadhyaimikam yatah Bahiliagasya| 6gatvamanenddhisthilam Tantraloka-5/120 Vidya,pp 106,107,Bihara l\,1ishla, Janadana,BharliyaPratika Parisada,Patna,1959 Rasirabhasa hr mamaI JnatualihgaYostpyale 51 LokamLingvamakam Na me iasmalpriyalarahPriyaka VidhyaleKvacila 52 LayamgacchalibhirtaniSamsarenikhilyalahI lingamuddhalamll srustikalepunahSrutihtasmat LingaPurana. andKegan p 127,Roulledge Alaln.HinduPolytheism, 53. Danielou,
Jevava SAklva Yuklasceta 5 5 . Sivasaklyohjayapatinyayena plapancadpaSanlAnamnimirlumSaknoii p2 oflhe FirstVerse, SaundryaLahari,Vacy;rrtha I 56. L ngamSivaili jneyaihplthalhSaktihiudah:rla KaranamI Yonl iagaprakarena iagalsrustayanha
34
chapter-1
TheVatolSuddh:khyaTantra,1-69. 57. Zjmmer,Henrich."i,ltyths andSymbotsin Indianartandcivilizaton. p.127 EdiledbyJosephCampbett.The Boltingen Vt.1946 Series. 58. Etadimanusyatvavicch innadibhedahar Vamabhage mamaaksunna Evamtad BuddheSvayamevani.desAhiti ardhanariSvaratvena mahapuruso vidyateI lipur Samhitet. Translationand Versetakenfrom the creat yogic Sermon bylvajithia Surondra Singh,p.32,A iedpubtishers, 196-9. 59. l4ookerj], Ajil,TantraAsana-A waylo s€tfrea|zation,p. 57. publishedby BaviKumar, FirstEdilion, 1965. 60. Majilhis Surendra Singh,TheGreatyogic Sermon'_ p.32. yaj = p worshipor propitiate. Samskruta SabdarthaKoustabha. Ediledby Shalma,DwarkaprasAd, p.948, Ramnarayana Lal Benipras;da, Third Edjtion. 62. Punyapunya pasumhatuejnana khadagena yogivatatyoginiTanrra. Sri Fam Sharma.Taotramahaviinana (Hindi),part I, p.253. 63. SureSaktihSivomamsamladbhohabhairavansvyamI The Kulernava Tanlra5.79. 64. MadirebrahmagahproktahcitsodhanaSardhana I TheKularnava Tantra5.41. 65. [,lanasacaindriyaganam Samyamyatmani yojayelI TakenkomTantra [,lahAvijfrana (Hindi), Sharma, SriBema,p.261. 66. Calevate calamcittamniscateniscatambhaverI The Hathayoga Pradipike2.2. Transtated into Engtishby sinh, Pancham,p. 13.OrientatEooksReprintCoeoration,1975. 67. lrudam Kurvantidevanammanensidrivayantica I Iasmanmudr:rti khyatadarsitavyah Kutesvarl The Kularnava Tantral7-57. 68. Asatrusnajugupsabhaya Visdaghrunamanataija prakopahI Blahmagnavasta mudrahparasuk.uliianah pacyamanah samantal I
SalienlFealuresot Tanlra Sri R:rmaSharma,p.264. Part| (Hindi), TantraMahavijnina, SamskruliSamslhana,Barcli. ni.bhala 6 9 . PaAskliy:rtmamailhunamsamyogenanda Tanlm5-112. The kularnava eva caudilaI 70. YairevaPatanamdravyaihSiddhilitaih lbrd5'48.
(E E')
o o E
o o o
o
Tx ga *o .E-c oF
Chapter-2
Sankhya andYoga, l\rimamsa andVedanta, Vajsesika andNyaya, philosophies, lhesixclassicsystems, or moreliterally "pointsof lromlhe root drs,"to see"),are regardedas lhe view"( darsanas; sixaspects oJa singleorthodox hadition.Though apparenfly and evenovertlyconlradictory, they are understoodto be compiemenlaryprojectionsot lhe one lruth on variousplanesot consciousness, valjdintuitionsfromdifferingpojntsof view-ljkethe experiences ol the sevenblindmenfeeling the elephant, in the popularBuddhist table.The {ounders, actualorsupposed- Kapjla, jaimini,Vyasa,Gautama, Palaaajali, probabtv andKanada-shoutd beregarded ralherasschoolsthanas ind iduats. Nolhingrsknown of lhembutthearnaoes.Theirsutrasstandat the beginningot a copiouslileratureof commentators, yet are themselvesbul the lasllermsol a longforegoingperiodot discussion, eachol them includingargumentsagainslalllhe others.I\,4oreover. withoutthe commentaries thetexlswouldbe unintelligible: theyare notthe self'sufficient worksofindependentthjnkers, but,nnernon ic,lhreads,' (suras)lor the guidance oJoratteaching in the ancieniIndlan stye oi theguruandhisadhikarin_1 SANKHYA andYOGAhavebeendiscussedsupra,pp.2BA332 Theykeat oi the hierarchyoi the principles(tattvas)that proceedirom the eflectsof purlsa in prakrtiand supportthe experiences ot dreamandwakingconsciousnQss. TheMllVA|\4SA andVEDANTA tikewise betonglogether,both represenlingthe poantof viewol the "FoLrrth"(turiya)that transcendeninondulaprinciple(brahmar)which is beyondthe provnceol lhe world-suppoing duadlputusa-prakrti). TheVedenta nas beendiscussed,srJpra,pp. 409-463,as the final trulh or end (arla) ot the Vedas;the Mjmamsais concerned with a clarlfication of lhe liturgicalaspectof the samesacredbooks. .deepthought, IndFed.lhe termmtmamsa. meaning, literally, cons de'alion.reflection.expos(ion."and whenapphedto phrloso.
Chapter-2
phy,'refleclion on,or exposilion of,theVedas'prooerlyis appled philosophies: lo both ol these respectively, as 1. Pirva-nimase ( the lirsl rellection;exposition parl of lhe tirst lol theVedasl")or (1he karma-m)memsa sludyol [ritual] aclion") and2. utlara-mimamsa lhe second retleclion; expositjon l ofthesecondpariloltheVedas]) ("thecontemplation ot behma-mimamsA of Erahman") PJrva'mimamsa, Karma'mlmamsa, or moreusuallysimply priesllyscience,which the M mamsa,is a kindof scholastic, patterns iturgcallile.These definestheorthodox oJBrarhmanic patterns designated n theVedas inheriled are nolalways clearly hencealreadyin lhe laterBrahmanas2 lhe term themselves; mimemse occlrs.whereit alreadv denotes a discussion ol sorne polri ol rilualpractice. wilhthe Duringthe followingcenluries, prolileration readings, thedemandIorlhrssc of varianlpriestly ence ol definitivereasoningmusl have increased.Somewhere belween200 and 450 A.D.-thal is to say,aboutthe lime ol the in the crystallizalion findingsweresummarized of thevedanta-its Pirvamimemsa-slttrc ol Jaimini;butlhisbasictextbookpresup. poses a long historyol argumenl."Thereis evidence," slales A.B.Keilh,'lhalthe sciencewasin lull vogueas earlyas the middleoi thethirdcentury8.C.3 resembles someThemethodol the Purvamimamsa-sutra whatthatot ThomasAquinas' lls scholaslic SummaTheologica. ("heading'), eiementary islheadhikarana which unit,orsubdlvision, nexl,lhe iallsintoliv€partsrllrst,a proposition is formulaled; meihdoubtas io ilscorrectness is reluted: third.lheerloneous ods ol tfeating it are exhibiled;lourth , theseare reiutediand t nally, thelruesoiution is presenled as theinevitable conclusion of the enlrrediscussion.a Forexample, in Sulra,ltwo propositorthe upper tionsarepresenled:1. thalVedic sludyis obligalory casles;and lor study. Thefirsl 2.lhatDharmais a propersubject propositionis Joundto be self-evidentin lhe Vedicprecepls. _OneshouldsludylheVeda"and"Oneshouldperformtheritualol lhe final bathaftersludyinglhe Veda."A doublarises.however, wilh respeclio the secondproposilion, since it may be asked whelherone shouldperlormthe ritualof lhe balh irnmedialely periodcl studenlship. allerlearning theVedas, andsoterminateone's
The prima lacie view is thal lhe balh should immediatelylollow the learning of lhe Veda.The reply is that the real study ol the Veda is not satistiedby a mere readingof the texl. The lrue con' is thal the tinal bath should be posl_ ctusion,consequently, has broughtthe sludent'sunder_ unlil a study ol Dharma ooned ol perfection. Jaiminisvolume oi ihe Veda lo a slate standing contains some nine hundredand tifteenof theseadhikaranas, organizedln twelvebooks.s darsana supportsa theory o{ the infa lib lily oi The I\,4lmams:r lheVedasand a lheoryol meaningas inherenlin sound:Sanskr1, lhe ho y anguageoi lhe Vedas,lhat is to say, s not a hisiorca but an emanationof Being (sat)in lonquebasedon convention, sound(sabda);hencelhe powerol the sacredmantrasand ol the VpdiLl-y.nncto touchthe qu ck ol trulhand so tt e worl magrc.lt is from this Dolencvthat the ellects of ihe sacrificeare derived, notfromdivine inlervention;Ior thoughthe ofleringsare addressed lo deities,lhe dejlies are themselvessupporledby the power ol the sacrifice."The MlmamsA,'wtilesGarbe,"does nol recogni2e the exislence ol God. Neverthelessthis lacl interferesas lillle here as in the Sankhya and lhe olher syslems with lhe behel rn Also'eiecled beingsol the popularIndianlarlh."6 l_F qJpernalural periodic of alllhings. is lhe idea of the crealionand dissolution Therers a constdnlprocessoJ becomingand passingaway,bul of lhis processin lerms ol no ground ior the systemalizaiion I\roreover, arguingspecilical_ cyc es of evolulon and involuiion.T y aga ndt the sunyavadaol the I\rahayana, lhe Mimamsadoc_ tr ne ol knowledge darsanaslands aflirmstheworldas real.sThis 'to n cose rel;tionshipto Indian law, since its chlef obieclis determlneinjuctions, which are distinctJromthose of civil aw mainly in lhe faci that they deal with sacrilicialrather than civil obligalions,and are enforcedby spiriiualratherthantemporalpen. alties.9 VAISESIKAand NYAYA,cosmologyand logic,the remaining brace ol the six philosophies.lreal ot lhe data ol waking con' sciousness lrom lhe point ol view of wakingconsciousness Itself,and are conseq!entlycloser in spiritand characlerlhan the otherIndiandarsanasto lhe academickaditionol the West
42
Chapler-2
The legendarylounderol the Vaisesika,Kanada{alsoknownas "atomeatKanabhaksa andKanabhui, allthreenamesmeaning Hislexte/'),is supposedto haveJlourished c.200-400 A.0.10 ('lhe sutras,or precepls,showinglhe book,the Vaisesika-sirtra dillerences,distinclivecharacteristics, or fianilesl nalure,ol inthings"), distinguishes (padaftha,)l dividual innaturelivecategotles 1. substance(drayya),comprisjngearth,water,lire, air, ether, time,space,soul(atman),1r andmind lmanas):2.qualilylguna), comprisingcolor,taste,smell,touch(wilhlemperature), number, exlensionindividuality, priority,poslerity, connection, separation, joy,pain,desire,aversion, knowledge, and will;12 3. movemenl (samanya); andaclion{kaha); 4. association 5.dilferencevisesa); and 6. inherence(samavaya).13 TheVaisesikaderivesits name from category5, visesa,'ditterence;'because it is an atomislic doclrine(whence the nicknames of its legendary lounder). The aloms of the severalsubstances haveno extension,yet in combinationbecomeexlensive and visible.Duringlhe periods ol worlddissolutionbetweenlhe cosmogonic cycles,theyare not combined;henc€ lhereisthennovisible world.The souls,never' lheless,retaintheir meritandd€merit,andin consequence unil6, presently, withihe variousatoms.This renewslhe movementol the atorxsand beginsa newcycleol creation.The continuous wanderingsandacrivitiesol the soulsin lhe manilestworld ultimatelyfatiguethem,and so a night,a cosmic nightof dissolulion, is necessarylor theirrefreshment. The unionsol the aloms dissolve,andlh€ universedisappears. "Bothsouls and the organof thoughtare eternalsubstancpeculiarto thissyses,'wrilesGarbe,describingthe psychology lem;"butthesoulis alfperyading, /:e.,not bounddownto tilne and space,whilelhe organof thoughtis an alom.Thelatieris lhe inlermediary belweenthe soul and the senses,sinceurgedby the soulit be takesitsellon eachoccasionto thatsenselhrough whichthe souldesireslo perceiveor to act....lf it restsmotion" lessinthesoul,lheunionol thelatterwilh thesensesends,and no perceptionor act or experienceis possible...lf the organol thoughtwereomnipresent likethesoul,oi if the soulcouldenter inloimmedialerelalionwilhthe objectsol knowledge, allobjecls
perceived. As lheorganof thought, on wouldbe srmullaneously powerto thesoul,so,on lheone hand,impa s lhe quickening lhe other, it actsas a kindof checkby preventing the soulkom morelhanonelunclionat lhe sametime,"l4 exercrsing Nyaya,logic,the sixthol the classicalsystems,is atkibuted lo a shadowyfigure,Gaulama-nicknamed Aksapada,"theloof eyedl thal is lo say."with his eyesfixed on his feet"-whose lexlbook,the Nyaya-sitra,composedperhapsas earlyas 150 butmoreprobably parallels between2OO and450A.D.,16 B.C.,r5 in ils atomicdoclrine,cosmology, theVaisesika and psychology, principallyto bul s devoted lhescienceol logic.Foursources ol trueknowledgeare recognized:1. perception(pratyaksa),2.inleterce lanumena),3.analogy(upanana),and4. credibletesli' mony (salrcia). lnference,the solereliablemeansto philosophrcalknowledge, is of threekinds:1. inJerence rrom cause to ellecl lpirvavat),2. inlerencelrom etlecl lo cause (sesavaO, perception and3. reasoninglrom to abslractprincipleGemanyato drsla).Three kinds of causeare recognized: 1. lhe malerial or nhering cause(upadarna-karana, samavayi-kerana), e.9.,in lhe caseol a carpet.itslhreads;2. the noninheringor formalcause (asamevayi-karana), in the caseof the carpel,the arrangement and knotiingol ils threads;and 3. the efJectiveor instrumental cause lnimifta-keana): lhe weaver'slools.The syllogismo1the Nyayadarsanacomprisesfivo memberstL the proposition (prall6a),e.9.,thereis a lireonlhe mounlain; 2. thecause(hefu). rorthemouniainsmokes;3.the oxemplificalion (drstanta), wher everthereis smokethere is lire, as, for example,on the hearth in the kltchen;4. lhe recapitulation ol the cause(upanaya), the rnountarn smokes;and 5. the conclusion(nigamana),lhetelorc lnereis Jireon the mountain. The conceplion," writesGarbe,"on whlchthe theoryof the syllogismof the Nyayarestsbearslhe nameoi'nvariableassociation'(yyaptD. Insteadof siartingas wedo withanaffirmative proposition, universally valid-'Allsmoke presumeslhe existenceof fire' -the Nyayaphilosophyasserts the'invariable association'of smokewithfire.The sionobserved 'Lng,a,- in lh,s Instance lhe smoke- is invariabliassociated' \vyapya);lhevehicleof the signwhichis to be inferred(r'6gir)-
in thls inslance the iire-is the'invariableassociale'(vyepaka)-"17 Rene Guenonpoinisoui, however,that abridgediorms of lhis termsorthe iasl are used,in whrcheitherlhefirstlhree syllogrsrn resem0les lhreemayappearalone,andthatthe latterabridgment the syllogsm of Arislotle.13 defineslhe topics,or calegores, Book I ol lhe Nyaya-sirtra _o oe drlcLsled,1the volurre;Bookll dea s w lh ooLol, lhe foLI means oi proof and lheir validily,and shows that there are no Book lll discusesthe self, oiher valldrneansof demonslration; the body,lhesensesand theirobjects,cognilion,and the mind; the good and BooklV disposesol volition,fault,transmigration, then passes evi frultsol humanaction,pain,andfinalliberation; t o l h e t h e o r y o i e r r o r a n dt oh fe w h o l e a nidt s p a r l s ; B o ovkd e a s wthunreal objectionsoat/)and occasionstortherebukeolan e appanefi (nigBh asthena).1 .When;'observesGalbe,"theVaisesika and Nyayasystems thecameto be blendedtogether,the combinedschooladopted isticviews,but neversaw in the personal God, whom they as sumed, the creator of matter.Their theology is set iorth in lhe KusumAijalial lJdayana[c.950 A.D.],20and in variouslaterworks whlch discussthe two systemsin cofirmon.Accordingto the view whichihev holdin harmonywilh the doctrineof the Yoga, God ls a distinctsoulliketheolher individualsouls,andthese from are equalv with Him elernal.He is, however,dlstinguished the atlributesof omthem bv the facl thal He aloneDossesses niscjenceand omnipolence,whichqualifyHim for the govern' mentol the unlverser andthat.on the otherhand,He acks those of all olher soulsin attribuieswhich resullln the entanglement ihe cycle of existence."21 The idea ol liberationpresentedin Gautama's Nyeya sitra, culminaling in a conddlon BooklV is thatoi asceticdeiachment, similarto thal of the Saiikhya,as oi absoluieunconsciousness, suggeslsthal in theseappar describedsupra,P 329-330.This we may haveanothervesllgeofthe archaic entlylaterdoctrines pre-Aryan sc ence representedin Jainism and the doctrine oi Gosala supla, pp.263-275). Indeed,ln late Jaina lext (lhe Avasyaka), the Vaisesika is attribuled lo a Jaina schismallc
namedRahaguila.22 The "s x sysiems" are consideredto be odhodox because they recognlzeihe authorityof the Vedas;their co-ordrnalron, however,is not particularlyold. Vacaspaiimisra,c 841 A.D, composed commeniaries on lhe Salikhy, a Yoga, ll]mtrmsa. systems,while ol Udayana,about a centu_ Ved:inta,and NyaLya rV laler, combined the views oi lhe Nyaya and Vaisesikaln h s of the tendencyto proofoi lhe exlslenceof God.Theculmination syncretizeappears in sivadilya(datauncertain,but probablylaler ihan Udayana),who,thoughperhapsnotihe firstto amalgamate must be reckonedthe earliestot the the darsanasin exposition, of the iointschool.23 authorities lhe positionoi an however,neverallained The "s x svstems," exclusive,dogmatic orlhodoxy. The Sarvadarsanesiddhanh' a saaaiigraha("Epitomeoi the Doctrinesof Allthe Darsanas"), lextbookfrom the schooloi Saikara, tenth-or eleventh-century de ineales,with adequate objectiviiy,theviews ofthe Lokalyatikas Yogacaras, (materialits),24 Jainas, Buddhists([,4adhyamikas, Vaisesika,Nyaya,Pirrva-mimamsAr Sautrantikas, andVaibhasikas), I in lwo schools: that of Prabhakaraand lhat of Kumarila),2' and theVedirnla Sankhya,andYoga,lhephilosophyof Vedawyasa,26 ol saikara.2TMadhava,an eminentfourteenth-centuryVedalnlist of the school ol sankara, delineates likewise in his Sarvadar' sarasangraha("Epitomeol AIISystems")23sixteenphilosophies add ng to the above the Vedarnlaof Ramanuja,ihe doclrines ot a numberof sovietSivailesects,and Panini'slreatmentol the laws o{ the metaphysicai,eternal,and magicallanguageoi the Vedas n hls SanskriiGrammar.29 ln the fina analysis,the orthodoxyoi lhe Indiahas never beengroundedin a collegeor academy.Neilhercan it be defined by any nLrmbering of views.For ils liie is in the moksa of the (1836-86)in aclualsages:such,tor example,as Ramakrishna (1879-1950) in ourown J" ourlhe n neteenthcenturyand Ramana These"wildgeese"(hamsas), ln everypart teachingnumerously ol lhe and of the Bharatas,haverenewedihe ineffable message perennially,n variable terms,which philosophers classilyand adhikarns iranscend.
46
Chaptel-2
FOOTNOTE I Cf. supra,pp.48-49_ 2. Cf. supra,p.8, Editolsnote. 3. Artr-u' B€r.iedrl€ Kerh.the (arma.t\rimamsa. therreiilagFof,'1oraseres Londonandca,curta, 1921.pp.?-3 n ln Hasrinss.Fncyctopaedlot 4e\srcndnd l;-9,,1T., Errlcs, Vot.Y':".:l, Vl|t,p. 648 5
K e i t h o p . c i l . ,p p . 4 - 5 .
6.
G a r b e ,J o c c. i l .
7.
Ke h., oD.crl.,p 6 1.ThF doctfinershetdin oppos,l,on.o rhFVaisesika and Nyaya view' Cf. intra
L
lb., Chapters It, m.
9. lb.,p.97. 10. Garbe..,Vaisesika,"in Hastangs,op.cir., Vot.X , p. 569 11. I am usingihe transtarion toul" to accordwirhlhequotalions(inra) lrornca.be..See,however, Dr.Zimmer,snole, supn, p.324.Ihe rermaharhere denotesthelifo_monad (as livain,tainisn,purus) rf-tj.eSrn/rrla) andshouidnotbe confused withrhe ahan o, the upafrsads,thaqavadcrta,andVedan!a 12. Contrastrhetermgura asemptoyedinIhe Senkhyaand Bhagvad ,t
rh6 int,mare,erat,onshrp rha,unrresrhesuosrance w.h ?:i1""r1 s arrrroLres and is itsel an a[ributF of the suosrarce ,, uue.ar^tntroductrcngenerata petudp doesdocn,nes \pene h1dous P a n s1, 9 3 0p . 2 3 7 ) 14. Garbe,,,Vaisesjka," p. 570. 15.Garbe,"Nyaya,,,in Hastings,op.cil., Vol.tX, p.423. 16. A. B.Kei\h,tnctian Logicand AtonjsmAxtarc,:92j,p.24 17. Gathe,"NyAya,"p. 423. 1 8 . Guenon, op. cit., pp. 226-227. 1 9 . Keilh, lndian Logic and Atonism, p. jg. 2 0 . G a b e g r v e s1 3 O OA . D . .b d r h i s , s c e r t a j n t y t o o t a l e< , - c e o ^ e o f udayana s works is dated 984 A.D. Cf. Winternitz Casch,chle d e r I n d i s c h e nL r t e r a t u rV, o l . t , p . 4 6 6 .
The Six Syslemsol Yoga
47
2 1 . Ga.be, Nyaya:p.424. p. 14. 22. Keith,lndianLogicandAlomism 23. b . ,p p 2 9 , 3 1 , 3 7 . 24 Lokayab,lterally, belonginglo the worldof sense,"is the name givenlo a malerialislic systemsaid to havebeenloundedby ihe sophisrCaruaka(date,ol course,unknown). "Thereare ctearindicat onsl'slaiesGarbe,"of the presencein India,as earlyas pre, Buddhistslimes,ol teachersoi a puremalerialism; and undoLrbtedly lhese theoies have had numerousadhercnlsin lndia {rom ihatperiod onwardstothepresenlday..-The Lokayataallowsonty percepton as a meansof knowledge, andrciectsinJerence. lt recognizes asthe soe reality lhefourelemenls, Le.,maiier,and teaches thal, whena bodyis form€dby the combinalion of the elemenls, jusl likethe intoxicating lhe sprit alsocomesinloexistence, qual, itywiththe mixlurcol specialnaterials.Withthe destruciion ofrhe bodylhe spiritrelurnsagaininlo nolhingness... The posloperat ve torceof meritanddemerii,which,according 1othe beliet of al the olher ndianschools, determines lhelolofeachindlvidualdown lo the smallesl delails, hasno exislenceforlhe Lokayalika, because ihis conceptionis reachedonly by inference... On the practical srdelhis systemexhibilsitsellas lhe crudeslEudaenronismi lor t represenlsthe gratillcationof lh6 sense as the sole desirable good...The Vedasare declaredlo be the idlepralingof knaves, characlerized bylhethreefaultsol unlrulhluIness,inlernalcontmdicton,anduselessrepelilion...The itualoftheBrahmansisairaud, andlhe cosly andlaborious sacrifiesare usetulonlyfor providing witha livelihoodlhe cunningiellowswho caffy lhem out" (carbe, Lokayata" in Hasiings, op.cil.,Vol.Vlll,p. 138).Noneol the wrir ings ol this schoolare extant;alllhat we knowoJlhem hasbeen gathefed lrom lhe wrilingsof theiropponenls.Cf. F [,4ax[4uller, S x Systemsof /ndlanPhrosophy,London,1899,pp.86, 9411. 25 A sharpdivergencein lhe onily of the Mim?rmsa,darsana begins wilhlhe appearanceofthesetwoscholastics, c.700A.D.Cf.Keith, p. 9. The Karma-[,1imamsa, 26 /.e.,ihe philosophy of lhe Mahabharala. 27 Winternilz, op.cit.,Vol.lll,pp.419-420. 28. Translated by E.B.Cowelland A.E.Gough,2nd edition,Calcutla, 1894.
Hesiod C.775
800& after
Kapila (sankhya)
Savior
Buddha
Gosela C.5fi'4a3
?
d. C. 526 Mahavna(24th
Upanisads EarlyF]€roEpics(losl)?
Savio0 Anaximander 6111-547 'In thiscolumnparalleldatesin lhe Weslemwotld(lorcomparison) C. 582-C.500 Pylhagoras Parmenides Fl.6lhcenl Empedocles c.500-430 C. 500B C' Sulras c. s00 5004o 469-369
c.640-546
The Prophets H0mer 800' Atl€r
C.812 772 Pasva l23td Solomon C. 950
N. lndia C.1500-800 Vedas Brahmanas
C. 1300?
? C. 2000_1000Aryan lnvasionsol
Creece lvoses
(lndusvalleyRuins) Prehisloric JainaSavisrs
c. 3500-r500 Civ ization C. 3500-1450 l\,4inoan OravidianCivillzallon (clele) Hellenic Invasionsol 2000'1000 :.
s.
.g 3
q.
o
;;igiitii
i;sriFis:
iFrEf;i€j
B.c
a.c
SqiF$v=d=fl
B.c.'
APPENDIX B: HISToRtCAL SUMMARY
6
sisslf;: E tetE$lqi;
3EIqiSi;P
FJSg$;:Ae=
83
Epicurus
?-287? 3 4 2 ?- 2 l O
Vergil
Hegel Daruin Einstein
Exkhad
Chademagne
BenediclinelMonasli cism (monl€ Casino)
JesusChrisl Trajan
1907 1225?-1274 1260-1327? 1469-1527 1712-1774 1770'1831 1809-1882 1879
742-414
570
c. 500
354-430 476
272-337
53117 I21-180 245?-270?
A.D
100-44 70-29
264- 146
274-237
200 A.D.
Kautulya(Adhasalra) C. 6000B.C.? Esrablishment of old
Cenakya
Alexander the creal
427?-347 344-322 356-323
Ramayana(prcsent
1836-1886 1879-1950
1400-1500 1714-1775
A.D
c80
lom) C
Hinayana Bud-
200A.D
Prajna-paramila Asamga (Yogacara)
?
Camundaraya (Commataimage) Endol Buddhism in lndia
C.983
C. 650/T50LaksminkaraDev (lVahasukha)
d.c.527 Eodharma (Dhyana:Zen)
C. 350
6-
C 78'123 Kaniska Tanlra-[,4ahayana Busshism C.200 Nagarluna(Madhya o
"TheSt Syslems"
Cola,Rajpul, HoysalaStyles) Sankara(Advaita
lndiaArl (Gupla,Calukya,
Tanllas
Sulra
1175,1250
c.788820t502 ?
4th-t3th
?
c 300-500 2
c/2ool45a
A.D
Patanjali (Yoqa)
C. 321-29TCandragypta Maurya
(present C. 400B.C. Mahabharata 400A.o lom ) (bhagavad citd)
C.400 B.C
Lawsor manu 235:Alexander enlelsN Wlnida
6
I 3
v)
-.1
c
ftt
z c
!, (')G
b$ dtL
.c -(5 OF
Chapter-3 I Who SeeksNirvana? THELATER Buddhisl changeofattilude toward thefinalgoal s paraleledexactlybytheconlemporary Hindudevelopment. As we haveseen,1in Hlnayarna usagetheterm bodhisa liyadenoled a Buddha andso passing a greatbeingonthepointof becoming irom time to nirvana,an archelypeof the Buddhistlay-intiate escapingtromthe world,whereasin the l\.4ahayana the concepi wastranslatedintoa time-reaffirming symbolof universalsavrors hip. Through renouncing Buddhahood theBodhisattva madeil clear fiom the that the taskof moksa,"release,liberalion,redemption good;in v c sstudesoftime;'was notthe highest fact,ihalmoksa isfinallymeaningless, samsara and nirvarna beingequally oi lhe "empiiness, natureof sunyata, the voidl'lnthe samespirillhe HinduTantrc initialeexclaims: "Whoseeksnirvana?" "Whatis gainedby moksa?""Waiermingleswilhwater." Thispointo1viewis rendered in manyoftheconversalrons of shnawith hislaydisciples. Srl Ramakr "Onceupona iimelhetoldthemoneevening, " a sannyas n enleredthe templeof Jagganath. As he lookedat the holy mage hedebatedwithinhimselfwhelherGodhada iormor wasformess.Hepassed hisstafffrom lettto righttofeelwhelher il touched the image.The stafl touchednothing.He undersloodthat ihere wasnoimagebelorehim;heconcluded thatGodwasiormless. Nexthe passedthe stafi lrom righlto lefl.lt louchedthe image. Thesannyasin he realized understood thsatGodhadforrn.Thus ihatGodhasiormand,again,is formless."' "Whaiis vijnana?" hesaidon another "lt is know' occasion. ngGod in a specialway.The anclconviction thal tire awareness ex stsin woodis jiana,knowledge. Butlo cookriceon lhatf re, ealthe rice,andgetnourishment Jromil is vljnana, To know by one'sinnerexperience thal Godexistsis jfrana.Butto talk10
Tantraand Nirvan
Him,to enjoyHim as Child,as Friend,as Master'as Beloved'is hasbecomethe unlverse lhal God-alone vijnana.Therealization and all livingbeingsis vijnana."r in Brah_ annihilate Andwithrespecltotheidealofbecoming "I poel quoting Ram-prasad, the man.he wo!ld somelimessay, sugar."3a loveto eat sugar,I do notwantlo become lastes unendingsaviorshipby The lVahayanaBodhisattva devotinohimselfwilh absoluleselflessnesslc histeachingtask in lhe ;orlexof theworld;in the samespirit'the HinduTantric attitudeoi devoiio",(bhakti)' inthedualisitc initiate,by persevering of the omnLol enjoyswilhoulceasethebealitude the knowledge presenceol theGoddess. "The Divinel\rotherrevealedto me in the Ka|]templethat it lold his Srl Ramakrishna was Shewho had becomeeverything," of Consciouswas tull lhat everything "Sheshowedme friends. altarwasConscious ness.ThelmagewasConsciousness,lhe the doorsillwas Consciousness, were ness,the water-vessels all was was Consciousnessfloor marble the ConscioLrsness, soaked'asit the room inside l found eveMhing Consciousness. 4 were,in Bliss-theBlissof SatcidelnandaI sawa wicked manin lront of lhe Kall temple;but in him also I saw the Powerol the vibrating.That was why I fed a cat wilh ihe food Divinel\,4other io lhe DivineNrotherl' be ollered was lo thal 'l he he expraned to the palhol knowledge: tna.i,sricking "Not lhis, not saying, Reality, the reasons about aoain."alwavs 'that';lt is neilherthe !niverse nor is neither'this' th;s.'Brahm;n in this way,ihe mindbecomes nor its livingbeings.Reasoning goesintosamadhi' aspirant and the il disappears Then steady. convc_ ol Branmanll is lhe unwavering Ihrs,s lhe Knowledge illusory, lhe world is realand alone Brahman oJ the tion i62!frlthat Onecannot is cannolbedescribed. WhatBrahman llikea dream. ol the is the opinion This is a Person. that Brahman say even jfiern)s, the followersof Vedantaphilosophy They "Butlhebhaktasacceptalltheslatesol consciousness world to dontthinklhe be realalso.They slateto waking the take manl_ unrverse ls a lhat the say a dream.They like illusory, be
57
feslationof cod's powerand glory.God has createdallthese,sky, srars,moon,sun, mountatns, ocean,men,animals. They consti_ tuteHis glory-He is withinus, in our hearts.Again,He is outside. The most advanced devoteessay that He Hirnselfhas become all ihis-thetwentyJourcosmicprinciples, the universe,and a i ivingberngs.Thedev,oteeof God wantsto eat sugar,not to be, co.r'e suga(. (All laugh.) "Do you know how the lover of God feels ?,'R?lmakrishna "Hisattitudeis 'O God,Thouart the Nraster, continued. and I am Thy servanl.Thou ari the [,4other, and I am Thy child.'Oragainj 'Thou art my Father and l\rolher.Thou art the Whote,and I am a part.'Hedoesn'tlikelo say, Iam Brahman. "The yogl seeks to realize the Paramatman,the Supreme Sou . Hisrdeais the unionoftheembodied soulandtheSupreme Soul.He withdfawshismindtfom sense-objects and riles10con centrateit on the Paramatman.Therefore,duringthe first stage of his sprritual discjpline, he retiresintosoliludeand with undivded attentronpractices medilationin a fixed posture. "Bullhe Bealityis one and the same.The djife.enceis onty in name-He who ts Brahmanis verilyAtman,and again,He is the Bhagavan, the BlessedLord.He is Brahman10the followersof the path of knowledge,Paramatmanto ihe yogis,and Bhagavan 1othe lovers oi God. "The jRanis,who adhereto the nondualistic philosophyof Vedanta,say thal the acts of creation,preservation,and destruc_ tion,the universeilseliand all its ljvingbeings,are the manifeslations of Sakii, the Divine power.6lf you reason il out, you will reairzethalallthese are as illusoryas adream,Brahmanalone ls the Rea lly, and all else is unreal.Even this very Sakt ls unsubstantial, likea dream. "Bul thoughyou reasonall your lile, unlessyou are eslabrshedn samadhi,you cannotgo beyondthejurisdiction ol saktr. 'l trven when you say, I am meditating,, or am contempating,, slllr you are movingin the realmoi Sakti,withinlts power. "Thus Brahmanand Sakti are idenlical.li you accept lhe one, you must accept the olher. lt is like lire and iis power to burn. tf
58
Chapler.3
you seelhe fite,you mustrecognizeits powerto burnalso.You cannotihinkot lirewilhoulitspowerto bum,norcanyouthinkof oJthe sun's cannotconceive the oowertoburn withoutfire.You you conceiveof the sunwithoutils rayswithoutlhe sun,nor can rays. "Whatis milk like? Oh, you say,it is someihingwhite You cannot thinkol lhe milkwithoutthe whiteness,and again,you cannotthinkof the whitenesswilhoulthe milk. ''Thusonecannotlhinkol BrahmanwithoulSakti,or ot Sakti wilhoutBrahman.One cannotthinkof lhe Absolutewithoulthe without lhe Absolule Relatrve, or oJthe Belative preSheis creating, "ThePrimordial Poweris everat olay.7 is called play, wereThis Power as it serving,and destroyingin is verilyKall.ll is one andBrahman Kal. Kallis verilyBrahman, it we think ol as inactive,thal is lo When and the sameRealitypreservation, and cle_ acls ol crealion, say,notengagedin the in these lt engages But when lt Brahman. slruclion,thenwe call is one and lhe Reality Kan or Sakli.The we call it aclivilies.then form"3 in nane and is same;thedifforence expositionof theTantricpoint of viewwas This introductory sailingup and givenon lhe deck ot a littleexcursion-sleamer, 1882Keshab in afternoon beauliJulaulumn one downtheGanges, semi'Hindu' leaderolthe (1838'84), the distinguished Sen Chandra ol his a number with had come, Samai,s semi-Christian Brahmo suburb ol a Dakshineswal al Srl Ramakrishna following,to visit was sery' leacher the saintly where modern cily of Calculta, lhe ing as prieslin a templededicatedto the BlackGoddess,Kali wllha Hindugentleman, occidentalized Keshabwasa modern, progressive feli' humanislic, a salttvic, outlook, and cosmopolitan contempo' giousphilosophy-not !nlikethatol his NewEngland (andstodentof lhe BhagavadGi,a)' rary,theTranscendenlalist on the otherhand,was a Ramakrishna, RalphWaldoEmerson. ot English.nurluredin the ignoranl thoroughHindu-intentionally in the lechniquesol long-practiced molherland, traditionsol his oi God experience filled with the and introverted contemplation, a meelwas leaders two religious ol these togeiher Thecoming
Tantraand Nirvan
59
ing ol the modern,timelyIndiaand lhe timeless-ihe modern of India withlhe half-torgotten consciousnes divine symbolsof ls own unconscious. Noteworthy, moreover,is lh€ lact that on thisoccasion theteacherwas nottheWestern-educated, tailored gentleman, whohadbeenentertained in Londonby ihe QLreen, bLrllhe yogi in his loincloth, speaking ol the traditional Indian Godsoutol his owndirectexperience. KESHAB(witha smile):"Describeto us, sir! in how many waysKali,the DivineMother,sportsin thisworld." SBI RAI\,IAKRfSHNA (alsowilha smile)."Oh, She ptaysin dilferenlways.ll is She alonewho is knownas Nraha,Kall ["The GreatBlackOne"l,Nitya-Kall BlackOne"], ["TheEverlasting Smasana-Kali Ground"], BaksA-Kel ["Ka|ioftheCremation ["coblin Kall"l,and Syama-Kalll"DarkKali"].l\4ahe-Kali and Nitya-Kal] aremenlionedin the TantraPhilosophy. Whentherewereneither lhe creation,nor the sun,the moon,the planets,and the earth. andwhendarknesswasenveloped indarkness, then lhe Mother, lheFormless One,Ivaha'kall, th6GreatPower, wasonewilhlvlahd, Kali{lhisis the masculineformol the samenamel,theAbsolute. "Syama-KaIhasa somewhaltenderaspect andis wofshiped n lheHindLr households. Sheis theDispense I ol boonsand the Dspellerof fear. PeopleworshipRaksa'Kal,lhe Protects, in limesol epidemic,tamine,earthquake, drought,and flood. Smasana-Ka|j istheembodimentof thepowerof deskuclion. She residesin thecremalionground,surrounded by corpses,jackals, and lerriblefemalespirils.FromHer mouth flows a streamol blood,lrom Herneckhangs a gadandofhumanheads,and around Herwaistis a girdlemadeolhumanhands. ''Atlerthe deskuction of the universe,at the end ol a great cycle,lhe Divinel\,4other garnersthe seedsforihe nexlcreation. She is likelhe elderlymislressof the house,who has a holchpotch-polin whichshe keeps differentarticleslor the householduse.(A laugh),Oh,yes ! Housewiveshavepotstikethat. wherethey keepseajoam, bluepills,smallbundlesof seedsof cucumber,pumpkin,and gourd,and so on.Theytakelhem out whentheywantthem.in th€ sameway,afterthe desiruclionof
Chapter-3 the Lrniverse, my Divinel\,4other, the Embodimenlol Brahman, galherstogetherthe seedsfor the next creation.Aflerthe crea_ tion lhe PrimalPowerdwells in the universeitsell.She bfigs Iotrlh this ohenomenalworld and lhen oervades il. In lhe Vedas creationis likenedto the spiderand itsweb.Thespiderbringslhe web out ol itseliand then remainsin il. God is lhe conlaineroi the un verse and also whal is containedin it. ''ls Kall,my Divineftrolher, ol a blackcomplexion? She appears blackbecauseShe is viewedlrom a dislance;but when inl matey knownShe is no ongerso-The sky appeafsbluea1a d stafce; but look ai air closeby and you willfind thal it has no co or.The waterol the oceanlooksblue at a distance.bul when yolrgo nearandiake it in yourhand.you tindthat I s colorless.' Sri Ramakrishana. lilledwith lover {or the Goddess,lhen sang to hertwo songsoflhe Bengalidevoleeand yogi Ramprasad, after which he resumed his talk. "The Divine Mother is always sportive and playful-This unr' verse is Her play. She is sell-willedand must always have her o\vn way. She is full ol bliss.She gives freedom lo one oul ot a hundredthousandl' A BRAHMo DEVoTEE:"But,sir, if She tikesShe can g ve lreedomto all.Why,then,has She kept us boundto the world?" SRI RAMAKRISHNAT "Thatis Her will. She wantsto cont nue p ayingwiihHercrealedbeings.In a gameof hide-and-seek the runninqaboutsoon siops if in the beginningall the players touchthe granny'.lfalltouchher,lhen howcan the gamego on? the game. Thatdrspleases her.Her pleasureis in continuing "lt is as if lhe DivineMothersaidto lhe humanrnindin conJidence,wilh a sign from Her eye, Go and enjoythe world."How ilselllrom can one blamethe mind ? The mind can disentangle worldliness ri, throughher grace.She makesit turn lowardHerseli." Sri RamakrishnanSingingagainthe songsol Rampraseld, lerruptedh s discourse,but then continued."Bondageis ol the mind.and freedomis also ol the mind.A man is Jreeil he con-
Tantraand N rvan
stantlythinks:l am a freesoul.Howcan lbe bound,whelherI llvein theworldor in the foresl? | am a childof God,lhe Kingoi canbindme?'ll bittenbya snake, manmaygel rid Kings.Who 'There a poison is no in me.' ol its venomby sayingemphalically, withgritanddelerminalion, Iam ]n thesameway,by repeating noi bound,I am lree.'onereallybecomesso-onereallybecomes free. gavefie a bookottheChristians. "Onesomeone Iaskedhim to read it io me. lt talkedabout nothingbul sin. (Io Keshab ChandraSeri) Sin is lhe onlythingone hearsol at yourBrahmo Sam?rj, too.Thewretchwhoconstantly says, Iam bound,lam Hewhosaysdayandnighl, boundlonly succeeds in beingbound. lam a srnner, lam a sinne('really becomes a srnner. "Oneshouldhavesuchburningfailhin godthalone cansay: 'What ? | haverepeatedthenameol God,andcansinsiillclingto me ? Howcan I be a sinnerany more? Howcan I be in bondage "ll a man repealsthe nameof God,his body,mind,and eve' pure.Whyshould rylhing become onetalkaboul sinandhell,and suchthings? Saybul once,'O Lord,I haveundoubtedly done wicked lhings,builwon'trepealthem.'And havelaith inhisnamel' SriBamakrishna sang: li onLyI can passawayrepeatingDurga'sname; HowcanslThou then,O Blessed One, Withholdfrommedeliverance, Wretched thoughlmay be ? . ... . . Then he saad:"To my Divine Motherlprayed only for pure love, I olleredflowersat Her Lolus Feet and prayedto Her: Mother,hereis Thy virtue,hereis Thyvice.Takethembothand granlmeonly purelovelorThee.Hereis Thy knowledge, hereis Thy ignorance. Takethembothand grantme only pure lovefor Thee.Here is Thy purity,here is Thy implriiy.Takethem both, l\,4olher, andgrantmeonlypureloveforThee.HereisThydharma, hereisThy adharma.Take themboth,lvlother, andgranlme only
62
Chapter-3
purelovetorThee."lo In Tantrathe theisticallitudepraclicallyobljlerateslhe abBrahman(nigunabrahman)in lavol stractidealof the Forrnfess (sagunabahman)-lheLotd (lsvara), olBrahman-in-the-Gunas the personalGod;and lhe latteris representedby the Tantrics preferablyin thelemale aspect,sincein thisthe natureol i,leyaSakli is mosl immedialelyallirmed.lrThe Tantricdevelopmeni thereturnlo powerin popular Hinduism olthefigureoi supporled names-Devi,Durga,Keli, theMotherGoddessoftheinnumorable Parvall,Uma,Sau,Padme,Candl,Tripura-sundari, elc.-whose past,hadbeenovershadowed for a cull,rootedin lhe Neolithic yearsby lhe maiedivinilies periodol abouta thousand ol lhe palriarchalAryan panlheon.The herGoddess beganto reassert period is lhe chief in ihe later Upanisads.l2 She today seii of the diviniiyagain.All the consorlsol lhe variousgodsare her manifeslalions,and,as lhe saktior'powe|"of theirhusbands,represent the energythat has broughl the lalterinto manileslalion. lhe Worldllluf/oreover,as lrahamaya,theGoddesspersonifies sion. withinthe boundsand thralldomof whichexist all torms whalsoever,whethergrossor subtle,earlhlyor angelic,even gods.Sheis theprimary embodimenl ol lhe thoseoJthehighest principle, lranscendent andas suchthemolheroi allnamesand who lorms."GodHimself;'statesRamakrishna, "is lVahamarya, the worldwilhHorillusion andconjuresupthemagrcof delLrdes and destruction. She hasspreadthis veil creation,preservation, beforeoureyes,We cango intotheinnerchamber of ignorance onlywhenSheletsus passthroughlhe door]l3lt is entirely possiblelhat in lhis reinstatemenl of the Goddess,bolh in the popularcultsand in the deepphilosophy of the Tantra,we have of lhenon-Aryan. anolhersignol lhe resurgenceol ther€ligiousity pre-Aryan,matriarchal tradilionol Dravidiantimes. The T?rnlricmovemenldiJfershom Jainismand Buddhism. however,inasmuchas it adheresto lhe authorityof the Vedas, seekingratherto assimilaleand adjustitselllo the orlhodoxtradil on thanlo excludeand refuleit. ln thisit paralelsthe patttern ol Tarntric andVedelnlic ol popularHinduism. Indeed, themixture life, rilual, and ihoughl is so intlmatelhat n modern Hlndu lraits
Tanra and Nirvan
63
speak wholeTheTantrlcs as anorganic lhemselves tnevoresent Age' lron This "The lor "The Veda Veda; Fillh ol t;eir lexts as glven;rc'r (Veda) was sruti ages, four world "Forthe Jirsl ol the the second, smrti( lhe teachingsof the sages,DharamasastG' etc.).tor the third, purara (the epics,etc.),and lor lhe lourth' agama(lheTantrictexts)."r4 whosesludAs hasbeenpointedoul by Sir JohnWoodrolte' published Tantra of the examinations important ies are the mosi thal its claim Agama of the "Tie tollowers Sakta ln moderntimes: men 'As oi the Veda very core the conlain "books"] Tanlras[i.e., requlreo moralslrenglh and longevity capacity, havenoIongerlhe lthe ritualsectionol the ori th" Vuidikakarma_kanda to "urrv prescribes a Sadhan?r keligiousdiscr Sirslra Tanlra Vedal,ihe ofallSaslra' end ofthecommon atlainment torlhe its own olinelof at length and lherealter' Heaven earlh, life on happy is. a thai Liberationl'r5 truthof Advaita acceptlhe andpopularHinduism BoththeTanlra The Vedanlabul shill the accentto lhe posiliveaspeclol may?r' otlhe ol thedynamicaspect worldis lhe unendingmanifestation as anddiscarded devaluated nol be should such and as divine, enllghl' penelrated by butcelebraled, and mpedection, suJJerlng hairoJthe with understanding.The experienced and in-sight, ening dancewhich seltmaddened in herfrantic' Godiessis d shevelled perfecl devoteels nol producesthe mirageol samsara,bul the 'Thou ghthemotherbeathiml'saysRamprasad, iherebvdismayed. 'lhe childcries Mother' clingssiilllighterto her l O lvlother,'and yoglneverliresoi stalinglhar kaivalya' qarmenll'16The Vedalnlic iisolalion-integration," can beattainedonlybyiurningawayfrom withsingle-pointed allureol theworldandworshiping thedistracting to theTarntrichoweveF attenlionthe formlessBrahman_Alman; as to the normalchild ol the wodd-lhisnolionseemspathologieffectof a certainmaladyof inlellect By cal,lhe wrong-headed of liberanotmerelytheseeking thetrueloveaottheGoddess, tionbut evenits attainmenlis notdesired Forwhatis the useot ? "llikeealingsugarl'asRamprasad salvation i{il meansabsorption Lei thosewho said."butI haveno desireto becomesugarl'l7 suiferJromthe loilsol samsaraseekreleasellhe perfecl devo'
Chapter-3
teedoesnotsuffer;iorhecanboihvisualize andexperience life andthe universe as therevelaiion DivineForce oi thatSupreme DivineBefsakf,withwhlchheis in love,theallcomprehensive ing in its cosmicaspectoJplayiul,aimlessdrspay (l)le) which precipilates painas wellas joy,butin its blisstranscends them both.He is lilledwiththe holymadnessof that "ecstalic love" theworld. /prema)whichtransmutes Thisveryworldis a mansion ol rnirth; Herelcan eai,hefedrinkand make merry,13 Arlha(prosperity), kama{thefulJillment of sensual desires), dharma(theenactmenl ot thereligiousandmoralritualsof everyday iie,withan acceptance ol lhe burdenof allthe duties). and moksa(release polarity fromil all)areone.The of moksaandthe trrvargars is iranscended anddissolvednotin inlrovertedrealizalionalone,butin livingfeeling as well.Byivirlueof his talentof overior the merciJul Goddess.the true devoteediscoversthat lhelourfold iruitof anha,kama,dharma, andmoksalalls intothe palmcf hishand. "Come,lei us go ior a walk,O mind,to Kali,the WishjulfilingTree," wroteRztmprasad; "Andtherebeneathlt gatherthe toLrr fruitsol life."20 "ThemindeverseekstheDarkBeautiful One. hestatesagain."Doas youwish.WhowantsNirvana ?" Tanlrism, as a matterof course,insislson theholiness and purityof all things;hence,the "fiveforbidden thtngs"("thelive l\,4's, as they are called)constitutelhe subsianceof the sacramentalfarein certainTanlricriles:wine (madya),meal (memsa) lish (malsya), parchedgtain (mudA),21ands exualintercou rse (maithuna). As lnlhe patallellvahayana initiations,22 thenondualist realizationmakesall the worldone-one,holy,and pure.All bengs and lhingsare membersof a singiemystic"lamily" (kula). Thereis therefore nothought of castewilhintheTanirc holy,,circles" fcakr4.Sirdras,outcastes, andBrahmans alikeareeliegible for initiation-if spirilually competent. The aspirantmustonlvbe inlelligent, wilhhis sensescontrolled, one who abslainstrom injurng anybeing,everdoinggoodto all,pure,a betiever in the Veda,anda nondualist, whose faithand relugeare in Blahman:
65
''Sucha one is cornpetent for ihis scripture;otherwisehe is no adepll'23 whatsoOnes secuar socialstandingis oi no consequence Moreover, everw thin lhe sphereof lhe truly spiritualhierarchy. womenas wellas menare eligrblenot onlyto receivethe highesl nit ation but also lo confer11in the role ol guru. "lnlation by woman is e{licacous;that by the mother is eightlloldso,"we read n Ihe Yoginifanta.24ln strikrngcontrastto the Vedic texts,wherein evenlhe hearingoitheVedais lorblddenio a sidra, and whereln lo a secondary(lhoughhighy praisedand womenare consigned sphereoi spiritualcompetencyand aspiralion, senlimentalized) the Tantraslranscendthe limits ol social and biologica differentLaIton. lo However,il musi nol be supposed lhat thls indifference wlthin the social idea of revolution caste imDlies anv lhe rulesol from the sphereof spiritualprogress. sphere,as distinguished The initiaterelurnsio hispost in society;lorthereto, is the mani' festat on of Sakti. The world is aitirmed, iusi as ii is-neither re nounced, as by an ascetic, nor correcied, as by a socia re_ to the initlation beingan acluaisupefroriormer-Theprerequisite ity to iear and desire,and ihe rite ilsell a conlirmationoi the lhat all is divlne,the lrue lover ol the Goddess understanding remalnscontentw th what She has beslowed,not findinglault wth the varlols lradilionalproprietiesol time and pace, but beholdng the D vine power,with whom he is himsellidenticalin essence,withn a I arrangements, For the idea ol dharmais intrinsicto Indianthought.The sacramento1lhe "tlvelorbiddenthings"does not open a way to eitherliberlrnism or revolution.On the planeof ego-consciousnes, whereone operatesas an individual memberof society,the dharma oione's casleand as€ma25stillprevails,the heighlbeyonddharma and adharmabeingascendedonly by one in whomthe mindhas beentranscended-in whichsupetiorstatetherecan be no quest on oi a desireio enioythe benetitsot illegalpractices.The Terntric ritualof wine,rneai,lish,parchedgtain,andsexualintercourse is accomplishednot as a lawbreakingrevel, but uhderthe caulious superuisionof a guru,in acontrolledstate of"nondualist"(advaitic)
66
Chapler-3
realizalicn, and as the culminating festivalola longsequenceol spjril!aldiscrplnes, lhroughmanylives.Thespirrlual emotionol the adept s p/ema:ecslaiic,egoless,beatificblissin lhe realzationol transcendenl idenlily. Comrngdownagainlrornthissub ime he ght oi lorm annrhrlaling realization to lhe kingdomof phenomenality, d lferentation s seen but lhere is no estranEement; there s no lendency lhen lo deprecate-lor there s no guilt,therehasbeenno Fal.The wor d doesnol requirelo be reform€d; norare ts lawstobed sregarded.Allol lhe variousplanesoi manilestalion ol lhe abso ute can be beheldin a dispassionate spirit.The so id, the liquid,and the gaseousslatesol lhe one substance,underdiiteringcondl trons,producrng differingetfects,are acceptedw thout moralor preierence, emotronal For lhe wholespeclacleoi the world,with" out exceplon,is generateC by the dynamismof t\,4dyA Sakti,lhe poweroflhe cosmicdancefrla)ol thedarkand terrble subtrm€, al -ilourishing and consurnlng lrotheroi lhe Wor d The be ngs ol the world.and a I the rangesol experience, are but wavesand strata n a srnge. ever-llowng, universaslreamoi ie. Obviously, lhrsis the viewlhatwe havealreadyencountered manynmes n our presenlexamrnatron oi ihe phi osophes oi ndia.The hymn lrom the Taittiiya BAhmana. cetebratng the substance and energyol the world as iood,26was based on a nondualism ofluslthiskind.Thereleasedrebornce ebrateshrm se I as iood and-ealer;for lhough the grossoutersheathof the organrsm,lfieshealhol lood" (annamayakosa), s nol the whole oi lhe divinemanileslation (therebeing,rn the subtlesphereol lhe severa Innersheaths,more subtleiormatons and Incarna, t ons of the SupremeEssence),neveriheess "lood s nol to be despised.The realityof Brahmanwas realizedn the orlhodox VedicBrahmanlraditronprogresstvely, undervar ous manileslatrons:as the ife'malterot the materialwortd,in the Hymno1lood oras the sun, he whoyonderg owsl in a rnultitudeoi olherBrahmanic sofgs ol celebralion; or again,as the macrocosmtc lfe brealh he who blows,"which isthe counterpart of lhe microcos arzayu), trlicpnna.
Tanlraand Nirvan
67
Thfoughoutthe historyoi BrahmanthoughlIherehas beena or vigorously vrolenland passionale, reiteraledasserton_eilher controled-thallhe "One s bothat oncel'andin lhis respeclTanlrism conlinueslhe orlhodoxVedc Ine. Everyihingproceedslrom lhe samesLpernalsource.A1lbeingsare membersol a s ng e ho y iam y, proceedng frornthe one and only divinesubslanceAnd thisv ew nvolvesas we haveseen,on the one handdevaluatlon of lhe peculrarypersona nuancesoi individuality,bul on the other a bold all rmatlonol a i thal may evercometo be Maya, lhe word iluson is nol to be rejectedbul embracedThe lyrigaveexpressionto thiswolld alf rmalve cismoi ihe Vedanla-Gitars27 again. And t is reilectedtodaythrouqhlhe The Tantradoes so A populdr lheologes. go Hi-du I or wro e ra Bu1thereis a pecular and essentiailrail oi the TanlricYea or al leasl whichd slinguishesil lfom lhe eaflierphilosophles ior commentanesl texts and in lhe orthodox appear lheseas lhey preclsely by means ilumination islo achieve lheldealolTenlfism wh ch the earllersagessought lo oanlsn oi those very obJecls The ancientVediccult was wor d al iher conscrousness. irom primari y lhoseol the vasl popuar an0 ntes were ts but firmative. roya ceremonals n honorol lhe gods ol lhe macrocosm:lhey oi the m crocosm did noi nv te onelo lathomthe deepresources to the nlro_ The forestph osopherson the olher hand_devol-ad vert technques ol Jainsm, Yoga,SarnkhyaVeddnta and lhe to repressthe r personabio og ca mpulsesby Hinayana-slrove themsevesto a spirtua reducng diellor lhe conquer sublecting ing oi rajas,lamasandthe vasanas(1hevesselsof memoryand desire);and whenlhrslranslerredlhem t naly to a p ane beyond Indeed,they had had lo sin and virtLr€they remaineovirtuoLls. casl awavthe capacilytor s nnrngat the very starl, as the llrsl lo a guru2eBulin theTanlrawhereas prerequsiteol theirapproach yogi (notworldlypower,suchas lhe goalis thal ol the medrtating \"/assoughtby the anc ent Brahmanconiurersof lhe iorcesol lhe un verse.but en thtenmenl,absoluleconsciousnessand lhe being),lhe mannerofapproachrslhal bealitucle ol lranscendenlal s af nol oi Nay.bul ot Yea.Thal is to say,the world_altltude as gods addressed are now iifmalive,as in lhe Veda,but the dwellLng wlthrnthe m crocosm.
ChapieF3
Thus it may by said lhat.i{ the Vedantaseems to represenl lhe conqueslolthe monisticAryanBrahmanheritageby the dual atron ist ideoogy oi the pre-Aryanseekersof nlegralion-iso (kaivalya),2e in thefan].tawe are, perhaps,jusllfiedin recognizing oJ hp p'e-Aryanp'oblusl the oopositeinlluence:a rerenderrrg lem of psychophysical transubstaniialion in iermsot the nondual poinl ol view Here the philosophyof the all'affirmaliveBrarhmanlc candidateforwisdomdoes notseeka detourby whichto circumvenl the sphereof the passions-crushing themwilhinhlmselfand shuttingh s eyeslo their manileslalionswithoul,until, made clean as an angle, he may sately open his eyes again to regard the gaze oi a dlsembodied cycloneof samsarawilh the untroubled appartion.Quitethe conifary;theTanlrichero lvir.algoes directly lhrougl,the sphereof greatesl danger. ll is an essentialprincipleoi the Tantric dea that rnan,in general,rnuslriseihroughand by rneansof nalure,not by lhe rejeclionof nature,"As one falls onlo lhe ground:'lhe Kularnava Ianfra stales," so one must lift oneselJbythe aid of lhe groundl'3o The pleasureof love,ihe pleasureof humantee ing,is the blissof the Goddessin her world-productive dance,the b iss oi sivaand his saktiin theirelernalrealization oi identity;only as knownln the inleriormode of ego-consciousness,The creatureoi passion has only to wash away his sense ot ego, and then the same act that formerlywas an obstructionbecomeslhe tide that bears him to the rea izalion of the absolute as bliss (ananda.).Moreover, this lide of passionitself may becomethe baptizingwater by which the taint of ego-consciousnessis washedaway.Followrng the Tantric method,the hero (vila) floais beyond himselton the rousedbul canalizedcurrent.This is whal has discredlted ihe melhodin the eyesofthe community.ltsheroicaccepiance,withoul quibble,oflhe fullimpacland implication olthe nondualcelebration o1the world as Brahman has seemed far too bo d, and too sensational, lo lhose whose view oJ saintlinessembrancesol Lord's transcendentrepose but omits lhe detail oi Hrs mystery play (r/a) of continuouscreation. A right methodcannotexclude the body;.for the body is devala, the visible form of Brahmanas jlva. "The Sadhaka [ihe
Tantraand Nirvan
69
Tantric student 1,"writes Sir John Woodroffe, "is taught noi 1o ihink lhat we are one withlhe Divinein Liberaliononly,bul here and now,in everyacl we do.For in truthallsuchis Sakti.ll is srva thisis who as Saktiis actingin and throughlhe Sadhaka...When ia natu ral function, then, each exercise thereoi ceases realized every to be a mere animal act and becomes a religiousriie-a Yajia. Every funci on is a part of the Divine Action (sakt| in Nalure. T h u s , w h e n t a k i n g d r i n k i n t h e l o rwmi noef l h e V i r ka n o w s i t t o b e that is, the SaviourHerselfin liquidform.'How Tara Dravamayl, (it is said)can he who trulysees in it the Saviourl\lotherreceive Iromii harm? .....Whenthe Vlra eats.drinksor hassexualinter course,he doesso notwithlhe thoughlof himselfas a separate rndlvidualsatisiyjnghis own peculiarlimitedwants,an animal filchingas il werefrom natureiheenjoymenlhe has,butlhinking ol himselfin such enjoymentas Siva, saying'Sivo'ham,"Bhairavo' harn'('l am siva)."31 Sex, in Tantrism,has a high symbolicrole.The holylear of forcesin humannaiureand the consequent the uncontrollable whichchar strictresrstance to lhe animalinsiinctsand energies, acterizethe common hislory oJman lrom the earliesttabooto the iatesi moral tract, can be exolainedas the result and residue of devastatingexperiencesin the past of the race and the by-prodof a uct ol the successfui,historicalstrugglefor independence The primiiiveforces,out of the higher,"purel, spiritualprinciple. depihsol whichthis principlearose,like the victorioussun, Sol Invicius,climbinglhe heavensout oi the stormysea (theturbulentabodeol lhe monstersof the deep),hadto be checked,held at bay and tiedback,likeihe GreekTilansmprisonedLlndervol canic Aetna, or like the greal Dragon of the Revelationof Strocking John.The very realperilofan elementary Lrpheavaland outbursi led io the conslructionoi proieclivedichotomicsyslems, such as lhose,not only of jainismand the Senkhya,bui also of the PersianZoroaslrian ethical religion,lhe Gnosis oi the Near East,Christianity, Manichaeism, andtheusualcodesol manners of primitiveand clvilizedmankind.In India,in the ancientworld, and and among mogt of the peoplesknown10 anthropologisls historians,there has been, however,an inslitutionalizedsyslem
7A
ChapleF3
Tanlraand Nirvan
ol festivals iesl vaLsol the gods and gen i ol vegelalionwhereby.wrlhoutdangerlo lhe community, the conventonal frc, I on ol good and evi couldbe suspendedlor a momenland an experencepermttedot the mighlyt tan,powersoi lhe deep.Carniva , the day ot masks,revealing a I the odd iormsthal dwellin the prolundiies oj the soul,spillsforthits symbos. and for one dreamike.nrghlmarish, sacredday,theordered.t m d consciorJsnessireelyrevelsin a sacramenlally canaizedexperence oJ(s
''torbidden. and resoves everythingintighl;recognizngineve rylhng the one Saktrwh ch /s lhe generatsupporlof the wortd. macrocosm c as we I as microcosmic, the molh€rof the godsand eives,lfreweaverof lhe moon-dream ot historyTherewithcomes releaselromthe wor d il us on-release throLrgh ts Iultenjoymenl Hencethe greatTantrlclormuta(so difierenttromthatol lhe eariierH nduyog c drscrptines): yoga(theyokingoi empiricatcon sciousnesstotranscendenta consctousness)andbhoga(,enloy, meni. lhe experence of liles loy and sullering)are the sarne Bhoga lseli can be madea way ol yoga.
The masksare dream ke Drearnlike also are th-ocamtva events. ndeed.lhe wor d ol sleepintowh ch we descendevery n ght. when the tensionsof consciousness are re ared. is pre. cisey lhai fromwhrchlhe demons,eives d vine and devilshlig uresof lhe wor d mythologies havea I beenderived.Ali the qods dwe w thinus, wil ing to supporl!s, and capabteoi supporling us. bul they requirethe subrnission ol conscousnessan abd cal r o no l s o v e r e i g nol yn t h e p a r to f o u r c o n s c i o u sw i l s l n s o f a r , Iowevo. c,
h o i r l l l ae o o r e g d r d s r r : o r d n p ' d n
d.
71
Brl rt requrresa herc (vira)lo confrontand assimtate.rn perlectequanm ty, the wholewondero{ the WortdCreatrix to make ov€.withoUlhystericalreacirons, to th€ Liie lorce,wh ch s the saktiof h s own entrrely.Thefivegoodthtngs (pancatattva). urhichare lhe forbdden lhrngs'oi lhe ordinaryrnenand women oi the herd seruehas sacramenlalfare lor one who not onty knowsbul fee s that the WortdForce fsaklil s n essenceh mse f. lf Tanlra,the worshipof lhe WorldCreatrixin her ownterrns s renderedpossibe, ior cohabtalion (maithuna). her awn sn pr€meholy r te. s rea zed nol n the spiritoi lhe pasir('ca te l lile humananimalol lhe h€rd,desiring,learng, and enjoyingrn the Lrsual an ma -humanway).bul of the vtra(',hero,,)who knows lr msell to be identrcalwith Siva."Om,"he prays(and knows)i ' nto the F re which ls Sp ri Gtnan)btighlened by the pour ng on oiihegheeofmertand demeril,t,bythepathoiyoga(susumnb). eversacrI ce lhe functionsof ihe senses,usjngthe m nd as the adleoi lhe offering.Hallelujah 1"32 The Ir!lt ot the rte then is releasetromllus on. which rs lhe hrgheslg it ot Katl,lhe darkand beauliut Goddess-Dancer of the C.emation Ground
oba.t
resistsrgorouslythe lorcesoi ts div ne substral!m The gods lhereuponbecom€dangerousfor I, and lhe indivd!al becomes hrsown he The ancientpeopl€made madepeacewrlhthe ex cludedtorcesby holdingthem n worshipand a low ng lhem ther daemonrccarniva even whie cullivatng, simutaneously. un der the lorms of sacrifces lo lhe hrghergods,a fruillulrelalionship w th the Iorcesimplcatedin the soc al system.And by this meanstheywon the permrssion, so lo speak,oJlherrown uncon sc ous to conlinuein lhe conventionalconscrous atttludeoi prolBul theTantrcsadhakais nol interesledIn conventona surv valso mlch as in ihe falhomingol ife and the d scoveringoi ils I melesssecrel Hencelhe makeshiltoi carntva rs nol enoughi lor lh s on y supporlslhe genera ilus on. Hts goa s to incorporale lhe excludedlorcesas well as lhose accepledgeneraly and experence by this meanslhe essenlialnonexistence ol the polarity-ils anlagonistic vanishingaway,its nirvana,.e. the Inlr|nsicpurilyandlnnocence of the seemingly darkand dangerous sphere. n lhs way he breakswithn himsellthe tenson of the
.l
72
Chapler-3
The Lamb, the Hero,and lhe Man-God _NoONE who is not himselfdivinemay (successfully) worshlp lhe divrnity(radeyo devam arcayet):'33"Havingbecome lhe deity. one shouldotler sact\liceloit(devam bitua devamyalet)."3a The dentityol the hiddennatureol the worshiperwiih lhe god worshipedis the firslprincipleof lhe Tantricphilosophy oi devo' tion.The gods are rellexesin space(whrchis iiselllhe work ol mAya-sakli) ol lhai soe realily,Erahman,which s the Sakli ol lhe devolon, the T;lnlricsadhakaapproachesthe Goddessin worsh p fprF.),throughlhe medilativemutler ng al ptayerc ljapa: lhe recitaton ol the tany of her names),the unrelenling verba repettron(againjapa)ol sacredtormulaefmarllarword-sounds which containher essence),lhe makingof menlaland externa oiterings(homa),and one'pointedmedilalionon her nnervision (dhyana).He could never hope lo experiencelhe final ideniily l, he were nol alreadyconvincedand awareol itfromlhe lrsl. [,4eanwhile.lo supporl his preliminaryapproach,he sels beforeh s eyes and m nd an image (Pratika,Pratima)ol the deity.Thls may be a jtd Le pdl4ln9.sy'nbololsornek nd.or ya^ rd:15- soeca ca:es lt may be a livingbelng,lor exarnple, a virginfkunAipije), at lhe The fifst act of devolon consistsin conlempating inwardly the mentalimageof the deity and then prolectingthe spifilua energy(lejas)ofthatrnnersublle lorminlothe grossouierimage. This consecrationis known as pranpratisfha, lhe cons gnment (prat,stti) of the vital breath (prana."ll is to be undone agarn at lhe conclusionoilhe periodot worshipby a "dismissal'(visaqana) of the holypresence,foliowingwhichthe imageis no longerlhe seat ot a deity (pilha), and may be lhtown away.The worsh per sends forthand takes back agarnlhe shiningfofm. lusl as the Crealorsends forth and lakes back again into his lnfinte substancethe maniloidol the cosmos-and by virtue of lhe same nlinilnde(brahman-Atmar)w thin, as wel as the sarnem rac e ol mayarLaler,wheninitale learnslo recognizeand spontaneously respondto lhe presence01the divinityeverywhere,n a I th ngs nlual.but he no ongerrequires lhe pedagogicalass slanceotthLs
TanlraandNirvan
73
his mtnd and sentimemenls meanwhrle mustbe givenhelp The I tile rniracleoi transubstantialiof, however, is ralhera microcosmic than a macrocosmic crisis.Divinityitseltcannotbe satd lo havebeenactuallysummonedand dismissed; ralher,lhe reall zation ol dvin ly has been facilitaled.For, whereas lhe adept in thecondilron of perteclrealization beholdsand revereslhe whole ,,vorld as an rconor seat (pithalof the UniversalPresence.lhe usua memberot lhe humanherd fpasu)requiresallthe assist anceof re|g on lo brlnghis mindfromthe common,animal,economic'polI ca modeol considerrng lhtngs,lo the contemptalive all tudeol a luminousintuiton. The ritesperformedn lhe presenceoi a consecraledimage are lhe counlerparls ol the secularritualsoi dai y iite.The god s welcomedas a guest,wtth flowers,obe sance,washingof the . iee1.Iood,waterlof balhing,clothlor garrnenls, tewels,perfume. ncense.offeringsoi variouskinds,praise,and conversation.36 These redound.in turn, to the sancljiication ol dailv lilet for a guesl is welcomedwilh the same ceremoniali a oarenlts hon o u r e d a s a g o da, n d a c h i l d a t t e n d e d a s a g o d . T h e s a n c t i l y o l t h e Presence peruades thusperceptibly the socialsphere. Rilualqes -'6s mudl;, also are e'r"p.oyed ,n the worsFrp. and t-esp, ||-a words,ar-othe expresstons and supportsol spriual resove. Thesegeslures,or mudras,atedenticalwilh lhosereDresenled I Indan magesand uliiizedin the arl of lhe Indiandance.Thev .on:l ule a ve table ,a-gLa9aoi lhe handS,flaL -g pos)roF the mosl sublleamplifications of expressionFor example,when presenting,rt olfering,lhe vessei oiwater,thefish gesture fmaisya mud,.a/ rs made."Thisis done as lhe expression ol the wishand inlenlron lhat lhe vesselwhichconlainswatermay be regarded a s a n o c e a nw i l h l s h a n da l l o t h e r a q u a t i c a n i m a l s . T h e s a d h a k a sayslo the Devalaol his worship,this ts but a smailolleringof waterIn lacl,bul so far as my desirelo honoufyou is concerned. fegardt as tj | \/ereoflenngyouan oceanl3T Or again.whenlh€ Goddesss nv ted lo take her place,beforethe momenlof wor sn p.lhe yatlimudra s made,s nce lhe yon the female orqan, l " o h " o l a n l r a . T h e y o n . c d - - e voeer . e q d . o e o b y tda ; t r r adeplotherlt,rse than as an altar.Thereiore.when the sadhaka
74
Chapler3
has allainedto perfection in ihis disciplinehe can proceedto the most appropriate and congeniallorm ol payingworshipto lhe Goddess,in marthuna, Bhitasuddhi,at"Ihe cleansing(suddhrotthe (five)elements of whrch the body is composed (bhita)," is an indispensable preliminaryto everyTantric rite.Thedevoleeimaginesthe divine power (sakt)as beingasleepwithjnhim,wilhdrawntrornoperaton inhs grossphysique,coiledaway likea sleepingserpent (kundalin)) aI lhe rcat ol his spine,in the deep place known as the muEdhAra,"lhe tool (mula) base fadhara)l'The sadhaka then pronouncesmanlrato arouseher,whilecontrollngcaretullyhis nhalatrons,breathingdeeply{irstthroughone nostril then the olhet @renayema),Ioclearihe way for her throughthe spiritual channelfsusumne)thalissupposedtorunlhroughihe inlerorol the spine.He is lhen to thinkof her as aroused.She lifts her head and beginsto move up lhe susumna,louchlng ln her passage a numberoi "centers"or"lotuses" (caktas,padmas),which are regardedas the sealsof the elementsot lhe body.The mu adhara ls ihe seal oi "earth";jt is picturedas a crimsonlotus ol tour petals.The next center above,called svadhlsthera (sakl's "own abode"), is at the level oi the genilalsand is the seal oi the elerrent"watel'iii s plcturedas a vefmiltonlolus ol six petals. The nexl, ai the level of the navel, is known as manipura,"the c|ly (pilra)ol the luslfous gem (manr," so called because 1 is the seal of the elemenl'iire".lt is picluredas a blue-black lotusoi len pelals.Accordingto the psychology of thissystemol lotuses: muladhara,svadhislhana, and manipuraare the centerslrom whichthe livesoJmosl peopleare governed,whilethe superior ceniers represenlhigher modesol experience.The fourth, at the levelof the head, is the lolusin whichthe firsi realization ol the divinilyof the worid is experienced.Here, it is sald, the god reachesdowntolouchhisdevotee,Oragain,herethesageshear the sound fsabdal of Brahman.Sounds heard by the ouler ear are producedby "twothingsstrikingtogetherl' whereasthe sound ofBrahmanis anehab sabda,"Ihesound (sabda)which comes without the stfiking of any two things together Gnahah);'3afhis soundis OM; not the OI\l pronouncedby the lips,whichis but a
Tant|aand Nirvan
75
produced mnemonic suggestion by theskikingof thewindfrorn thelungsuponlhe organsof themouth,butthefundamental OIVI whichisthecoddessherself of creation, as sound.Because this is heardin the lotusoi the heart,ihat cenleris called anehatatil is picluredas a ruddylotusof twelvepelals,and is the seat oi theelement'ail'. "Etherl'ihe filthandultimate element, iscentered inihecakra ol a smokypuple hueand of sixleenpelalsal the levelof ihe throat. ThisrstheVisuddha purified." Cakra,"thecompletely Beyond,at the pointbetweenthe eyebrows,is the Lotusol Command (altar.Whiieas the moon,possessing lwo petals,shining withthegloryot perfected mediation, wherein themind,beyond thezonesveiledby ihe iiveelements andthus completely free of the limitations ol lhe senses,beholdsimmediately the seedformof the Vedas.This is the seal of the Formol forms,where the devoteebeholdslhe Lord-as in the Christian heaven.Beyondis lhe centerbeyondduality,Sahasrara,lhe vari coloured lotusot a thousandpetalsat the crownol the head.HereSaktiwlro s to be thoughtof as havingascended throughall the lotuseso1the susumna,wakingeachlotLrs to full blossomin passing-isjoinedio Sivain a unionthat is simultaneously the fulfilmentand dissolution of theworldsof sound.lorm.andcontemplation. The Tanklcworshiperis supposedto maglne himselfas purified having hisbodybysutlusing alltheloluseswiththeawakened Saktin th s way(onlya pedected yogibeingcapable oi making the kundaliniactuallyrise).Meditation((dhyena),ihe rccilatian ol charmsfiled with the powerof the coddessin the formoi soundfmarfr4,eloquent poslures ofthe handsandbodyfmLrdfe), andthe meditaliveplacjngol the tips ol the fingersand palmoi therighthandonvariouspa s ofthebody, accompanied bVmantra fnyasaa,3e assislhim in this process,as wellas in that of we! comingthegod inlolheimageor yantra. The twoprocesses are reciprocal, andconstitutethewholemysteryof ritualistic i ransubslantialion.Hencewe read,in lho GandharvaTantrc., "A man shoud worshipa divinily(deva6)by becomingadivinity himseti. une shouldnot worshipa divinilywjlhoutoneselfbecoming a
76
Chapler.3
li a personworshipsa divinitywithoutbecominghimselt drvinily. And aga n' a divi; ry.he will not reapthe kuits oJthat worshlp]4c wrlhoul yasrslha Visnu Raneyana:"11a mar worships in lhe p worsh that iruits ol h msellbecomingVisnu,he willnot reaplhe (sadhaka) ntliare lf heworshipsVsnubybecorninghimselfVsnu'an .rll oe,orA GlearV snJ tMahawsnu e lhP Belrg l_al s be' vond the persona aspectof lhe god)l'4rAnd once agaln,Ins l,me n lne Bhal,svaPuzna A tnanshoJld nol nedale o' nor take the name oi RudrawilhoulhimsellbecomingFIudra,!2 god's names)w thoLribe' "garland" of the Budra(bymuttefng the '4r ng Rudra becom withoul Rud€ wi I he atlain nor comingFiudra; The dcl ol worsLip s neanl lo lacillarea o'ecl rn'red'dle exDerenceoiwhal lhe sadhakaalreadyknowstheorelicaLly.namely in ihe lem nine formof lhal iva and isvara(lhe latterpreferably lormslhrough the complemenlary being sakti)are in essenceone, pairs_olop_ field of lhe in the manitest wh ch Brahmanbecomes posites,the crealedworld.The sadhakaconfrontshis devala which s represenledin ihe Jormeitherot an externallmageor or an inleriorvision,on the planeand in the staleof duallsm.yel he krows that what appearsas two is actuallyone The actrvilyol ol this mys_ then eads to the perlectrealization sell-surrender indivdua of the nature sovereignt illusory oi lhe Surrender tery. lra;sformshim into a seruanl @esa)oI Ihe d vinlty and ihis state.when broughtto pedection,then reveas lo h m hrs own as the deity itself The fervorol daLy Iundamenlasovereignty worshiplhfoughbhaktiyogathus awakenslhe hiddendivrnena_ ture in rnan,and divlneecslaticbeatitudefPrema/supervenes foLowng the momeniot pedectparticipationS rniarly'the son parabe of the MahAyana' the weallhyman, in lhe above_ciled Budclhisl Sadharmapundarika,without know ng l, served hrs lalher as a servant,graduallywas advancedin hls estale,and evenluallycamelo realizethat he was himselllhe son and heir indeed,himselllhe of the masler.entrlledto all his possessions; 4q nch man,lhe altef-egool his lord B,l lne le< a.d graoesoi servce are governedov lhe sprl_ rtualcharacterot the devoteeThis is a basicprincipleof al IntrainingThe personalilyendowedwilh rajas d an psychological
77
(ihe qualilyoi vigor and aclion)will requirea diiierentsadhana lrom one steepedln lamas, whilethe godlikeman ol brillanl sattvawill be fil ior still anotherway ln the Tantricvocabulary as vita,lhehero.pasu thesethreelypesare known,respectively, the godlke. lumr_ d/vya, herd, and the dark wi1ledanrmalolthe and peftaps asymptomolKsatrlyaprovenrence It rsnoteworthy, that n the c assiaTdntricAgamasthe emphass is givento lhe Accordng lo the idealand vira. the man ol rajasicdisposilion. subduedby sattva,all lhe to be ralas was way ol the Vedanta. principle ol ihe perleclrnrrror lhe plnes on be ng founded disc victorywas acnleved the realizalron pond.bLrtn theclassicTanlrlc challengeddl_ were they pass lhemselves: ons by way oi the by a knrghtThe sialllon meillesorne as a and ridden rectlyfaced. pedeslrian pasu, lhe man ol the tor the good which Jive lhrnqsl pre vehrcles eminenl becamethe danger, represent only the herd. of Sakti.' in the worship The lve essentialelemenls oi attainment. prescribed wlne. to be "have been stales, MahenivenaTantra lhe The woman man with oi parched grain, the unlon and lrsh. meat. ,,"rcrshlp ol Saktiwrlhoutlheselive elementsis bul lhe practiceol -"vI magc ( abh;cara:a rtua thal injuresor destroys);thepower is neveraitainedlherebyand thal is lhe objeclof lhe discipLine at everystep As seedsownon bar_ obstaclesare encounlered ren rocksdoes nol germnate,so worship (Pula/wilhoulthese are quoled n ll'le Thesestatements fiveelernenlsis lru tless."45 texl as lhe words 01 Siva to his Sakti,pronouncedn the inner chamberol lheir divinelyblissfulabode,on the summf ol the sacred mountainKailasa, Hinduol today howNeilherlhe sarntlynor the gentlemanly ever.tavorslhe boldnessol lhis heroicview-lnstead,the atlltuoe iorall,lhatnamely forrnerly assignedtothe Pasuis recommended of worshipinglhe lile lorce (sakl, not as the B.ide but as the likea child,to a sorl ol sacramenlal Molher.and thus submitting, to one ol "The atlrtudeoi a hero,"'saidRarmakrishna castration. lhe mostworldlyol his devotees,GirishChandraGhosh,a suc' cessfuldramalLst and lhe directorol the Calculla"StarThealre: ''The atttude ol a, hero'is not good. Some peoplecherishit
7a
Chapler,3
Theyregardthemselves as Purusaand womanas Prakrlj;they wantto propitialewomanlhroughtheirintercourse with her.But this methodoltencausesdisasler." GIRISH:'At one limelloo cherished thatideal, gazedat Girishpensivety, Sri Ramakrishna in silence. GIRISH: "l stillhavethal twistin my mind.Tellme what I should do." RAI,4AKRISHNA (lotlowing a momentol silen!consideration): "GiveGod yourpowerolattorney, LetHimdo whateverHe tjkes. Abruplly,theconversation wasthenlurnedlo a discussion oi younger devotees. Ramakrishna's RA\,IAKBlSHNA tto Citishand theresil "in rredilar,on I see theinnertraitsofthese youngsters.They havenolhought oi acqurringhouseand property. Theydo not crave sex pleasure. Thoseol the youngsterswhoare marrieddo not sleepwithlheir wives-Thetruthis thatunlessa manhasgor ridof rajasand has acqurredsattva,he cannolsteadilydwellin God;he cannottove Godand realizeHim." GIRISH: "Youhaveblessed me." RAMAKRTSHNA: "Howis that? | saidthal you woutds!cceedif youwerestncere-" BeloreGirishcouldrespond, Sri Bamakrishna cried,wilha shoutot joy,"Anandamayi !" andthe companysawhim-as lhey had beheJdhim manylimesbefore-pass abruptlyfrom normal consciousness to thelrancestateof divineabsotption(samedhi). Heremained abstracted forsometime,butpreseny moved,and soon.was backagain,vivaciously participaling in lhe conversaOneof his"youngslers" had inquired, on a rormeroccasron: "lsn'tii lruelhatlhe Tantraprescribes spiritual discipline in the companyol women?" "That,"the l\,4aster had replied,"is nol desirable.lt is a very d ii cult palhand oflencausesthe aspiranfsdownlall-Thereare three suchkindsot discipline. Onemayregardwomanas oie's
Tanlraand Nirvan
or as herchild l or lookon oneseltas her handmaid' mistress look as her handmaid molher.To on oneselJ lookon womanas mY practice spiritualdisc_ good; diflicult lo but lt ls extremely s also Toregardoneser as plinelooking on womanas one's.mislress pure allitude."a/ herchild is a verv "Sakti alone is the rootol lhe And on anoiheroccasion: andav dya has ThatPrimalEnergy lwo aspects:vidya'which universe. casts gold woman and up Avidyaconjures deludes. Avidyar love' and wisdom' kindness, the spell.Vidy:tbegelsdevotion, thai propitiated, and mustbe avidya whichleadone io God.This Saktiwotship ol ol thierlies is the ouroose "The devoteeassumesvariousallitudesloward Sakli n a d' a hero,'or ol a handma Her:lheattitude orderio propitiale pLeases a man please as a Her even is to attilude A hero's ch1ld. womanlhroughIntercourse. .The worshipol Sakti is extremelydifficult lt is no ioke l of the Divine oassedlwo vea;sas lhe handmindandcompanion of a child that been has always attilude my nalural Bul I\,4other. as thoseol any woman breasts ol regard the ils mot_her. I toward ol images verilable the all of them, Woman ale, mother. myown Sakli."a3 are oi sadhana threevarielles TanficAgamas ln theclassic good "five the Thal of various temperaments lor the orescribed lhem,is lor the vira Butforthe thinos]aswe havedescribed pasi,thesearestilllhe "fiveforbiddenthings" Andso theterm "wine"(madya)s inlerpretedin his caseto meancoconulwaler' m i l k .o r s o m eo t h e ri n d i c a t e "ds u b s t i t u t i o n as lu b s t a n c e (anukatpataltva). Similarly,insteadof "meat" (memsa),he par ginger,sesamum, sall'or garllc'ano ln_ lakesol wheat-beans, steadoi "fish" (mastya),lotrcd ftdish, red sesamum,masur(a (anaquatrc and paniphala kindol grain),thewhitebinjalvegetable, planl)."Parchedgrain"(mudr4in thelormo{ rice' wheat,paddy, submissicn childlike etc.,is permilied, but insteadol maithuna, LotusFeet4e is recommended belorethe Divinel\4other's ol oureslsaltvaontheolhet'land 's Thed vya.thegod.man sadnana saJe-and-sane iar.iar bevondbolhthe "substitutional,"
80
Chapler.3
ol lhe prous arnb,bul also beyondlhe learless,chivalricexper encesof lhe hero.For h m no externalimageor sacramenlwhal soevers required. Hence,in the rereadrng ol the"tivegoodthings as pfescrbed for lhe divya," w ne' (maCya)tsnotany iqu d, bu1 lhat nloxcalingknowiedge acquiredby yoga ot lhe Parabrahman whrchr€ndersthe worshtpersenselessas regardsthe external urofld Meal fmamsalisnoianyfteshtything, bul theactwhereby lhe sadhakaconsignsal hrs actsto t\te rmm).lhal s, 1heLord (lhis.of course,is a pun)_ Fish' fmatsyalis lhat sallvicknowtedgeby whichihroughthe senseot mrneness( a ptayupof the word malsya)lhe worshipersympathizes wilh the pteasureand p a n o i a l b e i n g s .M u d r e i s l h ea c l o i r e I n q us h n g a I a s s o ca lionw lh evi whichresullsn bondage. Wh e cotion (maithuna) s the Lrnon of the SakliKundattni, the InnerwornanandWor d, lorce n lhe lowesicenter (mihdhan caka) ol the sadhakas own body wilh the supremeSiva in the higheslc entet (sahasran) in his upperbrain.5c For.rr'hereas lhe pasuor viradevoteepractrcng bhirlasuddh purrficaiion rtual ol the elementsof the bodv in oreoaralron {lhe I o r d a . ' o l o u a , i s t cw o r s - p ) ' r h a s t o , m a q , n e r - e o . l . , y r . g ascenl of the KLlndalini throughthe cenlersor lotuses/cakras. padmas,of the susumna,the divya,adeplin the exercses ol lhe Tanlrc Kundaini Yoga,actuallybringslh s psychosomalic rn rac eto pass.Asanaand mudra(propersealand posture).pralnavama (conlrolol the breath),dhyanaand mantra(inleriorvisuatizatton and the concentrated recitalionof cerlain,,seed', soundsand lor, mulae),lollowinga longand severepretiminary trainingrnphysr_ cal and emolronalsell-purification, lead actuallvto a ohvsical e t l e cw r L . h ' s o e s c b e oa s t h a( h a - n e ' n go l a l r t n ee - e , 9 r e o st lhe bodyinloa subtlechannelup the interor ol the sp ne lsusumna). l^ t_,s casA lhe se oi t-e serpenlpower' \\unddttnttana owaLe'1 no ol lhe loluses tpddmas)does.ol -avelo oe,maqI ed. rl aclLdllycomes lo pass. Ano when the 5xth center:s allained-the "Lotusol Command"/a/ral betweenlheeyebrows lFe I ord lisvara',sactua,lyseen,not stmplyt.nagined. ano lhe beholder is complelelylost in savikalpas:lmadhi-comrnunion w th lhe Erahman"wlth limilations" (savikalpa),where the distrnclon belweenthe subjectand the personatGod is retained.52
81
Whereasthe momenllhe ris ng lorce lhen enlerslhe ultimale lotusatthecrownotthe head(1hesahasrara), lhousand-petalled where Siva and Saktiare one, the knowledgeol duaily is in transcended, and lhe staleof theyogibecomes sheerexperience lhal ol nirvikalpasamadh: reaizationof the dentityoi Atman 'beyonda I imilations" (nirvikalpa),where balJ.' wilh lhe Brahman Ihe suo-ecld_d rs I rgreglobleclare a4nlrlldle5l "Thereis one simpe lesl wheiherlhe Sakli (= kundalini)is Whensheis afoused arousedl'wriles SirJohnWoodrotte. acluaily intenseheatis ie t at lhal spot,but whenshe leavesa particular centerlhe partso leftbecomesas coldand apparenllylilelessas a corpse,The progressupwads mayihus be exlernallyvefified by olhers.Whenthe Sakli(Power)has reachedthe upperbraLn the whole body is cold and corpseiikeiexceptthe fgahasrara) top ol the skul , whefesomewarmlh s Jell,lhis beingthe place unite.5r wherelhe staticand kinelicaspectsof Consciousness .Somelimes the Spirilualcurrentrises lhroughthe splne, lold a circleol his ntimale crawing like an anl,"Ramakrishna the soul swimsjoyfully in the "Sometirnes, in samaldhi, ff ends. when I lie down lke lish. Somelimes, divrne ecstasy, a oceanoi pushing me ike a monkey rilual curfenl rny srde, I feelthe Sp on like a playing sli L That currenl, wilh me I remains and loyfuly, is monkev.suddenlywithonelump reachesthe Sahasrara.That why you see me jump up with a stari. "Sometimes, again,lheSpirilualCurrentriseslikea birdhop_ p ng lrom one branchto anolher.Theplacewhereil restsfeels to svadhsthana. lrom like iire. lt mav hop lrom MirlZldhara graduallylothe head.Some' heart, sthAnaiolhe andthus Svadh Go ng in a moves up llke a snake. spiritua Current timesthe lgo nto samadhl. the head and way, at last it reaches zigzag is not awakenedun ess his "A man'sspirilualconsciousness ln the [4irladhara.When dwells is Kundalinl Kundallni aroused.The rl is aroused.it passesalongthe Susumnanerve,goes lhrough lhe cenlercotSvadisihana,ManipJra,and so on, andal lasl reaches the Spir lhe head.This is calledlhe movementof lhe Mahavayu, ilualCurenl. lt cu mlnatesn samadhi.
a2
Chapler3
"One'sspiritualconsciousness is nol awakenedby the mere readingofbooks.Oneshould praylo God.TheKundaliniisaroused if the aspiranl teels reslless lor God. To lalk ol knowledgeJrom merestudyand hearsay!What willlhal accomplish? "Justbeforemy attainingthis slateof mind,it had been revealedto me how the Kundalilnlis aroused,how the lotusesol the dilterenlcenlersblossomforth.and howall thisculmnalesin samadhi.This is a very secret experience. I saw a boy twentyyearsold,exacllyresemblingme, enlerlhe two or tweniy-three Susumnanerveand communewilh ihe iotuses,touchingthem with hs tongue.He beganwilh the cenlerai lhe a minusand passed throughthe centersol the sexualorgans,navel,and so on. The differenl loluses of lhose cenlers-fourpetalled, s x petalled,and so Jorlh-had beendrooping. At his touchtheystood erect. ''Whenhe reached lhe hearl-ldislinctly rememberit-and communedwiththe lotuslhere,touchingil with his tongue,lhe twelve-pelalledlotus,which was hanginqhead down, stood erect andopenedits Petals.Then he cameio the sixleen,petalled lotus in the throaland the two,petalled lotusin the throaland the twopetalledotus n the forehead_ And lastoJall,the lhousand-petalled lotLrsin the head blossomed. Sincelhen I havebeen in lhis state."' "Waken,O IVotherl" wroteBamprasad, "O Kundalnl,whose natureis BlissEternaLlThou art lhe serpentcoiledin s eep, n the lotusol the Muladharal"s6 "ln dense darkness, O l\rother," runs anotherwonderfulsona, "Thylorrnlessbeautysparkles': In dense darkness,O Mother,Thy formlessbeaulysparkles;Thereforethe yogismedilatein a dark mountarncave. Inthe lap ot boundlessdark,on lvahanirvana's wavesupborne, Peacellows serene and inexhauslible, Takingthe lorm oJlhe Void,in the robe ot darknesswrapped, Who art Thou, l\,4olher, seated alone in the shrine of sameldhi?
Tant.aand Nifvan Fromlhe Lolusol Thy lear-scallering FeetflashThy love'slightening; ThySp nt Faceshineslorthwilhlaughierlerrbleand loud.57 3 A the cods within Us N THE Ja na and kindredteachings, maller s descrbed as of an nert and lelessaajiva) character. The ruthlessasceticism (the 'gymnosophists" who aslounded oJlhe "nakedph losophers" AlexandersGreeks)to owedlogicallyfromtheirresolulion lo be steri zedol thisdeadmaterialandthus renderedoristine oure. l!minous,and perlecl.Likeballoonsleavinglhe earlhbelow-lhe and evenlhe ultimalestratospheric earth, ts almosphere, envelope-their lile'monads wereleavingbeneaththem, trailby kail, the universalbandagesol lileless"life"As we have seen, lhe yogicpointol viewwas forcern Indiaoi thatpre'Aryan,dualistic, so grealthal evenlhe exuberantmonismoi lhe Brahmansinally submitledto ils lile-searingnlluence.Gladually,the vigorousworldaiiirmationoi lhe Vedicperiodunderwenta slrangelycontradiclory change,unl I, in whalis generallyregardedas the suprerne nondualstlcdeslgnalion oi Brahmanas sat, cit, ananda\"pwe be ng,conscioLrsnes, andbliss," absoluiely uninvolvedin lhe bondage, ignorance, and miseryoi the worldillusion) the yogicprinciple won its most impressrve triumph.For althoughil is true that jaina,and Yogaidealof the "isolationinsteadol the pre-Aryan, inleg?lior" (kaivalya)ot separate lile'monads (j)vas,purusas) the new goal was that oi reunion wiih the one Saccidananda Brahman.one-wilhoul-a-second." neveriheless lhis nondualreunion,this recognition ol an identitywhich in realityhad never been fodeited. was undersloodas being synonymous with a refutalion ol lhe lalse nolion ol lhe exislence o{ a cosmos: a dissolulicnolthe "superimpositi6n" due to "ignorance".'Thalwhich is untouchedby the sixlold wave fol decayand death,hunger andthirst,grietanddelusionl,medilateduponby lhe yogi'shea but not graspedby the sense'organs, whichthe tacullyol inluitlon fbuddhi)cannol know,and which is laullless (anavadyam)l
84
Chapler-3
t h a tB r a h m a n a r t l h o u m e d i t a t eu p o n l h i sn t h y m n d . " s e T h e saTne,bas c asceticallitudeol reieclon asthalwhrch n lhe pre Aryanpaslhassunderedhumanexperenceintothe spheres belweensams,lraand ol ajlvaand ilva,was now discriminating ("$/ilhoul wdh remalndef') nirvana,whi e str vingfor denlification lhe un mp caled lerm. And yel, on lhe olher hand,lher I ourishesin Inda, srdeby s de wilh lhrs attitudeoj negalon, a vigorousall rmaton ot lhe worldol i ux and trme,wh ch is jusl as iearlessand absolute.n ol lhe yogis its own way,as lhe unflnchrngsell-transcendence n thal and the greal humaneftort, ookingerlherway, seems of the a waysto havebeento breakthe al loo humanI mrtations rnlndby rneansof "inhuman"iechnq!es. The ldealsand d scr p Inesof lhe castesare inhuman" humansl callyspeakng;and in a sense, every Indlan, one way or anolher, s a yogi:for bhakti,lhe popularHindu"path of devolon," is itseliyoga: an nlernal"yoking'oi lhemindtoadivineprnciple.Whereverbhakli s carriedto an u timaleslatement,as for inslance)n1heBhagavacl Gila and lhe sacramentsol lhe Tantrlc "iive good th ngs" (pancalattva), the secularinitialeis inspiredto a challengeand on ot lhe lmmareniaspectol absoluleBeing,wh ch is assirnilal eliorl, n the penilenno ess audacrous lhan the correspondlng groves, to assimilate the transcendenl liai The Brahmanm nd, in otherwords,did not captulateunconca The psychophys d tionaiy to the pr nc ple of world rejeclion. problerns posedby the Vedicmonistph losophylhat matured areas opento wor d'assertrve dur ng the periodol lhe Upanisads as lo negatingreples.Themoreamplydocurnentednd an philo by lhe Western sophicaltendency, andthe one lirstencountered in lhe schooisoi theVedarnta and scholars wasthatrepresented Hinayana but rn recenlyears lhe powerand profundilyot the andtherewth has Tdnlricsystemhavebegunto be appreciated, of Indan lfe and art. In' been laci taied a new underslanding deed. one cou d onlyhavebeenamazedhad rl beenlolrndthat n the rnostdurableciv izationknown10 hislorythe sole nle ec llal responselo sucha d ctumas "Al ls Brahrnan'had ben thal as' of the manilesllor lhe Lrnmantlesl of a monaslc renuncralion
Tantraand Nirvan
85
pectof the metaphysicai equation.Had we not learnedwhatwe now know ol the philosophy of the TantrlcAg:rmas;we shoud have had to positsomesuchtradition; for as the ndian centuries opentheirsecrelslo us we becomemoreand moTeawareol the powerofsomethngverydifferentlrom the sublimaled me an cho y of the monks,in lhe lile ovi.g Hinduconlempationol the delcac es ol the world of nameand form.In the majesticscr]lptura renderng of SivaTrimirrtiatElephanta,se in lhe now we iknown South Indian bronzes of the Dancing Siva,60in the phantasmagor c "foamand m st" styleol the greaimaslerpieces of Bhaja,Mamallapuranr, and E|)ra,61as wel as in the Indan phenomenon aeslhetrc whichJhaveelsewhere descrbed as that of "expandng iorm,62a stupendous dionysianatfirmation ol the dynamismof the phenomena spectacies rendered,wh ch ai onceaff rrnsand lranscendsthe apprehendedtrailsof the indi vidualandhis cosmos.Prakrl hetsel lnatun naturans,nol lhe merelyvis b e s!rface oi thrngs)s hereporlrayed with no re' sistanceto her charrn as She gives blrthto the oceansof ihe worlds. Indivdua s-mere waves,meremoments,in the rap dly tlowing,unendng torrenlof ephemerallorms-are tanglbly present; bul theiriangibiltyrtsei is s mplya geslure,an affectionale f ash oi expression on lhe olherwisenv sible countenance of lhe Godwhose play f/i/al is the universeof her own beauiy. dess l\,4o1her ln this dionysianvis on lhe indvidua is at once devaluated and renderedd vine,maleclicwiththe maiestyoj Natureherselland rnyslically shelleredin ihe very maelstfomoi the world. Such a view, obviously,s nol tl for all. li can appea lo only cerlarntypes and tastes: the ar slocralc, ior example,or the art st c, andth6 ecstatic. An intellectualemperament , though perhaps appreciatveoi the torrentialmagniludeot such a vision,willremain,necessarly,somewhatcool,relusng 10respond to it with the whole personalty.That is why thrs vrew though certanly perennia n lndia-s ess well docurnented in ilerature,lheology, and ph losophylhanin lheworks otart.The lexls are lrorllthe handsol inielectuals,by nalure endowedforthe abslractrealzationsof the way of disembodied thoughl f/tena yoga);bul lhe art workshavepouredirom lhe handsol cralls-
Tanta and Nirvan
men commissionedby weallhymerchantsand a ristocrais-all the chi dren.lhe servanls,or the willingheroesof the Goddess;per_ haps proloundlvrespectiuloi her morethoughttulsons yet lnlr' rnalelvaware,all ihe time, thalthereare riches,boons,andwon insightsthatShe holdsin storeonlytor those drousparadoxical dedF wholrulydoteon Het andwhichlhehaughtydiscrlminators, nevershare can One-wiihoul-a-second, cated lo lhe transcendental Throughoutihe known historyoi lndia these two poinlsol view have operated in a dialecticprocess ot antagonisticcoop eralionto bringto passihe majesic evolullonof art, philosophy, political,social,economic,and iteraryiorms, rtualand religron, whlch we knowtoday as the miracle ol Indian civllizationBy on ol lhe an.l large,lt canbe sa d that the nondualworld_affirmal grealerdepth, has been and itswiderswing wilh VedicBrdhmans, To lhe development. to viclorlous contributor the dominantand p jaina_San khya stam oi dualism pluralistic'rea isllc,ldealistlc the provocalve roe By preliminary and a ascribe only we can In paravirtueof a blood andvlgourslechniqueot phi osophlzing lhe essentiajunilyoi lerms and doxes,continually.estabiishing the ferlie sphereslhatwouldlogicallyappearlobe antagonistic, broughtlogether,tused,and Lrnfailingly thoughto{ Brahmanism whichwerethenallowedto transcendedthe pairs-of-opposiles, play;Brahmanic dialecUcal proceedagainfromeacholherln a brilliant ol the and expression counterpart thoughlbeingthe philosophic lite-processitseli, a refleclionin conceplual terms ol the pd'adoxoogy ol ltles unceasinqdynamrsn Food,ilesh,and bloodbecometransformedin alivingbody lhoughl,and lnspiration-These feelings, inlo mpulses,emotions, andmoveihebodilvframeThenthe decomposi_ inturn condition i on oi the samebodyalterdealhconvertsit intothe leemingliie oi worms and vegetation,whichagain is Jood.Thereis a conol tinuous circuitof metabolism,an unending translormation opposiles into each other.And lhis realltyof becomingis what is mifiored in the Brahmanicmonisi conceptionof maye The per_ pellal motionof thingsturnjng inlo each olher is lhe realily denoted by the icon of lhe Goddess.The temale conceives by the rnaleand transformshis seedinlotheircommonoffspringa
a7
of theirsubstance. newlormalion Slch isthemiracle ot the enigma, N/ayaSakti.Hers,therefore,is an eroticlife-philosophy, precisely the oppositeand exactcomplimenl of lhe slerilizing,stern,sub, of theJaina-Sankhya lme, asceticthinking schools. The concernol the latteris lo divide,to cleanse oi each other,andfinallyto separateiorever,the lite-principle, which rs Incorporeal, and the principleof bothgrossand subtle matter, whichis liie-conditioning, life-slaining and-obscuring. Inthelong courseof Indianthought,thissternasceticattitudehasbeenable lo celebraleils momentsol viclorv,and lhesemomentshave contributed immeasurably lo ihe recolouringand renovationof Indan life.Butthat life itself,in accordance withits own innate principle dialeciic of lransJormalion, hastheninevitably broughl to passa new miracleof absorption, assimilaiion, and restaiemenl:timeandtirneagain,great,vigorous,tropicalIndiahas adoptedthe sublimeway ot slerilization, the way supremely represented in lhe teachingsof the Buddhaand in Sankara's Vedanta;bui alwaysthe powersand wisdomof the erotic-paradoxicalmonismol life-and ofthe Brahmanunderstandino-has again successtully reassertedits ,orce. Brahman,sakli,the force-substance of Indiannondualphilosophy,is the principlelhat enters,peruades, andanimatesthe panoramaand evolutionsof nature,but as the samelime is ihe animatedand pervaded,enleredfieldor matterof nature 1tsell (prakrli,nalura ,'aturars);thusil both inhabitsandisthe manifesleduniverseand all its forms.As lhe unceasingdynamisrn of the lransiiorysphereof becomingand witheringaway,it livesin a I thechanges of birth,growth, anddissolution. But, simultaneously, it is remotefromthis sphereoJchange; lor in ils quiescent,dormanttranscendentaspecl il knowsno phasesand is detachedformboththe livingand the dead.The namesascribed to it are concessions to the humanmind.This m nd, however,being itselfol the essenceot the unutterable, may be louchedto Sell-recollection by properlyhearingone or anoiherof the tinallyinadequatenames.The nameBrahman, saccidananda Brahman, is misleading; lor il suggests thatlhe Iranscendenlls.The narneVacuity,Sinyata,the Void,is mis-
88
ChapteF3
leadingajso;tor it suggeststhat the lranscendentls not Perhaps,though,lhe hner is the lessmisleadingandtheretorethe it doessuggest falherlhan delinlranscendence, betterterm;for Neverlheless, thedifference is nolseriouslyworth ableexistence, anargumenlAsa clueealherterm willserve. whereas il notproperly undersloodneithermeansa thing. producedhs laslsynthesizing Bnihmanphjlosophy stalement in the courageous esolericisnol the Tankasand in the Tanlric l,lah?ryana (thelaltersurvivinglodayin the snow,ctadsummits and highdalesofTibet),wheretheoldAryanlrenzyfor non-dual, ismandthe paradox,,oreverassertingihe unityof incompatibles, lruitlullycombinedwiih its own incompalible-thearchaicmatri" linealworld-leeling of lheaboriginal civilizalion of India. Whatthe Vedicsageshad recognizedin the heavensof the macrocosm, the Tantricadepltell dwellingbodilywilhinhimself,in the microcosm,and he naned it, also,"God."Hence,whereasthe membersoi the Brahmancaslein Vedictameshad coniuredthe hoty Wwet (tuahman)W meansof publicsacrilices,theTdntricdevotee, ol whatevercaste,by rneansof the simple,essentiallypersonal ritualsof the circlesof Tiankicinitiates,sacrilicedhis own ego andthereby coniured theholypowerfsaklrolhjsownphenomenality inlo manifestation in his lile.Thegoodsservedby the BrAhmans hadbeenthoseoflhe community;the godworshiped bytheTantrist was hasown, his ista-devatA, his chosenbeloved-whichVel wasidenricalin essencewithwhatever deaty wasanwhereadored; tor "lt is onlya food,"slatesthe Sammohana lenlra,.Who sees any differencebelweenRama and Siva.'63 The eligibilityol the Erahmanto serveand conjurethe gods of.ihe communilvhad restedIn the highrankol hiscaslein thatcomm,rnitv, wh;reas the eligibilityof theTentricdevoteereposedin the ripenessolhls mrndandpowe.ofexperience.'The Brahman whois a descendent of a Rsi,or holysage,"we readin lhe Satapalha Brehmana, ''isallthegodsl's "l amlhe Deviandnoneother."thinkstheTantric devotee"l am Brehoanwhois beyondallgriel.lam a formot Saccidananda whosetruenalureis eternalLiberation-"65 The ideaof the godhoodof lhe individual is thusdemocralrzedin theTantra,becauseunderstoodpsychologically instead
89
Tanlraand Nirvan
oJ sociopolitically.As a result, the entire context o{ the plblic Indian laith has been reinterpreted.The rites and religiosityol conlemporaryIndiaexhibitin everytraitthe proloundinlluenceol thisTankic view;indeed,they have ben torc€nturiesmoreTanlric than Vedic.In spite of vestigialremains ol the archaic snobbism ol caste, native :ndian liie is shol lhrough with the radianceoi a realizationol universaldivinity.In conkast to lhe allilude ol Job who cried oul toYahweh:"Whatis man, thatlhou shouldestmag' nitv him ?" the Indian,by shatteringhis ego, equates himsell wilh God. transcends God. transcends God, and is al peace in the knowledgeol himseltwith God, transcendsGod, and is at peace in the knowledgeol himselfwith God, lransc€nds God, and is al pgace in lhe knowledgeol himself as Brahman "The Mother is presenl in every housel'writes Ramprasad "Need I break lhe news as one breaks an earlhen pot on the iloor ?" FOOTNOTE 2
Supra,pp- 534.535. The Gospet of Si RArDakl,shta,Itanslatod with an introduceby NewYo*, 1942,p.858 SwamiNikhilananda,
3 4
/b.,p. 284. Conlrastsupra,p.439.
1
Brahmanas Being(sst),Consciousnes(cit),and Aliss (Anada) Cl. suua,p.425. 6 The Gospelot Sri Befiakishna, pP-343'346. 7 Knownas mayathe Vedanta;cf. supta,pp.425'427SaKi isYum icon;ct. supta,pp.556-559. ot theYab-Yum 8 Thisideaottheplay fiile)ol the Godheedin lh6 tormsotthe world to th€Tantricviewand is lhe Hinducounlerparlol is fundamental ( supra,p. 554). Mahbsukha the Mahayana-Buddhist 9 TheGospelolS Remakishna,pp. 133-135. 10 For an accountol the idsals and hisloryol lhe BrahmoSamaj (toundedin 1828 by Ririi RammohanRov)' sse Swimi n lo TheGospalol S Rama-l'rishna,pp introductio Nikhilananda's ligur€in the movemonlwas Devendranalh 40-42.A distinguished Tagore(1817-1905),lathsrol lhe NobelPrizepoel,SirRabindranalh 5
90
.h.^ra,-?
( 1 8 6 i -1 9 4 1 ) . 1 1 /0.,pp. 135-139{witha,ew brietmtssions).
The Agamas (T:rntdcwritings)a,rdivjdedinlo five main groups accordingto the personification cehbrat€d: Snrya{tho sun god), Ganesa('Lordoflhe Hosls,'theeteohant-headed sonofsiva, who is the Indiancounlepartof Hermes. breakerot lhe wav and ouide of rhesul).Sakli.Siva,andVisnua!etastthreebeinotoO"u6ut", the mosr rmporrant. Tant!ic prin€,oiesand practiceshiuu OJ"nup. pliedalsotothewo|shap ottheMah4ilaAuddhas andBodhisa[vasi th€ Yab-Yllmsynbolish is Tanlric. For a discussionbolhoflhisdevetopment andofths symbotism of lhe Goddess, cl. Zimmef,MythsatuS@bolsin tndianA and CivL lizalion p. 9O-1O2and lSgfli atso l)e Kingand rhe Colpse parl l , 'The Romance of lhe Goddess.' The Gospel of Sn Remkishna. e 116. 1 5 KularanavaTantra, citedbySirJohflWoodrotfe, Shaktjand Shakta, 3rd edition,Madtasand London,1929, p.7. /0.,p.8. Forlhel€rm sasfa cf. sr,?,?, p.36. '17 Dhesh Chandra History Sen, ot Belgatt Languagean(!I itczture. C a l c u n a1.9 1 1o. . 7 r 4 . 1 8 supla,p. | 561 cf. E-J-Thompson, X poetot the peoote;'TheLon_ ctonOuanenyPeview,CXXX,Fiftf$ies,XVtUuty_October. r9t8). p.71. 1 9 The Gospel ol Sri RAmakishhatp.j39. 20 Cl. supa, p.41. 2 1 The Gospell ol si Renakn:shra,p.139. Mudraalso denoleslhe mystichandposturesthat ptaysuch an importantrolein Indianritualandad.Thisasth€ ontvmeaninoot the word giv6nin ths Sanskritdioonaries. We read.t"**"i ," the YoginiTanta l9h.V l): "F iedpaddy andlhe tike,in tact atl such lcereals]as arechewe&--arecltedMudre'(citedby Woodrofie, op.cil., p. 571). 23 Cl. Supra, pp. 554-5559. 24 GandharvaTantE 2i Woodrotfe, ol cit.,p. S3B. op. cit.,p.493. 25 YoginiTantta1)Woodlolle, Fof the lerm as/a/ra,cl. supra,pp.155.j60.
Tantraand NiNan
91
26 TaiftitiyaBAhmana2.8.8; cl. s.rpla,pp-345'347 2 7 Cl. supa, pp. 447-455. 2A Ct. suDra,o.52. 29 Cl. supra,p.459. 3 0 cited by Woodrolle,op.cil., p.593. 3 1 woodrotte,op. cil., pp.l587-588. Om Dhamedhatma-havirdipb etmegnan manasa stuca Susumnevadmanenityam aksvrtUr iuhomyaham: Svehe op.cit.,p.559.) (Tantraasera 698; Woodrotf€, Iho setp€rtpowe(3td te' 33. Ct.ArthurAvalon(SirJohnWoodroffe), visededilion,Mard€s and London,1931,p 120 3 4 An exampleol ryasa in Ch slianwoGhipis the makingof lhe sign of th€ cross,louchinglirsi lhe forohead("inlhs nameol the Falhel), thenthe breast("andolthe Son"),lholeftshoulder('andol the Holy.'),ight shoulder('Ghosf), andfinallybringingth6 palms tocelherinlheoositionofsalulalionknownto th€ Hindusasari./?i,' w;ich is the cl;ssic christianmudraof prayor('Amen"). Theaulhorsol The PtittciplesolTantaledit€dby ArthurAvalon,2 haveaptliciled (pp.lxxnlxxiDlhe tol' vols.,Londor,1914-1916), lowingslalemenlfromthe Councilol Tr6nt"TheCalholicChurch, richwithths expeienceof ths agesandclothedwilh th€hspend or, hasintroduc€dmysticb€nedictionfnart E),incise(dtrpa), waler @canan4padya,dc.),lighls (dipa),b€lls (gharl4, ffowo|s (puspa) in ordsrlo of ils cer€monies veslmeols,and all the magnific€nce prolound ot lhe contemplalion religion lo the excitelhe spiil ol lhoy revaal.As are ilsfaithtul,the Churchis com_ mysterieswhich posedol both body (deha)and soul (atmar). lt lh€r€for€ renderc to lhe Lord 0svara)a doublg worship,exteior fuehya'pniA)and inlenot henasa-pij ,the lanerbeingtheprayer/ (vadana)otthe laithtul,the breviaryol ils piesl, andthe voiceol Him everinler_ cedinoin our fevef,andthe torm€rthe outwardmolionsof the litby authotsol TheP nciptesotTantta) urgy.'lfnlerpolations ol the chrislian lo lh€Tantic service, As lo the hrsloicalrelationship thatis a delicalematt€ryet lo be invesligat€d. Citedbv AdhufAvafon,TheGreatLibealion,Maltas,1927,p. 109,
92
Chapter-3
36 VasisrhaFamayana( Yoga-vasislha, ciledih.). 37 Rudrais lhe viol€nl,world-destructive aspoctof Siva. 38 BhavisyaPurena.(A\alonciles,in Ir€ ArcalLibenUansomewhal ctosety,AgniPunna.). 41 Saddharma-punddka 4; cl. supra,pp. 508-509. 42 MaheniruenaTantta5. 22-24. (Transtationby Avaton, The Grcat Liberation, pp. A9-9O1. 43 The Gospelot Si Remakishna,p.682. tb.,p. 123. 4 5 /b.,p. 116. Woodtotte,Shaktiahd Shakta,pp. 569-570. 47 NilamaniMukhyopadhyay a, Pancatattva-vican. p. a5:Woodrotte, Shaktiand Shekta,p. 567. Olher sublimalsdreadingsot the pahcatatva apearin oth€rtens; cl. Woodrofle,pp. 495-500,568569. 48 Ct. supfa,pp. 584-585. 49 Cl. supra,pp. 435-436. 50 Cl. supra,pp. 436.437. 5l Avalon, Ihe SerpentPowet,pp.21-22. 52 TheGosspelolS Remakishna,pp.829-830. 53 /b.,p. 363. 54 lb.,p.692. 55 Sankara,Vivekacudemani 256. 56 Cl. Zimmer, Mythsand Symbolsin lndian Art and Civilization,pp. 148.151, and fig.33. pp. 57 /b., 151-175, andfig.38. 58 /b.,pp.53-54,117-121,187-188,andtigs. 1,27,28,55,59,and 60. 59 /b.,pp. 130-136. 60 SamnohanaTantn9;Woodfoffe,Shakl/ard Shakla,p. 53. 61 Satapatha BrAhmana 12.4.4.6. p. A1. 62 Woodrofle,Shaktiand ShAkta,
Chapter-4
Metaphysicsof Tantra
Chapter-4
A. Tanlra Schootsi Tanlrais morea Sedhanasystemlhana merephilosophical dascourse. ll's a processof identilication of one'sown potential andactualpowers of bodymind complex.To bgawareof lhe power or the realizationof poweris priorto its deification. Tantragives bothnamely, theprocessotawareness ol powersandalsomethod of its deification. Thethstportioncoversilsmetaphysics whilethesecondrefers io SadhAnasystem.Any Sadhanasystemis relatedwilh lhe concepiol God, Worid,individualselt elc., and as such, it is prjnciples. basedon somemelaphysical TheTantricsystemhas its own metaphysics and Sadhanasystefi. In courseol time ot its developmenl, Tantrahas developed differentschoolsboth in metaphysics and in Sadhaneaspecl. Saivism,SaktismandVaisnavism arethe majorschoolsof Tantra whileDaksinacarra, Vemdcara, l\,,lisraelc., comeunderitsSadhana aspect. A newapproachhasbenmadeherein thepresentation of the schools,Datailsol diJterenischoolshave ben deliberatelvleft untouched as itcan onlybe a lranslerol detailsfromonesource to thislhesis.And secondly, the detailsar€ easilyavailablein all booksrelaledwilhlhis notion.So herewehavesimplypresented thosedelailswhichare uselulfor therapeutic aspectonly. 1, Metaphysical Schools: Saivlsm, sAnbtn, Vaisnavism: Thesethree are lhe majorschoolsof Tanlrasystem,They alsocontainsubjectsin il. Alliheseschoolsand seclsdilleronly at apparentlevelbutiheirgoalis th6same,thatis realization or in Tantralerms,unfoldment ot innerpoteniialenergy. Whatis the sourceol creation,maantenance and destruction ol theworld? lt muslbe higherlhaneveMhingwhichmakesthis
Melaphysicsof Tantra
Higher of polarilylorthis theprinciple possible.Tantla hasaccepted lite' in everybody system poles in Tanlra terms are, healilv.The by the menlioned by the Sadhana removed whilelhelalercanbe physical-menlal diseases, otlheremovalol Forlheillustration Liberalron system. of Pasupata view we mayheremenlionlhe seltandlhe the individual takesplacewhenthe unionbetween yoga system Paltanjala place. this, lhe For universalself lakes modificathe mental ot o{ suppression the way has mentioned mindas a causeof sorrowor pain I onsby consioenng systemyoga .reansconjuncUnlkeIhrs,lorthePasupala to sellwilhGod.4Forihisunion,according tionoi the individual ii is an union but in prove hurdles as not does mind lirissvstem, rellectsits therapeulic aidthroughwhichunionis possible-sThis leadsto manyabnorof mentalmodifications value,Suppression or posr' etc.While sublimatron malproblemslikesplitpersonality personalilyThis tiveviewregardingthemresultsintointegrated in ils early lact has be;n visualisedby the Pasupatalollowers davswhichprovesas a dislincttherapeuticconlributionol the Taniraschools. 2. gdhane Schootsof lanta: Vamdcitra,Daksintciira and Misn: VemeceB: Vamacera:is a synonymol lhe Kaulacara lt laysslresson Herektmais notthegross (Artha)and desire(kama). theWeallh roolcause underlying butit isan inherent sexualdrive orohvsical one pleasures Beings' and oi ;ll our carvingslor worldlyobjects lJnJuldesires have nalural to ol the constilue;lsol mind,il is desireslie dotmanlIntolhe unconscuioLrs liltedor suppressed resullsintodislortedJormof behavmindwhichmaysometirnes iour.By layingslress on lhe salislactionof desires,Tant€ releasesthe Sadhakalrom lhis lype oJabnormalityor all mental distulbances. olTantrawho acceplihis wayol beinglree Thoseadherents Jromthe bondsol desiresby lheir naiuralsatislactionand slrll
97
persistin theireffortoJrvorkingout theirliberation are knownas kaulas.Kaulas.Kaulascombineenjoymenl(Bhoga)withrenuncialion(Tyaga)and hencelhey havea verypositiveand healthy regarding aPProach life. Therearetwoclassesin lhe kaubcara. i1i purvakaula and (2) Ullarakaula. The Purvakualauphold the grossindulgence inlo5 M'swilhcerlainlimitalions. Theybelievethat lhe 5 M's are allowedto be oracticedbv l.ose wno l.aveallainedcerlarnlevelIn lhe sointualdevetoDment-Thereslareto remainawayfrc,,tthisprivilege.The mind of a Purvakaula Sadhakais so pureihat thereis no possabilitv oi js a standard anydownfall.This through whichlheymeasure lhe heightol the attainmenlof the purification of Sddhaka. Unlikethe Purvakaula Sddhaka, theUflaftauata Sadhakadoes worship internally. Noexternalaid isneeded practice lorworship.Thjs strengthens lhe powerofconcentralion andalsohelpsin cultivalngmentarpowers. The realrmportot thisschoolis that,the remedyol the poison is poison(VisamVisasyaausadham). Evenpoisoncan be ulllisedas remedyi, il is correctlyapplied.This rellectsthatlhing itsellis noteithergoodor badbutit is ourou ookthatmakesit so.This leadsus to inlerlhat the passionslhat bind the soul, alsocan be the aid for attainment ot lvloksaor liberation.Bv oivi'g rherlluslration ol poisonthisschoolseemsto sLggest6al lhe menialmodilication,whichgenerallyare consideredas poison,as lheycreatesulferingcan b€ usedas the meansoJaltainingMoksa. Again,he is knowna 'Vira'or 'hero'becausehe performs pracliceon cremation groundor SmasenaSadhana. Thecremation groundhas herea symbolicmeaning.Ordinarijycremalion groundis a burningplaceof corpses. TheSedhakacrealeswithin hrmselfa cremaliongroundlor bumingout the deadcorpseot desires orvasanas sothatthey maynolagainappearand lrouble To overcomeall these hurdlesis the hiddenkey to health whichis providedbylhe kaulismwhichretleclson itstherapeutic
98
Chaptar4
aspect. Daksitdcitft or SamaYadra i Arlhaorweallh system.As isa Vaisnava Sadhana Daksinarcarra or libera_ Moksa goalof theVamacara, desire are the andkamaor largely is This school of the Daksinacara. deslination tion is lhe is philosophy school path ol this the though on the Vedic based NaEda Para6ara Samhita, Samhitir, Sanat Kumara in lhe contained are hardand lasl rules andolherAgamatexts.There P?rncardtra ot 5 M'sis strictly mentionedby this systom.Thegrossutilization prohibitedin this system. to thissystem,the HigherRealitypervadesevery_ According andlavourinlernal avoidexternalworships hencelhey whereand and alsocullivates worshipwhichpuriliesthe mindot a Sardhaka ihe inherentpowersof mind. Mishi
andtheDakslnac?rra. o{theVam?rcar Thisschoolisa synthesis ils way to overcomethe worldlypassionsis Likethe Vamarcatra, unique.They gratifylhe senses by over indulgenceand then This So this type ksownas Siva-Sakti. renounceil completely. or plus-minuscurrentsetc The also representsa maleJernale bulalsohasben polaritvinTanlrais notonlyrationally acceptable propiliatedas deity.The samepolaritySiva'Saktiassumesth€ or Thereis no di{Jerence guiseol Visnu-Luxrniin the Vaisnavism. no separalionbelweenSiva-Saktior Visnu'Laxmi.In the Saiva placeawhileln Salkiism, SaKi schools,Sivaenioyspredominant Visnuis consideredas enioyslht stalusand in the Vaisnavism, the HigherReality. a. Ultimately RealitYand World asthesourceol wo d wheel. Reatityisconsidered Theultimate A Saivaiteschool,the Pasupataandthe SaivaSiddhanlacallsal it Pati(Lord)and kdrana(cause)respectivelyln theVaisnavism sameHigher whileintheSaktism,lhe as Parabrahman isaccepted Realityisknownas Saktiorenergy.All schoolshave announced intinileelc , withonevoice' ultimaleRealilyas eternal,unlimited,
ThisRealiiyis alsoacceptedbothas immanentin the world and transcendenl of theworld. The transcendentalaspectof the ultimateRealitvis woF sh ppedby devoleewhrleits mandestationin the tormol wortd, thai is its immanentaspectcontainsthe therapeutic value_Now let us see how it dealswithil. IntheKashmir Saivism andintheSektism, thenatureofthe ulirmateRealityis consideredas consciousness (cil)1.Hence. conscrousness is the synonymof lhe HigherReality. And be_ causeot lhrs,beinga creation ol ihe HigherReajity, worldis also a manileslation ot consciousness,The consciousness whichoervadesrheworldalsoresides in bodyin the lormoi p,anao; lhe viiaiforce.lhoughpranais onebutaccorgingto itstunction,tt is classedintolive.Harmonybelweenthese tive-loldprdnaresults intohealthybody-mind whileignorance aboutit or disharmony endsinlophysical-mental diseases. Tantrahasacceptedthe ideniical relalionbetween macrocosm and themicrocosmorin olherwords, ultimateFlealityandlhe individual self.lgnoranceaboutthisfact createsspirilualdiseases(pass)or sufferingswhichcreate circlesof life,death. Thus,the conceptot the UllimateRealilyin Tantrapjaysat macrocosmic levelin the formol elementwhileal microcosmic evelitpervades thebodyintheformofvitaltorce orprdna.When the UltimateRealityas an elementrealizedat the macrocosmic level,Sadhakateelspe.manentbliss.The sameteelinqsoccur whentheoodilypranaare in harmony whichresultintt heahhv lrodyandsoundmind. b. Individual self. TheUltirnate Realitywhich createstheworldhasnotcreated It witheltortbut it is justa playwhichin the Vaisnavism is known as Lila.Thesameconceptis reflectedin the saivaschool.As the Pasupala syslem,syslemdeclares, ihe Ultimate Realitypossesses lfe qLalilyof playingtor its own sake.2(Svantaya Sukhayaj lrJs lhe worldjs norhirgbut lhe playot conscrousness. The conscrousness or thecauseol worldprocess, is onobutduelo Ihfeereal,ihat is,Sattva,RajasandTamasit seems1obe manv.3
Metaphysicsof Tantra
(Vaismyavaslha) Creationtakesplacewhenthedis equilibration place in the UltimateRealin the Sattva,RaiasandTamaslakes ily o' ir Prak'li. oflhesethree dis-equilibration selfis a resultotthe lndividual ourbodyalsoconlains of Prakrtiorenergy reals.Beingacrealion saliva, raiasand lamas as elemenlsoi leals When the distakes placein lhe bodilysattva, rajasand tamas, equilibralion of Prakrti whicharedirecllvrelatedwiththelivegrossconslituents Pitta and Vata, of Ayurveda, or in lhe terms ioancamahabhirta) brings limita_ which physical-mental disorders into Kapha.resLrlts complex. tionson tho llexibilityof body_mind c.Libention: HigherBeality(pati)' dealsnolonlywiththe Tanirametaphysics (pasa) il alsodealswithhow (pasu) but bonds and individualself physical, also spiriluallimita_ mental and to overcomefromthe to the Saiva according Liberation pasu, is liberation. thal iionsor D!hkhantaol the sorrow, Siddhanlais lhe end AllTantricschoolshavementionedthe wayol releasingihe isnottheonlymeansthrough Knowledge fromsorrow. individualself overand abovethe gained. Tanlra advocates is liberation whlch god g and lhe constanlpracof race ol inevitability the knowledge, out liberation. forworking ol Sadhana tise Thus,by presentingthe metaphysicalconceptof libertion, physical-mental diseases therapywhichremoves Tantraprescribes lhe applicaby can be removed The former bonds. and spiritual there is a of renunciaiion by the ascribed the doclrine, tion ot form in a distorted the desires reappearing ior leastchance of desiresfromthe Daksina Theyalsoacceplrenounciativon atlertheir gratificalaon renounced are lo be desires kaulism.The ol the kaulacarra. types otthe two utilize best lhey mentally.Thus mind-body outlook healthy a way of culitvating This is alsoagain value. ample therapeulic and hencehas the wayo; worshipof lhe HigherReality' Thusby presenting lighl on the druglesstherapy theseschoolsthrow
101
B.Tanth sedhane: lntroduction : Practiceis belterthan percept.Mere speculationdoes not lead one lo the self realization. Tanhais a syst€mwhjchdeals withthe disciplinary aspectoi realjzatjon. Letus see howit deals withthesame. One ol the meaningsol Tantrais sxpansion(Otan= to expand).But expansionof whai ? Onlycontractedthings can be expanded or onlyseedcanbloomintoa hugetree.HereforTantra, it is an expansion ollhe innerpotenlialities whichis lyingdormant al the end of the spinalcord or the MiJladhara cakrawhichin Tanlraterminologyjs knownas the kundalinlsakti.The process of an awakeningor realizingthese potentialities is lhe Sadhana aspectof Tanka.Sedhanaslandslor activilyor exeftion(Osadh = to exert).So in Sddhana.Sadhakahasto followor lo do something(kriyatmakam) for achievinglhe goal. prescribed Therearevariouswaysot realjzation bylhe Indian wisdom.Likeothers,thisTantricwayol reclization is basedupon somepresuppositions, amonglhem the cardinalone is that,it accepts the physicalbody both as the residingplaceand the instrument forthe realizalion of HigherReality.As the lvleruTantra declares,"Whateveris hereis elseandwhateveris nol hereis no where".This leadsus to concludathe identicalrelationship belweenlhe macrocosm andthe microcosm, SoforTantraShalstra, it is not necessaryto be losi or to roamintothe vastnessof lhe universebut s:ldhakacan realizehis natureby concenhating on his own sell. Self residesintolhe body.So for the realizalionot former, latershouldbe purifiedtirst. So the firstslep is the puritjcation of bodywhichcan be donewilhexternalaids andthe innerpurilicationof bodycanbedonelhoroughness innerworshipormeditation.Howlo dothisorwhicharetheessentials ofTantrasadhana ? This can be asked. Beforegoingto thataspectlet glanceoveroneproblemwhich is lertundiscussed: i.e.whysadhanaisnecessary ? Tantric sedhanal
102
Chapter-4
_ rls recJllr 'nd 'onseq ienc" t > n o r d s d d h d n a a o s l r d c l ' o no u l d n e v e ' y d a y l r i F l a c ' a s r n _ a n d 1 5b d s ' c d l l v .r" O" ';"fr"c
wh ch s requiredto be manifested i:-.ir,.-nj J s"r,t, o, is lett out "nergy #tematic practicesNobodv ]1i"il,"n i" ' g,.'i( a'l rqv TnFvcrvle n sa^t's o' i^- 'i-" i utir,". ""1-'o* rn Frn F Sa\li "ne I '.i. '.""t*-1. 'a" Deuioragvaloecaoq lh' \'rlor ^urnan dnd jJ"-.'ot svdncr oowefs'Aa 'ro" _.r'rt i,'. 'nese t We q-a 'ps i cear'h oi I-]' ." ,r.'"t a'e wenol n *or.rlrolot thelJll 'nanlol Inade*o io wo'10 lu.. oo r"v ii" does lh 5 for lho sao_dl^a ^ Lil... *r"t. a fa. ' c nil'dr6o orIne ' qni cdnl i"o. -ui o" so n"," *' cangellhelLslrlLa'iogives thalTanlra i"r"" in" xJz,t**r"ntra;n whichil declares (Moksa) andl]beratron 2 (Bhosa) "r ,ji-",rJ'toi;asure l"ii[i|'i"
resuts' generaLy How it techniqueswork,which give such ? Tantralecrisystems other nor oolsiuy to ne act levedthrough rhat s oodsure soLrc'ol verv lne i"r;t oosilrvelvto ;;J* pdln Tdnlr
ons' r: h^own as !uo' ,i"r'Jrt *rlrln nt"t,.t ol psycqorogv ol uniolding or nothingbutlhe awakening .j"al""tr" " ":,u*"a that innerPotenllallties 'ding( t thls dspecli5 alqo slgnllcanl re i TherdoeLI'ca'lv, 'n lhe l rTesoi lnd a suqaesl or Oi.Ousru,o*n cf'Ja'e oublisred powerdqarnsld scase ,"ii it-. '"ti.'rn"" oo*er ol rrrndor wrlr t anrer evpn And dl a"] Ol"""a rhe resultsol lhe o,sFase.'lke oeconev ' Iln ol rav i_""ar.t" 1,a" o"rton wilh a wea'
Melaphyscs ol Tantra
t03
TantrasadhakaAmongthern,lhe basrcone is the compelence .ri sadhakaAsrtis sard.Tantrasadhanars jusl Ike watklngon the edgeol malor.So lor il, guru(guide)is requtred who can test the flness ol a sadhakaand then nitialehim. lnitialionls a passporlto enter inlo the realrt ot sadhana.After havingt n shed someexternalmodeol worship.guruthenleachessome nner aspeclsol worshipin which Nyasa(/dertlrcaron).N/udra Bhuta Sudhi (Puriical on) ol bodilyconslrluenls), ilrlednattan). l'fana pralislha(Establishrneni of self)elc.,take ptace.We shall dea withth s n dela I at properplace. Now something aboultheapproach olTantrasardhana Tantra i.cepts the physrcalbody postivey hence il also acceptsits mpuses and Instrncls. Generallynsl nclsbecomelhe cause ol bondagebul novelviewot Tantrais that by gratification of these mpulsesand senses,one can transcendthe limilatlonol lin te .xperiences Ol course,this path is a sippery one whch can cadone lo lhe downfalif propercareis nol laken.Tantrahasnol overookedlhls Accordng lolhe natureof menlaleve olsadhaka, I has prescribedthreewayswhichare termedas ihe Pas! vrra and d vya sadhakaor rn otherlerms Tamaska, Balasika,and Sattvrkasadhakarespeclvely. n thrscfraplerwe sha see aboutthe Tantrasadhanaunder 'r',o headngs, A and B. A consists o{ the essentias ol Tanlra :iadhana whrleB conlainslhe processol awakentngthe inner Dotentialilres. Now et us procesedw th lhe essenlals of Tantra A) 1. Essentials ofTantre sadhanal Tantricsadhanasyslem s a sea in wh ch the ilowsot various syslernsmerge.As it is diltcull lo contan the sea in a pot, so il s dliliculllo containa I the detatlsin a chapter.l\e, thereiore. m i our lask tO presenlintroduction of some ot the sa ient tea:Lrres oiTant.asadhana.Sadhanais thatwhichproducesresuts ol maleriaiorspirilualtype.Whatevermaybelheresull,lhe ouler and the nnerpuaiftcalron s lhe essental aspeclot Tantrasadhana. lhe cenlralpo nl of Tanlrasadhanais to worshipdeilyby becomrr!lderly.li means,as Tanlrabeleves,what man worshipsrs not
104
Chapter4
'on'cioL'ne"' :l' rnal wh,.h 's sonelhrngoutsldebul hls own ."1, in" ,"" rn"t" rr" *riel'es n Tanlrasadhand nF'e we sha'l iln,'oi o-.'urf'o.. no"onswqichare d'gelyaLcoplpobva.l'We placeol guru in Tantrasadhana *ili, tf," i.-," tnrt "ignlficant "t"rl 4. Spirittal guicle : gttru : guru enjoysthe signi|cantstalus' ln the TantrasZtdhana' emergeooul Thouohin presenttimesthe so-calledgurus have ol lna cal r'il-Jr"r,,oor.t or"'o ldck of prooerLnoe'slanorng coul e ol lh's prrne lhe ^L arnavaTa'l'a ."""'"".i"r'r'if'" .ra_v bt'l l'e eal co j"6r3"1es are 1r'atr"" !o called9Lr'rs nntln belweenan aLlhen_ ."" ,t ,.'e i"* '"ara* a ri'e ol oe'narcallo_ preqenrFoce(din nds Tanrra ;";";i; ;Lru "Tha Kul;rndva guru lhe take one from real lhe li.racter stlci tot aistlnguishing the lerm what trs see lel go lhis, to Whal are lhey ? Belorewe guruslandslor? bul the Manvdetinitionhavebeen givenby diiferenltreatise lor gu glru stands term lhe n Tantradec ares that KLrlarnava who gur! is he' Hence removal a"rin"". *f, f" rr'"t"nds for removesdarknessol nesclence' Tanlraalso ac_ Nescienceol what ? Likeallother systems sell a'd lhe vroLral no oelween ."orsine 'oenf.at ,efalronship n tqe waV hJ dle rs lh lLe lacl s ol i..j,,.,""rsat self Nescreace rLe o.lv'ear'zed suru who i" oLI sva h.rse or ;;:r;;";. na'.on who nas reari/edSiva w l"in h'Tce'f can e1 ove lnls ssss no drllelFnlebetween noiac'" and Oe.ar"e o1 tr;t,13n116 s the Srvaand guru to li a ouru and Siva are identicalthen why lord chooses nol guru Why should ? of medi!rn throughihe manifesiHimseLt queslionsOne ol tte maniiestdirectty? i)ne may have such Siva in the Kularnava such questlonis askedby ParvatiloLord repliesthat He is siva question Lord a th; i""i*'..|" ,*0.""" perceiveHow then r"rtr,j.. and beingso, rtls dillicultto LordS va Ia\es "rtii.. to"'pdst'o' ol o't Oeworsn,ppec: So le "an libFratlo'€nditrllrTenr" lhe ,o'm ol qJ',r.WorsLipol Hr'ngra_ls by the sameTanlralhanlhe guruls ,lnjL"ing.;. it lour "tsoa"clared Siva withoulHis lhree eyes Vishnuwithout .".""iniriir'""
f,'letaphysics of Tanlra arrnsand BrahmawilhoutHisiourarm Facesand Brahmawiihoul H s fourlaces.l2These are symbolicexplanations ol lhe various modeof the HrgherReatjty. Whai are the characterrstics ol such a venerable gLlru? Th s has beenexptarned in almostallTantras.The listoj the qualilies or guru s sucha longthat it takeslwo chaplersn the Kularnava TantraHence t is impossible lo reproduceit here,Bul herewe can menton some of lhem so that lhe laymancan see who can be the realTantricguru.The iirst requiremeni is thal gurushould be a realrzed one.OnlysUchpersoncan Initialeotherperson.He also shouldknow lhe13, presenland fllure. He shouldbe acquarnledwrlhthe science of Manlraand yanlraalso.Guru also snou0 havea capacttyto puriiyingthe impurities ol all krndsoi discrpleSuchand othersirrealsothe q!atitiesof gLrru described rnTantra.These typesofqualitiesis almostrarelytobe foundin a man rn thrs age. But il suppose,somebodygets lhs type ot personatrty, he would surelyrealizeihe glimpseol the Higher ' Reality.And because oi this significance, it is declaredwith reverencethatgurucan save us tromlhe wrathot evengod but robodvLd- cave us frorr the wralho, guru.BOnly such;n elti anrquruca- Inridlod disctoe. Wnatis the signtlcan.e ol ntlia. r on and how gUruinitiates discrples thal we shalt see underthe t lle niliation. b. Initiatlon : Diksa LrKeguru,initialionis also an importanlnotionin the Tantra sadhana.In the Kularnava Tantra,it isdeclaredihattherecan be no lVoksaor tiberation without Diksa or8 and iniliation , cannot bo 'he.e wtlhouta leacheror gJr,l.So only gurJcan Inil,ate lhe 0'- o F io lqe sadtsane accordingto h,scomoeiency.g Why nit ationis requiredthis can be asked.In responseto . .. wa ca.rsay our rnrndis jLst lr(e a graden.As In t"e gaden, -.- o oo
106
Chaptel'4
ol power)Theveryterm'Diks't (Transplantation throuohSaktipatagives knowledgewhile which '.iiJ" in,! i""r bi meansthai iksa'meansthat whichremovesanimal sproutsTheVisvasara of lhis lerm Accordinglo l. Dik^sa flitfu o'""" rn" del'nition srnandgivesdrvine[_owleoge" meansthatwh,chabolishes o' i"lorda'words qu'ucreates lhistypeol condilion Howooes "*"v" ? Three gives rritrdlio_ guru which Ihrough *n,.f'-"t" in" The anasadh Tantra in lhe accepted iuo"" oi initi.iionJr" r"rgeiy oi lvoe a creale to rdenliticalion oabodily ii','.ii. So".u. dr\sa -ne hradya'n kradyam lTava sadhaka or raooorlin lhe student initiationbv sightand is Drksanjfr?r, rr'" olir',..i ir lr ThesameTanlra' ""cond "t".j. bythought inilialion aitsa, inettrirOis manasa Tantra,alsodescribeshowgurugiveslhese three ihe Kuta,rnaua by touchrslke d slownoJ' Thetirslinitration ivoesol in,tiation rn" brrdwithlhe warmlhol its wrng5l" ll'e in:tialro' 'ili- ou 't'of'r asnourishlngol l"evoungby ai.a'pr"'s inlllated t""-r-of' by lhe lhotrght whrle lhe inilralion alone rhe seeing ifroti."nrhrough ol ifiit e norrLnlngot it" toung by the tortoiseby onlythinking them." 'I"'ouqhthesewaysol initiation the:'rpuguruIirst'emoves the.latenl so that ritiesandiansters trisenergyintothe disciple' alsoas and tor lhis' oowerol the disciplecan be awakenedBut guru guru, shouldhave ol the i,., nlue seenin iire ctraracteristics onlythistypeof realizedsoul And shakti tire funoitinl u,iaifn-eo canopel lnecenlresol energyof disciple oi a match Toma^eil moreclear'we canpulherethesimip'y coatingor as there box. ln the disciple,lhe energyis already requires which' ol lJior'ur on rn" ,n.t"rt oox Foi the activation initiation' time ol guru lhe at aidwhichis providedby ihe'external purification Ailerlhe initialion,the processol innerand outer placeand lakes i'"i ouirl"ii." ol tody (Bhutasuddhr) somelhrng see "*i.. ountrcat'on ol mindlollowsWe shallnow in.n sudani. airlta atoui c. Putiticationof body : Bhita Suddhi ll teatureol theTantrasadhaner' BhirtaSuddhiis a disfinclive Suddhl rituals prior all discipline to aninOispensable "onJaJ|'"a-a"
Meraphysicsol Tantra
107
meanspurilication. Especially, in the Tantra sadhana,it is believedthal eachlimbof the worshippershoutdbe puriried. Onty thenhe becomesfit for worshipot divinity.Notonlythe purilicalion of body,bul in lhe Tantra sddhandas the KuhrnavaTantra declares,requiresol live type ol purification, whichare namely the puriJication of selJ of place,of material,of Mantraand oj deily.1e Firstthe placeof worshipshouldbe sanctifiedby cleaning swippingetc.and shouldbe decoratedwithllowers,incenseetc. sothatlhe mindcanconcenlrate ondeity.Substance alsoshould be purifiedby sprinklingpure waterThedeityshouldbe purified by placingit onihe seatandalsoby infucinglife(pranapratishta). We shallsee lhe delailsof the purificalion of self.Selfresidesin bodyso lirst, bodyshouldbe purified,whichinTanlra,is known as BhirtaSuddhi. Bhlta Suddhimeansthe pu ficationot the €lementsof lhe body.The purposeof purificationis to makecleanlhe internal andexternalatmosphereof sedhaka'sbody.The outerpurilicalroncanbe doneby bathingetc.andinnerbyNyasa,pranaydma etc. As Kapali Sastrythinks,"ll must be notedhere that the purificationot lhe variouslimbs,oulerphysicaland the inner m nd sluffaimsnot onlyat the eradication of the narrowinqand ooscuflng inlluences ot lhe elemenlal forcesand the univ-ersal weakness oflhelowerNalure, butinviting intheirplace theopposrtegoodinfluenceof lhe benignforces,the powerol the supra physicalworlds.Thatis whyin the actuat Bhita Suddihs,every partis offeredto deityandthegroupof deitiesthatare invokedto occupytheir placesin the body vess€|,idhara, constitutesindeedtheminorgodswho arelhe paivaras(family)ofthe chosen
chief 20
How the processol purificaiionlakes place? Our body is composed ol live elementsnamely,Earth,(Prithvi),Apa(Water), Fire(Ieja),Air (Veyu)and Ether(Akdsa). Purification or harmony orlheseis the real BhutaSuddhi. Accordingto theTantrasadhana,tho whole processshould be done mentally{kalpayet).Sadhakahas to first inagine the pfedominance of pa icularelemenlon the specificpart of lhe
of Tantra [.4etaplrysics pre_ bodvto wh ch thal partbelongs,or thai particularelemenls the instance For dominantin lhat parlicular part 01the body' lhrgh from elemenl earih elementslarlsfromleei lo thigh waler lo ndvpr.' e lrorr _ave ro reall. alr lro.r l'ea l lo Leal'eol eve_ on the mosl upper parl ol the brow and eilheris predominant he r spe ro body Sao'aka has concenl'alelhesee erienl' o^ cific oarts. Aflerdoingthis,he hasto imaginethe processo{ absorplon ol orosselemenl intosubtleone,i e , the earthintowaler,waler int; fire.fireinloarr,air inloether,elher inlo ego ego inlonalure so lcco'dnqroTan"a lo-dkflli,andpraknlrr'lo9oo.Wl"iledolng _e d so hd\ lo mdgined rraa who s madeoul ol bodiv nounlros ideaol Papapurusaor"manol mpuriles rs (Papapurusa).The every oflactlhalpriortolhe processoi purilicallon an acceplance pfo_ he As impurilres' mental wellas s;.lhaka is tulloi bodilvas gets gradually es' he Suddhi, to Bhirta ceedslhrouqhrnitiation resull lhe putitied with position soul a ol tablishedinto his new gradually iade away lhat lhe evilsin hlm,in the lormot impurities, and then drying process of iirst is a il In tradilionallerminology, person' lrre same that so impurilies person lull ol of burningthat assumesas if were airewJormatogelnerIe a afier ourilication, {ol bFcomrnoa spirruarlorn^ano becones a spi'Iua' ma_ I'I vesselor receolace oi splrrluallo'cesolSakl The processol dryingawayand butningawayol the Papa ofthe seedLellervayu' ourusashouldbe donewilhthe repetition lhe wholebody ol lhe Now Ram is lire, thal and that is, vam, blackm;nresultsintoan ash.Thenwiththe helpol neclarwhrdr sadhakahaslo builda new constanllvllowslromlhe Sahasrara, whichshouldstarlhom Lord ol Nalure' purebodyin imaginalion, lrom intellecllo ego,lrom ego to elher' intellect, naiure to irom lire 10water,walerlo earlh earthl0 lire, airto etherto air, from veoetaD,e.on veqelableto lood lrom lood 105erre'dno lrom _alLralegoll s a ce;ren rc o,rrusa.tiatrs Iam Thrs lam rs nol leelingof ;ellrealization. This s what sadhakahas to do menlallyOnly aller this he becornesenlitledlo worshipdeity. We can here see lhe iustifica_ tion ol lhe principleot Tarnlricsadhana,lhat is 10 worship delty
t09
only by becomingde ty (Devaobhirlvayaieldevam).Theretore. Tantras a way to rarseone'sown conscousness lo the eveloi This pracliceshouldbe done by sadhakain daiy wo.ship l'e apeJl .aly lalso .lleclsl_e oody.Ac(ordr-oto he Ayurv6da harmonybetweenv?rta(A r), pilla (Fire)and kapha (Pahlegm) resuts nto heallh.Thesethreeare nothingbullhe combnationoi l h e f i v eg r o s se e m e n l s ( P a n c a m a h e b h u t a ) . P u r f i c a t i o n o l l h e s e f ve elementsnecessarily ends nto health.And the body gets fortiied againstal d seasesaltogelher. AIterpuriiicalionoi consliluentsol bodyor Bhita Suddhi comes ol nrindwhichshouldbe donelhrough theCiltaSuddh, purificalion Nyasa.How Nyasais perlormedlhat we shallsee now' d. Purification of Mind: Nyasa: The processofTanrrasidhana is fromgrossto subtle.Be ng subtle,punficaton ol mindcomesalterpuriicalionol body.Thrs nnerpurilrcalion can be donelhroughNyasa.Howthis puriiicationlakesplace? The root verboi Nyasais ONyas= to p ace.Wilh the helpof lhe reierence of Kapaia sastflar,we couldsee lhal BhutaSuddhi does not mean only removalof bad elementsor impuntes bul aiso placrngof goodthoughtsor divinity. Alterdissolving the sin, fu body,and bu ld ng spirirlual bodylhroughimagination the body s to be instiled wilh pranaor diety.The processoi esiablishing dety staris wilh Ny?rsa. Lke thuta Suddhl, lhis processalso shouldbe done menlally. There are varous lypes ol Nyasa. Namely,I\rantra nyasa, fMahasodha nyasa,Karanyasa etc.IVoredelaijsaboutlh s have beengivenin to the Kularnava Tanka.The NyAsais doneby placng the lop ol lhe iingefon the various parisof the body.As for examplein the MarlikaNyasa, alphabelsare placedon lhe mbs oi lhe body.In lhe esotencscience,leltersare considered as the manifestation ol SabdaBrahmanand beingso they are consideredas deities This t\,4alrika Nydsa is a so biJurcatedinlo tow partswhichare nameiy,lheouterl\,4akika Nyasa,(Bahirmalrika
e. lnstalletion ol lile : PAna pratisthdt : PrernaPralislhais a unique contribulionolTanlra sadhana to the orientasadhana system,In lhe externalworship,at nilial leve, sadhakaworshipsan imageoJSivaor ol Visnuor ol devl. imagesofdeitieslikeSiva,Brahma Al liltleadvancedlevelYanlra, orVrsnupresenlhrgherrealityinlogrosslormAstepadvance,in oi "grossto subtle"is presentedthroughare plac' thLsclireclion ing imageby Yanlra,which is a dragramon the platewrthseed lhe unionoi the grossand sublle lellersor numberssymbolizing withlhe dlvrneconsclousness, or nd vidualse l-consciousness worshiptakesplaceinsieadol rmageworshlp Tantrabehevesthat merelmageor diagfam does nol rlseI becomeeiiectve ll shouldbe chatgedwith the lle lorce This does not meanlhat theyare dead.Accordingto Tantra,lherers nolhng ike a dead thing.Whal here happensis, the sadhaka, his llleiofce intothal Yanlra establishes throughconcenlralion and worshipsil. So hereactuallywhat sadhakaworshipss his conscousness only. Like exlerna worship, this rile also lakes placein internal of bodyand mrnd.sadhakainstalls worshp. Afterlhe puriticalion the ile lorce in his d vine body. of this rite ? Accordrngto the But what is lhe slgnificance olenergyli rs presenl everythingis a manlfestation SaktaTantra, but an ordinarymandoesnol considerthis iacl. So everywhere al the rnitiallevel, he has lo imaginethat the obiectof worship s alve. One shouldnot worship what s in{eriorio him or her' The worshppbd shouldbe superorand musl be consciousrn nature.And becauseol this,Pr?rnaor liieshouldbe in{usedinto lhe worshippedone.But this is nol a processas ArthLlrAvalon sayslo spreada butteron a bread'bul as he thinkslhe signiii 'to enliventhe consciousness oi the cance behindlhs rite ls oi his presencel4 inloa realization worshrpper
nyasa) ln and lhe innerrnalrikaNyasa(Anataramalrika nvarsa) lhe physr_ limbs ol placed the on tetters are ti" iolrn"t typ", tn" ty louchingthat part ol the body whilein lat Uoayimaglnativety (sal the ater tYpethey are p aced on lhe slx subtle cenlres' lrr,rr.f.fr'" detailsot this'is givenin alltheTantrc workswhich are relatedwihTanlrasadhanar' ol this rite ? ll rs thal lne Whal is the esotericsigniticance Is Spiril and body ano essence his lhat realize s:rdhakashould All is divineand Spirll ol lhe lestations its rnan minOare O.rt Nyasdo' Vyaoal'a BV conscioJsnesc bul nolning evervrhinqis prece'ce ol 'o"nr'i.."j'on.he menldllyspreaoslhe and ""o"'no,ni .o'na..'o.rJ"".tt,orq"oul .tlmseJTnpn l-e beLone\ oeva only by becorr'ngso he can worshlpdeva' The sc entiiicsignitcanceol lhis rite is that' as we know' ntellectual' man becomeswhat he lhrnks-Thoughlmouldsoul place lhrough oi beingtakes .oraict'aracter.fne translormation lhe nk abolll of thought lt we constanllylh the lranslormalion 'ecessd' rhe rlls rnlo v es *" rhrnk pos;iively'l ;;';'," o'h'-ran on "t ThLs lor I ansforral ol perso_alny lra-siormator Tantratouches al the very rool ol on;' lnto uiiui"" lJr.o"uiltu and bringsaboulwonderlulreine processol atl transformation iake susceplble to suLls. The mortalIramewhlchis considered sus_ diseasesqets lranslormedintoa robLlslIortified'nol easlly process is Inthis valueol leptlutetJa seasestfre lherapeutic valuaote. Inlo The therapeulicvalue of this rile also can be applred wilh or relaxationNyasaalso meansidenlilication di_ Yoqanidrir abouitheworldly everything vin; lhouqhiin whichsadhakalorgets as the besl is considered il and relaxation true is lhe allairs.This lrom lrre medicinelorthe diseasesol modernworld,whicharise atlack' pressure' hearl ."ni"Lt"n.ions, riticn are namelyblood syslematrc etc. So, lhat way, Nyasacan be equatedwith the methodlor inducingcompletephysicalrnenlalrelaxalLon' After purilicationol body mind in lhe divine body sadhaka prana inslallslhe life,This rite, in Tantriclerms is known as pratistha.Now we shall see about it
How lhls processshouldbedone?This shouldbe donewilh Now let us see some the helpol Manlra.iapa and Purscarana. thingaboutit.
I 1l
112
Metaphysicsof Tanla
ChapteF4
f. Mantra:
h. Bheva : Mental disposition
The piaceoi Mantrain theTankasadhansis verys gnilicant. Nol a singleTantricrile is donewithoutManlra.
Bhavaor menlaldisposilionplaysa ln the Tak c sardhan?l, promnent role.As we have seen lhroughoutlhe essentialsol Tantrathal, Tantralays siresson the menlalworship.As has been we becomewhal we think.Thoughl acceptedin the psychology, personalityotthelhinker hassucha powerlhaltcan transformihe The reasonlor this is thal thoughlls directlyrelatedwilh m nd andmindisconsideredasthe moulderol personality. TanAicsadhanzr basedupon the principle.Due to signilicance oi thoughtpower Ta-t'a avs sress or mentalas pot in sadhana.
The rootverboi Mantrais Oman meansto medtate. ln ihe Nyasa,we sawthe signiiicance ol lhoughtpower.Manlra s nothing butthe condenced {romol thaithoughtpowef.And thatis why properpronuncration andconcentration on il givesresult. In the [,,lanlra Manlrasare dividedintofour groups sadhan?r namelyiriendy,.serving,supporiingand deslroying. At the time of intuition,guru accordingto lhe natureol dsciple givesthe properN/anlraandihal I\,fantra shouldbe doneconsiantly.Th s is
Tantrahasaccepledthe importance ol mentaldisposi|on(Bhava) ln sahanato be extentthai-as Rudrayamaladeclaresdeiiy does not residein a ione or clay,but it abidesin a mentaldisposiiion or Bhava.16
g. \tapa:
The purposeol sadhanapre-supposes a dualilyof worshiper andworshpped-Tundualityexislstillthe idenlitybelweenlhe devolee and the deitvis established. Tanlrahas Drescribed lhe dilferent stages between the way of dualily to identity.There stages are (Bhalva) accordng to lhe menlaltendency of sadhaka. Tanlra has prescribedthree kinds ol ghirva, namely, Pasu bhava, Vira bhava and Divya bhava which are also known, as Tamasika,Raiasikaand Sdtvikarespective, Now we shallsee the detals aboutihis.
Japa meansrepetiionoi I\lanlra.Th s processcultivalespower oi concentration. ,Aftersittingin any convenientposlurein lhe sient place,sadhakarecitesthe l\laniraintowh ch he has been init ated. Japa is oi three k nds: (1) VacikaJapa in wh ch lvlantrais ulteredaud bly,(2) UpamsuJapa n whichonly movementof rps is v sib e bul no voiceis heardand the last one is (3) Mansika Japa which rs consideredas lhe highestiorm of Japa in which only repetilon takesplacewilh a singlemind.One thing should be remembered herelhatonlymechanical repetition doesnol create anythrng for the eiiectiveresult,one hasto do Japawilhtailh, asplration and devotion. The aim behindthe Nyasaand Pranapratishar is lo feeldivinity withinsowesell.How Mantra-Japa doeslhis thatwe shal see in the word of Aurvindo,"Theword is a soundexpresson of the idea.ln lhe Supraphysicalplanewhenandeahasio be realized, one can, by repealingthe worldexpressionoi it, producevibration whrchpreparethe mindfor the rea|zalionof the idea.Thal is the pfincipleof the lvanlraand Japa.One repeatsthe name of ihe preparelhe Divineandthevibration createdinthe consciousness realizalon of ihe Divine".15
Pasu bhava : J va is known as Pasu. The rool verb ol the term Pasu is opas meansboliage.The personwho is in bondsof desiresor is Pasu.In lhe earlystagoJlife,individualbeing is known Valsanas as Pasu.The reasonis that,ai that lime he underthe controlof senseorgansand desires.
t
ln this Bhava,Tamas(lnenia)elementis predominant. Lethargy (Alasya)andrigidity(Jadya)is lhe characleristicoflhis Bhava. Due to nescience(Ajnana),which is also one kind of bondage playsonlyat grossor externallevel. (pasa)person Duelolackof thiscompetency, he cannolpenetrate deeperinlothesubllemeanings of the sadhanaprocess.
Metaphys cs ot -,antra 114
115
ChapleF4
In the KuldrnavaTanka,eightbonds(pasa)have been de scribed.Whichare namely,Daya(tulercy),l\roha(Delusion),Bhaya (Fear),Lajja(Shame),Ghrna{Nausea),Kulam(Heredity), Shia gener (Character) andVerna(colourcomplex).In otherTanlras, aly threekindsof pasashav€beendescribednamely,IVala(lmpurities),Karma(Pastdeeds)and Maya (Deluston) Malats conceivedas the higheslamongall thesethfee.So ior overcomng lhe Pasubhava,removaloi Mala is necessary.And for removalof t, Drksa, niliationis best means. Vha bheva : Al thisstage,Fajas(Activily)elemenls predominant.Those who can discriminale the real pleasurefrom pain and also who greedness,lust,angerelc.he comes hasgot controloversenses, underlhe realmoi Vlra bhilva. OnlyVlra sadhakaare permittedloutilizethe 5 M's in sddhana becauselheyhavecontrolled theirsenses,andinsuchasadhaka thereis no possibility of decline. Ailer havingcontrolledthe senses,sadhakaenterslnto the lhird Bhava,lhatis Divyabhava. Divya bhava : As Raja is predominant in the Mra bhZLVa, herein lhis Divya bhava, Sailva element is predominant.At lhrs levei as the MahanirvaLna Tantradeclares,sedhakalranscendsthe duality (DvandvaUtama)17 of worshipper andworshipped. So thus, sAdhaka who has transcendedthe dualitresand has eslablishedlhe identitywilh lhe desireddeityis known as he who s possessedol divine bhava. These three Bharvasare slages in sadhana.lt is the victory of sadhakain whichsadhakaalwaysgoes upwardfromPasuto Vira and from Vira to Divya bhava.13
of infnilepow is a keylhroughwhichone canopenthetreasure and becauseof ers.Tantrahas donethisjob very signiiicantly Hinduth s, ArthurAvalonsays"lnlactbothpop!larandesioterlc Tanlric".re sm s, in ts praclcalaspect,largely the Tantra sadhan2l, wecouldsee lhattheproc Throughoul ess oi Nydsa,Bhita Suddhi,etc. is nothingbut lhe various powers. physical-mental lor mastering andunlolding lechnique purfedbody-m ndcomplexwhich ispossible through Thisrequires pranayanawhich (postures)and c asanasa Mantra andHalhayog dro In.lLsiveaspeclsoi lhe Ianlrds:rdhana. technlques bodybecomesfreefromdis' ThroughHathayogic mind becomesca m and eases and throughMantrasadhanzr, alsosecuresthe lherapeulic aspect-Consist concentraled.This mrnd, ent positivelhinkrngwhichis posslbleonlyin concentraled This is the core of the lhoughttherapy can heal any diseases. whichhas beanfoundoul in gresenltimes. For lhe desiredresulls in lhe Tantrasadhane,rilualcorn(Samkalpa).This resolution slrenglh' menceswilhthe resolution ens ihe rnindof a Shadhakaand also cullivateshrsWil power which is the sourceol all power. The result of Tarnlricsadhan:r is very quick, effective and endurng. At the sametime,thereis also a limilalionof il. This is to walkonlhe edge sadhanaasthe KularnavaTanlradeclares, of a razor,so forsafety of a sadhaka,an experiencedand aulhentic guru is required which is rarely possible.So lor a Tanlra sadhaka,it is reallya problemlo have a realizedsoulas guru. is a lree which is iullof flowers and fruils ot TantrasardhanzL powers but a gurupreventshis disciplesto utilize supernalural pleasures. it ior mundane Sadhakaallainsthe powerin the proc essol awakeningihe Kundalini.How this process lakes place that we shallsee under the title"Awakeningot the KudalinlSakti". B. Awakening ol the Kundalini Sani :
Conclusion:
lntrccluction
LikerealizalionofReality,unfoldmeniotphysicaland menta powersis alsooneof lhe goalsol anysadhanasystem.Sadhanaar
In thisage oJscience,securityol a livingbeingis a burning problem. lManhas controlled almosl all propertlesof the nature
, ru
Metaphysics of Tanlra
117
"nuo,"r_o and eventhenwe arealwaysin danger. Whyis it so ? Whatis thalsmalloosescrewlhalbrirgsabJtthewholemechanism ol the worldintoa criticalcondition? It is noihing buttheimbalance ordisharmonv between bodvmrnd.intellecl e.nolron in man,Weare runringradly allerthe materialism. The unfullilleddesirescreateimbalancebetween rntellect andemotion in manwhichleads onelo behavein unTechnology has ioundoutthosetypesof weaponsthfough whichmostot lhe partof theworldcan bedemolished withina shortlirne.lf lhe possessors ol theseweaponsdo not think moderately (moderation alsocomesIromharmonV betweenintel, lect and emotion)thenit willprovelo bedangerous forthewhole oi humanity. As copi Krishna lhinkslhe wholehumanity is dangerously sleeping onthelatenivolcano. This latentvolcanool nucleafpowercan bursloulat anv lrre lt isanenergywhictcanbe isedwilherlorconstrucltve or purposes destructrve andthjs sheerlv depends onone,smental lendency. Likealom,ourbodyalsois a toundation ol energywhichls powerlulihan ratherrnore nuclearpowerwhich in Tanlraterminol ogyrsknownas lheKundalinl Sakti.This energyis an !niversal energyand il is generally considered as latentand requiresto be awakened. Awakening of il, is lhe goalofTantra sadhana. Energyas an ullimale Reality oi universe is a meta-physical doctrineundeflyingTantrasystern.This meta-physical dockine has alsobeenaccepted by science. Till now,thisconceptwas considered as purelyspiritual bul nowit hasenteredinto ihe territoryof science.Nowthelimehasripenedfor theworkingout compromise of spirilualism andscientific materialism. Spiritual_ rsmhaslo comedownfromthe solitude of thesurnmit of a mounlain and has to seltle its statusin the midstot layman.Al the sametime,sciencealsohadto expandthe narrowlimitsil has rmposeduponand hasto accepllhat whichis not observable. Thisuniversalenergy residesinabodyintheformoJ Kundala (Coil)henceit is knownas Kundalini. Theawakening of energy
is possiblb eitherlhroughgraceof god or through sadhana. Inlhecaseoigrace, disciple isdirecled byguruorgodthrough themedium of intuilion whilein sadhana, sddhaka has to follow pure certainrulesandregulations. He has to keephis body-mind and pertectwithhelpo, Nyesa,Mudres,Hathayogictechniques etc.Moreover,gurualsohas to keepconstantattenlionon each and everystepol the progresso{ s?rdhaka. Whichare the theoretical andpracticalbasis oflhe Kundalinl yoga and howthe awakenied powercanbeappliedin a modern \rvorld ? Nowwe shaI seetheseoossibleoueslionsin lhe seciion 1. Theoretical and applied aspecb ot the Kundalini Yoga a.Theoreticalaspect: Theierm"Kundalini" comeslromthetem'Kundala'means "coiled". The universal energy, lhoughit is postenllies lalentat theendol thespinalcordina cenireknownas I\,4uladharacakra, in a coiledlormlikea serpenl, henceil is knownas Kundalini. As hasbeenacceptedby science,onlyone-tenth oJourmind s active while nrne-lenth of it is dormanl,Out oresenideveloDmentis lhe resultof thal one-tenlhawakenedpart.In cou6e of time slowlybutsleadilywe cullivate ourpowers buttheKundalini yoga process enhancesthis cultivationas it dealswilh lhe exoanslon oi innerlalentoowets, The theoretical basisof lhis yogais identification, based upontheprincipleof microcosm andmacrocosm, i.e.all lhatis containedin the universeis alsopresentin rnan.IV1an, therefore, is a minialure universe. At tirst,lhis principleseemsto be a capriceor merelyan ideaof a fertilemind,but whenwe go lnto deeperand deeperit proves to the most creativeand luriile Drinciole. Thereisoneand sameuniversal conscio usnessinminerals and man. Thesetwo difieronly in expressionoi the levelsol consciousness. ln minerals, it is lessexpressedand hence il looksas grosswhilein man,it expressesin moredegreesthatin
118
Chapler4
The presenl rninerals, and hence,it seemsliv ng or conscrous. oi man is a resultof a serlesol transformastaleof developmenl previousstagesol man ol consciousness.The tionorculiivalion are ocaledin amoeba,iromamoebato lish,Iishto ape and ape is superiorlo to man.Thisshows thatthe laler transformation the formerone.The process of culiivationof consciousness ihat is adds one more possibiliyin the seriesol transformaiion Irom rnanio super man, Tantraleads us to this way lhrough we are on that awakeningthe KundalinlSak1i.unconsciously, but a Tanlricsadhakadoes this with lull way of lfanslormation awarenessand does it speedly.With the awakeningof latenl wilh the ind vidualconsciousness, s:ldhakagels dentlfication ol whichhe is a part and parce. univefsalconsciousness But how lh s dentification betweenmicrocosmand macro c o s T . k e s p a c ! ? | h c o h e r s v c l e n q .T a n l - at s a < a s o a ( c e p t e dt h a tt h e r o o t o f t h e u n i v e r s es l l t m a i e R e a l t y w h i c h i s one wthoul second,This Realty for Tanlra is eriherSiva or S a k t lb o t ho i w h i c ha r e i d e n cl a l a s m o o n a n d t s b e a m . T h s S va and Saktrare the slalic and kineticaspectol one Realty respecrvery. As in the movingwheel,thereis a poinlwhichls slaiic aro!nd whrchthe whoe wheel moves.ln the same way, Siva is the statc aspectof Realilyaroundwhichthe dynamicor kinetc Sakti moves,So Sivabeinga staiicaspectof Realitys consideredas the centreof the universeas a wheel, This Sivawills lo be many.ThenHis wiliingissuesforih inlo a projectionin the iorm of Sakii.The Sivaor lhe ullimateRealily is possessedwith a Fiat;UniversalWillpowerand Wills to be many. {So akamayat,ekoahambabu syam).Sakli manifests Herselt in ihe planesol consciousness or lokas.Theseplanes same but ihey d iier by ol consicousness are not one and lhe matter of which they are com the degrees ol densityol oul posed.lt meanswe can say briefythatlhecreationmanrieslsin processslarls increasing degreesofdensilyor complexity.This ifom lhe mostsubtleelemenland culminatesin the creationof grosswcrlds,thai ls prithvielc. whichcomposedoi extremely
[,4etaphys cs ol Tantra
'Ihe
119
processof crealion abovemenlioned takingplacein macrocosm, a so takesplacein the microcosm y. simultaneous Lrkeuniverse, ourbodyis alsomadeoutol fivegrosselemenis withlheiressence,lhat isTanmatra, poinls arelocated at certain pointsare in on thebodynamelyskull,throat,heartetc.These Taniraterrrs knownas centresor cakras, Thesecakrasorlhecenlresof consciousness arelikepowerhousefromwhicheachand everycellgetsits power.Bui how th s powert ow ? Thispowerflowsthroughthemediumo1 Nadlor veinswhicharesubllein nalure.Through Nadi,lifecurrents flows andv tal ze the body.Accordingto theTantrictreaiise,thereare 72,000nads in body.Amonglhemfoudeen areimportani.Three amongiourteen are theprimeone,theyare namely, lda,Pi6gala andSusumnzr, Amongthesethree,susumna is themoslsignrficanl. Cenlres are sevenin number.Though thereis a controversy aboutthenumberof cenlres,For someil is ninewhilesevenis generallyaccepted.These cakrasare namelyMtladharacakra, Swadhlsthana cakla,Nranipurcakra, ANajata caka,Visuddha cakla, AJfracalraabd Sahasraracakra.Theircorresponding areas in physical bodynamely, plexus, sacrocoaygeal cardiacplexus, throal, eye-brows and skullregionrespectively. Theseventhcentre,thal is, Sahasratawherethe manifeslatlon of consciousness is al thehighestlevel,js considered in Tanlraas the abodeol SivawhileN4iladharaal lhe end of the spinalcord is consideredas lhe abodeof Sakti.The placeof centresand nadis,is in Tantrasadhanavery signiticant. All the delaildescriplionaboutcentresand nadiswe shall see in the secondsectionot thislhesisunderthe tille'Tanlraanatomy". To avoidihe repelitionol it, here we shallmentiontheirnamesand portionof details. onlyrequired Now let us cometo the originalpoint,thal is, identification betweenthe microcosm andmacrocosmAs mountN4eru is con sideredas the axis of uoiverse,likewise,spinalcord is consideredas lhe base ol physicalbody.Becausebothuniverseand bodyhas been madeout ot tive grosselemenls.The predom!
124
Chapler-4
nanceol I ve elementsis feltal d fterentcentres or cakras'The Vayuand Akasav/iththerr f ve oross elemenls,Prithvi,Ap,Tej?r' Rupa,sprasaSabda Rasa rasnamelyGandhi, resp;cl rveTanmal Anahala' are iell on lhe Muladhara,Swadhislhanalvlanipura, Visuddha,fesPeclvely. Energy s the supporlor base ol unverse The unlversal cakra' restscoiledal lhe I\.uladh'rra energy.thal s, Kundalinialso Tanlra point' in which is the This cord. at lh; end oi lhe spinal t - a r mrgsk ' o w r a 5 l a n o a l ' o n w ' c h a l 7 2 0 0 0 n a d F s p t g d n d soreacloui in the whole body-The sympalheticchannel,the channeland the spinalcord has a greal r-o_ oara-svmoathetic lda,Pingalaand SusumnanirdisThe mental with the ;emblance inlo theselda and Pifgalanird respec llow and vrla currents subtlenadisnamelyVajraand citrinrIn are alsolwo I ve v.There nAdi. rnnar lhe S !su cakrais the meelingplaceoi al lhese chan the lvlJladharra is also an upwardbaselrianglein the cenlre, nslde There nels. liiga on whichthe KundaInrrestscorleo' is a Svavambhu t lhere The latentKundalni canbe awakenedthroughvariousHallra awakenedKundalin vaoic oraclicesandTantratechniques-The p Jces centresone byone and ullimalelyreacheslolhe Sahasrara ;akra. ln its upwardjourneyand unionbetweenSivawho resides in lhe Shasraraand Sakt lakesplacein the Sahasraracakra 'he Saha,ayoga s lhe sy"onym ol lhe \unoallrryood n ascendenceoi the Kundallniwhile piercingall centres, She absorbsall elemenlaltorceswhichare ascribedlo lhe centres At the Sahasraracenlres,Sheabsorbsherseliin Siva A cosmlc iakesplacein thal centre-Thefeissues nectarlrom inlercourse Siva. Kundainidrnks lhis nectarand comes back to Her own olace.l_al rs l'e ly'uladharackara l'het iou ney loward< de_ all lhe centreswith lhe ambrosa and ulli scenl. il revilaiizets This malelygoes lo her originalabidingplacei e lhe f''luladhara and Jnro^ p oce;s'al SaklrgorngJpwaroandcomlngdownaller lll a aoain wnh Slva has to oe repealedagarnard nrercourse in Sahasrara wilh siva staqecomewhenshe rests permanenlly anidecenl movementslopsoncelor all This dependsuponlhe
Melaphys cs ot Tantra
121
ntensrlyoJsadhana and competencyoi saonaka. It s sa d thalwhenmanawakesior worldy alla rs Kundaln s eeps B!1 when Kudaiin)awakes,man sieepslor wordly afiarrs.ltmeanslhepowerhegetslromtheawakeningol Kundalan. expands lhe hor zons of his ordinary tmtlalons allachedwilh hrs ego.Hrs self gels expandedto ils capacilywrlh lhe resLrtl lhaithe power he gels iromthe awakenng of Kundaini he does not ulrrze lor h s personapleasuresbutfor the wholehumanity ll s useess io s t on the so tludeof mounlainaller beraton as someyogrsdo. But the realTantficsadhakausesh s powersnol only lor the satlslactron ot his mundane pteasuresbut Ior the lr0eralronol whole humanily.Lord Buddhaafler entghlment poseda queslronas to how he d iiers iromordinaryperson.who pursuesweatlfror larne or wofldlypleasuresi he enjoyshrs realr?al on h rnsellalone Andlhen he dectdesto sharehrsp eas uresol se I rea rzalronamonga i people Howthe Sal cakrabhedana takesp ace.\\ie sha see uncter lhe I tle app r-ods de ol Kundatniyoga,' b. Applied side of the Kundaliniyoga: Theterm Kundatrni yoga is a compound of twote.rnsnamey Kundaliniand yoga We knowlhe meanng and s gn frcanceot Kundalnr.And yoga meansun on. Herelhe lerm yoga.doesnol denole nrerey !n on bul t also representsthe processwhtch Fealzat on or dentrlicat on wrthlhe HrgherReatrtyrsthe goa o l t h e K u n d a l nyi o g a . T h r s g o a lt s oc a n b e a c h r e v e dI h r o u g h lhe Bajayoga.l\.4antrayoga Hathayoga elc.Thegoa islhesame lrutthey d fferoniy n the way ol approaching the goa . The Raia yoga acceplsthe a d ot Inte ecl lof reachingIhe loai whileManlrayogadoes th s by inslrumenltrkewords The Halrryoga rs 'na nly concernedw lh the physicatbody They be reve In the nlerdependent p ot physca bodyand lhe relaiionsh suble body n wh ch cenlresol consciousness are stualed So lle apprcalon on lhe gross body allectsthe subte body The Fiathayoga does lhis by the application ol M!ctras-pranayama
Chaprer4 resul lhal due to the lrrctonalpressureol pranaand Apanahetd t ghl logelher.rniensehealts generatedandthtsagatn arouses thesleeptngserpent,kunda|ni,whichwhenso activaledis drawn upwards.By mentaI concentration withlhe aid ol [,tantra,thejivalma whrchis oi the s hapeoi a ftameis broughldownlromihe heartto lhe l\.4uledhara and. so lo say, unitedand movedatong wth awakenedSakti.As ils coils are loosened,lhe ape(ure lo the doorof Brahman,Brahmadvara, ai the modlhol lhe SusurnnA,s openedand lhroughthe Colrinenerdrwilh/n the Kundatniis lect
The Kundainiyoga dealswilh the seat or centres of con' sctousness. cenlresand nadisare locatedin the subllebodyot among72,000nadis, thepranayama sarira. Accod ngto theTantra, which are spreadthroughoutihe body,only fourteennadisare lmpo(anl.And amongfourteenon y lhree namely,lda, P nga ,r and Susumnanadlare significant. lda and PingaLa runalongwilh The the Susumnaon the lelt and lhe righlsrdeol it respeclrvely. root of all nadiswhich in Tantraterms is known as kanda s in lhe Sakli liesdormantatthe end of Nluiadhara cakra.TheKundalnini the Susumnachannel.How to awakenlhls sleepingKunda nl we shallsee il now Tantrahas workedoutthisprocesslhousandsot yearsback. Thouqhthis processis a difiicuittask but il glves evetlaslng oi th s process ot elerna joyto sadhaka.Thepre-requirement is the guidanceol an expertleacher awakeninglhe KLrndalini, who shouldbe well versedin this type of practicewho can ellL' cienly guide in this processllll il cornesto ts naturallrliton. The obiectiveofihis processls to achievepurityof physlcalbodymindcomplex-And hencethe Secondpre requisileis firmdelermrnationor strong will power.
Ailer p ercinglhe Mu adhiiracakra,wilh the aid ol lhe concentralon, KLtndalnlgoes upwardand p ercesa I centresand p ercesa centresand untteswilh siva at lhe saharara centre. The s gn iicantpo nt, here,is ihat n the ascendings lourney.She absorbs all the grosselementsascribedon the ceftres and bathsIn the ambrosa issuesby Sivain lhe Sahasrarcakra.In returnloLrneyShe revilatzesall cenlresand comesbacklo the Muladharacakra,her abidn9 ptace.This processshoutdbe rePeatedaga n and again. Tr.r6l , . o - " p v o , < I n o a l ; -t,- v o k e sv . r i o u \( e n t r 6 ro ls way to Muladhara and endowsthe sadhakawiththe io /owing quairles.
aspect,kundalinsleeps As we have seen in the theoretical dormanlai the base of the susumnanadi.So the door of this nadishouldbe openedotherwisethe arousedpowerls likelylo pass ertherin the ida or in lhe Pifrgalan,rdi.
When i1atla]nsto Sahsraraon ts upwardjourney,sAdhaka becomescompleley iberatedtrornlhe lmnationsoj body mind andspacearound.ln lhe ret!rnjo!rneywhilepassrngthroughlhe Atiracakra endowsthe sadhakawith the qualty ol succ;ss of words,rneanswhateverhe speaksturnoul lo be ull matelytrue. ll conlers the vak siddhi. When t passes to visLrddha cakra,sadhakaendowswith a uniquelypesof oraltonwhtchwhencehe ulters,keepslhe hearer spe I bound.When i passeslhroughAnahatacakra,it coniers un que poweroi drscrimination by wh/chsadhakacomesto know !'rhats goodand whal s bador whal is elernaland whal s nonetefnal. When il comes lo the Manipura cakra,sadhaka is endowedwrlhtheknowledgeoivariousvdyasor abililieswithoul be n9 tought When tl passesthroughthe swadhisthana cakfa,
the power menTherearevariousprocesseslorawakening tioned by the di{ferentTaftra treatise. Here we shall see this orocess rn lhe wordsol ArthurAvalon.In lhe wordsof Arlhur Avalon."The sadhakasils in as orescribedasanaand sleadies the mindby concentrating beiweenthe eyebrows.Air is inhaled and retained;the upper part of lhe body is contract and lhe prana(upwardbreathiis checked.Theairlhus preventedfrom qoing upward tends to rush downward;lhis escape ol veyu as apana is also checked by appropriale conlraciion of lhe lower parls.Thevayuthus collectedis directedtowardsihe Marladhara upontt with lhe centreand ihe mind and willare concenlraled
I
Chapter 4
124
sadhakas endowedwrthpoelc senseand lhe sLrble lechnqL.res cakra,sadhakaenjoys ol yoga Wh€nrl comeslo the [,4Jladhara h e a l i h . T h e s es i d d h i s a r e a g a nc r i l e r i at o w h a t a n e x l a n t h e sadhakahas beenab e to penelratevariouscakras. Theseare the powers wh ch normaly do nol manfesl in a aynran.lt manlests only allef p ercingone afterthe olhercen tr€s.At the endol lh s processsadhakagetstota y lransformed. a or lrF suoF'nal- a e-p 9/ o
.r.
^il,
C. Therapeutic application olthevarious aspects ot Kundalini Sakti: H thertowe havebeen discussing aboutthe lfreorelrcaand app ed s de of the Kunda nl yoga.Awakenng ol the infer potent a rtes s not an easy process.The T,lnlrc way of awakenng s very elJeclve becauseI dea s directy withthe menla aspect. I rs p!re y a psychologicaprocess.Thrsfacta so can be seen rn lhe Tantrc processoi worshipof deily shouldbe done mentaly Kalpayel)and rl is consideredas lhe highesl form LBhavayel, ll s sa d thatthe processol sadhanagivessonresupernormal poriersto sadhaka.Whal s lhe use of lhesepowers f sLrppose the sadhakaslls dly n so itudeon lhe peakso{ lhe mounlans ? Ho,,!lhesepowercan be applredin day to day lile ? A aymanis oast concernedwlth whelherKundaini is lhere or not He is \or
o.'.1 or lLospcdslL
orgrwl_i.Flo
o
boger ralo'
ifcm th-opainresullng fromlhe cornplexities ol ile. Physicad s' orCersand menla aimentsare lhe unavoidable aspects ollle l v h c h a d d t o l h e c o n p e x l y n i i e . l s t h e r ea n y T i n l r c w a y thro!gh wh ch lhe processol awakenng of Kundain canbe ut zed to come overthe ev ls ol fe ? Yes,irornthe descripton of Tantra centres and nads we ca11 \rr'ork oLrtone hypolhesis wh ch rs re aledwrlhthe therapeulc aspeclvrhch runsas lo lows: The awakenedKukndain can be c assiiiedaccordin!llo ils v a r o r s a s p e c t so l m a ni e s l a to n . T h e ya r e n a m e l yK r y d v a l.
Varanamayee. Kalatrnaand Vedhamayee.25 llan leslalionon the planeof physcal body,which s retaled wrth the Hathoyoga,s known as the Kriyavat aspect oi the Kundalni saktr On lh s stage,sadhaka does mantioldexer crsesaulomalically underlheinlluenceof newawakenedpower. The Hathayogicexercisedirecltyaffeclsthe spinalco umn of saldhaka nol in a destruclivernannerbut their eliecion syslem grvesheallhto him. The secondaspect s Kalavati.Elymologcally.Kalarrneans phase.lt may be a phaseof lime ol moon etc Kunda nl s a neryenergy.lt s phaseof ilame in bodyiakesthe forrnof b le or pilla.The p ace of brle in body is very s gnifcant. All rools of d seasesare ocated n the unbalancedsecrelon ol lhe f rst o{ trre stomachor jatharagnl. The taken food s consLrmedbythe Tfe al ihe navelregion.Arousedpowerol Kundain slrenghtens lh s f eringcapacilyof lhe bie or pi|akatdwh ch uttirnat;y re sulls nlo heathy body. The Vedharnayeeaspect rs the highest manifestatonot Kundalinr sakiiwhichcoversalltheselhreeaspects.This aspect dea s wth th€ p ercingof centres.Bhutalayaor the cornptete controoverbodly constituents is the resuIotthsaspect.Sadhaka can cnangetfreproporlionof bodilyconstituents accordng lo his ,,r,i. So thai he can hirnsetleslabtisha harmony betweenlive e i e m e n t s w h c h i s t h e prreeq u i r e m e n thoef a t t h . T hiinsd i c a i etss lremendous lherapeutic value. L ke al theselhreelhe Varnarnayt aspecla so has the thera, peurc aspectvery muchvaluabletn moderntimes. This Varnamaylaspecl manifestson the Visuddhacakra lr'rrch s consderedas lhe abodeol Sarasvati. The correspond nll area ol the V suddhacakrarn physicalbody is the throatre g cn through!\]hich the pronouncialions oi letters(Varnas) or sound A I ellershave the r origtnin the Nada lallv or SabdaBrah m a n .T h e r ea r e l o u r s t a g e st h r o u g hw h c h n a d a p a s s e s t i t nlanrTests intothe spokenwoTdsor Valkhari.Thesestagesare
Chapler4
126
lolne sdn oara,oa:vanlt,Mad_yan'aand vaiknati.Accotdlng -ndn'e5lslhro igh <^rl rnousls lhe va Inan or thespo^enwords the lilty'lelterwhlch are knownas Varnas Amonglity lelt€rs vowelsnamelya' a, i' i, u, u, r' ri /i, e ai' o au' there;re sLxteen groups rn , h. The lwentylive consonanlsare dividedintofive which runsas lollows: ghn g l(h k I
I p hard
chJ tho lhd phb
lhn dnn dnn onm non
-:: nasal
namely,y, r, l, v, s s h l and Lasl nineare semi-consonanls ks is a compoundol K and S. Now let us come lo lhe Tanlra anatomy wllfl a vLewlo worK oul the hypothesisrelatedwilh healingaspect As we know ac_ cordinot; the Tantra,lhere are two channels,lda and PLngal'r leltand r ghl thal is,sLrsumn:r' runnin;alongthe middlechanneL, are channels microcosmic two These side oi il respeclivelyAnd sun and moon macrocosmic lhe with beiievedto be related being so, lda nadi conlans menlalcurrentsas it relateswith moo; whi e Pingalanadi coniainsvitalcurrentsas it relaleswith sun,Thus, in brief,menlaland vitalcurrenlsilow lhroughlhese betweentheseto currentsis alsoone ol the saliDisharmony ent cause ol diseaseor spllt personalityBecausedlsharmony belweenemoton betweenthese two curreniscrealedisharmony lda and Pingalare' with related directly which are and intellecl specrvely. All thesedetails lead us to concludethat ii lhe llow ol the menlalcufrentsor emollongoes ln excess degreein lhe lda or fancilu or behavesLlKe nadj,man becomesmoreimaginative he oi lal'l_g'al onal Incaoab'e beiomes *orOs, or'n ol',"t "ro,'." decrsion.Al lhe same time rl the llow ol vita' cJ enl ooes 0e_ manbecomesmorevigorousor rigld Bolhlhese yond propodion,
:
.l ti
:
Z. -
.. ;
-
:i
g!
tn
E9 1.'
128
ChapleF4
s tuationsare nol good for heallhybody,mnd comptex.Excess or any .urlanl Furlslhe oersondltly ol rrdr The Varnamaylaspectol lhe Kundalinlhrowstrghton lhe way10comeoutfrornth s calamty.As the SaradeTlaka aTantfic work dec ares,the pronuncration of lettersor vafnasis possibe w th the helpoia rorvayu. Accordtng to the sametreatise(palalhe eifecl of sound ol allthe vowe s are ma nly connectedwilh ) lda Agarn shortvowelsperlan to lda and lour vowes e. ar. o. au. to SusurnnaThe nasal soundperlans to atmAand visarga to saklr The shorl vowelsare of masculinegender,the long vowelsare of femininegenderand lhe tour a. ar, o, au are oi neuter gender.Twenty-ltve consonantsirom k lo m are mainly connecled withPingala andsibilants are connected wrlhSusurnna. Again,all consonants from k to ks withshortvowes w th lda and a , o au wrthSusumna.22 Thrs a lows us to concude that cerlan le ers containvrla lofce wh le olherscontarnmentallorceas lheirorign is elther n Prngaa or in lda. Nowlromlhe givendetailswe can assumethatil, suppose. sLrbject A is suileringfrom the vtal de|ciency.This vital defciencycan be recoveredby the correct pronuncalion of lhose letterswhichare re atedwilh Piagatanadr. Accofdingto the chart which is workedout by lhe Sarada T iaka.lhe pfonounciation ol arand a createa d1llerent typesoi eifecls as lormer is relatedwith the pingalanad and ater rs relaledw lh the lda naldi. A
Shortvowel
P ngalanedi Vltality
A
Longvowel ldanadi N4entalenergy
In lhe same way deliciencyot mental currenlsa so can be removedby the pronouncialion ot leltersrelatedwilhihe ldanadi. Thuslhroughpronounciation ol letters, harmonybetweenemoton and Intelleclcan be eslablished, which s the pre-requirernenl of tl-reIntegratedpersona iy.
Metaphyscs ol Tanlra
129
The Varnamayaspeciamongall lheseaspectss rnore ad' rules vrsableIn tormerthree,the person haslo undergoceTtarn wh le in the Varnamayl regulations which are difficult Ior alL, and aspect.a healercan pronouncethe letterlo a pattentaccordlng and help h m n strenghtenhrslongt vrly.Pa lo hrs requiremenl has nol to do anything as everlhingdependson the healer. I en1 Ths is lusl a hypothesis,whch leads us to the drugless therapy.How iar t s elleclve on how lar lherrresullsarea per' demandthe Iurther manenl? The answersof allihesequeslrons is d no1a mosl resea.chin lh s regards.ll it works elfeclively, benelcia app ied aspectoi the Kundalniprocess? Conclusion: t has beenprovedby lhe modernsciencethatwe can !t ize t t e n e r g yg i v e nb y l h e n a l u r eR e s t o i l h e e n o n l yl i l le a m o u n o ergyliesdormanl Th s sameconceplis m rrotedin the Tantric conceptol the Kundalnl.The goal oi lhe Kundaini yoga is lhe ng ol this poweror lo be consciousabo!rtand realizelhis \.rnfold Inherenliatentpowerwh ch in Tanlralerms ls known as the awakeningoi lhe Kundalni Sakti. Tantfrcway of unloding oi nherentpoweris very ef{eclve and at the sarnet me dangerousa so.Sadhakashoud have lrelo face any k nd mendouspat ence persslence and resrstance ol consequencesresulingirorn lheprocess. BeioreKundalrnl awakenssadhakahas 1oaltaincertarnlevel 01physca and menla preparatons. The Kundaliniresidesn the subtlebodybut how the subl e body can exist wilhoutany residingplace? Physcal body sal_ So for reachinglhe sublle,it is necessary sl es lh s requiremenl. t o c o m e o v e r l h er m ( a l i o n s ogl r o s s l. t m e a n sb o d y s h o u l db e puriiredor madedevoidol any disease. Ivlereheallhybody wouldnot help.There is a so one ent1y Whch is moresubte n naturethan body3nd also inler_relaled wilh body.that is mind wh ch also should be pure and healthy a one but rnenla We are nol affecledonlyby physlcasufferings a menlsare also oneoi lhe rool causesol our sullerngs.Hence
130
Chapler-4
131
like body m nd also shouldbe kepl pureand concentrated. By consderingal theseponts, Tanlrahas workedout ts way oJ altan ng concenlralon in thal lorm n wlrch ts propef app cat on necessaryensuresheath 01 bolh body and m nd. This s realy a signilcant aspecloi Tantrasadhanawhich puis Tantraon a hlgherstage. HowTAnlricway of concenlration or medllalionp!ril es and slrengthensthebody-mnd complexlhatwe haveseenunderthe ttle EssentialsoiTantrasadhana".Thefewehaveseenlhelherapeutc valueof Nyarsa, lvl!dra,BhulaSuddh etc.
FOOTNOTE A l m e s v a r aS a m y o g a Y o g a hI C o m m e . l a r yo l k a u n d i n yo n l h e P a s u p a l as u t r aI 1
2
S a r v aD a r s a n a S a m g r a h a9 5 ' 1 3 0 3. c t l h S v a t a n t r av l s v i s d d h i h e l ! h P r a l y i b h i l n a h r a d a v m _ 1 E dl e d b y s n g h . l a i d e v a P u b i s h e db y [ 4 o l i a B a n a r s i d a sF, r r s i E d l ] o n 1 9 6 3
This nnerpurl cat on does not lakesp ace automatcaly. ll requres sadhanaor constantpracliceIniliaton is requred lo enter nlo the rea m of sadhanar. On y realizedguru or gu de is entt ed to nitate the novice. Thus n Tanirasadhana,lhe bas c req! rementrs lo havean eff c eni gufLr,not onlyat the n tlal evel,but at evel oi awaken in!tlhe Kundainl or piercng the cenlres The awakenedKundajinlensuresheallhof body .iifd com p ex and alsofeleasests alenlpowefswh ch agarnjo 1rfes body and m nd aga nst any attackfrom nside.The var oLSaspectsol lhe awakenedKundalni namely,Kryavat, Kalaval. Vedharnay and Varnamayare nol also devoidof therapeulc va ue, The basedon the lherapieswh ch arewofkedoui hereare hypolhesis The goa of Tantrasadhanas oLrland oul sprrtua . lts goa s . . j r o , b . n o n i l h o Ldl 1 y s o L _ d p n p l ' s . t r o ' l l ' " " i ment or ior the fea izationol lhe sourceol Lrniversa energy,rt has no1neglectedthe physca body.On lhe contrary I has workedoLrtthosetechniques or processthroughwhichthe gross bodyof the m crocosmcan be subimatedintomacrocosrn. Thrs s I he rnost poslive and pr ce esscontribulionoi lhe Tantrasadhana n the rea m of lherapes.
. u b l s h e d b v A c a d e mc P u b _ E d i t e d b y C h a k r a b o r l iH, a r i p a d a P , 970. l s h e r s .F i r s lE d i l i o n 1 Saa m b a n d h ah e i ! y o g a hI d v a r e n a e s v a r Citla
Y A d e v iS a r v a b h u t e s cue t a n e l y a b h i dvha t e l C l r e p e n ay a k r u l s n a m a n t a a d v y a pSylah t h a l a g a t l l S a p l a s a l i l Sarvakamla iyacaksale P a s ! p a l aS u l r a 2 ' 6 . Lrktahpalihsadv' 5 . Tasyakasyapig ! nakarmabhedapeksyavibhagah S a r v a D a r s a n aS a m g r a h ao l M a d h v a c a r y a A a s v a r y av a c a n a m aS a s c a k l i g hp a r a k r a m aL Devbhagvata. Y o g ic e n n a l v ab h o g is y a d b h o g i c e n n a i v ay o g a vI ' B h o g a y o g e t m a k a mKaa L r l a mlaa s m a l S a r u a d h i k a mpar v e 1 l T a n l r a2 _ 2 3 . Kularnava 8. L
T h e T i m e so ! I n d l ad a i e d 1 . 5 1 9 8 3 S u n d a yE d i t i o n ' G u s a b d a h t v a n d h a k a .sayha t r u S a b d a h t a n nr o d h a k a hI A n d h a k a r rnai r o d h a l v agt u r u h i t y a b h r d h i v a l e T a n l r a1 7 - 8 . Kularnava
1 0 . Yah S vah Savirrgah SukksmsconmananiskalosvyayahL V y o m a k a s ea j o s n a n l a hS a k a l h a mp u j v a t ep r v e t b i d1 3 - 5 1
Chapter4 ll
Talpasc:rtsreyasaSlhanam divya bhavo matraphatahll
A t a e v a S i v a h S a k s a dg t ' r u r u p a mS a m a s r l a hI B h a k i y aS a m p n j i l od e v b h ! k l i o nm u k ln r p r a y a c h a t1i 1 b d I3-52
1 2 . A l r n e t r a hS l v a h S d k s a da c a l ! r b a h L h a c u l a h I A c a l L r r v a d a nbor a h m aS r r g u r u k a l h i t a hp y e I l r bd 1 3 5 7 . l3
Metaphyscs ol Tanlra
H a r i r u h e g u r ol r a l a g u r or i r t h en a k a s c a n a .
T a k e nf r o ml h e T a n t r aM a h a vj n b n a ,b y S n F a m a S h a f m a p 2 0 9
23 Avalon.Arthur:PrinciptesofTanlra,part I, p.117. publishedby canesh 21 A v a l o , nA. r t h u f : T h eS e r p e n tp o w e r ,p . 4 S 9 ,p u b l i s h e db y c a n e s h 2 5 Calurvidybsa samdist:rkr yavatyadi bhedatah r Kriyevall Var|rarnayeeKatalm:rVedhamayee.
1 : r V n a d k s a mn a m o k s a hs y a l y u k l a ms v a s a s a n el
Takenfrom DevalrnaShakli,,(Divine power)by SwamrVishfurirth, p . 1 1 5 P ! b i s h e db y S h a n k a r l a t lB i h a t n a g a rr,9 4 9
s a c a n a s y a dv i n a c : r r y a m i rci a r y ap a r a m p a r ar tbdt33 r 5 D i y a l e J n a n as a d b h a v ak s y a t e p a s l v a s a n aI T a k e nf r o ml h e T a n t r aM a h a vj n a n ab y S h a r m aS r R a m a 1 6 S p a r s a k h y ad e v i d r a k s a n j i ar n a n a s k h y m a a h e s v a r aI K n y a y ad e v i d k s a l r d h a ts m f u i a t bd 1 4 , 3 8 1 7 . A l m a S t h a n a m a n u d r a v yd ae v a S u d d hs l L rp d ' , o a r f K | ] l a r n a vT a a n t r a6 - 1 6 . 1 8 S a s t r yK. a p ai l V F u r t h e r l l g h tTs h e V e d a a f d t h e T a n l f a p. p 2 4 2 2 4 3 . P l b l s h e d b y S f i A u r o bn d o L b r a r y .1 9 5 1 19 Avaon, Arlhur:Sak1 a n d S a k l a p 5 4 3 ,P u b l i s h e d b y c a n e s ha f d C o . S i x l he d l l o n , 1 9 6 5 . 2 0 . C i t e db y S a s t r y K , apalilV F u r t h e rl g h t s : T h e V e d aa n d t h e T a n t f a p, . 2 4 7 . 2 1 N a k a s l h ev i d h y a t ed e v o n a p : r s a n a t en a m r u n m a y o B h a h iv d h a l ed e v a h l a s m abrhl a v a s t uk a r a r r d ' , i C t e d l r o r nS r i H a r nS a r m a ,p 1 9 5 . 2 l a . D i v y a s c ad e v a l a p r a y a S h u d d h a n t a a kha r a n as a d a D v a n d v a l i lV o i t a r a g a hS a r v a b h n l a khs m l I N l a h a n i f v a nTaa n t r a 1 5 5 2 2 A d o u b h a v a p a s u mk r u l v ap a s c a ik u r y a d a v a s y a k a n l V r a b h a v om a h a b h a v a h saraabhavolamah
26 T r a n sa l i o ni s t a k e n f f o m l h eD e v a r m saa k n( D t v i n e p o w e r ) b yS w a m
Chapter-5
Applied side of Tantra: Dance,Music,Astrology, Sarcraments
Chapter-5
Applcationot any pr nciple s one ol lhe decidng lactorsol ts scundness.For nslance,in the realmo{ science,lhe law ot gravitaton is consideredas an authenlicor universallaw The reasonof il is lhat il dealsunexceplionally with a11 objecisof the universe. Whaleverwe throwupwardnecessarily comesdownward.ln additionlo thislype ot inslance,we may add the law of ca,.rsatron whlchstates lhat everyellectpresupposes a cause, or in olher wofds, cause necessarily createsellecl. All lhese aws are universaland theirapplication decidesthe soundness of ihal branchoi knowledgeirom whichthey emanate.BeLnga system,Tanlrais alsobasedon some principles amongthernthe caTdna oTe s lhe principle of cultivating oi energy.Stgnficance ol energyin lile needsno illustration. Lifeor energy is the core ol un verse.Tantrahas toundout lhe sourceol energy,nol only that, bul il has also mentioned the way ol cultivationand channelizalion oi il. ForTantra, energy s the UltimateReality. Eve hing s bul its manLleslation. ll creales,sustainsand deskoys. How does it lh s work ? Energydoes lhis throughv bration and movement whichare its unavoidable aspecls.So thesetwo alsocan be lhe ads ol the reaLization ot energy.lndan arls lke ol Musc and Danceare basedon these two aspectsrespeclvely. The rootof the term Nratyais I nrlla means"to act"wh ch s highy re ated w th movements. A dancerthroughdilferentgestures(Mudr?ls) o. movements crealeshis/herownuniverse on lhe stage.Throughthe rhylhmicalmovementshe/sheis attunedto lhe entrrecosmicmovements. In thisway he/sheesiabrshesan denlty ol lhe linitewith inlinitewhich is our goal. Like dance,music also ends inlo realizsalion. ln music, notes(svara)enjoysignrlicant stalus.In Tantra,lhesesvaraare
138
Chapter-5
consdefed as the Nadasaktior cosmic,soundwhich is one of the aspeclsol the Kundalinl sakti,the universalpower.As in Vedos,so n Tantraalso, Sabda is consideredas Brahmanor ot the N:rdasakti,eachand every energy.Be ng a manilestation poweris lellthroughlhe mediumot leiterishighlypowerful.Ths v bration.And becauseof th s we feelthe impactol the arfanged Ragaof music. beinga rnanltesiat on Eachand everyalom o{ the Lrniverse, ol energy,rssuesvibralons.We are noi the only enlily n the also.Thisa so, like un versebLrllhereis awrde planetarysystem e eclriccurrenls.Accordingto lhe Tdntric !s, conslantlyrssLres pfincipleoi identitybeiweenmicrocosm and macrocosm, atlraclionand repusiontakesplacewhichbecomesthe decidingfaclor mpactof the planelarysys of lhe favourableand unfavourable ol the subjectand p anetsgive lem. Harmonybelweenvibraiions The Indianastrologyis Iavourwhiled sharmonygivesunlavour. basedon thisTarntr c pr ncLple. Apparenilyih s leadsus lo concludelhal we are slaveol the p anetarysyslem. Bul accordingio Tanlra,il is not so.Our mind is more powerfulthanplanetarysyslem.Poweris therebut it is lalentin m nd. A siddhaor an exped can compe the planetaly sysiemthroughhis cullivatedmenlalpowers. The pr m tive man bel eved thal the causeoi p easureand pain s the supernaturalpower.For ihe benign nfluenceon ihe rnporlantoccasions ol lie whichstarttromconceplon tocrema I on groundwhichare sixteenin number(SodasaSamskara)are wlthlhe helpoi I\,4antras and Yantfas. stillbeingcelebrated olTankicprrncLikeabovementionedaspecis,the in{luence ples are also discernibleon otheraspecisof life but withinthe liml oi this is, we shall see somelhingabout lhe above men' oi ironedaspects.wesha lproceedw th the dancean expression Innatecrealrveenergy. A. Dance: For Tanlra,energyis the UllirnateBealityoi wh ch conslanl LordSivals consid' aspecl-Tirntric movementis the unavoidable
App ied slde oi Tantra:
139
eredas the lordol dance,Nrityamurii or Nalraja-amasterdancer. Rhythmboth n universeand in dancealso rs unavoidabe aspect. n universe,we see the processof creaiion,mante nanceanddestruction ln a rhylhmicalorder beingconstantiy done by cosmrcRealty.Beyondlhesethereare alsotwoaspectswhich (Tirdhdhana).These are namey, grace(Anugraha)andconceaLment ilve lold aspecloi Realityrs symbolzedin a postureof Natrala, lne greatdancer. The danc ng postureol handsand legsol Nalratais nol also olt of s gn ficance.Th s posluresuggestsS va as most beneJi, crallp mankind. The righthandwithdrumand1re syrnboiizes the handof protection (Abhaya) wh le lefthandwiihdandams a hand ol besiowinglhe boons.This is the descrption ofthe exoteric formoi poslureNatr:rja. Nowlel us seewhat il esolerically repre 1. Esotefic meaning ol the dancing posturc of Siva : Th. o or6ri sro^.i. a- e of r,leportJre\dt..jd c-qgFct rr-p Tanlrlcprlncple of rdenlty betweenm crocosmand rnacrocosn-t or Indivrdual sell and the Universaseli. As the universels ihe slageof cidambramol LordSivaon whichHe dances,lhe same cdambaram rs localedin the body,thal is, hs heart where Gods mage elernallydancesior destroyinglhe Maya and re, leasethe sp rit withn. As Rao Gopinaihhas r ghl y observed, ''Sivas a destroyer and oves the burninggroLrnd. Bul whatdoes He destroy? Nut merelylhe heavensand earthat the end of a kalpa.but lhe ieiterslhai bind each separalesou. Where and what is the burningground.lt is not the place whereour earthty bodes are cremated,butthe heariol the bhakta,lhe devoteeaid urasleand disoate.He br ngs not peacebut a sword.The place wheretheirse ves are destroyed signriies the placeor stalewhere the r ego of ilusionand deedsare bruntaway:lhatis lhe crema, groundwhereSr Nairajadances.I toriu.n,lhebLrrning Sjva as deslroyeris known as lvahakalawho even rn lhe work ol deslruclion,conslanly creales.The consorlot Slva as fMahakala is knownas'Tandava'. Eitherway il is the movementof energyihal br ngs aboutchangein lhe cosmos.Now let us see
140
Chapter5
somethingaboLrllhe danceof Kal . 2. Dance ol Kell orenergy: Lesya Nritya . We havegot grmpseol Sivaas lordoidance.ThroughHis namely,crealion,maintenance. dance.He doestvelold activities graceandconcealment. deslruction, He doesthiswiththe he p of his consorl,Sakt Kai, who nspiresSlva to expressany ges' Sakt s also a dancer,She dariceson lhe proslratebody of her lover Siva. This postures a so h ghly signliicant. S r John Woodrollehasbeautilully disclosed the signiicanceol the danc ing poslureof KAli,or energy.In his own words,"She s naked be ng clothedin spacealone(Digambara) becauseGreatpower is un mted;lurthershe is Herselfbeyond l\rlayalhat poweroi Hersef wrlhwhichshe crealesall universe. She slandsuponthe whle corpselke body ol Siva. He is white becalse He is lhe ll,Jmnation.(Prakasha), the lranscendenlal aspeclol conscious ness.He s inerl becauseHe s the changeessaspectol the SupremeandShe s apparentlylhechangingaspecloith-"same, be ng twin aspeclsol the one who is changeess and existsas change."2 Tantrc pr nc plesare not relatedonlyw th the esoleTc mean ing ol dance.But ils technique, ike the Halhoyogicpostures (Asanas),pranayamaare alsoconnecledwiththe geslurers(N/udras) Danceand Halhayogic technique : Danceis not merey a movementoi body but il also represents ihe exposlon ol lhe moodsand emotons ol mnd. For perJeclpresenialion of moods,m ndshouldbe calmandlh s calmness L ke ca mness,the I exibllity can be gainedlhroughpranaryarma. o ' b o d yr s d l 5 0 r e q J r r e d I n d a _ c e . T h e H a ' h a y o gai ^, saps ,a-' . this. So wth the helpol asanasand pranay:rrna, a dancercan expresshis/heremolionsperfecily. The abovernenlionedfact is realized by Zdena Bronislaw Ska Deylova.Her experiencehas been publshedin the "Yoga" lournalofApril,1978,lnwhichshehasacceptedlhatlhepractice
A p pe d s d e o t T a n t r a
l4l
oi the Hathayogc asanashelpsin the Juliilmenlof the dance. n her own famousdance yoga-etude" she has presenleda serres oi s xteenasanas.3 Danceis an expresson of innatecreal ve powef,that is known as KLrndanl The activty oi iie iorce in untverseis lhe cosnric dancewfrch s conslanllybeingdone by Ltniversal power.Awaken ng oi Kundalin also manilestsas a creativrty in an artist.In ho ro<- or oo,. a 1.. od-.e. t, ,o.lgr l-e ga
nectarof B ss which ariseslrorn the union of Siva Sakl, the periectcoLrpe ol universe. We c ose this pointw th the wordsol a dancer 'S va andParvatihavebeen lhe nspiration of a I dances. the perleclma e-female,lhe dual personatzatronoi the Abso lute a B. Music: L k-odance,musicis a so a dtvinemanifeslalion of un versal Energy,Kundalnl.The coreoi mus c is Nada,whichis one of the aspectsol Kundalini. that ts Nadamayee. Perfecton beslowsbiiss.In mustcperfection restsrnlhe Nada tallva Whena s fger gets identiicationwith NddaSakt. he enjDysthe same blss as a yogior lhe dancerfeelsat the peak oi perlecton.The Nada sadhanaawakensthe latenlpolentalt es of Sadhaka. Hor,vt awakens, that is expressed by Svaml 'i rs the lact when Pralnananada. the Sadhaka,arttsl and lhe syrrrpalheiic istenersrealze lhe realessenceoi ihe Nadala va, they dive deep inlo the mysteriouskamakaa or Kundaini and come to knpwor urqelor knowledgeof the dealof rnusic.stirs the s eepingco ed Kundain or subconscous mtnd.and conse, quenly, g ves a startfor lhe ascentof the div n-abas c energy. Graduallythe awakenedenergypenelratesall lhe Iorcecentres oi the body (ol the spinalcord)and linallyreachesthe thousand pela ed otus of lhe Sahasrara, the seal of al conscousness PararnaSiva and then sadhakaartistand the sinceremusc lslenersleed vinecommunion oflhe jvatmaandthe paramZrtma. Theythenattainthe lru tionof the NadaSadhana.whichenabes themlo cut as underthe knolsof nescienceand realze the lran scendenlaBrahman And this stagecan be sa d to be the u t
142
ChapteF5
mateach evemenl(paramprapt) of lhe practce ot rnusic."s Thrs eadsus to concudethatliberation lhroughmusicliesrn the rea zatonoitheN:rda tallva.TheNadataitvawhich iscore ol mLrsics also an Lrnavoidable aspecl of the Tantrasystem When we are going to discuss musicas the appled sde of Tantra.it w il not be out oi placeto havea glimpseoi Nadatattva. 1. Theory ot Nada : Like Vedicphllosophy, Tantraa so bel eves in the wor d oi name and fofm. (Narnarupahekajagal. As lar as the wor d ol nameis conceTned, NAda s its essence.Sabdawh ch ls lhe es' a e o r o r h a . : s r h e r d _ i l a s l a r i oo' f \ a d a r a \ d , r k . | ", be ng an ong natorof il, Neldatatlva s a so a I pervadng enlily.lt is the I rst modification of ultirnaleRea ty There s nothingin this worldwhich has no narll-o. Because verycreationdependsonname.Voition(Echa)olcreatonspror to any concretecreation.Un verse was iirsl W lled by Cosmc Creator(Sa asakayata)then creationtook place.Our w ll ng can be expressedonlythroughwordsor etters.That's why ord Him se f has sa d n Vedalhatthe creationhas corneoul fromspeech or v:rk She is lhe creatorof universe.6lt furtherdec ares, The knowerol the Vedasknowsihat the world s a manilestalon ol
vak.7 Now et us see how musicv ews Nadalaliva. n the Samgta llarpana,Nadalatlva s highlyesteemed,as everthingdepends on Nada.Nadaor Solrnd s the essenc€ol ertherwhich is lirsl amonga obiectsof the world.So t is sa d that al grossoblects are madeup ol Naldaor soundand henceNadais the sourceol The rootol the word Nada,is Nad meansthe !nstruckvoice (AnahalaNada).Th s unstrLrck vo ce manlestsin notes sentence or angLrage whch s knownas slruckvolce (AhataNada) because whi e speakng the oulgornga r str kes the vocal chord and creaiessoundwh ch is classiiied by Tanlrc seeTsas 'struck voce" (AhataNada)Thesetwo lypes ot Nadasare aso ment oned by the Samg(aDarpanaand Samgta Makaranda.s
App ied s de oi Tantra
143
ForTantfastruckvoice(AhataNacla)is va khari,one fo the The reststagersare knownas ParA,Pasyanliand stagesof Vark. Madhyamaand unstruckvoice(AnAhataNAda) s a parava. A m!sicianstartshrsSadhaneIromstruckvoiceand graduallydeve ops th s mlrsc to attainthe goal,that s unslruckvo ce, or AnAhataNAda,or vaikharilo Paravak.Nowwe shallsee some thing aboulthe conceplof Nadaaccordng loTantra. 2. Concept ol Neda in Tantra: Awakennll of kundaini is the cofe ol TantraSadhanaWhen voice(Anarhaia theK!nda n nl awakens,a yogihearsthe unstruck Nada).Th s happens only when pranalvital torcelilows from SLsumna nstead of lda and Pingala.A greal rad ance ar ses frori Nadawh ch manliestsas Binduordol.Ths Binduis div ded Intothree aspects,thal is. narnely, wil ieeha knowledge(lfiana) and act on (kriya).Hence Nada tattva,the a I pervadingentily becomessourceol wi knowledgeandactionwh ch are the pr-^ requrementol everycreaion. n Tantra.Bind! s consideredas highlypotenlal. As a drop of semen(virya)casl nto ov!m and unitedw lh femae ova can '6
r'
nlo .
no,
p A r c o n ai l y o
ds c seed
q.)
o
potenla ilily lo resu1 in a hugetree,likewise,the Nadawhrchis the same as B ndu is h gh y potenlal.Tanlrasees no d llerence betweenNada and B ndu.eSvami PrajiAnanadahas quoteda ands gnifcance beaullu versewhichdeclareslhecharaclerstics of Nada. !
Fromthlswe can concude thal lhe Nadaof mus c is but the rel eclionol TAntricnotionot Nada.Nada s the sou ol musicbrll lor the .nanrleslat on oi sou , body is required.SbLrlNAda.iani feststhro!gh ihe body Raga.Raga s the means throughwh ch Nardamanifests.Be ng a conlaner, Rdga also p ays prominent r o e n r n ! s i c . S o e l u s h a v ea g l a n c eo v e rt h e t h e o r yo f F l A g a . 3.Theory ol Rega: Baga is lhe bodyof sou Nada,whrchmeanslhrolgh Raga, Whal is the meaningol Rarga? One may havea Nadamanilesls. question.In lhe treatse on rnusc Raga s consderedas some
1. 2. 3 45-
Sadyyojata Vamadeva Aghora Tal-Purusa lsana
Ether
Larn
Earlh
Ham
Fam
Bija Mantra
Premotdial elemenl
Bhairava
[/]anpura VrsLrddha
lvlegha
Vasanla
Swadhisthana Anafrala
S R:iga
Muladhara
Cakra
A
9
9
1iE :i ;$iiiiii€i;iialigi$iiiie *:Fiiqeiiei[lgeei {giiE aii *[i $ ;gi i ;iiFiiqt*$,i,ffiiiF r i+riie€f,;gt€5ii+i iii
146
Chapler5
ments(Pancamahabhirta)namely, earth,waler,lire,air andether. n Ih. \(orldo'nan e /VananayaJdgdt ll-e5eolere_.s ore ,apresentedby the seed lellers,lam,Yam,Ram,Vam and Ham respectively.These seedlettersare inscribedon the I ve centresof energy(cakra)in lhe subl e body whichare namely,lvluledhara, Swadhislhana, Manipura,Anahataand Visuddhacakra.One oi the ive gross elemenlsalongwilh lhe rest is pfedomnanl n each oi the centresrespectively, .e. earthalongwth otherele ments s predorninant rn fMuladhara Walerrn Swadhislhana etc. Nol oniy centres,elementsis predominanlnMudharaWaterln Swathstah,lnaetc. Not only cenlres,elemenlsand seed letlers but the musicalilvemaiorragasare also beiieved10 be related w th the fivecentresol energy.SvamiPrajaanananda hasworked oLl ihe charlwhichrunsas io lows: Among lhe iive centres,the VlsuddhacakralTasbeen cons deredas lhe abodeoi Saraswaii. The goddessof mus c. This centrewh ch is also knownas lotus has a s xteen petalsfrorn whichth€ sixteenmuslcalnolesare producedwhich are narnely : (1) Pranava(the mysticsyllabieom), (2) Udgtha (a portionol (3) Humphat(ivysticsylableused n incantatron,(4) Sarnveda,' V a ! s a t ,( 5 )S v a d h a a n d ( 6S) v a h a( E x c l a m a l i ou ns e d n o i l e r n g oblalionio lhe de ty), (7) namasthe termusedln conneclion w th the name ol dietyto s gnily veneraton), (8) Amritalambrosia) T h e s e v e nm ! s i c an o l e sn a m e y ( 9 S ) h a d a j a( 1 , 0 )R i s h a b h a ( 1, 1 ) (12)Madhyama, Gandhar3, (13)Pancama, (14)Dhavar,(15)Nsada ( 1 6 )B s h a( p o i s o n ) . ' Rapportwith NAda,(Nedanusandhana) s a uniqueglirgiven by Tantralor savaton. As we know and iee lhai mind is very unsteady.ln Sardhana, m nd is requiredto be Iullyconcentrated and cahned.Tantra says thal musicis the easiestway through wh ch one can-oasily concentrate one'smind.Thishasbeenbeau t fu ly exp ainedin lhe Nadabinduupansad.i6 This ead us lo concludelhat, the Nada Sadhanaoi music can be lhe meansof awakening the K!ndalni Sakti.Thus mLrsic s one of the TAntrc way ol realizingthe denlty betweenthe Tnacrocosm ano tne m crocosm.
