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.

@ Cosmo Publications FirstPublished 1999 (set) ISBN81-702G863-7

(volumel) 81-702G8ff'5

CONTENTS
Meaning ol TantJa ClassiticationoiTantras of Antiquityand continuity Tantra ofTantra OriginalHome Contents of Tantra A HumanBodY, l,4icrocosm
KOSzl

Published br

MRS. &qNI KAPOOR foTCOSMO PUBLICATIONS of Div GENESIS PUBUSHING PVT LTD. 24,B, AnsariRoad, Daryacanj, NewDelhi-1 10002, INDIA

Nadis SahasBHPadma HumanNature Sadhana-Pafrcalattva Kundalini-Yoga Puja siddhi Purcscarana Yoga (or KaYa Deha)-Siddhi Nature Tantric of Doctines Sakti Theory Creation-Siva, of Tantraand SaktaWorks Dasamahavidy,r
ACEQ Gut!, SisYa, Diksa, Abhiseka

3l

Mull ra, Mandala,yantta, Nyesa Sava-Sadhana CakraBjja Waysto Liberation Bhakliin Tantra Yuganaddha NumberofTantras SaktaSect-a generaiview Science inTantra Causesof Compositjon ofTantras LrleraryValue ofTantra Tantra beyondjndia Tantra andTimaeus Tantra and Christianity TantraandJews WasTantra ForeignOigin? ot 3.

VedicOriginofTantricpractices Whatis SivaLinga ?

85
i01 117

5. 6.

TantricPractice with Maktras Gradations Approaching Divine ot the

Gradalions Approach of

r33

(t) curu
Guru (ll) c u r u( i t j ) curu(lV) Guru (V) Guru (Vl) (Vll) Guru Guru (Vlll) Guru God and Guru andParents Guru Word s nere

Holy Company (l) Holyt\ren Holy en(ll) lt (l) Birlh Human (ll) Human Birth lmages lmmediate (l) InnerAnd Ouler (ll) And Inner Ouler lnnerTrulh (l) Intellectual Knowledge (ll) lnlelleclual Knowledge (l) Japa (ll) Japa (lll) Japa Japa(lV) JapaAndDhyana JapaAndStotra JivaAndShiva JuslUse Karma (l) Kaula (ll) Kaula Sell-Revealing Shiva-Shakli Sins OlTheDisciple SupremeTrulh (l) Tanlra Sadhana (ll) TanlraSadhana (lll) Tanlra Sadhana (lV) TanraSadhana Upasana Upasana Gradalions

VedaAndTantra VerbalKnowledge Worship (l) Worship (ll) Worship (lll) Worship (lV) Worship (V) Worshjp(Vl) Yanlra Yantra I\,4antra And
YOga Yogin (l) 7. Glossary orTantricTerminology 195

Chapter-1

Meaningof Tantra

Chapter-1
ol meanings fanlra loundin lexicons . Among thevarious (conclusion), stutisekhe maybe noted:s/iidhdnta the following (a branch of sfurl, i.e., Vedas),itika avya6 (sel of duties), (a pfubandha(composilion), seslravrbesa parlicularszistra). 'Tantra'issometimes Kdliddsa usedlo denotegovernance. 'prajahtanttayiva' usesthe expression \havinggovernedlhe (V.5). subjecls)in lhe Abhinanasakuntalam x. ln lhe Vedas X. \e.9.,Rgveda 71.9. Atharvaveda 7.42) 'tanlra'appears be usedto denolea weaving lo machine, a The samesenseof lhe wordis foundalsoinlhe Taitti ya loom. (11 .q. Bftthnana .5.5 fhe wordlarlrakaoccursin lhe Astr4dhy.iyi as a derivaliveol the tantra,and meansa cloth taken trom lhe toom. Bftihmana and Tendya BHhmara,'tanlra' lnthe Satapatha denotes chiefporlion ihe essence a thing.Perhaps the or of in thal age,Tanlra wasconsidered represenl quinlessence to lhe ol Sastras. placeslo beenused several al denole Thelerm lanlra'has a syslem of lhought,a set of doclrines,elc-, e.9., Kapilasya (i.e..Sdmkhya), is Iantra usedby Samkara. word'tanlra The used by BhaskaraRayalo denote lvlimdms;i'sristra, etc. Tanlra,when denotinga kind of Sdslra, standsfor a sel of dockines, practices, mystic syllables, metaphysical speculations, magic.elc. 'Tantra'is derivedfrom lhe rool tan 10 sptead. Tanyate jnefiam anera - knowledgeis increasedby il. In vistatyete this sense, any branchol knowledgeis called Tantra,e.9., Sdmkhya Ny:iya philosophical systehsarecalled respeclively and Kapilatantrc,Gotama-tantrc.fhe Ayurvedic work,sitributed to Agnivesa, cafiedAgnive'alantra.'fanlra', derivedlrom lhe is sarne roo1. takenby some1odenole Sdslra is a whichdilales

Chapler-t

uPon lattvas and mantfas.

r.ar fa,fra jfl,J;'i;j,_::1,rrom .,iii,S"riiifli,ili,j"li ?l:, denore,r,i, ro?r rrosdver. lare ja",l'"'',i,i[T and ro

ran,ra ,s so "" ,l!l""""oilll"oltiT,l?&,i11#:::, ca,,ed

Jl"L" rl !"*i:l::-l:l """iii"'il'i;n ll""T::l::nl:-l'""s "",,1,Y;,X wh,ch wourd l!""'n;o;;;;,"",.i ",;il;;";;l;ilt"X;

Accordi

sho'enins

#:*iit1#*ti'i,ii$i*iry;i#1, #
Classification orTantras

"",

,i::Jx##[11i ,",llii'!:*l{",:kffi eft ;l;:x",j;;""T3,;:1;:1',:.,

Tantras believed are to bet{Jng eachof Ihese ro

,qnHl i$nfr ft tri*tinsii,ffi

f "!::,!:r::ii.l. i,, {:::: f

or lhe withpractrce cuslom, workconcernd Safiolherwise is work is Asat. a Tanlrasare also classified isrka {Vedic)and Ne ka as The (non-Vedic). works of the former class are divided, to of according the predominance the deily,as Sekta, Sajva, Saura Genapalya and Vaisnava. TheSdklaTankas divided tenclasses accordance are into in wilhthe names len Mah6ldyes.Of these,the Sodasi-tantra of rs known as Sflvldfi. Anothermode of classification inio S/otas, pilha and is Anraya.3 Tanlrasare also classifiedinto Kddi, Hedi and Kaha\di ol SadF. This classifjcaiion appearsto havebeen in accordance wilh lhe injliallellersol mantrcs.The manttahavingKa as lhe inilialsyllableis Kedl,lhat with Ha as the iniliatletter is Hddl, and that beginning with the unionof K:idiand Hediis Kahadi Sakt is supposedlo be inherentin Siva as the properly of burninginheresin fire. Thefollowing facesol Sivaarelakenas representing five the five functions Saktl,jn the spheresnotedagainstlhem: of Isena - Cit (consciousness), Tatpurusa- Anahda (bliss), Sadyojyoti i cchd (witl), Vemadeva- Jheha lknowtedge),

regi;:ly-four

tr-i;#'rd*ilhfr:t?,,",;,{*tii'l,ril:***

Aghota-K y6 (aclion). The five houths of Siva are said lo have originally produced Agamas,viz., KAmika,yogaja,Cihtya,Mukut;, ten Ansumdn, Dipta,Ajita, Siksha, Sahash, Suprabheda in of .These- lheirlurn,ledto ihe composilion thefollowing erghteen Raudra Agamas: yraya.Nihsvasa Ptodgita\ parcmesvara, (ot Mukhabjmba, -. stddha.Santana.Narcsmha.Candramsu, Candahasa)lor,

Ctlager-1

Viabhadta lot, Bhadra), Agneya, Svayambhu, Visata lo(. Virckta). Rautuva Bau@vya). Vimata Mukutq. Kiena, lot lor. Lalita, Saumeya lo(, PaG). Theabovelwo classestogelher consliiute lwenly-eight the Saiva Aoamas. Anot-her tradition makes the DaksinaMukha ol Siva represenlnon-dualily; is calledyogini-vakra. otherfour il The facesarestated represent to thefourcondiljons, Denotaljve. viz., Denoted. Extinguishihg Extinguished. works,produced and The bylhese,togelher conslttule 64 Bhaituva the Aqamas classified into lhe followingoctads: 1. Bhairaviislaka: Svacclanda,Bhairava, Canda, kodha, Unmatta,AsitAffga,Mahocchisma, Kaht6li6a. 2. Ydmafdslaka: B'ahtrA, Visnu, AthaNan,Rutu, VetAta, lncl@,Svacchanda. Again,Tantras dividd are inlo Hinduand non-Hindu. Those ol the latlerclassare Buddhist Jaina.Buddhisl and Tanlras are divided, accordihg thelhreebroad to divisions laterBuddhism. of as vayaydna.Sahajayana K|tacaknana I hereis a sectarian and classificalion Jaina Tanlrastoo. Both Buddhistand Jaina of Tantrasbelongto the ltrisfika class, mentioned above. A hode of classification basedon lhe hythological is ages; e.9., vatahakalpa, KAlakalpa, etc. The Veahitant@menlionsa classof work"s d Upatahln. calle Thereis a lradition , Etahnayamata, XXXTX (e.g Ch. Sroionimava Sectlon)ot classifyihg Tantricwotks 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, .47). 1 A class of Tantrasis called ydmala. Besidesthe well, kna n RudhtAnala, thereareYdmalasassocialedwilh Ganesa_ Visnu, Sakti and severalolhers.

are dividedinto lwo classes viz ln anotherway,Tantras Kalikuta a^d St)kula four broad SomedivideTanlricworksintothe lollowing classes: A. Agama oy Siva' lisienerParvali'approved Narrator usually as Vdsudeva lts conlents are iorfow"'- sr"ti' PBlaYa' DevArcana' satktma' Dhyanayoga Purascanrana, B. Ddmara by Narrated 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 kama"tttra Vanabheda Jatibheda' Karna, 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' Baiadhama' Dana Yugadhatma laksana, etc, are Saktatantras by lar lhe most well_ known

Antiquity and continuity of Tantra whenTantraoriginatedlt is given It is nol knownprecisely

#
the slatus of Srull in some works. ll is slated bv H:irita. as quoled in Kallukabhallas commentary Manu (ii t). as on Srutisca dvividhe prcka vaidikl tant k tathe The earlieslrecordof Tdnlricelements lhe Atharvaveda is fn lhis Veda,we find, intet alia,abhic'tika practices designed lo cause mischief olhers. to There olherelements white are of and black magic.These foreshadow Tanlras. the The myslicsoundp/,at,so familiarjn Tanlra,occur in the Vejasaneyi Samhita.ln the ApastambaStautasttrc,phat is used in offeringSoma stalks in abhidra. The number exlanlTanlEs is large.ll maybe presumed ol lhal severalcenlurieselapsedbeforethe Tanlrasgrew into a hugebulk. Manuscripls some Tanlrasreveal palaography the of of Gupla Age.5 The oldestof lham is the Kublkdmataoreserved in Asjatrc SocielyCalcutta. Southlndian SaivaAoamas The -dating are mentioned an insc ptionol Rdjasimhavarman, in backto the sixlhcentury A.D.in Kaildsan:itha Tempte. Al feast fourTantras, Sircscheda, viz., Vinasikha, Sammoha and Nayotlarcare known hom th inscriplionot Sdok-kakThom,to havebeeninlroduced Kambu,a (Cambodia) inlo about 800 A.D.by a Brahmin. The oldesl BuddhistDh{rcnts ot Tdntric characlermav. perhaps. supposed datelrom the 4th century b lo A.D. Tibetanlranslalaon is availabte lhe Buddhist only of Tdntric worksby severalBengalischolars inctuding Sdhtaraksita (70S762 A.D ) and Alisa Dipamtarawhoare knownlo haveset ed in Tibel. The earliestNepalesemanuscripts Tanlrasappearto ol havebeen copied belweenthe sevenlh lhe ninlh and cenluries The faler porlions ot lhe MaldtbhAtata, lhough relerringto Ilih'sa, PutAna, silentaboulTanka. arc Noneof the well-known Chinese travellers, Fa,hien (401,410), Hiuen Tsang(630-649)

ol Meaning Tanlra

and llsing(675) relerslo Tanlra thal Tanlrashark back to the limes ot c. Tuccilhinks6 is (4lh cent A D ) Hisopinion based and Harivarman Asanga which he a Somas/ddhdnla on the facl that they allude lo Winternilz wilh lhe Tdnlricsecl ot the K:iPdlikas. identifies Tucci'sview-No BuddhistTantra does nol accept ho!^rever. 650 A.D7 to appears haveexisledbefore to The {irst clear reference Tanlric lileratureappearslo gavata'purana(nol later than 800 A D occur in lhe Bh accordingto some). These reasons led some scholarslo probably earlier thanlhe did thal conclude Tantra noloriginate sixlh cenlury A.D. lt may be Pointedoul that the lifth or Devipuhna,aBengalworkof aboutthe sevenlhcenturyA.D., of deepinfluence Tantra. reveals holdlhat, ol a Those. whoadvocate highantiquily Tanlra, the slanzas ol lhe Devisina (Rgvedax. 125) there are in form lhe who represenls earlier to coverlreierences Durgddevi goddess Tanlra. ls also lt ol of Sakiior Kdli, lhe principal (Bgveda 127)reters10Durg.i pointed that the ,gatrisuha \ oul lo of Somethinkthal Rdlri is the precursor Kali.According (Khila)inlerpolaled the into olhers lhis Stikfa is a supplement Rgveda. and l1is also poinledoutthalrhe M*fuandeya Lingapuanas pad of theformer, according oldesl revealTrinlric inlluence.The lo Pargitermay datebacklo the lhirdcenturyB.C.or even Tantraas (C. Samkarac:irya 8lh cent.) has accepled aulhorilativein his Anandalahatl and S:ikldmoda.The six Cakras Tantra by of havebeenmenlioned himin his griakabtrsya (7th Theworksof B6nabhatta cent.)and Bhavabhfii(C. nh or 8lh cenl.) refer lo Tantricviews and practicesu. lhal ll was poinledout by JogesVidyanidhi lhe names Br:ihmiand Devaniigari, betray applied Indianalphabel, lo He Tanlric ot is inlluence Brdhmi one of the Mdtrkds Tanlra. lhlnks that, in ancienllimes, lhere was lhe practiceol

10

Chapler-l

worshrpping painled symbols thegoddess. suchsyrnbol of One was Devanagara (abodeof god)trom whichDevanagari sctipl was so cailed. ln lhe Yasatilaka-canp, (Asvasa Bhdsa,whoflourished V) earlier lhan K:ilidiisd, stated havesaid.wilh the Tilnlric is to Vdmecerain view that one should drink sura and put on grolesq!e dress. The Lalitavistaraof aboutlhe first cenlury A.D.appears lo referlo Tdnlricelemenls. Amonglhe relicsof IndusValleyCivilisalion, there are lerracotta liguresoI natrkAsand male figuresin a si ing posture. Somescholars thinkthat, even in thosepre-Vedic limes.Durgdas Molherof the universe Sivaas Father and lsed lo be worshipped. Thus the germof Tanlra was there. B. Foote claims havefoundphalliamonglhe neolithic to rematns discovered him in Deccanr. by TheGaigddhara StoneInscription A.D.)of Visvavarman (424 menlions Mdllsor Mother goddesses Tanlra. and Ihe BrhalsanhitA(57. 56) ot variihamihira 475 550 (C. A.D.)meniions groupof Mdhs. lhe fhe Visnupurana, ofthe earliesl lhe extantpuriinas. one of speaksof ihe Saktlol Visnu.lt mentions several namesof Durgii. siales and lhat.it worshipped wine,llesh. She with etc., lulfilsall desires. Whalever date of originof Tanlramay havebeen,il lhe appears kom spigraphical ljlerary and evidences Tdnlric lhat praclices prevailed widely longbetore sixlhcenlury D the A ll rs nol unreascnable suppose lo thal cenlufleseldsped belween period Ongin Tankic lhe of ot deasandthetr codit'cal.on and evenlual elaboralion. Abundanl evidence available is lo prove thalTanlra reached zenilh popularitV lhe period lhe ol in belween seventh lhe and the lweltthcenluryA D. Winiernilzi0 concludes no realTanlra be proved that can lo haveexisled before 7th century lhe A.D.He is ol the opinon

not Bbha\sa lhe Mahem4yti is a lrue he i hat neit r I he Suvartap occur that lo He Tantra. comes theconclusion Tadricelemenls in eallierwoIks. pul to a Themainargumenls, forward establish laleorigin are ol Tanlra, as lollows: (i) Tanlra, as a S:istra, has nol been mentionedin lhe or famouslexicon N6naliiganusAsana Amarakosa. (mukli-khanda) stalesthalthecustoms (ii) The Srtasamr,ilS lo etc.,willbe beneficial lhosewho are fallen of Paicar6tra, long Thisindicates Tanlra thal arose wayof lile. fromthe Vedic was on the wane. afterthe VedawhenVedicaulhorily form,is generally (iii) The Naryasaslra, which,in ils presenl A.D does lo aboulthe fifthcenlury supposed haveoriginated n nol menlio Ndd/,Caktaot Ni\daatisinglrom them;this tends lo orovelhai eilherTanlradid nol existbelorethis workor was as Ever since ils inceplion. noi yel eslablished authorilative. works of faithhas inspired composition Tdnlric to lhe Tdnlric chapter from the n some lorm or olheri il will be evident of The flow oJ describing conlents the workson Tantra. lhe 191h. cenlury. conlinued righldown1othe Tdnlric wrilings worksappeal ln conclusion, cansaylhal lhoughTAntric we pretty lohgafterChrist, Idttrlcbeliels lo have comeinlobeing ol and oraclices wereDartof lhe livesof a seclion lhe Indian populalion earlyas lhe Vedictimesand evenearlier. as of Some scholars havepointed thattherelics the Indus oul (C.3000 B.C.)containtlAtrh'nittis. Ihey Valleycivilisalion holdlhal yantras, the mud6s (finger'pose), mysticmonosyllabic Bijas like KLIM, KRIM, e|c., testify lo the primitivepictorial wrilingand language of The black consisling singlesounds. riles of Tanlrahaveparallel praclices primitive in limes. li seemslhal Tantacaraot F'nltic practices, whichform a bulkol Tanlra times. werederived lromveryearly literature, Wilh the progress civilisation, philosophical oi sophisticated speculalions inlo lhis lilerature. gol Thal is why we find a curious philosophy lhewildest prolound superstitions of wilh mixture

.-

Chapler-1
MeaningolTanlra 13

and most confusedoccultism,of a faul ess social code ol moratrty and rigidascetjcjsm and a cull disfigured wild by orgiesinculcating i. extremely reprehensible moralsi OrigihalHomeof Tahtra Nolhingdefinale knownaboul the regjon whereTantra is originaled.some believethal Tantrasof ihe Agu.u iii"" originated Kashmir. in Whal is knownas Tantramai travefeen producedfor the trrsltime.In Bengal. Thisoprnion staieJ is oy.wrnlernitz evrdence An though conclusivF. sLrpporl nol rn or rheafrove hypothesis lhatmanuscflpts Agamas,wt:|en is ol In sardoascflpl abound Kashmir. lhoseoi the ,anlrd in and ciass.in Eengaliscript, available abundance Bengal. are in in Theworks theSamhila ol class believed have are to originaied in differenl parlsof India, parlicularly Deccan in ana dengai K:im.ikhyd,r,in Assam, is a slrongholdof Tanlra. ll is knownthat Saiklism was preached there-by BengaliSdkta. the Krsnar;ima Nyiiyav;igisa. Ahomking,Rudrasimh;. The became hasdisciole The Eengali Tiinfriks cafijedTantra the tar-off to Himl:ij in ^ , Baluchistant lheBengati Brahmiinandaandhisdiscipte Jiiiiniin;da preached T;inlricphilosophy and Sadhana :c]'ete. Tantrrc Sddrana Nepalappears have in lo beenInlJJenced by Benqalsjdhakas,r Tiinlricismin Chinaand Tibet is believed haveowedils to orrgrn spread Buddhism lo of trom Bengal. Alisa Dipamkara (980-1053 A.O.) and severalother schol;rs tromBenqal wenl overro Ttbel.seltled lhereand wroleon Tantra In support lhe Bengalofigin ol ofTanlra. furlher a evidence. polnied by some,is lhal lhe Mah nitv6na-lantra oul mentions (vi.7 3 )lhree kindsof tishfor use in riluatsi lneseare tound n ptenlyafd widely consumed Bengal,,. in An anonymo!sverse stales thal lhis Sdstra. having jn ongrnaled Gauda.developed l\,4ithil:i. an existed som-; at

in and ota.eso' lvlahdraslra was deslroved Gujarat Gaude '/acahtd rdva ma hilaih abaliktlakvaci kvactnmahaaslre gutjarepnlaYam gatla/ The Bengalwork,P/iinaloslriquolesthe Varcdatanlra(x) of whrchis staled lo containa description somesoundsol lhe that tprecedlng we alphabetFromthisdescriPlion learn Nitgara as v h as./h. y is pronoLrnced Again, preceding is pronounced are y characteristics like b, Iniliadly is pronounced /. These in of and,in somecases. Easl in nolable lhe dialects Bengal, Bengal. .r.enlions vinirfia\ya The colophonlo the Mahekaulaihana as Gaudadvipa tts provenance, of alsopoinloulthalmany lheold lheories Thepro'Bengal have beenlound parlicularly Tanlra, Buddhist on works Tanlra. Bengal worksof delinilely Moreover. Tantric the n Bengal. thanof philosophy: provenance of rilesand rituals contain more oragin. lhis is a sign of theirearlier Thoughnot Many oJ the Sdkla Pithasare in Bengal. Srihalla. province, the Pilhas,kdmardpa, situatedin this are and Purnagiri in lhe (Orissa, according some) lo Oddiyana of neighbourhoodBengal. Contenlsof Tantra Tantradeals with live topics- Crealion. Tradilaonally powers. Communion ot Acquisilionsupernalural Dissolution. Worshlp. Beang withlhe Supreme slales the conlenlsof lhe difterenl fhe Varahi-lantra c asses of Tanlricworks as lollows: pralaya, adhana, Wtascarana devapLijA, i\gama - ststi, stambhana. salkatma,(nAana, uccAtana, vidvesa,santi) vasikatana, karma' nityakarma, Y Amala- srsli,jyotisa,ekhyAna, yugaclharma sitstra,vamabheda, i1tibhecla, devatAkrlt Tanlra-_ srsli Walisrsti,tantla'nirnaya.

Chapter,l trrtha-es rana, BAhmana. pani -la ksa yantra, na, devotpa tti, kaIpa vrksa, jyoti sa,p ranAk'hyena, kosa, vrata, saucA-sauce, naraka icAra, strtpurusa Iaksana, raj harma,denadharma, ad yu9adharma, vyavaharavidhi, adhyetma varnana, elc. The conlenlsof a completeTantricwork rnay be broady , divided as Jiana at Vdva - (nowjedge.n,,,d ng p, osophral ano nerapFysicado. trinFswlh d To, otnF ,Uc I tendencyand sometjmesa rorr sr c otas This part contains occulltsm Lrcruotng a knowledgeof the myslic bas Ths part . o n r a , n s o | t r t a ea , o L g u r e . . f 2. Yogaot Upaya - means ot mind-conlfot. especralty w t r ht h e o b l e L o t d c q u , n g n a q , c p o s p r . r 3. Xrya - containjng inslruciions makrng for rdots and ior conslrucltng and consecfatng rernp es. 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,:_":":'": a 1 t r a ) p a r a s u K s . mt a m a1d r h r g h e s r . .b e a o o , a ' e - d e o y . , . o b

ij.,'

'oo

l"

l.

HUMAN AODY,A MICROCOSM The body s supposedlo consislol five kosas (shealhs), ol ! t. amianaya (madeoi iood), praramaya(consistinq v tal \canssltng fiea\h) nanomaya (made of mind), vtjn^namaya (conssting of loy) Anandamaya .1 speca consciorrsness),

Broadty speaking, contents Tantra lhe ot tleralurelall into two classes, phrlosophicaland one spirilual oiher popular lne
a o prdcliLal Tne latter includes .raqL, mandata, nya9a, cakra, yantz. elc

The principataim otTantrais trberatron and

S/ddhl supernalu ( ra

The body s be eved to conlan lhree crores and a hali" ol r.:d,s {arleries and verns). Of these, seventy'two are or of as rcgarde.l prominenl. theseaga n, Iourleen ten are the the mosl prom nenl are /da pal ones.ol theseiourteen, t)f fr I'r)oa/iiand Sus|/rrni'". The ast and the ongesi one exlendslrcr]. mhhdh,ra lo moksanr;rga. brahmanedi.at 8/nlrr'arrrdhraln lhe head.Alsocalled Throlgh \ Kundaliit ts r s be eved to contarnlhe universe. to s!rplr!s-.d rnoveupward./de is on the eft side o{ lhe spinal lhe r]or.l A symbol ol lhe moon, it is while, and represenls 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: - n the middleol lhe body,silualedin the lowest l'.4uladhAra 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 is dowfward ll s like a red lotus wlth lour pelas. Kundaltni s r r p p o s etd c o a r o u n di t . o ' Sva.lhislhanaabovelhe milAdhara, brl belawlhe navle .s ke a lotusof srxpalals.presided over by GoddessRakin I'lafrlpufa I the navel.It is like a lotusol len pelals eacrr rr(rlafofta n ng a leller.Also calledNabhicakra, conlarnsa it l r L r n ( r e 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 o lr irrr(.lLe representedby lhre Svasilka symbos ll s a.e

Chapter.l presrcied ovef 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 presaded over bv goddess Kdktni. V;sttddha Bhaatt - n lhe rFgronof lhe nech Sear ol ot Sarasvati. is grey and Ike a lotusof stxleenpetals Dresided il over bV goddess Lakinj. iTnd between the eyebrows. Also ca ed paramakatA ol Muhlatuvent. is lthea lolus of lwo pelals whtre n .olour .r tl 's from lhrs caftla thal lhe lhree nadls, /dd, el(. soaeadoul lo diflerentdrreclions. Svmbolised the letlersHa and A.sa by rl rs lhe seal of mind. presrded over by goddessHahrn| Ihe woroA/nameansorder orderof guruwhois supposed restoe to tn tl. (lilerallymeanrngpenetralron . ^Caktabheckat Satcakrabheda or cakras) means lhe manifestal|on acltvaltonof Cakras. or rl rs necessary keepingthe body fil and for the dttainmenl lor of Siddhls. lhe stx Cakras are idenltlied in sor.le fa.tflc works withthe five elements and the mind,s. Thjs idea appears have lo been based on lhe ancienl Upanisadic lheoraesi example. for the hearl is compared a lolus, and il is statedlo have 1Oj to Nadls; one ot lhem penetrales the crown of the head: a man movingupward il reachesimmortalrty. this,.onnextol, .he by In 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 n o l e g e M S . N o . 9 6 4 o f t A O T l t s o m e C 9 Olner OaAlas are described as Akactamacakz. nnaclhand Sodhanacakta,Rasicaka, Naksatftcakra (Catatogue. vol XVi

ol NtreaningTantra

17

. o n T a n l r aP . 2 5 1 ) SfrraAra also called Sttyanlaor lrpuacakta connecled lhe wlh S/rv,dvd has been descnbed in verses quoled in p 255 and Samiara;Fya ot A^a.dagirtrBib Indlcaed 1868) 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 ol (DeccanCollege MS. No 49Oot 18s5 98) A descriplion lhe lhe bindu In batra is as lotlows.A Cakrais lo be drawn wilh a small triangle The birdu slands for Sakfi or Mtlaptakrtt fiveof whichhavelheir apex The;eare ninelriangles 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 lineswilh four gales lhese boundary thenlhree lhen 3 circles. yanlraand lhe loluses lhe ten laltertJeing ouler sectionof the pelalsbeingthe innersectionof the Yantrc'Ihete ol 8 and 16 is a lotal of 43 angles The parl of the Cakra inside lhe boundary lines is called bhupura- The worship ol Yanlra is bahryaga Anlarvaga is laklng awakened Kunda'ni lhrough lhe Calrasl rrornMuladhardloi/racaita and lhen unilinqil wlth 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 10 throuqhwhich vital brealhor life is supposed exit al dealh lolus of a lhousandpelals' li is c;nceived as a mullicoloured facingdownward. The Cakras, accordinglo the Kaula syslem are as follows order : Nadicaktainlhe ianmasthanaBased in lhe ascending il is M yecakta in the navel (lrom here il prevaoes ort everwhere). iogacaka (in the hearl, centre ol yoga\. Bhdanacaka (in lhe ti/u regi;n). Dipticakta\Bindusthenainbelween the eye'

18

Chapler1

o! Meanlng Tantra

19

brows), (in Sanlacakfa lhe niidaslhdna). fhe SAdhaka realises as lustrous a croreof suns il like andcoollikea croreof moons. rousing energy can 8y lhis one reachthe higherslate of exislence When it is roused lhe enlrre being a person {looded verydelicale of is with ambrosia oi music lhis music is called Kundalini-kujana (sang of Rele idenlifiesKundaliniwilh the righl vagus nerve.Bul. (Avalon) Woodroffe discards view:he sayslhal I is not the a nerve.r any olherphysical subslance mental or tacullyi ii rs rather ground lhe subslance bolh Kuvalaydnanda ol also rejecis Releslheory. The Rudtayemala (XXXVI6 168)gives 1008names Kundallni. of allbeginning Ka Sabdabrahma wrlh ls supposedlo resideh Kundalint. Besides individual lhe kurda lini,fa .amenlionsaMalakundali The formerdevelops personal existence. gellingupon By Mahakundalione canlranscend narrowpersonal the slale.and eslablish himself lhe wideuniversal in slaletMahi\kundaliis al lhe rool ol lhe universe. HUMAN NATURE In accordance the preponderanceihe qualilies with of ol Sattva.Rajasand lamas,humannalureis divided inlo three propensilies classes. lhe basisol lhesequalities, On human have been dividedinto three classes,v1z Divyabhava Vtrabhava and Pasubhava. Ihe i"4ailryupanisad 21) menlionsSusumnaNadi as \vi. moving upward fhe BrhAdaranyaka 19)speaksof72.000 \11.1 The Cakrasare somelimesidenlified wilh lhe nerve p exuses modern physiology. appears be wrongin oJ lo Thrs vew of the lacl thal, in Tantralhese are inraginary lhings belonging lhe subtle 1o bodyand nol the grossbodyso that lhesedisappear with the deathof a person. preponderanceof A personwilhthe 1stiedwith Pasubldva

leal shamehalredfamllv lnlaluallon ,h4rpllers klndness 'i'""I'"i ol over r" hrmlhrlA rs an elcpssol Fdl;s gulU ''",}ili'"" He hasnolairhin "r.i" "r" '"l"'n"itr, idleanddrowsy ',11n'irr)it.'a. lo Tanlra iuu*es vedrcpraclicesAccoldrng ro rhF due '"" A pelson wrrhvrrabhava ::'-';;;";.;;; doessuchaclsas lead "i qualiiy Falas ol ll";:".,""""" ol1"e tne ;;';a'va navins preoon"nance l u l 3?;;;l "i,n" ::"":.'j' lrulh 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 , alrilude and loes lrrends rowards :;: :-::;;";" SADHANA PAftCATATTVA is the meanslo lhe Sddhanelworship propitiaiion) 'l wavs sadhan; ol powerr he {success o' s/ddhr - ^ saslras /apr ol :':' "r".ini ,;," ,;,;,;r' or rnenlal)knowledge e'c (incanlar'on) manrra i,oas {penance' i" ' "'i.''noi:"""'i and sedhlkasare divided in accordance qualrl'esr'\'o loJl "uon"r"" n,',, n.ri-pnys'cat menlaland moralA d h m d t t a h a dl a l an a . , " r , * . r ' i . r r f M d u t 2 l M a d h y a nB ) Tanlia lhe sadhaKas lo According the Kaulaschoolof classes: are ol the following and olhel in 1 Pr2k I- yirdcdlrn engaged sacrilrce pancalallvas lo and resorling rlluals Kaulika- llke Prakrii wilh lhe dilJerence 2 Madhyama lo that his mindis moreattached med[aton' and knowledge concenlrallon' ritualism and 3 Kautikotiama lhose who go beyond Being on meditale the Supreme ol patcafaltva' also calledKuladravya ln I antricworship. imporlanl role Kulalall;a. denotingI i\te Mararas'plays an (meal)'matsya \fisl'') muda rt l7)rJy*'t*i"e) rr,amsa """ "i. inlercourse)' (linger'pose). ;aitilna (sexual whenthe sexualintelcourse SomeTanlrasrecommend energy andhersexual illness t"."r" f"ri""i i" i" n"r monlhly

2A Chapler-1

MeanlngolTanlra

21

:::"":,.-" l ii i'Ji:l:; ;f n.f ";i;"y,lfiii{,#:H'"":iff""lffi :i'l: ;::t;::" T*: i;:hTgilift. ::1.,,ii',i rff

;drn';x.:";*;i'i.:::.;*rJ ryfi j::ii:.' *' 5i :;',**l*,g'*lhz* h""

j;; ::,Jl:ffi ,rid,.r,eJi:,:i:"f,,,i"xli,:x..;r_

qt:,.##i".*q#.i,1"ffi fr li,."d higfr

ji:: fi,:"',,""'i,:#t',"1;t{*t*ni5ii*t*'*ii:T"r
^ As regards the modeo, Tanlricse)

",,iTill ti:ffi;"; il:[1 ;tri,i?fu"]i''*i ,i ijrjr:

""n'"*j ;"*xT,,:rffi:""""',',Ti,g#fitr ffi";Jj ri;"H :,;

'"iidrillfi il#i*r"#"4;:1,+i*,,-l,l=ni; :lx #lll hxr:;;i'li*:1:*#Tili?i

*"Jjli{iffH""4.ff$:[+#Fil"iiiil#,j nli{ii":rft fr;}tillx',l;"#irp,=##li'

but nol in a devole of the pasu lype Maithuna i a Kautika. duality ol the lhe basicunilyunderlying aPparenl ;ymbolises ever!'1hing. m fhe Maftanitvana 170 173)recommends adhuratraya \\iii. sweet subslances) as substilutes lot madya Fol Ithree on medilaiion lhe feel ot Deri andiapa iallhu,'ra it substitutes marha. ot lhe desired One who for Paicatattvais not prescribed all S:idhakas. can a hasreached highslageof spirituallife, lakea paicata va of lhe andlhal alsounder guidance the gufu Asa saleguard enjoymenlof pancalatlvas,alletnaltve againsl unreslralned of an Jor are prescribed thosehaving excess animal ailicles requisile selt propensities, and, as such, lackingin the al the Vira lor commended Sadhakas Pancatattvais @sl(ain|. the Some explain of type lhey are possessed selfconlrol. js the slreamof neclarissuing from ras makd as follows:Madya standstor the the brain-cavity. abodeof the soul.Ma,sya of suppression vilalarr. Mirthunameansmeditation Mdmsameansvowof silenceon creation and deslruclion. appearsto describehow lhe three Ihe Kaularchasya2s L4akards, Madya, MAmsa,Maithuna,were enjoyed by the eating wineup lo throat. people. speaks drinking li of common lhe Kaulatahasya women. Ouoling lnealandenjoying beauliful 1heHamsaviksa(p. 104)says thal bhogaand moksado nol women. bolhlhese beautilul coexislBut.for one,whoenioys people, entitled to are to All ffom Brdhmanas low-class nah,nirv4na \ti't 144) accotdingla the Kauladharma lhe suggests following TheKaukvali'nimaya 113-123) \V. can use ioney In a A subslitules lhe Maka\rcs. Bdhmana for in or copper vessel cow'smilkor coconulwaler a bellmelal garlic ginger be used and can ol vessel. lhe absence meat. ln used lorfish Roasled maybe Bullalo milkorlhaloJlhesheep lru ls and rools may be usedIot Maithuna.

22

Chapier-1 jewe n s rhe like the quest ot glass ignoringthe Kaustubha cs fenltic pula st characier one s own hand Se l_surrender siddhi throughsddhara,may be ol many k nds allainable S/ddhl. (Successin mattras), vaksiddhl(success e a.. mantrasiddhi -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 al L excessiveghtness will),lsilva (assLrming (subduing all to ones wt ) Praptl over olh;rs), vasliva w (obtalning anyllngai w ll)prakamya(irresistible l) kamavasayita des re) oi (suppression Passon or mantrasled (11 1o According ihe Mah6nlrvdra 14_15),Vedic other Yugas But, in Kali Age \o deslredresuls n Salya and these are ke serpentsw lhout venomor ike dead berngs'In and lead lo ths aqe. Tentrc manlras yield quick resLllts, prescribes(iii 14) that lhe mantra Om Th sa vation. s Tantra brahma in lhe besli mere perfecton ln ths sac-cid'ekam manta causesthe soul to rnergein Brahma' lor the repett on 01a mantta s recommendeo sometimes, to ensuregreat ellect like conlro a lac or even ilve lac times ol even a klng lo ln some cases,Tantricmantrasate required be recited names oi the sage' the meter,tlre one, wrth the ke a Veclic (aPPllcallon). de ly and Viniyaga Some Ved c maniras also are used in Tantra, bul lor lhe purposes otherlhan thoseln lhe Veda.For example, manlra lo thoughaddressed Agn ' jatavedase sunavamalRv l.99 1), 10 is employedin invocation Durge. prayer in that, whle the forrner has Mantradllerc irom lixed syllables,the latter may be said in any form The oi syllable; of a mantra ate regardedas the manilestalion

ffi'_t'n9'n''.'ut,"o
, .Tant

,",^",11;"'-"il' ,i'i,l,,[XT"""" *::l"J ;:fl,'ffsugges|ng o*,li",l:: i;:

, r : o t r h e o p , n t o nh d t l h a s , g n t l i c d n c e , ,..,1or" ot Ine rt4atdlas was detiberdtelv preverleobv viuiouspeople.

symbolc inrFrprelations ol

d 'ecogntses fdcl that.for progress rhe drongthe polL one has lo prFpa,e boOV. the inO bod! Ldn be made it by dtfferenl ";ratOrearr. minc posturos,usanasl Tor' ,r.1e n9 pr6pa lhe v,rdJ brearl-. 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 tightof knowJedge shining. 3 Arpana_ realisation ore,s identtty of with the objecl ot meditation

loj,rlrirrrr*r, "nO
Kundalini-yog.irz

"""

entiatarenana,taryana,sandhyA, ptijA

,n" basicrhingfof Tiinlricsdonara. rhe dormant -^,",lll: energv : splflrudl is supposed corlroundnutuanura lo lir:i a serpent,' lis gradual
by penettali rhe rbrahmatanon*, ap.^ 3:ff;:" " i,i"'",,".,i1i13,1T " ascenl

erld.. lvrr saysrnai rnI :J-:l:aj god 1he sahtananda.taran\tni searci tot

Tanlraprovides rhatone must tdenttfy onesett wtlhIhe 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 sLrpFflor lo oulsjde havrngdis.cga'rded goOwtlf;n onsell

ChapleFl

ol Meanrng Tanlra

25

Sakti. Varielres manlradre calledby vaflous ol name! luch a _ Aavaca,Hrdaya,Astrc, Raksa elc. As seedis sownon a soilwhich cultivated walered, is and pul a discipte r,ea wr.,i,n,, p ,,e s :2: ::f .!:!'rj drenched .inlo ano nas been " by lhe walero, Cod.smercy.Ihe MahAnivana(V. 1a-19)statesthal gr.aslike Hrim, Kri; make the form of the deityvisjble. Mostol lhe Tanlrasparitcutarly pdlasuF'ma katpast)tra lhe ,_ Jnanatnavatne SandAtttakahold thal marllas possess wondedvl incomprehensibie and pafas power.The ,]-l-111.,1""1:9":.rarrh lhe cause ot this power ", ".u.k;tr;;;,; as rhe s.aradautahd 57.59)divtdes (ll manlrcsr:|lolhreerlasses vrz. masculnefemjnine neuler and Those endtng Humand In Phalaremaje. those ending lhaarelemale in anOihose enOlng In /vamas neuter ate

g' a'knlra lv'6-7'Krsnananda's ivilas arye Pu rasc nava, v l. p.41 Ke! TantGsata.
in Raqhavabhalta, his commenlaryon lhe Saradalilaka wrlh detailsol dedrs e)(haustively ,xvr-56i. ARE cornmon 10 al\ manlras. manrfa tor 11is regarded as indispensable making the in the grip ot a eflectiv;. R;ghavabhatiasays that as a man' Putascarana so do Jisease,cann-or anything, a manlrawiiholl 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 , ol lop ol a mounlaln conlluence nvers' rool ol a o"n* "ri" temple,seashore, placewhereone leels happy any Bilvatree, to lnrs nle is requlred eal lood oblalred One. periormlng vegelables Yatl havisyan4d rfor E.ahrnacatinand bv bpqglno fruils. nilk, bulbous rools, Darley to The practices, be avoided'are sexualintercoursemeal' speaklngwilh women and Sudras' w ne, Japa should be done lrom mornlnglo noon'

o, lhp p,ocedures oj' lhe,MuhmanttaE Lalledpunscatana: because rr has to be pertormed beforelhe acts in whichil is to be empjoyed. In lanlra,it means rile in which a Vedic andTdnlricmantras 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,tormed Dasarga puescatanaconststIn lhe lollowtng surl,2tshva ptp,7712 tKautdatn,ma, : ?11."'11"11:.:-iq"r,?rrsana | -as Deendeall w;rh In many lantras ot whrchthe !\v,

'?!* conterrhg favour nrm. her on Accordrns 1":f *1",r:',f." l9r the to t".e vayavtya-samhltii. pedellinq

our somethrng ." ^,tJi.",]:ll.T":* o:n:rmjngor carryins betore ^utarlava{xvii 8/) stales,hal purdscafana ts so called ,:ll oecausF. lt e live-lold DV upasara lhe desrreo dehy moves

may encounler Aiter lhe rite is commenced'the devotee remains obslacles, disiurbancesand terrible sights.lf he ll he sticks lo results. miraculous he unmoved, will achieve dreams, prescribed long time' he will get joy,seepleasant lhe someol lhe theseare hear sweel musicand enloylragrance; of the perlectionof lhe mantta' signs in There are varying modesot Purascarana accordance with the natureol the devotees'Pasu' Vira and Divya ln Tantra, yoga is mainly lwoiold, hathayogaand pavlng discipline in lot;er consists physical sanadhiyoga.lf,e lhe way lo mind_conlrol. insleadol lhe five has Halhayoga Ihe lallowing accessories Patanjali eight prescr;ed in lhe yoga syslem of Yoga

(xv l,j.Y /zl 5arodr,lokd ,, ) | 'i?"":::?:il,:li (.t1-1381|4At Ahtrbudhnya,r.X 53). 5p 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

M;hantuanatv- 85). 7b Kurarrva

26 Yama-

Chapter-1 conlrcl ol the senses, non,violence, etc sludy ol Saskas, meditation God. on - controloi brealh. wrthdrawlof lhe sense lrorn lhe wordly Prcvtnirese bhitanem nivtttistu mahephab/ cessatrlon for oJ Thereis inclination creatules thesethings; leads to gleat result' of des re, however, is Whlle orthodoxlndianphilosophy concernedmore wrln .n I_e other world. Tdntric philosophyvigo'oJsly sd\alion in advocales lvanmuktt (liberahon lile) lhinkersused 1obelievethat' A schoolol Tdnlric'Alchemic yogic processes mantrasand chemicaldrugs lhe bv certaln so that oiav ot iteitr-ano blood could be made imperishable deat^.1\e KAbdahana ana Mtlyuniaya lanltas ,L cor.o de'v (makingtne body to .ont"in tethods ol Kayasiddhr "'" ,t"t"d longlived). fit or unconsclonably lakes place,the Eooy lhai when keyaslddhi lr LsbeLieved Valraand full ol yollhful lustre,does nol become slronq as is subie;t lo decay,diseaseand death.Theconceplion nothrng new wilh the Buddhistsand Alchemistsin whose lreatisesit has been deall with in delail.The power oJ yoga in rendenng subjected the body lree irom ihe i1ls,to which it is ordinarily 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 / by One. havinga body conditioned yoga' has no orsease' nor death no decrepitude The oreal eJlicacyoJ mercury and mica, in imparting adamantiie strength io the body and preservingit for an parlicularly in rncredible lengthof time, has been recognised 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 and inkod!ced amonglhe tradlionallyorigrnated Adinatha by by laler leople by i,4atsyendranalha, inlluenced ihe Baulsand mode' vigorously Sahayrya-sadhakas, lhe Vajrayana iollowing

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 driterence belweenSakli and Tatlvaso lhat Sakt surrnounts obslacles, att and effects lhe unionol the yogl, wilh lhe SupremeSiva.Pataajati, however, does not recognise any Supremepower exceptingprakrll so lhal lhe yogl/r has no 'arrllla.irv w'll^ any Saklt beyoao pGhtn. Siddhi A lundamentaldillerence betweenthe Brehmanicat Sdstra and Tanlia is thal, whilethe formerordatnsphysicalsuilering or sell-moftification as a means to lhe goal. the la er emphaslses valueof the body as meanslo sadhana. s the Th is nol lo say ihal the Briihmanical Sdstra 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.. conlinence and restraint enjoyments the objeclsoi sense in ot Tantra, however, allowsthe devolee indulge enioyrnent to in ol the objectsoi sense, ol course within timits. The core 01 TantraSadhanais muklllhroughbhukli,a conceptabsolulety lorergn lhe orlhodoxreligion to and philosophy. ManLr unwquivocally sIaIes KAya (ot Deha) -

theNarhas berievedprocess ina which lJx?i:",if fii]i.'ornr

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. is supposedthar tho tt 91:d,:,,:u lh". is lurce axuded wnhrr lhe body drilled upwardOylhe.rpotow,ng winA,anJ slored In Sahas/ara The believers rhtstheori In admil lou. l 'c k,')ds of Candra(moonl vt/ . Adicandta Nlacanaa. Unmadacarnta

'"J#il3.',1 ;ff#; i'.:"":ff f:i,J,i: l*1"5:,1;?:

," ts lLrneddown.

The rhousand-petalled wtlhin lotLrs Ihe heao

8 9

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 H ( n l r o , I P L X X V I I) a n d W i n t e r n i t z 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 a M h i s t a . i cA n t t q u i t i e s , a d r a s , 1 9 1 6 K R S u b r a m a n 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 b 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 d y l h e K h a s , oi a yoni \lelr'aleorgan) see N N. trbe n rhe iorm Bhairacharya Histary at Tantric Religion, p. 143 Vide Vanglat Sadhana by K. [,'1.Sen, pp 47 43 i We shal see thal ihis Tanlraoriglnatedn Bengal A c c o r d i n gl o s o m e , 7 2 , 0 0 0 . See Pranatosni, l. 4 9alcakranirupana, Raghavabhaltas corirn. on Sarcdatlaka xxv. 38 E g Saundaryalahati, v. 9 See Sakrl and Sakia by Woodrolle (3rd ed ) p 399 G Kav ral describes the syslem ol Cakras according to a G o r a k s a n a t h l n S a r a s v a t i b h a v a ns t u d i e s ,l i p p 8 3 9 2 l n a t h e l r a n sa r i o n o 1 S a t c a k n n i r u P a n ap a t e s i v i ) A v ao n { ( V l 1 ! s l r a t e sh 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 e l ! L )a l o n g l . 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 X See salcakfanirupara LI XL ll 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 s u r a l v a( d i v i n i t v a s

10 12

ilT [#:

?,i:l,.xTl?,1_,?[,]: :ri!l.-.',{3:1,:l#ina invisorares i,i"i,",iiil1,xJl,ff minrhe sysrem l:.J[li:ryano

i3 15 16 17 18 19

?::^?:,:!::::":1

N.iiacandra which;s rhenaru,e rujce or oi

Buddhisls Vaisnava and Sahajivas believe Kayasiddhi in .The as the obiecl ol sadhana lo refer to a body oblainedby some sort ol kayasajhana. Foolnotes
l l r . - b e l i F \ , e o a ' l t , e s e, e g o - s w e h " 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 l ". , A s vla : :L" . b n e a - . a s p c t , v e . y e a - q o , n q ;a s 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 eI p p 1 0 , , Bs ti7

*'i?"S;Jfl ,",iif i"l?.',ifli""l",'IJ,"ilii",,,li"Sil::#

2
l

20 21 22

23. 24.

A c c o r d i n g 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 r V/ara ol

ot y1"- atso nnnaya .tB.1s) M. I:f::l!:a s k a r a r a y a n h r sthe Kaulainana ano Br I

( v 6 r s e s8 7 - 9 1 ) . cornm on the Lal asahasra.nana D - c c a h o 9 6 V S . N o . 9 5 9 o t 1 g 8 4 . 8 7r C o p r o C Srnval 1 7 9 0 - 1 7 3A D ) 4 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 noorr screntits to L se cop Krishnr A/orogrcal Easrs aI Hehgton hd Gentus. nd ils nt,oductro- y Werzsack6, a a o l l s e 6 m s l o b e a ^ t t c r p a l e d y s a r p a l a / n{ s e , p e n . . o _ e - , o / o. the Fgvada

25

27.

24. 29.

Chapter-2

ay copinalh Kavnaj,repuredas a Tanrric Sadhaka at hi9h ord6r, He nots thal o n e , R a m a t i n g a S a s t r t n a ot Cidambaram, Madras (Tamil N a d u ) , w h o t i v e d a b o u t a hundrdyears ago, atlaindKayasiddhi. See G. Kavnaj,
Tanttic sadhaha o siddhanta, |', p 166

Natureof TantricDoctrines

Chapter-2
Dva,la(DuaIslrc)d_d I hese dre Adlalia (1o.-dualistrc). 64 Dvaitadvaita(dualislic-non-dualistic).The BhairavaAgamas, 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

He The SupremeBrahmanis eternaland unchanging. is both niskala and sakala: ka6 mea s Ptakrlt. kom Him. The Saktiof Brahman eternaland inseparable is This saklr is nifgura (without altribules)and saglna (wth As goddess in lhe torm ol consciousness, she aitributes). manifests the being and, throughher as goddessin lhe lorm ol bliss (dnanda). ErahmanmanilestsHimself.Sakti pervadeslhe universe likeoil in sesamum- om Brahma-Sakti F aroseNadalrom which ptoceeded Bindu. The subtlebody of the goddessis reJe(edto as mularnantatnikal (consiituled the basic mantra). by 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, SabdaBrahman Apara-Brahman. or As a result ol the union of Siva and Saklj, lhe goddess becomesinclined(unmukhl) Siva.Then the web of M6ya is lo proceeds, snapped,and crealron The relaiionship Siva and Saktiis conlroversial. ol According (i. 10 lhe Kularnava 110), some advocalenon-dualily, others desire duality.

Chapter-2 Sabda,Brahmanmanifests itseti in lhree Sakl/s, viz., Jtiira (knowledge), /cchii (desire) and Kriya (actian) iollowing lerms are used lo conveyrne compteteness . -The ol S va. Syata?,rdla ttndeoendencer. nrlyJta rete.na.tlyt a-trptdld . nt!, {oUaiirv ba'ng ever COrlentedr, Ol Sarla/rala rOrt-,SCrenCe/. FromParamasiva ses Sambhu, a from SambhuSadasiva. , lrom Sadasrva tsanaand 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 indrcat the d Lerent ng con0[tons, qualitiesor rnanifeslalion the single of srva. thtaJg^ gr ooth Meya and Ay'utaD.a^.t, .-^::u' " ln:.fo'.n Ire powe. ol Maya. B.ahna- corLeat5 Hrs ow. .o,.r, a;d appea'c,n dllferenl manleslations. Mutapta^ r rs Jnn an .6s.ed. 'n rna rranttesl.ondition, restde!in she thc urrverse constsl,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 Kundatini and in rnanifested aksaras(tetters). as The orderof creation, according Tantra, as iollows to is Mulaprakrti-Sak|,(resor|ng to S va) tMahat

Natureof TantricDoctrines

35

<he rs believed lo have exlsled belote crealior' As lhe Powe' ;anr'eslar o^ ol C,l,n Prakrti she rs cal'eoI^e Denoling in the lorm oJ Clt' she is also the Denoled (v;cakasakll. Eeing Pawet \v6cya'sakli) as Atman\slo be conceived Devi So Devi or Sakli is but S va in the Jorm ol mother'She is Amb ka ol a manifestalion and Lalita. Devi is beyondtorm,beyondqualily She As Parabrahmna, lorm she s conceivedln lhree {orms ln ihe lirst or supreme knowledge Her second body is sublle' belng is bevofd Her by consiltuted mantra,lhis aspect is beyond medilation it'ira tottt i" in" gross body which is easily comprehensible' fofms,e g Sarasvati' in Sakliexists dijlereni As lvahadeva, Laksmi, Durga, Annapurna'etc As Sati, Uma' Parvali'elc' hersel as she s ihe c;nsort of Siva.As Sali she maniiested Siva carrred her body she ier MahatvdyAs.When renounced dead body which Visnu cul into 51 pieces which fell at the whlch came lo be calledMahe'pitha'sthenas ditlerentpLaces is wlth her Bhairava, worshlpped At eachsuchp ace, Devialong Despiteher endlessiorms, in which she resides In tfe objects ol the universe,she is in realityone As the single m;on, reflectedin the waves, appears to be many' so lhe single Sakli has diverse manifestations. Sakli conslantly resort io Siva. She lirst maniiesled was hersell when lhe universeemerged.Belore this Saktr dormanl in Siva. conditlon ol The existenue ParamaSiva in an atlrlbuteless Agamas' lt ls oeyono is oenerallv called Sunya in Saiva coripreheniion.lt is also calledas it is beyondall detinrtions or kn0wleoge. Tanlra and Sekta works These iwo kinds ol works have many things In common or Devi The chlei dillerenceis that, in the Sakta works' Sakli But' in Tantras'Sakti may not s the higheslobieclol worship-

Ahamkara
(Vaikarika Sallvrka

t"i;""! o,.
Rajasika Ahamkara

r"illk"

beings Pancabhuta

S-.aft, is var ouslv catled Maya, Mahdmaya Dev,, pahnl elc. s ltoth Vdya aad Awdya. A< Avtdya \he LaL<eq .5hF o,ondaoe. and a< Vtdya she desl,oys rebr,lhs dnd gtvFs l r b e r d ' o r . S l e . s c a l l e d, 4 d ' S a k r , . h e p n n e v a t E.c.q;) as

36

Chapler.2

Narureoi TantricDoctrines Acdra These are var In Tantra, ous modesol saidhan:i recognised lo n ne accordlng offlers to are sevenaccording someTantras' modesare menlrone0l lhe lnlhe KuEmava lchap.ii), lollowing t) Vedace!a.| ) Va'navacera |t) SaNacata\''tl Da|sinacata \\l iamavarc tv ' SddhanhceG Nr) Kaulacara preceorng in Each succeedlng the list is higherlhan the ln oJ yedicara consists an abundance VedicriiuaLs lhe in one. gives Llpa blindfallh, and has lirm secondone, the Sddhaka iailh In lhe savrngpowerol Brahman li is lhe way of devoton ln lhe thirdone lhe devoleeenlersintothe way of knowledge 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 and acquirelitnesslor the worshipol the three viz Brahman. In Visnu and lvlahesvara. the lifth one lhe sidhaka Brahmanol 'rornpravrriir lo t,vrlli (cessatlor desire) Droceeds lacllvrly) shamo etc witl_wFich a ol delusron. in rt he cJls Ihp bondc to is oersonol pasubhava tled According lhe Patananda-sutra vemecAta\s ol two kinds' vz Madhyama1r io.o. 1'3. 13), io, are resorted and Ulfamain which *ni"r, a tt e iiue l''talaras M"&a drd \Aai'Jna ate teso.Ieo lo The v\ord on.y lvaoya. s'eo l'om DaAstna Va-a appa"nl'r n'ars lelf as drstingL yjmi (worran): ' D'lislndadtd So'ne ta\e ll as rohl, \o VJmaca,a,ac^o,ot^q them,mea's lhat acardwhiche'nphas5es essentialelemenlin sddhana The way to lhe woman as an got in this acara is compleledIn lhe alta nmenl oi Sivahood, now,wih lhe help ol lhe guru, teach Kailacara srxlh He can and in cond lion, he becomesliberated life (Jivanmukta) ln thLs lhe reaches siaieol Paramahamsa Brahman' withthe knowledgeol 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 is wlth lh; live Makaras knowr as Kulecata y'worsnip Genera Accordinglo rhe Mahenitvena(vii 97_98)'Kula is the soul, Prakrti space'time Akdsa' desrgnalion; lhe in,iividual

be l,ealed- rne h:grest o,v n,ry.-lhese .nay oe ds ^::::::, .Y agnoc',c Veda 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'y known 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, atya19,.as. P Kamd\Lya.Vasa,. Ba a. Nfatangr r a r a v a s t n t . e n u m b e rs 1 3 h The ils! in the Mundameb-hntratatles wrth lhal rn lhe -.. Cemunda-lanlraabove. beFnd,vided. some rantrac. y"n^"!Ov1t in e.g . ^,.-.r.:: .n"ve /v/.uld,d.(r6,8) Inrolwo groups_ thoseDeto^gtnglo KahAuta ano lnose betonging Sr \uJa r,d.n y o, lo l'::^_:T]_,"t,K"") La{sml rothe .ortre' belong Kati.Tara. Chinnamasta BhJvanes;dr. Mahrsarra.di^., Tr.pura, Tvar:la, Durga. Vidvaand pja,va-gr,as. ro rne a|,er.lreto-g Sundar..Bhairavr. (aiata Bara.Vagara. 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.

Doct nes ol Narure Tantrr(

39

earth. water, andwind. lire Thewayof life, whichone tooks by upona| lheseas Brahman, called ts Kubcera. .". ktsamgamd tK atikh andd, Chap, . 32) -..,j:-"1!i9 Upjsalas AU;a mears ]" ", lworshipDers) Katt.ltspKutatnav,a ol srarFs rhatKuk meansgatq. a^o that artses f.o,r Srvaand ra(r. A Tan is called Kaultkarr ne alows .rlar Moksa $ attained lrom that,i.e. Sivaand Sakr. Siva is ca|eaiiuli, K^r//d suggesreo orna,wor(s,e.s are ^ ...9:-11.-'ll_lir Lp LutuasamaB prelace. v riot lr^eSau,songan). p " tpalata 61. ta-a\nandd. sone Tanlrastf.ere lhreeMargas In are viz. Daksina,Vamaand L|ltara,each succeeotng rp-alhs,. one betng superior the preceding to one. Daksjna merga thatwhtch is ii declared the Veda, rn yrma is declaredn Smrtiand purana. theVeda, SmrtiandAgama. Ufiara wharrs dectared the rs by wordsol the Vedaand oI the Gurr.
In some lexts,Acjras are broadly divided Agharc,s lhe nane ot rne .Aghotaara Yoga. oy Agfo ns, a satva sect Guru1, Sisy+, Diksa!, Abhisekaa Tanlra belteves thdl one can fake lo sjdDana o-ty when ,, . '' lraledby lLe gu.rr The guru rnusl have cerratnquat.t w oecloerhe sL labir:ly a manttalot parttcJ,ar es. de ol a dtsctplF. . A Ie.n.ale guru is highly suiiabletone,s molher rs one,s best guru.Inrliation one,sfalheris torbidden. by The husbandis nol arowed Io initiatehis wlfe. conceptoi Dlks;iis Vedic.Vedicrnrltattof was a rnust .- _The F:gl-er castes.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, for beingGuru,mustbe calm,ol ltt unjmpeachable ^L-A c-drarter,versdi. SJst,a,lree i.on\ avaflce. trJthlul Buddr sl lanrras. llke lne Jhanastddht, rdenlrtylhe Gul, wilh the Euoona, and regard hrm as omn,scrent. In sone Ta^tras, warningagainsthypocritjcal Gurl?s has been sounded.

menlionfour c asses ol e.g. Ntrvanatantrc, SomeTantras, and qutu patanaguru patapatd'gLtru paQmcsthoutu<,\t2 , T3l Ooddess Sa\l' 's ir,,,, ncco orrg 'Parapara-guru, to lhe Ntlatanlra{V SLvaisParetuesthi-guru'one's preceplor is his Sore works/e g gu,t, aadou,Lt gutu s Pataot Patamagutu -Ntlatartta s gurrs inlo lrree classes vi2 !!.65. 66, drvrde (d! nebe ngs),Slddhalgha (sages)and Menavaugha Divyaugha to ll (humanberngs). appears dividegultrs.in anotherway rnlo iwo ctasses.vlz . TarAguru(V 64) a.ld Devaguru lv 71) Some also (e otherTanlras g., Syemairahasya) givethe aboveclassilcation aI gurus. ll ls slaied lhat the names ol male gurus should end in (e or ;nanda (e.g.,Brahmananda) r)zitha g , [.'latsyendranatha, in those of the lemale preceplors - amba' and Minanalha), Alter naming some gulus, lhe Nilalantracharacterises i to lhem as belonging Tarinikala, e , a lrneol g{rrusrmpanrnq 6a) Tatini-mantralV is The positon o! lhe grru amongthe TantricSddhakas so he s regardedas even superiorlo ones lather' exaitedlhat ciles the verse (1i 146) ol Manu' Ihe Nilatantra.lornstance, the pfeceplor,impartlngVedic inlllatronlo a which extois i1 obviously, substrlutes person,as superlorto the progenitor; in ThisTantra, anolhercontext Tanrrc dlksi for Vediciniliation. (giretol ma,lra) issupenor 1V.68) declareslhalthemanlrada Indian culiure does noi sel iathr \janakedadhika). to one's musl slore by the physicalbirth ol llesh and blood which is commonto loweranimals.ll lays greaterslresson inlellectua meregenerating as andspirluairegeneration morelmporlantthan 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 The position the Tenhc Gutu ts so rmporlant of lhat he is consrderpd capabteof appeasrng as even Srva,l ," u;;ry. bul thA'e s no nea-s Io pacifytne lnd.gnan, "" Gu,r,.As mantra was o6troved be erl.e.nelyDowey'Lt. to lhe p"rron *no g"u. I Came lo occupy an exalted postlion. paranandasutla jS-j6, (pp Sukas 56,63)ctearty , .Ihe sets ro_rrh,.nrfuncrron a Grruwno. amo,q ur-er Dra.trce! oi 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 n L d tr n e K U l a / n c r d , , t , , b J i, --, au acatawas a-oKthpl Mahantvana |v.42r nald rnat o-e Ltno nds stroreo lhe Vedab-.ul ignoranl Kuladharma, is ol is nteflorto a Candata.

Nalureol Tanlrc Doctines 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 in gellrngthe malas (impurilies) him removed The malas are - \l causes the rise oJ the narrow/Jvahood Siva, of Anava oi of its remova the realisation the identity Saktlrs not wllhoul possible. Buddhigala -by rcmoving il one acquires real knowledge i\ 's the cause ot Ahamkdra,tne 'ool ol Mdyiya ol the knowledge 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. xvii.36-38)holdsthal an fhe Saktisamgama dr,ikhanda, \f the latter,is lhe moon, parlicularly eclipse oi ihe sun or the ihe regarding week ii necessary best t me when consideralion The Jnarartava (quoted n ihe day. tilhi,naksatn, month,etc. Ninayasndhu p. 67) prelers lhe solar eclipse Srnrli-digest,

A:"l;;f"*"n,

awateot Kutadharma, supenor a is to

lo the Mah6nituena, itom Btahmanas a)|, 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:""'.

para rhe "ommentatoror suramakatpasutra.

has been exhaustivety ,,-Drksa6 (_own ldntras.e.q..prcpahcasaradeali with in some well tv.v,t,Kutarnava SS tt) la 5at,adat,tta^a. ,Palala4r. Jnananava tpalata 24t p!anabstnt 1 t ) . - M G n a r t r v aln a 1 1 2 - 1 1 9 ) . X. l t h a s b e e nO , s - J s s e o ,t1 e n ,4 u,AsapraA,)sika vrsnubha d, pt,prt ot ol satyan"noanathd. composedin Sakt j7j9 (j797 A.D.). Dlksd is generalty derivedrrom lhe root dd (to ^ ^11"-y9rd (to grve). and ks/ destroy). Thus, it rneanslhal rl conters on the drsctplea dtvineslale or knowledge, ano oestroyssins Diksb is ol two kinds, viz. - consisttng puja, homa oI and olher eriernat r.leahlrdiksa

:Chapter-2
The Yogini!anlra,quoted in the same worx, conoemns Dlksa on a lunar ecliDse, The conceptot Djkszj(initiation) not new in Tantra. is lt has . oeen an age-otd one havingprevailed sincevedic limes.In the Rgveda, lhe wotd djksd is used as the name oi the wife of Soma.In lhe Purdnas, rs the name ot the wile ot Budra it uora o RLdraVamadeva. the Mahabhetab.Har,vamss. In s1".,i61 wo'OOenoles any seriouspreparalton tor oa le). lr words (as rKe ,teha.otAsa, srngara-diksa,etc. diksi rneans seli.devo o'r lo a person or god, complete resignalionor restricllon to, exctuslveoccupation with. eic. ln the Vpdic sacra,nenlol lJpanayana, Inrt,alton lhe by 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. upanayana By one is born lor the secondtime;that is, alter receiving physcal bi-lF lrom th4 parents, a persor gets lhe second o rlr. . e., Inrelec'Laland sprritual b,rlh lrom lhe preceptor. Anateya Brehmana 3) clearty (i. br,.gs oJt thF tr<e1es! . .fhe or tne 'egeneralion a perconby updnayana ot wttFrhe brrlhot a chrtd lrom lhe embrvontcstaoe Ine same tdeaappearsto be at ihe root of lhe provisron or an ectipseas th6 most suitabletime lor Tanlric dlksa. Jn an eclrpse, sUnor moonrSSupposed die to be born the to again. The regeneration a T;intricinittateis also indrcaled of by a new narne given to him by the Galu. ll is inleresting note that some tflbes,both in lndla to and some other counlries,perpelualing primilivecustoms,fegard In|t|alron essenlialin cerlain malters.For instance, as among sorne libes ol Central India,one, who has nol observed th; pube(y fltes,ts subiecled sociatostracismr,. Fiji,youlhs, to tn who do not undergocircurnclsion, are debarred trom manv socialprivtleges,3. Socialopprobrium tabooesare attache; and lo the uninitialed membersol some Cenlratand Soulh-East Auslralianlribesi4.In some primitivesecrel socrel|es, wlh lrbal chiefs at the head, initialion pa(icularly jnlo lrbai Denavrour, customs and sex-life, regarded inclispensable,5. is as

Natureol TantricDoclrines The BuddhistsTantra,enlilled Guhya-sam'ja' tminds one it .t lhe aforeasaid secrel socielies. In this conneclion, initialion ol general principles Buddhist ;eselves nolicethatthe lribal by ,re fe euea lo have been influenced the systemof nilialron' lnit ation ol a special type is called abhiseka. Abhisekas slages in to oi drllerenlkindsate applicable disciples ditlerent (ii) Pitnebhiseka, ot spiritual lile. These arc \i) S1ktebhiseka' lv) ,, ji K'amadiksabhtseka. (iv) Sdmdiyabh6eka YogadtksabhEeka lv l) MahasamraDabhtseKa \\i) Pranacliksa bhiseka l\iiiJ Mahap una' diksebhiseka. Abhlsekaconsists The lirst lwo are lhe mosi important. manlras while recrling on the neophyte holy waler n sprinkling deilies,especiallytor warding oll evil ro Dropliate dilferent one has to undergosevereoroeals; For Purrabhlseka, spirits, divinityon the devolee t rs beiievedto confer Mudre, Mandala, Yantn, NYAsa ilem in Tanlric Mandalas ot diagtams are an indaspensable teaturein some orthodox ll also becamean essential worsho. ca rites and ritualsBrahman (xxiv.8-10,xxvi. 15-17) holds thal Manclala Ihe JfrAnernava 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. Tantrasattachgreai imporlance Both Hinduand Buddhist \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 the lime ol the Bengal king Rimapdla of (111h-12th cent-) describeslwenty'six Mandalas,each in a separate chapter, Some of lhe Mahadalas are SaNatobhadrc' Caturlingatobhadra, P rese -vestu mandala,Grhav6stu-nandala, H ai hara' da

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 involving pancama, 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 lr gener.lly means poses o ne nano or _Sddhalia. r_ger esotenc rneaningsot lhe woro nave oeFn s.aled rn connex/on with Paficatattva.IheKubrnava (xvll.S7) derrves the word irom rool mud (to give delignt,pleasurelanO.dravay' (causalrve or.dru), and says thal ii s so called as il grves oerrghlto gods, and rneJt iheir 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 veslhe wordas mudam der rati daddti \that which g'ves detight). a greardivergence amongthe Tantrasregarding ."^ Il-.-r:'. number rne names, and deltnilion MudrAs.fheTbntricTexti ol (l p.46{) containalislol f,4udres wtthnames and delrnritons. l r _ , s l d t e d. n a rA v d D r na n d e t g h o l h e r s r e r n en r - e j t a coTnon tvtuot.as lhen nrneteen Muorrasespectally suttdbp 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 sevenfor lhal Lranesaare rnenlionedThe i/tudramghantu alsa, a.res ano oF'lnes nlne Mudrcs r'cludT,g Avahant. Then ,l , are<, 19 tutuotas.be Natadatanlra, I 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 3j _47,S1-56, (iv. XV.46_68) nrenlrons over lhl.fv Mudras TtseJayakhya-samhla {palala8) ncnrrons Il'IV elgnl. lhe ViSnusa4jhtla 45) says lhat lv A,lt tJtas ate lnn!meraoe, I namesan.r,jefinesaboltthirly.The Kamakalavjtasa

Nalureoi Tanlrc Doclrines

-.. Son" olre, noledTanlras. wilh IVLdrdt oedr'ng " "nr,on" " KaulavatLntnaVavii5'14\' KuE'nava (xv 90_931 e -.; 1Y177) MahenirvAna ' fhe nne Mudras,describedin the Saftdatilaka'r ate 1 2
l.

relers(verses46, 47) to nine Mudrasfhe Nlyesodesika

AvehanA-

I a 6

the Foldingboth hands in a hollow Lllrng hollowlullY with llowers Sthepani Same as lhe above,bul the lolded hands are held upsldedown -fwo handsformedinto a closed||sl, Sannidhepana and joined togetherwith only lhe lhumbs raLseo up. - Same as lhe above with lhe lhumbs Sannipdhani closed inside lhe list 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 lhe inlertwining lormerw lh the ring_irnger, the lelt ring-linger, left smalllingef,as it s, wllh the right I ng-linger, to be inlertwined the left linger to be passed over the ell midde fingerand the lefl thumb' and lo be r ned withthe righthandmiddlefinge intertw right side ol the leli index broughtto lhe lingerand ihe righthand indexlingerlo be joined with lhe leil hand middle lrnger' the Mahemudre Inierlwining lhumbs ol both hands holdingthe other lingers slrarghl and

Natureol TantricDoctrines

47

ssn2(Deccan College No.29.jor t887 l\4S. ^. .Ihe,Mud.rata4 9r )ieats wrthMud.zis appropnate ile worshrD V.snuand for ot

j. I g.

j!-':;':;':::'#r:::i1;ff JH::,l-,:JI#1':'l;:11# i.:

H:fr e,s.. *"-s.^*"olia-*.Jii,i"t"1l*l'j,, ; :i:J: s" ilEi:;;:: ri: I!i.i!,,!i!t',: * :i,T;!' emproyed: l:i:"';:
descnbe (chap. vanous ri) poses rr,g s,

Bighthandraisedto lhe chestand slighlly conskicled. - (Of refuge prolection). or Sarana - (PoseoJ higheslperfeclion) lJttarcbodhini

Tarka

y:i,1'f" i' i:-ifi!!i'ii!1il1"tr1#:n ;:ixx::t:

(c. 4lh, cent. A,D. accordjnglo somej is the eart:eslexlanl

Dossesslon alll Unmddinilcausingiunacy;. to

;:il:,:fJ:

ffji".

*!:iTi,i\:f :]zlli:;,i:I;i:"##*::'#':"1","i:Tii
srghtty ditfer lrom Waddells descnptroi: 1. 2. 3.

:il:J,:'.":'J,i:; ;"fi :#isy:-,!:.:jT!il":r::#13ffi

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 (postureof comemptatlon). VaG or Vatada,2 Right hand hanging down over lhe Knee,the paln turnedoutwardsyrrboltstng cnafllv, Lalila - (Enchanting).

4. 5.

6.

that not an accidental coincidence both It is, perhaps, MudrisTantras meniionninecommon Hinduand Buddhist 'lhe _unbe' rs nrnein bolh.thoughlheir namesvary to ln some cases,lhe term mudd appears meanYogrc One are Two posture the body- suchmudfas verylmportanl. of in Thesehavebeendescribed is Khecariand ihe otheryonl. G ossary. on They had lwo works23 the lhe Jainasalso had Mudriisdesctibing73Mudas and Mudravidht subjecl.calledMudrevicera d e s c r b i n1 1 4 . g yarlE is another itemin Tantric Sometimes rite. essential drawnor alsa calledCakra,it is diagramor figure engraved, paper other materials.The difference painled metal, or on stone, n the applicalional Mandalaand Yantrais that, while the oi the in iormermaybe employed lhe worship anydeity, latter deilyor employed lor of s appropriate theworship a parlicular purpose. Ior a particular fhe KulArnava detives Yantrafrom lhe root ol yantt. At place, slates as thatyartrais so called it savesthe anolher r1 Dealhand goblins other and from or worshrpper Yama Godof yattra is so called it removes as Again, saysthal it dangers. yanlranas painsatisingfrom suchfaulls as loveand anger. ot or ThisTantra states(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 the wasdesigned facililate concentralionlhe mind.yanlra to ihe body ol lhe deity. s regardedas which Tantraq are The following sone ol lhe well-known yanlras. deal with

NatufeoJTantricDoctrnes Prapafrcaserc (patalas 21, 34), Sarcda hka Nii. 53-56. XXIV\, Kdmak'lavitesa 1VV.22.. 29, 30, 33), Nityasoclas e,i,ava 26. ll. 31-43), Nttyalsava Tan!Hrcp-tantra |p.p.6.64-65), \|.44.51 viil. 30,f. xxxiii),Abhlbudhnya \Chaps. 23-26),Man!@mahodadhi (20th Taranga), Kautajnana,nhnaya \XJ, KaulavaliDirnavaliii. 105-135).Meru(Prakas 33), Mantra-maharnava a (Ultarakhanda. Ta.arga I). I Yantra, drawnon cloth,leal, stone,melal,etc., is a svmboi or geomet'icalligure representtng oetty.It ts conceivedas a lhe body or abode ol a deity_ some cases, il is taken to In represenlmentailaculliesorpure consciOusness, microcosm and ol lhe human bodv. Someyanlrasare prescribed malevoleni purposes. for For example, lhe Seraddtilaka (vii. 58-59) prescflDes an Aqneva_ yanlra lo be drawn on a garment gatheredlro,n a p,;e ,n a cemetery and buriednearthe houseofhis enemvtor lhe laiter,s destrucllon. Two yantas tot lhe destrucnon ihe enemy are ot described (xxiv. 17-18, 19-21). The p G pa hacas era ]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 the ofigrnat ot creal,ve e-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' lhal are acquired in a righleousway are in it. lhe ric-hes prolection is placedwith personswherebyall-round deoosiied, limbs wrth noi- So uu t'" rilual touch oi lhe chest and other with it. r"o"irlp. and lhe palm of the rghi-hand along mrdsloi bad in can acl fearlessly the -ant.ai. tne worstripper people and becomes like a god fhe layekhya'samhttA \Palala l a x. 1 3) aso expresses slmllaroea Nyisa rs an imporlanlparl of Tantricriies ll means lne body rnysti;a sanclilcationof the severalparts or limbsol the Tanlras: It has been dealt wi1h,inter atia in the tolLowing (vl) Kuta'nava Java| hva'samhla \Palala xl\ ' PGpahcasan tll Mahanttvena ''l (|v,29-a1 V 5'Tt tN 181h.SaGdautdka s ttx 2) K64ananda TantBsa'a rua'tanlQ 43.V 1 3 1'8, Gandha o P 93, fa^Gn an.3. TarrsaktrcudhanavaV 169 Puuscarvatra'a Nyasasate Hamsanyasa' xii.p. 1166.Someol lhe well-known Pranavanyasa,Matrkanyasa,Manlanyasa' Kannyasa Anganyasa by p'tn"iru""u.Each of ihese is accompanied a manlra Fal has to rc'ile lhe mantra om examie, in Anganyasa, one h,Clayayanamah am Strasc svaha elc Kelt' Six kinds ol Nyesas are applied in regard 1o VidyAs as according I is is two_lold Tzire,elc. ln Metkenyesa,which are 10 be or antah (inlernal) bahih The Sakti letters(Matlkas) rectum(84a) e"i"rnrty te t on tl" f'ead IBSI),lacelchandas)' leqs (Saktr)the enlire body (Kilaka) the specities limbson which the MahAniNena|V176'178) lettersol lhe alphabet This is there should be Nydsa ol the lV or"""riU"O a"o in lhe Serad6tilaka 58l' Reghavabhana's quolesverseslaying iommeniaryon v +ol ol the same work

D N a l u r eo l T a n l f r c o c t r i n e s

51

down how each leter is to be meditaled upon. Woodrof,e '-e Unrslra::,:,:,i!": ",Tante. Oractice ma^,nglhe s g- or tFe cross. oi SAVA.SADHANAA Some Tantras prescribe Saya sadhana The Kaulavalintrnaya\nv.75-260), Tzirjbhakii,sudhdrnava pp. (x. S45 ff.)

pp.LxxrLxxvrl) corroaresNyasa w\n

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 : in O Daksina prescribed the Veda,Smrti and Purana declaredin Agamas. lt is so cailed elher (ii) Vama rolein il or because p women(yAmzi) ay an importanl because secretly ll is ol two krnds vrz It s a crookedway practised 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 Saiva six Kutanava lii.7-8) rnentions paths,viz., Vaisnava' is higher Daksna, Vama, Siddhenla, Kaula: each succeeding one, than the precedrng 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 holds(p. 9, sul/as3_8)thalit consists Perenanda examp\e,lhe A worshipped. person,who is liberated the n visualising deity or by Kaman, merilorious sintul. n lile, is nol atlecled 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 (remembering), (reciting names), smarana kirlana savana (heating), padasevanad (shamposing ieet) arcana (worship)' vanda,a the

Z'^o^^:._!-ii::":--":/ benqa ianlras l\e Tanlraseato Krsna.anda desc,tbes,1. fhe Kautavelidescribesit as lo/lows :

(vr. rs.28) erc.. oa, w l I Ar.rone

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. ] uuree ra^santsvJ/ri. lf lhe devoteers not scareO oy 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 . described lollows. as The Devrts represenreo a lanlla.There In 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 companton thal ntght by ,ol. lor Le., oy raxrnq a tadys bodtce out oJ lhose contdrnedin the receplacle. Thus,promjscuous sexualinter_course a owed was tn a Cakra_ lr ,s ordained te.g . Kutatnava,x,. 79. 84. B5J Inal the . actvrt es rr a Ca*ra rnuslneverbe disclosed: these shouldbe tike rhe pregnancyot one.s morher caused by l::'-:,::"*t ner paramour

oi Nalure 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. p,ov.oesmanana tot lt stavana, onyanatot sakhya lt may be notedIhal the lanlra tedveg our rnp worOVrsnu. me'll:oned the Bhagayaia rhrsconnexroIn In Ihp PaGnandasutfa {pp. 6-;. Sut/as 35. 38. 59J dccords .,,? h,ghesr posirronamong the mears ro rhF goat. n ::.1:r_,:a 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,nq lhe Jn.queFarr.rony to and Jno, -.ly and tenininrry. or rnascut ot btunllrJl.r dno symbotrc truth or rnrelecl and humanrly. lt represents r.rnion l\,4ate Femajeprinciptei the oi and rt is ..'"e_no. dua' 5la e of lhe lnny al SLthyata Kaldnaaccorotnq and lo Buddhrst Tanlra,6 ln hlsrbook. enlttledYuganadha. GLe-tFer o, lhe basrsol ^ EUOOn,St lanl'as, t.|es to show .nat Buddh,st Tantflkd! ,oo( upon a life as a whole. They do nol advocate excessive p":: 1or do rheyreac'rrejecr or o, escape on 9* ;,::'s:1.:.1 requtrecomplete.econcrt,arron lFe fdcls to ol rre. | -e cexudtasoecl, foJ-d In Tanlras. a corectir'eaga,ns, ts inle ecluatismand ralionatism philoiophy oi l:: :ne-srded wnrcnrs not capabte lacklinglhe probtems ol or oay,lo-day tite. Number ot Tantas There_isno consensusabout the number and names oi _lanlras. Accordjng 10 the Nityt4sodasikamava \.22), lhe nJnber rLnslo .rtlliors. The orthooors!t-o d,s gtver.F n-noe. In somF Tdntras. lhe rJmber is 64 As we n a v es r a t e d , n c o n r e x t o n , l h t h e w c,asstltcattot Td-lraq, n eacn ol the lhree geographical divjsions, cajled Fathakranla,

53

r d h a v eo r o dl c e d6 4 V : - r . d l d a _ dA s v a ( r a n l a sb e l i e v e I o -e Yamala class are usuallv'eqarde'' as Tanr.as fant a: a' sources erghl i 'umDcr. the names drller In drllete'l

Accordlngb the SammohaTantra'Cina has 100 ma and has ones,Dravida 20 principal Tantrasand 7 subsidiary has 60 chiel works and 5O0 23 secondarYworks.Kerela ones Accordlngto the Nihsvasalattva'samhtta,lne sLrbsldiarY tlral a A g a m a s r e 1 8 in number.The l\leru'ta ntra lells (i 2l ) us Tantras Siva composed108 lhe VaemtantQ menllons54 Tanlras ol Agamas SouthIndianumber28; lhere s fhe Siddhanla their numberand exlent tegarding oi drlierence opinion The numberal PancarataAgamasis generallyslated to be 108. Their number is actuallyovef 200 The number ol ValsnavaTantras is 25, according lo the Agnipurana fhe (1_7) includlng Tantras numerous enumerates Kautavah-ninaya Yamalas \2'14). lrrere li Accordng to the Tantrcloka lB) ol Abhinavagupta, qroups oi le;1,eighteenand sixlyjour Saiva Tantras are Sikla Secl d general view

ol The worshippers Saktias lhe FemaleEnergyare ca e0 has been conceivedin dilierenttorms,ol whrch Sdkias.Sakti is Kali'?s lhe commonest The other well known lorms are Kaimesvari. Lohita,Sodasrk:i, Tripurzi, Sakla worksand Tanlrahave manythingsin common The is diflerence that while,in lhe lormerSaktior Devr lundamental in as lhe highestdivinlly, lhe latterthe w0rshrp s worshrpped Vedantc or to Devi Tantra may be agnostic, is not conlined approach in ils phiiosophical Samkhyaite 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,os Tanr,rcrotrgror. or :"^1gr--il9 I g-I 5aktd Kset.dsare mentroned Bathabparya in 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.vpd as '-e Fne gy o' qods alo nol as a seDerdte L,edttveo. rc.p.e. A.V. v. 47.4 (Catuea im bjbharti. erc.) ls rnierpretedas relerring the S.ikta doctrines. lo But thrs rnlerpretation not is acceptabte a . to Some Upanisads menliorlSaktj,Forexampie, Svelasvatara the says lhat the Brahmavadins had a vrstonol Sakti as nol diilerentfrom cod. lt holds(vi. B) thai Branman possesses the h gtsesl,Sakll wLrcn,s r.ea.d Syabha,h; na nabd vr,ou(ty v t ta^nva :: "oo"d V Xane pornrso r, thdl Upan,5s6', 1,^" noted below,which ll condemned. is statedthat ihe S:istras, by were propogaled Devi n are opposedto Veda and Smrti, people,and were based on gnoranc order lo coniirsethe Y;jmala,Vina, 3/rrhata These Sastrasarc Kepeb, Bhairava 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 The Kalivlasa'lanlta 20'21) sexualunion. \x allowincestuous i licit sexua relationlo a Sakta pfovidedhe does not allovls o c o n t n u e u p t o t h e e m i s s i o n f s e m e n ;l h u s h e c a n h a v e powers. over supernatural mastery declareslhai the pr nc pa LrkeTantraagain Saktasastra oi a Sakta should be 10 realise his identty wilh Yantra, ainr Mantra, Guru and Devi. one,are indeedSakliof the wor d. You You,lhe omnipotent You sport in the web ol de rs on are lhe cause of everthing. creaied by you, as an actor in the dramaticrepresentatron createdby himself. is A popularSAktasupersiilion thatjackals(Slv;) are Sakli to ncarnatei offerings iood to lhem are supposed be highly ol 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. in Siklism developed Eengaltoa greatextent.In the Sakta Taftras of th s regionthe main idea is lhai Sakli s the pivot round which Sakta philosophy revoves. She ls both manifest (yyakla) and unmalnfesllAvyakla).Evetyihingtrom the principle al f,4ahat to ihe m nulesl atom is her creaton, Creatures up wh are.r nafiow manlieslation Sakli by worshipping ch they of 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.

and rr l:r'rl1 li?wreqse _st,ensrh actron, rhr|onno).ron rhal p

;:I

:;,:;:ffili'::fl

IiJ"

'abr'cared ie sdkrds p ove bv ro rhe

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 ot greaier happrness and 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 Ona ol I ,s 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 ^, powters a r ^The-V-ed.jnta might have suggestedthe uniiy and o.nipo;;;; rs intresting nole that, jn lhe Kurma to .lt \1.12.261-262J, certatn Sislras, including cerlain classes oj Tantra, are

Nalureol TantricDoctrines It should not be supposed thal the worship of Female Energywas an isolated phenomenon Indraor an absolutely in novel conception Tantra. in Researches into the socralcond lions arnonglhe primitve people,rnc lding the lribes of lndia, revealthe domrnalion of temaies3r. This appearsto be projected rnlothe conceplionol the superior ot MoiherGoddess.In manyprimitrve ty societies. lhe pflestess regarded superior the priesl.Amongsucf is as to people,descenlis kaced throughthe mother,and lhe r ght to propertydevolved throughher. In the religion lhe Semitesof oid, the superiority the of ol motherwas recognised. Frazerlhinks3, that, in ancientlimes, rl was widespread throughout Asia Minor.He poinls out:3that rne anc ent systemoi mothersuperiorrty lingeredon n Egypt down lo lhe Roman limes (4th,Sthcentury). Brifiaull is, perhaps, fight34 thinktng rhat, wrh the tn progressol agriculture, the matriarchal slatus ot women as ownersand heiresses cultivabJe of landsand alsoas prieslesses lunclroning magic rites lor securingfertiliiy, in was bolstered up, Thoinpson thinksthat,in the hunting stage,whitemenwere engagedin kilhngbeastsand birds,the comparalivety solter, 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. thinksthat,wilh He garden'lillage replaced tield cultivation by and ihe hoe by the catlle'dnven plough, the work oi agriculturebecame the exclusive work 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. such, il is but natLrral As lhal wonrenprayeoa vrlal role in them. With the growlh of large,scaleinduslries perhaps,look lhe eadingpalt in industrres. in the lields, As so n the lactoriesrhey tiguredwithoultheir temale partners and associates or w th lhem playingonly the roleof assistants we In anothercontext, havedisc!ssedthe wide prevalence cu t 01 lvother Goddess in various counlries. ol the revealfemale In India,the relicsol IndusValleyCivilisation which, perhaps,testily lo the idea ot Sakli as the Iigurines SupremeDeity. as In the Simkhya philosophy, we shall see, Prakrti,the Thus, she is She is Pradhdra. e principle, all-imporlanl; fema temalein the natriarchal to aoDears be a retlexol the dominant The dominalion oJ temales is undoubted in lhe Slri-rAlyas tlourished Suchkingdoms (women kingdoms) ancientIndia. in s of and borders Indla. ma n y in the north-eastern north-western lo iollowed by Arrain and other, refer36 lhe female l\,ieqasthenes, rulersol the Pindya country in the soulh.Tracesof mother' superiorityare still Jound in the region concerned.Such a regionis referred by Hiuen to countryIn the Kumaon'Grahwal Tsang3' (7th cent. A. D. ). in the Garuda Prr.jna (ch. lV) and ta B hana's (11lh-l2th cenl.J Viktamdnkadevaca \xviii.57). The Chinesepilgrim-traveller also records36 Slri-rajyanear a Lingala n modern Baluchistan. Varihamihira(5th'6th cenl. xiv.22) as located A D.) appearslo reler lo it. (Brhatsamhita, in n norlh-western India. Woman'srule prevailed lhe Nu-wang tribe oi Tiber3,. V:itsydyana speaks oJ Sfrilalyas among ihe Vahlikas'o. (Vlll. 45.13),there is the pracliceol l^ lhe Mahabharata a man's inheritlng the propertyol his maternaluncle. Bes des ierary relerencesto malriarchyand the superionly ol lemales,we Jind the survivalof lhis system among some peop e. particularly lribes,even loday.Among such tribes, lhe the prominenlare the Khasisof Meghalaya and the Garos'r. Among the lormer,lhe priest (Lyngdoh) acts as lhe agenl oi

58

Chapler-2

Natureol TantricDocirines

59

Among the Ndydrs,the joint family(lalwad)is conslituled by a woman and her daughters. woman is allowedlo have A more husbands lhan onelr. Inherlancelhroughthe motheris widelyrn voguein South India" and MadhyaPradesh"5. are matrilocat So marrage and Tesrdence. Ehrenlels ol lhe opinionthai femaledorninatron Indran is in socielywas widerand deeperthan in any other countryot the world. According him, this systemreceiveda jon, and was 10 overthrown through instliutions hypergarny, lhe oi childmarlage and Sa, (burningoi widows).The system was, however.so deep-rooled that, despite the above unlavourabte taclors, I survrvedamong the aborigines and also some peopleof the civrlisedsociely, as shown above46. The greal imporlance altachedlo womenin Tanlra, reminds one ol lhe abovesyslem. The cult ol vfigingoddessis, perhaps, the resuI oi fernale superiority. worshipof Kanyjkumiri in lhe extremeSoulh The ol lndia, whose shrine ts mentioned the perplus, and the in provs on ol Kumeri"pijein Tantricrites are remjniscenl the oi pracliceot looktngupon women as powerlul. It may be addedlhai the A.yansof hoaryantiqurly appear lo have altachedgrealer impodanceto women lhan lo men. ll we go deep into lhe slgnificance the words ptt6 ard meb. ol lhe desrgnalions lhe iwo principal personsin the lamity, ot 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 (palanat pila)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 brolher,in-taw sister-rn-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.

A I lhese atiitudesseem lo testilyto lhe lradition female ot superiorly n the lhen society. in Sikia philosophy, courseol time, developed subtleties, became complex. The basic elementsof lhis philosophy and 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 Advaita(non-dualislic), He is coupledwith inherent 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 underlies creation.Sakli s the manilestatron Sivaas the raysare ol lhe sun,the burning ol power o{ tire and lhe eflulgenceot a jewel. The iniernal parinema ol Sakli consists in Sadisiva, parlndma svara,Vidya,el.. Ftom Meye,(illusion) external the 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-deha the basis ol which is Prakrti.Thus, everything, from Sivalo Jiva or createdbeingsis dependent Sakti.The on manilestalion Sakti is somelimesdorraant, oi 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 attachment and fate and full ot suffering. Sekb-sedhane aims at the redemplion al Jiva hom the clulchesoJ sulJering and eslablishing him in everlasting rss and consciousness. b In order to reach lhis goal, the characterislics the body ol ol Jtva have been analysed.lt is a microcosmwilh a tegion

60

Chapier-2

Natureol TantricDoctrines

61

ol vernsand arlerieswhich go Onacling,and the internal vital breath continuesto blow incessanlly. There are, withtn the Dody,stx lotus-like Cakr'as and 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 gradually penelrates the Cakras,and linallyreaches the Sahasrara whereshe is unitedwilh Siva resutting pertect in inexpressible bliss, the enjoymentof which is Ihe summum Bonum ol Ihe aspirant's devotionai life. Szikla philosophy advocales parinema-veda according lo which the unmanilest Sakti 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, world is unconseioLls the ll!sion. The illusion created by Brahman, who is the conscious principle,is false and devoid of consciousness. According Tantric philosophy, to however, power.MbyA, the 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 manifesiation objects by the consciousprrnciple ol which itself remainsunaitected_ fhis SAdhaneis rntimately connectedwith ihe Iaftvas by crossingor oblleratingwhichthe asp rant is eslabtished the in 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 requires the aspirantioact n lhe

' , l a l l yh e r e s l sw l l f ' t l ' ek n o w l e d g o f e ptes Ioponcnne a_d, In rhe Inlroduclion nor dLahly oJ Srva and Saklr. As stated of dependng on the nalure and capability the aspirant,lhere are seven modes (ac;ira).Ol lhe aspiranis,one wilh Divyabhava (jtzinayogin)For his is ihe besl. He is a voiaryol knowledge, image,nor of exlernalriles. SAdhane,Ihetes no need oi an Absorbedin Anlatyega,he medilatesupon Mother Goddess is whose maniiestation the eniire warld, Pancamakara in i1 gross substances,bul has a spirlual does not mean the The srgniiicance, has been indicatedin the iniroduction. As such an aspiranl has been declaredas lhe best atlillrdeoi 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 resortsto the six Tantricacls ol arses, the personconcerned M4rana, Uccalana. elc. Such a Sedhane, as the name Vira suggests,betits one who is, indeed,a Via, slrong,learless, self-conlro led, activatedby the inculcatron the power of oJ The worship oi Tripura,Tripuresundari Mah;jiripura' or (Suprcme sLrndar, who is identified Pare-samvit wilh Consciousness) 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,consisling marlla, is comprehended the in by ears and speech oi the holy persons.The third lorm is comprehended lhe mind ol holy devolees. by The first and the third are sarupa and arupa respectivey. The second one partaking oJ lhe nature ol bolh is nol y. considered separale

Chapter2 In lhe externalworship,dirlerent svmbolsol 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 vrlementaliiy use 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, encouraging as levity. lecherousness and debauchery. reality, In however, Sakt/-sadhana aims at the elevatron man lrom animaltty a spiritualheightthrough ol to; the reslrarned enioymenl worldlypteasures of and nol by therr ascetrc den'al.l(espectiveol casteor colour,everybody, male or lemale,can take to ii lo appeasehrsor her spiritual hunger. while living a worldly life and nol renouncingit. ll synlhess all modes ot approach, and aims al the singte object of realrsrng non-dualism that there is no scope ior communal so drscordor disharmony and narrowness. There are pillallsin this Sadhar.i. But one who, resorting 10a true guru,slrivesunwaveringly lhe goa , can enloylhe for blissand the wealthot detachmenl securingwhich one can by do good to olher people. This topic may be concluded with a quolaton ot Sr Arabrndo's conception Sakti,as expressed this cetebrated oi in 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 the lranscendenl of I\,4olher. Eachis somethrng that she has been in her vision,galheredinto her hearl ot beauly and powe. and caealedin her. Ananda. Science in Tantraae [/any thrnkthat Tantras are merelyspeculative works,But, a carelulsludy ol Tankasreveals lhal some scientilic elements are lhere. Some s/Udhis (powers)includeseeing and hearing lron atar, medicalttealmenltrom a greatdistance; these are

NatLrreol Tanlr c Doctrines

throughsedhane ll seems ihal these statedlo be attainable Dy now_a-days what can be achieved actomplish could s,ddhls radio telelhetapy elc' oi lelevLsion, means The Buddhas, colour. each deily has a particular ln Tantra. some co our as are represented havrng Dhyanaposture, n lhe Tanlraadvocaleslrle ln regardlo creation'Buddhisl or olher theoty ol nihilism(sinyaveda\ Ftom lhis lacl as well as lrom were lhelr knowedge ol colourssome think lhai Tantra_wrrlers slate ol ol the ighl and its diflusionin the primordial aware a the rnaler woro. What ls called cosmic ray was nol, perhaps,unknownlo by basis ol Kundaliniisrecognised some ihem The scientilic process of Tanlras. e.g., Matkebheda Tantra, lay down a ash rnercury preparlng ol To med cal sciencethe contribuiion Tantraappearslo lhe humanbody' lo According Tantra' havebeen considerable. ihe m crocosm, s all importanlTo keep il tit nol only varlous ior asaras were dev sed. Variousdrugs were also discovered for cur ng diseases, preservat oi youthand vir lrty Medicines on poisonswere also invenleo reluvenalion and counleracling The TanlrlcFasa schoolof alchemyplayeda greal role In the soc e1Y. The very namesof ihe eightprincipadiv sionsol Ayurveda, \te Salyatantra.SatakyalanlG,Kaya'cikitsalantra Bhulavidya' Ianta. Kumarabhtlya-tantta,Agada'IantG' vaii'karanalanlra appearlo hini at their Tantricorrgrn Rasayana-anlra, y Thesemean respeclive healingol woundsand dlseases ointmenlsand drugs;healing cf ower lmbs ihroughsurgery, of of oJwoundsand drseases upperlimbs;healing exlernaland general nature; dealing wiih mental nterna diseases ol a lox ol diseases; dealingwilh diseases chlldren; cology;prescnplon preparatons of 1lrr elc,;science chemlcal enchancing sexua vigou( purposes. Iof medicines and other Some texts, dealing wilh Hasayana slill survive whre othersare known only trom relerences

Natureof Tantic Ooclrnes

A type of Tantric keatmenl,calledAvadhautika-clk/tsa. siitl survives some pafts of Indja. in Causes ol Composition ot Tantrasso Several factorslead to the composition Tanlras. of The Vedas, lollowed otherworks,weretoo learned the oeoole by tor at large. orthodox The philosophical systems were abstruse too ior ihern. The ritualistic worksprescribed and fituals rites too eraborale and requiring rigorous discipline and meliculous aitentron delails. to The Smrtiworksdenied the riohtio the oerfo..nance importanl .ites ot religrous lo Sidrasandwomen. The Buddhists advocaled ascelicism. Brahman works The cal laughlrenuncjalion the highest as idealjn liie. Thus,r,1e needwas gradually lor easierwor^ctaying telt . oowr 0octflnes more ;ntelligiblecommon peope, p.escribtng lo lesscomplicated practices giving and freedom religio!s of ritea to Sidras and women The result was lhe composilion Tantras. of worksholdthatthe praclices precepts, and taughl .These a lhe Veda.are loo drtftcult our age.Instead rigoro-us for of ascercrsm renuncialion, Tanlras anO lhe allowpaop,e Iollow to lheirnaturalpropensilies drinking like wine,enjoyrng women, etc Mukrl{salvation) possible is through bhu&1, rentoynenrJ While serl-morl ltcation advocaled lhe o,thodoy was by Saslraq, lheTantras stress the preservation the bodyandthe laild on of marntenance health. fact,the bodywas regarded a ot ln as mrcrocosm; ts not in the bodyis not in the universe, what The body is the bestmeansol sadhaDa. Tantraholdsthat the body contains highest lhe powerwhichcan makeone capabte; conlrolling universal the energy. Literary Value ol Tantra Tanka is partly philosophical, y ritualistic. we par So, cannot expect much literary value it. But,it must admiiled in be thatTantra supplied somethemes lalerwriters oniy in to not

Sanskrit,but also in vernacularlrleralures. and in lhe deprction ln the analyss ol humanpsychology humanbeings,deludedby wrong ideasand oi ol the conditlon subjectedto sulferng ol various klnds, Tantra exciies our admiratlcnand pity. the Sakbnanda'tarcnglni (l) of Brahm:inanda of Bengal ot conditlon humanbeings lhe bea!lifullyexpresses miserable to worldlyobiectsand consumed sullerng from s n, atiachment 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' buiterin the torm of the oblectsol sense by \ryetied the clarified by the iire oi ailachmeniand animosity and cooked No less atlraciiveirom the literarypolnt ol vlew are the h nl, conlained in Tanlra, at mystic praciices based on tne o{ biologicalrelationship 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 Adbhula(rnarvellous). have dealt with Tantricelemenlsin in literature a separatechapter. Poetic beauty flashes ai some places of the Taintra of the descriplion the six Cakrasllke For example, literature. ioiusesof varyingcoloursand varyingnumberof petals Some mudras ard mandalas arc arlistic both in conceptlon ano on. descript SomeT;intricscholarsappearto have had poetc and oJ abilityol no mean order in their description Kundalini 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. fo owingdescriptrcn The aI Susumna ca s up a vrvid imagery. i _vtdyunmela-vilAsa m unima nas las anantu rupa sus i ksma ltLea gaaand lor a sor as) or ,g-l- ^qs r. .s r-l r.R-esole.de-ts d g e e x t r e m e t y s r F n o e . r , \ e a s n , n , n g i f e'l., do'tr e ,."o The lottowrng descript ol Kundatjni a prece ot frne on s poerry: tasyarddh e wsa_t nl u sodara -lasa suksma a I Fganmoh jnj brahma-dva ra-mukhammukhenamaonuram sacchadayantL Sankhavart anibha navina-capalamata jlasaspada _v supta sarpasama sivapari lasat-sardha-trivrttakrtih // kulanli kulakundatinica madhuram ma atj-sphutam vacan komata-kavya -bandha-racana bhedalt bheda-k ramah sa nuhmDuta_qahvare wlapatt proddama diptava i 1/ Satcakra_nirupana. 1 12. 1 A D o J e t . r h e e n c F a n t eo t t n e w o r , o , n r n , n g i r s 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 ,(a race, tres asteep,like lhe circularmarks on conch-sheland ha cortstrkea se,pe')r, S,va Corpo,,nq on :]ll:_,_* "10 t irnpoopmsIn vartous rnetfes, 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 En I erFdalo- a,o inhalalron. She shines tike a seriesoi very power,uttighlsIn 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 InoJsanO pe'd,s,wnicl-,s l^hrr. .p fhe IUllnoon r whtchlhe potrens ocd\.rr .ka r_t a.e th6 , ewlyr sa I rs decoratedwilh divine trees eterna y bearing iiil-1n'"n rrowersand iruits. lines.sraphica presenlthe rmaseor Ady;y oevr betore our minds' eyes: "^..t|:,1:!"y'* m Meghangim sasi -sekhara4 trinayanem aklambara m bibhtal im 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 moonclad n red clolh. ln her two hands,there cfesled.three'eyed, a.e lhe poses oi boon and lreedom tear.Slandingon a red lolus.She has Her lace laughing the sightol lvlahakala who. at hav ng dr!nk Madhvrka wrne5'. dancingbetore her.) is The IollowLng description can comparefavourablywrlh a veTseor any gooo poem, Vahantistndua m prabala kavaribharalimi ra dvtsam vrndai-vandikrtam iva navinarka-kranam / lahati tanotu ksemam naslava vadana-saunciarya panvaha sralah satanir iva simanla-saranth// lSaundarya-lahari, verce 44) (CJ Coddess,may lhal parlinglineol your ha r, wh ch looks ke lhe overilowing watercourse the wave ol the beally ol of 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 mornrng sun 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-ta nlra, attr butedto Samkaracarya (O goddess,you Durga,too devoidoi creation, etc., have a shiningconchand a disc,you are lLerce wilh a mov ng sword, your hrghheadis brrght, haveyour lion-mount roaring, fromyou lhe host of demonsare runningaway,a group of Siddhasare you; you are rndeedlhe Supreme euloqising Goddess.A vivrd descript in lhe malodiousBhujafiga-prayata melteon

68

Chapter2

Nalureol TantricDoclrines wnh P C. Baqchi has soughl lo idenllly MahecinaqrA to have recoveredlhe Si;dha N:igrrjuna is said Ekajata53. Ekaiataculi in Tibel is ol The description Ekaiald54 similarto that ot Mahdcinakrama-tdre.55 correspondrng goddesses has The Hindupanlheon lhe tollowing lo lhe above divinilies: T;irzi, Ugralzir;i,Ekajatd' [/|aha'Nila'Sarasvali' goddesses 11 should be noled thal lhe dhyrinas ol lhese wilh those lound rn in occ,.rrrlng HinduTantra,agree verbatim Tantra Buddhisl t'Jgratar;i Ihe Sammaha'tanlrastatesthat Nila Sarasvatior west ol Meru which 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' word lor lake Kul conneciedwirh rhe Kol or Col, lhe common west and cJ, f"r"o wilh ihe names oi many lakes to lhe "r in north of T'ien_shan Mongolra Sammaha At leasl iour Tantras,viz ' Sirascheda,Vinesikha' ol lhe Inscrlpllon SdaL_Kakantl NdvallaQare known irom (Combodia) aboul into ih;m to hdve been Inlroduced Kambula is Simkaivalya, slated lo ioo n.O..;.fnu Royal High Priest' named Hiranya io nave oeen initiated Tantraby a Brahmana' dama.

Thereare a so instances arlil cial and labouredcomposition of wh ch characlerises Sanskritpoetry oi the decadentperiod. Wh le such composttions testily to the tearning lhe author, of these are jejune and as insipjd as poetjcatpieces. In the lollowing lines,everywordcommences withlhe letterKa whtch ls the initial lettet tn'Kei and the first consonant of the alphabel. Kamale KAIi -darpagh Kapatd isa Krpanvia, ni Kdlike Kebnab Tanlra Beyond India We do nol know whelher lantra was importedinlo india or exporled trom lhis country to other coLlntries, Tantric nlluence however, is, cleariar beyond the limitsol lndia,China and Tibet are the lwo mosi prominentptaces beyond India. whrchreveaithe inJluence Tanlra.SeveralSanskritTanlras ol are preseruedonly in Chineseand Tibetanlranstations, the originalworks beinglost. Evidences are avaitabte thal Tantric philosophers scholars and fromIndia visjted abovecounlries. the GoddessTriri, in her Buddhistgarb, got a niche in the panlheonol Tibetwhereshe is knownas Sgral-ma Dol_ma. or lrany lorms ot lhe deity have been conceived. The Tir;i cult travelled also lo Chinaas Sakli of Avaloktie svara. lt is inleresting note thal, under the pre-Buddhisl to Taoismand Confucianjsm, which recognised IVother Goddess as lhe representalive Yin (Female principle), ot Avatakitesvara.2 was iranslormedinlo a goddess.By the 7th and 8th century A.0.,Tarawas complelely mergedwithAvalokilesvara to; who hrs male character, and was transmuted inlo goddessKuan_ yin ol Chtna. The double lotm ol Iete became very poputar in lhal counlry.Gradually Taoistritualsmade lheir way into lhe Tara CultandYlnismor Exaltation the Female ol Principle Taoism In This, in its turn, inlluencedIndian yemAcjra in bolh its Buddhistic and Hinduforms_ ca Kahnala.samadyutih /

to on inscrlpl relers lhe r"nti", siiraga.u. An Angkorvat

Paramesvara'lanlra. Ganesahavebeenloundin Cambodra lmagesol lheTantric where and Japanare someof the othercountries Monaolia an Ganapatitattva' Tanrra w;s introducedOl theTdntricwork, old Javanesetext only ls availabie (5th Cent-A D ) ol Champa'there ln the [4vsonrnscription and Umi lmagesol Deviare lound l..utriarronio Manesvara called{\,4aalrngeslara' in variousptacesin CnampziShe is vadously

te{er to lhe Sa'va Some other Cambodjaninscriptions

7A Gauri, l\,4ahadevi, etc.

ChapteF2

Natureol TantricDoctrines

71

Jn.Java, rmagesof Siva, both in his calm and iurious ^ ' ,^":.*"" iound. In lt e Funousaspect.he rc ca eo 3.^"^:.^1.atso aooears.. lwo aspe.ts. l. t1e Barava /vLsel-n. lheredre sone :magesof IVah,sarnarOtnt. I ne Sahlr o- tJnirrava \,4ahakdJaBnatrav:or or ts \,4ahakatr. ts sealed She o..: with hLl an sku s In her nec^ drd Fead and ; q a a a::.or: h U m a n k u l l sO n h e r n do l s body.. The /mage of Ganesa, iound in Java, shows the deity seaiedon humanskullswhich leave no oout'taboutHis Taniric characler. Tantra and Timaeusss n C_erld sr'tkingstrri,anties noticeaote are between Tantra and 1tne t nmacust at pao t42B-348 B.C t. P alo_op-at,s lwo .onou,ls ro 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 r o t l h e Janl c tda and Ftngab an lh" rwo sides o, rne Susumqa.

a Woodroile. Baplism includes a iormLr similar lo Tantric lo manlra.Baptism s supposed ensure|ie n heaven,whereas havea dubious fulure.Sim larly, Tanlrabelieves lhe unbaptised ol end lhroughphyslcalmeans. rn the atlaintment lhe spirrlual exorcismand the use n the Roman Chruch,the rite includes This is very much like s rnilarpractices ol sall, oil and lights. 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, and macTocosm, etc. mag c, amulets,the unlly ol microcosm passedfrom Indiato Egyptwhencethey These deas probably spread about lhe ninth centuryover Europe.Indo European contacts,long belore the above date, have been proved. Was Tanlra oI Foreign Origin ? culturaland religious contact with India had commercial, easlern and weslern,ln very remote many loreign couniries, (C.3000 B.C.)reveal The relicsof IndusValleyCivilisation pottery,etc., whch tend 10 indicatelinks wlh Sumeria and I\,'lesopolamra. Indias contaci w th toreigncounlrieswas not a one way between lhis country was a give-and-lake relation tratfic.There Buddhisnr the ioreignlands.Besides lrade and commerce, and contacts.In ihe was a potent faclor fosteringexlraterritorial Indiahad some linkswith certaLn realmof art and archilecture, foreigncounlries. Indiacame into contactwilh Amonglhe Asiatrc neighbors, particularly lhe in repository a very old civilisation, oi China, poslBuddhistc per od, but long before Chrlsl. That Chinesesilk was importedinlo India,and was very popularis amp;y'borne out by literaryreierences. Buddhisrn sirengthened lies betweenIndiaand China. the

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 Tantra ahd Christianity According C. Eljol,thereare some paralleli to urj uiere parallelisms between

-..,_P19jo as 9on""lu"1the earthas a cube,nre as a rrjanguJar octahedrat wateras tcosaheOra/. and llSTlq,rtr Tiese app_ear corresprnd theT anlic mandalas to 1o wf,icnare squJr"el rflangte,,lwo equiJateral triangles, upon one cresceni noon;etheris represented a cirCleis,theotner, by Tho,,obove stn:'aril|es rn,ghlbe acctoentd, co,ncroence, ., ^

fliuals. Evenjn rhe AnsrJcan chruch l::11:,-T9,Ch'",]a."

iii::l:;;:: l:":l:: _ra"lr of the Christiancross resembtes " tanir;;r;:;,";;;"J.;";::

ifl:."'.i;i[,1"] Xli",fjjJ'l; ilj 111;.;^s s-si,,.,Ia. Aol,;";; "' *",",'" ro ;"; J;

7?

c|,^^t-,-t

Natureoi TanlricDoctrines

73

Conlrarylo the generalimpression that Fa,hlenwas ihe ljrst Chineseto get himseliinterested Buddhism, in and to come to Indiaas a placeof pilgrirnage, severalChinesecame to lhis country before him. Some Buddhist Sanskrit works,particularly Tantra, on exist only in Chinesekanslation,the orlginalworks berng lost. In connexionwith Tanlra Beyofd India,we have reierred 10 Chinese Taoismand IndianTantra. The Chinesefecognised the Male and Femaleprrnciples respectlvely yang and yin as as underlying creation. the This naturally to the sexualrites. led The Chinese recogniseHlse, (immortalily) ihrough certain practices disciplinary whichinclude regulation respiration, (1) oj (2) gyrrnaslictechnique, sexualtechnique, atchemrcal (4) {3) anq pharrnaceuljcai technique,etc. These have parallelstr Tantraalso.For example, lhe respiratory practicecorresponds la Prcnayama, the gymnasiic technique to hatha-yoga and KAyasedhana. Alchemtcal lechniquehas close simitariiy with lnd an Tantric system whjchproduced severalworks alchemy_ on The sexual praclice,as we have seen, is a very important paraletisms notconclusively laclorin lfdianTentric rites_Whiie do 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 advenlures SaratDas (1849-j oi 917)who,defying the reslrclions imposedby the mlghtyBritishRaj, and braving the inhospitable weatherand lhe hazardous rnountarn route, went overto that counlry, and wrotean illuminaling monograph on it. Ceniuriesago, culluralandcommercial iniercourse began betweenihese two countries. Like China, Tibet also tooied upon India, the birthplace the reveredLord Buddha,as a ol place of pilgrmage.l\,4any Buddhislscholarsof india.noton y

there, andwrotemany lreatises wentto Tibet,bul alsosellled relating1o TantricBuddhismThe in Sanskril,especially or g nas of manyof suchworkshavebeenlosi;lheirTibetan survlved lhe Taniur. lhe galaxyof Indian in Of translatons schoars,who chose Tibel as the land ol their scholarly actv I es,many wereiromBengal, Among Bengali the scholars agan, ihe mostrenowed Dipankara was Srijnana Atisa(980or or who,at ihe imporlunate 982 1053 1054) req!est thethen of Tibeian ruler, led (1042) land reformjng delinqunt vis that ior the Tlbelan society and the degenerated Buddhisl religion there. He livedtheretill his death. The deep nterest Tibet in Indiais reflected Lama oi in (b. Taranatha's 1573) learned History of Buddhismin India (1607 r 1608 D). o A There enoug oi evidence closeIndo-Egyptian is h of contact s nce pre Chrlstian itmes.fheChendogya Upanisad A.S) lvllj. seemsto reler to mummiiicalion; perhapsit retersto the Egypt praclice. an Egypiran colonies wereset up in India and lndlan colon in Egypt. es Among otherthings fromIndia, Indian women werea parloi lhe procession the Egypttan of monarch, Plolemy. pleasure'boat Ptolemy The of Philopatore B.C.) (221 was decorated Indian gems. with Thesymbols a wheel of and tridentover a graveappearto be mute witnessto lndian ini uence. Indian An idol,discovered Memphis, ai testifies lo lhe same influence. important pointer this iact is an An to lndian's dedication60, deityPan,ot a temple Rhodesia to the o{ on ine deserl-route lowards red Sea.Hultzsch lhe inlorrns us thata s lvercoinoi an Egyptian King,ptolemy wasdiscovered n a market Bangalore, of ptotemy (285, From Pliny learn we thattheEgyplian king, 247 B.C.)sent an envoylo an Indjanking. Indra contaci s withforeign couniries Asia,Europe in and Africahas beendiscussed. shallexamine We whether nol or Tanlrism Indiawas bo(owedfrom external of sources. Fromwhatwe haveseenaboutSino-lndian Chinese ties, ' 1 ' i e - c eo n I n d t a - a - l r a s n o t T t Lnlikey.

Chapler-2 Woodroffe (Avalon)does not subscribeto the theory thal the fundamental principles Tantrawere importedinio India of lrom China.The pro-Chinatheoristspoint out, among other th ngs, thai the ,gudraydmala, noted Tantra, mentions Ch na. a Buddha (Buddhist doctrine)was establisned rhere. 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. should be noted ihal Vasisthawas a Vedic ll 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 orihodoxBrahmanism and Tantrism. The relerence Vasistha's performance Tdrri r tuals in to oi miiacara, lhe seai oi Kemdkhyzi, may hinl at Assam as the homelandof Tanlra,A Vasisth;israma near Gauhat seernsto conlirmthis irnpression. wordsTA-RA,RU-D-RA,used in The Tantra, are believed lo be loan,wordslrom lhe Chinese language. Anoiherargument, thoughnot very convincrng, support in 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, a longtime, in lhe regioncalled for Mahacna. lt is iderlifiedwilh ArabiaFelix(i.e.Aden)by some, with China by olhers. The pro-China put theorists iorwardsome morearguments. The myslicsyllables hrim, krim, eIc.,tegatdedas so rmportanl

Naiureol TanlricDoctrines

75

of in Tentric practices,show the predominance the nasal of The sound,a characteristic the Chineselanguage6l. Tantric diayams (Yantra,Mandala) remind one ot the piclorial writing A of the Chrnesealphabet. mode ol TantricSadhara is called Cinacara whch, accoding lo Ihe Taratantra,came from Mahacina, (Yoginis), The FemaleEnergies mentioned Brahmanical in In Tanlras,includeLzim;i6,. Tibetan,it is Lhamo or Shedevil. 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 afe also etc., 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 that these couniries be 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 Tantraoriginaled uddiyanas'. in According B. Bhatlacharya, to Vajrayana Tantraarose in Uddiy.ina65. place (also written Thls as Oddiyana,Odry;ina)is identiiied some with Udyana in by or near the Swal Valley,while others place it in Kashgarh. Haraprasad Sastriand 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 probability loreignjnlluence Tanlra, the oi on we shoud thinkof one thing.Of Kemaripa,PUrnagiri, LJddiyana and Ja andhara,as many as three ate situatedon long roads connecting Indiawith loreigncountries. Kamarupa had been a centre ol loreign aclivitiesfrom very remote times. The locatron the above Sekta,Pjthas oi may tndtcate either 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 verse66 the Kubjikenatain tanlra,believed that 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, according h m, to was Szikadvipa Indiantradition6T. this conneclion,it s of In Interest to note that GoddessNana-Nina, ng Nansia_lnanna, who was originally crty-goddess Urk, was, al a tatert me, the of rdenlifred with 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 introduced the BuddhistAsanga nlo Ind a. by 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 esiabiish lhe loreignorigin oi Tantraon lhe groundthat ihe exaltedposition, accordedin Tantrato Guru, has nothrng comparable lhe Vedaand pur:ina. in 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 hrghlyrespeciable person. Towards the end oi the 191h cenl.and the beginning the of 20th., rnany peoplebelievedihat lhe cull ol Mothercoddess onginated Phrygia in and spreadin difJerent counlres.This led B. Bhattacharya poslulatethe theory of the fore gn origin to ol Sakli worship6s.

77

views, P V. Kane concludes Aiter exam ning the different cerlain mystic practices like Kulacara, Vamacarc r",ghl that have been borrowedirom outside,bll lhere is no conclusive oi evrdence Tantfahavingbeen borrowedin lolo irom fore gn counlres. On the conlrary,he thinks thal Tantricdoctrlnes to rnrgraled toreigncountries,notablyChina and Tibet. P C. some evidences loreignelemenisln ot 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 iniluence Tantra, on we shou d conslderthe pointof similariiy betweenthe Taoism ol China and the Tantraol lndiaTo. The Taost doctrinerevolves round the pivotalconceptoi yang and yin. The former is the Male positivepower of light and heat, and the latter the Female negative power of The harmonisation lhese two powersis believed darkness. oJ to enableand cold.These lwo underlre everything life and in beng man lo lranscend his physical limits, to reach lhe powefs and even to sp ritual plane lo acquire preternalural ach eve mmortally in this very liie. For.acquiringmudane praclices- a'e ^ecessdry r.no'alhy (H ,S,en). rojlowing rFe exercise,(ii) heliotherapeuiic iechn ques, O respiratory (ii) gymnaslicsn lhe prescribed (iv) disciplined Jorm, sexual (vi) intercourse, achemicalandpharmaceuticaltechniq!es, (v) reguated dlet. A comparison the above with the principlesol Tantra of clearly reveals close similarity. Tantric philosophyhas the principles Siva (Male)and Sakti (Female). central oi in too, Physical and mentaldisciplines ordained Tanlra, are powers, physicalfilness longevily; for acquiring and superhuman - racr. la-lra look<Jpon rhe humanbody as a nicrocosrn50 thal good heath is a sine qua non in TanlricSadhana. The

7A

Chaprer2

Doctrines Nal!reol Tanrnc was a featureof a Greek Promscuoussexual intercollrse goddesses, Demelerand Persephone lesliva in hono!r oi the The riluals connected with the union ol Cybele and AllLs, Demelerand Zeus and Adonis,lshtarand Tammuz, Aphrodite were marked bY sex-riies. Frazer te ls us?5about ihe lact thal [/olher Goddess, energiesol nalure,was worshipped symbo isinglhe reproductrve names, by many peoplesof West Asia. under difierenl ot how pervasivewas the worshLp Hogarth describesT6 Asia Minorand aroundthe lvlediierranean. MotherGoddessin ol the slmilarity Sakti cult with R. P Chanda poinis oul77 the lemale deity in Asia Mlnor,Syria. of the rnocles worshipol Footnoles See Rudrayanala,Uttara ll, KularnavaXI, Xll Xl XlV, ra' Xl xv 1,Pnn atasinill. 2. lll.1, V14, Kularnava Tant raja ll, Ul, Gandharva XXUI,Saradatilaka esp ll 143_44 ( R a g h a vs c o m m . ) ,M a h a n i r v a nX 2 0 0 _ 0 1 X V r 3 9 a a XXXVI, Prcpancasara 1V, Tantusara,p. 3, Kanakhya'tantta K.snananda's x 75 Kaulavalinirnayax, Parasuranakalpasutra (Famesvara comm). s L)\lata,llPtapancasara SeeKulanava,Xl,XlV Rudrayamala, ll Tantnsatap. 3. Satadatilaka, XXXVI.50, Krsnanaflda's U\latall l.23-24. Rudrayamala, 745-50,153 Tan!rcraia X Kulanava xll Kaulavatinirnaya Parasurcmakalpasutra x.74. See Pranalosinill. 4, p- 118, Kulatnava,xlv. comm).Pranalostni| 5, See SandatilakalV1 (Baghava's Kali Xl, 29-37. p. 143,SaktEangana, Ianlr ladies, necessarily c nol Indian Names someSouth of 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, BhatatiyaSaklisadhana lin For delails, see Sastramutak lsl Bensalr), ed., ChaP-14.

resprratory exercise, advocaledrn Taoism.has ils oarallelin fanltrc pranayima. The heltotherapeulic lechntqJe ot tle iormer has its Indiancounierpart a series of solar nluals. in The gymnastictechniques Taoismare matchedby Tjntr c oi 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 significant that, accordinglo tradition,Bhoga (Bogarin Tamil), Chinese a Taoislloundeda seci ol the South _Iamil) lfdian TantricS/ddhas (Silfarin who cultivated aichemy vigorously. The emphasison sexualpractices remarkably rnilarin is s Taoismand Tentrism. fhe Sammoha-tantra statesthat,in Chinaalone,there are one hundredma]ofTantras and sevenminorTanlras llJDatanten\. Some scholarsT, have pointed the similarilv the word out of Tara,aa.ne o' an imporlant Tant c goddess.with'lhename ol Astarteor lshlaror Ashtaroth, renownedMothercoddess the oi WesternAsia, though no definiteconclusion can be drawn aboul the tntluence one on the other, o, In consideringioreign influenceon Tanlra, il deserves notice thal, according to the Sammoha-tantta, goddess NjlaSarasvati approved a placesupposed have been included at to in N,4ongolia73. It is curiousthat the ancient religioussyslems of manv countfies, especially those systemsin whichthe cuttol lVothef Goddess played a vilal role, reveal belieis and practrces srmliar, a greatextenl,lo those in IndianTantriccults,4. to As inslances, may cite the galliof the Syriantvlother we coddess, Astarte of Hierapolis, the Eleusinian and Phrygian. Phrygian mysteries, the Dinonysian riles, the I\,4ariarr secreis,eta.Secret,orms of worship,resembling Tdntricrites. prevailedin Phrygia,Syria, Lydia, Cappadocia,Ponlus and 9alatia, in all ihese regionsthe cult ot N4other Goddesswas ooDUlat.

2.

3. 4. 5.

N a l u r eo 1 l a n l a c u o c l n n e s

a1

7. L 9. 10. 1t. 12. 13.

See Pranalosini. See ctossary. See Pranatosini, tt.4. See clossary. tbid. W Crooke in Jout of Anlhropatogicat tns ute. XXV| , p246 B. Thomson,The Fizians,p. 1|6. B- Spencerand F.Gillen,NativeTribes CentratAustratia, af p.401. A.W- Howi , Native Ttibesot S. E. Austatia, p. S3O. H. Webster,PrimlrlyeSecret Societies, 34-35, 49-66. pp. SeeCha[opadhyay. p.485 .: N.N.Bha.ra.ha,/a lokayaia. Ancienl lndtan P,rrsls, pp. 78-80. As described P V Kane. by fhe Auddhismol Tibet ot Lanaisn, 1895, pp. 336-337. lA, vols.xxvi, 19a7,pp.24-25. see P v Kane, Hist.of Dha.nsastra, pl. 2, 1962,p. v 1 t29 See A. Coomaraswamy, Buddha anc! Gospet of Buddha rorrls represenlationCeyton in (t8th cent.AD) Grunv/edet, BuddhistAtt in tndia. (rrc. A. C. Gibson),rigure 126 B Bha acharya. Buddhist tconog,aphy ptate xxv t: \. K. LJnanashati, /co,iog.aphy o{ BuddhEt and Btanmanrcat Su/plures, ptate V l. See N. K. thaitashati, clt.,ptates opi XX, XXt. See P.Shah in Jour of Orienlal/nstitule,vot. vi, No. 1, pp. t-35. For^Saya-sadiana according Bengatiwfiterc, Chapier to see on Bengal Tanlra_ S_ee Kautava-ninaya, V|t,76t Kutarnava, 79, 84, 85i xi, Tanlrcia-tantra, XXXV 6. Saclhananata, p. 5o5. |,

27

1 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(a . 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 gteal Advaita philosopher, lso menlions 64 Tanlras in a See Chapler on Kali. 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 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 o u s p o r l i n t h e w e b o f . delusion crealed by you, as an actor in the dramalrc r e p r e s e n l a i i o n r e a t e db y h i m s e l i . c

28. 29

15. 16. 17. 18, 19. 20. 21.

30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36 37. 38. 39. 40. 42

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 . R. C. Majumdar, Classical Accounts of tndia p. p. 222223,456-454 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 . 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.

22. 23. 24. 25. 26.

a2
lyet, op. cit, . pp. 28-29, 76, 98.