Appied sld€ of Tantra
147
C. Astrology: SLrpposelhat one car rs goingon withthe speedol 120 km. and suddeny the dfver, sullersfrom a hallucination sees,as f lhere is dusiy boardwilh "Stop,dangerahead" nscribedon 1. Driverslopsthe car and n h s grealastonishmenl lhere s a b g valleylusl a lew krlomeiers lrom his car.Then he lriesto f nd oul the boardbul in his utter surpriselhere s no boardal all. In this siluatlonwhal wou d be th nk ? This eventcan be judgeddill€r ent y as dependng uponone'srnentalstale and his conception. It is certainthat when he sees a valleynear hlm, he defintely frfstoi al, wouldthink that he ls savedrniraculous y. A theislv ews this evenlas a graceol god.A scientislwouldcer tainy lhinkthathe is savedaccidenlally whrlean astrologer sees the irnpactoi p anetarysystembeh nd this evenl.Bll all these v ews cuhimaleto one poinl,that is, there s somelhng whichis invisibleyet ellective.A iherstconsidersit as a gracegood or a scienlst considersas a mereaccidentwh e lor an astrooger t s an influenceof p anetarysyslem.Tantra considersthis'some lhng as an nlluenceo{ energy.How il consderslhat, we w I exp a n in the sequel.Bul beforewe do thatlet us be awareot the re ationshipbetweenTanlraand Astrology. The ltle gven in the beginningoi this pornldeclareslhat aslroogy s derivedfromlheTanlra,Nowletus seewh ch arethe .oTnon po '\ ' oll^oFnlheselwo dspe!ls. Aslrologyis basedon astronomy. In astroogy,il is be ieved that each and everyobjectfeel rmpaclol astron(stars-planel). Th s is nolh ng butlhe refleclon of lheTentricprincipe of idenl, ficationbetweenmacrocosmand microcosm. Whaleveris in un verse also exisl in hurnanbody. Becauseot lhis denlification, Tanlraconsders body as a rn niatureun verseand univoreas a body of Siva.The universe whichI es in the bodycan on y be seen by the yougicvis on. In the cosmc v sion (Visvarirpa darsana)Lordkrisnahas shownto Arlunathe toudeenbhuvanasin Him.Eachand everypersonhas gol thistype ol potentialil es bul its expression requiresSadhana. janananda very SwamiV in the Iorewordol lhe Brhaiiatakam
148
Chapler5
beaullully reflectsthe t'ase ol astrologyas reslingon vedantic pr ncipes whichare exacllysameas thoseot Tanlrasyslem,Let aretwobroadand rationalpricip es us seein hisownwords,'There on wh ch aslrologyis based-The first principe upon which lhe sc ence ol Astrologyrests,is thalol Vedanla,lhatthe who e universe is acluallywhat the term impies a unly; and that a aw lvhich is lound in manilestalion in one oorlionoi the un verse musl also be equallyoperativethfoughoullhe whole.Wh le lhe heavenslorm the macrocosm, manrs lhe nl crocosm,Eachrnan is a iltlewor d exactlyrepresenting lhe universe. Whlleall seem quiet wtholi lhere s an acliveword wilhin.Such a world is vis b e to lhe inner sightol a yog . These aws whichare operative amonglhe planetarybodies are a so n iorce amongslourThe secondprincipleis lhal, by a study of lhe molionand relativeposilonsoi the planets,the operalions ol theselawsmay be observed,measuredand determined."lT Commonprinciples betweentwo systemsdo not necessariy lead us lo concludelhat one is der ved from another. When we say A rs derviedlrom B, it meansA necessariypre-exsts n B. ll we app y this iacl Tour tille, t suggestsTanlra s much older lhan astroogy in ierrnsoi antiquily, Now el !s lry lo see th s. Vedacan bedivided nto six limbswhichare knownasVedarnga. They are namey phonetice(Siksa),Rules lor s3criiicialacls (kalpa).Meter(Chanda), Etymology(Nitukkla), Grammar(Vyakarana) (Vyakarana) (Jyotisa). and Aslrology In the Brahiiatakam these limbsareequaledwilhthesixllmbsofVedapurusain whlchJyotisa or aslroogy s conslderedas lhe eyesof Vedapurusa.le Veda is the gifiof lhe Aryanpeople.Inlhe "aniiquily ofTanlra' wilh the help of the reportsof excavalionof Harappa,we have lried to provethatthe Tantricgermswere deeplyrooiedintothe soil ol Indiabeiorelhe Aryancame intoIndia.So be ng a limbol Veda,astrologyhas a lateroriginihan Tantra.This laci leadsus to inlerthatAryansmighthaveborrowedthe Tantricprincipleol idenlilicat on ol microcosmand macTocosm and alsool the influence ol energy.They mighlhavemodlled ii and appliedit in the
App red s de ol Tantra
149
fie d ol aslrology How the nlluenceol energytakesplace,for lhis we haveto see the lrteoryol alomsand ils magneliccurfents. Th s unrverse,inctudingphysicalbody and planetarysystems havebeenmadeout ol fiveetements(panca [,4ahabhula). Any objectcan be redLrced inlo atornwhichrs nolhingbul iut oi e ectncrlyor energy.SirJamesJeans,wilhthe helpol researches rnadeby RulherFordesiabtishes lhistact.,,Thanks maintyto the resea.ches of RulherFord,t hasnowbeen established that every atom s built up enlirelyof negalivechargedeleclrons,and ol pos t ve chargedparlicles"Prolons',; matterproves10be nothtn! but a coilecton oJparticleschargedwilh electricily.re Thsaiom snolhingbltttheifl e magnel.SwamrAbhedananda has taedto provelhis withaid ol the Newion'stawand tromthis, he has also logrcally derivedthe tactthatbeinga combrnatron ol aloms.hurnanbody and earthetc.are also a big magnel.20 In prevrousparagraph whiteexplaining lhe constitut on ot universe,we have made relerenceol live grosselements(pauca MahabhLrta) amongthem elher is lhe mostsublleone,and a so al pervadlngenl ty.From thtswe can saylhat n universe, lhere rs nothinglke Vacuumbut is on y an ocsanol ether.planelsare very far irom humanlerritory.They are nol dead but giganiic m a g n e t sS u n i s t h e s o u o l f l h e p a n e t a r ys y s t e ma r o u n dw h r c h lhe wholesyslemrotates,This syslemhas ils own veloctlyand moton drstribuling theirmagnellccurrenlstn the oceanof elher. Beinga magnetwe a so thfowlhe currenlsn ihe oceanof eilher. Harmonybetweenlhesetwo currenlscreatesfavourabe results and disharmonyresulisnto mislortune. Howthis happensis de_ scribed by Padhey,S.K., in hs book "Astrology".2r A these th ngs establishthat beinga magnel,planetsdo have lheir mpacton worldy objects.lt is also.at the sametime,lntereslng Io note lhal allplanetsdo nol haveone andthe samelype of infiu ence.Some planets are consideredas hot, i,e.,IVlars, Jupiler, Sun whrlesome are as coldnamey [/oon, Salurnetc.Their mpact s lell accordng to theirnalure
Hol
nol
Fat Flesh
Yellow Ederald
q d
d
;;5F1ii$
::ii;iuFfi;i iii$r;;;=:e :':''i;
i3i:fi;;; ii iI;fl$i siFr${i i:iaFi:{qficEr+u: !Fis;ii-sH::iFe
igiqii;i ffii;iiFiii;$ iE$;e;qiisf ;;iiii;s $;ili;;ii iFsqilil ii$i'f; 5lFiqi3
43a;:
jli:i: i= fi€*iail, 'E+;;iaIii i:r:;,ir!:;i3gs. r r:ff{iiti;i
(:old
Cod
Nerves Cotd
Bo.e
D amond Spen
Blue
Fuby
T h i sc h a r l s r e k € n l r o t r i t h eI t l s t r a t . dV r ' e e k y . tt m t . r V o I A u l l s r 1 r ! 9 F 2 b y K a d a n r a t hw l h r r l em o df ' v a t o nt r o m . r . J n r a
kam kham: gam gham:
lham: dam:dham. naln.
gam: bhanriman. yam
cosMlccoNNEcTroN
152
Chapter5
D. Sacrraments : It was the belielol primilivean thatlhey were surroundedby super naturalpowerswhichwere lheir cause of pleasure and pain In the prevlousconcepl,lhal is of Aslrology.wecouldsee trralbecauseol lhe relationol idenlilcationbelweenmacrocosm And hence, we feelihe impactol universallorces andmicrocosm, gn on the mporlantoccasionsol lile,lor ben inlluenceol powers, whichwerelermedas deilieswereand slil being nvoked The HinclusSoc al Syslemhas accepledsorneoccasionsol ile as importantwh ch are sixleenin numberwhlchrs knownas hasalsoaccepled (SodasaSamskara).Tanlra srxleensacraments lormer syslem t has the conceplol Sacramenlbut un ike, the accepledon y ten basicsacramenls, Tantrais lhe sourceol the Tantricconcepl The Mahanirvana of sacramenl Bul one may have a questionwhy sacrarnenlshouid be perlormed? Whalis the purposebehindlt ? The N,4ahanirvarna Tantra1M.NT.) views lhe sacramenlas a meansof physical mentalpurilicalon.22 Wh ch are the ten sacramentsprescribedby the M N.T ? These sacramenlsare narney (l ) concepton, (2) pregnancy, (4) b rth, (5) glvingthe chrds name,(6) il s (3) simantonnayana. (7) nrsl ealing,(8) tonsure,(9) inveslilure t rsl view of lhe sun, and (10)[,4arfiage.'?3 Whal shoud be done beiorethe celebraton ol lhese sacraand regulalons lor haslaiddownsomerLrles ments? The l\rl.N.T. ( Accordingloit beforeperlorminganysacraments,the kausandika rle s necessaryto be perio.med,in whichthe lordI re sasked lor protecton and boons.LotdErhaspaiiis alsorequestedIor the protecllon ol sacrilce.24Lordlndra,Agni,marula Brahma,Vasus, shouldbe worshppedfor gracewh ch may Fudrasand Prajalpati g ve prosperily.2s All lhese thingsshouldbe perlormedin prescribedmannerlor success n lhe beg nning of sacraments.26 glvenDy ol a I sacraments Nowwe shaLseelhe brief descrlplLon Tantra. the Maharnrrvana
Appled side ol Tanlra:
|. carbhedhena Samskea : Conception. ln thissacrament,the ditterentdeiiiesare req!ested10give Fi'sttrvede.tiestpancadeva)nametytiranma.Dr.iga. ooodchird_. Ua-Fsaer.. sno rtdtreworsh;pOeo. Allerthatetghtpowerc(Asta Sakti)shouldbe propitiated. In thissacramenl,LordVisnuts atso askedlo granllhepowertoconceive.Tvastre, forgivinglhe imbs he ch ld.Ano Dnarais 'equestedto givepowerto bear. / fhe, ^o \ 'rrvdI Sa.asvaltandAsvtnasare askedlo s.rpporl l']e worno.,s And al the end ol ceremony,Visnuis againpropitiated ,or excel/-onlson 2- Pumsavanana Samskare : prcgnancy. This sacramenltakesplaceafterlhe thlrdmonlho, conceplion.Aflerllnishng lhe daityduties,the husbandshouldworship deilies.Afler this,lhe wife js askedto drinkthe specialtype oi cLrrdwhich is made oul of cow,smilk.Thenthe kurca bij; Hum and Maya bija Hrim rs recjled lor the protectionoi wo;b irom girosl,pretasand pisdcas2e {malignantspiIrt. 3. Sim an to nn ayan a Sams ke ra : This rite shouldbe perlormedin the sixthor eighthmonth of pregnancy. The same rite takes placeas it is me;lionedin lhe o r'na savn-a.asacramenl.[,10reover, threeobldtiolsto v snL. \urva dnd Erahama should be o':c.ed.And tnen I iS requeslao 1oVrsva-Karma for saie delivery.30 4- Jata-kama Samskdh : Birth: Th,sflle takesptacejmmediateJy atterthebrrthol a so, fne , a Dharahorna gives rrvaobtalrons,o Agnl and ]::: r-ora. i"n9'.: Prd,dpalt,Vtsvadevasano Bram6 for vtgour.vttd,.ry:nd Irrmnessol child.3l 5. Netua-karana Samskela : civing the child's name: This.sacramenl shouldhe perlormedallerlhe srxthor ejghth nronthoi birth in lhe case ol son.While in the case girt. ol this
Chapter-5 alier Brth ln thLssacramenlaIrlvers takes placermmediately are askedto bestowqracefor the attainmentol Dharama'Artha oblatiosare giventoAgni,VAsava(lndra)' and Kama.3:Thenilve Aiter that iathertakeshs Prajapaii,V sva-devasand Brahmar. .on in ni" t"p una.p"uks his (boy's)nameintolhe rightear'33 6. Niskramana Samskerc: lts lirstview of the sun: r" For a daughlerlhere rs no NlskramanaSamskdra Bu1 n the case of boy,thls shouldbe perlormedn the lourthor srxtTr moih afterbirth. theiathershoud' dailydutres, 1nrhisrite,aiterhavng atlended be bathedadorned son shorrld alter bathingworshipGanesaandthen Visnu' Braharna, requesls jewels Thenh s father wrlhc othe; and when prolectlon Iorthe Srva,Durga,Indra,Vayu,Agnl,Varuna to h s child takes ialher Then, ever he g;es oul from the house 7, Anna'Ptdsanna Safiskdra: First eating When the child becomessix or elghl monthsold, this, nle shouldbe done.Firstoi aLlcliellesare worshippedThen falher shoud medltateon the deviAnnada(Giveroi iood)and otlerher ilve ob ations.Aiter that payasa(Riceboied in milk wrlh sugar dno d rlllaq'ee, <_oLo DepJI i_tolae ch ld s nolrlL by Lller nq theManLra;o l ola|ono'|vevla ars'oThe_ a rrll' ce d_d curryshouldbe put ln the child'smouth samskera : Tonsure: This sacramenttakes placeal lhe age of lhLrdor llfthyearA deties shouldbe worshlppedlirst Then aJterperformingal n o L l l or e q l o > l o o m n i n l e s 9 r ! e _n l r e s c n p l J l e s l h a l a l ' e r 5 y o{ a child presentcreatorfor well-being 8- cidekama
g. IJpanayana Samskera : lnvestitute: placeaitheageofeightAllerpefroming Thissacramenllakes the guru givesh m a knottedg rg scriptures, ven n ihe the rile dle. The; boy shouldpronounce," Hirim',may this auspicLous
Appleds de oi Tanlra:
155
grrde be propitious".33Thenthe sacrilicial threadis gtvento ch ld. Afterlhis,the ob ationsare offeredto all dieties. Then guruwhis, persihe pranavamanlra(Aum)in the rightear ol a child.curu, lhen, recltesThe Gayalri l\ranka lor the aitainmentol progressof a chidinlfe.3s 10. Udveha Samskera : Ma iage: n llr s sacrarnenl, lirst of all,all deitiesare worshiped. Then aller havingcompleledall ritesln the scripture, Lordprajapaliis asked ior lhe accomplishment for lhe desiresol newlywedded coupe. Then al the end of the ceremony,devi Ftaja-Rajesvari, Kali,Bhuvanesvaretc, are requestedfor the protecllonof cou, Thus,the decrttonheregivenshowsthaton everyoccasions ol ite,derliesare nvokediorthe benignnfluenceandasojorthe rernovalof evil impacts.Herewe have mentionedonly that parl or lhe sacrarnentwhich is direc|y relatedwith the rnJluefceol energy.And rest ol the part wh ch is relaledwilh rituatis om t led.
The conienlsof thischapterpoiniout the widespread areaof ilewh ch is infl!encedbytheTenkicprinciples.lvan isnotmerely an an mal but he is somethingmore thanthal.Thatsomelhng is expressedby his cultural,religious,social activitieslike arts, sacramenlselc,Tantrahas not leftthjs area also.lts principles, namelyiniluenceof energy,identilication betweenmacrocosmm crocosm,lhe conceptof mind,bodypurification elc.are argeiy appliedin al theseactivities. Howtheseprinciples are appliedin dance,music,astrologyand sacramentslhat we have already seen in thischapter. All theseabovementionedaspectsare also can be utilized as healthgivlngtechnrques. In the delinitionof healthybodyrnrndcompex, manylactorsare to be considered. Arnongthen I ex bilty of body and calmnesol mind are the dec ding ones. Dancegivesboth ol these.ln dance,dancerhas lo do various
Chaple.5 tvoesol backward,lorward,sidewardmovementswhich keeps boCVI exible.Secondly,dancegiveshealthlike the Halhayogrc dancingmudrashavegrealresemblance ooslures(Asan:rsa).The postures. So while,doingmudras,a dancerdoes asanasa with which give him/hertherapeulicresuts So dance aulomalrcaLly, makesbodvfree kom diseasesby keepingt Lnconstanlmove_ (Bhava) Notonlvmovementol bodvbul in dance,expression presenllng an ex_ is a dancer li iicant. suppose is very srgn also presson oi Radha,he/shebecomesone with RadhaThis rdenl_ the poweroi concentra_ iicalionw th on y one conceplcultivates tronwhichpreventsthe waslageof menlalenergywhichgeneraliy t ows lhroughthe variousmodiiicalons ol mind llhelpkeeprng one awayfrom dlstorlionol mentalenergyand thus Keepsone mentallyhealthy. va ue llfuslc Likedance,musicalsosecuresthe therapeutic This calmnes givescalmnessto mindto bolhsingerand lislener' o, 1 Inors h ghly'eourredw^en 'noslol our dlsease5ar'seoLl ol postures' dancer withthe Hathayogic As beinga resemblance geis ils therapeutic result.Likewise,a musiciangetsihe hea Ing valJeol pra'ayamaneFds The lhetapeutic elleclsol pranaydrna. no example.As we know pranaand mind go together-By conlrolbe conlrolledSo il lhe speed lingone,other can aulomailcally o' pranars Jnde'coll'ol, becon'essteadyard conce_laIed ol R:rga,the pracliceol Kumbhaka'(re_ In the preseniatron lenlronoi arr/ s high'ybe'elicial.So lor bernga qoodsrnoe' il is to have controlover techniqueol Pranayama Dre-reouiremenl prevenlslhe ailmentsoJNadis_bodily This practiceol Pranayama channelswhrchmakesbodYundiseasedand heallhyThe Ghernada 'egulat Sarhrla a.so supporlslhrs view by declarrnglhal lhe pract ce of Kumbhakakeeps body'mind healthy The role ol astrologyjn are ot therapeulicis differentlhan lhal it also ol danceand music.lt not onlygivesthe aapyTherapybul ? predictsthe diagnosisol diseases.How it does so
Appl ed sLdeol Tanlral
157
In lhe charl altachedin the conceplol aslroogy we saw lhe betweenetlers,Tarnlric conneclion cenlerc,humansystem, Trdosa e ementetc.Froma ltheseconnectron we can conslruclone hy polhesiswh ch runsas follows: As we knowlhe placeol zodracin the Indianaslroogy s very signrficanl. Dilierent lellersare ascr bed to a I zodiacs.li suppose subjeclA is born underthe inlluenceof Aries.The letters ascribedto Ariesare A.L.l.According1o the chart,A s related w th Visuddhacakra,L is w th Swadhislh:rna cakrawhileE aga n wilhVisuddhacakra.ll we applylhe Tridosaelementswhrchare re atedwith this cakras,we can say lhat, thissubjeclmay have a constilulon ol Valaand Kapha.He may be subleclto thal dlseaseswhichare relatedwiththe consliulionol varlaand Kapha. This hypolhesiscan be appliedin the areaol al zodiacs. Secondly.I a so givesthe predictionoi diseas€sby consideringlhe movementol planelarysyslem.Everybeingbornunder one sign or zodiacwhichrs governedby one planel.Thereare nrneplanets,In syslemwhrchare rnlerrelaledeitherwithlhe re a t on ol fr end, enemyor neulra. In the movementol planets.il supposea planelcomesin a signwhichhasa relaltono1enemy wrthlhe Lord oi the zodiac,l givesunlavourableresultsto the subject,So from lhe ca cu ation 01the movemenlot planels t canbe predicledthe lavourable or unlavourable timeof a subjecl lor lhe trealmentol lhe diseaselo whichone is sublecl.To prevenl lhe evi inll!encewhichare arisefromthe disharmony certainManlrasare prescribed.Removalol evil int uencealsocan be done by.wearng pearl,gem, diamondetc., but shoud b€ propery chargedwrthMantrasothelwise,it wou d nol give any results.So thus astrologyand iherapyare inked wilh Tantric praclces w th a view lo diagnzecorrectlythe diseasesand to prescribe properremedyfor disease. Likedance,musc andastrology, sacramenlsalsosecureheaing va ue.As lhe IVlahanfivfana Tanlradeclares,sacraments are desrgnedIor the purilcal on of m nd-body. Thatpuriled body m nd complexis the sourceoi heallh. As we havesee allsacramenisshouldbe don€wrlhlhe help
,ru
"nuo,",-a
of ftranlrasand sacrifice(yajfra), Poilulon ol almosphere, which rs also one oi the cause of diseases,c6n be removedby the vibralionoi l/antras and flameof fire ol sacrilice(yajna).This pol utrorlessatmosphere givesheallh to sLrbject andihe peopte lving afoundil. Th s is how Tanlrars mainlypreoccuped not on y with spirilua uplit of the individualbut also his physicalwe berng.The basrcassumpiion otTantrais nolonlyyogaor mediation bui bhoga or enjoymentalso.Onlyyoga leadsone lo abstraclion and away lromlitewhileonlybhogaor indulgence in worldtyaffafsweakens the body mind.Tanlraby unitingyogaand bhogamakesI ie pufposeiuiand worlhliving.
Appied s de ol Tantra: 9
159
Yo vai nada so var brnduh I yogrn hrdayam. Chattopadhaya, Kshelresachandra, Publishedby Dnectof.Besearch n s l r l u l eV . a f a n a s .S e c o n dE d i t i o n 1 , 963.
1 0 S v a m lP r a j a a n a n a n d a A, h i s l o r i c a ls t u d yo l I n d i a nf , 4 u s r cp, 3 1 2 , F r r s lE d i l o n , 1 9 7 5 I 1 - B a n j a y a l i t i R a g eI D e l n i lo n a n dl r a n s l aol n t a k e nf r o m " A a g a s a n d B a g n sb y G a n g u r . O C . . p . 1 , N a l a n d aP u b l r c a t i o n1.9 3 5 . l2
R a g a S a d a y a hI P a f c a m a s a r aS a m hl a
Nerada.
1 3 . S v a s a k t is a m a y o g arl , g a n l i s a m b h v o b a v e t
FOOTNOTE Fao,Gopinalh lA., Elemenls of Hindutconography. Vot.t. pad t. p 23.The LawPrinting House,[,4adras, 1916. 2 Woodrofie, John,Ouotedby Bane.iiProjensh. Danceoi Shivap 30. FirstEdilion. 1942,Kilabislan, Allahabao 3 Yoga"Jouna, Apri.1978, Vo.XV No.4 Published byB hafSchoo oi Yoga Monghyr 4 Sarabhai Mrinaini,undelstanding lhe BharalNatyam. p 29 N4a, haralaSayaliFao Unversily, 1965. preface 5. SvamiPfajnanananda, A historicalstudy ot ndianMusrc, XXVIII. 6. Vegeva Visvebhuvananijajne vacaiti I I
Sd Saoamanular yaearanydm.,sr,r hl Thakur, Omkarnarh, Prcnava Bhan lH nd ),p.4. N.M Trpathand Company, FirstEdilion1956. 7. Sabdasya pafinamosyamitiamnay vldoviduqhI I
NadenaVyaiyaleVarnahpadamvarnd padadvacahI VacasoVyavahjrosyamnadadhrnamidam jagat SamgilDarpafa1/14,Takentrom PranavaBhart by Tahakur p. 1. Omkarnath,
P a n c a s y aP i a n c a r a g a hm a y u :S a s l h a n t uG l r i i a m u k h a l MadyovkranlS ! r r a g ov a m a d e v a d V a s a n l a k a hl A g h o r a ib h a i r a v a db h u t a t p u r u s aPt a n c a m o s b h a v a l l s a n a k h y o n m e g h r a gnod t y a r a m b h e S i v e d b h u t aI G i r i a y a m u k h a tl l a s y a en a t a n a f a y a nboh v a tI S a m g i t a D a r p a nTa r, a n sa l i o na n dv e r c el a k e nf r o m ' F a g a n dF a g r n b y G a n g ui , O . C . p p . 2 3 , 2 4 . 1 a B a n e r j e eS . C F u n d a m e n t a losf a n c i e n t[ , 4 ! sc a n d D a n c e tp . 7 8 . L . D S e r e s 5 7 . F i r s le d i to n . 1 9 7 6 . 1 5 T a g o r e .S ^ 4 . U n i v e f s a h i s t o r yo t m u s i c .A p p e n d i x ,p . l V T h e C h o w k h a m b aS a n s k r ( S l u d i e s , V o l . X X X I , P u b l i s h e d b y r h e ChaukhambaSanskil Sef es Oflice,Valanasi.SecondEddion,1963 1 6 . Y a i . aK ! t r a p v a f a d e . . C i l a mV l i y a r eI N e d a b i f d u p a n i s a d3 8 l o 4 4 . 1 7 S w a m V i l n i n a n d aT . h e B n h a t j a t a ko a f V a r r h at \ , 1 h i r ap.. 1 , F o r e w o r d O r i e . i a l B o o k s B e p r i n l C o r p o r a t i o nD , ethi1979,Second E d r lo n . l8 Sabdasastrem m u k h a mj y o l i s a mc a k s u s i S.olranruktam n i f u k l a mc a n k a l p ak a r o uI Yalu S kshasya vedasya sa nasika pedapada-
160
ChapteF5
d v y a mc a d a a d a i h b ! d h a i h1 ll b i d ,p . 2 . 1 9 . J e a n s .J a m e s ,T h e m y s l e ro u s u n i v e l s ep, . 4 6 , C a m b r i d g eU n i v e r s i l y P r e s s ,1 9 4 5 . 2 0 S w a m i ,A b h e d a n a n d aC, o m p l e t ew o r k s o l S w a m A b h e d a n a u d a . V o V l , p . 6 7 , F a m k i s h n aV e d a n l aM a l h a ,1 9 6 8 2 1 . Padhey,S. K., Astrology,pp. 7 to 10. 2 2 . S a m s k a r e n vai n e d € v i d e h a s u d h i h r n aj e y a l e I Na samskruloadhikarisyad daive pitre ca kafmanl M . N T . C h a p t e r2 , E d i t e d b y A v a l o n A r l h u . , V o l X l l l , M o l i l a l alhaI 2 3 . J i v a s e k a hp u m s a v a n as i m a n l o n n y a n a lm J n a n a m n i n i s k r am a n n n a s a n m a l apha f a mI Cudupanayanaodvahahsamskarahakalhita dasa ll The [,4ahanituana Tantra 9-4. 24. M.N.T 9 33 25. N4.N.T 9 .6 8 . 2 6 . N 4 . N . t9 , 8 4 . 2 7 . M . NT . 9 - 9 6 . 28. N4N.T. 9,98. 2 9 . N 4N . T .9 - 1 2 4 . 3 0 . M . N . T9 - 1 3 7 . 3 1 . M . NT . 9 , 1 4 2 . 3 2 . M . N . T9 . -149. 33. M.N.l9-154. 3 4 . M . NT ' 9 - 1 5 7 . 3 5 . N 4 . N . l 9 1 6 0 ,1 9 2 . 36. M N.T.9-170. 37. M N.T.9,r82. 38. N,IN.T.9-195. 3 9 . M . NT . 9 2 1 4 ' 2 1 5 . 40. [,1.N.T.9-276.
Chapter-6
Degeneration of Tantra
Chapter-6
Can Tantrapraciicesbe one of lhe decidingfactorsof a person's politicalposiiion? Al firsl this questionseems to be absurd bul when we go into deeper,it ceasesto be so. How Tantrap ays promrnentrole in a polilicallife lhat has been shown by [,4r M. P Pandll,a renowned aulhorn h s book,TzlnlrlcSadhana'.1 In the very begrnnng ol his book'TelntricSadhanawilhoutg v he has menlionedthal some lime ing lhe nameoi the polilician, backhe melonepersonwhowasthe brotheroionepo ilician,who told 0o) the author ihal his brotherwas sulferingfrom uncurable diseaseand hence he was senl abroadlor lurther trealment.The cause of the diseaseis very surpising. He lold lhe authorthal in electionone ol his rivaihad appliedblackmagicorTantravidyalor lhe death oi his brother,but due to graceol his brother'sguru thal maglcinsteadoi br ng ng aboul dealh has appearedas uncurable In democratc countrywhenlheprosperityollaymanis depend' pursuedby leadersthenwhat is lhelulureolthat enlon the policies countrywhereleadersare eleclednot by meritbul by applicatlonol magicalpowers?Being a ciizen o{ this country,it is really a patheliccondilionior us il rs true. But as laras our poinl is concerned we are leasl relatedwilh il. what is signilicanltor us is lhat how pollticalpositioncan be gainedlhroughTanlravidya?The following ooinlwillorovidelhal Ink. Tantrais basicallya sadhanaJor energy.lantric seerswereaware about the lact lhal during sadhana,sardhakahas to face some obstructions.To curbthoseobslacles,seershaveprescribedsome elc.8ul like killing(Marrana), Hypnotism(Vasikarana) lechniques lragedy startedwhen lhese techniqueswent inlo the handsol m maturesadhakasor laymen.Theylor the satislaclionol their per_ them as sona purposes, appliedthem on thelrrlvalsconsidering obstaclesin the r wav ol success.
164
Chapter-6
The above menl oned illuslralionoi a po itician is enough to show lhe misutllzalionof Tanlrc lechn ques. [,,loreover, this a so reilecls 3lJicacyof TantricVldya. Tentrictraditionhas beenpassingundersuchuniquecondilion. Due to m sutilzationof il, the very term "Tantra"shockslhe nerves ot many.I\/ajofity oflhe humanracewilturnilsiaceby consideflng t as obnoxious.Only rare people will accept it as a sc ence of awakening or cullivating innerpotenlialiljes. So both negligenceand acceplanceis enoughto createa conilict n laymanwhelherTantrais as sacredlikeVeda,or ts it a cheap Iteratureof ghoslandglobir,swhichieachesone to do ant-socal activilies? Beiore we come to any conclusionlel us see why ayman and sometrme schoarsalso,lurniheirlacefromTantra iteralurelWhich arethe responsiblefaclors which commonproJessorCoweltowrite as, 'Someyears ago,the Tantraslorm a branchof lteraturehlghly esternelthoughal presentrn!ch neglected".2 Many reasonscan be givenfor the degenerattonofTantra.We shall dea with all reasonsone by one-As we know,Tanlratreaiise are wrltlen in a symboliclanguage.And the reasonoi th s, is also obvious.Tantrais a very effectivesddhanasystem for awakening lhe hrddenpowers.To avoid the misuse of it, the technques are armoured n syrnbols, These symbolsare lvrittenin Sanskrillanguage.Due to lack ol the properknowledge of Sanskrrt language, scholarshavemerejy traus aled lreatiseverbalirnwhich has k I ed the very essence ot the Tantra system. Arthur Avalon views the impacl ol Engltsh educalron as the causebehindthis.He has mentioned illustrat on ol how verba translallonharmsthe very core of the sysiem.As an instanceoi ii he qLrotesthe concepto{ Bhitasuddhiwhlch is ver, balytranslaledasihe removalof dernonbyEnglishauthorwhch is nol consistenlwith lhe originalT:lntric meanlng.The real Tantric meanrng purlication of Bhatasuddhiis ofirvee emenlsnamely, earlh, water,tre and its derivativesoi the body of Sadhaka.3 Herewe can seethe vitaldilierencebetweenthe verbaltranslaI on andthe rea Tantricmeaning. A laymangeneralyduelolackof
Deqeneralionol ianlra knowedgeof the Sanskritlanguageusedlo readlhe rmpropertrans_ ation done by experts wh ch creates a Jallaciousnotion ln lheir m nd.Theviewol Ganthuralsotallieswiththe viewof ArthurAvalon. In his own words, "Thereis hardlyany other kind of liieraturethat has met with so much abuse pariicularlyby thosewho never read of serouslysludieda singleline of it, orlhat has so muchfascl_ naledthosewho on lhe lesumonyo1misiniomedand uninformed peop e thoughtthe Tantraslo be most powerfuland henceslriclly gu3rdedmeansforthegratification oi purelybiologicaurges.On y very few peopleiried lo form as opinionolTa.tras by lhe r own.4 thereare alsosorneothersyrnbos L ke term "Bhutasuddhi", whrch are also verballyiranslated.They are namely,linga, yoni, as phalus,vaginaand etc,,whichare translated Ardhanarisvara grosscopu alronrespectvely,Bul in realily,as we haveseen in ihe conceptsymbo|sm thal these represenlonly the source oi crea , tion. Howtheyare is alsohighlymisinlerpreled. Thesymboloi5 N,4's judgedand which s ts subllemeaningthal we haveseen n the Tanlrasymbolism.Frornthis,we can easilyimaglnethe condiUon,f the Sadhakapraclicedit grossly.And ii actualy happenedby the it grosslyin soltudeor the sum_ Euddhistmonks.They practiced m ts oi mountarns.No societycan siand thls lype oi s t!alion. And hence it becomes lhe cause of condemnalion.But from this we principles arelowandcheapTheonlythings can'tsaylhatTantric lhattheyarewrongY nlelpreled. TheTaniricprlncipes do not leadus to do antisocial activiiies. The KularnavaTantrahas saictlycondemnedthe grosspracliceol goes10 hel.5 By 5 IV's.As t declaresihe doerof this undoubtly declares, MeruTanlra of Vamamargithe coininglhe characleristc is thatwhois bllndforlakingawayother'smoney, therealSaldhaka andwhohascontroledall dealiorabuse, irnpotentto olherwoman, thal are enoughto allowus to conclude relerences senses.6These the realTantradoes nol leach us to harmsociely. Besdesa ltheselhings,one solidonsaughthas beenthrown on Tantraby ma icious Sadhaka.There are cerlain techn ques in whichcomeLnlhe path lorcurbing theobstructions TanlraSAdhana
Deqeneralion of tanlra ChapleF6
ol Sadhananamelyhypnotisrn, deslruction ol an enemyelc. But mmalureSadhakauseslhesetechn questorkidnappng a ch d or a girl,or for rape.So thesemal-praclices ot S,rdhakas havealso playeda prominentro e n the degeneraton ofTantra. Wilh allthesereasons,ihe social-re igiousconditionol medteva trme s also a remarkable causeof condemnation oi Tanlra. When Tanlrawas in lLllllorm, sorre other syslems a so emerged o!t whichwerecontraryloTanlricdoctflnes.Tanlra be ievesin the grailicatlonofsocal and iamilyiifewhiletheolhefsyslemsdeclaredslnctausterity and renuncial on oi worldiyandfam ty tie as a way ol salvation.Ths conkary conceplscrealed a conl ict in lhe iayman The viewof atersystems,thal oi Ja nismand Buddhism,re, nuncalronolworid,wasunnalurallo humanbeingNalurehasg ven some nslrnclsto enjoy and we can'l negatethem. We can transcendby salisJying lhemin a naturaway andrna creativemanner oLrillJ suppressthem by negleclingihem s an unnallra way.Be cause ot this conf icl belweentwo streams,peop e removedthetr facefrom the realspirituality. And due to this an unbrdgeabe abyss haslakenplacebetweena householderanda SAdhaka. Tantrashows the solutionto come oui from this siluation,The remarkableditlerencebelwenthesetwo conlrarysystemslie n the v ew of satislacton ol sensesandtheirsubimationby usingthem undefralronalcontrol. Insteadof suppressing inslinct,Tantrate ts to transcendit by enjoyingit. The suppressedinstinctsare ike a spnngwh ch can aflse at any time in dislorledlorm The root ol lhe inslancesof rape,krdnapare the resultof mmaturesuppressionof For Tantra,human beingsare subjectto nstinclivedemands. So firsl enjoyihe worldlylife completely.Gratificationoi it w I rernovethe wordiybondsas naluralasasnakeremovesitsslough. ls il nol a healthyviewregardng lfe ? lgnorance of ailthesethingsproveas thornsaroundiheTantra fose. I wewanlto havea pleasureotthe fragranceol rosewe have to concentrate onlyon roseinsteadotthorns.Thelrag|anceolTantrarose ies n ls conscious approachto seli-discovery andsei-devel-
opmenlthroughconsciouslyexpandng the scopeol body-mindcom plex. 1.Tantft-a conscious apptoach: The previous poinl rellectsthe reasonsof degeneraton oi Tantra lradition.We saw in thal pointthat, insteadof magc and sorceries, Tanlrais a conscous approachto sell-dlscovery, In the successof ry certainobstruciionsarisewhicharecrealedirom the sell-dlscove gnoranceol real nalureoi self and body. As we know,Tanira is a key to open lhe hrddentreasureol Physrca, mental and psychicpowers.The distinctleaiure ot this Sadhands thatil starisfromthe physicalshealth (Annamayakosa), that is, represenledlargely by body. In Tantra,body though is a subleclto decay, s highlyesleemedas templeof the de ty known as Alman a which rs microjorm of Lord Siva or ullimateRea ity.lt shouldtherelore be consciously kepipure.Thisslhesuperiorityof Tantra doctrine. 2. Positive view of lffe: The approachol Tantrais highlypositive.ll ls the messageol Tantra,thal nothng s lo be neglected;nothingis to be negaled. Everthing is lo be acceptedand subimaled.Though our bodyis frag le. bul Tanlrasays uli|ze yolr body power,make il rnoreand morepowerlulstrengthen il likea rock.Preparebodyand mindto the extenllhat, it can endureany dislurbance oi outerand inner world.Tantra has nol lefl its readeronly by ment oninglhis. li has also prescribedthe Hathayogicasanasa,Pranayama,sat akarma etc.,for it. Everybody can uiilizethtsior healthybodyand mind. lt sthemostappied srdeofTantratechnique for layman.Theonly condilion lays down by Tantrars ihal, a I lhese esanasaand other techniques shouldbe doneunderlhe guidance of an experlotherwise it s ikelyto do moreharmlhan good.Aftergainingcontro over them, one can freely practicelhem and enjoy the resultsof Inern. The superioriiyof Tantra also can be seen from its effective resuts You can cu tivate your power and check ils result al any step. I youwanlto achieveanygoaland ii lherearesorneobsta'
r68
Cl apler-6
cl-osIn your!vay.youcancurblheselhroughlhe technqueoi con_ And becauseof lhrs qu ck and efleclive centralonlke Tr?rtaka. se aTeaol no Ta nlradeclares "Othertreal rvana N/ahan resLr ls the give constanty' is r-osults Medic ne Aslrologyand whreTanira use Thus Tantraremovesobslaclesrelaiedwrth mind body bul l-rowrl ofsell? removesthe ignorance lgnorance o1the rea natureoi selfis lhe roolol sulierng Sell makea dislnclon belweenconscous meansconsciousness.we eniityor sell and nol self Bul like ness and non consciousness lhattheresnothng ike a so havedeclared Tantraseers,scienlLsts is made orn ol atomsand lhat L Everything grossnessor no1-se alom is nothlngbut lhe danceol energyor conscousnessThis scienlislCapra Lnhrs clancehasbeen seenby lving occidenlal $rel knownbook Taoof Physics'hedeclares, saw cascadesol efergycomingdowniromoulerspace,In whlcrrpaTlcleswerecre rn rhyihmicpulses;I saw the alomsot the ele_ aied anddeslroyed in the cosmc danceol menlsand thoseol my bodypadicrpating energy LIe t ils rhylhmand I hearditssound,andal lhe momentI know lhat lh s was the danceol Shiv,the Lordoi Dance€ worshrppedby the H ndusl'B The coiclusionlo wh ch sciencehas arrlvedlhroughinlellect by seersas a resullol lhal samehas been realzedor visualized v ew has and scienlrst's The synthess of a seer's therrSAdhana. I quote we sfra Prasad which ly madeby Dr.Lalan been beautifu 'Whal is ullimatelyRealily ? ls lhe Realityaloms and mo _ e se of whichthesealomsare lhe different ec! es, or somethrng between aspiritualsl andan objec' ?The d fference maniiestations thinker nalure of Beally. The obieclive lrve thinkeris based on the which m nd rs a chem_ |scrude matterol holdslhebehellhalReallly maleria slructure in lhe cal reaciion.Due lo cash and cohesion consciousnesshasernerged,Henceit is an epiphenomenonWe do agree wilh the malerialistlhal mind is a by_pro.|r.lol maller how rl begetlhechild mindwithoutlhe lorlhismotheFmalerto is possible can comeout ol nolhlng know nolhing o{ spirt ? We conception lndeedmalterls ol consciousness Hencethe matteris notdevoid made a radrca Einslein ol spirit. noth ng but a crude manfestalion
Degeneralion ol iantra changein lhe conceptol matter.Hls E=mc2madea hrsloicaL de parlurefrorrthetradillonal defn tionol matter.lvlatter s nol a dead inertsubstancewh ch occupiessome space.ll is bottledup energy.To the sp rilualisl,energyis the crudemanleslalronol con' sciousness. Consciousness s lhe SupremeRealty.A I otherobjectsand berngsare metamorphosed lormsol consciousness. Param S va is lhe SupremeSubjecliviiy. Al othersublecllvll es or oblec9 tivitiesare mereblendings ot lhe supremeconsciousness. 3. Realizationol Supteme consciousness So realzationol supremeconscousnessis the seli discovery lo mankind. Bul how io reaizelhal ? Tanlrasayslhatlhe sourceof realzalrons a readywithinour bodybul in lalentlorm. lt is lalent becauseot our nescencewh ch in Tantraterminology is knownas Pasaotherwise, withoutPasa, as the Kulernava Tanlradec ares, 'Theindividual Sellilselts lhe unrversalse f. Sadarsiva is thalwho (Parsa mukla)whileSivals lhatwho is surrounded s boundless by Pesa s crealedduetoatlachmentwiih world.Bul howworldrs crealed? In the TanlricIorm of Layayoga or n Satcakrabheda. the live gross constilulLonaelements(paica l\rahabhila) of bolh unl verseand bodydissolvein the r source, I meansduringlhe proc intowaler,waterinlo ess ol th s yoga,lhe earthelementdlssolves tela inlovAyuandYAU nlo akasa.And lhis akdsaelemeniturlher dissolvesrnlolherressenceslke sabda,sparsa,rupa,rasaand gandha whichagainrnergeintoBuddhi, Ahmakarelc.and ult matey ntothespirt or consciousness. Thusthe individual consciousness unrleswth the unrversal consco usness,A harmonybelweendi versrles iakes place in the pe6onalityol a Saddhaka.Thenwhal everhe lhinks.aclsor wlllsis nol likeoursbutwhaleverhe does,il perlectlyand lolally as ii were, lhrough him ihe ultimateReality manieslsrlself. This seems beyond our capacily lo accepl lhis process ol "Evolution evolulron. Becauseas NargisDalaldeclares, is simply lhe capacityto regsterrneanings lhatare alreadyex sl but wh ch are notyelapparenllo ihe unenlighlened mrnd.The h ghertheform ol I fe.lhe deeperthecapacitylo register meaning. Any increasern
170
subtetvis an inwardevolutiondevelopedthroughthe examinalionof meaningsand vibrationslhal so far have been too line to grasp The crealivepersonlaps lhe powelsol lhe sub conscoJs and n dorng so, he becomesawareofforceslhat are normallyinaccessible to lhe consciousness. lf large numberof intelligentpersonswere 1olake to this prac_ tices,lfeed from the aura oJ mysteryand mumbo'iumbo'il may be possibleio producea groupof peoplewho wouldbe exlraordinary wrtha com' ol lhe highestorder, fromeverypointo{view;Prodigies a new elile lrom and sciences, languages the major mand ovef all in a sense, who would and newlorms ofeducation come whomwould race."rr human walch overthe keep a Thistvoeol evolution,as Srl Auravindothinks,willlakeplace in a GnoslicBeing which has yet to come on humanlerrilory The nalure of thrs GnosticBeing has ben describedby him in his "Life Divrne".12 Conclusion: In lhis lwentiethcenlurywhen everybodyis made aiter having moreand moreenergy,it is rightlydeclaredTanka,as the scrIplure ol the Kalrage,which is directlyrelated with energy Ol course,its way ol achievingenergyis very dltlicultand il requiresgenuineguru or gude whrchrs rarelyavalable.Duelo cerlarnreasonswh ch we havealreadyseenin thischapler,thisnotionhasben surroundedby ihe cobwebof nescience, WhatTanlrais !n realilvlhalwehavementionedafterlhe retulaton ol the objeciionsraisedby laymanand scholarsTantraactually is a wav ol self discoverywhich slarts from lhe Purilicationand per{ectiono{ body mind complex. The Halhayoga,whichis aparl ofTanlra,deservesa highatlention in this regatds.Ha and lhat lilerallymeans sun-rnoonrespectivelywhileyoga meansLinion. Hence Hathayogameans unionbelwenopposite thal is Sun,oon. lt is more a harmonylhan a mere unionbetweenlwo opposite.
Degenelation of tanka
171
We live in a world ot dualiiies like heal-cold,day-n ght, male, lemale,mental-vrtal, intellect-emotion elc. For iniegraledpersonal ly he harrnonybetweenthese two opposileis required.ln subtle body these oppositesare ldi and Pingalawhich on physrcalleve work as sympalhelc and parasympalhelicnervouschannels.Harmony betwenlhese two also leadsio the harmonybetweenmelabolicand ketabolic tunction, whichis ascribedto lhesechannelsof body.Ths makes body healthyand lree from diseases. The pracliceofthe HathayoqaensureslhecultivationoJmental powers like te epalhy,omnipoiency,omnipresenceetc. bu1lhis is nol lhe airn ol a real Sadhaka.These are the side-eflortsof his Sadhana.A genuineS?ldhaka usesthesepowerstorthewelfare o1 society.Jesus is the exampleof it. He has healedmany patientsby meretouchof hrshands,Thereare also somesainlsand seerswho havedevotedlheirpowercandlilelorthe humanily. Alltheseliving exampleslead us to believein the decendenceof divinitytowafds humaniiy.The G nosticBeingof Sri Auravindois also amonglhem_ The whole humanityis waitinglor lhe incarnationol that divinity. References 1 2
CitedbyAvaon,Arlhur,Prlncplesol Tant€,PartI,p 13,Fromndian Wisdom,p. 522 Avalon,Adhur,Principles p. 14. oiTanlra,Inlroducl,on,
3
Avalon,Arlhur, Pinclples ofTantra,Pa l, p.89. Capra, Frilof The Tao oi Physics,Pr€tace,p. 1, Filth impression, 1979.
5
Singh, Lalan Prasad, Tant.a its mysticand scientilicbasis,p. 160_ Concept PublishingHouse, First Edition,1975.
6
Jivah Sivah Svo Jivah sa jivah kevalahsivah I Pasabuddhsmrulo iivah PasamuktahSadasiva KularnavTantraa,9-42. D a l a , N a r g i sA , w a k e n i n g t hK e u n d a l i nTi ,h eT i m e so l I n d l a A , pril20, 1 9 8 0 ,S u n d a y .
8
Srl Aufavindo. Lile Divin6', p. 974, €ight lndian Edition,Published by Au.avindoAshram, PondicherryBook 2, Pad 2.
N
G ,(g e
!t G
o (E
gtG CLF
6r
Chapter-7
Physicalbody s lhe main gatefor approaching the soul. In lhe body,Lordwho conlros lhe enl re unrversealso rs presenl. Lord n a lorm oi powerliesdormanlin body.In a courseoi lirne, lhroughconslanteffoflsandlhoughyog c practrces, manunlolds h s alent powers The physicalbody is the reservoirol energy of whichis the goaloi lhe and the only meanslor the untoldmenl sAdhaka.And becauseof this, body rs not givenfor the unholy purposeor onlyfor theenjoyment pr me ot sensualpleasrues.The purposeis lo attain iberationlrom limitations of bodyand mind. and altainmenlof spiriluallylhroughbody. Physicalirame, n the Tanlrasystem, s highlyesleemedas the templeot Spirilor God (Dehaodevalayodevi).And hence,lt should be kept pure and perfectrn condiion.The processoi Tanlrasadhanal starlsirom grosand endsiniosubtle.And hence physical body posilrvely. MierceaEliadewilh lhe il has accpled relerence oi the GherandaSamhitadeclaresthat,"Thebodyis no longerthe sourceot pain,bul lhe most reliableand elfectivenstr!menlal man'sdisposallor'conqueringdeath. And s nce lb eraton can be ga ned even in lhis llfe,the body must be pre preciselyas servedas ong as possibe and in perfectcondition, an ardon meditation The Rasernavam, the anotherTantrc lreatisealso supports the postlvillyof the body.As it vrews,it is of no use lt liberation s gainedaller death.Evendonkeycan alsoget it. So in orderlo atiain iberaton nthislilc, lhe preservation ol body rs very ess e n ta . 2 ForTanlra,the preseruationof body can be prolongedaccording to the wil poweror desirethroughthe Halhayogicalsanalsa, pranayama, Tantrrclechniquesand also by lhe ntakesol mer
176
Chapter-7
cury preparalions. Physrcal diseasesand mentalailmenls are hurdtesIn lhe way oi ongelvity.Thereare variouswaysand meanslhroughwhrch onecanovercome thesehurdles.They areknownas varoUsthera pies.Healthybody-mindcomplexs lhe goatof a lherapes. Any lherapy,is lrst appiiedon the physicatbody and t ultrmately atfectsthe rn nd.So dilferentlherapieshaveworkedoutlhe analomy. At presentAlopalhy,Ayurveda,Homeopathy etc.,afe lhe eading ones Tantraalso has benf a thereapyils own view regardng anatomy.li rs realy a very surprisinqto nol€ that the analorny wh ch is workedoul, rnlhe tweniiethcenturywilh the helpoi lhe sc entificinslrumenls, argelyta lieswilhtheTantra analomywhrch is revealedoLll n hoarypasl. ln thischapteranaflemplhasbeenmadeto presentlhe anatomy givenbyTantraand Allopalhy.The pofiioncoversthe concluding synthesisol lhe bolh.We shall,iirsl, bfieflysurveythe analomy A. Anatomy given by the Allopathy System: The literalureol the anatomyg ven by the Atlopathysyslem rs very large.hence,il is difiicuttlo presentil here n detait.This syslem has acceptednine ma n systemfor the slsienanceoi bodywhichare namely,(1) Bones,(2)tVusctes, (3) Drgesiion, (4) Circulation, (5)Respiration, (6)Excre|on,(7)Nervous.(B)c ands and (9) Reproduction. A lhesesystemhavesignilicant piace n the marnlenance ol the bodybul herewe shallmentiononlythe nervoussyslemand lhe g and syslemas lheyare direcllyrelatedwiththe Tantraanatorny. 1, The Nervous System: The nervoussyslem is connectedwith all bod ly syslerns becauseit conlrolsall activitres whrchare go ng on n lhe body The nervoussystemconsislsol lwo divisions{t) Cenlral systemand (2) AutonomussystemThe centratnervoussyslem ma n y conssls ol Ihe bra n lwe ve pairsol cardna nerves spl nal cord ad iorty-ihreepairs ol lhe sprnalnerves The altono
andTantra H!man AnalomY
117
nervsympathetrc consistsol spinalcord, mousnerveoussystem system nervous ous syslemand lhe para_sympalhetic The spinalcordwhrchis elongatedin the shape is a prolon' gat on ol brarn.and.rs localedln the hollowof the sprnaco umn Spina nervesstarl lrom the spinalcord an.l issueoul lrom lne pairsol nervesspreadoul spina column Al lhese lorty_three the body and torm a c oselywoven nel lhemseves throughout nervesmay be dividedintotwo groups lVotor Funolionally, y Al mascuar and Sefsory or efferentad alierenl respeclive wh le lhe leelng ol neTves for molor aclivt es are responsibe nerves. for sensory responsible are sme . tasle louchelc., The aulonomousnervoussystem consistsot lwo rows ot gangian thal s groupol nervecells Theselwo rowsof nerves are mutua y .onnecledand cross each otherat certainpo nls along Ihe sprnarcord.These cords on each side of lhe sprnal colLrmn are knownas sympalhelicnervotlssyslemand Ine para nervoussyslem. syrnpathelrc Liteprocesswhrchis goingon in our body wilhoullhe rnter_ ferenceof our will.is underthe controlol these systemsThey hence,theyare Knownas aulonomoussys work independenlly. andTantficsadhakars to makeIh s of Hathayogi The ellort tem. his will and that way he conlros lhe under syslem aLrtononrous bod ly aclrvtres 2. Gland systefi: ln body there aTecerlan organswhich lhemselvessecrel llulclwilh the r specialproperties,which help in lhe aclionand grov/thof lhe body,knownas g ands The secrelionoi glands s groMhdependsLong knownashormononwhichphysical-mental syslemhasfoundoullhe glands lhe Halhayoqa beforethe ALlopalhy whichultmalely hasadvocaledexercsesiorlhe propersecrelion complex res!LlIntothe g.owlhol body_mind Theseglandsare knownas the ductlessglandsbecauselfrey paslhe r se;retonsdlrectlynlo bloodandlymphelc Theseg ands are namey P turtaryPineal,Thyroidthymus PancreasAdrena
178
Chapter-6
lhe Divine Gradanons ol Approachrng
179
UPASANA
TANTRASADHANA(IV) The Woman Io be watted Waited is the Shaktt that E darmant tn the animat man but awake in the votary al the path. The rush of bliss that ensues upan the meeting al the patr, the Supreme Shakti and the Self above, is the real Congress. all else ts mete copulation. (5.111-12) THERE s a d vtne Powerlaienl in man wailing to be awakenedinlo aclion.All the powersthal are normallt act ve and make lite possible are only der]valions,dimtnLllions, secondarylormulationsof lhis [,4other-power that is dorm6nl within.This puissance,the Shakli,is lo be awaKeneo,aroused rnroanupwaromovemenltowards lhe self,lhe pu re consciousness situatedat the highestcentreol the being ot man. And when lhrs unronbelweenthe Shakti dartingfrom its seat betow in the lotus o1lhe ftruladhara and the Lord wajtingabove in lhe lotus ol inlinile pelals, the Sahasrara,is eitecled in the consciousnessof the practitionerlhere is an ebullittonof Thal is the lrue Congress,the real bliss thal rs airned al, nol the physicalinlerchangeat the animal tevel.
'ir'nhau! upasana lhe Presence daes nol fructify. (67S) THE Drvrners ndeedpresenleverywhere,especiallyn lrre human bocly Brt lhal by ilself does not make any difference 1oman unlesshe takesslepsto rea se lt In hls conscousness Sef-awareness,se I-purficalion,adoraton and evocationol the inciwe ng D v ne are the main sleps for awakenng lh s and makingil a dynarnicpower Presencen h s consciousness p to preparean0 ne is indispensable in llle Suchan nnerd sc purlly leve oi lhat and inlensty to the ra se the hurnansyslem to revea and rnove lhe Divrne can in seeking which alone lhe person Otherwise of the seeker' in lhe manifesl itsei polenlialityremans unlappedand dormanl
180
Swameanspranawhi e adhislhana means s Swaandadhrsthana. restng p ace.sHenceSwadhisthana meansthe reslng placeol prana.Th s cenlreis s lualed al ihe root ol lhe genilalorgan.L The [,la mantraVam ol the walerelemenlis predomnanl here Thrss x petaled otLs containslhe letlerfrom Barn1oLam.The veh cle oi thrs cenlre s Makeror crocodile.The asp ranl who medrlaleson lh s centrebecomesfree irrmedialey lrom a I h s
H u m f n A r ' a l o m y. r n dT a n r r a
181
6. Ajne cakta: Th s cenlrers localedin lhe bodyat the spacebetweenlhe h('oeyebrorvs. The b la manlraAum is localedhere.Thiscenlre s a seal ol rnindThe mrndot a sadhaka recerves the commands (Alaa)ofgur! lh rough the concenlratron on lhis centre.Concentraton on it aso deslroysthe past deeds ot sadhakaand he beconresiivanamukla. lt is equaledas a thirdeye oi Srvawh ch deslroysgnoranceas u/ellas desires.
3. Manipurc caka:
7. Sahasrara cakra:
ThLS centreis ocatedabovetheSwardh sthanacakraandana y at the rootol the navelregion.T lorfrcaL The bila rnanlraRam of the lrre elemenl s predominanl here.lt has len peia s on which lellefs lhe fromDamto Phamare located.lVedtalionon thrscennrakes one lreelromthe iear ol life. Even f he throwsh mse I lfe intolire he remans ahve.
The Sahasraracakra s localedat lhe lop o{ the head.This cenlreconlainssandand petals(Sahasrameanslhousand)lt is ihe place v/herelhe un on ol Siva-Saktitakes p ace. Here we shouldnotelhal lhiscentre s verysubtlen nalureand because oi thrs I rs not consderedas belongto the p an of body.Because of ils slrbt€iy. rt rs not counledrn ihe six centres.
4. AnAhata cakft:
Nbdi: Theory ol Channels:
Thrscentfeis be evedlo be situatedin lhe reg on ol heart. The seed etteryarnol lhe elementa r s predomnanl here.The vehrce of lh s cenireis anleope.The natureoi bothanlelopeand lhe a r s lhe sarne.i.e.ihe ileetingnalure.A sadhakawho mediales on lh s centrecontrolsvayu and is lul of capacitye ther lo crealeor to destroythe world. This claimthoughseems to be exaggerated,t showsto whai an exlentthe medtalorcan de velop h rnsell.The simiy given shows to whal an exteni lhe medrlatorcan develophimsell.The similygiven shows that he v rluallybecomesas powerfulas Lofd himsell
rrTaflra,narddoesnol meangrosschanneisbui il conlarns suble efergyor pfana.Thesechannes are spreadthrougho!llhe body and heacelhey are rnanyin number.Becauseoi this,they cannotbe counled.Though,however,some figureshave been proposedAccordng lo some lreatiselhe Iigureis 3,00,000tor olhefs.( rs 2.00.000BLrtihe i gure72,000rs largelyaccepted
S.Visuddha cakta: Thrs centreis locatedrnlhe regionol lhroat.Al s xleenvow, e s are localedon lhrs sixleenpetalledotus.Vrsuddhameans pure.Concenlralon on lh s cenlremakeslhe mindol a sirdhaka p!re Iroma iimpurties.ThebljamanlraHam ot the elhere ement rs predominanlhere.[,4edtationon this cenlregiveslhe knowledge oj threeworlds.lt also makesfiee lrom d seasesand sor'
Anlongal thes€nadis.ten are mportanlnamelylda.P ngaa. Gandhan. Haslajihva, Pusa,Yasasvini, Alambusa, Kuhu S!sLrmna. and Samkhini. The I rsl three.amongtheseare moresignrficanl. lda and P ngalaare localedat lhe end ol the spine They exlendlrom the end oi sp ne to nostrrls. They are consideredas lhe containerol lhe lunarand solaror menla andthevila cur rentsrn the body respeclively. The Susumnanadris said lo be generay c osed a1the baseol lhe sprneand can be openedby certarnyogrcpractrces. Pranaor fe forceilowseitherthroughldaror lhroughPrngala generaly.TheTanlrasardhaka afreststhiswayol ilowrngoi pr,tna and he lr es Ior drawingpranathroughthe Susumnan,rdi.
182
Chaprer.T HumanAnalomyandTantra
revolveroundthe conceplol lhe physicalbody. All therapres Accordinglo Tantra,al organsol the body are connecledwrlh cakrasor centresthroughs!btle channelsor nadis The power whichis requiredby lhe limbsof bodyis provded by the cenlres ol conscousnesslhroghnadis,This conceplhas a greatresemblancewith the All palhicconceptof glands and the nergous system.We haveseenin lhe anatomyol Al opathylhatthe growlh ofbodyandell c encyol nervoussystemdependsuponproperor balancedsecrelionot g ands, cakrais srluatedal Accordng to the Tantra,lhe lMirladhara prithvi or eafth e emenlrspredomi_ lhe sprne ol which the baseof also de' nant,lhe supporterof all things.The Ayurvedasirlrarni cakrais a supporlerol allbodilysubsiance, c ares,ihe Mulirdh:rra saptadhartus.lo ol groselemenl,Tantradeclares To show the predominance thrscenlreas lhe seat ol prilhvilattvaor earlh elemenl.Physlhis cenlres tualedal lhe anus regionand is also as ologically, socialedwilh the areaol excreiionol so d mallerlrom body. cakra s localedat the rootol lhe gen tal The Swardhisth2tna In body,al outpul organol whichwalerelemenlis predominanl. semenlakespacelrere. Le.urnationanddrschargesof of fluLds, The Manpura cakra is belevedto be situaledal the navel regionwhLchis associaledwith lhe lire elernent.Physo og caly when the nnerllameol lire (Jatharagni)s properlyregualed, i resuts intoheath- Oiherwse it can be the soufceoi d seases The AnAhaiacakrais ocatedal lhe hearlregion.This s the centrewherelhe a r elementis predomnant lt s a centreol nutrition.Hearl drstribulespuriiiedbloodsent to il by ungs t0 variols parls ol lhe body.The elticiencyot lungsis very much oi lungscan neededlor lhe purilicalion oi blood This efficiency whichis highlyrelatedwilh lhe alr be increasedby pran?lyama e e.ne_l The V suddhacakrais localedn the areaoi lhroat The ele_ here,All vowes are localedon lhrs menl etherrs predominant
183
aenier Physologlcally thts cenlreis considered as the cenlreol The Aiiia cakra s localed between the rwo eyebrows rs a so knownas the thirdeye. lt is lhe palaceof the plneatgtand. This cenlrecontros our desiresas well as givesus knowiedge. The Pinea g and doeslh s sameworkaccordrng lo Altopathy. The Sahasraracakrais ocatedal the top ot the skut, where ine consclousness is evolvedat the highestdegrees.physl o og ca y, it is a place of the Pituitaty gta']d. Accordng 10 the Allopalhy, the pituitaryglandrs ocated n betweenlwo brainsand is knownas rnaslergland.Becauseil coniros lhe J!ncllono{ all other glands.The secr€tionwhtch I rereased are mporlanttromlhe poinlof viewof matnlenance and deslructon ol lhe body.ll is a seat ol the destreol reproduclion also HenceTanlrahas apllydescribedil as kameswara The Tbntriccenlresand nadisare very sub|e In nalure So rl rs nol properto ldentrlythenwithlhe grossphysicalsystemHere ,,1ie havemenloned it jusl to showthe resemblance belweenlhe Iwo systemnamey AltopalhyandTanlra. The anatomywh ch s mentionedby Tantras very subte n ratureafd can be seenontythroughthe yog c vis on. and nol by the drssectof of lhe body. FOOTNOTE E I a d e N 4 i r c c yao g a - t m m o r r a i i tay n dt r e e d o r n . T r a n s t atlreodmr r r e F r e n c l rb y V . / , l l a . R d T r a s k p 2 2 7 p o l t i n g e ns e r e r sL V t S e c o n d Idil on.]969 P . d a p . i r ec a y o n r o k s asho c a m o k s an r r a r t h a k aIn P r i d e l u p a l r r ed e v i I g a d a f b h o p rv r m u c y a t e F a s a r i a v aT a n t r aI 9 Cakfanrsaklisam!hlYogrnlhrdaya Cakrasamkelartr,updnam.verse 7 C o n r m e n l a royl A h e s k a r a c h a r yoan y o g i n ih r d a y a E dl e d b y C h a t l o p a d h y a yK a ,s h e t r e s a c h a n d rSaa r a s w a rBi h a v a . G r a f l h a m a a V o 7 S e c o n dE d i l i o n .1 9 0 3 .
184
Chaptef-7
susumnesyalagnamdhvajidhogudfodhva Arha adherapadman 4. Sal cakranirupanam I ladesrayam Sva sabdenabhavetprinah swadhislhanam Yogacudamani upanisadll Sousumnyamadhyaghatilamadhvajamiladese 14. Sal cakranirupanam, prakae Tasyordhavenabhimirledasadalalasileptrmamegha Sal cakranirupanam. esvalaspijagatarnraksevin;se ksmahI 8 . Vacamisvara Sal cak.annupanam, 26. rogasokapramukla. L Trikal:inam darcisakalahitakase Salcakranjrupanam, 31. petal 10. Nanuyoganispi mirladhara madibhulam sakaladhaluposakam 3-90..... The AyurvedaSnlramwithcomm€nlaryol Yognandana{h. Edited by Df.R. SharmaSastry,p. 141,Mysore,1922.
Chapter-8
HealingAspectof Yantraand Mantra
Chapter-8
humanraceis the On thrsearthamongallexisting species, onlvone wh ch hasbecomevictimol lhe sellcreaieddisease. Ilanytherapies havebeenworkedoutto comeoverthiscalamily On the bLrlslil, we are nol in a position to removeall diseasescontrary, sometimes, the sideellects,of drugsappearin a form The basc reasonof the freouentaooearance of diseaselres wayol living. Wedo everything to go in ourartiticial or unnatural musieatwheneverwe agalnst nature, e.g.ourhabiiol eating.We Jeelhe needlor it or hungerforit andeatonlythosethjngwhich we knoware conducive to good health.Insteadwe eithereat moreoul of fashron or eatlhosethlngswhichwe knoware not conducive lo heallh. Thisimproper wayoJeating,createscom plexiies n stomach Nolonly whichresultintovarious diseases. we many more things which we n eating,in our routinelife do physical may fes|r into so irregularities either or know, t some o{ mental. whichis responsiBesides this,ihereisalsoonevitalreason alsospiritualdisorders, thalis, bleto crealephysical'mentaland poweror lhepowerol resistance theneglect of the nnerhealing of body againstdiseasesgive by nalure.Modernlile is lull ol stresses and strains, We are alwaysin hurryandhencewe are in searchof instant constantly cureanddueto thiswe lakesuch harm drugswhichtheycurelhe diseaseinstanlly butultimately thebodv. There are many side etfectsof such drugs,like insomnia, b oodpressure, disturbance o{sugarbalance elc.Andiherelore, the expertsin th s field are in searchol thosedrugswhichare harmlessor in searchoJdruglesslherapy. forcullrvating inYanlra andManlraaretechniques designed
I
ta8
ChapteFS
ner alentpoweroJreslstance of body-mind withwhichwe are nol awareo{outof ignorance,We, therefore, wonderwhenexperlsin lhrs lield lalk in terms 01 superhumanpowers.Superor power Invokewondersbecausewe are ignoranlol them. Yantraand l\.lantratechniquesworked out for cullivating a. lent powerol body-mindwhichare baseduponh gh y ascerlanable psychological and spirilualiacts.Yantrasare lormedoul oi cerlaingeometrical ligureslike dot, lrangle etc.They serve as meansof concentration - ll is recognized byTanlncsthatconcenlralionot m nd is multiplcalionof mentallacullyand additiono{ menlalpowers wh le disspalionoiPaycho-phys calenergyiswaste ol energyand consequenlly an invitation lo diseasesThrsprocess oi concenlration il perfected,may lead lo not on y dfug ess therapybut also increasesongevily, Talntrlc of ageshaveperfected loTconcentTathe techniques lion. Mantrais againa very powerfulweaponin the armouryof Tanlrator bringingabouthigheslform ol concenlration by which the experlsimplyby concentrallon ot his cultivaledpowers,can br ng aboulwonderfulresullswtththe helpof repettlonof cerlarn sya 1bes knwonas seedlellersor BrjaN/antra. Now e1Lrssee the detailsoiYanlraand[,4anlra withihereterence ol theirtherapeutic value. A.Yantra Theapy : One of lhe lheoriesregardingthe creationot world is that, worlds nolhingbut lhe mereprojeclionol m nd . IVInd perceives worldobleclswilhthe helpoflhedala givenbythe senseorgans So the expansionof vrsionot minddependsuponlhe amountol datagivenby senseorgans.Fof instance,tf the senseot heaflng, is cultivated more,lhenthe ownerol il, can hearmorelo!dly,than a n o l h e r r n aSn a. m e i s i h e c a s e w i l h a l l s e n s e . A y o g i o r a s e d h a k a , who has expandedthe innerlalentabilty of senseorganscan openlhe subtieapparaluslorthe knowledge ol the worldwhichis not possrblern case ol a layrnan.
Healng AspeclofYantra andl\rantra
ta9
Tanlrashowsus rhe way ol lhe processoi expansion, of lhe powerof senses.Oneot the meaningofTanlrais expansion (Otan = to expand).Tanlrictechniques are designedlor ihis purpose-li . supposethe powersare arousedby the appllcalionol Tanlra technquesthenwhal'sthe use ol it, ii lhey are not channeized. powerharmsthe sadhakahirnsell. Uncontrolled Considering this, Tanlrahasdevisedthe uniquemethodofYantra, The term'Yantra' comeslormsthe rool'vam'whichmeansio control.Yanlrais an a d for controlIng the porver. Yantras also represenlation ol the HigherRealily.lt repre senlsthe Rea ity in a geometrical formslke dot line,triange etc. These are nol merelygeometrlcalsings.They are also Yantric symbolswhichrepresenlsubllemeaningsol lhe HigherRealily. SriYanlra, amongaltheYaniras, is lhe mostausplcousYantra represents deviorsakl.Thelormalon ol ihe Sr Yantrais un que, F ve ir angleswith downwardapexare superimposed by foui triang es with downwardbase.This combination resuhsinloforlythreelriangles.The ouler appearanceof lheselrianglescan be classedintosevencircleswh ch are considered as lhe centresoi Tantratechnrquesare baseduponsoundprinciples. (1) Unity of microcosmand macrocosmand (2) ldentilyof two in an indi vidual.Yanlrais a meansthroughwhichthis identilycan be reailzed by the ndividual.SriYantras a symboic representalion ol these two pr nciplesand henceit represenlslhe human-bodymLndcomplexwith sell or consciousness as lhe presding deity and lhereforeit lunctionsas a link betweenthesetwo. lt is used as a meansfor conlemplalion. Contemplation on il, resultsinto the identi{icationof microcosmand macrocosm.N4oreover, concentratron on SriYantraalsogivesbeneficiaI rewardsto sadhaka. One ol the cakraso{ SriYantra,is Sarvarogahara cakra,re moveroi all diseases.The concenlration on this centreinsures the sardhakaireedom from al diseases.We, thereiore, sav that SriYanlra valuein insuring lechniquehastremendous lherapeutic hrmsell irom all diseases. Like Sri Yantra.there are also other Yanlraswhich are believedto be the means tor curing and pro
r90
Chaplerg
teclrnglh€ sadhakakofi the allacksol physicaland m€nla diseases.In lhis chaplerwe shallmake relerence lo lwo Tanlric lreatisesnamely,lhe SaundryaLaharland the Kalpacinlamanih lor supportinglhe view. For the convenienceof presentinglhe delarls,th s chapler has been divided nto lwo groups,A and B. A consistsoi the delais regarding Yanlraand ils symbolicreprese.talion whileB contarnsils therapeutic value.Now lel us be acqaintedw th lhe me.ninqand s.9 'rcdnceolYanlral-e I rst. A) 1.yantrc and its symbolic meaning: ln scriptures, whrchdeal with the sadhanaaspect,lhe Un mate Rea ily is termedas deily(Div=shine) becauseil is viewed as rghl.In Tanlra,ihis greatetlulgenceof Ighi s consderedas Accordng to the science,whichdealswithlhe ana ys s of lhe rays ol the sun, the obieclsol wodd are nolhingbut lhe various combrnations oflhe raysollight.Theseraysare sevenin number. So by makingchangeinlo ihe cornbinalions oi rays,any oblecl can be iransformed inloany otheroblect.SwamtYogananda has mentroned ihis typeol llustration in his, aLltobiography of a yogi' n wh ch hisguruhadlransiormed camphornto graphile Sun lighl as the greal radianceis formess.When t maniIesls,it lakesform.Yantra represenis the HigherReaityandhence whaleveris manilesledby the HigherBealily,lhe worldtyobjects, areYanlras.This v ew is alsoexpressddby Devar4aVidyaVacaspali. As he declares,"thereare, in lhe world,innumerableYantras. Every shape,everyleaf,everylloweris aYantra, whichthroughitsshape, ts colour,rts perfumetellsus the siory of crealon."2 YanlrarepresentsLightor the HigherFealily n the torm ol geometrrcal figures.Due to thrs presentalion ot /ight,Yantra s consideredas the abidingplaceof deity.3The HigherFealityis lrguredoul in symbolsor lorms becausea laymanis not in a posilionto graspthe formlessgreatradiance, so at rnilal tevet,to have a glmpse of the HigherReality, Yantra s requred.As the YoginiTantra dec ares , "The goddessis io be worshpped n the
Hea ing AspecloiYanlraand [,4anira
191
sex embem. a book , a syrnboiicdrawng on lhe ground,an im age.wateror a stone.' Th s leadsus to conlerthalYanlrais a storehouseof energy or a symbo c represenlat on of the cosmc energyunderlyrng all objectsof the unrverse, lvloreover, i is, as Zlmmerv ews,is also an nslrumenl.He giveslhis view by breakinglhe lerm 'Yanlra. The lerm Yanlra is a combnalon of Yam+tra,Yam means lo conlrolwhiletra rndcates nslrumenl.In hisown words, Yantrars an Inslrument des qnedio curbthe psychiclorcesby concenlralIng lhem on a patlern,and n such a way that ihis patternbe comes reproducedby lhe worshppeasv sualizingpower.ll s a machne to stimuate Innervrsualization medilalon and e)(pefrYantras formedoul by lhe tigureslke d01,cifcle, ine,lr an gleelc.Theyaso conlarn gher lhe subllemeanng underyrngtheH Realily.Now let us proceedwith the Symbolicrneanng ol the vaflousI gures. Symbolic meaning of Yantra: ln lhe Veda,thereis a beautifulstory regarding lhe omn pres' enceoi Lord.As rt says,havingcreatedun verse,God sloodoul abouthow to penelrateor enler nto ol lhe univers€and lhoLrght the un verse.Then he dec ded to enterintolhe universelhrough name and fofrn.So whereverlhere is a name and lorm (NamaRupa),the HigherReaItypervadesin it.6In Yantra,these{orms ol lhe HigherRealilyare rellectedin such a mannerlhal.Throgh conlemplaton on them, sadhakacan leel the piesenceol the HigherRealily. Boththe constiluenls ol the Higher 8ea ity,the macrocosm and lhe mrcrocosm, are lhe same and they are representedby |ve grosselements(Pancamahabharta). In Yanlra,lhese forces are symbolzedin a figuralve manner,So by concenlraton on t, one can establishharrnonyL'etween the microcosmand macro' The geometricafigures,fromwhichYanlrais composedare dol.trang e, c rcle,squareetc.Nowwe shallseelhe subllemeanings
Chapler-a
192
Heaing Aspeclol Yaniraand Manlra
193
are iwo lypes ot trianglesiiguredout rnYanlra.One is wrlh up' wardbasewhiletheother s ol downwardbase.
ol lhem. a. Dot: Binclu:
by dol. As the wholeol Geornelryis an Brnduis represented erpa^sronol dol. so also lhe enl'tpYa-lrr is a_ expansionol Blndu.Yanirasor geomelrcaLI gures or the barkot lreesmeanlTor are drawnon sollor on Bhilriapatra them or on eavesor on copper,siver or gold pales Vanous go ng on incosmosarelhecreationoivaToLlsiorces rnovernenls are symbolr forcesor movemenls workingn the cosmos.These on lheYantra. cally represented The cosmiciorcesare all pervasiveand hencerepresenled e.g.Etherwh ch is a I on Yanlraare beleved10be all pervasive, pervasives repfesentedntheformoi Bindu.In Tanlra thisdo1 tlre or Bindursconsideredas Sivawhichsymbojca ly represents sourceor crealron. seers,butlheweslernpsychoog sl likeJung Nol onlyTAnlric on thisaspecl.He has utilzedlhe word has also conlemplaled Mandalafor cakra and coinedthe word centreof Mandalaas Slvaaccordng to lhe S va In his ownwordcreatng ln emanation. in ils perfectstale. Tantriclraditions one exrstence,lheTimeless pointknownas SivaBindu Crealionbegrnswhenthisunexlended appears n the elernalembraceol ils ieminineside lhe Saktl'7
Thelrianglewilhapexupwardshows Amongthelive the way of sublimalion. elemenls,it representslhe I efy element or Agnitallva.As lire goes up' ward, the aspirationot sadhakaalso goesupward.Th ls alsoknown slrlangle as slva kona.
a
The expansionol Bindu lakes lhe lorm of lriange, tr kona Sakti Bindu whichaccordingtotheYantrasymbolsmrepresents ts Sivaand lrikonais Sakti.In Tanlra,bothlheseare consdeTed as rdenticals b.T angle : Trikona : Triangleis an embelmol SakliandSakli is, accordng to lhe Sanskrllex con,con_ sideredas oi a {emininegender,hence t is alsoknownas yoniorlhelemalerepro duclive Roganbecausethe wholecosmos has come oul ol it-The Bgvedaalso re_ lers the orlginoi cosmosas yon.'There
C. Sakti kona.
The lrianglewilh apex downward representslhe waler elementor Apa tattva.The lendencyof waterrs to go repre whlchph losophicaly downward lowardsgrossmanl_ sentsthetendency typeoilriange s known testalron.This as Sakli kona. Fromlhe combnationoi lhese1wo 1rang es arisesa I gureof Satkonaor the slar wlth six angles.Th s ligure symbolicallyrepresentsthe union ol purursaprakrilrorS va_Sakt. wrlhoul can not lake p ace whichihe crealLon So Satkonais a symbclc represenla' tionol lhe creaton ol un verse. Now el us see how lfre deslruc tronaspectis symbolzed. This ligure like drurnol Siva (Damaru)refleclsthe separalronot lhe un on which meansthe eno oTcrea or per odicd sso tr_ tionor destrucllon tion of cosmos, d. Circle: Triangle expandsin the lolm cl cir_ cle, Crcle represenlsrolation.ll also symbolcallypresentstfle arrelemenl
194
Chapter8
or vayulaltva.lloreover,it is also an emblem ol perleclron. e. Squarc:Bhipura: Generaly, rsdrawnal lhe square outermostlm t ot theYantra. lt syrn boicallyrepresents thegrossness, whichis lhe quaityoi lhe Earlhel ementor lhe pntirvrlallva. Thislig
HeaInq Aspecrof Yanlraand Llanrra
195
AmongYantras meanl lorcullivalng highestpowersof body' m nd lor postrvepurposesbenelicial lo one'sown se f as wellas tor othersincludng an ma s and subhumanspeces, Sri Yanira (Yantra occupes the centralplace.ll rs knownas k ng of al Yantras RalaYantra)becauseany of lhe abovepowerscan be cu t vated by concentralng on one or rnorelrangle elc Because of thrs grealnessol lhe SriYanlra,we shallsee aboulrt if delail.
ure n Yantras knownas Bhupura.
2.The meaning ol S Yantra:
Everi YantraslartstromB nduor dot and endsintosquareor BhupuraTh s showslhe processot evoutiontfomsubilelo gross, or Irom elherlo earth Heinrich,Zimmerhasvery beauti{ully re f ecledth s view,"On one handthe dynamicdiaqramssuggests processof expansion a contrnuous iromthe centreot lhe patiern lo thec rcumlerence andrequiring a passagelorlrmelor ilscourse On lhe olher handtheyare lo be graspedas an endurng hrerarchy as gradalionol simullaneously manilested degrees of be ng w ( h l h e h r g h e s l v a l usei l u a l e d a l t h e c e n l r el.0 D a n i e i o u , A a r n has summarized lhesef gures as a represenlalion of lhe d vinr, I es. We c ose this poinl w th his view.As he dec ares, "All the elemenlarygeomelrical Iigurespo nt, straightl11e,cross,circle, tr ang e elc. havea symbolical valuecofiesponding lo basicnotrons.They can be combinedin moreor less compex figureslo becomethe representalion ol parlicularforce or qualites embodied n someaspeciol creation. Thereis no shape,no move menl wh ch may nol be reducedto a combinationol these e, emenlallorms.The magicdiagramsconslrucledwith lheir help lrue y analyze and represenlthe crealve lorce of lhe cosmos wh ch we ca i diviniles."r'
Elymologicay, Sri is prelx which denolesauspicousness Sr Yantras devised{or manypurposesshownaboveand hence rls conslruclionis very complex.We sha I dealw th that aspecl In deiai laler on For lhe time being,we shouldnote lhat the objectof sardhaka is Iberation.Liberalon Iromthe bonds uLtlmate ot physicomenlalas wellas spirilualailmenls.Concenlralion on somespeciticangleor triangleyieldfreedomlromdiseasesBui man1snol satisted withheallhonly.There are olher goalswh ch I n o t h e r w a l k s ofle . S r i Y a n l r a i s d e s i g nnesdu c ha m a n n etfh a t il may be used by a persondesirousol anythrngn the world ifclud ng freedomtromdiseases,enemes elc
Thereare many typesot Yankasrneantlor securingone or the olherobjectives perfeclhealh, wea th, power. likeliberalion, preslrge, lo overcomedtseases, to securelonglileetc.The powers cullrvated thusare veryofienusedlor negativepurposesdue to humanweaknessor fraities.They are knownas subiugaton, Lmmob allraclron, lization, dissention,iqLridalion, cradlcalon and
ThrsSr Yantrais consideredas lhe abodeoi Lalna.theTantnc verypolenl nameot the HihgerRealily,lherefore,t is considered and celebrated amongtheYantras, The ernergence is veryIascnaling.Thereare ol the SriYantra vanoussloflesregrdingils emergence. lt is sardthatthe Supreme Saklioi Her own wllllakesthe iorm of universeand ooks at Hel own lhrobwilh lhe resullthal Sr Yanlracomesinto exrslenc-o,r? ThisYantrais alsoknownas V yalcakra.l3 Viyatmeansspace ( A k a s a )T . h e r e a r e l w o k n d s o i A k a s a s .T h e o u t e r s p a c e (Eahyak,rsa) andlhe innerspace(Daharakasa). The outerspace is spreadoverthe enlirecosmos.And lhe sameagarnrsencapsualedinlohumanbodyknownaslnnerspac thereiores lhe sameakasaa spread or Daharakarsa Daharakasa,
196
Chapter€
The HigherRealityIn ils evolvingprocess,accordingto Inrl lhe lor.nol Akasa.A^aca,Iheredranonroogy.'rrslmdnrlesrs lore.is a visiblelorm oi the HigherRealily,as otherwise,Higher Tanlraconcenlrales on Realilybeinglormlessis nol accessible. lrom ol HigherFealit,. the v siblemanilesled As outerandinnerspaces identical, sadhakaby concenlralng on nnerspace,seekshis idenlitywilhthe H gherRealily.The becauselh€ Higher inner space is the rea spacetor s2rdhaka Rea ty res des in ihe lorm ot spacein rnnerspace.SriYanlrais againa symboloi Dahararkasa or HigherReaiitywithin. It is lhe signilicant aspeclol SriYantrathat its iormalionreflects bolh microcosmand rnacrocosm.I\,4ed tation on rt resulls intorealizalon ol the idenldybelweenthesetwoa- Fomlation ot S Yantrc: is drawnarounda Binduor dol whichis considered SrrYanlra as the abodeol Lalilar. lhe universalenergy.11is describedas consstingol superimposilion ot ninelriangles.lourwilh upward of both proapexand live wth downwardapex.Thecombinalion duce lorly lhreelrianges.Aroundlheselriangles,thereare iwo circlesone wilhinlhe secondwhich containseightpetalswhie the oulerconlainssixleenpetals.Oulsidelhesepetalsthereare threecirclesand theselhreecirclesare coveredby lhe squares knownas Bh!puras.This s lhe geometrcal iorrnaion represen talionof Sr Yantra.Now let us see what it representssymbolcaly.
Bhagamalini
J y s e s l aM a i n l e n a n c e
respeclrve y. Symbo|cally, Ihese lq'ee de e' d-o Brdgama||_r Again,it is a so a Fire Sun respectively. and represenlMoon, destructton. creation, maintenance and ol represenlailon Nine lold division: The samethreetolddivisionfromthe pointot viewof gun as becomesninelold. The Sakli or nalureln its subtleform rs composedol lhree
VV \*7 v
b. Symbolic rcprcsentation ol SriYantra: SriYantrastarlstromBinduand endsintoBhipura.ll means, in lerms of elementallorces.it coverseverthingirom ether lo earth.Thisshowsthe wayof creation.BetweenBinduand Bhirprura, lhe wholeyanlraspaceis dividedinlo three Joldand nine lold dlvisionas shown below: The centreof the triangleis knownas abodeoi Lalita.The apex is known as the residenceplace ot Kamesvariwhile the leit andthe rightangleare consideredas the abidingplaceofVajresvari
197
HealingAspectol Yantfaand l4anlra
VV
trq v
t_----7
r98
ChapteF8
g!nas, Sattva,Bajasand Tamas.Thesethreegunars in theirac, tiveJormare convertible to eacholher.Therefore, the wholedivi sronbecomesninelold. Herein the caseof gunas.it s Salva ot Sattva. Sattva ot Rajas and Sattva oi Tamas Same is lhe case w th RajasandTamas.Thus nineloldd;vsiontake p ace. BetweenB ndu and Bhapura,Igureslke dol,c rcte,trrange squarelake place.Theyalsocontan symbolicmeanng.Binduor dot is the centrewherecrealorand creationare in directcontacl or identica.C rcle represenlspertection wh e squarepresenls grossness.Triangles an emblemol yoni,a lemae generalve organor a sourceoi crealron. TheTripuralapinl upanisadhasconsidered lriangteas Tr p! ra. Tn meansthreewhrlepura meansab ding p ace ll is an ab dtng placeol threev/orlds,namely.earth,heavenand netherworld.ri According lo theTripuropanisad. Trrangle represenlgross,subl e and causalaspectsboih In i n d i v i d u a l a nI ndc o s m r cI o r m . l s Aiter havingseen aboulthe symbotcrneanings ot the geo rnelrlcaligureol Sr Yanlra.nowlel us see Srryantraas symbol, ca representalron ol humanbody. C. S yantft as symbolic presentation of human body: Tantraconsidersbody as a tempe c,f divrnity. A I mbs c,j body belong10lhe un versalpowerThesepowersrepresenlrng the Inrbs oi body can be locatedrn Sr Yantra So Sfi Yantra r e p r e s e n t s l h e u n /ool nb o d y a n du n v e r s en i d e n t t y . T h egsn i l i canlpornlrslhalmereknowledgeaboutihrsdoesnolhepsadhaka wilhoutdenirlyrng himsellwithit by Bhavanaor rmagnatron.How lhs dentitytakes place that we shaitsee in lhe words ot S. 'Thernelhod Shankaranarayanan. of arrivng at the rdentitys by olfeflnglhesemembersoi lhe humanbodylo lhe Sakls lo whom lhey origrnaly belongedto lhe un versalpowerslocatedn the Srl CakraThis haslo be achievedby Bhavanadeepmedilation conlemplalng step by slep lhe variouspsychophys ca parls n lhe humanbodyand the corresponding powersin the Sri Cakraand dwellingon iheir dentily."l6
Heaing Aspeclol Yanlraand Mantra
199
Now we shallsee with lhe help ol the figureshow physical In SriYanlralrom Bindulo Bhupura. bodyis represenled Physical body as rcptesented in Sd Cakra: As we haveseen Sfi Cakrarepresents bolh macrocosnr and microcos m.Thatway tisa inkor mediumlhroughwh ch onecan reahzethe rdenlty belwenthe ull male Realty and the se f rl the processof denlilcalion,accofdng loTantra.sadhakahas lo the rdenliicationoi humanbody. rnentallymaglne(Bharvayet) wrththe un versa powersiromwh ch lhe bodyis composed.and whlchare magnablyrepresented by var ousangles.lr angleselc ol Sf YanlraThe Bhav-anopan sada Sarklaupanisad-hasmeft oned how the drjierenlI guresof Sr CakrarepresentshLrmall on ol the hu body Thus we shall see the sybmolicrepresenlal an bodyIn Sri Cakrawiththe helpof th:rvanopanrsad. The ouler mosl cakra,whichis knownas Bhupuraconlarns three rnes.The lirsl lineas il is mentionedin lhe charl 2 repregreatness. minuteness. lrghtness. ord. senlserqhlpowersnamely. shrp.contro. power lo have whatever one wanls,enJoyrnenl of a I desiresrrThe sec des re atlanmenland accornplishment ond Ine .1 lhe Bhupura represenlslust.anger.covelo!sness d e L r s r opnr d e e n v ym e r i l a n d d e m e r i t . l s l n l h enl herodl B l r r p L r r ; L lhe srxcen(resol lhe body lhe lwo Sahasraraoneaboveana ll]|' oiherbe ow and ndrayoniare the nineSaklrs silualed.c The s xleenpetalledolus represenlsthe lrvegrose.)frenls ',1 6ly. aartL. wdrer. I\e.
ait
elqor,
.en \o
!a
nd.ia)
,d
sk n. eye. longue.nose.mouth,iool hand arms genlla afd lhe The e ghl pelalledlotusrs an ernblemoJlaculles ol speirk ing. lakrn!].go ng excrelingenjoyrnq.relectng. acceplf!r a|1d rgnonng.2: {rgure represenls lourteennadrsnarliey TheIo!neenaornered Payasllrri Yasovalr. Aambusa K!hLrhv svodanVaruni.Hastalihva. lda,Pingala.Susurnna22 Gandhar P,rshaSankhn . Saraswati. ol len vayus live The len corneredI gurers a representation n'ran and ive auxr ary oi body namey Prana Apana.Vyarra
Chapler-8 Udana,Samana,Naga,Kurma,Krkara,Devadalta,Dhanaijaya.23 The len breathsaclingon the digestivefire ot lhe stomach jalharaignibecometentoldand digestfoodoi all kindsare representedin the ten corneredfigure.2a The eightcorneredfigurerepresenlscold,heal, p easure,pain, wish, saltva, rajas and tamas.25 Avyakta,the unmaniiest,Mahatthevasl cosm c princtpletorce and Ahamkarathe divisionalprinciple of Egojormationare the threedertiesin lhe primarylriangle,kameswari, Vajreswariand Bhagamalin.26 The centreol lhe Yantrarepresenls lhe supremedeityLa ita the absoluteFealilycomprisedof Exlslence'Consciousness Bliss.27 Thus Srl Yantraexhausisalalmosta I thai the Bealityconiains and henceis the most perfectsymbolicrepresental on of UllimdteRea ily.lt rs rh.relorpLsFdr'rrlldusprcoLs Leremonies ol Hinduriies.lt is also usedJorprotectng the sadhakahom al ev ls. Nol onlythis,withthe helpoi SriYantraserdhaka can obtan or masierpowersof healing,cuungdiseasesand alsofor driving awayevilspirits-Thus it is oflremendoustherapeutlcvalue.Wherever suchsiddhaYanlra is keplihe houseorthepiaceis securedagansl a I evil iorces. 3. Thea peu ti c aspec t of Yantra : Tantrameans liberation,lt's a processwhich liberateslhe sadhakatromphysicalmertaland sprrilual ai menls.Yantra is an aid in Tanka,whichenhancesihis processo1iiberation. As Yantrarepresentshumanbody,ihe bodilycenlresor cakras can alsobo localedin Yantras, especially in SriYanlra. One oi the cakras,in sriYantra, is knownas Sarvarogahara cakraor remover of alld seases,Concentration on thiscenlrernakesbodydevoid of diseases,Theirtherapeuticvalue has beenalreadymentoned n the Kundalinlchapter. Besides this, lhe Tentric trealise like Saundrya Lahar, Ka apacinlamanihalso reier someYantraslor removingd seases lke lever,diabetes,rheumatism eic.'
HeahngAspectol Yantraand Manlra
2A1
The Yantrasmeanllor various purposesdo not themseves cacydependsuponthe eliorlput n becomeell cacious.Theireff accordingto cenainproby sadhiika.Yantras lo be worshipped cedure aid down in the texls ike Kalpacinlamanih,Manlra Mahodadhietc.The entire process s very e aborateand dernandsastuledisciphne, ol concentration as wellas observance certainvows like ce iebacy,truth speaking,non vio ence, non attachments elc.Sadhakais requiredto practlceal thesefelenlessnesswith singlemlndeddevoiionand unfli.chng eiiorl.He he comesacrosssuch haslo praclrce fearessnessforsometimes ll is lhereIoread experenceswh ch are very muchbewildering. visedlhal he shouldpursuehis goalsunderthe gurdanceof an expen. TheYanhaor l\,4antra becomessiddhaat lhe endol th s e aborale processsomelmes ast ng ior yearstogetherbut at lhe end ol powers whrchlhe sardhaka becomespossessedol supernormal g othersforovercomingtherllsbothphysica whch he phim n helpin Psychicalas well as spirtua. praclceddrugess In Aserianciv lizationlhe entirepopulation therapyfor rnorethan5,000years.In our countryalso,lhereare people€x stantwho c aimlo curevariousd seaseswiththe he p ol MantraandYanlra.11is nowI me we mustunderlakelo examinelhepossb ty lo overcomediseaseby druglesslherapiesbecause pracliceoj drugs s gellingday by day notonlyirreevantbut a so oangerous
The term'Yanlra'indicates two meanings,One is lo conlro Hence,Yantrars an Inslrument wh le the s€condis an instrumenl. wh ch are consd ior gainingconlrolover rnentalmodifications eredas the causeol physicomenlaland spirtuala lmenls. In yogicafd dntrc treatise,lhe caus€of diseasess consd ered as dLreto disturbanceol lhe elernentaliorces n outside,ror d 01body on olhef hand on one handand, or, in the constiluents The geometfcaf gures,outof whichtheYanlrais iolrnednamey ot theelemenh dot,circe. squareetc.aresymbolicrepresentation
Chapier-8
242
on certain lorces.ll is believedlhat medistcationwth fu4antra I guresofYantragivehealth.And becauseol thisone ol the cakra cakra,removeroi al oi the SriYanirais knownas Sarvarogahara Arfong allYantras,an emphasishas been laid downon Sn it rneansauspiciousness. Heallhy Yantra..As thelermSriindicates, nd is among body-m also them.
HeaIng Aspectof Yanrraand N,lanlra ;oware lakenlrom lhe SaundryaLahario{Sri Samkardcarya. In lhe noiesunderappendixoI ihe SaundryaLahari,it is written I ke lh s: No originaity is claimedfor the lacts publishedin thisprayogasecton.Theprayogashouldbe handledonlybythose qualiJications who possesslhe deserving andaftergetling instruc r on 5 rron pr6.eplo,
Be ng a symbolicrepresenlalion of the elementaforces,Sri Yanlraalso representsboth macrocosmand microcosm.So t provesas a linkand alsoas an lnsirumentfor realizing lhe denlily belweenmicrocosmand macrocosm. The processof concenlration on the Yanlraalso cultivates lhe innerlatentpowers.Powerol resistanceagainstd seaseis a so one ol them. Thal way it works as a prolection againsl disease.This processof concenlration also prevenlsdiseasesby conlrolling the menialmodificaljons. powersoJmindare being$/astedIn lheiorm The lremendous ol menlal modrlications. ConcenlrationonYantrachanneize these powers.Thesechannelizedpowerscan be used pos tivelyas aulosuggestionin the lield ol therapy.The diseaselke lnsomnia, scr zopheniaand otherpsyco'somatic diseasescan be curedby lhe auto-suggestion lherapy. We havealsomaderelerencetoYantrasJromtheTaintrrc trealise ke SaundryaLaharland Kalpacintamanih. The significanlaspecl,whrchshouldnot beoverlookedhere.lslhal mereYanlra or Iiguredoes nol givedesrredresults. The latenlpowerof tshould be awakenedor charged.Especially, anthe case oi heallng,the elliciencyo{Yantra, dependsuponthe chargingoJYanlra doneby healer.Thoughil is a dijjicultprocessbui al at the same time devoidol any draslicsideeffeclswhichis veryva uabletromlhe lherapeulc aspecto{ Yanlra.
Arcana:Sarasval, aslotarawilh whitellowersandLallaasototara with jasminellowers. O f f e f l n g s : C o o k e d f l c e , pomogranres,noney,
Eflecls dumbnesscured,poweroJeloquentspeech,qill ol Phyoga 52
?
I
Yanlra or goldplaleor holyashes. Recilal10001times (1000).For 45 days. FacingNorth-EastArchana. Rudrathrisathi wilhbilvaon rightside oiYantraand Lalilhalhrisath with red flowerson leftside. Ofiering:Cookedrce mixedw lh sesamumPowder,mrlk-gruel, coconutsand planlains. Effecls: Allear and eye disease cured. Prayoga 89
l.Yantra lrom Saundrya Lahari: The Yanlras,wh ch are lsed for therapypurpose g ven be_
orholyashes Yantra on goldplate Recital1008iimeslor 30 days.Iacing Easl. Archanalaitha ashlolhara
Chapter-8
204
honey OfJerngs Cookedrice(mixeowilhcurd),sweet-gr!el, Effecls: Cure of all diseases,physcal strength. 2. Vantn s frcm Kalpac intemanih: Name:Jvara-VnAsanam Obj-"ct: Pacilylng{ever D e s c r i p t i o n : D r a w a y a n t r aswl ri tahg h ll i n e so n a s d e s a n d jointhem.Thendrawa quadrangle upon th s yantrawilh eightpetals.The yanlra should be drawn wilh the iquid ol dhattirA planl,on a p eceof c olhlrom lhedeadman'scotfn onthespotwhere lhe dead are crernatedThus should be done eilheron the eLghlor on lhe lourteenthday of lhe dark iornighl. Writethe nameol lhe personin cen ire with ramon eachoi lhe fours des w th ram in each oi the erghtpetals. Worshiplhe yantraby offeringlovelyilowersco lectedlor the processletsevendeadlyfeverdisappearimmed' Pacilication 13 Name: Sakini-Dalk n raksakaram Objeci: Proiectng iromevilspirit Description : DrawthisYantraon p a ece ol c oth spreadover a board Draw{ourlines butnoton lhe groLrnd. y mak iour horzonta verlicallyand .' rn thereby, wr te ing eight abodes eachabodeandworshipthesame.OJler presents (bai).tlo\r,ersincerise. bLrrn'
HealngAspectof Yantraand N,lanlra
205
ng candlesand drink.Worshippedin this way,the yantranever i a i l sn r l s a m ' B.Therapeutic aspeca of Mantra: Nanreand Formare the lwo inierwovenaspectspervading the wholeun verse.Becauseof the r all pervadlngnature,they canbe tlreInsirumenl tor lhe realization of Reality. InTantra,these nslfuments havebeenacceptedin theformot ManlraandYantra. Realzation ot Realtyis nothng butlhereaLization oftheorgina natureol one'sown self.Th s selfis ike a deltywhichresidesin a tempe of body.For geltingnearerthe deity.,one has to cross the gates ol body'mnd by removingthe obstaclesthrougha processol purilcationandtherebyperfecting the body-mind. For th s pfocessoi purilcalon and perfeclron, the [,iantraandYantra; one relalingto Narneandthe otherrelating io Formafe,accordng lo Tantra.pr ncipalaids.How Yankapuriiies body mindthal we haveseen underthe tltle"Therapeutic Aspectof Yantral' L keYantra,[,4anlraa so worksas therapy.Apparently,a lvlantra ooks rk-oa rnerecollecton ol words.And beingso a possible quesl on may arise here s lhal does merepronuncationof [,4anlra can cured sease?The answers posiliveprovdedlhe wordsare pronouncedaccording10 certaincondilons aid down by those who have practced them and lestedthe r irulh.The potencyor eff cacy of words pronouncedby an expertor siddhadoes not res de ri wordson y. lt residesin the effortsol s ddhawhichlh€ word s chargedw th e.g.The Kuran, The Bible,The Vedasand othefholywords. HereIn th s chapteran aitempthasbeenmadeto exposethe sound pnncple on wh ch l\,4antra therapystands.We shallpro ceed f rst w th the meaningsol l\,4an1ra. 1. Meanings ot Mantn: Hunlanm nd can not conceivethe namelessand forrnless Reality.Energiesor the HrgherRea riy,whichwe ca I as deities
246
Chapler-a
canbe reachedlhroughsymbolslikenameandtorm.Onlythrough nameandlormonecan reachnameeSSandlormless.Thesetwo symbolsare lechnically calledin Tanra,as Manlfaand Yantra. L ke Yantra,lvlantraalso represents deity.The powerol de ty s nherenl n Manlrait it is chargedand beng so mantrasare very poweriuland etteclve.Thesepowersare latenlin a Mantra as tree n a seed A sproLrt froma seedemergesoul on y when t1 proper water sunhght, elc. Lkewiselhelalenipowerol Manlra !els can be act valedlly conslantrepelI on, auslerily,laith. The lerm lvlanlra s a combinationol lwo lerrns name y m a n + t r a n lav l a n m e a n s l o t h i n k o r i o m e d i l a l e w h i l e t r a n a m e a n s lberation.So in terms ol Tantra.we can say. lhe Sakti which iberaleslhroughmedilalionis Manlra.r Lberalionlrorn what ? L berattonof [r]nd lrom ts various modfrcalons. As we know,mind is very tleetng. lt conslantly rssuesvar ous modificalions. Due lo ts lleetingnalure11dissi palesits energy.ll we can preventhis drssipalion ol energy,or in otherterms, I the powersof mindare channelized, theycan cre aie such a h gher evel of m nd wh ch is generaly not presentin lay'man IVanlradoes lhis iob easily.The concentrated mind s lhe sourceol all success.Manlra,lherelore,can be one of lhe mosl elleclve instrumenls Ior the lullillmentol desres. Mantrasare wriltenin letllersor sabdaand can be pronounced w th the helpof sound.So d fferentsoundscontan d tlerenttypes oi energyor deily.And becauseol th s proper pronounciation ot Mantrais hlghlyrequired lor atlainment of gaol.Thered ighlagainsl mproperpfonounciaiion ol l\,4anlra hasbeenshownby Dasgupta, Sasibhusana, As he declares,".,.slrghlest devolon etlherin ar t cLralionor accentor rnodulalion was ca culalednol onlyto make lhem negaiivey frurtlessbul positivelyharmful2 By lhe proper pronouncrat on ol Mantra,as describedby saslra, conlrotsthe erierqyrnherenlin Manlralhroughwhich he qainswhateverhe wanls.lt s not a mereaccidentbul a soundscientfic reason ies behindthisachievement The wholeMantraSastra s baseduponthe poienlralities ot \rr'ords or sabda Fivegrosselemenlsare the consliluenls oi bolh fiircrocosm and macaroscos, narnelyAkasa,Vayu.Teia.Apa and
back lo sabda sparsa Rupa. Pr th v .The r or ginalionis sJfessed Akesa.in In thisorderol crealron, Rasaand Gandharespeclrvely. lhe gross elemenl,and sabda ln lhe essenceol elemenlare as mosl sublleelementThe subtlelyol sabda s con consrdered side.edlo thatexlent,il is viewedas Brahmanor Sabdabrahman. sourceol crealon.3 ly arranged ralherthesyslematica lVanlfasare the collection pfonounced whichare very powerlu.Whena wordis worcl-pallerns evenal mentallevel,t crealesvibrationsThesev bralionslhrow oul irom the mind and allractsame lype ol vibrationsThen ll becomesa colocationof vibrationswhen it relurnsback lo ts cenlre.lhe mind.Whenit comesback,il becomesrnorepowenu and polental. And becasueol ihis, it suppose.we wanl lo be good or pure,we shouldmeditateuponsuchqualiliesConstant medtalionon partc! ar conceptbecomesthe paftol personalty. pronounc allons ThoughMantrasare poweriulbut haphazard rules and legula ol it does nol give any resull.In Tantra,cerlain pronu nc iation and recila_ tions are prescribedeven for the correci realized it becomes when works only tlon ol Mantra A N,4anlra L'lantra For realLzed nol be easily (S ddhaMantra).A Mantracarl guru has to dec de the gurde Firsl, is required. sadhanaguru or In the SardaTilaka ol sadhaka. accordingto thetendency f,,lanlra (peta'2) I s declaredthat if lvantraand sadhaka both are n ir end y relaton Mantragives quick results ll the relationbe_ A speciaicharl,ihal ls lweenlhernls oi enemy,resultis doublJul. given to decidethe rela_ by Tantra has been A-Ka-ThaHa cakra ,anlra. and lionshipbetweensadhaka Aitertheseleciionol lvlantra,I shouidbe conslanilymenially an yoglcposlure, Hehastoassume pronouncedwith lervouL spirilual prAnaon wayto Susumna pranayama, the turn perlom Nadisodhana, Auslenty prana inlo Susumna tlows and repealthe l\Iantrawhen requlremenls the basrc are also Firmla lh anddevolionrnl\,4antra are allkeyswhichopenthe closeddoors siddhi.These for 1\,4antra of treasureol Powers, prescribed byTanlra'Ior dlllerenl Thereare dillerenl1\rantras glve appendrx. irllhe purposesSomeof lhem are
208
ChapteF8
2. Bija Mantru : Seed Letterc : As lree liesin a seeds,in the sameway lhe powerof N,4anlra liespolenliallyn a seedlelteror bijamantra.As a lree comesout trorn seed, lrkewrsethe whole lrantra evolves lrorn seed letler. And beingso, lhe seed letlersare considered as Yoni,sourceof creation.D fferenlseedlellersare prescribed lor dillerenldeities. Herewe shallsee sorneof lhem. 1. Seedof speech(vag-blia) S o u n d :A l l V Definiton iThrs I\,4anlra rs also calledSarasvali(pertainingto knowledge) or Sarasvati (pertainingto lhe goddessoi knowledge). li represents lhe iormol consciousness em, 'A represenls bodiedn lhe goddessSarasvati, Sarasvalr. The nasaizationmeansihe removrng ol pa n Thrsis the seed-uileranceoi Sarasvallwith iithe word' s worshippedl' Purpose:Acqurring knowledgeand wisdom,masleryoverwords and powerot speech, puratapiniupnisad, Reference:Tr KarpuraslavaandVaradaTantra 2. The seed-oi-lllusion (meyebija)or Seed-oi,Energy (Saklr Drla) Sound:HRltul Delintion:This Mantrarepresents mayathe powerol illusion.t1 standstorlhelady-ot-spheres (Bhuvanesvar ), lhedtspeller of sorrow ll is rootfrom whrchdevelopelher and other elementsot ihe manileslworld,the pnncple over I ber ated, unboundedby lhe lripleform ol time "Ha rneans Siva.R is his NaturePrakriti.I meansTranscendent lllu s r o n ( m a hm a a y a ) . T h e s o u n d i s t h e p r o g e n rtthoer uo nf verse.The nasalization meansthe removingof sorrow The lady ol the sphereshouldbe worshpped w th this ( lantra)(VaradaTantra). Purpose:Conquestof the unmanilest,of the power of Nature Transgressing ihe lawsol time and space.
H e a l t n gA s p e c l o l Y a n l r aa n d I / a n l r a
Relerence:Tripurer tzrpinlupnisadi, 13 KarpuraStava,VaradeTantra elc (laksmi'biia) 3.Theseed'ol-Exstenceor Seed-ol-Fortune Sound:SRl[, Definiton: This manlrarepresenlsthe goddnessol lortune and mu t pl cily.Laksmi,the consortoi v shnu.s represenlsthe transcenclenl d viniy ol lortune.R meansweallh.i s salisiac The nasaLzalionmeans lron The sound means imitlessness'. is the seedutleranceol the goddess ihe drspelling ol sorrow.This l' (VaradaTanlra).. Lakshmilhroughwhichsheshouldbe worshipped Purpose:Gainingwor dlywealth,power,beautyand glory. VaradaTantraetc. Reierencer Tripuratapin upanisad, 'Desire:(kama-bija) 4. The Seed-of Sound:KLl[,4 the formof joy ol pleasure. mantrarepresents DelrnilronrThis power procrealrve ot Siva in lhe lorm of his aspect ol the lhe (Mahesvari).'K' represenls the Tfanscendent-Goddess consort, of divinelusl.L means or Krsna,the Incarnalion Eros.(kamadeva) nasalzalon is the ord oi heavenIndra,I meanssatislaction.The the giveroibothpleasureand pain.Theseedof Des re sspoken Io you oul ol love, O Great Goddess."(VaradaTanlra). knowledgeand alsopleasure. Purpose: Gainingtranscendenl victory and roya power. t:rpiniupnishad,Karpuraslava,VaradaTantra. Reference:TripurA 5 The Primorda-Seed(adya-blja)or seed-ol'lhe'PoweroiTime (Kal-b ja): Sound:KRIM thepowerolI me.lhepower Definition:Thrs mantrarepresents ol Siva and lhus the goddess aspect of dealh.the destructive power oi lme Kar. the ' K i s K a i . R s l h e B r a h m a nl i s l h e l r a n s c e n d e pn ol w e r o l I usionThe souncls the "l\,4other of lhe Universe. The nasalza_
Chapler8
210
FlealnqAsp€rlolYanlrrand Mantra
t on is the d spe lingol sorrow.The goddessKallshouldbe worsh ppedwittrlhrsmantrato the paciying oi a I painl' lVaradaTantra) poweroverdealhtranscendenl Purpos€:Gainingdelachmenl Knowteoge.
Ka
energy Wind(orlusl) Lordol heaven( ndra)orS va l h r n g
andVaradal Relerences:Trrpurd tapiniupnsad,Ivlahdnirvana
ha
c oud (or S va)
211
Dei nilion:this represents lhe powerol the enchanlmenl of lhe world.
Olherseedlellers Ganapali
No.ol repeliron:lo be repealedtwenlyone or 108i rnes. Purposes: to alla n alllhe desiresand ltoeralon
WeaponIor destroyng anythng
Reference:DeviupnrshadN tya soda Sikarnava,Varvasya
Durga
Dum Ganr PHAT
'
STRiM
-
Llberaiesfromdifficulties
Seed ettersol ihe Elemenis: Earth-Prilhv LAM VAI\,4 RAM
Teja'Fre
YAI\,4
-
HAI\,
,
Valyu-Air Akash -Ether
(Pancadasi) TheThought-Form of the first ol FitleenSyl abLes Goddess: - Ka-e-ila-hrim, Ha-sa-ka-ha'la-hrirn, Test
TheseB la manlrasshouldbe constantlyrepealed10rqLrick The processof constantrepetitron results. ts knownas iapa.Now we sha I see somethingaboutiapa. C .J a p a : Japa sadhanais prescrbedby all reltgious.lt playssignfl canl role n sadhana.Becauseof ils significance, Lord Krishna haddeclared,'lam lhejapayajna,amonga lyajnas.(Yalna, among all yalnas.(YajadnAm lapayainosmll) Japtars a spiritualexercise,lt is a scientiic processior cu tivationol wi I power,Manlralapa ensuresvarioLrs powerswhich i s a l s o a g a i n h e l p tnuc o m i n g o v e r l hheu r d l elsy r n g i n t h e w a y o l
Sa-ka'la-hrrm. Meaning: e ta hflm
ust wornb(orspeech) thesubstance ol lust (ortheearth,or Siva) thunder bolt-bearer a cave(lheseedmanlraof theGoddess) Siva
Howlapa doesth s workor whal is ihe meaningof lapa this can be asked.ln lhe lermjapa,'Ja' rernovesthe v ciousc rcleof lrleand deathwhie pa' removessins.Hencejapa s lhat which removesbolh lhe c rcleof liieand deathand alsosrn.6Thereare variousways designedby Tantraior the repelon ol lvlanlraor japa.These variols ways we shall see uner lhe iille "K nds ol lapa. 1. K nds of Japa: 1. Nityajapa: As bathing.ealingetc are requred ior the marnienanc-. and
212
ChapterS
puriicallonof externalbodylikewise,lor the lnlernalpuriflcaton, This shoud be done daily menla exeTcse ike japa s required. wilhoulanYexcePtlon. 2. Kamyaiapa: japa which s donefor Japais doneIor var ous purposes.The the Iulfilmentof specificdesire,il is knownas Kamyaiapa. 3. Acala iapa: J a p a s a d h a n a v a r e s a c c o r d i n g t o t hoelgdoeas i r e . A n u m b e r be done lor the ol lapa is l xed which shouldbe compuisofily japa goal. Thls lype of also shouldbe alla nmenlof the deslred process place strengthens the wil and llme. This done at iixed poweroi sAdhakawhichultjmaielyresuts inlo success. 4. Calaiapa: No rules Calajapacanbedoneatanyiimeorinanysituatlon. and reguationsare prescribedfor lhis.The natureol m nd is to thinkeithergoodor bad.For avoidng the badtho!ghtsthis cala laps is utilized. 5. Vacikaiapa: Japa which is done in ioud vo ce is knownas Vacrkajapa. at iow andworksonlyal inrtiailevel lhislype of japa s considered il is consrdered as ow,lt is 9oodlor concenof sadhana.Though lrat on of mind. 6. Upanusiapa; Lnthistypeo{japa,onlylhemovemenlof ipstakesplacebul ofjapa helpsin the lnlernarzationot no sound s heard.Thistype sensewhichare generay externalized. 7. ft,lansikaiapa: In this type oi japa,neithertonguenor the movementol ips takesplace.lt is doneonlyal mentalevel.Becauseof ts s!bslicty. l is consderedas the besttype ol iapa.
8. Ajapa japa: This type oi japa is done withod mal?I. This shoutdbe done with the processol respiration.While exhalation,l\,4antra Ham and whrleinhalaton, MantraSahshouldbe pronounced. Ail these lypes of japa difteronly in the manneroj pronounciatron.The basicprinclpleofjapasahdanais thal it shouldbe doneconstantly wilh laith,devotjonand concentration. 2.Therapeutic Aspect ot Japa: Japa rneansconslantmedialtonon specilicconcepl.lt is lhe nalureol mindlhat the ideaon whichrt constanfly medailesbe comes lrte part ol personaity.lt we thtnkpostively,mind also becomespostive which impactalso can be fe t on body.Nega trveth nkingharmsboth body and mrnd.Th s necessariyleads us lo Inlerthalmediationon ldeaofgoodhealihinvariably resutts inlogoodhealth. IVeniallensionis lhe roolof mostol the diseases.In thisage ol last liie, we conslautlyhaveto face menta tenslons,By constani repel iion of Manlfa, mind togels everythingaboul the externai worldand thal way mindgets relielfromlensions. Japaaso ncreasesiatth in God,Godis ornntpotentandwhatever happens,t happenseitherforgoodorior bad is dueto hrsw sh. So thereis no reasonto be worriedaboutanything.Tranquilllozers and drugs like camposealso do this job, In fact actuallydoing .noreharmlo the bodythangood,Japa,theretoreis an tnnocent and yet psychologcallybetter,ongtimelastingremedythanany type ol tranqullizers. D.Therapeuticaspectof Mantra: T ll now,Mantrahas beenconsidered as merehypocrsy and humbug.But now il has beenacceptedscientitcaliy,specaty in lfre areaol therapy,or as a heallngagency. The connotation of the ternrN/antraitseltshowsthal t iber ales ts sadhaka( \4ananaflranatil Mantra). ll liberatesits sadhaka lrom physco-menialspirituatroubles).(Adh Vyadhr-Upadh )lvlenia
Chapter-8
lroubles ke lensiongeneraledfromlhe compex t es ol lfe lhe possessoro{ lhe worred m nd becomesunhappyand ullrmalely splil per becomesa v clim of menlaldiseaselike scnzophenla. c dls_ The nlenseformol lens on end nlo the psychosomal /anlra makes dlseased, bolh body-mind lapa eases.ll makes one lree lrom worriesand lhal why t also removeslhe bondsol menlalphysca disorders. Thereare certainreasonswhrchare consderedas thecaus€ oi hormonalsecrellons oJd sease.One of them is lhe imbalance secrellons bothcrealed scr_ and under lands Over secretions ol Lrporl menla slateol depend nd. Proper secretions In body-m der a personWhen a persons in a happymood.glandsdo not work properly. Whlleil mlndis nol in a happymood,g andsdo nol work properly. Th s improperway oi workingol glandsresuls nlo 0rs lo m nd and keepsmrndsilenl ln eas€.Manlrag ves happrness lhe sr enl mrndglandsworkw lhoulany obslaclesor drslurDances as lherapy afd thalway here.[lantraworksIndrfecily The mpactoi lvlanlrajapa also can be seef on lrre brarn ce s O!r brarnis d vided nlo two halvesThe larg€bra n:rnd llr-c s m a I b r a n T h e s m a I b r a n c o n l a i n sa p o r to n k n o w r ra s hypolheamls In lhis area oi brarn.cels ol hung-"r.16,t", ",a are localedwhen a personls underlenslonhe becomesmoic excled !!hichresultsintohighbloodpressure.I hasbeenworked ol Mantrajapa decreasestirs excrle_ oul lhal conslanlrepetilion npnl a_d d 50'ro -nd 2e ll'e blood p e
How [/]antradoes th s job? Manlratherbyrs argey relaleci n mentionedby Psyclrology. w th the processol autosuggeslion vr'hrch erlherhealeror a patienlhas10gtvea conslairlsuggeslon Here.In lhe lVantralherapy,constantrepettlof ol lllanlraor lel' mindandlhesoundwavesol Nlanlfa lheconscious lers.penelrates mlnd is more powerill than con entersrnlo lhe subconscious sc ous mind,and its impacla so can be seen on lhe boclyrnrnd slaleol subconsco!s m nd elleclsbody_ So lhe mpactoi positrve positively can be lnducedby Mantralapa mrndpos tlvely.Th s n lhe healingthroughManlra.by constanlor repelt o. or
lManlra,sadakaconcenlraleshis rnindon a Mantrawhich pro dLrcea stateol iranquillity.6 So thlsslaieoJmeditation. Thisstale ol meditalionworks as therapyin two ways.Firsfly,medilalon makesmanaloollromthe externalmenlallensionwhichare con s deredas the roolol diseasesand secondly, lhe staleoi medila lon s a fesut of concentrated mind.This cullivatestnnerlatenl wr I power or the powerot resislanceagainstdiseases. Thus by removing the menla lensrons andbycultivaltng innerpower,med! lationworksas lherapy.Mantrajapa is the easiestand the best way lor rr1ducing such a stateol meditation. The healinglhroughManka is possibleby two ways.One s sell frea ng wh le in secondlype ol healing,healheaispalienl.in a d seasedbody,rl is nol a wayspossibe to do lvlanlraIn sucha case. a Manlrahea er tfansfershis inner powerinto a patient. Hereletters of Mantraworklikechannellhroughwh ch powertravets. The permanence ol the curedone by Manlra,dependsuponlhe Inlersrlyol the innerpower01a healer. The conceplol the Mantrictherapya so has been accepted by lheAyurveda. an Indan art ol meditalion.The seersot Ayurveda, Carakaand Susrutahaveacceptedit as lherapy.T Besrdesthrs.lvlantratherapyis a so utttized for removng the po son. Suerutahas rnentroned the processoi removingthe polson by N'lantran the kalpasthana ot his samhita."A physrcian wel versedin the Manlrasol anlivenomous potencyshouldb nd a leLgalure ol a cordconsecraled withappropriate Mantraswhich wouldarresla lurlherspreadol the poison.The A,4antras iull of occ! t energyol pertectlrulh and dlvinecommunton, disclosed by the Devarshs and Brahminsof yore,neverfatltoeliminalelhe po son lrom the system,and hold lheir own even in the case of deadlieslporsons'.8 prescribed Thereare alsosomeI\,4anlras, byTantrafor hea lh and longlilewh ch are here,givenin lhe appendix. n the Mantriclher€apy, ihere is nothrng|ke mirace ol hum bug lt siusiawayoic,rltivationof innerresistancepoweragainst
Chapler-8 slrengthening the will powerin the case diseasesand positively whilein lhe caseol healerarldpatient,a sadhaka of sell-healing who hasrealizedlheMantra.transtershisawakenedpowersihrough lhe medium ot l\rantra. In the concludingporiionol lhis chapter,we can say lhat., IVlantraand Yantraare lhe two aids olTantra-Tanlrahas peneraled mind.Mantlaandlhe the very roolol disease,lhalis, unbalanced lhroughwhich one can slabilizethe Yantraare the inslruments orconcenlraled becomefullproolagainstal mind.Thisstabilized krndsof externalallacksof diseases. Appendix: 3 Maqtrasprcscribedby Tanttafot dilletenl putposcs 1. Removerofdiseases: Aum sam sam sirnsim sum sum sem saum sam sah vam varn vim vlm vilm vem vaim voum vah vafl ham sah amruta varcasesvahir - UddisiTanka 2. Bestowerol iberation(lvoksa): Srlm hrlm krim krusnayanamah - GaulamiyaTantra 3. Giver oJ Dharma,Artha, Kama and l\,4oksa: ALrmsaccidekabrahma- I\,lahanirvana Tan€ These mantras are taken from the Tantra {\/ahavihan by Sri Rama Sarma,pp.454-55. 4. Mantas lor health and long life: lhere is a In the eleventhchapterot lhe DurgaSaptasalr, versein whichsadhakaasksio devilor healthrustalu kirm:rnsayalanabhisira' Roganasesanapahamsiusta na tl
healh.
n lhe Argaa stolraoi Devisluli,tt s atsoaskedio devitor
DelhiSaubhagyamirrogyam dehtdevrparamamsukham Argalaslotra,12 A manlrafor ong lifeis prescribed intolhe Budrastadhyay . Aumlrayambakam yajamahesugandhimpusli vardhanamtJ U.,,aruikamive bandhanat mrutyomukhiyamamrulal ll FudrAstadhyay , 5l5
G
o
o o o. o
o
,G
oo io. e(! FO :-
OF
Chapter-9
Desiredlile spanor a long lite has alwaysbeena matteroi allractionotihe humanrace.Tanlra hasitsownuniquemethodof healing andlorprolonging lifespaa. Tantrahaspenetraled lhe veryrootof disease.lt removesthe accumlation ot impurities which is alsoone ol the causeso{ disease kom lhebodyvessels andalsoJromsubtlechannels. lt puritieslhe bodyvesselsthroughihe six purificatory aclions (satkriyas)mentionedby the Hathayoga. While il removesthe impurities of s!bilechannels lhroughtheprocess of Sumanu deprocessol theBhulaSuddhi, scribedbylhe GherandSamhite.The lhe importanlaspectol Tanlraseldhana alsoplaysan important rolein lhepurilication of body-mind complex. IVloreover, Tantra hasalsomentioned theprocess ofstreightening lhe puriled bodythroughthe inlakeoJtheRasaor preparedmer, qury(parada). Theseprocesseslargelydealwithlhe purilication of body.lt hasalsomentionedcertainlechniques.throughwhjch,the body whichhasalreadvbecomeavictimof disease canbecured.The uniq!emethods ot Tantrichoaling arelhe Science of breathing knownas S va Swarodays, Mudra,processof Sal karma,I\ranlra, Yankaelc.Amongalllhesewe havealreadydeallin delailabout I\,4anlra and Yantratherapy.In this chapterwe shalllry to focus theTankicwayol rejuveration andvariouskindsoJhealing.Letus proceed withlhe purification of physical body. A. Putification cl Physical Body: place.As the ln Tanlrism,humanbodyenloyssignificanl (1-8) Gheranda Sambhita declares, lhe bodyis nolongera source ol pain,but the most reliableand ellecliveinslrumentai man's disposafor "conquering dealh".And scienceliberation can be
Chapler.9
222
gainedeven in this lile,the body must be preservedas long as possibe and in pedectcondition,preciselyas an aid lo meditation.2 For preservingthe body in perfeclcondition,Tanlraespecially the methodot traininganddeveloping lhe Halhayoga,prescribes the body and mind.The goalol Tantrais lo discoverthe hidden layers of mind, polenlial powersoi body and io awakenthe inner spiritualtacultes, Forlhis, controlover physicalbodyishighiy conlroloverbodystarlswiththe cleaning requred.Inihe Hathayoga, process known as purificatoryaclions or kriyas.They are six i11 numberhencelhey are knownas Sat kriyas.These actionsor acprocesseshe p n theeliminalion oflhe poisonoussLrbslance .umulaledin lhe bodilychannels. ol poisonin channelsis alsoone ol lhe causes Accrmulation ol d sease.Bodyconstantlylhrows wasie materialsthroughurine, perspiration,excretionetc- lt constantlydoes lhis process.The Hatheyogicpurilicatoryprocess enhancesthis process oJ elimi nalronof waste oroductsof bodv. l.Hathayogic way of puritication ot body: The sat kriyas or the six purilicatoryactions mentioned by lhe Hathayogacove|s the eniire body.Theyare meanl ior clean_ ing the fespiratorysyslem, foodpipe, eyes,stomach,lower colotl etc..Thenameoflhese ktiyirsate Dhauli,Basti,Neti,NaulLftaaka and kapalabhbti.2Fhese actionscleanstomach,colon,nasalpas sage,abdominalorgans,eyesand resprratoryorgansrespectlvely, We shallproceedfirsiwith Dhauli. a.Dhauti: Dhautimeanswashing.ll is dividedinlolour types: 1) Inlernalwashing-Anlardhauti; 2) Cleaningoi teeth-Dania dhaul!; 3) Cleaninglhroal-Hrid dhauli; 4, ClFanr_g Sodhanam.3 oJreclum-l,4oola Again lhe iniernal washing, Antardhautiis divided into lour
TherapeulicAspecloi Tantra
223
parls:(1) Wind puriiication-Valasara. {2) Waler purificationVarlsara,(3) Firepur f cation-Vahnisaran, (4) Clolhpuril catronta : Wind p urification: Valasa, In lh s process,one shouldswalow the air to the slomachby closinglhe eplglotlistilllhe stomach is liledwilh air.Thenmove lhai air lhereinand lhen slowlytorce it oul throughlowe.passage. Waler p urifical ion: Varisara: Drlnk a iarge quanlity ol waler lo which a little salt is added and then shakelhe abdominalpodon. Then vomil il or.ilby putling {ingerat the rool ol thelongue.Thisshouldbe donein lhe mornprevenlsconslipalion ing on an emplystomach.This Firc p urifica Iion: Vahnisara : A personwho wantsto do ihis, shouldsit in a comiortable posiure.To performit, the trunkshouldbenl torward,handspul on lhe kneesand deepinhalation be pe.formed.Holdlhe breath ouisideas tar as possible.While holdingthe breath,push the processslrmulates abdomenbackwardand lorward.This alllhe portionwith abdomen,viz., stomach, inlesline,liver,spleen,pancreaselc-This processremovesconstipation. Cloth p urification: Vaslrasara: Thisprocessprescribes the purilicalion olihe limenlrycanal. This cana is a longlube extendedfrom mouihio anus and cov slomach,largeand ers ihe areaoi mouth,pharynx, oesophagus, smallintesline. The clolhpurilcationis prescribedin the lollowingway: Take a tine piece ol clolh, three inches wide and lilteen leei long. No piece ol loose ihread should be hangingfrom its sideWashthe piece Dip it in tepidsalt watet Thenswallowihe one end of ( lrttle by litlle. On the lirsl day swallow it only one loot. Then increaseit by dailypractice.Duringprocessdo nol be hasly. This process should bo done with empty slomach prelerable in ihe morning.This processis benelicialfor lhe abdomna and respifalorydisorders.
224
'hanto' o
2. DanlaDhautt:Cleaningol teelh: Dantadhautiis massagingof teethwith waier or powdered earthso ong as dentalimpurities are not removed, 3. Hriddhault:PuriJtcalion oi tongue: For cleaningthe root.put the threefingers,ndex,middleand r ng, in a jolnt manner.Rub weli the root;f lhe longue.Wash il agarnand again.Repealthisprocess.Thrsprocesshetpsin bringng oul excreliontromsiomachand lungs. 4 lvloolaSodhanam:Cleaningot recturn: MoolaSodhanamjs acieaningolrectum.With lhe hetpofthe middleI nger,the rectumshouldbe carefullycleansedwithwater againand again.This processdestroysconstipation, ind gestton b- Neti: Nasat Cleaning: \ e l 5 a c e a - t n go , - a s a ro a s s a g e o t t , e r e s p t r d t o s. yy 9 16T rhaea.elwolyoesofneli.rllSLlanel a , o ( 2 1. r d l an e l i . in SLrtaneti,take lhrn threadand insert i1 tnto nostriland passrngtt through it, puilit out by mouth. TLe ta a rel ca- oe clo^ewtthrha ,le p o' tukewarn\d I walar ^ H O J ' , a\ n a i l p o r r o no f l h e s a l l w a l e .t l r o L g - o - e n o s l . by ciosrngthe othernostrltwithlhumb.Raisethe headand a ow the wd'er lo I'ow downto I e throatand erpel ,- ort rhtoLg"rroulh. I ne rF1 ar- -g porlronot lho wat.r In tha nou.h sho d be otown oui by forcedexpiration. This processremovesdisordersof cold and ensuressharp eye srght.
TherapeulicAspectoi Tantra
225
line ln the comfortableposlure,with the spne slraighlbul relaxedpostron,person ooks al lhe ilamelor a minule.Ailerlhat he closeslhe eyes,relaxthe eye muscleandvisuaizethalilame betweenlhe eyebrows. Againdo th s process. This may be cont nued4 or 5 t mes.Thisexercisebringsconcentration and strenglh1notherTratakalechnique,calledBhrumadhya drisl, the half closedeyes are d rectedupwardtowardthe spacebelweenthe eyebrowsThis processenablesthe mlndto becomepa nted. In the Nasagradr sti,lhe gazingiakes placeal the tip ol the nose.Th s processstrengthens the eye musclesand incr€ases d. Kapdlabhdti: This s an exercisefor lhe puriiication of the nasalapassage and lungs.This process s speclallydesigned 10 remove the spasm n bronchialtube.Th s also helpsin curingAslhmaand also Temovesrnpurities oi b ood. Technique: Aflerassuming a olus poslure,takea iew deepbrealhs.Then rapid nhaI on exhalation shouldbe done.Moreatlentionshoud be givenon exhalation. Starlone roundof th s exercisewilh len expusion at lhe end ol the tenlh explusiontake deep nha a t on. Gradualy increasethe numberof rounds.
Nauliis an exercrse lor puriiication and strengthenrng lhe abdomnal musces. Beforedoingthe nauliprocess, the practice ol the Udd yanabandha abdominalcontractions necessary. Technlqueof Uddiyitnabandha:
Tratakars a gazingat particularpointw thoutwakingthe eye. _, lh s processcan be done by varous ways. In one ol the methods,a candleflameis keptthreeteetaway I r o m l h ep e r s o n . T h e f l a m e a n d t h e e y e s h o u t d b he ot nr iaz o n t a l
Sri n any meditalve posutre.One haslo emplythe linksby a strongand forcble expirationWhen the lingsare ernply,the d aphragrnraisesnalurallylo the thoraciccaviaty.Drawup ihe intestineand the navellowardbackofthe body.Keepthe abdo menas longas one can holdihe brealhcomfortably ouls de w th
226
ChapleF9
oul rnnalng.
The same processol conlractiontakes place in the nauli kriya.While in Uddlyana bandha,allowthecentreof the abdomen lo be lree by contracting the lell and rightside ol the abdomen. This is known as lvladhyanauli. Afiermastering thls,lhenexl slageis to contro over the lell andr ghtmuscleot abdomen.This is known asVamaand Daksina l. Basti: Cleaning of lowet colon: The bastiprocessol cleaningis doneby crealinga vacuum lhroughnaulikriyairl lhe inlesline. Sil in a tub ot waler and praclce naul. Creale vacuurnin inlesline. To keepthe spinctermuscleopen,inserta small l!be abouifour inchesin lengthintothe rectum.As soonas the waler rs drawn,the lube shouldbe removed.Andwitha lew abdomrnal (nauli),the waleris lhrownoutfromthe large ntestine chLirnings wrlh musclesand olher waste products. This pfocess cleanesses the abdominalmusclesand cures uanaryand digestive d sorders. Fromihe above mentioneddescriptionol the six purificalory actions menlioned by the Hathayoga,we can see that, these processescoverlhe wholebody.By applyingthese processes one can purilyone'sbody,wilhlhe resui thatone can not be the viclrm ol physical diseases. As we know,lhe origjnol the physicaldiseases are tocaled Inlhe menialdistulbances_ So mindalsoshoutdbe purifed. of n other terms, shouldbe concenlrated. The applicationof ihe pranayamatechniquets lhe best way lor concenlralton of mind. As lhe pre-requiremenl lorperforming the pranayamais a puriticationoi Nadisor channels,As we know,in our body a net ot nervesis spread c!1, Pranaor lhe vitalbreathmovesthrough thischannels-lt lhereis any impuritiesin them,it is d licuntor
TherapeulrcAspeclol Tanlra
227
is required oranalo move So lirslNadipurijication puriljcation canbe donew(h Nowwe shallsee howlhis nardi ram, thametc the helpol lhe Tarnlricseedletlerslikevam, 2.Tantric way ol Nitdi purification: lheSamanu Thelillh lessonot theGherandSamhiladeclares wilhthe processol puritication mentally whichshouldbe done verses runsas ot the translation or seedletters.The Biia'l\,4anlra posture, lheadoraandperlorming Sittingn lhe Padmasana let himperformpurii_ lionof theGuru.AstaughtbytheTeacher, Contemplating onVaryu_ calionof Nedrsior successin pranyama. lel him draw a smoke colour, (i.e. yarn), full ot energy and of Bija This sixteen times repealing the Bija eft nostrll, in breathbv the period sixtyJour lor a of puraka. the breath Lel him restrain s let himexpellhe repetition ol the Manka.Thisis Kumbhaka.Then period by repeala occupied noslrilslowly during the right airby trmes. ingthe Mantrathiriy-lwo Raisingthe The rool of lhe navelis the seat oi Agni_tattva. tire Jromthat place,ioinlhe PrilhviTattvawith it, lhen conlem' plaieonlhismixedight.Then repeating sixteentimeslhe Aganr_ and retan it Blja(Ram,lethim drawin breathby lhe rlghnostril, tor the periodof sirlyJour repetitionol lhe Mantras and then ol expelil by the left nostrilfora periodol thidy_tworepetitions the Mantra. Thenlixingthegazeonthetipofthenoseandcontemplalrng ol the moonlhere,let himinhalethrough the luminous reJleclion the lett nostril,repeatingthe Bija (lham)sixleen times;lei hrm limes;inlhemeanwhile ihe Blia(lham)sixty-four retalnltby repeating lhalthe nectartlowingfromlhe moonat magine(orcontemplate) lhe tip ol the noserunsthroughall the vesselsol the bodyand puri{ies lelhimexpeltheairby repeal_ them.Thusconlemplaling, ingth rty'twotimesthe PrilhviBljalam. lhe nddisare puriliedThensil_ By thesethreepranayamas pranayama.4 poslure regular him begin in a let Iilmly llng
224
ChapleF9
Thus by applyinglhe Hathayogicway ol purilication,s:rdhaka purilies his bodily vessel, while by applyjng lhe SumanLrprocess.a T?lniricway ot purification, sAdhakapurifiessubllechannes throughwhichvital air flows.Beyondthese two, lhere is also anolherTanlricway,thai is the purilication ol bodv.Bhuta partot Tanlricsadhana,whichwe Suddh,whichis lhe integrated havealreadyseenin lhe chapter'Tenkicsaldhana'.To avoidthe repelition ol il, herein a nulshell,we can saythat,in ihe process of lhe BhuiaSuddhi,sadhakahasto imaginea manol impurilies (papapurusa)and lhal manshouldbe first driedoul then burnt away mentally. Aller deskoyingthis man ol impuriies,sadhaka has lo creale a new divinebody wilhihe helpof the elixirot the Sahasraracakfa.This wholeprocessshouldbe done mentatty_ Whrledestroyingthe man of rmpurtiessadhakadestroysbodily impurtiesand ihal way this processsecuresbodilypurilication. Purilication ol bodyis nol the onlygoaloiTanrabut thal puri, I ed body shouldbe slrenqlhened like rock so lhat il can resist any kind of physicalmentaldisturbances.For lhat, Tanrahas pre, scr bed the theoryof Rasa. 3.Theory of Rasa: A Tantric way ol rciuvenation: The Nathasiddhasand the Rasasiddhasare the two Tantric cullswhichare basedon lhe idealol liberationduringlife-time, Jivan-mukti. In orderlo keep body undecayablemany expenments were made by Tantrics.Among them use ot mercury for rejuvenation ol bodyis lhe mainone, Tanlra considersman or human bodyas the higheslevolute ot the nature.As such the essenceof the cosmicworld.il beI eves,is embodiedjn h!man body.The naluraldeductionof this lheoryis lhal, lhereis nolhingin the cosmoswhichis not therein humanbody. The Naiha cult and the Flasasiddhasbelievethat the process ol evolulionhas three stages.Thecrealion,lhe maintenance andihe destructron. AbsoluteFlealityis bel evedto passthrough these three stages when lhe process ot manifeslalionslarts_ The crealon Iunctionis symbolically idenlilied with l\roon,while
ThefapeulicAspeclof Tantra
229
luncton is identified with the Sun.The goal ofihe destructlve Nathasiddhas is to allain lhe non'dual stale ol immortality-This can be attainedby the unionof Sun-l\,4oon localedinsldethe o00y. Accordrnglo lhese two culls,death or decay takes place becaus€lhe ehxirwhichtricklesdown from lhe lvloonsitualeal the Sahasrara,ordinarily ialls inlo lhe lire ol the Sun, which rs locatedal the navelregion,whereil is dried away.Thusthe elxir of body,beingdfiedup the bodybecomesa victimto the destruc tion.Thisrs lhe ordinarycourseollhe tlowo{ neclarwhichmusl be checked.The elixirshouldnol be consumed. lf onceit is done. sadhakagets conlroloverlime meansenjoysdesiredlitespan. Utilizalon ol alchemy(Rasa)is one of the ways ol geiting conlro overlrme,In Sanskritlexicon,lhemeaningof thistermis juice but in T:rnlrismil is specalicallyused for mercury. Tanlrrcalchemical ideasgrowaroundthe SivaSaktisymbolism. [,4ercuryis consideredas lhd male principleor Siva while sulphuris consideredas the femaleprincipleor Sakti.The subslance that is produced lhro!gh lhe combination of thege lwo elemenls makes the creatureimmorlal.5 Rasa is called parada because it leads one to the olher shore oJ lhe world.6 ll is also consideredas the seed of Siva.7 This mercuryor parade is said lo be able to do lwo extraordinary things:(1) Rejuvenationol body and (2) Conversionol base metal into gold. Here we are concernedonly with the firsl purpose. Mercurycan not be ulilizedin a nakedform dourlo its poison' ous nalure.So Ior lhe medicinaluse ol it, it has to undergoeighlpreparedmercuryshould eenditferentprocesses(Samskaras).This be utilizedas giyer ol immortality. This lheory of Rasa disclosesthe secret otlhe prolongedliJe way of bodilypuritica' ol our ancienlseers.So by the Hathayogic tion, Tantric way ol purificationol subtle nerves and by inlake of the preparedmercury,on€ can gel conlroloverdecay,Thebas c lor all processesis thal, al initiallevel,it requires requirement lhe guidanceof an expert withoutwhich instead ol long lile one can be victimof dealh.
TherapeutcAsperroi Tanka
ol body.ll supposesomeDooy This is aboutlhe purilication he cancurehimseltwe shall see how ol disease becomesviclLrn B.Va ousTdntric waYs ol healing: Tanlranot only purifiesthe bodybut it also rernoveslhe ors eases which are alreadyihere in the body Thereare vaTious vlaysol th s. Amongthemlechniquesol Sat kriyits,Sivasworodaya' [/ludraetc.are unrqueone. on specilic Sat karmais a processlollowedby conternplalion Bija [,4antraor seed letters like yam, vam ram etc Sat karma prescrbed by Lord samgrahals a textol bothyogaand:!yurveda process w th the he p Nowwe shallseeSal karma S va Himsell.3 ol ihe treatiseSat karmasamgraha 1- Sat karma : Six actions: Sai karma,six aclions,are six in numberwhlchar€ namely (c) Adhacakrl(d)Tralakam(e) (b)[,fadhyacakr] (a)Urdhvacakrl, e Kasa and (l) Nelrikaranam We shallexplain,in brief each ol them. 1. a lJrdhvacakri: This processis pertormedby enlerrngones own lhumbwel wrth waier, n lhe centreof the palale.Then rolateil By doing whichare situaledtherecan oe againand again,lhe rrnpuriiles, As lhis treatise,Sat karmasamgraha,declareswhile dolng this process,he has to conlemplaleupon the brighttriangular thrs Bam, Bila'Mantraor seed letterol lire Constantpraciiceot eic processremoveslhe impuriliesol eyes,ears 2. b. Madhyacaktt: Thrsprocessis done by inserlingthe fingerat lhe roolol the longue andlhe {ronloltheuvula Rolatethe fingertherewithlhe remembranceol lhe god ol Agni By constant practice of this l2 processlhe excess phlegmcan be removed
In th s. lhe rndexI nger shouldbe enteredin the anus Thrs processshouldbe continuedtil the expansionol lhe anus with the contemplation on Yamseed letter.Thisprocessrernovesdropsy, drseaseol reclum.enlargement ol spleen.l3
This processis done by lhe iixaton ol the eyes on a rninute objectt ll tearsbe9 n lo fall-Thisshouldbe donewithoLlt w nking the eyes wilh the repetitionoi lhe seed letlerof water,lhat is, Vam.Thrs.emovesallthedrseases ot eyesand alsosleeplness.ra 5. e. Kasd. n this process.a f ne smooihlhreadshouldbe ntroduced Inlolhroalthroughnose.The fr ction of the lhread in nose and throalremoveslhe disordersol the phlegm.l5 6. L Netrikaranam: In lhis process,a clean,soll,slronglubricaled rnadeol whrte lhreadshould be introducedinio lhe lde and takenout from the pngaa . Thus the app icationot the processof Sal kriyaremoveslhe diseaseIke dropsy.sleepiness, disease ot ears, eyes,dts-or, ders of phlegmelc.Theseprocesseshave a resemblance wilh lhe srxpurlicaloryactionsmenlionedby the Hathayoga. lt driiers on the groundthal theseprocessshouldbe donewtihthe repetI on oi the seed etierswhilein the Hatheyogic practice,no repetrlronoi I\,laniraiakes place. Thereisalsoone anolher treatise.likeSat KarmaSamgraha, a dialoguebelweenLordSivaand Parvatai,is Sivasvarodayam. It s a scriplurerelatedwjihthe processof inhalatlon and exhala 1ion.ll has mentionedthe lechniqueof diagnosis, the drseaseby patternoJbreathingprocessandlechniqueot healingby manrpulatrnglhe brealhng process.Now we shallsee somelhingaboul lhe Svarodays,a scienceol brealhing,
232
TherapeulrcAspectof Tantra
2. Siva Svarcdaya: A Science of breathing: SrvaSvarodayas a scr pture,toldby Siva10Parvata tor lhe wellareof the h!man beings.This treatiseis basedon lhe con cepl ot vrlaliorce or prana sakti wh ch pervadesin lhe ent re body.The v tal lorce is ihe very core ol lile.This caf be seen by belweena lving bodyand a dead body. n lormer, the drllerence presence ol lileiorce or pranasaktiwhilein lalerll ls there rs a
n g o l t h e o p p o s t en o s t r l s h o w st h e i m b a l a n c ea n d h e n c e a s gna lo lhe drsease.The diseasecan be curedby changng the work ng of tho noslnl.
n replylo one of the queslons ol Parval. LoId Srva says lo prana is the best lriendand best brother.Nothingrs srrperlor prana gross viial force or torm oi that prana B.eathng is lhe PranaSakliisrelaledwithbothbodyand m nd. Physrcalbody s gross whilemlnd is subtle. Prdnais link betweerrlheselwo body m nd Henceil allecisbolh. The very exislenceol lhe physcal body as livrngentrtyis dependenlupon the presenceol prana.Ths showsthe superor ly ol pranaoverbody.Therelalon of m nd and pranars a so veTy we i known.They are so highlyrelatedthal as the Hathayoga pradp!kadeclares.by conlrollngone,lhe olher can Oecontrol M e n l ad s l u r b a n c easr e c o n s d e r e d a st h e r o o t o J t h e d l s occurdue to the fleetng naiureol easo.T hrstypeol d sturbances 'r nd GeneraLy. il s di{lcultto conlro the mrndbul by controlling !he vrraliorce.throughbfealhingprocess,mindcan b€ control Hcr€the conlroloverbreathng processis diflerentfrornthal ol lhe pr;nayamaprocess.As we know,we do nhalatlonand cxha alroneilherlhroughthe rightnoslrilor throughthe leit nos_ 1r SrvaSvarodaymenlonslhe duralon periodof the respiration pfocesswhrchtakesin one noslril.Al everytwo hoursduratlon, there s a changeIn the nostriloperalrngal thatt me. ai a parttcu_ S;' can ascerlarnwhichnostrilmustbe workLng ar r me duringlhe day and al nighl.The scflplurelaysdown lhe c o r r e cpl r o c e s s o l w o r k i n g l h e n oas t pr ia r l c u l a r t i m e . T h e w o r k _
233
So n lhs processol hcarng. disease s dragnrzedby the workfllol noslrland heaed by the manpulalon ol it.Thrslherapy s a so basedon theTantricprincipe of the rdenlicalre alionshp belureenmrcrocosTn and macrocosm. Physicalbody ls a mlnialureuniverse. The sun and a moon wh ch are h gh y assocatedwllh the vtla lorceand mentalforce respectively can a so be locatedn the body.As we havealready njenlonedin the chapterol Tantrasadhanathal, pranaor via forcellolvs ihroughsublle channelswhrchare spreadoul I ke a nel nabody.Threearethe mainchannels.narnely, lda Prngata and Susumna.Susumnais a meruora spinalcord alongwilh the lormerlwochannes runonthe leftand rightsideolil respeci vely. Sun is localedal lhe righls des and berngso the vita current I ows rhroghlhe Pingalanad . Whilemoon stocatedal lhe telt sr0eand hencementalcullentsflowthroughlda nAdr. The I ow ot brealhrng lhro!gh ldaand Piiga a takesplacethroughthe teitand nghl nostn respeclvely. By considerng lheselwo abovemenlioned pr nc p es on wh ch lh s lherapy s based,we can say lhal overworkingunderworkng or rnaJunclronrng oi any noslrilcrealesimbaiancein mental and vrlalcurrenl.Overworkingof rightnoslril.beingretatedwrlh Sun resulis n lhe vrgorouspersonality. Whre in the caseol da. b-"f{J rc aled wrthlvloon,personbecomesv ctimof capnce. Thrs lact is aso noted by the science,that when lhe rghl side and ell hemispherels predomjnanl duringa parl cular I rne one becomesmoreaggressive. Whilemorepassivefunctionsare to be perlormedwhenthe leitside is pfedominant Therers alsoone anotherway ofTantrc healingwhlchis a so basedon the pr ncipe oi identitybetwenmacrocosmand micro. cosm The nameol lhis lechnrquers I/udra or gesture.
234
Chaptel'9
3. Mudh: Gesturcs: Mudra is an inlegraledpari oi dailyT?lnlricsadhane.ll is whichwe havealreadyseenin the alsooneol the paica l!4akaras Tantrasymbolism. Mudr:ris a gestureof handinitiallybut ts goal is tota mental identification. [,4udrA is basedon lhe pr ncipleol identilybetween macroscosm and mrctocosm. Like unrverse,body is also composedol live eiementsnarnely earth,water,iire,airand elher.These elemenlsare srtuatedin lhe body In a iixedproporlion.l/udr:rsare the meanslo normalize lh s proporlionol the fiveelemenisin lhe body. li is beleve, the conlrolover tive grosselements,the con si tuenlsof lhe body,is locatedal the five trngersof lhe hand. The thumbrepresents space,thelorelinger windoralr,lhemiddle Iingerlire,the ringlingerwalerand the jourlh lingerrepresenls So ihusthe conkolovereachelementrs possiblethrough earlh.13 Ine tlngers. 1. a. Prena Mudn: PrAna mudrais designedfor curingthe diseaselike heart atlack,one ot lhe prorninenl d seasesol lhrsage. ".....a patienthavinga hearlattackcan checklhe allackand gel Inslanlrelietby ioldinglhe Ioretingerdownon the moundoi lhe thumb,and joiningrhe ihumbwith lhe lips ol the lhird and lourthlinger.rs 2. b, Sinya Mudrd: ''tsendlhe Madhyamamiddlefinger,to louch the root01the This mudra re lhumb.Then press it slightlywilh the lhumb.20 3. c. Sirya MudA: (thelhifdringfinger)til n louchesthe rool Bendthe An:rmika, ol the thumb.Then pressil slightlywiththe lhumb The thirdfrnger, representing water, s st mulatedby lhe e eclr c heatol lh€ lhumb representing sun.This poslure s uselultor personwho
TherapeulrcAspectoi Tantra
235
ieel heavrnessIn lhe body.ll s practiceproducesrmbleness and 11shouldbe carr ed out In bothhandswh le s tlrng n Padmasana ior lhree or live m nuteslwice or thriceeveryday.2r 4. d. Jfrena Mudta: ' T h e t h u m b a n d t h e i n d e x f i n g e r a r e b r o u g h t l o ggeetnhlel er i n conlact,nol necessarilypressinghard aga nsl each olher.The posturemuslbe maintained otherlrngers are keptuprighl.This on bolh lhe handsl ''Thlosewho suflerlorm a weak memory,lnsomniaor a iee ' rngoi drowsness.iensionand olhermaladiesof the mindshould practcelh s mudra lt helpsto increasernentalconcentration thfough conslantpractice.22 Beyondlhese Mudrars, lhere are also some other lvludras pradipika. menlioned by theGherand Samhitaand by theHathayoga TheseMudrirsare notonlyheallhgrvingdeviceslhey alsoawak ens the atentun versalenergy,lhe KundalniSaktr.Someof lhe Mudrasare namelyMaha mudra,Viparla karanimudra.Nabho mudra,Khecar nrudrar etc.TheseIVudrasare rea1yvery verydillicui lo perlormbut as both of the above m-antioned trealises declarelhey are surelyto makephysicalbodylree lrom drsease and he p n spirituauplill. Thus the practiceoi variousmudrasensureslhe physical and menlalhealthwrthoutinlroducing any druginlothe body parts rntegrated The heahngprocessoi MantraandYantra,lhe ol Tantrahave alreadybeen drscussedin lhe prevrouschapler. These lwo drlgless therapiesheal the body-mnd cornpex by slrenglhening or awakening the innerpoweroi resslanceagarnsl diseaselhrough concentralon oi m nd. The hea ng hypothesis whichwe havemadein lhe SectionL and al lheselhera' in the ChapterofTantra sadhanar, especrally. preswhichare basedon lhe conceptollvanlra,Yanlra andTantra, moreor ess basedon lhe Tantrlcpr ncipe ot identicalrelattonprinciples such shrpbelweenmacrocosmand microcosm.This a so!nd and a rat onal onethat by propermanpu ationof ii, one can escapeonesellfron the physlcal,menlaland spirtLradis_
Chapter'9
236
TherapeulrcAspeclof Tantra l5ll T r a l a k a mc a k a s a k a r m an e i r i k a r a n a a m u l l a m al lm brd I 15.
Reterences
1 0 Jalardam nilanianguslhamtalumadhyepravesayel I
L
Translalionot ihe verse taken lrornlheYoga-lnrmoralalilyand Free dom, p 227 by Elrade,lvlircea.
Bharamayitvaialh pascatlalraslhamma amarharel c a k r i p r a k r rlla P u n a hp u n a hk s a l a y ec c e d n r d h v a
2
Dhauli baslistalharnelilaukikilrakas lalha
brd 1 32 33
KapalabhatiscailaniSalkarmani samacarel i n l o E n g l i s hb y R a r b a h a d u r G h e r a n d aS a m h i l a1 ' 1 2 . T r a n s l a t e d l o o k B e p r i n lC o r S r i s ac h a n d r aV a s u ,p . 3 , 2 n d e d i t a o nO, r i e n l a B p o r a t i o nD , e l h iI 9 7 5 . 3.
A n t a d h a u l i d a n l a d h a u l i h r i d a d h amuilr l a S o d h a n a m Dhauli caturvidhamkrulv;r ghalanr kurvantu nirmalam l b i d1 -1 3 .
4 5.
Tfanslationol the verse taken from the Ghe.nandaSamhitaby Bai Bahaduf Sirsa Chandra Vasu, pp. 42 43 Abhrakahtavabijam tu mama bijam lu paradah Ancyobmeianamdevi mruludaridryanasanarn
I n d r a g on i b h a ml r y a s r a ml a l u s t h a n a m r a m s u c r ms m a r e lI N e l r a k a . n : ' d y n r d h v a r o g a n s a nmaaml a s o d h a n a rlnr 3 4 l l A r h av a n g u l i n ak u r y , r d e l akla r m am u b i s v a r a h bid t-34.
1 2 J i h v a m i r l e ds h j h v a y a m ! p a j l h v a g r asl al a l h a l l 3 5 l r h r a m a y ev c a p ip u . v a v a t K a n l h ec a r d r a n g u l mk s p l v a b k u r v a np f a g v a d i r a s a k h asmm a r a nl 1 3 6| Mala.rrharam [ l a d h y a c a k r si a m a k h y a t ak a p h a k a n l a k a n a s i n r n l b i d .1 3 5 - 3 6 .
t 3 . Tarlafrm payugam krlva sodhanam purvavaccarel A d h a s c a k rsi a m a k h y a l ay a v a d g u d a v i k a s s a n aI m
B e s e s v a r ad a r s a n a m6 , S h a r m a ,U m a S h a n k a r a( E d . ) ; T h eS a r v a D a r s a n a S a r n a r a b ao t M a d h v a c a r y ap . 3 7 9 . T h e V d y a b h a v a r S a n s k r iG t r a n t h a m a L1a1 3 ,C h a w k h a m bVai d y aB h a v a n1, 9 6 4 F i f s t Edilion.
y a t h a vd h i | 3 8 l l Y a m l r a ms a s a k h a md h a y a N as o d h a y e c c a gulmarogom!laja vyadhayascaye I l\,4ahodaro
Sansarasyaparam param datlessau paradah smrutah l b r d .p 3 7 6 .
ibid.1.39
Sulosyam matsamoidevi I mama pralyangasambhavah I [.lanra deha raso yasmal rasalenamucyale| 36il F a s a r n a v aT a n l r a1 - 3 6 . A l h a v a k s y a m ki a r m e n iy o g i n a my o g a s l d d h a y e Y a n y a h ad h n f j a l l hs a k s a l l o k a r n u g r a h a h e llal 1v4el L Sal karmasamgrah1.14,Publishedin the journaI ol Yoga-lv'limamsa. N o .l . p p 1 - 16 , J u l y 19 6 8 ,E d i t e da n dt r a n s l a l ebdy D r F H .H a r s h e . 9.
ll
urdhvacakrl madhyacakrllalhacjhascakrikapara I
Malasrhathalvansayanlio baslikarmaniyogyata | 39ll b h a v e lI S ! k s m a l a s y ed r a s us l h a p y an i r n i m e s a s c r r a m karma tralakamlritamI AsrLrsarnpataparyanlam Vanglavkaranslesminnanlaiyolih prak?rsyateI Nelrarogaslathalandra nasyanlily?rhadhurjalih I b r d , 1 - 4 04 1 t 5 Ratvin Slaksnarmkasam kuryaddhastam:rlramsusulraka h I Pravesayelkanthamadhye nasadvarrenatam kasam I Ghalsayecca sanairetatjasajarmasivodilam I Anena Karmana vayuh kaphadosamhaisyali I
237
238
Chapler-9
)bid.1 42-43. Svaccham Slaksnam dradham snigham Svetasnlravinrrmilam ldya Sampravesyaivalalah prngalayaharel 1 7 P r . r a e v d p a r a m am r t ' ap r a n ae v a p a r a ms d h h a P r a n a l uy a h p a . o b a n d h un a s t in a s l i v a r a ' n a n e S va Svarodaya.Tak€n from lhe Sabdakalpadruma. 1 8 T a k e nf r o ml h e a r l c l e o l A c h a r y aK e s h aD e v , A h e l p l n gh a n d l o r C a . d l a c sp u b l s h e di n l h e T l m e so f I n da , S u n d a yO, c t o b e2r 6 . 1 9 8 0 . t9
tbd.
20
tbid.
21 Taken from lhe arlicle ot Acharya Kesav Dev. The lrfe-grvrngdev i c e , p u b l i s h e dI n l h e ' T i m e so t I n d i a ,S u n d a yA u g u s t .1 9 8 0 . 22. Acharya Kesav Dev,'Yourheallh is in you. hands . publishedin lhe Trmes ol India. SLrnday,February 1. 1981
ETSG?CDC)PAEDIA C)F
qFATNW!FRA
by
SADHU SANTIDEV
VOLUME3
COSMOPUBLICATIONS l!r99
INDIA
AI rishtsreset vecl.Na pa' tofthispublication nav be rcpt odu'e(l or siot.d in rctrivat svsten, or transmitted in any font or by zny nre.ns ttithoul theprior permission ofcosmo Publcal ions
C) CosmoPublications IrnitPublished 1999 (sel) ISIJN81702G8637 3) 8l 702G86lil(vohtnre
Publith..l
CONTENTS L
bY
MRS.RANI KAPOOR folCOSMO PUBLICATIONSDiv of GENDSISPUBLISHINGPVT LTD, 24B, Ansari Road, DaryaGanj, INDIA NewDelhi'110002,
3.
SaivaworksandTtnlrasol Kashmir Agama-Sastra Spandasaska Pralyabhijia-Sastra lsvara_Pralyabhijia Siva"Sutra Spanda'Kaiker Ahirbudhnya-Samhrta ldaliniviiaotta€Tantla MrgendraTantra NetraTantra Rudrayamala Svacchanda-Tanlra andHisworks AbhinavaguPla Tantraloka KlamaTanlricism Phibsophyot KashmirSaivisn sex - Relalionshipand 65 SpiriiualRealisalion OnAnimal-Sacrifice 89 Socialand ReligiousBackground
4.
Tantraand Cultulal 't25 Complexot Indl6 TantraandSeklaworks VedicLiterature (including Upaisads) andTanlra TantraandMahabharata TantraandArthasaslra TantraandPurana TantraandSamrli Tant€andVedanta TaniraandSamkhya TantraandYoga TantraandAyurveda TantraandVaisnavism TantraandSaivism Tantraandth6Ganapatyas Tanlraand Paicopasana Tantra,Buddhisrn andJainism, TantraandSufism Tanva,MusicandDance Tanlra,Art andArchitecture LinearRepresentation Caves Slone Temples lmages Tant.aandAlphabet Tantlaandinscriptions SabdaandDhavni ValueotTanlra-riseot Sahajiya Cutt RegionlTantra Influence ofTantraamongcommon peop|e
5. 6.
ElitistatliludelowardsTantra Posl-VedicThoughfc!fients andTantra SeclsandSubsetsloTantra
181 UnpublishedTantrasot Bengal 199 Tantrasandtheir Details Tantrascitedin the Harataftva-didhiti WorhsandAuthorscitedIn lheTanlras ot Bengal in theSanskrilWorks on Bengal Tantrasl\,4entioned -
7.
Pantheon in BengalTantra Yanhasandlrandalas Lislol Mudras, mentioned in BengalTantra in BengalTant6 Lislol Kavacasmentioned Listol HymnsandProlectave Mantras jn menlioned BengalTantra 241 Tantricoevotees Ramprasad KamalakanlaBhatlacarya lc.17/2-1821) Bamakrisana Vivekanaada(1863-1902) (18381911) VamaKsyapa Ray Ramakdshna (d.1795A.D.;according to some,1800) BuddhislTantric WorksoJBengal Bibliography
3
.=
E
E G
o
o -v
c(!
tt
F
c
E
o o
Y
-o h=
cr>
o,a
E'6
Chapter1 ln comrnonpadance,Kashmiris calledth{rsvaraga(heavenon in India,notonlyinthe a uniqueposition earlh).lt,indeed,occupies climale,butalsoin lhs realm panoramic scenicbeauly,salubrious produced polyhistors likolcemendra(11thcenol Indianculture.lt (c. laner halt ot lhe |oth cenlto eady lh€ and Abhinavagupta tury) 11thcent.).Thesystemof poelicsviz.,Alamkem,RitiandDhvani, foundersol theseschoolswererein thisprovince.The originated (c.7th--{thcont.),Vamana(8th-9hcent.)and Bhamaha spectively (9h cent.).As regads Ras, school,Kashmirmay Anandavardhana be said to have been th€ pioneer.ln lhe Dhvanebka, forthelirsttime,clearlystatedtasaas lhe most Anandavardhana, exceilenlelemenlol poetryln laterlim€sVisvanaha(c.14thcenl. lsl half), in his satllyadalpara, unequivocallystated rasa as the soulofpo€try Kalhana(11ttr-1 2thcent.) 7he Rejata@ngin ol theKashmidan th6 onlyworkin Sanskrit,whichcanclaimto be hiss practically loncal. (8th-glhcent.)hascreatd a TheKashmirianDamodaragupta new literarygerre by his Kuttammataan erclico-comicsatire on courtesans. We shall give a briet accountot TantricSaivismof Kashmir, whichis uniquein ils philosophy. The celebratedSaivaschoolis callgd Lika (triad)whichhas beentakenby dilferentscholarslo meanditlerentthings: (1) Siddha,Namaka, Malini. (2) Siva,Sakti,Anu. (3) Pati,Pasu,Pasa. (4) Siva,Sakli,Nara. (5) Para,Apara,Parapara. Abheda,Bh6da,Bh€dabheda. {6) Theliteratureof the Dka system,knownas Trika-sastra, Trika-
-
Ct|aDt€ht
sasana,or Rahasya-sampradaya canbebroadlyclassifi€d as A. B. C.
Agamasastra Spanda-sasira pratyabhiifia_sastra
A. AGAMA.SASTRA Believedto havebeenrevoaled, il compflseseEv€nTanlras tnctucttng MAttni-viiaya andRudayemab Inlhe eadystage,thesewo*s wereinterpreted iromthedualistic, evenpluralislic viewpoini. The-IrikasystemacluallybeganwiththeSiyasutras, supposed .ronave - - - beenreveated tovasugupta (c.gthcent.)toretutelheduat. Samkardcarya (c.gthcent.)is saidto havevisitedKashmrr. .. Frsvrs[ supptGdthe impetuswhichresunedin the tormulation of Sivasulras. Of thecofimentarieson lhe Sulras,we _Knou/ n arc lhe Uarlik , ^. or unasxara(c.t1thcent.)andlhe yrra,.siniofKsemarala. identitredby somewiththealoresaid Ksemendra, byotnerswth Ksemen_ oras namesakewhowErs a pupilof Abhinavagupta, lhentonedearlier. Wilhthelirmfoothotd ol lhe fnka system,someot thealore. saro ctuattsltc Tanlraswereinterpreted tromthe monisticpointot BesidesVasugupta, severalothorschotar_oevotees contrib_ uledto the devBlopment of Saivismin Kashmh.Ol them,famous
(end )somananc'a orehcenr.), urpab i?1"{"^111 19]|l:1l"ent (c. erh cent.). Abhinavasupra, Ksema€ta lrjl_Jayaratha -ll]l-lll,:llna"kra ano (c.beginning of 13th cenl.).
B. SPANOASASTRA Spandameansvibration or activiyot Siva.lt is supposedto -oe rne _, cause ol all dislinclions This Sastrais basedon the Sapndasafas, generallycalled
Saiva Works And Tadras ot Kashmlr on lhe snandakatikaswh|r;nare a sort ol runningcommenlary
byKsemaraia toVasugupta sp*autulraqannbulod ii"i-J'r*.ii pupil Vasugupia ol a Kallala' by loo"-ij. . r'"u" 6""n "omposed y/tti Kallata by commentary or Jrithe Sutrasthereis a C. PRATYABHUflA-SASTRA ol the For abouta centurylollowinglhe developmeni philosophF in Saiva interrcgnum ol therewasa sort Spandasastra, calliterature. ot Budwasmarkedbytheonslaughl Theoeriodthatlollowed devel_ Kashmir toe lormidable the To contatn .ihrsmon Saivlsm. calledbe' lt is so Pratyabhiha ol pnilosophy Joel rnf svsremaric ol rcahlyas essenlrallor MJ",i'"gutat '""ogn'tto \p;aryabhiika\ siv'dts' of Somanada lhe on is based io'Jt"r.n irti. O'ro"iphy lsvata' Of the olher works ol lhis class wellknownare ol Palyabhiiha-vimatstnt o( onNabhtan ot fuatyabhina-suta pratyabhiiha'vivtlr ol the also aulhor iroiruti -uli^ri^i" ounln,n"u"gupia' raPs Patyabhiina' utpalas yrfl':Ksema i" ^.n loo""1on othelworks He has compendium h/davais an imporiant arenoltaken liveMakaras Schoolol Tantra, ln theKashmirian areprescribed' rnthe literalsensebul lheirsubstilutes WeshallnowtakeuptheTanl€sandSaivaworksol Kashmrr' ISVARA.PBATYABHIJNA he had a son' li is bv UipaladevaSon of Udayakara' Accordandatellowslud€nt'namedPadmananda vllfrramat
Saiva Works And Tanlrasol Keshmir
(1)
12)
Stddhitrayi-lheldad compdsing lsvara,Sambandha and A,aoapramatr-siddhi_th6se embodythe majnporntsdis. cussed in lhe Isvam-p 'abhi fia. Vrftion SivadBtiandtsva7-pratyabhifia__lragmentsavajt_
13) VivaanaontheIsvara_petyabhiiia. 14) Stotavali. The l6vara,pratyabhijia is dividedjntolour sections,viz.. (1) Jffanadhkara---d€aling withcognitions. I has eightsubdivisons,viz.,l) Upodghata. (ri)purvapaksavivfiti. (iir)para. oarsananupapattj, (ivlsmrtisaklrnrrupana. (v)Jnanasaktinrrupana, (vi)Apohanasakti_nin (vii)Ekasrava-
d;;;;;;;;'j"""'
oneis calleda purusa.Purusacreatesjoy oneselfbeingunknown, andsorrow.lsvarais Palland menare Pasut 8y practicein ihe andgodorescibedmannerpasusareheed-keed fromanimality is realised onebe' God one'sidentilywith iessnessis seen.When wilh all person he is one leels that comesiivanmuAla.Alib€rated Paramasiva is bethings,whsreasthef€tteredonelellsotheruiseas Cil(consciousare merged proof, becausealltho fatfuas vond ness)in Him.Onewho realis€sAlrtan as lsvaraand ftara and kria as nothingbeyondHim,knowswhathedesiresandaclswilh thisverybody,he becomesJivanmudaAflerdeathlhe becomes Himsell, Paramesvara theeasy theauthorsaysthathe hasrevealed ln conclusion, Abhinava in lhe Siva-drstt Gull/s path by the declared (Sughata) makesit clearthalthepalhis staledlo beeasybecauseit is devoid like of thepalhinvolvedin extemalandintemaldtesandpractices
'''*''',?l[:"J,i#;il::l'iHjiJ#J,:#l.::lTi,iffi !] One,lollowingit, realisesthat Afma, makesthe worldand talphatameya_nirupana,(iv)Karya_karana-€ttva-nirupana. absorbedin SivahoodattainsSddhr:Abhinavaraisesthequeslion_-. "i,p"".di
(3) Agamadn'kara--d-iscussing the 36 lat&as ot Saivism.lts subsecbns arqi)Tattva_nirupana,(ii)pramatr-an *"lri"i". . _. _ (4) Tattvarlha---€amgra_hadhikara-_discusses the nature ot the HighestBeing.ana recapitr,tatesessentrat ttresutsianlJoi the.Jor€gohg Adhkaras.ttss,.rtsecrions a,e (,1fattiairna". i n,vt/arEi rtr,\ruruparya-k|?tma_nrrupana, -rhe lsvaz-pratyabhifiahasa comrnen .-
ca,ed ima6ini; hi;he i; fi ; '-;":J:1il,fli,r[]T,,:$ "v trrl,"r4. Th€taner rssupposed tou" Lri"o ll-ltl"11?no,"r. grossby Utpajahimselt,which is now lost
oi J
The tourth Adhrkarars
ih€ epilome o , .. . Adhikaras.'s.conrenrs a," lH" iJirT:ll oraxbcings.Abhinavagupla ";,"iJJ;;il:,ji,: makesit clearthatHe ,sot tf,e
na-r,lr-e oI conscrousness whrchhasnodiflerence indifterenlptaces,tim-iJ anoInnature.The question maybeposed_we, il lr.,lahesvara atone rslhesout,whatis the bondaget;r releasing wh|chthrsetiortis maoe1 | he answerrslhat,throughthe torceol ego.peoptetn,nf.i amso andso'.Again,thequeslion mavb e as
rsr!.whoexrsts otherrhanrsuar". rne ,"prf"i.d-r#i::i*::::r";
belweenits recognation if Ahan exists.thenthereis no diflerence Whenlhereis sproul,the seeddoesnol re' and non-recognilion. Whenlhereis sprout,theseeddoesnotremain mainunrecognised. The replyis-therearetwothings,one externallike unrecognised. the sprouls,andlhe olherinternallikelove.The,ormerdoesnot that'l bulthe latlerdoes ln th€ realisation necessitale recognition, of recognilion is a mustThenecessity recognition am Mahesvara' The husbandmayb€ analogy. is illustrated by a veryconvincing him presentnearlho wile,bul so longas shedoesnol recognise is in one's Alman, joy. Visvesvara shedoesnotget Similarlythough as suchthereis no etfectonthe person Hispresenceis unknown; concened.So pratyabhtjkais necessary lhe workby sayingthatit is writtenby Theauthorconcludes him lor the peoplewho can attain Siddhi$rilhoutelfort Abhinava ol casle'etc. to all irrespeclive statesthatit is accessible SIVA_SUTRA believedlo As slatedbelore,the Slva'sutasarelraditionally three sections lt contains havebeen revealed lo Vasugupta.
SaNaWorksAnd lanttasol Kashmir
f,*jl+1fr1s$J;*,i*aru,+**,, "flffij: ;tH#:i,fi :f Hffi :il"!',,:,:::{i$l (theiobolconcentra' Samadhl-sukha withSiva,theuniversalsoul. yartika identilies/okawith is Lokananda.fhe tionandmeditation) joy ol is Theattainment is Hewho thesoulofalliii lheEternalOne, pure place rise ol knowledge from the the staleof Cakresatakes 'l i.e.,ihe whichconsislsin the ralisationam all'(Saryahambodhal, stale oi Cakresa wilh eveMhing.The ol one'sownsell ldentification intwoways.ltmaymeantheeightwell-known hasbeenexplained SiddhiscalledAnima,Laghina,dL. OL Cakais Samvil(conscious_ ol excellenl nessl:so lhe slateof Cakresameansthe possession inAlmat inYoga-sast€. Pure consciousness welfknown knowledge who are Those, which manlla is necessary realisation oi ior lhe realisalion without powerlul can have tho above spirilually, very ManlraBul,ihose,whoarelesspowerfulrequireManlrc.Mantrais identiled wilh Cltta(mind)which,the yadlka,says,is Sivawho is of and beyondlhe limilations devoidol attrubutes,is omniscient spaceand lime,For successin mantraellortis n€cessaryThe Va ika explainslhalmantrais the innalenatureol the powerof Clt Manta-tahasya meditation onitYogins atlainsuccess. Byincessant consislsin the bodyin the tormof y/dya.Whenlhe mind,tlrned awayfromtheobjectsof sonses,isfixed,in Cit nescience \avidya) knowledge oflhe non-dual Supremedawns, disappears.Whenlrue lhe slafeof Siva.calledKheca , arises.Khecariis de.ivedthus. Kha is lhe skv in lhe shaDeof Cll Thatwhichmovesaboutlhere is calledKhecaz:As it leadslo lh€ atlainmentof lhe slateof lhe one who is medicaledupon, it is calledthe stale ol Siva (Sivavastha).
13;*q6"61{pu+r;*:m,*r;u:,*",#
jfi,""rn"uomh,m,hecom. il"xTil::xnH,*"Jlifl"tH:T corophon tohjsy-*,. _"",i"'"ii,il"i" 3,iilli;t"l"f,!,,,"1j',.""
y":*iiii"iili,i!li::"tfJiil,xl?#;i",1ti"TT::rr
rnenrary, ratherexplanatory yartkas,,names therf,r""pofrrraof
':;;::;:E:,firy#::{ffi ,x;;,",uoa-i,,o"n..s.iii. yrnlis Ksemaraia,s a runningcommentary Thecontents of Srya_sulras arebriollyas to ows_ Cailanlaorconsctousness js idenljf re.t
::'m*'[,I::"'.y','1'{: ::l'nff iffi:ik";"J:"'"i",#'"'ff rhevarrika *r"Ji",fi"ffi,"#"::i l+fff;#Ty edse
m*fruli:;lllj:,;,,rt:ir,,lli,li*i";Xi,?X?,,",i#tiili
f#"'l*r#ii i#?i ii":p"T::[ini*,""**:
are^a/asconsisljng n lhelener,romA t. ,a.:
:txfr:1,U:"f;#J HtnTj El+i.";:#tH jnltl# :,[:il"':il'""'",?'."i:$x
ffi,ffi".:i 1;#f
scro!snessis pervasive. As a meansof rern
fhus, Muda(Khecai) andMarra, as meanslo lhe goalhave beenstated.Bul. howto get the powerarisingfrom thsse?The answerin Guruwhorepresents lhe Saktio{ Sambhu.He explains the lrlth, and showslhe way.Guf4 leadsone lo lhe knowledge aboulthe Kfiyasak,(powerol doing)oltheLord.ThelireoJknowledgebeingburnt,the grossbody,whichis subjecilo lhe lruilsol (anra)of acton,yieldsplaceto the divinebody.Thesustenance thisdivinebodyis /nanalhat astrue knowledge. HereKsemaraja dilJers. He takesthebodyto meanlhe grossandsubtletormsol ilSuchbodyis of{eredto thelir€ol CA HetakesJ6anain thesense ol lalseknowledge thal caus€sbondage.lt is calledarna as it is eatenupbyYogins. The/l6analeadslothedestruclion ol falseknowl-
*i'Hxr***il*#ir;liil'Hrml!,fi i.,::'lf
saivaworksAndTantaso edge,andoneperceivestheillusorynatureofihingsarisjng iherelrom. Atma2has been identifiedwilh Cila which is enveloped . by Jnana,re., petceplionol passjon,etc., connectea witn tne ou;eci! ol senses.Maya (illusion)is want of discrimination with rega;d to the lattuas.The idea is that attachftentto ihe oblects ot seises is lhe obstacleon the way to the goal. comeslromrheconqueslot detusron(moha). _"^ loltedSe yo9r'n lne J:: rrJst be ever awakesprfltualty:thrsteddsro ivanmukti. Atma, is called a dancer as it lhrobs accororng to dilferent condrlrons.Of thts dancer the stage is flre inner so,il. tt mal Oe seen lhat Almarand the Antaratman(innet soul) arediflerent irom each othe-.The yar.rta makes it clear l,.al, wnen there rs outward nas^ tDahtrunmesa). AIma, is calleda dancer.Whenlhere ts inwaro w|nk ranlarunmesatthat very Atman ts cahed Anlaatman \inner sourJ.Ine sensesare lhe speclalors.
3TJ"'""T:t:Ti[ff rejliiii'Jit';Tg:;:#"JJl*ffi
oerngasanaslhd,easily stnks Into lhe inner lake. Here asana ao. pe,trs o rre€n the greatesl powerderivedIrorn Sakl. by whtch he gves up arlklndsol dhyana. dhatana and othet acl:v,t,e;.and, be,ngrur-ed'nward. conle.nolales tFeSup.eTe8e,.9 alo^e.Tnelake rs lhe realisationof lhe Hiohest_ The destruc,tonot false knowledgeby Fleanc ot t.ue knowl_ , eoge eaOstoltse cessdtionot reb,rthith:sis /;ianmukl,:The lexl is vtava-vtnase Janma-Vinasah. Vtdyatat\enby lhe Varikain rhesense ot asuodhavdyallatse knowtedge). But.Kse.narajatakesilto 4 ean corre!' knowledge.He rnlerprelslhe sur/alhus Vtdyaya avnase, r.e . rnefeoetngnodestruction ottrue knowtedge. By;bnm) he means lhe senses which are the cause of aclion accompanred by ignoranceand are lLll ot mjseryOne, who has acquired the co;eal xnowredge. becomeslke SrvaIn life.and SrvaHrmseIater ctealh The functionoJthe body is the greatiestival(mahayrala) ot a powenu person;this is pasupala-veta.fhe speechof one, who oose.vesth s vow.is /apa.By lhts wataa-d ppa rha knowtedge o, 4lrna. Oaw-son lhe pasus{peopteliedby,he bond! o, detu;ron elc L rF15 dawningof knowtedge is danawhich,eads lo lhe wearnq
ir
11
outof the pasasor bonds.Thenlhey become{il for Dlksa which consistsin dara (giftol mantra)andksapanalwaaringoutol pasas.) A Keval, is lree lrom pleasureand pain,i.e.,no lhoughtol theseenlersinlohim WhenMoha Mohais statedto arisefromAbhilasa(desire). a personis{reedkomthefruilol action.A person,who disappears, in lhe lom ol by a cloak(Kadcuka) is notliberated,is enveloped llve grosselements.By lhe means,statodearlier,one becomes llkeSiva n this|fe, andonewilhSivaaflerdeath. of the lccha(desire)of Theenlireworldis the manifeslation prescribed to lhe instruclions the Lord.Whena persof,according lheAlman,heis andagainrealises earier,gelsridol lheimpurities, reunitedwiththe Lord-Whenhe realiseshis idenlitywiththe Su' oremeBeing,he becomesSiva,full of joy. SPANDA-KARIKi ol 52 Kalkes,divided Wehavereterredtoit earlier.lt consists called respectively Svarupa'spanda, or sections ntolhreeN/syaDdas Bibhuti-spanda.ll has a Vrlli or commenlary and Sahajavidyodaya by Kalala. Thecontenlsol ihe Kadkesarebdeflyas follows. of Sakli,createsthe worldby his unmesa S va, possessed (opening of eyes)anddissolvesil by nit esa(closingol eyes).The questionis-how is the Sivahoodol a man,who is subjectto re' onein b rlh.declared?The answeristhis.Thereis noobstruclionlo whomall this phenomenal worldresidesand lrom whomall lhis The worldresidesandkom whomall this enanates. ohenomenal ideais thatas he is notenveloped (bydelusion, etc-),lherecanbe Srvahood evenin the staieof one who is slbiect to rebirth.His S vahoodis notcoveredin anycondition ol lagral,svapna,susupti. He s beyondhappiness, delusion. He is neithergrahya so(owand grahaka (one who lakes.) lthatwhichcanbetaken) nor Whenone'segodisappears, onealtainslhe Supremeslate. In sucha condition, one becomeslhe knowerand the doer;ihen onecando or knoweverylhing thatis desired.
Chapt6r-1
Thereare Nvoavaslhas,one Karya, the olhet Kan4va. fhe io'rner.sdeslructible. theratterimperishabJe ltrsortytheefiorlfor Karyat\al is elfaced.On6.who is unwtse,thinksh,rnserfto be eliacedwhenthai etfodis effaced.In reality,one,sown natureis notsubjectto destructjon. Thebhaya,thal is turnedinwardand is omnrscrent, ts neveretfac6d. Thatbhayaas Ctremains.ThatCllis rs wet' awakeor futrypossessedot ^nowtedge :"1-!1"::,.l/r'no sapBouddhatn a| [\e conditions ol Jagfal SyapnaanaSusup;. ol Supreme Saktjin the lormsol Jfiana(knawl. .Possessed edge)ano/deya(oblectof knowledqe.) theLordshinesinlhecono\a-s ot JagGIand svapnaln Susuptiandluryaconortions, He ,s onlvas Cll Percerved lhe Gunas,Saftva,Rajas,and Tamas do notenvetop the inherenJ nalureof lhe yogin,fheseGunas,obstrucltng lhe oercepr'onortheexistence of Cil causethepeopleol hntee-ntignrenment ro rarrIntothe fiercepathol rebirthwhrchis diflrcuhto;ross; becausesuchpeoplefindAtr'anpossessed ol thesequalilies andnol as,Suddha \pwa) andBuddha(entghtened). One.whoaf*aysmif.es erro(rorthemanifestation ol lhe reatnalureof Spanda-taitva, even rntheJagnalslate attainsone'sownnatureca ediurya-bhaga.When a personbecomesveryangrydelighted or bewildefed or whenhe runs,lhe rjseof spandais to be understood andshouldbe leafnl tromlhe Guru.A manwho,havingleftall otherouttes,rsabsorbed n spanoa-kffva, realises thehighest truth.Insucha yoginthefioon (manas)andihe sun{spanar.havjnglettIne booy.a rephcaof the unrverse. jn thatvaststy.oevotdol tne setr,)sosufinaNao[:Then. moonandlhe sun,a man,fullol delusionby syapra,erc.,remain conlinedin astateolsleep.When awakened]ie remains uncovered (oyrgnorance etc.). Themantlas, whicharepowerful. havngresorted lo thatpower ^ or, sahtr. proceedin respective duties.With dutiesceased, peopte,who afecalmandtreefromlhetainlsof Maya,aremergedin lhal skyalongwiththedevoteesmind.So.as theyare torne;wilh 5rva,theyare saidto be possessed ol the characlerslics ol Stva. Wrththat4tnar, whrchis a -encompassiri J, lhereis nocondrtrcn in lhe lhoughlsof wordandsenselhatdoesnotsuggestSi!.ahood. So, the bhokta(enjoyer)himselfis presenreverywnere as
SarvaWorksAnd Tanlrasol Kashmir mind rs of this nalure bhoqya\ab)ectol enioyment)on6' whose pervaded me and looksal every_ by rhatrl reelsthal allthe wortdis thingas sPorl,becomeslivanrukta Adevolee, by meansof marfas, becomesone withlhe deity ol lhe mantra.Thisrealisationof one'sown naturewithoutthe cover ol ialse knowledgeis the acquisitionot ambrosiaby a devotee This. indeed,is the iniliationto Nrvana that leadsto the revelation ol ihe true naiureot Pa€masiva. A yogir, in lhe condilionol /agfal finds,amongvariousthings, lhe very thing desiredby him. In svapnaalso he sees lhe desired lhings.Thefactthat in svapnathe heartis clearlymanilestedshows the independenceof it; this is the penehalionot the evil. Laying slresson etfortthe authorgivesan analogy, Evenwhen ihe mind is intent,a distanllhing ashazy-Due lo elfort it appears clearly.So also what really exists can be soon rea ised by resortingto Sakli.Anotheranalogyis lhis. Atman pe.vadesthe body,a personcan at onco leel lhe bite even ol a small everylouse.So, one, who realisesAlamd, acquiresomniscaence G/an(debility or decay)wearsoutlhe body.llaises froma/rara wl icr is avordedby lhe Inowledgeof Ahan. FtomAtmanatisesgindu,Nada,Flpa icapacilyfor seeingin darkness),,gasa(tasleof neciarin lhe moulh). TheseSiddrrs,whichare obstacles,appearto menvery soon. ll is the yoglnswho have realisedthe identityol al worldly objects wth the SupremeSoulthatcanthemselves knowlhe realtrulh. Oneshouidbe everawake,compr€hendby knowledgewhatrs to be known and lix everythingon one, i.e.,the knowledgeol lhe real lrulh. By so doing one is not lomented by Kalas,etc., to be describedhereafler One who, beingan objectof enjoymentlo lorces like Erahmr arisingfrom the mass of words,is led astrayby kalasin lhe shape of the lettersbeginningwith kalasin the shapeofthe lettersbegin' ning with ka;such a personis calledpasu
14
Chapter-1
In himlhe nectaroi theSupremeis absentdueto the se of memoryallhesighloftheobjectsol senses.Thus, he lossesinde_ pendence andthecapacjty forgojngeverywhere.The SaktiBfahmij erc.,are atwaysreadyto veilnature.Wilhoutwordno knowledqe dr,ses. That k.tyatmaka(active)Saktj ot Siva, whe- n;f known,causes bondageina pasu,whenknown,il leadsa personlo siddhi. Bylhe percoption of the subfleelementsot Sabda.etc..tied hy Puryastakal9uksmadeha)due to the inlluenceol maras. ahamkaraandbucttChi, lheleelingol joy and sorrowar,ses.One, wno,s dependenl on olhers.feelspleasureand pajn.Duelo the condrrron ot thesubtlebodyhe becomessubjeclto.ebirrh. Whena personfixoshjs mindon one,i.e.,lhe grossor the subtleandeflectsdestnjciionandriseof theaforesaiJmemoryol subtleefements. etc..he becomes(bhokta):lhus he becorres caxrcsvaa,t.e-,lheLordol Matrc AHIRBUDHNYA.SAMHITA lt is a Kashmirian workinsixlychaplers, whicnis supposed to naveoflgtnated "sometime afterthefourthcenturyA,D.CenatnctLes aboulitsprovenance areavailable. Inthelirstplace.Utpata Vatsnava orKashmrr appears lo quoteonestanza ofthisSamhrta (XV7lb)in
p.41) w hstishrvariations. rwopassases
lt:.P!":!:!?!rn'.!11.. ot t^e Ahnbuclhnya IXXVt.75and XLVS3.)recommenoor mentron r:sp:cr'vely the weanng,as an amulet, ol a ce:tain yant? \dtagramj drawn o]na sheel ol bhuia-patra lbrich-ba+) wh,cn was a we[-knownwriting materiatin ancientKashmir.In XXXlX.23, lhere rs a rererencelo the sun shiningafterbeinglreed from the obstrucflonoy D,ma{snow,) a common,phenomenonin Kashm,r.Thestory oI pnnc-etvtuklaprda, occurringin the forty.eighthchapter ol th; An,ttuuonnya, appea$lo occuronlyin the KashrninanBaplatangint (rv.42rand nowher€else.All this t€nds poinl (o to Kas"nrr as ine prace or ongtn ot this samhita.The above clues are. ol course, lenlalive.and do not waffant to defintleconcluston, Accordrnglo F.O.Schrader,(tntro.to palicararraelc.. p. t). ." tne Ahnbudhnyabetongs to the classol Samhltas,the towerterfli_
SaivaWorksAnd Tantrasol Kashmii ol whichhavebeeniixedin lheergltlL696turyAD ',iri,oo'ii-zzr.tn ",,
Chapt€r-1 Nada,Bindu,Kala,€1c.,are d€scribed. The evotution of the vowetsandconsonants hasbeendealtwit,. In the mann€.ot otherTantras, thisworkalsodescribesthe nervoussvslem. the work .Comhglo the obiectsand meansof knowledge, dgfinjreknowtodse or ooFct as r rea y exrsrs. :?::I.-:l ff.1": Ine means by whchthisknowledge is oblainedis pramara. T! be identitied wilhGodissupramely blessedlha).Dhatma --.._Jnanaafe ano the waysleadingto it.This knowredge rs (-sa!-t?ra) and ,ndiredor interc-tiat twofoto, tparoksa) ";:""..':lt:li:l unarmaagarnrsot two krnds,viz.,one thal teadsdrreclti and the otherindirecllylo the worshjpof God. Thisworkgives(Chap.3gJ a prccedweot Mahabhisekaas a remeoyagarnstall diseases,as a meansol destroying enemies andaflainingalldesiredobjects. lt may thesixty .lopicsof bepointedoutthatthjsworkstates(xji.20_29) Samkhya.These, however, cliflerlromlnosernentroned tn Ite na@-uaflkaquoledby vacaspati.Fromchapter rri. 18_29 ,t appearsthatthedoctrinesof Kapila's Samkny_ranrra were dtvrded lnlotworadalas calledpakda a d y/kala andihal the two con_ larned32 and2g lopicsresDectivelv Thiswork states(xii.32-33)that Hrranyagaroha rormutateo M/o ". _,yoga-samhitas, on€caed NitodhaJoga andtheolhetKanEWga. The highlights of the conlentsot the Ahlrt,udhnyaarc given , gensratway,we may srarethal harfot the a :11Y.,:T"f.S.ll ramota Oeatswithocullism,theoretical and pracical,o.,e_lourlh wrlhphilosophy andoneJourthwithothersubjecls. Chapter1 Dialogue b€weengharadvaja andDurvasas:lhe forher.s enqutryaboutthe mysterious Sudalsara_caftra o, Visnu, uurvasasrevealslhat|hesolutionol the problem wasobtainedby NaradafrornSivain the ,orm ol Ahirbudhnya. Durvasas,willingness to impartthedialogue between Naid; jn thefotm ol Ahirbudnnya-samhita,in andAhibudhnya, an abridged form(60chapters), theoriginathaving beenin240 cnaplers.
saivawofks4!q,E1li9!31-539!!g
17
of lhe wordsldarsa'a (V\' 7-); de notes 2. ExDlanation darsanafieanspr' Visn;'swilltobeisyamitisamkalpah), sL/(well'perleclly)conveying tp"r""ptiuirnought), bytimeandspacePower "*"un, in"io"" itit" o"ingunouitructed gtiUn"rion ol HigheslBrahhe concept of of Srlrt""r" God gunas of six the man,delinitionof ol Sudarsatawilh the Kriyasakli\acl\\e 3. I dentitication ishedI romHisBhull' Loro)as distingu liae, iorce'aspectol ol 'gak'which Meaning aspect). tutt"r iriii rioi."r lia", -s-rne existence any ol ) (Suksmavaslha suorteconait'on 'nan'lesta_ Fach onry elJects ils by {;hava)recoqnrsaole rslheomnrp'esenl a Sak';butthere lronol lile{bnava)has 'vibrationin thelormol lhe Lord's is Lalsnmi sa*trot ood. moonsome' whhHimasmoonlighiwiththe world'.connected JrcmHimonlyas an alt bule Oitt"rent ii.". rirft tn" "u.; itspossessor(dhamin)orexislence(bhava) tJtraima)istrom (bhava4llany namesol Laksmrmen_ iromonewhoexists slatedlo bewill(iccha)In sudarsana ti;nedandexplained. in aclion(K/ya) ile torn ol wisaom(preksaresulting Pralaya 4.Bhulr-saktl(materialcause)ascauseolcrealion jesliiueu artengtnuniiyof Narayana andHis sak'5-7 Accounlol crearLon rorns ol sudarsanasac\ivtlyv'7 8-12 va'iOUS oltneworlddJIi_9crea' (baseor suppod ril as adrhala VIll_lX) (chaptets t onandd,ssolulion conlirLarce prrnciple during {lll aspramanaregulaling " Jirin r"iit ,l ln-*ni"h it appearsas the regulaloroi (artha)InchoplersX andol sound(sabda)as trrrnqs vrews ol Philosoph|c rnciapler Xl andXll Diversity creation: aboril (chapVlll) Ditlerentopin|ons bythree pe$onslobeefjecled byditlerent ia) ' Supposed ere_ eleven or ten lour.iive.six seven'eight.nine' people lracell bacKIo anegg a loulsllre rbl Dilierent SLnya(Void) anotne'oody:udya(trueknowledqe)
18
ChapteFl
9.
SaivaWorks And Tantrasol Kashmif
thelat(diecl)andparoksa(indirect), saksatkaramaya also lwoformet Dharma the cause ol lhe ter being (mediate and Saksadahanaval worship) vyavad loldol Himwhosemanileslaworship) /adhara(immediate gods. Vedieand Pasupata (vtbhufD are all lhe lions isolihe worshipis ofthefirstkind,Patca€lraworchip secondlype.Twomundaneobjecls-afthaanaNama oneanolherinthe Theseanddrarmaaredependenlon senselhal eachmay be the meansto attainone or unslrument boththeolhortwo;dhamaistheuntailing notiheoihertwo.Moksais noia means(sadhana)bul an endin ilself(sadhYa.)
DescriptionolM6habibhuti-cakra(Ctealion,Continuance, Wirhdrawat).
10-12Descriptionot Sthiti-caka, Artha-adhvanand Sabdaadhvan. Pramana delined. 1'1. Necessityof Ayata,?t 12.6Description ot fiverecognised philosophical syslems,TL?yr, Samkhya,Yoga,Pasupataand the Sattuataor pancarat;a. This chapler has a specialimporlanceas { names lhe Samkhya,describedin it, as Sastianha(Systemof 60 lopics) which is the nameofthe oldestextantSamkhyatreatise, vjz.,lhe Samkhykarka, This chapterenumeralesihe sixty topjcsabul does not exPlarnlhem. Two kindsot yoga stated,viz.,yogaol Suppression(Nllodha_ yoga)andYogaof Action(Karma-yoga). Pasupatasyslem,describedin it. is nol identicatwithpasupata usuallyrelerredto by philosophical authors,bulwithAgamicSaivism on which the later Saivitesyslemsoi bolh the north and south ol Indiaare based.There,however,appeafs,to be a vague hint (xiii. 14) at the less philosophicalsects ljke Kapa|Kas,erc. Saltyalasyslernstatedto embrace1Olopics,viz., Bhagavat, Karman, Vidya, Kala, Karlavya, Vaisesika-kriya, Samyama, Cinta, lrlarga, Moksa. About the h€torodoxsystems (Buddhism,Jainism,etc.) xii_ 51 characte.isesthem as Sasfabhasa(pseudo-saslras)designed by Gods or Brahmarsisfor coniusingthe wicked. Severalsynonymsof Sudarsana ate give\ ol these,prana and Mayaare noteworthy, 12153mentionssome names(e.g. Umnmesa,lJdyama)ol oI ^ :sUOarSana, 13.
Statefient of the objects ol lile; summum bonum is atlainmenlol one'srealnature.thal is, the stateol Goct lbhagavana, bhagavantuayafav j 1).Two ways leading to the highest goal-jnan a and dhama, the lallat lead_ ing to th6 tormer.Two kinds ol true knowledoe_
19
andliberation discussed. Bondage oJthe quesiionas to who is lit for lhe ob_ Discussion lreaf jectsot lile(prrsadhas). Moreor lessconvenlional menlot castesandlhe periodsof lile. oJMantamaylkriyasakti.lnChap.17,i1is 16.19 Desciiption relatedhow eachletterol lhe alphabeihas three andoneSaklatornl. oneRaudraform Vaisnavaforms,
14. 15.
Description ol d/ksa. 20. calledraksaor yar_ of magicaldiagrams, 21 27 Descriplion upon Yantra-devatas lr.a,theirmeritsand medltating Mysticleltersplayan impodantpartin thechapler. 2&29 30-32 33. 34. 35.
Dealwithworship. andpractice. Outlineof yogatheory
36. 37.
Sldarcana'yantrc. N/odeol worshipping desciplionol theimageolthe sixteenarmed Detailed Srdarsanasby lhe Kingin timesof danger,e.g ' at_ lack by lhe enemy-FirstParl. Originand cureol diseases;curesare magicalriles,
38.
Seefifra. oneto use62pravartaka'asttas. Spellsenabling a maleriallorm whelheror notarsftashave Discussion
SaivaWorksAnd TantrasoJ Kashmir 39.
40.
praclically prescrib€d. nomedicine Description ol Mahabhl:reka whichleadstotheacqujsitionol alldesiredobjects,cu.eol all maladies anooe, slructionof all enemies. The storyof the lirstjntervention oJthe Lordto tight
Origin,Presiding Deity,etc. oJarga,rDantfas described in Chap.19.lreansof a king'sknowingaboutthe divineweapons andblackmagic{abhlcara)used against himandmodeol counieracting them. 42-43 Powerol Sudarsana-ma ntra. Seeinfra. 45. Delinilionol idealPutohita,Sudarsanahoma.corcnation. Descriplion of Mahasarr'-karman whichcanaverlall evils,and securewelfarein thisworldandlhe next. Namesol eadierkingswhopedormedit. Chapte.s 33,42,45,48, 49, so-ancienl stories intendedto
illustratethe effectol divineweaponsand oi certan amuletsor lalismans. 59 Explanation of Vaisnaviie mantas (grosssubfleand thehighest).59,2.3g-explanation oi theffistiiveslan, zasol lhe Putusa-sukta A resumeol theconlentsoi thisSamhila. 60. Resumeol contenlsot thisSamhitawhichis charac, terisedas containing the statute(v/idhiol SrnaKnyaYogain ils totality,as be;ngthe essenceto Tantras (lartra-sara) andas beingrheantJorlhe memDers or thethreehighercasles. Thereis a supplement whichenumerales 560 namesol Sudarsana arangedin groupsaccording to theconsonant ot lhe alphabelwithwhichtheybegin.
21
TANTBA MALINIVIJAYOTTARA This Tanlrais ihe lorm ot the dialoguebetweenDeviand to the havingbeingcommunicaled thesacredleachings Paramesa. sagesby Kumaraor Kartikeya portionof lhe workit appearsthal a Fromthe intrcduclory ninecroreverseswhcL Tanlra,corqpnsed wat4,Stddhayogisvati BhedaBhedabheda accordingto Saiviteteachings inrerpreledlhe to abridgeil in three and;bheda.lts hugebulkmadeit necessary beentheparl having principaltopic ofdiscussion croreverses,lhe lt waslurlher Ma"iviaya' wasentitl€d ol vooa.ThisaDndgement as lhe is regarded presentwork lntorZ.OooversesThe snin"enea lhat the it seems shorlestlorm ol ihis work.Fromihe vorsei'13 probably lhe was earlier part ol lhe Siddhayogisvatimata Siddhantamata., io theAgamaclassol works' the Malinivijayoltara,belonging and is oJ unknowndata' is supposedlo b= ot detineauthorship (Vol 1' p 35 ot lantla/oka on the .lavaiatt'a,in his commentary that lhe observes 17), verse tli.xxix oi fasnmir seriesol Texts' il occuglory of Malini' lo the is so calledas,owing Maliniviiavottata lo all Tantras of Saivite schools amongthe oiesa o'ro;inentposition is Malini So' Maia' by also known N'lalini is ll whichit is superior. alphabet ot the ol letlerc lhe genericternlor lhe series iscalledPaNamalini' alphabet ot Devanagari Theusualorder vowelsandconso_ Whenlhe knownas Malrkaor S/ddha oooularlv Unaramalini is called p'o'n'""uously. lhe alphabel n"n,. ur" tok"n lirst place the Na occupies which in chie{lystandingfor lhe order has re_ remarks' M Kaul as and Phalast.The Maliniviiayoftara, Uftaramalni ol Ihe ol application modes servedior iiselllhevaious ;r the mvsiicpraclicesas Svacchandalantadoes ol the thelirstverseol theMa'ltiviayol hasexplained Abhinavagupta as possibleThe in h; i/lalinivijaya'vartikaasthoroughly tataTantra in scope So' the limited is iuitix", ^" the very title suggests, Varlikana\e In lhe up be taken oornlsof Marnl,whrchcouldnot a\ow' fanlalokais fhe Tantaloka ln Abh'navas Leencliscussed quote Kaul's l\,4 To Tanlra above edlyadetailedexpostionoi the
Salvaworks And Tantrasol Kqrshmir
observaions, "Abhinavasays in the lart?/okalh allheMalnjviiava rslhe essenceol the Trikasystemwhchagainrepresents thep;th andmarrowot thediflerentteachings ot theLordenunciated in the ditlerentschoolsol Tantra. fhe Malinivijayottaraconsists of 23 Chaplerscalled Adhikaras. The numberof versesin the Adhlkal.as in orderare 50. 60. 6g. 41,35,29,s6,135,82,37,47,42,61,43,47,6A 39.A1,101,62,36,34,43. Thetotalnumberol versesis 1267.Wegivebelowa rapidsurvey
,
Theobjectsol knowledge aredividedintotwoclasses.viz. (1) Acceplable-Siva,Sakti,Vidyesa,Mantra,l,,lantresvara,
(2)Avoidable-impurity, actjons,Maya,theentireworldasthe creationoI Maya. Thesecretot successrnthespheresof bothmalterandsoul hesIntherightdiscnminalion belweenlheacceplabte andtheavoid.
aDte.
TheSupremeControllerotthe universeis omniscient, all-do, ing,allsustaining andinfinite.As desireatthe timeof creaaion, He evolvesoui ol His ownsell the eighttoldVijfranakeyalas. He ordajns lorlhemthefLrnclionsol sustenance, deslruction, preservalion and benelaction. Fortheirspheresofaction,he revealssevencoresol manlraswiththeirrespectjve ambits.Allthesemantrasarethe liv_ ingpsychicalforces;theyfulfillhe wishesol the Sadhakaby conierringon himlhe fruitslhat hedeserues. TheSerlmanifests ilseltjna foudotd way:Siva,Ivlanlramahesa, .Manlresa . and l\,tantra. Srva,is LordHrmsetf. Vilianakatars lhen A,'lanteby one degrcedueto the delilementor mata. andkarman. Malais imperfect knowledgefrom whichspringsthewotld.Kaman rs acnonts general.virluousKarmanleadsto pleasure,and lhe /everseof I to Dain.Sa/€/adenoleslhe anus of //yasin generat, theirtieldsbeingconslituted by thetotalityoi categories tromtala to earth Rudras,numbering llB andheadedby Angusthamatra, arc appointedas Mantrcsvaftsis accotdance withthei.merits.TheV
sages as theydeserve.The rewardBrahmanandothercaccording andavoidboihacceplable ollheknowable, tearnthesacredscience do so tromthissages. able,IromBrahman,etc.,andl\,lanus lo Ol lhe sevencroresof mantras,one'hallhas,according the will o, Siva.acquiredimmorlalilyafterlavouringnumbersol tromthe earthto maiter,canbe viewedfrom Eachprinciple. lifteendistinclanglesof visionduelothesevenviewersconsidered ilselJThoseJrom to be eltherSakliorSaktlma,andto theprinciple duelothe fromthkteenstandpoinls PurusaloKalacanbeuiewed to Sakaiatherein.Mayais lookedat ol perceptibility inapplicabilily reduclion ol two liom elevenanglesol visiondueto theadditional is without diver_ up to lhe lastpincipleol Sivawhich standpolnts sity. The GururankingwithSiva,is versedin aillhe aboveprinci plesin theirtrueferspective,reveaislhe polencyol manlrasHis lheinspiration meretouchlreestheSisyaol allsins-Hepossesses of the livefoldRudraSakti,viz. Rudra (i) unllinching devolionlo O thesuccessof themanlrawhichcanleadto theimmediale oi thedesiredobjecl, acquisiiion (iir) control overallcreatures, lo completon, allundertakings {rv) bringrng (v) poelicfaculty. is Arava whichcan be ac_ ol Rudrasaktis That inspi@tion refleclionincantaquiredby speech,conscious menlaldiscipline, tionandcenlresol ihe body.
Saktaisthatstagewhichcanbeatlainedbycontemplationo alongwilhspeech. the objeclof meditation isthenameollhatstagewhichis reachedbydeep Sambhava ol con_ insighl;in it,thereis totalabsence sPiritual andpenetrating objeci. cenlration on anyparticular inthelightof canbeinterpreted Theabovekindsofinspiration
24
Chapt6r-1
lrve states,viz.,/agrai(waking),Syapna(dream),susuprldeep dreamless sleep).turya(thefourthstate.i.e.,mantramahesa and lutyatila(beyondIhe lorrth state)i.e.,Slyasakr:sThe svnonvms pindastha=Saruaiobh;dru, of thesefive statesare respectjvely pracaya=Rupalitaani Padastha-Vyapti,Rupastha=Mahavyapti, Thethreelold maniteslation oJthetranscende ntalSelftsaver" age sell,energyandSiva.Thes6 conslitute thetrjadof tundamenlalswhjchtorrnlhe mainthemeof the lrlka philosophy. As M. Kaul obserues, "itcoverstheenlirefieldof fafivasoJSajvism, theAtrran overlapp n9as mdnyaslnosebeg,nning w,tnard e,,drng wJhearlh lhe VtJianakala: Vidyaor Sakr,thosetormMantela Mantrcsva? andthe restconstituting theslaleof Siva_ Fromthepointofviewolevolution, the lafuvas aredividedinto lour heads,viz.,(i) Ea hly,(ii)Materiat, (iij)l\4ayic, (iv)Saktic. The lirst is pervadedby DharikaKata.ll hasa single Taflva, oneletier,onewo.ld.onemantrarepresenled bythelete; KSAand Ihes '(leenwoy'ds.The secoloisDervaded byApyaya ntKata.Iwenryrnreep'rrctpestromwalerupwards andtwenty_lhree letters.7Aand orhers,are assignedto il. InclLrded in it are fivewordslivewords, lve martlasand56 worlds. Thethirdis pervaded by iheBodhinjKalain whichareseven pnnciples, 2Sworlds,sevenleners,lwo rrarlras. Thelastoneis pervadedbyUtpuyjniin whjcharelhreep.inci_ . ples, threelatters,eighteen worlds,onewordand onemantz. The abovefour classesare presjdedover respectively by ^ . Brahma, Visnu,Rudraandlsvara. Welinda description of howlhe inherentSaktiofLord,at the cosmicstage,ovolvesas cognilionand activitywhenHe has the urgeof manilesting the phenomental world.Jtanasakfiisthe Jacultylhatleads todeterminate knowlodgeas thrsjssoandnotolher. wrse K4iasakll:sthe lacuttyby whtchthe resotvelet suchand sucha lhiig cofie to light'is carriedout in acrron. as Puruamali rcptesenlinglhe entiregamulof .. -atohabel :S?klappears Ine trom4 to KS4.paramesvara spursAghoralo action.
SatvaWorksAnd Tanllasol Kashmir
25
withthetorme/sdesire,thelattervitiatosMayalrom tnaccordance whichproceedlhe difterentletterswhich,again,arethe sourceol in general. knowledge O1the endlesslormsof Saki,lha chielateApaa ot Ghoztari, Paraparaot Ghora,and Paraot Aghota Apam,alwayssunounding marchby attaching drivesllvasin theirdownward theRudrasouls, causos h'ndranceto the themto the obioctsol sense.Parapara attacheslhemto goalol life, and the iheir progress o{jivastowards pain Para leads andoleasure /i,- s to thehighest the mixedlruiloJ endol life.i.e..Sivahood. in whichalso Saktlappoars,has already fhe Uttarcmalini, lo. beenrelerred Thelhreemantras,in respeclol lhe abovetriad,ale givenin 'he phraseology ol thediilerenlpartsol the humanorganism of the six sysl€msot the palh ladhvan)is The assignment essentialylhe same in bolh lhe PuNamaliniand lhe Uttaamalini above.thelatterditfersfromtheformerinorderoJthe As mentioned letlersof thealphabet. of thethreematfrasof VerseslV 19-27statelhe application Para,Aparaand Parapara, is a must andlhe avoidable oJlhe acceplable Ihe knowlodge yoga individual the union of the whichmeans ol for lhe attainment soLrland the universal-Llke Jhana, Yogaleadslo the goal of life, as it is derivedlrom Jhanaisol threetypesaccording sialedbefore. livingrealisation and trom the whatis heard,whatis contemplated it as is dell wilh in the with The first is concerned of.thereality. study of thoseletitsin a deeper The secondrequires scriptures. The picking the fundamentals. out theirtotalitywiththe obiectof possible the is on it the trulh'seeker; thirdmarksthelinalslageof previous stagebeingfiled. The yogi, hasto passlhroughlour stagesonthe pathof yoga. heisdesignaled in accordance withthedegreeof divineinspiration, He is and Siddhatama Siddha as SamDrapla,Ghalamana, teacha successionol inititation through SamDraDta whohasreceived reskains is onewhorepeatedly ers.andlivesuo to it. Ghatamana
26 ChapteFl
SarvaWorls And Tantrasoi Kashmir
',.ffi *:{*[flt;i##x *.P;,"111;:"1",:il:l'r**l,l*;::i::"rhiHi:
27
As regardsexlernalor physicalworship,he shouldworship elephant-headed anddwarlish. Thisls to Ganesaas three-eyeed, by ihe coniemplation oI Siva as seated on the sixlold iollowed be Dharma, Jfiana, Vairarya, Aisvarya and Karnika, as al Ananta, seal a sward, a shield, fiercelooking, having massivejaws, and ng beaf andsurrounded bytheeightdeities(Matrkas). evebrowsknI together Thenhe shouldcommence the sacificewithlwo vesselsol gold,onebigandthe othersmall,andtwocanopiesof wfiileclolh areto beinvokedto wardotl evil overthem.Indraandotherdeities srrallervesselis passedround,andil6walerallowed inlluence.The is lo be prepared. The fire, to trickledown.Thenlhe Yajfia-kunda an earthenpot,shouldreceivethe carred in a coppercontaineror oi birth,etc. He shouldperlormhomawilh severalceTemonies teciledane hundredtimesandlhe anclllarymantras mulamantra len lrmes.Thehomabeingover,heshouldgoto sleep. Thedisciplehasto observelhe lollowing vows: 1. He wouldalwaysofierworshipto his delty,Ijre,preceptor andlo thegoddess.
ril';ft il{flififfr d#"|i"i,;4ffi$rt#:",:."s ,."-i:!i"il':{:1".,::::fl
:ilTx';;tTsJT:?:ff """: prddrJca o, .,, ;:'_(il: :::,":i,:;'ff:i"",,:i,;?;l'e"*o,,he
riiii.,nr*:r, *!j;!!iite*,#' ";:Xi i,i::illi illi! ii:,i,: ";:;:,:::[Z,i:,j:i:,":,i ii;:_ji;,
0,'.',,'"n,",,, * "ii,5['#:?Y#*X#i,.; ji'"';;gou "' ',"" ij"]#"il[T*iool
des'rins roperrorm sacn,,ce. rnus,
2. HewoLrld noi eatanything wilhoulofferingit to them. 3. Hewouldnotusetheproperlydedicated to the deily,guru andCandr, 4. Hewouldnolbe idle,andmuslavoiduse{esspursuiis. 5. Hewouldbelirm inthe practiceof yogaor in the recilalion ol mantra. Whenthe preceptor is convinced of the sincerityandfilness of the personseekinginitjaiion, he (lhe preceptor) shouldgetthe mysticdiagramdrawnon a carefullyselectedpieceof groundn accordance withlhe ruleslaiddownin \he Malinivikyoftata-tanttu. Inthecenlreofthediagram,heshouldworshipBhairava, andpray to Himihal He mayresidein his bodyso as to makehimqualiiied ior iniliating ihe disciple.Afterthis,heshouldfeelthalthesix kinds of the Patharepresidedoverby Bhairava, thatlhedivinespirithas enteredrnlohis bodyandthal the cloaksof mala,concealing his k nshipwithSiva,havebeenshed,lhuslayinghisbodycomplelely barelo him.At this stage,he shou'dconsiderhimsellindentified
-q+fttrirf #,'*"'":ii;*-ff d;,r*-ttffi I #'ilff"i:::['n:, ";2i i,i: ;::::x,
+; #*ruk{*l*ip;i,ir.ffi +li";l';slr:nn:::i[:::**:i;#mfu ili1]:;:t#
28
Chapter-1
isrobe ;il[,'ffffifJ",:i'#li:,ffy]]Tl"l'"djscipre this
entire universe .fealitv; isjnme;t prop ".,r," "ni""il!l"Jo?
fi,Jff :;"l|:#::i",ffffi :lT,1l; "",,,rli"rH:r,,:'.'n,":"Ji,
?iili,l] l:tx$t*:: il [i!:iiil"iiii:ff?,it;t'",tffi
rousetheserp.ent-pox/er in him,andmoveh upwadlrcm oneCakra ro.anoth€r lillit reachesBehmarandhta.fhedis"ipf", tnu" ,-n-if"i oy nrspreceptor withtheSupremeBeahty. witnesses rhedesrr;
$::;;,:":';ffi :ly:{i;ft*[yj,f;jF&;il;.;;:;
-* toacquire rnvstic '"-"[:1""]:?'::"fi5,!".1"""1il;T:i
ffil,rffi ilr"**H";, ?:T1 ifi!:i.}1ft i:TlJxffi
:"#ililffif i":J;#:i'#"#Ji""1':t"'astobeheves,n'
savaworrsf\q3!!999..i9$4i
29
conquerlhe adoptedfordiJletenldhaqM' hewillcertainy method, entifecosmosMRGENDRATANTRA seclrons' in print,conlainslwo fhe Mrgend?-tanta,available Rudra to the Th€ Tantra belongs and Yogapada. calleC,Viclyapada il, to philosophy, in conlorms taughl systemof ctassot Tantras.The compiled al having been is ol a lale date the Pasupalasyslem.lt pubished in 1930 and King ol Kashmar, theinstanceof HariSingh, by NarayanaKantha,son ol TheTantrahasa commenlary grandson of Sasikara Kanlhaandlatherof FIama and Vidyakantha a quoies of Utpaladeva' from the /svaras/ddhi Kantha.Narayana gth the upperterminus A.D.;lhis iixes cenlury iamouswrilerol the Kashmirian. Kanlhais typically date.Thecognomen ol Narayana's have belonged lo Kashmir' he to So. appears inlothirteenpalalaswhichdescribe diuided fqe vidyapadais viz.,pasu,pasaandpasupatiTheseare lhe threefundamentals, alsowiththetheology sectiondeals thelhreemaincalegories.This yogapada palh dealswiththe eighttold ol lhe dualisticSaivas-The practicewhich of variouspro_ helpsiheacquisiiion ol concentrative
gln*ru1 j:lr*ih,"'.','*d#"'H';:::J,!{,:: o"'n"o rhe,mpur;rjes accompan'nn,n" 0,,n";,"oitL""tl?lJi;
"t
Jt"xili",*###ii,",ff i:ffi'ff #:{niil#":L'i#, Thepreceptor, who hasacquiredcon
aredesctibed as lollows: Thethreeiundamenials doerolall,andislreefromtheimperS va isomniscient.lhe He is alwaysbusywiththelivelold fectioncausedbVdefilements. jnvolutaon, preserva_ polenhal lunclion,viz.,evolution,sustenance, relalingtothelivenamesol tionandassimilation.The fivemaniras, in evolution, etc.,tormthe promi Patiand operaliverespeclivley nenlpartsol hisbodyandthebodyas a whole.lsanaoccupiesthe placeoi lhe headthusindicating supremomasleryoverthewhole ot lhefacewhichisthe oi crearion, theposition Tatpurusaoccupies life. symbooJlhe innermost essenceof all organicand inorganic vilalising Aghoraor Ghoraconsltutes theheart,andrepresentslhe pnncipe ol thelJnivrse.Vamadeva theprivalepa{s oflhe occupies body,as a body;lhisimpliesmanilesiing lhe worldol creation-The whole,is represenied bySadyolata, andimplieslhepowerolcreat' inqmanilold lormsal will.
:mru:l**1ru*hljl'#:"#41"1"^'#"fr: Ii,#i;i;:i,ffi';,111',ff """,;"'n" "1ffi
"li?Jl",n]il;:
*", cave orace,, -,.n"J,',ij5iT;iil"'J!::?;,nfi1["]T"
'Jtr ruli;;i:ruruirh* *".:.;.f il'lrJTU:ffi
pranayana.,All sense-actjvities mustb6keplundercontrol. Hemusi
i,lliiifl i,il;,?i;311?i":1,'i""",]".fi X?ilIHl;l""mtlii:
Saiva Works And Tantrasol f\ashm'r From the lext we learn that the otd Saiviteshad to struoole . naro ro raltonatlsetheworshipotlhe person |ed Lord Siva b€ing)is lik€lhe Lorddevoidof his pedectionIn , _- .,Pasu(lettered xnol/yte-0ge and action,and havtngtheltmitationsbringinghrm down ro rne owesl posdjonin life.He is pesFtenl in his deair;to evotve.
rhrough hishe,,oms of rife,
hjs ll-".jlii1,:.?y 9l"du."l"voturion oonos ot malenalism becomeweak,Ai lasl,theindivioualsoul rec. ognrseslne radicalopposilion ol matter,and caslsoil tls domina. l|onneverlocomebacklo itsfoldaoain The letters lpasa)are lourloli-pravn,!6abala,Karma and ., Mayakarya, an innaledelilement resulting kom rnegoodand bad aclions,concreteor abstracl. Mayamsansthatintowhich theworlddissolves, andremaiins . pdentially€t thetrmeotDissotution, andoutol whichrtdevetops ai me rlmeot creation, The tourlhpasajs InlluencelnatAlayaexerclsesoverth6soulin leflers. Theworkisanabridgement ottheKamlkalarlra.lndrais said , nave ro recelvedlhe docttineol Karnikagama wnilewearingthe armourottheshapeot the shap6of a lio;(Mrgenara). Thtsis"why lhe Tanlrais calledM/oendra_ Insrrumenls In op_ ^.-,.^l:t"-,:^T" 1" "iJrequent useof surgrcar erarlons, as rnpasuJalsana-prakarana lverse1g),has led some schohrsto thinkthattheworkonginated In the age of SusrJtaor raler rhepres€nltorrnoftheSus/uta-samhita is genera,ly pracg6,n me seventhcenturyA.O.;the Safthitais believed to haveorjgi, nateda fewcenlu.iesb€loretheChrjstian era,andappeared in t;e eartycenturies A.D. NETRA TANTRA The editor.M-S.Kaul,staesthat tt appearsto have been w l. Ien on the modeloJlheSvacchanda-tantra whichis, therelore,earIeJ. t.he ,velrais ot the nalureol a manual dealing with the mooe ol Inflaron tolheworship of Sivain the narneand {;rm ot Amrtesvara ajldj\rrtyulinnatha.The Tantrais so ca ed as the mantra,peculrarlo Inedeltyglor"iedin (, occuDiesastmporlantaplace amo.g mantas as the eyes in lhe human bodv
31
ln a sort ol prelude,lhephilosophyol the eyes of Siva' in His ghairavi'senquiry is as to how the embodiedlorm, is discussed pertormlhe coniradictorylunct!ons ;ves ol the Lordsimultaneously regarded liottection anodestruciionandhowlhethirdeye,usually ln response' lo ashes aswalery,could emit lire thl reducedCupid Bharravasays l IVv real nal.rre... etpressesitsellin lhe lrrnuelorm of wil *rsoo'n and work. lt rs only becauseof lhis trrplemanileslationol My mJ rearnalurethal the volariesadole'ne as the lhree-eyed physical commonly light lhe of eves svmooliselhe lhree centres th" sun, toon and fire As the realnalurealonecentral*/,o*n "a ses al powers,and as lt only shines elernallythroughthem' the I aDoarenlcontradiciionbetweenprotectionand destruclionloses lavourorlrown can eye the same force.and,therefore, The work, commentedupon by Ksemaraja'consists of 22 Chapters(adhrkaras)thecontenlsofwhich are briellyas follwos: 1. 2. 3. 4.
Expositionol lhe unityol real nalure stalementof Amrtesvaa'mantta l\,4ystic Methodof otleringsacrifices Inillationto lhe worshipof the doily
6.
Theanotntlngceremony Grosslrom ol divinemeditation
7.
lls sublle lorm
8.
lts supremeJorm
L
Somelorms ol the delty Atlendantsol the deily
5.
10.
andKulamnaya to Utiararnnaya Worshipaccording 11-12. 13. Opennessol the worshiplo all humanberngs 14. 15. 16.
Supremacyofthe mantlaovel olhet manlras lts proteilive etlicacy Variousobjecisaltainableby the worlshipot Amrtesvara
Sava WorksAnd Tanlas ot Kashmf 17.
Useol Amrtesvara-nanala in amuletswithdifiererntends
t8_
Amrlesvariand modeol Herworship Purificatory ritesfortheobsessed
19. 20. 21. 22.
Yoginis andtheirfunctjons Nalureandsjgnilicance of manlras Glatilicalionol Amrtesvah-mantra RUDRAYAMALA
33
Purnagrn' to each.Verses51-53 mentionKamarupa,Jalandhara' Uddivanaand certainolher placesas Kalika-pithas be Thouoh a yila devoteeis said, in some otherTantras'lo yellhe Rudtayamala enCowedwitn h,gnmoralandelhcalqualities yirashoJld wors'rplhewfeo{ anol"ero iz8.:- -:otprou'aestnata wine iii" o*n *lle ourningwith the iire oi passionand gay with SVACCHANDA-TANTRA sys' This work s ot lhe Agama class lt belongsto the ftka leadingTanlras oithe tem ol KashmirianSaivaphilosophy,ltis one 01Daksinacara,and oneof the best mantrasastras ts mainalliludeSvacchln fheveryr'lleollheworkInd,cates free dndpureCrf So rl 's purely oa reans F eew,l .lt rele'sto lhe and Matangafantas Mtgendta i onisic. tt taoicattyaife $lrcm l.le schoolo{ philosophy' dualistic the r"presenl ot-oiiiinu""ru, *i "n ll rs Thetooics a; the dilJerentchaptersindicatethe contenls ll ls a lopics Ta'lnc usLal the main,vriludlslic,and dealswlth ol a'ls slx cIJel lhe upon 4ol dwell nolrc;aoleiealJrelhal il does (rilual) Marara,elc. lis accenlis on lpasana (medilation)and kria ' remarkswe learnthat it is an abndqe_ Fromthe lnlrodLlctory a hundreocIo'e versesTho npnl ol Ihe ortgnd work;ompnsrag work is ol unknownauthotshipand dale' (ll1h ll has a commentary,called Uddyota,by Ksemaraja l'ere lhal werearn commenlary In lhrs cenrA D.) Fromrelerences. lhe aJ which of Srhaflrka the Including co'nnenlalles wereearlrer name Kashmirian a typically thor was BhullakaRaianaka
,ffI.:?:':;H5x?tr;,l"i.i!it,; jjqfl :?1i1"#f ff:i:i; ffi;nfl: \:J:::ij: ;:?1ii$ili iifi:ffii":1tffi v/orl, rt,sstated,In lhe colophon. to be a pad ol Ihe Rudayamah. HighJighlsof its contentsare as lollowsl
rhemodes j"," erd ", kn|a naoa.. ",,'^l;::";;5::;,::;fnilTfr ,orionrs-a,ana(,e-emf;;;;:l;,";:7;:;:J'::,1:':n\
;ffi:iJ:,i.T:il'.?t',,# ;:::*1":"1""*i:*nru;ff *" il:".::ff:liTi'in;',' iT;H,;i ;:#::l::"""i1# """" 11s.125)
Maravlo/a rssrated v".",n". i,"iili';ilii";::jl:: ;",iil:.ilo5 :i:: :::" ""0 jlilf;1f ll.".lli :ld;;;;;;;:;#T;:"Bl;[:J.::Jl: ';':i:,Y::'* *; i;;;i,;,Jj''!1i"?'.''""ii;l : *::'||,:(i:l1il
Li,::
I "ers€s
lt
li"",li
mentltsddhls. onddrr""r"o n,'n," ,i.Jr,i"}r[]r;dliilJ: penectyoqin.
17,verse4)aneutogyo,the,4/har_ ,.,. .JbisTarkaconlajns(parala vdyedadeclaringthataltgods.atjbeinqs.all! Kamawdvdand MahavdvT tiveinil.versi r *r, ^i ,'n--l'-.""g9s
jl: :il:I-ft1iii::i#:' :::"-r.i:!:!,:ii;;.;;;il;;Jffi
rlr. caKr'aswlthin the body.27. SB-7Odeat crl
.ak',sand sahasrc;a ;;;; -il ;,ff #i::TfllJ'#H;
lo Ksemaraja,who is menlionedin verse 5 ol the introduclron hrm he as which' interprelaion gives monistic a his commenta;y, dualisticllnter seltslatesin th; c;ncludingverses,supersedeslhe oretalionoJearlierommentators Fromthe concludlngverses of the Vlvrtion Stava-ctntamant (modernBiibiharorVyajibror')a we lear;thal he livedat Vi-iayesvara was a citv aboui 30 miileseasl ol Srinagarin Kashmir'Ksemarala cen_ 1Olh oi nunin"u"g,ptu*ho livedIn lhe lalle'haltor lhe ou'o'f of severdl was lhe aulhor iri o, ea.rvpan ir ir'e rllh Ksemaraia
SaivaWorksAnd lantrasol Kashmar otherworkswhose numberis overa dozen. t 5 Chaprers.catjedpala/as. 1r De ^^ contents -:!:^:,v:cchanla.tanlraconlajns are indjcatedbelowl t. Manlroddhara fl. Arcadhikara llJ. Adhivasa tV Diksabhiseka.prakasana V. Vl.
Taltvadi_djksa_prakasana paicapranavadhikara
Vll. Abhyantarakaladhikara Vlil Amsaka_njmaya,sambandha satnirupana tX. Abhisla-siddhi-sadhana x. Bhuvanadidiksa_nirupana xl.
Tattvadhava,srslyadj,njrupanalattvataLa_sthili-njrupana
Xll. Dharanadikramenalattvanam saksatkara-nrrupana-32 Xlll. yagaradhana XtV Mudra-taksana ABHINAVAGUPTAI AND HIS WOBKS
risure inthe,rerary andcuf i.1li,":itT,: S_"1",lsrandins i;iii;;;;d;ffi l;;il:,;,r^::T:l
I;lif ,i:I":l** -T."". i'llJili"'ff;l',::il: ;:l;ln::*:""P::'; J:jii"".idi r":i"i[r,i][i"rTli J
wnler, heisknown roha""*.in*
",
ot therantratokLa anayaratnmsika. ,{:J:!: v/vala,a 1":""::r5::r:.tl conrain so;eind."."" !:; Iile. "oiriniili.i"{ BornIn a tamityotBrahminshe ,fi.. r
!.;i!;lili,lilL,.iii"Bfl ll^,::"".^,1":"1,:, ir;.;"-jiiJ illliii;
;ii:i::flli"T,,,'#i",#:';i:T:5Till;T'j#:iJ
35
wholivedin Antaruedial appearsto havebeenAtrigupta Abhinava (C A.D.)of KanaujHe mi 730'40 Yasovarman of king time the (C 725-61A D ) qated lo Kashmiral lhe timeof kingLalitaditya andratherNarasimhagupta' qrandlalher wasVarahagupta' ;bhlnava's and mother_ aliasCukhala.His brotherwas manorathagupta Vimalakala, in the secondhallot the ienih century AbhinavalloLlrished A.D. He namesseveralleacherswhoare statedto haveenlight_ The namesof his Gurusare given subjecls. enedhimon varioLls belowwithihe subjectstaughlby themagainsitheirnames: Tantra dualistic Vamanalha Bhutuaja- Bahmavwa - Dualistic-cum-monistic Saivism Bhutirala-tanaya Darcanas Laksmangagupta Krama and Tika pla'- PralYabhiy'ELaksmanagu underwhom Besides theabove.hereterslo otherteachersalso hesludiedothersubiects. worksaretheJollowing: Abhinava's Dhilosoohico'Tanlric Bodhs-pafrcadasil,a,Isvara'pratyabhijfra-vina rsini,MaIintvij aya' va11 ika, PaB martha-sara,Paratimsika-vi vtli, TantGsara' Tanlra-vata' Besidesthe above,Abhinavais knownto havecornposed meanllor ol lrikaphilosophy' theeseniials somehymnsconlaining hymns The followlng of the system popularlsing lhe .naintenets Bhaiava' Anubhavanivedana, Anutlarastika, may be mentioned: Mahopadesa' Krama-stotra' slava,Dehastha-devata-caka'stota, Paramanhacarca. vifitsati,Paramartha-dvadasika, TANTRALOKA It is a hugework in 37 Chapters'calledAhnlkas.ll has a calledlatlra lokavivekaby Jayaalhawhoisdescnbed commentarv. Heappea6to havecommenled lvlahamahesvaracarya, asRaianaka F.omhis commentaries abo ;pon Rlyyaka'sA/atukarcsatuasva. whoseolherson we learnlhal his lalherwas Srngaranatha
';: poe.ca, woa, ::':":,i" ::,:::l:xi:ili"":*l"i:",1t ",he -rayara'ra tne ror._;ffi ;il:ilJ,il,J[?"f;fl 'j,J eves ","#; Purnamanoratha (Ministefolkingol Kashnir) rurnamanoratha (lvlinisle I of kingol Kashrnir) Ulpala
I
Prakiisaatha Dhairnaraiha
(lt/jnister). Djscjpleo, malernal uncje,,Bjbhutidatta, son ot Kamamaladafla and grandsonol Laksmidatta
^. r_---_--_----r_-
s vd'atna sakratha s",nJ"-,n" .Ac!epteo Gubnnaralha
Krnguccala, I butresigned Srngdraniitha anersometime). ([,4inistef
--
f
\andiatna L.ankaratha
of Rdjardiha) Discipleof Subhatadatta. sonofTribhubanadatta, gran0son ofVisvadana) J Jayaratha (PupilofSamkhadhara)
SaivaWo*s And Antas of Kashmir
37
areas follows: Thenamesot theChapters ViRanabhedaprakasana, Anupaya-prakasana. Sambhavopayaprakasana,Saktopaya-prakasana, Anavopaya-prakasana, Cakro-daya-prakasana, Desadva-prakasana, kalatattva-prakasana, Tatlvabheda-prakasana, Kaladipradarsana, Tattva-prakasana, Saklipata-pradarsana, DiksopakramaAdhvopayogaprakasana, prakasana, Samaya-diksa-prakasana, Prameya-prakasana, Viksipla-drksa-prakasana, Samksipla-diksa-prakasana, SadyaTuladiksa"prakasana, Paroksa-diksaprakasana, utkranti-prakasana, Abhiseka-prakasana, Antyesti-prakasana, Lingoddhara-prakasana, Sraddha-prakasana, Sthandila-puja-prakasana, Lingarca-prakasana, raksana,Mudraprakarana, Ekikara' Parva'pavikakadi-prakasana, prakasana, (dealswith Unnamed thediversityo{ meansofattaining paramesvara who is but one),Saslrasammelana, Ayalikramanirupana, lJpadeyabhavadi-nirupana. ln lhis work,Abhinavmainlylollowslhe MalinivijayatantraThehistorical imporlance oftheworkisthatitgivessomebiographlcalandaulobiographical intormation. ll dealsexhaustively withallmatles,ritualistic andphilosophpresentation of the Kula ical,relatinglo Saivisrn. ll is a systematic andTantrasysems.Occasionally, il givesinformation aboutolher systems,suchas K/amagtc.The namesol the chaplersindicate ther contents.The highlighls of thephilosophical aspectoJlhework Thewoft reveals theproJound intluence olTanlraonAbhinava. But,rlls clearthat andwayol expres' hehasindependenl thinking s on. He followslhe authorltyof Saivagama lhough,in inlelpreta' tion,heshowsconsiderable approach oJtheaulhor oiglnality.The rsnon-dualislic, Theaulhortakespainslo eslablish thalthesolerealityis Cit is non-knowledge, Accordingto him,thecauseotSamsa€(rebirth) is not andknowledge Non-knowledge isthesolecauseolliberalion. wanto{knowledgewhich exislseveninaclodofearth,butil hasno rebi h.Non-knowledge butithasnorebirth. iswantoftrue orearth, Non'knowledge lt grows{rom is wanlol trueor pertectknowledge. thereleclon rnthelimitedsoul,blurredbylhe sixkatcukas(cloaks
38
Chapler-1
ot couets).vtz.Kata.Kala, Niyati,Bala, Baga,A\lidya.Irue knov,tl poge,qd(ou.reobv Onewhose Faswor- oul.a, o ,/r'ho anr.rality has altarnedthebeslconsciousness D/ksadestroysnon-knowledge,but salvationtakes place ai. . ter death. Liberationin lile (livanmuktDts aso possrotewhen non |\nowledgeisdispetted bVhnowtedge aflsingtromlhe corrprenenson ol l'_e_on-dLaily of lhe SuprerreBeing,and .rom'isrenng to lne sasr.as.t.Je know'edge,s s.lperior to D,lsa. Non-knowtedgeis divided into two kinds,thal pertainrng to purusatman(paurusajfiana)and thal belonging to inietect (b;ud_ dhalfiana).lhe lotmet growiingwith ihe body and the latter due to g_o ance or Sastra Eve- wher paurusajitanawea6 oL, satvalton 's ol oo5sbte so long as lne orl-e,k,no ol a/irra s n.l re.noveo That s why,even afterdeath,one who receivedDiksa is nol liber a ed duF J lhe DrFsenceot bauddhathana. Siva is slaled to be self*existeni ano manaestrequrnng no proof. He is eternal,immanenl,devoidoi ongtnarlo end. He is de, r"'"ld He B Bhuvana|\e receptac,eot enjovmantl. ::l_o-11": y,g.ana (dssJrringforms hke Fudra). Jvo Btndu t*e ine rcurd oonrono'lheKadambafloweror thelhrobbing eye_batrJ. /(ha(vord. Saboa,sa"-d), Mahle to.n{a.al, Devoleesger fhe .esu rs accord_ ,ngro Ine aspeclsmedraledupon. for example,one who Ihrnksol dhuvana OecamesBhuyanesba.L,berattonol the htgh€st ktno \ acqutredby the knowledgeot the above six aspecls. The ques on tS,il StvatSimmanent. lhen wny sroutdHe be .o_remptared as t-avrngstx aspecls?Ttseanswerrs.hal Ine srx asoecls ara by way ol iltustralrononly.He rs both im,nanenl and Again,jt maybeasked, it Siva is immanent,ihen how can be alonce immanentand lranscendenlal?The reply is this.A pitcher, rellectedIn a rrir.or,has .ls own seDaraleexislence. S nrraity,Srva DervadesI e world o. mov,nga1d non_movtng oojects,yel has a separals Fntily.So, He rs both Sarvakrll(rmmanenl) and Nr.atl, (ITanscendenlall Sivahas Inf,injleSa&lishke/ccha{desire)istjhHe is slated lo .-ave one Svalanl.ya.saklr. The reason,s Ihal lhis SvaEn!,ya-sah!l
Sava WorksAnd Tantrasof Ka
39
ac' Irom Himi lhis singlesakliappearsdilferently s Inseparable to c rcumstances corcJng 1tmay be doubled-il God has svalanlrya_sakr,then He s Theso utionrs notoneas thesaslralr es to eslabishnon_dualism n accordance (bhava) a thing is ils own Sakti ol ihal the condition trom the is nol different result; thus, Sakti ol lhe wrrhthe dillerence w Sakllmal idenlil ed th Ls One as the Sakllis So, Siva th ng rtsei. (lhepossessor ol sakt). between Theremaystilbe doubt lrue,thereis noditference d ver_ m!t!a ly d fleenl. So Saklis are Eul.lhe Sak and Sklimat. has same llre saying thai lhe is resolved by The dobl srly anses. many so Siva, having ng, cooking etc. e.g. burn Saklis, dillerenl Saktrsrs One; lhe d versityis only apparent,nol real-Not only His Saklis. bul also He Himsell appears lo be diilerent accordrnglo and upadesa( nslructron). bhavana(contemplation) The conclusionis thal Sakllisthe meansfupayarlo lhe atlarnmentoi lhe object(upeya),i.e., Sakfimal.lt may be obiecledlhat a lh ng s tLrllyknownin its entirely,not by ils pa . so, S va cannolbe knownby Sakli.The replyis lhat a tree,which has nsa, tupa, elc, can be known by its rupa alonw So also Siva can be known by Siva, possessedol cidananda(consciusnessand joy), is the nsp reroi the diversifiedworldcomprisingthirty'sixTattvas.He can be reaLisedby dhyanawilha mind devoidof Siva. The signilicanceol lhe ierm thairava is set forlh as lollows: He rs so calledas he maintains(bharanai)all, and makes sound (/avara). Again, he is called Bhairavaas He does good to those who are bhlru (alraid);thecause ol lear is samsaraor rebidh Or, BhairavameansOne who residesin the heartol thosewho, hav ng leat (bhi)al samsara,ctiesfor help.Or, He is the causeol lhe €va or din ot lear (bh, oJ bhava or existence.Anothersignificanceis ngenious.That wirich impelsthe slars is Bhera o/ Kala (lime).lts nature ol momenlariness,etc. is totallydefeatedby the class ol be ngs, called Bheravas,i.e. lhe Yoginswho, by therr yoga, have devouredtime. To lhem, He is manitestmelaphysically;so He is Bha rava. He is so calledas He is the Lordoithose Bhairavaswho
SaivaWod(s And Tanlrasot Kashmir move about in lhe sky and eanh elc. making a shouting sound (fayana)lor causjngalarmlo lhe peopleof the pa6!/type. The signiiicanceolthe word Devahas been slatedthus_One who plays (dlyyar) is Deva;this play is the ecslasyal the univrse encompassrngeverythinglrom siva to the earth. In other words, His play is the desire to excel all. Variousother meanings ol the verb dryathavebeen suggestedte.gy4rglsate (wshs to conquel. vyauaharaf tbghaves.i e. appears in a .ltusorylrcmt. dyolayatt tsnrnrng or Indrcating things),sluyate(rseuJogisedJ. /ara, (kno;s,. Srvars catledpa, as he protects(patt. He rs Sivaas he rs lutJ ol whal is good (sr'eyomaya): there|s nothingevitin Hrm. para His three Saktis, etc. shine in crealion, preservation, . de-ctruclon and the toJrth srateI luryaj.Hencelheseappeartwelve_ .9?myi is the only realjty;ithas o division.Th€n, how is there Ihe dlvisioninlo./adaard apda? Ihe rcptyts lhal diflerence arises oue ro lhe degreeof mala (impurity)thal covers rl. Jkana is staledas upeya(objective). Then, what ls ihe ,paya or-'means to it? Jfrana, being upeya, i1 cannol be upaya_ Nof is upaya.fhe meansrs the sub e /rianaas d,siinguished :llanltle |rom Sakta tiana elc. But. how lhe same /,iana can oe il once upaya and up.eya?n is conlusing to think of Itana as upaya and upeya.ln rcalily.siva is upeJ€.Bul, he is exlremelyrnanrlest, and ooes nor requ|leupaya.One thereshouldbe /bchasakt,twijt_lorce) io know Him. jhan?.is t:rpaya,then haw anava lhana lknowledgeot tne , ..lL sJblle) |s.caljed*flyopaya?The replyis lhal yoga and Knya arc nol orre'ent.wnen thedesiresol the nind are at rest,that is Arla. That jiana ilsell il ktiya canbe illustratedas follows:When a man thinks (l shallget', then lhe rnotionentersinlo the limbs. Jha.a, )ndeed,leads to salvation.lt may be objectedlhat, Oeyordlhe knowtedgeoithe independent,4lma4there s 10 satvatroni r.e. this knowledgertseltls salvalion.Then, how can knowl_ edge and salvalionbe staied as cause and etfecl?The answer is lhat the nalure ol Alman is Samvitot Caitanya,its proper knowt_
4',|
as cause edqels salvationSo.tho slalemel'lol ihanaandmo(sa an; eifecl,is nottrue:it is mer€lyimaginary The authorrelutesthe Vais€sikaviewlhat Saktisresidein rs sNa in the sameway as dhan a residesin dhazn' His stand is Siva thal irrai 'r t s positionis accepted,thenthe slatsment Onebecomesbaseless. Theauthoratsoreiectsthevieu/,expressedin dualisticSaslras' rhal the crealedbeingsare distrnctfromthe SupremeBeing H€ iotasttal eueMh'ngis nudra'saktisomeolthe Saklisol Sivaare inlintieas theyp€ryadeeverywh€ro.Ohers are limitedas theseare notpresentat all Places. It ]s statedlhat wbodhaor Samvdis bothquestionand anin theirbodyis swer.lt existsin bolhGuruand Siva:lhe dillercnce ol the goodel_ portionol the chapterspeak's Theconcluding conlents ol it' iectof studyingthe urork,andsetslorlhthe discusseswhetherSiva Chaplerii, calledArupaya-prakasana, makeslhe Thecommentator s ,eal'sedby somemeans(upaya). (upaya)' means by th€ posironclea;sva doesnotbecomemanilest grace His butthemenasappearthrough The aulhorstatesthal Samvidis the meansot the outwad manilestationof Kr,yaeic. Samvidis self_manitestln lhe absence oJit.thewo d wouldbeiadawithoutbeingmanifest' arenotprescibedlhen lr mavboarquedthal,il exl€rnalacts ol Guruelc as lhe meansThe on" ."u t.te toltte knowledqe autho/sieplvisthal allacts,odernalandinternal,d€pendon Samv'rd so thatthes; cannotbe the meansto it. Atlention,concentraton in this matteris ol no avail;so, thele cannotbe any iavadhana) of whichava'lhana aueslionoi bhavana(meditation,contemplation) olthose,who the attempts authorstatesthat i; theoreredisite.The (upaya), lulile' are to means seekiiie Supremeby resorting Being,it is siatedthat thenatureoflheSupreme Indescribing He neilherexisls;noris it thatHe do€snotexistnoris He existent' inter non-existent. He occupiesa positiontht cannotindependent radiance ot the secures and supremebliss, nalandexlemalmeans,
SarvaWorksAnd Tantrasof Kashmir
;:l"i;:il::""J";'".#:"'.?#lH:"":::::?lt "J""lJjiij; l*::H
+lfftr;t;iJf ,"#" fJ3':;Tl :?ili:ili ::Ti+hti'"
rr rsslaredthatone.who lakesdelightIn
the sell. is conlentwith the
Theilashingof lhe greallustreot Sivain th€ mindhasbeen the independence of Siva Hims€lfshining, said.Nowis examined shine.Beyondhim,thoreis no universe.The he makeseverylhing in theskyol rnind,showscrea' Lord,beingunobstructed Supreme As in a clearmirlorearth,walereic are retionanddeslruclion. f ected,so all the elementsof the universeare reflectodin cil. As the refectionpervadesa cryslal,whichis clearon all sides,so,in lhai is clearin all resp€cts,Rupaetc.are refleclecl. couscrusness withtheSupreme Ka!likaSakti. connecled S va is inseparably whichagainis lermed Theircombinedform is calledSamghatla universeis created.This Saktisvariously Anaendasakilrcmillhe calledKalakarcini,Matrsadbhavaelc. Besidesthe above Cidananda-sani,lhe,e is lhe /cchasakli whichis superirto all otherSaklis.This Sakd,beingagitaled,the istwolold,unagilaled and /cchasaktl AghoraDevisare born.Thus, agtated. islwololdaccording as whal Again,thereis JtalrasaAliwhich is to be knownis moreor less. is both Ksobhaka(agiftator)and Samvilor consciusness Ksolrrana{agitation orthatwhichcausesagitalion). accomplisher Thal,withwhich/bchabecoming ono,becomes ol aclion,is calledKsobhadhara whichthe commenlalor explains as yor,:That,withwhichthisonenesslakesplace,is th€ bhavas withinthebodyorlhe lettersbeginning withKa. Theoutward appearance ollheuniverse, thatiswilhin,iscalled Bia or thechielcause.The Svaras(vowels) arealsocalledEriaas theycauselettersto appear. The udbhava(source)s calledthedesir€ol8ibto create;by lhis,lhephenomenalworld looksditferent Thai,by lromCid-Almar. the unitywilh whichlhe desireto createhas fruition,is called ksobhadhara. F.ofi lhe Bia of the universealltho exiernalworld evolves_ to ThesupremeSpardaandjoy becom€v€rywonderluldue thecontactol /bcha(desire)and unmesallash). is of the natu.eol limitedmanifestation. Jada(unconscious)
:,I]fi p::'ff"fi$!i,i$l[ 3",ii;,ill,Lii."lli",i#"il'.i"Ji
Decomeslike Him.The commkentatoradds that such a personbe_ come€llxea lamp ndtedfromanotherlamp(d,;ea a Apai ivoditanl.
,'il;:n:1:??ff :""i-,"T:f #r;*i::i,Tixi:11i "ff fflff":il".IT'f fi:*lJ:u;ti..'rull ffip1{:"i:T,ffi
.I",ffi ,i::ilffil :,:i"".'kg:,, r# :#:1.:l1iiq!ffi
sucha person,there is n eilherMandalanor Kundano, ity."iiti.,
isnoneiessrtv oi ffi::"?i':i""""::Jii"Ti,X,jll,I^ttrere Abhinavaguptacteartyslates the comparatue eitectjveness _.., vanous or_the prachces,and concludegthat true t
::"Jff:'i3'fl #:::: [",f:that
torsacritjce), {ntu9" Iure(a,igure drawn orengraved ^- vesset9. ..-fl!11ail3 pala(pjcture on or painted ctolhi Ohrlamf."Jirir-.ni ury€ya (lhal which is
medttatedupon). D/, vd";.,-i*';;i;i#;? ;fi:jffi",f,:', [fi,,iiji*;
ffi ffjffilx;"f fl[fl;,iiJ,ljiili ""*"oJ"";,!$"oJJii,il".,";:f
J:J,",l,"',$ffi :trf;21il!:,13i:;an!!lt ;iriiii!ilffi .'_1i".",l".oy"
lron hrsmindthe ctoudol apprehension and
the mrnd asonerouches lh€ ravs ol the sun il'"ti":l'l,T,Lff:"""":
Chapl6r-1 Bodha(consciousness) is untainted.TheSak .,o, the greatocean of Eodhareso , likewaves,to the ,4fman.The wonO".ir'ine"" oi ff,e Sakt/s, resorting to ,4lman, is the manitestation ol Kriyasakti. Kr,7asak, the substratumof lhe sun and the moon, havlng ansen,the undividedmanifestationis calledBndu That.whichis caled Sabda(word)whoseessenr,at etemenlrs soundln0, whtch,regdes,n all c.eatures,remains inaLl,vebetng orvroedas towand hioh I ne sun, moon and lire have no lustreoflheir own excepling . ihe brillianceot Samylt Thep,aclngol ones ownAlmanontheAtnaqiscareoyalsa,igr{, o.. , 5rr{/whtch createsand destrovs l)rva rs presenteverywhereas the doer through iatherhood and motherhood. Marrl is lhe nameot the supfemeSaktrwhichrs oeaul,tLton accoufl ot lhe contaclol Bija and yoniandthe rcsulting appearance The SupremeSamrlr rs one aniadrng Kara :;."-?l"ltt:.T: rbra rav€J Hy the seemrngseparationkom the sakl/mal, rt assumes lhe slale of a couple; Sa|.tiand Saxumar arc separalely caJled
separarion lhreerotd sou.d.v z. pasyantt.
,,- -J!1:!nn,1:."99.'ng tyaonvama and Uaikhaiarise.Each ol these has thrpeto.ms, v., Sthula,suksma,para.
He is Visvesvara.Lord of the world. In whose Samvit-Atman . phanomenal rnrs worldjs rellecled.He is reslra,nedby the acquJs-
Forsucha personmantra,mudra,ktiya fl :llh*TlTd "bF"t.. erc.are notnecessafy. Hebecomes Jivanmukta. Sucha person 'eels-
arllhishasernanaled lron me.all thists refiecled.n me,arl i-rs ,s rdenttcalwilh me,He teejsthalne ts SivaHi.nse.l w"o ourrls lhls world unreallike a dream_ll is also realisedlhal lrcm Bodha aflses lhe.wo'tdol diverseobjects.i. Bodna restsand thew;o, Derngdestroyed,Eodhaalone 'ernains,For such a Tan bath, vow, bodilypurification,dharana,mantra,sacrllbe etc. are not neces_ sary.Thequestionis-if theseare not necessary,then how can the Gurulavour hrm?Such a personis favouredby the very stght and
s,"a wg$t!9rl!9rj!59:!aI speechof the Guru It. however,people,devotedtoSiva,lacklhealoresadcapacL_ 1y,lhen he should receiveinitiationetc' The SupremeLord has no veil. Bul, a veilof Maya shrouds F,m Iho5e, wno are \ersed In the Veda Samkhya PLl'd'a par 'arara.Bauod'aSdEltaetc.are boundby llretiesof Maydso lo thai lhey do not get knowledgeaboui siva one, who lislens precepior,is boundby a bad mind on iixes the and ionoranipeople iaya, The inslrucloinsoi a good preceptorale necessarytor real wilh kn;w e.Jge.Bysuddhavidya(pureknowledge)one is sanctiiied strenqlhithenone reachesthegoodpathbeinglrcefromobstacles' Oft"e Ih'ee soLlrcesol knoLvledgevP. Guru Saslraandones one One,in lhe preceding is superiorto ownsef, eachsucceeding whomegood reasoningsponlaneouslyarises,acquireslhe righ10 yogicknowledgectc. A Gunt tssamsrldhikawho|s nol lraineoby any olherprecep_ lor.Sucha persongets Abhiseka\ rcfleclion,dlyana,japa, svapna andhoma-Byobservingtheprescdbedrulesin theworshipol Candika lor a month. one becomesAcarya.By a Ioftnight'spractlce,one becomesSadhaka,bya week'sobservanceone becofies Puttaka and bv four davs'observanceone becomesSamayi In such observance.DeviHerselfinilialesthe devotee. One should serye the Gurulin variousways.Thenhavlngreceved Abhiseka.he becomesa Kalpita Acarya \Nhen such an Acaryaaccidentallylearnsa superhumanSastrawlthoutthe helpol The acquisilionol knowledgeJrom Gur;.heis calledKalpitakalplta. Guru who, thoughAkalpita,gels tea Sams;ddhikais inferior.The The knowledge'spon is SivaHimsell iinementfromsomebodvelse, pedect lhe study ol Sasirasand by laneouslyacquired,becomes instructionoflhe Guru. The live accessoriesoJ yoga' beginningwith Yama,ate nol d recl y relplu' ir acquiringSamvi because lhese are exlerna' What is necessaryJorsalvationis true knowledge.The questiioin rnayarise-are the three internalprocessesol dharana,clhyaoaano samadhihelplul? Theseare also not necessarylor samvil.Thenlhe queslionarises-if all these accessoriesol yama etc ar useless,
c,d2 WorksAnd Tanlrasol Kashmir lhen whyare th€seprescrbed?The answeri,
rora.rao'eason,ns w;,;;
d;;Hll;:*
these aremeans
Samuitcrcatesajlthings:so She ls caledSrstik6li. ^,^^preserves. ^De.vt She also Agarn,Shedestrovs. ttre n"i, f samv'lrsmerbed In thepureattribu'teles; Theindependence ol Samy,is calledSupremeGoddess.
acquire tetinemenl.lt has been Somepersonsindependentiy with Sakfo-pa,€. Others,however,requireolhet staied n connexion means are many. means.The Jiva is ihe Sakti of Siva Himsell;il is presenl everywhereDuelo the {lashol knowledge,Jta is knowny variousnames like
at the realnalure in tne
The materialaspectof the Citbody heingsupprcssed,ils real narureis lell, and il shinesas lhe non-dualSamviLln il.lhe yogin Iindsh s own pure consciousnessindependenllyI Pana elc. as a oersonsees h s relleclionin a mirroras differenilrom it. The thfeefold luslre i dhaman) ol the grcal SakimaL viz., mata lkrowe(), mana (knowledge) and pameya lobjecl ol knowledge), shoud be contemplatedas one.ThesethreerepresenllheSaktiol 1re.sunand moon.
lhe_endol feflectionon the sell, remaininqonly as soundhgdue to the obtiteratjon o, theinowt
These are knownalso as Para,Paraparaand Apara.Eachol lhesersthreefoldin accordancewilh crealion,preservalionand destruction.Theirfourlh formis abovethe limilationol creationetc.
,rn"E):;;X1,y*t^t Ksepa
tssocarred asshecreates lherive(pa'ca-
47
(outwardmanitestation of theselr)
ottn"'o"ntilu ofthemanilested wirh ,tl?'""l,tin Samkhyana(constanl pondering thatit is this,nolthai) Gati (g_etting like a reflection
edgeof identitywiththeselfj_ Sheis alsodesignated as Matrsadbhava, Vamesvari.
to i:1,?:*:'l^t5 i::l,l*rins *r,"n j"#,y?:1'"::: lJ,.rheserr'whichissketched
Thus.thereare twelveformsThe yoglrshould conlemplaielheworldas mergedin Samvit irornwhrchcreationproceeds-Sivais Saklimat,andthe enlireworld is His Saktii.
;:"j,ff: f,li "[']T':::jJ:l':.:Tl',i:;l';";:;""ffi "l"o "i'","""i,in;iliT 'ffi ffj';#,fl The g.es O"r"a,on. n *hrcn there ls no distinctronol mala. "il;: ii""#'j"":T ::: manaand meya,is Cidanandawhich is tree trom materialobjects. ::1,:i;n,:, :Ii"-pl. ",,""r,,t1'l,"",1 and, ::::ff Jagaclanandaatises when nothing excepting Samvit is perceived. owin-s ["J,:i.T:j:j'-ti:]11':lt4;:;il;;:J;:l::i"?l: rorranquirity, r. sirrjrlvii,'i""r;ff":i::JjI il so SamviL
"",i"J
Theaurhorhjes roimpress ,^^,,,t:?-r!,:",lnt-1,tlis mudra. thar
i::*,",H%l; ["_::,".iT"i'{lriF:"i.""":li&:Htffi
Oneshouldmentallyrestin it.The'ogllnhavingreachedTisulabhumii (localedaboveB/ahmarandhra), the meetingplaceof theihreeNadis (lda,Pingala.Susumna),shouldrealiseunilyof the three Saktisoi lccha,Jnana,K ya.Heshould graduallyproceedthroughlhe suc' cessive sleps ol bhrubindu nacla,nadanla and rcach Urdhvakurdarni. There exist hvo Elndusol Siva, ol lhe nature of will lo create.wh ch are beaulifulby the essenceof Spandara.Thereone's mind shouldrest as in the bellvol a fish.
;"%.:rH:1i1il;rr3n'fl *!1ili+tri[Fiqi; ChapterV iscalledAnavopaya_prakasana.
The willol the SupremeLordto createis the Kaul,;kaSakli lls ag lation,ratherthe substratumofagilalion,is lhe alphabellrom KA to H,4.The phenomenalworld is the spreadingout ol lhat substra-
Sava \,VorksAnd Tantrasol Kashmir
wi o'rheLord isjnherent inrheLod, ;:l;:X:'rf;ill;li11illthe worrdas identicar wirh cd oneshourd r,"";:::,i:,'i1iH:i:
49
The lanirasara is an abridgedversionof lhe lal1lralokawhose com_ bu k andprolunditynaiurallynecessilaledihe composilionol a is a shorterepltome. rhe Tantravatadhanika fhe Paramatlha'saadealswilh ihe essenlialprinciplesol lhe Irka syslern,and is an adaptationof lhe Adhara'ka ka 01Sesa' nagaMuni. is a commentaryon some ol the ob_ Ihe Malini'viaya-vattika scureversesof the Marniviiaya'tantra'alsocalledSripuruaSastra The oortion,discoveredhiiherlo, revealsa trenchanl crilicism ol some imporlanlslandpoinlsoJ Nyayaphilosophy. fhe Paralnmsha-vtvttlilor,wvarana)isa commenlaryon lhe Paratrimsikalhe lexl ol whichconsiituesthe concludingporiionol the Budrayamalalantra,and givesa resumeol lhe wholeof il iis designedlo enablethe less intelli The Badhi-pahcadasika pupils have an ideaofthe essentialsof monislic to oenlot the autho/s verses ol whichliheendealwiththe sub_ Saivsm. lt consistsol16 lhe purposeol sucn a com_ explains lect-matter,and the sixteenth oosilion, Ihe tsvara-pratyabhiiha-vima6ini. btielly called VinErsini ol Laghu viftErcini,is a commenlaryon lhe /svara'prclyabhiifiasutra ot Utoalacarya, cal worksol Abhinavasomeareavarl_ Ol lhe otherphilosoph whrle olhers are knownonly kom relelencesir able n manuscnpls
ffi $:l*:+*i[i#r#i:":",rtr";,;d: [ffifl1{ifi*f,""hlli:i*r#H#r#."i*:r:n q,ff *".,J#"*il*!;ff
i,j:fl-qJ,,:^i""ifi
suspenoedithe mrnd is then asteepso tong
:,.#*:
as Samyl is not fet!.
j,l,""o*'"."sA,"'ansa,va. i"T:1';:"ffi11ili:Si,lnij::
"];::;;:i;l :H[:*:";:rti;L1 r "tg,#i,_i#:i ilt':gff]iffi?:"r,?,€iX1 "*[',U,,',1#)',!,ii1i)ru:if iscated rerler or '"f:,iil'"i;3';#H"'i"""""1;il1J:t* "" Ebi.i Ay"s'ripl""'Js'rili:il"j ::nla ; ilr"',i"Jffil'
i",,^!?'l#,'ff :;n":x ;l 7::,:;"*::r,ffi f#f
l1:ffi i,liliflff]; $i:J::"T"fi Jld"_1i::;",,::",i,f *"
"#il.1511i*:::neh
ownnattrre istherearsanvlr/: rharis
One'sownAtma, is Siva.
inblue orverow colo,tiov orsorrow;rhere a .""s,:il?ilT;'ff
Abhinavais creditedwilhthe aulhorshipo{ sevralhymnswhrch thandevotionalThesehymns,in lyricaliorms, are moreohilosophical quintessence ol the lrka philosophy.ano serve as a sel lorth the popularising the abstrusedoclrinesand dogmasol pa' mediumof licularsects.Thewell'knownhymnsoJthis class,allribuledto hlm' Krama-slota, Bhaiava'st ava, Patana rtha-carca, Mahopadesa' vimsati, Anufta@stika, Pa'ana rthcdvadasika, Oehastha'd evata Anubhava'nivedana, cakra-statra,
50
ru
saivaWorksAnd Tanlrasol Kashmir
"i:;:fi ."::::xx::"::J,:::;:T,':3:;:l ::":j:#iliitff ;; ffJ:*:j: [?#iiJ,l#3i:',ff :11;,3;';7;;
kernetorAbhinava,s phrlosophy rs set lol|hrl the fohow,^^,._The tng rne : stva-saktya-wnabhavannihn ike ml
loss of its grip over the to the fast iading ot the system and lhe peooLe two broad The orioinal Krama literalurecan be dividedinto llelong class Tothelormer no4_revealed -'..... t ivea ed and -lhe " Includes lalter Agamas Krama lhe a1d *otl'. io_." o' ""o^y.or. ,'i" lo"t," works The kraaa Aganas ate Paicasaltka ' ""n Krama'sadbhava Krama'rahasya sa,onasatika
l::,1s:l;:,1"1"'h".:;;;;;;;,i;:,:izl:;!:::::',i,:!;^::il:;:::,i:; iiu,iancisatixa, wfln sahtt. Indeed,S,va is manrlesred goth thfoughSat
KRAMA TANTRTCISMI ofTantrain Kashmjrcan oe complete ^. --No.accounl wilhoutan
j:"""r" j iil"1,1;:;il'::#1n: illl{{tilifrJsJi:,fi ananarauana sa,a'ii :#i ;!!,2;,!:#! !:;!l: :i !i!:H7 "u
jr"ff""t:ijHjj:fli,1i:#*f ,'.l:f:?"*r"{i:iiilili: : -e rar\' rn lhe south.That lhjs syslem was
not conlned to the I,mtlsol
wirh some P'I n"'snanais 8i:illli:3:?:t"?l,i:€ssociation
o"i.""O areshrouded _..,. ]l: mysljcrsm. T99eof o ginot rhissysrem ,n myln and With Jayaratha{c. j3il
;".rt"1iiii,"1_ill ??li;,.i",ii,Ll"% li * "l;:;:::,;m,::;; rdn|,ataka. hesN esa;;";;;"i;i,#'""?;i, ji:ffi :Xrr,,ti":
*.:Tr:U:,".;s betieved by somero darebackro rhe ,^^.q.Jaler _tl: rasl o,rheAh cent.or thebeqjn;inqof rhe 8h. Tnissystei
woAsateKrama'sul@ Thenon-Agamic xrama'sdahi f,rt,fa-nana. Mahanaya'paddhaliKmmadayaAmavasya'|nmstKa Sidanasulra,
including We know ot at leasttortyjive notablepersonalities' bY philosophv rFmales.who conlrlbulecl1o lhe Krama syslem ol Xram-a on ,,,,r"n *o,ts. co.posinq hymnsor impadlnglessons belowchroooloqically are m-entioned i." o";;'-";, ".;"n,h;m I any works of lheir lhe l[les alonowilh Valulanalha-sura Valulanalha(c. 675-725)' attribuled)Chomma' (Tradilionally (HisioricalPersonalY samp@daya doublful)Nisk Yananda\l Siva-sulra natha(c.725 775) (,) Spanda-kaika (c.800-850) VasuguPta (/0 Spandarn a (/v)VasaviTika (v) Siddhanla-candrika (Noworkexclusvelyon Krama,But, in some ol hls works, particularlythe tirsl two, he appearslo have contribuledto incidentalLY the cause ol the Kramasysiern)Kallaia (c.82s-875)
Spanda-karika Proba (AuthorshiP conkoversial) SPanda'sutra, bly identicalw\ih mentjoned bY Bhaskaraln nls siva-sutravartika, 1 5 Spanda-vrtli(a comm.on lrle
No excluslvework on Kfama-But, incidenlal contributionin the works attributed1ohirn)
Spand a'saN asva \PIob ablY titleol the Karkaand vrttitogelher) Tattva-vicara (V ah ably) Tatlvattha'
5"',''."J,ilfl:i:'lj.?:#,IJ'il"JXi:,fi:,*"'Dopu,an,vano
day-or rh,s sysrem. Arte rn", ;; ;;;;.i";J::#i,,l,"l,jlil"l;
:iiffiT:i::*nll l:;ffifflc:i,ili[:*:..,,"J,ffi rflDLreoby some to srvananda , relers {8/180, 186. 1g7) to the
3fi ll:i^:[Jg!:,"#'f ,:l"j:ff1il';5:*?*i?,T:**:
CfEnr.r-1
PradyumnaBhatta(c. 850,900) Somananda (c.875-925) (No work exclusivelyon Kraaa) Utpala(c.900-950)(No workon K,.ama.But, Irom Jayaraihajt is rearnlthal Abhinvareceivedhis lessonson Kramalrom a set ol reachersincludjngUtpala)Siddha Natha,calted Stotrakara(c. 900-950)
Tattvagarbha-statra Siva-drsti
Supposed authoroia
Bhaskara (c.925,975) (Believedlo have tra;smitled the doctrineol SiddhaNalha ro rne next generalion) Laksmanagupta {c. 925-97S)Appearsto havewrittenon Krarra, (Probablyrdenlicalwith thoughnoworkexisls LaKsmanaDesika,aulhorol the Sarada-t aka) BhattaUlpata(c.925-975) Spa.nda-pradipka, camm.on spanda(DitlerentfromUtpala ,€rra. In cerlajn places,he appears ro nave bleentamiliarwtlh lhe Krama exclusively on Krcma) system, Frofi lhe above work (lslampurka/sed., pp 48_50) itrsctear lhat he has |ned to rnlerpretSparda and roga conceptsin the tightot K/a ma phrtosophy. His Kramaleanino is discemiblein hisreference lSpaiAap€olp/(a, pp. 49.50)his own work, 6hoga, moksaprcdp*a, naw losl Bhulirala| (c. 900-9SO) His conlribLttion to Kfama system is (Ol fouf persnsof this atlestedby lwo references; name,lhe onewho is (i) Tantrasaraol Abhinava knownlo havebeen a (Shastri,s ed.,KSs, 191g,p.30) leacheroi Abhinavagupta (ii) Maha rtha"rhania i ol
SaivaWorksAnd Tantrasof Kashmrr is ntendedhere)
53
(TSS,ed , No 66, l,4ahesvarananda 1919).
(950-l O20\ Kamagolz \gg1'991t k amakeh Ahh,navaouota comm on the Kramastolraof Sddh_ analha ln someotherworxsalso' par liculatlyMalini' viiayavan tka' Paryanta he paicasika'Paratimsika'vivarana' dealswith KarmaPhilosoPh'v In hls Uddyolacommon Nelra'lanta ^sen3rdra\975- 1125) he relers lo Kramaas a distiactsys tem. Valadara,a t.. 1OO0-'050) HisSrva-sul€_v€4kaclearly:ndcates T '2
olrt xt.i"a".,
on sunasl6 \vde vaftAas
17 22i ll 5' 6; lll 16' 43)' producedrmpor Hrasvanatha(c.1O25- 1075)Headof atraditionlhal lant texts like the Cidgagana'Candika atl butedto Kalidasa)and (sometimes MahanaYaqrakasa' as a Kamaleachel Cakrabhanu(c. 1O5O-1100) Highlyreputed Hi;hlY PraisedbYeminentscholars and greailyadmiredby Sitikanlha To him is ascribed'thoughnol wilh Cakrapani(c.1050-1100/ "_ _-- 'lozs absolulecertainty'ihe BhavopahaQ trzs) which is a F/amaslolra (c. 1050-1 1OO) PerhapswrotetheKramakamala' BhoJaraja 1100-1150) Theaulhorollhecidgaganacandika Somaputla(c. expressesindebiednessio him lor re vealingthe K'ama secrets onlhealore Ramvadeva(c 1100-1 150) Auihorof V/Varanacomm by said Bhavopahara He slales lnal h' wrote six othel works Olthese' lhe A krama' kallolakarika appeats \a workonthe havebeenan independenl Kram a system'
ChapteFl
Slvarsa{c.t j2S _/5) .. ' lnr'odLces himsellas K andasa\ Cidgagana-candrAa. car,m.an Kramasrora of Siddhanaiha. Sivananda | (c.112S_ij 75) Oithesixworks, aitributed io hirn by hisgrand-pupil, Mahesvaranan_ da,the Kramavasana,as lhe very tillesuggesls.tsonlhek/a,.rasvs -lem.According ro so.re.sivan;_ ndawrctealsaa ilahanaya-prak_ a.9awhichis to be distinguished rrom(s namesake by sitikantha, Mahaprakasa (c.i 1so_j200) Esteemed reacnerot Mahesvarananda. Authorof severalslolras mentioned in the pa,malacornm. onMahesvarananda,s Maharihamahjai. Jayaratha (c.1150-j200) His yllekacomm. on1netrrsl,fourlh, thirteenth andtwenly-ninth Ahniksof Iantla/okashedsconsjderable lighton the hjstoryo, Kramasyslem. l,4ahesvararEnda (C.i iTF Maha ha.mahjanv,tithitscorrmen tzzrl. tary.panmata.From thepenuJtimare vetseaI lhe patimala,he appearsto havewritena workcalleakrana. ge sidesthetwoaforesaid works,he is knownto havewrittennineotherworks_ Sivopadhyaya (c.172s-177S) Lastnotewonny wnrerjn thehis to.yol theK,?masystem.ln his Vjvtti onthe .Virtanabhairava,he occasion alypasse€temarksonlheintricacies ol the Ktama syslem.
SaivaWorksAnd Tantrasoi Kashmir
55
Themainiealuresol lhe Kramasystemare as follows: A. li is sakti-orienled inthemonistic of theSaktatendencies lheemergence ll reflects the systeminlo resulled in the division of ol KashmitThis Saivisrn (i) oneemphasising lhe supremacyoJ theSivaas pect; ol the (ii)theotherlayingstressonlhe Saktiaspect supreme consciousness, character ol Realitylt is 8. lt leanstowardsmonistic-dualistic ldeaof dualas it inculcates the calledBhedabhedopaya of monism or unily.lt wilhin the lramework rsmor diversily phenomenal in duality 10 discover unily the seeks {bhede abheda).whilethe PrctyabhijnaandKulasyslemsarc con' aspeclot cernedwiithRealityas unityorthetranscendent wiiththe immanenlReality; Reality,Kramais concerned of is an essentialexpression accordingto il, immanence transcendence, C. Spritualuplifland salvationas synthesisoI bhogaand While the Kula system leachesSambhavapaya,Kruma advo.les Saktopaya,Kulaand Prctyabhiifiado nol counlenance the idea of progression;they believein Theessential self-reveltion. instanteneous andimmediate i.e. tealureol the K,?masystsmis spirilualprogression ot lhe yi,kalpasSo,it equally refinement the progressive slresseseachsteptowardssell_realisation D
Positiveepislemicbias WhilethePnlyabhiiffaand Spandaschoolsaremoremetaphysical,the KEmais motemyslical.goth KulaandKnma systemshaveesotericand mysticallook.Bul,the latler aspecl.This, andtheepistemic thecognitive emphasises Krama as asystem oJ lhe is the fundamenlalvalue indeed, philosoPhY. o1
co
chentFr-1
Saiva Works And Tantraso{ Kashmir
peculiarity E. Linguistic Itprefersthe Prakritlanguages to Sanskritas themedjum ot expression.The.e isconvincing proofthaltheworkslike lhe Kramasutra,lheMahana@-paks4Mahanho-mahiori. Pakrtatrimsika-vjvarana, etc.,werewriilen in someto;ms oi Prakrlaor localvernaculars,r Krama,as a Tantricsystem,dependson intuition, anddiscouF agesdjalectic. ll doesnolmerelyafgue.bul experimenls. It seeksfuttitment in theharmonious btendinq ot rltuition wilhpraclicalrealisation. Twophasesof KramaTantricism canbediscerned.ln theearlier ohase.therewas a penchantfor ph,losophtcal ano intdiltonal lssues.o'the ,ourdtvisionsot the contenlsot Ta ta. carya and (nya weresubordlnated lo jnanaandVoga.lnlnelalerphase,how. ever.lhe ritualistic aspectCametOlhe to.elront. Experience is lhe pivotroiundwhichthe Kfamasvstemre_ volves.The reatisation ol theonenessof theindivid,lal so;twithrhe universal soulis the aimof thissystemol philosophy. The Kramasystemwasdividedintolwo sub_schools, viz.(i) , Sahasarepresented bythe Vatulanatta-sutaand(iiJChummarepral_ sentedbythework,entitledChumrna-sahpradaya. Themainthemeofthe Sahasaschoolis thata devotee,s real natureis realisedby iirmlyclingingto lhe pre_emrnentSahasa (maha-sahasa-vrtya svarupalabhahNatulandtha-suta 1). sahasa meansa suddenunexpected event.According to thisschools,the highestrealisation or self-revelation takesplaceall on a sudden ih'oughdivinegraceiforlhisnoprevtous oreparalon is necessary. Theexactmeaningof Chummais nolknown.lt occursin lhe T^anlraloha 4,268.29137).Ksemaraja. in his conne.rary on the svacchanda-tantra(15t I), saysthatchurnmaka slandsiorthesvs_ lemlo whlchoneadheres. Thechietobjeclotthetheotyd Chumma, wn'cndopFars to bea synonym ot Sarma(VtdeKsema€jas comm on the Svacchandalantra iVl. p. 12SJrs to presserve rheesoleric natureol thesystemadhered to.lntheultimale aiarysis.[-e Sahasa andChummaappeatto havenobasicdifference.
57
atonelime,of anothersub-school ol Kranais Theexistence, (Ahnika29).Thisunnamed schoolisa deffed Io in lhe Tantraloka of hvo lheses,one iormulatedin lhe oroductol ihe combination A leatureof Devyayamalaand the other in lhe Madhavakula. lo lhis school,is lhs worshipof ono'slin€of sadhana,accordiing preceptors alongwilhpithas,Ksetms,a'lc.fhe Pithashavebeen syslemrequreslhe tothe difierentpartsofth6 body.This assigned visualike thePlthasandlhe aspiranllo reilecluponand,therefore, presiding deitiesas essenlially idenlicalwith theself. respectlve PHILOSOPHY OF KASHMIRSAIVISM Herewe shallgivean accountof the philosophy of Kashmir in a nutshell. Saivism it.recogLikeotherbranches ottheorlhodoxIndianphilosophy, principle. lt iscalled Almanaslheexperiencing nisesthechangeless He is both lnderlyingeverything. CaitanyaotCit.lI is Patamasiva immanent andtranscendental. Theuniverseis a manilesiation of Paramasiva. Thisasoectof are Himin calledSakti.lt hasmanyaspectsofwhichthefollowing fundamental: (i) Powerof sell-revelation-by it Sivashines. (ii) Powerofrealising absolute blissandjoy(Aranda-saktrsatisliedin itself. {ii) Powerof leelingoneselfas Supremeand of absolulely irresistible will{/ccha-saldi. (iv) Powerof bringingall objectsin consciousrelationswith oneselfandwithoneanotherlJhana-sakl. (v) Powerof assuminganylotm\Ki@-sakl. HimselforhisSakti WiththesepowersParamasiva manifests as the univerce.Themanifestation of Saktiis calledUdaya,Unmesa, Abhasara S|sti This is followedby Palaya. A completecycle ot Sfst/andPralayais calledKalpa. The thingsand beings,constduting the universe,are called Iattvas.Besidesthe l"atlyasrecognised in Samkhya, this system
liliflIiililX1,lli,",iiiifji,jl!il,l,"Tl!li;",ijffi i!."",:,lH Thetotalnurnberof laflyasjn ihjs sysrem|s 36.
rhis,t isrhe ",,",1i:,:f::::,9#;:tf:1i,::,il1*1":f.","
:l:Iff H'""n: J..::; ::;: ;;j::mljl*b,"ff "xtf p'eme-rea riry, accorcr,nrl;; ;;;ffi;3.iy,.,#T;""l"?.T:
:J::f,:?ff:,'j:""$ J;5 JinJii :ff:iiili","; ;;j"""$"": j'i.,ii,jj'ff ,i,1 T'il:: :*:11!i:.{iiii:Ii,ii",i?iiiili!; aspect,the c,laspect ol Saklt in mosl mantresr Next comes Sakti-tattua. Whlte . Sk,
,"':r"1:ffi r ;[:'fr :;ia:*t "j;ft illl"i?]frf "*{*f ,;:il:."ffi j,**'4a!|va.ie.the
fi ",,",1#l'i""";r;ff
;,J":
jj:ilff#ffij'H:t::il:"# lllili: nffi:;;:,',.:'Jf, ffiJ :''iliT:J:1,:l'i:"t::il?,:: :"ill!""|ff ffi ""ili i:'i,:.i",',;:Xmf |n:":ll'Jt""ii"? :Jlfi ;,""J "'"'s:,""'iili""f l#:n:.'.1ff"1"f iiiil,::il;:l::x'li:"',:f""'i:i:ff;'i: Nert is lhe ,4,syara.laLva |n whr.h rha
.
Thts philosophystales lhe limtt of rndi,
*, .red.objecr a'e ''" J,::I?5'#:'i1", """J,'1""'fffl -ffi: ll:,:f orrhe " r,m,rarion oii;l; ;;::"#r? jlj,;:?,:iff Ti
SaivaWorks And Tantas ol Kashmir
59
lrcmoneanorner' Eachotlhe nlmerousPurusasb€comesan Anu. Whilelhe Purusa,who is sleepingas it were,experiences a simultaneously with him Prakrli vagueand indefinitesomething, comesinlomanifestation. Purusaand Prakrtiareonlythe limitedrepresentation of lhe experience ot theSoddhaVidWstate.Fol lactorsonihe two-sides eachPurusa,thereis one Prakrli.In his experience of Prakrli,the Purusahasno specific{eeling:lhereis no movement of thoughlor Prakrtiis in a statein whichatfectiveteaturesare heldin a staleol equipose; the lhreequalitiesol Satlya,Fblasand famas arein a slateof eauioose. Thethreeprinciplesof menlaloperalionateBuddhiAhamkaa and Manas.Maras desires;il singlesout a particulargroupof sensations lrorna whofecrcwd.Aham'€/agalhers, andsloresup lhememoryof personal experiences, idenlitiesand assimilatesthe expenences of lhe present-8r./ddhl is that which€nablesone to p clurethernenlalimageof objeclsas of a cow lt istheimpersonal or supelpersonalstale ofconsciousness orexperience in a limited ndividual. In dealingwiththe meansand generalprinciples of sensible experience, this philosophy mentionsfivesenses,live powersof aclion,andlivegeneralobjecls ot sense-perception. Thelivebrulasare recognised as principles of materiality. Sivais the Saviourand guru,assuminglhis lorm out of his loveIor mankind. Pasu(literally animal)or thg infinir€hostof soulsbelongsto Siva.The soul,distincttromthe bodyis not createdby Him;it is eternal.Individual soulsareol lhreeclassesaccording as lhey are subjectlo three,twooroneol the impurilies. Thewebot bonds(pasalala), thattiesthesoul,is dividedinto avtdya,karmaandmaya,
ffi !"i'-"'i;i,"J,""":,Ti,Llt":1"":U*:[:;n:U:,::*
60
s:rva WorksAnd Tantrasof Kashmir ChapteFl
Maya is the 'r,aterialcauseol lhe world, unconsciousin nature,the seed of the universe, Accordingto the Saiva Siddhanta,the universeconsisls oi lhity-six lattuasincludingthose of Samkhya. The stagesof evoluttonare as lollows : Al lirst. Maya evolvesinto the subttepnncrptestnd then .nto rne gross. the rtrslprincipleevolvedkom Maya s Kala.ll .en\oves lhe impuriliesobslructingthe manileslationor consctousness, and helps ils manilestationaccotdi)ngto karma. By y/dya lhe should acqutresthe experienceof pleas!re and pain. Samknyars.tse[ a produ.taccoroingto lFe ^ ,.,V,laryax1i9t s'ddranla. Prakrtris thematerialolwhrchtne wo,ds.ro be erpe.. encedby Purusa,are made.Frompraknjevolveguraswhich lead to lheevolulronof buddhl:The remarningprocessol evo,utron,s,ike lhat ol Samkhva. The world is not illusoryThe world has a seriousmoratpur, pose.cod isalwaysengagedin preservingthe soulslrom the bondage ol matter The graceof God js the pathol treedorn. Thrsschoolrecognises /;yanl,rukt:ThoughDossess.ng body .rne /ryanmirktais one with the Supremein leelrngand,acuhy.He conflnueshtsbodyunltlhispast karna is exhausted,anothe oeeds or the Interveningperiodare consumedby the graceof God. id:""..gonlained in lhe principalworhs.are bnefly -,-. I!"..u'l staled betowilhe delailsmay be studrcdIn the accounlsol respec_ Accordingto the Kamakata-vitasa, Adya Sakl,is lhe seed ol . ati lnat moves and is irnmobrle,parasaklris al once lhe seed and sproll as the manitesledunionof Siva and Sakti.She is very sub_ tle, and is manifesiedlhrough lhe union ol lhe tirst lener oi ihe alphabel,i.e.A and lhe y/l?,arsa letteror Ha. parasivais reflectedin the ymarsa miffor of the mass ol the rays ot the sun.The Nada, Dtnduappearconlhe Cittawallilluminatedby the rellectedrays.
whiteand red,are Sivaand Sakti'who,in lheir TwoElndL/s, Theyare the expandand contractalternately mulualenioyment, (arlha) which (yak) meaning and the word ol creation roolot the each othet separatelrom somelimes unite and somelimes dealingwiththe Cakras One,whoknowslhe lrola of Kamakala, Nlahatripurasundari and ideniiliedwith liberated becomes ol Devi, aboutthe creale,arosesoundwhichis Fromlhe red B,indu, From soLlndarosethelivegrosselements sptolll, Nada'brahman The whiteBinduis alsothe ol the alphabet and letlers tbhutasJ minutespartlo Brahman, hom the The universe, of these. ;ource consislsol lhesefive Y/krtis. it is The centreof Caktuis Para.At the time of evolution, ilselJas a trianglewhichis the source and manifesls transiormed, others. oi lhe lhreeSaklis,Pasyanlr'and slalesthatSivaisthedoerol allandfree TheMrgendra-tanta His functionsare fivelold: due to defilements. Iromimperlections preservalion potential andassimi involtrtion, suslenalion, evolution. andSadyojata, lalion.Sivaas isana,Tatpurusa,Aghora,Vamadeva pertorms difterentlunctions. Thefetlerc(pasa).whichtie humanbeings'arelourtoldThey andcausedefilement. standInthewayot trueknowledge 'lhe downsevenmodesol bhakr,which Budrayamalalays lo onewhilealive. arestatedto causeliberalion It statesihat Sivais bothNigunaand Sagura,the lormer withPrakrti latlerisassociated beingdistincllromPrakrtiwhilelhe Paramesvara hasbeengiven.Saguna ln it,theoderol creation SaKiis thecrealerol lhe wodds. is slaledas lhe lirslorinciple. lhe malnlea withK/amaTantricism' As slaled.in connection systemis ils Sakti_ it frcmIhePratyabhijna lurelhatdisting!ishes ol characleristic Anotherdistinguishing orientedrnonislicSaivism. gradual progression,lhe the Kramaschoolrs its beliefin spiritual reaisationoi lhe SupremeReality.
saiu'wo4el!q!!lg!I39!Iij FOOTNOTE I
are inlhe torms ol Kar,/€s,and a16purponed to exptatnwhat -These nas oeen sard. what is unsaid or said in a ditfrculr man;er.
,
n" meanins as aan sawacrivritlyI_"-",1:11" 9lu"" avaembanena yonth"tymotogicat sarncrlar,.itgoas hom one brrrhto anothir oy rosontngto th6 quatitiesof Sattua.6tc.Atma, is slatedas Inu 3. One ol the elevenRudrasis so callecl.In tn|s work,rrrs the name or brvaHrms€[in His Saituikaform,The stgnrlicance ol the name rs ooscure-. at, m€ansserpent,and budhra bottom.th laterVedrc
carhaparya
::*:jll9y1n"r:.: :l"soricalyconned€dw,rhAsn ot uomesrcr[e (vacttc Mythologl by Macdone, p 73).tt sioutd rl." hyll in the vaiasaneysdnhi,a{v 33) whrch l.^:::o.:l:r n,e.n|on
Ahnbudhnya Aqni.comm) cont,rInsIhe name lcarha-patya or vtsnutor s€verattilh6s 4. Chap 52.2-88 deatwlh tinguist|coccu ism ot suchman,.ason um namo vaEudevave
5. See_O, Schrad€r,tntro,to pafrcantra anctAhitbudhnya-Sanhita, pp. 42-43. 6 . Analysedby F.O.Schrader in DasSastitantrain ZDMA.j
9t4.
7 . The depa.turetrom the conv€nttonat six sysremsot orthodox pnrosopny
ts marked.
8. Discuss€dby Schradatin ZDM1, op, cit. 9. See M. Kauls introto MatiniviiayonanTanra, p. rxitor
deraits.
10. Se€ i,4.S.Kaul,sintro.lo the N^trctantz. I 1.O€ccancoll€geMS.M.667(i)of 1895.t9O2iAOpt Catot MSS,Vot. ^vl on-lantra,p.247.THeRudrayamala wassaidlo be a hugework In a rac and a quarters/okas 12,Thewor&_is so ca ed as it eutogrsos, andintrrates Intotnesecr€t worshipot Agho.a,the righi ftouth of SvacchandaBharrava. l3.Ksynoteot Kashmir Saivism. 14.Fordctails,se6 K.C. pandey,Abhjnavagupta. 15.11appearsthatlwo ditferentpersonshad the samename.
63
16 For dela ls, see N. Rastag. TheKnna Tanticisn ol Kashnii Ouraccountis mainlybasedon lhiswork rs j 7 Thelite-span of 50 yearcol lhose,whosedatesareunknown, N Baslogi made by y rough conjeclure mere a to is lollowers lo notelhat the Euddhadirected 18 rt is inlerestrng propagarehis teachingsin localdialects.
(E =
.g CL
a !,
c o
Oc
EO
=x(s
i f;E 53&
Chapter-2 particularly In all religions, in theVedanlic syslemso1Hinduhasalwaysbeenregarded as opposedlo spirilual ism,sex-relation progress. Vedantasaysthat kamaor lusl is the greateslnipuor hurdlein lhe pathot spjrilualprogressandthatthefirstdutyot one to enlerintothefieldol truereligion islo deslroythis kdna.r desiring hasbeenprescribed InTanka,ontheotherhand, sex-relation Malthuna ors€x-relation is oneol as a meanfor spititualprogress, byTantralo be mosthelpfulin lhe palh thefivema-kei€s'declared lt is thussaidthat ol sadharaor endeavour lor spiriiualrealisation. asDirantshouldlake somewomanas an a Sadhakaor sDiritual practices.The associale torhisspiritual \,!oman shouldbebeaLrtiiul, andshouldnecessarilv shouldhavea clearideaof sex-senlimenl be previously enjoyedby others.lt is betteri, thewomenis herseli '?Hiredwomenalsomaybetakenas a sudhikaor spiritual aspkant. choson or hired shouldprelerably belonglo any associates.Women of the nine groups:Nati (dancinggirl),Kapalini(daughterol a Vesya(hariot),Rajaki Brahmana-molher and fisherman-father), (washer-woman), (Bdhmana-woman), Brahmani andth6daughlers (lloota Napita(hair-cutter), Sudra,Gopala(cowherd) andMalakara rist).3 One'sownwiteorlhewiteof someotherpersonmaybechosenforthispurpose.Practicewilhon€'sownwffeis, however,looked uponas freetrom all blemishes.a In someTantras,sons,wives, sisters,lemaledisciplesor evendaughters are also prescribed.5 Butin generalpraclice,suchrelatives are notchosen. Thepraclices withwomenareto beperformed at nightinsome secrelplace,preferably ina cemetery6Women in manslruation are saidto be highlyusefultor suchpractices.T In cakra-sadhana or group-practice, womenbelonging to lhe aloresaidninegroupsare '
rnatsya{fish), Thefivema-k€lasare:nadya lwine).mansalmeal), mudra(cookedice and vegelable)and maithura{sex-rclation). These ar€ called ma-karas, since lh€ words denoting lhe corrcsponding objsclshavema-karaor lhe sound'm' as the initial.
68
Chader-2
*#1Ti*$*;d;# 1:l;;E*ii#:,,#fu
iJiH:ff ill3:X
*. pracrice inasroup wirh women beronsjns
n5i:i?,J:i#'"::H trffi?l : :{"irr,;r i".lliil,"fl
sntp_hrs temaleassociateandpayofi;rings of llower,vermjtronetc.
andtheprivatepartsot ourbody sex-behaviours lhetermsdenotlng wayto suit them10 are expainedin these lanll'asin a different 'vesya Eventheterms t hati'elc ' wh'ch somespiritualbehaviour. or ol somelow nature Dopua'ly oe'ote somewomenol unchasle to in a technicalway la,tras in these ;asts havebeenexplained aspiranls oldifterentgra' spiritual meanpowersorstagesof lemale daiions.'' or innerinlepretalion'il is said ol thistechnical In pursuance rhatmaithurain Tantradoesnot meanunionor relalionwilhlhe ol theoppositesex.lhe Agamasansayslhal mailhuna members lyingat the baseoi the meansthe unional the kundalioi'powef same cord Accordinglo topoJ the sp nalcordwiihSivalyingatthe belweenSakliand lhe union means mallhtlra he Kulanava-Tanlz, unionoftheilvaor is lhe that malthuna Si\ta.IheMeru-Tanlra,holds Powerinthe with Saktior p/ana vital air orlhe theselJintheformot and ava-Tantra o{ the Kirarn In the view lormoJlhe nervesusumna. the enjoynolhing bui in maithuna whal is called lhe Meru-Tantra kundalini.l5 mentoftheawakened Now,manvscholarsacceplthe directmeaningsol the pre_ loundin Tanlra.Sadhakasare alsoihere scriotsol sex-oraclices whoacceptnol Thereare,again,scholars practice ingly. accord who presc.ipts lheir lechnicalones but of the said meanings the direct p€cticeswithwomen tolhissecondgroupollhinkers, .e.,according Butthisviewcannotbe ol Tanlra.r6 are nol the desiredmeanings thatboth discussion thstollowing asitwillbeclearlrom suppoded, willhaveto be acceptedlor thedirectandthetechnicalmeanings twoqradesof sadhaks- lhe directmeaninglor a sadhakaot lov\l lor a sadhakaot highgrade grad;,thetechnicalone One ol the importanlaspeclsol lhe pathof Indianspirilual fromtwo pointsol viewpursuitis thal rt considerseveryihing vyavaharikai.e. populatot ouietandpanmetthika i.e.realor inner' {lowelsandleaves of incense, likeotfedng Thus,alllhepedorrnances
ff"jiJ';Tf:ff "?;ii:1"1":*"1T.'"J""*thewo'nanand
il."##:iilil11,f ;T[:]:HiiJ#i:li[',"T[[xlff i:,:1"",,".jl":5:",i
q:nh:,J:ri:l :3il1 ;*tni iersmuch rorsexuar eo;r#"llii"'jlJLTjT::il:,j,li,^;:;
these actsasorre' i:,f"i''?1t:;:#il:veradvisedtoperrorm
,:H"ti#i,i:Jil':.,:533txfJ :::i!'iii:iGffi:,i?:fr R*:ifi t+""'1,::,t''ii"i^":H"",1#:,iji:","j;::Hkx*; nav€to sutterin hetl., lt rssaictthat w;menarerhemanitestalrons
iii:tn*i'1ll"ii..ii3;iilii*1,111,1X"",T,.,"_T:Tff ::
':itil""tili: i*?;:jH# il"#i;+::^.1,tJ1TTfi :*iti-.{,".j,dii:i"":,ilJlll*n:l:nm*;:*;; a.e i:"J;Ji;T!::l]::lilffi:nj#ilI *.desses,,hey ","
t#J:ir;Ii:",tff ij':jji.,t$:t: ff:#iili:li:ii;iffi 1'lfli::fJffi ;':iT"[i:: :"*l; l#lj"",":i"#ff merrtechnicalsenses,the saic, termswhrchsFem to be retaledto
:il:"jil:"J:1i:T:Hil;in";:;i",:"";1fi ::,i::.:'";:[]
'---Ruliidili-tor sell^oower as it ware,likea snake existsin slumber, cod- A sadhakais the spinal in a coiledformat lhe botlomof thelopol thecotd il to raise and this kundalini awaken required to ihrouoh lhe nerve susurnn€ running within lhat cotd
70
Chapter-2
tothe deitres,worshipot rmag6s,anrmat_sacrilice. obtationsto lhe rrre,.sacarrces to lhe gods and lhe like prescribedin the scriptures are_tobe taken in bolh lhese meanrngi_ poo.rtar and Inner Ac. corornglo thepopularorouter meantng, theenernat,rtesare lo be
whiteaccording r;the inner.neani"g, ,r
,i-tii l:l::me_d_eroperty. onry tne nnerormenlatpracltces thalarelo be counteda;d notrh; externaiperformances.,T In theVaisnavjsmof SrtC"lt""y", ;;;;;; lwo kinds.ofdevotKln.n amely,vadhiand raganuga. Or them, the 'ormer rs tr^epursLance ol scripturatinlunctionsa-nCjs. therelore' 'ra,nly.co^cerned wrlh externalntes.thite the tatteris the pursu. ance ol nalural attracliontowardsthe Lord and is, therelore,mainly cffcerned wjth internalpractices.Of these two kindsof practices, Ine,oLte_r or popu,arone is meantfor lhe sadha&as ol low graoe, w n f l e r n e , n noerfr e a j o n e t s m e a n l l o r l h o s e o l h t g h g r a O e , . i n e s e two kinds ol praclicesare, however,not co-excltsiJeof, bul com_ each olher, and, hence. oolh rhe oLrer and j"f inner fTll"ry
;,[: l!i]I:,4!:11"",:::ffi ;',""fi "?,T""#il*J,ff
o^rJl oedo'm,ngthem, he cannothoie to nse 10 the hrgherspintual rev.el. A personwho has reachedthe higherlevelot sptrjtuaxly, how. ever.,neednot performlhe externarfltes: ne is lt-en to oi,;ct his allentron,towards the inner meaningol lhe prescaptsconcerned. rn_u_s, Dothlhe.meanrngol the said prescnpt; beinqn""".rt caff-olsL'render the externalmeanrngforrhe "-; inlerna,one. tn I t,le rranne-r,,n lhe case ol mallhura also, we are lo accept both the meantngsol the prescripts.Itwe give up lhe poputaror outermeanIng,lnlhts case,we shallhave to,ollow the sare principleIn all nallers, and in thal case altthe externalperformances oi retigrJn wr1haveto be.abandoned. whrchis not at; acceptabte.Hence,we
p:rT"lmeanins aswe,t asrhe
in.e,,ns6n;ns ol :::li::T]jl" holdthatTantra marrt.]na€nd reallyprescribes sex-praclices fora But the.problem is lhatexternalperformances tlkeworshipof , rage offeringof llowersandleavesetc.are nolconlra. .sacrjfice. orc-Iory to lhe spir;tual pursuil.andhencemaybe regarded as necessaryior nsinglo a higherlevelotspiriluaiity. Butsex-relation is accepredby all as quiteconkadictory to spr ruatprogress. How, rien. cdn it be regarded as steptow;rdsa hrgnersprfiluatht6?ln
Sex'Belationand SpiritualRealisation
71
prescribe two reolv,it is saidthatlor spirilualpursuil,thescriptures palh of enioymenlnivrtti' magas ot palhs p2vrfti-murgaor lhe divrilimafgais a revoluton margaorthepathoi d€tachment.leThe ll ie achesa sadhal,a againstnormalhumanteelingsorlendencies. summum Donum eveMhinglhatisnotsubservrentlothe to abandon a sadhakais requiredto iightagainsllhe ower ol lile.Accordingly, likelust,greed,etcandlo giveup all enjoyable h!mantendencies by the Thisis lhe pathtaughlprincipally lhingsrelatedto lhem.'?o pavrtti' theVedanticschoolsandthosystemofYoga.Ihe Upanlsads, marga,on lhe olherhand,sayslhat a manneednollighl againsl bul shouldpursuethemin sucha the normalhumanlendencies, '?'A tollowerol lhe waythatat theendthesefeelingsare divinised alllheaspectsof lileandihe worldthat nNrttimargaislo abandon nalure of the sell or Brahmanand to reallse are opposedlo lhe of Brahman aspects are butappearances thal all lhese ultimatelv pavttti-magra lhe ol a tollower ol aim whichexrslseverywhere.The Lsalsolo realisethe worldas a formof Brahman,but he trieslo thingslromlhe verybe' oi th€ enjoyable reaisethisBrahmahood things,but,while ginning.He is allowedto enjoyall the enioyable whalis stlb_ minale belween he is advised to disc them, enjoying and whatis not lt is a methodol servrenllo Brahma-knowledge whaiitwanlsandat thesame tamlngthernindbitby bitby granting time givingit a scopelo understandthe tutililyof lhe sensual so that t graduallydevelopsa tendencyto glve up enjoyments, sensualpleasuresandto enjoythe divineelementin the woid " saysthateatingof meat,d nkingofwineandenI\,4anu, therelore, nolblemjoymenlolsexarenaluralto allbeings,andaro,therefore, lromlhembeingslorlhgrealfruits.'?3 ishes,thoughdetachrnent Now,Tantrafollowsthe pravrt|margaor the palhol atlach_ it doesnot teachthe sadrakaslo againstthe menl.Accordingly, on the conlraryii advisesthemto commonhumantendencies; theleelinglhatalltheseobiecisoriginale enjoyworldlyobjectswilh implica' areinvesledwithherbliss.The iromtheDivineMotherand rionrslhal menare atlractedto theworldlyobjeclsbecauselhese Andas the oivinesi,'lotheris the only are endowedwithpleasure. lhe Molheris to be soughtin andlhrough sourceoi all pleasures, il is the worldlyobjectsgivingas sensualpleasureAccordingly,
72
Chapter-2
which men.derive
thesrearesr worrdry ptaaiure. ,[:::ijrilll"#ifj:"]rom tnatwe shat,hdveto,"r,.n iJi,r." o,r vineb|ss Tantra says: We are lo rjse lhroughthose thiI n g s w h rl chbringour down
Iffillj l,,:' :.":?Jril ;";::i,:i rr:' iji::::i* lt:il j{i:'11'+iliiril}ffi
dit{icult to pursuethispathol yoga It is,ol course,extremely ndhatva-Tantta saysthatthispalhis to be throughbroga.The Ga person has fullycontrolledhis sense_ who lo lowedonlyby thai by thecontactwiththeob' is not sensually distlrbed organs,who jeclsof enjoymenl, andwho is alwaysabsorvedin the thoughtol sayslhat thispalhis exlremely the Kularnava-Tanlra Bahman.3D neck the edgeoJasword, orembracinglhe like moving on riskVjusl possibilily Forthere is every hold ol a snake.3l lon, orcatching ol a il pursued ol downfaI in thispath,thoughil can givefruilinstantly, proper sell"conlrol. wllh practices witha problem ihus:spiritual Hereweareconjronted has already been and ii that seli'control meant for se tconlrol, are praclices? need ol these is the by a sadhaka,whal altaired To th s, our replyis thai, thoughlhe sadhakamay thinkto or mighinotbecomplele haveattainedseltconlrol,hisseltcontrol, lhrough lulure.And proper, ofdownlallin andlheremightbepossibility helindsa scopeto testhispowerof selt-conlrol thesardpractices, and lo stabiliseit on a lim tooling,so lhat he is neveralluredby in future.But it doesnot end here.The end ot sense-enjoyment pursuilis notsell-control ol lhe highesl buttheattainment sDirilual spirltuablss in lhe stateof samadhior trance,sellconlrolbeing of thisbliss.Alterthe at merelya pre ccndiliontor theattainment ta nmentol self-conlrol, a sadhakais requiredto dir€clhis sellol divinebliss.Tobe moreaccLlooweriowards'active'realisation rate.he isto raisehiskundarnltothe higherandhigherplanesand blissinalllheenjoy_ wholeworldi.e.to realisedivine to diviniselhe of makraare highlyuselul ableobiectsot the world.Thepractices in lorlhesepLrrposes. or sex-relation, Andthep@cliceol maithuna parUcular, s regardedas the highestmeanslor bolh lhesepur posesi.e.,tor raisinglhe kundal,ifl to the higherplanesandforlhe divinisation ol theworld.3? Butthe questionis: is it possibletor any personlo comein closecontaclwilh lhe membersof the oppositesex and al the sametimeremainfreelromsex{eeling? Our replyis lhal il is possible.In lhe livesof grealsaints,we ol lust, I ndsomeaclswhichoutwardly seemtobetheexpressions
:'"1"":a:!:""".:;::i:i:ij,i
;i;::Ii;:;::.: nfi1:3:1 r:t'"hf:*Tii:"t,,5 '""t*r*'=.1 itt'* i #jlil#ilf:::i"Tfl
t*"ffiiil$hi;"",::"'3;;:r*;;r'***, ffi F::;Hiji{dt[.i::frii; [iH+ril:',::ff -uonas no.ea.ni ;$.:;,::ffi"T::;:l?,.J:"fl""1:i'*
jt,";;,;, ;j: ;::ll"l$,ft :ij:""1 :x#iil:t ;:"fiT
*li 3;il-+;jil#l*-{tilr,r::'i*ffi j:_it *::*1m.1 i*;iil,J"t#*:,,#"_""";
: .":::::*:,:'lffi :nff'i:"* ;*i:r,";gji:;il',i:
'!ff:H[l: :;:..:ff :::;"li:f ;i::""1:::i:Ti:lr:3ift tr'" o;;*.;i';i"]i:"'::"Y;::i:;'"":ffi
t1 1131113',-"'
# :.:,"H.11,"f ll;!'.illlx I;i"#:i1#:f !F',#" fj}
j::';iilffi [:#iii *l1jti.ru*;i=l**'1,t"'*:ti'.",
The morethe risesupwardsthtoughthe n€rvecalledsusumna. creepinand themoredivinelaelings kundatini-saktigoesupwards, kundalini"sakti When lhis lhe lowersensualleelingsdisappeat reachesthe cenlrecalledmanipufalyingparalleltothe navel,lhe splrilualaspi€nl alwaysremainsabsorvedin lhe seadivinebliss ol the divineblissby the spiritualaspirantof this ihe eniovment haveentryintohis ot lustcan nofeeling slageissomechanicalihat practically true Human is m nd.This is not merelya lheory,but a slage such reached historyinlormsus oi saintswho have to bathe used Sri Cailanya, Raya,a closedevoteeof Ramananda - in deities of at lhe service anddresssomedevadasis women possible way, but in lhe closesl hls own handsand mixwiththem {act that the is clear trom yethe was nol at all movedby lust.This has Sri Caitanya,a teacherand lollowerol rigorousself-conlrol, comlustwas from whom a man oaidhis hiqhestttibutesto himas alsowe findsimi' pleielyrooiedout.xInthelileol SriRamakrishna Bhairavl his-lady'preceptor ordea ol laf events.One day,by lhe girl But tull'grown a naked and hehadto sitonthglapol Brahmani, on sex{eeling; mark of any did not show he evenin thiscondition, 35There ot examples are also like a child he behaved thecontrary, even sexjeelings by not at allmoved who were numerousTanirikas in the closeslcontactwilh the membersof the oppositesex Mr Ei Sadhosanga in hisr /orkfanfiEbhila PramodKumarChattopadtyay He describes this kind. of someTantrikas of oivesthe description eachotherin embraced aspirant afemale and howa maleaspirant 35Numerous in samadhi. position were absoNed and a naked havealsobeenloundwho,in the closestcontacl Vaisnava-saints And,we aresure, remained unmovedby sexJeelings. withwomen progress his spirilualiourney in made somo who has anv oerson asbe confidently therefor€, lt can, truth this musthaverealised peak ol sadhana th e possible reaching sainis lor is serledthal il auite eveninlhe to remainkee froms€xJeelings' or spiritualendeavour in becauso, sex' the opposit€ ol lhe members with closestconlacl that no mochanical and is so conslant senlimenl thatstate.divine canraiseitshead worldlyieeling
ffllii:1tqli!,:illtilfi::"*lt;"";ll,ll""ru""rln:;
rseobyitrnaslhe expression ordivinebeauryo ove.as a resulto,
ff;Tffi:I""':::,:ilfi ;l#:#J''' "ij":,,:#
oolecti r "ttrrose
;";ilfi'.T:i:"i:H ffJ;:1 *:n:Ll*: ,ifl,"":, ;11,ff T,,:;:;l' 111""fi n:n:n::^,l,ly:i:1;#:,ifi ^..^*
It maybe pointedoutthallhis divine sentiment is presentin
:ff"T:l"i",t"?nnl;# i:,iijrulfi:tm',yff i.p,o.'n"n r''" r ii" l',"?,ii,l;'";"ffi f ffi ;:,{T"5fl if
deeprvshockedby rhed";i.;;;;;;.'"'"t"
Asain aperson
:',::: ;:llflj?I",,f,";il,'fl tff;1'"""ft':i::",ff*il::::
:-m;ul*ri*s*iifu $:rn#iJ:: ri human psychorosy:rf ara*;;";;;;; pry expandslhis ingrained senlimenl;he ha
;;";'"t?ftJl$ilt,fi,:t:i; norrove otheresrrrs w'|th thesame reer' il;ffill#;":i'f ?J*T
jTl"::",#ffi ;',""J".#i:l"",ff ffijJ;r"'; f :jtrJffi l"*T
p*i;i;i$;hft*;'$:|*THn$",::,'^.$#ll .,"#,fl1: areIna towtevelol
spirituality, suchfeelinos torp€rsons whose spirirua r"".1 ili;".J sucnleetrngs becomeautomatic ",'"i.[?jr1"Tlff or mechanil
[:.T:-;ff#;:,J#,1:,1i#"i",Tilii:iii..#:; ryrngbebw |he spinalcordgets up slowlylron its stumber,and
76
Chapter,2
REFERENCES
o ""0 x,.," i,'u, ci. s"r'" "::,i:;::::;,:i,::::"":
3 nari..kaparrnr vesva rajakrraprrangara. brahman,sud.a.kanya -hanyaka.maakaravsir
n"_.-ioi"r"n,i.'ci.il;; j1T;t"'"::l:;lj":,";,i,;:;:: t an:ta,6 9. cl. Gupta.sadhana-fanta.
'
77
r bd . 1 1 6 2 .
1. videjahisalrummahavsho kamarupam _AG, 3. 43 durasadam 2. djksrtam va^avram_Gupta-sadhanat anta. 43. cl. Nta-yau
;!:';
Sex Flelalon and SpiritualBealisalion
1 I l -121andKufra,a Tant;a
13 vide Nnuttara'Tanlra, 14.78'a5 and Yoni'Tantra14.\)icleNiuttarc-Tantta, 14 7A-85 15.kunda ni.saktih dehinam dehadalini' laya srvasya samyogo mairhunampaikinilam - Aganasant pata'sakly'a ma'mrlhuna_ yaaste maithonamtatsyal- Kulanava sarnyogananda_nirbharah T a n t a . 5 . 1 1 2 : s u s u m n as a k l i r u d d i s l aj i v o , y a m l u p a r a n s r v a n - Matu'Tantra tayos r! sangamo devah suratam nama kiditam yonr_Iatlra I 6 . v r d e J o g a j ' b a n a n a n dTai h a n a t h a ' sI n t r o d u c t i o tno l7. vide Satvadevas Pnialaxva Prcmananda Tidhasvami's vai'a tativa and MahaniNana'Tantra 5141-612 7 and 312
i:;tl:",,., 3":,,'#ia?,ii.!1;"J1'":iJ:t',:;ti:;1J,"'J: cr o'u""'v" upuvl
c.
""i"1;""11iljl,i.TailiT,l;'aa
"*o
hanva-yonrm vacthu.yonrm ratharvaca bhaqinFyonim -abhave asnrya sisyani-yonlrn-asrayet_ yoni-fanta, Ah.6 6. vide KunarLTantn.g. 15. 7. vide ibid 5.14 andAnnada-katpataru-Tantra, 16.8. a yathecchdrn ta(vam adayasamsthapyapuraro walt_ Mahannvana-r antta.8 1621vtdeKutanava.T;nt rChs.6and r1. t ;fla.
PK chartopadhvav Tant'l abhitasn 3,ffi?;fi"""l I ",i,1 lSand
" i'i::!I:;i:?;:
:{..5t
yoni.ranra, ch tt Ni,uilara.rantra, ch.
1O.wd6Yoni-Tantrc, Chs.Z, g andS andGupra-sadhana-Tantra, Ch. 11 kamukona striyamg acchet_
;:1lrxnn"m:i:i::;;Yffi ffiz:;:;1tzx; Kularnavi
l? stnyodevahstayahpranahstriyasva viDhusan.m. sada bhavyan_ A/,A.Iantra.t t. r ZZ; srri_meianamstr_sanqrna 8.r.2i pranamyamanasa devrm ";;;i;;; cumbanam :^:^!.,::!.",:. sundarimnasaflm dtstva _ Ntufta?.lant,a. l,"T::_:T:::t. yaxacrd I l'd anganatokesamatr.kuta-samDhav a_ Kutatnavanapryamnan(ambruyathasyaDr kuta.yogrnan-
l 8 r a g a - hI i a n b h a j es a s l r e r a g g a yb, a i d hi ' b h a k ib o l il a r € s a r b a s a s l r e -cc Madhya 22' g a y . . u l a n n o h a r . a c h a d b h a j ek r s n e rc a r a n 1 9 .p r a v d l a mc a n l v r l t a mc a d v i v i d h a mk a r m av a i d i k a m - M a n u ' S n d i 12-AA. u n i v d t a mo p a d i a y a l e- l b d i 1 2 a 9 2 0 n s k a m a mj n a n a _ P U r v alm - jbid 12 a9 2 1 j h a c a m u r r av a k a m y a mp r a v r i t t a mk a r m ak i r l y a ! . e 22 vide P K. Chaftopadhyay, fantrabhillasi Sadhusanga,v0 Ipp 39 40 e o s o n a m a d y en a c a m a i t h u n e p r a v r t l i r e s 2 3 . n a m a n s a ' b h a k s a nd bhu anarn nivrtiis_rumahaphala- Manu'Snrti' 5 56' a o h e v i b h a v a v elta s y a b hv y a n _ 2 4 . a n a n d a mb r a h m a n or u p a m l a c _ c d ' Gandharva'Tantrc' 27 36' akiniah panca-makamdvah iaksh 7. vide Parasurana'Kalpa'sntra 1 12 yai'evapalanam dravyarn srddhis raiFeva codita Kulanava'Tanlta' 5 44 2 5 a l d e v a y a d a y a s y a v a s a n ak u l s i l ab h a v e l l a d a d o s a y ab h a v a l 1 a _ y a r 1 ad J s a r a m k v a c n - K a u l a v a l t ' n n a t a C h I Nulanava Tanm 224 blaga kaulam 26.bhooa-voqalmakam yogam - Matka'bheda' laghate iola b\ogena 2.25: yog;uai" Tantta,3.2. 27.idam acaranam devapasor'nadivya-virayoh Yogini'Tantn Cn 6i divyanam caiva viranam sadhanam bhava_sadhanamMu n da n a Ia ' Ta ntr a , 2 . 5 9 .
sex-Rel9!gL3!fq49!-!93!:3!!9! 28-videKutamava-Tantn, 5.104 andNirultaft- tantta,5.34. 29.vide YonLTanta,Ch.4. 30.vide Gandh aNa-Tanta, 40_30. 31.i
bhujangadharanan nunam Tantta,2.123. "*ry".
vyaghra-kanthavatambanal
r"i"."in""".
_ nr*,r*.
"!!;#:lyr::::lahesanistri-sansamyarnatas.care,_Gupra. 33.vides.C. Datta,SrtSt Ramakishna-dever lJpades,pp_1 Z,152 34.vide Caitanya-catitanra, Antya, 5. 35. v/deSvamiSaradananda, Sti Sti Ranakishna-l a-prasanga, \ot. |,p.221. 36.vjde p K. Chattopadhvav. Tantrabhilash Sadhusanga.vot. L pp. 237-A
79
ON ANI''AL-SACBIF'CE somegods.orgoddesses ol worshipping lntheHindutradition of pas'is a pedormanc€ lhere others Kali ancl Durga. h^eS.va generally yal/or thesacrificeof someanimalor animalsbalongang th€ animal io the classesof goatand sheop.In thisperlormanco, god and is otl6redtolhe its head olf by chopping is killed ;;cdliced as perlormance looked upon is Thoughlhis worshipped. orqoddess nol persons who do a.!t'g'ousone.therearemanytenderhearled likeiiand lry to avoidthe scene-The reasonlor thisdislikeis not ol the pureand diilicultto u;dersiandWorshipis a manifestalion killing an animal's a lendersenlimenlsof man,whilethe act ol andpuresen' tender cr!elscenewhichgoesdirectlyagainstthose such a cruelacl has problem us is:Why before Hence,lhe timenls. or worship, pure perlormance ol beenregardedas a pa( of the questions: has First, problem two includes This rather,ol religion? if res?Secondly, inthescriptu beenreallyenjoined lhispertormance why asked' may be res' il prescribod scriptu inlhs it hasreallvbeen andbearingloveand knowledge havethesageshavinguntainted act as a pan or prescribed cruel this sympathylor all crealutes religion? Our replvto the firslquestionis thatanimalsacriticehasre_ lhere in th€ scripluresln lheVedicsacrilices allvbeenprescribed lnlhis pasu-yagao( animalsacrilice called w;s a kindof sacririce theanimalsac licedwastiedin a woodentrame animal-sacritice, its calledvura and headwaschoppedofl' wilhall the necessary Atterthat,the vapai.e sottlat or formalities, by a sharpchopper. wasculout'cookedandoffered of the animal corpse marrowofthe animals-domesnumerous sacaitice, gods. In Asvamedha to the and,at tho end,lhe horseselecled I c anJ wild-were sacri{iced wassacrilicedBehindalltheseperspecially forihisperformance lo somethink' According lherearescript!ralinfunctions. lormances. by the Vedicpeoplein ers. humansacrijicealsowas per{ormed pulsuanceol scripiuraliniunctons. as it is enioinedin is morepopular, ln Tanlra,animal_sacdfico moreor lessas an obligatory clearlermsby theTantricscriptures ol animalslikegoat' lor thesacrilice ritual.Hefe,wefindinjunctions
and SpiritualRealisatron Sex-Relalion
sheephorse,bullalo,etc.Thereafe jnjuctions ,or the sacrjliceof
prad;e inrantra r"*"."lipi"]i ;?ilil.r1il 1;fiJ;;,",:inerar
jffi Tjr:;[i::fi,ffi ji*"ili"i'i+1,!,:':,,i.1il:1 iJ:
:i:ru t#,tH*il: *"y:+.,!lifi;:i",ffiJ ruj];i'"{ j:ii4:ilrui:[,1;:tt',fi jX'J tr;:jj[:*",,, :."1.:
w-orshrpped.The kiltingol an animalin sacri,rce o, *;r";;
,; t"i;
wilha viewto givinga moraland logical Thirdv, the I\,'limansakas, say thal the vio_ ol animalsacrifice, .rooo'irro tf'" perlormance yedas shouldnol be lookeduponas vroin lhe tenceprescribed lhrs in theVedicsdcnfices krlled werenolactually lran,mals lence. the Fourlhly' wouldbearno meaning detencebv the Mimansakas palh riluals ol or katma'kanda iamknvisisnavecntrcisedl\eVedKelc acd ot anrma's killing like the violence ol ny rr'f''"d the palh liberation ".r. lowards "a ot showingus the f'en.r, as lncapaUle ol anrmal_ syslem summumbonumol lifeThisalsoshowsthallhe in the Vedicritualsand lhat I was not sacriliceacluallvprevailed _ u svmootl"one Hence,to explainthe itual of an ma tr"ai"J lacts ol "" sacriiicesimplYas a symbolicone is buta dislortion shouldbe Doesit meanthal all the symbolicinteryrelations orrector the No' like thrownawayas withoutany valueor trrlth? to anlmal relatrng ooDularme;ningsof the termsand iniunctions as accepleo be alsoio thereofare meanings symbolic sacrlfice,lhe is l\al' here noled poinl to be orworth.The havinoeoualtmpodance startingkom theVedicageup to thisday alllhe rnlnd;n l(adition, fromlwopolnls areconsidered andperformances iniuctions relioious or spinlual internal olher' of view-one is externalor material;the direciol with lhe is concemed Theexlernalormaterialview'poinl sym_ wilh lhP vlew-point spirltual oooular meaninqs:lheinternalor lhe means Surya stand-poinl loil ones.rnuJ,t'om tnemalerial rra^iiesl sell lhe t means sland_poinl s.rn,wn'teitor tnesp't'tual Itsoruteo,BrannanlnthePnernalse'seyalia orsdcr{icemeanq thesacredlireetc',whileinlhe inlernalsense' ofterinaoblationsto Selfor sellto ihe t'Jniversal one'sindividual it .""is wor lhe sense "urt"nOetinq the external in taken worship Lod. ln theSupreme to the etc sesamum'seeds belleaves, shioperis lo olferllowers, puri'y hi< lo he s internal sense p in the ra(en ,nworsf' olos.wt"||e god woril wilh all humilityto the and s,.rrrender ;;;le exrslence ot worship'theworshipperis in rn" extemallorm ar'ioo"J.rit""i"", gods, whilein ihe inlernallorm the lo io kiilanimalsandotlerthem wilhrn Ll woisfrip,treisto aestroyalltheimp!riliesor spiritualevils ;l properknowl€dg€andlo drssolvehis i,m."ti nv t'" "rtriuat'o" p,-rrilied lo lhe boscmol the SupremeTheselwo tnus exisience, are to be to the lwo view-points ;;;;;i;";;;";" "ott"sponding
H"":l}irj#i* ;1"*"t",j,{"::,lHJIT,:?ini::ffi ifJ'"l3,ii,r|;;g3x: fl:r::5H^gl;;iru1y*ir"iliffi oeme4ls,by the swordot knowledoe. ic
-d:,:r,,"y;:ilrx:l:;; lT:lUflt:*Jui;ffi
speecn;/rahlba,lor krodhaot anger and on,g""n"", If," carrc-d sacrifice ol theseanimatsme;nstheannihrjatron "o "J_ ot rheeviis ***a ,n" o."cticeol speech'conrror. and so o.. as rhe lll*t
ffif''*{H':;fft"#":'*sHilr;s}:'in:'li:*
jn,sone asio,LJnd aurho,n"tii,"-"".r"'*ii,'"ilji"'il?Jlj,ll,lll,l Lli,l:
:Hi,:'##"":: :il;:::",,:lN:l i,,T.:'"d+:jir!!H,f
Hffi ::ii::r":lifi ru;m:,n:":rli:1,::".ru'ii
oe p_ertoh€d betoreandaflerth€animal-sacrifrce, .""n"gf".".
n
#x."jthil#f t; :li,ii"Jiii{i:.i?:ii.":::11%t*'ff tharlhe head :a
ed pas.r-vibshoutdbs muneredlo
ihe ri
ortheanim, '";;;;;;#;:i'.?",j,$ $i"iJl[l, Ine godor goddessconcerned
is to be worshtpped by tne fiowol Droodoozing,out kom theaninal.andso on.lt wiftUeunnafuiaf, ,t norrmpossible, to grvssymboticinterpretations to aI theseriluats.
81
sex'F!l3l19E!! lPlltu3l x99lE3ll9!
j: :*'trl:r*ru yHii:ili x:iH;:ir#iffi : rjii.{:rl;"ffi ::rr;:m::ili;j#;*';rf ril:; acceptedInallcaseso, religious perforrn
axrernar perrormances ;, .;;;;; ;;;iil;Ll""l:","':;iffJ!i:
j:{'d*ll,t"# t:,f :Hi:ii *"*';";*'],rmffi ,l:i:;ij,*"*#
::mj::*::g#,1ffi jn::?::l,,ff i['.il;xl""",xT fiffi:,::*ff {.""j#r:*::,tll: meorumlhrough which jt coutd exoress
,- .!
Does rt,oltowfrolhthe aboveInat
anrmat;ac ticepresc bed
:j::J:i1'.:tlsfi"":l1l,,J:;:1l"r j:?::,::,"""r.;;;;;;
jlirtH':ff l';"ffi ::,i :,t;;:ri:.'[::#.*:iil [:: oerrormances orrer,siontB;l;;;.ili; i;]: ;HE: iil?f ::?
jt-,[*tjntji: ff::,:lit"#':!:.#,"il?:T:::3:"::ii ?i!ilru:"h:,m: l,"ljgli::ll: :,ii.".: :ff ff il wr,cn roLe ffilffi#i,lx.1?:H:ffi;j:l::j'i". seem
,ry. however. rhefe isnod ";;,;;;;il;:J;,[:ffi#:lftT::l;
t"#f"[""",u1T]:trf."J".ff tg1"n',*tr;:l J,iT;xi ji: ffi ffi
''TJi"f"",g il:iii:;iild:J,j::""tl,i",
83
and or In lhe lile he(ealler' trurlso'|thetracllonse'lherIn this-llle
;:;::i""j ,l::fff i:"ft ::ii:':;:?'ii,l: :r::li';:irm,*: upanisadic meanrngsoflhe the tt ir", o!grasping l.i"i.u"""lor ::;;;;;;.;;;,;r"'
srate' conrradictory rheseeminslv ltulh the on medtlaling "vnrh;sEins ot "-i)^i""^t trro ttoanisnadsanlndtlyasana
exim natro'.r' rl'e same wav rhe 'nrerecrual ;;r':;";;;;i;v a'o also'n'uct'o's l---"-. "^"t"'; n r,.lronsforanimal-sacrriice is lhal our saslras thrs behind reason ,""iti.t h'gheslpra'e ol lhe types lo people all ""*"t.rt'i'"".The ol Ij",,."^ r" rne teao['e 'iluals and perlormances diliete^l ll_ese ]ol't""1''t. a^d qrdoes ""o oi oillerenllenperamenls """" ""," oi p"t.o^s i,i..rn rt'J'r.r"a acton or pFdorm_ Anolher polnl lo be noled here ls lhat an lo or ds subservienl ,_." ,rJr,Jnlin" rooleouponas oblgalory
J""""";;:l.lxi.:T: ::::li"-. ;:*:*.::l l[ Jil:Tf]l hke k'llinq sone perco_ o"Ao'a"n""'o' aohcaras at black arts seoararonbnngrng l-ii,ng 'o."on" 'ntrn" causrngsomebodys Here we can^olrFgsrd ,o-"Jn" rna"'="lpg,lion and so or
'T::'ff; *:::i:,nr,:.',*::i.*:it::i'Jl5LJ:',,:x rhev 10havesomesellishor materialqarn ;il;;;";;;;;;"t inru4c_ no such aspiranlsincelhere;s i,"'^^i -.r. ot bv perlormrrssJc" " "oiritual sublimarion sp'|ritual il; ;;; ;; .;";;i; 'ol be regadodas should ,.r. i. in. *." ruu.unimal-sactr{ice rt rs upllllsimplybecause to sprritual are lhere l\'4isra "o"o"toiu.i 1,,1"",i''^ ir*""."b!"tienl .*rr*. In the viewol Vacaspali an''rar' or periormance *istrue tharbvrhe ;',";il;:;i;;;;,; canattainsomedesirediruilseitherinthrs rit" .i"ai"" thereare also """ "^Jit " *orld, but' simulianeousl\" ;:;il';;;;.;;;;;", andaccruing wilh ,1u,".""i. i" tn" v"au. thalthesinsassociated by lhe oerexperrenced '',J--tn""""o"lott"n""s alsohavelo be ol sLchacts lorrner enioinedin the Vedasis no vlolence Theviewthal'violence First'it is a view grounds: u ontheiollowing ol aspecl the riiualistic ", or ".""ot'i"" ?!a* n,tbvthefollowers ill,ii"iit,*""i"pi"o
ff ["$:{::i:::ilildil":",t#J:*",tid?,**,# no,rorhe nouse.hoijersl;;;;: or sex-conlrolare applicaOte fo
tne sannur.;
;#;:"r#::ffiT.;l:
;""T::[1i-1,#,1i#::x;:ill"'""ff :ai"i*1;iXTi][",",,1
il;"d;"ls;iliu,
""
vedlcvrorence Misra' bvvacaspati argued
Sex'Belation and Spiritual Realisalion
also enlatlswdh rt lhe correspondino sin
,"".".,'.,";;";; ;;;;"'.'#;;:fl ff:"l:;1lli"i:ff"::"#
j,'fi Jt;:l$.;J fl :,.1#;!:."i!i::1ili"il1J:"::,1,"#ffi li::ffi
asp ranlsol ralas-quality. we partlygetthe replylo tne Fromtheaboveconsideralions' is notobhga_ secondquestionalsoThatis to say,animal-sacrifice personsoJ io it, and are notentitled perionsol tamas'quality t-orv: scriplures perform l\'oreover, il iiy are not requiredto sailva-qua gouro' elcarum, haveenioinedthe olleringol fruils,suggarcane, clearly which also lor animal-sacrilice, as anuk;/pasorsubstitutes lt maybe arguedthat is nolobligalory' showslhatanimal'sacrifice of thequaliiyof aspirants torlhe ihouqhthlsrilualis nolobligatory qualityol /a/as of the aspiranls sat;a ar tamas,t maybesolorthe lor theaspireven is thai' reply To this, our {orwhomit is enjoined an asplranl is not obligalory: qualily, animal_sacrifice antsol ralas is simolyal he pedorm ritual: the qualilv bound lo s nol ol ralasis lacl'hal lhe This clea'lrom p"4o;T I he desr'es t. owedlo elc' worksliketheMahanirvana'fanta, theSarads'lilaka aulhentic Ramakishna greatTanlrikas like and thal rilual, havenotenjoinedthis andolhersdidnotperformthisritualasa partollheirspirilLralprac' 1ices. animalsacrilice comesthethirdquestion:1f Now,necessarily In presc lhe scriptures? bed by it been has why is nol obligatory, margas or dislinct two quesllon, reler to lhe to we are reolvlo lhrs practices enplnedin IndlansaslrasThesetwo oat;s ot rehorous at'd pravrllr pal\s are:ivrfti'margaor the pathof renumciation maloa or ihe palh ol enjoymenlNivrtli-malgais a path oJ direct ofman Hetelhesadhaka withthenaturaltendencies coniontation ot lust,greed'desire' sentiments his natural is reouiredto deslroy hlmsellfrorn dissociale and lo mind resolute with a alira;tionetc. thesesenl_ to arouse are liable that ol enjoymenl all the objects ments.Thesoleaimol a lollovtetol niwtti'maryais io slickio the i.e.to realiselhepurenalureof theselfandlo giveup ultimatelruth or the path lo its.Pravrltl-marga thal is notsubservient everything ol enioymlnt,onthe otherhand,teachesus notto destroyor trght lhemin sJcha regu_ bulto pursue aoainsl out naturaltendencles to sellconlrol In raiedwaythatour mrndis gradually accuslomed a sadhakais givento enjoyalltheobjeclsthat thisoath.theretore, dre normal,valloweoto socialbelngslt is however'e'llolnedlhal realise lnaltheblssde_ a sadhakashoulo wnire nqanytning, e^1oy
;x1;1;"""tff fllxxxl11'"1"#;":rulll;,il
ln rep,ylo Ine l,rstOuestion. we are lo say lhal antmalsacfi. rrce_nas " been enJorned In the Vedtcscnplures t;, ; ;;;; "",""""
ror persons, ll#i;:l;iii;:::i,',',:T,i;;;o"T*"''"0 "", af enarLra,ry symparher .; ;;; ;;"::'::;'":1,'il#;Tj;:l " ao"'
1T-Jilff#::'ff:"#ltrt'"""''tr""t'i' " "orii "-ol,,"Jl
::;:t;:i::1iJ :, i:::;;*19't t ;:h:l";#;: an-nar.sac.,r,ce inpursL"""'";;;;;"'f,il_,'#i:'J :.T
J""#: rerra,n rrqm 6.r.nar iacnr,ce ;:H::1ffi:::ff::,,:1,ra1as arso
iffil:,il[ffi ffiii],1;),t"tTi :tdi"::l:iii:ifi J??l sons In whom the .aas_{Ualily predomrna
qi$,,.,H;*l?**n*g, li;ffl,t ':i::irtfr:ili".:,11;:;:":i:;!;'::;iilt*;ff
nilffu ;lrny{:ii,::,":ii"Tr:;:T:iH'i,:#li::J#j,."1,fl I rorcaltltudeor the aniludeo, r.4as_qualjtvand (ct dtvya.bhava al
'eve,sol sptrilualprogress. tl is more reasonaoteto regard lhem as ornerenl,waysol spfjtual pracltce, correspono,nglo dillerentattt-
;i:::::ff.;Tffi";,:',lii::,li::iy,?:T, o,asp,anrl "ades
:,.,':..#t# mrrun*l."Jl d;*iHHft :"fr Jffiil:JT' ii?,","J.# l""i::i1,,:i^: T":li:lil"nl
85
86
Chapter-2
rved fromthal enjoymentis a manifeslation of the bljssof the Lord. An_d-ior lhis purpose,the sadhakais adviseoro penorm atj his acrons as a serviceto the Lordand io surrender everytiringto i;. lf a sadhdkaio lows lhrs palh ,n a properway he witt.ar talsr,reatrse rno suprerr'eb|lss o, the Lord. as a resutt o, whrcha his wortdti senliments anddestreswiltvanish automaltcally lorrrnrsmr.C,anl ne-\Itea rl to abandonanythrngthal js not ,elevaar ro set,-rea sa_ ron I nlsshowslhafprav4timaryaot bhogat,e.enjoy.nenl e-os.n ntvrl yogai.e,renunciatton, the forrre. oe,19a meansior .matgao.
-::1s1,."*. grauftt|maryais natthe eod. irisp,escr,oeJ
ll:,11'j_who,havjngunfutfilted rorrnose desiresa hebotto_of rf,",if,""rL-cdntl pursLelhe n^/nt-.rargafromthebeginnrns. ot animal_sacrifi . Now,theperformance
o,."e-a, nas been enjo,n"o :"rn"v"0,. ""oli"'ilili:;1iff,,,'#
Ine"vew-polntorlhe pravt|marya.Thts t ralpaves lhe pathlo lfe nrgnestsprntualptane by inlectrng bitby bittherooaot non-v,otence n^rnemtnoot the sadhaka.ForTantra entojnsthata saana*asnouij -ot \t any,anjmal. nor shoulclhe Cul even a O,aOe ol grass lor , n,msetl, andtt^athe shouJd eatthe mearol ontylhosean.malsthat hav€-beenolieredto the Lofdor the Mother 11asadrakafollowsthis q,:g:ily. hJsmind wt, nalura y be or.ecreorowrrds rhe l"l:l:'?" LOroorthe Mother.andwhen,throughgraduatprogress, ne flseslo a " rghersprriluaI planeand reatisesihelove and bhssof the Lordor rhe Morher,his lendencyto sacrilice animalsnatura y vantshes.
j:11"1-jl"lll* thusnotessentiarfor sprnluat uptift; it isa " "^-^ r6ndencies or rhose who have nor ::l::::^:l:r T''"thuman ::?:l ;::'jll:i,*':,'gn
norhavecuri;ar;dpropernon_vrorence
'ol" ;ir;;;;i;:;;i# ':':ft:; :';".:".'""i3 "'er peopre jhe orrower tende";;:;;;;;? "'""j:9:l:^b" :J::::^!:.?1i9Ts sprrit uahsm:lhis fltualassucircannottretfany person
rse lo lhe rt r'u". oi ::,J:; :"#: ::::^'].:fl1'-ln. :31'""r'.".. "o,lrl,'0ff on" ."n ,,beratron Bur here lT::Y:1,.?r il b. "l.."nri"" "n!,n ;" ,r" .v'"oor" J, .pii;:i.:#:',::l; ll::"^':^11,,_:.': tne senseof self-surrender. "i"n rrom anolherslant_point, we mayevaluatelhe ment , mafsacrifice. Anypersonwithoutpreju;icewt agreethat ol ani_ we hav€
and SpirilualRealisation Sex-Relalion
87
simplybecausewe no rightto krlianimalsandthatwe killanirnais haveenoughpowet or because,being inlellectuallyequipped,we knowthe lricksoi killingthem.Allthe greatsagesol humanityhave realisedthal lhis practiceoJkillinganimalsis unjusland contradictory lo lhe divineleelingin man.They have at lhe same time real' isedalso lhat it is nol possiblelodissuadelhe whole mankindlrom in lhe ol non-violence kilng an ma s and to injectlhe philosophy heans ol a L lndiansages have therefofedevisedlhis pracliceot animal-sacriiiceto check the indiscriminaiekillingsof animalsfor lheir flesh. In lhis context,the methodol killanglhe anjmal lo be sacri{icedis worlhv of notice.lt is ordainedthal the head of lhe animalto be sacrilicedshouldbe choppedolf by one strokeonly. Th s Injunclicnpuls rest ctionslo lhe cruel devicesol killingani' mals.The pointis thal, the k I ing oi animalsfor theirf esh may but lhere somehowbedelendedas necessarylor seli-preservation, is nojuslilicationIor iniliclingpainsand sufjeringson animalsior no gain ol one'sown. No reasonableman can pul roNard any logiclo defendwhy man shouldinfliclunspeakablepainsand sutleringson animalsal lhe lime of klllinglhem. One who has witnessedlhe s c e n e osf a u g h l e r n g a b o a r o r s o m e b i g a n i m a l a n d h a s p o n d e r e d over il with a ccnsiderate,logicaland sympathetichead, willcertainlyieellhedepthof lhe painsol lhoseanimals, on lhe onehand, and the depth ol the crueltyol man, on the other.But the devll in man dances in joy at the cries and sufferingsof ihe animals.The melhodol choppingoff lhe head of an animalsal one slroke al lhe to advisethehumanracethalit ai al t me ol animal-sacrficetends mandesireslo kil an animalloritsflesh,he shouldkillil by intlicting the leasl possrblepainson it.
!,
o ct) ta o G
o =
o
.9 .9 o E
c
!t coG i.:
=o -Eo
oa
Chapter3 it is necessarylo drawa pen-pictu.e BeloredealingwithTantra anddeveloped. otthesocietyin whichit originated In the dim twilightol pre-historywe catcha glimpseol two of Indianlil€.Thelirstwasthe dislinctslagesin the development c Age.In lhis age accordingto sornescholars.people Palaeolilh still livein AndamanlswerelrkeNegriloeswhosedescendants Theotherstageisdesignated as Neolilhic Age.Peopleol this thewallswilhscenesof ageusedto ive in caves,anddecoraled hunting anddancing. Nobodyknowswhencivilisation dawnedin India.Archaeologica discoveries haveuneartheda highlydeveloped civilisation an theIndusValley.lt isgenerally supposed lo bepre-Vedic, anddated roughlyin thelhirdlnillennium B.C. Fromlhemolher-images in theruinsol IndusValleys Civilisationil seemslhatSakliwaslookeduponas the roolol c.eation. An rmageof a deily,surrounded by beastsandseat€din aYogicposture,andengraved onseals,appears to belheprecursor of thelaler Siva,the greatYogin,Pasupatietc. He has threetaces,a headornament andlwohornsonlwosides.Somesuggesithatth€ headomarnent withtwohorns,perhaps, anticipate lhelalertrident. Some slonepieces appearlikelhe phallusof Siva. It seemslhat naturalobjectslikekees,stonesand anilnals, elc.,wereworshipped. Perhaps serp€nts andYaksas alsowereworshipped. Peoplehadbhakli(devotion) lowardsparlicular deilies. Somesimilarilies betweenthe Sumerian andMegoDotamian Civilisatons on the one handand IndusVall6yOivilisation on the olherhaveledsom6scholarsto lhinkthatthe lafl6rwasthe borrower.There werecommercial contactsnodoubtbetlveen lndiaand thosecounlries, butwhichcountrywas theborow€rwearenol ina Position to sav detiniielv.
92
Chapter-3
As we shallsee lateron the ruinsof this civitisation reveal Iigurinesot [,4olher Goddess,whichare ajl but nudeexceptfor a shortskirtthe waist. lmagesotl otherGoddesscan bediscerned interracotta ligu_ flnesunearthed inlheZhobandKullisites in northernandsoulh;rn Baluchislan, belonging to aboulthelourthmillennium B.C. TheIndusValleycivilisatjon revealsalsothesymbolsof /lnga and/onlwhich,perhaps,indicatethe prevalence oiledilityrites: According lo some, lhe people Vedic wefeal nrstba.baroLs. _ I hey0urllJp t'1err crvr\sation aflerdeskoy.ng theInddsVat.eV Crvtlsar.on.(Jlters lhinklhat the VedicArynaswerehrghtyc v,t,sed, anoDU,rt upthetrowncivitisation. Theybroughtlne pre-AryarpeopreIntolheirfotd.anddroveawaylhe rebels.Someschoiars notd inarrneuravtd|ans werelhe architects ol lhe IndusVa ey C v.lsanon,whileoihersgivethe creditto lhe Aryans. Indiansocaety consistsof helerogenous elements.This iswhy _, lhereis greatdiversilyin the languages, Ioodhabits,appearance, natureofthepeopleandreligious praclices_The popula_ composite tionconsistsof lhe tollowingkindsof people 1_ Aryanor Indo-Aryan Theyare tall with brighlcomplexion, pointed noseandspeakSanskritic language. Dravidian
3.
Mostof themlivein Southlndiawithmarked dilference tromtheAryansinphysical features. Theirlanguages areTamil,Telugu,l\,lalayalam and Katarese.Theselanguages are nol derivedfromSanskdt,butthevocabularyoJsome ot lhemcontainssomeSanskritwords. Aboriginaltribes Kol,Bh , Mundaetc.Theyusedto hveInmountainsand lorests.They are oI shortslalur€, darkcomplexion, andsnub-nosed. ThetrlanguagesareentirelydifferentJrom thoseol the above,
Socialand ReligiousBackground
93
Peopleol Mongoljan leatures Theyare devoidof beared,snub-nosed, llat lacedand haveyellowcomplexion and high cheek-bones. Mosl ol them live in the hilly tractsol the Himalaya andAssam. The societyoJ the V6dicags is reflecledin the fourVedic grahamans, UpanisadsandKalpasLrtras. Samhltas, Broadlyspeaking,theirageexlended lrom2000BClo500BC,accordinglo model 4.
Womenhad an exalledposilion.Ghosa,Visvavara, Apala, elc.,werefemales€ers;th€reare hymnsattributed lo them. Vedicpeoplewerepol!.theislic lancyingdifferentdeltiesbegradually hindvariousnaturalphenomena. Polytheism led to monothesm lhroughhenoiheism whichmeansthat a deity,worshippedforlhelimebeing,is lookeduponas supreine.i,,lonotheislic tendencyis noticeable ancertainhymns,particularly the Hiranyagarbha hymn(X.121)inwhichtheseerappears lo lhinkthat, exceptingHiranyagarbha, no olher God shouldbe worshipped. Monismis voicedin a hymn in whichoneexistingprincipleis desrgnatedas Agnr,Yama,elc,Goddesses are fewerin number,and occupynferiorpositions. Thegoddessofspeech(Vagdevi)is, however,extolledhighly{X.125).She is statedto suppo{ deitieslike Mitra,Varuna,eic.,giveihedevotees theirdesired objecls-lt is due to herintluence thalpeopleeat,se6,brealhe,hear,etc.At herwill shemakesonepowerful. A so ol Tanlricreligionappearsto haverun parallelto the Vedic.Somedeities,very popularin Tantra,likeDurga,Kali,etc., got inlothe panlheonin Vedictimes.Forinslance,Durgianolher torrnol Durga,appearsinlhe TaittiiyaAranyaka (X.17).Umais mel withinthewell-known UmaHaimavati sectionol lhe Kenopanisad. Kali,Karali.Bhadrakali, typicalTantric deities, appearisTanlric scrip, lures. Some Vedictexts associatessexual riles with sacrifice, presumably designedto securetertility. A partol the Asvamedta sacrificewaslhe queen'slyingdownwiththecorpseof a deadhorse holdingitsgenitalorgan.'Thedialoguebetweenthe priestandthe
94
Chapt6r-3
queen,as recorded inthe Vajasaneyi SamhhalXXllt.22 S1)recalls an earlirritualinwhicha man,perhaps a p esl,wasto unitewiththe queen,andatterlheceremonial sexualunionwasover,hewasput to death. Thepriest's unionwiththequeenjs also lound in ihe Satapatha BGhmana(Uttaradhyayana Sutra,vi. 17) Peopleusedto believethat somemiscftevous oemonsroam aboulin theguiseol dogs,owlsfalcons,etc.Therewasa poputar belieJthatsomedemonsmoveaboutin the lormoi rootsot tiees, lhisis Inlerredlrom thewordslvturadeva andSahamutd {Foredai . 30.17).Theywere believed locausevarious kindsotr'rrsciiel. eg causingdeathof peopleand caflle,diseases,dryrngcow,smiik, obstrucling thellowolrjversandshowersof rain,causingdrought drawhgoutharsh wordsfrompeople,etc.Somedemons*ere s-up_ posed,to havehideousappearance, e.g..threehedds.stx eyes. tnreeleel.redcomptexion, etc.(Fgyedai. 35.10,vi.. .04 r5. X 14.9). Beliefin ghostsand evilspirjtsin cemeteries is reflectedin lhe Rgueclalx. t4.g). In a cemetery, peoplewereenclosedby a crrcrewntchwassupposed lo separate thelivinglro.nlhedeadand to preventthepremalure deathof thepeople(tgvedax. :|B.4). Twoharmluldeities, menlionedin thisVeda,and Krtyaand . Nirrti.Thelormerwas believedlo lurn peopleblueor red and to causerilt betweenhusbandand wite.The lanerwas betievedto causevariouskindsot harmandevendealh.Thepjgeonwasher accomplice (Fgyeda i. 38.6,X.B5-2S, X.114.2, X. 145.1). Yatudhana, perhaps,refo(edto sucheviltorcesas caused variousmischielsincluding the theftof cow,smilk..yalu,seemslo haveb€comeJadu(magic)in Marathi, Bengaliand newIndo.Aryan ranguages. The wotd Yatunavatprcbably relerredto peopleversedin sor ^ . .TheeviltorcesSasarpati(Fgyedaiii.53.15,16) paksyaor Paksiniheti (/b/dx,165.2,3)weresupposdd to becapabte o, g-iving pow6rFemaleevilspirits,calledp,bacis,are reierredto (i. 133.5: iv 33.3).Through God'sgracea barencowgavemilk,thewifeot an rmpolenlpersongot a childand wineflowedfromthe hoolsol a
(vii.18). riverbecame lordable 117.6), a lormidable horse(i.116.7, birdto lhe dghtof a housewasbelieved Thecryofa Kapinjala thebirthofa sonorgrandto loi theattemptot thievesandindicate of God of The owl was regardedas lhe messenger son (ii.32.3). (x.165.4). wasominous itsscreech Dealht The Fgvedaconlainsmanltasand riteslor curingdiseases, bringremedy againstomens, reviving dyingpeople, cubingdemons, ngstrayanimalsback,etc.Amongthecommonpeopleweresuch de liesas Alasksmighna-devata lRgvedax. 155),Baiayakrnaghna' (i.12A-12) andSapaln| devatalX. 161), Duhsvapnanasana-devata place (iv (X. it appears that 25.9) dhavana-devata 145).At one forlh€ deslruclion ol enemies. Indra'simageusedto boworshipped and nles TheAthaNaveda cofildnsmanymagicprocesses conlrolling iorensuringmaterialcomlort,longlile,curingdiseases, snak-poason, warctpeople, counteracling causingharmloenemies, ghosts, provisions lor for wearing talismans ng oif etc.Thereare pEcticesappeartoforeshadow Tantric riles. varouspurposes.These TheVediciterature menlions aclassofpeoplecalledv@tyas. ThedefiedVedic religion, andwereverypowerul.fheAtha.aveda deiiies them. ThisVeda belraysbelietina largernumberot impsandghosls. Someevilspiritswerebelieved to assumelhelorms otone'slather or brolherbeforeatlackinghim in dreams.The crealuresof the Muradeva ThosecalledKimidinsweresup_ classwere reckless. posedio causediseases andspoilcow'smilk(Av.i.7,2;25,3.9, v i i i . 4 , 2 x4..1 6 . 1 ) . ' ? The Av.is a mineol informalion aboulsorcerymag|c,etc. Magicwasof twokinds,benignandmalign.There weremethodsol counteracling theetleclol magic(Av.1.2.27,ii.11.3,vi.13.1'2). Gandharuas werebelieved lo be,ondot musicanddanceand associalion weresupposed to assumetheguiseof oi women.They dogs,monkeys,hairyyoulhsand causemenlaltestlessness and addiclon to gambling andd€slroyadiclestorsacritice(Av.ii.2.3,4 i v . 3 7 . 1 -121. ) .
Social and ReligiousEackground
""1 :l;:::'fl P,:ry*"fr lalijir:,,:ff:$'fflf ",:ffi
97
hosliletorcesinto lwo parls and to leavethem in disarray(1 610)' The burningol a dead ichneumonlorebodedthe slaughterol en_ emies(40.t.39, 54). Beforeleavingfor tradethe merchanlused to keep a ball ol cowdung on the body oJ the Purahita and asked himUhowis the dav? He replied-auspiciousand conduciveto torr u n e( 1 . 1 5 ) . The AV conlainssome charmsand magicalrilesJorprevent_ the ellectol venomv 13 is sup_ no snaKe.b[eandcounteracllng Somewordslke larrndla ol snake_porson ooseolo resumelhe etfecl elc lJruguta, Asikni, ' (AV v 6, elc ) used In Vlgi Apodaka,Aligi, from non_Aryanlanbeen borrowed have appearto thisconnexio;, guage. The Kauslkasulralays down some processesbelievedlo en_ able a personlo know lulure events.For example'the groomot a bndewillcomekom lhedireclionlromwhichcrowdsapproach(xxxrv' 24). In selectingthe b de lor marriage'she will be askedto pour a handlulol consecratedwaler.lf she poursii in the right,she will be consideredlit ior marriage(xxxvii 11'12) 'I herearesomernslancesolsupe6thlonsThe buryi19olsonP articles ai the crossingoJ lour roads ensures the destructlonol enemies(AVv.31-8).Seriousconsequencesareforebodedby birds like crows, pigeons,etc., fallingon a personwith piecesot llesh ln a Brah_ wifewilltake theirbeaks(46,4, 6, 51.7).Thenewlywedded minboyon her lapat the fathe,'inlawshouse;ihiswillensurelhe birlh ol her son (AV.xiv.2-22, 23). A childs teelh appearingin the lowerjaw first lorebodedevil resullonthe partol rlsparents.Amanl€(vi 140)wassupposedlo counteraclthe eflect. SomeBrahmanasrevealcerlaincrudepraclicesFor instances in Asvamedhasacifice, the queen' wrappedin a cloth,used lo be aid besjde the dead horse.The queen prayedto that animal tor lranslerring its procreativecapacity lo het \Satapatha xiii 5 2
$J:';::'."?il"#:":,:HS;iJ:'i:::iJft "-,"';;ffi lngrheeftectol curses(Av.1.2g T:i: 22. ltl.i. e: ti.tZ. etc.1 :19.%?i#'#l,l,,i;i1rll;.;,i,,.i,1"*:;;":"1*;
fiitfliiij l,n+i,i:,fl1i$i$:illl#*i"fl ;i"T::""fj"j"T::
:oJl:y
rarismans d€sisneo rororr curses.
i'"'illilJij:ffi:"T.1:::".:"i::':r....1,.,0,',;;;ili""l"i '
s"a"ii,' p".ri',11'i,:;ff :::i:l:; !:;:,:; i^i,1;:',y'Jy; satauara t{; 1eu..w. zo,i id,;;:;:.';;"1,";,il,Jl i,',:,K;
Nirbhur,, ercwere 5Jjrn:i1?:T;:"1':^.,1,r1-,1,., berieved ro
ffi:T,1,"1r*":n;.;T*r".o"o"ci_,.""i1."d;."::ll"J::,f ;il;# li' l;':i;:::il""#1,."i11]: J,fl [:::l*", ",:;:^,::
LUrrrdrns counle€cting rrleslo. theeftedotuaacr""-.lii.)--' -,11 ' ''e'e aremany/,anlrastor rhis lhispuroosF purpose " in av (" ,^ - -. inlho rheAV n.;.-;;:;,i';;:iTu:\tyr:!|f:.::,, x . 3 . 6 ,X V t . 5 ) .
we,Snorr,eerrommae,cI nere werecerlain 5"",",: :?*:.,::i" ritesdesi ::".::^"llrl ji,',#'ili;;:iln}::..jffi ;;,,il;: HT:l?::'r :'^*."" y.:1"'*'''"' il; ;;;;;'t l::.1':'il'. o.,i' i g')
:li'#:t"jyi::" ot the Palasawood,:::' etc:
innE i' iZli:l:l'ff "'"TI'J
Sornerjteswereprescribed,or
. thc h rure, sare derveryor chir;;;;ffi;;j5.ll'"vemenr
orasflcuf
,ns^v,ar,ry,n men. rheoo,"ii :;:";:;i:: wasro rmpartyoulhtutbeautyJiiiJiil.""j,]J*jf;,li to men
heKa """,i:::# ff ;:,:l?,i,,lil#lyl^::,::t uska.sutra
if;:::,fl ;:ffi""#1;;1".#",:s::d*r"J#5f X","",J.ft
Tatlttriva3-g). Aiter the cremationol a corpse'lhe peopleattendinglhe iuneraLhad to pass througha yoke, madeol the wood ol a holy tree
jlj,i:j:H:H"j""'1,?lx1'?j%jJ:,i1""""1f ;"J*,::f lilj;
*",,":;fr.:;iff :HT"1llffixlff; ruff:#
#:l::J::i:? ;l;il11t"""g.#itrfli:
slatedlo have reporledlo sinJulacts as A classotiemales,calledApsaras(nymphs)ismentioned dem godoesses. lorm c fhe ch e'characlensticol the Mahabharala(ptesenl relrSakta and Vaisnava popularrty ol the 4th cent.) societywas allegiance lhe convenlional ltom tn"ret*ornut" ".n. "depanure andlhe oasuoala seclol theValsnvas i tneVeoa.T_p Pancaralra 'a'ge ol adherenls nLmber ol Sdrvasgar.eda revealsmany departureslrom the tradilional The N,'lbh. ol the trans Brahmanicalrehqion.Draupadifurnishesan example cresslonot tne iieatot awoman havinga singlehusband laxiiy like Bolh the epics tesiiJyio ihe prevalenceof moral elc I icitconnexionol men and women,their ple'mariialrelalion peopleoi other predominance' Thouqhlherewas Brahmanical ot high a^.."".-Uv-dinl ot e*cellenceof qualilies becameobiects lrue lor lhe lvtbh age Krsnahimsellwas ;-r""1-'i: rn1.'" 'niefiorLaslewas highv ""p""i"rry v;dr* i a comparalvery , """-gr;t'"'". lor his exemplarycharacter' revered relers lo ln tne eoic aqe we ltnd lhat the Famayrna (Raml peo' lhal shows (2 5s.15-26)rhe Mahabharcla\Mbh) tree-worsn,p
n:a *tfft:T ,,1fl ;f;#;f,t #:"inr,il *;;$#srftr;g!:"*ltisift ";r,,"",:l*,,;. .."" J?:f
'#3il,"J"""".t"T orservantdoes nordesert h,m, one
:il,",i"i ;:'Hi]ilfl :ruli;i::l:im,Xli;:#J,':: rship (es ,",.J,W,nf.!,.,x: il,T;J;fi,';,;:1i""'.wo
anosodoess esin.,. ;il: J: j:":i'J:1; l,j"r:1";:',"*sods isrererred roinsome surra works (e.e. t".[A:r:;:i1:X1'r:::es
demonesswho hadapresiding house oL u""oroir"ri"u"ln"r "very (sabha182) had1obe propitialed beliels For example This eotcre'lectssomesuperslilious l3 23 10l Also wasomrnous lhebattleJield lhesrql'lol a tackalin (4 32) Among 34 l-ino"r. *u.'tt" t"n or a headlesslrunkthere were: andPorlenls otheromens asses tnela| ol a burningmeteo(tealsintheeyesol camels' elc cow kom a an ass as tnalol oirlh;l an'mals elc.. unusJal slgnswerepleasanlmind unaccounlable Amonoausplcious ol the lefthandor lefteyeol a oreasaniiei'ngin mina lremblrng
g*ffi {fu fu;i#i}lf.";?Hl:""{tr: sabara erc. Arflbe wascaed ll,:.:-::1':1llisada, "?vj,l:ji rorem orwenl tomonep,"""," li"l!,",.,],g"r:',;nii,loT "i"i,,", Thereis rnentjon alsoofyaksas
::: 3i3fl ill',1*l:l,ll::::l;;ffi;;i:""i;i;:::#:ffi andNaga-s. Asurasare mentioned as hostileto Faksasas.Asuras are
33 17 Goodandbaddreamsare relerredlo (Ram 2 4 '373 erc.)
101
to0 Chaplel-3
, r. #$:i!".::l"JiJces
romenpossessed bvevirspirjts (e.s. ,o haveborhmateandrematerorces
oy."ii", i"i;.*. ;ffiil iyiJ,l:."iT::i":: ffi.,,,o,"0"0 j'."".'ii:i;ilI':ru: j',r^:"0u"""i I"",J"JT;_".*ij:::: rarrya non-Aryan deiry (a""yri" ryi:,i,!jr" "*::::,:?.-.^r.o.!:""o
* i.]'^ffi'"::::
83, 84, 86).
Mbh
"o"i"ty "orhprjsedthe Saiva,SaklaandVaisnava The puranasand Upapuranas are a
a""t"lhu
gi:is :""trini*:"mffi i,*_# sil:i:lTi:fi
Furanascame intobeingin the periodbetw
ilnr# ;"*95**#:*::H,".;r1*;"lf lffr:J:i:9,fl "J::l :lni::x"::jt{i?s::il:'J[f Jain,sm an A;ivak,sm. s"",.i,"0" ;:"' i:T :j:"^8i,.,-tom,
"""". rhenon.ved,c ;,,'#1"',.':i,,["j"";Jil:"0^""',"d "lil,i."""Jff Vaisnavaswere ^Tie
broadtydivrdedrn
::i"it"rJfl ::;l::T*Hi":'#fl?fll.ililTtfi ""s",J,:".ffi Ha5:,#i:",Tirf #:illlxil*"',,5"r'iiii,'J.',""; paie of the Brahmanical socretv Th;;
,
The Varsnavasa owed treedom to won
ru;:rm;:i;e*Eh:*:*r*lliti". *
suorasusedto worshrp VisnudirectL The Pasupatas usedlo resoftlo som( .--
thenghllo wo'shiodeiles rheI told.andgavewomenandSudras were tnemoslabomnable Kapalikas lhe ^-1.".rr. lmonotnem usedlo holdblood' they bones. with oecked il"",i"q i'rn"t roir,. lhreadsol halr sacred andwear hands 'n rheir tte"Os bones human garlandsol "iui""o-nu-"n n'irr.f'"y r."o to*"nde'wlth ('141h cen' ol Madhavacatya samgraha lnlhe SaNadarcana four sub-secls into lurv)Saivasaredivided of Nandas' The Puranaslell us thalthe politicalsupremacy lradilional to the blow a severe deall Maurvas,Andhraselc pedot'rod Asvamedha personallv l.gs granrlancal pl'gron. Sudra 1oBuddhisls exlendedliberalpatronage t
ifr:*:il:lf*ird#'quiliffi11H'il,:1#
103
and BuddhismSulistspreached 'l1f*,cent)appears .legrigrble. In{luenced by Vectanta :J",:',ilfl i'ifif "iT4*lfl:,'ji"Tffi love all.Theylay slresson In'tralion to God and at .ovrngdevolron
contouro, -w;;; medievalln.ji ..In ,srn rs uresverypromine",ry. y* ;: ;ii;J|i;:l "J"?il:i the relig;ous
.i0",,,. ::ffi;l,i"J,,i:"Jj;j?x,:1:;3:: j,:1"*".,ir"nv"
rffji:"t';il::s#irx"; ,'ffFi,:ii!fi,iruff aji
gai vvlthrhespateot Sam*inana il Han. aia maoerrre-Uotc1-nO camotrc asseflionlhatevena Candala, devoledto Han,wdssupe-
beriers andvarjous prac. iiff j:,::,:"^,.e::^a'::perstftious
ff"."di""fjix',#i; i,::: houses,derrveryroomsa;d;;"."i';;;"'J;J""&;;#;?l;l Ji::J:j:*:"j:,9:1d@ ":': ,lni:':: r:, t w,rh :::^1.,:,:deso,sabarcEavain conneron
p"'fi"
3ffi3l;:'ll'":i,P.::9Tt'r" " ii i"liffi;::il:;::J':: y,Jl;':::'',"'.g?j ;[1l'ff ii^?xH: ;.:::1"1"':i;qe;;r*ffi u," g::13^"_" i"",i""'i i::l ;ll:,:T#i :#. "." "r necled wjth rt appearto h|nf
"l
"""iil#:i
if" non_ary"'""o"S;n.
rsfers rorneusuar s;racts ,".,)!.,1n"::1"::!" l"hapler3ls) elc,, so comrnon ",atatra, vastr.a.ana, in the Tanlra.
and other i:l,"$i""j:,ilT"herls ",-,,",":X1oJ:J"llo";'"U"":ffi
forensuring thesa,edetivery 0"0,"y,1',",,iJt:."flJ,:escribed o,
ihatrheevirin,ruence orsar. 31Tl:'":1r":l:t l"^,le.berief
;i; ;;;; ;iil;$"J::fl ; ## j::::i:,i:::ir-:11--;
manlra wasbetrevecno r""a**"" *"ip""" ,"p'"iji,"!.
fl!K;::J:iTlil:f ::[';J:::"""#:]1"."il: ",".'#ff
;,escribe',es rorpropi. i Tr#lil:1,2?2;*i;"i'i;n;.1i :::,r.8)-€tc_. #il::X""Xf:.:',ffi i:l;:9i:11'iTi,*1""': betieveo :: tnatsarmya_sanri "ilc;;ff ;""i.,Jil?,ff : ThePuranas contain copiousrcferences losaivaandSaivism. On the religiouslifeof lndialhe jnlluence ol Surismwas not
ecstasythanon on emotional by gur]. Theyput greateremphasis by discrimination acquired knowledge surveyof thesocielyshowslhalseedsofTantra Thefor€going eadyas intheIndusValleycivilisaweresownin hoaryanliquity.As tionwe lind Saktiwhoappearsto be at the rootol creation.In the of speechwhoistheupholdereven Vedawe meelwiththegoddess is represented as ol gods.In the Kera UpanisadUmaHaimavati lnthePuranaslhegreat evenmorepowerfulthangods omnipotent, ol SaktiinTanlra ihepredominance oowerot Saktiisslressed.Thus, processol dsvelopment hada longcontinuous SaivismandSaldisnhadlhoirstrong TheriseofVaisnavism, thewayo{lutureTantraas a deparlure impacton lhe society.Thus, waspavedlongago iromtheconventionalBrahrnanicalreligion greater keedomlo women allowed andBuddhism ThePuranas prepared fortheirlreeandSudras;thusthegroundwasgradually dominTantricritesandp.actices. Belie{in ghostsand goblinsmarkedlhe Indiansocietyever of magic bolhwhite s nce 'he Ved.caqe.We lind thPprevalence andblack.slncelheVedic lfi|e{.f heAha1avedaappearslo have praclices. onTantric thedeepeslinfluence in relaxedandtinallydisappeared wasgradually Caste'rigidily in lhe faithsThisprobablyresulted andotherheterodox Buddhism liberaloutlook ol Tantrawhichbrokathecaste_barriers (mukl4,taughtinTantra,perhapsowed Theadeaof liberation andtheorlhodoxsys' religion Brahmanical itsorigintolheorthodox The idealof enjoymenl(bhuktDmightbe imtemsol philosophy. schoolof CarvakaFrom and hedonistic bibedlromthe heterodox Inthisrespecl' derivedyogicpraclices. Yogasastra Tantraprobably TantraTantra bothFaja-yogaand HathyogamayhaveinJluenced hddrrsownphilosophy suchas lookinguponthe bodyas a micro_ oflhebody.The themedium cosmandperforming Sadhanalhrough lotusinthehead thelhousand_petalled unionol lhe Kutkundaliniwith ol Tantric penelrating the cakrasis regardedas the consumation its ownethicsanddiscipline. Sadhana.Tant.a developed
Socialand ReligiousBackground It appearsthal, despitethe wide and deep influence olTanlra
orrherecogn,tjon otsomera.)rnc prac:l^tf"_yl:ly; ","dL"pire rJ(es. pdrrlcurarly D*sa, and of lhe rzntic
Mandalas. Mu;das, vanlras,_,Vyasa. etc.-in BrahmanrcatsocietyobtoquyaqainstTantrd nor onty r.ns!lous.but quire exptrcit.For rnslance, the :'las
(t.t?.261 -262)holdsrharsomesasrras,neiuo.n9
:i,!:pi,:* yamara,Vama. t'na|ava. OppOSed to the Vedaand Sn.t, were loi mulatedby Devi Jordeludinglmohanarthanl Ihe world and were 0asedon rqnorance,
Dluibhasavak does nol calegoricaltycondernn Tantra, _., -.1!: o!--F)?presSos reserval.ons agarnsl1. ll decra.estxi 1.25/tha,so T.uc-or ta-traas is nor opDosedIo the Veda rs aL,ho tal,ve,bJt whal runscounlertotheVedais unauihorilaltve. Jha.ughlhe Tara-bhakti-sudhafiava (Tamnga6) lfles lo make
Kutma.purana
B meanr o.ry rog.ol,ry :: l:"1^'1:fT::s: ' .s rnp veodard nol lo denig€te " .tne Tankastne opprobrium obv,-Js ls cnrouq lhat lhe Sa/vadatsana-samgrahaol Sayanaor t\,4aohava il4th centuryA.D) does not jncludeiantricphilosophyalthough it
*,eticatschoots. tt maybeassumed rhaiby i:1',_:':1.^"::l,ln: rnerm€ lhtsworkwascomposedTanlr|c
praclicesdegene?tedInt; .ro.a, deprav,tyand letl IntodisfavoL,rVariousevrce4ceqsnow Inal lhe heydayof Tantricism,both Hinduand Buddhjst, was kom th; s€venlhto thelwelfthcenturyA.D.Thetestimonyof Kalhanashows
cenrLfy A.Drankrcrsn besa.rowane, of
:il^1lTol'l ll"':"n leaslnany OllheTanlf,c al .epugna-rlo lnecul-redd,s_ OracltceS appea'eol'.Kash.n r (Faia-tarangint.vt12).The p.ov s,onin Tanlra ror{eeplng,Maf,t,?ssecret tikethe paramourolone.smotherseerns lo polntto the iact lhat lhe lollowersol Tanlrawere conscjousol the
':lrS.*.1*19 prevairins InrheBrahm"n,.rr ::1.-"-:l ir I ne Drovlslonln the Kulanava g3) "or.,.iryl
lhat Kutacaa shoutdbe a l*. cro,sepreserue,tkecoconulwalerandthe slalement lhdl one who rs al healt a Kauabehaveslikea Sarvaoutwardly. and tikea Vaisnava rn,rneassembtyot men seem to point lo the some corclusron.Io abyss of depraviry Kulacard sanh rs altesled ?.9""p ll1, LaKs.rlonara.almost lhe lalest commentalor ol the saundaryalahari Und€r verse 41 he gives a horrid picture or wanlon tasciviousnessInthe nameof religion. He expresses his djsguslby con_
105
to beevenrem€mbered {noi thatsuchthingsdonotd€serve clLlding to speakof beingPractised). ot Saivismin the We havealreadyreferredto the prevalence practically wholeof India, th€ As this roligionspreadover societv. that, amongthe have seen we shalldealwithit in somedetail.3We image of a deity, is the there ruinsof the IndusValleyCivilisalion, Siva doesnot laterSiva. whichappearslo betheforerunnerolthe to who, according god.We with Rudra meet appearin lheVedaas a god olthe ofthe horrors andforesls,'a some,is a godol mounlains He is lookeduponby E to Hillebrandt. according tropcal climate,' prototype popular ol Siva.ln lhe the primilive deily, Arbmanas a of Rudra is an adi€ctive (Vaiasaneyi 3-63), Siva Samhlla, Yaiurveda gradually ln the mellowed iierce Rudra This showshow the but Rudra, epithet ol is no longer an Siva Uparigad, Svelasvatra ol various appellattons god. ol lime In course is one Ruo,a-Srva etc., Mahadeva' Sarva, Bhava, Mrda, Pasupali, Rudralikelsana, developed. Theopinionsot scholarsaredividedas to whetheror notthe in originof Saivismcanbelracedtolheyralyaswhoaremenlioned perhaps certain' 2:) andwere (e.9. Alhatvaveda,XV Vedicliteralure hibeslivingbeyondthe Brahmanical eastern,Aryanor non_Aryan ritesandrituals lothe Brahmanical distubances loldandcreating testifiesto thelaclthal nativ€andlor' evidence{ Numismatic pre-Chrisiian and earlycentuiesof theChristian in eignrulers lhe of the Saivacultiollowers erabecarneardenl leaning.Bul' at The Guptarulerswereusuallyot Vaisnavite ot Siva. Someol lhe was a devotee Vainyagupta, easloneol them, Saiva. became Guptas underthe ministers andhighdignitaies As lime rolledon manytemplesin honourof Sivawerebuilt wereset up.Theworshipof Lngasbe' Siva-lingas and numerous pop! lar.Theepics,somePuranasandSaivaAgamas camewidely etc. relerlo varioustypeof Litgas,theirclassification, Fromlhe seventhcenluryonwardsdilterentsub'sectsot,the saivasapoearedin th€ religioussceneof India.Fromliteraryand sub_sectslPasupala, epigraphical sourcesw€ Iearnolthefollowing Kapalika (or Kathaka-siddhanta), Ka;unika-siddhaniin
106
Chapter-3
(irahavratadhar, according tosome),Kalamukha (Mahavratins, ac_ corcttng to some),Kaladamana, Theloltowing groupsol Saivasectsappearlohaveex|stedIn . rneeanynedtevaloeriod: Siddhanta SchooF-tollowing the puranicdocrflne B. AgamicSaivas 1. TamilSaivasof the FarSouth 2. LingayatsorVira-sivas 3. KasmiraSaivas C. PasuDalas 1. Kapatikas 2. Kdtamukhas prevarled in grealerortessdegree.throughoul lndra. _ , rwo .Saivrsm ttrt. greatschoolscan be drstinguished, one Kaslimjrian and rneorner50uthtndian As alreadystated,the tollowersot the Siddhantaschoot attachedgreat irnportance io bhakti,andadheredto thepuranicdoc_ IrinecalledSiddhantan@rga. Of the varioussub_sects ol thjss;h;, themostpopularwasthel\iahamayura. Theepigraphic recordsteslilyto lhegenealogyo, severalAca_ ryasol thisschool. Accordrng to thisschoot,thewaysto liberalron drtrer.lor ex_ tn:,Lingapu?naemphasisesyogawnnethe Siapurana 1!!::. Onakltand sJresses accordsa secondary positionlo yoga.i. hotd IngDDak,as the mostessentialelemenl,thisschoorcomes close ro rneDDakll schoolof Vaisnavtsm Fhe Sivapurana lurlher advocatesrenuncialion of worldty ., Karmanas a meansol progresstowardsthe goal.Thisis possibl; wfh or wiihoutthehelpof lhe Glrru. TheLlr,gasuggests gooddeedstikeconsrrucltonof Sivatem, plesandinstallation of Sria./rrgasas a meansto lheanarnmenl of ThePasupata doclrineappearsto havebeenfirstpreached in accordancewitha tradition '€cotd€dinlheMahabharata (bafti, Chap. 349).Information aboullhe pasupalasis contajnedmainlvin the
a6cral and Reiigious
107
and pasupa!a-su!ruol Kaundinya,Sacldarcanasamuccaya required is K,nmapuanallJpatibhaga,Adh.37) Thelayrvorshipp€r onlylo recltethesimpferianta omnamahsivyaThenakedbacheto observean is' however' tdr;scetic,ascetc,the idealPasupata with ashes,he is thebody procedureBesid€ssmearing etaborate (one on eachof the withlivelires to performthe severeausterfty loursidesandsunover_h€ad). as a nakedlunalic Sivais represented ln lhe Kurmapurana, appeaGnc€ witha grotesque weredivideraPasupatas ol theChristian Intheeaiy cenluries Heterodox Vedic and ed intotwoschools,viz.Lakulisawhichwas lused were schools In courseof time'these whichwasnon-Vedic. pepost-Gupta inthe complete intoone;lheirmergerprobablywas doclrineandphilosophy aboulthePasupata Someinforrnation 01.2).The is availablein Sankara'sthasl€ on the Brahmasuara cause' union, viz. eftecl' holdthat the live categories, Pasupatas lo cause' the operative rlual,endof painsweretaughtby Pasupati' a'da$ana' in his Sa snapihe bondsol the animal Madhava' systemmainlylreatso{the five samgraha, saysthatth€ Pasupata categoriesof lhe Pancarthik syslem,viz. kiya (elfect), Karana soulwiththeSupremesoul). (cause),yoga(unionol lhe individual (iles]l, of Vidht Duhkhanta llermination misery). ontheconscious. andis dependenl Kalais the unconscious. spi t (pasu)is of conscious etf6cl. Th€ ll is dividedintocausethe isthespirillrom other and the trom bondage lwotvpes;one notfree organism andorgans. preserver anddestroyer. thecreator, Kararais Pasupati, Madhavamakesil clearthat duikhanfaof the schoolis noi merecessationol miseryas in Samkhya,but the attainmenlol supremacv or divineperlectaon. ol Kaplinor Siva'andthecarri' TheKapalikas,s worshippers ercof Kapala(humanskull)appearto bea sub-sectofthe Pasupatas' records ThePuranas (e.g.Linga,lX,Kuma,XVl.l)andepigraphical (e.g.Bhavanagar Antiquary 1 lndian pp 2081 , Inscription, | 86--47,
109
lX.p. i7r'r,nctude theKapahkas amongtneSarvaschools. ThAv aresometrmes caltedSomastddhantins orSivaSasanas.The Kud
,'#,iJl,:i:',il,:J-*
t'eo.'asveda'vahva or outside theambir or
*:fury re,erenceb toKapatrkas, rs,perhaps.
con_ .-,-- ]1"_:"rl:"1 ratneo tn lne MaitriUpanlsad (vri.9) whichchar""t"n"e" ihe, as lhieveswithwhomassociation is prohibited. (C.5ih_6h centuryAD)is ^^ ^ -Ijescientific ?!a:!sanlita ofVarahanihira an earty workto describ€Kapalikas. originallyworshippers of Siva,theyappeario hav6 ,Though wors"rpped C€munda too.as isattested by BnavaUnrfi," maohaua I Acl,tV).fheyaoopted " ",fZrlji Tantricpractjces: sometines th;y ouro|o.tantraby res^orlrng lo.aclsot a morehornbrenalure.Thei of th€sepracrices wereweanng garlanos* 1*:::1y:."."?r: nurnan Dones,takjrE2.^e loodandwinelrornhurnanskujls,olliiof hunran fleshto fire,JreeassociatonwilhtemaleKapalikas,eatng fhe re;nantsof a dog,sfood,eic. They.heldon the|lbodythelollowing sjxlh;ngs, ca ed Mudras . Glerm prob,ably bonowedlrcmlantta):K;nha|a ot Ghan ka \neck-
Ui"?;y,WJ ;T:tffi ;iiJiff:ilif:.:ffIil:i,5:ili'",;fl
Kapa,laand Khatvangaate the lwo minot Mudras. fney that,by meansof Mudlaqonecolld attainfhe highest f:efieve-J bliss. thatthegoalcouldbe reached by meoikringon . Alm-aftupposed ,Theybelieved to resic,6 yr_e in theseatol theterur" o.g"n.ih" ^apallKas belleved intheSamkhya dockineol prakrtt.Maiat etc., a,'r-d_-atso ina krndolyogaonthesyllable Om.Theultrmateatm wa; Ioeraltonandcessalion ol sorrow_
sashaswercktown as gharavastaka, Candrajnana, ,Hrdbheda-tanka, , ,, .Th?i Kalavada. Theythoughtthatoneshouldnolaspireanersatvatonin whch .lhere rsnopleasureT. TheNathateachersJalandharinatha andKanhapa calledlh€m_ selvesKapalrkas in lhe Caryagitikosd
(7thcentAD)andsomeinscripoJYuan-Chwang Thetravelogue India'the North-western in Puniaband the lact lhat, tionsrieslijyto very was subject PoPulat Kapalika regionsoJIn_ (apalikasappeartohavelivedin severalother cenlres were their lavourite Nepal in Assam and Kamarupa dia. forlheworship ollhegrantofavillagenearNasik Thereisa record'o is reportedto have Sankaracarya of Kapalikas. andmaintenance il seemsthattheywereubiquilous metthemal Ujiainr'.Thus, K a p a l i k am s a y b e b r o a d l yd i v i d e di n l o l w o c l a s s e s ' lhedread' tormerdisearded andnon-brahmanical.The Brahmanical and was theiremblem' andeveniheveryKapalal2lhal fu Dractices latter rejected both theVedaandthecasle-system.The recognised landswerelhe homeol Whiielhe Punjaband the neighbouring ol non_ mainslronghold Indiawasthe Kapalikas, South Brahmana Kapalikas. Brahmana were andKsapanakas sayslhattheDigambaras Laksmidhara thesubsectsol Kapalikas. popularreligion in SouthIndialts Saivismwas a powerfuland period before lhe Christianera io a orevalence theredaiesback galhered it strength Jainism and Fro,.n its opposition to Buddhism A D ll sixty century the lifth or laith about andsuoerseded those aboutthe calledSaivaSiddhanta, deveopeda dislinclphilosophy, elevenih A.D. century in Kashmirand in independently ThoughSaivismdeveloped between lhelwosys_ thesouth,yetthereareprominent similarities tems.WesetJorthbelowlhe salientleaturesol soulhernSaivism Literalure conslilulelhe sources SomeTamilworkslikeihe lolkapp,'am ol soulhenSaivism. SaivaAgamasespe' thetwenty-eighl Besides, thehymnsoJSaiva ciallytheparisdealingwiih/tana(Knowledge), sa nts,andlheworksot latertheologians arethepinclpalsources ol Savism.Oi the SaivaAgamas,the chiefis lhe Kamika.The SaivaSiddhanta was basedon the twololdlraditionof the Vedas and the Agamas.A reconciliation of the two was attemptedby N lakantha (14ihcent.AD)whointeDreted inlhe lhe Erchmasutta
Social and
ljghtof the Saivasystem.He g€nerallyacceptslhe standpoint of Ramanuja andraiseshisvoiceagainsllhe absoluteidentityof absolutedistinclion of Godonthehandandthesoulsandlheworldon theother.Sivais Supremewithhisconsort,Amba.havingtheconscrousandunconsctous entities asthisbody.AppavaDiksita's commanlary,Siva*amanidipika,ts hightyvauable. TheKala(or,Kalamukhas), so calledperhapsbecausethey markedtheirforeheads withblackslreaks,was a sub,seclo{ the LakulisaPasupatas.There aroev'dences, mainlyopigraphical,,3 to prov€thatth6yacquiredan inlluential posilionin SouthIndia,oar_ liculatly, in theKarnataka region.in theperiodroughtybelweenthe rnnlhandtheear'ythirteenlh centuryA.D.SomeepigrapFs andthe sflohasya(11.2 36) of Ramanuja (b. 1017AD)rhrowhghton lh€ir dressanddoings. Whofoundedthissub-secl,whenand howcannotbe deteF mined.ll is possiblethal Kauruspa, ons ol the four disciplesot Lakulisa, wastheodginator of theclass.'. Somel\,4ysore inscriptions intormus lhat theymigratedfrom Kashmir;lhereasonotlhe exoduslhe unknown.Unslableoolitical conditions, coupledwith repeatedMusliminvasions.migir have lorcedthemlo lindpasturesa n6w. Theyare statedto haveresortedto practic€sevenmorehideorrsthanthoseol the Kapalikas. Theytookfoodlrom skllls, b€smearedthe bodywithashes,ateashes,drankwine.Flamanuia. whodescribes themas Mahavratadharas andLogudadharas, lelll.ls that,besidestheabove practices, theyatelheft€shol deadbodies. Theyhadmattodlocks,andbracel€ls of /gudraksa seeds. Frominscnptions team we lhattheymanagedbigeducational Inslilutions, calledMatt€s,whichwer€anachect to Satvalemoles andenioyedlhepatronage ol kings.governors orleudatory chiets. Someoflhem,eg.,SivesvarasaKi, Vamasaktiand Krivasaidi. were Fa./bgurus or royalpreceptors. Th6Kalamukhas appearlo havebeendividedintotwomaior schoofs, calfedSakti-parisad tpare) andSlmha-patisad(parce). Thetimeandreasonofthehdeclin€ andeventual disaDoear-
a lacl lhal rnce ca^nol be delerminedw h precisionll is' however'
in andthevira-saivas Lrngayats iii"'JuL"i irt".-" progressrve glory lhe ol the eclipsed ao consideraoly i'ni i*"ri,rt "".rrrv Kalamukhas
mosl The otherSaivasectsol the FarSouth,o{ whichthe lheTamilSaivas poputarweie theSanstritSchoolotSivaSiddhanta' got a lirm footholdlromlhe vit"'."iuu" o, rhe Lingayats, liili" schoolscomeunderAgamicSavism srxthcenluryonward.These AgamcSaivism between rne marnditference l/ika systemol that the tact "iiorai"giJf"rqrtt"t d.*u. of x"anmirli6sin the ,nal* problems' pnncipal In Agamas i.sfrmir. ttouqhagreeingwiththe oneness and idenlity the tar as aoootsthecoctrineot Samkaraso concerned d are wo andthe theinoivioualsouls Jigiahman, andTamilschools lheSanskril belween distinquishes Farouhar in Sanskntand its literature wrth .. totio*]. ii'" S"nlrrritschool. view of yisisVedantic the holds chiel lollowers, ir"tr.un." andTamil "" withitsnon-BEhmanafollowers LJ*,ra.ft'ei".ir."rrool, ac' Bhedabheda ot Advaita of view ii"iatui". itorO"tr'" v"aantic ground the on some by challenged uiew ls ffl|s .oriino ro "o.. Brahmana alsool theTamrlschool' lollowers tnatthire were Theooctrineol theAgamasonwhichTamilSaivismis mainly viz Pa' (Lord) o".eO.i" on lhe lhreeloll;wingmarnprinciples' Theenliresys_ prs, rinc,viouat sout)andPasa(wo d as bondage) Knya ltite)' Yog.a Vidya viz pa;as (feet\ ' lleatning)' tem t'as to,.', souls i."oi"ti""i""J crw, f"jorality)TheLordisd lerenllromthe andthe tetlerswhichare uninlelligent nof inO"pinOent *f icn "t" agent lnlerenceeslablishes is the universal CoJ.tt'e omniscrent. fruitsol acton He is lree the knowing the agenl tnelx'stenceol bvthelive i'o. ii" Ltt"* ril" uiia, action.Hisbodyis constituled and i"rr" J s"r,rr viz., lsana' Tatpurusa,Aghoravamadeva live lhe ol s"Juoi"t". Hu toav' ttt" rssultol his will,is the cause pro_ ano preservalion deslruction graceobscuralion, ooeiationsot sNa b€come souls liberated ducton,The libera_ Saivasditlerintheirideasabouttheslaieot thesoulin removed ol thesoulcanbe lo some,lhedefilement tron-Accordrno Othelsthinkthatlhe kom allbonds p""r.u"""f ,elease '""oi^gi" "
socialand ReligiousBackground
;:iJ I;IIT,[:t*:,*lrrupr
rhoush nor. yerorhers operarive.
andrhe.pe^onconcem;#;;;"il:X9j,i:y":!#'J:j j,j,rfll tTt th."ernancipar€d soutisasinsonsrbte
9!ll:l ram|l satnt, t
asa srone..The
113
so well-knownin Ben' hai-bhakti'parayanah, candalo'ptdvijasrcstho galVaisnavism. thepracsacrilices, awaywiththe Brahmanical Basavadoes ot asttology the science people and by charms ng lces ot oewilch Basavatriedto placewomen'who werelelegaledio a low zealofBasava withmenTherelormist on anequalfooting Dosilion, inslance Anolher divorce and iedhimto advocatewidow-remafiiage ol the the recognilion was Basava of progressive oullook of the labour. dignityol oflhisseclandlhe altitude Thelargenumberof monasteries nolon adequalegtounds atlnbuled' are equaliry rosocio-reliqious e bv some'6l; the rmpactot Jainismand lslam'and by others lo neigh_ inlhe whichclaim€da largenumberofadherents Ciristianitv areas. bouring ln courseol tlme,thisschoolwasspl lnlolour groupsviz Sarnatrya,Misa, Suddhaand Vira ln ViraSaivismlhe roleol Guruhasbeenemphasrsed are A notewohy leatureof this schoolis thatihe Jollowers perhaps, relers to calledlangamas(lhe movingones).Thisword, move' on lhe lhat lhev wereaskedlo be constanlly lhe orovision to wanderingfrom Place Placea rosaryol Fudfaksa' holding weainga necklace' Useofashes, d.inkinaDadodakaol lhe Gutu, padakingot Nasadai e , the remnantolihe lood,olleredlo lhe Grru or thefoodoffetedloa hngama' ihe recilalionol lhe mantn NamahSivaya,etc are someol lhe duiiesol a Vira'saiva. The six slagesin the pathtowardsthe unionwith Sivaare In pmsadapana-linga,saranaanda/kya(mergrng bhakti,mahesa, thedeily). A s'ib-sectol lhe Saivasis calledHarihalaTheadhe'erlsol thissub-sectmakeimagesin whichHariandHaraarecombinedlt wereat seemsthatattemptsat lusionol SaivismandVaisnavrsm lhe roolof thissub'secl.
j'tr m""t*;$*#lin,,s#;ruitilt;tt;Iiii. ..
anikkavacakarthink< rh,r
TheVrra-sarvas, popularlvknownr!
gffn:::*An,ff :::':f,*"?;::1":..i; ^.j;l;:i,H,Yffi th,s sd,oor ex ,". ijiil,H:lif*ff,JT:;:f l."ojj*",har
n::1,:l#;"1;*1",.r:f ,":i ""l"xnffi {""l;,J;:ilff
jf:i,*hti,; llit#*j ,"lt*zu+:*r,:","r"
trl{*$"fti1,i#}:*ll"jir"+1}1,i:#*;{ Bl,ak is conceivedas bas€cl on th6
;",1*e*r,$"'ni:*ll*1ffi ;*#fr ffi *fu va , t s tva a ata*ec. thh iKf ;|: ;,fr:,lj l;u{,il;#'""t ..
3llll,ifil':l mfrl'T'llll"?,'iiii i;ry#,*iirnl"
iflf fif#$ff6*n":,ffi *t*:'ifi,ii''',{.!i{ Basavais not
inclinedto enlorcethed. re'.". Hesays rhar rhe d";",;";;;;,l':;li3'iln,"'j:|itrT;f; appeaF to hav6closesimilarlywiti ihe idea;rpressed In lhe verse
114
Chapter-o
Socialand ReligiousBackground
j,",t':ri;""i"#'j:,i; m::"1#i##*#,:3,lh",ilrn:
ft';+rffi rlilxx"# trfr #:fi;*::,,17?;,?fi
;Z: ;;:"',:f;';{iyXi ffi231i91,^" 11,.t";'t 9,}tl i' i"i*i+"
;.1fffi,J:JbjU""J ilfliT.l,fjft,:i,,tr,"il;J."":
The causeol lhe attemptat the fusionof the two cultsper. looka lirmgrip circumstances. Buddhism hapsliesrnthelollowing pre-Chrislian times.Asokagavea boost overlhepeopleeversince Buddhism conlinuedlo flourish. lo it. Till the rise ot the Guptas, revival under the Guptas.Finallv,lhe Therewas a Brahmanical preachings ihe deathknellior Buddhism. ol Samkaracarya sounded were anxious lo resist the surgingcurrenlol ever TheBrahmanas like composition of made attempts, lhe Buddhism and desperate y/alas, provision rehabililale their for a network oJ lo Puranasand prompled A senseol commondangerperhaps religioninjeopardy. ranks in olfer close their orderto various Brahmanical secls to the 1olhe tormidable loe.This probablvled to ihe uniledresistance harmonybelweenthe olherwisedisparatefaiths.Thissynctetisin molilinthetime lendencvisnoliceable alsoinlhe Pradyumnesvara (12thcentury HerewelindSiva, AD)otBengal.'?s of kingVijayasena caruedonbothsidesoJa statlte.This Uma,LaksmiandNarayana, Uma is an efforl to coalesceHari-Hara,Laksmi-Narayana, inscriptions bearsoul lhis lllahesvara torms.The Sobhanesvara atl udeWe shalldeaiwith KashmirSaivismin a separalechaptet betweenKashmirSaivismand Soulh Thereare manysimilarities dilieF But,in philosophical ideaslhelwo differ.The IndianSaivism. bysayingthatwhiletheKashmirschoolis encemaybe expressed approach. in melaphysical idealist, theSouthIndianschoolpluralisl whilethatin the Soulh Saivlsmin Kashmiris chietlyphilosophical, In theSouthschool,God'shelp it rs mainlyreligious and zfualistic. al a is invokedtor savingthe sinner-But,in Kashmir,particularly withSankara's dociineis noliced.Certain lalerslage,resemblance technicalterms,suchas Spanda,Ptavabhin4 usedanKashmir, areabsentinthesouth. between lheiwoschools,no Despiiefundamenlal similarities fromtheothercanbe madeoulcaseol theoneborrowing to notethal, as we haveseenbelore,Soulh It is interesling by Kashmirians IndianSaivismappearsto havebeenintluenc€d the southIndianAdvailaascelic Farauhar, lhinks"thal Samkara, inlluenced lhe Saivaleaderso{ Kashmir.
i:.ff+t:*,ffit?:':f*:l,:{":l:i,jrtJ;i#:i;; -",,.1j:,",'j:::flt?""#,",il :?;1'"","i;ff ,$fi:fi:1""j,i:
ri,,;*}:m:1.;:r";# m'g5 {;:l#in::
*"",ii#.Zi?,iX?!lill#1,#"ffi ;"i,i;{",::,,,::AT
:,rjftjfr*'Hri#;ii**';["t;Ip,$t'-"i areas o, "." I;:";":i".;i;'J,:i3i,::iir;i,1:J::ff ;l,arse
115
*.',l,g-+*!#i,$*'*fl*
Socialand FtelglousBackground
116
Chapler-3 The ideaof worshippingSivaand
I may be observedthat the dea oJpaifingdeiliesdates back to Vedc times.For example,in the Rgvedawe come across suclr elc. Agni_Soma, dualdivn tiesas [/ilra_Varuna, evidenceshowsthe harnonising Literaryand archaeological oi Ma(anda(S!rya)-Bhailava (Siva)Thereareremalnsalsoindrcat_ Lnglhe composilerepresenlaiionot Brahma,Siva Surya-r'
Sal
apDea's rooeranrnc. irieffi;;;;"J'i;:H:::I:tj:rfl:,
; ;;;,;"; :xli3i":u:i:., f ,i'"1i:HlTj:::ilR* relalonwtlhhrswile,Canga. atsoanracted,he cr ^,^S,vas arl,slg 5r)e rs.epresented as berngcarredov;r theheadotS,va lte,jea orrneuntonol S,va-Ganga,s loundIn theBdnayana ZnO or:rJ 1C. cenr A.u.) and the ilahabha.ata lC 4th
cdneaoFara are,oL,nd a,,""
,"sij,l,,i::,,;:!ii#
uangesrs a riverofthenorlhern ".,,-v reqton.
acLounlampryoe.nonsrrares thewroeoopu,ar-,,Tteroregorng , or trv sa,var!nin Indra,particular,y In Kashm.r ano SoJn r. j.r-1i" nav€ also seen thal thefe arose manv su
117
$
I
Besrdesthe kindsoJimages,referredlo above,thereare many (hallwoman haliman)per magesand fig!resoi Ardhanarisvara hapsoriginatrngirornlhe ideaol purusa'prakrtiAccordlngto some in a moreconvincng and vivd form,the Lrngaand t represenis, Yori lhe symbolotcreatron. Anolhercompositeformoflheabove deitiesis represenledby Theorginofthewor theliguresoiUmaMahesvaraorHara'Gauri shipol lh s lorm daiesbacktotheageol the l\,'lahabharala(presenl tormC.4thcenl.AD).Suchimageshavebeenloundat manyp aces [/athura,Bengal. of Bihar,VaranasL, is yet anothercomposrtelorm represenllng Kalyana-sundara repre the marriageol Sivaand Parvati.Thismarriageis beautifulLy senledin the ElephantaRelief,Anolherexquisltespeclmenrs a wel-knownrelielin the cavesot EIlora.
:.,H{r,"1,"":+; l***-,'pir*:s:**fu
oe connecled,wh lhesetmages. The ,magesor Sryacd. bed,vrde;. {no 'wo broad cjasses.viz.. Ferce rRudiat and eu,c rsaunya;;. , - - , r l r s b e l , e v e d b y s o m e l hhae K u s a n a c a l d c r e p \ s c o n L e t v e d
a'd'ne!^J'|Dro's oiIne 3"'J:? :f"::f;f'.rt"Trandeoddess .,-
o'l"etrnagesoiAroFanarisva,ainsorthrnoro.anotaoleone
arran,o'e. dainsoackro.heco'aoe.oo : :1""1:ij:""""",'x;:."," t"mple wasbuiltinhonour oibolhvlsnuand "n""jt""'i11"a$3j.tn" A.examDleof rhehdrmon,si^glenoencyis lunishedoyntmudl
,- .-
il",i""':"1 [11t'fl1l ;i':;::#l["":t;:",j]1,",';ll:,::fi '1a, ha,a. rLp lafe.wa!
c atlodHdrHdra p1anHtH sa.e renoency ts ,oJnoin lne eorcno,rrot Vrs-L,,rorm ._ or srva r, e and Srvarnthe Jormof V snuTi -ne
c,rnFor e\a. g:T;:,i : j: ".r hd " ",JT:;;*:',"^::u v's' , a-d siva " -" g"o-,r"*rr",," *"i".ilr.
"
"-#,^"'ut
There are many literaryrelerences10Ardhanaisvara,sorne times by dilferentnames. Puspadanta,perhapsof the Gupta pe (Avalons riod,relers,in his Mahlmnastava,loI as dehardhaghalana e d . ,p . 5 3 ) . Utpala'scommentaryon lhe Brhatsamhilaltvll ' 43)describes il as Ardhagauisvara.A detaileddescriptionoccurs in lhe Matsya Purara(Adh.260,Sls.1'10). An inlerestingslory of the origin ol the inseparableunlon ol Parvati,in whichhumankailty is ascribed1odivineberng va and S in occurs lhe Katika'puranalchap 45). Once the appearanc€oi bosomol Siva Takingil io Parvatiwasreflecledin the cryslal_clear furio!sias Bhaltisaysbe the tigureol anolherladyParvatibecame nyasamgamanF-1oharoutableladybrooks na man;ni-samsahate, her husband'sunionwith anotherladyHowever,Slvasucceededin removinghis w le's suspicion.After thal, Parvaliwished to be ln
I l8
::ff
ChapteF3
|.:nbH:il"""#;v:rhsiva jnorder roprevenr therecurrence or
Socraland ReligiousBackground
119
Tantracan be brandedas Nasrka only in the sense thal it does nol recognisethe aulhorilyottheVeda,bul nol as denyinglhe ol God lke lhe CaNakas. existence
pr,:,"."{["*:q]i:!,,#"lT:$::1]?iJ::ffi:::fl JT:"ff :l;;
oul theiymns ol the Fgyedain whichlhere are dEloguesof yamaya.r]l(RgvedaX. jO), pururavas,Urvasi (X. 95). The Bthadaznvako LJpanisad lt.at spedks of lhe bi-serual . pu,usa.drvrdrng 4/mdn_.rhe.o..rc.oar nrmserf r10 mateanC,em;le
Prajapati asas5uirl l?:rt::f:'ffi ffffi:j#|r' 7)iescribed ftgures_otArdnana svara can Oe sec on tafiaLo[a seals . dnd, slates'. Besioes, rhereare manytmaqp! .. When the conceptionol Ardhanarisvara ofigrnaledcannolbe ,,, oeterrrr-ed wirr certatnly.The abovesle,e,cpresente a lgureollhe \,sdna peflod/C..lst cenr.A.D.).The Greekauthor St;laeus(C auuA.u ) apoearslo relerlo such an rmage. We have.elsewnere seen thal, arnongtFF rFrtccot l.d.ls Val,ley.rhere , :s a.t,g.le ,oo\r-g tit
:"i:,:'ll :::,.:;:}* ::,1:1i":"d:: :itr{!ii:,tl::f ofher,has been in voguein lndjafrom pre-Veorc lmes.ll was loufd Ina mannerevenamongnon_Vedic peoplel
wntersanempredro snowIndr ,anr.a , , -i::: r! "l:'.t DarFd on.tFp Vedd.:1," I he Audayamatd,Ch. l]Vn,tegdrds SLp,e,re l,oooF!s as belong,ng lo lhe Alharvavedicpa-lheon The KJ,a-sastra n ILFKralruvd ranta (ll.'0. g5, | 40-4'I. robe basedon r
|T
j"i 5g':ol ., ntast.22po 2t t. rs42 rv 40 5,vrr
*,"' maka :as 1ne "i;,,""'""1;":,::";:,:,1;[,;n r-lj'."
;",,i',;,
n*"!,,:manlra hasbeenadapledlor apptrcalion in _^ ^,-,\l:Invocation rafltc toderlies. Orthodoxwrilershau. lf*" "ttu"f,uO p,,,n"s thea itude "n J!. orso-"
::",:":;ili:#:"-
"harrsee
Yamunacarya,in lhe Agama-pramanya,slales thal Tanlras, nottavouredbytheVeda,are popularamongpeopleof low classes. Ksemendra,in his DesopadesaandNanamala, relers,in a derogalory manner,loTantricrites. quolesSmrl Apararka,commenlingon the yalllavalkya-smrti passagesvehementlycondemningthe adherenlsolTanira-samkaa, n his commentarvon the Brahmasutz, deptecalesTantraas run ningcounterto the Veda. regardsSupremeGoddessas be_ Ihe Rudtayamala(Ch.xvii) long ng to the Alharvavedicpanlheon.TheKula-saslrais stated, n lhe Kularnavafantra |ll.10, 85, 140-41),to be basedon ihe Veda. In certainVedicworks,e.g.,S/aulasulrasot Laiyayana(lV 3. Aranyaka(lv. 7. (ll. 5. 6. 9-10), Taitttri.va 17), Gabhila-Grhyasutra 50.),to mentiononly a few,sexualintercourseis regardedas a parl rtes. of religious Brahmana,v.1.2.9; Drinkng ol wineappears\e.9.Satapalha Ailarya,Vll. 1.5.elc.),lo havebeenin vogue n sacrifices. The Vaiapeyaand Saul,€maniseem10be lhe precursorol lhe former,meaningDrlnkof Strength, CakraotlheTantricdevotees.The usedto be olleredby warriorsand kings;inil, besidesSomawhrch was oermissible.even ihe ordinarv Sufa used lo be drunk.The Saulramanlwasa sacrilicialceremonyin which,insieadof the drink of Soma. Su/a was otferedto deilies. lt is recommendedlor one who hasdrunktoo muchot Somaor one whomil doesnol su t. Sura is also prescribedfor a Brahmanadesiringsuccess,a banished king vr'ishinglhe restoraton of kingship,a warror inlentor1vrctory and Ior a Vaisyadesir ng to acqu re greal rches. apThe Tanlricattitudeol doingaway with casle-reslrlctrons oearsto be to lhe eifecl Inat, in the perlormanceol a sacrifice,the DersonsoresenlbecomeBrahmanasand the dislinctionol casesis obllterated.
,?a
chaoler-3
The mysticsyllablesphal, hum,elc., used in someVedictexts AranyakaV 27),correspondto theTanlticHrim,Hum. le.g Taittniya TheVedrcrlualoi purifying the bodyby utteringmaDkasand loiJchng Ihe d flerenttimbs,supposedlo be occupiedby dejties, (Anareya Atanyaka.lll.2) naturally remindsone oi lhe practiceol Tantrc &yasa. I may be po ntedoul thalTantfais notlolatyopposedto the Veda For erample,the Mahanirvana \v.197 fi ) prescrbes Vedic martraslorcerlarnTanlric ries.RVi.22.20, vi 59.12,etc.,arepre scabedior sanctify ng thei ve makaras. RV x.9.1 3 areprescribed n Nenakarana.Ihe Parasuramakatpasut1 prcscabeslx I0) Vedic inanarasas \!e have a readystaled IL.leKularnavaand sa-r,eotherTanlraspraisethe Vedas use Ved c tnantns.Ihe Kutafraya(x i. 33) ciles the verse yast? deve, etc.,tron, the SyelasvalraUpanisadlv .23). I s lrue lhat the crue acls al Marana,elc , \aughl n Tantra. are opposedlo lhe Trayior lhe triadof Bg, yajusand sama-vedasl lhe Atharvavedacanlainssome sueh Abhlcararites,Bul, Tanka is notwholy antr-Ved ic,as is atiestedbysomeorthodox Brahmanca works Forexample.the Devibhagavata,aspo eo oul Inconnexton w th Purana.ho ds lhatas muchoiTantraas Lsnotopposedto lhe Veda s aulhorlalve. DeVt. the Bahvrcopanisatrelers to para-sakti and Kadi Vidyas. PV KanelhinkslhatlheseminorUpanisads wereconlposedwilh ihe delberateobjectofbooslng upTanlrcauthorlyrnlhe orthodox BrahmancalsocietywhoseT,anlrasweregenerally look€ddownupon. SomeTantrasacknowedgethe authoity of upanisadsin cer 'a n nallers ror ,' sla-ce t' e Aularnavaquoles the S,/etdsvdtata iv .23) abo!t lhe mpotlanceol guru. Thefeis markedsimlaritybetweenthe basicprrncplesolTanlra andsomeot Upanisadic doctrnes.Forexample,lhe ideaol sagura ard ntryunaBrahnanof the Upanrsads is lound n manyversesot thesecondchaplerof the Mahaniruana. Ihe ChandogyaUpantsad(viil.j.1) rneniionstO1 Nadisone
by I a penetrates thecrownonlhe head;fiovingupwards of whLch manatlarnsimmortalfy(viii.6.6).The doclrineol Nadisis lound (iii.6-7) slales asointheKathopanisad lvi.16\.fhePnsnaUpanlsad lhat eachoi the 101 Nadishas72 Nadiseachol whichhas 1000 In (ii.2.6.)fiay alsobe menlioned nnorc.fheMundakaUpanisad ol Nadiswas,perhapsbor_ Tanlricconception Ihisconnexron.The 6l )statestheNadis Chandogyalviii rowedfromtheUpanisad.fhe brown,white,blue,yellow ol theheartconsistol subllesubslance, PV Kanethinkslhatthismightbelhegermot the or red n colour. Ianlr'tcnane ol Pingala.fhe MaritrayaniUpanisad(vi 21) speaks upwardlikelheTantricSusumna. of a ivad,going onlyby a visionol lhe Theidealhat Jlva,muktiis attainable for inslance,in the Parananda-gutta expressed, deityworshipped, (p.9.Sutras3'8),appea.s io beanechool lheSvelasvatataUpanisad somecases (iii.8, v . 15)whichsayslamevaviditvalimrlyumeti.In in someTantras arefoundverbatim eventhewordsoftheUpanisads (pp.6-7, panlhah,useiinlhe Sulras Paananda nanyah Fotexample, passageotthe lnlonnexlon Svetasvatara 59),appearinlhe same withJivanmukti,IheParanardauseslhe wordsnasapunaFarartate (p. 9, Sulras3-8) whichoccurexactlyin the sameform in lhe ChandogyaUpanisadlviii.15).Thewordsbrahmavidapnotipatam, usedin lhesamepassage ol lhe Paananda,arcloundinlhe Tatttirrya Uoarlsad(Brahmanandavalli). ol lhe religiousmovemenis The reformistand revolutionary laciors inTanliberalising naturally welcomed cerlain medieval age seekingGod within tra, e.g.,doingawaywilh caste-reslrictions, of women, exaltation liberalion through enioyment, h!manbodes, popular guruvada.These wilh heterdox became ideas acceplance ol philolosophy o( Lokayata and Carvaka faithsof Buddhism, Jainism raiseda voiceoi prolest Whilesomerelormistorganisalions withinlhe againsttheageoldbarriersol caste,elc.,theyremained groups lolallysnappedtheirlies H nd! Iold.But,somerecalciirant group prominent wastheSikhs. wth Hinduism. Onesuch
-1 2 2
chapt6r-3 FOOTNOTE
AsvalagaraSaupasut.a,X. A.1 ll, Apastanla. XX, XX|t Kalyayana, XX.etc. 2. It has beeninlerpretedin two ways: (i) Onewho has pha us as one'sdeity. lii) Onewhoptayswrthth€ genitatorgan.Accordingro the Nrrut,a {rv. rvr. In6worddenotos an unchaste, tusdutperso^. 3. See P. Jash, History ot Salvisn, Eg.J. Allen,Cat of Coins6tc.,in Bitish Museuns,pp.130,j32. p. 3O7tCoinsof Ancienttndiaet_,Cunningham, pt. 8i, p.vii,tig. 3. 5 . See Srithasyaon vedanlasutra,|.2. 35 ; Veclanta-Kaustubha-
bnasyaol Srjnivasa,ll. 2. 371pancatana-pamanya ot Vedottamai faksmidhara'scommontaryon Saundarya-lanan. 6 . for reler€ncesin ctassicatSanskit Literarure. see the chapteron ranrrcEtemonts In sanskritLiterature L See Prabadha.candrcdaya, iii. 16. 8 . See Caryagitikosa
Eg.Nilmandacopper-ptat€ot Saryavarman {Corpuslnsc ptionum tndtcatun. VoE. ttv:Epq2ph ot UdatputlAnnuat Bcpart of HatputanaMusetm, 1922-23.p. 2t Eprgraphot .jamFn,,aol Hanalhambari Epigraphia Indrca, XtX,p.47. 10.Jout,ot BombayBrcnchot RoyalAsiaticSociety,xiv. p. 26_ I
I t. S6e Rao,F/emenlsot Hindulconography, |. pt. t. pp. 27_28. l 2. Vide Ramanuja'sSrjbhasya, , 213 Eg. Southtndian-tnsc,ptiors lDesai).xv, Nos. 32.7g1EpeHphia Ind'ca. vr pp 96,97,rv. pp 156fl. xviii.pp 16r ti, rvrtrp. j89, ir|,r, p.p.16.1.t11Madns EpigrcphicatCoeclions,1gO7. No.1289,:914, Nos.44r. 443. Bombay-Kamataka lnscnptions.|, 1964,etc. 14.SeeJ.N., Ban€i€e, paficopasana,Cat u\a,p..160. 15.E9. Epigqphialndica.XXt, p. 16 16.SeelndianCulture.iv. No.4, p. 431
17.SeeN.G. Maiumdar,/, schplionsof Bengal,Vol-lll, p.p.46-50,110' 13. lg.Tafachand,lnlluenceof lslamon InclianCulturc,pp.119'29. 19.MadAsJournalol Litataturcand Science,1840,January,p. 145. 20.SeeRao,Elemenlsof Hindulconograpty,ll,Pt.2,App Bpp. 168_ 71. 2l.lbid,l1,pl.1 22.VideP.L. Gupta,PatnaMuseumCataloguo Remainsat Bhuvaneswar,p. 23.See K. C. Panigrahi,Archaeological 257. 24.See P. Gardener,ErltishMusoun Catalogueaf Colns,p. 148, pl. x x v l l l ,1 6 . lnsciptionsol Bengal,lll,pp.42'5625.Seelt4aiumdar, 26.SeeS.N.Rajaguru,/nsciptionsof Otissa.lll, P1.11,p. 342. 27. Au ine ol lhe ReligiausLitenlure ol lndia,p 198. 28.SeeC Chakravalti,/HO,Vlll;V.S.Palhak,SarvaCultsin Northe.n lndia,p.25. 29.tndian Antiquary, Xvttt,p.273 30.DHl,pp. 550-552 SuNayol lnclia,1913-14,p. 31.E.9.AnnualBepottsot Archaelogical 1 5 2N , o.764. pp.30-32,aboula stele 32.E g.Jour.ofU.P.Hislo calSociety.1937.ll, Museum. in l\ralhura theAgas,p.\i. 33-E.9.K.D.Bajpaa, SrgatThtough 34.Gatbei, Ency.ol Rel.and Ethics,xii, p. 833.
G
lo 5C
=E
o; EO
"k (F5 E; ;L.=
6'c=
6F6
Chapter 4
Tanlraand SaklaWorka: ot worksaresimilartoa grealextent.But, Thesetwociasses poinls between themincertainr€spects.PVKane somedistinguish to the factlhat the SaktsaconsiderDevias Supreme,bulTanlras (includng BuddhistandJainaworksare not confingdto Saktllo Devialone. VedicLiterature (including Upanisads)and Tantra: isanti-Vedic oroutsidethalVedictladi SorneholdthatTanlra reveals thal lhereare some a closestudy lian lvedabahya).8u1, some,has thotwo. Saktiin Tantra, accordinglo srmilarities between (x.125): precu Devisukta ol lhe Rg@da rsor in Goddess Vak ol the its Others, Rudras,AdityasandVasus. Vakis statedto associalewilh maflersin thegermof manyTanlric however, ditfer.Somediscover theveda.TheBgvedaspeaksof Sakliof God.ThewordSaklioc_ times{e.g.i. 31.18 iii,31.14.iv.22.8, cursin lhe Fgvedaseveral foriheworshipot Saktias thereis noprovision v.31.6), etc.Though coutage, bounly,etc.,are a separalecreativep nciple,proteclion. wilhSavain latertimes, associated wilhHerAs Saktiisassociated in lhe Fgvedae.9.,Indraniand so lemalesoJGodsarementioned consorlsoJIndra,Varunarespectively. Varunani,are (vii.21.5,x.99.3)magicians whowereprob_ TheRVmentions (worshipanrtadeva described as adeva(godless) ablynon-Aryans afraid pingialsegods).RVvii.104andx..37showthatpeoplewere of blackmagic. elements arefoundin theconcept According to some,Tantric of lrahanagni,lhe GreatNakedWoman,occurringintheAlhatuavecla. is alluded1o.The In oneconte)d,relatingto madage,Mahanagni to proteclthe brideby lheirpower Asvins,are required twin-gods, sprinkled(AV wilhwhichtheygollhe genitalorganoJMahanagni xiv.1.36).In the samecontext,wineand dicealsoare staledio
124
Tantraand CulturaCornplexof lndia
129
is a genuinework ol th s c ass the llffi lnlhe Kenapanisad,which "T.il:B[ii:i":T"JoJ]:*l[ni"*n**,orsanandother powerotSakli is llustrated mavalr, tie Supreme legendoi Uma-Ha A?erdy ln rhe Rgveda Khtta.wnicl
;il,:""::irffi ::..:lChXrt,,y#itriftx{f fiTili
ln connexionwith miscelaneousTantricworks we shal see lromtheSaktaslandpont' beeninterpreted howlhe/sopanlsalhas Tanlric ideas,whrchwere ol a thal be conlended 1tmay,however, read inlo an old work by a been lo have appear laler developmenl, very ale age ol a commentator is veryo d, callitthe lilthVeda thalTantra Those,who believe ol lhe Veda4 Some hold thal than thal rs noi ess whose authority Tanira has only renderedVedic rtes easier and more suilableior practicalllle. For example,the homa of Ved c sacnllce s recognlsed in Tanlra loo. The ditlerenceis lhal lhe exlernal aspect ol homa s not slressed:Tanlraemphasisessell-surrenderwh ch ls 01homa. the innersignilicance Kuli!kabhatla,a commentatorol lhe Marusmrli quoles (!n' yald/k/ der Manuii. 1) Haritawho dividesSruliinlo two classes,c z . and fanlIhi 'hus.Tan'rds,ega'dedasVediL lromlhe Vedc conceptol Sakliis derrved Somethinkthatthe dea ol lhe lorces (Sakt/)ol natureunderlyingthe Vedicde lres'As an evidenceof lhe ant qu ty oi Tanlra,it is he d lhal abhicaraal lhe Atharvaveda was lhe precursor ol Tanlra. The la Atharvavedais likeaTantra' Nsimhatapaniyapanisad,bdonglng That it was genu ne appears lo be proved by the lacl lhal commenledon li. Sarnkaracarya The or grnoi the doctrineof Nadls n Tanlracan be traced n lhe KathaL)panisad \ui.16) andChandagyaUpanisad(vi'6 6)' ll rs starethat there are lhree hundredand one Nadlsof the hearl One 01ihese penetraleslhe crown of the head The Prasna Upansad (iii.6.7)holds that each ol the above Nadlshas seventysub'na"s each ol which has one thousandmore. In this conneclon,lhe lJpanisadlii.2.6) also may be relerredlo This Upanlsad l',4undaka also reiersto Kall,Karali.fhe Chandogya\vii' 6 1) stalesthal l he Nadis ot lhe hearlconslstol a subtlesubslancewhichis brown' whle, blue,yellowor led.This may have been lhe basisoi lhe name PlngalaThe /aiirayani Upanisad(vi 21) relers lo lhe Nadi mylh ol lhe going upwardsas the Susmna.In the Uma_Haimavatr
,",",***i*,i*+,n",""*?HXj,i;ll,i.T-.t?..,:;
i::?::Tl','H[:Hl'r1,.; +""* ffi*iih"
1!!1Un'""5i:5"":': mi"mmffiY",iff
ear,h ,nanode, ,","yli'Jj:1," 1T;."i"J':i:X,l:"':lJ:"."
il:il":t: *m':;:liffi#*i:r*1",":""., j !ri:i:'$ ,"'#ff
;,';:';J;: ;:yr::n**lrl*i"1,,",:lr.if ranr.u. ',ar*,;s veoa *;: il#
!]]rj"o]""
ffiiti::::".ffi:'ff;-
d""S*r"O as tey;, i.e..rhe rried ot Bl_)a/us and
".i,:il,:.iillTjl;,,:il; :::r,"',"Jr1$[Ji:'",#:!:ffi ;";,;;; ':iffil:'ff:Ei;,#,3:ij".,::';'"3 :::1"" ",;: ", pansya sa**viviiliil; ffi l;ffi Ine supremacyo, Saltts mentbnF,l,nr
:iif, l"X;:lffl:
jTfr ::::{:::: ::;r:r:,i:/,::";:{ji:!, fti#ili{fi j:;""l"T*;t
;#i;ffl:li
".*iiy;"li:}ii*
131 Kenopanisad,anempthasbeen lhad€ro estbhshthe non-duahtyol
;il:"T:, ;:m
e
tvpicarrv rantric ide a r heHtranvakiJr-
Behmana,so in theNigharru(i.j I Vakrs .^,^-"*,'::n",,o,":?y.u ) re'erreo toas Nana(Nagna) whichrssupposed bysometo,oreshadow.lhefuturenakedformol Katr.doddess Nrkr.LmUnila of fnl Hamayanais regatdedas a lorn a TantricSakli. sacriticeto Nikumbhita. by Bavana.s son.rs considered ,The as a btack ritedesignedto destroytlle enemy. a"nUn"t"nuchyasurra(ii.14.14)lhereis reterencero "n"Ol:*; TheBuddhjstMahayana work,SuvanaprcDhasa, .. bearclhe rmpressol a Tantra.ll is saidto have beer
xasyapa nraransa ou,in! ir;;i;;i
i: "*,i(il9?111'lfill:
evrdenceof the BuddhahavingpreacheJTanrrrc rdeas.Tantnc ele-
;:T#HT;."T::,::n
incorporarec,,nro Buddn,sm ronsafter
transtation by Dharmahsema (414-433AD), -^-. _tl:, "t"::g Paramartha and his pupits(5S2_S57) and ttsing (ZOS)areavarraUie. Mahamayurj.which rs ol the ,ihara.,/: ctass.appearslo have ,rhe been transtatedlor the first time,rntoChrnese in the 4rh cent. AO
'1ff'#Jil: r',6'in'"ind
theMahamavui atercrerred robvsome
Nirwdtatantta, memronorr crasses o,gurus ,,,_ ^9:.",1:11ra","n ,pa -suru. pa," 5*u, rcpara
and
^""n,.
i,1:..1-u-,! : l!,t*. i,,i.- ii-. cororng ro the Nita.tanka(v.73.) coddess satti ,s parap"ara_g{rr:u sva ts paqmeslh|guru, ones preceplons his guru and gurr s. Some worhs e.g ,.ty'lalarrraV 65.66.drviciesgurus into thr;e class ;izu/vydr]ga (dlvlnebeings). SddhaugrE (sa;es) and Manavaugha thuman be,ngsl tt appears to divids guru; in anornerway Inlo two classesviz.. Ialagu.u{V64)andDeWuru lv.Zll.Some otnerTantras te g.Syamatahasyaalsogive the abive ciassitrcation ol gulus. I rsslaledtha he namesof malegurujshould endin ananda ,^. te'g.brah rananda). oFnalra(e.g.Matsyendranatha, l\rrranatha.; ano rnoseot lhose ol lhe lemateprecepiors r,r-amoa..
lhem characterises AJlernamingsomeglrus, the N,;/afantfa i.e,a lineot gurusimparlingTaini'mantra to larinlkula, as belonging (v68). is so The positionof the gurusamongtheTanlricSadhakas The father' exaltedthal he is regardedas evensuperiorlo one's lvlanu, which Njlatant/a,lotinstance,citeslhe verse{ii. 146)of initialionloaperson,as supe' impartingVedic extolslhepreceptor, d/ksalorvedic it substitutesTanric obviously, riortotheprogenitor; (V ThisTantra,in anothercontext,declares 65) thatlhe initiation. manlrada\givetal nantraissuperiorot one'slatherUanaka4adhika) olllesh Indianculturedoesnotsetmuchstorebythephysicalbirlh grealer stress lt lays andbloodwhichis commonto loweranimals. important than as more regeneralion and spiritual on intellectual often expressed Indians generaling mass oftlesh.Thewise the mere lhe sublimeidealhatthebodyis suretoperish(ekantavidhvamsr' gunah).Flesh whereasmerilslastlhrovgh ages(kalpanlasthayino (Raghava on mantn are also called of the body and blood i I a k a v. I 5-961. Saradal ol Somelexlsprescnbelulestor roustnglhe consciousness 24-25). ( p.222, ra XXIX. ndhaNatant i ni lV -1, G a P rcnatos mantGs SomeWorks{e.9.Ianttaraia XXXV.64'66 Purascaryarnava the simple p. Vl, 526)providelhatoneshouldnotonlyunderstand real nalure of Sakli. olthe is manilestation a manfra, the meaning of his spiritual oltheobjectol in the essence he is merged andiellthat exe.cise. mantEtsate Thelenwaysof puritying ianana,jivana,tandana, taryana,dipanaand apyayana, vimalikaana, abhiseka, bodhana, gupli(Krsnanancia s Iartrasata,p.52)a peculiarbrightness acquires One,whoatlainsmantraslddht peaceful o{ mindstate lasting and a ol the body lo llame'supposed isthenameof a pudtucatory Mantl€-sikha (Puras' Kundaliniof ascent during the wilhin the body be roused ll lll 01\Saradatilaka carvarnava,vl,pp 527_28)Baghavabhana Io p@nayama accorolng wilh puificationol mantras of lhe speaks and eight thousand process lhem one and reciting Yonimudra the
Tantraand CulluralCompl€xol lndia raysdow. lhe processot pu.fyng a mantta - crt,nq - ,T\e.Kutdnava.lv1 ov lhe tellersfromiellto dgh.dndrghr lo tell. ln some texts,the body to God is ca|ed lrlantatanu. Manteyana is the nameo, TantficBuddahtsm.
y!,Ma
(powerof assuming excessive lightness), garma
,^^. ot assuning excessive rpower heaviness).p/aptr{powe.or oblain. 'ng anytn,.g ar !yitr).,pfa*amya(iftesislrole wrtt) /s/lyatsupelolry ov-erorrersl uasrlya(plwer ol keepingolhersunder cont.oi.)Tnere are lessersdd,i/sloo.Thegreatestsritdhllsmahannvana ot moksa, MantraT lt occuptes€ very high place.Cod ,s concetved as manlra ,, Mananat trayal iI Mantah_ manlra E so called as il saves one Irom^thebondsol rebirththroughconlemplation or knowledgeorthe ll,elesssyllablesol a manta- being uflered In conlacl , ^The w|In susumna,acquireInlhite powers.Joy,will.creat,vepowerand peaceare promtnentin dillerentmantras
byteners from.a,ro isr. are
catred b,./a. .. ^^-Yrl1ll.::"n",n:,"d r5eeol: rl rsobtarned by a disciple. Theleners ol thealpnaber dre calledMar'kas(sources.) Tantraand Mahabharata r"ueathighregardtor ihe Bhagavadgita. Fol ^..^-1,:r:rnconnexion ]1nuu: example wtthTattva-ca\ra. tl ts prcvioed Inihe Mahantvanatv n,214\lhallhe Tattvaq MahansI sha.jobeoileredto lhe rrgnesl
Se/t wllh the ve'se btahmarpanam behmahavtt the Gtla\tv24.l
eli , ol
by sorneroDespLlous,ro ^_ - li:* l*9.nu.ns.consioered u.uga tn,r-ei,Manabharala oneoyyuohislhtra ,nvtrdtaparvan (chap. v I andlhe otl^efoy ArjdnaIn Bhrsmaparvan {chao. xxril D,,r^: I guresnotoniyin purana.butatsoinTanlra.Thanrrt ril presenlinlhehymnsIntheVanapawan, ","rnfni" thenamesof Durga, among others, areKaliandl\lahakali. InlheBhaismaparvan, thelollowina
133
Mahakali' Bhadrakali, Kapali, Durga;Kali' aresomeoi thenamesoJ crllcal Poona in the excluded however, been Candi.Thesehave, and ol Dtuga the idea thai think scholars ;ditionol theepic.Some non_Aryans from worshipwerederived ot Asvatthavii)a description Thisepicconlains(Santlchap. practices are to a greal and the riles which Siva in man'sworshipol fanlra ol Van@cara extent.similarlo .eveals ol Sakti oflhedoctfine lheinfluence fhe Mahabharata Durga(Bhismaparyan' AsadvisedbyKrsna,Arjuanpropitialed victoryinlhe Kurukse_ him to achieve 23).lorherblessingenabling is calledSaras_ goodness' Durga lo th€ lra war.ln Ariuna'ihymn resi successful tor their het blessing invoked vati.The Pa;davas years lnthis excile 12 year the lollowing for one dence incognito namedas Kumari,Kali, Kapali' epic,the g;ddess is varoLrlsy Tantric Thenamesaretypically etc Kantaravasini, tiaharali.6andi. goddess lirst lhe rites At inTantdc is an essenlialitem Kumaibua wasworshipedon lhe Vindhyasby lhe loresldwsllersas Kumari Soonalterihe comelo be lookeduponas lhe consortot Siva eulogyol the goddess'she is characler€eo ln Yudhisthiras andloundol wineandmealVindfryacalavasini ast\rahisasura'nasini, occursin ihe Canditoo Vindhyacalavasini, epithet, Theooddess's goddess is alsocalledBhadrakah' as Kali.The she; abodescribed Mahabharata in lhe Candielc.. aresomeol theTantc elemenlsnolicedin the Thefollowing epic: ofa manl€ acquisition Kunti's BvlheboonolaBrahmana Ii) '' (Vanaparvan) gods control under tor bringing Yaksa betwee4 I!;r E)(cnanqeot maleandlemalocondrtons l82) (Udyoga andSikhandinr Sthunak;rna byJara'eaiingfleshand ol mamsa'plrda, (iiD Therestoration (Sabha18) blood,inthehouseof Brhadralha. ot the of fierceMatrkasin theSkandopakhyana lvleniion Vanaparvan(go). (vl VariouslegendsaboulUma-N'lahasvara'
Tanlraand CulluralComplexof lndia
(vi)
(vii)
Mentionin the Tirtha sectionVanaparvan: o,lhe S.aklnnnaq Devrka(Kamakhya), yonr.sakambhari. Dhumaval,, Kalka-samgama(conlluenceol nvers Kausik:and Aruna) sfl parvata,Manikarnika,etc. The protectivemal,t.asof the epjc remrnd one ol S,arrmanla ofTantra;e.g.Draupadisexpressjon o, the lollow Inggood wjshesto Arjuna: p Eyahy-abighnaya....... .....5ith.....laksmih sarasvati ima vaitava panthasya patayantu dhanafilaya
..
In ihe eLrogyof rhe goddessjn rhe
vlnl
33
l
*i*+:a"-,;+ill':.:l'"";xft ;[{"r",T",:;
:l,J:'','#ft:','lii"'"rs
tobea supplement dou"r"ir"o inroiiJ
TantraandArthasastra
sleepinpeo ol thedoor'inducrng opening ellects:automalrc .owrng otc. ple,makingoneselfinvisible' worshipof lire' (iv-s) forthe propitiatory Therewasprovision of hillson worship that the believed eic ll was river.rals,serpents, on the birds and oJ beasts attack the couldavert soe;ia occasions callle. The praclces. designed to get rid ol eprdemc diseases in-
ol cowsin acemeleryburningof alorsomade cludedthemilching ol lhe powderol riceandsomeothergralns Tanlraand Purena: olTanlra InllLence lManvoi lhe Puranasrevealconslderable Among inlluenced most deeply been have f.e Bhaoavataappearcto Vrsnu o{ worship (xi 47.49) the presc 3 ibes F,r rana olherrhr;gs.Ihis lo Tdnlricrules.In xt 11.37'xirll2etc lhisPuraoa accordin; melhrelerstoianlriccullsofVisnu,TanlricdiksaandsomeTanlric Bhuta' rclerclo a' prescribed in this Puran ads.Aaain,Pindasodhana, modeofworshiplullofmanl€s inTantaTheTantric suddn;prov.ded modeTheditletenceis lhat Puranic lhe 's sr.li'a'lo and kavacas, thedeilyworshipedBut' himseltwilh identilies worshiper theTanlric that the{olloweroJthe Purnadoesnol do so;he is everconscious unllmhe is tiniiewilhlimiledcapacitywhereasGodis inlinitewith holds(xi 1.25)lhatas mucholTantra rledoower.l heDevrbiagavata Thlsworkempha_ as rs not opposedlo lhe Vedais authoritatNe of Glru in lhe ve.segurur'Danma sises(xi.1.49)the importance etc.This Puranastales(xi. 16.76)thal Nyasasholld be a partol Sardhvaworship.lt alsomentions(xi 16 98-102)Mudas Fheim' agavata,lll6 the manenceof ihe boodessis slatedin the Devlbh (266 29)attachgreal Ena lvi. 85'26\andlheMats@lrav PadmaDu Tantrlc to Tanlratb NvasaAllthisshowsthe iniluence imoortance Some inloPuranasmudra,nyasa,etc.'inliltrated nante, mandala, towarcts il not contempi, ouranasbelravan atliludeol disregard, 261-263)statesihat Kurmapumna the example, \1.12 For iantra. toVedaandSmrti Vama'etc' oppos€d Yamala, SatraslikeBhairava, peopleTheVi9nudhamonara (mohaya) tordeluding wereoroduced BiasandKavacasSectlonl'Chap 226namesovera contarns hrndred Mantrasincludingthat ol Kali Verse237 20 referslo
'lliili,1,",i+'rru'::rur;, ;::y*,"'l ?n*:li Hf j;r::ilj&?lTt4ixtxii,flTiili3"j.li3sdilltj,r,i ,,_.^.t:l]1". 9::"Jn:..rch a powerfutforceevenIn pfe Chr,slran
i4lhcenl8.C.).In iv 4 ofthtstr€atise. th;; n"'0. -t',*!o"io,.iJf; J:il:',"1:f;fJil."ff i::fi:;
*'irsare'ei,ected in ,". -*:ii:;l'i:;:;:Xii',inl":';;,1;.;11
m';xli*:i"rl*rulTi;i"".ffi fl ,,-Tilp.:,:jili"1,ff fl[|",,?,:ffi
X,l#l?::"J';'"";f ;Tl!T:li:i.l i:;";i;,::::'i:,:;'i:.":;"*;!.;:nmffill.gi JamDhaka-vidya:nil,besidesmantras, somerootsand herbswere
135
136
Chapler-4
ri::!:"'!,f!i!;;;Iz:ti;":;^ri;i:::T:::3:"J:;'::;:#"
hatm hai hai.hatm,Om ctticitimitjniti..., elc. t. 165 prescrjbeslhe
order olthesvrra it""ii ilnii". ::iLTil* ::{:ff l[:reverce tn connexlon with Dtksa,theAgnpu ^^. JU-., \ers.o,rn
manyr"nr"" ,',rnr.r. ljli. prJ,ana Th.s ordails TCCCL "no
(''aps 27 8- B/
XXll-3d,lnat the worshp oi thF dene>V,:n.landol ersshoutdbe jn lnreeways Vedrc. Ta.111g 6a6 M.'ed,h^ l,'slandlheti.d torlhe Dv4asdnd,hp seco-dtorsuo.as ranacontainsa portion,ca ltedLatitasahasn^ ^ _ -.Th.e,9rghmlnd+qu ,ama which is clearlyTantric. devotesconsjderaDJe space to the treal' ^^^,lle-t:1!ka-pun?a .r.,emot mantras, mudras, nyasas. etc. Puranrc quo_taltons in Smrltdtgestsand corrmentaries . . -Fror,
texts ,tis;a'rharrhepuranas dre i":ff: ;"r|?ffi,J1,1'J.i;1a.'c A passagelrom lha Dev,purana.quoted rn Apararkacom..-_... menraryon lhe Yatnavalkya-smrtt, lAnan;a
,avs down rFF capac,ry ro,.p".r"..,,i1 #i,i'.1,',1i.
3!;i;t qual,l'Lation oi onelor t.slahingrmagesof Oetles.
""?]f;l
raJso attCand4inctude ,^ ,_ -The_Devnahalmya ca ed Dulgasaplas n"t"e,Marhandeya-putana, is nolhingou-lrhe gtonttcatton ot Dev, she dpclareshersettas Supreme(C;nd, chap X) In lne puranas.trasrwoaspecls -, rrntch .. In one "^,otJed or she is lhe sldyer "ll"-9o9o"t.. ot demonsand. in anotn",, ao.po"a,onate to,her devotees.She is a combtnation oi oeaut Ji. Shp alonets lhe creatot preserver tr,e t,erceaJ itte ano oestroyer.She ts,
]l[!l;'"dent;""'
*it' tre B,ahman or lne Upanisad anovedanra
iorthetexruar reconstructjon .^^."^"r:I1"$" qr,"important oI ", a chaprer'wse sta,is i'"'i:::".J,.",{::,li: lfliffii,'1nt'?Dsves Accordrns 'n s rdnr'a.r.,e to rorar-Lrno,;;i;;;;";;;;;l'''va
Ihe Vamana-Purana \46), which is supposedlo have been competedbelweenabout900and11ooAD,glorifiestheholyplaces whereancientLlngasare established.
Ihe lwelve Jyotilingas are tfadilionallyknownto have been d in the Satarudra' hedat diflerenlplaces.Theseare mentione establis samhnalch.42). The worsh poi Slvartgas has beenwidespreadn lndiasince very early tirnes.ln the Kasikhanda(94/36)ol lhe Skanda-Putana principa I L/rgasarereferted to.3 AD)lhirty-six 1C 800-1000 Tantra and Samrti ParllythroughPuranasand partlydue to the compellingsocial condilions,Tantra inlluencedSmrti. Manu, lhe most alihoriialive Smrl wnter,referslo abhicamand mulakarmantiteior bringingoth_ ers underconlrol.He regardstheseritesas singul,Nevertheless, ihe prevaence ol suchTantricrites atlhe tlme ol lhe Manu-smrli|s obvious.The work, ln ils presenl lorm, is supposedto have Deen comp ied or composedin lhe per od betweenthe2nd cenlurycoBC and2ndcenturyAD. Raghunandana(16thcent.)was the JirstSmdi wriierol Bengal v/horecognisedTantricDiksa. It may be notedthal, on lhe lestimonyoi Raghunandana,we inferthat, at his time,lhe elaboraleprocedurelorTantricoiksa can was much s gnii cant.qSome other Smdl works also, like lhe Dhalnasindhu,tely anfaniras for D/ksaTantraand vedanta the innerspirilualpowerdor AccordingloTantra,Kundall/,1is mantwilhinthe humanbody.By Sadhanaman can reachthe stage when the humanis translormedinlo the divine.Then/iva becdmes (lndividual Siva.TheUpanisadprescribesmeanswhereby./'lvatman sou )is melamorphosedinto Pafamalman(theSupremesoul).The basicdifterencein approachis thal, accordingto tlle Upanisad,the meansol reachingthe goalis bhavara (contemplation,medilation) whereas,accordingtoTanlra.it must be accompaaiedWKriya\ac' tion).Tantra requiresphysicalellort along with menlal or spiritual
138
Chapter-4
power. Vedanta acceptstheeternalSivahood olliyabltTantraholds ihal Sivahood is altainable by practices ol specratktnds. Llke Upanisads, Tantrabelieves thalcreationis bulthe sport .. . (/rh ol theSupreme Bejng.Ljkeupanisads, Tantrais non-dualisiic.,; TantraandSamkhya Bothrecognisepurusaand prakrti.THislendsto prove _ thal Tantrais basedon Samkhyaphilosophy. But,thereis wiaedivei_ s-"::;":.".Y:9" t* y^" UilkeTantricSiva.rhepu,usaoiSamknyd nor soul:he ts not lhe invisible. intnte eternat _s lhe unrversar purusasd,e many.dnova,y to Samknya. w,rh 9,j:Ta:.-A::ord,n9 r_ov,oJats. thorghstay,ng wrthprakrt,he.s r^acfive havr'rg no powerto createanything. He is the passjveonlookerwhenpr;krti
.arrrA!on 'ls cfearlve aLl:vtlySak ar patapraAro, Tanl.ar\ dr erenl ttarfLthe Mulapakdi ol Samkhva.
Accordingto Samkhya,prakrli, consislingin the three quatities ol Saltva, Raias and Tamas,are the source trom which lhe 'ndle',dtworld e.randles,Due to Ihe proxtmity purusa creal,on ol proce.os In .he order of Mahal,elc. AI dtssolution, a,t Ine created objects merge into prakrti which is eternal.In Tanlra bolh purusa dnd praxrt are slaledlo e.re,gelro.r the Supreme ae,n9 *no_,s s\ata pt,ak,ris likerreal.veenergyoy posses","g *nc,, g,ama- -s caltedsb/ralalhesetwoare nol abso,ulely dil,nct p, littcs Lrear,on ts lot oosstble wtthoull|-e un,o,lot pJ,usa{Srlaltnd pfa^,t, (Sakti). Sanhhya.Ine exislFnce ot Goo i5 .ol esrdb.ished. _ ,Accordrng bur. tantricreJtg'or is basedon theis'l..SdmktsVa leachesus lhar, d-p,rottse!niorof pLrusaa.d prakrt:.c.ea,ton o,ocaedsBu.,ac. Lo-o,ng, o iantia,creationtbthe sportrrlarof B.aFnanposse(!ed or ouattltes(sagudal. B,aFnan,s nol d,slincl,rorr h s p,akrtt.So Prakrii is not /ada (unconscious).She rs conscious, ana Oyresoriing to he(Sagura Brahmanor lsvaramanifests Himselfin the di verse objectsol the world. Saradatilakaenumerates36 ta[yas includingthose . -fhe ol Ihe San.hya svslen.L,k" San khya.tantra.Fgard5,,ccnr narve
Tantraand CulluralComplexof India
139
Tantraand Yoga Wehaveseenthata partof TantradealswithYogalt appears The yoga mutualintluence. philosophyandTantraexercised that (lll 1'3)twenty_ menlions on Hathayoga' awo* Ghenndasamhita, attached theKhecaimudhf heimportance, liveMudrasincluding lhemin that it describes gauged the tact by can be it Mudras, n lo descnbes elaboralely The Hathayoga'ptadipika verses. h u ndred one onHathayoga anotherwork (111.6-23)ten TheS,vasamhr'ta, Mudras. (iv.15-31) ten Mudras.An impotlanlMudrcin Halhayoga rnentions (iv 31-33,), is lhe Kheca mudradescribedin the Sivasamhila (iii'32'53).li Ghetandasamhilaliii. 25-27\andHathayoga-p@dipika in described in the Jranamava, dilierslromthe Khecaridescribed desctibedin (iii.15-23)The Vairolimuclla, the Hathayagapradipika to pro(iii,82-96), is vulgarlt wasbelieved theHalhayogapradipita sexualorgies o1g'he e ol a Yogrnevenaflerunrestrained ol selsforthsixaccessories fhe Guhyasanaia\pp.163-164) Yoganga Yoga(Yoganga)omittingYanE,Niyama,Panayamaollhe praclices Iorthe ThisTanlraintloducedYogic andaddingAnusmrisValrayana ol lhe An innovation ot Buddhahood. ouEkacquisition of Sakliasmeanslo lorthe L/pasana wasthe provision Buddhism Yoga. through liberation Tantraand AYurveda oneach influence exercised of knowledge Thesetwobranches Again, Ayu rveda. lo worksaredevoted ofsomeTantric other.Portions Forexample,the someAyurvedicworksadoptedTantricprinciples Kal/-tanfadevotesChapterXl to lhecauseso{diseasesDiseases mentalandphysi' are dividedinlofourkinds,natural,exlraneoLls, (arisisng Karmala as cal.In anotherway,diseasesare classified and Karmadosaia humour) (causedby aflected oulof action,)Dosa./a arecaused partlyfromlaults.)Thosewhich partylromaction, (arlsing g naturaldiseases;e arecalled bvihenalural-phvsicalconditions is is sell-caused that which deathOr, hunqer,thirst,wakefulness, produced i6 which That call;d natural;e.g.congenitalblindness. aJterbirthor causeby injuryandthe likeis calledexlraneousPasfear,conceil,jealousyanddepresslon sion,anger,greed,delusion, relnsanily'lainting,lorgetfirlness, arecalledmentaldiseases.Or,
r40
Chapt€r-4
nunctatton,epilepsy,etc., are menlal diseases.Djseaseslike
rintra and CulturalComplexol lndia
141
Jeveris sialedto bethecauseol allailments Ai anolher, dlseases. attepnlegm,andwindarestatedto bethe causeol lever' anda courl'scnolar sonol MisraLajakana OneBhavamisra, lanf'kaentitled a book wrrtten have .r Albarll6lh cent.)isknownto and Rasaptadqa on the based been l,l,r"a.*n'ch,s statedto have -cintamani Guha d Aamacandra R asendra in tlvolines,Vedicand appearsto havedeveloped Ayurveda prevailed in lhe pre'Aryan latter the Tanlric.Accordingto some along lwo hnes'one proceeded irmes.This methodol trealment The lhe othe'poison and panicularly mercury' aoov nqchemrcals. wilh rrer_ decay sen'le arresl and tormer;asusedlocurediseases lreatisesknown' curvelc.Thesecondwaywasdeallwithin medical rcsendta' Basendasaa-samgnha Rasafnava'tantra asTanta.e,q., Aupadhenava' Wo*s called etc. Rasarala iasa-hrclava, c,ntarnanr, Videhalantta Nimikntra'Saunaka'tantrc, tantta,Aurabhrc-tanta, class. this lo etc.,alsobelong drugspre_ physicians, whousedmainlychemical TheTantric iron,gold.silver,etc , camelo oe with mercury,sulphLrr, oared 'v.aown preparedwith mercurywereparlicu' as Basa'vaiSvas;drugs, lanypopu|aa Poinlsouttheoeep Historyol HtnduChemlsiry P.C.Ray,inlhe toTanlra' an chemicalScience of Ind debt workonal_ isthemostcelebrated Basa€lnakara Naqariuna's chemislry worksonalchenyandmedicinal chemv.dth;r noieworthy BasaajalaksmlSangadhaa' are iasamava;Rasaralrasamuccaya, erc. samgrana, chemrslryare re_ [,1dnvlreatieson alchemyand medicinal Theseappear literalures lerredlo Insansknlchemcalandmedrcal to be lost. in theTibelan Ouilea numberoJsuchworksare preserved TaniutaNiKaniut.