ChapleF2

Nal!re of TanvrcDoclrnes
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. D 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 l 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 . See A Avalon Tantraic Texts, vol. ll 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. see Matrkabheda-tantra, Parala 12. See c, Tucci, J4SA NS, LXXVI, 1930, pp. 55ff. Lama g d . ( T l b e r a n / a - m a ) e n e r a l l y e n o t e ss c l r o l a rH e r e ,h o w e v e r A 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 w t 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 d h a l a s s o c i a l r o n 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 S , m e e r i n g ) . 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 p . 4 9 5 a h a T h e s ew e r eo r i g i n a l l y u m a nl e m a l e s , 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 a 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 ) 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 ) . See P C. Bagch. Studies in the Tantns, pp 37'40 Grosset /|l ir foolsleps ol the Buddha, pp. 109_110i /HO. Inrro.ro BuddhlslEsloertsm. X , pp 142,144;B. Bhattacharya,

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 a r d y e t , I l t y s o r c a 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 . 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 . E h r e n i e l s M 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 The rool ma may means to bulld or to measure. 48. K a l r d a s a , 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 w 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 g n d m a n l a i n i n g h e s u b j e c l s , a l 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. BhaltacharyaSc 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. S e e G . K r i s h n a ,o p . c t r . 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. 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 S e e S a d h a n a n a l a ,N o . 1 2 7 . /b,4 Nos. 123-128. i b i d ,N o s . 1 0 0 1 0 1 . 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 l l r s I n t e r e s l i n go 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 l c a v e r n so i P a l a e o l i l h i c u r o p e( C . 2 0 , 0 0 0 B . C ) r e s e m be E 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 ,

57 58. 59 60. 61 62

46.

50 51. 52. 53. 54 55. 56.

63.

65. 66.

p l n t r o . t o B u d d h i s tE s o l e r i s m , . 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 e 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/ k See Neqal Catalogue P.LXXIX. See A. Avaon Mahanitvana Ianrra, 3rd Ed., p 560

67.

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 . Studies in Tantta, p. p. 45-55. Also see Bagchi in lHO, vir, 193 Lt. 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. See J. Needham, op. cit See N. N. Bhalfacharya, Histoty at Tantnrc religion, p. 104. S e e o u r o b s s r v a t i o n s n l h i s r e g a r d u n d e rT a n l r a B e y o n d i See N. N. Bhallacharya! book. op'ctl pp 87ff.

69. 7Q

71. 72. 73.

Chapter-3

VedicOrigin of T6ntric Practices

75. 76.

See Adorts Allis Osirts, pp. 34-35. See Ency. ot Aeligion and Ethics, I, p. 147 See tndo-Atyan naces, pp. 148-49.

Chapter-3
Most ol the scholars of the viewthatlhe relrgion are of from thal oi the Vedas.Some the Tantrasis quitedistinct prescribed the Tantras, particular, in in occultpraclices are quileopposed the pathprescribed tf'e Vedas. in saidlo be 10 on hand, hold lhatiheT,intric religion Sornescholars, lheother is notdifferent Iromthe Vedicreligion. realily, In however, lhe Tanlras are of lwo types:someare pro-Vedic someare and praclices alsool two are non-Vedic.'Accordingly,Tentric the types'pro'Vedic non-Vedic- position be supported and This can by lhe tacl lhat lhe philosophical ideasand pracliceslound suchas,lheKilarnava-T6\nlra,lhe in someTantras, l"4ahdoirvanaTantra.lhe Pnpartca-sara e1c.bear remarkable similarilies wilh thoseof the Vedas. Someof the Tantras this group ot claim have to originated lhe Vedas. Kuldrnava-Tantta trom The pathis lhe essence theVedic saysthaltheTentric ol religion., ln theviewol Bh:iskararava. Tantras lhe conlain essence the prescribed On in ol lhe Upanisads. the otherhand, practices sometantras,suchas, the Yoni-Tantra,lhe Kuman-Tanlra,lhe NiruItaa-Tantra, the Gupta-sedhana-Ta,lra seem lo be elc. very lar lfom thoseof the Vedas.Particularly, praclices the Ciniic:iras practices cina, or in Tanlras calLed oi enjoined some of lhis group,are in all probability non-Vedic ol origin.Ol course, philosophy the behind praclices the non Vedic the of Tantras, nolquiledislinci rs fromlhatof thepro.Vedic Tanlras, theonly femarkable dillerence between ihese twobeing s th greater ihal In the non-Vedic Tantras concession been has grvento the sensual pleasures leelings the common and o{ greater human beings.s while thepro-Vedic in Tantras emphasis {eelings. has beenlaidon the reslrainl the common oJ human palhs- (i) Kamakenda TheVedicreligion two prlncipal has or the palhol action whichis meant the preservation ior and smooih runningof societyal]d lii) jfiena-kdnda the palh ot The is of knowledoe whichleads mento liberation. tormer the

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palh ol pravrttiot bhogai.e. enjoyment; latteris the palh lhe ot nrvrltiot tyega i.e. renuncialion. These two paths are thus contradictory lo each alher. fhe karma-kanda advocales the rnainlenance society of lhrough actions and wordlyenloyments, preachesthe renouncement atl lhe while lhe jnana-kanda oi worldly enjoymenls lorthe altainment liberation, summum of the bonumof 1e.Herelhe problem s: if liberation to be attained is only throughrenuncation,wrlllhe personsperforrning actions 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 wordlyenjoyment also can be directedtowardsIberat on. The Kuhrnava-Tantra saysihal 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 enjoyment appears bhogaonlyout as wardly,while inwardlyit is lyaga or renunciation. Hence the practices prescribed lhe Tantra embraceboth lhe elemenls in ol enjoymentand renunciationlound in karma kAndaand iiZnakanda, respectively. And from a comparatlvestudy ol the T:intricand the Vedic practices, witt be seen lhat mosl ot il the Tenlr c practices exisl in some forrn orother or, alleasl, n lhe form ol a seed in lhe Vedic praclicesretating eitherto karma-kendaat 10 ifiena-kenda. The T;inlic practices may broadlybe d vided nlo three classes as follows: (1) Some practces are regarded as olrlrgatoryor extremely necessary spiritual upliit and are lor accepledby people in generalwith reverence, being neither dreadlynof extrernely secrel, (2) Some praclicesare considered as obLrgatory highly necessarylor the attainmentof an or enlightened life but are generally looked upon as dreadtutor exlremely secrel.(3) There are slill otherpraclices whrchhave lltle relalionor no relationwith religionor spiritualuptittand are perlormedlor lhe tullilment some wordlv desire or for ol the gratification ol some evil motive. (1) The tirst kind ol practicesinclude diksa or initation trom some gum or preceptor,lapa muttering mantrasol or ol

purascaranaor muftering mant@s oI holywordsand sentences, grealnumber withsomeolheiperformances, homa in a along physical posl!rc, pdnayameot b.ealhor sacrifice,asanaor of control,dhyanaor meditalion, dhararaor concentraiion the yanlra-sddhanepraclice symbolical |",ind, or diagrams, and on so on. The mostimDorlant oraclice lhis kindis that of salol or cakra-bheda raisingthe kundalinipowet lying al the base of the spinal cordto the brchma-Bndhraot sahasraralying al thelooeol the samecord.ll is heldthaltherear six cakras ilalional or med centres alled c muladhem, manipuq, svadhisthana, anah^b. visuddhd and a/ra withinthe neruecalledsusumnd running ihfough lhe spinal cord. Thesesixcentres parallel lie generative the the to lhe evacuative organ, the organ, nevael, heart, the throat and lhe brow,respectively. duiy of a The is s;idhaka 10raiselhe kundalini-powetlying helow mihdherc la brahma-randhra sahasrrrathrough ot thesesix medilational (2) The principalpracticesol the secondtype a.e those performed pa6ca-ma-kdras with having'm'as or fivethings the 'n llal lelrer in lheir names.Theseli've fia-ka:'as arct maclye or wine,rrinsa or meat,malsyaot lish, mudfuor ealables and maith na oI sex-enjoy u perlomed men]-. G-sadhan ot practice Cak a n an assernbly males and females with lhe five makafas ol In a secrel place proferably a cemetery at some dark in nightrs alsoa praclic thislype.The praclice withmeat of necessar bringswith it the performance of yali or animal ly sacrifice including nan-valiotlhe sactiliceol human beings. Oiher practices ol this typ atet svagatn-rudhira-mensasadhana lhe practice ollering or ol blood andlleshout ot one's own body,cila-sd dhaneor praclice withthe helpot the luneral pyrc, sava-sedhaneot practiceol meditation sitting on iho by a dead body in a secretplace- preterably a cemeteryin at dark nighl, munda-sealhand pactice to be perlormed by ot sitlingon threeor live heads ot menor ol ditferent animals includingone ot man,and so on. ol {3) Practices lhe third lype consist mainly ot the sat' karmansat slx kinds ol occult practices called abhicercs.

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Chapter3 Up., stotavyomantavyonididhy(tsitavyah Brhadaranyaka 12.4.5), ordainslhe praclice mediation. the latefUpanisads ol In clearly tike lhe Yogasikha, the Yoga-cudamanietc. there are plentv references to asana, pranayama, dhyoena, dhi;rana elc. Though the Tzintric mono,syllabia mani'as or sounds vtasseemoulwa.dlylo meaningless, be called muchimporlance 1o is altached them. 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 aa n d ' k a t . s T h e T a n t c t principles methodot symbolising spiritual through some 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 symbolical diagramsof the Tinlric practices.Laksmidhara, whilecommenting Soundaryaon /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 Vjsnutirtha also quotessome passages from the "Saubhagyakanda' lfie Ayto show thal ol the idea ot Sri vidyi alongwith that ol symbolical diagrams rs traceablein the AY. The most important practiceof 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 generally opinedthatlhis practice originated the in schoolof Tantrawherelrom it was bofiowedlaterby the other schools.But a study of the Upanisadic lilerature shows that llre idea oi the cakfas or medilalional cenlresand lhe nerve susurrnawithin whichthe cakasaresaid to exislwas already there in lhe Upanisads.fheKalha I.Jp.12.1 12,2.3.17) and lhe svetasvatara Up. (3.13) say that the Highest purusa exists

These are: sajnli practices lhe cure ot some dtsease or lot or Ior warding ofl som evjls, vesikaama or practtces tor enLhantlng orov6rpowenng someperson,stamDhana Vaclices ot ror barringlhe kurtionol some event, yrdyesana praLlices or 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 practices can be rraced lo lhe vedrc l,lerature. I Djkszior initialion from some guru or preceprorts d^ essenllalSacrament the VediC trad,lion.In ne Attarcya Ot BQhmana l'h.1) and lhe Tajthiya Aranyaka \Ch.2) we hno oerafledctescrjplions lhe nte ol initialton or diksantyesti. of Ch?ndoqyl Up. says that rt is onty a man who acqLir6s :h: proper knowledge lrom an acaryaOr preceDtOr Lan .epell thar nrs rgnorance aboul 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.Thathornas were regutarand obtigalory periormance; or Ine vedrc peopte does not requrreany detarl.The Vedic peoplehad to pertorm lhe nte ol agnihotradaity. whrch In rhey 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,saoic way 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 Brhaderanyaka (1.3) have shown in derail Up. lhe superiority prcna olet all lhe sense-organs. ol The fve kinds ol Nena or vilal air are menlioned in lie prasna uD. Pdneyama is clearfy reterred lo in the Katha Up. 2 3) 13.5'). \2 a d lhe Svetasvatara Up. l2.S).t Dhyada or rneditatjon and dharanaor contentration oflhe mind werethe principal practices ol the Upanisadicsages. The well,known passage ol the

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93

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 originating lrom the heartand extending to the up tope oJ lhe head, which is noting bui lhe nerve susumna. Further,the same Up. (2.2.1)describes the body as having jnctude besidesthe ninewell, eteven gates whichcertainly known passages ot two ears, lwo eyes elc. - muhdhi\ra and brahma'randhra, the passagesal the base and at the lop respeclively, lhe nerve s./sumna.'3 of 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 corresponds totheTantric idea otplacno lhe aksaraslo lhe dilferent catfas ot the sprnat co.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; at the lope ol the nerve exisls Brahman tot and in its lowerpartsiie the pfinciples liie. Further, series of ihe o' L'eaIon lound n lhe Sa'ntnya-yogasyslemcorresoonds to lhe 0r'le'e'l calras.Tl^espacebelween sahasrara and 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 evacualive organ, respeclively, correspond the cateqories lo or elher.air. rlre,walerand earth.respectrvety Tne ChanAogya Up. (5-16) describes generatjve the organas 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

cakaslying within il-reThe later Upanisadslike lhe Kaivalya' etc deal in delail wilh he Yoga-aikha.lheYoga'cidAmani susumra and the cakfas.From all lhese, we can the nerve co_cludewil- ^erlarnly that lhe ioea ol the ne've susumnj ard lhe cakras was lhere in the Vedic tradition. of 2. Of the secreiand dreadlulpractices Tantra,the most practicesare those performedwith commonand rernarkable Ihe I ve ma-karas. Ol them, mudrii or lhe praclice of offer ng elc. tolheMoiher and takinglhe cookedrice and vegetable 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. sacritices used lo oller ln lhe Vedic soma-sacriiices.lhe gods and lake ihe same after to the l!ice ol soma-creeper the the offering.This soma'iuicewas a kind ol liquor,as il is clearlyunderslood from lhe behavjours of the gods and lhe scariliers afier dr nklng il (RV 2.19.1) ,Somawas very much favourite lndrawho becomeintoxicated lo bydrinking il,and, accordingly- was ve(y oltencalledsomapaor soma-drinker, he Ihe Satapatha Brehnara (5-4.5.19) says ihat spirituous rquor was offered lo Indra.Asvinaand Sarasvati the Sautramani :n sacri{rce.Soma sacritice,soma-iuicewas exiricatedlhree timesa day in ihe morning, the noon and in lhe eventng in and was offered to gods. Parlicularly, lhe atietaVpe ol somain sacr fice. Somawas !sed in large quantiiyat night.Thus, the Tdntricpraclicewlth wine was a verv commonelemenl oJlhe Ved c rites. Anrmal-sacriftce pasu-yegawas also a very common ot perlormance lhe Vedic people. the Brdhmanictiterature, of ln tlrereare detailed descriptions the killing of animalsin the ol anrmal-sacrifice. this sacrjtice, spol was demarcated In a tor killinganimals. wherea yipa or wooden-l'a.r'e forbindingthe anrmals was kepl tixed.Ajler choppjng ofl the head oi an anirnalthere,the yap;ior fat oftheanimal was taken outot ls abdomen.11 was then cleansed, cooked in an earthenjar and ofiered to the gods, after which it was laken by ihe

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ces Vdc Ongn ol Tant c Pract ower private parl of woman as the sacrilicial altar and lhe parts oi lhe same as representingdifferentparts or srnaller this ol maierials sacrifce. lt is addedthat one who remembers gets the result of the vajapeya-sacrtice. during copulatron should be regardedas a This means that sex-enioyment it should be done wilhoutany attachment. sacriice and that it ol Up.(2.13.1'2), n the "Vdmadeva-upiisane" the Chandogya made by a man to a woman rs hrmis said that the sign (the sound kara (thesound'him'),hls lying with her is udgltha (inspiration) so and iowards heris pralihar.a hum)hlslacinq lha Tartit;ya Up. ard the TaillrriyaAranyakasay ltat an Praiapaii lhe form oi immo al bliss existsin the generalive in atgan.l',lhe Brhaderanyakaup. also says lhat all the elemenls organ-'?s of b ss culrnnate in ihe bliss of the generative Thus, a I lhe elemenls ot lhe Tiintric practiceswith ihe ritesof lhe Vedas Iive ma-kArascan be lracedto the sacri{icial of and ihc ph,lo(op!.a discourses 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;ina saciiicer is to be looked or Lrpon the pasuor animaltobe saciliced.Though lhe Tenklc as practlces01cit;i's,idhand, sava-sddhane munda-s;idhan;i and lhey seem to cannol be direcllytracedto ihe Vedic lradition, ol be later developments some or the other Vedic riles. The Tzinlricpractices o{ sal-karma or six kinds ot abhicaras deallwith in the Vedic literature or magica rites are explicilly as tollowsl Senlt: the RV deals with spells lor curing diseases (10.162) antidotes poison( 1.191;7.50. the lor In and prescribes AV, we lind numerousspellsfor curingdiseasesimagined as 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

nLnber ol w,ld dnd oofleslic antma! were ^tl,Fd y/eabr,as or bullsalso were probably killedin 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 sacritlces ol purusa-medha ol and sarva-meona. The ro e of sex-elements connection in wilh religious rites 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)which seems 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 havingsomething do with the lertrttv-culi.,i as to Further, n the SalapathaBrahmanawe cofiP- across numerous passage n which sexual union is identitiedwth sacrifice 1 5. e 1 2 , 4 . 4 2 2 . 5 1 . 1 , 5 . 1 3 9 ;5 . 2 . 5 . 8 ; 6 . 3 . 3 0 ; 6 . 3 . 3 . 3 8 i 7 . T h1 . 6 ) . 1; Altareya-Annyaka\2.1.1: 2.3.7) also relers to sex-eement when it describesseed and woman-blood AdilVaand Aont. as respeclively.r, In a numberof Upanisadic passages, woman is conceived as the sacrilicialfire, lowerprivaiepo11ion the sacrrlicial her as wood,lhe generative organ theflame, as andso on (Ch.Up.5.1B.j 22,8r.Up.6.2.13). BrhadaranyakaUp.(6.4.3) The descrbeslhe

scariliers. Animals commonly killed animal-sacrifrces in were rams and goats.In horse,sacrilices, horsesalono w/th a

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protective al amulets seento be very popular the time of is (2.3.1 prescrbes Vasikarana: The Taittirliya"Samithiri ) s:imgrahani by a could wonoverand be rnantras which person prominenl powedulpersons and unrulywives could be or (2.3..10) tamed. says lhat Sitalried The Tailtiriya-Brehmana In to win somathrough so.cery. lhe AV, lhereare numerous allraclhis wite or sDells whicha husband lovercoLlld bv or In beloved towards him (3.25.1-2). lhe sameway,spellsare loundwhichcouldbe usedby a ladyto win overthe heartof somelormulas also someman.we comeacross someacross by which onecould appease wrath a grealmasler galn lhe of or oTominence an assemblv. in Stambharar theAV,we meelwithwildcharms which ln by a woman couldbe madebarren a mancouldbe robbed or ol power. his generative fnIhe ebhicekahymns ottheAV,lhere are also magicformulas loil lhe magicalacls ot some to Vidvesana.ln the RV, we lind spells or praclices lor removlng co-wlves (10.145.159), clarified theApastdmaaIn as rs (10.5-8.9. the AV also,lhereare spellswhich In Gthyasitrc couldbe applied a woman10ousther rivals. by Ucdlana:In lhe AV we see spells coming under class lhe called slri-karmeni which could by one create loveintrrgues and disturbancesa madied There in lite, which sard are alsospells insane. Again, come we to be capable making ol someperson across spells inflaming loveoJsomewoman for the lKausikasukta, 3s,28). Meana: ln lhe Vejasaneyi-Samhita 17.3),the Ketyeyana (4.27),there Srayta-sitrc\9.4,39Jandthe Taithriya-Arcnyajka are charms against demons. lhe abhicarika-hymnsthe In of AV, we lind charmsby whichenemies couldby destroyed. Fromthe above, it is seenthal almoslall the e emenls practices be iraced lo the Vediclilerature, ol the T6ntric can and, hence. lhey must be regarded originaling lrom the as

also' lhe Tanlras Vedas. Accordingto lhe kadllional view tror rf'e: Sar oragya-kdndaollhe Ay TnPhalikulitnava' i"Joea when ll slarlslhe d'scourse thlslradition fa.t,a c'early'ocuses ahe Rudtd ;;, N"* D;"' says in ihe AthatuanaSamhna Alnarava_Vedasak"r' lo tl 1-anatarCt.t alsoreiers Mahedevras by ^ Tanlra_work Da'nodarars eurogrsed tf," virio.r'"tu."ni Kulatrdva' as.ontarnrnql^e essenceof IHeAy Fulnet lhe as Ine palh ol Tanlta calleoKulamarga lhe irnr,,0"."i0"" lhe Tenttas of Vedas ln the view ol Bhaskaraya' :' ol section lhe Vedas ""a"na" continuation lhe Upanisadic oJ a mart<s .raln a r lo are the Accofoingly. Ianl"c lJpanisads sLooosed fankas A lhPqe Ine ao'recr ri ar'onOerween Vedas and lhe thal in lavour oi the result olour Ioregoing study vlews oo in lhe Vedas th" Tu-nlri"pru"t"". have got their origin

BEFERENCES
1. ' v i d e U K D a s s " U p a k r a m a n i k ; it o \ h e K u l a t n a v a Tanta, P 4

Sara_ vedagama'maharnavam malhilvAnena_manthena - Kularnava_ samuddhrlah dev mavr{ kLrla-dhafmah anarmo viddhl s i."t,u. zilo; lasm6dved6tmakam aslram - ibid 2 86' karlatmakam PnYc Ch Chs videYoni_Tanlra, 5 and7; Nila-Tanlra 11:Kumar Ch Ch. 6 and Gupta's6dhana'Tantra 4 Tanira.
4. 5. 6. 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'

8. 9.

Up purusoveda- Chendogva ' 6 14 2 itcdryavdn -Karvalva sucih sukhdsanaslhah sama'grive_srtah_sarirah samansa i'ar nrdindr'vdn' up, ii ri i --rr" "rnepv; Up -"nu"u t"nn' u"tv" - Svelasvarara 2 I - Prasnd p 35 alhal\dlordhva u p oavuosrhFanan apa"dn - '"lo 3 T t dhvamp'anamunnavarv ,l!"'". praordvena prdryagasyalr Katha up 2 23 prarda up ceslah- svetasvalara z 5 samvukla T3 lvd - Vaiasaneyi_Samhila tva phal prenava vyanaya
c khat-phad-jahi, hindhi bhindhi handhi kal Ialt'va

98

Chapler 3

VedicOriginol Teniric Practices 24.

i prajaparlr mrranandaly_upaslhe a 3

99
T a j l t t n v au p 3 1 1 '

10
11

a u m - i t y - e t a d k s a r a m - u d g i l h a mp e s l a a u 1 . 1 . 1 s e e l b i d ,1 . 1 2 - 1 3 .

Chi:ndogya p, U

25

12.

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 m 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 v Saundarya-lahari, p. 334. p a n g u s l h a - m d l r a h 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 j U p ,2 . 1 . 1 2 : n g u s l h a - m a l f ap u r u s on l a r a l m 6 a c l a a n d n 6 m a h s 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 a p . 3 . 1 3 : b r a h m a p u r e U 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 , O _ 2 . 1 b r h a l i h k i k a s e h* i b i c l , 9 . 1 2 . dva suparnasay!ja sakhey6 saminam vrksam parisasvajate t a y o fa n y a hp i p p a l a m v a d v - a l l y ' a n a s n a n n - a n y o i c a k a s i t i s abh - MundakaUp, 3. 1.1. vide Chandogya Up, 5.16 and Sankara s comt. on it. 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 m . 2 9 : 3 hrdaye cirta-samvitibid, 3-34; kanrha-kupe ksut p i p a s a n i v r l l i- r b l d ,3 . 3 0 ;m u r d h a - j y o l i s il d d h a d a r s a n a m h s - lbid,3.32. vtde DattatFya Yoga.sasr.a erses 107-118 v vide Clnva Svami yajha-tallva-pnkesa, pp 38-39, 1081?2. 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 A. B. Keilh, Religion and Philasophy ol lhe Vedas and lhe Upanisads, p. 345. upamanlrayale hinkaro,jnapayalesa prastavah,strlydsaha sa 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.

26.

27

B sarvesamanandafamLrpaslhaekayanam rhadaranvaka - 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 atharva purusam pasLrm Brahnana, 6.31 avadhnan Veda. 19. 1 7 10 and Taitlniva Aranyaka 3 12 35 s 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 ac o m l o n Ntlya-sodasikanava. l 22

13.

15. 16

17. 18.

19 2A 21. 22. 23

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ChaPter-4
T I he wo'shipof S va-linqa placedon a roundplareca lad aryhyaat yanipatais a commonpracliceprevalentin the culi in ol Saivism.Practically, 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. that lhe worshp ot /lngais higherthan the worship declares oi Svas rmage. 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, For example,Ihe Rg-Vedarelerc foLrnd n the Vedic lleratureto some ciru cltra or beaulilul image or arl oi S va-'zfhe Yajurof veda also seernsto hinl to the existence lhe practlceof lhe worshp ol S va's mage, when it speaks ol the worship ol tsul Tryambaka matked with sweetscent.3 no signifcant h nl lo ihe ex slence oi lhe worshp of Siva-lnga is to be lound in the Vedic leterature. p Those who ook upon iinga-worsh as a iorrn ot pha sm 'slsnadeva'occurring as discussedbelow,hold thal lhe term followng the practtce meanssomebarbarians in the Rg-yedaa ol phallicworship.Bui this view can not be accepled on the ground lhat no refeTence such a lraditon s lound in lhe to says of vedic nterprelalions anc eni India.Y;iskain h s /vlfukia 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 remains Mohenjodaro, oi 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 ng no del n te proof whatsoever. hav 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 sation. no sLlcha cv trad lion ot S va llnga worship cou d be lound in Indra ln the lvlah;ibhirala, thereare clear marks 01the practce p. oi S va- nga-worsh In the 'Arus;sana-parvan the same. of there s c ear reJerence Siva nga ln the 'Sauplikaparvan' to (Ch 17.21 3) also a reference the Siva- nga is folrnd n lo the Vana-paivan,Arjuna is seen 1o be worshpp ng Siva in lhe lornr of an a ter which certarnly standsfor Slva nga.tThe worship S vaOlngawas howevr popuar in anc ent Ind a. oi nol 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 evidence Slva- nga. t seems that S va-linga of 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 century A.D.The connection Siva-linga ol with yonpataseens to be slr laler. 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,Iepreseniin lheiernaleorganoi Ga!ri g the fulolher Goddess.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 r c o n l o r my w i t ht h e p o p u l a b 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 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 societies countres like Egypt, of Greek. Roman etc., and the worshp of S va nga s stmply a varietyol lhat primitive lradition pha lism.e of Somescholars, 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

to organ We afe heremaklng an endeavour so ve thisproblem , o ' n d o - r L. . c l n a l u ' eo l S v d E a . Before mak ng an observalion lhe controversy, s to on il that n lhe Purenas, there is a numberot ep sodes benoted 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 revelation S va hirnseliin lhe iorm of ol lyotrlingaof brllianl iorm. Eprsodes describing Siva nga , r\e re p o vp o gdn o'Siva a e ll e lollow_9: 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 d oa l l L r e t s er r v o < r r h e . a g o d n . r t ! o " "L and ihe wrvesoi the sagesalso becameal uredtowards him. ar lr d 'r p. l_. ..9.5 s""v | .r ._d LLr\ed lhdr hrs rj.qd shou d fall down there al once. a SivaJinga lell to the ground at once, but t look the iorm of ire, began to rnove hther and th lher and burn al thingsthat came to its front. The ,rga gradualyexpanded and pervaded who e wor1d. Ithe gods, the A dernonsand men becameafraidto see the nga and wenl lo Brahma for rescue. Brahmi advised them to meditateupon llma, so that she takesthe {ormof yorland paclies lhe ,rga. ' The gods and the sagesd d accordingly, the ,rga became and stable rest ng an lhe yoni ol Ume. , - ! 6 s r ' . / r P r , r ? - rq , v \ r h - . o n c es , v d d g g l - r n e o a beaulriu forrnand, n a nakedposition, went to lhe Diruka Iorest sportinglyto co ecl alms irom the hermlages oi the sages and tr ed to arousethe ieeling of lust in the m nds oi the wives ol lhe sages.Al this, the sages becarneangry and cursed that his///rgashou d fal toiheground atonce. S/va's ltnga a1 ance fel lo the ground.r, 'o {b) In lhe same Purana the episode s describedrn a s o m e w h ad 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 , 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,'3 it beganto lrighlenthe wholewodd. In lear, the but gods began to sing in praiseof Siva. At lhis, Siva became pleased and told that it Brahma,the gods and the Brahmins worshipped lhe linga,the world woutd be saved Accordingly, Brahme, godsand the Erahminsworshipped Siva-linga the the 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.rl this, the world becameafraid.Visnu and Erahma At lhen approached lingaand, with a view to Jinding out its the end,went lo its lowerand upperregions, respeclively. they But returned vain and beganto sing in praiseoi Siva. Sivathen in appearedand Visnuand Brahme requesied him to take back his ,rga. Siva agreed 1olake back his ,nga provided gods the worshipped Siva-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 meditalion wjth a view to becoming gauri or while-complexroned. that time Siva becamemad with the pangs of Ai separation trom Kiili and, being beautilully dressed,entered a loreslof the hermits a nakedpositionwilh his companions. in Except Arundhal, 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 hermitage Vasisthaol Arundhati servedhim 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

or and maleorgans :19, the lolm ol yoni-tinga rhe lemate

and olher sages cursedSiva that his ,nga shouldlall to the ground.Siva's /lngafell to the groundbut, in a beautilul and torm,rt expanded allaroundand then entered brlilianl deep nio the earlh. At this,the wholeworldbecamedark and the hearis ot the sagesalso was enveloped with 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 once Svdyambhuva that Manu pe ormeda greal sacrilice in the mountainol l\randara. The sages who attended the sacrifice asked the Vada-knowino Bra mrn5 Wno is the greatest among lhe gods? i he queslro; was put 10 lhe great sage Bhrguwho advised the sages to examrne the characlers Brahma,Visnu and Siva for havino of Iha a_swe lO r^e qLestron.Bhrgu satd that, of lhese three, the one who wouldbe tound to have a pure character the oi qually ot sattvawoutdbe regarded th greatest. as 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'- entoyment with 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

ln lhe 'Sauptrka.parvan",?the Mahabhairata,rs sard of rl ,.-_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 Innumerabte beings. Atter that Mahddeva ^-ralapali !q' ,e out ot water and found that lhe acl ol creattonwas

Whalrs SrvaLinqa? Al alreadvcornpleie. this, he consideredhis /inga Lrnusetul lorn t olf, he went to the mounlain oi lvlilaval and, h;vinq Ihe tinga ol Sva was sluck to the earth as lhe syrrbor ol lha fp sooes desc'iolng Slva_linga drvineano orilllanliotn ol S,va are lhe lo"owlng says 1. the Skanda-Purana thatoncelherearosea quarrel oJ Brahmaand Siva on the question theirsupenorly between resultedinto a fight between the The ouarrelultimately continuedfor one thousandyears Alter thal a two, whr;h belween thelwo'' lyatir tingaat briliant //nga appeared in irom lighl ng them to refrain uolce lrom the sky advlsed 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. ol 2. This slory ol ihe revelalian lhe jyolitmaya orbrLlranl also " ll ls sardlhat //rga s lound \n the Brahmenda'Purana when Brahme and Visnu were engaged in quarrel on tne _ d a' In o-esl o'r ol supe or Iy, a firpdppeared lhe no'lfe ( q _ r c r on 'l i.e brillance l I_e "'e'nade dlolher 'ghls o fire, Brahmaand Visnu ran towards t Seerncrthat surprising pervadedlhe sky and lo kn; whal ilwas. The lire gradually /inga withrnthe indescribable lhe earlh, and Visnu iound an respecnvely' anddown-wards, iire. Brahm:and Visnuwenl upwards years10reach the end ol the /inga and lried tor one hundred bul lailed. Alter thal Siva appearedbejore them 3. Ihe Stva'Puranaalso descrbes the revealion ol lhe al Natir-hnaa the time of the quarrel belween Brahmuiand pillar Vlsnu. ttere llte iyolir'tingais described to be a fearlul the formless remained:! 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 and wakelulness Brahma ntdh a slale belween sleep lhe desirinqlo know the secretoi his birth,travelled through torone hundredyears-and .tutt oitn" navel-lotusolVisnu

109

o - 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 n 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' appeafedintheir midst,which During therr lighl,a iyotir-tinga havingneilher begrnnrng and indescnbable, brilliant vrasextremely nor end and neilherincreasenor decrease lt was lormless Then, by and was known lo be the cause ol the universe-'?j Brahmdand VisnLrlried 10 lind ol rhe DrooosaJ Visnu,both o rl hp sol|ce o lhe tie'y suoslance Brdhmawe'' uoward< and Visnu downwards,but find ng no end io lhe iyottr'ltnga lhey began10 meditaleupon t for one hundred years' Then appearedbeforethem' Mahadeva ten handedand tive'headed VLsnusanq hymns in praise of Siva and Srva Brahma and p eased by the songs advised them lo make Siva'linga wilh clay and lo worship and mediateupon it. The same episode alsa rs found ln lhe same languagein lhe ltnga-Purena foundin lhe Sivapurena"' to 5. According anotherepisode and V snu were once engaged in tighlinglo lesl who Brahmzi appliedlhe L!as sLrperorbetweenthem. In lhis iighl, VisnLr weapon the let and l\4rhesvara-weapon Brahm;i loose P;isupata 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 ol dissolved into lhal pallar lire. 6 Ihe Kirma Purina describeslinga as inexpressrble, and brillianl.ndestructibie as ol the natureot bliss ll s sard 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 whole!nrverse. the y Thisiyotir-linga exlreme bn hanl.:r 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 ?

ltl

7. Ihe K.;lika' Putena says thal after destroying the Daksayajna sacriliceperformedby Daksa, Siva took lhe or dead body ol Sati,his consort,on his shoulderand wandered all around n extremeanguish. Findinglhis aci oi Siva to be dangerous lhe world,Brahmd,Visnu and Sani entered the lo 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'did not originally mean the generalive organ. 11 meanl 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.?5The Skanda-Puranaalso exptainsthe term in the sarne way, In the general usage ot the term, 'lnga' means some specral mark which poinls to lhe existence something of ese. ll s Lrsedlo denote the generatlveorgan only tn a secondary sense,and this sensedeveloped only 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, term 'linga'is used lo denoteany the 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).16 These ,hga-sthalas have not even lhe s ighleslrelation wilh the generative organ. lt is notable that the Saivitesof this school are the most devotedfollowers ol Siva-linga. They are called Lingiiyets also, as they loltow the praclice ol hanging a Sivalinga on the neck.2? Even in such a syslem, Sivalinga does not ftean the generative

organ yonipatabelawthe Sivalinga 3. The practce of attachrng un vefsal.There are numerous Siva- ngas which are is nol not altached10 Yani?ala. is 4. Though lhe linga-wotship speciallyrelaled lo lhe il is not monopolisedby lhis cull. For lhere are Sva-cult. 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 Siva-irngas 5. Thereare numerous elc. and aso some with tour mouths, On the slrength oi lhe above iacts, some think thal il s e as or reasonab lo lookuponSiva-linga a symbol represenlation e 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 vo r 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 Haridas Bhattacharya Ramesh and ChandraMajumdar holdthat Slva-lingais a subslituleol Siva, slone s a subslitute of NdrAyana,r0 il lusl as lhe sa/agrama s assurnedby some thinkers that the idea of represenling Siva by S va-linga might haveoriginated fromthe Upanisadic stalementslike Brahman is stable like a tree', Though wrthoul any iool or hand, it moves and receivesrlhough wrthoul any eye, il sees; and thoughwithout any ear, it hears elc which speak oJ lhe unchangeable nature01 Erahrnan ll rs. however,an extremeview lo hold that the worshp ol Srva-linga was not al all connected wilh 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, regarded the Saivitesas lhe is by ulmale cause of the world. This idea compared wlth lhe Irorldy lact oi procrealion trornthe organiccontaclbelween rnaleand lemale,lead to the idea ol organiccontaclbetween srva and lhe {\rother-Goddess, the explanattonol lhe Ior cleallonol the world. In reality, view,rrom the lranscondenlal poinlol v ew Sivaand Sakliare lormless; they assumedivrne

112

cnapt.r-+
list"s d'd o e n e r a l r vO , g d no l S i v a l l T a y b e a d d e o l h a l e o t h e s y ' n b o lo i l h e l o l a l r t y l S v a l h a l h a c a o'srva.trnqa s Io religiouspracticesor spiritualprogressol lhe ieteuance devotees. The concept ol Siva-lingaas a symbol ol lhe oeneralve organ oJ Siva has nolhingto do with the relrgrous The concepl iractices or spiritualprogressol the devotees organ of Siva has nga as a symbolol the generatjve ol Siva-l praclices nor with the sprrtual noihinglo do with the religious progressol a devolee.

lorms only lor the satistaction ihe devolionalsentirnents oi ol the spiritualaspirants.Hence, the idea ol the aenerative o.gan ol Srva and the Molher-Goddess does 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,oying organicpleasure. The Jorms Siva ol and Saktt are divine and are completely tree lrom sensual pleasure.This divlne existenceor sport ol sva and Sakt or Gaurihas ils parallel only in the sport betweenSrikrishna and 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 loolishness distinguish to betweenthe body ol Siva and his organ.The so calledditferencebetween whoteand the oad the is -rade only fo' the satislaction the sentrme.l ot d v ne ol 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 compared lhe male generatrve gan and Sa(tl lo o in her lotality,to the temalegenerative organ.Tl this kind his idea that degenerated into the nakedsex,beheaviours Siva ol depicted in the above rnentionedPuranic episodes.Thts shameluland pitiable delineation Siva,otherwse knownas ol Yogireja or the kjng of the selr-controlled yogins, most be attributed the credit ol some aulhorsol low grade.And 1 to is the mythslashioned such authors01low qradethat have by Ini'ueaced class of thinkers or devoleesloiake the Srva. a linga as lhe generative organ of Siva. What we men to say primadly s thisthal Siva-linga denotes brilliant v ne iorm the d of Siva, it is ihe pratikaor symbolof the tota ity of Srva, mav oe ,s gainedas lhe male generattve organ,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-Samhita which declare that Sambhu, Sankara or I\,4ahesvaraol the lorm ol linga.3,To be moreexplcit, even is whenthe conceplion generative of organ is app ied, Sivatinqa rs lo oe ia(eT to representthe lolatityor Siva. a"o nor rie

REFERENCES
l s a n k a r ap r a l r m a v a s 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 . a t v d r b a k a ' n v a l a m a h e s 'u g v n d h i m p u s n v r t d h d n a m sr ki ana ri qroreo bv V Das va oevala Bb.ord 1 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 , 9 6 7 - 8 - RV 7 21 5 l v , l a i s n a - d e v aa p i g u r r l h a m n a h s 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 n r t v a me v a p r a k i r n a b h i h l n b h i h s a k a m k r i d a n l a sisnena 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 : a sisnena drvyantikridanla iti sasnadevah brahmacarva - S a y a n ao n 8 V 7 2 1 . 5 iryafrhah See supra "Siva as a Vedlc God . " See Mahebhanta. "sauptika_paruan17 21'3 d s m r n - n r a y a m 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 h a v a m ' V a n a ' P a r u a n "3 9 6 5 , Mahebhera?. pp See H N Bhartacharya, Hindudet Devadevl Vo t Cullute p 164 118-9 and A. C Das Rg'Vedic - Srv:r' lvadiyam caica lingam ca palatam prlhvitale Purena Jhana sanhi!6 42 15 b 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 m h a i e t t b r d ' 42 21 a 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 yca

2.
3.

6. 8 9 10.

12

114 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.

Chapter-4

W h a l r s S r v aL n q d ?

I 15

13. 14.

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 PUra-dvrsah lbtd, 39. 15. l a r a hp a p a i ad e v a s y a i n g a m L v r mv y a d a r d y a r . r a s a t a t a m t p v l v e s a r n a r a h m a n d c o r d h v a t ob h r n d t v a m a n ap u Q n a D e _ 6.66-7. See labove. v o n i - l i n g a - s v a r u p a ma i t a s r r a d b h a v i s y a t , _ v r . u . a r a . - u [ a r a - k h a n d a " .c h 7 8 prdda-

30.

31

15. 16.

32

18 19. 20. 21

14ahabhant. Sauplika-parya, Ch 7 n a!,rbhul3r maha-trngam ,vyamreto-rra/an ,Lb.an _ d rKanoa-Fuana. 34 13 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 k n ib h u v al a n - n r a d h y a t a l e va f 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 vs a m b h a v a r _ 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 m a r a mt r n g a mp r a d u r b h L r a m p srvarnatamk s a v a - v r d d h t s v i n r m u k ra o r m a d . y a . t a - v a i , . r a _ am 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 m a t r a r v at r n g a t v a m t garava. h a r a h . . . . . . l l r i d .8 . 5 4 . 1 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 md v d n d . t Ingam ucyate - Skanda-Punna. quoted by M. Das op c,r. p. 56 S e e S r i k a r u - b h a s y a n B r a h m a - s u t r a1 . 1 . 4 , I r . o , 2j-29 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 . .

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 . Cultural Hetitage ot lndta H sroncal Skelch of Saivism," Vol. lV. P. 67 vrksa iva srabdho divi listhaty'ckah - svetasvatata up sa 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 u h s r n o l v _ ib,d,3.19. akarnah m p s sakllman urusah o yamlinga_rupi ahesvarah B'ahma_ - Kalika'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 a i 8 c . 6 : I n i g a _ s v a r u pb h a g a v a n _ c h a m b h ula l r a s v a y a m slhilah - /bid 80.36.

22 23

24.

25

26 27. 2A.

184j. yi"lyh sira.svar;pena brahma.rinsa_ :.i:?.,:: l:. s v a f u p a - d h f k- i b i 4

80.36.

s v a y a mv i s n u rl i n g a - r u ptia r r a s t e h a g a v a nh a r i h_ b

Karta

29.

See M. Das op ci! pp. 55-6 and H. Bhallacha.ya. Ire

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Chapter-5
T I o rhe qereralpeople, Tantra or and lhe Tdntri[as rhe oi ol and fear.Some followers Tanlra obiects bolhdislike are calledabhicercs, whichhaveliltlerelalions occullpractices pursued theTdntrikas wllhreligion, alsosomereligious and by pract/ces Tantra, for oJ are responsible this-Of the religious lhe ma kArasAdhanasor practiceswilh 7he ma-kdfts, in parlicular, havebeen subiected serious lo criticisms. makeras livein number, namely, madya wine, These ate or mansaot meal, matsyaor lish, mudr6 or crookedrice ard and or are ma vegelable mailhona sex-relalion.'These called k;jras, because lhe words all denoting these objecls havema kalaor the sound'm'in beginning. ma-kera-s,dhanes lhe And practices are pursued lheTantrikas are lhosereligious lhat by wilh the help ol these ma'kiais. Ol the live mekeras,mudrA by coming under mudre nol arc s described noneas an object al a I harmful our morallifeand are usedby all oi us in our to are seiously day-to-day life. But the olher lout ma-keras including Euddhisrn, criticised allthescriplures Hinduism by ol Jainism and Sikhism, in as and also by the people general directly opposed religion to and ethics. Of course, scriptures theManu-smttiand likehave like lhe prescribed and mealas lood,but theseprescriptions lish are meant the people lowgrade for ol whohaveno ideaabout the higher lite. and purerplaneol spiritual This is clearfromthe lactthat, l,,lanu declared has whilegiving finalassessmenl, his non-ealing lishand meatas lhe ,ltamaor lhe highesl lorm ol ol practice, hasadvised spiritual aspiranls abandon lo and lhe lhe praclice eating andmeal., drinking wine ol ol lish Likewise, has alsobeenallowed the people lowerrank,and sexof to relation beenprescribed the house-holders, has lor lhough al the end,the abandonmenl thesehabits beeneulogised has of as givinggreatlr!its.3 This means lhal thesetour ma-kafas arelreated opposed religious spiriluallile. Underlhese as to or

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Chapter5

Tanlrc Practicewrth Makaras

c r r c u m s r a n . Fa ,o u e s l i o n . , a r . r r ad ln s e sI n o u r m r n da s l o s l y why these things have been"declared Tanlraas means for in spirilualuplift. In some authoritative scriptures, is held lhal the ternrs it 'madya, mansd etc.laundln the Tzjntric prescriptions nol. do n reatrty, rneanwine, fish etc. with whtch we are acouainted. These lerrnsare here said io be used in lechnicalsenses to denotedilterent stepsor stagesin the pathot spiriluat progress and fealisaljon. Thus, in the Tjnlrjc scriptures,we find the explanatlons lhe ma-k4as in diiterentways as iollows:(1) al 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'rneans speech (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 ptunayama breath-conlrol aircontrol. practice i,e. or The ol eatrngmlldrdmeansdigesting sentiments desire.lear. the ot 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.5 r3\'Mddva means absorplionin the med alton ol , B . a h n a na d i n t h e b l t s s r , s i n gr o ms u c hT e o ( a l , o n . . M a n s a a means absorption lhe meditation Brahmanthroughthe ln ol deslructionot mefits (punya), demerits (papa), angei etc. 'Malsya' meanssense-control absorption the m;ditaijon and in ol lhe_seil.'Mrdrd means.boiling'or destroying desire,greed, elc. Maithuna'means absorptionin Brahman.6 Madya giving \4) ase 1o happrness and miserystandsfor rakla or blood.Mdnsa energislnglhe body and lhe mind representsvAyu at at. Matsya increasing the power of iert ltty signilies wa1et.Mudn

ol the lormrng loundation all lhe livingbeings dr veoelable represenls rootol mulliplicily the Mailhura, ."mb;rses lhe earth. -,uoa", practice the llve ma_kdras ol Hencethe o, "pur" ol ol and ;ears divinrsalion all lheseelements dedication lhe meanslaslinglhe llow ot same ol the Lotd' (5)'Madya' lies in lhe lotusol necla.oozingkom bindu(which sLpreme as cord and lunchons the at ,ainasrara lne lop ol the spinal lhe between o{ result the union as ;ootol all manifestations)a 'Mensa'meansdestroyrng menls and kuntlalini-powet bindu. by (papa) symbolised lhe anlmalto (punya) and demerils by - and ol{ering heart- represented mansa lhe ne sicriliced lhe - lo the Lord.'Malsya' meansconkolling sensesand ol|no_a rhe'n Io lne contaclof the sell Mailhunameans Sel'3 wrlnthe Suprerre self r,"ni,ni rne .ndividuar in contact usedin is: iere tf'e question il ihe saidwordsare really praclrces ot spiritual to symbolise their lechnicalsenses above,why havethe Tiintrikas grades,as presenled diflerent usagecarrythe chosentiese wordswhichin their general and dollbts arouse and things thereby undesirable oJ meanings To ot in the minds people? this,somesaythalthese d sresp;ct people people or the wordshavebeenusedlo attraci ordinary to low qrade who are addicted such things But lhis of grounds : on cannotbe accepled tho following interoret;tion people simply the to (1) First, is notpossible altract ordinary it To thingsoJalluremenl allract by uttering fewwordsdenoting a to be thoselhingsmustactually olfered the ordinirypeople, scriptures, in (2) lhemior lheir enioymenl. Secondly, theTeintric are ol'lhe makeras foundas lollows: delailed descriptions lrom lJttama madyaot madyaof highqualilycan be produced or Mrinsa mealcanDeacqulreo and molases, sesamum honey. livingin waler.landand air' Iron rhe lhreelypesor animals Amongstmatsyasor Jishes,sii/a, bodeb and rohila are.tne besl ones. Sd/irice- whitelike the moon'beams when cookedor baked wilh thee becomessuitableto be used as mudra.e Flowersare also worthy of being used as mudte ln ''.ecdseol lhe praclrce [/larthuna own wite is Sadhakas ol have Allthese descriptions decared10be the bestassociale.ro we are things rralerial to clearreferences the corlesponding

ChapteFs acqurarnted with. lt is neitherpossiblenor, desirableto give acquaintedwith. lt is neilher possiblenor desirable to dive 5ym0ottL, spintual inrerprelalions all these ler.ns. or, to {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 sadnaksof high rate, in the pursurt spiriluatJte. ot crear sadDakas tikeBemaksepa and othersused to take wtne neat etc. in their spiritual practices. Srj p K. Chanopadhayayin his ,Tanlebhihist Sadhusanga inlorms us how great iantrikas navrngsuper-sensuous experiences ajso used to p,acltcewtth rne rve makdlas.An evenl descflbed,nlhts work w r su,lrce . In rhe dark night of a new_moon day. a numoer l:"to:'l'.o" or I antnkas, each having his female assoctate with him,

wilh l/lakaras r^-r". Practrce

123

lrkeRamakrjshna olhersnot praclice and with lhe ma-karas? ln solvingtheseproblems, Trintrjkas thal sridhakas the say or sprntual aspirants divided threetyp;s,according are in{o to three types ol bhevasot menlal atilude_ihe ttrreerypei ot bhAvas arc: (al pasubheva tamasika-bh.iva the animalistic _ ot alfd{deor the a iludeot the quatity lamas, vtebhava ol \h) ot tne tatasika-bhdva the neroicallilude the a rruoe * or o, lhe q,.jality rEas, and (c) divyabheva se vi|a-bhava ol o. lhe divinealtrtude lhe altrtude the quatilyol sattva.,! or ol Though these threebhdyas sofietimes are desc;ibed three as slepsin the pathol sprrituat progress, is morereaso-ab,e rl

o!rhg.l?8+aras? Seco^dty, dJd^e why \2) srear l:l,eleretarlgr5 lottowers Tantra of

meal and wtne along wllh lheir ternate associates and practised the wholenight.ln this assembly, tor 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

ll. tonery cemetery, In a crrcu,ar sar way. 1 ::::1!i_d sulficienl consurned

praclice ways of sprnlual ,^,eod'o l'e'r as three di{lerenl Olthese athtudes ol ff'" sadf'akas threediflerenl oy "i.'".i"0 pasubhava ool is a in,"" ryp"s ol sedhakas, sedhakaol the sense in wit|.lhe ma'kAras lheirpopular ."r,rtei to o.actise in may bringdownlall hrs i'n"" pru"ii"". with the ma-kalas lor or someatukalpas substllules the ma_ l'le.Hence, ..,r rJal as lor i'aras a'e prescribed this class ol saalhakas tollows : lol matsyaarc cocoanul'watel'milk' honey' The substitules so withmolasses on Thesubslitutes mixed lhejuiceol ginget garlicand so on The sesamum, ate salt,ginger, lat mansa lor substitutes malsya ate red radish (mulaka),brinial,salt, nce are lor elc.Jhe subslitules mudra paddy. etc The ;rnoer, ol for i.lo-sr.trres malhunarsoflering llower'BForthe sad'akas ate also.lhelrvemaka@s nol prescribedsince ol d,vvaDhava In ol the sadhaka lhis class,berngalwaysabsorbed divine practise withtheseexternal io it consider superfluous lhoughls, io; advised takeonly of The sadhakas lhis classare elem;nts. menlioned ma-karasas ofthe orspirilualmeanings thesvmbolic populer are senses prescribed in T.e fivema-ftalas lheir aoov;. lo 'or lhe sadhatasot viabhava only Accotding some.the ol prescribed the sadhakas diryabhava lor ma-karas are exiernal to also." But it is more reasonable attachlhe practicewith lhe externalma-karaslo lhe sadhakasol viabhava only' as it is the sadhakas virabhavaonly Ihal lty io attainsprrilual of with conlrontation the nalu.allendencres enlighlenment through the whomsoever ma'karasmighl be ol the mind-boby. lor But prescribed, sadhakais nol allowedto practicewith lhem a accordlng his sweet will. A sadhakamay ptaclisewith lhe to ol lhe considering capabilily makafas;nly whenthe preceptor, the sadhaka.allows him to do so. In someTantras,the five rta'kei.ashave been described Mahenitvena'Tantra as obligatory allkindsol sadhakas.lhe lor says lhat withoutthe p:,clice ma'kiircs,a sadhakacannot ol as excepi makeprogress his spiritualiourney' he is liable in lo lo be conlronledwith obstaclesat every step of his journeyfhe MAtkebheda-Tan says lhat withoutdrinkingmadyaor lra w ne, no person and knowledge thal lhe can acquire highest by drinking worst sinnercan acquirereal madyaevenlhe

124

ChapleF5

rantricPr!491!M99I39

125

knowledge atlainliberation. person, is said,altains and A it srralilaor godliness lhe very moment drinking al oi suraor wine.Likewise, Kularnava-Tanlra someotherTantras the and also sav that lhe oractice wilh the ma-karas essentiai is lor spiritual upliil.l5 all lhesecases, In however, ma-karas the arc to be accepted lheirsymbolic spirjlual in or sense, sincelhe practicewith the spiritualma-karasis obligatory all. lt is lor in the caseol the sadhakasolvirabhavaonly practice that with thema-*afas lheirdirect popular in or sense been has regarded as necessary.ln realily in lhe case ol lhe sadhakas 01 virabhavaelso, praclice wilh lhe external ma-kerasis noi obligatory. sadhakas thisclassare simply jowed, The o1 a and not compelled, praclise lo with lhe ma-karas. This is known tromtheJact greaisac/hakas did thatlhereare numerous who nol practise with lhe external ma-karas, and that a great sadhaka like Bamakrishnadescribedthis wav ol soiritual praclice as'a pathfull oI rubbish."nd cannot, ll however, be denied thal praclice with the exlernal ma-keras- be il obligalory optional has been regarded Tantra a or in as meanslor spiritual uplifl. Now,as saidabove, non-Tanlric the lhinkers havealwavs decred the ma-kdasas greatevils,on the ground thal they bring downfall ourelhical spirilual Hence, Tantric in and life. the prescription lhese ma-kiitasas means tor spirilualuplift ol nalurally evokes thesequesiions: First, why havelheseantispiritual things been considered Tanlra means spirilual in lor as uplifl?Secondly, it reallypossible make progress is to in spiriluallife with the help ol lhese ma-karcs? In solving lirst question, will haveto be noledthat the it Tantrahas neverdescribed enjoyment lhe ma kdrasas the oJ such io be ihe meansfor spiril!al progress, Tantrahas described ma-karas lhe simply sub-servient the spirriual as to progress a sadhaka ot who,having aim {rxed spirilual his on praclices the help enlighlenment, underlakes relevanl lhe wilh ol thesema-kdras. person A whosepurpose simply eal is to pleasure Jish and meat,lodrinkwine,andto enioy sexual can palh. lJ neverbe expected makeprogress lhe spirilual to in

'egardeo as ,ha en,ovmenlol lhese ma-karasas such be '-1,."'il, ol ,o'titu"r ptogressor lor the atlarnment hberation wilhoul to liberalron ,n""n.o.t oitne p"opte wouldbe entitled o' the exception a person Tantrasaysthat wlth ,.-r endeavour. sense all fish_ealers .uttuu In rls symbolicor spiritual l,iviolenceagainsl li.h.,t"n commrtting ]i" 'J l" *g"tc"o "i said that a persondnnkingwrne srmply l",mals. lqa'n. rl is enioymenl and that unbriddled ,'^,.n'ou."nr '. qt""l sinner. by " 'iot Ortlerent tlom lhe enloymenl lhe lower i ri"'rr.*r.a. '" helplng a ,n,mats. T"e ma'heras arc lhus regarded as oi'rywl-enlheVa'e or laonaia atta n tiUe,ation enlightenment and iniunctions wilh proper to fJe use ol accotding scriptural ma-karas BLI rhe quest'onstill remainsas to how lhese lo sprritualitycan help a opposed wnah a.e drametrically we have lo sadhakain his spirilualprogress.ln reply to this is ot two kinds namely ot .piriiuallndeavour llu tn"i oI "ualrn" n.' rtn.marca or lhe palh ol renuncialion and pravtllimarga '' According the lirst palh a sedhaka lo Lfre oarnoieniovment tint drrecllyagainslthose menlal and phys cal . ,"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 And lor lhis i."J".i"i"" or desire,lusl, greed etc to the rootlhal ol oJroose,he 's lo grveup lhe enjoyment all lhose lhrngs ln lhe palh ol are Lableto aroule these menlal lendencies destroy the ,r""rrri o" rft" other hand, a sedhaka is nol to nor is he requlred naiuralto humanbeings; mentallendencies thal are liablelo arouse lo o've uo lhose lhlngsot enJoyment lhe ir'"-.. t"ni"n","". rr iirhrough bhogaor enloymentdeclare allain yoga sasiras ol thrs path' lhal a sadhaka can or enliohlenment liberationBul bhogaas such cannotleao a sad;aka lo enliohlenmenl or liberation li is bhoga through the ihal humanlendencies purification d-ivinisation the natural of or This puritication enlighlenment lo can leada sadhaka spiritual whenlhe naturalhumantendencles or divrnrsalion posslble. rs That means when dre drrected lowardslhe Lordor lhe Mother'

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the sadhakaenloys anything,he is to think and rea se lhat lhe objectol his enjoyrnenl but a maniiestation the Lord is oi or the fvother.Accofdingly,a sedhaka is hete a owed to enjoy all lhose thingsfor which he has a naluralaitachment. What lhe sedhakais required practiseis that he shoutdthink and to realrsethe bliss derlved from the enioymentof those th ngs to be the bliss ol Brahmanor the l\,lother. sedhaka by a A reguar pursuance ihis pracljce,can lransporl his mind lo of lhe divine land ly ng beyond the land oi materral enjoyment. lt s thereioresaid n Tantrathal a sadhakacan rise io lhe spiritualplane with the help of those things that are iiableto br ng downfall the lifeoi man.16 signiticance in The here is thal, a szidhaka to enioydivinebliss in the very enjoymenl the is ol 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. Tanlratherelore says lhal in )l ptavrttiis lranslormed lnto lyrtr, or rather, bhoga teappears as yaga,,s This path is meantparticuJar for those who lead a dom;stic y le, and also ior lhose who are not capable ol praclising -control. rigorousself 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, the time ol enjoying at the ma karas,lhal lhe enjoymenthe gets is but a manitestation lhe bliss of oi Brahman. ln other words, he shoutd enjoy Brahm;inanda tlrrough enjoyment the wortdly lhe ol things. pointto be noled A nere s ihal alllhe enjoyments the worldoriginate, reality, ol tn Irom Brahmzinanda. ordinarypeopte cannot reaiisethis The o a c a J s e t t q n o . a l c e n d t h e r e s u l t i n t m p u r t vo r I , e m _ d o a g w - . ' I n o o s et i . r i l a l i o no f l h e i re n l o y m e n l, o l i s - a s d d t r A d s o who, trtrougrtproper practicesdirects h s mjl]d lowards the S!preme, can deslroythis ignorance and the resulting impurtiy ol lhe mrnd.As a result,lhe limlationsimposedby gnorance and the impurty of the mind vanjsh and ihe unljmiieddivine

'div nisation When b iss reveas itsei. Thrs is whal is called a sidhaka ls successiul in dlvlnlsing his nalura hLrman he lendencies. linds no dlllerencebelweengood and bad or evl deed s betweef truth and lasiy. To him, lhe so_called e good deecl; lhe |]nlrue,as truei the undrinkab reveaed as a e as unealable, ealable;and the unenloyalr as drinkable the : ' T h e p r a c t i c w t h l h e m a - k a r a sh u s , s h o w s t n e l e b asenjoyae on patlr oi divinisal and leaches us how to inf nit se our I n le 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 ll !"/or y enjoymenl. we can enjoyworldlythingsas Brahman d ol our enjoymenlbecomespure and deep, as a resuLl whlch our nalurallendences r se to a divine p ane Th enloymenl whenllrat 01lhe beaulyol a f ower becomespurerand deeper, Such as and realised the beautyol Brahman. is beaLrly enioyed by the m n0' on ihe boundsimposed us an -.floymenidestfoys b bocly, and uniles us with lhe unbounded ss ol Brahrnan In of lrom the enloyrnent the ma the same way.ihe b ss derlved plane,when it s realised kares risesto an intinlteand divine w as denlrcal 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 the obiectol worsl cr tic sm To re al on has naluraly becorne clarfy the postion, kema or lusl s regardedas lhe greatest r , o b s l a c l e 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 l femalethat enk ndles lhe i re relaion betweenlhe male and comes: how can sex oi llrsl:r Hence,the questionnaturally To path for spirtua progress? ths, reLatron regardedas a be a sadhakals advisednot to enloy our rep y ls llrat, in Tantra, h s jema e assocate throughthe leeling 01 ust. but 1o look on upon and enjoy her as a human representat of the Divine lVolher to lransformthe woman into Mother Lrkewlse a sadhlkeor iemale aspirantis aso advlsedlo ook llpon ano of enloy her male associaleas a human representalion S va' ln realty, k;ima or lusl and preman ot love are Dul lwo

l\.aharas Tanlflc Practrce wrth

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aspecis the samepsychological of altitude. we can turnih ll directionof kAmalowads the Lord or the l\,4other, reveals il itsellas p/emar.Grealsagesof ages have shownin thir praclicalliveslhat kajma can be translormed inlo pteman and that, accordingly, the conditions all vokingkima can be translormed conditions into preman. havealreadv evoking We relerred theevenl an assembly theTant haswhe.eth; to ol ol headof lhe circleand his femaleassociale embraced each other in a naked posilion and were absorbed in samadhi. Krsnadasa Kaviraja his Caitanya-caritamrta in intormsus that Ramananda Raya, aVaisnava-saint devotee SriCaitanya, and of usedto practisewith some deyadssis girls in the services of the deities a temple- as his associates. in Ramananda Rayausedlo balhethesegirlsin his own hands, ornamenls lhem and applyperfume theirbodies. to 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-control Sri Caitanvaoaid his like highesl tribules Raya, to saying thal he was matchless his in self-controi, thal likea stonehe everrernained and unmoved by ihe lelling lust. reatdevotees Candidasa, ol c like Vitvamangala andJayadeva used practise lheirfemale also to with associates. In the lile of Sri Ramakrishna we find thal one day,by also, the direction his lady-preceptor oJ Bhairavi Brahmani, had he to sil on lhe lap ol a naked, girl; beautiJul tull,grown bLtt and even in this condition remained he unmovedby lust and behaved a child.The keyto the attainment sucha mental like ol balancelies in lhe divinisaiion molherisation woman.ll or ot will not be out of place to menlionhrethat Srikrsna's Rasasporlwilh the goplswas played sucha divineplane. in And throughthe pracliceoI maithuna, Tanltaleachesus this grat secretol divinisation molhedsation woman. or of We may thusconclude all lhe practices the malhat with k;jras teach us lo divine the objects of our atlachmentor enioymenl. Whena s4dhaka successtul lhis divinisalion, is in he sees lhat the materialma-kerasate translormed into the spirilual ma-karas. otherwords, thisplane, enjoys In in he the

sensesas represen|_g dr.Aaras In lherrsyrroolicor splrilual reaiisal'on He now derves l"e ;i;erenr oanps ol sprrrlual ol lhe neclarol lhe bliss ii"u,"rt o,"""rt" lro. lre enjoyment wholeol his existence lmudlal includinq AlatrrlanInadyal: the vital air Imalsya) is realised by him as th" prana-n"yu or identicalwith lhe existenceol lhe Supreme;all the actions are lo retaiing his mind-body broughlunderhisconkol Imdnsa]i his self becomes ,ully absorbed in Btahman lmaithunal. and Ol course, rl is very risky lo practisewith lhe ma-karas. parlicularly, with mailhuna, in this paththereis very chance as therefore says ot downla al every step.The Kulamava-Tantra are lhan waJking lhat thesepractrces moredangerous through lhe neck ol a tigeror catching the edge of a sword,or clasping Thal is why the practices holdot snake. wilh the ma-karasate generally kepl secret within the circleol a selectedlew, and greal religiousleachers concernedwith the mass do never propagale them. REFERENCES .nadyam minsam tathi malsyam mudr; mailhunam eva ca sakti-puid'vidhivddye paica-tattvam prakirtitam Mahanirva na-Tente,5. 221see atsoMundanala-Tantra. 2. 59. tasm:i6 mafsy:in vivaiayer- Manu-Samhtta,5. nivadeta l5i safva-mansasya bhaksana _ ,b/d.5. 48. na m:tnsa-bhaksane doso na madve na ca maithune. pravrttiresa bhuanam nivrllis tu mahdohati_ ibld. 5. 56. soma-dh:iriksared yd tu brahrna-randhrad varanane. p(yandnda-mayim yah sa va madya-sevakah. tam masaDdad rasanajneya iad-amsan rasanapriye.sada yo bhaksayed sa evamansa-sadhakah_ devi ganga,yamLnayor madhye matsyau dvaucaratah sada,tau matsyau bhaksaved yas rL sa bhave'lmalsya-sadhakah. asarrsra-iugupsaohaya-visada,ghma"mana tajjabhisangah. brahma-gnavasra mudrah para sukrrir nah japacyamanah samastat tadajalo mahanando brahma,jnanau sudunabham ?ihani larare yasm;idarm;irimastad-ucyate- Agamasara.

r.

2 3. 4

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5.

Chapter-5
y a d - u k t a m a r a m a m 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 p b oramadana.,ninaman madyam parikirttam evafr mam t . 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 a l s y a m a n a m 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 ns a k l i r i 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'ralo narah. 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 yo s a r n y a m y a l r n a n i 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 ay a a s t e h. mairhunam rat syad apare slri-nisevakah - KularnavaTantra, A 1OA-112. S e e M a h a n i r v a n a - T a n l r8 . 1 0 3 - 1 1 . c, 1

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 m 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 dr h v 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. 32, 3. 3a 3. and 4.9 and asa Kulamava-Tantta, 7. 1AA. C a l c u t l a .p p 2 3 6 , 3 3 5 , 9 5 2 . s 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 u d h i h - K u l a r r a v a _ i p I a r l r a , 1 0 6 t s v e c c h a y d a s u v a tr a n a mp a s u ' p e n a m 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 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 yan eva palanamdravyaihsiddhistan eva codila- Kuriirrava_ Tantra. 5. 44. ' b h o g a - y o g a t m a k a k a u l a . r- i b i d , 2 . 2 4 ; b h o g a y o g a y a t e m ibid.2_ 25. 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 6 o s y d d a b h a k . s y a m h a k s v a m 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. k6maripam dulasadam ei. Fhisatrum mahavaho Gita 3. 43 thagavad_

1 s ( a ) vide Srl Sri Banakrishna-kath'nrta, Retlect Publication. 16

17.

8.

9.

s a h a s r 5 r o p a rb 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 i 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 p 4 l I k u n d a l y am i l a n a db i n c j o h r a v a l ey a t p a r a m r l a m . i v e d s yogi mahesani satyam salyam varanane Yogint-Tantra. ultameslividhd malsyahsdla'palhina'rohilah MaDantpana' Iarlra. 6. 8; mrLnsam trividhamprcklamjala-bh ucara-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-

18. t9 20

21

ll

12.

13.

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CL CL

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Y.E>

g i5

5 65

.s-' !E o)

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 and to w th the Divine, each appropriale the inner developmenl conditionof mind of ihe seeker.Those that are the leasl developed,the most exlroverl, need lhe external material etc. lor keeping lhemselves support ol ritual, ceremonres, do turnedlo the D vine; thosewho are a littlemoredeveloped nol ieel the need of physical modesol worshipand lhey resort lo /apa and chantsol praise. Those who are stilltu(her up on lhe ladderof evolution and semi'physical discardall physical means and take to concentration and meditationupon the is objeclof lheir quest.The higheststale, however, arrivedat when communion wilh the Divineis conslanland nalural:one does not need any specialpraclice live in the consciousness to ol onenesswilh the Divine.

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Chaptr-6

the cradationsol Approaching Divine

137

( GURUr) Thete is no lruth grcater lhan lhe Gutu. (3.113) TO the seeker Gurumbodies kuth to be realised; lhe the gives theGuruit is whocommunicates lruthlo thedisciple, th him the powerto assimilate and bcome it one with it. Thus doesthe Gururepresenl ihe disciple ldeal10be attained to lo and lhe meanswhereby seekil. The Guru is all because lo he can give all.To the disciple there is noihingbeyond lhe Guru,

GUR(rD U
All holy actions are @otedin the Curu. 112.14) ALL ritualin lpiisare, innerdiscipline, depends its liletor dynamismon lhe spiritlal energylransmifledby the Guru in The whichflowsiniolhe disciple the niliation. power whenhe is laught the rilualisticaction by a competent Guru emerges the act and makesil alive.Wilhoutit ritualis mechanical and does nol yield its intendedtruit.

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Chapler-6

139

cuRu( t)
-- Guru is the fathet, Gutu is the mothet, Guru is God lvlaheshwaraHimself. i12.49) the _ THEGuruis the motherwhocarries seekerin the womb ol his conscjousness beforehe gives him birth inlo the life ol lhe Spirit. _ The Guruis the fatherwho tendsto the growthand welfare ot the initiate in the difticultpath. the Lord for it is throughthe person _ The,Guruembodies ot the Gufu lhat He manifesls Himself the disciple ro and reachesto him His saving crace.

(lV) GURU station,the Lord in the form of the Form his transcendent curu frces one lrom animalbonds. I.t2.26) in WHATis achieved the disciple a resultof the force as not depend uponthe human capacities of of the Gurudoes atlaintments lackof lhem or theGuru.Forit is nothispersonal the Whenone surrenders oneself lhe to thal decides issue. it is to the Divine Lordthatoneopensitself through him. Guru, ol it And the Power the Lordis supreme; is not handicapped of it whal by the limiiations the humaninstrumenl; achieves the Lordwills. The Dlvineacts throughlhe human Guru.The Guru as rendering Divine the accessible tunclions ihe channel, to theaspiranl cannot who enter direct into relation theDivine with

140

Chapier6

the ol cradalons Approaching Divine G U R U( V D

r41

(v) GURU
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.

no Thete is no Mantta highet than the padukaa God higher the Guru: no jnitialian higher than the sakIa,and na mell than highet than the Kula warshtq 11212) upon the and dwell in one's consciolrsness To rernember by symbolised the padukiils more elfectve feel oi the Guru lhan lhe repetlio ol any Mantra;it is a direclcommunon wlth a living Power. ol The Guru is a represenlative lhe slpreme God an He In God lo the disciple. Lsaccessible every embodmenl ol wrthhLrn namannerlhat have persona relation wav.One can s ;oi normallvpossiblewilh Deitieswho are nonphysicain lls d/ksa,ts ot severalkinds eachaequlres own Inltialion, ol But lhe saka diksa, direct transmissron nstrumenlation. needs nolhingby way oi channelor r tual dynamism, sprritual lnstanlaneously and ellective ll to be etieclive. s sponlaneous Men seek lo acquire merit by vanous means- elhlcal rellgiousand olhers - bul lhe best way s io accuslomlhe pour ng to consciousness dwell upon God by a concenlrated - ln the chosenlorm'- at all leve s oi ol onesellupon H m physicalOnlyso is one ellecively lhe be ng, rnenla, emotlonal, ol liftedup Godwards and that a is the meaning teal punya

(e.s1) THEGurLr, shows Truth, who the opens wayto realise the
it and imparlsthe strenglhwherewith iread it, is nol secured 10 by human effort.He appearson lhe scene when one is ready to receivehis message, whenone is developed enough, 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 presenlevolulion the decisivestep, he is eilher laken and lor by circlmslancesto where lhe Guru is or the Guru himsell

142

Chapter,6

GURU(VID 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 liberutjon thegrace is (12.13) THE Guru it is whom lies the key io the success all of sadhanas the life spirituaJ. in To begindhJaina, meditation, firslstep is io visuatise the the fofm of the Guru,focus all lhe mentai{acullies il, on connect onesell the inspiration liowsfromrt and Iead lo that the mindin the desired direction. Belore any pije. wotship, is begun, one oiters menlal worshjp to the feetol the Gurulor it js the spiritual lifst power thal {lows frornthe feei that efrectsthe conjunction between the worshipper the Deityinvoked. and No manlrais lruly ellective unlessil has been received through mouth the curu. In communication manlra, the ol the the G!ru transmils lapas-shaktlto disciple his lhe through the wordand thal powerworksin the lorm o{ the mantra. Liberation the culminalion all spiritual of sadhana cannotbe effectedby one's own strength.lt is only a Power grealer than ones own,from outside rangeol the lriple the lgnorance this creation, of that can cut the iinat knot oi bondage. lhatpower And conesthrough Grace theGuru. the of

G U R U( V l l l ) 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, the disciple and receivehis adoration He holds merelyinitiale tor the spiritua weliare oJ the dlsope, himsel responsible lays open lo hlm himselithe burdenof his destiny, takes upon resourcesol the spirit and mind.The Guru nol only his own into is own being bul also gives himsel takes the discrple power with all his atta rrtments to him-And 1 is the spirilual of the Guru which passes into ihe being of the d scrpleand He goes on io eltecthis liberation. freedlrom the cycleof birlh and death.

t o a " r a d d l o n s l A p p r o a c h i n qh e D i v i 4 e

145

GURU ANDGOD Even when God Shjva is wtoth, the Gutu is lhe savjour; but whehthe Guruhimsellis annoyed,therc is none to save. (12.45) lN a manner speaking, displeasure lhe godscan of the of be facedif the crace of the Guruis lhere.For he is capable ot averting consequences lhe djspleasure the of eitherby his ownspiritual power by interceding the gods.Butil the or wirh uum htmsett wereto be displeased. woe to the discrplel then Thereis a deeper relation beiween Guruand the disciple lhe thal normally admilsol no interference.

GURU AND PABENTS 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 (12.48) THE parentshave a claimupon lhe graiiiudeand iealty of man becauseit is they who givenhlm birih and rearedhim up is But lhe GLrru to be adoredmuch more. For wh le the parenls give him only physical birth,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.

::: :t

I
i

d 1

146

cnaDreF6

the Gradaions of Approaching Divine HERE

147

GURU'S WORD A singlewotdol the Gurugiveslibe@tion; sciencesare all (1.107) THEvarious branches learning of cultivate develop and lhe mind in the ways ol the intellect. they do not by Bul givesliberation manfromlhe rounds birthand lhemselves to of dealh.Al besllhey may bringhometo himthe realnature ol his bondage, how his lacullies limiledon everyside by are ignorance division evenindicate waysand means and and the by whichhe can free himsell. the acllal working oi But oui lhat process liberation of cannotbe donefrom this learning alone.lt has lo com from anothersourcethat is the Word of the Guru. Thiswordis potent because is not the speech il ot lhe commonkind, lt represents expressivepowerol the the spiritual consciousnessthe Guruwhohasrealised Truth of the in hirnselt. asan outermeans cornrnunication inner ll ol oi his slare of Knowledgeand tapasyeto the seeker.Tfirs word implants the beingof lhe discipte in the dynamics the of realised Truth whichis selJ-eltectualing whichreally and builds the way, the sAdhanA him. in

ll one does nal temedy lhe ills ol hades here itsell, what tndeed can the alllicted hope for there where medicine is nol? \1.24) 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. is giventhe faculiies understanding, He of vision,will ll he lails to utilisethis opportunily cure himselt lo 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 suddenchangeand cure; lhal 6an be done only oi on earlh whichis lhe appoinled tieldfor evolution and progress Greatis lhe predition, saysthe Upanishad, one lails io make il rt here.What is therecan only be a conlinuation whal is here. of The problemis projecledhere and it must be faced and solved on its own ground.

.',

148 HOLYCOMPANY

Chapter-6

lhe cradationsol Approaching Oivine HOLY MEN O}

149

Company ol the holy is the remedy and the cure. (1.56) ASSOCIATION an influence has larger than is admiited. Especially those who seek to achievethe higher ends ot for life, lhe companyol the holy is invaluable. is nol so much lt lheir words or teachingbut their very presencethat makes a greal dilterence.They live normally in a higher slate of consciousness, ailuned tolheTruthol theirldeal.andconstantlv emanalevibralions characteristics theirstale oi rea isation. oJ These vibralionsol higher consciousness create a specral atmosphere purity,peaceand spirilua poweraro!nd lhem, oi 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; get the good elements nourishment increase and while the opposiieones are depressed and 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 lhesetradjlions, Divineis lound moreeasily ol the lhrough those who have realisedthe Truth ol the Divine in themselves. They have perceived the Reality, attainedidentily wrlh il in lhe depths ot their being and emanate the direcl vibrations lhe D vinitywith whom they are in union. come ot To undertheir inlluence, establish to contactwith them and to be wilh them mentally, vitallyand physically a sure means to is realise the DivineReality. pjlgrimages distanlplacesbul Not to companyol lhe holy is the way.

r:ha^tor_A

the QI449!9$ 91App,o""r'ins Divine

HUMAN BIRTH (I)

151

HOLY 0t) "EN Wherc the Knowet ol the Kula-Truth tives, that place is (s.97) HE who has realised Truth the Divine the of doesnol livewithin closed a circle existence, oif tromall.On the of cul cnlrary radJates he incessan lromeveryporeot hrsbe.ng y rne nrgn Uonscrousness he breathes, that and all ir hia env'rons absorbs vibrations. ils EveMhing unCiergoes a change. rnose thalare/eadycatch flame aspr,atior progrJss the of and rhose{hatare not yer ripe_ lhe str wel togs :]ll lip.lyl or ruet - are warmed and madeready, up known unknoin or 'o tfemselves. All quickensin pace. The stamp oi his rearsaton t.npressed all orders crealion ts on ol around htm.

The Knowledge of the Reality cannot be obtained without human btth. ( 1. 1 4 ) THE Tantraspeaksol the innumerable birlhsthal lhe soul has to pass throughbeforeil can arriveat matufity, condition a for suitable lakingand supporling humanembodiment. the And thrs human orgafism alone is endowed wilh lhe means ol understanding natureoJ liie, ils goal and the way to arrive the al it, rn a word, of coming into possession the Knowledge of oi the truth of onesell and oJ olhers,of the Truthwhich gives meaning10 all existence.I\ranalone, of all crealurestn lile, has ihe intelligence, awakenedsoul to acquireand wield the the Knowledge ihe Trulbin manilestalion. of Humanbirth,thus, rs a rare opportunilypresented by Nalure after aeons ol preparalion througha successive seriesol inleriofbirihs and t behoavesman to pui it io the best use open to him and nol friilef ii away in lesser pursuiis.

152 (D HUMAN BIRTH

Chapter-G

lhe Gradat ol Approaching Divine ons 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 a long,long series ol ol preparalorybirths in the journey of the soul; it marks a delinite stage wherefull awakening thesleep Inconscience lrom of is eflected lhe possibility breaking and of through bondage the ol lgnorance a purposiva by growth inlo the freedom selt of knowledge placed is belore man.He is gjvenalllhe means ol will,feeljng, thought whichhe can outgrow tutelage by ihe of Nature and buildhimself the imageof God,his creater. in No olhertypeof being creatjon given in is suchan opportunity and the wherewilhal lullili the great object ol tife,- Freedom, to Ljght, lmmorlality Consciousness. of Woe unlo the man who denieshimself highdestiny lhe that 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) jn THE Divine is indeedspfead everywhere its lorrnless Infinily.Bul on thal accoLrnti rs nol all beyond perceplion, The Divine reveals beyondthe reach of the humantacullies. the tsell in linite Form as well. In fact all iorms are uliimalely of se t-i gurations lhe DivineBeing.Of lheseformsagaln,there ihey of are some which are specialconcentrations lhe Divinity; Such are Divinemore readily lhan others. reveallhe ensouling as lhe lmages, ldols, elc., that have come lo be worshipped of the Divineiorms and living symbols signiticant

154 IMMEOIATE

Chapler'6

lhe Gradatons of Approaching Divine INNER AND OUTER(I)

155

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) lF time is fleeling, wise man forestalls by aniicipalion. ii lhe 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 foreiock For and achieves the immediate. no one knowswhal in possibilities the next momenthas in slote,whatnew unforeseen may not come intoihe situation. Besjdes, knowsthal Dealh, he the endero, lhings,is alwayson lhe prowlAnd this unwelcome guest has no consideration the convenience man. lor ol

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) with the Deity ALL practiceol Manka leadslo communion dwels and whenthls communion perlecl,the consciousness is 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 Creatortor purposesof lhe manifestalion. He Himseltis presenl in the crealion,in each lorm in creation,as ils Sell. The sell is the Divine ilsell while the gods are Powersand Personalities Him. o, relation with the Deity The aim oi all worshipis to establish and invokeils Presence. Oller rilualis only a supporl.a help. The real processis inner;lhe mind and the heart aspire and pourthemselves adoralion in and pursuilgradually leadingthe consciousness onenesswith the Adored. to There is kuit and lruil but the one {ealurecommonto most is fuiillmenl of desires. Bul thal does nol bring lasting happiness. desire salisfiedbreeds anolherand there rs no A respite. There is real happiness and peace only when one is able lo touch the reposeol lhe soul within.This contentment depends upon nolhing externaland is the Jruitof truits.

lhe cradai ons ol Approaching Divine 156 Chapier-6

151

INNERTRUTH
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 Tantra nol misledby appearances. is 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 lhat he aspiresto realiseand embodies h m lhe very Divrne lo he adores hrm n lhe light oi his experience. y is Similar the Mantrahe practises 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. The lmage Form in whrchthe Deityis presenl. It s the physrcal the humanconscrousness oi or dol rs lhe nodusfor lhe meeting lhat that seeks and adores and the Dvine Consciousness nranlesls rn responseto the asprrafron.

(ID AND OUTER INNER Theone withautitual is the higherworship,silencets lhe and highetjapa, thaughtfrce state is the higher meditalion, the dlsrelessness highet ftuil. (s.38) is W O R S H I P 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 pii6, extetnal worship;the islhe bAhya support communion the on purely worship, f ow ol adorat a inner is outer andhigher the ol the rilual mental enaction ot lhe Deitywith or without with lhe word or words Japa is of two kinds: audible, physically repeated moulhithe olher and h gher s the by uponthe Manlra in inaudible, silent, whichonedwells mental, without moving lips. lhe it repeating inwardly a is Medilation lwo kinds:the one whichpursues lineol lhe otherand the objectchosen; around organised thought the thought aclivily, mindis silent higheris lhe slaiewithout idea-novemeni. withoulany occupying praclices? There many are Andwhalis ihe fruitoJallthes healthol advancemenl, sought, e.9.,malerial kindsthat are liberation slatesbeyond, in and mind,afrluence heavenlier body Noneol lhese,sayslhe lext, is woflh lrom birthand death. evenlhe is The objective to be lree lrom desire, the pursuii. and Personal desirelotallyeliminaled desirefor liberation. Will is the idealcondilion by displayed the Divine

158

Chapter-6

G r a d a l i o n s f A p p f o a c h i n gh e D i v i n e o l

159

(I) KNOWLEOGE INTELLECTUAL lhe Notknov/ing Truthwithinhimsell,the deludedone gets (1.96) in [,lENstudyand poreoverbookswithoulnumbei order is Bul lo knowthe Reality. the Trlth of thangs not lo be lound it be by in lhe pages any books; cannot gol simply reading. ol And the besl place lo It is to be seen and experienced. For there one has a direcl experience is withinonesellit The perception. inlimate feelingwhich is unmislakable. an is in the heart ol thingsand rendershimselfmost Divine from lhe accessible this core. withdraw consciousness al Io in a direclions outside cenke and its pre-occupalions hundred it withinoneseltis the sureslwayto becomeawareol lhe Truth slationedwithin and to realiseit.

(ID INTELLECTUAL KNOWLEDGE The head caffies the tlowersbut it is the nose that gels

(r.e5)
THE mere fact ol earningand schoLarship does not by iisellgive the powerof wisdomunlessone equtpsoneselland entersinto lhe hearl o, thal KnowledgeOnly he who aspires for lhe libefative actionot lhe Truih-Knowledge wilhoul losing himsell n the inie lecluallormulations it, gest its full beneil. ol Olherwiseit remainsa barren menlal acquisition-

160

chaolalr-.

lhe Gradalions Approaching Divine of JAPA (ID

161

JAPA(t) Japats ofthree kinds.Japadonealoudis the lowest;Japa donein low tonesis themiddle; Japadonementally lhe best. is (15.54) WHENthe Japais donealoud(in the hearing olhers) ol thereis a lendency the repetition gel mechanicat. lor to The so!nd predominates the senseand muchof the benetit over Whenit rs donein low tones{withthe rnovemenl ps of but outside hearing others) the ol thereis less d straclion ol sound. stillthe ellorlof repetition the wordsatfects But of the concenlraiion the consciousness. of S!ch a concentration fullypossible is whenthe Japa proceeds wilhoul verbalrepelition (without any movement ot lips).One dwelJs uponthe meaning and the consciousness participates uninterruptedly affirmation re-allirmaiion in the and ot lhe invocation. letters words repealed The or are verysubtly wilhinthe beingas supports thisflowor consctousness lo 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 with full regardto their lorm and the lettersare pronounced ndividuality. letters shall be suppressedor only pa(ly No pronouncedr give them only parlial expresslonresulls ln 10 the suppress ol health.so also if in pronuncialion letlers on energy. 1l are undulyextended, resultsrn waslageo{ spirrlual distinclly lhat each so Care shoulCbe takenio ultereach lelter O s o u n d - v b r a t o n a s i t s l u l l c o u r s e . n l y s o i s J a p ai r u r l l u l . h

162

Chapier_6

JAPA0r0
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 ! (1s.102) JAPA sadhana meanl enterintothe consciousness in is to ot the oeity and becomeone with il_ ll is only lhe Japa thal rs ctone wilhthissoleob,ective is spiritua tulti ing.One lhat y rearns torget to onesell moreand morecompletety al lhe and, besl,becomes Deityitselt. the But if the Japais underiaken lor lhe sakeoJanother, order workforthe spiritual in to welfare ol somebody else,jt cannotbe equa y successful. it is For a matteris cultivaling one'sconsciousness leading to and it contacl and livein the greater consciousness the D;jty.lt of rs lor eachpersonto nake lhe eflortand work oul the process anhimsell.In lhis filed lhere can be no Japa by proxy.

JAPA 0V) 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.10) lhat all the FOR Japa to be trlittul il is indispensable pouredinlo il Distractions and is consciousness concerrlraled slalesol mindand leelingare an impedimenl and drsorqanised The mind-muslbe gatheredroundthe objeclof the Japa; the (Shakti) must coverage on it all ils active consciorlsness the passivebeing(Shiva)must be lully iurned to lhe currents; lor must be gearedlo lhe repelition, eliortiand the llje_brealh be its laculties easilyquietedand only so can the mindwith all locussedon the Japa

164

Chapter-6 JAPA AND DHYANA the Gfadalions Approaching Divine ol JAPA AND STOTRA temembercdmenlally,lhe Manlra repeated Statra,laudatton, verbally, are both useless like water in a brcken vessel. (1s.56) 165

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) DICIOUS comb,nation Japaand Dhydna of (Medrldlron/ _-,AJU. mahestne sadhanaless slrenuous and morelruttlut. Whenlhe mrndsiows signs oi exhaustion due lo long concenlraiion on the repetilion o1thel\lantra, shouidbe rela;edintomeditation it on the meaningand signiJicance the l\,4antra. of The mind musl bp djloweolo toltowthe unrofljng the tdeaIn tne of 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,on on Jpa.Thus both Japa ano Dhyanaare rnerwowheetsuponwhtch the updsardnroves tls dest,narion. to

STOTRA,hymn of praise,is inlendedlo be clearly articulated and lhus affirmed n words, expressedin ils {ull sound-values The physicalvibrationsso released n the physcal universe. lorm a magnelicfield as it were, and create an atmosphere, lhe Presence ot the Deity thal is lauded is srJccessfully Invokedon lhe spot. so The Mantrais to be dwelt upon ln one'sconsciousness gradually yields lsell to lhat the Deity ensoulingthe [,4anlra that is concentraled upon it. Mere verbal lhe consciousness repetilionremainsonly on lhe surface withoui allecling the nner domainsoi the be ng wherelhe contactis to take place.

166

ChapteF6

rhe cradationsof AoDoachr'rq Div.ne JUST USE Da nat cul aff even a blade of qrass uselessly.

167

JIVAAND SHIVA Jiva is Shiva;Shivais Jiva; the Jiva pure is Shiva.When the bonds il is Jiva: fteed lrom bonds t! is Sadashiva. le.42) THEsoulassociated Nat!re,involved its movements, with in is Jiva.In ilselfil is a portion, amsa,o{ the Divine. Divine The projectsitselt inlo ihe manifestation lhis projection the and is soul.Whenlhe soul is involved the activities life-nature in oJ it getscovered its essential but character not affecled. is The jorged the process momeni freesitsell it fromthetrappings in ol the evolulion whichit is cast,its innalecharacler a in as selttormulation the Divine of patent. becomes

(5 46) has a rneaning and a purpose Everythrng CREATION each ihing - big or small ln the wor d has a signilicance; place in the totalscheme.And to deslroyanyihrngIn has its oi li{e regardless the use for which it is intendedis a wanton with the orderof CosmicNaiure Thls is not to say inlerierence is Everything to be used lor that nolhing should be utilised. bul purposeJorwhich li s put forth by L4other'Nature, not lhe being,man has a special wasled.As an awakened missedor the in responsibilily ihis regard one must learnto undersland in Nalure, put onesell in tune with 1 and act in intentron consonancewith its wil. That is the sign and lhe way oJ progress.

168 KARMA

Chapler 6

o t G r a d a t i o n s f A p p r o a c h i n qh 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)

Of whal is dane here the fruit is abtained elsewhete: of lhe lree whose raats are watered the frutts show on lhe bnnches.

EVERYaclionhas its reaction now or alter. t is n vain the of to hopeto escape consequences one'sdoingsin lilehere by going away elsewhere. Whaleverbe the worldsto whichone goes,the impujsons generateddurng the bodlly life on earih iollow man in hs out.Th s may subllerbodiesand insislon working lhemselves 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 - parlicipant the Kaula Dharmain the of Tantratraditionharmonising Truthof the DivineBeingwith the the manilestation the D vlne Consciousness-Force is lo oi be dlstinguished lrom exlernalmarksof appearance, not |iual etc., but be the grade of the consciousness has atta ned. he He is one who is not lost in the miseriesof the petty world ot des res, d sappontmenls and atflicitons common 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 overpowering Bliss. Nolhing d slurbs him; he is ever al peace, with hiinselland with the world.All his atlentron, his energies all flow towardsthe Divine, the supreme object of his adoralion.

1to KAULA (ID

Chapier-6

Gradations Approaching Divine of the SELF.REVEALING

171

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 is not proud,not haLrghty; does nol show ofl his powersor his knowledgeto impress upon the less tortunaleand gain He a following. is rootedin the divinecentrewithin,nol in lhe ego; he is not swayed by ihe impulses ol nalure, but ls governedby the impulsions lhe soul, the Truth wilhin and o{ wilh in speechand actiononly what is consistenl he expresses He is lirmly sel in his pursuil ol the ldeal and thal verily. nothing can dislracl him.

Not by thinking but by itself alone is the Reality reveated.

(s.1o)
THE Divinecannotbe lhought out. No amountoi reasonlng, lhoLrght deliberalron bringone lace to face with the Reality can ol the Divine. Normallysuch mental activityonly weaves a lhoughtwebaroundlhe person. the most,mental At deliberation can processlhe mind,free it lrom its dross of materiality and vrlalcolourng and prepareit lor a highergrowth.But il cannol serzethe Drvin even in its highest llight. 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.

the ol Gradations Approaching Divine '172 SHIVA.SHAKTI The wa d is made ol Shiva and Shaktt (2.83) product an i usivePower' o{ is THE universe not a transient Shakl , that not only puts It is a creationof a divinePuissance, manifeslation it oul into birth but builds it into a progressive in lhe creatlon, omnpTesenl' of the Divine, she is lhere as omniscienl,omnipotent, the consciousnessthat intorms as and guides, the Forcelhat execulesBut thisConsclousnessis Farce, cit-sakti, not alone.The Poweris of one who wields is ii, ihe Sakfibelongsto the Sakla;the Consciousness of the lt SupremeExistent. is emanaledby an0 Being,the Shiva,the what rs based upon Shiva; il brings out into manitestatlon Being ot Shava ln iacl, the Shakli in the illimitable contained 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 and all that is manifest is when turned io manilestation, o{ lhis double t.uth ol exaslenceconstituted 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) he When the GurLr acceplsone as disciple, takes hlm into h rnself, makes him part ol h s own beingand, n the process, . t a k e s h i s d e s t n y u p o n h i m s e l i H e s h a r e sh i s l l i e w l h t h e d sc p e There is an inlermngl ng ol the two conscousness a does h s t ll they becomeone. Naluraliy that lhe disciple his thoLrghls, words, his actions- has its own reaclions n the be ng of lhe Guru and his Karam allects the Guru. s Ths s how th6 collectiveins ot the dscples, even devoiees,come lo ieave a mark on the body of the Guru and even lnflct physicaldamage upon it.
C h a p l e t6

SINS OF THE DISCIPLE

174 TRUTISUPREME

6 Chapter

Gradalions Approach lhe D vine ol ng TANTRASADHANA(I)

175

Some seek the truth non'dual, otherc the truth dual But lhey do not know my Truth which exceeds both (110) aboutthe natureor lne dispuleendlessly 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, lhis posilionand assert One.There are otherswho challenge thal thereare alwaystwo kuths - God and Nature,Sptriiand [,4atter- and all is an interaction, a play of the Two And so go his the dispulations on, each proclaiming own view as the sole lrulh. The real lrulh ol lhe matter,however, s thal the 11 distinclions- is an omnipresent Reality abovealt mind-made is permtsmanypossible ol expedences itcorresponding Realitywhich it from which it is perceived; is the supreme lo lhe viewpoints and the slalemenlsbasedupon Trulh in whichallexperiences lt them lind their reconcilialion. is none ol them solely but and exceedsthem in ils conlainsall of lhem in its inlegrality oi transcendence all lolmulalions,

Fron lhe nulAdhAra ga up to the brahmarandhraagain and agatn: bltss tssues out of his meeting of the Kundaltni Shakti and lhe l'"'laan Full Consciousness.Whal flows from Ihrclotus ot in the suprene Ethet is the wine. the real wine to be lasled by man: what ts drunk alherwise, is anly ltquaL (5.r 7.8) 0 HEFE s ihe sadhana of the Tantra and ils ecslatc iu lilment in a nuishell.Awakenthe concentraled dynamtsm ol Powerlayingcoiledup al the base of lhe sp ne in the body and lead I upwardsrn lhe system by approprrate rneansol 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 elaborate and strenuous processesol the sadhana. Materialwine is only an outer symbol n fitua oi ths inner tlowtng

176

Chaptr6

Gradations Approaching Divine ot the TANTRA SADHANA(III)

177

TANTRA (|D SADHANA yoga, cut asundeLwith the swordof knawledae. Knowing the animat of duatily - metit and demetil. anct meee;hc consciousness lhe Suprcme.That the true eatinqol meal. in is (5.10s) THEanimalto sacrificednollhefourlegged be is quadruped thal is the viclimof common superslition, the notionol but goodand bad,lhe obsession duality dogsthelootsteps of that of man.This constant preoccupation what is good and with whal is bad, what storesup metit and what accumulates dernerit creates unhealthy an sell-occupation stands the that in way of true enlatgement and lreedomIn conscrousness. goodand bad are very relative Besides terms;whai is good at one ljme,al one stageof development, becomes qood nol al anolher. whatis bad now maylurn out to be goodtate;on. To eliminate involvement the net of papa andpunyaand this in findone'slevelin a consciousness transcends is the ihal both

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 THE sensesare ever on lhe move,draggrng m nd with them lnlo lhe world ol their objects.Man is always prone to y this distracton ol the sense and consequenl lails to make givento h m. Inslead lhe best ol lhe opporl!nityand the time ol being his own master, abe lo drrecl and utlise the he c rcumstances around him for his properadvancement, is whereverlhey lead. a s ave ol the senses,heiplessly drifting Br ng ihese senses under thy conlros, calls the scrplure, lel lhy mind assertits righttul masteryoverprata in whosecurrenl lhe senses aTerunning, Once the pntic energyis controlled, ons are automatically absorbed and the way a I lhe sense-mot 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 TANTRASADHANA(IV)

t G r a d a l L o no l A p p , o a c h i n gh e D i v i n e s

179

UPASANA ',^/ithoutupesane the Presence does nat fructtfy. (6 7e) especially the ln THE Divineis ndeedpresenteverywhere, does not make any difference human body.B!t lhal by itselJ he lo man Lrnless lakes stepsto rea rseit in his conscousness. calion, adorationand evocalionol Self awareness,sel{-purii D the indwelling vine are ihe main sleps for awakeninglhis power in Presence h s conscousnessand makingll a dynamrc prepareand lo n lile. Suchan innerdlsciplines indispensable raisethe humansystemto the levelof thal purityand rnlensrty n seeking whLchalone can move the Divine to reveal and man fest lsell in the person ol the seeker. Otherwiseihe potentialtyremainsuntappedand dormant.

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. (5.111 2) 1 THERE is a divinepower tatenitn man waitingto be awakenedlnto aclion,All the powersthat are normaly active and make ltie possibte are only derivations,diminutions, secondaryformulations this Motherpower that is dormant of js within. Thts puissance, Shaktr, lo be awakened, the aroused intoan upwardmovement towards Self,lhepure Consctousness the srluatedat the higheslcentfe ot ihe beingoJ man. And when thrs union betweenthe Shakti dartingirom ils seat beiow in lhe otus ol the Muladhara and ihe Lord waitingabove in the olus ol inftniie petats, the Sahasrara,is etfected in lhe consciousness the practitionerthere is an ebulition ol ol inlenseAnanda, That is the true Congress, the real btissthat is aimed at, not lhe physicatinierchange the animat tevet. al

180 UPASANA GRADATIONS

Chapler6 Gradations Approaching Divine ol the VEDA There is no science greater than the Veda. (3.113) THE Veda s the revealed knowledge. is cherished the ll as Wordwhichhas rssued fromlhe Supreme alongwith ihe words thal conslilutethe universe.lt holds all the knowledge the of truthsof [/an, Natureand God, the way to harmonies them in oneself,eilecl the lunctionof Nalure and God in oneselfand fulfrllhe cosmic purposein the manilestalion. conlainsthe ll key to the problemsof ljle in lhe instilulion Sacrificewhich of s an outer symbol oi the irrnerprocessof consecralion and selj'surrender man to lhe Divinity(in appropriate by lorms) callingforth the blrth ol the gods ol divineKnowledge, Power, Bliss and Harmonyin his hallowedbeing.
141

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 gradation the discipline, in saonaDa that ieads lo the Divine.Worship,with externalmeans lo supporl the dedicalion, the tirst with which lhe cornmunton is starts. the rexl is less physrcal rt is the : repet.tio'l and owelting Lpo. lhF Name or lhe Word ol Invocatron the ot DerryHrgherthan lhat r:eltat ]eaf ot meditat,on rhe iorrr on and lrurn ot the :-l:e Hrghesl uelly. o. all ts the srale or one^ess thdt .s the curmtnatron all successlul ol meditanon :one rs absoroeoInlo lhe objectoJpursuit- the condition samadhi. of Thereis thus aL.sle-ady lrogression in this discjpline : physrcat,semr_ pnysrcal, mental,spirilual. The character the means keeps of with lhe nalure of the developing consciousness.

142

Chapter6

the of Gradatrons Approaching Divine VERBAL KNOWLEDGE

183

VEOA ANDTANTRA Know the lruth of the Vedato be the Doctrine lhe Kauta. ol (2.85) THETantra notalienlo theVeda. truththal ensouls is The the Tantra essentially subslance the Veda. is the of The lruth pervading formsin existence, states ot a Divine Reality all all ol consciousness power crealion, possibility man and in the of awaking thistruenature liie,andhimsell lo of developing into piay a liveinslrument the Divine, particjpairngthe cosmic ol in ol lhe Supreme allthesebasickuthsof theVedaenterinlo lhe slructure lhe Tanlric of system, The Tantra represents a contlnuation, enlarged an application suited the developing to 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 lgnorance thal holdsman in slaveryto inferiorNalure by cannot be dispelledby a readingol books or inslruclions inefiective. best At mouth.Words remainmere words and are of lhey g ve a menia underslanding lhe problembut no more ll The solulionhas lo come trom elsewhere. is only by /ivlrg it as a live force ior changein lhe the knowledge, building by that the liberalioncan be eiiecled. lt s nol consciousness, enoughlo know and say thal a lamp can removedarkness, 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

144 WINE

Chapter6

woRsHtP 0)
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. \2. t17) lT is a commonnotlonthat in the Tantrawine-drinking perfection. thal were reallyso, says is a means oi spiritual li 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 intoxicat drink.One who aims high can never resorlio th s ng type of drink which weakens and ultimatelybreaks the wi wh ch s the fulcrumof all determinalion and 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 precursor the disintegralion the centralising poweroJwill. ol of (6.5) TO worshp s io commune withihe Deity.To takeand foltow a sel oi procedureot ritualsby onesell is nol the way to do l. One musi Iirsl receivethe initiation, lhe aulhorityio hotd conrmun w th the Gur!. For the Guru is one who has realised on n h mself,in whatevermeasure,the realityof the Deity and can put olhers n relation that Deityby meansof his tapaslo power. When he inlliales, rmplants s connecting he powerin th the beingo{ the discipleand the outer riluatis only a phys ca support to the repealed atfirmalionand buitdingup of this relai/on. thout this aulhorsationand chargelrom the curu, W mere ritualislic worship is ineltective.

r86

Chapter6

o n Gradations f Approach g the Divine

147

woRsHrP 0r)
Worship the Sri Chakra by uniting the I'4antra. (6.s) TO worship mechanica{ly by repeating prescribed the Manlras no trueworship. l/anlrais the sound-body is The ol the Deily.Each Deity has its l\rantra. reach the Deily the To mostnatufal wayis to approach throlghihe Manira thatis its sound-form- lhat can be donenol by simply And uitering the lelters that conslilute Manlra, by joining, yoga,one's the but conscrousness the ldea,the Truththat is ensouled the lo in Nlantra. thinking By uponlhe ldeain the Manlra, dwetting by upon 1 in the consciousness, conslantly and affirming in it onese whilerepeating l\,4antra, irnbtbes vibrations f the one the of the Deityand movescloserand closerto it. This growng communion leadrng an eventual to union is the objectol

(Ir) woRsHtP
Sel aside the faded petals of lgnorance and worship wth the cansciausness of 'He and l', (9.42) WHILEworshipping Divinedo not offerio hinrthe slaie the 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.

188

Chapler-6

woRsHlP 0v)
Arouse lhe soulJorce lo ils full potency and salisfy the Deities in the body. (6.96) THE body ot man is conceived be an minialure lo universe in itself. The various cosmic Deities occupy appropriale stalions in lhe various limbs ot the body. They are to be And the lo in awakenedand activised participate the worship. meanslo do il is lo arousethe innatepower of lhe soul which is for the mosl parl inacliveand bhindthe 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.

Gradations Approaching Divine of the

189

(v) woRsHrP
Worshtp wtlh exclusve concenlralion. (6.71) WORSHIP is nol a mechanicalduty to be somehow completed.Theinvocation the Divinity,its reception, ot adoration, se I surrenderand linally,the termination the meeting,are of parls of a soul-process growthinto godhoodand they call ol for all the attentionand concenlralion the mind that the ol practitioner capableol. ll lhe hands participate the rilual is in wrthout the properconsciousness them, jl the mouthmerely in 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 faculties lhe being musl learn to convergeon the objecl ot of

190

Chapler6

Gradalrons Approaching Divine ol the YANTRA

191

(vD woRsHrP
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. (6.87) THE Oely needs a physical nodus lo lunction in the physca world.And lhal need is providedby lhe Yanlrawhich is a diagrammalic lorm corresponding the conligurat of to on the lorces lhai accornpany the manifesiation lhe Deity on ol rls own plane.When lhis tigure- revealed lhe vis on oi the lo Seer in his lapasya - is drawn and concenlraledupon, t recreales, il were, lhe very condilionsin which lhe Deity as becamemanilestoriginally and the Deily is movedlo manitest Thus lhe Yantrais more than a symbol.lt is the body ot the Deily.

( 6s 1 )
worshipand invokes Deily,one a BEFOREone undertakes 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 ihen one oJJends both.The lirsl Deity s called alreadyinvoked, thal has been worship the but leftunatiended; secondis offered alreadydedicatedin spirit and tasted in parl by anolher.ll is disrespectto bolh.

192 YANTRA ANO MANTRA

ch"pt"t-6

Gradations Approaching Divine ol the

193

YOGA The union ol the jiva and the Sell is Yoga. (s.30) THE beingof man rs one in its essence with the Divine Seli whichbasesand supports life.But it is not awareol all this divineoriginand character it in because is involved the operations Nalure lgnorance. awakening lhis lrulh in By ot lo ol hrmsell by the adoption a psychological spirilual and of and it ior disciplne, is possible manto disengage himselJ fromh s manysidedinvovement the lfe ol lgnorance, irl tncrease the gradually inlolheconsciousness grow awareness hislruenature, of of the Sellwithin andevenlually realise identily his withit.This union and Iha maanslo il - is Yoga.

The Yantrais ensouled by the Mantra, and the Deity is in the form ol the Mantrc. (6.85) WORSHIP the Yanlrais the same as worship lhe of of Deity.For eachYanlrais the form-pallern a particular ol Deity. ll represents diagrammatically contiguralion the linesol lhe ol manitestation the Deity. of The soul of the yantra- whatgives lite to it - is the Manka that is used to consecrate and energjes Andlhis Mantra il. again, the sound-patern the is ot Deity. Each Deityhas its characteristic sound-vibralions and theyconstilule sound its bodywhichis revealed theaudition to o, the Seerin the lorm ol the Manka.

194

Chapler.6 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 communion wilh the Div ne. Bul he conl nues the modesoi communion lhough he dispenseswith the aciive supporls which are no longer necessafyin his stage ot developmeni. The yogin dwells in his consciousness lhe Divine on al peak periods.He undergoes continuous seltdisciplining ol the mind, lite and body-His being flows in adorationlowards the Divine,even in submission and sel'.consecration. Medilation, concentralion will,adoration the Divine, ol ol are iniegralparls of his etfort.

Chapter-7

GLOSSARY

Chapter-7
T I he vasl Tanl.a lileratureconlarnsa large nLmber ol technicalterrns wordswhichare nol commonly and used.Here we have noted only such words as are ollen necessarylor the study ot Tantras. For the convenience ihose who are interested oi only in the sclentiiic elementsn Tantra, have givena separatelisl we containing exclusively scienliJic lhe terms, based mainly on

In English Alphabetical Order Abhic:ira A rite designedto harm olhers. Seradeilaka, Saklisamgama, Abhiseka Consecralion theTanlric ol devoleewhohas holywaler sprinkled over him. lt is ot two broad kinds : &ikhbhiseka and Ptrnabhiseka. Satadatilaka (Raghavabhatta'scomm. iv. 1). Prcnatosini. Saktisamgana,

Acara Rulesol conduci meansot spiritual as atlainment. Thereare generally sevenkindsol such rules; e.9., Veda,Vaisnava, Saiva, Daksina,Vadma,Siddhanta, Kaula.Theseare comprisedin two main categones, viz., Vamaand DaksinaKaulamarga rchasya, Pranatosini, Matrkabheda,

r98
Adhara

ChapterT

Glossary
Saklisamgama,fa'a, (3)

r99

fhe Cakta (q.v.), supposed to Literally,receplacle. ol exist in the loweslextremity the spinalcord,is called MLihdhara. Nlalantra, presidedover by One ot the six geographicaldivisions Buddhist and Jan deities, Vaglsvari, Vairayogrni, etc. Nairrtesvari, PEnatasini, Saklls mgama, Sundar, Procedure of purifying lhe body consisilng ol six adhvas, viz.. varna, pada, manlra, kala. lattva, and Saradalilaka (Raghavabhaltas cornm. on rt). Adyd Sakti Primevalenergy conceivedas a goodess. Aghamarsana Lterally meaningthe wiplng oll oi the sin kom lhe waler on dilierenlparts body.ll is done by sprinkling ol the body. Ianlrasdra of Krsnananda (on authority ol Malitilanlra, Aghdta PRnayama. Aghora (1) A form of Siva, black and lierce,supposedto preside over the soulhero region. PrAnatosini, (on authorlty ol Nitvana'tant ra). (2) Name oi a Siva secl resorling lo vamacara.

One ol lhe broaddivisions Tantnceceras, d siincl oJ as

Agneya-varna Lellers connectedwilh the elemenlot Jire. These are irom Yato Ksa in order. (Raghavabhalta's Saradalilaka comm. on il), Aiapd A lorm ol elforllessmeditatron. The sounds ham and sah. arising automatically due to the movement ol brealh constrlule manlra. s automatic this Th formalion 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, Saradalilaka. Xlvgl (Raghavabhatlas comm. on i1). Aifrd-cakra The nerue'plexus betweenthe eyebrows. Look ng like a two-pelalledwhite lotus, il is symbolisedby lhe lellers Ha and Ksa. Satcakranihpana, Aksam6lii A rosary of beasds made ot Budr6ksa, crystals, elc Akula Srva aspect ol Sakti. Tantra\toka, Ati

Sp rtuous iquorusedin Tanlr worship. c Atidha A posture which right s slretched in lorward and the leg the leli rs slighlly benl.

200 Amnaya

Chapler 7

Glossary

201

Zone ol T6nlric culture,live or six n numbr. Ku16nava, Saklisamgama, Sundari, V Andhata (l) (2) A nerve plexus (Cakra) in the region of the hearl. red loius. supposedlo look like a lwelve'pelalled Nanre ol a partclar sound without anylhing berng stuck, according some lo The lasl slageof spirit!alprogress, Tanlrc schools. Parasurema-kaIpaslt ra, Anavi diksd A {orm of Tantricinilialionin which mantrc, arcana. asana nyasa),dhyana and various arlicles ol worship kinds,e.9.. Sp6rsh,Vacik! are required. is ol varrous ll comm.on il), SAradAulaka, V.127-4o (Raghavabhaila's Pranalosini, Anganyrisa 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,

Aniaryr9a l\/ental worship^ which'the calanvas concetved Pan are as abslracl and nol langible lhings Mahanirvana, Gautamiya Tantra, Gendharva Tantra, Anukalpa
c '5<ri"'-o 6 r .^.^n,r !r,-or ror w,ne.

Anavasthollasa

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. Arka : Jhana saktt. Asarnprajieta Samadhi 'ee Samedhi. Asana Poslureas an accessoryoI yoga. Astadala-padma Eight-pelalied lolus conceived as a symbol in the maklngol Caklas insideand outsidehuman body as also in diagrams. The pelalsare slatedlo; contarn the Ielters K,4, CA, TA, TA, PA, YA, SA, LA Astamdtrk6 Eight Mothe.goddessessupposed to reside in the VjsnurekhaolBht|pura-yantrc,Nityasodasi kanava

202 169,71.

oEplsz

Glossary

203

A$apes. viz., Eighlbondsol humanexistnce, ghrna(hatred), lajja (shamel, bhaya lleatl, sarka (apprehension), si/a (aversionor reproach),kula (pedigree), ./ugupsa (birth or cast) (conduct), latl 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, wstern boundaryis lhe river Karatoyain Dinajpur districtot WestBengal,and lhe easternboundaryis in Yavadvipa Java. Accordinglo some authoriiiesil or Persia, hilltolho west,comprising extnds lromabove Egypl and Rhodesia. It is one of the threetractsinlo whichIndiais divided in cadainTantras. AvadhUta jhAna-vihino yah dvaitasaNa-bhita- hite ratah/ tyakta-vanAs ramah santah paqa-lasa// PaBnmukhah avalipta nd kutrcPi dhutaqaPah sadaiva hi / avadhutah sa viineYas-talktte // cina-sadhanam (1) A Tantric devoleeot a very high order'

An Ayadh! ta of the highesl grade is ca ed Kulayadhula. Avadhutas dividedintotwo classes: Househotders ate ano recluses. Kulernava, Pftinatosini, MahalniMena, (2) Name ol a nerve. Avadhdii The centralnerve,according Buddhists, to 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.

Tentric disciple belonging theprobatjonary to stages of aramDha, taruna,yauvanaand praudha,parasuramakalpa-sutram, (Ramesvara's Comm.). Avrli Avarana, ot delusion. Veil Avyakta prakrti(q.v.). Unmanifested. Denols Bahirdasara Exlernalappearance the mysticdiagramsintended ot lo represent grossand fivesubtleelements. live These elernenls symbolised ten ieftersbeginninE are by wilh

204

Chapter-7 Bh0iaps6rana by Wardingofi evil spirils and disturbances means ol mantfas. Saradatilaka, (Raghava comm.). s 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) (4) (5) of One dot representsundividedmaniieslation Siva. Double doi ( ylsarga) represenis Sakti. Accordingto Saivas, an evoluteol Nada. ln Kashmir-Saivism, one of lhe len Vidyallattavas. Para. According some, it has threelorms, Prakas? to Vimarca (kinetic) and Ptakas'a-Vimatsa lslalic). (comblnation bolh). of SArade laka, Tantaloka, PGpafrcasera, KAnaka l6.vil sa, (Cidvalli). Brahmadvara The passagethroughwhich Kutdarti (q.v.) moves.

Thetentriangles, represenling theme, supposed lhe are to be presided over by len goddesses,called Kulakaulayogini. Nityesodasikenava, Banalinga A form of Siva-phallus, supposed resrdein ihe to ltiangleol Anahata-cakft . Bhairava Paramasiva BhairaviCakra A ritualin whichPaficatattvas used.In it, males are participate indulge dr nk ng and and lemales and in sexualinlercourse. MaheniruAna, Kaul6val-ninaya, Kularnava, BhairaviMudrd ll is that condiljon wheneverything withdrawn is nto a person the shapeot his soul. in BhArali Sameas Yisuddha (q.v.). Bhumispaise A mudra lq.v.)in whichthe palmol the righthand s lumedinward, thelingers and outstretchedth thetips w of Jingers louching ground. the BhUpura A iour-cornered figurewithJourdoorsand a lriangle within. GandharvaTantrc, Nityesodasikarnava,

206

Chapler-7

Glossary

207

Brahmagranlhi Oneof thethreeknotsin lhe MllAdhea-cakra. Ntlatantra Brahmdndi (q.v.). Sameas SusrmDa BrahmapuraHuman : body. Brahmarandhra An aperture lhe crownol the head,through in which the soul or vitalbreath supposed escape ils is 10 on leaving body. the grahmavartman : Sameas Susumra(q.v.). Cakra (a) The six mystical circles nerve-plexuses, or supposed to exjslwilhin bodylromlhe lower the extremity the ot spinal cordupto thehead. circles theascending The in otdetate'.MiLldhera, Svedhisthena, Manipira, Anehata, Visuddha, Ajne. Ihe Sahasara-padma totus) 11ooo-petatted is supposed lo be locaied withinthe crownof lhe head. (b) Designalion an assembly Tantricdevotees of of lor certain rites, e.9., BhaitaviCakra. (c) Endless rotation Sakti. of (d) Yanteot myslicdiagtam, e.9.,Trkonacakn, Astakanacakra. See Satcakranir0pana. Cakrap'ild A Tiintricworshipin the companyol some tanlric devolees underthe leadership the Gulu. of Nitatantra, Cakrabheda Literalltpenetration Cakras. ol [,4anilestalionaclivation or

lor the body lit and lor which s necessary keeping atlainmentol Siddhis.A f'nltic SiLdhane. Caksusr diksa A lorm ol anitiation which the Guru iniiiates hrs in disciple a moreglanceby Kulanava, Saradalilaka, (Reghava's comm.). Candra A Vamacari sect. Sak!isamgama.Ied, Candrakald to Symbolol cresentmoon supposed exisl on the crown ot the goodess.lrom which nectar is believed to exude. MaheniNena, Candranadi supposed ropresenl to Sakti Anolhernameof /da(q.v.), in the form ol the moon, Satcakrcnitpana,L caram6ld Rosaryol Frdrdksa,crystal,etc.,lor Japaor muttering the nameol god. Krsnanenda's TantrasAra, Caturdasara A diagramconstiiuted '14triangles by 6ach of whichis presided are ov6r by a goddess. Such goddosses calledSampradd-ya-yoginis. believed leadlo lhe ll is to acquisitionol /sitva,one of the s/ddhis (q.v.).

Chapier-7

Glossary

ilityasodasikernava, Gandharvatanlra, Caturvimsatitaliva 24 lundamental thjngs atsorecognised Tantra. in These are lrve gross elemenls, five sub e elements, five sensory organs,live motororgans,mind,intellect., pramordial egolrsn, substance (p/akrl,). Catuskdtd A partrcular arrangement lelters use in the cull of for ol Srividya. Krsndnanda's lanlrasdr'a, Cholikd Syllable Phal Cindcdra A modeof Kaulacara. TeAEntra, Citrini Nameof a nerue,alsocalledSrahma-Diidi, Someiirnes regarded one of lhe threeconslituents Sosurnnd as of (q.v-); oftenidentiJied Susumra. with Pknatosini, Cdddcakra A kindot spirilual exercise ylra type01devolees lor ll involves Lala-yoga (q.v.). Ddkini A class of minor deilies associated wrlh parvati, Chinna-masta, Supposed be the presiding etc. to deity oI tt4ilAdherc. Krsnananda's Iantasdra,

Satcakraniipana, Daksindcdra without Pa6camaOrlhodox ot spiritual way attainment with Veda, Smrti and Pu16na. kar.ain conformily Vedecara, Vaisnavecera SalvicAraare includedn and it. Daksinamerga (q.v.). Sameas Dakslracara Daksinasrolatantta currenl, viz.,Yogiri Tantras belonging the southern to jala, Ya inihrdaya, g Manlrc-mal ni,Aghores), tieghore i K Marici,Mahemanct. svari, Lakin)kalpa, Damara riot,the bustle andcont!son ll denoles uproar, ajlray, or oi lestivity slrile.ll slandstor a classoi Taniras, by staledlo havebeennarraled Siva. Dasasamskara See Samskara. Oasamah6vidy6 goddesses Terli, : Kali, Sodasi, Bhuvanesvari, Ten tdntric N/elangi, Chinnamasla, Dhumavati. Vagala, Bhairavi, Kamal4.Pranalosini, Dehasddhana (q.v-) Same as Kayasadhana Devacakra A kind of Cakrarilual. Devicakra Sameas Cakla(q.v.). Devyastra 'I he mysrlc svllablesHRIM PHAT

21O

Chatter-7

Glossary Pr6natosini,

211

Nilatantra,ll. 7. Dh6ranayantra A dragram usually usedas an amulet, is drawnon ll a leai,and dedicated a deity. to Kfsnananda's Iadtaasdra, Saktisamgama, Tala, L. Dhiirani Protective spellused by TankicEuddhists. Dh6tusakti Designation Oakini,Rdkini, etc., the presiding oJ deitiesof Cakras. Dhydna l\,4editation a deity. on Easicelement TaniricSadheraand an accessory in of
YOga.

Other types are Karma, Pancayatanaand Ekamanl@, elc.

oipana Processing manlra. ot

Krsnananda's ,ldsara, Divya-bh:iva The highesl spiritual attainment a Tantric ol devotee. Oivyacakra NameoJ a Cakraritual,in whichthe Pafrcatattvas ate used,meantlor lhosewho havemadeconsiderable progress. spiritual Mahanirvena. Divyamudrd (q.v.). Same as Khecallmudfa Oivyatattva A categoryal Pahcatattva lq.v.). Divyaugha gurus. A line of succession Tantric of Syemerahasya, (quolation Bhavacudaman lrom l. Drk-diksd Sameas Caksusl dlksd(q.v.). Sameas Lata(q.v.). Dfiiy6ga Ritual union ol a Tankic devoteewith his female parlner. fire Her organis tanciedas sacriticial into conceived as whichthe semenof the malepariner,

Digambara (1) A nakedorderol Avadhutas (q.v.)having the quatity ol Siva. (2J A Vemalcerisecl. Pranatosini, 7, Vll. Sau ndaryalahai,(Laksrnicomm.). Diksd lnitiation, According Vbvasaa lartra, il is of four 10 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 Rudrayamala,is oJ lhree lorms,viz., to it Anavi. Sakti and Sambhavi.

212

Chapter-7

Glossary

213

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 Same as Asvaknirta (q.v.). 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 Tanlricdevoleesbelonging easlern India to andlollowing VaritcAra. lt depends entirely on parcatallya (q.v.), and advocates the unily oj devalA, guru and mantfa as manitestation the energy ol the Greal ol Goddess. PurascaryArnava, 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.

Gunaspanda Oualities Satlya, oi elc. Guptatarayogini Designation goddesses of who arc Avaranaclevatas (q.v.). Gandharvantantra,
Gupti Keepingthe manfa secrel. 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 influential Keralaand Kashmir. in Saktisamgama,fa"a. H6kini Presiding deity of lhe Ajna-cakra (q.v-), conceivedas srx-taced and while in complexon. gatcakranirupana. Hamsa (1) (2) SupremeSoul, Erahman. A symbolic fiantra involving inhaiation(ham) and (sa)oJbreath.Sameas A/apd(q.v.).Regarded exhalation 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).

214 Satcakranirupana, (Observalions Kalicarana). of Hamsa-manlra

Chaple-7

Glossary Homa

215

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-). and markedby Indicaled A-KA-IHA lriangle, by letters HA-LA-KSA. In it, lhe devolee should medilate on guru as ideniicalwith Siva. Padukapancaka,I (Kalicaranas Comm.). Hirdhakald
(1) \2)

is A rite in whichoblation pouredinlo fire. lt is ol variouskinds,e.9.,Sthila (gross), Srksma(sublle), (transcedental), (exlernal), Para Eehya Anlara(internal), (hatmlulacl), Saumya(benelicial), Nignha etc. Matuebheda, tanlraBla, Krsnananda's IantraSala, SeradAtilaka, TAdbhaktl-sudhanava, Nilatantra, Hotri diks6 A type ol initiationin which the gutu petlorms homa tor purilying six quarters. the SAradAtilaka, (Chinese) Hsien lmmorlality Hrllekha the Baia Hrim.
tdd

Alsoknownas Sex-organ drawnon mystic diagrams. Hamsapadaot Yoni. unron. Waveof blissresulting lrom Siva-Sakli
A kind ol lorced yoga or abslracl meditationpedormed with greatselt-morlification, such as standingon one leg. ln it, the mind is forcedto wilhdrawJromexternal objects. (l-33), it is described as the ln the Yogasikhopanisad 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.

Halhayoga

Havisya Food preparedwith rice lhat has been dried in the Nilatanta,

Oneol lhe fourteen mainnerves. Symbol the rnoon, ol it is on lhe lett ol the spinalcord. Supposed be ol 1o whitecolour l. Satcakraninipana, lddhi (Irom Pddh,) powerslaled in Buddhist l\,liraculous texts like lhe Bahma-hla-sutta, Cullavagga,

216 1 1 m( A r a b i c )

ChapterT

Glossary

2t7

gatheredlrom experience. According Sulis, knowledge lo 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 lVultering repeating manl, or the r]ameoi a deity. or a Kuhrnava, Saktisamgama,IatA, Gandharvantantta, lt rs of three kinds, viz.. Vyakta (expressed), Avyakla (unexpressed), alsocalled,respeciively, Suksma(subtle), Vacika, Upamsu and Manasa. Jetakusuma Menslrualblood ot a woman. Nilatanlra, Jilasilaka duringinitiation Newelybornchlld.Mantrais conceived

as a newely bornchild. Saktisamgama,Ifue, Jivana Processing manlra, a Krsnananda's larlrasdra, Jivanmukti Liberation lile. in Jivasakti Nameaf Cund ni, the vitalenergy wilhinthe body. Tanlrcraja Tantra, Jfr6nahoma Hamapedotmed rnlernal In worsnip. Pranabsini, trom Nilyatantra). {Ouolalion Jyesthe A destructiveSakti by which Sivahoodol exkemely persons obslructed. enlightened is Jyotirdhy6na l\,leditation the Sell, believed rcsidein Kundafini on to (q.v.) in the form of lighl. Also called Tejodhyena. Kadaimata A principalTantric school withKa as ils symbol. Texts in gloriflcation l,,lahatripurasundari, oi especially those describrng modeof Her worship, the elc.,are known chiefly under divisions,onewhichis two ol Madhumatimala at K+dimatta. fhe Tanttaraja, Mattkamava, Tripunmava Yoginihrdaya and comeunderthis class. Saktisamgama, fata

214

Chapler-7

Glossary

219

Do, Kali, Kddividy6(K{dlndta) Knowledge derivingils name kom the initial letter ol Vegshava Bija (q.v.). gla&tilaka, Kahddimata One ot the three main Tantricdoctrines. Saktisamgama,fafa, K6klnl (1) Presiding deily of the Anehak Cak a (q.v.),conceived as yellow and residingwithin a twelve-petalled red lotus. Satcak@nitupana, KA is called Kekinl Biia. l2l K.l6 (1) Aspect of the Great l\4other Goddess, symbolically reprcsented yrfr6 or letter 38 Kalesare supposed by lo hav6 emanaledlrom the lhree grcups ot letiers, called Saunrya, Saua and Agneya. PEpafrcds'ra, Sarcdatilaka, According anolha lo tradrllon, Ka6.remanated 50 from the tive oonstituents Pnnava (Omkenl, viz., A, U, oi MA, Bindu, Nedd. SAra&tilaka, Prakrli, Saldi, May6. ge&tilaka, Prcpaficaserc, Lettors lrom A to KSA.
/lf6da.

(2)

(3) (4)

Kdlacakra A minor nerve-cycle ahove Visuddha Cakra(q.v.)but below lhe AjfiAcakra(q.v.).Atso known as tala/dcakfa,it denotsthe wheelof time and the chiel deity ol Tdntric Buddhists' KehcakrayAna. Kal6 (Vati) diksd A Jormol anitialion which the guru locatesthe five in Kalds, called Niv ti. Pratisth,, Vidhya, Santi and ganlyatitain dilletenlpa{s of the bodyof the discipie and anoints him. K6l.imikha A V6miichari Saivasect,muchsimilar Kepalikas. of Th6y are knownto havedweltin SouthIndia. KaliimUdi Framentary form of lhe ligure of Sakti. Sakliof any deiiyis divided parts{Kai6). intosixteen Garlandof Letterc, Kaliinydsa Perception the deity in ditferentparts ot the body ol of the female partneroi lhe devote. Krsndnanda's Ianffasdra, Kelibiia The syllableKrim. Kdlimala Textsin glorilication Mahatripurasundari, ot especially those describingthe modo ol her worship,etc., are knownchieflyunderlwo divisions, one of whichis the K'limata o, Malinimala. Kdinabila The syllablesKlim, Krcm, elc.

224 Kemakale (i) 12) Sexual art.

Chapier-7

Gossary

221

it lmaginedas l/ahdltipurasundari, is ol the natureol Cil (consciousness),A nanda lbliss), iccha \will), Jnana (knowledge) to and Kiya(aclion).ll is supposed 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, (stalic) and ylmalsa Karnais the equilibrium Prakesa oi (dynam c) Sakli oi Siva. Nity6sodasikernava, (Setubandha comm.). Satcakruniipana, (Obseruations Kalicarana). of

Kdpalika An exlrem Saivaresorting the cultof Sakli,and st 10 dr nk ng w ne in hurnan skulls. 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. aarana In aslronomyit s the name given to halt of a illhl. Kdrana Wine used rn Tantricriluals. The word meanscaused. Such wine is supposed be the cause ol knowedge to ol dharma, arlha, kAma, and moksa. Panatasini.. KaranyAsa

KAmakela vilAsa, CidvalIi \comm.) K6mamandira House lor union with Sakt/. Nilatantra, Kdmarajabija Designation of lelters HA, SA, KA, HA, LA, HRAN, each symbolising aspect ol Sakll or Vidye. an Serada laka, Kdmesibija or Kiimabiia The syllable Klim or Klhrin. 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.

Partot a rilernwhich handis placed a particular the in poslion.In ii, the fingers the reverse the palm and of are used to invokedeiliesin lhe lorm of letters. Krsr] ananda's Tan|lasar.a, Kartari A mantra at two letters. Tantraraja,
Kaftrik6 A krndot.4slra (q.v.)or weaponwhich is seen in the

Purascaryernava, e1c. : evil,MeYe, Kafrcuka PAsa,

222 land ot Adw-Sakti. Nilalantra. Kiismira Sampradiiya

Chapter-7

Kaulika Sarneas Kaula (w. v.). One who lollowsthe /(irlaot Kaulamodeol Sadhatrt, NirvAnalantG, Kul6 Xl. nava, Nilatantra, KaulikaSakti Same as Kheca Sakti (q.v.). KaulikaSiddhi I4aksaaccoding lo Kulamataof KashairSaivism. Patatrimsika, Kaulini Same as Kandallrl (q.v.). Kavaca Prayerwith certain mysiic syllables supposedto protectthe devoteeas an armourprotectsthe body. Protective spell. SyamArahasya, Kerala Sampraddya A Tdntric secft whose followersare spread over 19 counlriesfrom Ary4varlata the sea. Saklisamgama, K6li, Siddhanta-samgraha. Puras'caryamava, Khapuspa [,4enstrual blood. Khecari Mudrii posture AYogic which leads spiritual to attainment, and enabtes pefson overcome a to disease and death. By lhis mudr6movemenl the outskirlsof the sky of Clf on

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,

224

Ctpbr-7

Glossary

225

becomespossible. Ghelanda, Khecarl Sakti Kha meansBrahman. The powr,which movesas the kinetrcenergyoI Brahman,is calledKhecai. Thoughon, it is manitested variouslorms. in Parctrimsika, Kllaka Litorallya small stick, It is a kind of L/ydsa(q.v.). Nilatant/a, Krsnananda's fantrasara, Koaa Sheath.The Human bodyis supposed consist the to of 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 twotoldaccording as it relatesto Saivismand Sdktism. Ta Aloka, Krlytu.kll Throe kinds of my6ticpower,viz., Maojavitva (having

(assuming speedlikemind), Kdmal.rpilva formsal will), Vikaaanadharmifua mentalpowerto consume linlinite and lransmit). K,iyavati diked A tormol initiation whichmanyritualsare perlormed, in and the gLlrusanlifiesthe disciple'sbody; inculcales his own consciousness the disciple. inlo 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 goddess supposed causeharm. to Nilatantrc, Kula (1) Familyand lhe mode of worshiphandeddown by the traditionof the lamily. Tantric obtaining a particular rite in region wilh reference 12) to a particllar deity. (3) The Saslra which expounds the group of objecls including knower, knownand lhe knowledge the the or the worshipper and the object ol worship. (4) Body. ol {s) Adheracaka,Constiluenls lhe word are Ku (earth) and liyale(mergs). Spirituallineagefrom Paramasiva one's own gurt-r. lo {6) La t,sahasehama,1

226

Chaptr-7

Glossary

(SaubhegyabhAskaa comm.l. Kulabhakta One who is devotedto a KautikaSedhaka. Nilatantn, Kulacakra A kind ol Tentric rit in which several devotees assemble. Nilatantta,

(Ramesvara's comm.). Kulakaulayogini goddessesof cakras ol the Bahi-dasera Presidang (q.v.)class. Gandha atantrc, Kulakundalinl Sameas Kurdarnl(q.v.). Kulam6.ga Safie as Ka2lamarya \q.v.l Kulamrta wilhin\he Nectarllowing downlromlhe Candamandala penetrales six Cakras. head when Kundalini the lq.v.) Kulaftiyaka Heree Siva. Besi among lhe KaulikaSadhakas, Nilatantta, Kulapadma (q.v.). lotuswalhin Sahasdra Six-petalled Kulapatha (q.v.) The passage through whichKundalini ascends. Saundaryalahatl, KulaoUiana Worship the desired ol deilyof a Kaula{q.v.). Nilatantta, Kulapuspa Flowers Aaklar'ara(redChinarose);hereit means like the menslrualblood of a woman. Nilatantn, Kularasa blood ol a woman. or Svayambhu-kusuma menstrual

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 Kulante rya. PaGsunma-kalpasuta,

Glossary Nilatantra, Kulasamketa Technical mysleries Kautamerya ot e.g.,Kramalq.v.), sanketa,pijA-sanketa,Mantra-iankera,eti. Kuhnava, ParasuAna-kalpasitra (Ramesvaracomm.). s Kulasdstrc Kuternava, KaulAvati-nirnaya, eIc. NilatantH, Kulasundra crcat Kautika(q.v.). Nitatantra, Kulasunalari Feminine genderof Kulasundara (q.v.). Kulatattva Sarneas Kutadravya. KuldvadhUta See Avadhuta. Kul{vidyd The mantra used by a Kaulika. NilatantG, Kula-vrksa The followingtrees regarded sacreq as by Kaulas : S/6smdlaka, Kaaitjaka, Nimbe.Asvattha,Kadamba. Plaksa,Vata,lJdumbaa,Anca. Kulayosil AlsocalledKau ni, il is lhe name ol Kundalinilq.v.l. Saundaryalahari (Laksmidhara's comm.). Kullukd Designation a mantra ol recited before /?pa aller the worshipoI Mahevidye. Kulodaka Semen, Nilatanln, Kumbhaka A kind ol PAnayemain which the breathls held up. Nilatantra, Kundagolodbhava 'l\renslrual blood, regarded sacfed theGoddess. as tor Kundodbhava the blood of a marriedwoman,and is Golod-bhava of a widow'. is N- N- thattacharya. Hist. ol Tantric Religion, p.443. lhe vtord Kunda, occurring \he Manusmtti, 156, 158, 178, and in iii. Yejfiavalkya-smni,1.1O, 224,hasbeeninterpreted 222, as an illegitimate issueof a Brahmin womaa, whose husband alive,by another is male. Brdhmin The word Gora,occuringin Manusmrti, 156, 174 lll. and Yejfravalkya-smrti,10, 222, has been taken to l. denole an otfspring the clandeslane union ol a of Brahmin widowand a Brahmin male. Kundalini The serpenl, symbol vitalenergy, ol supposd coil to

230 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

Chapter-7

231

pe orm Maithuna pa.l of a Tenkic Poja. as Drli. Also cal1ed Latdsiidhana Riiualinvolving. Paficamakara. Layabhogdnga-vidhAna (q.v.) lrom the ol Malasor Pesas Procss separalrng body.A part ol Srrdrt dikse (q.v.). Setadetbka, Purascaryarnava, Layaslddhiyoga-samedhi State ol perlectbliss. In it, lhe devoleeacquires like and enjoysthe pleasure sexual spiriluapower, of wilh lhe leading lhe realisalion idenlity to enjoyment Supreme Being. Gheranda, Layayoga A lotn ol Hathayogawhich dstroys all mundane about the and lo blissby bringing desires leads eternal Being. merger one'smindin the Supreme ol Lelih6na Mud16 again to that According Saklas. whichlickseverything and agarn. Linga lrale organworshipped Siva-phallus. as Lingapuspa Ior The flower, calledFaklaka.ati,usedas a substilute sexualunion, it PatasuA ma-kalqas ra,

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

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Chaplef-7

Glossary Krsndnanda's Ianllasara, Mahamudra (1) A torm ol poslure(2) Ghennda, Woman general. in Female organ.
An uninitaled person, Nitut!ara, Mahdsitmrdjya-diksd A lorm of initiation which 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 Tdntricgoddesses whose 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 (VideMahavidya-vidambana Vadind?. or Nyayasdstra ol ed. l\r. R. Telang,Baroda,1920). [4ahim6 A kind ol slddhl (q.v.). Maithuna Sexual intercourse,consideredas one of the tive

Lop6mud16 IVankas, relating S,vidyi,consisling l5 symbolic lo of lelters. Ianlrasara, Krsnananda's Madhyam6 (q.v.Jand A kind ot sound midwaybetweenPasyanti Represenls Vaikhati with intellecl. \q.v.).Connecled equilibrium Paraa d Pasyanti. of Prapafrcasen, Kdmakaliivilasa, Lalita\sahasranama, (Saubhagyabhaskara). Tanlra Madhyamasrola Tanlrasbelonging the middlecwtent, viz., Vijaya, to NihsvAsa, Sveyambhuva, Vetula, rabhadra, rcva, Vi Rau Makuta and Vircsa. Mah6cakra A Cakra tilual in whichone'smolher,slster,daughler, daughterin-law and wife are lo be worshipped as Paicasakti. Nittut!an, Mahdcindcdra, Mahecinakrama (q.v.)Sameas Cmacdra Mahdh.ada Pu(e Cidatman. Mah6m6msa Flesh lhe{ollowing of crealures, regarded sacred as for ottering the deity: to man,cow,ram,horse,bultalo, boar,goat,deer. SyemA rchasya,

Mahdpasu

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ChapteFT

Glossary
Manodikse

l,4ahAnitvena, Pnnatasini, Mala Fetterscausingrebifthand sulteringof worldtyex slence. Threefoid, viz., Anava, Kerma and MAyjya. Mdlinimata Same as K.i/imata(q.v.). M6nasadiks6 Same as Marodiksa (q.v.). Mdnavaugha A line or successton Tankic aulus. of Mandala (1) (2) A penod ol 49 days. Atlaa Cakrain which the devotees,sittingw th lheir lemale parlners around the ieader, lnduge In the enloymenl ol live Makaras. Mantra

A form of iniiiationmerely by lhe gulu's lhought and mental action. Kuhrna'a, Manonmana Transcendental blisscomingout as a resultof bhakllyoga_ Gheranda, 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, 24-25(Raghavabhatla). V Manlracailanya Consciousness, inherentin aarlra, lo be roused by exerton, PAnatasini, Gandharvatantra,

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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 tnangle the colourof lhe risingsun.Theouler sides ol 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 Manu
thread pass beiore being lied in a knot.

237

Nilatantn, Mdrana The rile for killing. Marifat According Sufis, to knowledge obtained through divine_ grace. lretr : Yogifri,Sakti Katii. lrakkii : See Asbmetke. Miitrkinydsa Perception Metk6s (q.v-)in the lorms ol lettersin ol differentparis ol the body.Tvtolold_ Antarmettka\nyAsa and Bahj rma! ke- sa, t nyA 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, through whichthe endsof the

Nilatante, Mudre (i) 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) (iii) Postureot lhe body al the lime of yoga., e-g-,Asviini One of lhe five Makafas essential in Tanlric Sddhana. lt means Jried or parched cereals, e.9., Yogiii-tante, figures. or geomelrical ln Buddhist Tantra it denotes woman. The Prcgfiopeya and Sekoddesatika \p.56) take to mean a woman with whom a TdntricYoginassociates.

(lv)

Mudrevirya
(q.v.). Condition Khecari ot Mukta-triveni same as Alta (q.v.). MUla (1) AlsocalledMiddhaQ G.v.). (2) Mulamantra lq.v.). MUlacakra (q.v.). Same as Muladhara Milatantra, MUlidhdra to (q.v.), The lowesio{ the six Cakaras supposed be at the lowest extremity the spinal cord whete ol Kundalini(q.v.) is supposedto reside.

238

Glossary

239

Satcakenhipana, Mrilamantra The main or basic mantraimpaftedby one's spiritual preceptorat the time of initiation. Mdlavidyd Sameas M{tamantq (q.v.). Nilatantft, Mursid Guru or spiritualpreceptor accordinglo Sulis. N6bhipadma Same as Manipua lq.v.), Satcakmniipana, Mida Sound.First vibrationof pafti Sakti expressing itsef rn creataon. Maniteslation the consciousness lhe of o, Supr6me Being, revaled sound. in SAtadAtitaka, t.6lI. SatcakEnin)pana, (Katicarana). Prapancdsara, Nddi Artery or vein in lhe body.Supposed be 72,OOO to In number. these,72 are the maiorones,of which Ol agafnthe lhree mosl jmportantare tda, pinga/i.,and Susumt6PrAnatosini, Nakuli Ha. {akutisa Ham.

Napumsaka manlra lor male(i.e.,meant deilies) A mantfa whichis neither deities). nor female(i.e.,meantlor female Saradeflaka, Vaina Napumsaka LetlersB and L. SAnde laka, (Raghavabbatta). Nal6camud16 thumb as,oined the A hand-pose which tipol the right in and then with the lop mark ol the righl forefinger are oui slretched whileothertingrs bentlow. Nali to Dancingwoman,Goddess(Sakti)supposed dance of in delightat the perlormance rituals. Navacakra Nine Cakatas,of which live belonginglo Sakti and pointingupwardand lour to Siva pointingdownward, the constituting S.iantla whichis lookeduponas lhe bodiesol Siva and Sakli, ioined together. lX. Saundaryalahai, (Laksmldhara's comm.). NityatsodasikAhava, (Seftrbandha comm.)Navanada lo (1) kindsol sound,supposecl Nine Nedasor special reveallhe nalure ol Kundalihi. KemakalvilAsa, lcidva i).

240

Glossary

241

LettersA, inilial letlrot ach Varya,Ya,Sa and Ksa. Saundaryalahad, (Laksmidhara). Nimcsa Sakti lryill pou,er,by which the concept of Sadasiva is characterised KashmirSaivism. in lsvataqatyabhijfre, Nirvikalpa Samddhl Blisslul state of mind in which the distinctiono{ the knower, knowledge objecl knowledge obliterated. and ol is 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 (feefing Metfkds),Pitha-nyasa lleelingthe holy resorts ol Sakti), etc. (2) Subtle identilication with Cakfas. Kfsnananda'aTa ntrasafa, Nilalanla, Odra.puspa Javellowet. Also called Jape. China rose. Odrawas the nameof modernOrissa.Perhaps, was il 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 12) Five tetters as a resull ol Avidye $alse knowledge).

P66cabhula Waler, Fire, W;ndand gross viz., Fave elements, Earth, Ether. Pancagavya cow's urine, Five productsol the cow, viz., cowdung, milk,curd and ghee. Nilatantra, Pahcaka16 Five aspects ot Sakti, viz., Nivttti, Pratisth*, Vidya, Santi and Santyatita, stedenaka, Paficakahcuka viz., Kal6,Niyati,Kela, Five impurematerial elemenls, which causes bondageol diflerent Vidfe and FlAga, kinds. Pahcakles'a Asmila Five lelters, viz., AvidyA,(talse knoweldge), (egotism), Raga (attachment),Dvesa (hatred) and (adherence). Atthiniyas'a Pa6cakriy{ or Pa6caktya Five actions of Sakti, viz., Srsti (creation), Slhlti (Preservation), Samrera(Destruction), Irodhada(Disappearance), Anugreha lFavoutl, Tantrcloka, Paicamak6ra Five things,whose namesbegin wiih the lettersMa, necessarylor Tdntric sedhana. rhese are Maclya,

ChaplerT

qlg!:!ry
Paicataltva Sa.I]'eas PahcamakA? (q.v.). Paiciiyatani diksd

243

l,16msa, Mudra, Mailhuna. MaEye, Pancamnaya (zones) Five well-known Tentric tor culiure. Amnayas
Paacamundi An asana(seat), fa\rIt)c Sadhana. made with lhe bt seveteoneaos ol two Candalas, one jackal, one monKey one snaKe. ano Paica6lra
Originallyused, in SalapathaBrehmana,as an adjecltve ol Purusamedha, it later came lo be used as an independenl to word meaninga sacrifice be perlormed in live successive nighls.The wordhas been nierpreled in as many as erght diflerenl ways (Vide K. D. paper'Pancariitra Aruna BhAratt. N. in A. Bharadvaj's Jani Fel. Vol-, pp. 59 ll.) The Patcalitra deals wilh philosophy, and medilalion, lemplearchitecture iconography and some mallers peculiar10 the secl. Pafrca Sakti Molher,sister,daughler,daughter in-lawand preceplor's wiie worshipped live greai Sakis. as PafrcaPrela Brahmii, VisnLr, RLrdra, Sadasiva, lsa, forminglhe seal of Goddess,logethercalled Panca Preta. Paicatanm6tra Five subtle elemenls, viz., Sabda, Sparca, Ripa, y, Rasa, Gandha,corresponding, respeclive 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-

Initialion intothe cults ot Siva,Sakti,Vtsnu,Sirya and Ganesa. Krsnananda lanllas6ra, s Pafrcopdcra Flve arlicles ior worship,\tiz., gandha (sandalpaste and othertragranlsubstances), puspa (flowe4,dhrpa (incense), dlpa \larnp), naivedya (tood oflering). Purascaryanava, Parakiye Wrleol anolherperson,somelimes laken 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.Generally or leni six viz., Dama. Sila, Ksanti, Virya, Dhyana. Prajna. fo lhese are, somelimes, added Salya, Adhi-slhana, Maitra, Upeksa.

Glossary
Chaplr-7

245

Palamudra Sublle lorm ot Mudra. Tantranja, ParapaGuru Thirdspiritual anceslor lhe guru. of MahAniNAna, Pard Sakti (1) Supreme Goddess. aspeclo1lvlother An 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. propnsities predominant. A man in whomanimal are Regarded the weakest as typeof humanbeings. A low class ol Tenlric devoiees. Twofold- sabhaya(intluencedby knowledge)and vibhevalulitha mark letl by knowledge). pas! may A again be drksita(initialed)or adlkslta(uninitiaied). PesupabsAta. Kauhvaiinirnaya, Nilatantra, Vlll. Pasubhdva The atlitudeol a Pasu {q.v.).

Rucircyamda, Ullata, Pasucakta A kind ot Cakra ritual. Pasu Siistra Tankasolherthan thosebelonging the Kaulagroup. to Pasvecdra cenerai name 01 VedAcan,VaisnavecAra, SaivAcan and DaksinecAra. Pasyanti Belonging the region the navel, is lhe second lo o, it slageoi the development soundwithinihe body. of Prapahcasera, Paustika A rite designed causeprosperity. to Nilatant@, Xll. 26. Pindabrahminda-m:irga Passageof the ascentof Kundalinilq.v.). Pi6gal6 One ot lhe three principal arteries- rising from MilAdhAraand reaching the right nostrit. Possesses characteristics lhe Sun, il is also the oi called SltyanAdi. Serad tilaka, (Comm. Rdghava). of Satcakrani pana | (Sammohanalaolra quoted ln Kalicarana's comm.). Pir (Persian) precepior, Gufuor spifllual according Suis. to

GIos,sary
Pithahyesa The Vedic syllableOm. Prdney6ma Lit. ihe expansionol brealhi a breathingexercise. ll is ol three kinds, viz., Piraka li..halalion), Kumbhaka lholdi^g lhe brealh), Fecaka (exhalalion), NilaIantG, Pranabsini, Praty6hdra Yogic process of withdrawing lhe senses frorn iheir conlact with external objects. Pratyalidha A sitlingposlurein which the shooterhas the left knee advanced and 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 51 Ol Siddhi.Generally Pllhasare recognised. lhese, quile a few are in Bengalor in nelghboring areas. Prakrti (1) \2) (3) Sakli. one's temale pa.lner in a T:inlric rite. Female Principle crealion. of The SLrpreme Sakli accordingto the Saktas. Nilalanta, See Nyiiga. Pithasakti

247

Colleclive name of goddesses /cche, Jtena, etc., each represenling aspecl ot sakli. an Sfanarahasya, Pradhdna-tatlva Equilbriumol lhe fellingof joy or Sorrow. Prdkdmya A kind oi Sddhl (q.v.).

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. n lalpana, pranema, pLije,brAhma-nabhoja a. 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.).

ChapteFT

Glossary
Prenabstni, Gheranda, Rambha

249

Ivlaleand FemalePrinciples creation. of Puryastaka Five kinds, viz., Parc (llo\Nes made oJ jewels, etc.), Apara ltnade with cui pieces of variegatedclolh), Uliama (obtained Jrom planls), Madhyama lftuils) , Adama (leaves, waletJ. Putita A manlrain betweenlwo Bias, one in the beginning, anolherat the end. N)latantra,

Designationof a woman ot any of the lour castes endowed wiih noblekails ot characler, eminently ior fit T.intric rites. Ntruttaraianlra, RathakrAnta A vasl stretchof land from ihe Vindhyas l/lahdcina to includrngNepa. China was called Nlahacinain the medievalperiod.. Recaka A process ol pranayama (q.v.). Bikt6 Name of a llthl oi evil inlluence. Nilatantra, Fludragranthi A knol obslructing the ascent ol Kundalinilq.v.). LalifasahasranAma, \S aub hagyab haskara cofitm.). 56di Vidy:i A branchol knowledge, namedafterthe initialletler so at Ihe Sakti Bija. Sahaja (1) \2) The easiestand most naturalwayof sp ritualexercise. realiiy Ultimale according lhe Sahal/yds adherenls to or ol the sahala doctrine. lotus supposed 1o Thousand-petalled multicoloured ex sl in Brahmarandhra (q-v.).

Putikrta Same as pulita (q.v.). Rahasya Yogini Eighlpresiding deiiies of the Aslakona Cakra lq.v.). Gandhatua, Raidcakra A formof Cakra worship. preceptols ln it,mother, sistef, daughler, dautherinlawand wile are lookedupon as Saktis. Raiani A specialtype ol woman recomrnended being tor worshipped Taniric in ril!als. Ntruttara-tantra, RS,ayoga A iormol yogain which mind ihe automatrcally merges in Brahman,

Sahasr:ira

I t

ChaplerT Satcakrcnitpana, NilatantG, Saivdc6ra 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, S6kini Presiding Goddess ol the Visuddha Cakra (q.v.). Satcakranirupana, (Krilicarana's comm.). Sdkteyi A kind of Diks6 (q.v.).

Glossary Srividyatatnasulra, (Dipika camm.). Saklibija Sakticakra

251

tn Name ol the live Sakli trrangles Stiyantra\q.v.). Saundaryalahai (Laksmidhara comm. citing Bhairavayemala). s Sakticiilani A mudrzicausing great success. By it the breath is held up by Kumbhaka. The wind so confined pushes Kundalin)upwatd. S:iktidiks6 in Initialion based on pure knowledge, which there is (Raghavabhatta). no externaltile. Seradelilaka, Prenalosini Sakti-karanavrda and malerial The doctrine that Saktiis boththe efficieni cause of the universe. Nnyasodasikernava. Saktisamgama,Ta'ia, Saundatyalahan, Kaulafteryarahasya. Laliksahasrandma, Saktipala Touch of lhe lustreof Siva, by which even a man ol no strenglhcan realise Cil. Saktitrikona parts as conceived existingin different Sakli triangles of the body. lhe lhree lines ol a itiangle symoorsrng

sakti (1) rhe BijaHrim.

12) The lemaleparlner ol a TantricSiidhaka. Ol three kinds,viz., Syakia (own wite), ParakiyA lanolhet man'swife), Sadharanl (proslitule). principle creation. Female o, A limd ol Mantta. Kubrnava, Krsnananda's Tanlrasara, Candhalva, PrAnatosini, Nilatantta,

(3) (4)

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Chapter-7

any set of threetheories, the angtes and supposed lo be presided overby difterent goddesses. 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 afsocalledSampralhdta Asampralnita, atd respeclivety. cheranda, GandhaNa. Kuknava, Sdmarasya Equitrbrium Siva and Saktrlot lJpaya and palFe n of EUO0n|sm), conceruedsexuallerms.lhe o en in conplele comprehenslon whichleadsto the perception non_ ol oJ 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 comm.). s Sdmbhavi diksi A Iormot initiation a superior ol levet doneby the mere louch, glanceor will oJ the galrr/. Relatedto the secret cult ol Kamesvan. Nlyotsava,

Samheracakra A part ol Navacakra lq.v.). Nityesodaskarnava, l. i 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 is performed). riles Nilatantta, Samskdra Sacramenl, usually prescribed the lhreeupper 10, tor classesol the Brdhmanacal society_ 56nta-Sakti A lorm of Sakll containingwi (rbch6),knowtedge (Jtdna) and action (kriy6). Sdntibiia Svaha. Sastre Syallable Phat. Satcakrabheda Sameas Cakrabheda (q.v.). Satcak.amarga Sameas Pindabrch mandatnarya \9.v.). Saikarma Six acls calculated do harmlo an enemy: to

ChapleFT

Glossary type. It lays greaterstress on antar'figa lhan on external rites. l1sadherents worship Visnuby day while.esorting io panmcamakara nighl. al Siddhaugha gurus, A line of succession FanTric of siddhi l\/ystical power. S!pposed lo tle eighl, viz., Anima (assuminq very smallform),Laghlma (making a the bodyvery lighl), Pnpti\powetol oblaining anything), Prakamyallrtesisliblewill), Mahima(increasing one's grealness), yagitya size at will), /sllva {superiority, (bringing (suppression others under control), Kamavasayta ol passion). Sometimes the numberis given as ten, wilh the addilion ol Bhuktisiddhi, lcchi\siddhi. Sivabiia Narne mercury, ol Siva Cakra The tour Sivatriangles (q.v.). making the Sriyanlra Binducakra, Astadala-padma, Bhipura, e1c., ate also called Sivacakra. Saundaryalahari, (Laksmidhara's comm.)Smdrtidiksd Iniliation the disciplein his absence- it, the In ol preceplor lree mentally renders neophyte fromihe the threetoldimpurityof 6nava,k,ma al.d mayiyalypes, and elevales soul so as 10enable to be united it his wiih the Supreme Being.

Metuna (killir'g), Slambha (causingparalysis), na Uccelara (exzplusion),Vasikarana(bringrngothers undef control), (creaiingbad blood) Yidyesana and Srirll (pacilication). N)latantra, Savikalpa Samddhi A state ot perlecl concentration and bliss in which a leelingoi ditference existsbelweenthe knowerand lhe oblectsoi knowledge. Sdvilri Manlra called Gayatri lq.v.). Nilalantra, Setu (1) Deslgnation a mantrareciled belore iapa aflet lhe ol 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 Brahmanas and Ksatriyas.For va syas Phat s Selu. Fourieenvowelsfollowedby anusvAn aad nada Nilatantra. Siddha Vidyd Same as Mahavidye (q.v.). Siddh6nlaciir:i Alot.r. aI Vamacara,designed devotees lhe Yira lor ol

\2)

256

ChaplerT

Glossary
Srividy, (1) (2J ftrahavidy:. A patliculat manfra.

257

Seradetilaka, (Rdghava's comm.). Sodasadala-padma Sixteen-petalled a, each petalof whichhas a lolus vowelrepresenling Mdrrki. a 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 perceived lhe body.lt has six methods_ in -s rneva, Terabhakti udha Sarcdalilaka, Krsnananda's Ianlrasara, Sonilapuspa Sameas Jetakusuma (q-v.). Nilatantrc, Sparsa(Sparsani) diksd initialion lhe disciple lhe touchal lhe guru. oJ by KuLirnava, SA /adiilllaka, eghava'scornm. (B ). Sricakra See Sriyantra. Srikula A prominentTantic schoolot which lextslikelrtrudrahasya. Prapaicasara,Saradalilaka. elc-, belong.

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,rendering eliorls ol lhe the enemy aborliveor causing paralys to his body. s Send tilaka SthUladeha Gross budy. SthUlaDhyina lvedilationbased on an object like the image oi lhe de ly concerned.

258 Strivarna Long vowes. SendAlilaka, ( c o m m).. Suddhaiattva Paramasiva. Suddhavidyii Knowledge Tatlvas. of Thal wh ch impartsthe knowledgeol Siva. Suddhi

ChapteFT

Glossary
Svacchanda Independent. Siva. Sv:idhisth6na

259

Name of a Cakra within lhe body, supposed lo be locatedabove MilAdhAra.11looks lke a s x-peialled t o I !s . Satcakrantripana, (Laksrn dhara'scomm.). Nilatantra. Sarcakranirupana, Nilatantr3, Svakiy6 Wlle oi lhe devoteeas his parlner in SAdhana. Svapuspa blood of a marrledwoman, sacred The Iirst menstrual lo Goddess.

Designation meat, fish, Mud,?, frurls, roots, etc., of olferedwh le ofleringwine to the goddess. Paficamakeras(q.v.) are also called Sucldhi. Siiksmadeha S!btle body. Sulabija The mysiic sound Phat. Sdnyatd Void or vacuiy conceived in terms oi lhe Female Principle. Surya Nddi Anolher name ol pingalt\ lq.v.). Susumnd A NAdi supposed to exist between tda and pingala. Aso called Brahmanadi Bhahmavartman. ar li extends from l\4tladhAra \q.v.) Ia Branmaranonra (q.v. ). Throughit Kurdarnl ascends.

Kusuma Svayambhu
Menslrualb ood ol a maiden, Tddana Processing a mantrc.Each letteroi I s reciled 10 of o r 1 0 0t m e s . Iadara s donealsoby writing letters the and spflnkling waler oi sandalwood over lhem. Krsndnanda'sIanirasAra, TaiiasaVarna AgneyaVarna. .e., t, I, Ai, Kha, Cha, Tha, Tha, Pha from lelas (heat) Fa. Ksai staled lo have origlnated Tamas Almabhmiina.

q!9!91rv
Tanmdtra Subtle elemenls, ganoha. Taoism saooa, sparsa, ripa, rasa,
thumb. Nilatantra, Teiodhyanii Same as Jyatirdhyana (q.v.). Tha

261

A school Chinese ot lhought according which to Molher yin, i.e., the iemale principle Goddess represents underlying creation. T6rdbiia 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 withl h e and

An rmitative sound, as il a metallicjar rollingdown sleps. Trailokyamohana-cakra A lotm ol Sricakra ot Stiyantra (q.v.). Trikona (1) \2) The myslic syllableem. Triangle, alsocalledyori necessary Tanlricworship. in 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 conceplsinvolving lriad. KundaliniiscalledMaMIikona. a Kamakalavilasa, NityAsodaskernava I Setubandha comm.). i Pa rasurama-kalpait E, GandhatualantG, TanttaAja-tantra, Trilinga Threephallus-symbols Siva,viz., BAna.HaH, Parc. ol Tripitha Collectivename oJKamar(lpa,Pirnagiriand Jalandhara Pithas. K makalAvilasa,

matefial world_ Tdrinimata

Same as Khadjmala(q.v.). Tarpana (l) Libation waterof deities, o{ 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 jojned withrhetip of lhe righl

262 Tripuracakra Same as Srcakra ot Sriyantra lq.v.). Tripurasundarimata Name ol Hadimata (q.v.). Saktisamgama, Turiya (1) (2) Higheststate.

Ca'l."r-l

Glossary

Upemsu
Japa tn a vety low voice so that it cannotbe heared. Uttariicdra The way shown by Vediciniunction and the Guru who ts Jivanmukla, Uttarakaula 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, (Conm.). 1.1 N ityasodasikanava, (Selubandha comm.). VaisnavAcdra A way oi Sddhana to be lollowed by a Tantric devolee.

A very high state. A tietd of knowtedge, which is atso known as lalr.iya, supposedlo be containedin lhe is Sahasrara Cakft. L,ccdlana One of the six malevoteni riles,by whichthe exputston or menlal agilationof the enemy is ensured. SeradeUlaka, Unmana, Unamani Sixlh stage in spjrituatn exerciseThe devolee,in lhis stage,expeflences greatjoy 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. Ull:isa Srages ot Tdnlflc Secthdna. viz.. Aambha, Iatuna. Yauvana,Prcudha, Praudhenb, lJnmana, Anavastha. Pa rasurama-kaIpas i Ira,

264

ChapteFT

Gossary unoerconllol. Sarcdalilaka, Vedicera

265

Nilatantra, Vaira ol (1) a weapon ojtenloundin ihe hands the Thunderbolt, Buddhist images. Tantric Diamond. 12) Vajrapuspa oi llower, valuable llower,lhe blossom sesamum. Diamond Nilatant@. Vairayana A iorm of Tantric Buddhism. Vrik-diksi See VecikiDiksa. V:im6cdra Followersol it resort to A Tenlric way ol SAdhana. ra. Pfraca-mak Tdra l. 90 fJ. Sakti is worshipped as Saktisamgama, of wife.According some,a lo a personificationSiva's ritein whicha woman, whois placed the leflof lhe on part, or rs a crooked way man, playsan rmportanl practisedsecreily. Vema is ol kinds, Madhyamain whichall the five MaliA.as resorledto, and Ulrama are in which Madya, Maithuna and Mudd a,e used. Vamamarga (q.v.). Sdmeas Yanacafa varna (mayi)Diksa The Jormof inilialion whichlhe spirilof lettersis in parlsol the disciple body. inlLrsed the ditlerent inio s Seradatbka, Vasikarana is Oneoi lhe six blackriiesby whicha person broughl

A mode ol Sadhana. ln il Vedic way is followed. Prenabsini, Vedha (mayi) diksd Same as Manodiksd (q.v.). For technical meaningin 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) 12) (3) (4) Vil:isa A principal Tantricschool. Vira A T6niric giidhaka ol lhe second grade, who has advanced menlal laculties,and follows Trueknowledge. Female deily. Mantra telating lo a iemale deity. Female panner of a Tanltic sedhaka. Nilatantra,

Virecera lq.v.).

266

ChapleFT

Glossary
Visnukrdntd The lract oi land extending irom the V ndhyas to CallaLa in or, {Chittangong Bangladesh) accordingto some, lo Java in lhe Far East. Visuddha 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 Vydpaka-nyesa See Vyapaka-traya. Nilatantra, Vyiipakatraya A kind o{ Nydsa. The three are : 1. 2. 3. Touching the head and ioot wilh the hand. From loot lo head. From head to foot. | am Siva Hirnsell.

Rudrcyemah, UlIara, Paas u16 -kalpasi tla, ma Nirvenbntn, KAmAkhy,hntn, Saktisamgama,Sundati. P16natosini, Virabhava A partjcularattiludeof a fanltic Sedhaka. Viracakra A cakra ntual in which five Sakiis, viz.. mother (Balakl3uta), daughler sister(Svapacl), lBhumindn-kanya\), (Kapiir) wile( yoginl) worshipped. daughter-inlaw and are Virdciira A way of Sddhana be lollowedby a Tantricdevolee. lo Virasiidhana .9edharapractisedby a Vin lype of devolee. Virisana Sitlingposlurein whichone reststhe body on the heels. Visarga It represents bothPaniand Apa,?aspectsol the Sakii. Also called Kaulika Sakti,il is the FemalePrinciple (sah)as complementary the MalePrinciple (ham), to Bindu.Tanlra-loka, 120 If., Salcakrcniripana,XLlll. quoting lll (K6licarana's commPraspaAcasAra). Visnugranlhi Akno\in lhe AnehatuCakralq.v.)whichKundalini has to penetrale ds ascent, in

Ydmala L r l e r a l lm e a n i n g ' p a , f c o u p l e ' . y i'

Yang philosophy. The [,4ale in Principle Chinese Yantra geometrical ure,painted various colours D agram, fig with thal worship. worshipper al the time of The imagrnes resides deily, being worshipped lhe limebeing, lor .the in thediagram. to Diagrams difler according the lorms as interpreled oi lhe deitiesworshipped. Variously

264

ChapleFT

Glossary

269

rnstrument, lhe body and abode of a deily, amutel. mentallaculty, pureconsciousness, doclrinal, niceties, mrcrocosm human body, etc, ol Gandharva, Kularnava, Saktisangama, Iata,. Krsnanandas Ianllasara, Saundaryalahari. Nilatantra, Yantrapuspa Flowers like JavA, Aparajita. Raktakarvira. elc. Nilatan!G, Yaugi diks6 A form ol initialion.In it, the gulu, in a sublte iorm. enters lhe body ol his discjpte and idenlifies his personality wiih lhat ot the discipte. SeGdeilaka. 'I Yogini he FemaiePrincipiein Chtnesephilosophy.

il) \2) (3)

Dragramresembln9 the temaleorgan. Nilatantra, FourfoldSakti, viz., AmbA, Jyesthe,Raudtj, VAma. Femaleorgan.See caud-pitha.

Yonimudra (1) A i nger-pose ooking like the temaleorgan \2) 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 symboting sexuat Intercourse. PurasuAma kalpasttra, Yoniyugma A lnangle with ls apex upwardintersecting trtangle a 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 represenled Tiintric Buddhistart. in The non-dualstate ol un ty al SUnyatA and Karune. SedhananAla,

( r) 12)
(3) (4)

A class ol goddesses,64 in number,betievedto be manifestalions lhe eight Metrkiis. ol Femaiepanner of the SedhakaGoddessespresrding over lhe takras. Name oJ a Tanlricschool_ A class ol Female ascetics spreading knowtedge among lhe masses. Medicinewoman. Woman possessedby the goCdess.

(s)
{6) (7)

ESSGYGDOPAEE

[A

WRA

SATJHU SANTIDEV

VOLUMT' 2

COSMO PIIBIICATIONS

rcserved. No part ofthis pubication may be repnduced, .Ul t-i-!:hts 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

Cosmo Publications

SalientFeatures Tantra of Whatis Tantra Lexical esoteric and meaning ofTantra Tantric Tradition Founderc Tantra ol Principles Tantra ol Principle Polarity oJ Principle ldentity of Nlacrocosm lllicrocosm and Concrete positive and viewot Realily Tanlric Symbolism Tantra Symbols 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 WhoSeeks Nirvana? TheLamb, theHero, theMan-cod and AlirheGods withinus Metaphysics ofTantra 93 ...-. Tantra Schools MeiaphysicalSchools: Sarvism,Saktism, Vaisnavism Sadhana Schoolsolfan.r'a: VemAcAra. Daksinecercand Miste: VemaceH Daksi necen ot Samayeca ra MisrA a.Ultimalely Reality World and b. Individual 6elt c. Liberation 8.far,tta Sedhane Essentials Tantra 01 sadhana guide: a. Spjriiual Guru b. lnitialion: Dlksa c. Puritication body:thuta Suddhi o{ d. Pu dication Mind:Nyasa ol pratt*ha e. lnslallation liie:Prana of g. Japa h. Bhava: Menlal disposilion Via bhava Divyabhava Conclusion
5.

Sakli of Awakeing the Kundalinl lnlroduciion asPecls and aPPlied Theotetical of the KundaliniYoga asPecl a.Theorelical side oi the KundallnYoga: b. Applied ol aPPlication lhe c. Therapeutic Variousaspecisof KundaliniSakll

Applied side of Tantra: Music, Dance, Sarcraments AstrologY,

135

lntroduction A. Dance of meaning theDanong 1,Esoleric ot Posture Siva energy Dance Kallor ol LasYaNritva tech and Dance Haihayogl nique B. Music l.Theoryol Nada inTantra oi 2-Concept Neda Faga of 3.Theory to with Ragas Reterence centers or Cakras C. Astrology D.Sacrraments Samske? 1. Gatuhedhana Conception Samskara 2. Pumsavanana PregnancY kara 3. Sina ntonMYana Sams 4. Jata'karmaSamskAn.Brlh Samskara 5. Nema-kanna name Giving child's the

6. Niskramana Samskaft [s FirstViewof ihe Sun 7. Anna- Esanna Samskera p Firsteating 8. CidekatmaSamskea Tonsure 9- Upanayana Samske.a lnvestiture 10.Udveha Samskara l\,4arriage Conclusion

8.

Nadl:Theory Channels ot Conclusion

7.

Oegenetation ofTantra 161 Inlroduction , Tantra a conscious approach Positive viewot Life Realization Supreme ol Consciousness Conclusion Human AnatomyandTantra 173 lntroduction A. Anatomy givenby theA opathy System 1.TheNervous System 2. ctandSystem B.Tantra Analorny 1.Theory SixCentres ot 1. Mibdhan Caka 2. Swedhisthana Cakra 3. ManipuraCakra 4. Anahah Caka 5. Visuddha Cakra 6. AjhACakra 7. Sahasram Caka

j 85 Healing AspectotYanlra and Mant.a tntroduction A.YanlraTherapy Introduction A) l.Yantraandjts symbolic Meaning Symbolic meaning Yantra of a. Do|j Bindu b.Trianglet Trikona c. Saki Kona d. Circle e.Squa(et Bhupuh 2.The meaning SriYantra of a. Formulalion SriYantra ol b.Symbolic represenlation Sriyantra of presenlation C. SriYantra Symbilic as of Human Body Physicalbody represented as in SriCakra 3.Therapeulic aspect Yantra ol Conclusion Appendix B. Therapeutic aspect Mantra ol 1. lvleanings Mantra oJ 2. Bta Manlra: SeedLetters C.Japa japa 1. Nitya 2. Kamya Japa AcalaJapa 3. 4.CataJapa 5. Vacika Japa 6. Up2rnus Japa

7. Mansika Japa japa L Ajapa Therapeutic Aspect Japa oJ D-Therapeutic aspects l\rantra of

TherapeuticAspect ofTantra 219 lnlroduction A.Puritication Physical of Body 1. Hathayogic 01 way Purification body: of a. Dhauti b. Neti NasalCleaning: ct Trataka d. Kapahbhati e. Nauli f. Basai Cleaning lower oI colon 2.fanl.r.icWay Nedi ol Purilication 3.Theory Base:ATanlrc ol wayof rejuvenalion B.Various Tantric Ways Healing ol 1. SatKama: Six actions 2. Svarodayai ScienceoI A Breathing 3. Mrdra:Geslures PrunaMudrc SunyaMudra SuryaMudra JfienaMudra

Chapter-1

SalientFeatures Tantra of

Chapter-1

A.Whatis Tantra : pleasure Desireol and removal painwas and still is the ol humantendency. Like oiher conmunities the world,Hindus ot powers lhat alsobelieved lhey wefesurrounded supernatural by pleasLre pain. which theyconsidered the cause lheir as ol and Forthe benign intluence powerand removal the evilimpacl, of of they gavethema slatusot deaty and worshipped themthrough Maniras. The important occasions whichstartfromthe concepground, I on of wombto the cremalion according lhe oriental to view,lhey are sixteenin number. knownas Sodas Samskaras, the humansubjectis protected fromthe evil intluences through patte.n Iheproouncialion Manlras a partofcertain of as rilualastic of lradition. Physical disorders mentalailrnents wereconsidered and also power For lhis they haveworkedout as wrathof supernatural Manlric therapy, whichManlrais considered having in as healing power.Does Mentrareallycontainsuch power? Apparently il looks as a collection syllabusbut in realilythey are highly of polent therr prtency latenl. but is Onehaslo charge Mantra the powerfor desired withhisowninner the results. howto charge But ? Or how to awaken innerlatentpower? As we haveseen the bolh in the prelace and in lhe introduction Tanlra lhal showsthe wayot expansion innerpower. ButwhatTantra ? One may ot is havequeslion .This chapter chieily is Jor devoted the exposilion ot lhe Subtle soundmeaning and ofTanlra ils related and nolions. 1. Lexicaland esotelc meanlngolTanlra : Manydelinitions havebeengivefor the t6rm'Tanlra'. ihe In Samskrit lexicon termTantra usedin manysenses. lhe has This term is derivedfrom the rootr'tanmeans'to spreadoul'.l8ut whalis to be spread o!t? lt is the spreading the expansion out ol worldly and olherworldlyknowledge.2 Esoterically, meaning. lhe

Chapter-1

SalientFeatures Tantra oi figures (Yantra). Tantric way of dealing with mindis that,in which one has lo allend each and every thought as a mere witness or seer and not to suppress the lhoughl Give lolal independence one can come out lrom the boundaries mindand can exoand ol the arenaol mindbecause onlyunconditioned 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 arena oi mentalprojection also increased. js "the When a Sadhaka atiains the projectionof mentalarena ot 3600 he becomes one 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. we have seen,Trayatestands for the meaning,'libAs eralion".We liberate can onlythosethings whichare in bondage. FofT?rntra, Kundalinl, cosmic universalenergy,lying dorrnant the 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{estations enol ergybecause hasgrrpped verysourceol energy.The he the way olliberalon js Iqe vervcoreotTantra Sadhana. The other meaningolTantra is lhat which savesor protects.5 li saves the Sedhaka frorn the wordly bondage by the constant mediiation(l\,4anana) the HighestBealityin theform ol N,4antra.6 o1 It alsoprotects physicaland Sadhakakcm mental ailments. Thus it worksas a Therapy.The Sabdakaipadrum, Samskrit a dictionary 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, sprnlual well as psycho-somaiic as calamities. is righllyre lt markedby Hastings the encyclopedia Religion in of and Ethics That, it has been estimated that two-thirdsof Hindu relioionsand one thirdof Hindumedicine Tanlric.s is

physical the of and expansion represents cultivation latent also deeper lhe verytermand seewhal into Nowlet us penetrate ? is ol namely, it represenlsThetermTanlraa combinationtwoworld rewhichstandfor expansion liberation and Tanoti and Travate But and speclively. whatis to be expanded whatis to be liberated oJ ol Let ? Hereit is an expansion mindand liberation energy. us illLrstrate point. thls functions within specific a circle lirnit. workthrough or ll lVind thgings which We the daiegiveby senses. cansee onlythose the ouroolicsvstem allows ustosee.We notseebehind wall can are objecisin theworldwhich withnaked eyes.There alsominule eyes of Like we cannotseethrough because itslimitations. wise, voices which comefrom speciiic the range. we canhearonlythose This indicales mindis that Sameis ihe casewilh all senses. ol on stimuliand because lhisitsexperiences dependeni sense areverV limited. of it expelf we break boundaries mind, canhavenfinite the riencesol variedtypes.Just now il is a slave oi senses.lf ll comesoui of the clutchesol senseorgans,it can llow every expe riences. is can happen Th only whereandcan enioydesired or of fromtheclutches sense ol alterlheexpansion liberation mind of the oi organs. Simultaneously, modiJication lhe powers sense ceriainpraclice alsoexof thaough or the transformation senses pandsthe areaof lhe lunctions mindinfiniiely. of ? shedslightontheway help HowTanira inihisregards Tanlra (One olTantra is though techniques ol themeaning oI expansion Tanlra saysthat allowyourmindto moveevery also technique). Manirahelpsin this regards. the where.Expand areaol mind.3 ll's a vehicletor awakening deeperlorces lyingwilhin one the vibration enol self.A soundis a wavewhichcarrieselectrical pronounciationllanlragivesa newdimension conto ergy.The of into of sciousness whichpenetrates deeper innerrecesses mind. has uniquetypes method oJ of Forthis,Tanlra alsoprescribed though is but meditation. Tantra alsomeditation, il is a medilation (Mantra) geographical may syllables or sVmbols.These belinguislic

chapter-1

Salent Fealuresol Tantra

we giveby theSabdakalpadruma, ot ln the meanings Tantra, or lhe haveseenthat.termtantraalsosignilies doctrine syslem' TanlraForinslance' can (Sddhaata). anyphilosophy becalled So Stee g'eatvedantrsl Tanlra etc.The lantra, Galitamrya Samkhvd tor the Tanlra" has Samka;acharya alsousedtheterm"Vainasika e ol the ksanabhangavada Buddhisls definilion ol Thelerm Agamais the synonyme Tanira.l0The all includes Siva' Tantra a oive bv lhe Par,m Samhita, Vaisnava it Agamais thal whrc-h to 5altr and vrsnu aspects According byVasudeva' and lo Siva comeslrom goes Parvati tsapproved any having hesila_ without With helpofsuchinJormation, the ol literature ghostand is tion.we can savlhatTantra nota cheap as andsorcelies il is so consldor olobin a cullof blackmagic to whichleadsSadhaka lhe or is 6red.Tantra a process method Hereweclose of innerlorces the though cuhivation sellrealization ol this pointwith the myslicdelinition Tantragivenby Dr' Lalan is of "Themysticdefinition Tantra lhat it is a spirPrasadSingh. igno' ofcrudenessand bondage lromthe which liberales ilualcull rool) (acoustic ot crudness ta islhebiia-Mantra fhe rance. word one whichrelieves lromlhe lel_ of Tanlrais a process Sddhana which is (ta)Thus,Tanlraaninluitionalscience tersof crudenoss of realization the Divine ll liberates tor the progressive stands and darkness leadsintothe divineeffulone kom ihe cimmedan lt is a palh ol Salvationlt is a science of the soul The oence. is ol delinition lheTanlra, lhat whichbringsemanci' ;uthorirative (talraya ayal kayel yaslu sa of pationfromthe bondage [,]?ry2r tantrapariklrtitah)l'r2 ol one with beenacquainted the meaning Tanlra Afterhaving or may be eagerto knowaboutits antiquity traditionNowlet us glance overitskadilion. B.Tanfic Tradition: Various scrip' in is heritage conlained sc plures. lndian spiritual point.Tantra at wayswhichculminale one luresshow!s dillerent pathwhichhasbeenforgolis alsooneof them.lt is lhe greatest has ArlhurAvalon tried saviour Tanva ol neglecld.The ten rather

Let ol ol to givea vividdescription supremacy Tantra. us havea pleasure his own wods, 'ln lhis greatlestival,in this ancienl in philosophy,smriti, purana,Veda, India,astrology, Durgafeslivalol instrumonls playing lhe in and manyolher musical ar Veddnta Bul to court-yard lhe universe. we are grieved find ol extensive ol Saslra,in whichallolher thatthe greatinstruments theTantra depend, are on instrument included, whichall otherinstruments is and Mankas. today andwhichis the solesourceol alYanlras This is not a tancybul il secures soundbasewhichis silenf'j3. allthe in S.B. alsorellected the viewot Dasgupta, whoconcludes preas ofTantricism.ra Off-shool schools tho ofi-shoots esoteric Butthequestion when is: seedwhich underlhesoil. is supposes wiih seed had beenplanled? Forthis lel us proceed the Tantra antiquily. theTanlra problsm. comA ol Antiquity Tanlrais a very conkoversial hasnotyel beengiven. pleteanddecided answeato enigma this Antiquity be answe@d can onlyin lermsof time but not in terms Ancientness nottheonlymeasureis of soundness principles. of mentfor the iustification any systembut it shouldhavesome of soundbase.Tantriclladitionis fortunale haveboth ancientto we nessand soundness. ancintness will haveto oo back For (3500 lndus-Valley B.C). civilizalion. among scholar the whether Tantra Thereisa greatcontroversy has its originin Vedaor vice versa. The reporlsof the excavaiions of Indls-Valley belorethe Aryancame into Incivilization, dia, havelavoured lirst possibility. the Sivaand Saktisymbols highlyattached are withlhe Tenlric metaphysics. wereso deeply They rooled themindof pre-Aryan in people thal they took the lorm of Gramdevata. idol ot Siva The and Saktiwas and slill beingworshipped achand everyvilby lage. shallexpound We lhis viw wilh the helpol the authenlic reporl lhe archaeologisi oJ Mackenzie.As reports,'The Donald he clayliguresand images and phallic baclylic stonessuggest that Durga' and Siva'worship wasol a muchgreater anliquity lnin diathanhas hitherto N.N.alsosupbeensupposed.is Ghose, porls same lhe view. wee religious proved is "..people alsointensely oy lhed scovery a number beautiful of of temples preserued still

Chaple.l whichtheyusedas places worship the Mother oJ of in lineshape, andlhree headedSival'16 Goddess Vedasare composedby the Aryan peoplewhile Tantra s ihe callydegitt of pre-Aryan civillzalion. Lalan Prasademphat Dr. that,"Fromaltheseavailable hislorical dence,il can be ev clares sad with ce ainty that Iantra is the cult and spirtual farthoi The ancientIndia.ll is lhe giii of the non-Aryan vilizationl'17 c v ew of ih Ram Chandra Rao is nothing but lhe echo ol lhe abovemenlioned views. The origins are 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 whichare lheTanlric Veda,we loundamplereferences Siva-Sakti of The Rgvedaand the Atharvaveda conlainmanyS uklas, deities. also like Ratri Sukta, Prithvi Sukta, Usa Sukta elc. and also Purusa Sukta, Rudra Sukta, which are relaledwilh lemale and male dei' is ties.This enoughpointer declareTantra mucholderlhan lo as 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 Tantraetc., no trace o{ lhe vedic inllu' Tanlra the Budra-Yamala ence and no menlion ol the vedas can be lound; whereas in the Vedaswe haveclearevidence ofTantricinlluence rnfluence or ot lhe Agama and Nigama whichgoto provethatbelorelhe Aryans Cullwerelhere migraled the lndian to soil,lheTanlras andTantric iormingthe core oi lhe non'Aryan lhe pre-Aryan or civiliza. as tionl'19 Saivism and Sakism are lhe schools the Tantra-tradition. of were prevalenl the Both Siva and Sakli as god and goddess in non.Aryan CuLt. againherequoteGhose,N.N.regarding We this. "The religion lhe people ihe oi seemsto be iconic, imageoi Siva lhe takingthe placeoi honouf. The worshipof phallc emblems, This leadsus to lingaand the yoni also prevalid.20 necessarily are the two pillars which on conclude that Saivism and Sirklism spiritualedillce oi non-Aryanwas eslablished. lhe Here we have lried lo proveTantraas much older than Veda in lerms ol lime. But this does not mean lhat they are conlrary to

SalienlFeatures Tantra of

eacholher.In the Tankiclreatiselike lhe 'Kularnava' the and 'Mahanirvana'Tantra it isdeclared thalTanka a scriolurelorthe is kaliyuga whileVedais for the Satyayuga2l one principle The is presenteddifferent according in ways tolhemo.alsiandard otthe people theparticular Wearethe people of age. having limited lifegrasp spanandsenses. is impossibleto lt Vedas is whyLord thal sivahasgifted Tantra thepeople theKaliyuga, {or of ArthurAvalon hasbeautilully compromised conlroversy declaringTantra this by as a perfume exisling VedicFlower22 can be fu her asked in lt who has perlumedthe Vedicllower ? For this, let us proceed lowards lounder the o{Tantra. C. Founders ofTantta VedicFloweris pertumed Tantra. who has perfumed by But Tantra our problem investigation. is of Though knowverylittle we aboutit.Scholars havetriedto fix lhe authorship otTanlra.There are two superficial contrary viewsregarding this nationamong themone supports divienoriginwhilelhe other lavourshuman authorship, whoever maysecure authorship, are notconthe we cerned withit.Weare highly concerned the coreof philosowith phy. Anysystemcan endure onlyby the strength its essence. of We haveseenlhat Tantric philosophy beenprevalent has since lrvethousand yearsil not more. This is enoughevidence iis of soundness. soundness infused divine This is by lorces. Howis it so ? Forlhis willhavelo peepinto th6related we nolions this ot Tantrais generally considerod Agama.Eachsyllableof as lhrstermis Fullol significance. Chakravarti, notes.'.The As C., IermAgama explained thalclass is as olTantrawhich isaddrossed to Parvati Siva.2r" exposition by This stjpporls divine origin. But al lhesameI mewe havegotsomeolherTantras whicha16 asso_ clated numan w'rh names. instance, For Sanat Kumera, Daflalreva Flc Wl'o are consiciered authors severatTanras. courie, as ot Of Ineywere not lay man like us bui at the sametime we cannol considef them as Lord Siva.We haveaccepted lhem onlv as seers, Dr.LalanPrasadhas very distinclly workedoul lhe authoF

10

Chapter-1

of SalienlFeatures Tanlra

11

as all ship. He is againslaccepting these scriptures of divine neitherTantra ourpoinlofview "Butlrom his origin.In ownwords, vithe nor the Vedasare ol divineorigin.Bothembody inluitive god headot the Vedasand of Tantrais an sion ol seers.Th6 enlily.lt is not a infinite, eternal,lormlessand lranscendental vocalchord. re is no tran_ The personalgod.lt doesnothaveany thatTantra Vedais lhevoice or in validity theargumenl scendenlal of providence(AptaVakya)l'" Nol with slanding he accepls as olTdntrabul notSivaas we haveaccepled siva as originator is "TheFounder Tantra LordSiva He ls ol ood.In hisownwords, yogi)anda great (Mahar He inownas AdiGuru. asa greatascelic God He with (Maha he hasoneness thesupreme Tantrika kaula) hult powers Tantra Sadhana. is beyond through occull ailained ol mindto measure depthand dimension his spiritual lh man worshipped adorecl and revered, powerand personality. People and be He himin ancienttims. is conceivedlo Gunatilir Nirguna Purusa.25 ArthurAvalondilterson this The greatadheranlof Tantra, not olTantra as point.ltseems thefounders lhat h hasaccepted He a scholarbut as a devolee. has triedlo proveconclusively As or are andTanlras AptaVzlkya voiceolprovidence. thaiVedas of he thinks."As the courtiers a royalccud are nol the authors, ol bul merelyihe interpreters state crafts,so the trulh seelng of Risis are not the originators th SddhanaSastra' but merely. is nol a Sdstramarredby mistake' ll rememberencrs knower allcreatures, creatorol Bhavan,lh errors deception, and of all heans,is ils revealar26 to are two Theabovementioned points opposed each oiher is but what I thinkis that.lhis controversy only al an apparent levf. lf we go intothe rootof theseviews we tind thal lhe bolh rPresent lheirviewslromthe sameground' scholars respectod Lel lhat is the groundol consciousness. us ditfusethis slate_ ment. in movement the lniversein everyalom Thereis incredible is Universe a of Movemenl a characlerislic consciousness. is ol combination dillerentatomsand they are full ot conscioilsol butthe ocean conscrousness is ness, Hence universe nothing

pervades lhe manandin in Theoneandthesameconsciousness animal? also.Butwhalmaksmansuperiorto the animalworld on ol Thereare certainobslruclions nescience consciousness theseobstruclions lo the Onlymanpossesses capacity remove {or Animalis at sub-consciousnes whichis not possible animal. lev6l. sellconsciousmanis at self-conscious Beyond levelwhile as layerswhich known Super_conscious' are lherearecedain ness ness.lt is nol easyto reachas it seemsso. Man shouldhav lhen he canrealpowertoconlrollhe natu torces, ral tremendous Here slf with izetheidenlity super-consciousness. individ!al merges which allthe powers sell.At thislevelhe secures inlo universal view that Dt LalanPrasad we ascribeto god. li is my humble soulor as a soul otTantra, a realized as thinksSivaas a founder is samein man consciousness Though or super consciousness, ot thelimitations name off bul andsuperman he has shattered all garthly one butadivine as not type andform.This of soulcan be declarethal both conclusively We Arlhur Avalonaccepts. can Voice realised of directly indirectly. or have accepted divine origin lrornhuand lrom the donain ol divinity lar remote soulcomes, manterritorY. has all Whatis lhai in theTanl c perfume-which frelgranced or ? ll is not its hoaryantiquity divine aulhorship the scriptures ofTantra syslemstands on butits soundprinciples whicheditice undertheiille edifice ol Nowwe shalllry to seethe bricks Tanlra "Prnciple6 olTantra". D. P nciDled Tantra: ol of uponthelirmness lounda' depends The solidity edilice of are tion and qualityof bricks. Tantraprinciples very soundon years. whichTantric since{ivelhousand systemis stillsustained 1. Pfinciple ol Pola ty: syssloneof Tantra is Theprinciple polarity thefoundation ol let tem.Before goingintothe olthisprinciple us beacquainled root wilh whal polarityis.The term'polarity' related is with the word 'pole''pole'is eitherol ihe two The lexical meaning lhe word ol ponts ol a body in whichthe attraclive repulsive energyis or

12

Chapter-1

of SalientFeatures Tanla trom moon ol moon and moon lighl. As moon light is not dilJerent in mooncan nol exislwilhoutmoonlight the sameway Siva and and Saktiare dentical.32 is wilh the helpof the illustration This idenlily alsoexplained ln ot ol creation. lhe process crealon Srvais not able to do anyas th ng wilhoutSakti.S va is considered corpse(Sava)devod veryllrstverseof lhe Saundraya Laharlpurports of Sakti(i).The lhal withoulthe un on ot ihe same view.In wh ch il is declared Not on y lhal bul when S va S va Saktino crealionis possible. The to un tes withsakti onlylhen he usable do anything.33 Today a Tantra so rellectthe same view34We can't go aheadwiihout q!otingthe wordsot SreeRamakrisna whichare citedby Swam 'ShriRamkrisna wonllo saythatiustaslire Prabhavananda. was powerare inseparable, inseparableare so Brahma anditsburning and Sakti".When I medilate upon Bealily as al rest, he once rernarked, that is, withoutihe aclivitiesot creation,preservation and dissolution.call il Brahman. I When I meditale uoon Realitv as crealive,I call il Sakli. In eilher case I am concernedwith one and lhe same lruth,lhe ditterence beingonly in lhe name and 2. Macrocosm and Microcosm: HenceSiva and Saktibecomethe lnv sibleseed ol the fu I grownup lreeol universe- lhe seedperuades the branches, As in n lhe lru ts of the tree likewise, Siva and Saktia so pervade n the Lrniverse in the humanbodyalso. and This is enough raise to a queslon aboutlhe relallonship (Macro' lhe universe between cosm)andlhe ind vidual f (l\,4rcrocosm). se lf thereis a coldin the universe, also iee coldness, thereis a heat,we also teel we It neal in the body_ How is il possible? Tanlra has lound out that vvnaiever in unverse also residesin humanbody.The third is cnaplerof S ddha-Siddh:lnta the oaddhatiot Gorakanath com is pleley devoted this aspect. to The slighest changein universe co,l Fq'rFnlly rellectsin body. Thus Tanlraacceplsrhe rdenhry oelwepn macrocosm dnd mrcrocosm whch lhe wholedslrolon ogy s based. Beinga replica universe, of allwhatever there bodvcontains

concentrated, e.g-in a magnet.27 as Tantrahas very unaquely workedoul thesetwo polesin the human bodywhichis syrnbolically represented inTantric treatise as Siva-Sakli. Biologically, represents malejemalepoles it the whichis pre-requisite foranycrealion. principle polarily Tadric of worksnotonlyat physical level butit alsoapplies universal at level. Tanlra, human, For like universo alsoan rs ofJ-spring Highest ofthe Reality.The literalmeaning (Vacyartha) the Firstverseol lhe Saundraya ot laharlretlect this fact.2sThe sameviewis alsodepicted bylhe RasarnavaTantra tn whichsiva tells Pravatithat He is lhe Fatherand She is the 2s Mother the universe worldly oJ and objects Pfinciple ol ldentity: Howthispolarilyresides the humanbody? Everyhuman in beingcontains ihesetwopoles within;one expressed is whilethe olher js latent. poteindicales The exlernally himselfexpressed either maleor femalecharacletll a personis male,temaleis alreadytherebut in a lalenlform.Same is the case ol female. This newconcept biology knownas b,sexuality. is nol a in is But new notionfor a Tdnlricseer.lt has alreadybeen revealed by themandexpressed itintermsol Hemo,phrodite (Ardhanarisvara). Letusseehowtheexponent Tanlra of tradition, [,,lookeriirows Ajil th "Thebi-sexual potential light lhispoint. on existin equal malelemale(M/F)ratioin the reproduclion prooyplasm. of Visually it has beendepicted the formoI Ardhanarisvara (Siva-Parvali), as maleand female altriblles shownas partof the samebody, joined. hermophrodiiically Theidea thatmascuiar andteminitv ty are tow factorsjs as illusory that of the dualityof body and as soul.30 Sivaand Saktiare the lwo polesof one thing. Tankarepresenlspolarity notdualilybut Sivaand Saktiare notlwo ultimate Bealilies theyare idenlical.This bul identity beenprolusely has descrioed manyTantras,We quoteonly oneor lwo.In lhe in here MaherniruarnaTantra Sivaemphatically Parvatithat Lord tells there is no dillerence between them.3l Suddha The Siddhanta Paddhati ol Goraksanalha depiclsthe sametruthby giving illustralion the

t4

Chaptar-1

SalienlFealuresot Tanlra

15

is in the universe. Hncelor the realizaiion Realilybehind of the universe, is not necessary roamintothe world.Bodyis the it lo lor besl means realization. citation the Ralnasara The ot Tantra whichis quoted Ajil lilookerjiis by verysuggeslive.'He who alizesthetruthof the bodycanlhen cometo knowthe lruthof the 3. Concrcte and posltlve vlew ol Eaelily. Thisalsorellecls viewotTantra lhe aboullhe nature Flealof ity.ForTanlra, Reality notan abstract is entity can be reatized but physical morlalbody. through or Bodyis not merely grossprod, a ucl oi Prakriti is a divinegift of natureand because this, but ol the Tanlra Kularnava like declares bodyas the templeof God.37 Thls retleclsthe posilive viewof Tantra regarding bodyelemenl which highly is neglected Jainisn, by Christianity Buddhism. and This showshow humanbeingenjoysgreal signiticance in Tankatradition.The Kubrnava Tantrahas laidgrealerstresson thisaspect.As Vishvasera Tantra declares. There is no birthlike unio lhe humanbirth.Both Devasand pitrasdesireit. For the Jiva,the human bodyjs out of all bodies, mosidifficult the to come by.For this, it is said that humanbirlh is attainedwilh extreme diiliculty".3s philosophy Indian believes soulhasio cross cycle thal the ot birthsaccording the deedshe has commilted previous to in lile. Humanbirthis th only bidh in whichhe gets complete sway overthebirthcycleby doingsellless (Niskama deedskarma). To do anything orwithout with intension a properly mindis ol Hence mindshouldbe first conlrolled. is not the worldlyobjeclslhat lt bindus bul the aftitudes mindtowardit creates of Dleasure and pain. This is lhe wisdom and ignorance lhis is the knolof of nescience. knotshouldbe brokenand lhat is the liberation The (Moksa) advocaied Tanlra.3o by Buthowmind becomes cause pleasure pain? lt is the ol and (Bhava)which responsible thisand lhe mental disposilion is lor lor Tanlramentaldisposition the propertyof mind.40 is Worldly goodnor bad. obiects neither are Theyare as it is. Bul is our mentadisposilion lowards lhemwhich bindsusor liberates. Scrip-

illustration discloses trulhby giving this Sastra tureslikeDharma withlhesame wrleandhisdaughler his whokisses ol a person which rntentton.4lil is thementaloutlook So timb with but drtferent not anything else.This lact is beaulilully dislortslhe worldand Tantrawhich is cited in the Karpura by depicted lhe Kaulavali siava B:ria.a2 as for bondage wellas Salvalio can Somind bethemeans both as considered instincts, is generally sex the mental Among all view has ButTantra a heallhy binding powerfulone. and themosi are lorce.There lwo viewssexas a positive this.Tanira regarding I of possibiities theutilizaiion thisJorcelf it is misused, rnay in tirneJ il Al and of proveto bea curse a source misery. lhe same to il with s usedproperly underslandingproves beboon Toui lize posilivity acceptslhe uponus.Tanlra orcursedepends itas a boon oi the ol sexenergyto ihal exlentlhat it becomes source Salvawhichas ol lion.Tanlrashowslhe wayo{ sublimation lhal inslinct ol generally as considered thecause downlall43 slresson menlaysgreater we In conclusion saythatTanlra is if rnava Tanira, anything in lal aspect. it is declared the Kular As virtueandpheevensin becomes ol donewlththe puritv mind proper would door becomes to divinity44ll bernore norrenalworld of to say that the approach Tantrais to avoidthe iwo exlremes, lhe Thus and that s renunciation indulgence. il shows balanced regaroing worlo itsa"airs and vrew a d _eallny hesiiation the thal withoulhaving Fromlhis we canconclude But edijiceare very so!nd and rational. whatis bricksol Tantra o, the thal whichhasdislortor Shaken loundalion lhe sysiemol Tanta? language ol It is nolhlngbui misinterprelataonits symbolic which arelhe to Onemaywish know forlhiswhich responsible is jusiified. thislel us see For symbols howtheyare unduely and cance wilh srgnii wjth someoi theTantric Symbols lheirproper lhehelooi Tantra treaiiseE.Tentic Symbolism: theValmiki oJ lt is a lactthatthe revealer the epicRamayana,

16

Chapted

ot Meaning Tanlra

17

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. Visuddha Bhatati in lhe regtonof lhe ne.k. Seal or ol sarasvali.it is grFyand like a lolusot sixteenpetats presrded over by goddessLiikini. A/.ia - belwaenthe pyebrows. Also ca ed patamaiataol ._ wtu.Rtatrtvent, like a loius ol lwo pelals whtte tl is In colour ll rlT rn': cakra thar lhe lhree ,adrs. /c*i er. . spread oul l: Io.drrrerert directions. Symbolised the le ers Ha a-d Asa by 'I rs rhe seal of mind. presrded over 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 manileslalton acltvalionol ot Cakrds rl.rs-necessary keepingthe body fit and for lhe a lor 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

ll"llTSO "" rne hearlts comp:tred a lolus,and tl is slaledto have lo t0l /Vadrs; one ol lhem penetrales crownof the head;a man the moving upward it reaches by immortay.tn thisuonnexton, the upanlsads may be consutted. Chandagva t_)pan$ad l:1l9yln9 vllt.6 v'll I l. 6. Kathavi.16.prasnaiti.6 Ceria,n dragra,ns also.are calledCakras. Different worksdifler in the name-s and number Cakras. of The Srcakfa is oftenlnentionedie. Tanlra. A

lheancrent Upanisadic rheories: oxampte tor

. o n T a n l r ap . 2 5 1 ) . o Srrcakrd alsoLalledShyanlraor lttpuaca|E connecled wilh Stividya.has been describedin verses, quoted 'n the p ed (Bib o! A^andagiri Indica 1868) 255and Samkara-Vijaya commenlaryon the Nityesodasikarnava the Selubandha n yamala(ptot'ablyRudrayamala) Ihe {1 31-34)quoling lrcm ll (verse11) also descllbes A somewhal Saunaatvatahatt dps'npl'on occursin a work calledDevnahasla dltlFrent of A MS (Deccan College No.490of 1895'S8) descriplion lhe CakE rs as follows.A Cakla is lo be drawnwith lhe bl,du in a small lriangle.The bmdu stands for Sakli or Mllaprakrti have lhelrapex iive lriangles o{which are There nine solidifled Siva Saktl andfour,representing represenls downward:these the smallest in The haveiheirapexupward. b/rduis situated Thereare lwo pairsol triangles. poinling downward. triangle lotus lolus'16 pelalled theneighlpelalled then14 triangles. lourgales lhese lines wilh thenlhreeboundary lhen3 circles. of lhe ten lallerbeing oulersection the yattraandlhe lotuses of seclion the Yant? lhete being inner the of 8 and 16 pelals part ol the Cakra inside lhe rs a lolal of 43 angles The boundarylines is calledbhuputa The worshipol Yantrais the Klndal/nllhrough awakened bahiyaga. Antaryagaislaking il andthenuniting wilh Mutadharalo Cakras.lrcm Nlecakra' with caka; lhe six Cakrasate adenlilied Siva in lhe Sahastara mlnd and the live elemenls lhe Sahas6E Padm4' At the cenlre of the head is localedihe Brahmarandhra lo or whichvitalbrealh life is supposed exilal death ihrouoh pelals lolus as a mullicoloured ot a thousand ll is c;nceived downward. facing to according the Kaulasyslem are as follows The Cakras, order: NadicakainthejanmaslhanaBased in lhe ascending oi il is M|Acakra in the navel (from here il prevades (in everwhere),yogacakra lhe heart,cente dyoga)' Bhedanacakrc the between eye_ (inthe faiureqion). D/iDtbakn(Bindusthenain

:)!:,1-9a!!1gh:0".\D.:can menlrons following Cakr,as lhe five usedin Durg.ipdjd according Io Kaulagama. Ralacakra. Mahacaka, Devacakra. Vtnca.rc, pasucaka , calaloS_ue XVI on lanlra. p. 163). In anolher vot. \l?e manuscflpt (Deccan Coltege MS No 964 ot 198/_91) some .r,,ri. are describedas Akadamacakra. nnadhana :19,! saohanacakta, RastcaAra, 1t1411s61ra""kH (Catatoguevo. XVI

coflese No. 62at 1884.87) r/s. e

18

Chaptr-1

SalientFealuresol Tanlra

l9

posrlively. onlythatbutalso Not gavea highslalusas a source o, satvatton_ viewis outand outspirilual. . We haveseebelorelhatTantric It alsoviews lifrga a spiritual in mannet TheTanhic text,Anubhava S-irlrarn clearlydeclares lifrgaas a sourcot creation ihe and o,ssorrrrron, source nothing lhe LordSivaHimse.ag thal is but rhe a4other Tarntric lhe vetulsuddhakhya alsoerr. lext. Tanlra phatically declares lifigaas a creator and desiroyer.49 v'ewis by Oupta. his I^ -ranra-roka, atsosupponed the Abhinava .TJ_rs hedeclares thewisemanshould lhat consider l,iga as a causeof creationand destruction. the term linqa.,L;, In rndicares drssotution whrte.ca {Laya) stands anivat (Ag;mana'. tor une shouldworshrp Atmalinga avo,dothertingis.so lhe and Not oJ]ry abovementioned Tantras pu.analikeSivapirana and but purana lrnga alsosupport sameview_ the TheSivapurana consjder lifrga afjrsrcause, source as the of consctousness substance universe.si and ol Whileaccording to thelinga purana, ldgarsbolhthecause c,rssolutron ev6lu. ol and relerences inTantra whjch suggest meaning. thjs _ Thereareample Theabove mentroned references enough conclude are to thatTantra nas-nolapplied liigaas phystcalor gross phaltus as a priTe bur causeot crealton unjverse. of This view js also supported by 'When Darrelou.,Alain, Hindus Worship tiiga. the they;onolde.iy a o^ysrcat tealJre, merely they recogntze d;vine, the ete.-al lo.rt rnanrlesl the microcosm. is Ine hu.nan n ll phallus wltch iSa divine emblem theeternal ot causal form, al pervadjng the linga.s3 A devotee worships linga. Likeoihertoros of worship, this arso secures some results. othersystems In ofSedhana, Sbdhaka garns tvatron rough sa penance lh whileT:rnlric worship oflinga rs veryposilive natufe it secures in as bothindulgence liberaand no.. Thrs ultq,.ieness in theapproach Tantra ltes ol lowards sex Fiowrr secures bolhthalhas been rcflected thev,ew karapatrijr, in ot 'Thos who do not recognize divinenalureof the phallu;, the wno do nol measure imporlance sex ritual, the of who consider lhe acl ot iove as low or contempatible as a merephystcal or lunclron, bound lailin their are to aflempts physical wellas at as

ol To achievemenl. ignorethe sacredness the lingais spiritual and rts of lhrough worshiptheioylle (bhuklr) whereas danqerous, (Mukti) oblained.s4 are lheioyol liberalion let the concept us proabout lihga seensomething Having withsex notion, whichis alsorelated ceedwiththe othersymbol (Ardhanarisvara). Harmophrodit. thatis,svmbol B.Ardhanefisvan: Ourfirstsymbol aboutsymbolism. been discussing Wehave ol linga we considered as a source creain waslifrga which have ior or only lifrga malepoleis nol sufticieni tion.Bul as we know. demands on which is of Creation a resull copulation anvcrealion. the represents yoni,thelemalepoleTantra the otherpole,thatis lhroughlhe symbol formo{ iiiga-yonior Siva-Sakti Synlhesized lorm {emale male_hal{ or of Ardhanarlsvara halJ seers is of The concept Ardhanarisvara nota fancyoI Tantra Uni' signilicance and bolhspiritual scientitic but it alsocontains pre-supposes creatorwho conlalns ils This verseis a crealion. ihis has or and boihposiiive negative M/Fpoles.Tantra proiected lhe polarity the HigherReality. Tankictreatise Saundrya The in as universe an declares and emphatically beautilully Laharivery parents Siva-Sakli.s5 lanlra symlhe of off-spflng the univsrsal ol identical pects theHigher as inseparableand bolizesthesetwo Tantra The oi Ardhanarrisvara VitalSuddhakhya in Reality thelorm lingais Sivaand yoni is fact.As il declares this alsoaftirms s6 is into copulation lne resull universe Sa(t. Therr lhe alsohavemenlioned dilletent butVedas NoionlyTanlras by have beenmentioned pairs pre-creation. of lhe pairs A list for in h,sboox Stvalrahadeva. Aggarwal. VasJdeva. to But what thesepairsindicaie? According Tanlra,these We pairsof opposite nothing the torrnol energy. maycoln is bul elc. Siva_Parvati butal Kumera-kumari, anynamelikeNara-Nari, HigherRealitt lhat is, lorTanlra into thesecan he reduced one wrih combines the is energy. Whenthe crealiveposiliveenergy which resultsinto creation starts negative energy,interaction viewsthistacl likelhis:"Asthe symbolof male Zimmer. Henricn

20

ChapteFl

ol Sal ent Features Tantra the attractronol the oppositesex. lran tries to lell compleleness also leelswhole_ with the outerwoman.LikewiseWoman by Lrniling n;ss bv the unilical on with outer man Tanlrasays lhat satislac' tion oi sex drive is the only easiestway for realizng intlnite bul ol Suppression it willcrealenothing il because s our nature. Ajit' "The comdisordersand distortion.In the words of Mookerii posrle ligure of Siva and Paruali as hall male and half Jemale in are elements balanced bothof lhat maleandJemale indicales ol our realization lhis pationis dependent upon them.F! i emanc fact,59 we In conclusion can say withouthavingany doubtthat lhe symbol oi Ardhanarivarahas nolhing lo do with gross physical it Iorm ol sex.On the contrary, leadsus from grossto subtleAs the lo v Sree N4aithia ews this svmbo, "According Sociologisl, asas well as lnternal male and Iemalesecrelhas an exlernal pLan thought ol and exrslence pecl Io elevale hrmsell a higher to grasp the meaning theconceplArdhanarisvara'60 ot manshould symbolthat wiihthe olher misinterpreted Now et us proceed s Yajara. C. Yaifia : Sac fice: The lirsl two discussed symbols linga and Ardhanarisvara The third symbolwhich we are are allachedwilh sex notion. with rl The nameof the related goingto discuss1salso partially or above s Yajfra sacrf ce symbol, t is mentioned as Accotding lrom grosslo sublle. Tantra way ol sublimation is physicalcopula_ pleas!rewhich comesoutlromthe toTanlra, the bliss This is lhe real into the spirilual lion can be sublimated mportof the SymbolYajna. ogical Beforegoing into the root,Iet as firstsee the etyrno yaj is the rool verb ot lhis term whrch meaningol the lerm Yajna.' slands lor propitialion.6lFor Tanlra every acl is a prop'tiationor which Eventhe actionlikecopulation worshipol the HigherReality. withvenerationNow lel we genera y consider low is viewed as and externally intetnally us see how lhisYai6a pertormed is an In lhe exlernal Iormation sacrilice, allar is lormedout of

creative energy,the lingam is lrequen y combinedwith the pri_ lemale marysymbolof crealive energy, yoni,lf,ealerformtng the lhe baseof rhe trragewiththe tormer s,ngl.om ,ts ce^r.e. Th,; serves as a representalron lhe crealive union that procreates ol and sustainS irteol lhe Unlverse. lhe Ltngam and yont,Srvaano hrsgoddess,symbokze anlagonistic co-operatrve the yet torces ol the sexes.Theirsacred lllarriage(Greek : hieroes-gamos) is multifariously figuredin the varioustraditions worldmyiho_dlogy. oi They are the archetypalparents,Fatherand Motheroithe worl'i, lherrselves trrstborn ot the parrsol opposiles, lJ"e ttrslbiturca. llon ot lhe primalcosrnogentc realtly, now re.unrled producltve In harmony.Underthe forrnof FatherHeavenand MotherEarth thev wereknow4 lhe Creeksas Zeusand Hera.Uranos to and Gara, to the Chinese T'tenandTi. yang andyin."57 Tantraprojeclsthe natureol Hefmophrodite H gher Realily of . In rts manirestation, thal is lhe objecls of universeaiso. Betng a pait and parcelof lhe HigherRealilywe atso conlatn rhe sdme quarty. Everymatehas female pole and lemale nas malepole.in 'dtentforn. TFts TanlFc lruthhas efi,erged urde. lhe lane ot out br-sexJal,ly rrodern bio-Ohystcs. n According the raw ol o _ to sexuatrty tellsomebody meremaleor femaleis opposed io as lo the concept ol bi-sexuality_ biturcate the fwo sexes We Uy itre expressedpole. Bul in realitywe are both male and lemale, Siva and Sakti Tantra is not only confinedto the bi_sexualily it has but also . localedlhe exaclplaceof maje-,emale potern the body where rheb'o-physics yel to reach. has According lheTantra. righl to the sroe atways represenls male.sun or posiltve pole whrle lhe l-eit eoe represenls remate rnoonor negative pole.lntheTripura SarnLita. _| he uevt oeclares, 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 negtected the ground on that it is relaled with the sex drive.Tantravlews sex as a neans to'realzrngwnoleness.Though are,ntinjte whore, we and due to lhe lacko' wisdomol it we conslantry iinrLeness. ts why feet That we always try to reach lhal whojeness.This tact is reflectedbV

22

Chapl6r.l ol SalienlFeatures Tanka 23

lrom specialmaterials by experls. and Burning is placed fire perfornance Yajia,clarified inside aliar. lhe During the ot butter is constanilv oouredintolhe sacriticial,ire. Somelimesanimals forthesatislaclion diety. are alsousedas an obiectol cblalion of takesplacein lhe physical According Tantra, TheYajia body. to body is an altarin whichlhe someor elixiris beingconstantly lromlhe Sahasrar dropped Cakra brain.This or elixiris beinqconby in sumed the tiresituaied lhe navelregion lhe l/anipura or Cakra, Semen thegross is formof elixir sona or which ejected is in in Constanl orfrequent maxirnun quanlity inlercourse. section naturally resulls decay oi semen into because semen thevery is oi ATankic retains consumpiion base life. Sadhaka this through practrses.This realTantric theKundaliniyoga orolherTantric isihe yajia which lakesplace wilhin body theresult Sad ka the wilh thal ha enioys immodality. the Tanlricnotion yajia alsoleadsone hom the individualily of to theuniversality.The concept Yajia isthecoreof the Sadhana oJ aspect.In Sadhan:r, Sadhaka ollers manyobiectslike Jlowers, powder, lampoJfire,fragranl various typesol cornsnamely Tilt, Cookedrice,Java,milk etc. Bul in TantraSadhana lhere is no needto olleralilhese lhingsin grosslofm. Because Sadhaka a menlally olfers the live elemental all torcesor lhe fivegross ( ele'nenls rPanca Malaohuta) namely Earth Pflthvi). Wate'(Apj, F re (Teja). Vayu(Air)and Ether(Akasa) the placeof flower, in powder Whatever doesphysically 1amp, etc. he that s not irnpor tant in TanlraSadhan:l he is mantally but attuned with the universeandofiersitlo desired diely.This ol yajia removes kind lhe boundary limitations Seldhaka of and leelsidenlity withthe entire Now let us see whal seemsobjectionable lay manin this to symbol. we havementioned, Sacrifice, As in sometimes animals are also otfered.But Tanirahas nevertaken the gross This misinterprelation animals. happens lo lackof proper due knowledge Tantric of meaning animal. Tantra Yog oJ The like ni Tanlra, Anadakalpa have etc. clearly mentioned theanima that s likevice should killed be wiihthe sword knowledge.62 ol From lhis reierence can saywithout we having doubt ihat i, we lake

the realmeanng oi ablation, thereis nothing oblectionable. On lhe viewleadsoneto lhe inlinite the conlrary proper lromJinite or lrom individualilv universalilv. to Now aparl i.om these symbots,which are targelyrelatedwilh sex concept,lhere are also some symbolswhich are highly sig, in niiicant the TantricSadhana. Amongthem,Symbolof S [r,s ]s lhe basicone. Now let us see aboutit, D. Panca makara:5 M's: The m sinterprelatlon ihe Symbol5 4,4's ot playsprominent roe In the degeneration the Tantrictradition of and system.In Tanlrsm, lhere are also some sub-sectsnamely,VAmacara, Daksinacara, Divyacara elc- 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 (meal), l4aisya (Fish),[,1udra Nladya(Wine),l\,/amsa (crain) and lMadhuna (Copulalion). us see each of the svtlable Let respeclrveV. i. Madya-Wine: Madyameanswine.The q!alityoi Madyais to make inherent man aloof ftom lhe ouier world.To torget the frusltation creaied frorn machine lhe age,man resorts lakewine.whichgiveshim to temporary reliei. lradya is not utilizedin Tantrain lhe sense ol wine. In Tantra madyais nol a liquorbul as the KuiarnavaTantra declares,it is an energy.63 ol us have a lreasure ot energy which is hidden in All our body.Tantra showsthe approacholawakeningof it. Sedhaka, who awakens cenlres energy(Cakraireleases senses ihe ol his Iromiheengrossment (P:rsa)ol outerworid.The the utilizalion of thisTantriclvadyaresulisintonot in a temporary reliefas it so nappensnthe gross winebut itgiveslife-time blisstothe Sadhaka. By do ng so he yokeshis seltwilhhis original nature, that s Siva or lrmtlesslnlintte element. The peculiarity Tantricmadyais ol Inat.as lhe Kularnava Tanlra declares leadsSadhaka Brah it to man.64 a slale knownas Brahmisthiti{ie. identity or with utti-

24

Chapler-1

Sa ient Fealuresof Tantra

mateRealitv). is Sadhaka is Madya nola wineandTantric lorTantra, Hence of but nota drunkard he is a worshipper Saktior energy ii. I/hmsa-Meat: oJ The meaning l4amsais meat.lt is meal lt is one ol the ot conponenls lhe bodyi e rakla(Blood)RasaIfslencel seven (Seren)and (BonelSukra Asthr (Veat), (Veins] Majja [,4amsa purpose anrmals ac oy {or is I\,4eal uli||zed food IVeda([/iarrow). ? wilh is related Tanlra meat Bul berngs. howthrs wellas human ol somelimes a numan puia,meatof an animal' ln lheTaniric ol diety Butto to beinqalsois otfered a deitylor the salistaction ol meaning with utiliz; a orossmeaiis nol consistent theT?rntric of mealone mayquesmeaning meal.Wiat is thenthe Tarntric iron. whenthe we Generally, gel meatby killing animal ln Tantra not indicateanimallike ever the term animalis used' lit does slale sconsld manin a natural qoal, deer donkey. elc lnTanlra lo means raise animal Tosacrllicethls orananrmal !redas Pasu o'evenlo lhe nalural state Io state a Supra manlromhrsnatural trom process sublimation, ol mealmeans Otfering soiritualslate. lhose kuldrnavaTantra whodoes to According the o;ossto subtle. ;o is lhe realeaterof meatand restare the killersof liie' ot the SoTanlrahas neverfavoured killang any grossanlmal likegrossinstincts bui one has to kill his animal iii.Matsya-FIsh: represenls Matsyastandslor fish ln Tantrait symbolically the mindand prana, Vitallorce. in mindalsolloats the seaof sense As lishfloatsin lhe water, senseobiectlo lhe olher Mtndalwaysmovesfromone oblects, movemenl looseits powers So far ihe ani due lo ils conslant mid powers, accodingtotheTantra, should ol channelizationmental bythe noto{ Saldhanar.' be a entrapped or is of subtlemeaning Matsya prana vilalforce Theanother in has beenexplained the Vayu(ai4 is the grosslorm ol it As

yogapradipika, mindand prdnatollowone another. Heaths By theone,another automaticallyconlrolled." can controlling be So prerna alsoconsidered {ish. howTantra is like as here mind, But pranaas lish one mavwishto know consrders pranapervades the entire Accordrng theTantra,lhough to in body;we breath,whichis the grossform pranathroughright of whichin termso, Tantra knownas pingala, and eft nostrils the respectively.ln sunandlda,themoon theyougic terms, span life upon amount Prana the depends oJ consumed through respiraI on.The moreamountof it we utilize, can enioymorelife or we Pranafloatseitherin Pingla in ldawhichwe feelit in ongeviiy. or theIormol respiralion. to minimize amount respiration So the of or n otherwordsto enjoylongevily hasto control prana, one the which moves a fishin ldaandpingla. like Fromthis we can conclusively that the Tantricmeanjng say oi I\,4atsyaiotallydilfereni is fromthe grossone. iv.MudB-Grain: grainor cooked Mudra means food.The velbof Mudra root is mudmeansto please.67 eat lood lor the sustenance lile We ol w ihoutwhich ourbody notpersjst. can Food nourishes and body w th the resuitbodybecomes healthy wilh healthy and body, we enjoy aLlpleasures, Tantra has nol takenonly the grossmeaning Nrudrd. of Accordrng it,intherealm Sadhana, spiritualbody Sadhaka to ol the ofa shourd slrenglhened the spirituallood Ji:lna Varragya, be by l;ke lapaetc.TheTantra tailavaprakarsa mentioned has eighttypes oI MJdra grain desire, or lrke greed, greed anger. anger, etc..., lusl wh ch should cooked be orsublimated thefireol Brahman.6B into Tiis istherealJood Sadhaka which suslains spirituai of by he his llle.So this is the Telntric meaning [Iudra. of alsois a partof Tantra Sadhana thereit is a rneans and . Ivudra ror dentifying spiritually variousparts of the bodywith cosmic Iorceor energy. in Tantra, So Mudrais not merely cooked a tood otrtil alsoconlains soiritual meanino. v Maithuna- CoDulation: lvlaiihuna indicates copulation. Copulation an unionof male is

26

Chaplr-1

Satenl Fealuresof Tantra

27

togethertor poles to required bebroughl opposite andtemale;the bY ol the purpose creation nalure. lhat rs, oJ the has presented subtlemeaning crealion, Tanlra These polesarerequired for creation whichtwoopposile spirilual (brain) at Sivaresides the Sahasrara are lwo poles SivaandSakti. between Cakra(pelvicregion) ln whileSaktiat the Mirlardhdra cord, the ol around spinal lhesetwo thereare six centres energy a^d awakens Cakra al which resides theMirladhara Theenergy Sivaat the Sahasrara with and penekates alllhecentres unites whichocor Thls is the realTenlricmaithuna copulalion Cakra. curs in the Sadhka.6s takingplacebe_ or So il is not a grossmaithuna copulation wilh communion phvsical bodiesbul il is a spiritual tweentwo personlhewhole gives bi(h orlransforms SivaandSaktiwhich alityot a Sadhaka. With the help ol Tanlrictreatise,we havetried lo see lhe is TankicwayoJSadhana so ofTantrasyrnbols correclmeaning givesquickresultsSo to avoidmisuseoJil, lhis which efleclive are So lerminology. symbols in svsiemis armoured the symbolic But its secrecy. due to iack ol its proper d;signedto maintain syslem. takesplaceintotheTantra a knowledge, distortion is there ol the Wecould from descriplion,thesymbollhat see and a grossmeaning a Tanlric dillerence belween a World-wide N4aithuna etc. like The meaning. symbols linga,Ardhanarisvara, wiih ol because theirrelevance sex nolion. disto ed are largely but sex We consider as a causedegeneralion as the Kularnava canaswellbea means abouldegeneralion brjngs sayslhatwhich of Thus Ior sublimation.To lhe subtlemeaning symbolis enough ils soundness. to decide Conclusion: proves any Disease lor Bodyistheonlymeans achieving goai. the in lhe pathoi gaining goalTankais a sadhanal' lo be obstacle has Sedhaka to facemanyphysEal In system. thewayof SAdhana, Tanlrahas not over lookecl disorders and mentaldisiurbances cerlalnproc' this fact.To come out {romthis, it has mentioned

which designed skenglhening mind are for body complex esses lortitying insirument achievjn allgoalsphysithe for g andthereby physical. calas wellas supra li we glaceoverihe content the lirstchapter oi witha viewlo lhe lherapeutic aspectof it, will be loundhightysiEnifiexamine ol canl.Thevery deJinition Tankareflects lheraoeutic its asoect. we haveseen,one oJthe meaning As olTantra according the to is medicine (ousadhi). olher Sabdakalpadruma The meaning liberaion is also deal withlhis aspect. ll liberaies Sirdhaka from and lhe physical menlal ailments. Tantra How doesthisthatwe havealreadyndicated and whenwe havefoundan oooortuas n ty. StiI howevefby way oi statingthe investigations have we loundclearly, wouldliketo recapitulated we brieJly follows: as Tanlra doeslhis bytwoways:One thecultivaljon skong by ot willpowerand second, the utilization p?rrad mercury by of or and rIspreparallons. As has beenaccepted, generally everybody gol its own has medicine, is, its powerot inbuiltresistance that against altacks iromdisease. This can be furthercultivaled the cultivation bv of sr'o.gwillpower, theprinctples Tantra could lnal, From ot w see Tanlra Sadhane nothing the awakening innerpowers is but of oi senses, bodyand mind. Willpower the kyof all powers. is With lhe cultivation it, one can opendoorsto the otherlaientpow_ of ers.The powerof resistance againstdjseases also included is wrlhin it. Tantra also does this samejob by the utilization mercury ol , . lparada) and its prepa.ations. llercury is considered highly as medicinal metal.Butis can notbe usedin a naturallorm because ol itspoisonous nature.T?rntric havefoundoutthisfactfive seers Inousand yearsbackandalsoworkedoullhe process (Samskara) lo makemercury lor medicinal fit use. LordS,vars considered the oiginator thisprocess as of of ^ d c"eTywhois atsothereveller olTantra. thehetp these With ot 'woonlya Hatha yogroraTAntric Sadhaka survived thesnowy on stlnmrls mountatns of wilhout having antibiotic any drr-rgs. This - uurlre physicat of Tantrjc side wayof deating bodily with ait-

of SalienlFeatures Tanlra

29 FOOTNOTE

side. we ments. nowlurn lo its mental Symbot and thefuthenqeutic value: body in or As is the casewith Parada mercury strengthening ailmentsAndit Jor medicine mental has so also,Tantra a distinct synbolsor usespsychologlcal to s surpflsing notethatTantra 0lseases the menlal lor as alphabets symbols curlng ||nouislcal innerpolentmentalpowers by cultivaling in are Svmbols also highlysignilicanl this regardsin ly'ng role promrnent in mentaland Vind mentataspect. ptays streJJon some_ are expressed Mentaldislurbances diseases. Dhvsical sometimes physical dislurbance or iiriesin a physicaldisorders mind'weakThus all our diseasesare psycho'somatic mat<es elleclon bodyis lell morepow' mind's thanbody, a Beinq subiler we t'"a t""ogniiedthisfactmuchearlierthan starled "rtri."r"nttu psycho-somatic of disease' aspecl ialkingabout the The Tanlricsprescribe use ol synbol tor makingrnlno ol or it by calmand positive concenlrating on syllables figures is whict' mrnd and tris oi.tic.rtarivpes. unaislurbed concent'aleo Tanl'rc tV cteal'v of mi.rd or ! rorrc" otir".tiu" 'maginalionallthe think has positively on siJhana is uaseo imiginalionsadhaka to also This posiiivethinking this or thal object that he is offering Thetheoryol aulo-sr'rg_ rs ttre neiosas tnerapvi{ mrnd diseased ln lhe o"u"iorosv is highlyrelatedwrlh thts aspecl or suggeslron ne grves slrong ""iL"-'" ol auio_suqqeslion patient i,ocess gives Thrs powertully process qiiie neallhy very imioinesnimserl disl'insellrrom helpsin cutrng i"'ii to p"t'entand gradualiy Ire slrenglhe's possymbols through fantricSadha;a "lses. can whichSadhaka ufl'7eas a lherapy of riveoowers imaginations lor mpans c'inng as therapeullc lor h:msell alsocanbeused and others.

from va,4,4zt-loextnd, tospread.Taken lhe Penini, Tan,Tanyare, p. Delhi' Oriental Publishers, Williams, zK)5, Sir dictionaryol Monier 6. Citedby Shri Ram Vistaryate Janananonaiti Tanttam. Tanyale (Handi), l, p. 171. by Part Published Samskrrl Tantla Vijnena Sharma, or ln rhe Tanta Sadhan;.theris a Mantrain whichSadhaka a as ol mentallv oilefsthe earthelsmenl lhe universe a Dracliiioner fragranceol llowsr. (Lan Prilhvilaltvalmakamgandham ol parkalpayami) wishe oflersalllhe fiveelements lhe uni Like his verseln hiswo6hip.In doingso, he haslo expand areaol im_ uni_ till offatslhe nu16 as aglnation lar as possable he mentally drty. verseto his deslred and basis,p 1, Tanlra: l\,,|ystic Scienlific lts Singh,LalanPrasad. Delhi1976. Publishing Company, Concept H. Nep Vidurbudhaha.lP Saslri. Tdryate Nityam Tantfamitham 5 . Tanute Tanlras-stud' Chinlaharan, ll, p. 69. Citedby ShreeChakavarti, p. Pustak, Calcuxa-4, and literature, 2, Punthi es on theirrcligion 1963. cakurute Tranam hwamanlram samnvitam Tanoti Vipulananhan Tanl, Citedby Shah yasrnZrl Kamika tantramithamabhidhtyale. Mandir, 961. 1 Jain Dhirajlal Tantro TdEna(Gujaddi), Sirhilya I nu. Part Sabdakatpadruma, ll, Ta.olitanyate iliva lOusadhi, Sidhenla Eanarsidas, Delhi,1961. oD.584 a5. Motilal Edited Hasl_ by Religion Ethics, and 8 Geden S., Encyclopediaof A'p. ings, Vol.8, 193, Xll. Vol. on 9 Sarirakamimanasa Commenlry lhe bhasyaol SamkaracArya. papatlesca I Brahma Sulra2.2.32Sarvathanu nrsapannah gam aca 10 Agamonama eiilyupsargala dhatoh pratyaye I avabodhakah tanlraSaslrarupoartha 11 Agatam gatamca girijanane I Pancavakatrafla Matam vasudeasya tasmatAgamaucyate Ca 12 Slngh,LalanPrasad. basis,p. 2 Tantra-lts Myslicand Scienlilic ConceplPublishing Delhi,1976. Company, 13. Avalon, Ganesh Pa l, p.99, Prcface. Arthur, Principles olTantra,

30
a n d C o , L 4 a d s ,1 9 6 9 .

Chapterl

of SalienlFealures Tantra prapancarupasanlanam nirmalum sakno!,tay,r viyuklascel sknorl na pila I 29. Tvamm)la sarvabhirianam caahamSanetanah yo Dvyosca rasodevimahar mailhuna sambhavah ll Rasarnava Tanlra. Ediled Panta, by Tarananda, Parat p.34. I, Sanskril Chaukhamba Series.1939. 30 tv,lookeii Tanl Asana-A waylo self-realizarion,62. PubAjit, p. llshed BaviKuma( by 1965, Firct Edilion. 31 [4amal|]pasidevilvamna bhedosli mamaI lvyar Thel,lahan rvanaTanlra. Ediled Avalon, p. by Arthur, Chaps.1-95, 9. l\,4otilai Banarasidas, Delhi,Beprinted 1977. 32. Sivasyabhyanlare SakUh Saklerabhyantah Sivahl Anlafm naivajaniyaccandracandfikayoiv Siddha-Srddhanra-Paddhari and otherworks the NarhYogis. of 8y Sml. I\,lallik, kaiyani. p.21. Upadesa.4-26, Poona odental EookHouse, 33. SivahsaKlya yadibhavati yuklo Saktah Prabhvitum cedevam na devo na kualukusalab Spandilymapi I Sundrya LahariVerse-|. Sri Sankara Bhagavatpadecharya. Edled by Klppuswami, The Minislry Educalion SoclaWet A. of & fare, GovernmentIndia, of 1976. 34 Yasmin tyaha I\/ahakali Saktihlnah Sadasivah I yulo yadedevi,ladaivSivarupakah Saklya I Saklihine purusatvam muncati SavahSaksert na ll TodalTanrra. raken lromkarpnra (Hind) Mahakala, Stavaraja p. by 00 l\,4o1 Banarsidas. lal 35. Swarni Pbavananda. Sipritual The Heritage India,pp. 14-45. ol Gorage Allen andUnwin Ltd., London, 1962, Fi.slEdition. 36. Mookerji, Alir-Tantfa p. Asana-A wayto self reatization, 16.Publishedby Ravikumara, 1965.Fifsl Edition. 37 Dehadevalayo devijivodevahSadasivah I The Kularrnava Tantra. Ullasa-g-41.

p, 1 4 . D a s g u p l aS h a s h i B h u s a n , s p e c t s l I n d i a n e l i g i o u s T h o u g h l . A o F , 4 8 a . [ , 4 l h h e r . ea n d C o , C a l c u l t a 9 5 7 . 1 e 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 S a i v aa n d S a k l ap h i o s o p h y in p 3 (Who has cited from Prefacelo pre-historicancienl Hindu-lndian by Donald A. Mackenzie)Si Ahairabi Jogeswal l\,4ath, Caf p 1 6 . G h o s e ,N . N . , E a r l yh i s t o r y f I n d i a , . 1 7 .T h e I n d , a n f e s s( P u b) o P Privale Lrd., 1960, Fourth edirion. 17. Singh, Lalan Psad, Tantra-lls Mystic and Scientfic basis, p4 C o n c e p lP u b l i s h i n g o . , D e l h i1 9 7 6 ,F i r s tE d i l i o n . C 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 dn T h e T i m e so f I n d i a ' , p r | 1 9 , S ! n . i A d a y ,1 9 8 1 . j 1 9 . K u n d L iN u n d oL a l l , N o n ' D u a l i s mn S a i v aa n d S a K a p h i l o s o p h y . . p 8 S . B h a ' r a b r J o g e s w a n a t h .C a l c u x a . M 20. Ghose N. N., Early history ol India, p. 16. Indian Press (Pub.) Pflvale Ltd., Allahabad, I960, Fourlh Edition. 21. Krle Srulyuhacharaslretayang Smrlisam-bhavahI Dvapare lu puranoktangKalau agamlakevalam ll T a k e n r o r nl h e P r i n c l p l eo 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 " t s , , l.oduclion. Ganesh and Company. 22. Arlhur Avalon,PrinciplesofTanlra, Part I, p.48. canesh and Com'TheTanlrasStudieson lheir.eligionand 23. Chakravarly, Chintaharan, p.2. Punlhi Pustak,Calculta 1963, Firct Edition. literalurc'. 24. Singh, Lalan P.asad,Tanlra-lts Myslic and Scient,f,cbasis, p. L Concepl PublishingCompany,Delhi 1976, Firsl Edilion.

p. 25. lbid., L 26. AvaLon, hur,Principles Tanlra, 110,Parl L Ganesh p. A ol and Company, Madras, 1969,Fou h Edition. 2 7 Chambers Twentieth by Century dictaonary. Edited A.[L Macdonald B.A.(O xan),p. 1035, AlliedPublishers Private Ltd..1974. jayapatinyayena 2A Sivasaktyoh ieyayA Saktya Yuklascat

32

Chapter1

SalienlFeaiuresof Tantra

33

Citedby Avalon, Principles ofTantra, Pafl 38. Visvas:rra Tanlfa. Arthur. I, p. 118, Ganesh Company, and 1969. yah-Samoksaiti Kalhyale I 39. Ainanagranlhibhedo Tantra. Taken Saryalnabhairava lrom LuptaagamaSamgraha. marnaso 40. Bhavaslu dharmSabdasya Kalhambhavet.Nigama hi Kalpananda. Citedby Dikshil, Sadasiva Karpirfa in SlavaRajaor p. N4ahakala, 84, MoiilalBanarsidas. Manaeva manusyanam Karanam bandhamoksayoh I Yalhaivalingila Kanlatalhaivalingila Sula I Dharma Sastra. SlavaRaja,p. 34. Quoledin the Karpnra 42. A1aevayadayasyabhavana kulsilabhavelI Tadadosaya bravar nanyalha dusara.rlKva-|L KaulavaliTantra. Ciledin karpura StavaBaja,p. 34. palanamdravyaih 43_ Yaireva Siddhihitaiheva Cauditar The Kularnava Tantra. 5-48. yogayale Bhogo Saksatpalakam sukruiayale Moks;yate Sans:rahKuladharma klesvafI ca Ku tbtd.2-24.
45 Danielou, Alain. HinduPolytheism. Routledge Kegan and Paul.

(3)Ediled Verse Adhikaran---3. 3-4.Yogalantra-Granthmala by Shukla, first Vidhyalya, Edilion Sanskril Visva Varanaseya Pad-1. Badrinath 1970. Layam lasminPrakirtitaml Samulpannam 4 9 . a) LingatSarvam Tanl 1-51. Vitul Suddhakhya jagal Sthavarajangam ll b). Lingelu iayateSarvam tbid.1-72. (3), TakenhomYogatanlra-Granthmela p. 181 I Karranam Srustisamhala Vidvansah 50. LingaSabdena padamavyam I layad)gaman,rccahubhavanam 131 Tantrakaloka-4/ . tinga l\,lrucchailadhalyrahadibhvam na pljayet I lingamyalra linamcaracram Yajedadhyaimikam yatah | Bahiliagasya6gatvamanenddhisthilam 20 Tantraloka-5/1 pp Vidya, 106,107,Bihara Pratika Bharliya l\,1ishla, Janadana, 1959 Patna, Parisada, Rasirabhasa hr JnatualihgaYostpyale mamaI 51 LokamLingvamakam Kvacila Priyaka Vidhyale Na me iasmalpriyalarah nikhilyalahI bhirtani Samsare 52 Layamgacchali halamll lingamudd punahSrutihtasmat srustikale LingaPurana. and p Polytheism,127,Roulledge Kegan Alaln. Hindu 53. Danielou,

London. 1964. Firsl Edilion. vasru malram yaddrasyam tu rriguna hilal ll69llDrasyarn Samsare ca nirgunam nabhirtam bhavisyati loke no I Nirgunah Parmalmassou na lu drsyah Kadacana70ll ll Vyes,KrusnaDwaipayana. 3 Sinad DeviBhagavalam. 6.69-70. Puslakalaya, Kashi1956. Ediledby Pandey Ramaleja Pandita Yalha GavamSarvaiajam Ksiram Streveta Slana-[,4ukhad Tath,r rajatell Sa agatodevahpratimAdisu The Kularnava Tanlra6-75. yalrayenasarvam ll 48 Liyalegamyale caracaram parayanaih I Tadeladlingamitiyuktam lingalatlva yohetuhirlalvat ll Layagatyadha Satuadehinam sntram. SakalaniskalahAnubhava ll Lingamiliucyate Seksatsivah

Jevava SAklva Yuklasceta 5 5 . Sivasaklyohjayapatinyayena nimirlumSaknoii plapancadpaSanlAnam p oflhe FirstVerse, 2 Vacy;rrtha Saundrya Lahari, I 56. L ngamSivaili jneyaihplthalhSaktihiudah:rla I Karanam Yonl iagaprakarena iagalsrustayanha

34
TheVatolSuddh:khya Tantra, 1-69.

chapter-1

SalienlFealuresot Tanlra p.264. Part| (Hindi), Sri Sharma, Tantra Mahavijnina, R:rma Samskruli Samslhana, Barcli. mailhunam samyogenanda ni.bhala 6 9 . PaAskliy:rtma Tanlm The kularnava 5-112. Patanam dravyaih Siddhilitaih eva caudilaI 70. Yaireva lbrd5'48.

57. Zjmmer, enrich. H "i,ltyths Symbots Indian and in artandcivilizaton. p.127 Ediled Joseph by Campbett.The Boltingen Vt.1946 Series. 58. Etadi manusyatvavicch bhedahar innadi Vamabhage mama aksunna Evamtad BuddheSvayameva ni.desAh ardhanari iti Svaratvena mahapuruso vidyateI lipur Samhitet. Translationand Versetakenfrom the creat yogic Sermon lvajithia by Surondra p.32, iedpubtishers, Singh, A 196-9. 59. l4ookerj], Tantra Ajil, Asana-A waylo stfrea|zation, 57. pubp. lished BaviKumar, Edilion, by First 1965. 60. Majilhis Surendra Singh, TheGreatyogic Sermon'_ p.32. = p worship propitiate. yaj or Samskruta Sabdartha Koustabha. Ediledby Shalma, DwarkaprasAd, p.948, Ramnarayana Lal Benipras;da, Third Edjtion. 62. Punyapunya pasum hatuejnana khadagena yogivata tyoginiTanrra. part I, p.253. Sri Fam Sharma. Taotra mahaviinana (Hindi), 63. SureSaktihSivomamsam ladbhohabhairavan svyamI The Kulernava Tanlra 5.79. 64. Madirebrahmagah proktah citsodhanaSardhana I TheKularnava Tantra 5.41. 65. [,lanasa caindriyaganam Samyamyatmani yojayelI Taken komTantra [,lahAvijfrana (Hindi), Sharma, Bema,p.261. Sri 66. Calevate calamcittamniscate niscatam bhaverI The Hathayoga Pradipike 2.2. Transtated Engtishby sinh, into Pancham, 13.Orientat p. EooksReprint Coeoration,1975. 67. lrudam Kurvanti devanam manensi drivayantica I Iasmanmudr:rti khyatadarsitavyah Kutesvarl The Kularnava Tantral7-57. 68. Asatrusnajugupsabhaya Visdaghrunamanataija prakopah I Blahmagnavasta parasuk.uliianah mudrah pacyamanah samantal
I

(E E')

o o
o
E

o o

Tx ga *o
.E-c oF

Chapter-2

Sankhya andYoga, l\rimamsa Vedanta, and Vajsesika Nyaya, and philosophies,moreliterally systems, lhesixclassic or "points of ( lrom view" darsanas; lhe root drs,"to see"), rega are rdedas lhe sixaspects a single oJ orthodox hadition.Though apparenfly and evenovertlyconlradictory, are understood be compiethey to menlaryprojections lhe one lruth on variousplanesot conot sciousness, valjdintuitions pojntsof view-ljkethe fromdiffering experiencesthe seven ol blind menfeeling elephant, the the in popular Buddhist table.The {ounders, actualor supposedKapjla, jaimini, Palaaajali, Vyasa, probabtv Gautama, Kanada-shoutd and beregarded ralheras schools as ind iduats. than Nolhing known rs of lhembutthear naoes.Theirsutrasstandat the beginning a ot copious lilerature commentators, are themselves the yet of bul lasllermsol a longforegoing period discussion, ot eachol them including arguments againsl alllhe others. I\,4oreover. without the commentaries texlswould unintelligible: are notthe the be they self'sufficient ofindependentthjnkers, works but,nnernon,lhreads,' ic (suras) the guidance oratteaching the ancieni lor oJ in Indlan stye oi theguruandhisadhikarin_1 SANKHYA YOGAhavebeendiscussedsupra,pp.2BAand 332 Theykeat oi the hierarchy the principles(tattvas) oi that proceed irom the eflectsof purlsa in prakrtiand supportthe experiences dream ot andwaking consciousnQss. TheMllVA|\4SA VEDANTA and tikewise betong logether, both represenling poant viewol the "FoLrrth" the of (turiya) that transcendeni principle(brahmar)which beyond provnondula is the nceol lhe world-suppo duadlputusa-prakrti). Vedenta ing The nas beendiscussed,srJpra, 409-463, the final trulh or pp. as end (arla) ot the Vedas; Mjmamsa concerned with a the is clarlfication lhe liturgical of aspectof the samesacredbooks. .deep IndFed.lhe mtmamsa. term meaning, literally, thought, cons de'alion.reflection. expos(ion." whenapphed phrloso. and to

Chapter-2

'prooerly appled phy,'refleclion or exposilion theVedas is on, of, lo both ol thesephilosophies: respectively, 1. Pirva-nimase as ( the lirsl rellection; or exposition lhe tirstparl lol theVedasl") of (1he karma-m)memsa sludy [ritual] ol aclion") 2. utlara-mimamsa and pari retleclion; expositjon l lhe second ofthesecond loltheVedas] ) -mi ("the ot behma mamsA contemplationErahman") of PJrva'mimamsa, Karma'mlmamsa,moreusually simply or prieslly the M mamsa, a kindof scholastic, is science, which patterns Brarhmanic callile. iturg defines orthodox the oJ These patterns nolalways designatedtheVedas n inheriled are clearly hencealready lhe laterBrahmanas2 term in lhe themselves; mimemse occlrs. where alreadv it denotes discussion sorne a ol polri ol rilual practice. cenluries, the wilh During following the prolilerationvarianl priestly readings, demand lhrssc the Ior of ence ol definitive reasoning musl have increased. Somewhere belween 200 and 450 A.D.-thal is to say,aboutthe lime ol the in crystallizalion thevedanta-its findings weresummarized the of Pirvamimemsa-slttrc Jaimini; ol butlhisbasictextbookpresup. poses a long historyol argumenl. "Thereis evidence," slales as A.B.Keilh,'lhalthe sciencewasin lull vogue earlyas the middle thethirdcentury oi 8.C.3 resembles someThemethod the Purvamimamsa-sutra ol whatthatot Thomas Theologica. lls Aquinas' scholaslic Summa ("heading'), eiementary orsubdlvision, islheadhikarana which unit, nexl, iallsintolivpartsr is llrst,a proposition formulaled; lhe erloneous meihdoubt io ilscorrectnessreluted: as is third.lhe ods ol tfeating it are exhibiled; lourth , theseare reiutediand t nally, lruesoiution presenled theinevitable the is as conclusion ltwo proposiof the enlrre For in discussion.a example, Sulra, tor tions presenled:1. are is thalVedic sludy obligalory the upper casles;and lor The 2.lhatDharma a propersubject study. firsl is propositionis Joundto be self-evident lhe Vedicprecepls. in _One should the sludylheVeda" "Oneshouldperform ritualol and lhe final bathaftersludying Veda." doublarises.however, lhe A wilh respecl the secondproposilion, since it may be asked io whelherone shouldperlormthe ritualof lhe balh irnmedialely period allerlearning theVedas, soterminateone's cl studenlship. and

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 consequently, thal the tinal bath should be posl_ ctusion, the under_ unlila studyol Dharmahas brought sludent's ooned Jaiminisvolume oi ihe Veda lo a slate ol perfection. standing and tifteenof theseadhikaranas, contains some nine hundred ln twelvebooks.s organized darsana supportsa theory o{ the infa lib lily oi The I\,4lmams:r 1, in Sanskr and a lheoryol meaning inherenl sound: as lheVedas lhat is to say, s not a hisiorca ho y anguageoi lhe Vedas, lhe of but lonquebasedon convention, an emanation Being (sat)in (sabda); mantras and ol the hence powerol the sacred lhe sound lt l-y.nnc touchthe qu ck ol trulhand so tt e worl magrc. to VpdiL is from this Dolencvthat the ellects of ihe sacrificeare derived, are Ior notfromdivine inlervention; thoughthe oflerings addressed lo deities,lhe dejlies are themselvessupporledby the power ol "The MlmamsA,'wtilesGarbe,"does nol recogni2e the sacrifice. the exislence ol God. Neverthelessthis lacl interferesas lillle here as in the Sankhya and lhe olher syslems with lhe behel rn larlh."6 'eiecled Also Indian beings the popular ol l_F qJpernalural of is lhe idea of the periodic crealionand dissolution alllhings. process becoming bul and passing away, Therers a constdnl oJ of no ground ior the systemalizaiion lhis processin lerms ol specilical_ I\roreover, arguing cyc es of evolulon and involuiion.T y aga ndt the sunyavada the I\rahayana, Mimamsa lhe doc_ ol slands tr ne ol knowledge darsana aflirms worldas real.sThis the 'to n cose rel;tionship Indian law, since its chlef obieclis to determlne which are distinct Jromthose of civil aw injuctions, mainly in lhe faci that they deal with sacrilicialrather than civil obligalions, are enforcedby spiriiualratherthantemporalpen. and 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, lhan and are conseq!ently closer in spiritand characler the otherIndiandarsanas lhe academic ol the West kadition to

42

Chapler-2

The legendary lounder the Vaisesika, ol Kanada {alsoknownas "atom Kanabhaksa Kanabhui, and allthreenames meaning eatto Jlourished His e/'),is supposed have c.200-400 A.0.10 lext('lhe book,the Vaisesika-sirtra sutras, precepls, or showing lhe distinclive dillerences, characteristics, fianilesl nalure, inol or th distinguishes nature categotles (padaftha,)l dividual ings"), in live 1. substance(drayya), comprisjng earth,water,lire, air, ether, qualilylguna), time,space, soul(atman),1r mind lmanas):2. and comprising color, taste,smell, touch(wilhlemperature), number, exlension individuality, priority, poslerity, connection, separation, joy, knowledge, pain,desire, aversion, will;12 movemenl and 3. (samanya); dilferencevisesa); andaclion{kaha); 4. association 5. and 6. inherence(samavaya).13 Vaisesika The derives name its from category visesa,'ditterence;'because an atomislic 5, it is doclrine(whence nicknames its legendary the of lounder). The yet aloms of the several substances haveno extension, in combination becomeexlensive and visible.Duringlhe periods ol worlddissolution betweenlhe cosmogonic cycles,theyare not combined;henc isthennovisible lhere world.The souls, never' lheless, retaintheir meritanddmerit, in consequence and unil6, presently, ihe various with atoms. This renews movement lhe ol the atorxsand beginsa newcycleol creation. continuous The wanderings acrivities the soulsin lhe manilest and ol world ultimatelyfatigue them,and so a night,a cosmic nightof dissolulion, is necessary theirrefreshment. unions the aloms lor The ol dissolve, lh universe and disappears. "Bothsouls and the organof thought eternal are substancpeculiar thissyses,'wrilesGarbe, describing psychology the to lem;"butthesoulis alfperyading, not bound /:e., downto tilne whilelhe organof thought an alom.The and space, is latieris lhe inlermediary belweenthe soul and the senses, sinceurgedby the soulit be takesitsellon eachoccasion thatsenselhrough to whichthe souldesires perceive to act....lf it restsmotion" lo or lessinthesoul,lhe union thelatterwilh senses ol the ends, and no perception act or experience possible... the organol or is lf wereomnipresent thesoul,oi if the soulcouldenter thought like inloimmediale relalion wilhthe objects knowledge, ol allobjecls

perceived. lheorgan thought, be As of on would srmullaneously powerto thesoul, on impa s lhe quickening so, lheone hand, lhe other, it actsas a kindof checkby preventing soulkom the more at exercrsing lhanonelunclion lhe same time,"l4 Nyaya, logic,the sixthol the classicalsystems, atkibuted is figure,Gaulama-nicknamed "the lo a shadowy Aksapada, loof eyedl thal is lo say."with his eyesfixed on his feet"-whose perhapsas earlyas 150 the Nyaya-sitra, lexlbook, composed but parallels between and450A.D.,16 2OO B.C.,r5 moreprobably in theVaisesika ils atomic doclrine, cosmology, psychology, and principallyto science logic. bul s devoted lhe ol Four sources ol trueknowledge recognized: perception are 1. (pratyaksa),2. inleterce lanumena),3. analogy(upanana), 4. credible and tesli' mony (salrcia). lnference, solereliablemeansto philosophthe rcalknowledge, of threekinds: inJerence is 1. rrom cause to ellecl lpirvavat),2. inlerence lrom etlecl lo cause (sesavaO, perception abslract principle and3. reasoninglrom to Gemanyato drsla).Three kinds of cause recognized: lhe malerial are 1. or nhering cause(upadarna-karana, samavayi-kerana), in lhe e.9., caseol a carpet. lhreads; the noninhering formalcause its 2. or (asamevayi-karana),the caseof the carpel, arrangement in the and knotiing ils threads; ol and 3. the efJective instrumental or cause lnimifta-keana): weaver's lhe lools.The syllogism the o1 Nyaya darsana comprisesfivo memberst the proposition L (prall6a), e.9., thereis a lireonlhe mounlain; thecause(hefu). 2. rorthemouniain (drstanta), smokes;3. oxemplificalion the wher everthereis smokethere is lire, as, for example, the hearth on in the kltchen; lhe recapitulation the cause(upanaya), 4. ol the rnountarn smokes; and 5. the conclusion(nigamana),lhetelorc lnereis Jireon the mountain. The conceplion," "on writesGarbe, whlchthe theoryof the syllogism the Nyayarestsbearslhe of name oi'nvariable association'(yyaptD. Instead siarting of as wedo withanaffirmative proposition, iversally -'Allsmoke un valid presumes existence fire' -the Nyayaphilosophy lhe of asserts the'invariable association'of smoke withfire.The observed sion 'Lng,a, in lh,s Instance smoke- is invariabliassociated' lhe \vyapya);lhe vehicle the signwhichis to be inferred(r'6gir)of

(vyepaka)-"17 in thls inslance the iire-is the'invariableassociale' iorms of lhis that abridged Guenonpoinisoui, however, Rene termsorthe iasl eitherlhefirstlhree are syllogrsrn used,in whrch resem0les alone, andthatthe latter abridgment lhreemayappear sm the syllog of Arislotle.13 defines lhe 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 valldrneans demonslration; of and the mind; cognilion, the body,lhesensesand theirobjects, the fault,transmigration, good and BooklV disposes volition, ol pain,andfinalliberation; then passes evi frultsol humanaction, t k h t o l h e t h e o r y o i e r r o r a n dt o fe w h o l e a nid s p a r l s ; B o ov d e a s and occasionstortherebukeolan wthunreal objectionsoat/) e appanefi (nigBh asthena).1 .When;'observes and Galbe,"theVaisesika Nyayasystems schooladopted thethe cameto be blendedtogether, combined isticviews,but neversaw in the personal God, whom they as sumed, the creator of matter.Their theology is set iorth in lhe and KusumAijalial lJdayana[c.950 A.D.],20 in variouslaterworks According the to whlch discussthe two systemsin cofirmon. of view whichihev holdin harmonywilh the doctrine the Yoga, souls,andthese liketheolher individual God ls a distinctsoul from dlstinguished He is, however, are equalv with Him elernal. the of them bv the facl thal He aloneDossesses atlributes omwhichqualifyHim for the govern' niscjenceand omnipolence, mentol the unlverser that.on the otherhand,He acks those and of attribuies which resullln the entanglement all olher soulsin ihe cycle of existence."21 The idea ol liberationpresentedin Gautama's Nyeya sitra, culminaling a conddlon in deiachment, BooklV is thatoi ascetic as similarto thal of the Saiikhya, oi absoluieunconsciousness, thal in theseappar suggesls describedsupra,P 329-330.This vesllgeofthe archaic we entlylaterdoctrines may haveanother 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

Rahaguila.22 named The "s x sysiems" are consideredto be odhodox because of they recognlzeihe authority the Vedas;their co-ordrnalron, c old. Vacaspaiimisra, 841 A.D, is not particularly however, commeniaries on lhe Salikhy, a Yoga, ll]mtrmsa. composed systems,while ol Udayana,about a centu_ Ved:inta,and NyaLya laler, combined the views oi lhe Nyaya and Vaisesikaln h s rV of proofoi lhe exlslence God.Theculmination the tendencyto of appears in sivadilya(datauncertain,but probablylaler syncretize not who,thoughperhaps ihe firstto amalgamate ihan Udayana), the ot must be reckoned earliest the the darsanasin exposition, of authorities the iointschool.23 oi lhe neverallained position an however, The "s x svstems," exclusive,dogmatic orlhodoxy. The Sarvadarsanesiddhanh' a of ("Epitome the Doctrines Allthe Darsanas"), oi saaaiigraha from the schooloi Saikara, lextbook tenth-or eleventh-century theviews ofthe Lokalyatikas de ineales,with adequate objectiviiy, Yogacaras, (materialits),24 Jainas, Buddhists([,4adhyamikas, Nyaya,Pirrva-mimamsAr Vaisesika, Sautrantikas, Vaibhasikas), and I in lwo schools: that of Prabhakaraand lhat of Kumarila),2' and of Sankhya, Yoga,lhephilosophy Vedawyasa,26 theVedirnla and Vedalnlist ol saikara.2TMadhava,an eminentfourteenth-century of the school ol sankara, delineates likewise in his Sarvadar' sixteenphilosophies sarasangraha("Epitomeol AIISystems")23 of add ng to the above the Vedarnla Ramanuja,ihe doclrines ot a ol lreatment the laws number sovietSivaile sects,and Panini's of o{ the metaphysicai, eternal,and magicallanguageoi the Vedas n hls Sanskrii Grammar.29 oi the ln the fina analysis, orthodoxy lhe Indiahas never Neilher can it be defined beengrounded a college academy. or in by any nLrmbering views.For ils liie is in the moksa of the of (1836-86) in aclualsages:such,tor example, Ramakrishna as (1879-1950) ourown J" in ourlhe n neteenth and Ramana century These"wildgeese"(hamsas), ln numerously everypart teaching message ol lhe and of the Bharatas, haverenewedihe ineffable perennially, variable terms,which philosophers classilyand n adhikar iranscend. ns

46

Chaptel-2

The Six Syslemsol Yoga 2 1 . Ga.be, Nyaya:p.424. p. Logic Alomism 14. and 22. Keith,lndian pp 29,31,37. 23. b . ,

47

FOOTNOTE I Cf. supra, pp.48-49_ 2. Cf. supra, p.8, Editols note. 3. Artr-u' Br.iedrl Kerh.the (arma.t\rimamsa. therreiilagFof,'1oraseres London ca,curta, and 1921. ?-3 pp. n ln Hasrinss. Fncyctopaedlot 4e\srcndnd l;-9,,1T., Y':".:l, Errlcs,Vot. Vl|t,p. 648
5 6. 7. L K e i t h o p . c i l . ,p p . 4 - 5 . G a r b e ,J o c c i l . . Ke h., oD. p 6 1.ThF doctfinershetdin oppos,l,on crl., .o rhF Vaisesika and Nyaya view' Cf. intra lb., Chapters It, m.