."7 i#"*::iiri,.,,,,:;::r:*r";"*::"*H:.:rff ts Xarmalawhich is nol cured bV lreatml
jn#i"I s['*"4Jj:+F$.r::'dt"itr?r:t caused.byact,onin prevtouslife and atfectedirrrnorr.,a
f"fi"O
:l1lt"f'lF::{:ilxin:r,:1;l1:";:t;,llimi*i:i
trsrone iso,rwo kinds, *i n ilnll _*,i,Jinl;,1]," ",^or" """", diseaseq€nume'rares some . ff :]n:",,f,r?sesd """Ji:"#Jtfi Somegenerajhygjenic pfrnciptesare
_
*a11ii1r;*r{rir*s1li:l':lil[::,# jt :;l"T:[:",il:iT"l,.T.,J;*t
x1i:q::itli"&!;ii::ff '"*, ppr,i" r." ,xffi.oT:," iilH:J,:l?
;ji","i;'j:: ;t" ra^y_season. baih ,nwa,,'*"r;;;;;"";"":Ti,j##:::t;[i:
"i
ate rooo|n lime keep awaydecay, In autumn
:::li;l;n"ri.:".-;"n+':ti["J."",*#:W;'; *9.T ,r"1""J"*"v i*"u.
::1,:e """
f:li,:ffi:J:JHi;
;i"u,'" ii".'l?i;3lll"8,li"il lil,1,,.fliil,T:_;1ff :r". uur"
enpvmenl of vounq won€n.drjnking .n,ri-o i"i,i" ii,""'c "r rood when sood hunsry o''i"ri,ig ;"L;iiffi"T
:;!flt#;:H
^rsoericacious arecurd. i,".r,gn":-""i i:".:1t,j;""igr,l**
foliowingare the causesof senile decayand olherdis_ """"-Ihe
:ilil,':i,i:, :.,ffffi ,l';;lllil, ill,,lil", ",,.Alf#"T:i',d;f on€ place,unclearbow€lsare said to be at the rooto, all
Tantraand Vaisnavism Krsnaand Radhaare the two Accordingto the Vaisnavas' ol oneSupremeReratherlwomanilestations suoremeReairties,
Tantraand CulluralComplexol lndja
alty.Somebelievethat thesetwo are onlyanotherformof
Siva_
qi:Ji::l"yfl ji ""'::1[:] T#,fi T.ulXff ::il:fr ijififf i;J?i :H,".""!'ffg,ir';# lsit"
i:,|?iff|,",3ff ill,,f
nates(51._5^4-6I ) SakliasTaraas we as A
s,p."."?"1,$",F-]""liijl] ;H ; ;,,,,#"-",,,"",r," ^, _._Ihe
descnption ot Visnuand his Saklt,taksmi and ol
thefi
r43
on lhe lemple,erectedby I an lbhagavatahs man mayuraksakah), .r'entions,in the inscriprr m in honouroi Visnu (Visnohsthanam), (dakinisamp@kirnamJ 'lamil r o., Tantn (tantradbhula...) andDakini arinTantra, fhe Laksmitantn, as pointed oul on the discussionof this texl,speaksof yamacalawhichisTanaic work,thougha Pancaratra was nota one-wayvaffic Vais_ Tantricinf uenceon Vaisnavism influenceonTantra lnthe /sananavsm alsoexercisedconsiderable part ol the Kularnava,atlempt has oeen samh/la,regardedas a made to establishthe divinilyof Caiianya.lnlhe Gdhavatarapor tion,regardedas a partolthe VisvasaBTanln ot Visvasaroddhara ihere ;a descripton ol ylsru incarnatedas Caitanya.In lhe lisl ol Avararas,containedin the lrdhvamnaya'samh,la,ihe Buddha is rep aced by Catanya. Portionsof Ihe Brahmayamalaand Krcnavamala a!e slyledas Caiianya_kalpa An evidenceot vaisnavaintluenceonTantrais ihal Radhahas been appropriatedln such laie VaisnavaTantra as Ihe Narada' Rupasaysthal Radhahas been pahcaratra.lnthe Ujjvala-nilamani (ta as lhe Hladl,/ SakioJ Krsna ntrc-pratishita establishedin Tantra
:,"",,"?f n:,}:A,J,:'3""jI#["# ill!1"fi i4l:i,:a'?ifi
fliii{l!F:il1",i;:,""t'"1":r;?;,:tl,gm;,rxL:;
::::.#1.":4!lil"xll,'"1",#,$i""il'%:ilii:1::n':,zu lllfiiii:11##:::#::;i:.tx:!:":?:!ii:I"J:ff 'i;:i:if:t!:;!i,;::i:*:,i":::H::"il;H;t{!;I;: Tamra:cuirenl jn_Bengal,may nol be authentic.Neverlheless,lne
;;;;;;;;; i:jJ:ff li,'j::lx1:iffiil##lLji::f """;";
Tantra and Saivism fhe Mahabharata(Santl,ChaplerVll) containsa descnplron of the worship of Siva, by Asvatthaman-It resembles,lo a great exlenl, lhe Vamacan aI lanl] a. Tantrasoi Kashmirare predominallySaivile From varous works we co're lo learn that tantlcismc'ept Inlo lfe praclrcesol some subsectsol the Saivas.Forexample'the Kapal,kasadopled pa ol the Panca-makalaworshipr6, their practicessometlmes lhoseof yil€ca/[email protected] resembling ot Aghorapanthins,fiembers of a Saiva subsect,are reported10 reso;t io ce(ain practiceseven more deteslablethan the worst ol the Tantricpractices.They are statedlo teed on animal excreiion' corpsescollectedfromtuneralgrounds,and insectsrollingin a dead
*"#'i1'"1,""!i"h#,i,.,1Ji;i3 ::::i,t"iiii!tl:ru?i",f j: ;:"";;1' lill;il"; ijill3?j,lilil lffff;H: i,?F";;;
," ,,"]ffifiiJJil::, --,
,"vaisnava works, _sayattipoinls oftheKa.ra
aulhofltatveVaisnavatreatiseso, Bengat. by Rupa,Jiva _The
withquorarioni ; rromran1ia5. 1i: :tT|' ll"9*S, arereptere
ffi*:fflt '[n*;'*f:m:;mf ;.;;zu::*l"::
s'n #"n;1ili;l#ff;l?s:l.!,"i: :i:iu#,:,y"1K
man'sskull.'3 Scflptu'esol KashmirSarvismcame to be regardedas authorilaliveworks onTanlra.Some authoritativewriterson Kash-
144
Chapter-4
mirSarvism, r6put6d inTankrc tradjtion areVasugupta, Somananda, Abhinavagupta, Ksernaraia. etc.
*onr*:,:"",i"1:J:","r"s
orKashmir saivism wirlrevear afrinily
theauthor*v otthevedas' andcasre *""Xli::rX1":"J::."ise |':3,',tis Siva.Themanifesrarron ofthe universe ,_enected ^_-ll"_yll'."9 rs throughSivas Sakliwhois notdiftere"rtrorni,rn,i"lii thefemaleprincrple, is insepa.abl€ fromSivaas heatlromtire_ The ultimategoatot tifois identitvw
,oerarron which means rerum torheorisinal:rastrJ:toti;: ;tljil,::
Thisreatisation is possiblethrough mectiiation: norrnportance .. rsattached to worship.ritesandritual;andexlernatidtsc;Dtine. By deygteghas pratyabhijha. ttecosnron of hrs seH al :^Yl-ali:n.ll':, roenlrcat wrththeAbsolute). lt is €xplained by Madhavacarya in his naNadarsana-samgaha (p.90).As Abhinavagupra says.as soon
:: fl:?J:::ffi::f
merges intoBrar'man o'sua ifffiv;',,'r'"'
h", p!3"!"esof the Saivasect,ca ed pasupata, --^^^SjI:be9l appearto linged withTantfism, TheAt aryasira s upanisadmenpasupala.vata.
lons
An 6ss6nlial elemenl ol
constsrsin
lhe apqlatignofashesinlheditferenr timbso, tte Oevoiee :^ej.el:1iat n lnemanner pasupata--1utta t .) ofTantric N.yasa.The 11.21 speaks
trorn adistanc", o.n'""i"n"". :ifil"ff Hffi:if-l"Jislarisins Thissoundstikethe acq-uisition of S/irdhlb by Tantricriies.
o""oJl"i"?f"u,f"
'ookuwnGod asPati'Jiva, as suandworldlv
ln,hiscommentary onthe Bhatsamhha -, .. le.d.Dvivedi, Lix.29). Bnatla.Ulpala slatosthatthe scriplureol the pasupatasis ca ei vatutatantQ. fhis is actuallythe nameof a SivaAgama. n"O.Sngferslronghold inlhe Sourh.The scripture ol ,"_ _^?:'yl"r rne schootwascalledSaivasiddhanta.
145
According to il, Prakrti,the malerialcauseof the universein As a potler,the eflicienlcause,requiresclayas the unconscious. cause.so also malerialcauseand the wheelas lhe inslrumenlal Siva.lhe etlicienlcause,requiresPrakrtior SaKias lhe material cause causeandMayaas theanstrumental knownasAgamanla hantahadaTanldcoffshoot, TheSaivasidd lron aboutthe 11thcentury SaiviamwhichlloLrrished Vedicaulhorily Thelollowersol thisschooldo not recognise tradiiion andBrahmanical nordolhevbelievein thecaste_syslem Alsorecon_ bya preceptor' thevalueof guidance Therecognise viz.' gisedwas d/ksaof whichthree kindswere dislinguished' to Siva)'y/sesa andfirededicated (worshipof preceptor Sar.raya (observing ritesandyoga,N/iata (wayof knowledge)inTaniricritualsandcer_ Thefollowersol thisschoolbelieve the difterentmethods emonies.Besidesmatl6s, lhey recognise lhe eightSiddhls. lor achieving as theultimategoalwithSivais regarded ldeniification inlheKarnala_ calledViras'avism,llourished A sectoJSaivism, ka regionabouithe12ihcenturyA.DTheobjeclol ihefounderwas lo driveawaythe Jainskom the regionsas to eslablishan ideal socrety. toVeda,andaverseto casle'syslemMen Theyareinditlerent andwomenareplacedon anequalfooling. Sivais boththe etficientand malerialcauseol the !niverse Creaiionis the resultof Siva'sVinaB'a'sakti(consciousness) Throughhis Sahi he is the maieialcauseand' in his own Sakliand cause.Thereis idenlitybetween nature,heistheefiicient Saklimntas belweenattribuleandsubstance. con_ The emphasison Sakiibringsit closeto Sakta'Tanlric cepi,and so it is calledSakti'visisladvaitavads in laterSaivismwe Sakti,dominates The FemalePrinciple, sect.Sivaare notcertainaboutihe dateof originol thePasupata 2ndcentB C ) referred lo by Patanjali(c are,however, Bhagavalas n his Mahabhasya \L2.76).Thisseemsto be thelirsl clearreler_
146
Chapter-4
ence io a Saiva seci. Tanlraand the Ganapaiyas There was hardlyany cult thal was not influencedby TantraThe simple reasonis thal Tantrawas so popularlhat no creed or iailh,aimingat popLrlar suppon,coulddo wthout L Whateverlheoigin oJGanesawas,he becameaverypopular deilyLrnder variousdesignations likeVinayaka, Heramba, elc. His popularitywas India-wide.He hastravelledeven beyondlndia,e.9., Java. He came to be looked upon as lhe grver ci success \Siddhidata), temovet ol ohslacles (Vighnaraja), erc In severalsculptures, Ganesais represented as assocated with Matrkas.SomeimagesshowhiminsexualunionwrlhHis Sakli. Therewere severalsub-seclsot lhe Ganapatyas.According lothe IVlahaganapati-worshippers, Ganesa,in perpeiual!non wilh H s Sakii, is lhe creatorof the world and the highestrealty. Theworshpersof UcchislaGanapatbetraygrealerinlluence of Tantrism.The deily is representedas having Sakti in his lap, emb€cingand kissingherwhilehe drinkswinewilhhislrunk.The adherentsol lhis cult indulgedin free sexual inlercourseamong men and women. Drinking,non-observanceot the casle-system and sacramentslike mafiiage we?esome ol lhe lealures oi their secl Th,'ls,Tanlrrccharacterlsrics are obvioLs. Tantra and Paficopasana The worshipot the deitiesVisnu,Siva, Sakti, Ganapatiand Surya is collectivelycalled Paficopasana.fhe tise ol th s syslem was, perhaps,duelo an atlemptto counteractthe anti-Brahmanical forces-Thesesects,lhenselvesoriginallyanli-Brahmanical, gradually came undertheinlluenceot Brahmanas.Theseseclsagreedlo worshiplheir respectjvedeitiesas Supremewithoul drsregarding lhe deiliesof one another In courseoJlime,Padcopasarareceivedagreal impetusJrom the BrahmanicalSastras.Even BrahmanicalTant6 recoqnisedit. Forexample.lheTanlasaraol Krsnanandaapprovedpaicopasana
Tantraand CulturalComplexol lndia
147
deily with subjectto the reseNationthai Saktishouldbe the cenlral as PeriPheral olherderiies Th s lorm of worshipwas very popularamong the masses' propagalron and, as such,Tanlricelementstoundalertile fieldlor Tanlra, Buddhism and Jainism HrnduTanlrals opposedto lhe tundamentalprincipleol Bud_ that it ls not dhismthat non'violenceis the highestreligion ltthinks gather lru ls' we violence'When ol sod some oossiblelo llvewitholll lhe we deprive milk, drink we When iree to the le commitviolence cali oi il. revealbothsimilariliesand dilter Hinduand BuddhistTantras panlhon are noi generallyrecognlseoIn Hindu ences.'eGodsofthe howandSarasvalrare HindudeitieslikeGanesa Buddhism;some Bud' J'ier. recoqnised.Correspondinglo Sivaand Devi(sak')' the poslulate so'yata dhists ha; Upayaand Praiia The Buddhists (nihilism)notrecognisedby lhe Hindus-As regardsthe goaland the rrn meansto its attai;ment, boih have remarkablesimilarityThe in both pirlaace ol guru. mantra'mandala'elc" is rccognised ThouqhBuddhistTanlradoes not emphasisthecult ol Mother perhaps' Goddess li-keHindu Tantra,yel it recognisesHer' ll is' lgnoreo becauselhe populariiyol this cult was too muchto be The cull 01 Sakti and Tantrismof lhe Hindus is much older thanthe earliestextantTanlricworksofthe Buddhistsli is belleved ol Tarain suchworksas lhe bv sone scho'arsrhallhe descr'plion ;;A;thasva al Bftl\manandaand lanlfasaraof Krsnanandars ol Buddhsii;orgin.?' ol ihe SomethinkihatNagaiuanthe reputedBuddhistscholar in ll Indra Mahacrnalara lheworshipol seventhce.lurv,Inlroduaed
borrowed lo"ii"""J rn"tin"rr."nt'aom HtimstimHumPhalwas as Hindudeiliesrepresenleo ov lhe H'nduslromtheBuddhlsls in or ending deilies ll'liacinq rf,esesarris and namesof Htndu and Chinnarnasla inlluence "V"fu"U"taryBuddhrslic n"oin"'no"*itf' origin Kair.etc- arebel'evedby someto be ol Buddhrslic in Budol yoga)'proporlnded (accessories Thesix yogangas
148
ChapteF4
dh sl Tantras,appearalmostin the same namesi^the Gitabhasya commentator liv 28) of Bhaskaracarya, on ihe Brah masutn,bh asya. Thus, the mutualinfluenceol Hinduand BuddhistTanlras s obvious.But, il is nol correcito say.as some do, that HinduTantra was modelledon BuddhistTantra.As staled above, none ol the ChinesetravellersreJersto the study of BuddhislTantrain lndia. Exceptrngperhapsthe Guhyasamajalantraandlhe Mafitusrimuta{d/pa.lherers hardlyany BuddnislTanrradar.ngbac* .o a pelod anteriorto650 A,D.whereaslhere is evidenceoi lhe Drevalenceol Tanlricpracltcesin Indiatongbefore600 A.D. Ihe Budtayamala(17.119-25)slatesthatthe Buddhatauqhl Vasrsl a the Kaulaway ol Tanrra.Inis is potnteooul by sone as aevrdenceol HinduTantrahavingbeen derivedlrom the Buddhisls. This is describedby PVKane as a fabrication. AccordingtoB.Bhattacharya,:, ihe Buddhahrmselfpreached praclicesamongthecommonpeople.InlhegrahmalatasomeTrantric sulla, monksappeartc carryvesselsol skullsor gariandsol skLllls. There is however,no positiveevidenceol the Buddhahavinqhim s.ll o'eachedTanlra Ir lacl,BuddhistTanlra dppearsro 1avto gts iratedalter the demiseot the Masier Some mi€culouspowers,e.g.,iranslorminga dragonintoan Insecl,sendingiireto mendicants, allecledwithcotd,lhelordinool rivers.elc.. arF atv,butedto lhe Buddl-arr son,e works.e o Mahapadna-sutla.Patt(a.Sulta.lt rs, l-or^evFr,earnl lro|^.tsom; BuCdhistsources(e.g.B,'ahmajata-suna, Digha-ntkaya, XXtV)lhal the lvlaster condemned such praclicesas wellas the falsedec ara_ lon about lhe possessionof such powers (Vinaya pjtaka,Digha Nrkaya,7).These powers,recallinglhe S/itdhiofTantra,were,perhaps.'ablcaled by laterwnlers to boostuptle g o^/ ol rheBJdd"a Tantric influenceon Buddhism is borneouibysomeolher|ler, ary evidencestoo, unlesswe supposeall lhese lo he laterconcoctnns.lnrhe MajjhirMNikaya(ed. R. L. tVitra,p. 31S),rhe Buddhais slaled,in hrsearlylfe, to havestayedln a cemetery usingbonesas This may be supposedto have been wrillen bV someoneto q'o1lyl^e Vasre.as onpwl-obravedt-e hdza.ds,aisoc,atedwttn
Tanlraand Cutura Conrplexof India
149
lhe cemeteryw th its ghostsand evil spirits,in order to ascerlain beforelhe atlain lhetrulh.Or,t mighlbetrueoi princeSiddhartha, whenhe ranhilherandtitherin queslol trulh, rnentot Buddhahood, and ndulgedin vanouspractices. h the Dtgha Nlkaya,the Euddha is slaled to have recom' rnendedlhe indulgenceol the pleasuresoJall the five sensesas a prereqisitelor lhe atlainmenlolNirvana.
{
I
Ihe Majjhit',ENikaya\1.79)stalesthe viewsoJsomeSramanas that sexual enloymeniwilh young female asceticsrs a means lo salvalron. fhe Kathavatthu(Majjhr?a,PTS, l,P 305) rnenlionssexual unronas a way to salvalronwithlhe principlesol Theselhrngsare absolutelyincompatible Buddhismwhlch enioins moderation.lhe avoidanceoi exlremes and cessalionot desrresas the sine qua nonlor attainingthe goat. So, we may assumelhat these injunctionswere labricationspure and simple or the handiworkot a sect which comprisedconverls irom lhe Hindulold. initiatedtoTanlricoraclices. holdsgoodinthecaseoflheuseofskuils Thesameinlerence as beggingbowls by Buddhistmonks (Cul/avagga,XXlll 1'2) The belief in the powet of mantras in removingthe tear oi snake-bile(Culla-vaggav10.2),wordingofl calamiliesand etfecting prosperiiy,and lhe menlionol Sramanasearning a living by leachingspellsforthe preservation ol lhe body,curingslerilily,causing adversityto enemies,etc.,clearlybear the impressol Tantra. The provisionslorthe preservationof the body and discipliningthe mind,loundin Buddhism,remindone ol similarTantricrules. Jainsimwas also inlluencedby Tantra.For instance,the concept ol Mudra was acceptedby the Jains. In tact, they attached great importancelo it, as is provedby lhe fact lhat they wrote ten wo s on the subiect. called Muda-vica? and Mudra'vidhi. The Jaina rules lor physicaland psychologicaldisciplinerem nd us ot simllarprovisionsinTanlra-
15C
ChapteF4
Tantra and Sulism WhereverSufismoriginateand flourished_in Arabiaor per_ sia and whaleverihe lime of ils genesis,the facl remainsthat i1 made rls way into lndia in very eaiy ltmes.Like lslam,Sulism establishedits stronghold in Sind. lt had a great appeat to the masses,lhe lowerechelonsofthe society,over whom the elitjslor orthodoxscriptureshad litflehold_ By the 14thcent!ry, Sufismwas closelywoven inlothe fabric ol Indiansocieiy. The salientleaturesol Sufismare bneilyas follows:there rs noGodoutsidehumanmtnd,scriptural injunciions are not essenijal 10frealisationoi the highesttruth,there is the easy lsahajaJwayol realisng it;lhe humanbodyis the microcosm of the universe_The meansot undersiandinglhe relalionof cod wiih ihe individualand wdh lhe materialworldconsistsin tar,/gat(way) and marifatlknowt edge). The way has seven stages,viz,, service,love, sacrifice, medilation,concentratjon,unionand equatjon. helpingGod-realisatron, is twofold,viz.,l/m(gaih .Knowledge, ereolromexpenence, lhroughperception, infefence.e1c.)andmarifat (obtainedthrough divinegrace).Thelatterwasregardedas superior to the lormer. LikelheTankics,the Suiis believejn Guru (pir or Murcid). the ctosesjmilariiybetween _ .Thus,evento a superlicialreader, Tantrism and Sufismwillbe obvious. A m o n g l h e l e a d i n g I V u s l i m s ,w h o i o l l o w e d T a n t r i c rahasyasadhana (myslicdevotion)wereGazi_Mtan who, a contem, poraryot SuJtanl\,4ahmud (1oth-11lhceni.),joundeda secl. Some oi the lamous Sutt saintswere as iollows: Sh?hXt rmo, S nd {,7thcent,.Hrso.e.eolo,wasa Vdis-dva, 440 _r. rorowFrstcedthe symbolOmo,rhaHindus. 3indproduced anothersaintShahInayat. A very oopua sai-r wds shdt- Laul.
Tantraand CulturalComple). ol India Sulismwas so popularthal,in sind region,Hindushad [ruslim preceplorsano y/cevefsa. Ihe JainaMalrkas,Vidyadev,s, Yoglnls, etc.,recalltheMother GoddesscullolTantra. SomejainaiexlsmeniionTantrcpracttces prevaiingin some secls.1n contemporary lhe manneroiTantra. Jainsm a so reierslo magcal riies like Satkama, the poiencyof martras, etc, The samereason,whichwas responsiblelorlhe associalion o{ m racles w th the Buddha,was also, perhaps,responslblefor s miarth ngs in connextion wilh Mahavira. The exlremerigidityandrigours of iainismmadeit lessvulnerablethanBuddhsm to lhe infiltration ofTantrisrrr. Tantra,Music and Dance,2 Tanlraexefcisedinfuenceon such a Jineart as music.For exampe,lhe Samgtta-ratnakara oi Sarngadevarnentions(Chap.L 2.12O it) Cakra, Nadls, etc., wthin lhe human body.The idea ol Nada,iound in Sanskrt wotks (e.9.Samgitaratnakara, L2,1ll,163 tl) on rnusic,has a colseparale to lhat occufiing in Tanlra.The dea ot Vayule.9. Sangnaratnakara,l.2.59 tl.) wilhinlhe body,which is produceNadainconjunclion supposedn musicologyto with1re,is alsosimiarto thatioundln Tanlra. Like TaJ]tra,rnusrcologistsbelieve (e.9. Samgita-ratnakan, 1.2.149)thal Kundaliniat Brahma'sakr,coilng ike a serpent,re s des in Adhara-caktaor Muladhara,and thal its gradualascent lhrough oiher Cakras up Io sahasrarain the head is lhe highest f!lIlment of Sadhana. lt s belreved{e.9. Samgtta-tatnakan,|.2.14All) Ihatthe sou , '., d gi-!e tanperalsalAhahata CaAe.destescL-ceqq.-so-g petals etc.Whenresorl ng to cerlain cf ylsuddhr'-cakra, rl givessucpelals cess.Resorlto some in lalana alsoensuressuccessResorl to certan petas is statedto spoilmusic.The soul,restingrn Brahmarandhra,becomes salisliedwlthnectar,and producessongs olahghorder.
152
Chapter-4
fanlra and CulturalComplexol India
153
Like Tanlraagain,the scienceo{ music recognises(e.g. Samgla ratnal
t he Kundisvarctanlra(Yamala,No.18\ andtotak-tantra (Yamala, music. No.28)dealwithinskumenlal
The Mudras(poslicns ot the handsand f ngers)are nlerestng as they Indcatevarous moods,sentimenls, etc.These,perhaps.orlginated in theVedicperiod.In Vedicrituals,diiierenthandposeswereusedby the singerof Samans.Tantra prescribes varia6 Mudras,e.g. 'amkha (likea conch-shell),Mastsya( ike a lish). ln dance,manyMudrasare prescribedbytheoristsof whomBharala, aulhoroflheNalyasaslra, is theea est.lt is diflicull lo savwhelher the Nalyasasirawas indebtedto Tanlraor the latterto the former, The dale ol Bharatais conlroversial. He is generalybeleved to haveilourshedearlierlhan the fourlhor fifthcenluryA.D.As we shal see.lhoughTanlrc ideasmayhaveoriginaled earlier,lhe compos I on ol lrealiseson Tanlraappearsto have started about the I llh or s xth centuryA.D.
Tantra,Art and Architectu.e TherelalionotTanlras to musicanddancehasbeendiscussed y. Herewe shallseewhatimpaclil madeon sculpture,3, separate patntngandarchilecture. L ke goodpoetryTantricart is simple,senslousand impassculpture maybe said sioned.The andpainling,inspiredbyTantra, to be poemsrnstone,paper,etc. Tantradeeplyinfluenced sculplure. ln thesculpturai delinea(850-1050 tionoi Khajuraho A0), Konarak(13thcent.)Ellora(8lh inlluenceis marked. cent.)andal otherplaces,Tanlric Nudity,vari ousmodesotcoilion, ditler€ntways of unionof menandwomenare represented.Such Tantricinlluenceis also noticeablein lhe Hoysalesvara ternple(12cent.)olMysore,thetemple-walls ot MidIndia. in thisconnexion, mentionmustbemadeol the dleandWest depictionof sex-aclat Sanchi,Amaravatiand mathura.In the Lingaraia temple(11thcent.)of Bhuvanesvara, a coupleis representedas nakedandin aneroticposlure. ThereareTanlricirnages at variousplaces,?' perhapsderivedkomTantra, Erolicinfluence, is noliceable in somelerracollafig!resalso.In som€seals,this is manitest. The RuparSeal(3rdcent.B.C.)shows thaidoaol copulaiion. A lefiacotta (2ndcenlA.D.),resembles coupe, foundat Chandraketugarh lhe aforesaid figurein the Lingaraja temple.A Tamluklerracotlashows a couplein a stateol sitlingcoitalunion.An interesting figurein pa ntedterracotta (Tibet,18lhcenl.)isthalof Mahakalawith a flayng knifein his headdress anda skull-cup ot bloodin hishand. poslures Various arerepresented incertainsculpol copulation turesin cavesandlemplesot variousplaces,e.9.,Karla,Kondanl, Badami(oldVatapi),Pattadakal, elc.A pillarsculpturelromSouth India(17thcent.)represents a devoteeadoringlhe vulvaof the greatGoddess. Mllhunas,regardedas an auspicious motif,are represented on somedoorsandat theenlranceol monumenls,
Srvaand Sakliarelhe pilotsroundwhichTanlflcphilosophy revoves. In lacl, HinduTantrasare generallyrepresentedas dialoguesbelweenSivaand Parvali.In workson music,Sivais general y venerated.Sarngadevacommenceslhe Samgita-ratnakara \\ilh salutationto S va who is consideredas an embodimenl01 Nada, S va s supposedto pleaselhe earsol the wisethroughthe m nd Io lowingthe Vayuptoducedltom Brahmagfanlhiwherethe Tantric Nadis, lda and Pingalaarejoinedwilh Susumra- He is believedlo res de in lheir hearl, FromSiva emanale Grama,Varna,Alamkan Ragas andBaginis,lheyerybasisof vocal music,are associaled with S va and Parvati.According10 one tradttion,one Baga emanatedfrom each ol the live mouthsof Siva and one Fagalrom the mouthol Parvati.Faglhisare supposedto be consorlsol Fagas. CertainTanlrasrevealclose familiaritywith vocal and instrumental music- For instance,in the Uddisa-mahamanlrcdava. sixleen musrcalanslruments are referredto. The Vinatantrc(No. j9l helonging10 YamalalantQ, briellytraversesthe enlirefieldol music. fhe Yamalatantadesctibestwelve kinds oJ yma;ol the thirty,two Yamalatantras, severaldealwi'thGandharva,i.e.,ihe art ot music.
154
Chapter-4
Evengodshavenot beensparedin lhe fepresentalion oferotic molils. For example,a celestialcouple in sexual ntercoursehas in a woodenbrackelpanellroma lemp e car (South beenrepresenled India,18lhcent.). (C.1000A.D.),the erolrcpleasures In a templeoi Khajuraho ol heavenaredeprcted. It is ratherpuzzling lo lhrnkwhy sucherolicrnolifsshouldbe represenledn lemplesand other holy places,Tantraprovides paicamakaras as ndispensabletor sadhana.One such makara, and an imporianlone, is mallhuna.This may have suggestedthe representalionof sLrchligures. Thereareolhersuggeslions too,Somethinklhattheexlreme sexualityol lhe rch people,who conslructed the lernples, was al lhe roolol lheseeroticsculptures. Olhers think thal erolic representalionswere ntendedto at tracl the commonpeopleto lemples, A superstilious ideaprompledtherepresentation of suchsculplures,accordinglo some.As nobodydislurbsa couplein sexual union,soGodswo!ld noidestroyor damageihe lemples,containng represenldlions erc. ofcopLlationwithrhunde'.ea4l"qJake. Somethinkthallhesewele designedlo testthementastrenglh ol lhos6who wereaboul10enlersprrlua' lfe. Another ingenous suggestionis lhat the depiclon ot sexual unionwouldensurelertilityof land.As suchunionresuts in child birlh, so the sculpluralrepresenlalionensureslhe growihoi crops. A noteworlhylealurein sculptureis the represenlaiionof Mu d/as, perhapsunder lhe iniluenceoi Tantra.Bhumi-sparsamudra, Dharmacakra-mudra,Varada-mudrcand Abhaya-mudraate assac ated with the 8uddha'?5. lt is interestingto notethal lhe represenla|ar al thumBparca-mudr.ais lound in such remoleplacesoulside India as Ceylon.Abhayamudrais lound in the sculpluresoi Swal andJava. T a n l r i c n i l u e n c e i s p r o b a b l ei n s o m e m a q e s , e ! J Ardhanarsvararepresenting S va and Uma who afe supposedto lor Furusa Prakritior LingaandYon. stand and
Tantraand Cultura Complexof lndia
r55
It should be noted thal some oi lhe sculplures,inspiredby Arl) are absolutelyireelrom erolicism. Ianlta lsee Tantrayana For exarnple,mentionmay be made ol the imagesol Ta€ in v a r i o u s l o r m s , e . g . A r y a T a r a o f N a l a n d a( C . 7 t h c e n l . ) , of Rainagiri(C.gth cent),Vajrasattva ol Nalanda AslamahabhayaTara (C. 1Othcenl.), Heruka of Sarnath(C. lOth cent.),[,,lahamay!riot ol Bihar(C. 1lth Ellora(CaveNo. Vll, C. 7th cent.),Vajrayogini (Dacca,C. 1olh cent.),to name oi Vajrayogini cenl.),Parnasavari thereare some Eesidesslonesculpturesandterracottaligures, |gures in bronze(e.9.a Buddhistmaledeslroyerof death,united 18ihceniury),wood(e.9.SoulhInw ih hislemaleWisdom-Tibel, dian lcon oi lhe DivineVulva stained with the colouredpowders used to worshipit; SouthIndianwoodenbracketpanelfrom a iem' ple showing a celestialcouple in sexual inlercourse),Yoginiwith serpentineenergy emergingkom her vulva (South India,C. 1800 A.D.),worsippedas an emblemof lhe vulvaof the Goddess,(South nd a. 1gihcenturv), In the doma n of paintingof variouskinds also,Tantricinlluence is obviousif certaincases'z6, SomemanuscriptscontainTanlric paintings.There are alsomanypaintings on paper,drawnin inkand parnli.gs rcfioLscolou's sone a'e on clolh. The art. influencedbyTanlra,seems to have got an impetus iromthelhoughlson aeslhetics whichwas hlghlydeveloped by the (C.1000A.D.)Kashmirian Abhinavagupla ln connexon withtheAryr Maijusrimuhkalpa,wehaveslaled lhal il containsa porlionon Palavidhanaot piclrredrawing.lt may be notedthatthe Bengaliarlists,commonlycalledPatuyas,ol whafi thoseof Ka ighat n Cacutlaare very wellknown,slilliollowthe 'rdduonot arl adJmbratedn lhe abovework. The pervasiveintluenceol Tantraincludedarchiteclurealso .nirlhrn rts ambit. In thls respect,Orissa deservesspecialmention. This provinceshows remarkabLe originalityin temp e-architeclureof vrhch the two rnajorlypes arc Bekha a d Bhadra.The former is conceivedas ma e and the lalteras female.Thesetwo.iolned1o'
156
Tanrraand CuiluralComplexof India
'157
chapteF4
gether,areJancjed as bridegroom andlhebridewhosegarmenis are liedlo eachotheFT. The entirephn ol a lempleis Tantricin character_ The sanctum sanctorumis!.alledgablq (womb)wherelhernainidolisplaced.A sort of cor doi lhroughwhichonehasto enter,conneclstheporchwithihe gatuM. Manytemples werebuiltin honourolyellammar6. a locallorm ol Adi Sakti,all over NorthKarnatakaand borderingregionsot ^,4aharastra, themosttamousbeinglheoneat Soundatti, mentioned amongtheSaklisthanas in Devibhagavatds to l6lhcenl.,according some,12lh-131h cent.or ea ier).Fromthemanytemples in honour of theDivinelllolher,we caninlerthewideprevalence andpopularily of Molherworship sjncethelOthcenturyA.D. SorneWestAsianshrinesrevealsex-design. Theyaredivid€d |ntolhreeparls-lhe porchrepresenting thelowerandof thelemale organleadinguptothehymen,lhehallcorresponding to theorgan itseltandinnersanclumsymbolising lhe uteruso. TheTanlricconception appearslo haveinspiredal leaslone lemplein WestBengal.That is the Hamsesvari lemple(completed 1814A.D.)al Bansberiain Hooghlydistriclof westbengalabolt lilty kilomelers lromCalcuttaon the othersideof the canges.The planof lhis uniquetemplewas chalkedout by its builders,, Raia N'simhaDevaraya, whowasaTantricdgvotee. Thejnle orol thetempleis likethesix Caklasthrough which Kundalini, teprcsenled by goddessHamsesvari, goesupward.BesidesthelhreewellknownTanttic neryes,lda,pingala,Susumna, lwa mote,viz. Vajaksaand Cit niarcindicatedwilhinthe temDlebv ladders. goddessis sealedon a lotuswhichrestson a Theaforesaid stememerging fromthenavelofSivalyingon a lrlkonayantra.fhe goddess hasa humanheadinherlowerleft-hand andAbhayahudra Inher!pperright-hand, while, inherotherhands, thereare asword anoaconcn, The verynafie of Hamsesvari is Tantric.f/am is a Biia,and Sa standslor Sakti.Ihetwoare locked(k/aka)logether;thelock,
ing s believedto leadlo the highestrealisalion. In conclusion, il maybe statedthat,as D.Desaipointsout3'?, in a andarchiteclure appearI havebeen Tantricrepresenlations as in lhe caseot inspiredby a twoioldmotive.Onewas roligious, The other,a secularone,was eitherto givea visualex_ iernples. pression leelingsolthe a istor thesculptoror to to thepassionate of gratifythe lustiulpropensities ol the sensualpeople.Examples froml\,4alhura, withsex-motil the latierareiurnishedbv terracottas hislo cal sites. andlhoseunea hedin excavaled Candrakelugarh arl and WhileTantramayhaveprovidedthe erotico-religious perhaps,playeda sjgnificanl rolein ihe Kamasufra, architeclure, insFtiring the seculareroticdesignsto cale. to the needsol lhe or epicurean aristoc.ats or /Vagalaka lype of men.The hedonislic pethaps, duelo the r,se increasing intluences ot Kamasutra was, labeling ofleudalism. Belorethecomplacent andiirmeslablishment 01all eroticart motifsas Tantric,we shouldbear in mind that so thalreal esolerismis amarkedchaacteristic ofTantricpraclices acls al pub' wouldnotliketodisplay ritualislic sex Tankicdevotees places. though lhey are, they ic l,loreover, eroticrepresentations In this relaled Tantric Sadhana or worship. are not functionally to pithas, the strongit mav be noted that none ofthe Sakta connexion, whaihasanyeroticdepiction ratesandpractices, holdsoJTanlric inart revealdifJerenl char Viewedhistorically, thesex'designs in differentages. acteristic6 the eaiiest onesdale backto C Ol lhe extantspecimens, secondcenluryB.C, Duringa few cenluriossincethen,we see goddessas wilhcouples associaled nudegoddesses andfemales, e.g.emengagingin sexualunionandmakingvariousloveposes, 400and900A.D.secubracing,kissing,etc.Inthepedodbetween lar croticmotilsappearto havebeenon ihe increaseandTanlric gainedground.We thelifthceninlluence learnfrominscriptionsol anddigni. i!ry onwardsaboutpatronage extended byleudalchiels tarieslo Tantricdevotees. The period,lollowing900 A.D.saw a spurtor explosionol erotclnlluenceon arl.
158
Chapter.4
Duringthispedodcoarseness andvutgarity likeorgiastic depiclronscreplconside|t|bly intothe realmof an. Belowwe glvea listof somenoteworihy objectsof ari depictrngeroticmotif6. LinearRepresentatlon Daimadpol(Ahmadnagar districtot Maharastra) -Chalcolithicperiod,phaselll IndianArchaeology,A Aeview'1958-59,Fig.7 Caves Kupgallu cave{Mysore)D.H.cordon,Theprehistoric Backgrcund ol lndianCuhure,p.115. pitalkhora Buddhistcaves ol Kondanaand inWeslOeccan_ depiclmithuna--A. 2nd-1stcent. B.C.M.N.doshpa de in Ancient /ndl:a,XV pp 69ff, 81fi. Ellora,Aianta,AurangEbad, Teracottasandotherobiectsfound al Bhita,Jhusi,Kausambiin Up,TeranctN6vasain M;harastra. Naga4unikonda in AndhraPradesh. Someterracoflas ot Kausambi andBhitadatelrom2nd-1stcent.B.C. PlaquefromAwra-Mandasore districlol fradhvapradeshlC. 100B.C.-300A.D.)-GoddessSriwithcoupt6s, on borhsides,jngagedin sexualintercourse, andpitchers. SometerracottasfromCandraketugarh andTamlukdalingback to a p€riocl fromC.2ndcent.B.C.probablyrepr6senting wine_pots, ln rrcnt. M. Candrain Bu etionof pince olwales Museum, Bombay, No.9,p_25, fig_17 Slone: lronumentsol SanchiandBhafiul-m,ithi,as associated with Sidevi.2ndcent.B.C. The art ol Malhuraand Nagarlonikonda revealsa varietvof Malhuna Molils.
TEMPLES poses Paftadakal---d€prct Aihole,Badami,lvlahakutes'vara, ol love-makrng. Puri,Konarak ManytemplesoJMadhya diflerenlkindsol erolicscenes' (inJabbalPur, Gwaliior, Pradesh Raiasthan lvalwaregions) Mysorecuiarat,l,laharastra, lmages33 ihe most toTantra, Amongtheimages,owingth9irconception is thatol DaksinaKala. well-known theTanlric whichismostpopularamong Theiormof Kali-image, erecl, organ Hismale backwilh isthis.SivatiesonHis worshioDers, her into inserled organ lhal andlhe goddessis sealedon Himwith position. orgailina woman-superior belorelhe The otferol lhe severedheadof the worshipper qoddessis a lealurecommonin the Pallava(C 4th Cent'A D to ;nd ol gthcent.)andCola(c.100A D 3rdquarierof 11thceniury of SouthIndia A.D.)periods the imagesarethoseol Ekanamsa' Someoihernoteworthy or l,'lahamaya Vagisvari, Varahi, Malrkas.Dantura,Camunda, lheYogints. Candi,Saruani, Tripurabhairavi, iconsAmongthe alsohaveTantric TheJainsandBuddhista viz ' Jvalamalinr, popular otYaksints, images are the Jains.lhemost Ambika. and Padmavali aretarlargerinnurber' BuddhEm. byTantric lmaqes.nsprred are those ol well-known of malos, Among ihe images Vairasaltva' Vajradhara, Amoghasiddhi, Ratnaaambhava, Hevaira' Vagisvara, Lokesvara, Samkhanatha, Avalokitesvara, Jambhala, heads, human string ol wilh a crowned Yamanta orYamad, Mahjusn. Trailokyaviiaya, Kurukulla' arewell-known: Amongthefemales,theJollowing Paranasaban, form' one in human skulls havinga garlandol
Tanlraand CulturalComplexot India PrEiaparamita,Cunda_The most popular of the fematedeities is AmongtheBuddhrstgodsandqoddes
ffi r,::::":?^r:ilili:!:_Y,? "n"";;;;;;;,;;;,;';#fi represented asdancins onacorpse and n"","IiJ"tlI1? f,?]s TantraandAlphabet is alphabei ^- ^ -Siamasastri of the opinionthal the Devanagan
qT,.lt ffit:i:itr":,,""::,fi :*li:[i"lH::fi !li{l'!?
:cnpf
the lefler, is triangulat lttikonadbhav4. tnlhe Setubandha
rhar sanpraaaviias #[Til:I,o,fiiil1i:rarava'irisstared Tantraand inscriptlonss wasextremely poputar,s Froveo , nat atta,bytrF r^-..JharTantra Iad lhat.evenin inscrrptrons, whchweremeanllorrtreount,c,Taninc
sxampre, thecansadha; sro;; ;:l:JlJiffi $*'trrudedFor "nor#?lil"
(=oroA.D)refers roMars{Mother soddesses) ","
Sabdaahd Dhvahi lanka has made speculaltonsaboul sou.ld.tt ,s ol lwo k.nds, ,, _ un,vatu utz^. and Vana. Dhyal,rjs sound not conveyeo by lettes rne^atphabel, whereas yarn6 meanssuch lettersrepresenting ol Oit rerentsounds.ll has beenstated thatditferenceot tonets lhecause or trnstwo-toldaspeclof sound.As a maflerol lact, noweuer,lhe,e
dhvan,,s rhe.ear rn,ns :il""ff::::i.lji::i"li<:lds orsound: rs statedthat.th€wortdot movabte ano rmmovabrerhrngsrs , -,,-.lt up and pervaded InKed by thc Sak / in lhe lorm ot dhyanl:This Satr, fs variouslycalledby such nanes as Nada,pra na, Jivaghosa,etc.
1
161
This Sabda-sakll is idenlilied wfth Kulakundalini making indistinct soundat the M!/adha.a. ll is slaled that a greal Manll'arepealsilseliwhen inspiralion and expirationthroughlhe circularmovementof Ihe vilal ai ol iiva revolvesroundthe wheelol Dhvani.SuchaMant@isc^lledAiapa. The consciousnessin the Jiva is nothingbul the eternallyexisling Sakti of Dhvanii. the child in the womb.The vilal Sakii of Jiva is only Dhvariin the lorm ol Akpa Manta. Severalstagesolwordshavebeen conceived.Theextremey subtlesiale is calledpara; it issuesfrom the Muladhan.fhe |4.ss subtlestale is calledPasyanll;inihisslale il reacheslheheart.The stiil less sublle state is known as Madhyamatil exisls in conjuncI on with Buddhl.The grossstate is called yalkhariissuinglrom the
value of Tanira-rise of Sahaiiyacult Tanlraprescribedeasierritesandritualsby reducingtherigour of Brahmanicalpractices,As statesabove,itgave greaterlreedom of relgiousperlormancesto wofien and Sud€s.The rigidityol the casle-syslemwas relaxed. Tantramade a lremendousaooealto the mass.Thereasons are as tollows.lt assuredmuktithtoughbhuktiot enjoymentand nol renunciation.ll prescribedmany praclicesdesignedto securematerial prosperity,long lile, harm to enemies.Tantrapermealedlhe societyrn such a way thal even lhe orthodoxBrahmanicaSastras could not resistils inlluence.Smrtiand PuranarecognisedTantflc aulhot ly. Mandalas, mudes, yantQs, nyasas, elc., came to be regardedas indispensableelementsin religiousrites. In Ka| Age, lhe predominanceofTanlra has been menlionedin lhe Kularnava and MahaniI vanaf anlas. In Bengal, such was the impact oI Tantrathal the staunch orthodoxSmrti-w,iler,Raghunandana, hadto recogniseand provide lorTantricinitiatron. It isTanlrathatpopularised lhe conceptionandworshipof Kali. TantrainlluencedBuddhismverydeeply,and led to lhe riseol
162 ChapteF4
T a n l r a a n d C u l l u r a l C o m p l e ) (o f
lhe.Brlddhrsl Sarallyacuttwhichsupphed0
jr.i#';:::?,:aiti{{.-::'f *1i.:,'"::'J: ::l"1[.':[*;
:rt;im;;li:I:1*iff $.::Ti,if ::fiii."""#r ji;i"",i:,i:iii :i,:""t:^{r",ej itii;:i_ti.;1f'"1f j*it:i t,h.e,.adu.a ya.!attvawnich,";;;;;; :i r#il,.: i""1",!?,j]irii,lj.
a
il:il,1"","":ry:i fli:#::*""i,::ii::i:::','iff ,'Tr#,',J:",:"ilffi {*,iffild.,fi*rfl Ttr,;,#;;:tx1 r_ praceof yoga,lhe Va,snavas sta,e love.(p/emaJ. 'I he ra"trasIncrdemalty tnrowtiohlon I
,",,1J[:T,:'Jniil?","i:ii#:Jffi ji"#::"*" H""1i,""",
SomeTantrasreveallheelhicalouflooK ot lhe people. Apari tromthe above,Tanlraspropound a distinctphitosophy. sso.nentsto.icalvalueol.lanlrasa,tdthe|com.nenlar. o" .The.e-
il;ii#,f:,'ff"::l"""" :f:l;rufn::n**:;.:;; *'"oa., r'o,r-re', rio-
;:t.'.ii3",';#lf',?l#J:::l fl.,,
s'ues,r,eoa e and p,a;e;;;;;::;;.":
ot connpnrdro,
jtir:?i.ii[.lr;,"J;,"T; i""J::?::"i:r*i#H "'"'n"'
l_,rnecaseol sone Janlras. wetinoroydIaJlhors. c g.SaAtaprdmoda
'i;#::''r:"r"n.'p,"aiil l"#llJ"'l ffll?l',",ili;i.1i"iff
.*"+ #,,.j# 1,ffiff rffi; ;,.,, *_*,",::n Lak5rn n611." ;':;:iJil,-jlli:, :i,1,:rJ,;:,5.T::;,::**
,;;';."'g*Hj,:,:::#tiii' jifr,1 j: 5;iJt3 ;: :: r s",vananoa. a,,rno. oitnl;;'i;;'J;,lr:#;::
.1""J;i":.,,]H
ol a DasaKingof Mehar,a holyplaceol thelollowersof Tantrain Tipperadislricl(Bangladesh').The irupana o{Nandarama Satcakn-n is statedto havebeenwritienund6rthepatronage of Harivallabha Raya.In somecases,we learnof theTanlricworkswritlenby auihorswhoarewell-known in otherlields.Forexample,Narasimha Thakkura, authoroflhePradiracommentary ontheKavya-prakasa, wIole lhe Tatabhakti-sudharnava. Frornthe poiniof viewof literaryhislory,Tantrashavesome worksonTantra, rmportance. referlo otheraulhorilative SomeTantfas in manuscripts. someof whichare loslwhileolhersare preserved chronology ol theworks Theserelerences throwlightontherelalive ciiedandlhosecitinglhem. importanl lorthehisloryof Tanlraliterature Sorneinrormation, the in atewTantras. Forexample, andTantricreligion,is contained ieachers,and Paranandasutrd6 menlions the namesot sixTanlric q!oleslhree leachers, RegionalTantra worksoftheSaklas.Saivas Tanlraisa terarygenre.lt includes predom Bengaland Deccan, Saktacultbecame andVaisnavas.In chieflyinKashmirSouth Indiawasaslrong' nant.Saivism developed thoughthe numberoJSaivasand Sakias holdoi lhe Vaisnavas, In northernand easlernIndia,Saktadevotees wasnot negligible. lar oulnumberlhe adherents oJotherfailhs.Thereis alsoa Saiva sectin no(hernIndia.In genqalandAssam,lhe Saktasarefo!nd in a verylargenumber;lhe reslisVaisnava.Time waswhenthere Kerala andKashmir. werethreemalorschools inlndia,viz.,Gauda, ln the Gaudaschool,the yamamodewas heldin the highestesleem.fn this school,lhe live Makaras,in thei otiginailorms,are used.The devoteesol lhis schoolimmersethe deily n theirown the Makaras,andno heart.The Keralashoo merelyconlemplate of to lhisschoolalso,lhe immersion subslanceis used.According In lhe Kashmirschool, lhe deitvtakesDlacein thedevolees'hearl. subsltutesot Makatasarc otdalned.Besidestheseschoos, an olher.calledyllasals alsoknown. lt we are to believeihe lestimonyol lhe BrhadGautamya
164
Chapler,4
Idnlrd . Inen it ts evideII lnalTantricpreceptors ot dlnerenlregrons haodrt,erent oegreesot repulatron.Thrs workholdsthatthose;th;
:::::':"T?*:1,,f ".1! :?""1"1ff il:":f:f3i:!",:Ti^:J Influenceof Tantraamongcommonpeople is not,certain whether Tanhaaroseamongthecommonpeo^,^ ^ll
Tantraand CulturalComplgtol lndia
Thesedeitiesare genera!ly themJemaledeitiespredominate hadorhadnolany whetherthey l"ll"d S"kri.Wh"t"u"ttheirorigin, camelo ielauonto thenryanSakii,in courseol iimemosloi them be lookeduponas Durgaor Kali' the maledeilywas templeol l\"ladura' ln thelamousI\rinaksi Graoually ."rf"i dotuuf'ng"and the lemalederty|\.rna\si his wrthSivaandMinaksiwilh consorl lol^at'"oa*as 'aent'tied in lo be a Saktidwelling believed is poputarly KaliAnkamman SheeatscorPsesrs thecemelerv. ln is worshippeda6 Originallya ruraldeity,Candesvari bylhe abongrnes in Kurnauldistrict Nandavaram in someareas'KaliAmTen or lvolherKali is wotshioped elc InchinoPoly e g..Ianjore. insomeplacesforsavingpeoplelrom worshipped Mahakaliis Sheremindsoneof RaksakaliofBengal epidemics, limes Kar' rlahasbeenin voguein Keralalromveryancrenl lhe amonq lotBditrcn.the pulaol thisdeityonginaled accordrnq 'n lhe live people lo ]ili.ln"-.. eh"otuL"i''s believedby common c"t"i"ry Ma'l sevensislers'calledmari areworshlpped ln Mvsore, as wNesol Siva' meansSakt'Theya,e regarded goats,sheep'elc-'pa icularlybufla_ goddesses Beiorefernale loes,are sacriliced;sbeioreDurgaandKaliin Bengal ledlolheIntoduclion Iantricideasperhaps Tnewrdesp'ead In_ Mailhuna(sexuaL (lemple_giy's) ^r rhF nslrlLrtron ol Devedasls 'ilual .ll r-",iorit"i *"t ."" o' 'ne trveessentialthingsin a Tanlficprovrde rhal qodsare pleasedwithwomen So lo *r.-t"li"*a rlwastherrdLtvlo Ji'qni'ot rn". ,hio"u,dasiswerededcalpd lhe iino'"nJor*" o"i-" the deitresln courseoi lrme however' andt\enove Ly allilstcovenly ratedintoproslitution l',.i"JJ1aeoene andspreadin SouthIndiaand lo p'""""rv lit't "'igrnated as in Bengal ""t.i" in.ome olherprovrnces te.ieiJeqj"". " we'eBrahTaras andlhelaw_g:vers fhe eadersoftnesoclery olaslowa-os lheyshowed or sec'llar' Wni,ena^rng'awsrel'giouq
ii,,?i,ff ':,:1T:';"_"# [{;H"J""J::,",."".,".J:: !^i:L:l"t:fl;i o'""t'""t' particu larlyTantric deities, among rhenonlf,ll!*nu'" Ihe Hatiuamsaslales thal Devi, as Kiali, used to be wor-
j,'.4; :Jli:T :i#5ili#"ftil1:j,;ffi ll,,"J:.3..';";;;;. dgi_.1?J",led -.,
,.^ P:"1 " tne uevtputana
to as tlvrnsin mounra,ns dndroresrs
lxvlt.p3)may be menlronedin lhjs connexron.
asvindhva-vasini' sabari (e.s ",,r:L"r:il"HtT$.lesisnated Thgreis an impression among
some was orsinary anonAry"n n,.uui.'."r,u, 0",,y 3ili5"',i:::ili::[: Thegoddess. worshrpped by theChut
.^ or suoans.,frand Drhjrsriu",. *a".urr"axr"Jirl;:::1:11::[]
:ffi ]:;5;1iX T:"T:"#:i [:':iff;*:::.lill
was belrevedlo be,denhcaJwith Dikkaravasrnr ol Ine Katitapurana;. 5.1ehas lwo aspects. r/ksna (tierce)and Lalta lgracef;t). In the re_r.easoect.she ts dark.pol.bellied. and wearsmafledlocKs.Be. srdeso'terirgsol w,ne,meat,etc.,numan beingsweresacril.eo
::,::T,iL:i"1.,lT,Hl:,1;;: ::::$!ilJf"ilHffi
nowregarded as a lormof DurgaorKali.3, Amongthe the Dravidiansol Souih lnora, lhe worshipo, vanousMoihergoddessesis widelyprevalenl?a. In tact,arnonq
165
166
Chaptef-4
the threeupperclassesin general,andthe grahmanasin parlicular. Womenand Sudraswere subjectedtotabooes. Those,whowere repressed,had naturallyahankeringior reli. gio!s ritesand a resentmentagajnstdiscriminalion. As Taniraoave muchlreedomlo theseclasses,rtnaturay loLndlavourwth iem Elilist attitude towards Tantra We haveseenhowandwhyTanlrabecaneverypopularamong lhe masses The Upperechelonsol SOCrely, bo.n tO.and 4U(r,redt; Vedrclradtlon, lookedoown upon Tanlrawtth a sneeringaflttuoe, althoughthe overwhetmingpopulaity ol this class ot literalureand lhe rtes and practices,taught in it, compeljedeven lhe orlhodox tormulatorsof Sastrato accepl some Tantricriies as part oi their lAllgio_.f he emptsas,s olTantraon Dhogaasagai!.sltyaga.so zeal. oJsryddvocaledbyorthodoxSastras,lheInclLstonIn lanlrd oi w,ne and meat as essentialrecjpeinTanlricrites,tbe relaxationoicasle_ reslflclors, etc.,were LJnconventional, so, the peopleol the uppef class,pridinglhemseivesonsuperiorAryanculture, detestedTan;a. Wilh the renaissanceof the 19th century,as a fesun ot lhe impaclof westerncjvilisation, a sectionol the intelligentsja denounced Tankasas thoroughlydespicable.Inthis denuncralion,sorne wesl ern scholarsspokein one voicewith some highlyenlightened India.s Forr'r
Tantraand CulturalComplexol lndia
167
Amonqlhe fewadmirersol Tantrais CharlesElliotwhosays a libetaandiltelige_l brealhe esolTantra rnartneoerieratpr'nc'p acl as leachetsWhereas can lhey honoured: 3re -.t;'; ;."" lo itshrghe'code ol teslnctrng fll''liiu-1y s soneri.esaccused oulside srna"v,tn" opposilemaybesaidol Tantrism-fui"r, "ni thelerrolallsmorallyis excellenfs hits lhe nail on lhe headwhen he Vidyarnava Sibchandra of Tanlra_ -r.e qenetap"otcare gao'anlotlhe plncrp'es isa ;""ir15e "av. rsthelacllhatTanlra-saslra i]iu" _s-r-o"]nr-rr.rrr,6rr"rsrgno.a;ce only ble nter||g parlotwhrchbeco-nes tr'eq "aier by Englishwrilers 'o'lar'eo books Engrrsh .The iu soAnun". ol lhesedays Eengalc educated o'v!:alEng'ish iie,elva rel'ecrior 'gnorant lhe Tanlraol *"" Borhate eventodayequallY ;.;; atlitudeol the Brahmancral Despiterhe generaldeprecatory nol tfe lacl remainslhal manyBrahmansas Tarrira, e itesiowarOs ol t\'Iost riles Tantric intu *rot" rr""ti."" on f"ntra' but practised wereBrahmrns ilrewritersonHinduTanlras peop'e Nol on v Ihe Ind,aasoul alsosomghlghlyInlelleclual lespecl deepe)l the Sadha&aswrlh 6rrheweslloo€o uponTanltic reierred becamea disclpleol arready nave *" to *noa fiooo,oit", sibchandraVidyarnavawho was a proioundTantric ,t;.i";;;;b scholarand a devoteeol with caliber' hodox BrahNolwithstandingthe sneeringatlitudeof lhe o llve mosl the all m ns towardsTantra:it is surprisinglo note that lheworsnlo viz rmoorlan.onsllJenlso'lneBrahmanica'relrgon verv (d od S ;;. aakr' Garaoari and Surva coreLr ;;V::" e'rg'o_s lhe ol 'ilua ls as esse'llalpa'ls itn.oonr"na,^ ou"-onlrlc '_ ,t'"a" aya,"'r_slLe posllor ol Ta|.lrai5 paralleio lhe nr"a,aoa Vedicelements lact seems Th s svntheslsmay seemto be anomalousThe as such and root to oe traiait'tne aOoveii;esystemshad aTantric hdoo \^ oe anooeeoapoedlrolFe fasses iailh couldnol do The orlhodoxadherentsol ihe Brahmanical rank and llle ol lhe *iir,ll" .v"t#. *hich so Jirmlygripped ovenones Vedrc ""* ,.. ioc,elv. So, if,"v uaaplecilhem,and added
168
Chapter.4
Post-Vedic thought-currents and Tantra India,we Lnda Orve,s.ry " posl-Vedic ol stra-dso, rhoLgtsl. ^ SoTe ot thesehave striraritywilh Ta"tric.deas.1.,s, "oweve., diffcullto determine theextenttowhichTanlra influenced wilhsys_ lems and ylce yersa.In the early Vedicperiod,no Tantrictext ;p_ pearsto rtavebeen composed.llshould,howeve(be remembered lhatTanlrcideas,perhaps, originated amonglhelowerechelons ol the socretyas early as the Vedicperiod It is,therefore,worthwhileto examinethe ideassimilartoTant|a and olher systemsoi thought. The SvetasvatataUpanl-sad declaresthe monotheisliccon_ ceplof Rudra Sivawho js idenlifiedwithBrahman.Tanlraatsospeaks We have seen in conneclionwilhpahcapasanathat, in each ol these syslems,the deitywilh whom it is connected,regardshim as the Supreme. The doctr ne of Kala (Time) has been dorninantever since Vedictrmes.For example,theAthatuaveda \XlX.44)declaresrt as qomrnatingeverything.The ,Sv€lasyatara (Vl.6) considersit as the causeol lhe uaiverse.
169 Lokayatadoctrines.Tantricjdeas have much in commonwith lhis treory. The idealhal Ehulasorgrosselemenlsunderlieeveryworldly lhing,occurringin some works, nolablythe Svetasyalara,is found nTanvaalsoThe atheisticCarvakasdo not recognisesoulasindependent entryapartfromthe body.Thishassimilarty wilhlanl]ic. Dehalaftva accordingto which the body is lhe microcosmot lhe universe;the preservationof the body in good healih is an essentialduty of a Tantrcdevotee. The Carvakasdeny the existenceof the olher world beyond death.lt may have influencedthe Tantrc conceplal Jivanlmukti, lberationn life. .lainaDohasrevealheterodoxlendencies,and protestagainst The iniluenceof the Sahallyacult was so pervasivelhat even theVaisnavas,who rnsiston punctiliousadherenceto ethicainorms, couldnot escapeit.Thereis aconsiderabJe bulk of VaisnavaSahajiya ileralure50
The Buddhistdoctrrneol Ksanika-vada,the JainAnastikaya lthat which has no form) as the descriptionof iime teslif es to lts
The Vaisnavaconceptionof Krsnaand Radha s regardedas correspondng 10Siva and Sakt ofTantraand lo Upayaand Prajila ol the BuddhistTantra.
Time is one ol the categoriesol Nyaya_Vaisesika philosophy.
ll may be noled ihatTantra,particularlythe Sahal/yaidea, is tound irl a I the religioussyslemsof the medievalperiod.
ln ihe Tantfa,tt is so importantthatthe most prominenlTantric deity,Ka i, has been namedafterKala.Kalits so cated because She is supposedio have controllediime, pasi, presenl and future. Thanlras generdlly averselo the docll.e ot oeshnywhicr praysa very mpo(ant r6tein orthodoxBrahmanicalthought. ll was, perhaps,due to the influenceoi Ajivikas,who recognis;d deslrny, 'hol Tdnt-a.ecogn,seo In r. SaivaAgara oeslny ,s desc.bedas evolvedtromAsuddhaMaya. Svabhavavada)sthedoctrjnethal eveMhtng is producedby nature.Traditionally it rs sometimesequatedwith Carvakaand
The concept of Sahaja is found in Sikhism which is anliBrahmanlcal.and deniescaste'syslem.The Sikhs also believein the abso ute authorityol ihe Guft./s. The renowned medlevalsainlsalsoappeartohavebeeninfluencedby the Sahal'/iacult.For instance,thesongsol Kabir,Ramdas and othersbetraySahallia ideas. Tuls das was a devoul lollower ol Brahmanism.In his Ramacaritamanasa,he contemptuouslyrefers to lhe superiority c a med by Sudraswho actedas teachersof Brahmanas.Not only Sudras, bul also Tells,Candalasand other low-classpeople are
Chaptsr.4
re{erred lo as gulos.Theserelerences testllyto thewideinfluence o{Tantra, TheTamilcopperplategranl(1596)No.75 of Sewell'sLost referslo a Sudraprieslandhis manydisciples. proteslaganstcaste-syslem ThealmostIndia-wide appears to havefollowedn thewakeol thepopulartyolTantra.InSoulhern India,theTenkalais starteda movemenl againstthisage-o/dsyslem. Tukaram ot ^raharastra, a Sudra,hadmanydisciples of upper caslesincluding Brahrnanas, Caitanyaandhistollowers boldlyreactedagainstlhesystem. Theassocialion oi Caitanya withYavana Haridasais well-known. Gapalabhalta's Hatibhakivila;a, anauthoritative trealiseamong BengalVaisnavas, unequivocally raisesa voiceof protestagainsl il.lnitscommenla,y(Berhampore ed.,V 491-93)Sanaiana Gosvami vigorously vjndicates the rightot Sudras. Slalwarts likeNarahari Sarkar,NarotlamaThakur, etc.,among thedireclandtavourile non-Brahmin disciples ol Caitanya,were lhe oulrgol evenBrahmanas, The no-castecampaignof Caitanyaism was markedin Purr wherecaste-reslriction is notonlydecried, bulit isalsoregarded as srnluland unethicaleven makeanydiscrimination lo-dayto among castes.Forexample, theMahaprcsada ol ltemnanlof rice-olfering) peopleevento staunch LordJagannathacan beservedby low-class Brahmanas whocanrefuseil onlyal the perilolincurring sin. ln Assam,Samkaradeva {1486-1568)andhischleldisciple, Madhavadeva, wereKayaslha(aclassol Sudras),buthada large numberof even Brahmanalollowers. His sect was called firahapurusiya. In courseol time,it wassplilintosub-sects, called Bamunia,Moa'maria, Thakuriya. The secondone believedin lhe pureTantric mode, (141h-151h Ramananda cent),a norlh-lndian leaderol the quoles relormists, wasaVaisnava.The Sikhscripture, Grarlh-Sahlb, (Rama) a songof Ramanandawho saysthatGod is nottobelound inthescripiures norin anyexternalobiecl, butinone'shearl.This is
Tantraand CulturalComplexot India c earlyan echo of the Tantic Dehatallva. Amonglhe disciplesot Ramanandawas Bavidas,a cobbler. ideasenlistedthedevolionol manydisci Ravrdassunconventional ples among whom Kabir was famous, and more celebraledwas M ra Baiof BajputanaandJhali,queenoJChitlor.Therewere numeranddisciples of Ramananda. ousolherfollowers The aloresaidKavir (b.c.1398) Iearntthe mainTantricprinci ples lrom his guru-There are the lutilityo{ caste-syslem.exlernal iormaliliesof religionandlackol distinction belweenmanandwoman. Thougha lVuslirn,he had many Hindudisciples.Kavifs Dohasare popularamonglhe peopleot allclasses, highand low Manyof his songsare quoiedin the Gfanlh'Sahlb. The spirltualdescendantsof some ol the well-knownsainls foundedminorsectswhichpreacheddoctrinesakintothoseofTanlra. Among such sects, menlionmay be made ol the lollowing:a sect estab ished by the Muslim disciples ol Kavir at firaghar,a secl iounded by his Hindu disciplesal Varanasi,a secl calledKhaki in north-weslern Indralounded by Kilha, a sect founded by Dharmadasa,a Baniyadiscipleof Kavir,al Chattisgarh,a secl founded by MaLukdas,a discipleot Kavir,al Allahabad,a sect Joundedby Rajjab,a discpleof Dadu. wasfoundedby Dadu Aianonssect,Parabrahma Sampradaya, (1544-1603), the mostwell'know exponentof Kavilsdoclrines. He made a colleciionof devolionalwritingsfrom allforms of religionin aboul1600A.D. Nabha,an untouchable,was the renownedwriter ol the cel ehaled Bhaktamalainwhichhe recordedlhelile and aclivilyol lhe devoteesof variousreligiousporsuasions, preachingliberalviews Amonglheoihermedievalsainls, infiuenced by Tantra,mention may be made of Namadeva.5!Surdas (1483'1563)Dharanidas(b.1556),Laldas,PuranBhakat,elc. Ol the religiousleaders,preachingunconventionalideasand praclicesis northIndiainlhe 18thcenluryafewwereBhanSaheb, afo lowerol Kavir,whoformeda salvationarmy;Carandas(b.1703), born neaf Alwar,who lormeda sect;Sivanarayanaib.1710) born in
172
Chapt6r-4
Baliadistrict;Pran Nathof Bundelkhand; Ramacandra orSantRam ol Jaipur,,ounderof the Ramasanehi sect;Jagjivan(lastquanerot 17lh cenl,)founderof Satyanamior Satnamisecl; Ghasidas,a Salnamileaderand a leather"worker; Lalgiror Lallag,leaderof Alakhnamisecl oJBikanerregion. Someof lhe aboveatt€mptedto synthesiseHindu[,4uslim ideas. TheDasakuta movement of Karnataka discarded casle-sys. lem and exlernalformalities. Sjmilarideaswere propagatedby l/aharastriansaintslike Jnanadeva,Namadeva,Ekanatha.etc. Thoughlheydid notstartanymovemenl, yettheyenlistedadhe. enlslo lheirtaiths. Thelrahanubhava sectof southIndjawasstrongty opposed to Brahmanical religion.The famoosexponents werecovindaprabhu, Bhaskara, poeteeslrahadamba, Kesavaraja, to mentionontyatew. LiberalVaisnavism andNathacuhformedthebedrock of lhisschool. Nalhism, alsoknownasYogi-panlha, imbuedwithTanlricrites and Practices, towhichwehaveakeadyrelerred, wasa verypopLrlar sectin Bengal,Orissaand Assam.The songsot Goptcandra, popular alloverNorth-India,particularly in Bengal,werecomposed, trler a/la,by lvluslims. knownas Bharthari. In Orissa,two sects,calledIVahima-pantha and Kumbhiapanlha,Whichwereproduclsoi themedieval religious movemenls, wereverypopular, The well-known Siddhacaryas, to whornare attribuledthe Caryapadas,alsocalledBauddhaGanO Doha,aopearto havewritlenlorthecommon maninpopular language, usinganalogies and rmageries lakenlromcommonlife.I\,4any ot lheseAcaryascame lromthelowestclass, and.as s!ch,wereopposedlo Brahmanism; suchnamesas Dombi, Sabari, Tanti, DhobiKuthari. Karmara. Teli. etc.are indicative of theirloworigin. TheSiddhassometimes betraycontempt ior the Brahmanica syslem,anddo nolrecognise caste-dislinclion.They recognise the divinepoweroftheg!ru. Fivebrandsof Siddhacultureafe Dombi, f.'al,Rakaki,Candali andBlahmani. Theyrepresenl livelemale
Tantraand CulturalComplexol India
173
forms of Sakti.Like Tanka-wrilersthey emphasiseKayasadhana, lhe ultimaleobjeclo{ a devoteeis to realiseSahala,the basisof all exislence,lhe sourceof perennialbliss.TheyrecogniseJivannukti. Thus, lhe Srddhacaryasadvocateall the main principlesol Tantra.1nthei case, BuddhistTantra,rather Euddhist Sahallya cult appearsto have exercisedthe groatestinlluence.In the Catyas, lhe goddess known as Nairalma, Dombi-Candali, Sabai, etc,is identicalwilhgunyataor P|ajfraollheBuddhistTantric Syslem, known as Sakli in oiher SyslemsThe Nathacull,originatingamongthelow-classpeople,shows lhe unmislakable impressoJTanirism oJlhevarioussects,viz.Saiva, Vaisnava,Sakia, Bauddha.lt is, in fact, a composilecull drawing nsorraiionlrom varioussources, Tantric oftshoots (Also see Sects and subsects ol Tanlra) Tantra,producedseveralsects of which the principalones wete Kapalikas, Kalamukhas and Mattamayuras. The tirst lwo were branchesof Pas.rpataSaivism.Theyhave no scripture.lniofmationaboutthemasgatheredtromthe wrilingot o hodoxreligionistswhohavedescribedlhem in disparagingterms andderogatorymanner, They were worshippersol the FemalePrinciple.Theycast all conventionalsocialvaluesto the lour winds;casle-systemwas igAcco rding to Ramanuja (Sribhasya, ll, 2.35-36), lhe Kapalikas use six mudzs, (v12.Kanthaharaot necklace)Alamkafa (ornamenl,) Kundala (eafiing, Sircmani llewel for head), Bbasam (ashes,) (sacted Ihrcad) all being made ol human bones.Ac' Yajfiopavita cording to them the attainmentof highest happinesslies in con' centraiionon the SupremeSoulseatedin the femaleorgan.Some oi the barbarouspracticesof Kapalikas,like humansacrifice, elc., are recorded in Krsnamis.a's dftma, Prabodhacandrodaya.Thelarc also describedin Bhavabhuii'sMalatimadhava.Their skonqhold was at Srisailain lhe Andhraregion. Some epigraphs reter to some secls which are, perhaps,
174
Chantanr'
Kapalikas andKalamukhas. Someoflhe inscriptions are lgatpuricopper,plate ol Nagavardhana (7thcenl). Nirnandcopper-plaie {7thc€nt)in Kangra, Inscription homArsjkore(Karnataka) etc. TheKalamukhas appearlohavebeena stronqsectInlnegth_ 11thcenrurres (videN. Sastri,fbe Colas.t\,Ld.as,j955. op. 648-49). Eplgraphical evidence oflhe lOthandl lth centuriestestilies to theexislence ofa SaivasectinTripuriand neighbouring areasof Centrallndia.This is calledManamayura. A hibe ol thrsnameis Rnawni^ lhe Mahabharata zt_5).T'ls s€ctappedrsto have {11.32. floJrished in the Palaperiodin Bengat{V.deN.\. Bhaflacharya. AncientlndianRituals,pp.l33-34). Tolhjs sectbelonqtheworks. calledSomasambhupaddhali andtsanasivagurudeva:paddhah Accordingto H.Goetz,the severalbas-reliels oi Khaiuraho ternotes owelheiroflgrnlolheinsprration ofthissect(4rtsAsattqueq];me V Fasc.I pp.35 ft.) SectsandSubsectstoTanlra(AlsoseeTantricoffshoots) Erodlyspeaking,Hindulanlra wasdjvidedintotwoschools, SaivaandSkata. Among_the SaktaTantrasagain,despitelundamentat unily, . iherewereditl€rences whichweremainlycausedbytheditference of the objeclsandmodesof woFhipas wellas ot acaras. Sakta Tantraswere broadtydrvidedinto two groups,Srikula
and Kalikual.
Again,therewasa divisionbasedon KadimataandHadimata. Eachol thesetwo hadsubsects. In anotherway,we nay divideTantraintotwoclasses_pure Saktaworksaslhoseof Bengaland wo*swilh a l\,,lixture ofsaiva_ Saktaapproach, as someoflhe worksof Kasnmrr. Fromanolherpointof view,Tantras aredividedintotwoclasses, lhose followingSafiayacaraand those loernqthe line of Kaulacara. fhe lotmerisbelevedlo becoevalwih lheVatdtka mafqa and relatedto it. Gaudapada, Smakara,etc.are Deheved lo na;e
Tanta and CulturalComplexof
175
be onged to this school.The followersol Kaulacara were divided nto lwo subsecls,Putuakaulaa d Unarakaula.Accotding to lhe iormer, Siva and Sakti are known as Anandabhairavaand Anandabhairavi. They are relatedto each otheras Sesa and Sesi. Accotdingb Unarakaulas,Salliis alwayspredominant.and never ends.Siva appearsas faftva, bul Sakli is ever beyond Tattva. Fromanolherstandpoini SaktaTanaredividedintolwo classes; lhose basedon Daksmacara andthaseon Vamaca?,52 In dilferenl paris ol lhe Saktisamgama,lhere is mentionol someTantricsecls. A we l-knownsecl oJihe Saiva'Saktasecl was Kaparka.lt is generallybelievedthal Kapallkaswere so calledbecausethey used to carry humanskulls (Kapala) or drink Jromthem.Thereis, however,an inner signilicanceof the name,as stated in lhe Pakas'a commenlaryon the Sanskrildrama, Probodha-candtadaya. Ihey were so designaledas they used lo drink nectar or candri lrom wilh n Brahmarandhra, knownas Kapala.With this drlnk they conc uded the great VratalMahawata,).Mahaylalaappearslo be an olher name of the Kapallkasect. Ihe Soma-siddhanta.named bv Sriharsain Naisadhacarita (X.88),is consideredby scholarslike GopinathKaviraj53lobe lhe sa.r,eas Kapalikasiddhanla, Soma means Sa+Uma, i.e along wiihUma. fhe Agama-pananyaofYamunaMuni,Slvapurana, etc.name someTantric secls, ThelamousVacaspatiMisramentionslourlvlahesvarasecls. was, perhaps,in vogueamong non-Aryans, Phallus-worship and graduallyinllllratedintolheAryan society.ltis reterredlo in lhe Rgveda (vl\,21.5, X.99.3). Hatredand fear appearlo have been voicedby the seer who praystor proteclionagainstSisnadevas.5l Phalus-worshrpwas invogueamongprim ive peoplesalmosl throughoutlheworld.Phallicsymbolsol dilJerentkinds,representing the goddessand her male parlner,havebeen lound in ihe ancient landsol the Agean, Egyptand lhe siles of Semilccivilisation.
176
--,-
Tantraand CulluralComplexot India l. i1dia. lhe ruins ol the IndusVa ey cvjl,satronar [/ofenjo-
desrgns.,;'?9a (mateorgan)andyo,ir.emare org;n) :11:J:y:ar 9f wnrcn atesupposed bysometohavebeenusedasamulels en-s!r:
,nglong l,fe. At Harappaquitea lew conrcalr/rgasand tarae anqs. proballyrepresentingthe lemaleprinciple,haveleen uneaith"ad
t o b y h i m ,s e e S K O e ,O p . c l . , 1 5 . F o r al i s lo l T a n t r a sq u o t e do r r e f e r r e d 16. ahavisyapuhna, iv. 13.4.95. 17 See J N.Farquar, Outlines ot' the Beligious Literalure of lndia p 252. 18.See [,l. Wiliams, Brchmanisn and Hinduism, pp 87-88 y o r l i o no l l h e C h a p l e ro n W o s o n T a n l r 6 l 9 . S e e i n t r o d u c l o rp
FOOTNOTE S Aj?"."S" Sex In Sron€ and the vedic Mltnlna. aaoRt :-"" uEnond Jubttee Vot, p.p.546l.l
2. tbid, p. 550. 3. C.l. alhatvavedastu yananupayukt a -sa nti-pausr^a. b hrcata d t. -
20 See B. Bhallacharya, Saclhananala, Inlroductron. 2 1 . l n t o . \ a S a d h a n a n a l al,l , G O S ,N o . X l _L 22. See Svami Pranjanananda,ahatatiya Sangitetlthas (in Bengali) l, pp.300 ft.
Kama p a upa ctahatuena atyant a vtla k sa n a e va p t a st h anab hed a ) I See A. Avalon, P/i.rc,p/esot Tante, p_4j
23 See M. Lalou, tcanogtaphic des etolfes paintes (pata) dans tes t\,tanjusrinutakalpa, tndia. 1930.
5. Names of some South Indian tadtes, not necessafity Tanrrc
On eroricsculprures,see D.Desai, Etotic Sculptureof lndia;K. Lat IheCult o{ Deske: u.Ptokas, Khaju.aho;P fhonas, Kanakatpa tncrcdible lndja, R. J Mehta, Konatak Sun'Tenple Also see Tantrayana Ad, ed. S-K. Sarasvati, Calcutla, 19771P. Rawlinson Tantrc:P.Rowsan,eraticA,l ottte EaslM. Ananl, Plastacsilual on. M a r c , M a t c h , 1 9 6 5 ; J u n e , 1 9 6 3 ; A R o y , S c u l p l u r e so l Nagarjunakonda,Marg, Match, 19651S. Kramrisch, Utktow, /n /ndia etc.: E. Zennas and J. Auboyet. Khajurahot R Lennoy. Ihe E y e o f L o v e ;O . C . G a n g u l i ,M i l h u n ai n l n d i a nA r t . R u p a m .1 9 2 5 1926.
saorr,ias, end in amba. e.9.. pamabhad.€mba,
6.
r, 55, . 57, v|.r(Rashavascomm)
2e-e,,::n!arikkj; oancrhatuatantE, XL. 10, Tanttaaia.lantn. XXVI, 36.43. 7. llis inlerestingto n o t et h a tm a n yp e o p t e so t t h e a n c r e nttt m e su s e d ro o€leve In the magic pow6r ot le ers and wo,ds; no matter
E.J.rhomas wnres rhdrspes. :Tll:::::"lrh"": l"qanyssnse. srmrrar to HrnduandBuddhist rypesaretoundonOrdFngtrshOtd
iilgn rie,man and Ketric (Htstory ot Auddhtst f hought. ;
fts)
8. E.g.B.C.Majumdar, J,qnS,1905,tp. 355-362. 9. Diksatattvajn Snnj-bflva, l, pp. 645-659. 10.1nsome laterTantras,duatismrs r€cognrseo: eg Mtgendtatantr.:,ii, 1t. 11.See c. Hatdar,Vajdyaka-vdtanta, p. 21O. tz.See Jiv€_s.lagrruDhagavatanda and his commenra,y on rh€ E.anmasamhitaand catanya-cailahna ol Rts.|adasa. A;i, ch. rv 13. Se6 S.B.DasGupla,Stiaclhar,kamavikas, p. g32. l4.For referencoslo or quotationstrom-Iantras,conlatnodrn the slx Sandabhasol Jiva cosvamin,se€ S.K.De.vagnava Failh and Movement, t961,pp. 418-419.
24 See Cunningham,,4rchaeologicalSuNey Repot, lX the lemple ol 6 4 Y o g r n i si n B h e l a g h a t . 25. See A. Coomaraswarny,Buddhu and the Gospelof Budha,P.p 35 33OiGrunwedel, auddhisi arl,., /rd,a (lrs A C- Gibson),tig'rre 126 A. Bhatracharaya,Euddhisticonography,Pla\e xxvlll Memotrsol Archaeotogical SuNey of /nd,a, No. 66, Plate xlll (g)i v smlh. Hlstary of Fjne An ln lndia and ceylon,Plale l 13:N.K. Bhallasali, lcanognphy ol Buddhisl and Brchnanical Sculptu.es i^ Dacca M u s e u m ,P l a t e sV l t l , X X , X X l . 26 . See Tantayana Adi P'awlinson,Ianlrai S lvl Na\dab, Jaina Paintings 27.N.K. Bose, Canons ol OrissanArchilecture,pp 92, 154 2 8 . A l s o c a l l e d R e n u k a .T h e n a m e Y e l l a m m ai s d e i v e d l f o m t h e
178
179
Kannadatetm eltan amma(Univercat[/otho4. 29.See P.B. D€sai,Ka achurisof Karnalaka. 30.N.N.Bhattacharya, Historyot Tantic Religion.p. g76. 31. Actuallystartedby ths Rajain 1799A.0., it was comptetedby his 32. EroticScutptureof tndia,pp. 16-17. 33 F^o.descrip-rions ot Tantricimages,seeN.N. Bhattacha Op.cit.. rya,
rorhose havrns pronouncsd some i!;i,i"'iiii;.!il" ""'"'eronrv
34. Sse B.P.Desai,JOR,Madras,Vot.XtX. pp. 285_288. 35. For MS., s€e /VawCatatogusCatatogorun. 36.SeeAccountofthis Tantra. 37 SeeP.C.Eagchi.Studiesin Tanhs, pp.17-ft1The Ageot thperiat Kanaui,p.321. 38 For exampte.Raghunandana s TilhilatNan
conn€xronwith
39- The Mother coctdessKamakhya,p. 1740. tbid,p.66 andKirata-laraklri(Chatrerj0, p. 56. 41. TheMothergoddessKamakhya,p.64. 42. A CuhuratHistoryot Assam,I,p. 149. 43. Ency.ot Religjonand Ethjcs,I,p.4a7. 44. SeeEncy.ot Retigionand Ethics,V, p. 6. 45. Dravidian Gods in Moden Hinduisn, p. 18. 46. lbid.pp A4-AS. 47. tbid.pp 41-119. 48. Hinduismand Budhism,Londonj921, Reprinlj957,
|, p 285. 49. WoodroffeiSakliand Sakla,8th ed_,Madras,1975,p.p. 9-10. postcaianya SahajiyaCult. 50.Sse l\,{.M.8ose, 51.Threeperconsoflhis namear€knownto havetivedjn GurudaspLrr,
Bulandsaharand Marwar' 52.SeeAcara s3.Tant k sadhanao siddhanta,I,p.33 lo whom in two ways:(1)thos6 54.Thisworldhas beoninierplelod phallusin God. (2) thosewho play withlh€ genitalorgan'i'e indulgein sexualPleasure. elc , pls, xiii' 1,7;xiv 2,4' elc S5.Marchall,Mohenjodaro, at Hanppa,ll, 5i ' 53, 55 ft' 140' 56.M.S.Vat, Excavations
E ct) o
o G
o' o tr
,(E
o
It
o *.Cl
9e 6t
Chapter-5 We havegNenaccountsof the published Tantrasof Bengal alongwiththepersonalhistoryol theirauthoc. Besid€sthesewo*s, whileolhe6 are knownonly somear€ availablein manuscripts, lrom r€lerences lo themcontainedin olherworks.ln additionto theselittleknownor unknownworksol Bengal,whichare mostly puFos€s,theraarecommentaF rilualistic digestsor compendiafor ies by Bengalwriliorson somewell-known Tantricworks.We set lorthb6lowthetitlesoftheunpublishedTantric workdof Bengalwith suchdeiailsabouttheirplacesot deposit,authorsandcontenlsas couldbegl6anedfromvarioussourcos.Tho following abbreviations havebeenusedhere: AS A6iatic SocietyCatalogue,Calculta. CataIogues Catah grum byT.Aufrecht. lndia Ollice Catalogue,London. to N Navadvipa Sadha6na Grarl,6s9ara, Navadwip, Nadiya, WestBengal. NewCataloguesCalalogrumbyV Raghavan NCC NM Notlcesol Skl. MSS,by R. L. Mitra. NP Catalogueol Sl
Norces ol Skt MSS.by H.P Sastri. (Government) SanskritCollege, Calcutta. A Handlistof MSS.with Saral KumarRoy,1-4. EuropeanAsylumLane,CalcuttaAn Unfinished Catalogue of the D€scriptive abovecolleclion. Handlistof SK. MSS,in SanskritSahitya Parisat, Cabuna. Research A HandlistofMSSinVarendra Society, Rajshahi, Bangladesh. Catalogueof l\,lSS.belongingto Vangia Sahitya Paisat,Calculta. A SupplementaryHandlistof MSS,in Vangiya
184
Chapter.5
Tantrasol Bengal
someof the eighteenwolks. VideASvii.5250, 5251,5508-9; Vlll.6209;NS ll. 41;VSRpp.125, '187.The
SahityaParisat,Calcutla. Titlesarein Devanagari Alphabetical Order Title Abhijnanaralnavatl
graha
Agama' candrika
References
Remalks
to MS. Ramananda AS3603 An exlenstve work TarkalankaIa G viii.A ontheworshipol 6211NM Sakti.TheAS t\rs. xi.Pref.15 coniarns onlylrag, menlsol Chapters 1217 A u t h o r ,s o n o f Maitra fi,4s. andbiogra phyof aulhor,see underTankic Textsof Bengal. AS6209 mohana viii.i. 6209 Kayasihaof VSPp. 187 Purvasthaliin andlnlro. WeslBengal-He pp. xxv-xxvi appearsto nave beenwelloifand to haveappointed Panditslor compiling works ior himself-ln this work,it is sialed to havebeen compiled by F a n o l l s .t o
Krsnamohanaare altributedas many as erghteen works includinglhe Kamalodayaand the Nilisataka; theseiwomention
185
Agama-
Agamacandika dealswithrulesol andthe iniliation worshipof deities of lhe groupof N4ahavidya. Fromitwe learn Ramakrsna NM1269 p.273 that theaulhor CCl. Tarkalamkara AS6214VSPwassonol anda SupNo.1879Raghunatha Inko.p. xvii. residentoJ popularly Napada, knownas Dak"sina in Navadvipa, Andulnear Calculta.lt is a summaryot Raghunatha's Agana-taltvavllasa-Thedateof of compositiion the Aganacandrika is sake,i.e.Saka 1647(= 1725A.D.)
147
Agarnalattvavrlasa
Adyakarana{anlil Anandalahad t,ka
Faghunatha SC 1OS3AS Author,sonof larKavagisa G vrii.i.6214 Sivarama.Wrinsn 1611NMtX, in 1687in 5 3t86 (tstetc.)chaps;it deat, NS| 22 (5 withTantric chaps)SKR172 modesot worshipand nantftts lor vanousdeities.ln th6beginning, the authorisstatedto haveconsulted 160works includingths TaraEhasyaand Syamarahasya. Partot it printed. SeeCat of Printed Boo,€in Btitish Mus'um. Vidyavagisa SSpA l3B9 Fromthe work it Mahad€va AS G 6582 |s toarntthat the Vidyavagisa tO tV 2624 authorwassonof Yadavananda Chak€vani, grandson ot Vidyasagara and great-grancison ol Subuddhimisra. Authorsaidlo haveobtainedthe tilleVidyavagisa lromhispreceptor atVisnup!ra, shuated within Mandarana. Dat€
ot composition1527Saka (=160sA.D.). Saideto have b€enwrittenin Jahangi/sreign. Vide lndianCul p.322. tu@,lV, (Haribhaki Suddhodaya) Do
Harinarayana ss G3973 NSlt 17 Govinda AS G 3694,5204NM Tarkavagrsa x 3373VSP334 Do Srikrsna AS G 3905 Taikalankara Bhattacarya Amarisamhita AmaraMaitra ForMS.and biographyof aulhor,s€eunder TantricTextsof B€ngal. KakaradiPumananda Kali-sahasranam€l Kankalarnalini RarmsvarupassP375. Iamra Karpuradi RamakisoraNS ill€ Aulhorappears lo slavalika DaccaUniveFhavebeena (PraMhini) sity Handlisl,dsscendant of No.3967 SaNavidya. Do Yadavendra SanskritColl€96, Bhattacarya Benares, 1916-17, p.3 (No.2624) with lext Kamyayantro- Maharnah@a NS lll. 53 Dat€d1375A.D
188
Chapter-s
ddhara
Pumannda
NPV 138AS v l B 6643-,f6 DaccaUniversity No.552BNSt61 Travancore University No.7799 Visvabharati 509,S1O. Kaliprasada NM|X.2956 Kavyacuncu Srikrsna NS l. 60 Author,sonol
Kalitattvasudhabindu Kali-
VidyalankafaVarendra 979Dacca DR33 Candrasekhara NS ll. 37
samputa
Kaulikarcanadipika Kramacandrika
Vik€rnapura, now in Bangladesh. He is alsoknownas Gosvami Bhatiacarya.
dhyayaParivrajakacarya Pumananda
Kalikarahasya Kalikadia€hasranama
KulapujanacaMnka orKulapujacandrika Kulamula-
189
Nyayavagisa.
Samkara Ramaratna SSP411
.
Do tpancaKa) Gautamiyalantratattva-dipika
SSPI, J. 53
RatnagarbhaNM l.331 Sarvabhaurna SC761
Kramastava Gururajatanra Gurupadukaslolratrka
Containsnarfag applicablein Tantricrites. Authorappears lo havebeenthe preceplorof the tamousCandRay andKedarRayof
Samkara Rarmlocana SSPA 1183 Durgadasa Visvabharau VidyavacaspatiAnnals 190{b) VSPp. 267 SSPlll. U.52 Dacca University It4S.1350AS3401, 6118,5289,3917 A v t. 8.67S857996801,6802 Raghunandana DaccaUniversity Nyayapan- MS.No.1974,2964 canana NS l.97. Radhamohana VSP39(117),Aulhorseemslo 40(335) be identicalwith theVaisnava authorof this name,whowfote the K6Mbhaldi 6udhamavaand commenlarbson theSuddhitattua of Baghurrandana and the Gdutamanyayasuata. BadtaftDha@ wasa writerol lhe
190
Cakradipika
Cakradipika Jiana-dipika
Jiananandalarangini Tattvaprakasa
Chapter-s
Colebrookes, Vide VSP,p. 16. Famabhadra ASG141Vlll Quoted in SaryabhaumaR6622Dacca Tantrasara LJniversit Auffecht's 187A.1884 BodleianCat.gsa. Ratnesvara SC633 Amarafirailra Forlrs and biographyof author,seeunder lantric Textsof Bengal. Siromani NMt286 Jnanananda NS | 137 Erahmacari
jn Composed 1730Saka(=1808 A.D)in 12 Chapters.
Tatlvananda- Pumamnda AS Cat.Vlll. tarangini 6200 TanirakaumudiGovindacandra SSPA. I 184 TantraRamagatiSenaAS 6274 Author,perhaps canonxa identical withihat ol the yogakatpalatikalNS. t. 299).Heis saldlo naveDe€na residenlol Easl Bengal (Bangladesh). VideNS.I, Preta c ep . 2 1 . Tanlradipani RarnagopalaNS ll79 Composed in Sarma 1626Saka(=1794
19r
Tanlrasof Bengal
A . D ) i n1 1 Author, Chapters. a discipleol Kasinathanandanathaolherwise
Tantradipika
Paramaniranjana. Gopala ASG5097 Aulhor,grandson pancanana NS| 138NM of Krsnananda and vt2262SC Agamavagisa son of Harinatha 874 Bhatlacarya. N S| 1 3 9 Jagannalha
Tantrapradrpa Cakravarti TantraSanalana NS ll80 pradipa-prabha Taftacarya TanlraGovinda ASG5641 prakasa Saruabhauma
Deals with d,ksa, andthe worshipol TalaandTripura.
Tanlraratna
TantrasamkespacanorKa Tant€-sara
Krsna ASG10494 Vidyavagisa lO lV 2573 Nf 240SC 913 BhavaniNS llSl samkara Vandyopadhyava Bamananda AS ll A 48 Tirlha
Dealswith woFhip ol Kali andTara.
complelein 10 Chaps.On page 93,thereis a quotation from the sr|lattuacintarnaniol Pumananda. prot696 ol Krsnacandra
192
Chapt6r-5
(eighteenth cenlury),kingof Nadiya.
Tatar-camcandrika Tararahasyavrtti
Jagannalha ASG6537 Bhattiacarya (108, Gaudia vsP33-3s Samkara 732,12€i7llO lV 26038,56€ Cat.ol Skt. MSS.,Asialic Society,Calcutta, Vol.Vlll, p. xii Tara-bhaldil(asinatha NMlV 1607 Dar61737Saka ( =1 8 1 5 larangini A.D) Krsnacandra, king ol Nadiya, menlionedas the author'spatron. TaravilaVasud€va ASG790,3455 sodaya Kavikankana Cakravarli Tiksnakalpa BadharptEna NS ll 90 Writtenin Saka 1732(=1810 A.D.) Auihor,a landlord ol Candrapratapa, in Daccadistrict (Eanghdesh), Tipurar-cana- Brahriananda NMVll 2ri87
rahasya Daksinakalpa HaEgovinda NM1291 Diksa-tattva prakasa
Tantravagisa Ramakisora
Arthor,amember of th€Sarvavidya familyof ll€har (Bangladesh). VideK. Sen, CinmayUdnga,p. 173.
Author,son ot Rarnananda Tarkapaicanana It is a digeslon Tantricrites,and containsa fai y elaborateaccount ol mystic mandalasand Durgaquiawilh lhosemandalas. ForMSS.and Ha€govmda Paffcabiographyolthe maveda-sala- Raya aulhor,seeunder nimaya Tanlrasol Bengal. Vasude,,/a VSP39 (l3og) Authoridentiliedas PurascaranaSaNa-nandka prayoga-daGa saNabhauma sadhusagnika-
Pancakalpataru
NS X 3311 Raghava Devasarma
jMMMnda
bhattacarya tnala. CC I P.340 Candrasekhara Purassc 1058 carana-dipika Puras-camo- Kasicandra SSP1383 llasa-tantra Pranakrsna- Bholanatha Brahmacan Biswas
Bhavanirupalra
ASG4660
tor Composgd Pranaklsna in 1748Saka (=r826A.D.). OealswithTantric ritesofVaisnavas. Appearsio b6 a parto{ Ramagatl Senas lanlra'
195
Tanlrasof Bengal l\rantrakosa
candnka(Supta). ln thesecond
Jagannatha VSp 43
t\rs.,
Cakravarti
(154AKha) theautho,,snarne NlvlVll2378 ends|n Bhattacarya. ln lheconlentsar€ mentoned, ,,irl6r atia,Tantrjcbia_ manttasandlheir expranation. tt alsocontainsa briefaccounto, theoriginand atureofalphabet. Yadunatha ASG6028 Cakravarli Raghunandana VSp55lt4B2) Nyayavagisa NyayavagisaSSp417
IVantrarahakacl Mahimnahstoka-tika Mundamaialantra tuludraprakasa RanaKsota
Yaksini-lantra Adjtya Yogakal Ramagati patatika Sena Rahasyamava vanamati Acarya Lalital^_"-:id.. rahasya rarxavagisa
See Diksataftvapraka'a (Supel SSp 774 NSl299 vsP 60{1408} VSp64(753) A digesr.jn nrne NMtV 1674 chap'ters, b;d on vaflous pLJranas andTantlas.In it atemptshave beenmadelo establish the
bhairava
bhidhana
mafrjari Saklakrama Sivar-canamaharalna Saiva"ratna Syamakalpalala Syamakalpalatika
prsdominance ot Klsna. Dealswithorigan Barmgopala NM1280 of soundandthe Pancanana signilicance ol lettersstantng with'a'. Yadunandana ASG8144 In lhe lasttwo Bhattacarya NN411560 MSS.,theaulhois lO ll 1046 nameis Sdnandana sc 1492 Bhatlacarya. ASG3463 Rajafama Bhatlacarya Pumananda Nt\4Vt2067 Samkara
Do Ramacandra ASG3459 NS | 372 Kavicakravarti Saka MathuranathaPub.Guptapalli 1825(withBengali translation) Cakravarti ASG5958Indian Syamapujapaddhali [ruseumCollection No.4590 Yadavendra NM| 377 Syamaratna Vidyalamkara Forparticulars Syamar-cana- Ralnagarilha NM1220 theaulhor, about Saruabhauna candrika saeKBmacandrika(Su1ra). Syama-
Kasinatha
ASG3540
197
santosana slotra Syamasaparya-vidhi
Syamastavatika
Sritatlvabodhini Satkarmadipika
Tarkapafrcanana Kasinatha ASVvii 360g Composed in Tarkalamkara Saka1699(=1;?z A.D.)in seven chaptersDurgarana AS6628,29 Textol KaryuaSiddhantastot? andits Vagisa Bhattacarya Krsnananda Nt\428.1 SriKrsna NM IV 309VSP Vidyavagisa 8s (363)ASG 3881Calcuna SanskritCoege
t\rs.410
Satkarmollasa Pumananda NS lV gO8 SatcakraBrahamananda dipika SalcakraPumahanda dipika-tika SatcakraNandarama AS 6967 nirupana
Tarkavagisa SC446
stava-tika.ln lhe Satcakranitupana,he has mentionedHadvallabhaRayaas hispatron.He appearslonave flourishedbelore Saka1638(= 1716A.D.). RamabhadraNS 1386 SatcakraSC619 krama-dipika Satuabhauma Pumananda Saicakrabheda(Salcakra) Satpadyamala Ramararna NS 1387 Bhattacarya Jaganmohana SanatanaTarkalamkara dhatmanusthana
Withtheautho/s nameareassoci_ atedtheworks
(rotv 2400),
NS iii336
Samkhya-
Sivanatha Saruananda-tarangini
lV 2457), etc. Aulhorperhaps identicalwith the authorof Svarupaklrya-
sadhanamala VinodacandrassP634 Ratnanabha AAS6350 SundaiAgamacarya rahasyav rtti Varendta
Firstpa deals wilhlhe procedure oflenfold Samska6in accordancewith Tantra.Second partdealswith proceoulal maftersrelating to Sraddhai^ conformity with Tantricpraclices. Abiography o{ by Saruananda htsson, Accountgivenby
198
chapt€r-s Brahmana, Maitreya. Sonof Narayana, grandson of t\rukrnda, discipteof Gopjnatha.
Sundadsakti- Adinatha ssP A 1237 vaEtdanam Svarupakhya- Nandarama VSP154(1336 Ka) stavalika 1s5(1356Kha) NS | 39.
Chapter-6
Tantrasand their Details
chapter -6
Abtret ialiorrs DK DaMkum.did @,nttuMnda.Bib.Indba.cabma. ivekadSubra.ni, Skt SahityaParisalCalcltta. DurgoEavav DV Ekadas ilatvah ffitluaot RaghurEndana. EI s ra&lakunudi 6 Go'titfurtstfu,Bib.lrdi:a,calcuna. s< Tnhiatva inSfi tli-tattvad Raghunandam. TT Bib.indic€,Calcutta. Varsakivakaumudid Gojndananda. VK Vraalalaviv*adStr/€parri. (ln Devanaqarlalllphabeticalorder) KapilapaRcaralra DK-s,13,126,129,130, 180,1g2,n4N DV-23
, 79 v K - 1 1 8 , ' 1 5125, 8 1 , 7 61
Gavaksatantra DV*12
VK-lM Matsysukta
Garudaianlra vK-283
ET-74,6 Bhuvanesvaritantra
DK_2M DV-7,11,13,23
Gautamnantra vK-146
Mahakapilapaicaratra DV.23
Naradapancaralra !1<-150
Yoginilantra vK-l20,132,149,157, 175,372,44,441,442
Naradiya-samhila TT_51
Rudrayarnah sK-266
nh.hra.!
Nigarnapadsista sK-63,317 w-17
SaradaOhl(a?)
Putascar-anarardrika
Dr'-l1
vK-157,2A
SaEdatlaka vK-1192t,1&4,14 1 3 61 , 3 9 , 1 4 51,4 9 t, s o , 152,153,157,159,162, 170,171, 173,174,176, 190,384,385,391, 565
DK-g,10,68,74,75,89, 112 124, 125, 126, 128, 130, 13t, 141,144,146,.149, 150,15.t,r53, 154,155, 't56,158, 159,164,176, 't78,'t79, 180,182,185, 188,190,'t91.
SivaganE VK-76 Hayasirsapaff ca|atraorHayaiirsa w14 TantrasdH Inthe HarrHtvadHhili (lnOevanagari alphab€ticat order) Littleknownworkshav€b66nleftout &EnEi€lpadrunE AganEtattva-vilasa A96madvaita-nimaya Agana-sandarbho Agafirasara Ulta|akarnaktrya-hrnra Una€-tant.a Utapani-iantra UmairrEb Kankalamalini-lanlra lGn€la-lantra Kamalavihsa-tantra
KulapEkasa-tantra Kulacara-ianlra Kular|ava-tantra Kulavali-tantra Gardha|a-tar{.a Gayald-tantra Guptadiksa-tantra Gupta-sadhana-br ra GuptiarEva-tarfia Guru-tantra Gotafii!.a-tant a GatiirnEh
Tantras and th€il Dotails
203
Gh€€rd+sarhna Katyayani-tantra CinaianFa Kamadh€nu-tanira Jana lGrnakhya-i,adra Jnanabntra Kalikalpa-tantra Jmnamava-l,atnra Kakulamrla-tantra DarES.tanlra Kalikuhmava-tanha Tart"a.kaurvdi lGlikan€-tantra Tantacudarnari lGlitantra Tantradipika lGlivilasa-tantra TanlEpaartoda K'.rbjika-tantra Taa raraha Kurnad-tantra Bd|annillrana Tantraraia Brhannila-t Tantrasagala-samhita &tranrElra-t Tanlrasara Bfah,nqarYEb TanFadarca B€hmanda-bitsa Tantdkadalpana tantra Bhagavad-bhaklivilasa TaraoanE Bhuvan6\rari-tantra Taralant€ Bhulasuddhi-tantra TararahaqE BtEira/ai{rEb Tarafiasya-vrtta Bhairava-tantra Tarad€va ghairavi.lar{E Todala-lar{ra Trailokya-sarnrnohana-tantra Matsyasukta Ma|tlratantra?al€sa Daksinamurtikatpa irahakalanphini-tanlra Daksinamurti-sarfiita MahaniMana.tailra Dattat€ya-ifita|a Matanila.lanlra DurgB-kalpa-lanlra Mahaling€6vara-tantra OevillfrEh Mahisarnatdini-tanlra DeryagafiE Mat.kabheda-iantra Navaralnesva€tanra Mayatantra Narayana-tianlra Malini-tantra Nitarnakalpalata MundarYEla-tantra Nigaftakalpasara
Tantrasand their Details Nig€rnatattvasara Mdani-lanka Nityatantra Meru-lantra Nibandha-tiantra Yogni-tantra Niruttals-tantra BudEfradEh-tanta Nituana-tiantra R6va-bntra Nilatamra Lingarcana-hnlEr Picchila-tantra Varada-tartra Pu€scarana{arddka Vaanak€svara-t Purascaraia-bodhini Van|adeva-t Purascarana-rasolhsa-iantra Varahi-t Ph€tkarini-tantE Vidyotpani-t Alhattantrasara Ylmala-t Brhat-todala-tartra Visvasa|a-t Bd|ad-gautamiya-tanta Vrsnujarnala-t Bhad-rudraianah Mra-t Vyornaratna-t Sritattva-cirfamani SaldirrEh SaidclnEra-t Sakti-i Sarnay+t Sakti€an'gan'a-t Sanqacara-l Saktanandat SanrrdwFt Sambhavi-t SarEsvatia-t Sarada-t Sarasvati-t Sarada-tilaka Simhavahini-t Sasvata-t Siddhalahari-t Sikharini-l Sildhesvari-t Syarna-l(alpahh Svaccharda-rEhe$ara-t qE rEtatErya Svatalllra-l Syanwcana{anddka l_hrmafibtrcslrara Syarna-sap6rydlaarna (HanEapatamesvaa) Syarna-sapaqa-vuhi HayasiFa-pahcaratra TantdcauthoFmentionedinlheHaalattua4idm! Tarftadipikakara Pum€rErda BrahrEnandagi.i
205 tl
Wo*sandAuthors Clted in the T.ntras ot Bengal (Arrangedin EnglishAtphabeticat Orded A/.&-The figuresrctor to the pag6sof the wo.k againstwhich theseare m€ntioned. A. WORKS Ti e
Acaracinlamani Acarasaaa Adatyapurana Adiyamala Adhyatma-viveka Agamakalpadruma Agama6amhila Agamasandalbha Agamasara Agama-tattva-vilasa Agamottara Title
Agastya-samhita (Agneyapu.ana) Agnipurana Aksaya Anandapatala Annadakalpa
Tanlrain whichnetioned wih rcterence PV Kandav P 344 s41 T611 P 12,2A T 16,35,240,S 5 PV Kandaii T 1 ,S 4 P195 P239,T4 T 583 Tant6 in whichmentioneclwith T 37, 38 P 349,S 8, t8, 4t
su 124 su 120 P 104,PV Kandaii
-
206
Chaptet.o
s44 Bhagavadbhukti-vilasa Bhagavata Bhairaviya Bhairavatanlra 3 Bbairavilanlra gharala Bhasya Bhavacudamani elc-,
Bhavasaravalai Bhavisyapurana Bhutabhai6va Bhutadamara Bhutas!ddhitanha Brahmajffanatantra Brahmajamala Brahrnapurana Brahmasamhita Brahmavaivadapurana Brhacchamkara-viiaya Bftadyoni Bfiannilatanka Brhat-stavaraja Brhat-todalatantra Title Brhacckikrama 20, Brhadgautamiya Camundatantra Caranavyuha
P 181 P9,S39,42 T 467,511 P 63.T 46r, 463,472,S .t9,21, 'I
su 33, 66. SR 7 T9 s 18 s l0 P 5 1 1 .T 1 5 3 , 5 4 5S . U24,43, SR5 TB 56 P 8 8 .S 1 4 , 1 8 T 40. PV Kandaii T 640.S 24 P r 8 9 .S S8 , 1 1 ,1 7 P 22,23,24,25 P 104,T 57, 384 T 686.S 183 T 693,776 P 346 P 495 SU 57, 107,€tc. f 414
s 15
207
Tantras and their D€tai13
Chandansara Chinnamaslatantra Cidambara-naia_tantra Cintamani Daksinamurta Daksinamurlisamhita Daksinamurlitanlra Daksanamurtalantra Damala Dasapatali Dattatreyasamhita Devipurana Dharmapurana Dharmasamhita Divyacaralanka Divyatantra Ekavirakalpa Ganesa Gandharvamaliha Gauriiamala Gandharya 18, Garudatanlra Garuda Gayatritantra
T51 SR41 PV Kandaii PV Kandaii T 375,5n ,4O4.SU134(Sanhnal T 160,204 P 160,204 P 206 SR22 P 174 P 406,A P l'10
s 14 T 351 PV Kandai, iv T 50, 504,SR 33
su1 5, 15, 18' T 11.S (Gandharva) 42 P 196,S 15, PV Kandaiii T 937.S 5, 13,18,37,42,8, 17, 20,31 A "t 622 P83 Tantrain whichmentionedwith
Tant@in whichmentionedwith T 20.S 21, 34. PV Kandaii. SR 50 / (Sanhita) T 255 f 4a,492,708 P62
Gandhawatantra Ganesavimarsini
P 162.T 7,114.S 44.PVKanda
Garudapurana Gaulamiya
P 1A2 P | 78.T 34,39.S 14,19,30,43, sB ,t5.A.SU7,94, 39,205,2112
Tantras and their Oetails
6 chetarldasar*|ita Gia Gopalatapaniya
9:t*"*
A. p9 SB
P8,rsg.A
uovhdavrdavana urarryrEb Gupta-diksatarira Gu@ralEsya
T$.S42 P126.A p 144.531 SF,t8
9urynava rruptaFsadmna_tantra Gun0t"i€tantsa Gurugita
T,s6.SRi6
:rr""T :"ns"tnah6sva,a T"""""tt"
Tn*""r|*"'-a
p 11,SU36,76,etc. ps pS P94,SU3r,32,1so Su 67,Og.etc. PVKandaiii
su 87,89, otc.T,$-s 28
PB,SR2O TIST p&. pvt(ardavl Iathadipika Hayastrsa-pancaratra (Hayasirsa)p i SO.T6 tsanasamhfra pD :rtts+,?rrE1,a,a Ha.Unrd€lpq HastihrdayafEbandha
q* f*q
P.n,s7 su7,14, dc.
P27.s1.A
JrnnapraqF
T*t*)a Jffanar'\€
S3l
._ .1Ettan"h
68,eb.SR2 f7@
1p**"I"ii 1T*lar". ,JMnesvari€amhi{a
ll74.Tz r27.s14,r9.su,r6,
plzr,pvKanoav pVt
pV Kandaiv
P321,326 Jhanotbra P€ Jyolisladva P@ Kaivalyatantra Pla4 Kalagnirudropanisal lGlika-kula-sarvasva-sarnputaPVKandaiii,P62.S 5.SU49,82, 9.126 Kalika(Kali)-(kulasarvasva)S41.SR32 T4€6.SU83,89,|07,169 Kalikalpa T46,51 l(alikapurana sR16 Kalikopanisat T 'l47.PVKandaii Kalihrdaya s3,41.SR5 Kalikapurana PVKandaiii Kalikulamrla P?30,T475,475AW,52,W. Kalitanfra SU(sirnply Kali) 109,111. S31.
sF4
lGlivilaslantra Kalikraria Kalikulamda Kalirahasya Kalotta.a Kalpa Kalpasdra Kalpasutratika Kalpalaru Kamadatantra Kamadhenulantra (orKamadhonu) Kamakhya-mula Kamakhyatantra Kankalamalinitantra Kamavipaka Kasikhanda Kathopanisal
P2.SU136
sF7 PVKandaiii T488 P321,326 171,@,365 P 17.T,145.T 693 P12 PS P 188 P 15.S 24. PV Kandaii TR 23 P 91,92,149 P34 P26 P 142 P 449
210
Kaulalanlra Kavyaprakasa Kedarakhanda Krarnadipika Kriyasara Kriyasara-samuccaya Krkalasadipika Krsnarcana-candrika Kubjikalanka K!kkuta Kukkutesvaratantra Kulacudamani
Kulasadbhava Kuiasara-samgraha Kulasambhava Kulasarvasva Kulasara Kulalaltvasara Kulavali Kuloddisa
Kulotlama Kurnarikalpa Kumarilantra
sR 34,39 P 11 P 322 T 1521 , 6 7 , 2 5 5S. 5 T3,75.S4.P7 P 243 P 179 P 6 .T 5 5 , 3 8 1S.1 0 .S U1 2 8 , 1 3 6 , 138,196,206
i
su 72
:
P 339.T 586 P 157.T 6, 59,20,37,38.SUs8, 7 3 , 9 2 , 1 7 4 , 2 0S7 R .2 Keralagama P95 Kulamrta T 1121 , 30P . VK a n d ai Kulamulavatara-katpasutralika (orKulamulavatara) P17.S6 Kulanandasamhita T 799 Kulaprakasa T 7 1 .S R3 3 Kularahasya su 103,213 Kularnava P L T 4 0 .S 4 , 5 , 8 2 , 1 ,2 3 , 3 33, 7 , 44.A. SU 26,400,elc.SR 5 Tanttain whichmentionedwith
sRs0 sR46 s R1 13, 2 PV Kandav. SR 45 P 542. PV Kandav. SR 22 s u 8 3 , 1 0 5 ,1 4 8 ,1 7 8 T 115,659 T 3 8 9 , 3 9 6S , R2 2 , 4 1
211
Tanirasand their Details
Chapt€r-6
(Kaurma) Kurmapurana Laghukalpasutra LaLgapurana Laksmikularnava Lalita Lingagama Lrngapurana Lingarcanacandrika Lingacanatantra Lingatantra Madhaviyasamhita Mahabharata Mahacina Mahakaplla-pan4a-ralra l\rahalingesvaratanlra Mahanila Mahanirvana 225 l\rahaphe*anya Mahataranava Ivlahogra Mahogratarakalpa [,,lahisamardinitantra l\ralinitantra MalinFVijaya lvlanasollasa Ivfangalatanlra
P 542. PV Kandav T 478,482.SRs P 511.T 508,934,949.S 41.SU 27,691 , 35S . R1 P186.S9 S8 T 125 P 187 su 167 T 958 P 240 P 326.T 96,656 TR 29 P 327.S 41 TR1 P45,A TR8 P97 TR30 TR4 P 6. PVKandaiv.A. SU21,222, T506 TR8 T 930.931 T930 P96.S7,31,39 112s P 186.T 14 s 18.T318 s26
ChaoleF6
213
Tanlrasand lheir Details
Mantramuktavali [,4antraprakasa Manlraratnavali Mantra-iantra-prakasa Manlratarangini Mantracudamani N4antradeva-prakasika lvlantradeva-prakasini Mantramahodadhi I\,4anlrakosa l\,4anusamhiia I\,{a|kandeyapurana l\,4atrkabheda I\lakkabhedodaya Malrkodaya IValsyasukta 4 lVayatantra Merulantra Mrdanitantra lvlrtyunjayagama IVrlyuiayasamhita Mukltantra l\lundakopanisat Mundamaiaianlra
PVKandaiii s R1 6 P 1 6 5 .T 6 5 6 .S 1 3 PV Kandai T 1S1 T 203,327 T614 P 251 S 24, PV Kandaii P6s P7.S.3,4,8,9,s9,42A s u 6 1 , 8 7 ,1 1 7 ,1 9 4 P27 P17 P .5 T 8 , 1 2 ,1 s 3 ,5 0 8 .S 6 , 4 1 .S B r 379,49a,$2 P21
PV Kandaiv P12 PV Kandaiv, vi P 451 P 5 . I 1 4 , 4 2 .S . 2 2 , 3 0 , 3 3A. . S U 4 8 , 6 6 ,1 9 1 .S F 4 Nandikesvarasamhita I 127.SA3 Nandikesvara-lantra P 239 Nandyavarta I832 Narada-pafrcaraira P 18 Naradiyatantra T 246, 650 Narapati-jayacarya-svarodaya P 33, 104
Narayana-kalpa Navaratnesvara
r71 P 187T . 1 1 , 9 6 , 4 1 8S. 4 , 1 9 , 2 0 ,
Nibandha Narayaniya Narayanilantra Navacakresvara Nigama'kalpadruma
T15,20 P6 5 , 1 1T71. 8 4,29,etc. T 188,SU P92,93,189 P447,555. T3. PVKandav.Su
Nigarna-kalpa Nigarm-kalpalata Nigarm-kalpananda Nigamananda Nigama{attva Nigama-tatlvasara Nilasarasvatrlanlra Nilasarasvata Nilatantra
su71,108 su 76,129
Niruttaraiantra Nirvanalantra Nityatantra Nrsimhapurana Nrsimha-lapaniya Padarlhadarsa Padrnapurana Padmavahini Paicadasi Parapancasrka Paraparimalollasa Parasarabhasya Parirnalollasa Phetkarini Phetkafiya Picchlia
su23 su 63,93 su41,42 PVKandaiv.SU214,217,239 TR11 T4A8.TR1 1s.P 149.S 13,15. sR2,51.TR su 228,T.84,130 P32.SU32,35, etc. P 5.SU17,59, etc. P149 P 354 S4 P43 P 180.T 65(Padma), 762,765.S (Padma). A I P 151 P23 P17 P63 P12
r72 P 61
T 488,511 P 9 3 .T 5 5 6 , 5 5 9S. 1 S , 3 3S. R3
214
Phetkariva Picchila Pingala Prapaicasara Prayogaparijala Prayogasara Purana-Samgraha Puranscaranacandrika Parascaranalaharl-tantra Purascaranarasollasa Radha Raghavaya Ramarcanacandrika Raiirahasya Ralnavali Revatitantra Rudradhyaya Rudray0)amala etc.A.SU145.SR27.TR7 Sadanvaya-rmharalna Saivagallla (lantlaka) SaktakEmacandrika Saktananda-tarangini Saklikalpa Saktikagarnasarvas/a Saldisara Saktitantra Sakliyamah Sarn4/acarabntra SarrqEl€ Samayankaanabka Sarnayahntra SanhtE\,a
Tantrasand their Details
Chapler.6
SarniGratantra Samkehcardrodaya SarnarDhanahntra Sanatkumaratant€ Sanatkurnaria
T 488,511 P 93.SU 41,55,56, 161 P 67,T 21,30, 3'1 P 9. T 90, 197 P 360 P7 P 352 T 140,158.PV Kandaii P 185 P 6. PV Kandai
su 9,59 s44 P92.T35 P 558 T 38, 40 P54a TR6 P 17.T5,7,16,26,30,S4,5,6, P118 T36,P172 su2f€,211,220 P27.PVKandaii Tfl l P564 TR5 PVKahdaiii T8.Sl.PVKandav.TR 38 P64.T 9511, 961. SU27,31,etc. T 404,441 s19 T4.S10,12,15,16,37,45 T 153
tl
Sankelapaddhati Saradatilaka Sarada Sarada-tika Sarergaha Sarasamuccaya Sarasvata Sarasvatitanlra Saravali ka Sa&arm3diF Sautrarmnitantra Selumangala-lanlra Siddhalahai Sildhanlasekhara Sildhasarasvata Siddhayamala Siddhesvanantra Siksasutra Sivadhanna Sivadiksa{ika Sivagarna Sivarahasya Sivalantra Skandap!rana Smrtbara Sodha-tanl€ Sornabhujagavali
215
T56 P93,T 94,127.S 15,4i],32 T 44,T13 P230.T (Sanaiomarasamhita) 31, 36,42,S29
s12 P7.S20.PVKanda ii s 6, 10, 19,42,4i),44,45 sR2 P92.14,54 T 656.PVKandaiii P 1r5.S27,2s P T673.S20 P117 PA7
sz7 sJ@ P113,179.T686.S42 T 13,530,680SR37 T 8,385,797 T,|(n.SR35 P46 P t86.T64,S14 S6 T 937,961,SR40 P1S PVKandaiii P 180.T 842.S41.A P288,543 TRl T415,687
Chapier-G
216
Sribiiamava Srihan€
s31
f 2,9,4Q.f37I I s4ttti8). s39.SR2,34. S8 Sddmlapaniya T155.P32.SR20 Srit€ttvacintamani P@ S!ksmasvarcdaya P@. &tasanhi|a P63.T402 Svaca+Erdabhaira\a T536.PVKandai Svac.fEndasamgraf6 P105 Svarbdaya P16 Svarodayalika Pl 79.T 93,,l0BSRi Svaiarftiatantaa Svayambhwa-mat*a-tantra T6G PVKandaii Syarnakalpahta P 179.S t0.SU159 S)EntaralBs1F P4 Taittiriyaka Tanhadevaprakasika s2. s6,13,17,18,20 Tantragandharua P234.T515.SR40 Tanhacudarnani Taniral(aumudi f374 T18 Tantraraja T 5 . S R1 9 Tanlramava Tantrasara TR4 Taranigafib P61 Tapani Tarakalpa T 826.TRI PVKandaiii TaElaarna TRI Taralaila$aruasva TR6 Taa6ara TR81 Tarayoga T593 Tarinitant€ Tarapradipa T 504,TR8 Ta€ana\€
Tanlrasand their Details
217
Taini-nirnaya Taratantra Tawabodha Tattvananda-tarangini Tattvasara
T 527 T 529 T 397 sR 15 P 39. T 1 16.S 5. PV Kandai, iv,
Tiksnakalpa Tilhitatlva Todalatantra Traip!risruti Tripurakalpa Tripurarnava Triputasarasamuccaya Tripurasara Trisaktitantra Udayakarapaddhati Uddamaresvaratanlra Urdhvamnayatantra Utpattatantra UttaEkalpa Uttarakhandoddisa Uttaratanlra Vabhata Vaikhanasagrantha vaisampayanasamhala Vaisvanarasamhila Vajasaneyasamhita Vamakesvaratanka
PV Kandaii P21 P 173 T 379 TR30 T 358 P 419T . 139 T 362,364 T 361 P 188,SR 9, 21 P 256 s32.TR1 PP 231
Varadatantra Varaha Varahitantra Varnabhairava
s 7,24 PV Kandaiii P 511.T. 948.SR 5 P2A P 199 T S, 9, 34, 45. S 28 P 201 P 448 P 22.T 6t, 410,4, 555,651. SU 36,80 P 47. SU 60, 63, 165
s 10 r 1 2 , 1 3 , 2 4 , 3 2 ,S441, 6 , 2 2 , 27.SU124.SR 32 PV Kandaii
218
Varnavilasatanlra Vamoddhafatantra Vasistha Vasisthasamhita Vasistharamayana Vastuyagapradiplka Vijayamalini Vijayakalpa Viabhadratantra Vimalanandabhasya Vedantavrtti Vidyagama Vidyanandanibandha Viramitrodaya Viratantra Visnudharmottara Visnuyamala Visuddhesvara
Visvasaroddhara Visvadarsa Visvasvarakalpadruma Yajurvediya hfanyakesiyasakha YanEh Yogacudamani YOgamava Yogasara
Chapter-6
P 131 P49 r72,116 P 1 7 2 , 16 7 4 s 18 P 105 PV Kandai T 946 PV Kandaii Si P 16 T 159 P 179 PV Kandaiv T 72,475,506,516,SU 82,100. sR 8, 40 P 346.S 42 T40.SLSU129 T 4 5 , 5 4 , 6 6S. 1 5 ,1 9 , 2 32, 7 ,2 9 . SB20 (-mahatantra) P 1 3 .T 2 2 ,4 3 .S 5 , 6 , 1 3 ,1 8 ,2 1 , 28,38.SU 58, 149,etc. T685 PV Kandaii PV Kandaiii P152 T 3 , 2 8 , 3 2S. U 2 , 7 7e, t c .S, R1 3 . TR30 PV Kandavi P8 P 323
Tantrasand their Details
Yogesvarodaya Yoginihrdaya Yoginijalandhara Yoginitantra Yogini Yonitantra B. AUTHORS Abhinavaguptacarya Amarasimha Baudhayana Bhadracarya Bhartrhari Dattatreya Durgasimha Tarkacarya Gopinatha Himadri Jabala Agamavagisa Krsnananda I\radhavacarya Mailreya Narada Narahari Nityananda Purnananda Puspadanla Raghavabhatta BamakrsnaPandala Vidyabhusana Bamalocana Bayam!kuta Samkaracarya SmarataBhallacarya
215
P 431A P 1 4 4T, 4 9 , 5 6S. 5 , 8 , 2 9 , 3 0 , 3 6 , 37,39.SR 46 T 388 P 8. T 7, 8, 34,38,41 S U1 2 6 P 495.TR 1
P41 P11 P 111 P318 P46 P 117 P 11 P 11 P 321
T1o P75 T83 P 18 T 17,45 P t07 T6 sR15 P17 P7,T661.SR2 P36 P 105 P11,35 P 1 2 .T 5 1 5 P 277
22O
Sridharasvami Susruta Udayabhanu Vidyanandasvami Vadyaranyasvami Yajnaparsva Yogiyajnavalkya
ChaDter-o
P 18 P29 P t79 P36 P 495 P 180 P2A
NOTES 1. Thefollowing abbrevialions havebeenusedA = Amari-sahhita, as describedin VangiyaSahityaparisal Patika, vol. 58/3-4,p.41. P = Praralosrh,iVasumatied., Calcutta,1335BS. PV = Paficama-veda-sarcnimayaas desctibedin Vangiya SahityaPatisatPatika, Vol.59/3-4,p.71. R = Radhatantra, ed.R. Chattopadhyaya, Calcutta. S= Sakananda-taangin R. Chatlopadhyaya, Calcufla. led. SR= Syamarchasya of Purnananda, ed. R.lr. Chattopad hyaya. SU = Saryollasa-tant@, 6d. R.M.Chakravarti, Comilla. 1941. F = Tantnsara,\tangavasi€d., 1334BS. 1R = Tarchasya,ed,J. Vidyasagara, Calcutla,1896.
Tantras and their Details
lll. Tanlras Menllonedin tho SanskrltWorks on BengslV.lgnavlsm Someol the imporlanlSanskritworks,relatingto Bengal Vaisnavism, containcopiousrelerences to Tantdcworks.This is particularly truein the caseol th6worksdealingwiththe tes and rituals.Forlhe presenlpurpose,we shallcollectthe refsr€nc€s lo Tantrascontained in lhe following worksagainstwhich the respectiveabbrevations arenoled. 1. BhakliGsamfta-sindhu BS (ThereJerences are to th€ pagesoftheeditionused.) ofRlpaGosvamin (N4!rshidabad ed.,Radhararnan Press) 2. Haribhakti-vilasaof Gopala HV (The referncesare to the pagesol theeditionusedhere). Bhattar (Ed.B. Vidyaratna, Behrampore, WestBengal) arelo pages). 3. Samksepa-bhagavatamfta SB(Relerences of RupaGosvamin (Murshidabad ed., 1303B.S.) areto pages). 4. Sat-kriya-sara-dipika,asctibedSD(Feterences lo GopalaBhatta2 (Ed.Gaudiya Malh,Calcutta, 44maurabda). Jivacoqvanil 5.SaFia,l&/b/,aof (Tattua,Bhagavat, Paramalria, pressed.) Radhararmn Sfikrsna-€d. P.G.Gosvamin, Navadvjpa, 1332SS. Bhakti--€d.S.Gosvamin, Calcutta, Saka1822. Priti-ed-P.Gosvami, Noakhali).
numerals relerto SS(TheArabic pagesand to theRormntigures intheorder theSandabhas shownhere.)
6. Ujjvalanilamaniol Aupa Gosvamin
UN
222
Chaptar€
(Kavyamala €d.,Bombay, 1913). fhe Gopala-cdtupu ol JivaGosvamin coniainsreferences lo severalTanlrasall ot which have boen reterredto also in his Sandarbhas. So,for the presentpurpose,we neednot takdthe Gopalacanru inloconsideration. (n Devanagarialphab€ddonter) Asvasirah-pancaratra: AgBnE:
Krarnadipika:
SanFasttaJ€stsa(q,v.) tN. t.41-42,79,82-83, 15+55,267, 5rel 9,54€,552,582{3, 750, 789790,807@,81 1-13,117G71 117679 t.110-14 tv.2-3,a-9,21-2. s83B ss lv. 76,2s5,271,335,565.V.626, 634.Vt_477,958 HV.t. | $16,28,71,78,353,397-98, 4oss,51s20,723
tv.5
Gautamiyal
Gautarhiya-tantra:
Tamra:
UN349 HV.l. 83-84,33G31,475,703 11t.44,60,164,285 tv.21,30,32-33, 67,184-85 HV.t.8, 192,2IJ6,ZJ7,432-3s,46,2, 913,I 14&50,126, 1344 [. $10 .4,m-23 tv.1@-@ SSlV.220,,f23.V.547,640,651.Vl. 959,1074 !N1.70,1176-77 t.183-84 lv.12
Tanlras and their Details
223
SB374 UN61 8,521,24,111,170,187 ss. l. 53,72. lv.224,421
Tantra-bhagavata: ss. v. 627 Tantrantara: HV-r.92-93 Tantrikah: Trailokyamohana-pahcaratra: HV. ll. 179 Trailokya-sammohana-paff caratra:HV.l. 60-62,71-Z3, 377-7A tv. 39-40,46-49,58,60 s s . l v . 2 2 0 .v . 5 2 3 , 6 3 0v. l . 7 2 5 Navaprasna-pancaratra:H V L t 5 1 H V1 . 8 5 Narada-tanlra: HV. |. 20-22,32, 34, 44-45,.123 Narada-pancaratra: 125,15t -152,199-201 ,233,286, 287,359-363,436,449,552,790, 822,1087-88, 1352 tv. 13, 20,24-25,28-29,Ss-36,41, 52-53,54,68-69,175-76 B S 1 1 , 2 3 , 5 91, 0 7 ss ll. 182,257,386.lll.25,127.lV. 299,466V. 576,595,596,628,629, 630,633,640,650V1.225,246,247 ss . 33 Naradiya-tanlra: HV.l. t87 Naradiya-paicaratra: l. 136 Narayana-paicaratra: BS218 H VI t . 3 5 9 Nigama: HV.t.39,t 25-26,267,349,74s-46, Paicaralra: Tn-74 lt.5-6 B S3 6 ,1 2 9 , 2 1 3 , 2 1 6 , 2 1 7 ss lll. 75,80.v. 472,625.Vl. 417, 426
224
Tanlrasand their Oeiails
Chaptst-'
Prahlada-pafrcaratra: HV. l. 907 Brhat-tantra: ss vt.239 Brhad-gautamiya-lanka: ss |v.305,309, 567,568.Vt.239, 564 Brahmayamala: BS 79
1209-10.1|.l.4647 lv. 82,84,97'9S,1091 1, 129-47' 15&71, 178,183,187-93,196-202, 20G36,23841,25G58,260S1, 5,27*9,2p'2U,2*%.26 M,*7 98,300{0,307-310,316'18,321-23'32s 330,33943,34e57,359374400{5'411 417-1A,42G23,425's4'44245' 4&91 4atr8,1.' 45241'&N'47Cn.
ss v. 628
Bhagaval-lanha: Bhagavaladi-lantra: Bhargava-tantra: Mrtyu6jaya{antra: Yamala: Rudrayamala:
Vaisnava-tantra: Saradatihka: Sivagama orSaivagarmi giyarnala: Sanatkurnata-lar ra: Samrmhana-liarira:
Satvata-tantra: Svayambhuva-agarm:
SameasTantra-bhagavata {q.v.) HV . 106 sB 244
Hayagdva-paficaratra: l-layasalsa-pahcaratra:
633.Vl ssl.53.ll.645.v 567,569'
ss lv. 296 s s l v . 4 6 3 , 5 6V7.,6 s 0
NOTES Somelhinklhatheis one coniroversial. 1. The idenlityoltheauthoris thinkthathe was whileothers ot lhe sixGosvaminsofVrndavana, ilwas reallyaworkol person. Yel olhersthinklhal a dilfereni name of Gopala il with the whoassocialed SanatanaGosvamin work. was iheiriolnl that ii There ls an opinion Bhaita. 2 Theaulhorshipisdoubtlul.EveniJii waswrittenby GopalaBhatta, hls identitywilh GopalaBhatta,one ofthe famousGosvaminsol Vrndavana,hasnol yel beeneslablishedconcluslvely.
s D 3 3 ,s 0 ,1 0 8 .H V t . 8 6 HV.l. 80-81,126-34, 354,1245 tv.491 8S334 ssv.613,640 sD20,107 8S333 ss lll.71.v .494,572,627 HVl.65-70, 75-76, 189-91 ,36s -2A,31 HVtV.2}25,27 ,4M-10 s8334 HV.ti.16-17 HVl.126,136,407,410,451 s8366 sD106 s825,190,209 sB166,219
ss tv.272
SameasHayasirsa (q.v.) HV.1.26, 197,454-57,546, 910,
225
I
226
ChapreF6
Only the maior publishedworks have beentaken intd acco Thelollowing abbreviations areused: S'. Sritattuacintanani SR : Syamatahasya ST: Sakta@ndataangini T . Tantn'aan fR: Tararahasya (In Devanagani alphabetica I order) Aksayavata Agastyasrama P
TB Ayodhya Avanit Amafakantaka Asvatirtha Aryavaria Ujlayini Uddiyana Elapura SR, TR Oghavati Kanakhala nanyasrama Kamala Karavira Karatoya Karnalirtha
Kalamadhava Kalighala Kaveri Kasi Kasmira Kubjaka Kuruksetra Kusavana Kedara Kausiki Ganga
P T, P P P P
Ganesvara Gandaki Gaya Godavari covardhana Gautamesvara Candrabhaga
P P, SR, T,P
T,P
P T,
P,
T,P P ,S R
227
Tantrasand lheir Deiails P Candrasekhara Kamasutra P Jayanu Karnata P Jalandhara Kalamba Jvalamukhi Kanci Trikona Kamakhya Tripura KalaRiara l\rathura Trivenl Madhupuri Trisrota lvlanasa Durga Dvaravati P Mahismati Nandipura P, SR, TRMithila Narmada Yamuna Nalahati Nagalirtha Ratnavali Nagarasamb,hava Ramanaka Nepala Ramagiri Naamisaranya Ramatirtha Ramesvara Paicapsara Lagnikasrama Patala Lanka Pinga Viraja(Viraia) Pindarakavana S!kratirlha Puskara Sona Prabhasa (Srigiri) T, Srisaila Prayaga Sarayu Btahmasira Saradalirtha Brahmavarta Sindhu P Bhadresvara Haratirtha Bharatasrama P Haddvara Bhaskaraksetra T Hamsatirtha Bhairavaparvata Hadta P lvlanipura Hingula T [,'lanibandha T Hrsikesa Matanga
T,P P P P P
P ,S R P
T,P P T,P P SR,TR
P
P
224
Chapte|.6
Tanlrasand thoir Details
V Pantheonin BengalTantra The maior publishedworks havebeenutilised here Thefollowing abbrevations havebeenuseo: P '. Pranatosini Pl ] . Purascarana-ratnakaB S : Sritattva-cintamani SB i Syamarahasya ST I SakIananda-tarangini f. Tantrasan IR: Tarahasya Eesides thedeities mentioned here,lherearemanydemigodes, mlnordeities,elc.fhe ditfetenlAvataashavebeenmenlioned tn sometexts.Wehavenotstatedthemseparately. Oi Vamana, lhere arelhe aspectsol Dadhivamana, Sadvamana, Thevariousweaponsandotherlhings,supposed to be heldby ditterent deities,e.g. Samkha, Cakra,Khadga, Dhanus, etc.,havebeendeijiedandmentionedin somelexts.Wedo nol setlorihthesedeitieshere. Sometextsmention thediflerentplanestasdeities,whichwe do nolstatehere. A separatelist is gjvenof thosedeitieswhosemanttasare menl|oned. (lnDevanagad alphabetical order) Name Workin Name which Mbh menlioned Agnl Agnidurga
PU PU PU Aniruddha PU AntarikaSarasvali PU T, PU Annapurna Bhairavi T
lndra T,PU lndrani PU Ucchisla Ganesa T Ucchista Candalint PU Ucchista Matangi PU Ekajala PU Kamalatmrka T,ePU
AparajitaVaisnava Karnapisaci Karnamatangi Kalyayani Kama KamesvariBhairavi Kartavirya Karlrkeya Kali
:l
!
PU PU T PU IPU PU T, PU PU
229
(Kamala)
Gayalri ES,PU Goraksanalha PU Gopala PU PU Govinda Gauri I S, PU P Graha (Surya,Candra,Mangala, Budha,Brhaspati,Sukra, TB,T, P, Rahu, Ketu) Sani, PU,ST,
(Ehadrakali, i, Daksinaka Mahakali. Siddhikali, Smasanakali, Guhyakali KarnakalaKali) Kelu PU KaulesaBhairavi I, PU Kaumaai PU
Candika s Candesvara IPU Candramauli T S, PU Camunda PU Cinlamani PU Sarasvati Cailanyabhairavi PU PU Chinnamasta (SeePracanda Candika)
PU Kesava Kselrapala Ganga Ganapati (Sakr,ganapati, Mahaganapati, Vighnaganapati Ganesa (Sakliganesa, Laksmiganesa, Vighnaganesa,
Jayaourga PU Jnanasarasvall T,S, PU Tara T, P,S, PU PU Tumburu Tulasi Trikantaki TrikutaSarasvali T,P Triputa Tripurabhairavi Tripurasundari
IPU PU T.P PU,TR PU PU PU T. S. PU IPU I ES,PU
230
ChapleF6
T Tryambaka Ucchisla-ganesa, Tvarila PU Ksipra-prasada T, PU Dadhivamana GanesaVakralunda) T Garuda PU T , E P U Da.nodara Duga T, S, PU T, PU Bhairavi Dhanada (alsosee PU Dharani Sakalasiddhida T,RPU Dhumavali andSampatprada Bhairavis) PU Narayana PU Niiyaklinna T [,4anjughosa T Nitya T,PU Nilyabhairavi [/anikarnika PU lladhusudana Nilakantha PU [,4ahakala Nilasarasvali Bhairava T PU,SR Nrsimha (Kalibhanrdeva) Nairta PU Padmavali PU T, S, PU Nrahalaksmi PariiaiaSarasvati PU Nrahasarasvaii P U PU l\rahisa-mardini T, PU Parvati Purusottama PU T,P,S, PU lvlatangi T,P Pracandacandika (Chinnamasla) PU Madhava Praiyangifa PU Nrahesva PU Pradyumna PU N4ukhya Vagisvari PU Banalinga Mrtyunjaya T Siva Balagopala T,PU PU Yama Bala PU Yogini T, P,S, SR (Ascompanion Brahma goddesses, PU Brahma Yoginisare ol Brahma PU manykinds,e.g.Prakatayogini, Daksini, etc.) Bhaya'vidhavasmsini Bhairavi T,PU Bhafaii Baiamalangi PU PU
r,es
BhuvanesvariBhairaviI PIJ
RahLr
PU
Tantrasand lheir Detaits
231
Budra T, S, PU Rudrabhairavl T, PU Rudravagisva PU Laksmi T, S, PU Sitala PU Unmalta-bhariava, etc.) Sulapani T, PU PU Sesa LaksmiVasudeva T, PU Sesika PU PU Srikara Lagnusyama PU PU Sridhara Vagalamukhi T Srirama IRPU Valraprastarini T,PU Srihari PU Vatuka T, S, PU SalkutaBhairav T, PU PU Sakalasiddhida T Bhairavi T,PU PU PU Sadasiva Vasyamatangi PU Sampalprada PU Vahnivasini Bhairavi T,PU Vagisvari T,S, PU Sarasvati Vagmati PU Samrajyalaksmi PU Vagvadini PU PU Sila T Ssurya vayu PU PU Svapnavarahi PU Varah Hanumat IPU Visalaksmi T Hayagrjva IPU T,es, Haridlaganesa T, PU P U ,S R , T Harihara T, PU PU HarnsaVagisvari PU PU Vasnavi T Heramba PU vyasa PU Hrsikesa PU Sarabha SR,T, E S, PU Siva Bharava (Manyklnds,e.g. Asilanga, Rudra Canda.Krodha,
(Tryambaka,
Chapter.6
232
Mrtyunjaya i\,4ahamrtyunjaya, Pasupati, narisvara, Nilakantha,lsana)
Tantrasand theirDeiaits
233
List of Deitieswhose ildrtt "asaremer{ioned in BengalTantra (Thenamesol deitiesarein Devanagari alphabeticalorder) Aghora,
whbh melioned
Annapurna T Annapurnabhairavi T Indra T Ucchislaganesa T lJcchistacandalini T Kamapisaci T Kalyayani T Kamesvari Klsna T KaulesaBhairavi T Ganesa T Garuda T Guhyakali Gauri Candesvala Candramauli Jayaourga Tara Triputa Tripurabhairavi T purasundari Iryambaka Daksinarnuru Dadhivarnana Durga Dhanada
T T T T T T,TR T T T,S T T T T T
ParijataSarasvati T PracandacandikaT T Balagopala Bhadrakali T Bhayavidhvamsini Bhairavi T Bhuvanesva T Bhuvanesvad Bhairavi T Bhahavi T lvlaffjughosa T Mahakala Bhairava T,SR Mahilaksmi T I\rahasamardini T Matangi T L/lrtyuhjaya T Yogin s Rudrabhakavi T Laksmi T LaksmiVasudevaT Vagalamukhi T Vajraprastarini T , valuka T T Yaraha Vagisvari T Vasudeva T
234
Dhumavati Nitya Nityabhariavi Nilakantha Nrsimha Syama Srirarna Srivjdya SalkutaBhairavi Sakala-siddhida Bhairavi Sampatprade Bhairavi
Chapter-6
T T T T T T,SR T I,S T
Siva Sulini Smasanakali Surya Hanurnal Hayagdva Haidraganesa
T
Hadhara
T
Herarnba
Visalaksi
Tantrasand therr Delaits
T T T T T T T T
Vl.Listof Mudras,yantrasand Mandalasmentioned in BengalTantra Themaiorpublish€dwgrkshavebeentakeninro account Thelolowingabbrevations areused: P : Penatosini S : Sritattva-cintamani J: Tanlrasara TR: Taznhasya SR: Syamarahasya Sf : Saktananadatarangini
T
(lnDevanagari alphabetjcal oroerl The ptincipatmudrasonlyare ljsteonere Anjati Apana Abhaya Avagunlhana uoana Kumbha Kauliki Khadga Khecari Gajatunda Gada Galina Cakra Carma Tattvarnudra
Nada
T S I, SR
padma prana prarthana
T, S, SI SR T,SR T I SB,TF T, S S T IS
Bhutini Mahankusa l4ahamudra [runda fulusala l\4rga Yoga YONI
SB,TR T Laksmi T Leliha T,S, SR,TR
S T S
s BinduS S T S T T,SR T TR S T, S, ST, T T, S, SR
237
Tantrasand their Details
T, SR Trikhanda Durga Dhenu
Sarvavrdravani Sambodhtni Sakalikarani Sannrdhapani
T, S
Vismaya
s T 3
T,SR,TR Vyana Samkha TR T Srivalsa S samksobhani Sarua S S Sarvonmadrni T,TR T, P SR Samhara S T, S, s, T Sunda Sthapanl T, S, Sr, SB T, S, ST,
SR S Samana Sammukhikarani T, S, ST,SR Sarvavasyakarani S MANDALAS ine prominetmandalas,mentionedin the Tantnsan' are a d Svalp|saNatobhadra7he Sritawa' Sanatobhadra Navanabha, cinlamani men'lionsGoru-nEndaIa
YANTRAS TheYanlrascan be broadlvdividedintotwoclasees-PulayanttaandDharana-yantl.a, Aswillbeseen,somenamesarecommon in both the classes. AnnapurnaBhairavi Ganesa Guhyakali
T T T
tann Triputa
T
Ourga Dhanada Pracandacandika Bhuvanesvari Matlangi
T T T T T
Ftudrabhariavi Laksmi Vagalamukhi Vajraprastarini Vatuka Vagisvari Visalaksi Smasanakali Syama Srividya SalkutaBhairavi Hanumal
T T T T T T T T T T T
Dharana-yantras Kali ta€ lvanla Nrsimha Bhuvanesvari Bhairavi
T
T T T
Mriyunjaya Laksmi Siva Sdrama Srividya
T T T T T
234
Chapter-6
Vll.List of Kavacasmentionedin BengalTantra
Tantrasand lheir Details
239
Vlll. Lisfof Hymns.nd ProtectiveMant-asmentionedin BcaEalTantra Abbrevalions:
Abbrevialions: P : Praoalosini S I Sritaltva-cintamani SR: Syamanhasya I I Tantrasara (lnDevanagari alphabetical order)
S: S tattva-cintamani SR: Syamarahasya Sf aSaktanandataE ngini f . Tantrasaa alphabetical order) {InDevanagari
Workin
Karlikeya Kundalini Ganga Gayati
P T T T T
Guru Tripura Tfipurasundari Trailokyamangala Daksinakalika Durga Dhanada Nayika Nrcimha
T T T SR T T T T
Pracandacandika Brahma Bhuvanesvai Bhairavi Mahavidya I\rahisamardini Matangi Yoni Laksmi Vamsalabhakhya Siva Smasanakali Syama Srividya Sarasvati
Surya Haridraganesa
T T T P T,SR T T T T,P T,SR T T T T
tioned
Kinkini Kundalini Kumari Ganesa Guru Gopala Tala Triputa Trip!rasundan Daksina Durga Dhananda Dhumavati Nayika
T
T RST T T P T T,S T T T T T
Bhaiavi Ivlanasa Mahakali Mahavidya Mahisamardini lvlatangi Yoni Laksmi Vagalamukhi Vatuka Santi Siva Syama Srikrsna Srirama
T T T
r, sR T T T T T P IP
r, sR T T
Chapter-6 Nrsimha Pracandacandika Balarama Banalinga Brahma
Sdvidya I
:jastnl
T P
Sarasvati Svaha Hanurml
P
T T T T T
Chapter-7
TantricDevotees
Chapter-7
Bengalproducednot only an abundanceoJTantras, bothBuddhisl and Hindu,butalso gavebirthto a galaxyloTantricdevotees. Some oi them were ol a very hlgh order,and have carved oul a permanentnichein the shrineoi humanmemory.Ol them again, somewerescholdrdevoteeslikePurnananda, Sarvananda, elc.They reacheda spiritualherghlnol comprehensibielo ordinarypeople, inspireda bandol illustrious disciDles, and wrolelreatises. Olhers were immersedin the nectaf ol tho!ght of the MotherGoddessin whosehonour lhey composedand sangsongs.Evenunderadverse circumstances,they wenl on singingwith sang-troidand unparale ed abandon.Yetothersdevoteda liletimeto silentmeditation. LJnlortunately, we have very littleinioimalionabout them beyondslores aboutlheir mysticand superhumanpowerswhichcom mandedlhe naive and complacentattenlionol the devoled sou s. The BengalislovedCorllamrlas,containingmoreofliclionandlancy than ol sober lacts, ratherlhan seriousor faiihlul Carltas-Here we shalllry lo give short liie-skelchesol a verylew eminent,Sadhakas eav ng asrdeal tancifulaccountsol them, No accounl ot Bengal Tanlracan be completewithoutiniormalionaboutthesedevoteesoi rmmorlalJame,whose names have become householdwords in Bengal,and whoseteachingsand songshavebecomea current cointhe Bengalisociely. Ramprasad(1) Bamprasad(C.1720'81).Daleol birthaccording10others1723 or 1781.Death1775accordingto some,1782,accordingto others). A poel, Saktadevoteeand a singer,all rolledintoone, Ramprasad was born to RamramSen at villageKamarhaliin Halisaharin the districlof24 Parganas,WeslBengaj.Al tirsta clerk undera wealthy person(GokulGhosal, Dewanof Bhukailash, according to someor Durgacharan l\,4lra, according to othels),he subsequently enjoyed lhe palronageol a fewolher landiordsincludingKrishnacandraRayKrishnachandraofleredhim ajob. Ramprasadhavingdeclined,he
244
Chaple.7
gavehimI00 bighasot rent]reelandandconferred on himthetifle Kaviranjana. In recognition ol thishonour,Ramprasad composed, 12q3B.S./a poeticalwork onVrdyasundar. andnamed Kauraniana. NawabSiraj-u"ddaula issaidlo havebeenverymuchdelighted by s Syama-samgita. Thetimeol Ramprasad wasflrllol trouble.He livedthrouoh thebattleol Plassey (1757A.D.)andtheGrealBengat Famrne;l 1770.The.esultingdlslressis echoedin someol his poems_ Ouiteearlyin age he is saidto haveacquiredproJiciency in Sanskrit,Persian,and Bengali.In his teens,he couldcompose poemsola highclass.Gradually hewasattracted to Tantraandihe Tantricmodeolworship.He is saidto havepractised Sadhanaon a pancamundiAsana. preceptor Hisspiritual wasSrinatha, accordino to some,Krpanatha according to olhers.Hts lwo sonswer; Ramdualal andRammohan. He was reputedas a Saktl-devotee ol highorder,and com, posedrnanysongsonthedeityol hisdevolion.Hissongs,imbued withTantric ideas,became a genre.Heusedto saynavidyasamgitat para;noolheroreis higherthanmusic.InBengal,prasadisur llwn or melodyol Ramprasad's songs)hasbecomeproverbial. He is, Indeed, thepioneer intheintroduction of a newmodeot Saktasonqs. 'Kalk,rlan rsa smallwork byhim.Otmorelhan300songs. oassing by hjsname,probably somearenotgenuine. Mostot hjssongsare markedby passionor etfusionrelatingto Kalibhakti. A few ot his y4aya(departure songsrelateto theAgaDani(arrivalof LJma)and atletDugapuja.Heisknownto havecomposedalsoa Krsnakjrtana. KamafakantaBhattacarya2lC.1772-1B21J Bornat villageCannain BurdwandjslrictofWestBenoat.he wasa natrve ofthevillage Ambika-Kalna. H|statherand motierare saidto havebeennamedl\,lahesvara andMahamaya. He studiedSanskritin the traditionalway,and becamea leacher. Al lirst,an initiated Vaisnava, helalerbecame a dedicaled devoleeol Kalihavingreceivedd,'lt(sa atTarapitha in Birbhumdis_ trict ot Wesi Eengal.He is said to haveachievedslddhlon a Pancamundi Asana,Witha background of lrainingin vocalmusic,
Tanlric Devotees
245
Besides he wrotemanysongswhichareknownas Syamasamgla Sarna ra-samgita, Sivasamagila, K$napadavali, also these,hewroie Dasamahavidya'samgik. (1764-1832), Teichand the attainmenl, Hearingof hisspiritual appoinled himhiscourtatlractedlohim, thenRaiaol Burdwanwas houseal villageKolalhatnearlhe Pandil,bullllor hima residential Herehespentthe andgrantedhimanallowance. lownol Burdwan, by the Bajlamily. restof his life,andwashighlyrespected He composedsongsnol as a pastime,but as part of his wasnotlooked in Tappastyle,hisSyamasangita Sadhana.Wtinen putalsoJoundrespectful accessin lo the soiuponas pedestrian, A workby himis entitledSadhanannjana. Bamakrishana3 in Nolhingcanbe moresacilegiousthantheideaexpressed village (1836-86) wasanunletlered somequarlerclhatRamakishna priestmasquerading as a Sadhu. districtof Hughly(westBen8on atvillageKamapukurinthe of (181h named Gadadhala.Though gal),in 1836, February,)he was parents, and Ksudiram, Caltopadhyaya his circumslances, indigent wereverypous. Candramani, hada spiritualbentol mind, In hisveryboyhood,Gadadhara Forquitesome' menanddivinesandlikedthecompanyolleaned way. in the lradilional Sanskrit Sastras tirnehe studied of ths pielyand devotionof lhe young The reputation attractedthe atientionof BaniRashnaniwhowas a Gandadhara piousandprosperous lady.Sheengagedhimas priestalLhenewly a northernsuburbof Calcuita,on of Daksineswar, builtKalilemple ol thepiest opened'ln herlhat the spirilualeye lt was theGanges. pulsation of a livinggoddess. perceived the he image, the lifeless tactot hislileis that,thoughbornandbredin a A remarkable Brahminfamilyintheearly1glhcent!ry'hewasabsoconseruaiive lutelylree frombigotry.He tastedthe sweetlruilsoJall the rnajor etc' and Buddhism' Sikhism, vz.. lslam, Chrislianity, religions,
246
ChapteFT
openlydeclared lhaltherewereas manywaysas therearereligious HissimpleliJe,precepts of epigrammatic brevityyetpregnant wrthnoblethoughls andsincerity, and,aboveall,catholicitv ol heart soonaltracledmanydtsctpl€s. Vivekananda,. an intelleclualol highorderandhavinqtiberal educalrofl. wasat lirstscepticaboutlhe existence ot God.;nd had scantregardlor the Daksineswar priest.But,the magicwandol Ramak.ishna's spritilualgeniussoonconverlect him,and entisted himas his toremostdasciple. Himsellgreat,thissaintcameto be glorifiedthousandtold through Vjvekananda. It was,indeed,a mistortune lorlhe peopleof Bengatthathis greatman(Rarnkrishna) tella victimtothelalalftaladvol iancerand b.eathedhrslastat thecomparalrvety eartyageof 5b. Vivekananda5 (1863-1902) Hewasoneol thosemenwhoneverdie,lhough lheirphysical lrameperishes. Bornas Narendranalh Oalla,In 1963(Jan.12).to Visvanath Dattaol Srmuha in CalcunaandBhuvanesvari, hermb,bed a liberal oullookon lifeiom hjs fatherand religiotjsbentol mindlrom his As a youngman.he reluclany parda vrsrlto Ramkfishna throughrheinsistence ot hislriends.Thrs wasa turnrngpointot his life. The eadydeathol his latherplungedlhe tamityInropenury. ^ uneoay, unaueto bearthepinchot F,overty, heaskedThakur Ramhrrsnnalo Inlercede. on his behall,to ^rothergoctdess lor removing hrsdirepoverty. Thakuraskecthrmto go to th; nearbytempte,and preaohrsowncase.Hedidgoto theGoddess, buthecoutdasktor nothingmaterial. Theyonly thlngswhichcameou ol his mouth were/nana(knowledgeland bhakl,(devolron, Atterthedemiseol themaster,he,throughthemunilicence of peopleandthecooperation ot hrsco-disciptes, (1806)a estabtished Ramkflshna Malhal Baranaoar.
Taniric Oevolees
247
Towardsthe ftiddleol 1890he,as a wandering mendicanl, traversed manyregionsof India,andacquired lirsl-hand knowledge aboutthe counlryand its people.Al this time,hestudiedmany Saslras. In 1833(May),he wentto Amedcato represent Hinduismin lhe Parliamenl o{ Religions al Chicago(September ). Hissoul,stiF ringspeechlheredisp€lled ftanywrongnotionsofthewesternpeo, pleaboutlhe outlookol lhe Indians. Afterlhat he spenlsomenore timein Ame ca and Europe lecturing, interpreling Satrasandwritingbooks. A grealeventof this odysseywas his acquaintance with lrargaretNoble,laterknownas SislerNivedilawho becamehjs dasciple, camelo lndiaanddedicaledhersellto socialservice.Her book, 'TheMastetas I sa!,vh,,in'throwslighl on the manyJaceted lileol Vivekananda. Havingreturned to Indiain l897,Svamiji,as hewaspopularly called,devotedhimsell,heartandsoullothemoralregeneration of lhe peopleand socialreform.A powerfulspeakerand writer,he urgedlhe peopleto adhereto truth,sacriljce,acquare mentaland physicalstrenglhand to shakeofl superstitions and redeemlhe political countrylrom bondage andinternal dissensions anddiscords causedby sectarian and communal feelings. He tried,by his speeches andwritings, to removelhe socialblots o, untouchability, childmarriage, andinsisled onliberalandscientilic education. Above all, heinsistedontheuplitlof lhedowntrodden, andontheservice Thefoundalion ot theRamakrishna mathandMission(1897) is a mon!mentto hasorganisang abililyandbreadthol vision. He wasoneol the pioneersin lhe useof spokenBengalilor lilerarypurposes. Hewrotein Englishalso. In 1899(June)heagainvisitedweslerncountries, andlounded somecentreslor leachingVedanta, Towards theendof 1900,hecamebackto lndia.The onslaughl ol diabetesandthe stressandslrainof a stormycareerwereloo muchlor himlo bear.Hismonallramegaveway,andhissoulletlil
l
t ChapleFT
in 1902(July4) at Belurlvlalh. Of his severalwotks,lhe Pa vraiaka(1903,)Pracya O Pascatya,Kamayoga,Jfianayoga,Bajayogaar'd Bhakti-yogade' in servespecialmenlion.His Englishwo*s havebeenpublished eightvolumes. 1) VamaKsyapa6(1838-191 Caltopadhyaya. Son ol His iull namewas Vamacarana grandsonof Ramananda, anda native Cattopadhyaya, Sarvananda in Bilbhumdistrict(WestBengal),he, otvillageAtlanearTarapitha evenas a boyshoweda sortofdivinefrenzy.So hewasdescribed as Ksyapa(mad). he renouncedthe householder's lile,and In hisveryboyhood, at Tarapitha. resortedto lhe cemetery His falherhavingdied,the tamilyfaceddiredistress.Diven penuryhegota iot at theKalilempleof village[iululi. bydesperate withthethoughtof MolherGoddessthat But,hewasso engrossed he couldnotfulfilhisobligations. As a resull,he losttheiob. Nowhisonlyshellerwashismaternaluncle'shousewhereil was his duty10tendcatlle.But,whiieon dutyhe usedto be irnHis mersedin the thoughtat Krsnagrazingcowsal Vrndavanaindifference ledthe cowsastray,whichcauseddamagelo others' crops.So,his maternalunclefor drovehimaway, Thenheaccepted Jlowers lortheworchipof thejobof plucking Taraior whichhe wasto getfood-Herealsohe col]ldnolstick. He was thenaoDointod cookin the Kachai al lrursidabad. But,lhoughphysicallyworkingther6,hismindwasdrawnto lvlolher Tara,He waslhensenlbacklo lhe abovetemple. He receivedTantricinitialiontrom the anchorile.Vraiavasi Kaliasapali, whocameto Taraptha for Sadhara.Sincethanhedevotedhimsellto Sadhanain the localcemelery. Thenhe formally renounced theworld,andbecamea{ull-fledged Sarnyasm. He visiledVaranasi andHardwar, buireturnedto theplaceof hrs[,4olher Goddess.
l
Tanlflc Devotees
249
RajaYatindramohan ol Catcutta oncehadhimbrouohttothe crty.Bul.ths drnandbustteol thecity-lifewasnotlikedby him.So, hewentback. Ramakrishna Ray(d.1795 A.D.;according to some,lBOO) Adoptedson of the celebratedRaniBhavaniol Nator(Bangladesh),hewasa biglandlord andeamedthetitleof Maharaiadhiraia Prthvipati Bahadurtromthe lhen MogulKing.Hislame,trowever, restson hisTanlricsadhana. He pe(ormedSadhanain th€ Kiritesvaftempleon the west bankot theBhagirathi, sorn6ihreemibsawayfromvillageDahapada. Thislemplewas regardedasan Upapitha, becausea Dartof the crownof Satiissaidto havedroDoed there. Ramakrishnais knownto havepractisedSayasadhanaon a Pancamuncli asanalseat overfive headsor skulls). NOTES 1. See Bharatkos, Margathaby Omkarnath. 2. S€eS.K.Oe,Bergalt! itdmturcin theNineteenth Century;Matrgatha (in Bengali) by Omkarnalh. 3.SeeR.Rolland s Lifeof Ramakdshan, Catcutta, 1929,andAchjntrva Sen Guptasparamaputusa Ramakishna (in Bengati), Catcun;. Therearos€veralolhersbiographies bolhin Engtish andBengti. 4. S€€R. RollandLifaot Vivekanan(k, Calcutta, 1931;M.L.Bufte, pl l; Calcutta,r983 (3rd.ed.), Svami SvamiVivekananda, (2nded.). Vivekananda in the WesL1982 5. R. Folland,The Lileol Vivekananda etc;Therear€ manvoth€r biographies. 6. SeeH.C.Gangopadhyay, Sivamatita, t,ll,Calcutta, 1340,1370 B:S.
250
Chapler-7
Xl. BuddhistTantticWorkaol Bengalr ina chaplerof lhisbook.Some Thistopichasbeendiscussed morelactsarelaiddownhere, The Tibetanlarlur lestifiesto the {acl ihat the lollowing andcomposedTantras Bengalis. scholarswereBuddhist, Auihorof lhe following Candragomin Abbara-k tma, wod/.s onAbhica'a: known It is notdelinilely ya, Bhaya' Camudhavmsopa hewas whetherornol wilhthegrammarian tranopaya, Vighnanitasaka' idenlical ofthisname. PramathanoPaYa.SomemYslic or thelogician Manjusri,etc.arealsoaitribuled hymnsin honourol Tara, are chiellyto medicine to him.A lew magicalworks relaling penned byhim;e.9. Jvala,€ksato havebeen alsobelieved vidhi, Kusthaci kitsopaya. Danasila to him. Sixtyworksareallributed Describedas a nativeof 'Bhagala' He appearslo havewrrltenalso in EasternIndia, lo Jagaddalaa Pustakapathopaya. andas belonging Viharain the East. Jnanasn Kambala or Kambalapada Ten Vajrayanaworks.Fromhis works,he appearslo be a Eighlworksare Bengali. These attributedto him. ate telatedmainlylo Hetuka \ol sadhana.ln Cakrasamvara) Prolo-Bengali lhereis a colleclionof Dohas,Col/el Ol lhese Dohas, Kambala-gltika. one(No.8) occursInthe lhe earlieslknown caryacaaya, workol c. 1000A. Bengalis D,
Tanlric Devotees
251
Kumaracandra Describedas an Ayadhulaof slated to have written three Vjkramapui Viharaol Bengal. fa tic Panjikasol commenlanes. Santideva AulhorofihreeVajrayana works. Perhaps ditlerent fromSantideva, authorol lhe Bodhicaryavatara and S/ksasamrccaya. Statedto be a resident ofZahorwhich accordino 10H.P.Sastri,was identicalwith Sabharin the districtol Dacca_ BangJadesh. Tankadasa or Dangadasa Commenlary. ca ed SUVlsadasamputa,onHe/yalia_ hnha, D€scribedas Vddha Kayastha and a contempo.ary of 0harmapala, rirlerot Bengal. Thereis no certain evrdence ol hisbirthin Bengal. Vibhuticandra Statedlo haveauthoredtwenlylhresworks, Statedto belongto a Viharaot Easternlndia.lt is notclear whetherornothewasa Bengali. NOTE 1.See S.K.Oe.BuddhistTantricLiterature ot Bengat,Newtndian Anthropology, Aptit1938.
.c CL (u
,i- cn clo $lt
60
Chapter-8
BOOKS IN WESTERN LANGUAGES Aiyer, K. N. :
Thitly twovidyas.
Allen, IVLR. I
The Cult of Kumari.
Anand, I\/1.B. ) (withA.
Kamakala, New York, 1958; Tantric lv4agtc i\.4ookherjee), New Delhi,1977.
Arguelles& Arguelles : Mandala,elc. Arundale.G. S.: Kundalini. Avalon,A. (John Woodrolle)'.Pnnciplesof Tanlra,Madras, 1960 (2 vo s.)i (Eng. lts. ol Tant@lattvaof Siva Candra Vidyarnava)i lntro. to Kaulajhana-nhnaya,Calcutla, 1934; Shakliand Shakta.Madrcs; The Grcat Liberation, [,4adras.1956; l\rahamaya;lnlro- to Tankasaslra; The Wor d as Power,lvladras, 1957;Serpent Power,ftradras, 1957; Wave oi Etss (Eng. trs. ol Anandalahari,and comm.),l\radras,1957;Chakras. Ayyat.C.'l.H.: Originand early histoty ol Saivismtn South lndia, IVadras,1974. Bagchi,P.C. : Sludiesin the Tantas, Pl. I., Calculla,1939 Bagchi,S.:Eminent lndian Sakta Pilhas. elc-, in the background ol ihe Pithasot Kalighat,Vakreswarand Kamakhya, Ca cutia,1980. Bajpai,la.: The Philosophyol TantalokalAhnikas1-3 with Eng. trs.),Ph.D.lhesis,1971,LucknowUniversily. Banerji, J.N. : Puranic and Tantric Beligion, Eatly Phase. CalculIa. Banerji,S.C. : Tantra in Bengal, Calcutta,1978: Fundamentals of Ancienl lndian Music and Dance. Ahmedabad,1976. Batnatd,I - : Hathayoga,London, 1950. Batlh, A. : The Religionsoflndla, London, 1989.
256
Cf|apter€
Basu,l\r.: Iarlras, a GeneralStudy,Calculla,1976; Fundamentals ol the Philosophyof fanlra, Catcutta,i 986. Bedekar, V.M.: SeeHinze. geyet,G. : TheCultol Tarc,London,1g73,(Magicand rituatin Tibet). Beyet, S. : The Cult ol Tantrc : Magic and Rituat in Tibet. Bhandarkar,.G. : Vaisnavism,Saivisfi and Mino, Retigious Systems, Strasburg, l913,Varanasi, 1965. gharah, A. : The Tantic Ttadition, London, 1965 The Ochre ; Fobe,London,1961. Bhat,M.S. : VadicTantristu,a studyof Rgvadhanaol Saunaka (withTexl,trs.)Dethi. Bhatlacharya, B.: /ndian Buddhi,tlconography, MainlyBasedon Sadhanamalaand CognateTantic Textsol Rituals,2nd. 6d.,Calcuna, 1958; lntrccluctionto Buddhist Esotqism. Bhaitacharya, D.: Mythological and RitualSymbotism. Bhatlacharya,O.C. I Tantic Buddhistlconog@phlcSources, NewDelhi,1974. Bhattacharya, N.N.: Hrbtoryol SaktaRetigion,New Dethi,1974; TheIndianMothetcoddess,2nd,ed.,NewDethi1977; Hi,tory of TantricReliglor,NewDelhi,1982; Historyol lndianCosmogonical ldeas,NewDelhijg71 -, HistoryofIndianErcticLiterature,NewDelhii 97S. Ritualsand thei SocialCorlents,NewDelhi,1975. Bhattasali,N.K. i lconogaphy ol Buddhistand Brahmanicat Sculpluresin DaccaMuseum,1972. Bloteld,J. : The Way ol Powet-a Pftcticat cuide to Tantric mysticismol Tibet,London,197O; Mariras,Sacredwordsof power,NewDelhi,1981.
257
gloomfield,J. : Mantlas(Sacredwordsol poweo. pp.92,154. Bose,N.K-: Canonsof OtissanArchitecture, Bose,M.[,4.: CaitatyaSahajiyaCultsol Bengal,Calcutta,1930. andOccultSecrcts, BoseandHalder; Iantras-their Philosophy Calculta,1956. hy of HinduSadhana,Calcutta,1932. Brahma,N.K. : Phllosop Eriggs,G.W. . Gorakhnathand the Kanphatayogis.Calculta, 1938. CaWa,F.: TheTaoof Physics,1979. Carlstedt,G. : Sudles/n Kularnavalanlrc,Upsala,1974. ChakrabartiC., The Tanta6, Stuideson thei Religionand Litercture, CalclJlla,1946. P.C.: Doct neof Salliin lndianLiterlures, Calculla, Chakrabarti, 1940. C,: Ianlras,etc,,Calcutta, 1963, Chakravarir, H. (ed.): Pasupata-sutra, Calcutta,1970. Chakraborli, Chand?.L. : Mandalasol the Tantrcsamuccaya. KSS.ll, 1944,Delhi,1959. Chatterj , J.C.: KashmtSaivism, A. I Atisaand Tibet,Calcuna. Chailopadhyay, S. : Aeflectionson the Tanlrcs. Chatlopadhyay, andHinduTanlras. betweenBuddhist Chen.C.M.: Discimination Crystallisation ol lhe Goddess Coburn,T.B. I Devi-mahatmya. 1984. Tradition, Dasgupia,S.N., A Histotyof lndianPhilosophy,vol. lll. Dasgupta,S.B. , lntrcduclionto Tant/icEuddhism,Calculla, 1958; Aspeclsof lndianReligiousThoughl,Calculla,1957. of /rd,a, NewDelhi,1975. Desai,D. : EfolicScu/ptures V.A.: SaivaSiddhanta,Madras,1958. Devasenapali,
254
Chapisr€
Diksitar, V.R.R. I The LatitaCult, Madtas, 1s42. Douglas.N. : Tanlrayoga,New Oetfi,1971 Dutta, lV.N. : (Trs.) Mahaniivana Tanta. Dvivedi V. V. : Tanta-yar.i (Essayson Tantra),Varanasj, 1982. Ehrenlels,O.R. : Molherright jn lndia, Hyderaoad,1941. Eliade,M.:_Y-oga-lhmorta ty and Frcedom,2nd,ed., N york, ew 1958. Eliol : Hinduism and Buddhism. Encyclopa edia Bitann ica, V ols. dealingwith Tantra and its
ditferent aspecls. Evanscoentz, W.y. : Iibetan Yogaand SecrctDoctrines. Farquhar, J.N. : Oultineol the ReligoiusLiteraturcof lndia, London, 1920,1968. Fouchet,A.: EtudesurI'conogrcphie Bouddhiquede l,tnde,2pts. Garrison,O.V. , Tantra,the yoga of sex. Geden,.A.S. : Tantras(Entryin Ency.ol Ret. and Ethics,-f. Hastings, Vot.X , .t951). Gelly,A. I Godsol NorthernBuddhism,Newyok j964. Goel,B.S.: ThirdEyeand Kundatinl,Kuruksetra,19gS. Gopi Ktishna : Kun(lalinj. Goudriaan, T-andGupia,S.:HinduTanlricandSaktaLiterature, P!b. intheSeriesHrstoryoftndjanLilerature,Wtestaden 1 9 8 1; Do,Vot.ll, Fasc.2,Hoshiarpur, punjab(tndia). Guenlher, H.V.andC. Ttungpaa DawnofTantra,ed. l\r.Kohn1975; Yuqanaddha, the TantrjcViewof Life,Bena@s,1964l TheTant c Viewol Lile,Berkeleyand London,1972. Gupta,Goudriaanand Moens: HinduTantrism,Leiden,197g.
Bibliography
259
: Tantra-vidya Hinze,O.l\,4. {Trs.V.[,4.Bedekar). aninljo.loTibetanBuddhism, Aopkins,J.: TheTanticDistinclion, 1984. ed.A.C.Klain,London, 195s(pp. James,E.O.: fhc CultoftheMothetGoddess,London, 99-124dealwilhIndia). Jash,P. : Htstoryol Saivism,Calculla,1974; Pratyabhijhasystem its religiousand philosophic 1960; background, 1959,1960. view-points, Do-Someconiroversial Jha, S.K. : A Criticaland ComperativeSllJdyot Pratyabhijia (Ph.D.Thesis,1972,Darbhanga). Philosophy Jung, C.G. : MandalaSymbo sm, to Sri Bhaiava-Padmavatt' 1972. kalpa.Trs.,R.F.C.Hull,Princeion, Kakati,B.K. : TheMothetGoddessKamakhya,1914. Kane,P.V.:Historyof Dhamasastn Kaput,|.6.. unyanamanoata, Kaviraj,G.N. : SaklaPhilosoPhY : Historyof Philosophy,Easternandweslern,ed , London,1952'53; Radhakrishnan, PhllosophyolTripun-tart a, Varanasi,1931; SomeAspectsolthe Philosophyof SaktaTantta,Vatanasi, 1967. Kavoty,M.B-: Compaativeand CtiticalStudyof Mantrcsasl@, 1944. Hoshialpur,1967. Kaw,R.K.: TheDoctrineof Recognition, 1979. lvl.: Yattra,London, Khanna, Kramrisch,S. : Unknownin lndia: 1968 Philadelphia, Ritualattin T be and Vil/age, Krishna,G. : Kundalini,in Timeand Space,NewDelhi; Secrctsof Kundaliniin Paicastavi;
260
Chapt€r€
Kundalini,the BiologicalBasis ol Retjgjonand cenus. Kumat.P.: Tant c coddes, Tara: Si)aktiCuttin Ancienttndia; Saktlsmua Study ; Saktiand Her Episodes, 19A1. Kundu, N.L. . Noo-dualismin Saiva and Saktaphjtosophy, Calcutta. Lal,K. : TheCultol Deshe,Dethi,:|966l2nd ed.). Lal, P. I Hindu Religlonand tconography. Leedbeater, C.W.: Cakhs, Adyat,1927. Lele,W.K.: Doct ne of the Tantryukti. Lennoy,R. : TheEyeof Love.london, 1977. LessingandWayman : /rttoductionto Budclhist Tanlic Systems, Delhi,1983. Lotenzen,D.N. : TheKapalikas andK;lamuhas,New Delhi,1972_ Mahadeva,T.l\r.P.: KashtuitSaivism,1952. Mahajan,S.N. : Th6Scisnceof yogaand Consciousness. lvlajithia, S.S.: TheGreatyogicSermon,:|969. [4a,r,G.S.: Sexrr Fel4qlon, London,] 936. Mehta,R.J. I KonarkSun-Tempte olLoye, Bombay,1969. Mehta,Rohiti TheSecrctof Self-transformation : ASynthesisof Tante and yoga. Mish?, K. : Signilicance of TantricTradition,Varanasi, 1981. Mookherji,A. : Tanta Atl, Dethi,i 966 ; TaniraAsana,Bas€l,New yok, tgTt : TheTantricWay(withN,t.Khamara); Kundalini, Dethi,1982. N,4ookheii, Khanna: TantticWay.
Erihr,^dr,nhv
261
Mullin,G.H. and Bichards,M \ed ) | Mediktionson Lower 1983. Tantras,Dharamsala' Mullin,G.H.(Compand lts.) BtidgingandSutrasand Tantras,a " Worksby the First DalaiLama collectionot Ten Minor 1981. (1319-1474), Dharamsala' lruses,C.A.: Esolericfe achingsol theTibetanTantta'lrs C C Chi,YorkBeach,1982. Nagaswamy,R. I TantricCultol Soulh/ndia,Delhi,1980' Nandinaih,S.C-: Hand-Bookof Via Saivism,Dharwar'1942' 1980 V ol. 1, Ahmedabad. Nawels.S.l\,.: Jaina Paintings, in China,2 Vols' Cam' Needham,J. : Scienceand Civilisation bridge, 1954'56 York'1961' E.: TheGreatMother,New Neuman, Pandey,K.C. : An Outlineol Historyol SaivaPhilosophy' Pandit,td.P.. Moreon Tantras,NewDelhi'1985 ; Gemslrom the Tantta,Pts.I, ll ; Thoughlsof a Shakla; Lightson the Tantra: Tantricsadhana,1964: Studiesin theTantAsand the Veda,Madns, 1964 Pandit,B. N. I Aspectsol KashmtSaivism,Srinagar'Kashmk' 1947 " Studyol Kashrti Saivism(Thesislor Ph D Comparative 1964,PLrnjabuniversity) London''1954. V. I SarvaSlddhanta, Paranjoti, Palhak,V.S. : SaivaCultin No hern/ndia,Varanasi,1960' Swami The SpritualHe tageof lndia,Londo^' Prabhavananla, 1962. CalculSwami: HistoicalStudyol lndianMusic, Prajnanananda, la,'1975
262
Chapter€
Rajneesh:TheBookolSecrclDiscourcesonVishana BhairavaTantra,5 Vols.,poona,i 974,ed.A. prem,A_Teerth_ Rao: Tantra,MantA, Yantra: Tarlic Tedition : Elementsol Hindulconogaphy,Madftq j916. Raslogi, N. : TantricThoughtof Kashmjr,a Frcmewofuof the Monistlc Culture; KrcmaTant cismof Kashmi, Vot.I, Delhi,1979,Vo|. , shorfly_ lnttoductionto the Tantraloka; Kali as a MetaphysicalConcept in the Krama System of Kashmlr,1965, 1966. Rawson,R. I Tantta,London,1973., EroticArt of the East,Newyork, 1968. Bay.N. R. : SanskritBuddhismin Buna. Ray, P. : Historyol Chemistryin Ancientand Medjevatlndia, Calcutta, 1956. Rele,V.G.: MysteriousKundatini,gombay, 1927. RendC.1.P. : lntroduction to theCakrcs,1974. Rendel,P.:ln!roduction totheCakas,Noihamptonnshjre, 1g74. Rudrappa,J.C. : KashmirSaivistk,Bangalorc. Sankaranarayanan, S. : Sricakra,1g7O. Sarasvati,SwamiS. I Meditationlrom the Tantns ; KundatiniTantra, Munger{Bihar)1984; Lighton curu-DiscipteRetatjonship, 1gB4; Asana,Pranayama, MudraBal,dha,Monghyr(Biha4, j983. Sarasvati,SwamiShankaradevananda I yogicManagementof Asthmaand Diabetes,Munger(Biha4,I 984. Sarasvat,P. and WoodrofieI Sadhanafot Self-reaiisation lMantras,Yantesand Tantlasl,lvladras,1963.
Elbliography
263
Art Album,Calcula, 1979. Saraswali,S.K.: Tanlrayana 1925. Sastri,H. : Orgrna,1dCultof Tara,Calc]ulta, sastri,H-c. : TantraOarchan. Sasiry,K. : fhe y'edaand TheTantn,Madras,1951. Sastri,K.T.V.: FurthelLrghts:TheVedaandTheTanlra,1951 Bombay,1918 Sastrr,lvl.R.: fanltasa@ol Abhinavagupla, 1956 London, E.D.: Mr./dra, Saunders, Canception,1933 Scharpes,E. : TanltikDoctrineoflmmaculate andtheAhitbudh' Schrader,F.O.: /ntloductianto lhe Pancarctra nya- samhita,M^dtas,1916Sen Sharma,D.g.: Sludiesin Tantrayoga,1985 Aspect,Calculta 1987. Shah,P.R.: Tanlra: lls Therapeutic etc (Ph Shastrl,V.D. I Malinivijayonara-tantra-source-book, D. fhesis, 1956,PunjabUnive6itY) 1972. Varanasi, L.N.:KashmiSaivism, Sharma, etc.,Delhi,1981 Sharma,P.K.I SaktiandHetEpisodes, 1972 L.N.I KashmitSaivism,Vatanasi, Sharma, Baieilly,1970 Sharma,S.R.I TanlricMahaviifiana, Shende,J.N. : Religionand Philosophyof lhe AthaNaveda, Poona,1952. Shivananda: Tanla-yoga,Nada-yogaandScientificbasis the AgesDelhi'1975 R.K.: SaivismThrough Siddhantasaslri, Basis,Delhi,1976 Singh,L.P.: Tantra: lls MysiicandScienlific Sinha,A.K.: Scienceand lanfrayoga,Kuruksetra.1981 ; Sinha,J. SaklaMonrsm Cull of Shakti; Schaol$,ol Saivism,Calcutla,1970 1960i Sircar,D.C.1 TheShaktaPithas,Calcutta,
264
Chapter{
Bibliography
ShaktiCultand TaG,Calcutta,1960. Svami.: Sectel Powerol Tantic Bteathing, Sivapriyananda, 1983. oflhe HevaiGTantta,London' D.L.: A CriticalStudy Snellgrove, 1980. ot Sakti; Srivastav,8. : lconogta?hY (DiscoursesolTilopa's Tantra,theS0premeUnderstanding Songol Mahamudra); TanlricMysticismof Tibet,NewYork,1974; Tantrism,its SecrelPrinciplesand Practice' 1982. Nodhamptonshire, Taimini,T.K. I Siva-sulrawilh Eng.trs. and comn (UltimateRealilyand Realisalion) Taranatha: Historyof Buddhismin lndia,t'5. into Geman by A Schiefner, St.PetercbutgTallvananda(Swami)The VaisnavaSects,1989; The SaivaSects,l,'lother'worshiP of Saraha). theRoyalSong TheTantraVision(Discourseon Thomas,P. : Kamakalpa,1963; Kamakala,Bombay,1960; Incredible lndia, gombaY,1966. Thomas,E.J. : Historyof BuddhistThought,Reprinl,1953. f rungpa,C.'.JoumeywithoutGoal,TantricVisionof theBuddha. Tsong Ka-pa: Tantrain Tibat'TheGrcat Expositionol Secret Mar'tra,trs. intoEng.undetlhelille fant@in Tibet,by JLondon, 1977. Hopkins, Tucci, G. : Theoryand Ptacticeol Mandala,London,1961; of the Tantric imagesof the ,gatlli/a,an interpretation templesof Nepal,Goneva,1969Upadhyay,R.K.I Conceptol Godin the SaivaTanlra
ti i'
265
Vajapeya.K. : Scienceof Mantras. Vandyopadhyay, J.N.: Pancopasana, Calcutla, 1960. Vasavada. A.U.: Tripura-rahasya lJnanakhanda-Eng. trs.,and a comparative studyof theprocessof individuation). (Trs.),1979. Vasu,S.C.: Ghera,da-samhlta Vira,R.V.Taki,S. : I Dictionaryof SecrclTanl c Sy abicCode, Lahore, 1938. Visnutirlha,Swami: DevatmaSakti,1949. Waddel,L.A.:Lamaism, London, 1985. Walker,B. :Tantricism: iis SecretPrinciplesand Practices. Wall,O.A.: .Sexard Sgx-1,/orshlp. London,1919. Waffier,A.G.K.: (Trs.)SaktaUpanisads,Adyat,1967. Wayman,A- : Yogaol Guhyasamajalanlra, ed. K-V. Sarma, Hoshiarpur,1979;Texlin Romanscriptwith Eng.trs.: BuddhislTantns \Lighlon Indo-Tibetan esotericism, NewYork,1973). White,J. : (Ed.) Kundalini,Evolutionand Enlightenment, New York,i 979. Winternitz: Histotyol lndlanLiteralure,Vol. ll, Calcutta,1927. Woodrolle,J- : See Avalon,The Word6as Power. Woodrofleand lrukhopadhyay: Mahamaya,Madras, 1954. Yeshe,LamaT. : lntroductionto Tantra. Zannas,E. andAuboyet, J. I KhajuBho,fheHague,1960. Zimme(,H., MythsandSymbolsin lndianAft andCivilisation,ed. J. Campbell. C. HINDI BOOKS Avasthi,S.S. : Manlraour Mat*aon Ka Bahasya. Kaviraj,G.N. : Tant k VanmaymenSakta-drcti,Patna,1963. TanIra auI AgamSa'trcn Ka DigdaB an, T 6. by H.K.f iwati, Va.anasi;
266 Tantik Sadhanaaur Siddhanb,frc. by H. K. Tant k Sahilya, Varanasi; Bharattya Samskdi auI Sadhana,V a?nasi. Kamalesh,S. I SaktibhasyaKa Adhyayan. Sastri, G. : Iarlradarsar. Sasfti, D.. Tant@siddhanlaaur Sadhana. Vasavada,A. (Hindirenderingby B.S. Upadhyay) Tnp uH rahasya Ka Tanta. visles an Vat an asi.
Chapter€
ENGYCDC)PAEDIA OF
WANERR
SADHU SANTIDEV
VOLUME4
COSMO PUBLICANONS 1999
INDIA
lUJt-\llllls reserved. No part of tllis publicalion nty be reptodu.ed. ot storcd it tTtt'ival systenl,or transnitted jl) a -vtbnn ot b.van.r nieans without the pt ior pemlission of CosutaPublit xtitrts.
O CosmoPublications FirstPublished1999 ISBN817020.86i17 (s.l) 817020867x (volLrle4)
Publish..l
by
MRS.RANIKAPOOR foTCOSMO PUBLICAIIONSDiv oi GI'NESISPUBLISHINGP\"T]L']'I) 24-B, AnsariRoad, DaryaCanj, NewDelhi110002, INDLA.
CONTENTS t.
Oiviniiyin BuddhbtTantras Classifications ol Divinily TheAdiEuddha
1
11 Initiaiionol Dbclples Preparalion of Disciples tor Evocationof Deities Th€Meaningof Initiation A.Conceming Dharna. B.Conc€rning Path lnitiation ol Mirror Ofterlng i,laterlab.nd Thei. ileaninga Classilication ot Oflerings TheFourOtferings Oblations to the Deities fulaterials lnsertedin lhe Flasks Symbolismof tho Mandal&Palace Varieties ot MandalaSymbolism Introducirig thePalace Explanation of Partsol lhe Palace "fhe.|-tiangular Dha nodaYa
-
5.
7. 8.
Symbolism ol MandalaRitual TheBeflect€d_lmage lllandala TheMt MeruMandala TheMt.MeruTemple Banner TantricRituals Orienlalion towardslhe,.Three Mysteies,, FourKindsofYoga External matedals andl,4undane Siddhis TheFiveAmbrosias TheThreeRitualObservances (Vrata) Ornaments ofthe Deities The Khatvanga,damaru,andKapela * Fourlvludras TantricSongsandTwillghtLanguage 95 TheN4eaning ollhe Expression lllusakations of Samdhyabhesa TheDiamond Song TheNineOriticesot the Body 1O7 Fundamentabot lniiiationin theKriyiTantra ts HoldingofViewin theKriyaTanlra Fundamentals of Studying lhe path alterreceiving Initiation andtaken vows TheProcedure ofrtheK.iyaTanlra (1)lreditation withMuftering a. Prelimjnary actsto theiour members ot mutteing b.Themainpartol thelourmembersol mutering a. Generation ol selfDeity Thefirslgod Thesecondgod
Thelhridgod Thetou h god The fivethgod The Si)dhgod Discussionof Self Generation Pranayama ol Deily in Ftonl Generalion P. L Generationof lhe Residence \adharotqattt) lo tne godslo be residenls ll. Invitarion (adteYa)and ofterlngof seals lll. Exhibitiono{ the Seals (mudGdarsana) lV Otferingand Praising (PuiastutYadika) V Con{essionof Sins etc (pujastutYadika) Vi. Contemplationof the four Boundless slales (caturap ramanabhavana) and Gnerationol the Mind (ckotPada) x.The FourI\rembers,general L lvlutteringwhiledewellingon the shape of ihe syllables ll, mutteringwhiledwellingon the sound ol the syllables (2) N,,leditation withoutN,4uttering (a) Meditationol dwellingin the llame (b) Meditaionofdwellingin the sound (c)MeditationgrantingJreedomat the limitol the sound (3) Accomplishmentof Siddhiafter Appropiate Seruice
ix
9.
Fundmentats 6t the CaryeTanka
145
a. TheVarieties ot theTantra b. l4ethodot studyingthe steps ot thePath Procedureof Preliminary seruice AtterBeingCommited to the pledges (a)Yoga wjthimages(Saninifla-yoga) (b)YogaWiihoul lmages(animifta_yoga) (2) Mannerof Accomptishing SiddhisafterAptitudein lhe Service 10. Fundmenialsot lheyogaTantra 171 a. Methodby whichtheyogaWheel of th€ Lawwasset in motion b. Methodol studyingthesleps ot the path (t ) Meaningot lhe Expression,Four Seals, (2)Varieties Thesphereol purilication Thepalhof purflication Thetruitot pudficalion (3)Sequence (4)Requiremontand Bsnefitof SealExecution {5) Methodot SeatExeculion SymbolisS€al LawSeal ActionSeal creat Seal 11. Fundmentabot the Anunrra-yogaTantr, 191 a, Divisioninto twoTantras b. I\reaning ol the severaldivisions
-
(1)Relulalion ot otherSchools byenunciation of ia)Triparlition promulgation (b)Tripartition bymeaning ol the sub,eclmatter Triparlilion by Stepsof Production Tripartilion by Slepsof Completron Triparlition by Puritication of Atiendants (c)Tripartitjon bythePelitioner (2) Eslabiishrnenl of OurSchool Th6 Birth of Agni in the TantdcAgniianana 205 (1) Tantric Agnijanana (2)Undedying ldea
o G L
c
F .!2 .c It
:t
€
o .=
T>. := ic c>
6cl
Chapter-1
For lhe numerousdeiliesol lhe Buddhisl Tanlras,the best de' s c r i p l i v ec o v e r a g ei s i n B e n o y t o s hB h a i l a c h a r y y aT. h e luxuriousgrowthofthese cultsis lndianBuddhisllconagraphy.The some generalexplanationsol bewilderng n complexity.Therefore, a un fyinglype are n oder. Narc-pada, in a Vajapada-sarc-sangnha-pahjike (Pff Vol.54, p. 11'2),inaugurales hisdeitychaplerby two cilalionslo explain 'divinily"(devad).The (Kalacakd wotk') Vimalaprabhe the worcj ecstasyhasarisenin the body'snature stales:Becauseconvenlional 'divinity."And the Si-Vajhmrlaof five elements,one speaks ol tartla slales:Whydoesonespeakof"diviniv'?Inthe bodyis localed the body possessor;in order lo comprehend,there is the .comprehende/';in orderlo comprehendone-sell,lhere isdvinily. Forlhal reason,one speaksof "diviniM Naro-padaexplalnsdivinityin terms of the one who achreved ecstasyin the body (lheco-nataljoy)and who comprehended.r.e., was enlighlened.He mplieslhe Buddha underthe tiile "Talhagala". deities,or lhe becauselhis is lhe sourceol alltheBuddhisiTanlric dominionin whichlhey serue.Mkhasgrubrje,in his cornmenlaryon lhe Hevattulanh calledbriellylhe 8,1a9?rel (LhasaCollectedWofks, whichlshallfurlher Vol.Ja,io io 104a-3,ll.), hasa usel!| exposition, summarizeand parliallyparaphraseas lollows: 'fathegatd'.fhefalhrgala has la) Meaningol lhe exptession the two collections,ol KnowledgeUhana')and ol Meril lpunya). Through Knowledge,i.e. the lnsight (ptalta) indissolublelrom Thusness(tathala),he has gone intolhe singletaste olThusness. Throughl\rerit,he has come (agata),i-e.,returnedlrom Thusness. to the cvcleot exislence(samsara). wilh maledeities,as in lhe Hevajralanlra Besidesidentilication the Buddhasappearin withthe namesBrahma,elc.,sometimes
('recolleclion') Samadhi ("Consummation")
She the Owl-Faced Sh€ ths Dog"Faced
Sh€ lh€ BoarFaced
She,Yamas Mess€nger She,Yama's Ground Cremation
2. 3.
4.
5.
6.
("meditalion") pranayAma ('conlrolof lhe winds') lvainjApal dheran6 ("retention")
Shelhe Crow-Faced L
pravahaa ('withdrawal")
Table-1 Stageol Completlon
Thefivesings,mirage,etc.,wilh purilicationol mind (cdlavisuddh,) and personalbtessing Gvedhisthdna\. Recollection, so as lo proc6esjn the reveBeorder,with Revelation(abhisanbodhi Enlighlenmenl ). Th€ consummationol Knowledge with yuganaddha,the pah-unrted.
Wilhdrawal, i.e interiorlzalion ol lhe lensoflsebases(live personalandlive obj€clivb. Mediralion on the nalureot the five Talhagalas Conlrolof lhe windsin liv€ colors,withdiamondmultedng
a
I s.
F$3u+i ai +3iE ;:q}Eifig
o
igF$FiFF $iiFiii$fEFi ig$giiFi iigF5$q$+gF $ri;sggi FFia$Fi rgI E$cEia$3
4s_ga_+i€3 tr+itH$q.$E:a
*legats €Fi3j gi#i $g$ iasi [;eg f,ig FdEg$ ig;dqig
(2)Nalureol nondiscursive krowledgewith non-apperce, tionof medllative objecls
(2) Cosislingot enuciation. (2-a) Consislingoj expressed sound oi whispered,erc,reclation is generatedby palateIips, etc. (2-b)Consistingof nerral recialalion (2-c) Consislingof lhe imagination equrpmentlo beings(Saftva)trcm respeclivemarrra lelters.
11)Natuteat dharnadhAtu
( l ) c o n s i s ln g o l l e t e r s .
( 1.) Shapedwith eye, etc and colporeal membefs (2) Consistng of Mudl:t
ofabsolutekind
Consislingot sound
Consisting ol Formal body (ripa-Keya)
Table-2 Natureof Divinily
d
l I '{
I =
i$i+ig:?c;ie
sFFIs;caEes *;i$5[ i;Ei $iggigFi gfis €rfs:gi$'fi
Ea {i 9'Eii:;EiiEsfl e;5f#iig $Fl FFEd 6Fi gi+,5g€ Fffi .;ig$$$ii$iEi FEF igEiiEFE FF+: gFi isg€$$=sF Eig;aEic $i;
Chapter'1 experiences,somelimesstateswith sixteenparts (ct.my essayon ihe inner zodiac).Finally,that one's own mind is the lh rd guru, comprislngthe union of the tutelarydeity and lhe great goddess (ottencalledyab-yumby theTibelanierm).This is a lorm of div ne ptide ldevata-garva),necessarytorthe quickpalh oJTanlra. Classiticalionsot Divinity incorporaled n the I\loreover,lhe multitude ol minordeitiesare Buddhafamiliesby the mannerol speakinglhat those deitiesare "seals"(mudla)oJihe Buddhafamilies.Thus, when the pedormer rdentiiieshimselfwitha dejty,his handgesture(mudra)canbetaken as the de ty. In lhe evocationprocedure,there is a developmenla order of the derty as a syllable(aksara),then as a hand symbo (c/tna), and flna ly as a deilicbody.[,4orefully,Buddhaguhyan his Dhyenattan'patala4ke(PTT.Vol.78,p.75-4)setsiorth three main kinds ol div nily to be conlemplaled,and he fLrrtherbreaks thern down inio varietes. whichwe labulateas lollows: theloregoing one, s Anothertype o{ classf calion,overlapping found in Padmavajra'swork, the Vahikalikanama (DergeTanjur. is in termsof lhe Rgyud,Dza,29b'1,il.)- Hereihe organizalion Bodes of the Buddha.In the oldeslcassilcalion,lhese are lhe lLrlherdivrdes Dharmakaya andlhe Frlpakaya. LatertheRupakaya whrchare standard inlolhe Sambhogakaya andthe Nrrmanakaya, in the N4ahayana. SomeMahayanasecls addeda lourthone ca led lhe lvlahasukhakaya.Th is is Padmavalra'sSlalement: Those deties who are bom by transformationhave a body on whichaccount, amonglheiour belonging to theNirmankAya, and Mahasukha, three bodies,Dharama,Sambhoga,NirmaAna, navevaleltes, Amongthem,lheNimanakayais thegodsbornbylransiofmation.TheDharmakaya is the setol planeis,asterisms(maksatra), etc.The Sambhogakayais the twojooled (divlnilies);and the Nirmanakayais tikethe Sambhogakayain ihis respecl. The Nirmanakayais the gods who range in the palace.The Sambhogakryais lhose (yogins)with samapaftiin the n t a The Dharmakayas those who samedhilpralhamasamardhl).
the ecslasy havetranscended gocls by theDharmakrya:Whateverlhe Besrdes,I is explained winds) on the riding vijffaia i,i"tt'noinrnew'naanaviFiEia(ie lhosewith istheDharmalayaMoreove( ineirno-n-apperceptron are three samadhis rn the equiposie) ;a.napiid (meditalional of gaze reason by mutually who rhose it e iamltrogataya the "mine"' are of idea to the ot idhering t uult"nergy Nirmaiakaya ecstasy non-oozlng byknowledge:The it is explained Likewise, Those Dharmakaya rs the (heaven) l_e A\anislha ;'dwe 'rngin in Introspeclion Dharma the tasting o'tequently '^rl5r_. e;slasy by rea_ Thosewhoareself-originated aretheSambhogakaya sonoi a lormervow,buldo nol knowit' arelhe N\(nehak^Ja' s ol Buddhaguhya A I Iheseca_ be lakenas a_ explanalion f\ese oety irrstkrnd:nalureof dhatmadhhtu oi ab"olLrte care.rorv for sadvas ol three termrnology by the o scr-ssed o" .-" 1." wh ch seeMkhasgrubrjes Besides,one can expanduponthe absolltedivinilyol kaowledgei' to as'non'discursive retePed s variety BLdohaou_ya fso' ^f''a-pa. Shagsrin chenmo al lolio 37b-2cites lhe thal on the Samputaby Dpa'bordo rie ('Suravajra) Commentary is based first ecslasy'The thereareth;eelevelsol non_discursive on sound(thesoundot laughte0,whichin mysticalexperlencels theLord"Thesecondisbasedonsight(seeing reierred lo as"hearing theIormol thedeity)therelore"seeingtheLord"Thelhirdis based ontouch(aswheni'hedeityandconsodholdhandsor unite),and Lord" lniact,thisseciion as "louchingthe wouldbeiaterdescribed lhe divisionoi four ol lhe Sfragsrimchen motherebyestablishes TantraThatis to of the Tantrasin iermsoJthe roleof the divinilies Tantra'Ihe Carye sav ihe Krva Tatfrahasihe deitieslaughing;the hands; holding deilies the Tantra, deiilesmutuallygazing;theYoga lhe deitiesin union theAnuliarayogaTanlra, TheAdiBuddha ol Buddhaorthelinalpedeclion Finalrv. tneres thePrimordial (Holder ol Vajradhara called d v n tv th; comoosreol all Buddhas
lheD|amondj, andalsoVajEsattva (DianondBeing), Sama abhadra Vow ot Entightenmenl), 1:l]rrrlry.tLrspicious-the or Keitacakr; Time).Vairadhara tssomelrme; depicledin unionwrthrh; Ele,:l^of boooess,andsome.times by himself.as in the ilJustration.
GdhaG' thecuhvasanaktantra(chap. "":"r:1tJ?ii:J,'JI*f?
jsbowedtobyallthe . .ThenVajradhara,theTeacher,who Buddhas, Dest,ol the threediamonds,bestol the grearoest. supremelord ot the lhree diamonds._. And ihe ExplanatoryTantB Vajanaale lpf-f.Vot.3, p.229) states: Vajradharais explainedas endowed with the profound and ., laffeachingitheDiamondbeing(vaj.asattva). besl otthose withlwo (legs)iwhois masterol destroyingand benetitting Aslo Guhyasamaiaverse (xv ,39). the pradli,oddyotana ,, , I58, p..r^54-3) vol. states in part that the lhree oamonds \p1r are lhe 0lamondsof Body,Speech.and l\rindin the case ot..suprerre,o,d or the threediarnonds". Tson_kha_pa's Mchan_grelexp,ar;s lhe..tord ol body': disptayssimultaneouslyinnumerabte mafe.,alizatrons ol oody:,lordot speech':teacheslhe Dharma srmultaneousry to ooundtesssentienl beingseachin his own tanguaget.lordol mt;d,.. uno€rstands alllhe knowablewhjch seemsimpossibte. Hence,Inesa aJeJhe'lhreemysteries'oftheBuddha.Theyal;€fEa uers. stiesses valraoharain humanlorm as Valrasaflva. the chje, hierophdnl.
Chapter-2
Initiationof Disciples
Chaqter-2
By "preparation ol disciples"is m€anttheir preparalionlo evokedeities-a processtrequentlycalledin Sanskrilsadhana; fromthe inilialion ol disciples. and thisrs lo be distinguished Thustherearetwopartslo lhe presenlessay,exhibitedlextually lowardthe end of lhe presentworkwith"outlineol lhe ThobYig GsalBahiMe Lonl' becauseChaoter4 of lhe outlinedheatise ol permission treatsthelineages lo evokedeilies. anditssubsequenl andshowsthatlrantrayanabeginswith Chapter5treatsinitiation initiation. Preparationot Disciplesfor Evocationot Deities It is well knownthat Tibetanmonksmeditaleupon a wide godsandgoddesses vanelyof deities. Manyollhese aredepicled upon the iemple bannerscalledTankas,of which a goodlly numberhavetoundtheirwayintoWesternmuseumsas wellas into privatehomes.The Sanskritwordior these evocationsis sardhara,translaledintoTibelanas sgrubthabs(prcnovceddrewp lop).Westernersinvariantly wantto knowthe meaningof these deiliesandtheiraccompanying (mantla),in Tibetan incantalions sngags,pronounced ngok:and wouldbe surprisedlo learnlhat iheydo nothavesuchandsuchmeanings iniheWestern sense ot inlelleclualunderslanding. Their meaningsarisethroughthe regularpracticeandserviceof the deity.Nevertheless, thereare somegeneralremarksthal can be madeaboutsuchpraclices. TheSanskrilbooksavailableonthesesubjeclsconveymeager intormation. This is becausethe collectionol se dhanas containonlythe baredescription orlhe deity.These tinylrealises may stari oul by sayingthat out oJlhe void appearssuch and sucha germsyllable, whichchanges intoa suchandsuch,upon whicha certain deityis imagined wilhso manyheadsandarms, wilhcertainsymbolsin therighthandsandcerlainonesin thelett hands,andso on. Separale generalinslructions bookscontajn
14
Chaptef 2
aooulsuchevocaiions, andoi
coursethl d, rne,,r<,ruc,,o-s,r;,;,J ;::;;;;:: :i,l;;J.'1;";i:,':;
n anJatsa e supefior lo rhelorrer ina,anon*, ,, ,"r, ,,, ii" jns
lfi:1rt"i;i"':nT":?cern ."
aparticurar evocatron arebrousht
A" essellal ,ngreotenl of everyevoca,rorof a oe.tyts l al
:";:tg:g:t: "?'J ;,ilruT,il,:fi : l;:.:;ii;*:i
s 5la-led,,n VLhas grub ,p,s Fuidamentarc o! ,he Bttddhtst unavo:oably, Ine Derntssionto evoke a q6r1r..f.l ,,4,?fas. rrom^-the deity jtself, especially in ausprctousdreams.The .
lronl ol ihe offerings,il is as lhougha vast cloudoi the tulelary proteclorsol the re gion, de1y, the Buddhas,Bodhisattvas, faraes,and so on, were condensing.Belore that throng,lhe candidalestake reluge n lhe ThreeJewels,conlesstheir sins ongaccumulaled,rejoiceinthe v rtuesaccumulaiedby themseves and others,and,for the sakeof the sentientbe ngs,praylor the "permss on" of suchand sucha tutelarydeltyor protectorol the religlon.The masterhas lhe candidatesrepealkey senlences afler hirn.Then, n order to reveal the mandala and vivity lhe basisoi ihe permisson, the disciplesare generatednto deily. The way rn whichthis "permission" is graniedis especiaty shown n the Tbelan rtual ol the goddessUshnishavijaya as lound n lhe four-volume collectionof sddhaDascattedthe Fin /har. I once siudiedthls lexl n the EastAsiatic Ltbrary,University of California. Herewe i nd thatthe masterlirstgenerateshimsell inlolhe goddessUshnishavijaya with her relinueof eighldeites. Ths has lhe two phasesof generalionol sell into deity and generationof deily in lront,whtchare describedextensivelyn Mkhas grub rje's Fundamentalsaf the BuddhistTantrcs.fhe Rin /hanlexlIirsiselsforththe "perrnission oJbody",whichconcerns lhe bodies,small,large,and infinite,ofthe LordesslJshnishaviiaV:r ard ol her retinue. Then it portraysthe "permission of speech,', wh ch conceTnsthe vow lo hold the Lordess as the protective deity.Finaily, it tel s the "permission ol mindl'whichconcernsthe installation oJthe Lordess'sbody,only the lengthof a finger,in the heari. Naturally, thosethreekindsof permission eachhavea we l-defrned riluaisidetoo complexlo go inio now il is clear that the processol evocationand of graniing permissionis somewhatadvanced,padicularlyn the demands uponlhe imaginatlve abililyot ihe masierandihe disciples. From ancientlimes,B!ddhismclassifted candidatesin terms of keen lacu ty, medlurnfaculty,and inferiof faculty.Certainly,lhere is a precediog trainingfoflhe disciple.Ofthis,thelheorvof Buddhist medilalon has muchto say_
|i;i[J*"]:,lT!"ii.#:'[":f;:3l::'il:;*l1?1'JlT"ti: :":?;1".i:*":J";.#"liTl:;f,*. ::j:":r:{"'i.::"ff ",rrseli inroln6 deitv and tl-en,as the de y. to q.a-1p"i"1.rion rolhe disLipi-s.fha. ts one .easowhy lne O,sc.o,e .s suoposeo
a , t , l u a l ' va . B J d d n a , b L l o r t y t l , d t oy so regaro.nqtFF g./ru the
j;4,:",;"#:;"n,.t.";J;;;;:: ;J'l,:::'":;".ixT:fl .:o':: __^]l:.ti":,*"*
skyaHurukhtu ot pekins, Nsagdbans Bto-
i plng.it,t'" j'f'ji",'n j".'60' iillS ?iT-.,Xhl'ilF,i,illi, " .neani-s rhe'"""orio,y'p,",i.in'i
;il::T':: ?:'#:;"",:. ' he.orsctp,es t aving bathedano lpproached ,".p.if ,,,V n" 'nasler.i.nplor,ng nim tor the,,pernrrssron hc lettsrnen so.l.eo, lna llasrr BudohJsr leacnings.For example,how d:t,.-,,t . rs ro hLm.inb flh a.nongrhe va orJsdesl,nres goodandoao, :l:rl. lhe ro'lunatecrrcL,mstances ot Lndrngrhe ,eacne.. ?;:.rhel
I:HJTf"i:i;r;; :j"*:iliiriliiJ:,#:fl ":I:t:
lhe non-lanrnctrd lhe lanlric.Having la(cn rnoseprecFptslo neart.lhe candtddtes are convrnced th;t by retyr^gon sLcn and sL.h a lLl+laryoeilvor s,'lct^ and sucha prorecto-o, t, e religon. 'ne" /l'e,ca-dioales) will(eepa forl.lnare condtlo1 t.eerron_, tne unrowaroslates(oi beingborn when or wherernerets no leacher, ano so on).The candidatesgo on to imagine thal in the skv in
For example,lvr. Norbuloanedme the firsiloliosoi a work enlled Bgyal bahibstan skyonggYu Ctags gnis kyisgrub thabs dang hbrelbahitjes gnangbya tshul.fhe{1le fieans:"Melhod o{
16
Chaptef-2
't7 Initiationo{ Discrples
performing the evocation ol lhe two protectorsof the religion called (in short) gYu and Grags, along with the associated permission." The title suggestslhat lhis book will show the procedureby which the masler evokes lhe two deities,firsl Rdo rje gYu sgron ma ("She the diamondturquoise tamp")and next, Rdo rje Gragsrgyalma("Shethe diamondturquoisetamp,');and then, how he confersthe permissionotthose two deitiesupon the discipies,somewhalalong the lines delineatedabove.We find at the outset an introductorystatementlhat there are three parts to the melhod of performinglhe evocationand associatedpermis, sion. All ritualsare simiJarly divided,into (a) lniila praxis,or pre|minaries;(b) the main pa of the riie;(c) concludingacls. The evocationand permissionare countedas the main part oflhe rile. Mr,Norbucalledmyattenlion lo a wordwhichoccursnearthe beginnjngol this work. lt is wriflen tsa-ka-li and he exptainsthat I meansthesecertainminiature paintings,on whichlam presentlV writinga bookbasedon the manuscriptsof the late professorF.D. Lessrngol Berkeley-Naturally,the mastercannot be expectedto carry aroundwilh him lhose large tankas which hang in the lernples.For the purposesol permissionand initiationol the disciple,lhe miniature serveshandily.ll mustbecarefuliy prepared to deprctcorfectlylhe mannerin whichthe particular deitvis 10 becontemplated. Hencethiskindofpaintingis madewithespecially fine delailsand with vivid coloring.In fact, ihe text tn queslion menlionsthis word in connection with {a) the iniiialpraxis.Here we fird thaton a platiormin frort.the pe.lornera'rangesvanous offerings and adornments for the deily, includingihe isa-ka,/i which,as I understand lhe senlence.is adornedwttharrowand sik.l After i\/r.Norbupointedoul that word tsa ka ,, I soon had the luckofiindrngthe expressionin a textof theTanjur(thecommentarial Tibetancanon).Thosewho have readlhe translalion,Mkhas arub rje s frndamentals of the Buddhist Tanras. wit. nave ga -ed some idea oJthe dijlerencebetweenlhe iour classesof Buddhist _lanlra They wrll\now that the Indranwrilcr Ananoaqarbha LrTibetan,Kun-dgah-sning-po) was a celebratedcommentaior on
whrchilsellrs rhe thrroclassol Tant'acalledthe Yogatantra one called lhe 'ectrons lhese ol i"r,;"cnons Il;'iJ"r"";i; on lhe inlereslrng :pr"ri""iio" ol Evil Deslrnyis especially comrnentary a writlen has Anandagarbha srde,and "oirmentarial 1ofindlhe word'thoughhereil was i-n 'r. in *fl|"f' I happened inloTibelanleilersas lsax-Aa./r' lranscrtbed key sentence:"Besides' Let me lranslateAnadagarbha's those manlras;one generating for (rkyen) there is a condition ol lhe rcah'Aa'h tnen n ihe mindand arranges lo,r, ons "rruno"a fni.-.ho*. that in order to etleclualelhe ircantal ioou.: in themindandin the or parallelprocess is a simuttaneous ttrer'e are arranged'and in tn tf'".ind ihe incantaiions oi the dertyare ""j"inuf*otfa. externalworldihe symbolicrepresentations the 'epresenlallol"s lhoseexternal lt mlqhlbethoughlIhal arrdnqed. props as mediialion parntings aresewrng suchis tnerrin,ature or deilies particular oeity the n"'o'nqtn" p"+ora"'ro visuaLze nte-ds r"'! ii ."ti"'^V a validlunclion.but Anandagarbna n ascerla point shoJld one lhe aoa"tfl|nqrnor"fnrntnatTosee tits into the generallheo'v ol meclitatlon now tnis'pa'ticutar medilation. Buddhist Lamrimchenmo' seclionon zhi9'a9 calmlrlg Tson_kha-pa's resas wellas KamalasRla's foftht;ind)", showsthatvariousscriptu lll allow that one may bhAva ndkramall and Bha\vandkrama ol lhe Tathdgaldkhe booy tl-e ailomptisn samaarlby raking o'hodor' is thoroughly This object Budol'atas a rnedilatrve which Buddha"' ofthe "mindJulness with r""*sJ it is.""o"i"tea tne are there Besides' qenerate merits ol inlinity an is said to time ol the at Buddha of the mindlul;ess i", losing r"-rn" becomes upon' meditated "f as Buddha' the boJy of the death.When vViOanOtirm,inis ij tfre"calming"of keenfacultyThe meditalor scriptures'.by ia indicatedin theMahay'rna belorethdl "" "lntinr", aspratiors "un'tt,"n lervent and ollerings a",al"q ["*,"". included meril accunJlain u-"ov-urr;lwhichis thdl belo'e vows "."i"i'or"r"o tion: anatf"enqo on to contesssinsandlake lom ptrr''icatio' in O:,ta-"ll of whichis included "discerning{lhe pertain lo to "o.t".pf"t"a seems latter The ol""ut"tion" irom i.rt'i;ira"g nrtr,"rgt.rhils there are numerousbenelils
t8
Chapter-2
holdingthoughlon the body of the Buddha. Atso,there/s a well de',nedprocedure fof sucha conlemplatton Tson kha-paquol;S rheBhavan;krama tl ln regaJolo thal,lirstthe yogrntastenshrsmrnd on lhe lormal oooyor rne tathjgalaas tl rs seenandas tt is heard, andlhen rs to accomptrshcalming. He orients nis mina conlnuouslv on ,he forrnol rhe lathijgalasbody,yettowtr*e rne cotri pu lred qo,d.adornedwith lhe {32) characrerisrics and lhe rour_mtnor,,,na,ks, dwellirgwtth,nils rett"ue.ano acli,lgto. rne.arn o. lhe Senl,ent beingsby djversenreans.Oeneralrno th: .nerrs ot that (bodyr.he subouesradins: :._:::Ii,':' excte'r.e.', andthe othe,taujts,ano shouldp?cl,ce medtlalton
ilt]n"uftn
t't" as that (bodv)dwellsin frontand is seen
ln the same place,Tsofi_kha_pa rnakesa drsl,nctionbetween ., the initralfetlecledimagejn the mind ot the exrernat reptica,such as_aparntingor metalcastjng;and the advanced vivid recollection ollhai bodyas nalurally presentin the mind.Thelatterattainment involves^whatis called the .basis ol the medrtalNeobject,,:He slate-s:"Some ptace an icon in lront, and viewing if *itf,,th" make a qurck contemplalion.This has been "y", eteganflyreluteO,b; the leacherye,ses-sdejsa/rddhi is not accompliif,"O'Uy *nut tf,! senseareawareof;ratherit js accomplished 6y,n"t tf."rninJl" aware,oi." Tsoi,kha-pa meansthaltherheasureol successin his knd ol rned,ral on rs :n lhe degreelo wh,chIhe med,ratrve oblect rs4onpietery.translerred to the rrjnd,so thal bothlhe sublte;nd rough pads ot the body appear vividlyin lhe minOas though alive "basis
a o, medrtative oO;ec|is O;vorceO rirn rni ll:l-"-:r!l o.rystcat characlerislics
of lhe particularmedtumof the replica, th." painting ingredients and lhe parncutar features :y:n ,".a. bfoughl in by reasono, a metal casttng.Neve4heless, In lhe '1 ralstageone doeswellto use a good;epttcaas a -nedila(tve
:"::il: :::#illii.';Tti:,: : i:!jii,":"#,ff"ff
0":1."' ooleJr" rn Ine Tr^o th.s is not lhe ::^t:: r. which medirarrve pnase one is roo(rng at thelsal.laJ;(beca,jse samadrl
lnitialionol Disciples
t9
rs notaccornplished by whatthe senseare awareot).Rather,lhe lsak-kariis coveredor unviewed.In sucha case.al an appropriate poinl in lhe seruicelhe tsak-karl can be uncoveredto constilule a revelalion. Mkhas-grub,rjewrites: "Now il someonewere made only lo enter lhe mardala and not to be conferredInitiation,whal would be the advantage.lf one takesthe relugevow and behotdsthe mandala with iaith, thefe is the advantage that he becomes purifiedlrom sinsaccurnulated lor manyaconsand plantstn his slreamol consciousness (samtara)lhe disposltion (risara) oi becomingin fuluretimesa receptaclelitforentering the profound mantra palh (i.e. the Vajra-yana)."Then in order to reveat the mandala..."Thoseexplanationsby Mkhas-grub-rjeand the Lcang skya Hutukhtu show thai there is no revelationof the marda; jusl by exhibiling it, or by the disciple's mereseeingit. Likewisea manclalais nol revealed when it is published in some modern bookandeveniflhousandsof personsbuythebooksandlookal il. But one can take Mkhas-grub-rje'sremarks as meaningtulby presumrngthat the menlal ritual js direc y correlated with lhe hiddenexlernalrepresenlation, wh,chtnus becomesa seal ol Anandagarbha'smentionsof arrangingmarflas n the m nd haslo do wilh whatis calledin Tibetanbooksthe nqesdon (i na meanrng) ol tl^ernanlrd. whenil rs p.onounceon lh; nrndd l|r1q .nedrlatio-rathefrhdnIn oulwardspokenlorm, In whtchcase;i wouldbe calledd/ang do, ("provisionalmeaning,,). There is now a good treatmenlol the "meditationol dwelljngin the flame and in lhe sound" in the Engtishversion of Mkhas-grub,rjes book. In allernate words, lhe mantra has two main levels-lhat of ils orOrnarymullered expression,when it has the meanlno oi the wakrngstateiandthatolrtsextraordinary meditatronat expiessron, when it has the meaningol the dream state. One mav noticeas analogous the two stages in contemplationol lhe meditation object,mentionedabove,as the initialreJlectedimagetn the m nd andthe advancedvtvidrecollection oJthe objectabidingnaiurally n lhe mind.