9. lb.,p.97. 10. Garbe..,Va isesika,"in Hastangs, cir.,Vot. , p. 569 op. X 11. I am usingihe transtarion toul" to accord wirhlhequotalions (inra) lrornca.be..See, however, Zimmer,s Dr. nole, supn, p.324.Ihe rermaharhere denotes lifo_monad the (as livain,tainisn,purus) rf-tj.eSrn/rrla) andshouid be confused not withrhe ahan o, the upafrsads, thaqavad crta,andVedan!a 12. Contrast termgura asemptoyedinIhe rhe Senkhya and Bhagvad rh6 int, mare erat,onshrp unrres suosrance , rha, rhe ?:i1""r1 s arrrroLres is itsel an a[ributF of the suosrar ,, w.h and ce \pene uue.ar^tntroductrcn generat petudp doesdocn,nesh1dous a P a n s1 9 3 0 . 2 3 7 ) , p ,,Vaisesjka," 14. Garbe, p. 570. 15.Garbe, "Nyaya,,,in Hastings,op.cil., Vol.tX, p.423. 16. A. B.Kei\h,tnctian and AtonjsmAxtarc,:92j,p.24 Logic 17. Gathe,"NyAya," 423. p.
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 O . D . .b d r h i s , s c e r t a j n t y A 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 n r t e r a t u rV o l . t , p . 4 6 6 . L ,

,t

24 Lokayab,lterally, belonging the worldof sense," the name lo is givenlo a malerialislic systemsaid to havebeenloundedby ihe (date, course, sophisr Caruaka ol unknown). "There ctearindiare cat onsl'slaiesGarbe, the presencein India,as earlyas pre, "of Buddhists limes,ol teachers a puremalerialism; undoLrbtoi and edly lhese theoies have had numerous adhercnls lndia {rom in ihatperiod onwardstothepresenlday..-The Lokayataallowsonty percept as a means knowledge, rciectsinJerence. recon of and lt ognizes the soe reality fourelemenls, maiier, teaches as lhe Le., and thal, whena bodyis formdby the combinalion the elemenls, of jusl lhe sprit alsocomes existence, likethe intoxicating inlo qual, itywiththe mixlurc special ol naterials. Withthe destruciion ofrhe bodylhe spiritrelurns againinlo nolhingness... posloperat The ve torceof meritanddemerii, which,according the beliet of al the 1o olher ndian schools, determines lolofeach lhe indlvidualdown lo the smallesl delails, no exislenceforlhe has Lokayalika, because ihis conceptionis reached only by inference... the practical On srde lhis systemexhibils itsellas lhe crudeslEudaenronismi t lor represenls gratillcation lh6 sense as the sole desirable the of good...The Vedasare declared be the idlepralingof knaves, lo characlerized bylhethreefaults unlrulhlu ol Iness, inlernalcontmdicton,anduseless repelilion...The itualoftheBrahmans isairaud, andlhe cosly andlaborious sacrifies usetul are onlyfor providing witha livelihood cunning lhe iellowswho caffy lhem out" (carbe, Lokayata" Hasiings, cil.,Vol. in op. Vlll,p. 138). None the wrir ol ings ol this school extant; are alllhat we knowoJlhem hasbeen gathefed lrom lhe wrilings theiropponenls. F [,4ax of Cf. [4uller, S x Systems /ndlan of Phrosophy, London, 1899,pp.86, 9411. 25 A sharpdivergencein lhe onily of the Mim?rmsa,darsana begins wilhlhe appearance ofthesetwoscholastics, c.700A.D.Cf.Keith, p. 9. The Karma-[,1imamsa, 26 /.e., philosophy lhe Mahabharala. ihe of 27 Winternilz, cit., pp.419-420. op. Vol.lll, 28. Translated E.B.Cowell by and A.E.Gough, 2nd edition,Calcutla, 1894.

83

FJSg$;:Ae =

sisslf; E tetE$lqi;
<g 1s; FH-3*

3EIqiSi;P

SqiF$v=d=fl

iFrEf;ij
i;sriFis:

;;igiitii
o RtC APPENDIX B: HISTo AL SUMMARY B.c.' B.c

a.c
c. 3500-r500

q.

.g 3 C. 2000_1000 Aryan lnvasionsol

Civ C. 3500-1450 l\,4inoan ization OravidianCivillzallon (clele) 2000'1000 Hellenic Invasionsol :.

(lndus valleyRuins) Prehisloric JainaSavisrs

C. 1300?
C. 950 800' Atlr C.775

Creece lvoses
Solomon

N. lndia C.1500-800 Vedas Brahmanas 800& after The Prophets H0mer Hesiod c.640-546

s.
C.812 772 Pasva l23td Savior Upanisads EarlyF]ro Epics(losl)?
Kapila (sankhya)

(24th d. C. 526 Mahavna ? Gosela C.5fi'4a3 Buddha Savio0 Anaximander 6111-547 'In thiscolumnparallel wotld(lorcomparison) datesin lhe Weslem C. 582-C.500 Pylhagoras Parmenides Fl.6lhcenl Empedocles c.500-430 C. 500B C' Sulras c. s00 5004o 469-369

427?-347 344-322 356-323 Patanjali (Yoqa)

Alexander creal the Epicurus C. 321-29TCandragypta Maurya C.400 B.C 200A.D (present C. 400B.C. Mahabharata 400A.o lom ) (bhagavad citd)
Vergil

Lawsor manu 235:Alexander enlels Wlnida N

?-287? 3 4 2 ?- 2 l O Cenakya

(Adhasalra) Kautulya C. 6000B.C.? Esrablishment old of (prcsent Ramayana

200 A.D.

274-237 264- 146 100-44 70-29 A.D A.D JesusChrisl Trajan 53117 I21-180 245?-270?

lom) C

c80
Hinayana Bud-

A.D

c/2ool45a
Sulra

C 78'123 Kaniska Tanlra-[,4ahayana Busshism C.200 Nagarluna(Madhya o

6-

272-337

354-430 476

c 300-500 2 BenediclinelMonasli cism (monl Casino) ? 4th-t3th

C. 350

Prajna-paramila Asamga (Yogacara)

-.1

c. 500
570

v)
Tanllas lndiaArl (Gupla, Calukya,
d.c.527 Eodharma (Dhyana:Zen) C. 650/T50Laksminkara Dev (lVahasukha) I 3

742-414

Chademagne

c.788820t502 ? 1175,1250
Exkhad

Cola,Rajpul, Hoysala Styles) (Advaita Sankara "TheSt Syslems" C.983 ? 1400-1500 1714-1775
Hegel Daruin Einstein

Camundaraya (Commata image) Endol Buddhism lndia in

1907 1225?-1274 1260-1327? 1469-1527 1712-1774 1770'1831 1809-1882 1879

1836-1886 1879-1950

ftt

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!, (')G

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dtL

Chapter-3
I Who SeeksNirvana? THELATER Buddhisl change ofattilude toward finalgoal the s paraleledexactly bytheconlemporary Hindu development. As 1 we haveseen, in Hlnayarna usage term bodhisa denoled the liya on of a and a greatbeing thepoint becomingBuddha so passing irom time to nirvana,an archelype the Buddhist of lay-in tiate tromthe world,whereas the l\.4ahayana concepi in escaping the wastrans lated a time-reaffirming into symbol universal of savrors hip. Through renouncing Buddhahood Bodhisattva the madeil clear "release, liberalion, redemption the fiom that the taskof moksa, good;in ihalmoksa v c sstudes oftime;'was the highest not fact, isfinally meaningless, samsara nirvarna equally lhe and being oi "empiiness, voidl'lnthe samespiril nature sunyata, of the lhe Hindu Tantr initiale c exclaims: ?" is "Whoseeks nirvana "What gained moksa?""Waier by mingles wilhwater." Thispoint o1view rendered many is in oftheconversalrons of shnawith hislaydisciples. Srl Ramakr "Onceupon iimelhetoldthem "a a oneevening, sannyas n enlered templeof Jagganath. he looked the holy mage the As at hedebatedwithinhimself whelher Godhada iormor wasformess. passed stafffrom to rightto He his lett feelwhelher il touched the image. The stafl touchednothing. underslood ihere He that wasnoimage him;heconcluded Godwasiormless. belore that Nexthe passed stafi lrom righlto lefl.lt louched image. the the Thesannyasin he understood Godhadforrn.Thus realized thsat ihatGodhasiormand, is again, formless."' "Whai vijnana hesaidon another "lt is ?" occasion. is know' ngGod in a specialway.The ancl thal awareness conviction tire ex stsin wood jiana,knowledge. lo cookriceon lhatf re, is But ealthe rice, andgetnourishment il is vljnana, know by Jrom To one's inner is experience thal Godexists jfrana. to talk10 But

Tantra and Nirvan

57

is as Him,to enjoyHim as Child,as Friend, Master'as Beloved' the unlverse has lhal realization God-alone become vijnana.The and all livingbeingsis vijnana."r in annihilate Brah_ becoming the Andwithrespeclto idealof " poelRam-prasad,I the say, man.he wo!ld somelimes quoting sugar."3a loveto eat sugar,I do notwantlo become by saviorship lastes unending Bodhisattva The lVahayana task lc selflessness histeaching wilh absolule himself devotino Tantric the in in lhe ;orlexof theworld; the samespirit' Hindu (bhakti)' oi attitude devoiio", inthedualisitc by initiate, persevering of ol bealitude the knowledge the omnLwilhoulceasethe enjoys presence theGoddess. ol to revealed me in the Ka|]templethat it l\rother "The Divine lold Srl everything," Ramakrishna his was Shewho had become wastullof Conscious"Sheshowed lhateverything me friends. altar wasConsciousness,lhe wasConscious lmage ness.The the wereConsciousness, doorsillwas ness,the water-vessels all was Consciousness- was the ConscioLrsness, marblefloor the inside roomsoaked'asit l found eveMhing Consciousness. 4I Blissof Satcidelnanda sawa wicked manin were,in Bliss-the in him also I saw the Powerol the but lront of lhe Kall temple; That was why I fed a cat wilh ihe food vibrating. Divinel\,4other Nrotherl' io lhe Divine thalwaslo beollered 'l he ned he to tna.i,sricking the palhol knowledge: expra "Notlhis, not saying, the Reality, reasons about aoain."alwavs the lt nor'that'; is neilher !niverse is th;s.' Brahm;n neither'this' ihe in Reasoning this way, mindbecomes beings. nor its living goesintosamadhi' and Thenil disappears theaspirant steady. conv ll ol Branman is lhe unwavering c_Ihrs,s lhe Knowledge aloneis realandlhe world illusory, Brahman tionoJthe i62!frlthat One be is WhatBrahman cannol described. cannot llike dream. a This is the opinionol the is a Person. even say that Brahman philosophy jfiern)s, followers Vedanta of the They alltheslatesol consciousness accept "Butlhebhaktas world to dontthinklhe berealalso.They slateto takethewaking saylhat the unrversels a manl_ like be illusory, a dream.They

feslationof cod's powerand glory.God has createdallthese,sky, srars,moon,sun, mountatns, ocean,men,animals. They consti_ tuteHis glory- is withinus, in our hearts. He Again,He is outside. The most advanced devoteessay that He Hirnselfhas become all ihis-thetwentyJour cosmicprinciples, universe, the and a i ivingberngs.The dev,otee God wantsto eat sugar,not to be, of co.r'e suga(. (All laugh.) "Do you know how the lover of God feels ?,'R?lmakrishna "His continued. attitude 'O God,Thouart the Nraster, I am is and Thy servanl. Thou ari the [,4other, I am Thy child.'Or and againj '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 withdfaws mindtfom sense-objects riles10con his and centrateit on the Paramatman. Therefore,duringthe first stage of his sprritual discjpline, retires he intosolilude and with undivded practices medilationin a fixed posture. attentron "Bullhe Bealityis one and the same. The djife.ence onty is in name-He who ts Brahman verily is Atman, and again,He is the Bhagavan, Blessed the Lord.He is Brahman10the followers of the path of knowledge,Paramatman ihe yogis,and Bhagavan to 1othe lovers oi God. "The jRanis, who adhereto the nondualistic philosophy of Vedanta, thal the acts of creation,preservation, say and destruc_ tion,the universe ilseliand all its ljving beings, are the manifeslations of Sakii, the Divine power.6lf you reason il out, you will reairzethal allthese are as illusory adream,Brahman as alone ls the Rea lly, and all else is unreal.Even this very Sakt ls unsubstantial, a dream. like "Bul thoughyou reasonall your lile, unlessyou are eslabrshedn samadhi, cannot beyond jurisdiction saktr. you go the ol trven when you say, I am meditating,, 'l am contemp or ating,, 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

and Nirvan Tantra

59

you seelhe fite,you mustrecognize powerto burnalso.You its of its to ihink lirewilhoul power bum,norcanyouthink ot cannot oJ conceive the sun's cannot burn withoutfire.You the oowerto ils of lhe rayswithout sun,nor canyouconceive the sunwithout rays. white You "Whatis milk like? Oh, you say,it is someihing and cannot thinkol lhe milkwithoutthe whiteness, again,you wilhoulthe milk. cannotthinkof the whiteness ''Thus withoulSakti,or ot Sakti lhinkol Brahman onecannot withoulthe One cannotthinkof lhe Absolute wilhoutBrahman. without Absolule lhe Relatrve, oJthe Belative or preShe is at "ThePrimordial Power ever olay.7 is creating, This Poweris called in serving, and destroying play,as it wereKall.ll is one is and Brahman, Brahman verily Kal. Kallis verily thal When we thinkol it as inactive, is lo and the sameRealitypreservation, cle_ and in say,notengaged the acls ol crealion, in lt engages these But thenwe call lt Brahman. when slruclion, is Reality one and lhe thenwe call it Kanor Sakli.The aclivilies. is same; difforence in nane andform"3 the of exposition theTantricpoint of viewwas This introductory sailingup and givenon lhe deck ot a littleexcursion-sleamer, in 1882Keshab afternoon the one down Ganges, beauliJulaulumn semi'Hindu' leaderolthe the Sen Chandra (1838'84), distinguished ol witha number his had Samai,s come, semi-Christian Brahmo a Dakshineswal suburbol al following, visitSrl Ramakrishna to leacherwas sery' wherethe saintly cily lhe modern of Calculta, Kali to the BlackGoddess, ing as prieslin a templededicated gentleman, a wllh Hindu occidentalized was Keshab a modern, progressive feli' humanislic, outlook, a salttvic, and cosmopolitan contempo' ol his NewEngland gious philosophy-not that !nlike Gi,a)' (and of rary,theTranscendenlalist stodent lhe Bhagavad on the otherhand,was a Ramakrishna, RalphWaldoEmerson. in nurlured the ot ignoranl English. thorough Hindu-intentionally ol in the lechniques long-practiced traditions his molherland, ol oi filledwiththe experience God and introverted contemplation, was leaders a meelol togeiher thesetworeligious Thecoming

ing ol the modern, timelyIndiaand lhe timeless-ihe modern of consciousnes India withlhe half-torgotten divine symbols of ls own unconscious. Noteworthy, moreover, lh lact that on is occasion teacherwas theWestern-educated, this the not tailored gentleman, hadbeenentertained London ihe QLreen, who in by bLrl yogi in his loincloth, lhe speaking the traditional ol Indian Godsoutol his owndirectexperience. KESHAB(witha smile):"Describe us, sir! in how many to waysKali,the DivineMother, sportsin thisworld." SBI RAI\,IAKRfSHNA wilha smile). (also "Oh, She ptaysin dilferenl ways.ll is She alonewho is known Nraha,Kall as ["The GreatBlackOne"l,Nitya-Kall BlackOne"], ["TheEverlasting Smasana-Kali oftheCremation Ground"], BaksA-Kel ["Ka|i ["coblin Kall"l,and Syama-Kall and l"DarkKali"].l\4ahe-Kali Nitya-Kal] aremenlioned the Tantra in Philosophy. When therewereneither lhe creation, the sun,the moon,the planets, the earth. nor and andwhendarkness wasenveloped indarkness, then lhe Mother, lheFormless One,Ivaha'kall, Great th6 Power, onewilhlvlahd, was Kali{lhisis the masculine formol the samenamel, Absolute. the "Syama-KaI a somewhal has tenderaspect is wofshiped and n lheHindLr households. is theDispense boonsand the She I ol Dspellerof fear. PeopleworshipRaksa'Kal,lhe Protects, in limesol epidemic, tamine,earthquake, drought, and flood. Smasana-Ka|j istheembodimentof thepowerof deskuclion. She resides thecremalion ground, jackals, in surrounded corpses, by and lerriblefemalespirils.FromHer mouth flows a streamol blood,lrom neckhangs gadand Her a ofhuman heads, around and Herwaist a girdle is madeolhuman hands. ''Atlerthe deskuction of the universe, the end ol a great at cycle,lhe Divine garners seedsforihe nexlcreation. l\,4other the She is likelhe elderlymislress the house,who has a holchof potch-pol whichshe keeps different in articleslor the householduse.(A laugh),Oh,yes ! Housewives havepotstikethat. wherethey keepseajoam, bluepills,smallbundles seedsof of cucumber, pumpkin, and gourd,and so on.Theytakelhem out whentheywantthem.in th sameway,afterthe desiruclion of

Chapter-3 ol the Lrniverse, Divinel\,4other, Embodimenl Brahman, my the Aflerthe crea_ galherstogether seedsfor the next creation. the tion lhe PrimalPowerdwells in the universeitsell.She bfigs Iotrlh this ohenomenalworld and lhen oervades il. In lhe Vedas lhe is to and itsweb.The spiderbrings creation likened the spider oi web out ol itseliand then remains il. God is lhe conlainer in the un verse and also whal is containedin it. ''ls Kall,my Divineftrolher, a blackcomplexion She apol ? pears 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 bul co or.The waterol the oceanlooksblue at a distance. when yolrgo nearandiake it in yourhand.you tindthat I s colorless.' Sri Ramakrishana. lilledwith lover {or the Goddess,lhen and sang to hertwo songsoflhe Bengalidevolee 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 hundred thousandl' "But,sir, if She tikesShe can g ve A BRAHMo DEVoTEE: lreedom all.Why,then,has She kept us boundto the world?" to SRI RAMAKRISHNAT "Thatis Her will. She wantsto cont nue p ayingwiihHercrealed In beings. a gameof hide-and-seek the runninq aboutsoon siops if in the beginning the players all touchthe granny'.lf alltouchher,lhen howcan the gamego on? the Thatdrspleases Her pleasure in continuing game. her. is "lt is as if lhe DivineMother saidto lhe humanrnindin conJidence,wilh a sign from Her eye, Go and enjoythe world." How ilselllrom can one blamethe mind ? The mind can disentangle worldliness throughher grace.She makesit turn lowardHerri, seli." Sri nSinging againthe songsol Rampraseld, Ramakrishna "Bondage ol the is lerrupted s discourse, then continued. h but mind.and freedomis also ol the mind.A man is Jreeil he con-

and N rvan Tantra

thinks:l am a freesoul.Howcan lbe bound, whelher I stantly or ? lhe oi llvein theworld in the foresl | am a child God, King of can bya snake, Kings.Who bindme?'ll bitten 'There a manmaygel rid is no poisonin me.' ol its venomby sayingemphalically, gritanddelerminalion, way, repeating by with Iam ]n thesame noi bound,I am lree.'one reallybecomes so-onereallybecomes free. gave "Onesomeone fie a book ottheChristians. Iasked him to read it io me. lt talkedabout nothingbul sin. (Io Keshab Chandra Seri) Sin is lhe onlythingone hearsol at yourBrahmo Sam?rj, too.Thewretch whoconstantly says, Iam bound,lam He boundlonly succeeds being in bound. whosays andnighl, day lam a srnner, a sinne('really lam becomes srnner. a "Oneshouldhavesuchburning failhin godthalone cansay: 'What ? | haverepeated nameol God,andcansinsiillclingto the me ? Howcan I be a sinnerany more? Howcan I be in bondage "ll a man repeals nameof God,his body,mind,and eve' the pure.Whyshould rylhing become onetalkaboul andhell, sin and suchthings Saybul once,'O Lord,I haveundoubtedly ? done wicked lhings, lwon't bui repealthem.'And havelaith hisnamel' in SriBamakrishna sang: li onLy can passawayrepeating I Durga's name; HowcanslThou then, Blessed O One, Withhold frommedeliverance, Wretched though lmay be ? . ... . . "To Then he saad: my Divine Motherlprayed only for pure love, I olleredflowersat Her Lolus Feet and prayedto Her: Mother, hereis Thy virtue,hereis Thyvice.Take thembothand 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, grantmeonlypureloveforThee. and HereisThydharma, hereisThy adharma.Take themboth,lvlother, granlme only and

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purelove torThee."lo lhe the obljlerates abIn Tantra theisticallitudepraclically in Brahman(nigunabrahman) lavol stractidealof the Forrnfess (saguna bahman)-lheLotd (lsvara), olBrahman-in-the-Gunas by the personalGod;and lhe latteris represented the Tantrics preferably thelemale aspect, in ol sincein thisthe nature i,leyaallirmed.lrThe Tantricdevelopmeni Sakli is mosl immedialely oi the lo in Hinduism olthefigure supporled return power popular namesDevi,Durga, Keli, theMother Goddess oftheinnumorable Parvall, Uma,Sau,Padme, Candl, Tripura-sundari, elc.-whose past,hadbeenovershadowed a for cull,rooted lhe Neolithic in yearsby lhe maiedivinilies lhe period about thousand ol ol a palriarchalAryan panlheon.The herGoddess began reassert to She seii in ihe period the laterUpanisads.l2 is todaylhe chief of All ol diviniiyagain. the consorls lhe variousgodsare her manireprefeslalions, and,as lhe saktior'powe|"of theirhusbands, sent the energy that has broughl the lalterinto manileslalion. personifies Worldlllulhe f/oreover, lrahamaya, Goddess as the of sion. withinthe boundsand thralldom whichexist all torms even whalsoever,whethergrossor subtle,earlhlyor angelic, gods. embodimenl lhe ol those thehighest oJ Sheis theprimary principle, as suchthemolher allnames oi and lranscendent and who lorms."God Himself;' "is statesRamakrishna, lVahamarya, of the wilhHorillusion conjures themagrc and up delLrdes world preservation, destruction. hasspread this veil and She creation, chamber before eyes, cango intotheinner our We of ignorance passthroughlhe door]l3lt is entirely onlywhenSheletsus possible bolh in the lhat in lhis reinstatemenl the Goddess, of popular philosophy the Tantra, have of we cultsand in the deep rligiousity lhenon-Aryan. of anolhersign lhe resurgenceol ol the pre-Aryan, times. matriarchal tradilion Dravidian ol The T?rnlric movemenl diJfers hom Jainismand Buddhism. however, inasmuch it adheres lhe authority the Vedas, to of as traseekingrather assimilale adjustitselllo the orlhodox to and paralelsthe patttern dil on thanlo exclude refuleit. ln thisit and ol and ol popular Hinduism. Indeed, mixture Tarntric Vedelnlic the lhat Hlndulife,rilual,andihoughlis so intlmate lraits n modern

speak TheTantrlcs whole as lhemselves anorganic tnevoresent "The Fillh Veda; "TheVedalor This lron Age' ol t;eir lexts as was glven;rc'r "Forthe Jirsl ol the fourworldages, sruti(Veda) of the sages,DharamasastG' the second, smrti( lhe teachings etc.).tor the third, purara (the epics,etc.),and lor lhe lourth' texts)."r4 agama(lheTantric whosesludoul As hasbeenpointed by Sir JohnWoodrolte' published of theTantra examinations ies are the mosiimportant claimthal its of the Agama tollowers times:"Tie Sakta ln modern the conlain verycoreoi theVeda 'As men Tanlras [i.e.,"books"] requlreo and longevity moralslrenglh capacity, have Iongerlhe no ritualsectionol the lthe ori th" Vuidikakarma_kanda to discr "urrv a keligious ihe Vedal, TanlraSirslraprescribes Sadhan?r end ofthecommon ofallSaslra' atlainment of olinel itsowntorlhe and at length lherealter' thai is. a happylife on earlh,Heaven Liberationl'r5 truth acceptlhe of Advaita and theTanlra popularHinduism Both The aspeclol may?r' accentto lhe posilive bul Vedanla shill the aspectotlhe ol manifestation thedynamic worldis lhe unending as and and divine, as suchshouldnolbe devaluated discarded penelrated enllghl' by butcelebraled, and suJJerlng mpedection, hair with and in-sight, experienced understanding.TheoJthe ening which dance seltmaddened in herfrantic' is Godiess d shevelled bul ol produces mirage samsara, the perfecldevoteels nol the 'Thou themother Ramprasad, gh beathiml'says dismayed. iherebv 'lhe child to clings l Mother'O lvlother,'and siilllighter her cries lhar kaivalya' yogl qarmenl The Vedalnlic never liresoi staling l'16 iisolaliononlybyiurningawayfrom can integration," beattained with and ol theworld worshiping single-pointed allure thedistracting howeveF to Brahman_Alman;theTarntric attenlion formless the nolionseemspathologiol the wodd-lhis as to the normal child of effectof a certainmalady inlellect By cal,lhe wrong-headed of the not Goddess, merely seeking liberathetrueloveaot the is tionbut evenits attainmenl notdesired Forwhatis the useot Ramprasad sugarl'as ? "llikeealing salvationil meansabsorption i{ Lei to said."butI haveno desire becomesugarl'l7 thosewho lhe seekreleasel perfecl devo' suiferJrom loilsol samsara the

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teedoesnotsuffer;ior canboihvisualize experience he and life andthe universe therevelaiion thatSupreme as Divine oi Force he the Divine Befsakf,withwhlch is in love, allcomprehensive ing in its cosmicaspectoJplayiul,aimless drspay (l)le) which precipilates as wellas joy,butin its bliss pain transcends them both.He is lilledwiththe holymadness that "ecstalic of love" whichtransmutes world. the /prema) Thisveryworld a mansion rnirth; is ol Herelcan eai,hefedrink and make merry,13 Arlha(prosperity), {thefulJillmentsensual kama of desires), dharma enactmenl thereligious moralrituals every(the ot and of day iie,withan acceptance lhe burden allthe duties). ol of and (release il all)areone.The moksa polarity moksa the from of and trrvargars iranscended dissolved in inlroverted is and not realizalionalone, in living but feeling well. virlue his talent as Byi of of overior the merciJul Goddess. true devoteediscovers the that lhelourfold of anha,kama, iruit dharma, moksalalls the and into palm hishand. cf "Come, us go ior a walk,O mind, Kali,the Wishjullei to filingTree," wrote Rztmprasad; therebeneath gather "And lt the toLrr fruits life."20 mind "The ol ever seeks DarkBeautiful the One. hestates "Do again. as youwish. Whowants Nirvana ?" Tanlrism, a matter course, as of insisls theholiness on and purity all things; of hence, "fiveforbidden the ("the thtngs" live l\,4's, they are called)constitute subsiance the sacraas lhe of mental farein certain Tanlric riles:wine (madya), meal (memsa) ya lish (mals ), parchedgtain (mud A),21ands exualintercou rse (maithuna). lnlhe patallel As lvahayana initiations,22 nondualist the realization makesall the worldone-one, holy,and pure.All bengs and lhingsare members a singiemystic"lamily" (kula). of There therefore thought caste is no of wilhin theTanir holy,,circ cles" fcakr4.Sirdras, outcastes, Brahmans and alikeareeliegible for initiation-if spirilually competent. aspirant The mustonlvbe inlelligent, his senses wilh controlled, who abslains one trom ng good all,pure, betiever the everdoing injur anybeing, to a in Veda, anda nondualist, whose faithand relugeare in Blahman:

''Such one is cornpetent ihis scripture;otherwise is no he for a adepll'23 whatsostanding oi no consequence is Ones secuar social Moreover, hierarchy. everw thin lhe sphereof lhe truly spiritual not the womenas wellas menare eligrble onlyto receive highesl in nit ation but also lo confer11 the role ol guru. "lnlation by woman is e{licacous;that by the mother is eightlloldso,"we read contrastto the Vedic texts,wherein n Ihe Yoginifanta.24ln strikrng io oitheVedais lorbldden a sidra, and whereln evenlhe hearing (lhough highy praisedand lo womenare consigned a secondary competency and aspiralion, sphereoi spiritual senlimentalized) the Tantraslranscendthe limits ol social and biologica differentLaIton. lo il However, musi nol be supposed lhat thls indifference wlthinthe social anv lhe rulesol casteimDlies ideaof revolution progress. from the sphereof spiritual as sphere, distinguished post in society;lor thereto, is the mani' io The initiate relurns his 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_ prerequisite the initlation to beingan acluaisupefroriormer-The oi ity to iear and desire,and ihe rite ilsell a conlirmation the lover ol the Goddess lhat understanding all is divlne,the lrue not w remalns content th what She has beslowed, findinglault proprieties time and pace, but ol wth the varlols lradilional in with whom he is himsellidentical behold the D vine power, ng withn a I arrangements, essence, The to For the idea ol dharmais intrinsic Indianthought. "tlvelorbidden not open a way to sacrament lhe o1 things"does either liberlrnism revolution.On planeof ego-consciousnes, or the the whereone operates an individ memberof society, dharma as ual prevails, heighlbeyonddharma the oione's casleand asma25still and adharma beingascended only by one in whomthe mindhas beentranscended-in whichsupetior statetherecan be no quesThe Terntric t on oi a desireio enioythe benetitsot illegalpractices. parched gtain,andsexualintercourse ritual wine,rneai,lish, is of uhderthe caulious accomplishednot as a lawbreakingrevel, but (advaitic) superuision a guru,in acontrolledstate of"nondualist" of

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realizalicn, as the culminating and festivalol longsequence a ol spjril!aldiscrplnes, lhroughmanylives.Thespirrlual emotionol the adept s p/ema:ecslaiic, egoless, beatific blissin lhe realzationol transcendenl idenlily. downagainlrornthissub ime he ght oi lorm annrhrComrng laling realization lhe kingdom phenomenality, to of 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 require be reformd; are ts lawstobed srelo nor garded. Allol lhe various planes manilestalion lhe abso ute oi ol can be beheldin a dispassionate spirit. The so id, the liquid, and the gaseousslatesol lhe one substance, underdiitering condl trons,producrng differing etfects, accepted thout moralor are w preierence, lhe wholespeclacle the world,with" emotronal For oi out exceplon,is generateC the dynamism t\,4dyA by of Sakti,lhe poweroflhe cosmicdance ol thedarkand terrble subtrm, frla) al -ilourishing consurnlng and lrotheroi lhe Wor d The be ngs ol the world.and a I the rangesol experience, but wavesand are strata n a srnge. ever-llow universaslreamoi ie. ng, Obviously, is the viewlhatwe havealready lhrs encountered manynmes n our presenlexamrnatron ihe phi osophes oi noi dia.The hymn lrom the Taittiiya BAhmana. cetebratng the substance and energyol the world as iood,26 was based on a nondualism ofluslthiskind.The released reborn ebrates ce hrm se I as iood and-ealer; lhough the grossoutersheathof the for organrsm,lfie shealhol lood" (annamayakosa),nol the whole s oi lhe divinemanileslation (therebeing,rn the subtlesphereol lhe severa Innersheaths, more subtleiormatons and Incarna, t ons of the SupremeEssence), neverihe "lood s nol to be ess despised.The reality Brahman of was realizedn the orlhodox progresstvely, VedicBrahman lraditron undervar ous manileslatrons: the ife'malter the material as ot wortd, the Hymno1lood in oras the sun, he whoyonderg owsl in a rnultitude olherBrahmanic oi sofgs ol celebralion; again,as the macrocosmtc brealh or lfe he isthe counterpart lhe microcos of arzayu), who blows,"which trlicpnna.

Iherehas beena oi thoughl the Thfoughout history Brahman or vrolenl and passionale, vigorously asserton_eilher reiteraled controled-thallhe "One s bothat oncel'andin lhis respeclTanlrism proceeds lrom lhe Vedc Ine. Everyihing lhe conlinues orlhodox ol A1l source. beingsare members a s ng e ho y samesLpernal ng iam y, proceed frornthe one and only divinesubslanceAnd thisv ew nvolvesas we haveseen,on the one handdevaluatlon bul of lhe peculrarypersona nuancesoi individuality, on the ol other a bold all rmatlon a i thal may evercometo be Maya, bul lhe word iluson is nol to be rejected embracedThe lyrigave to cismoi ihe Vedanla-Gitars27 expression thiswolld alf rmalve todaythrouqhlhe And t is reilected does so again. The Tantra A populdr es. Hi-du lheolog wro e ra go or I lrail oi the TanlricYea Bu1thereis a pecular and essentiai philosophles al leasl or il whichd slinguishes lfom lhe eaflier ior textsandcommentanesl in lheseas lhey appear lhe orthodox preclsely means by ilumination islo achieve lheldealolTenlfism sagessought lo oanlsn wh oi those very obJecls ch the earller The ancientVediccult was wor d al irom iher conscrousness. y but firmative. ts nteswereprimari lhoseol the vasl popuar an0 lhey n honorol lhe gods ol lhe macrocosm: als roya ceremon oi lo lathom deepresources the m crocosm the did noi nv te one to The forestph osopherson the olher hand_devol-adthe nlro_ Veddnta and lhe ques ol Jainsm, Yoga,Sarnkhya vert techn by the to Hinayana-slrove repress r personabio og ca mpulses vesto a spirtua reducng diellor lhe conquer themse sublecting of vessels memoryand lamasandthe vasanas(1he ing oi rajas, lhem t naly to a p ane beyond and whenlhrslranslerred desire); virtuoLls. Indeed,they had had lo they remaineo sin and virtLr tor awavthe capacily s nnrngat the very starl, as the llrsl casl whereas lo prerequ ol their approach a guru2eBulin theTanlra site power, suchas yogi lhe goalis thal ol the medrtating (notworldly of coniurers lhe iorcesol lhe \"/as soughtby the anc ent Brahman and lhe un verse.but en thtenmenl,absoluleconsciousness rs approach lhal being), mannerof lhe bealitucle lranscendenlal ol s nol oi Nay.bul ot Yea.Thal is to say,the world_altltude af as iifmalive, in lhe Veda,but the gods are now addressed as dwellLng the wlthrn m crocosm.

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Thus it may by said lhat.i{ the Vedantaseems to represenl by olthe monistic AryanBrahman heritage the dual lhe conquesl atron oi the pre-Aryanseekersof nlegralion-iso ist ideoogy (kaivalya),2e thefan].tawe are, perhaps,jusllfiedin recognizing in p'obinlluence: rerenderrrg hp p'e-Aryan a oJ lusl the ooposite lem of psychophysical transubstaniialioniermsot the nondual in poinl ol view Here the philosophyof the all'affirmaliveBrarhmanlc forwisdom does notseeka detourby whichto circumcandidate venl the sphere the passions-crushing wilhinhlmself of them and withoul,until, made clean shuttingh s eyeslo their manileslalions 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. principle the Tantric dea that rnan,in ll is an essential oi general, rnuslriseihroughand by rneansof nalure,not by lhe rejeclionof nature,"As one falls onlo lhe ground:'lhe Kularnava Ianfra stales," so one must lift oneselJ bythe aid of lhe groundl'3o The pleasure love,ihe pleasure human ing,is the blissof of of tee the Goddess her world-productive in dance, the b iss oi sivaand his saktiin theirelernalrealization identity; oi only as knownln the inleriormode of ego-conscio sness,The creatureoi passion u has only to wash away his sense ot ego, and then the same act that formerlywas an obstructionbecomeslhe tide that bears him Moreover, to the rea izalion of the absolute as bliss (ananda.). passionitself may becomethe baptizing water by this lide of washedaway.Followrng which the taint of ego-consciousness is the Tantric method,the hero (vila) floais beyond himselton the rousedbul canalized current. This is whal has discredlted ihe withoul melhodin the eyesofthe community.lts heroicaccepiance, quibble, oflhe fullimpacl and implication olthe nondualcelebration o1the world as Brahman has seemed far too bo d, and too embrances ol sensational, lhose whose view oJ saintliness lo 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

Tantric student 1,"writes Sir John Woodroffe, "is taught noi 1o ihink lhat we are one withlhe Divinein Liberalion only,bul here and now,in everyacl we do.For in truthallsuchis Sakti.ll is srva lhe this who as Saktiis actingin and through Sadhaka...When is ia ral then,eachexercise thereoiceases realized everynatu function, 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. wi of a 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 r mn e l h e V i r k n o w s i t t o b e that Herself liquidform.'How in Tara Dravamayl, is, the Saviour (it is said)can he who trulysees in it the Saviour l\lother receive Iromii harm? ..... Whenthe Vlra eats.drinksor hassexualinter of as course, doesso notwithlhe thoughl himself a separate he his wants,an animal rndlvidual satisiyjng own peculiarlimited enjoymenl has,butlhinking he filching il werefrom natureihe as as ol himselfin such enjoyment Siva, saying'Sivo'ham,"Bhairavo' harn'('l am siva)."31 The holylear of has a high symbolic role. Sex, in Tantrism, uncontrollable forcesin humannaiureand the consequent the whichchar insiincts energies, and strictresrstance lhe animal to 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 historical struggle independence a for uct ol the successfui, principle. primiiive forces, out of the The higher, "purel, spiritual sun, Sol arose,like the victorious depihsol whichthis principle Invicius,climbing heavens oi the stormysea (theturbulhe out held lentabodeol lhe monsters the deep),hadto be checked, of vol Llnder at bay and tiedback,likeihe GreekTilansmprisoned canic Aetna, or like the greal Dragon of the Revelationof Strocking John.The very realperilofan elementary Lrpheavaland outbursi led io the conslructionoi proieclivedichotomicsyslems, bui such as lhose,not only of jainismand the Senkhya, also of the PersianZoroaslrian ethical religion,lhe Gnosis oi the Near ol East,Christianity, Manichaeism, andtheusualcodes manners world, of primitive mankind. India, the ancient In in and clvilized and and among mogt of the peoplesknown10 anthropologisls historians,there has been, however,an inslitutionalized syslem

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ol festivals iesl vaLsol the gods and gen i ol vegelalionwrlhout whereby. dangerlo lhe community, convent the onal frc, I on ol good and evi couldbe suspended a momenland an lor experencepermttedot the mighly tan,powers lhe deep.Cart oi niva , the day ot masks,revealing I the odd iormsthal dwellin a the prolund iies oj the soul,spillsforthits symbos. and for one dreamike.nrghlmarish, sacred day,theordered. m d consciorJst nessireelyrevelsin a sacramenlally canaizedexperence oJ(s The masksare dream ke Drearnlike also are th-ocamtva events. ndeed. lhe wor d ol sleepintowh ch we descend every n ght. when the tensions consciousness re ared. is pre. of are cisey lhai fromwhrch demons, lhe eives d vine and devilshlig uresof lhe wor d mythologies havea I beenderived. the qods Ali dwe w thinus, wil ing to supporl!s, and capabte supporling oi us. bul they require subrnission conscousnessan abd cathe ol l r o no l s o v e r e i g noy t h e p a r to f o u r c o n s c i o u s i l s l n s o f a r , ln w
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. oba.t

''torbidden. and resoves everything intighl;recognizngineve rylhng the one Saktrwh ch /s lhe generat supporlof the wortd. macrocosm as we I as microcosmic, molhr the godsand c the of eives, weaver lhe moon-dream history lfre of ot Therewith comes releaselromthe wor d il us on-release throLrgh Iultenjoymenl ts Hencethe greatTantrlc lormuta difierent (so tromthatol lhe eariier nduyog c drscrptines): (theyoking empiricatcon H yoga oi sciousnesstotranscendenta consctousness)andbhoga(,enloy, meni. lhe experence of liles loy and sullering) the sarne are Bhoga lseli can be madea way ol yoga. Brl rt requrres herc (vira)lo confront a and assimtate. rn perlectequanm ty, the wholewondero{ the WortdCreatrix to make ov.withoUl hysterical reacirons, th Liie lorce,wh ch to s the saktiof h s own entrrely.Thefivegoodthtngs (pancatattva). urhich lhe forbdden lhrngs'oi lhe ordinary are rnenand 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, worship lhe WorldCreatrix her ownterrns the of in s rendered possibe, ior cohabtalion (maithuna). awn sn her prmeholy r te. s rea zed nol n the spiritoi lhe pasir('ca te l lile humananimalol lhe hrd,desiring, learng, and enjoying rn the Lrsual ma -human an way).bul of the vtra(',hero,,)who knows lr msell to be identrcal with 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 functions ihe senses, of usjngthe m nd as the adleoi lhe offering. Hallelujah 1"32 The Ir!lt ot the rte then is release tromllus on. which rs lhe hrghesl it ot Katl,lhe darkand beauliut Goddess-Dancer the g of C.emation Ground

resistsrgorouslythe lorcesoi ts div ne substral!m The gods lhereupon becomdangerous I, and lhe indivd!al becomes for hrsown he The ancient peoplmade madepeacewrlhthe ex cludedtorcesby holding them n worship and a low ng lhem ther daemonrc carniva even whie cullivatng, simutaneously. un der the lorms of sacrifces lo lhe hrgher gods,a fruillulrelalionship w th the Iorcesimplcatedin the soc al system. And by this meanstheywon the permrssion, lo speak,oJlherrown uncon so sc ous to conlinue lhe conventionalconscrous in atttlude proloi Bul theTantrcsadhaka nol interesled convent is In ona surv valso mlch as in ihe falhoming ife and the d scovering ils ol oi I melesssecrel Hencelhe makeshilt carntva rs nol enoughi oi lor lh s on y supporls genera ilus on. Hts goa s to incorpolhe rale lhe excluded lorcesas well as lhose accepledgeneraly and experence by this means essenlial nonexistence the lhe ol polarity-ils anlagonistic vanishing away,its nirvana,.e. the Inpurily lr|nsic andlnnocence the seemingly of darkand dangerous sphere. n lhs way he breakswithn himsellthe tenson of the

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The Lamb, the Hero,and lhe Man-God _NoONE who is not himself divinemay (successfully) wor"Havingbecome lhe shlp lhe divrnity(radeyo devam arcayet):'33 deity. one shouldotler sact\liceloit(devam bitua devamyalet)."3a The dentityol the hiddennatureol the worshiper wiih lhe god worshiped the firslprinciple lhe Tantricphilosophy devo' is of oi in tion.The gods are rellexes space(whrchis iiselllhe work ol mAya-sakli) lhai soe realily, ol Erahman, which s the Sakli ol lhe devolon, the T;lnlricsadhakaapproaches Goddessin the worsh p fprF.),throughlhe medilativemutler ng al ptayerc ljapa: lhe recitat ol the tany of her names), on the unrelenling verba japa)ol sacredtormulae repettron(again word-sounds fmarllar which contain her essence), makingof menlaland externa lhe (homa), oiterings and one'pointed medilalion her nnervision on (dhyana).He could never hope lo experiencelhe final ideniily l, he were nol alreadyconvincedand awareol itfromlhe lrsl. [,4eanwhile.lo supporl his preliminary approach,he sels beforeh s eyes and m nd an image (Pratika,Pratima)ol the deity.Thls may be a jtd Le pdl4ln9.sy'nbolol k sorne nd.or ya^ rd:15 soeca ca:es lt may be a living lor belng, exarnple, virginfkunAipije), at lhe a The fifst act of devolon consists conlemp ating inwardly in the mentalimageof the deity and then prolecting spifilua the energy(lejas)ofthatrnnersublle inlothe grossouierimage. lorm This consecrationis known as pranpratisfha, lhe cons gnment (prat,stti) of the vital breath (prana."ll is to be undone agarn at lhe conclusion oilhe periodot worshipby a "dismissal'(visaqana) presence, of the holy foliowing whichthe 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 maniloid the cosmos-and by virtue of lhe same ol nlinilnde(brahman-Atmar) thin, as wel as the sarnem rac e ol w mayar Laler, wheninitale learns recognize spontaneously lo and n respond lhe presence the divinity to 01 everywhere, a I th ngs nlual.but he no ongerrequires pedagogicalass lhe slanceotthLs

his meanwhrle mtnd and sentimemenls mustbe givenhelp The I tile rniracle transubstantialiof, oi however, ralhera microcosis mic than a macrocosmic crisis.Divinity itseltcannotbe satd lo havebeenactually summoned and dismissed; ralher, lhe reall zation ol dvin ly has been facilitaled.For, whereas lhe adept in thecondilron pertecl of realization beholds and reveres whole lhe ,,vorld an rconor seat (pithalof the Universal as Presence. lhe usua member lhe humanherd fpasu)requires ot allthe assist anceof re|g on lo brlnghis mindfromthe common, animal, economic'pol ca modeol considerrng I lhtngs, the contemptalive lo all tudeol a luminous iton. intu The ritesperformed lhe presence a consecraled n oi image are lhe counlerparls the secularrituals dai y iite. ol oi The god s welcomed a guest,wtth flowers, as obe sance,washingof the . iee1. Iood,waterlof balhing, perfume. clothlor garrnenls, tewels, ncense. offerings variouskinds,praise, oi and conversation.36 These redound. turn, to the sancljiication dailv lilet for a in ol guesl is welcomed wilh the same ceremoniali oarenlts hon a 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 socialsphere. thusperceptibly qes the Rilual -'6s mudl;, also are e'r"p.oyed the worsFrp. t-esp, ||-a ,n and words,ar-othe expresstons and supportsol spriual resove. Thesegeslures, mudras,atedenticalwilh or lhosereDresenled I Indan magesand uliiized the arl of lhe Indian in dance. Thev .on:l ule a ve table ,a-gLa9aoi lhe handS, flaL -g pos)roF the mosl sublleamplifications expression of For example, when presenting, olfering, vessei oiwater,thefish gesture rt lhe fmaisya mud,.a/ made."Thisis done as lhe expression the wishand rs ol inlenlron lhat lhe vesselwhich conlains watermay be regarded a s a n o c e a n 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 w sayslo the Devalaol his worship,this ts but a smailolleringof waterIn lacl,bul so far as my desire honoufyou is concerned. lo fegardt as tj | \/ereoflenng youan oceanl3T again. Or whenlh Goddesss nv ted lo take her place,before momenlof wor the 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 vo e . e q d . o e o b y t a ; t r r d er adeplotherlt,rse than as an altar. Thereiore. when the sadhaka

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has allained perfection ihis discipline can proceed the to in he to most appropriate congeniallorm ol payingworshipto lhe and in Goddess, marthuna, Bhitasuddhi,at"Ihe cleansing(suddhrotthe (five)elements of whrch the body is composed (bhita)," is an indispensable preliminaryto everyTantric rite.The devolee imagines divine the power (sakt)as beingasleep withjnhim,wilhdrawn trornoperaton inhs grossphysique, coiledaway likea sleeping serpent (kundalin) aI lhe rcat ol his spine,in the deep place known as the ) muEdhAra,"lhe tool (mula) base fadhara)l'The sadhaka then pronounces manlrato arouseher,whilecontrollng caretully his nhalatrons, breathing deeply {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 begins move up lhe susumna,louchlng her pasto ln sage a numberoi "centers"or"lotuses" (caktas,padmas),which are regarded the sealsof the elements lhe body. as ot 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 plctured a vefmilton as lolus 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". is piclured a blue-black lt as lotusoi len pelals. According the psychology thissystemol lotuses: to of muladhara,svadhislhana, manipura and are the centerslrom whichthe livesoJmosl people are governed, whilethe superior ceniers represenlhigher modesol experience. The fourth, at the levelof the head, is the lolusin whichthe firsi realization the ol divinilyof the worid is experienced. Here, it is sald, the god reaches downtolouchhisdevotee, Oragain,herethesageshear the sound fsabdal of Brahman.Sounds heard by the ouler ear are produced "twothings by strikingtogetherl' whereas sound the ofBrahmanis anehab sabda,"Ihe sound (sabda)which comes without the stfiking of any two things together Gnahah);'3afhis soundis OM; not the OI\l pronounced the lips,whichis but a by

produced theskiking thewindfrorn mnemonic suggestion by of thelungs upon organs themouth, thefundamental lhe of but OIVI which thecoddess of creation, is herself sound. as Because this is heardin the lotusoi the heart, ihat cenleris called anehatatil is piclured a ruddylotusof twelvepelals,and is the seat oi as 'ail'. theelement "Etherl'ihe andultimate filth element, centered ihecakra is in puple hueand of sixleen pelals the level ihe ol a smoky al of throat. rstheVisuddha This purified." Cakra, completely "the Beyond,at the pointbetween eyebrows, the Lotusol Comthe is mand (altar.Whiieas the moon,possessing petals, lwo shining withtheglory perfected ot mediation, wherein mind, the beyond thezones veiled ihe iiveelements thus completely by and free of the limitations lhe senses, ol beholds immediately seedthe formof the Vedas. This is the seal of the Formol forms,where the devotee beholds Lord-as in the Christian lhe heaven. Beyondis lhe centerbeyondduality, Sahasrara, vari coloured lhe lotusot a thousand petalsat the crownol the head.HereSaktiwlro s to be thought as having of ascended through the loall tuseso1the susumna, waking eachlotLrs full blossom to in passing-is joined Sivain a unionthat is simultaneously io the fulfil ment and dissolution theworlds sound. of of lorm. andcontemplation. The Tanklcworshiper supposedto maglne himselfas is purified body sutlusing having his by allthe loluses withthe awakened Saktin th s way(only pedected being yogi a capable making oi the kundalini actually rise).Meditation((dhyena), rccilatian ihe ol charms filed with the power the coddessin the formoi of soundfmarfr4,eloquent poslures ofthe handsandbody fmLrdfe), andthe meditaliveplacjng the tips ol the fingers ol and palmoi therighthandonvariouspa body, s ofthe accompaniedmantra bV fnyasaa,3e assislhim in this process, wellas in that of we! as comingthegod inlolheimage yantra. twoprocesses or The are reciprocal, constitute and thewhole mystery ritualistic nsu of i ra bslantialion. Hencewe read,in lho Gandharva Tantrc., man "A shoud worship divinily(deva6)by becomingadivinity a himseti. une should worship divinily not a wjlhout oneself becoming a

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himselt withoutbecoming a li drvinily. a personworships divinity And aga n' a divi; ry.he will not reapthe kuits oJthat worshlp]4c Visnu wrlhoul in lhe yasrslhaRaneyana:"11a mar worships Visnu,he willnot reaplhe iruitsol thatworshp h msellbecoming an himselfVsnu' ntliare (sadhaka) bybecorning lf heworshipsVsnu .rll oe,orA GlearV snJ tMahawsnu e lhP Belrg l_al s be' And once agaln,Ins vond the persona aspectof lhe god)l'4r l,me n lne Bhal,svaPuzna A tnanshoJld nol nedale o' nor FIudra,!2 take the name oi Rudrawilhoulhimsellbecoming be' w of Budra(bymuttefng the "garland" the god'snames) thoLri'4r ng becom Rudra Rud withoul nor Fiudra; wi I he atlain coming The dcl ol worsLip s neanl lo lacillarea o'ecl rn'red'dle Lly. knowstheorelica namely enceoiwhal lhe sadhakaalready exDer (lhe latterpreferably ihe lem nine formof in lhal iva and isvara lormslhrough the one,being complemenlary are sakti) in essence op_ in the fieldof lhe pairs_ol manitest becomes wh ch Brahman his devala confronts sadhaka posites, the crealedworld.The lmageor or eitherot an external in which s represenled ihe Jorm yel planeand in the staleof duallsm. he vision, the on an inlerior ol one The actrvily as two is actually krows that what appears ol to the perlectrealization this mys_ then eads sell-surrender natureof the indivdua sovereignt oi tery.Surrender lhe illusory into a seruanl @esa)oI Ihe d vinlty and ihis lra;sformshim then reveas lo h m hrs own state.when broughtto pedection, as the deity itself The fervorol daLy Iundamenlasovereignty na_ divrne lhe yogathus awakens hidden lhfoughbhakti worship beatitude divlneecslatic fPrema/supervenes ture in rnan,and S foLowng the momeniot pedectparticipation rniarly'the son parabe of the MahAyana' man, in lhe above_ciled the weallhy without know ng l, served hrs Budclhisl Sadharmapundarika, in gradually was advanced hls estale,and as a servant, lalher lhe that he was himsell son and heir camelo realize evenlually lhe himsell indeed, to masler. entrlled all his possessions; of the ol altef-ego his lord4q nch man,lhe ov oi B,l lne le< a.d graoes servce are governed lhe sprl_ of devoteeThis is a basicprinciple al Inot rtualcharacter the wilh rajas endowed The personalily training d an psychological

(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 pasu as respectively, vita,lhehero. thesethreelypesare known, the godlke. lumr_ anrmalolthe herd,and d/vya, the dark wi1led p and It rsnoteworthy, peftaps asymptomolKsatrlya rovenrence is givento lhe s that n the c assiaTdntricAgamasthe emphas Accordng lo the idealand vira. the man ol rajasicdisposilion. by ralaswas to be subdued sattva,all lhe way ol the Vedanta. principle ihe perleclrnrrror ol discplnes be ng foundedon lhe was acnleved the realizalron victory pond. bLrtn theclassicTanlrlc were challengeddl_ by way oi the passons lhemselves:they by sialllon a knrghtThe as and ridden a meillesorne rectly faced. pasu,the pedeslrianlhe man ol Jivegoodlhrnqslwhichtor the pre vehrcles becamethe eminenl onlydanger, the herd.represent of in theworship Sakti.' The oi attainment. lve essentialelemenls to lhe MahenivenaTantrastales,"havebeen prescribed be wlne. oi manwithwomanThe grain, andthe unlon meat. lrsh. parched ol ,,"rcrshlp Saktiwrlhout is lheselive elements bul lhe practice ol power or injures destroys);the a -"vI magc ( abh;cara: rtua thal lherebyand is thal is lhe objeclof lhe discipLine neveraitained everystep As seedsownon bar_ at obstaclesare encounlered ren rocksdoes nol germnate,so worship (Pula/wilhoulthese are Thesestatements quoled n ll'le is fiveelernenls lru tless."45 his Sakti,pronouncedn the inner texl as lhe words 01 Siva to chamberol lheir divinelyblissfulabode,on the summf ol the Kailasa, sacred mountain Hinduol today hownor Neilherlhe sarntly the gentlemanly the viewlnstead, atlltuoe heroic ol ever. lhe boldness lhis tavors iorall,lhatnamely is recommended forrnerly tothe Pasu assigned of worshiping lile lorce (sakl, not as the B.ide but as the lhe to like Molher. and thus submitting, a child, a sorl ol sacramenlal to "The atlrtude a hero,"'said Rarmakrishna one ol castration. oi Ghosh,a suc' lhe mostworldlyol his devotees, GirishChandra "StarThealre: cessful ol and dramalLst lhe director the Calculla ''The not good. Some peoplecherishit atttude ol a, hero'is

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Theyregard themselves Purusa as and womanas Prakrlj; they wantto propitiale woman lhroughtheirintercourse her.But with this method oltencausesdisasler." GIRISH:'At limelloo cherished ideal, one that gazed Girish Sri Ramakrishna pensivety,silence. at in GIRISH: stillhavethal twistin my mind. "l Tellme what I should do." RAI,4AKRISHNA (lotlowing moment silen! a ol consideration): "GiveGod yourpowerolattorney, Himdo whatever tjkes. Let He Abruplly, conversation thenlurnedlo a discussion the was oi you Ramakrishna's nger devotees. RA\,IAKBlSHNA Citishand theresil "in rredilar,on tto I see theinnertraitsofthese youngsters.They nolhought have oi acqurring houseand property. Theydo not crave sex pleasure. Thoseol the youngsters are married not sleepwithlheir who do wives-The truthis thatunless manhasgor ridof rajasand has a acqurred sattva, cannolsteadily he dwellin God;he cannottove Godand realize Him." GIRISH: have "You blessed me." RAMAKRTSHNA: is that? | saidthal you woutd "How s!cceedif youwerestncere-" Belore Girish couldrespond, Bamakrishna Sri cried, wilha shoutot joy,"Anandamayi andthe company !" sawhim-as lhey had beheJd manylimesbefore-pass abruptly him from normal consciousness thelrance to state divine of (samedhi). absotption Heremained abstracted some for y time, presen moved, but and soon.was backagain, participaling lhe conversavivaciously in Oneof his"youngslers" inquired, a rormer had on occasron: "lsn'tii lruelhatlhe Tantra prescribes spiritual discipline the in company women?" ol "That," l\,4aster replied, nol desirable. is a very the "is had lt d ii cult palhand oflencauses aspiranfs the downlallThereare three suchkinds discipline. mayregard ot One woman oie's as

or as or mistress lookon oneselt her handmaid' as herchild l look as as lookon woman mYmolher.To ononeselJ her handmaid disc_ spiritual diflicult practice lo s alsogood;but lt ls extremely r onese as To pline on as looking woman one's.mislressregard pureallitude."a/ herchild is a verv "Sakti alone is the rootol lhe occasion: And on anoiher vidyaandav dya has Energy lwo aspects: ThatPrimal universe. 'whichcasts and up Avidya conjures woman gold deludes. Avidyar wisdom'and love' kindness, the spell.Vidy:tbegelsdevotion, propitiated, thai and mustbe avidya lead one io God.This which ol ol is the ouroose thierlies Saktiwotship variousallitudesloward Sakli n "The devoteeassumes a d' propitiale attitude a handma a hero,'or ol Her:lhe orderio a please even a manpLeases as Her is attilude to A ch1ld. hero's Intercourse. woman lhrough .The worshipol Sakti is extremely difficult lt is no ioke l of andcompanion the Divine lwo oassed vea;sas lhe handmind been that of a child has always attilude Bul I\,4other. my nalural ol the I regard breasts anywomanas thoseol towardils mot_her. ol images allof them,theverilable Woman ale, myownmother. Sakli."a3 are oi varielles sadhana three TanficAgamas ln theclassic Thal of the "fivegood temperaments lor orescribed the various lhem,is lor the vira Butforthe we thinos]as havedescribed " "five bidden for things Andso theterm pasi,these stilllhe are waler' in his caseto meancoconul (madya)s inlerpreted "wine" s " s u b s t i t u t i o n a lu b s t a n c e m i l k .o r s o m eo t h e ri n d i c a t e d he instead "meat" (memsa), par of (anukatpataltva). Similarly, ano ln_ ginger, sall' sesamum, or garllc' lakes wheat-beans, ol masur(a rcd steadoi "fish" (mastya),lot ftdish, red sesamum, (anaquatrc and grain), white vegetable, paniphala binjal kindol the planl). grain"(mudr4in thelormo{ rice' wheat,paddy, "Parched submissicn childlike ol etc., permilied, instead maithuna, is but LotusFeet4e l\4other's the is recommended belore Divine 'land 's saltvaontheolhet ol Thed vya. god.man ouresl the sadnana saJe-and-sane iar.iar bevond bolhthe "substitutional,"

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ol lhe prous arnb,bul also beyond learless, lhe chivalric exper encesof lhe hero.For h m no external imageor sacramenl whal soevers required. Hence, the rereadrng the"tivegoodthings in ol as pfescrbed for lhe divya," w ne' (maCya)ts any iqu d, bu1 not lhat nloxcaling knowiedge acquired yoga ot lhe Parabrahman by whrchrnders worshtper the senseless regards as the external urofld Meal fmamsalis anyfteshtything, theactwhereby noi bul lhe sadhaka consigns hrs actsto t\te rmm).lhal s, 1heLord al (lhis.of course,is a pun)_ Fish' fmatsyalis lhat sallvicknowtedgeby whichihrough senseot mrneness a ptayupof the the ( word malsya) worshiper lhe sympathizes the pteasure wilh and p a n o i a l b e i n g s . u d r e i s l h ea c l o i r e I n q u h n g a I a s s o c M s a lionw lh evi whichresullsn bondage. e cotion (maithuna) Wh s the Lrn of the SakliKundattni, InnerwornanandWor d, on the lorce n lhe lowesicenter (mihdhan caka) ol the sadhaka s own body wilh the supremeSiva in the higheslc entet (sahasran) in his upperbrain.5c For.rr'hereas pasuor viradevotee lhe practrc bhirlasuddh ng ol {lhe rtual purrficaiion the elements the bodv in oreoaralron of I o rd a . ' o l o u a , i s t c o r s - p ) ' rh a s t o , m a q , n e r - e o . l . , y r . g w ascenl of the KLlndalini through cenlersor lotuses/cakras. the padmas,of the susumna, divya, the adeplin the exercses ol lhe Tanlrc Kundaini Yoga, actually bringslh s psychosomalic rarn c eto pass.Asanaand mudra(properseal pralnavama and posture). (conlrol the breath), ol dhyanaand mantra(inlerior visuatizatton and the concentrated recitalion cerlain,,seed', of soundsand lor, mulae),lollowing longand severe pretiminary a training physr_ rn cal and emolronalsell-purification, actuallv a ohvsical lead to e t l e c w L . h ' s o e s c b e oa s t h a( h a - n e ' n g l a l r t n e - e , 9 r e o t r o e s lhe bodyinloa subtlechannelup the interor ol the sp ne lsusumna ). l^ t_,s casA lhe se oi t-e serpenlpower' \\unddttnttana owaLe'1 ol lhe loluses tpddmas)does.ol -avelo oe,maqno I ed. rl aclLdllycomes lo pass. Ano when the 5xth center:s allained-the "Lotusol Command"/a/ral betweenlheeyebrows lFe I ord lisvara',sactua,ly seen,not stmplyt.nagined. lhe ano beholder is complelely lost in savikalpa s:lmadhi-comrnunion w th lhe Erahman"wlth limilations" (savikalpa),where the distrnclon belween the subject and the personat God is retained.52

Whereas the momenllhe ris ng lorce lhen enlerslhe ultimale sahasrara), lotus lhousand-petalled atthecrownotthe head(1he where Siva and Saktiare one, the knowledgeol duaily is in transcended, lhe staleof theyogibecomes and sheerexperience samadh: reaizationof the dentityoi Atman lhal ol nirvikalpa 'beyonda I imilations" (nirvikalpa), where balJ.' wilh lhe Brahman 5l d_d rs I rgreglobleclare a4nlrlldle Ihe suo-ecl is "Thereis one simpe lesl wheiher Sakli (= kundalini) lhe Whensheis afoused Woodrotte. arousedl'wriles SirJohn acluaily a intense heatis ie t at lhal spot,but whenshe leaves particular lileless as as lhe center partso leftbecomes coldand apparenlly vefified upwads mayihus be exlernally a corpse, The progress the has reached upperbraLn Whenthe Sakli(Power) by olhers. exceptthe the fgahasrara) whole body is cold and corpseiikei top ol the skul , whefesomewarmlh s Jell,lhis beingthe place 5r unite. of wherelhe staticand kinelicaspects Consciousness .Somelimes the Spirilual currentrises lhroughthe splne, lold a circleol his ntimale crawing like an anl,"Ramakrishna the in ff ends."Sometirnes, samaldhi, soul swimsjoyfully in the when I lie down lke ecstasy, a lish.Somelimes, oceanoi divrne pushing me ike a monkey on rnysrde,I feeltheSp rilualcurfenl and playingwilh me loyfuly,I remainssli L That currenl,like a is the withonelump reaches Sahasrara.That monkev. suddenly you see me jump up with a stari. why "Sometimes, riseslikea birdhop_ Current again,lhe Spirilual placewhereil restsfeels p ng lrom one branchto anolher.The to like iire. lt mav hop lrom MirlZldhara svadhsthana. lrom graduallylothe head.Some' heart, andthus SvadhsthAnaiolhe timesthe spiritua Current movesup llke a snake.Go ng in a the zigzagway,at lastit reaches headand lgo nto samadhl. is "A man'sspirilual consciousness not awakenedun ess his ln dwells the [4irladhara.When is Kundalinl Kundallni aroused.The nerve,goes lhrough rl is aroused. passesalongthe Susumna it and so on, andal lasl reaches ManipJra, lhe cenlercotSvadisihana, the of This is called movement lhe Mahavayu, Spir lhe lhe head. ilualCurenl. lt cu mlnatesn samadhi.

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Tant.aand Nifvan Fromlhe Lolusol Thy lear-scallering FeetflashThy love'slightening; ThySp nt Faceshines lorthwilhlaughierlerrble and loud.57 3 A the cods within Us N THE Ja na and kindred teachings, maller s descrbed as of an nert and lelessaajiva) character. ruthless The asceticism ph (the 'gymnosophists" aslounded who oJlhe "naked losophers" Alexanders to fromtheirresolulion be Greeks) owedlogically lo steri zedol thisdeadmaterialandthus rendered oristine oure. Likeballoons leaving earlhbelow-lhe l!minous, and perlecl. lhe and stratospheric earth, ts almosphere, evenlhe ultimale envelope-their lile'monads wereleaving beneath them, trailby kail, the universal bandages lileless"life"As we have seen, lhe ol yogicpointol viewwas dualistic, forcern Indiaoi thatpre'Aryan, monism lhe Brahmans oi inally so grealthal evenlhe exuberant nlluence. submitledto ils lile-searing Gladually, vigorous the worlda aiiirmation lhe Vedicperiodunderwent slrangely oi contradiclory change, I, in whalis generally unl regarded the suprerne as nondualstlc deslgnalion Brahman oi as sat, cit, ananda\"pwe be ng,conscioLrsnes, bliss," and absoluielyninvo u lvedin lhe bondage, ignorance, misery the worldillusion) yogicprinciand oi the ple won its most impressrve triumph. For although is true that il jaina,and Yogaidealof the "isolationinstead the pre-Aryan, ol 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 nondualrelhis union,this recognition an identity ol which in realityhad never been fodeited. was undersloodas being synonymous with a refutalion ol lhe lalse nolion ol lhe exislence o{ a cosmos: a 'Thalwhich dissolulicn due olthe "superimpositi6n" to "ignorance". is untouched the sixlold wave fol decayand death,hunger by grietanddelusionl, andthirst, medilated hea uponby lhe yogi's but not grasped the sense'organs, whichthe tacullyol inluiby tlon fbuddhi)cannol know,and which is laullless (anavadyam)l

"One's spiritual consciousness nol awakened the mere is by readingofbooks.Oneshould praylo God.TheKundaliniis aroused if the aspiranl teels reslless lor God. To lalk ol knowledgeJrom merestudyand hearsay !What willlhal accomplish ? "Justbeforemy attaining this slateof mind,it had been reis vealedto me how the Kundalilnl aroused, how the lotuses ol the dilterenl cenlers blossom forth.and howall thisculmnalesin samadhi. This is a very secret experience.saw a boy twentyI yearsold,exacllyresembling two or tweniy-three me, enlerlhe Susumnanerveand communewilh ihe iotuses, touchingthem with hs tongue.He beganwilh the cenlerai lhe a minusand passed through centers the sexualorgans, the ol navel,and so on. The differenl loluses of lhose cenlers-fourpetalled, s x petalled,and so Jorlh-had beendrooping. his touchtheystood At erect. ''Whenhe reached lhe hearl-ldislinctly remember it-and communedwiththe lotuslhere,touching with his tongue,lhe il twelve-pelalled lotus,which was hanginqhead down, stood erect andopenedits Petals.Then cameio the sixleen,petalled he lotus in the throaland the two,petalled lotusin the throaland the twopetalledotus n the forehead_ lastoJall,the And lhousand-petalled in the head blossomed. lotLrs Sincelhen I havebeen in lhis state."' "Waken, IVotherl" O wroteBamprasad, Kundalnl, "O whose natureis BlissEternaLlThou lhe serpent art coiledin s eep, n the lotusol the Muladharal"s6 "ln dense darkness, l\rother," O runs anotherwonderfulsona, "Thylorrnless beautysparkles': In dense darkness, Mother, O Thy formlessbeaulysparkles;Therefore yogismedilate a dark mountarn the in cave. Inthe lap ot boundless dark,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 ?

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u t h a tB r a h m a n r t l h o u m e d i t a t e p o n l h i s n t h y m n d . " s e T h e a saTne,bas c asceticallitudeol reieclon asthalwhrch n lhe pre Aryanpaslhassundered humanexperenceintothe spheres was now discriminating sams,lra and belween ol ajlvaand ilva, ("$/ilhoul wdh whi e str vingfor denlification remalndef') nirvana, lhe un mp caled lerm. in And yel, on lhe olher hand,lher I ourishes Inda, srdeby oj all s de wilh lhrs attitude negalon, a vigorous rmaton ot lhe worldol i ux and trme,wh ch is jusl as iearlessand absolute.n ol its own way,as lhe unflnchrng sell-transcendence lhe yogis n thal and the greal humaneftort, ookingerlherway, seems of a waysto havebeento breakthe al loo humanI mrtations the rnlndby rneansof "inhuman" iechnq!es. The ldealsand d scr p Inesof lhe castes sl are inhuman" human 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), secularinitiale inspired a challenge the is to and wh on ol assirnilal ot lhe lmmareniaspect absoluleBeing, ch is eliorl, n the penilenno ess audacrous lhan the correspondlng liai groves, to assimilatethe transcendenl m did The Brahman nd, in otherwords, not captulateunconca The d tionaiy to the pr nc ple of world rejeclion. psychophys problerns posedby the Vedicmonistph losophylhat matured ol are dur ng the period lhe Upanisads as opento wor d'assertrve nd as lo negating es.Themoreamplydocurnented an philo repl by sophical tendency, the one lirstencountered lhe Western and in oi and scholars wasthatrepresented lhe schoois theVedarnta ot Hinayana but rn recenlyears lhe powerand profundily the and th Tdnlricsystemhavebegunto be appreciated, therew has of been laci taied a new underslanding Indan lfe and art. In' had rl beenlolrndthat deed. one cou d onlyhavebeenamazed hislory sole nle ec the n the rnost durable ization civ known 10 "Al ls Brahrnan' had ben thal lo llal response sucha d ctumas as' lor lhe Lrnmantlesl of of a monaslc renuncralion the manilesl

pectof the metaphysicai equation. Had we not learnedwhatwe now know ol the philosophy the Tantrlc of we Ag:rmas; shoud have had to positsomesuchtradition; as the ndian centufor ries opentheirsecrels us we become lo moreand moTe awareol the powerofsometh ngverydifferentlrom sublimaled an the me cho y of the monks,in lhe lile ovi.g Hinduconlemp ationol the delcac es ol the world of nameand form.In the majestic scr]lptura renderng of SivaTrimirrtiat Elephanta,se lhe now we iin known South Indian bronzes of the Dancing Siva,60in the phantasmagor "foamand m st" styleol the greaimaslerpieces c of Bhaja,Mamallapuranr, E|)ra,61 wel as in the Indan and as phenomenon aeslhetrc whichJhaveelsewhere descrbed as that ng of "expand iorm,62a stupendous dionysian atfirmation the ol dynamism the phenomena spectacies rendered, ch ai of wh onceaff rrnsand lranscends apprehended the trailsof the indi vidualand his cosmos. Prakrl hetsel lnatun naturans, lhe nol merelyvis b e s!rface oi thrngs)s hereporlrayed with no re' sistance her charrn as She gives blrthto the oceansof ihe to worlds. Indivdua s-mere waves,meremoments, the rap dly in tlowing, unendng torrenlof ephemeral lorms-are tanglbly present; bul theiriangibilty rtsei is s mplya geslure, affectionaleash an f oi expression lhe olherwise sible countenance lhe Godon nv of whose play f/i/al is the universeof her own beauiy. dess l\,4o1her ln this dionysian on lhe indvidua is at once devaluated vis and rendered vine,maleclic d withthe maiesty Naturehersell oj and rnyslically shellered ihe very maelstfomoi the world. in Such a view, obviously, nol tl for all. li can appea lo s only cerlarntypes and tastes: the ar slocral ior example, c, or the art st c, andth6 ecstatic. intellectua An lemperament , though perhaps appreciatve the torrential oi magniludeot such a vision,willremain, necessar somewhat ly, cool,relusng 10respond to it with the whole personalty. That is why thrs vrew though certanly perennia n lndia-s ess well docurnented ilerain ture,lheology, ph losophylhan lheworks otart.The lexls in and are lrorllthe handsol inielectuals, nalure endowed forthe by abslract realzationsof the way of disembodied thoughl f/tena yoga);bul lhe art workshavepouredirom lhe handsol cralls-

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rais-all the and a ristoc by men commissioned weallhymerchants per_ heroesof the Goddess; or chi dren.lhe servanls, the willing yet lnlr' sons respectiul her morethoughttul oi haps proloundlv andwon boons, all aware, ihe time, thalthereare riches, rnalelv thatShe holdsin storeonlytor those insights drousparadoxical dedF haughty discrlminators, wholrulydoteon Het andwhichlhe can One-wiihoul-a-second, nevershare cated lo lhe transcendental ihe Throughout known historyoi lndia these two poinlsol view have operated in a dialecticprocess ot antagonisticcoop of c eralion bringto passihe majesi evolullon art, philosophy, to and iteraryiorms, political, economic, social, rtualand religron, By whlch we knowtoday as the miracle ol Indian civllization on ol lhe world_affirmal lt an.l large, canbe sa d that the nondual has and wilh VedicBrdhmans, itswiderswing grealerdepth, been To lhe development. to contributor and viclorlous the dominant khya oi jaina_San stamp dualism isllc,ldealistlc the pluralistic'rea and provocalveroe By we can ascribe only a preliminary In ot lechnique phi osophlzing paravirtueof a blood andvlgours unilyoi lerms and lhe essentiaj doxes,continually.estabiishing the appearlobe antagonistic, ferlie lhatwouldlogically spheres tused,and brought logether, Lrnfailingly Brahmanism thoughto{ to whichwerethenallowed the transcended pairs-of-opposiles, play;Brah manic dialecUcal proceed againfromeacholherln a brilliant ol and counterpart expression the thoughlbeingthe philosophic lite-processitseli, a refleclionin conceplual terms ol the dynamrsn pd'adoxo ogy ol ltles unceasinq in transformed alivingbody Food,ilesh,and bloodbecome lhoughl, and lnspiration-These feelings, emotions, inlo mpulses, Thenthe decomposi_ and inturn condition moveihebodilvframe it i on oi the samebodyalterdealhconverts intothe leemingliie Thereis a conwhichagain is Jood. oi worms and vegetation, ol an tinuous circuitof metabolism, 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 his the rnaleand transforms seedinlotheircommonoffspringa

of newlormalion theirsubstance. isthemiracle the enigma, Slch ot Sakti. Hers, N/aya therefore, an eroticlife-philosophy, is precisely and the opposite exactcomplimenl lhe slerilizing, of stern,sub, thinking theJaina-Sankhya of lme, ascetic schools. The concernol the latteris lo divide,to cleanse oi each other,andfinallyto separate iorever, lite-principle, the which rs Incorporeal, the principle bothgrossand subtle matter, and of is which liie-conditioning, life-slaining -obscuring.thelong and In of course Indian thought, sternascetic this attitude beenable has lo celebraleils moments viclorv, ol and lhesemomentshave contributed immeasurably ihe recolouring lo and renovation of Indan life.Butthat life itself,in accordance its own innate with principle lransJormalion, theninevitably dialeciic of has broughl to passa new miracle absorption, of assimilaiion, restaieand menl: timeandtirneagain,great, vigorous, tropical India has adopted the sublimeway ot slerilization, way supremely the represented lhe teachings the Buddha in of and in Sankara's Vedanta; always bui the powers and wisdom the erotic-paraof doxical monism life-and ofthe Brahman ol understandino-has again successtully reasserted ,orce. its Brahman, sakli,the force-substance Indiannondual phiof losophy, the principle enters, peruades, animates is lhat and the panorama and evolutions nature, as the samelime is ihe of but animated pervaded, and enlered fieldor matter nature 1tsell of (prakrli,nalura ,'aturars);thus both inhabitsandisthe maniil fesleduniverse all its forms.As lhe unceasing and dynamisrn of the lransiiory sphereof becoming withering and away, livesin it growth, dissolution. a I thechanges birth, of and But, simultaneously, remote it is fromthis sphere change; oJ lor in ils quiescent, dormanttranscendent aspecl il knowsno phases and is detached formboththe livingand the dead.The names ascribed it are concessions the human to to mind. This m nd, however, being itselfol the essence the unutterable, ot may be louchedto Sell-recollection properly by hearing one or anoiherof the tinallyinadequate names. The nameBrahman, saccidananda Brahman, misleading; il suggests lhe is lor that Iranscendenlls.The narne Vacuity, Sinyata,the Void,is mis-

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leading that the lranscendentls not Perajso;tor it suggests and the haps,though, hner is the lessmisleading theretore lhe it does falherlhan delinsuggest lranscendence, betterterm;for Neverlheless, difference nolseriously the is worth ableexistence, anargumenl- a clue As ealherterm willserve. whereas notpropil neithermeans thing. erly underslood a phjlosophyrod p ucedhs laslsynthesizing Bnihman stalement in the courageous esolericisnol the Tankasand in the Tanlric l,lah?ryana laltersurviving (the lodayin the snow,ctad summits and highdalesofTibet), wheretheoldAryanlrenzyfor non-dual, ismandthe paradox, rever ,o asserting unityof incompatibles, ihe lruitlully combined wiih its own incompalible-the archaicmatri" lineal world-leeling aboriginal of lhe civilizalion India. of What the Vedicsageshad recognized the heavens the macrocosm, in of the Tantric adepltell dwelling bodilywilhinhimself, the microin cosm,and he naned it, also,"God." Hence, whereas memthe bersoi the Brahman caslein Vedictames coniured hoty had the of the Wwet (tuahman) means publicsacrilices, Tdntricdevotee, W ol whatever personal caste,by rneans the simple,essentially of ritualsof the circlesof Tiankicinitiates, sacriliced own ego his power andthereby coniured holy the fsaklrolhjsownphenomenality inlo manifestation his lile.Thegoodsservedby the BrAhmans in hadbeen those oflhe community;the worshiped theTantrist god by was hasown, his ista-devatA, chosenbeloved-whichVel his wasidenricalin essence whatever wasanwhereadored; with deaty tor "lt is onlya food,"slatesthe Sammohana lenlra,.Who sees any difference belweenRama and Siva.'63 eligibility the The ol Erahman serveand conjurethe gods of.ihe communilv to had rested the highrankol hiscaslein thatcomm,rnitv, In wh;reas the eligibility theTentric of devotee reposed the ripeness in olhls mrnd powe.of and experience.'The Brahman is a descendwho ent of a Rsi,or holysage," readin lhe Satapalha we Brehmana, ''isallthegodsl's "l amlhe Deviand noneother." thinks theTantric devotee- am Brehoan "l whois beyond allgriel. lam a formot Saccidananda whosetruenalure eternal is Liberation-"65 The ideaof the godhood lhe individual thusdemocraof is lrzedin theTantra, becauseunderstood psychologically instead

As oJ sociopolitically. a result, the entire context o{ the plblic The rites and religiosityol Indian laith has been reinterpreted. conlemporaryIndiaexhibitin everytraitthe proloundinlluenceol thisTankic view;indeed,they have ben torcnturiesmoreTanlric 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 is who cried oul toYahweh:"What 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, lranscnds 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 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 ppSupra, 534.535. Itanslatod with an introduceby The Gospet of Si RArDakl,shta, NewYo*, 1942,p.858 SwamiNikhilananda, /b.,p. 284. p.439. Conlrastsupra, (cit),and Aliss (Anada) as Brahman Being(sst),Consciousnes Cl. suua,p.425. The Gospelot Sri Befiakishna, pP-343'346. cf. as Known mayathe Vedanta; supta,pp.425'427SaKi isYum icon;ct. supta,pp.556-559. ot theYab-Yum in Thisideaottheplay fiile)ol the Godheed lh6 tormsotthe world ol viewand is lhe Hinducounlerparl to is fundamental thTantric ( Mahbsukha supra,p. 554). the Mahayana-Buddhist pp. TheGospelolS Remakishna, 133-135.

9 10 For an accountol the idsals and hisloryol lhe BrahmoSamaj Rov)' sse Swimi (toundedin 1828 by Ririi Rammohan ol n introductiolo TheGospal S Rama-l'rishna,pp Nikhilananda's was Devendranalh ligurin the movemonl 40-42.A distinguished Prizepoel,SirRabindranalh (1 lathsr lhe Nobel ol Tagore 817-1905),

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and NiNan Tantra pp26 TaiftitiyaBAhmana2.8.8; cl. s.rpla, 345'347 2 7 Cl. supa, pp. 447-455. 2A Ct. suDra,o.52. p.459. 29 Cl. supra, op. 3 0 cited by Woodrolle, cil., p.593. op. 3 1 woodrotte, cil., pp.l587-588.

91

(186i- 941). 1
1 1 /0.,pp. 135-139 {witha,ew brietmtssions).

The Agamas (T:rntdc writings) divjded a,r inlo five main groups accordingto the personification cehbratd: Snrya{tho sun god), Ganesa('Lordoflhe Hosls,'the eteohant-headed sonofsiva, who is the Indiancounlepart Hermes. of breaker lhe wav and ouide ot of rhesul).Sakli. Siva, Visnua!etastthreebeinotoO"u6ut", and the mosr rmporrant. ic prin,oiesand Tant! practices hiuu OJ"nup. pliedalsotothewo|shap theMah4ila ot Auddhas Bodhisa[vasi and th Yab-Yllm synbolish is Tanlric. For a discussion bolhoflhisdevetopment ofths symbotism and of lhe Goddess, cl. Zimmef,MythsatuS@bols tndianA and CivL in lizalion p. 9O-1O2 lSgfli atso l)e Kingand rhe Colpse parl l , and 'The Romance of lhe Goddess.' The Gospel of Sn Remkishna. e 116. 1 5 KularanavaTantra, citedby JohflWoodrotfe, and Shakta, Sir Shaktj 3rd edition,Madtas and London,1929, p.7. /0.,p.8. Forlhelrm sasfa cf. sr,?,?, p.36. '17 Dhesh Chandra Sen, History Belgatt ot Language I itczture. an(! C a l c u n a .9 1 1o . 7 r 4 . 1 . 1 8 supla,p. | 561 cf. E-J-Thompson,poet the peoote;'TheLon_ X ot ctonOuanenyPeview, CXXX, $ies,XVtUuty_October. Fiftf 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 denoles mystichand lhe postures ptaysuch an that importantrolein Indianritualandad. asth ontvmeanino This ot the word giv6nin ths Sanskrit dioonaries. read.t"**"i We ," the YoginiTanta l9h.V l): "F iedpaddy lhe tike,in tact atl and such lcereals]as arechewe&--are Mudre'(citedby Woodrofie, clted op.cil., p. 571). 23 Cl. Supra, pp. 554-5559. 24 GandharvaTantE 2i Woodrotfe, cit., S3B. ol p. Tantta1)Woodlolle, cit.,p.493. op. 25 Yogini Fof the lerm as/a/ra,cl. supra,pp.155.j60.

Om Dhamedhatma-havirdipb etmegnan manasa stuca Susumnevadmanenityam aksvrtUr iuhomyaham: Svehe op. (Tantraasera Woodrotf, cit.,p.559.) 698; Iho (Sir 33. Ct.ArthurAvalon JohnWoodroffe), setprtpowe(3td te' 1931,p 120 visededilion,Mards and London, of is ol 3 4 An example ryasa in Ch slianwoGhip the making lhe sign ("in lirsi lhe forohead lhs nameol the Faof th cross,louching ('andol leftshoulder lhel), thenthe breast("andolthe Son"),lho th6 ('Ghosf), andfinallybringing palms ight shoulder the Holy.'), known th Hindusasari./?i,' to ofsalulalion tocelherinlheoosition w;ich is the cl;ssic christianmudraof prayor('Amen"). 2 by olTantaleditd ArthurAvalon, ol Theaulhors The Ptittciples lhe haveaptliciled (pp.lxxnlxxiD tol' vols.,Londor,1914-1916), Church, ol lowingslalemenlfromthe Council Tr6nt"TheCalholic wilh thhspend richwithths expeienceof ths agesandclothed mysticbnediction or, hasintroducd fnart E),incise(dtrpa), waler padya,dc.),lighls (dipa),blls (gharl4, ffowo|s (puspa) @canan4 in of and veslmeols, all the magnificnce ils cermonies ordsrlo ot lo excitelhe spiil ol religion the contemplalion lhe prolound is the As lhoy mysterieswhich revaal. are ilsfaithtul, Church com_ posedol both body (deha)and soul (atmar). lt lhrfor renderc to lhe Lord 0svara)a doublg worship,exteior fuehya'pniA)and prayer/ (vadana)otthe inlenot henasa-pij ,the lanerbeingthe ol laithtul, breviary ils piesl, andthe voiceol Him everinler_ the molions the litof cedinoin our fevef,andthe tormrthe outward otTantta ol by urgy.'lfnlerpolations authots TheP nciptes ) ol As lo the hrsloicalrelationship the chrislian lo lhTantic service, yet mattr lo be invesligatd. thatis a delicale p. The Maltas,1927, 109, Cited AdhufAvafon, GreatLibealion, bv

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Famayana Yoga-vasislha, ih.). ( 36 Vasisrha ciled 37 Rudrais lhe violnl, world-destructive aspoctof Siva. (A\alon 38 Bhavisya Purena. ciles,in Ir ArcalLibenUan somewhal ctosety, AgniPunna.). 41 Saddharma-punddkacl. supra, 508-509. 4; pp. 42 MaheniruenaTantta5. 22-24. (Transtation Avaton, The Grcat by Liberation, pp. A9-9O1. 43 The Gospelot Si Remakishna,p.682. tb.,p. 123. 4 5 /b.,p. 116. 47 Woodtotte,Shaktiahd Shakta, 569-570. pp. Nilamani MukhyopadhyayPancatattva-vican. a5:Woodrotte, a, p. Shaktiand Shekta,p. 567. Olher sublimalsdreadingsot the pahcatatva apearin othrtens; cl. Woodrofle, 495-500, pp. 568569. Ct. supfa,pp. 584-585. pp. Cl. supra, 435-436. pp. Cl. supra, 436.437.

Chapter-4

of Metaphysics Tantra

48 49

50 5l Avalon, Ihe Serpent pp.21-22. Powet, 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, fig.33. and 57 /b.,pp. 151-175, fig.38. and pp.53-54, 58 /b., 117-121,187-188,andtigs. 1,27,28,55,59,and 60. 59 /b.,pp. 130-136. 60 SamnohanaTantn9;Woodfoffe, p. Shakl/ard Shakla, 53. 61 Satapatha BrAhmana 12.4.4.6. p. 62 Woodrofle,Shakti and ShAkta, A1.

Chapter-4

A. Tanlra Schootsi Tanlra morea Sedhanasystem is lhana merephilosophical dascourse. a process identilication one'sown potential ll's of of andactualpowers bodymind of complex.To aware lhe power bg of or the realization poweris priorto its deification. gives of Tantra bothnamely, processot the awareness powers alsomethod ol and of its deification. Thethstportion covers metaphysics thesecondrefers ils while io SadhAna system.Any Sadhana systemis relatedwilh lhe concepiol God, Worid,individual selt elc., and as such, it is prjnciples. Tantric basedon somemelaphysical The systemhas its own metaphysics Sadhana and systefi. In courseol time ot its developmenl, Tantrahas developed different schoolsboth in metaphysics in Sadhane and aspecl. Saivism, Saktism Vaisnavism the majorschools Tantra and are of while Daksinacarra, Vemdcara, l\,,lisraelc., under Sadhana come its aspect. A newapproach benmadeherein thepresentation the has of schools,Datailsol diJtereni schoolshave ben deliberatelv left untouched itcan onlybe a lranslerol details as fromonesource to thislhesis.And secondly, details easilyavailable all the ar in booksrelaled wilhlhis notion. herewehavesimplypresented So thosedelailswhichare uselulfor therapeutic aspectonly. 1, Metaphysical Schools: Saivlsm, sAnbtn, Vaisnavism: Thesethree are lhe majorschoolsof Tanlrasystem, They alsocontain subjects il. Alliheseschools in and seclsdilleronly at apparent levelbutiheirgoalis th6same, thatis realization in or Tantra lerms,unfoldment innerpoteniial ot energy. Whatis the source creation, ol maantenance destruction and ol theworld? lt muslbe higherlhan eveMhingwhich makesthis

of Melaphysics Tantra

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Higher of the possible.Tantla accepted principle polarilylorthis has lite' in everybody termssystem The polesare,in Tanlra healilv. by menlioned the by be whilelhe lalercan removed theSadhana physical-menlal diseases, otlhe illustration removalol Forlhe Liberalron system. lhe we mayheremenlion viewof Pasupata selt the between individual andlhe place whenthe union takes yogasystem place.For this,lhe Paltanjala self universal lakes ot the has mentioned way o{ suppression the mentalmodificaor of a cause sorrow pain mind I onsby consioenng as systemyoga .reansconjunclorthePasupala UnlkeIhrs, to according For sell tionoi the individual wilhGod.4 ihisunion, but in as not prove hurdles union ii is an minddoes lirissvstem, rellectsits therapeulic whichunionis possible-sThis aidthrough leads manyabnorto modifications of mental value,Suppression or etc. likesplitpersonality While sublimatron posr' malproblems personalilyThis intointegrated regarding themresults tiveview in lollowers ils early by has be;n visualised the Pasupata lact ol conlribution the davswhichprovesas a dislincttherapeutic Tanira schools. Daksintciira and 2. gdhane Schootsof lanta: Vamdcitra, Misn: VemeceB: ol is Vamacera: a synonym lhe Kaulacara lt laysslresson ktmais notthegross (kama). Here (Artha)and desire theWeallh rool underlying cause but sexualdrive it isan inherent orohvsical one pleasuresBeings' and objects lor oi ;ll our carvings worldly desires lJnJulol the constilue;lsol mind,il is naluralto have Intolhe unconscuioLrs lie desires dotmanl lilted suppressed or of Jorm behavintodislorted resulls mindwhichmaysometirnes Tant redesires, of iour.By layingslress on lhe salislaction or lrom lhis lype oJabnormality all mental leasesthe Sadhaka distulbances. ihis who accepl wayol beinglree olTantra Thoseadherents and Jromthe bondsol desiresby lheir naiuralsatislaction slrll

persistin theireffortoJrvorking theirliberation knownas out are Kaulas. kaulas. Kaulas combine (Bhoga) enjoymenl withrenuncialion(Tyaga) hencelhey havea verypositive and and healthy regarding aPProach life. There twoclasses lhe kaubcara. purvakaula are in i1i and (2) Ullarakaula. The Purvakuala uphold the grossindulgence inlo5 M'swilhcerlain limitalions. Theybelieve that lhe 5 M's are allowed be oracticed to bv l.ose wno l.ave allained cerlarn level lhe sointual In devetoDment- reslareto remain The away frc,,t privilege.The this mind of a Purvakaula Sadhaka so pureihat thereis no possabilitv is oi js a anydownfall.This standard through which lheymeasure lhe height the attainmenl the purification Sddhaka. ol of of Unlikethe rvakaula Pu Sddhaka, Uflaftauata the Sadhaka does worship internally. externalaidneeded worship.Thjs No is practice lor strengthens power lhe ofconcentralion alsohelpsin cultivaland ngmentarpowers. The realrmport thisschoolis that,the remedy the poiot ol son is poison(Visam Visasya ausadham). Evenpoisoncan be ulllised remedy il is correctly as i, applied.This rellects lhing that itsell noteither goodor badbutit is ourou ookthatmakes is it so.This leadsus to inlerlhat the passions lhat bind the soul, alsocan be the aid for attainment lvloksa liberation. oivot or Bv i'g rherlluslrationpoison school ol this seems sLggest6al to lhe menialmodilication, whichgenerally considered poiare as son,as lheycreate sulfering b usedas the means altaincan oJ ingMoksa. Again,he is knowna 'Vira'or 'hero'because performs he praclice cremation ground Smasena on or Sadhana. cremaThe tion groundhas herea symbolic meaning. Ordinarijy cremalion ground a burning place corpses. Sedhaka is of The creales within hrmself cremalionground bumingout the deadcorpseot a lor desires orvasanas sothatthey nolagain may appearand lrouble To overcome these hurdlesis the hiddenkey to health all whichis provided bylhe kaulism whichretlecls itstherapeutic on

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Chaptar4

aspect. Daksitdcitft or SamaYadra i Arlhaorweallh system.As isa Sadhana DaksinarcarraVaisnava or Moksa libera_ goaloftheVamacara, are andkamaor desire the This schoolis largely of tion is lhe deslination the Daksinacara. ol basedon the Vedicpaththoughthe philosophy this schoolis NaEda Para6ara Samhita, Samhitir, Kumara in contained lheSanat are Agama texts.There hardand lasl rules and P?rncardtra olher grossutilization 5 M'sis strictly ot mentioned this systom.The by prohibited this system. in pervades every_ Reality to According thissystem,the Higher andlavourinlernal avoidexternalworships whereandhencelhey and the worship whichpurilies mindot a Sardhaka alsocullivates powers mind. of ihe inherent
Mishi

and o{ Thisschoolisa synthesis theVam?rcar theDakslnac?rra. is the ils way to overcome worldlypassions Likethe Vamarcatra, and gratifylhe senses by over indulgence then unique. They This il So renounce completely. this type ksownas Siva-Sakti. etc currents The or a maleJernale plus-minus also represents bul polaritv acceptable alsohasben inTanlra notonlyrationally is th Siva'Saktiassumes propiliated deity. The samepolarity as or Thereis no di{Jerence guiseol Visnu-Luxrniin Vaisnavism. the In or belweenSiva-Sakti Visnu'Laxmi. the Saiva no separalion placea whileln Salkiism, SaKi Sivaenioyspredominant schools, as Visnuis considered enioyslht stalusand in the Vaisnavism, the HigherReality. a. Ultimately RealitYand World ol as is Reatity considered thesource wo d wheel. Theultimate callsal and the Pasupata the SaivaSiddhanla A Saivaite school, it ln (Lord)and kdrana(cause) respectively theVaisnavism Pati sameHigher while as Parabrahman intheSaktism,lhe isaccepted have announced All Realityisknownas Saktiorenergy. schools elc intinile , withonevoice' unlimited, as eternal, Realily ultimale

ThisRealiiy alsoaccepted is bothas immanent the world and in transcendenltheworld. of The transcendental aspectof the ultimate Realitvis woF sh ppedby devolee whrle mandestation the tormol wortd, its in thai is its immanent aspect contains therapeutic the value_ Now let us see how it dealswithil. IntheKashmir Saivism intheSektism, nature and the ofthe ulirmate Realityis considered consciousness (cil)1.Hence. as conscrousness the synonym lhe Higher is of Reality. be_ And cause lhrs, ot being creation ihe Higher a ol Reajity, world also is a manileslation consciousness,The ot consciousness whichoervades world rhe alsoresides bodyin the lormoi p,ana lhe in o; viiaiforce.lhoughpranais onebutaccorging itstunction, is to tt classed live.Harmony into belween these tive-lold prdnaresults intohealthy body-mind whileignorance aboutit or disharmony ends physical-mental inlo diseases. Tantra acceptedthe has ideniical relalion between macrocosm themicrocosmorin and olherwords, ultimate Fleality lhe individual and self.lgnorance aboutthisfact creates spirilual diseases (pass)or sufferings whichcreate circlesof life,death. Thus,the concept the Ullimate ot Realilyin Tantra pjaysat macrocosmic levelin the formol element whileal microcosmic pervades body theform evelit the in ofvitaltorce orprdna.When the Ultimate Reality an elementrealized the macrocosmic as at level,Sadhaka teelspe.manent bliss. The sameteelinqs occur whentheoodily prana in harmony are whichresult heahhv intt lrody sound and mind. b. Individual self. TheUltirnate Realitywhich createstheworldhasnotcreated It witheltortbut it is justa playwhichin the Vaisnavism known is as Lila.The sameconcept reflected the saivaschool. the is in As Pasupala syslem, syslemdeclares, Ultimate possesses ihe Reality lfe qLalily playing its own sake.2 of tor (Svantaya Sukhayaj lrJs lhe worldjs norhirg lhe playot conscrousness. but The conscrousness causeol world process, onobutduelo or the is Ihfeereal,ihat is,Sattva, Rajas Tamas seems be manv.3 and it 1o

Metaphysics Tantra of

101

(Vaismyavaslha) takesplacewhenthedis equilibration Creation Reallakesplacein the Ultimate RaiasandTamas in the Sattva, ily o' ir Prak'li. oflhesethree dis-equilibration self lndividual is a resultotthe also ourbody conlains acrealion Prakrtiorenergy of Being reals. oi saliva, raiasand lamas as elemenls leals When the distakes placein lhe bodilysattva, rajasand tamas, equilibralion of conslituents Prakrti with related thelivegross whicharedirecllv Vata,Pittaand or ioancamahabhirta) in lhe termsof Ayurveda, limita_ whichbrings disorders into resLrlts physical-mental Kapha. complex. of tionson tho llexibility body_mind c.Libention: (pati)' Higher Beality deals Tanira metaphysics nolonlywiththe withhow (pasa) il alsodeals (pasu) bonds but and individualself limita_ mentaland also spirilual fromthe physical, to overcome to according the Saiva Liberation iionsor pasu,thal is liberation. is Siddhanla lhe endol the sorrow,D!hkhantaihe the havementioned wayol releasing AllTantricschools through onlymeans is Knowledgenotthe from individualself sorrow. overand abovethe Tanlra advocates is whlchliberation gained. pracgraceol godandlhe constanl of the knowledge, inevitability out forworking liberation. tiseol Sadhana of presenting metaphysical concept libertion, the Thus,by physical-mental diseases prescribes which removes therapy Tantra by can be removed lhe applicaThe former bonds. and spiritual there is a by ascribed the of renunciaiion tion ot the doclrine, form in the desires a distorted ior leastchance reappearing fromthe Daksina of Theyalsoacceplrenounciativondesires atlertheir gratificalaon are desires lo be renounced kaulism.The bestotthe twotypesol the kaulacarra. lhey mentally.Thus utilize mind-body outlook healthy This is alsoagaina way of culitvating value. and hencehas ampletherapeulic of the Thusby presenting wayo; worship lhe HigherReality' therapy throw lighlon the drugless theseschools

B.Tanth sedhane: lntroduction : Practice belterthan percept. is Mere speculation does not lead one lo the self realization. Tanhais a systmwhjchdeals withthe disciplinary aspect realjzatjon. us see howit deals oi Let withthesame. One ol the meanings Tantra sxpansion (Otan= to exol is pand).But expansion whai ? Onlycontracted of things can be expanded onlyseedcanbloom a huge or into tree. HereforTantra, it is an expansion ollhe innerpotenlialities whichis lyingdormant al the end of the spinalcord or the MiJladhara cakrawhichin js Tanlraterminology knownas the kundalinl sakti. The process of an awakening realizing or these potentialities lhe Sadhana is (Osadh aspectof Tanka. Sedhana slandslor activily exeftion or = to exert). in Sddhana. So has Sadhaka to follow lo do someor thing(kriyatmakam) achieving goal. for lhe prescribed lhe Indian Therearevarious waysot realjzation by wisdom. Likeothers, thisTantric ol reclization basedupon way is somepresuppositions, amonglhem the cardinal one is that,it accepts the physical placeand the body both as the residing instrument the realizalion Higher for of Reality.As lvleru the Tantra "Whatever hereis elseandwhatever nol hereis no declares, is is where". This leadsus to concluda identical the relationship belweenlhe macrocosm the microcosm, forTantra and So Shalstra, it is not necessary be losi or to roamintothe vastness lhe to of universe s:ldhaka realize nature concenhating but can his by on his own sell. Self resides intolhe body. for the realizalion former, So ot latershouldbe purified tirst. So the firstslep is the puritjcation of bodywhichcan be donewilhexternal aids andthe innerpurilication bodycanbedonelhoroughness of innerworship ormeditation. Howlo dothisorwhicharetheessentials Tantra of sadhana ? This can be asked. going thataspect glance Before to let overoneproblem which is lertundiscussed: whysadhana necessaryTantric i.e. is ? sedhanal

102

Chapter-4

cs Melaphys ol Tantra

t03

_ 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

to wh ch s required be manifested i:-.ir,.-nj J s"r,t, o, is practicesNobodv lett out "nergy #tematic ]1i"il,"n i" ' g,.'i(a'l rqv TnFvcrvle n sa^t's i^- 'i-" i utir,". o' ""1-'o* oecaoq rn I F Frn Sa\li 'a""ne oragval Deui '.i. '.""t*-1. ^urnan jJ"-.'ot svdncrdnd\'rlor lh' oowefs'Aa 'ro" _.r'rt i,'. q-a 'pst We i a'e wenol n cear'h 'nese oi I-]' ." ,r.'"t 'nanl Inade*o io wo'10 ol lot ii" r"v lu.. oo*or.rlro thelJll 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 il i"r"" in" xJz,t**r"ntra;n which declares (Moksa) l]beratron 2 and (Bhosa) "r oi;asure l"ii[i|'i" ,ji-",rJ't

sadhakaAmongthern, basrcone is the compelence Tantra lhe Tantra .ri sadhakaAsrtis sard. sadhana jusl Ike watklngon rs So the edgeol malor. lor il, guru(guide) requtred is who can test the flness ol a sadhakaand then nitialehim. lnitialion a ls passporlto enter inlo the realrt ot sadhana. After havingt n guruthenleachessome shed someexternalmodeol worship. nner aspeclsol worshipin which Nyasa(/dertlrcaron). N/udra Bhuta Sudhi (Puriical on) ol bodilyconslrluenls), ilrlednattan). (Establishrneni self)elc.,take ptace. shall l'fana pralislha of We withth s n dela I at proper place. dea Now something aboultheapproach olTantrasardhana Tantra i.cepts the physrcal body postivey hence il also acceptsits mpuses and Instrncls. Generallynsl nclsbecomelhe cause ol bondage novelviewot Tantra that by gratification these bul is of mpulsesand senses,one can transcend limilatlon lin te the ol .xperiences Ol course,this path is a sippery one whch can cadone lo lhe downfalif proper careis nol laken.Tantra hasnol overooked lhls Accord lolhe nature menlaleve olsadhaka, ng of I has prescribed threewayswhichare termedas ihe Pas! vrra and d vya sadhakaor rn otherlerms Tamaska, Balasika, and Sattvrka sadhakarespecl vely. n thrscfrapler sha see aboutthe Tantra we sadhana under 'r',o headngs, A and B. A consists o{ the essentia ol Tanlra s :iadhana whrleB conlains lhe processol awakentng inner the Dotentialilres. et us procesed th lhe essenlals of Tantra Now w A) 1. Essentials ofTantre sadhanal Tantric sadhana syslem s a sea in wh ch the ilowsot various syslerns merge.As it is diltcull lo contan the sea in a pot, so il s dlilicull containa I the detatls a chapter. lo in l\e, thereiore. m i our lask tO presenlintroduction some ot the sa ient teaof :Lrres oiTant.a sadhana. Sadhanais thatwhichproducesresuts ol maleriaiorspirilualtype.Whatevermaybelheresull,lhe ouler and the nnerpuaiftcalron essent aspecl Tantrasadhana. s lhe al ot lhe cenlral nl of Tanlra po sadhana to worship is deilyby becomrr!lderly. means, Tanlrabeleves, li as what man worships not rs

work,which give such resuts' generaLy How it techniques lecri? othersystems Tantra nor oolsiuy to ne act levedthrough soLrc'ol oodsure rhat s to i"r;t oosilrvelv lne verv ;;J* ar'opdln Tdnlr<r -,^, o' *o f.no*. mrnds lre causeol pleasure <ana us lo l_e wondlyarJa< lho ."v. rn.' r'".'no *n ah blnds T_e pole'rrarrl'as lhe o' -]l"o .rn o" 'n" 'n.,'.r.e_t ol ' bP'alron only ihe powersoi consciolrs utillze -l"i i._it."n"" w" "an oi mentalpowersThe minJ *nlcr, is ontya lew dropsol a sea wF cdrenol .n a po'illo_ro ulilze rs Vrng rp\r nt lhe rrtnd.wnicL as !uo' ons' iou> r: ,i"r'Jrt *rlrln nt"t,.t ol psycqorogv h^own ol or but nothing lhe awakening uniolding .j"al""tr" ":,u*"a " that innerPotenllallties t re i 'ding( thls TherdoeLI'ca'lv, dspecli5 alqo slgnllcanl lnd a suqaesl ed 'n lhe l rTesoi *n or Oi.Ousru,o cf'Ja'e oublisr d ol rrrndor wrlrpowerdqarnsl scase ,"ii it-. '"ti.'rn"" oo*er evpn And dl t anrer ol a"] Ol"""a rhe results lhe o,sFase.'lke ' nino o"rton wilh a wea'< 'wrl rav oeconev Iln ol i_""ar.t" 1,a" oowerorr'ppowero' nere rmaqnario;:;;;;;'eo;ltbv " ln disease i; a gill oi nature to evervbodv ;;".;;;;rg"i".i i'olqers 'l 's rrore awa^ereown'lF a"-" O.O'". ,l's oarllally desrg'edlor 'l enalne' saotand s bas Larlv ]i"-ie^.o. fa_r'a oow.' ol r_qlhe r'.d l_' Jdl_gcull'va'lon re)'slan'e qr' ldkesp'ace' Wa co4'ebac^lo oLr or How I'r5 sadhana 1orthe lradllronal are prescnbed nuf qr-"rr,on. /any essential

104

Chapter4

f,'letaphysics Tanlra of arrns and Brahma wilhout iourarm Faces His and Brahma wiihoul H s fourlaces.l2These symbolic are explanations lhe various ol modeof the Hrgher Reatjty. Whai are the characterrstics such a venerable ol gLlru Th s ? has beenexptarned almostallTantras.The oj the qualilies in list or guru s sucha longthat it takeslwo chaplersn the Kularnava TantraHence t is impossible reproduce here,Bul herewe lo it can menton some of lhem so that lhe layman can see who can be the realTantric guru.The iirst requiremeni thal gurushould is be a realrzed one.OnlysUch person can Initiale otherperson. He also shouldknow lhe13, presenland fllure. He shouldbe acquarnled wrlhthe science of Manlraand yanlraalso.Guru also snou0 havea capactty puriiying impurities all krndsoi to the ol discrpleSuchand othersirrealsothe q!atities gLrru of described rnTantra.These typesofqualities almostrarelyto foundin a is be man rn thrs age. But il suppose, somebody gets lhs type ot personatrty, would surelyrealize he ihe glimpseol the Higher ' Reality. And because oi this significance, is declaredwith it reverence thatgurucan save us tromlhe wrathot evengod but robodv Ld- cave us frorr the wralho, guru.BOnly such;n elti anrquruca- Inridlod discto Wnatis the e. signtl can.e ol ntlia. r on and how gUruinitiates discrples we shalt see underthe thal t lle niliation . b. Initiatlon : Diksa LrKe guru,initialion also an importanl is notionin the Tantra sadhana. the Kularnava In Tantra, isdeclared it ihattherecan be no lVoksaor tiberation without Diksa or8 and iniliation , cannot bo 'he.e wtlhouta leacher gJr,l.So only gurJcan Inil,ate or lhe 0'- o F io lqe sadtsane according h,scomoeiency.g to Why nit ationis required this can be asked.In response to . .. wa ca.rsay our rnrnd jLst lr(e a graden. In t"e gaden, is As - o .oo <o-ous qorouls with lhe good one, likewrsg, ar, a aa ,. a so, bad lhoughls the poisonous or sprouts comeout with the goodone,likewise, ourmind also, in badthoughts orthepoisonous sproutsol desiresalso come out. At the time of initjaiion, !!fu removes lhe unrequired things kom the mind ot disciple

'on'cioL'ne"' :l' rnal wh,.h 's sonelhrngoutsldebul hls own sadhand nF'e we sha'l ."1, in" ,"" rn"t" rr" *riel'es n Tanlra rf'o.. no"onswqichare d'gelyaLcoplpobva.l'We iln,'oi o-.'u placeol guru in Tantrasadhana *ili, tf," i.-," tnrt "ignlficant "t"rl 4. Spirittal guicle : gttru : guru enjoysthe signi|cantstalus' ln the TantrasZtdhana' oul gurus have emergeo timesthe so-called Thouohin present ol lna cal r'il-Jr"r,,oor.t or"'o ldck of prooerLnoe'slanorng ^L arnavaTa'l'a lhe prrne coul e ol lh's ."""'"".i"r'r'if'" are co .ra_v bt'l l'e eal 9Lr'rs 1r'at nntln j"6r3"1es r"" !o called an belween aLlhen_ ."" ,t ,.'e i"* '"ara* a ri'e ol oe'narcallo_ ce(din preqenrFo nds ;";";i; ;Lru "Tha Kul;rndvaTanrra gurufromlhe take one lhe li.racter stlci tot aistlnguishing real what the lerm are lhey ? Belorewe go to lhis, lel trs see Whal lor? guruslands bul treatise the havebeen givenby diiferenl Manvdetinition term glru gu standslor dec ares that n lhe Tantra KLrlarnava who *f, f" rr'"t"nds for removal Hence gur! is he' a"rin"". ol darkness nesclence' removes Tanlraalso ac_ ol Nescience what ? Likeallother systems sell a'd lhe no vroLral oelween ."orsine 'oenf.at ,efalronship lh s lacl rs lLe hJ dle n tqe waV ol i..j,,.,""rsat self Nescreace rLe o.lv'ear'zed suru who i" oLI sva h.rse or ;;:r;;";. h'Tce'f can e1 ove lnls na'.on who nas reari/edSiva w l"in between ssss no drllelFnle noiac'" and Oe.ar"e o1 tr;t,13n116 s the Srvaand guru then why lord choosesto li a ouru and Siva are identical ihe through medi!rnof guru ? Why shouldnol manifesiHimseLt ol ? directty i)ne may have such queslionsOne tte maniiest Lord Siva in the Kularnava is such questlon askedby Parvatilo a th; questionLord siva repliesthat He is i""i*'..|" ,*0.""" to perceiveHow then r"rtr,j.. and beingso, rtls dillicult "rtii.. Oeworsn,ppec So o't ol to"'pdst'o' LordS va Ia\es : le itrllr Tenr" "an libFratlo'nd ol lhe ,o'm ol qJ',r.WorsLip Hr'ngra_ls lhanlhe guruls sameTanlra by the ,lnjL"ing.;. it "tsoa"clared His lhree eyes Vishnuwithoutlour Siva withoul .".""iniriir'""

106

Chaptel'4 Meraphysics Tantra ol

107

The ol power) veryterm'Diks't (Transplantation Saktipatathrouoh while gives knowledge '.iiJ" in,! i""r bi meansthai which iksa'means sproutsTheVisvasara animal that whichremoves lo l. Dik^sa of flitfu o'""" rn" del'nition lhis lerm According " [_owleoge gives drvine srn abolishes and means wh,ch that o' ol qu'ucreates type condilion i"lorda'words lhis Howooes "*"v" ? gurugivesrritrdlio_ Three which Ihrough *n,.f'-"t" in" The anainlheTantrasadh iuo"" oi initi.iionJr" r"rgeiyaccepted a to rdenliticalioncreale lvoeoi ii','.i So".u. dr\saoabodily i. -ne raooorlin lhe studentor sadhakalTavakradyam hradya'n bv initiation sightand is Drksanjfr?r, rr'" olir',..i ir lr ""cond "t".j. aitsa,inilialion bythought ThesameTanlra' is inettrirO manasa how alsodescribes gurugiveslhese three Tantra, ihe Kuta,rnaua rs by initration touch lke d slownoJ' The ivoesol in,tiation tirsl ol warmlh its wrng5l" ll'e in:tialro' withlhe 'ili- ou rn" brrd 't'of'r ol asnourishlng l"evoungby 's ai.a'pr" inlllated t""-r-of' by lhe alonewhrle inilralion lhe lhotrght rhe rhrough seeing ifroti."n ol by ot it" toung by the tortoise onlythinking ifiit e norrLnlng " them. 'I"'ouqhthese the:'rpuguru ol ways initiation Iirst'emoves so into trisenergy the disciple' thatthe.latenl ritiesandiansters alsoas can oowerol the disciple be awakenedButtor lhis' and gurushouldhave ol i,., nlue seenin iire ctraracteristicsthe guru, soul shakti Andonlythistypeof realized u,iaifn-eotirefunoitinl of ol canopel lnecenlres energy disciple oi the we clear' canpulhere simip'y a match il Toma^e more lhe energyis alreadythere as coatingor box. ln the disciple, ol lJior'ur on rn" ,n.t"rt oox Foi the activation which'requires by whichis provided guruat lhe timeol initiation' aid ihe'external purification ol the Ailerlhe initialion, process innerand outer lakesplaceand i'"i ouirl"ii." ol tody (Bhutasuddhr) We shallnowsee somelhrng "*i.. ountrcat'on mindlollows ol in.n atoui airlta sudani. c. Putiticationof body : Bhita Suddhi ll sadhaner' ol teature theTantra is Suddhi a disfinclive Bhirta Suddhl prior discipline to allrituals aninOispensable "onJaJ|'"a-a"

chief 20

meanspurilication. Especially, the Tantra sadhana, is bein it thal eachlimbof the worshipper lieved shoutd puriried Onty be . thenhe becomes for worship divinity. onlythe purilicafit ot Not lion of body,bul in lhe Tantra sddhand the Kuhrnava as Tantra declares, requires live type ol purification, ol whichare namely the puriJication selJ of place,of material, Mantraand oj of of deily.1e Firstthe placeof worshipshouldbe sanctified cleaning by swipping and shouldbe decorated llowers, etc. with incense etc. sothatlhe mindcanconcenlrate deity.Substance should on also pure waterThedeityshouldbe purified be purified sprinkling by by placing onihe seatandalsoby infucing (prana it pratishta). life We shallsee lhe delailsof the purificalion self.Selfresides of in bodyso lirst, bodyshouldbe purified,whichinTanlra,is known as BhirtaSuddhi. Bhlta Suddhimeansthe pu fication the lements lhe ot of body. The purpose purification to makecleanlhe internal of is andexternal atmosphere sedhaka's of body. The outerpurilicapranaydma lroncanbe doneby bathing andinnerbyNyasa, etc. etc. As Kapali Sastrythinks,"ll must be notedhere that the purificationot lhe variouslimbs,oulerphysical and the inner m nd sluffaimsnot onlyat the eradication the narrowinq of and ooscuflng inlluences lhe elemenlal ot forces and the univ-ersal weakness oflhelower Nalure, inviting but intheirplace theopposrtegoodinfluence lhe benign of forces, powerol the supra the physical worlds. Thatis whyin the actuat Bhita Suddihs, every partis offered deityandthegroupof deities are invoked to that to occupytheir placesin the body vess|,idhara, constitutes indeedthe minorgodswho arelhe paivaras(family) ofthe chosen

How the processol purificaiion lakes place? Our body is composed live elements ol namely, Earth,(Prithvi), (Water), Apa Fire(Ieja),Air (Veyu) and Ether(Akdsa). Purification harmony or orlheseis the real BhutaSuddhi. According theTantra to sadhana, whole process tho should be done mentally Sadhakahas to first inagine the {kalpayet). pfedominance pa icularelemenlon the specificpart of lhe of

of [.4etaplrysics Tantra elemenls pre_ or bodvto wh ch thal partbelongs, thai particular dominantin lhat parlicular part 01the body' For instance the fromlhrgh slarlsfromleei lo thigh walerelemenl earih element ' e lrorr _ave ro reall. alr lro.r l'ea l lo Leal'eol eve_ lo ndvpr. on brow and eilheris predominant the mosl upper parl ol the Sao'aka has ro concenl'alelhesee erienl' o^ he r spe body cific oarts. on o{ the Aflerdoingthis,he hasto imagine process absorpl waler one,i e , the earthintowaler, ol orosselemenl intosubtle elher inlo ego ego inlonalure int; fire.fireinloarr,air inloether, so lo-dkflli,andpraknlrr'lo9oo.Wl"iledolnglcco'dnqroTan"a _e d so hd\ lo mdgine rraa who s madeoul ol bodiv nounlros d ol ideaol Papapurusaor"man mpuriles rs (Papapurusa).The every process purilicallon oi oflactlhalpriortolhe an acceplance As impurilres' he pfo_ s;.lhaka is tulloi bodilvas wellas mental gets es' to ceedslhrouqhrnitiation BhirtaSuddhi,he gradually position a putitiedsoul with lhe resull ol tablished into his new gradually iade away lhat lhe evilsin hlm,in the lormot impurities, of is a process iirstdryingand then il lerminology, In tradilional so thatpersonlull ol impurilies thatlrresameperson' of burning atogelnerIe a if were airewJorm as assumes afier ourilication, a a spi'Iua' ma_ I'I {ol bFcomrno lorn^ano becones spirruar olSakl e vesselor receolac oi splrrluallo'ces ol The process dryingawayand butningawayol the Papa vayu' ofthe seedLeller be ourusashould donewilhthe repetition is Ram Now lhe wholebody ol lhe that is, vam, and lire, thal withthe helpol neclarwhrdr intoan ash.Then blackm;nresults haslo builda new sadhaka lhe Sahasrara, llowslrom constanllv starlhom Lord ol Nalure' whichshould purebodyin imaginalion, lo lrom intellecl ego,lrom ego to elher' irom naiureto intellect, walerlo earlh earthl0 lire, lire10water, fromethertoair,airto veqelableto lood lrom lood 105erre'dno lrom veoetaD,e.on _alLralegoll s a tiatrs Iam Thrs lam rs nol ce;ren rc o,rrusa. 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

de only by becoming ty (Devaobhirlvayaieldevam). Theretore. Tantras a way to rarse one'sown conscousness lo the eveloi This pracliceshouldbe done by sadhakain daiy wo.ship l'e apeJl .aly lalso .lleclsl_e oody. Ac(ordr-o he Ayurv6da to (A harmonybetween v?rta r), pilla (Fire)and kapha (Pahlegm) resuts nto heallh. Thesethreeare nothing lhe combnation bul oi g l h e f i v e 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 elements necessarily ends nto health. And the body gets fortiied againstal d seasesaltogelher. AIterpuriiicalion conslilu oi entsol bodyor Bhita Suddhi comes ol which theCiltaSuddh, purificalion nrind should donelhrough be Nyasa. How Nyasais perlormed lhat we shallsee now' d. Purification of Mind: Nyasa: The process ofTanrra sidhana is fromgrossto subtle. ng Be punficat ol mindcomesalterpuriicalion body. subtle, on ol Thrs nnerpurilrcalion be donelhroughNyasa.Howthis puriiicacan tionlakesplace? The root verboi Nyasais ONyas= to p ace.Wilh the helpof lhe reierence Kapaia sastflar, couldsee lhal Bhuta of we Suddhi does not mean only removalof bad elements impunt bul or es aiso placrng goodthoughts divinity. of or Alterdissolving sin, the fu body, and bu ld ng spirirlual bodylhrough imagination body the s to be instil wilh pranaor diety. ed The process esiablishing oi dety staris wilh Ny?rsa. Lke thuta Suddhl, lhis processalso should done menlally. be There are varous lypes ol Nyasa. Namely,I\rantra nyasa, fMahasodha nyasa,Karanyasa IVore etc. delaijs aboutlh s have beengivenin to the Kularnava Tanka. The NyAsa doneby placis ng the lop ol lhe iingefon the various parisof the body. for As examplein the MarlikaNyasa, alphabelsare placedon lhe mbs oi lhe body.In lhe esotenc science, lelters are considered as the manifestation SabdaBrahman ol and beingso they are consideredas deities This t\,4alrika Nydsa is a so biJurcated inlo tow partswhichare nameiy,lheouter l\,4akika Nyasa,(Bahirmalrika

nyasa) ln Nyasa(Anataramalrika and nvarsa) lhe innerrnalrika placedon the limbsol lhe physr_ are ti" iolrn"t typ", tn" tetters that part ol the body whilein ty lat Uoayimaglnativety louching p aced on lhe slx subtle cenlres'(sal the ater tYpethey are c ot lrr,rr.f.fr'" details this'is givenin alltheTantr workswhich wihTanlrasadhanar' are related ol signiticance this rite ? ll rs thal lne Whal is the esoteric Is essence Spiril and body ano lhat his shouldrealize s:rdhaka ol lhe Spirll All is divineand minOare O.rtits rnanlestations Nyasdo' BV is evervrhinq nolningbul conscioJsnesc Vyaoal'a spreaoslhe prece'ce ol menldlly 'o"nr'i.."j'on.he ""o"'no,ni t,orq"oul .tlmseJTnpn l-e beLone\ oeva and .o'na..'o.rJ"".t so only by becorr'ng he can worshlpdeva' ol The sc entiiicsignitcance lhis rite is that' as we know' Thoughlmouldsoul ntellectual' what he lhrnksman becomes oi fne translormation beingtakesplacelhrough .oraict'aracter. lh lt we constanlly nk abolll lhe of the lranslormalion thought rhrnk pos;iively'l 'ecessd' v es rlls rnlo rhe *" ;;';'," "t ThLs lor I ansforral on o'h'-ran lra-siormatorol perso_alny touches al the very rool ol on;' Tantra lJr.o"uiltu lntouiiui"" reand process atl transformation bringsaboulwonderlul ol ine ble iake suscepl to suLls. The mortalIramewhlchis considered sus_ nol Iortified' easlly qets lranslormed a robLlsl into diseases valueol this processis Intfre lherapeutic leptlutetJa seases valuaote. Inlo value of this rile also can be applred The therapeulic wilh Nyasaalso meansidenlilication di_ or Yoqanidrir relaxation abouitheworldly everything sadhakalorgets in vin; lhouqhi which as and relaxation il is considered the besl allairs. This is lhe true ol modernworld,whichariselrom lrre the medicinelor diseases hearl atlack' bloodpressure' ."ni"Lt"n.ions, riticn are namely can be equatedwith the syslematrc etc. So, lhat way, Nyasa relaxalLon' rnenlal physical methodlor inducingcomplete 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

e. lnstalletion ol lile : PAna pratisthdt : olTanlra sadhana to Prerna Pralislhais a unique contribulion at system,In lhe externalworship, nilial the orientasadhana worships imageoJSivaor ol Visnuor ol devl. an leve, sadhaka like ofdeities Siva,Brahma levelYanlra, images Al liltleadvanced presenl inlogrosslormAstepadvance,in hrgher reality orVrsnu are plac' through is oi thLsclireclion "grossto subtle" presented on which is a dragram the platewrthseed by Yanlra, ing image lhe symbolizing unionoi the grossand sublle lellersor numbers consclousness, with nd vidualse l-consciousness lhe dlvrne or worshlp ol takesplaceinsiead rmage worship that merelmageor diagfam does nol rlseI beheves Tantra eiiectve ll shouldbe chatgedwith the lle lorce This become lherers to does not meanlhat theyare dead.According Tantra, nolhng ike a dead thing.Whal here happensis, the sadhaka, his establishes llleiofce intothal Yanlra throughconcenlralion worshipss his what sadhaka il. and worships So hereactually conscousness only. Like exlerna worship, this rile also lakes placein internal installs sadhaka of worshp. Afterlhe puriticalion bodyand mrnd. the ile lorce in his d vine body. to of But what is lhe slgnificance this rite ? Accordrng the olenergyli rs presenl is everything a manlfestation SaktaTantra, mandoesnol considerthis iacl. So but everywhere an ordinary that the obiectof worship level, he has lo imagine the rnitial al io s alve. One shouldnot worship what s in{erior him or her' The worshppbd shouldbe superorand musl be consciousrn into be or And becauseol this,Pr?rna liieshould in{used nature. one.But this is nol a processas ArthLlrAvalon worshipped lhe sayslo spreada butteron a bread'bul as he thinkslhe signiii 'to enliventhe consciousness the oi cance behindlhs rite ls l4 oi inloa realization his presence worshrpper be bedone?This should donewilh should How lhls process Now let us see some iapa and Purscarana. the helpol Manlra. thingaboutit.