ChapleF2 n i l i a l i o no f D i s c i P l e s
The Meaningof Initiation Mkhas grub 4es conlatns a weallh ot inJormationon the sublectol inrtiaiioniand tt is sale to say lhat not beiore its plbhcaton was such a surveyol the toptc availablein deplh. Howevef,thereis a so ihe linetrealmentol nilialon accordlno -hto lFe Aa/J-dArdlante I Mat a f Care Is nr.odJctionlo s Sanskriled lion oi Neropa'sSekoddesatka (Baroda,194t). The presenlessayrsnol Intended 10subslitute lor lhoseexposilons lo whrchlhe readersaltenlionis inviled-or lo substitute tor the s p e c a r z e d t r e a l m e n l i n m y i o r l h c o m i n gY o g a o l t h e Guhyasam1jatanlra;lhe Arcane Lorc af Fotty verses. The word in liation'ts lhe lranslaton ol lhe Sanskritword abhlseka.which s renderedntoTibetanas "conlerraloi power" ldban bskur)Amonglhe germaneissuesare: (1) whetherone mLrslbe rnt aled rn order to medilateupon a certatnde tyi (2) whelherlhe discple is really inilated" by go ng throuqhihe lormalmolionsol rntialion;(3)whetherthe orocedures ol iniltallon by lhe gurusare ihe same as what one could read in a text or manualonthetopc(orwhetherthebookcouldbesoL'lnderstood). (l )The precedingessayon preparalionof disc pleslor evocalron ot dertes showslhat ii is not necessaryto be in itate.l n ordeflo evokeadeity.Thesimplestexample oiihis is oi coursemeditalon on lhe ELrddha or on oneol the lranscendent Bodhsattvassuch Avalokrtesvara, as thesemedilations were practicedn counlries w(h MaaanaBuddhism.In tacl,suchmeditalions as thesedo nol even requife"permission", bul the theoryol permission', arose wrlh Tanlricdeities.Nalurally,such medrtalionson both nonlantrc and lanlric deilies have gone on in countlesscases wilhoutany forrna nil ationceremonyot lhe type developedin lantrc Euddhism-And also for tantricdeilies,I ciled n the ioregoingpartwhat Nlkhasgrub rje sald:"Now if someonewere madeonlyloenlerlhe mandalaand nol to be conlerredInitialion. whal would be the advantage?...:By mandala is meant both the residenceand residents(the deities).The rdeahere is that one does not needto inttialedin orderlo medilateon a deitv.bul one must gel the permission(arulne)to so meditate,and with ihat permisson comeslhe directionsforlhe meditationForexample.
havesludiedwilh the TibetanLamesls a numberof Westerners norlhernIndiaand Nepaland been gjvenafi individualdeily lo medilateupon,usuallyalongwilh someversesdirectedioward requrres onlya preparaton oithe lhatdeity,e.g.Vajrasattva.This discipleand a decisonlo meditaleupon . But, n addilion,I is possb e lo gei an nitialon in conneclion witha cerlaindeity,say and this iniliationgivesthe personso iniialed Avalokitesvara; lhe rghl to bed inslructedin lhe enlire cult of thal deiry,and lherelorern the proceduresol gainingvarioussiddhis(occull powers)lhroughlhal cult.Besides,the hrgherinitialions through suchdeites as Guhyasamala are intendedlo empowerlhecandidate lo allemptthe supremegoal01Buddhahoodn lhe Present fe. (2)Thenexlpo nl s by no means nconsequenl al becausea numberolWeslernefs havenowgonethrough iniltalon ceremonres as conductedforexample.n NorlhIndiabytheT betanrelugeesl and the presenrwrilefand hls wile so parl cipaiedin the greal Kalacakrainiliationconducledby H H. lhe DalarLama Ln1970 SomeWeslernershavewriltenon lhese loprcsin a mannerlo suggesllo the readerlhatlhey knowsomethingaboutthe Tanlra !r queslon by virl!e of gellingin lialed.Th s is far lromthe truth In lacl ntalon s meanllo quaify the candrdat€ lo receivelhe leachngs of the Tanlra,becauselhe seventhoi the iourteen j!ndarnentalrransgressionsMkhasgrubrie'sp. 328)is loleI lel. lhe secretslo immalure(i.e.uninitialed)persons." lrvent inlo anolheraspecloi lhis problemrn my lalk beiore lhe Internalronal Conlerenceol Orientalistsin Japan (1970), wh ch was publshedIn the rTransaclions (No.XV.1970): pa,ita;Sanskrit, Buddhisrn leacheslhreekindsoi insight1Pali, prajnd), that consistng ol hearing or learning (s/ufamayl pralra) lhat consrstingof meditalionor ponderng \cintamAyt p/alta), and lhe consislingol pultingintopracl ce or culiivating in ones lile (bhevanalrnayiprajha). Iherc is a revelalofy exampleof lhe tirsione trom my recenlslay in Dharmsala, HimachalPradeshof India-In [,1arch, 1970,H.H. the Dala Lama confeffedlhe KAlacakraInitialionvia loudspeaker lo over 10,000Tibelans.AtlerwardsI askeda learnedLama how His Hohnesscould possibe inttiateso rnany,when
22
Chaptef.2
inrliattonswere usually gven lo small groups ol proven disclpes. The Lama answered:ltlledw th failh lhey came fronriaFoil distancesat considerabte sacriiice;thal showed theirsu labtlily.I couldadd:and they sat tor hours.tistening respecllullyand patiently,ollen under a hot sun withoul drinkng tacllilies.The ideahereis lhat lhe one who has tarlh and endureshardshipto hearihe teachrnghaslhe f rst eve ol insightin the Buddhistsense,lhe nsightconsisttngol lreaflng.Nalurally, few of thesepersonsevergo on lo the secondslage,the insighlconssling o1ponderingwhich In convenlonal Euddhistlheoryshoutd nvotvelhe taiddown pfoc-odure ol Buddhislmedilalion. Again,slr fewer.havrng heardwithlaithand havingponderedagarnand aga n, go lo the thirdsiage of being exemplarsol pu ng ihat teachifg inlo praclice,the insightol cultivaling in one'strle Therelore,il is undeniabte that a personparlrcpat ng in an inrlra!ion learnsmoreaboutlhe proced!rethan he knewbeiore Moreover,lhere are variousvowslhat are g ven duringthe rnI atton and whichthe candidates usuallyhaveto repealihreettmes,and ol coursetheseriousacceptance ol vowsandadherence to them in the fulure,rs a matterthai dilierslrom il: even thoughlhey havea superiorbackground lor undersland ng il by readingil. it il were possiblelo achieveunderstanding lhis way.Again this is nol to denylhal a cerlainTanlra,by reasonol varyng Ineages. was sometrmespracticeddiflerenltyby its prolicienls, in shorl lhatthe bas c Tantrawas sometimesunderslood dlfferenIyin the aulhoritative ineagesNow,lbegan lhis chapterby pointingou1lhal Mantrayana begrnswilh initration." Mantray:tna" is a synonymot Vajrayana (lhe DiamondVehicle),and a naturalqueslionisr why ca il ''Mantrayarna", or what s the meaningol'manlra'in the iille lvlanirayana?I have in my possession a Tibelan text which explainlh s malleras partot lhe preliminary explanalions tor the one to getthe higherinitialionsot theTantra;andtheseexptanations lollow the schoolsol Mitraiokiand Abhayakaragupla'sVatravah.l Mantraydna.fhallitetan work, which I shaltreler to in short as the lnitiation Preliminary," explains:
of manlrasis lt saysin the Vajasekhara."lhecharacte.istic accomplishes the dharma-heart, the mindoi all Buddhas, possessesthe Dharmadhdlu-lhatis said to be the characlerislicol mantras:'Forthat raason,it is said thal belonging mantrais the non-dualwasdom UAra)of bliss-void it is manlrais mind ol allthe BLrddhas; and said that to the il is manka is calling afterthe ties; and said lhai lhe lhe de c of deil est and it is said thal manira is lo be characlerisl kept secretfrom unworthyvessels(snadma yin pa). Besldes,thereare threekinds:gsat siags (mantra),rig sfiags (vidya), andgzunsiags(dharafri). (r ) Gsai siags. The gsad("secret')is as statedin lhe Sr.i' SampulalChap.One):"lt is secrel becauseoutsidelhe s c o p e o f V s n u , I \ l a h e s v a r aB,r a h m e s; r a v a k a sa n d pralyekabuddhas." As to snags(manlra), sinceit incorpo ratesthe meaningsoJlhe previo!sexplanalions , il is mantra by proleclingthe mindfromsigns{fromsenseobjects)and intheConlinualion d scufsive thoughl(vikalpa), as explained (i.e. Chap. XVlll). lt is as ol lhe Sri-Guhyasanarjalantra slatedin the workDbanyou tan rimpat "Themeaningol the expression'mantra'is explained as the non'duality ol void | haveexplained mar-aslhe Greatinsight andcornpassion(mahaprajna) noi separalsfromlhecharacter of lhe void,the breathol Vajrasattva. Ira hasthe meaningof protecling.The is lhe methodoJnon-dualily breathot lhe Talhagatas of void and compassion," Th€ expressionsiags slandslor mantra, mar- is mind,and tra is prolecting, ln explanation, so it protecling means iheperforme/s mindlromsignsanddiscursive lhought.As lo how il prolecls,the purposeol manlrais the recitalionof the mantrathro!gh non-dualengagementol meansandinsight(upaya-prajfia).That method of cultivation general6s lhenon-dualwisdom ot voidness andcompassion 1nthepraclilione/s ol streamoJconsciousness; andbecause thal melhod,it is called"mantra". l2J Rig snags.The Vajrasekhanslales: "Coul|.letingavidya) (nescience) and by by overcoming lhe darkness ol passion over-comingof delilemenls,it is calledvldle."Hence,il s
24
Clraple.2
lhe preeminenlrelurn10 deslroyrnglautst and thal rs the purposeoi v/dya(occuliscience). (3) Gzunssnags.The samework stales: The characlerol dharfair'-srs 10holdthe Buddha-dharmas; ils ho dingis caled ''hoding of dharmas'and'virlue'." Hence,it s the preemnenl reiurnlo holdingof merlts;and lhat is dharan. Besides,Buddhaguhya explainsn lhe Dhyanoliarapatalal ka { T o h . 2 6 7 0D, e r g eT a n j u rR, g y u dT, h u ,4 a 3 ) : H e r e a y / d y a r s a dertywithlhe lorm and shapeof a lemale,as weilas the sound. gesl!re (mudra),elc.whichmanileststhal (deriy)The reverseol lhat (ie. a male deily,etc. is the characterslicol nanlra And the sam€auihorsays (7b-3):"The passagemeansthat rl even Rrshs cannolmake a manlrasuccessfulwhen they are nol n Medtalion (dhyana),how much less could other periorrners (sadhaka)l' Thai is the mysleriousworld into which lhe in tiale enters Antllhe Guhyasamelalartr.a (Chap.XVlll, Bhatlach-aryyaed.. p 156.16'17)stales: The pledge(samaya)and vow (samya/a)saidlo be libefated lrom worldy conducl,whenprotectedby alllhe diarnonds' (valra).is pronounced"pracliceal mantru." fhis passageind calesthatthe tantricdevoteeenlersupona new and perhapssecrelivelife that slarls wilh the vows and pledgesoi his in tiations. The word"vow"(Tibelansdompa) s a sialementlakenriluallyand ordinarily ulleredlhreetrmesiil rs rn a Iorm easilyundersioodand musl hold logelher.adhefein the discrple'sslreamol conscioLrsness, The vows are usualLyol a generanalure,holdingfortheeniireTantrainwhichthecandidale s Lntiatedand lor lhe entiretime aller his niliation. On lhe olher hand,lhe pledge"(Tibelandam lshigl is less comprehensib e and may requife Commenlarial or oral expansronlo gel lhe meaning-The pledgesare not general,bul may apply lo a parlicularelement01 lhe Tantraand lo a specialphase ol lhe practce. Frequently theyare in a negaliveirom,po niing1owhal lhe d scipleshoud avoidor not engagen
ntal0n
are The vowsthal are lakenby the disciplesdLl ng initialion initialions and sometimes shared belween difierenl Jnes sonrel Decu|ario a certainrniliationin which case lhey are termed '!fshared".Examplesare on pelilionandtwovowswhichGeshe Rablenol Dharrnsaaasked me to lranslaiefrom Tibetanon whowereatlending theKaacakrain tiallon behalloftheEuropeans 1970.Each one ol these ls to be repealed hetd21-23 l\,4arch, ol lhe guru(whoin lhiscasewas H.H.lhe threelrmesby direction Dala Lama): Thou my teacherwilh greal joy arl the sole A. (Petilion): allendedwilh such sav orlrom the oceanof phenomenalllle great water monsler of birlh, old age, and dangersas lhe great in the way lord who is steadiasl death. bowto lheelhe pledgel great ghtenment. me same Granl the enl Granl lhai ol Grantme the threereluges me the thoughtoi enlighlenmentl ol Buddha.Dharma,and SanghalO lord,prayinlroduceme into lhe exalted city (=1hemandala)ol great liberalionl B (Common vow between the Bodhisaltvaand the Tanlra palh):ltake refugein the threejewels,conlessall my sins, joy wilh the virtueso{ (olher) hold mentallythe sympathetic lving beings,as wellas withlhe Buddha'senlightenment. Tantra):Having C. (unsharedvow,peculiarlo the Kallacakra conferredupon me lhe sublimeinitiationoJ the irreversible wheel,O lord, pray explainthe realilyof lhe gods ot lhe wheel,thewondrousaclionof the hierophanl,the pledgeol all lhe Buddhas,and the hrgheslsecretof the vow. So as to servedlhe aim ol all sentientbeings may lforever be a h erophanti Theiacl lhatlhesethreeutterancesare qivenherein sequence s no indicalionol their actual localion in lhe long and elaborate Kalacakra is when iniliationritual.The lime ol oeliiionlor iniliation lhe dlsciplesmade lhe gesiure (mrdrir) ol the universe(the lour conlrnentsand l\41.I\,4eru)The pledgesare specialto the differenttamiliesolTathagatas and to dillerentphasesol the palh. For example,there is the
pledgelo refiainIromlhefourteenfundamental Iransgressionsol the Anuttarayoga Tantra.The lourteenare givenin Mkhasglub r/es /p.328nole)as tollows: 1. Todisparage one'smasler. 2. Totransgress the directives of the Buddha. 3. Toexpressangertoward "diamondbrothers.,' 4. Toabandon loveof ihesentient beings. 5. Toabandon lhel\lindot Entighlenmenl. 6. Todisparage theDoctrine of one'sownorof another's tenets. 7. Toiellthesecrelslo immalure persons. 8. Toabusetheliveskardhasfortheirnaturebelongslo the tiveBuddhas. L Tohavereseruations concerningthe naluresInlrinsically 10.Tohavelovetor lhe wicked. 11.Toapplydiscursive lhought to thewordtess natures. 12.Tohavebelittlingthoughlslowardsthe betievers. 13.Tonotadhereto the ptedgesin lhe waytheywere i 4.Todisparage women, whoarethenatureot insight. AllerTson-kha-pa's individual commentary onthosefourleen ir his Dofisgrubkyi shema (PTT.Vot.160,p. 7O-j,2)he groups theminthisway(mysurnmary including maleiallromhisindivdual commenlary)i A. ConcerningDharma. (1)Teacher oJtheDharma_ No.1 "todisparage ones mastel (dcaryaJ. (2.) Associalesin accomplishing the Dharma. (a)Goodassoicates. No.3'fo expressangerloward diamond brothers"whoarelellowinilialesof the samemasler.No.12 .Tohavebeliltlingthoughlsloward the betievers" whoare fil vessels lor thepath.
(b) Bad assooales. No. 10 "To have love (rra r/) lor the wicked",especiallythosewho damageand destroythe Doc' (karuna)for them. trine,but one shouldhavecompassion No.2"Tokansgreesihediectives (3)Dharmatotaketoheart. oi the Buddha"which ar6 the lhree vows (ol the Vinaya, the Sodhisaltva,and the l\,4ankayana). No.6"Todisparage the Doctrineol one'sown (mantrayana) or ol another's (prajnelparamilerayna) lenels. No 7 "Totell the secrets to persons"; immalure(uniniliated) butTsofr-kha,pa retects a certainlearnedopinronthat it is a lBnsgressionto show esoleric sLlbslancessuch as icons, the damad] drum and so on, because the Tantrasslate the faull in what is revealedlo lhe ear, not in what is revealedto the eye. B. ConcerningPath (1) Basisol Path.Al lhe lime one has generated the l\rindoi Enlightenment: No.4 "To abandonlove of ihe sentient beings by actlngwaywardlyloward lhe sentientbeings. No.5"Toabafdonthe lvlindof Enlighlenment'by abandoning lhe true nalureof the mind. (2) Natureof Path. (a)The Slage of Generalionlutpalti-krama).No.8"Toabuse the iive skardhaslortheirnalurebelongsto the fiveBuddhas", suchabuseincluding allinjury, mortification, andsuppression. (My iorthcoming Yogaol lhe Guhyasamejatantra will cleatly showwhythis transgression applieslo the Slageol Generation, becausein this Stagethere is the medilationof associaling lhe ska.rdhaswilh the respectiveBuddhas). (b) The Stage oJ Completjon(sampanna-krama).No. I "To have reservalionsconcerningthe natures(dbarma)intrinsi callypure".No.11 "Toapplydiscursivethoughtto lhe wordless
2a
Chapler-2 wordlessnalures".
(3) Ancillariesol lhe Path_No. j3,To not adhere to lhe pledgesin the way they were taken" becauseple.lgesare the substance of lhe palh,whetheroi the Anuttarayoga or ot theyoga Tanlra.No.14 "Todisparage women,who arethe nalureot insioht" be.aLsewomenare a h ndrancero lhe path.-wonen d.e b;l.r themundanekind andlhe supramundane KindolVairavarah he DiarnondSow). elc. lnsighf js the Inowtedgeol grFat trtss One disparageswomeneitherby way or tusllngtor {mahasukha). themoi (in overtconduct)by reasonot tustingfor them. Initiationol the Mirror Again,wh le I do nol inlendto competewith Mkhas grub rie s aulhoritativemalerial on iniliations-those of the fiask and the higheriniliaiionsol AnuttarayogaTanlra; nor can a writtenaccounl lake lhe place o, actualparticipalion in these tanlric initialion ntuals,it is stiil usefulto presentone here as found in written lorm.The"initiation oi the mifiof is oneof lhe six in the Guhvasamara Aksobhysrilualthat correspondsto lhe rote of the live flask lniliationsas portrayedin Mkhas grab /je,s.Besidesthe inlrinstc inlerest oi this iniliation,it is especiallypickedfor 1s brevitv, becauseinilialionritualsaretrequentlyot considerabtetenglhand delailwherebytheirpresentalion wouldrequiretoo much sDace lor presenlpurposesThtsis lranslaledt.omTson-kha-Da s wo.k. "Dban gi don gyi de itd nb Iu gsal ba (Ctar;ryingrne ,eatrtres belonging to lhe meaningof initiation) {pTT,Vot.160,p. I j j _3,4). Previously(p. 109-4-6)he had listedtne s.x irrtrar,ons as tlr nilrdtion of water.(2) initration ol the diadem.(3) i.itialon ot lne val.a.(4) ilrtiationof the be , (5) inrtiation ol the m,fror,ano lbr in,tratron ot lhe name.Nowtor the lnitiattonol lhe mt,,or.. The placementol the mirrorinitiationin this phasewhich s lhe fillh stage,is as doneby Ktu byan (.Nagabodhi). In that (i.e. hs method)thereare two paris,Siartingwith the.eye opening', {nlel.
'eye opening proceedsby recilng and The rnelhodoi lThe guru)placesin a goldor silvervessel ipf y rg (ot orntmenl). ol butterand honeyWhi e lhe o ntmenl consisling qo eye den lhe nes his eyes ihe syllabe PRAIM, (the guru) mag on p e d sc probe (sa/aka),recting OM (the eye orntment) wth a es app ("Om. Removelhe HRIH APAHARA PATALAM VAJRANETRA He repeaisthe verselol I rr lhat s of lhe diamondeye! Hrih."). 'Jusl as the King ol healing \he vatrocendbhtsambodht-tantra): irha,sa/yaraF) wilh h s proberemovedlhe wor dly tilm,so may m,y s o n ! W h i l e h e r s t h e B u d d h a s d i s pyeo u r i r l m o ifg n o r a n c e knowledge eye s openedupon they magine that the rec lrng. s. Iim. ol the nesc ence ri?r|ova ll. Havinghad hs eye opened n lhat manner,(lhe disciple) shorld look rpat\ a dharmasas rellectedirnag€s.So (the a sc p e) may accomplishthat, he (the guru) shows a mrrror ,r.anledw th an AH, and recites: All dharmasate lke tellectedimages, ungraspable, clearand pure.wilhoutlurbulence; nexpressible. lrulyafisen ''o r d lc6 e'd dcI'or lhelu and ^a!ma\. Just LkeVajrasalivan a mirrorthai is also c ear.pure.wrlhoullurbulence;so trreBuddhas,universallords,themselves abidein lhe heartol lhee, rnyson. llow lhatyou haveso underslood the dharmas inlrinsic and wilhout as withoul nalure location,may you p€riormincomparably the may born as m senl enl beings, so they be a ol sonsoi the Proleclorsl in generalthal understand Thc'severseenjoin(lhedisciple)to al dharmasare likea retiecledimage,and In padicularthal lhe vajrasallvadwel ng n one'shean is like a reflecledimage n a
Whenthelhirdot u.r""" ol the dhafrras .. 'aswithoutinlinsic thoa"thr"" ,$ithoutlocation', "p""*s nature'and it relersrespeaively to lhe tirstandsecondverses.Thisis becausewhenthe second verse proctaimsthat "the Buddhas...lhemselvesabide in the hearl-ofthee',ihis is possiblewiththo Mehayanaposiliono, lhe "NirvdiaoJnofixedabode" lapfttisthita-niNafrd), so the Buddha q.atu.tes lBuddha-dharma) can be understoodto abrdein rhe 0rscrple s heartwhileabidrngelsewhere. Theretorethe second vers€is expressed fromtheslandpointof supremeltuthUaatrbdhasatya).whilethe tirstverse,stressingthal the drarmasare "Lke rerlecf edimages" tsexpressed withcorwentronal truthl samvrt6atya). Srnce.these arecruciatpoinlsfor grasping Manayana BuOOitiit rnougnt, rt tswe to expenda lillle. The mirroris incanledwith an AH, whichsuggeslsbrealh comelo a slop on lhe mirrorand lherebycreatinginsubstantial shapes.The guri, recitesthe lirst verse,"All dhamds are like rellecledirnages..."to showthatallmundanedhamasarewithoul htrinsicnalure,yet kuly arisenlromcauseand aclton,i.e.,In Uependenl Origrnation (pntitya-samuhAda).fhts rshe scopeof conventional iruth,or sa|,sA/a. Thenthegurureciteslhesecondverseto showthatwhenthe mindis'-smooth and clearlikea mlrror,i.e.whenit is ptungedin samadhi.il can reftectlhe lorm ol Vajrasttva.treasuredin lhe orscrpre s heart,ButatsoIn thiscaselhe Buddhas dwe In the heart, meaningthat there is no limitalionlo their dwelljng_ wnetherin thtsp6rson'sor that p€rson'sheafl, or etsewher6_ andso thtsreferstothesupramundane dharmaslhatarewdhoul rocaron.thts ts lhe scopeof supremetruth,or'N,rvitria ol no lrxeoabode,'nollimitedlo €ilhersalns:r/aor ,,7rada,but both_ The third verse then alludes lo the meaningol this initiation. _ First the disciple'sknowledgeeye is openedand then he is orcughltoa newunderstanding--about mundane andsLpranundane onarmas-sohecannowperlormtheaimol sentientbe,ngs.Thts showsihe meaningof inilialionas"maturalion" ol the ca;didate, In this case,maluration ihroughthe "initiationol lhe mirrol".
Chapter-3
OfferingMaterialsandTheir Meanings
ChaPter-3 Aflongl, e p o{uSo- ol I rLaltnpl..renrsandorhersubsrancec ol lhe tanlrc cults,the olleringmaleralsare paramount because in ali the cullsand oi courseslem lheyare lhe moslwrde-spread ilsell.The usual irom practiceslar rnoreancientthanBuddhisrn is pula;lhe wordlor "loodoifering"is Sanskrtword lor "ofiering" bali andtor "burnlolieflng".hama.Besrdes, the nolionof an otfeflngs generaized.as wrllbe seen belowby theirclassiiications. classif icalion of Ofterings In tantriccommenlaries oneirequently noticestheterminoogy ot 'oulel and "innel' otferings.Somel mes the category'secrel"is added.Usuallythe commenlalorstake for grantedlhat the reader knowswhal is meanl.However,somesoufcesdo giveexplanalrons andlwo suchwillnowbe presented. Kukuri-pa,in his Mahameyesedhanaman dalavidhi(Toh.1630, DergeTanjur, Rgy!d, Ya,238b-4),states: Thenhe makesotleringwilhouterofterings, trom"waterforthe Ieel'down to "music]The "innerofiering"is the olteringto the hosl (lshogs)(ot deities)alter one has enjoyedthe ambrosia. The "secret otfering"is the pleasureoi the two organs.The 'ultimate(anuflara)ollering"is lhe conlemplation ot non dualily. The secondpassageis tound in the manusc pt remainsoi lhe iale ProiessorF.D.Lessing.Somelama,perhapsa lama-teacheroi hisduringthe Chinayears,wroteout inTibetanscripla classitication oi oileringsbut withoutindicationol a lextual source. Here s my translalionl Ouler oltferings\phyi'i nchod pa).fhe diversityoJ ollerings as leasible,such as mandala,incense,llower,waler for lhe feet, perfumed water, leel-coolingwater, food, lamp, lnner offeings (nanfi gi mchod pa). Having meditativelycrealed
TheirMeanings OfieringMaterialsand ollerings by way of deities,after they have clearty arisen in onas rltndInlhe mannerolra,gesse, oneo,le,slne.rrrd,vrd,ral|vto themagnanrmous hostoi detttes
Sec'.1it!e-yg19sa, gai mchodpa). Havrng enjoyed grealecsrasy
(mJrasutra) as the detttesd|ssotveIn oneselt, onesnoujdrnake olleringin the senseol inseparability ol meansand insrght_ Goal.offenng(dongyimchodpa).As the true-nalure or a otterings d ssolvesIn trLlenarureand spontaneous ly appears. one ofleis rnernr- the senseof no hr.d,an.elo ones ttoraton. Symbolicofferlngs kyi mchod pa.) As one sees detightful thrrgs,suchas _(rlags ltowFrs, cleanwaterrgratns. he rrate. oltle.n9 or lhem lo lhe guruwno :srhelewe,and lnF greatcompasstonuslra ve alleings tmtshanpai mchodpaJ. t'\ow,ng lhal o^e sJ rree r.om ct.ngrngard artachmertlo ofie,ing;. personal .,i,b"]11.."" ro wrt. lhe Dody and personalryaqgregares lsAard/?a) oneotfersthem ll s Jppa'entrhalKLr(ur,-pas toLrktnosrnat.htoLrol lnesixIn InFsecondtslgivenby Dr.Iessrngs ramaleacl-e,.lhe threeO,rhe ,nnerand secret) easijy asree: and KJkuri-p;.s ::::-'ll" ]:r:9.. carego'yoJ !lirnale oller|ngseemsto be lhe "goalo,leng oilhp ornerJrsr.a.nong the two exlra ones,lhe syrnbohc ollpa-g; made ro r6e grru afe obvioustya T,belanaod:l,onoecaJse Ttbelan tJloonrsmaddeda retugein the gurulo lhe I raditionat rhreere,ugec n t uooha, Dharma and Sangha.{Nol.e thal tt^e s6rn6,1,6"]on wofo, 4a9s ts used fof lhe sLbslances,herDs. erc.Inseneo.n the tlir"1ge. whrte seemrnsry d terenr, maywprtbe l^:"j:l-i."]::' ,nr,maleryretaled),Thejl'ustraltve oileringsare a specrat.earLreol r^e peneLllon otg;v,ngtdAna-pircmalolttseBoolisadvaparh O,l-lhosevarous categones,the ouler olrefingsalO symbortc -.,oreflng_s are dis-cJssed In rhe presenI essay;lhe inneroile.,ngsare realured Oytheriveambrostas.rn theTantrrc R,lualessayitne secrFl olferingis the mainlhemeot thematerial onTwitight Language;the , r f m a r eo f l e r n gt s a r t u d e d i oi n v a r : o u sp J a c e s ol tr,s wo,k, oanrcurartyby the descflption conlempjatton of non.dJahty...
35
olie ngstobefurther Thatleavesonlylhecategoryo{ illustrative _al dllrcleol lhe /ndo_/Hnan Joutnalllll l9S9 ns r-)pohFl. c o ' n me'lafy on lhe i'viot*,,o.unr. " , z t z z , I c r l e o B " d d h a g , r h y sa (T nan q sbvinsteq\ nr otlering uoort t'e nne' bu' " rne malerlallilslha nnFr" l'e lor word s16 "rer'tor9h h" uses ol the passage I ILrsrral ation my lrans ve" category) Here I repeat aboullhrsk nd oi olfering: Moreover,one deslroyslhe live etmaka-skandhain Vodness (v/saya)' {srnyala),andalsodeslroyslhe lormsol senseotrjecls ln the in Vordness (ag,rrkonda)' s!ch as ihe external"hearth" ol six-doored issuances the destroys samewavone indvidually oer-eprnn(viiana),andwhenlheydo 4ol issueandareslopped '_ I wh'c]' rre sane waylr e "lhoug_lole_llghlen'nFn[{bodDicrlla non_lssurng the by ilsell slopped is stops lhose deslroysand andlhal abldingin the non'discursiuelavikalpa) lnslght(pra./na); 'fire Inner BurnlOlfering Hence,one stopsthe the sa;adhlls bythe non-issuingInsight,and "Onemakes ol wind' (vayv_agrD iire wlth the mind (manas)l "Slopsthe lrre lo olfering the burnl "reslralns lhe prena and eyama:"'Onemakes means of wind" with lhe rnind"means"oneburnslhoughl to fire ollering burnt lhe or aniniya)l immobie (aninjya ol winds(vayu)' andayana Hereprara hasthe specialmeaning relers lo the mentalcomponent;togetherlhey make up lhe term ndeson thesewinds pe'cept.va consclousness DtAnavbmatsnce rnestopprngup oi tnesewrnds(cl my seclon on The NrneOrilices) s iantamountto the burntolteringol mind Finalv while it is convenienllo havethis classificationinlo slx lor discussionpurposes,lhe lact that the te)dsgeneially mentron onlv lhe lirst three (outer,inner,and secret)'or even jusl the first lwo, suggeststhal ihe set ot six can be reducedlo the three or in anVcase lhere is considerableove ap The Four Ofterings Buddhaguhya,who has been ciled above,is amongtne greal (Kriya,Carya, estcommen;lo;s intheiieldolthethreelowerTantras islhecommenlary andYoga),andamonghismosiremarkableworks
ana ns Alha,
anpna.,,n,\,atel "::rry*,r."1'oa,,:od' jil"liii'"I?;',',i;,ll-lifi l'""".:,:.":y,,I:;:ri::,:?,1,1 " :-l::t:.
partof rhe TibelannameKu1
1t)bzan-po \Si a-sp,c,o,s perrum".on""v" sorhe rn" or enrrghten.renf ",*il.ililillli,irll.iil] Th,ssFensa so Io be the.nean,r g o,lhe Green
rara,becauseof the legendlhat jn one of her formei ives she was a queenwho vowed thal in heriuture llves she wouldalwaysbel
$ffirTil:|ti:T:fjvin
rheincarnaiion oiawo'un o""o'"
Oblalions to the Deities ft".oii"rings ro lhe deitiesto be residents and rhe ^,.^,l197rnlnO oneflng ot sels, with ihe oblatjonsand olhers such as the,,feelcoolng /drei,,cJ.M{has grub qc s. pp.17B Br. Snagstim\2370la zJUa) srateslhe places where lhev are oll
y,; ;il;"";l I ;:;;::':i i:::l?:1,:-,, "i::"5:ti:,'*:
:1;:iiil:i;"",i":,"":ff :: :"r:'*-y';'J"j:T"il:l:':illifi
head i.cense a-d tamo t. fronl. Food to, tne gods, n '-o- -ped,l'r"ad ro the hd.ds.or to rheiace.Ano o,e .nag.*. tn" i"rf,." oTieredio the heart,Those (localions) are commonlo al rrtes.
q 177)hasa fjnesummary slaremenr
ol lhe ^,,^y!!:"Lrsed !:il,ii.r ootaltons for lhe invitation: Th ejnvitation must be done with an oblaiion (arghya), which rnerelo.emLsl. be.preparedbetorehand. Tne vesi"f.ro, ff""il.
;,,;I";ffffii.J,ff ?,":;"Ji:'Jfi ","xi:"#;f:;fi ;
lhe r superiorsrddnr.baretyand mrli are requrrodI or lres to ncreaseprospenty(pausfka)andtheir middlingsiddhi,sesamum an0 sour rril\ are needed.For dreadfLr nles (ab htaruka) ano the'r rrferb's/itdrl. ordtnaryurine logelher wth llowers,*usa in purewalrer.whrcra.e ausprcio,rs 9:::"rr-,i"eo :..r:".::- cornmon.are preparedand rordl rrtes trcensedW;lhtJ-eodo,s ot ,,-e, se Onc bJesses theobtalion by rel{|n9sevenLn-esan approor,dleone_amonglhe generaidherdnls ot lhe vidyj,jja andotthe lh.eaFamities. amohgthe dhdlanlsol a,tthe'Jres ol
of Invitation. ot amongthe dharanrs the indvdualFamilies, That passage, however,does not give lhe complele list oi ob atronsin the severalcases.Snagsrim (236bto 237a) sets lroth iwo tsls ot seven oblationseach, For appeasingriles,thereare i. barley,2. milk,3. whle flowers,4. klsa grass,5. sesamum,6, riles,lhere are 1. parchedrce, and 7. ambrosia.For prosperity per{ume, sourmik.3,yellowf lowers,4, kusagrass,5. sesamLrm,2. A similarlisl was not presenledlor 6. yelow water,7. ambrosia.
of allspecialrtes rnthe cale-gory Pehapsthe moslimporlanl (theHealingBuddha). s the cultof Bhaisajya-gutu of "appeasrng" Thee aboralelayeredslructurelorthe o{feringsin thiscaseis ndeed Arnonglhe "prosperity"riles, the most eagerlypursuedrs lhe the Buddha cu t ofthe "threed viniliesof longliJe"-in the iconography, in theioreground. Amiteyus, withUsnisavijaya andtheWhiteTara Inthe coercingseruice,includedamongthe "lerriblerilesi there s, for example,ihe otleringmade to the Lord of lhe Dead,Yama, and his fetinue.ATibeian text in my possession,lheDrug bcu pa, menlionsthe foodotlering(balDtothe'threesweetsandthreewhites" (dkar gsum mRar gsum),which the Saral ChandraDas llbeian EnglishDictionaryexplains10be molasses,honey,and sugar;and nrik, curds,andbutier.lnlheritual,lheseolferings in argeprecious vesselsare imaginedlo becomeavast oceanoi ambrosia.(Thisis perhapsalso the meaningol lhe item "ambrosia"in the abovetwo lsts ol seven oblationseach).ln this seruice,lhere is a largelriangularconstructioncalled"zol'-in my text"gtorzorgnenpo'(adveF sary zor ior the offerng)- tor combatingthe evil spirits. On the pinnacleot thetriangle isa skullwithheaddress-thewholegivinga scare-crowappearance, The offedngsareshownin moreimagnative torm n the Yama-ofleringtankas of Tibel, of which a sample is reproduced. The kindsoi materialsincludedin lhese coercing representalions afe llsied by Lesslng,oior example,lhe anirnalsto gralilythe sightol the fiercedeity,the eightofferingsin bowls n the Inolicethe Ioreground, remains, andso on.InLessing's manuscript descr ptionofwhat is calledinTibetanthe dkar rgyan,ornamentol
mustadseed,barly,lodder,ba y, sesame,peas sapphireor anolherpreciousgem,co€1,goldpead,crystal
Crains(5): Jewels(5): Merits
sesamum, salt,butter,molasses, honey
(5): Essences Mind MarvellousAction
incense sandal,musk,saiiron,aloe, Perlumes(s):
Symbolicsubstances(Ftags)
Speech
Superintendence
Table-1 Materialsin the Flasks
ta ld
t: ls
lt
lsr
t; lq
o
purposes.rhegodsdregeneraled senetatsprinkting !t::!yPt:sa)lot In lhe viclorious ,lask I tound.a numberof itemizations of the liveioldsets in the commenlafl es on the Vaira-vdaE na-dtB @ni.-frrecom.nentary li r1"","t9 rhebody,speech.mind.rnarverrous adsron :,Tjl]:"-r:: rxarma),and merits(guna)ot the deity;as shownrn the to o;,nd raDre. atongwithmoreor lessslandardlistingsIn eachset.
f;Jll: i;',","* "..*""":ilTT:x'J"[:1.?'J],,';,"':"T#?fr
rromcrean rs buneri sall (4Jlroma tree,rnolasses. (5) kom -(1, florvers, honey. The commentary (Toh.269t)byVrmatamitra and (2) rhefire_crysrat and the moon.crystal :1:,1:,-"..,1:r tprpsumaory as!1) theessence o,lhesunandlhemoon). grealestvarielyseemsto be in the hstol herb(. Thetjslrn ,rne.The ta0'elstromlhe Srags rimchemmo,Jianavalragtvesinsteao: vyakfl,seikri,jirikarnika, hasa.hasadeva totro195b-3, staresrhatrheherbs,grarns, ^^_ 1:ol,lh:Sug:..,.. ano are explained Jewels in lhe Hevafa-tantrc lradttion as lokens | /ragslrespectively ol the.njndot enhghtenmenr, neart,andbodrtv coror,ortnemandala-deities.On thesamelolio. Tson_kna-pa quote; ^uKuta|a s samayoga-mandalavidhi (Toh.1|61 1l,."fhetiveherbsare themindot enlightenmenl ol lhecompassionare one;thegratnsare rl]:11:]:e_x]srence of the gods:thefivekindsofjewersari rnerrgrrt ormeroocttes:lhe essences arelheheart-realm ol knowtedge:ine penumesare the victorjousmeritsof virtue.,, Of course,-these coresponoences incommentaries ontheAnullarayoga Tantradiflei trorhthoset^,hich smrttgives ina KriyaTantracornmenlary andlhrs rTr rh:-commentaries on the ditferenr Tanrra livrsions, ;:-99e:: ^rrya,-u_4rya, andAnuttarayoga. mayhavetheirownwayol workjng ourrnecorrespondences ol lhe tivefoldsets
Chapter-4
Symbolismof the Mandala-Palace
ChaPter-4 l.varietiesqt MandalaSymbolism TheTibetandiagramscaltedmandala,usuallyin the formol havearousedmuchinterestin theWest.These squarepaintlngs, withanornamented areespeciallydepicled ckcularborder mandalas palace,The lormol afour-sid€d whichenclosesa lwo"dimensional presenlstudyis notmeantto conveyathoroughaccountol thedch involved, biilto showwhatlightcanbecastonthesubieci symbolism works.Forlhis purpose, by selectedpassagesfromaulhoritative PTTwithvolumenumberwillbeusedfor citalions theabbreviation photographic edition ol thePekingTibetan canon. lromtheJapanese TheabbreviationSiags rim refersto Tson-kha-pa'sSfiagsrimchen mo in a separalePekingblockprint. Theworksof Ralnakarasanli (knownto theTibetans as S2lnti-par) havebeenespecially helpful. Introducingthe palace The palacedemandsa propersetting.For example,in Ratnakarasanti's MahanAlasedhana(gdhanatAtA, No.239),we read:"Oneshouidcontemplale as below,a spotof earlhmadeof diamond;across, adiamondenclosu re;above,atent;inthemiddle, a dreadfulburningground'(adhovajramayim bhirmimtiryag vajraprakaramupari vajrapanjarammadhyeghorasmasanam vibhavya). "irl the midstol that, one seesa The text continues: palaceWilha singlecourtyardand madeentirelyol jewels-wilh loLrrcorners,four gales,decoraledwithfourarches,havingfour allars,andradiant whhnetsandsoon,andwilhnymphd'(tanmadhye pasyet-calurasram kulagaramekapulamsarvratnamayam caturdvaram catustoranabhisitan*rAradyairapsarobhis ca bhasvad vedicaiustayam4. palacecanbeunderstood ol Besides,lhe asthetranstormation the body,in the contextof whichSiags /im (234a-6) citesthe ExplanatoryTantraol the Guhyasamaja, the vajrafirhi'The body becomesa palace,the hallowedbasisol all the Buddhas'(/lusni
...-hnr'sm ol he Vdndala_Palace
gzalyas.lhari du gyur/sarisrgyaskungyiyandagnen/).When th6 oooyoJtheyoginhasthistranslormation treis crff"CIf," O,"-'noni
passase this orthe suPa F#illi'illlYi]:j'"'" "^av*rii;
by a diamond tine,beaurjried wirheishrposrs, ;-l-rj]:ildg9 decoratod withfourgates,arches,attars,Oannersinj natil oann€rs, andso on,Howis Vajrasattva understood as the pflncrpatmeantng
there? Becausehe has marrc oorn ot lhe sKy_rssupre.newrthoutbegjnningor end, the greatset,_exist-
robett'ectono's s"' ;[TJ;i''if'J;],"J,Tr:#arssaio Explanation otthe parts ofthe palace
lhe _ . _ U n dcanon) o u b t e d l y , T a n j u r( c o m m e n r a r i apro , l , o n o r t h e conlainsmany commentafleson the basic palace ,roetan rermnotogy, Invariably, suchelemenlsas lhe louI gdresaretdentdted wIncategonesolthe Buddhist,path,thus indrcalrnglhalvatrasanva rs^he_syntheljc paragonot allBuctdhistaccomphshmenls. The firsl solunoncom€sfrornthe lf lp ,Vol S, p. 3d.5,.verses117_j23PaNanhas@nama-tantaeF in my counljng: 117.Whete.lheJfiandalais explained is the sublime menial
45
The fourbasesol understoodas the lour courtyards. (rddhi'pada) arelhefourEateprojections magicalpower (ntNihal.
123 The sevenancillariesol enlightenment(bodhyaiga) ate garlandsandflowerbundles.The eighllhe adornmentwrlh lold NoblePalh is explainedas lhe eighl posts. Fo owingare extraclslrom lhe commentaryon the loregong jbandha'rahasya_pradipa_ hisSri-sarvarahasya-n by Banla-karasanli, n a m al P T l V o l . 7 6P, . 1 2 ' 1 , 2 , 3 ) : 'Sublme' (dampa) becauseit is comprised by lhe Sambhogakaya."Knowledge"meansinslght(pralta)...The equaLilyol the fo!r srdesin termsoJexlernalmeasuremenl,is the "fourI nes"; n really, t is friendliness(mailr4, etc., lhat is, lriendliness, compassion,sympalheticjoy, and imparliality.Becausethey iake the sentientbeingsas object,lhe Jourboundlessslates !rpramaia) ol iiiendliness,elc. are called"boundless".When theytake as objectthe sentienlbeingsinvolvedwilh lhe realm are calledthe pureabodes"(brahma-vr'hala)...(ln ol d,"sir-",lhey the lirst case, see verse 119)the line is lhe realily(laltvaJ:lin the secondcase),it is lhe knowledge0tana)...Theiive hopes are ihe iaculliesof laith.etc-
f;ifiti1:ffjilx:"n:fowrease6rdna)'erectionoranTurnng to lhe Guhyasameja-tanlracycle,there are two main
118.TheloLlroutercornercestablish equatttyot measure.The ftind of maitri,etc. is explaineda; the iour iines. 119. Tie rccollection ol dhama rs explainedas the Vaxis d t a m o n d l i n e . T h e l i b e r a t i o nl r o m a,, v,ews rs exptajnedas the knowledgeline_ 120.Thehojycolledionof moralityis reiefiedto as,.ornament,.
orindependence. andsoon, [:fJ3,?];lHJi::?li:
trt tTj?_T.llo_"!11.:" (w:moksa) arethesares. rhetourrishr G'-tt-pra'tara) arettrearctres a-nJ :;[ii::;i:"n"^ 122.The fourstationsoJmindlulness lsmntyupasthanal arc
andlhal commenlar a lradt ons,lhalheadedby Buddhajnanapada headedby thelantricNagaduna. Hereonef ndsan interesting, bul overiybriei,explanation in Buddhajhalnapada's Calurafiga -sAdhanatikA-sAmahtabh'ada-nfin4 PTTVol.65,p.19,whlchhasbeenoverly expanded in Samantabhadra's Caturanga-sadhana-tika-saramanlar nama,PTTVol.65,p. 116,f-Thefollowing lhe summarywillpresent prrncioadetals ot thisoosilion: The otliciantreciles the Iorfi\ula Om sinyalejhanavajnsvabhava anako ham. He lhen imaginesin the ltiangulat dhamodaya (T choshbyur) a lolus adornedwith a visvavaira.(Thesewords poinl io lhe mandala-palace). anse Fromlhe wheelofEHRUI/syllables Varocanalogelherwithhisconsort.(Thesewordspoinlto the divrne residenlsol lhe mandala),The lour cornersshow ihat there is no neqLrality o{ BuddhahoodandCompleteBuddhahoodin companson w th Buddhahood galesmean and lncompleteBuddhahood.Thelour
ex.erlelceby wayof mrldtulness (smrr)ano tacut\ tndt,y4.rhe nr_d Lli!5s is sa d lo :molythe tourslat:onsor nr-O,uness, ttre four rightelimtnalion,exertions, andthe fourbasesot magicatpowerl lacultymeanslhe sel beginningwith faith.Besides,ttrJstations .r I dru-ess.have Inreeteve,sby way oi Ine ,hreF,nsig"rs, oi that co-srsrrng ot tearn,ng. prelmtnarv of pondering. andol cullrvarion. rodrrrte.F\l.s tarlh(s/addha).so lhalrslhe Easlern care. I Le lou'r '0' I p rnr-a-to--pxert:ons or lOLfslflvirgslvlyr, dre IneSouthern rlarp ro the Weslern Gale are assrgnedlhe mindl j Iness generated Dy aralySlsot lhe docl,rre Idhatma-pavcay4 as we,tas l^e rour oa"e. o nag catoower.TheNortiernGarehasone_po-led sd,?adhl whrchimpliesthe fivefacutlies(lrdfia)and tive powers lbala).The rour archesare the four Dhyanas;and these are encircled by lhe 'outsDa'lperineter l4emr) ot samadhrs,he,oJr Cated SLramodma. L,agalaga.tdVrmdta. and Srmha.v4r rbhrtaTh s par ,s we.i:JrnjTpnreowrrhobleclsol worshipBe^auselhe ntneo:vts a-. ot scnp_ ture are rnlendedio pleaseand attractthesentjenlbeings,they a;e 'ep'Fsenledby the flutleringbannersot e,ght dit,prent.o.o.s and I n'1rr-qbells. calledthenrnelotd miscertany rp.dk,.rar-knowtedgemrrror s expandedasnel (h,.a),halfnet(andha_hAra), mrrror,flowlr ganand,and so on-represenling lhe seven ancillariesof enJighten_ rne'r.Tie erghtd€coraledposts standtor rhe pLfityot .he erghl lbera,ro'rs. Thp diamond ne slandsIOrtLrningthe wj^pelol rhe doctrne by the diamondmethod,whjchis the methodot incantalron \mantn). Jhe (flowers, powdered incense, lamp, ,five .aflerings pe-ume, and food lor the gods) represenlthe DharmaohatuBe5roes.lhepdlace is lo be sluddedwithas,ranyrewelcas pocstole. lnlhe caseofNegarjuna,thereis his p/rdiklta si\dhana, !,!hich . rorlunalely has been edrledby Louisde t a Vat,eepoussrnin hJs -0 t,onotlhe-P-aicakram€ rOald.t896).Verse 23 hdsInesorlng oi l-e paldce:"Whenonedrawslogetherlhe fourmandalas, lherers rne mandalaln a spotof diamondeadh lvafabhubh;gaLTt-ereone snoJrdcontemptate a placearjserlromthe sytJab,e BpRtJ[.a:_ 24 26.Wilh lourcorners,lour gates,decoratedwiih tour arches, associatedwith four lines,adornedwith ejghtposts,beautified wtlr nels and hali-nets,and with ma6l,yallasand ha -moons. Studded(khacita)with vajaatnas lin all Ihe iointsol corners and) in the joint of the gates and gale projections. lHas a line
poslsandlHeMahavalra: ', ^to, rqeo.rle'crclPl.Wrlhllasks w lh be l ban_e's: Ado'neo heaos es o ] .lo-o"oson rne ser ' on so also wlth camaras and P'ndihrld' .1n rnls.Ralnd^a'asarlhas wellco'n'nerled'n nB p 74) He h"s Vol 62 ---:,-^.:^-LA . dbalnavatt'nama lPFf (nefallhd) ol hinredmeanrng lermrnology ]"-L,.r"o 'n" "'"".'lflng lurrs out lo be herelTp wh,ch Teanngit4ia4har :";:;".ll-l ^. '.]n 1",*"""',"" conceplJdr'zeoand tnen exler'.allv lhe bodymanJalaon lhe i"0," l_'"0 -rnorr,on lhp one hand and perlmeleraboul ll'e ' 'i".,tMeanrg f ^e spreaool the ramparl ' Htnled A lo ioLr a/ig'rlr'becauseil rslhe our:lY i "Four gales" " "o,' "'ou_ts oi "samenessknowledge"(samaia-jff6na) because directrcn meansaccompaniedwithgatesin each and lhc liberation rnev are lhe pJnry ol lhe lour gales lo spe lha medns to.listaton:ol m nd{ulnessFourarches decoralion' lovely a cial structuresover the lour gates as Likewise O"causetneyarettrepurityof thelourDhyanas :;ocialed with four lines" means wilh the lwo Brahma are lhe fLnesorwln tfre (lour) basic lines' becausethey posls' eight with ouritvof lhe lour pure abodes "Adorned eastern ol the directions ;;a;s with theit positionsin lhe ol lhe cakravaflh elc since they pos_ soLare(AoslhaAa) mr"ors se"s varor,s,ewelsand aIe markedw'lh valras oi liberations (eighl) purity otthe u"i""." if't"v *" ttte "". ;editalion Likewise,"beautified"meansthatthenel'whrch a lord' are las a torO,anA ine natl-net,which is withoul they because half_moons and l"urrifiea *'ttt ..niu";ras 'All ol enlignte'rrenl ancillarres IiJ." p" uvo'r"" t"u"a i. oltne.otn"ts teans lornlsol lhe fourdi'ecl'ons: parlsandlhe ",nt. i,teuse.rne oateprojeclionsare lhe ouler "studded wilts i oift.t are parts They t't',e'nner " " r'e with vajrasmafkedw h ralnaslhal s|g\rLy "arraratnasi the inlrinsrc sijno our ano emanatetighl'becausethey are
placed rt" m"*t"iges Likewise'tlasksare goldenflasks; "Irt" on toft'"iir'," ol eachgate,that is' eighl In lhe Fasl lhe are "la"a Maigala ind i.Jio tr'"-, 'n" L"vu andSa4lii' the F,ainlrvaanoS ooi' 'n lheSoulh:vriaya
48
Chapter-4
,ff;';,:',i':itr'"i[l,f J,]i?,"Tji"1i"ii.j,[il]li
eactr tn"'r uJo'ni oate; ;::|;sffiJff::i;iln9a9h,at
:ff::?',x: ::j:$i::'"l?g";g'":1*:u"ff
^ .--^h
Camatais the hairot head The llowergarlandsincludedIn ''andso on" are lhe intestines."Deefare lhe eightpercep tions.(Theloregoing:)EvidentMeaning(nltartha) comme'ta'V lhe Then lnere is a passagein Va,ravarmans Plf Ua) " SundaAlamkard',an ihe ta l@ Sarvadurgati'paisodhana show a somewnal 76, p. 133, which is worthwhileptesentinglo parts ol lhe palace,and In ;norlhodoxway of inlerpretinglhe same ( pha gu) lermpha_khu tneobscuteT'betan ;a rrcrlarloinl;oouce gales four iine rourboundless the elc are stalesol lriendliness. ' arethe liberations The eighl The lour samadhisare the lourarches etohtposts.Thelour nobleTruthsare lhe lour sides(logs) The four Div:inas are the jewelledpha_khu.Finally,the nine samapal'sare rhenetsand half_nels". Those commenlarieson ihe pan ol the palace,attnbutingto 'alhe consrs' ot Buodhislascenslonagree the1.lhe cdlegories lenllv on the basic parts to be so trealedsymbolicallyln addiiron ihe books go into lurther technicalitiesol conslruction,which are elaboratelv;evelopedin lhe Sragsrim'chapteronPreparatoryRile ga),subsection"Explaininglhe meaningof the lines lsla gan gicho 'struci' (otabp ahithignams kyidon bsadpaho) Besides' wnic-nare has lh s subsectron valuableinformalionforoul presentolscusslon Loa iadat, mandalapainlingsshow two circularslrips,lhe outer otlhe lotusAlreadywehavenotcedin rinoandtheinnerenclosure oi the patacelhatthereis a dlamondenclosurFSddgs the"sen'no hmt l78b:3) cilesKluhtBto('Nagabuddhi)'The atch (lotana)hasa oinnacleoi diamond; beyondthat is lhe ouler wall which has the 'eference to lhe innere^clo aooohqhloi a d'arond garland With 'Oulsde the In'e l,[e. iaaqs rin i175a'?)cileslhe sameaulno' equallThe lolowI I . rcle,o_;hoJlod?w thelourlicescomplele'y ol Sriaoaflm (178a-2{) nslslsthaltl"eexpresq04 ola oassaoe -enclosu'e(vairap'akara) meansboll"lhe oLlerwallo'lhe .ono wo d and the Dharmodaya(fecundsourceol allihe naluresol lhe world).They are, so to say,lhe outer and inner boundariesol lhe world.,lccordlngly.tne tour equallinesaccordinglo the Stags flm are really bou-ndtess, iust as was set lorth above lrom lhe SaN arahasYa' nama tanltd tdja: \'4e Tne eoualmeasureol lhe"FlremoLntarn{S ag-r'parudlaT ng oi emitl has oleqJalneasJre nr tn -,id|eclions the'reanlng
;;-i1:.iq"","",:t:Jg#_#1*ff#lffi
!uamltvakas.inthe North,becausetheyare lhe puri,icalion
j,'J::::;::1" ;iffi:L:ffi","? rnln;:;yni:li .ffig;:;i:ff:T#*::i:3ilT:i,:J'_i"J;#i[-,?J"1flil:ff ::":'5i:]:_llr:;*;r;:i;:lkj,i,I (rhe rores;ins:) ;ini;; i,ilj"",lii,lt il?,il;'"t"c'ipture
''*#:,"f 3ff#"i:.:,i:'ii#",il#:f#?i:fiji 1""":!:;:;*;nlnl.:::ill::i lt1fff iJ"""{:+",ft g:,;:::.
:;:i:r:: =,,uiqil:i:lx;:.;: "jil,,'.",1ii:;:i;",i:il11",:,i::;iH;: ,;:Hil;f fil'::,':,"T'J;:: :-',.'*"'n,n^, :'#l3l|'I"",:ff
i,oreq. lotatl.grz ooorn" ;" ; ; p wn(
;t,l:;#;;:j;l
",rslr partofrnealsr upara.ncorDora.,ng "":t lneparto.
:r"_;: ::ff i:ti,i,:']!tiiqnff "n:I;:; rn""'J i'o:i" lI "1'J;"'"':i7'#;,",'3; Jlq:',H''"
i:;Ii: [i.+y"1r: 1.:.*1 ";i:m*n i".lJ,li3lil""ii,'""LlJ"%Tf #::i,:"1::i,'il"',*,",;
49
^,-hn.,sm ol the Mandala.Palace
"",ifl ii,l:i,""#1f"l,:."f :'J:T:l lil{"iji,:Y:iiqiff corors j as its ceirine,,, :f iil""::;:;'1ff":il"J1;rt
5l
i_sleadol .ne "irc,eis sllng wilh s(ulls:and wilhn lhe tnangle lo be a whal seems is siruclure-there ts a slrtl inu ,,snaual a'*ntcn (as Buddhagunya its meaning in svastika ol the iiee representallon ;libe crledoelow)ol the unionol meansand insrghl or ol lhe male padma This becones ;rd'emale. symbolizedby lhe valn andlhe ol lhe photogtaphls area drtluse triangular small, the . ea when u,eweotnder a mic.oscope.Thefigurewlthlnthe lrla''lgleseemslo wherethey consrstsol two scarvescrossingeach attheir midpoints lashion' wave in has embellished the artisl which together, are tied On lhe la;ing page is a drawingof the centralarea only oJ this oarliculat mandaia The ligurewithinlhe drawingis such thai il canbe lurnedInany Inanycase,thetriangle'whiledrawnpointingdownwards' direclion. need not be so conslruedbecauseit is pa( oJ a two'dimenstonal oalace. ln ihe Guhyasanaiaknlrc lJadition'as in Tson_kha-pas (PTT Vol 158,p annotaiioncommentaryonlhe Pradipoddyolana (afterthe shapeol the "E-triangle" 13-3),lhereis aliangle calledlhe of lhe vrdya and lotus the lete;"e" in an Indianalphabet)meaning and wishless, (the voidness, a so meanrngthe three liberations srgnlessJ.
ji:iilr;t fi1;;41';m:'r'i,",..i*dd#*",:',"tr* ffi ;il"l?,t?t? J?ffffJi.iil1?:|i:l'J? "*,il;
":ff
mandalabelow lo the Akanistha abov
#[
ri'i:;r f'#lfi d nrtrtr#fr T f[iir;.[:]ff q[:,",."T;"i.";:1?l?;:1lT:f
l;i;Jil::: i:rit"{fl u"Jir il:,:,9l':"il3",ni:ili#Bffh:".1" e*.."0"v"; j[',::l nerorhat pos,r;on oirson-
;:".H;JI :::1 linfl:fl'fr :,1,:* ;rm, ",,.*:n1l TheTriangulaf Dhanhodaya DFarmodaya asa tiangle ts apparenttysh ownn ,a n4ndala _The n mypossession onjy In pholographiciorm
:ru ;,m*::,il"ffi lii,llil,!llil;.:,fi:::ill:lf; ._--Here,,what
llake to be lhe Dharmodayarflangte is
within the
ll. Symbolism ot Mandala Ritual l\rkhasgrubrje'sFundamenlalsof theBuddhislTanlrascontains a iund ol b;sic data,butscatteredhereandtherelor our present Let.rsrecalllhelinected komthesatuanhasya'nama' ourooses. is lhe sublimemental is explained lhe rnandala tantraAja,"Whete it "sublime because commenls: karasanti whichRatna mandalal'on ma'dala that the indicates iscomprised bytheSambhogakaya'.This heaven palaceol theAkanistha to representthe canbeundersiood (say, LahkAvalara'sutra)' lhe Mahayanalradition lo whereaccording thebodycalled Gautamawasi;iiated as aCompleteBuddhawilh to be al the is considered heaven Akanistha Sarnbhoga-karya.This "Realrro' rrmit "pure of the abodes ol the the wo;d at roool tn; thelraditio'lhdl Mkhasgrubrle'sworkconlarns form (nlpa-dh2tlu). Stage ottheTenth teach;sonlyBodhisattvas thisSambhoga-kaya there-establishment islhaithemandalaconslitutes Theimplicalion 10sayingthatmytholog|cally arnounls arrangemenl.ll oltheheavenly heavenlo re' ascendlothe Akanistha theadvancedBodhisaftvas
r#:i*i!iii:j":ili:L?I;1X":il"jt,;".,,",".*1,,*: * *,,u,r'" orrjjJ.i ;ill::':,:i:'lj:"i,T L,li,:?,,:::,,:::i''ossedlhunderboJt)
'nInernansrJar Dharmo o.uur=iili#iZli
ijfi:11itr,;i"+*"illff;iili:'lii".;i.J:.",:[;J,.l?il' oLsme'nbe r:';iT"Tfi i[:T'il"ilH# aJspic
tocatedabove tikethe skv with a visva-padma_vajrain the middle. , . In rne presenlcasethe,diamond thread,,wnlcn sufioundslhe
52
Chapier-4
ceive the instructionot the Sambhoga_kaya, and that in practice rhey constructa ,randala.Mkhas grub rje'swork clarifiesthat the mandalamustbe oore constructed: it mustbe realized.rhemandale s conslructedin lhe order ol steps generaltyemptoyedin the Tiberan hreraticparnUngs.Frrst.the,e is a sketcn acc;rdrng lo the rules In ihe Tantra,this is calledthe karmaJme,which is white. Then,areasare givenappropriatecolors.IntheTantra,this is called th€/iara-hne,wtlhhnesof tivecolorsrepresenting the trveauOdhaq ano Mknas9rub rje exptarnsthal live sets ol threadsol tive colors, mak.nga totatof twentytive, are lwistedtogether.lo constitule the Las y, thedetailsareput in.IntheTantra, Jnana-trne. th,srsthe lasl slage ol mandala-construction, the erectionof an editice. thataulhorValravarman (op crt.,p. 133,,ol.Sr says. i--B,esdes. lnere are lwo trJtlt'nal mandalas,wllh lhe rretnod ot rFe ularr,ahayaandwilhthe methodoftheSarrbhogakdya.. He goes on to r|uslrale the .method of lhe Dharmakaya,,asthe ljve knowredgeswhicha.e the natureolthe tive Buddhas,starting with lhe Dharmadhatujianawhich is the basis of a supramu;ane knowledgeand whichhaslhe natureofVairocana.lf one tollows the lerminologyin the tradjtionollhe MahAva ocana-rarlrawhich leads up lo lhe lwo mJndalasorlhe JapaneseSn ngonScnoot,the melhoo r:,e uha:mdkayamisht bea mandatarcptese.trngtFe D,amond :'neatm tvalracthetu) andlhe methodot the Sambhogakaydmrghtbe a mandata teptesenlingthe Nature Ftealm lDh;naAhetui. fhe mandalaol the DramondFleatmrs inexpressrbte. and that ot lhe r!arureHea|mrs expressjble, The Retlected-lmageMandala followingmalerjalsare based on six verses in a Tantra . .The of fhe Yogaclass_reterred lo brieftyas lhe Sarvaougau-pansodhana tFunrcat on ot al evit desliny).While lhere are severalexlensive commenlaieson thisTanlrapreservedinTibetantranslation, lshall lranstatehere onty the one by Buddhaguhyain his work of reconsrrucred tllle. Dulgrati-pe [email protected]:Frrstthe six ve,se-s(s/ola) ot the Tantra(pTT.Vot, 5, p. 84_4,5) transtaled lromlhe Trbetanl 1. Oneshould stadbyblessinglhe ptacewitha rileoi what_
symbo!!4g.lE!9!ql9:i919!f
53
ever be lhe sorl, i.e. vihara,upavana,slupa, devakula, One shoulddrew the outer mandalain ihat place whrch oflourcorners,lour hasbeenblessed, towit,possessed gates,tour arches;adornedwilh Jourslaircasesand garand,lions,bullsiadorned withsilk,tassels,pendant necklaces,garland,bells,yak tails. 4 . One shouldadom it with the seals (mudra)ol diamond,
jewel, lotus,svaslika.lt should possesseight lines.and be adornedwith outergateprojections. 5 A . One should dress it Lnnine parts and renderthe gates and gate projeclionsintothree parts. 58. The castingof threadwith diamondline is the castingot threadof the centermandala. 6. Like lhe wheel ol the law, it has sixteen spokes along with a nave. lt is possessedof a lriple series, and lhe spokesare to be doubled. commenlaryontheseversesln NextliranslateBuddhaguhya's the sectionwhrchhe calls "lhe concisemeaningot the mandala' spolsin (PTT,Vol.76, p.22-1lo 23'1)Becauseof certainillegible the pholographic ediiionlalso consultedtheNa(hangianjuredilion. I shall use superscripl letlers, siarting with "a" lo indicate the paragraphsof my annolalionwhichfollowsthe lranslaiion. Now I shallteachabout the retlectedimageol the conceptual basic manrdala.Why so? Becauselhis is said lo be the exlernal mandala.As to its being external,lhe methodot conslructingthe 'ellecledimagemandalaoi powderedcolorsappearsin lhesensory domainof lhe Jivesenseorgans-The"marda" is the inner palace; and lhe "/a" is the wheelpossessedlo spokes,and possessedol slrips,gales,and corners.Themeaningexpressedbelow has the purelones Jromlhe mouth(of my guru). 1.Thevihdtaand the upavana.ltis saidlhal the vihafa(temple) kind s madewilhinthe conlinesof a monasteryTheupavana\qove) kind occursvariolrsy on a spotoJgroundlhat in smoolh.
54
Chapter-4
fhe stupa,devakuta,aama. l he stupahtro occu,swhere there retcso he body.The devakula(chapet) tsa restdence tormun-dre oane goos thearama (garden)ts drawn n d ptacewhere nany personscongregate. .With a ite of whateverbe the sor!."Ot whaleverbe the sorl,, Indrcatesol whateversortoJplace,ol whateversorlol implements, and of.whalever sort of Incantalton exped.Incanlatior ass,slanl, and p€lron.The "rile" involvesthe place. re ot Inves galrng (permrssron)oJ a visible king, or ol an invjsibledeily,and so forth. In thrscase there is the sequence:(1) lhe spol whereii wilt be done; ano the searchto, a good spot: (2) beggrngpermrs>ron to oo the supu,aledacljvil;esaccordingto lhe rulesit3r usingrncanlatron t manlq,\.geslweImudA).anddeeoconcenlralio'r (srrr€dh,lo otess I Into tfe .n nd of entightenmenl whrchts lhe nalurFor lhe Lve Know€dges;(4)examjningthe self,existenceano cnaracteasttc ol earth;(5)contemptaling accordjngtolhe fite;(6)beseeching lo know accorOrrglo the flle,doingthe ntualmethodtcatty, ano nol wave ng rn samadht.whv so? One shouldbtesstheptace:fherc arclat'kinds oi blessjng:(1) . blessingthe placejntothetn e natureoJknowledge;(2)blessing tle place of the dhatma-mandalaa.isen trom tne iarnadlr:mlnd]i3j blessingthe placeof conceptualnames inlo the AnarnadhAtu,iij L'lessinglhe mandalaol powderedcolorsas a ptace ol material mar(s, Intoa dwellingplacelo.lhe Buddha. 2-3 ln thatplace which hasbeen btessed.ln lhe manner ihat a lhousand-ounces ol silverare changedjntogoldby ustnggoldparnt, rI rs sarctthat one blesses the detilementinto pur,ly bv using the parntot samddhl:knowledge. One should draw the outer mandala. Cogntton manilesls. One must visualizethe sanAdh/:mandala,The ouler mandalais a reflected imageo,lhatandstncethalts lhe requ,red bass, onespeahsoldn manclald. in orderlo symbolizelhat,lhere|stheexpressron .oLlet -and Possessedol four comers and four gates.\ exhtblts the iour cornersas symbolsol havingthe lour knowledgesand exhibits i the rour gatesas symbolsot havingthefour kindsof marvellous action
passessedol four arches; adoned with lour staircasesand -arc'es. lhe Ierracesleps ol lhe ma']dala_standare n,and. l _e "slaircases are made i]oe ol re'race steps rn lhe gatewaysThe "garland consislsol lhe The lrom lhe arches. ., sr a', "ta'ts (ot seg_ Inlervals by eighl ls beautiired and ,no atcnes, .u '.asos ;ents) which appear along with the "staircases"consistingof the toLrrboundlesstates,andwithlhe garland Besides,ilis ornamented slates' bv possessionof lhe "arches"consistingofthe fourboundless 'gadand"consistingol inlinilecompassion;and il also ex_ lhe wth hlbiisthe eight liberations Adarned utilh liansand bul/s.There are "lions"since the one wlthgreaicompassionol meansis notlrighlenedol sams2lEThere 'buls'in lhe senseol inlinitemarksof righlpowers. are Adarnedwith sitk,tassels,pendantnecklaces'garland,bells' andvak tajls,lhey a@ on lhe left and righl of the gates."Silkl'or haslhemeaningoffivekindsof knowledge. paicaaga\live-colorcd), ''Tassels," or t//aga (three-colored),are lho pure naiure ot body, soeech,and mind. "Pendanlnecklace' is a hanging necklaceol pearls,slandingfor the Bodhisattua's ioy."Garland"is a pearl garand surroundinglhe circularn€cklace;this meansthe set ol 'Bells'are combinedwiththe necklaces; requirements for samadhi. becausethev are lhe pu ty of speech,lhey causethe leachingol Dharmato the livingbeings;andmadeof pearl,theycirclethe border ol the mardala."Yaktailsl' Himalayan,extendoui;lree lrom taull' lhey standlor no shiftingin the mind of enlightenment. 4. One shoulCadarn il wilh lhe seals (mudA)of diamand,jewel' lolus,and svaslika.lhe "diamond"means a round fence ol diaolwisdom_ fencelikediamondconsisting mond.i.e.an unconstructed is the Inner garland ol'lewels"there knowledge(vdye',ffana).Witha merits"'Lolus' ol olher allsorts crrcleot lhe palace;itarisesthrough rs the specialthing with lhe variousseatsfor goddesses;il means '^. drrr ol lvrrg beingswrlhthe grealcompassion of skirlir lhe ol is an angularcross The_svasrka me.rs,^,nrlebernounaltacned (up?rya) means union ol ol lhe a symbol lt is vajras,like the m;on. and nsighl(pralrzt)"Adornif'means ornamentationol beautilythe rellecledimage,and ornamentalionto claritythe appercephonoi
<"m oohsmol lhe Vandala-Palace
nn€rsymDoF, /t srouldpossessejghtlin€sand bs adornedwithoutergale prcjeclions. fhe "lines,', i.e.threads,nean contemptation in t;; mannerot the mindol enlightenment. Having"eight"meansit i; decotated wnhfourdkectionat threads ancttourInnerthreads, makind eight.Possessrg the eightkindsmeansthatthe personwrtht;: eighlgood-luck symbols onhisbody,hasthesyrnbols clcompletion. gat€proiections" arethegale-bends (sgo pa),standing *hug :Ouler lor lhe meansot anleringby samadhicomprehensron. "Adornedi wth lhos€khds,m€ans threelevels(sumr,m)inlt^egates.exhrbited Oytwelvegates.This meansthat inordertoturnthesenlrent beings ot lhe ihreerealmsawaytromthe twelvemembersof depende;l origination, thereis the &tddhain the melhodot the rwetveacts. Adorning-the strips(6rambu)witha quadruple se|es lbzi rim)is a symbolol purilyingthefourkinds ot brithplace by mednsoi rhetour knowl€dges.That is lhe meaning ot adornrng d. 5A.Oneshoulddtussitin nineparbandrcndertheoatesand gete prolectiotrs in threeparls.Thismeansthatbecauseone purilies withcompassion lheihroerealmsandlhe ninestages,oneexplains lhe singlelaceol the mardalaas havingnine(parts).,,One s;oud renderlhegatesandgaleprojections, meansthaloneshouldrender lhe gatesandgateprojections by the unionol calming(themjnd) anddisc€rnrng(thetruth);andbecausethatperlectsbody. speech, andmrnd,oneexplains thalther€arelhreeparls, Thatfinishos lheteaching of Indradilferentiatjon. Nowtoteach themeaning of ths innerWhyso? 58. The castingof threadv/ith dianpnd tjne is the castinaol lhrcadol thecentetmandala. "Diarbnd"istakenas thelamrty(i-gs), becauseit is ble6sedintomindot enlighten.neni. The ,,line,' isiaien as th€ lhreadwhichis th6 meansot showinathrsand that.The 'cenle/ istaken asa roundpalacewhichishe;vmbol slandinotor lhe dhanadfAtu.lhe "lhread"is the dEmondihreadol wrsJom (vrdra)and is to be takenas ihe greatbtiss(mahasukha) of the mindol €nlighlenmont, Fromthat.thread'x/iththe magicalperlorr|l6'_nc6. \pAtiharya)ol btessing,emanateth€ raysoJ knowtedge (./:6ana) which exhorl the illustrioushearts of the noble ones and blessby p€rlonningthe aim of sontienlbeings.Castinglhe'.son
57
the lightot thread' i.e.ihe threadthatis blessedand is emanaling knowedge,meanscaslinglheskythread(gnamlhlg)and the earlh ihread.(sa lhlg).8y so castingthe pLlrebrahmathread,it is blessed intoPUrilyor brahma 6. Likethe wheelof the /aw' Here'wheel" meansthat when it has a nave and spokes there is capabilityas a wheel Like lhai example,when one has aTeacher.relinue,place,etc.becausehe reacheslhe law,thereis thewheel(set intomolion) The one with a wheel is llke an oflering. Because right knov/ledgecuts olf the il is saidlo bethewheeloflhe law; tis kindol sullerlng, dellLemeni perceives rslanding that ihe meaningaltercutlingdownthe the unde "Net" is lerm that takes as one the slxleen ntellecl. a nets ol is asymbolshowingthal.The with having spokes, and conslructed pwe ptimotdially nas mam pat dag pa)llhe nave is dhamadhittu lye s a svmbolshowingihal.The spokesare asymbolofthe pefeclion ol compassionwith skill in the means; and dharma is lhe tel.r]' exhibiiedat the nave.The wheel is exhibiledas marvellousaclion (phrin/as),and lhe spokesare exhibitedas lhe natureol compass on. The "net" as a symbolol showing,is taken as lhe rellecled imagewh ch shows the wodd. In orderto take it that way,the gar_ land 01 iewelswh ch shows knowledgesurroundsihe circle;and One posits ihroughihe arisingoldesirethereis the Sambhogakayathe exampleof the horse-marda/a.Whal is the reasonforthal? It has sixteenspokesalong wilh a nave.The"nave",whlch is "Alongwith" the c rcular palace ol the cenler,i5 the Dharmak?rya. jewels surroundsthe circleand lhrough meansihat ihe garlandol lhe arisingof desirelhere is the Sambhogakelya.ThespokeC',i.e thewheel,exhibrtihe nalureotthe sixteensattvaswho are perlectLon Why so? oi compassion,and are the Nirmenakarya. l! is Dossessed af a triDleseles. The "series"is exhibiledas threeenlranceswilhinlrom withoul,andthreeexitsfromwithin The exits lrom within are exhibitedas the nave,lhe garlandot iewels, and lhe spokes,Among lhem, the nave representsthe symbol ol "Series"is a lerm A l-Kennng (k{rm,9)Vairocana,the Dharmakdya, jewels garland (avenika).The represenls ol for arisingof the special MotheroJ theJamily, lourfamilies as wellas the lhe BuddhasoI the i.e.lheSambhogakayain greatbliss.Thespokesof the lriple series
elmbo sm olthe l\4andaa_Palace
58
59
Chaot€r-4
are the Nirmanakaya,i.e. they representthe Nirmanakayaas the nalure oi lhe supermundaneretinueof s/xteensallvas,elc. Afier the dlamondlence, the cteatedcicte (nimitacak.a)shoutdbe undersloodas mundaneand supramundane. The iriple seriesol enlranceslrom withoulrepresentthe !hree levels(sum rlm) jn the gale,Thereis the lerm "entranceIromwithoul,'because one arouses the mind in the creal Vehictein the seriesot performinglhe aim ol livingbeingbywayol the bodyand speechof the Tathigalaiand by installingthe livingbeingsthat way among the Bodhs;ttvas. Now to teach the aim ol the wheel: Thespokesare lo be doubled.This meansthal the spokesare doubledat the nave ol the wheel, bul the pajringdoes not include thegarlandofjewelsofthe center.l\roreover, il is becausethe aarland ol jewe'sandtheaforemenriored doubhrglane.,se-ror rr-,i-ave, llral the spokesare to be doubled.lt js said thal therets doublinglor the sake oi performingthe aim ol livingbeingsby way of ihe me;ns ano Insrght.
b.
Theconcisemeaningotlhe mardalais llntsneo. Subsequently (p.27-j) Buddhaguhya has an exptanatron ot mandalaonarnenls:,'17he text) mentions.canopy"becauselhis is the gunlol lhe three realms;.banner'.becausevtcloflousovef lhe Maras;"aiornmenl"( y/bh,sara)-marvellous actlonol compassion; "umbrella'hindof enlightenment;,,yaknail (whisk),_marvellous actioni ''tassels-compassion; "food',-benetitand mcralilyolbodyisixteen goldenllaskswhrchshowtheseal(muclralollhe orhatmadhatu,tNe llashs lhal are ltlled with the waler ot lhe rrve ram ties_lhe hnowiedges "lamp tnsrqht:sl.ewsloodolterng., o' the ltvela.ny'ies. a'arfcompassior i "looda-o dnna -'ood fortFegods.o ve,seroods havrngthehundredllavorc,ofieringwaterhavingthe eighlaspects,
nere are my commentson lhe above: Buddhaguhyaheredefineslheword mandalaintermsol lheconlarned, manda,andlhecontainerorholder, la.For
d.
more inlormalion,see Mkhas grub rjes especiallypp. 270'71. GuiseppeTucci,The Theoryand Practiceat the Mandalars recommendedJor a generaltreaimenland 'residenis"of lhe mandalaln mainly ior the theory ol Frenchschons contrastlo the mandalaof'?esidence").Two porlrayed In the have studied llte mandala as g h no I ap E des Lalo r, I c a Mahi usrimut akaIpa: li si Marcelle Arlane more recently' etoffes pelnles (1930), and Macdonald,Le Mandaladu Mafriusrinulakalpa\1962). Far individualmadalas,the most remarkabe contributionis now A new Tibelo-MongolPanlheon,Pafls 12-15,pub lishedby Proi.DrRaghuViraandProf.Dr'LokeshChandra AcademyoJ IndianCulture,1967).the (lnternational parls conlainingan enormousnumberor vldual nd wilh de ty lists. represenlalions mandala The d ilerent parls oJthe rite are wnttenup more exlen_ swelyin Mkhas grub rje's, pp.279,11 Whenthe knowledgesare givenas lour,therels lhe correspondencesyslem ot theYogafa n(cl Mkhasgrub are lhe l/irrorso the knowledges r/es,pp.232-33);and and Procedureol Duty wilh ike,Equally,Discriminalive, respectiveBodhisativaactivilyof Mindof Enlightenmenl Perfeclingof Giving.Perlectionol Insighl'and Perleclion ot Striving. The four boundlesssiaies were akeady set lorlh in the seciionon partsofthe palace Thefour meansol conver_ sion are (1) Giving,equalio the Perlectionol Giving'(2) Fine,pleasanlspeech, {3)Actsinaccordance(4)Onesell staled servinqas an example.The"eightlibelations"were Buddhist the eightposts;forlheancient eadieriorepresent theory oJ the eight, see, for example, Paravahera VajiraiZrnaMahathera,Buddhist Meditationin Theory and in Etienne Ptactice,pp. 48+86; andlheannotaledversion gnnde de sagesse.Iome vertue Lafiolle, Le lale de ]a lll (1970),pp. 1291'99. W h e n l i v e k n o w l e d g ea r e m e n l i o n e d ,t h e n l h e
^ -h^r
Dt)armadhatu-knowlldge is addedrorheotherrourThe
;:f:,Hi["J"J]J:,fj:,""]:,""f i:t,J:l?'"":is,$
f iff::-",,fl,Ji i:iir:i,""*y "'J:tiix:::":' :li1fl*tl*i";lii :Tdiiij ir!ty:,"',",ffi
::rurn; ^l::}:u: :::i:i:liir:..6ff;
secruslon, elirninationof hindrances,andrightdwelling; t
l:J
'1"_i19n1g."0-tuck symools, see{nenextsectron of
ordependent or'|;'|;;i:: "ltr':i l[l:fli:rnembers
mor,var,ons. rsri,"l""p,.", iii"",i.],l"li:i.""1",?r lil
j?t :li?i i ti,ff t,ii;; iiilii; i;ifffi."iit;ru:ffi rhe Buddha are tM^has s:ub lliiIT.ly:l::::1" "f
,rc5,p.ect;( t) rneoescenlfrom Tustta,t2)entrance jnto ,I."J?.b. (Str"U,dn. l+t.kr inwoddtyans. tb)enJoyment (6)departure rromhome.(7lariuo,rs ::::^larem.women.
lilliSlilifl ilI, iq*:*,,riii,:;:""Ti?i?l;:,xif jitl-;#
iour dhyira stagesof th€ r6almof form(dpa-dhdtu),the iour stagesofthetomless (arrpyas),andthestagecalled "cessationof ideasand leelings' \in Pali:9afffra-vedita' is in sanskrit, Unionof calminganddisceming nlrodha). sanat ha-vipasyaM ! uganaddha. The use of the word"lndra"hererequiresexplanation. Vairavarman's commentary on lh€ same (PTT.Vol.76,p. 121-3),mentlns SaNaduryatipatisodha@ thattherearetwo kindsof Indra;theoneotlhe hundred otlerings(salakralu)and the one of a thousandeyes. is inpoint,because Heretheoneolthehundredofi€dngs (p.33-g) saysthatIndra Buddhaguhya inhiscommentary patronofthe yalamara), (Sanskrit, i.e. ls the'yo, bdagl' (belonging to Great However, the term MahgndE sacrifice. So Tantras to mean'€arth". Indra)is usedintheBuddhist spot ofthesanctilied lar therehasbeena ditferenliation ol earth,so thismustbe lhe mainusehereol the word "lndra'. (adh,bthara) isoneotthelourkindsol pratharya Biessing accordingto MkhasGtub 4e's,p. 26 (nole),the other Action,andOeopconthreebeingInitiat,on, Marvelous threadandbrahtAtines, centration. Fortheknowledge WhileMkhas-grub-rie seeMkhasgrub |e's pp.284-87. 'slq thread"and "earlh does not use the terminology Th€ is immediately applicable. thread",his explanation threadis roally meaningof courseis thatthe knowlodge i- theskyiandso the threadon earthmuslbe imaginativelyliftedto the sky and imbuedwiththe knowledge whichis there,then broughtdownlo 6a h as ihe "knowledge line',whichaccordinglyis a "sonihread;' blessedwrthknowledge. Buddhism thewheelof lhe law in non-tantric Concerning u'sArya-Aksayamatinidesa-tika onemaytakeVasubandh (DergeTanjur,Toh.3994,6a-4,tf.):"ln lhe mannerol a wheel'meansthere is a wheelby reasonol a nave, spokes,and rim;so also lrom amonglh€ Tathegata's
ill;;E:;!s:fr"lt,ii,l ili{i'":r'ff !:fiiiiff,ti:.1#'.yi::itilffi1ii%.":,"'*
and the TantncTradilion.(note
ti: bJI how rne ,oLr
can purjrytherFce,ta,nryneedsrurlhe,
g.
:l;ill"a,,::. Ti^e,term hine stages"is somewhatobscure ohesame
ji:",*l: ;Hff:::"fi:H,lii"-i,."il:1ili"""T:ilJ l n g . s h o u t db e t h e n i n e s a m e p a f t t . s requrrbflum
#lH,T:"?',:ffi E?,"::':;z,y:l::J:;'::::.,{"
61
of theMandala'Palace Symbolism
Paih,rishtspeech, rishrbodiryacrion,
k
:ls-jlll:]9 f"?1." and nght Jivelihood are undersloodas the aggregate o; norarity. l;\elhe nave.The fOur,LgnturOe.srano,no. ri.ii concept:on. nghtmindfutness. a"Orrguteriorta.eJnO"ell stoodas lhe aggregateof insrgnl.liL; the sookes. Ridhl samdl7i(i.e.theaggregateol samadhnrstr-epacrtrcation ol allprapanca{expansionof sensealtachment), hence |lkelhe.rjm."Noticethal Buddhaguhya.s ,jumbersrxtee; In a mutttpteoflour,and can be takenas ole in the sense or a nei. But whenBuddnaguhydexptaJnsthe spokes as rne nature ol compassion,il doe! not agree w,lh vasLbandhu-s understand,ng ol tnemas rneaggragateof rnsghl.A turlherdtvergence ts whe'rBuddnaoJhyatakes r'le rave toSlandforlhe d,hamarealn. wL:leVas,oandhu pursnerethe aggregateol morattly,a,td eviopnl.ycounts me€nnrewheelas.epresenltng the drarma And wnen Euoonaguhya lahes the ctrcle(hencethe rin as the ) xnowtedgegarland,lhe dFagreementis .omplete. Thal sr' doesnol clarifythe "horse-ma4da/a,. tsameredd,ngIn lhe NarlhangTanjur). But the prev,ousLse o. rhe word rnora sJggeststhat.horse,efersnelaphorcat.ylorhe -horce sacrilice' (asya-mendha),since in thts sacnfice ar the open.ng at thF BrhalaranraKa ?,s-folt.ly9d upanaad. lt"e horse parts surr up .he worlo and lhe manoalats atsolhe world The stxteensaltyasare cerlarnrythe sel of srxleen t oonrsatwaswhich Buddhaguhydhsts in nis conmenrary,p. ?4_2,3and wherehe ca s them the'Bodhrsattvas o, lhe-Bhadrakalpa(tort!nate eon),,_ His list js not quite rne same as In any ol lhe mandalas cl lhe tvtspannavogavalt, bul the closesl Jtslsdre n lhe
or
Aksayamati Akasagarbha' Amoghadars, Wesl (whohavea hostofments): Saru;ipayanjaha' PralbhinakUla,[,4ahaslhamaprapta, Sarvasokalamonirghatamali -oidelilement Norlh(whc haveelimlnaledlhe lwoobscurations andknowable): CandraprabhaAtnnaprabha,Samanta-bhadra Jalinrprabha, The rnosl nolable omissionin thal of Avalokiiesvarabul he m r o h t b e p r e s e n l w i l h t h e n a m e " A m o g h a d a r s i ("w h o s e v stn does nol fai ), especialy sincethe Dharmadhetu'vegtsvara va, in its lisl ot sixteenBodhisaltvas mandalaal lhe Nhpanna_yoga omils the name Amoghadars Some and includesAvaokitesvara lisi in the Dharmadhaluanandala the lwas reading when vearsaqo, loldmethatihosesixleen Hulukhlu Gegen lama Dilowa ihe Monoolian to Mkhasgrubiesate (and according so Stage l;theTenth belonq Thistheniswhai Buddhaguhya rnthe;elinueoithe Sambhogakaya) meansin hrsnexl paragraphby"supramundaneretinueas 1.The threeexilslromwilhinare:(1)thenave Vairocana Buddhas (2)thegarlandoljewels,whichls the nrn-the Dharmakava; in Sabhoqakavalorm; (3) the sixleenspokes-the sallvasas Nrrmanak;ya.Thewofd "avenika"may relerto the specialgroupoi eiohleenaltribulespeculiartoa Buddha,calledlhe unsharednalures In oll'e elghteen exposilion ,lu"n,^o-onr,^"t.t'" nost elaoorale l " F l h r e p e n_ 7 0 3 ) ; o w . nL a m o l l e l o p .c , l . )C, h a px l l ( p p ' 6 2 5 _ mind and speech of body, tranceslrom withoutarethe specialkind The diamondlence'was previouslyslated to be the round' EadierinTson_ ol wisdom-knowledge lenceconsisting unconslructed outerwallol and the mountain" kha-pa'spassageiriscalledthe"lire diamond inlo blessed circle, the wodd. ln fact, it is the hallowed crosslLe cannol lhey all outside and lre demontcelemFntsare
u andDutgatipadsodhanamanoa Ia,
! ! !l!!ari!n!aa1 wnere,n lhe Sanskritnamesare eslabltshed. Here ts Bu0Ohaguhyas listingtogetner w,lhd.recliona rreanino: East(whodo not swervelrom the lrue nalure ot mtndj: Maitreya,iratitusri,Gandhahastr, Jienakeru. Soulh (who have purityot view and praclrce).Bnadraoata.
The Mt. MeruMandala PrevlouslYRatnakaras:lnti'sexposilionol the 6ady'mandata mentionedrh;iMerurepresentsthebody ThenBuddhaguhyasdeelght scriplionol the mandala-Alespoke oJ a person having lhe
64
Chapter.4
90od-lucksymbolson his body,The meanlngor Inese remarks re_ lale_stothe lemple banner of Ml. Meru. but we musl starl wrth the mrndala ot Ml. Meru. here reproduced.l/eru ts In lne cenlerol lhe rour conlrnentsyslemot the realmof desire(kamadha lu). ,:^,_:T,:,, '9xr I nor,ceda desc prionwh,ch ,_.^ mandab and ]lo:l:" eoes wrlh t,ts lhereforealsohelpsexplatnlhe templeoanner /below).lr my_translation ot the pasaageI shatj resroreIn pa( lh; welfafesled.StrshritnamesatongwrihnumDers lharag;eewith lnose on the tvlt_l\,,leru Mardala. l Mand€la:)OVVAJBABHUtt4tAH HUt\,4 |O.n.The d,amono - -{ "e ). (Thereappearstthe goroensporo, earrh :Lol-o-::rlh th lirm wncF belongsto Grear fn a lmahendz| oM VAJBAi]EKHEAH HUM/'Orn Thed.amondsketch.Ah Hu.n:.). tTnereapoear;_ 1. Su-l\reru.theKjngof Mountains, inthecenter,surrounded on lhe oLtstdeby tfe Cakravataor tronrnou-lta,ns. 2. Putuavideha(Videhaofihe East)_ 3. Jambudvipa intheSouth, 4. Aparagodaniya rGodanryaol theWest,. 5 Uttarakuru (Kuruoflhe North). 6. Deha, 7. Videha, L Carnara L Aparacamara(theOtherCarnara). 10. alha. 11. Uttaramantina, 12. Kurava 13, Kaurava, 14. the l\rounlainof Gems, 15. theWish.granlingTree, 16 the Cow ol ptenty, 17. theHarveslWithoutptouohrno_ 18. lhe jewetollhe wheel, 19. thejewelotlhe gem, 20. the jewelof the woman, 21.the jewelol the minister, 22. the jewelot the elephant, 23. the jewelol the exceltenthorse.
24. the jewelof the general' 25. the tlask ot greattreasure' 26. lhe PlaYlady' 27. the garlandlady' 28. the song lady, 29. lhe dance laoy, 30. the llower lady, 31. lhe Incenselady' 32. the lamPlady, 33. lhe Perfumelady, 34. Sun, 35. Moon, Umbrella, 36. lhe Precious 37. the BannerVictoriousoverthe Ouarters goddesses In that lisl lhe eight ladies(Nos.26 through33) are 'reqLentlydep cleo in Tibetanbaanersas hold ng lhe ndrvid'raoa l.Ing IndcaledbYlherrnames(playgarland.song dance llower' lamP,Perfume) Incense, The Mt. MetuTemPle Banner A I ihat dala is irnmedialelyapplicableio the Tibetan lemple gtub ies \p banner reproducedhere and combineswilh Mkhas in lhe temple visible nol are slages izst.1n" tlt"t t*o 'he ot manv made "uoaation suriace earlh an must imagine banner:(f/rsl) didmond has the he seco"d gold and sand: ewes anostipwnwith slage svisibe n lFe sketc or p'an.The nexl lor lnirdievocalioF il he imagrnesan grub (Mkhas r/eb):"Upon bannerat the bottom Sumeru loursided a imagines he ol this, themiddle oceanoi milk...ln of gold made rowsoJstairs ides with iour s mountain,aOorneAon atl siver, sapphire,and arnber,all over which springup wish-$antrng trees decoratedwith a thousandllutteringviciory bannersl'In the as case ol the body as Meru, Ratnakarasanti'efers io the sroes '1ront,back, right, and leli". which are respectivelyEast' west' South.andNo h.Onethetemplebannerinlhemanner0larelLnue' 1|1etnree wnite crescenl shapes are lhe Easlern continent OehaandVideha (mlddle), wilhlwo minorcontinents Puruavldeha square-lhe one blue a by is represented The Soulherncontlnenl is Ior JamOudv)panot v sible,presumablybecausethe meditation
66
Chapter.4
-llinenr (=rndia)Lhe lwov -s/bre - - squares are re ""-"'!a o l:: I f e t ln"1::.".:]T e.serCama'adndAoardcamdra thFrFrr tre red.r.cta) dre lhe o?-rsodinrya arons wrr.rre .es
lhe NorlherncontinenlUttarakuru a;d its two rn Kuravaand Kaurava
il:i.;,'i,,:ii"Iiffi^:;l r:;[: lpiH:l *iiiliii!ffi ,:?"il?n, :n",, ;:::L'i3#Hi::: ffiiii:,y:ii,,ffi il
te-Eodhrsd[vahs seve,r rewelscompa.abet to rl_et-npflalspven. I ne boonsallvatew-lsarerhpseve, lmos ol e'lt,qhten.re-r \Nos. 19-25.of lhethirly-seven naluresaccessory to enlrghtenmenl,lsted
m iscompa;bte jlir Jni911'r rorne;e*e, or*r,eei ,^.i] rov_ rorheJ6wetol ger. "-orLtnes. lhe calharl
c to lhe tewetor woman,sanadrl 'o ltol Ine rrtn,slertor t.eaSure,. ren,el anarysr\o, l-o ooct.nc lo 'na rewelollie,eleonant str,vtlgrothpjewetot lneer"e te" norse, equ-lnrmriyto the jewetof the generai.A seven woird,emperor,s l4t!e'sdre deo.ced on rheterrpe oan.F. on rr e oo."rvo, i ,,ont F_oT'op oow_ thFreare thewl-ee, a,tdtuerrpe- argen \ .=w;n_ gtanlinggem,cin6manl, thewomanand lhe rreasurer, the etephanl, the general,and the horse. ln the case ol tne Daay_mandata, lhe yoginnaturatty hasthe seventjmbsof enlightenment. lnthemiddleaiongwiththeSunandMoon, lhereare the external -.,orerngqsl withthe ltveolleflngsto rhesenses.o,t ob!erver.s 'artrrg ,e^nrlrrror (ihe ptajnone),damalu drum,and ar!o,.,o"s ,,nco,se, I a.k,tbhadekahsdt:on lhe right:iood d-d conch!he,t ltr e one whcF ,s,hejdlBeteathlneseltveare a tolatol rvlelveollerings. tunong lhese thereslandoul. on the tefl tamp {canotes;anct oJer (rorr.rs)i on the flgf't:_incense (incenseourner)ano p"ri""," 1af,"tl w,lhscen'edrrale,tI hesearelhelourbasic olle,.ngs d.scussed t1 'ryote'.. Materiats chapler and are shdredbetwe;n lhe trsfin 'q the
atijMkhasstubqes @p1/e j s3).How. Yl:YiJ^, YadlS ?b*, ever Ine.prrarring lourgoddess
oferings In tne t\;t.Merui\,,la-OaL, namely,play,garlan4 song,and dancejare not representedin the bur the remainingtour in Mkhas grub tje,stisr ol :eTr:_-blnner; gnrare apparenilyrepresenled: e oblalion,leeFcoo ng waler,mrrror
foodlo'lhe ,,ncorhero-e wllh raysllor wash'nglne olv'nebody r be vanous lo appea ^^r. i n" ,".,."'nq tou,otlerngs{ol lhe Meve ) slars 'n l\',|oon dnd go wrlh Sun Y"""^". n"to.. errino"" oHen;gs 'ne' "r .p"c" ln lhe Divrr[y chaoler' Padmavajra 1""",".*,."0 "," as lne sel ol planelsa5ler_ l,ln. on" .""-'ng ot tn" DFarmakaya appheshere Bur ir meaning i-]'.- lii r' '. a;l'"r', a know rl this lhal palace il wasobserved g"pf"n""on parls lhe ol of ,"nn!.,r'on 'e Dharrradhalu lhe rr.eret ol tve o ir'gsreoresenls each rough Tne slar q'oups deprcledon lhe banner a'e assoclarFo The one lanous conslellalions -^"..' m;t oni to two conslel'airo_ ar crrcunpo be lhe lo v neant t"ri .f .": '^ rneCreatoea' IhePloughGrealD ppe' a'0 bv ir,,, vaior. "u"io". "a'teo in Indianmylhobqy ornernarres.tr "mounrslo sevenslarscallod B€hma Theone sons'of lhe'mind_born ni"nlt, *no i "re bul its slx slars "!"""" detormed note in even associaledwrth ttre moon than the Pleiades' olher constellalion any iu"-t.tJrv aslerisms orlwenly_eighl "o^.tirrt" tf," gtorp ol twenty-seven ir""ura" siartlng moon lhe had "tong always works fndian ,nuLarft t, tt The "'un"i"nt in lhe IndianLanguageKdtikd lndan i,iinin" bf" u0"", ""r"d oweshrsnameandh's s'x \edds lo lhe Karlllkeya war_qoo Sdrv,l'c poenotna' ne was lo5leredby lhe six wel_nursesldrs ol llrs the Sun and ln lhe skv (lhe part ol ihe temple bannerabove a canopy rmagine MoonrrMkna;o,ulr./es p 175l"Above ' he is lo comolele generales the nq, n i_ '_"i"nl On loo ol lhal he w'thn il varorc "oo"r. ;:idcle' slcs ol an eavedpalacea'd generales palace sfupasor Ine seats: and he may also generatewilhin the i"l",orori *o;diant'l' there.arethe level At lhis upper yogin s bodythe ""iii"l are on symbolsor emblemslhal e gnr'g;oO_tucX satvadurgattparEa the |]rinail". auaar'"gri'y"'s commentaryon dtunA LPlf Vol 76 o ?6'41itrsl pnor to setling {orlh lhe erghl {rnal'bvol I"inJ,:uoo":or uog'" bywaiorrls Tibelanl ranslatrcr
:lr;k; i;i;;., i'r; r rianq"i'trrv trnalt'st're " atrrctdha'mata) savs:Yoga , ,i:1i,""1."t.:, o"lrf 'skrowi"gTherB,rodhaguhya or narure rrue rhe on trtass) emoierns ;.;;,r;. i;';;D in" endless are: lne "isnt "' (asta'maDgala) oigoodluck boiv.ine elgnemotems whch rs lhewheel(cakra) l""i itt,*La whichis lotus-like;
^ -h.ar,
**'$#itfrgfr i-frftiiitml,o-l;--if$ [#rtH#::li"j""'"*'ilj
i"r""',:,ia:ri"JtrJ;,:"-;ffi
tl'e lottrs wHichsLpoorlc odanpaona) andl.e olhero'e {nigher) degsPadma). ;he oa?sol' \gdugs lrom Finally,the lop oi the lemple banner is described The previously lranslaied exPasilior Buddhaguhyas mandala peads,standinglor lhe of necklace is a hanging Jenaant-necklace lhe 6"ani.attu"'. joy-The silk (scarves)-live colored-have knowledge kinds ol meaningol live
fji-!i";:[T;i|qi[it{lili::H?f:',}"{,r:Ift il::',ffi it;ffl'jT;i:m*:r,:l
l"{:{1ii1!,a::;?tlf a.e creo,red I:f 1:1';;iit*tt*ilj:,,si::'J,i:,,r,'"'ee,
,ggil'Eq$litr:;,i;git?I-jflf,til!r*it.$; "*:"i,i;
^liirtiff]
69
tnethree-storied parace which resrs onthe
Tl""ili.iP""lff :g::i""JtTi'"::s: iT: :::,",'f :.."rrii,ii s,nce rhe so,de; ;;:;:i::;ff fiT;"HlJj'Ili#ilili""
':',ffiii;i",;***d".;5**::lti;ii$
::L#lf,,":$:::ffi _.["jT:::::::'*a,rhiss"uc,ur€+
f ilHiliJJ ;ru m',.m:n":n:ln:,'"'"1#ffi
'li[t'*il#rLTii,,:,[F"llffi li':lnfi ty,,::,"1#;ll,iii=:J[l::'":ll*,;m"::iiil*i
lll;"*,1,1il,Xi"xliii!:,,lln*:";rrn:nu;:1";:l;ai;
I t
G
,:. q
!DE
(!L
-c _ao ()F
ChaPter-5 nlual i. tre BuddhrstTanlrassomehowalwaysrevolves aboutlhe "threemysleriesof the Buddha"-his 8ody.Speech, andMrnd,and howthetantricperlormercoffelateshisownbody, or secrets.Thatwill be speech,and mindwiththose"mysteries" rny firsl concern.Then I shalllurn to varioustopicsol the Tanlra,a note on mundaneoccult attainments Anuttaaayoga (srddhr), the "Jve ambrosias"o, the Stageol Generation, finally the three ritual observances(vrala)and olher mattersoJ lhe "threemysleriesof theBuddha"arelhe Stageol Completion.The liieof all thesediscussions. orientaliontowardth€ "Thr€€Mysteries" 11was alreadypointedout that lhe otliciantcorrelaleshis body to lhe Eody l,4ysteryby meansof geslure(fiuda), his (manlla), speechtothe Speechlvlysleryby meansot incanlation andhis mindto the l\4indMysleryby meansol intenseconcentraliofi (samedhl.I now go into these in reverseorder,because samadhlislhe partwhichis sharedwithnontantric Buddhismand n faclis a fealureof Buddhism lromitsoulset. AccotdlngloMkhasgrubie's (pp.198-201), whichshouldbe co.sulledon thesepoints,calming(themind)(samalha) and discerning(ihe trlth) \vipasyane)ate Ihe backboneof bolh the .Paramita-yana" andths "Nilantra-ydna'. Mkhasgrub4epoinlsout thatlhe specilictechniques of developing theselwo essential rngredients ol samedhi-asonecan readaboutthemextensively rnordinaryBuddhisttexts-are not mentionedin the Tanlraslor the simplereasonthal theconlemplataon, accordinglo the rules, of the yoga oJ the deily bringsthe completecharacteristics of calming.Likewise,lor discerningreality,one musl have the voidnessconlemolalion. whichis an essential elementin lhe Buddhisl in lhe Tantras eventhoughtheydo notlreatvoidness mannerof a Madhvamikatrealise.with its refulationsoJ the opponent in tantric and the llke.This voidnesscontemplation
I s;i?
I;.5
2. On thesubtlesings lsik sma-nimilta) 3.Onthedrop(blndu) 4. Onthe memberrays 5. Onrapture(p6i0 andpleasure {sukha) 3.Withoutstadang signslke khaivanga
a. oridinary
1. Dwelling on the (notlisted) the body 2. Dwellingon seech
a. oolstanding
2. As theunpleasant lhingol skeleton,
ls based on lhe body
ll, By Dwelling on what is seen outstde
Table-1 MeditaliveObjectsfor Calming (The [,lind)
1.Onthebreath
a.i
1-As lhe aspectot a god
A, Owollingon the body
@e:+
FiF;i;gli
iE;; ani5;
$fieg iAfi; tq Eig Bg;; g
3 *d f,
iit6;'f$;i; $#[:i iq:Ed
ssrFf iif faF
3;Ffrii Pq-sdi
lB
\1
\E-
Tanlrc R tuals
77
Tfffi l,"j: lrs:i:*:[email protected]::fi jJ"i"}tf",.ffi,{i
;;f"rfr i#:{##*"r#litr';':
(5)
ff i,..:"ff ,ii,:nT;;ji:.",T ::tffion: ;1"{lElqill,::f s*."ch Mystery. :1"^".iliiltllr Mkha; stub,/e.s secrjon
nrir,""ov r',""o ;,i' ::i,ffilffJ';j,].',jl"jlll,,!o:,,1,'-.,
i; ;",;,;#; jllll: :T"""'.?ffl',lil:,ffi,i: ll:i::ii".11;r
fl15 ir";lbii: n:r"isilirliru'ffi {t)
Meditation ot dwe ing In ths soundhetdIn
accordance
aim,s a',er HH?:";iii::::fl:fi1";::;,:*"'he
plicitv,so that one arrives3l lhe realm ol the Buddha. Meditalionol dwellingin the soundwhich producesthe palh which is lhe true-naiureoi the stageol complelion. This is for the discipleoflaithwho hasalreadybecome a "soliary hero"ol lhe stageoi generaton and having donnedthe armorol lhe godsis now a beginnerof lhe He hasgalneda superiorcapacity stageof complelion. to pursuelhe aims of olhers.seated.ona pleasant seat, he imagines on his tongue a HUI\,Ilrom which issuea myriadraysoJbluediamond,lhe endsol which are encircledby a dhalanl:garJandol his lllelary deity right.Oulsideollhalisanolher whichis revolvingtolhe gar and composedof voweis, revolvinglo the left; and outsideol ihe laiieris anoihergar and, composedol consonanls, revolving to the right.The minddwellson garlandstso ollhree dwellingihe yogindestroys thesel the iaullsol body,speech,and mind.Whenthosethree kinds of faults are destroyed,then dwellingon the firsl garland,he reachesthe Nirmelnak:lya oJVajravidarana; by the second one, he reaches tho Sambhogakaya; By dwellingon the and by ihe third,the Dharmakaya. rays oi the HUM he reachesthe body oJVajravidarana inseoarab e hom the threebodies.As lo how he dweils on them'hedwellson the firslgarlandin the mannerot a dreamidwellson the secondone imaginingit to be like water;dwellson the third one as thoughit wete sky. as the profound Finally,he dwells on the rays ol HUI\,4 rea m oJthe Buddha.
i:i.l: r*tgin:tyi;$ilif;":,:!#r# '''iiTi:;]l}-qt.,l;;]ff""r"'i.""H:":'ii;"ffi 'ill":J i:ffJ,:"#:if Jt1ff ,::ltn: :i:"::;i:t'.]i; i:i
(3)
$nl$*#****l+t
(4)
expositionis a sampleof the rich material Dipamkarabhadra's on this subiect in the BuddhislTanlra,here parl of the theory ot becomng a Buddhathroughthe KriyaTantradeityVajravidarana, who is Varraoani. The thlrd correlationis ol course by way ol mudra, which meansa "seal". I reier to the author Buddhaguhya,commentary an Durgati-parisodhana (pp. 32-5),where he slateslhal tnerearg lhreekindsof mudra:(1)lhe mudA whichis notlranscended. lt is
li",l;l',ii,,iJi."",$;;;"#JJ5:;"il":J"::":;
frIg#i*[li**t#it{1"ii'"i='#il
TanlricBittrals
notlranscended by reflection on true nature(dhamatir\. 12)the lllustrationmudra.The illustrationvrith mudrai", if'fl;J colors.(3Jthehand-gesture ".g. rrudra.lt is a gesrureot empowerind wnntherrngers of lhe hand.Furlhermor€. a mLdrais saidto b: usrrious Decause p/eases tl and because ttls non_dua, _ Thatis Buddhaguhya's brietbul masterlulexplanation. Thereis Jearnej lfrormatlonbelongingto theTjbetantraditionin Mkhas gruA r1i,s (especially pp. 228,49).One can find muchmaterialon m;dd loilowing theJapanese tradilion in E. Dale Saunders, Mudrd;in thrscase,-itis practically allon the thirdkjndol mud,?,the hand gesture.Conceminglhe secondkind oi mrdrj mentioned by
robeexerhptitred lare,ir rFrsessai :^,:-"Pg!fll 1n"loo*rs as Ine -s/( mud.a.d whichIn lact
are the six ornamentso, th; Buddhrst.lanlric deitiesithalis to say.theseornamenls ust.ale or srandtor the six perleclions. His ttrstkindo, mudraappearsto be, lor example,lhose also mentionedin this essay as the three I-ner Sealsand threeOulerSeals.becausethesesea,s oo nol Irusfiatesomelhtngselse, but are lhemselveslne.,ue-nalu.e expenencesaimedal, he4ceare not transcended; ,tkewisethe Irnattoprcot,tourmudraslallsin lhts category,In any case.lhe corretanon ot mudrais withrheBody Myslery. Four Kinds olYoga
trequeny crtesAbhayakaragupra s g,ear
-^_lsol:rn"-?: comrrenlary ca ed lhe Ammzrya.manjafl(Man s,e) and r; lhe snags nm chen mo (402a-b)he retersto lhis work lor desc,,brng
v"gu,*.ety theyogaoreanng. yogaorwashrns, 1111" llil.. :t downi yogaor ryrng and then addsa fourthone catledyogaol geltingup. I nowkanslateallfourdescriptjons: Yoga,of eating.At lhelimeof takjnglood,Includr"gd.ir'kand rnerrke,oneshouldbe mindfutot oneselfas thedeily:and havingempoweredthe food to be like ambrosia(;/aL shouldenjoyit by lhinkjngthat it is a divineofiering. Yogaol $/ashing.lli6to be doneas in thephaseof iniliation_ Yogaof lying down. Havingconvincecloneselfthal the natureol voidnesswhichconsistsot the true lrom of co,
he shou'd ie dovrn natatolss ,s lhe naluleof lhe ClearLight Means lhe w,Ihwfat consistsof Insrghland
:."J ,l?:j'"r.1ifr'"%#1".:i'-:"j,'&,"o"1:;
'The"Yoqaol eallng ls ol course involvedwlth lhe sectlonon inlhec'assilica'ro_ '*u.,-rIo.""t The "trtaow'thlhe-innerotlering ; t;" orevrouschapleron.olleringMaterials "il'i";"gt
:l: !'li::#:, i:!::1,Y.'.'*;t.:,:l,"ll'll"iT"":#i:"i: ng o'gell Yoga yogrr-The the ptacewithin L,i"j"'iri"yr'
J::'l:l :,j':::'li"T: nniJi::::::;"T: ,*]',g#r;"j "1""
lnsight.
Externall/laterialsand MundaneSlddhis
f :"'.T:ii"liti :":::il:il"'*'li'f ,".t:,:ir::'fi i"t'a one lhrngrr commonrsthe leatureol :.i,"ai"e s/ddhid'althoughlhe Slageol Generation "ri""l"",t"ta" l,"r',ir'" i"l'"0 "*" the erghlgrealsrdohrs(stillnundanel r 'i"o,""tfV.'"oit"O "uh
j:""f,tlli:"i:::,,'ilj'ii:il1 mii*t:;!:i rl"*t9'l:. o'e"aoh"f'ooa i,aJi,, ll-tl.]"!i[i#.Ti.i;i
to Mkhas gtub4es(P211l: lntr arlention lo exlernalmateialssuch as the sword recou-rse ;;;;;"Ll^g
iInlor.ra[:"'^iil, :,!,ii#'! xT **ri*: r*lT:ilH'il'i:i'ff rurlhe' no is place thero gzo'i' il wh ch Ji-. io,'a"" "11""; ;"::jjl"*::g:;::*'1;ii:l,ii'1".1'Jl".T:
1?1"::xf Jrn-:l: Y;t'ii8;ti"1 iilii ",',:*li]:xtxi "-','l,t#ti:n"ru"',il*:x;ll,'j'l;'" if$; :k In:,m::tl":n:ll,:;,*#[""i'i*: tvpicalmembers .J"J"!i winii'. o'gnllvlongerlisllo indicate
Tantrc Bltuas b
a
It e :-ld- Idt Unl,, s rwn t mp cS np,.
,OA,alao o, d OoCO-la5
*::'.", ll."lril"".l :ija:+j;.;:" :-'i:":;, :,.",:i,
o r o a d d o r , r r a , I _ . t a l h u r o . , o o . ,. u , . o , *._
,
,,o..,
- """"::#:;#'ii;#:;'i;.T;;":";,;;:.:;" ; r;1.;; :' ":;; ;- ::,;ff ::1 ::,lr,j":1;:"_t:::":J 1"" i:J,:,:;:".:lpbd
"r "
L o , " - , , , - oy , . o o . n d . ,
o.o
\ , d , s o , o r . - t a o a \ a j. . . e . . o.l.,,d o,L,.grotr, .11'. P'^e'a o'" ' 'd '^d ''- p- I l;":::; - "::"'= n^av/n!ersonaltyinvitedthe goods of the t!4afdala,one
", i.;rt" :; :; :T;i ::i.::t:1.^it; "*"" i
5rou d .rate d hucJg bar quet lor olt
r# :rr: r*i# ry;:fi:ii:r:r*,i!:i:: *".;:f
U:*; :i:;: ill# :,. .i1*-:ffi "'"""U:Ul -" ^ onrhewes, ::.:T ;: n.#J:
oJj"l!,i "": danra ru ".:on::: dn,maron ln" ",0",.-I"" switn "rT:JH"il: *i.1i "",
j 4 t g ) f o u n d e r ot fh e G e l u g p a s e cn tT i b € t , s e t s l o r t h t h i s t o p c r n hs relormol the Tantras calledShags rim chen mo. wih the Now,I wishto signa sorneol the v ews of nurnerousauthorities. Becausethe precedng ma n part of the yoga has weared body and mind, there s thls rile oi enjoyingthe ambrosra, at thetop ol hisheada envgoratng the body.Theyoglnrmagines unardisk markedw th an Om. Frornth s Om ambrosa lrrckes the fineslparicles al the way to hrs leet BLrt do$rnmoLstening tlrat s the end resut oi an evocationprocesswh ch is var ous y connectedwilhlhe celebfaiedH ndu and presumabLy .iescflbed, ol lhe oceanlo exlracttire amlla.over accounlo1lhe churning gods(asura)lought gods (deva)and dem whichthe ln lhese texls cted by Tson kha_paone starts wrtirthree vesselsof authorzedkind,skullbowl,and so on one In lront ccntarling iq|rldofferrngrnaterals(Skl.=bar)suchas n ik and two Tnoreon ihe rghi and ell sldes conlalnngso d oflering Tson kha_pasays maierals. such as meal and fish. However, one can Lrselusl \!ater' that f these maierals are not available, y the yogi, s slltingwilhcrossedegs He genelates' Pfesurnab slackng lrp a the olferingmaiera s n threeslepsor evocalrons, wind.on thal a iire,and on the atlera skullbow . lhe latterLtsell t { s k ul b o w s n l h a ls k u l b o w , l e v e l w i hh s r e s tn g o n a l r i v e o o 'n head (or s il hs own head?),he generatesirom ten gerrf sylables startingwth Hum, the ive ambrosiasand the lve kindsol { esh.Herethere s the t esh of cow n the easl oJ0og In the south,ol eephant n the west,of horsein lhe north,and oi and cenlertfrere manin the m ddle.In lhe ntermedale dilections pa quotes Trom lhe are the i ve arnbrosas, and Tson_kha l\/lahdmudrdtllaka: is blood,Amildbhais semen; Ratnasambnava
_i'i"",,|i,.:;""i:; ;j;l;" i,";, ;":i::iii;,::" ii1ti":!it::::;.,""":"::;":";13;;lr:i 6d/, d,,,
.oa,,touF,SOt.re,:,,rLotrFr
Lnr,OOidor)
I,ao
The Five Ambrosias
^
j.l;,'.::
,' erv6B, lona
, i;::i,,r;;:::i",::;: ::,:i:,j; i";.!i:r; {iir:';::X'";"1"#":;:;:n "91"":;"';;:T
:,;;-: ; "
:i; :;:;jli;'i ;
4-rogndsroo\,
<'lLTd'
llesh. Al'oo1vd
c -
_':
Thereare the iive besl ambrosas Vairocaras excrenrenl. On Ah Hin' n The yoEri,stackslhe threegermsyllables, that order.apparenty ai the level01the crownol the head.leveL of the eyebfows.and level ol the llttlelongue uvLra These of the Buddhasand syllablesirradiate,and atlractihe ambrosLa
83
Bodhsattvasol the ten direclions, as wetlasthe ambrosiain the
:#1fi:iTillffff 1""::i'"il:'""T'T'?"Ti'ff '^'--r'noraon_*n'
The upwardevocationcan be interpretedin tems of .cenlers" of lhe body by relerenceto lhe Tableoi the precedinqsecljon. The'p lhe wrndd,skrs In lhe ravet a-d t-e firaorskr. t;e lhroal The thirdevocation, ihat ot the skullbowt,wouldthuscorrespond lo ones own head.This upward"generalionnaturallvreminds one ol Vr5nus ThreeSteos.In lacr, in the H ndu tegendo' the churningof lhe ocean ol milk,Visnu himsetlis seatedon the mounlain[,4and?rfa, which constituteslhe churningslrck.This scene is beautifuJly depictedin Plate 5, M. S. Randhawa,s BasahliPainting(cavetnment of India, i9S9). Among the obtects which arose trom lhe churningprocesswere the divine cow Surabhi,lheseven-headedsteed,and lhewhite etephantAiravata. Theselhreemayaccountforthree kindsof lleshgeneratedin the skullbowl.Fleshot man in the mtddlema!,derivelrom Visnus centralpositron. Alone fleshol dog is not accountedlor in the HindLrlegend.Hencethis remarkable yogicevocalon described n the BuddhistTantras seemsinlimatelyrelatedto certainlegends In evalualinglhis curiousdescriplion ot lhe iive ambrosias. whlch in this lileratureare said to purifythe oflering matertals,it is welllo observethalTson,kha-pa in the bodhisattva sectionol his Steps oi the Paihto Eniightenment,the Lam rrr t cnen mo, sleaKs ol lhe impropriety of certaingifts.For example,ihe Bodhrsattva musl not givelood and drinkpollutedwith excrementand urine, spillle,vomil, pus and blood;or give forbjddenflesh. lt is mV oo,nronrhatTson-kha-pa bothersto menliorlh s in lFe iqht o' lha Tanlricdoctrineol the live ambrosias. TheThree Ritual Obseruances(yratrJ The word yrala for a ritual obseruanceis of ancteni usaoe in 'nora. ftse standardTibetanequ,valenlis brtr,rzugs. and tne presentmaterialshappento be mainlybased on lhe Tibeian passagesusingthis term.As the aflainmentsare d scussedin lhe MotherTanlraof the AnutlarayogaTant|a,they usuallycome in lhe orderof the lirstthe ornamenlsot the deitiesand nexl the
lhetnreehlgner'nil'atiors
jl';:'::; ji#"rliJti:lillll'"""';':ll*,ff il ::::ii', il'"#,","" i'la. v'"la(''tualobsewancel "r '-'::r:::;r::":ru:'""#1"i,::::fi "J:,1;:i:'j::1"i JT :"'iJ"i:: [ii:l*":li"J:::',*'n;':Jfi "::"":'.':n:f ol o" s explanalion
orlhe ;or lnef,rsro'e catled-vdya'vratdltiualobservance he says: vrdya)'
lbsdusrioqsPa)in anv Penoo' bv malenalsn r^o nnrase rnany penod can be understood that Ihe vrdld' Y# ; I he Guhvasam^Ptantrc -', ,:l;;":;;;.
J'i:liiiii; ;:'$:" fli"".1" li l:; ;::*:::""..JT,,'ft :i;:i'll*ll*:i:!x*i:,,t;:'.''l"r:l*"Iff i:"*: :[# jjJffidr#sl!1'j:li::in::li bodv *-*so'rhe ff ""' ;:;nifi'Til:n:tlfl'il:il *f':t one tt'e tienr'ee'pta'ns
-:1',";ii'J:,[:fL::'#;::: j:.:j',iii:i*l*.gi;t:i:*:""j $r:""li,T::'"'"'j
; ;";rs'|ve'lnoL ?l".iJ.",llii,iJji;;; LiJxlJii"lil'"'."ii, " -i""
j:li',,';i'$:XTiliffi"" *',0 "-"" *""9":i",:.
..^'namanl). Thereare threelotms:\ | i
*i:fu *is":irp'+lll*"r*u'
il$f!':":J.i:i;'Jl,[",i{11,,,:.,#i*" unoelsla khatvanqaelc ) One can also
85
"sealsby lakingihe firsloneas the Falher(yab),thesecondas lhe Praina,and lhe third as the mantrcbeing reciled.(2) The secondengagement is lhe ritualobservance of engagement togetherwith theyoginiwhowears thefiveornamenls; by having thisobservance, oneapplies himsell io generaling lhefivekinds ot knowledge, whichare pureDharmadhtu knowledge, and so lorth.13)The thifdengagement is theapplication lo arousing the mindot enlightenmenl whichhas the indivisibility oI void and compassion, thal is io say,il one has achievedthe capacityof lhelourdivrne slances, thesupernormal laculties, etc.-applying themto accomplish theaimot seniient beings; andil yoginisand yoginisgooulside(thelold)lhroughworldlyoccupations-applying thepowerol allone'sowninneroprnamenis iof lheirairn. Ornamentsol lhe Deities Thereare six ornamenlscalledmudas (seals)worn by lhe deiles andsaidto representlhe (paramlta)of stxperfections the Bodhrsailva, according to the tinal versetn Durjayacandra's Sapleksarasa dhana(No.250intheSadhanamala). Besides,live of lhe six are made to representthe live Buddhasaccording'loHevajratanlra ll,vi,11)and, consistently, accordingto lhe Explanalory Tantra,the samputa(PTl vol.2,p. 260'3).Nero-pada's explanalion of lheornaments iAht)sVaiapada(PTT.Vol.54, p. 36-1,2,3,4)accordingty sara-semgraha-pafrjika concerns riselfwithihe sel ot live.Hencea sixthornament (the sacred lhread)is leftover;and besides therearesomevariants in statingcertainornamenls,for example,as lound in Tsofr-khapa'sSbasdon commentary on the Sri-Cakrasamvara (pTl Vol. 157,p. 90-2).I onlyloundlheaclualitemizaiion of lheornaments wilhcorrespondences to boththepertections andtheBuddhas, in Klon-rdolbla'ma'scollecledworks,vol.Ga (p.74-5 in Dalafila,s edilion, Vo].1),lorwhich a sixthBuddha (Mahavajradhara) hasto be allolled.Nevertheless, the factthat the variouscontexisin whichllind lhe lislol lheseornaments do not correlate them andrespectively exphcrtlv withlhe six perlections; and,furthermore,lhaltheexplicilly andrespeclively withthesixperfections; and.Iurthermore, lhaltheindications givenconnect already them
'z 5
i
E z
di
v
p
=
^ E c 7.E coo gur
I
ii a'oH
i F! !F g
-
E UJ F
E Ec,
E H3 3 €:
E E 5
L E E
€
EE egeg i
E 9g
-u-^ 9 a! i !
,i5$s
87 fantricFituals
wih thelivekindsol knowledge, showsthatit is morepracticallo sel up lhe intended correspondences wjththisjn mind(n.b..in lhe ardetol lhe Hevajratantnlisl:): Accordingto Sfragsrim,3O2a-1,ll.,whenone has alreadv e. ered'nlotheyrdyal-vlala. which,sthereguta, conlaclw,rhrh; divnityat the sardhls(dawn,elc.),he lhen is to enterintothe carye vrab.fsoh-kha-pamakesadistinclionas to wheiheritis a womanor a manthatentes lhe carye-vrata, Awomanqenerates h^e'seIinlolh-eformof VajravArehi /theDiamondSowr.ilarratmya (Shewhois Setftess). or thegoddess ot rhelami,vIndrcaled bv the lhrownflower(ln Ihe ltowerInrtiation: ct Mmis grubrje.sj 315).A mangenerates himsetf intoHevajra, elc.In eilhercase. rnepersonmustthenaltract, by meansof lheravslromlheseed inhishean,theknowtedge beingandthenmakeitenter,whereuoon he shodldconvrncehrmsettthat f.om lhe translormalton ot Aksobhya, etc.the respective ornaments appearon his person. Thatjs whythe ornamentsarecalted.mudAd'iseajs).Foreach ornamenta respeclive manirais setforthto be citedlhfice.Tsoi_ kha-pastatesthalthosemantrasaretakenfromthe Vajrapafijatd, Chap.Nine.ln short,theyoginandtheyoginitryto gitn tnetive o-rnaments, "avoiding the'sacredthread'(precept ol the SriCakrasamvaratra. Chap.27),at leastin thisphase. Nowthe N:rro-pdar's explanaitons of the fiveornaments: He goeslhrough theexplanations lwice,lirst lorthe,hinted meaning, \neydrtha)andnexllor the.evidenlmeaning,' (r/tartha): neyarlha:One wearsthe cakra so as to bow lo lhe guru, arcalrya. kemadeva. Onewearslhe ear-ringson the earsso as lo noi nearany harshwordsdirectedlowardlhe ouru. holderol the v4ra. Thenecklace forreciting wiihrnantra;the bracelets toravoiding anyki ingol livingbeings; lhe beltfor recourseto mudfa. nitartha:Ore wearsthe cakraso as to nonorano navea lransitof the',drop',(b/rduJo! thebodhicjttalmind
which is called"guru' acarya' o{ enlighienment)
**f::l;:l""mT:i1:#i""1.'l:"T
[";:n::*tt"":'":Ti:ifl dil'ltff",Tt wnere ueinss, tiving ll n":ff"",J'";:ffiiiiirlris
iii"l:l':*;m:r#i;lil,iii""iTllil
i e.lhe krmd-m1dtA 'Ihose explanattonsol the ornam-enlstum oul ratherclose lo 'perlections" as given by Kloi-rdol blaol *. "ori""oo,ia"*u"
,:ffi:*';il :$":#ili:i;xff Eln: :l i.".':,'*"L.* iTji'lil",",.'l","1#1,:n:::'j:::::'"' ::"i ;';;;-;";G;"' '" i ";-3;t;;'h;;d ,'
3 Forbearalce' 2. Moralitv'bracerers; lhread Meditatron-sacred ornament;s
':Bi'I" d*f:*:*wr;;i;;rl::i#ff :* lilli: '":ff ilff ;ri*i:rnrllr*1k'-'r i"ilfil1111': it]"""i'""in"i
theextraornamentlhe "sacred tn'. inlroduces
is theAdibuddha Tson-kha'Pa, deitiesrepresenleo The lord and ihe Buddhisttantric ReferenceLo B have all six ornamenls ,"onooLon'"urrV
:?lJ:: ir,'::',l",jg*inr'*.';'"'ii"ii""",x?n I: 1il:LilT;n:'::".';,,1i;ilT:: i:".:"'"T:[[xlffi ;";;;';i;;
"
of bone ohamenls and snake' sometimos-
;'J#'sfl::*F*gilrmil:J'mtH il:lrui*:"":g;'":"J""*11i.'"i:'il'1 ffi:l?'ii'i fttt*;;illH:1i:iln':flx"Hffi
ranrrgll]lgE lexlsspeakor1iV ot BUddhaS, Tathagatas, or
JrnaS.
The Khatvanga,damaru,and kaoala Picturesofthe tegendary padmasambhava (gthcenlurymagician _ ,^ TibFtJhavelrequennyappearedin theWesrIn bookson Trhar. and,Tany,persons.have notrcedlhe pecuriarw""d ;.i;,i;;: 'erl arms rhat's calledthe khalvanga, Fo,merrravo,Fr.,n T,bel .ave_cpoten aboutthe nysleriousnle caled Cr,oO. a-d rnedrii c€re0 damdll/(la.gesizedvarjety)useo In tha,.ya,",,or, arit. (\ole rharthe spptr.ng oarna,urs ;idndard.bur wnen,.ansc.,oed 'nJol rbelat tle wordtsganerally wnttendamalu).1rbeta.tconooraDhv ,reque flVdep,clstl e sku -bowl(kapala) iutJof btood n;tj b; sone ,tFrceirgJre,Those lhreea,e lhealtr,buled or l"no sy.rboli
.:
Buddhadak,ni {sdns,syaqrr\ha.,9.o)
.,,u"ll* ?y as l:-*1,:", oepr.'edIn the Brn byunco ection{Lokesl_ Cnandra.A Nery Ttbeto-Mongotpanthean, patt g, Rin byun 141) On th,ofacing pagelhe lhreeatiributes are ma.lemoresaIent: Al lhreea.e atso lahenlogelherin a passage wh,.h T\o,Xnd-pa clles jn tr,e Srjagsnm chen ma (3lta.-4,.runntnq as rollows ll s said ln lhe Kun spyodte\tdentty te Vog,nisamcatyal. rne-bo.o.y.
ot a soo: ihe oanarurs ,^",nr.. 'pla/nar: .t^^:^:r.::1:p,1 ls rslhe alo'Manlra drinkrng skurrikapala)..,tn Inetorego;g rrFarme'I ol lhe lhree lLalobservances, lhtspla(e r. tr e SrJg; altudedto In exposrtron o, tn" i, "u.yuu,rr". Symbol Innerseal kha|VaAgaOnes own bodyas a damaru Kapala
Outer Seal Falher(yab)
Indestructible sound prajia (ihe Insioht ol the"heaf consorl) basis torenjoyingbliss t\ranlraberng rectleo
prajna theja]l'er astheMorher(yum)can ^?:lai:9 as Father-Mother {yab)and 0e comblned "^
(yab_yum),the kh atueiga and lhe oamaruare trequenlly menttoned togelher. lor exanp p. sbas don LrJ.f,/-zr: ...atongwrththe kharvangawith stu mar{ed s wrtha
wrlnll"e sounool HLJI/l l ..-.,r dnd lne oealrngot the damaru syslernwhichTson kha_paLsF< i?"'..rt, "oles-pondence moisconsislenlwrlnhrs i,'"ilio* "r"'p"'t or tn" shags im chen
celebrareo ol a passagerromtne *"'- r42da-s) :1,";;;;;;." '- ']1"", thalvaaga The includrng: u r-pa L narned -i:; "i ' * L,l"t'"'r-tra rhe 'otd ooou,p,"rti" is thesoundol lhe damau 1Ine pdssage "";;; .'^i*" 'n."/d,.4.soav'I.e yogrnirs n'gnl " A '-:: dccepl lo are eens lo corlrao't l'e aboveil we ".r";,, iParrI I vr 1r):wrsoomrrssvn'oorr/Fd) r :;:r1"";." BuI nole hr- ow_ ";:.;"'"" ,i. ,,* ^i"'*"q" ano meansoYlhe d/um by lheTibetan): Sansfr t iconlrrmed ect'teO khatv,ragaruPrnl .prajna ' damaruPaYar!Pena thisin a mannerconsistenl to iranslate ll seemspossible to) lhe embodiedfor (or has the body belonging rreans the re s the damalu, by embodimentfor klralvaiiga obgcure by lhe somewhal appearss'lpoorted N/\ nlFroretalion 'For cheatrnqunnmery '." or if'e !,,_car.-sa-ua'alanlta {chap 35): death.a body rs appledlo the hhalvanga seemlngdlscrep_ Tson kha-pawas undo!btedlyawareof lhe ^ ^l'-,"""1i. ,'ra'r on he rs;ollowng ano the heval'alanlra sbrs doncommenlary i'_".oLi,on **n 'n" S,mpula) and 'n nrs he rreatsthe lopic alons p ea-z' ratantra' :; ;* ;;;;;';;r.', -kharvanea Norrcetqar Ahdiva ; l; : ;"';;;;;; ng _couch ";p'ession so kha&ehga(with aiga Inthe mFan i"' o, -"r* wnles: " the body on the cot" Tsoi-kha'pa of "body"): rha rF:r,rvol lhe oraiie body (sesrabyan lag)is explar_eo ol the o'alna l"rr*aS, o' il'" embraceby the body "-i"" '.l"olo" pi slales In his lvlandala-vidhi:"The ordlna |di"
i?v 't?l.Ji"i
'dl.o a,'he col
ladvis robe rhalthepra'rna tr''tmeans
body'ihenprajna Thatis lo sav,it "prajndbody"is the khatuA line (l' vi 11)' Hence,thal Hevairatantra *" r,ltrt"'a " "?""r1
Filuals Tantric ::,:--
:':::,:,r#J:: f:rld:j]&:&".#iileI;j:'i;":f,:Tfl
i"'"ffi ffiil:'-":?: ::li",::?T.,'#,::l.yl:f m:tr,,* ',! :::; ;'j;JiiSti;?.,ii,,.i; ;iil',".,x lii" ;iifi :i:aliffi meril hence,loaccomptish both,onemusthoroo" ,o fn"i!r,ii /-nenmo (Bodhisallva sectton),in
the cor,rseo, e"pta,n,ngthe
i
(ktatua)to havea metaphoricalI ransler, underslandthe word"col" ;he khalva-the strelched out canvas of a cot-is the damanls university lvlr' Lex rectalroni and-as a studenl al columbia a H-ixon,suggestedlo me-perhaps because drum is strelched involved, lo a col.As lolhe kindof suggeslion rnalerlaanalogous poetical suggestpn lind that seeAaja\ap. cit.,pp 302-03)wherewe idrvarl) is ot two sorls: avivaksita'vdcyalanimplicit expression that is not inlendedlo be lold) based on lhe melaphoricallransler tlaksanal: and vivaksita'vacya (an implicit expression that rs intendedlo be iold) basedon the literalmeaninglabhidha) lnthe oresenlcase, we obviouslyhave as exampleof metaphonca pan usaqewhose messagewas nol inlendedto be told, because it, through here telling, I am Still oJ theTantra. ol rh_e secrecvcode the lorlunate conlluence ot explanalionslrom diverse sources' to tellmanyw'ong dndalsobecause,r{( rsproperlor Westerners prope' for someone il is surely Tanlras' Budohist 1gs abort lhe rh his nolrce to have come lhat right things some lo tell But we are far lrom exhaustingthe subjectl What does lhe Hevajrclantramean hy the "engagementof the diamond-skul1"? We have already noticed that "diamond" in this contexi is the means mindot enlightenment(bodhicllta).Hence,"diamond-skull" skull conlai;ing the convenlionalmind ol enlightenmenl.But lhe skullis explainedas the mantrabeingreciled So drinkinglrom the skull is the yogin'srecilationof the mantra;and he rs no lonoerrec.ti.q rl: l_e recttalionis done by prailie-lhecol convevng n'--tnrorront-nosethree severedhead on the kh ava ga pole As to;he skull bowl,the Sri'Cakrasamvaratantrc(chap 31) says: "Who would revilelhe skull of lhe embodimeniol lhe (satkna)' Dharmakdva,arisenlrom thelhree sources-conch-shell -kha'pa's commentary pearl (suktr), or molher-ol-pearl {muktA)!"Tsofr (Sbasdon, p. 63-2,3,4)holdsthat lhe skullhere relerslo lhe qkull oi man. The reason the body ol man is the best, is that il is lhe liberation the Dharmakaya basislor accomplishing d slinquished three, Those (mahdgukha./6Ara). great bliss and tie knowledgeol secllons in five the sk!ll used to constluct conch-shell,etc. are (representinglhe live goddesses),as attachedtothe head-dfess' Sheddingluriher lighl on the damaru,Indrabhuli'in his
:?:6^;";:::T ;' f",""i,",Ll,,"ili ii;,ji*i ilii:il?iifl j::,sJ"fl'J,"^H;1"'iil?,J,:Ji,il iJi#"jfi il;Ll:J",:'jl
rconography that showsthe Buddhais the tantricform oi
i',J;:iff:?#T.":;r :1TIi: ii!:iHiiir;$T..::
1"":;i::".i"iil:'.:,"'"','"1",:"#i::::T*"'"rr'eManivana '"";li"; "i;;'5lT;33ffi;;';''* o'*eHe:rvajrarantra
khat.r'ansa asa'',',," o"-" l,at.na "J
9jl,il83l"rt^:,l"rlf,l:
" J;:i"1Hlll,:"11i::: :il,.:i::;:i,l ::: i:ff:ffi ;::; i::: *'e'np'anon
ll:,i:ft'j:f .^:i:T';:;,:j'fi':'i:
o''he
;ii;::4"*'":'"ll:Iffi m::,;i:n:##;+::j{'H fiY,
-":1,'.
lhrspossrbte? Comparb wilt-x Kunjunnr Ha1a.
;::::::',iltr:::: j;";:? :';":i,'jT';;JilTlT ::Ifj",lffi j?i",,"1;'".trrilJ1?,1i;: f ,I';;il:il:"i;"i3il-.i,il iJ:;"J;:H:*;T:J,%ff lffi ;T:1',:yil:",:?.;.;:x: il,fi,'Jil:fi:"",:1,i.mi ll,;*r'ffi ,i::* i1';p1
slards lor'lhechildfenir the cots and lhe ler,t1,h,It.stands ,cots 'or lhe lreeson the lreeson thehtlt" In the prespnt.ase w6 can
91
Tho Aodhi.ittawilh qreatblissm
ol bliss-voLd In thal erDlanalio.,lhe Mahesukhakayais expandedas the bodh,b,?ta
Conremplaring oneseI as lhebody
The mate alizalon ol diverse
the Emanaling and€collecting mardalacirc e ol deilies) samayamudra
acccomplshodtom rhe seed
fhe inner parana,lhe avadhllt conremplaledin the body
The HUMand olhersyllables
Kamadevi(goddessol love)
Dhamamudra
Contemplalionol an enernal p.alnaonly in thelom ol
TABLE-3 THEFOURMUDRAS
IF
L i t=
l
$.
E
g
F
o
G
ct!
o
oo
-(') P i-ox X.=o
EKG OFJ
Chapter-6 I In ny paperpubhshedIn the Louis Renoumemor|alvolume' I 'Cerlainlythe Vajrayanais not now as obscure as when began, PrabodhChandraBagchiwrotehisstillvallableSludiesin the Tantras (Univercilyol Calcutta, 1939). Neverlheless,both the torm, the ol the expressionsamdha-bhasa rneaning,and illustralions deserve a fresh approach basedon primarysources."In the tirstsectionoI the paper I concluded'that lhe correctlorms are samdha-bh sa. samdhi-bhasa,orsamdhyabhasa,and thattheyall inlendbhasain the mannerol samdhi(=samdha)'l'Tocontinue:The Meaning ol the Expr€ssion Bagch, in lhe same place (p. 27) wriles, "Prof.Vidhusekhar Sastriin lhe /ndianHlsto cal Quarlerly(1928.pp.287 11.)has tried lo determinelhe exacl meaningot lhe expressionSandhAbh sA. He hascollecteda largenumberolJactswhichjustiJies us in rejecting lhe old inlerprelaiionsuggesledbyMahamahopadhyaya H.P Sastri as'lhe twiight language'Gbendhai bhes4...fhe large numberof textsquoledby Prof.Vidhusekhar Sasfihasenabledhimlo inte.pret 1 as ebhipra^yikavacana ot neyertha vacana. i.e. 'inlenlianal speech....(VS. Sastri)'intendedto implyor suggestsomeihing difierentlrom what is expressedby the wordsl'Thi6inierpreiationis generalamong modern discussionsot the BuddhislTantras;bul Edgetlan lBuddhist Hybtid Sanskit Dictionart4, lakes samdhA as "esolericmeaning"whencesamdhd-bhisia"expressedwithesoleric meaning. Candrakirti'sdelinitionol gradhyarbhasais extanlin the Bihar manuscriptof the Prcdipoddyotana(Plate l, 2d folio) and I transcribe ihe passage exactly as it occursJvisistaruci-saUvanam dhatmalattvaptakasanamlviruddhalapayogena yai lal sandhyayabhasitam/ "Whicheverone revealsa lrulh oi nalurelor sentientbeingshavlngsuperiorzeal, andbylhe methodofambiguous discowse lviuddhalapa)-thal one is expressedin lhe mannerol
99 s.amdhi. t,Hete I assume a scrjbal corruplron in the lorm
;,ffig"ni*,1: :q1fJ""y.,{ii:,TJ;}#[j;:X,";t,ff negallvealternatrve,na sandhy|yabhasj
i]rnffi [,::d:!1,,J'."'.;fi "l#;*:tl'*tiil; crear wavrn", ::J::;#11fJ-:il:::ind ina.very """r. ""i '.,lrH*:ij):#x"".,#1fi ]so,l:"J l:#"rl*:,",i ';ii; a s, s a' he :,';Z:: : :;i lllinri.", ",7:o'11"f;
#:;i,rri;:rH# *:*".".r ;:ili:iilFl:". areDasedor alternallves o, mean;ng lkot) Gdha)iti. *_inya.ii
n,i",J^ ilililJ::;lil1ffiifi ff#F*: *. -"v",
remarksihal doubttrorn Candrakirli'sand Tson-kha-pa's intranslating lhetermas right H.P Szlstriwas Mahamahopadhyaya -The bh:tsa is rendered expression samdha language". "twilight 'language tl/vilight". in manner ol the titerally ("twilight refersiothe language")aplly Thetermsamdha-bhas?r paradox moment between darkness ol lhe contradiction, or ambiguity, N/ylhology and Religion." Histoty of India. these ight.ln anc ent and thai Hindus ll is only in recent times 4:2 1965). Religions lwinlet, andevening to respond tothodawnanddusk(morning haveceased paradoxical nalure the wellapprecialed ancient Hind! lights).The tw appearance o{ Ushas,goddessoJ Dawn,whoseever_youlhful menlhatmuchcloser lo dealh. anotherdayoi life,bringing helalded il waslhelime a hostoJ spirilsemerged: descended Whenevening Gaulanaunderlhe lo the medilating lhatthe Nrarahoslappeared The twilightssymbolizedthe sensilivepointsin the bodhi-tree. lemporalllow whenspiritualviclorywas possible.A special wascreatedto relerto lhesecrilicalpoinlsandcalledIn vocabulary This shouldhavebeen the BuddhistTantrastwilight language". inlheTanlras. Bulthe obvousfromtheoutselolWeslernresearch lo regard wasblindedby theirprelefence scholars'underctanding cults.Hence depicting degraded a repusiveliterat!re, theTanlrasas "cover_ wasa kindof literary theyconcudedlhatthesamdha-bhesa in Of course,lf thelermsareunderslood uo"lordissolute oractices. positively not and thelatlersense,theyareindeedunderslandable hadto be language" rendition'twilighl ambiguous, os theobvious lheTanlras. relecled investigalorsof byearlyWestern y Buddhisi Therewassure a iimein Indiawheneveryearned laund sam-dhya...bhasilAm lheterminology monkcouldunderstand s made'aosayinlheSaddhamtapundarik'a,Chap nversesSaripulra lll (Edgerton's EuddhlslHybridSanskritBeader,p.55):
[fl""".,ffi tr"T :"'f.j,:,{,il{i:,r",?"""J$#"ffi jffi f.",:?,:,1.,:ii_"i1;[1 ;:rri"'::i+1{,,1","ii:i,iii zeartor the higheslsritdhi(success I but the
"-'."t#.1i#[ilj;:'":fr i:$f, itt lifli,tx"l.:ffi
reresro thatgoat. mentonedbyCandra\;lr;sdnar^"t.nr*_ii.i
TdffJ:Affi:,:ry,n:n""r;n#li ri:i:Fj[]'i!j much'ess d;rhe ;:.i"":il:l-ili_:i:il,!lli,""iLT;,',?"
sam!ha.bhbse
rentrenditron ot rnr"nr,on"ir"-nor'"# l::_cuf
"" ;H;il#l.ffi ;::ll!",i] ti"'"Ii, fli: ffi :*'',",'.r",io;;; ": theworc,ssamdhi,samdha,and samdhyi, cana| be ,,-^Olco{Jrse, useotor "twitight". whrtethe word samdhyaisr
:::;x; *,;:[;iffi:t##??*H''ii#ill
DaysandnightsI spent,O Lord, [4osllythinkingiuslthat;now,I shal] asktheLordwhetherI havefailedor not. O Jinendra, Andas I so reflected, Thedaysandnightsconiinuailypassedon. belngpraised Andnoticingmanyolherbodhtsativas
100
Chapter-6 by the Preceptorol the world, And havingheardthisbuddhadhafama, ld lhoughr,,tndeed, ihis rs expressedin the mannerof lwilight; tr"" oi enIghtenmenl "itn" theJtnareveatsthe knowiedge thatis inaccesstbteto logic,sub e, and immaculale.,,
lllustrations of Samdhya bhasa sa-t/lka rsw len by Nagaruna.pre\Jmaotylhe ^saTe ^ _r-h.1:,andl,btta unl..c wto aJl'rO,ed lhe paicak.a.raor t^e Cu"yds,rmaja sysrem tn the Japanesepholo, edjtion,/t is in Vot.56, pp 67_6i). He lL(ls i i
Samdhibha sa,ltka(isl ro!nd) madhya l\\ine) is madana rs the ambrosia(amrla) of (inloxicaiion) heaven,lobe drunk conljnously mamsa (ltesh)is bala s wrnd,is food,lo be (slrength) controlled. malayala(sandtewood) is thecominglogetherof exlernal m//ara(meeling) states,senseorgans,and perceptions (basedthereon)_ whichis so lobe conlemplaledialso rne consubslaniial joy (sahahnada). krela (phetegm)is gati the passageol the wind;also, (gorng) whenonehaslhefouryogas,he contemplaleswithoulholdingit. r.e.lels it go. sava (corpse) s sraya rs rhe yartra of body hav nq (resort) intinitelight(amihbha),and one shouldresort to that group.
aslhydbharanalDane rsnlramsuka ornamenl) (naked) (wanderng)is preakhana dgalr krplla(wooo)rs
One shouldbe convnced,"lhese very bonesol mineare my ornamenls."
dundura(em ss on)rs abhavya(non-polential)
is v/kalpa(menialemission)and shouldnol be elsewhere.
(coming) is inhalationi andone shouldstop it lrom its v|olenlacts. the undefealedsound also,by conlrollingthe przliaandayama, one bealsil (thedrum)andmakes it even.
(N.ol a has avlkalpanalureialso, Kalinjara whilethewindis beinginhaled bhavya rnountarn)is lhere is no recilalion, {potenlial) less el) is the tour wheels(cakralol the Padnabhajana(lolrs is kapala(skull) bodylloneof which]is eitherthe
wheelattheheadorthewheelai ihe nave; or t is the kakkolaoi the lourwheelsare karmamudra-.-the thepadmabha)jana..
lrplikara(satislying)s bhaksya (laod)
is lhe meditation to be ealenby lhe yogrns.
malatindhana (jasmine (herbs) wood)is vyaarjana
scraping thee ement thatscrutiny is to be ealen. henceis present is Vairocana, through anoinlment otthebody.
caluhsarra(a potionol fouringredienls) is grlha loLing) kastuika (nrsk) is mutra (unne)
is Aksobhya,dltla.
srhlaka (lrankincense) is svayambhu(blood)
is Ratnasambhava, ditto.
Karpura (camphor)ip
is Amitabha, henceis present throughanointmenl,
102
Chapter€
is Amoghasiddhi, henceis present sarla(riceproduci)is ma hi\mamsa \human-llesh)lhesameway. is the unionoi senseorganand krrduru (resin)is lhe perceplon. un on oJthe lwo is vlrara iperception), orlhe extervola (g!m myrh) is nalvalra, vala (thundelbolt) kakkola(pedume)is lotus is thesecrellotus,or elsethe exter nalsecrelpraiRa, by meansol lhese, oneactsin /oga. Thaiendsthelirstroundof sevenin Nagarjuna's commentary andaccounlstor eachitetninlhe Hevajratantra listexceptfor "dln (untouchable)," dima(smalldr!m)isasparasa ornitledin Negerjuna list,or omrtledin manuscript copying.In lhe subseqLrenl rounds NAgaiunalreats theverysameoeressionswilhdilferenl commenls, anddindimadoesaDDear inthethirdround. Nageiuna'scommenlary suggeslslhatlhe HeyalTaianlra has givenlhebasiclislof"lwilighllanguage".These areexpressions for yogaslates,while"non-lwilight rejersto stales ambiguous language' of yogathatare notambiguous. Bolhtheseallernatives shouldbe distinguished fiomtheothersets,7?ela /tha,nftirtha;yathdrita,na" yalharula:andw|,ilea similarlyexlendeddiscussion of the latler lerms wouldlake us aiieldfrom our maintopic,some brief explanations, tollowing Candtakili'sPndlpoddyolara, arein order. Intantricusage,,eyarthaandniianhaareallernalive explanalions iora giventerm,usuallyreteringio a momenlous orprecious elernent ol thebody.Forexample, inthecaseottheexpression "grealblood". The neyadhais ordeinaryhumanblood,the rl/iarthais menslrual blood.Theset yalha.ufaandna-yathAruta rc|etlo lhe lermsemployedlorgivenobiectlve enlilies-When thetermemployed is standatd,ii is yatharuta.When ihe termis coined,apparently to enable ihe insdersol thecultlo preserue secrecyevenif thetextlallsinto 'lwilightexpression" unworlhyhands,it is na-yalhrula.Incontrast, does not relerlo a delinitegivenentity.and it is nol a meaning lartha).
Tsntrrc
fhe DiamondSong after the sectionon "twilightlanguage"in the tmmediately called ,t"itiratant,a,tiereis a tantricsongin thetypeol language '^i,"i,r-ra is which withold Bengali)' identified {sometimss Siddhas(tantric lo.tnemystcsongscalledDohaThe l5i"-,a 'v group "seO as SarahaandKarnhahavelella remarkable srcn i-ustersr ' Doh?r called vadously whrch are ol niln"r" .ong", rn" "otr"cttons as' kosa. Caryitgiti kG a, andCarydpad have onthe Heva./7ata'lra Ol course,thevariouscommentators and Snellgrove' song, tant'ic lhis to somee)dent eachhadto explain of i,tro editedandtranstated lheHevairatantranalurallyusedsome greal master tantric the unalely, Fo iorhisversion. thesemalerials the text of the songalongwith his tlarooahas reproduced ol the on particularexpressions in his commentary exDlanalions n e^anl iiu"tr"turtr. i^ lhe Vairapada-sda'sattgtaha-pafijika' this on his commentar/ pp. where 1 to 41), Tibet;n(PTT,Vol.54, (calya)' oorlionoccurs,p.32-2,tf.Thisis a songol theengagement arelhree thatlhere ritualshows on tantic section andourloregoing 'Vrata" {ritualobse anceol the engage' kindsot carya,rnorelully elc Thercis a considerable the khatvaiga' by ment),symbolized jnlormation pertaining to lhe "Stageol topic, on this amountof Yogaot the fo hcoming in my Comolelion" lsampannaaamal' commentary itsell, Naropa's to lhe song As Guhvi\samaiatantra. provides ot it thatis hardlypossiblelormreading as understanding notesThisis notlo denylhe valueol and translation Snellqrove's labors;inlact,hisinlormalion theH;valracontextandSnellgrove's is hereinthehead_where (mindot enlightenment) lhatlhebodhicltta is kollagiri-is a helpluladdilion,as ar€ his notes rnierentially as generally. But that is alsothe meaningof "diamond-skull', observe Oneshould on'lilualobservances" ;xolained in mvsection thatthe songiakesfor grantedthe basiclistol'\wilighllanguage' Noticealsothatthe songservesas an expansonol expressions. Om'thegeminthe mantraOMMANIPADMAHUI\'1, thecelebraled textis adoptedwitha lew modilications lolus,Hirm.Snellgrove's
104
KOLLAIRE TTHIAVOLAMUMMUNIRE KAKKOLA
rro y:3,(]1,".9':T"lg
ent,shtenmenr) dwerrs arKoas,ri(se "f
onsst: Katkola(thelotus)atMummunj{ihe navetd,sk). GHAANKtpnTAHOVAJJAT KARUNEKtAtNAROLA
exhorrarion rs uninterrupied. lhe dramondo, l1:.,0J:.9"0 m^o-ugnts of enlightenment holdsrne ruros theIn$rnstc inirinstc narureol nalure or the the tlth
worrdsts meltedform.The lwo organs congregatewjth friction. TIHAMBALU KHUJJAIGHADEMAANA PU.,AI
Havingunitedthevolaandthekakkota, oneshouldeat meat(=the 'rvepersonatity aggregates whichare the natureot lho tivi rarhagalas, andrrhichtherebyloseself_existence, meffingintoihi sefl-errstence ol the mindof enlighlenment possessing-the fivi mirror-tjke, etc.)iand-havingunitedrhoserwo,on; llol,:dq":. shoulddrinl wine(i.e.ambrosia) HALEKALINJARA PANIAIDUNouRuTAHIM vARJJIAI HaillThe,ortunatemrndo, enlightenment (Katinjara) shoutoenter lhe_anllers ot lhe lolus.The uniorlunale sense basesol eye.etc. (ounduru) shouldbeavojded CAUSAMA KACCHUFI SIHLAKAPPUM LAIAI He-fih-e_Lord) takesthefour,oldpolron(Varrocana). mLsh(Aksobhya), rraft rncense (Ratnasambhava). andcamphor(Arnrlabha ) (beca;se nersInseparable fiom lhern). MALAINDHANA SALTJATAHIM BHARUKHA|AI OJ)e-shou td eal vegetabtes (matatndhana) ,especialty ( dive aggregales) atong withnce{s:rtija)tfieknowledge o,lheTathagara). PREMKHANA KHETAKARANTE SUDDHA NA MUNIAI Coming andgoing,onecannolcomprehend thepureandtheimpure. NIRAMSUA A'i4GHA CADABIAITAHIM JA SARABAPANI ne paysno attentionto the boneornaments. on hrs .aked body l..me,0tamond of lhemindol enlightenment. rne narLre ol thelive xnow"'edgesJ. Thecorpse(sadba),i.e.the mrnoo. e.tgnlenment wnrchrssetfless,;s siluatedal thettp ol lhe noslntor the rolJs.
BATTAIDINDIMATIHAMNAVAJJAAI MALAYAJAKUNDURU al lne r aorng rna ayaja)oI the diamondmindof e^lghlenran' .tt r,ep.atna._hereisunronollhetwoorgans.Oneooesnot'ouc_ (dindima)(inany event,becauseit ls "untouchable"rhesmalldrurn 'Dombl'tandI ltimalely,becauseeverythinghas become Hevatra's !nifed). Concernngthe "com ng and going"ofthal song,the Samdhibhds?1t/ka.as prevously cted, has the explanalionthat t is inhalalion Suchremarkspoinlto the yoga pracliceof the land exlralalion). ''pat' lkunbhaka), wh ch ls treaied in my subsequentsecUonon NineOrlces
o
It
o o -c
o o
o o '=
o 0)
g,z :-
OF
ChaPter-7 I
leatureof Buddhistcanonical It is a well-known literature that (Parli: Maudgalyayana of theBuddha, oneoJthechiefearlydisciples was creditedwithspecialmagicalpow€rs( lddhiin Moggallana) Pali,fddhlin Sanskrit)with whichhe often visitedvariousother realmsol the worldthanours.Suchas thehellsandheavens.Ihe (Vol.l) soonlakesup an accountol lhisdisciple'svisMahavaslu itsto theeightgrealandotherrealms.Thes6stories do nolexplain howhe managed lo accomplish the teat.ll is onlymuchlaler-as faras I know-in theBuddhisl Tantfaliterature,lhat one canfindan explanalion ot howa yogincancontactlhe subdivision ol thelree worlds,according lo the traditional Buddhistclassification, that is !o say,the realmof desire,realmol lorm,andformlessrealm,The realmsoJdesireis said to includethesixpassiondeityfamiljes, as wellasmen,animals,hungryghosts( prei4, andhellbeings.The purposes, realmof lormis called,lormeditative thefour dhyanas, andhasturlherdivasions. Thetormlessrealmaisohasitsdivisions oi the basesol intinitespace,inliniteperception, andso on.These drvisionsare knowntromeadyBuddhislliteratureand are discussedacutelyin lhe branchof literature calledAbhidharma. Accordinglo the l:ntric literatureas wallbe citedbelow,the waya yoginlike [4audgalydyana can gain enlranceto thoseworldsis analogous to how a personmightgolherc atterd6athby reasonol destiny. In.short,theyoginconcentrates ina specialway onvarious bodyorilicesthal aredeemedto be cofielatedwithlhe beingsot variousrealms,whilethe personwho dieswithhisstreamot conpassingthroughone orificeor another,goes to the sciousness appropriaterealmof the intermediatestate{ arla Abhava).'lheotificeslhemselves are madesalientin ancientlndianlilerature.The restmay well havebeenstrictlyoral for conturies;bul thereare suggestions of therathercudoustheory hereinunlolded in thewidespreadinjunclion lo thinkola deityin the hourofdeathso as to go lo the realmof thal diety.Sucha leachingis loundin the Hindu classic,the thagavadgia,and the famousAmericanSanskrilisl
111
FtanklinEdgertononcecollectedmanymalerialson lhis subject foran arliclein Annalsof theBhandarkarlnstitute 1i927\. jn Thenineolicesarerefe.red to the S veta!vataralJpanigadwhichhasthiswell,known v€rse(lll,18): Theembodied swanmoveslo andlro, in the citvol ninegatesandoulside,thecontroller ol lhewhol; ,^/orld. of lhe statronary andthemoving. Thistradition ot nineis maintained inthe thagavadgitb (V 1S), wherethe mentionof ninegatesis commented uponas lhe two eyes,thetwoears,thetwonostils,the mouth,and thetwoorgans andgeneration. However, the KathalJpanj'ad {male)ot excretion (ll,2, 1)refersto thecilyol elevengates,andthecommentary adds lhe navelandtheopeningat thetop of the skullto the listof nine. ln a nat'veTibetan workof aslrology, the Dgeldan rtsis...lsec. Ja) by Miphamtshafrs-srasdgyes-pa'i-rdo,rje, lhereis a correspondence oJorificesandplanetswhich is of interestto mention heresimplybecausethe nineditferby inclusionof the navetand omissionof the mouth,whichai leaslshowa lackol unanimitv on whatthenineorificesarewhensoelledout: lwo€yes - Sun(righteye)andMoon(tefieye) - MarSandMerCUry hVO ears twonostrils JuDiterandvenus - Saturn navel -Rdhu andKetu(headandtarlotthedragon) :::11. i Whenwe passto the BuddhistTantras,we find in lhe Buddhajnaidpadawingol the Cultyasamajatantnltadilion, in thewoft of thefolnderBuddhas'rilfranapada, his Dvikama-tattvablAvarAtAma-mukhagaha \PTt,Vol.65,p.8-5to p.9-1),lhististof njneorifices in explanalion of lransferor transil(samkrant,by a yogjnor lhroughdealhbywayof oneor otherorificeto an associated externalrealm:1.forehead,2.navel,3.crownol head,4. eyes,5.ears, 6.nostrils, 7. moulh,S.urethra, and 9. an!s.This lisl includ€sthe elev€nol the KathaUpanlsdd, rcducedin,number by counting the eyes,ears,andnostrils,as oneeach;andthenaddsthelorehead center.Theworkconlinuesinthismanner:
,,:1[,jri][[$:i?rff '"*lsvl:iff H #r:'iil]"'f nxlru:'"1: livfi *:';:xuJ.::"'j."#;r,",'"u* ji*il!"!: i=,r:rlffy:::1titi:"""::*;*g::f i ji1,J"HI"":il"_i;il"J,ffi
iltt;j:i;,:,,:";;
:[.",''.?I""i;
fi #"'#:w [*ri*,i*ll*H:":,"iid'lf glnxlnr*.*ru:lqi iiilfii :$i""*:h:* -#flfltr*illh+"",ffJfi ,f,tr'r#:";r iHfr j:rm[:,15:i''!f j*:i":";;;*j ij['IiH;ll'"'0""""" thatPassagei Beioregoingturther,letus summarize Prognosticof whatPlaceor betng Oilice realmol lorm Iotehead ol oeslre crownol head nostllls
ureln€
passiongodsin realm folml6ssrealms abodeol Yaksas abodeof vidyadharas a kingol men hungryghosls animals
unuffi I::i[JJ; "o.'*ffi liili:::s,y"tf:,
***'ffi*,$i*f
112
9lgpter-7
The Nine Oilices of lhe BodY
j::r;i:;3:* jmgtlf,;;f,".Tilf, ;: H:x1r :r di: enc_er.means Decom,ns ar;r; ;;; ;:"J,:J!:iTirI":rT:,,h::
or eyeorntmenl-, etc.Thetrvesoundrngs areHUf.,l,0"""1r"" ,ii" ,J
rino lo lhe lhree commentariesin lhe Tanjur(usingthe Narlhang edii on). I did nol readilylind the placein Indrabh0ti'scommentary so turnedto the explana_ {Toh.1197,lhe Smrlisamdar"s'arar/oka), q u i c k l y l o c a t e d i n Abhayakaragupla's I ions-wnich FatnamaiaOoh 1199)' in'Suravaira' and 1 1gg) i\nnavanahiari Foh. Dza l9b l tr')slales Rgyud (Narthang lanjur' abha;ahardqupta I he use ol ot Complel|on lhe Slage praitice lo betongs rnat rhe seed-syllablesor of evokedgoddesseshere seems also lo mean seed o{roorn;oroarni"qcontrclover respecliveorificesby lrnaginlng employs .r.iu-ot"i uno goddessesir lhose places Thrs ltadilion ditterentsylabies than the precedingsyslem,which suggeststhal lhe mporianl thing s not the pa icular syllablesemployedbut rathera consistencyor stickingto the same systemlhroughoulall rhe oracuce.In lhe Samparialanlratradllon lhe seed syllab'esbe ono to lne erohllormsol lhe qoddessjianadaknr llhe W sdom and earsare coLnledas one Dak'n1.'or wtiichreasonlhe noslrrls onlicein lhe correspondencesyslemol eighlterms'ano are counl ed as two in orde; to gel lhe toial ol nine oritices Combininglhe 4 datalrom lhe iwo com;entaries' and helpedby the mat dala No following lhe Bhattacharlya)' by B hlhe Nispannayogavali(edited summarvis oossible(unloriunalely,someot lhe seed syllablesare stilqueslionable): leaturesio ihaitab e Foronethrng' Thereare someinlriguing ln lhe iour elementswhichthe seed-syllablesrepresentare stateo slgn' Taurus a fire is Afies the siandardaslrologicalorder, because earth,Geminiwindand Cancerwater;withlhe sameorderrepealeo lor the resi ol the zodiacalsigns-ReJelenceto the matenalsIn my will essay FemaleEnergyand Symbotismin the BuddhislTantras" tolhe locoffespond made are showthatordinailythe lour elemenls The etemenrcakras navel,throat (=neck),heart and "privilies" 15 an lhele so and lor"pnvilies entry Dresenltabledoes nol havean lhe Because lot legs leplace'nent rnD'rcalionlhal arms ls the theyrrustbe u^de' a'e nothereInlhe usuallocalior' lo"r -"leme"ts for water' ie stated stood in an extraordinaryway, as explicitly (PTT Vol 2'p Sampula-tantra "ambrosialwate/'. Again,when the might neck one lhe lo syllabre 246-33 4) ass'qneolhe oe uslon "lhree sel of Buddhisl usuar the have rheorizedihal f would start
t,l,t":;llly,:i;;*};1":1i,,mii ii:;,,T1":".;Tiliiffi l#hlTi,Ji:j",ff ::
1", i.:"#,'il"T"::: *[,J#[i
porliono, theseslarements. Bhavabhadra .,,, ]1.:gj"":t"nl y'ln "
(Daseranru,, Bsyud. ;'.".Ti:i;.:,u.""0*"-nama'rnahatanrrarav.ri
:ffr""",,:fl ; iliiii1!:fr:l.Ti:!,,#?i:;:ff j,q",,."T1#
m ;::XJ El="i"lil",iilil'i!;i: ji::;:r
jil}J,:J [::1i:ii{",!."1'"#;:l:,il:
godsot lhe realmol,orm.The lext, .proceeotng.lpwards,,. meansgoingforththroughthe golden doorithe Brahm6,_
:t1r";tJ; d:rff r:l#*a"i,x,fr?r[,H"]iji"{il*,1ffi Notice.In shoft, that the lhree bad desrl
j::titff:j:["f#+:'"ri"il,il?'t'.lu,i :H",:at
ft'ilt;.{ r+ff*$e*,*$m ::ffif :5'i; xJ,il [f in"J""$flx*"T""![ fil']ffJJffi
*:im?*:;:#ni*Li[{rrlffi;lilfl l";i.ff ##
113
(Pasupati)-DHU[,{
ol ambrosial water_Sut\,4 Puhtyingdelrsioo_STuM ponryrngpain_HAM puntyingvibrarjon_SMAM
Simhini,rhe Lion{aced Vy:tghri,the TigeFtaced Jambuki,rheJackat-faced ul!ki, rhe owt-fac€d
Canddli
o
f'
EgliiiEa igIEigEilgIEliE igigaE [iEEiE*li e:iffi: ffitteiesei€[iaB
ams (ampits?)
longue
ol fire-KSUM ot earrh-HoM
o"'.,".".o"or"o"oJ,Loltto. r", *,"oo,,oo^,",
The Nine Ofiticesof the BodY
117
t[",,::::i,i:"..a:,tT::"il:?: #:lii*1!.!,!ff ,.'??ft above roiaie ililff'#:1ltJ::::1il:J;:i:?,::J"',.;;o
transit(pho ba; Sanskit, samklent). Just prior lo the passage I shalltanslate(PTT,Vol.161,p. 10-4-81op. 11-2-2)he mentrons thala personwho is sick.sultering,orold, shouldnotengageIn lhrs praclice;and aller lhe passagehe alludesto some devlatevlews aboulil.
;r+***n.n+*iii",i:.1111#t+riiiti
*ry3Nf"x*i:ri:;:l"l["lil;iir"#iil[ ;.::",:r;fiT5i11":_X,lij",lilljji".,."b"""" "",.,-ti"
vj:. tr":;in:*lmlji5il::t$'fj:ilr"''::ffi ' fi:*:'?""T:1
f ;:*n":*ll *,p'"".'J:'
ff l:
jTlfi',,:;ij:jfJT#'i:x":,j""::1""*,,on asen,ranc. ':,:lJii:] ". d^be,nsar rhe rnrermed,a* i,,n""#l,Ti"ifi ""i"
jl: ;1;i:y".:;il il:*:"{:#ii{{,Tx,,Tr.:;;:ff
;ff
;X;:5ilI'unce
ord'|vrnitv 'lnrhero,rrorIie'knowredse
There are two basiccounselsabout transil.Ol lhese lwo, ya' llitsll lhe purification\ sbyafi ba) is as lollows:The g -na\ma-mah:llarlra) states: rivajradeka lradaka(i.e.lhe 'The alternations( mlhal ol the place are to be purrled. Atterthe r ourilicationshouldperlom transito{ihe stale ol being.Otherwiseit would be purposeless]Thai relers lo the ailernalions,pleasureand pain, ol lhe place, Le the body.Thatis, thavabhadraexplainsthatil onetransilswith oul havinglirst purifiedby cultivationot lhe heal-the ,ial ba (yogin'sresl) is purposeless.Thus, the prior clrllivation ol lhe heat is a distinguishedbasis for accomplishinglhe states:"tJpon binding transil.Fullhermore,lhe Vairadarka kumbhaka), the oritice the orificesby meansol the'pot'( ho es becomeoure."Boththe CatuspithaandlheSampula are consisientwilh that,becauselhey expresslhe neces_ sity lo clllrvate the kumbhakaol wind wfh a capacrlylo compresswilhinthe windlhal entersthe senseorgansand otheroriflces.Now, kumbhakawaspteviorslyexplarnedlo have the three degreesol hlghesl,middling,and lowesl; and those manvpersonswhoassedthal itsulficesto have the lowestdegree,speakas lhoughtheydo nol undersland the meaningottheTantra,Hence,whenone stopsthe lransil ot vihana throughlhe eight orifices,not includingthe goldengateat the crownot the head,itlransilsthroughthe goldengale al the crown of lhe head-And lhat lransil ol atlainmentis the chiel basis for the vidyadhara(wisdom holder)who oractices marltat SLlchslatemenlsol lhe Tantrasare essential;andeventhoughthereare (varlous) visualizalionsol 4frana (theperceptualstream)departrng from the body,it is necessaryto completethe characlenslics oJvisualizingit as explainedaccordingtolhoseTanlras
::#il:;il,xt,:J,'.::.""1[.JH.#T.:7,".,;1"il:] j lil,il;lll!"1l.iiJ.X"ii,".* o"he rpai;'",."" "*n'"ns lva
j:"r#ff ,Hrxl,::# # ;',ll:",{il$i#qf ,:"",:xn:*:l*l'*,"1.,:#l"lih.TitrT#lf : y ,*p d ches ffi;:ll,::3y,,"1,"fiii"J;:,'":L:," ssui, onng togetherlheskandsto lorrn a un re.tn,.
jfl:*::,,'", ::::!:j,:; j[:til;lr *.'.""i: ffi,:,#ni
118
NineOrilicesol the BodY The.e is both briel and expandedsubjectmatterof visularzaiionof lhe kansil accordinglo the loLrln Cdams n,^ s e9 drrlandol the kans,taccordtngto tt-ecounse,s ol t;: 'rnog schooj.Herelsnal, speakbr,e,ty.:sIg as sourcei gulus who pLr upDe,.nos,t|," pr"""pii I:jle-ceo's,o1tn: o'Inrsscnoot(/.e.lhatOtRnog).In thtscasFo.e rray wonJ6'.wnc'rdettyshouldbe conle-nplaleo as .he baSrslor ourryttgthe trdnsil.The g.//ds,ndtnla,n InatonF should contemplaiewhateveris one s own tutelarydeity.Sincethj Samputa and the Caluspilha have slaled amelhod of con_ temptaiingthe deily especiallyin this case, thal is a rea, son-rt one $outd succeed_todo it accordingly. As itwould take too much space, I shall not go in io rnal malter here. ls.econd,)The brightness,oloneselfas dettyand unitjng o/ lre rvfirds.Staftingwith lhe realmof cont;mplaling th; secrerptace.or.lhe nave,,one maq,nesa,eo A at ttre navel,a blackHUM at the heart,a while KSA at lhe brahmarcndh? (the goldengate).Thenone venemenfly draws up-theower wt.d, and :ma9na! it pLshedro lhe A syhabte ot lre ndver'and havng a,1veo,pLsFedto t-e HLJIV; ano ravrnqa .|vedat.lf,eHUV, pusneo to Ine KSA.5yhdbte. ano -e magrnesit re-desceldr.g to lhe ptdceo F; HUM rn tne hearl ar]d to the place ol the A in the navel. Now some persons claim lhal one shou d coniemplale il dis" solvrn9rnthe A andHU[,4, butdojngit lhe lormerway(i.e. s rrotvar v ng. nol dissolv,nq, ts berler.One \nortd wor( aI I lral,wayas tongas Ina prog-ostcs | /laosJrdvo .ot are an ich nq sensa..on,rhroborng. ::lse]. .t-henrog"ostics erc. dt 'ha crownol the head..Tr.e, he apprrca,ton lo lhe rre < as loJlows. Ore shO,.:lO put rner'ra,npa,tot t.e boOy I srltng up posilton, dno c.a\o h s two^-eFs 11'h h,! iwo '.an0s.()ne siortd slartw h la(r.g ,etJgea.d genF.atrng rnFn--d ote-t,ghterment .br,gFt. Tne- tromrr-e,eatnotthe lvhere onesell is the tulelary deity, one vrsualizes in the spaceslratghtup in lronl ol one,shead,al a distance ,rom 1/2,1os'x leer al a comlo'lable reve' he and tLte_ ,l oe.ty,^ 9rrr.r ta'y Inseparabie manne..Deeplynoveow rhdevo-
119
tion and faiih, one terventlybeseecheshim Then' having o ohrrvposrledthe A ol the navel the HUIvloithe hearl' Ks,qot tt e crownol lhe head;vehemenllydrawing "ni rl^i the lower wind one conlemplatesthal the A itselfis within rhe centralvein and whiie (moving)!pwad pronouncesa oroucdeerlike sound( khyu ru ru byut ,as) and dissolves ; th? HUM oftheheart. and one recitesA'HlKlor as many timesas necessary.Furthermore,the Hill',ltseltpronounces (whlle moviig) upward,and one recitesA-HUI\'{up io twenlv times and conlemplateslhat il (he HUM) is pro' noun;ino in the throat.Then one should conlemplatethe blohl K6A-svl'able al the b€hmarandhra and thal rs pu;e wh'te,as though the brahmarandhlaconstituledlhe .la'ry realm.ano tecitrngA_HlKvehe'nentlyfrvPrimesone sees_thalHUM proceedhastilythroughthe bhhmarand' hfa and dissolvein the heart ol the inseparableguru ano I ilelarv deily.Controlhngconsciousnesslhat way he sel_ rles .t rn tne tealm wrthouldrscursvethought Thal shows lom the lrans accordingto lhe sayl'gs o{ .n abDrevraled lhe ouus and lhe CatusPitha
ralherclearlylhai someol s passageeslablishes T
it
lr
NineOrlicesof lhe BodY Thatbrrngsus to the questionol whatis meanl by lhe ,,pof,/ . kumb.,k a ka)..J,\$tnv.olv es eslabltshingthe usLrat j.n or:;"1 ancelhroughtheoriltces "o"dii andthecontrasUng aonormaroryogacon_ drtron of thatissLrance. Cor.. n ng ,v dl 6 Lro,ltng onesellin samadhl,one restrainsgradually,and cloesjias ds tte samadi,and mutrar,ng -o. ,r-rsrFd .onq The "r" Ia,Lllo nol do,rg I lhal wav s as Jortows. InFtr no wr t. s wne'erpo lFeh6arlgel!d seaseotFebody, .dvy. one < p€nc-slickenandone,sihoughts becornerurnutruous (t.e, rheyrace).lloreover, fone holdsihe breathJiercety, a lault
occursln lhis case:lt ls laughtthat upon revenlnglrom likean an mal,lhevrtal lhat,lhe samadhlisspoiled.When, hrnent a fis nolcontroled,it is said,'Thereis no accomplis al samedhi:... On€ strikinglaclemerges:InBuddhaguhya'slradition the processal kumbhaxa,or ho ding ihe breath in the body as though it were a poot, does nol involve manifa placementas we have noliced n some oltheioregoing materials.AnotheI lhing, kumbhaka heres nottheordinarymethodoftaklnga deepbreathandtryrngto holdone'sbreath,bul a gfadualmethodof drawingin the brealhby b e degrees,withthe tonguelapplngit up as thougl,lt impercepl is thetheoto a lthesediscussions \r!ere waterdrops.Also,implicit cycles with indi in thelr individual body operating w nds n the of ry yogin famlllar. must be v dLa co ors and the ike,with which the invoivesthecenlralveln Tsot kha-pa'sAnuttarayogatreatmeni oj lhe body,hence the systemol lhree chief veins (in the position oi the sp ne) and implieslhe sysiemol caklas.In lhisconnectron, "lowerorilce".Thusthe therels lhe terrnnology"upperorilce"and commenlary in hls Prakas'lka tartric w rter Bhavyakrl mentions " p. vla ihe (PTT, 1'5): Arises Vol.61, at\ 1le Pradipoddyatana path iace," but two noskils oi lhe v athe ol the upperorf ce'means, is al ihe upperorf ce is aLsotreatedas the neck.The"owerorlfice" perineumlriangle, whichLn theposition oflhe HinduMirladhara,the the rnaleis al the rot ol lhe penis,the junclureol the tree ve ns.The Siags rim chen mo (437a 1)citeslhe Samputatanlra:. The leit ddi(i.e. /a/ana)starlingatthe neck (i.e.ihe "slstei'), s Shewilhthe Sambhogakarya drips lntoxicationlnto al lhe navel, and who rests oril ce. the lower The nadl f rasana)golngupwardfromthe navelis(She) likewisedrippingin lhe upperorifice,who rests at the neckand is knownto dripblood(i.e.Shewrththe N rmdnakeya,the "daughtel'). Th€ intoxicallonis explainedas moon. The bloodis saidto be sun.
122
NineOrilicesol the
9Ept"nl
o1 com-nenlary ,h-r mdr
That is ratherobscure,but is presentedhere lo contactmys$ ,, . dlly w,lhsomeolthe loregoingrnaler.alsand dlso fo aod an asp6ql tootheoflticeslhar nes in wilh sLbsequent ttntnc stJd,esrn"this
:":i:,i$;ff"."titrlilT;Y::;".::,::,::i::i:.,::"jJ:
I,ce , Here a curiOJspersonalexpeence rray be me^ oned.In rhe year 1946,soon upon returningto Los Angeles aft., f wasiisl ch_.arged iromlhe U.S Army,an otdeririend of;tne toot me itJi"g wlh anotheririendwho hadjustbeendischarged fromthe U.S.Nar,i rots-lree_oub?, demo.slratio.by a^ occu,ttypporgan,zal,on thai eroe(%dlherebyto encou,age .o enrolt so.re of thedrrenoees tor
j;lt: J:i";*ii":ff [i[tr*"rii.]i!;ri::"1",lil',nffi
r_qrru^leo Lslo mediraie o,rou, hear.whrrebreatning in u"rsoi with re-rea-sured sound-bealnade b,yamelrol.orlrc inslrument(which *-1. . wirh hea.r.bea ,rrer rn d very shorr :::l::"]:I erperre^ced ::' lsree w.Ip a slra.geshrflol co^c,senoss. I wag ,n some iv5lefloLsplacewtlna f,e,cerLshtrgbaci and to h, dnd became '.n f eo.P.onpl'Vtq jtt tneneaou.ed-b.eath,ng a-d OoLnLed oack ro,nornat consctousness. sittng lLrougnthe resro, tha sesston wrlnoL,coooeralng. At theconcrustoo ne de.nonsl.at on taSked rh€,othertwolriendswhatthey had experienced. Each reptiedthal
de_ FrnalLv. lhere is no conclusionon whetherl\,4audgalyayana lhe visiling oi oendedon such orrficeslor his legendaryexploils 'tea!e.! ard'rells.Thelact llal lhe nlnegalesdre ne_lloned n sLtchanc enl works as lhe Svetas'vataa Upanidad Which has a sectiononyoga,suggeststhalthe yogicexpe mentaton wilhthese or lices is of great anliqulty.BLrtihele is no proofthat around the ol these anydejinitecorrelation 1meol GautamaBuddhatherewas ofifrceswilh exlerna realmsin lhe welldevelopedmannerol lhe lanlrc texlsciiedheretn.
r" bL,r nolhins InoarricLra, nappened. l:.:,^11"]:y9 "l,"cr,ons r rrs eva.roteshowslhalbv concFnt,atrng on a spolor rhebodyin
jJ; j."i:,'J Mi::::{1;TXiJ#ii:;";:rx?i:::H"i": theperson do,ns r,rsmLsr oepr.pa.ed to,ir l:'.io^l:: l9ivrou:ry. w r r na \ n o w t e d g po f l - o w l o d o I a - d w h a t l o e y p e c t ,t ^ e s , a n d d r do ,
ffi?L:lt
whatto do if heis successlul rhal s ttre"voginl
Anolherobservationis thal the texls cited make no distinction , reeards ji: l:g:l_q,reremareas r\eorrcFsa.r"ouehrr 'nrgnr ::,:1::: Derr o'rghtthallhe fematehasonelro,e rhdn tre TatF S;rery rnesewoAs a'e ^ol w len \/ t^ so e y the na 6 t- .rrfd, dnd so r-ere r-sl be a^ exola4ation to.lh.s,l-tlo.n ry.I roL,ldd passage
fl
I
c c o G
c O6
OE ct= CF O.(E
oY
(cL
otr> :
i
E=9 () lJ-E
ol Inilialion Fundamenlals
127
Chapter-8
f
Holdingot view In the Kriy6Tantra
I hedcaryaAbhykara teaches inlhe yalAuar-nAmanandalasadhana{Toh.3140}thatwhenone is conferredthe six Initialion (abhisheka), ie. lhe flowergarland,the waler,the diadem,the the bell,andthe name.he is authorized thundelbolt, tor all such thingsas listeningto and explaining theTantrasbelongingto the Kriyaand CaryaTantraclassesand for concretelyteachingthe Initiation(s); and lhat consequently thereare no olherlimilations than thosesix in the Kriyaand CaryaTanlras.lt is said in lhe Jhdna-tilaka-tantta("loh.422), Thewaterandlhe diademlnitiations Arecelebrated in the KriyaTanlra; Thethunderbolt. bell.andnamelniliaiions Arecelebraled in theCaryalTantra; Theirreversibla lniliaiion ls revealedin theYogaTanlra; The passageshowslhal onlyllowergarland,the waler,and thediademInitiations appearinthe KriyaTanlra;lhatto thoselhe Carya.Tanlraaddsonlythethr€einitiations lknownas ] thunderbolt,bell,and name;thal lhe Yogatantraaddsonlythe lnitiation ot the Hierophant (valr.a-. cerya)lcalled]irrevers ible(avaiva rtika); andthaltherearenootherslinlhosethreeTankadivisions], while lhe AnuttaraTantra accompanies thosewiththethreeHigherInilialions. Then howis it that an occurr€nc€of lhe Hierophant's Iniliationin the KriyeandCaryeTantras is stated,amongother,by the (in Toh. 1818, lhe acalya Rahula-s'ri-kalayaramitra Yugalanaddhaprcy,a6 h- rdme-sekapA ktiyA) ?He explainsprophecy (prasvasa), (anujra) andpermission \vyitkanna),encoutagem€nl to be the Hierophanl's Initiaiionbut thoseare not the complete characleristics of the Hierophanl'slnitialion.For the complele
oJ Initiaion Fundamenials cnaraclelsrcs ol the Hrerophant,s lnrtr
,":JJ :.':;J;;;*l,#ll;:::lj";i:,- ;J.;;l ::i: 2 nFo.,'pl-ose, gna,,r.*',,,*,. .. l i'l1o"T' ;,::r:;:,.::;:: '::: .'r ::::,T.:,1::i;,:: :,:::33ij,: t: :,r':," ;".";r,;: jr f : ';":, :: ;;; ryi. [f;#ii]j:ir:': ::: "nf 1'; ::.;::.: :1:ii;".::[t;l;#:; "",;". I n F . r r e Fp , a o g e
^
.
p r'aaDpcJoa(
Bolh the yoga and the Anultara Tar
1;:;"":; ,;"U"",1;t:,:;;;"i:i'": ":;''i,:;:'" "":;: ""tt;;; !: ;;::'::l:;i: :;:lJi; :: .:"1;::""" ";
-".d"""".:"",",T""j ;:;::;;,"-"*"
"^,l;
fa " o" . n
:"';":. ;:";,",f :1":."".:ij-'';;*. p::;"":;;":."."YJ
n6rea,aa,, e """".:::i:"1,Tnli:1,"":lt:i;:;"
1; ;: ; r ;."ii!*j1;:1"*:li : i:;;;i iril i ,"";:: r-.'"", ;::;i:;;":{ilii#d;;"":,*1r r u s ra s l " s a i d n l h e H e v a t r a t a n t r a , H F el
j";" :"'"' i'd:#:,::"1:""j ;;"'o-,"n', "
o,, o .eor
i ",.1..":"1). ;:;.,", " ;-;,.,i""j"l.',.'"",:; ,"
'i"
naeoLn,ooo< l ,1,"":.J,1i""i:"1iffi.":fi,l".-"1
:":IT:il',-i:li,' ;;:lr! ;il ;-:t::"; ":tli
q o d . A i o n, a o . t n ^q i . , i - n ^ , ' , ; ' : l : : , ; " : " " 1 " . , " ' " ;
rnara moreoveT lheVajraFamily,the lniliaiionsoiVairapaniBhutadal from gods descended as many with vidara,a Vajra wh te the oi manclala suchaslne cornpositions, S'abarl_pa's ma har siddha the vldhl ( .e. Toh.2932, lhe Vairavida rcna'ne ma'dhe rantmandalavidhiratnadvulind ma) pe ormed' whaleverbe ihe KriyaTanlraIniliation Moreover, (sa dhogand f rst one makesaccordingto the ru es the soi rite niliation (slagon).Alierlhose,lheIlowerrgarland the preparation are conierredAfter the waierIn t ation,andthe d adem Inltiation permission are vald when and the atler,prophecy,encouragement, nol ernployeo' are emooved.and thereis no violatlonwhentfley (i e the lour lnitiaiions the llask, How€;er.thal thoseaccomplish an arbitraryherelca andthe lhreeH gherones),is lantamountto In( alron,il Furlhermoreas regardsthe melhodoi bestowing Tattvasamgrahalloh the Tantra, s sa d in the FundamenlalYoga 479), For entry nto ihls great valladhAlu'ma'dala, one need not is a worthyor an unworlrlvrecep whelhersornebody nv€sligate lhls slat€menl oi misunderstanding laclei As a consequence eachI me Initiation greal oi beslowrng blunder therehasbeenthe rnean The receptacles' unworlhy Lrponh!ndredso1worlhyand pla i ed s e latlva>ong'ah' he no o l-al .r'o_ Jn ' O ( r "L F [ ^ D , d n d r o v T d n l d V d ] ' a < e l h a t u \ t o h a E O 'w t h l
F I F
e may worthvandthe unworlhyreceptaces,1heworthyreceptaca e d l n t i a t o n ' i t h u s lheun c o n l e a n d b e m a n d a t both;n1erthe le s bul meanwn ma'dala' enterthe only may wortfv recepiacle only entering pr ol ncjple the Concerning Iniliation. nol c;nlerred the ihe /n€ndaiaand meanwhilenol belngconlerredIniiiation, 2516) says: Vairodaya(Toh mandala'vidhi aca rva Anandacrarbhas "Oneslou o noi sayto thal person, Fromnowon, you of sucha This meansthat ithe cafdldatel s not madeto lake name....". The :rcarryaAbhayarkara explainsin lhe mandala'vidhiVaiA vali(Toh.3140)that the dillerencebelween a worlhya and an ls whetheror not one is able to keepllre unworthvreceptacLe .aNt )aTto.a lh'veyl'd n'd a'd'rdSan' o; n t' o nTa. rdr\
_or I . 8--.'hF t;/€ronrnc g'eoi d.arva D.o"nf a,dbhdd " "
of initiation Fundamentals 450_verseso, the Mariju.vala cuhyasantqamanchta-vtcthr fidh
:"':'1"""',x'#:::::iff :,['",ff """"#::i'jH,'::;;:"];:i[:
lhevowshetdincommon are(1)thetakingot relugelintheThree
rhe[rindot Enrishrenme;r. seneraring
rsl inJ l:l:l:l.jr, vow For those, boonrsattva ""0with lh; one lrespectrvetylengages
?ii:'fr:Hl;ff :'Jtrit:iJ,:J.1::,"flfi ;i:i+idli:i;if
"e expld,nslFalthenlnlythe ltve yldlj InIraUorsare conle(ed.
:ltnk"i;;:5li: dJ,:;:.j"t*.ifl:Ilx": 0o^eratand specralvowsol the fiveFarnitres
ln rega d to that,he (i.e.S enli-pa)expratns thatwhenone is rddp lo hold lhe v,dyadharavow, h;eis compratetyconferreolhe hrtrar|on atongwirhlhelhreeHigherones.BLrrwhe; :11",1!:1,. one rsiot conlerredthe Hierophanl.sInitiatton. he is not made lo noro 'ne vows of the five Famitiesiand when he is made to holj
j,;i:: :[ilK:[".i:iilf i:"*x.lni:",,ff ffiff i"1"fi
K.rya dnd Carya Tantrasit rs most improper lo rake the vows ol , e ve ramtrlesand so on, Hence.we do nol accept as aulhori. lal ve the mandak-victhrsol Sitatapatra pandrtapadrnankus,a by
::::.[yglffi "f::il;iT*",#":]iil3j;:;# on'ndm qu,hya-untnIJoh.806)ajsospeaks meretyo, ho,dh9 the
therrind rorsnrrghren.n"enrl, ::l:ilJ:!::ifl:fl:":r seneratins
ma'dalawithoulre' commonvowsis permittedonlyto enterlhe ol lhe Fundamenlal Thisis the teaching :";;.; ."" lnitraiion. Tanlra tn. t o*"amgtaha(Toh479) itsExplanalory mandaraTanlra] "lo"iintti, ,il valase*nara(Toh.480),and the lYoga 'vdht.6e phase rl rs (Toh.2516)Forthe Anutlara vaircdaya '""tri""rarv t\ mandala'vidht the on '"""."i '" tn.{Toh 1871) in his comexplains AndBuddhaguhya iso"sranzas tToh 1865). lhesamepnnc'_ onlhe Mahevairocanalhal menrarv {Toh.2663) caryelTanlras andthe pleqov;r.s ootnlhe Krryar lhe a'e conferred i'onrytheI've vidi'dlnitialions Moreover, lo made nol is one and -.croonant s in tiationrs not conlerred the S anlr-p'r' acdrya The i,*-in. ol the five Famtlies and ".*.tu ^-oa'pa'Ratnarksrta thei'caryaAnadagarbha ^i riat iaan" oI vows the iakes whoever lhat allteach the acervaAbhayakara Inilialion Hrerophanfs the rn! t'veiamities-.rst ueconterred and Nowil someoneweremade onlyto enterthe mandala ? ll advanlage be lhe would whal Initiatron. ..t i" U" lailh with mandala "."f"ir"O lhe beholds and rnf ,"rrs" .".'Li". "ow sinsaccu' inereis t'e aovantigelhat he becomespurifiedlrom ot conscious_ his stream planls in and -li.tla-rot."* r' lulure ""-ons ai"position( vasana)ol becomrng i.r.n"rri rn" (i'e palh "..I ,"""pt"I'r" fit foi entenngthe profoundmantta iirl-"'" theVajra-Yana) five Tnetive v/dvaIn ;atronsol the KriyAandCa'ya andlhe lnil'a' vidvh ,au, in't'aiions'otlhe Yogaare alikein being'rve beingthe there alm' same the have ao nJt r,,i'iJ r'o*eu"r, ,ev ol nighandlow qrealdlslrnction the The Slsiddhi (Toh.807) explainsthal if' lrom among Initia' the someoneis conferred threeF;miliesol theKriyaTanlra, eventhoughhe has not obthen F;mily, t|t" i.tr'a,g"tu ii"" Families{i e Padmaandvaira)' i'j"J "r r"iri"r." i,iir'" ,o "rher'twothe godsof lhe threeFamilies'to ill i" lrt*i."d "*l€mplate to listento theirTantrasHowever'he .i,i.t tii"ir. ar,at"n;"' "ni and permission of suchgods .u.ioor"in rf," ptopn"cy the Padma ll someone -l""i"o has beenconlerredthe lnitiationol h€ is Families' .ura"ed initialionin the other r".iru
."".'J:.',:ffiff Jl,i"?i,""":1yiHl,:t";:l',j"1] ff::+iliJ::",',
FLrrhernore. inborhtheKnyaandCaryAaciorarng roAuOOfragulya,! Mahavanocana-silrc comrhentary (To.2663),th" one*n6,",rn. t1e volvsmayneretyenterrhe mandata,whte it he 1ul""l: l:lo
i;i:ff;xx"_':l"Jt#lt::xl i;::,?::ffi :i:il:if i,""".x: ln short, whoeveris unableto keep the
common and lfle un-
13r
s of Lnitafon Flrndarnenta
Chaptero
133
ln the Buddha,hrsLaw,and the supremehosli my own and olhers'alm For accomplishing qenerate Mind oi Enlightenment' the I N/indol SupremeEnlightenmeni' generaling the (3) Aiter sentrentoerngs; allthe hosl lo shallbe the besi practiceol Enlighlen_ practice zesliully I shall
a!lhor|zedto contemplate, mutter,and listenlolheTantrasinthe lwo Famrles ( .e.PadmaandVajra);however, he hasno authorily rn the TathagataFamily. ll someonehasobtainedthe Initialionof the VajraFamilybut nol obtaned Inittation in the otherlwo Farnities, he s authorized lo conternplate, muner,and listento theTanlrasin precisety that ValraFamiy, but he has no authorityin the otherlwo Familles. Whal constitutes holdingoi the commonvow which one is madelo holdfor Initiations ol the Kflyaand Carya? Holdingthe vow ol the llind of En|ghlenmentamounts10 generatingthe EnlfanceMind (prayesh-clfla)and hotdingit ritualy (wrlha ;/dhr. tven when the Entrancelvlindis bornin the streamol conscious_ ness by the powefof intensecontemplation, if il is not held ritu, ally,il doesnotbecomeavow(samyara;i,e.js not,heldlogethel). The feasontorcallinglhe vow.,common', ( sadhalaia)is that rl nLS' be heldwhelherore enlersby way or lhe grealparamla vehcle o' by wdy of rhe Manlralvehtcrel.and. no.eover,,r oy way ol lhe Mantravehicle,thatit must be heldwhtcheverone of Ihe fourTanlradivtsionsprovidesthe pathoi enrrance;and, moreo_ ver.ii by wayolthe AnuttaralTantra],lhal it mustbe hetdwhether one rs masle,nngthe path of produclion(ulpatr) or ol comptetion (n/spanra)Consequenlly, one speaksol a,,commonvow,; As regardsthe occastonsat whtchthe disciples lo lake t, lhe authonlalive lexls propoundlhree views.Accordinglo one, h e i s l o l a k et a t t h e o c c a s i o n s b o l h o t tphree p a r a l o r y n t e a n d o l enlenngthe mandala;accordingto anolher,only at the lirst,not al lhe second occasion;accordingto slill another,only at the second,not al the flrstoccasion, Wilh what words does he take il ? They are grvenIn the VajrapaaI aratantra (Ioh. 4 19). (1) ltake my refugein theThreeJewels, tcontesseveryone of my sins; I e,oiLeil the menrsot lhe l,vingoFing": I set my rnindon the Entightenment of the Buddha. (2) ltake my reiuge,up to Enlightenment,
May I becomea Buddhator the sake ol the world! ( Marv mandola'vdh' al the Auhyasambia vcle lfe acatya tohtVararaLtToh3140l anomanyolher Aohd,a,aa5 mandala'v of lakingthe entrance\ow I pravesa' metnod tne aaopt wort
.)
c . . t a m € n l a t 5 o f I nt r a t r o n
I ks na dharma),he 'rluslaccomplish and colleclthe iour white nalrtes \s ukla dharma).'Thus, it one does not relectthe four b ack natures,they becomea causein his subseq!entbtrthslor lhe non b rlh oi generation oi theMind,evenlhoughn lhe presenl liie he takelhe generalionol lhe Mindand not rejectil. Now,lhe one wfroabandons the generation ol lhe lvlindabandons lhe hope oi aclingior lhe sake of all senlientbeings;and ihe one who abandonlhe hopewhichrs the des re of achievlngBuddhahood, abandonsthe generalon ol the lV nd. When one has r tuallylaken holdoi the Enirancetvlnd, he musiwellunderstand the basc transgfessions and ancilaryla!lls of lhe Bodhisatlva vow and guardagainstthem. Belore being conterfed In liation, one lakes ho d ol lhe Bodhisallvavow.He repeatslhe wordsthree limes atter his leacherwhile beingmindtulof lhe srgnificance as explarned above. Whenlhis repetition is iinished.the vow rs bornin his slreamoJ conscrousness. lf rt is not perlormedwith mindfulness ct the signil cancein lhatway,therets neitherthebirlh ofthe Bodhisattva vow nor mendng of ils vio alion.And whenthe Bodhisallva vow rs nol born,the Mantra vow cannotpossbly be born. When the generation of the Mind s admintstered to a arge groupof persons,they mustI rst be maderesotuteby way ol the seven memberedrile ( sapbigavidhl a^d an exptanaton oi the a m ( arlha)and benefit( hlta).In lhe phaseof the mainpart lof lhe rite ot takinglhe vowl,they shouldbe instfucted,,Think, I shal allarncompleleBuddhahood lor the a In of the senl ent be, Ings, and repeatrt atler me:'Whenthey have been drawninlo repealingitaiterthe inslruclorandhavegeneraledthe cognrlion ol lh nking,'l shallattainBuddhahood Ior the aim of alllhe sen, grealmentarises.Also,whenthe Asprralion tientbeings", Mindis nol takenwilh a specialrile,thereis no faultwh ch v olatesthe thingslo be learned. Whenone s conferredInitialions of the Kriyaland Cary:rand is nol conlerredInitiaiions belongingto lhetwo higherTanlradivisrons,lheTers no reasonto prolecta vow beyondthe Bodhisaltava one, lhat s, ihe l\,4anlra vow lvoreover,when there ts lacking in
( rhesteamol sciousness-al the lowerend' merelylhe morally laymerely lhe deeds or sii/a)oi renounclnglhe ten unvirluous ianls vo* to guardthe live precepts;or at lhe upperend lhe vow vow o' he ordarnedmonk lhe4 ll^eBodhisallvd n/a/JroAsd Initial on merely an Hence, rl s conlerred one no.- no'o'lq,nat: vows lwo have the must he certainly or Carya, ot eilherthe Kriyir o' , e. ordrn_o^saaro Bodhrsallva)andlre bas,cllansgresslo_ 16c vowts)amou.llslo a basicI onsgresslorof the "or''6o_''q grves M nd ol Enlighlenment However,the Suslddhl(Toh 807) Kriytr (samaya)of the specialpledges lorproiecting manvreasons lhe 01 to be earned things included rn the not are thal andilarva Bodhisaitva the or [vows] oralimoksa l h e c o m p F I e c ' d r a c l e r l s l c so r I h e o o l d , n s o n e Whan oi theYogaand Anultara(Tantrasl, an.l below Initialion H erophanfs he oossesses lhe tree vows \t.e. ptatimoksa Bodhisatlva and are the basiclransgres_ lvantra).and the basiclransgressions sionsol lhe Manlra[vow]Now ii for the vows of the Kriye!and CaryalhereIs no basrc vow, s thrsnol otherthan thal of the Bodhisattva lransgresslon by Jo bo n dis;greementw th the Samaya'samgrahacomposed the Kriya, ol lAtlsal,which rnenlionsthlrty basictransgressions ol lrle transgresslons and so on ? That work says,"Fourbasic louF ol the Kriya ihirly oratimaksa,Iwelve ol the Bodhisattva, of Yoga Tanlra,lourleen ot lhe ieen ollhe CaryaTantra,fourleen make llllve more, and sl yogaTantra, an additionallour, the Mahar a otal ot sFve_ly Havrngenurreraled.l'elv_seve_ l Ives a a blunder'Bul totalol sevenlyiandlhe counialoneis obviously says i guru Samayavalra passage, "As my lhe lhere occurs ^Krsnasamayavajra gur! Jo bo, thal ol not lhe was and since Llork s nol composed bY Jo bo.
Fundamenlalsoi lnitiataon
Fundamentals of studying the path atter receiving lnitiation and taken vows Inlhethree owerTant€s(j.e_Kriya,Carya,andyoga)there are nellher lhe aims ( artha) nor the terms I vyavahera)ol lhe Steps of Prod!ction ( ,lpatti-krama) andthe SIepsot Completio; \ ntspanakrama). It one proceedsaccord ng lo lhe chafacleris. t cs ol lhe Slepsof production, it is not sulticienlto im t onesetf lo an Inlensecontemplation (bhayara)in immedacyconiorming to lhe I ve perfeclions ol the resuttalive compteteBuddha,lor I i; also necessarylo havethe yoga of intensecontemplal on con_on rg to the rh'ee soleresol purificalron { lDya,i9zr).nanely. brrth,death,landthe rntermedrate state.ln the treelowerTantrai there s lhe intensecontemplation in jmmediacyconlorrning to lhe frvepertections ot lhe resullalivephase;however, as lhereis no yoga ot Inlensecontemplation conlormingto lhe lhree spheres ol puriication,namely,bith, death,and the intermediale state. 'nerearPno sleps ol Productron. For the completecharacterisiicsof the Steps ol Comotelion. rl ooFs rol sulltcelo have merelylhe Intenseconle.nD alionol vordness (s! ryala) ol the naturalstate (gnas /ugs)oi th ngs (dhamra) and the rnlenseconlemplationol the yogaol the w)nds eeyd, lrutrt s alsonecessaryto havethreespecialthings,as the case may be: (1) the knowledge ol blissvoid(sdkha-srnya) whichoccurs lforn maktngthe wind(s) enler. stay, and rise for teavingin the cenlral ve n I avadhnti)t(2) the djvinebody which occurs 'ron rhdl a^o t3) the yoga o. piercrrglhe v al lknow.edgel; cenlers rn lhe uncommon'means'body ( upeya-deha)alltact9d by those two (i.e. the knowledgeand the divne bodv).In the lhree lowerTantras,lhere is the inlense conlemplation ol thg vo dnessot lhe naturalstateandthereis lhe intenseconlempla, lron of lhe.yogaol the wrnds;but as the others(i.e_the three speciallhlngs)are lacking,lhere is no intensecontemplation of lhe stepsot Completion Therefore, in eachot the lhreelowerTanlras, thereare bolh the yogascalled wilh signs"I sanimina-yoga)and .w thout signs" \ antmlfta-yoga).
'137
The Procedureol the KriyaTantra Thereare three melhodsot procedure(a,uslhana)in ihe K ya muttering Tantra,narnely, medilalior|(dhyena) aacompaniedby accomplishmenl and muttering, ol /joaJ,medilallonindependent ol slddhlafter approprialeseruice(seva/. (1)MEDITATIONWITH MUTTEBING acts to lhe T_rcrds lhree sactio's.namely'the prehmlnary ol memllers part lour oJ lhe lhe main of mullering, lour members mut_ ol members lour to the acls terminallng and the mLrttering, rerng (a) Preliminary acts to the lout mernbers ol muttering Thishaslourphase:l.makinglhegeneraldhe'€n'sandseals imudre\ ol lhe Familiesi2 bowing to all the Buddhas and ;odhisaltvas ol lhe len directionsand ot{eringup oneselltothem; I. ra\rngrFlugednd generatnglhe Mind lol Enlghlenmenl]: 4 prolacl;glnroughdhianisandsealsfmudd) lnlhesamephases one resp-eclivety,ll.goes outside the dweuing;2 goes througtr the balhingritu;ian; so on and then reentersthe dwelling;3' dressesi;religious appareland takesa seat;4- perlormssuch acls as blessingthe ollering and prolecliononeselfand ihe place These acts are equivalenlio the contemplatingol the protectve c rcle(raksacakra)ol the higherTantras (b)The main part ol the lour members ol mutlering ue-e Ine'e are lwo parts:lheserviceto be donethroughcon_ lernpLationol sell Generationin Fronl a. Generation ol Sefi DeitY The thst god The sell Realily (alma-laltva)is the contemplation@hevana) and multiplicily lhal (1) is lree irom suchconceptsas singleness and Madhyamika; by recourseto lhe reasonedlofmulationsol the accom_ because (2) which decides that on's own mind is void plished by intrinsic nalure After that' the God Reality (devataIaftva) s ihe contemplationoflhe realityotthe God to be conlem-
o1 n lialion Fundamenials 'l: S:" R*,rty as insepardbte andas devoo ot Inrnn. l]:t::.ilo src narur-a. I he lwo realliesconstrlure the Aeat,ryCod rrarivaderarar-arnorg the sixgods.Theyare equrvalent lo lhe conte;o aron oi vo,dnessin the htgherT6ntrad;vts o. tnrt t,.," mute ng of such expressjonsas syabhaya ",,"n0, and sunyala, The second god 'rn"g'n".lhat tne god to be conremo.ated p. ^. -1j913n" \r cre. ared medttalively) oul of lhe sphereof theVord,s rnarvery goO ,n esselce,andlhathtsaspecl(j{ar.a)is the;ntonalon ol thesou.ds ot lhe dhenni to be multered.Thal faspect] as the rrnO s soie .nedilallve objecl{jtarrbanalrsthe S;uno Cod I sar/.,a-ooraiai. The third god Then one imaginesihal his own mind (c/{a) transformsilseli .,
tl: r.no9ldisk(candra-mandata) uponwhicirtre sJ; llIo t)e_conle'nplaleo :fy.hto?
is lhat very god in essence.T"F conterr;tdron-otrts asDeclas the aspeclol the relter. tr-" ao.o,o. ,,q"r tt" dhe'ni to oe nuttered rs the Leltel cod ,aksara::i";,:,1 Fof those Sound and Letter Gods, it is sattsfactory 10 use , erlherlhelong rdifgha). theessence thrdayal,ur rre.Fa, Fssence Iupahtdaya)dhaHnL The lourth god Then one imaglnesthat frorn those letler emanate Innumer_ , , rays able of hght.lrom the ends ot wnich.ssLer^nurnef"b,e as.
grhir sod,obe nrersery conranp,areo
rhey fl ^:l]l:.,!::l punryal senttenlbeingslromlhetrsins,obscurattors. and sutt"r,.gs. andthey givejor/lo allthe Buddhasand thejrsons Bodhisattvisl bynnarking olferings to ihem. Then the rays, li_e. rogetherwrth the gods.are,wrthdrawn. absorbedby rhe lelte;siano t-e noon, tot:!1"",
rtse rnrorheoa.recreo body
o, 9^"]ij"*]lnJ!" lransJortrq rn^e, god to be conlempjated. This as ihe nedtlafve oblect rs lne rotm (j00 \tupa-clevabr. Al the ljr'reot dorngservicethroughconlemptalon ol Setl ^uenerdtron, one needonrycontemplate the Lordrprabhu)but .rot
139
his retinue(parivEra),pa ace (vtmana),elc The filth god Then, f one know llhem]he toucheswlth the variousdheranis and sealslmudre):1. the crown of the head,2 the spacebeeyes,4 the shoulders'5 hveenlhe eyebrowsfurna'kosa),3.1he naval. lf one does not know and 7. the the neck,6. lhe heart, places withasingledharatis helouchesthose (them)tothatextent, threeFamrliesAnd particular among the Family and sealof that the Seal God (mudra_ they are adhislhlta), having been [thus] devah). That is equivalenlto the blessingol thesense bases(ayalama) n the h gherTantradivislonsThe sixth god Then wh le the aspectot the god is bright,one lortiliesthe ega (ahamkA? or garva).Thai [aspect]laken as the mind'ssole meditativeobject is lhe Sign God I nimitta-devalA) Those lgods]are equivalentlo the generalionby meanso{ in the higherTaniras. lhe |ve Abhisambodhis Discussion of Sell Genetation the Kriya the tollowing:ln The o der gufusolTibetmaintained of onesellas a god does not exlstbeTantrathe contemplation cause lfre magical ta enl (s/ddhl)is obtained as a result of con_ lenrpatinga god n {ront,for whichreasontheysaid,"oneobtains srddhltrom a god who is so to say a masler (/ha rie bo lla bu)" There is contemplationof Sell Generationin lhe CaryfrTantranevertheess,alterdrawingin lhejnana beings,thereis neitherlni t alion labhiseka)nor ihe applicalionof the seals (mudr?r-nyasa) ol the I\/laster of the Family;withoutgeneralingthe samayabe Ingsin lront, one invitesthe/narabeingsand,afterseatingthem, makes ol{er ng and takes s/ddht, lor which reason (s) they said, 'one takes s/ddhl irom a god who is so to say a ltiend (lha grogs pa /la bu)l' In the YogaTanira one generaleslhe sell into a god, appliesihe seal draws n lhein,rnrbeings,is conlerredlnitialion, of the Masterol the Family,and finallyasks the god to depad.In
140
9!9pter-e
the AnuttaaTanira one generalesthe self into a god, draws in lhe is conlerredInrtiation. /nana,betngs, apptiestneleat otrhe [,lasl tpr or rne famrty.and at lhe concluston lhe godsare not askedlo depart.ThefourTankadjvisionsare determinedaccoralngroihi rourdiherentwaysol generating the gods.Thisr" .rd" k."o;; ;; Ine E!olanatoryTanlraol the Auhyasamaia.the Jnanavajesamuccaya (fah.447J, which sets forth lhat the accomp|shmenl tree fromlhe sublimejoyol the /nana berngsand freelro.r lhe pride or oFeseIas a god,is wellestablshed,n lhe K ya Tantra Bu-slon.Hrn-po-cie sard..The ,cArya Buddhagunya rnen. .Uons lnal n theKriyaTanlra thereis SellGeneral.o-ard "e marn_ larns that tt is not in conflicl with the Kriya and Carya, but ihe import here has to be investjgaled.,,Thus, he lejl the matter unde_ Ourown schoolmaintainslhal in the KriyaTantralhere are . all lh.osethings generation ot set,Intoa god. Iniliarron to owrngthe rnlrod,rclron ol the /nanabern9,and apptical,on of lhe ceato, the M€slerol the Family.Whenthe icarya Buddhaguhya quotesthe Mahavat.oca,na(foh. 494)a d lhe Vajepeny-abr'se*a rfon. aSOl ranrras,ne doesnol deflvea reasonlo, asserl,nglhd, lhe expla. nalion ol Selt Generalionjs consistentwith the KriyaTanlra, be_ cause.hehas nol quotedtromthal (classoit Tanlra.Bur when In rne uhyanoftatalika (foh. 26701he quotes the Vatrcsnga-lantta andthe Vaira-vidaana-vaipulyatantra, showtrlglhe.narhodoi conte-rnplalrng the srx gods. he we exptainsthallrnelhod .o be Knya rarlral: and the specialtsts who do nor adm,t those two to be Knya_Tantra are in turn wilfoul reason,becasueI s a,sosatdIn t,ne caryametapaka(foh. 1803)..'Accordrngto Ine Kriya Tantra . Moreover,il is an untounded,distoriedview which holds that in lhe CarydTantrathere is no Sellceneration, because thal view expljcitlyconlradiclsthe Mah vairocana(Toh.4g4), etc. Those who say there is no Sell ceneration in lhe KriyaTantra are in dlsagreemenlwtth the exte,lsiveIgnlra tvaDLttyatanta) valrosnrsa.4sconcisefotm (laghu-tantra)Dhyanolrara(ton 808,, lhe Val@viterani-vapulyalanlra,its errtnenlco.crse p.a^ {ialpa-
ot lnital Fundamentals loh T50l a.'d lhe ,nnL.-rantta)il-.Fvat!avtdarana'namadharant con_ 1 l - ^ - - ; " ; , r " h 8 0 / r ' w h i c h c l e a r l y s r a l em t l ^eel h o d o l conrenord -cJhod or rha ;T; ;;;';; "";" ;;" s'|xsoos and ce l ^-'" ,'." -..,rjr'on ou meansol lne loLr memoetsol serv sldle u'h'ch Tdnlrds l *n'e".enr wih Ihe ou'\ ol Knya "i. " 1 an unclearwayi.a.toa e Ir disaoreenanl i1"-. *" l"'"*"1 .i: ..; b y l h e t w o e c a r v a sv a ! a b a d n di n ' t ;'.i ":rt';"t BuddhaguhYa the lo" t:TY: the Dhvanoftaa\Iah 808),when stating nnd o^o ' 1 m e r s P y o L s e ' "l l h e t o J n d l q e ' -ol . " - " -a ' . t -e'r does "".'"'o" passagF ", ': ,". grouno {g'lrloi thal a god lhan whp_ I_p ' 1 , " ' 6 6 " ' " n p r a r ' o : o l o n e < e l 'a s
l*l';:"*:1":l;#'i"'ji,'llliiS';li'"l"ln::""i" also^orneaoFdor'e would Jr,ns passage ioiil ti. s'or.o
as a god ll.rha'wetFthe !ase rFl o" ot i"""'.^';;';' "r.esell in the carva Tanlra:conse' in", *." J ["r" o" s"'l Generalion own lhesis [i'e that oi the oloer ai"*v. ,iti"t *"." so.your qrrLrslwouldbe contradlcleo in his lucrdexposL Moreoverthe aceryaVarabodhexplains _e S'rsrddhr lhal ll l hcrewPIe o levJl
'::l':=i:';:;:;:I"x"J1"":1.,i:,:"11;::' ;:: s no siddh bF jii'n" oi alllrings lhere$oJlo l".i ".,ra*"ie p o n l o L l l h a ll h e v a l / o p d n v , - - " " - - o * " ' ' " S a ' a ' l :a n o h ehereio'e i r-ere wereno sarr ;'""". rr e sane t ,;,,;.":::,r;; coulo De whatsoever ,1" f"V" Tanlfa no siddhjs J""","a"" " rroLohIhe hr ya lanlra d, orpr,:hoo all these works: Arya Besldes,lhal wou d disagreewiih \roh 2736| !t- Lh vatokiesvaasbdhana 1""]ij 'i. lr'i 5 'nr",,f"n be nq r-rrarqe rnana -;J'; G""",rrr.n rcedrawingIn or Ilah ";'r cr'ion oi seal:ArYasangas.Mdrlreyasadn'"d 'o. rno opp
il'Jl""ji:i:1'"'il:' :"{''i':.,*":"*::,'j,",'.'"i "":'::: H d bd e l e d l e ldh p e r 3 ' 1 6 r a n oJ e l a r r - f ew h o * ,- t;" a ' , o l w h c Le \ o r d n r r e ;:;",or; l.h.rt tq-rt:g'nctus'u"' h ' - F L o o _l h eF rI o n r a q o o a n d . r l ' . 1 . : " . " . . " l l a sa "'''"-,
';t ::.
ol Int at on Fundamenlals
j::"J:."fl: ::"",,;fi::l::"::t:";::Tl ;;:,."jt:: ::13
In regardto the meaningol the scnplure/naravalrasamuc caya(Ioh 447),t doesnol ieachlhat in ihe KnyATanlrathere s oi onesellintoa god nor entranceol lhe /talna be no generalion ng into thal person Ralherit teachesthal there occurs n lhe oneselias Kf ya Tanlraa meihod n which,withoutconlemplairng a god and w thoutintroducng the /rilra beingslntoonesell,one makesolierinEs1olhe god in lront and takes s/ddrl. lt also ex ol the Kr yA p a n lhal methodas onein whichordinarycandidates Tantrawith week senselaculliesand belongingto the c ass ol of onesell the comtemplalion peoplencapable ol comprehending the go0 of lronl. In one as a god,lake disshLailercorntemplairng s a canddatejor the hlghgoal fuddesa)o{ ihe KriyaTantra,he is tau!lhtthe contempalionfor lhe high goal(uddesa)oi the Kr ya Tantra.he ls n agreementwith the expanationol the leacher Buddhagulrya Tantrassil The ihesisthal in ne ther lhe Kriyirnor Caryar dlsagrees inlo oneseli, w lh beings the /narta properto introdLrce yairapAny'abhiseka'tantra (Toh 496)ihat it lhe explanationby the the convlclron rn thal habituated h s one becomessteadlastly inseparable are irorn and mind lhe speech, own [orc]narylbody, Iexalt€dlbody,speechand mindoi a god,he acquiresthe mert ol a I his bodiy movementsbelng equlvaent to the all xing of berngequvalentlothe sea lmudla)anda lh s vocalexpfessions t it is notproperio draw (dharatD; thus ncantations oi muttenng lhat it rs propertobe most deny one into oneself, being theinana and m nd afe in speech, body, one's nced thal conv lordinaryl and rnind oi the /tena speech body, lrorn lhe separable Iexalled] ng. be the /,rara beings Now, f n bothlhe Kriyaand CaryATantra ln tialionand may conlerred person he may be and the mayenter is il that the iwo why Family, Masier of lhe y oi lhe the sea app and Varabodhldo not set thoselorlh? preceptorsBuddhaguhya They rnerelydo not sel lorth in an explicilway the necessilyoi do ng thosethings;but they do not say thatthey should not be done,and lhereforeone musl not inlerthat lhey sfloud nol be
1';;l'#1':"d:i;i":'";::.:::i:,;;::"1.".;:;ffi
il1i;#: :i:i,:,,'il'""j,::.'"';ift ?":Hj,'jJ,",fJ'^",ilTjh;; Furtherrfore, at lhe timeol conlerrino
ll: J:r:lrJ#,11?1il}ffii";,q:?i?*rrilrr"*',f ji
fl:';li:il*:[':J""'u rilili*::"']ii["j']ii'l"ili rheprecepror "r*, ;:j:il:;t,,i:x. x,ffi]fll:;H5111 """i;*1,'1,"J,llil o,.a,""ipr" ros"nli,"ffi,';;;;;i;:ujij:'
Ing-the preceptor intoa god,generating theo/scrpre rntoa god
and
h:tif i:itn:"n: iil:#fr l{iii+:ifiji:r-,lf
;:'i::;::T"",_::."1 r:1 : : :j, ii r!!;:?:'i::ii?l ,:::;:;"1;"",.,'"-.;l,ll,l"1l,ffi f j";::;j:!:2.:t;; r^_
Moreover, tr lhe KriyaTantra therewouid not be a
complele
Fi^ii:!-jl"JHiilJi,ff "?1,'"*"',,,,"?#:i"r*i:1# j f;X'f:::]il'::,fllf; t ?iiif,ii;Tii:j"j::Tfti:
cornp-leteresultativepalh constrLlclion in tne Kr ya Tantra,be-
',i,^ . | 'jl:;ljj,: o a . o r r p , e t e c o n s r r u . , , o n o:; nooor, r"l:],""J n e ' - ' \ o"- d - o l b"1li"'i"!:rif":;.ilT;::] o rp . u s , o Ia
L "aa' bolhll . Hprdia-lante tToh.a, 7-a - $., o, na ianpLttc
; I!:ft;:i". :i;,'"i1"l:;:11 * I :ri iii i:;::: ryi ";, :;; :";;: :,ff.:::j;",:::',:, r"l;,:.';.p-;'; ?;:;,.:
143
Chapter-8 Whenrno!r schooltheordinarycandidateof the KriyaTanira takes s/ddhlalter contemptation ol the god n frontand wjthoLrt rhe conlempalionol himse as the god, thal rs jusl lhe gate o, enrrancelo the path,noi the conlemptatron whichcomptelesthe palh.In.egardlolhecontemplationwhich completesthepalhlor lhe leadng candidates of the Kriyer Tantra,it lherewere no contemplationof onesellas a god the body ol the palh woLrtdbe Incomptele, tor whichreasonit is irnproperlo omit Sell Generatron And sincelhe enlranceot the/iana being,conferrngoJ Ini_ tralron,application oi the seal ol the Maslerof the Famrly,are ']|mbs'(or'ancillaries',a,?ga) olpe ection,inen we marntarn thal even t theyare not done,lhereis no fauilwhichseversIhe body ol lhe path. pranayama TherFdrealsocontemlationot ptena-eyanaIn lne I.eetowel _ ranlrdsHowever, p/ana-ayama as drsctssed In lhe cIcte o- rhe Arya schoolof the Guhya-samaja;prena,eyamaas discussedin accorOancewtth other A nuttaraTantras,such as the Kalacakral and lhat Jotthe lhreetowerTantrasl - are certantylhfee ditferent thrngs. Now,whatis the prana-ayema discussedIn lhreelowerTantras? ll is^aslhe y€rrcana-larlra(Toh.494) and its conrmentary(Toh. 2663) by Buddhaguhyasay : prera is the vila a r fvayu.)passing It'oJgh l-e doorsot lhe sense organs t;notryd). afama,s,ne orspe,salInloothersensoryoomains{v/sdrdlor Ine .ne-,atete ments flarka). Binding or abolishingthe prena Ayema means prevenlrng the vitalalr and the mentalelemenlsfrornescaping ouls de, and containing them inside. On what,occasion pranayema] shoutdlhal lparticutar be contemplaled? On lhe occasionol yogawith signs (santmtta-yaga). And on whato!casro'rwthrnthal J yogdwrth s,q,sJ\-oL d ,l oe . lnle.rpla'ed: ll ts conlemplaled o- lh6 Jcc.s.o- or
ol lnitiation Fundamentals
145
? The Forthe sakeoJ what requiremenlis it conlemplaled abolr_ lhe involving object themeditaiive oorilrn"nt to aoLla,fv the nvorv''o ano l"l-iit"" .."."s t"; otdinaryappeatances d'iying sol god Fo' a ol Inlo lhal i,"..1'ou'",.^ ori*. body ol lhe menlalee' iri"', ii" '"qr'r""'"nt lo in;iol the escape lhal ? lhe rrrnds wh:r is lne orofoL'omeansol inhlbitlng vila' arrrs t o' lhe .,""J,. if'" u,'"' , , {vayu)itherelorelreedo'Yr -when ol ts own Thal 's .n'_or; he d wilh no '"r,*" *'in'" . t* why one contemplatesthe prAha-ayarna' ? Controllngthe in thisconiemplalion Whatistheprocedure (irrdhva-
air '*r'"""i"t. ll in" o"ay,onedrawstheuppervital rherower draws and '|t down: ptessins ;;;;";r' ii;;;:;;;;',ronrt_"ryr',p rr'd The holo'ngrl lnere lo the naver' Tneteuoonwhen one s no lo^gegod "ri"|I i":r"o r"r",v rJpo_lna and whrleone s reldiing ,i.Jto,"iu'],n" "nu'"r; il rs emitleo he agarnho'dslfe il -'na,s t'"eo sorelvuponlhe god TnFn in the sarre rra'_er vrla'a'$,ith .1d'd co_lemplates divislonshasdrr' fhe pana'eyemaoll.lethreelowerTanlra conlen"p'alo' ,"q''rements and melhodsol ,","nI i.i"t'o".