112

ChapteF4

Metaphysics Tanla of h. Bheva : Mental disposition playsa Bhavaor menlaldisposilion ln the Tak c sardhan?l, promnent role.As we have seen lhroughout ol lhe essentials Tantrathal, Tantralays siresson the menlalworship. has been As in we accepted the psychology, becomewhal we think.Thoughl personalityotthelhinker hassucha powerlhaltcan transformihe The reasonlor this is thal thoughlls directly relatedwilh m nd andmindisconsidered asthe moulderol personality. TanAic sadhanzr basedupon the principle. Due to signilicance thoughtpower oi Ta-t'a avs sress or mental pot in sadhana. as (Bhava) Tantra accepled importance mental has the ol disposi|on ln sahanato be extentthai-as Rudrayamaladeclaresdeiiy does not reside a ione or clay, it abides a mental in but in disposiiion or Bhava.16 pre-supposesdualily worshiper The purpose sadhana ol a of pped- nduality andworsh Tu exislstillthe idenlity belween devolee lhe and the deitvis established. Tanlrahas Drescribed dilferent lhe stages between the way of dualily to identity. There stages are (Bhalva) sadhaka. accordng to lhe menlaltendency of 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 ls aboutihis. the deta Pasu bhava : J va is known as Pasu. The rool verb ol the term Pasu is The personwho is in bondsof desiresor opas meansboliage. is Pasu. lhe earlystagoJlife, In individualbeing known is Valsanas Pasu. The reasonis that,ai that lime he underthe control of as organsand desires. sense ln this Bhava, Tamas(lnenia) element predominant. is Leth(Jadya)is lhe characleristic argy (Alasya)andrigidity oflhis Bhava. (Ajnana), Due to nescience which is also one kind of bondage playsonlyat grossor externallevel. Duelolackof (pasa)person thiscompetency, cannolpenetrate he deeperinlothe subllemeanings of the sadhanaprocess.

f. Mantra: The piaceoi Mantra theTankasadhans verys gnilicant. in is Nol a single Tantric is donewithout rile Manlra. The rootverboi Mantrais Oman meansto medtate. ln ihe power. we Nyasa, sawthe signiiicance lhought ol Manlra s nothpowef. ing butthe condenced {romol thaithought And thatis why proper pronuncration concentration il givesresult. and on In the [,,lanlra Manlras sadhan?r are dividedintofour groups namelyiriendy,.serving, supporiing and deslroying. the time At guru according lhe natureol dsciple givesthe of intuition, to proper N/anlra ihal I\,fantra and should doneconsiantly.Th is be s g. \tapa: power Japa meansrepetiionoi I\lanlra. s processcultivales Th poslurein lhe oi concentration. sittingin any convenient ,After sient place,sadhaka recites l\lanira the intowh ch he has been init ated. Japa is oi three k nds: (1) VacikaJapa in wh ch lvlantra is ultered aud bly,(2) Upamsu Japa n whichonly movement rps of is v sib e bul no voiceis heardand the last one is (3) Mansika Japa which rs considered lhe highest as iorm of Japa in which only repetil takesplacewilh a singlemind.One thing should on be remembered lhatonlymechanical here repetition doesnol create anythrng the eiiective for result, one hasto do Japawilhtailh, asplration devotion. and The aim behind Nyasaand Pranapratishar lo feeldivinthe is ity withins How Mantra-Japa owesell. doeslhis thatwe shal see in the word of Aurvindo, "Theword is a soundexpress of the on planewhenandeahasio be realized, idea.ln lhe Supraphysical one can, by repealing worldexpression it, producevibration the oi whrchprepare mindfor the rea|zalion the idea. the of Thal is the pfinciple the lvanlraand Japa.One repeats of the name of ihe preparelhe Divine andthevibration created inthe consciousness realizal of ihe Divine".15 on

Metaphys ot -,antra cs
114 ChapleF4

115

In the Kuld rnavaTanka,eightbonds(pasa)have been de scribed.Which namely,Daya(tulercy), are l\roha(Delusion), Bhaya (Fear),Lajja(Shame), Ghrna{Nausea), Shia Kulam(Heredity), gener (Character) Verna(colour complex). otherTanlras, and In (lmaly threekindsof pasashavbeendescribed namely, IVala purities), Karma(Pastdeeds)and Maya (Deluston) Malats conceivedas the higheslamongall thesethfee.So ior overcom ng lhe Pasubhava,removaloi Mala is necessary. And for removalof t, Drksa, niliation best means. is Vha bheva : Al thisstage,Fajas(Activily) elemenls predominant.Those who can discriminale real pleasure the from pain and also who greedness,lust, hasgot controloversenses, angerelc. comes he underlhe realmoi Vlra bhilva. OnlyVlra sadhakaare permittedloutilizethe 5 M's in sddhana becauselhey havecontrolled theirsenses, andinsuchasadhaka thereis no possibility decline. of Ailer havingcontrolled senses,sadhaka the enterslnto the lhird Bhava,lhatis Divyabhava. Divya bhava : As Raja is predominant the Mra bhZLVa, in lhis Divya in here bhava, Sailva element is predominant. lhrs levei as the At MahanirvaLna Tantradeclares, sedhakalranscends the duality (DvandvaUtama)17 of worshipper worshipped. and So thus, sAdhaka who has transcendedthe dualitres and has eslablished identity lhe wilh lhe desireddeityis known as he who s possessed divine bhava. ol These three Bharvas slages in sadhana.lt is the victory are goes upward of sadhaka whichsadhaka in always fromPasuto Vira and from Vira to Divya bhava.13

of which one canopen treasure infnilepow the is a keylhrough of and because ers.Tantrahas donethisjob very signiiicantly pop!lar esioterlc HinduAvalon says "lnlact both and th s, Arthur largely Tanlric".re cal sm s, in ts pracl aspect, the sadhan2l, couldsee lhattheproc we Throughoul Tantra Bhita Suddhi, is nothingbut lhe various etc. ess oi Nydsa, powers. physical-mental lor and lechnique mastering unlolding purfed body-m complexwhich nd ispossible through Thisrequires pranayanawhich (postures)and c Mantra Halhayogasanasa and
dro In.lLsive aspecls lhe Ianlrds:rdhana. oi technlques bodybecomes freefromdis' Through Hathayogic mind becomesca m and eases and throughMantrasadhanzr, Consist also the aspectconcentraled.This secures lherapeulic onlyin concentraled mrnd, lhinkrng whichis posslble ent positive This is the core of the lhoughttherapy can heal any diseases. times. whichhas beanfoundoul in gresenl rilualcornFor lhe desiredresulls in lhe Tantrasadhane, (Samkalpa).This resolution slrenglh' wilhthe resolution mences and also cullivateshrsWil power ens ihe rnindof a Shadhaka which is the sourceol all power. The result of Tarnlricsadhan:r is very quick, effective and of endurng. At the sametime,thereis also a limilalion il. This is to sadhanaas KularnavaTanlradeclares, walkonlhe edge the and aulhenof a razor,so forsafety of a sadhaka,an experienced tic guru is required which is rarely possible.So lor a Tanlra lo sadhaka,it is reallya problem have a realizedsoulas guru. is TantrasardhanzL a lree which is iullof flowers and fruils ot powersbut a guruprevents disciples utilize his to supernalural pleasures. the it ior mundane Sadhakaallains powerin the proc How this process lakes place ihe essol awakening Kundalini. ot that we shallsee under the title"Awakening the KudalinlSakti". B. Awakening ol the Kundalini Sani : lntrccluction ol In thisage oJscience,security a livingbeingis a burning problem. lManhas controlled almosl all propertlesof the nature

Conclusion:
physical Likerealizalionof Reality, unfoldmeniot and menta powersis alsooneof lhe goalsol anysadhana system. Sadhanaar

, ru "nuo,"r_o
and even thenwe arealways danger. is it so ? Whatis in Why thalsmalloosescrew brirgs lhal abJtthewhole mechanism ol the worldintoa critical condition ? It is noihing butthe imbalance ordisharmonv between bodvmrnd.intellecl e.nolron man, are runring in We radly allerthe materialism. unfullilled The desirescreateimbalancebetween rntellect emotion manwhich and in leads onelo behave unin Technology iound those has out types weapons of thfough whichmost lhe partof theworld ot can bedemolished within a shortlirne.lf lhe possessors theseweapons not think ol do moderately (moderation comes also IromharmonV between intel, lect and emotion) thenit willprove bedangerous thewhole lo for oi humanity. copi Krishna As lhinks lhe whole humanity danis gerously sleeping thelateni on volcano. This latent volcano nucleaf power ol can bursloulat anv lrre lt isanenergy whictcanbe isedwilher construcltve lor or purposes thjs sheerlv destructrve and depends one,smental on lendency. Likealom,ourbodyalsois a toundation energy ol which ls powerlulihan ratherrnore powerwhich Tanlra nuclear in terminol ogyrsknown lheKundalinl as Sakti.This energy an !niversal is energy and il is generally considered latent as and requires to be awakened. Awakening il, is lhe goalofTantra of sadhana. Energy an ullimale as Reality universe a meta-physical oi is doctrineundeflying Tantrasystern. This meta-physical dockine has alsobeenaccepted science. now, by Till thisconcept was considered purely as spiritual nowit hasentered bul into ihe territory science. of Nowthelimehasripened theworking for out compromise spirilualism scientific of and materialism. Spiritual_ rsmhaslo come down fromthe solitude thesurnmit a mounof of lain and has to seltle its statusin the midstot layman.Al the sametime, science alsohadto expand narrowlimits has the il rmposed uponand hasto accepllhat whichis not observable. Thisuniversalenergy resides abodyintheformoJ in Kundala (Coil) hence is known Kundalini. awakening energy it as The of

Metaphysics Tanlra of

117

grace god or through is possiblb either lhrough of sadhana. Inlhe case oigrace, disciple direcled is byguru godthrough or intuilion themedium of while sadhana, in sddhaka to follow has pure rulesandregulations. has to keephis body-mind certain He and pertectwithhelpo, Nyesa, Mudres, Hathayogic techniques gurualsohas to keepconstant etc.Moreover, attenlion each on and everystepol the progress s?rdhaka. o{ Which the theoretical practicalbasis are and oflhe Kundalinl yoga and howthe awakenied powercanbeapplied a modern in \rvorld Nowwe shaI seetheseoossible ? oueslions lhe seciion in 1. Theoretical and applied aspecb ot the Kundalini Yoga a.Theoreticalaspect: Theierm"Kundalini" comes lromthetem'Kundala' means "coiled". universal The energy, it lies lhough is postenl lalent at theendol thespinalcord a cenire in known I\,4uladharacakra, as lormlikea serpenl, in a coiled hence is knownas Kundalini. il As hasbeenaccepted science, by onlyone-tenth ourmind oJ s active while nrne-lenth it is dormanl, oreseni of Out develoDpart.In cou6e of mentis lhe result thal one-tenlh of awakened time slowly sleadilywe but cullivate ourpowers butthe Kundalini yoga process enhances cultivation this as it dealswilh lhe exoanslon inner oi lalent oowets, The theoretical basisof lhis yogais identification, based upon principle microcosm macrocosm, all lhatis the of and i.e. contained the universe alsopresent rnan. in is in IV1an, therefore, is a minialure universe. tirst,lhis principle At seemsto be a caprice merely ideaof a fertilemind,but whenwe go lnto or an deeperand deeperit proves to the most creative and luriile Drinciole. There oneand sameuniversal is conscio nessinminerals us and man. Thesetwo difieronly in expression the levelsol oi consciousness.minerals, is lessexpressed hence il ln it and looksas grosswhilein man,it expresses moredegrees in in that

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[,4etaphys ol Tantra cs

119

The rninerals, and hence,it seemsliv ng or conscrous. presenl oi staleof developmenl man is a resultof a serlesol transformapreviousstages man ol ol tionorculiivalion consciousness.The iromamoeba lish,Iishto ape and ape to are ocaledin amoeba, is to man.Thisshows thatthe laler transformation superiorlo The process of culiivation consciousness of the formerone. ihat adds one more possibiliyin the seriesol transformaiion is Irom rnanio super man, Tantraleads us to this way lhrough unconsciously, are on that we awakening Kundalinl the Sak1i. but sadhakadoes this with lull way of lfanslormation a Tanlric and does it speedly.With the awakening latenl of awareness wilh the ind vidualconsciousness, s:ldhakagels dentlfication ol univefsal consciousness whichhe is a part and parce. microcosm and macro But how lh s dentification between t T cosT .kes pac! ? | hc oher svclenq. anl-asa<aso a( c e p t e d h a tt h e r o o t o f t h e u n i v e r s e l l t m a i e R e a l t y w h i c h i s t s This Realty for Tanlra is eriherSiva or one wthoul second, l S a k t lb o t ho i w h i c ha r e i d e n c 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 moving wheel, thereis a poinlwhichls slaiic aro!nd whrchthe whoe wheel moves.ln the same way, Siva is the whichthe dynamicor kinetc Sakti statc aspect Realily of around moves,So Sivabeinga staiicaspect Realitys considered of as the centreof the universe a wheel, as His issuesforih inlo This Sivawills lo be many.Then wiliing in The Sivaor lhe ullimate Realily a projection the iorm of Sakii. powerand Wills to be is possessed with a Fiat;UniversalWill many. {So akamayat, ekoahambabu syam).Sakli manifests planes Herselt in ihe planes consciousness lokas.These ol or ol consicousness not one and lhe samebut ihey d iier by are the degrees ol densityol matteroul of which they are com posed.lt meanswe can say briefythatlhecreation manriesls in process slarls increasing degrees ofdensilyor complexity.This in of ifom lhe mostsubtleelemenland culminates the creation grosswcrlds,thai ls prithvielc. whichcomposed extremely oi

processof crealion above menlioned place taking in place the microcosm macrocosm, takes a so y. in simultaneous Lrke universe, ourbody alsomade is outol fivegrosselemenis with lheiressence,lhat isTanmatra, located certain poinls are at points in on thebodynamely skull, throat, heart etc.These are Tanira terrrs knownas centres cakras, or These cakras orlhecenlres consciousness likepowof are erhouse fromwhicheachand everycellgetsits power. how Bui th s powert ow ? Thispower flowsthrough medium Nadlor the o1 veins which sublle nalure.Through lifecurrents are in Nadi, flows andv tal ze the body. According theTantric to treaiise, thereare 72,000 s in body. nad Among lhemfoudeen importani.Three are among iourteen theprime are one, they are namely, Pi6gala lda, andSusumnzr, Among these three, susumna themoslsignrfiis canl. Cenlres seven number.Though is a controversy are in there aboutthenumber cenlres, someil is ninewhile of For seven is generally accepted.These cakrasare namelyMtladhara cakra, Swadhlsthana cakla, Nranipurcakra, ANajata caka, Visuddha cakla, AJfra calraabd Sahasrara cakra.Theircorresponding areas in physical bodynamely, plexus, plexus, sacrocoaygeal cardiac throal, eye-brows skullregionrespectively. and Theseventh centre, thal is, Sahasrata wherethe manifeslatlon of consciousnessal thehighest is level,js considered in Tanlra the abodeol SivawhileN4iladhara lhe end of the as al spinalcord is considered lhe abodeof Sakti.The placeof as centres and nadis,is in Tantra sadhana very signiticant. the All delaildescriplion aboutcentresand nadiswe shall see in the second section thislhesisunderthe tille'Tanlraanatomy". ot To avoid ihe repelition it, here we shallmention ol theirnames and portion details. onlyrequired of Now let us cometo the originalpoint,thal is, identification between microcosm macrocosm- mount the and As N4eru con is sidered the axis of uoiverse, as likewise, spinalcord is consideredas lhe base ol physical body. Because bothuniverse and bodyhas been madeout ot tive grosselemenls. predom! The

'Ihe

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Melaphys ot Tan cs tra ntensrly sadhana and competency saonaka. oJ oi

121

The centres or cakras' is nanceol I ve elements feltal d fterent and Akasav/iththerr Vayu Ap, Prithvi, Tej?r' f ve oross elemenls, sprasaSabda Rasa Rupa, Gandhi, Tanmal namely ras resp;cl rve Anahala' lvlanipura, Swadhislhana are iell on lhe Muladhara, vely. fesPecl Visuddha, Energy s the supporlor base ol unverse The unlversal cakra' al rests thal s, Kundalinialso coiled lhe I\.uladh'rra energy. point' which in Tanlra at lh; end oi lhe spinalcord.This is the t - a r mrg k ' 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 s the The sympalheticchannel, soreacl in the whole bodyoui spinalcord has a greal r-o_ channeland the oara-svmoathetic nirdisThe mental and Susumna withthe lda,Pingala ;emblance lda and Pifgalanird respec and vrla currentsllow inlo these Vajra and citrinrIn nadisnamely are I ve v.There alsolwo subtle nAdi. lhe S !su rnnar placeoi al lhese chan cakrais the meeling the lvlJladharra in baselriangle the cenlre, nslde upward nels.Thereis alsoan restscorleo' liiga on whichthe KundaInr t lhereis a Svavambhu Hallra various through ni Kundal canbe awakened The latent Kundalin awakened techniques-The and vaoic oraclices Tantra lolhe Sahasrara reaches one byone and ullimalely p Jces centres journey Sivawho resides and unionbetween ;akra. ln its upward cakra and Sakt lakesplacein the Sahasrara in lhe Shasrara 'he Saha,ayoga s lhe sy"onym ol lhe \unoallrryood n all while piercing centres, She ascendenceoi the Kundallni torceswhichare ascribedlo lhe centres all absorbs elemenlal in herseli Siva A cosmlc Sheabsorbs cenlres, At the Sahasrara issues nectarlrom placein thal centre-Thefe iakes inlercourse Siva. Kundainidrnks lhis nectarand comes back to Her own ckara l'het iou ney loward< de_ olace.l_al rs l'e ly'uladhara a with lhe ambros and ulli all lhe centres scenl. il revilaiizets This placei e lhe f''luladhara abiding goes lo her original malely Jpwaroandcomlngdownaller Jnro^and p oce;s'al Saklrgorng agarnard aoainlll a wnh Slva has to oe repealed nrercourse wilh sivain Sahasrara staqecomewhenshe rests permanenlly uponlhe slopsoncelor all This depends movement anidecenl

It s sa d thalwhenmanawakesior worldy alla rs Kundal n s eeps B!1 when Kudaiin) awakes,man sieepslor wordly afiarrs. ltmeanslhepowerhe getslromtheawakeningol Kundalan. expands lhe hor zons of his ordinary tmtlal ons allachedwilh hrs ego.Hrs self gels expanded ils capacily to wrlh lhe resLrtl lhaithe power he gels iromthe awaken of Kunda he does ng ini not ulrrze lor h s personapleasures for the wholehumanity but ll s useess io s t on the so tludeof mounlain aller beraton as someyogrsdo. But the realTantfic sadhaka usesh s powersnol only lor the satlslactron his mundane pteasures Ior the ot but lr0eralronol whole humanily. Lord Buddhaafler entghlment poseda queslron to how he d iiers iromordinary as person. who pursuesweatlfror larne or wofldlypleasuresi he enjoyshrs realr?al h rnsell on alone Andlhen he dectdesto sharehrsp eas uresol se I rea rzalron amonga i people Howthe Sal cakrabhedana takesp ace.\\ie sha see uncter lhe I tle app r-od de ol Kundatniyoga,' s b. Applied side of the Kundaliniyoga: Theterm Kundatrni yoga is a compound twote.rns of namey Kundalini and yoga We knowlhe meanng and s gn frcance ot Kundal And yoga meansun on. Herelhe lerm yoga.does nr. nol denole nrere !n on bul t also represents processwhtch y the Fealzat on or dentrlicat wrthlhe Hrgher on Reatrty the goa rs o l t h e K u n d a l ny o g a . T h r s g o a l s oc a n b e a c h r e v e dh r o u g h i t I lhe Bajayoga. l\.4antrayoga Hathayoga elc.Thegoa islhesame lrutthey d fferoniy n the way ol approaching goa . the yoga acceplsthe a d ot Inte ecl lof reaching The Raia Ihe loai whileManlrayogadoes th s by inslrumenl words The trke Halrryoga 'na nly concerned lh the physicatbody They be rs w reve In the nlerdependent p relaiionsh ot physca bodyand lhe suble body n wh ch cenlresol consciousness stualed So are lle apprcalon on lhe gross body allectsthe subte body The Fiathayoga does lhis by the application M!ctras-pranayama ol

Chaprer4 resul lhal due to the lrrctonalpressure pranaand Apanahetd ol t ghl logelher. rniense healts generated andthtsagatn arouses thesleeptng serpent, kunda|ni, whichwhenso activaled drawn is upwards. menta concentration lhe aid ol [,tantra, jivalma By I with the whrch oi the s hapeoi a ftameis broughl is downlromihe heartto lhe l\.4uledhara so lo say, unitedand movedatong wth and. awakened Sakti.As ils coils are loosened, ape(ure lo the lhe doorof Brahman, Brahmadvara, the modlhol lhe SusurnnA, ai s openedand lhroughthe Colrinenerdrwilh/n Kundatniis lect the Ailer p ercinglhe Mu adhiiracakra,wilh the aid ol lhe concentral goes upwardand p ercesa I centresand on, KLtndalnl p ercesa centres and untteswilh siva at lhe saharara centre. The s gn iicantpo nt, here,is ihat n the ascendings She lourney. absorbs all the grosselements ascribed the ceftres and on bathsIn the ambrosa issuesby Sivain lhe Sahasrar cakra.In return loLrneyShe revilatzesall cenlresand comesbacklo the Muladhara cakra,her abidn9 ptace. This process shoutdbe reaga n and again. Peated 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 endows sadhakawiththe io /owing the quairl es. When i1atla]nsto Sahsrara ts upward journey, on sAdhaka becomes complele iberatedtrornlhe lmnations body mind y oj andspacearound. lhe ret!rnjo!rneywhilepassrng ln through lhe Atiracakra endowsthe sadhaka with the qualty ol succ;ss of words,rneans whatever speaks he turnoul lo be ull mately true. ll conlers the vak siddhi. When t passes to visLrddha cakra,sadhaka endowswith a unique lypesof oralton whtchwhence ulters, he keepslhe hearer spe I bound. When i passeslhroughAnahata cakra,it coniers un que poweroi drscrimination wh/chsadhaka by comesto know !'rhats goodand whal s bador whal is elernal and whal s nonetefnal. When il comes lo the Manipura cakra,sadhaka is endowedwrlhtheknowledgeoivariousvdyasor abililieswithoul be n9 tought When tl passesthroughthe swadhisthana cakfa,

The Kundainiyoga dealswilh the seat or centres of con' in sctousness. cenlresand nadisare located the subllebodyot among 72,000 nadis, thepranayama sarira. Accod ngto theTantra, which are spreadthroughout body,only fourteennadisare ihe lmpo(anl.And amongfourteen y lhree namely, on lda, P nga ,r PingaLa alongwilh and Susumna nadlare significant. and lda run The the Susumna the lelt and lhe righlsrdeol it respeclrvely. on in Tantraterms is known as kanda s in lhe root of all nadiswhich Kundalnini Sakli liesdormant atthe end of Nluiadhara cakra.The Kunda nl the Susumna channel. How to awakenlhls sleeping we shallsee il now lhousands yearsback. ot Tantra has workedoutthisprocess ng Thouqhthis processis a difiicuit task but il glves evetlasl pre-requirement th s process ot oi elerna joyto sadhaka.The is ol awakening KLrndalini, the guidance an expertleacher lhe who can ellL' who shouldbe well versedin this type of practice cienly guide in this processllll il cornesto ts naturallrliton. purity physlcal of bodyThe obiective ofihis process to achieve ls pre requisile firmdeleris mindcomplexAnd hencethe Second mrnationor strong will power. aspect,kundalinsleeps As we have seen in the theoretical dormanlai the base of the susumnanadi.So the door of this nadishouldbe openedotherwise arousedpowerls likelylo the pass erther the ida or in lhe Pifrgala n,rdi. in the Therearevariousprocesseslorawakening power mentioned by the di{ferentTaftra treatise. Here we shall see this In orocess rn lhe wordsol ArthurAvalon. lhe wordsof Arlhur "The sadhakasils in as orescribed Avalon. asanaand sleadies the mindby concentrating beiween the eyebrows. is inhaled Air and retained;the upper part of lhe body is contract and lhe prana(upward breathiis checked.The airlhus preventedfrom qoing upward tends to rush downward;lhis escape ol veyu as apana is also checked by appropriale conlraciion of lhe lower parls.The towards Marladhara ihe vayuthus collected directed is upontt with lhe centreand ihe mind and willare concenlraled

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Chapter 4

e wrthpoelc senseand lhe sLrbl lechnqL.res sadhakas endowed yoga Whnrl comeslo the [,4Jladhara cakra, sadhakaenjoys ol h e a l i h . T h e s e i d d h i s a r e a g a nc r i l e r i ao w h a t a n e x l a n t h e s t sadhaka has beenab e to penelrate various cakras. Theseare the powers wh ch normaly do nol manfesl in a lt aynran. manlests only allef p ercingone afterthe olhercen getstota y lransformed. trs.At the endol lh s processsadhaka
a or lrF suoF'nal- a e-p 9/ o .r. ^il,

Varanamayee. Kalatrna Vedhamayee.25 and llan leslalion the planeof physcal body,which s retaled on wrth the Hathoyoga,s known as the Kriyavat aspect oi the Kundalni saktr On lh s stage,sadhaka does mantiold exer crsesaulomalically underlheinlluence newawakened of power. The Hathayogic exercisedirecltyaffeclsthe spinalco umn of saldhaka in a destruclive nol rnanner but their eliecion syslem grvesheallhto him. The secondaspect s Kalavati. Elymolog cally.Kalar rneans phase.lt may be a phaseof lime ol moon etc Kunda nl s a neryenergy. s phaseof ilame in bodyiakesthe forrnof b le or lt pilla.The p ace of brle in body is very s gnifcant. All rools of d seasesare ocated n the unbalanced secrelon ol lhe f rst o{ trre stomachor jatharagnl. taken food s consLrmed The bythe Tfe al ihe navelregion. Arousedpowerol Kundain slrenghtens lh s f eringcapacilyof lhe bie or pi|akatdwh ch uttirnat; re y sulls nlo heathy body. The Vedharnayee aspect rs the highest manifestatonot Kundalinr sakiiwhich covers alltheselhreeaspects. This aspect dea s wth th p ercingof centres.Bhutalaya the cornptete or controoverbodly constituentsthe resuIotthsaspect. is Sadhaka can cnange proporlion bodily tfre of constituents accordng lo his ,,r,i So thai he can hirnsetl . eslabtish harmonybetweenlive a e i e m e n t s w h c h i s t h e pr e q u i r e m e n th e a t t h . T hiin d i c a i ets re of s s lremendous lherapeutic value. L ke al theselhreelhe Varnarnayt aspecla so has the thera, peurc aspectvery muchvaluable modern tn times. This Varnamaylaspecl manifests the Visuddha on cakra lr'rr s consderedas lhe abodeol Sarasvati. correspond ch The nll area ol the V suddhacakrarn physical body is the throatre g cn through !\]hich pronouncialions the (Varnas) sound oi letters or A I ellershave the r origtnin the Nada lallv or SabdaBrah m a n . h e r ea r e l o u r s t a g e s h r o u g hw h c h n a d a p a s s e s t i t T t nlanrTests the spokenwoTds Valkhari. into or Thesestagesare

C. Therapeutic application olthevarious aspects ot Kundalini Sakti: H thertowe havebeen discussing aboutthe lfreorelrca and ng app ed s de of the Kunda nl yoga. Awaken ol the infer potenThe T,lnlrc way of awakenng s t a rtes s not an easy process. very elJecl becauseI dea s directy withthe menla aspect. I ve process. rs p!re y a psychologica Thrsfacta so can be seen rn lhe Tantrc process worship deily shouldbe done mentaly oi of Kalpayel)and rl is considered lhe highesl form as LBhavayel, givessonre ll s sa d thatthe process sadhana ol supernormal poriersto sadhaka. Whal s lhe use of lhesepowers f sLrppose the sadhaka slls dly n so itudeon lhe peakso{ lhe mounlans ? Ho,,! in lhesepowercan be applred day to day lile ? A aymanis oast concerned wlth whelherKundaini is lhere or not He is
\or o.'.1 or lLospcdslL orgrwl_i.Flo o boger ralo'

painresullng fromlhe cornplexities ile. Physicad s' ifcm th-o ol orCers and 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 descript of Tantra centres and nads we on c ca11 \rr'ork one hypolhesis ch rs re aledwrlhthe therapeul oLrt wh aspeclvrhch runsas lo lows: The awakened Kuknda can be c assiiiedaccordin!l ils in lo v a r o r s a s p e c t s l m a ni e s l a t n . T h e y r e n a m e l yK r y d v a l. o o a

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Chapler4

Accotdlnglolne sdn and vaiknati. Mad_yan'a oara,oa:vanlt, 'e5lslhro igh words-ndn lhe va Inan or thespo^en <^rl rnousls whlch are knownas Varnas Amonglity leltrs the lilty'lelter a' vowelsnamely a, i' i, u, u, r' ri /i, e ai' o au' there;re sLxteen are live consonanls dividedintofive groups rn , h. The lwenty lollows: which runsas ghn g l(h k
I

I p hard

chJ tho lhd phb non

lhn dnn dnn onm nasal

-::

y, namely, r, l, v, s s h l and Lasl nineare semi-consonanls ol ks is a compound K and S. Now let us come lo lhe Tanlra anatomy wllfl a vLewlo worK aspect As we know ac_ wilh healing related oul the hypothesis lda lhere are two channels, and PLngal'r cordinot; the Tantra, lelt is,sLrsumn:r' and r ghl thal runnin;alongthe middlechanneL, are microcosmicchannels Thesetwo side oi il respeclivelymoonand sun And withlhe macrocosmic to beiieved be related being so, lda nadi conlans menlalcurrentsas it relateswith with vitalcurrentsas it relales nadi coniains moo; whi e Pingala ilow lhroughlhese vitalcurrenls sun,Thus, in brief,menlaland is theseto currents alsoone ol the salibetween Disharmony personality Becausedlsharmony ent cause ol diseaseor spllt emoton belween disharmony these two curreniscreale between with lda and Pingalare' related and intelleclwhichare directly specrvely. that ii lhe llow ol the All thesedetails lead us to conclude goes ln excess degreein lhe lda menlalcufrentsor emollon LlKe or moreimaginative fancilu or behaves nadj,man becomes he beiomesIncaoab'e lal'l_g'al onal oi or'n ol',"t *orOs, "ro,'." Al lhe same time rl the llow ol vita' cJ enl ooes 0e_ decrsion. or morevigorous rigld Bolhlhese manbecomes yond propodion,

.l
ti

Z. .. ; E9 1.' -

:i

tn

g!

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Metaphys ol Tanlra cs

129

s tuations are nol good for heallhybody,mnd comptex. Excess or any .urlanl Furlslhe oersondltly rrdr ol The Varnamaylaspectol lhe Kundalinlhrowstrght lhe on way10comeoutfrorn s calam As the SaradeTlaka aTantfic th ty. work dec ares,the pronuncration letters vafnasis possib of or e w th the helpoia rorvayu. Accordtng the sametreatise to (pala) lhe eifeclof soundol allthevowes are ma nly connected wilh lda Agarn shortvowelsperlan to lda and lour vowes e. ar. o. au. to Susurnna The nasal soundperlans to atmAand visarga to saklr The shorl vowelsare of masculine gender, the long vowelsare of feminine genderand lhe tour a. ar, o, au are oi neuter gender. Twenty-ltve consonantsirom k lo m are mainly connecled Pingala sibilants connected Susurnna. with and are wrlh 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 olherscontarn mentallorce lheirorign is elther n as Prnga or in lda. a Nowlromlhe givendetails can assume we thatil, suppose. sLrbject is suileringfrom the vtal de|ciency. A This vital defciencycan be recovered the correct pronunc by alion of lhose letters whichare re atedwilh Piagata nadr. Accofding the chart which is workedout by lhe Sarada to T iaka.lhe pfonounciation arand a createa d1llerent ol typesoi eifecls as lormer is relatedwith the pingalanad and ater rs relaled lh the lda naldi. w A Shortvowel

The Varnamayaspeciamongall lheseaspectss rnore ad' rules the vrsableIn tormerthree, person haslo undergoceTtarn wh whichare difficult alL, le in the Varnamayl Ior and regulations accordlng the lo aspect.a healercan pronounce letter a pattent Pa hrs and lo hrs requiremenl help h m n strenghten longt vrly. healer. depends the on as I en1has nol to do anything everlhing whch leads us to the drugless Ths is lusl a hypothesis, How iar t s elleclve on how lar lherrresullsarea per' therapy. demand Iurther the manenl? The answers allihesequeslrons of is ll resea.chin lh s regards. it works elfeclively, d no1a mosl ? oi benelcia app ied aspect the Kundalniprocess Conclusion: thatwe can !t ize by t has beenproved lhe modernscience g i v e n y l h e n a l u r eR e s t o i l h e e n t b o n l yl i l le a m o u n o t e n e r g y ergyliesdormanl Th s sameconceplis m rrotedin the Tantric ini The goal oi lhe Kunda yoga is lhe conceptol the Kundalnl. lhis abo!rt and realize ng ol this poweror lo be conscious \.rnfold Inherenl iatentpowerwh ch in Tanlralerms ls known as the ni awakening lhe Kundal Sakti. oi Tantfrcway of unloding oi nherentpoweris very ef{eclve shoud have lrea and at the sarnet me dangerous so.Sadhaka pat lo mendous ence persslence and resrstance face any k nd resulingirorn lheprocess. ol consequences level has 1oaltaincertarn Beiore Kundalrnl awakens sadhaka ons. 01physca and menla preparat residesn the subtlebodybut how the subl e The Kundalini place? Physcal body sal_ wilhoutany residing body can exist it So for reaching sublle, is necessary lhe sl es lh s requiremenl. gl r o s s l. t m e a n s o d y s h o u l d e b b t o c o m e o v e r l h er m ( a l i o n s o puriired madedevoidol any disease. or Ivlere heallhybody 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 We are nol affecled onlyby physlcasufferings one but rnenla ol our sullerngs.Hence a menlsare also oneoi lhe rool causes

P ngala nedi Vltality

Long vowel ldanadi N4entalenergy

In lhe same way deliciency mental currenls so can be ot a removed the pronouncialion leltersrelated by ot wilhihe ldanadi. pronounciationletters, Thuslhrough ol harmony between emoton and Intellecl can be eslablished, which s the pre-requirernenl of Integratedpersona iy. tl-re

130

Chapler-4

131

be like body m nd also should kepl pureand concentrated. al By consdering theseponts, Tanlrahas workedout ts on way oJ altan ng concenlral in thal lorm n wlrch ts propef ensuresheath 01 bolh body and m nd. app cat on necessary This s realy a signilcant aspecloi Tantrasadhanawhich puis stage. Tantra a hlgher on HowTAnlric way of concenlration medllalionp!ril es and or nd the slrengthens body-m complexlhatwe haveseenunder the ttle EssentialsoiTantrasadhana".Thefewehaveseenlhelherapeutc valueof Nyarsa, lvl!dra,BhulaSuddh etc. This nnerpurl cat on does not lakesp ace automat caly. ll requres sadhanaor constantpracliceIniliat is requred lo on enter nlo the rea m of sadhanar. y realizedguru or gu de is On entt ed to nitate the novice. Thus n Tanira sadhana, bas c req! rementrs lo havean lhe not eff c eni gufLr, onlyat the n tlal evel,but at evel oi awaken in!tlhe Kundainl or piercng the cenlres The awakened Kundajinl ensuresheallhof body .iifd com jo p ex and alsofeleases alenlpowefs ch agarn 1rfes body ts wh from nside. The var oLSaspectsol and m nd aga nst any attack lhe awakenedKundalni namely, Kryavat, Kalaval Vedharnay . and Varnamay are nol also devoidof therapeul va ue, The c wh basedon the lherapies ch arewofkedoui hereare hypolhesis The goa of Tantra sadhanas oLrl and oul sprrtua . lts goa s . . j r o , b . n o n i l h o Ld 1 y s o L _ d p n p l ' s . t r o ' l l ' " " i l ment or ior the fea ization lhe sourceol Lrniversa ol energy,rt has no1neglected physca body.On lhe contrary I has the workedoLrt thosetechniques process or through whichthe gross bodyof the m crocosm can be subimated intomacrocosrn. Thrs oi sad s I he rnost poslive and pr ce esscontribulion lhe Tantra hana n the rea m of lherapes.
2

FOOTNOTE S A l m e s v a r a a m y o g a Y o g a hI s o C o m m e . l a r yo l k a u n d i n y n l h e P a s u p a l a u t r aI 1 c H . Edited by Chakraborli, aripadaPublshed bv Academ Pub_ , l s h e r s .F i r s lE d i l i o n 1 9 7 0 . h a C i t l a d v a r e n a e s v a rS a m b a n d h a e i ! y o g a hI

9 S a r v aD a r s a n a S a m g r a h a 5 ' 1 3 0 v 3. c t l h S v a t a n t r a 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 h u Y A d e v iS a r v a b h u t e s c e t a n e l y a b h i dv a t e l yh 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 pS la 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 . palihsadv' Lrktah 5 . Tasyakasyapig ! nakarmabhedapeksyavibhagah o S Sarva Darsana amgraha l Madhvacarya p L S A a s v a r y av a c a n a m a a s c a k l i g h a r a k r a m a Devbhagvata. y b Y o g ic e n n a l v a h o g is y a d b h o g i c e n n a i v a o g a vI ' a a Ka B h o g a y o g e t m a k a m a L r l a mla s m a l S a r u a d h i k a mp r v e 1 l T K u l a r n a v a a n l r a2 _ 2 3 .
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 .s y a t r u ah r S a b d a h t a n no d h a k a hI t A n d h a k a r rn i r o d h a l v ag u r u h i t y a b h r d h i v a l e a T K u l a r n a v a a n l r a1 7 - 8 .

1 0 . Yah S vah Savirrgah SukksmsconmananiskalosvyayahL

p S a V y o m a k a s e j o s n a n l a h a k a l h a mp u j v a t e r v e t b i d1 3 - 5 1

Chapter4
ll A t a e v a S i v a h S a k s a dg t ' r u r u p a m a m a s r l a hI S d i B h a k i y aS a m p n j i l o e v b h ! k l i o nm u k ln r p r a y a c h a t1 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 n o a h m aS r r g u r u k a l h i t a h y e I l p br r bd 1 3 5 7 . l3 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 . s a c a n a s y a dv i n a c : r r y a m i rc a r y ap a r a m p a r ar i tbdt33 r 5 D i y a l e J n a n as a d b h a v a s y a t e p a s l v a s a n aI k j T a k e nf r o ml h e T a n t r a a h a v n a n ab y S h a r m aS r R a m a M 1 6 S p a r s a k h y a e v i d r a k s a n j i ar n a n a s k h y m a h e s v a r aI d a K n y a y ad e v i d k s a l r d h a t m f u i a s 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 y a v a S u d d hs l L r d ' , o a r f p de K | ] l a r n a vT a n t r a - 1 6 . a 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 tT h e V e d a a f d t h e T a n l f a p p 2 4 2 . s . 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 1 9 A v a o n , A r l h u r : S a k 1 n d S a k l a p 5 4 3 ,P u b l i s h e d y c a n e s ha f d a b 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 a p a l i l V , F u r t h e rg h t s : T h e V e d a n d t h e T a n t f ap . 2 4 7 . l a , 2 1 N a k a s l h ev i d h y a t e e v o n a p : r s a n a t e a m r u n m a y o d n B h a h iv d h a l ed e v a h l a s m a rh a v a s t u a r a r r d ' , i bl k 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 a e v a l a p r a y a S u d d h a n t a a k a r a n as a d a d h h D v a n d v a l i l V i t a r a g a h a r v a b h n l ak s m lI o S h N l a h a n i f v a nT a n t r a 1 5 5 a 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 a r a a b h a v o l a m a h s 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 m v a s a s a n el s

Metaphys ol Tanlra cs
Talpasc:rtsreyasa Slhanam divya bhavo matraphatahll T a k e n r o ml h e T a n t r a 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 f M part I, p.117. published canesh 23 Avalon. thur:Principtes Tanlra, Ar of by

21 A v a l o , n . 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 d y c a n e s h A b
2 5 Calurvidybsa samdist:rkr yavatyadi bhedatah r Kriyevall Var|rarnayee Katalm:rVedhamayee. 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 h a t n a g a rr,9 4 9 i

26
T r a n s l i o ni s t a k e n f f o m l h e e v a r m s a k n( D t v i n e o w e r ) b y w a m a D a p S

Chapter-5

Applied side of Tantra: Dance,Music,Astrology, Sarcraments

Chapter-5

Applcation any pr nciple s one ol lhe decidng lactorsol ot ts scundness. For nslance,in the realmo{ science, lhe law ot gravitat is considered an authenlic universallaw The on as or reason il is lhat il dealsunexceplionally a11 of with objecisof the universe. Whalever throwupwardnecessarily we comesdownward.ln addition thislype ot inslance, may add the law of lo we ca,.rsatron whlchstates lhat everyellectpresupposes cause, a or in olher wofds, cause necessarily createsellecl. All lhese aws are universal theirapplication and decidesthe soundness of ihal branchoi knowledge irom whichthey emanate. BeLng a system, Tanlra alsobasedon some principles is amongthern the caTd oTe s lhe principle cultivating energy.Stgnficance na of oi ol energyin lile needsno illustration. or energy is the core Life Tantra ol un verse. has toundout lhe sourceol energy, only nol that, bul il has also mentioned the way ol cultivationand channelizalion il. oi ForTantra, energy s the Ultimate Reality. Eve hing s bul its manLleslation. creales,sustains ll and deskoys. How does it lh s work ? Energydoes lhis throughv bration and movement whichare its unavoidable aspecls. thesetwo alsocan be lhe So ads ol the reaLization energy. ot lndan arls lke ol Musc and Danceare basedon these two aspects respecl vely. The rootof the term Nratyais I nrlla means"to act"wh ch s highy re ated w th movements. dancerthrough gesA dilferent tures(Mudr?ls) movements his/herown o. creales universe lhe on stage.Through the rhylhmical movements he/sheis attunedto lhe entrre cosmicmovements. thisway he/sheesiabrshesan In denlty ol lhe linitewith inlinite which is our goal. Like dance,music also ends inlo realizsalion. music, ln notes(svara) enjoysignrlicant stalus.In Tantra, lhesesvaraare

138

Chapter-5

App ied slde oi Tantra:

139

consdefed as the Nadasaktior cosmic,soundwhich is one of power.As in the aspeclsol the Kundalinl sakti,the universal as Brahmanor Vedos,so n Tantraalso, Sabda is considered Be ot energy. ng a manilestation the N:rdasakti,eachand every poweris lellthroughlhe mediumot leiterishighlypowerful.Ths ol v bration. And because th s we feelthe impact the arfanged of Ragaof music. beinga rnanltesiat on Eachand everyalom o{ the Lrniverse, We are noi the only enlily n the ol energy,rssuesvibralons. also.This so, like a is un versebLrllhere awrde planetarysystem According lhe Tdntric to conslantly rssLres eclriccurrenls. e !s, pfinciple identity and macrocosm, atlracoi beiweenmicrocosm faclor the lionand repusiontakesplacewhichbecomes deciding sys mpactof the planelary of lhe favourable and unfavourable and p anetsgive belweenvibraiions the subject ol lem. Harmony is givesunlavour. The Indianastrology Iavourwhiled sharmony basedon thisTarntr pr ncLple. c lhal we are slaveol the Apparenily s leadsus lo conclude ih p anetary io il syslem. Bul according Tanlra, is not so.Our mind planetary syslem.Poweris therebut it is is more powerfulthan lalentin m nd. A siddhaor an exped can compe the planetaly menlalpowers. sysiemthrough cullivated his The pr m tive man bel eved thal the causeoi p easureand pain s the supernatural power. ihe benign nfluence ihe on For on rnporlant occasions lie whichstarttromconcepl tocrema ol (Sodasa Samskara) are I on ground whichare sixteen number in wlthlhe helpoi I\,4antras Yantfas. and stillbeingcelebrated olTankicprrnc aspecis, in{luence the Likeabovementioned ples are also discernible otheraspecisof life but withinthe on about lhe above men' liml oi this is, we shall see somelhing oi w ironed aspects.we sha lproceed th the dancean expression Innatecrealrveenergy. A. Dance: Bealityoi wh ch conslanl For Tanlra, energyis the Ullirnate Lord is aspecl-Tirntric Sivals consid' movement the unavoidable

eredas the lordol dance,Nrityamurii Nalraja-a or master dancer. Rhythmboth n universe and in dancealso rs unavoidab e aspect. n universe, see the processof creaiion,mante we nance anddestruction a rhylhmicalorder ln beingconstantiy done by cosmrc Realty. Beyond lhesethereare alsotwoaspects which (Tirdhdhana).These are namey, grace(Anugraha)and conceaLment ilve lold aspecloi Reality symbolzedin a posture Natrala, rs of lne greatdancer. The danc ng posture handsand legsol Nalrata nol also ol is olt of s gn ficance. s posluresuggests va as most beneJi, Th S crallp mankind. The righthandwithdrumand1re syrnboiizes the handof protection (Abhaya) le lefthandwiihdandams a hand wh ol besiowing lhe boons. This is the descrption ofthe exoteric formoi poslure Natr: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 rdenl between crocosm ty m and rnacrocosn-t or Indivrdual and the Universaseli. As the universe ihe sell ls slageof cidambram LordSivaon whichHe dances, same ol lhe cdambaram rs localedin the body,thal is, hs heart where Gods mage elernally dancesior destroying Maya and re, lhe leasethe sp rit withn. As Rao Gopinaihhas r ghl y observed, ''Sivas a destroyer groLrnd. whatdoes and oves the burning Bul He destroy? Nut merelylhe heavens and earthat the end of a kalpa.but lhe ieiterslhai bind each separalesou. Where and ground. is not the place whereour earthty what is the burning lt bodes are cremated, the heariol the bhakta, devoteeaid but lhe urasle and disoate.He br ngs not peacebut a sword. The place wheretheir ves are destroyed se signriies placeor stalewhere the the r ego of ilusionand deedsare bruntaway:lhat lhe crema, is ground toriu.n,lhe bLrrning whereSr Nairaja dances.I Sjva as deslroyeris known as lvahakalawho even rn lhe work ol deslruclion, y conslanl creales. The consorlot Slva as fMahakala knownas'Tandava'. is Either way il is the movement of energyihal br ngs aboutchangein lhe cosmos.Now let us see

140

Chapter 5

A p pe d s d e o t T a n t r a

l4l

aboLrl danceof Kal . lhe something 2. Dance ol Kell orenergy: Lesya Nritya . His We havegot grmpseol Sivaas lordoidance.Through namely, maintenance. dance. doestvelold activities He crealion, graceandconcealment. doesthiswiththe he p of deslruction, He his consorl,Sakt Kai, who nspiresSlva to expressany ges' Sakt s also a dancer, She dariceson lhe proslrate body of her lover Siva. This postures a so h ghly signliicant. r John S Woodrolle hasbeautilully disclosed signiicance the danc the ol ing poslureof KAli,or energy. his own words,"She s naked In be ng clothedin spacealone(Digambara) because Greatpower is un mted;lurthershe is Herself beyond l\rlayalhat poweroi Hersef wrlhwhichshe creales universe. all She slandsuponthe whle corpselke body ol Siva. He is white becalse He is lhe (Prakasha), lranscendenlal ll,Jm nation. the aspecl conscious ol ness.He s inerl becauseHe s the changeessaspectol the Supreme andShe s apparentlylhe changing aspecl oith-"same, be ng twin aspeclsol the one who is change ess and existsas change."2 Tantrc pr nc plesare not related onlyw th the esoleT mean c postures ing ol dance.But ils technique, ike the Halhoyogic pranayama alsoconnecledwiththe geslurers (Asanas), (N/udras) are Danceand Halhayogic technique : Danceis not merey a movement body but il also repreoi sents ihe exposlon ol lhe moodsand emotons ol mnd. For perJecl presenialion moods, ndshouldbe calmandlh s calmness of m L ke can be gainedlhroughpranaryarma. ca mness,the I exibllity 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 ga^ s p , -' . i , asa this. So wth the helpol asanasand pranay:rrna, dancercan a perfecily. expresshis/heremolions The abovernenlioned fact is realized by Zdena Bronislaw Ska Deylova. Her experience has been publshedin the "Yoga" lnwhichshehasacceptedlhatlhepractice lournalofApril,1978,

oi the Hathayog asanashelpsin the Juliilmenlof the dance. n c her own famousdance yoga-etude" has presenled serres she a oi s xteenasanas.3 Danceis an expresson of innatecreal ve powef,that is known as KLrnda The activty oi iie iorce in untverse lhe cosnric nl is dancewfrch s conslanlly power. beingdone by Ltniversal Awaken ng oi Kundalin also manilests a creativrty an artist.In as in
ho ro<- or oo,. a 1.. od-.e. t, ,o.lgr l-e ga<rL,o, rea zo. t..

nectarof B ss which ariseslrorn the union of Siva Sakl, the periect coLrp ol universe. c ose this pointw th the wordsol e We a dancer 'S va andParvati havebeen lhe nspiration a I dances. of the perleclma e-female, dual persona lhe tzatron the Abso oi lute a B. Music: L k-o dance,musicis a so a dtvinemanifeslalion un versal of Energy, Kundal The coreoi mus c is Nada, nl. whichis one of the aspects Kundalini. ol that ts Nadamayee. Perfect beslows on perfection biiss. mustc In restsrnlhe Nada tallva Whena s fger gets identii cationwith NddaSakt. he enjDysthe same blss as a yogior lhe dancerfeelsat the peak oi perlect The Nada sadhanaawakens latenlpolentalt es on. the of Sadhaka. Hor,vt awakens, that is expressed by Svaml 'i Pralnananada. rs the lact when the Sadhaka,arttsl and lhe syrrrpalheiic isteners realze lhe realessence ihe Nadala va, oi they dive deep inlo the mysterious kamaka or Kundaini and a come to knpwor urqelor knowledge the dealof rnusic. of stirs the s eepingco ed Kundain or subconsc ous mtnd.and conse, quenly, g ves a startfor lhe ascentof the div n-abas c energy. Gradually awakened the energypenelrates lhe Iorcecentres all oi the body (ol the spinalcord)and linallyreaches thousand the pela ed otus of lhe Sahasrara, seal of al conscousness the Pararna Siva and then sadhakaartistand the sinceremusc lslenersleed vinecommunion oflhe jvatmaandthe paramZrtma. Theythenattain lru tionof the NadaSadhana. the whichenabes themlo cut as underthe knolsof nescience realze the lran and scendenlaBrahman And this stagecan be sa d to be the u t

142

ChapteF5

App ied s de oi Tantra

143

(paramprapt) of lhe practce ot rnusic."s mateach evemenl Thrs eadsus to concudethatliberation lhrough musicliesrn the rea zatonoitheN:rda tallva.The Nadataitvawhich iscore ol mLrsics also an Lrnavoidable aspecl of the Tantrasystem When we are going to discuss musicas the appled sde of it Tantra. w il not be out oi placeto havea glimpse Nadatattva. oi 1. Theory ot Nada : Like Vedicphllosophy, Tantraa so bel eves in the wor d oi jagal. As lar as the wor d ol name and fofm. (Narnarupaheka 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, Nelda ng lt tatlva s a so a I pervad enlily. is the I rst modification ultirnale of Rea ty There s nothing this worldwhich has no narll-o. in Because verycreation dependson name.Vo ition(Echa)olcreatonspror to any concretecreation. verse was iirsl W lled by Cosmc Un (Sa asakayata)then Creator creation took place.Our w ll ng can be expressed onlythrough wordsor etters.That's why ord Him se f has sa d n Vedalhatthe creation has corneoul fromspeech or v:rk She is lhe creatorof universe.6 furtherdec ares, The lt knowerol the Vedasknowsihat the world s a manilestal ol on

ForTantfastruckvoice(AhataNacla) va khari,one fo the is The reststagers knownas ParA, Pasyanli and stagesof Vark. are unstruck voice(AnAhata NAda) s a parava. A Madhyamaand deIromstruckvoiceand gradually m!sicianstartshrsSadhane vo ve ops th s mlrsc to attainthe goal,that s unslruck ce, or AnAhata NAda,or vaikharilo Paravak.Nowwe shallsee some thing aboulthe concepl Nadaaccord loTantra. of ng 2. Concept ol Neda in Tantra: SadhanaWhen Awakennll of kundaini is the cofe ol Tantra voice(Anarhaia a the theK!nda n nl awakens, yogihears unstruck Nada). s happens only when pranalvital torcelilows from Th A SLsumna nstead of lda and Pingala. greal rad ance ar ses as frori Nadawh ch manliests Binduordol.Ths Binduis div ded (lfiana) Intothree aspects, thal is. narnely, ieeha knowledge wil entily Hence Nada tattva,the a I pervading and act on (kriya). wh sourceol wi knowledge action ch are the pr-^ and becomes requrement everycreaion. ol n Tantra. Bind! s considered highlypotenlal. As a drop as w of semen(virya)casl nto ov!m and united lh femae ova can
'6 r' nlo . no, p A r c o n ai l y o ds c seed q.) o

vak.7
Now et us see how musicv ews Nadalaliva. n the Samgta llarpana,Nadalatlva s highlyesteemed, everthing as depends on Nada.Nadaor Solrnd s the essencol erther which is lirsl amonga obiects the world.So t is sa d that al grossoblects of are madeup ol Nalda soundand henceNadais the sourceol or The rootol the word Nada,is Nad meansthe !nstruckvoice (Anahala Nada). s unstrLrck ce manlestsin notes sentence Th vo or angLrage whch s knownas slruckvolce (AhataNada) because whi e speakng the oulgorng r str kes the vocal chord a and creaies soundwh ch is classiiied Tanlrc seeTs 'struck by as voce" (AhataNada)Thesetwo lypes ot Nadasare aso ment oned by the Samg(aDarpana and Samgta Makaranda.s

potenla ilily lo resu1 in a hugetree,likewise, Nadawhrchis the the same as B ndu is h gh y potenlal.Tanlrasees no d llerence has quoteda betweenNada and B ndu.eSvami PrajiAnanada and beaullu versewhichdeclareslhecharaclerstics s gnifcance
of Nada. !

Fromthlswe can concude thal lhe Nadaof mus c is but the rel eclionol TAntric notion Nada.Nada s the sou ol musicbrll ot lor the .nanrleslat oi sou , body is required. on SbLrlNAda.iani wh feststhro!gh ihe body Raga.Raga s the means through ch Be Narda manifests. ng a conlaner, Rdga also p ays prominent o r o e n r n ! s i c . S o e l u s h a v ea g l a n c e v e rt h e t h e o r y f F l A g a . o 3.Theory ol Rega: Baga is lhe bodyof sou Nada,whrchmeanslhrolgh Raga, ? Whal is the meaning Rarga One may havea ol Nadamanilesls. question. lhe treatse on rnusc Raga s consderedas some In

1i :i ;$i iiiiii;iialigi$iiii {g *:Fiiqeiiei[lge iiE aii *[i $ ;gi i ;iiFiiqt*$,i,ffiii r i+riief,;gt5ii iii
9 Premotdial elemenl Earlh Bija Mantra Larn Fam Ether Ham Cakra Muladhara Swadhisthana [/]anpura Anafrala VrsLrddha lvlegha S R:iga Vasanla Bhairava

1. 2. 3 45-

Sadyyojata Vamadeva Aghora Tal-Purusa lsana

146

Chapler5

Appied sld of Tantra

147

ments(Panca mahabhirta) namely, lire,air andether. earth, waler, n Ih. \(orldo'nan e /VananayaJdgdt ll-e5eolere_.s ore ,apresented the seed lellers,lam,Yam,Ram,Vam and Ham reby spectively.These letters inscribed the I ve centres seed are on of energy(cakra) lhe subl e body whichare namely, in lvluledhara, Swadhislhana, Manipura, Anahata and Visuddha cakra.One oi the ive gross elemenlsalongwilh lhe rest is pfedomnanl n each oi the centresrespectively, earthalongwth otherele .e. ments s predorninant fMuladhara rn Walerrn Swadhislhana etc. Nol oniy centres, elements predominanlnMudharaWaterln is Swath stah,lnaetc. Not only cenlres,elemenls and seed letlers but the musicalilvemaiorragasare also beiieved be related 10 w th the fivecentres energy. ol SvamiPrajaanananda worked has oLl ihe charlwhichrunsas io lows: Among lhe iive centres, Vlsuddha the cakralTas been cons deredas lhe abodeoi Saraswaii. goddess mus c. This The of centrewh ch is also knownas lotus has a s xteen petalsfrorn whichth sixteen muslcalnoles produced are which are narnely (the mysticsyllabie : (1) Pranava om), (2) Udgtha (a portionol (3) Sarnveda,' Humphat (ivystic sylableused n incantatron, (4) 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 o n e d n o i l e r n g ( ) ( us oblalion lhe de ty), (7) namasthe termusedln conneclion th io w the name ol dietyto s gnily venerat on), (8) Amritalambrosia) T h e s e v e n ! s i c an o l e s a m e y ( 9 S h a d a j a 1 0 ) i s h a b h a1 1 ) m n ) (, R (, (12) Gandhar3, Madhyama, (13)Pancama, Dhavar, (14) (15)Nsada ( 1 6 )B s h a( p o i s o n ) . ' Rapport (Nedanusandhana)a unique given with NAda, glir s by Tantra savaton. As we know and iee lhai mind is very lor unsteady. Sardhana, nd is required be Iullyconcentrated ln m to and cahned. Tantra says thal musicis the easiestway through wh ch one can-oasily concentrate one'smind.This beenbeau has t fu ly exp ainedin lhe Nadabindu upansad.i6 This ead us lo conclude lhat, the Nada Sadhanaoi music can be lhe meansof awakening K!ndalni Sakti. the Thus mLrsic s one of the TAntrc way ol realizing the denlty betweenthe Tnacrocosm tne m crocosm. ano

C. Astrology: SLrppose lhat one car rs goingon withthe speedol 120 km. y and sudden the dfver, sullersfrom a hallucination sees,as f lhere is dusiy boardwilh "Stop,dangerahead" nscribed 1. on Driverslopsthe car and n h s grealastonishmenl lhere s a b g valley lrom his car.Then he lriesto f nd oul lusl a lew krlomeiers the boardbul in his utter surprise lhere s no boardal all. In this siluatlon whal wou d be th nk ? This eventcan be judgeddillr ent y as depend uponone'srnental ng stale and his conception. It is certainthat when he sees a valleynear hlm, he defintely frfstoi al, wouldthink that he ls savedrniraculous A y. theislv ews this evenlas a graceol god.A scientisl wouldcer tainy lhinkthathe is savedaccidenlally whrle astrologer an sees the irnpact p anetary oi systembeh nd this evenl.Bll all these v ews cuhimale one poinl,that is, there s somelhng whichis to yet A invisible ellective. iherstconsiders as a gracegood or a it scienlst considers a mereaccidentwh e lor an astrooger t as 'some s an influence p anetary of syslem.Tantra considersthis lhng as an nlluence energy. o{ How il consderslhat, we w I exp a n in the sequel. before do thatlet us be awareot the Bul we re ationship between Tanlra and Astrology. The ltle gven in the beginning this pornldeclareslhat oi aslroogy s derivedfrom lheTanlra, Nowletus seewh ch arethe .oTnon po '\ ' oll^oFn lheselwo dspe!ls. Aslrology basedon astronomy. astroogy,il is be ieved is In that each and everyobjectfeel rmpaclol astron(stars-planel). princip of idenl, Th s is nolh ng butlhe reflecl of lheTentric on e fication between macrocosm and microcosm. Whalever in un is verse also exisl in hurnanbody. Becauseot lhis denlification, Tanlraconsders body as a rn niature verseand univore a body of Siva. un as The universe whichI es in the bodycan on y be seen by the yougicvis on. In the cosmc v sion (Visvarirpa darsana) Lordkrisnahas shownto Arluna toudeen the bhuvanas Him.Eachand everyperson in has gol thistype ol potentialil bul its expression es requires Sadhana. very SwamiVjanananda the Ioreword lhe Brhaiiatakam in ol

148

Chapler5

App red s de ol Tantra fie d ol aslrology

149

the as on beaullully reflects t'ase ol astrology resling vedantic pr ncipes whichare exaclly sameas thoseot Tanlra syslem, Let aretwobroad and rationalpricip es us seein hisownwords,'There is The first princip upon which lhe e on wh ch aslrology basedrests,is thalol Vedanla, the who e unilhat sc ence ol Astrology verse is acluallywhat the term impies a unly; and that a aw lvhich is lound in manilestalion one oorlionoi the un verse in musl also be equally operative thfoughoul whole. le lhe lhe Wh Eachrnan heavens lorm the macrocosm, manrs lhe nl crocosm, is a iltlewor d exactly representing universe. lhe 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 planetary bodies are a so n iorce amongslourThe secondprinciple lhal, by a study of lhe molionand is posilonsoi the planets, operalions theselawsmay relative the ol measured determined."lT and be observed, Commonprinciples between two systems not necessariy do lead us lo concludelhat one is der ved from another. When we lrom B, it meansA necessariypre-exsts n B. say A rs dervied ll we app y this iacl Tour tille, t suggests Tanlra s much older lhan astroogy in ierrnsoi antiquily, Now el !s lry lo see th s. Vedacan bedivided nto six limbswhich knownasVedarnga. are (Siksa),Rules lor s3criiicial They are namey phonetice acls (kalpa). (Nitukkla), (Vyakarana) Meter(Chanda), Etymology Grammar (Vyakarana) (Jyotisa). the Brahiiatakam and Aslrology In these purusa whlch limbs equaled wilhthesixllmbs are ofVeda in Jyotisa or aslroogy s consldered lhe eyesof Vedapurusa.le as Veda is the gifiof lhe Aryanpeople.In "aniiquily lhe ofTanlra' wilh the help of the reportsof excavalion Harappa, have of we germswere deeplyrooiedintothe lried to provethatthe Tantric soil ol Indiabeiorelhe Aryancame intoIndia.So be ng a limbol Veda,astrology has a lateroriginihan Tantra. This laci leadsus principle to inlerthatAryansmighthaveborrowed Tantric the ol idenlilicat ol microcosm on and macTocosm alsool the influand They mighlhavemodlled ii and appliedit in the ence ol energy.

How the nlluence energytakesplace, lhis we haveto ol for see the lrteoryol alomsand ils magnelic curfents. Th s unrverse, inctuding physical body and planetary systems havebeenmadeout ol fiveetements (panca [,4ahabhula). Any objectcan be redLrced atornwhichrs nolhingbul iut oi inlo e ectncrly energy. or SirJames Jeans, wilhthe helpol researches rnade RulherFordesiabtishes tact.,,Thanks by lhis mainty the to resea.ches Rulher of Ford,t hasnowbeen established every that atom s built up enlirely negalivecharged of eleclrons, and ol pos t ve charged parlicles "Prolons',; proves10be nothtn! matter but a coilect oJparticles on charged wilh electricily.re Thsaiom snolhingblttthe e magnel. ifl Swamr Abhedananda has taedto provelhis withaid ol the Newion's and tromthis, taw he has also logrcally derived tactthatbeinga combrnatron the ol aloms.hurnan body and earthetc.are also a big magnel.20 paragraph In prevrous whiteexplaining constitut ot unilhe on verse,we have made relerence live grosselements ol (pauca MahabhLrta) amongthem elher is lhe mostsublleone,and a so al pervadlng ty.From thtswe can saylhat n universe, enl lhere planelsare rs nothinglke Vacuum is on y an ocsanol ether. but 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 f l h e p a n e t a r y y s t e m r o u n d h r c h l s a w lhe wholesyslemrotates, This syslemhas ils own veloctly and moton drstribuling magnellc their currenls the oceanof elher. tn Beinga magnet a so thfowlhe currenlsn ihe oceanof eilher. we Harmony between lhesetwo currenls creates favourab results e and disharmony resulisnto mislortune. Howthis happens de_ is scribed by Padhey, S.K., in hs book "Astrology".2r these A th ngs establish that beinga magnel,planets have lheir mdo pacton worldy objects. is also.at the sametime,lnteresl Io lt ng note lhal allplanets nol haveone andthe samelype of infiu do ence.Some planets are considered hot, i,e.,IVlars, as Jupiler, Sun whrle some are as coldnamey [/oon, Salurnetc.Their mpact s lell accordng to theirnalure

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152

Chapter5

Appled side ol Tanlra:

D. Sacrraments : by an It was the belielol primilive thatlhey were surrounded naturalpowerswhichwere lheir cause of pleasure and super wecouldsee lhal is of Aslrology. concepl, pain In the prevlous macrocosm ol cationbelween ol trralbecause lhe relation idenlil And ol we andmicrocosm, feelihe impact universallorces hence, ol ol occasions lile,lor ben gn inlluence powers, on the mporlant wereand slil being nvoked whichwerelermedas deilies ol sorneoccasions Soc al Syslemhas accepled The Hinclus wh ile as important ch are sixleenin numberwhlchrs knownas has (Sodasa Samskara).Tanlra alsoaccepled srxleen sacraments but the conceplol Sacramenl un ike, the lormersyslem t has on accepled y ten basicsacramenls, concepl is Tantra lhe sourceol the Tantric The Mahanirvana shouid of sacramenl Bul one may have a questionwhy sacrarnenl lt behind ? The N,4ahanirvarna ? be perlormed Whalis the purpose as T.) views lhe sacramenl a meansof physical Tantra1M.N on.22 mentalpurilical prescribed the M N.T ? by Wh ch are the ten sacraments y on, are These sacramenls narne (l ) concept (2) pregnancy, (4) (3) simantonnayana. b rth, (5) glvingthe chrds name,(6) il s (9) t rsl view of lhe sun, (7) nrsl ealing,(8) tonsure, inveslilure and (10)[,4arfiage.'?3 on Whal shoud be done beiorethe celebrat ol lhese sacraons lor and has ments? The l\rl.N.T. laiddownsomerLrles regulal kausandika ( Accordingloit beforeperlorming the anysacraments, in to rle s necessary be perio.med, whichthe lordI re sasked Ior is LotdErhaspaii alsorequested the lor protect and boons. on Vasus, Agni,marula Brahma, protecllon sacril Lordlndra, ol ce.24 shouldbe worshppedfor gracewh ch may Fudrasand Prajalpati in g ve prosperily.2s lhese thingsshouldbe perlormed preAll scribedmannerlor success n lhe beg nning of sacraments.26 glvenDy ol Nowwe shaLseelhe brief descrlplLon a I sacraments Tantra. the Maharnrrvana

|. carbhedhena Samskea : Conception. ln thissacrament, ditterent the deiiiesare req!ested give 10 Fi'st ooodchird_. trve de.ties tpanca deva)namety tiranma. Dr.iga. Ua-Fsaer.. sno rtdtreworsh;pOeo. thatetght Aller powerc(Asta Sakti) should propitiated. thissacramenl, be In LordVisnuts atso askedlo granllhepowertoconceive.Tvastre, forgiving lhe imbs he ch ld.Ano Dnarais 'equested givepowerto bear. / to fhe, ^o \ 'rrvd Sa.asvaltand I Asvtnas askedlo s.rpporl worno., s are l']e And al the end ol ceremony, Visnuis againpropitiated excel,or /-onl son 2- Pumsavanana Samskare : prcgnancy. This sacramenl takesplaceafterlhe thlrdmonlho, conceplion.Aflerllnishng lhe daityduties, husband the shouldworship deilies. Afler this,lhe wife js askedto drinkthe specialtype oi cLrrd which is made oul of cow,smilk.Thenthe kurcabij; Hum and Maya bija Hrim rs recjled lor the protectionoi wo;b irom girosl, pretasand pisdcas2e spiIrt. {malignant 3. Sim an to nn ayan a Sams ke ra : This rite shouldbe perlormed the sixthor eighthmonth in of pregnancy. The same rite takes placeas it is me;lionedin lhe o r'na savn-a.a sacramenl. [,10reover, threeobldtiolsto v snL. \urva dnd Erahama should be o':c.ed.And tnen I iS requeslao 1oVrsva-Karma saie delivery.30 for 4- Jata-kama Samskdh : Birth: Th,sflle takesptacejmmediateJy atterthebrrthol a so, fne , a Dharahorna ,o and gives rrvaobtalrons Agnl ]::: r-ora. i"n9'.: Prd,dpalt, Vtsvadevas ano Bram6 for vtgour.vttd,.ry :nd Irrmness child.3l ol 5. Netua-karana Samskela : civing the child's name: This.sacramenl shouldhe perlormed allerlhe srxthor ejghth nronthoi birth in lhe case ol son.While in the case girt. ol this

Chapter-5 sacramenlaIrlvers alier Brth ln thLs takes placermmediately Artha ol to bestowqracefor the attainment Dharama' are asked (lndra)' are oblatios giventoAgni,VAsava and Kama.3:Thenilve Aiter that iathertakeshs and Brahmar. V Prajapaii, sva-devas nameintolhe rightear'33 ni" t"p una.p"uks his (boy's) .on in 6. Niskramana Samskerc: lts lirstview of the sun: r" Samskdra Bu1 n lhere rs no Nlskramana For a daughler the case of boy,thls shouldbe perlormedn the lourthor srxtTr moih afterbirth. shoud' the dailydutres, iather aiterhavng atlended 1n rhisrite, adorned be and wo alter bathing rshipGanesa thensonshorrld bathed Visnu' Braharna, requesls wrlhc othe; andjewelsThenh s father prolectlonwhen Iorthe Vayu,Agnl,Varuna Srva,Durga,Indra, ever he g;es oul from the house Then,ialhertakesh s childto 7, Anna'Ptdsanna Safiskdra: First eating When the child becomessix or elghl monthsold, this, nle Then falher are shouldbe done.Firstoi aLlclielles worshipped (Giveroi iood)and otlerher on shoud medltate the deviAnnada Aiter that payasa(Riceboied in milk wrlh sugar ilve ob ations. dno d rlllaq'ee, <_oLo DepJI i_tolae ch ld s nolrlL by Lller nq theManLra;oola|ono'|vevla ars'oThe_ a rrll' ce d_d l mouth curryshouldbe put ln the child's samskera : Tonsure: or takes placeal lhe age of lhLrd llfthyearThis sacrament performing al worshlppedlirst Then aJter A deties shouldbe r l h a l a l ' e r 5 n o L l l oe 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 y o{ present for creator well-being a child 8- cidekama g. IJpanayana Samskera : lnvestitute: place aitheageofeightAllerpefroming Thissacramenllakes g rthe the rile g ven n ihe scriptures, guru givesh m a knotted " 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 offered all dieties. to Then guruwhis, persihe pranava manlra(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, of all,all deities lirst are worshiped. Then aller having compleled ritesln the scripture, all Lordprajapali is asked ior lhe accomplishment lhe desiresol newlywedded for coupe. Then al the end of the ceremony, devi Ftaja-Rajesvari, Kali,Bhuvanesvar etc, are requested the protecllon cou, for of Thus,the decrttonheregivenshowsthaton everyoccasions ol ite,derlies are nvoked iorthe benignnfluenceandasojorthe rernoval evil impacts. of Herewe have mentioned only that parl or lhe sacrarnent which is direc|y related with the rnJluefce ol energy. And rest ol the part wh ch is relaled wilh rituatis om t led.

The conienls thischapter poiniout the widespread of areaof ilewh ch is infl!enced principles.lvan bytheTenkic isnotmerely an an mal but he is something more thanthal.That somelhng is expressed his cultural,religious, by social activities like arts, sacramenls Tantrahas not leftthjs area also.lts principles, elc, namelyiniluence energy, of identilication betweenmacrocosmm crocosm, concept mind,body lhe purification are argeiy of elc. applied al theseactivities. in Howtheseprinciples appliedin are dance,music,astrology and sacraments lhat we have already seen in thischapter. All theseabovementioned aspects are also can be utilized as healthgivlngtechnrques. the delinitionof healthybodyIn rnrnd compex, manylactorsare to be considered. Arnongthen I ex bilty of body and calmnes mind are the dec ding ones. ol Dancegivesboth ol these.ln dance,dancerhas lo do various

Chaple.5 which keeps movements lorward,sideward tvoesol backward, giveshealthlike the Halhayogrc dance Secondly, I boCV exible. havegrealresemblance (Asan:rsa).The dancing mudras ooslures a So with postures. while,doingmudras, dancerdoes asanasa resuts So dance therapeulic which give him/her aulomalrcaLly, move_ keepingt Lnconstanl by makesbodvfree kom diseases (Bhava) expression ol Notonlvmovement bodvbul in dance, an a danceris presenllng ex_ also is very srgniicant.li suppose one with RadhaThis rdenl_ he/she becomes presson oi Radha, the cultivates poweroi concentra_ w iicalion th on y one concepl whichgeneraliy energy prevents waslage menlal of the tronwhich ons ol mind llhelpkeeprng t ows lhroughthe variousmodiiical ol one awayfrom dlstorlion mentalenergyand thus Keepsone mentallyhealthy. va the Likedance,musicalsosecures therapeutic ue llfuslc This calmnes givescalmness mindto bolhsingerand lislener' to ar'seoLl ol w^en 'noslol our dlsease5 o, 1 Inors h ghly'eourred postures' dancer with As being resemblance the Hathayogic a getsihe hea Ing a geis ils therapeutic result. Likewise, musician valJeol pra'ayamaneFds The elleclsol pranaydrna. lhetapeutic no example.As we know pranaand mind go together-By conlrolbe lingone,other can aulomailcally conlrolledSo il lhe speed steadyard conce_laIed o' pranars Jnde'coll'ol, becon'es (re_ ol the praclice Kumbhaka' ol In the preseniatron R:rga, a So lenlron arr/ s high'ybe'elicial. lor berng qoodsrnoe' il is oi ol to Dre-reouiremenl have controlover technique Pranayama prevenls ailments Nadis_bodily lhe oJ This practice Pranayama ol and channels whrchmakesbodYundiseased heallhyThe Ghernada lhal lhe 'egulat Sarhrla a.so supporlslhrs view by declarrng pract ce of Kumbhakakeeps body'mind healthy The role ol astrologyjn are ot therapeulicis differentlhan lhal it lt ol danceand music. not onlygivesthe aapyTherapybul also How it does so ? predicts diagnosis diseases. ol the

Appl ed sLdeol Tanlral

157

In lhe charl altached the conceplol aslroogy we saw lhe in between conneclion etlers,Tarnlric cenlerc, human system, Trdosa e ementetc.Froma ltheseconnectron can conslrucl we one hy polhesis ch runsas follows: wh As we knowlhe placeol zodrac the Indian in aslroogy s very signrficanl. Dilierent lellersare ascr bed to a I zodiacs.li suppose subjeclA is born underthe inlluence Aries. of The letters ascribed Ariesare A.L.l.According the chart,A s related to 1o w th Visuddha cakra,L is w th Swadhislh:rna cakrawhileE aga n wilhVisuddha cakra.ll we applylhe Tridosa elements whrchare re atedwith this cakras,we can say lhat, thissubjeclmay have a constilul ol Valaand Kapha. may be subleclto thal dlson He easeswhichare related withthe consliulionol varla and Kapha. This hypolhesis be applied the areaol al zodiacs. can in Secondly. a so givesthe prediction diseass considI oi by eringlhe movement planelary ol syslem. Everybeingbornunder one sign or zodiacwhichrs governed one planel. by Thereare planets, syslem nrne In whrch rnlerrelaled are withlhe re a either t on ol fr end, enemyor neulra. In the movement planets. ol il a suppose planelcomesin a signwhichhasa relalton enemy o1 wrthlhe Lord oi the zodiac,l givesunlavourable results the to subject, from lhe ca cu ation 01the movemenl planels t So ot canbe predicled lavourable unlavourable of a subjecl the or time lor lhe trealment lhe disease whichone is sublecl. preol lo To venl lhe evi inll!encewhichare arisefromthe disharmony certainManlras are prescribed. Removal evil int uencealsocan ol be done by.wearng pearl,gem, diamondetc., but shoud b proper chargedwrthMantras y othelwise, wou d nol give any it results. thus astrology So and iherapyare inked wilh Tantric praclces w th a view lo diagnzecorrectly the diseases and to prescribe properremedy disease. for Likedance, musc andastrology, sacramenls alsosecure heaing va ue.As lhe IVlahanfivfana Tanlra declares, sacraments deare srgned the purilcal on of m nd-body. Ior Thatpuriled body m nd complex the sourceoi heallh. is As we havesee allsacramenis should donwrlhlhe help be

,ru

"nuo,",-a

Appied s de ol Tantra:
9 Yo vai nada so var brnduh I yogrn hrdayam.

159

of ftranlras (yajfra), and sacrifice Poilul ol almosphere, on which rs also one oi the cause of diseases, c6n be removedby the vibralion l/antras and flameof fire ol sacrilice oi (yajna). This pol utrorlessatmosphere givesheallh to sLrbject ihe peopte and lving afoundil. Th s is how Tanlrars mainlypreoccup not on y with spired ilua uplit of the individual also his physical but we berng. The basrc assumpiion otTantra nolonlyyoga mediation bhoga is or bui or enjoyment also.Onlyyoga leadsone lo abstraclion away and lromlitewhileonlybhogaor indulgence worldty in affafsweakens the body mind. Tanlraby uniting yogaand bhogamakesI ie pufposeiuiand worlhliving. FOOTNOTE Fao,Gopinalh lA., Elemenls Hindu of tconography. t. pad t. Vot. p 23.The LawPrinting House, [,4adras, 1916. 2 Woodrofie, John, Ouoted Bane.ii by Projensh. Dance Shivap oi 30. First Edilion. 1942, Kilabislan, Allahabao 3 Yoga"Jouna, 1978, XV No.4 Published B hafSchoo Apri. Vo. by oi Yoga Monghyr 4 Sarabhai Mrina undelstanding Bharal ini, lhe p Natyam. 29 N4a, harala Sayali Fao Unversily, 1965. preface 5. Svami Pfajnanananda, A historicalstudyndian ot Musrc, XXVIII. 6. Vegeva Visve bhuvananijajne iti I vaca I Sd Saoamanular yaearanydm.,sr,r hl Thakur, Omkarnarh, Prcnava Bhan lH nd ),p. N.M Trpathand 4. Company, Edilion1956. First 7. Sabdasya pafinamosyamitiamnayviduqh vldo I I Nadena Vyaiyale Varnahpadamvarnd padadvacah I Vacaso jagat Vyavahjrosyam nadadhrnamidam SamgilDarpafa1/14,Taken trom Pranava Bhart by Tahakur p. Omkarnath,1.

Chattopadhaya, Kshelresachandra, Published Dnectof.Besearch by 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 9 6 3 . . , 1 0 S v a m lP r a j a a n a n a n d a , h i s l o r i c a l t u d yo l I n d i a n , 4 u s r c , 3 1 2 , A s p f 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 ao n t a k e n r o m " A a g a s a n d B a g n s y G a n g u r . l f b O C . . p . 1 , N a l a n d a u b l r c a t i o n .9 3 5 . P 1 l2 Raga Sadayah I 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 ar , g a n l i s a m b h v o b a v e t l P a n c a s y aP a n c a r a g a hm y u :S a s l h a n t u l r i i a m u k h a l i a G M a d y o v k r a n lS r r a g ov a m a d e v a d a s a n l a k a h ! V l A g h o r a ib h a i r a v a d h u t a t p u r u s a t a n c a m o s b h a v a l b P lsanakhyonmeghrago tyarambhe ivedbhuta nd S I 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 nb h v a tI o S a m g i t a D a r p a nT r a n s l i o na n dv e r c e a k e n r o m ' F a g a n dF a g r n a, a l f b y G a n g ui , O . C . p p . 2 3 , 2 4 . 1 a B a n e r j e e . C F u n d a m e n t a lo f a n c i e n t , 4 ! s a n d D a n c e tp . 7 8 . S s [ c 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 Chaukhamba Sanskil 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 Nedabifdupanisad 8 lo 44. 3 1 7 S w a m V i l n i n a n d a T h e B n h a t j a t a k o f V a r r h at \ , 1 h i r a .. 1 , F o r e . a p 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 e t h i 1 9 7 9 , S e c o n d , E d r lo n . j l8 Sabdasastrem ukhamyolisam aksusi m c S . o l r a n r u k t a mi f u k l a m a n k a l p ak a r o uI n c Yalu S kshasya vedasya sa nasika pedapada-

160 1 d v y a mc a d a a d a i h b ! d h a i h ll b i d ,p . 2 .

ChapteF5

U 1 9 . J e a n s . a m e s , 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 e n i v e r T , J s i l y P r e s s ,1 9 4 5 . w C 2 0 S w a m i ,A b h e d a n a n d a , o m p l e t e o r k s o l S w a m A b h e d a n a u d a . M V o V l , p . 6 7 , F a m k i s h n aV e d a n l a a l h a ,1 9 6 8 2 1 . Padhey,S. K., Astrology,pp. 7 to 10. j 2 2 . S a m s k a r e n v i n e d v i d e h a s u d h i h r n ae y a l e I a Na samskruloadhikari syad 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 p 23. Jivasekah umsavanaimanlonnyanalalhaI s m pa 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 a h f a mI Cudupanayanaodvahah samskarahakalhita dasa ll The [,4ahanituana Tantra 9-4. 24. M.N.T 9 33 2 5 . N 4 . N . T .6 8 . 9 2 6 . N 4 . N . t9 , 8 4 . 2 7 . M . NT . 9 - 9 6 . 28. N4 N.T. 9,98. 2 9 . N 4 . T .9 - 1 2 4 . N 3 0 . M . N . T9 - 1 3 7 . 3 1 . M . NT . 9 , 1 4 2 . 3 2 . M . N . T9 - 1 4 9 . . 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 Tantra of

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, renowned aulhorn h s book,Tzlnlrlc a Sadhana'.1 In the very begrnnng ol his book'Telntric Sadhanawilhoutg v he ing lhe nameoi the polilician, has menlioned thal some lime whowasthe brotheroi who backhe meloneperson onepo ilician, 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 laymanis depend' In democratc countrywhenlheprosperityol pursued leadersthenwhatlhelulureolthat by is enlon the policies countrywhereleaders eleclednot by meritbul by applicatlon are ol magicalpowers?Being a ciizen o{ this country,it is really a paior theliccondilion us il rs true. But as laras our poinl is concerned we are leasl relatedwilh il. what is signilicanltor us is lhat how polltical positioncan be gainedlhroughTanlra vidya?The following lhal ooinlwillorovide Ink. Tantra basically sadhanaJor is a energy.lantric seerswereaware has to face some about the lact lhal during sadhana,sardhaka seershaveprescribed some obstructions.To curbthoseobslacles, (Marrana), (Vasikarana) elc.8ul like Hypnotism lechniques killing went inlo the handsol m lragedy startedwhen lhese techniques ol lor maturesadhakasor laymen.They the satislaclion their per_ purposes, rlvals considering them as them on thelr sona applied obstaclesin the r wav ol success.

164

Chapter-6

ol Deqeneralion ianlra language usedlo readlhe rmpropertrans_ knowedgeof the Sanskrit notion ln lheir ation done by experts wh ch creates a Jallacious m nd.Theviewol Ganthuralsotallieswiththe viewof ArthurAvalon. In his own words, "Thereis hardlyany other kind of liieraturethat by has met with so much abuse pariicularly thosewho never read a of serouslysludied singleline of it, orlhat has so muchfascl_ and uninformed o1 naledthosewho on lhe lesumony misiniomed peop e thoughtthe Tantraslo be most powerfuland henceslriclly urges. y On gu3rded oi biologica means forthegratificationpurely peopleiried lo form as opinionolTa.tras by lhe r own.4 very few s thereare alsosorneothersyrnbo L ke term "Bhutasuddhi", They are namely,linga, yoni, whrch are also verballyiranslated. as etc,, Ardhanarisvara whichare translated phalus,vaginaand as grosscopu alronrespectvely, in realily, we haveseen in ihe Bul thal these represenlonly the source oi crea , conceptsymbo|sm tion. How misinlerpreled. theyare 5 is Thesymboloi N,4'salsohighly judgedand which s ts subllemeaning thal we haveseen n the f Frornthis,we can easilyimaglnethe condiUon, Tanlrasymbolism. And ii actualy happenedby the Sadhakapraclicedit grossly. the it in They practiced grossly soltudeor the sum_ monks. Euddhist No m ts oi mountarns. societycan siand thls lype oi s t!alion. And But from this we hence it becomes lhe cause of condemnalion. principles lowandcheapTheonlythings are can'tsaylhatTantric arewrong nlelpreled. lhatthey Y TheTaniricprlncipes do not leadus to do antisocial activiiies. the has The KularnavaTantra saictlycondemned grosspracliceol goes10 hel.5 By ihe As 5 IV's. t declares doerof this undoubtly declares, MeruTanlra of coining characleristc Vamamargithe lhe money, forlaking awayother's is therealSaldhakathatwhois bllnd led and dealiorabuse, whohascontro all irnpotentto olherwoman, thal to us are relerences enough allow to conclude senses.6These the realTantradoes nol leach us to harmsociely. one solidonsaughthas beenthrown Besdesa ltheselhings, There are cerlain techn ques in Tantraby ma icious Sadhaka. on comeLn path lhe which lorcurbing obstructions the SAdhana Tanlra

The above menl oned illuslralionoi a po itician is enough to show lhe misutllzalionof Tanlrc lechn ques. [,,loreover, a so this reilecls 3lJicacy TantricVldya. of Tentrictradition has beenpassingundersuchuniquecondilion. Due to m sutilzationof il, the very term "Tantra" shockslhe nerves ot many.I\/ajofity oflhe human racewilturnilsiaceby consideflng t as obnoxious.Only rare people will accept it as a sc ence of potenlialiljes. awakening cullivating or inner So both negligence and acceplance enoughto createa conis ilict n laymanwhelherTantra as sacredlikeVeda,or ts it a cheap is Iterature ghoslandglobir,s of whichieaches one to do ant-socal activilies? Beiore we come to any conclusion us see why ayman and lel sometrme schoarsalso,lurn iheirlace fromTantra iteralurelWhich arethe responsiblefaclors which commonproJessorCowel towrite as, 'Someyears ago,the Tantras lorm a branchof lteraturehlghly esternelthoughal presentrn!ch neglected".2 Many reasonscan be givenfor the degeneratton ofTantra.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 effective sddhanasystem 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 proper knowledge Sanskrrt of language, scholars havemerejy traus aled lreatiseverbalirnwhich has k I ed the very essence ot the Tantra system. Arthur Avalon views the impacl ol Engltsh educalron the causebehind as this.He has mentioned illustrat on ol how verba translallonharmsthe very core of the sysiem.As an instanceoi ii he qLrotes concepto{ Bhitasuddhiwhlch is ver, the balytranslaledasihe removal dernon of byEnglishauthorwhch is nol consistenlwith lhe originalT:lntric meanlng. The real Tantric meanrng Bhatasuddhiis purlication of ofirve emenls e namely, earlh, water,tre and its derivatives the body of Sadhaka.3 oi Herewe can seethe vitaldilierence between verbaltranslathe I on andthe rea Tantric meaning. layman genera A lyduelolackof

Deqeneralion f tanlra o ChapleF6

ol Sadhana namely hypnotisrn, deslruction an enemyelc. But ol mmalure questorkidnapp a ch d or Sadhaka useslhesetechn ng a girl,or for rape.So thesemal-praclices S,rdhakas ot havealso playeda prominent e n the degenerat ofTantra. ro on Wilh allthesereasons, social-re ihe igious condition medtol eva trme s also a remarkable causeof condemnation Tanlra. oi When Tanlrawas in lLllllorm, sorre other syslems a so emerged o!t whichwerecontrary loTanlric doctflnes.Tanlra ievesin the be grailicatlon ofsocal and iamilyiifewhiletheolhefsyslems declared slnctausterity renuncial oi worldiy fam ty tie as and on and a way ol salvation.Th conkary conceplscrealed a conl ict in lhe s iayman The viewof atersystems, thal oi Ja nismand Buddhism, re, nuncalron olworid, wasunnalurallo human beingNalure g ven has some nslrnclsto enjoy and we can'l negatethem. We can transcendby salisJying lhemin a naturaway andrna creative manner oLri suppressthem by neglecling llJ ihem s an unnallra way.Be cause ot this conf icl belweentwo streams,peop e removedthetr facefrom the realspirituality. due to this an unbrdgeabe abyss And haslakenplace between householderand SAdhaka. a a Tantrashows the solutionto come oui from this siluation, The remarkable ditlerence belwenthesetwo conlrarysystemslie n the v ew of satislacton senses ol andtheirsubimation usingthem by undefralronalcontrol. Instead suppressing of inslinct, Tantra ts te to transcendit by enjoyingit. The suppressedinstinctsare ike a spnngwh ch can aflse at any time in dislorledlorm The root ol lhe inslancesof rape,krdnap the resultof mmaturesuppression are of For Tantra,human beingsare subjectto nstinclivedemands. So firsl enjoyihe worldlylife completely. Gratification it w I reoi rnovethe wordiybonds naluralas as asnakeremoves slough. its ls il nol a healthy viewregard lfe ? ng lgnorance ailthese prove thorns of things as around iheTantra fose. I wewanlto havea pleasure otthe fragrance rosewe have ol to concentrate on roseinstead only otthorns.The lrag|ance olTantrarose ies n ls conscious approachto seli-discovery sei-develand

opmenlthrough consciou expandng the scopeol body-mind sly com plex. 1.Tantft-a conscious apptoach: The previo poinl rellects reasons degenerat oi Tantra us the of on lradition. saw in thal pointthat, insteadof magc and sorceries, We Tanlrais a conscous approachto sell-dlscovery, the successof In ry sell-dlscove certainobstruciions arisewhicharecrealedirom the 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 (Annamaya kosa), 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 should therelore consciously pure.This be kepi slhesuperiorityof Tantra doctrine. 2. Positive view of lffe: The approachol Tantrais highlypositive. ls the messageol ll Tantra,thal nothng s lo be neglected;nothingis to be negaled. Everthing lo be acceptedand subimaled. is Thoug our bodyis h frag le. bul Tanlrasays uli|ze yolr body power,make il rnoreand morepowerlulstrengthen a rock.Prepare il like bodyand mindto the extenllhat, it can endureany dislurbance outerand inner oi world.Tantra has nol lefl its readeronly by ment oninglhis. li has also prescribed Hathayogic the asanasa,Pranayama, akarma sat etc.,for it. Everybody uiilize ior healthy can thts bodyand mind. lt sthemostappied srdeofTantra technique layman.The for only condilion lays down by Tantrars ihal, a I lhese esanasaand other techniques should doneunder guidance an experlotherbe lhe of wise it s ikelyto do moreharmlhan good.Aftergaining contro 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 achieve goaland ii lherearesorneobsta' any

r68

Cl apler-6

Degeneralion iantra ol in ol Hls change lhe concept matter. E=mc2 madea hrsloicaL de parlure frorrthetradillonal n tionol matter.lvlatter a dead def s nol inertsubstance ch occupies wh some space.ll is bottled enup ergy. the sp rilualisl, To energyis the crudemanleslalron con' ol sciousness. Consciousness lhe Supreme s Realty. I otherobA jectsand berngs metamorphosed are lormsol consciousness. Param S va is lhe Supreme Subjecliviiy. othersublecllvll or oblecAl es 9 tivities mereblendings lhe supremeconsciousness. are ot 3. Realizationol Supteme consciousness So realzation supreme ol conscousness the seli discovery is lo mankind. how io reaizelhal ? Tanlra Bul sayslhatlhe source of realzalron a readywithin s our bodybul in lalent lorm. lt is lalent because our nescencewh ch in Tantra ot is terminology known as Pasaotherwise, without Pasa, as the Kulernava Tanlra dec ares, 'Theindividual ilselts lhe unrversalse Sadarsiva thalwho Sell f. is (Parsa mukla) whileSivals lhatwho is surrounded s boundless by Pesa s crealed duetoatlachmentwiih world. howworldrs Bul crealed? In the TanlricIorm of Layayoga or n Satcakrabheda. the live gross constilulLona elements(paica l\rahabhila) of bolh unl verseand bodydissolve the r source, I meansduring proc in lhe into ess ol th s yoga,lhe earthelement dlssolves waler, waterinlo tela inlovAyuandYAU nlo akasa. And lhis akdsaelemeni turlher dissolves rnlolherressences lke sabda,sparsa, rupa,rasaand gandha whichagainrnerge intoBuddh Ahmakar i, elc.and ult matey ntothespirt or consciousness. the individual Thus consciousness unrleswth the unrversal A consc usness, harmony o belween di versrles iakes place in the pe6onalityol a Saddhaka.Thenwhal everhe lhinks. aclsor wlllsis nol likeoursbutwhalever does,il he perlectlyand lolally as ii were, lhrough him ihe ultimateReality manieslsrlself. This seems beyond our capacily lo accepl lhis process ol "Evolution simply evolulron. Because Nargis as Dalaldeclares, is lhe capacity regsterrneanings are alreadyex sl but wh ch lhat to are notyelapparenl ihe unenlighlened lo mrnd.The ghertheform h ol I fe.lhe deeper capacity register lo meaning. increase the Any rn

lhe you In cl-os your!vay. cancurblheselhrough technqueoi con_ of because lhrs qu ck and efleclive And lke Tr?rtaka. centralon se ol Ta rvana nlradeclares "Othertreal aTea no resLr theN/ahan ls constanty' Medic giveis r-osults ne Aslrologyand usewhreTanira rl Thus Tantraremovesobslaclesrelaiedwrth mind body bul l-row ofsell? the removes ignorance oi lgnorance the rea nature selfis lhe roolol sulierng Sell o1 conscous makea dislnclon belween meansconsciousness.we eniityor sell and nol self Bul like ness and non consciousness lhattheresnothng ike a so seers, scienlLsts havedeclared Tantra is L grossness no1-se Everything made orn ol atomsand lhat or This but alom is nothlng lhe danceol energyor conscousness scienlislCapra Lnhrs hasbeen seenby lving occidenlal clance ol declares, saw cascades $rel knownbook Taoof Physics'he paTl cleswerecre In downiromoulerspace, whlcrr efergycoming pulses; saw the alomsot the ele_ I rn aied anddeslroyed rhyihmic in menlsand thoseol my bodypadicrpating the cosmc danceol I andal lhe moment and I hearditssound, energy LIe t ils rhylhm know lhat lh s was the danceol Shiv,the Lordoi Dance worby shrpped the H ndusl'B inlellect lhrough has arrlved lo The coiclusion wh ch science by lhal samehas been realzedor visualized seersas a resullol v and scienlrst'sew has s The therrSAdhana. synthes of a seer's whichwe sfraI quote ly been beautifu madeby Dr.LalanPrasad 'Whal is ullimatelyRealily ? ls lhe Realityaloms and mo _ e ec! es, or somethrng se of whichthesealomsare lhe different between aspiritualsl an objec' and ?The d fference maniiestations lrve thinkeris based on the nalureof Beally.The obieclivethinker which nd rsa chem_ m |scrude matterol lhal behel Reallly holdslhe in Due lo cash and cohesion lhe maleriaslructure cal reaciion. We Henceit is an epiphenomenon do has consciousness ernerged, ol maller how rl lhal mind is a by_pro.|r.l agree wilh the malerialist child mindwithoutlhe begetlhe lorlhismotheFmalerto is possible can comeout ol nolhlng o{ conception spirt ? We knownolhing lndeed malterls ol is Hencethe matter notdevoid consciousness made a radrca noth ng but a crude manfestalionol spirit.Einslein

170

Degenelation of tanka

171

of throughthe examinalion developed subtetvis an inwardevolution line to grasp meaningsand vibrationslhal so far have been too person laps lhe powelsol lhe sub conscoJs and n The crealive dorng so, he becomesawareofforceslhat are normallyinaccessible to lhe consciousness. personswere 1olake to this prac_ lf large numberof intelligent tices,lfeed from the aura oJ mysteryand mumbo'iumbo'il may be possibleio producea groupof peoplewho wouldbe exlraordinary wrth ol view;Prodigies lhe highestorder, a com' fromeverypointo{ a new elile lrom mand ovef all the majorlanguagesand sciences, and whomwouldcomenewlormsofeducation who wouldin a sense, keep a walch overthe humanrace."rr willlakeplace thinks, as Thistvoeol evolution, Srl Auravindo yet to come on humanlerrilory The in a GnoslicBeing which has 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 genuineguru energyis very dltlicultand il requires way ol achieving wh reasons ch we gude whrch rarely lable. Duelo cerlarn rs ava or by in thischapler, notionhasben surrounded this havealreadyseen of nescience, ihe cobweb afterlhe retulaWhatTanlra !n realilvlhalwehavementioned is raisedby laymanand scholarsTantraactually ton ol the objeciions is a wav ol self discoverywhich slarts from lhe Purilicationand per{ection body mind complex. o{ a deserves highatlenwhichis aparl ofTanlra, The Halhayoga, Ha and lhat lilerallymeans sun-rnoonrespection in this regatds. tivelywhileyoga meansLinion. Hence Hathayogameans unionbelwenopposite thal is Sun,oon. lt is more a harmonylhan a mere unionbetweenlwo opposite.

We live in a world ot dualiiies like heal-cold,day-n ght, male, lemale,mental-vrtal, intellect-emotion For iniegraled personal elc. ly he harrnonybetweenthese two opposileis required.ln subtle body these oppositesare ldi and Pingalawhich on physrcalleve work as sympalhelc and parasympalhelic nervouschannels.Harmony betwenlhese two also leadsio the harmonybetweenmelabolicand ketabolic tunction, whichis ascribed lhesechannels to of body.Ths makes body healthyand lree from diseases. The pracliceofthe Hathayoqa ensureslhecultivation mental oJ powers like te epalhy,omnipoiency, omnipresence etc. bu1lhis is nol lhe airn ol a real Sadhaka.These are the side-eflortsof his Sadhana. genuine powers A S?ldhaka usesthese torthewelfare o1 society. Jesus is the exampleof it. He has healedmany patientsby meretouchof hrshands,There also somesainlsand seerswho are havedevoted lheirpowerc andlilelorthe humanily. Alltheseliving exampleslead us to believein the decendenceof divinitytowafds humaniiy. The G nosticBeingof Sri Auravindo also amonglhem_ is The whole humanityis waitinglor lhe incarnation that divinity. ol References 1 2
3

CitedbyAva Arlhur, on, Prlnc plesol Tant,PartI,p 13,Fromndian p. Wisdom, 522 Avalon, Adhur,Principles p. oiTanlra, Inlroducl,on, 14.
Avalon,Arlhur, Pinclples ofTantra,Pa l, p.89. Capra, Frilof The Tao oi Physics,Prtace,p. 1, Filth impression, 1979.

5 6

Singh, Lalan Prasad, Tant.a its mysticand scientilicbasis,p. 160_ Concept PublishingHouse, First Edition,1975. Jivah Sivah Svo Jivah sa jivah kevalahsivah I Pasabuddhsmrulo iivah Pasamuktah Sadasiva KularnavTantraa,9-42. D a l a , N a r g i sA w a k e n i n g t hK u n d a l i nT,h eT i m e so l I n d l a A p r i l 2 0 , , e i , 1 9 8 0 ,S u n d a y .

Srl Aufavindo. Lile Divin6', p. 974, ight lndian Edition,Published by Au.avindoAshram, PondicherryBook 2, Pad 2.

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6r

Chapter-7

Physical body s lhe main gatefor approaching soul. In the lhe body,Lordwho conlros lhe enl re unrverse also rs presenl. Lord n a lorm oi powerliesdormanlin body.In a courseoi lirne, lhrough conslant effoflsandlhoughyog c practrces, manunlolds body is the reservoir energy h s alent powers The physical ol of and the only meanslor the untoldmenl whichis the goaloi lhe sAdhaka. And because this, body rs not givenfor the unholy of purpose onlyfor theenjoyment sensualpleasrues.Theme pr or ot purpose lo attain iberation is lrom limitations bodyand mind. of and altainmenl spirilually of lhroughbody. Physical irame, n the Tanlrasystem, s highlyesleemed as the temple Spirilor God (Dehaodevalayo ot devi).And hence,lt should be kept pure and perfectrn condiion.The processoi Tanlra And hence sadhanal starlsirom grosand endsiniosubtle. body posilrvely. MierceaEliadewilh lhe il has accpledphysical relerence the Gheranda Samhita declares that,"Thebodyis no oi longerthe sourceot pain,bul lhe most reliable and elfectivenlor'conquering death. And s nce lb str!menlal man'sdisposal eraton can be ga ned even in lhis llfe,the body must be pre precisely servedas ong as possib and in perfect e condition, as an ardon meditation The Rasernavam, another the Tantrc lreatise also supports the postlvillyof the body. it vrews, is of no use lt liberation As it s gainedaller death.Evendonkeycan alsoget it. So in orderlo atiain iberaton nthislilc, lhe preservation body rs very esol s e n ta . 2 ForTanlra,the preseruation body can be prolongedaccordof ing to the wil poweror desirethrough alsanalsa, the Halhayogic pranayama, Tantrrc lechniques and also by lhe ntakesol mer

176 cury preparalions.

Chapter-7

and H!man AnalomY Tantra

117

Physrcal diseases mentalailmenls hurdtes lhe way and are In oi ongelvity. Thereare various waysand meanslhrough whrch onecanovercome thesehurdles.They known varoUsthera are as pies.Healthy body-mind complexs lhe goatof a lherapes. Any lherapy,is lrst appiiedon the physicat body and t ultrmately atfects rn nd.So dilferent the lherapies haveworked lhe analomy. out At present Alopalhy, Ayurveda, Homeopathy afe lhe eading etc., ones Tantraalso has benf a thereapyils own view regardng anatomy. rs realy a very surprisinq nol that the analorny li to wh ch is workedoul, rnlhe tweniieth century wilh the helpoi lhe sc entific inslrumenls, argely lieswilhtheTantra ta analomy whrch is revealed oLll n hoarypasl. ln thischapteran aflemplhasbeenmadeto present anatomy lhe givenbyTantra and Allopalhy.The pofiioncovers concluding the synthesis lhe bolh.We shall,iirsl, bfiefly ol surveythe analomy A. Anatomy given by the Allopathy System: The literalure the anatomy ven by the Atlopathy g ol syslem rs very large.hence,il is difiicutt present here n detait. lo il This syslem has accepted nine ma n systemfor the slsienanceoi bodywhichare namely, Bones, tVusctes, Drgesiion, (1) (2) (3) (4) Circulation, Respiration, Excre|on, Nervous. (5) (6) (7) (B)c ands and (9) Reproduction. A lhesesystemhavesignilicant piace n the marnlenance ol the bodybul herewe shallmention onlythe nervoussyslemand lhe g and syslemas lheyare direcllyrelated withthe Tantra anatorny. 1, The Nervous System: The nervoussyslem is connected with all bod ly syslerns because conlrols activitres it all whrch are go ng on n lhe body The nervoussystemconsislsol lwo divisions{t) Cenlral systemand (2) Autonomus systemThe centrat nervous syslem ma n y conssls ol Ihe bra n lwe ve pairsol cardna nerves spl nal cord ad iorty-ihree pairs ol lhe sprnalnerves The altono

nervsympathetrc consists spinalcord, ol mousnerveoussystem system nervous ous syslemand lhe para_sympalhetic in The spinalcordwhrchis elongated the shape is a prolon' ln of and.rs localed the hollow the sprnaco umn gat on ol brarn. Spina nervesstarl lrom the spinalcord an.l issueoul lrom lne pairsol nervesspreadoul spina column Al lhese lorty_three the lhemseves throughout body and torm a c oselywoven nel nervesmay be dividedintotwo groups lVotor Funolionally, y ad and Sefsory or efferent alierenl respeclive Al mascuar wh le lhe leelng ol e aclivt es are responsib for molor neTves for sme . tasle louchelc.,are responsible sensorynerves. ot nervoussystem consists lwo rows ot The aulonomous lwo rowsof nerves gangian thal s groupol nervecells These are mutua y .onnecledand cross each otherat certainpo nls cord.These cords on each side of lhe sprnal along Ihe sprnar nervotlssyslemand Ine para colLrmn knownas sympalhelic are nervoussyslem. syrnpathelrc Liteprocesswhrchis goingon in our body wilhoullhe rnter_ ferenceof our will.is underthe controlol these systemsThey sys as theyare Known aulonomous hence, work independenlly. rs Tantficsadhaka to makeIh s and tem.The ellortof Hathayogi syslemunderhis will and that way he conlros lhe aLrtononrous bod ly aclrvtres 2. Gland systefi: secrel ln body there aTecerlan organswhich lhemselves properties, which help in lhe aclionand llulclwilh the r special oi grov/th lhe body,knownas g ands The secrelion glands s of groMhdependsLong physical-mental hormon onwhich knownas syslemhasfoundoullhe glands lhe Halhayoqa beforethe ALlopalhy whichultmalely exercsesiorlhe propersecrelion hasadvocaled complex g.owlhol body_mind res!LlIntothe lfrey glands because are Theseglands knownas the ductless elc andlymph Theseg ands nlo blood paslhe r se;retonsdlrectly Thyroidthymus PancreasAdrena are namey P turtaryPineal,

178

Chapter-6 TANTRASADHANA(IV)

lhe Gradanons Approachrng Divine ol UPASANA 'ir'nhau! upasana lhe Presence daes nol fructify.

179

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, secondarylormulations lhis [,4other-power is dorm6nl of that within. This puissance, Shakli,is lo be awaKeneo, the aroused rnroanupwaromovemenltowards self,lhe pu re consciousness lhe 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 consciousness the practitionerlhere is an ebullittonof of Thal is the lrue Congress, the real bliss thal rs airned al, nol the physicalinlerchange the animal tevel. at

(67S) especiallyn lrre rs THE Drvrne ndeedpresenleverywhere, human bocly Brt lhal by ilself does not make any difference 1oman unlesshe takesslepsto rea se lt In hls conscousness se Sef-awareness, I-purficalion,adoraton and evocationol the inciwe ng D v ne are the main sleps for awakenng lh s power and Presencen h s consciousness makingil a dynarnic preparean0 to in llle Suchan nnerd sc p ne is indispensable ra se the hurnansyslemto the leve oi lhat purllyand inlensty in seeking which alone can rnove lhe Divrneto revea and manifesl itsei in lhe person of the seeker' Otherwise lhe polenliality remans unlappedand dormanl

180

H u m f n A r ' a l o m y. r n dT a n r r a

181

prana e adhislhana Swa whi means s Swaandadhrsthana. means restng p ace.sHenceSwadhisthana meansthe reslng placeol prana. s cenlreis s lualed al ihe root ol lhe genilalorgan.L Th Vam ol the walerelemenlis predomnanl here The [,la mantra lhe Thrss x petaled otLs contains letlerfrom Barn1oLam.The veh cle oi thrs cenlre s Makeror crocodile. The asp ranl who free irrmediale lrom a I h s y medrlales lh s centrebecomes on 3. Manipurc caka: ThLS centre ocated is abovetheSwardh sthana cakraandana y lorfrcaL at the rootol the navelregion.T bila rnanlra The Ram of the lrre elemenl s predominanl here.lt has len peia s on which lhe lellefsfromDamto Phamare located. lVedtalionon thrscenone lreelromthe iear ol life. Even f he throwsh mse I lfe nrakes intolire he remans ahve. 4. AnAhata cakft: Thrscentfeis be evedlo be situated lhe reg on ol heart. in The seed etteryarnol lhe element r s predomnanl here. a The vehrc of lh s cenireis anleope.The nature bothanlelopeand e oi i.e. lhe a r s lhe sarne. ihe ileeting nalure. sadhaka A who mediales on lh s centrecontrols vayu and is lul of capacity ther lo e crealeor to destroy the world. This claimthoughseems to be exaggerated, showsto whai an exlentthe medtalorcan de t velop h rnsell. The simiy given shows to whal an exteni lhe medrlator can develophimsell. The similygiven shows that he v rluallybecomes powerful Lofd himsell as as S.Visuddha cakta: Thrs centreis located lhe region lhroat.Al s xleenvow, rn ol e s are localedon lhrs sixleenpetalledotus.Vrsuddha means pure.Concenlral on lh s cenlremakeslhe mindol a sirdhaka on p!re Iroma iimpurties.The manlra blja Ham ot the elhere ement rs predominanl here.[,4ed tationon this cenlregiveslhe knowledge oj threeworlds.lt also makesfiee lrom d seasesand sor'

6. Ajne cakta: in Th s cenlrers localed lhe bodyat the spacebetweenlhe h('oeyebrorvs. b la manlra The Aum is localed here.This cenlre s a seal ol rnindThe mrndot a sadhaka recerves commands the h (Alaa)ofgur! lh roug the concenlratron lhis centre. on Concenthe past deeds ot sadhakaand he traton on it aso deslroys beconres lt iivanamukla. is equaledas a thirdeye oi Srvawh ch deslroysgnorance u/ell desires. as as 7. Sahasrara cakra: The Sahasrara cakra s localedat lhe lop o{ the head.This (Sahasra meanslhousand)lt is cenlreconlains sandand petals ihe place v/herelhe un on ol Siva-Sakti takes p ace. Here we should notelhal lhiscentre s verysubtlen nalureand because to Because oi thrs I rs not consderedas belong the p an of body. of ils slrbtiy. rt rs not counledrn ihe six centres. Nbdi: Theory ol Channels: bui rrTaflra,nard doesnol meangrosschanneis il conlarns or pfana. Thesechanne are spread s througho!l lhe suble efergy and heacelhey are rnanyin number. Because this,they oi body Though,however, cannotbe counled. some figureshave been proposedAccordng lo some lreatiselhe Iigureis 3,00,000 tor accepted olhefs.( rs 2.00.000BLrt i gure72,000rs largely ihe Anlong thesnadis. are mportanl al ten namelylda.P ngaa. Gandhan. Haslajihva, Pusa, Yasasvini, Alambusa, Kuhu S!sLrmna. and Samkhini. I rsl three.amongtheseare moresignrficanl. The lda and P ngalaare localedat lhe end ol the spine They exlendlrom the end oi sp ne to nostrrls. They are considered as lhe container lhe lunarand solaror menla andthevila cur ol rentsrn the body respeclively. Susumnanadris said lo be The generay c osed a1the baseol lhe sprneand can be openedby yogrcpractrces. certarn Pranaor fe forceilowseither through or lhroughPrngala ldar genera TheTanlra oi ly. sardhaka afrests thiswayol ilowrng pr,tna pranathrough Susumna n,rdi. and he lr es Ior drawing the

182

Chaprer.T Human Analomy Tantra and 183

body. ol revolveroundthe concepl lhe physical All therapres wrlh lo al According Tantra, organsol the body are connecled or throughs!btle channels nadis The power cakrasor centres by whichis required lhe limbsof bodyis provded by the cenlres This conceplhas a greatresemlhroghnadis, ol conscousness blancewith the All palhicconceptof glands and the nergous lhatthe growlh ol We system. haveseenin lhe anatomy Al opathy depends uponproperor system ofbodyandell c encyol nervous g ands, secrelion ot balanced al cakrais srluated lhe Accordng to the Tantra, lMirladhara prithvi eafthe emenlrspredomi_ or ol the baseof lhe sprne which sirlrarni also de' The Ayurveda nant,lhe supporter all things. of subsiance, ol allbodily cakrais a supporler c ares,ihe Mulirdh:rra saptadhartus.lo Tantra declares ol To show the predominance groselemenl, Physprilhvilattvaor earlh elemenl. thrscenlreas lhe seat ol regionand is also as lhis ologically, cenlres tualedal lhe anus ol wilh the areaol excreiion so d mallerlrom body. socialed at cakra s localed the rootol lhe gen tal The Swardhisth2tna In whichwalerelemenlis predominanl. body,al outpul organol semenlakespacelrere. fluLds, urnationanddrschargesof Le. of al The Manpura cakra is belevedto be situaled the navel Physo og caly whLch associaled is with lhe lire elernent. region regualed, i s when the nnerllameol lire (Jatharagni) properly resuts intoheath- Oiherwse it can be the soufceoi d seases This s the al cakrais ocated lhe hearlregion. The AnAhaia nant lt s a centreol wherelhe a r elementis predom centre puriiiedbloodsent to il by ungs t0 Hearl drstribules nutrition. parls ol lhe body. The elticiencyot lungsis very much variols oi neededlor lhe purilicalion blood This efficiency lungscan oi wilh lhe alr whichis highlyrelated increased pran?lyama by be e e.ne_l cakrais localedn the areaoi lhroat The ele_ The V suddha here,All vowes are localedon lhrs rs predominant menl ether

aenier Physologlcally thts cenlreis considered the cenlreol as 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 Altopathy. lo The Sahasrara cakrais ocatedal the top ot the skut, where ine consclousness evolvedat the highestdegrees.physl is o og ca y, it is a place of the Pituitaty gta']d. Accordng 10 the Allopalhy, pituitary the glandrs ocated n between lwo brainsand is knownas rnaslergland.Becauseil coniros lhe J!ncllono{ all other glands. The secrtion whtch I rereased mporlant are tromlhe poinlof viewof matnlenance and deslruct ol lhe body.ll is a seat ol the destre reproduclion on ol also Hence Tanlrahas apllydescribed as kameswara il The Tbntric cenlresand nadisare very sub|e In nalure So rl rs nol proper ldentrly to thenwithlhe grossphysicalsystem Here ,,1ie havemenloned it jusl to showthe resemblance belweenlhe Iwo systemnamey Altopalhy Tanlra. and The anatomy ch s mentioned Tantras very subte n wh by ratureafd can be seenontythrough the yog c vis on. and nol by the drssect of lhe body. of
FOOTNOTE E I a d e N 4 i r c c y o g a - t m m o r r a i i ta n dt r e e d o r n . T r a n s t atlr o mr r r e a y ed F r e n c l r y V . / , l l a . R T r a s k p 2 2 7 p o l t i n g e n e r e r sL V t S e c o n d b d s Idil on.]969 P . d a p . i r ec a y o n r o k s as o c a m o k s an r r a r t h a k aIn h Pridelu palrre evi I gadafbhopr rmucyate d v F a s a r i a v aT a n t r aI 9 Cakfanrsaklisam!hlYogrnlhrdaya Cakrasamkela rtr,updnam. verse 7 C o n r m e n l a ro l A h e s k a r a c h a r yo n y o g i n ih r d a y a y a E d l e d b y C h a t l o p a d h y a y K , h e t r e s a c h a n d rS a r a s w a rB h a v a . as a i 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 . 9 0 3 . 1

184

Chaptef-7

susumnesya lagnamdhvajidhogudfodhva Arha adherapadman 4. Sal cakranirupanam I bhavetprinah swadhislhanam ladesrayam Sva sabdena ll Yogacudamani upanisad Sousumnyamadhyaghatilama dhvajamiladese 14. Sal cakranirupanam, prakae Tasyord havenabhimirle dasadalalasileptrmamegha Sal cakranirupanam. jagatarn raksevin;se ksmahI esvalaspi 8 . Vacamisvara Sal cak.annupanam, 26. pramukla. rogasoka L Trikal:inam darcisakalahitakase Salcakranjrupanam, 31. petal yoganispi 10. Nanu mirladhara madibhulam sakala dhaluposakam 3-90..... The Ayurveda Snlramwithcommnlary Yognandana{h. ol Edited p. Sastry, 141,Mysore, 1922. by Df.R. Sharma

Chapter-8

Healing Aspectof Yantra and Mantra

Chapter-8

human raceis the On thrsearth among existing all species, disease. onlvone wh ch hasbecome victim lhe sellcreaied ol Ilanytherapies been have worked to come overthiscalamily out all On bLrl slil, we are nol in a position remove diseases- the to of appear a form in contrary, sometimes, sideellects, drugs the lres The basc reason the freou aooearance disease of ent of way We to in ourartiticial unnatural ol living. do everything go or musi agalnst nature, ourhabii eating.We eatwheneverwe e.g. ol which Jeelhe need it or hunger it andeatonlythose lor for thjng we we knoware conducive to good health.Instead eithereat moreoul of fashron eatlhosethlngs or which knoware not we conducive heallh. lo Thisimproper oJeating, way creates com plexiies n stomach result various into Nol which diseases. only whichwe n eating, our routine we do manymorethings in life mayfes|rt intosomeso o{ irregularities eitherphysical or know, mental. reason which responsiis Besides ihereisalsoonevital this, physical'mentaland spiritualdisorders, is, also thal bleto creale power lhepower resistance theneglect the nnerhealing of or ol of body againstdiseasesgive by nalure.Modernlile is lull ol we stresses strains, are always hurry and We in andhence are in constantly search instant of cureanddueto thiswe lakesuch harm drugs which theycurelhe disease instanlly ultimately but thebodv. There are many side etfectsof such drugs,like insomnia, b oodpressure, disturbancesugar o{ balance Andiherelore, elc. the expertsin th s field are in searchol thosedrugswhichare harmless in search drugless or oJ lherapy. forcullrvating inYanlra Manlra techniques and are designed

ta8

ChapteFS

Healng AspeclofYantra l\rantra and

ta9

ner alentpoweroJ reslstance body-mind whichwe are nol of with awareo{outof ignorance,We, therefore, wonderwhen experlsin powers.Superor power lhrs lield lalk in terms 01 superhuman Invoke wonders we because are ignoranl them. ol Yantraand l\.lantra techniquesworked out for cullivating a. lent powerol body-mind whichare baseduponh gh y ascerlanable psychological spirilual and iacts.Yantras lormedoul oi are cerlaingeometrical ligureslike dot, lrangle etc.They serve as meansof concentration is recognized - ll byTanlncsthatconcenlralionot m nd is multiplcalion mentallacullyand addition of o{ menlalpowers le disspalionoi wh Paycho-phys calenergy iswaste ol energyand consequenlly invitation diseasesThrsprocan lo ess oi concenlration perfected, il may lead lo not on y dfug ess therapy also increasesongevily, but Talntrlc ageshaveperfected techniques concentTaof loT the lion. Mantrais againa very powerful weaponin the armouryof Tanlrator bringing abouthighesl form ol concenlration which by powers, the experlsimplyby concentrallon his cultivaled ot can br ng aboulwonderful resulls wtththe helpof repettlonof cerlarn sya 1b knwonas seedlellers BrjaN/antra. es or Now e1Lrs see the details oiYanlraand [,4anlra withihereterence theirtherapeutic ol value. A.Yantra Theapy : One of lhe lheoriesregarding creationot world is that, the worlds nolhing lhe mereprojeclion m nd . IVI perceives but ol nd worldobleclswilh helpoflhedala givenbythe senseorgans the So the expansion vrsion minddependsuponlhe amountol of ot datagivenby senseorgans. instance, the senseot heaflng, Fof tf is cultivated more, lhenthe ownerol il, can hearmorelo!dly,than a n o l h e r r n aS 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 , n. who has expanded the innerlalentabilty of senseorganscan openlhe subtie apparalus lorthe knowledge the worldwhichis ol not possrble case ol a layrnan. rn

Tanlrashowsus rhe way ol lhe process expansion, lhe oi of power senses. of Oneot the meaning (Otan ofTanlra expansion is = to expand). Tanlric techniques designed ihis purposeare lor li . supposethe powersare arousedby the appllcalion Tanlra ol technquesthenwhal'sthe use ol it, ii lhey are not channeized. powerharmsthe sadhaka Uncontrolled hirnsell. Considering this, Tanlra hasdevised unique the method ofYantra, term'Yantra' The comeslormsthe rool'vam'whichmeansio control. Yanlra an is a d for controlIng the porver. Yantras also represenlation the HigherRealily. repre ol lt senlsthe Rea ity in a geometrical formslke dot line,triange etc. These are nol merelygeometrlcal sings. They are also Yantric symbols whichrepresenl subllemeanings lhe HigherRealily. ol SriYanlra, amongaltheYaniras, lhe mostausplc Yantra is ous represents deviorsakl.Thelormal ol ihe Sr Yantra un que, is on F ve ir angles with downward apexare superimposed foui triby ang es with downward base.This combination resuhsinloforlythreelriangles. The ouler appearance lheselriangles of can be classed intosevencircles ch are considered lhe centres wh as oi Tantra technrques baseduponsoundprinciples. Unity (1) are of microcosm and macrocosm and (2) ldentily two in an indi of vidual. Yanlra a meansthrough is whichthis identily can be reailzed by the ndividual. SriYantras a symboic representalion ol these two pr nciplesand henceit represenls human-bodylhe mLnd complexwith sell or consciousness lhe presding deity as and lherefore lunctions a link between it as thesetwo. lt is used as a meansfor conlemplalion. Contemplation il, resultsinto on the identi{ication microcosmand macrocosm.N4oreover, of concentratron SriYantra on alsogivesbeneficiarewards sadhaka. I to One ol the cakraso{ SriYantra, Sarvarogahara is cakra,re moveroi all diseases. The concenlration this centreinsures on the sardhaka ireedom from al diseases.We, thereiore, sav that SriYanlra valuein insuring lechnique tremendous has lherapeutic hrmsell irom all diseases. Like Sri Yantra.there are also other Yanlraswhich are believedto be the means tor curing and pro

r90

g Chapler

Hea ing AspecloiYanlraand [,4anira

191

teclrng sadhaka lh kofi the allacksol physical and mnla diseases.In lhis chaplerwe shallmake relerence lo lwo Tanlric lreatises namely, Saundrya lhe Laharland the Kalpacinlamanih lor supporting view. lhe For the convenience presenting delarls, s chapler of lhe th has been divided nto lwo groups,A and B. A consists the oi delais regarding Yanlra and ils symbolic represe.talion whileB contarns therapeutic ils value.Now lel us be acqainted th lhe w me.ninqand s.9 'rcdnce olYanlra I rst. l-e A) 1.yantrc and its symbolic meaning: ln scriptures, whrchdeal with the sadhanaaspect,lhe Un mate Rea ily is termedas deily(Div=shine) because is viewed il as rghl.In Tanlra, ihis greatetlulgence Ighi s consderedas of Accordng to the science, whichdealswithlhe ana ys s of lhe rays ol the sun, the obieclsol wodd are nolhingbut lhe various combrnations oflhe raysollight.These raysare sevenin number. So by makingchangeinlo ihe cornbinalions rays,any oblecl oi can be iransformed any otheroblect. inlo SwamtYogananda has mentroned typeol llustration his, aLltobiographya yogi' ihis in of n wh ch hisguruhadlransiormed camphornto graphile Sun lighl as the greal radiance formess.When t maniis Iesls,it lakesform.Yantra represenis Higher the Reaityandhence whalever manilesled the Higher is by Bealily, worldty lhe objects, areYanlras.Thisew is alsoexpressdd Devar4aVidyaVacaspali. v by As he declares, "thereare, in lhe world,innumerableYantras. Every shape, everyleaf, every llower aYantra, is whichthrough shape, its ts colour, perfume rts tellsus the siory of crealon."2 Yanlrarepresents Lightor the HigherFealily n the torm ol geometrrcal figures. Due to thrs presentalion /ight,Yantra s ot considered the abiding placeof deity.3 as The HigherFealityis lrguredoul in symbolsor lorms becausea laymanis not in a posilion graspthe formless to greatradiance, at rnilal tevet, so to have a glmpse of the HigherReality, Yantra s requred.As the YoginiTantra ares , "The goddess io be worshpped n the dec is

sex embem. a book , a syrnboiic drawng on lhe ground, im an age.wateror a stone.' Th s leadsus to conlerthalYanlra a storehouseof energy is or a symbo c represenlat of the cosmc energyunderlyrng on all objects the unrverse, of lvloreover,is, as Zlmmerv ews,is also i He lhe . an nslrumenl. giveslhis view by breaking lerm 'Yanlra The lerm Yanlra is a combnalon of Yam+tra, Yam means lo conlrolwhile rndcates nslrumenl. hisown words, Yantra tra In rs an Inslrument qnedio curbthe psychic des lorcesby concenlralIng lhem on a patlern, and n such a way that ihis patternbe power. s a ll comes reproduced lhe worshppeasv sualizing by machne to stimuate Innervrsualization medilal and e)(pefron Yantras formedoul by lhe tigureslke d01, cifcle, ine,lr an gleelc.Theya conlarn sublle gher lhe meanng underyrngtheH so Realily. Now let us proceedwith the Symbolic rnean ol the ng I vaflous gures. Symbolic meaning of Yantra: ln lhe Veda, thereis a beautifulstory regarding omn pres' lhe enceoi Lord.As rt says,having created verse,God sloodoul un and lhoLrght abouthow to penelrate enler nto ol lhe univers or the un verse. Then he dec ded to enterintolhe universe lhrough name and fofrn.So wherever lhere is a name and lorm (NamaRupa),the HigherReaItypervades it.6In Yantra, in these{orms ol lhe HigherRealily rellected such a manner are in lhal.Throgh conlemplat on them, sadhakacan leel the piesenceol the on Higher Realily. Boththe constiluenls the Higher 8ea ity,the macrocosm ol and lhe mrcrocosm, lhe same and they are represented are by (Pancamahabharta).Yanlra, |ve grosselements In lhese forces are symbolzedin a figural manner, by concenlrat on t, ve on So one can establish harrnony L'etween microcosm and macro' the The geometrica figures, fromwhichYanlra composed is are dol.trang e, c rcle,squareetc.Nowwe shallseelhe subllemeanings

192
ol lhem. a. Dot: Binclu:

Chapler-a

Heaing Aspeclol Yaniraand Manlra

193

One is wrlh up' iiguredout rnYanlra. are iwo lypes ot triangles ol downward base. wardbasewhiletheother s Thelriangle apexupwardshows wilh Amongthelive the way of sublimalion. lhe it elemenls, represents I efy eleAs ment or Agnitallva. lire goes up' ot ward, the aspiration sadhakaalso goesupward.Th ls slrlangle alsoknown as slva kona. C. Sakti kona. wilh apex downward The lriangle lhe represents waler elementor Apa of The lendency waterrs to go tattva. repre whlchph losophicaly downward gross manl_ lowards sents tendency the type testalron.This oilriange s known as Sakli kona. oi Fromlhe combnation lhese1wo or 1rang es arisesa I gureof Satkona Th the slar wlth six angles. s ligure the union ol represents symbolically purursaprakrilrorS va_Sakt wrlhoul . can whichihe crealLon not lake p ace is So Satkona a symbclc represenla' tionol lhe creaton ol un verse. Now el us see how lfre deslruc tronaspectis symbolzed. This ligure like drurnol Siva ot (Damaru)refleclsthe separalron lhe un on which meansthe eno oTcrea or tionor destrucllon per odicd sso tr_ tion of cosmos, d. Circle: in Triangle expands the lolm cl cir_ rolation. also ll cle, Crcle represenls presents arrelemenl tfle symbolcally

is by Brnduis represented dol. As the wholeol Geornelry an erpa^sronol dol. so also lhe enl'tpYa-lrr is a_ caL Yaniras geomelr I gures or ol expansion Blndu. or on Bhilriapatra the barkot lreesmeanlTor are drawnon sollor them or on eavesor on copper,siver or gold pales Vanous oivaToLlsiorces go rnovernenls ng on incosmosarelhecreation are forcesor movemenls symbolr n the cosmos.These working represented lheYantra. on cally and hencerepresenled The cosmiciorcesare all pervasive e.g. 10be all pervasive, Etherwh ch is a I are on Yanlra beleved ntheformoi Bindu.In Tanlra thisdo1 pervasives repfesented tlre as or Bindursconsidered Sivawhichsymbojca ly represents or crealron. source psychoog sl likeJung butlheweslern seers, Nol onlyTAnlric on conlemplaled thisaspecl.He has utilzedlhe word has also Mandalafor cakra and coinedthe word centreof Mandalaas ng Slvaaccord to lhe S va In his ownwordcreatng ln emanation. in ils Tantric lraditions one exrstence,lheTimeless perfectstale. pointknownas SivaBindu whenthisunexlended Crealion begrns side lhe Saktl'7 ol appears n the elernalembrace ils ieminine

ol The expansion Bindu lakes lhe lorm of lriange, tr kona Sakti Bindu theYantra symbolsmrepresents whichaccordingto bothlheseare consdeTed ts Sivaand lrikonais Sakti.In Tanlra, as rdenticals b.T angle : Trikona : is Triangle an embelmol SakliandSakli is, accordng to lhe Sanskrllex con,con_ gender, hence t sidered oi a {eminine as repro as is alsoknown yoniorlhelemale duclive Roganbecausethe wholecosmos has come oul ol it-The Bgvedaalso re_ lers the orlginoi cosmosas yon.'There

194

Chapter 8

HeaInq Aspecr Yanlra of and Llanrra

195

or vayulaltva.lloreover,it is also an emblem perleclron. ol e. Squarc:Bhipura: Generaly, rs square drawn lhe al outer most t ot theYantra. lm lt syrn boically represents grossness, the which lhe quaityoi lhe Earlhel is ement lhe pntirvrlallva. lig or This
ure n Yantras known Bhupura. as Everi Yantra slartstromB nduor dot and endsintosquare or Bhupura s shows process evoution Th lhe ot tfomsubile gross, lo or Irom elherlo earth Heinrich, Zimmerhasvery beauti{ully re f ecledth s view,"On one handthe dynamicdiaqrams suggests process expansion a contrnuous of iromthe centreot lhe patiern lo thec rcumlerence requiring passagelor and a lrmelor ilscourse On lhe olher handtheyare lo be grasped an endurng hreraras chy as gradalion simullaneously ol manilested degrees of be ng w ( h l h e h r g h e s l v a l u el u a l e d l t h e c e n l r el.0 D a n i e i o u , A a r n si a has summarized lhesef gures as a represenlalion lhe d vinr, of I es. We c ose this poinl w th his view.As he dec ares, "All the geomelrical elemenlary Iigurespo nt, straight l11e, cross,circle, tr ang e elc. havea symbolical valuecofiesponding basicnolo trons. They can be combined moreor less compex figureslo in becomethe representalion parlicularforce or qualites emol bodied n someaspeciol creation. Thereis no shape,no move menl wh ch may nol be reduced a combination these e, to ol emenlallorms.The magicdiagrams conslrucled with lheir help lrue y analyze and represenl crealve lorce of lhe cosmos the wh ch we ca i divinil es."r' Thereare many typesot Yankasrneant securing lor one or the olherobjectives liberalion, perfecl like healh, wea th, power. preslrge, overcome lo dtseases, securelonglileetc.The powto ers cullrvated thusare veryofienusedlor negative purposes due to humanweakness fraities. or They are knownas subiugat on, Lmmob allraclron, lization, dissention, iqLridalion, cradlcal and on

powers body' AmongYantras meanl lorcullival highest ng of m nd lor postrvepurposes benelicial one'sown se f as wellas lo tor othersinclud an ma s and subhuman ng speces, Sri Yanira place. rs known k ng of al Yantras ll (Yantra occupes the central as RalaYantra) because any of lhe abovepowers can be cu t vated ng by concentral on one or rnorelrangle elc Because of thrs grealness lhe SriYanlra, shallsee aboulrt if delail. ol we 2.The meaning ol S Yantra: y, Elymologica Sri is prelx which denolesauspic ousness Sr Yantras devised manypurposes {or shownaboveand hence rls conslruclion very complex. sha I dealw th that aspecl is We In deiai laler on For lhe time being,we shouldnote lhat the object sardhaka Iberation. of is Liberal Iromthe bonds uLtlmate on ot physicomenlalas wellas spirilual ailmenls. Concenlralion on yieldfreedom angleor triangle lromdiseasesBui somespecitic man1snol satisted withheallhonly.There olher goalswh ch are ed 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 nn s u c ha m a n n etfh a t il may be used by a persondesirous anythrngn the world ol ifclud ng freedom tromdiseases, enemes elc ThrsSr Yantrais considered lhe abodeoi Lalna.theTantnc as verypolenl nameot the Hihger Realily, lherefore, is considered t and celebrated amongtheYantras, The ernergence the SriYantra veryIascnaling. is Thereare ol vanoussloflesregrding emergence. is sard ils lt thatthe Supreme Saklioi Her own wllllakesthe iorm of universe and ooks at Hel own lhrobwilh lhe resullthal Sr Yanlra comesinto exrslenc-o,r? ThisYantra alsoknown V yalcakra.l3 is as Viyatmeans space ( A k a s a )T h e r ea r e l w o k n d s o i A k a s a s . h e o u t e rs p a c e . T (Eahyak,rsa) lhe innerspace(Daharakasa). and

And lhe The outerspace is spreadoverthe enlirecosmos. sameagarnrsencapsualedinlohumanbodyknownaslnnerspa a thereiore lhe sameakasa spread s or Daharakarsa Daharakasa,

196

Chapter

Aspectol Yantfaand l4anlra Healing

Bhagamalini

197

process, In according InThe HigherReality ils evolving to 'rrslmdnrlesrs lhe lor.nol Akasa. rl A^aca,Iheredranonroogy. lorm oi the HigherRealily, otherwise, Higher lore.is a visible as lormless nol accessible. is Tanlraconcenlrales on Realily being manilesled lrom ol HigherFealit,. the v sible As outerandinnerspaces identical, sadhaka concenlralby ng on nnerspace, seekshis idenlitywilh H gherRealily.The the becauselh Higher inner space is the rea spacetor s2rdhaka Rea ty res des in ihe lorm ot spacein rnnerspace.SriYanlra is within. againa symboloi Dahararkasa Higher or Reaiity reIt is lhe signilicant aspeclol SriYantra that its iormalion flects bolh microcosmand rnacrocosm.I\,4ed tation on rt resulls intorealizal ol the idenldy on belween thesetwoa- Fomlation ot S Yantrc: is SrrYanlra drawnaround Bindu dol whichis considered a or energy. is described 11 as as the abodeol Lalilar. lhe universal wilh upward consstingol superimposilion ninelriangles.lour ot combinalion both proof apexand live wth downward apex.The duce lorly lhreelrianges.Aroundlheselriangles, thereare iwo circlesone wilhinlhe secondwhich contains eightpetalswhie petals. thereare the oulerconlains sixleen Oulside lhesepetals threecirclesand theselhreecircles coveredby lhe squares are knownas Bh!puras. This s lhe geometr iorrnaion represen cal talionof Sr Yantra. Now let us see what it represents symbolcaly. b. Symbolic rcprcsentation ol SriYantra: SriYantra starlstromBindu and endsintoBhipura.ll means, lorces.it coverseverthing irom ether lo in lerms of elemental earth.This showsthe wayof creation. Between Binduand Bhirprura, lhe wholeyanlraspaceis dividedinlo three Joldand nine lold dlvisionas shown below: The The centreof the triangle knownas abodeoi Lalita. is apex is known as the residenceplace ot Kamesvariwhile the leit placeofVajresvari as andthe rightangleare considered the abiding

M Jysesla ainlenance

respeclrve Symbo|cally, y. Ihese lq'ee de e' d-o Brdgama||_r Again,it is a so a Moon, Fire and Sun respectively. represenl maintenance destructton. and ol represenlailon creation, Nine lold division: The samethreetolddivisionfromthe pointot viewof gun as ninelold. becomes The Sakli or nalureln its subtleform rs composedol lhree

VV \*7
v

t_----7

VV

trq
v

r98

ChapteF8

Heaing Aspeclol Yanlraand Mantra

199

g!nas, Sattva, Bajasand Tamas. Thesethreegunars theirac, in tiveJormare convertible eacholher. to Therefore, wholedivi the sronbecomes ninelold. 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. Between ndu and Bhapura,I B gureslke dol,c rcte,trrang e square lake place. Theyalsocontan symbolic meanng.Binduor dot is the centrewherecrealorand creation in directcontacl are or identica.C rcle represenls pertection e squarepresenls wh grossness. Triangles an emblemol yoni,a lemae general ve organor a source crealron. oi TheTripuralapinl upanisad considered has lriangte Tr p! ra. as Tn meansthreewhrlepura meansab ding p ace ll is an ab dtng placeol threev/orlds, namely. earth,heaven and netherworld.ri According theTripuropanisad. lo Trrangle represenlgross,subl e and causalaspects boih In i n d i v i d u a l a n n c o s m r co r m . l s Id I Aiter havingseen aboulthe symbotcrneanings the geo ot rnelrlca ligureol Sr Yanlra. nowlel us see Srryantra symbol, as ca representalron humanbody. ol C. S yantft as symbolic presentation of human body: Tantraconsiders body as a tempe c,f divrnity. I mbs c,j A 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 / o n o d y a n d n v e r s en i d e n t t y . T h eg n i l i ol b s u canlpornlrslhalmereknowledgeaboutihrsdoesnolhepsadhaka wilhoutdenirlyrng himsell withit by Bhavana rmagnatron. or How lhs dentitytakes place that we shaitsee in lhe words ot S. 'The Shankaranarayanan. rnelhod arrivng at the rdentity by of s olfeflng lhesemembers lhe humanbodylo lhe Sakls lo whom oi lhey origrna belonged lhe un versal ly powers to locatedn the Srl CakraThis haslo be achieved Bhavana by deepmedilation conlemplalng step by slep lhe various psychophys parls n lhe ca humanbodyand the corresponding powersin the Sri Cakraand dwelling iheir dentily."l6 on

Now we shallsee with lhe help ol the figureshow physical In lrom Bindulo Bhupura. bodyis represenled SriYanlra Physical body as rcptesented in Sd Cakra: As we haveseen Sfi Cakrarepresents bolh macrocosnr and microcos Thatway tisa inkor medium m. lhrough ch onecan wh reahze the rdenlty belwenthe ull male Realty and the se f rl process denlilcalion, the of accofdng loTantra. sadhaka has lo maglne(Bharvayet) rdenliicationoi humanbody. the rnentally wrththe un versa powersiromwh ch lhe bodyis composed. and whlchare magnablyrepresented var ousangles. angles by lr elc ol Sf YanlraThe Bhav-anopan a Sarkla sad upanisad-hasmefhLrmall I t oned how the drjierenl guresof Sr Cakrarepresents represenlal ol the hu on body Thus we shall see the sybmolic an bodyIn Sri Cakrawiththe helpof th:rvanopanrsad. The ouler mosl cakra,whichis knownas Bhupura conlarns three rnes. The lirsl lineas il is mentioned lhe charl 2 reprein powers greatness. namely. minuteness. lrghtness. ord. senlserqhl shrp.contro. power lo have whatever one wanls,enJoyrnenl of des re atlanmenland accornplishmenta I desiresrrThe sec lust.anger.covelo!sness ond Ine .1 lhe Bhupura represenls pr le d d e L r s r o n 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 enh ro l B l r r p L r r ; L lhe srxcen(res lhe body lhe lwo Sahasrara aboveana ll]|' ol one oiherbe ow and ndrayoniare the nineSaklrs silualed.c The s xleenpetalledolus represenls lrvegrose.)frenls the
',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 pelalled lotusrs an ernblem laculles ol speirk oJ go ing. lakrn!]. ng excrelingenjoyrnq. relect ng. acceplf!r a|1d rgnonng.2: nadrs narlie y {rgure represenls lourteen TheIo!neenaornered Payasllrri Yasovalr. Aambusa K!hLrhv svodanVaruni.Hastalihva. 22 Susurnna lda, Gandhar P,rshaSankhn . Saraswati. Pingala. I ol The len cornered gurers a representation len vayus live n'ra and ive auxr ary oi body namey Prana Apana.Vyarra n

Chapler-8 Udana,Samana,Naga,Kurma,Krkara,Devadalta,Dhanaijaya.23 The len breaths aclingon the digestive ot lhe stomach fire jalharaigni become tentold and digest foodoi all kindsare representedin the ten cornered figure.2a The eightcornered figurerepresenls cold,heal, p easure,pain, wish, saltva, rajas and tamas.25 Avyakta,the unmaniiest, Mahatthevasl cosm c princtple torce and Ahamkara divisionalprinciple Egojormationare the the of threederties lhe primary in lriangle, kameswari, Vajreswari and Bhagamalin.26 The centre lhe Yantra represenls supreme ol lhe deityLa ita the absolute Fealilycomprised Exlslence'Consciousness of Bliss.27 Thus Srl Yantra exhausisal almosta I thai the Bealityconiains and henceis the most perfectsymbolicrepresental of on Ullimdte Rea ily.lt rs rh.relorpLsFdr'rrlldusprcoLs Leremonies ol Hinduriies.lt is also usedJorprotect the sadhaka ng hom al ev ls. Nol onlythis,withthe helpoi SriYantra serdhaka obtan can or masierpowersof healing, cuungdiseases and alsofor driving awayevilspirits- us it is oflremendous Th therapeutlc value.Wherever suchsiddhaYanlrakeplihe house is orthepiace secured nsl is aga a I evil iorces. 3. Thea peu ti c aspec t of Ya ntra : Tantrameans liberation, a processwhich liberates lt's lhe sadhaka tromphysicalmertal and sprrilual menls.Yantra an ai is aid in Tanka,whichenhances ihis process iiberation. o1 As Yantra represents humanbody,ihe bodilycenlresor cakras can alsobo localed Yantras, in especially SriYanlra. in One oi the in cakras, sriYantra, known Sarvarogahara is as cakraor remover of alld seases, Concentration thiscenlrernakes on bodydevoid of diseases,Theirtherapeuticvalue beenalready has mentoned n the Kundalinl chapter. Besides this, lhe Tentric trealise like Saundrya Lahar, Ka apacinlamanih also reier someYantraslor removingd seases lke lever,diabetes, rheumatism eic.'

HeahngAspectol Yantraand Manlra

2A1

meanllor various purposes not themseves do The Yantras cacydepends uponthe eliorlput n becomeell cacious.Theireff Yantras lo be worshipped according cenainproto by sadhiika. cedure aid down in the texls ike Kalpacinlamanih, Manlra Mahodadhi The entire process s very e aborateand deetc. rnands astuledisciphne, ol concentration wellas observance as certainvows like ce iebacy, truth speaking, non vio ence, non attachments Sadhaka required practlce thesefelenlelc. is to al and unfli.chng eiiorl.He essnesswith singlemlndeddevoiion he haslo praclrce essness fear forsometimes comes across such wh ch are very muchbewildering. is lhereIoread ll experences visedlhal he shouldpursuehis goalsunderthe gurdance an of expen. TheYanha l\,4antra or becomes siddhaat lhe endol th s e aborale processsomelmes ast ng ior yearstogether but at lhe end ol possessed supernormal powers ol whrch sardhaka lhe becomes g whch he phim n helpin others overco for ming rlls the bothphysica Psychical well as spirtua. as population praclceddrugess In Aserian lization entire civ lhe also,lhereare therapy rnore for than5,000years.In our country people stantwho c aimlo curevarious seaseswiththe he p x d andYanlra. is nowI me we mustunderlake exam11 lo ol Mantra me by lherapies becau se inelhepossb ty lo overco disease drugless praclice drugs s gelling day by day notonlyirreevantbut a so oj oangerous

The term'Yanlra'indicates meanings, two One is lo conlro is Hence, Yantra an Inslrument rs wh le the scond an instrumenl. conlrolover rnental modifications ch are consd wh ior gaining menlaland spirtuala lmenls. eredas the causeol physico lhe In yogicafd dntrc treatise, causof diseasess consd to ol e ered as dLre disturbance lhe elern ntaliorces n outside,ror d 01 on one handand, or, in the constiluents body on olhef hand namey is out The geometfcaf gures, of whichtheYanlra iolrned representation elemenh ot the etc. dot,circe. square aresymbolic

242

Chapier-8

HeaIng Aspectof Yanrra and N,lanlra ;oware lakenlrom lhe Saundrya Lahario{Sri Samkardcarya. In lhe noiesunderappendix ihe Saundrya oI it Lahari, is writI ke lh s: No origina is claimed the lacts published ity ten for in thisprayoga secton.Theprayoga should handled be onlybythose qualiJications aftergetling who possess deserving and instruc lhe r on 5 rron pr6.eplo,< sn v'dya upasaka. or Prcyoga 12 Yantra waleror honeyplaced on in siver vessel,Rectal 1,000limes for 45 (48)days,Iac ng North-East. Arcana:Sarasval aslotara wilh , whitellowersandLallaasototara with jasmine llowers.
O f f e f l n g s : C o o k e d f l c e , pomogranres, noney,

wth fu4antra certain on lorces.ll is believed lhat medistcation givehealth. And because thisone ol the cakra ol I guresofYantra is cakra,remover al oi oi the SriYanira knownas Sarvarogahara Arfong allYantras, emphasis an has been laid downon Sn it Heallhy Yantra..As thelermSriindicates,rneans auspiciousness. body-mnd is alsoamongthem. Be ng a symbolic represenlalion the elementaforces, of Sri Yanlraalso represents both macrocosm and microcosm. t So provesas a linkand alsoas an lnsirument realizing denfor lhe lily belweenmicrocosm and macrocosm. The processof concenlration the Yanlraalso cultivates on lhe innerlatentpowers. Powerol resistance againstd seaseis a so one ol them. Thal way it works as a prolection againsl disease.This process concenlration prevenls of also diseasesby conlrolling menialmodif the icaljons. powers mindare being$/asted lheiorm The lremendous In oJ ol menlal modrlications. Concenlration onYantrachanneize these powers.These powerscan be used pos tivelyas aulochannelized in the lield ol therapy. suggestion The diseaselke lnsomnia, scr zophenia and otherpsyco'somatic can be curedby diseases lhe auto-suggestion lherapy. We havealsomaderelerence trealise toYantras Jrom Taintrrc the ke Saundrya The significanl asLaharland Kalpacintamanih. pecl,whrch should beoverlooked not here.lslhal mereYanlra or Iiguredoes nol givedesrred results. The latenlpowerof tshould be awakened charged. or Especially, the case oi heallng, an the elliciency o{Yantra, depends uponthe charging oJYanlra doneby healer. Thoughil is a dijjicultprocessbui al at the same time devoidol any draslicsideeffecls whichis veryva uabletromlhe lherapeul aspecto{ Yanlra. c

qill Eflecls dumbness cured,poweroJeloquent speech, ol Phyoga 52 Yanl or goldplaleor holyashes. ra Recilal10001times (1000).For 45 days. FacingNorth-EastArchana. Rudrathrisathi bilvaon right wilh side oiYantraand Lalilhalhrisath with red flowerson leftside. Ofiering :Cooked rce mixed lh w sesamum mrlk-gruel, cocoPowder, nutsand planlains. Effecls: Allear and eye disease cured. Prayoga 89

l.Yantra lrom Saundrya Lahari: purpose g ven be_ The Yanlras, ch are lsed for therapy wh

orholyashes Yantra goldplate on Recital1008iimeslor 30 days.Iacing Easl. Archanala itha ashlolhara

204

Chapter-8

HealngAspect Yantra of and N,lanlra

205

honey rice(mixeo wilhcurd), sweet-gr!el, ngs Cooked OfJer physcal strength. Effecls: Cure of all diseases, 2. Vantn s frcm Kalpac intemanih: nAsanam Name:Jvara-V {ever Obj-"ct Pacilylng : o D e s c r i p t i o n : D r a w a y a n t r as l r tag h ll i n e s n a s d e s a n d wi h jointhem.Then upon drawa quadrangle yantrawilh eightpetals. The yanlra th s should be drawn wilh the iquid ol dhattirA planl,on a p eceof c olhlrom lhedead man's n onthespotwhere cotf Thus should lhe dead are crernated or be done eilheron the eLghl on lhe day of lhe dark iornighl. lourteenth Writethe nameol lhe personin cen ire with ramon eachoi lhe fours des w th ram in each oi the erghtpetals. yantraby offering lovelyilowersco lectedlor the Worshiplhe processletsevendeadlyfeverdisappear immed' Pacilication 13 Name: Sakini-Dalk raksakaram n Objeci: Proiect iromevilspirit ng on DescriptionDrawthisYantra : a p ece ol c oth spreadover a board Draw{ourlines butnoton lhe groLrnd. verlically and iour horzonta y mak wr .' rn ing eight abodesthereby, te same. OJler eachabodeandworshipthe presents i).tlo\r,ers (ba incerise. bLrrn'

ng candlesand drink.Worshipped this way,the yantranever in i a i l sn r l s a m ' B.Therapeutic aspeca of Mantra: Nanreand Formare the lwo inierwovenaspects pervading the wholeun verse.Because the r all pervadlng of nature, they canbe tlreInsirumenl lhe realization Reality. Tantra, tor of In these nslfuments havebeenaccepted theformot Manlra in andYantra. Realzation Realtyis nothng butlhereaLization orgina ot ofthe natureol one'sown self. s selfis ike a deltywhichresides Th in a tempe of body.For geltingnearer the deity., one has to cross the gates ol body'mnd by removing the obstacles througha process purilcationandthereby perfecting body-mind. ol the For th s pfocess purilcalon and perfeclron, [,iantra Yantra; oi the and one relaling Narne to andthe otherrelating Formafe,accord io ng pr lo Tantra. ncipalaids.How Yankapuriiies body mindthal we haveseen underthe tltle"Therapeutic Aspectof Yantral' L keYantra, [,4anlra so worksas therapy. a Apparently, lvlantra a ooks rk-o rnerecollect ol words.And beingso a possible a on quesl on may arise here s lhal does merepronuncationof [,4anlra can cured sease?The answers posilive provdedlhe wordsare pronounced according certaincondilons aid down by those 10 who have practced them and lestedthe r irulh.The potencyor eff cacy of words pronounced an expertor siddhadoes not by res de ri wordson y. lt resides the efforts s ddhawhichlh in ol word s charged th e.g.The Kuran, The Bible, w The Vedasand othefholywords. HereIn th s chapter aitempt an hasbeenmadeto expose the sound pnncple on wh ch l\,4antra therapystands. We shallpro ceed f rst w th the meanings l\,4an1ra. ol 1. Meanings ot Mantn: Hunlanm nd can not conceive the nameless and forrnless Reality. Energies the HrgherRea riy,whichwe ca I as deities or

246

Chapler-a back lo sabda sparsa Rupa. is Pr th v .The r or ginalion sJfessed Akesa.in In Rasaand Gandharespeclrvely.thisorderol crealron, gross elemenl,and sabda ln lhe essenceol elemenlare lhe ol as consrdered mosl sublleelementThe subtlely sabda s con brahman. or as il side.ed thatexlent, is viewed Brahman Sabda lo sourceol crealon.3 ly syslematica arranged ralherthe lVanlfas the collection are whichare very powerlu.Whena wordis pfonounced worcl-pallerns lhrow Thesev bralions evenal mentallevel,t crealesvibrations Then ll oul irom the mind and allractsame lype ol vibrations when it relurnsback lo ts becomesa colocationof vibrations rnorepowenu Whenit comesback,il becomes lhe mind. cenlre. we and polental. And becasueol ihis, it suppose. wanl lo be uponsuchqualiliesConstant good or pure,we shouldmeditate th becomes e paftol personalty. medtalionon partc! ar concept pronoun allons c but Mantras poweriul haphazard are Though In cerlainrulesand legula ol it does nol give any resull. Tantra, tions are prescribedeven for the correcipronunciationand recila_ works only when it becomes realized tlon ol Mantra A N,4anlra For realLzed L'lantra A carlnol be easily (S ddhaMantra). Mantra guru has to dec de the Firsl, sadhanaguru or gurdeis required. In ol to according thetendency sadhaka. the SardaTilaka f,,lanlra that if lvantraand sadhaka both are n (peta'2) I s declared be_ ir end y relaton Mantragives quick results ll the relation speciai charl,ihal ls A resultis doublJul. lweenlhernls oi enemy, to A-Ka-ThaHa cakrahas been givenby Tantra decidethe rela_ and ,anlra. sadhaka between lionship menially be I ol Aitertheseleciion lvlantra, shouid conslanily yoglcposlure, an He pronouncedwith lervouL hastoassume spirilual pranayama, prAnaon wayto Susumna the turn perlom Nadisodhana, whenpranatlowsinloSusumnaAuslenty and repealthe l\Iantra are rn Firmla lh anddevolion l\,4antra alsothe basrcrequlremenls doors are siddhi.These allkeyswhichopenthe closed for 1\,4antra ol of treasure Powers, Ior prescribed byTanlra' dlllerenl 1\rantras Thereare dillerenl purposesSomeof lhem are glve irllhe appendrx.

canbe reached lhrough symbols nameandtorm.Onlythrough like nameandlormonecan reachnameeSS andlormless. Thesetwo symbols lechnically are calledin Tanra, Manlfaand Yantra. as L ke Yantra, lvlantra also represents The powerol de ty deity. s nherenl n Manlrait it is charged and beng so mantras are very poweriul and etteclve.Thesepowersare latenlin a Mantra as tree n a seed A sproLrt froma seedemerges on y when t1 oul waterelc.Lkewiselhelaleni power Manlra sunhght, ol !els proper can be act valedlly conslantrepelI on, auslerily, laith. The lerm lvlanlra s a combination lwo lerrns name y ol m a n + t r a n la 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 v lberation.So in terms ol Tantra.we can say. lhe Sakti which iberales lhrough medilalion Manlra.r is Lberalionlrorn what ? L beratton [r]nd lrom ts various of modfrcalons. As we know,mind is very tleetng. lt conslantly rssuesvar ous modificalions. lo ts lleetingnalure11 Due dissi palesits energy. we can prevent drssipalion energy, in ll his ol or otherterms, I the powersof mindare channelized, can cre they aie such a h gher evel of m nd wh ch is generaly not presentin lay'man IVanlra does lhis iob easily. The concentrated mind s lhe sourceol all success.Manlra, lherelore, can be one of lhe mosl elleclve instrumenls the lullillment desres. Ior ol Mantrasare wriltenin letllersor sabdaand can be pronounced w th the helpof sound. d fferent So sounds contan d tlerent types oi energyor deily. And because th s proper pronounciation ol ot Mantra hlghly is required atlainment gaol.The ighlagainsl lor of red mproper pfonounciaiion l\,4anlra beenshownby Dasgupta, ol has Sasibhusana, he declares, As ".,.slrghlest devolon etlherin ar t cLr alionor accent rnodulalion ca culalednol onlyto make or was lhem negaiive frurtless positively y bul harmful2 By lhe proper pronouncrat ol Mantra,as described saslra, conlrots on by the erierqyrnherenl Manlralhroughwhich he qainswhatever in he wanls.lt s not a mereaccident a soundscientfic reason ies bul behindthisachievement The wholeMantraSastra s baseduponthe poienlralities ot \rr'ords sabda Fivegrosselemenls the consliluenls bolh or are oi fiircrocosm macaroscos, and narnely Akasa, Vayu.Teia. Apa and

208 2. Bija Mantru : Seed Letterc :

ChapteF8

a H e a l t n gA s p e c l o l Y a n l r a n d I / a n l r a

As lree liesin a seeds,in the sameway lhe powerof N,4anlra liespolenlially a seedlelteror bijamantra. a lree comesout n As trorn seed, lrkewrse the whole lrantra evolves lrorn seed letler. And beingso, lhe seed letlers are considered Yoni, as sourceof creation. fferenl D seedlellers prescribed dillerenl are lor deities. Herewe shallsee sorneof lhem. 1. Seedof speech(vag-blia) S o u n d :A l l V Definiton iThrs I\,4anlra also calledSarasvali(pertaining rs to knowledge) Sarasvati (pertaining lhe goddessoi or to knowledge). represents iormol consciousness li lhe em, 'A bodiedn lhe goddess Sarasvati, represenls Sarasvalr. The nasaization meansihe removrng pa n Thrsis the ol seed-uile ranceoi Sarasvall with iithe word' s worshippedl' Purpose: Acqurring knowledge wisdom, and masleryoverwords and powerot speech, pura Reference:Tr tapiniupnisad, Karpura slava andVaradaTantra 2. The seed-oi-lllusion (meyebija)or Seed-oi,Energy (Saklr Drla) Sound:HRltul Delintion:This Mantrarepresents mayathe powerol illusion. t1 stands torlhelady-ot-spheres (Bhuvanesvar ), lhedtspeller of sorrow ll is rootfrom whrchdevelopelher and other elements ihe manilesl ot world,the pnncple over I ber ated, unbounded lhe lripleform ol time "Ha rneans by Siva.R is his NaturePrakriti. meansTranscendent I lllu s r o n ( m a hm a y a ) . T h e s o u n d i s t h e p r o g e n rtth e u n a orof verse.The nasalization meansthe removing sorrow of The lady ol the sphereshouldbe worshpped w th this ( lantra)(VaradaTantra). Purpose: Conquest the unmanilest, the power of Nature of of Transgressing lawsol time and space. ihe

VaradeTantra Stava, Relerence:Tripurer upnisadi, 13 Karpura tzrpinl elc (laksmi'biia) stence Seed-ol-Fortune or 3.Theseed'ol-Ex Sound:SRl[, ol Definit This manlrarepresenls goddness lortune on: the the pl cily.Laksmi, consort v shnu.s represenls the oi and mu t lortune.R meansweallh.i s salisiac transcenclenlviniy ol d The lron The sound means imitlessness'. nasaLzalionmeans sorrow.This the seedutlerance the goddess is ol ihe drspelling ol Tanlra).. l' lhroughwhichsheshouldbe worshipped (Varada Lakshmi power, wor dlywealth, beauty and glory. Purpose: Gaining Varada Tantra etc. Reierencer Tripura tapin upanisad, 'Desire: (kama-bija) 4. The Seed-of Sound:KLl[,4 the mantra represents formof joy ol pleasure. DelrnilronrThis aspectol the powerot Siva in lhe lorm of his lhe procrealrve (Mahesvari).'K' represenls the consort, Tfanscendent-Goddess of divine lusl.L means or the Eros.(kamadeva) Krsna, Incarnalion nasalzalon is Indra, meanssatislaction.The I the ord oi heaven giveroibothpleasure pain.Theseed Des re sspoken of and the Io you oul ol love, O Great Goddess."(VaradaTanlra). knowledgeand pleasure. also Purpose: Gaining transcendenl roya power. victory and Karpura slava, VaradaTantra. t:rpini Reference:TripurA upnishad, -Seed(adya-blja) seed-ol'lhe'Power oiTime or 5 The Primorda ja): (Kal-b Sound:KRIM represents powerolI me.lhepower the Definition:Thrs mantra aspectol Siva and lhus the goddess of dealh.the destructive Kar. the poweroi lme ' 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 p o w e r o l nl . I usionThe souncls the "l\,4otherlhe Universe The nasalza_ of

210

Chapler8

Flealnq AsprlolYanlrrand Mantra

211

Kallshouldbe worThe goddess t on is the d spe lingol sorrow. Tantra) sh ppedwittrlhrsmantrato the paciying oi a I painl' lVarada power Gaining delachmenl overdealhtranscendenl Purpos: Knowteoge. and Relerences:Trrpurd upnsad,Ivlahdnirvana Varadal tapini Olherseedlellers

Ka
ha

energy Wind lusl) (or Lord heaven ndra)or va l h r n g ( ol S

c oud (or S va)

Dei nilion: this represents powerol the lhe enchanlmenl lhe world. of

Dum Ganr PHAT STRiM

Durga
' Ganapali Weapon destroy anythng Ior ng Llberaies fromdifficulties

No.ol repeliron:lo be repealed twenlyone or 108i rnes. Purposes: alla n alllhe desires to and ltoeralon Reference: Deviupnrshad tya soda Sikarnava, vasya N Var TheseB la manlrasshouldbe constantly repealed qLrick 10r The of repetitron knownas iapa.Now results. process constant ts we sha I see something aboutiapa. C .J a p a : Japa sadhanais prescrbedby all reltgious. playssignfl lt canl role n sadhana. Because ils significance, of Lord Krishna haddeclared,'lam lhejapayajna, (Yalna, among lyajnas. a among (YajadnAm all yalnas. ll) lapayainosm Japtars a spiritual exercise, is a scientii process cu lt c ior tivation wi I power, ol Manlra powers ensures varioLrs which lapa i s a l s o a g a i n h e l p t u o m i n g o v e r l hh u r d l els r n g i n t h e w a y o l nc e y Howlapa doesth s workor whal is ihe meaning lapa this of can be asked.ln lhe lermjapa,'Ja' rernoves v ciousc rcleof the lrleand deathwhie pa' removes sins.Hencejapa s lhat which removes bolh lhe c rcleof liieand deathand alsosrn.6 Thereare variousways designed Tantraior the repelon ol lvlanlra by or 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

Seed ettersol ihe Elemenis: Earth-Prilhv LAM VAI\,4 RAM YAI\,4 HAI\, , Teja'Fre Valyu-Air Akash -Ether

(Pancadasi) the first TheThought-Form Fitleen abLes of ol Syl Goddess: - Ka-e-ila-hrim, Ha-sa-ka-ha'la-hrirn, Test Sa-ka'la-hrrm. Meaning: e ta
hflm

ust (or wornb speech) thesubstance lust ol (or thunder bolt-bearer theearth, Siva) or a cave(lheseedmanlra theGoddess) of Siva

212

ChapterS 8. Ajapa japa: This type oi japa is done withod mal?I. This shoutd done be with the processol respiration. While exhalation, l\,4antra Ham and whrle inhalat Mantra on, Sahshould pronounced. be Ail these lypes of japa difteronly in the manneroj pronounciatron.The basicprinclple ofjapasahdana thal it shouldbe is doneconstantly wilh laith,devotjon and concentration. 2.Therapeutic Aspect ot Japa: Japa rneans conslant medialton specilic on concepl. is lhe lt nalureol mindlhat the ideaon whichrt constanfly medailes be comes lrte part ol persona lt we thtnkpostively,mind also ity. becomespostive which impactalso can be fe t on body.Nega trveth nkingharmsboth body and mrnd. s necessariy Th leads us lo Inlerthalmediation ldeaofgoodhealihinvariably on resutts inlogoodhealth. IVenial lensionis lhe roolof mostol the diseases. thisage In ol last liie, we conslautly haveto face menta tenslons, conBy stani repel iion of Manlfa, mind togels everythingaboul the externai worldand thal way mindgets relielfromlensions. Japaaso ncreasesiatth God,Godis ornntpotent whatever in and happens,t happens eitherforgoodorior bad is dueto hrsw sh. So thereis no reason be worried to aboutanything.Tranquilllozers and drugs like camposealso do this job, In fact actually doing .noreharmlo the bodythangood,Japa,theretore an tnnocent is and yet psycholog callybetter,ongtime lasting remedy thanany type ol tranqullizers. D.Therapeutic aspectof Mantra: T ll now,Mantra has beenconsidered merehypocr and as sy humbug. now il has beenaccepted But scientit caliy, specaty in lfre areaol therapy, as a heallng or agency. The connotation the ternrN/antra of itseltshowsthal t iber ales ts sadhaka( \4ananafl ranatil Mantra) ll liberatesits sadhaka . lrom physco-menialspirituatroubles). (Adh Vyadhr-Upadh )lvlenia

puriflcat on, puriicallon external bodylikewise, the lnlernal lor of This shoud be done daily menla exeTc ike japa s required. se wilhoulanYexcePtlon. 2. Kamyaiapa: japa Japais doneIor var ous purposes.The which s donefor of desire,il is knownas Kamyaiapa. the Iulfilment specific 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 ho lg o a i r e . A n u m b e r e des be ol lapa is l xed which shouldbe compuisofily done lor the goal.Thls lype of japa also shouldbe alla nmenlof the deslred the done at iixed placeand llme.This processstrengthens wil poweroi sAdhaka resuts inlo success. whichultjmaiely 4. Calaiapa: No bedoneatanyiimeorinanysituatlon. rules Calajapacan prescribed lhis.The natureol m nd is to for and reguationsare thinkeithergoodor bad.For avoidng the badtho!ghtsthis cala laps is utilized. 5. Vacikaiapa: japa. Japa which is done in ioud vo ce is knownas Vacrka level at lhislype of japa s considered iow andworksonlyal inrtiai il as of sadhana.Thoughis consrdered ow,lt is 9oodlor concenlrat on of mind. 6. Upanusiapa; of Ln thistypeo{japa,onlylhemovemenl ipstakesplacebul rzation ot ofjapa helpsin the lnlerna no sound s heard.Thistype sensewhichare generay externalized. 7. ft,lansika iapa: ol tonguenor the movement ips In this type oi japa,neither of Because ts s!bslicty. takesplace. is doneonlyal mentalevel. lt l is consderedas the besttype ol iapa.

Chapter-8

fromlhe compex t es ol lfe lhe lroubles ke lensiongeneraled and ullrmalely unhappy possessor lhe worred m nd becomes o{ splil per becomesa v clim of menlaldiseaselike scnzophenla. c The nlenseformol lens on end nlo the psychosomal dls_ /anlra lapa makes dlseased, eases.ll makesbolh body-mind lhe and lhal why t also removes bondsol one lree lrom worries menlalphysca disorders. as whrch consdered thecaus are Thereare certainreasons secrellons oi hormonal One of them is lhe imbalance oJd sease. secrellons bothcrealed scr_ and ol lands Oversecretions under Lrporl menla slateol depend nd. secretions der In body-m Proper do persons in a happymood.glands not work a personWhen a il mlndis nol in a happymood,g andsdo nol work properly. Whlle ol properly. s improper Th way oi working glandsresuls nlo 0rs lo Manlrag ves happrness m nd and keepsmrndsilenl ln eas. or glands workw lhoulany obslacles drslurDances lhe sr enl mrnd as afd thalway here.[lantraworksIndrfecily lherapy japa also can be seef on lrre brarn The mpactoi lvlanlra is brarn d vided nlo two halvesThe largbra n:rnd llr-c ce s O!r 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 16,t", cels ol hung-"r. hypolheamls In lhis area oi brarn. ",a are localedwhen a personls underlenslonhe becomesmoic I into excled !!hichresults highbloodpressure. hasbeenworked japa decreases excrle_ tirs repetilion Mantra ol oul lhal conslanl
npnl a_d d 50'ro -nd 2e ll'e blood p e<cJ c

lManlra, sadakaconcenlraleshis rnindon a Mantrawhich pro dLrce stateol iranquillity.6 thlsslaieoJmeditation. stale a So This ol meditalion works as therapyin two ways.Firsfly, medilal on makesmanaloollromthe external menlal lension whichare con s deredas the roolol diseases and secondly, staleoi medila lhe lon s a fesut of concentrated mind.This cullivates tnnerlatenl wr I power or the powerot resislance against diseases. Thus by removing menla lensrons bycultivaltng the and power, inner med! lationworksas lherapy. japa is the easiest Mantra and the best way lor rr1ducing such a stateol meditation. The healing lhroughManka is possible two ways.One s by sell frea ng wh le in second lype ol healing, healheais palienl. in a d seased body,rl is nol a wayspossib to do lvlanlraIn sucha e case. a Manlrahea er tfansfers inner powerinto a patient. his Hereletters Mantra of worklike channellhroughwh powertravets. ch The permanence the curedone by Manlra, ol depends uponlhe Inlersrly the innerpower01a healer. ol The conceplol the Mantric therapy so has been accepted a by lheAyurveda. Indan art ol meditalion.The an seers Ayurveda, ot Carakaand Susrutahaveaccepted as lherapy.T it Besrdes thrs.lvlantra therapy a so utttized removng the is for po son. Sueruta has rnentroned process removing polthe oi the son by N'lantra the kalpasthana his samhita. physrcian n ot "A wel versedin the Manlras anlivenomous potency ol shouldb nd a leLgalure a cordconsecraled appropriate ol with Mantras which wouldarresla lurlherspreadol the poison. The A,4antras of iull occ! t energyol pertectlrulh and dlvinecommunton, disclosed by the Devarsh and Brahmins yore,neverfatlto s of eliminalelhe po son lrom the system,and hold lheir own even in the case of porsons'.8 deadliesl prescribed Thereare alsosomeI\,4anlras, byTantra hea lh for wh and longlile ch are here,givenin lhe appendix. n the Mantric ihere is nothrng mirace ol hum |ke lherapy, bug lt siusiawayoic,rltivationof innerresistancepoweragainst

does th s job? Manlratherbyrs argey relaleci How [/]antra n mentioned Psyclrology. by w th the process autosuggeslion ol suggesl on has healer a patienl 10gtvea conslairl or vr'hrch erlher repettlof ol lllanlraor lel' lherapy, constant Here.In lhe lVantra waves Nlanlfa ol mindandlhesound lhe lers.penelrates conscious mlnd is more powerill than con entersrnlo lhe subconscious sc ous mind,and its impacla so can be seen on lhe boclyrnrnd o!s slaleol subconsc m nd elleclsbody_ oi So lhe mpact positrve Th can mrndpos tlvely. s positively be lnducedby Mantra lapa n lhe healingthroughManlra.by constanlor repelt o. or

Chapler-8 slrengthening will powerin the case the diseases and positively a arldpatient, sadhaka whilein lhe caseol healer of sell-healing powersihrough his Mantra. transters awakened hasrealizedlhe who lhe medium ot l\rantra. poriionol lhis chapter, can say lhat., we In the concluding has are IVlantra Yantra lhe two aids olTantra-Tanlra peneraled and mind.Mantlaandlhe is, the very roolol disease,lhal unbalanced the lhroughwhich one can slabilize Yantra are the inslruments al fullproolagainst orconcenlraled become stabilized mind.This allacksof diseases. krndsof external Appendix: 3 Maqtrasprcscribedby Tanttafot dilletenl putposcs 1. Removerof diseases: 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: ALrm saccidekabrahma- I\,lahanirvana Tan These mantras are taken from the Tantra {\/ahavihan by Sri Rama pp.454-55. Sarma, 4. Mantas lor health and long life: lhere is a In the eleventh chapter lhe DurgaSaptasalr, ot versein whichsadhaka asksio devilor healthrustalu kirm:rnsayalanabhisira' Roganasesanapahamsiusta na tl

healh.

n lhe Argaa stolraoi Devisluli, s atsoaskedio devitor tt

Delhi Saubhagyamirrogyam devrparamam deht sukham Argalaslotra,12 A manlra ong lifeis prescribed lhe Budrastadhyay for into . Aumlrayambakam yajamahe sugandhimpusli vardhanamtJ U.,,aruikamive bandhanat mrutyo mukhiyamamrulal ll FudrAstadhyay , 5l5

G ,G

o
o o o. o o
oo io. e(!
FO
:-

OF

Chapter-9

Desired spanor a long lite has alwaysbeena matteroi lile allraction otihe humanrace.Tanlra itsownunique has method of healing lorprolonging spaa. and life Tantra penetraled veryrootof disease. removes has lhe lt the accumlation impurities ot which is alsoone ol the causes o{ disease kom lhebody vessels also and Jromsubtle channels. lt purities bodyvessels lhe ihe aclions through six purificatory (satkriyas) mentioned the Hathayoga. by While il removes the impurities s!bilechannels of lhrough process Sumanu the of deprocess theBhula scribed lhe Gherand by Samhite.The ol Suddhi, lhe importanl aspectol Tanlraseldhana playsan important also rolein lhepurilicationbody-mind of complex. IVloreover, hasalsomentioned process Tantra the ofstreightening lhe puriled bodythrough inlake theRasaor prepared the oJ mer, qury (parada). Theseprocesses largely dealwithlhe purilication body.lt of hasalsomentioned certain hniq .th lec ues rough whjch, the body which alreadv has becomea victim disease becured.The of can uniq!emethods Tantric ot hoaling lhe Science breathing are of known S va Swarodays, processof Sal karma, as Mudra, I\ranlra, Yankaelc.Among alllhesewe havealready deallin delailabout I\,4anlra Yantra and therapy. this chapter shalllry to focus In we theTankic ol rejuveration various way and kindsoJhealing. us Let proceed lhe purificationphysical with of body. A. Putification cl Physical Body: place. the ln Tanlrism, humanbodyenloys significanl As (1-8)declares, bodyis nolonger source Gheranda Sambhita lhe a ol pain,but the most reliable and ellecliveinslrument man's ai And science liberation be disposa "conquering for dealh". can

222

Chapler.9

Aspecloi Tantra Therapeulic

223

as gainedeven in this lile,the body must be preserved long as precisely an aid lo meditapossib and in pedectcondition, as e tion.2 Tanlraespecially For preserving body in perfeclcondition, the prescribes method training developing the ot and lhe Halhayoga, is the the body and mind.The goalol Tantra lo discover hidden polenlial powersoi body and io awakenthe inner layers of mind, bodyishighiy spiritual tacultes, Forlhis, controlover physical Hathayoga, conlroloverbodystarlswiththe cleaning requred.Inihe process known as purificatoryaclions or kriyas.They are six i11 These actionsor numberhencelhey are knownas Sat kriyas. acprocesses p n theeliminalion oflhe poisonous sLrbslance he .umulaledin lhe bodily channels. is ol in Accrmulation poison channels alsoone ol lhe causes ol d sease.Bodyconstantly lhrows 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 organsrespectlvely, sage,abdominal organs,eyesand resprratory We shallproceed firsiwith Dhauli. a.Dhauti: ll inlolour types: Dhautimeanswashing. is divided 1) Inlernalwashing-Anlardhauti; 2) Cleaning teeth-Dania dhaul!; oi 3) Cleaninglhroal-Hrid dhauli; 4, ClFanr_g reclum-l,4oola Sodhanam.3 oJ Again lhe iniernal washing, Antardhautiis divided into lour

parls:(1) Wind puriiication-Valasara. Waler purification{2) (3) Varlsara, Firepur f cation-Vahnisaran, (4) Clolhpuril catronta Wind p urification: Valasa, : In lh s process, one should by swalow the air to the slomach closing eplglotlis lhe stomach is liledwilh air.Thenmove lhe till lhai air lhereinand lhen slowlytorce it oul throughlowe.passage. Waler p urifical ion: Va sara: ri Drlnk a iarge quanlity ol waler lo which a little salt is added and then shakelhe abdominalpodon. Then vomil il or.ilby putling {inger the rool ol thelongue.This at should donein lhe mornbe prevenls ing on an emplystomach.This conslipalion Firc p urifica Iion: Vahnisara : A personwho wantsto do ihis, shouldsit in a comiortable posiure.To perform the trunkshouldbenl torward, it, handspul Holdlhe breath on lhe kneesand deepinhalation pe.formed. be While holdingthe breath,push the ouisideas tar as possible. process abdomen backward and lorward.This slrmulates alllhe portionwith abdomen,viz., stomach, inlesline,liver,spleen,panremoves constipation. creaselc-This process rasara: Cloth p urification: Vasl prescribes purilicalion canal. Thisprocess the olihe limenlry from mouihio anus and cov This cana is a longlube extended pharynx oesophagus, slomach, largeand ers ihe areaoi mouth, , smallintesline. in way: The clolhpurilcation prescribed the lollowing is Take a tine piece ol clolh, three inches wide and lilteen leei long. No piece ol loose ihread should be hangingfrom its sideihe Washthe piece Dip it in tepidsalt watet Thenswallow 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 for This processis benelicial lhe abdomna and ihe morning. respifalorydisorders.

224 2. DanlaDhautt: Cleaning teelh: ol

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Dantadhautiis massaging teethwith waier or powdered of earthso ong as dentalimpurities not removed, are 3. Hriddhault: PuriJtcalion tongue: oi For cleaning root.put the threefingers,ndex,middle the and r ng, in a jolnt manner. Rub weli the root;f lhe longue. Wash il agarnand again.Repealthisprocess.Thrs processhetpsin bringng oul excrelion tromsiomachand lungs. 4 lvloola Sodhanam: Cleaning recturn: ot js MoolaSodhanam acieaningolrectum.With hetpofthe lhe middle nger,the rectum I should carefully be cleansed withwater againand again.This process destroys constipation, gestton ind 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 sy 9 .y 16T rhaea.elwolyoesofneli.rllSLlanel a,o (21rdla eli. . n in SLrta neti,take lhrn threadand insert i1 tnto nostriland passrng through it, puilit out by mouth. tt TLe ta a rel ca- oe clo^e wtthrha ,le p o' tukewarn I walar \d ^ 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 ciosrng othernostrlt the withlhumb.Raise headand a ow the the wd'er lo I'ow downto I e throatand erpel ,- ort rhtoLg"rroulh. I ne rF1 ar- -g porlron lho wat.r In tha nou.h ot sho d be otown oui by forcedexpiration. This processremoves disorders cold and ensuressharp of eye srght.

poslure,with the spne slraighlbul reline ln the comfortable laxedpostron,person ooks al lhe ilamelor a minule. Ailerlhat he closeslhe eyes,relaxthe eye muscle andvisuaizethalilame betweenlhe eyebrows. Againdo th s process. This may be cont nued4 or 5 t mes.Thisexercise bringsconcentration strenglhand 1notherTrataka lechnique, called Bhrumadhya l, the half dris closedeyes are d rectedupwardtowardthe spacebelweenthe eyebrowsThis process enables mlndto becomepa nted. the In the Nasagra sti,lhe gazing dr iakes placeal the tip ol the nose.Th s processstrengthens eye musclesand incrases the d. Kapdlabhdti: passage This s an exercise lhe puriiication the nasala for of and lungs.This process s speclally designed 10 remove the spasm n bronchial tube.Th s also helpsin curingAslhmaand also Temoves rnpurities b ood. oi Technique: Aflerassuming olus poslure, a takea iew deepbrealhs.Then rapid nhaI on exhalation shouldbe done.Moreatlention shoud be givenon exhalation. Starlone roundof th s exercise wilh len expusion at lhe end ol the tenlh explusiontake deep nha a y t on. Gradual increase number rounds. the of

Nauliis an exercrse lor puriiication and strengthenrng lhe abdomnal musces. Before doingthe nauliprocess, practice the ol the Udd yanabandha abdominal contraction necessary. s Technlque Uddiyitnabandha: of Sri n any medital posutre. ve One haslo emplythe linksby a strongand forcble expirationthe When the lingsare ernply, raisesnalurally the thoracic caviaty. Drawup ihe d aphragrn lo intestineand the navelloward Keepthe abdo backofthe body. menas longas one can holdihe brealhcomfortably ouls de w th

Trataka a gazing particular rs at pointw thoutwaking eye. the _, process lh s can be done by varous ways. In one ol the methods, candle a flameis keptthreeteetaway et r z 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 h on ia o n t a l

226 oul rnnal ng.

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The same processol conlraction takes place in the nauli kriya.While Uddlyana in bandha, allowthe centreof the abdomen lo be lree by contracting lell and rightside ol the abdomen. the This is known as lvladhyanauli. Afiermastering thls,lhenexl slageis to contro over the lell andr ghtmuscle abdomen.This known asVama ot is and Daksina l. Basti: Cleaning of lowet colon: The bastiprocess cleaning doneby crealing vacuum ol is a lhroughnaulikriya lhe inlesline. irl Sil in a tub ot waler and praclce naul. Creale vacuurnin inlesline. keepthe spincter To muscle open,inserta small l!be abouifour inches lengthintothe rectum. soonas the waler in As rs drawn,the lube shouldbe removed. Andwitha lew abdomrnal (nauli), waleris lhrownoutfromthe large ntestine chLirnings the wrlh musclesand olher waste products. This pfocess cleanesses abdominal the muscles and cures uanary and digestive sorders. d Fromihe above mentioneddescriptionol the six purificalory actions menlioned by the Hathayoga,we can see that, these processes coverlhe wholebody.By applying these processes one can purilyone'sbody, wilhlhe resui thatone can not be the viclrm ol physical diseases. As we know,lhe origjnol the physicaldiseases tocaled are Inlhe menialdistu lbances_ mindalsoshoutd purifed. of n So be other terms, shouldbe concenlrated. The applicationof ihe pranayama technique lhe best way lor concenlralton mind. ts of As lhe pre-requiremenl lorperforming pranayama a puritithe is cationoi Nadisor channels, we know,in our body a net ot As nervesis spread c!1, Pranaor lhe vitalbreathmovesthrough thischannels- lhereis any impuritiesin them,it is d licuntor lt

purijicationrequired is lo orana move So lirslNadi puriljcation be donew(h can Nowwe shallsee howlhis nardi seedletlerslikevam,ram,thametc the helpol lhe Tarnlric 2.Tantric way ol Nitdi purification: lhe Samhiladeclares Samanu Thelillh lesson theGherand ot wilh process puritication whichshould donementally the be ol ot translation theversesrunsas or Biia'l\,4anlra seedletters.The posture, perlorming adoralhe and n Sitting lhe Padmasana lethimperformpurii_ taughtbytheTeacher, lionof theGuru.As Contemplating Varyu_ on in ior calionof Nedrs success pranyama. lel full andof a smokecolour, himdraw Bija (i.e.yarn), ot energy timesThis repealing Bijasixteen the in breathbv the eft nostrll, lor a periodof sixtyJour the s puraka.Lel him restrain breath let lhe is repetition the Manka.This Kumbhaka.Then himexpel ol by a period occupied repealnoslrilslowly during airby theright thiriy-lwo trmes. ingthe Mantra Raising the The rool of lhe navelis the seat oi Agni_tattva. place,ioinlhe PrilhviTattva with it, lhen conlem' tire Jromthat times Aganr_ lhe plaie lhismixedight.Then repeating sixteen on nostril, retan it and (Ram, him draw breath lhe rlgh in by let Blja ol tor the periodof sirlyJour repetition lhe Mantras and then ol repetitions il by the left nostrilfora periodol thidy_two expel the Mantra. and gazeon thetipofthenose contemplalrng Thenlixingthe through reJleclion the moonlhere,let himinhale ol the luminous repeating Bija (lham)sixleen times;lei hrm the the lett nostril, in limes; lhemeanwhile sixty-four lt ihe retaln by repeating Blia(lham) fromlhe moonat (orcontemplate) the nectartlowing lhal magine ol all lhe tip ol the noserunsthrough the vessels the bodyand the puri{ies lel them. Thus conlemplaling,himexpel airby repeal_ Bljalam. times Prilhvi the ingth rty'two lhe By thesethreepranayamas nddisare puriliedThensil_ pranayama.4 poslure himbegin regular let llngIilmlyin a

224

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Thus by applyinglhe Hathayogicway ol purilication, s:rdhaka purilies his bodily vessel, while by applyjng lhe SumanLr procway ot purification, ess.a T?lniric sAdhakapurifies subllechannes throughwhichvital air flows.Beyondthese two, lhere is also anolherTanlric way,thai is the purilication bodv.Bhuta ol part Suddh,whichis lhe integrated ot Tanlricsadha whichwe na, havealready seenin lhe chapter'Tenkic saldhana'.To avoidthe repelition il, herein a nulshell, can saythat,in ihe process ol we of lhe BhuiaSuddhi, sadhaka hasto imagine manol impurilies a (papapurusa) and lhal manshould first driedoul then burnt be away mentally. Aller deskoying this man ol impuriies,sadhaka has lo creale a new divine body wilhihe helpof the elixirot the Sahasrara cakfa.This wholeprocessshouldbe done mentatty_ Whrle destroying man of rmpurties the sadhaka destroys bodily impurtiesand ihal way this process securesbodilypurilication. Purilication bodyis nol the onlygoaloiTanra thal puri, ol but I ed body shouldbe slrenqlhened rock so lhat il can resist like 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 liberation duringlife-time, Jivan-mukti. orderlo keep body undecayablemany expenIn ments were made by Tantrics.Among them use ot mercury for rejuvenation bodyis lhe mainone, ol Tanlra considersman or human bodyas the higheslevolute ot the nature.As such the essenceof the cosmicworld.il bejn I eves,is embodied h!man body. The nalural deduction this of lheoryis lhal, lhereis nolhing the cosmoswhichis not therein in humanbody. The Naiha cult and the Flasasiddhasbelievethat the process ol evolulionhas three stages.Thecrealion,lhe maintenance andihe destructron. Absolute Fleality bel evedto passthrough is these three stages when lhe process ot manifeslalionslarts_ The crealon Iunction symbolically is idenlilied with l\roon, while

luncton is identified with the Sun.The goal ofihe destructlve Nathasiddhas is to allain lhe non'dual stale ol immortalityThis can be attainedby the unionof Sun-l\,4oon localedinsldethe o00y. Accordrng lhese two culls,death or decay takes place lo lhe ehxirwhichtrickles becaus down from lhe lvloon situaleal the Sahasrara, ordinarily ialls inlo lhe lire ol the Sun, which rs located the navelregion, al whereil is dried away.Thus elxir the of body, beingdfiedup the bodybecomes victim the destruc a to tion.This lhe ordinarycourse rs ollhe tlowo{ neclarwhich musl be checked.The elixir should be consumed. onceit is done. nol lf sadhakagets conlrol overlime meansenjoys lite desired span. Utilizal ol alchemy(Rasa)is one of the ways ol geiting on conlro overlrme, Sanskrit In lexicon,lhe meaning thistermis of juice but in T:rnlrismil is specalically used for mercury. Tanlrrc alchemical ideasgrowaroundthe SivaSaktisymbolism. [,4ercury consideredas lhd male principleor Siva while is sulphuris considered the femaleprinciple Sakti. as or 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) Rejuvenation body and (2) Conversion base metal ol ol 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 undergoeighlpreparedmercury processes (Samskaras).This eenditferent should be utilizedas giyer ol immortality. This lheory of Rasa disclosesthe secret otlhe prolongedliJe puritica' way ol our ancienl seers.So by the Hathayogic of bodily tion, Tantric way ol purificationol subtle nerves and by inlake of decay,The c bas the prepared mercury, can gel conlrolover on lor is requirement all processes thal, al initiallevel,it requires lhe guidanceof an expert withoutwhich instead ol long lile one can be victimof dealh.

Asperroi Tanka Therapeutc

ol This is aboutlhe purilication body.ll supposesomeDooy we how he cancurehimselt shall see ol viclLrn disease becomes B.Va ousTdntric waYs ol healing: lhe the Tanlranot only purifies bodybut it also rernoves ors ihere in the body Thereare vaTious eases which are already ol vlaysol th s. Amongthemlechniques Sat kriyits,Sivasworodaya' one. etc.are unrque [/ludra on by lollowed conternplalion specilic Sat karmais a process seed letters like yam, vam ram etc Sat karma Bija [,4antraor prescrbed by Lord ls samgraha a textol bothyogaand:!yurveda w Nowwe shallseeSal karmaprocess th the he p S va Himsell.3 Sat karmasamgraha ol ihe treatise 1- Sat karma : Six actions: are six in numberwhlchar namely Sai karma,six aclions, (e) (d)Tralakam (c) (b) (a)Urdhvacakrl, [,fadhyacakr] Adhacakrl e We shallexplain, brief each ol in Kasa and (l) Nelrikaranam them. 1. a lJrdhvacakri: one by is This process pertormed enlerrng s own lhumbwel Then rolateil By doing wrth waier, n lhe centreof the palale. whichare situaledtherecan oe againand again,lhe rrnpuriiles, while dolng declares Sat As lhis treatise, karmasamgraha, upon the brighttriangular this process,he has to conlemplale praciice thrs ot ol or Bam, Bila'Mantra seed letter lire Constant ol processremoves impurilies eyes,earseic lhe 2. b. Madhyacaktt: the is Thrsprocess done by inserling fingerat lhe roolol the the longue andlhe {ronloltheuvula Rolate fingertherewithlhe remembranceol lhe god ol Agni By constant practice of this l2 processlhe excess phlegmcan be removed

In th s. lhe rndexI nger shouldbe entered the anus Thrs in processshouldbe continued the expansionol lhe anus with til processrernoves the contemplation Yamseed letter.This on dropsy, drsease reclum. ol enlargement spleen.l3 ol

This processis done by lhe iixaton ol the eyes on a rninute objectt ll tearsbe9 n lo fall-This shouldbe donewithoLlt nking w the eyes wilh the repetition lhe seed letlerof water,lhat is, oi Vam. Thrs.emoves allthedrseases eyesand alsosleeplness.ra ot 5. e. Kasd. n this process.a f ne smooihlhreadshouldbe ntroduced Inlolhroalthroughnose.The fr ction of the lhread in nose and throalremoves disorders the phlegm.l5 lhe ol 6. L Netrikaranam: In lhis process, clean,soll,slronglubricaled a rnadeol whrte lhreadshould be introduced lhe lde and takenout from the inio pngaa . Thus the app ication the process Sal kriyaremoves ot of lhe diseaseIke dropsy. sleepiness, disease ot ears, eyes,dts-or, ders of phlegmelc.Theseprocesses have a resemblance wilh lhe srxpurlicalory actions menlioned the Hathayoga. driiers by lt on the ground thal theseprocess shouldbe donewtihthe repetI on oi the seed etierswhilein the Hatheyogic practice,no repetrlronoi I\,lanira iakes place. Thereisalsoone anolhe treatise. Sat KarmaSamgraha, r like a dialogue belweenLordSivaand Parvatai, Sivasvarodayam. is It s a scriplure related wjihthe process inhalatlon exhala of and ll 1ion. has mentioned lechnique diagnosis, drsease of the the by pattern breathing process oJ andlechnique healing manrpuot by latrng brealhng process. lhe Now we shallsee somelhing aboul lhe Svarodays, science brealhing, a ol

232 2. Siva Svarcdaya: A Science of breathing: a toldby Siva10Parvat tor lhe s SrvaSvarodaya a scr pture, is This treatise basedon lhe con wellareof the h!man beings. cepl ot vrlaliorce or prana sakti wh ch pervadesin lhe ent re The v tal lorce is ihe very core ol lile.This caf be seen by body. a belween lving bodyand a dead body. n lormer, the drllerence ol there rs a presence lileiorce or pranasaktiwhilein lalerll ls n replylo one of the queslons ol Parval. LoId Srva says rs lo Nothing srrperlor prana is the best lriendand best brother. prana B.eathng is lhe gross torm oi that viial force or prana withbothbodyand m nd. Physrcalbody PranaSakliisrelaled lheselwo s gross whilemlnd is subtle. Prdnais link betweerr body m nd Henceil allecisbolh. The very exislenceol lhe physcal body as livrngentrtyis s ol dependenl upon the presence prana.Th showsthe superor relalon of m nd and pranars a so veTy body.The ly ol pranaover thal as the Hathayoga we i known. They are so highlyrelated pradp!kadeclares. conlrollngone,lhe olher can Oecontrol by M e n l ad s l u r b a n c ea r 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 s ol T occurdue to the fleetng naiure easo. hrstypeol d sturbances 'r nd GeneraLy. s di{lcultto conlro the mrndbul by controlling il process, mindcan b control !he vrraliorce. through bfealhing is frornthal Hcrthe conlrol overbreathng process diflerent and pr;nayamaprocess. we know,we do nhalatlon ol lhe As rightnoslrilor through leit nos_ the cxha alroneilherlhrough the of 1r SrvaSvarodaymenlonslhe duralon period the respiration pfocesswhrchtakesin one noslril. everytwo hoursduratlon, Al there s a changeIn the nostril operalrng thatt me. al ai S;' can ascerlarn whichnostril mustbe workLng a parttcu_ laysdown lhe ar r me duringlhe day and al nighl. The scflplure s r c o r r e cp r o c e s s o l w o r k i n g l h e n oa t pia r l c u l a r t i m e . T h e w o r k _ l

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n g o l t h e o p p o s t en o s t r l s h o w sh e i m b a l a n c e n d h e n c e a t a s gna lo lhe drsease.The disease can be curedby changng the work ng of tho noslnl. So n lhs processol hcarng. disease s dragnrzed the by workfllol noslrland heaed by the manpulalon ol it.Thrs lherapy s a so basedon theTantricprincip of the rdenlical alionsh e p re belureen mrcrocosTn macrocosm. and Physical body ls a mlnialure universe. The sun and a moon wh ch are h gh y assocatedwllh the vtla lorceand mentalforce respectively a so be locatedn the body. we havealready can As njenlonedin the chapterol Tantra sadhana thal, pranaor via forcellolvs ihroughsublle channels whrch are spreadoul I ke a nel nabody.Threearethe mainchannels. narnely, Prngata lda and Susumna. Susumna a meruora spinalcord alongwilh is the lormerlwochanne runonthe leftand rightsideol respecs il i vely. Sun is localed lhe righls des and berng the vita current al so I ows rhroghlhe Pingalanad . Whilemoon stocatedal lhe telt sr0eand hencemental cullentsflowthrough nAdr. I ow ot lda The brealhrng lhro!gh ldaand Piiga a takesplace through teitand the nghl nostn respecl vely. By consider lheselwo abovemenlioned nc p es on wh ch ng pr lh s lherapy s based, can say lhal overworking we underworkng or rnaJunclronrngany noslrilcrealesimbaiancein mental oi and vrlalcurrenl. Overworking rightnoslril.beingretated of wrlh personality. e in the caseol da. Sun resulis n lhe vrgorous Whr personbecomes ctimof capnce. b-"f{J rc aled wrthlvloon, v Thrs lact is aso noted by the science, that when lhe rghl ls side and ell hemisphere predomjnanl during parl cular I rne a one becomes moreaggressive. Whilemorepassive functions are to be perlormed whenthe leitside is pfedominant Therers alsoone another way ofTantrc healing whlchis a so basedon the pr ncipe oi identity betwenmacrocosm and micro. cosm The nameol lhis lechnrque I/udra or gesture. rs

234 3. Mudh: Gesturcs:

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235

pari oi dailyT?lnlric sadhane. is ll Mudra is an inlegraled which havealready we seenin the alsooneol the paica l!4akaras Tantra symbolism. Mudr:r a gesture handinitially ts goal is tota mental is of but identification. [,4udrA basedon lhe pr nciple identily is ol between macroscosm mrctocosm. and Like unrverse, body is also composedol live eiementsnarnely water, iire,airand elher.These in earth, elemenls srtuated lhe are are body In a iixedproporlion.l/udr:rs the meanslo normalize lh s proporlion the fiveelemenis lhe body. ol in li is beleve, the conlrolover tive grosselements, con the si tuenlsof lhe body,is locatedal the five trngers lhe hand. of The thumbrepresents space, thelorelinger windoralr,lhemiddle Iingerlire,the ringlingerwalerand the jourlh lingerrepresenls So eachelement possible rs through earlh.13 ihusthe conkolover Ine tlngers. 1. a. Prena Mudn: PrAna mudrais designed curingthe diseaselike heart for atlack,one ot lhe prorninenl seasesol lhrsage. d "..... patient a having hearlattack a can checklhe allackand gel Inslanlrelietby ioldinglhe Ioretinger downon the moundoi lhe thumb,and joiningrhe ihumbwith lhe lips ol the lhird and lourthlinger.rs 2. b, Sinya Mudrd: ''tsend Madhyama lhe middlefinger, louch the root01the to wilh the lhumb.20 This mudra re lhumb.Then press it slightly 3. c. Sirya MudA: (the the Bendthe An:rmika, lhifdringfinger) n louches rool til withthe lhumb The thirdfrnol the thumb. Then pressil slightly ger, representing by water, s st mulated lhe e eclr c heatol lh lhumb representing sun.This poslure s uselultor personwho

produces rmbleness ieel heavrness lhe body.ll s practice In and 11 shouldbe 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 g e tn lee i n ge h l r pressing hard aga nsl each olher.The conlact,nol necessarily posture otherlrngers keptuprighl.This are muslbe maintained on bolh lhe handsl ''Thlose who suflerlorm a weak memory, lnsomnia a iee ' or rngoi drowsness.iension and olhermaladies the mindshould of practcelh s mudra lt helpsto increase ntalconcentration fough rne th conslantpractice.22 Beyondlhese Mudrars, lhere are also some other lvludras pradipika. menlioned theGherand by Samhitaand theHathayoga by grving Mudrirs notonlyheallh These are deviceslhey alsoawak lhe ens the atentun versalenergy, KundalniSaktr. Someof lhe Mudrasare namelyMaha mudra,Viparla karanimudra.Nabho Khecar nrudrar mudra, etc.These IVudras rea1yvery verydilare licui lo perlormbut as both of the above m-antioned trealises lhey are surelyto makephysical declare bodylree lrom drsease and he p n spirituauplill. Thus the practiceoi variousmudrasensureslhe physical inlroducing druginlothe body and menlalhealth wrthout any process Mantra parts rntegrated The heahng oi andYantra,lhe have alreadybeen drscussed lhe prevrous in ol Tantra chapler. These lwo drlgless therapies nd heal the body-m cornpex by poweroi resslance agarnsl slrenglhening awakening inner or the g lhrou h concentral oi m nd. on disease L The hea ng hypothesis whichwe havemadein lhe Section and in sadhanar, al lheselhera' especrally. the ChapterofTantra pres lvanlra,Yanlra andTantra, whichare basedon lhe conceptol relattonmoreor ess basedon lhe Tantrlcpr ncipe ot identical principle such s and microcosm.This belweenmacrocosm shrp manpu ationof ii, one and a rat onal onethat by proper a so!nd menlaland spirtLradis_ can escapeonesellfron the physlcal,

236

Chapter'9

Aspeclof Tantra Therapeulrc

l l5 n T r a l a k a m a k a s a k a r m a e i r i k a r a n a a m u l l a m alm l l c brd I 15. 1 0 Jalardam nilanianguslhamtalumadhyepravesayel I ialh pascatlalraslhamma amarharel Bharamayitva p u n a hk s a l a y e c e d n r d h v a a k r i p r a k r rlla c Punah c brd 1 32 33
ll

237

Reterences L 2 and Translalionot ihe verse taken lrornlheYoga-lnrmoralalily Free dom, p 227 by Elrade,lvlircea. nelilaukikilrakas lalha Dhauli baslistalhar KapalabhatiscailaniSalkarmani samacarel i 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 dn l o E n g l i s hb y R a r b a h a d u r O l V S r i s ac h a n d r a a s u ,p . 3 , 2 n d e d i t a o n , r i e n l a B o o k B e p r i n lC o r p o r a t i o nD e l h iI 9 7 5 . , 3. m 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 a uilr 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 ( S B e s e s v a r a a r s a n a m , S h a r m a , m a S h a n k a r aE d . ) ; T h e a r v a d 6 U p o D a r s a n aS a r n a r a b a t M a d h v a c a r y a . 3 7 9 . T h e V d y a b h a v a r 11 a , S a n s k r iG r a n t h a m a L a 3 ,C h a w k h a m bV i d y aB h a v a n1 9 6 4 F i f s t t Edilion. Sansarasyaparam param datlessau paradah smrutah l b r d .p 3 7 6 . Sulosyam matsamoidevi I mama pralyangasambhavah I [.lanra deha raso yasmal rasalenamucyale| 36il T F a s a r n a v a a n l r a1 - 3 6 . y A l h a v a k s y a m k a r m e n iy o g i n a m o g a s l d d h a y e i l ve Y a n y a h ad h n f j a l l h a k s a l l o k a r n u g r a h a h e lla14 l L s journaI ol Yoga-lv'limamsa. in Sal karmasamgrah1.14,Published the 6 a d N o .l . p p 1 - 1 , J u l y 19 6 8 ,E d i t e d n dt r a n s l a l eb y D r F H .H a r s h e . 9. para I urdhvacakrl madhyacakrllalhacjhascakrika

I n d r a g o i b h a ml r y a s r a ma l u s t h a n a ma m s u c r ms m a r e lI r n l r N e l r a k a . n : ' d y n r d h v a r o g a n s a n aa l a s o d h a n a rln 3 4 l l mm k k A r h av a n g u l i n a u r y , r d e l a la r m am u b i s v a r a h bid t-34.

ll 1 2 J i h v a m i r l e d h j h v a y a m ! p a j l h v a g r asaa l h a l l 3 5 l s r v k s p l v a b h r a m a y e 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 m m k M a l a . r r h a r a m u r v a np f a g v a d i r a s a k h as m a r a nl 1 3 6| k [ l a d h y a c a k rs a m a k h y a t a a p h a k a n l a k a n a s i n r n l i b i d .1 3 5 - 3 6 .

t 3 . Tarlafrm payugam krlva sodhanam purvavaccarel

y I A d h a s c a k rs a m a k h y a l a a v a d g u d a v i k a s s a n a m i y d s d Y a m l r a m a s a k h a m h a y a N a o d h a y e c c aa t h a v h i | 3 8 l l s ye I gulmarogom!laja vyadhayasca l\,4ahodaro nsayanlio baslikarmaniyogyata | 39ll Malasrhathalva ibid.1.39 b d S ! k s m a l a s y e r a s us l h a p y an i r n i m e s a s c r r a mh a v e lI karma tralakamlritamI AsrLrsarnpataparyanlam I Vanglavkaranslesminnanlaiyolih prak?rsyate Nelrarogaslathalandra nasyanlily?rha dhurjalih I b r d , 1 - 4 04 1 susulraka h I kasam kuryaddhastam:rlram t 5 Ratvin Slaksnarm tam kasam I madhye nasadvarrena Pravesayelkantha sivodilam I Ghalsayecca sanairetatjasajarma Anena Karmana vayuh kaphadosamhaisyali I

238
)bid.1 42-43.

Chapler-9

Svaccham Slaksnam dradham snigham Svetasnlravinrrmilam ldya Sampravesyaiva lalah 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 u a h p a . o b a n d h u a s t in a s l i v a r a ' n a n e y n S va Svarodaya. Takn 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 o , C a . d l a c sp u b l s h e dn l h e T l m e s f I n da , S u n d a yO c t o b e2 6 . 1 9 8 0 . i r t9 20 tbd. tbid.

21 Taken from lhe arlicle ot Acharya Kesav Dev. The lrfe-grvrng dev i c e , p u b l i s h e dn 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 . I 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

VOLUME 3

COSMOPUBLICATIONS
l!r99

INDIA

Na AI rishtsreset vecl. 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

Publications C) Cosmo IrnitPublished 1999 (sel) 81702G8637 ISIJN (vohtnre 3) 8l 702G86lil L

CONTENTS
andTtnlrasol Kashmir Saivaworks Agama-Sastra Spandasaska Pralyabhijia-Sastra lsvara_Pralyabhijia Siva"Sutra Spanda'Kaiker Ahirbudhnya-Samhrta ldaliniviiaottaTantla Tantra Mrgendra NetraTantra Rudrayamala Svacchanda-Tanlra and AbhinavaguPla Hisworks Tantraloka KlamaTanlricism Saivisn ot Phibsophy Kashmir and sex - Relalionship SpiriiualRealisalion OnAnimal-Sacrifice Background Socialand Religious 65
89

Publith..l

bY

MRS.RANI KAPOOR folCOSMO PUBLICATIONSDiv of PVT LTD, PUBLISHING GENDSIS 24B, Ansari Road, DaryaGanj, INDIA NewDelhi'110002,

3.

4.

Tantra and Cultulal 't25 Complexot Indl6 Tantra Seklaworks and Vedic (including Literature Upaisads) andTanlra Tantra Mahabharata and Tantra Arthasaslra and Tantra Purana and Tantra Samrli and TantandVedanta Tanira Samkhya and Tantra Yoga and Tantra Ayurveda and Tantra Vaisnavism and Tantra Saivism and Tantra th6Ganapatyas and Tanlra Paicopasana and Tantra, Buddhisrn Jainism, and Tantra Sufism and Tanva, Music Dance and Tanlra, andArchitecture Art LinearRepresentation Caves Slone Temples lmages Tant.a Alphabet and Tantla inscriptions and Sabda Dhavni and Value otTanlra-rise Sahajiya ot Cutt RegionlTantra Influence ofTantra common among peop|e

5. 6.

lowardsTantra Elitist atlilude Posl-VedicThoughfc!fients andTantra loTantra SeclsandSubsets

181 Tantras Bengal ot Unpublished 199 Tantras their Details and Tantras citedin the Harataftva-didhiti Worhs Authors and citedIn lheTanlras ot Bengal l\,4entioned SanskrilWorks Bengal in the on Tantras Pantheon BengalTantra in Yanhas lrandalas and Lislol Mudras, mentioned Bengal in Tantra mentioned BengalTant6 in Lislol Kavacas Listol Hymns Prolectave and Mantras jn menlioned Bengal Tantra 241 Tantricoevotees Ramprasad KamalakanlaBhatlacarya lc.17/2-1821) Bamakrisana Vivekanaada(1863-1902) (18381911) Vama Ksyapa Ray Ramakdshna (d.1795A.D.; according to 1800) some, BuddhislTantric Works Bengal oJ Bibliography 3 -

7.

.=

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F
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c (!

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E'6
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Chapter1
padance, on is Kashmir calledth{rsvaraga(heaven ln comrnon inthe in notonly a indeed, occupies uniquepositionIndia, earlh).lt, but beauly, salubrious climale, alsoin lhs realm panoramic scenic (11th produced polyhistors lcemendra cenliko ol Indianculture.lt (c.lh lanerhaltot lhe |oth cenlto eady tury)andAbhinavagupta Riti viz.,Alamkem, andDhvani, system poelics of 11thcent.).The province.The schools wererefounders these ol in originated this (8th-9h (c.7th--{th Vamana cent.)and cont.), Bhamaha spectively (9h Kashmir may As Anandavardhana cent.). regads Ras, school, pioneer.ln lhe Dhvanebka, be said to have been th tasaas lhe most for clearly stated Anandavardhana, thelirsttime, (c.14th Visvanaha cenl. ol poetryln laterlims exceilenl elemenl stated rasa as the in his satllyadalpara, unequivocally lsl half), soulofpotry (1 Kalhana 1ttr-1 2thcent.) 7he Rejata@ngin theKashmidan ol whichcanclaimto be histh6 s practically onlyworkin Sanskrit, loncal. (8th-glh Damodaragupta cent.)hascreatd a TheKashmirian new literarygerre by his Kuttammata erclico-comic an satire on courtesans. We shall give a briet accountot TantricSaivismof Kashmir, in whichis unique ils philosophy. The celebrated Saivaschoolis 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, Bhdabheda. {6) Theliterature the Dka system,known Trika-sastra, of as Trika-

Ct|aDtht

Saiva Works And Tadras ot Kashmlr

sasana, Rahasya-sampradaya bebroadly or can classifid as A. B. C. Agamasastra Spanda-sasira pratyabhiifia_sastra

by to sp*autulraqannbulod Vasugupta Ksemaraia ii"i-J'r*.ii a pupilol Vasugupia by Kallala' loo"-ij. . r'"u" 6""n by a y/ttior commentary Kallata thereis "omposed Sutras Jrithe C. PRATYABHUflA-SASTRA ol lhe lollowing developmeni the For abouta century philosophF in Saiva there Spandasastra, wasa sortol interrcgnum calliterature. ot by was thatlollowed marked theonslaughl BudTheoeriod devel_ toe Kashmir the To .ihrsm Saivlsm. contatn lormidable on lt Pratyabhiha is so calledbe' ol pnilosophy Joel rnf svsremaric as ol '""ogn'tto \p;aryabhiika\ rcahly essenlrallor MJ",i'"gutat lhe siv'dts' of Somanada on io'Jt"r.n irti. O'ro"iphy is based lsvata' Of the olher works ol lhis class wellknownare ol Palyabhiiha-vimatstnt o( onNabhtan ot fuatyabhina-suta alsool thepratyabhiiha'vivtlr aulhor iroiruti ounln,n"u"gupia' -uli^ri^i" ra s utpala yrfl':Ksema Ps Patyabhiina' i" ^.n loo""1on He hasothelworks compendium is h/dava an imporiant are live ol School Tantra, Makaras noltaken ln theKashmirian areprescribed' bul rnthe literalsense lheirsubstilutes ol works Kashmrr' and WeshallnowtakeuptheTanls Saiva ISVARA.PBATYABHIJNA he Son of Udayakara' had a son' li is bv Uipaladeva AccordPadmananda named sludnt' and vllfrramat<aia, atellow {Kashmrr was a natvol Guptapura Ulpala t" (modern Kalaspur) "-tJao", "" Kalasripura ugrytarawaylrom O!,uooru1.o1 quaner thel Oth ol in llourishedtheI'rst who Utoala, perhaps ol aulhor Vaisnava tromUtpala must drslinguished be A.b., cenl. Ihe Spanda'Pradtqika ol with crediled theauthorship the Utpalais thiswork' Besides Jollowingwolks:

on lhe snandakatikaswh|r;nare a sort ol runningcommenlary

A. AGAMA.SASTRA Believed havebeenrevoaled, compflses to il eEvn Tanlras tnctucttng MAttni-viiaya Rudayemab and Inlhe eadystage, thesewo*s wereinterpreted thedualisirom tic, evenpluralislic viewpoini. The-Irika systemacluallybeganwiththeSiyasutras, supposed .- - - beenreveated ronave tovasugupta gthcent.)to (c. retute lheduat. Samkardcarya (c.gthcent.)is saidto havevisited Kashmrr. .. Frsvrs[ supptGd impetus the whichresuned the tormulation in of Sivasulras. Of thecofimentaries lhe Sulras, _Knou/ lhe Uarlik on we n arc , ^. or unasxara 1thcent.) (c.t andlhe yrra,.siniof Ksemarala. identitred some thealoresaid by with Ksemendra, otners Ksemen_ by wth oras namesakewhowErs pupilof Abhinavagupta, a lhentoned earlier. Wilhthelirmfoothotd lhe fnka system, ol someot thealore. saroctuattsltc Tanlras wereinterpreted tromthe monistic pointot Besides Vasugupta, several othorschotar_oevotees contrib_ uledto the devBlopment Saivism Kashmh. them,famous of in Ol cenl.).

(end eh ) urpab i?1"{"^111 19]|l:1l"ent somananc'aor cenr.), (c. cent.). erh Abhinavasupra, Ksemata lrjl_-ll]l-lll,:llna"kra of 13th anoJayaratha beginning (c.
B. SPANOASASTRA Spanda means vibration activiyot Siva.lt is supposed or to - rnecause oe _, ol all dislinclions This Sastra basedon the Sapndasafas, is generally called

Saiva Works And Tanlrasol Keshmir

(1)

12)

Stddhitrayi-lheldad compdsing lsvara, Sambandha and A,aoapramatr-siddhi_th6se embody majnpornts the dis. cusse in lhe Isvam-p 'abh fia. d i Vrftion SivadBtiandtsva7-pratyabhifia__lragmentsavajt_

13) Vivaanaonthe Isvara_petyabhiiia. 14) Stotavali. The l6vara,pratyabhijia divided jntolour sections, is viz.. (1) Jffanadhkara---daling cognitions. with I has eightsubdivisons,viz.,l) Upodghata. purvapaksavivfiti. para. (ri) (iir) oarsananupapattj, (ivlsmrtisaklrnrrupana. (v)Jnanasaktinrrupana, (vi)Apohanasakti_nin (vii)Ekasrava-

ca, im 6ini; hi;h i; fi ; '-;":J:1il,fli,r[]T,,:$ ed a e "v trrl,"r4. taner supposed Lri"o tou" ll-ltl"11?no,"r. Th rs
grossby Utpajahimselt,which is now lost The tourth Adhrkarars

(3) Agamadn'kara--d-iscussing the 36 lat&as ot Saivism. secbns arqi)Tattva_nirupana, pramatr-an lts sub(ii) *"lri"i". . _. (4) _ Tattvarlha---amgra_hadhikara-_discusses theessentrat nature ot the Highest Being. ana recapitr,tates sutsianlJoi ttre the.Jorgohg Adhkaras. s,.rtsecrions (,1 tts a,e fattiairna". i n,vt/arEi rtr,\ruruparya-k|?tma_nrrupana, -rhe lsvaz-pratyabhifiahasa comrnen .-

'''*''',?l[:"J,i#;il::l'iHjiJ#J,:#l.::lTi,iffi the it, that !] One,lollowing realises Afma, makes worldand talphatameya_nirupana,(iv)Karya_karana-ttva-nirupana. the raises queslionattainsSddhr:Abhinava in absorbed Sivahood _-.
"i,p"".di

d;;;;;;;;'j"""'

joy Purusa creates a one beingunknown, is called purusa. oneself in lsvarais Palland menare Pasut 8y practice ihe andsorrow. and pasus heed-keed fromanimality godare manner orescibed one God one'sidentilywith is realised be' is iessness seen.When Alibratedpersonleels that he is one wilh all comesiivanmuAla. Paramasiva beis otheruiseonelells whsreas fttered the things, as are alltho fatfuas merged Cil(consciousbecause vondproof, Alrtan as lsvaraand ftara and ness)in Him.Onewho realiss and whathedesires aclswilh Him,knows beyond kria as nothing deathlhe becomes Afler Jivanmuda thisverybody,he becomes Himsell, Paramesvara the saysthathe hasrevealed easy the ln conclusion, author Abhinava in lhe Siva-drstt path by (Sughata) declared the Gull/s it lo the it makes clearthal palhis staled beeasybecause is devoid like dtesandpractices intemal and in of thepalhinvolved extemal

oi J

rsr!.who exrsts rhan other rsuar". ,"prf"i.d-r#i::i*::::r"; rne

na-r,lr-e oI conscrousness hasnodiflerence whrch indifterenl ptaces, tim-iJ anoInnature.The question beposed_we il may , lr.,lahesvara atone rslhesout,whatis the bondage t;r releasing wh|chthrsetiortis maoe | he answer lhat,through 1 rs thetorce ego.peopte ol tn,nf.i amso andso'.Again, thequeslion b e as mav

ih epilome , .. . Adhikaras.'s.conrenrs o a," lH" iJirT:ll oraxbcings. ";,"iJJ;;il:,ji,:He,sot tf,e Abhinavagupla makes clear it that

its belween recognation thenthereis no diflerence if Ahan exists. the Whenlhereis sproul, seeddoesnol re' and non-recognilion. doesnotremain the When main unrecognised. lhereis sprout, seed like one external are The unrecognised. replyis-there twothings, The,ormerdoesnot like and the sprouls, lhe olherinternal love. that'l does ln th realisation bul necessitale recognition, the latler of is recognition a mustThenecessity recognilion am Mahesvara' mayb The analogy. husband is illustrated a veryconvincing by him present nearlho wile,bul so longas shedoesnol recognise is Alman, Visvesvara in one's Similarlythough shedoesnotgetjoy. on as Hispresence unknown; suchthereis no etfect the person is is concened.So pratyabhtjka necessary by that lhe Theauthor concludes workby saying it is written him lor the peoplewho can attain Siddhi$rilhoutelfort Abhinava ol to states thatit is accessible all irrespeclive casle'etc. SIVA_SUTRA lo believed asarelraditionally the As slatedbelore, Slva'sut threesections lt havebeen revealed Vasugupta. contains lo

SaNaWorksAnd lanttasol Kashmir

jfi,""rn"uomh,m,hecom. il"xTil::xnH,*"Jlifl"tH:T js corophony-*,. _"",i"'"ii,il"i" to h

3,iilli;t"l"f,!,,,"1j',.""

13;*q6"61{pu+r;*:m,*r;u:,*",#
Ksemaraia,s a running commentary Thecontents Srya_sulras of arebriolly to ows_ as Cailanla consctousness or js idenljf re.t

f,*jl+1fr1s$J;*,i*aru,+**, "flffi ;tH#:i,fi :il"!',,:,:::{i$l :f Hffi j:

(theiobolconcentra' Samadhl-sukha the withSiva, universalsoul. yartika identilies with /oka is tionandmeditation) Lokananda.fhe ol is is the lheEternalOne, soulofalliii Hewho joyTheattainment takesplacefromthe riseol pureknowledge the staleof Cakresa 'l i.e.,ihe in whichconsisls the ralisationam all'(Saryahambodhal, stale wilh ownsell eveMhing.The oi Cakresa ol ldentificationone's the intwoways.ltmaymean eightwell-known hasbeenexplained Anima,Laghina,dL. OL Cakais Samvil(conscious_ Siddhiscalled ol the means possession excellenl nessl:so lhe slateof Cakresa inAlmat inYoga-sast. consciousness Pure welfknown knowledge Those,who are oi ior lhe realisation whichmanllais necessary without can spirilually, havetho aboverealisalion very powerlul require nlrc.Mantrais Ma Manlra ihose,whoarelesspowerful Bul, which, yadlka, says,is Sivawho is the identil wilh Cltta(mind) ed of is lhe and devoidol attrubutes, omniscient beyond limilations is ncessary The in spaceand lime,For success mantraellort Va ika explainslhalmantrais the innalenatureol the powerof Clt Manta-tahasya meditation itYogins on atlain success. Byincessant y/dya. Whenlhe mind,tlrned in consisls the bodyin the tormof of is in awayfromtheobjects sonses, fixed, Cit nescience \avidya) knowledge lhe non-dual of Supremedawns, disappears.Whenlrue Khecari de.ived is thus. lhe slafeof Siva.calledKheca , arises. aboutlhere Kha is lhe skv in lhe shaDe Cll Thatwhichmoves of is calledKhecaz: it leadslo lh atlainment lhe slateof lhe As of upon, it is calledthe stale ol Siva one who is medicaled (Sivavastha). fhus, Muda(Khecai) andMarra, as meanslo lhe goalhave from thsse?The beenstated. Bul. howto get the powerarising in He answer Guruwhorepresents Saktio{ Sambhu. explains lhe the lrlth, and showslhe way.Guf4 leadsone lo lhe knowledge (power doing)oltheLord.The oJknowlaboul Kfiyasak, lire the ol edgebeingburnt, grossbody, whichis subjeci lhe lruilsol lo the (anra)of acton,yieldsplaceto the divinebody. Thesustenance thisdivinebodyis /nanalhat astrue knowledge. HereKsemaraja dilJers. takesthebodyto mean gross subtle tormsol ilHe lhe and Suchbodyis of{ered thelirol CA HetakesJ6ana thesense in to ol lalseknowledge causs bondage. is calledarna as it is lt thal eaten byYogins. /l6ana up The leads lothedestruclion false ol knowl-

':;;::;:E:,firy#::{ffi ,x;;,",uoa-i,,o"n..s.iii. yrnlis

rnenrary, rather yartkas, ,names explanatory therf,r""pofrrraof

y":*iiii"iili,i!li::"tfJiil,xl?#;i",1ti"TT::rr

::'m*'[,I::"'.y','1'{: ::l'nffi:ik";"J:"'"i",#'"'ff iff

rhe *r"Ji",fi"ffi,"#"::i l+fff;#Ty edse varrika

*i'Hxr***il*#ir;liil'Hrml!,fi i.,::'lf

,ffi".:i :,[ ffi 1;#f :il"':il'""'",?'."i:$x

scro!sness pervasive. a means is As of rern

:txfr:1,U:"f;#JEl+i.";:#tH HtnTjjnltl#

are^a/as consisljng lhelener n ,rom t. ,a.: A

f#"'l*r#ii i#?i ii":p"T::[ini*,""**:

m*fruli:;lllj:,;,,rt:ir,,lli,li*i";Xi,?X?,,",i#tiili

worksAndTantaso saiva
edge,andoneperceives illusory the nature ofihingsarisjng iherelrom. Atma2has been identified wilh Cila which is envelopedby . 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). _"^ J:: loltedSe lne yo9r'n rrJst be ever awakesprfltualty:thrs teddsro ivanmukti. Atma, is called a dancer as it lhrobs accororng to dilferent condrlrons. thts dancer the stage is flre inner Of 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 ranlarunmesat that very Atman ts cahed Anlaatman \inner sourJ. senses lhe speclalors. Ine are

ir

11

{il Thenlhey become for Dlksa which outof the pasasor bonds. out istsin dara (giftol mantra)andksapana lwaaring ol pasas.) cons ol and A Keval, is lree lrom pleasure pain,i.e.,no lhought inlo enlers him these (desire). WhenMoha Mohais statedto arisefromAbhilasa who A is komthefruilol action. person, a person {reed disappears, in is by notliberated, enveloped a cloak(Kadcuka) lhe lom ol is one becomes By statodearlier, llve grosselements. lhe means, llkeSiva n this|fe, andonewilhSivaaflerdeath. of of Theenlireworldis the manifeslation the lccha(desire) prescribed to Whena persof,according lhe instruclions the Lord. he lheAlman, is and realises earier,gelsridol lheimpurities, again his withthe Su' Whenhe realises idenlity with reunited the Lordfull he Siva, of joy. Being, becomes oreme SPANDA-KARIKi lt ol reterredto earlier. consists 52 Kalkes,divided it Wehave calledrespectively Svarupa'spanda, or ntolhreeN/syaDdas sections has and Sahajavidyodaya Bibhuti-spanda.ll a Vrlli or commenlary by Kalala. ol are as Thecontenls ihe Kadkes bdefly follows. of the S va, possessed Sakli,creates worldby his unmesa (opening eyes) dissolves by nit esa(closing eyes).The il ol and of question to ol is-how is the Sivahood a man,who is subject re' one b rlh.declared?The is There noobstruclionlo in is answer this. whomall this phenomenal worldresides and lrom whomall lhis The worldresides kom whomall this enanates. and ohenomenal ideais thatas he is notenveloped (bydelusion, can etc-),lhere be His Srvahood evenin the staieof one who is slbiect to rebirth. S vahood notcovered anycondition lagral, susupti. in ol svapna, is grahya He s beyond He happiness, so(owanddelusion. is neither (onewholakes.) can lthatwhich betaken norgrahaka ) slate. Whenone'segodisappears, altainslhe Supreme one In sucha condition, becomes knower the doer;ihen lhe and one onecando or knoweverylhing is desired. that

oerngasanaslhd,easily stnks Into lhe inner lake. Here asana ao. pe,trs o rren 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 Sup.eTe8e,.9 alo^e.Tne tFe lake rs lhe realisation lhe Hiohest_ of The destruc,ton false knowledgeby Fleanc ot ot t.ue knowl_ , eoge eaOstoltse cessdtionot reb,rthith:sis /;ianmukl,:The lexl is vtava-vtnase Janma-Vinasah. Vtdya tat\en lhe Varikain rhesense by ot asuodhavdyallatse knowtedge). Kse.naraja But. takesilto 4 ean corre!' knowledge. rnlerprels sur/alhus Vtdyaya He lhe 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. becomes SrvaIn life. lke and SrvaHrmseIater ctealh The functionoJ body is the greatiestival(mahayrala) the 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{peopte by,he bond! o, lied detu;ron elc L rF15 dawning knowtedge danawhich,eads lhe wearnq of is lo

3TJ"'""T:t:Ti[ff rejliiii'Jit';Tg:;:#"JJl*ffi

Chapt6r-1

ol WorksAnd Tanlras Kashmir Sarva mind rs of this nalure bhoqya\ab)ectol enioyment)on6' whose rhatrl reelsthal allthe wortdis pervadedby me and looksal every_ thingas sPorl,becomeslivanrukta Adevolee, by meansof marfas, becomesone withlhe deity realisation one'sown naturewithoutthe cover of lhe mantra.This ol ol ialse knowledgeis the acquisitionot ambrosiaby a devotee to This. indeed,is the iniliation Nrvana that leadsto the revelation ol ihe true naiureot Pamasiva. ol A yogir, in lhe condilion /agfal finds,amongvariousthings, lhe very thing desiredby him. In svapnaalso he sees lhe desired shows factthat in svapnathe heartis clearlymanilested lhings.The penehalionot the evil. Laying of the independence it; this is the 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 decay)wears or outlhe body.llaises froma/rara wl icr is avorded lhe Inowledgeof Ahan. by FtomAtmanatisesgindu,Nada,Flpa icapacilyfor seeingin darkness), ,gasa(tasleof neciarin lhe moulh). whichare obstacles, TheseSiddrrs, appearto menvery soon. ll is the yoglns who have realised identityol al worldly objects the wth the Supreme Soulthat canthemselves knowlhe realtrulh. Oneshouidbe everawake, by comprhend 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 described hereafler One who, beingan objectof enjoyment lorces like Erahmr lo arisingfrom the mass of words,is led astrayby kalasin lhe shape of the lettersbeginning with kalasin the shapeofthe lettersbegin' ning with ka;such a personis calledpasu

Thereare Nvoavaslhas,one Karya, the olhet Kan4va. fhe io'rner.sdeslructible. theratterimperishabJe ltrsortythe efiorlfor Karyat\al is elfaced. On6.who is unwtse, thinksh,rnserf be to eliaced whenthai etfodis effaced. reality, In one,s own nature is notsubject destructjon. bhaya, is turnedinward to The thal and is omnrscrent,never ts etfac6d. bhaya Ctremains. That as ThatCllis rs wet' awakeor futrypossessed ^nowtedge ot :"1-!1"::,.l/r'no sapBouddhatn [\e conditions Jagfal Syapna Susup;. a| ol ana ol Supreme Saktjin the lormsol Jfiana(knawl. .Possessed edge) /deya (oblect knowledqe.) Lord ano of the in shines lhecono\a-s ot JagGIand svapna Susuptiand ln luryaconortions, ,s He onlv Percerved as Cll lhe Gunas, Saftva, Rajas, Tamas not and do envetop inthe herenJ nalure lhe yogin,fheseGunas,obstrucltng oercepof lhe r'onortheexistence Cil cause people hnte of the ol e-ntignrenment ro rarr the fiercepathol rebirth Into whrchis diflrcuh to;ross; because suchpeople Atr'anpossessed these find qualilies nol ol and as,Suddha (entghtened). whoaf*aysmif.es \pwa) andBuddha One. erro(rorthemanifestationlhe reatnalure Spa ol of nda-taitva, even rntheJagnalslate attains one's nature ediurya-bhaga.When own ca a person becomes angrydelighted bewildefed whenhe very or or runs,lhe rjseof spanda to be understood should leafnl is and be tromlhe Guru. manwho,having all otherouttes, absorbed A left rs n spanoa-kffva, realises highest the truth. sucha yoginthe In fioon (manas) ihe sun{spanar. and havjng Inebooy. rephca the lett a of unrverse. r,)sosufinaNao[:Then. thatvaststy.oevotd tne jn set ol moonandlhe sun,a man,fullol delusion syapra,erc.,remain by conlined astateolsleep.When in awakened]ie remains uncovered (oyrgnorance etc.). Themantlas, which powerful. are havngresorted thatpower lo , ^ or sahtr.proceed respective in duties. With dutiesceased, peopte,who calmandtreefrom tainls Maya, afe lhe of aremerged in lhal skyalongwiththedevotees mind. as theyaretorne;wilh So. 5rva,theyare saidto be possessed the characlerslics Stva. ol ol Wrth 4tnar, whrch a -encompassiri that is J, lhereis nocondrtrcn in lhe lhoughls wordandsense doesnotsuggest of lhat Si!.ahood. So, the bhokta(enjoyer) himselfis presenr everywnere as

14

Chapter-1

ol SaivaWorksAnd Tantras Kashmii 696turyAD havebeeniixedin lheergltlL ',iri,oo'ii-zzr.tn ol which ",,<nl rhedales ;s supposedonsomeq'ou"ds s tpperterminLr D (Schradet op cil' P 114) io be 300 A i Ahirbudhnya'3e ' Siva ll is in the torm of a dialougebetlveen A s'nal por_ dealsw th occultism; :no Na ada.l -e \rajorportion chaplersdealw h creaton and some pr,'iosopn'car"some ioJ 't wilh rulesfor casles and asramas cultlulloi mantas' and ls ll is malnlva work ol ihe Paficaratra worl' lo elc rig.zof.iofoffo*Smakhya.Yoga According Ihrs ",'.i l,_rn--" tnt""'ofO Sthu/a (grossJSuftsma{Subtle'a^d Pard "t" matttas about the Taa ot Taraka iiiot 'nr;nta. rh""e tt t"" rinds ol ""it. Om r.e, as A lew impodanl matlers'dealtwith in the Ahibudhnya'ate lhal il rs at lhe sa'nelime Sakli lhe workslales A5 reqards God Theone cannolexistwilh' inseparabl;withand diflerentform oultheolher andpowerwhichdeter viz PowerishvoJold, , poweras activity The or minesbelngas existence King(bhuta_saktD bhuta'sakttmay be consideiedas a mov\ng idea \samkalpanyinuftD betweenGod and fivas' I seemslhal' As regardsthe relation God at accordnq 6 this work,the lalter are supposedlo relurn to "or'oi""orrtion potenlialform in Him and remainin a il-iir" "nd '//va separateatihelime of lhe creationThe emancipaled become enters into Him neverto be separatedEvenlhen ltdoes however, wilh Him, but remainsin his abode nol becomeidentified ten ll shouldbe notedthat,insteadol lhe tradilional Avalaras ol Vasudeva Avalatas " (v.50 57) ihirty-nine lhis work enurnerales rcprc the Th; work lavsdowntheoigin and developmentof vwha -sankarsana and lhe like,from Vasudeva' sentatives, means ol I/lukli rs slaled as lhe anarnmenlol drvrnityThe motives sellish without ar'ar.rrg rs v.'lroJs acllon I in thiswork,ioo' believes the esoteric in LikeTanlras general, ol Visnu as pure con nature ol mattras These are lhe energy

In himlhe nectar theSupreme absent to the se of oi is due memoryallhe sighloftheobjects senses.Thus, losses ol he inde_ pendence thecapacjty gojng and for everywhere.The SaktiBfahmij erc.,are atways readyto veilnature. Wilhout wordno knowledqe dr,ses. That k.tyatmaka (active)Saktj ot Siva, whe- n;f known,causes bondage pasu, ina whenknown, leads person il a lo siddhi. Bylhe percoption the subfle of elements Sabda. ot etc..tied hy Puryastaka due l9uksmadeha) to the inlluenceol maras. ahamkaraandbucttChi, leeling joy and sorrow lhe ol ar,ses. One, wno,s dependenl olhers. on feelspleasure pajn.Duelo the and condrrron thesubtle ot bodyhe becomes subjecl to.ebirrh. Whena person fixoshjs mindon one,i.e.,lhe grossor the subtle eflects and destnjciion riseof theaforesaiJ and memory ol subtleefements. etc..he becomes (bhokta):lhus he becorres caxrcsvaa,t.e-,lheLordol Matrc AHIRBUDHNYA.SAMHITA lt is a Kashmirian insixlychaplers, work whicn supposed is to nave "- oflgtnated sometime afterthe fourth century Cenatn A,D. ctLes aboul provenance available.thelirstplace. its are In Utpata nava Vats orKashmrr appears quoteonestanza Samhrta lo ofthis (XV7lb) in

lt:.P!":!:!?!rn'.!11..t.75 ot t^e Ahnbuclhnya IXXV and 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 materiat ancientKashmir. XXXlX.23, in In lhere rs a rererence the sun shiningafterbeinglreed lo from the obstrucflonoy D,ma{snow,) common,phenomenon a in Kashm,r.The story oI pnnc-etvtuklaprda, occurringin the forty.eighthchapter ol th; An,ttuuonnya, appea$lo occuronlyin the Kashrninan Baplatangint (rv.42rand nowherelse.All this tnds 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, Accordrng F.O.Schrader,(tntro.to palicararraelc.. p. t). lo .- Ahnbudhnyabetongs tne " to the classol Samhltas, towerterfli_ the

p.41) hstishr w variations.passases rwo

Chaptr-1 Nada,Bindu, Kala,1c., dscribed. evotution the are The of vowets consonants beendealtwit,. and has In the mann. otherTantras, workalsodescribes ot this the nervous svslem. and meansof knowledge, work the .Comhglo the obiects dgfinjre knowtodse ooFctas r rea y exrsrs. or :?::I.-:l ff.1": Ine means whchthisknowledge oblained pramara. by is is T! be identitied Godissupramely wilh blessedlha).Dhatma --.._ ano Jnanaafe the waysleading it.This knowredge to rs (-sa!-t?ra) and ,ndiredor interc-tiat twofoto, tparoksa) ";:""..':lt:li:l rsot two krnds, unarma agarn viz.,one thal teads drreclti and the otherindirecllylo worshjp God. the of Thisworkgives(Chap.3gJ prccedwe Mahabhisekaas a ot a remeoy agarnst diseases, a meansol destroying all as enemies andaflaining alldesired objects. lt maybepointed thatthjsworkstates out (xji.20_29) sixty the . lopicsof Samkhya.These, however, clifler lromlnosernentroned tn Ite na@-uaflka quoledby vacaspati. Fromchapterrri. 18_29 ,t appears thedoctrines Kapila's that of Samkny_ranrra dtvrded were lnlotworadalas called pakda a d y/kala ihal the two con_ and larned and2g lopicsresDectivelv 32 Thiswork states(xii.32-33) that Hrranyagaroha rormutateo M/oyoga-samhitas, caed NitodhaJoga ". _, on andtheolhetKanEWga. The highlights the conlents the Ahlrt, of ot udhnya given arc , a gensrat way,we may srarethal harfot the :11Y.,:T"f.S.ll ramota Oeats ocullism, with theoretical pracical, and wrlhphilosophy oneJourth othersubjecls. o.,e_lourlh and with Chapter1 Dialogue gharadvaja Durvasas:lhe bween and forher.s enqutry aboutthe mysterious Sudalsara_caftraVisnu, o, uurvasas reveals |hesolution the problem oblhat ol was tainedby Narada frornSivain the ,orm ol Ahirbudhnya. Durvasas,willingness to impart dialogue the between Naid; jn andAhibudhnya,thefotm ol Ahirbudnnya-samhita,in an abridged (60chapters), originathaving in form the been 240 cnaplers.

wof saiva ks4!q,E1li9!31-539!!g

17

notes of 2. ExDlanationlhe wordsldarsa'a (V\' 7-); de pr' fieans darsana Visn;'swilltobeisyamitisamkalpah), perleclly) conveying sL/ tp"r""ptiuirnought), (well' bytimeandspacePower "*"un, in"io"" itit" o"ingunouitructed Brahol of Srlrt""r" gtiUn"rion of heconcept Highesl gunas God of the man,delinitionof six wilh the Kriyasakli \acl\\e ol 3. I dentitication Sudarsata I ishedromHisBhull' as Loro) distingu liae, iorce'aspectol ol Meaning 'gak'which iriii rioi."r lia", tutt"r aspect). -s-rne ) ol any existence (Suksmavaslha conait'on suorte onryFach'nan'lesta_ by {;hava)recoqnrsaole ils elJects rs a Sak';butthere lheomnrp'esenl lron lile{bnava)has ol 'vib in Lord's ration thelormol lhe sa*trot ood. Lalsnmiis moon asmoonlighiwiththe some' whh world'.connected Him Himonlyas an alt bule Jrcm Oitt"rent ii.". rirft tn" (bhava) (dhamin)orexislence is "u.; tJtraima) tromitspossessor men_ ol (bhava4 llany names Laksmr iromonewhoexists In (iccha) lo slated bewill sudarsana ti;nedandexplained. (K/ya) in (preksa resulting aclion ile torn ol wisaom Pralaya 4.Bhulr-saktl(materialcause)ascauseolcrealion jesliiueu artengtnuniiyof Narayana His sak'and ol 5-7 Accounl crearLon v'7 ac\ivtly rorns ol sudarsanas 8-12 va'iOUS crea' dJIi_9 oltneworld (base suppod or ril as adrhala VIll_lX) (chaptets t onandd,ssolulion conlirLarce prrnciple during regulaling {lll aspramana oi " Jirin r"iit ,l ln-*ni"h it appears the regulalor as (sabda) as X (artha) choplers andol sound In trrrnqs vrews ol rnciapler Xl andXll Diversity Philosoph|c creation: aboril opin|ons (chapVlll) Ditlerent bythree be pe$onslo efjecled byditlerent ia) Supposed ' ere_ eleven lour.iive.six seven'eight.nine'ten or Io people ll lrace bacK anegg a loulsllre rbl Dilierent SLnya(Void) oody:udya(trueknowledqe) anotne'

18 9.

ChapteFl

ol SaivaWorks And Tantras Kashmif

19

Descriptionol M6habibhuti-cakra(Ctealion,Continuance, Wirhdrawat).

10-12Descriptionot Sthiti-caka, Artha-adhvanand Sabdaadhvan. Pramana delined. 1'1. Necessity Ayata,?t of T 12.6Description fiverecognised ot philosophical syslems, L?yr, Samkhya,Yoga,Pasupataand the Sattuataor pancarat;a. This chapler has a specialimporlanceas { names lhe Samkhya, described it, as Sastianha in (Systemof 60 lopics which ) is the nameofthe oldestextantSamkhya treatise vjz.,lhe Samkhy, karka, This chapterenumerales sixty topjcsa does not exihe bul lhem. Plarn Two kindsot yoga stated,viz.,yogaol Suppression (Nllodha_ yoga)andYogaof Action(Karma-yoga). pasupata Pasupata syslem,described it. is nol identicatwith in usuallyrelerred by philosophical to 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 philosophical sects ljke Kapa|Kas,erc. Saltyalasyslernstatedto embrace1Olopics,viz., Bhagavat, Karman, Vidya, Kala, Karlavya, Vaisesika-kriya, Samyama, Cinta, lrlarga, Moksa. About the htorodoxsystems (Buddhism, Jainism,etc.) xii_ 51 characte.ises them as Sasfabhasa(pseudo-saslras) designed by Gods or Brahmarsis coniusingthe wicked. for Severalsynonymsof Sudarsana ate give\ ol these,prana and Mayaare noteworthy, 12153 mentionssome names(e.g. Umnmesa,lJdyama) oI ol ^ :sUOarSana, 13. Statefient of the objects ol lile; summum bonum is atlainmenl one'srealnature. ol 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_

(indirect), latthe (diecl)andparoksa saksatkaramaya alsolwoter beingthe causeol lhe formet Dharma (mediate and hanaval worship) Saksadalold- vyavad manileslaol Himwhose (immediate worship) /adhara gods.Vedieand Pasupata are lions (vtbhufD all lhe is is worship ofthefirstkind,Patcalraworchip olihe mundane objecls-afthaanaNama lype.Two second in one are and These drarma dependenlon anolher the may be the meansto attainone or senselhal each unslrument two;dhamaistheuntailing boththeolhor (sadhana)bul Moksa noia means is notiheoihertwo. an endin ilself(sadhYa.) and discussed. 14. Bondage liberation as oJ 15. Discussion the quesiion to who is lit for lhe ob_ lreaf jects lile(prrsadhas). or less convenlional More ot of and menlot castes lhe periods lile. Chap.17,i1is oJ 16.19 Desciiption Mantamaylkriyasakti.ln has related how eachletterol lhe alphabei three and one Vaisnavaforms, Raudraform oneSaklatornl. Description d/ksa. ol 20. or diagrams, calledraksa yar_ of 21 27 Descriplion magical upon Yantra-devatas and medltating theirmerits lr.a, part playan impodant in thechapler. Mystic lelters 2&29 30-32 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. worship. Dealwith and Outlineof yogatheory practice. Seefifra. one Spells enabling to use62pravartaka'asttas. a whelher notarsftashavemaleriallorm or Discussion ol Sldarcana'yantrc. N/ode worshipping armed olthe sixteen ol desciplion theimage Detailed in timesof danger,e.g ' at_ by Srdarsanas lhe King lack by lhe enemy-FirstParl. riles, curesare magical and cureol diseases; Origin

38.

oJ SaivaWorksAnd Tantras Kashmir 39.

21

40.

praclically medicine prescribd. no Description Mahabhl:reka leads theacqujsiol which to tionol alldesired objects, cu.eol all maladies oe, ano slruction all enemies. of The storyof the lirstjntervention the Lordto tight oJ

Origin, Presiding Deity,etc. arga,rDantfas oJ described in Chap. lreansof a king's 19. knowing aboutthe divineweapons black and magic against {abhlcara)used himandmodeol counieracting them. 42-43 Power Sudarsana-ma ol ntra. Seeinfra. 45. Delinilion idealPutohita, ol Sudarsana homa.corcnation. Descriplion Mahasarr'-karman canaverlall of which evils,and secure welfare thisworldandlhe next. in Names eadier ol kings whopedormed it. illustrate effectol divineweapons oi certan the and amulets lalismans. or 59 Explanation Vaisnaviie of mantas (gross subfleand thehighest).59,2.3g-explanation iiveslan, oi theffist zasol lhe Putusa-sukta resume theconlents A ol oi thisSamhila. 60. Resume contenls thisSamhita ol ot whichis charac, terised containing statute as the (v/idhi SrnaKnyaol Yogain ils totality, be;ngthe essence Tantras as to (lartra-sara) as beingrheant lhe memDers and Jor or thethreehighercasles. Thereis a supplement whichenumerales names 560 ol Sudarsana arangedin groups according theconsonant lhe to ot alphabel which with theybegin.
Chapte.s 33,42,45,48, 49, so-ancienl stories intendedto

TANTBA MALINIVIJAYOTTARA Deviand between This Tanlrais ihe lorm ot the dialogue to communicaledthe having being leachings the Paramesa. sacred or sagesby Kumara Kartikeya thal a portion lhe workit appears of Fromthe intrcduclory croreverseswhcL nine corqpnsed Tanlra, Stddhayogisvati wat4, BhedaBhedabheda accordingto teachings Saivite inrerpreledlhe il to and;bheda.lts hugebulkmadeit necessary abridge in three the been parl having principaltopic ofdiscussion verses,lhe crore lt waslurlher Ma"iviaya' was ThisaDndgement entitld ol vooa. as is versesThepresentwork regarded lhe lntorZ.Ooo snin"enea lhat the lorm ol ihis work.Fromihe vorsei'13 it seems shorlest was probably lhe part ol lhe Siddhayogisvatimata earlier Siddhantamata., ol class works' io the the Malinivijayoltara,belonging Agama data' is oJ unknown and lo is supposed b= ot detineauthorship (Vol 1' p 35 ot on in .lavaiatt'a, his commentary the lantla/oka that tli.xxix oi fasnmir seriesol Texts'verse17),observes lhe il glory Malini' occuof lo as, is so Maliniviiavottata called owing the lo Tantras all of position the among schools Saivite a oies o'ro;inent is Maia'So' Malini N'lalini alsoknownby is ll whichit is superior. alphabet ot ol tern lhe generic lor lhe series letlerc the PaNamalini' is alphabet called ot Theusualorder Devanagari vowelsandconso_ Whenlhe or as known Malrka S/ddha oooularlv is lhe n"n,. ur" tok"np'o'n'""uously. alphabel calledUnaramalini the Na occupies lirst place for standing lhe orderin which chie{ly has re_ M Kaulremarks' as and Phalast.The Maliniviiayoftara, ol Ihe Uftaramalni ol vaiousmodes application ior served iiselllhe does ol the as ;r the mvsiicpraclices Svacchandalanta ol the verse theMa'ltiviayol has Abhinavagupta explained lirst The as possible in tataTantra h; i/lalinivijaya'vartikaasthoroughly in scope So' the is iuitix", ^" the very title suggests, limited couldnot be takenup In lhe Varlikana\e oornls Marnl,whrch of fhe fanlalokais a\ow' Tantaloka ln Leencliscussed Abh'navas Kaul's TanlraTo quotel\,4 oi expostion the above edlyadetailed

ol Salvaworks And Tantras Kqrshmir

observaions, "Abhinavasaysthe lart?/okalh allheMalnjviiava in rslhe essence the Trika ol system whchagainrepresents p;th the andmarrow thediflerent ot teachings theLordenunciated the ot in ditlerent schools Tantra. ol fhe Malinivijayottaraconsists Chaplers d Adhikaras. of 23 calle The number versesin the Adhlkal.as orderare 50. 60. 6g. of in 41,35,29,s6,135,82,37,47,42,61,43,47,6A 39.A1,101,62,36,34,43. Thetotalnumber versesis 1267. givebelow rapidsurvey ol We a Theobjects knowledge divided twoclasses. ol are into viz. (1) Acceplable-Siva, Sakti, Vidyesa, Mantra, l,,lantresvara,

sages as and according theydeserve.The Brahman otherc reward and boih science lheknowable, acceplable avoidol thesacred tearn do etc., able,IromBrahman, andl\,lanus so tromthissages. lo of Ol lhe sevencrores mantras,one'hallhas,according ol numbers afterlavouring immorlalily will o, Siva.acquired the from can trom Eachprinciple. the earthto maiter, be viewed viewers considered due angles vision lotheseven of distincl lifteen ilselJ ThoseJrom and SakliorSaktlma, to theprinciple to be elther duelothe standpoinls from Kalacanbeuiewed thkteen Purusalo Mayais looked at therein. to ol inapplicabilily perceptibility Sakaia reduclion two ol dueto theadditional angles vision ol liom eleven diver_ up standpolnts to lhe lastpincipleol Sivawhichis without sity. in with The Gururanking Siva,is versed aillhe aboveprinci lhe ol reveais polency manlrasHis plesin theirtrueferspective, lhe He ol lreestheSisya allsins- possesses inspiration mere touch viz. Rudra Sakti, of the livefold Rudra (i) unllinching devolionlo to which lead theimmediale can of O thesuccess themanlra objecl, oi acquisiiion thedesired (iir) control allcreatures, over lo completon, all {rv) bringrng undertakings (v) poelicfaculty. is ol That inspi@tion Rudrasaktis Arava whichcan be ac_ refleclion incantaquired speech, menlal discipline, by conscious cenlres ihe body. ol tionand Saktaisthatstagewhichcanbeatlainedbycontemplati along wilhspeech. the objecl meditation of is by which reached deep ollhatstage is Sambhava thename ol penetrating insighl; it,thereis totalabsence con_ in sPiritual and particular objeci. cenlration any on inthelightof inspiration beinterpreted can kindsof Theabove

aDte.

(2)Avoidable-impurity, actjons, Maya, entire the worldas the creation Maya. oI Thesecret success thespheres bothmalter soul ot rn of and hes theright In discnminalion belween acceplabte theavoid. lhe and

TheSupreme Controllerotthe universe omniscient, is all-do, ing,allsustaining infinite. desire and As atthe timeof creaaion, He evolvesoui ol His ownsell the eighttold Vijfranakeyalas. ordajns He lorlhemthefLrnclionsol sustenance, deslruction, preservalion and benelaction. theirspheres For ofaction, reveals he seven cores ol manlras theirrespectjve with ambits. Allthesemantras the liv_ are ingpsychical forces; theyfulfillhe wishes the Sadhaka conol by ierring himlhe fruits on lhat hedeserues. TheSerl manifests jna foudotd Siva, ilselt way: Ivlanlramahesa, .. Manlresa and l\,tantra. Srva,is LordHrmsetf. Vilianakata lhen rs A,'lante one degrcedueto the delilementor mata. andkarman. by Malais imperfect knowledgefrom which springs thewotld. Kaman rs acnonts general. virluousKarman leadsto pleasure, lhe and /everse I to Dain. of Sa//adenoles anusof //yasin generat, lhe theirtieldsbeing conslituted thetotality categories tala by oi trom to earth Rudras, numbering andheaded Angusthamatra, llB by arc appointed Mantrcsvafts accotdance thei.merits. as is with TheV

24

Chapt6r-1

WorksAnd Tanllasol Kashmir Satva

25

lrve states,viz.,/agrai(waking), Syapna(dream), susuprldeep dreamless sleep). turya(thefourthstate.i.e.,mantramahesa and lutyatila (beyond lorrth state)i.e.,Slyasakr:s svnonvms Ihe The pindastha=Saruaiobh;dru, of thesefive statesare respectjvely pracaya=Rupalitaani Padastha-Vyapti,Rupastha=Mahavyapti, Thethreelold maniteslationthetranscende Selftsaver" oJ ntal age sell,energy Siva.Thes6 and conslitute trjadof tundamenthe lalswhjchtorrn maintheme the lrlka philosophy. M. Kaul lhe of As obserues, covers enlire "it the field fafivas Sajvism, Atrran of oJ the overlapp as mdny lnose n9 as beg,nning ard e,,drng earlh w,tn wJh lhe VtJianakala: or Sakr,thosetormMantela Mantrcsva? Vidya andthe restconstituting slaleof Siva_ the From pointofview the olevolution, lafuvas divided the are into lour heads, viz.,(i) Ea hly,(ii)Materiat, l\4ayic, Saktic. (iij) (iv) The lirst is pervadedby DharikaKata.ll hasa single Taflva, oneletier, wo.ld. mantra one one represenled bythelete; KSAand Ihes '(leen woy'ds.The secoloisDervaded Apyaya by ntKata.Iwenryp'rrctpes rnree trom waler upwards twenty_lhree and letters. and 7A orhers, assigned il. InclLrded it are fivewordslivewords, are to in lve martlasand worlds. 56 Thethirdis pervaded iheBodhinjKala whichareseven by in pnnciples, worlds, 2S sevenleners, rrarlras. lwo Thelastoneis pervadedby Utpuyjniin whjch lhreep.inci_ are . ples, threelatters, eighteen worlds, oneword and onemantz. The abovefour classesare presjded over respectively by ^ . Brahma, Visnu, Rudra lsvara. and Welinda description howlhe inherent of SaktiofLord, the at cosmic stage,ovolves cognilion activity as and whenHe has the urgeof manilesting phenomental the world.Jtanasakfiis Jacthe ulty lhatleads todeterminate knowlodgeas jssoand thrs notolher. wrse K4iasakll:sthe lacutty whtchthe resotvelet suchand by sucha lhiig cofie to light'is carried in acrron. out as gamul entire of .. :S?klappears Puruamali rcptesenlinglhe Ine -atohabel 4 to KS4.paramesvara trom spursAghora action. lo

lrom vitiatos Maya the with tnaccordance thetorme/sdesire, latter ol which, again, the source are proceed difterent letters lhe which in general. knowledge O1 endlesslormsof Saki,lha chielateApaa ot Ghoztari, the sunounding ot Parapara Ghora,and Paraot Aghota Apam,always march attaching by drives llvasin theirdownward theRudrasouls, to causos h'ndrance the ol themto the obiocts sense.Parapara and the progress o{jivastowards goaloliheirlife, attacheslhemto Paraleads s to thehighest lruil /i,the mixed oJpainandoleasure endol life.i.e..Sivahood. has in fhe Uttarcmalini, whichalso Saktlappoars, already lo. beenrelerred triad, givenin ale ol in Thelhreemantras, respecl lhe above 'he phraseology thediilerenl partsol the human organism ol is ot of The assignment the six syslms the palh ladhvan) lhe essentialy same in bolh lhe PuNamaliniand lhe Uttaamalini in the ditfers fromtheformer orderoJ the above. latter As mentioned letlers thealphabet. of of state application thethreematfrasof lhe Verses 19-27 lV Para, Aparaand Parapara, is and oJ Ihe knowlodge lhe acceplable lhe avoidable a must the of whichmeans union the individual ol for lhe attainment yoga Llke Jhana, Yogaleadslo the goal of life, soLrl and the universalas is types according it is derivedlrom Jhana ol three sialedbefore. realisation and whatis contemplated tromthe living whatis heard, with The of.thereality. first is concerned it as is dell wilh in the a The requires deeperstudyof thoseletitsin scriptures. second The out withthe obiectof picking the fundamentals. theirtotality is possible the on it thirdmarks linalslageof thetrulh'seeker; the previous filed. stagebeing The yogi, hasto passlhroughlour stagesonthe pathof yoga. he inspiration, isdesignaled ree in accordance thedeg of divine with Siddhaand Siddhatama He is Ghalamana, as SamDrapla, teacha inititation through successionol SamDraDta hasreceived who reskains is ers.andlivesuo to it. Ghatamana onewhorepeatedly

26
ChapteFl

',.ffi *:{*[flt;i##x *.P;,"111;:"1",:il:l'r**l,l*;::i::"rhiHi:

*!j;!!iite*,#'_ji;, ";:Xi li illi ii:,i,: riiii.,nr*:r, i,i::il ! "; [Z,i:,j:i:,":,i :;:,::: ii;:
des'rinsperrorm ro sacn,,ce. rnus,

oi Worls And Tantras Kashmir Sarva

27

:ilTx';;tTsJT:?:ff """: o,,he prddrJca o, .,, ;:'_(il: :::,":i,:;'ff :i"",,:i,;?;l'e"*

ril';ft d#"|i"i,;4ffi$rt#:",:."s il{flififfr ,."-i:!i"il':{:1".,::::fl

* "ii,5['#:?Y#*X#i,.; ou ji'"';;g 0,'.',,'"n,",,, "'

',"" ij"]#"il[T*iool

+; #*ruk{*l*ip;i,ir.ffi +li";l';slr:nn:::i[:::**:i;#mfu ili1]:;:t#

-q+fttrirf I d;,r*-ttffi #,'*"'":ii;*-ff #'ilff"i:::['n:,";2i i,i: ;::::x,

exlernal physical or worship, shouldworship he As regards elephant-headed dwarlish. ls to and This as Ganesa three-eyeed, by oI on beiollowed ihe coniemplation Sivaas seated the sixlold Jfiana,Vairarya, AisvaryaandKarnika, as sealal Ananta,Dharma, a fiercelooking, having massivejaws, and beafnga sward, shield, (Matrkas). kn and by deities evebrows I together surrounded theeight Thenhe should commence sacificewithlwo vessels the ol gold, onebigandthe othersmall, twocanopies wfiileclolh and of Indra otherdeities and areto beinvoked wardotl evil to overthem. vessel passed is round, il6walerallowed and srraller inlluence.The down. Thenlhe Yajfia-kundalo be prepared. fire, is The to trickle pot, ed in a copper containeror earthen should an receive the carr ceTemonies birth,etc. He shouldperlormhomawilh oi several teciledane hundred mantras mulamantra timesandlhe anclllary go The over,heshould to sleep. len lrmes. homabeing Thedisciple to observe lollowing has lhe vows: 1. He wouldalways Ijre, ofierworship his delty, preceptor to andlo thegoddess. 2. HewoLrld eatanything noi wilhoul offering to them. it guru 3. Hewouldnotusetheproperly dedicated the deily, to andCandr, pursuiis. 4. Hewouldnolbe idle,andmuslavoiduse{ess 5. Hewouldbelirm inthe practice yoga in the recilalion of or ol mantra. Whenthe preceptor convinced the sincerity filness is of and of the person seeking initjaiion, (lhe preceptor) he shouldgetthe pieceof groundn mysticdiagram drawnon a carefully selected accordance lhe ruleslaiddownin \he Malinivikyoftata-tanttu. with Inthecenlre and ofthediagram, should he worship Bhairava, pray to Himihal He mayreside his bodyso as to makehimqualiiied in ior iniliating disciple. ihe Afterthis, should feelthalthesix kinds he of the Patharepresided by Bhairava, over spirithas thatlhedivine entered his bodyandthal the cloaks mala, rnlo concealing his of k nship withSiva,havebeenshed,lhus laying bodycomplelely his barelo him.At this stage,he shou'dconsider indentified himsell

28

Chapter-1

savaworrsf \q3!!999..i9$4i

29

gln*ru1 j:lr*ih,"'.','*d#"'H';:::J,!{,:: o"'n"o

rhe,mpur;rjes accompan'nn,n" oitL""tl?lJi; 0,,n";," "t

:"#ililffi i":J;#:i'#"#Ji""1':t"'astobeheves,n' f

ffi ?:T1 ifi!:i.}1 i:TlJxffi l,rffi ilr"**H";, ft

-* to rnvstic ]:?'::"fi5,!".1"""1il;T:i acquire '"-"[:1""

jF&;il;.;;:; $::;;,:":';ffi *[yj,f; :ly:{i;ft

rousetheserp.ent-pox/erhim,andmove in h upwadlrcm oneCakra ro.anothr reaches lillit Behmarandhta.fhe dis"ipf", tnu" ,-n-if"i oy nrspreceptor theSupreme with Beahty. witnesses desrr; rhe

?,it;t'",tffil:tx$t*:: ?iili,l] il [i!:iii l"iiii:ff

fi,Jff :;"l|:#::i",ffffi "",,,rli"rH:r,,:'.'n,":"Ji, :lT,1l;

entire universe me;t .fealitv; isjn prop ".,r," "ni""il!l"Jo?

is be ro ;il[,'ffffifJ",:i'#li:,ffy]]Tl"l'"djscipre this

conquerlhe for tenl adopted diJle dhaqM' hewillcertainy method, cosmosentife MRGENDRATANTRA seclrons' in conlainslwo available print, fhe Mrgend?-tanta, Th and Viclyapada Yogapada. Tantrabelongsto the Rudra calleC, to taughlin il, conlorms system philosophy, of ot ctass Tantras.The compiled al been syslem. is ol a laledatehaving lt the Pasupala pubished 1930 in and Kingol Kashmar, of theinstance HariSingh, son Kantha, ol by has TheTantra a commenlary Narayana latherof FIama and of Kanlha and Vidyakantha grandson Sasikara a quoiesfromthe /svaras/ddhi Utpaladeva' of Narayana Kantha. gthcenlury the upperterminus A.D.;lhis iixes wrilerol the iamous Kashmirian. is Kanlha typically date.The cognomen ol Narayana's belonged Kashmir' lo to So.heappears have palalas which describe inlo diuided thirteen fqe vidyapadais pasu,pasaandpasupati Theseare viz., lhe threefundamentals, the alsowith theology sectiondeals thelhreemain calegories.This yogapada palh withthe eighttold deals Saivas-The ol lhe dualistic pro_ practicewhich iheacquisiiion various of helps ol concentrative aredesctibed lollows: as Thethree iundamenials the doerol andislreefrom imperall, S va isomniscient.lhe He busywiththelivelold fection defilements. is always caused bV jnvolutaon, preserva_ polenhal lunclion, evolution,sustenance, viz., ol relaling tothelivenames tionandassimilation.The maniras, five in etc., Patiand operalive respeclivley evolution, tormthe promi the lsana occupies nenlpartsol hisbodyandthebodyas a whole. overthewhole place lhe headthusindicating maslery supremo oi ot oi crearion, the Tatpu occupies position lhefacewhichisthe rusa life. and symbooJlhe innermost essence all organic inorganic of vilalising and Aghora Ghora consltutes heart, representslhe the or pa{s oflhe pnncip ol thelJnivrse.Vamadeva the occupies privale e body, a as body;lhis manilesiing worldol creation-The lhe implies powerolcreat' whole, represenied is bySadyolata, implieslhe and inqmanilold lorms will. al

:mru:l**1ru*hljl'#:"#41"1"^'#"fr: ';,111',ff Ii,#i ;i;:i,ffi

""",;"'n" "1ffi

Jt"xili",*###ii,",ff i:ffi'ff #:{niil#":L'i#,

Thepreceptor, hasacquired who con

i,lliiifl i,il;,?i;311?i":1,'i""",]".fi X?ilIHl;l""mtlii:

pranayana.,All sense-actjvities b6keplundercontrol. must Hemusi

'Jtr ruli;;i:ruruirh* *".:.;.f il'lrJTU:ffi

*", cave or -,.n"J,',ij5iT;iil"'J!::?;,nfi1["]T"ace,,

"li?Jl",n]il;:

Saiva Works And Tantrasol f\ashm'r From the lext we learn that the otd Saiviteshad to struoole . naro ro raltonatlse theworshipotlhe person |ed Lord Siva bing)is liklhe Lorddevoidof his pedection In , _- .,Pasu(lettered xnol/yte-0ge action,and havtngtheltmitations and bringinghrmdown ro rne owesl posdjonin life.He is pesFtenl in his deair;to evotve.