Inlhe Anutlaralranrral "v"J" "tprained A.Genefttion ol DeitYin Front to be donewnlle Thereare six lhings,olleringand so on ol ll'e resl generalron Fronl: *...pi"n'"g i^t c";eratron in o'sea s orrerrrg and i""".,'""'r"'L" a rn" gocllo be resrdenls con'ession 01<'s arsing ii"io,r."" i;t* ."r'". JFerrngando slale< co.lenpldiono'lne lourboLndless i"l in"" o7-
(adheropatti) I' Genentionol the Residence lronl[ol to havea llask andotherthingsin ll it is prescribed thPiromrss'ons o'ope' ';"i 't p'ope':orherwise ' madeol'rra'V earthsulace{ Dhum4a/ai ".ti.LiiL ni ."'i'-"n'"" 'r w'thrh' ro nL'a ; "" G oorosa^d He DrecsPs "i ;l"i: "ff;i;".,ij (ral hrm svaha' Am calavi
146
of lnitlatlon Fundamentals
Uponil he imagines an oceanol milk,treerromsucha tault as iishgills,adornedwilhsuch Jlowers as the rcdlolrs (padha) a.d lhe blue'olus{utpala), andoverwhichsoarllocksof beJewelled birds.He blessesit wilh lhe lormula. Om vimala-dhaha ln lhe middleofthislocean],heimagines a foursidedSumerLr mountain, adorned onallloursideswithrowsof stairsmadekespectivelylof gold,silver,sapphirc (indra la). and amber,atl overwhjchspringupwish.granlrng lrees (kalpa,wk6a)deco?led wilh a thousandflullering victorybanners.He imaginesrising abovethoselo a heightof many yol'anasa lotustrunk which lakesils originlroma shaftin the centerol MountSumer!,is gracedwilh manyjewels,hasleavesmadeof variegated jewels and lblossomslwhoselilamentsare ot gold,anthersol amber, andlops of pistilsringedby linesol silver. ln addition, th6reare othermynadsol lotusnetsoulstrelched. Atterjoiningthe palms of hishandsin salulation, hepressesdownhis leftthumbwilhthe righland recitesonehundredtimes,Namahsatua-tathagatanam saruathArdaglesphatatrahimangagankham svitA, and so blesses Ihjs visionl. Aboveil, he is to imagineacanopy(vihna)lappearinglin an nslanl.Ontopol lhal[canopy], hegenerates thecomplete characterislicsof an eavedpalace(kuagara/andgenerateswithinit variousseals;andhemayaisogeneratewithinthe palaceslupas ol thevarieiies'viclorious' and'mdiant'll' lnvitation to the gods to be residents (adheya) and oftering ol seals The invitalionmustbe done wilh the an oblationfalghla,), whichthereforemustbepreparedbelorehead.The vessellorthat is of gold,silver,andso lorth;anda copper vesselis auspicjous for all [invilations] in common.Forappeasingrites Genika) and lheir superiors/itdhl barleyand milk are required.For ritesto prosperity{paLlsdka) increase andtheirmiddlings,itdhisesamum andsourmilkareneeded.Forterriblerites (abhiceruka) andtheil tnletiot .iddhi,ordinaryurineiogelher with mittet,or blood,is otleredup.Parchedrice,ffagranlodors, whitellowers,krsagrass,
147
ale auspiciousJorall and sesamlm mrxedin pure!1/aler'which with lhe odorsol incensed prepared and l''.-"_'"_"".ton are sevenIimes an bv recilrns the obtation o,essei i;;" i;;";". Vidyar'riaand lhe ol dhilrani general lhe .". rrlesol lhe the all ".*g o{ dhannis the "ot"oii* Famrlies;mong "iii.in*" lna'v'o,rat ramit'es ot amongthe dharanisof Invitalron ol thepaintedlmageand Thereupon -;i;", onelooksInlhedirection ther exaculeslne dow" kneels tr and salules "^ ^; * i"ins lhe fingersol his hands allowinglhe i""", ano ni. n*0. l; touch'slr€lchesou! botl' Indexes irrr"" "r'i""Li'on, "i wrlhhrstwothumbsThenhe rei:rles: ;eckons Bv reasono( mYla[h andmYPledge Comehilher,comehith€r.O Bhagaval: lhis oblationof mine' Andallel enloyrng makemeloylul| ... wa; ottered' il Becasue l (enyentl At the end ol the darad;he adds"Com€ come Tathagala lhe it to *,,hth€ oblationandotlers *"..a"r t-f.l" ""*a with his head Forthe othetlwo Families ,"*r n iiriir". i" iiin 'nl'"iiil,. Then a*'"1 his breaslor navel respectivelv ', himselt resemble who ir," ."""1 ol Fa'a beings iril ]t"Jr""-"",i'n" lhal the male Regardrngihe dharatis,the -susddii says the Vidvaraja ol lhe aenili?e oJsr invrledwith the die'ani irvrta' thal Vidyaralni'and *,rf' tr'" dharan;ol the i#"i" gen ';;;;;k; ""1'"" eilhetwithlheindividualdharanisor wilhlhe
li"l iriiti" Ll. i"li"i
r"rniliesflheselast]aretorthethreeFami :vi"rin hv eh;!" " Arotikehvehi! and vairadht^ "i,r'" "
says lhal lhe S!$ddhi in ils chapteJon lnvitalion [,4oreover, silling' oI uprighl'.or is slanding *n""'ii-t" O""ii q"a t" Ueinvited
whileinvinting i" u"niou"r,on"ir,ortoasswe thesameoosture notavailable' is oblation prescribed il lhe ;;"rt,;;;il;;;th., '"ffi;.al rheinvitarion do and indulsence ;;:l iil;;"itvl lor is available' withwhalever
F L r n d a m e n isa o f l n i l i a l i o n
Thereupon, wilh sealssuchas ihe ,,loiussittingposture,, and wlrh dhdraa sucnas Om ^bmalalasvahe.aneo|ers seatsto ac.ording iotha'iOerlres to.,rcLrrstal.Fs. a,ldorosrr^" O" '.e two .Va."ooOn,, s.a,.J. lea.hersl, e. B,jdohdgJny" ano Oo reier -o a "or -ave o' tl^e samayabe'ngsatte,rhe /.ana bernqs 9ereratton Deen nvtledand askedto be seated.Thefeiore,it ts not;ecessary lo generatethem,bui neitherts it tnqrroper ro oo so, lll'. Exhibition ot the Seals (mudra-clarsana) one re^,tes rana. a-o disp,ayslj-e c _Th^n rnJnoerbot^.9ankarcsamaJ. rvToor. sa'l (samayaval a rr,d,j, oy o-e.s ng Ife rp or nis srna'lti-ge. w,tr-nis rightt' ,r o. 6"6 .Lqgss1,n{.a" rFaDeo, a tfJ derbohwttr-lhe r.rna nr. I ltr.-eji,. ger\ Next,he exhibilsthe sealsof the threeFam|ies and recites thethree htdayas,Jinajlk,and so on_In regardto lrre seats:both hanos,arejolnedso as to make a fisl, showlng both thumbs; wrrn/ntne same seatthe left thumbis hidden lnsidelthe list], wh e Ih€ 'rghl InLmo is showt-qjtnon l.e er. lr,no atone i; snow-. e threpr'l the giver orde.d.e tFesea s r/Fudl;loi fhe threeFarnilies_ Th€- one.tiesrhe c.eat sy.nboi rmalrdsamayol sea,soJthe _Fam|tes a-0 gy,ateslt-err,which :s satd lo provoe greal a p.orecrton aga nst 6l :nluriesdone by obstrucrve oFmons who DU-SUe tron wrthoul. whe. oneproceeds.hat way3no.snol src_ cessl!ltin the proteciionl,he shouldrecitethe dheran)af whicheverwrathtuldeitysuitsthe occasion,while throwingwhilemus_ iaro seed, and lhe pursuingobstructive demons ;ill be lrig;iIV'. Olle ng and pnising
(pujastutyadi4a) oe I,eatedIn two p3rts,presenlat.on o.o[efl1gs --,]l.l_ -1, prats/nq. ano A. Ptesentationof ollerings, _.The olrari4g rrraleflals are ,, ol|etert a..€rdrivtngawdylneirobstruclive ocrnons,ol,fltytng and glonfyingthem.Thereare manydiiferences Oet*eentne iriya_
't49
lhPnJnoer L 't , a. lha Yoga.Jno lre AnJttararalttasas regards nr oo'rr'on" l'lelr seque'ce dnd lhe lacco'r'pa'yl'q]sFal_ presentatlon Thenwhalare number,sequence'andsealstor the o{ ofieringsin lhe KriyaCarye? by inler (l) One execulesthe Seal"Assigning lthe otteringl" ihe two br nging lingers, two ring tacinqthe two litllefingersand logether drawing outstretched' middieiingersagainstone anolher, the ndex;s at the thirdjoinl,andioininglhe two thumbson their reciles: edge;and O Bhagavalwho wentlo bliss, Comeh therandbe seated HavingenjoyedmYoblairon, lvlayyourminddeepenmYmrnd; lam devotedto Theel Ai lhe endof the dharanioflhedeity,he presentsthe oblation wh e recting. Atghampratic.hasvaha ("Acceptthe oblalron, (2) With h s righlhand in a fist, he formsa pincerswith hrs lndexand thLrmband picksa llowerform lhe vesselconlainlng reihe waler tor lhe leet, then makesthe seal ot successively Jor"oblation" watel' "feei-cooling fingers. Substiluting the easing water' whrle in the stanzacitedabove,he ollersthe leet'cooling tec ling, Om pravarcm salkarampedyan praticchasvahe ("On! Accepith s mosl excellentbeneJicenlleet'coolingwaler,svehal) (3)Thereuponhe reflectsthe imagein a mirror'il he can pro vrde t. and gives an aclual bath lo the reflected image ll he cannotprovideii, suchpersonsaslheassistanttoiheofleringor other personsmake lhe seal ol "washingthe body ", thal rs lorm a lev;l surlacew th the backsol lheir hands,so thal the lipe ol the thumbsand the indexlingerslouch eachother' He ollersa balh, while reciting,Om sarvadevab-acintya'amrlasvehA ("Oml ambrosiaol alllhe gods,svahai', The lnconceivable (4) Nexl he mentalyofterslood and ornamenls;and,while oilerlngwith rnusc, he menlallyperlormsmelodiesof praiseThen, withhr; righthandhe makesthesealo{"iakingrefuge"and mark ng
lnitialion grlls . Seizinglhe wrjstwiththewietthana,ne ma(esthe sealoi ''pedume", reclting: TheseaLlsptcious perfumes,divtnesLlbstance, P,rreand borntro.npLrity.tp."senr w..hdevor,o_ Havrngenjoyedrhen. makan e,oytJtl reclrng,Ahdfa;hara saruawdyadnaiprljrFsLd,ha . .-.Whlle {- Iake r.,rahe, r. U HoJderof at, yidyas.wl-re worsh.Dped. sLard ) hF o_er! the pedL.nes. He uses'hrssarncorhd,aaj wre- n" pre"enti offering1nthe otherthreecases,exclusive oi the lamplhence,n cases5 to 7, betowl. (5) He makesthe .i/owel,seatatlerthe model of the Iotus: . thP f,_g--"rs o' boln hands ntertaced: Fa-ds.ne tps o, w:lnir.n€ 'ne Inoe^lingers come ro a pornlrnak.g d braLe.ettLe ,rJnbs roucntn9lhe srdes,and recilesi This auspicioLrs llower, divinesubstance, Pureand bornfrompurity,... wrlh rha orhe.two,tnes as orevtoJsrv. rard orforsr ttowe,w.tn (6) He makesthe .perfumedincense,,seai: the li le.ring,and . m'dd]cfinqersollhe rwonards are oroLqhtagdi-<,o.e a-orher a-o -neDacrsot tfe najlsof eachot esF,. .hdtorde, a-" ororgnt dg€insrFd!h otner:lne lwo ndexrirge.sd.e s,-er,n.o oul ar an a-9t6. whtratFe.wo thunbs afe placeoaqdt.s.,nerr<,.jes. dno recitesl Thtsdtvne sLbslancecor.rpo"eo wrlhpe,, tr e, t, e detighlful errx,rol !orestI,ades, I devoufly offer _. (And oiiers incensewiththe dharad) /7l,He Tdhes the seal ot -toodrorlFe gods.: .ne pa,ns .re cuppeoand thp .ndexfrngersslight,ydraw, rowa.d on6 anol'rer,
Theserepastsof dharani, Thedelighttul etixiroi medicjnes , (Andoffersioodwilh lhe dheranj)
151
(8) He makesthe sealo{ "lamp":lhe thumpand middlelinger upward,louchingone anothe( lhe hand made intoa stretched are recllesi and iisl; Pray enloy these lamps, Auspicious andlriumphantoverharmlulelemenls, Virl!ous and dispelling of devotion. Which I offer wilh devolion. While reciling,A/k15l/i abkaya vidyedharipujite svaha ("Bewhileworshipped, svahal,heoffets hold,beholdlO Vidyadharin, lne ramps, ll the oblationand the succeedingofferedcannotbe aclually provided,it is laught thal ihey may be olferedmentallyby visualiz ng them vividly.Indeed, it is taught thal even when the ofier' ngs are actuallyprovided,they are lirst to be passed meniallyin r..?e$,.lor rhe rrenlalofferingis lhe chieflhi.g. one should proceedaccordingto B'. Pralsing.-Thereupon, the s'usiddhi,which says that the There jewels and the Maslers of the lhree Familiesafe lo be praised. I saiutetheTathilgata,the Lord ol great Compassion, The omniscientTeacher,tield of an ocean of merit and noblequa ities. I sa ute ihe quiescentLaw (dhama), Wh ch. berngpure,lreesirom craving. Which,beingviriuous,liberalesfromevildesliny, Which,beingsolilary,is lhe ultimalegoal. I salute the Virluous Host fsamgha), Which after liberationteachesthe path o1liberation, 1swellfoundedin the pointsof moralinstructionlhe goodqualitiesoi the holyfield. Possesses MaRjus?;, lsalute Who bears the aspecl ol a youth (kurnara) And is adornedwith the lamp ol insight That dispelslhe darknessol the three worlds. I saluie him, the ever-mercilulone Called by the name Avalokita,
Fundamentalsol Initiation
Whois praisedby a the Buddhas Andhasaccumulated allholymerits. tsatutevajrapani, Powertul, fiercesome, lhe viluous vidyetaja Whotamestheobdurate. Moreover. onemakespraiseby wayol whaleve,be thedeitv , of. rhatoccaslon, andrecitesa hundrectlrmes the oraislno ani)l
sa?ata s am;ku_^,i"
ii;iilj! namo.stute "-1Tpd!!"M!::ttubnem rast,nt sydh:i (Homageto att the Buddhas ini bodhtsallvasr Everywherellashion thy beamsol supernormal lacullies.Namoslutesyihn,) V'. Conlession otsirs, elc.(papaclesanaatika) A'. Confessionol sjns (pepa-desand). 8'. Re,uge formula(sar, na"gamana). C . Svmpatheticdetight(anumodana) Iwtlh lhe metil (punya) andknowtedge 0nen4 amassedby the &jd;has ano eoohisattvisl .,Exhortal,on andentreatylto the Bljddhato IurnrheWhe€l _,D or, l"e,Low.and lo not departinlo NrlyAnaas long as lhere be candrdatesl. E . Fervenlaspiratlon(prcndhanelllo a|eviale rhe sufferings ,. o, humanrtvl
u_t::::tlneb.tyn ot af bu boundbsssbtes(cetu,ewm.n bhavanatand cenerationot theMlnd(ciftotpada) The purposeo, conlesston and so on. contemplation ol the .'ourooundress states.- andgeneration ol theI\rind{ofEnhghten_ Tefll o enngandprais;ng, is to purifythevowby iasiening -alte. lw nc0nJ6ssron,whichiscomparablelotakingthebows' tsamvari) ol thefrveFamitres andso on jn thehigherTantra d,visions aftei ol leartl comptect[J,n lmandatal and lJ,e-Yln9.lhe,otfering lmandatal orenngi lhe,besl proceduratoflering @ratipaitrp.) jej trlrcugh orlelings is lor the purposeot rhe besl detightot th€ :rT_l-olaj onenng domai4.and this lofleringlhere is also srmrtarto that
153
[h gher Tantraprocedure]. x. fhe Fou Members,genenl of Selfand the Generation Those lwo l,:e.,the Generation n Frontlconstitutemembersof mutteringAapa-aiga).Fo( the genurnemL.rttering one mustcompletethetourmembersof mutyourselfin the Dhyenotara says,'lmmerse lenng.Consequently, lhesound.themind,andlheground." The"ground"membe.f he'ground"(T. 9zl,S: vaslu)is lhe Ot bodyoi thegodin whoseheartlhe dharariwheelis deposited. rhe two kinds,lhe "subjectiveground" (bdaggi gzi) is the conintoa god;andthe "objective lemplalon of oneselitransfigured gtou^d" (gzangyigzi)is thecontemplation oflhe godgeneraled thelourmembers in{iont.Those lwoare eacha memberamonq ot muttering, The membet of immersionin mind ( citta-nimna);Thishas the vividmeditativeobject(a/aabana)consistingin one'smind (citta)in the shapeot a moon-mandalain the hearlol the diely generaledin lront. Thememberol immercionin 6ound(svara-nina)iThishas g inthelettersofihe dharani objectconsistin lhe vividmedialative to be reciledlocaledupon thal [moon-mandala]. madeol[seeds Thechapletfaksa-mala) shouldbepreferably otl lhe Bodhi kee for the TathegataFamiry,lotus podsfor the Padha Family,and frdfaksa(berriesof Elaeocarpus Ganilrus) fortheVairaFamily;bulif those are not available, other material will do.One blessesit by counting 1008,108,54,or 21 limes, and recitesaccordingto the rite. There are two methodsior the multering:mutteringwhile dwellng on theshapeof thesyllables,andmuttering whil€ dwel! ingon theirsound. l'. Mufte ng while dewelllng on the shape ot,he sy ables Therearetwokindsimutteringwhiledwellingontheshapeof lhe syllablesin lhe heartot lhe deitygeneratedin front;muttering
whi/edwellingon the shapeof the syllabtesIn one.s head_ The litst knd: One binds lhe pdna-dyamd as p,evrouslv , oesc Deda-d muttersby way ol lhe completelour meTbers oi -nune'ngwhrte srmu[aneousty dwe rngon ihe bodyot the de[v gFnerareo otn tronland on the lhreesyllabteswhtct,are on lh; lre hearrlotthe de,ry.sbodyl.Whenerhatr.g. one l"-":_.:1." snouto-ot rrLfler dhar.ani,b.l( hold the mrndltxed on one-bown ooov.ontemptared as the derlyThen.againholdingIhe breath, one shouldmulteras betore The se.cond kind.IFe garlandol dheanis B at a rrrooesl , o'slance rr lronl oihirnsel.strghtjy hiqnerIna" h msetf uponlhe .-roonIne hearto, lhe derrygeneraledIn lronl.Wh.le .nnatinq. he d,rracrsthatIrnoonand garland]rnro h,mse and rrans,ersrt into -,9 own hearl.He dweJts on il wt tlemulle.tng.ds lo'lgas he does nor rereasehis breadth;bul when he exhatesthe w nd, he is t; Inaglnetnallhe moon.alongwithlhe garland ol ohalrni,is emtl_ Ieo logelherwilh the wrndand then rs statroned In the heartof lhe god in lront.Againin thesamemannefas berorehe lraosfers rl Inlohis own hearl, ll'. Mune ng while dwetting on the sound of the sy abtes Firstone distinc{yrecallsthe four memberso, mutierlng. -. Ther wirhorldeeltngonthest^ape o,lhe syhabtes otrFe dha.anj, l-e rnoon or lhe bodyol the god,one dwellson lhp toneol lhe sounds ot the dhal.ari while he recites_Moreover, rt rs not as Iho,gh lhe drerani were bernguflereooy a-ornerperso. and oetngFeardby onesell,bLl ,ather o^e oweJlson lFe toneol Ihe sound ot that dhatani at lhe lime onesetirs recfrng [. This rite ofdwelljngon the toneolthe dheranjinvotves both menlal recitationand whispefedfecitation.Thecommenlary (Toh_ 2670)lon the Dhyenoftara]stateslhat one cannor emptoywhrs_ pered recilationwhjle restrainingthe prana-ayama; [lhe wo:k) explarnsthe sequencejn out|inelhis way:iirstone p;dorms th; wn spered'ectatio. when,dufingthal lhe m,nd is [recrtat.on]. nol dlslracted,lhen one reslratnsthe pr;r,a j yema. petlotmj-|g lhe mental recitation
in the first case (l', lhe first Accordng lo the commentary, k nd).lhere are three meditaliveobjects:the god,the moon,and lhe dharanigarland;n the secondcase(l',the secondkid),there ir objecls:the moonandthe dhercni-gatland: arelwo meditative (ll there is only one meditalive object: the sound lhird case lhe ). lol lhe dharanr,.A singlepersonmust proceedby lhesethree The lilth chapterol the Subeh./(Toh.805)tellswhal shoud be done at the time ol multering: While multerng,one shouldbe neilherhurried Ne ther too loudnortoo ow, Ne Iherspeakingnordistracted, Nord sregarding the upperand owervowelsigns, lhe anusvera,at lhe visarga. lascivious, and The one whosemind is slothJul, unvirluous, Wheneverand whereverit maywander,dislracted, Thenand thereiromhe mustquicklylurn il back And apply it to the excellentsyllablesollhe mantn dhArani. FLrrlhermore, the Susddhl(Toh.807) says that at lhe lime of muttering. whenone s in lhe phaseof dwe lingupon a god,and so lorlh.allhoughtherebe olherexcellent objectsupon whrchlo dwe , one shouldpay no attenlron lo them. one recites In rtes ol appeasingand lncreasingpfosperity, ersurey: and in terrlbleriles,audibleto others.The periodsof recilationare as lollows:a fullwatchin the morningandal nighi; a haliwatchal duskand at dawn;al noon,wilhera half,a third,a lourih parl ol a watch,or evena briel recitalion. It is preterable lo fol ow the rec tation with brunt ollering fhoma). Fegardingthe numberot recitations,the Susiddhisays: In general,il lherebe of syllables The numbersol lilleenol fewer, timesl One musl mutter leachsyllablel100,000 it is Up lo lhiriy-twosyllables, said
ol lnitiation Fundarnentals The mutleringlof the entire tormula]musi be done30,000timesi When the syllabesare morethanthat, Do the pretiminary service[of the enlirelormula] 10,000times. rt rs not necessaryto do the recitationlor any other Jdeityl L'esrdesthe Lord. When duringthe recitalionone becomesdrowsy,yawns, sneezes,coughsaloud,breakswind,or feels an urge to ease nalure,elc., he immediatelysets aside hls chaplet, nterruDls Jlheservicel.makesabtutions. and slartsagar- tron lhe beq.nni-g or lhe coL-1.Whal has beel rectledoe.oreooes not co;nr Moreover,the Suslddhlleachesthal il througn naoverlenceone maKeslhe recitalionoi anolherdeityand has appealedto him menlally,he recommenceshis muttering;also, lhat rf one is oppressedby inimicatspirits or plaguedby disease,slothlul. careless,fatiguedin body and mind;if he has transoressed lhe lrmessel lor lhe nlual,is Lncontrolted. mrtrerswttr an rmpure mrnd,has had an evjtdreamlhe nightbelorebut nol rectteda hundredlimeson the iotJowing day the dharaniol the Masterof lhe Family,his mufleringdo not co!nt in the recitation. Furlhermore, lhe same work statesthat il one reciteshalf in one location andhallsone whereelse,thoughhe complelesthewhole recita_ lron,it is all to no ouroose. The timesol the watchesare as follows:Themorninqinterval is lrom lhe momenl when hal ol the srn orc( ero,g;s Jntitrt casls a man sized shadow.Noon is the ejghl he or ninth chr./ lshodlapprox-45 minuteperiod,j/4 ot a watchl.The allernoon inlervalrs lrom the momenlwhen lhere remainsa man sized shadowunlilhalf otthesundjskissubmerged.Theintiat interval ol nightis from the momentwhen hati of the sun disk rs sub_ mergedlhroughhalfthe nighl.Theperiodlromlhis ha f_waypoint lodaywhen hali lhe sun dlsk has emerqedts calledihe second nleryallof night]. N4idnight onwardin the lime for tefiibterites,such Jsiddhisl as rnvisibility, andthe cemetaryriles;whilein otherperiodsone pedormsthe appeasingrites,etc.,as is explained Iby'Varabodhi].
lirnes than the estab_ Fl€ explainsthat recitationsmade al other tlshedwalchesdo not count' "Lucid Exposition One shoulddo just as quoied in lhe byVarabodhron (Toh 3066) commentary te Taaisainaya)lie the Susiddh4i one mustcompletethe mulleringwilh recrtalroni protectil by dolng Thenpermanently times lwentY_one multering The ol the Family Master and lvother To the are Locaana' Pandara and Families three ol lhe N,{others The MarmaK/ fiemberc of muttering G) ferminating acts to the four 'r!' 'lhe '{dv rr w'lc_ o_e co'rclJdesIhe {our r'le.rbes ol d' u r-"' no r- o offe'hls lools ol meril lhusatamdnaran'ilat '",-" h' sda'o' lhe ol means by s,ddhrlorheoerly ,ft"t|o I ask (kalasa'mudra) the chapletis ollered have Thosewhosavthatwiththisseal fi'r5hr"glhe eclalron aller .n, -,ro"o ts".,.''e.rtVl.However, _or be LonI de ty lor rr sho!rd lhe ol rr r,reJao "r 'i oeposrred e '-" O""U apd.l lro'n lr e trrre oJ dolnq'e''olron ^h .",* "'. q ^J. pLI'ly f'ei ora asks nouge_celro oo5: -" sarv" o as!o's " "",, " ,," n.,ltt'o J rno olrer npe'leclio-s ol lhe the deilyaway,and so iorlh 'Hav steps ol nq reciledlor the maln part of lhe watch'the inreverse releaseaitne im t oi the watchare lhis:One release gods contemplaled' were six the i" which orl-Jrto in"."qr"""" bernqreThe medilativeobiectin the soundot the dhalanl ihose' c ted is releasedbVdwellingon the lellersoJlhe dhalanl' rs reeasedbv ; r-"'n:o;;;;inq on onv-the'noon Tne moon b vl " n r ' . r ^ j t ' ^ g J . r s r l h ob o d vo ' l r e o e r l yl:h a b o d y I n ' o n l ing onlyol ones own divinebooy by thinkrng Thal div ne bodyoi Sell Generationrs released'rng o' l*e ,"" a"' ,"'"a n rls hearl:thar' n lJr' by dwe oi Bodv edsF ""1. '".'; "' ;;;r;" n rJ'n ov dwe|inson rhe K"ow
158
Chader-8
the god; lhal,in turn,by dwelling on the Dharma-kaya. ln turn, unsupporled by lhat,oneshoulddwellontheSellRealtV 1'ahalallvaJ.Ihal. In lurn,rs released oy lhinkrng ot l1e [/laluratron Body (vipeka-keya)which appearsas an illusion,mirage,andso torlh. Havingsummarized by stepsthose meditative oblects, f! nallyheisequipoised invoidness (sunyalal.Thereupon, because the emergesin the fashionoJan illusion, evental ihe timeof givingup the watch,he shouldnot releasehis hotdon divine procedure egaly.This is equivalentto theunification n the phase ol theAnuttara {Tantral. Thereupon one readsa Prajiaparamitablood,establishes a stupa,and so on- l oreover,everydaythe offerlngvesselsare washed,flowerofterings ihreetimesweptaway,upperandother robesthree limespraised andwashed, or sensed, or sprinkled lwithholywalerI. Whenmuttering, making theburnioffering, making lheoffer ings [Jor s/ddh4,elc., he musl always wear the upperrobe, exceptlor the lime of sleepingand reclining;and musl not removehislowerrobenorallowitto be soiledv/ithdusl, exceptlor thelrmeol sleepingandwashing. He musltie a knotin a threacispunby a ungin (kanyA)and dyedwilhtherediuiceo llhe Salflower. orwithalllron. He recites athousandlimes,Omaharaalhaabadhanesukradherani siddhal the svaha'("Om.Maythe retainerol semenwilhhold,withhold, while thefeatirring is efficacious I Sraha"),andbindsJthethreadl on his loinsat night.This protects agajnslsemjnaemisson. (2) MEDITATIONWITHOUT MUTTERING Thishasthree sections,namely.exposilionofthe meditation ot dwelling inthetlarne, exposiiion ofthemedjtation of dwellino in thesound.andexposnion ol the medrtation grantng treedo;at thelimitot lhe sound(a) Medilatlonof dwelllng in the flanre Whai type o, personhasthis conlemplalion ? The one who
159
ol ln lialion Fundamentals
lhe six gods has ol lhe contemplationof limil the to come has
.*'ltlh;iti:,',:i,:'"[i::ffi *:fiitTjj":r "luill"^:;u g "ti: :"r*'::#fi !:+:T1""{::i: ,""fut
"t
ol whale tn" tone ol the sound
::#li.l' ^- i*;,::l* :;ru;"":ffi",'l,"lilH,T':ffi on
n:''** nit:i'iiff Hr:#rff "'i"rl$,#r: tl; tiii:::li ,"":::":;n:l::t'fffl'.",:J:: ""ffi (b) Meditation of dwelling
in the souno
il;'t*tr"lrli:i:#i'ff l#l#+: ;1i;; ;;g :":lii ?i3':i;"il;ny#"J;,:' ":::li t *t'aherlherecrlalron
-;:;:i;;:*r lur;:i;'T:'"::i :ir:i{:11;;
1""""1i"
""""tal,
P 'arre in the ohaseordwerr'nsn rf :: :;J,;;.'lt't;;i;;r'o' case is alsolikethePresent
,""[:::lll;:::,::";li'.T"i::,:?":J:['::]'"' essenceol ones own rnrno'
jF#f ":ill ""',11""i, lT ::::"iJ?illlili ] :ll:::"::* i:ll: l,:?:'l;-:llil Hil l:i,'lj ::ii""',mum n'rndonborhhreandsourd' iH'"::'-;;;;';h; '' "inl
",^"0'o "'
lollows:For *ving cometo thelimit is as
r60
9!apt."a
Fundamenlalsof lnitiation
,"i'";:g;$[q##*1,lii+#i**tf li:fr ir:#il inJFqi:q:b:il:ffi
Seal (naha-mudrA),speechas Incantalion @herana),and r",ind as Really (lattva). Body as the Great Seal:This is the conlemplalionol the six gods.
ff *#,Hiliilfl n"{",,&.fi *.ir"i iiirl,,irl (c) Meditation granling freedoh at the timit o, the souhd
**'Isama'|ha ] ano ;:r"-,*,;lr,,:r#[l,lfi
Speech as lncanlation:This is the medilaliveobjecl in lhe and ihe meditalrve soundsot lhe syllablesof the Incantalion, obleclin lhe tofrn ol the syllabies,in the phaseof meditalion However, the mainparlis lhe medilalive allendedwilh mutlering. in the phasesof medila objeclin the soundsot lhe Incanlalion iion of dweling in the flame and meditationol dweilingIn the Mndas Reality'-fhisis [the lhfee lhings, v/2.]the medLla I ve obiectn the Realrtyof lhe mind,lhe yogawiihoutsigns,and lhe limil of the medtationof dwellingin lhe sound.Becauseil of voidnesswhichis the basisol consttules lhe contemplation the alfilialionwith the Dharama-kayaalasubsequenllime, it granls which the freedomoi lhe Dharmakrya, andthusis the medilation granlslreedomat the limit ol the sound.fhat being so, those lhreeare denlical. Evenwhenone reacheslhe limitot lhe mednalonswithsigns he s slill withoutlhe basicantidoiethat eradicateslhe rool ol lhe rool Ihe'cycleoi lransmlgration' /samsara).For eradicating ol samsen. onc must have lhe yoga wiihout sg rs (animiltayoga).In the latterconlemplalion, one doesnot contemplate any convenlionalaspecl,such as lhe body ol a god, bul conlem platesaccordinglo the preceplsthroughbecomlngskilledin the analysingconlernplation (dpyad sgom) and ll'e stoppage con_ \emplali'or (hpg sgom) of voidness.ll throughones own powel ol contempationin lhat manner,one rs ableto atlraclIn actualtly lhe com_ lhe physicaiand mentalcalhritic,one accomplishes p ele characteristics ol HigherVislon.
itll:;$it:ilgfi td]#i4t$j"":,iffi r;
nli:fu* :iilfiiti[il"l;.#,:"J;#
:;;:Ht::,i;::;i;;";;:';i#"J:"',1';:'?ffi ::fJ
*iq-1ffi ifr g;tp *li;..1#;"',, j*ill;inft j;
;*
;iffi *l:l;ijil,r,
il+*TffiTtrfiHffi,:rll*rnT
(3) AccoI\,IPLISHMENT OF SlDoHlAFIER APPROPFIATE SERVICE
It is the methodin allfourTantradivisionthal beloreone ac_ complishes Prosperity, andTerrble, the rites[called]Appeasing,
r62
ChapleFs
with [lhe r allendants/ddhl,of lhe vareties]Insght. ,protonga lronoi lf€, and so on one musltirstenact lhe service fse;a./ anci thenattendto the fltes, 'or dcconptisni-g ll"e grear sddlr.5. r,'d oroong. , ,Tl-J\ rrq l e th oLqhn .-! greataeo-g .nahdralpd,.ora n r\t .aocr llre rmrlof bolhthe yogawilh signsand re yogaw noul srgns; buIor accomptishing the s/ddhlsol al/ayingil nessand allating o e r o n \ . o l c t h a , n r c r s , l o ln e . e 5 . a , y Appeasing. Prosperily, andTerrbe r tes (Ka.nta)areaccompis' ad ,n llal otder oy, .e
163
F u n d a . n e n i a Losi l n l r a l r o n
rnaYgrantsuperror siddh' L^.r
- i.'pim
rnleforeleo ll.laly
? Whon
a d dlear
o' p
' i " r e e J e w e t s 1 e t ' " B L d o h a D h d' . a n"'':";;;;;;".; rheBodhsallvasdrd "'' J"-s."I o_" t o*n o elv rsvadevata' no/e avBJddhisls "]a r rc;tuhpati'aotli olo"n i"JrJJ',J '
elepha-ls rrounlairs "S""o -onkslandnuns)l: ir'po.rr'"^J,no
'iche5ad crothng and50on hF shoJrd t_eoOran'noo a-c;;t exerl h mselllowardthe accomplishmenl phaseol yoga explainsthatwhenone is in the The Susjddhr a'd conlcn' T illerr'g ^r ,.. ^o N rhp-eare lhe omFnslhal h 5 'ron rrnessoJ lon FedinqrrrlrnqhJnse' lreo ;l.i;;-;".". q;edland:Itong^rnoLs {rerds)goodd'Pars ,t" ;'.;r;"'".".' r'rrer'rs n€s:s'brera' ";";;;;:;;;,"";;,aorLrodur';srhe applcatlonto acqu r ng ioJJ"i".ion oi fragranlodors,earns towardlhe delly deep reverance m-eril, deparlureol lhe 0e The Dhyarotlraexplalnsthe causeslor bv hLnqpl o scor''rrJ'p , ,^ ;; ';... tackoi,a,rh,s,ornl.rrnesq jbl: I_o 'o'1!PIn'_q do . o .r'r"'o. aow.lhaarledness d e l iqn' "lo1',,'n g d n o r r e o i l a l o n , , . a . , . r t r n , r o n r o w a - dr k e r r u l l e rhe droa-r oobses( denoric n'J i" i o'on ou"CpJ'sL ls ro' ao' " a^d so on and exoran: hP cd 'se ;.";' ;;. ;;;; hdlr'd .o Jl crdving .'".r" ri"'',1 o"uv oe l_e'e : Ihe alay49 m nd
:i;:: ;;";ii ;
;;;;
oithe dwerrins andthecontinuous
(t,
o
(E
c IE G
o o
E
G
o I o
E
o t
c
c) lr
Chapter-9
I herearetwoparls:thevarieliesol lheTantras, andmethod ol studyinglhe stepsof the path. a , The varieties ot the Tenla The chief ol all Tantrasof the Carye Tantraclass is the Mahevairocana-abhisanbodhi-tanta lloh. 4941.By whom was it preached, andwhere? lt waspreachedbyVairocana, theBodyof ( sanbhoga-keya) ol lhe VictorS'ekyamuni, completeEnjoyment by lhelakeof thesnowyrangeintheAkanislha Ghanavyirha ol the wordlyrealms( /okadhalu) are calledKusumatalagarbhalankara (Toh.4)6)i am extensice statedin the VajaFAny-abhisekalantra desciptionis foundin the BuddtAttatantsaka(toh.44, chaptereight). There,l OOO3 ot worldlyrealmsof the lourcontinents conslilute a 1OOO3 sysiemcalledl/iAtl€tsaftl€,lAdhas vtorldlyrealms.1OOd of ihosetakentogelherar€a singlemediumse es.1OOO3 of those Iakellogelherarea singlewide-spread senes.1OO(pot thosetaken logether are an aftay (vytthal of worldly realms Kusumatalaga.bhalamkara. Thattakesin everything. ThislMahavairocana] Tantlais a Tantraol lheTathagata Family.lld6scribesthree z,anda/as, beginning withtheoneinwhichlhe laceol lhe Lordis turnedtowardtheWestgate- (thethree)consti(kuAgara)intha mandalaol tulinglhreetiersoJthesloried-palace Vairocana.3 Thereis alsoa TantEContinuation, which,however, describes onlyt\ivomandalas. NoTanlrasof the PadmaFamilyin the CaryaTantraclass have beentranslated intoTibelan. In lhe VajraFamily,there is no controversyconcerningthe Vajapdnyabhiseka-lantra (Toh.496). Bul such works as the NildmbaEdhaIa'vajtij.pani-tartra(Toh.498)andtheVairapat?rla-tantra (Toh.499)wereviewedwithsuspicionby Bu stonRinpo cheand olhers,
Fundmenlals ot lhe CaryaTanlra b. Method of studying the steps of the path Thereare lour parts: niliation( abhlseka)glvenior lhe sake of makingone a lit receptacle lor ntensecontemplation ol lhe path: puri calronoi lhe vows (samvara)and pledgeslsamaya): ptocedure ol prelimrnaryservrce( pirrva'seva)alter berngcornmi[edlo the pledge;mannerot accomplishings/ddhlsaller aptiludein lhe service.The first two parts becausesharedw lh the Kriy:rTantfa, fiavealreadybeendiscussed. (1) PROCEDURE OF PRELIMINARY SERVICE AFTERBEING PLEDGES COMMITTEDTOTHE Therearetwophases:Yoga wilhrmagesiYoga withoutmages. TheI rsl ol lhese s lhe yogaof thedeiiynol governed by voLdness; the second,lhe yoga oi the deity governedby voidness.lloweve( one shouldnol conlemplateonly voidness,becauseone does nol becorneaBuddhabymerelyconlemplating voideness:il is explained lhal one does nol accomplishboth s/ddhlsby meansof the Yoga w tho!t mages.Moreover,il someoneenactsthe contemplalionoJ voidnesspror to lhe contemplalion ol Yogawrlhimages,wilhlhat a one he doesnotpassinloYogawithoulimages. (a) voga with images (saninitta-yoga) This has two sections:l\rutlering,consislrngol lour external membersiMullering, consistng ot fourinternalmerrbers. Mutleing, consisting of tour extemal members Oneconlemplaies the inseparability ot the'SeI RealIy'lalnalaflva)pahr- whereinoneconcludesthat one s own mindis voidol lntlnslc nalure ts yabhava.siddhl, homlhe Deiy Rea|ly (devaL' laltvaFwherein one [concludeslhat]the ultimatestateot the deity rs vorool r1l'nsr.nalL'e A,rdone conlernplales on5s own mrnd underthe aspectol the moon-diskin the realm ot lhe void. On the rnoon'diskhe rmaginesthe syllableOm in goiden color, emitting beamsoJlighl. He galhersthem togelherand trom lheir metamorphosis is himseltgenelaled into Vairocanawith one tace and two hands,makinglhe seal of equipoisefsarapatlimudAl, his goldco oredbodywraplbya blazinggarlandandseatedon a cushionol
r69
a white otus and a moon.He has headornamentsand chignonand is aitred n upperandlowermonk'sgalb ol silk.Thisis the'Subjeclw Gtound'l bdag gi g2l:) lt is also calledthe'momentaryreproductionrisen ( abhyudlta)'. Thereuponhe conlemplatestheTathagata,like himselt,in tfont of himself.Thls is the OqecliveGrcund'\ glan gyi gll. The intense contemplalionof his own mrndin the shape ol a moondsk wthin the ffathageta'sl heartis the'Groundlmmersed rn the Heatl \ sems la glolbahi92iJ. The arrangementon that lmoon-disk]ot the syllablesot the dhararito be recitedis the'lmmersionin Sound'\ sgra Ia gzolba). Dwel ing on lhal, he makes the whisperedand menla recitalon whie holdinghismindon lhe deity.While reciting mentally he musl bindlhe pdnaand ay:lmaas in ihecaseot lhe KriyaTanlra.The recitalion is lo be made100,000limes. Mutle ng, consisting ol lour intemal members Fromthe sphereof the void, one generalesas beJore[a deity] 'hc VrcrorS a
( /ag 4:es)ol that/ntenseconlempatrons the The srgnature" of thebodyol thedeilyon the manaslacel ylda) as lr,rnsfrguratron mages. the imitoiYogawrlh lhouqhbeloretheeyes allerreaching in themannerby whrchthalbr ghlness Andlvhenhe coniemplales appearsonyonlhebuddht-sde I blokhaphyogspa)wrthouteav n! rt and the bodyof the de ty appearsto be 1ke the rlusronol a vo d accumuat on.he s ableto attractthecompetecharacle.siLcs ol h ghervson ( v/pas)€r,r) inYogawlhout rnagesls The melhodof inlensecontemplatron explainedntensively1nthe aboveway by the Vanacanalloh.494) as !,rel as n lhe concisecommentary(lhe Pnde rtha Iatr 2662) w lh the l'4edhyamika il is consrslent by Buddlrag!hyaMoreover, IN (2)MANNER AFTEFI APTITUDE OFACCOI]IPLISHING SIODHIS THESEBVICE In th s Tantrait s sel lorthlhal by lakingrecourseto -axterna nrateaalssuch as the sword I khadga), one acconrp shes the so lo(h; lhal by contemplatrng i stddhl khadqa-vidyd-dhara,and ther posrtLons iflenselytheearth,waler,fire,andwind mandalasal Increas lhe ritesol Appeasrng, wrthn lhe body,oneaccomp|shes rq. afd so lorth:that by evokingManjusiialld so lorlh lhose and Bodhrsaltvas louchones head.or say "Excel-onll( s_adl,rrrr. thal J thev appearal the conclsron ol recilng Appear.rppearl' lvllndot En iqhterrment orreobtans the samadh/Theunlorgotlen ng sudrsrddhrs AndtheTantra expa ns manymethodsolaccomplsh
ChaPter-10
of the Yoga Fundamentals Tantra
Chapter-10 -r I lrcr€are two parls:themelhodby w h c h l h e Y o q a W h e eo l .h-cLaw rJassel n rfol on I lrre method a. Method by which theYoga wheel ol the Law was set in S nce lhe mothodol becomng a lvlanlest CompleteBuddha accordingto lhe Yogaschoolhasalreadybeef ::i/r,sr/rlrir./dhal ir! 3 fe.l u/,anourlakeup lhe melhodby wh ch lhe specralWhee ol rhe Law ol Yogawas sel In motron. Va (xiana d,,,/elng n lhe AkanislhaHeaven,does nol pro possessng :ep. ,-rse!!herebecausehe is lhe sambhoga-kaya :n: r !e .eria nlres But wilhlhe magicalappat |on I ntrnttalol a to lne vi, r..aria N rmina kayahavrnglour heads,he proceeded sumnrI ol lvlt.S!mer! and look his placein the eavedpa ace ( Therehe look rrs p ace on a rL-i.nali| oj precous lhuderbolls. n thcrrlasl of -:. s lhronei s/rrhisana)lormed the Bodhrsatlvas oi lronsThen i. !rir.iha.lbeenlrafslormednlo lhe appearance oi e ephantsan(lthe Ike, f. look h s p ac- on a lhroneconsistrng who are Aksobhyaand lortrredby the remarnng iourTathagalas i. l.irllrand by the Bodhsattvasin the r as1lfe who had been '':.s'crnrtrdifto lhe appearance ol elephanlsandthe Ike T h . r e u p o nh e s e t i nn r o t i o n t h e W h e € l o l l h e L a w o l l h e Y o g a Taflra nc udlngthe FundamenlaTantraof a I theTantrasot the / o ! r c a s s , t h e E x p a n a t o r y T a n l r a s .tahneTd a n t r aws h c h c o n i'nr 1olr,ospeclvel sectlons( cha mlhlr) lol the Iundamentar rslhe Arxrngthem.lhe lundamenta oneofa theYogaTanlras lnrlxrs,rnrqEha (Toh479).Inlhatworklhe ll 1a summary( /rdara) s ro!!sVi rocanaas havinglhe perfection ol thetwogoas ( a.|hai. T i rii,r,p. lhatllh-o rtgenefales lhe desre lo altainlhem Assumin!l lesir..lirnsbeenqererated,all of the subsequent Tanlraleaches lh! ntr,: rs ol reaizifg thosegoalslo be atlarned, andlhe F!nda
174
.---.<
Ei nd-manr) \ ol rn-. /ooa Tollrr
thapteFj0
danger altendant d L r n q t h e o r d i n a r yc a n d i d a l e sw h o , l e a r l n g t h e 'dve del'ghl 1 su'ts o llp' acl o_< n n o s a m d d h on rne r ooa ol P ^ p l d i n se ' l 6 n b v 6 l v l n e ds n -rre';q L,apd a^do\et^g puldt ll a pn , . " u - r o ' p i l , s ' ' n g r _ e n J n o a n e I / a d ^ r l a ' s l d d h ' sr 5 a l a n s way that upple t o n e d i n i h e i o u r s e c l i o n s ;a n d i t e x p l a l n s i n a
rnenla Tantrateachesthe commonmeansot accomplshingmLlndane and suprarnundanes/ddhjs.Furthermore,ihat work his four sections,namely, (1) Diamond{orThunderbott)Reatm( yalra_dhelu); (2) Victoryover the ThreeWo ds I tritokyavtjaya.)l (3) Trainingthe LivingBeings ( jagad wnaya); (4) Achievng the ObjecriveI siddheftha). The text containsthe expressions ,Tathagata,' and ,,Talhagata _ Family"( tathAgatakuta).,Tathegata'stands tor lhe f iveTarha;ala Progenilors."TaihagataFamtly"stands for the Bodhisattvas;nd s o l o 1 , t o ' V a , t o c a ' r a sF a n i l y .a n d d o e s n o t > t a n dl o . t n e |Jod'sattvasand so fonrhoi the otherro lr Fan lt.s. The flrstsection[of the tour seclions]s.lowsrne ways suodu ng the Taihagaia (i.e., Vairocana)and the TathAgataFamily. Again,lhe second,ihird,and fourlhsections,respectivety, show l"e waysof sJbouingthe VatraFamrty. wh,chis Ah"ob-ya:sFarri y: he PadmaFam;ly. wnicnis Amiabhas Famr'yitte RdtnaFa.nrty Iuliillngthedesiresolthe livingbeings,whichis Ratnasambhava,s The faci that the FundamentalTantraonJydescr|beslour, a! thoughlhereare fiveFamilies, is expJained by Buddhaguhya as a merger ol action \karmal and age ( karaka)since rt has the Ral^a La.n'lyIn lhe senseol the agenl thar acconpt,sneslhe w\hes ol lie r,vi']gbeingsand has the K"r.r" Fafi.,tyin.he senseot lhe aciionlhat doesso_ That Tantra has a Tantra Continuation( uttaratanlra) and a Conlrnuationol the ConlinualionI uttarattara). .TheTantraContinuatjonwas expressedfor sakeol the highest candjdalewho delightsin the yoga of inner samadhl.tt expJains exlensivelythe means of accomplishingthe highest sAdhls that are menlionedin the four sections;and it explainsin a way that supplementspoinls not adequatelycovered [in the Fundamental Tanlral. The Conllnuation of the Continuation was expressed forsub-
.jb.
lts Con_ .,,.-"nt"point. tnnt ua"qrately covered in the Tantraand linual onl. d vl No\,!.thereare two methodslaiddownin lhe fourTanlra t\hva sJcnds bdlh'_g ' 'd_ nq 9lo - na re V a!!q a.lontbAhta w'< er . rno ",",1og" "onvatma-yogatlhal\tyald_lta i- our'l i g h r I w 5 o d e "; ;1; , . . d ' . . L d , r ; g r h e c a n d , o a l e \ v r n e v d r 'r.,., l o r 5 u b d _ r g l Lc . w '. ,_. C" Va Ianlra was exo-esseo tnneryoga and candidates who delight ir praclicing outeraction
a"uart" fn" VogaTanlrawas expressedlor subduing r ' n n e ts a n a d n w t a , " ."ouui ' r n o o a r e " w ' o o t t g ; l n l n e y o g aa l 'n"oto"tuo tonlra lor 5uoo ring rnl q.ri"i, iog" f"nt'"-'t t"" " lhe candldateswho delighlln tnneryaga' to the second exposition that ol lhe ls lh s contradiction of the YogaTantra-expounded Contnuaton of the Continuation who delighl in ouief aciion ? To of the canciidates i., in" ihe candidaiesol lhe "ll" among thal answertle questionwe note _rghest ca redl-F' ewe li\' date ca'd '" tre 1,,1,,a,trr,n" " a'r,vedat re lrrrilol tne slepq ol prodL' hav.iq ;;.;;'-;;" oi"" nolalrnalthecorlmon r'a dharatul s dclh'' iin , ,,orii' \o |raatt ",r.r, brr Lainq l " Sl"p5 o' Corp etlon I nispanna-h'ama) 'ignesl s,ddhrsThereare 'l o a," ar obla rr'g ILe .r'.."", " " i " " o ' o " " ' u " " " . o n ' ' . 1 _ ; { o L r c l a s s e sooel r s o n s c d l ' e d ' w ' i l e
176
Chapter-10
person ? The great commentaryon lh6 Sri-paranactya \t.e. the 5n-paranadya ditikd, Toh. 2512 by Anandagarbha)states thal rne.recrterand evokerof the live Tathagalashas a good nalure ano acls wrlnthe lhe lhreepotsonsin equalparls;lhe evoker ol rhe talhagataFamityhasa preponderance ol tust(ra9a):the can-
o1.tl:."gg.n rg.."ctionhasa preponderancxe ottusrkaga)i :l:u]: rhe candidateolthe
thirdone, delusron(moha)orwayward views ( m,lnya-drsti);thecanddate ol the lourlh, avance lmatsatya). For lhis reason,there are lour diflerentsenes (samtana)ol Dersons.
When lh's teacher{i.e.Anadagarbha) uses the expfessron avance ror the candidateol the tourth sect|on.hrs purport ap_ pears Indireclly( zur gy,s)to be consislentwith the earlier expl;_ nalronby lh€ teacherBuddhaguhya. same commentarymatchescorrespondentiallythe tour _ ,The Bodlesr/taya),the svab,5ava-, vipaka-,sambhoga-.andnrmenaiayas. wrth the Famrtiesol lhe four seclions In the g|ve order. ll likewisesels in correspondencethe lour knowledg". j/lona,f_rh" 'mrffor,like' (adarsa),the.equality'(samala),the _discriminative, (ptatyaveksanal,and the ,procedureof duty' (krtyanushen4 in lhe grve order; and sets in correspondenceMind oi Enjighten_ menl (boChtci a). Pertectionof civrng @ena.paramr';l ietlec lron ol Insight{prajna-paramita), and perlectronof strivingfv,.rya_ pa.am,la)in thegiveorderThisexpositonis madet,om lhe sl;nopoinr ol lhe lrurtlo be Obtained Accordingto this procedure,alllour Familiesare requiredfor lhe attainmentsolthe individualcandidates leach in one Familyl. Therelore. the candidate who acts in equat parts mtjust be a candtoate ot lhe seclionsunderlhe tourFamrltes. For realizingthe rank of Vairocana,one consroersthat tn each of the lour sections ihere are there iypes ol candidates. namely,those-whodelghl in the extended,In rne average, or In rhewconcise.Consequeny.lhe threesanEdhlbcalledrnil,aitraining lflJrrphanlmandala.and triumphanlr,tLalacl. each have three -nooesor devetoprnent. namely.exlended.average,and concise Agarn,the lhree extendedsamadh,beach have lour classes
ol lhe YogaTantra Fundamentals
177
YogaTanlral withthevanoussectonslol th€Fundamental oi Initial aoreeinq w h that i.'.it'" .'*in .r'tn",nt"e samddhis, beginning dhanp' dtaani'md'tdata Llr";" on""* a ftr,ta'flr:d,ala' i,i.'i"o. 'ii.iZiili,n Inotherwords
inZ,-.'.tndata andtc.tmamanda'a orihe modeol dever' hasrrsclasses ::1ffiii;;;;-.;."s
opmentof the threesanadhrs' have lour classesacThe three average sam?rdhiseach lhe eachw h its own seal (mudrb) al a t-n" ".rai"" ol the lov fiandalas phase;{ each"*r."a. fourclassesaccoro_ Thelhreeconcisesarrtrdhiseachhave phases wilhit sownseal(mud'a)at the i;;;;;;;;' """h "" a singlemandara of lfoh 2'lo by Anandagarbha) to the Tattubtoka Acc-ordrng lour sec lhe oelween lour Familiesof lhe tr'" Greal the and as lollows:Body(kaya) "o"rii"poio"n""a r"rt i1."". seal{samava"re(c'?a)andthe Symbohc ""a"rurind ""iii" i"""i i"r#--ra.f €nd and lhe Law seal (dl'?rrma-mudra) (virgr) i]rJii.-so*"n
seatlkarma'muora) i'ili,"i|Ji r"i'"; r*i;ma)andtheAction rocore' aremade sears tour rhe and ;ii":l;; ';;;;;ti;"s spondin the givenorder' andth€lourseals(mudriJcot' th" lov mandalas Moreouer' beginning g':"" i'oer' becauselhe^lourmandatas *"JlJoi"ii" ano speech Mind EodY ,,"''ifii." rn"n"-L-arr" lav skess on Amilabha Aksobhya iltirv",[r" o"u* . *" tamiliesolVarrocana and in the otherlwo Families Realmsectronlor In_ Allhouohthe mandaiain the Dramond ownFami!it rs
*".lil'ii,"".i"" tii" creatsealo{Bodvol its lheorhers ^are it'-"svtuoticseatotlnind'and ;'iffi;;;;-i^ ol thelourSealsone
seals ol applying ''"""^' ^tt "o"afs thesamewaY ii.i JnJ",it"norrt"orherlmanda/asjin hESpeech' isemphasized;but theBodyolVairocana Moreover' sooneapplies-seals arenotlacking' v.i'.i"iiiut"rr"r"iction is emphasrzeo Aksobhya ol ns"'n lhe lvlind ,li'ii"l"r"J""L prese^r'r^ also are Actron Marvellous i"ir']" e;,0"1;*i are bulthere arsonrs speechol Amitabha' i'ri ."'#*lu. 'i" tn""nd
F ! n d a m e n i i s o l l h e Y o g aT a n l r a
:,:: ,nru:ui;:,m*i5*1ru i:*i;#:;li,t"# Body Mrnd and t\4arveltous Actron ln
ThF
: i;ii I ;T':r;:li::": l":i', .*',,..i,:-"i j,*_;*:;:
::t1.:ff #1T.,J"":: tiil[{tiiTrf j,"lt",:;:::;::.i:::;-"" B,, .,.,o,a l"^ -;;1""!:i:';::;;i'""""::;" " : ":
,*: j,t,j,i., ::;,;."_:t ;::; ,,: i :", j:
musl be br elly d sclssed. b- Method of studying the steps of the path Th s has lrve parls: meanrngol lhe expresionfo!r sea s i sealsi and benelt ol appLylng var elres sequencelrequiremenl ng seals. and mellrodol apply SEALS' (] ) IllEANING OFTHEEXPBESSION'FOUB withseals:21 of impressing meanrng notoverlookthe OneshouLcl god The mpres' o1 a alion conlemp ol lntense melhod Its the n o 1 t r a n s g r e slsn a l m u s l l o u r s e a l o i l h e l i r e s e a s w l h son
i l . , , F o r n p r e h e n d sr h € , r v a . r e l r e sd o h
(2)VABIETIES Herelhereare the seas. (a) GreatSeal,(b) SymbolcSea . lrrelhreeseals' lherear_o rclLawSea idlAclonSeal, Moreover' (l) re) sea ol Ihe sphereol p!rLflcation, Sealof the palh ol puntl cat on, (gJSealo' lhe lruitol pur ficaton
sui,l*: fidi:"i1iii!:,xI""JJ",,J,:::'i:";"::
;.J:ji:::":"5iil:J'"n
':-
,
'
Yo..;n'r
rhesense or rhepalhoJrhevariou;
,rr a,. s 1lr. o'lra-to dron o i.o
,
"":r:"';t;.;,:;'':"':i"".:; "'
t,..ooi
t a,
"" .:-::;",;; "i'''I:Y:' ;::;:i ;n:i;iiiT,, . 4 d cr.,o".oh,.BLoo "nr""".;";.';"1'";i.
::;" ;;:'
;f :;"":;d:.";:"tli"3;:",::;::i; vdo,,
na^no
;";ij;itili i* :I' z,ij, ,:-;;i;::i;r": q-aoJoo'bL
d \ trat t.e " l e o s b o . n o , n I , F - ' O O r , O . . p o rn g r ' F
..e i : .::t":"";.;:;i:t::::i":i:: f,,t:. -" d\v,,o.,nd ",: o,.,,"-,.",.,n",.i-;:"";,;; ;.; :irj'r:::;:".', ","*"
I o n . ' - r . - s e , vc o n t F n p r d t e sq o d. , a . o n , o , 1, \ t o r h pd ( t c .. Buodhab:r ooe-
The sphete of Puritication 1olhe Sea oJlhe sphereof purficalon.the or dnary ln regarcl body.m n.l. vo ce. and lher.condLctare. In lhal order lhe ch e1 spheresol puf{catronfor lhe Greal Seal.Symbo c Seal Lavr S e a La n dA c l o n S e a l are nlhator_ M o r c o v e ru s l h a l r e dd e u s o n , a n da v a r l c e pur lor the lour sea s, ficalion Cer .orrr.aled \\,th the spheresof i o r l h a t saslolou/s: r e a s o n T h e D e g L n n rw n gl h t l r eG r e a lS e a l ol lusl elc lvere preponderance !v prevouslylhe candidales lh s were sei iolrr sea ol lhe dales correaied n sequenceas cand proper oroer' n the n corr€spondence earth,waler.lire.andw nd.are cor Aga n. lhe foufelemenls, oi p!nfrcationThe reason w th the spheres re aled In lhal order been placed ncorre have io lows: thelour Seals ior that is as and rn lhose iour sections; the the Families of spondencevlilh lour Fanrles Vairocanais the perteclpurilyol earlh a ksobhya purilyol water,Am t,rbhalh€ perfectpuriiyoi fire.and lhe perf-acl
t80
ro 9Epte,. Ano.Jhasrddhilhe perfectpufilyoi wino. The path of purilication
'"'I ::",jl:rlli:f#j#;i:!ii#,"r : ::;;:: :
:;:"1"" :";:"r1::;;$;r5;'" l:"l";ii:11
, t"l':l':l;i;;;::.t:il:ii:":i;ii""fi:f
. ^ i::li::1"*
ilmonsrheparhsbeq nnrn
j:: j. jr?.1 :':4" r,f ,ii"'# ;$i-*; j :;i'jili/.f,". H{;ml";::l:'# " :''"""r:; jrur"?::,:ii";:::;1 ;" ^ ;in1i :i:li; ""i-";il :
"ti
i:i:::i:.:::';i1"":,".Y:::,:","1i" :fi',::
**i * t**f 1,1;1,*"ii ;:f;lrrf ;l.i;;; :, .#::;l,lT""*it]#:l,TJi',:" ;;;;;;t "::Jx;;t::,:#l**i"*r,,i,l,tt L:"ii;:;: ;;:
",; ":":;:;:lil":k:Xl; ,.[ii:'-;;;'t', r:::;i i#;iff i:?ixl:;d: i,::r.,i:l':r I ,'.";:il"";:T""i[:*.'J::i: ;fflsil,Ji:sfi:,a;:
F ! . d n r n e r t l as o i l h e Y o g aT a n l r a
l8l
Ine.llo af se ns handsyrnbos fhasl c/hral [as.e g lhuderlroll iy:rll:rt.foose (pasa/ etc I. The sea ol the externalsyrnboiz ng in conlormrty a!tefl rs llie handgestureexecLrted wilh lhal Ihand symboI Tho sea ol Ihe inlernalsymbolzingagenl,s m! tane oLrsw th thal. s the conlemplal on ol onesej as the de ly and the non (i scursve kfow edgeIn h m. irnagrned lo aflseas handsynr In lh.' c.rse c,flhe Law Seal. the symbo|zedobleci s rfre de 1ynnd h s srxlye egances 01 vo ce whichexpresslhe 84.000 doclrnes ldharrral.Thesealol lhe exlernalsymbolzingagefl s lhe do ty an]:lthearrangement of sy lablesconlemplaled rn hrnrn s!ch , aces as lhe longueand throat.The seal ol the internal symborznq a g e n ls m a g n e d o n e s e l l a lsh e d e t y a n d ( m a g . rredI the ars ng In h m ol v vid phonemes. The fruit of purification rr regar.l to the Sea oi lhe lruii of purfrcaton,one core iiileslhe8ody.Mr.d SpeechandMarveilous Aclionoi lheiru lona phasc n fcguar orderwilhthe Io!r Seas beginnng w th the Greal Sea [4o.eoverone correales lhe iour Knowedges{/n,rna) !v th th€ioLrr ScalsInreguarorder, iorthereasonlhallhefourKnowedljes are cotrealed w th the four seciionsand the lour sectons are correaled w lh il'e lour Seals Furthermor€, the IoLrrBodresand lhe lo!r Seas are correlaled in regularorder lor lhe reasonlhal rhelorrrBodcs afe correlaled w th lhe toursecl ons and lhe louI secl 0ns are correLaled w th the louf seals (3)SEOUENCE One generatesthe SymbolicBerngfsamayasailya)anddraws ln the Knowledge Be ng jfrana sattva),lhenappleslhe sea s of lhe lour Seals.b!l not il thereis on y the symbolicBeingor only lhe KnowledgeBeing.Thepurposeol execulingthe sealsoi lhe lour Seas s lo mergeand unily the Body.Speech.N,4 nd. and Acis ol rhe KnowledgeBeingwith th€ body,speech.mrnd and acls of tlre symbolc Being.There wouldbe no toundalon lor nrergerI eillT er werepresentby ilsell.Th s Lscornparable lo hav,fg bothSeliGeneralLon andGeneraton in Fronl[inthe Kr ya and
142
Chapler-10
Carya.Tanlrasl. That silualionis relerredto by lhe Parantadya \foh.4AA)
I
!
WhichevetI adhideva=,btadeyaL'overlord'lis impressed by someone's seal, Thetormeris lhe latter'sSelf-existence; (Toh.480)when andby th€Bajrasekhara il says: Oneshouldavoidthe extremeol Either'theuppermost' or'thelowef. Here'lheuppermostis the knowledge Being;'ihe lower'is lhe symbolicBeing.One shouldavoid applyingthe seal an exlreme,i.e.,to a singleside. The schoolof Anandagarbha maintajnsthat they are to b€ madein the sequence,SymbolicSeal,Law Seal,ActionSeal, andGrealSeal.Theschoolofthetwo acilryasBuddhag uhyaand thattheyareto be madein the sequence, Sakyamitramaintains GrealSeal,SymbolicSeal,ActionSeal,and LawSeal.Thethesis ol the fattertwo acaryashas beendiscussedby manypast leachers,butthe thesiswas nol understood. Someassedlhatwhalis mainlained by thelwo atcAtyasli.e. Buddhaguhyaand Sakyamitral is untenable, becauselhe"SupeF yyirkhya (T. stodhgfel Toh.2501 commentary" , Anandagrabha's an Ihe Tattvasamgftha) sets lorlh ihai one accomplishes wilh the SymbolicSeal,arrangeswiththe Law Seal,allendslo marveilousaclionwiththe ActionSeal,andslabilizesin the manner ol consecration(prat;sfha, withlhe GreatSeal;andthat,moreover, eachdeitymustbe evokedby way of all sixteenways:the fourSeals;thefourholdprocessof allracling'(akaEana),'dawing in (ptavesanaI'tyand (bandhana),and suhduing'(vasikara): bolhInjtiation(abhiseka)andotfering'(puFl;both seal'(muda) and heart'(hrdaya);andboth incantalion'(fiantra)and wisdom' (vidya).fhen they asserl that the position of the two ?rca/yasis untenable becausethesixleenwavsarenoicomplele fin theirsystem]. Thoseassertionslhemselves]are untenable. When lhe remarks,"Oneaccomplishes withtheSymbolic Seal",andso lorth.
YogaTantra Fundamentalso{ the
we,e rhey made, vvere 1,1"1*^.il:g'lllil]9;:lll,lii"Y,i,;"; i.'.il':i*"::';:: ;nor
: :ii:,ii""Jffi lfl ;ll:;.lf"liii",l i::"'Ji:y ;l,H: Jil'il'""::fi:l ".ii l,:::: "*ii:'"1;:m:"; '*'*1,:l'* *; lJ,:i""fi :"f X".:#n "t"J"!','ff :ltil?:J;il"""ilFq-:'l^'*:::lll'":""J:llS",$" :i:;nxliil'ilir."r*":':";:Ti",lx ::'::i:xffi
[i;"; :il?'i",J,'["iil.l,::iliilyi',*:::":rnJ.:f jt;:t i:;::x":':"L:il comil, nor fi ;"J n.ii,'Jil are !!:i :::'-':"T:::Ti:il: wavs thesixreen :;;;' ffI"""".o,
*g**,*-,,-'F6
Fgi**$fi**t**. *
u*-g$m*m,
*,l*$'ffiff$t*l*
184
Chapler-t O
a ends to MarvellousAcltons. For this reason,one pedorms lhird lhe'-aclion Seal.Whenone has consummaled non dualityotonesell and lhe god by way ot the creat Seat,he is equip;ised bt rreans oi slayrngIn lFe meartng:br,l wher one ha. -ot com,. p'ereorr'sltFe^on-dJalily. he is not eqL,poisedn Inp mednr^gol -o.-dualilv.Fo.lhts ,eason, it is raLghllndl o^e peao,msnexl rrresea execulronof lhe GrealSeal. il be askeo.l"Welt JSuppose now rnyorr own schoo.whr.nol rne r/vo.s tolowed? Ertherol th€m.However I one .akes re.,:l:::,o,ln" 'Toh tt"4andatavidhtsarvavattadaya 25.t6. by A'a"dagarbha). he rrlus.oe,io,maccoro.ng to lheporuo- ot ,arry, {4)NEOUIBEMENT ANOBENEFTT OF SEALEXECUTION lhe cl_terrequire.nerrs that the vJlgd, Dooy.soaocn, and Trro. w,th thetrconducl,be transmuteot-to tae Bud_roqpther dhas 8ody,Speech,and Mind,logether withtheir[,4arveousAc_ (5}METHOO OFSEAL EXECUTION [Foreachseat]lhereafeloLrrlcau l hsee,sel, t , c e ^c .a J s e , o l rne sFor.the tormalcause fsyarrrpa,/ot the sea,a-d rf o nre Ot execunng11, the .malerialcause" and the tlnatcause. Symbolic Seal tgu:.h_tnat rhe thuderbofilre paraDandha) 6the ^,,.-Tf:,turo: errcrenl caJse ol alrsymboltcseals.some personsasse( thal w n e n I r e 4 y a l a r a ( T o h .2 5 0 j b V B u d d h a g J h y a l and lhe aosalalamkaG tfon.pSA3by Sakyamttra r exp,arnrhecduseot all r-e^searto Dethe rhJnderbolt t;e.Theirpurpofris I,e ,Fmole(or alcesrra ) cause (bryyud rgyu). d,sagteerngw,tn l-e cdJse as 9rvenoy Anandagarbha, whose purportrs the ,near(or acluat) caJse {daosrgyll).fl hosepersonsconclude.lHence, Jtrslone e)(ecJtesthe thLderbolltie,thenexeculesthe symboiL Sealoi varrocana. and' w ihoul.Lntyrnglhe origrnalhJnderbo tre,en_ acls arlerlhe Svrnbolic seal ol Va,.ocana lhe syrnoolLSealqot rFeolFerdeilies.lt is ,rrproperto execure [rhe seats]r- dny other
oi the YogaTanva Fundamenlals 2516\ seouen.e,beLdusebolhthe Tantrasand tne Vafadava{Ioh 'ie any the lhudetooll lrom arise Seals sdv. All r-e Symbolc 'H"u'ngexecutedthe lhunderbolltie"' thus lposit]ngrtl as rrv, ih; causeaddedal lhe inceptionof all SymbolicSeals' execulethelrrun_ Somepersons,whie mulle ng "Vajrasatlva" (adhisthna) blessed are the eyes thereby derboltl e. and cld m ihal Ior blessdhAni nal a "Vairasaltva"is That is nol valid,because tre thunde|bolt ihe lor execuling dharrani no the eves, bul lhe bless_ dharaniior 1s the "Vajradrsti" valrcdaya, A;ording to the no the eves.Thus,if it werenot necessarylo executea thunder_ uo]ttle oifore eacn SvmbolicSeal,it wouldllkwisebe nol neces' " [but it is neces_ sarv to uller each lime lhe dherani "Vairasatlva whilemullerng lie thunderbolt the enacts one Therelore, sar;1. ''Viiiasattva":and,gazrngwiththe eyeof divineknowledge(rrlal]a '\/ajradstt mulj.,eting caisls) wh ch is theeyeblessed(orexplored)by (i*na'sattva) one seeswilh directperceplionthe KnowledgeBeing while mllleting "Vaiasaftva dwellingin tronl.Thereupon, Vairocana 'Om a sun halo;andmullering one imaqinesin 6ackol Vairocana Vatadh;Ivisvarc" \'Om, the Lord of the Diamond Realm ), one and muttering"Jah"' executesthe SymbolicSeal of Vairocana; 'Hum"."vam","Hoh"in lhal order'one respectivelyattracts,draws Ln,ties,and subduesllhe knowledgeBeingl,bringingaboulnon_ Be'ng Then mulle" d-dlrv oelwecno^esellandIne Knowledge rhe na val,.satleasamayaslvam aham \'o valrasallvayou (garya.)in onesellthal s;bol a/n l').one bringsaboutthe'pride' onesellandthe KnowledgeBeingare non-dual. lhdl Soma oer.ons who have execuledthose sea's asse'l iies, subse_ alllhe ol the seals whenone has Iinishedexecuting o-enlrv,or Ihe rroo_ In lhe heart of each ol lhe de lles lhe'e lhunoerbolt Gd'vaih\' B"l o I ue_ptonqedprimordral "ooeri. of the conlemplationAlter tor the aim thala one doesnot sullice 'r'rsrrnqerFculionol lhe seals.one lirsl conlemplaleson he thennon_0rs_ thunderboltrepresenting moona while{ive'pronged uponil as Dwelling heart isVairocana's which cursve knowledge general dh'rrani each mutter lhrice one ihought, the soleareaof lo a_ on thal Dwelll'g special dhbrani lhrLF each dno nLrlles 'malerialcause'of ihe seal period the tutes const extended
186
9!upt""ro Thereupon, lhe conlemplation which ,destrovsones pFrsondr'rvdqg,egdtestskandha,/ and so rorlh '"J".,n],"',n" 'n
ro oFLoroness ,"r"r"[ ,,
.?t""',".";;;i"o
"'"-
Law Seal The eltctenlcaUseol theLaw seal ts ':.tf e rnsI,satr)nsdrrs*/a/ a. rhe pre.d4r,or the;""il;;;; The methodot caslrngthe
seal rs as 1 . rfF dF,ry aroInInardJe,ui,nl*,,"*ri"'|,f1-',", ar'se
jfi:::3'u;ff;lf":,rl%T,r.',p, r"". -;,;;;; ;Tn. x";:?, ;" v",,o,rs,. d\,d;arsr,r6; ;;;J ;j;';;j;:::':::;""1
Drdrnono k,owtedgp.). are a.rangeoI a c,rcteon ,:,?.,*"". .( rne naveot lhe lhunderboltThe recrtat,ons lor- |hos"j as t),Fsor rhe Law constlutetl-emeI od o,ca:t,nE nF seal "yffa. ThFrenI es tn6o,ocedL.eot ooth Bu..lonBt. Do . hF and R,. --
'""1i; :,,:t;*j*:ijlll fllfffi i,!ffi ITi::1:
pra. Fd a< erecuringlhe SedtolBody.l hatJooJecl,o-_ r
artraction lowardsra'!ra'a) " ""tol"t" IB,;Jno""l;fl' or o, lJlr ab'ons.ne,., ::l::.,-ail.ng, :,rr,ns. une obtarnsall s/ddhrs O.Ih)s the paranAdittka(Toh. 2512) commenrs: WhrlerecitingThatness,one must corremplateIhe ,rJgF olo-e c oeirv wnateve.\la, ornqot .,it,n9
::i.:ililff;:i;t;: :i; ":lil";;',",Ti:::? rna,wdi; -oneoora ns
$;l
:lj;:"-.,
::: :;iL:!y"",1:H:
a,.
ofailtheFamiries mareriar
The expresson whlle recltingThalness"meansvocalrzlng n. svlldbes ol lhe I aw One execulesa seal co4srsllngr an lho d'r' uoeo' bodyco-'orrnlnglo lhe aspeclol lne godo_ who.r One so on seal s lo be casl,whetherhe be slanding,siliing,or €q! po ses his m nd in the meaningol ThatnessThe synchroni_ salronol lhe lhree is lhe elticienlcause l?! ol lhe seal ll lhe wouldbe an Incomplelema_ GrealSealwerenol executed,lhere it is mosl improperto opposethe ter al cause Consequenlly, erecutionot lhe GrealSealat ihis pornt. The linal cause ol the Law Sealsis as tollows:lhe body rs god,andthe mrndrs transiguredIntothe aspeclol lhe particular realilyOne contemlocusedon lhe sole areaol comprehending oJ olaleslhal from lhe realmol non_duality lhe ProloundIlhe lhe menlalcomponenlland lhe Erighllthe physicalcomponenl] palale: lhal lhere_ upper touchesthe tonouew th lhe thunderboli no biggerthan a barley !D; a linv ihunderboll(suksna-valra) which [tinylhunderbotl one orarnslavs on the trp of his nose, it Thus' by takrngre_ feel and see iontemptalesuntil he can which greal are'malerialized', siddhls co!rse to the Law Sealvery cause' ls the standardlor the'tinal Action Seal Iisi The eiiicienlcause ol the AclionSealis lhe thunderboll The methodoi castinglhe seal is as follows:one placesthe r ghl lhunderbolllist on lop ol the letl thundelbolllist; and, pre c;d nq w(h the'lotuswhirling',executesthe Great Seal ol lhe de 1y;nd w thouthis handsymbolsOne recltes[thedietys] own releaseslhe seal;and, snappinghis lingefs,imagines dh?r;ani, Action that he pedormsthe Marvellous wrlhconviction The materal cause'is as lollowslAl lhe llme ol execulrng the deilyand a crossedthunderbolt the seal,one contemplales the deily's heart,and imagrneswrlrr karma'vaia)in (visva-valrao( is the essence ol the thunderbolt] crossed convrclionlhal lthe (krtyanusthena-jnAna) Duly al Procedrje knowledgeol lhe wilh convicThe linal ca!se'is as lollows:one conlemplale
188
Chapter-lO
tionthatlhe godsmakeolleringto th€ godsby rneansol all sortg or oool,ypostures (jryepatha),suchas dancrng:that the gods makeofferingto the godsby way ol alt sortsof vocat €xir€ssrons{abhi,epel,suchas singing;lhateventhe food.dnnk,and so torth,are all in essencethe indisssoluble unionot the deities and voidness;and that the varioustypesol aclion (kama) ap_ pearIn shapesand sounds.Andoneconlemplaies withrelianc€ on conlinuatmindlulness and awarenessol the conviclionthat. lhe godsmakeofferingto the god.Whenone is lirmtyhabituated in conlemplaling lhat way,and wh6none ,materializes, the MarvellousActionot the godsby meansof allthe attiludesof bodv andvoice,thereis lhe .finalcause'. GreatSeal The'eflicientcause,ofthe GreatSealis chjellythethund€F boll list. The m€thodot castingthe seal is to enactlhe GreatSeal whichabidesin self-existence(syabhaya). This is sucha sgal as theone of highestenlightenment (pamnabodhi). TheJinalcauseis the conlemplation ol those godsandof a _. ve-prongedprimordial thunderbott' in eachot lheir hearts. Th,e_'linal cause'consistsin attainjngfirmnessin the dgity .yoga (devaldyoga)ol non-duatity ol the plofoundandthe Brighi unlrlconlemplating it as attained.As thisis easylo comprehe;d, its prrport neednol be expliciy explained. IA Ramark on the prccedure] "Alter€xecuting the sealof Vairocana, whenoneis execuling . the-sealof Aksobhya,doesone do thal by contemplaling oneseltin theaspectolvairocana,or doeshedo thataftertranaforming himselfinlo Aksobhya? ln the tormercase, wouldnol th6 seal be execuledon Vairocanaand th6 seal not executedon Aksobhya ? Inthelattercas€, is itthatonecontemplates Aksobhva of fhe Easlshitlinghithe(leavingth€EasternS quarcg6thaia) empry,or doesone contemplate hro Aksobhyas?'" Withoutonesellchangingtromthe aspectot Vairocena, one
ol the YogaTanta Fundamentals execLtesthe sealol Aksobhyaol lhe East'seesthe
189 knowledge
Aksobhyadwellingin lrontlot hrmsell] i,.i"" lrrrr-"ru"rl "l lhe deedsol attracting''drawrngin lvrng ;; ili".mpt;* g€inglin himsellln thal way inJ suoouinqtot rnatXnowledge combrned Easl] indissolubly i-he 'i ti"i Aksobhyalol com_ indissolubly is ""iJ" oneselt also Being,but *'tt itre XnowteCqe conlemplais lhe becausethere fi""i *'rft t'e x,,o'*reage-Being, series(or riontnat onesettanOAisobhyahavea slnglemental ekalanl@) (ekasmtana' srr"a. ol "ons",or.nessl' to alltheolherbasic as applying Thrshasto be understood deitiesas well.
:-= ":
I
G (E =
c o
t
o I i-
3o
at E,re GF
ioc FtrC') i-o o lJ->
Chapter-11
Thereare lhree parts:divisioninlo lwo Tantras;meanng of the severald v sions;rprocedurein the meanng ol the slblect mata. Division into twoTantns rhe Sambarodayallah.373), the Vajtapahjara{Toh.419), lhe BLddhakap,lal,Tah. 424),and other[An!tlara-yoga]Tanlras, rnakea basrcdivrsronol the Anutlara-yoga Tanlra nlo t mahal yoga tantra an.)yogini-tantra.fheKAla cakrc\Toh 362) and olh ers makea basicdivrson ofthe Anuttara-yogaTanlra inlo opaya (Toh.45I ) and lantra a|].) paiaelanta.fhe VajrahrdayAlankara olhersspeakoi the daka-tantnand lhe d'kini-tanta yaga tantra,peya tantra, Amonglhoseexpressions,lmaha\) and daka'lantraare dilletenllermswiththe samemeanng.ivloreove r yogtni-tantra,pralna-tAntra,and daktni-tantruarc also synony Now,lhal wh ch is held n cornmonbelweenlhe two Tanlras, yoga and An!ttarayoga, s cal ed the yoga-lantn Pecurar to lhe Anuttarayogais the mah'yagalanlra;aniw henone makesthe petla ns basicd vis on in lhe AnLrtlara'yoga Tanlra,yoga-tantra lo a s ng e one ct lhe lwol dlvisions. Theseexpressons presenl s mrafitiesas termsbul havedillerentmeanrngs; hencelhey must be wel distrnguished. b. Meaning ol the severcldivisions Thereare lwo seclons;relltat on oi otherschools;establshrnenl010Lrrown school. (1)REFUTATTON OFOTHER SCHOOLS whenmakingthebasicdrvsion nthe anutlara' Somepersons. yogaTantra. (p/lr)TanlraMolher(matr) d vLdertinlothree:Falher lhallhe lhree Tanlraand Non dual( advalla)Tanlra, and mainlain
194
are mutualtyexclusive inthe senselhalifaTanlrabelongslo one dlv,sron.I cannoroelongto anv ol thp olFers.FJrrne.nore lto 'herers a divr<,onInto tusIrVrha'drv,sronl, lhjee lirno otjTdrlra by lhF dlstlncrionsol lhe enLnc,atronot thepromulgattan*a;akana, 4oo oy€dr,dnotherI,iparliltonby dtsltnctto,sot tn6 ned,Ing ol rre su0lecl mdlter lyacva, btpd lJya\.,anoLet tnpd.Irt,or by orsluncnons ol lhe Delitioner (a)T pa ition hy enunciation ol the promulgatioh Now,when the Anu ara Tantrais taken inlo account, such -T a r l r d \ a s d r e r l r r o d u c ebdy l n e o h r a s e. T r u s I n a v o r e a r d . , Ie\am maya s,utdm\.a.e reckoned as FarnerTdntrd! F.9 rhe Ct'hlrsdmaB-bat:a{ fon. 4r'21iald rhose introou!eo oy-sucn pnra\es as ' l de ght In lne H gnesl ot Se-rers.. 'dmelbetongto lne groupo, tranasvap^aramam Mothe,Tantras, e.9..tne 5amvarc-tanua {Toh 368).Aga,n. n lhe FJndar.renral I ar n a ot Hevara(Toh4t 7 and4 I 8) therets, I nus I ndvehedrd.., a_o In 'rs-unshared lwrthotherTantraslExptanalory Ta'lrra.rhe rautatat,toh.4'9\.tt'ete,s It] detrghtIn tFe Hrghesi o, Secrel..; Elptanaroryranr.d thF sampura iat 38tl :ll: i ln:bolF :l"j-d rnere-d.e "ThLsI haveheard, a1d ltl de,rghln rne Hrgnesl o'secrets , co'rseqLentty tl ts a Non-duatTarl.aThat s whal s LlarnFd:lhe aulhor,tyior it rs sardlo be lhe explanatroby rh; grearmagusNag-po-spyod,pa. it teadsro rheaosLrd,ry unlenabte: ,"^. ]l^" "."o"]pterety rnd l.e l1llo" 5an vad-lan|a would,n sucna casedlsobe d No"_oual Talr. ;he Fundame^lat raltra {Tc,h. 368r has ..[t]detgnl ,n tne n g " r e c o ' S e c r e t s: t h e u n s h a r e dE x p t a - a t o r yr a ; t r a , lha aDhtohanoaial.|oh369thas"ThusI haveheard,,ano lheshared Tanlra.the Samputa{Toh.38 r ) nas botn ,oirasesl. Storanalo-y
,"t"."".bte,tecause rhjslr.e..the Sanva,a-rantil
.:.:: ?i:l'1.'. was herd to be a l\,4olher Tantraald it was hetd thal rhe ftrolher Tanlrasand Non-dualtantrasexcludeoneanoiher. Moreover,lhere wouldbe rhe aosL'dilylhat \\e Hevaia-Enrz woL d d so be d I arne tantralbecalsert oeg,nswrth"Thus, -ave hea.o,]wh ch . wou 0 teadlo manyseriousdilliclllties.
AnultaraYogaTanifa
195
(b)hipartition by meaning of the sublect mattet ollhe Thereis adiv sionintothreeTanlrasby lhe distinctions producl ot the Sleps ol on lhe dislinclions Steps fuFattl-krama), ol Complelion (nispanna'krama),andlhe dislinctionsof lhe puri' I cal on of allendants (anucdra-visuddhi). Triparlition by Steps ol Production One assumeslhe basicdivisionollhe AnuttaraTanlra.Then, rnwhatever manCalalhe iiveTathagatasmani{estthemselvesas goddess ldevi),a goddessis the Lord,or the goddessesconsti_ lule lhe ma orilvin lhe relinue.one hasa [lolherTanlra.In whalever mandalalhe IiveTalhagatasmanilestthemselvesas male lhe de t es, a maledeilyis the Lord,or the ma e de tiesconstrlute authorilytor maiorityin lhe retlnue,one has a FalherTanlra.The that s grvenas lh s passagein the Prnlara(Toh.419):"Because il oortravsthe rluslrioushostot Dakiniand the five.Dakin ol all 'All lhe Buddhas,it is explainedas Dakini-tantra;' lhe Buddhas Illuslrious hoslol Dakni"relerslo lhe meanslhe t ve Progenltors. preponderanceol goddesses."Because il portraysthe five Dak n underlhe aspecloi of the JlveTathagalas showsthe generation goddess.Finaly, tmeansthatoneexplains as Daktni-tanlraane lhey maintainthal a thatportraysn thal manner.Furthermore, Ihougha FatherTantrais nol explicitin lhal passage.rl rmpres rs explicd. lkewiselor Falherlanlrasbecauselhe MolherTanlra There s no cogencyin inlroducing thal scriptureas prool generation whichporwas expoundedto showthe Thatscrplure 'concisepafilarehm9' frve loros of the manda/a oi the travslhe lhe casethal the expres(gur rigsbsuds). I is not necessarily y to a goddess fdevt) walkef hglo.) refers on s on Sky fmkhah Tripartition by Steps of Cotupletion sleps WhentheTanlrashowschiefiyIhe sublectmatteroflhe (nispanna-kftma) wilhl the circ e of oi Completion lconcerned (mandala),1lis shows ch theTanlra eily aMotherTantra. When lhe wilh] oi Completion matter of the Stbps sublecl lhe lconcerned lhe drop /bindu) and sublle yoga (suksma-yoga.),il is a Falher Tanlra.Whenthe Tantrashows chieily lhe subjecl matterol both,
196
C h a p l e r , ll
I is a Non dualTantra.That is what s maintainedThe source lgivenas aulhoritylis the same as belore.We ma nla n lhal it ts rnternaly contradictory. Now, n regardto lhe Stepsol Compl€tionlconcernedwilh] the clrcleoi lhe mandala,lheyma rta ^ a melhodol conlempa I on ol lhe Slepsoi Complelion basedon an externalsea(nudrA)' y, I reduceslo the absurdily Consequent thatlhe SamvaraTantra sasoa Non dualTanlra, becausen the methodoi conlernplattng the Stepsoi Compelionbasedon an externas€al,lhere s no drstincton belweenthe SamvaraandlheHevajra,andhecarse the Stars ol Completionlconcernedwilh ] lhe drop and subte yoga are d scussedelaborately in the .Samvara'larlraI this rs admitted,lsol is lhe nlernalconlradiction, and the thess rs reTripattition by purilication ol attendants WhaleverAnullaraTanlrais a Tantrashowng chiellyhe pufl I cat on of the personalityaggregales (skandha), rcal-r,s@hatu), and sensebasesfayalara.),is a FatherTanira.Whalever one shows chefly the purircationoi the veins'friidll s a [/o1herTantra. Whaieverone showschieilybolh is a non-dualTanlra. The r authorty is ihe sameas before. n lhal case,jl is i logicallo ellherclassilyof n01classiiythe Samvaraand the Heyalaamongthe Non-duaTantrasas being neitherlvlolher nor FalherTantras.The reasonts as follows:ll s agreedthal the Samya,.a leachesthe purtcalon oi lhe'ven' The Hevallaleachesthe puriicalionby contemplat ng thelilteen goddessesbeginnng wilh narralrnya as the natureol the person a ily aggregales andso on.The Samvalaa so teachesthe pur I calionol the personalily aggregates and so on by conlempating the sevenleenelemenlsbeginning with rupa-skardha as having gods.TheHeyaliateachesno purificailon the rnalure n theseventeen beyondthis.Our concusionsare as statedabove. Therefore,thosedistncl ons cannolbe used lor classf ca
ArullaraYogaTanira
'197
(c)Tripartition by the petitioner samaledeLly, asirihecaseoltheGuhyasamaja, lfthepetitoner petilioner ll the is a lemae deity,as ln the t s a FalherTantra. t is a which is requested by Vajriivarehi, case oi the Samvara, is reTantral Hevalra The lirst assembly lhe lvlotherTartra loi questedby Valragarbha, hencerequesledby a male deily;the by hencerequested by Nairatmya, secondassemblyis requesled e lerna male and lor lhe reason lhat both dellyi and a femalr tney That is what Non_dualTantra. requesl, il ls a es make deLt Againwe ma nta nihatlhis nvolvesan internalconlradiction lf the r lhes s were granied, lhe Guhyasameiawauld also be a Tantra{Toh.442)was re Non-dlralTantra,for ts Fundamenlal quested by a male d ety, and the ExplanaioryTanlta Calurdevt Our conclu_ paiprcchA\foh 446)was requesledby goddesses. sionsare as slatedabove.Moreover,il reducesto lhe absurdrty thal of the two assembies, lhe lirst is a FatherTanlraand the secondLsa MolherTanira. Ll s notvalidto dlvideinlothreekindsofTantra Furthermore, by the d slrnclons ol enuncationol the promugal on, cla ming Whal he ma n_ the greatmagusNag po-spyod'paas authority. tains rs that such expressonsas "Thus I have heard"and "[l] delightin lhe h ghestoi secrets",occurringat ihe beginningol the lnlroduc ihe Tantras,d fler in wordsand lhat, nevertheless, ot Beali torywordsteachlhe subjectmaiterof the inseparabilty tude and Vold (sukhasunnya)inotderto showthal thereis no dislinclon in whal is intrnslcallypure (svabhevavis'uddhi).Ils said, "The thuderbot ol .r'tnd (ctta-vajta) has this proclaimed: 'There are no vanelles o{ inlrinsicnalure (svabhava)"'.Bence. there s no cogencyal a I in holdingthe introduclon oi lhat scrip_ a iripartilon of the Tantras. ture as lhe reasonfor establishing (Toh.845), Oihers,lol ow ng lhe KAlacakra-tantraCarntnenlary in when an Anuttara lhaischooland maintain ihat becomeconceileC il has Tantra, is d slinguished as Father Tanlra or lvlother Tanlra grasping ng ior rnean which is noi appropriale hinted freyerlha), the standardief m fyathalula);and that when an AnultaraTantra
Anutlara-Yoga Tantra ts,agreedto b6a Non_dualTanlra, tl has
g;p-p i* fj*::J1"",::;","",, ffi :t{l's ;i;i ilj 'illi.T?iillillllilif l"''
199
nology'(na-yatheruta) of suchsortlas'FalherTanAa','MotherTantra,].
er
Moreover,there is no cogencyin positinga FalherTantraand a Molher Tanlraon the groundsthat the Katacakraspeaksol a maDdalain which all the gods have equality of heads and arms due to the purityot equaldayand night,or in whichallthe gods have inequalityof headsandarmsduelothe purityolearlierand Ialer inlervalsol watches.The meaningol that is as tollows:the lords and the reiinuesolthe Samaja-mandalaand lhe Mayajala mandalamenliat,edtnthat work show equalityot headsand arms; whenone coordinates lhe purityofthatprecisetime,the coordinatronis, "equalilyot headsand arms due to the purityoi equal day and night".The deities in the larger and smallet fttandalasol Samyarataught in that work show inequalityo1headsand armsj whenone coordinates the purityof thaltime,lhecoordination ot purily of lhe mandalais, "inequalityo, headsand arms due lo the pur ly oi earlierand laterintervats of walches_
1ffin','*'" "r""0"'1", "l"il j^";.:;;tr#r+$$:ii,:"ii,T'"ljx:'J: ;xr;:;:
:rtiil,g,ffx*"!1fi :iilff;:,1lli "',*:*'",:* fruii*"i.rirl*i::t"*:,*llt*tilldi ;::T:;:,xr:1f y-:,lxi,l# :#",*r*";::._t:ltif
Molherhasequaltyol h"rAs i "nol,_.
;""',':''"'H #k *:,'"'#'11""i'T'";,'Eil:"iil".,l'l "l,T; '"
, . "tff
Guh asam ::i."flf;i: ;:T":"",".T -T: v etawoutd
(2)ESTAALTSHMENT OFOURSCHOOL ln lhe Anuttara Tanka, the term'means, @p|yd €ken by ilsell as rt occurs in the Tantraswhich have non-dualityof means 'upava)and Insrghl {pralne)has a drflerentmeanrnqtrorl lhe lerrI l\reans /1./payai slandtnglor lhe FalherTanlra,and rhe lerrr 'insrght' taken by itsellhas a djllerenlmeaning irom the term 'rnsrghl standing for the l\rotherTantra.Then what are ,means, afd lnsrght'takenby themselves? That,means,isthe Knowledge bo.nlogelherwith (sahala/creat Beatjtude (mahasukha). lhar'rns'ghlrs the knowtedgewhichtultycomprenenos rhdtatl nalljres (safvadhannah)aredevoidot intrinsicreality (nihsvabhavd. ll one has an AnuttaraTanlra,jl necessarilyleaches the subject malter of the inseparability ol 'means'and ,insjghl,jnthose senses ln the Conlinuation (Toh.443)ol lhe cuhvasamaialantra (Toh.442),the Bodhisattvas ol the relinueask the Teacherthe meanrngol lhe termyogaol theAnuttara-yoga-tanka. In replyto thalquestion, lhe Teachersays,"Theequalentrance(samepa t) Intomeansand ins ghl is explainedas yoga',,and so on. Hence, one cannotclassifyFatherTanlras and lrotherTantras bv wav ol 1 ea_< aad rs qhl i- ll-osesenses.,f one d d, rl woutdtea; ro
:T:i;l!fl" Hti*T :"ili}:fl: .."," l,rY:jlilti!,i? it:,r:: ;;;ffi**'"'1"",i,""J i'j{lll!iiirj:,r.!;tT-lijr
1"" n Father'r.4other anote equar,ry oi r.eao-s-;;.";;;" :i;: :" Farher-lvolher ThLs rhe Arlacakrd;;""*""i""in"ln."","t'-",r
idirrjiitli:i:: ifiiqri:iTil1;*:il",'af ,n ,nro :::'l':ll:91.]1"",g" ,r,"",iir,ojoio",,"e r_arher Tanrra
j:*1":iii:ri,ll;ii:il"i'".."H5"H:",lTH:,,9ft i; ;:i,i":?ff on" r,ti ;:i'::l'"lil:,5:?ffi:3?*'".oo,
'n'oo"v ra^,n","1ij;;;;:
Jdl;'.-..,i::-:e'ns
wr,re,ne mareoeirLs re.;; ;;;;
"
anddrawsjt
i#il;""]il"::"",Tffi:l
orr,"ui ;;",'ff;i?f"":j:'f,,jiJ'ili:jj:jili:::: "',n",,r"
:"J"r:: r#1T*";# t#i:l;i# *ii:f:ti"#,
200
C h a D t F r - rl
the absurditythatthe cutryasanajawould naIbe a FatherTantra, nat lhe Hevajtaa MoIherTantra.But both alike teach the subj€ci matlerot lhe non-duality Jolmeansand insightl,lor thists st;led in lhe KAlacakta-tantraCommentary(Toh.84S,as well as in th; VajragarbhaCommentary(probabtyToh.11B0). Hence,lhe meansand the insightin the sensesdescribed aoovedo nol seruelo differentiatethe varietiesof Non_dualTantra, But whenone assumesthe varieliesal the outset,they [,Means, and nsrghl'lseparateihem into FalherTanlraand t\,4otherTantra. What is lhe meaningof'Means' (upAya)whenFatherTantraand upayalantra arc laken as identical? Whal is the rr1eanino ot ,lns gt ' /ptajnjt wne^ Mother'la-trd and palnalanrc atet;ker as rdentcal ? FirstwernLrstestablish.lnsighf.Thetenthlsic.for lhirteenthl . chapter ol the Panlara (Toh.419) slates as lo ows: The membersof the retinueasked the Teacher ''Ehagaval, how did lhe n ame yogini-tantraarise?,, Vajradharaspoke:,The means'ol praine paramna s proctarmedto be yogrl. The one who adds lhe creatSeat (mAha-mudra)enters Reatitv (tallva.)[or: eniersthaivery yogndihencethename yaginjlantrc: Howis thatpassageexplained ?,GreatSeal'means theKnowl_ edgebornlogelherwithcreat Beatitude.Where isthatadded? li rs added by way oi entering Feality ftaitya.),for which reason. such an indissolubte combination ot BeatitudeandVaid lsukhe
ng lhat [lllusoryBody] w th sk ll' n the rnethodol accomplish ll lollo\osr Thalbenolhecase,aNlotherTantras estabishedas KnowL' the subjeclrnallerof the . anvfan-trawhlcnexphasrzes and Void in lhe part ol Bealitude of indissolusilily eliie'ol'the sucn 'Lnilqlrlon tne Voiaside,whilenot especially emphasrzrng In lhe Body lhe lllusory rhi;; as lhe melhodoi accomplishing Tanlra Anullara srde or any parioi lt'teanson the phenomenal rts caleqory lo belonging ldnlt ' ' e Wndr 1 l_dr Veo_s whenFdl'elTa'lrd' d t'pir'c o ' 6 $ o d s r 3 7 1 .6*i.ri .'" ruq'roylh6 Da^dtnevatla\ n the krnqof Tanlrasamongthe yogas r rites' the of Knownq them and lhe varieties the lllusiono1the ClearLLghl I have;xp arnecl To lhe iLusorYworld ? T1e etolanalon s
Chapler.ll
lhe Ghuyasamaja(Ioh.442),ior instance,is a bastcFalherTantra: and the Tanlrasot lhe red and blackYameri(Toh.467 470; 473_ 475i478),theVairocanaMeyejelaFoh.466) whichis ihe Anulla.a Mayejala,a.d the ValrahdayAtamkata(Ioh. 451) areTanlrasbelonginglo the calegoryol the FatherTantra.The Semvara(Toh 364) Hevatrallah. 417,4181, Kelacakralfah. 362), Mahemudretjtaka (Toh.420),the upper maya in three residences(Toh.425,the Mehamayain lhtee .haplers), and ihe BuddhasamAyogalT:ah. 366, 367) are [,4olherTantras. Ther, of the FatherTantras,the GuhyasamAias lhe chiell and of the lvlotherTantras, the Samvarais the ch ef.The reason ls thattheolherFatherTanlras cannolcomparewiih|he Guhyasamaia in regardlo exlensve lieatmenlol the Stepsof p rcdt-)ctian iutpaftikrama),Sleps ot Comple an (nispanna-krama),and set ol r tual acts f/aslshogs).And similarly, lhe otherMolherTantras cannol comparewith the samvala in regardto exlensivelrealmenlof the Stepsot Production, Slepsot Completion, and set ot rrlualacls. The AnullaraTantras,so dividedintoFalherTantraand tvlolher Tanlra,are iurlherdividedinloTanlraofthesound whichDromulgalesandTantraol the meaningIn the subjeclmalterThe Tantra oi the soundwhichpronrugatescomprises allthepassageof the AnnultaraTantra lhal are proctaimed byVairadhara.The Tanlracf lhe rneanrngInthe subjectmafleris ot lhree kifds, Tanlraot Cause (hetu-lantra),'fantaolMeans (upaya-tantra),andTantraof Eftecl (phalalantraIfhen,Janlraot Cause andTanlraol Gtoutld ('Drakrttlantra) ate denlical,while Tantra of lreans and Tanlra of palh (mArga-la nka ) arc tdentical. Tantraof Ground.Naro-pa maintajnsthal thjs is the .iewel_ |^e pe son . who ,s tne ctsret amonglhe candiddlesrot lhe h,qh godlof lhe Anu ara ITanrral. Sanrr-pa and Abnayakardn a.nra;. lha r ls lne TrueNalJ.e ol M,nd (citta.dhatmdljli-r,,ns,cat,v pJrebul possessedOladventrtrous dellements. Tantraof Elfect.fhis is the rank of Vairadhara.wh ch rs lhe supremeattatnment. Thelerminologypaircombinedbeyondtearning (asatKsayugnacldha ) and rankpossessrngthe sevenmembers01 lhe samputahas the samemeaning.
Tantraol Means or at'Palh.This comprisesihe lwo kramas alongwiththeirmembers(anga)' (utpalti-krama an l nispana-krama), thal supremeatlain_ palh means ol attaining which s the of the or ol lhe In short, f one compilesall the Tantrasol N4eans Path,consltutingthe procedureol the palh by whichihal lewe likeperson"who is the Tanlraol Causeor Tantraof Groundmay attainrank of'pair combinedbeyondlearning'whichis the su_ premeattainmenl, they lall in lour classes: (1) Al the outsetlhe Tantrasol lnltiallonwhich malurethal Tantraloi Groundllhatis nol yet mature; (2) The Tanlrasol Pledgesfsamaya)andVows(samvara) lromdelenoratlon; which proteclthe maluration (3) The Tantras lor Production (utpattj) and CompletLon lhat essencewhichis io be takenlo hearli (n/sparna,)ol (4) TheTanlrasol Covergenceluponthe supremeattainmenl]
o 'tr -G CDP
+ E3 E in.3
E',9=
OFF
Chapter-12
1.TantricAgniianana (a) Preliminary:Amongthe manualscurrentin Bengallhe desc bedin theTantrasara Tantricfire-ritualhasbeenelaborately (16thcentury?)and the SaktAgamavagisa by Krsnananda Theseare Giti(16century).i by Brahmananda anandalarangini lromdifiefent thecilaiions worksandquitenaturally colleclion the to clarilyregarding workshavenotalwaysbeenconducive A syslemalic {ollowed in the original treatises. items as orderol inlhe Saradatilaka description is available as wellas closelilling of the Kashmirlan whowasa disciple by Laksmanadesikendra fire-rituallinds (c.l Olhcenl).'?The Pafrcaratra masterUpalacarya Thepresentsludymarnly on in theJayakhyasamhita,3 descript cornmen_ Padarthadarsa lollowsthe ST withRaghavabhaila's A.D C. 1492 tary (1550VikramaSamvat. ) oliire iscalledAgnijanana-'generalion TheTantriclire-rilual o r H o m a ,m a n yo l w h i c ha r e p e r i o r m e idn i l U n l i k et h e ritebullorms is nol an independent theAgnjijanana Agnyadheya In lhe sT ii is part olher ceremonials. of various a necessary (dikser' iniliation'ceremony rules ol the describedamongthe rsthe here performer lire-rilLlal ol lhe Forlhis reasonthe active to be guru individual of the highpriest(eterya)whoaclsas ihe that comesin as partof kriyavatidika The Agniianana nitialed. oi externalriles consisting is initiation lb,)Synopsisof the ritual.The fireplacesare calledkundas. Thereareninek!ndas.Themajorpartof theritualis performed like withthe kundaof theAcarya.thiskundais square-shaped iirePlace.4 theAhavaniya pedeclions oJthekundasalterwhich Thereoccureighteen pointing theeastandthree towards threelinesare drawnin these withwatertheno h.Thesearelhensprinkled poinling towards
The Birth ol Agn
Vagisvaris thoughlof as at the end of her per od and then worshpped as un ted with vagisvara.5 A tirers broughtfiom the houseof a Srotrrya, or s generaled wth a sun stone,a porlionoi jl is teft out lor the,lre ol the luneralpyreand threepurifications of it are penormed.Attercertaincontemplations wtththe ttfethe Acaryamovesthe ltrethrice aroundtrrekundaand Iinallyplacesit in the kundasmovingit in h s own dtrection. At this lime he also remainskneeting. Water rs offeredto the parentsof Agni,the flre is kindtedand praised wrlhan appropriate verse. The plactngof the iire in the kundais fol/owedby the nyasas whtch mean inducingin one's own body whal can be called vaflousaspectsot Agni, his seventonguesor.flames,the deitresthereot,the jatis6and the ejghtliguresoi Agni.Agni is conrempraled as slayingon a lotushotdinghis sakti wilh two arms. The Acaryasprinktesthe girdtesol the kunda with water and lhrowsaway lhe paridhi-sticksT on all sidesexcep!onthe easl, Nexl Iollowthe worships.The iig!res oi Brahrnaand certain ornergods are worshtppedin the directionof the thrown away pandhi-strcks. The sevenflamesoi Agni,the deitiesoJthe jatjs, the eighll guresot Agni and the l,4others are worsntppedon a conlernptaled eighl-petalled lotus.six of the flamesof Agni at lTlecornersand one al the centre,the deilieson the filarnenls, lhe erghtfigureson the petalsand the Molherson the llps ot the petals.The cuardiansoi the Regions(Lokapalas) atsoare worThe oblationimplements-lhespoonscalledsruk,sruvasand r n e g h e e - p o l - a r e h e a t e da n d m a d e t o u n d e r g o cerlain punlications. This is foltowedby ghee_oblations. Fo;r oblations are rnade ol Agni, Soma, Agni-SomaanctAgni Svisiak( lor s h a p i n gt h e t h r e e e y e s a n d m o u t h o i A g n i _T h e Smarla samskarasfrom conceplionot marriage,which are prescribed tor the lwice-borncaslesare heldforAgniand represenied lhrough
oblations. The parentsol Agnrare worshippedand inlusedinlo oneselfallerlh€ iillh samskara,viz.,NamakaranaThe longues, the r deites etc as inducedandworshipped earlierare a so g ven ob alions,Gheeis lakenintothe sruva,pouredintolhe sruk and coveredwith ihe sruva,The perlormerol the r le standsereci and quietand makesten oblatons wilh lhe mantrasol Agniand vighesvara(Ganesa).This is calledthe rnoulhof Agni. Agn is nowworshipped as lhe deitywho hasdescendednlo the lire.Twenty'iiveoblalons aTemade nto ihe mouthol Agni. This is ca led lhe mergingol the mouth(vaklralklkarana,.Ihrcugh anolherseriesoi elevenolleringsthe mergeroi the arteries lakesplace.Aller thislhe fife s takento allthe l.nedisandhana) 4 I n d a rw t s ee o l l F ' p ' e s l s n a \ e o { l e . i ' q s . TIF p'1cioa Ag'lr a""rs end ha,e. Atrer lhrq IhF A.a va perlormsihe'purificalons ol lhe six-ways'comprising gradelkalr) lheory (latlva). reqion(bhuvana),wotd lpada),letler (vana) and mantra.Theseare thoughlol in lhe leel, genrlal,naval,heart, loreheadand the crowno{ head ot lhe disclple.Touchingthose o-F oy or a wrlh d ouncl ol kusagrassthe Aca'va o'ler5 e g_' oblalons and lhus rcsatb. (vilayamnayel,)the ways n Siva Ln the crownoi head,and thencrealesthem againby eiiectinglhe reverseorderol the process.Thenthe Acarya'sconsciousness s madeto devove upon the d sciple. Aiter that lhe completion-olfering is made and the deity rs jar fire trom lhe to a a ready kepl lhere10rthe purpose. brought The { re-rituals concludedw lh lhe ulleranceol lhe l ahavyehrilisq The lire is unitedwrththe performer accompaned by oblations. are burni. ot the rile and is sprinkledupon.The paridhl'stlcks 2. Underlyingidea (a) Generalremarks:Onlya summaryol lhe descnptioncl the ST has been given above.Whal lhe varous items o{ the parllytromlhe versesconcernedand ritualsignifyis obtainable alsoIromolherpartsoi lhe lextas wellas lromlhe commentary.
The Birth oi Agn
Evenlrom the sLlmmaryit is not ditficultto see lhat the birthof Agni is accomplish€d in the rile. l-loweverthe wholething,as presenledhere, is dilferentkom the Agnyadheyais every re_ spect-struclure,basictheory,purposeand modusopeandi. In lhe Vedicritethe basicmylhwasone of tho unionot Aoni will^lhecosm;c watersforhisowncrealion andsubsequent ;i_ versaltsallon. Herein lhe Agnijanana il is a difterenl thing.The basictheory,as obtainable fromthepadadhadarsa andalsoother philosophical works,consistsol th€ conjojnlprinciplesol crea_ lion-Siva and Sakti,calledVagisvara and Vagisvari and not Agnrandthewatersor whattheysymboljse in theVedas.lroreover, the Tanlricideais not a mythaccordingto the sensepro_ posedearlier(introd_ 2e)-Siva and Saktibeingdistinctmet;_ physrcaconcepls.,0 Forthisreason whilethesymbotism ot Agni perlarnmainlylo the ritualand is clear,no mythological coun_ lerpaft rs evident.The said structuraldiflerencealso proceeds lrom lhis.In the absenceot a mythol the primeval bith and unrversalisation oJAgni,the placing of Agniin thekundahasa difterentmeaning and a differenlpositionin the sequence ol items. However, allhough lhe underlying sensehereis genera|y clearerlhaninVedicfi!,thology{seebetow), theimageryof human reproduclioncontinues10existvery prominenflyin the Tanlric rituaiand is dramatised consistenlly ad moreminutely lhanin lhe Agnyadheyawherethe imageryis parliallyruineddue to apparenl obliviousnsss. lb) Diflercntarrangement:analogyol reprcduclionrThemost significant features ol the structure ol theTanhictireritualare thal,!nlrkernAgnyadheya, (t ) th€reis noprominent ceremonial meantlor lhe generaljon of Iirealthough theideaof thebirthol Agnrappearspromineny witha dillerentsignilicancei (2)lhe generationot fire that is to say ils flaringup in the kundadoes nol lake place simultaneously with the birth ol Agni which is represented through certainoblations; (3)theplacing ol thelire
211
in lhe kundalakes p ace not after but belorelhe birth ol Agni A I re rs iirst broughtlrom lhe houseol a Srotriyaor s pro T .h s s n o t t h e r i l u a g e n e r a t i oonl i i r e C l d u c e db y s u n - s t o n e JS.XV 58 59'bwhereit is c earlystatedthat the fire s bfought lor the produclionol Iire."Firsthavingbroughtsome loresl lire producedby a sun-sloneior the generalionol Fire lrom Sakt be ongrngthe Bhagavanl.. placedin !he kunda.Bul unlrkern ThrsIre s subsequenlly the Agnyedheya,lh s is pre-natalailair lor the yel to rJe-oorn canceol lhe placingoi lhe fire in the kundars Agni.The srgnLl lndicatedby the iollowng.Vagisvariis thoughtol as al the end oi her peflodand as unitedwilh Vag svara.These mean Sakli and S va."The kundarepresenisthe bodyoi the Goddessand t h e l i r e r h e s e e do t S v a ' T h e i i f e s t o b e p l a c e dn l h e w o m b adhina. oi lrreGoodessas the seedol Sival'.Thiss undoubledly The Vayavya Samhita'?acluallyusesthe root a Jdha vahhnibtjen samuccerya lv edadhitagnimesane yonimergena.... Bui lhis is gahhedhena, .e., ihe conceptionoi Agni by the Goddess. as cltedin the SAT'3is quiteexplcrt Aller The samayatanlra perlormer placed ol the rite"shouldmedilaleupon lhe Iire rs lhe fire as held by the ulerinellrbel The and God n lhe lorm ol Padarthaarsa c les a veTsefaomsome Samhitawhich states tharone shoud lhink of Agnias born thoughlhe worldlyrepro duclivepropertes ol his parenlsThese show that in spite ol some apparentsimllarilybe' lweenthe mageryin lhe Agnyadheyaverse O GoddessAdili, dtrrng the placingol lhe In yo!r lap do I placeagni...'1(uttered 'Thefire s lo be placed lrre)and the inrageryin lhe Tantricrule, a rn ihe womb ol the Goddess',lhe iormer one accompanres posl nalaLact wh le the Latterone intendsto arrangelor lhe ensuingb rlh ol Aqni. S mrlarideas are lound also in the VaisnavaTanlras.For exampe accordingto lhe JayakhyaSamhla Sakti rs I rst in
Chapterl2
vokedinio lhe kunda,and then the fire s placedin the kunda. The JS mentionsthis as lhe unionoi Agnt,lhoughtlo be cod, with lhe Goddessand also speaksol the eventualentranceol the seed rntolhe womb ol ihe Goddess.,s Aflef lhis the flre is made to ftareup rn lhe kunda.This ts Ihe rilua production of fire,butas shownbetowthe b rth oi Aqni lakes piaceeven allerwards. ll rs nol only Agnr'sbirthwhrchts represented in the rituat. lhe whole courseol his development lrom concepton to marriage s alramalised. Each slage ol lhe deveopmenlrs fepre senledby one or more ghee oblations.Firsl lake placecertatn prenalalacls lrkethe shapingol the eyes and moulh ol Agn: these are folowed by lhe three pre,naiatSmarta samsk6ras namelyGarbhadhana,r6Pumsavanaand Simanlonnayana Altef th s Jatakarmanlakes place.Thts is Agn s birth.Th s rnctudes lhe cullrng ol lhe cord connectinglhe molher and th-ababy Oelapanayana)and a so the tual pur f cationof Agnrs b rlh The nd apanayanais done with iive obtationsThis s to owed b v \ a n a l a d n d - N a m e - g r v i n gA g n i i s g r v e - a . o n o r r o Krsnagni.Durgagni, Narayanagnt,'elc. according lo the nameoj the deilyol choice.Thenthe olhersamskarasuplo mafi age (or death/n abh cara-praclices) follow.'3 (c) Putposeand madusopelardl rThe Namakaranaor Name_ grvn9 ceremonyts a clear indicationof whal the birth 01Agn means.The dety of choice (/stadevalwhich rneansGod as undersloodby the performerol the rile is madelo descendinlo the fre. The poinl is quite clear atso tn the JayakhyaSarnhrta. Accordrnglo this, alter all lhe len Samskafashave been per lormedthe perlormerol the rileshouldIh nk of t re as Narayana. _ A g n ir s b o r n ' a sG o d n o l o n y r n t h e k u n d ab u t a t s oi n t h e Ac.aryawho is lo in tiateihe dtscipe. The orientatron of the rite lo lrlatend rs ev denl iirstin lhe facl lhat whenlhe frreis p aced rn lhe kundathe frrein the body,exlernatlerreslrat Iire and lire In the materialbas s of crealionco-extsient wilh S va and Sakti
The I rlh of Agn
213
ate lhoughtot as one.That the tire is placed \baindavavahni)le rnthe kundaafterbeingmovedin the direclionol lhe perlormer ol lhe r le also seem to lacililatethat,The nyasas,loo, mean lhat Agnr n hrs variousaspeclsis inducedintothe body ol lhe worshpper. The mergerof ihe moulhs'andlhe'mergeroj the atle.|es lvaktratktkaranaand nadisandhena,,a meanthe accom plishmenlot lhe sa d identty betweencod, I re and the perlormer oi the I te. Cf., ST.V 71, ,he shoutdcause un ty of seli wilh the f re and the deity'.The PaderthAdarsa grvesthe lollowrng c talionlrom lhe Saivagamain the commentaryto the sard verse:The mefglngof mouthsintolhe moulhoi the the deityis un ty. The same commentaryexplainslhe ,adisandhenaas lhe rnergrngot tlTearteriesol Fire,God and sell . Therers another citaion in the Padadhadarsa to theal effectin ihis connectonl stal\rn btahn.maJtm mn tm soucnty;gnaLt pradpatel in lhe JayakhyaSamhitathe versesenjoiningthe eslablishmenl ol lhe rdentilyare corrupl_but the senseis more or less ctear:tatra talanitam (?) kundei jvalanAryena cegaten/ patananciaprakasebhannasikye (?) dvadasevadht// tata 'vaterayogenapravistem bhevayed dhrdi i Th s eslabIshmentoi dent/1yts not lor lhe sake o, exlendIng the vrddh oi Agn to lhe Acaryaas il is in the Agnyddheya.. On lhe contraryit looks hkea ritualenactmenloi whal s theo retrcallysraredin the N/lahayanasraddholpedasestra,?, accordng lo whrchlhe rdea manrlestsitselias the N rmanakayafor the benelrloi conrmondisciples.Underthe same principtecod descendsupon the personoi lhe Acaryato rnilialethe drscipe Inlo the palh oi sa vation In ST.J.3 gurusare said io be of ih-a natureol God. ...1hold the g!rus on rny had, who are ot the natureot Srva. For thrsreasonwhenthe Guruseesthe discrpte and exercisesthe act oi p!rificationupon him, he does t as a drvrneberngand then rnakeshigherconsctousness exlenctto lhe d scrple.Cl., ST.V.78cd-79ab, "Havingobservedhim (i.e.the d sc ple)w th a d vine ook the gurushouldpltrfy lhe ways,aller
215
chapt€r.12
214
(placed)in the lolusol lhe hearlwith unitingthal consciousness himsell"i again,"The guru whileobseruingthat childwith a dr(so long)placed vine look,shouldemploythat consciousness, within himsell.inlo the disciple." li is needlessfurtherto explainlhe tundamenlaldifference belween the enkance of Agni inlo the saciificer lot lhe exten sioi of vrddhi in the Agnyadheyaand lhe eklkararasof the Tantrasaimedat addingthe signsof divinegraceol lhe acl ot initialion.
NOTES 1.
For lhe dates see TCC, pp. 66 and 67.
2.
See Kashml Shaivaisn by J-C. Chalteii, p 26a lo,lhe date o l U t p a l a c a r y aai n d M . J . B a k s h i s U p o d g h a l ai n t h e S T t o r rhe date ol Baghavabhatta and other Infomation.
3.
B . B h a l t a c h r y a( F o r e w o r dJ, S . p . 3 4 ) p l a c e st h e w o l k h t h e 15lh ceotury A.D.
For this terms see G,N. Kaviraiin lhe Pincess ol Wales SaravasliBhavanaStudies,Vol. x. 21 ll and also Tantraa agamashasttet digdarshan, 1 ll. lr
See n. 5 above.
12.
Cit€din comm€ntaryto ST.V 16.
13.
SATch. XVlllip.314. This is one ol lhe mantrasol the Sarpaajnilormula(TS l lo Aps 5.3)utleredduringthe placingol the firc according V. 11.7,lor whichalsosee lll, 5a above
16.
Unless otheMise noted lhe relerences in parenlhese are lo r h e S l W h e r eo n l y t h e v e r s e - n u r n b ei sr s h o w nt h e s l h c h a p _ ter of the ST is to be understood.
JS XV 74 underslandsthe placingof lhe li€ in lhe kunda as onlythe unionof Agniand his Sakti,kundanadhyasthaya catha saklye naayane khyaye nesa grcna tam agnim ca sam_ ghEtan dhveyersvahrdgataD.But the Garbhadh6na lts trom this skara whichtakes placelater is ditlotenl 132"4 an JS.XV dislinctly told leaturesare characrerisltc gab' pravesanam 133'r,srikrksikuharcyad vaibahislhasya henamla lad viddhisamskenmpBthaman nune.
L rerally lhe words mean the [,'l]slfessoi Speech and the Lord ol Speech They mean Sakli and Siva-th€ lwo con_ s c i o u s p r i n c i p l e sb s h i n d c r e a l l o n .S e e S T 1 . 1 w h e r e S r v a is described as vacem edhisam a^d alsa tl\e PadAdhAdari
6.
The mantra-endings,amah, svaha vasal, hum, vausat and phat ae called Jatis. See Feghavabhalla on ST lV 33.34. S t i c k se n c i r c l i n gl h e k u n d a -S e e t h e S r a u t a p a d a d h a n i r v a c ana. Vishwanalh Shaslri, p.13; lh€e gidless (mekhara, are raised just outside each €dge ol lhe kunda
L
S e eS T l l l . 9 4 - 1 0 5 .
9
bhuh. bhuvah and svat.
See 16 below/ Buttheaclualconceplion meaosconceplion. Garbhadhana placingol the firc in lhe lhe place wilh earlier ot Agni took is kunda(STV.16,JS. XV.74).Ths pres€nlGarbhadhana to be understoodas the rilualpurilicationot lhe secularacl The Garbhadh5na ceromonyhas two sides-lha secular ol the same act and also lhe rcligious,ritual solemnisation lsee HinduSanskeas. R.B Pandey84 fl) The anomalyin lhe Agnijananaregardinglhese, perhaps,riseson accounl ritualdrama_ ot lhe diflicultiesinvolv€din lhe simultaneous lisationol the secularact and ils f€l,gioussolemnisalion
17. 18.
19
on Sl V 60-64. See Raghavabhatla The samskarasare mentionedin jusl tive verses(V 61_65) in the ST wilhoutmuch details.The explanationsand lhe detailsgivenhere are obtainablemainlyftom lhe commen For bunduas pimoradalmatt6rsee G.N.Kavirajin Ianlra o digdarshan, 1lt.ThePada hadarsacrleslwo agamashaslrer
216
ChanrFr.r,
liews: binduh ptasiddhah: paramelmathpah tasyagnlsonatue., hdbhavo vahnn baindavah: anye bindur bhnmadhyanin vadarlt (on Sl Vl3). 20. 21.
The explains On Sl V 46: sourc6nol mentioned. the purposeot healinglhe ghee-por.
22.
See OipakBhaltacharya, Jounalof Besearch,Vts\a Bha?li. t., 1976-77,pp 45-50.
gST€TTGt|CtPAEI'UA C'F
WANqTRA
b!
SADHU SANTIDEV
VOLUME5
All ights reserved. No part of thispublicatlon mav bereproducerl, or stored in retrivzl system,or transnifted in aty lorn or by any neans without the pior permissiott of CosmoF,blications
CONTENTS @ CosmoPublications FirstPublished1999
't.
ISBN 81.702t!86!7 (set) (vol'tme5) 81-702u86&8
Published by
MRS.RANIKAPOOR Div of PUBLICATIONS t<.rrCOSMo PVI.LTD. GJ'NESIS PUBLISHING 24-B,AnsariRoad, DaryaGanj, INDIA NewDelhi-110002,
ThewakingStateandThe'why' ol the Samadhi-Plunge Whatis SamadhiorYogic Trance? TheCJitlqueoI theTrancesolution TheCrilioueotlh€ 'Jivanmukti-Solution'
7. 8.
1 21 31 €
Thelssue: Statusol Dynamis Themind-Consciousness : Its Achiev€mnelsand Failures 53 TheInwa.dizationand the Ascension 71 TheConquest 93 Sureivara 105 TheWorksof theAuthorof theVartika Ih6 closeconnection betweenthe BrahmaSiddhiandtheSambandhaVartika TheRaval Doctrines Examined in the SambandhaVartika Refutation of Mandana's Posilions in the Vartika TheTretment of lhe Dockineot Bhartrpraanca in theVartika Nretaphysical lgnorance in Suresvara Objections andanswersonthesubject
of lvlelaphysical Ignorance by Sri Thetrealment of lgnorance Compared Sankara andSuresvara Enquiryintotheseatof ignorance and the objeclwithil conceals TheOperation ofthelvleansol Knowledge Cancellalion ol lllusion Authorityot theVeda:Roleof NegativeTexls Preception, etcCannolContradicl theVeda Treatment of theTopicof Cause and Eifecl Thetrealment of Universal and Particular Thetreahent ol theDiscrimination of the FiveSheaths Teaching byexaminalion olThe Dramand ThreeStatesoJWaking, Sleep Dreamless Cantherebean Injunclion tor Knowledge Compaison ol SriSankara and ontheTopicof Hearing Suresvara andthe Rests TheIniunclion lor Inne.andOuterConlrol andlhe otherdisciplines HowActionandMediiation Relale Thereis nootherLiberation Excepl Eradication of lgnorance All Dualityis lmagined lhrough lgnorance Approved Thetormot Non-Duality in thevartika
9.
't0. 11.
TheMasreryol the Nighls 227 HowBestto Enterihe Stateol Sleep? Howto Relaan theAwareness of Dreams? HowtoGrowConscious in Sleep TheLureol theDream-Consciousness TheVisionotlhe DivineBody 237 TheConquestof Sleep 243 HowtoReducetheHoursof Sleep? Howto Eliminate the Necessity ol Sleep?
'12. Attemptsai'Kayasiddhi' and Reiuvenation 257 13. TheMysteryof Lifeand Dealh Deathat theServiceof Lile 14. Metaphysical Factorsof Dealh 283 FirstFactor TheParlAgainsttheWhole SecondFactor The ParlAgainstAllOtherParts ThirdFaclor AclionandReaction FourthFactor LiletheConsumer FifthFactor Warollhel\rembers SixthFactor lmpertect Poiseol Consciousness andForce SevenlhFaclor Thetntiniteas a Summation of lhe Finite
viii
ThePhysiologyot Senescence and Death fi/eiaphysics ol Lifeand Death
Chapter-1
'why' TheWakingstateand The of the Samadhi-Plunge
Chapter-1 Above us dwells a superconscientgod Hiddan in the mystery of his own light: Arcundus is a vastoI ignorance Lil by the uncartain ray ol the human mind, Below us sleeps the lnconscient datk ancl mute (SriAurobindo, Sayttr;BookVll, Cantoll, p.484) Since mind-consciousness is lhe sole wakingstate possessed by mental baing,...il cannot otdina ly quile enter into another without leaving behind completely both all our waking existenieand all ou inwardmind.This is the necessityof the Yogictrance (sri Aurobindo,The Synthesisol Yoqa,p.379). To enler into Sahadhi is to passinlo a state of whichno consciousmemoryremainson awakening... When people speak ol Samadhi, I te them, "We , try to developyoul innerindividualityand you can enter into these very regionsinfull consciousness,with the delightof communionwith the highest rcgions without losing consciousnessfor thal and retuming with a zefo in,tead ol an expeience." Bu etin,Vol.XlV, No. 3, pp. 43-45) flhe N,lolher, Yes,they[a the states ol higherrcalisation]can be aftained even in lull activity. Tance is not essential. (SriAurobindo,Lettercon Yoga,p.744) A THOROUGHGOING psychological self-invesligalion lar kanscendingits presentartilicialbounds, an occull-spirilual exploralionot the tolallieldol our boing,rev€alsthe truththatwhat we normallyknowoi ourselvesis not all we are: il is no more lhan'a bubbleon theoceanof our eristence,' lndeed,apartfrom
Chaplef l
theveryinsigniJicanl parloJourwakrng andrestricled individual consciousness, we arenormally perlectly ignoranl of thewhole ol the restof our being," lhe immensemore',lhat lieshidden in apparenllyinaccessible "reachesof beingwhichdescendinto lhe protoundesl depthsol lhe subconscient andriseio highesl peaksol superconscience, or whichsufioundthe littielieldol ourwakingselfwitha widecircumconscienl existence ol which o!r mrndand sensecatchonlya lew indications." As a matterof fact, followingthe ancientWisdomof the L.Jpanishads, we can broadlydividethe tolalityol our existence into Jor.irprovincesor states:the waking siate' \jagrat).the sublirninal (syapna), or lhe'dream-state' the superconscienl or the sieep-state' (sr/suptland linallythe statebeyondor lhe 'ultimateslate'(lurjia, Co(espondinglo lheselour stalesof our existence,we havein us tour selvesor ratherlhe fourfold stalus ol the oneSelfthalis Brahman:the wakjngsellot Vaisvanara. theWaker;thedream,se[or faiasa,ihe Dreamer;thesleep-setf or P/e/,ia,the Sleeper;and tinallythe supremeor absotuteselJ o t b e i n g , l h e F o u t t h ( c a t u r l h a ) ,t h e I n c o m m u n i c a b l e (avyavahey@), lhe Ooe wilhoulsecond(adyaia),ot whichthe threebetorearederivations, In less abstrlse and mysiicallerms,we may statethat the fourfoldscaleol beingdelineatedaboverepresenls,so to say, lhe 'degrees of the ladderot being'that an embodied soulmust successively atiainil he wouldseekio clrrnbbackhom hjs phenomenaland ignorants€lf-viewtowardsthe supreme superconscience of thehigheststateof hissell-being. Butwhat are lhe essenlialtraits of theselour statuses? TheWakingState:Ow wakingconsciousness, theconsciousness lhal we normallyposs€ssand that is dominatedby the physical mind,is a limping surlaceconsciousness shulupin the bodylimitation andwilhinihe conlines o{thelittlebitol personal mind.We are ordinarily awateonlyol our su ace selvesand quiteignorant ot allthatlunctions behindlhe veil.Andvet.what
s on the surlace,whal we know or lhink we know ol ourselves and even believethat lhat is allwe are. is only a small part oi our being , and by lar the larger part lies hidden"behindlhe behindthe veil,occtrltand knownonly by lrontalconsciousness an occultknowledge." a rnanbecomes consciousness, Whilein thisnormalwaking gazes and rarely il ever inward ised and outward rxlerna in Hence the selt this slalus ol lparampasya nenlaralman). exlernal v,/aketulnesshas been described as wrse ol the oul_ watd (jegaritaslheno bahihprajfiah).Nospiiluallife or any higher or deeprrea isalionbecomespossibleif one remarnsietteredto lhrs wakrngslale The Dream-Stab:fhisrepresentsthe subliminacondtion ol our conscrousexislence,the largeluminousrealmol inlerior and thal correspondslo lhe subller lile_plane consciousness, mind planeand even a sublle physicalplaneor our being.ln deed. behindour outerexislence,our outer mind and lrleand Our arger be ngs sits behindcrypticwalls: 'hprp are grealnesseshrddenIn our unspFnparls Thal wait their hour to slep into liles konl: our inner Minddwellsin a largerlight, Its br ghtnesslooksal us throughhiddendoors; A m ghly lile-sei wilh Supportslhe dwartishmodicumwe call life; Our bodys sublleself aslhronedwilhrn In rts viewlesspalaceol veridicaldreams. reachoJour berngcomprrsesour Inner Thus,lhe subliminal -oxrslence, thal s to say, our inner mind, inner lile and inner physica wilh lhe soul or psychicentitysupporlingthem all. lt ano clrcumconscrenl s of lhe natureoi a secrelIntraconsctent
Chapterl
awareness rnlullpossession of a brillianlmindoower.a limoid litetorceand un unclouded subtlephysical senseol things. It rs in th s subliminal realmof our interiorexistence. lhe ream of subllesubjective supraphysical experiences and ot dreamsandvisionsandheavenly intimations, a vefltable word ol wondertul illuminations, thatour mindand vilalbeingretire whentheywilhdrawby inward-drawn concentralton fromtheirab, sorplon In surlaceactivties, It s because ol ils inwardplungebringingn itsiraina wealth ol nnerexperiences, dreamsand visions,thatlhe selltn this statLrs has beentermedthe dream-self thatis wiseot lhe in, ward lsvapnastheno' ntahpajfiah). The Sleep-State:This correspondsto a still higher s r p e r c o n s c i e nsll a l u s , a s l a t e o l p u r e c o n s c t o u s n e s s pwe blisslenandamayahyenandabhuk) \prajhanaghana), andpwe naslety lsatvesvara).T his exaltedslateol seltabsorbedconscrousness rs called'sleep'because all mentalor sensoryexpeflencesceasewhen we enterthis superconscience. This 'dreamlesssleep state'{yatr supto...na kafrcanasvapnam pasyall,), lhis statusoJmassedconsciousness and omnipotenl lnle )gerce(satvesvarasaNajfta),canlainsin it "alllhe powers ot beingbula 1compressed withinitsetfandconcentrated solely on lse I andwhenactive,thenactivein aconsciousness where 'sleepstate'thaiwe a I rs the self."lt is in thissuperconscienl become"inherently and intrinsically conscious ot our sell and spirl, not as herebelowby a reflectton in silenlmindor bV acquisrtion ol lhe knowledge oi a hiddenBeingwithinus; il is throughil, throughlhateitherof superconscience, lhalwe can passto a supremestatus.knowledge experience." TheTuriyaSlarc:fhis corresponds to the higheslstatuslar lranscending thetirstthree,beingthestalusol puresell-existenceandabsolutebeing,whereconsciousness andunconscious_ nessas we acluallyconceiveol bothloselheir validily.lt is the supremestateol Sachchidananda,'a stateol superconscience
in a s€l'.silenc€ora self-ecstasy.' absorbedin its self-existence, Aboutthe selfol thislourthortheTuriyastate,the Mandukya sPeaks: Upanishacl nor bolh "Hewho is neitherinward-wise,nor oulward-wise, norpossessed oulward wise, norwisdom seU-gathered, inwardand of wisdom,H€ whois unseenand ol wisdom,nor unpossessed u ,n s e i z a b l ef,e a t u r e l e s su, n t h i n k a b l e , incommunicable Whoseessentiality is awareness ol theSeliin andunnameable, in Whomall phenomena dissolve, Who is its singleexisl€nce, is Good, Who is One than Whom lhere is no oiher, Who Calm, He is the objectot Himtheydeemthe lourth:He is the Self, Knowledge." Suchis lhen the fourtolddivisionof the totalityot our existence,and true knowledge,that is to say,spiritualknowledge aboulour seltbeingas well as aboutthe world-beingbecomes to us onlywhenwe succeedin establishing a conscious available realms rapportwith the subliminaland the nowsuperconscient oJ our being.But unforlunatelyour wakingslate is blissfully ignorantot its connectionwith or eventhe very existenceo t thesesupernalreaches.So the goalof Yogawhichis essentially an attemptat arrivingat an integrals6lf-knowledge, an entire conscrousness and powerot beinganda supremeLrnion or !nily withSachchidananda, Abthe Existence-Consciousness-Bliss solute,can be altainedonlyby a progressive ascension ot lhe m nd lo higherandslilihigherplan6sor degreesoJconsciousButherea seriousandseemingleyinsuperable hitchpresents itseli.Formindis thesolewakingconsciousness pos, aciLlally sessedby rnanthe mentalbeingand thismindin its aclualily completelylails to remainawake,beyonda certainline,in lhe reallyhigherstatesof realisalionwherethe heightenedand intensiliedspirilualexperiences are aothe natureot thingssought. Inrsalmostabsoluteincompatibilily of ourwakingmentalitywith he highestrangesol spiritualconsciousness is strikinglybrought
out in thelollowingveryinteresling accountot Sri Ramakrishna,s repeated lailuresto hain remainphysically awakeon thesummrlsol reaiisation. Swami Saradananda, one ol lhe closesl direcldiscipl€s ol SriRarnakrishna andthewriterof hisauthor! lative biography,is reporling: "ln howsirnpie lermslheThakur[i.e.SriFamakr]shnal used lo expiarn lo L_ts theseaJstruse lruthsol sptrilual lile "'Well,something riseslrommyteelandclimbstowards the head.So longas it doesnotreachthe heao,reran consctousness; but as soon as it reacheslhere, an utter t'otgett'ulness ovenakes me- lhenlhereis no moreseeingor hearing, lar be il to speakoltalking.'Who _ Theverysense wouldspeakthen? oi l' and 'ThoLr'vanishesaltogether!| often decidelo speak everylhing to yo!, all aboutthe visionsand experiences thal accompany lhisascension. So longas thal hasreachedso lar Ipointingto his heart)ot evenso lar (pointingto his throat),jl seemssomebodyshutsmy mouthand I fajltocontrotmv lorcet_ tutnessl tPonlng to histhloat)whenone ascenosstitituriier lhanihts level,no soonerlhanI conlemplate ior a mornenlto speakoi lhe visionsand experiences there,the mindimmedratelyshootsupwardsand no reportjngbecomesanv mor-aoos''Oh,innumerable aretheoccaslons whentheThakur sought to exerctse lhe utmostconkoloverhimsellso lhal hecouldreporl 10us aboutthetypesot experiences lhatonehaswhenthemind transcends thethroal-cenlre buteachtimehe failedl... Onedav he emphaticallv stated: '''TodayI mustspeakto youeverything , not a bil wouldI hide' and he startedto speak.He coutdverywe speakatl aboutthecentresuplotheheartandthethroal,andthenpoinl. inglo ihe junciionol his eye-brows he said,.Whenever the mrnd ascendshere,lhe embodied soulhasa vjsionof lhe supreme SellandgoesintoSamadhi. Thenthereexistsbul a thintrans, parentveilbetween lhe individual Selland the S!preme.And
therethe so!l experiencesin this way-'. Speakingso lar, as soonas he start€dd€tailingthe realjsationot the Supreme,he Attercomingoul ol histrancestate, wentintolhe Samadhislate. reporting recommenced again, bui againw€ntintoSamadhi. he repeated attemptsand lailurcsho spokoto us with Altetsuch tearsin his eves: ' lvy sons,my intontion is to repo to youeverylhing wilhoui hidingthe l6astbit oi il: butlhe l\rotherwon'lallowme to speak- Shecompleloly shutmy mouthl' "Wewondered at lhisandthought:'How slrangellt is appar enl lhal he is kyingto reportand thathe is evensuffering becauseof his lailurelo do so, but he seemslo be altogelher helplessin thismaller - Surelylhe Mothermusthavebeenvery naughtyindeedlHe wantslo speakaboutholythings,aboutlhe visionol God,andit is surelyoddthalSheshouldshuthismouth!' "Wedjd nol knowal timethatlhe mind'srangeis indeedvery muchIrmitedand thal, unlessone proceedsfartherthen its iartheslreach,one cannotexpeclto havethe realisationol the Supremel ln ourinnocence we couldnot.understand ai lhaltime lhat out of sheerlovelor us lhe Thakurwas attemotino the mpossiblel" SriRamakrishna himsellin hls inimiiabte styleernphas sed on morethanoneoccasion thislactof lhe inability of our mind consciousness to relainiis'power oJconscious disceroment and definngexperience' whenit risesto thesuperconscient heights, '1esaid: Whathappenswhenthe mindreachesthe seventhplane . LanogoesintoSmadhilcannolbe described. Oncea boalenters the [blackwaters]ollheocean,il doesnotrelurn.Nobodvknows whathappensto the boalallerthal.TheretoretheboatIi.e.Mindl udrlnolgrveus anyInformalion aboutlheocean, ''Ofce a saltdollwentiomeasure ihedepthol theocean.No soonerdidit enterthewaterthanit melted. Now,whowouldtell
Chapler-1
10
howdeeptheoceanwas?" So it is seenthat jn the actualslate of our evolvedwaking theascension andentryintothehigherrealmsol our existence beingbecomesal all possibleonly by rccedingfartherand lar lher Ircm the waking mentality,by vtilhdtawingfrom and losing touchwilh the dynamicsurfacelife and iakinga plungeinlolhe immobileor ecstaticlrancaof absorbedsupetconscience.And hereinliestor thespiritual seekerlhe necessily or eventhe inevilabilityol the Yogiclrancestate,so much Fo that n is emphalically asserled thatSamadhi is'notonlya suprememeans ot arriving al thehighesl consciousness, b!t...lheverycondition ilself,in whrchaloneit andstatusof thathigheslconsciousness poss€ssed can be completsly andenjoyedwhilewe are in lhe oi lifebeButin lhal caseour goalotdynamicdivinisalion the comesforedoomedlo lailure. So we mustnowseewhether progressively intoa wakingSamadhi trancecanbe transformed mademanilest andacliveevenin ourwakandilsspirilualgains In9extstence, WHATISSAMADHI ORYOGICTBANCE? ln her owndepthsshehead the unuttercdthoughl Thatmadeunrealtheworldand alllife meant. 'Whoart thouwhoclaim'stthycrownor separalebtrlh, Theillusionol lhe soul'srcaity Andperconalgoclheacl on an ignorantglobe In the animalbodyof impedectman? Onlythe blankEternalcan be true All elseis shadowand flashin Mindbbrighl glass, O soul,inventotof man'sthoughtsand hopes. Thyselfthe inventianof lhe moments'stream, illusions'centreor sublleapexpoint, At lastknowthyself,from vainexistencecease." ($ Aurabindo,Saviil.,BookVll, CantaVl,p 535
rhewe!493919-34-I!9-9ry Beyandthe realmof thought,trcnscendingthe domainol duality, leavingMaya with all her changesand fiodilications far behind,....shinesthegloryoltheEtenalBrahmanin the Nirvikalpa Samadhi. Knowledge, knowet dissolve in the mensttuumof One EternalConsciou'ness:bitth,growthand death vanEh in that infinite Existence:and love. lovet and belovedmeryeinthatunboundedoceanol SuptemeFelic, tty... Breakingdownthe idge-polesol thattabenaclein which the soul had made its abode lot untoldages- stillingthe body, calming the mind and drowning the ego, comes the sweetjoy ol Brahmanin thatsupetconsciousstate.Space disappears in nothingness, time is swallowedup in Eter nny...[and] it is all stillnessindefinable.... The Nivikalpa Sanadhi is the highest fliqht ol Advaita Philosophy (Llleof Sri Ramakrishna, AdvaitaAshrcm,Almoa, p. 181) The acquisition ol the highestspiritual consciousness, at leastslaticallyif nol dynamacally, is the goal of all spiritual endeavor. But,as we havenotedbefore,the sDaritual reachesof conscrousness lie taabehindand aboveour notmalwaking mentality. Now lhe questionis: is it possiblelo possessthe spirilual consciousness whilestillremaining €hbeddedin the ordrnary menlalfunclioning? In otherwords, canlhe normalunregenerate sudac6consciousness andlhespiaitual onebeconcomilant andsimultaneously operative? Seekers anallagesand clrmes,who have ihe necessarycredentialsto pronounceon this poinl,are universallyagreedto denylhis possibility. So,broadlyspeaking,fourallernalivesmayopenout before hose whoasprreafterspiritualily: (i)Tocreatea division, a separation. a dissociataon of conscrousness and to be spiritual withinor abovewhilethe outer conscroJsness and its ignorantmovemenls are Indiflerenfly walched andfelltobesomething intrinsically loreignanddrspa'ore lr s s thesolulion ol the WitnessConsciousness . (rr)To be satisiiedwiththe indirectgloriesot the spiriiual
rh. Wak'ng slale and The
12
Chaplerl
and rellactedin lhe bosomol oul as reflected consciousness 'spiritualmenlal This is whal hasbeentermed normalmentalityreatsalron and lromthemenlalconscrousness (iii)Tostillandwithdraw be called This is whal can reaches. lo ihe supra-menlal relire the'lrance-solulionconscious(iv)Totranslorm thenalureol thenormalwaking downlherelhe ness,to diviniseil as we wouldsay,by bringing of the spirilualheighls,so that its fullestweath and splendor rectiled maybe altogether presentopacityand relractorin€ss by envlsaged This is the solulionof'divinetransliguralion'as ourYoga. and'spirilual_menlal Consciousness' Evidently the'Wiiness realisatio n' Jalltar shorlol ourgoal;for.beit onceagarnslaled, ol LiteDivineupon thisgoalis no lessthanthe establishment Sachchidananda wakingexislence embodying earth,a dynamic glories. in histu 1ymaniiesled Butsincethe yogickanceor Samadhiis so oilenheldup e notonlyas a suprememeansol accessto lhe higherpossrb and status ol the very condition but'as spiriluaconsciousness itselt,in whichaloneil canbe com_ thalhighestconsciousness plelelypossessedand enjoyedwhile we are in the body,"we thenatureof Samadhi musldigressherelor a whileto examine in the pursuitol lhe Integral andfindoul its utilityor olherwise yoga. rS10 a' Yagtc1ence.Sincemind-Co'lsciousneSS Samadtu wrlhthehighestslateot spiritual rnallyloundto be lncompalible yogaor unionmustalmostby detinitolr realisat on, a verrlable connote lhe cessalion of all menlal lunctrons or evenol themindilsell\manoneso (yogascittavrtlinirodhahl) Now.1olollowthe terminologyas usedby Vyasa,lhe greal ourrnindslull Paianjali, Aphorisms'ol the'Yoga commentatoron
mavlunctlonin five dilferenllevelsor conditions(cilhbhhmayah). These.lrom down upwardsor lrom out inward,are (i) Ksiptaor lhe dissipatedconditionin whichthe mindis acliveand resltess, externalsedand runs aller objeclsol varioussorts;(ii) mtidha or lorprd,the stupeliedconditionin whichhe mind underthe in_ Iluence ot an excessjve larnas gravitales downwards and waltowsIn the obscuredepthsol ignorance:(iii) v,ksrplaordistracled, paciliedand at in whichlhe mindbecomesrelatively a condilron but out again outwards concentrated lhrown somewhal times (iv) concen. lhe dislracting movemenls; ekagraor becauseot tfated,a condiliondominatedby sallvain whichthe mindis able to concenlfalelor a prolongedstretchot iime to the exclusionol a I olhef lhoughls,upon some particularchosenobjector subjecl ol concenlration;and lastly (v) niruddhaor slilled. a condrceases lion n whrcheven the acl or r!nclion ol contemplation modilications mind nothing whal and.ail ol the beingstopped. so ever s known or conceivedbv lhe latter. The ltrst lhree conditionsolthe mind enumeratedabove are ol caLtrsenol al all conduciveto lhe praclice ol spirituaiity lyogapaksena vartate)til is only the lasl two o ihal make possi. ble afy spiritualilluminalion. As a matterol tacl,in the parlance ol lhe PalanjaliSystem,"ekegraor the state ol concentralion. when permanenilyeslablished,is calledsampfali eh Yogaot lhe lranceol medilalion.in whichth€reis a clearand distinclconscrousness of the obiectof contemolation. lt is known also as samepalei or samprain ta samedhi in as much as citla or lhe mrndis. in lhis stale, entirely pul inlo the objecl and assum€s Ine lorm of lhe obiect itsell. So also lhe state o, niruddha rs caled asampalnala Yoga orasampajneb samedhi... because Inrsis lhe lranceof absorplionin whichall psychosesand appearances o{ objectsare stopped,,,,' generallerms we may say that Samadhror yogrc rrarco s lhal slale of super consciousness in which the asprranl.divingdeep or soaringhigh in the searchol ihe sout or the
14
Chapter-1
sell,enlers,whenhis consciousness, throughan inwardconcenlration, withdrawstromlhe surfaceworldas perceivedby ihe sensesand reliresto progressively deeperinleriorrealmsof supersensus experiences. In thisprocessof inwardwithdrawal or upwardascension,theconsciousness firstenlersthe 'dreamstate'andthenproceeds to th€'sleeo-state'. Whilejnthedram, slalae,the ouler mindol the Sadhakabecomesquiescenland his innarmind.separated fromlhe outerandnolongercovered upbyit, rangeslh.oughawondorlulworldol richandvariegated Innerexpenences. To obviateany possjblernisunderstanding that the nomencialuredram-stale'or'sleep-state'may engenderin an unwary spirit,we may{orthwithstate herethattheyogicdream,orsleepslaleshavenothingto do wilhthe physicalstalesof dreamand sleep."lntheYogicdream-slate...lhe mindisinclearpossession ol itself,lhoughnot ofhtephysical world,workscoherently,... (is perlectlyl awake...not withthe out-going, butwithan ingalhered wakefulness in which,thoughimmersed in ilseli,it exercises all In thedream-state itselfthereis an infinite serieso{ deplhs startjngwith thal tor whichthe worldol physicalsensesis almoslal the doorsthoughmomentarily shirtout,and reachingto depthsnot likelyto be brokenin uponby the impact or cattof the sensuousphysicalworld.As a malter ol Jact,"beyonda certainpointlhelrancebecomescomplet€and it is thenalmost quile impossibleto awakenor call back lhe sout that has recededintothem;ilcanonlycomebackby itsownwillorat most by a violentshock.olphysicalappealdangerousto the system owrnglo lhe abruptUpheavalofrelurn." Withthe incr€asingdepthsor heighlsof lhe degreesof con, sciousness altainedby the soul,the experiences obtained becomeprogressively remoleandlessandlesscommunicable to the wakingmind,unlilthe trancebecomescompletein an utter selfgatheringol the berngwhenlhe centralconscrousnesssepa-
Then it becomesan rateslrom the lasl vestingof mentalityot theexperecords ortranscripls for any impossibility absolute portals waking conol the normal to reach lhe lherein r ences claimed lo of Nirvikalpa Samadhi Thlsis lhe state scio!sness. and assidLrously be the hlgheststatusof spiritualattainmeni soughtafterby everyseekerafterlrance. existot puresuperconscienl lrance-state In lhrsultrmate infinite being and immersion in lhe this supra-mental ence.in the world oi space and hence bliss,timeand theuncondilioned ol mentalaware' allaction nameslandformsvanishinlonoihing, abol_ resswhelherof outwardor ol inwardthingsis allogether is drawnup inlothesupercosmicBeyond ishedandeverything
trance,the thissupremestaleof Nirvikalpa Onceatlaining return agarn to the \,1/ell"nigh impossible, lo sou l ndsrt diilicull, aclveIfe-consciousness,tor"illoseslheholdonthecordwhi of life,andlhe bodyis leJl,mainb ndsil lo the consciousness bul nol deadby dissolution, ta ned indeedin its sel position, incapabie ol recovering the ensoluedlitewhichhadinhabitedit." physiognomy Wehavesolaranalysed in abskacllermsthe ol iheYogictrance.Iocomplele theaccounlwe wouldnowlike to reproduce caiesof thesagesUddalaka in brieftheconcreie andRamakrishna withto showhowin laclthe consciousness drawnginwardpassesthrough progressively slaies deepening 01be ng to rGposefinallyin lhe absolutesiale of inrvikalpa Samadhi. Fjrstthe scripluralaccouniol the lrance of Uddalakaas oeplctedintothe grealwotk Yoga-Vasishtha Mahanmayana: Theftanceaf lJddalaka:"One daythesagedeliberaled:'When wrllyouatlainlo eternalpeace by reachingthe slatusot mindless' nes(.lo'sJchrsIndeedthecondrtron forgettinglreedfromlhe oondaqa ol reoealed sat brrlhs?' ...Thenhe Brahmin Uddalaka downto concentrate and withdraw his mind.But he couldnot sLcceeo al olce . alta,nrng in state.lor hrs?nrnd, theSamadhi
Chaoter.l
the tashionof a restlessbaboon,beganto tleet from objectto objeci...At a lalerstag6,the mind-monkey wouldat limesleave outsidecontractsand lelt eagerfor the enjoymentol lhe inner Sattwicbliss;butthiswasindeedan intermillentmood.lor most ollenthe mindwouldrushlowardsoutwardobjeclsagain,as il it was stungby a wouldrushlowardoutwardobjoctagain,as if it was stungby a venomoussnak6.Al times,his innerstatewas beingclearedol thoobscurity of ignoranc€ andUddalaka visioned the glory of a sun; but in no lime his Chittabecameres ess againand flewoulwardin the mannerof a starfledbjrd.Again, he withdrewinwardand oxperienced al limesa vacantspaceor the Zerool an impenetrable darkness...As a warriorin bat e killshis enemieswitha sword,Uddalakaslarleddestroyingone by onealllhe vikalpas gone,he thalwereappearjng inhisconsciousness.lhe vikalpasl9on6,he saw into he innerspace a green-black Sunbutproceed immediat€ly to eradicate thisinky darkness.Then the softnessof a massedlustr€greetedlhe sage jn notimefotlowing Uddalaka Butthattooheeliminated theway ol an elephantcalf that gets into a lotuspondand tears away anddevastates thelotuses allaround. Oncethismassedsplendourwasgone,Uddalaka's mindsuccumbed to a spellof dseo sleepjustas manhighlyintoxicated loseshissobriety andthen getsrntotorpor;butthesagewaspromptenoughlo annullhis stateof sleep.Then his mindwaslilledwiththeconscjousness ol vyoma;puliustas thewindsweepsawaythedew-drops, he loo sweptawayfromhismindthisclearandstainlessconsciousnessof vyoma.But,followingthat,somesori of dazeddullness ovenookhimas if he was a heavilydrunkmanwho had just comeoutol his torpidslale.Eventhistoo he vanquished. "Then,at longlast,lhe sageUddalakareachedthe slalusof Nirvikatpa Samadhi, wherethe16wasneitheranvobscuritv nor anYePhemeral luster." That, in the state of Nirvikalpalrance,the body becomes immobilelik6a paintedimage(citdrpjtamivacalah) and evena vrolenlsense-appeal tailsto bringbackthe soullo the waking
broughtoul by the hasbeenequallylorcefully consciousness ol the Samadhiol accoilnt tollowing in lhe Yoga-Vasishtha Shlkhidhvajal wentto theforestandloundlherethe "ThequeenChudala lree,in the staleol likea sculptured saated, klngShikhidhvaja I mustnow seektore'awaken deliberaled: lrance.she \rrvrkarpa very soon'Thenthe his body the king,otheruisehe willleav€ at the theking'sbodyandshouted oueenChudalaapproached too oi her voice.This loudsoundand thenthe soundot lhe but the and slartledlhe sylvancreatures' trumpetfrightened lrom response any to evoke failed attempts queen'srepeated gran_ like a and immobile kanced thekingwhosebodyromained laidherhandsonthebodyof Shikhidhvaja ile mass.Chudalalhen it.Thusshaken,the king'sbody agilating andslafledviolently lell downand rolledon the ground,but eventhenhe did not Thenthe queenwonde'ed recove-his wakingconsciousness to be an easypropostlron lo nol seem and lhought.'lldoes gain desire ol a the awakenmy KinglOnlyil he slillpossesses willhelphimto comeback hiddenin seed'lorm,lhat somewhere ' againto thewakingslale,In no otherwisecanhe bearoused ol Si Ramaki'hna:Nowwe cometo TheTrance-Experience caseol theSageol Dakshinesvara hislorical thevervaulhentic biog' in hisauthoritative as depicled whosetrance-experiences we reproduce Orderitself raphypublished by the Ramakrishn below: -Sr Ramakr,shna covereda widetangeo' expe_ s Samadhi lo theannihilalion I encesfromhisDerceplion of variousvisions lt hadalso ot Erahman. oi hismindin theintinile consciousness powel, or'aworld intoa'worldof rnanyforms....Thus heentered He wouldcofil_ grandeur'... of beauty',or'a worldof spiritual or DivineIncarnarnunewith rmsol theDivinity invisiblebeingsJo fons ot the pasl, "Suchvisionshowever belonglo thedomainol Personalily, whlchis notthelastwordin spiritual So longas a experiences
18
Chapt€Fl
sadhakais salisliedwith lhis kindol samadhi.his a ainments cannoibe side to be complele.He has not reachedunlathomabledepthsof the ocean,lhoughundoubtedly he hasgonelar b€hindthe sudace,encouni6ring the lormsol life abounding lhere,but he has noty6t ransacked th6 priceless treasures oJ ihe deep,whichr6v€althemselves onlylo thosewhohavethe courageto diveandon tilltheyhavetouchedbo om. "So we ,ind Sri Famakrishna takingup anothercourseot sadhana allogether dilterent lromhisprevious ones." Then,a lewpagesluriheron,the biographer givesa vivid d6scription of thefirstNirvikalpa Samadhi-siate of Sri Ramakrishnal passedintothe ineJfable "Sri Ramakrishna gloryof the NirvikalpaSamadhi.In ihal rapturousestasythe sensesand mindsloppedlhei lunctions.Thebodybecamemotionless as a corose.The universerolledawaylrom h's vrson.evenspace itsellrneltedaway.Everything wasreducedto ideaswhichlloated llkeshadowsin th€ dimbackground of the mind.Onlylhe faint presently conscioLrsness ot'l'repeateditselfin dullmonotony. thatloo stopped, andwhalremained wasExistence alone.Ihe soulloslitselfin the Selt,andall ideaot duality, ot subjectand objecl,waseflaced.Limitations weregone,andtinitespacewas onewithinfinile space.Eeyond speech, beyondexperience and beyondthought, SriRamakrishna hadrealised theBrahman-had becometheBrahman. "Tolapuri preceplorl Guruorthespiritual {SriRamakrishna's sal lor a ionglime,silentlywatchinghis discipte. Findinghim pertectlymotionless,he stoleout ot the roornand lockedthe doorlestanybodyshouldinkudewithouthis knowledge.Then he awajled thecalllromSriRamakrishna to openthedoor.The daV passedon,thenightcame.Another - three dayandstillanother passed days andlh€rewas nocall.Tolapuri wasastonished and wenl to seewhatwas wrong. 'He opened the door and enteredthe room.Theresat Sri
in whichhe hadlelthim. in theverysameposition Ramakrihan lile in the body,bul lhe counle' of was no manifeslalion There radiani. He sawthatthe disciple nancewas calm,sereneand in the world,his mindabsorbed wasstilldeadio the objective steady!. Sell,w lhouta llicker-absolutely "Withthe utmoslcare he lTotapurildeterminedil lhe hearl was beatingor il there was lhe slightestkace of respiration body.There corpse_like Againandagainhetouchedthedisciple's was wasno signeitherof lileor ol consciousness....ll undoublol Advaila culmination Samadhi-lhe edy a caseof the Nirviklapa ''Tolapuri look stepsio bringthe mindol Sri immedialely downto lheworldof phenomena. Ramakrishna decideto Sri Ramakrishna AflerTotapurilell Dakshineswar, 'Mine'and live conslanllyin withdrawtrom lhe worldot 'l' and lollowed thenisverymuchreveal' unilywilhihe Supreme.What intohe sainfs nglromourpointof viewandworthreproducing owninimltable words: ''Islayedin thatineffable StateJorsix monthsat a slretch,a statefromwhichan ordinarysoul knowsno reiurn,his body droppingolj lifea witheredleaffroma treelTherewas no sense oi lhe passageol lime,ol howthe daysandthe nighlswentbyl Fliesand insectsusedto getinlothe mouthandnostrils ol my no response bodyas J in thoseol a corpse,but theyevoked fromme.OJtentimes withoul lwould easenalureinvoluntarily berngn lhe leaslawareol itl trlybodywouldnot haveremalned viablefor long,it wouldhavesurelydropped downdead,bullor lhecircumstance wilha a Sannyasin this time ol ol lhearrivalat heavystick in his hand.he realisedmy state at the very firsl glanceandiell lhat il thisbodycouldsomehow be pr€served, muchgoodwouldbe doneto the worldlhroughits agency.li thusso happened he usedio beatmy thal duringmeal-iimes oodywilhthestickandnosoonerdidhefindthata taintglimmer ol awareness hadcome,he wouldpushsomemorselsot good
Chapter'1
inlo the moulh.In this way,on some days,littlebit ol lood could reachmy stomachwhileon otherdays eventhat muchtailed. 'Six months rolled in by lhis wise.Then I heard the Mothers Voace:Come down a bit and stay in thdya-Samddl,i do stay in Bhava-Samadhi lor lhe weltareol the world!'Thena seriousdisease assailedmy bodilylrame-blood-dysenleryit wasl I had lhen lrequent bouts ot gripingpains and unbearablecramps and wrenchesin the stomach!After I had sufferedlrom such in lense agony lor long six monlhs,my consciencescouldcome down little by; lillle inlo my body and linally I regainedthe waking slate ol orindarvmen," So we have seen what Samadhi means and how the stal ol NirvikalpaSamadhi is eulgisedaslhe spiritual slalus pat excel/ence,Now w€ proceedto showthal trance-experiences, howeverlollyor howeverdeep,failto meelthe demandsol ourYoga. and at lhe sametimeindicalehowourgoaloldynamicdivinisation ol lhe waking physical exislence can be realised.
Chapter-2
The Critiqueof the Trance-Solution
Chapter-2 The Voicercplied: "ls this enough, O Spirit? And whal shallthy soul say whenil wakesand knows The wo* was left undonetot whichit came? Ot is this a for thy being bon on earth Chatged with a mandato from eternity, Ta passand leaveunchanqedthe old dustylaws? Shalltherc be no new lable6,no new Word, No greater light come down upon the earth Deliveringher from her unconsciousness, Man'sspititlrcm unalterablefate? ls this then lhe rcporl that I must make, My head bowed with shame beforc the Eternal's sea!,His powet he kindled in thy body has failed, His labourcrrctuns, her taskundone?" fsri Aurobindo,Sayili',EookVll, Canlo ll, pp. 475-76) "l am concened wilh the eatth, not with wotlds beyondfor thetrown sake;it is a lartestial rcalisationthat I seekanc!not a flightlo distantsummits." (Sri Aurobindo,On Himsef.p. 124) TRANCE-experiences areundoubledly ot greatvaluein lhe pursurtol the spiritual goalas ordinarily undersiood, and the Nirvikalpa Samadhitaken in thespecific sensein whjchtheterm rsused,nodoubtrepresents a supreme heightol realisation that a seekermayaspireafter.Naturallyenough,this mostelevated trance-slaleprovesto be adequatsif the goalis to passaway lnlolhe Superconscient and nol to bringdownihe Powerand
24
ChapteF2
G ory ol the Supercoscient intoo!r normalwakingconsciousness.B!l Samadhiexperiences cannotsulJice in the leasttor the objecloi ourYogaol TransJormation; 1or,our goaljs no less lhanthedynamrc divinisation ol o!r total€xistence including the partsof Pradriti.To oulermost be morespecilic, viewedfromlhe perspeclrve off oulrspirilual goal- lhe goalof embodying and manitesting lhe highestspiritualconscjo!sess hereuponearth itseli- lhe kance-solution lor ihe actualimperietionsof our world'exstencesulJers, amongothers,Iromtheioliowing defi(i)Th. supremetrance-state represents a slateol conscious, nessor rathersuperconsciousness to whichonlya rareiewcan ordinarily aitain. Thus,ii hasgotnogeneralvalldity so faras lhe goalol a wide-based terrestrial fealisation is concerned. (ii)Evenwhenattained, thereis no returnforthemajority ot seekersfromlhissLlpteme heighlof splrituat consctousness. tt rsonlytheexceplionaily giftedlswarakotis or ,,divine souis,, who succeedin comingbackto the wakingstate. CI. SwamiVivekananda,CampleteWotks,Val.Vl, p. 4gg: "Whenoncethey[ordinary Sadhakas] somehow allainto the direclrealisalion of Brahman, theycannoiagaincomebackto the lowerplaneof rnaterial perception. Theymeltawavin Brah, rran .' A5,reniavat - likewareri. milk. So thequestion ol the divlnisation ot thewakinqexistence becomes otioseand iftelevanl, (lll)Tradlionally,it is avefredthal evenlhose rareiew who happenlo returnlromlhe supreme statecando so on y through lhe inlermediary ol a traceof egoanddesires. Hencea cerlain .lowerng ol lhe key"becomes unavoidabte whichplacesit at a removelorrnlhe perfecldivne realisatlon we aspireatter, Cl. SwamiVivekananda, Camplete Works,Val.Vl, l p. 140: "Theconclusion of the Vedanta is thatwhenthereis abso-
TheCriliqueol theTrance-Soltttion therers no relurn !ie Samadhiand cessaiionol all modiflcalions, I r o m t h a t s t a t e ; a s t h e V e d a n t aa p h o rs m s a y s : a n a v l t t l savdat........Bul the AvaIarc cherish a few desires lor the good al lhe wa d. By taking hold of that thread they come down hom the superconscous to the consciousslale:' (ltalicsours) Narralionhis own personalexperiencethe Swamrsays in the same conlexl: ''| had lust a lrcce of the feeltng af Ego, so I could again (/bld.,p. 139). retur,to ihe worldoi relatvily lrom the Samadhi." (lta cs oufs) (iv)ln a moregeneralway we may statethatii the enlry into the lr gherreachesoi our beingis elleciedonly in ihe absorbed staie ol trance,the experiencecannolbecorne superconscienl realto the whole existence,beingvalid only for a remoleparl o l i l . T h , J si l m i l i l a t e sa g a i n s t o u r g o a o J t h e c o m p l e l e isalionof lhe tolalilyoi our existence, sprrlLra {v) TheYogiclrancehelpsus to fix lhe spiritualexperiences rn our nner consciousness aloneiii cannotautomalicallyead to the sp rilualsationol the outerwakingconsciousness. so lor {rswho a m al a lotal spirlual and supramenlalchange,even, and In partcular,oi lhe outerpans of our Nalure,Samadhias an InslrLrmentat on provesto be altogetherinadequaleand fuI e. (v ) Becauseof the aforesaidtnability10 exerciseanything 0ul a re at ve and rnoderaie e evationinfluenceon lhe oulercon, sc ousness,t so happensihal when lhe Samadh ceases,lhe ihreadrs brokenand the sou relurnsonceagainto the.,dislracI or ' " ' o I p F . t l ci o n so l r h e o u t w a ' dl l € , As a rnalteroi fact,sinceone cannotcontinlaly reman in l h e t r a n c e - s l a l e ,w h i e l e a d i n g a n e m b o d i e de x i s t e n c e , vyufthanaat lhe 're|u.n"lromthe superconscious slatebecomes unavoidable, and wilh lh s vyuthana"lhe lawet conscousness romwh ch lhe ascenttookp ace fallsbacklo whal it was, wilhe
Chapler-2
onlytheaddition of an unkeptor a remembered bul no longer dynamicexperience," It rs becauseof this persistence o1the disabilities of the wakingmentalityeven after attainmentoJ Samadhithat it is somelimes asserted thatan absolute eradication of lgnorance or a compieleascension of consciousness from the "mortal mentality" becomeleasibleohlywhenthe bodyandthe bodily rfeceaseto lunctionat dealh.\Cf. Yoga-Shikhopanishad,l. i63 pendapalena ya muktihse muktirnatu hanyate.) Theforegoing discussion makesil clearthaltrance,exper encesmaybe all righlso lar as the traditionatYogas are con, cerned;ior, afterall,according lo themthetruebondageis the veryprocesso{ birthihe liability of the individual 1orebirthln this"unhappylransienlwo..ld"\anltyamasukham lokam).Libetationachievedthroughthe altainmentof the knowledge of Reality shoLrld therefore havelor its practical consiequence lhe definilrvesloppage oi lhis cyclicprocessoff birth-death-rebirth. Andii thisis so,if the cessalion fromemboded existence ls consrdered lo be the summumbonum,one needconcentrale onlyon an innerrealisaiion ol the innerDivineand not bother oneself wilhthepossjbilily or olhelwise of an integral terreskial rea sation. Also,thebody,allhough initially a necessary instrumenl for the realisalionot our spirjtualdesliny\sariramadyam khaludharmasadhanam), may be allowedto disintegrateonce (Cf.Sfi Bamakrishna: thaigoalis achieved. "Takeoul thethorn with the helpot a thorn"tand Yoga-Vasishtha: "Renounceihat wrlh whichyou rcnounce"lyena Iyajasitamtyala). Butthiscan by no meansbe our altitude10the bodyand bodilylile. For the IntegralYogahas for ils objectve: (i)io makespiriiualexperiences reallothewholeconsciousnessincluding thatof the outerbeing; (ii)toestablish possible thehighest realisation ln thewakinq stateand makeit endurethere;
TheCriiqueottheTr nc
ion
27
lhe Truthsubleclvelyand in ones (ii ) not onlylo experience one, but to manliestt even in full acliv_ a Consciousness nneT Llyi
( v) an inlegra possesslonol the iniegraity of the D vine n lhe tfe ol this world and nol on y beyond I 'lt ln short, in the words of Sri Aurobindo: is the obieclof myyogalo iransformiileby bringingdowninto t the Light,Power and B iss of the DivineTruthand its dynamiccerlitudes.This asceticism,but ol d vine Yogals not a yoga of world_shunning ife . .il aLmsal a changeol liJeand existence,nol as somelhng oi nc dental,but as a d stinctand centra oblect" subordlnate ElsewhereSfi Aurobindopointsout that "not on y musl the m nd be ab e to r se in abnormalstaiesout of itselllntoa higher consc oLrsness,brl iIs waking mentality also miust be entiely a/ore Th s then s ourgoal, and hencetrance-experlences cannolhe p us much in ach evingour objeclive.lvoreoverlhe Samadhstateas ordinarilyrealisedsutierslrom anotrlergreal disablily which may not be considereras such when viewed lrom the standpointoi the goal oJth lrad tionalworld-sh!rnning Yogasbut certainlyso from our pointof view.Thiss as regrads theabsenceof any consciousmemorj/of the tranceexperence wl -r or " erLrns o lha wakrngmenlaL.IV agd 1. As a rnalterof factthe aim of the old Yoga stopassaway rntolhe Superconscient and not to bringbackLlsdynamic[iches 11rthe wakingouler existencewith a view lo effectuatea spi. ituallransformallon ther.Hence,as soonas theYogingoesabove Ine evel ol the spirtuai mind, he does not seek lo retarnany contnuilyof awarenesslhere;instead,he passesintothe mysI c sleep ol Samadhi,a slale of superconsciousness in wh ch Ine humamrnrndin ils actuallyevolvedconditioncannotremain awakeevenwith what has beent€rmedthe " innerwaking"and nencepasses nto 'the blankincomprehension and oon-recep
2a
Chapter_2
tionoJslumber." Andas a resull,becauseot the gull o, oblivion. lhe spirjlualexp€raences ol lhe superconscrenr rlance_stale lose all theirdynamjcvalu6lor the wakingconscrousness. Britthisdisabilityhasto be remedied. Sincewe seeklo bring downlhe Superconscjent intoournormalwaking consciousnesswe mustsorn€how bridgethe gur, heighten and inlensify o[jr sp{,tuat awakentng 6veninthenormally superconscienl reaches ol berngand trainour consciousness to bringbackin lull the dynamicmemory,,lromthe innerto the outerwakjng.,, ln thisconnectton we leeltemptedlo ,eprooJ ce tn extenso wnarlhe Mothersaid In reptylo the question..ls the stareo, lranceor Samadhia signol progress?, "Toenter inlo Saftadhi is to pass into a state ol whichno consciousmemoryremainson awakenirrg. "ln ancienttirhesthjswas considereoas a very haghcondi. tion.lt was eventhoughtthat it was the sign ot a jreai reatisa_ tion....-lhavereadin all kindsof so-caed spirituat titerratue rnarvellous thjngsaboullhis stateof tranceof Sarnadhi;and il happened ihat I hadneverhadit. I didnotknowiJit wasa sign A"9 *i"" herelarpondicherry]. oneot riy larnved ::^it:.:1I r,rs!questionsto Sa Aurob,ndo was..WhalAo you tnrnr.oi 5amadnt.thisslateot lracewhichonedoesnol remembe.? One entersintoa condition whichseemslo be blissrullbut whenone comesoll of il one neverknowswhathappened.,He lookedat rrle,he sawwhal lmeantand loldme.,ll is unconsctousness, ...yes,oneenlersintowhatis calledSamadhi, whenonecomes outol one'sconscioqsbeingandentersintoa pan ol one,sbeing whichis completelyunconscious or ratherintoa domainwheri one_has no corresponding _ one goesbeyond consciousness lhe fieldul one'sconscjousness and entersintoa i"gton ,ri"re one hasno mor€consclousness. Oneis in the impersonal slale. Thatis why naturallyone remembers nothing,oecauseone has nor beenconscious ol anything'..... .So you havelh6 reply.The signof progressts when there
is no morc unconsciousness,when you can ise to the same regianswithoutenteing inlo a trance." At the time ot the publication ol thesTalk,the Molheradded remark: lhefollowing .Thereare peopiewho enterinto domainswherethey have but betweenthis conscious stateand their a consciousness, ihereis a gap:lheirindividuality normalwakefulconsciousnes doesnot existbetweenth€ wakingstateand th deeperstate; ihenin thepa66agelheylorgeLTheycannotcafiy theconsciousherebecaLrse nessthevhadthereintotheconsciousness lhere s a gap belweenthe lwo. There is even an occult discipline whichconsistsin buildingthe intermediary fields,so thal one maybe able to rememberthings.' Buteventhisdoesnotsufficelor ourgoal.Forwhatwe aim al is nol the consciousb nging back of the impressions,the reprolrngback lo lhe wakingconsciousness, in transcriptions rnoreor lesspedect,whalon€ experiencesin statesal presenl superconscrent to al:we wantinsleadan integralsupramenlal lransformalion ol the wakingexistence itself.In lhe luminous wordsot Sri Aurobrndo: "lt lhecontrolof [th€]highest spiritual beingis to be brought intoourwakrnglile,theremustbe a consciousheightening and wtderindinla mnens€rangesof new being,new consciot/sness.newpotentialities ol aciion,a takingup - as integralas possble- ol our pregenlbeing,consciousness, activities and a lransmulation of theminlodivinevalueswhichwouldeuecla Iransfiguratton of our humanexislence. Forwherever a radical lransitionhasto be made,lhere is alwaysthjstriplemovement, - ascenl,widening of fieldand base,integration..." So we see that anordertohavea divinelytranslo.medwakrngexrstence, and ascension to lhe trance-stale or eventhe oL dr^qup ot a conscrous bndgebetween thatandthe waking slalersnolenoJghSomething muchmorerevolutinary is needed:
+.=
c
.e€ o ,,,|. =!
:6 ^'82
6 oc
=(5 F-J
E'P.=
()
Chapter-3
I he Passaoeclescribes lhe slale of consciousness when one is alool frc; a thlngseven whenin lheh midstand allis lelt lo be unreal, an illusion. Therc arc then no prefercnces or desies becausethings are too unreal to desire orto prefer one lo another.But,at the sametime,oneloelsno necessityto llee kom the worldor not to do any action,becausebeingfrce lrcm the illusian,actionot livingin the wo d does not weighupan one, one is nol boundor involved. fSri Aurobindo,Lette6 on Yoga,pp.682-83) Whenone seesa mircgefotthefircttime,he mistakesit lor a reality,and after vainly trying to quench his thitst in it, leans lhat il is a miage. Eut wheneverhe seessucha phenomenon in luture,in spiteol the apparcntrcality,the idea that he sees a miage always preaonts itself to him. So is the wo d ol Maya to a Jivanmukta (the libeftted in life) (SwamiVivekananda, Co ected Wotks,Vol.Vl, p. 104) I am neitherthe doet nor the enjoyer.Action' haveI none, pasl or present or fulute. I possess ,o body nor does todylessnesscharacteiseiry state.Howcan I say whatis mine Avadhuta-G ita, 1.66]l lDattal(aya, We haveseenin lhe previous chaplerwhytheYogickance evenil it be of lhe supreme sort,the Nirvikalpa failto Samadhi, meetthe demandsol theYogaof Transformalion. As a matterof tactwhalwe envasage tor our goalis verymuchwiderin base, iar superior in scopeandloJtier in itsJlight thanlhe attainments ofleredbVihe Nrrvikalpa trance.In Sri Aurolindo's ownwords, ''the realisaiion oi thisyogais noi lowerbuthigherthanNlrvana
Chaoter-3 or N rvikapa Samadhi,"For,we do nol wantto be satisfiedwith innerpsycho,sprilLalexperiences alone,we seek loo the iotal ano cornptelereallsatron oi lhe Divinein lhe ouler;onscious, ness and in lhe life of acl0n. Bul rhe detractormay inlerjectat ih s po nt: .The waking realsalgon thai you are aimingal-has 1 nol beenalreadypos, sessed by those who have been varously lermediivanmukta { beratedwh e slill leadinga bod|y tile').s/h/tapralta(,estab_ shed in the lrue Knowetdgeand Wisdom),ativarnasrami(,beyond al standardsol conducl')ot brahmavid('onewho has known and becomelhe BrahmanT )?" - 1heimplicallonof the question belnglhat there is aller al nothingesseniiaitynew in lhe deal BLrta rit e ref ect on w I sufficeio showthat the Jivanmukti realrsatron or realisalionS of the Samegerr"elall iar shori of the goal ol dividnisedwakingphyslcalexistencethat is lhe object of our own Yoga.Alter all, who is a Jivanmukta?And what es_ sent ally characlerises his comportmenlvis-a-vtslhis world oi dynamtcmanJeslation? For a suitableanswer et us lall back uponthreec lalions,chosenai randomJromamongsta host ot olhersand culledtrom ancienttextsas well as lrom lhoseof our oay. F rst lrom the great lvlonislictexl yoga-VasishthaBamayana: "The Jivanmukiais one to whose consciousness only the und lterentialedVyoma existsand this phenornenal world has lost ail realiiy,ahhoughhis organs may appearto tunctionas belore....He maintainshis bodywilh whateverlit e comesto it naiurallyand effortlessly... He is calleda Jivanmuktawho is no more awaketo the wotld oi sensesalthoughhis sense-organs appearto be awakeas ever,,.. He who has transceaded the ego_ senseanddoesnol gel involvedin actionis indeeda Jivanmukta wfrelherhe is aclive or not.', ,,Hewho has NowfromSri Famakrishna: aiiainedthisknowl,
The Critiqueof the J vanmukti'Solulion
35
edge ol Brahmanis a Jivanmukta,liberatedwh le livingIn the body.He righily underslandthat lhe Atman and the body are two separatethinqs....These two are separatelike the kerne and lhe shellof the coronulwhileits milkdriesup The Almanmoves, as it were, withinlhe body. The kernelof a green almondor cannotbe separaledlrom the shell;but whenlrreyare beleL-nut rioethe luicedries up and ihe kernelseparalesIrom lhe shell AJterihe altainmentol Knouieldgeol Brahman'the'milk ol diresuP. worldlv-mindedness - He has Finallya long excerpifrom Swami;Vivekananda: reachedihe perfectionwhichthe Advailistwantslo atiain;atd fallawayirom him'and he veilof ignorance at thatmament...Ihe liie, he wil leel thal he rs Even in this nature. will teel his own as one with lhe universe.For a dme, it were,ihe wholeoJthis whal for him,and he wrllrealLse wiildisappear ohenomenalworld he is- But so long as lhe Karna ol this body remains he wtll have 1o/jve.This siate,when the veil has vanishedand yet lhe bodv remans tor some tlme, is what the Vedantistca Jlvan mukli,the livingfreedom.li a man is deludedby a mirageior il comesback sometime ano one daYthe miragedisappears_ii again nexl day or ai some futurelime, he will nat be deluded Belore the mirageiirst broke,the man could not dlsiinguish belweenthe realilyand the deception But when lt has once broken,as longas he has organsand eyesto work with' he will s€e lhe image,butwill no morebe deludedThal tinedislincton betweenthe actualworldand the mirage,he hascaught,and the lattercannoldeludehim any more.So when the Vedanllsthas realisedhis own naiure,the wholeworldhasvanishedfor him. /1 wilt come back again, bul no mare the same wo d. the staThe abovethreeexcerptspurpodingto characiefise prima facie tus oi a Jivanmukla make il abundantlyclear Ihal Jivanmuktiin the specificsense in whichil is generallyunder slood can be" by no meansmeasureup lo our idealof the di_ vinelvdvnamictransformation of the wholeol our wakingexist
The Cfltrqueof lhe J,vanmukh_Solulion ence. But belore we pass the finatjudgmentjt would be bellef lor us lo examine,in howeverbriel a manner,some ol lhe princioal lrails ol the Jivanmukti-realisation. Jivanmuktiand Videhaml,k i Jivanmuktiis neverconsidered lo be ihe goal in itselt;it is, so to say,no more lhan a slopgap arrangemenl,waysideinn, - the ultimategoal, the gaalpat exceL /erce, being always v/itehamuktlorthe liberationthat is attained with the dissolutionol the body.But this vjdehamuktiot disembodied liberation"is sorJghttobe eflected in two stages: the lirst slage, the penullimateatlainmenl as il were, is reached when throughthe gainingof ihe kue Knowledgeol Realityof one,sown beingas wellas ol lhe world-existence, the propensitvto futLlre brths In lhts phenomenaluntversets al(ogethersrampedoul; the secondand linal stagebeingthe dropping oll of the current body{ormation and the afiainmentto the stalus ol videhamukti_ Jivanmukti represents the status ol thal seeker who has at_ ready attainedSettKnowledgebut is still leadingthe presenl bodilylifeawaitingthe day whenthis willceasetor goodand he will become "liberatedjn bodylessness,'fyldehamukta) h followsthenihal the Jivanrnuktistatus is the morevatued the moreil approaches lhe characterofVideharnukti evenwhile the Siddha is sti'l is his body.So lhe divine transtormationol the bodrly exislence has here no relevance al all. As a mater ol lacl, lhe famous VidyaranyaMuni, one of the reputedaulhors of the l\ronislicWork Panchadashtwrote aJulllrealiseonJivanmukt , calledJivanmukti- Viveka,only to proveat the end thal after all Videhamuktiis the sum mun bonum and Jivanmuktiis a slep towardsthissupremegoal. But il this so, lhe queslion arises: why, then, even after the allarnmentof Sell-Realisalion. shoutdthe Siddhaagreeat all to remarnlor some time in lhe body in the Jivanmukti-status and n0t pass immediatelyand direc y into VrdehamLrkti, when lhe lalteris the realobjeciivesoughlalter?The answerthat is oenerallyolle'eo is in te.msof the Theoryof Karmawhrchwe ;ave
37
alreadydiscussedin Chapterl. SincePrarabdhaKarmas(lhal is to say, lhose that have started bearing lheir rrujts) have pro' ducedour presentbody and sincethesecannotbe in kuciitied exceptthroughtheirexhaustionby sufferance,even on the al_ ta nmenlol liberation,lhe body may continuelo remainviable are lor sometime,bul lor sometime only.Whenthe Prarabdhas disintegrates and ihe Jivanmukir over,the body automatically stalusgives placeto Videhamukti. Thus lhe Jivanmuktirealisationappearsalmosias lhe vrrlue ol a necessilyand lhe waking physicalexistenceIn lhrs phenomenaluniversecannolbe consideredin ihis viewto be a I eld speciallyworthyol spiritualisalion the pointsthalwe havemadeabove, In ordeflo substantiale we adduce below a lew observalionsdrawn lrom dillerenl _...Alterrealisingthat slate describedin lhe scrrplures,lhe de_ sarnlse€s the Self in all beingsand in that consciousness voles h mself lo service, so thal any Karma that was yel lell lo be warked oul thought the body may exhausf /lse/i ll rs lhis statewhich has beendescfibedby the authorsol the Shaslras (scriplures) whileliving'." as Jivanmukti,'Freedom (llalicsours) CompleteWorks,Vol.Vll pp ll2' {SwamiVivekdnanda, 113). A Devolee:Doeslhe body remainevenaiterthe realizalion o'God? Masler:'Thebodysurviveswithsomeso lhal lhey may worK out lheirPrarabdhaKarmaor worklor the weltareoi others....Ol course,he ..escapesfuture births which would otherwisebe necessaryior reapng lhe resultsol his pasl Karma.His presenl body remainsaliveas long as its momenlumis not exhausted; but luture blrlhs are no longerpossible.The wheelmoves so
38
Chapter-3
long as the impulsethal has set t tn molion lasts.Then tt comes ( t a l i c so u r s ) (The Gaspelof SriRanakrishna,p.431 "The ullirnateliberationffromthe cha]nof birthslis attarned w th the dawningof ihe Knowledgeitsetl.l'('tiaar asamakabmutah k a i v a l y a m y e t i " r S h e s h a c h a r y a , P a r a m e r t h a s e r aa r Aryapafrcasili,Sl). " O n c e a J v a n m u k t a ,o n e h a s n o r n o r ef u t u r e b i r t h s , 'bhhyajanmavinirmuktamjivanmuktasya l tanmanah : yogayesrsthaUpashama-Prakarana, 90.18). 'He that
has Knowledge...reaches that goal whence he is naI bam again"('yastu vijfiiinayanbhavati...satu talpadamepno[i vasmrd bhRyono jeyate"rKatha-Upanisad, ///.8). 'Even afteratlainingto the stalusi Jivanmukia,one conlin!es for a whie to remain in his body, merelyloexhauslthe mementumol ihe Prarabdha"('prerabdhakarmavegeraiivanmukto yadii bhavet. Kahcil kalamathetabd ha ka rm av and h asy a Shankaracharya,Vekyavrtti, 52). 'tle
has to wait ffor h]s Videhamuktil only so long as he is not releasedtrornhis body.A1the fall ofthe body he atiainsto the supreme status" ("tasya Evadeva clram yevanna yimakse aiha sampatsye":ChSrdagya-Upanisad,6. 14.2) "Oncethe Prarabdhasare expenencedand gone ihrough, one acquiresthe supremeliberation'(bhogera tvitareksapayitve rarrpadydte: Vva.a,B2hmasnlra,4 1 19 . ''Oncethe bodygels consumedbyTime,the Knowerleaves h i s s t a t u s o l J i v a n m u k t i a n d e ni n l et rosl h e s t a l e oVfi d e h a m u k t ' ljivanmuktapadam tyaktva svadehe kalasetkrte, vrsaiyadehamuktalvam": Yoga-VAslstha, ll. I 14 )
39 "Whenhetakesup hisabodein it, hegrievesnoi,butwhen ("anusheya na is he set freelrom it, thatis his deliverance"l panisad, V.l.) Katha-U vimucyate" : sacativimuktasca "TheJivanmukia, evenwhilehe is slillalive,has in reality rc bodyalAll"\"jivato'piasairatvan siddham":Shankat). "Theliberailcn thaionegainsatthefalloflhebodyis indeed for cannotbe negativedanymore" the highestone, thlsliberation ya muktih 6a muktina lu hanyate": ("pindapArcna isad,1.163) Yogasikhopan ''At mergesin his supremesell Jheiall oi his bodytheYogi in the just inside an ear thenpoi vanishes as the space be ng, gone" (ghate pol is broken and great-cosmic Space,whenthe bhinneghaEkesa, ekaseliyateyathe,dehebhAvetalha yogi i6, 1.69\ svat upepatametnani":Dallateya,Avadhuta'G thereis no morereturnto "Onceoneattains toVidehamukti, phenomenal wo(ld" ih s \"punarevrtlirchitamkaivalyam i @tipadyale": Shankaecha rya, Vekyawtti). "Thereis morecomingbackforthem"(tesemnapunatawftih": BthadatanyakaUpanisad,6.2.15). " N o m o r e w h e e l i n gi n t h i s h u m a nw h i r l p o o l("" i r r a m manavamavartam nevartante"I C endogyaUpanisad,8.15). ll is clearirom what goes beforelhat, contraryto olr own ideal atltudeto thebodyandphysical existence, th€Jivanmukti does not altach much impoftanceto any terrestrialrealisation as such;it onlytolerates lhe bodilylifeso longas il hasio be borneandthuslries,if we maysayso,makethe beslol a bad bargain. Butwhaleverbethe natureol the idealsought,howdoesa Jlvanmukta behaveso far as his wakingstateis concerned? Doeshisdynarriclifesalislythecrilerion purposive ol a divinely andactvephysicalexislence? Heretootheanswerisan unambigUOUS NO
40
Chaple.3
Jivanmuktaand the DynamicWaking State:Thegoalweenvisagefor our sadhanais, as we haveslressedso manytimes beiore,is "notonlyto riseoul o, the ordinaryignorant world' consciousness intolhe divin€consciousness, but lo bringlhe powerol that divineconsciousness supramental downinlo lhe ignoranca of mind,lif€andbody,to lranslorm them,to manilest lhe Divinehereand creat€a divinelite in Matter."lt is ihus almostanaxiomatictruthlhatYogabyworksshouldJorman indisDensable oartof our sadhanaandan essential elementot our realisation iJwe wouldseeklo transplantthe fullnessol the spirii in ihefieldol lifeandaclion., ButtheJivanmukla doesnotin the leastmanifest thisdivinedvnamisandthusdoesnot measure upto ourideal. As a matterof lact he is altogether indifferenl lo aclion \kurvato'kutvatah).For,althoughapparentlysljll in his body,the Jivanmukiadoes not reallyparticipatein any of iis workings. Theworldstillapp€arsbeforohim,buthe is no longerdeceived by whalhe wouldcallits mry6.Indoedhe looksuponh s body "as if a corpseseparatedfromhis Sell"('syavapuhkunapamiva drsyateyatasladvapu rapadhvastam": Paramachmsa-Upanisad). The resultis that a Jivanmukta is indilJereni lo his bodlly lile. Jusias a personinloxicaled wilhliquoris altogelher obliviousol theabsence or olhelwise of hisdress,so tslheJivanm!ka otlhe stal€tand locationol hisephemeral body.Whetherthe body remainsstalionary al a placeor qetsdisplaced lrom lhereor evensturnbles downis equalto him."Also,"lheBrahmavid does neverremember his body.ll continu€s lo be maintained by the Lile brcalh,pfina-veyu,just as a trarnedhorsegoeson pulling thecaflasevereven whenlhedriverhaswithdrawn a thisatienlron.' Thusthebodily mechanism ol a Jivanmukta mayindeed coniinue1oiunction because oi thegalhered forceol Prakriti andhe may apparentlywalk and speakand behaveas belore,but all thisis likean emplymachinein no waysupported by any par
'JivanmuKi-Solution The Critioue ol the
41
The liberat€dspiritwilnesseslhese ticipatingconsciousness. cesya (Seksyaham) butdoesnottakepartthem("ksiyante action lV45).There is no senseof per' karmeni:Yoga-sikhoparisa4 sonalaclion lno ku e napi kaaye) hencelor the Jivanmukta there is no bondageor responsibility lna sa mudhavallipyate; mamekatturaleqasYa). As a matlerof facl, it is ihe organso, senseand actionlhal ol maintenance aclivefor the conlinued becomeautomalicallY lhe body (cak suredindriyamsvalah pavatlate vahihsva he ) ol livingallthewhile"incommunaon himseif andtheJivanmukla soems10theoulwardeyeto be withtheTranscendent" oneness he has actingas a somanbulist ). Fot''although \suptabuddhaval as has he acts he ears, eyes,he actsas lhe eyeless;allhough 'rF ea4ess:allhoughhe has sDeech, he aclsas lhe speech he has lile,he actsas the lileless."' less;andalthough purposive actionin Thustherecannotbe any dynamically in pariicipates, at all, only simple if Jivanmukta. He thelifeol a lhe body upkeep of innocuousaclionmeanlsolelylor the byhis lkevalamseiam karma),or in thosewhichareoccasioned prevlousSamskaras('lrurvacerakamegabm ecerumecannti" ) aciionswhichare signilicant or at the moslin lhoseapparently initiation butonlythrough hispersonal broughl aboutnollhrough hikarlyavyam,kutu theagencyof the Prarabdha(yathepreptam keryamyathegahm). showsunmistakably lhatJivanmukti analysis Theloregoing to ourideal. as traditionallv conceived cannotat all be equated Whatwe aim at is somelhingradicallydillerentlrom lhis status ol rnnerliberation,
.9 E G
c
o o o f G
o o
t;E ;o ()F
Chapter-4 I havemet Spiritwith spitit,Seffwithself, BUII havelovedtoo the body ol my god, (Sri Aurobindo,Savltfi,BookX, CantolV p. 649) Natureshallliveto manildstsecrctGod, The Spititsha lake up lhe hunan pla,, This earthly hfo becomelif6 divine (ibld,Book Xl, CanroI, p. 711) Elernal statusand etenal dynamb dt6 both true of the Bealtty which it9elf aurpassesboth status and dynamis; the immobileand the mobileBrahmanarc both;thesameRealitv (SirAufobindo,TheLile Divine,p.459) Wehave...topossessconsciouslytheactiveBnhmanwithau! losingpossessionot the silent Se , Wehavea presetye the innet silence, tranquility,passivity as a foundation:but in place of an alool indilfercnceto tha ti/orksol th6actjveBrahmanwe have ta arrive at an equal and ifipattial delightin them:in place ot a rclusaltoparticipatele6toul heedomandpeacebe lost we navelo arriveat a consciouspossession ol theacliveBahman whasejay of existencedoes not abrcgateHi6peace,not His ladship al atl workingsimpah Hiecatm lrcedom in the midst of fSriAurobindo,The Synthesisol Yoga,p.389). Thediscussion inlhepreceding chapterhas mad€thepoint c earthalsinceourYogaaimsat the realisation ol the Divinein Iheouterconsciousness andlileas wellas in theinnerone,the Jlvanmukhwith his aiool inditferoncoto or al the best a benevolentlolerancelor lhe dynamicr,vaking oxistencecan never oeouf ideal_
Chapter'4
8ut what are atier all the essenijalditficultiesot spirilual realisalionon lhe grossphysicalplan€?Whyis the liie ol action andcreationviewedwithso muchmisgivingby mostol the kadtlional.spirilual seekers? Whatmakesourpre6enlworldlyexist, enceapparently so incorrigible in itsnatureas to induceevenSrl Krishna, thepropounderofthe gospelofdlvineactton, to almost admitaltheendthatloshunthistransientand unhappyworld in perhaps afterallthebestpossible solution? And what about that wonderfuldynamicsain Swami Vivekananda? Didhe notat the snd givethe simileof a god,stail In orderto represent tho impossibilily of transformation? Alas, slraighlenil as muchas you like,but releasei! andthe momeni after,lbe wretched thingbecomes curledagain!lt looksalmost an ironyof s'tuationthat this dynarhicpersonalitywho did not flinchlo declarein the earlierpart ol his Yogiclite: "l havelost all wish lor my salvation,may I be born again and againand suffersthousandsof miserjesso thal I maywor shiptheonlyGodthatexists,th6onlycod I betieve in,lhe sumtotalol allsouls,-and aboveall,myGodthewicked,mycod ihe miserable, my Godthe poorof all races,of all €peciesis the specialobie€t0f my worship." -shouldalmostabdicateand confessjust two yearsbefore his passingaway: "l havebundledmythingandam waitingof thegreatdeliv"Shiva,O Shiva,cafiy my boatto the othershore/ "AJlerall, I am onlythe boy who usedio lislenwith rapt wonclerment to thewonderlul wordsof Ramakrishna underthe Eanyan at Dakshineswar. Thatjs mylrue nature:works andactivities, doinggoodand so forthareall superimpositions. NowI againhsarhisvoice:thesameoldvoicethrilling mysoul.Bonds are breaking-love dying,workbecomingtastelesslhe glamour
s ofi life.Only the voiceol the [/aster is calling. | come Lord, I come.'Let the dead bury the dead,followthou me.'''lcome, l.iy be oved Lord, i come. .Yes,I come.Nirvana is beforeme:I leelri at times-thesame inllniteoceanof peace,withoula ripple,a brealh.."The sweetesl moments of my life have been when I was dtillin$ I am difling agan-with the bright warm sun ahead and massesoi vegetationaround-andin ihe heat everythingis so still,so still,so calm-andlam driltinglanguidly_ in the warm heart ol the tivetl I dare not make a splash with my hands or feet-fat fear ol breaking the maryilous stillness,still ness ihal makes you Je6l sure it is an //usion, "Behindmy work was ambilion,behindmy love was person' alny, behind my putky was lear, behind my guidance the thirst forpowel/Now they are vanishing,and I dritl.I comel Molher,I comel In Thy warm bosom,floatingwheresoeverThou takest I comeme,in the voiceless,in the skange,inlohe wonder,and, a speclalor, no mote an actor.' Arelhen actionsand creationssuch greatbindingelernents as to be obligatorily leftoul al lhe end? Did not Sri Ramakrishna give the image ol a pregnantwoman whose work-loaddimin_ ishesday by day? Bul the difficultyexperienced by a spiritualseekerin guard_ ingthe peaceof the silenlSelfwhileengagedin dynamicsactiv_ ily is more incidenlallhen intrinsic.lt arises oul of the menlal being'sexclusiveconcentration on ils "planeol pule exislence in which consciousnessis at rest in passivilyand delight oJ exrsienceal rest in peace ol existence."Because of lhis exclLr siveness,when the Mind seeksat timesto ally itselfto aclion, Lnthe absenceof adequatepreparation il plungesheadlonginlo Ine old obscuringmovemantof lotce insteadol exercisrnga consciousmasleryover it,
4a
49
ChapleF4
It is becauseof thisignorant relapsebroughtaboutby the dynamicplayihal lhe menlalPurushais so readyto condemn all actionand dynamism,. To ils judgment, all dynamism must be loreignto ihe supremenalureotlheAbsolutewhoseonlytrue and wholebringmuslbe a statussilentand immulable,fealureess and quiescenl. Thuscancelling the dynamisof Brahman, lhe Mindgoeson to asserlthallhissupremeRealitycanat all be rea sed onlylhrougha consciousness thal hasitselllalten nonaclive andsilenland,whatis more,"liberalion musldostroy all possibility ot mentalor bodilylivingand annihiatethe lndividualexrstence for everin an impersonal infinity." Butwe shallpresently see that noneof the foregoing assumplions is absolulely valid.As a matterof facl,all the ditficullydisappears if alongwiththe planeot pureexistence one can embracelhe planeol consciousforceof exjslence,the Chit Tapas,of Sachchidananda. in which"consciousness is aclive as powerand wjll and delightis activeas joy ol exislence." Andlhis is possible. EecauseBrahmanilseltis integral, ll hasan acliveaspectas wellasaslaticone and bothare equally r e a l .T h e i n t e g r a rl e a l i s a t i odne m a n d st h e r e a l i s a t i oonf Sachchldananda rnbothHisaspects, in theaspeclln whichH6 is 'sovereign, free,lordot things,actingout of an inalienable calmpouringrlseltoul in inJinite actionand qualilyoul ol an eternalseitconcenlration, the one supremePersonholdingin himselfalllhisplayol personalily in a vastequalimpersonatity, possessing lhe infinilephenomenon oi the universe wilhoulatlachmenlbutwilhoulany inseparable aloolness, wilh a divine masteryand an innumerable radialion of his eternalluminous - as a manilestation sejf-delight whichhe holds,but by whichhe is notheld,whichhegovernslreely andby whichtherelore he is -as wellas in that in whichHe is "sjlenlpassive nol bound." qui-.lisijc, seifabsorbed, self-sufticient,...one, impersonal, without playof qualities,lurned phenomenon awaylromlhe infinile ol theuniverse or viewing partici it wiihindillerence andwithout
palron. ol beingas wellas lhe We havesaidlhaltheelernalstalus ol the supremeFlealily both real are ol being movemenl eternal co-erisl?Are staluses two question can lhese arises: 8ut lhe has lo withdraw rather, one Or, lhese simultaneouslyrcalisable? theolher'so muchso in orderto realise lromoneol lheslaluses al lhe on theslaluson whichoneconcenltales lhal depending repose ol be lhe inerlia to may appear ol these momenl.one repeiilion ot movement whiletheolhertheinertiaof mechanical atlirmslhal the elernalsla' realisalion spirilLlal An rntegral are notonlybolh/ealbutlheyare lus andlhe eternaldvnamis 'The also simullaneous, statusadmitsol actionol dynamisand the actiondoes not abrogatethe status.'Thus"all lhai is in he is theBrahman; thecreation, theaction, kinesas, lhe movemenl, is a manilesta of thebeing;Time is a movement the becomang one lion ot the Elernal.All is one Being'one Consciousness and thereis no needlo basectil Inlo evenin inlinitemultiplicily, May-' Realilyandunrealcosmic transcendent ol an opposition Bul the dif{icultyis that il is oftentrenchantlyassededas a thatthe Realityis ind€€dleaiureless experience lactol sDirituat is broughlaboul andlhe universeol mani{eslation andimmutablo ol the SupromeAllhoughthis by the illlsionaryl\,4aya'Power lhe absoluleTruthpos' Power onlv active lhal the assertion and'dissolving' and lalsehood illusion sessesis lhatof creating is madeihat the rejoinder lhemin lurn lacksin vraisimilitude, or no,nor is il an issue of vraisemblance thisis nol a question lhat can be seitledby meansot logicalvalidalionor otherwrse' nollo he lor this is the inetlablemysleryol Maya(aniNacaniye) comprehendedby reasonor mind. the merlts For,whalever Andlhisposilionis soundind€ed. philosophl' oi a parlicular ordemerits, theslrongor weakpoints, lhal il s€ekslo repre_ experience cal iormulalion. the spiritual onlybe integrated valid and can senlremainsin ilselieiernally
50
Chapter-4
in thecompassof anotherexpe encemuchmorewideandmuch morelofty.For,as SriAurobindo pointed hasso forcelully out,'a singledecisive spiritLral experience mayundoa wholeediliceof reasoning andconclusions erecledbythelogicalintelligence." So,insteadol engagingin sterileintellectuai debates,in this matterol lhe realilyorotheMiseot the dynamisof theAbsolute, let us listento SriAurobindo describing his ownpersonalspirlualreal;sation: "Thesolulionof the maltermustrest not uponlogic,but upona growing, everheightening, widening spiritual experiencean experience whichmustof courseincludeor havepassed throughthatof NiruananadMaya,othewigeit wauldnotbe complete and wauldhave no decisive value. "Nowto reachNirvanawasthefirst radicalresultol my own Yoga.lt lhrewme suddenly intoa condition aboveandwithout through, unslained by anymentalorvitalmovement; thefewas na ego,no real wo d- onlywhenone lookedthroughlhe immobrlesenses, perceived something or boreuponilssheersilence a worldol emptyforms,materialised shadows,lithouttruesubslance-Therewas no One or manyeven,only just absolutely Thal,Iealureless, relationless, sheer,indescribable. unthinkable. absolute,yetsupremelyteal andsolelyrealfhis was no mentai realisalionnor somethingglimpsedsomewhereabove,_no abstracl,on,-it wasposilive,theonlyposjtivereallty,alihough not a spalralphysical wofldpervading, occupying or ratherllooding and drowning lhis semblance ol a physicalwortd,leavingno roomor spacetorany realitybutitsell,allowing nothingelseto seemat all actual,positive or substantial... Whatit [lheexper! peace,a stupendous encelbroughtwas an inexpressible Si_ ence,an infinity oi releaseandfreedom. I livedin thatNirvana dayandnightbeforeit beganto admitotherthingsintoitsellor modilyilselfal all,andthejnnerheartof experience. a constant memoryof it anditspowerto returnremaineduntil in theend
The lssue:Statusor Dynamis tram t beganto disappearlrto a greaterSuperconsciousness and addeditselfto realisation realisalion above.Butmeanwhile tte early stage At an experience fusedltselfwiththisoriginal illusion which place in gave to one wotld aspectof an ittusionary wilh an immenseDivine is onlya smallsu{acephenomenon Realitvbehindil anda supremeDivineRealilyaboveit andan thai hadseemed lntenseDivineRealityin the heartof everything wasno /eim_ And thls or shadow. shape a1lrrstonlVa cinematic supremeexorfalltrom in the sense,no dininution Drisanmenl and perience, it camralheras a constanlheighlening widening oi the Truthiil was the Spirilthat saw objects,nol lne senses' al' remained keedomin InJinity andthePeace,the Silence,lhe ln incidenl continuous as a only wavswlththewold or allworlds oi lhe Divine eternitY lhetlmeless ''..Nrrvana turnedoLl Io be consciousness n my liberated the beginningof my realisation,a fist step towardsthe com' possibleor even a ptetething,noi the sole irue attainment cuiminat ngfinale." is as realastheBe ng' Theworldis thusreal,theBecoming tacl as is as rnucha spiritLlal lhe dynamlsol Sachchidananda allonly theDivinedoesnolcontain slatus.Indeed, Hislmmobile safoJ all' Sell is the one He consciousness. n'a transcendent In merely nol He is Ihe All,vesudevasaryam, vabheantaretma. "All namesandforms in the manifold the'unioueessence'bul of alllhalexisisIis] thesoul-life, mental,vital,bodilyexistence movemenl and activityol lhe Beingwho is the one ndivisible oneeven "Allis oneBeing,oneconsciousness, samefor ever." in inlinitemulliDlicilv,." cannotin theverynatureoi lhings Thusactionandcreation be lncompaiible wilh the pedectand totalrealisalionoJthe Su_ preme;a reallydynamiclivingcannotgo counierlo ihe allainmentoi the supreme statusof being;lor "allthatisin kinesis' is Brahman." lhe movement.lhe aclion,thecreation
Chapter-4
Granled thatBrahman hastwoaspeclsequally real,equally lrue: anacliveoneas wellas a passive one,Granted thatthere jusljJication is amplelheoreilcal why lhe two aspeclscan be simuitaneously embraced andrealised. Bulslillthequestion remains:Whyis il lhat "1r,expeiencewe lind thal...ilis, normally, a qubscence lhatbringsin lhe stablerealisation ol the eternal and the rnliniter it is in silenceor quietudethal we leel most iirmlyihe Something thatis behindtheworldshownto us bVour mindandsens€s.?" ll isihusreasonedihat, nprucllceifnotintheory, allaction, perception all crealon,alldelermining must n theirverynatufe mit andobscure lhe stablerealisalion, andhencethesehave to diminish anddisappear if we wouldseekto enlertherndivisibleconsciousness oi the Real. Heretoo,as wellshallpresently see,the reasoning s falla, cious.Fcr it is not dynamism as sLrchthatbindsand invotves the soulof lhe seeker;it is lhe intrinsic incapacity ol our rnindconscrounsess thatis al the rootof lhe trouble.
Chapter-5
: its The mind-Consciousness and Failures achievements
Chapter-5 A bldck veil has been lifted; we have seen The mighty shadou'|ot ths omniscientLord; But who has lifted up the veil ol light And who has seen the body ol the King? (SriAurobindo, Saviti Eooklll, Cantoll. p. 311) It is ce ain lhat you won'tbe able lo knowthe Atman through lhe mind.Youhaveto go beyondthemind.As lhercis no tnstru' menlbeyondthemind-foronlytheAtmanexiststherclhetethe obiectof knowledgebecomeslhe same as the instrumentol 'Viineadmere knowledge....ltis thereforethat the Shruti says, kena vijeniyetlhoughwhal are you to knowlhe El€rnalSubiect? (swamiVivekananda, CompldteWo*s, vol.vll, p.142) lf the Mind6werethe lastwordand therewerenothingbe' yond it except the purc Sphit, I wouldnot be avetse lo accephng il [Mayavad wilh its sole strcss on Nivana] as the only way out.. But my experienceis thal therc is somethingbeyondmind; is a Trulh Mind is not the lasl t/od hele ol the Spirit...There but also Consciousness, nol staticonly and sell-introspective, dynamicand creative... (SriAurobino,On Himsel,P.1a3) we haveseen thai for the seekerof the lnlegralYogalhe seltrealisation 8lahman',of thepurequiescenl of lhe'passive existence cannolbe morethanlhe independent ol aliworld-play, in necessarvJirst basis.We cannolrestwithan ullerwilhdrawal We musl inconsciousness ihe univetsal manileslation. lrom sleadreturnuponlhe worldof actionandcreation andseeklo
Chapter-5
repossess and remouldour mind,lifeand bodywiththe luminousdynamisot the'activeBrahman'and identifyourselves, freeiyand in the infinitesel'-delight ol lhe Being,withall the oulpouringol Chil-Tapas, ofConsciousness anditscreativeForce, inTimeandin SpaceBut lhe goalis easierstatedthan realised.For,almoston universalevidence,any greatstressol dynamismgenerallyobscureslhe innervision,bringsin a relalivelossof the Peaceand Sllenceol the soul,and olherwise l€ndsto lowerthe statusol spiritual atlainm€nl. But his disabiliiyarisesfrom the lacl that attemplsto possessthe activeBrahmanhaveso lar beenmadeexclusivelv lhoughlhe I\rind-consciousness. AndsinceI\,4ind, ihe greatdivider,suflersfromsomeintrinsicandiffemediable limitaiion lhese allemplshavebeenlore doomedto lailure. Bul thequestion maybe raised:sinceMind,in lhe aclually evolvedexistence, is the highestpossible inslrumeni available powerthrough andsincethereis noolherstillhigherorganised whichto realise lhe Sellor Brahman or to oossessdivinelvlhe world,is it not almoslaxiomatic thallhe transformation oi our wakingexistence dynamic as we envisage in oursadhana is an proposition? impossible is correct,lhe liberation Of course,if lhe aboveassumplion and transformalion of our embodiedexislencewouldbe impossiblenereuponea h, andinsteadof runningafietlhe jgnisfatuus passawayinloSuperconscienl ilwouldbe moresensibleto and notto seekto bringdownlheSuperconscient intothetieldof our wakrngconscrousness, As a matlerof fact,thishasbeenso far ihe generaltrend. For"intheordinary Yoga...it is onlynecessary lo recognise lwo planesot ourconsciousness, thespiritualand malerialised menthe purereasonstanding belweenlhesetow viewsthem 1a1; vrorld,exbolh,culs lhroughlhe illusions ol lhe phenomenal mentalplane,seestherealjlyoi thespir' ceedsthemalerialised
The mind-Consciousness:
ilual;and then lhe !,rillol lhe individualPurushaunilyingilsell with thrspoiseknow;edger€ieclslhe lowerand drawsbackto lh6 supremeplane,dwellsther6,los€smindand body,sheds is delivlitetromil andmergesilselfin the supremePurusha, eredkom individualexaslence." Bui a deeperandhigherspiritualexploralion revealsthelacl thallhe aboveassumptionis notcorfeclaft€rall.Mindis notlhe highestprincipleol cosmicetistence,wilh onlythe pure Spiril. lhe lmp€rsonalAbsolut€beyondils€lf.As a matterottacl,there is a hierarchyol superiorprinciplslar transcending the normal mindconsciousness andconsequ€nlly al presentsuperconscienl lo il. A supremeTrulh-Consciousness, Rita-Chit, whichSri Aurobindo lermsas Supermind, lops the seriesand this is a Powernotrnerelystaticandintrospeclive butsupremely dynarnic posandcrealive.lt is lhis Sup6.mindthat mustb€ consciously sessedand macleto descendinto out ea h-natureil we would havea translormedwakingexistence.Otherwisestaticr€leas€ remainslhe solepossibililybefor€lhe spirilualseeker. l.Jnto(unately, lhe knowledge ol the exislenceot thes6 planesol ourbeinghasbeenalmosiloslto thespiritual supernal memoryol lhe racewithall the adverseconsequences atlendanluponil.Inanci€nt (usually lore."inlheUpanishad theTaillirya) thereare someindicationsof lhesehigherplanesand lheir naIureandlhe possability ol gatheringupthewholeconsciousness and risingintolhem-Bul thiswaslorgotlenafterwardsandpeoplespokeonlyol theBuddhias thehigheslthing withthePurusha or Se f jusl above,but therewas no clearideaol lhese planes. Now,so longas lhesehigherspirilual planesof lhe menlle beingand linallythe planeol Supermind are not consciously possessedand madeactiveand organisedin the norhal conscrousness ol theembodi6d beino,so longas thespiritualised firindapproaches theSupr€m€direcllyand notpassingthrough thisTruth-Consciousness, lhe supramonlal Gnosis,oneis bound lo expel|encedilriculties point fromth€ ot viewol the realisation
Chapter'5
realioi ourgoal,bothin themind'sascentandin itsattempted salionof theacliveBrahman. Lel us havea bird's-eyeview of sorneol the more salient dilliculties encounlered and,at the sametime,ot the achievemenlsof Mindas wellasof its failures. TheAscentand lllusoiness.lJMindis takenlo be the highis notseizable estpossible cosmicprinciple, sincelheAbsolute by lhe mind-consciousness, the seekerof lhe lraditionalYogas lriesto getawayfromthemorlalrailings ol mindintothesuper conscient In{inite, by shedding all its activities flndformalions, makinga biankof it andfinally'engulfing ii is in ihe Unmanitest,' Darcmawaktam. Inihis progressive wilhdrawal lrommind-consciounsess, the 'pure, the slill, self' sadhakcomesto realisethe Sad-Atman, peaceful, active,undisturbed awareexistence, one undivided, by the actionot lhe world." Although thisSad-Atman is theuniqueOriginandSuslainer oJeveMhing,saryari hyetadb@hma,beingitselfpassive,the onlyrelation it appearslo havewiththrsworldof manileslation is lhat ot'a disinlerested Witnessnot at all involvedn or allectedeventouchedby anyol its activilies. Whenonepusheslartherlhisstaleof conscious_ess one 'an alooland transcendent com€slo realase Feal Exislence' appearing to haveno conneciion or commerce at all w th lhe world-existence. Whenthe mentalbeingseekslo go stillbeyond,it negales yet {urlherand arrivesal an Asal "a Voidof everythingthal is peaceandextlnction here,a Voidol unnameabl€ ol all,evenol whichis the impersonal basisol lhe Sal,evenof that Existent personality." ll is thisAsatarrivedat by individual or universal of mind-existence andworld-exrstence, theabsolute annulm€nt lermedasT!riyaorfeatureless andrelathathasbeenvariously by the monistic Vedantins, the Shunyarn by tion lessAbsolute
: The m nd-Consciousness Buddhists,theTaooromnrpresenlard tr e _ hr src r!4adhyamrka and transcendenlNihilby lhe Chinese,and as the indetinable nellab e Permanenl by the [,,lahayanists. llany Christiian mystics too, notably Sl. John ol lhe Cross wrth his doctrine of noche obscure, speak ol a complete igno, ' lvlind rance, a divineDarkness'throughwhichthe spirtualsied has to pass belore one can expect to attain lo the supreme experience.And it s becauseof this incompalibility of mindLviththe experience ol lhe Absolulethatso many consciousness svstemsof sprritualdisciplinehave come to condemnthe cosmic p ay.As a matterot Jact.il is this very incompatibility thal is at th€ basis ol the lllusionistthat "lakes such firm hold oi the humanm nd in ils highesloverleapingo{ itsell." li wlthoulany rnlermediale transilions, withoulawakeningin the s!pernalreachesof ourexistence, of whichwe havealready spoken,the Mindkies lo lake a short-cutand passsuddenlV the 'gaies of the Transcendenfwherestands'themere and perlect Sprnt lhe inactiveBrahman,the transcendent Silence,a sense ol utterunrealityand illusorycharactero{ all cosmicexislence sezes il n a mosl convincingand oveRhelmingexperience. 'The unverseand all that is...appears(lthen] to the mind as a 0'au1 1 o'e Lnsubstantial than any dreamever seen or tmaglred. so tfLaleven the worddreamseemsloo oositrvea thinosto expressts entireunrealiiyl' Bul h s universallllusionism is not a necessaryconcomitant oi the supremespiritual experience.ll insleadol the mind'sabrupt Sa.nadhi-plunge into the mysic sleep slate ol susuptithat is now superconscient and thereforeinaccessible lo il, one succeeos n acquiringspirilualwaketulness in ihe supernalstales nlervenng betweenlhe lrind and the Spirit,one does not pass Inroughlhe perceptionoJ an illusionaryMaya, bui ratherhas lhe experienceof ihe passagefromMindto whatis beyondii so Inal our menlalslructLlre of lhe universeceasesto be validand anotherreahlyoi 11is substituted for the rgnorantmentalknowf
ChapleF5
edge.In lhis transilionil is possibleto be arvaketo al lhe slates of beingtogelhefin a ha.monisedand uniliedexperelnceand to Then we experience,as Sri see the Realityevery where."'z pul, that it is not an unrealor real' Aurobindohas so beaulilully unrealuniverselhal is reposingon alranscendentRealily,but a real universereposingon a Realilyal once universaland lran_ scendenlor absolule. For even beyond the avyaktam,the Unmanitest,beyond lhe divine Darkness,tamasahparcstat, is lhe SupremeOne Exist ence, ekam advaitam, the Para Purusha who holds in His vasl as well as Inlegra'Realrtylhe lrulh ol cosmic consciousness the He is beyond world_consciousness. Nirvana o, lhal of the tn panh aclityavana paratah and,s duality and the non-dualily, light of He is ihe conlrasl to ttie darkness o{ the Unmanitest. lighls, jyotisam jyotih, and lies in a supreme golden sheath. hiranmaveparc kose.lndeed,"the sun in theYoga is the symbo oJ the slrpermindand the supermindis the tirst power ol the Suorernewhichone meelsacrossthe boaderwherethe expendivineconmindceasesandthe unmodified enceol spiritualised sciousnessbeginsthe domain ol the supreme Naiure. Para Prakrlr. h is lhal Light of which the Vedic mystics got a glimpse darknessol lhe Christian and it is lhe oppositeof the interuening light and no darknessTo the is all Ior the supermind mysiics, parcm bul il we follow avyaktam' mind the Supreme is avyaktat the line leading to the supermind,it is an increasingaffimation ralher lhan an incrcasing negationthrcugh whichwe mave lhal I;e m'no We have so iar dwell upon lhe disabrhtres lo lhe sum_ way ol ascensLon sullersirom on its consclousness or ralher superco_scousness Tils o' spirlual consciousness Now lel us turn oLlrgaze on the limitationsthat vitiateits at' lempl at complelepossessionot the active Brahman,when rl seeks10 returnJromthe summiland embracelhe lile oi action The tncomplete possessionof the aclive Brahman: llls al
: The mind-Consciousness
evenat ils waking co!rsetruelhat our normalconsciousness, moments,can becomeawareof Brahmanlhrougha processol But the pointto noteis that il is onlyihe inwardconcentration. passive aspeclof Brahmanlhal is thusapprehended, slaleand nol its activeainddynamicside. Theresultis lhat intoreturnuponworld-extslence the nental Iinds a wall ot non-communication being betweenthe passive andtheactiveBrahman andall dynamicactivityappearslo its consciousn€ss st lledandinaclrve eilhetas a hallucination or a dream,or like a puppetshou or evenas a purelyrnechanical actionbroLightaboutby th8 playol Prakritiwithoulany activee partiiicpation oi Purusha.The incommunicabilily maysometimes be so slrong,the gulfseparating the innerconsciousness and lhe dynamicouterbeingso widethatlo all outwardappearance the seekermy a "moveaboul likea thinginerl in the handsol Nalure,/adayatlikea lealin the wind,or otherwisetinl a slateol purehappyandfreeirresponsibility ot action,balayat...Theouter being[may] livein a God-possessed lrenzycarelessol itselland lhewotld,unmattavat, or withan entkedisregardwhelherol the convenlions andprop.ieties offittinghumanactionor of theha. monyand rhylhmsof a greaterTruth. lt actsas the unboundvital lrerngplsacayal,the divinemaniacor elsethe divinedemoniac." Butthissorlot'stalicpossession by theSelf'or'theunreguateddynamicpossession whythe physicaland vitalNature,is lar removed Jrornthe goalof the lnlegralYoga, forwhatwe aim al s ihe 'mastery ol the Prakritiby the Purusha landlthesublimairon of Nalureintoherownsupremepower,the intiniteglonesot the ParaShakti.' Conlrontedwith this inabilityto participateaclivetyin the . qynam c manilestalion withoulat the sametime losingthe possessron oi thekeedomandpeaceoflhesilentSel{,the mental oernggels lemptedto adootlhe aliitudeof an indiflerentand nactve witnessol the world-play andat lhe beslallowhis oF ga'< ol senseandmotor-act,on a freeplayof lheirwo1unsup.