31

hjs ll-".jlii1,:.?y 9l"du."l oonos malenalism "voturion Ai lasl,theindivioualsoul ot become weak, rec. ognrses radical lne opposilion matter, caslsoil tls domina. ol and l|onneverlocomebacklo itsfoldaoain The letters lpasa)are lourloli-pravn, !6abala, Karma and ., Mayakarya, innaledelilement an resulting kom rnegoodand bad aclions, concrete abstracl. or Maya msans intowhich world that the dissolves, remaiins and . pdentiallyt thetrmeot Dissotution, outol whichrtdevetops and me rlmeot creation, tourlhpasajs Inlluence Alaya ai The lnat exerclsesoverth6soulin leflers. Thework isanabridgement Kamlka otthe larlra.lndrais said , ro naverecelved docttine Karnikagama lhe ol wnilewearing the armourotthe shapeot the shap6 a lio;(Mrgenara). is"why of Thts lhe Tanlrais calledM/oendra_
Insrrumenls op_ In ^.-,.^l:t"-,:^T" 1" "iJrequent useof surgrcar erarlons, rnpasuJalsana-prakarana as lverse1g),has led some schohrsto thinkthattheworkonginated the age In of SusrJta or raler rhepresnl torrn oftheSus/uta-samhita is genera,ly pracg6,n me seventh centuryA.O.; Safthitais believed haveorjgi, the to nated fewcenlu.ies a blorethe Chrjstian andappeared t;e era, in earty centuries 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 Tantra so ca ed as the mantra,peculrar is lo Inedeltyglor"iedin (, occuDiesas tmporlantaplace amo.g mantas as the eyes in lhe human bodv

rhrough hishe, ,oms of rife,

ol ln a sort ol prelude,lhephilosophy the eyes of Siva' in His lorm, is discussed ghairavi'senquiry is as to how the embodied lunct!ons pertorm coniradictory lhe ;ves ol the Lordsimultaneously howlhethirdeye,usuallyregarded anodestruciionand liottection ln response' aswalery,could emit lire thl reducedCupidlo ashes says l Bharrava lorm of wil itsellin lhe lrrnue ... IVv real nal.rre etpresses ol manileslation *rsoo'n and work. lt rs only becauseof lhis trrple My lhree-eyed adole'ne as the mJ rearnalurethal the volaries eves svmooliselhe lhree centres of lhe physicallight commonly th" sun, toon and fire As the realnalurealonecentral*/,o*n "a ses al powers,and as lt only shines elernallythroughthem' the and destruclionlosesI betweenprotection contradiciion aDoarenl lavourorlrown the force.and,therefore, same eye can The work, commentedupon by Ksemaraja'consists of 22 contenlsofwhich are briellyas follwos: Chapters(adhrkaras)the ol Exposition lhe unityol real nalure 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. L 10. stalementof Amrtesvaa'mantta l\,4ystic Methodof otleringsacrifices to Inillation lhe worshipof the doily Theanotntlngceremony Grosslrom ol divinemeditation lls sublle lorm Jorm lts supreme Somelorms ol the delty ol Atlendants the deily

and to according Utiararnnaya Kulamnaya Worship 11-12. 13. Opennessol the worshiplo all humanberngs 14. 15. 16. ofthe mantlaovel olhet manlras Supremacy lts proteilive etlicacy by Variousobjecisaltainable the worlshipot Amrtesvara

Sava WorksAnd Tanlas ot Kashmf 17. t8_ 19. 20. 21. 22.

33

Useol Amrtesvara-nanala in amulets difierernt with ends Amrlesvariand mode Herworship ol Purificatory fortheobsessed rites Yoginis theirfunctjons and Nalure sjgnilicance manlras and of Glatilicalion Amrtesvah-mantra ol RUDRAYAMALA

Purnagrn' to each.Verses51-53 mentionKamarupa,Jalandhara' certainolher placesas Kalika-pithas and Uddivana be Thouoh a yila devoteeis said, in some otherTantras'lo witn h,gnmoralandelhcalqualities yellhe Rudtayamala enCowed lhe wors'rp wfeo{ anol"ero -:otprou'aes a yirashoJld tnat iz8.:with the iire oi passionand gay with wine iii" o*n *lle ourning SVACCHANDA-TANTRA sys' This work s ot lhe Agama class lt belongsto the ftka leadingTanlras is Saivaphilosophy,lt one oithe tem ol Kashmirian and oneof the best mantrasastras 01Daksinacara, ts workInd,cates mainalliludeSvacchln fheveryr'lleollhe rl 's purely reans F eew,l .lt rele'sto lhe freedndpureCrf So oa and Matangafantas aife i onisic. tt taoicatty $lrcm l.le Mtgendta schoolo{ philosophy' r"presenlthe dualistic ot-oiiiinu""ru, *i "n the chaptersindicate contenls ll rs Thetooics a; the dilJerent Ta'lnc lopics ll ls a and dealswlth the usLal riludlslic, main,v iealJrelhal il does4ol dwelluponlhe slx cIJela'ls ol nolrc;aole (rilual) and Marara,elc. lis accenlis on lpasana (medilation) kria ' remarkswe learnthat it is an abndqe_ Fromthe lnlrodLlctory cIo'e versesTho a npnl ol Ihe ortgnd work;ompnsrag hundreo and dale' work is ol unknownauthotship (ll1h ll has a commentary,called Uddyota,by Ksemaraja lhall'ere werearn commenlary In cenrA D.) Fromrelerences. lhrs of the Including Srhaflrka whichlhe aJ co'nnenlalles wereearlrer name Kashmirian thor was BhullakaRaianaka a typically lo who is menlionedin verse 5 ol the introduclron Ksemaraja, which' as he hrm interprelaion givesa monistic his commenta;y, llnter lhe dualistic seltslatesin th; c;ncludingverses,supersedes oJ oretalion earlierommentators verses of the Vlvrtion Stava-ctntamant Fromthe concludlng a orVyajibror') Biibihar (modern we lear;thal he livedat Vi-iayesvara was a in Kashmir'Ksemarala citv aboui 30 miileseasl ol Srinagar cen_ lhe 1Olh oi ou'o'f nunin"u"g,ptu*ho livedIn lhe lalle'haltor was rllh Ksemaraia lhe aulhorof severdl iri o, ea.rvpan ir ir'e

jjqfl ,ffI.:?:':;H5x?tr;,l"i.i!it,; ff:i:i; :?1i1"#f ffi;nfl::::ij ;:? iifi:ffii":1tffi \:J : 1ii$ili

v/orl, rt,sstated,In lhe colophon. to be a pad ol Ihe Rudayamah. HighJighls its contentsare as of lollowsl

mentltsddhls. drr""r"o ," ,i.Jr,i"}r[]r;dliilJ: ond n,'n penectyoqin.

Li,::

Maravlo/asrated rs v".",n".i,"iili';ilii";::jl:: ;",iil:.ilo5 :::" jlilf;1f ll.".lli :i:: *; i;;;""0 :ld;;;;;;;:;#T;:"Bl;[:J.::Jl: ';':i:,Y::'* i,;,Jj''!1i"?'.''""ii;l : *::'||,:(i:l1il I "erss

;ffi :iJ:,i.T:il'.?t',,# ;:::*1":"1""*i:*nru;ff il:".::ff:liTi'in;',' ::"""i1# iT;H,;i ;:#::l *" """" 11s.125)
lt li"",li

erd modes rhe ",",,'^l;::";;5::;,::;fnilTfr j"," kn|a oa.. na ,orionr s-a,ana(,e-emf;;;;:l;,";:7;:;:J'::,1:':n\

rlr. caKr'aswlthin the body.27. SB-7Odeat crl

.ak',s sahasrc;a ;,ff #i::TfllJ'#H; and ;;;; -il

jl: :il:I-ft1iii::i#:' :::"-r.i:!:!,:ii;;.;;;il;;Jffi

17,verse4)aneutogyo,the,4/har_ ,.,. .JbisTarkaconlajns(parala vdyedadeclaringthataltgods.atjbeinqs.all! Kamawdvd and MahavdvT tiveinil.versi r *r, ^i ,'n-l'-.""g9s

SaivaWorksAnd lantrasol Kashmar otherworkswhose numberis overa dozen. t catjedpala/as. 1Decontentsare r ^^ -:!:^:,v:cchanla.tanlraconlajns 5 Chaprers. indjcated belowl t. Manlroddhara fl. Arcadhikara llJ. Adhivasa tV Diksabhiseka.prakasana V. Vl. Taltvadi_djksa_prakasana paicapranavadhikara

35

Vll. Abhyantarakaladhikara Vlil Amsaka_njmaya,sambandha satnirupana tX. Abhisla-siddhi-sadhana x. Bhuvanadidiksa_nirupana xl. Tattvadhava,srslyadj,njrupanalattvataLa_sthili-njrupana Xll. Dharanadikramena lattvanamsaksatkara-nrrupana-32 Xlll. yagaradhana XtV Mudra-taksana ABHINAVAGUPTAI AND HIS WOBKS

who to appears havebeenAtrigupta livedin Antaruedial Abhinava (C of kingYasovarman 730'40A.D.)of KanaujHe mi the time (C al qated lo Kashmir lhe timeof kingLalitaditya 725-61A D ) Narasimhagupta' and qrandlalher Varahagupta' rather was ;bhlnava's and was manorathagupta mother_ His Cukhala. brother alias Vimalakala, hall in lloLlrished the second ot the ienih century Abhinava A.D. to whoare stated haveenlight_ leachers several He names of The subjecls. names his Gurusare given enedhimon varioLls theirnames: taughlby themagainsi withihe subjects below Tantra dualistic Vamanalha Bhutuaja- Bahmavwa Saivism Bhutirala-tanayaDualistic-cum-monistic ma Laksmangagupta Kra and Tika Darcanas b pla' Laksmanagu - PralYa hiy'Eunderwhom he lo Besides above. reters otherteachersalso the hesludied othersubiects. works Abhinava's Dhilosoohico'Tanlric aretheJollowing: -pafr asil,a,Isvara'pratyab ijfra-vina rsini,MaIintvij aya' h cad Bod s h nl nt va11a, PaB martha-sara,Paratimsika-vi vtli, Ta Gsara' Ta ra-vata' ik is Abhinava knownto havecornposed Besides above, the lor meanl ol the conlaining eseniials lrikaphilosophy' somehymns hymns The followlng popularlsing .naintenetsof the system lhe Bhaiava' Anubhavanivedana, Anutlarastika, may be mentioned: Mahopadesa' Krama-stotra' slava, Dehastha-devata-caka'stota, Paramanhacarca. Paramartha-dvadasika, vifitsati, TANTRALOKA ll calledAhnlkas. has a It is a hugework in 37 Chapters' by Jayaalhawhoisdescnbed calledlatlra lokaviveka commentarv. to Heappea6 havecommenled lvlahamahesvaracarya, asRaianaka F.omhis commentaries A/a abo ;pon Rlyyaka's tukarcsatuasva. whoseolherson we learnlhal his lalherwas Srngaranatha

wnler, isknownha"" he ro *.in*

ot the ana,{:J:!: v/vala,a so;e 1":""::r5::r:.tl ind."."" rantratokLa yaratnmsika. conrain !:; Iile. "oiriniili.i"{

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

",
BornIn a tamity otBrahminshe ,fi.. r

and i.1li,":itT,: S_"1",lsrandins inthe,rerary cuf i;iii;; risure l;;il:,;,r^::T:l ;;d;ffi

;ii:i::fl li"T,,,'#i",#:';i:T:5Till;T'j#:iJ

!.; L,.iii"Bfl ll^,::"".^,1":"1,:, i!;lili,lil ir;.;"-jiiJ illliii;

';: woa, ::':":,i" ::,:::l:xi:ili"":*l"i:",1t poe.ca, ",he -rayara'ra ror._;ffi ;il:ilJ, 'j,J tne eves il,J [?"f;fl ","#;
Purnamanoratha (Ministefol ol Kashnir) king rurnamanoratha (lvlinisle kingol Kashrnir) I of Ulpala Prakiisaatha Dhairnaraiha

SaivaWo*s And Antas of Kashmir

37

Krng uccala, I butresigned Srngdraniitha anersometime). ([,4inistef

s vd'atna sakratha s",nJ"-,n" .Ac!epteo Gubnnaralha

^. r_---_--_----r_-

(lt/jnister). Djscjple malernal o, uncje,,Bjbhutidatta, son ot Kamamaladafla and grandson ol Laksmidatta

--

\andiatna
L.ankaratha

ot are Thenames theChapters as follows: 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 diversityo{ Unnamed the means ofattaining paramesvara is but one),Saslrasammelana, who Ayalikramanirupana, lJpadeyabhavadi-nirupana. ln lhis work,Abhinav mainlylollowslhe MalinivijayatantraThehistorical imporlance ofthework isthatitgives some biographlcalandaulobiographical intormation. ll dealsexhaustively allmatles, with ritualistic philosophand presentation the Kula of ical,relating Saivisrn. is a systematic lo ll andTantra il givesinformation aboutolher sysems. Occasionally, systems, suchas K/amagtc.The names the chaplers ol indicate ther contents.The highlighls thephilosophical of aspect lhework oJ Thewoft reveals proJound the intluence Tanlra Abhinava. ol on But, ls clearthat hasindependenl and rl he thinking wayol expres' s on. He follows authorlty Saivagama lhough, inlelpreta' in lhe of tion, shows he approach theaulhor oJ considerable oiglnality.The rsnon-dualislic, pains eslablish thesolereality Cit Theaulhortakes thal is lo (rebirth) non-knowledge, is Accordingto thecauseot him, Samsa is not andknowledge liberalion. Non-knowledge isthesolecauseol but wanto{ even inaclodofearth, il hasno knowledgewhich exisls rebi h.Non-knowledge butit iswantoftrue orearth, hasnorebirth. Non'knowledgewanlol trueor pertect knowledge.grows lt {rom is (cloaks thereleclon rnthelimited soul,blurred lhe sixkatcukas by

of Rdjardiha) Disciple Subhatadatta. of sonofTribhubanadatta, gran0son ofVisvadana) J Jayaratha (Pupilof Samkhadhara)

38

Chapler-1

of Sava WorksAnd Tantras Ka

39

ot couets).vtz.Kata.Kala, Niyati, Bala, Baga,A\lidya.Irue knov,tl poge,qd(ou.reo One Fas bv whose anr.rality wor- oul.a, o ,/r'ho has altarned beslconsciousness the D/ksadestroysnon-knowledge, salvation but takes place ai. . ter death. Liberation lile (livanmuktD aso possrote in ts when non |\nowledge isdispetted hnowtedge bV tromlhe corrprenenson aflsing ol l'_e_on-dLa of lhe Suprerre ily Being, and .rom'isren to lne ng sasr.as. t.Je know'edge,s s.lperior D,lsa. to Non-knowtedge divided into two kinds,thal pertainrng is to purusatman(paurusajfiana) thal belonging and to inietect (b;ud_ dhalfiana).lhe lotmet growiing with ihe body and the latterdue to g_o ance or Sastra Eve- wher paurusajitana wea6 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 DrFsence bauddhathana. ot 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,e enjovmantl. ot ::l_o-11": y,g.ana (dssJrringforms hke Fudra). Jvo Btndu t*e ine rcurd oonrono'lhe Kadamba flower thelhrobbing or eye_batrJ. (vord. /(ha Saboa,sa"-d), Mahle to.n{a.al, Devoleesger fhe .esu rs accord_ ,ngro Ine aspecls medraled upon.for example, one who Ihrnks ol dhuvana OecamesBhuyanesba.L,beratton the htghst ol ktno \ acqutredby the knowledgeot the above six aspecls. The ques on tS,il StvatSimmanent. lhen wny sroutdHe be .o_remptared t-avrng aspecls? as stx Ttseanswerrs.hal Ine srx asoecls ara by way ol iltustralron only.He rs both im,nanenland Again,jt maybeasked, it Siva is immanent, ihen how can be alonce immanent and lranscendenlal? The reply is this.A pitcher, rellectedIn a rrir.or,has .ls own seDarale exislence. nrraity,Srva S 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,injle Sa&lishke/ccha{desire)istjhHe is slatedlo . -ave one Svalanl.ya.saklr. The reason,s Ihal lhis SvaEn!,ya-sah!l

ac' dilferently Irom Himi lhis singlesakliappears s Inseparable to corcJng c rcumstances then He s 1tmay be doubled-il God has svalanlrya_sakr, The notoneas thesaslralr es to eslabishnon_dualism so utionrs ihal the condition(bhava)ol a thing is ils own Sakti n accordance wrrhthe dillerenceol lhe result;thus, Saktiis nol differenttrom the th ng rtsei. So, Siva LsOne as the Sakllis idenliled w th Sakllmal (lhepossessor sakt). ol is between Theremaystilbe doubt lrue,there noditference m!t!a ly d fleenl. So d ver_ Eul.lhe Saklis are Sak and Sklimat. srly anses.The dobl is resolvedby sayingthai lhe same llre has etc. so Siva,havingmany e.g. burnng, cooking Saklis, dillerenl d versityis only apparent,nol real-Not only His Saktrsrs One; lhe Saklis. bul also He Himsell appears lo be diilerent accordrnglo and bhavana(contemplation) upadesa( nslructron). lo is The conclusion thal Sakllisthe meansfupayar lhe atlarn(upeya), i.e., Sakfimal.lt may be obiecledlhat a mentoi lhe object not knownin its entirely, by ils pa . so, S va cannolbe lh ng s tLrlly The replyis lhat a tree,which has nsa, tupa, elc, knownby Sakli. can be known by its rupa alonw So also Siva can be known by (consciusness joy), is the and ol Siva, possessed cidananda He ing nsp reroi the divers ifiedworldcompris thirty'sixTattvas. can reaLised dhyanawilha mind devoidof Siva. by be The signilicance lhe ierm thairava is set forlh as lollows: ol 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, Bhairava meansOne who residesin the heartol thosewho, hav ng leat (bhi)al samsara,ctiesfor help.Or, He is the causeol lhe va is or din ot lear (bh, oJ bhava or existence.Anothersignificance 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 so devouredtime. To lhem, He is manitestmelaphysically; He is who Bha rava. He is so calledas He is the Lordoithose Bhairavas

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 signiiicance olthe word Devahas been slatedthus_ One who plays (dlyyar) is Deva;this play is the ecslasyal the univrse encompassrng everythinglrom 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 conqu el. vyauaharaf tbghaves.i e. appears in a .ltusorylrcmt. dyolayatt tsnrnrng Indrcating or things), (rs sluyate euJogisedJ. (kno;s,. /ara, Srvars catledpa, as he protects(patt. He rs Sivaas he rs lutJ ol whal is good (sr'eyomaya): there|s nothingevitin Hrm. His three Saktis, para etc. shine in crealion, preservation, . de-ctrucl and the toJrth srateI luryaj.Hencelheseappeartwelve_ on .9?myi is the only realjty;ithas o division. Thn, how is there Ihe dlvisioninlo./ada ard 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 anavalhana lknowledge tne ot , ..lL |s.caljed sJblle) *flyopaya? The replyis lhal yoga and Knyaarc nol orre'ent.wnen thedesiresol the nind are at rest,that is Arla. That jiana ilsell il ktiya canbe illustrated follows:When as a man thinks (l shallget', then lhe rnotionentersinlo the limbs. Jha.a, )ndeed,leads to salvation.lt may be objectedlhat, Oeyordlhe knowtedge oithe independent,4lma4 there 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 ol So. edqels salvation tho slalemel'l ihanaandmo(sa imaginary is nottrue:it is merly an; eifecl, viewlhat Saktisresidein the The authorrelutes Vaissika in way as dhan a resides dhazn' His standrs sNa in the same thal Sivais thenthe slatsment position accepted, is irrai 'r t s baseless. Onebecomes Saslras' in expressed dualistic the Theauthoratsoreiects vieu/, Being H fromthe Supreme are beings distrnct rhal the crealed ol someolthe Saklis Sivaare is iotasttal eueMh'ng nudra'sakti Ohers are limitedas theseare everywhro. as theypryade inlintie at notpresent all Places. and or lhat wbodha Samvdis bothquestion anIt ]s stated in lhe in bolhGuruand Siva: dillercnce theirbodyis lt swer. exists ol speak's the goodel_ portion the chapter ol Theconcluding ol and the studying urork, setslorlhthe conlents it' iectof Siva whether discusses ii, Chapler calledArupaya-prakasana, lhe makes The (upaya). commentator by s ,eal'sed somemeans (upaya)' by manilest thmeans posiron clea;sva doesnotbecome His appearthrough grace butthemenas ot is thal Samvid the means the outwad The aulhorstates ln of manilestation Kr,yaeic. Samvidis self_manitest lhe absence manifest' being be oJit.thewo d would iadawithout are thal,il exlrnalacts notprescibedlhen lr mavboarqued ol on" ."u t.te toltte knowledqe Guruelc as lhe meansThe on dpend Samv'rd autho/sieplvisthal allacts,odernalandinternal, concentraton to be so thatthes; cannot the means it. Atlention, be so, in iavadhana) this matteris ol no avail; thele cannot any whichava'lhana of (meditation, contemplation) oi aueslion bhavana who olthose, that states theattempts author i; theoreredisite.The (upaya), lulile' are to by seekiiie Supreme resorting means that it Being, is siated oflheSupreme the Indescribing nature existent' is He neilher exisls;nor it thatHe dosnotexistnoris He inter independent tht a non-existent. occupies position cannot He radiance ot the and supremebliss, secures naland exlemalmeans,

of WorksAnd Tantras Kashmir Sarva

rr rsslaredthatone.who lakesdelightIn

+lff ,"#"3':;Tl ::Ti+hti'" tr;t;iJffJ :?ili:ili

the sell. is conlentwith the

;:l"i;:il::""J";'".#:"'.?#lH:"":::::?lt "J""lJjiij; l*::H

isno oi ffi::"?i':i""""::Jii"Ti,X,jll,I^ttrere neiessrtv

Abhinavagupta cteartyslates the comparatueeitectjveness _.., vanous or_the prachces, and concludegthat true t<nowteOge ine is nlghesl of afl: it makes one Mahasiddhe and yoEsrrr. "H; rorrows' succeedinsis each ";;" item

sucha person,there is n eilherMandalanor Kundano, ity."iiti.,

.I",ffi ,i::ilffil r# :#:1.:l1iiq!ffi :,:i"".'kg:,,

,'il;:n:1:??ff #r;*i::i,Tixi:11i :""i-,"T:f "ff p1{:"i:T,ffi fi:*lJ:u;ti..'rull fflff":il".IT'f ffi

Decomes Him.The commkentator like adds that such a personbe_ comellxea lamp ndtedfromanother lamp(d,;ea Apai ivoditanl. a

p::'ff $!i,i$l[3",ii;,ill,Lii."lli",i#"il'.i"Ji "fi :,I]fi

::"Jff:'i3'fl #:::: [",f:that

medttated upon). D/, vd";.,-i*';;i;i#;? ;fi:jffi",f,:', [fi,,iiji*;

tor {ntu9" sacritjce), (a,igure Iure drawn engraved or ^- ..-fl!11ail3 (pjcture pala onvesset9. or painted ctolhi Ohrlam f."Jirir-.ni uryya (lhal which is

the mrnd one as rouches ravs the lh ol sun il'"ti":l'l,T,Lff:"""":

J:J,",l,"',$ffi ;21il!:,13i:;an!!lt ;iriiii!ilffi :trf

.'_1i".",l".oy" lron hrsmindthe ctoudol apprehension and

lx;"f ;,iiJ,ljiili ffi ffjffi fl[fl ""*"oJ"";,!$"oJJii,il".,";:f

of ot Theilashing lhe greallustre Sivain th mindhasbeen shining, the of Nowis examined independence Siva Himslf said. shine. Beyond him,thoreis no universe.The everylhing makes he in shows crea' Lord,being unobstructedtheskyol rnind, Supreme As anddeslruclion. in a clearmirlorearth,walereic are retion in of are so f ected, all the elements the universe reflectod cil. As pervades cryslal, so, a whichis clearon all sides, in the refection Rupaetc.are refleclecl. lhai couscrusness is clearin all respcts, with Ka!likaSakti. connecled theSupreme S va is inseparably whichagainis lermed form is calledSamghatla Theircombined universe created.This isvariously is Sakt Anaendasakilrcmillhe Matrsadbhava elc. calledKalakarcini, lhe,e is lhe /cchasakli Besidesthe above Cidananda-sani, beingagitaled, the to This Sakd, whichis superir all otherSaklis. is unagilaled and Devis born.Thus, are /cchasaktl twolold, Aghora agtated. islwolold according whal as Again, thereis JtalrasaAliwhich is to be known moreor less. is (agiftator) and is Samvilor consciusness both Ksobhaka Ksolrrana orthatwhichcauses agitalion). {agitation /bcha accomplisher Thal,withwhich becoming becomes ono, ol aclion, calledKsobhadhara is whichthe commenlalor explains as yor,:That,withwhichthisoneness lakesplace,is th bhavas within bodyorlhe letters the beginning Ka. with is Theoutward appearance universe, iswilhin, called ollhe that (vowels) alsocalled as Bia or thechielcause. Svaras The Eria are theycauseletters appear. to (source) called desir by The udbhava s the ol8ibto create; lhis,lhephenomenalworld ditferent Cid-Almar. looks Thai,by lrom the unitywilh whichlhe desireto createhas fruition,is called ksobhadhara. lhe Bia of the universe world F.ofi alltho exiernal evolves_ vrywonderluldue to Thesupreme Sparda joy becom and thecontact /bcha (desire) unmesallash). and ol is ol manifestation. Jada(unconscious)of the natu.e limited

Chapl6r-1 Bodha(consciousness) untainted.The is Sak .,o, the greatocean of Eodhareso , likewaves,to the ,4fman. wonO".ir'ine"" The 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 undividedmanifestation calledBndu is That.whichis caled Sabda(word)whoseessenr,at etemenlrs soundln0, whtch,regdes,n all c.eatures,remains inaLl,vebetng orvroed towand hioh as I ne sun, moon and lire have no lustreoflheir own excepling . ihe brilliance Samylt ot Thep,aclng ones ownAlmanontheAtnaqiscareoyalsa,igr{, ol o.. , 5rr{/whtch createsand destrovs l)rva rs presenteverywhereas the doer through iatherhood and motherhood. Marrl is lhe nameot the supfeme Saktr whichrs oeaul,tLton accoufl ot lhe contaclol Bija and yoniandthe rcsulting appearance The SupremeSamrlr rs one aniadrng Kara :;."-?l"ltt:.T: rbra ravJ Hy the seemrngseparationkom the sakl/mal, rt assumes lhe slale of a couple; Sa|.tiand Saxumar arc separalely caJled

s,"a wg$t!9rl!9rj!59:!aI
speechof the Guru people, devotedtoSiva,lacklhealoresadcapacL_ It. however, etc' lhen he should receiveinitiation 1y, The SupremeLord has no veil. Bul, a veilof Maya shrouds F,m Iho5e, wno are \ersed In the Veda Samkhya PLl'd'a etc. par 'arara.Bauod'aSdElta are boundby llretiesof Maydso get knowledgeaboui siva one, who lislens lo thai lhey do not is and iixes the mindon a bad precepior, boundby ionoranipeople oi a good preceptorale necessarytor real iaya, The inslrucloins wilh one (pureknowledge) is sanctiiied suddhavidya kn;w e.Jge.By one reachesthegoodpathbeinglrcefromobstacles' strenqlhithen vP. ol Oft"e Ih'ee soLlrces knoLvledge Guru Saslraandones one One,in lhe is superiorto preceding f, ownse eachsucceeding arises,acquireslhe righ10 good reasoning sponlaneously whome ctc. yogicknowledge A Gunt tssamsrldhikawho|s nol lraineoby any olherprecep_ japa, svapna dlyana, lor.Sucha persongets Abhiseka\ rcfleclion, ol rulesin theworship Candika theprescdbed Byobserving andhomalor a month. one becomesAcarya.By a Ioftnight'spractlce,one one becofies Puttaka becomesSadhaka,bya week'sobservance and bv four davs'observanceone becomesSamayi In such obDeviHerselfinilialesthe devotee. servance. One should serye the Gurulin variousways.Thenhavlngreceved Abhiseka.he becomesa Kalpita Acarya \Nhen such an Sastrawlthoutthe helpol learnsa superhuman Acaryaaccidentally Jrom ol The Gur;.heis calledKalpitakalplta. acquisilion knowledge gels tea Sams;ddhika inferior.TheGuru who, thoughAkalpita, is spon The knowledge' iinementfrom else,is SivaHimsell somebodv ol Sasirasand laneouslyacquired,becomespedect by lhe study instructionof Guru. lhe oJ The live accessories yoga' beginningwith Yama,ate nol d recl y relplu' ir acquiringSamvi because lhese are exlerna' The questiioin What is necessaryJorsalvationis true knowledge. ano clhyaoa processes dharana, ol rnayarise-are the three internal Thenlhe lor samvil. samadhihelplul? Theseare also not necessary queslionarises-if all these accessories yama etc ar useless, ol

,,- -J!1:!nn,1:."99.'ng tyaonvamaand Uaikhaiarise.Each ol these has thrpeto.ms, v., Sthula,suksma,para.

separarion lhreerotd sou.d. z. pasyantt. v

.n ernanaled lron me.all thists refiecled me,arl i-rs ,s rdenttcalwilh He teejsthalne ts SivaHi.nse.l me, w"o ourrls lhls world unreallike a dream_ll is also realisedlhal lrcm Bodha aflses lhe.wo'tdol diverseobjects.i. Bodna restsand thew;o, Derng destroyed, 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

'eels- arllhishas

For a ma mudra, ktiya fl arenotnecessafy. such person ntra, erc.:llh*TlTd "bF"t.. becomes He Jivanmukta. a person Such

He is Visvesvara. Lord of the world. In whose Samvit-Atman . rnrsphanomenal worldjs rellecled.He is reslra,ned the acquJs by

ol c,d2 WorksAnd Tanlras Kashmir lhen whyare thseprescrbed?The answeri,

47

rora.ra o'eason,ns w;,;;

d;;Hll;:*

these means are

Samuit ajlthings: so ^,^^preserves. crcates She also^De.vt Agarn, destrovs. Shels caledSrstik6li. She ttre n"i, f samv'lrs merbed In thepureattribu'teles; Theindependence Samy,is ol called Supreme Goddess.

acquire tetinemenl. has been lt Somepersonsindependentiy with Sakfo-pa,. Others,however, requireolhet staied n connexion meansare many. means.The Jiva is ihe Sakti of Siva Himsell;il is presenl everywhereJta is knowny variousnames like Duelo the {lashol knowledge, of ils The materialaspect the Citbody heingsupprcssed, real narureis lell, and il shinesas lhe non-dualSamviLln il.lhe yogin independenlly Pana elc. as a I Iindsh s own pure consciousness 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), as shoud be contemplated one.ThesethreerepresenllheSaktiol 1re.sunand moon. These are knownalso as Para,Parapara and Apara.Eachol lhesersthreefold accordance in wilh crealion,preservalion deand fourlh formis abovethe limilation creationetc. struction.Their ol Thus.thereare twelveformsThe yoglrshould conlemplaielheworldas mergedin Samvit irornwhrchcreationproceedsSivais Saklimat, andthe enlireworld is His Saktii.

,rn"E):;;X1,y*t^t
Ksepa

tssocarred she as creates rive lhe (pa'ca-

(outward manitestationtheselr) of

ottn"'o"ntilu themanilested of wirh ,tl?'""l,tin

Samkhyana(constanl pondering it is this,nol that thai) Gati (g_etting a reflection like
at the realnalure in tne

edgeof identity theselfj_ with Sheis alsodesignated Matrsadbhava, as Vamesvari.

lhe_end feflectionon the sell, ol remaininq only as soundhgdue to the obtiteratjon o, theinowt

;:"j,ff f,li "[']T':::jJ:l':.:Tl',i:;l';";:;""ffi "i'","""i,in;iliT: 'ffi ffj';#,fl "l"o The g.es O"r"a,on. n *hrcn there ls no distinctron mala. ol ii""#'j"":T ::: manaand meya,is Cidananda ::1,:i;n,:, ",,""r,,t1'l,"",1 "il;: :Ii"-pl. which is tree trom materialobjects. and, ["J,:i.T:j:j'-ti:]11':lt4;:;il;;:J;:l::i"?l: Jagaclanandaatises when nothing excepting Samvit is perceived. ::::ff ro owin-s rranquirity, sirrjrlvii,'i""r;ff":i::JjI r. so il One
SamviL

which i:1,?:*:'l^t5 i::l,l*rins to *r,"n j"#,y?:1'"::: lJ,.rheserr' issketched

"",i"J

;"%.:rH:1i1il;rr3n'fl *!1ili+tri[Fiqi;
Chapter iscalled V Anavopaya_prakasana.

i::*,",H%l; ["_::,".iT"i'{lriF:"i.""":li&:Htffi

The ro ,^^,,,t:?-r!,:",lnt-1,tlis mudra. aurhorhjes impress thar

should mentally in it.The'ogllnhaving rest reached Tisulabhumii (localed placeof theihreeNadis aboveB/ahmarandhra), meeting the (lda,Pingala.Susumna), shouldrealiseunilyof the three Saktisoi lccha,Jnana,K ya.Heshould gradually proceedthroughlhe suc' cessive sleps ol bhrubindu nacla,nadanla and rcach Urdhvakurdarni. There exist hvo Elndusol Siva, ol lhe nature of will lo create. ch are beauliful the essence Spandara. Thereone's wh by of mind shouldrest as in the bellvol a fish.

The willol the SupremeLordto createis the Kaul,;ka Sakli lls ag lation,ratherthe substratum ofagilalion,is lhe alphabellrom KA to H,4. world is the spreading ol lhat substraout The phenomenal

ol And Sava \,Vorks Tantras Kashmir

49

wi o'rhe isjnherent Lod, Lord inrhe ;:l;:X:'rf;ill;li11illthe worrdas wirh one identicarcd shourd r,"";:::,i:,'i1iH:i:

whose versionof lhe lal1lraloka The lanirasara is an abridged ol ihe necessilaled composilion a com_ naiurally k andprolundity bu is rhe Tantravatadhanikaa shorterepltome. principles lhe ol wilh ihe essenlial fhe Paramatlha'saadeals of syslern,and is an adaptation lhe Adhara'ka ka 01Sesa' Irka nagaMuni. on is Ihe Malini'viaya-vattika a commentary some ol the ob_ Sastra alsocalledSripurua scureversesof the Marniviiaya'tantra' The oortion,discoveredhiiherlo, revealsa trenchanl crilicism ol oJ some imporlanlslandpoinls Nyayaphilosophy. on wvarana)isa commenlary lhe fhe Paralnmsha-vtvttlilor, poriionol lhe Paratrimsika lexl ol whichconsiituesthe concluding and givesa resumeol lhe wholeof il the Budrayamalalantra, iis lo The Badhi-pahcadasika designed enablethe less intelli of to oenlot the autho/spupils havean ideaofthe essentials monislic the dealwith sub_ ol ol16 verses whichliheen Saivsm. lt consists purposeol sucn a com_ lhe explains and lect-matter, the sixteenth oosilion, Ihe tsvara-pratyabhiiha-vima6ini. btielly called VinErsini ol on Laghu viftErcini,is a commenlary lhe /svara'prclyabhiifiasutra ot Utoalacarya, ol cal Ol lhe otherphilosoph works Abhinavasomeareavarl_ whrleolhersare knownonly kom relelencesir able n manuscnpls whrch o{ wilhthe aulhorship sevralhymns Abhinava credited is in Thesehymns, lyricaliorms, than are moreohilosophical devotional ano serve as a ol sel lorth the quintessence the lrka philosophy. doclrinesand dogmasol pa' the mediumof popularising abstruse licularsects.Thewell'knownhymnsoJthis class,allribuledto hlm' Krama-slota, Bhaiava'st ava, Patana rtha-carca, Mahopadesa' dv st vimsati, Anufta@ ika, Pa'ana rthc adasika, Oehastha'd evata Anubhava'nivedana, cakra-statra,

" ::;;:i;l ]; :H [:*:";:rti;L1 r "tg,#i,_i#:i ilt':gff "*[',U,,',1#)',!,ii1i)ru:if ]iffi?:"r,?,iX1

i",,^!?'l#,'ff 7: ::r,ffi :;n":x :,:;"* f#f ;l
*" "#il.1511i*:::neh own nattrrethe sanvlr/: is is rear rhar
One'sownAtma, is Siva.

j,l,""o*'"."sA,"'ansa,va. i"T:1';:"ffi11ili:Si,lnij::

suspenoedithe mrnd is then asteepso tong

i,j:f l-qJ,,:^i""ifi

ffi $:l*:+*i[i#r#i:":",rtr";,;d: [ffifl1{ifi*f,""hlli:i*r#H#r#."i*:r:n q,ff *".,J#"*il*!;ff

as Samyl is not fet!.

:,.#*:

iscated or '"f:,iil'"i;3';#H"'i"""""1;il1J:t* rerler "" Eb A ripl""'Js' rili:il"j ilr"',i"Jff ::nla ; i.i y"s' il'

l1:ffi i,liliflff $i:J::"T"fi Jld"_1i::;",,::",i,f ];

a .""s,:il?ilT;'ff in orverow blue colo,tiovsorrow;rhere or

"i:;:fi ::":j:#iliitff ."::::xx::"::J,:::;:T,':3:;:l ;; ffJ:*:j:

kernetor Abhinava,s phrlosophy set lol|hrl the rs ,^^,._The -saktyafohowtng rne : stva wnabhavan-nihn ike ml a,ree;

ru

50

ol saivaWorksAnd Tanlras Kashmir loss of its grip over the to the fast iading ot the system and lhe peooLe two broad The orioinal Krama literalurecan be dividedinto Tothelormer classllelong -'..... t ivea ed and no4_revealed -lhe " lalterIncludes *otl'. a1dlhe KramaAgamas io_." ""o^y.or. works The kraaa Aganas ate Paicasaltka o' ,'i" ' ""n lo"t," Krama'sadbhava Krama'rahasya sa,onasatika

[?#iiJ,l# :11;,3;';7;; 3i:',ff

l::,1s:l;:,1"1"'h".:;;;;;;;,i;:,:izl:;!:::::',i,:!;^::il:;:::,i:; iiu,iancisatixa, wfln sahtt. Indeed, S,va is manrlesred goth thfoughSat<t,.

woAs The xrama'sdahi non-Agamic ateKrama'sul@ f,rt,fa-nana.

KmmadayaAmavasya'|nmstKa Mahanaya'paddhali Sidanasulra, including We know ot at leasttortyjive notablepersonalities' lhe Krama syslem ol philosophvbY 1o rFmales.who conlrlbulecl on lessons Xram-a ,,,,r"n *o,ts. co.posinq hymnsor impadlng belowchroooloqically are m-entioned i." o";;'-";, ".;"n,h;m wilh lhe l[les of lheirworks I any alono Valulanalha-sura (c. Valulanalha 675-725)' Chomma' attribuled) (Tradilionally (HisioricalPersonalY samp@daya Nisk Yanandadoublful) \l Siva-sulra natha(c.725 775) (,) Spanda-kaika (c.800-850) VasuguPta (/0 Spandarn a (/v)VasaviTika (v) Siddhanla-candrika on (Noworkexclusvely Krama,But, in some ol hls the works, particularly tirsl two, he appearslo have to contribuled incidentalLY the cause ol the Kramasysiern)Kallaia (c.82s-875) No excluslvework on Kfama-But, incidenlal in contribution the works attributed hirn) 1o Spanda-karika Proba (AuthorshiP conkoversial) bly identicalw\ih SPanda'sutra, mentjoned bY Bhaskaraln nls siva-sutravartika, 1 5 (a Spanda-vrtli comm.on lrle

j:"""r" iil"1,1;:;il'::#1n: illl{{tilifrJsJi:,fi ananarauana a'iijs a, :#i ;!!,2;,!:#!

wirh somen"'snanais 8i:illli:3:?:t"?l,i:ssociation P'I
With Jayaratha{c. j3il

KRAMA TANTRTCISMI ofTantrain Kashmjrcan oe complete ^. --No.accounl wilhoutan

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

!:;!l: :i !i!:H7 "u

;".rt"1iiii,"1_ill li ??li;,.i",ii,Ll"% * "l;:;:::,;m,::;;

*.:Tr:U:,".;s betieved some by ,^^. _tl: raslq.Jalero,rheAh cent. thebeqjn;inq ro darebackro rhe or of rhe8h. Tnissystei

o"i.""O sysrem shrouded are _..,. and mysljcrsm. T99eof o ginot rhis ,n myln ]l:

rd|,a he es ;";;;"i;i,#'""?;i, ji:ffi n taka. a; sN :Xrr,,ti":

:iiffiT:i::*nll l:; fflc:i,ili[:*:..,,"J,ffi ffi

3fi ll:i^:[Jg!:,"#'f ,:l"j:ff1il';5:*?*i?,T:**:
rflDLreo some to srvananda by , relers {8/180, 186. 1g7) to the

day-or rh,s Arte ;; ;;;;.i";J::#i,,l,"l,jlil"l; sysrem. rn",

5"',''."J,ilfl:i:'lj.?:#,IJ'il"JXi:,fi:,*"'Dopu,an,vano

Spand a'saN asva \PIob ablY titleol the Karkaand vrttitogelher) tl a Tattv -vicara (V ah ably) Ta vattha'

CfEnr.r-1

of SaivaWorksAnd Tantras Kashmrr is ntendedhere)

53

Pradyumna Bhatta(c. 850,900) Somananda 875-925) (c. (No work exclusively Kraaa) on Utpala (c.900-950)(No on work K,.ama. But, Irom Jayaraihajt is rearnlthal Abhinvareceivedhis lessonson Kramalrom a set ol reachersincludjng Utpala)Siddha Natha, calted Stotrakara 900-950) (c. Bhaskara (c.925,975) (Believed have tra;smitled lo the doctrineol SiddhaNalha ro rne next generalion)

Tattvagarbha-statra Siva-drsti

(TSS, l,4ahesvarananda ed , No 66, 1919).

Supposed authoroia

t (950-l O20\ Kamagolz \gg1'991 k amakeh Ahh,navaouota comm on the Kramastolraof Sddh_ analha ln someotherworxsalso' par liculatlyMalini' viiayavan tka' Paryanta he paicasika'Paratimsika'vivarana' with KarmaPhilosoPh'v deals In hls Uddyolacommon Nelra'lanta ^sen3rdra\975- 1125) he relers lo Kramaas a distiactsys tem.

Valadara,a 1OO0-'050) HisSrva-sul_v4kaclearly:ndcates t.. T '2

olrt xt.i"a".,

Laksmanagupta 925-97S) {c. Appears havewritten Krarra, to on (Probably rdenlical with though workexisls no LaKsmana Desika,aulhorol the Sarada-t aka) BhattaUlpata(c.925-975) Spa.nda-pradipka, camm. spandaon (Ditlerentfrom Utpala ,rra. In cerlajn places,he appears ro nave bleentamiliarwtlh lhe Krama exclusively on Krcma) system, Frofi lhe above work (lslampurka/sed., 48_50) pp itrsctear lhat he has |ned to rnlerpret Sparda and roga conceptsin the tightot K/a ma phrtosophy. Kramaleanino His is discemible hisreference in lSpaiAapolp/(a, pp. 49.50)his own work, 6hoga, moksaprcdp*a, naw losl Bhulirala| (c. 900-9SO) His conlribLttion Kfama system is to (Ol fouf persnsof this atlestedby lwo references; name, onewho is lhe (i) Tantrasaraol Abhinava knownlo havebeen a (Shastri,s KSs, 191g,p.30) ed., leacheroi Abhinavagupta (ii) Maha rtha"rhania i ol

17 22i ll 5' 6; lll 16' 43)' rmpor produced of (c.1O25- 1075)Head atraditionlhal Hrasvanatha like the Cidgagana'Candika lant texts atl (sometimes butedto Kalidasa)and MahanaYaqrakasa' as a Kamaleachel (c. Cakrabhanu 1O5O-1100) Highlyreputed bYeminentscholars Hi;hlY Praised and greailyadmiredby Sitikanlha thoughnol wilh Cakrapani(c.1050-1100/To him is ascribed' "_ _-- 'lozs certainty'ihe BhavopahaQ absolule trzs) which is a F/amaslolra Kramakamala' (c. BhoJaraja 1050-1 1OO) Perhapswrotethe 1100-1150) Theaulhorollhecidgaganacandika Somaputla(c. io expressesindebiedness him lor re the K'ama secrets vealing onlhealore (c Ramvadeva 1100-1 150) Auihorof V/Varanacomm He slales lnal by said Bhavopahara h' wrote six othel works Olthese' lhe A krama' kallolakarika appeats \a workonthe havebeenan independenl system' Kram a

on \vde vaftAas sunasl6

ChapteFl

oi SaivaWorksAnd Tantras Kashmir

55

Slvarsa t j2S _/5) {c. . ' lnr'odLces. himsell K andasa\ as Cidgagana-candrAa. car,m.an Kramasrora Siddhanaiha. of Sivananda 112S_ij 75) Oithesixworks, | (c. aitributed hirn io by hisgrand-pupil, Mahesvaranan_ da,the Kramavasana, lhe very as tillesuggesls. onlhek/a,.ra ts svs -lem. According so.re.sivan;_ ro ndawrctealsaa ilahanaya-prak_ a.9a whichis to be distinguished rrom(s namesake sitikantha, by Mahaprakasa i 1so_j200) Esteemed (c. reacner Mahesvaot rananda. Author several of slolras mentioned the pa,malacornm. in onMahesvarananda,s Maharihamahjai. Jayaratha (c.1150-j200) His yllekacomm. on1ne trrsl, fourlh, thirteenth twenly-ninth and Ahniksof Iantla/oka shedsconsjderable on light the hjstory Krama o, syslem. l,4ahesvararEnda (C.i iTF Maha ha. mahjan itscorrmen v,tith . tzzrl tary.panmata.From penuJtimare the vetseaI lhe patimala,he appearsto havewritena workcallea krana. ge sidesthetwoaforesaid works, is he known havewritten otherworks_ to nine Sivopadhyaya172s-177S) Lastnotewonny (c. wnrerjn thehis to.yol theK,?ma system his Vjvtti .ln onthe .Virtanabha irava,he occasion alypasse temarks lheintricacies on ol the Ktama syslem.

system as follows: are ol Themainiealures lhe Krama A. li is sakti-orienled inthe of lhe ll reflects emergence theSaktatendencies monistic inlo resulled the division thesystem in of ol Saivisrn KashmitThis (i) oneemphasising supremacyoJ Sivaas lhe the pect; ol (ii)theotherlaying stress lhe Saktiaspect the on supreme consciousness, lt character Reality is ol towards monistic-dualistic 8. lt leans as the Bhedabhedopaya it inculcates ldeaof dualcalled lt of or wilhin lramework monism unily. the rsmor diversily phenomenal duality 10 unilyin the seeks discover {bhede arc and whilethe Prctyabhijna Kulasyslems con' abheda). aspecl ot as or wiithReality unity thetranscendent cerned Reality; wiiththe immanenl is Reality, Krama concerned of is expression to according il, immanence an essential transcendence, oI as uplifland salvation synthesis bhogaand C. Spritual Kruma While the Kula system leachesSambhavapaya, Prctyabhiifia nol coundo Kulaand advo.les Saktopaya, they believein lenance the idea of progression; The self-reveltion. essential instanteneous immediate and progression i.e. is spirilual tealureol the K,?masystsm So, progressive ot lhe yi,kalpas it equally refinement the sell_realisation eachsteptowards slresses bias D Positive epislemic are schools moremetaWhilethePnlyabhiiffaand Spanda goth KulaandKnma physical, KEmais motemyslical. the look.Bul,the latler and mystical systems haveesoteric aspecl.This, and the emphasises cognitive theepistemic Krama asystem as oJlhe is indeed, thefundamenlalvalue o1philosoPhY.

co

chentFr-1

Saiva Works And Tantraso{ Kashmir

57

peculiarity E. Linguistic Itprefers Prakrit the languages Sanskrit themedjum to as ot expression.The.e isconvincing proofthalthe works like lhe Kramasutra, Mahana@-paks4Mahanho-mahiori. lhe Pakrtatrimsika-vjvarana, werewriilen in someto;ms etc., oi Prakrla localvernaculars,r or Krama, a Tantric as system, depends intuition, on anddiscouF agesdjalectic. doesnolmerely ll afgue. experimenls. bul It seeks futtitmenttheharmonious in btendinq rltuition ot wilhpraclical realisation. Twophases Krama of Tantricism bediscerned.ln earcan the lier ohase. therewas a penchant ph,losophtcal intdiltonal for ano lssues. o'the ,ourdtvisions the contenls Ta ta. carya and ot ot (nya weresubordlnatedjnanaand lo Voga.ln lalerphase, lne how. ever. ritualistic lhe aspect Came lhe to.elront. tO Experience lhe pivotroiund is whichthe Kfamasvstemre_ volves.The reatisation onenessof individ,lal with ol the the so;t rhe universal is the aimof thissystem philosophy. soul ol The Krama system wasdivided lwo sub_schools, (i) into viz. , Sahasa represented the Vatulanatta-suta (iiJChumma by and repral_ sented thework, by entitled Chumrna-sahpradaya. Themain theme ofthe Sahasaschoolis a devotee,s that real natureis realised iirmlyclinging lhe pre_emrnent by to Sahasa (maha-sahasa-v svarupalabha rtya hNatulandtha-s 1). sahasa uta means sudden a unexpected event. According thisschools, to the highest realisation self-revelation or takesplaceall on a sudden ih'oughdivine graceifor noprevtous lhis oreparalon necessary. is Theexactmeaning Chumma nolknown. occurs lhe of is lt in T^anlraloha 4,268.29137). Ksemaraja. his conne.rary on the in svacchanda-tantra(15t ior I), saysthatchurnmaka slands thesvs_ lemlo whlch adheres. chiet one The objecl thetheoty Chumma, ot d wn'cndopFars bea synonym Sarma to (Vtde ot Ksemaja comm s on the Svacchandalantra p. 12SJ to presserve esoleric iVl. rs rhe nature thesystemadhered theultimale ol to.ln aiarysis. Sahasa [-e andChumma appeat havenobasic to difference.

atonelime, another of sub-school Kranais ol Theexistence, (Ahnika a 29).This unnamed schoolis Io in lhe Tantraloka deffed in of ol ihe combination hvo lheses,one iormulated lhe oroduct and the other in lhe Madhavakula. leatureof A Devyayamala is accordiing lhis school, lhs worship ono'slinof lo of sadhana, preceptors a'lc.fhe Pithas havebeen alongwilhpithas,Ksetms, partsofth6 body.This syslem requreslhe tothe difierent assigned uponand,therefore, visualike Plthas lhe the and lo aspiranl reilecl presiding deities essenlially as idenlicalwith self. the respectlve PHILOSOPHY KASHMIR OF SAIVISM Herewe shallgivean account the philosophy Kashmir of of in Saivism a nutshell. philosophy, Indian it.recogLike otherbranchestheorlhodox ot principle.iscalled lt the Alman lheexperiencing as nises changeless everything. is both He Cit.lI is Patamasiva lnderlying Caitanyaot immanent transcendental. and of Theuniverse a manilesiation Paramasiva. asoect is of This are Himin called Sakti.lt hasmanyaspects ofwhichthefollowing fundamental: (i) Power sell-revelation-bySivashines. it of (ii) Powerof realising absolute andjoy(Aranda-saktrbliss satislied itself. in of oneself Supreme of absolulely as and {ii) Power leeling irresistible {/ccha-saldi. will (iv) Power bringing objects conscious all in relations with of oneself withoneanother and lJhana-sakl. (v) Power assuming lotm\Ki@-sakl. any of powers Himselforhis Sakti Withthese Paramasiva manifests as the unive Themanifestation Saktiis calledUdaya, Unmesa, of rce. Abhasara S|sti This is followedby Palaya. A completecycle ot Sfst/and Kalpa. Pralaya called is are The thingsand beings, the constduting universe, called Iattvas. in this Besides l"atlyas the recognised Samkhya, system

lilifliililX1,lli,",iiiifji,jl!il,l,"Tl!li;",ijffi I i!."",:,lH Thetotalnurnber laflyasjn of

ihjs sysrem 36. |s

SaivaWorks And Tantas ol Kashmir

59

:J:: j"""$"": f,:?ff:,'j:""$ :ff ili","; J;5 JinJii:ii ;; j'i.,ii,jj'ff T'il:: :*:11!i:.{iiii:Ii,ii",i?iiiili!;,i,1
aspect,the c,laspect ol Saklt in mosl mantresr Next comes Sakti-tattua. Whlte . Sk,

::;:;;j::mljl*b,"ff :l:Iff J..::; "xtf H'""n: p'eme-rea riry, accorcr,nrl;; ;;;ffi;3.iy,.,#T;""l"?.T:

rhis,trhe is ",,",1i:,:f::::,9#;:tf:1i,::,il1*1":f.","

lrcmoneanorner' Each otlhe nlmerousPurusas bcomes Anu. an who is sleeping it were,experiences Whilelhe Purusa, as a something, simultaneously him Prakrli with vagueand indefinite inlo estation. comes manif Purusa and Prakrtiare onlythe limited representationlhe of on experience theSoddha ot lactors ihe two-sides VidWstate.Fol thereis one Prakrli. his experience Prakrli, In eachPurusa, of the has {eeling: Purusa no specific lhereis no movement thoughl of or Prakrti in a statein whichatfective is teatures heldin a are staleol equipose; lhreequalities Satlya, the ol Fblasand famas arein a slateof eauioose. Thethreeprinciples menlaloperalion Buddhi of ate Ahamkaa and Manas.Maras desires;il singles a particular groupof out sensations a whofe lrorn crcwd.Aham'/agalhers, sloresup and lhememory personal of experiences, idenlitiesand assimilatesthe expenences lhe presentof 8r./ddhl that whichnables is one to p clurethernenlal image objecls of a cow lt istheimpersonal of as or supelpersonalstale ofconsciousness orexperience a limited in ndividual. In dealing the means with principles sensible and general of experience, philosophy this mentions senses, powers five live of aclion, livegeneralobjecls sense-perception. and ot Thelivebrulasare recognised principles materiality. as of Sivais the Saviour guru,assuming lorm out of his and lhis loveIor mankind. Pasu(literally animal) thg infinir or hostof soulsbelongs to Siva. The soul,distinct tromthe bodyis not created Him;it is by eternal. Individual souls ol lhreeclasses are according lhey are as subject three, oroneol the impurilies. lo two Thewebot bonds (pasalala), thatties soul,is divided the into avtdya,karmaandmaya,

jj:ilff llli nffi :;;:,',.:'Jf, #ffij'H:t::il:"#li: :J:1,:l'i:"t::il?,:: :"ill!""|ff ffiffiJ :''iliT ""ili i:'i,:.i",',;:Xmf :Jlfi ;,""J "'"'s:,""'iili""f |n:":ll'Jt""ii"? l#:n:.'.1ff"1"f iiiil,::il;:l::x'li:"',:f""'i:i:ff;'i:
Nert is lhe ,4,syara.laLva whr.h rha |n . Thts philosophystales lhe limtt of rndi,

fi ",,",1#l'i""";r;ff

;[:'fr "*{*f "j;ft r :;ia:*t ,"':r"1:ffi illl"i?]frf ,;:il:."ffi j,**'4a!|va.ie.the

;,J":

ffi !"i'-"'i;i,"J,""":,Ti,Llt":1"":U*:[:;n:U:,::*

''" J,::I?5'#:'i1", """J,'1""'fffl *, .red.objecr -ffi: ll:,:f jlj,;:?,:iff a'e orrhe " r,m,rarion oii;l; ;;::"#r?
Ti

60

of s:rva WorksAnd Tantras Kashmir ChapteFl

Maya is the 'r,aterialcauseol lhe world, unconscious nain ture,the seed of the universe, Accordingto the Saiva Siddhanta, the universeconsisls oi lhity-six lattuasincludingthose of Samkhya. The stagesof evolutton as lollows : are Al lirst. Maya evolvesinto the subttepnncrptes tnd then .nto rne gross. the rtrslprincipleevolvedkom Maya s Kala.ll .en\oves lhe impuriliesobslructing manileslation consctousness, the or and helps ils manilestation accotdi)ng karma. By y/dya lhe should to acqutres experience pleas!re and pain. the of Samknya rs.tse[ a produ.taccoroing lFe to ^ ,.,V,laryax1i9t s'ddranla. Prakrtr thematerialol is whrch wo,ds.ro be erpe.. tne encedby Purusa,are made.Frompraknjevolveguraswhich lead to lheevolulron buddhl: of The remarning processol evo,utron,s,ike lhat ol Samkhva. The world is not illusoryThe world has a seriousmoratpur, pose.cod isalwaysengagedin preserving soulslrom the the bondage ol matter The graceof God js the pathol treedorn. Thrsschoolrecogn es /;yanl,rukt: is ThoughDossess.ng body .rne/ryanmirkta one with the Supremein leelrngand,acuhy. is He conflnueshtsbodyunltlhispast karna is exhausted, the oeeds ano or the Intervening periodare 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 . parasaklris al once lhe seed ati lnat moves and is irnmobrle, 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 reflected in the ymarsa miffor of the mass ol the rays ot the sun.The Nada, Dtnduappearconlhe Cittawallilluminated the rellectedrays. by

in whiteand red,are Sivaand Sakti'who, lheir TwoElndL/s, Theyare the alternately and contract expand enioyment, mulual (arlha)which ol roolot the creation the word(yak)and meaning each separatelrom othet somelimes unite and somelimes with dealing the Cakras lhe One,whoknows lrola of Kamakala, Nlahatripurasundari andideniiliedwith liberated becomes ol Devi, arosesoundwhichis aboutthe creale, Fromlhe red B,indu, arosethelivegrosselements FromsoLlnd sptolll, Nada'brahman The whiteBinduis alsothe and tbhutasJ letlersol the alphabet part homthe minutes lo Brahman, Theuniverse, ;ourceof these. five Y/krtis. ol consisls lhese it The centreof Caktuis Para.At the time of evolution, is whichis the source ilselJ a triangle as and manifesls transiormed, others. Pasyanlr'and oi lhe lhreeSaklis, slales Sivaisthedoerol allandfree that TheMrgendra-tanta are His imperlections to defilements. functions fivelold: due Irom preservalion assimi potential and involtrtion, suslenalion, evolution. and rusa, Aghora,Vamadeva Sadyojata, Tatpu lalion. as isana, Siva pertormsifterent lunctions. d They (pasa). are beings' lourtold which human tie Thefetlerc defilement. and stand thewayot trueknowledge cause In 'lhe ol sevenmodes bhakr,which down Budrayamalalays lo liberalion onewhilealive. arestated cause to It statesihat Sivais bothNigunaand Sagura,the lormer with latleris associated Prakrti lromPrakrtiwhilelhe being distincl given. Paramesvara Saguna has ln it,theoderol creation been ol SaKiis thecrealer lhe wodds. is slaledas lhe lirslorinciple. lea lhe with in As slaled. connection K/amaTantricism' maln is system ils Sakti_ it lurelhatdisting!ishes frcmIhePratyabhijna ol characleristic Anotherdistinguishing oriented rnonislic Saivism. gradual progression,lhe the Krama rs school its beliefin spiritual reaisation lhe Supreme Reality. oi

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.

63

. 16 For dela ls, see N. Rastag TheKnna Tanticisn ol Kashnii based lhiswork on is Ouraccount mainly rs whose datesareunknown, j 7 Thelite-span 50 yearcol lhose, of madeby N Baslogi y conjeclure mere a rough to is directed lollowers lo 18 rt is inlerestrng notelhat the Euddha in localdialects. propagare teachings his

n" meanins as aan sawacrivritlyI_"-",1:11" 9lu"" "tymotogicat avaembanena yonthsarncrlar,.itgoas hom one brrrhto anothir oy rosontng th6 quatities Sattua. Atma, is to of 6tc. slatedas Inu 3. One ol the elevenRudrasis so callecl. tn|s work,rrrs In the name or brvaHrms[in His Saituika form,The stgnrlicance the name ol rs ooscure-. mansserpent, at, and budhra bottom. laterVedrc th

Ahnbudhnya Aqn lcarha-patya i.comm) cont,r Ihe name Ins or vtsnutor sverat tilh6s 4. Chap 52.2-88 deatwlh tinguist|c occu ism ot suchman,.ason um namo vaEudevave

::*:jll9y1n"r:.: :l"soricalyconneddw,rhAsn ot uomesrc (vacttc r[e Mythologl Macdonep 73).tt sioutd by , rl." hyll in the vaiasaney sdnhi,a{v 33) whrch l.^:::o.:l:r n,e.n|on

carhaparya

5. See_O, Schradr, tntro,to pafrcantra anct Ahitbudhnya-Sanhita, pp. 42-43.

6 . Analysed F.O.Schrader DasSastitantra by in in ZDMA.j

9t4.

7 . The depa.turetrom the convnttonat six sysremsot orthodox pnrosopny

ts marked.

8. Discussd Schradat ZDM1, op, cit. by in 9. See M. Kauls introto Matiniviiayonan Tanra, p. rxitor 10. Se i,4.S. Kaul,sintro.lo the N^trctantz.

deraits.

I 1.Occan collge MS.M.667(i)of 1895. t9O2iAOpt Catot MSS,Vot. ^vl on-lantra, p.247.THeRudrayamala said be a huge was lo work In a rac and a quarters/okas 12,The wor&_is ca ed as it eutogrsos, intrrates tne so and Into secrt worshipot Agho.a,the righi ftouth of Svacchanda Bharrava. l3.Ksynote Kashmir ot Saivism. 14.Fordctails,se6 K.C. pandey,Abhjnavagupta. 15.11 appears thatlwo ditferent personshad the samename.

(E .g
=

a
!,

CL

c o

EO

Oc

i f;E
53&
=x(s

Chapter-2
particularly theVedanlic In all religions, in syslems Hinduo1 has beenregarded opposed spirilual as lo ism,sex-relation always progress. Vedanta saysthat kamaor lusl is the greateslnipu or progress thatthefirstdutyot one in and hurdle lhe pathot spjrilual to ol is kdna.r desiring enlerintothefield truereligion lo deslroythis has InTanka, theotherhand, on sex-relation beenprescribed for Malthuna orsx-relation oneol is as a mean spititualprogress, declared Tantra be mosthelpful lhe palh by lo in thefivema-keis' lt ol sadhara endeavour spiriiual or lor realisation.is thussaidthat or asDirant shouldlake somewomanas an a Sadhaka sDiritual practices.The associale hisspiritual tor \,!oman should beaLrtiiul, be havea clearideaof sex-senlimenl should and necessarilv should be previously enjoyed others. is better thewomen herseli by lt i, is '? a sudhika spiritual or aspkant.Hiredwomen alsomaybetaken as prelerably choson hired or should belong any lo associates.Women girl),Kapalini (daughter a of the nine groups:Nati (dancing ol (hariot), Vesya Rajaki Brahmana-molher fisherman-father), and (washer-woman), (Bdhmana-woman), th6daughlers Brahmani and (cowherd) Malakara (llo(hair-cutter), ota Napita Sudra, Gopala and person rist).3 witeorlhewiteof some One's own other maybechosenforthispurpose. Practice on'sownwffeis, however, wilh looked uponas freetrom all blemishes.a someTantras, In sons,wives, sisters, lemaledisciples evendaughters also prescribed.5 or are praclice, Butin general suchrelatives notchosen. are Thepraclices women to beperformed night some with are at in place, preferably a cemetery6Women secrel in in manslruation are saidto be highlyuseful suchpractices.T cakra-sadhana tor In or group-practice, nine are women belonging lhe aloresaid groups to
' rnatsya{fish), nadya lwine).mansalmeal), Thefivema-klasare: and maithura{sex-rclation). mudra(cookedice and vegelable) These ar called ma-karas, since lh words denoting lhe corrcsponding objsclshavema-kara lhe sound'm' as the initial. or

68

Chader-2

iJiH:ff ill3:X

*#1Ti*$*;d;# 1:l;;E*ii#:,,#fu
*. pracrice ina wirh sroup women beronsjns

these as i:,f"i''?1t:;:#il:veradvisedtoperrorm acts orre'

:3il1 ;*tniq:nh:,J:ri:l iers ror eo;r#"llii"' muchsexuar jlJLTjT::il:,j,li,^;:;

il."##:iilil11,f ;T[:]:HiiJ#i:li[',"T[[xlff i:,:1"",,".jl":5:",i

ff"jiJ';Tf:ff "?;ii:1"1":*"1T.'"J""*thewo'nanand

sntp_hrs temaleassociateandpayofi;rings of llower, vermjtron etc.

n5 trffi?l : :{"irr,;r.lliil,"fli:i?,J:i#'"::H i"

,:H"ti#i,i:Jil':.,:533txfJ :::i!'iii:iGffi:,i?:fr R*:ifi t+""'1,::,t''ii"i^":H"",1#:,iji:","j;::Hkx*;

navto sutter hetl., lt rssaict in thatw;menarerhemanitestalrons

':itil""tili: ;:jH# i*? il"#i;+::^.1,tJ1TTfi :*iti-.{,".j,dii:i"":,ilJlll*n:l:nm*;:*;; a.e i:"J;Ji;T!::l ]::lilffi:nj#ilI *.desses,,hey

","

iii:tn*i'1ll"ii..ii3;iilii*1,111,1X"",T,.,"_T:Tff ::

ji.,t$:t: t#J:ir;Ii:",tff ij':j ff:#iili:li:ii;iffi 1'lfl ;':iT"[i:: l; :"* l#lj"",":i"#ff i::fJffi

:il:"jil:"J:1i:T:Hil;in";:;i",:"";1fi ::,i::.:'";:[]
merrtechnicalsenses, saic, the termswhrchsFem to be retaledto

parts ourbody private ot andthe sex-behaviours denotlng lheterms way in expained these lanll'asin a different to suit them10 are 'vesya hati'elc ' wh'ch Even t behaviour. theterms somespiritual or nature ol somelow ol a'ly oe'ote somewomen unchasle Dopu to in ;asts havebeenexplained thesela,tras in a technicalway aspiranls oldifterentgra' spiritual powers stages lemale of or mean daiions.'' il or ol In pursuance thistechnical innerinlepretalion' is said wilhlhe in doesnot meanunionor relalion rhatmaithura Tantra mailhuna sayslhal sex.lhe Agamasan ol members theopposite lyingat the baseoi the the means unional the kundalioi'powef the atthetopoJ samecord Accordinglo wiihSivalying sp nalcord Sakliand belween lhe means union mallhtlra he Kulanava-Tanlz, union oftheilvaor is that Meru-Tanlra,holds malthuna lhe Si\ta.Ihe in in theselJ theformot p/anaorlhevitalairwithSaktiorPower the and ava-Tantra o{theKirarn In susumna. theview lormoJlhe nerve in nolhingbui the enjoywhal is calledmaithuna lhe Meru-Tantra kundalini.l5 ment theawakened of ol acceplthe directmeanings the pre_ Now,manvscholars are Sadhakas alsoihere loundin Tanlra. scriots sex-oraclices ol nol who scholars accept are, ingly. accord There again, whopractice presc.ipts lheirlechnical ones but of the directmeanings the said pctices women with group ollhinkers, tolhissecond .e., according be But ol Tanlra.r6 thisviewcannot meanings are nol the desired that discussion both thstollowing clearlrom as suppoded, itwillbe lor will to meanings have be accepted and thedirect thetechnical ot lor qrades sadhaks lhe directmeaning a sadhaka lov\l of two ot lor grad;,thetechnicalone a sadhaka highgrade ol aspecls lhe pathof Indianspirilual One ol the importanl fromtwo pointsol viewpursuit thal rt considers everyihing is ot vyavaharika populat ouietandpanmetthika i.e.realor inner' i.e. and {lowels leaves of like Thus, lhepedorrnances otfedng incense, all '---Ruliidili-t sell^oower in slumber, it ware, a snake like as exists or is cod- A sadhaka of in a coiled format lhe botlom the spinal il raise to thelopol thecotd and this required awaken kundalini to
ihrouoh lhe nerve susurnn running within lhat cotd

70

Chapter-2

Realisation and Spiritual Sex'Belation

71

tothe deitres, worshipot rmag6s, anrmat_sacrilice. obtations lhe to rrre,.sacarrces lhe gods and lhe like prescribed to in the scriptures are_tobe taken in bolh lhese meanrngi_ poo.rtar and Inner Ac. cororng thepopularorouter lo meantng, enernat, are lo be the rtes

in.e,,ns6n;ns ol :::li::T]jl" hold marrt.]nand thatTantra prescribes really sex-praclices a for

But the.problem lhatexternal is performances worship tlke , of rage offering llowers leaves are nolconlra. of and etc. .sacrjfice. pursuil. orc-Iory lhe spir;tual to andhence maybe regarded necas essaryior nsinglo a higher levelotspiriluaiity. sex-relation But is accepred all as quiteconkadictory by to spr ruatprogress. How, rien. cdn it be regarded steptow;rds as a hrgner sprfiluat ln ht6?

o^rJl oedo'm,ngthem, he cannothoie to nse 10 the hrgherspintual rev.el. personwho has reachedthe higherlevelot A sptrjtuaxly, how. ever.,neednot performlhe externarfltes: ne is lt-en to oi,;ct his allentron,towards inner meaningol lhe prescapts the concerned. rn_u_s, lhe.meanrng the said prescnpt; Doth ol beinqn""".rt caff-olsL'render the externalmeanrng forrhe inlerna, "-; one. tn I t,le rranne-r, lhe case ol mallhura also, ,n we are lo accept both the meantngs the prescripts. ol Itwe give up lhe poputar outermeanor Ing,lnlhts case,we shallhave to,ollow the sare principle all In nallers, and in thal case altthe externalperformances oi retigrJn wr1haveto be.abandoned. whrchis not at; acceptabte. Hence,we

;,[: l!i]I:,4!:11"",:::ffi ;',""fi "?,T""#il*J,ff

,i-tii l:l::me_d_eroperty. onrytne nnerormenlatpracltces arelo thal be counted notrh; a;d externaiperformances.,T theVaisnavjsm In of SrtC"lt""y", ;;;;;; lwo kinds.ofdevotKln. amely,vadhiand raganuga. n Or them, the 'ormer rs tr^epursLance ol scripturat js. inlunctions a-nC therelore' 'ra,nly.co^cerned wrlh externalntes.thite the tatteris the pursu. ance ol nalural attraclion towardsthe Lordand is, therelore,mainly cffcerned wjth internalpractices. these Of two kindsof practices, Ine,oLte_r popu,arone is meantfor lhe or sadha&as low graoe, ol w n f l e r n e , n no rfr 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 e two kinds ol praclicesare, however, not co-excltsiJeof, bul com_ j"f each olher, and, hence. oolh rhe oLrer and inner fTll"ry

white according inner.neani"g, r;the ,r

p:rT"lmeaninswe,t rhe as as

prescribe pursuil, scriptures two the it reolv, is saidthatlor spirilual ot palhs- p2vrfti-murgaor lhe palh of enioymenlnivrtti' magas is divrilimafga a revoluton or marga thepathoi dtachment.leThe a ll human teelings orlendencies.ie aches sadhal,a normal against summum Donum lhat eveMhing isnotsubservrentlothe to abandon lhe is to a ol lile.Accordingly,sadhaka required iightagainsl ower etc like h!mantendencies lust,greed, andlo giveup all enjoyable by This to lhingsrelated lhem.'?o is lhe pathtaughlprincipally the ofYoga.Ihepavrtti' schools thosystem and the Upanlsads, Vedantic on marga, lhe olherhand,sayslhat a manneednollighl againsl pursue themin sucha bul human lendencies, should the normal '?'A tollower lhe ol are feelings divinised waythatat theendthese world that of alllheaspects lileandihe lo nNrttimargais abandon and to reallse lo are opposed lhe nalureof the sell or Brahman of are thal ultimatelv all lheseaspects butappearances Brahman lhepavttti-magra ol aim which exrsls everywhere.The ol a tollower but the Lsalsolo realise worldas a formof Brahman, he trieslo lromlhe verybe' things oi reaisethisBrahmahood th enjoyable things, but,while ginning. is allowed enjoyall the enioyable to He whalis stlb_ minale belween to them,he is advised disc enjoying ol and servrenl Brahma-knowledge whatis not lt is a method lo whaiitwanlsandat thesame by granting bit tamlng rnind by bit the the time givingit a scopelo understand tutililyof lhe sensual to gradually a develops tendency glve up so enjoyments, that t in pleasures to enjoythe divine element the woid " and sensual ofwineandenof d saysthateating meat, nking I\,4anu, therelore, nol joymenlol arenalu to allbeings, aro,therefore, blemand ral sex lorlhgrealfruits.'?3 lromlhembeings ishes, though detachrnent or Tantra follows pravrt|marga the palhol atlach_ the Now, the lo not teachthe sadrakas against it menl.Accordingly,does themto on the conlraryii advises humantendencies; common originale obiecis lhat objectswilh leeling allthese the enjoy worldly implica' with areinvesled herbliss.The iromtheDivine Motherand lhese because objecls rionrslhal menare atlracted theworldly to is i,'lother the only pleasure. as the oivines And are endowed with in is lhe source all pleasures, Molher to be sought andlhrough oi il pleasure Accordingly, is givingas sensual the worldlyobjects

72

Chapter-2

worrdry srearesr ptaaiure.tnatwe shat,hdve ,[:::ijrilll"#ifj:"]rom to,"r,.n iJi,r." the o, vineb|ss Tantra r says: We are lo rjse lhroughthose thi n g s w h r chbringour down I l

which men.derive

# :.:,"H.11,"fI;i"#:i1#:f ll;!'.illlx !F',#" fj}

t1 1131113',-"'

'!ff:H[l: :;:..:ff tr'" :::;"li:f ;i::""1:::i:Ti:lr:3ift o;;*.;i';i"]i :"'::"Y;::i:;'"":ffi

'i:" : .":::::*:,:'lffi * ;*i:r,";gji:;il',i: :nff

*li 3;il-+;jil#l*-{tilr,r::'i*ffi j:_it *::*1m.1 i*;iil,J"t#*:,,#"_""";

;j: ;::ll"l$,ft jt,";;,;, :ij:""1 :x#iil:t ;:"fiT

t*"ffiiil$hi;"",::"'3;;:r*;;r'***, ffiF::;Hiji{dt[.i::frii; [iH+ril:',::ff -uonas ea.ni no. ;$.:;,::ffi"T::;:l?,.J:"fl""1:i'*

;i;::i;:;::.: I nfi1:3:1 r:t'"hf:*Tii:"t,,5 #ilf '""t*r*'=.1 i #jlil :::i"Tfl itt'*

rr:'iji::::i* Iffi l,,:' ;";::i,:i lt:il llj :.":?Jril j{i:'11'+iliiril}ffi

:'"1"":a:!:""".:;::i:i:ij,i

dit{icult pursue pathol yoga to this extremely It is,ol course, says The Gandhatva-Tantta thatthispalhis to be broga. through his who has fullycontrolled sense_ lo lowedonlyby thai person with distlrbedby thecontact theob' who is notsensually organs, in ol absorved the thought jeclsof enjoymenl, who is always and says the Bahman.3D Kularnava-Tanlra lhat thispalhis exlremely neck orembracinglhe like on riskVjusl moving theedgeoJasword, possibilily Forthere every is hold ol a lon,orcatching ol a snake.3l il il I ol downfa in thispath,though can givefruilinstantly,pursued sell"conlrol. wllhproper practices with ihus:spiritual we Here areconjronted a problem hasalready been for are meant se tconlrol,andii thatseli'control needol thesepraclices? is by altaired a sadhaka,whal the may thinkto To th s, our replyis thai, thoughlhe sadhaka or mighi notbecomplele hisseltcontrol, have attained seltconlrol, lhrough possibilitydownlallin lulure.And proper, lhere mightbe of and practices, lindsa scope testhispower selt-conlrol of he to thesard by it on a lim tooling, lhat he is neverallured so and lo stabilise The end ot in future. it doesnot end here. But sense-enjoyment pursuil notsell-control theattainment lhe highesl ol is but sDirilual being or sellconlrol in lhe stateof samadhi trance, spirltuablss Alterthe at of merely pre ccndilion theattainment thisbliss. tor a is to ta nmentol self-conlrol, sadhaka required dirclhis sella be ol divine bliss.To moreaccLliowards'active'realisation oower planes and rate. isto raisehiskundarnltothe higher higher and he bliss enjoy_ whole world to realisedivine inalllhe i.e. to diviniselhe practices makra highly uselul of are ableobiects the world.The ot in lorlhesepLrrposes. thep@clice maithuna sex-relation, ol or And parUcular, regarded the highest meanslor bolh lhesepur s as planes forlhe posesi.e.,tor raising kundal,ifl the higher and lhe to divinisation world.3? ol the tor lo is: Butthe question is it possible any person comein sex closecontaclwilh lhe members the opposite and al the of sametimeremain lromsex{eeling? free we In Our replyis lhal il is possible. lhe livesof grealsaints, ol I ndsomeaclswhichoutwardly seemtobetheexpressions lust,

;";ilfi'.T:i:"i:H *:n:Ll*: ,ifl ;11,ff ffJ;:1 ,"":, T,,:;:;l' n:n:n::^,l,ly:i:1;#:,ifi 111""fi

^..^* It maybe pointed thallhis divine out sentiment present is in

ff;Tffi:I""':::,:ilfi ;l#:#J''' "ij":,,:#

rseobyitrnas expression lhe ordivine beauryo ove.as a resulto,

ffllii:1tqli!,:illtilfi::"*lt;"";ll,ll""ru""rln:;
rrose r "tt oolecti

j::';iilffi [:#iii *l1jti.ru*;i=l**'1,t"'*:ti'.",

;',""J".#i:l"",ff ffijJ;r"'; f :jtrJffi jTl"::",#ffi l"*T

spirituality, such prsons spirirua r"".1 tor whose ili;".J feelinos sucnleetrngs become automatic mechanil ",'"i.[?jr1"Tlff or areIna towtevelol

;;";'"t fi,:t:i; norrove ?ftJl$ilt, reer' otheresrrrssame w'|th the il;ffill#;":i'f ?J*T

:-m;ul*ri*s*iifu ri $:rn#iJ:: human psychorosy:rf ara*;;";;;;;

pry expandslhis ingrained senlimenl;he ha

:',::: ;:llflj?I",,f,";il,'fl tff;1'"""ft':i::",ff*il::::

deeprv shocked rhed";i.;;;;;;.'"'"t" by

:ff"T:l"i",t"?nnl;# i:,iijrulfi:tm',yff p,o.'n"nii" i. r'' r l',"?,ii,l;'";"ffi " f

ffi ;:,{T"5fl if
Asain aperson

p*i;i;i$;hft*;'$:|*THn$",::,'^.$#ll .,"#,fl1:

[:.T:-;ff#;:,J#,1:,1i#"i",Tilii:iii..#:;
ryrng bebw |he spinalcordgets up slowly lron its stumber, and

The thtoughthe nrvecalledsusumna. morethe risesupwards in creep and themoredivinelaelings kundatini-saktigoesupwards, leelingsdisappeatWhenlhis kundalini"sakti lhe lowersensual lhe the lyingparallelto navel, manipufa the reaches cenlrecalled bliss in absorved lhe seadivine remains aspinl always splrilual of aspirant this ol ihe eniovment the divineblissby the spiritual into entry his have ot nofeeling lustcan is slage somechanicalihat true Human a m nd.This is not merely lheory,but is practically historyinlormsus oi saintswho have reachedsuch a slage usedto bathe of a Raya, closedevotee SriCailanya, Ramananda of at anddresssomedevadasis women lhe service deities in possible way,but hls own handsand mixwiththemin lhe closesl is by yethe was nol at all moved lust.This cleartromthe {actthat has self-conlrol, ol and lollower rigorous a Sri Caitanya, teacher comto ttibutes himas a manfromwhomlustwas oaidhis hiqhest also pleiely out.xInthelileol SriRamakrishna we findsimi' rooied Bhairavl ol One day,by lhe ordea his-lady'preceptor laf events. girl and he Brahmani, hadto sitonthglapola naked tull'grown But on sex{eeling; he evenin thiscondition, didnotshowanymarkof 35There alsoexamples ot are like he thecontrary, behaved a child even sexjeelings by who numerousTanirikas werenotat allmoved sex Mr of wilh the members the opposite in the closeslcontact Ei Sadhosanga in Chattopadtyay hisr /orkfanfiEbhila Kumar Pramod of of oivesthe description someTantrikas this kind.He describes eachotherin embraced and aspirant afemaleaspirant howa male 35 in samadhi. Numerous and were absoNed a nakedposition contacl have Vaisnava-saints alsobeenloundwho,in the closest And,we aresure, by remained unmoved sexJeelings. withwomen in who has madesomoprogress his spirilualiourney anv oerson asbe therefor, confidently this musthaverealised truth lt can, th possible sainisreaching e peakol sadhana lor serledthal il is auite eveninlhe kee to endeavour remain fromsxJeelings' or spiritual in sex' theopposit becauso, ol conlaclwithlhe members closest that and mochanical no is senlimenl so conslant thatstate. divine can worldlyieeling raiseitshead

76 REFERENCES

Chapter,2

Bealisalion on Sex Flelal and Spiritual

r bd . 1 1 6 2 . 13 vide Nnuttara'Tanlra, 14.78'a5 and Yoni'Tantra14.\)icleNiuttarc-Tantta, 14 7A-85

77

1. videjahisalrum mahavsho kamarupam _AG, 3. 43 durasadam 2. djksrtam va^avram_Gupta-sadhanat anta. 43. cl. Nta-yau

;!:';

3 nari..kaparrnr vesva rajakrraprrangara. brahman, sud.a.kanya - yaka.maa catalha 9opatahan karavsir<a n

t an:ta,6 9. cl. Gupta.sadhanafanta.

o ""0 x,.," i,'u, ci. s"r'" "::,i:;::::;,:i,::::"":

1 I l -121andKufra,a Tant;a

n"_.-ioi"r"n,i.'ci.il;; j1T;t"'"::l:;lj":,";,i,;:;::

'
c.

hanva-yonrm vacthu.yonrm ratharva bhaqinFyonim ca -abhave asnryasisyan i-yon asrayet_ yoni-fanta, Ah.6 lrn6. vide KunarLTantn.g. 15. 7. vide ibid 5.14 andAnnada-katpataru-Tantra, 16.8. a yathecchdrn ta(vam adayasamsthapya puraro walt_ Mahannvana-r antta.8 1621 vtdeKutanava.T;ntrChs.6and r1. t ;fla.

""i"1;""11iljl,i.TailiT,l;'aa

i:;tl:",,., 3":,,'#ia?,ii.!1;"J1'":iJ:t',:;ti:;1J,"'J: cr o'u""'v" upuvl

"*o

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 n yonr_Iatlra a I 6 . v r d e J o g a j ' b a n a n a n dT i h a n a t h a ' sI n t r o d u c t i o t o l7. vide Satvadevas Pnialaxva Prcmananda Tidhasvami's vai'a tativa and MahaniNana'Tantra 5141-612 7 and 312 i , I l 8 r a g a - h i a n b h a j es a s l r e r a g g a yb a i d h' 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 k c c 1 9 .p r a v d l a m a n l v r l t a m a d v i v i d h a m a r m av a i d i k a m - M a n u ' S n d i 12-AA. u 2 0 n s k a m a mj n a n a _ P U r v alm n i v d t a mo p a d i a y a l e l b d i 1 2 a 9 - jbid 12 a9 k v 2 1 j h a c a m u r r a a k a m y a mp r a v r i t t a m a r m ak i r l y a ! . e 22 vide P K. Chaftopadhyay, fantrabhillasi Sadhusanga,v0 Ipp 39 40 e 2 3 . n a m a n s a ' b h a k s a n d 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 bhu anarn nivrtiis_rumahaphala- Manu'Snrti' 5 56' r a b 2 4 . a n a n d a m r a h m a n o u p a m l a c _ c d o h e v i b h a v a v elta s y a b hv y a n _ ' Gandharva'Tantrc' 27 36' iaksh panca-makamdvah akiniah 1 12 yai'evapalanam dravyarn 7. vide Parasurana'Kalpa'sntra 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 d 1a_yar1a Jsaram kvacn - Kaulavalt'nnata Ch I Nulanava Tanm 224 blaga k 26.bhooa-voqalmakamaulam - iola 2.25: b\ogena laghate yogam - Matka'bheda' 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 .

PK chartopadhvav Tant'l abhitasn 3,ffi?;fi"""l I ",i,1 lSand

:{..5t yoni.ranra, tt Ni,uilara.rantra, ch ch.

" i'i::!I:;i:?;:

1O.wd6Yoni-Tantrc, Z, g andS and Chs. Gupra-sadhana-Tantra, Ch. 11 kamukona striyamg acchet _

l? stnyodevahstayah pranah striya sva viDhusan.m. str_sanqrna sada bhavyan_ A/,A.Iantra. t. r ZZ; srri_meianam t 8.r.2i pranamyamanasa devrm cumbanam ";;;i;;; :^:^!.,::!.",:. sundarimnasaflm dtstva _ Ntufta?.lant,a. l,"T::_:T:::t. angana I l'd yaxacrd tokesamatr.kuta-samDhav a_ Kutatnavanapryamnan(ambruyat hasyaDr kuta.yogrnan-

;:1lrxnn"m:i:i::;;Yffi ffiz:;:;1tzx;
Kularnavi

sex-Rel9!gL3!fq49!-!93!:3!!9!
28-videKutamava-Tantn, 5.104 andNirultaft- tantta,5.34. 29.vide YonLTanta,Ch.4. 30.vide GandhNa-Tanta, 40_30. a 31.i< na-clh "gamanat ra ara

79

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, 1 Z,152 pp_ 34.vide Caitanya-catitanra, Antya, 5. 35. v/deSvamiSaradananda, Sti Ranakishna-l Sti a-prasanga, \ot. |,p.221. 36.vjde p K. Chattopadhvav. Tantrabhilash Sadhusanga. L pp. vot. -A 237

ON ANI''AL-SACBIF'CE orgoddesses some ol tradition worshipping gods. lntheHindu of otherslhereis a pedormanc pas'Kaliancl h^eS.va Durga. generally balongang or of someanimal animals yal/ thesacrifice or th In of io the classes goatand sheop. thisperlormanco, animal god olf by is killed chopping itsheadandis otl6redtolhe ;;cdliced as upon is lhis Though perlormancelooked worshipped. orqoddess persons donol who tenderhearled are one.there many a.!t'g'ous is lor The the likeiiand lry to avoid scene- reason thisdislike not ol is to u;dersiandWorship a manifestalion the pureand diilicult an of lendersenlimenls man,whilethe act ol killing animal's a and tender puresen' those goesdirectly against which cr!elscene a has problem us before is:Why such cruelacl Hence,lhe timenls. or ol as beenregarded a pa( of the pureperlormance worship, questions: has First, two includes This ol rather, religion? problem if res? in enjoined thescriptu Secondly, been lhispertormance really why maybeasked' res' in beenprescribod lhs scriptu il it hasreallv loveand and knowledge bearing untainted havethesageshaving prescribed cruelact as a pan or this lor sympathy all crealutes religion? has sacritice re_ is to Our replv the firslquestion thatanimal lhere sacrilices ln lheVedic in allvbeenprescribed th scriplures lnlhis pasu-yagao( animalsacrilice called w;s a kindof sacririce trame sac licedwastiedin a wooden the animal-sacritice, animal ofl' wilhall the necessary calledvura and its headwaschopped Atterthat,the vapai.e sottlat or formalities, a sharpchopper. by and was of corpse theanimal culout'cooked offered marrowofthe -domesanimals numerous sacaitice, to thegods.InAsvamedha and, I c anJ wild-were sacri{iced at tho end,lhe horseselecled all Behind theseperperformance sacriliced was specially forihis think' lo According some ral nctions. script! infu lhe lormances. reare by alsowas per{ormed the Vedicpeoplein ers. humansacrijice ral pulsuance scripiu iniunctons. ol in as is morepopular, it is enioined animal_sacdfico ln Tanlra, moreor lessas an obligatory scriptures clearlermsby theTantric likegoat' ol lor nctions thesacrilice animals we ritual. Hefe, findinju

Realisatron and Sex-Relalion Spiritual

81

speecn;/rahlba,lor krodha anger ot and on,g""n"", If," carrc-d sacrifice theseanimats ol "o me;nstheannihrjatronrheeviis "J_ ot ***a ,n" o."cticeol speech'conrror. so o.. and as rhe lll*t

-d:,:r,,"y;:ilrx:l:;; lT:lUflt:*Jui;ffi

H"":l}irj#i* ;1"*"t",j,{"::,lHJIT,:?ini::ffi ifJ'"l3,ii,r|;;g3x: fl:r::5H^gl;;iru1y*ir"iliffi

oeme4ls, the swordot knowledoe. by ic

w-orshrpped.The ol an animal kilting in sacri,rce *;r";; o,

:i:ru t#,tH*il: *"y:+.,!lifi;:i",ffiJ ruj];i'"{ j:ii4:ilrui:[,1;:tt',fi jX'J tr;:jj[:*",,, :."1.:

,; t"i;

jffi Tjr:;[i::fi iJ: ji*"ili"i'i+1,!,:':,,i.1il:1 ,ffi

prad;erantra r"*"."lip i"]i ;?ilil.r1il 1;fiJ;;,",:inerar in

sheephorse, bullalo, Thereafe jnjuctions the etc. ,or sacrjlice of

is to be worshtpped tne fiowol by Drood oozing,out theaninal.andso on.lt kom wiftUeunnafuiaf, ,t norrmpossible, grvssymbotic to interpretationsaI theseriluats. to

or anim, the '";;;;;;#;:i'.?",j,$ $i"iJl[l, Ine godor goddess concerned

#x."jthil#f t; :li,ii"Jiii{i:.i?:ii.":::11%t*'ff tharlhe head

:a ed pas.r-vib shoutd munered bs lo ihe ri

oe p_ertohd betore aflerth and animal-sacrifrce, .""n"gf".".

Hffi ::ii::r":lifi ru;m:,n:":rli:1,::".ru'ii

n

:Hi,:'##"":: :il;:::",,:lN:l i,,T.:'"d+:jir!!H,f

jn,sone asio,LJnd aurho,n"tii,"-"".r"'*ii,'"ilji"'il?Jlj,ll,lll,l Lli,l:

ffi f''*{H':;fft"#":'*sHilr;s}:'in:'li:*

a wilh Third the I\,'limansakas, a viewto giving moraland logical v, say perlormance animalsacrifice, thal the vio_ ol .rooo'irro tf'" shouldnol be lookeduponas vroprescribed lhe yedas in tence lhrs sdcnfices krlled were lr lence. an,mals nolactually in theVedic the Fourlhly' wouldbearno meaning bv detence the Mimansakas or katma'kanda palhol riluals nave cntrcisedl\eVedKiamknvisis elc ot like ol violence the killing anrma's acd ny rr'f''"d the liberation ".r. ot showing thepalhlowards "a us f'en.r, as lncapaUle ol thal ol lifeThisalsoshows lhesyslem anrmal_ bonum summum and lhat I was not prevailed the Vedicrituals in acluallv sacrilice _ the to one Hence, explain itual of an ma u svmootl" tr"ai"J ol "" one as simplY a symbolic is buta dislortion lacts sacriiice shouldbe interyrelations Doesit meanthal all the symbolic or any awayas without valueor trrlth?No' likethe orrect thrown to anlmal relatrng of me;nings the termsand iniunctions ooDular as alsoiobeaccepleo thereofare meanings symbolic sacrlfice,lhe hereis l\al' noled The or havino eoualtmpodanceworth. poinlto be age kom theVedic up to thisday alllhe starting l(adition, rnlnd;n from areconsidered lwopolnls and iniuctions performances relioious or internal spinlual olher' or of view-one is external material;the withlhe direciol is view'poinl concemed material Theexlernalor wilh vlew-point lhPsym_ or lhe ninqs: internal spirltual la ooou r mea lhe Suryameans stand-poinl t'om tnemalerial loil ones.rnuJ, lhe t means sellrra^iiesl sland_poinl itor tnesp't'tual wn'te s.rn, meanq lnthePnernalse'seyalia orsdcr{ice Itsoruteo,Brannan whileinlhe inlernalsense' lire the oblationsto sacred etc', ofterina Self sell one'sindividual to ihe t'Jniversal or it .""is senselhewor "urt"nOetinq intheexternal taken Lod. ln worship theSupreme etc sesamum'seeds to the belleaves, is shioper lo olferllowers, hi< sensehe s lo puri'y p ra(en theinternal in ,n olos.wt"||e worsf' to il wilh all humility the god worand ;;;le exrslence s,.rrrender the ot rit""i"", inrn" extemallorm worship' worshipperis ar'ioo"J. lorm whilein ihe inlernal thegods, lo and io kiilanimals otlerthem evils or imp!rilies spiritual wilhrn allthe tre Ll woisfrip, isto aestroy his and knowldg lo drssolve ;l proper i,m."ti nv t'" Theselwo "rtriuat'o" lhe boscmol the Supreme p,-rrilied lo tnus exisience, are to the lwo view-points to be ;;;;;i;";;;";" "ott"sponding

sex'F!l3l19E!! lPlltu3l x99lE3ll9!

83

j::*::g#,1ffi jn::?::l,,ff ::m i['.il;x fiffi {.""j#r:*::,tll: l""",xT :,::*ff

meorumlhrough which jt coutd exoress

";*'],rmffi :Hi:ii t:,f j:{'d*ll,t"# *"*'; ,l:i:;ij,*"*#

Does rt,oltowfrolhthe aboveInat anrmat;ac ticepresc bed

axrernar perrormances ;;;iil;Ll""l:","':;iffJ!i: ;, .;;;;;

:*'trl:r*ru x:iH;:ir#iffi j: :yHii:ili rjii.{:rl;"ffi ::rr;:m::ili;j#;*';rf ril:;

accepted allcases religious In o, perforrn

and or In lhe lile he(ealler' o'| trurls thetracllonse'lherIn this-llle

;: ,l::ff upanisadic ::ii:':;:?'ii,l:f i:"ft :r ::li';:irm,*:grasping meanrngsoflhe;::i""j the tt ir", o!

l.i"i.u"""lor ::;;;;;;.;;;,;r"' srate' conrradictory rhe seeminslv on the ltulh "vnrh;sEins "-i)^i""^t trro ttoanisnadsanlndtlyasana ot medtlaling
exim natro'.r' rl'e same wav rhe 'nrerecrual ;;r':;";;;;i;v a'o also'n'uct'o's l---"-. for "^"t"'; n r,.lrons animal-sacrriice is lhal our saslras reasonbehindthrs ,""iti.t pra'e ol ol Ij",,."^ ""*"t.rt'i'"".The people all typeslo lhe h'ghesl r" rne teao['e 'iluals and perlormances ll_esediliete^l ]ol't""1''t. a^d """" ""," ""o oi oillerenl lenperamenls qrdoes 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

t"#f tg1"n',*tr;:l "[""",u1T]:trf."J".ff J,iT;xi ji: ffi ffi

or sex-conlrolare applicaOte fo tne sannur.;

,ry. however. no rhefe d is ";;,;;;;il;:J;,[:ffi#:lftT::l;

jt-,[*tjntji: ff::,:lit"#':!:.#,"il?:T:::3:"::ii l,"ljgli::ll: :,ii.".: :ff ff il?i!ilru:"h:,m: ro wr,cn Le ffilffi#i,lx.1?:H:ffi;j:l::j'i". seem

''TJi"f"",g il:iii:;iild:J,j::""tl,i",
;#;:"r#::ffiT.;l:

l';"ffi :,t;;:ri:.'[::#.*:iil [::jlirtH':ff ::,i oerrormances or rer,siontB;l;;;.ili; i;]:

;HE: iil?f ::?

:j::J:i1'.:tlsfi"":l1l,,J:;:1l"r j:?::,::,"""r.;;;;;;

,- .!

J""""";;:l.lxi.: ::::li"-.*:*.::l l[ Jil:Tf]l ;:

hke k'llinq sone perco_ o"Ao'a"n""'o' aohcaras at black arts bnngrng seoararon somebodys l-ii,ng 'o."on" 'ntrn" causrng or Here we can^olrFgsrd ,o-"Jn" rna"'="lpg,lion and so

'T::'ff; *:::i:,nr,:.',*::i.*:it::i'Jl5LJ:',,
rhev or 10havesomesellish materialqarn ;il;;;";;;;;;"t inru4c_ no lhere;s such since aspiranl i,"'^^i -.r. ot sJc" bv " sublimarion perlormrrs sp'|ritual il; ;;; ;; .;";;i;"oiritual 'ol should be regadodas ,.r. i. in. *." ruu.unimal-sactr{ice rt because rs upllll to sprritual simply lhereare l\'4isra "o"o"toiu.i ""."b!"tienl the viewol Vacaspali 1,,1"",i''^ ir* .*rr*. In oran''rar' bv *istrue thar rheperiormance ;',";il;:;i;;;;,; in iruilseither thrs desired some canattain rit" .i"ai"" are also there """ *orld, but' simulianeousl\" "^Jit ;:;il';;;;.;;;;;", " wilh thalthesinsassociated andaccruing ,1u,".""i. i" tn" v"au. by lhe oer'',J--tn""""o"lott"n""s alsohavelo be experrenced ol lorrner sLchacts is in enioined the Vedas no vlolence Theviewthal'violence First'it is a view grounds: u ontheiollowing aspecl orthe followers riiualistic ol ".""ot'i"" ""i"pi"o ", n,tbvthe ?!a*

;""T::[1i-1,#,1i#::x;:ill"'""ff :ai"i*1;iXTi][",",,1

ff["$:{::i:::ilildil":",t#J:*",tid?,**,# no, nouse.hoijersl;;;;: rorhe

ill,ii"iit,* il;"d;"ls;iliu,

""

Misra' vrorence bv argued vacaspati vedlc

,"" .".,'.,";;";; ;;;;"'.'#;;:fl ;1lli"i:ff"::"# ff:"l:

also enlatlswdh rt lhe correspondino sin

Sex'Belation and Spiritual Realisalion

85

j,'fi Jt;:l$.;J fl:,.1#;!:."i!i::1ili"il1J:"::,1,"#ffi li::ffi

ll#i;:l;iii;:::i,',',:T,i;;;o"T*"''"0 ror "", persons, af
ln rep,y Ine l,rstOuestion. lo we are lo say lhal antmal r _nas sacfi. rce " been enJorned the Vedtc In scnplures t;, ; ;;;; "",""""

;x1;1;"""tff fllxxxl11'"1"#;":rulll;,il

J""#: rerra,n 6.r.nar rrqm iacnr,ce ;:H::1ffi:::ff::,,:1,ra1as arso

sons In whom the .aas_{Ualily predomrna

::;: :, i:::;;*19't t;:h:l";#;:t;:i::1iJ an-nar.sac.,r,ce in pursL"""'";;;;;"'f,il_,'#i:'J

:.T

ii 1T-Jilff#::'ff:"#ltrt'"""''tr""t'i' "or "-ol,,"Jl "

enarLra,ry symparher .; ;;; ;;"::'::;'":1,'il#;Tj;:l " ao"'

:,.,':..#t# mrrun*l."Jl :"fr d;*iHHft Jffiil: ii?,","J.# JT'

l""i::i1,,:i^: lil"nl T":li:

asp,anrl ;i:::::ff.;Tffi";,:',lii::,li::iy,?:T, o, "ades

'eve,sol sptrilual progress.tl is more reasonaote to regardlhem as ornerenl,ways spfjtual pracltce, ol correspono,ng dillerentatttlo

nilffu ;lrny{:ii,::,":ii"Tr:;:T:iH'i,:#li::J#j,."1,fl I
rorcaltltudeor the aniludeo, r.4as_ qualjtvand (ct dtvya.bhava al

qi$,,.,H;*l?**n*g, li;ffl,t ':i::irtfr:ili".:,11;:;:":i:;!;'::;iilt*;ff

iff ffi :tdi"::l:iii:ifi il:,il[ffi ii],1;),t"tTi J??l

asp ranlsol ralas-quality. get lo we consideralions' partly the reply tne Fromtheabove is notobhga_ question alsoThatis to say,animal-sacrifice second oJ io are perionsol tamas'quality notentitled it, andpersons t-orv: scriplures il to iiy sailva-qua are not required perform l\'oreover, arum,gouro'elcsuggarcane, ol the haveenioined ollering fruils, whichalsoclearly lor substitutes animal-sacrilice, as anuk;/pasor that lt is lhat shows animal'sacrificenolobligalory'maybe argued of of thequaliiy torlhe aspirants thls ihouqh rilualis nolobligatory ol of thequality /a/as t sat;a ar tamas, maybesolortheaspiranls lor To {orwhomit is enjoined this,our replyis thai'even theaspiran is notobligalory: asplranl animal_sacrifice antsol ralas qualily, al he pedorm ritual: is simoly the qualilvs nol bound lo ol ralaslhe Thisis clea'lrom lacl'hal lo owed p"4o;T t. I he desr'es elc' ant irvana'f a, theSarads'lilaka like works theMahan aulhentic greatTanlrikas Ramakishna like rilual, notenjoinedthis andthal have a this did andolhers notperform ritualas partollheirspirilLralprac' 1ices. animalsacrilice the comes thirdquestion:1f Now,necessarily In presc bedby lhe scriptures? why is nol obligatory, hasit been margas or quesllon, areto relerto lhe twodislinct we reolvlo lhrs saslrasThesetwo practices enplnedin Indlan oat;s ot rehorous at'd pathof renumciation pravrllr pal\s are:ivrfti'margaor the palh ol enjoymenlNivrtli-malgais a path oJ direct maloa or ihe ofman Hetelhesadhaka natu tendencies ral withthe coniontation ot sentiments lust,greed'desire' his to is reouired deslroy natural frorn hlmsell mindandlo dissociale alira;tion etc.witha resolute thesesenl_ to that are liable arouse ol all the objects enjoymenl is ol soleaimol a lollovtet niwtti'marya io slickio the ments.The purenalure theselfandlo giveup of i.e. ultimatelruth to realiselhe or lo thal everything is notsubservient its.Pravrltl-marga the path or us teaches notto destroy trght on ol enioymlnt, the otherhand, in lhem sJcha regu_ bulto pursue aoainsl naturaltendencles out to raied accuslomed sellconlrol In is waythatour mrnd gradually that alltheobjecls to is given enjoy a thisoath. theretore, sadhaka lhal e'llolned lt is however' belngs to dre normal,v alloweo social realise theblssde_ lnal a wnire nq e^1oy anytning,sadhakashoulo

86

Chapter-2

Realisation and Sex-Relalion Spirilual

87

rved fromthal enjoymentis a manifeslation of the bljssof An_d-ior purpose,the sadhakais adviseo penorm the Lord. lhis ro atj his acrons as a serviceto the Lordand io surrender everytiring i;. lf to 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 destres and wiltvanish automaltcally nrsmr.C, lorrr anl ne-\Itea rl to abandonanythrng thal js not ,elevaarro set,-rea sa_ ron I nlsshowslhaf prav4timaryaot bhogat,e.enjoy.nenl e-os.n ntvrl yogai.e,renunciatton, forrre. the oe,19a meansior .matgao.

Ine"vew-polnt orlhe pravt|marya.Thts t ralpaves lhe path lo lfe nrgnestsprntualptane by inlectrng by bittherooa non-v,otence bit ot n^rnemtno the sadhaka. ot ForTantra entojns thata saana*asnouij -ot \t any,anjmal. nor shoulcl Cul even a O,aOe grass he ol , lor n,msetl, tt^at shouJd the mear and he eat ol ontylhosean.mals that hav-been olieredto the Lofdor the Mother 11a sadrakafollows this hJsmind wt, nalura y be or.ecreorowrrds l"l:l:'?" q,:g:ily. rhe LOroorthe Mother. andwhen,throughgraduat progress, flseslo ne a " rghersprriluaplaneand reatisesihelove I and bhssof the Lordor rhe Morher,his lendencyto sacrilice animalsnatura y vantshes.

o,."e-a,been nas enjo,n"o v"0,. :"rn" ""oli"'ilili:;1iff,,,'#

ll:,11'j_ havjng nfutfilted rorrnose who, u des a hebotto_of rf,",if,""rL-ires cdntl pursLe n^/nt-.rarga lhe fromthebeginnrns. the ot . Now, performanceanimal_sacrifi

-::1s1,."*. grauftt|maryais eod. p,escr,oeJ natthe iris

j:11"1-jl"lll* thus essentiarfor not sprnluat it isa uptift; " "^-^ r6ndencies orrhose have who nor ::l::::^:l:r T''"thuman

rse lo lhe rtr'u". oi ::,J:;:"#: ::::^'].:fl1'-ln. :31'""r'.".. ."n on" "o,lrl,'0ff Bur lT::Y:1,.?r il b. "l.."nri"" .v'"oor" ,,beratronhere "n!,n ;",r" J,.pii;:i.:#:',::l; ll::"^':^11,,_:.': tnesense self-s "i"n of urrender. rrom anolher slant_point, mayevaluate ment we lhe , ol ani_ mafsacrifice. Anyperson without preju;ice agree wt thatwe hav

'ol" ;ir;;;;i;:;;i# ':':ft:; :';".:".'""i3 jhepeoprerower "'er or :J::::^!:.?1i9Ts sucircannot tende";;:;;;;;? sprrit hsm:"'""j:9:l:^b" ua lhis fltualas tretfany person

::?:l ;::'jll:i,*':,'gn

norhave curi;ar;d proper non_vrorence

because we and simply to no right krlianimals thatwe killanirnais equipped,we haveenoughpowet or because,being inlellectually knowthe lricksoi killingthem.Allthe greatsagesol humanityhave realisedthal lhis practiceoJkillinganimalsis unjusland contradictory lo lhe divineleelingin man.They have at lhe same time real' lhe isedalso lhat it is nol possiblelodissuade whole mankindlrom in lhe philosophy non-violence lhe ol kilng an ma s and to inject heans ol a L lndiansages have therefofedevisedlhis pracliceot killingsof animalsfor to animal-sacriiice check the indiscriminaie lhe lheir flesh. In lhis context,the methodol killang 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' The pointis thal, the k I ing oi animals theirf esh may for mals. as lor but somehowbedelended necessary seli-preservation, lhere painsand sufjerings animalsior no Ior is nojuslilication inilicling on gain ol one'sown. No reasonable man can pul roNard any logiclo painsand sutleringson defendwhy man shouldinfliclunspeakable lhem. One who has witnessed lhe animals lhe lime of kllling al s c e n e os 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 f logicaland sympathetichead, willcerover il with a ccnsiderate, tainlyieellhe depthof lhe pains lhoseanimals, lhe onehand, ol on and the depth ol the crueltyol man, on the other.But the devll in man dances in joy at the cries and sufferings ihe animals.The of melhodol choppingoff lhe head of an animalsal one slroke al lhe to advisethe humanracethalit ai al t me ol animal-sacrficetends mandesires kil an animallor flesh,he should il by intlictlo its kill painson it. ing the leasl possrble

!,

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o
o

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o E
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coG

oa

=o -Eo

i.:

Chapter3
withTantrais necessarylo a pen-pictu.e it dealing draw Belore in and otthesociety whichit originated developed. ol we In the dim twilight pre-history catcha glimpse two ol of lil. slagesin the development Indian Thelirstwasthe dislinct people c to PalaeolilhAge.In lhis age according sornescholars. whosedescendants livein Andaman lsstill werelrkeNegriloes Theotherstageisdesignated Neolilhic People this as Age. ol the ageusedto ive in caves,anddecoraled wallswilhscenes of hunting dancing. and Nobody knows when civilisation dawned India. in Archaeologica discoveries haveunearthed highly a developed civilisation an theIndusValley.ltgenerally is supposed bepre-Vedic, lo anddated roughly thelhirdlnillennium in B.C. Fromlhe molher-imagestheruins IndusValleys in ol Civilisationil seems Sakliwas lhat looked upon the roolol c.eation. as An posrmage a deily, of surrounded beasts seatd aYogic by and in ture, engraved seals, and on appears belheprecursor thelaler to of Siva,the greatYogin, Pasupati He has threetaces,a headetc. ornament lwohorns lwosides. and on Some suggesithatth headomarnent twohorns, perhaps, with anticipate lalertrident. lhe Some slonepieces appear lhe phallus Siva. like of It seems lhat natural objects kees,stones like and anilnals, elc., were worshipped. Perhaps serpnts Yaksas were and woralso shipped. parlicular (devotion) People bhakli had lowards deilies. Somesimilarilies between Sumerian MegoDotamian the and Civilisatons the one handand Indus on Vall6y Oivilisation the on olherhaveledsom6scholars lhinkthatthe lafl6rwasthe borto rower.There commercial were contacts doubt no betlveen lndia and those counlries, which but countrywas borowrwearenol ina the Position sav detiniielv. to

92

Chapter-3
Background Socialand Religious 93

As we shallsee lateron the ruinsof this civitisation reveal Iigurines [,4olher ot Goddess, whichare ajl but nudeexceptfor a shortskirtthe waist. lmages otherGoddesscan otl bediscerned terracotta in ligu_ flnesunearthed lheZhoband in Kullisites northern soulh;rn in and Baluchislan, belonging aboulthelourthmillennium to B.C. TheIndus Valley civilisatjon reveals thesymbols /lnga also of and/onlwhich,perhaps, indicate prevalence the oiledilityrites: According some, Vedic lo lhe people wefeal nrstba.baroLs. _ I hey0urll t'1err Jp crvr\sation deskoy.ng Indds afler the Vat.eV Crvt(Jlters lhinklhat the Vedic lsar.on. Arynaswerehrghty v,t,sed, c anoDU,rt thetr up owncivitisation. brought pre-Aryar They lne peopreIntolheirfotd.anddroveawaylhe rebels. Someschoiars notd inarrneuravtd|ans werelhe architects lhe Indus ey C v.lsaol Va non,whileoihersgivethe credit lhe Aryans. to Indian socaety consists helerogenous of elements.Thiswhy is _, is great lhere diversily the languages, habits, in Iood appearance, nature ofthepeople religious praclices_The and popula_ composite tionconsists lhe tollowing of kinds people of 1_ Aryan Indo-Aryan or Theyare tall with brighlcomplexion, pointed nose speak and Sanskritic language. Dravidian Mostof themlivein Southlndiawithmarked dilference theAryans physical res. trom in featu Theirlanguages Tamil, are Telugu, l\,lalayalam and Katarese. Theselanguages nol deare rivedfromSanskdt, thevocabu oJsome but lary ot lhemcontains someSanskrit words. Aborig tribes inal Kol,Bh , Munda etc.They used hve mounto In tainsand lorests. They are oI shortslalur, darkcomplexion, snub-nosed. lanand Thetr guages entirely are differentJrom those the ol above,

People Mongoljan ol leatures Theyare devoid beared, of snub-nosed, llat lacedand haveyellowcomplexion high and cheek-bones. Mosl ol them live in the hilly tracts the Himalaya Assam. ol and The societyoJ the V6dicags is reflecled the fourVedic in grahamans, UpanisadsandKalpasLrtras. Samhltas, Broadlyspeaking, theirage exlended 2000BClo500BC,accordinglo lrom model 4. posilion. Womenhad an exalled Ghosa, Visvavara, Apala, werefemale elc., sers; threare hymns attributed them. lo Vedicpeople werepol!.theislic lancying different delties bephenomena. gradually to hindvarious natural Polytheism led monothesm lhroughhenoiheism whichmeans that a deity, worshipped forlhelimebeing, looked is uponas supreine. i,,lonotheisparticularly lic tendency noticeable certainhymns, is an the Hiranyagarbha (X.121) hymn inwhichthe appears lhinkthat, seer lo excepting Hiranyagarbha, olher God shouldbe worshipped. no Monism voiced a hymn in whichoneexisting principle desis in is rgnated Agnr, as Yama, Goddesses fewerin number, elc, are and pos occupynferior itions. goddess (Vagdevi)is, The ofspeech however, extolled highly{X.125). She is statedto suppo{ deitieslike Mitra, Varuna, giveihedevotees eic., theirdesired objecls- is due lt to herintluence people se6,brealhe, thal eat, hear, At herwill etc. shemakes powerful. one A so ol Tanlric religion appears haverun parallel the to to Vedic. Somedeities, very popular Tantra, Durga, in like Kali,etc., got inlothe panlheon Vedic in times.Forinslance, Durgianolher torrn Durga, ol (X.17). appears inlhe Taittiiya Aranyaka Umais mel withinthewell-known Haimavati Uma section lhe Kenopanisad. ol Kali, Karali. Bhadrakali, typicalTantric deities, appear isTanlric scrip, lures. Some Vedictexts associates sexual riles with sacrifice, presumably designed secure to tertility. partol the Asvamedta A sacrificewaslhe queen's lying down thecorpse a deadhorse with of holding genital its organ.' Thedialogue between priest the andthe

3.

94

Chapt6r-3

queen, recorded as inthe Vajasaneyi Samhha 22 lXXllt. S1)recalls an earlir ritual which man, perhaps p esl,wasto unite the in a a with queen, atter ceremonial and lhe sexual union wasover, wasput he to death. priest's The union thequeenjs also lound in ihe with Satapatha BGhmana (Uttaradhyayana Sutra, 17) vi. People used believethat to somemiscftevous oemons roam aboulin theguiseol dogs,owlsfalcons, etc.There a poputar was belieJ somedemons that moveaboutin the lormoi rootsot tiees, lhisis Inlerredlrom words the lvturadeva Sahamutd and {Foredai . 30.17).Theywere believed locause various kinds otr'rrsciiel.g e causing deathof people and caflle,diseases, dryrng cow,smiik, obstrucling thellowolrjvers showers rain,causing and of drought drawhg hars words out h frompeople, Some etc. demons *ere s-up_ posed, havehideous to appearance, threehedds. eyes. e.g.. stx tnree leel.redcomptexion, (Fgyeda 35.10, .04 r5. X etc. i. vi.. 14.9). Beliefin ghostsand evilspirjts cemeteries reflected in is in lhe Rguecla t4.g). In a cemetery, lx. people wereenclosed a by crrcre wntch supposed separate living was lo the lro.nlhedeadand to prevent premalure the death thepeople of (tgvedax. :|B.4). Twoharmluldeities, menlioned thisVeda, in and Krtyaand . Nirrti. Thelormerwas believed lurn peopleblueor red and to lo causerilt between husband wite.The lanerwas betieved and to causevarious kindsot harmandevendealh.The pjgeon washer accomplice (Fgyeda 38.6, B5-2S, i. X. X.114.2, 145.1). X. Yatudhana, perhaps, refo(edto sucheviltorcesas caused .yalu,seems various mischiels including theftof cow,s the milk. lo havebcome Jadu(magic)in Marathi, Bengaliand Indo.Aryan new ranguages. The wotd Yatunavatprcbably relerred peopleversedin sor to (Fgyedaiii.53.15,16) paksyaor ^ . .TheeviltorcesSasarpati Paksiniheti x,165.2, weresupposdd becapabte g-iving (/b/d 3) to o, pow6rFemale spirits, evil calledp,bacis, reierred (i. 133.5: are to iv 33.3).Through grace barencowgave God's a milk, wifeot an the person a childand wineflowedfromthe hoolsol a rmpolenl got

(vii. (i.116.7, river lordable 18). 117.6),lormidable became a horse of was bird Thecryofa Kapinjala to lhe dght a house believed and the ot to loi theattempt thieves indicate birthofa sonorgrandof as The son (ii.32.3). owl was regarded lhe messenger God of (x.165.4). was its Dealht screech ominous manltas riteslor curing and diseases, The Fgveda conlains people, bringremedy againstomens, reviving dying cubingdemons, people weresuch back, Among etc. thecommon animals ngstray de liesas Alasksmighna-devata lRgvedax. 155),Baiayakrnaghna' (i.12A-12) Sapaln| and devata 161)Duhsvapnanasana-devata , lX. (X. that dhavana-devata 145).At one place(iv 25.9) it appears forlhdeslruclion enemies. ol image used boworshipped to Indra's and TheAthaNaveda cofildnsmanymagicprocesses nles conlrolling longlile,curing diseases, iorensuring material comlort, snak-poason, warctpeople, harmloenemies, counteracling causing lor for talismans ng oif ghosts, Thereare provisions wearing etc. pEctices Tantric riles. varouspurposes.These appear foreshadow to v@tyas. called TheVedic iterature menlions aclassofpeople powerul.fhe Atha.aveda ThedefiedVedic religion, werevery and deiiies them. in number imps ghosls. ot and ThisVeda belrays beliet a larger Some werebelieved assumelhelorms to otone'slather evilspirits or brolherbeforeatlacking in dreams. The crealures the of him weresup_ Muradeva ThosecalledKimidins classwere reckless. posed cause milk(Av. i.7,2;25,3.9, io diseases spoil and cow's v i i i . 4 , 2 x ..1 6 . 1 ) . ' ? 4 etc. The Av.is a mineol informalion aboulsorcerymag|c, Magic of twokinds, were ol was andmalign.There methods benign vi. (Av. counteracling etlecl magic 1.2.27, 11.3, 13.1'2). ii. the ol and and Gandharuas believed be,ondot music dance were lo of associalion women.They supposed assume guise the were to oi dogs,monkeys, and hairyyoulhs and causemenlaltestlessness addicl to gambling dslroy (Av. on adicles sacritice ii.2.3,4 tor and i v . 3 7 . 1 -1 1 ) . 2.

Social and ReligiousEackground

97

fiitfliiij l,n+i,i:,fl1i$i$:illl#*i"fl
!:;:,:; i^i,1;:',y'Jy; satauara zo, id,;;:;:.';;"1,";,il,Jl :::i:l:; t{; 1eu..w. i i,',:,K;
LUrrrdrns lo. counlecting rrles theeftedot /,anlrastor rhis lhispuroosF lho AV - -.cr""-.lii.)--' aremany purpose av (" uaa-,11 " ' ''e'e in rhe ,^ in n.;.-;;:;,i';;:iTu:\tyr:!|f:.::,, x. 3.6, Vt.5). X

$J:';::'."?il"#:":,:HS;iJ:'i:::iJft "-,"';;fficurses(Av.1.2g22. ltl.i. e: ti.tZ. T:i: lngrheeftect ol etc.1 :19.%?i#'#l,l,,i;i1rll;.;,i,,.i,1"*:;;":"1*;

;i"T::""fj"j"T:: :oJl:y rarismans dsisneo curses. ro rorr

""1 :l P,:ry*"fr lalijir:,,:ff:$'fflf;:::'fl ",:ffi

:"T.1:::".:"i::':r....1,.,0,',;;;ili""l"i ' s" ii,' p".i'"'illilJij:ffia" ri',11'i,:;ff

ffi :T,1,"1r*":n;.;T*r".o"o"ci_,.""i1."d;."::ll"J::,f ::il""#1,."i11]: J,fl ",:;:^,:: li' l;':i;: [:::l*", ;il;# in i' iZli:l:l'ff nE "'"TI'J
orasflcuf

Nirbhur,, berieved erc 5Jjrn:i1?:T;:"1':^.,1,r1-,1,., were ro

:li'#:t"jyi::" ot the Palasa :::' wood, etc:

we,S mae,c werecerlain I 5"",",:ritesdesi ::".::^"llrl :?*:.,::i" ji,',#'ili;;:iln}::..jffinorr,eerrom ;;,,nere HT:l?::'r il; il;: l::.1':'il'. :'^*."";;;;;'t o.,i'g') y.:1"'*'''"' i
Sornerjteswereprescribed,or

,ns^v,ar,ry,n oo,"ii iiJiil.""j,]J*jf;,li men. rhe Ji :;:";:;i:: wasro rmpart youlhtut beauty men to

. thc h rure, derveryor sare chir;;;;ffi;;j5.ll'"vemenr

if;:::,fl""#1;;1".#",:s::d*r"J#5f ;:ffi X","",J.ft

h K s a.u ea """,i:::# ff ;:,:l?,i,,lil#lyl^::,::t u k s tra

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 to himUhowis the dav? He replied-auspiciousand conducive tor( rune 1.15). The AV conlainssome charmsand magicalrilesJorprevent_ the and no snaKe.b[e counteracllng ellectol venomv 13 is sup_ Somewordslke larrndla ol lhe ooseolo resume etfecl snake_porson elc ' (AV v 6, elc ) used In Apodaka,Aligi,Vlgi lJruguta,Asikni, lanfrom non_Aryan thisconnexio;,appearto havebeen borrowed guage. lo lays down some processesbelieved en_ The Kauslkasulra For example'the groomot a able a personlo know lulure events. (xxxrv' lromwhichcrowdsapproach bndewillcomekom lhedireclion lor marriage'she will be askedto pour a the 24). In selecting b de waler.lf she poursii in the right,she will be handlulol consecrated lit considered ior marriage(xxxvii 11'12) 'I The buryi19olsonP supe6thlons herearesomernslancesol oJ lour roads ensures the destructlonol articles ai the crossing by areforeboded birds consequences Serious enemies(AVv.31-8). pigeons,etc., fallingon a personwith piecesot llesh ln like crows, a wifewilltake Brah_ newlywedded theirbeaks(46,4, 6, 51.7).The lhe will house;ihis ensure lapat the fathe,'inlaws minboyon her (AV.xiv.2-22, 23). birlh ol her son A childs teelh appearingin the lowerjaw first lorebodedevil manl(vi 140)wassupposedlo resullon partol rlsparents.A the counteraclthe eflect. cerlaincrudepraclicesFor instances reveal SomeBrahmanas queen' wrappedin a cloth,used lo be in Asvamedhasacifice, the aid besjde the dead horse.The queen prayedto that animal tor lranslerring its procreativecapacity lo het \Satapatha xiii 5 2 Tatlttriva3-g). Aiter the cremationol a corpse'lhe peopleattendinglhe iuneraL had to pass througha yoke, madeol the wood ol a holy tree

jlj,i: ;"J*,::f j:H:H"j""'1,?lx1'?j%jJ:,i1""""1f j; lil

#: l::J::i:? ;l;il11t"""g.#itrfli:

*",,":;fr.:;iff :HT"1llffixlff; ruff:#

*tfft:T ,,1fl #:"inr,il ;f;#;f,t n:a *;;$#srftr;g!:"*ltisift ";r,,"",:l*,,;.

:il,",i"i ;:'Hi]ilfl :ruli;i::l:im,Xli;:#J,'::
sods sodoess in es .,. ;il: J: j:":i'J:1; l,j"r:1";:',"* ano
isrererred some works roin surra (e.e. t".[A:r:;:i1:X1'r:::es .."" J?:f '#3il,"J"""".t"T orservantdoes h,m, nor desert one

,",. nf.!,.,x: J,W, il,T;J;fi ;:1i" wohp (es ,';, "'. rsi

acts slatedlo have reporledlo sinJul as A classotiemales,calledApsaras(nymphs)ismentioned dem godoesses. (ptesenllorm c fhe ch e'characlensticol the Mahabharala popularrty Vaisnavaand Sakta relrol 4th cent.) societywas the allegiance ltomlheconvenlional tn"ret*ornut" ".n. "depanure theValsnvas lhe oasuoala and ol secl T_p Pancaralra i tneVeoa. ol gar.eda 'a'genLmber adherenls ol Sdrvas revealsmany departureslrom the tradilional The N,'lbh. an Draupadifurnishes exampleol the trans rehqion. Brahmanical havinga singlehusband cresslonot tne iieatot awoman laxiiy like Bolh the epics tesiiJyio ihe prevalenceof moral their ple'mariialrelalionelc I icitconnexionol men and women, peopleoi other predominance' Thouqhlherewas Brahmanical of qualilies becameobiectsot high a^.."".-Uv-dinl ot e*cellence lrue lor lhe lvtbh age Krsnahimsellwas ;-r""1-'i: rn1.'" Laslewas highv 'niefior ""p""i"rry a comparalvery v;dr* i , """-gr;t'"'". exemplary character' lor revered his relers lo ln tne eoic aqe we ltnd lhat the Famayrna (Raml showslhal peo' (2 tree-worsn,p 5s.15-26)rhe Mahabharcla\Mbh)

demonesswho had house apresiding oL u""oroir"ri"u"ln"r "very

18 (sabha 2) had1obe propitialed beliels For example somesuperslilious This eotcre'lects l3 was lhebattleJield omrnous 23 10l Also ol lhesrql'l a tackalin lrunkthere(4 34 32) Among t"n or a headless l-ino"r. *u.'tt" were: and otheromens Porlenls asses meteo(tealsintheeyesol camels' tnela| ol a burning cowelc as oirlh;l an'mals tnalol an asskoma elc.. unusJal mind unaccounlable werepleasanl slgns ausplcious Amono ol in mina lremblrng the lefthandor lefteyeol a oreasaniiei'ng 33 17 lo are Goodandbaddreams relerred (Ram 2 4 '373 erc.)

g*ffi {fu;i#i}lf.";?Hl:""{tr: fu
sabara A was ll,:.:-::1':1llisada, erc. rflbe caed "?vj,l:ji roremwenl one ," or tom p,""" li"l!,",.,],g"r:',;nii,loT "i"i,,", Thereis rnentjon ofyaksas also
andNaga-s. Asurasare mentioned hostile as to Faksasas. Asurasare

::: 3i3fl ill',1*l:l,ll::::l;;ffi;;i:""i;i;:::#:ffi

101

to0
Chaplel-3

, r. #$:i!".::l"JiJces
"*::::,:?.-.^r.o.!:""o

romen possessed spirjts bvevir (e.s.