: The mrnd-Consciousness portedby any consciousinitiationon lhe part of the witnessing sell The rdealoi courseis 10 reduceactionto the barestm n mum possiblecompatiblewiih lhe maintenanceoi ihe bodily life. chorce an alternalrve Oi course,thereis anotherpossibility, a where lo a slale may come proper disciplineone T5'oLgt a periect o.lIe'dynamisn pelecr innerpassvity1\ayco-exlslwllh ol each olher' In this situaton it rs bul altogetherindependent n01the willedmotiveof lhe consciousmind in lhe Sadhakathal ralherthe universalinlniiialesand eiiectuatesthe activitv,but livinginslrumenland uses the telligenceand will of naturethal or sublimlnalto works flawlesslytrom centrssuperconscious lhe consciousmind. But thls loo js nol what we seek 1o realisein our Yogaol Fo. in this particularslatusol inner pas' dynamc divinisation. sivitv and ouler aciion bV the mere organs, kevalair indriyair' lor thereis stilla gulf' "lhereis an evidentabsenceot integrality; belweenthe pas an unrealisedunityor a lelt of consciousness sive and lhe active Brahman.We have still lo possesscons( rouslytne aclrveBrahmanwilroul loslnglhe oossessionol ihe silentSelf.We haveto preseruethe innersilence,tranquLlity, to passiviiyas a loundalion;bu1in placeol an aloofindifference equal lhe workso'lhe activeBrahmanwe have lo arriveat a_ and mpartialdelightin them;in placeot a relusalto participate lesl our freedomand peacebe lost,we have to alrive at a con_ scious possesslonol the activeBrahmanwhose ioy ol exlstence does noi abrogaieHis peace,nor His lordshlpoi allwork ings impairHis calmlreedomrn the midslol His works" But lhe c r u c i a l q u e s t i oi sn: i s i t a t a l l p o s s i b lf eo r l h em e n t a l b en g i n h i s actuallvevolvedstalus lo embraceat once, eq!ally and lully, and action? boththe worldand the being,bothconsciousdess The lnlrinsic lncapacityi To answer the above quesllon we ol man musl Iirst noie that belweenthe normalconsclousness co_s'iolrs_ sJprame'Ia spinlJal a lruly a_d Lqpmenlal berng
n e s s ,t h e r el e s a t h l c kv e i l ,a n a l m o s ti m p e n e t r a b l ied , mukham,and unlessthis veil is liftedand lhe satyasyapihitam lhereis no possibility of knowing lhedivine,Jarbe id rernoved, is thisthateitherthrougharduit to attan to it. Butthedilliculty or by anactoJGracelromabove,whenthemental ousTapasya in pLrlting by veil,il seesthe0ivine"assomelh' beingsucceeds aroundevenin a sense,bulwllha gulfbetingabove,beyond, or evenan unbridgeaweenthatbeing3ndourbeing,an unbridged but it is quiteother ble chasm.Jheteis thisintlniteeristence; the mental being who becomes aware of ii....There rslhis than great,boundless, unconditioned consciousness andiorce;but a iorcestandsapattltom)1,evenil withinit, ourconsciousness m led,petiy,discouraged, disgusted wiihitselJandlhe world, brl unableto patticipatein that higherthingwhichil has seen. Thereis th s immeasurable and unslained bliss;bul our own be ng remains the sportof a lowerNatureoJpleasure andpain anddullneutralsensation incapable There of ils divinedelighi. is thrsperfeclKnowledge andWill;butourownremains always the menlaldeiormedknowledge and limpingwill incapable oi sharngin or evenbeingin tunewiththatnatureof Godheadl' Now,in an attempllo bridgelhischasmandhealtheriii,ihe mentaibeingseekslo risethrougha Herculea all-iorgetting et Iorlout oi lsell nlo lhe Inliniteabove.Butin thisprocess"the m nd hasto /eayeils ownconsciousness,Io disappearintoanolherandlemporarily permanently or losellse/i.-in lhe trance of Samdhi." Forobvrous reasons lrancethismindless absolule slatecannotbe ourobjective (videChap.V:TheCritique ol lhe TranceSo ution).Our aim is to iransiorm the wakingmentalily ilselJ, and10rthalwe havelo invokeanotherpossibilitv openlo t h em e n t a t b e i n g . As a matlerof fact,mindhasa greatreflecting capability, rellecling whaieverit knowsand contemplates. Th{rsI ii paci rrestsel{and callsdownthe divineinto itself.it succeedsin rellecting lhe mageof ihe divlneandgetiingspirituallsed. But
Chapler-5
the troubleis that in this operation"the minddoes not entirely possessthe divineor bscomedivine,but is possessedby rl or by a luminousrellectionof it so long at ils remansan... pure momenl it becomesactivemindbecomesturbid oassivitv."The aqainandthe rellection ol thedivrnes losl. Henceit is ollend€clar€dlhat an absolutequielismand lhe cessalion ol alloulerandinneraclionis lhe onlywayo!l of lhe aboveimpasse. But evidently this,ailsto satisfythe demand soy lhe IntegralYoga. Whatwe seekas"a positivetransformaquiescence lionandnotmerely a nogative ollhewakingmentalily. Bul the basicdil{iculty withthe mind-conscaousness is lhal rl is an inveleraledividerol lhe indivisibleand dwellsuponone aspeclat a time lo the exclusionol all others.For "mrndin ils whichmeas!res.lamits.cuts oul essenceis a consciousness tormsof lhingslrom lhe indivisiblewholeand containslhem as il eachwerea separaleinteger...Mind maydivide,mulliply,add, get sublract,bul it cannot b€yondthe limitsol this malhematrcs.lJit goesbeyondandtriesto conceive a realwhole. it loses rtsellin a loreignelemenl;it fallslromits wonfirmgroundinto lheoceanof theinlangible, inlolheabysmsof theinlinite where I caneilherperceive, concoive, sensenordealwilhits subject lor creation andenjoymenl....l\,4ind cannotpossessthe infinite, rt can onlysufferil or be possessed by il; it canonlylie blisstullvheioless undertheluminous shadowol theRealcastdown on it lrom planesof existencebeyondits reach." It is becauseol lhis inherenlpropensitylo divideand overstresslhal lhe Mind cannothold at once Unityand Multiplicily.consciousness andaction,beingand becomingt it cannol possesssimullaneously lhe active and the passiveBrahman.Andbecauseot Mind'sinability lo possessthe Inlinite. it goldenlid, instead ol beingsalisliedwilh the'luminous shadow', hiranmayapatrc, one wouldseekto realisethe uttef Real,one
The nrind-Consciousness enterintothe absohasperforcetogetridot mindallogelherand lule mindlesssusupti.lt is for this reasonthat so manyseekers of the pasl have recommendedmanonasaot lhe annulmenl ol the Mind as lhe v,a/oyalto lhe supremespirilualexperience. declaring:"The knowledgeol thus we lind Sri Flamakrishna Brahmancannotbe allainedexceptlhroughthe annulmeniol A Guru lold his disciple,'Giveme your mind and I shall [,4ind. giveyou knowledge."' of old declared,"NowI haveawakened The RajarshiJanaka I must kill it, musl scorch and discoveredlhe thiefthat is l\.4indt il lo death.For lvlindis the rootof this worldol rgnorance.' a greal goodcomes According10lhe grealsageVasishtha, oul ol lhe deslruclion ol Mind, manaso'bhyudaya manonaso mahadayah and lhe Mind ol lhe knower ol the Truth verily gels annulled.lnantno nasamabhyeti.The Yoga Shikhopanishadtoo declaresthat mindlessnessis the supremestalus. ,a marah Thus. almosl on universallestimony,lhe ideal belorelhe seekeratler the Truth is 10 gel lo lhe slale ot mindlessness, amaraslawherelhe m nd losesall itsJaculties , yade na manule tnanahandbeaomesnon'mindso to say,unmanibhuyal. Whatis lhen the solutionJorus who asprrealterthe freedom oi drvne aclionas well as the liberationol divinerest? ll mind conscousnessrnclusve oi ils highestspiritualreachesproves ils inadequacyas an instrumenland medium lof lhe divine possessionol our wakingexistence,whal othercosmicprincp1e/s there that can help us to realiseour goal? For. lor the properlullillmentol our objeciive,"we have lo reviewand re' mo! d lhe lower livingin lhe light,lorce and joy ol lhe higher rea ly We have to realiselvlatleras a sense-crealed mouldol Sp r(. a vehicletor all manifeslation of the light,forceand ioy o1 Sachchdanandain lhe highestconditions ot lerrestral be ng and aclivty.We have lo see Liie as a channe for the ni n te Force
Chaple.5 divineand breakthe barrierofa sense-crealed and mind-crated larnessand divisionlrom it so lhat divinePowermay take possessionol and direcland changeallour life,aciivities untjlour vitality lransliguredceases in the end to be the limiled lile-force which now supportsmind and body and becones ljgureol the all-blissful consciouslorce ot Sachchidananda. We have stmilaf y lo changeour sensationaland emolionalmentalilyInto a play oi dlvineLove and universalDelight;and we have to surchargelhe inlellectwhich seeksto knowand will inus wilh the ght of lhe divineKnowledge-Will until it is translormedn1oa f gure ol lhai higherand sublimeactivily.', Such is thenour high ideal,bul how to realjseil rn practice, howto conquerlhe spiritualpenLtry of our wakingphysicalextstenceand embraceequallythe activeand passiveaspectsot the Divrne?li Mindlails,what etseis therethat saveslhe siluation.
: The mrnd-Consciousnoss
APPENDIX ASCENTFROi'THE MtND-CONSCIOUSNESS' '''Conseni Time'swork. to be nothing andnone,dissolve Cast otl thy mind, step back lrom form and name thatonlyGodmaybe. Annualthyself voice, Thusspokelhe mighlyanduplilling headand mused she bowed her AndSavitriheardi herdeepregardinloherselt Plunging In hersou's privacyin thesilentNight. A looland standingbackdelachedand calm, A rrllressol the dramaof hersell, A studentol herowninlenorscene, She wafchedthepassionand lhe loil ot lile ol mind Andheardin lhe crowdedthoroughfares of herlhoughls. lreadandpassage Theunceasing Al she allowedlo riselhat choseto stir; Calling,compellingnaughl,lorbiddingnoughl, lormedinTime Sheleltallto the process ol Nalure's will. Andthefree nitlalive Abovethe birih of bodyand ol thoughl Ourspirit'struthlivesin lhe nakedsell Andlromthatheight,unbound, surveystheworld. Out of the mindshe roseto escapeits law Thalil mights/eepin somedeepshadowof selt Or fall si/erl in the silenceol lhe Unseen. Thenall grewlranqullinherbeing'sspace, Onlysometimessmallthoughtsaroseand fell Llfequielwavesupona silentsea ' f-rom Sr Alrobindos Sav l.i, Book Vll cantoVl, pp 538 49 ( la csours)
67
68
passingover Or ripples a lonelypool Whena straystonedislvtbils drcamingrest. Yetthe mind'sfactoryhad ceasedlo work, Therewasnosoundofthedynamo's throb Therecameno calllromthe stillfields ol lle. Therecameno callfromthe stillfieldoi liie,. Thenevcnlhosestiffing' rcse in her no more: Hermrndnowseemedlikea vaslemptyroom Or liea peacetul landscape without sound. This mencallguleludeand prizeas peace. Butto her deepersightallyet wasthere, Elfervescing likea chaosunderalid; Feelings andthoughts criedoutlorwordandact Bul foundno responsein the silencedbrcjn: Allwas suppressedbutnothingyet expunged; At everymomentmighlexplosion come. Thenthistoopaused;lhebodyseemeda stone. A I nowwas a widemightyvacancy, Bul slill excludedtom elernily's hutsh; Forstillwas{arthereposeof theAbsolute Andlhe oceanSilence ol Infinily, Evennowsomethoughtscouldcloss her soltlude: lhesesurgednottromthedepthsor Jromwithin Castup tromformlessness to seeka torm, Spokenotthebody'sneednorvoicedmind'scall. Theseseemednotbornnormadein humanTime,
Outol sone Jarexpanse theyseemsdotcome As if carriedon vaslwingslikelargewhrlesails. Andwitheasyaccessreached lhe innerear.
As yettheirpathlaydeepconcealed in light thenlooking lo knowwhencetheinlruders came
Chapter-5
: The mind-Consciousness
immensity Shesawa spiritual andecnompassing theworld-space Pervading As eiiherouriransparent tangible air, a lhoughl. Andthroughil sailinglranquilly glidesa shinearing aporl, As smoothly ll came lo lhe bilenl city of the brain and expectanlquay, Towardsil accustomed Bulmeta barringwill,a blowof Force Andsankvanishingin the immensity Atleraiongvacantpauseanotherappeared Andothersoneby onesuddenly emerged, ,4ind's unexpected vislorsfromlhe unseen Lrielar'oflsialsupona lonelysea. Butsoonthatcommercefailed, nonercachedmind'scoast then allgrewstill,nothing movedanymore: lmmobile, seltrapt,timeless, solitary A silenlspiritpervaded silentSpace.
lnlhal absolutestillnessbareandformidable Therewasglimpsed anall-negaling Voidsupreme thatclaimedils mysticNihil'ssovereign right TocancelNaturcand denythe soul. Eventhe nudesenseot selfgrewpaleandlhin: lmpersonal, signless, ieatureless, voidol lorms, A blackpurc consciousness had,teplaced themind.
Yelst li her bodysawand movedand spoke; It understood wilhouttheaidot thought, It saidwhatever neededto be said, It drdwhateverneeded to be done Therewasnopersantherebehindthe act,
69
Chapter-5
7A
No mmdlhai choseor passedlhe fittingword: likean unerringapt machine. AlLwrought old habilualturns, As I contrnuing And pushedby an old !nexhaustedforce lhe enginedid the work for whichit was made: lookedon and look no parl; Her consciousness
This seeingwas identicalwilhlhe seen: It knewwithoutknowledgeal{thatcouldbe known, ihe worldgo by, li saw imparilally But in the samesupremeunmovrnggtance Saw 1oo i1s abysmal unreaItY. It watchedthe ligureoJihe cosmicgame, Bui the thoughland innerlifein Jormsseemeddead Abolishedby her own collapseof ihought; A hallow physical shell persisted,still.
alivein brainand flesh Once sepulchred She had risenup from body,mindand lile; she was no rnorea Personin a world, She had escapedinto infinitY. ,., Only sone lasl annulmentnow remained, vagueindefinablestep" Annihilation's
Chapter-6
The Inwardizationand the Ascension
Chapter-6 Hisknowledgean inviewcaughtunlathomable, An outviewby no briefhorizonscut: He thaughtand feltin all, hisgazehadpower. (SirAurobindo, Sayll4Bookll, CantoXV,p. 301) Thethingto begainedis the binging in ol a Pawerat'Consciousness(the Supramenlal)not yet oryanisedor activedireclly in eatth-natute,even in the spirituallife, but yet to be orcanisedand madedircctlyactive {SirAurobindo,On Hinself p. lag) Theaverheadascensionis not indispensable for the usual putposes,spirilual but itisindispensable far the putposesof this Yaga.For its aim is to becomeawarc of and liberuteand transfamanduniteallthebeinginthe lightof a Trulh-Consciousnesswhichis aboveand cannotbe rcachedil tbereis no en ttrelyinward-goingand notranscendingand upward-goingmove(tbid..pp. t79-A0 I he l_le'gralYogaol nansformation naslor hs objectrve nolmerelylhe supreme realisation ol Sachchidananda, butHls 0lvne seli-expression, thellawlessmanifestation of the aclive Brahman, inourdivinely tansiigured embodied earthly existence. Bulthequestion is:howlo realisethisgoalol ourYogaand whalit is ihai my possibly bethemediumof theserealising ascensions and world-possessing descents? For,in the aclually elaborated evolullonary statusol humanconsciousness, rnind represenls thehighest cosmicprinciple andpowerol conscous n e s ss o l a r o r g a n i s e idn a m n t h e m e n t a b l e i n g .B u 1t h s rnndconsciousness, evnin itshighest llights,is no morethana
Chapter-6
il is nolinherentlyTruth-Consciousmovemenl inthe lgnorance: or evenal_ of possessing incapable And henceit is allogeiher itselfand rest tainingto the Divine;at bestil can immobilise of the sunln watercsll withRetlections satisfied wlh "brightor But ii is far kom our goalto be contented lhatthemrnd pholog raphsor filmsof a disla0lReality" shadowy canat mostachievefor us:we wantto ascendto the supreme glores and andbringdownilsdynamic Realiiyiniullawaireness play waking siate. in the oi our splendours Bul we cannotbuttakenoteof the lact ot sp ritualexperrencece ifiedby mosiseekersoi the Truthihal an immense lhesupramentalTrulh_Conscious_ hialusseemsto exislbelween we normay knowol, And nessand the l\rind-consciousness gulf belween the iniervening unbridgeable unlessthisseemingly torego our dream we haveio bridged, two is satisfactorily ...to planton earthihe livingTruth Or makeol lvlatter'sworldthe homeof God. In thatcase,we shallhaveno otherchoicethanto takea e leaplromthestationol MindintotheUnknowab super-consclent conclulrenclrant to thelollowrng beyondandlo agreewilly-nilly persuading Savitrlioabandon Darkness s on oi theincredulous herlaskoi world-translormationl He "vhowouldturn.loGodmustleavetheword; He whowouldlivein lhe Spirit,musigiveup life; selt. He whohasmetthe Sell,renounces of the m;llionroutesof mind Thevoyagers to is end. lhroughExislence Whohavelravelled s vasts, the world'ocean Sagesexploring safe. thesoleharbour Havefoundextinction bothforour andmediLrm lndeed,m ndfailsas an inslrument for the dynamic Iniinite as weLl as into the ous ascension consc powersof the Spiritof the supreme descentand manileslation ideniily wilh the As hasbeenso wellsald,mindcannolarriveal
and the Ascension The Inwardizalion
75
Absolule,it can only disappearinto il in a swoonor extinclionDafknessoflhemyslicNight-' rnloSt.Johno{ the Cross's'divine Also, as a mediumof divineexpressionand aclion,the mrnd planecannotin its very natureallowot the supremeworklngs natlveto the d ivineConsciousnessForce.'The m ind spiritualised, purilied,liberated,perfectedwithinits own limitsmay come as near as possibleto a faithfulmentaliranslaiion,but-..this is atter all a relatve lidelityand an imperfectperJection...The mind...cantake iis llhe Inlinite's]suggestrons and act ihernout its own way, a way always fragmentary, in derivative and subiect lo a greateror less deformalion,but it cannotbe ilsellthe directand perlecl instrumenlof lhe infiniteSpiritacting in its ownknowledge." It becomesimperaiivethen lor the fullillmentot our divine dest nv uoon earth thal man shouldbe ableto raise hrmsellmuch abovethe planeoi mindand normallyand permanent{y, evenin his wakrngstate,live in the supernalheightsof the Sprril,also to manifesland organisein his embodiedexistencenew plances and powersof consciousness otherlhan and superiorio mind, so that these may offer lhemseivesas ihe proper media and insirLrmentalron throughwhichthe divineWill and Wisdomcan lreelvact and self-exoress, But betweenthe l\,,lind and the Spirit,arethere other superior p aces of spiritualconsciousness-not merelyslalic and ntrospeclive,bul creativeand dynamic-which man can possibly hopeto ascend?And is il al all possiblefor manlo developand o-o ,ricp hese supernalplanes In his wakrngconscioLs-essso muchso lhat he may outgrowand lranscendhis presenimenla statusand becomesomethingmorethan human? The anweiand hopelie in the processof evoluiionary elabo.at on ol manifesiedexislencehere uponthe face of the earlh. The resullsso lar achievedby Evolutionare indeedtruly slrikng: rl is surelyalong march from the insentientN,4alter io the sell consciousmlndoJman,But who can savlhat the evolutton
76
Chapter6
ary nisushas exhausleditsellwith lhe emergenceof man the mentalbeing,so thal the only possiblecourselelt tor the embodiedsoul is how lo make an exit lrom lhis not loo perlecl a n d t a k e t h e t r a n s c e n d e n lte a p i n i o i h e world-exislence and Unmanitest? Unknowable As a maller o{ fact, the evolutionaryoestrusis e'/en now very much at work and il is nol liableto annul itselfuntil and is fullymanifesledhereIn our unlessthe divineSachchidananda embodiedexislenceand'thisearthlylitebecomethe liJedivine.' For such is the originalintendedmeaningol crealion,lhisis lhe secrel spirituaisense of the evolulionarymarch.Thus Savitri answeredto retulethe conjectureoJlhe sophislPowerol do!bt and denial: How sayslhou Truthcan neverlightlhe humanmind And blisscan neverinvadelhe mortals heart Or God descendintolhe worldhe made? rose, Voidthe creataon ll in the meaningless li frorna bodilessForceMallerwas bron, ll Lifecou d climbin lhe unconscioustree, li greendeLighlbreakintoemeraldleaves And its laughterof beaulyblossomin the flower, and cell, ll sensecouldwake in lrssue,nerve And Thoughtseizethe gregmatlerof the brain. And soul peep {romits secrecylhroughlhe llesh, How shallthenamelesslightnot leap on men, And unknownpowersemergefrom Nalure'sSleep? Evennow hintsot a luminousTruthlike stats splednourol 'gnorance; Afisein the mind-mooned Evennow the dealhlessLover'stouch we leel: It the chamber'sdoor is evena lillleatar, Whatthen can hinderGod from stealingin Or who lorbidhis kisson the sleepingsoul?' But the skeplicmay sti I rejointhatthe pasl is no sure guide to the tutureand plausibiltys neverequivalentlo cerlainly.So,
The Inwardzationand lho Ascension
77
the plausibility ol our goal ol divinetranslor aller establishing malionof the wakingexislence,we musl now speciallypoinlout the slepsfollowingwhich lhis goal can be realisedin practice. specula_ And lor this we must relt surelynot on philosophical I on or logicalsurmisings,bul solelyon the verdictol ihe everspiriiualexploralion of our being ascendingand ever'deepening For,this alonehas any realvalidityin lhjs tield. and becorningNow. lhere are two lypes ol movemenls oi our conscrousness lhroughwhich il becomespossiblefor us lo have access reachesof our being,a movemenl Io lhe deeperand sLrperior tnwardand an upward ascension. By the firsi movementol inward penetration,we seek to breakasunderthe wall separatingou. subliminalselt from our and leavethe surlaceconscrousness Dresentsurfaceexistence. lLVeenlirelyin the realmol our innermind,innerlile, innefsub lle'physrcaland finallyin the in most soul ot our being-This in moslsoulorthepsychicbeingis the Purushain the secrethearl, hrdye guheyem, a potton of lhe Divine Sell supporting the indivrdualnature, ot our aclualevolulronNow,an enlargemenl andcomplelion ary slatus becomes the very lirsl consequenceot such an nwardizalion For,our Innerberngis toundlo oi consciousness. possessa dynamismand potenlialities much superiorlo those ol our sLrrface mind and liJeand body.As a mallerot fact,"il rs capable of a direct communication wilh lhe universal forces, movements,objecls of the cosmos, a dircct feeling and openl9lalhefi. a direcl action on thernand even a wideningol lsell beyondthe limitsol the personalmind, ihe personal fe, the body.so lhat il feels iiselfmore and more a universalbeing no onger limitedby the existingwalls oJ our loo narrow mental, vilal physicalexislence.This wideningcan extendilsell to a compleleenlryinlolhe consciousness of cosmrcMind,inlounrly w lh the universalLife,even into a onenesswilh unlversaMal_
Chapter-6
For,howeButthisfirstresuliis nolallthatcanbe deslred. perfected in dynamism, our beingrever cosmicin scopeand cosmiclruth,if in the lieldol diminished mainsslillembedded ll we wouldlranscend lhe limitanotin totalcosmiclgnorance. tions of our presert evolulionarystatus,we musl seek 10 belo us and ascome consciousin what is now superconsceint presenl accesslble cendtothenativeheights ol lhe Spirilnotat inThus,"thepsychicmovemenl to ourwakingconsciousness, by an openrng upwardio theinnerbeing,...must becompleled wardto a supreme spiritualstatusl' more Now.lhisislhe second-andlrom our pointol view,much living. For, inward momentous-consequence ot an accomplished realmsls il is loundthatoncetheentryinlotheinnersublimirlal pres_ successfully underlaken, lhe innerbeingexertsa growin9 constricling, hardandbightlidof mind,-mind sureonthe"strong 1(omour dividing andseparative" thatcloudsthesuperconscienl ptessure comes in the end so wakingconsciousness, This be and greatthatthe lidol mindwearsthin,opensanddisappear. to havea visionof the our consciousness becomesprivileged 1s"aninWhatwe seebythisis upwardopenrng supernal things. an finityaboveus,an eternalPresence or an inlinileExistence, Sell, infinily ol bljss,-a boundless infinityo{ coflsciousness, an a boundlessLight,a bou|ldlessPower,a boundlessEcslasy." trombelow'isnotsuliicient. Buteventhis'wideawareness lo the heightol the spirit We mustmakean actualascension above,Fortunaiely, this too is an alternativeor subsequentrerisesup towards sultof lhe inwardliving.Our consciousness present mentallevel. thereaches of ourbeing,muchbeyondthe and unless supervenes But herea very seriousdilticulty remedied in time,one maybe verywellled thisis successfully awaylrom lhe palh of divinelransformationol Natureinto the and L,nmanilest silenlimmobility o1theTranscendent at10 whichour consciousness lndeed,sincethe heights to are in generalsuperconscient tainsin its upwardascension
and lhe Ascension The Inwardization
79
our mind,the latierlailsto tema n awakethereand henceconsiderstheseascentsas only luminouslyblank Thus,our mind_ is lempiedto eflecluatea short_culand lake a consciousness On this line,"the firsl mosl straght jump to the Transcendent. ord nary resut is a discoveryof a vast staticand silenl Self may whichwe feel to be our realor our basicexistence...There ot aclive being and Niruana both of our be evenan exlinction,a a n t h e s e n s e o f s e l l i n t o a R e a l i t yt h a t i s i n d e f i n a b l e d ls posslbleto remainin a Nirvanaoi all ind nexpressible...lt or, regardingall ihe cos_ v dualily,to stop at a siaiic realisation play illusionimposedon the or movemenl as a superficial rn c irnmobile and lmmulabe pass supreme inlo some sient Se I, 10 statusbeyondihe universe, yth s is notiheonlypossiblelineof supernormal Butforlunate the withdrawalfrom all pariicipaton n lhe spifllua experience: wor d-ex stence and the immergenceor exlinctloninlo the is not lhe only spiritualdestjnydecreedfor lhe hu Llnmanifest mansou , A supremedivinereturnf romthe vergeoJNirvanaLnto possibleand thrswiththe und minished the world-playis eqLrally splendorsand potenciesof all the spiritualwealihamasseda1 the summits.The choice is indeedhard and dlif cult For, lhe u timateand definitivewithdrawalintothe Infiniteand Eterrrilys too a uring a prospectto be easilyrejeciedby the ascending soul.To have nstead'thesupernalbirth'onemusl have narlowedge ..trodalongextinclion's Neafthe h gh vergesoi eternlly. ot choosingbetween Th s doublealternative and the dilJicull the two havebeen beautiiully depicledin lhe lo lowrngpassage of Sri Aurobindo's Savlllrli She had risen up lrom body,mindand life; She was no morea Personin aworld She had escapedinto inlinity. Only same last annulmenlnow rematned,
80
Chapt6r-6
Annihilation's vagueindefinablestepi A memoryof beingstillwasthere Andkeptherseparate fromnothingness: was That She in blt stillbecamenotThat. Thisshadowof hersolfso closeto noughl couldbe againseli'spoinld'appuilo live, Relurnout of the lnconceivable Andbe whalsomemysierious vastmightchooseEvenas theUnknowable d€cr€ed, Shemightbe noughtot new-becamethe All, Or if thecmnipolenl Nihiliooka shape Emergeas someone andredeem lheworld. Even,shemightlearnwhatthe mysticcipherheld, Thisseeming exitor closedendot all passage fromsight, Couldbe a blindtenebrous scre€ned Herstaletheeclipsing shellol darkened sun On its secretway to the Inetlable. Evennowhersplendid back beingmightflame Out ot the silenceandlhe nullity, portionof lh€ alfwonderful, A gleaming A powerof someall-affirming Absolute, A shiningmirrorof the eternalTruth To showto the One-in-allits rnanitestJace, Tothesoulsol mentheirdeepideniity. Or shemighlwakeinloGod'squietude Beyondthe cosmicday and cosmicnight Andreslappeased in hiswhiteeternity. to Butoncewe setasidetheexit-solution as noiconforming ourgoalandlry insteadto becomeaware!nthoses!pernalreaims wherewe couldnotremainawakebefore,we findthatourconsc ousnessrisesto thoseascending heighlsof theSpiritwhere rtsimmobile fora greatly stalusis butthe necessary foundation potenlandluminous awake dynamism. Oncethepowerto remain develops in us,onc6we riseout ol the sphereof mortalmind ol a and ookdeepandhighandfar,we discover the splendors
and the Ascension The Inwardrzalron
a1
inlergradedseriesol planesandpowersof consciousness-an belween links and bridges as mind-range-serving spiritual venlng l h e n o w n o r m a lw a k i n gm i n da n d ' t h e n a t i v eh e i g h l so l being. andpurespiritual supramental the Spiritthat"welindthe altitudes'of It is in these'radiant theneeded means of thelransiiion, the secretwe are seeking, perceive a for we transJormaiion ; steolowardsa supramental wltha moreand more gradualily ol ascent,a communication deep and lmmenselightand powerJromabove,a scaleot as so manysiairin theasceninlensit es whichcanbe regarded is beyond Mind fromThalwhrch into or in a descent sionof Mind gradation whichourcon_ through ascending ln lhisincessanl Truth-Consciousness, lhesupramental risestowards sciousness Thesegradations lour pr nc ple ascentsmaybe distinguished of the series of sublimaiions as'a mav be broadlvdescribed Higher haslermed whalSriAurobindo through consciousness' "thereis a suc_ Intuition and Overmind; lVIind, Mind.lllumined at the summilof lvhichliesthe cesson ol selt'iransmutations degreesare9nostlcIn Supermind or Divine-Gnosis....Allthese at the filsl we beginto pass for even andoower; thelrorinciDle and basedon an originalIn consclence lroma consciousness lgnorance or ina mixedKnowledge-lgnorance actingn a general Knowledge basedon a secretself'existent to a consciousness grades grades of energy'substance are and..ln these lhemselves oJbeing,gradesof thesubstance oi lheSpirit...they aredomains whrchare being,iieldsol existence andenergyof the spiritual Forceconsttuting Consciousnesseacha eve ol theuniversal stageol ihisas_ andorganlsng itselfntoa higherstat!s..Each ntoa new the being general, conversion oi centrsa if nota tolal lrghtandpowerof a greaterexisience.' Forthe characlerisatlon ol thisiourlod asceniandthe dy' releredIa Chap' namc'sorrtualimolicatons readeris thereof,the ter XXV\, Book lwo ("The AscentlowardsSupetmind")al Sti
82
Chapter6
Aurobindo'sTheLifeDivine.Fo(1he continuityot our discussion we conlenlourselveswith only some broadhinlsaboutthe nature ol thesefo!r highergradesof our being. The lirsi ascent out of our normal menlality is inlo a Highel M/rd ot automatic and sponlaneous Knowledge,where knowledge assumeslhe nalureof Truth-Thoughi. lts mosl characler slic movemenlis "a mass idealion,a systemor totalityof iruthseerng al a srngleView;...this lhought is a sell-revelatlon ol elernaiWisdom, nol an acquiredKnowledge. Beyond the Higher [4ind ol Truth-Thoughiis the Illumined M/rdol Truth-Sight, a Mindwhere thereafe vaslsol visionand eternalsuns, Oceanso' an im.rortallumrnoLsness, Flame-hills assaLrlllng heavenwith theirpeaks, Theredwellingall becomesa blazeoJsight; A bufningheadof visionleadsthe mind, Thoughtlrailsbehindil its longcornetiail; The heartglows,an illuminaleand seer, And senseis kindledinlo identi\,. powerof the illuminedlvlnd is not Thus the characteristic Thoughlbul Visioniii is the fieldol "theoutpouringsof massive irghlningof flamingsun-stull." And on the dynamicside thereis here 'a goldendrrve,a lumtnous'enthousiasms'ot innerforce and power,...almosl a violentlmf,elusol rapidtransformalion.' Next in the order oJ ascension in the lntuttive Mind whose pow€r is an intimaieand exactTruth,perception characterislrc whichis muchmorethan sighland conceplion.Iniuitionis in us ''a projecling blade,edge or point of a tar-olt superrnindlight enterng inloand moditiedby someinlermediate truth-mindsubstance above us,,,lntuiiionhas a Jourloldpowef.A oower ol revelalory truth-seeing, a powerof nspiralionor lrulh-hearing, a power of truth-louchor jmmediateseizingoJ signilicance,... a power of true and automalicdiscriminaiion ol the orderlvand
and ihe Ascension The Inwardizalion
83
exaclrelationol truihto lruth.'Thus Intullion'slighiningrangein a brighlpack 'lu-lrng all nrddenlrulhsout ol lheir lairs. Its liery edge of seeangabsolule Cleaves inlo locked unknown retreatsoJsell, RJ.nmagesthe skv-recesses ol the brain. Lighlsup the occullchambersof lhe hearl; lls spearpoinl ictusol discovery Pressedon lhe coverol name,lhe screenol torm, Slripsbare the secretsoul ol allthat is sun-brighleyes; Thoughllhere has revelalion's Voice, The Word,a mighiyand inspiriling privacy ol EnlersTruth'sinmostcabin And lears awaythe veiltromGod and lile. Beyondlhe planeol the Intuitivel\rindis a superconscrenl cosmicMind,a principleof globalknowledgewhichcarriesin rl 'a delegatedlighltromthe supramenlalgnosis,'The Overmindis and SupramentalTrulh-Consciousness in direciconlactwiththe possible representsthe'highesl stalls-dynamis'ofihe Spirit n the spirlual-mindrange-'Thecosmicempireol the Overmind' represenlsthe boundlesslinites lasl expanseand Trrne'sbutterslateborderingElernity, Too vasl lor lhe experienceof mans so!l: Allhere gathersbenealhone goldensky: The Powerslhal buildthe cosmosslalrontake n its houseof inlinrlepossibility; Eachgod irom therebuildshis own nalure'sworldi ldeasare phalaniedlikea groupof sums; Thoughlcrowdsin massesseizedby one regard; AllT me is one body,Spacea singlebook: Thereis lhe Godheads universalgaze, And therethe boundariesol immonalI\rind: The Overmindmay be consideredlo be lhe delegaleoJ Superrnind il to lhe lowerhemisphereot Knowledge-lgnorance;
84
ChapteF6
linksthe lallerwiththatsupramental GnosisorTruth-Conscrous, ness, ...whileyetatthesametimewithils brilliantgoldenLid it veilslhe faceol the greatertuth fromour sight..This lhen is the occultlinkwe werelookingfor;Thislhe Powerthat at oncecon, neclsand dividesthe supremeKnowledgeand the cosmiclgno, rance. With the Overmindwe thus reach the line lhat paris and joins ihe lowerand the upper hemispheresof exislence.Here two possibililies open up beJorethe soul. Eitheril may seek lo reachthe supremesupracosmic Sachchidananda directlromthe sprrilualased mind-rangeand in that processdepart out oJ its c o s m i c f o r m a l i o n i n l o l h e e t e r n a l l Vs l a t i c o n e n e s s o f Sachchidananda or ralher pure Sat (Existence), absoluteand elernalor elsea pureNon-existence, absoluteand elernal." But evidentlythis is nol our line.Sincewe seek to possess drvinelyourworld-being as wella sourselt-being, we muslcross the borderhne,pass inlothe upper hemispheretranscendingeven the highestreachot spiritualmindand seek to rea se Sachchidanandaon the planeof Supermind.For,supermindis Sachchida, nanda's "..power of selt-awarenessand wo.ld-awareness,lhe world being known as wilhin itselfand not outside..lltisl the Trulh'Consciousness whelheraboveor in the universeby which the Divineknows not only his own essenceand bring bul his manifestationalso. lts fundamenlalcharacter is knowledge by identity,by lhal lhe Sell is known,lhe DivineSachchidananda rs known, bul also lhe truth of manileslationis known.because lhis loo is That." Hence il becomesimperativeior the soul to pass lhrough the supramenlalralisationjl, insteadol departingintotheTran, scendence,rt wouldsimullaneouslV live in the lranscendnceol lhe supremeSachchidananda and Dossesstts world-vew too. Bul even thesesupremeascenisaccomplLshed n tull sprF rlualawarenessdo not provesufficientfor our purpose.These cannotcureourwakingconsciousness ol its apparentlyirreme-
The Inwardization and the Ascension diablyspiritualpenury.For ihat suprememovemenlol descent shouldlollowihe suprememovemenlol ascensionand Heaven shouldconsentto come down CHAPTEBXupon Earth.But is that al all possible? THE DESCENTOFTHE SUPEBMIND I know lhat I can lift man's soul to God, I know thal he can bting the immortal down lSriAurobindo,Sav/lfi BookXl, Canlo l, p.687) The integralperfectioncan come only by a mounlinqascenl of the lowest into lhe highest and an incessant descent of the highest into the lowest tillall becomes one at once solid block and plastic sea-stuff of the Ttulh infiniteand eternal (Sri Aurobindo, The Synlhesis ot Yoga,p. 478) There arc dilferenl staluses of the diwne consciousnessThere arc also dllerent statuses ol trcnslormation.Fitst ts the psychic trcnsfotnalian, in which all is in contact with the Divine lhraugh lhe individualpsychtcconsciousness.Next is lhe spirilual transformationinwhichall is merged Divine in the cosmic cansciousness.Thirdis the supramentaltransformationin whlch all becames supnmentalised in lhe divine gnostic consciousness. lt is only with the latter that thete can begin the complele tansformation of mind, life and body-in my sense of complele(Sr Aurobindo,On HlmseL p. I I8) In our attemplto chalkout lhe slepsfollowingwhichan em' bodiedbeinghereuponearthmay hopeto transligure hiswaking existenceso muchso thal a divinelydynamiclilecan llowerout in lhe earthlygarden,we have come to lhe lindingthat an essentialpreliminarycondrtions for our soul to consciouslyascendlo the supernalgradeso{ beingand powerot the sell-mani{estng spirit,lhat intervenebetweenour normalmind and the TruthConsciousness ol Supermind.
Chapler-6
ascending lo these Of course,it is truethatwilhoutactually planes permanently livingthere,if we and highersp fitualmental andsplritual frombelowto theirknowledge canopenourselves spirilualise ournormalwakingbeinfluences, wecansomewhal in this Butlhe spiritual changeeffected ingandconsciousness. way s neverprolound or widein ils scope.lt louchesonlythe In orderio havean entrre fr nge of our dynarnicexistence, andpoweroi Being,ii s allogether indlspensaconsciousness ble that we gatherup our consciousness and riseout ol the of the sphereol gnorantmindintothe radlanthigherallitudes Spiril. Andtheseascentsmustbe madein fullawareness and not merelyin the immobiletrance-siale of absorbedsuperconscience. Forin ihe latlercase,on lhe relurnto thewakingcononlyan rndetermisciousness lromthesetemporary sojourns, natespiritual impression mayabidebut not muchol dynamic elfect.Inordertohavethedynamis otthehigherspiritualgrades of beingactiveand organised in ourwakinglife,we mustfirst ellecluale"a consciousheighlening andwideningintoimmense rangesof newbeing,newconsciousness, newpotentralities of action." Butthisascension oi ourconsciousness to ihesehigherlum nousplanes, eveni{ permanently centred lhere,doesnolsuflicefor thespiritual translormalion of our beingandnature.the permanent ascentfromlhe lowerto the hrgherconsciousness process muslbefollowed by thecomplementary of a permanent descentol the higheri,rlolhe lower.The iransmutalion of our presentmodesot beingandactivities intospiritual valuesleadinglo the trans{iguration ol ourwakingexistence necessitates planes nol merely then an ascension 1othe abovenoreventhe exertor]iromthereof an indirectpressure and inlluence upon oLrrlowerbengbulthebrining downol thePowerandL ghtof the intheveryiieldof ournormal supernal reaches being,conscious' properlo ihespirilual For"lhereis adynamism nessandaction. c o n s co u s n e s sw h o s e n a t u r ei s L i g h t , P o w e r ,A n a n d a ,
The Inwardizaiion and the Ascensaon
87
Peace,Knowledge, infiniteWideness, and that muslbe posse'sed and descendintothe wholebeing. Otherwiseone can get muktibutnot peiection ottnnsformation(excepta relative psycho-spirilu al change)." Thedescentofthespirilualpotencies andforc€softhshigher places(homthe HigherMindto theOvermind) is thuslhethird necessary motiontollowing theothertwool ascension andpermanenlstaiioning above.Inthisprocessof pe.colation, downpour or influx.occur"anrncreasing inflowfromabove,an experience ol receptionand retentlonof the descendingspiritor its powers and elemenlsof consciousness." Whenthisphaseis moreor lesscompleted, we saylhatlhebeingandnalurehasundergone spiritualtransfotmation, a lransformationlhat links the manifestedexistencewith whatliesbeyondand aboveit. Bui eventhis is not;nough for ou. goal.For,the processof spirtualisation bringsaboutmostlya subjective transformation, theinstrLrmental Natureremaining as beforefullof manydisabilitiesanddeficiencies. EventheOvermind, thesummil-reach of our spiritual mind-range, failslo eflecluale a compl€te change of Nature,ior this too is "subjectto limilaijonsin the workingof the eflectiveKnowledge,limitationsin the workingol the Power subiectto a Dartialand limitedTruth." Forthefullandradical transformation whalis indispensable isthedirectintervention andthe unveiledactionof thesupramental Gnosisin our earth-existence and earlh-nature. Butlhat can comeaboutonlywhena priorascentlo lhe planeof Supermind rslolowedby the supramental descentin thelieldol teffeslrial manifeslation. Butwhal preciselyare the difticultiesofferedby our pres€nt berngand naturs,lhal cannotbe salisfactorilymel evenby the nlgnestspiritual-mental powers?Whalare the lacunaeir+velved in the processof spiritualtranstormation? Th6 esseniialdilficulty comesfrom the lact that we are evolutionarvcreatures. OLrevolLtion hasslartedlromtheapparently blankbosomof ln
88
Chaple.6
con screnceand this dark herrtageol orrginalNescienceis st we ghl ng very heavilyuponour nalure.Our normalbe ng is aloul of the Inconsceince and "it s lhis sub mostwhollyrnoLrlded nto a substace stanceol nesciencelhat has10be_transformed and a ol sLrperconscience, a subslancen whrchconscrousness spirtual awarenessare alwayslhere even when lhey are nol lhal is done,lhe nescence rnvades aclive,nol expressed...Till or encompasses or even ceilsup and absorbsinto ts oblivrous darknessa thal enlers inlo it; il compelsthe desc€nding tht to compromisewilh ihe iesserlght il enlers:thereis a mrxlure, a rnodilcailon. a diminuton and iilution oi itsell,a drminution, power.' nconrp ol its lrulh and an cte authentlcriy ll s becauseol this blind opposingNecessrty,th s dark altach,nenllo Ihe a readyestablshedan seemingy nexorabe Lavr's o1lhe ignorancethatlhe h ghersp rilua Lghlsand powers. even lhoseol lhe overmind,com ng down nto the obscunlyol po' our physrcalconseiousness Iosemuchot lheirtranslormrng and nol altencyand becomeinsteadmuliated,circumscfibed iogetherdynamicallyefiective. Thus a peffecilranslguralon oi our lowernatureis a far cry f we u/ouldrely on the sp ritua menlalpowersalone.We may l€€l rndeedour innerconsciousness luminousand beratedand e c s l a l i cb ! 1 o u ro u t e rb e i n ga n dn a l u r ew i l l s ll l g o o n n t h e i ro l d u n f e g e n e r aw l ea y ,b r i n gn g n p e r i o d s o l d u lol b s c u r a t o nas n d !n\lanled reaclionsdue to lhe play ol the guras The powerof d v ne y rllumirred mind may be rmmensecompareow th ordipowers. nary bul t will st b€ sublecllo incapacilyand lhere can be no perleclcorrespondence belweenthe force ol the elfectve w and lhe ght oi the dea which nsp rcs L The tnftntte Presence may be lhere tn slalus, but dynamis af the operatians of nal)rc stillbelangsta the lowerPruk lt. riruslfolow i1s1rple modes oJ workingand cannol grve any aclequalelorm 1o lhe greatness$ilhin il Ths is ihe lragedyol rn eilectv ty. ol ihe h , a l ! sb e l u / e e nd e a la n d e i f e c i v e w r l ..
The Inwardrzalion and the Ascensron
89
Th s is the reasonwhy it has been alwaysJoundthal a sub, on lh6 changeof the innerbeing lectve spirtualty concentrated a one, leavng the outernalureto go its old way,is mucheaster to accomplishlhan to objectiviesthis spirituality in lhe dynamic I|lecl a lree wor d,action.In the courseol our Spirituat Sadhana. our lola|ly of existencevery soon and very easilydissociates nto iwo I elds,an innerone and an ouler one,The jnner being and nalure has always a much less letteredgait: it awakens €as y enough,receiveslreelythe higherspiritualiniluences and gels moreor lesstranslormed, Bul ihe externalsurfaceselj and natureare mosttymouldedby the iorcesof the established lgno_ ranceand the originalNescience.And hencethey are tardy in awakenrng,sluggishin receivingand imperviousto uninhiblted ass mrlalion.lt is, for this reason,"alwayseasierto spiritualise the innerselt sullicientpartsthan to transformlhe ouler aclion; a perieclionot introspective, indwelling_..spiritualily atoottrom the worldor selt protectedagainstit is easierthan a perlection ol lhe wholenaturein a dynamic,kineticspirituality objeclivised n the ie, embracingthe world,masterol jls environment, sov_ e.e qn In ts comrnercewathworld-naiure.,' Bul whethereasy of fulfillmentor nol, this is what we have p ace0 bel0reus as our goal:an inlegraltranslormation ol our culer betngand nalureas wellas thatof the innerone, entailing the drvnrsaltonoi our wakingphysicalexistenceand ot the dv_ .amic llleol aclion.And as lve have menlionedbefore,it is onlv lrreoverlintervention of lhe divinesupermindin our earlh-nature lhal .an negativethe dark Necessityol downwardpull ol our presenlevolulionaryexistenceand usheranthe eslablishmenl oi the L fe Divine And for thal an ascenlout ot the lowerhemispheretopped by lhe Overmindontothe planeol suprarnenlal Gnasisbecomes Ine I rs1necessily.For, the dynamicas well as the stalic reahsa1on oi Sachchidanandacannolbe inseparcbly and simultane.!s/v fad exceptthroughlhe Supermind,the T.,Jth-Consciousf-as5.)l the drvineReality_ "The universeis uynamrsm.move-
90
Chapler-6
menl-theessenlialexperience of Sachchidananda apartlromthe is dynamrsmand movemenl slalic.The full dynamiclruth ol Sachchidananda and the universeand its consequencecannol be graspedby any olher consciousness than the supermind, becauselhe inslrumentation in ail olherllowerlplanesrs inlef or and there is thereJorea disparitybetweenthe fuilnessof the stal c experience and the ncompleteness ol the dynamc power, power knowledge,resultot the interiorIght and ol otherplanes. this is lhe reasonwhy the consciousness of lhe other spirlual p anes,even if ii descends,can make no radicalchangein the earlh-conscousness,I can only modilyor enfich t." So we see lhal th s sublirneascenlfrom be ow. lrom out ol the sp ritualmrnd'ssphere,inlo lhe supramenlalp ane oi being and consciousness, is lhe lirsl radicalslep on the way to lhe iullillmentwe havebeen seekingin ourYoga.Bul h s ascension rs nol enough:it has lo be completedby a supremedescenl irom above, ihe descentot lhe Supermindin earth natufe For, rl is only in the divineTrulh'Consciousness or Supermnd lhat lhe powerof dynamiclransformalion can be integralandabsaAs a rnalterol fact, on y lhe supermindcan lhus descend wnhautlasing ils lull poweroi aclionifor ils action s a ways in trinsic and automatic,its will and knowledgeidenlicalal-ldlhe resull cornmensuratei ils natureis a self achievingTruth-conscrousness... on y lhe supramenlal Forcecan enlirclyovetcame d fticu I ol the fundarnenlal Nescience; for with t entersan [the] opposiieand luminousimperatve Necessly whichunderliesall lhingsand is lhe or ginalandlinalseltdeterminrng trulh lorceol lhe se l-ex slenl Inlinile.This greaterlumtnoussp r l!a neces, s ly and rts sove.ergnimperativea/onecan dtsplaceof enlirely penelrale.transforminlo ilse i and so iapracethe blfd Ananke " of lhe lnconscience So. this is lhe secondcap tal movemenl:ihe descentol lhe Supermindin earlh-exrsience and earlh nalure B!l somelhrng
The Inwardizatlon and th€ Ascension
91
much more has to be achievedbelore our goal of divineand dynamiclile upon earlh becomesa realisedfact ot existence The involved Supermindas to emerge to meet the descendtng As a malterot iact, even now,the supramental principleis here secrellylodgedin a I existence,even behindlhe grossest malerality.lt is lhe S!perrnindthat rs sustajningand governing ihis maniiestedlower worldsby its self-concealed power and law ELrtal presentlhe Supermindis tnvolvedand hiddenbehlnd th s ower tflplicilyol mind,life and matter:it cannotacl overlty or in ils won nlrinsicpower,becauseoi lhe absenceof proper Instrumentat on n lhe earth-nature. lls "powerveils 1tselland law works unseen through the shackled ltmtationsand timpItsl ng deforrnatons ol lhe lesserruleof our phystcal,vilal,menla Nalrirel Now il the supramentalchangeot the who e substanceol our beingand ol all its modesand movementshas al al to be made perlecl and integral,thls involvedSupermindin Nalure m!sl [reI berateduponearth,joinwiththe descending Supermnd, prepareihe groundlor lhe divinedynamicplay oi Supernalure \.paraprakrti) and acI as "an overlly operattvepower n lh€ ler- n the sameway in whichlh nkingi\,4ind restra vr'orkings..., has 0eeneslabiished throughthe humanevoluton as an overllyop eratve powerrn Lile and Maller.This wou d mean lhe appearance n the evolulionol a gnoslc beingor Purushaand a gnos1 c P f a k rI a g n o s l i c - N a t u r T e .h e r e m u s t b e a n e m e r g e n l sLrpramenlal Conscousness-Force lberatedand act ve withrn the lerrestriawholeand an organiseds!pramenlaInstrumenlat.n cf lhe Sprrii n the lile and the body... It is n th s way thatlhe sp rilualpenuryot our wakingex stenceca4 be radrcallyremeded and one can enjoya dlvrne Ie nereuponearlh tseif,even n the physcal embodiedex stence, w thoutany needto shun exislenceor plungeiniolhe ann htta I on oj lhe spirtua Personin some sell extrngushingNirvana,
o o) ct
t-o
r\C
9o *or :-
OF
Chapter-7 The Spirit'stopsand nature'sbaseshalldraw Neatto the secretof their'eparate truth And knoweachothetas one deity. the spiritshalllookout thtoughMatter'sgaze And Maftershallrevealthe Spitit'slace Thenmanand supermanshallbe at one And alllhe ea h becomea sngle lile. (SriAurobindo, SayltilBookXl, Cantol, p.7092) A manrtestation of the Supermindand its truth-conscjousnessis.,,inevhable:it musthaDDen in thjswo d sooneror later. But it has two aspecls,a descentfromabove,an ascentlrom below,a self-revelation ol the Spirit,an evolutionin Nature (SriAurobindo.TheSupamentalManifestation, p.80) As the psychic change has to call in lhe spiritual to completeit, so thefist spiitualchangehasto callin thesupramental translarmatian to completeit...Thisthenmustbe the natureof thethirdand finaltnnslotmationwhichfinishesthe passageaf the soul thraughthe lgnoranceand bases its consciousness, its life, itspowerand formof manifestation on a compteteand completelyeffectiveself-knowledge..So must be createdthe supramental and spiitual beingas the firstunveiledmanifestattonal the truthol the Selfand Spiritin the materialuniverce. (SrjAurobindo,TheLifeDivine,pp.917-18) It, YY e havealmos(cometo theendol our longo.sse,tal,oon howto remedythe spiritual penuryot our wakingphysical existence. Notan escapeorattheleastaquientisttc withdrawal tromlheworld-consciousness, butralherthe integraland vlctoriousembracingof the lifeof actionand creationa andthe divlne IransfigLrration of the wholeof our existence.is whal we have
Chapler-7
placebeloreus as our goal. Buta furtherpointremainslo be elucidatehere.Awellestablishedlineol spiritualexoerienceshowsthat wheneverour soul gels involvedin action,itlosesholdand becomesnescientof ils rmmobile,passiveand so-calledttue slatus,whereasa withdrawallromdynamismand an involulionintopassivilymakesit totallyobliviousof it is activestatuswhich thus appears10 be just a false supenmposition upon lhe lreedomand bIss ol the soul. Now,if this experienceis the only or the ullimateexpefi, ence possible,lhen we havepertorcelo admitihat an acirvelife cannotbe compaliblewiththe consciousexperienceand enjoymenioi ihe soul-status. Bui fo unatelythisis noi so.Thisallerna, lion in the nescienceof the activeand lhe passtvestaluses occursbecauseii ls only apartof our beingna dot lhe totalityot rt lhal shiits it cenlre and makes the alternattvemovements. But in realitythereare not two distinciand separateslatuses: thereis insteadonly a uniquedualslatus,a stalusembracesal lhe sametime boihthe aspects,the staiicone and the dynamic We haveakeadyspokenofthe activeBrahmanand the passive Brahman,bul thereare nol lwo independentrealilies,one imrnobile,the other mobile."The Flealityis neitheran eternal passivilyof immobileBeing nor an eternalaclivilyof Beirlgin movemenl,nor is il an alternalionin Tirnebetweenihese lwo ihrngs.Neitherin fact is the sole absolutetruth ol Brahman's rea ily...There is not a passiveErahmanand an activeBahman, but one Brahman,an Existencewhich reserves lts Taoesin whal we cal passivily and gives itself in what we call its acttvily.Fort he purposes oJ aclion, there arc two poles of ane being or a double power necessary for creation,__Brahman does nol pass aliernatelylrom passrvtlyto aclivityand back to passivityby cessationof its dynamicforceo{ being....lntegral Brahmanpos, sess Lolh the passivityand the activity slmultareouslyand does not pass alternatelyfromone1olhe other as from a s eep 1o a wakino."
is averyaptonehere For, of sleepandwaking Theanalogy stateweforgetaboul isthatin ourwaking whatwenormallyiind we becomeoblivi_ sleep-stale while in lhe and sleep status our a small is so only because But ihis exislence, ousoi ourwaking belween and oscillales parto{ our beingmakesthe transition the lwo slales oJ awareness.And since this part cannotem' ol oneor nescient il becomes o{ourexistence, bracethetotality particular station on ;ts depending lwo statuses, other ol the the wrden proper on can so sell-discipline a ai lhelime.Butlhrough has no more thal one discernment thescopeol one'sconscious can In_ bul change'over, lo makethisabruptand all-torgeiting gaze sleadho d boththe stalesin a singleuninterrupted ol BrahmanAclion It is the samethrngwiththeexperience lheconscious_ not externalise need not and should andcreation passiveBrah the treedom of nessandmakeonelosethesilent Brahman be inof the immobile mannorshouidtheexperience of ils mobilestatusThe withthe tree possession compatible ordinarily we iden' ariseslromlhe{actthat incapabilily apparent consciousof our ol the totality ves with only apart tify ourse parl ol it ness-ihe mentalor at its highestthe spirituaLmental parl the Divinethroughthislimited alone andseekto realise And sincethis iustaparland not lhe integralconsciousembrace boththeaspecls.Thus ness,it cannotsimullaneously and dynamisobliterates the sellof statusfromils awareness passvitvloosensiis holdon lhe sellot aclion.Whenlhis pasfallsasleep,so sivilybecomesenlire,our mind-consciousness o{ Samadhi or elseis liberto say,enterslntothe trance-state this is not the line atedinlo a spirilualsilence.Bul evidently from whichwe wouldliketo lollow.For"thoughit is a liberation pariral il is earned in ils flux of action, theignorance being oi the nescienceo{ the dynamicReality by pltling on a luminoLls orauminousseparationlrom it:thespiritualmentalbeingremains an be_ seli-absorbed in a silenlessenlialslalusol exislence lo or repugnanl comesislhe incapable of activeconsciousness all activitvl'
98
ChapteFT
8ul our goalis the integral lultjllmenl of our inteorat existence,lheInlegral andsimullaneous possesston ot bothtnestatic and dynamicaspeclsol the Divine,as rs rne case wrth Sachchidananda Himself.But this is possibleontyif we possess lhe Inlegralconsciousness. And this integralconscious_ nesscomesonly with lhe attainmentol the supramenlalGno_ sis- For,as we havemenlionedbelore,this cnosis is twolold Truth-Consciotisness, an inherent andintegralself-knowtedge and al lhe sametimean intimate andintegral consciousness ot the manilestation. As a malterol lact,Sulermind is noneotherihan Sachchidananda's powerofsel,awareness andworld-awareness. andihusthe dynamically inlegralliberation andfutfimentthat we are seektngaflercan be achieved onlyin andthfoughthis suptamenlalvijnanna, We haveseenhowto retainthe consciousness of the oas_ srve Brahmanwhileal the samelime parlropationgtn lhe consciousness ol the activeaspectof it. Bui thatdoesnol auto_ matrcally signilythatour nature-part as distinctlromour inner soul-exislence willalsogettransrormed andbe moulded in the irnageof the Divine.Butthisis whalwe precisety needlor the lull llmentof our goal.For it isn,tmerelythe liberation of our soul,bLrltheliberation andthedivinetransiiguration ot ihewhole ot our Nature,p,?kftirnuktj,pakit-rupantan, enabjingthe establjshment of a LifeDivineuponearth,thatis thetolatcontent ot our aim.Letus nowproceed to showhowthisprakrilitvlukti and Prakrili-Rupantara can be integrally achieved throuqhthe Supermind. 8ul whalis meantby soulor by Nature, by purushaandhis Prakrili? Anyrelatively prolound psycho-spiriiuat inquirymakes us awareol lwo elemenlsof ouf being,a souland a Nalure. Purushaor soul,individual or universal, is lhe observino and erperiencing conscousexislence seentrgryInactive bLt;nreationwithitsbecoming, whileprakritior Nature, againindividual or universal, s theprinciple andthepowers{ thebecomrng, ap_ peaflngas an executive Forceor an energyof processwhichis
The Conq!est
and drlveandg!ideallconcelvable activities seenlo constitute, formsvisiblelo usandinvisible anduselhem iocreatea mVflad fluxot aclionandcrealion." torlo incessanl as slablesuooorts Apparently, Purushaand Prakriliseemto be lwo differenl Principles. Nolonlythal:in the ordinaryslalusol and drstrnct lhe actionand inlluence ot Prakritiseem conscious exislence, to theprogress ot thesoul.As a mallerof lacl, to bedeleterious putit,lhe wholeproblem ol hasso beautifully as Sr Aurobindo liferesoves itsellinlothisone question: "Whatarewe to do wilhlhissoulandnaturesei laceto face and cosmicactivily, w th eachother,lhis Nature,thispersonal conlrol, iiselfuponlhe soul,io possess, wh ch lries1oirnpress it, andthisoulwhichfeelsthatin somemyslerious determine totwhat wayil has{reedom, a controloverilself,a responsibility ils own therefore to turn upon Nalure, t rs and does,andtries possess, en,oy,or even,rt may andthe worlds andto conlrol, be,reieclandescaoefromher? ol the Purusha lo el ll is because ol lhisapparenl tendency the in th6 obscuring action ol Prakrililhat nvolved andselllost if noltotal s6li'recovering soulleelsa sod oJalooldelachmenl repugnance fortheplayot NaiLrre andse€ksto standbackkom il anddestroyall earthward tendencies so thatil maysecurely possessils slalic nfinity. Bulthisantagonism between SoulandNaiureis moreappar enl lhan real.lor in realily,lhey are not distinctand ditlerent Principles; in theyrepresent t;helrenchanldualityis tictitious, {acl,lheTwo-in-One or ratherlhe One-in-Two. thus, ''There aretwoshowareOnceandplayin manyworlds: In Knowledge andlgnorance lheyhavespokenandmet Andlighlanddarkness aretheireye'sinterchange. Thushavetheymadelheirplaywilhus Jorroles: Authorandactorwilhhrmsell as scene,
100
He movesther€as the Soul,a Natureshe. This wholewideworldis onlyhe and she." Thus,lhePurusha-Prakriti dualily, although separate in ap. pearance, is in factins€parabl6. Wherever lhereis prakriti, there is Purusha;wherever ih6r€is Purusha, th€reis prakriti. Evenin hisinactivity he holdsin himself allherforce andeneroies readv lor projection: eveninlh€drjveolheraclion shecarrr; withher all his obseNingand mandatoryconsciousness as TO whole supportandsenseol het creativeouroose." Bul why is thisso? Because, in lheir6ssenlial nalureand onginalaspecl, Purusha and Prakritiarise tromihe beincrol di, vrneSachchidananda. As a matteraflecr,Se .conscro;sexistenceis lheessentialnatur€ol the Being;thatis Saior pLrrusha: lhe Powerof self-awareoxislence,whetherdrawninto itsetfor acting in the worksol ils consciousness and force, its knowtedge and its wiil, Chil and Tapas,Chaland its Shaklj,-thatis Prakriti. Delight of boing,Ananda,is theel€rnaltruthof theunionof lhisconscious beinganditsconscious lorcewnetherab_ sorbedin itsellor €ls€deployed in theinseparable dualityot iis lwo aspects,unrolling the worldsand vi6wingthem,actingin themandupholding theaction,execuljon worksandgivingthe sanctronwithoutwhichihe forceof Naturecannotact,executing and conlrollingthe knowledgeand the will and knowingand conlrollingthe del€rminations of th€ knowledge-lorce and welfares, ministering 1oth6 €njoyment and enjoying,,the Soul possessor, observer, knower, lordol Nature, Natureexpressing thebeing,executing thowill,satislying thesetf,knowtedge, min_ isteringto thedelightol beingof lhe soul.Therewe have,founded on lhe verynalureol being,lhesuptemeand theunive5alrelation ol Prck ti with Purusha.Theabsolutejoy of thesoutin itsetf and baseduponthat,lhe absolute joy of the soul in Naturearc divinelulfillmeni of the relalion.' Thuslheapparenl dualityvanishes andtheTwo-in-One re.
the Sat veaisHimseltor Hersellin the divineSachchidananda, con' is the Chit lor Satis the Being,the Purusha' Chilananda, sciousexecutivelorce or Prakritiand Anandais the halo and union, aromaot iheirindissaluble are andPrakrill unionot Purusha B!tthisessentialunityand lower planes the -ot overlyreal'sed ol existence' on lhe lower of the Spirit.The tru€ inkinsicrelalion planesol manifestation ha beenpervertedth€16anda pramaticdivisionandseparalron havedevelopedalong_ consequences withall theirundesirable srde. a planeot exisl' Alterall,whalis a planeof consciousness, g€neral settledpoiseor ence?A planeis nothingelsethan'a belweenthe betweenPurushaand Prakriti, worldot relations' involution or sglf' Souland Nalure.Nowwiththe progressive has ensuedthe progressive concealmentof Sachchidananda, ol SoulandNature, onetromheolher,thereslll besell-hiding svaraiya ingthatlhe self-possession andthe world-possession, difficultlo achieveat thesametime. andsAmdjya,havebecom€ Now,depending onthe nalureof thedominanl cosmicPrincipJe decide andpoweroi beingaroundwhichtheSoulandtheNature planes to weavetheirgameof hideandseek,we havedifterent ot consciousness and existence.Thus we have,in ascending order,a malerialplane, alife-plane andtheplanesof mind. planes,the But even on the highestrangof spiritual-mind absoluteharmonyof lhe unionof Purusha-Prakriti is not fully recovered. Thusevenlhoughthe separate lib6ration andstatic release of thesoulbecome feasible there,thelattercannotlreely possessNature,becomeits conscious Lordand lransformil Into an etfectiveand flawlessinskum€nlot divine manifestalion. Forlhatwe havelo reachtheplaneol supermind,,Ihe vij+and orgnosisot Sachchidananda, whichis notonlylhe concentraled consciousnessoflhe rnfinite Essence, andatthesame [but]also t meandiniinrleknowledg€ of themyriadplayol the Infinile.
142
The Conq!est
In the gnoss lhe dualismoi purushaand prakriti,Soutand Nature d sappearsin their biuneunity,the dynamicmysieryoi lhe occullSuprerne. The Truth-being is the Hara-Gaurioi lhe Ind an rconologrcal symbol (the biune body ol the Lord and his Spouse,lshwaraand Shaki, the rght half male, the ett hali iemae); ii s the doublePowermascultneborn Jromand sup" pofledby the supremeShakliof the Supreme.,,
nalLrghlandihe eternalFire andthe eternalWinde of the nectare. ll possessesth€ infiniteof lhe Self and jl possessesthe infinile ol Nalure...The gnosticsoul is the child,butihe King-child; here rslhe royalandeiernalchildhoodwhosetoysarklheworldsand a un versal Natureis the miraculousgardenot the play that t res never....This biunebeingof Purusha,pfakriti is as if a flam, rng Sun anybodyoi DivineL ghts sellcarriedin its orbit by iis own nner consctousness and poweral one with lhe universe, atonewilh a supremeTranscendent, lts madnessconsciousness and powervibratng withan infinitesenseof freedomand intenslty ln iis divineliie-movement....-a dance this also, a whirl ol m ghly energes, but the Masterol the dancehoidsthe handsot Hrs energes and keepsthem to the rhythmicorder,the selftracedharmoniccirces of His Rasa-Lila,,'
Bul evenihena lasl po nl remans. FoT,we do nol wanl lo w tirdrawlromthe matera planeof exislence inioihe Supermrnd's sei-exisienlream: we want insteadthe supramenlaun on oi Sou and Naturein the very bosomoi the physcaly embodied exrslencehere upon earth. Thus, what js essentia ior the iuli lmenl ol our objectiveis not rnefelythe asceni nlo the supramental Gnosisbutthe evenluallranslorming descenlof ts Conscrousness Forceintoour enlirebeingano naiureano a concom lant or subsequenl emergenceol the concealedSupermrnd al presenl nvolvedhere be ow,This tniluxirom aboveand lhe unveilng Irombelowwillbetweenihem removewhal s leitoi lhe natureol the Ignorance. The rule ot ihe inconscienlwtll disappear:lor lhe e the In consciencewillbe changedby the ouibursi ol the grealersecretConsciousness withinlt, the hiddenL ght, n t o w h a t i t a l w a y s w a s i n r e a l i t y ,a r e a s o r r n e s e c f e l Superconscience". The supramentalbe ng, the gnoslicsout,lhe Vijfianamaya Purusa,lhrs appearingin earlh-existence wr be lhe list unve ed manlieslation ol Sachchidananda in the malerialuniverse. Noi a self oblivionin the lnfinite,but an integratseI possession and worldplssession rnthe Infinitewillbe its charactersticrnove, menl lt will be the I rsi to participatein world aci on not only n the Ireedom but in the powerand sovereignty ol the Terna. For t rec ves the iullness,it has the senseof plenitudeoi the God head n ts act on t sharesthe lorce,sp endidand roya marcho1 the n|nile, is a vesse oi the orrginaknowledge,the mmacuate power lhe tnviolabe bltss,iransmutesall ie inlo the eter-
103
Thus,wrthlhe supramenlattransforrnation ot our beingand nalure,lhrs earthly lie wiil flowerinto the Lrie divineand our wak ng phystcalex stencewill be adivinisedexistenceol tnie, grarconsctousness and dynamis,Neitherwill one then have lo p unge Inlo tlre superconscient trance-statein orderto experience the AbsoluteExislenceor non -Exislence,nor to conlent onesellwith the J vanmukti-status waitingall the whileior the linal releasein Videha-lVuktt. Because,then Nalureshal ve to rnanifestsecretGod, The Sp rit shalltake up the humanplay, This earthlylife becomethe tifedivine. ln the wordsol lhe lvlotheri 'ln the supramental crealrontherewillbe no more__.whal men n o wc a l g o d s . ''Thesegreat dlvtnebelngsthemselveswtll be able lo parIrcrpaten lhe new creation,bul lor ihat they us pul on what we may cal/ the supramenialsubstanceon earlh.And I there are sorne!!irochooseto remainin lheirworld,as lhey are, if lhey do dec de not to rnanilesithemselves physically,Iheirrelattonwih lhe oiher beingsoflhe supramenlatworldan earthwillbetela
104
Chaptdr-7
tion of lriends,of collaboralors,ol equalto equal,becausethe highestJivineessencewillhavemanilestedin thebeingsol the newsup@mentalworld on earth. "Whenth6physicalsubstancewillbesupramentalised, to be bornon earthin a bodywill not be a causeof inleriority,rather thecontrary,therewill be gaineda plenitudewhichcouldnotbe obtainedotheNis6". goingto Butlhe question is:Whenis thisdivineSupermind descendintothe earlh-exislence orthe involvedSupermindgoing to emerge?Th€ answeris thal it is no longera questionof when in lhe future,it is akeadyan establishedfact.The divine Supermndhas descendedn the year 1956and a new world s alreadyborn,althoughnoi yel manifest to the grossphysical consciousness ol man.ThelrotherwhoalonewilhSriAurobindo has 'luminouslylaboured'Ior d6cadesfor the descentof the Supermindher Hersellvouchasafted us this assurance: "The greatestthingthat can ev6r be, the most marvelous thingsincethe beingof creation,the mifaclehas happened". "Themanifestation ol theSupramentalupon earlhis no more a promisebut a livingtact,a .eality.lt is at work here,and one day willcomewhgnthe moslblind,the mostunconscious, even the mostunwillingshallbe oblig€dlo recognizeil." Only,the involvedSupermindhas nol yet ernerged."The emergence is lot the future,but,ol course,now il is merelya auestionof lime:the orocessis naluraland inevitable."
Chapter-B
Sure5vara
Chapter-8
The Works ol the Author ol the V6rtika We nowbeginthe examinalron ot theVeftikaschool.Allcntics a g r e e t h a t t h e V a r t i k a s o n S r i S a f r k a r a ' sT a l l i r i y a a n d BrhaderanyakaCornmentarieswere composedby Sri Suresvara, as wel as ihe Narskarmya Siddhi.Our sludy herew ll thereiore be confinedlo iheseworks.Thecornmentaryon lhe Daksinamurtl Slolraca ed the [/anasollasaand the Balakar]da Commenlary cn Yejnavalkya Smrii,whichare saidto havebeencomposedby a personcalledv svafrjpaAcarya,cannolbe acceptedas be onginglo the Vadika school,nol only becausescholarsare d vrdedaboullheir authenlrcity, but also becausethey advance vews n contradiclionwith lhe teachingot the Varlikas The PairckaranaVArlikais also eft oul of accounttor the same feasonsTheretorewe shalllry to delerminethe natureo1the Varlrkat€achingwith the help ot lhe earliestmenlionedlhree
The close connection betweenthe Brahma Siddhiand the SambandhaVirtika We havealreadymenlionedal lhe beginningoJthe chapler on [4andana(M.V.91) how, in lhe matterof the retutalionoj oppLrnenls'views, thereis much simila ly in !he lineol lhoughl of the BrahmaSrddhiand Suresvara's Varlika.This is especialy lrrre n lho case oi the BrahmaSiddh and the nkoducloryportlonof SLresvara s Brhadaranyaka Vartrka, calledthe Sarnbandha Verrka.Thls ihemewill be developeda lililelurlherhereto help thosewho would like to make comparisonof the two schools. Tfe co!rse .i try ng lo explainhow lhe Absolutecan onlybe anouNlhrough lhe Veda,sketchesin vanouslheoriesol the re,
108
Chaptef-8
lalionbetweenthe ritual-section and the knoveledge-section ol .efutes Those the Vedaand them. samelheoriesare also summarrzedtor relutationin the samewayin the Vertika,mosllyon lhe samewords.Forexamole: \1j TheDoctine of theEliminalionofl the Univerceof DeslirationsrEverywherein the Vedalh6re is taughtlhe elimrThusthe ritualislic nationol somedistinction somewhere. in iunctionsare heldlo be auxiliariestowardsaplitudelor knowledge ol the Sell throuqhthe visibleresullot eliminatp.27;S.V(vers€s) ingdifferences. TherefuB-Sid. 378-a3. lalion:B. Sid.pp.28-30; S.V 384,389,424-6. 12)TheDoct ne thatPleasure-desieis eliminaledthrough ll is heldthatlhe ritualisticseclionol the Veda /Ddulgercer promotes aptitudetor knowledge ot the Sellby makingevery pleasure'desire available. B.Sid.p.27;S.V343-4.The relulalion:B.Sid.p.30;S.V 345-54. \3) TheDoctine of the Discharyeol the ThreeDebts:ll is prepare hed thatritualistic injunclions onetorknowledge ol the Selflhroughsecuringdischargeol the lhreedebis, wilhlhatto lhe gods.Statemenl beginning and relulalion: B. Sid.p. 36i S.V.436. \4) VEw tha! knowledgeof the.Self entersthe Sphercol Ritualthtoughpurilyingthepedo nerol Bitual:8.Sed-p.28. The reiutalion: B. Sid.p.31; S.V.427-35. \5) The Dactine that the Whole Vedais concernedwith p.23andthe wholeot SectionThree Actsto be Done:B.Sld. (Niyoga Kanda); S.V477-541. Therelutation: B.Sid.pp.256: S.V 540-760. (6) DoctrinethatRitualmayhelpthe Riseol Knowledge because its Results differ accordingto Motive with which it is perforned:B.Sid.p.27.AccepledS.V.322.Acceptedwith a oua ticatron. B.Sid.o.36.
SL]l€svata
109
(7) TwoViewsaccordingto which Ritualgarc eithet for Purificalion or else Patts of the Discipline ol Knowledge: Accepledat B.Sid.pp.27-8,36. Doclrinethat ritualsare lor lor knowledg€, butlhattheymusibe awakening thedesire givenup tortheactualaliainmenl lortheAbsolute:S.V14, 322.Acceptance of th€ doctrane that rilualsare lo. purilicat i o nS : . V8 7 . 1 9 2 . 3 0 1 . (8\ Relutationof DifferenceiB.,Did.The wholeot Section Two (TarkaKanda): S.V 917-86. areexamin these.andin olherplaceswhererivalschools notonlyof meanined,thelwoworksshowa strikingsimilarily, ingbul evenol words. The Rival Doctrines Examinedin lhe SambandhaVattika lor purThelollowing is a listol someotherviews described posesoJrefutation Vartikawhicharenol noticed antheSambandha in lhe BrahmaSiddhi. (1)Thedoctrine areenjoined for thatsymbolic medilalions (2)The that liberaihe sakeof liberalion. S.V20. doctrine soirl, tion,unde6loodas abidingin one'snatureas individual action.S.V32. (3)Variousformsol arisestromfitualistic lhe doctrinethat knowledgeand actionare lo be combined in lhreewaysfor liberation. S.V 357. (4) Doctrinethal there i s a n i n j u n c t i o ni o p e r t o r m r e p e a t e dm e d i t a t i o n (prasankhyana). thatknowledge S.V761.(5)Thedoctrine is torthe sakeol meditation whichwil lurn leadto libera" lhat all is lhe lion.S.V.438.{6) Doctrinelhal knowledge oneSelfis onlya pieceof symboiic meditation. S.V439.(7) Doctrineof uppressionof the impressionsof the waking and olherslates.S.V441-2.(8) Doclrineof ihe suppres_ sronof the mind.S.V443. Andthereareolherdoctrines ol thesameking.Whylrandana ooesnot relerto lhemwhileSuresvata doesis nol clear.
110
Chapter.8
Relutationof Mandana'sPositionsin the Vartika The quesiionol whetherMandanaand Suresvarawerethe samepersonis muchdisputedthattheywerebothAdvaitinsand lhaltheyeachquotedfor theirownworkthansamearguments againstthe dualiststhatare lo b9loundin the worko1the other. It is also noticeablethat in lrandana'sbook one occasionally linds the argumontsand evenlhe wordsof the reveredCommentatorSankara.Fromthis one may conjecturethat the Advaitinshad been usingthesesameargumeniswith slight changes fora longtim6.ThencameSuresvara [s3.ya.whoaccepledandborrowed the arguments usedby N4andana andother lorerunners againstolherschoolswhetesuchargumentsdid not contradicthis ownsystem.Buthe relutedthe contractions even of memberso, his own school if they did contradicthis own system.And it appearslikelythat he did so at lhe comrnandoi hisGuru.Thiscanbe substantiated by a glanceat his Narskarmya siddhi. (1) lt is anob€dience to lhe comrnand ol my curu that I expoundthe secretdoctrinehiddenin lhe heartoi the Upanishads, whichendslransmigration and takesone lo jmmortality. I am awarethat il has also been explajnedby others.{N.Sid.l.3) This bookis writienneither1ogainfame,nor wealth,nor delerentialtreatment,but in orderto test lhe metalot my own knowledge al the touch-stone ol the God-realized sages.(N.Sid. t .6 ) Froma consid€ration of lheselwo versesone mightconjecture lhal when AcaryaMandana'sfame had spreadwide SuresvaraAc6ryacomposedan independent lreatrsecalledthe NaiskarmayaSiddhi.lts name was a faithlul rellectionol ils contents,sinceit was writlento helppeopleto establishthem, selvesin lhe actionless Sell thoughknowledge alone.lt was composedalso witha viewlo reluteMandana,who counselled
Suresvara
111
a combination ol know_ to practise oi liberation theonedesirous of knowlaffirmalion edgeand actlon(inihe tormof repeated was [r.V 38,4,ad tn.).Therefutalion edgeihroughmeditaiion, andaclionwerein iotal by showinglhat knowledge accomplished conlradiction. thatSuresvara combaledin thiscon_ Tvpicalol theteachings poinis. derivedlrornwords two Knowledge textwereihe tollowing whohasrisen andonlyheallainsliberation indireci, is ineviiablv andother ot lhe Sellthroughmeditalion awareness to immedlate that (lV.V. lalse appearances 101, 5, nole);the ve measures act persislevenalterknowledge offiheSelfcanonlybe broughlio on one'svisionof the realityallied an endby repeatedmeditation andothercasteduties(B Sid p.35, ol sacrllices 10pedormance by Sri Sankara, M.V.100,1)Thishadalreadybeencontradicled as the Jolbwinglexi shows. (2)Theknowledge thaloneis (intruth)everliberatedcomes lromthe holyiexlsandlrom no olhorsource.And knowl_ wlihoulfirst of a textis not possible edgeo1the meaning words ll rs callingio mindthe meaningol its component oi a wordis calledto mindon the certarn thatlhe meaning (inthe way one has anddillerences basisof agreements for whichit is in the meanings word used and heardthe know oneselas waY comes lo one madelo sland).In this pain and actlonThe Seli,boyond lhe puretranscendent of lhe inmoslSeli knowledge fromol authoritative clearest arlses (i.e.immediate basedon identity-leeling) awareness just lrom'Thou as it did lhou art', as'That lromsuchtexts art the tenth'(cp.Nl.V59, 14).(U.S (verse)XVlll.190-2 It was by quotingthesewordsof his Guruas his authority thal SuresvarereiLrtdd lhe docirineof repealedmeditalion (Prasankhavana Vada;N.Sid.lV 31-3;S.V 206-8)andalsothal in ol liberation of actionand knowledge lhrougha combinaiion comol this doctrine hisVartika re{ule Siddhi.To andNaiskarmva VAdika, binationhe wrotesomeversesin his Brhadaranyaka
S!resvaTa
beginningwilh on€ sayingthat onlyhe whowas withoutattachmentfor lhe en,oymenlof anythingin thisworldor the nextwas a fil candidatefor liberation. pleasures. (3)'Children runalterext€rnal . .'(Kalhall. i.2) pleasures and again?He whodesires and dwellson themis reborn'(Mund. lll. ii.2)andagain'Hewho hasno desires. . . (beingnothingbut th6 Absolute,he dissolv€sin the Ab: solute', Brhad.lV iv.6). (Havingthus doclaredlhal onlyhe who is indillerentto the enjoymentol objectsin this world andlhe nextqualifi€sfor metaphysicallgnorance,nothing is requiredbut metaphyscial knowledge, SriSuresvaracontinues: ) To removemetaphysical knowledge.And lo give riseto suchknowledg€,nothingelseis requiredexceptihe virluesbeginning withinnerand oulercontrol.In orderlo ol acquirethesevirtues,nothingis requiredbut purification purificalion the mind,andfor of the mindnolhingis required butthe pedormanceol the obligatorydailyritualas a duty. Sincethoughl,wordand bodilydeedarisosolelyfromignoranceof the Sell (readatma-ajnana), whenthal has b€en canc€lledby knowledgeol lhe S9lf,howcouldlher€b€ d6pendence (8.8.V l. iii.97-100) on actionafteMards? One may nole lwo turtherdoctrinesof the BrahmaSiddhi thatwererelutedby Suresvaralvlandana arguesasfollows.Every meaningful sentence communicalos a particular nol previously proclaiming knownto the hearerIn the Vedicterts lhs Absolute, we findihe universal notion'catlse'andthe universal nolion'being' conveyedby phrasessuchas'Thatfromwhich(thesecreatures areborn)'(Taitt. lll..1)and'Nolgross.. .'.The6eideas(inthemselvesunrversal) acquirea particular meaningnotknownthrough olher meansof knowledg€wh€nthoiruniv6rsalmeaningis narroweddownby themeaningol olherwordsinthe sentence, eith€r by wayof association or of exclusion;and thispalticular meanp. 157,cp.M. V 99, 1).Or ing is the burdenol the texl (B.Sid. plurality may be elfectedthroughrevelaagainthe elirnination of 'plurality' (read prapafrca-pdartha) tron-Themeaninbof the term
113
is alreadyknown.And the meaningof 'non-existence' is also The non'existence is the newlruthcommuknown. of plurality nicaledas a sentence-meaning by the associationlhesejwo (B.Sid.p. 157,cp. M.V 99,1). word'meaning Theselwo lheoriesare tefutedby Suresvara.He remarks againandagainthatthereis noassocialion or exclusion ol word' meaningsin textsteachingth€ idenlityof the true Seli withthe Absoluie. because lheinmoslnon-dualSelf cannolbethemean(N.Sid.lll.25, ingexpressed by anysentence 26;76. S.V902,90910;B.B.VL iv.1406-8, 1431;lll.iv.29,33,46; lll.v.100,184,190). In explaining the text'TheInfinite, verily,remains(Brhad.Vi.1) he expresses himselfthus: (4) Reallity, whichdoesnotadmilof anydistinction between Godandthe individualsoul, appears throughlgnorance to incl!dethisdistinclion. Whenlgnorance is abolished lhrough theknowledgo thatsays"neitherthis northat',onlytheSelf remains.Thereis seento be no association or exclusionot word-meanings to lorm a senlence-meaning, no evena negation whenlgnorance, the rootof all thesefalsenotions,is abulishedthroughauthoritalive knowledge derived (B.B.VVi.21-2) fromthe Vedain the mannerexplained. The Treatmentol the Doctrine ot Bhartrpraancain the The Vartika We havespokenso lar as il the principle doctrine lo be refutedln theNaiskarmva SiddhiandthetwoVerlikas waslhatol lVandana [,4isra. Bui il shouldbe rememb€red thatwhathasbeen describedabovecouldequallywellhavebeenintended10refule Bharlfprapafrca. Andthereare somestrongreasonsJorsuppos' ingthisto haveactuallybeenthe case.BecauseBhartrprapafrca was an exponeniof the doctrineof Dualilyin Nonduality, he accepledthe doclrinethatlhe meaningevonol the supreme texts oi the Veda was based on the mulualassocialionand exclusion o{ the word-meanings to forma senlence-mearrng.
I14
Chapter'8
'There When,in lhe passagejusl quoledabove,lhe Varlikasard s seen to be no associalionor exc usionol word meanrngslo (B.B.VV 22) iorrna sentencemeaning,nol evena negation' lhal a occurredin the courseot a relulationihat tolloweda interpretalion oi the lexl Thal is summaryol Bhartrprapaiica's n l i nt e . . . Likel\/landana, Bharlrprapaicaadvocaleda combinalon ol (l\,1. v 87).AlsolikeMandana, knowedgeandaclionfor liberalion he accepledlhal lor liberationthere had lo be a new lorm ol mmediateknowedge,dilferenilrom lhat conveyedofaly by the lexts (lvl .v. 84). Again, it s lrue lhal Suresvararelers (as I speakrngoi ft/andana)lo lhe doclrne ol those who say The knowedge I am the Absoule ar s ng lromthe upanshadrclexls depend son the assocaiion oi lhe meaningsof ts d tterenl to the real{non componentwordsand hencedoesnol penetrate prose (N.Sid. l.67, inlro.). Neverlhedua ) natureol lhe Self less. he atlributeslh s leachlngto lhose who sel store on lhe injuncton Once the w se man has acqurredknowedge of lhe Seli alone.he shoud pracliserepealedafirrmatron(Brhad V rv.2l ). And he does to anywheretake noliceol the allernatve rn lhe words to obedence to ihis lexl advocaledby l\,4andana 'Or allernatrvely it cou d be mainlaned llral an iniuncton would be uselesshere,as lhe desirableend which it promlsedwould alreadybe atla ned.Prolongedbroodng on somelhingin one's of rl and thal is m nd may grveriseto rmmediateapprehension a fesull alreadyatla nabe in this very life'(B.Sid.p 154, M.V 98.4). And lhere s anolherpoint.The wholelenor of Sri Sankaras cornmenlaryon the Brhadaranyakatjpanishadis ior h m to whilerel!ling lhal oi eslabish h s own methodol interpreialion Bhartrpranca.There is everyreasonlo suspecllhalaccornplshLngthis was lhe main reasontor lhe composlion bolh ol the commenlaryand of Suresvaras Vartikaexplainingil. And we havedescrlbedat engthin ChapterV aboveon Bhartrprapaica how both the commentaryand lhe Verl ka estab|shthe r own
SLrresvara
I t5
vrew oi lhe meaningol lhe lexl ot the Brhadaaranyaka aiter relutingthat of thartrprapaacaal every slep. But we t nd no elaboraterelulalionol IVandanaot this kind eitherin the corn menlaryor lhe Varlika.And we find lhe lollowingremarkrnlhe commentary,relerring10Bhartrprapanca:'therefore, allthose who are c everal thinkrngup dillerenlinterpretatonsoi lheVedaexp a l the meaningol lhe upanshadiclext diiierenlly. Evenso, I wou d accepl anylhrngthat relexldillerenlly, Even so, lwould accepl anythinglhal represented the true meaningof lhe Veda have nothrng a g a i n s tl h e m p e r s o n a l y( B r h a dB. h . l l . r i r . 6 ,c p . M v . 1 0 , l l l , n o l ,p . 2 6 ) (l) They say (lhat is, Bharlrprapaicasays,) One shoud alwaysmed lale ntenselyon the Absolute the rea . n ts supremeformas the whole,bothas a collectrve wholeand as a syslemoi nler-relaledparls'.somelimeshe speaks ol the Abso utes constlutinga wholeas implyinga series ol stales,alongwrlha cerlainbeingassumingthosestates, sometrmeshe describesthe Absoluiein lerms oi a cause assocraledwilh ils efiects.Sometimesthe great lh nker descrbes il as a whole dividedinto dllierentparls. as a wheel s drvrdednto hub, fe y and spokes.Dd he learn Ihal, I wonder,t.om the true tradilion?(B.B.V l. iv. 948-
s 0 ). . greatexpertin the tradilionwho ho ds, There s a (so-called) ior sooth,thal p uralilyand |rnilyare one and the same.He sa d lhal name,lorm and aclionare bothditlerenland non, dillerenlirom lhe Absolute(8.8.V.L v. 46) . . . And thereare rnorepassagesin this vetn,such as: There is anotherol lhesegreatluminaries(Bhartrprapanca ) who explaineh d e f e l a l i o na s t o l l o w s. . . ' ( B . B . Vl l . r2 1 ) . S l u denlsmusl examinethesetwo views(thoseof Sankaraand Bhartrprapaica ) and acceptwh cheverseemsto thembest' iB.B V. ..255). A certainpersonwho regardedh msellas a greal -oxpeftinlheupan shadsinvenledan inlerprelaton
ChapreFS
ol own, with great ingenuily,and spokeas iollows,qu le actually of whal the Upanishads wilhoutany underslanding (brahmaAbsolulist is another mean'(B.B.Vll.ii.90).'There vadin)who explainsthe example(of the spokes hub and ll. v.15)diffefentlyn fellyof a well givenat Brhadaranyaka a orderto suit his own dogmasaboutthe Self constituting Here, a N,r1.V.86,4) (B.B.V. 11.v.67, cp. forth' whole and so piece wrsdom ol greal genious a spec al taught,as certaln lhai a personis not I nallylib_ supp ed lree by Vaisvanara, erated even when he has been liberatedfrom his lwo bodies "Theretore (B.B.v.lll.ii.41). the wholedoctrinethatlhe Abso lute s both one as a collectiveunity and many as the d fferentiatedparts is a rneresuperstllronll may Dea spec al preceol wisdomsuppliedlree by Vaisvanara,but il does n01obeythe rulesol reason(8.8.V lV. ii.1187) Dependlng (not on reasonbut) on a free donationof wisdom lrorf (B.B.VlV iv-391).This was lhe explanaton Vaisvanara... sup givenby that augustsage,lhe greal Bharlrprapaaca, (B.B V lV v 4l2) porledneitherby the Vedanor by reason He explainedit olherwisewith marvellousingenurty (B.B.V.V..28). In lhese and otherpassages,the doctrineol Absolutismas nfectedwith plurality,and ihe doclrineof liberationthfougha ot knowledgeand activilywere t relessy rnocked cornbination and criticizedin hundredsof ways.When Suresvararepeatedly specifiedthe irue naiure ol the Self or Absolute as ne lher lranscendenlnor immanenthe probablyhad Bharlrprapahcan mind-Bhartrprapaicawho heid thal the Absolulewas a un 1y as a colleclivewho e and a pluralty as a systemol nterreate ad p a r l s ( B . B . Vl.. i v .5 2 9 ,6 5 6 , 1 4 4 5 ;1 i . i . 8 83,6 1 ; l i i i i l 2 ; l l v l 8 ; i v . 4 1 1 , 4 7 3l lil . i x . 1 5 6l V; . 1 . 3 6 81; V i v 5 6 9 , 8 4 6 - 7 , 1 2V9 8110 ) Puttinga this together,it seernsmofe reasonabe to sup poselhat Bhartrprapanca was s ngledout as lhe chielopponent to be refuted.And lhere is anotherrelatedpoint lhal requres was vrttion the Brhadafanyaka l{ Bharirprapa6ca's investigatlon.
Suresvara
117
so we I known n lviandana'sday,why is il that rneticulousphiloso' pher drd nol so much as vouchsaleil a glance?As I am nol mysel able lo settlethis doubtJulquesiion,ljust raise il and whilewe ourselveswrllcarry oller t lo philoogistsand historians, on wilh the malterin hand. Secause the unity and sole realily ol the sell expresses itself by nalure as awareness, il is self-evident porntedout thal the Selfwas seli The reveredCommentalor trevident.He sad, The Sell is not a thing lhal a supersedes The and sell-manitesl. anylhng e se; tor il s self-eslablished meanso{ knowledgebe ong lo it. ll does nol dependon lhem to M.V.28,3).'We do not base eslablsh 1sexislence(B.S.Bh.ll.iii.7, our doctrineol the unilyand solerealitvof the Sellon lhe aulhor ilativemeans oi knowledge,since ihe Self is bare irnmediale awarenessby very nature.so we shallshowlaterthal no means ol knowledgeapp y to t. The meansot knowledgelhemselves resl in and dependon awareness'1hrs textof Suresvara(N.SLd. .8S)shows thal h s teachrngiully agreedwilh sri sankaraon lh s po nt ln rnanyp aces in the Vartlkait is poinledoul lhat lhe presenceand a so the absenceoi meansof knowledgecan on y be eslablshedby the seli as awareness,and lhat the sel s selt-evd€nt For instanceihereis the verseKrrowef, knowledge, knownand cerlil!d€ a dependior their establshmenton the presencecl the Self On whal,lhen,cou d lhe Sel{dependlor rts o!^rneslab shmeni?{B.B.V,Liv.870),and thereare manyolher s r n a r t e x t s ( e q . B . B . V 1 1 . i . 5 5 2l ,l l . i v . 9 1 ,l V i i . l 9 l 6 ,
r v . 8 9 1. .) . llletaphysicallgnorancein Suresvara The reveredComrnentalor, it is weil known,said: Superim' post on lhus delin€dlhe wrsecal lgnorarrce' (B.SBh.l..l . ntro.. c p l , / 1 . V . p . 1 9M) .a n d a n a ,l o r h i s p a i t , s p o k e o l n a l u r a l {begnnrngless)melaphysicallgnorancen lhe ind vidualsouls
|8
Chapter-8
erthernon-apprehen{B Srd.p.12).But he posedthe allernalive, (B.Sid.p.9),and then expresseda sion or false apprehension p r e f e r e n c e b y s a y il n gg n o r a n c se p o s i t v e e r r o r ( B . Spi d. 1. 1 , c p . [,4.V.92).He aso said, Becauseboth lgnoranceand the nd]' v dua soul are beginningless,likelhe cycleol seedand sprout, il fo ows lhat the questionof circularargumentdoes not aase (B.Sd. p.10,cp. M.V94,1).Bhartrprapaicasaid,'lgnoranceis lt ar ses ol lts own accord, ia ure to realize"l am all"' (l\,1.V820. p parls 79, like desert aces on ol the surlaceoi the eart (1v1.V.. l noreJ. The senlencesrcferredta in StiSankara'sCammentarywhen he was cansideringBhatttpnpahca's daclrtne have been given in very summary form here, But they are clearly reporled tn Suresvara's Vartika and quated in the sub commentaty there. 'lgnorance is a pawer of the Lard, even thaugh natural luncaused)".Thercfore,when it is manifest,it affects anly a part of the Lord and has its seat in this individualsoul' qfiandagirion B B.V. ll. iii.122).'As deserls and the like occupy same places an the earth only,and are nat universal attributeschanclerizing the whole surt'aceof the earth everywhere,sa Ignorancets nat a. at!.tbutcat ha
Su.esvara
119
.As metaphysical Conscousr1ess' (B.B.V 1.iv.1329). lgnorance is establishedthroughtmmediateexpenenceonly,jusl like lhe imrnediateexperience"l am the Absolute,', so, when deslroyed throughthe 11seol an authontalivecognttion,it dissolvesand turnsintothe Seii'(S.V117).Thesetexisshowthat lgnoranceis occasonallydeclaredby Suresvarato be subjectto cancellation throughtheauthoritative meansof knowledge. We shallherequote some lurlher versesfrom the Vartikasto throwlighton this. (1)The sole causehere is impermanenllgnorance,which means l do not know'.lt is established {nol by any authori talivemeansoi knowledgebut)onlythroughone,sown ex_ pefienceol it, I ke the owl'sexperience of nightof day.(f B.V 176) The phrase'cause here'means the cause or appare limitationssuperimposedon the Self.
oe-
(2) He who wouldwish to see lgnorancewit the sightpro, ducedby the authoritative meansol knowledgeis keone hoprnglo see the darknessin the depthsoi a cave w th a lamp.Whateverappearshere in the worldas ,not_selt,is a resultof lgnorance.Henceit is also calledlgnorance.But knowledgehas only one lorm, lhat of ihe SeJl.lgnorance has no othernaturebut failurelo apprehendthe Sell.lgno_ rance s non-knowtedge' in the sense oi.the oppositeol k n o w l e d g ea' s, a ' n o n J r i e n jds' t h e o p p o s i i e oaff r j e n d . T h e conceptionwi alwaysbe intelliglble in this sense.(T.B.V. u.177-9) The nature of lgnoranceas not-self js simpty nan_perceptian af the Self. Non-perceptionol the Self is catted lgna_ rance (avtdya,Iiterallynon-knowledge)becauseit is thecon tradictoryof knowledge(as'non-cat', in logjc, js the cantra dictory af'cat'). ,3 \or ca. lhe theorVrhal lgno.alce afisessponlanaoLsy from the supremeSell, ljke deserl placesappearinghere
chapter.S
124
and lhere on the surlaceol the earth, be correct.ll lgno_ rancearoselrom lhe supremeSell,lt wouldmeanthat lib_ weredeslroyed, Or it lgnorance erationwouldbe impossible. ol lhe Selt., lhen on thislheoryit wouldirnplythe destruction the erroneousdoclrineof lhe Buddhisis.(B.B.V.ll.iii.130_1) Thesetwo verses werc compasedto rclule Bhartrprapaica. Objections and answers on lhe subjeclof Metaphysical lgno' rance In lhe courseol reilectingon the lopic ol lhe cessalionoi lgno_ rance,the iollowinghypothelicalobjeciionwas raised I the B r a h m aS i d d h . r 1) Srncethe Absoluteis elernal,ils essencets ndeslrucl_ ible.lgnorance,lheretore,(whichrequireslo be deslroyed) canncl be of lhe nalureol the Absolute.lgnorancemust eilherbe or nol be diffefentlrom the Absolule.ll it is not diitereni,whai couldtherebe in it thatcouldbe deslroyed? ll So lel us say that lgnoranceis mere non'apprehenslon. ule. . . . {rom ihe Abso couldnol lhen be anythingdifierent puts Bul knowledge which an endto lgnorancers elernally preseniin the Absolute.And nothingelse aparl irom lhe lgnoAbsoluleexisls.. lt, on the olher hand,metaphysical lhen how couldil rancewere posilivewrongapprehension. be broughlio an end? For we have now pointedout how such a theoryhas defecls,whelherlgnorancebe laken as be ng olthe nalureoftheAbsouleornolol its nalure (B.Sid. pp. 8-9,summarzed) The answergivento ihis objeclionwas as Iollows (2) gnorances nol partot the nalureoi the Absolute,nor rs I a secondthingover aga nst il, nor rs I a togelherunrea. n o r s i t r e a l . T h a ls w h yt h i sl g n o r a n c1esc a L e dM a y aa n d a Ialseappearance.lf il were lhe nalureol anylhlng.lhen. whelherdillerentlromthal thingor nol,it wouldbe periectly
Suresvara
121
rea and so would not be lgnorance_ But il it were tolally Ltnreat, trkea llowersupposedto be growng in the sky, il wouldnoi enterintoexperience. So it is indelerminabte (eilher as reat or unreal,LSid. p.9)...lf the matter is concervedthus, lgnorancemay be taken as belonging10the indivdual souts,regardedas dirt€rentlrom the Absolute, wrthoulthe deieciscomplainedot by the opponent,(B.Sd. p . 1 0 s, u m m a r i z e d ) On the same lopic, an objectionis quotedlrom lhe Sloka Vartlkaoi Kumarita. (3) ll rgnorance werelhe true natureoi anylhing,il couldnot be exlrrpatedever.For what exists naturallycan only be deslroyedby the advenlol some dilferentexternaitactor. Bu1lhose who claimlhat all is the one Seli cannol admt the advenl oi any dillerent externatfactor (S.V. Sarnbandhaksepa PariharaSS,6;cp.tV.V95, inlro.) The relulalionof the objecllonby l\randana is throughappea ro lhe rn delerminabilily ol lgnorance.But lgnoranceis never lound reierredto as indeterminable anywherein Suresvara,s Varl ka. I rs lhereaccepledas betngof the narureor non apprenenson, expfessedas the feellng,ldo nol know,.So we musl if nk how lh s objectionwouldhave been met by Suresvara.In r'r s aonneclon Ihe loilowtngverses are worthyol considera, l.lrThoughth/smelaphys/cal ignoranceis nalurat,it is mani festonlyon accounlof the Selfas immedtateexperence.lt rs ousledand destroyedby knowledge,as darknessis de slroyed by lhe riseol the s!n. Begrnningiess lgnorancers seen lo be destroyedin an instanlby metaphysicat knowtedge u.hichhas begrnningin time.We do nol acceptthal sLJcn(nowtedgerequiresrealfirmaton.Thoughhis our in_ nrosl Sel{ is thus self-uminousand is the Witnessof atl lnorance and ils eltects,yet it is not propery known bef o r e n r e t a p h y cs a l k n o we d g e h a s a r s e n t h r o u g ht h e
122
C h a p l e r8
upanishadicdisc pline,as our won rmmedate experence (ot ldo not know') ndicates.(S.V 1088-90) Here rs what the passagemeans.lgnoranceis nalura, tor we havethe immedate experience'ldo not know. And we see in experience how priorabsenceol knowedge s re everywhere knowedge,without movedonceand lor all lhroughadventitious there beingany questionol the need for re-affrrnatonoi such 'Howcou d there knowledge,Norshouldone ra se the oblecton be lgnorancein the Absolute,which is knowledgeby nature?' For beiore lhe rise ol metaphysicalknowledgelhrough the !panrshadictexts as adm nrsieredby a Teacher,the Se I can as the ignoranlone and as un appear(lhroughlgnorance)both k r o w n . l h o u g hr l s e l ti h e W i n e s s o f a 1 lk n o w e d g ea n d l g n o lgnorance. eventhough rance Andso in lhiswayourmetaphysica is broughtlo an end buy lhe adnalural(andso beginningless), venlitrousmelaphyscal knowledgear singfrom lhe Vedictexts. Nor shoLrd one .aiselhe objection,How ca. lhis be so. f nolhn! apart lrom lhe Absoluteexisis?'Forwe acceptall experiknowledge ence as lcomes beiorelhe riseof metaphysical Very wel . Bul how do we exp ain how lgnorancecould be eslablshedby rmmedate experience?And il t can be shown tiral t s so eslab shed, how coud il be lhat def€clsare nol ftrodLrced intoIhe Absolutethroughcontactw th gnoranceand ts ellecls?And how could t, i estab shed by immedraleexpe' r ence,be broughtto an end?On thrssublectwe havelhe Io owng vefses, (5) Everyone,evenchildren,w I expresstherrnaturallgno' rancebasedone experiencewhenaskedaboulsomething wiLL say. Ido nol oi whrchthey have no knowledge.They know anylhrngaboul rl. . ln regardlo th ngs lhat are en likethrngson the rool t re y beyondthe rangeof experience. lhLrsno d flerenlfrorn wakingexperiences ol lhe Hrmalayas, n experlenceilno break here .lraamess sleep There s ii.\'r Arrdlirhen sa i as $ie ha'/elhe experieace io nol
Suresvara
123
we see sornething lhal tormerlywe drdnotsee, (theremusl have been experienceof nol seeingsince)we knowaller, wards Formery I did not knowit'. (S.V.993, 995,6). ln lhings thataretolally beyondthe rangeof expeience, ane knaws from ane s own experienceof'lda not know'lhat they are not known.This is establishedlitst, and lhen suresvard gaes on ta shaw how a persan may say of samethinghe naw eyes, 'Up ta now, I did not knaw il . The idea ts the show that all ignoranceE e stabrshes by experience. t6 gnoranc. s e-ldblisqedby one r own e\oerienca .ven thoughthe Se I is free trom lgnorance.Belorethe rise ot lhe knowedge lhal all is the one Self.we have the exper e n c e l d o n o t k n o w ' (. B . B . Vl . l V . 2 l 6 ) . ln lhat tyhtch.because l6 of the very nalure cf immediale 2t',/ateness.lhere can be no lgnorance, there is nevertheless, ielore lhe rise of metaphysicalknowledgeof lhe Self the nation estabhshedthraugh immediale awareness l do rot knaw my l7) That pr nc ple (theSeli) s sell-revealed. Thereforet is everfreeirom lgnorance,Thatwh ch s everireefrom lgno rance s iree aso from the impurtes thal spfingfrom lhe a t l s r ( B B . V .l i v . 2 1 3 ) The neaning is lhat the Absolute is nol lauched by lgna rance at its effects because it is ever sell"evtdentta lself. (8) He who has knownlhe Seli n its lrue nalureknowsthat i1sconnecton with lgnoranceimpossible in past,presenlor luture ll rs then seen lhat the nolionlhai the pre Sell was connectecj with anylhingelsewas onlyestablished through ack of retleclion.(B.B.V Liv.217) The enlighlenedone whoknows theSell in immed@ieexpeleFce hes the convictian lgnaranceis tmpassiblein me in pasl, p'Esenlor fulurc-The nalionof connec onwi!h lanatance\/as
124
Chapler-8
eslablish only through lack ol rcllection - that is the meaning. Thefacttha! lgno?nce and itsellectsarc estabtished onty lhrough lack ol rcllection i6 often mentioned in the Varika, lor exampte in such places as: B.B.V.l.iu1170, 1529, t341: .iii.t92, 224: lll.iv.131; lll.vi.42: lll.viii.31; lViv.3O7. (9) Merelyhom the rise ol the correctidea kom the iexl 'Thal thou a 'one findthat lgnorance,togetherwith ils eflects,neverexistedin the past,does not existnow,and wtll neverexistin the luture.And so il is not possble lo show by aulhorilalive meansol knowledgelhat lgnorance betongs lo the Self,or to explajnits natu.e or indicaleits source. For its sole exislenceis our experienceoi it. He who is afflicledwith lgnorancecannotdeterminethe lruth about that lgnorance,lt is only one who has experienced lhe final realiiywho can make the discovery,by relerenceto that, 'lgnorance does not exils'.(S.V 1e3-4,179). The cessationof lgnoranceis onty intelligibleit lgnatance is seen to be established only thraugh lack af reftectjan. is anty (htough the vision of ane wha has knawn the Setf that ane can say, ll cloes to exist', because only after such visian will one have seen tha!, unlikethe Self, tgnoranceis not se| estabtished. And so, from he standpointof vtsionof the fjnattruth, questions such as'What is the nature of lgnorance?, ar ,Wheredjd it come fram?'are simply not raised (as it is known that Ignatance had ln the viewol Suresvara,lackof metaphysicat knowtedgeis the causeoi lransmigfatoryexperience.Therefore he lays il down: 'Failure to realizethai one s olvnSell is the sole realitys called melaphyscai lgnorance.lts seat is the Self as immedialeexpe, rence. lt s the seed ol lransmigration. lts deslructionconslitules lhe liberaiionol the soul' (N.Sid.1.7)_ On th s proinl,lhe M mamsakasand othersraisean objec llon. Absenceof authorilaliveknowLedge may assumeone ol
S!resvara
125
threeIorms- wrongknowledge, absenceol knowledae or doubl. [ro ol lFes6.{w,ongknowledge and osubtj,b.rrg p;srtrverea I lies,are explrcatrie as due to somedelectin thetactorsof knowl, edge (Kumarila,S.V CodanaSutra54). Basingths...1r...|1 th s texl from an acknowledged authorjiy,lhey hotdthat erroneous knowledge,beinga positivereality,can functtons a cause. bul thalmere ackol knowledge cannotbe regarded as the cause oi tranmigralory experience, becauseil is nol a postllverealily. Th s was probablylhe reasonwhyAcaryaMandanalaidthe ma; emphass on posttiveerroneousknowledgeas lhe nature ol lq, ' r o r o _ L er e m a r kn g . N o n - a p p . e h e n s r o n . b e i n ga n o n - e n r . i y (abhava).cannol be the cause ol anythjng'(|Vj.V.92. intro.i. Agd _srlhrs SsLresvaraargJeoas Iollows. (l0) Afe you sayingthat,in the case of error, what is ne_ gatedby an authoritalive meansof knowedgeis rcality?ll realiiywere negatedthus,whatwoutdbe tefitor an authorilalrve means of knowledgelo knou/?...How could fa se t o w e d g et o b e ' e d l t t yT? l e l a t s es " o r t n p r a , t t ^ q n a - L -JJ; o, hnowlpdoebeing lalse and 'l o"'"g ,"at,t;- lh; on y come irom a greatgeniuslike Kurnarila.Even ri the erfoneo!snottonot a snakeor lhe lk€
were raken asarearity '" n""n, n*",ioll,inflt"l,:.li"jr: pearancewhenidentified withthe rope,and,as such,would be contradjcled and cancelled by knowledge o, the latter.lf erroneousknowedge hada cause,as it doestn Kumanla,s tfreory,then he oughl to be able to stalethat cause. L he were lo say il was a real etlectbut had no cause. thal would be laughedoul of courl evenby children... The iact is lhal ,wrong n the tnad absenceol knowtedge,, knowtedoe,and 'doLol . absence(B.BV.t.tv.423.425.7,1368) Wl at s arquedhercis thatetrons7us4nsr1.^.a;.2n tt^rc.,t | ,L,sth^c t that non.ent y) ot knowtedge n", ,r"*nii i" canttadictedand cancel absenceedby authoriAtive "", knowledge. ntnce erroneous knowledge can anly a se as a resul! of ab-
126
ChapleFS
sence of knowledge,the Mimemsakas'obiection was incoffect. The treatmenl ol lgnorance by Sri Sankara and Suresvara Compared In the inlroductionto his Brahma Sitra Comrnentarv.Sri Sankaradeclareslhal erroneouscognitionis superirnposil on. He says: ;'Andyet, thoughlhese two principles(Selfand nonself.pures!bject and object)are utterlydislinclin nature,there s a failureio dislinguishone lrom the other,and each,logether wilh its atlribules.is suDerimoosed on and identifiedwilh ihe other.Andlromlhat thereresulisihis naturalworldlyexperience, basedon erroneousknowledgeand involvinga synthesisof the rea wlh the ialse, whlch expressesitsell as "l am this" and "Thisis mine" (N4.V22,4).He also says'Superimposition is oi the natureoJ a lalse idea' (8.S.Bh.1.i.1 inlro. tin.). he ad And , deciaresmetaphysical lgnorance10be thal very erroneouscognition,synonymouswith superimposition. ln Suresvara's Vanika,however,metaphysical lgnoranceis said10be non-discriminalion, ol the nalureol lackot or absence oi knowledge,For example,we havei'Therelationbelweenthe Self and lgnoranceol the Self is held to be that between the Sell afd 'beingconslilutedby the Self withoutbeing awareof lhe facl'.This lundamental lailureof discriminalion, calledlOnoranceot one'stfue Self,is said to be lhe causeof (theapparenl existenceof all) lhe creaturesof the world'(B.V Liv.381).A luriherversewas addedto indicaleihal absenceol knowledge 'Absence was ihe one core ol erroneousknowledge. of knowledge, constantlypresenl as il is, is identicalwith erroneous knowledge;as causeand erfecl,they are constantconemilanis' (B.B.V.Liv.386).An he makes his view clear wiih the verse, 'Fromdoubtwe deduceabsenceol knowledge.Fromwrongknowiedgewe deducethe same.lf we are asked,'Whatis the essence ol doubl and wrongknowledge?'wereply'Theiressenceis absence ot knowledge'(B.B.V l.iv.440).
Suresvara The reveredCommentalorSankarahad declaredopen y thal was to pu1an end to super' the sole purposeof the Upanishads leachingis beimposition,saying,'Andihe entireupanishadic gun lo communicateknowledgeol the sole realityot ihe one the causeol Sell,and lhus lo put an endto thissuperimposition, inlro.ad fin.) But Suresvarareversedthis all evil'(B.S.Bh.l..'1, righl viewand slaledhis own viewvery clearlyas follows:'When knowl knowledgearisesit cancelsand conlradiclsabsenceoi thereis no neediorfurther edge.Whenthat has beencancelled, eiforts1o cancel posltve erroneouscognition.The facl lhat a fa se cogniiloncan be cancelledis only so becauseil lmp es absenceof knowledge.How can ia se cognlltonharm us when (8.B-V Liv.437'8)So the queston is rool has beendeslroyed?' ar ses whichview is between,and I shallexplan whal appears to rneto be the truthin this maller, The reveredCommentatorsaid that lailureto discrminale i h e S e l f a n d t h e n o t - s e l fw a s t h e c a u s e o f t h e i r m u t u a l But in sayingthis he was only concernedwilh superimposition. For he the m nd funclionng as the basisot empiricaiexperience. says,'throughthe fa lurelo dislinguishone fromthe other(Sell and nol self)...there resulisthis worldlyexperiencebased on intro.).In his Gila commentary wrongknowedge'(B.S.Bh.l.l.1, 'a whichis iniact(nota leal too,we i nd lhe words, "coniunction" of ihe Fleldand conjuncton but)a meremutualsuperimposilion the Knoweroi the Fie d (M.V p. 35) togelherwlththeirallribules, a superimpos t on that is condilionedby a ialiurelo discrimnate lwo ullerlydistnct entitiesone ifom the othef (Bh.G.Bh.Xll-26, superlmpostion cp. Ml.V.251,6). In ordinaryworldlyexperience, ol silveronio a piece oi shell occurs when there is lailureto d scriminale shellandsilver.When belweenthe lwo phenomena, iron the reveredCommenlalorsaid lhat our mulualsuper,mpos of Sell and noi'seJ was condilionedby a iailureto distrnguish belweenthe lwo, he was assumingfor p!rposes ol exposilion that lhe same lhing thal happensin the case oi the shellsilver error happensalso in ihe case ol that superimposition of Self
124
Chapler8
and nol sell lhal conditionsall empiricalexperienceBul lhe two casesare noi lhe same.In lhe case ol the worldlyexarnple,the one who saw lhe silverwas alreadyestablishedas indrvldual empircal expefiencebelorehe saw il. In the caseof lhe mutual superimposition oi the Seil and not-self,however, the Sell is nol alreadyeslablishedas an individual experence belorelhat super mposrtronrs nrade.The sell, ai thal slage is not (yel an ndivdua experiencerand so nto) yet in a posilionto'lail to d scrrminateSell and not se l'. So we cannotspeakol any such {ail!rrelo discrimrnale as the causeot the mulua supermposit on ot Sell and not selt. For lhe teachingis that becomingan nd vrdu?lexperencercan on y occurthroughthe sa d supenmposrlon. lt lo ows lhal (rnlhe caseof lhis in I al superimposilion that makesall olherspossible)it was not inlendedto assertreal Iemporalsequencebelweennon-discriminalion and superimpo sition,but onlylogicalsequenceaccordingto the conceptions oi lhe humanrnindlhe COnceplion of superimpositlon impliesthe conceplon ol non-discriminalion as rls ogicallypriorcondilion. As lor the objectron lhal lhere are no exceplionsto lhe rule thalabsenceoi knowledge is lhe causeof all emp ical phenomena, becausewrongknowledges ts eilect-1h s obleclionmay be answeredon srm aT nes as lollows.The whoe nolion ol causeand ellecl,we may say,lallswithinsuperimpost on. For unirlsupermposilionhad lselfalreadycome nto being,il cou d n o t s e i u p l e m p o r a ol r c a u s a ls e q u e n c ew , h i c h d e p e n do n Hence our own view is that, n relalionto lhe Sef, all ap, pearancgof non apprehension, doubtand Wrong-apprehenston riseI superimposlt on, and thal in this conlexlthere s no occasion to enquireintothe natureof its materialor eff crentcause. as lhere mighlbe in lhe case of lhe rncidental superimposilions thatoccurin lhe courseOlempiricalexperience. Forthereversed Comrnenlalor says. Thus lhis natural(i.e.uncaused)beginnrng lessand endlesssupermposrton, whjch s of the nalureol la se
Suresvara
129
. dJin.) s u p p o s i t r o n(. B . . . S B h . l . i . 1i ,n l r o a And Suresvaraacceptsthissarneview,butexpressest n a dilierentway by sayrngAbsenceol knowledge,constantlypresenl as I s, s dentcal wilh erroneousknowledge'(8.8.V,1.iv.386, p.311). So one should not supposelhat there is any cp. N.f.V. tundamenlaldifference belweenlhe lwo systemson lhrshead. W h e n t h e m a l l e r s e x a r nn e d i n l h i s l g h t , i l s I a r t o s e e trealmenlot non-apprehension andlalseapprehenSuresvara's sion as d rectedonly lo reiutinga pariicularform of the lheory that metaphysicalgnorancewas erroneouscogntlon-lhe Iorm n wh ch that doctrinewas advancedby anolherschool(ihatol Bul wrongapprehension, non-apprehension andcloubl Mandana). (r.e.w ihin can on y occur n lhe caseof an ndividualexperiencer lhe realmoi superimposition). Such is our own view o{ the mal' ler. Enquiry into the seat ol ignorance and the obiect wilh it conceals The Brahmas ddhi raiseslhe question'Towho does nrela physcal Lgnorance belong?'andanswer'Wesay "it be ongs to the indrvidualsouls"'(B.Sid.p.10).We have alreadyexamined a Bhartrprapaicaheld thal rneiaphysc th s v ew (M.V.94;95). gnorancesprngs sponlaneoLrs y fromthe Abso ute,and,modify ng a pori on oi the latler,has ts seat in the indlvidualsou . lt s, however,a characterisl c oi the nofsef- Lislen now to lhe wordsol Suresvara. (1) Now,lgnorancecannolexislrn the void.ll musl always Furtherwe have ol somecneaboutsomething. be lgnorance alreadyeslablished thatiwo calegoriesexist,and on y lwo. the Selfand lhe not'selt.Fromlhis it followsthatthe seatol lgnorance(lhe consciousbeingwhich lgnoranceailecls) cannolbe the nol-seli For the very nalureol the not'sef rs lgnorance,and lgnorancecannolaf{ectlgnorance.Even i it coLrld, whal dillerencewouldthe tiseot lgnorancen lgno
Chapler8
130
rafce bringaboul(thatwe couldsay thal il was an eventat a l?l Nor s the atla nmentoi knowedge possiblen the nol'sei, thaton-acouldarguelhattheremusthavebeensomecontradctory lgnorancein the nol-sell(for it to negate).Furlher,lhe not_ seii is born oi lgnorance.ll is absurdto supposethal wh ch is ogrcalyand causaly pr or can only ex st supporledby and de pendenton is own efiect.Nor,again,has lhe not se I any form ndependeniof and d Iferenilrom lgnorance.wherebyil could serveas ls seat and supporl. ol lhe nol sell Thesearguments(wh ch retuleihe possibilily serv ng as the seatoi lgnorarce) alsc,showihal t cannotbe the objectconceaed by lgnorancee lher.Thereforethe nol-selfls ne ther the seato{ lgnorancenor the obleclconcealedby lgno Hencewe conclude,as the only femaningallernatve lhat i1 s the Seli a one wh ch is both lhe seat of and the obleclcon_ c e a e d b y l g n o r a n c eA. l l o i u s h a v et h e e x p e r i e n c eI d o n o l kfow . and in the V€dawe hear'l am on y a knowelol lfre man 1 r a sm , y c r d ;I d o n o l k n o wt h e S e l f ' ( C h a n dV l l l . 3 ) . l\or oo -.r'gLrenl.!
tsrhle
?gain-l rF
o
q.rdssacl
01lgnofanceapp y to the Seli.)TheSel{, ndeed. s not rdenlca1 !,r'th gnoranc€,s nce its natureis pureConscousness.[/oTeo ver, (lhe flse ol) gnorancen the Se f producesa d fierence n ol knowledge. And atialnrnenl oi knowlthe formol an obstruction poss oj know edge s ble because the Se i s lhe source edge oi being an eliecl oi lgnoNor has the Se I the characlerlslic lhe not-sef iromiunc rance,(which,as we haveseen,prevented t oningas ils seat):for t is rock ilrm and raisedh gh abovea changeby nalure.And I na ly,the conscoLs Se i has a formand wherebyii canserve lndependent o{lhoseoi lgnorance, existence as a seat ior the laller.Hence we conc ude that t s ihe Sel a one that s aiiectedby gnorance.
131
What.then. s the oblectconcealedby this lgnoranceper larningio the Sei/The Selfis thal objecl.Bll is rt nol a lacl lhal gnofancers ncompatble wilh the Seli,srncethe latteris ot lhe very natureo1knowedge,and is withouldifferentlation (sothal t cannotserveas a seat lor lgnorance,whichwouldimp y a dlstincton belweenthe seatand the thingseated)?And is it nol lhe case lhai the Sell givesr se to knowledge,and s contradiclory to lgnorancein olherway too? To this oblecton we rep y that lgnoranceis compaliblewith the Seli. For in realltythe Self remalnsund Ilerentialed.t ap pearsto becomed lfereniialed inioknower,knowledge andknown throughmere gnorancealone,jusl as il is throLrgh mere igno rancethat the rope appearsto becomea snake-the Seli and in really quiteunaiiected.Hencewhen gfothe roperemainrng ranceis shakenoll lhere s completeabsenceol alllhe evilsof d L i a l i l lyN. S d l l 1 n t f o . ) AnciSuresvara'sview is lhat from lhe standpoint of the highest truth there is no lgnorancelor anyone. (21No.Thenotionihal lgnorancehas ils seat in the Absoute anc!belongsto rt is itselfonly magned in gnorance. Fronrthe standpon1oi lhe Absolute,lgnorance can intoway e xs t ( s . v r 7 6 j . Whal s heresaidis ihal lhere s no olherm€iaphysicagnorance,wilh ls seat in the noi-selfoverandabovelhe lgnorance s,.eledin the Se I thalobscuresthe Self Bul lhis does not mean llral one can rlterprelSuresvaralo be sayinglhal there s no otlref gnoranceat the empificalevel,suchas lgnoranceol she rnlhe shell s ver error.Thatwoulddrsagreewith h s arguments menl ofed severalt mes jn the prevous secton (M.V112) and supporledwilh the usualexampleslike the rope-snake,aboul absen.e ol knowledgebeinga iacior (andthe iundanrental iactcr) n error,over and abovelhe erroneouscogniltontsef But Iiori the stafdpo nt of the highestlruth lhere is on y one lgno
t32
Chapter8
rance,which has the Self lor its seat and aiso lor the object whrchil conceas. Thereare not reallyiwo dilferentkindsoi lg_ norance.And that Lsallhewishedtosay.Ths w be madeclear at lvl.V1T5 (wherehe deniesa realilylo lhe s ver ereor).We have alreadyreferredat [1.V.69,9 to his refutaton ol the doc_ lfine o{ two klndsof lgnorance.Thai was said in the courseot Vadins(exponents ol lhe Prasankhyana inlroducng a refutation meditation repeated I on cornes through the doctrine that beral ol iollows: on lhe lexts),whosedocirinewas as (3)They (the Prasankhyana Vadins)hold that th€re are a The ad two k nds of lgnorance,nat!ral and adventitlous. venritiouskind appliesto worldy obiecls,the naturalk nd lgnorancedisappearslhroughthe lo the Self.Adventitious riseoi knowledge occurring once,as in lhe caseol the prince broughtup as a ioresl-dweler and th nking himsei to be such.and who rememberedhe was a pnncewftena mLnrs'Youare to a toresler,you are a pr nce . ter camelo 1e him, Nalura lgnorance, lhough t may be removedthroughthese relurns,as we oi knowledgeoccurringonce,nevertheless see irom exampes of attachmentand olher deleclsarising lrom gnoranceonce more,even in the cas€ ol thosewho truth.(B.B.V.lV.v.881-3) have knownlhe metaphysical This coni rms our thesis,as it shows lhat Suresvarawas awareof the dcctrlneoi two kindsof lgnoranceand rejecledii. In lhe sameway in the systemol the reveredCommentator himseli,by whom ignorancels dentltiedwith supenrnposition, the Se f is the seatoi lgnorancejusl as lt s le I to b€ n practcal experence ( n lhe Iorm'l do not know). Bul thereis no occaston for subte lheores about t, Fof the who e noi on ol knowledge and gnoranceilselibelongsto the sphereol ignorance.On thls \i/emightquotethe Iollowing. (4) li you ask'To whom does this lgnorancebeong?'we feply'To you who ask this queslion'.lf you lhen ask, But
Suresvara
133
does nol lhe Vedasay that I arnthe Lord?'werep y,']i you are awaketo this (you will see that)thereis no lgnorance iof anybody (B S.Bh.lV.i.3.) (5) ll may be asked,'Whoseis th s lgnorance"/The replyrs, 'It belongsto him to whom it appearsio belong'.(Bh.GBh
x| 2) (6) The Teachersays:Youtake that which rs the supreme Se I and which s notsubjectlo transmtgration wronglyand have the conviclon 'l am subjectlo lransmigration'. You take lhat wh ch does not per'ormactionas a perlormerol aclion,you take one who does not enioyemp rica exper. youtakethatwh ch alon-o -anceas lhe emp r ca experiencer, y rea exisisas f I werenon existent.Thats melaphysica lgnorance(U S. (prose)seclion5tl) Hef€ aso we see lhat the leachrngsol Sr Sankaraand S!resvaraare esseniially the same Bolhtakeabsenceoi knor('1, edgeand erroneoussupermposrtion as lundamentaly o ne. The Operationof the Meansol Knowledge The facl ol obleclsbeingunknowns not estab shed by !he means ol kno!|/edge (perceplion,inlerence.reveation, elc. l becauseit is the invariabe pre-condtionbelorea meansol know, edge can be appled. li t couldbe eslablishedby a validmeans ol knowedge that an objeclwas unknown,this wou C irnpy the absurdresut lhal the stateof a thingas unknov/nwoLrd persisl ior everlwhereaswe knowthatlh ngsprevtoLls y unknownsome t r f e s c o n r e1 0 5 e k n o w n c p . M . V 1 1 4 , 2a n d 3 ) F o r t h e s a m e reason t cannolbe eslab shed by lhe valid meansol knovrledgethal tl ngs ar,oIn doubto. erroneouslyrepresenled(s fcr va d kro\r edge rernovesIhe doubl and m srepresentalcrl S V.688).Indeed.the meansol knowedgeonlyapJ:r y 1ovrhai s i o l a l l y! f k n o w n 1 B . B . VL,v . 2 5 8 l P e r c e p l i oar n d t h e r e s t a r . meansof knovr'ledge precisey becausethey pLrian end to r!tIo
134
Chapter'8
ranceof potsand otherobjecls,wh ch lalterare themselveste vealedas unknownoniy in and through(theSe I as) immediale neverlrearon lne the meansol knowledge experence Therefore Sell (S V 1002) supreme bearing on the without also nol self y througnan au known on Potsand otherwor dly objectsare thoritativemeansoi knowledge,and do not ose lhe r condition of beingunknownwithoutone.TheSelf,however,be ng lhe seli establishedrea lty, may be understoodto lose lts condilon of be ng unknowndirectlythroughthe nreansol valid knowledge (the Vedc texl) and withoutan act of cognilionproducng as resutantcognition.(S.V.1004). Anandagiri explains this verse af Surcsvara diffetently He says: The Self cannot be knoatn wiihaut the help of a cagnilian thrcugh the meansaf validknawledge(i.e.theVeda) an account af its vety nature as inmost Self and realny. Far I E anly consclorsness in the farm of a cagnitton lhraugh a means ol vahdkno^tledge(as oppasedto the Self as pure Conscloustess/ thatcontradrclslgnorance.Consciousnessin itspure larm does ta clasa (since it co exists with il as its Witness) This is nat in contradrctionwith the true teaching af the sys lem. Nevertheiess,I submit that what Surcsvarats rcally saying h the present verse is as t'ollows.Pals and ather waldly objects establishedby the empiricalmeansof knawledgedepend onthe self-luminouscognitianrcsulljng fram the meaus af valtclknorr'll-"(lge ta lase thetr state of being unknawn. The Selt',hawever' ].)ses il direclly thraugh lhe Vedic text (M.V.l16). lt does not depend on a self luminous resultantcognitian'fram lhe applrca tian al ane af the means of knowledge ta lase its slate cl being unknawn. For it is non dift'erentfrom right'knowledgeby nature ln 1rulh,hon'ever,what was reallynol_selfcou d not even oi al reachthe stageof be ng !nknown.Thegrealphilosophers schoos hold thal in practicalexperence obiectslike pots are -rfknownbeforethe r se ol the cogntionlhroughwh ch tireycome 1obe known(B.BV lV.lii158) Howeverthereare nc d st nctrons
Su.esvara in rea ty.Hencelhe word be ng' on referto only one ent ty ancl t r s t h a t a n d l h a t a o n e w h i c h t s L r n k n o w nT.h e i n d i vd u a l experencerandthe meansol knowledge at h1sd sposalare bolh experencedas appearances of a selJ-uminousentily.And n ts that ent ty wh ch ts Be ng and (becauseii is lhe on y realty) I s t h a ta n dl h a ta o n ew h c h i s u n k n o w n( N . Sd . l l l . 7 - 8 ) . Aga n, a meansoi knowledgeestablishesan obiecl, ke a pieceof she lhat is alreadyexistentbelorethalmeansot knowi edge is app ed. lt does nol estabtishthe existenceoj anything lolallynon ex sienl. But it wouldhave been wronglo have sa d tlrat the usory s vef for wh ch the she I was mislak€nwas ex slentbut unknown,rkethe she was.And t wouldhavebeer ','/rong to have saidthat the siiverwas elernalyex stentblrtunknov/n irkelhe Selt Thereforeit is wrong,tn the case oi lusory srlver,to say that a meansof knowledgeis app ed io removea s p e c a l n c r e m e n l o ig n o r a n c ceo n c e a t n g l h e s i l v e ro. v e ra n d abovelhe ignorancethat conceatslhe Self (B.B.V.lV.r|.j66-7). It is the !nknownshe ihat is wfongly nierpreted as sIver.ln the sameway the Selfis wrongy interpreted as the not-seliby lhose who have not gainedmetaphyscal knowtedge. In the exampe knowedgeol the illusorysilveris not knowledgelhrougha va d meansoi knowledge,as herethe ex slenceof silverindepend_ eft of the illusorycognilon s never eslabtished.Nof is lhe si ver' I usionbasedon lhe app icattonol a vaId meansof knowledgeto the she I as lgnorance ol lhe shell s not removed(B.B.V v v.904). In the caseot erroneousknowedgeof the Sell,lhe phenom enon that the srlver-lusionexampiewas intendedto illustrate. no cognt on bearingon the nofsell are examplesot the applca t on oi va d cogn t on. The nol sell can nertherbe known ncr unkncwn any morethanthe illusorysr ver can lbecaLtset does not-aexlsi).Nor can lhe Seli be knownthrougha va d cognI on beafng on the not,sef; ior a cogntionbearingon the nol-sell\/ | n.t deslroyihe gnorancefelatng to the Sett.Ffomthe emprfcal
chapler-8
136
slandpoint,however,the variousmeansol knowledgegive rise spheresThe app cationoi in theirrespective to validknowledg€ a validmeansol knowledgeresultsin cognition(pramd)'which, becauseit is ot the naturo ot immediateexperience,is ilsell identicalwiththe Selt.Hence (fromthe empiricalslandpointIn whichthey haveth€irplay)allthe meansol validcognitlon(ap pearto) communicaleknowledgeol lhal Selfwhich is revealed neithercomes selt-established Butthat,being in the Upanishads. ol knowl_ valid means ol a in deed goes. not stand lt does nor in prac however, arelamiliar' edgetorevealit(lB.V 11.526).We 'l do nol know'inrelalionlo rl' ln ticalexperlencewilhthe leeling ihis sensewe are ignorantof il, andthe validmeansoi cognlion Thus whenlhe calledthe Vedaliberatesus Jromthis lgnorance. ol an Lndivdua praclical experience causes that lgnorance been deslroyedby has knowledge means of his experlencerand ol vahdcog lhe means Veda' all lhe knowledgearisinglrom the rLe realrza means nilionceaselo be such any longer'And lhis tionoi man'slrue end (S.V 162,10007) Here we subioina lew verseslrom the VaftlkasI uslrallng way of examininglhe validrneansof knowedge Suresvara's ( 1 ) T h e m e a n s o t v a l i d k n o w l e d g ed o n o t p r o d u c e ' u n k n o w n e s s1' o r t h e v e r y r e a s o nt h a i t h e y p r o d u c e 'knownnessil lhey produced'unknonness. !!ha1luncton woLrldva ld knowedge fullll?1BB.V rv 295) samatlerol mmedlateaware' (2)Ourrgnorance oi anl,4hing ness,and invariablyprecedes\ta d cognilionand ceases with t. ll cannol,thereiore,be eslablishedby lhe rneansoi valldcognltlon.(S.V.686). (3) li ignoranceof a thingwere accessibleto the ineansof knowledge,like obiectssuchas a pol it wou d be real,and whal was al any time u4knownwouldbe unknownior ever
(s.v.687). (4) We havealreadystatedlhe rulewhi'h showsthal erro
Sur€svara neouscogntttonand doubtcan no morebe knownthrough vaId cognitionthan ignorancecan. (The rule,namey, that whatis braughfioan erdbya validcogniltoncannotbe a, abtectrevealedby lhal vatidcognition).(A.B.VLiv.2S7). (5)Pats and otherobjeclsinthewo darc knownonlythrcugh the valtdmeans ol empitcal knowledgesuch as perceplion. elc Until they are so known, they remain unknown.But the Self becauseil is a self-evidentrealily,musrDecomeknown wtthautthe hetp at an act ol cognitian.(S.V1A0O4) (6)Thal (the Selt)withoLrt takingcognrsance oi whicheven the emptricalmeansol knowlsdgecouldnot righltydeleF mine lhe not-self-howcan the rilualtstsdeny lhal the Upanshadscan cornmunicate knowledgeol it? (S.V 551). (7) S nce everyobiectis unknownbeiorethe idea01it Irsl ar ses in oLlrminds,and since(evenas unknown),il exlsts by the powerof lhe one reatity(sat),il is thal reatrtywhich rs {ullrmalely) the lhing that is unknown.The Sett,wh ch rs lne reartymanilesting itseltrnbolhthe knoweranorne means ol knowedge whenan ernpircal cognilionts be ng soLlghl, andwh ch s revealedby ts own power- thatis (atways)the ent ty concealedby lgnorance(N.S. .7,8) {8) In the case of the tttusorycognitionoi s|ver rn whal is rea y a pece ol shett,the vald meansoi knowtedgeex, pressesils validriyby reveaIngthe she and showrngthat lhe atter ex sted belorethe means of cognittonwas app ed.BLltno validmeansot knowledgebearson rne s ver wn cTrrs nol st'townlo have existedat al. when illusory sl|verrs erroneousty perceved jn a pieceot she , there s no s ver be ng revealedby valtd cognttionto exisl n lhe same'r"/ay thal the shelldoes.Thereis no silveras a rea ty al a erlherprevio!slyunknown,like the shell.or prevr oos y kno\!n (though mperfectly)like the Setf. lhe rea. iBBVtv.166-7)
Suresvara (9) The illusorysilveris only knownwhen ihe she ls nol known,In the same way,lhe not-seI can only 0e Known when ihe Seli,as immediateexperience'ls nol known (ln ils kue nature).lllusorysilvercannotbe the objectoi a valld cogniiion,as iis exislence,unlikelhat ol lhe shell,cannot apartfromthe cognitionby wh ch il is known' be esiablished since it is never eslablishedas known in other circurndoes nol reveal stances,Sincethe illusorysilver-cognllion lhe shellas an objectoi validcogniion' it cannolbe a means of valid cognitlonal all, for lack of an object The llusofy sllvercogniiioncannotbe a meansot validcognitionlor lhe shell any more than it can for sllver'as it does not cancel lgnoranceof the shellor assurneits iorm And it shouldbe understoodthat,as in the case oi the illusorysllvercogn tion,all apparentmeansol validcognitionthat bearon the nol seliare notvalidmeansof cognilional allfromthe stand_ poinl ol the highesttruth) The only exceptionis thal (i-e iexls oi the Veda)wh ch bears the suprememetaphysical o_ rae innost Sell. A porsons inmost Conscou\ness is untllhe is enl ghthereinthe worldas LJnknown experienced ened by the (appropriate)meanso{ knowledge(lhe supreme vedic texrs).(B.B.V.lV.iv.901-6) ('10)But whereihe cognitionis (nol of the not-selibut) ot the {ormand natureof the Seli,beingpureConsclousness excludingall else,there is no dependenceon any turlher rises,t neversels Onceihisknowledge meansoi cognilion. (r8. .526). (11) lt is noi the case (that if the Upanishadsiaught 1rle Sell the Vedictexls enjorng sole realityof the transcendent Allvalid meansol knowl' in ritualswouldbe contradicted). oi lhe Se i' For all knowledge till validity edge relainihek (S V162) culmllratein, but end with' that. thatgivesriseio lhe wholeplayot knower' (12)Thelgnorance
139
and knownis cancelledby enlighlenment, knowtedge whichis of the natureoi identitywiththe one inljniteSelf,arisinglrom upa, nrshadrc lexls tike.Thalthou art,.(s.v 1006) (l3)Therelorethe Vedais a validmeansof knowledge in that destroys rl lgnoranceof the Selt.And this is man,shigh;st goal. Such is the view of the wise_(S.V10OO7) CANCELLATION OF ILLUSION In 1necourseol refutingthe (Mimamsaka)theory thai per ceptual,efforsarise from failureto perceivea dislinction(akhyativada) Acarya[,4andana goesontostatehisown doctrineas fol(1) Therecould not be the correcting_cogniiion ,this is not si vel tf errorhad beenmefe non_apprenenston, srncenolh_ ing.positive can resultfroma non,apprenenston; a non_ap, prehenson cannotgive riselo any idea,as tr ts a non-extsl_ ence.On lhe otherhanda positiveerroneouscogniirori,re_ vealing'sitver, that did not in iact exisl,In a nearbypercep_ t ble object,or a cognition.fevealtng,(cltstance) silveras tl rrwere ctose,woutdgivea positiveresuii(in ihe form of an dea subiectto canceilation)... We do not hotdthat lhe cor, rectrngcognition.thisjs not silver,merelynegates the ex_ slenceol silveror of an objectIn coniactwiththe senseo, srght.We hold that ti eiiherdentesthai the thing in contacl !1/th the sense oj sight is silver,or else denjes that il ts s ver thal ts rn contactwith the sense ol sight. A non apprehenstoncannotsiand as the object oi eiiher o, these negalons, :rom the mefe factoi beingno more tnan a tatt_ ure1oapprehend.one mustthereJore necessarilyfesortto the theoryol positiveerroneous cognition(vjrprita-khyati) if or e rs io accountfor the facl thai therels anythingpositive r o n e g a r e(.B . S i dp. . j 4 3 ) d r r y ' n 6 3 1 4r e 3 n i , s a y sr n a l r e s h e . t, ) . r e o D l e Lor t l h e - , -, r ' t s o u .rlvercoqnitron.
Suresvara
il is notin itstruelormas shell (2) In erroneous cognition, lor lndl lhe shellstandsas obiectol lhe srlver_cognrtron the shellwouldpromptno activityin its lrue Jorm lt stands in the formol silver,as thereis an activityol pickingup on lhat.(8. Sid.P.147) founded Variklalgnoranceis laken as a non_enllly In Suresvara's posi_ percepl'on erroneous thecloclnneol (aDhava). Neverlheless, lorm, undera dilJerent is clearlyapproved cognition lrveerroneous 'The quoled above verse ot lhe beginning as is shownat lhe ' (B B V rllusorv silveris onlvknownwhentheshellis nolknown t!4.V251,6). 1V.1v.901, Mandanaonthe ques' Noclearstaiemenlisforthcominglrom silveracluallyexisis.Butthere lionwhetheror nol lhe illusory thatlhesilveris a mete showing clearly areversesintheVartika anywherewhichhasno realexistence aooarition not referto any realentily r3rThe nolionthissilver'does ol silver lt lurnslherewas genuineknowledge anywhere. genuine was lo a silver thal the and In lhe shell exrstrng 'this'(nota genuineobjectexistingin trontol us) Some nor becauseneither'silver' sayihat,in the silverillusion, 'ln,s (asassocrated wrlhsilver)canbe sHownlo anywher€ elsethevmusiexislin theWitnessor in the mind Buthis also we denv There is no knowledgeoi any object at all causedby talseknowleclge' is a mereapparition here.There (B.B.V. 1.iv.275-6). ol a lalsenoliono'obiec' cannot anywhere rne exrslence coglheillusory illusoryobjecl' proved byvalidcognilron.The be on-alr and so experiencer lndividual the itself, nilron,lgnorance oLlby lhe notby validmeansoi cognrtion tnesea e eslablished 'r redialee'(pe'|enca consciousne5) o{chanoeless likea memoryarisesin the (4) Therefore an appearance ol experiences oI previous m ndlhaibearslhe lmpresslons changeless onlylhroughtheelernal, Butit manilesls silver.
141
andunitarylightol thesupreme Self.In lgnorance lh€reis onlythe individual experi€ncor andhisexpenonce_there is no reatobjectof validcognitionbeyondthem.Hencelonoranceand its indivrdual experi€ncer are obiectsol fh;im_ med'ale appreh€nsion ol theWitness.There couldnoteven be an individualexperiencerand his empiricalexperience wilhoutthe supportol pureconsciousness (samvit).For.jn theirtrue natur€,lhe individualknowerand his knowledoe and its objects,whichtogelher constitulethe not-sef,a;e nothingbutpureConsciousn6ss. (B.B.V1iv.279,02). Thus lor Suresvaraihe pointof introducingthe exampleol perceptual rllusions tikerllusory silverwasto showthatthewhote visionof lhe worldwasa mereillusion.The illusory appearance oi theworldrisesup in the Selfwhenlhe laherramatnsunKnown. Evenlgnorancecannotmanitestexceptthroughthe supportof self-evidenlpureConsciousness. Suchmaniteslation occursin theabsenceol deepmotaphysical reflection.On lhis pointthere are the followingversesin the Vartika. (5) Theretoreall our familiaritywith vajidempiricalknow! edge.with apparen?ly valid empiricalknowledgeanclwith invalidkoowledge (error)- as alsowjthmetaphysicat lgno_ rance-ts madepossibleby that specialmeansoJ knowf edge(theSelf)whichrequiresnothingelseto ifiumin€ its objecl_ Thiswholeuniverseol objeclsthatcomeinlo beino dndpassawaycanonlybe knownthroughthisspecrat ini ternalverifjable principle, whichis self_svjdent andind€pend_ entoi anyothermeanso knowledge. (B.B.V1.iv.272_3) The intenal veiliabte principte is the 'Self-oot-yetknown,. ,Ananyamam' means,selt-established and independentol any athermeansol knowledge'. (6)Thiserroneous cognilion cannotbe correctknowledoe , onesponding to anyobjecl,as il doesnolretatetodayo;. iec'ol vatidcognttron. Becauseil is known,it cannotsaid
142
ChaplerS
perceived notlo existal all.Because it is directly as somepresent, il is nol admittgdto be a memory. thing actually (B.B.v.1.iv.274) The erraneouscognition is not an iclea coftespondingto a real object, nor is it absence ol knowledge,hot is il a memory. Theleachingol thisverseis hke SriSankara'sphrase'lhefalse appearanceat one place of whathad previouslybeenseen al anolherplace,al lhe natureof (butnot identicalwith)memory' ll.i.1. intrc..). lB.S.Bh. Authoriryot theVeda:Roleot NegativoToxts ln thiswav.becauselhe Sell hasthus beenshownlo be the it mustundeniably be accepted as onlyentilythatis unknown, phiThustheVedanta beinglheonelhinglhathas10be known. losophyhas a seltledand well-demonstrated objectof enquiry, whileotherohilosoohies do nol.Thefacl thal the Sell as immeby all lhe d ale experienceis a verifiablerealityis demonstraled meansoi cognition.Thal veryConsciousness whichisaccepted andiheother as the resullanl-cognilion followinguponperception valid meansol knowledgebeingappliedto exiernalobjectsthat veryConsciousnoss is accepledas the subject-mafler ot the Upanishads, whichtheycommunicate to thehearerwithihe aulhorilyof a validmeansof knowledge. ll is forthisreasonthatwe do nolacceptthevedictextslo jusi becausetheyare Vedictexts.They are be aulhoritarive acceptedas authoritative becausedoubtand wrongknowledge andso forlhareimpossible;n theSelfas immediale experience, knowledge communicate. Srncemetaoi whichtheyeffectively physical lgnorance andils effectsareonlyeslablished through lack ol deep melaphysicalrerlection',it can be removedsolely by knowledge arrsrng lromlhelexts. Becauselhe Se'i ts ol Norshouldone rarsetheoblection, lgnorance on ils own lhe natureot knowledge il can eliminate
Sutssvara
r43
Whatis lhe needot any fLrrther tactorsuchas Vediclexls?,For tgnorance?tr is atwaysa vatidrneansot cognr::-"t..1:1:*. r,on.whrchprovides a resullant.cognition whtchrnturn,emo;es rne uh(nownsot ils object.Butthe Sellrs notcontradiclory to metaphysicallgnorance, toras conslantanoeternalawareness rl remainsimpermanent co_existencewithlgnorance.So what destroysmetaphysical tgnorance-and it is ttreontythtngtn;t destroysit.lsthe Selfwhenit hasbeenimmecliately experi;nced in itstrueformthfoughtheVedaas meanso, cognition. Norshouldonethink,,Thelrue natureof the Seilhasto be selltedlhroughiogicalargumenlaiion, employing lhe methodo, agreemenl and driterence. Whyappeatto the Veda?.Forrl rs onryIn retalton lo lgnorance thaltheSelfapp€ars to rnanilesl as causeandsffect.lt lru€nalurecannolb€otscovered in ils manilestationeilheras effeclor cause.So logjcal enquiryby the methodot agreementanddjfference, whichkeatsotefiectsand causes, willnotawakenus to a knowledge ol thetruenalureof theSelf Agarn, theSe[ is theAbsolute ancttheAbsolute is the Selt, . l"er'idenlrly is t,respecialthern6ol theupanrshad,c te\ts,T.at '" _0ra subjecl thatcanbe approached by anyothermeansol Knowreoge aparltromthosetexls.Norshouldoneraiselhe obleclon I themeani^gs .,Sett., of ihe words"Absotute,.and are w-t n hLr ancomorehenston,l meanslnaltheymusroe a own.o'rnal rnrough sorleolhe,meansot knowledge aparllromver. od .evetalonandlhenverbalrevelatton couldnolbeanaulhonla. rve rreansot knowledge-or etsethemeanings o, lhewordsnLsr !e oevond-ormarhumancomprenension, rn whichcasethe wo.Os'absoiuteano"56l, woutd be ine,lecttve tor tacKot any ,n"lr meanins.In elher casetheirmeanins ::::::11:::_ 1',1ttse Ld lo co_stlLle
themeol the upanishadjc leacF,1g.. SJcn o ooleclro..s not righr Fo. infactlhe meanrngot the word.seJt. ,drrrar,asreternngto lhe essenceor lrue natureol anylhtng. ,-
{rheAbsoture) rsramir,ar asexp.g5s,ng ;::]i"^1"':.?.i^""" '| icgr',rroeA Ved,c lexl can thereforevery we emp,ovlhose
Suresvara nolmalhuman thatlranscends a meaning wordsto communicale andlheSelt oJtheAbsolute identity namelylhe comprehension, suporheaven anoth€r and of the deili6s knowledg€ We have just same in ihe the Veda texls ol naluralmatterslhroughth€ we findtexlslike'Thatthouarl'and'l am ln lhisconnection relation. pairsofwordsin subiect-predicat€ theAbsol!ie'having in each words o{ the meanings that the Fromlhiswe conclude qualiprocess qualilier. ol qualilied By the and suchoairslandas ls expenencer) individual sullerer'(the ficalionlhe element'th€ 'thou', andtheelement ol lheword homthemeaning eliminated 'notdirectlyknown'iseliminated ol lhe word lromthe meaning 'that'.H€ncetheproperlyprepared siud€nlacqukeslhroughthese indicated ol the identilyof ihe Selt,indirecily textsknowledge 'thous' and throlgh knowership as the meaningof the word o, the hearer),with egohood(whichpointto lhe Consciousness ol theword'1hat" meaning indicat€d ihe indirectly lhe Absolule, (transcendenl that ol exporience is immediate Thisknowledge (i.e cannotbe dr' which ol principle)whichis notthe meaning ealher it is notcommunicated rectlydenotedby)any sentence; to lorma sen' of word-meanings or association bv lhe exclusion oi any Herolhereis no needof the applicalion tence-meaning. 'Jrrherreans ot knowledge ptoperly has been lext lhe {once as the Real, is to Consciousness sincethereterence understccd), (alauin its tnle natureis super_lerrestrral and consciousness kika),and Realilyis of the natureol absoluleawarenessThere lromsomeotherquarter on knowledge canonlybedependence in a casewherelhe Vedic lert otherthanthe or on sornething thinglo be knownis withinihe scopeol someoiher meansot versesfromtheBlhadlhefollowing Inthisconnection, knowledge. aranyakaVartikaare relevant. to be known,whichis initially (1)Thaiwhichhasullirnately knowerand the individual andwhichtranscends unknown and its objects thatcan be knownin thls his knowledge
145
worldlrom lhe Vedaand from no othersource.(B.B.V. tiv.339). (2)Thalwhichhaslo beknownhere,andknownlhrough the is pureCon' Upanishads as th6 meansot validcogniiion, whichmanilests sciousness, alsoas the resullanl-cognilionwhenthe empkicalmeansof cognition are appliedlo (s.v1 external obiects. 59). (3)Nordo we maintain thatthereasonlortaithin theVeda is its ownstatement thatit is of suporhuman origin(atBrhad. ll. iv.10); thereasonis theimpossibility of the usualcauses (humanorigin,whichimplies of invalidity ol slal€ments fallibilily, beingaccessible to othermeansot knowledge, elc.) in the statements ol V6da.(B.B.Vll.iv.325). (4) N4etaphysicallgnorance andiis elfeclscannotbe proved to exist,either il take as idenlicalwil the Absoluteor as diflerent.Henewe say that it is only establishedai all 'for lackol reflection'. Th€ oplionlhat the etherof lhe sky is bluelikea lotus-petal by dayandthenchanges lo become blacklikethebellyof a bumbl6-b€e al nighlis onlyaccepied lor lackof rellection. Oneshouldseethallhe wholenotion ot the existenceol metaphysical lgnoranceand ils eltecls ls an illusionol lhe samskind.(B.B.V1.iv.332-3). So we see that nelaphysicallgnoranceand its affectsare indeleminableeitheras the rcal ot as anythingdilferent,and theyarc established(accepted)onlyfor lackof deepciticalreflec(5)Though enlghtened by nalura,lheSelfacceplsandioleratesnotbeingknown,beingth6onlyentityableto do so, sinceit is ihe onlyentitythat is real.lt doesnot desiroy TheSelJde' lgnorance wilhouttheaidol a validcognition. stroysitsownlgnorance onlywhenmo!ntedonlhepedesThe ta ol a meansof validknowledge, andnotolherwise. In al ance lgnorance, meansof validknowledge destroys
146
Chap]er-8 wrththe Se 1,when it bearso nreality. (B.B.V.lV. .181-2)
The Self as immediate experienceis not of itself in cantra, dictian with melaphysical lgnorance. Nor is a mere means al valid cognitianan ils own able ta conlradict lgnorance, unless tt ts applied ta ls object and issues in a rcsultantcognitian (cp. M.U 29,5). That is the meaning. (6) Becausecauseand elfectowe theiroriginto meTeTelaI ve cognition, onecannotfindrealltyin eilherol them.Hence reasoningby agreementand diilerence,whichoperatesin ihe realm of cause and effecl,cannotlhrow tighl on lhe rea ty laught in lhe Upanishads. The linal rea ty can be knownonly throughthe upanishadc texts,ihe sole means {of knowing t. (B.B.v.lV.lli.400-1) The Self is non-dual,so cause and et't'ectare nol real. Hence there cannal be knowledgeafthe Self thtcugh reasantngby the method of agreemenland differcnce, (7)The iactthalthe a lrue Se 1is idenlicalwiththe Abso ute and the Absoluleidenlicalw th lhe tfue Se { s the spec a topicoi lhe metaphysicaltexts n the [Jpanshadslike'That thou art';and it cannotbe knownihroughany othermeans ot knowedge...The use ol lhe work 'se f'ts currentin the word and nol restricledto that ol the metaphysicalerm Seli'.Equally,iheideaol'magnrtude',conveyed bytheterm usedlor the Absoute (Brahman,lrom rool brh.lo swe l), is lam ar lrom cufient use,Thus the meaningsoi lhe nd vidualwordsof lhe texl'l am the Absolute'areknownlrom wor d y experience. What,then is the obstace to lhe iormalron ol a senlence'Tneaning thal lranscendssense experience lrom lhese wordsas jlxlaposed in a sentencein the Veda?Eventhe meaningsol suchlechnicaterms used by the r tua isis as Lrnprecedenled' ( .e.the occLrlt powerol the riiual),deily and'heaven'areknownirom wortdlyexperence. Bui in their case, loo, a specialmeanlnglhe kan,
Suresvafa
'147
scendssense'experience is learntromlheVedictext.(B.B.V lViii.115,iollowedby S.V 861-3) (8) On our view,thal whichis nol lhe difeclmeaningof any sentence(ytz. the Selt or Absolule,which cannol be di rectlydenotedby any sentence),is knownthroughimmediate apprehenson as lhe meaningof'thal'and'ihou'through the exc us on (ofthe mutuallyconiradrcloryparts ol lhe wordmeanings)ihat arisesthroughthe words being placedin sublect-predicate relalion.lt is ihe same processas that wf|ch occursin the sentence'Verily,lhe e lher in the pot s the same as the etherinto sky'. (N. sid. lll.9) 'The lhere in lhe pot is the same as the ethet in the sky . ln lhts senlence the words'pot elher' and 'sky-ethet' are placed in subject predrcale relatian, so that lhei meanings qua fy ane anather and the mutuallycontndictary elementsare eliminated. The sentence-meaningthat results is a referenceby indirect indtcatonta bare ether (not limitedeithetas patotheror sky-ethe4. the text'That thou art'should be underctoadin the same way. 'Not the direcl meaning of any sentence' means that what the sentence indirectly indicates is (something infinite and) nol a sentence-meaningthat arises frcm exclusionor assactalianand sa an (amonglhe ward-meaningsinthe manneral nonalspeech dearng with finite defects). (9) the lact that the meaningoi the word'thou'is not the individualsoul (lit-'thesuflerel) is conveyedby ils being qualifiedas lhe Absoluie,whichis the meaningof the word 'thaf; and the fact that the (lranscendeni) Absolute,the meaningof the word'lhal',is intimatelyknownas one'sin mosl Selt is conveyedby the presenceof lhe word'lhou' n e x tt o i t . ( N . Sd . l l l . 1 0 ) . Because al the mutual qualification of the meanings, the conlradiclary elemen!sare eliminated. (10) The Conscousnessand inferiorityof the Sell, raised
148
Chapl€r.8 hrghaboveall changelike a lixed mounlainpeak, are not accidenlaicharacterislicsintroducedlrom without They are w h a t e n a b l e si h e s o u l l o l e e l i l s e l l a s a n i n d i vd u a l experiencerand an ego.There{ore the Selfis ind[ect]yindicaled by appeal(throughthe use of the word thou')to the soul'ssenseof beingan individual expenencerand an ego. ( N . S i d .l l . 11 )
Explanalion of lhe IVechanism of lhe NegativeTexlGivenin the Varelrka Herewe may take up the explanation givenin the Va ika ot lhe meaningol lhe wordsin the negativernetaphysicaltexts oi the Veda.lnitiallywe have an accountof a theme lound in Sri Sankaras commenlaries, lhe theme,namely,thal all lhis realm ol name,lorm and aclionwill have to be negated.And lhts is lollowedby its actualnegationthroughthe word 'inot ln lhis contexl,we shouldnol supposethat onceform,elc., havebeen negaledol the Selftheymightpersistelsewhere, as 'existence', ior instance, whennegaledof'pot'maypersistin relalionto'clolh'. This agreeswithworldlyexperience, loo,whereno lorm is iound lo subsrstrn separation fromthat oi whichit rs a torm.And when metaphysicalgnoranceol the supremeSell has been negated, none of ils effeclsand lound to persistanywhere Again,the thingsthalhavelo be negatedare notlnvariably presenttogelher withone anolher,whereasthe presenceot the inmostSelfnever lails.Henceit is tirsttaughtthat all thisworldol name,tofmand aclronrs erroneoLlsly superposed on the Sell,and then its existencein th€ Absoluteis denied,lhe Absoluteitselibeing(unenvi, ab e because)selleslablrshedas immediateexperience.Theword 'nol can on y negate whal has to be negaledon the basisof acceplrnglhe existenceot ihe Sell. For the Self as pure Con sciousnessis inseparable lrom any negation.All that has to be negatedis dependentlor its (apparent)exisienceon the SelJ, whrchcannolbe negated.Negalion,therefore,does nol implv totalnon-exslenceol anylhing,as non,existence itselflallswtthin
S!resvara
149
lhe realmot lhat whrchhaslo be negated.The upanishadicnegation'neilherlhrsnor lhal', however,exlendsuniversally, rl ne, qates whaleveris found,excepllhe Absoluteor Selt,the Wii nessol all,whichlatlerpersistsunlouched(B.B.Vll.iii/183-207) Butthe text'neitherthisnorlhat'isalso exolainedbv Suresvara in anotherway.On lhe secondview,allhoughlhis lexl has the lorm ol a negation,I is not acluallya negatlon.For before the occurrenceol lhe texl'Andso thereis lhe teaching"neilher the Absolulehad alreadybeenesthrsnor that"'(Brhad.ll-rii.6), tablishedas transcendingthe gross and sublleelemenls(the entirerealmol the empiricallyknowable,cp. T.N.al M.V 79,1). And in lhe texl 'There are lwo lorms of the Absolule (Brahad.ll.iii.1l. the word'ol'imDliesthat lhe Absoluteis dilfer enl lrom (transcends) lhe two lornrs.Fromthe mereiact lhai the not-seliis noi regularlypresenttogelherwilh ihe Self (e.9. n dreamlesssleep),il on-exislencein the Sell has alreadybeen proved(so that the purposeoi the lexl'neitherthis nor lhal cannotbe a reDeallhal Droof.which wouldamountlo a mere laulology).And thereare olher reconsideralion wh ch showlhal lhe lext neitherlh s nor thal'neednoi and shouldnot be laken as a negalion.Therers a sensein whichthe nol-sell,sinceil is eslabishedby percepiron anothermeansoi va ld cogntion,cannol be negaled.Evenri we accepllhat in somesensert cou d be negaled. a mere negation is lhe itself lruilless. ll lhe terl (Brhad.l. .6)were lakenthus, rt wouldnol iuliilllts promiseol positiveleaching(adesa),a formalionof lhe Abso ute. So the correctwas to analysesthe meaningol'neli (= na + rti) rs lo lake na (not)as an rndirectreference lo self-eslablished Selt(as lhat n whLchlhe empiricalknowei,knowledge and knownare not present,B B.V,l1iii.229),and lo lake'lt'as hav ng lhe forceof dently 11glhe inmosl Selt wilh lhe Absolule(lherebybringrng lhe Absolutewithinlhe scopeJorlhe possrbleexpenenceol the h e a r e r l nt h e s a m ew a v a s ' T h a t t h o ua r l , B . B . Vl . . 2 3 3 ) . T h s rs Suresvaras teachno al Brhadaranvaka Vartika | .214-34
150
ChapleFB
go theirpoints Herewe quotea few moreversesrlluslratron made in lhe Vartika. (10)Thatthe Absoluteis ditferentkom the grossan subtle aspecisoi theworld (lhe'lwo lorms')has a ready beeneslab' lishedbelorethe promiseofpositive teaching(adesa,Brhad. ll.iii.6).Therefore lhis teachingis givento enablelhe hearer to havedireclapprehension lhat he is the Absolule(B.B.V. |.iii.214). The negatve text'neithefthis nor lhat'is not pr mar y concernedwith negalingwhal hasto be negated(suchas the gross and subtleaspectsof lhe universe)bul wiih an rndrrectmethod ol communicaling the true nalureol lhe hearer.li the lext merely negaledthe universein ils gross and subtleaspects,and the Absolulewere nol eslablished by someotherposilivecognition. the resullwouldbe a vold...iB.B.V ll.iii.2l5) The element'na' (not) in 'na + iti = neti'indicatesindireclly thalprincipleol Conscrousness whichis seli establlshed without need oi a separalemeansol cognilion,rn wh ch the ind vidlal knower,his knowledgeand its objeclsdo nol exist,and whichis k n o w n t h r o u g h a w a k e n i n gt o o n e s o w n l r u e n a l u r e . . (B.B.V..iti.22S). The word na (not)indicatesthatwhichhas ultrmalely to be known(the Se f) is self-established by its own power.( t is thal whichis /rol knownthroughthe empiricalprocesses). The word 'na (nol)is augrnenled by'ili'(this)to lorm neti to showthatthe Self s the Absolute. The Absoluteis here ndicaledby lhe lerm 'it (becauselhe lerm 'lhis' allied10not'negateslhe grossand sublle aspectsof the world which appearto characlerizelhe absolule,leavrngthe Absolutein rls p!re torm denticalwilhlhe (B.B.Vll.iri.233). Wiiness' so Anandagiri). Hereit mightappearthatan objecion couldbe ralsed.lf lhe lwo lorms of lhe Absolute,lhe subte and the gross aspectsol the un verse,are denied,why souldI lhat be lhoughlto leavethe
Suresvara
151
Absolutea void?The merefacl that it is bevondthe scooeot all otherfieans ot knowl€dge wouldnol renderit a void,sinceil sell-revealed. Eventhoughit is self-revealed, mightwe nolwonderil lheVedictextswouldnotbe neededto cancelmetaphysicallgnorance? 8ul the Vedictexl'netther thisnorlhat',which negatesall thatis superimposed, existsprecisely lor thispuroose. Buthasnotlgnorance principle, beenprov€dto bea distinct lhe causeof whathasbeensuperirhposed, so thatit cannotb€ thusnegated? No,we do not acceptlhis.Th6 methodlor expoundng the Absoluteis thatof negating everything thathas beenimagned in regardlo it. h is likecommunicaling theirue natureot the ropeby negating the snakeand all elsethathas imagined in il.Knowledge otlhelruenature oftheAbsolute arises simutaneously withlheunderslanding thenegations, sowecannoladmillhatanylhing furlherrequires tobedone{orknowledge ol theAbsolute oncethenegalions anyunderstood.To us,there. Iore,it seemslo be mereobslinacy to claimthatthererequires lo bespecral furthernegation of lgnorance overandabovenega, lionof wrongknowledge. O'agan. we couldhapprly concurwilhAnandagiris g osson Brhadaranyaka Varlikall.iii.233, whenhe says,'theexpression ''net" s theproolto showthaltheWiiness, indicated bylheword ''nol"( .e.notlhe individual knoweror anyfaclorinlhe empirical personality), s theAbsolut€'. Butenoughol allthesesubtleties; Alllhevafiouswaysheredtscussed toraccounting lorthevalidityol lhesuprerne negative textslollowthemethodol lalsea ri bulionfollowedby subsequent retraclion, and henceareaaccepia0le. Percepiion, etc., Cannot Cont.6dict theVeda We have already menlionedabove (M.V 105) that, like N'landana, Suresararetutedthe notionoi dilierencein orderio answerlhe objeclionlhat the melaphysicaltexts of the Veda
152
Chapl€r.8
sinceihey meansol knowledge couldinlobe an aulhoritalive withothervalidmeansof cognilion that stoodn contradiction a knowledge ol duality. Ourownviewis lhatSuresvara conveyed whenarguing hisposition onthebasis onlyraisedlhisobjection oih€rs, For elsewhere deliberaie concossions to lhe view oJ ol meansol thallhe ditlerent he reiulesin cleartermslhedoclrin6 knowledge one anolher(S.V.1076'81rN.Sd. couldcontradicl lll.86).He alsoreluiesthe doctrine lhal the variousmeansol knowledge couldconlradict oneanolheronthelopc ot lheunity ol explaining SriSankara's andsolerealrty oftheSelfinthecourse (B.B.V N.Sd. 11.96) Erhadaranyaka Commentary ll.i.588-94;cp 'Suchan authorcouldnolseriously admiilhallhemelaphysrca withthe textsoJthe Upanishads couldstandin conlradiclion He alsoheldthat deliverances ol olhermeanso{ knowledge. ol the eventheVedawasan authoritalive meansof knowledge it negating lgnorance, nolthat couldcommunr' Selfonlythfough Varlika999. For,as reexplained al Sambandha cateit directlyof lheindividual exoeriencer and hisviewwasthattheexislence his knowedgeanditsobjecls,alongwithtimeandolhercond' experience supplied t ons,depended entirely on ihe imrnediate by the Sell.Howcouldanyof themaff€ctlhe Se I in anyway? ' (Cp. NSID.lll.96,intrc.:'Wespeakthus (of lhe passibility of a canfliclbelweenVedictevelationand perceptton)an lhe basisal a delibenteconcession. Otherwise,we havemarethan once remarkedthat one meansof cagniliancannotbe conlrcdictedbv anolher'.TN.) Treatmenlof theTopic of Causeand Elfect AsinSanka€'s Brahma Commenlarv, so jn Suresvaras SLrtra BrhadaranyakaVartika, thesubjeclcauseandeiiectis intraduce onlyinorderloreJute notionol causeandettect.There thewhoLe areplacesintheVarlikawhereSuresvara appears lo lakelgnoranceaslhemateral causeoJtheworld,bullhisis onlya superi cialviewlhal mighloccurai lirslsightto one unableto grve S ddhl dueconsrderaiion 1owhaltheVartikas and Naiskarmya
Suresvara reallyinlendedto say.No realexistenceof causeand eilectis tn lacl admilted,as a sl!dy of cerlainparts ot Suresvara's works would show.lndeed,he stales it openly,and also reluteslhe wholeconceplio,r of causeand effect. (l ) And lhe wholeuncritically acceptedworldof dua ity is per se erdless,in lhat it restson barelgnoranceol lhe non dua Sell, as the lanciedSilverresls on lgnoranceol lhe shell Henceit is lgnorance01the Se J whichrs ultrmalety l h e c a u s eo f a e v i l . ( N . S dl.. 1 , i n t r o . ) Hete t mtghl appeat at firsl glance as thaugh lgnorance at' the Self were bejng taken as the malerial cause of duality. ln realily,hawever,il is clear from an examinatianof such lexls as l1narance,whrchmeans 'l nal know"'(TB.UIL176,cp.M.U 11O, 1 ) 222.1 nale thal lgnaratrceis a nonentity(abhava)and cauld nat posstblybe a materialcause. ( 2 ) F u r l h e rt.h e n o t - s e l1t sb o r no l l g n o r a n c e( N . . S r dl l l . 1 , r n r f o .c. p .l ! . 4 . v 1 1 1 3 ), . Here agatn,ane might make lhe mistakeof suppostngthat il was beitg said that lgnorancewas the maleflal cause of the nalsel{. 8u! infact the preceding senlence has clearly denied the :txtsl-ance ot any lgnarancecontradtclingknawledgetn lhe wards, Nar 's the attainmenl of knawledgeiasstble in the not-se]l thal a.e could atgue thatthere musl have been some contradrctoty lgnctance ttn the not-self lat such knowledge ta negate, cp. 1M13 1) (3)For 9norances nolhng butabsenceof knowiedge, and, srncethe laller s a non-entilyby nature,t cannolstandas llre causeo1lransmrgratofy experience. The existenlcannol spr ng irom lhe non'exislenl.(N.Sid.11.7, inlro.) Hete an oblectarsu99eststhatgnorance cannotbe lhe cause L:1) Srnceeveryobjectis unknou/n belorethe ideaot ils anses n our mrnds,and since(evenas unknown)il ex sts by lhe
Suresvara powerot ihe one reality(sat),it is thal realitywhich is ultl(N Sid lll.7, cp [l V mately the lhing lhal is Lrnknown. 114.7, ad init.) This verse is composed lo explain against the previous abpction, in which sense lgnorance is a cause althaugh ls a non-entity.The essence of lhe rcply is that the obectton ts bestde the poinl, because the actual cause is reality lhe Absalute as unknown, One should tgnorethe altetnattveexplanalrcnsay' tng The Selfi; concealed by lgnoranceas a pos ive t'orcedi' ferenl lram mere absenceaf knowledge'offeredby the cammen' tatorjfre naltam because in contradiclsSuresvaras meantn9 ior the appear_ (5) lgnoranceof the Sell s the precondilion anceoflhis magicshowoidualty,andtheAbsoluleis ca led lhe causeirnmedalely lhroughthat.(B.BV 1rv 371) Duahtyis here taken as a magjc show tn the sense al bein9 an erraneoussupeimposition. lgnoranceis its cause only in Ihe mannet above explained The Absalute alone ts Ihe cause thloughthe mediumof tgnotance;thatts lhe meanng Oneshould rccall here what has been said earlier about the sense in whrch lgnotance is lhe cause of etroneaus knowledge (M V. 111' 10: ol lhts 112; 113,2, note; 113,3).ll is clear that lhe explanatrcn verse an thts verce gtven by Anandagttiin his sub'cammentary gaes agajnst the originalmeaningwhen hesays"Duality which' hke a mass hymnodisls magtc shaw ts accepted as teal only far tackol ret'lection,musl have lor its cause samething whtchts nat a non entity (as a nan-enlily cannol lunctian as a cause) ll tequtresa materialcausecorrespandingta ilseif (in realtty'gtade t e. tndetermnable reality'grade) and has one is metaphysrcal lgnorance. The Absatute slands as a cause (anly) thtough te' sort)nEto that . lor i6) Th!s causeand oiher such nolionsare set ou1only the sakeol provingthe exislenceol ihe transcendenlSeli They are a deviceto make the SelJava lable as one wno
knewttretrulhproclatmed (G.K.lll.15,cp.tV.V.33,3;75,j0). The negationof all notionssuch as causedoes not suffce lo establrshnon-d!ality. The negationitselfrequiresto.be negaledby the awakeningto the homogeneousun(y and sole realrtyot the Seti.Firsltherejs a thoroughdemonstra Iron lhat al lhis appearanceol pturatilyhas Being for its lrue nalure.Then it is taught how Being (setf mettsinlo rnJrnily as pre Consciousness. (B.B.V 1i.27 9) Cause and effect and so forth are onty estabtishedprovj stanallywlh a view to establishthe unbon nan-duat self, which is netlhet cause nor effec! nor absence ol cause and ellect lt is nat tnlendedto establishcause and effect as realfrom the highesl potnt of view No is it intended lo say that non duatity is sitlplylhe absenceof causeand effect,For one becomesawake ta the sell-revealed principle which is dit't'erentt'rcm any nonentttylhrough negatingnegationtsetl, by awakeningto the setl estabhshedrealily that is its opposite. Fnst it is shown, by resorttng la the hypathesisof causation, that the real (sat) is the cause al all.Then even the notion af reality(sa va)is eljmnated rn the nan-dual homogeneouspinctple. So the teaching about cause and effecl is not forthe purpase ol atlirming the existence of cause and ellecl, (7)lgnorance, meritanddemeritEndthe impressions of past acltonstylng unevolvedin the elementsfire, waler,earlh and wind.and dtssolvedin ether,remainingas exislenlbul nol manrlesl- these,togetherwiththe Se , iorm The Unde velopedPrinciple'.... lt is tgnorancethat rnanifestsin the lorm ol the objectiveuniverseof maleriatobjects(visva). a s r l s l h e n a l u r e o t l g n o r a n c et o d o s o . H e n c e l h e Upanrshadsays,'Thisuniverseas lhen (belorethe prolect l o n o l t h e w o r l d )u n d j f f e r e n t i a t (eBdr h a d . t i v . 7l)B . B . V |.',!2a5'7) Frsl the natute of'the Undevetoped'isexplained.Thenit rc declared lhat it is lgnorance only thal appears as the manit'est
8 Chapr€r
156
c o n s c i o u s n e s s 'T. h r s i s c o n f i r m s d b y l h e V e d a ( a t BrhadlV.v.3 and 4) where lhe text runs,havrngsent lhis body to'Avidya'(= unconsciousness)'. iB.B.V.1.iv.256).
and the unmanifesl.Hence it is thal lhe UndevelopedPinctple in samelimescalled lgnorcnce in the ancienl texls and when lhe word lgnoranceis used in this special sense' matetial cau' saltty can be faund attributed ta lgnorance'.The natself, loa E analherlorm assumed by lgnoance. But herc lhe clue is given by the phrase'Hence it (nolself) is alsoca ed lgnoance (T B V ll 178.M.V251,6).Thisalsa is only a metaphoticaluse al the
ln this verse Suresvarc declares that on-consciousnessis the essental natureof lgnoranceinorderto bring ou! how entightenmentand lgnoranceare contradiclorsas consciausnessand non consctousness.His idea is that the Vedaintended ta teach thal lgnorance was non-consciousness when it said, ,Having struck dawn fts ptevious body and sent it to unconsciousness, the saulpraceeds (after death) to a net/ body'. Here again, lgnorance ts cleatly tdentifiedwith the notse[. (11) Texislike 'Darkness(lgnorance)is death (tightis im, monal) (Brhad..l.iii_28) and'tn the beginning,this unrverse was watel Brhad.vv.l) showthat metaphysical lgnorance rs contrnually at work,eilherin manifestor uDmanilesl form. (B8.V r.ii.136).
(8) lf vewed lrom the standpoinlof the linal 1rllir, lgno_ ranceand ils eflectscannolbe establishedas ex stlng el_ lherthroughils sownpowerorlhroughlhatol anolher'From the slandpoinlol lgnoranceit is somelimesrelerred10 ljy we rellectedon our expe' lhe lerm lhe Undeveloped'.When nenceon wakingtromdreamlesssleepwe say'l knewnolh is rellected1nlgnong. wh ch showslhat Consciousness ol the world and dissolulion gin, marnlenance rance The or The Sel{ as in lgnorance reJlected lake p ace Inlhe Sellas where ol bodres assocaled w lh lgnorance,is the cause where Conbeing gnorancepredorninales andol conscious sciousnesspredominatesAll such distinctionsare cond' troned by pasl thought, medilationand activ ly (B B V
The text'Da*ness is dealh, ltght is immortat'(Brhad.l.tii2g) relers ta lgnarance, evolvedand manilestas natural knawledge an.l action.ln the text'ln the beglnning, this univercewas watet' (Brhad.V.v.1),the wotd'watet' atso rclers to tgnorance.but thjs ttme the referenceis to lgnorancein its unmanifestform.fhat is lhe meaning of the verce.
1v.340-2). 'l gnurar(e rs aon -: lor and Lnco^s(ioLq'e5r df pe3 r'0 As In lhe realily,the se i, which s in trutheverenlLghtened are tound Lnthe not sell conlusronand unconscloLlsness (B B V IV '157) world s called'dealh' lh s whole fhe !exl (al Brhad.lV.iii.T)as spoken ol llrc forms al deatll' 'lgnorance' Earlier it had satd Darkness whete ctea!h means SuresvaBs pf-'se/llverse tlEnonnc-")E death (Brhad.l.itt.28). and uncansctausttessate lhe from lhat. Cont'usian 1l)ii,rw,s o/r al theseappeateven thal both t::lrt e cl lgnatance.And the fact 1t)tt)et)a!.selfs an e^pressianal death the verseexplathshaw 'ignaBnce come ta be appliedta the nat s'ii tl't' lrtrr
One,annot hee accep! Ihe stalementot Anandagnt.h ts Root lgnaHnce only that is referred lo by lhe wad "dakness'. used lo explatn the tem "death','.Fot it is saitl that lgnorance displays itself eithet tn manilest at in unmanifesst fatm. This tmpltesthal Root lgnorance,identifiedwith the Unmanifes!princrple is tlself a cteation of lgnorance. And the doctrine of Root lgna,ance as accepted by olher schoots ol Advala is nowhete found in the Verikta. The word Boot in the phrase'Roo! lgnotance djsplays itsetf' must have enteredthe rcceived text lhrougha misheanngan the pan al sameane in erroL who was evidenlly inlroducing his own peculiar lheary, paying no a enlion to the toud and clear state-
doesnot rneananvtlirig D!l ncnI 11lj The term lgnorance' il
tl
Suresvara menls etsewherelhat noot lgnonnce was bul a particular farm assumed by lgnorance, namely the Unmanilest Principle Nei' thetwas anv atlentionpaid Io the descriptionaf lgnarancegiven in lhe words'lgnorance is lhe leeling "l do not know"' (cp TB.V .176). We may pass lhis by as incidonlal.qut the follawingshould herc be noled. Whercvet in lhe Vertika lhere is a telercnce la lgnarance as a material cause, this is predicated af lgnorance co4sdered as having assumed ls lorm as lhe non-conscious IJnmanifestPrinciple.lt is not a refetenceto it in its awn charac letistic nalure as conlusion. For the whole conceplbn ol cause and effect is only mentioned in the Veriktaat all lo show thal ls is crealed by lgnoance. Frcmthe slandpoint ol practicalexperi' ence, on lhe otherhand, causalitycanbe accepteclwhere evet tl (12) Ths illusion(maya)which,lhough utterlyreal,manl tesls as name.lorm and action- its subtlestiorm is called 'Death'.(B.B.V l.iv.135). ' tgnorance displays itsell here in the world as name, a lorm and action. lts subtlestform, which may alsa be called Meya' is called Death'. lt had been said earlier in the Vedicpassage un' der commenL'This was covercd over by Death'(Brhad 'l ii 1) Here again, it is only lgnorance in its form as seed-state ol the nol-self consistingol name, form and action that is telerred to by the wotd'MAye'- And lhis agtees with numerous texts in Sn Sankara's commentaries,such as'Name and farm imagtnecJ thtough lgnoranceas iflhey were the very naturc of the omnis' cient Lord, indeteminable eilhet as the real principle or as anylhng chlletentlrcm iL ihe seed ol lrcnsmigrctoryexpctence and the diflercnliated $/orld,are spoken of in the Vedaand Smtti as "The Power ol Meya belonging to the Omniscient Lord"' (B.S.Bh.lt.i.14,cp. M.U45, 1). Anandagiri's rematk in hts sub' commentarv here,'The wotd Meey is introduced to refute thase who distnguish between lgnoranceand Meye" was nacle wtth'
159
oul a proper underclandingof the meantngof lhe verce an which ne was commenllng. (13) ln th s conlexl(of leachingthal the world-appearance ariseslrom absenceof knowledgeol the Absolule)we iind the clearverseol Gaudapada, whichbegins,wellsupporled perceived... by analoges,'As a ropeirnperlectly (inthe dark is variouslyinaginedas a snakeor a slreamoi waler or in olher ways, so s the Selt wrongy imaginedas this and lhal (G.K 11.17, cp. l\r.V23)-That whch as no name or lormmanifesled (allhe beginning olthe world-perlod) through bare gnorance.(8.8.V Liv.389-90). Whal lhe aulhor ts saying is:'One the toptc of manlestatian proceedtnghom lhe UndevelapedPinciple, ane should see t'rom the explanalionof creatiangiven by Gaudapada.with examples, thatthe notion of the worldandthe Absoluteas effect and cause must be intetptetedas agreeingin every way with the anatogyol the illusory snake misperceivedin lhe rcpe'. In lhe same way, the authot laler (B.B.U Liv.443)quo!es Bhagava9eda Sankara's UpadesaSehasi XVlll.46:'Justas the rope-snake,(thaughunrea4, possesses being by vittue ol lhe rope unltl dtscriminated lram it, sa alsa does the complex ol the Self, the ret'lectingme' dium and lhe teflection passessbeing by vittue al the changeless Self, (unlil it is discriminatedlrcm it', cp. M.v. 144, 10). (14)Transmigratory experience is taughlto be an erroneous superimposilion on the Sell.And, accordingto lhe genera wor dly view , lhere cannolbe erroneoussuperimpositton wilhoula cause.Therefore,lo explainwhal is the cause.Sri Sankarasaysin hisbrhadaranyaka CommenlaryThat(Se1) wh ch rs lhe causeol the wholeuniverse..Eut has not the causealreadybeendeclaredto havebeenthe superimposrtionon the Self,lhroughnaturallgnorance, ol the notionsoJ beingone who acls,alongwilh actionand its resulls?Yes. Bui the leachingls repeatedin a specialJormintendedlo relulethe SankhyadoctrinethatNature(non-conscious and
160
Chapter-8 independentol Spirit)is the malerialcause ol lhe world. The causeol the world s lhe Se t, unknownlhroughlgno (guna) mak ng up rance lt ls not the three constituents' (B.B.V 1 v.478-80) Nalurespokenoi by the Sankhyas
This is an explanalrcnof the passage in StiSankara's Com' menlary an the Brhaderanyaka (l.tv.7 ad init.) whtch begtns, 'This Self, for the sake of which all the tradtlional texts came tnta being, an which the notionaf being one who acts, along wtth that of actian and its results, are supeimposed through natutal lgnannce, that which is lhe cause af the whaleworld, that v/htch is the true nature of name any fatm..,',There is menlton here of Iransmigratian,cansistingof thefeeling that ane ts acttng,a and assaciatedwith aclion and its resDlts,as being supettmpasiion. The watd 'superimpositian'is used here lo mean lhe result at superimpasltian,not lhe act, according to the intetpretatian A superimpositrcn is what is superimpased'. The reference (tn Suresvara's verses) to (the worldly viev/ that thete must be) a ceuse af supenmpositionrefers tothe tealsubslratum an whtch an tmagtnedenttty must re9t. Suresvaratakes lhe phrase'throughlgnorance'ham Sri Sankares Cammenlary,interprels ll according to hts own sys tem as meaning absence of knawledge, and lhen refers to the objection thatmight be rajsed, Therc cannat be superimpositian withaut a (positive)cause'. On his awn view, lhe statemenl Ab' sence of knowledgeis lhe cause al allthe world'does nol refel to absence of knowledgealane as the independentcause. The cause is the Se/f as urknawn. This, at least, is my awn under' standing af the verses. And lhen the reply cones, saying that therc was na accasian fot the objectian that was nised. On the system of the revercd Commenlatathimself,lhere is ptoblem na abaut the falsity al lrcnsmigrattan,consEttng in the feeltng that one is acting, associatedwlh action and its results Far he says, Transmigralianis sel up lhtough nalural 19norance in the form af erroneous knowledge'.Where he said,'That Selt
Suresvara
161
which is the cause of allthe universe', that was only ta show that because the whole universe ts merely imagined, the Abso, lute can anly be the cause in the sense ol being lhe realsubstra, tum an which the imaginationsare made. There is lo this extent a differencebelween lhe explanationsof lgnorance alfered by SriSankan and Suresvarc.Thetwo explanationsagree basical ly, hawever,as we have aheady explainedat M.V.112. (15) li lhe etfeclwere taken as diflerenllrom the cause, how couldthey becauseand effecl?They wouldbe known as separate,unconnected enlilies,lke lhe Himalayasand ihe V ndhyamountains. But if the effectwerelakenas nondifierent,lhen, sincethere would be identty, there could nol becaLrse and eflect.Whal is actronless cannotfunclion as a cause.Thatwhrchs not ihe oblecloi aclionshouldnot be calledan efiect.And lhal whlch s void oi aclioncannot be a factorof action.Time and aclioncouldnot be causes, as ihey lhemselvesonly exst throughthal (the Self) n whichthey are due lo d ssolve.lt is evidentthat what can nol evenbr ng tself nio berngcouldnol br ng anythingelse nlo be ng, whateverts efforts.(B.B.V11.i.399 402). Here the whale concepttanaf causally ts rejected as atianally indefensibie.A few verses later Suesvara sums up.'And so lhe creationsand withdrawalsofthe universedawn the ages arc imagtned,just as the disltncttonsof time and space are. When you have seen realtty,yau know that lhe creatian,maintenance and wtthdtat al of the universe ate lnpossible (B.B.U. 11.i.411, 14.v.129,8).And so Sresvara keeps lo thal lndttton of the ttue -.xperts in Vedanta,which says that the causality suppased ta praduce lhe watld ts tllusory, The Treatmentof Universaland Particular Thuslhe treatrnent oi causeandeiieclin Suresvafa's works rs not ntroducedlo show lhal lhe Absoluters lhe causeol lhe \\rord. ts purpose s aclua y to refutelhe who e conceptionol
ChaplerS causalityby firstsuperimposing lhe notionol causalilyonlo lhe Selt in orderlo leach and existenceol lhe laller(lhe Sell,read almano slilvam),and lhen rellling caLrsalityn the lighl o{ the Sel In ts lrue nature.Thecase wilh lhe teachingol universal and oarl cular is simllar.The firststeo is to teachthe ex stence ol lhe Sell by superimposing onlo ri lhe nolionlhal il is a univer' sa . n order,in the end,lo be ableto denylhal il is characlerizabie erlheras a universalor as a particular, Here loo. Suresvaralollowslhe methodof lhe reveredCommentalor. Indeed,n the preI m naryialseattribulionof lhe notionsol universaand parlicuar, he Io lowslhe methodof the Upanshadilse t, as we can now see, As the parlicularbealsin a drum-rollcannotbe heardseparalelylrornthe drum'roll tsel{,even so lhe thingswhoseexrst' ence dependson lhe Sell cannotbe perceivedseparatelylrom he Se f (B.B.V.ll.iv.267-8, Fisl one has the general condensed). perceplion,Thoseare the soundsoi a drum, or one rnayheaf them in a morespecific,but stillgeneral,lorm as Thosesounds arrsetromthe slrikingol a drum in a specraway' Bul any relalive y speci|c sounds,or particriiarsounds,are only heard as pa( ol theiruniversal, (cp.B.B.V.ll.iv.275the generaldrum-roll genera perceplion indeterminate 80) Aga n. lirst one has the pot. aller ihat lhe specitication'is', yieldingexrslenlpcf. And so lhe ongina generalperceplionis lurtherspectredinexper' enceby sub generalperceplionis turtherspeciliedin experience parircular by subseqLrenl zation(havinga longspoul,existingat place such and such a and time, etc.: B.B.V.ll. v.281).Again, eachiurtherspeciticaton in our knowledge of a !niversalandto the accornpanmenl ol il. And, in the same way,everygenusor parl cularrs itselfknownas accompanied (cil) by Consciousness rrnperleclly known.ll is superimposed on lhe Sel{ lhfoughabsenceof knowledgeol lhe laller.Bll lhe inmoslSell does nol requireany exlernalsupporllo eslab sh ts own ex stence.The Sellbeholdsthe nol-sellonlywhenrtsputson ihe I very of belng anindvdual experience. B!i il experiencesitsellas ndepend
Suresvara in ils lrue stateonly.Examplessuch as lhe ent Consciousness sounds ol lhe conch and lute are also given to tllustratelhe drssoutron01all parlicularseverywhereintothe one greal univ e r s a, ' B e r n g " And yet one musl rememberthat in realilyna distinctiantnto untvetsal and patticular exisls, For though the universal is invariably found tn lhe patticula€, the particulars are not invanably found tnthe untversal.Butlhe unive6alcannol be perceived separatelyand withoutbeng in some way rclaled ta lhe pattrcularc. Even if ane admitted that universal somehow existed n tsolalian from patticulars, lhey would then become parlicularc lhemselves,like thal parlicularshort'homed cow'wi!hin the 9eneral species caw. And il ane cannot establish lhe existence al universalsone cannal establishthe existenceof particulars eithet When one cannat establish lhe existenceol either univer sals or particulars, tl ts vain to talk about a particular falltng wtthin a universal. Far the relation ol canlatnet and contained tmplteslwa terms. And na telatian ol distinctianor af any olher krn.l can be establishedas holding between universal and particular. This is the ltne taken by Suresvan in his retrcction. ln thrc connectian the follawingve6es are warlhy at' note. (1)The sound ol lhe drum in generalis mentionedto exemp||lythe broad unrversalas such.The drum,roll'reiersto lhe partrculars conceved as the universaiin its other (r e. parlicuarized)lorm.And lhe referencelo 'exlernalsounds' (Brhad.ll.v.7)reierslo the ( mpossbil ty oi hearng the)par I cu aTs alone (conceived as somehow separcte from the unlversal).Theseare the threeexamplesthat lhe Upanishad gives (ta show lhal sound in a patticular form is dependent an saund tn a more genetallotm both ta exist and la be knatyn.sathat particular Being,also, dependson mare generalBetng bath la exisl and to be knawn). (B.B.v.ll.tv.2889) (2) Nothng wha,'ever can be establishedby the meansot
Chapter-8 oi lhe notionoi Be ng,whether va ld cognrtion independently regardedas lhe sameas Beingthroughnvanableconcoml or as of tance,or as ditlerentirom t throughIndependence. therecannotbe anylhng the nalureof non being,BecaLlse separaieJromBeing,lhere cannoibe anything n re alron thal,whatevers lhe wrlhdolng.And one shouldundersland case with Being,exactlylhe same is the case w th the rn most Self,the realityol which is sell'revealed,and does by anyseparatemeansol cognr_ not havelo be established tion. (B.B.V ll.rv.290-1 ) No realityseparatefrom Being conceive.Jas a untversalcan be establlshedelher as tn canstantconcamitancewith Being al as independentcf Being,ar as non-being.Thisis whal the exam ple af Being conceived as the highesl univercal shows Sa the poinl ts praved by the example ol Belng concetvedas the highest univercal thal there cannotbe any rclation al Being with any lhing else takenas separale.Themeaningis lhat lhe same non' ..lualityobtains inter case of lhe self revealed Self (whlch rc nat frarn the higheststandpoint,a universal). (3)The pot is perceivedas ex stenl,as havinga longspout as situatedat a certarnplace,as existingal a certalnllme No new obieclis pefceivedeacht me thereis a furlherde l e r mn a l i o n (. B . B . V l l . i v . 2) 8. 1 This is an example to show haw allthe latet delermtnattan arc cantainedimplicitlyin the firsl indeterminatepercepttan 14)In the sameway,everylhng lhat is perceivedis super perceived as it is nvariably mposedon pureConsciousness, accompaniedby that. Everythingin lhe world whethera has lgnoranceol p!re Consclous universalor a particular, (B.B.V. ll.iv.282). ness as ils causeol the (5) There is no other sourcelor the eslablishmenl inmoslSe f tself nmostSe i aparllrom the (selt'revealed) ln the case ot the not self, means of valid cognlron are
Suresvara
r65
reqlrred. Evenlhen,the noi-selfis only knownlhroughthe ndividLraknower,who dependslor his own existenceon the Self.iB.B.v.11.1v.283, with gloss). The inmost Self is its own means of valid cognitian.The not self is only establishedat allthrcugh the Sellas means of cogni (6)The Sell can only beholdthe not-selfwhen it does the very ol an ndrvidual able act and experience. As pureV, sion rased above change,il does not beholditseli n lhe same way.The not sell, beingcomplex,is knownlhrough perception. The Self,beingsimple, s knownthroughltsei in ihe iorm of knowledgebearinginwards.(B B.V ll.iv2845). The Self as an individualcapable of action knaws the not sell through applying one of the means of valid cognjtion. The Self in ils true transcendenceknows itself tn immedtateexpe ence Attthoutrecourselo any exletnalmeans.Moreaver,lhenol self as known by the jndividual knower through his means of knowledge is a camplex entity.But the Self does nat enler tnto compastton wtth any ather being. It is known through its awn Self n the forn of knawledgebearing tnwards. (7) (The whole conceptionol universaiand particularsis un ntelligible ) The universalcan no rnorebe idenlcal ,,vih part the cularsthanthey can w lh L But if lhe un versa;be takenas d slinctfrom ihe parlicularstherecan be nc un! versal(andhenceno parlicularseither).lt a un versalvrer€ as not being n constanla concorli laken per impasstble lanceu/ilhils partculars(andso as nol be ng denl:ca\ rith them),lhe unlversaland its part cularswould be dislinct, likean elephantand a ral. Bul thenwhal we ca I a universal wouldb-oa pari cu ararnongparliculais,ikeasho:t horned c o w n a h e r do i o t h e r s( B . BV l l . v . 2 6 97 0 . c p .N , l . V 1 3 0 . 3 1 'Among pa iculars - lhat is, it wauld eith-.r be a parltcul.ir
166
Chapler-8
sub-speciesamang species, ot a partlcular among parttculars Thetreatmenl ot the Oiscriminationolthe Five Sheaths The view ol Suresvaraexpressedin his Varlikais lhal the rs ntroduced leachingaboutthe FiveSheaths(cp.N/.v.39),10o, in lhe Upanishadsin orderto bringout the natureot the Sell as lhe Absolute by first attributingto il possessionof the Five This Sheaths,blrtonly wilh a view to denyingthenrafterwards. {ollows. as methodot teachingmay be brreflysummarized The nolionthatwe are in deilicalwilhlhe shealsis implanled arisinglrom beginnnglesslgnorance.ln in us by an impresslons Vedanta,lhe sheaihsare nitiallyaccepledas a devicethrough whLchto introducelhe idea ot the inmosl Sell ex st ng wilhln The inmosl Sell, tholgh only one, apthem (TB.V. 11.232'3). pearsthroughlgnoranceas if limitedby lhe Five sheathsin two ways, lhl is, on the individualplans and on lhe cosmicplane (T.B.V.11.234-5).The sheaths,beginningwith the sheathmade They each haveto be physical (the body)are eJlects. up oi lood f rsl dissolvedinlo their malerialcauses,food and so on.Then each earlierone in turn has to be dissolvedinlo the next in the series,untiltheSelfis leftas lhe supremeca!se, and lhen even lhe nolionlhal ii is a causeis cancelledby the knowledgeans_ lexls,and il finallyremainsoveras lhe ing lrom the upanishadic A6solute n its lrue lorm (T.B.V236_7). (Firsl ane must meditale one ane's own individual body as being nalhing avet and above'food , the matler ol lhe casmos, The none must medt Ltntilil ts finally felt to be so (T.B.V 11.253). tate ane s own vilal eneryy lill it is felt la be ane with the cosmic on one'smind (manas,M.v.25,8)as vitalenergy(T.B.V 11.254), ta casmrc mind (exprcssed as lhe Veda,T.B V IL3A6), on one s lntellect(buddhi,M.U25,8)as the cosmicintellect(hiranyagarbha the one wha'has'and rcaiizesthe ideas tn lhe casmic mind' 1'.8 V. 11.306f.), and an lhe ioy arising lram the merit af ane s riluals and prescribed meditations (TB.V. 11.320'22:342'5)as
Suresvara
167
constttutinga sheath of lhe Absolute (ihe anandamaya-kasa) whtch is a false appearance ol the Absolute (TB.U ll.340-2), thaugh its tue nalute ts nothing other than the Absotute (T.B.V. u.341).T.N.) li (no accounlweretakenof the cosmicplaneand)ontythe sheathsoi lhe ndivdual p ane were dissolved, the resullwoutd be the knowledgeof a'seli' ndividualized by ts own body and m nd. rnlhe mannerol the Sankhyateaching(T B.V 268).Each lalersheaththal s menlionedin the seriesis spokenoi as some, th ng separaletrom lhe earlierones,lt is regardedas .anolher rnlerna seli accordng to the formula'it(lhe precedng seti) s jilled by that (lhe later one)'.As the seriesprogresses,each sheathis said lo be illed by ihe next one followingt, whrch conslrlutesits true'se l'. So we se6lhal the sheathmadeup of iood s accompaniesby the remainingfour,beginningwth the sheathmade !p ot the vitalenergy.The shealhmade up ot the vrtalenergyis accompanied by the remaininglhree, beginning w th the sheathmade up ol mind (i.e.the sheathsmade up of rn nd intelect and bliss).On this basis,ail elfectshave to be d sso ved in the supremecause by not notingthat the taler sheathsare rn conslanlconcomitance with the earlierones of the series,while the earlierones are not inconstanlconcom, lance w lh lhe laterones (T.B.Vll.263). The realilylhal has to be communicated by this device s lhe Absoute. lt ls laughtin the secondSectionol ihe Tait|riya Upanishad (theAnandaor Brahmananda Valll). And thethirdSeclron (BhrguVa i) explainshow the exislenceand natLrre of lhe Absoule has ear|er beenlaughtby poinlingto the mutLratcon, comrlance and non-concomtlance amongslthe varioLls sheaths. sc lhal the two Sectionsagree.There is onty this sma I drifer-.ncethal In lhe lhird Sectionthe Absolute s taughl as being pure Eliss n ils lrue nalure throughthe negaiionol the Fve Sheathswh ch are effeclsof lgnorance,as is rmp cit in the lext fie had the knowledge"The Absoluteis bljss"'lTaitt.lll.6). (See
ChapteFS
T.B.V|L332-s). And,in the sameway,lhe meaningof the lext'A person becoFes non-€xislenc€(afhe thinks the Absoluteto be non(Taitt.ll.6)is loundto be th€ same.Foril saysthat il existence)' a manthinksol lhe Absolule, whichis in fact realas his own Sell,as beingoneol the sheathsandthereloreunreal,he becomeshimsel{ unreal.The knowers ol theAbsolute holdthathe aloneis r6alwhoknowshimsollastherealAbsolule..bevond lhe sheaths.Thereforeoneshouldn€gatealltheshealhs,whichhave beenimagined lgno€nceandrealize through lhaloneis thesupremeSell,nolsubj€ctto change(lB.V 11.353-6). 'n thrsconlext,theseare lhe versesof lhe TaittlriyaVarlika mostworlhyol Consideralion. (1)Themindhasbecome deeplyimpregnated withimpres sionsin thisbeginning lessrealmoJlransmigralion. lt can, however,be lurned towardslhe inmostSelf bV a device, andso thisdeviceis nowselforlh.In kulh,theoneinmost Self has no contactwith duality.lt only undergoesbifurcationInloinnerandouler,subjeclandobjecl,by wayof illusronlhroughlgnorance. On the subjective side,ihereare lhetivesheaths beginning wilhlhe sheathmadeupot food (thephysical body),alongwiththe inmosiSeilion the ob' jeclive side,therearefoodandtheremaining maleracauses of ihe Iivesheaths(i.e.earth,water,fire,aif andelher). Havingd;ssolved ihe riveindividual sheathsiniotheircosmiccounterparts by meditation, oneshouldmedllale onlhelive cosmiccounterparts ol the fivesheaths, lakingeachsLlcceeding one as the inner'self'olits predecessor. Havingthls dis' soivedlhe wholenotionlhatoneis in anysensean elfecl,one shouldrestin the nolionthatoneis thecause.Andthenlinally oneshoulddissolve thatnolionlhroughthesupreme Vediclexls, andattainto ihe Absolute as one'sfealSelt.(T.B.V11.233-7). (2)Thoughlhe Selicannot beidentical withtheFiveShealhs,
SLrresvafa
16S
rl appearslo be so throughlgnorance.as the rope,snakeap, pears to be identicalwith the rope.And it appearsto suffertn tune wilh the sheaths.(T.B.V .250). (3) As each ettect in lurn is ol lhe natureof its material cause,ihe Absoluleis jnJjnite,and lhe sankhya duaiism belweenNatureand Spiritis avoided.Eachmaterialcause rn lhe seriesexistsindependeny of its eflect,which precedes lt in lhe series(as the cosmtcvilal energy exists independentty of food and is lhe sourceJromwhich food proceeds).And yei it invariablyaccompaniesjls ellecl. Henceour lhesisthal lhe eltectls nothjngover and above the malerialcausecan be supporledby argutngtrom indepen0entextslenceand invarjableconcomilance (vyalireka and anvaya)...aillourol the other(andhighe, sheathsare presenlIn the shealhmadeup oi lood.Thethreeotherh gher ones are presenlin the vrtalenergy, two rn lhe mrnd(tntelrecrand btiss),one (btiss)in ihe inte ect. (T.B.Vi1.268,9, 271). (4) The Absolutewas taughtin the secondSectronot the TaitlifiyaUpanishad_To explainthe methodhow it hasto be rearned,the thirdSectionof the Upanishadrecounls(Tarll. ll.l. ,olc.)how Bhrgusaid to Varuna,,Hotyonel Teachme BrahmanlWhen the goal has {irstbeen exptained,tt Ihen remarnslo explainthe means.The means are the Five Sheaths,tor one reachesthe Absoluteihrough(meditatng on) them {as taught).lt is ctear lhat they are the rneans, llecause the Seti is seen through lhem when Ihey are analyzedand meditaledon accordingto the tawsot universalconcomitance (anvaya)andIndependent exrstence (vya 1 i-.kal.(T.3.V.t1.333-5). After explainingStiSankarc'sinterprctationof the ,\|ord'tapas iaustenty) given in hB commentaryonTaittirjya 1.1.Suresvata adds hts o\vn. which runs:'Tapas is pondering accordtngto the laws ol .onslant cancamtlance and independent exislence:,
S!resvara (T.B.V.lll.1g).Theprcsenl passage should be underslaodin lhe light af lhat. (5) lJ a pe|son idenlilyinghimselJwilh lhe shealhs'thinks that lhe Absoluteis 'inreal allhoughin facl't rs rearas l_s own Sell, he himseltbecomeslnreal in this world This _avebee_ beingso.one shouldrlseabovethe shealhslnal imaginedthroughlgnoranceOne shouldlake relugein the endlessand nol subiectto supremeSell, beginningless, 356) (T.BV ll 353' modilicalion.
171
knowiedge erencewasto perceptual arisingfromthe division Inlo knower,knowledge and known.The detailsare givenal Vartikalll.iv.1 5-18(seeM.V121,5 below). Brhadaranyaka Consciousness in itstruenatureonlyexistswherethediviknowledg€ sronintoknower, andknownhasbeentranscended. passage'You Thesequelto the cannotseethe se6rof sseing' (Brhad.lll.iv.2) showsthatlhe Sellis theWitness of thecomplex lormedby the Individual knowerwiihhisknowledge anditsobjecis.li rsnolilsellan objectot cogniiion, andwe knowJromthe verylactol rtsbeinglhe realin itshue nature(whichtranscends alldisinctions, including ihatintosubjsctandobjecl). Thusit is perception. saidthatthe SelJcannotbe an objectoJempirical Thereexislsa Witness inthelighlol whichalonetheexperience 'l see'and 'l do nol see'is possibl€. ThatWitnessmusl be ndetilied wlthpureConsciousness. ll canonlybeknownthrough percep' ts own lght. ll cannotbecometh€ ob,eclol empirical tron.The individual knowerand hisknowledge andiisobiects are non'consciorJs by nalure.Beinga complex, theyexislfor lhe sakeof anolhera {cp.u.S. (prose)seclion56).Theycannot provrde knowledge oJthevisionof theinmoslWitness.They cannoi evenknoweachotherunaided. Theydependon lhe consciousness ol the Witnessto establish themselves at all.How couldlheypossibly seetheseerot all?
BelweenSubiectand Objecl 121The Oistinction The Selfin iis lrue nalu€ as seenlrom lhe standpoinlol lhe highesltruih is also laught by the melhod ol lirst talsely at_ sulliect experiencrng trib!lingto it the characterol an individual pure the we find example, For and then felractingthe teaching frguSell oi the nalure lrue thal constilutesthe Consciousness the places Upanishadsas in the rativelvrelerredto al various perceiver' This oerce;tionol the individualand as the individual ionsciousness,whichin itslrue natureis one,appearsas many in its true lorm as throughlgnorance,And then Consciousness anging ' lhe consclousness withlhe empirical one is contrasted ;and in this courseot ihe activityof the individualexperiencer: nalu'e lo its lrLle lorrr I rs telerredlo as ConscroJsnessln ensutelrle conlrasl.
On lh s sublecl,one shouldconsider thetollowing verses. (1)ThalSeer(theWitness) is iiseltlhesight.ll is notoneot a complexol aclorsin an actron,Forsrghtis hereclaimed oi the Seer.(B.B.VlViii.1435) as a characlerislic
comes into beingand suffersthe Empiricalconsciousness qrowlh srx cnangesol slate lcomlng orlo belng exlslence 'g In everylh by develop'renl.declne, deslructlon)undergone J_ by stage lne remporalreal/n.Bul it is pervadedat every changingpure Consciousnessin its true lorm We have lfe 'The Absolutewhich is directlyand rmme lexl, too, upanishadic dralelyevidentis lhe Self, presentwilhin all (Brhad lll iv2) mightsuggesllhal rl was tne Indr' The word directly'(evident) vrdua sublectwhich was belng relertedlo So tqF word\'ard irnmedlalelyare added1osel at reslany suspicionthal lhe rel
On accouniof the alt bulian al seeinglo the Seet as an essenttalprapetly (nol as a mare temporatyactivfiy)in the upanishadic phrase'(There is nabrcakin)lheseeingol the Seer' v/eunderslandlhal seetngis to be lakenasthe essentialnature al the Seer.So the Sell is not an agentcatryingoul an act ol seeing.
il
Sutesvala 172
Chapter€
imitations, iiketheappar€nt limitations in spac6introduced (cp. by the production ol apot M.V 27,1)(B-B-Vlll.iv.gg100).
(2) Consciousness is one only every where. t s differenl undergoes frorn all the not-sell.This one Consciousness causes lorms through in many dillerent illusorymanitestation (B.B.V. lll.vii.60). arisinglrom lgnoranceof it. (3) Consciousness, which is actionless,assumesthis la' miliarform ot empirjcalknowledge,dividedinlo individua subject,act of knowingand objecl.But consciousnessil' self ls wilhoutthis division.Eecauseil is one and the sole reality,lhe familiarempiricallormonlyarisesas an appear in ils truelorm. i is ance,everpervadedby consciousness onlywhenpervaderand pervadedare exhaustedIn thatrelatianlhal we have peruasionIn the irue sense,as ln lhe case ol the pervasionol the rope-snakeby the rope.There cannolbe pervasionin the full sense betweenlhingslhat by spaceor lime, likethe Himalayanand are dilterentiated Vindhyaranges.(B.B-Vlll.iv.96-8) Becauge vision, as an action explicablethrough the faclars ol aclion, is invariably accompanied by Cansciausness in the lrue sense, which is not a t'actorin any action, we say that em' prtcalvision arises'pervadedby pure Consciousness,and lhts imphes tha! it is pervaded by it in the same sense lhal a rope' snake is pervaded by the rcpe. This alane is pervaston in lhe slricl sense. When we say, far instance, that the pol ts per vaded (encompassed)by the light ol a Lamp, lhal ts loose us' age. (4)Th s empiricalvisiorron the part ol the S€lfdependson iactors Butknow expereincer andotherillusory lhe rndividual is real n lhe high' ofthe inmost Self lhallhe Consciousness presence ol realCorlsciousest sense lt is onlylhroughthe ness,and peruadedby it, thatthe empificavrson en joyed by the Sell comes and goes and solferslhe s x stagesoi developnentlypicalol alliempcralbeing(comingrntobe' Ing. etc., cp. above, Ivl.Vp.344) The mitatons thereby lmposedon lhe universalConsciotsness:r'o bul apparenl
173
'i:
f $ s d f j
(5) Andin caselhe characlerization'directly evidenl'suggesls an active seer,the phrase'ihm€diatelyevident'is (Brah.lll.iv.1)... addedio prevent thissupposition Thephrase 'rmmedialely ' (aparoksad) is usedto negatelhedisevidenl linclion inlo individualsubjecl,knownobject,and knowledge,and lo conveya realaly that is wilhoutdistinctions. Whenlhe disiincllonitnosubject,obj€cland knowledgeis negdled, the self-revealed Witnessaloneremarns overas established, revealed by lhe characterizalion'immediately evidenl'.(B.B.Vlll.lV.15,17-8). (6) ll is sald(bythe revered Commentator) that,sincethe rndv dualsubjectandhisknowledge anditsobjectonlyexisl relalrvelV to oneanother, it is thetrueandeternalnalureol theSeltto be theWilness... you lt,withthatvisionwhereby are ableio say'l know'and'ldonotknow'youare ableto lurn roundand see lhal very visionitsell (as i, it were an oblect)'then pleasespeakout (andluckto you!)... Those whosaylhal,whentheWitnessol all the modilications ol the mindis esiablished as sell-revsaled experience, there slillremainssomething to be broughtaboutby aclion,will haveihe diJliculty ol explaining withwhatinstruments the Wilnesscouldperlormin aclionB.B.v. lll.iv.82; 80;1.iv.320. The operalianol the validmeansol cognitiondependson thepriat establishment of the Con ciousnesslhat is Witnessof all This,beingself-revealed, doesnot dependon anythingelse. No contributionto lhat whichis the Witnessby naturecan be givenfat aclivitiesapprcptialetothatwhichis merelylhe known. As the pawer af a lamp to shed llght cannot be increased byanvolh Lamp,so the lampof mmedale e^penence$ incapable ol being increasedby any olhet immediateexpeience. Thisbeinglhe case,lhosewhosaythata immediateexpeience
Chapter-8 is samethingthal has to be brcugh! about by actian will have the difficult task of explaininghaw, with what instruments,and lor what end, immediateexperiencecould be praduced.That is lhe meantng. Whai hasbeensaidso lar hasbeensaidirornlhe standpont so ol talseallributon, Now we begrnthe corresponding retracprior t gn-The Sell's unconditioned Visronstands lo all activity eilheroi seelngor of any otherkind.lt is not subiectlo increase or diminution.ll is not a lactor in any action.lt is lhe Seli in lts true {orm.lt becomesa Witnessonly lhroughassocialionwiih metaphysrcal lgnorance.Andthe very notronol assocat on with lgnofanceis itselia creationoi lgnorance.In ls true nature,the unconditioned Visionraisedaboveall changecan no rnoTebe a W t_eqslhan Ihe non-conscioLs can, PLreconscroLsness cannot be a Witnesslor lackof a connection wrthany objeclcapable of beingwrtnessed,whrlethe non-conscious cannol be a Witness evenwhena connectron with such objeclsexisls.The supremeSefasConsciousness sthereforeonlyaWitnessthrough lhe rnedi!rnot its refleclionin lgnorance.On this view,a d lfi' cu ties can be solved. (7)The nmoslConsciousness has stoodeiernallywithout ever risingor selting,the priorcondilionlor the possibility ol the actlvityof an individ!alexpereincer, itsellnot a factor _ dny act on. lransce-dent(relationles./. T'rq ,c r.e l'ue iorm of the SelJ,not of the natureertherof a causeor of an eilecl, eternallymanifest,homogeneous, void of a dark ness and all distinclions. lt assumeslhe lorm of a lV tness only throughconnectionwith metaphyscal gnorance.And lhe noliongl conneclionwith lgnoranceis itselldue only to lgnorance.(B,B.V.lll.iv.83-5). (8)The unconditioned visionraisedabovea I changecan no rnore be a Wltnesslhan what s non-conscious can. The Lrncondilioned Vis on has no conneclionwithany objectcapableof beingwitnessed:the non-conscous is notcapabe
oi be ng wtinessevenwhensuchan objectis at hand There torethe s!preme becomesa Wilnessof ils own reflecttonn lgnorance(in the iorm of the tndivid!alknower,knowiedge and known).For the reltectionof Consciousness in lgnorance(rsan objeclcapableoJbeingwttnessed, s nce it) is a compoundimplytngretaiionship betweeneiiectand cause. ( B . B . V1 l l v. . 8 9 - 9 0 ) . 'Effecl'here means the intellectand so on/.'Cause means cansctousnessa5 unknown. (Whatevetis campounded(samhata) hasbeen brought tnta oetn9by another and exists for the sake ol anotherand is lhere tore an oblect capable ol being witnessed.An 'compaunded'in lhls sense, cp. U.S. (prose) section 56. TN.) (9) The Self has no secondthing over agarnstit, as t is raisedaboveallchangeand has only lgnorancefor ts appareniconditioning adjunct.Neverthetess, the talsetdeathal il is a W tnessis superimposed uponil by densesoulswhose mrndshave been blindedby tgnorance. (B.B.VLiv.372). The nottan that it is a Wjtness is a fatse supenmpasn@n, candnDnedby the limiting adjunct al barc lgnarance. knower,stationed {10)Theindividual in lhe intelecland iclen, tiiied with t, convjnceshimselfol the presenceoj tgno rance and [s effectsin the Se1, though in truth ii s nol present,lhroughhtsown exlroverled gaze- as simplesouls aitribulebluecoiourto lhe co ourlessetherol the sky.(B.B.V .rv298) The only saurce of our convictionas lo lgnoranceis our own itrrnedtateexperience'l do not know . Even that experienceoc cuts anly through an extroverted gaze. gut if we took wnh a purely introvertedgaze, lgnarance does nat exst. tt is tikekthe case ot the blue calour expeienced when tookingat the ether of the sky.Even at ttme it is being experiencedit daes not actualy extst h ts the same wtth lgnorance.
176
ChapterS
Sufesvara
desire In dreamlesssleepits adiunctis Ingornaceatone,and it lhere standsas lhe causeol the nind and otherlaclorsoJlhe ndividualorganism;;thalis the diflerencebetweenihe slatesol dreamand dreamlesssleep(B.B.VlViii.1528).
Teaching by Examinatlon otThoThree Stelos ofwaking, Dram and Oreamless Sleep The expositionof the lhree slates ol waking,dream and dreamless sleep is nol aimed al teachinglhal those three states reallyexrsl.The purposeot the aulhorot the Vartikais only to communitethe vLrenalureof th€ Sell by tirstleachingI lhrough supermposingon it lhe threestates,and then, by a cr lical examinationol the latter,lo revealin immediateexperiencethe elernalSelf Ireefrom all changingstates. Brielly,the praclicalrnethodJollowedlorrealizingthe Fourlh' ([/.V. 23, intro.)or ljnal realityis this. Whjle slill in the stale where he rs subjectlo talse superimposition, lhe studenlmusl Indidty,he nust then realizethe identilyof lhe body of lhe universew th lhe cosmicmldn (Hiranyagrabha). He mustlhen dissolve thal In the Sell as cause, calledPrajna.And linally,he m!st ernergein his own lrue nature,beyondcauseand effecl, as'neitherthis nor that'. The detailsof this orocessare exolainedin lhe Vartikaon lhe sectlonol lhe Brhadaranyaka Upanishaddealingwith light (lyol h,Brhad.lV.iii.l ft.).The individualsoul as the SpirI viewed (M.V 44, 5, note)is underadlunctswiih intellectpredominaling ol the naiureof Ight. fhroughlgnorancehe enjoyswakingexperiencewhenlhe intellectis awake,and when il is asleephe sees . i i . 4 4 8 ) . T h i si n d i v i d u as lo u l ,a f a s e a p p e a r ' d r € a m s( B . B . Vl V ance composedof impressionsand consistingof an individual is saidlo passintothedreamsubjecland hismeansofcognition, slate whenlhe m nd becomesits won objectas lighl,and in that dream-state alsoihe soulis selt-luminous liqhlonly.Bui in dreamless sleep the only conditioningadjunctis metaphysicallgno' rance.TheSeli hereis lhe causewhichwill lalerproducewaking and dram as rts effecls (8.8.V lV iii.979).In the wakingstate lhe soul perlormsactionsthroughits bodyand organsand exper encespleasureand parn,ln lhe dream-stale,with the intellect lor condilioningadjunct,it sees dreams under the impulseoi
177
ln this connection,Suresvarafollowsthe method of the lJpansiahd andlhe reversedComrnentator in usinglhe example ol a greal lish. The fish slands,in his exposition, tor lhe Se J, diilerenlbolh fromthe bodyand the organsot the wakingstate, knownas'deaih', and trom the desireand activitythat prompt lhe Jurtherexrstence ol lhe physicalbody.And so it can be shown lhal lhe notionthat lhe Sell undergoestransmigralorfexperience is due to melaphysical lgnorance(B_B.VlViii.1148-51).
t
i
:
l
In dreamlesssleepthesoulstandsas'lheSeliunknown'lhe causeot wakingand dreamexperience, and,beingvoidoJname a n d i o r m , i s v e r i i y l h e A b s o l u t e .F o r , a s r e m a r k e d a t Brhadaranyaka Varlikall.i.451,2.we havethe upanrshadic lexls 'All ihesecreaturesgo da ly lot he realmol lhe Absolulebul are caff ed away by de usionand do nol know it' (Chand.Vlll.iii.2) and Thus all thingshere returnlo lhe supremeSelf' (Prasna lV 7).The upanishadic texl givingthe exampleof ihe hawk,too. ( B r h a d . j V. 1 9 ,c p . M . V . 8 31,2 ,n o t e )i s i n i e n d e d t o e x p o L r n d l h e lrue natureol the Sellas eternallypure,consciousand liberaled (B.B.V lV.iri.1158). The phrase folds its wings'referslo its remarnrngin lgnorance. The phrase'(isbornedown)to lhe nesl' relersio llle tacl thal n dreamlesssleepeven the relleclionol Conscousnessresisin lhe lorm ot pureSpirI (B.B.VlViii.l 172, 3) Thal.lheretore,which,in lhe lwo statesol wakingand dream was assooaledwilh lgnorancein the senseol havingapparent condilon ng adjunctsthat were eJlectsot lgnorance,now ln dream ess sleep stands separaled lrom lgnorance (B-8.V. V.iii.J174'5). This is the kue torm of lhe soul,Iree lrom lgno, rance,desireand action.But in wakingand dreamlhere is an extraneouscondrlioning adjuncl,caused by lgnorance(B.B.V. V ir 1205-6).One musl, however,remberthe other point thal a though as explained,desiresceasewhenwakingand dream
174
ChapterS
lhev do remainin dreamlesssleep In lhe cease.neverlheless and they manilestagainin the case Iorm o1a lalenlimpression, oi one who has awokenlrom sleep.They are nevercompletely ol the Sell dawns(B.B.V. tillmetaphysicalknowledge ellminated Viv.378). In dream,the Selfis deliledby desireand meritand demerit. lo the exlernalworld, becauseunrelaled Yetit is oarllvluminous. and rt conformsto and illuminesthe objeclscreatedby menlal rmoressicnsunderihe imoulseol desire.On lhe otherhand,in only as lhe dreamlesssleepthe Sell slandsalone,conditioned pedectiranquillity, dreamless s eep Hence cause,and assumes rs calledpertectpeace(sampraseda,B.B.V lViii.976-8).We admit absenceof knowledgein dreamlesssleep in a certainsense. Thereis absenceof internal knowledgeof the form'Thisam l , of lhe lorm thesecreaand also absenceof externalknowledge Jrombeingin iden_ comes tures'.But lhis absenceol knowledge trtywrlh the supremeSell as the'consciousOne'(prajna).lt s ge I hatoccurs Lndram qultedilierenliromlheabsenceoJ knowled adjuncts.And and waking,whichis due to apparentconditioning this is iaught in the Upanishadwith the help of the exampleol lhe man embracinghis wite {B.B.V.lVili.1309'10). indream' But howdowe knowthatthisabsenceol knowledge less sleep rs due to allainingidentity,and not to a naluralab_ AbsenceoJ knowlegeis, alter all,lhe senceot consciousness? 384) beings(B.B.V.lV.iii.1 typicalcharacteristrc ol non-conscious It is to answerlhls objectionthat the Upanishadsays,'Verily, whenthere(in the stateot dreamlesssleep)he does not see,he s, verily,seeing,thoughhe does not see. For lhere is no break n the seekingol lhe seer'(Brhad.lViii.23). Desire,aclion,ignoranceand the like the nol lhe natureol lhe Seil, as Consciousness is. And the Upanishadtells us lhat lhe soul is unattachedand is nol tollowedin wakingby the etiects ol rts experienceswhen dreaming(Brhad.lV.i.15-6, cp. l\,,1.V40,3). The relalionol the Sell with melaphysicallgnorance
Suresvara
i
I
r79
is begrnningless, (in the senseol limeless),no doubt.But il is acceptedthal ts relationwilh such elfeclsof lgnoranceas posrlive acls ol eroneous cognition,destresand so iorth has a be ginning(B.B.V.iii.1408-9). BLrlwhat is lhe connectionol one who is lhe victimof absenceof knowledgeand erroneousknowledgewiih the metaphysicalteaching(B.B.V lViii.l4lO)? To answerthis queslion dreamlesssleep is expoundedas a statelree lrom ignorance, desireand actiorr.Evenin the dteam-state thesense-organs dtssolveinlo the vehicleof the impressions, as we knowfrom the lext,'Himselinot sleeping,he looksdownon ihe sleeprngsenseo r g a n s ' ( B r h a d . l v . i i i .H 1 1o )w. c o u l di h e o r g a n sb e p r e s e n il n dreamlesssleepwhen not even their impressionsare presenl (B.B.V.lViii.1416)?So, sincethe actionof seeingand ils Jac, lors and resullsare alikeimpossible, a persondoes nol see in dreamlesssleep.And (in anothersense)he does see, sincehe is Consciousness by nalure(B.B.V.lViii1417). Fromihe l6e rng'l did not see (anylhing)'onthe part ol one who has woken up, we know thal, in dreamlesssleep,the absenceol the lndividualsubjectand his knolwegeand il oblects has beendirectlyexperienced In thal slateby Consciousness in ils true nalure(8.8.V lV.iii.1420). It therehad beenany breakin the visionof consciousness one wouldnot be awareof dream, ess sleep, as it would nol have been experienced(B.B.V. lv.ii.1a38).The presentparliciple'seeingin the phrase, . .al thoughseeing,He does not see. For there is no break in lhe seeingof the seer...'(brhad.lViii.23) does not meanlhal there s an ind vidualsubjeclenjoyingexperience. Forthatis impossib/e in dreamlesssleep,Youhavelo be conienlwiththe explanatron lhal the l-notionot dreamlessslaep ('remembered'retrospec live y in subsequentwakingexperience)representsthe Seli in rls lrue natufe.lt is ihe subjeclol lhe participle'seeing'in lhe samesort ot (meiaphorical) (noi sense implyingaction)thatwe speak af space as'givtng'rooms lB.B.V.lV.iii.l1442).
180
ChapteF8
'Howcanthe SelJsee al One shouldnot raiselhe objoction, all if it hasnofaclorsol actionat ils disposal?'For evenin world we do nol s€e the factorsot actional work beforean aclion. Whethertherers action1obe doneor not, belorean action Whetherlhere is actionto be doneor nol, laciorsol actionas a pre-condition can be ruledoul in €ilher case(M.V 122'15). l\roreover, in lhe casewhereseeingis constant,ii is impossible lo eslablisha relationot tomporalsequencebelweenan aclion toestablishthe existence and its resull.so thal it is imDossible (and lo thinkol theseehonce impo6sible ol an€ndandmoans Thedislinc' ingot theWilnessas an aclion,B.B.VlViii.1449). seer,hisseeof an individual tionslhalsei upthe appearance (B.B.V ingandils resullsareshownto ariselhroughlgnorance with tor relation on lgnoranc€ lViii.1450). Th€reis depend€nce or is no such dependence not-selt; but there knowledgeoJthe mere appearance lgnorance,orlhe lactorsol actionwhicharea derivingtromit, whenit is knownthatonlythe Sell exists(B B V lviii.1451-2). Thusin dr€amand wakingthe Seltappearsihroughlgno" ot name according lo ihe dislinclions ranceloundergodislinction so lhal in in dreamless sleep, andlorm,Butthisis lo the case waking. In thai slateone doesto see dualily,as one doesin lhelormof thechang€dreamless sleep,eveMhinghasassumed no ils efiecis,no. lessSell.Thereis thenneitherlgnorance, absenceof lgnorance,for ther€ is then nothingapartfrom the as its objecl(B.B.VlViii.1518-23) Self tor th€ Sell to '6/itness Theretore,in dreamlesssleeplhe S€ll knowsnolhing,without ness.Thus alldifiicultherebygivingup its natureas Conscious lrescanbe explained. sleep aboutdreamless TheUpanishad sumsofthelinallruth see is one' passag€ sleep) the dr€amless in the b€ginning'(ln Her€ M.V.44, iniro.) lV.iii.32), cp likewater'(Brhad. transparent sleep is lhe moaning. Waleris pure.In th€ stat€of dreamless there is no awarenessol causeand oflectbecauselgnorance
Sur€svara
181
and its effectscannotpenetEtethatwhichis eternaltyconsciaus by nature. lt is one, without inlemal distinctions,and not itself standing as an individual within a clas6.That i6, it is one only, withouta second. It is not a seer (in the empidcal sanseol ona peioming the act ol seeing), Fot it is by nature void of the factots ol action, and there b nothingtot it to see. lt is atso nonclualbecause it tanscends ln lgnotunce and its effects (8.8.V iii. 1798-1806). h is everimmediatelyevident.Thercatmol the Ab'oluteis no,prcpe y speaking,eitherltanscendent ot tmmanent. It is that [6latel (oka) which is the Absolute. The imptication is that the trus nature of th6 Sell is the Absotute. This is knownfrcmlhe highesttextsol the Upanishads, whercthe subject-ptedicaterclationol the wotds,andlhe mutualqLlalilication givesriseto a sdntencewhichcan only ol lhe word-meanings (and expressan indjcation notdenolea definitemeaning,B.B.V lv.iii.l8'l9-21). thisis the higheststat6ol th€sout,whichputs an end to all otherstates(B.B.V.lviii,1828).lt is his supreme possessaon, hasunsurpassable slalo ol glory.lt is the highest realmto which he can attain,lor it is indestructible. ll is his supreme bliss.Forit exceEds alloth6rbliss,and'allothercreaturessubsiston a fraction of tho bliss'(B.VVtViai.iB2B,-32, -40). 36, Thls troln an examinationof the stateso, wakrng,dream anddreamlesssleepwe caneslablishthatth€ sell is real,lhat it kanscendsaillhe not-self,thal it is unalloyed,that its natureis unsurepassablebliss,lhat it is a pureunily,that it is Consciousnessand nothingelseand thal it is withouta second. The moslimportantverseslo consid6rin lhis regardare the iollowing. (1)The6eekerof liberation (havingidentified himsellwilh Vaisvanara, the Sellas associated withthe cosmosin its proceeds objective lorm,cp.M.V43,6), onlromVaisvanara andidentilies himsellin hish6anwithitsinnerself,Taijasa or Hiranyagarbha hedissolves thisinro {M.V23;43,6).Then
Suresvara
ils innerself,the CosmicVitalEnergyThe term VltalEn_ ergy as used in ih s contexlmeansihe Self as cause(viz' lhe Self qua unknown).lt is ihe seed oi everyeiiectand rs also ;knownas lhe ConsciousOne' (prajia, l\'4v 23 and 43). E{iectscannoi dissolveanywhereexcept into lhelr the seekeroi iberaion has rnalerialcause.Therefore,when reachedthe causeoi all,he shouldproceedon lo the Abso_ lule in ils lrue naiure,which ls nol a cause, by thrnkrng 'ne ther ihis nor that'.(B.BV lV li 82-4) (2) Just as, whenthe mind is awake'one dentiies onesell wilh it lalsey and feels'l am awake"so, when lhe mlnd rs the dream,thereis the lalse dreamlngand oneis wlinessing ideawherebyone identiliesoneselfwithlhe dream (B B V lV.iir.448). (3) The Self as cause is indeedthe inmost princp e, bul viewedunder lhe adjunctof bare lgnoranceThe eilects wh ch, as such,il producesare calledwakingand 0ream (B.B.V.lV.ri.979). (4) lgnoranceis the cause ol ihe mind The mlnd is the lt is onlyin lhe realm experiencer. condllon of the individual pleasure and pain.AII rs ol the body thai one experiences (B B V l\/.iii1528) self. causedby lgnoranceof the inmost (5)The true lorm of lhe Selfas pureand conscous and so on s sel lorth an example(al ErhadlV ii 19) by lhe lse oi 'as a hawk'.(B.B.VlV iil l 158) the words (6) By the imageol the loldingol the wingsthe upanishadic lext leachesthal, even hereln thrsworld,the crealurelhal has sprungfrom lgnoranceof the Selfrestsin ts (i e ln the Seli in dreamlesssleep).By the words'isbornedownto lhe nesl t reiersto ihe pLlreform ol the inmostSell assumed by the retleclionof ihe inmostConscousnessrn lgnorance w h e n t h es o u l c o m eiso t h ei n m o s t S e(fn d r e a me s ss e e p ) (BB.V lv.iii.1172-3).
r83
(7) When a I the effectsol lgnorance,rnctud ng the rnrnd, are wtlhdrawn, the relleclionof Consctousness is alsow/ihdrawn,as the reileclionot lhe sun in warerOtsappears wifh rne orsappearance ol the reilectingmedi!m.Be,ofedrearnless sleep,lhe Consciousness associaiedwith lgnorance was identifiedwith ihe efiectsof the talter(in wa-king and clream)The dislinction beiweenConsciousness and ils supposedreflectionarisesfrom tgnorance. (B.B.V lViii.j jT4
s).
The true nature of the reflection of Cansciousness in the mtnd is the inmost Consciousnessitsetf.tn lhe states other than oreamtesssleep, it appears to be djstinct rram lhe tnmost consc/ousress, Dut anly through lgnorance. ln dreamtess sleep, hawever,lhe case is olhen^/ise.Here it restsn its own true na_ ture as pue Consciousness,as lhe reflectionaf thesun in watel retutns to its ongtnal, the sun, when the rellecting medjum js (8) This s the true torm of the soul thar rs heredescribed, Iree Irom lgnorance,desireand actionIn oreamlesssteep. One shouldknowtha he otherlormoitheso!1, undergoing waKtngan0 dream,is due lo an exlraneous cause,thal sole causebeingtgnoranceol the SeJl.(B.B.VtViii.j2OS-6). (9) lndreamlesssleep, whenwakinganooreamhavedisappeared.a rnen,sdesiresdisappear wiih them.They jusl remainrn the form ol taientimpressiors. The upanishadtc texl (Brhad.lViv.7)specitiesall desires,ro snow that, tor immorlalily,even the latentirnpressions oi desirehave lo be neutrallzed. When lgnorance,the causeot des re, has b.en F dot.dreo.1o ate-, 'rnpressro, rerra.,sover,o. d-yth ng elseetther,as Ignorancels the rooror everyphenom enon in lhe emprlicalworld.(B.B.V.lV iv 378 S). It ts only fram the standpaint of empirrcalexperience. ac o d 'o lo Su ectaG. tha!tgnoranceand $ elta.tsalp. io to
F
F 1|ta\
teddng somckata-se
Suresvara
it is nol (10)Thenatureol the Sellis puroConsciousness: ignoranceand lhe rest For desire,aclion,(psychological) llowed(inwak we knowtromlhelexts'unattached'and'not dreaming)'iBrhad' thatit hadwhen ingby its exporienc€s lV.iii.i 5)lhatdesiroandthe restare illusoryPureconsciousness.rais€daboveatlchange,is the truenaiureol the Self lgnoranceis begrningless' withmotaphysical Its association and olher e{leclsol lgnodesire while iis associationwilh as havinga beginning' ranceis regarded ol the Sellandconse_ by lgnorance Whenthesoulis alJlicl€d whatis the leachinglo whichI quentposilivemisconceplion, exol the truth?Thisthe Upanishad haslo turnlor knowledg€ ol oreamless slale the there when tln p,ainswhenrtsays,Verily, sleeohe doesnotsee,h€ is,verily'seeing'lhoughhe doesnot se6ilor thereis no breakin lhe seeingof lhe seer'(BrhadlViii/ 408-10). .23).(B.b.vlv.iii.1 {1'1)Thetext(Brhadlviii230 syas"Hedoesol see'0ecauselherecannotbe le tacolrsol acloa ' dreamless seeing'inrelalionto the lruestale sleep.ll says'although ConsciousoJtheuniversal thepresence ol aljairs(namely ness).(B.B.VlViii 1417). on ones deoe'dence (12)(TheSeltcanbe knownwrlhoul knowl' yielding empirical cognilion subiecl-objsct individual (in dreamless realily edg3.)For il is atlerfirstbeholding and by the triadof knower,knowledge sleep),unattained ol known.lhatonealterwards 0s awareol t_ataDsence lhe lfiaoand)savs tdrd nol (then)see rino'earlpsss'eep) by theSellin its pure o{ seeinEis wilnessed Thisabsence just is seenls also so as whai lorm as Consciousness' isestablished witnessed isothaltheSeltasConsciousness andelernal)(B.BV lViii 1420) as constant in (131lt lnetewereany brea^in lhe s'eing ol thPseer sleeponewouldnothavethe leelingol knowldreamless ihev sronol tnesu edoeonehadbeento sleepTherelore
preme Setf is vord ertherol origin or dissolution. {B.BV l V .| 1 4 3 8 ) (14) As one may use the participleot a verb and fefer melaphorically to the actionlessetherol space as ,grving space, so may one reier metaphorically to the actionless S e l ia s s e e i n g .( B . B . Vl V i i i . 1 4 4 2 ) (15) BecaLrse no iaclofof actionis foundal work belorean ac1rs begun.faclorsot actionsmuslbe deerneduniversally inoperatve at lh s siage...lj thereis no aclon lo be done. there can be no lactorsoi aclton.And even , there s an aclronto be done, lhe notionot faclorso, aclionleads to nr n te regress(as one wouldhaveto assumenew faclors oi actronlo sei lhe orgtnalonesin moitonand so lo nJrn t v) . tl rs thus hard lo show how lactorsof aciionoperale at all. Moreover n a case (tikethat ot the constant,seerng. of the Se 1) where rt s irnpossble to establsha lemporal sequence belweenan act and its result,il ts impossiblelo eslabtish the existence of an endandmeanseilherBul it lgnorance rsaccepted is the cause. alt these diilic![ies becomeexplcabie. Everylhrng s a mere appearanceresultingtronrtgnorance. There rs nothrngncorrecl.(8.8.V tVtii.1444,j448_50) The assertion that, even acceptjng lacorc ol act@ns fram . ire emptncalstandpoint,there is nothing wrang. appearsta be t1c mare lhan an artjrcjal augment based on an unnecessa.y .dncessrcr lo the apponent's case (because Surcsvan has slia\rn al lenglh thal lhere cannotbe t'actatsot actlan at wotk tn l.e case af the'seeing al the Seer).Hence one need to examne itrs atgument taa ctosety But sludenls may rno a passageat !he end af the jntraductorypart of Srj Sankara,s Commentiry to BhagavadGna XVttl.67 al interest.lt begins No, tor that wauld 'Itake what dtd nat act into a perlotmer af aclian . (See tin G Bh xvllt.67. trans.A l\,4ahedeva sesttip.515)
186
ChapterS oJtheSelfwilhthenot-sellis taught, (16)whereaconnection therelhe relerenceis to be a connectionbased on lgno_ rance,lorminglhe notion,basedequallyon lgnorance,ol ableto acl, and ol factorsol actional his disan individual posal,etc.But whenfor the man oi wisdomlhen notion"All idea is basedon realrly SelJ'arises.lhis is the (actionless) il does nol. like the notionot a not-selJ,dependon lgno' ranceand its elt€cls.(B.B.V lViii.1451-2)
(as in wakingand dream) (17)Wherethereare distinciions o{ lgnorance(inlhe lorm oi'l do not lhereis the appearance whateverIn dreamless known'.Butthereare nodisiinclions sleep(and consequenllyno ieeilng'l do noi know'and no lgnorancebelongslo ihe mrnd' cp.l\r.V122,19). lgnorance. found.ll does not belong where it is consislently as that s sleep(prana) ol dreamless in the state lo Consciousness above all change ln lhe one undividedConsciousnessraised ariseslhroughvlsionbasedon lg' distinction an (apparent) norance,a distinctionwhich compriseslhousandsol lur_ ther d stinctlonsthrough name, form and aolion Bul n dreamlesssleep that dualilyis not lound lgnorance'lhe is thanno dualityfor lhe causeot evil, is not present.There distinclioninlo lndividualsublecl, soul to pefceivelhroL.lgh emoiricalknowledgeand obiecls,as thereis in the wak ng and reamstates.Tospeakoftheabsenceof lgnoranceand ils eflectsis lo altirmthe sole existerlceol ihe Seli.eternal and raisedaboveall change,as lhe only realilyTo alfirm lhe soleexistenceof the Sell,lhe cause,in dreamlesssleep s lo the exislenceof the elfect as a reality.(B B Vl\/.iii 1517-20).We now showthe methodol the negalon of the lh ree states. ignoranceoi lhe Seli is nolhingreal Our cerltude as to rls ex slencerestsonlyonlhe{eeling'ldonol knovvlhal arisesln the (T B V 11176) The sou ' cenlredIn courseol emplricalexperience lhe rrind and lookingnot inwardsbul ouiw3rds conv nces itsell ol its gnoranceoi ihe Selt,as one convlncesonasel ol lhe blue
Sutesvara
147
co olf oi lhe (colourless)elher ot the sky. But if it turns its gaze nwards,it tinds neilherignorancenordoubt norwrong knowledge n waking,dreamor dreamlesssleep(B.B.V1.iv298,9). And one shouldnol raisetheobjeclionthat one has to acceptthatlgnorance was presenlin dreamless sleeponeaccountotlhememory'lknew noth ng lhal is supposedlo occurto no who has awokenirom it, For in dreamless sleeponedoesnoi in lacthavethe experience'l do nol know'. And il is not right to say thai the Jeeling'l did noi know (that comes to one after he has woken !p reDresentsa nremory. When DevadattaremembeF'l knew that then', he remembers what he had previously experiencedaccording to its properdetailsol lime and place. But one cannctsay that this sett Looksback over what il had previouslyexperiencedin this way. For.sincethe Sell is the Wilnesso{ time.spaceand causation, it cannol undergodelerminationbyiime, spaceand causation(since il wllnessesthese as objectsand the.eforeas distinctlrom ilselt). lgnorance,again,does nol exist for its own sake. (That which exists for the sake of another is non-consc;ous,cp.U.S.(prose) seclian 71. That far whtchit existsmust be consciousand selfexstent, tn short the one Self taught in the Upanishads. What existsfor the Self has no exstence independentaf the Setl and is rcducible to a temparary illusion arising on the substratum ol the Set, cp. (A)nandagirionB.B.V.Liu 301, lVii.25.TN.) lgnoranceis an illusron arisingin the Sell and appearingbeloreit, likethe illu, 5ronof a rope-snakeand so on. lt is lhus correcl to dismissii as nrerefa se imaginalion. As lhe rope,snakeis talsely imagrnedin the ropeand rs nothingotherthanthe rope,so lgnoranceis imag, ned in Consciousness, and, beingin its trlle natureConsciousness.rnanlleslsthere. And whenthe eternalConsciousness rarsed :bo'/e a lch3nge is known,lgno.anceafld its elfectsare canceled 3.tsV l.,v300 6) li is tftrelhat ai Naiskarmya S ddhi lll.58(prcseintrod!ction) SLrresvara rrakesa caseforthe existenceof lgnorancein dreamlcss s eep,sayrng,'lndreamlesssieepthere s presenithal ,rei/
Suresvara 188
189
ChapleFS
lgnoranceol lhe Sell lhat is the causeof all evil'- But there is nolhingwronghere.Forthiswassaicionthe assumption thaleveaccepts lgnorance at ils facevalue uniilil is finally cancell6d ryone throughmetaphysical knowledge derjvedfromthe holyiexls. Nor should onethinkthatlhisimp,ies thalthere isnoexperience oJlhe Selfin dreamless sleep,whichmightimply,in lLlrn,thatit didnol thenexist. Forwe haveio acceptthatthe Conscio!sness which presentto enableusto say'l knewnothtng(indreamwa6iniallibly lesssleep)'is in taci the Sell,of the natureol immediate experience(B.B.V lll.iv.103). In itstruenaluretheSellis lolallydevoid ol lgnorance, nolonlyin dreamless sleepbutinwakinganddream as well. lt is noi active. lt is inleriorlo all. lt constitules all. lt is thetruenaturebothot iiseltandol anything else.SotheUpanishad was correclto saythatwhenil doesnotsee,in dreamless sleep, yet il is seeingwhenit doesnol see, Brhad.lviii.23. ll no more sees(inthesenseol an activity)in wakinganddreamthanit does in dreamlesssleep. And thereis no moreany breakin ils real Consciousness indreamless sleepthanthere isinwakinganddream (B.B.VtViii.1493-5,1 907-8). ll canbe provedby reasonthatthestatesof theSelJaretalse appearances. The slateof wakingis a falseappearance simply becauseoi its lorrnas wakingexperience, and becauseil has a (admittedly beginning andanend,likelhe (to illusory)appearance the dreamer)ol beingawakein dream.The eflectsoi lgnorance thalliebetoreusareapprehended as non-conscious, andtheyhave no independent existonce ot theirown,likethe waterseenin a mirage(B.B.VlViii.1072-3). Again,wakinganddreamdo notpeF tainto lhelrueSell.Forlheyareonly{ound belonging to theindividualsoul,as apparently delimiledby the mind,itsellassociated \,/th psychological ignorance and desire.Theydo nol in anyway belong lo lheinnerWitness oilheindividualsoul. FortheWitness, kom theveryfaclol beinglheWitness,cannolbeorganicallycon; nectedwilhwhatit witnesses(sincethe subjeclcan neverbe the obleclnorlheobjeclsubject, B.B.VlViii.905). Andagarn,allthe
not-selvesare lalse appeahnces,as they excludeone another mulually,likethe snake,stick,trickleof water,elc.,lalselyimagAnd in dreamlesssleepand inedin the rope(B.B.V1.iv.1496-7), mutuallybut)all comcomalhey {notmerelyexcludethemsolvos pletelydisappearlromview(B.B.Vll.iii.222). Butthe Sellas Con(B.B.V is sciousness neverlosl ll.iv.126), as it is theWitnessbolh ll.iv.129). o1the feeling'l know'and'ldo not know(B.B.V Thus lromtheslandpoint of thetinaltruih,neitherwaking nordrearinor dreamless sleepbelongto therelalionles6Sell.Thesestatesare lgnorance, like onlyillusoryexpedences arisingfromm€laphysical (B.B.V the experience ol the ropo-snako and the rest 11.i.264-6)Thus in all circumstances the S6lf is plre Consciousness. lt is non-dual, anddoesnolundergoditferentstales. Thewholedoctrine thatlhe selfpasssslhroughdiflerenlslales is taught(andthenlaterdeni6d)onlyto bringouthowthesupreme realityis free from such stales. lt is only lrom the te{s ol the Upanishadsthat one can knowthat the supremerealityis freefrom suchstates. lt is onlylromthe textsof the Upanishads thatone canknowthatlhesupremer€alityis lheAbsolute, notfromlogical investigation ol the implications ol the threestatesand kom that (B.B.V alone lViii.1112-S).That is theteachingoftheVartika.Here arethe chiefversesworthyol consid€ration on thesetopics. (18)lgnoranceofong's ownSelfisafals€app€arance, alikein wakrng,dreamand dreamless sleep,lhat com€sintothe Ueldof practical experience, wiln6ss6dbytheSeltlhatisself-revealed.... It is onlywhenthe Conscious One,seatedin the mindand identiliedwith lgnorance, turnsils gaz€outwardslhat it lailsto apprehendits own true Selfand acc€ptslgnorancoand its efteclsas real,likea childacceptingas r€althe blu€colourof the sky. lt doesnotdo so throughits ownlru€ naturc. Butwhenits gazeis lurnedinwards.it lindsn€ithorigno€nce,nordoubtnorwrongknowledgeinwaking,dreamordreamloss slsep.(B.B.Viii.1293, I.iv.2989). (19)Onewhoawakenslromdreamless sleephasthememory
190
Chapler8
' drdnot know anything'.Butthalis nota genuinecogntlion bearingon the slaleol dreamless sleep.Fornothingthalbetongslo lhe Sell can periain to the past, since the Self is unditierentiatedby rin e. spa,a or ol-er .aclors.{B B V t.rv300) (Farlhewhale notion'lgnoranceresidingnthe Self was expe nenced tn the pasl'makes na sense (since neither lhe Self nar metaphysical lgnotance lals within tine.) (20)The innermoslSellis not acceptedas be ng louchedei, ther by past lime or by luture time. Whateverexisls lor anotherexistsas an tllusion appearing on thesubslratum ol ihai Whrchis set-exislent.Henceit is tradilionaliy laughlio be ialse rmaginatron. The faci that a thing belongsto the pasl cannotbe knownthroughperceplion, andihe iactthata thing liesin lhe fuiurecannotbe knownthroughany meansoi vatd knoweclge. Henceall notionsoi pasl and lutureare false knowledge... lgnorance manfestsin the Sett,bul iI truihrt is onlyp!re Consciousness. Sincei1is dependent on ihe nmcst Sellra sedaboveallchange,ihtstmagined causecanbe canceled,togetherwilh its ellects,(lhrougha realization oJone,s tr!e natureas lhe inmosiSeli).(8.B.VLiv.30l-3,6) (21) I Consciousness as iramediate experience was not nvar afilypfesenltn drearnless sleep,how do you explainhow the onewhoawakensfromil canhavetheidea l knewnolhng in dreamlesss eep? (B.B.Vlll.i"103) (22) The Selfin dreamless sleep'isseeingthought doesnol see becauset hasnoneol lhe taciorsol action,becauseit is inieror lo all,becauseit is a I, and becauser ts rne rTuenalure ol all else. 11does nol see in dreamlesssleepfor lhe reas0nmentroned (namelythai it has noneol the jactorsot action,so that it is presentshiningbul does not perlormany act of seeing);butone shouldunderstand thatit doesnol see n r,,akng anddreameilher,lorthesamereason.Andiustas Consciousness s unbroken lhroughoul dreamandwak ng,so s I a l s o n d r e a me s s s l e e p , l o r l h e r e a s o n s g i v e
Suresvara
191
( B . BV . i i . 1 4 9s3) (23) This Se f has unbrokenvision.This has a readybeen decaredlo be the casein dreamand waking.But t is truein lhe caseof dreamlesssleepalso,as the iexi'Whentherein ihe slate oi rJreamless sleep....'8rhad.lViii.23 shows. And the lactorsof acton in dreamless i!sl as the Selllranscends s eepasbareeternalconscio!snessraisedaboveallchange, so does il also transcendthe laciors of aclion in dream and wak ng. (B B.V.lVii .1907-8). (24) This stateol wakingis unreal,simplyon accountoi the facl thal il is a staleol waking. For t has a begnn ng and comesto an end,Ike lhe slaleol wakingthalappears(lo lh€ dreamer)to occurin dream.The wakingslale s a mereappearancearisinglrom lgnorance.lls objects(s ncethey ap pearbeiorethe Witness)are nvariablynon-consc ous, and have no ndependent existenceol theirown, lke the water (B.B.V.Vii.1072-3) seen n a rnirage. (25) I is the mindthalacls,aliiictedby ignorance anddesire S eepng andwakingbelongtothemind;theydo notbe onglo theWrtnessof themind,pureConscousness. (B.B.VlVii.9C5) (26) Whena garlands rnisperc6 vedas a snake,it cannolbe rnsperceived as a stickor in olherways at tfie sarneI me. Simiarly.whenthe nrnoslSells m sperceived as undergorng 0_6ol l'. lh pF rldleso' wa(.ngd ea r andd .a'r e:. sreep. rtcannolbe m sperceved as undergong oneol lhe othersat the sarne1me. Even!nder metaphysrcaL lgnorance. the vari ous not-seves (areseenlo be unrealbecausethey)exclude eachothermulualy.Howmuchmoreclearlywrl theirLrnrea 1y be reveaed when al lgnoranceis d ssolvedwilhoutrernaindern the nrnoslSelf'1. (B.B.V.L v.l496-7) 127)The variousmanfestaiionsof the not-self(are knownto lreunrealbecauselhey)excludeoneanothermutualy. And n dreamess sleep,svroontranceand othersuch staleslhe
192
Chapie.S
Sell as Witnessreveatsthe compele disappearance ol the notself'.(B.B.Vli.tv.222) (28) ln dreamless sleepthe rndividual subjectandh s knowf edge and tls objeclsd sappear,but pure Conscousnessdoes nolCrsappear. However, a lotherthings in theworldapartirom Consciousness excludeoneanothermuluallyand disappear allogetherin dreamlesssleep...Whenevertherearisesthe notron I do not know', this s witnessed by the Seli. How muchmoreevidently is ihisthe casewiththefeeling,lknow,? P u r e C o n s c i o u s n e s s t, h e r e i o r e , n e v e r d i s a p p e a r s . (B.B.Vll.lv.l26,129) (29) The relatronless Selldoesnol undergoetlherdreamless steeporwaktng. How coulditthenundergolheslareof drearn? Waking,dreamanddreamlesssleeparebulnarurat(uncaused, beginningless)lgnoranceof the Self.The rmaginationaryidea llraltheSelfis asleeporawakeor is dreamtng belongsonlyto crealuresasteepin the njghtoi lgnorance.Th s wholeuni verseconstsling of the movingand the fixedis a mere illu_ sion. The Supremeis ils true nature,as lhe ropeis the tfue nalureol lhe tllusorysnake.(A.B.V11..264,6) (30) The notionthailheSellpassesthrougnrnetnreestates oJwakrng,dreamand dreamlesssleepa risesirornother(secuia, meansol knowledge.The vedc teachingappearingto connrmthe existenceof the three states(does nol constilute valrdauthortai/veteaching b!t)is onlygivento contormwith (fa se)knowledge derivedirom othersources (secuar expen_ ence). But the fact that the one who appearsto be passing thro!gh(repeated cyciesol)waktng, dreaming anddreamless sleep rs reallythe Absolutecan only be known from the upansftadtciexts. Henceil ls lhatwhch theyare concerned ro communicate as validknowledge. The purportof,Thatthou art'and oiher rnelaphystcaltexts of the Veda ts to leach that lfe truenatureof one'sown Selfis the Absolute, andthe lrue narureot the Absoluteone'sown Self.(B.B.VlV ii.l i 13,5)
Suresvara
193
CanThere be an Injunction for Knowledge Thereis atext in ihe sectionoi the Brhadaranyaka Upanishad contaning the teachinggivento N,4aiirey which runsi'The Self, ndeed,shou d be seen,heardaboul,ponderedoverand subjected to sustainedmeditation,MaitreyrVerily,through seeing the Seli, throughhearng aboulit,throughlhinking of itandlhroughknowing rt,all this(word) becomesknown'Brhad.ll.iv5. In thisconnection, the questionwhetheror nottheseetngand so on wereenjonedhasbeena subjectlor dispuleamongphiosophers.For example,AcaryaIVlandana wrole:'Thephrase"should be subjectedlo sustainedrnedtation"lspaftofone long connected passagethaibegins"Forthe sakeolihe Sel{"andends"Allthisis but ihe Se f' Brhad.ll.v5-6. The purposeofthis passageis io expoundthetfue natureol the Slef.Thephrasesoccurrng withinii, "shouldbe seen","shouldbe heardabout"and"shoud besublected to sustainedmeditalion",thoughexpressed(in mpefalrveiorm) as gerundves, are not separateinjunctions, bul (belonglo the maln passageexpoundng the Absoluteand) are rntendedfor eulogy. Forthegerundivetermination is saidto haveolhermeanings apart Iromcommand, suchas ascribing worthor value(cp.Paninlll.iii.l69, quoledabove,lvl.Vp.19). The iexl thereioreonly rneans"The Se f is worthyof berngseen,eicl').We havesuchexamplesof th s as 'V gerundive) sii! is worthyolbe ng olferer(it."should be offered", the UpamsuSacri ce"(lS.ll.vi.6),whichoccursarnongst lhetexts aboul offeringlhe UapassuB.Sid.p.155;see also sabara,PM. B h a s y al l . i i . 1 0 ) . Suresvara,however,makes three d sl nclions n treatingth s probem.He saysthai'shouldbe seen'cannot bean njunclon,as I relefsto knowedgeco.dilionedby realily.'Should be heardabout' and shoud be ponderedover'areinlunctions, sincelhey refer10 actionsdependent to sus on the humanwi l. "Shouldbe subjected ta ned medilationis not an nlunction.For sustainedmedilalon nididhyesanais nal an actton bul lhal mmediaie experienceof
194
Chapter 8
ones own true Sellthatconstiuiesihe goaloi lhe Vedantic spir, rlualdiscrpine. 'll shoud be seen',then,is nol an injunction. Why not?In lhe phrase'TheSeli shouldbe seen'the work'Seli refersto one's nmosi Se i, and knowledgeof one's Sell rs already one's own by natureAgain,the knowledge expressedhere by the verb'seen' cannot be enjoned, as t is conditionedby reality.When the word '('owedge s Jseo to reler lo synboic med alo-s \sJah as 'Woman,O Gaularn, is the sacrlfic ialfire',Chand,Vvi 1.1)it stands lor something thatcan be enjoined, bui symboic meditation is not lhe lopic ot lhe presentpassage.Again,there ts no otherseer aparlfrornlhenrnoslSell.Andwhereiheseerandthatwhchhas to be seen are lhe sametherecan be no nlunclionoi the lorm'lt shoud be seen'. For therecannotbe an injunction to an acl of seeng wheretheseer,actingon himsell, is performerand objeclof the same act. Thereiorelhe teachingAl thls (world)is bLrtlhe Sell'(Brhad.ll.iv.6) is givenby the Vedaafterit had f rsl usedthe Iormulanetherthis nor ihat' (Brhad.ll.ii.6) to negatethe notion t h a t t h e S e hl fa d a s s u m e d t h e t o r mt hoef n o f s e i . A n d s o t h e r e a l lorceoi the apparenlinjunclionlheSelfshouldbe seen' s to give some nlormalionaboutsomelhingthe hearerdld not previously know Th s s the gisi of Suresvara'srefutalon 01the possibililyot tnefebe ng an injunction for seeing. Oblectionsra sed by opponenlsare disposeclof as fo lows. One shou d not objectthat the Vedictexts mak ng rnetaphysi cal stalementsare no rnoreaulhoriativelhan casualworldlyremarkslke'Thereare fiveiruilson the riverbank'. Norshoutdone oblectlhal the wordscannotbe properlyinterconnected io iorrna sentenceior ack of a verb. For the Vedawill be an authoritat ve meansolknowedgeii il canawakenanyonetolhe truthoi thesole rearly of lhe one Seli,a truth naccessb e lo any olhermeansof knowedge.AndtheVedictext canpedormthisfunctionevenwhen the connectons of the wordswithlherrrneanrngs are nol apprehended,as in the caseoi sentences thalawakensleepers. Nordo
Suresvara
195
lhe melaphyscaiiexts ever lack verbs,as forms of the verb'to be' can alwaysbe understood and supplied, The remarkaboutthere beinglruils on the iver bankconcernsa matterwhichcan be known Iromsourcesolherlhan the spokenword. lt does nol concerna maiterlhalcan onlybe knownlhroughverbalrevelation, so il was an fie evanl exarnpte. Hereare lhe chiefversesto consider. (1) In the phrase'TheSelfthatshouldbe seen'(Brhad.ll. v.5) lhe word Sell'fefersto lhe inmostSelf,as lhe Sell is invari' ablyexperienced as lhal whichis inmosl.The words'should be seen'relertoa correctknowedgeofthatthrough theVeda. It s trLe thal everyone s naturallyaware of lher own Seli Bu1whaltheydo notknowis thal it is the Selfol all. ll is that deathal s alilrmedby theVedaas something newthathaslo be known.Thistext,however, couldonlybe an injunclion to acl f lhe knowerandthe thingto be knownweredifierenl In lhe presentcontexllherecan be no injunclion to acl,tor ack ol any ditferencebetweenwhai was enjoned and the one on whomlhe injunclon v,/aslaid.(B.B.Vll.iv.95-7) (The idea is that, becauseone does nat know that allthis is one's own Self, il is carrect lo suppase that this is whet the text affirms.But there js na cammandto perlorm any acl here since, allhaughlhe lexl assumeslhe grcmmaticalformol an lnpnctrcn, there is no distinclianbetv/eenwhatis enjoinedand lhe one on whom lhe niunctpn is laid. Whatwe have, rather,is the communicatian af a piece af hilhertounknowninformation.) (2) The idea'Alllhisis the Self is validknowledge conditroned by the objeclknown Only if it had been the idea ol somelhing akeadylamilari.oin wor d y experience,l ke f re,couldri havear sen ng subjecl rndependence on lhe arbitrary willof theindividualknow ( a n d o n l yn s u c h a c a s e c o u L d i t h a v e b e e n l h e o b l e cnl ol ul annc to rneditate, as s mp icily lhe case tion,for nstancean injunclion fire', (Chand. n the lext Woman,O Gautama,is the sacriiicial V v i i . l , c p M . V p . 3 6 1 )S. o l h e r e c a n n o t b e ai nni u n c t o n i o r m e l a -
r96
ChapteFS
Suresvara physicalknowl€dge ot lhe Self,as il is not ideathatarisesin dependenceon the willol man. Butactionslikereasoning overth€ meaningol lhe wordsol lh€ texlsby ihe methodol agreement an dilterenceare enjoined,sinceihey are dependenton the will ol man. (B.B.Vll.iv.120-1) (3) Whensubjeclandobjeclaredifierent, thereis pervasion ol lhe objectby the subjeclin orderloknowil, as in the case oi perception of a pot. Bul the Selfcannotactivelypervade itsellto haveknowledge of ilsellin thisway.Therecannolbe pervasion wh6r€lhereis non-diflerence, for the very reason lhalperuader (B.B.V andperuaded wouldalreadybe identical. ll.iv.135) Unlikea mateial obj1ct like a pot, the Self is not capabteol beingpeNadedlhroughthe activilyof the individualknowing6ubject in the lotm ot seeing. Not can the Sells own vision (act on and)peryadeilself. (4) Noris thereanyothersubjectwhocouldseethe Sell as an objecl,Iorlhisis specitically deniedin thetext'Thereis no otherseer...brltHe'(8rad.lll.vii.23). And,indeed,we do not tindintheworldtwosubjectsplayjngbetweenthemtheroleof subjectandobject.(B.B.V.ll.iv.1 36) Whenthe Vedbtextsays'Thereis no otherseer...but He'it meansthal,Ircmth6stdndpoint of thehighestttuth, theSelfis not an object that can be seen, Even frch the standpointol wo dly expe ence,onesubjectis nevet theobjectol the visionof anolher (5) lf theseefwereableto seeitsell.thatwouldbe a conlradictionol thelawsof ac,tion. Andif (bysomestrangechance) it coulddo so,it wouldalwaysbedoingso,so thattheinjunctionto do so wouldbe rendereduseless.lB.B.Vll.iv.137) Thecontadblion ol th6laws ol actionwouldconsistin the lact oI the one doingan actionbeing himsef the objectof lhat action. Theimplicationol th6verceis thal therccannotbe an iniunctbn to
197
see oneb own Self,whethetsuchvisionbe ol the verynatureol the seeror whethetit be associatedwithan individualknowingsubjec!. (6) Here.loo, in the Brhadaranyaka as welt as in ihe Chandogya, thelextacceptson thebasisof commonexperience all lhal il hasnegatedas notbeingof the nalureot the inmostSelfin lh6 words'n6ithsr lhisnorlhat'(Brhad. .iii.6) andatfirms'All lhis(world) is theS€lf'(Brhad. ll.iv.6).....The injunclion her6'TheSeltshouldbe seen'(Brhad.ll.iv.5.6) is lherefore nomorethanth€communication ol hithertounknown inlormation (i.e.'TheSellshouldbeseen'='Seethat,narnelv. lam tellingyouthat,theSetfis as heretaught',cp.M.V.12s,2). The texf lhe Sell shouldbs s€en'couldnot beintendedas an injunctionto act addressedto one not yet acting,as actionis impossibie in the caseol the Setf.(B.B.Vll.iv.104 and115) (7) lt is nolcorectto saythalallthetextsof the Upanishads haveto be,nlerp.eled as injunclions, onthegroundthatstate, menlsol lacl are never authorilalive, sincetheydependtor theirvalidilyon knowlodge gainediromothersources.Forthe meiaphysical slatements of lh€ lJpanishads are an author italivemeansof knowl€dge, sincethey awakenone to the solerealityot lhe Selt,not knowable fromany othersource, as wordsare usedto awakena sleeper. (B.B.Vll.iv.148) (8) Thereis no rulethata verbmLlstappearovertlyin a senlencebeiorethewordscan b6 connected. ln the metaphysicaltexts, verbslike'art'and'am'canverywell beunderstood andsuppliedevenwhennotovertlyexpressed.ll is truethat thereis dependence on olhersourcesof knowledgein the caseol thecasualremark'There ate fruilsonthe riverbank'. becauselhere the thingsdenotedby the words'fruits'and 'riverbank'are accessible lo anothermeansoI knowledoe. -2) namelyperceplion. (B.B.VlVii.161
198
ChapleF8
CanThreebe iniunclionlor hearlng,ponderng and Sustarnedmecrtalion? It rs correcllo holdlhal hearing,ponoenng'Innerano ouler can be en_ contro and olhersuchparlsol the spirilualdiscipline will, and are ndis_ human scope of withln lhe they lall as loined, pensableauxiliarlesto that rationalexaminailonol the mean ng ol whichLs lexts ollhe Upanishads th€ wordsof the metaphysical As sri) Saakara meaning. oi thelr tor a cornprehension necessary sa d in h s ljpadesaSnhasi): thal one is (intruth)ever beratedcomes 11) The knowledge oi and lrom no othersource And knowledge Vedic texts iromihe to mind the possible lirst ca Ing wiihout !s not the meanng oi a text mean ng of its componentwords, lt is certainthal the meanrngol a word is calledto mindon the basisol agreemenisand dllferences {rnlhe way one has heardthe word usedand the meanlngslor whichlt is madeto sland).In thisway onecomesto knowoneseI Self,beyondpalnor actlon.(U S verse as lhe puretranscendent XVlll.l90 1, cp.N,4.V107,2) Letus exarnnethisiurthernlhe coniextln the Brhadaranyaka, the words'rtshouldbe head aboul'areaddedto showthat lhe oneshoud beseen'donotimplythat earherwods(TheSeli)should bul only to lhe textso! resorlto allihe valrdmeansof cognition, As lor the furtherphraseit shouldbe pondefed the Upanishads. ovef, this incudesresortlo the varrousmelhodsior determinng lhe meaningot theVediciexts,suchas testingby lhe Six Formsoi whhlhe as wellasreasoningn consonance Evidence(M.Vp.23), On the otherhandthe phrase'itshouldbe subjectedlo sus lainecimedltaiion'is declaredlc relerto ihe irnnrediateexperence ln wh ch hearng and pcnderingoughlio culn"inateWhenthere airsesthat mmediateintuilon of one'so\qntrue nalur€s/hrchde_ penclson no externaiactor,lhenlhereis noth:ngel! thatone has Se f has beenperceivedas a resuI ol to {jo. Whentho non_dual 'Theres no iurtfer pondenng ohe hasthe convc! of hearlnqand
Suresvara
199
knowedgelelllo arise,lhereis no lgnorance leftlhathasnotbeen burnt up. One should not ralse lhe objectionthat the work 'n d dhyesana muslmeanmeditalton. Forthemeaningof theterm 'nididhyasana has been expressedby the term,immediateiniuiton, (vljiana)in the passage,'verily, throughseejngihe Seli,through heann9aboutit, throughthinkingof it and throughknowingil (in rmmedrateinluilion,viinana),all this (world)becomesknown, (Brhad.ll.iv.5). Thatmediiation (dhyina)is a prerequistie of imme_ drale ntuitionis not dened. Bui it is immediate intuition, and not medrlaton andthe reslof the discipline, ihat is ullimatety required to realizeihegoalof liberation. Norshouldoneobjectthai tiberation must be mpefmanenlli it is ihe resuli of immediateinluition.For rberation n lhe sense of being the one !niversal Self is always, and lof everyone,a lact.Allthathasto be eliectedby tmmediate intuilionis the practical negationol our lgnorance thatwe are the one universalSeli. Liberatiofis jn no way distinctirom irnmediale intuitionof the Sell. One shouldunderstand that,i{ iberatonis spokenol as the resultof lmmedialeintuition, thisis onlya tigure On lhis topc, the tollowing versesshouldbe noteci. (2) So there cannoi be an injunclionior metaphysicalknowt_ edge of the Selt,as il is not an ideathatarisesin dependence on the wlllot man. Butaclionslikereasoning overlhemean_ ng ol the words ol the texis by the rnethodoJagreementand drilerence are enjoined, sincetheyaredependent on the wi oi man. In the same way, a person can decide whether to carryoul hearng and pondering as weil as lnnerand outer contfo and ihe otherpads of lhe spiriiualdiscipline - so a I thesepractices (B.B.Vll.iv.121-2) are enjoined. (3) One mlghtsupposethai all lhe meanso{ va|d cognrtion fevea ed the Self in that the cognitionresultrngIiom them dependedont intimately fortheirlight.Buiihe Brhadaranyaka Upanrshad says'll mustbe heardabout,,pointingtherebyto lhe upanishadlc texts.(8.B.V||.iv.21 2)
Chapter8 One mighl supposethat the Sell should be seen thrcugh all lhe valid means of cognilion, because the Sell as Consciousness conslitutesthe resultant-cognitionof each. But lhe lorce ol the words'lt must be heard about'ts to show that it is lhe upanghadtc texls that arethe authorilativesaurce of knowledge o{ the Self, since i! i€ only thraugh them tha! metaphysicallgnarance of lhe Self (readingetma-ajfrana)canbe brcughl to an end. (4) lt is the applicationoi the Srx Formsot Evidence(Nl.V. p.23)lhat bringsoul lhe true lorce of the words.Then the texl says'lt (lhe Selt)mustbe ponderedover'lo delermLne lhe lrue meaningof lhe traditionai it. lt texlscommunicaling pondered is clearirom lhe command'ltmust be over'that whal s beingtaughthereis realilyin ilslruenature.InWoman s the sacriticral fire'(Brhad.Vl.ii.l3),we do nol lind any rnjunclion lo ponderover the meaning.(B.B.V ll.iv.214-5). He jusl tema*s in passing that the injunction saying lhat lhere has to be ponderingshows that thetext here is cancerned with final vision, not with pleliminary medttalton. (5)Feasoningin coniormity withthe wordsol the Vedc lexls s also enjoined,for this is whal enablesone to delermrne accuralelywhat lhe words mean.(B-B.Vll.iv.2l6). Reasoningis of help, for inslance,ta ftnd aul how lhe meaning of the word 'Thou'in'That lhou att' must be lhe Witnessand cannat be anything else. (6)Awakenng to imrnediale knowledge ol lhe supremeSe I dependng on no externaltactoris calledNidrdhyasna. lt is menl onedallerseeingand hearingto showthata lhey culrn nate n lhat....One s lirstknowledgeof lhe Sell is through hearing,and then one pondersover whal one has heard. When heaf ng and ponderingare comp ete, one comesto have immediateknowledgeot lhe Se f... Becausethe use ol lhe word Niddidhyasana'( il sustainedmedtalion) might leadlhe hearerto supposelhat meditalionwas meant,lhe Upanshad deliberaielyuses lhe term'immedialelntuition
Suresvara
201
(vrlnana) as a synonym for il at Brhaderanyaka ll.iv.5,to snowthatmeditations notheremeant.lalreadymentioned eartierhow meditationand otherpracticesare a means to rmmedtale experjence.Butimmediateexperj6nce doesnot exrstlor ihe sakeof anylhingelse.ll is taughllo be just 0 e r a ! o n ,a l t a i n m e not f t h e l i n a l g o a lo f a l l . ( B . B . v |.iv.217,220, 233-4J. (7) Hearingandlhe reslare lhe means lo thatjmnediate inrurrion whichdepends on nothrng aparttrofi ttselt. When rhrshas arisen.nothi4g,nore is required apartkom thal immedtate 6xperience of th€ S€ltalreadyaitain6d... There s noolherresultof knowledg€ lhatourSelfis thesolereat_ rryexceplthe sradicaljon ol our ignorance ol the fact.For rnrsrs everby natureour truestale,,. Theone inmostselJ is rhe reatityof whichcauseand etfectare mere latseap_ 0earances. Whenthal56lfis known,howcouldtgnorance 'artto be desroy€o? Tellme,pray,howthe,6coutd€vefbe tgnorance ot the Sellagain.(B.B.Vll.iv.22t,205,231). t have9tventhe totm.ajiena ( tgno.ance.) at he enoot the u\t ve'se ( tgnoranceal the Set ) fottowlngAnandagitr. Bul lds woutdatsobetegtttmate) thewod wercrcad asnena.(knowt. edge), then we wouldhave.On accountof knowtedge ol the tnmostSelf,no othetknawt1dge neodsta baacqutled..Thepas|.henaSrcewnhhe endottheprccedng verca IB.B.u ',::ge^:!ttd 'v.zrur. tyqtcnsays lhercis (lhen)no knowtectge that has not oeenacqutred;there is no lgnorcncethathasta beendestrcyed,. C.ompa son ol S sankara and Suresvah on the Topicol Heatingand the Rests At ilrsts ghlthereappears to bea cBrtain disagreemeni be_ . Iween Sri Sankaraand Suresvara on th6 queslonot whether neafng and the resl can be the subjects ot an injunction. Sri r€nxaramakesan opponentask,what do these apparenl Inlunc( ons mean.texts|ke "The self, verily,shouldbe seen,heard
Suresvara l.i.4,cp [4 V68 3) On accounl so lorth?'(B.S.Bh about-.-'and it mighlseemthal phrase injunctions, apparenl ol lhe his use o{ ol be subjects resi could the hearing and thal he did notadmit that hear_ io admrl place seems he Bulal anolhora iniunciions. n ol thealJirHesays:'Repetilio ingandlherestcanbeenjoined. mationmustb€ carriedoul Why?Becauseil is taughlrepeatlike"TheSeltm!si be heardaboul' teachings edlv.the repeated poinlto a meditation" to susiained subj€ct€d pondered overad lnto he wolrld For (B lVi.1) ot the aflirmation' S.Bh repetition Iniunclron were an hadto be doneunlesslhee saythatanything on the subjectin lh0Veda. s Vadtka,on lheolherhano.lhe'eis no .elerln SUresvara andlhe reslas apparenlInlunc_ lor hearing encelo iniunctions lhat tions.On the conlrary,he saysopenlyand emphatically person can oecroe A in thewords areenjoined, thesepraclices so alllheseprac_ whelherlo carryouthearingandpondering... (B B.Vll.iv.122' M V 124'2) licesare enioined' pointiordifferenceln SriSanAndthereisanolherapparent the text'theSellshouldbe kara'sBrahmaSulraCommenlary, as (Brhadll.iv5) is accepted meditation' 1osuslained subiected lo a dutylhal haslo be pertormedForiI s trealedas re'erring (upasana) meditalion an act.asis shownby the passage'And lo constitute are said (nididhyasana) meditation andsustained V56, 8, cp. ['1 (B.S lVi.1, Bhone acl that entailsrepelition sushe regaroeo that note).Thereare groundstor supposing (nididhyasana) as a speciesof medltation tainedmedilation ol heglvesas exanpres in lhenexlpassage (upasanaJ because She his Guru'and (or on) altends on meditates it'Heassiduously iB SAh lvi l) whosehusbandis abroaddwellson himfixedly' 'awakenrnglo On the otherhand,in theVdriikao{ Suresvara on no exSelloependrng of thesupreme knowledge immediate the lerm oi meaning be the to clearly said is lernaliaclof 'nididhyasana' saidthrs AndhavLng (B.B.V. ll.iv217,l\4V 124,6). t he term t h a t d e n y l o S u r e s v a r ag o e s o n i n t h e e q u a l
'n didhyasana
refers toan ac hat has to b€ pedormed.He aims to demonslratelhat the term .njdidhyasana'didnot referlo medi, latron(dhyana)becausethe lext usesthe term.immediate intui_ t on (vijiana) as a synonymtor jl (B.B.V .iv.2gSM.V.124,6). Do the two systems,those ot Sri Sankaraand Suresvara. agree'ordotheycontradictoneanolheronthesepolnts? lf thev do ,n facrcontradictone another.whichts the be er? lt ,s a po,ni worlhconsidering. My own view is the lollowing.sriSankaraspokeof the ao_ peardncoot an Injuncltonjn a particularconlexl. His pr,roose wds to refutelhe Contenlton Ol the authOrsof the earlie,commentaries(vrtti)onthe BrhamaSutrathalthe metaphvsicaltexts o'rhe Upa- shadswereauthoritat,ve onlyit regardedis subordrnateto an injunctionto acquiremetaphysical knowledge.He did r s iry assertrngthat metaphysicalknowtedgeis something conditionedby reatity,and dillerenttrom meditatjon. Here is hi; text as he himseltset it out. (1)Theldealol lire,whenone is in the presenceot that wetl knownobjecl,rs not dependenton an injunction, nor is it a mere creatronot the human mind. lt is in lact a piece of k odedge, condilionedbylhe nalureofthe obiectperceived. rt ts not an act. And it is the same with all objectsol the vaflousmeansol knowledge(suchas perception inference, etc.).Th s being so, knowledgeof lhe Self in its true torm as the Absoluiecannotbe dependenton an in iunctionto acl.l1 peraliveand si.rtlarlormsappttedlo tt, evenr,-Vedtc lexls, lose lhere imperativelorce and becomeblunled,as razors oecome btuntedif used agajnsthard objecls tike slones.For here the objec o whichthey are appliedis somerh!ngnot subjectto rejecton or acquisition.(B.S.Bh_1.1.4. cp. lM.v68.21 Thus a view is Ientatrvety advancedby an opponenl(and . r?juied by Sri Sankara).According10thisvievvthe Absolutecan
Suresvara 204
205
Chapter-o
only be taughtlhroughinjunclionsinvolvingsome duly lo be done.But th6 wholetheoryis wrong.For there is also such a thingas knowledg€of the Absoluteconditionedby its true naAnd it ture-thatis the gist of this passagein the commentary. goeson to ask,'Bulwhatdo theseapparentinjlnclionsmeans (wherelhereleronco whichsaythaltheSellshould is to passages be'seen'or'heardabout'andso on).The very facl thal this questionis raisedalso impliesthat knowledg€cannotbe the Consider, loo,the refutalionol the opposubjectol an injunction. person comesto desirethe su_ nent.lt runs:'Bulwhensucha premehumangoal,lextslike"TheSelf,verily,is lo be seen"and so on lurn him awaytrom the naluralconcernwith the psychophysicalorganismand its allairs,and engagehimin conlinuous remembrance of lhe inmostSell'(cp.M.V 68,3).lt doesnot say anythingaboutwhetherhearinglandthe rcst areor are notable to be enjoin€d,as that is nol the questiona tissue(whichis lhe canbe enioined).No doubt refutalionot theviewthalknowledge there is the implicationthat lhere is also a certainelementol enioininga duly in placeswhere gerundiveexpressionslike 'shouldbe s€en'or'should toronlyso be heardabout'areused; -ya,-tavyaand-aniya, willthegerundive endingin thesuffixes Bul thisdoesnol whichdenotsa dulyto act,havingmeaning. alsocanbe meanthatonohastherightto insisllhatknowledge the subjeclol an iniunction,as the passageis only tntendedlo of lhe strengthanthe argumeniin hand (namelylhe refLrtation oppon€nt'sviewthat knowledgecan be enjoined).Thereis an' the expresses otherpassage in SriSankara's Commenlarythat sameidea. (2)Texlsin lhetormol a commandsuchas'TheselJshould be seen',M/hichare lound in the sectionsdealingwilh ihe hrghestknowledge.are lundamentallylor lhe purposeol turningthe hearerin the directionol knowledgeol lhe Self" and are not primarilyto be regardedas injunclionsto be' comeawareol lhe real.Eveninlhe world,whenpeoplegive here'or'Listen lo this',themean' andsay'Look a command
ingol suchphrasesrealyis'Payattention', and not,Acquire a pieceof dir€ctknowledge'. Whenanyoneis in proximity with a knowableobject,knowledgeol it sometimesarises andsometjmesdoesnol.Therefore, anyonewhowishesto acquaint someonewithanobiectshouldshowit to him.When it hasbeenshownto him,knowledge willariseaccordingto the natureol the objectandlhe meansol cognitionapplied. {8.S.Bh. lll.ii.21,cp. M.V 68,4). Thusthelorceol theinjunctions' apparently enjoining hearing and so on is not actuallylo enjoinimmediate knowledge lhroughthesedisciplines. Th6irforce,as therevered Comftentalorconcludes by saying,is to inculcale atlention to the Sell. Thereis noconkadiction wilhwhatis saidal BrahmaSulraCommeniarylVi.1,as it is taughtlherethatit is justthis altention to the Seltthat hasto be repealedlypracticod. Suresvaraalso maintainsin his Brhadaranyaka Varikathat only that which is withinthe scope of hee humanwill can be enloined.He doesnotinsistondenyingthatknowledge canaise from one act ol hearingand so on. His wordsare'the actionof hearingand so on musl be continuedhere diligentlyuntil the rmmediateintuitionwe have spok€not arises in all its glory' (b.B.Vll.iv.218). So lhereis no dilferencs between thetwosystemsin regardto the toaching thai hearingand pondering are openslo iniunclion, Suresvaradoesgiv€th6 appearanceol sayingthat no on6 colld attaindirectand immediate intuition ol lhe Sell mer€ly lromhearing. Forone ol the versesol theVartikabeings'Acquaintancewith the Self is first throughhearing,ad then one pondersoverwhal one has h6ard'(B.B-V11.jv.220, M.V124,6). On the otherhandSri Sankarasaysin his BrahmaSutraCommenlary,'Repeaiedresorllo hearing,ponderingand sustained meditationwouldinde€dbe uselessin lhe case of the person who gainedimmediateexperienceol lhe tact that his true Self was the Absolutemerelyfrom hearingthe texl That thou art"
Chapter-8
Spokenonce'(B.S.Bh.lVi.2). Howcouldlherebe sucha conlradiction?In thiscase,too,we reply,thereis nolhingmorelhana superlicialappearanceof disagreement.For Sursvarawrote in lhe Naiskarmaya Siddhi:'Otlhe (fourditferentkindsof hearers ol lhe text 'Thatthousare"),thereis onewho knows"lhatwh'ch is nol the meaningot any sentence"in his inmoslSell. Forhim, allihenot-selt hascometo anand.As all hasimpediments have beendestroyed, thereis anhiscasenothingmoreto be said.Nor is thereanythingfurtherto b€ saidaboutlhe one who acquired realizationmerelyfrom hearingthe text (that is, wiihouihaving lo reasonover it at all). He, also,is in possessionol some supe.nalural powe/(N.Sid.lll.64,proseintro.). Thuswhenit was saidin lhe Brhadaranyaka Vartika'One's lirslknowledge of the Sell is lhroughhearing'andso lorth,lhis was only said with relerencelo lhosewhoare unabl€to apprehend the meandingot lhe textand realizethaltheirownirue Sellis theAbsolutemerely lhroughhearingit once.Solhereis agreemenlbelweenthe syslem ot SriSankara andSursvara in maintaining that;mmediate know'edge car ariselhroughmerehearing. Lelus lheretore turnourattention totheaDoarent contradictionon ihe subiectol'sustained (nididhyasana). meditation' ln Sri Sankara'sBrahmaSutraCommenlary'sustained medilalion' (nididhyesana) is seento bea kindot spirilualpraclace andto be enjoined. Speaking of theterm'suslained medilatio.n', lor instance, hesaysclearly thatwhenwe areusingil we areHkingof an acl lhal enlailsrepetition(B.S.Bh.lVi.1. cp. M.V56,8, note).And he saysalso,'Ponderingad sustained.meditation too, likehear ing,arelorlhesakeot directexperience'(8.S. th.l.i.4).Thus he refersto'sustainedmediiaiionsomethingdifierentkom immedF ate jniuilion,as somethingto whichone has to applyoneseltfor the sakeol immediale inluilion. So we concluddthal lor him susrarned meditation was a kindol praclicethal couldbe enjoined.He alsoheldlhat sustained (nididhyasana) medrtatibn was notdifferenlin kindfrommeditation in general(upasan)-For
Suresvara al someplaceshe usesthe lerm'upasana'lo standfor it, as whenhesay'lvleditations(upasane)aim€d at rightintuitiveknowtedgehaveto be pe{ormeduntilth6finalend is achieved, like poundingthe paddyio extractthe rice'(B.S.Bh.lVi.12, lvl.V56,8). And yel lhere is a cerlain difterencebelw€on'susiained (nididhyasana) meditalion' and meditation as described by Sri passage:'Consid€r Sankarain th6lollowing ih€ lexts,"Man,O Gaulama, is thesacrificialfire" and"Woman, O Gautama, is the sacriticial lire"(Chand. Vvii.1,Vviii.l). Herelhe identilication ol manor womanwathlhe sacriticiallireis a menialidea.lt is an act owingits originsolelylo the iniunctionto medilatea thus.ll is lherelorean action,and one thai is treelyd€ierminedby the humanwill'(B.S.B.l.i.4). (nididhyasana) Sustained meditation as conceivedby Sri Sankaradillersfrom medilalionas described abovein that it does not owe it originsolelyto lhe in,unctionlo meditale.Forhearingaboulthe Sell,ponderingoveril andsub, jectingit lo sustainedmeditationare tor the sakeot sornething whichcan experienced herein his world,andtor rsalizinone's dentitywithlhe Self.Thisis shownin sucha passageas'The Sellcomeslo be seenthroughlhe disciplines ponof hearing, deringandsustainedmeditalion pursued.Flightknowlr€solutely edgeof lhe Absoluteas the sole realityonlydawnswhenlhese lhreedisciplines of hearing,ponderingandsuslain6dmedilalion arelundedinloone,andnotolherwise, torexample lhroughheafing alone'(Brhad.Bh.ll.iv.5). lt followsalsofromihe passage:'Bui in anycasepondering mustbecarriodoutby reasoning in accordancewithwhatis laiddownin the Veda.And sustainedmeditalronmustbe performedon whathas beenponderedreationally, on what has been ascerlainedthroughrevelalionand reason (Brhad.Bh.ll.v.1 Eventhoughthisdisciplin€ is referred to , intro-) by thelerm'!pansana'it is evidently difterent fromsuchm€dilallonsas thoseproscribed ln lhei6xisspeaking of womanas lhe sacrilicial fire,whicharefor the sakeof a resullnotto be per ceivedin ihe presentlife namelylhe accunulaliono{ spiriiual merilthroughmeditation. Forihe notionthalwomanis he sacri-
208 Iicialfireis not a notionbasedon the true natureol reatitv.ll rs 'o ned o_ y nroLgL obeytngt're injJnc on ro'redrlato o: tt s theme and it bringsits resultsnot here in lhis like tile but n olher worlds.(to be attalnedafterdeath).Bui aller death).Bul trre case $7ih sustainedmeditations ditferent.Thal which one s!bjecls to suslainmeditationone perceiveshere ln lhis very le. ll is a case ol sustainedattentionand nothinge se Thal is the d lfurencebelweenmeditation (upasana) and suslalnsmedi tat on (n d dhyasana)in the systemof Sri Sankara. It swell knownthal words like'vison', 'knowledge, and so on may be loundused by Sn Sankaraqu ie appropriatetV eilher to des gnateknowledgeof the realor elseto designalea certain l o m o f d e b e r a t e a r b l t r a r y m e n l a t a c t i v i t y ; f omr tahVebye u s e d n drlierenisensesaccordng to whetherthey are adclressed to i t c a n d r d a t e s f o r t h e h i g h e r o r l o r t h e l o w e r f okrnmoowf l e d g e o f lhe Absolute(thelatterbeingnot so muchknowledgeol ihe Abso uteas medtattonon il underprescribed lorms,)And we should understandthal, in the same wav,phrasessuch as,one should nredtale or'one shouldpracticesustalnedmedilation,may eitlrer relerto lhe merecherishingoi a menial dea (bhavana)or eise to suslainedattentionto previouslyattarnedrght knowledge - accordng lo the conlext.That is how we explan the use ol the lerm sustaned medilaton'in Sr Sankara,ssystem, Now lel us considerSuesv.ara's Vartika,He says,'AwakenIng to rmmedate knowledgeot the supremeSe f dependingon n o e x t e r n a l a c t o ri s c a l l e dn i d i d h y a s a n a ' ( B . B .l V l . .i v . 2 1 7 l , M.V 124,6).Fromthis cleaTstatementone deducesthat for hrm the term nididhyasana cannotrelerto any activityol the forrnol cherishinga mentalldea (bhavana),althoughhe does not denV that meditationis requiredas a prelimlnarydiscip ne for right melaphysical knowledge. We learnthisfromihe sequel,whenhe says l alreadymentionedearlierhow meditation andotherpraclices are a means lo irnmediateexpenence,Blt immediate expenencedoes not exisl {or the sake oi anvthinqese, lt is
Suresvara
249
tairghtto be jlst liberation,attainmentoi the iinat goal oi a , (B.B.V l. .234,M.V124,6).ThisshowsthatthoughSri Sankara and Suresvaraundersloodthe tefrn'nididhvasana'in a different sense,their syslemsagree in munchinglhat medrtaton is an act v ty and a prel minarydisciplinefor knowedge. Howevef, suresvaiadoes nsiston lhe polntlhat becausethe Upanishad u s e s t h e t e r m ' r m m e d i a t ei n t u i t i o n ' ( v i i R a n ian) t h e s e q u a (Brhad.ll.iv.5) as a synonymlor the'nididhyasana'referred to jusl before,one shouldnot supposethal t had meanl'medta(B.B.v.11.iv.233, tion by'nididhyasana' l\,1.V124,6). 'Nidd dhyasana'isplacedhefe n ihe Upanishadin apposr, il spropertosupposelhalri t o n w i l hh e a rn g a n dp o n d e r i n g so representsan acl v ty.And we tind the equrvaent of 'v liana n lhe form oi a verb usede sewhereto denoleacl on lor the sake ol immedate intuition,as n'That one shouid nvesligate, thal is what one shoud desireto know in immediate ntuition' (Chand.Vlll.i.l,vii.l;; cp-[,4.V52,9 and note).In the presenttext ( B r h a d . l l . i v . 5t o) o , w e c a n v e r y w e l l a c c e p tt h a t t h e l e r m 'nididhyasana' means rnedtationior the sake of directv slon. For Suesvarahimselfacceptssuch meditaton as the causeoi d r e c i v s i o n .A n d i l o n e l a k e s ' T h e S e l f s h o u l db e s e e n ' (Brhad.ll.iv.5) to relerlo immedrate exoerience conceivedas the resultol seeing,then lhere would be nothingwrong in taking hearng pondefingand sustainedmedilalion(nididhyasana) as beinga lhreefod aclivilyenjoinedfor the sake ol that resull. t seems,therelore,lhal lhe reveredCommenlator's exolanaton of lhe term'n didhyasana'isthe belter one.Oiherwise(i.e.on Suresvara'sview) it appearsihat uselessrepetiiionwou d be attributedto ihe iJpansiahd when it says'drastavya'(shou d be (interpreted seen) followedaier by'nididhyasitavya' by SLrresvara as 'shoud be seen in immediateinlution'),ln anv case. thereis no disagreement betweenthe two allhors on the quest on of whal are lhe meansio melaphysicalknowedge.so lhal no sef ous diiiicultyar ses.
214
Chapler-8
TheIniunctionfor InnerandOuterConlrolandthe olherdis_ ciDlines gloryol theonewhohasreallzed Thetexl'Thisistheeternal meanslhalthe per' cp.l\.4.V.53,7) the Absoute'(8rhad.lv.iv.23, haslhe eiernalgloryof reasonwhohasgainedenlightenment reallyexpressed as'neilherthis nor z ng the undillerentiated lhe natureol the thal. A verseouotedin the texl expresses personby saying'Hels notlrainedby g ory of ihe enlightened aclion,whlchis evil''meaningthal the resultof his exalled slate s to placehim beyondlhe 'tainl'ofkarmicmerttor deSL]lesvara lirstexplains thelerm'onewho knowlhisstale Commentary, andlhengoes l) accordinlo SriSankara's {pada-v meaning of the lermas 'onewho on to suggeslan alternalive B.B.Vl.,lV1190). knowsthemeaning ot thewords'{padarlha-vii, meantodiscoverlhe Onthisview,therewould bean injunciion lexls,and lhe ing ol lhe ndividual wordsol the metaphysical rewardIor obeyingit wouldbea knowledge ol the meaningot the sentences whichlheycomposed. possessed ol The upanishadic lext conlinues,'Therelore, ends, nner andouterconlrol, abandoning allactionlor personal to discomlort, and strenglhen nghimsellbyvolunlary resistance concentratlng hismind,heseestheSelfherein themidstol this Suresvara explains that lilein lhe present body'(Brhad.lV.iv.23). thispassage, as conn€cted withwhatwentbetore,impllesths hewhoknows idea'Because knowledge hasthisresult, therefore thusbecomesDossessed of lhe disciolines ol innerand outer oJiheword controland lhe reslandcomesloknowlhemeanino ''glory"' (B.B.VlViv.1192-3). lt is saidthalsuchan one,possessed of lhe lourtoidmeans (discrimination, lo liberation dispassion, thesixfoldspirilualequipp. 766)ment- (seethequalities mentioned at I\radhavananda, anddesirelor liberalion), lhatis,havinginnerandoulercontrol prereqursrles. the a_o lhe olhersp,ritual havrngdrslrngurshed
Suresvara
211
SelfJromihe nol-selflhroughreasoning bythe methodol agree, mentand diilerence,,inallycoftes to see'Allis ihe Self'(B.B.V. 1V.iv.1201 2). In ihe modernprintededitionsof Sri Sankara'sCommenlary '23). "'Possessedol at lhis point we read (Brhad.Bh.lViv.1201 innercontrol"(sanla)means"desislinglrom lhe aclivitiesot the exlernalsense-organs' and"possessed of outerconlrol"(danla) "iree means lrom menlalthirsl"'Onemusl presumethai these lerms (sanlaand danta)haveb6enwrilienlhe wrongway round due 10the carelessness ol sofie copyisl,For elsewherewe lind an explanalion runnn9 "'lnnerconlrol" means"thecomingto resi ol the mind"and"'outercontrol"means"thecoming to restof the exierna senses"'(Bh-G.Bh.XVl.1).An in line with this we tind Suresvarasayingin ihe presenlpassageol lhe Vartika.'Firsl he becomespossessedol outercontrol,then possessedol inner control, and alte ards he wilhdraws trom all activitv for oer sonaleds.For!n interpreling the sequencelhe rationalo.der in qualilies whichthe wouldhavelo be d€velopedmusttake prec, edenceover lhe literalorder in whichthey happento be mentionedin the lexl underconmenl'{B.B.VlViv.12034). Suresvaranext addresseshimsellio the question.'Why shouldlhere be an injunction lor innerand outercontroland the rest,whenlhe desireti ou pursuethemarisesnaturally? He says thal humanactionsare oliour kinds,basedrespeclively on transgressionof lhe law.personaldesire, unthinking instinctand duly (B-a.ViViv.1208).ll is clearlhal lhe seekerol ltberatlon cannot ind!lge rn the tirstlhree.Bul how coulda manof undersianding wantlo pursueevenduly whenhe seesthatil leadslo the same of it? (B.B.VlViv.1213). evil(namelyrebirth)as non'perlormance Therelore, whena personis aclinglorduty'ssakehis mindnatu rallybecomes purilied,and he comesto leel thal he musl g ve up evenlhis tormof aclion,so lhal the desiretor lnnerandouter control leading on to the capacily lor withdrawalfrom all aclion lor personalendsarisesnaturally.We lind teachinglo the same elfectin the Smrti:'Thewise personshouldapplyhimselfcon'
212
Chapter€ 213
tinuouslyto the broad moral principle(yama,cp.YogaSutra ll-29.1.), but h6 shouldnotapplyhimselfto the particular daily d!lies'(niyama,l\4anu smrti1V204). lf you arguein this mannerand ask why innerconkol and restare enjoined,th€ replyis that,evenlhoughthesepractic€s mighlbe promptednaturally, the functionotthe upanishadic texl is lo €njoinlhem specilicallyas m€ansto knowledgeof r€ality. Or again,il mighib€ihat the here ideaol withdrawaltromaclivity for personalend6mightarise naturally,withoutthe idea ot duty,expressedin lhe feeling'l musl actuallycarry that withdrawalo!t'. Thatduty ol carryingoul 10ihe practicesis whal is enjoinedhere(B.B.VlViv.l220).Norwouldit be correctlo raise theobieclion.'The mentionof innerandouterconkolwouldhave been quite€nough,sinceall actionis givenup throughthem. Whal was the needfor specifyingwithdrawalas well?' For in soundexegesis,lhepositiveinjunctionto perlormdailydutywill prevailovera meregeneralnegation,whichis alwaysopento exceptions, so lhal the upanishadiclext enjoiningwithdrawal has lo be suppliedlo bringaboutthe delinitiveabandonment ol the dailyduties(B.B.V. lViv.1233-6). One shouldnot raisethe objection'Hearingand cogilation and so on involvedisturbanceot the mindjust as muchas performanceof lhe dailyduiies.Why is no effoft madeto discouragethem?'Forit wouldbewrongto givethem up,sincelheyare predominantly (B.B.V helpfulto the atlainment of withdrawal lViv.1238). The disciplin€ of strengthening onesellthroughvoluntary resistance to discomlort impliesacquiring the powerlo endure the pairsoJopposite(h6atand cold,pleasureand painand so forth).The upanishadic lext adds'concentraling his mind'.This is to enjointhe renunciationeven ol lhose activaties, such as casualfanlasies,in regardto whichman is not naturallyfree. 'Wilhfaithfulhis (sole)w€alth'{Brhad.lViv.23, Ma dhyandina recension)enjoinsthe total renunciationof all action (8.8.V
lViv.1269). Thuswilh the helpof theseauxiliary disciplines a person shouldcomeio seelheSelfevenwhilealiveinihe presenlbodv, reasoning byagreement hecomes through anddillerence.Then to seeall as his ownSelJ(8.8.V.lV iv.1278).Thal is lhe meanin9 ol brhadaranyaka Upanishad lv.iv.23. Oneshouldobserve versesoJSutesvara, thefollowing (1)Firstoneshould acquire oulerconlrol, theninnercontrol, and tinallythe capacity ror withdrawal lromall activilyfor personal ends.Forthe logicalorderin whichlhe qualilies haveto be developedlakes precedence(in inlerprelation) overtheorderin whichtheyhappento bementioned in lhe (B.B.VlViv.1203). lext undercomment. (2)Yes,it is lrue thatlherecan be no injunclion for inner controlandthe rest,sincetheyare promptedin the natural course.Theyare promptednaturally. it is kue. Butwhatlhe Vediclext does is to lay downaulhoritatively thal lhey are the specificmeansleading lo correctknowledge ol the in mostSelt.(8.8.V1V.iv.1218). (3) Or elsewe maysay thatthe ideaoJabandonment ol as explained, aclioncomesnaturally, but lhal the noiion ihal t is a dutythatone haslo carryoul (if one wishesto altainenIghtenment Henceit is ) doesto arisenaturally. (B.B.V. enjoined. lViv.1220). (4)The injunction lo perlormthe dailyobligatory ritualall bea moropowerlul aulhorily andpreone'sliJewillcerlainly vail.overany gereralinjunction lo giveup action(as lhe parlicular injunctions lo kill at a sacriiiceprevailoverthe genela/prchibition'One shouldnolha.manylivingbeing'). Forlhe injunction lo do lhe dailyobligatory ritualall one's lileis onlyconcerned withkeeping one'sbodyalive(andto passions)withminislering to andencouraging theegorsl,c Sincethe gereralinjunclionto innerand oulerconlroland
214
ChapteF8
so on will not sufficeto annulthe injlnctionlo do the dailv rilualall one'slife,the texl takeslhe lurthersleo ol sr,eciflcal/yenjoining theabandonment ol allactions lor personal ends{uparari). (B.B.VtViv.1225-6). (5) It the performanceol theobligatorydailyritualisprohib! tedbecauseit createsdistulbance, wanderingabouito beg tor one'sfoodandotheraclivitiesol the mon( atsocreatea greatdeatotdisturbanc6. Whyare they nol prohabiled too? Hearingandpondetingoverlheupanisnatc lexts,loo,cause a good deal of disturbance. Why are not these aclivities also prohibitedby the Veda,as wellas the rituals?Butlhis objectionis w.ong.Fortheseaclivities conlribuietothechief goal.Wand€ringaboutto beg for almsand lhe resl are lo prohibiled as iheyareengaged in forthesakeol thalooal. (B.B.VlViv.1235-7). ( 6 ) a n d n o w ,b y s a y i n g , c o n c e n t r a t h i ni sg m i n d , t, h e l]panashadac lext enjoinscontinualreductionto a minimum ol lhose actionswhichone is not lree lo abandonentirelv. (B.B.V. lVrv.1246). Theremustbe the stictest controlover :Ll,ose activitiesol lhe mindand the senseswhichwe arc nol lreeto abandonenttrely, such as seeing, hearing, mentat lantasy and so forth. Whereconcenthtionis eniojned,jt mean6thatone shoutdabsorb the sensesin the mind and the mind in the Seff (through {7)Oneshoutdnolsupposethatthereading(ottheMadhyand 'Wiihfaith in a recession) tor his (sole)weafth,isolisoe,on lhe groundthat total renunciationhas akeady been pre_ scribed.Forthe enlightened personstillhassomeactionto pe orm rn the realmol perceptibleobjects(in the form o, maintaining lhe bodyandso on).Thepurposeol the ghrase is to enjointheretrngqu,shment ol anyteetingo,,mine,in regardto the instruments or maierjalsol iheseacts.(B.B.V lViv.1268).
Suresvata
215
Thepurposeol the text'Withlaithtot his(sote)wealth'isto enjointheabandonment of leelingsof possession eventowarcls like obiecE the beggingbowl. (8) Failhis his onlypossession. Becausehe has nothing else,theonewhohasabandoned allactions is called,One who has taithtor his (sole)weatth'.(B.B.VtViv.1269). (9)Heshouldse6lheSelfwhit€heisyetinthebody,separaf ingit fromlhe whol€massol the not€ellthroughreasoning by agreem€nl anddiiterenc€ supporled byihespirjlualdisciplinesmentionedabove.Or the readingmay be just .He see....(B.B.VlV.iv.1 272-BJ. Torcad'He shouldsee...'wouldbe to lollowthe readinaol theMadhyandina tradition. Howactlon and MeditatiohRelat. Thereis a passageln theVaritkawhichexplainsthe orderin whichthe variousdisciplinesleadingto the riseol metaphysical knowledgehave to be pfaclisedand describesthe m€thodoi thosepraclices. (1)Onlymetaphysical knowledge is requked fortheerad! cataonof metaphysical lgnorance.Only innercontroland lhe otherspirilualdisciplinesareiequiredtor metaphysical knowledge. Onlypurification ol the mindis requiredtor the acql]isilionol jnnercontrolandlhe oth6rspiritualdisciDlines_ Onlylheperformance of thedailyobligatory rjtualisrequired Ior the purification ol the mind,Metaphysical lgnoranceof theSelfisthesolecaus€ ofaclion, menlal, vocalorphvsicaL Whenthat (melaphysical lgnorance)hasbeencancelledby knowledg€of th€ Selt,howcouldth€reb6 any furtherdependence on aciion?(B.B.Vl.iii.98-100). It is alsosaidin lhe Naiskarmya Siddhi: From pe ormanceol the obligatorydaily rituals comes
Sur€svara
merilihommerit comesdestructionot (tho karmiceff6ctsot) sin:tromthiscomespurityot mind;lromthiscomesa correct to lile;lromthiscomesindiffs16nce evaluationol lransmigratory the com€s this trom liberation; it; lrom this comesd€sirefor thiscomesrenunciatlon searchforthem€ansto tiberallon:lrom oJ all ritualisticactionand its accessorios(lhe sacrodthread' etc.);komthiscomespracticeofYoga;tromthis lhe locusingol the mind withinifron this a knowledgeol the meaningot the like'Thatlhouart';tromthisthe eradicalion metaphysicaltexts in one'sown flomthisestablishmenl lgnorance: ol metaphysical Sell alone,accordingto the t€xts''Verily,beingnothingbul the and Absolute.he dissolvesin th€ Absolute'(Brhad.lv.iv6) 'Thoughalreadyreleased, heacquiresfinalrolease'(Kalhall ii l) it is proseinlro.,cp M V 60'2 and 3) tvledilations' (N.Sid.l.s2, just the as And clear,eachhaveth€irstatedrewardlikeriluals. prelimias dailyritualisenjoined performance of theobligatory or ovenas allrlUalis to theriseof knowledge. narucontributinq ol theoesirelor knowl_ larddownas a ;6ans to theawakening lo knowledgeand devoled Veda edge,so in the sectionof the meansto preparas a are laiddown the meditations meditation, we havetextslike' ing one to becomeJitlor knowledgeFor 'whenyouare reloased fromhere,wherewillyougo?'(Brhad, are uselulon the pathol lV.ii.1) Andwe knowthatmeditations in conneclionwiththe laughl are oradualrelease,becausethey (On Path of theFlame,see the iath of the Flameandelsewh'te. 1912,chapterxxx T.N) Deusssen, in the aslaughton the subjeciof medilalions {3)Whatever preol lor lhe sake is only Veda ol the Knowledge-Section We Self lhe one lis lhat all parirgoneselllor the knowledge where from here arereleased thetoxt'Whenyou knowJrorn the Path willyougo"/(BrhadlVii l) andtromreJeronc-'rlo are not limitedin theif results o{ the Flamethat meditations promised for them(bui may also lsad lo lo the rewards betweon ihe relation Thisshowscorrectly oradualreleaso)
217
th€ Rituals-Sectionandthe Knowledge-Sectionof theVeda, and th€re are no groundstor assedingany ditferentrelation.(S.V329-31). Meditations:;Ihe referorce is to those meditationstaughtin the Knowl9dge-Sectionol tha Vedadnd digsociatedwith the Path of the Flame and other teachingsabout rclaase by stages.The refercnce b not to all meditationsthtoughout the V6dain genNotlimitedin lh6ir rosultstol6 rewardspromisedforthem:/t meanslhat theyarc notmerclyconcemedwith meditation and wotship,but ara also a meansto knowladge.No aftentionstould be paid to the claim ol Anandagiri that thepuryo,e ol the meditations is liberation and that this putpose cannot be achieved exceptthrougha 9uccession ol stages.Therc arc no grcundsfol (4)WhatSriYaifiavalkya askedKingJanakawas(notabout eniry intolh6 worldof a deilyat dealhlhroughmeditalion, aboulwhichlhe king knew,but)'Wh€nyou leav6the first plane of exislence,what is th6 secondlo which you will go?'Thiswas to showlhat moditalionon deiti€sand purilicationoflhe mindthroughsimilarpraclicesar6alsoa means lo the (gradual)attainmentot knowledgo. SriYajidvalkya's question,'Whyyou are roleagedfrom here,wherewill you go?'reallymeant'Doyou believethat,in the caseof onefit tor the higheslknowledge, alithe mediiationsprescrib€din theUpanishads l6adto liberation by stages?'(B.B.V lVii.1213,cp,M.V 83,5). A such meditations may rcsult in release by stages: the incidentalimplicationherc i6 that they rctain thehlower putpose for those who arc to lit lor immediate liberation. Fot it is only here.andthercin the Upanishads thatthe teachingol theAbsolute in its highest lo n is exhibited,as indicated,lot instance,by certatnphrasesin the convercationbetweenGaryya an
Suresvara
dAjebsattu, ot in thatbetweenKng Janakaand SiYajiavalkya' suchas:"'ttcannotbe knownif lhercis no motekhowledgethan that'6aid Ajek'sattu."Thenlet mo comelo yau as a pupil",said ''Vetyv/ell',said SriYejhavalkya'"l Gergya'(Brhad.tl.i.l4)and will teltyou wh6rcyou will go (i.e. nowhere,becauselhe king had akeadyreachedthe slatebeyondlea)"' (Brhadlvii l; see B.B.v.lV.ii.3l ft.). Thereis no other LlbsratlonExcgplEladlcatlonof lgnoranc€ 'l which runs: am in There is a l6xt in the Brhadaranyaka ancienlpath,havingtinally touchwiththe subtl6,lar'roaching it. By thispalhlhe wisewhohaveknowntheAbsodiscovered lule go to lhe shiningrealm afier leavinghere, released' lromtheknown' (Brhad.lV.iv.8). Horelhe know€ris notditlerent used(B B.V phrase'l in iouch wilh'is am so the the Absolute, 'scovered theleachit through lound it'means'have lViv.549). (8 8.V lViv 550) Havinglurned ingsol theVedaandtho ACarya' theirbackson lgnoranceby followingthis path,and havingat' theygo Thosewhohaveknownthe Ab' tainedlo theAbsolute, of'gotolhe thisis them6aning in theAbsolute" solute'dissolve 'Aflerleaving (B. 552) V lViv shiningrealmaft6rleavinghere' here'doasnot implythat they haveto wait lor the dealhof the ot meta' bodybeloreiheyattainth€AbsoluteForlhe eradicalion experience, physical the causeof illusoryempirical lgnorance, for noth_ only' and knowl6dge lor metaphysical lhey haveto wail conwilh and passage agrees The ing else(B.B.Vlv.iv.554). Ab' but the beingnothing firmstheoth€rlextwhichruns'Verily, s o l u t eh . e d i s s o l v eisn t h e A b s o l u t o ' ( E r h al Vd i v 6 ) , s a y s on a lator parl ol the text (B B V Ruresvara,comm€nting lViv.560). Thelollowingversesshouldbe noled nol !o (1) Because tor theAbsolule it wouldbe impossible lI is sarolam in toucnwit lhe palh" me,therelore rnclude hascorrelo me loscove'edil Thls oath,as d€scnbed,
219
myselt,lottowjnglhe teachingsof theVedaand the Aca.va. In Knowtedge ol theinmostSell,thesubieclrsnotdiffer;nt tromthe objecl.(8.8.VlViv.55o). (2)This'shining realm'(the Absolute, not'heaven,) waswhat was rea y meantbetoreby the word.svarga,,evenin the phrase'Hewho wanissvargashouldoffersacritices,. For thatwhrchjs established by the knowledgearisingkom the upanlshadic textscannotbe reachedthroughrjtuals.(B.B-V tv.iv.555). Even in the ea ier emark, 'He who wantssvarya shouldofter sactifices',the rcal rcfetencewasIo the,Absotuleas a shintng reatm, not to'heaven'asa hapry aboda.tn any case,it is onlv lhe Absolutelappearingas heaven)undera conditionino adiunctthatcan be rcachectthtough r uals. i3)Thewordsvarga'is usedhereonlyto mean.the highest bliss'.Becauseil occursin the contextoJteachinalabera_ I'on.rl s something eternat. Henceitcannothere me;nwhat comseas the resulto, porforming (B.B.VlViv.556). rituals. (4)Onthe(false)lheorythattiberation depend€don thedeath ol the body,it woulddependon dissolulion in the cause. 8ut altertheeradication of thecauseol all,enlightenmenl superseoesaulomatically, and nothingelse is needed. (B.B.VlViv.5s8). ll woulddependon dissolutionjn lhe cause:/tmears d/sso_ luttantn the Absoluteas yet unknown,assumjngsome such atnetapparentformas the cosnic vitalenergy. Aiterlhe eradicalionof theca!se of all: fhls meansalter the eradicalionof metaphysicaltgnorance. (5) Nooiherobstacle to liberation is admitied exceptlgno, rance.Accordingly, whenlgnorance has beendesttoved. then a person(nr)is liberated alreadyin thislileevenbe_ lore he is tinallyliberated irom rebi(hat the dealhol the bodyThe Upanishad hasalreadytaughtthisearlierin the
220
chapler-8
he disolvesin theAbsothingbuttheAbsolute, lext'Being passage,theretore, No laterupanishadic lute'(8rhad.lViv.6) onthedeath liberation depond lhat couldmake!s believed oi the body.(B.B.v lv iv.559-60). fromrebirih:thls oneis...liberated Liberatesakeady...before ol KathaUpanishadIl.ii.1. is a reminiscence All Duality ia lmaglnedThroughlgnorance In the systemol Suresvara,all dualily is an elject oi Thereis lherejorenolhingelse to be denounce lgnorance. dislinclionbetweenlhe lgnorancehasbeeneradicated.The betweenknownand un' Selfandlhe nol-sell,the distinclion known,tho dislinctionbetweenreal and unreal,lhe distincknowingsubjecttionbetweenbeingandnotbeingindividual Five shealhs' arisethroughlgnorance. all thesedislinclions cosmc sheaths tivecorrasponding ths individualand encasing onlythroughlgno_ standingas lheircausesaredislinguished rance.Olher distinctionslike lhat betweenmanilestand ellectand cause wholeand parls,aclronand li unmanifesl, componenltacloasand res!lis aaealso sel up by lgnorance andwllh' mainlenance the Lord.crealion, alone.TheWitness. thethreestatssol waking,dreamand drawalol the universe, ol ihe dreamiess sleep,and,in a word,the very relallonship alone work of lgnornace itselJ, is allthe lgnorance Seli wilh Thereforewhenvisionol the inmostprincipleis atlainedand lgnorancebroughtto an end,all bondageto transmigralory of lgno' The manileslalion ceasesimmedialely. experienc6 haveno ettectwhatoveron the ranceand its latereradication ol Sell,the principleof reality,any morethanlhe imagrnation imaginalion ol thal a snakein a ropeand tha latercessation _aveany eflecton lne rooe.Herealso,as In the syslen ol lhe rrclhodol ial'e allrrbuton'oltne reveredCom.nutator, lollowedeveretraciionis consislenlly oweoby subsequenl lo we have accePl. rywhere.This
Suresvara
221
(1) Clothedin lhe liveryof b€ingan individual knowng subject,lhe Sell beholdslhe not-selJ; but it cannotbeholdthe Setfas an objeclin lhis way,as the Sell is lhe pure light of Consciousness and nothingelse.(B.B.V Liv.734). (2)Thedislinction betweenknownandunknown, thedistinclionbetweenappearingas knowledge and as lgnorance,and the distinction betweenbeingand not being - noneol these an individual subjectenjoyingknowledge distinctions beingto lhe SelJ.For they are not self,esrablished. Theydependon lh€ Witness.{T.B.V. .666). (3)Texislike'Darkness (lgnorance) is death,(lightis imm o r t a l )('B r h a d .i li .i . 2 8 a ) n d ' l n t h e b e g i n n i n gt h, i s ! n i versewas water'{Brhad-vv.1 ) showlhal melaphysical lgnoranceis continuallyal work,eilherin manifeslor u n m a n i f e sfto r m - ' E m e r g i n gf r o m l h e s e e l e m e n l s (Brhad.ll-iv.12), theLord,thoughraisedaboveallchange. appearsthroughlgnornaceas the Knowerol ihe Field p.35),lhroughof a illusoryappearance ([,1.V. oJHimself a s l h e n o t - s e l l(.B . B . V ,1 . i i . 1 3 6 -c7p, M . V . 1 1 8 , 1a1n d (4)Thatwhichis neithera causenor an ellectassumes ihe appearance of causeand dllecllhroughlgnorance. Hencethe Vedaworkslor the eradicalion of the latler... lgnoranceof lhe Self manilestseverywhereas cause andeftect,thoughit haslor ils lrue naturelhat (theSell) whichis not eilh€ra caus6or an eflect.lt is witnessed as an objectby its ownlrue Self.(B.B.Vl.ii.130.1.jv.309)(5)The nolionwhichwe haveherein the worldol whole and parts b€longsto the planeof lgnoranceot the inmosl Sell. ll does not balongto the suprem€Self. ih whichall lgnorance(lit.blindess)is negaledby'neither l h i s n o rl h a t . ( 8 . 8 . Vl . i i a . 2 6 9 )
222
Chapler'8 (6) True Being does not undergoand is nol a cause. lt appearsas a cause lhrough lgnorance,and also as aclion and all its componenl taclors and results. (B.B.V. t .i i . 12 8) . (7) That supreme principleol reality,which is rndicaied by lhe negalrve lexls such as Nol gross... (Brhad.lll.viii.S), which in its true nalure lies divestedol l g n o r a n c ea n d i t s e t t e c l s a, p p e a r sa s ' t h e W r t n e s s ' a n d ' l h e I n n e rR u l e l w h e na p p a r e n l l lyi m i t e d by theadjunct o f l g n o r a n c e ,r l s o w n i l l u s o r ym a n i t e s t a t i o n(.8 . 8 . V . Liv.15l). (8) And so the creationsand wilhdrawalsol lhe universe d o w n t h e a g e s a r e i m a g i n e dj ,u s t a s l h e d i s l i n c t i o nos t time and space are, When you have seen realily, you know lhat the creation,mainlenanceand wilhdrawalol the universeare impossjble.(B.B.V ll.i.41I , cp l\4.V1 18, 15 and nole) (9) The imaginaryrdea thal the Self is asleep or awake o r s d r e a m i n gb e l o n g so n l y l o c r e a t u r e sa s l e e pi n l h e n r g h lo l l g n o r a n c e(.B . B . V1. 1 . i . 2 6 M 5 ,. V . 1 2 2 . 2 9 ) (10)The indivjdualknower,stationedin the intellecland idenliliedwith it, convinceshilnselt ol the presenceol lgnoranceand its eltects in the Sell, lhough ln lruth il is not present,through his own exlravertedgaze - as simp1esouls altribule blue colourlo the colourlesselher ol l r e s h y .( 8 . 8 . V .1 . r v . 2 9 8M. . V . 1 2 1 . 1 ( .
It shauld be underctoodthat certain verses lha! have already been quoted above in dift'etent contexts have been reintroduced in lhe prcsent section to show thal Suresvara approved the method al teaching through false allribution followed by subsequent rctraction.
Suresvara
223
The lorm of Non-DualltyApprovodIn the Vartika The Varlikaol Surssvaraacceptslhal the true Self.as lhe absolute, innon,dual. ll is accessible whenmetaohvsrcal l g - o ' a _ c el h . es o u r c eo l t h ew h o t ei m a g i n a r yn e l w o r ;kf d u alily,hasbeeneradtcaled through lhe textsof theUpanishads. T h r s i s w h a t o n e l e a r n sl r o m l h e s t u d y o J t h e V a r t i k a . Suresvaracarya relut€dall lhe exislingsystemsof Advaila opposedlo his o',n. H€ did so on lhe authorityoJVedicrev_ elation,backedby r6asonand his owndireclintuition, as we lravehad occasionto nole at the poinlwherewe examined the dilterentvarieliesol the earlyperiodof the teaching(cp. M . V . 9 0i,n t r o . ) W he a v ea l s oe x p l a i n €hde r ea n dt h e r ei n t h e presenlchaplersomeol lhe dilferences belweenthe syslem ol AcaryaMandanaand thatol ihe Varlika.Varioustheories of Advailaacceptedor loleratedby lrandanaare relutedby Sursvara:we mightreferlo the theoriesof Non-Dualism ol lhe Word(Sabdadvaita, cp.[/4.V102,3),Non,duatism of BeIng, whereBeingis conceivedas a universal(sattadvaita, c p . l \ 1 . V 1. 0 2 , 4 ) a n d N o n - D u a l i s mo l p o s i l i v e B e r n o ' b l ^ a v d d v a rcl ap..M . V .t 0 2 . 5 ) .W e s h a l rc t o s et h . sc h a p l e ; wilh a few verseson thesetopics. (l ) Thatwhichhas in trulh no nameor lorm manilested as nameandtorm,dep6nd ingsolelyonlgnorance (i.e.manilested atthebeginning oftheworldperiod). Statemenl, ingeneral, is calied'name'(nama);the stated,in generai,is caled ,Jorm, (rupa).Through thesetwocategori€s lhe Lordis ableto mani_ lesl Hirnselflor all crealuresbornin the realmot manilestaI on; il He had stay€din his unmanilest lormth s wouldnol havepossible. (B.B.Vl. iv 390-2) For the Non-Dualsmol lhe Wod adoptedby Mandana,one shauldconsultBehna Siddhipp.lT-19 (cp.potteL19A1,pp.3568).
i 224
Chapt€r€
(2)Thereforo(i.€.b€causomonialrepetitionstraditionallyrated higherthanoralrepetitions ol lhetexts)the hue natureol lhe YajurVeda(andof all vedicl6xt6)is to be divineknowledge in lh€ mind.In thigwayth6 eternalilyol theVedas implanted pervades canberighllyoxphin€d(sinc€etemalConsciousness il lhe mind.TheirDowerlo communicatae canbeeslablished iheyarenollakenas phy6ically spokenwords(butas ideas); ittheirabg€nceis supoos€d to bethe it cannotbeestablished (sphota) (assumed) iatentinthespokenword. etemalprincipl€ GB.V.[.297-8). For Mandanabviewson'SDhota',one shouldconsulthis wo* the SphotaSiddhi(seeBiAiogEW undetBiardeau). (3)Hereinth6upanishadic t€xttheterm'lheAbsolute'is us€d in its directmsaningas h€ r€alilythatis neith€rtranscendent nor immanonl,ngithera universalnor a pariicular.(B.B.V tviii.1815). TheAbsoluteb descibedih thegetefits thtoughoutthe vadikd, as at B.B.Vl.iu 656,745,1073,1272,446; .i,371;ll,iii.l2,240; ll.iv.l4: Liu38and so torth(cp.alsoM.V.119,6).But Mandana undersloodthe Ats
Sur€svara
225
Theimplicationol thi6b that thenotbn of'not'doesnot aDDi,e one ol non-gxislence.And thisrclutesthe Non-Dualismol posilive Being(bhgvedvaka).But Mandanaaccepldit, SeeBahna Siddhi
'(At B. Sid. p4, cp. M.U 102. Maldana /'iaka9 5, an opponsntrcna* dpl the Absotutecan b6 assetaled * h ,o€inw annbui!6 (e.9. btiss)an n,satite ainbubs (e.9. a$anca ol the wdd ot ot lqr,oa1ca). As Mah.hna .,Desnol cont adicl lhls, he \!as l*an by lalet autho$ as heing ac-cepted he viewka! ke A$olute coulalhaw thenegallw atilbul€s ot ab€encool ttta hiwrfet at cassa. tion ot lgnorcnc.' (cp. B.Sid.,ed. Kuwuswani, Englbhlnto. W xi-xv).]t is nonduath itsposltNeaspect(bh'vtdvalla), but tdarE!$ 3 kk.t ot datity k tEt it has negationot vaiotts ttitldsbt lE'negatl\E auwnes'. Bhtvedvatta,w dt rcslt on t\6 ffi ol .eilykg nagatiots aN! setfng hen W a3 a stange kind ol rcdity, rcappearc in such latat Advalte aulho.s as VlnunAldan (.p. M.U 2U) and A@dabodha (cp. M.u 275).No st{;h rcltlcaddr ls lanf, k Suestnn. Fat hin tha wotd 'not'merelyldlcatad th6 Absotutain iE tua brn. TN.)
.'€
o .c
.9
z
o
o
o s
oro
gE FO
OF
Chapter-9 Sddhanacan go on in the drcam or sleep stateas well as in the wa4ing. (Sri Aurobindo;Le erc on Yoga,p.1481) To make use ot the nights is an excellent thing, it has a doubleeffect:a negativeeffect,it Nevents you trom la ing backward,losing whateveryou havegained- that indeed, is painlul - and a positive effect,you nake 6omaprcgress, you continue yourptogress. (TheNlotheLBul/oLh,Vol.Xll, No.4,p.91) hasforitsgoallhelolal I he InlegralYoga of SriAurobindo liberationol of ournalu16aswellasth€complete iranstormation only slaleweareconscious ourbeing.Butin ournormalwaking of nature, lhe resi ol il ol a very restricledlield and action our oursu ace remainingandfunclioningbehindtheopaqueveilof personalily. But,sinceall thatwe'becomeand do and bear'in andgovemedbylhesoconcealed zones ourouterliteis prepar€d andsubliminaltoourwakingawareness, ol activitysubconscient alassumesan "jmmenseimporlancefor a yoga whichaims al th€ translormalionot lite to grow consciousof what goes on to be maslerther6and be ableto leel, withinlhesedomains, knowanddealwithihe secrettorc€sthatdetermineour destiny exlernalgroMh or decline." andourinteinaland Now,as we havenoledbelore,sledplik€yogictranceopens lhe gateto thesesubliminalworldsand allowsus an enlry into lhe moresignifjcanlrealmsofourexistence.Andalthoughil is a ness sialeot our conscious lacl that in the ordinaryundeveloped our cognition remains unknownto mostof oursleep-experience and oventhe lillle that managesto reachour recordingsurJace doesso inthetormol dreamsanddreamliguresand"notinlhat
230
Chapler-9
condilionwhichmighlbecalledan innerwakingand whichisthe rnostaccessibe form of the lrancestate,"througha properand .lelhodica self-disciplining we nay g'ow n conscioLsness in sleepitseiiso muchso thal in the end we may iollowin uninterruptedawardnessour passagelhroughvar ous realmsol our in" At a certainpilchoi ner be ng and the returnjourneythereirom. this innerwakefulness this kind of sleep,a sleepof expeience can replacethe ordinarysubconscrous slumber," It is thenthatwe haveveridicaldreams,dream-experiences oi grealvalLre, conveying lruthsthal are nol so easylo gei in our ordinarywak ng staie.Thus problemsare solvedin our dream consciousness, whichourwakingconsciousness couldnot possrblycope with;weare providewiih warningsand premonitions and indicalionsof the fulure and wiih "recordsof happenings seenor experienced by us on otherplanesol our own berngor oi universabeinginiowhichwe enler." Our sleep-exisience, ii we are consciousin il, rendersus anothervaluableservicein the exploration ol our subconscient nalurethat conlainsmuch that is obscurein us bul not distinguishablyactivein ihe wakingsiate.A consciouspursuitof the sLrbconscient wanderingsof our sleep-consciousness bringsto our notrcea classoi dreamslhal "ariselrom the revengeof our innerbeinglreed tor a momentfrom the constraintthat we im poseon it.Thesedreamsojtenallowus lo perceivesorneof the tendencies, tastes,impulsesand desiresol whichwe wouldnol otherwisebe consciousso long as our will to rea rse our ideal heldlherndown,hiddenin some obscurerecessof our being." For ii is one ol the most disconcertingdiscoveriesmade n Sadhanaihat whai we have thoughilo have settledand done away wilh in lhe upper layersof our consciousness are obstifate y relainedby our glutinoussubconscienl. And just lor that reason,as SriAurobindohas poinledout,thesedreamsprovide u s w i t h a u s e l ui n d r c a t i olno,r " l h e ye n a b l eu s t o p u r s u et h i n g s io thelrobscurerootsin this unde|worldand excisethem."
Thq Masleryof lhe Nighls
231
Hencewe seethai lhe iieldsof our sleepii propery cultl, valedcany e d us a greatandeffective aidonourroadtowards se l-knowledge and seltmastery, alsoln the pursuitoi our nalure'lranslormatlon. B!t howto acq!irea cogniionof theactivitiesol ournighis?Howto transform thenatureoi ouf sleep? maybe Theprocedure to dealwih s eepandthedreamland sardto havelhreema n limbs:( ) howbestto enterthe staleoi in sleepitself?and(iii)how sleep?( ) how10remainconscious to retainthe memoryoi ourdream-experiences evenwhenwe awareness? comebackto thewakrng In our quesllor the answersto thistr ple query,to whom andthe lvloiher. the elsewouldwe lurn lhanio Sri Aurobindo supremernasters of the fourloldworldsof our being,jagrat, forquoting svapna,susuptia^d llrya? so we makenoapology n exlensofromlhe r luminous writingsin an atlempito offer
How Bestto Enterthe State ot Sleep? "Yourrusl lie flal on yourbackafd relaxall the musclesand nerves...lo be ike whal lcalls pieceoi clothon the bed, noih' ing else remains.lf you can do that with the mind also,you get r d of all stupiddreamsthat make you moretiredwhen you get up than when you went lo bed. lt is the celluar activilyof the brainlhal cont nLeswilhoutcontrol,and lhat I res much.Therelate a lotal rclaxatian,ak nd ol campletecalm, withauttension n whicheverylhng s slopped.But lhis ls only the beglnning. "Aileftards, a self-givingas total as possible,of all, lrom lop io bottom,lrom the oulsideto the inmosi,and an eradcation aso as tota as possibe oi ail resisianceo{ the ego, and you beg n repeatng your mantra- your mantra,if you haveone or any otherword whichhas powerover you, a word leapingIrom lhe hearl, spontaneously,ke a prayerand lhal surnsup your asp rat on. Aiter hav ng repealeda few t rnes, it you ale acclslonredlo it, yau get inta lrance.Andlrom that tranceyoLrpass
ntosleep. Thekancelastsas longas it shouldend quitenaluyou passinlosleep.8ul whenyou come rally,spontaneously backtromlhis sleep,you remembereverything'lhe sleepwas of the tance. but a cantinuation "Fundamenlally lhe solepurposeol sleepis to enablelhe bodyto assimilatethe sftecto{the lranceso thal the effectmay be acceptedeverywhere,to enablethe bodylo do its nalural thetoxinsAndwhenil wakes tunction ol lhenighlandeliminate whichcomefromsleep'lhe Lrp,thereis no lraceof heaviness eftectoJlhe lranceconlinues. "Evenforthosewhohaveneverbeenin lrance,it Lsgoodto a word,a prayerbeforegoingintosleep But repeala mantra. theremuslbe a lilein lhe words,I do not meanan intellectual nothingof thalkind,bula vib@lionAndon the body signilication, itbeginslovibrale,vibrate'vibrale and ils eltectis extraordinary: quietlyyouletyourselfgo asthoughyouwaniedio get Inlosleep Thebodvvibralesmoreandmoreandslillmoreanoawayyou gol
of Dreams? Howlo RetaintheAwareness dealwrththe shouldnaiurally Theii€i partot ihisdiscipline alL to dlstingu_ above and, ou r dreams quesllon nowlorecognise greally vary they noted beiore' them;toras we have shbelween may nave nlghl we Otlenin thesame in lherrnalureandquality. and tfrus categorles severaldreamswhichbelongto dilterent whrch havedillerentinlrinsicvalue.Now,as regardstheprocedure lislen Lel us nights ol o!r memory retain the we shouldadoptto to thewordsot theMother: be' divergence "....There is almostalwaysa considerabLe lweenwhatourmenlalactivityacllallyis andtheway n wh cn thewayrnwhichv/eremarfconwe perceive il, andespecially whalvibra_ determlnes thisacllvily sciousoi it.Initsownsphere, the cellLrlar up lo by repercussion lionsare lo be lransmitted butin o!r sleepybrain,lhesubte syslemol ourcerebralorgan, domaincanonlyaliecta very vrbrations lfomthesupersensible
rnttednurnberol cells;the inertraot rnostof ihe organicsLtpportsol cerebralphenomenareduceslhe numberol lheir acltve e ernenls,rmpovershesthe mentalsynthesisand makesil unlil ro repfoducelhe act vity ol lhe inlernalstaiesolhet lhan by m ages,ottenesivery vagueand inappropriare_.., 'The cerebra rende ng ot ihe activitiesot the night s al r mes so mucnd storledthata lorm js givenlo phenomena whtch ts the exact oppasite of the rcalily,.. '[8u1]it one knowshow to transtalein inte]iectual tanguage lhe rfofe of less inadequaietmagesby whrchlhe brarnreproduces ihese {acts.one may learn many thingswhtch lhe too rrmrledphyslcaliacullies do nol perrnitus to perceive. _Some even succeed,by a specialcullureand lrarning,rn acq!rnngand retatningihe consciousness ot the deeperactrvi tles ol lhelr lnner being ndependenUyot'theircerebrat transcripto, and are able lo recalland knowihem in lhe waktngstatern all the plent!de ol lhelr taculties... 'How [lhenjto cutlivalelhrsiield of aclion?how lo acq!rrea cagntttcno out activjties ol the night?... 'fhe same disctplineaf concentralian wh ch enables a ntaf no ongerto remaina slrangerto his Inneractrviliesin the wak ng state.a so furnrsheshim with lh; rneansor removng lrre rgnoranceol lhose,slill richer,ol the diverseslatesof S eep 'Usuaty theseac|vitiesleaveonlyrareanoconrusedmerno, .One
I nds howeverlhal at timesa fortuilousc rcumstance. an mpresslonrecelved,a word pronoLlnced is enonghla reawaken suddenly ta cansciousnessthe whale al a long dream al whtch lhe monrenlbeioretherewas no recol/eclio[ "Fromthis simpletactwe may tnlerlhal our consctousact v parlic pates very ieebtein lhe phenomenaoi lhe steepng ty siale as n the normalstaieoi lhingsthey wou d rcrnaintostt'ar ever tn subconsctenlmemoty..
234
Chapl6r-9
"Onewhowishesto recoverthememoryol a forgottendream on suchvagueimpresshouldin lhe firstplacefix hisattenlion behindit andio low lell trailing mighl have sionsas the dream possible. trac€sas tar as the indistinct "Thisfegularexercisewouldlet him go tarthereveryday wherelhe lorgottowardstheobscurerclrcatol thesuconscient lhus ark oul a roule reluge and phenomena ot take sleep ten ol consciousness. lhetwodomains easylo lollowbetween "Onepractical remarkto be madelrornthispointof viewis thal the absenceol m€moryis veryotlendue lo abruptnesswtlh takesplaceAt thismoment' whichlhe returnlo consciousness 0nve lieldol consciousness, into ihe break n fact.newactivities more make and atlelwards ouliorcibleallthatis foreignto them to recalllhe things necessary dilficult lhe workol concentration cer_ whenever on theconirary, Thisis tacilitated, thusexpelledlor a physical precautions observed are and even mental lain to anolner." peaceful from one state transilion awayof thememoryof our nightscanbe Thus,lheslipping ol goingbackin memory greatlyremedied anda powerdeveloped coher fromdreamio dream,fromstateio state,tilla sufficiently oi our sleeplileis builtup. enl knowledge as we shallpre' o, memory, Butthislrainingol lh€ racullies prove link the lotalityot our to su{licient sentlysee,doesnot Forlhalwe haveto withourwakingawareness. sleep-exislence growconscious in the stateof sleepilselt. llow to GrowConsciousIn Sleep memory lo lollowbackthethread Thetraining of ourphysical give ior thesinple ils full dividend lailsto of ourdream-activilies nlo reasoalhal n thiswaywe are"ableto ltanslorT consciolJs phenompna oi lhewakingstalethosealonewhichwerealready fleelingly,duringsleep.For whele lhere was no il mosl so, be consciolsness,lheracan f'e no nemoty.
We shouldlhereloreseek,in the secondptace,lo extend lheparticrpalion ot consciousness lo a greaternumberol activi_ tresIn the sleepingstale.Now,.,thedailyhabilol goingwilh inlerestoverlhe variousdreamsof the njghl,thistransforminq ther vestiges ttttteby trt e inloprecisememories as wellas thai oi nolingthemdownon wakingareveryhelpful lromthispointof "By virtueol thesehabits,the mentallacultjeswill be in_ ducedto adapttheirmechanism to thephenomena ot thisorder and lo directuponlhemtheira ention,curiositv and oowefof analvsrs. "ll wiil then produce a sotl ol inteltectuatisation of dream,achieving lhedoubleresultot interspersing theconscious aclrvtltes moreand moreinlimately in the play,hithenodisordered,ol the activitiesol the sleepingstateand of augmenling pfogressrvely the scopeotlheseactivitjesby makinglhemmore andmorerationaland instructive. "Dreams wouldthentakeonthecharactsr ol orecise visions and,at lirnes.of dreamrevelations," But alongwiththisparticipation oJmentalconsciousness, tnrsrevetatory Inteilectualisation ot dreams, we musltryto cuili_ vatea stillhigheranddeepermodeoI consciousn€ss in sleep. In lact,our sleep,life shouldbe as mucha partol Sadhana as the wakingone,andihe developing consciousness thatwe at_ tarnin our wakingstatethroughspiritualendeavorandaspiration shouldextenditselftullyandcontinuously alsotothesleepstate. ll is truethatat the beginning and ior a longtime it becomes difficull to maintain lheconsciousness al thesamepitchal night, lor "thelrueconsciousness comesat firstin thewakng slaleor rn medilation. it takespossession ot the mental,the vital,the conscious physical, butthesubconscious vitalandohvsicai re, marnobscrrra andthisobscunty comesup whenlhereis sleep or an rnerlrelaxalion_"Bul withthe grow,th ol an intenseSadhana Inourwakrng stale,whenwedevelop ourinnerbeil|g,Iivelromin
and penetratedby is enlightened wrthouiand our subconscient oi conscious andihis dislocalion light,thisdisparlty the l\,4otheis dream or sleep goes in the "sadhana on and our nessdisappears, " waking stale as well as in the The Lure ol the Drcam'Consciousness Al lhis poinl ol our djscussionwe would like lo addressa noteol warn ng lo ihe seekersaiterlhe masteryof lheir n ghls ot the fieldsoi sleep_exrstence Througha propercultivation beginslo deveop and along whenthe rnnersleepconsciousness as distinclfromordinarydreams, experlences w th t appeardream lo w tn_ pull on the consclousness lhere is olten an irresistible develop_ lollow the go and within sialus, lts waklng irorir draw menl ihere evenwhenthereis no ialigueor need ol sleep so so overalluringare ihe experiencesoi dream-consciousness, whelrningis the charmthereoTl must nol be a lowedto But thlsattractionof the sleep_world 'wanl ng to get back to encroachon lhe wak ng hoursand ihe somethrngntereslingand enthralng which accompanlesthe desre to Iall inlo sleep"shoud be etlectivelycurbed Olhelwise 'a e unbaancingand decfeaseol lhe theremay be an Lrndesirab ho d on ouler rea t es.'
Chapter-10
The Vision of the DivineBody
Chapter-10 TheLightnow distantshallgrcwnativeherc, TheStrenghtthalvtsitsus out comradepower; Thelneflablesha finda secretvoice, ThelnperishableburnthroughMatter'sscreen Makinglhismorlalbodygodhead'srobe (SriAurobindo, ll, Cantoll,p.110) Savltli,Book the lourtltand Pastand goneare threemortalgenercIions: willenlel last inta lhe Sun (Rig'Veda,V l.102.14) ll the transformalion ol thebodyis complete,thatmeansno subjeclionto death il doesnot meanthatonewillbeboundlo keep lhe same body lor all time. One crcatesa new body fol oneselfwhenone wantsto change... (SriAurobindo, leltels on Yaga,p.1 1) onas 'evedled lo nan o' SellTransformal I hel- reg'alYoga hasforilsaim,in contradistincby SriAurobndoandtheN,4other thecreainth€foregolng chapler, mentioned tionto theallempts of earth and matler. tionoi a d v ne body,herein thecoaditions witha clnmayadeha,or lranIt doesnoi wantto be conlenled norwilhlhe scendenlabody,as in lhecaseof theVaishnavas, 'pneumatic' bodyol Pauljneconpossession of a post'mortem ceplion. For,lhis YoSaaims not 3l a releasefrom embodiedexisl_ do at the end),al a ence{as evenlhe TaniraandVaishnavism departureout ol the worldinlo some supElerrestrialworldol enjoyment, butat a changeof earthlylileand blissandspiritual oJlifehereuponeadh,andthat, ara divinelulfilment exlsience, i
240
Chapter-10
ol incidenla,butas a and thal too "notas somethingsubordinate d stincland cenlralobject".Also,"lhe obiectsoughlafter[in lhis Yogalis not an individualachievemenlol divinerealisalionlor lhe sake oi the individual,bul somelhingto be gainedtor lhe here." earth-consciousness Now, in this irameworkol the goal of a divineiuli lmentol of lhe bodyis indeedobvious.For, terrestriallife,the importance Aurobindo himself has decared: as Sr "A total perfection is the ultimale aim which we sel beJore us, for our idealis lhe DivineLiie whichwe wishto crealehere, its own the lrteof the Spiriifulfilledon earth,lifeaccomplishing spirituallransformation even here on earth in lhe conditionsol the materialuniverse.That cannotbe unlessthe bodvtoo undergoesa transtormation, unlessils aciionand lunclioningattainlo a supreme capacity''andthe physicalconsciousness,and physi cal being.the iisell...besuflusedwith a light and beautyand blissirom lhe Beyondand lhe litedivineassumea bodydivinel ElsewhereSriAurobindosoundsanoleofwarning:'lt is because he has developedot been given a body and brain capable menlalillumuinalron lhal of receivingand servinga progressive man has risenabovethe animal.Equally,it can oniy be by developinga body or at_leasta iunctioningof lhe physicalinslru. menl capableof receivingand servinga stillhigherilluminalion that he will riseabovqhimselfand realise,not merelyin thought and in his internalbeingbut in life,a perlecllydivinemanhood. Otherwrseeitherthe promiseof Lile is cancelled,its meaning annulledand earthlybeingcan only realse Sachchidananda by abolishingitself,by sheddingfrom it mind, life and body and returningto the pure Inliniie,o{ elseman rs not the divlneinstrument, lhere is a destinedlimit lo the consciouslyprogressive power which dislinguisheshim lrom all other terreslrialex stences and as he has replacedthem in the ironl ol things,so anothermusl evenluallyreplacehim and assumehis heritage." But forlunaielyfor earth-lif€and for man neitherof these
The V s on ol the D v ne Eody
241
altenatrves needbe envisaged, For manhasconvjnclngly shown by hrs pasl achievementihat he is capablejn a parts of h s beingof exceedingadlrllrllumthe boundsol his actuality.Thus there s no inevitabilily oi logicwhy he himselfshouldnot at the glonousprospectol divinemanhood,by operjngal his members,- h s menlaity,his life,and,ihe last but not the leasl,h s bodyiise l, - to the unveiledaclionofthe Supermindand altow, Ingthemio be integraly mouldedandtransiigured by that'grealer term ol the Spifiimanriesling in Nalure.' For. rt shouldbe ciearlyborne in mind that the divrnebodv lhus envrsaged can comeintoexistenceand ils physicalimmortalitybe achievedand assured,not throughthe pallry eitorts madeby scrence,northroughthe occull-spiriluralinlluences lhat seek lo act upon Mtlerthroughthe soleagencyofthepowersol conscrousness so lar organisedin earth-nature, bui throughlhe actronol lhe SupramentalPower,lhe powerof "the lall TruthConsciousnessol the DivineNature".This Trulh-ConscioLlsness, rla-clt.the Supermlnas SriAurobindo termsit, is a dynamicand nol only a slalic Power,not onlya Knowledge. buta Willaccordinglo Knowledge,'lhat can"manilestdirectils worldof Ltghland Trulhin whichall is luminously basedon the harmonyand unily oi the One, not dlsturbedby a veil of lgnorance". Also,whenthisSupramenial Powerovertlyintervenes rnthe lield of body and Matter,its wofkingwill be 'notan intluenceon lhe physica givingil abnormallaculties,but an enlranceand penetraton changingil whollyintoa supramenlalised physcal . N o w , a s r e g a r d s t h e n a l u r e a n d c h a r a c t e ro t i h i s physcal makingpossiblethe appearance, supramenta|sed here upon earth itsell, ot a who ly iransfigureddivlne body, Sri Aurobindohas wrtten in greatdelailin lhe penultrmale chapler ol The Llfe Diviae and, more exhaustivelv.in hrs last work Ihc Supramenlal Manifestationupon Earth. The mitedspan ol the presentwork does nol perrnitus to discuss n luli lhe natureol this apotheosrs ol the malerialbody oi man, as env saged in ihe Yoga'Phllosophy ol Sri Aurobindo and ihe Mother,nor can we ind caie howfor and.jnwhai waythe
242
Chapler-10
problems insistent of loodand sleep,faiig!eand inerlia,disaregounregenerated impulses anciappetiles easeanddecay, ingto besolvedintheiransformed divinebodyio appearintime. Weconlent ourselves withpicking uphereonetheme,thetheme, problemof deathsn we mightas wellsay,ol the Sphinx-like physical body. dissolution oJlhe individual's For,we havebeenassured by SriAufobindo andlheIVolher Manileslotion of theSupramental thatas a crowningachievement con' uponEarih,therewillcomewillcomeaboul'lhephysical - 'in the sensenot oJ questof death,an earthlyjmmoftal,ly', butan altachmenl or ot restriclion to ourpresenl corporeallrame exceedingol the lawo{ the physicalbody."For,"fromthe divine Lordol lmmorlalily Bhss,the originalDelighto{ existence,the comespor]ring the wine ol that Bliss,the mysticsoma, inlo livingmatter;eiernaland beauliful, he therejarsof mentalised fortheinleqral lranslorentersinlothesesheathsot substance malionof thebeingandnature". "the Andthuswillbe realised lor manhisage-oldyearning, - immortality of lhe naconsummation ol a lripleimmortality, immodalily ot lhe Spiritand the turecompleting the essenlial psvchicsufvivalol dealh,"- whichwillbe"thecrownol rebirth indication ol the conquestol the nalerial and a momentous Inconscience and lgnorance evenin lhe veryloundalion ot the regnof N,4aller,...atemporarsignollhespirit'svicloryhereover DealhahdMaltel. ot Death,canbe realButbeJore thisvisionof theconquest necessiiy lor ils exislsed in the liJeot man,lhe melaphysical enceandawayso far hasto be adequately metandabrogated. So ourtasknowis lo proceed to thestudyoi lhe melaphysnecessarv cs oi deathandindicale thecondition ior lhe attainmenlot a physcal immortality.
Chapter-11
The Conquestof Sleep
Chapter-11
Thtnets the shade in whtchvtsionsare made: sped bylhy hands lram celestiallands come lhe souls thal reloice fat evet. lnlo thy dream wa ds we pass ar laak tn lhy tnagrc glass, titen beyan(l thee we climb out af Space and Time lc th-.peak of dtvineendeavour. (Sri Aurobindo.CallectedPaemsand P/ays.Vol ll.p 122r He has see, Gods slu/nber shape these magic vvorlds He has v.'aichedlhe dumb God lashiontngMaltet s lra )-.. Dreenng the dreans al ns unknowingsieep. And vatched the unconsctorisFotce lt)at bLrlt lhe starc. He has iearni lhe lncotisctenls wotkings and ns law l!s satnnolencefotnded the univerce Its abscure tuaktngmakes the world seem vatn He mus!cali lqht tnla tls dsrk abysms. Else never can TtuthconqLterlL'latte.s sleep Antt all eatlh laok inlo lhe eyes of God BookVl Canloll, pp 4?19.50) lSr Aurobindo.-Saydr/, W" tlou" .""n n the courseol our sludy at tangue h.:tten1-E nalufeand luncton of s cep lhal lh-"penol c spcl s of the occLrit oJdormancyof our body need nol pta'Je\a be an !navoillabe growlh. n anycas-o. our phys .v | .or.r han.icap 1oour spirrlLral mean an abeyancc ol consc dces nol /,.e;essaf//y o!s ca sle-op n e s s o 1 t h - .r i h o l eo J o u r d y n a m i cb e r n g n. o r a n ( r h l y I n f r ) d o ' n . n o re v e na n f i e r r u p ot n n t h ep u r s u rol l o u rS a d h a r aO n tl we krtowhov,tc.io l the otherlrand.th s may be trafsJorrned, nto : s/eep a{ expe encesg v ng us an access1o lne nner dona ns ot oi.rrbe ng
246
Chapter'11
stence,to Butwhalevermay be the valueof the sleep-ex price of the suspension ol our livein the dream-v/orld at lhe a laudableachievement wakingawareness cannolbeconsidered ol Lile.We haveto br ng out and in the Yogaoi Transformation c a l l d o w n t h e r e a c h e st r o m o u r s u b l i m i n adl e p t h sa n d of our heightand makelhesean acquisition superconscienl "spiriturally physical hasto be wakinglile.Our consciousness as in sleep." awake" and"asopenin thewakingconscrousness We havesomehowto "arraveat a poinlwhenone remainsoulwardlyconscious andyetlivesinlhe innerbeingandhasal will indrawn orlhe cutpoured condilion." lhe boutsol unconsciousIt is thusevident thatthe irresistible nessoi sleeplo whichour body'swakingstatusoccasronally in the cannotbutbeviewedas a signof imperfection succumbs prevailing organisation of our physical being.Whatrsthennecan essenlral elemenl essaryis lhat- andthismustconslilute sleep m6l in the tolal lrans{iguration of our bodilyexistence be Gised ftom the level of necessilyto that of a free accept' ol our arce,as and whenso willed,as an indrawnabsorplion by the Thusthemastery overournightsshouldbe lollowed vicBul is lhis lotal atlemplai an absolute conquest ol sleep. present physical human sleepat all feasiblein lhe tory over condilions lhalhaveto bodv?And.if not.whatarelhe essenlial be met beforelhis prospecllor bodilylite enlersthe fieldof possibilities? realisable we propose to By wayoi answering lhesecrucialqueslions and venlutesomelentatrve Dutforwardlwo relatedDroblems solutions thereol. Howto Reducethe Hoursof Sleep? plane,sleephasIor ils essenOn the purelyphysical-vital physical energies ol oI the nervous lia lunclionthe restoraticn fulfilmeni ol lhis ourlatiguedbodilysystem.ButIoran eJieclive shouldbo iunction, it is absolutely necessary thaloursleep-lite
The Conquestof Sleep
247
relaxed andluminous. calmandreposeful, Bulveryrarelydoour nightsmeasureup to thiscrilerion: theseare,moreollenthan not,morefatiguing thanevenourdayslor reasons whichollen escapeus. But the l\,4oih€r has warnedus that iJwe get up nol so well refreshed in the mornjng, it is because of a lormidable massof Tamas."lt isTamas whichcauses badsleep.There aretwokinds oJbadsleep:lhe sieepthal makesyou heave,dull,as lhough yo! loseall lhe eflectoi lhe efforlyou put in duringthe precedyouas if youwerepassing ingday;andthesleepthatexhausls yourtimein iiqht. "...Two lhingsyou musleliminate: Jalling intolhe torporoi inconscience, wilh the alltheselhingsof lhe subconscienl and ot theinconscienl lhal rise!p, invadeyou,enterinloyou;anda vitaland mentalsuperactivity whereyou passyourtimein lighlingliterallyterriblebaitles.Peoplecomeoul ofthatstalebruised, as il theyhad receivedblows- and lhey did receivethem,it is nol'as if'!" (A)Relaxation:Now, sincethe totaltimejntervalneededtor lhe recuperation of ourenergies is in inverseraiiolo thequalily ot reposethatwe allainin oursleep,theverylirstprocedure we mustadoptto cut downthe duration of our nightlysleepis to practise lheartof conplelerelaxation of bodyandmind,a short periodof whichproving to bemorerefreshing thanhoursof restlesssleep,In therecommendation of a Buddhisl author:"Relax andconsciously; eachporlionoi thebodydeliberately lhenclose theeyesandlry lo visualise utterdarkness. Fe€lyoursell floal. ing in a srlentvoid,and deliberalely emplylhe mindol every t h o u g h ta n d f e e l i n gb y i m a g i n i n gs u c h a c o n d i t i o na s "Onlya sleepet€rnalin an eternalnightl'And the Swinburnes's thal,oncelhBproperknackis abundance ol auihorconcludes treshenergyanda clean-swept invigorated mind. cannol Bethatas it may,lhisnegative methodol felaxation ot sleep,lt should lakeus verytar on our roadto lhe conquest
step lo a lor moreeltecive from ratherthe essenlialpreliminary consclousIn our sleep to become one: beneficial and spirilually progress lor nights utiliseour and deliberately (B) Conscious utilisatian of nights: Al this porni we would lhal may arise ln like to dispeia possiblemisunderstanding ul lsalionol our lor a conscious with this suggeslion connection minds lhal lhrs at' lear in some lurking nights.Theremay be a ghts, Inslead n ot our ternptat lhe cullivationof the vast fields invrgoraling of bringingin a morereposelulandlheretorea more sLeepwouidon the olher handallecl its deplh and delracllrom the efficacilyol our nightlyresl wh ch is so salularyand indispensableior our physicalhealth Bul thisfear and doubthavegot no basisin iacl For.as lhe Molherhas assuredus, it is onlythe uselessand uncontrollable and mosllysubconsciousactivitiesln our sieep that make our 'il nightsmoreialiguinglhan the day.On the conlrary our nLghl qrantedus lhe acquisition oJnew knowledge,the solulronoi an conlactIn our rnnerbeing the eslablishmentoi absorbng problem, with some centreol lile or of lighl,or even the accomplishrnenl ol some usefulwork,we shouldalwaysget up wilh a ieelingol vigorrrand well'being.lt is lhe hours wastedin doing nalhtng useful at' good that are lhe mosl latiguing lor reaprng o{ our sleep-exlslence Th s consciouscultivation fruiisior our innergrowthis then the secondesssnlraelemenl of our endeavourlo rnakethe state01physicalsleepa real re' slorerof our energies. Bui the gainacquiredevenin thisway seemsto be lim ted in ls scopeso lar as our main problemol drastcallyreducng the hoursol sleepis concerned,For that we have 1obecomecon_ phenomenon ol our s eepscrousmaslersoi anothersignificant "susupli 01 Brahrnanol lie: ihe poss b lity oi enlranceinlo lhe Brahmaloka. lC) Attainnent of SachchidanandatmmobilttyjOnce beiore we havealreadymadea passingreferenceto thlsslaleol luml_
nous rest In steep.As a ma er of fact, for sleep to be at all worth the namelullillingits role of the restorerof energies,il muslbe eilherone"inwhichthereis a luminous silence,,or else one 1nwhichlhereis Anandain thecells."The restol oursleeplile is an attemptat sleep,not sleepitself.fo quotelrom the Molhera passageto whichwe haveaheadyreferred: "Thereis the possibililyota sleepjn whichyou enterinloan absolute silence, immobility andpeacein allpartsof yourbeing andyourconsciousness mergesintoSachchidananda. youcan hardlycall it sleepfor it is extremelyconscious.In thal condi_ lion you may remainlor a few ninutes, bul theselew minutes qiveyou morc restand refreshmentthanhouts of ordinarysteep." Sri Aurobindotoo has trealedthis topicon numerousoccasions.Thus,to quotelrom himonly one passage: "ln sleepone...passes from consciousness ro oeeoercon_ sciousness In a longsuccesston unlrlonereaches the osvchic andrestsrhereofelsefrom higherlohigherconsciousnes s until one reachesrest in somesilenceand peace.The few minutes one passesin this rcst ate the rcal sleepwhichrestores,_ i, one doesnot gel it, thereis only a hall rest." But,as a matterof fact,this briefSachchidananda periodof ''luminous peacetill and dreamlessresl"thal.givessleepall its reslorativevalue"cannotbe had 'by chance;it requiresa lono lraini.g.tndeed,our ordrnary sleep,evenwhenrt is of thebesi vanety,s rnosllytakenup withour actualIrayel/ing towardsthis staleol Sachchtdananda immobility and our returnJournev lo ItsewakJng av/areness. without veryofteneveireaching thesiare atal. Andeventl we reachthisstateon sornerareoccasions,,.it rsooneunconsciously as it is, lf onewantsto do it consciouslv andregulaleL onehaslirstlo become conscious in sleep.,. An; lhena onecanthe prospectpossiblyopenup betoreus ol reduc_ Ingthe hoursol sieepto a bareminimum.
Chapler-11
ol the necessily eliminale Buteventhiscannotallogelher physiological andoccuit-spirilual, sleep.Thereasonis twofold, we nowlurn. lo whoseconsideralion Howto Eliminatethe Nacessityof Sleep? On the pi-rrelyphysico-physiological Physicatprccondition: responselo ils ptane,srncesleepis the body'sunavoidable of expenditure lhroughan ill-balanced andexhaustion overstrain of o, allpossibility whalis neededis thetotalannulment energy, problem general of lhe us lo And ihis brings ourbody'siatigue. physical For' present organisation andinertiaof our incapacily altho!ghit is a facllhal"eithertheyogicor thevitalenergycan physicalsystem' or declining longkeepat workan overstrained is no longerso easynol per' a timecomeswhenthisdrav/ing longheldbacklrom mani' resulls possible"and bad lhe haps ;nsues. breakdown allatonceancla lestrng explode ' So the problemof incapacityhasto betackledand sovedon lhe ptaneof the body ilsell.For'the body is the key,the body ol animalweakness andot r€lease' thesecretbolhof bondage mindandsouland power, ol the obscuration of th€ andot divine pain limllalion and ot and to of subiection ol theirillumination, ot dealh andof immorlalily" sellmastery, reasontor lhislaligueol ourbody? Bulwhatis the inherent tired?Whycan it get periodically physical system our Whydoes wav? nol workin a continuous latigueof the bodycomes In lhewordsot the Mother:"The Theremay be manyolhet apparen! lrom an innerdisharmony. r;abons,bul allamounlto that lundamenlalcircumstance." dueto?Theanswerliesin ihe Whatis thiswantof harmony oi a limitedand lodgedintheconfines factof a limitedlife-force, in vainwilhthe conlending existence, individualised egobound universalAllLile and All-Forceihal seeksconsianilyto govern anddevelopmenl emergence and masterit. In lhe evolulionary
The Conqueslol Sleep
251
of liiein malellalforms,it is lruethatas consciousness devel_ opsmoreandmore,"asthelightof ils ownbeingemerges trom lhe enerldarkness ol lhe involutionary sleep,lheindivjduatexistencebecomesdimlyawareol the powsrin it and seeksferst nervouslyand ltrenmentallylo master,useand enjoythe play.". Bul,evenat ourbest,we mentalbeingsareboundareboundby a poorandlimitedlile powerwhichis allthatourbodycanbear ortowhichit cangivescope.And"intheconsequent interchange and balancingbetweenthe movementandinteractlon ol thevital energies normally al workin thebodyandtheirint6rchange with thosewh ch acl uponit fromoulside,whetherlhe energies ot olhersor the generalPranicforcevariouslv aclivein the environment,there rs a constantprecariousbalancingand adj!stmenlwhichmayat anymomentgowrong"5 Thus,Inlhe verynalureol things,ourindividualised lifeand lorce in lhe body cannol masterthe AlfForce workingin the world.On the contrary lhe resistancewhich it ottersthrough blindignorance lo lhe movement ol the infiniteuniversal Life ''wilhwhoselolal will and kend its own will and trend may nol rmmedialely agree",rsubjectsit to the law oJincapacilyand tatlgue,one o{ lhe basiccharacteristics ol individualised anddividedLifein lhe body. Henceto cureou. physical systemot all liability lo fatigue, the lirrilationof ego has to be totallyabrogatednot only in the innerparlsol ourbeing,butin theveryphysical consciousness and the malerialorganisationol the body.Our body has to be broughlinlo completeharmonywith the demandsot our own innerconscrousoess andwithlhe infinilecosmic|hvthm. 'lhat Bul means',ln lhe words of the [,4other, " a work in eachcellof the body,in eachsmallaclivity, in eachmovement of the organs... Youhaveto enterintothe disposition of the your physical inner cells, organisation if thebodyjs lo answerto ihe Forcelhatdescend.. Youmustbe conscious ol yourphysi calce s, youmusiknowtheirdifterent lunctions, thedegrees AI
Chapler-11
receptivity in each,whichofthemarein goodconditionandwhich withlhe helpol ihe lnsuillclent Butthiscannotbealtempled mind'consciousness. lt rs onlythro!gh and inetficient lighlol of the divineGnosis, andconcomilanl emetgence thedescend Becomrng, thal Supermind, hereinthemidslo{theevolutionary Matterand materialbody can be rid ol their ineriia and betweenhe lifeanda properequation established inconscience formation andthe surgesof lhe energyplayingin an individual All-Force. For in lhe Supermind "aloneis ihe con' embarking are therealonewillandknowledge sciousunilyof alldiversilies; and therealoneConsclousness equalandin pedectharmony; Forcearriveat lheirdivineequation." ol ourphysica It is throughthesupramentaltranslormation Inconscience."4body,-thal "is slill a llower of the material downio itsverycellsandJunclioning thal the lawoJincapacity andwllhit the fatiguewillbe linallyabrogated andconsequenl physiological compulsion for sleep. neces' Butlhererernains a finalhurdle,the occull-spirlual annulled wilh the sityof sleep,but thattoo will be completely gnostictransformalion 01ourwakingexislence. we have seen ihal n iis esOccult-sDirilual Drccondition: lo thedemandol sentialnatureourbody'ssleepis theaesponse the individual consciousness to go inwardandawakein planes of existence notat presentaccessible to thewakingawareness hall-sleep. So,unless whlchis stillin thegripol an involutionary Jromailparts anduntilhisspiritual slumberis totallyeliminated molher ourveryphysical consciousness, of thebeingincluding intotheswoon Naturewillconstrainour bodyto ialloccasionally of s umberso thalthe podalsof the innerand higherlitecan open. or Gnosis, lheTruth'Consciousness Now,whenSupermind to in ihe fieldof evolution overtlyemerges ol Sachchidananda,
The Conq!rest ol Sleep
253
becomethe governingprincipleol our embodiedmalerialsxisf e..e. r_c nanrfesledbeingwiL be in securepossesson ot dn nlegralConsciousness and an integraS ght, so that therewill be no morea slale of sleepin oppositron to the stateof pefmanenlwaking,norforthatmatteralineol demarcation separating the inner and outer domainsof existence. The evolvingbeing wil lhen be fuly arousedfromthe self-oblivion of an Involulronary sleepand,a ong withit, lhe spirilualcompulsion behindthe sleep ol our body wlll altogelherlose its occultsupporl. ln ihal loresbleGoldenDawn,the body will thrill w th lhe fu I menl of its destiny,it will parlicipatein tullawarenessin the gloriesof a d vrnisedlifeupon earth.andthe law of the inexorable necessiiyol sleepwill be 10rever lilledfrom its head. But ln the meantrmelet us notlorgel evenlor a momentlhe greal rolethai sleepcan play in the presentorganisation of our liieand being;10r,does it nol openlo us ihe doorsof the dreamland, the Yogicdream-world,if we oniy know how to put it lo And who can be litllelhe inlintlecharmand beaulyand bliss ihat ihe [/otheroi Dreamsmay beslowupon us, if we only know how lo courl Her favour?
ChapteFll
APPENDIX THEMOTHER OF DREAMS' SRIAUROBINDO Goddesssupreme, Motherof Dream,by lhe ivorydoorswhen lhoustandesl, Whoare theythenthatcomedownuntomenin thy visions thal
troop,group upon group,down the path ol the shadows slanting? Dreamaller dream,they flashand lhey gleamwith the flame ol the stars still aroundihemi Shadowsat the side in a darknessride where ihe wild tires dance, stars glow and glanceand the radom meleorglistens; there are voies hat cry lo their kin who reply; voices sweel, at head they beat and ravishthe soul as il lislens. What then are these landsand these goldensandsand lhese
moreradiant rhanearrn
i."gii3i
""nrace to lhe Who are thosethat pace by the purplewavesthat clifi-bound flooro, thy jaspershoreunderskiesin which myslerymuses, Lappedin moonlight not ol our nightor plrngedin sunshine that is notd urnal? Whoare theycomingtheyOceansroamingwiihsailswhose slrands afe nol madeby hands,an unearthly windadvances? Why do theyloin in a mysticlin6withthoseon the sands linklng handsin s{rangeand statelydances? Thouin the air,witha flamein lhy hair,the wh rl ol thy wonders watching,
Th€ Conqueslol Sleep
255
Holdestthe nightin thy ancientright,Motherdivine, hyacinthine, witha girdleof beautydetended. Swordedwithtire,allracting desire,thy linebourskingdom thoukeepesl, Starry-sweet, withthe moonat thy feet, now hiddennow seen the cloudsbetween lhe gloomandthe drjtlol lhy kesses. On y to lhosewhomlhy tancychose,O thouheartJreeis il givento see thy wetchcraft and fell they caresses. Openthe gatewherelhy childrenwaitjn theirworldol a beauty undarkened, proudlhave espied High-throned on a cloud,victorious, Maghavan ridewhenthe armiesol windare behindhim; Food has been givenfor my tastingfrom heavenand fruit o{ rmmorlalsweelness; I havedrunkwineof the kingdoms divineand haveheardthe changeol musicstrangeJroma lyrewhichour handscannol master; Doorshaveswungwide in the chambersol p.idewherelhe Godsresideandthe Apsarasdancein theirckclesfaslerand
Forrhouartshewhom wetirslcan *n"n *" o"lTlii """ boundsof the mortal,
Thereal the gatesof the heavenly statesthouhasl planted lhy wandenchanted overthe headol theYoginwaving. Fromtheeare lhe dreamand the shadows thatseemand the lugitivelightslhat deludeus; Thineis lhe shadein whichvisionsare made;spedby thy handslromcelestial landscomethe soulslhal rejoicefor ever. Inlothy dream-worlds we passor lookin thy magic glass,thenbeyondthe6we climboul of SpaceandTirneto the peakol divineendeavour.
E tt p at,
!utr ?o
vE o.o
E9
NOJ
l
9 EE
*9o
6iF {
Chapter-12 Then man was bom among lhe monstrous starc Dowercd with a mind and heart to conquer thee. (Sri Aurobindo,Savitri,Eook lX, Canlo ll, p. 594) The Ars magna,that royaland sacetdotalscienceof the alchemtsts,is veily a scienceol rcgeneation...Many a seeker on the ways of the Divine has und'ryone spiitual tegenenlion.But very few arc they who have knownthe mysteryol corporclrcnewal. (D.Eckhanshausen, La Nu€esure Le Sanctuaire) Senescenceand naluraldealh,'lamott naturcl/d, are thus seento be nol al allnecessaryand intrinsicattribulesoraccompanimentsof incarnatelife.Hencehav€arisenon the part of manvariousdeliberatelyplannedattemptsat the physicaland practisedin the modernWest,- this battl€for the vicloryover seniledecayand the body'sdeathis no longerconsideredto be tarcicaland tutile, but ratheras a veritablescienliticproblem andproposition. Alreadyin theyear1924,S. l4elalnikov of lhe InstitutePasteur(Paris)wrote:'All elfortsof ihe biologisland medicalmen lo wagea successtulbattleagainslthe onsel of senescenceand restoreyouthto the agedand d€cadentought to be consideredas practicallypossibleand 6cientitically moti valed (prcjudgementpossibleset scientiliquementmotiveesf Herewe maybrieflystatethema in attempts,bolh scientific and occull-spiritual, that havebeenso lar madelorthe physical conquest ol dealh. Prccedures.lndeed,in recenlyears,sc! \A) Rejuvenation ence has proc€edodin right earnestlo lacklelhe problemof agingand dealh,startingfromlhe low€rend ol lhe rangeot our being.
264
Chaple'-12
t has soughl1o tormulatelheories,and act efiectively, on the underlyingphysico-chemical iaclorsand processesthat govern the phenomenon of progressive senescence oJthe bodylocked have tortheir inexo rableconsequence soma-cellsand ullimaleand the sornaticdealh of the individualorganism.ln oLrrtime rnuch va uabLe work has beenne in thisspecialized iie d of biologyand the nterestedreadermay consultappropriatepublicalions ior relevantrnlormalionIn brief,we may statethat manyare the theoriesthat have been put forwardto explainlhe onselol the phenomenon of se' nescence(e.9., those of l,4aupas,Hertwg, Mainol, Koltzoif, IVetchnikot, Weissmannand olhers),and numeroushavebeen the altemptsto achieve rejuvenationof the aging body and lengthenthe span oi lilei by various surgicalaleralions of certarnedendocrinal organs,particularly the essentiaorgansof ndeed,it hasoflenbeenthoughtthatagingis broughtabout by the tarlureof or1eor other of the endocrineg ans and atlempts have been made to rejuvenalean aging body by graftingio il appropriateglandsor injeclinginio it glandularextracts. But, lrom the fundamentalpolntof v ew, lhese have by no meanssolvedihe problemal ils base.For,on the one hand,no theoryof sinei declineso faf put loffiard can be regardedas ent re y satisfaclory oras generallyeslablished bylhe evidence. Also,"mostof them sufferfrom the logocal defecloi settingup some particularobservedattfibuteor elemeniof the phenomenon oi seaescenceitsell, such as prolopasmic hysteresis, slowingrale of melabolism(meanrngessentiallyonly reduced aclivity),etc as lhe cause of the whole". Onethe otherhand,whalevermay havebeenthe immediale p h y s i c a a n d p s y c h o l o g i c ael f f e c t so l t h e p r o c e d u r e so f rejunvenation, thesehaveprovedlo be no morethanlemporary enl resulls" he ghteningol someglandaclivities, aliogether"trans is as yet lhem.There as one distinguished biologisthasiermed
Atlemprsal 'Kayasddhi
261
no evidencewhaisoeve r lh al these medico-scientit c procedures helplo increasein any way ihe bas c polentialspecilc longevty of the indivdlal. In the words of Prol.VernonT. Schuhardi,an authorityin lhe i e di ''Aihoughloudlyproclaimed,lhese procedures werenotwe I Ioundedin theoryand have not withstoodthe exaclinglhe criticaltesls of timeandconiirmalion. No evidencehas been d scoveredlhat a ihe agingthe body as a r/holels depend' ent on eilherlhe activilyor lhe tailureo the sexualglands, per se . . . The elfectswere lemporaryand did not oiiset the slowdec ine ol oldage.Indeed,somedangeris involved n such a one-sded stimulalionoJlhe senilesincethe organismas a whole may nol be physically constitutedto wthslandthe suddenand abnormalstress,,,The hormones physiologica may ater lhe backgroundof reactons and rnodilythai structuralnlegrityol the cells and tissue,bu1 lhey have little lasting effect on the primary causes of aging Thuswhilethe germinalelementsbecomethe the ser,i//ty... sourceof poslerty,the bodyseemspredeslnedto weaken, grow o d and dle. And by the latler 1950'snomeanshave been iound lo seriousy alterlhis decline." So we see lhal the scienlilicattemptsat preventingdevitalthe individLral life'spanoi man haveso lar sationand proionging provedfut le and usive,and we on our parl ventureto asserl that lhese w ll proveequaly so even in the lulure;ior, the rool of the ma ady ies somewhereelse and is too deep and inscrulable lor sc ence to probe or to find the rernedythereof.To anticipatethe ne ol suggesledsolution,we may siatetorthwith thal "even t Sc ence-physcal Scienceor occultScience-were lo discoverthe necessarycondilionsor meansior an indefnlte survivalol lhe body,stlll,if lhe body could not adapl iise I so as to becomea iit nslrumentoi expresson for the nnergrolvth, lhe sou wou d iind somewayto abandonil and passon io a nev/ ol dealhare not ils ncatnalon. Themate al or physicalcarses ls the spiriluaL inmost reason soe or ts tTUecause; its true
262
Chapter-12
necessitylor the evolutionol a new being." (B) Keyesiddhiprocedures;Leaving behind the iield ol scienlific achievements as well as lailures,wepass onnow lo a surrmaryconsideration of some oi the attemptsfnadeby man, startingfrori the other.lhehigher,end ol the rangeol our being. These occull-spirilualattempisal dehasiddhl,the atlainment oi pedeclionof lhe materialbody ol man, have in the majolty oi cases come down to us in lhe lorm ol tradilionsand a lore whose sourcessometimeshave been lost n the obscureand remote past ol lhe race. Thus, in lhe words of lhe Mother,"in a very ancient lradilion, precedingeventhe VediandChaldeantraditions,therewas already the questionol a gloriousbody whichwouldbe plasiicenough Io be conslanllyremodelledby lhe deeperconscrousness, a body expressing lhis consciousness,T herewas the quesljonol luminosityiihe matterconstituting ihe body being able lo becorneluminousatwill.Therewas the questionol a kind of light ness being possiblewhich would enablethe body to move about in lhe air by merewill-forceand someprocedureof handlingthe rnnerenergyon so on.' Some Buddhistkadilionsspeakol lhe Buddha'slemporary victory over death, Mttyumata.Fhese are based on a Buddhist beliefthat usi as an arhalcan abandonthe'coefticents ot lile.' so he can also slop them (sthApayatr. "According lo the Varbhasikas, the saintsays:'lVaylthe acitonthat is to fipenlor me in enjoymentripeninglitel'By its nalure,lile is'ripening' lvipeka), and it can teplaceany enjoymenlwhlch normallyought lo ripenfrom a formermeril,and which the saint no longerdesfes and has escapedby his sainthood.By this process,'vanquishng death',the Buddhaprolongedhis lile three monthsfor ihe salvationof men, and the disciplesernploylhis to assurethe duralronol the dtamma . This lerm of three monlhs seemsto be grvenas a maxrmum,ad as lhe mark ol the viotoryot the Brddha over Mrlyumera, 'l\rara, who is dealh'."'
Atlemptsat Kayasiddhi'
263
Thrsqueslionof a possiblemaximumlimltto the postpone menl ot deaihis very signilcanl and h ghlygermaneto lhe prob, lem we havebeendiscussing. For,althoughtherehavebeen in the past seem ngly a lied ideasand ant crpalion-lhe perfecl ibrlityol the race,certainTantricsadhanas,the iorl aftera cornplele physicalsiddhiby ceriain schoolsof yoga, " lhese have personalachievebeenatlemptedlor ihe mostpartas indiviudal merits, mperlectand precariouslymaintainedby the help ol Yogasiddhis,and nol as a dharma,nalu'al law,oi the transformed physcialnature.But mentalor vital occultpowel', warns Sr Aurobindo,can only bringsiddhisof the hgherplane nlothe indiviudal life- like lhe Sannyasiwho couldlake any po son withoulharrn.but he diedola poisonafterall whenhe forgctloo observelhe condilionsof the siddhi." Amongthe variousatlemptsin lhe pasl fallingintothiscategory. menlion may be made ot: (i) atlempts at dehasiddhilhtoughkebbaicara, conquestol Time, by cerlajnschoolsoJ Halhayoga; {ji) atlernpts at lhe attainme^l o1a rcsanayt taru, body with divinessence, by lhe Raseswarasecl; (iii) attemptsat skandasiddhimade by certianl,4ahaya ni Tanlrc schoolsamonglhe Buddhislq; (iv) atlempts at keyesiddhiby Nathayogis like I!,latsyendra, Goraksha,Jalandharanaih and others; (v) attempts al the elaborai on 01 a bhavadeha by Saha)ya Vaishnavas. Bul noneol theseattemptedSiddhisbecameinlrinsrcio the materialbodyand hencecold nol be madelo endure.As a matter of tacl,as we shallsee in lhe courseoi our study,"therecan salionilhe be no immorta ty of the body w lhout supramenlal polentralily is therein the yogicforceand yogiscan livelor 200 or 300 years or more, but there can be no real princp e ol lts withoutthe supramental."5
q)
e
o o
o c G
o
:=
J
o o o =
o F
Chapter-13
Bitth is the filst spiritual myslety of lhe physical universe, death B the second which gives its doublepoint of perylexily to the myslety ol birth; for life, which would otherwise be a selt'evdenl fact of existence,becomes itsell a mystery by virlue af these lwo which seem lo be its beginningand ils end and yel in a thousand ways betray themselvesas neither of these things, but ralher intermediatestages in an accull processes ol life, (Sri Aurobindo, The Life ot Divine,p.742J Our mortalily is only justilied in the ligh! of our immoftality.. (lbid.,p.681) lmmartal lile breathe in that monstrous death. (SriAurobindo,Last Poems,p.43) Although Death walks beside us on Lile's toad, A dim byslander at the body's statt... Other is the riddle ol its ambiguous lace: Death is a stair, a door, a stutublingstride The soul must take to cross frcm birth Io birth, A grey deleat Negnant with victory, A whip to lash us towatds our deathlessslale. {Sri Aurobindo,Saylfi', Book X, Canto l, pp.600-01) To make a terrct ol death Who smiling beckons us to larther life, And is a briCge for the persistent breath, |sl barn of fo y... (SriALrrobindo, Mofe Poems,p.18) W" no* to the qirestionof questions,prasnam "o-" utfamam,the ultrmateproblemthatall embodiedlitehas lo tace:
268
Chapter'13
The Myslery ol Lile and D€ath
Whal rs ttie raisond 6lre of death,this crueland monstrous lest playedwith immortallife by some mysteriousnecessllyol thlngs,or by somediabolicalPower,as some in lherrexasperatronwouldliketo declare?
lhe very outsettry lo get rid ot a basicand besetlingerrorof perspective thattendslo vitiatea properandunbiased evaluaphenomenon tionot lhe ol death.For,if we cancontemplate lhis sombrephenomenon, nolfromthe limitedandnecessarily dislortedangleot visionol lhe linileterrorstruck ego-bound individual,butfromlhe perspective ol cosmicBecoming,we cannot taillo discover is nolsuchan unmili' thaldealhanddissolution gated evilas it appearsat lirst sightto be. As a matterof facl, dealh as death has no sepaate ot intrinsic reality: it is there solelyto servethe purposeol lite.Wecan evengo larlherand statethat deathis a orocessand ohaseol life itselfand thatlhe lalter,and by no meansdeath,is lhe fundamenlalall-pervading lrulhof existence.
asked Nachikeias, ihe youngaspiranlol the Kathopanrshad, Yamalor lhe solulionto thisproblemol dealh-Yamalhe knower and keeperol lhe cosmicLaw throughwhachthe soul haslo rise by deathand litetotheireedomoJlmmorlality:Evenwhenasked boonchoose,O Nachikelas; byYama.lheLordol Death:"Anolher imporluneme nol, nor urgeme;lhis,lhis abandon,lhe seeking soul of Nachikelasstoodlirm and declared:"Thisol whichthey lhus debate,O Death,declareto me, even thal which is in lhe grealpassage;lhan thisboonwhichentersin inlothe secrellhal is hrddenlrom us, no otherchoosesNachikeias.
But whal is Life, what are its criteria?Biologicalsciences knowno deliniteanswerlothesequestions.As a matterof fact. the moreprofoundlymenol sciencehavesoughlto probethe mysleryol lhe essenceof life,the moreit haseludedtheirgrasp, so muchso that lile at timesappearsto themto be jmmanently presenleverywhere, itsovertmanifeslalion depending uponsome lavourableconditionswhichaloneSciencecan hopeto sludy and speciiy.To modernbiologicalthoughtlhere are no uriyersally validctiletiaol lile- Ballledwiththe lask of deliningwhat a livingorganismis,biologyseeksat timesto proceedin a roundaboul way.as in the lollowingdefinilionofferedby Prof.George E. Hulchinson: ''Thenecessary andsutlicienl condition Ioran objectlo be
And Gilgameshol lhe ancientBabylonianlore who sel out on lhe quest afterthe Plantol EverlaslingLile but la led in his allempt.raisedthe same insisientcry lo the departedsoul ot Enkidu:'Tellme, my Friend,lell me, reveallo me, lhe myslery oi dealhl' is lheredeath?Thrsques' As the Motherhasremarked:"Why t on has been pul al leastonce in lheir life by all pefsonswhose conscousnessis awakenedin lhe slightestdegree.In lhe deplh of each beingthereis sucha needlo prolong,develop,perpeluate lite that conlactwilh death producesa shock, a recorl:In somesensilivebeingsil produceshorror,in others,Indlgnatrcn. One asks: What is this monslrousfarce in which one has lo il? Why lo be lake part withoutwishingior il or Lrnderslandrng progress,lor growth, lor efiort lor born,i{ ii rs to die?Why all this lhe dev.lopmeniof iacullies,I it s lo arriveal an rmpovensh_ Some submit menl and linaly al dec ne and decomposition?' passivey io a tale that seernsinexorable,others revolior, il they are ess slrong,despair."
recognizable as a livingorganism, andso to be thesubjecl is that il a discreetmassol mat' oi biologicalinvestigation, undergoing conlinualinlerter, with a detiniteboundary, withoutmanitest changeof material withils surroundings alteratronol propertiesovershoft periodsol time and, as ascerlainedeitherbydirectobservations of by analogywith otherobjeclsof thesameclass,originating by someprocessot divisionor fortification fromoneor two pre-exisling obiectsol lhe samekind.'
lhe necessilyand iuslilicationand the cu' Whiledrscussing firnal on and self-fuliment of the processol death.we musl al
'dl
270
Chapter13
. To crle a few observalions reflectingthe sense ol biotogical predrcamenl belorethe task oJdeljmitingthe tieidof Liieand ot lMrnd: (i) "Whilelhere is littledifficultyin tellingwhethera higher organismts alive,thereis no agreementas lo whal characleristicswould be requiredlor the most primrtiveorganisms in order to call them living."(Prof. Stanley L.Miller.) (r) In recenlyears,the "studyol viruseshas becomeinten sive,leadtngto a blurringof the conceplionoi ihe ,vilal phenomena.ll is still doubtlulwhethera v rus can be describedas livingand,tndeed,as to whal we meanby iiiing."(Prol.CharlesSinge0 In lacl, as the fainlglimmerings ol recentscientiircresearch suggesl and spriritualexperienceand vision certity, Life reveals rtseltas essentially the sameeverywhere laomlhe atomlo man, thq atofi conlainingthe subconsciousstutl and rnovemeniot beingwhichare releasedinloconsciousness in the an mal.with plant lile as a midwaystage in lhe evolution.Lile s reallya unrversaloperationoi Conscious-Force actingsubccnsciously on and in lvlatter;it is the ope.alionthat creales,mainlains.de, slfoys and re-createsforms or bodies and attempts by play of nerve-lorce,that is to say, by currents of interchangeol stimulatrngenergyto awakeconscioussensationin lhose bodies. In this operationlhere are threestages;the lowest s that in wh ch lhe v brationis stillin the sleepol Matterentirelysubconsclous so as l0 seem wholly fiechanical;the middle stage ts thal in wh ch rl becomescapableol a responsestill submentalbut on lhe vergeol whal we knowas consciousness; the higheslis thal In whrch liJe develops conscious menlalily in lhe lorm of perceplible ame,ntally sensalronwhichIn thtslransl on beco,r-es lhe bas s lor lhe developmenlol sense-mtnd and .-te ligence.ll s In lhe middlestage lhal we catch the idea ol life as distingu shed trom Matterand lviind,but in realityit is lhe same in all
The Mysleryol Life and Dealh
271
lhe slages.'Thus, "thereis no break,no rigidlineol demarcalion betweenthe earth and the meial tormed in rl or belweenlhe meta andlheplant and...thereis none eilherbetweenthe ele_ menlsand alomsthal constitute lhe earthor metaland lhe metal or earlh that they constltule. Each step ol this gradedex sl enceprepareslhe nexl,holdsin ltselJwhal appearsin thatwh ch iollowsit. Lite is everywhere, secrelor manilest,organisedor im' elemental,involvedor evolved,bli universal.all-pervading, perishable; only its tormsand organisingdilter" 1 s this prana sarvAyusam"the omnipresent Lile lhal has rnaniiesledand nhabilslhe malerialuniverse"lhatlhe Mother has in view when she relets in one of her articleslo " a few lundamenlalnolions...needed to help us n our endeavour:lo conqueflhe fear ol dealh.As she says: "The lrst and the mosl importanlthing is to know thal ,te a one and immottal.Onlv the lorms, counllessin number,are transientand brittle.This knowledgeone musl eslablish in the mind,and as lar as posssecurelyand permanently b e one nrustidentifyone'sconscousnesswilh the lifeeverlastingthat s independenloi any form but manifestsiipsychological sell in a iorms.Thisgivesthe indispensable problem. basrslrom wherelo face the ''Lilethen does not die;bul the tormsare dissolve,and il is lears- And yel lhis dissolution lhat physicalconsciousness form changes conslanlly and there is nolhing lhal de' lhe progressrve. pragressive This barsthis changelrom being changealone can make it possiblelhal death wouldna more be tnevttable. Bul since,due to reasonslhal we shall presentlyexplore, lhis progresschangeoJlhe bodyand the physicalbeingof man, respondingfullyto the demandsmade upon it by the divineIn_ cou d nol be habilaniin His inlinitelyprogressive sili-bocomtng, deathhasbeen puttorwardand madelo play so lar ellectuated. rts roe as an agent ol life ilself lo serve the ends al cosmtc
The Mysteryol Lrle and Death
213
Deathat the Serviceof lile Thatdeathis nomorelhanatemporarycurlainplacedagainst elenallile - morejanuavilae- or thal dealhis butthe obverseol has been the coinof Liie,as hintedby the Osirianl\,4ysleries, has theages.Thisknowledge lhroughout knownlo the mystics lew repre_ a ol which expressions given literary beenvariously onesmaybe citedhere: sentalive (i)"Deathis lifel'(Novalis) (ii)"Lileis deaihand Dealhis lile" (Euripides) (iii)"AllDeathin Natureis Bi h, andin Dealhitsellappears visiblylhe exaltationol Lite."{Fichle) (iv) "Forbirthhalhin itselfthegern ol dealh. Bul deathhaihin iiselJthegermot birth ' Fortheyaretwainyetone,andDealhis Bitlh" (FrancisThomsoni"Odeto the SettingSun") (v) 'LiteandDeath- twocodpanionswho relieveoneanother end" in theleadingol thesoulto ils journey's (PaulRichard) (vi) "Liie[is]a figureof deathandDealhol life" p 51-ln) EightUpatishads' (SriAurobindo' makesbo_ thatourmenlality So we seethatthe opposition perspeclrve ol error than an more tween lite and deathis no by the viewof ihingsdeceived broughtaboutby thesuporficial to As a matleroJlacl,deathis theresimply serve appearances. nolessthan ol substance ot lile,anddisintegration thepurpose malnlenance less than no changeoilom nce, renewalof substa ot lorm are the consiantprocessol lile itself Dealhis the vaullinorderlopassirombirthto greater thatlifehaschosen ing-board whentherewillbe birth,lilllhehourcomes "Theend oi Death,the deathof lgnorance (Savil]'t, BookXl' Canlol, P 708
I have given three thy awfulshape ol dread And lhy sharp sword of lerror and grief and pain To force lhe soul af man to struggle fot light On the brevily ol his half-consciousclays Thou arl his spur to grealness in his wolks The whip to his yeaning for eternal bliss His paignant need of immattallY. Live. Death, awhile, be slill my instrument {sri Aurobindo,Saviri, BookX' CantolV p 666l fhis world was built by Death lhat he night live Wilt lhou abaljsh death? Then tile loo will petish. Thou can nat abolish dealh, but thou may transformit into a grealer ltvtng' ]f Life alane were and not death' Ihere could be na immoral' ity... Death transt'ormedbecomes Life that is lmmartaltty (Sri Aurobindo'fhaughts and Apharisms) When the earlh will not need ta die in order to progtess' lhere willbe no mate death. (The Mother,Builelin,VoIXV No 3' p 47) ' ! am lmmattality as well as Death. (SriKrishnain BhagavadGita , lX 19) The bodys deathis a verilableinstrumenlservlngthe Inler_ ests ol perpelualyevo ving lile lndeed'as we shallsee in lhe course ol our st,jdy,given the imperlectand limitedselJ-cabined capaciiyandcapabliiyoJman,ihe processof death instrumental has becomenecessaryas a meansand salularyin its effect' lo whrch otlorm islhesole immortalily beca!se"elernalohange the Iin le lrvingsubstancecan aspireand elarnalchangeol ex_ perence the sole inlinityto which the iinite mind involvedIn iiv ng body can attain.This changeot tormcannotbe allowedlo rem;rn merelya conslanlrenewalol the same iorm_lypesuch
274
Chapier'13
as conslilulesour bodiiylilebelweenbirthand dealh;lor unless the lorm-typeis changedand the experlencingmrndis lhrown inlonew formsin newcircumstances oJtime,placeand environment,the necessaryvariationol experiencewhichthe very nalure ol ex stencein Time and Spacedemands,cannotbe efJecand by luated. And il is onlyihe processof Deathby dissolution absence ol lreedom. the devouring of life bV Life.ll is only the lhe compulsion, the struggle,lheparn,lhesubjectronto some' thing lhal appearsto be Nol-Selfwhich makes this necessary to our moralal andsalutarychange appearterrible andundesirable mentalilv So we see that the shole oersoecliveot our discussionol the problemof deathhas changed,andwe are ledto the conclusionlhat in lhe as vet imoerlectslatusol Lileso far evolvedand elaboraledupon earth,deathcannolbe viewedas a denialol Life,bul as a pfocessol Liie".Indeed,Lile, in ils slill imperlecl manrleslalion, requireslhe spuaof death in order lo evolveto progressively higherandhigherformsol exislence.In lhewords oi SriAurobindo: "Dealh rs the quesiionNalure puls conlinuallylo Lile and her reminderto it ihal il has not yet tounditself-ll lherewere no s ege ol dealh,ihe creaturewouldbe boundlor ever in lhe torm ol an imperfeclliving. Pursuedby dealhhe awakeslo lhe idea ot perfectlifeand seeksoui its meansand iis possib ly." As a matlerot iaci, death has provedlo be highlysalllary, cerl?inlyto the evolutionof their types ol species,bul also lo lhe_ndividualsconstituting the speces, lhanks lo lhe spirilual phenomenon ol soul-rebirth, Deathservesa beneficial roleforlhe individual creature,bein causeit is an indispensable means10awaken lhe lattefsconperfection sciousnesslhe needol and progression.Indeed,"within lhe condroul lt, creaiureswouldremaincontentedindelinitely tionwheretheyare,"andit wouldhavebeenwel -n gh rmpossible in the mortal'shear"'and"hisslow 1obreaklhe 'deadresistance
The Mysleryof Lile and Death
27a
inerla as ol livingslone,"ln the luminouswordsol the Mother: "Opposilesare lhe qurckeslandthe mosteftectivemeansof lashronng l\,4atter so that it may intens1yiis manifeslalion...In v pn, o' lhrs. nere s evidel' y a- analogots expeience n 'especl ol whal one calls liie and death. li is lhis krndol'overshadowng'ol constantpresenceol Deathand the possibiityol death, as t is said in Sayilriryou have conslanl companon lhro!ghoulyour lourneyfrom cradleto grave;you are cease, lesslyaccornpanied by the menaceor presenceot Dealh. And alonqw th this there is in lhe cellsan ntensityof lhe call lar a Pawer of €lernily which wouldnot be lhere but t'at this constant menace.Ihen one understands, one beginslo leel in quile a concrele manner that allthese things are only ways ol tntensit'yng lhe Malifestation, making it progress, making more and morepe ect. And if the waysare crude,it is becausethe [/antlestationrlsell is very crude. And as it pertectsitselt,as il becomesmore lit 10 maniJeslthal which is eternallyprogressive.crudermeanswillbe lefl behindlor subllermeansand lhe worldwill progress.wilhoutthe needol suchbrutalopposilions. This is so. simplybecausethe worldjs stillin ils childhoodand humanconscrousness also is altogetherin ils childhood. Froma more practicalpoinlof viewtoo,the dispensalion ol 'nalural death comes indeedas a boon lo the lile-wearyindi, vrdua In his presentslatusoi ego-boundignoranlconscrous, ness. Did not the grandfather ot Edisoniind lifetoo longaller a cenluryand drebecausehe wanledto? ll is onlyd vinisedconscrousness and lilelhat caniind sourcesot perpelua nterestto keep lhem goingon. For lhe ordinarytime-boundlimlled'l'ol lhe ind vrdual the very prospectof physrcalirnmorlality would prove lo be a damnablecurse. In the picl!resquewords oi ''Think of lhe k nd of lifewhichthese mmortalswouldhave io ve. Centuryaiier cenlury,millennrum aftermil enniumlhey wouldsee lhe same everlasting laces,conlronllhe sameever
276
Chapter-13
recurrng phenomena, engagein the same worn-oulexercses, or lounge dly in the same unchangingslagnalion.They have drainedeveryspr ng ol knowledge.They haveexhausledevery sourceof enjoymeni.No dim marvels,no bou4dlesshopes,bckon lhem iowardsthe fulure,They haveno fulure.They havenoth Ing but neverendingnow The incessantrepetllron, the unmitgaled sameness,the eternalmonotonyoi things would grow horrble and appallingto lhem. The worldwouldbecomea hateIuldungeon,and lile an aMuldoom. What wouldthey not give lo migrateto some untriedexislencelThey would be lhanktul even lo lie down lor ever in the attractiveunconscrousness of lhe lomb. The process ol dealh has served the Inleresls nol merelyol lhe individualsas individuals but of the speciesas well. Was il nol Goethe who declared:"Dealh is Nature'sexperlcontrvance to get pleniyol lile"?lndeed,the dealhlessness ol lhe constilr.iwouldpreventothersol the same specieslrom lrve Individuals being alive at all. A simple calculalionwould show lhat lhe descendanls oJAdam,endowedwithphysicalimmorlalrty, would years process prohave doubledeverytwenly{ive and in that duced,in lessthana hundredgenerations, manylrillionsol human beingsso much so lhal theirbodies,packedlwo or three deep,and conglomeraied inioone solidmass,wouldhavecoveredrl_eenliresurlaceoI lhe planetl As a malterof facl. the remarkabletruth that lhe natural ind vidualisa mrnorierm of beingand existsby lhe universal" and that "lhe individuallife is compeled,and used, lo secure permanenceraiherfor its spec es thanfor itsel" s borneout by b o ogicalevidencesthat havebeenspecilicand manilod. The opinionhas evenbeenexpressedihal all liv ng matteroncepossessedpotentialimmortalilvand deathas a condition,non-existenlin lhe beginning,was evenluallyadoptedtor lhe s mple reasonlhal "juslsucha safetyvalvewas necessarylo permilol going ntoan !nnecesthe rperpetuationoliherace'.Insteadof sary elaboraiion ot lhe evolulionary evidencesin supporlol this
The Myslery of Life and Death
277
hypothesis,we may well quole Jromthe writingsol a lew savanls,thus bringinglntofocuslhe consensusoi opinionheldby conlemporarymen of science. "Liie was describedby Bichatas'the sum ot the funclions whichresistdealh',bul this is a one-sidedemphasis.For,while I rs charactefislic oJorganismslhal they are conlinuallyal work n securingthe persrsienceof their specificorganizalion,rl s equallycharacteristic that they spend themselvesin securing the coniinuanceof thelrkind.(lnsteadol seekinglo avoiddealh. to speak metaphorically,they often rathet invite il, sacrilicrng themselvesin producingand providinglorlhenexl generalion. ''Fromlhe standpointof survivalvalueol lhe species,rl s oi todaylo give placeeventuallylo desirablelor the individuals those ol lo-morrow,becauseenvironingconditionsare never conslanllor exlensiveperiods,and it is onlyby givingthe reproductivevarianlsa changeihal new lilnessmay be established and prolongedsirrvivalbe madepossible.Insuranceof the wel iare of lhe speciesls the all-important accomplishmenl.' _llwe couldproducetwo socieliesor two groupsol an rnals, and the olher one ol them beingformedof immorlalindividuals oi individuas growrngold and being progressivelyrep aced throughdealh by new and youngerones, il is wilhouta shadow ol doubllhatlhe secondgroupwouldbe the hardierandsirongef ol the two.' "Frornlhe pointof vlewof evolutionary history,dealhhas nol been the primaryphenomenoniil is ralhera late-comeron the scene,appeaflngnot so much as an intrnsic and absolulenecessilyinherng in the very essenceot livingmatter,as ihrough adaplalon lo the weliare a processol progressive'selection'in indvidual,dealh oi the species.A hidousanddreadfulevilforthe for lhe species,srnce,thanksto rtsagency, has provedsalLriary renovaleand revitarze tselflhrough lhe speciescan conlinually ol youngerand rnorerobuslrndivdualsrep aclhe inlroduction rnglhe worn-oulones.'
274
Chapter,t 3
We are herediscussinglhe benefitlhat accrueslo the species ihroughthe generalprocessol death of the constituting individuals.Bul modernbiologicallhoughthas gone furtherto suggestthe astonishing viewthallhe'speciiicpolentiallile-span' ol the individuals lorminga particularspeciesdoes nol depend solely,or even primarily,upon lhe physiological factorsarising rnlhe individuals takenin isolation, bul is ralhergovernedby the globalnecessilyoflhespecies. Thus,in the viewof Prof.J.Arthur Thomson, naluraldealh is not to be thoughtof as like lhe runn ng down ot a clock. ll is morclhan an individualphysialogical prablem; it is adjusled in reference lo the welfare af the specres...Thereis goodreasonfor regarding occurrenceof deathat a parliculartime as adaptive." Metalnikovexpresseslhe sameideawhen he declareslhal ''the individual cells are as a rule polentiallyimmoral,but the limitation of thisprincipleof immortality in the caseof the higher lorms oJorganismsapparentlyoccursnol so much due to indivldualphysiological exigenciesas to some unspecifred supra, ndividualcauses (causessurlndividuelles." Dr.J.A.VButlerseekslo specitythissupra-indrvidua cause of naluraldecayand deathin the lollowingterms: ''Itwouid seem lhal the lite span is determinedby the interplay of two eflects,the necessityol livrngong enoughlo start oll the new generation and, havingpertormedlhe task,the fact lhal a furlher Helime is unnecessaryand, in many respecls, harmlullo lhe well-beingand development ol lhe spectes.lt s quitepossiblethat mechanismsexistin organisrnswh ch bflng aboulthis limitalionof ihe lifeperiod,whenthe biologically useful periodis over,bul we do nol knowwhal lhese mechanisms li these views represenledlhe wholelruth ol lhings,lhere couldbe no possibility whatsoeverol increasinglhe lile-spanoJ prolonging man.nol to speakoJindefinitely hislife. Bul although the aioresardbiological conclusionis probablyvalid n the case
The Mysleryol Lile and Dealh
279
of all inlra-humansDecies.it is nol at all so in the caseol man. For,as has beennotedand commenleduponby someobservers,manis uniqueamonglivingbeingsin havinga dispropoF long,andJromonepointof viewbiologically useless, tionately posl-reproduclive phasein thelile-cycle. is obTheimplication vio!s:theindividual fulfil the inteiesls manis noltheresolelyto of therace.lndeed, wilhlheappearance of manupontheearthchangedits processand scenethe evolutionhas docisively bourse.Up lillth6 adventol manthe organicevolllionwasel' of Naturewithoultheconfectedthroughlhe automaticoperation sciouspafticipation ot any livingb€ing,in the {ormof its self8!l in manthe aspiralion or endeavour. awarewillor seeking, livingcreaturehastorthe firsttimebecomeawakeandawareot himselt;he has felt that there can be a higherstatusol conto exceed andtranscend sciousness thanhisown;lh€aspiration a him. ll hasthusbecome himselfis'delivered andarliculate'in praclicalpropositionlhal in mana conscaous evolutjonmay re' placethe subconscious and subliminalevolltionso far adopted by Nature. hasbeonindeed Theappearance ot manonlhe earth-scene and a uniqueeventin lhe gr€alprocessof cosmicBecoming, is verily capital. For, "to the Life-Spirit, his rolein the universe centreis pre"eminently the indivlduain whomils potentialities capa' {\,4an, the Purusha.lt is theSonol Manwhois supremely the thinker, God. ThisNlanis the N,lanu,lhe bleol incarnating PurJsha,menlalpersonor soulin mindof lhe anManomaya mammalis he,bul a conceptiv€ cienisages,No meresuporior soulbasingitselfonlhe animalbodyin Matter.He is conscious andutilisingformas a hediumthrcugh Nameor Numenacceplrng whichPersoncandealwithsubstance.' Also."lhe ascentto lhg divineLile is the humanjourney,lhe Work ol works,lhe acceptableSacrifice.This alone is man's of hisexislence, realb{rsiness in lhe worldandlhe iustilication amo!ngolher without whichhewouldbeonlyas insectcrawling eohemeral insectson a spockot surlacemudandwalerwhich
2aa
Chaplef-13
has managedto iorm ltselfamidthe appallng mmensiles oi ihe physicaluniverse. And this adds lor man a new dimensionlo the problemol dealhand earthlyimmortaliiy.For,allhoughwe haveseenthal we are apl1omakebetweenlileanddeath the naluralopposilion of man, an is an efior of the habilualmyopicconsciousness opposiiion"falselo innertruthlhoughvalid n surtacepractcal experence", and also that "deathhas no realilyexceptas a pfocessoi fe", yel, the queslionremains:if death is not the if it is to be regardedas a proc_ lundamental trulhot experience, impe ect statusof self'unloldess ol 1e lselfin the latter'sstill ol evo v ng ing, does nol man, so iar the highesternbodiment lile, possessthe capacty and capabilityot outgrowinglhal im' the processof deathno longer perlectstatus,andthus rendering a practca necessilyand hence eliminabe from his lndivdual le? Aiter all a rnovementoi progresslhai needsio be accom p shed throughrepeatedand radicalshuilling ol moltallorms, lhe appearanceof dealh, s nol a'game lhat th!s necessitating conslrucliveor intrnsica y desrrabe. As the s lundamentally Motherhas observedwhile discussingthe queston ol lhe necessityol dealh: ''She her successivelrials. [Nature]lovesher meanderings, her new invenlions, She hef deleals,her recoTnmencement, joveslhe capricesot lhe way,the unexpecledness oi the exper ence One mighta most say lhat for her the ongef lhe time it 1akes,ihe more il is amusing. "B!l yougel trredevenwiththe besl ol games.Therecomes a iime when one has needlo chanqe. 'And yo! dreamo{ a game in wh ch 1' no langerbe nec essary to destray in order ta praqress. And sincewe are asslrredby SrlAurobindoand the Mother that.grventhe lullilmentol a certan sel ol cond t ons deathcan
The l,4yslery ol Lrfeand D€alh
241
be done away withinthe life oi the individual, and cosmlcLife can lu I itsell n a contlnuouslyprogressiveway,we seek lo f nd out lhe basicmelaphysical iactorsthat renderthe adventoi d€ath nevitablein the lile o{ a humanbeing. And for thal we may very well starl wilh the suggestiveconc usionsarrivedat by contemporaryscientificresearchesin this field, not indeed as probalivebut only as iliustrative oi the natureand processof Lrleand Dealh.Thrs approachis not allogetherLnjusiilied;for a- S r Ar'oo oo l-d" so clearlypo nled oJI: "Scienceand metaphysics (whetherIoundedon pure intellectualspeculation or, as in India,ultimately on a splritualvision oi thingsand spiritualexperiencehave each rts own province and methodol inquiry,Sciencecannoldiciateits conclusons to metaphyscs any morethanmelaphysics can imposeiis conc usronson Science- Slill if we acceptthe reasonablebeliel thal Beingand Naturein all theirstateshavea syslemof correspondences expressive of a commonTruihunderlying them,it s perrnissble to sLlppose that lrulhs of the physicaluniversecan ihrow sornelight on the nalureas well as lhe processoi lhe Force thal is aclive in the universe- not a completelight,for physicalScienceis necessarilyincompleteir the range oi ls inqu ry and has no clueto the occultmovementsol the Force."'
-u!
,c o o
o o o
o o G
E (E
.9
:>. ocL ;(E
E-'6 6=
Chapter-14
AlthaughGod madethe wo d for his delight, An ignorantPowettook chargeand seemedhis Will And Death'sdeepfalsityhas mastercdLife. (SriAurobindo, SayllrlBookX, Cantolll, p.629) Deathis the canstantdenialby the AII of the ego'sfalse self limitatian in the individual frame ol mind, life and body. (SriAurobindo,lsha Upanishad,p.1A3) It was the conditionsof matteruponearth that havemade deathindispensable.The wholesenseafthe evolutionol Mattel grcwth has beena froma firststateaf unconsciousness la an increasingconsciausness,,, A fixedfom was neededin order thatlhe organisedindividual mighthavea slable consciousness support.And yet it is this lixity of the lo n that made death lcanversationsof the l,4otheLp. 58) How couldthal escapedeathwhichlivesby death? (PaulFichard,The courageaf Chtist., p.1a6) A. First Factor : The Part against the Whole wave lile,emerging as a tiniteandephemeral Theindividual governing is the world, has in the bosomoi lhe'AlljForce'that impactoJlhe laller.In orderto constantly to bearthedisrupling w th this to contend tor ilsell,it hasperforce secureoermanence withit. Bulalthoughit is a its harmony All-Force and establish fact that Life is powet,veyurugni,and thal lhe growthol the increase ot the individual lifebringsin itswakea corresponding
286
Chapter'14
"il is impossible power,still,in thenatureof things, for individual a divided andindividualised consciousness witha divded.indiv dualised limitedpowerandwillto be masterof andtherelore the All-Force; onlythe Allwill can be thal and the ndividuai only,it at all,by becoming againonewilhtheAll-Wlll andtherelorewiththeAll-Force. Otherwise, theindividual litein lhe indvidualformmustbe alwayssubiectto the lhreebadgesof ils limilation,Death,Desireand Incapacity." B, Second Factor: The Parl againsl All Other Parts Thedivided andindividualisgd liferepresenls bulonevorlex pulfolthby the numberoi similarvortices amongst a countless AllForce,sarva-kratu, manifesting intheunivelse.lt is no betler playot enelgyspecialised to constilule, mainlhan"a particular rts tain.energise andtinallyto dissolve when ulrlrtyfs over.one of the myriadfo.mswhichall serve,eachin ils ownplace,time a^d scope.lhe wholeplayof lhe universe. jostling Now,in thiswellerof rn!lually lragmenled lilejorces, theenergyot lifeimprisoned in a particular indrvidualframe has constantly to withsland the mutlipronged altackscominglrom all around.Indeed,tor eachindividual lile it lurnsout 1obe a ruthlessbattleof one againslall. And the cosmicmovemenl wherclr, seemslo takethe formof acrcal{ungel mahebubhukse, eachseparateliJeis tryinglo preyuponlhe energyol olheraives by leverishly seeking1odevourand feedon them.Bul in the occultdispensation of lhings,a limiledexislence cannolbe an 'eater,' anneda,all the while,withoutat lhe sametrmeserving as'lood'.anra lo others. Thus,"lheliteorganis6d in lhe bodyis constantly exposed possibility to the of beingbroken up by the attack ol the lile externalloil or, itsdevouring capacity beinginsullicient or nol properlyservedor iherebeingno rightbalancebetweenlhe capacityol devouringandthe capacilyor necessilyol providing iood Jorlhe lile outside.it is unableto oroleclitselfand is
MelaphysrcalFaclors of Dealh
247
devouredor is unableto renewilsellandtherelorewasledaway or brokenirl hasto go throughlhe processol dealhtor a new conslTlrct on oTrenewal." C.ThirdFactor:Aclionand Reaction Lifeby its verynatureis sellexpansive and the individual liteformsno exception to lhisrule.Thus,eventhoughlimiledin capacilyanddeficient in resources, il altempts, consciously or subconsciously, lo extendils swayoverlhe environment. Bul this envrronment is not a merevacuum,nor is it a masspasyield sively ng to any pressure hom outside.Occultlyviewed. thrs ookslikean arenaswarming withinnumerable enliliesand powersthalloo in theirlurn are constantly seekingto sell-expand,and hencebecome"intolerant of, revollagainstandatlack the exislence whichseekslo mastertherlr. ln lhrs way,a very adversereactionis sel up in lhe milieu againsllheencroaching andimpacling individual Ile and howeverslrongthemastering lite,unlesseilherit is unlimited or else succeeds in establishing a newharmony with is environmenl, ii cannota waysresisiand trilmphbul mustone day be over comeanddisintegaled." D. Fourth Factor: Lile the Consumer Whal rs lhe relalionbelweenlhe subslantiallorms and lhe pervading litelhatcreatesandmainlains them?In thelanguage ol the Upanshad,the lije-lorce acl as ihe anna,lood,of the body,andat thesametimeit usesupthe bodyas iis ownfood. inlhe individual creature conin olherwords,thelite-energy provides malerials with which stuftand tinually the necessary andrenewed lhrougha theformsarebeingbuiltup,maintained processofdynamicequilibrium. Butat thesamelime.as a reverse inihelimiledindividual operalion, theself-imprisoned lile-energy in an aldrawsuponthe substantiai slutlof its own creation, its ownlund. lemotio reolenish
288
Chapler-14
Thus,in lhe matrixol the individual body,thereis a constant and conlrnuouslwo-way llow ol ene.gy: liJe{orcesupporling lhe physrcalstabrlly,and the materialbody supplyinglhe needsol lile.But lhis is nol alwaysdone in harmony;ralher,lileand body oflen acl as "co-wives",sapahelivyedhino,6alllingagarnsleach olher to the delrirnentol bolh.The aioresaidstale ol reciprocal maintenanceconsilules theretorea highly unslabe slate o1 eqdilibrlum,apt lo be easilydislurbedand brokenbecauseol th s lack ol innerharmonyand a so owingio the essenliallimr' tat on of ihe liie"energyin lhe ego-boundseparativend vidual Now," i lhe balancebelweenlheselwo operalronsis imperlecl or rs disturbedor if the orderedplayol the dijlerentcurrenls ol liiejorce rs lhrownout ot gear,thendiseaseand decayinlervene and commenceslhe processol disinlegration. Over and abovethis,whenappeaGon lhe sceneand seeks lo grow and developin lhe individualframe,it createsan addilionalslrainon lhe body and the maintenanceoi lile becomes proportionalely precanous,For,"thereis an increasingdemand of ihe le-energyon lhe lorm, a demandwhich is in excessoi ihe ong nal systemot supplyand disturbslhe orig nal ba ance ol supp y and demand,and beforea new balancecan be eslablished,many dlsordersare inlroducedinimlcal1o the harmony and to the lengthot mainlenanceol the llie." E. Fifth Factor:War of the Members To a superficialview ol things,the individualman seems rndeedlo be a singlewhole, undividedin consciousnessand nlegraledin will.Bul a deeperproberevealslhe disconcerting Iacl lhal, in lhe presentstateol his evolulionarydevelopmenl, man'sbeingand nalurers nol all ol one kind,oJone piece,'but rathera complexand helerogenerous amalgamol manyelemenls, nol a I of them harmonisedand co ordinatedin their urqesand
wletaphysicalFaclors ol Dealh
249
purs Thus il is thal in lhe compassol an individualexistence, thefe exislsan acutediscordand disparilyin the contraryselldrlvesof the lhree evolulionaryformations,[,4atier,Lile and Mind lnslead ot being anyonyabaddhabehu,each one ollering lhe oihers its helping hands, and grhiakantha,all seized and governed by the divineLord inlhesupremelyharmoniouscosmicDance, fesarla,lheylry to go theirown separateways,in iotaldisregard ol lhe stressesand slrainslhey are apl lo intlictuponthe olher parls, in lheir whimsicaseparaieswirls. In partrcular,-andthis is very muchperlinenllo our discussion,-"the Lle rs at war with body; it attemplsio iorce I lo satislylrle'sdesires,impulses,satisJactions and demarldsfrom possible lo an immortal its limriedcapacilywhal couldonly be and drvinebodyi and lhe body,enslavedand lyrannisedover. suifers and is in conslanldumb revoltagainstthedemandsmade upon rl by the Lile' The mind on its parl is engagedin war bolh againslthe lile of ihis ballleof the memand ihe body.And lhe consequences bers,this nternecine war of attritioninlohe being,cannolbul be of the embodied le. dlsaslro!slor the prolongedmainlenance F. Sixth Factor: lmperfecl Poise of Consciousnessand Force The ind vidualselfor berngis in essenceone wiihthe Div ne ln manifestation and s secrety awareof ts divinepotentialilles. il assumesthe aspeclol Purushaor consclousbeingsupporling lhe Prakritior Nalurelhat is the executiveside ot Chil-Shakli. Thrsone and uniqueBeingprojectsilselfon each planeoi Prushaor beingthat is nature,inlo he lorm of a represenialive properto that particularplane.Thus, in man, lhere is a menlal to the menlal nalure,a vital being corte_ beingcorrespondrng spondingio the vla natureand a physicalbeingansweringto
294
Chapter-14
the ohvsicalnalure, Now in the evolulionary emergenceso lar ellectualedhere upon earth,the dual aspectof chit-shakti-the aspectol consciousnessand the aspeclof Jofce-have nol quitemarchedin slep,lhuscreatinqadeleterious divisionbetweenthe demandol the consciousbeing,Purusha,and the capacitiesol the lorceol nature,Prakriti-Shakti. In man,Jorexample,there is not onty a d visionand conllictbelweenthe diversedemandsand pullsol lhe mental,the vitalandthe physicalbeings, but what is worse, each ol lhem is also dividedagainslitsell. Thus, "the capacityo{ the body is lessthan the capacilyoi lhe inslinctive soulorconscious bejng,the physicalPrushawithjn il, lhe capacilyof lhe vital lorce less than lhe capacityof the rmpulsivesoul,the vital consciousbeing or Purushawithinit, the capacily of the mental energylesslhan the capacity of the Inlelleclualand emotionalsoul,lhe mentalPurushawithtnit, For the soul is the inner consciousness which aspiresto ils own completesell-realisationand theretorealways exceedslhe individuallormalionoi the moment,and the Forcewhrchhas laken rls poise inthe lormationis alwayspushed by its sout to that which rs abnormalto the poise,lranscendentof it; lhus conslanllypushedil has muchtroublein answering,modern evolv1g trom lhe presenrlo a greatercapacily Now lhe questionis: how lo solvethis probtemof division belweenconsciousness and force?Mind,as it grows,triesin its own limltedway lo resolvethe resultant conflicts,mosllythrough a processot makeshiltcompromise.But this ad hoc solulions no solr.riion at all. and mind tails miserablyin the end. As a malter of fact, lhe problemcannoibe solvedon lhe ptaneof the mind. lor essenliallythis is a queslionot satislyingin full the nlinite asp ralronof an immorlalbeing,-the secretgodhead,the embod ed Divine-lodgedin the continesof a mortalliie and body. Hence,the mind of man, baffledby the immensilyof ihe task, g ves up the atlemptin a moodof desperation "eitherby submis-
l,{etaphysical Factorsol Dealh
291
sionwithlhe materialisl lo lhe modaliiyof our apparentbe ng or and condem_ withthe asceticand the regionalist bythe rejection nationol the ea hly liie and wilhdrawallo happierand easier tieldsof existences. G. Sevenlh Factor: The lnfinite as a Summalion of lhe Finite Now we come to the last lact,-indeed, the mosl crucial and lundamenlaloJ all,-that necessitales and justiliesthe presence ol oeath nlhe actual state ol evolutionaryprogression.For, il arises lrom the basic "necessity ol lhe nalure and objecl ol embodiedlile itself,which is lo seek infinileexperienceon a linile basis." Indeed,this slupendouscosmicBecominghasJorits secret purposeand goal the discoveryand enjoymeni,in Spaceand Time,of all that alreadyexisisbeyondTime and Space.And in this cosrnic D.ama, visvaJile, The soul is a figureof the Unmanifest, The mind labourslo lhink ihe lJnthinkable, The lile lo call lhe lmmorlalinto birth. The body lo enshrinethe llliumilable. pos of evolulionary But, in the as yet imperfectelaboralron ihe form and the basislhroughwhichand upon which sibrlilies, the individualsoul sourredbv its secrelsense of divineinfini' lude seeksto build up its inliniteexperience,is by its very or_ the posslbility ganrzationlimltedand rigid,thus circumscribing presentpreas al ol experience,ln the conditionsol existence vailing,this inliniteexperienceon a finitebasisbecomesat all teaslbleonlVlhroughthe successiveassumptjonand dissolLr_ tion ol an inliniteseriesol forms ln the wordsof Srl Aurobindo: on the "The soul,havingonce limiteditsellby concentratlng momentand the field,is drivento seek iis inlinityaga n by the by addingmomentto momenland tflus principe ol succession, whichit callslls pasl;in lhatTime up a Time-experience storing
292
Chapler.l4
rt moveslhroughsuccessiveJields,successiveexperiencesor lives,successiveaccumulations of knowledge,capacity,enjoynenl and all lhis rl holds in subconscrous or superconsc'oJs memoryas rts lund ot past acq!is lion in Time.To this process change of lorn rs essenlial,and ior the soul nvolved n ndlvrdualbody changeot lorm meansdissolutionof the body,", We havecompletedour studyoi lhe metaphysics of Deathi vr'ehave seen lhe necessityand juslificalionlor lhis processof Nature,not indeedas a denialofLife,but as the processol Liie itseli.For lo repeatin part what we havequoiedbefore,"dealh rs necessarybecauseelernalchangeof form is the sole immortalily lo which the ,rlle living substance can aspire and elernal changeof experlencelhe sole infinilylo wh ch the linte mind invalved in living body can allain." Such rs lhen the problemol death;and once the problemis kncrvnIn rrs'undamenla' nalure,lne solultonmustbe torlhcoming inlhemarchof the spiril.Indeed,lhe italjcised portionsot the above crlaliona ready suggestthe possibleclues lo tt.
Chapter-15
The Physiologyof
Senescenceand Death
Chapter-1S
On lile was laid the haun ng lingerof Death. (Srj Aurobindo,Savitti,Book , CantoV . o 203) A brcath of disillusionand decadence Corrupting watchedfor Lile,6matutity And made to rct the lull grain ol the sout: Progrcssbecamea purveyorol Death llbid., Book , CantoV[, p. 204) "Thisis the scientific view of death. But it teavesdeath with allit mystery,withallils sacrectness; weare not in the leas!abte to theprcsenttimeto say what le is -stilltess, F)erhaps, what death is. We say of cettainthings-they are ative;of certain othe6 - they are dead;bul whatthe dillerencemay De,whatE essenllalto thesetwo slat6s,science6 ulte y unablelo b u; at the prcsenItitne." (Dr.Minot,Age, Growthand Death) T I he phenomenon ol sentledecayand naluralctealhhas remained lill thisdatean insoluble riddleto science. We have willy.nillycometo acceplthe tacl that all thingsbornmustljve lor a while,growoldwithtimeandeventually dje.Butphysiology knowsno reasonwhy lhe bodyshouldineluclablywear out in lhisway.As Dr Maurice Vernethasso kenchany poiniedoul. "Biologically speakingand jn naturalcondations, that is io sav. accidenlal vrolence beingexcluded, lhereshouldnotand need not havebe endealhat all...Viewed fromths aspectof the bodv. dealhseemslo us to be altogelher meaningless (unron-seas
Chapter-15
in differentwaysby some Thesameideahasbeenexpressed well: e,9,, authorities as medical eminenl other "Thereis no physiologicalreasonal the presentday why menshoulddiel'(Dr.WilliamA. Hammond) as lhe humanframe,unlessaccidenlally "Sucha machine wouldseemiormed by someexternalcause, or injured depraved perpeluity. (Dr. Medical Prospectus) GerDan for \i) Lawof oryanisation-All life realisesin timeand n space conoJlhe species whena characteristic a specificorganisation cerned,ol courseundernormalcondilions, (ii) Lawof assimilation-Alivingorganismhaslhe powerlo lhe naterials and makesimilarto ils ownsubstance lranstorm that it borrowslrom its environmenlas its nulrition liii\ Lawof rcgulation-Whatevermaybe the quanlrtyot lhe qualityof exchangeoperationsthat a livingorganrsmsels up inlerveneslo withthe suroundingworldan incossantregulation ol in lhe specificequilibrium its rhythms' maintaintheorganisation founctionsand tissuecomposition. (iv) Lawol reproduction-Even livingbeing,undernormal itselfin possessesthe Powerto self-reproduce conditions, enlicallY. lvJ Law of specilicity- Every livingJormis, in ils lunda_ (response), specificeto the speciesto whrch mentalexcitability i1belongs. thereoc' lvi) Lawol revesibility- Foreverynewexistence, and,lhroughcursa cyclicreiurnlo the stateol indiflerentiation, out the cou.seol lite,theremanifestsa tendencylocomeback equitibrium slaleol the species to lhe lundamenlal Wilhoutseekingto elucidaletheselawso{ life in terms in' onlhesecond readers,lelus concentrale lo non-screnlitic telligible proves suliicient thal Iawalone.For,it is this lawol assimilation by ilseltto characterisea livingbody,and it is perphapssome
297 lacuna in the proper functioning of this particular law, that brings in the phenomenon of senescence and death. In fact, the physical universe is in a state of dynamic flux; it is the contending ground of innumerable physicochemical forces and reactions. Now, the essential difference between an inanimate thing and a living organism seems to lie in the -fact that while external influences, whether physical or chemical, wear out and ultimately destroy the former, changing it into something else, in the case of the latter the temporary disruption induced by the foreign intrusion is not allowed to go to its destructive term, but rather used as an agent to provoke some counterreaction in the living body that ultimately helps it in its self-reparative and self maintaining activity. The apparent fixity of form and stability of body of a living organism is a gross error and illusion of the senses. As a matter of fact, every single cell in a metazoan body as well as the total organization itself is continually undergoing a countless set of chemical reactions that form part of a simultaneously occurring double process: (i) the process of disruption, analysis, breaking down and running down (katabolism), and (ii) the process of construction, synthesis, building up and winding up (anabolism). Thus, "a living organism is never the same. It is changing from day to day, from minute to minute, from second to second of its existence. It instantaneous physiological state is the resultant of all of its antecedent states. Now, the characteristic feature of a living organism is a constant balancing of accounts so that the specific activity of each of its cells and of its correlated structure and organization continues. This "capacity of continuing in spite of change, of continuing, indeed, through chanage" is a fundamental attribute of life. The living organism has been sometimes compared to a clock, as it is always running down and always being wound up. But unlike a clock, it can wind itself up, if certain conditions are adequately fulfilled. The chemical processes are then so 298 correlated that "the pluses balance the minuses and the creature lives on." But unfortunately for the individual form, this miraculous vital capacity of self-repair and selfmaintenance is not unlimited. In course of time, in the process of continual exchange of energy with the environment, this power of active assimilation gets stunted and atrophied, the katabolic operation has the upper hand over that of anabolism, and as a result fatigue and senile decay set in, culminating in the phenomenon of death when all metabolic activity ceases in the organism, turning it into non-living stuff. As X. Bichat has so graphically described the onset of the process of natural death: "In the death which is the effort of old age all the functions cease, because they have been successively extinguished. The vital powers abandon each organ by degrees; digestion languishes, the secretions and absorptions are finished; the capillary circulation becomes embarrassed; lastly, the general circulation is suppressed. The heart is the ultimum moriens. Such, then, is the great difference which distinguishes the death of the old man from that which is the effect of a blow. In the one the powers of life begin to be exhausted in all its parts and cease at the heart, the body dies from the circumference towards the centre; in the other, life becomes extinct at the heart and afterwards in the parts, the phenomena of death are seen extending themselves from the centre to the circumference." But whence spring this circumscription of the capacity of an organism and he gradual corrosion of its metabolic functions, leading finally to the failure of life? Are we to suppose that a multicellular body ultimately dies because,in course of time, it somehow fouls its 'internal evironment] (milieu intirieur)? That ageing processes do occur even in a body kept in good surroundings, with adequate and regular supply of nutritional requriements and protected from the invasion of other predatory organisms, is a well-attested physiological fact. But it has so far been
299 very difficult to ascertain why organisms age in this way and what determines the specieslongevity. Various theories have been advanced from time to time to account for the phenomenon of senescence and death but none of these has stood the test of universal scientific validation. The more significant of these theories of ageing are as follows: (1) The life-span of the members of a species is in direct ratio to the period of time the individuals take to reach the stage of biological maturity. (Buffon). (2) The life-energy and the vital characteristic with which a living organism begins its career get used up with the passage of time. (Bichat) (3) The cells composing a multicellular body are in constant internecine fight for existence, whose final result cannot but be the wasting away of the whole. This is the theory of cellular anthropophagy (Cholodkowsky) (4) The conjunctive tissues undergo hypertrophy with time and by and by invade and overwhelm the more vital epithelial tissue. (Demagne) (5) The somatic cells cannot go on self-dividing indefinitely. for some reason or other, they progressively lose with time the power of self-fission, thus bringing about the phenomenon of senile decay. (Maupas, R. Hertwig and Mainot) (6) With the passage of time there occurs an increase in the protoplasmic mass of the cells at the cost of the nuclear material. Senescence is the natural outcome of this sprocess. (Minot) (7) Senescence is due to the pigmentation of nerve-cells. (Muhlmann, Ribbert) (8) The protoplasmic mass gets altered witht ime and exhibits a tendency towards flocculation. This is the collodial theory of ageing. (A Lumiere, Marinesco) 300 (9) A progressive induration and ossification taking place in the body are the causes of old age and natural death. (homer Bostwick, De Lacy Evans) (10 The intestinal contents are supposed to be full of millions of types of micro-organims secreting toxins or poisons whose reabsorption in the bodily system provokes the setting in of the process of ageing. (Metchnikoff) (11) Senile decay is due to the process of prgressive cellular differentiation. (Delage, Minot) (12) Senescence is mainly due to the destruction of the higher elements of a multicellular body by microphages (Metchnikoff) (13) The glands of internal secretion are the agents for the onset of the ageing process. (Horsley, Lorand) (14) There is an intimate connection between reproduction and death. The primary object of living is to bring ever new specimens of the species into being. Thus the body contains two types of protoplasm: germinative proteoplasm and somatic protoplasm: The former is essentially immortal and continues its existence in the offspring's body, while the latter is doomed to decay and persih some time after the animal has attained to reproductive maturity. (Weismann, Hansmann, Gotte, et. al). These are some of the theories of senescence' mentioned in their briefest outline. Most of the theories advanced so ar fail to take into account the real and fundamental underlying mechanism of senile decay; instead they try to bring into focus one or other of the factors that come into play as a result and not as the cause of ageing. it is amply clear that the scientific world as a whole has not arrived till this date at any definite conception about the real nature of the mysterious process of senescence and natural death. But, as far as can be judged from an external analysis, biological thought seems to list the following as contributory factors: 301 (1) The extreme complexity of the organization of a metazoan body rendering the task of selfrecuperation well-nigh impossible and forcing the organism to accumulate what has been termed
physiological arrears and biological debt; (2) lack the complete coordination and cohesion among the various elements of the bodily organization, giving rise to physiological disorders and malfunctionings of different sorts and eventually weaking out the internal organs and tissues; (3) exposure to environmental stresses and strains, unbearable for the organism beyond a certain limit, and thus inexorably leading to the ultimate breakdown and dissolution of the structure: (4) specialization of the somatic cells for diverse and specific functions, resulting in their loss of "embryonic versatility", so much so that the ogranism as a whole, wrong to the loss of plastic adaptability, fails to cope with the varying demands of the ever-changing situation and eventually falls an easy prey to death. The absence of internal harmony and co-ordination, the inability to withstand the shocks of the `not-self and a progressive loss of adaptability and plasticity — these, then, are in the main the symptoms of the malaise as manifest on the biophysical plane. No doubt, they are suggestive and significant; but they reveal no more than the frontal aspect of the malady. And, then, what is it that becomes missing at death? What are the indubitable criteria with which to distinguish a dead body from the same body which was living a moment before? How to know that life has indeed ebbed away and the body has passed into the state of absolute death? Here, too, medical science finds great difficulty in pronouncing unequivocally. Indeed, some of the common signs and symptoms of death as ordinarily listed are: Cessation of breathing and of the beating of the heart; 302 insensibility by the eye to luminous stimulus; pallor of the body; complete muscluar relaxation; reduction of the temprerature of the body; rigor mortis or statue-like rigidity; etc., etc. But the curious fact that has come out of detailed scientific investigations is that none of these signs or symptoms are definitive and absolute; every single test of death—death in the sense that the body has irrevocably passed into the state of inanimate stuff and the vital functions cannot be brought back to activity again — has proved to be utterly unreliable, with the single exception of putref active decomposition. But putrefaction sets in quite a long time after 'life' has actually 'departed' from the body. And even this process of decomposition can be prevented with the adoption of some preventive measures. Hence we come back to the crucial question: What is life and what is death? Prof. Joseph Le Conte emphasised this very point when he wrote: "...But death? Can we detect anything returned to the forces of nature by simple death? What is the nature of the difference between the living organism and a dead organism? We can detect none, physical or chemical. All the physical and chemical forces withdrawn from the common fund of nature and embodied in the living organism seem to be still embodied in the dead, until little by little they are returned by decomposition. Yet the difference is immense, is inconceivably great! What is the nature of this difference expressed in the formula of material science? What is it that is gone and whither is it gone? There is something here which science cannot understand." In order to seize the problem of life and death at the base, we must now turn to metaphysics founded on an integral vision of things. Metaphysics of life and Death 303 A Truth supreme has forced the world to be; It has wrapped itself in Matter as in a shroud, A shroud of Death, a shroud of Ignorance (Sri Aurobindo, Savitri, Book X, Canto IV, p. 658) Who thinks he sees difference, from death to death he goes.
(Katha Upanishad, 11.1.10) When every desire that finds lodging in the heart of man has been loosened from its moorings, then this mortal puts on immortality. (Ibid., 11.3.14) Forms on earth do not last ... because these forms are too rigid to grow expressing the progress of the spirit. If they become plastic enough to do that there is no reason why they should not last. (Sri Arobindo, Letters on Yoga, p. 1229) We have had occasion to mentioned before that, viewed through the eye of the spirit, life appears to be a "universal Force working so as to create, energise, maintain and modify, even to the extent of dissolving and reconstructing, substantial forms with mutual play and interchange of an overtly or secretly conscious energy as its fundamental character." But what is the basic nature of this Force whose other name is Life? In order to unravel the mystery of life and death, we must first comprehend the sense and significance of this great Cosmic Becoming. The Self-creation, ãtma-kriti, and a progressive unfoldment of a supremely transcendent and luminous Reality "with the multitudinous relativities of this world that we see and those other worlds that we do not see as means and material, condition and field",2 is the secret meaning of the universe. This transcendent Reality that has thus thrown itself into forms and is even 304 secretly present behind the appearances of the universe, being indeed "the origin, the continent, initial and the ultimate reality of all that is in the cosmos," is Sachchidananda, a triune principle of Existence-Consciousness-Bliss—an infinite and absolute Existence, an infinite and absolute Consciousness, an infinite and absolute Bliss, all rolled into one. Consciousness has a double aspect,—aspect of absolute self-awareness, Chit, and an aspect of absolute self-force, Shakti,— by which Being possesses itself whether in its static condition or in its dynamic movement. The creative action of Sachchidananda has its nodes in a fourth divine principle, turiya dhãma, that has been given by Sri Aurobindo the suggestive name of Real-Idea or Supermind, and in which is "a divine Knowledge one with self-existence and self-awareness and a substantial Will which is in perfect unison with that kowledge." Thus, "Consciousness that is Force is the nature of Being and this Conscious-Being manifested as a creative Knowledge-Will is the Real-Idea or Supermind." This Supermind that is the divine Gnosis has created and arranged the cosmic order, but arranged it indirectly through three other subordinate and limiting terms, Mind, Life and Matter, which form by some sort of refraction in this lower hemisphere of existence a triple aspects of the divine quaternary, and work, "so far as our universe is concerned, in subjection to the principle of the One in its play of division and multiplicity... Mind is a subordinate power of Supermind, which takes its stand in the standpoint of division, actually forgetful here of the oneness behind though able to return to it by reillumination from the supramental; Life is similarly a subordinate power of the energy aspect of Sachchidananda, it is Force working out form and the play of conscious energy from the standpoint of division created by Mind; Matter is the form of substance of being which the existence of Sachchidananda assumes when it subjects itself to this phenomenal action of its own consciousness and force." 305 Life is thus seen to be the putting forth of the Conscious-Force, Chit-Shakti of Sachchidananda, which is in its own nature "infinite, absolute, untrammelled, inalienably possessed of its own unity and bliss." But the central circumstance of the cosmic process as it is constituted now, in the involution of the triune Reality in the apparent nescience of the material universe and in its slow evolution there from, is the dividing and darkening faculty of mind, itself obscured by ignorance. And since our Life is subservient to "the divided mortal Mind, parent of limitation and ignorance and the dualities2 it becomes in its turn "darkened and divided and undergoes all that subjection to death, limitation, weakness, suffering, ignorant functioning of which he bound
and limited creature-Mind is the parent and cause." This disabling perversion whose consequence for the individual being is a 'state of mortality', mrtyu, has its source and origin in the self-ignorance of the individual soul, because of which it suffers a "limitation and self-division from the One who is all and in all and beyond all", and has its idea of self-fixed to "a single formation in Time and Space of body, life and mind," thus excluding from its view "all that it verily is with the exception of a mass of experiences flowing out from and in upon a particular centre and limited by the capacities of a particular mental, vital and bodily frame..." Thus, through this essentially separative action of the ego-centre in the mind, the soul in its selfignorance considers itself as a separate self-existent individuality—although in reality it is never so--and "regard all cosmic action only as it presents itself to its own individual consciousness, knowledge, will, force, enjoyment and limited being instead of seeing itself as a conscious form of the One and embracing all consciousness, all knowledge, all will, all force, all enjoyment and all being as one with its own." However, consciousness and force being essentially one, 306 we can expect to have some real power only over something with which we are one in our self-awareness. Hence, the separative ego, attributing to itself only a certain fragmented portion of the play of Consciounsess-Force, becomes into the process the possessor only of "a certain limited capacity of force of consciousness which has to bear all the impact of what the soul does not regard as itself but as a rush of alien forces;; against them it defends its separate formation of individuality from dissolution into Nature or mastery by Nature. It seeks to assert in the individual form and by its means its innate character of Ish or Lord and so to possess and enjoy its world." But in the very nature of things this cannot happen, since by the very definition of the term, the ego possesses but a limited capacity. And the difficult of the individual life arises from this original sin of the separative mind-ego. For the "universal life in us, obeying this direction of the soul imprisoned in mind, itself becomes imprisoned in an individual action. It exists and acts as a separate life with a limited insufficient capacity undergoing and not freely embracing the shock and pressure of all the cosmic life around it." But because of the inherent limitation of individual life cabined in the confines of a rigidly static material frame, the life-being in the poor individual existence cannot but succumb sooner or later to the inexorable nemesis of disintegration and death. We must try to be more specific and enumerate the different situations that the limited individual life has to confront and that have for their cumulative effect the inevitable decay and dissolution of this life.