,o haveborhmateandremate rorces

83, 84, 86).

oy."ii", iyiJ,l:."iT::i":: ffi.,,,o,"0"0 i"i;.*. ;ffiil j',r^:"0u"""i I"",J"JT;_".*ij:::: j'."".'ii:i;ilI':ru: rarrya non-Aryan (a""yri" ryi:,i,!jr" deiry
* i.]'^ffi'"::::
the SaklaandVaisnava "o"i"ty "orhprjsed Saiva, The puranas and Upapuranas a are Mbh

a""t"lhu

ilnr# ;"*95**#:*::H,".;r1*;"lf
::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;; ,

Furanascame intobeingin the periodbetw

gi:is_# i,* sil :""trini*:"mffi :i:lTi:fi

deil lo the and women Sudras nghl wo'shio es and I rhe told. gave nable abom were mosl tne lhe ^-1.".rr. lmonotnem Kapalikas lo theyused holdblood' with il"",i"q i'rn"t roir,. oecked bones. ol lhreads halr sacred andwear hands 'n tte"Os rheir bones human garlandsol "iui""o-nu-"n to*"nde'wlth n'irr.f'"y r."o ('141h ol samgraha Madhavacatya cen' lnlhe SaNadarcana into are lurv)Saivas divided foursub-secls of supremacy Nandas' lell The Puranas us thalthe political blowto the lradilional elc dealla severe Andhras Maurvas, pedot'rod Asvamedha l.gs personallv granrlancal pl'gron. Sudra patronage Buddhisls 1o liberal exlended t<ings J""riti"".fh" uO-ou" aus and mendicancy lhe Jainssevere taught TheBuddhisls lo greatfreedom womenano allowed teritvThesetwo religions crumofVarnasrama-onarma The matiers edifice in Sud;as religious lrom ofioreigners waslhe incursion one bledlorMo;ore reasons; amonglne ol the spread Tantricism and the norlh-west lhe other up continued to the religion on onslaught Brahmanical masses.The ot in the tifslquarter thefourlhcentury of ascendancv theGuptas and Vaisnavism Saivism' through spreadmainly Tanlricism madeilsell inJluence too buddhidTa;tras Tantric many Therewere Tanlra onwardCladually lromthe liflh century lell aooroxrmaleiv lheVeda preachedthat and on'Purana SmniTantra niO 'is,rnpact for respeclively the Satya' meant lgata \./ere S*ri, prtan" "nO Klali lo Ages Thereappears havebeenrivalry and ireta. Dvapara uerweenHinOuand B;ddhist Tantras For instance'the lhal Deviman' 1 (Kalikhanda17-l9) stales Sakl,samoama'lanlrc ard o{ rests her;ll forlhedeslruction theBuddhisls otherherelrcal sects, Brahmanical ofihetradilional and Wilhthedecline decadence lnthis andhailedTantta people Buddhism embraced reloion manv made Bral'manas lhe otfle o"pjo'"Ofe.onOir'on Brahmancalsociety their'eligon to alle'npts rehabrl(ate desoe'ale gllis to allowed receive were lore, inVedic versed Brahmanas, upon down looked ordinarily who and lromprostitutes Sudras were lhe inlo inliltrated SmrtiAmong makTantra above, Asstated

rhe non.ved,c ;,,'#1"',.':i,,["j"";Jil:"0^""',"d"""". "lil,i."""Jff were Vaisnavas

^Tie broadtydivrded rn

lff s"",.i,"0" r:J:i:9,fl :lni::x"::jt{i?s::il:'J[f "J::l Jain,smA;ivak,sm. an ;:"' i:T :j:"^8i,.,-tom,

ifr:*:il:lf*ird#'quiliffi11H'il,:1#

suorasusedto worshrp Visnu directL The Pasupatas usedlo resoftlo som( .--

ru;:rm;:i;e*Eh:*:*r*lliti". *

The Varsnavas owed treedom a to won

103

gai vvlth spateot Sam*inana rhe il Han. aia maoe rrre-Uotc1-nO camotrc asseflion evena Candala, lhat devoled Han,wdssupeto

rffji:"t';il::s#irx"; ,'ff Fi,:ii!fi,iruff aji

beriers varjous prac. iiff j:,::,:"^,.e::^a'::perstftious and to, rc v w,rh :::^1.,:,:des saba Ea ain conneron

.i0",,,. ::ffi;l,i"J,,i: j,:1"*" "Jj;j?x,:1:;3:: .,ir"nv"

contouro,medievalln.ji -w;;; ..In ,srnu ve promine",ry. ;ii;J|i;:l "J"?il:i rs res ry y* ;: the relig;ous

preached Sulists and 'l1f*,cent)appears .legrigrble. In{luenced Vectanta Buddhism by :J",:',ilfl f i'ifi "iT4*lfl:,'ji"Tffi Theylay slresson In'tralion to devolron Godandloveat all. .ovrng

3ff i3l;:'ll'":i,P.::9Tt'r" " y,Jl;':::'',"'.g?jiiu," i"liffi;::il:;::J':: ii^?xH: ;.:::1"1"':i;qe;;r*ffi g::13^"_""r i"",i""'i ;[1l'ff :#. i::l ;ll:,:T#i "."
necled wjth rt appearto h|nf

ff"."di""fjix',#i; i,::: Ji::J:j:*:"j:,9:1d@ houses,derrveryroomsa;d;;"."i';;;"'J;J""&;;#;?l;l ":': r:, ,lni:'::

p"'fi"
"l if" non_ary"'""o"S;n. in the Tanlra.

"""iil#:i

rsfers rne ro usuar acts s;r ,".,)!.,1n"::1"::!"elc,,so comrnon l"hapler3ls) ",atatra, vastr.a.ana, forensuring sa,e the detivery 0"0,"y,1',",,iJt:."flJ,:escribed o, manlra betrevecno was r""a**"" *"ip""" ,"p'"iji,"!.

and other i:l,"$i""j:,ilT"herls ",-,,",":X1oJ:J"llo";'"U"":ffi

ihat evirin,ruence orsar. 31Tl:'":1r":l:t l"^,le.beriefrhe

;i; ; ## j::::i:,i::: ir-:11--; ;;;; ;iil;$"J::fl

;,escribe',es propi. ror -tc_. i Tr#lil:1,2?2;*i :::,r.8) #il::X""Xf:.:',ffi ;"i'i;n;.1i i:l;:9i:11'iTi,*1""': ;""i.,Jil?,ff : betieveo sarmya_sanri :: tnat "ilc;;ff
ThePuranas contain copious rcferences losaivaandSaivism. On the religious of lndialhe jnlluence life ol Surism was not

fl !K;::J:iTlil:f ::[';J:::"""#:]1"."il: ",".'#ff

thanon ecstasy on emphasis emotional by gur]. Theyput greater bydiscrimination acquired knowledge ofTantra lhal shows seeds forgoing survey thesociely of The Valley civilisaeady anliquity.As as intheIndus sownin hoary were In to tionwe lind Saktiwhoappears be at the rootol creation. the who of we Veda meelwiththegoddess speech istheupholdereven is as UmaHaimavati represented ol gods.In the Kera Upanisad lnthePuranaslhegreat evenmorepowerfulthangods omnipotent, ol ihe slressed.Thus, predominanceSaktiinTanlra ot oower Saktiis process dsvelopment ol hada longcontinuous and Saivism Saldisnhadlhoirstrong TheriseofVaisnavism, Tantra a deparlure as thewayo{luture on impact lhe society.Thus, waspaved longago iromtheconventionalBrahrnanicalreligion greater keedom women lo allowed and ThePuranas Buddhism prepared fortheirlreeground gradually was andSudras;thusthe ritesandp.actices. dominTantric society ever marked Indian lhe in Belie{ ghostsand goblins 'he Ved.c of We lind thPprevalence magic bolhwhite aqe. s nce lo appears have ic slncelheVed lfi|e{.f heAha1aveda andblack. praclices. influence onTantric thedeepesl in and disappeared relaxed tinally was Caste'rigidily gradually in resulted lhe heterodox faithsThisprobably and Buddhism other the which broka caste_barriers liberaloutlook Tantra ol perhaps owed (mukl4, in taught Tantra, of Theadea liberation orlhodox sys' andthe religion Brahmanical itsorigin tolheorthodox (bhuktD mightbe imphilosophy. idealof enjoymenl The temsol of school CarvakaFrom and bibed lromthe heterodox hedonistic praclices. thisrespecl' yogic In probably derived Yogasastra Tantra Tantra Tantra may Hathyoga haveinJluenced bothFaja-yoga and uponthe bodyas a micro_ hddrrsownphilosophy as looking such oflhebody.The the cosm performing Sadhanalhrough medium and lotus thelhousand_petalled inthehead union lhe Kutkundaliniwith ol ol penelrating cakras regarded the consumation Tantric as is the and its Sadhana.Tant.a developed ownethics discipline.

Background Socialand Religious

105

and of lhe rzntic Mandalas. Mu;das, vanlras,_,Vyasa. in Brahmanrcat etc.societyobtoquy aqainstTantrd nor onty r.ns!lous.but quire exptrcit. For rnslance, the :'las

otsome ra.)rnc prac:l^tf"_yl:ly; ","dL"pireorrherecogn,tjon rJ(es. pdrrlcurarlyD*sa, (t.t?.261 -262) holds some rhar sasrras,neiuo.n9

It appearsthal, despitethe wide and deep influence olTanlra

:i,!:pi,:* t'na|ava. yamara, Vama.OppOSed the Vedaand Sn.t, were loi to mulatedby Devi Jordeludinglmohanarthanl Ihe world and were 0ased rqnorance, on

praclices degene?tedInt; .ro.a, deprav,ty and letlIntodisfavoL,r Variousevrce4ceq snow Inal lhe heydayof Tantricism, both Hinduand Buddhjst,was kom th; svenlhto thelwelfthcenturyA.D.The testimonyofKalhanashows

*,eticatschoots. tt rhai i:1',_:':1.^"::l,ln: composedTanlr|cmaybeassumed by rnerm lhtsworkwas

B meanr rog.ol,ry o.ry :: veodard nol lo denigte ' .s rnpl:"1^'1:fT::s: " .tne Tankas opprobrium tne obv,-Js ls cnrouq lhat lhe Sa/vadatsana-samgrahaol Sayanaor t\,4aohava il4th centuryA.D) does not jncludeiantricphilosophy althoughit

Dluibhasavak does nol calegoricalty condernnTantra, _., -.1!: o!--F)?presSos reserval.ons agarnsl ll decra.es 1.25/tha,so 1. txi T.uc-or ta-traas is nor opDosed the Veda Io rs aL,ho tal,ve, bJt whal runscounlerto Vedais unauihorilaltve. the Jha.ugh Tara-bhakti-sudhafiava lhe (Tamnga6) lfles lo make

Kutma.purana

:il^1lTol'l ll"':"n al leaslnany OllheTanlf,c .epugna-r lnecul-redd,s_ OracltceS lo appea'eol'.Kash.n r (Faia-tarangint.vt The p.ov 12). s,onin Tanlra ror{eeplng,Maf,t,?ssecret the paramour tike olone.smotherseerns lo polntto the iact lhat lhe lollowers Tanlrawere ol conscjous the ol
lhat Kutacaa shoutdbe a l*. cro,se preserue,tke coconulwalerand slalementlhdl one who rs the al healt a Kauabehaveslikea Sarva outwardly. tikea Vaisnava and rn,rneassembty men seem to point ot lo the some corclusron.Io abyss of depraviryKulacard sanh rs altesled ll1, ?.9""p LaKs.rlonara. almost lhe lalest commentalor the saundaryalaol hari Undr verse 41 he gives a horrid picture or wanlon tasciviousness the nameof religion. expresses In He his djsgusl con_ by

cenrLfy rankrcrsn A.D besa. wane, ro of

':lrS.*.1*19 prevairins Brahm"n,.rr Inrhe ::1.-"-:l ir I ne Drovlslon the Kulanava ln g3) "or.,.iryl

remmbered to {noi do that clLlding suchthings notdserve beeven of to speak beingPractised). in ot to referred the prevalence Saivism the We havealready of th overpractically whole India, spread As societv. this roligion the have it we shalldealwith in somedetail.3We seenthat,among deity, thereis the imageof a Valley Civilisalion, ruinsof the Indus Sivadoesnot laterSiva. lo appears betheforerunnerolthe which to who,according with Rudra meet as in appear lheVeda a god.We godofthehorrors olthe and is some, a godol mounlains foresls,'a uponby E He to according Hillebrandt. is looked tropcal climate,' prototype Siva.ln lhe popular ol deily,the as Arbman a primilive of (Vaiasaneyi 3-63), Sivaisanadictive Rudra Samhlla, Yaiurveda gradually the ln This showshow the iierceRudramellowed but epithet Rudra, ol an Sivais no longer Uparigad, Svelasvatra ol various appellattons ol is Ruo,a-Srva one god.In course lime etc., Mahadeva' Sarva, Bhava, Mrda, Rudralikelsana,Pasupali, developed. or as are ot Theopinions scholars divided to whether notthe yralyas aremenlioned in who can of origin Saivism belracedtolhe perhaps certain' 2:) (e.9. Vedic literalure Alhatvaveda,XV andwere beyond Brahmanical the hibesliving Aryanor non_Aryan eastern, rites Brahmanical andrituals lothe distubances loldandcreating and to testifies thelaclthal nativ lor' evidence{ Numismatic of theChristian centuies and in eignrulers lhe pre-Chrisiian early cultof iollowers the Saiva erabecarne ardenl Bul' Vaisnavite leaning. at ot The Guptarulerswereusually ol ot Siva. Some lhe was Vainyagupta, a devotee easloneol them, Saiva. became Guptas underthe ministers highdignitaies and in of on As lime rolled manytemples honour Sivawerebuilt worship Lngasbe' of wereset up.The Siva-lingas and numerous Agamas andSaiva pop!lar. epics, somePuranas The camewidely etc. typeof Litgas,theirclassification, relerlo various ot,the sub'sects dilterent onwards cenlury Fromlhe seventh and Fromliterary sceneof India. in saivasapoeared th religious sub_sectslPasupala, olthefollowing epigraphical rcesw Iearn sou Kapalika (or Kathaka-siddhanta), Ka;unika-siddhaniin

106

Chapter-3

a6cral and Reiigious

107

(irahavratadhar, according some), to (Mahavratins, Kalamukha ac_ corcttng some), to Kaladamana, Theloltowing groups Saiva ol sectsappearlo have ex|sted In . rneeanynedteval oeriod : Siddhanta SchooF-tollowing puranic the docrfl ne B. Agamic Saivas 1. Tamil Saivas the FarSouth of 2. LingayatsorVira-sivas 3. Kasmira Saivas C. PasuDalas 1. Kapatikas 2. Kdtamukhas prevarled grealeror degree. in tess throughoul lndra. _ , .Saivrsm ttrt. rwogreatschools be drstinguished, Kaslimjrian can one and rneorner 50uthtndian As already stated, tollowers the Siddhanta the ot schoot attachedgreat irnportance bhakti, adhered thepuranic io and to doc_ IrinecalledSiddhantan@rga. the various Of sub_sects thjss;h;, ol themostpopular thel\iahamayura. was Theepigraphic records teslily lhegenealogyo, to severalAca_ ryasol thisschool. Accordrng thisschoot, waysto liberalron to the lor drtrer. ex_ tn:,Lingapu?na yogawnnethe Siapurana emphasises 1!!::. Onakltand sJresses accords secondary a position yoga. hotd lo i. IngDDak, the mostessential as elemenl, schoor this comesclose ro rneDDakll school Vaisnavtsm of Fhe Sivapurana lurlher advocates renuncialion worldty of ., Karman a means progress as ol towards goal.This possibl; the is wfh or wiihout helpof lhe Glrru. the TheLlr,gasuggests gooddeedstikeconsrrucltonof Sivatem, plesandinstallation Sria./rrgas a means of as to lheanarnmenl of ThePasupata doclrine appears have to been preached first in accordance a traditio 'cotddinlheMahabharata with n (bafti, Chap. 349).Information aboullhe pasupalas contajned is mainlvin the

and pasupa!a-su!ru Kaundinya,Sacldarcanasamuccaya ol is Adh.37) Thelayrvorshippr required K,nmapuanallJpatibhaga, Thenaked bachesivya ria the lo only reclte simpfe nta omnamah an to is' ascetc,the idealPasupata however' observe tdr;scetic, he the procedure smearing bodywithashes, is Besids etaborate with austerfty livelires(oneon eachof the the to perform severe and sides sunover_had). lour as Siva ln lhe Kurmapurana, is represented a nakedlunalic appeaGnc a grotesque with weredividera ol Intheeaiy cenluries theChristian Pasupatas and Heterodox whichwasVedic viz. ed intotwoschools, Lakulisa werelused In of wasnon-Vedic. course time'theseschools which pepost-Gupta inthe probablywas complete merger one;lheir into and doclrine philosophy aboul inforrnation thePasupata Some thasl on the Brahmasuara The in 01.2). is available Sankara's viz. hold Pasupatas that the live categories, eftecl'cause'union, lo cause' the by weretaught Pasupati' operative rlual,endof pains a'da$ana' in snapihe bondsol the animal Madhava' his Sa mainly lreatso{the five system samgraha, thatth Pasupata says categories lhe Pancarthik syslem,viz. kiya (elfect), Karana of yoga soul). the soulwith Supreme (cause), (union lhe individual ol (iles]l,Duhkhanta of Vidht llermination misery). on and Kalais the unconscious. is dependenl theconscious. is spi Th ll is divided causethe etf6cl. conscious t (pasu) of into isthespiril lrom and lwotvpes;one freetrombondage theother not organism organs. and preserver destroyer. and the Kararais Pasupati, creator, of Madhava makesil clearthat duikhanfa the schoolis noi ol but merecessation miseryas in Samkhya, the attainmenl ol perlectaon. supremacv divine or or ol TheKapalikas,s worshippers Kaplin Siva'andthecarri' of to ercof Kapala (human skull)appear bea sub-sect the Pasupatas' records ThePuranas Linga, Kuma,XVl.l)andepigraphical (e.g. lX, (e.g. Antiquary pp Bhavanagar Inscription, | 86--47,20811, lndian

109

lX.p. i7r'r,nctude Kapahkas the among Sarva tne schools. ThAv aresometrmes calted Somastddhantins Sasanas.The orSiva Kud

,'#,iJl,:i:',il,:J-*

t'eo.' veda'vahva as or outside ambir the or

Kapa,la Khatvangaate the lwo minot Mudras. and fney that,by means Mudlaqonecolld attain highest f:efieve-J of fhe bliss.

ff:ilif:.:ffIil:i,5:ili'",;fli"?;y,WJ U ;T:tffi ;iiJi

con_ .-,-- ]1"_:"rl:"1 ratneo lne MaitriUpanlsad 9) whichchar""t"n"e" tn (vri. ihe, as lhieves withwhomassociation prohibited. is (C.5ih_6h centuryAD)is ^^ earty ?!a:!sanlita ofVarahanihira an ^ -Ije scientific workto describ Kapalikas. originally worshippers Siva,theyappear hav6 of io ,Though wors"rpped Cmunda as isattested BnavaUnrfi," too. by maohauaAcl,tV).f aoopted I " ",fZrlji hey Tantric practjces: sometines th;y ouro|o. tantra res^orlrng by lo.aclsot a morehornbre nalure. Thei pracrices weanng were garlanos* 1*:::1y:."."?r: 2.^e of thse nurnan Dones, takjrEloodandwinelrornhurnan skujls, olliiof hunran fleshto fire,Jreeassociaton temaleKapalikas,eatng wilh fhe re;nantsof a dog,s food,eic. They.heldon the|lbodythe lollowing sjxlh;ngs, ed Mudras ca . Glerm prob,ably bonowed lrcmlantta):K;nha|a ot Ghan ka \neck-

*:fury re,erenceb toKapatrkas,perhaps. rs,

that ld by . Alm-aftupposed thegoalcou be reached meoikring ,Theybelieved on to resic,6 theseatol theterur" o.g"n.ih" yr_e in ^apallKas belleved theSamkhya in dockine prakrtt.Maiat etc., ol a,'r-d_-atsokrndolyoga thesyllable ina on Om.The ultrmateatm wa; Ioeralton cessalion sorrow_ and ol sashas wercktown as gharavastaka, Candrajnana, , , ,, .Th?i Hrdbheda-tanka, Kalavada. They thought oneshould aspire that nol aner tvaton whch in sa .lherersnopleasureT. TheNatha teachersJalandharinatha andKanhapa called lhm_ selves Kapalrkas lhe Caryagitikosd in

(7th oJ Thetravelogue Yuan-Chwang centAD)andsomeinscripIndia' North-western the thelactlhat,in Puniaband tionsrieslijyto was subject veryPoPulat Kapalika regions In_ oJ (apalikas havelivedin severalother appearto cenlres weretheirlavourite in Kamarupa Assamand Nepal dia. forlheworship nearNasik ofavillage ollhegrant is There a record'o is to Sankaracarya reported have of maintenance Kapalikas. and il thattheywereubiquilous themal Ujiainr'.Thus,seems met i d K a p a l i k am a y b e b r o a d l y i v i d e d n l ol w o c l a s s e s ' s lhe tormer and Brahmanical non-brahmanical.The disearded dread' and was iheveryKapalal2lhal theiremblem' and fu Dractices even latter both and theVeda thecasle-system.The rejected recognised landswerelhe homeol and the neighbouring Whiielhe Punjab ol main slronghold non_ Indiawasthe Kapalikas, South Brahmana Kapalikas. Brahmana were and says Laksmidhara lhattheDigambaras Ksapanakas ol thesubsects Kapalikas. popular Indialts religion South in Saivismwas powerfuland a period era before Christian lhe orevalence theredaiesbackio a it galhered strength and Fro,.n opposition Buddhism Jainism its to A andsuoerseded thoselaithaboutthe lifthor sixtycentury D ll about the philosophy, Siddhanta, called Saiva deve opeda dislincl elevenih A.D. century and in independentlyKashmir in Though developed Saivism between lwosys_ lhe yetthere prominent thesouth, similarities are Saivism ol tems.We Jorth leatures soulhern lhe set below salient Literalure lhe conslilule sources Some Tamil workslikeihe lolkapp,'am espe' ol soulhenSaivism. Saiva the Besides, twenty-eighl Agamas oJ the ciallythe parisdealing wiih/tana(Knowledge), hymns Saiva sa nts,andlheworks latertheologians thepinclpalsources are ot The ol Savism.Oi the SaivaAgamas, chiefis lhe Kamika. the Saiva of lradition the Vedas Siddhanta basedon the twolold was by and the Agamas. reconciliation the two was attempted of A N lakantha (14ihcent. in lhe AD)whointeDreted Erchmasutta lhe

Social and

ljghtof the Saivasystem. gnerally He accepts standpoint lhe of Ramanuja raises voiceagainsl absolute and his lhe identity abof solute distinclion Godonthehand thesouls lheworld of and and on theother. Sivais Supreme hisconsort, with Amba.having conthe scrous unconsctous and entities thisbody. as Appava Diksita's commanlary,Siva*amanidipika, hightyvauable. ts TheKala(or,Kalamukhas), calledperhaps so because they marked theirforeheads blackslreaks, with was a sub,secl the o{ Lakulisa Pasupatas.There ev'dences, aro mainly opigraphical,,3 to provthatth6yacquired inlluential posilion SouthIndia, an in oar_ liculatly, theKarnataka in region. theperiod in roughty belween the rnnlh theear'ythirteenlh and century Some A.D. epigrapFs the and sflohasya 36) of Ramanuja 1017AD)rhrowhghton lhir (11.2 (b. dressand doings. Whofounded sub-secl, this whenand howcannot deteF be mined.ll is possible thal Kauruspa, ol the four disciples ons ot Lakulisa, theodginator theclass.'. was of Somel\,4ysore inscriptions intorm lhat theymigrated us from Kashmir;lhe reason otlhe exodus unknown. lhe Unslable oolitical conditions, coupled with repeated Musliminvasions. migir have lorcedthemlo lindpastures n6w. a Theyare statedto haveresorted practics to evenmorehideorrsthanthoseol the Kapalikas. Theytookfoodlrom skllls, bsmeared bodywithashes, ashes, the ate drankwine.Flamanuia. whodescribes as Mahavratadharas Logudadharas, l.ls them and lell that,besidestheabove practices, atelheftsh deadbodies. they ol Theyhadmattod locks, bracells /gudraksa and of seeds. From inscnptions team theymanaged educational we lhat big Inslilutions, calledMatts,whichweranachect Satva to lemoles patronage kings. andenioyedlhe governors ol orleudatory chiets. Someoflhem,eg.,SivesvarasaKi, Vamasaktiand Krivasaidi. were Fa./bgurus royalpreceptors. or Th6Kalamukhas appear havebeendivided twomaior lo into schoofs, calfed -patisad Sakti-parisad (parce). tpare) andSlmha Thetimeandreason ofthehdeclin eventual and disaDoear-

a lacl lhal w rnce ca^nol be delermined h precisionll is' however'

in and Lrngayats thevira-saivas iii"'JuL"i irt".-" progressrve gloryol lhe the eclipsed ao consideraoly i'ni i*"ri,rt "".rrrv Kalamukhas

mosl The otherSaivasectsol the FarSouth,o{ whichthe lheTamilSaivas Siva Schoolot Siddhanta' poputarweie Sanstrit the lromlhe got vit"'."iuu" o, rhe Lingayats, a lirm foothold liili" Savism Agamic comeunder schools onward.These srxth cenlury AgamcSaivism between ditference rne marn ol "iiorai"giJf"rqrtt"t d.*u. of x"anmirli6sin thetactthatthe l/ika system ,nal* problems' In pnncipal with i.sfrmir. ttouqhagreeing the Agamas andoneness so ot the aooots coctrine Samkara tar as the idenlity d areconcerned wo andthe the Jigiahman, inoivioualsouls schools and lhe belween Sanskril Tamil distinquishes Farouhar and in its literature Sansknt wrth .. totio*]. ii'" S"nlrrritschool. view of yisisVedantic holdsthe chiel lollowers, ir"tr.un." andTamil "" LJ*,ra.ft'ei".ir."rrool, withitsnon-BEhmanafollowers ac' Advaitaot Bhedabheda tr'" ii"iatui". itorO" v"aanticviewof by someon theground ffl|s uiewls challenged .oriino ro "o.. also lollowers ol theTamrlschool' tnatthire wereBrahmana is Saivism mainly Tamil ol Theooctrine theAgamasonwhich viz principles' Pa' (Lord) o".eO.i" on lhe lhreeloll;wingmarn sys_ The (wo d as bondage) enlire prs, rinc,viouat andPasa sout) Vidyalleatning)'Knya ltite)' Yog.a tem t'as to,.',pa;as (feet\ viz ' lromthesouls is The i."oi"ti""i""J crw, f"jorality) Lord d lerenl whichare uninlelligent the tetlers and nof inO"pinOent *f icn eslablishes "t" agent lnlerence is CoJ.tt'e omniscrent. the universal the knowing fruitsol acton He is lree tnelx'stenceol the agenl bv live His i'o. ii" Ltt"* ril" uiia, action. bodyis constituled the and Aghoravamadeva Tatpurusa, i"rr" J s"r,rr viz., lsana' rssultol his will,is the causeol lhe live s"Juoi"t". Hu toav' ttt" ano preservalion pro_ deslruction graceobscuralion, ooeiationsot sNa bcome souls Theliberated ducton, the about slaieot thesoulinlibera_ ditlerintheirideas Saivas be ol defilement thesoulcan removed lhe lo tronAccordrno some, thatlhe kom allbondsOthelsthink '""oi^gi" p""r.u"""f ,elease "

Background socialand Religious

113

j'tr m""t*;$*#lin,,s#;ruitilt;tt;Iiii.
anikkavacakarthink< rh,r

9!ll:l satnt, t ram|l

andrhe.pe^onconcem;#;;;"il:X9j,i:y":!#'J:j j,j,rfl l tTt th."ernancipard asinsonsrbte soutis

asa srone..The
TheVrra-sarvas, popularlv known r!

;:iJ I;IIT,[:t*:,*lrrupr

rhoush operarive. nor. yer orhers

gffn:::*An,ff :::':f,*"?;::1":..i; ^.j;l;:i,H,Yffi

..

trl{*$"fti1,i#}:*ll"jir"+1}1,i:#*;
;",1*e*r,$"'ni:*ll*1ffi ffi ;,fr:,lj l;u{,il;#'""t *fu , vasatva;*#fr t thh e at c. a* iKf ;|:
.. Bl,ak is conceivedas bascl on th6

jf:i,*hti,; llit#*j ,"lt*zu+:*r,:","r"

n::1,:l#;"1;*1",.r:f ,":i ""l"xnffi {""l;,J;:ilff

th,s ex ,". ijiil,H:lif*ff,JT:;:f l."ojj*",har sd,oor

inclined re'.".says rhe to enlorcethed. He rhar d";",;";;;;,l':;li3'iln,"'j:|itrT;f; appeaF

to hav6closesimilarly witi ihe idea;rpressed In lhe verse

iflf#$ff6*n":,ffi fi f *t*:'ifi,ii''',{.!i{
Basava not is

3l lll,ifil':l mfr i;ry#,*iirnl" l'T'llll"?,'iiii

in so hai-bhakti'parayanah, well-known Ben' dvijasrcstho candalo'pt galVaisnavism. the sacrilices, pracawaywiththe Brahmanical Basavadoes ot people charms thescience asttology and by ng lces ot oewilch io placewomen'who werelelegaled a low triedto Basava zealofBasava withmenTherelormist on Dosilion, anequalfooting inslance Anolher anddivorce iedhimto advocatewidow-remafiiage ol of Basavawas the recognilion the oullook of the progressive labour. dignityol oflhisseclandlhe altitude of number monasteries Thelarge gtounds nol atlnbuled' on adequale are equaliry rosocio-reliqious e and lslam'and by others lo ot Jainism l; bv some'6 the rmpact in adherents lheneigh_ numberof a claimd large which Ciristianitv areas. bouring wasspl lnlolour groupsviz ol ln course tlme,thisschool and Vira Misa, Suddha Sarnatrya, lhe ln ViraSaivism roleol Guruhasbeenemphasrsed are of A notewohy leature this schoolis thatihe Jollowers relersto Thisword,perhaps, ones). (lhe moving called langamas on lhat lhe orovision lhev wereaskedlo be constanlly lhe move' to Placewanderingfrom Place ol a holding rosary Fudfaksa' a weaing necklace' Useofashes, Gutu, padakingot Nasadai e , the remol d.inkinaDadodaka lhe nantolihe lood,olleredlo lhe Grru or thefoodoffetedloa hngama' etc ol ihe recilalion lhe mantn NamahSivaya, are someol lhe duiies a Vira'saiva. ol the The six slagesin the pathtowards unionwith Sivaare (mergrng In and pmsada pana-linga, sarana a/kya bhakti,mahesa, thedeily). Theadhe'erlsol Harihala is ol A s'ib-sect lhe Saivas called lt are in makeimages whichHariandHara combined thissub-sect wereat and at seemsthatattempts lusionol Saivism Vaisnavrsm sub'secl. lhe roolof this

114

Chapter-o

j,",t':ri;""i"#'j:,i; m::"1#i##*#,:3,lh",ilrn:
;.1f Jb ffi ilfl iT.l,fjft,:i,,tr,"il;J."":,J: jU""J

Background Socialand Religious

115

ft';+rffi trfr ffi231i91,^"9,}rlilxx"# #:fi;*::,,17?;,?fi ;Z: tl i' ;;:"',:f;';{iyXi 11,.t";'ti"i*i+"

i:.ff+t:*,ffit?:':f*:l,:{":l:i,jrtJ;i#:i;;
*"",ii#.Zi?,iX?!lill#1,#"ffi ;"i,i;{",::,,,::AT
areas "." I;:";":i".;i;'J,:i3i,::iir;i,1:J::ff o, ;l,arse

m'g5 ri,,;*}:m:1.;:r";# {;:l#in::

-",,.1j:,",'j:::flt?""#,",il :?;1'"","i;ff ,$fi:fi:1""j,i:

:,rjftjfr*'Hri#;ii**';["t;Ip,$t'-"i

*.',l,g-+*!#i,$*'*fl*

at The causeol lhe attempt the fusionof the two cultsper. look circumstances. Buddhism a lirmgrip hapsliesrnthelollowing gavea boost pre-Chrislian Asoka times. eversince overlhepeople Buddhism conlinued flourish. lo lo it. Till the rise ot the Guptas, lhe revivalunderthe Guptas. Finallv, Therewas a Brahmanical preachings Samkaracarya ihe knell ol sounded death- ior Buddhism. ol wereeveranxious resist surging lo the currenl TheBrahmanas like of attempts, lhe composition Buddhism madedesperate and their for oJ lo Puranas provision a network y/alas, rehabililale and prompled dangerperhaps in A ol religion jeopardy. sense common Brahmanical seclsto closetheirranksin ordertoolfer thevarious led 1o loe. uniledresistance lhe tormidable This probablv to ihe disparate faiths. Thissynctetisin belween olherwise the harmony molil lendencvis noliceable inlhe Pradyumnesvara inthetime also (12th Herewe Siva, AD)otBengal.'?s lind of kingVijayasena century bothsides a statlte.This oJ Laksmiand Narayana, caruedon Uma, Uma Hari-Hara, Laksmi-Narayana, is an efforl to coalesce inscriptions bearsoul lhis lllahesvara The Sobhanesvara torms. atl udechaptet Saivism a separale in We shalldeaiwith Kashmir and between Kashmir Saivism Soulh Thereare manysimilarities dilieF But, ideas Indian Saivism. in philosophical lhelwo differ.The that the bysaying while Kashmirschoolis encemaybe expressed approach. Indian schoolpluralislmelaphysical in idealist, South the philosophical, thatin the Soulh while in is Saivlsm Kashmir chietly help In school, God's it rs mainly religious zfualistic. theSouth and particularly a al But, is invoked saving sinner- in Kashmir, tor the is Certain with dociine noliced. lalerslage, resemblance Sankara's Ptavabhin4 usedanKashmir, technical terms, suchas Spanda, areabsent thesouth. in no between lheiwoschools, Despiie fundamenlal similarities be from caseol theoneborrowing theothercan madeoulSoulh to It is interesling notethal, as we haveseenbelore, by appears havebeenintluencd Kashmirians to Indian Saivism Advaila ascelic the Farauhar, lhinks"thal Samkara, southIndian leaders Kashmir. o{ inlluenced Saiva lhe

116

Chapler-3

Background Socialand Ftelglous

117

; ;;;,;"; :xli 3i":u:i:., f ,i'"1i:HlTj:::ilR*

uangesrs a riverofthe ".,,-v norlhern reqton.

apDea's ranrnc. ffi;;;;"J'i;:H:::I:tj:rfl:, rooe irie

The ideaof worshipping Sivaand

Sal

,oL,nd cdneaoFara a,,"" are

relalonwtlhhrswile,Canga. atsoanracted,he cr ^,^S,vas arl,slg 5r)ers.epresented berng as carredov;r theheadotS,va lte,jea orrneunton S,va-Ganga,s ol loundIn theBdnayana ZnO or:rJ 1C. cenr A.u.) and the ilahabha.ata lC 4th

,"sij,l,,i::,,;:!ii#

:.,H{r,"1,"":+; l***-,'pir*:s:**fu
oe connecled,wh lhesetmages. The ,mages Sryacd. bed,vrde; or . {no 'wo broad cjasses.viz.. Ferce rRudiat and eu,c rsaunya;;. he ,--,rlrsbel,evedbysomelha Kusanacaldcrep\sconLetved

acLounl ampry oe.nonsrrares wroe the , -,,Tteroregorng oopu,artrvor sa,var!nin Indra, particular,y Kashm.r In anoSoJn r. j.r-1i" nav also seen thal thefe arose manv su

a'd'ne oiIne 3"'J:? :f"::f;f'.rt"Trandeoddess !^J'|Dro's

.,-

that the dea oJpaifingdeiliesdates back I may be observed For example,in the Rgvedawe come across suclr to Vedc times. elc. Agni_Soma, dualdivn tiesas [/ilra_Varuna, evidenceshowsthe harnonising Literaryand archaeological alsoindrcat_ (S!rya)-Bhailava (Siva)Thereareremalns oi Ma(anda represenlaiion Brahma,Siva Surya-r' ot Lng composile lhe thereare many lo the Besrdes kindsoJimages,referred above, (hall oi Ardhanarisvara woman haliman)per mages and fig!res to irornlhe ideaol purusa'prakrtiAccordlng some hapsoriginatrng and ng in a moreconvinc and vivd form,the Lrnga t represenis, creatron. Yori lhe symbolot by formoflheabove deitiesis represenled Anolhercomposite Theorginofthewor MahesvaraorHara'Gauri theliguresoiUma shipol lh s lorm daiesbacktotheageol the l\,'lahabharala(presenl at lound manyp aces havebeen AD).Suchimages tormC.4thcenl. [/athura,Bengal. VaranasL, Bihar, of rte is Kalyana-sundara yet anothercompos lorm represenllng repre is marriage beautifulLy ol Sivaand Parvati.This the marriage rs speclmen a Anolherexquislte Relief, in the Elephanta senled in reliel the cavesot EIlora. wel-known sorne 10 There are many literaryrelerences Ardhanaisvara, perhapsof the Gupta pe names. Puspadanta, times by dilferent (Avalon s I riod,relers,in his Mahlmnastava,lo as dehardhaghalana p.53). ed., on commentary lhe Brhatsamhila ltvll ' 43)describes Utpala's occurs in lhe Matsya A detaileddescription il as Ardhagauisvara. Purara(Adh.260,Sls.1'10). unlon ol An inlerestingslory of the origin ol the inseparable in whichhumankailty is ascribed1odivineberng S va and Parvati, occurs in lhe Katika'purana lchap 45). Once the appearancoi bosomol Siva Takingil io in the cryslal_clear Parvatiwasreflecled furio!sias BhaltisaysParvatibecame be the tigureol anolherlady haroutableladybrooks nyasamgamanF-1o na man;ni-samsahate, in Slvasucceeded unionwith anotherladyHowever, her husband's After thal, Parvaliwished to be ln w le's suspicion. removinghis

o'l"etrnagesoiAroFanarisva,ainsorthrnoro.anotaoleone

arran,o'e. insoack .he da ro co'aoe. oo : :1""1:ij:""""",'x;:."," t"mple built honourbolh was in oi vlsnu and "n""jt""'i11"a$3j.tn" A.examDleof
rhehdrmon,si^glenoencyis lunishedoy ntmudl

c atlodHdrHdra p1anHtH sa.e renoency ,oJnoin lne eorc ts no,rrot Vrs-L,- r, e , ._ or rorm srvaand Srvarnthe Jorm of V snuTi -ne

il",i""':"1 [11 t'fl1l ;i':;::#l["":t;:",j]1,",';ll:,::fi

'1a, ha,a. rLp lafe.wa!

,- .-

"

c,rn e\a. For i hd " ",JT:;;*:',"^::u g:T;:, : j: ".r v's' , a-dsiva *rr",," *"i".ilr. " -" g"o-,r"
"-#,^"'ut

I l8

ChapteF3

Background and Religious Socral

119

::ff

|.:nbH:il"""#;v:rhsivaorder prevenr recurrence jn ro the or

Prajapati as5uirl l?:rt::f:'ffi ffffi:j#|r' 7)iescribed as

ftgures_otArdnana svara can Oe sec on tafiaLo[a seals . , dnd slates'. Besioes, rhere manytmaqp! .. are When the conception Ardhanarisvara ol ofigrnaled ,,, cannolbe oeterrrr-ed certatnly.The wirr above sle,e,cpresente a lgureollhe \,sdna peflod/C..lst cenr. A.D.). The Greekauthor St;laeus(C auuA.u ) apoears relerlo such lo an rmage. We have.elsewnere seen thal, arnongtFF rFrtcc l.d.ls Valot , rhere:s ley. , a.t,g.le ,oo\r-g tit<e S,va n rrei rar,o-. .ere rs a mar_

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. 4/mdn_.rhe.o..rc.oar drvrdrng nrmserf mateanC,em;le r10

pr,:,"."{["*:q]i:!,,#"lT:$::1]?iJ::ffi:::fl JT:"ff :l;;

Tantracan be brandedas Nasrka only in the sense thal it the does nol recognise aulhorilyottheVeda,bul nol as denyinglhe ol existence God lke lhe CaNakas. in slales thal Tanlras, Yamunacarya, lhe Agama-pramanya, peopleof low classes. bytheVeda,are popularamong nottavoured ndra,in his Desopadesa Nanamala, relers,in a derogaand Kseme lory manner,loTantricrites. quolesSmrl Apararka, commenling the yalllavalkya-smrti on olTanirasamkaa, passages condemning adherenls the vehemently Tantraas run n his commentarvon the Brahmasutz, deptecales ningcounterto the Veda. regardsSupreme Goddessas be_ Ihe Rudtayamala(Ch.xvii) panlheon.TheKula-saslra stated, n is long ng to the Alharvavedic to fantra |ll.10, 85, 140-41), be basedon ihe Veda. lhe Kularnava ot In certainVedicworks,e.g.,S/aulasulras Laiyayana(lV 3. Aranyaka(lv. 7. (ll. 17), Gabhila-Grhyasutra 5. 6. 9-10), Taitttri.va is as 50.),to mentiononly a few,sexualintercourse regarded a parl rtes. of religious Brahmana,v.1.2.9; Drinkng ol wineappears \e.9.Satapalha Vll. Ailarya, 1.5.elc.),lo havebeenin vogue n sacrifices. ol 10 The Vaiapeya and Saul,maniseem be lhe precursor lhe meaning Drlnkof Strength, former, CakraotlheTantric devotees.The il, Somawhrch and usedto be ollered warriors kings;in besides by was oermissible.even ihe ordinarv Sufa used lo be drunk.The a ce Saulramanlwas sacrilicial remonyin which,insieadof the drink lor of Soma. Su/a was otferedto deilies. lt is recommended one who hasdrunktoo muchot Somaor one whomil doesnol su t. Sura is also prescribedfor a Brahmanadesiringsuccess,a banished king vr'ishing restorat of kingship,a warror inlentor1vrctory lhe on and Ior a Vaisyadesir ng to acqu re greal rches. apThe Tanlricattitudeol doingaway with casle-reslrlctrons the ol oearsto be to lhe eifecl Inat, in the perlormance a sacrifice, ol and the dislinction casesis Dersons oresenlbecomeBrahmanas obllterated.

:"i:,:'ll :::,.:;:}* :itr{!ii:,tl::f ::,1:1i":"d::

ofher,has been in voguein lndjafrom pre-Veorc lmes.ll was loufd Ina mannerevenamongnon_Vedic peoplel wntersanempred snowIndr ,anr.a ro , , -i::: r! "l:'.t :1," DarFdon.tFp Vedd. he Audayamatd I ,Ch. l]Vn, tegdrds SLp,e,re l,oooF!s as belong,ng lhe Alharvavedic -lheon lo pa The KJ,a-sastra n ILFKralruvd ranta (ll.'0. g5, | 40-4'I. robe based on r<srdtad Some Tanlras,includtng parasurama-katpasutra the _^... -1""^ \lll.3A),

|T

;",,i',;,

t.22po 2t t. rs42 rv 40 5,vrr j"i 5g':ol ., ntas

::",:":;ili:#:"-

n*"!,,:manlra hasbeen adapled apptrcalion lor in _^^,-,\l: rafltc Invocation toderlies. Orthodox wrilers hau. lf*" the itude so-" p,,,n"s "n a or "ttu"f,uO J!.

*,"' maka 1ne :a s "i;,,""'""1;":,::";:,:,1;[,;n r-lj'."

"harrsee

,?a

chaoler-3

phal, hum,elc., used in someVedictexts The mysticsyllables Taittniya AranyakaV 27),correspond theTanlticHrim,Hum. le.g to TheVedrc rlualoi purifying bodyby uttering the maDkasand loiJch Ihe d flerenttimbs, ng supposed be occupied dejties, lo by (Anareya Atanyaka.lll. naturally 2) reminds one oi lhe practice ol Tantrc &yasa. I may be po ntedoul thalTantfa notlolatyopposed the is to Veda For erample, Mahanirvana the bes Vedic \v.197 fi ) prescr martraslorcerlarnTanlric ries.RVi.22.20, 59.12, vi etc.,arepre scabed sanctify thei ve makaras. x.9.1 3 areprescribed ior ng RV n Nenakarana.Ihe Parasuramakatpasut1 prcscabes I0) Vedic lx inanaras \!e have a readystaled as IL.leKularnava and sa-r,e praisethe Vedas use otherTanlras Ved c tnantns.Ihe Kutafraya(x i. 33) ciles the verse yast? deve, etc.,tron, the SyelasvalraUpanisad .23). lv I s lrue lhat the crue acls al Marana,elc , \aughl n Tantra. are opposedlo lhe Trayior lhe triadof Bg, yajusand sama-vedasl lhe Atharvaveda canlainssome sueh Abhlcararites,Bul, Tanka is notwholy antr-Ved as is atiested ic, bysomeorthodox Brahman ca works Forexample. Devibhagavata,aspo eo oul Inconnexton the w th Purana. ds lhatas muchoiTantra Lsnotopposed lhe ho as to Veda s aulhorlalve. DeVt the Bahvrcopanisatrelers to para-sakti and Kadi Vidyas. . PV Kanelhinks lhatlheseminorUpanisads wereconlposed wilh ihe delberate objectof booslng upTanlrc authorlyrnlhe orthodox Brahman society cal whoseT, anlrasweregenerally lookd downupon. SomeTantras acknowedgethe authoity of upanisadsin cer 'a n nallers ror ,' sla-ce t' e Aularnava quoles the S,/etdsvdtata .23) abo!t lhe mpotlanceol guru. iv Thefeis markedsim laritybetween basicprrnc the plesolTanlra andsomeot Upanisadic doctr nes.Forexample,lhe ol sagura idea ard ntryunaBrahnanof Upanrsads lound n manyverses the is ot thesecond chapler the Mahaniruana. of j.1) rneniionstO1 Nadisone Ihe ChandogyaUpantsad(viil.

by fiovingupwards I a penetrates on thecrown lhe head; of whLch (viii.6.6).The doclrine Nadisis lound ol immortalfy atlarns man (iii.6-7) slales asointheKathopanisad 16\.fhePnsnaUpanlsad lvi. has72 Nadiseachol whichhas 1000 eachoi the 101 Nadis lhat In (ii.2.6.)fiay alsobe menlioned Mundaka Upanisad nnorc.fhe was,perhapsbor_ conception Nadis ol Tanlric Ihisconnexron.The the 6l Chandogyalviii )states Nadis the from Upanisad.fhe rowed yellow white, blue, brown, subslance, ol ol theheartconsist sublle ot be lhat PV thinks thismight lhegerm the or red n colour. Kane (vi Upanisad 21) speaks Ianlr'tcnane ol Pingala.fhe Maritrayani Susumna. like upward lheTantric of a ivad,going is only Theidealhat Jlva,mukti attainable by a visionol lhe for in expressed, inslance, the Parananda-gutta deityworshipped, svatata Upanisad ol (p.9.Sutras appea.s beanecho lheSvela io 3'8), some (iii.8, v . 15)whichsayslameva viditvalimrlyumeti.In cases in are oftheUpanisads foundverbatimsomeTantras even words the (pp.6-7, panlhah,useiinlhe Sulras Paananda nanyah Fotexample, lnlonnexlon Svetasvatara in 59),appear lhe samepassageotthe Paranarda useslhe wordsnasapunaFarartate withJivanmukti,Ihe (p. 9, Sulras3-8) whichoccurexactlyin the sameform in lhe avid Upanisad iii.15).Thewordsbrahm apnotipatam, Chandogya lv arcloundinlhe Tatttirrya e usedin lhesamepassag ol lhe Paananda, Uoarlsad(Brahmanandavalli). ol religious movemenis lhe and The reformist revolutionary laciors inTanliberalising welcomed cerlain medieval naturally age God within seeking tra, e.g.,doingawaywilh caste-reslrictions, of exaltation women, through enioyment, h!manbodes,liberalion popular heterdox guruvada.These became wilh ideas acceplance ol philolosophy Lokayata o( and faiths Buddhism, of Jainism Carvaka raised voiceoi prolest a organisalions Whilesomerelormist within lhe elc.,theyremained ol against ageoldbarriers caste, the groups theirlies lolallysnapped H nd! Iold.But,somerecalciirant group wastheSikhs. wth Hinduism. suchprominent One

1 - 22 FOOTNOTE

chapt6r-3 110' V /, of 17.SeeN.G. Maiumdar, schplions Bengal, ol-lll, p.p.46-50, 13. pp.119'29. of Culturc, lg.Tafachand,lnlluence lslamon Inclian p. January, 145. and Science,1840, 19.MadAsJournalol Litataturc of 20.SeeRao,Elemenls Hindulconograpty,ll,Pt.2,App Bpp. 168_ 71. 2l.lbid,l1,pl.1 22.VideP.L. Gupta,PatnaMuseumCataloguo Remains Bhuvaneswar,p. at Archaeological 23.See K. C. Panigrahi, 257. af ErltishMusoun Catalogue Colns,p. 148, pl. 24.See P. Gardener, x x v l l l ,1 6 . lnsciptionsol Bengal,lll,pp.42'5625.Seelt4aiumdar, 11, /nsciptionsof Otissa. P1. p. 342. lll, 26.SeeS.N.Rajaguru, Litenlure ol lndia,p 198. 27. Au ine ol lhe Religiaus Cultsin Northe.n /HO,Vlll;V.S.Palhak, Sarva 28.SeeC Chakravalti, lndia,p.25. p.273 29.tndian Antiquary, Xvttt, 30.DHl,pp. 550-552 p. 1913-14, SuNayol lnclia, 31.E.9.AnnualBepottsot Archaelogical 1 5 2N o . 7 6 4 . , pp.30-32, aboula stele 32.E g.Jour.ofU.P. Hislo calSociety.1937.ll, Museum. in l\ralhura the 33-E.9. K.D.Bajpaa, SrgatThtough Agas,p.\i. xii, 34.Gatbei, Ency.ol Rel.and Ethics, p. 833.

AsvalagaraSaupasut.a,X. A.1 ll, Apastanla. XX, XX|t Kalyayana, XX.etc. 2. It has beeninlerpreted two ways: in (i) Onewho has pha us as one'sdeity. lii) Onewhoptayswrthth genitat organ.According the Nrrut,a ro {rv. rvr. In6worddenotos unchaste, an tusdut perso^. 3. See P. Jash, History ot Salvisn, Eg.J. Allen, Cat of Coins6tc.,in Bitish Museuns, 130,j32. p. pp. 3O7tCoinsof Ancienttndiaet_, Cunningham, 8i, p.vii,tig. 3. pt. pancatana-pamanya Vedottamai bnasya Srjnivasa, 2. 371 ol ll. ot faksmidhara's commontary Saundarya-lanan. on 6 . for relernces ctassicat in Sanskit Literarure. the chapter see on ranrrcEtemonts sanskrit In Literature L See Prabadha.candrcdaya, 16. iii.
8 . See Caryagitikosa 5 . See Srithasyaon vedanlasutra, |.2. 35 ; Veclanta-Kaustubha-

Eg.Nilmandacopper-p ot Saryavarman tat lnsc ptionum {Corpus tndtcatun. VoE. ttv:Epq2ph ot UdatputlAnnuat Bcpart of HatputanaMusetm, 1922-23. p. 2t Eprgraphot .jamFn,,a ol Hanalhambari Epigraphia Indrca, p.47. XtX, 10.Jout,ot Bombay Brcnchot RoyalAsiatic Society, p. 26_ xiv.
I

I t. S6e Rao,F/emenls Hindulconography, pt. t. pp. 27_28. ot |. l 2. Vide Ramanuja's Srjbhasya, , 213 Eg. Southtndian-tnsc,ptiors lDesai).xv, Nos. 32.7g1 EpeHphia Ind'ca. pp 96,97,rv. pp 156fl. xviii. 16r ti, rvrtrp. j89, ir|,r, vr pp p.p.16.1.t11Madns EpigrcphicatCo eclions,1gO7. 1289,:914, No. Nos.44r. 443. Bombay-Kamataka lnscnptions. 1964,etc. |, 14.SeeJ.N., Banie, paficopasana, u\a,p..160. Cat 15.E9. Epigqphialndica.XXt, p. 16 16.SeelndianCulture. No.4, p. 431 iv.

lo
=E

o;

5C

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;L.=

EO

6F6

6'c=

Chapter 4

Tanlraand SaklaWorka: a But, ot are Thesetwociasses works similarto grealextent. poinls rspects.PVKane between themincertain somedistinguish Devias Supreme, Tanlras bul consider to the factlhat the Saktsa (includ Buddhist Jainaworksare not confingd Saktllo to ng and Devialone. and VedicLiterature (including Upanisads) Tantra: thal tladi is or Sorne holdthatTanlra anti-Vedic outside Vedic thal a lian lvedabahya).8u1,closestudyreveals lhereare some some, has thotwo. Saktiin Tantra, accordinglo srmilarities between (x.125): ol rsor Vak itsprecu in Goddess ol theDevisukta lhe Rg@da Others, Rudras, Adityas andVasus. Vakis stated associalewilh to in germof manyTanlric maflers discover the however, ditfer. Some God.The wordSaklioc_ Bgveda speaks Sakliof of theveda.The times 31. several cursin lhe Fgveda {e.g.i. 18 iii,31.14.iv.22.8, foriheworshipot Saktias thereis noprovision v.31.6), etc.Though proteclion. p etc.,are coutage, bounly, creative nciple, a separale wilh in associated HerAs Saktiisassociated Sava latertimes, wilh e.9.,Indrani and in so lemales Godsarementioned lhe Fgveda oJ Varuna respectively. consorls Indra, oJ Varunani,are (vii.21.5, who x.99.3) magicians wereprob_ TheRVmentions (godless) (worshipanrtadeva described adeva as non-Aryans ably afraid pingialse gods). that RVvii.104 x..37 and show peoplewere of blackmagic. in elements arefound theconcept According some,Tantric to occurring theAlhatuavecla. in Woman, lrahanag lhe GreatNaked ni, of is 1o. relating madage,Mahanagni alluded The to In oneconte)d, to the Asvins, required protecl brideby lheirpower are twin-gods, (AV sprinkled organ Mahanagni oJ wilhwhichtheygollhe genital wineand dicealsoare staledio In xiv.1.36). the samecontext,

124

of and CulturaCornplex lndia Tantra

129

;il,:""::irffi ::..:lChXrt,,y#itriftx{f fiTili

i::?::Tl','H[:Hl'r1,.;ffi*iih" +""*

is a genuinework ol th s c ass the llffi "T.il:B[ii:i":T"JoJ]:*l[ni"*n**,orsanandother lnlhe Kenapanisad,which powerotSakliis llustrated mavalr, Supreme tie oi legend Uma-Ha A?erdy ln rhe Rgveda Khtta.wnicl

,",",***i*,i*+,n",""*?HXj,i;ll,i.T-.t?..,:;

;,';:';J;: ;:yr::n**lrl*i"1,,",:lr.if ranr.u. veoa ',ar *,;s *;:

!]]rj"o]"" d""S*r"O as tey;, i.e..rhe rried ot Bl_)a/us and

il: *m':; j !ri:i:'$ :liffi#*i:r*1",":""., il":t: ,"'#ff

il# ffiiti::::".ffi:'ff;-

ear,h ode, ,n ,","yli'Jj:1," 1T;."i"J':i:X,l:"':lJ:"." an

1!!1Un'""5i:5"":': mi"mmffiY",iff

".i,:il,:.iillTjl;,,:il; :::r,"',"Jr1$[Ji:'",#:!:ffi ;";,;;; ':iffil:'ff:Ei ;,#,3:ij".,::';'"3 ",",;: pansya sa**viviiliil; ffi l;ffi :::1""

;#i; l:li ff

jTfr ::;r:r:,i:/,::";:{ji:!, ::::{:::: fti#ili{fi j:;""l"T*;t

*iiy;"li:}i i* ".

Ine supremacy Saltts mentbnF,l,n o, r

:iif, l"X;:lffl:

ln connexionwith miscelaneousTantricworks we shal see nt' slandpo lromtheSakta beeninterpreted howlhe/sopanlsalhas whrchwere ol a be 1tmay,however, conlendedthal Tanlricideas, appearlo have been read inlo an old work by a laler developmenl, ol commentator a very ale age is thalTantra veryo d, callitthe lilthVeda who believe Those, 4 whose authorityrs noi ess than thal ol lhe Veda Some hold thal rtes easier and more suilableior Tanira has only renderedVedic practicalllle. For example,the homa of Ved c sacnllce s recognlsed in Tanlra loo. The ditlerenceis lhal lhe exlernal aspect ol wh homa s not slressed:Tanlraemphasisessell-surrender ch ls homa. 01 signilicance the inner ol Kuli!kabhatla,a commentator lhe Marusmrli quoles (!n' Sruliinlo two classes,c z . yald/k/ der Manuii. 1) Haritawho divides and fanlIhi 'hus.Tan'rds,ega'dedasVediL lromlhe Vedc ol concept Sakliis derrved Somethinkthatthe the (Sakt/)ol natureunderlying Vedicde lres'As dea ol lhe lorces an evidenceof lhe ant qu ty oi Tanlra,it is he d lhal abhicaraal lhe Atharvaveda was lhe precursor ol Tanlra. The la Nsimhatapaniyapanisad,bdonglngAtharvavedais likeaTantra' genu ne appears lo be proved by the lacl lhal That it was commenledon li. Sarnkaracarya The or grnoi the doctrineof Nadls n Tanlracan be traced n Upanisad(vi'6 6)' ll rs KathaL)panisad lhe \ui.16) andChandagya that there are lhree hundredand one Nadlsof the hearl One stare 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 lJ l',4undakapanisadlii.2.6) also may be relerredlo This Upanlsad \vii also reiersto Kall,Karali.fhe Chandogya ' 6 1) stalesthal l he whichis brown' subslance ol Nadis ot lhe hearlconslst a subtle 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

131 Kenopanisad, anempthasbeen lhadro estbhshthe non-duahtyol

;il:"T:, ;:m

tvpicarrv ide r heHrava Jrrantric a t n ki

Behmana, in theNigharru j I Vakrs so (i. ) .^,^-"*,'::n",,o,":?y.u re'erreo as Nana(Nagna) rssupposed to which bysome to,oreshadow.lhefuture nakedformol Katr. doddess Nrkr.LmUnila of fnl Hamayanais regatded a lorn a Tantric as Sakli. sacritice Nikumbhita. Bavana.s rs to by son. considered ,The as a btack designed destroy enemy. rite to tlle a"nUn"t"nuchyasurra(ii.14.14) lhereis reterencero "n"Ol:*; TheBuddhjst Mahayana work,SuvanaprcDhasa, .. bearclhe rmpress a Tantra. is saidto have ol ll beer
evrdence the BuddhahavingpreacheJTanrrrc of rdeas.Tantnc ele-

xasyapa ou,in! nraransa ir;;i;;i

i: "*,i(il9?111'lfill:

;:T#HT;."T::,::n

incorporarec,,nro rons er Buddn,sm aft

transtation Dharmahsema by (414-433 AD), -^-. _tl:, "t"::g Paramartha and his pupits(5S2_S57) ttsing (ZOS)are and avarraUie. Mahamayurj. which rs ol the ,ihara.,/:ctass.appears ,rhe lo have been transtatedlor the first time,rnto Chrnesein the 4rh cent. AO

'1ff'#Jil: r',6'in'"ind

the Mahamavui ate rcrerred some ro bv

and ^""n,.

i,1 :..1-u-,! Nita.tanka(v.73.) : the i,,i.- ii-. cororngrol!,t*. 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.drvicies gurus 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 classes viz.. Ialagu.u{V64)andDeWuru lv.Zll.Some otner Tantras te g.Syamatahasya alsogive the abive ciassitrcation gulus. ol I rsslaled tha he names malegurujshould in of end ananda ,^. te'g.brah rananda). oFnalra(e.g.Matsyendranatha, l\rrranatha.; ano rnoseot lhose ol lhe lemateprecepiors r,r-amoa..

Nirwdtatantta, memronorr crasses o,gurus ,,,_ ^9:.",1:11ra","n ,pa -s 5*u, rcparauru. pa,"

lhem characterises naming someglrus, the N,;/afantfa AJler Taini'mantra imparling i.e, to belonging larinlkula, a lineot gurus as (v68). is Sadhakas so the of The position the gurusamong Tanlric The lo as thal he is regarded evensuperior one'sfather' exalted which citeslhe verse{ii. 146)of lvlanu, Njlatant/a,lotinstance, person, supe' as initialionloa impartingVedic lhe extols preceptor, d/ksa it obviously,substitutesTanric lorvedic riortotheprogenitor; (V declares 65) thatlhe in context, This initiation. Tantra, another ot al nantraissuperior one'slatherUanaka4adhika) manlrada \givet olllesh storebythephysicalbirlh culture doesnotsetmuch Indian stress lt to whichis common loweranimals.laysgrealer andblood than as regeneralion moreimportant and on intellectual spiritual often expressed Indians generaling mass oftlesh.Thewise the mere ( idea lhe sublime lhatthebodyis suretoperishekantavidhvamsr' gunah).Flesh whereasmerilslastlhrovgh ages(kalpanlasthayino (Raghavaon and blood of the body are also called mantn SaradaliIaka v. I 5-961. ol lhe lulestor roustng consciousness Somelexlsprescnbe (Prcnatosni lV-1, p.222,GandhaNatant XXIX.24-25). ra i mant Gs SomeWorks{e.9.Ianttaraia XXXV.64'66 Purascaryarnava the not lhat Vl, p. 526)provide oneshould onlyunderstand simple of oltherealnalure Sakli. is meaning a manfra, themanilestation of his oltheobjectol spiritual in he andiellthat is merged theessence exe.cise. jivana, tandana, mantEtsate Thelenwaysof puritying ianana, taryana,dipanaand bodhana,abhiseka,vimalikaana,apyayana, p.52)gupli(Krsnanancia s Iartrasata, brightness a acquires peculiar mantraslddht One,whoatlains peaceful stateo{ mindol the bodyanda lasting lo llame'supposed of is Mantl-sikhathename a pudtucatory (Puras' of ascent Kundalinithe wilhinthe bodyduring be roused ll pp 01\ Baghavabhana Saradatilaka lll carvarnava,vl, 527_28) Io accorolng wilh puificationol mantras p@nayama of speaks lhe and process reciting lhemonethousand eight and the Yonimudra

ol Complx lndia and Cullural Tantra raysdow. lhe processot pu.fyng a mantta - - ,T\e.Kutdnava.lv1 ov crt,nq tellers lhe fromiellto dgh.dndrghr lo tell. ln some texts,the body to God is ca|ed lrlantatanu. Manteyana is the nameo, TantficBuddahtsm.

133

,^^. rpowerot assuning excessive heaviness). p/aptr{powe.or oblain. 'ng anytn,.g ar !yitr).,pfa*amya (iftesislrole wrtt) /s/lyatsupelolry ov-er orrersl uasrlya (plwer ol keepingolhersundercont.oi.) Tnere are lessersdd,i/sloo.Thegreatest sritdhllsmahannvanaot 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^the bondsol rebirththroughconlemplation knowledgeorthe or ll,elesssyllablesol a manta- being uflered In conlacl , ^The w|In susumna,acquireInlhite powers. Joy,will.creat,ve powerand peaceare promtnent dillerentmantras in

y!,Ma

(power assuming of excessive lightness), garma

catred b,./a. .. ^^-Yrl1ll.::"n",n:,"d r5eeol: rsobtarned a disciple. rl by Theleners thealpnaber ol dre called Mar'kas (sources.)
Tantra and Mahabharata r"ueathighregard ihe Bhagavadgita. tor Fol ^..^-1,:r:rn ]1nuu: example connexion Tattva-ca\ra. prcvioed wtth tl ts Inihe Mahantvanatv n,214\ lhallhe Tattvaq Mahans sha.jobeoilered lhe I to rrgnesl
eli , ol

byteners from.a,ro are isr.

Se/t wllh the ve'se btahmarpanam behmahavtt the Gtla\tv24.l

consioered sorne DespLlous, by ro ^_ - li:* i, u.ugatn,r-e l*9.nu.ns. oyyuohislhtravtrdtaparvan ro Manabharala one ,n (chap. v I andlhe otl^ef Arjdna Bhrsmaparvan xxril D,,r^: oy In {chao. I gures oniyin purana. atsoinTanlra.Thanrrt not but ril presenl lhehymns theVanapawan, in In thenames Durga, of ","rnfni" among others, Kaliand are l\lahakali.lheBhaismaparvan,lollowina In the

Mahakali' Bhadrakali, Kapali, Durga;Kali' oi aresome thenamesoJ crll in the Poona cal beenexcluded Thesehave,however, Candi. thaithe ideaol Dtugaand think ;ditionol theepic.Somescholars fromnon_Aryans werederived worship ot (Santlchap. a description Asvatthavii) Thisepicconlains are therilesandpractices to a greal ol worship Sivainwhich man's ol lo similar Van@carafanlra extent. .eveals influence ol oflhedoctfine Sakti lhe fhe Mahabharata (Bhismaparyan' propitialed Durga Arjuan byKrsna, Asadvised in victory lhe Kurukse_ him enabling to achieve 23).lorherblessing Saras_ is goodness' Durga called lo lra war.ln Ariuna'ihymn th resi tor theirsuccessful het invoked blessing The Pa;davas vati. yearlollowing 12yearsexcile lnthis the for dence incognito one Kali, Kapali' namedas Kumari, epic,the g;ddess is varoLrlsy Tantric are Thenames typically etc 6andi.Kantaravasini, tiaharali. rites At lirst lhegoddess inTantdc is Kumaibua an essenlialitem as by on wasworshiped lhe Vindhyas lhe loresldwsllers Kumari ot uponas lhe consort Siva Soonalterihe comelo be looked she ol eulogy the goddess' is characlereo ln Yudhisthiras and ol andlound wine mealVindfryacalavasini ast\rahisasura'nasini, too in occurs ihe Candi Vindhyacalavasini, epithet, Theooddess's Bhadrakah' goddess alsocalled is as she; abodescribed Kali.The Candielc..in lhe Mahabharata in noliced the are Thefollowing someol theTantc elemenls epic: ofa acquisition manl Kunti's BvlheboonolaBrahmana Ii) '' (Vanaparvan) godsunder control tor bringing Ya betwee4 ksa condrtons na I!;r E)(c nqeot maleandlemalo l82) (Udyoga and Sthunak;rna Sikhandinr byJara'eaiingfleshand ol (iiD Therestoration mamsa'plrda, (Sabha 18) of inthehouse Brhadralha. blood, ot the in Matrkas theSkandopakhyana of lvleniion fierce Vanaparvan(go). aboulUma-N'lahasvara' legends (vl Various

of Complex lndia and Cullural Tanlra

135

(vi)

(vii)

Mentionin the Tirtha sectionVanaparvan: o,lhe S.aklnnnaq Devrka yonr. (Kamakhya), sakambhari. Dhumaval,, Kalka-samgama (conlluence nversKausik: nd ol a Aruna) sfl parvata, Manikarnika, etc. The protective mal,t.asof the epjc remrndone ol S,arrmanla ofTantra;e.g. Draupadisexpressjon the lollow o, Inggood wjshesto Arjuna: p Eyahy-abig hnaya....... .....5ith..... laksmih sarasvati ima vaitava panthasya patayantu dhanafilaya

in sleep peo inducrng ol opening thedoor' automalrc el .owrng lects: otc. invisible' oneself ple,making of worship lire' (iv-s) forthe propitiatory Therewasprovision of worship hillson that eic rals,serpents, ll wasbelieved the river. on and oJ the avert attack beasts birds the could soe;ia occasions
callle.

of ol themilching cowsin acemeleryburning alorsomade cluded gralns ol ol lhe powder riceandsomeother and Purena: Tanlra olTanlra InllLence conslderable reveal oi lManv lhe Puranas Among inlluenced most deeply been have f.e Bhaoavataappearcto o{ nu the presc ibes (xi3 47.49) worship Vrs Ihis rhr;gs. F,rrana olher xir In lo accordin; Tdnlricrules. xt 11.37' ll2etc lhisPuraoa melhand diksa someTanlric Tanlric relers toianlriccullsofVisnu, a' prescribed thisPuran rclercloBhuta' in Pindasodhana, ads.Aaain, lullofmanls mode worship of inTantaTheTantric suddn;prov.ded is modeTheditletence lhat lhe Puranic 's and kavacas, sr.li'a'lo But' worshiped the himseltwilh deily identilies worshiper theTanlric that doesnol do so;he is everconscious oJ the{ollower the Purna with Godis inlinite unllmwhereas capacity he is tiniiewilhlimiled ol lhat holds l rled oower.heDevrbiagavata (xi 1.25) as much Tantra Thls lo lhe Vedais authoritatNe workempha_ as rs not opposed of the sises(xi.1.49) importance Glru in lhe ve.segurur'Danma sholld be a partol thal stales(xi. 16.76) Nyasa etc.This Purana Mudas Fheim' (xi lt worship. alsomentions 16 98-102) Sardhva agavata,lll6 the in is slated the Devlbh manence ihe boodess of Ena PadmaDu lvi. 85'26\andlheMats@lrav (26629)attachgreal Tantrlc to the tb imoortance NvasaAllthisshows iniluence TanlraSome inloPuranasetc.' nyasa, inliltrated mudra, nante, mandala, towarcts il ol atlilude disregard, not contempi, belravan ouranas ihat states the \1.12261-263) iantra.Forexample, Kurmapumna and to etc Vama' ' opposd Veda Smrti Yamala, like Satras Bhairava, people Vi9nudhamonara The (mohaya) tor were oroduced deluding l'Chap 226namesovera Sectlon andKavacas Bias contarns that ol Kali Verse237 20 referslo including hrndred Mantras

The praclces. designed to get rid ol eprdemc diseases in-

:l,J:'','#ft:','lii"'"rs

*i*+:a"-,;+ill':.:l'"";xft ;[{"r",T",:;
tobea supplement dou"r"ir"o iiJ inro

..

In ihe eLrogyof rhe goddessjn rhe

vlnl l

33

i4lhcenl8.C.).In 4 ofthts tratise. n"'0. o"io,.iJf; th;; -t',*! iv J:il:',"1:f;fJil."ff i::fi:;

'lliili,1,",i+'rru'::rur;, ;::y*,"'l ?n*:li Hf j;r::ilj&?lTt4ixtxii,flTiili3"j.li3sdilltj,r,i

forceevenIn pfe Chr,slran ,,_.^.t:l]1". 9::"Jn:..rch a powerfut

TantraandArthasastra

X,l#l?::"J';'"";f ;Tl!T:li:i.l i:;";i;,::::'i:,:;'i:.":;"*;!.;:nmffill.gi

JamDhaka-vidya:n il,besidesmantras, somerootsand herbswere

m';xli*:i"rl*rulTi;i"".ffifl fl [|",,?,:ffi ,,-Tilp.:,:jili"1,ff

*'irs in ,". -*:ii:;l'i:;:;:Xii',inl":';;,1;.;11 are'ei,ected

136

Chapler-4 Ihe Vamana-Purana \46), which is supposedlo have been holyplaces competedbelweenabout900and11ooAD,glorifiesthe whereancientLlngasare established.

order svrra ::iLTil* ::{:ff l[:reverce olthe it""ii ilnii".

tn connexlon the ^^. , \ers.o,rn with Dtksa, Agnpu JU-.

hatm hai hai.hatm,Om ctticitimitjniti..., elc. t. 165 prescrjbeslhe

ri::!:"'!,f!i!;;;Iz:ti;":;^ri;i:::T:::3:"J:;'::;:#"
many r"nr"" ,',rnr.r. ljli. "no prJ,ana Th.s ordails TCCCL (''aps 27 8- B/

XXll-3d, lnat the worshp oi thF dene>V,:n.landol ersshoutd jn be lnreeways Vedrc. Ta.111g 6a6 M.'ed,h^ l,'slandlheti.d torlhe Dv4asdnd,hp seco-dtorsuo.as rana a ca ^ ^ _ -.Th.e,9rghmlnd+qu contains portion, ltedLatitasahasn,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 Smrltdtgests and corrmentaries . . -Fror,

Ihe lwelve Jyotilingas are tfadilionallyknownto have been places. Theseare mentione in the Satarudra' d hed establis at diflerenl . samhnalch.42) The worsh poi Slvartgas has beenwidespreadn lndiasince very early tirnes.ln the Kasikhanda(94/36)ol lhe Skanda-Putana p I to.3 AD)lhirty-sixrincipaL/rgasarereferted 1C 800-1000 Tantra and Samrti social Puranasand partlydue to the compelling Parllythrough condilions,Tantra inlluencedSmrti. Manu, lhe most alihoriialive oth_ tite Smrl wnter,referslo abhicamand mulakarman ior bringing Nevertheless, He theseritesas singul, ers underconlrol. regards ihe prevaence ol suchTantricrites atlhe tlme ol lhe Manu-smrli|s The work, ln ils presenl lorm, is supposedto have Deen obvious. the2nd cenlurycoBC comp ied or composedin lhe per od between AD. and2ndcentury (16thcent.)was the Jirst Smdi wriierol Bengal Raghunandana Diksa. v/horecognisedTantric we It may be notedthal, on lhe lestimonyoi Raghunandana, procedurelorTantricoiksa can inferthat,at his time,lhe elaborale was much s gnii cant.qSome other Smdl works also, like lhe Dhalnasindhu,tely anfaniras for D/ksaTantraand vedanta the loTantra,Kundall/,1is innerspirilualpowerdor According mantwilhinthe humanbody.By Sadhanaman can reachthe stage when the humanis translormedinlo the divine.Then /iva becdmes (lndividual prescribes whereby./'lvatman means Siva.TheUpanisad Supremesoul).The into Pafamalman(the sou )is melamorphosed to the basicdifterence approachis thal, according tlle Upanisad, in goalis bhavara (contemplation, medilation) meansol reachingthe whereas,according toTanlra.it must be accompaaiedWKriya\ac' tion).Tantra requiresphysicalellort along with menlal or spiritual

texts ,t puranas dre i":ff: ;"r|?ffi,J1,1'J.i;1a.'cis;a'rharrhe 3!;i;t qual,l'Lation onelor t.slahing oi rmages Oetles. of ,avs rFF down capac,ry ro,.p".r"..,,i1 #i,i'.1,',1i.
A passage lrom lha Dev,purana. quotedrn Apararka ..-_... on commenrary lhe Yatnavalkya-smrtt, lAnan;a

""?]f;l

raJso attCand4inctude ,^ ,_ -The_Devnahalmya ca ed Dulgasaplas n"t"e,Marhandeya-putana, nolhing is ou-lrhe gtonttcatton Dev, ot she dpclareshersettas Supreme(C;nd, chap X) In lne puranas.trasrwoaspecls -, .. In one "^,otJed orrrntch she is lhe sldyerot demons "ll"-9o9o"t.. and. 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 lne Upanisad vedanra or ano

ior reconstructjon .^^."^"r: I1"$" qr,"important thetexruar oI ", achaprer'wse sta,is i'"'i:::".J,.",{::,li: lfliffii,'1nt'?Dsves Accordrns 'n s rdnr'a. to -Lrno,;;i;;;;";;;;;l'''va r.,e rorar

138

Chapter-4

of Complex India and Cullural Tantra

139

power. Vedanta accepts eternal the Sivahood olliyabltTantra holds ihal Sivahood altainable practices specrat is by ol ktnds. Llke Upanisads, Tantra believes creation bulthe sport thal is .. . (/rhol theSupreme Bejng. upanisads, Ljke Tantra non-dualisiic.,; is Tantra andSamkhya purusaand prakrti. Bothrecognise THislendsto provethal _ Tantra based Samkhya is on philosophy. thereis wiaedivei_ But, s-"::;":.".Y:9" t* y^" UilkeTantric Siva. pu,usaoiSamknyd rhe norlhe unrversar soul:he ts not lhe invisible. intnte eternat _s purusas many. va,y to Samknya. d,e dno w,rh 9,j:Ta:.-A::ord,n9 r_ov,oJats. thorghstay,ng prakrt, wrth he.s r^acfive havr'rg no power create to anything. is the passjve He onlooker whenpr;krti .arrrA!
on 'ls cfearlve aLl:vtly Sak ar patapraA Tanl.a dr erro, r\ enl ttarfL Mulapakdi ol Samkhva. the 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.ve energy posses","g oy *nc,, g,ama- -s calted sb/ralalhesetwoare nol abso,ulely dil,nct p, littcs Lrear,on lot oosstble ts wtthoull|-e un,o,l pJ,usa{Srlaltnd pfa^,t, ot (Sakti). Sanhhya. exislFnce Goo i5 .ol esrdb.ished. Ine ot _ bur. ,Accordrng is basedon theis'l.. tantric reJtg'or SdmktsVa leaches lhar, us d-p,rottse!niorof pLrusaa.d prakrt:. c.ea,ton o,ocaedsBu.,ac. Lo-o,ng, iantia, o creation the sportrrlarof B.aFnanposse(!ed tb 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. Saradatilakaenumerates 36 ta[yas includingthose ol . -fhe Ihe San.hya svslen.L,k" San khya.tantra .Fgard5,,ccnr narve <nowraogF ,ea.1tno god ryrL,e/ra esseniialio. ) Js rr_e

and Yoga Tantra with deals Yogalt appears seen a partof Tantra that Wehave The yoga intluence. mutual Tantra exercised philosophy and that (lll menlions 1'3)twenty_ on Hathayoga' awo* Ghenndasamhita, attached the including Khecaimudhf heimportance, liveMudras lhemin gauged thetactthatit describes by can n it lo Mudras, be descnbes elaboralely The Hathayoga'ptadipika onehundredverses. on anotherwork Hathayoga (111.6-23)ten The Mudras. S,vasamhr'ta, in (iv.15-31 ten Mudras. impotlanl Mudrc Halhayoga An rnentions ) (iv in mudradescribed the Sivasamhila 31-33,), is lhe Kheca (iii 25-27\andHathayoga-p@dipika'32'53).li Ghetandasamhila liii. in described in lromthe Khecaridescribedthe Jranamava, diliers desctibedin (iii.15-23)The Vairolimuclla, the Hathayagapradipika to (iii,82-96), vulgarlt wasbelieved prois theHalhayogapradipita orgies 'he e ol a Yogrn sexual evenaflerunrestrained o1g ol sels fhe Guhyasanaia\pp.163-164) forthsixaccessories Panayamaollhe Yoganga (Yoganga) omittingYanE,Niyama, Yoga praclices Iorthe intloducedYogic This Anusmris- Tanlra andadding ol An ot acquisition Buddhahood. innovation lhe Valrayana ouEk lo of lorthe L/pasana Sakliasmeans was Buddhism the provision Yoga. through liberation Tantraand AYurveda on influence each exercised of These branches knowledge two Again, rveda. lo works devoted Ayu are Tantric of Portions some other. Forexample,the someAyurvedicworksadoptedTantricprinciples Diseases o{diseases Xl C devotes hapter to lhecauses Kal/-tanfa mental physi' and natural, exlraneoLls, inlo are divided fourkinds, (arisisng as are way,diseases classified Karmala cal.In another and humour) Karmadosaia (caused aflected by oulof action,)Dosa./a are partly from laults.)Thosewhich caused party (arlsing lromaction, g arecalled bvihenalural-phvsicalconditions naturaldiseases;e is deathOr,thatwhichis sell-caused wakefulness, thirst, hunqer, produced That blindness. whichi6 e.g. call;d natural; congenital Pasexlraneous and birthor causeby injury the likeis called aJter jealousy depresslon and fear, greed, delusion, conceil, anger, sion, relorgetfirlness, lainting, lnsanily' mental diseases.Or, arecalled

r40

Chaptr-4

ol Complex lndia rintra and Cultural

141

jn#i"I s['*"4Jj:+F$.r::'dt"itr?r:t
caused.by act,onin prevtous and atfected life ,a irrrnorr. f"fi"O
_

."7 i#"*::iiri,.,,,,:;::r:*r";"*::"*H:.:rff
ts Xarmalawhich is nol cured bV lreatml

nunctatton, epilepsy, etc., are menlal diseases. Djseaseslike

trsr one rwo ilnll _*,i,Jinl;,1]," iso, kinds, *i n"""", ",^or" diseaseqnume'rares some . ff """Ji:"#Jtfi :]n:",,f,r?sesd Somegenerajhygjenic
pfrnciptes are

:l1lt"f'lF::{:ilxin:r,:1;l1:";:t;,llimi*i:i

ra

r.""i ,x .oT:," ffi iilH:J,:l? ;ji","i;'j::'"*, ppr,i" ;t" ^y_season.

baih wa,,' ,n *"r;;;;;"";"":Ti,j##:::t;[i:

x1i:q::itli"&!;ii::ff

*a11ii1r;*r{rir*s1li:l':lil[::,# jt :;l"T:[:",il:iT"l,.T.,J;*t
f:li,:ffi:J:JHi;
:;!flt#;:H

^rso ericacious curd. gn":-""i are i,".r, i:".:1t,j;""igr,l**

foliowing the causes senile are of decayand olherdis_ """"-Ihe

ii,""'c "r rood hunsry ;"L;iiffi"T sood when o''i"ri,ig

ii".'l?i;3lll"8,li"il lil,1,,.fliil,T:_;1ff;i"u,'" :r". uur" enpvmenl vounq of wonn.drjnking .n,ri

-o i"i,i"

::1,:e """

:::li;l;n"ri.:".-;"n+':ti["J."",*#:W;'; *9.T ,r"1""J"*"v i*"u.

ate rooo|n lime keep awaydecay, In autumn

ol to is Jever sialed bethecause allailments Ai dlseases. anolher, ol lever' to attepnlegm,andwindarestated bethe cause and son OneBhavamisra, ol MisraLajakana a courl'scnolar lanf'kaa wrrtten bookentitled to is .r Albarll6lh cent.) known have and Rasaptadqa on based the been to l,l,r"a.*n'ch,s stated have Guha d ndra R ase -cintamani Aamacandra and Vedic in developed tlvolines, to appears have Ayurveda prevailed lhe pre'Aryan in to According some the latter Tanlric. alonglwo hnes'one proceeded This methodol trealment irmes. The andlheothe'poison panicularly mercury' aoov nqchemrcals. wilh decay rrer_ sen'le arresl and used locurediseases tormer;as known' lreatises way second wasdeallwithin medical curvelc.The rcsendta' Basendasaa-samgnha Rasafnava'tantra asTanta.e,q., Aupadhenava' etc. Rasarala Wo*s called iasa-hrclava, c,ntarnanr, Videhalantta Nimikntra'Saunaka'tantrc, Aurabhrc-tanta, tantta, class. lo etc.,alsobelong this drugspre_ chemical physicians, usedmainly who TheTantric etc iron,gold.silver, , camelo oe sulphLrr, oaredwith mercury, 'v.aown parlicu' were preparedwith mercury as Basa'vaiSvas;drugs, popu|aa lany out Poinls theoeep Chemlsiry ol History Htndu P.C.Ray,inlhe toTanlra' debtof IndanchemicalScience work celebrated onal_ is Basalnakara themost Naqariuna's chemislry and on works alcheny medicinal dth;r noieworthy chemv. Sangadhaa' Basaajalaksml Rasaralrasamuccaya, are iasamava; erc. samgrana, are chemrslry re_ and medicinal on lreaties alchemy [,1dnv These appear literalures medrcal chemcaland lerred Insansknl lo to be lost. in oJ Ouilea number suchworksare preserved theTibelan TaniutaNiKaniut. and Vaisnavism Tantra Krsnaand Radhaare the two to According the Vaisnavas' Reol manilestationsoneSupreme ratherlwo suoremeReairties,

f#"T:i',d;f :ilil,':i,i:, ffi ill,,lil", ",,. onplace,unclear :.,ff ,l';;lllil, Al

bowls saidto be at the rooto, all are

Complex lndja ol and Cullural Tantra

r43

alty.Some believe that thesetwo are onlyanother formof

Siva_

;H ; ;,,,,#"-",,, s,p."."?"1,$",F-]""liijl] "",r,"

nates(51._5^4-6I ) Saklias Tara we as A as

T#,fi ::il:fr qi:Ji::l"yfl ""'::1[:] ijififf g,ir';#T.ulXff ji i;J?i :H,".""!'ff

lsit" i:,|?iff|,",3ff ill,,f
thefi descnption Visnuand his Saklt,taksmi ot and ol

on lhe lemple, s I an lbhagavatah man mayuraksakah),.r'entions, erectedby in the inscriprr m in honouroi Visnu (Visnohsthanam), 'lamil r o., Tantn (tantradbhula...) andDakini (dakinisamp@kirnamJ arinTantra, fhe Laksmitantn, as pointed oul on the discussionof this yamacalawhich isTanaic texl, work,thougha Pancaratra speaksof vaffic Vais_ was inf Tantric uenceon Vaisnavism nota one-way on influence Tantra lnthe /sananavsm alsoexercisedconsiderable atlempt has oeen samh/la,regardedas a part ol the Kularnava, por made to establishthe divinilyof Caiianya.lnlhe Gdhavatara as tion,regarded a partolthe VisvasaBTanln ot Visvasaroddhara In as ihere ;a descripton ol ylsru incarnated Caitanya. lhe lisl ol ihe Buddha is containedin the lrdhvamnaya'samh,la, Avararas, rep aced by Catanya. Portionsof Ihe Brahmayamalaand Krcnavamala a!e slyledas Caiianya_kalpa is onTantra ihal Radhahas intluence ot An evidence vaisnava been appropriatedln such laie VaisnavaTantra as Ihe Narada' Rupasaysthal Radhahas been pahcaratra.ln Ujjvala-nilamani the (tantrc-pratishita lhe Hladl,/ SakioJ Krsna as in established Tantra Tantra and Saivism ChaplerVll) containsa descnplron fhe Mahabharata(Santl, lo It of the worship of Siva, by Asvatthaman- resembles, a great macan aI lanl] a. exlenl, lhe Va Tantrasoi Kashmirare predominallySaivile From varous works we co're lo learn that tantlcismc'ept Inlo lfe praclrcesol adopled some subsectsol the Saivas.Forexample'the Kapal,kas worshipr6 their practicessometlmes pa ol the Panca-makala , The lhoseof yilca/aandVamaca@ollania.rT Aghorins resembling of a Saiva subsect,are reported10 fiembers ot Aghorapanthins, than the worst ol reso;t io ce(ain practiceseven more deteslable practices. They are statedlo teed on animal excreiion' the Tantric in grounds, and insectsrolling a dead fromtuneral corpsescollected man's skull.'3 Scflptu'esol KashmirSarvismcame to be regardedas writerson Kashworks onTanlra.Some authoritative authorilalive

::::.#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;:

;;;;; i:jJ:ff li,'j::lx1:iffiil##lLji::f ;;;; """;";
," ,,"]ffifiiJJil::,
--, Tamra: cuirenl jn_Bengal, may nol be authentic.Neverlheless, lne

fl iii{l!F:il1",i;:,""t'"1":r;?;,:tl,gm;,rxL:;

n:,}:A,J,:'3""jI#["# ill!1"fi :,"",,"?f i4l:i,:a'?ifi

^, _._Ihe

*"#'i1'"1,""!i"h#,i,.,1Ji;i3 ::::i,t"iiii!tl:ru?i",f j: ;:"";;1' lill;il"; ijill3?j,lilil

,"vaisnava ofthe works, Ka.ra _sayattipoinls

lffff;H: i,?F";;;

ffi*:f t '[n*;'*f:m:;mf fl ;.;;zu::*l"::

with ; rrom 1i: :tT|' ll"9*S, arereptere quorarioni ran1ia5.

aulhofltatveVaisnava treatiseso, Bengat.by Rupa,Jiva _The

s'n #"n;1ili;l#ff;l?s:l.!,"i: :i:iu#,:,y"1K

144

Chapter-4

145

mirSarvism, r6put6d inTankrc tradjtion areVasugupta, Somananda, Abhinavagupta, Ksernaraia. etc.

*onr*:,:"",i"1:J:","r"s

orKashmir saivism revear wirl afrinily

the author*v vedas' casre otthe and *""Xli::rX1":"J::."ise

|':3,',tis Siva.The manifesrarron universe ofthe ,_^_-ll"_yll'."9 rsenected through s Sakliwho notdiftere"r Siva is trorn i,rn,i"lii thefemale princrple, insepa.abl Sivaas is from heatlromtire_ The ultimate goatot tifois identitv w

Thisreatisationpossiblethrough is mectiiation: rrnportance no .. rsattached worship. to ritesandritual;andexlernati dtsc;Dtine. By deygteg as pratyabhijha. h ttecosnron hrsseH of al :^Yl-ali:n.ll':, roenlrcat theAbsolute). is xplained wrth lt by Madhavacarya his in naNadarsana-samgaha (p.90). Abhinavagupra as soon As says.

,oerarron means torhe which rerum orisinal:rastrJ:toti;: ;tljil,::

:: fl:?J::: ffi::f
lons

merges Brar'man into o'sua ifffiv;',,'r'"'

An 6ss6nlial elemenl ol constsrsin

in of cause the universe the According il, Prakrti, malerial to clay potler, eflicienl cause,requires as the the As unconscious. a cause.so also and malerialcause the wheelas lhe inslrumenlal or Prakrti SaKias lhe material cause,requires Siva.lhe etlicienl cause andMayaas theanstrumental cause known asAgamanla offshoot, hanta TheSaivasidd hadaTanldc century the lron whichlloLrrished about 11th Saiviam aulhorily Vedic do Thelollowers thisschool not recognise ol tradiiion and in thecaste_syslem Brahmanical nordolhevbelieve Also of by the Therecognise value guidance a preceptor' recon_ viz.' gisedwas d/ksaof whichthree kindswere dislinguished' to and (worship preceptor firededicated Siva)'y/sesa of Sar.raya (observing andyoga,N/iata (wayof knowledge)rites and inTaniric rituals cer_ Thefollowers thisschoolbelieve ol methods the matl6s, lhey recognise difterent Besides emonies. lhe lor achieving eightSiddhls. goalas with ldeniification Sivais regarded theultimate inlhe Viras'avism,llourished Karnala_ called A sectoJSaivism, was ol A.DTheobjecl ihefounder the12ihcentury ka region aboui an as awaythe Jainskom the regions to eslablish ideal lo drive socrety. Men to and to They inditlerent Veda, averse casle'syslem are on women placed anequalfooling. are and ol cause the !niverse and Sivais boththe etficient malerial VinaB'a'sakti(consciousness) result Siva's of Creaiion the is his Through Sahi he is the maieialcauseand' in his own Sakliand is There idenlitybetween cause. he nature, istheefiicient and attribule substance. as Saklimnt belween con_ on The emphasis Sakiibringsit closeto Sakta'Tanlric it is calledSakti'visisladvaitavads cepi,and so we in dominates laterSaivism Sakti, Principle, The Female sect.Sivaol dateof origin thePasupata aboutihe are notcertain 2nd referred by Patanjali(c centB C ) lo are, Bhagavalas however, to seems be thelirsl clearreler_ n his Mahabhasya \L2.76).This

h", p!3"!"esof the Saiva sect,ca ed pasupata, --^^^SjI: linged appearto 9l be with Tantfism, At aryasiraupanisadmenThe s pasupala.vata.

trorn o.n'""i"n"". :ifil"ff Hffi:if-l"Jislarisins adistanc",

Thissounds the acq-uisitionS/irdhlb tike of by Tantricriies.

lhe apqlatignof in timbs tte Oevoiee o, :^ej.el:1iat ofTantric ashes lheditferenr n lnemanner pasupata--1utta t .) N.yasa.The 11.21 speaks

o""oJl"i"?f"u,f"

'ook God Pati' as suandworldlv uwn as Jiva,

ln,his commentary onthe Bhatsamhha Dvivedi, 29). -, .. le.d. Lix. Bnatla.Ulpala slatosthatthe scriplure the pasupatas ol is ca ei vatutatantQ. is actually nameof a fhis the SivaAgama. n"O.Sngfer slronghold lhe Sourh.The in scripture ol ,"_ schoot rne_^?:'yl"r called was Saivasiddhanta.

146

Chapter-4

ol Complex lndia and Cultural Tantra

147

ence io a Saiva seci. Tanlraand the Ganapaiyas There was hardlyany cult thal was not influenced Tantraby The simple reasonis thal Tantrawas so popularlhat no creed or iailh,aiming popLrlar at suppon, coulddo wthout L Whateverlheoigin oJGanesawas,he becameaverypopular deilyLrnder various designations Vinayaka, like Heramba, elc. His popularity was India-wide. hastravelled He even beyondlndia,e.9., Java. He came to be looked upon as lhe grver ci success \Siddhidata), temovet ol ohslacles (Vighnaraja), erc In several sculptures, Ganesais represented assoc as ated with Matrkas. wrlhHis Sakli. Someimagesshowhiminsexualunion Therewere severalsub-seclsot lhe Ganapatyas. According lothe IVlahaganapati-worshippers, in perpeiual!n wilh Ganesa, on H s Sakii, is lhe creatorof the world and the highestrealty. Theworshpersof UcchislaGanapatbetraygrealerinlluence of Tantrism. The deily is representedas having Sakti in his lap, embcingand kissing herwhile drinks he winewilhhislrunk.The adherentsol lhis cult indulgedin free sexual inlercourseamong men and women. Drinking,non-observance the casle-system ot and sacramentslike mafiiage we?esome ol lhe lealures oi their secl Th,'ls,Tanlrrc characterlsrics obvioLs. are Tantra and Paficopasana The worshipot the deitiesVisnu,Siva, Sakti, Ganapatiand Surya is collectively called Paficopasana.fhe tise ol th s syslem was, perhaps, duelo an atlemptto counteract anti-Brahmanical the forcesThesesects,lhenselvesoriginally graduanli-Brahmanical, ally came undertheinlluence Brahmanas. ot Theseseclsagreedlo worshiplheir respectjve deitiesas Supremewithoul drsregarding lhe deiliesof one another In courseoJlime,Padcopasara received agreal impetusJrom the Brahmanical Sastras.Even Brahmanical Tant6 recoqnisedit. paicopasana Forexample.lheTanlasara Krsnananda ol approved

thai Saktishouldbe the cenlraldeily with subjectto the reseNation as olherderiies PeriPheral Th s lorm of worshipwas very popularamong the masses' toundalertile fieldlor propagalron and, as such,Tanlricelements Tanlra, Buddhism and Jainism principle Bud_ ol Tanlrals opposedto lhe tundamental Hrndu religion ltthinks that it ls not is dhismthat non'violence the highest we gatherlru ls' lo oossible llvewitholllsomesod ol violence'When lhe we we drinkmilk, deprive to violence theiree When le commit cali oi il. and dilter revealbothsimilarilies Hinduand BuddhistTantras In recognlseo panlhonare noi generally Godsofthe Hindu ences.'e howand likeGanesa Sarasvalrare deities Hindu Buddhism;some lo Corresponding Sivaand Devi(sak')' the Bud' J'ier. recoqnised. Praiia The Buddhistsposlulate so'yata dhists ha; Upayaand the As by (nihilism)not recognised lhe Hindus- regards goaland the similarityThe rrn boih have remarkable meansto its attai;ment, in pirlaace ol guru. mantra'mandala'elc" is rccognised both does not emphasisthecult ol Mother ThouqhBuddhistTanlra Tantra,yel it recognisesHer' ll is' perhaps' Hindu Goddess li-ke lgnoreo ol becauselhe populariiy this cult was too muchto be The cull 01 Sakti and Tantrismof lhe Hindus is much older worksofthe Buddhistsli is belleved thanthe earliestextantTanlric rhallhe descr'plion Tarain suchworksas lhe ol bv sone scho'ars and lanlfasaraof Krsnanandars ol ;;A;thasva al Bftl\mananda sii;orgin.?' Buddh scholarol ihe SomethinkihatNagaiuanthe reputedBuddhist in Mahacrnalara Indrall lheworshipol ce.lurv,Inlroduaed seventh

borrowed stimHumPhalwas om lo"ii"""J rn"tin"rr."nt'a Htim

as represenleo deilies Hindu lromtheBuddhlsls ov lhe H'ndus in or ending deilies of sarris and names Htndu ll'liacinq rf,ese and Chinnarnasla inlluence "V"fu"U"tary Buddhrslic n"oin"'no"*itf' origin by Kair. etc- arebel'eved someto be ol Buddhrslic proporlnded Budin ol (accessories yoga)' Thesix yogangas

148

ChapteF4

of and Cutura Conrplex India Tanlra

149

dh sl Tantras, appearalmostin the same namesi^the Gitabhasya commentator ihe Brah mas n,bh asya. liv 28) of Bhaskaracarya, on ut 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. Exceptrng perhaps Guhyasamajalantra the andlhe Mafitusrimuta{d/pa.lherers hardly any Buddnisl Tanrra dar.ng bac* .o a pelod anteriorto650 A,D.whereaslhere is evidence lhe Drevalence oi ol Tanlricpracltcesin Indiatongbefore600 A.D. Ihe Budtayamala (17.119-25) slatesthatthe Buddhatauqhl Vasrsl a the Kaulaway ol Tanrra. Inis is potnteo by sone as aoul evrdence HinduTantra ol havingbeen derivedlrom the Buddhisls. This is describedby PVKane as a fabrication. AccordingtoB.Bhattacharya,:, Buddhahrmself ihe preached praclices someTrantric grahmalataamongthecommon people.Inlhe sulla, monksappeartc carryvesselsol skullsor gariandsol skLllls. There is however, positiveevidenceol the Buddhahavinqhim no s.ll o'eachedTanlra lacl,BuddhistTanlra Ir dppears 1avto gts ro iratedalter the demiseot the Masier Some miculouspowers,e.g.,iranslorming dragonintoan a Insecl, sending iireto mendicants, allecled withcotd,lhe lordino ol rivers.elc.. arF atv,buted lhe Buddl-arr son,e works.e o to Mahapadna-sutla. Patt(a.Sulta.lt rs, l-or^evFr,earnl lro|^.t som; BuCdhistsources (e.g.B,'ahmajata-suna, Digha-ntkaya, XXtV)lhal the lvl aster condem ned such praclicesas wellas the falsedec ara_ lon about lhe possessionof such powers (Vinaya pjtaka,Digha Nrkaya,7). These powers,recalling S/itdhiofTantra, lhe were,perhaps.'ablcaled laterwnlers boost by to uptle g o^/ ol rheBJdd"a Tantric influenceon Buddhism borne bysomeolher|ler, is oui ary evidences too, unlesswe supposeall lhese lo he laterconcoctnns.lnrhe MajjhirMNikaya(ed. R. L. tVitra, 31S),rhe Buddhais p. slaled, hrsearlylfe, to havestayed a cemetery in ln using bones as This may be supposedto have been wrillen bV someoneto q'o1lyl^e Vasre.as onpwl-obraved hdza.ds, t-e aisoc,ated wttn

lhe cemeteryw th its ghostsand evil spirits,in order to ascerlain lhe Siddhartha, before atlain t lhetrulh.Or, mighlbetrueoi prince whenhe ranhilher tither queslol trulh, and in ot rnent Buddhahood, practices. in and ndulged vanous h the Dtgha Nlkaya,the Euddha is slaled to have recom' ol oJ lhe rnended indulgence the pleasures all the five sensesas a prereqisite lhe atlainmenlolNirvana. lor Ihe Majjhit',E Nikaya 9)stalesthe viewsoJsomeSramanas \1.7 that sexual enloymeniwilh young female asceticsrs a means lo salvalron. (Majjhr?a,PTS, l,P 305) rnenlionssexual fhe Kathavatthu unronas a way to salvalronincompatible lhe principles with ol Theselhrngs absolutely are lhe Buddhismwhlch enioins moderation. avoidanceoi exlremes the as and cessalionot desrres the sine qua nonlor attaining goat. pure were labrications So, we may assumelhat these injunctions and simple or the handiworkot a sect which comprisedconverls irom lhe Hindulold. initiated toTanlricoraclices. goodinthecaseoflheuseofskuils holds Thesameinlerence XXlll 1'2) as beggingbowls by Buddhistmonks (Cul/avagga, The belief in the powet of mantras in removingthe tear oi (Culla-vaggav10.2),wordingofl calamiliesand etfectsnake-bile ing prosperiiy,and lhe menlionol Sramanasearning a living by causleachingspellsforthe preservation lhe body,curingslerilily, ol ing adversity enemies,etc.,clearlybear the impressol Tantra. to lorthe preservation the body and disciplinof The provisions remindone ol similarTantricrules. ingthe mind,loundin Buddhism, the Jainsimwas also inlluenced Tantra.For instance, conby cept ol Mudra was acceptedby the Jains. In tact, they attached great importance it, as is provedby lhe fact lhat they wrote ten lo wo s on the subiect. called Muda-vica? and Mudra'vidhi. disciplinereThe Jaina rules lor physicaland psychological inTanlram nd us ot simllarprovisions

15C

ChapteF4

and Cultural Comple). India Tantra ol Sulismwas so popularthal, sind region,Hindushad [ruslim in preceplors ano y/cevefsa. Ihe JainaMalrkas,Vidyadev,s, Yoglnls, etc.,recalltheMother Goddess olTantra. cull Somejainaiexlsmeniion prevaiing some Tantrcpracttces in secls.1n manneroiTantra. sm a so reiers contemporary lhe Jain lo magcal riies like Satkama, the poiencyof martras, etc, The samereason, which was responsiblelorlhe associalion o{ m racles w th the Buddha,was also, perhaps,responslble for s miarth ngs in connextion Mahavira. wilh The exlremerigidityand rigou of iainismmadeit lessvulnerars blethanBuddh to lhe infiltration sm ofTantrisrrr. Tantra,Music and Dance,2 Tanlraexefcised uenceon such a Jine as music. inf art For exampe,lhe Samgtta-ratnakara Sarngadeva (Chap.L oi rnentions 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 produce supposed musicologyto n Nadainconjunclion 1re,is with alsosimiarto thatioundln Tanlra. Like TaJ]tra, rnusrcologists believe (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 |.2.14A Ihatthe sou , ll) {e.9. Samgtta-tatnakan, '., d gi-!e tanperalsalAhahata tes CaAe.des cL-ceqq.so-g etc.Whenresorl ng to cerlainpetalscf ylsuddhr'-cakra, rl givessuccess.Resorlto some pelalsin lalana alsoensures successReThe soul,resting sorl to certan petas is statedto spoilmusic. rn Brahmarandhra,becomes salislied wlthnectar, and produces songs olahghorder.

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,scriptu injunciions are not essenijal ral 10frealisation the highesttruth,there is the easy oi lsahajaJwayol realis it;lhe humanbodyis the microcosm the universe_The ng of meansot undersianding relalionof cod wiih ihe individualand lhe wdh lhe materialworld consistsin tar,/gat(way) marifatlknowt and edge). The way has seven stages,viz,, service,love, sacrifice, medilation, concentratjon, unionand equatjon. helpingGod-realisatron, twofold,viz.,l/m(gaih is .Knowledge, ereolromexpenence, lhroughperception, infefence. e1c.) marifat and (obtained roug divinegrace).The th h latterwasregarded superior as to the lormer. LikelheTankics,the Suiis believejn Guru (pir or Murcid). the between _ .Thus,evento a superlicialreader, ctosesjmilariiy Tantrism Sufism be obvious. and will A m o n g l h e l e a d i n g I V u s l i m s , h o i o l l o w e dT a n t r i c w rahasyasadhana (myslicdevotion)were Gazi_Mtan who, a contem, poraryot SuJtan l\,4ahmud (1oth-11lh ceni.),joundeda secl. Some oi the lamous Sutt saintswere as iollows: Sh?hXt rmo, S nd {,7thcent,. o.e.eolo, Hrs wasa Vdis-dva, 440 _r. rorowFrstcedthe symbolOmo,rhaHindus. 3indproduced another saintShahInayat. A very oopua sai-r wds shdt- Laul.

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153

Like Tanlraagain,the scienceo{ music recognises (e.g. Samgla ratnal<a?,1.2..) severalshealhs (Kosa)within lhe bodv, e.9.,Annamaya, Manamaya. The Mudras(poslicns ot the handsand f ngers)are nlerestng as they Indcatevarous moods, sentimenls, These,peretc. period. Vedic haps.orlginated theVedic in In rituals, diiierent handposeswereusedby the singer Samans.Tantra prescribes of varia6 Mudras,e.g. 'amkha (likea conch-shell), Mastsya( ike a lish). ln dance,manyMudras prescribed are bytheorists whomBharala, of aulhoroflhe Nalyasaslra,theea est.lt is diflicull savwhelher is lo the Nalyasasira was indebtedto Tanlraor the latterto the former, The dale ol Bharata conlroversial. is generalybeleved to is He haveilourshedearlier lhan the fourlhor fifthcenluryA.D.As we shal see.lhoughTanlrc ideas mayhave originaled earlier,lhe compos I on ol lrealiseson Tanlraappearsto have started about the I llh or s xth century A.D. Srvaand Sakliarelhe pilotsroundwhichTanlflc philosophy revoves. In lacl, HinduTantrasare generallyrepresented diaas loguesbelweenSivaand Parvali. workson music,Sivais generIn al y venerated. Sarngadeva commences Samgita- nakara \\ilh lhe rat salutation S va who is consideredas an embodimenl01 Nada, to S va s supposed please earsol the wisethrough m nd to lhe the ptoducedltom Brahmagfanlhi Io lowingthe Vayu wherethe 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 supposed be consorlsol Fagas. to CertainTanlrasrevealclose familiarity with vocal and instrumental music- For instance,in the Uddisa-mahamanlrcdava. sixleen musrcalanslruments referredto. The Vinatantrc(No. j9l are helonging YamalalantQ, 10 briellytraverses enlirefieldol music. the fhe Yamalatantadesctibestwelve kinds oJ yma;ol the thirty,two Yamalatantras, severaldealwi'thGandharva, i.e.,ihe art ot music.

No.18\ andtotak-tantra (Yamala, t he Kundisvarctanlra(Yamala, deal inskumenlal music. No.28) with Tantra,Art and Architectu.e Therelalion Tanlras music dance been ot to and has discussed y. separate Herewe shallseewhatimpaclil madeon sculpture,3, patnt andarchilecture. ng L ke goodpoetry Tantric is simple, art senslousand impassculpture painling, inspired byTantra, be said may sioned.The and paper, rn etc. to be poems stone, Tantra deeplyinfluenced sculplure. thesculpturai ln delinea(13thcent.)Ellora (850-1050 (8lh tionoi Khajuraho A0), Konarak inlluence marked. is vari cent.) al otherplaces,Tanlric and Nudity, ousmodesotcoilion, ditlerntways union menandwomen of of are represented. Such Tantricinlluenceis also noticeable lhe in (12 Hoysalesvara ternple cent.)ol Mysore, temple-walls Midthe ot India. thisconnexion, in mention mustbemade the ol dleandWest depiction sex-aclat Sanchi,Amaravati of and mathura. the In (11thcent.)of Bhuvanesvara,couple repreLingaraia temple a is poslure. sented naked in anerotic as and There Tanlric are irnages places,?' at various perhaps Erolic influence, derived komTantra, noliceable is in somelerracolla fig!resalso.In somseals, this is manitest. The Rupar Seal(3rd cent. B.C.)shows idoa copulaiion.lefiacotta tha ol A (2nd coupe, foundat Chandraketugarh cenlA.D.), resembles lhe aforesaid figure the Lingaraja in temple. Tamluk A lerracotla shows a couplein a stateol sitlingcoitalunion.An interesting figurein pa ntedterracotta (Tibet, 18lhcenl.)isthalof Mahakalawithflaya ng knifein his headdress a skull-cup blood hishand. and ot in poslures copulation representedcertain Various are in sculpol places, turesin caves lemples various and e.9.,Karla, Kondanl, ot (old Badami Vatapi), Pattadakal, A pillarsculpture lromSouth elc. India(17thcent.)represents devotee lhe a adoring vulvaof the great Goddess. Mllhunas, regarded an auspicious as motif, represented are on somedoorsandat theenlrance monumenls, ol

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and Cultura Complex lndia of Tantra

r55

Evengodshavenot beensparedin lhe fepresentalion oferotic molils. For example,a celestialcouple in sexual ntercoursehas panellroma lemp e car (South in beenrepresenled a woodenbrackel India,18lhcent.). pleasures (C. In a temple Khajuraho 1000A.D.), erolrc oi the are ol heaven deprcted. puzzling lhrnkwhy sucherolicrnolifs It is rather lo should be represenledn lemplesand other holy places, Tantraprovides paicamakaras as ndispensable sadhana.One such makara, tor and an imporianlone, is mallhuna. This may have suggestedthe representalion sLrch of ligures. Thereareolhersuggeslions Somethinklhattheexlreme too, sexuality lhe rch people, ol who conslructed lernples, the was al lhe roolol lheseerotic sculptures. Olhers think thal erolic representalions were ntendedto at peopleto lemples, tracl the common A superstilious prompledthe resentation suchsculpidea rep of lures,according some.As nobody lo dislurbs couplein sexual a union, soGodswo!ld noidestroy damage lemples, or ihe containng represenldlions withrhunde'. erc. ofcopLlation ea4l"qJake. Somethinkthallhesewele designed testthementastrenglh lo ol lhos6who wereaboul10 enlersprr lua' lfe. Another ingenous suggestionis lhat the depiclon ot sexual unionwouldensure lertility land.As suchunionresuts in child of birlh, so the sculpluralrepresenlalion ensureslhe growihoi crops. A noteworlhy lealurein sculptureis the represenlaiion Mu of d/as, perhapsunder lhe iniluenceoi Tantra.Bhumi-sparsamudra, Dharmacakra-mudra,Varada-mudrcand Abhaya-mudraate assac ated with the 8uddha'?5.is interesting notethal lhe represenlalt to |ar al thumBparca-mudr.a lound in such remoleplacesoulside is India as Ceylon.Abhayamudra lound in the sculpluresoi Swal is 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 Ardhanar to svararepresentingva and Uma who afe supposed S Linga andYon. standlor Furusa and Prakritior

It should be noted thal some oi lhe sculplures,inspiredby Arl) Ianlta lsee Tantrayana are absolutelyireelrom erolicism. 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 cent),Vajrasattva Nalanda ol AslamahabhayaTara Rainagiri(C.gth (C. 1Othcenl.), Heruka of Sarnath(C. lOth cent.),[,,lahamay!ri ot Vajrayogini Bihar(C. 1lth ol Ellora(CaveNo. Vll, C. 7th cent.), (Dacca, 1olh cent.), name C. to oi cenl.),Parnasavari Vajrayogini thereare some Eesides slonesculptures terracottaligures, and maledeslroyer death,united of |gures in bronze(e.9.a Buddhist Wisdom-Tibel, ceniury), 18ih wood(e.9. SoulhInw ih hislemale dian lcon oi lhe DivineVulva stained with the colouredpowders used to worshipit; SouthIndianwoodenbracketpanelfrom a iem' ple showing a celestialcouple in sexual inlercourse), Yoginiwith serpentine energy emergingkom her vulva (South India,C. 1800 A.D.),worsipped an emblemof lhe vulvaof the Goddess,(South as nd a. 1gihcenturv), In the doma n of paintingof variouskinds also,Tantricinlluence is obviousif certaincases'z6, Somemanuscripts containTanlric paintings.There alsomanypaintings paper, are on drawn inkand in rcfioLs colou's sone a'e parnli.gs clolh. on The art. influencedbyTanlra,seems to have got an impetus iromthelhoughls aeslhetics on which was hlghlydeveloped the by (C. Kashmirian Abhinavagupla 1000A.D.)ln connexon withtheAryr Maijusrimuhkalpa,wehaveslaled lt lhal il containsa porlionon Palavidhana piclrredrawing. may ot be notedthatthe Bengali arlists,commonly calledPatuyas, whafi ol thoseof Ka ighat n Cacutlaare very wellknown,slilliollowthe 'rdduonot arl adJmbrated lhe abovework. n The pervasiveintluenceol Tantraincludedarchiteclurealso .nirlhrn ambit. In thls respect,Orissa deservesspecialmention. rts This province in shows remarkabLe originality temp e-architeclure of vrhch the two rnajorlypes arc Bekha a d Bhadra.The former is conceived ma e and the lalteras female. Thesetwo.iolned as 1o'

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Complex India and Cuilural of Tanrra chapteF4

'157

gether, areJancjed bridegroom lhebride as and garmenis whose are liedlo eachotheFT. The entirephn ol a lempleis Tantric character_ sanctum in The sanctorum !.alled gablq (womb) is where rnain isplaced. sort lhe idol A of cor doi lhrough whichonehasto enter, connecls porch ihe the with gatuM. Manytemples built honour were in olyellammar6. a locallorm ol Adi Sakti,all over NorthKarnataka bordering and regions ot ^,4aharastra,most the tamous being lheoneat Soundatti, mentioned among SaklisthanasDevibhagavatds cenl., the in according to l6lh some,12lh-131h or ea ier). cent. From manytemples honour the in of theDivine lllolher, caninlerthe we wideprevalence popularand ily of Molherworship sjncethelOthcentury A.D. Sorne West Asian shrines reveal sex-design. aredividd They |nto lhreeparls-lhe porch representing lower of thelemale the and organ leading uptothehymen,lhe correspondingtheorgan hall to itseltandinner sanclum symbolising uteruso. lhe TheTanlric conception appears haveinspired leaslone lo al lemplein WestBengal.That the Hamsesvari is lemple(completed 1814A.D.)al Bansberia Hooghly in districl westbengalabolt of lilty kilomelers Calcutta the othersideof the canges.The lrom on planof lhis unique temple was chalked by its builders,, out Raia N'simha Devaraya, wasaTantric who dgvotee. Thejnle orol thetemple likethesix Caklasthrough is which Kundalini, teprcsenled goddess by goes Hamsesvari, upward. BesidesthelhreewellknownTanttic neryes, pingala, lda, Susumna, lwa mote,viz. Vajaksaand Cit niarcindicatedwilhin temDle the bv ladders. goddess sealed a lotuswhichrestson a Theaforesaid is on stememerging thenavelof from Sivalyingon a lrlkonayantra.fhe goddess a human has head herlower in left-hand Abhayahudra and Inher!pper right-hand, inherotherhands, while, thereare asword anoaconcn, The verynafie of Hamsesvari Tantric. is f/am is a Biia,and Sa stands Sakti.Ihetwoare locked lor (k/aka) logether;the lock,

realisalion. to ing s believed leadlo the highest out3'?, In conclusion, maybe stated il that,as D.Desaipoints I represenlationsa andarchiteclure in appear havebeen Tantric as by Onewas roligious, in lhe caseot inspired a twoioldmotive. to The a one,was either givea visualex_ iernples. other, secular pression thepassionate leelings olthe a istor thesculptor to or to people. of gratify lustiulpropensities the sensual ol Examples the froml\,4alhura, bv with the latier iurnished terracottas sex-motil are hislo cal sites. and Candrakelugarh lhoseunea hedin excavaled provided erotico-religious and arl Tantra mayhave the While perhaps, played sjgnificanl in role a ihe architeclure, Kamasufra, insFtiring secular the eroticdesigns cale. to the needsol lhe to The or aristoc.ats /Vagalaka of men. or lype hedonislic epicurean due increasing intluences Kamasutra ot was,pethaps, lo the r,se labeling ofleudalism. Belore complacent the andiirmeslablishment we 01all eroticart motifsas Tantric, shouldbear in mind that praclices thalreal so esolerismis amarked chaacteristic Tantric of would liketodisplay not ritualislic aclsal pub' sex Tankic devotees though lhey are,they ic places. l,loreover, eroticrepresentations In relaled Tantric Sadhana worship. this or are not functionally to pithas, strongthe it that oftheSakta connexion,mavbenoted none whaihas depiction rates holds oJTanlric andpractices, anyerotic in char Viewed historically, sex'designs art revealdifJerenl the in ages. acteristic6 different the Ol lhe extantspecimens, eaiiest onesdale backto C sincethen,we see second cenluryB.C, During few cenlurios a goddessas wilh associaled couples nudegoddesses females, and e.g. various loveposes, emengaging sexual in union andmaking pedod 900A.D. secubetween and 400 bracing, kissing, Inthe etc. increase Tanlric and lar croticmotilsappear havebeenon ihe to gained ground.We the inlluence learn frominscriptionsol lifthcenpatronage and i!ry onwards about extended byleudalchiels digni. taries Tantric lo devotees. period, ol lollowing A.D.saw a spurtor explosion 900 The erotclnlluenceon arl.

158

Chapter.4 TEMPLES poses Paftadakal---dprct lvlahakutes'vara, Badami, Aihole, ol love-makrng. Puri, Konarak kindsol erolicscenes' oJ temples Madhya diflerenl Many (inJabbalPur, Gwaliior, Pradesh Raiasthan regions) lvalwa Mysorel,laharastra, cuiarat, lmages33 ihe toTantra, most owing th9irconception Among images, the Kala. is well-known thatol Daksina theTanlric which of Theiorm Kali-image, ismostpopularamong erecl, organ Hismale His isthis.Sivatieson backwilh worshioDers, into inserled her lhal on is andlhe goddess sealed Himwith organ position. orgailina woman-superior belorelhe headof the worshipper The otferol lhe severed (C 4th Cent'A D to qoddess a lealurecommon the Pallava in is of andCola(c.100A D 3rdquarier 11thceniury ;nd ol gthcent.) periods South of India A.D.) the are images thoseol Ekanamsa' Someoihernoteworthy or l,'lahamaya Vagisvari, Varahi, Malrkas.Dantura,Camunda, lheYogints. Candi, Tripurabhairavi, Saruani, the iconsAmong also TheJainsandBuddhista haveTantric viz popular theimages otYaksints, ' Jvalamalinr, are most Jains.lhe and Padmavali Ambika. in are BuddhEm. tarlarger nurber' nsprred byTantric lmaqes. well-knownare those ol Among ihe images of malos, Vairasaltva' Vajradhara, Amoghasiddhi, Ratnaaambhava, Hevaira' Vagisvara, Lokesvara, Samkhanatha, Avalokitesvara, Jambhala, heads, string human ol wilh crowned a Yamanta orYamad, Mahjusn. Trailokyaviiaya, Kurukulla' are the the Among females, Jollowing well-known: one form'Paranasaban, skullsin ol having garland human a

During pedod this coarseness vutgarity orgiastic and like depiclrons creplconside|t|bly the realm an. into of Below glvea listof somenoteworihy we objects ari depictof rngeroticmotif6. LinearRepresentatlon pol Daimad (Ahmadnagar district Maharastra) ot -Chalcolithic period, phaselll IndianArchaeology, Aeview'1958-59,Fig.7 A Caves Kupgallu {Mysore) cave D.H.cordon, prehistoric The Backgrcund lndian ol Cuhure,p.115. pitalkhora Buddhistcaves Kondanaand ol inWeslOeccan_ depiclmithuna--A. 2nd-1stcent. B.C.M.N.doshpa de in Ancient /ndl:a, pp 69ff, 81fi. XV Ellora, Aianta, AurangEbad, Teracottas otherobiects and found al Bhita, Jhusi,Kausambi Up,TeranctN6vasa M;harastra. in in Naga4unikondaAndhra in Pradesh. Some terracoflas Kausambi ot andBhitadatelrom2nd-1st cent.B.C. pradesh Plaque Awra-Mandasore from districl fradhva ol lC. jn100B.C.-300A.D.)-Goddess Sriwithcoupt6s, borhsides, on gaged sexual in intercourse, pitchers. and Someterracottas Candraketugarh Tamluk from and dalingback to a priocl C.2ndcent.B.C.probably from repr6senting wine_pots, ln rrcnt. M. Candrain Bu etionof pince olwales Museum, Bombay, p_25, No.9, fig_17 Slone: lronuments Sanchi Bhafiul-m,ithi,as ol and associated with Sidevi.2nd cent. B.C. The art ol Malhura and Nagarlonikonda reveals varietv a of Malhuna Molils.

Complex India ot Tanlraand Cultural PrEiaparamita,Cunda_ The most popularof the fematedeities is

161

ffi r,::::":?^r:ilili:!:_Y,? "n"";;;;;;;,;;;,;';#fi

represented asdancinsacorpse on and n"","IiJ"tlI1? f,?]s
Tantra andAlphabet is thal the Devanagan alphabei ^- ^ -Siamasastri of the opinion
the lefler, is triangulat lttikonadbhav4. tnlhe Setubandha

AmongtheBuddhrst godsandqoddes

ir rhar #[Til:I,o,fiiil1i:rarava' isstared sanpraaaviias

Tantraand inscriptlonss wasextremely poputar,s Froveonat atta,by , r^-..JharTantra trF Iad lhat.even inscrrptrons, in whchwere meanl rtre lor ount,c,Taninc
1

:cnpf

qT,.lt :*li:[i"lH::fi !li{l'!? ffit:i:itr":,,""::,fi

This Sabda-sakll is idenlilied wfth Kulakundalini making indistinct soundat the M!/adha.a. ll is slaled that a greal Manll'arepealsilseliwhen inspiralion of throughlhe circularmovement Ihe vilal ai ol iiva and expiration revolvesroundthe wheelol Dhvani.SuchaMant@isc^lledAiapa. in The consciousness 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. extremey Severalstagesolwordshavebeen conceived.The is calledpara; it issuesfrom the Muladhan.fhe |4.ss subtlesiale subtlestale is calledPasyanll;inihisslale il reacheslheheart.The stiil less sublle state is known as Madhyamatil exisls in conjuncThe grossstate is called yalkhariissuinglrom the I on with Buddhl.

For the cansadha; sro;; ;:l:JlJiffi $*'trruded sxampre,

"nor#?lil"
Sabdaahd Dhvahi lanka has made speculaltons aboul 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 thatditference tonets lhecause ot or trnstwo-toldaspeclof sound.As a maflerol lact, noweuer, lhe,e

value of Tanira-rise of Sahaiiyacult Tanlrapresc ribedeasierritesandrituals reducingthe by rigour practices, statesabove,itgave greaterlreedom of Brahmanical As of relgiousperlormances wofien and Suds.The rigidity the to ol was relaxed. casle-syslem Tantramade a lremendous aooealto the mass.Thereasons are as tollows.lt assuredmuktithtough bhuktiot enjoyment and nol renunciation. prescribed ll many praclicesdesignedto securemalong lile, harm to enemies. Tantrapermealedlhe terial prosperity, societyrn such a way thal even lhe orthodoxBrahmanicaSastras could not resistils inlluence. Smrtiand Puranarecognised Tantflc aulhot ly. Mandalas, mudes, yantQs, nyasas, elc., came to be regardedas indispensable elementsin religious rites. In Ka| Age, ofTanlra has been menlionedin lhe Kularnava lhe predominance and MahaniI vanaf anlas. In Bengal, such was the impact oI Tantrathal the staunch iler, and orthodox Smrti-w, Raghunandana, hadto recognise provide lorTantricinitiatron. and It isTanlrathatpopularised conception worshipof Kali. lhe Buddhism verydeeply, and led to lhe riseol Tantrainlluenced

(=oro A.D)refers Mars{Mother ro soddesses) ","

dhvan,,s.ear rhe rn,ns :il""ff::::i.lji::i"li<:lds orsound:

rs statedthat.th wortdot movabteano rmmovabre rhrngsrs , -,,-.lt InKedup and pervadedby thc Sak / in lhe lorm ot dhyanl: This Satr, fs variouslycalledby such nanes as Nada,pra na, Jivaghosa,etc.

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

jifr 5;iJt3 ,1 ;:::r ,;;';."'g*Hj,:,:::#tiii' j: s",vananoa. a,,rno.

oi tnl;;'i;;'J;,lr:#;:: .1""J;i":.,,]H

.*"+ #,,.j# rffi ;,.,, *_*,",::n 1,ffiff ; Lak5rn ;':;:iJil,-jlli:, :i,1,:rJ,;:,5.T::;,::** n611."

'i;#::'' r" p,"aiil l"#llJ"'l ffll?l',",ili;i.1i"iff r:" n.'

jtir:?i.ii[.lr;,"J;,"T; i""J::?::"i:r*i#H
"'"'n"' l_,rne caseol sone Janlras. wetinoroydIaJlhors. g.SaAtaprdmoda c

s'ues,r,eoa e and p,a;e;;;;;::;;.":

;:t.'.ii3",';#lf',?l#J:::l fl.,,

il;ii#,f :,'ff"::l"""" :f:l;rufn::n **:;.:;; *'"oa., r-re', r'o, rio

ot connpnrdro,

SomeTantras reveallheelhicalouflooK lhe people. ot Apari tromthe above,Tanlras propounda distinctphitosophy. sso.nentsto.icalvalueol.lanlrasa,tdthe|com.nenlar. o" .The.e-

,",,1J[:T,:'Jniil?","i:ii#:Jffi ji"#::"*" H""1i,""",

il:il,1"","":ry:i fl i:#::*""i,::ii::i:::','iff ,'Tr#,',J:",:"ilffi Ttr,;,#;;:tx1 {*,iffi ld.,fi*rfl

r_ praceof yoga,lhe Va,snavas sta,e love.(p/emaJ. 'I he ra"trasIncrdemalty tnrowtiohl I on

:rt;im;;li:I:1*iff ::fiii."""#r $.::Ti,if :i,:""t:^{r",ej itii;:i_ti.;1f'"1f ji;i"",i:,i:iii j*it:i

t,h.e,.adu.awnich,";;;;;; r#il,.: ya. ttva !a :i i""1",! ?,j]irii,lj.
a

jr.i#';:::?,:aiti{{.-::'f *1i.:,'"::'J: ::l"1[.':[*;

lhe.Brlddhrsl Sarallyacutt whichsupphed 0

of in ol a DasaKingof Mehar, holyplaceol thelollowers Tantra a (Bangladesh').The Tippera irupana Nandarama o{ dislricl Satcakn-n patronage Harivallabha is stated havebeenwritien to und6rthe of Raya. somecases, learnof theTanlric In we workswritlenby auihorswhoarewell-known otherlields.Forexample, in Narasimha Thakkura, author oflhePradira commentary theKavya-prakasa, on wIole lhe Ta bhakti-sudharnava. ta Frorn poiniof viewof literary the hislory, Tantras havesome works rmportance. Tantfas lo other refer aulhorilative onTantra, Some in someof whichare loslwhileolhersare preserved manuscripts. relalive chronology theworks ol These relerences throw light the on lhem. ciied lhose and citing literature inrormation, importanl lorthehislory Tanlra of Sorne the Tantric religion, contained atewTantras. example, is in For and ieachers, and Paranandasutrd6 menlions names sixTanlric the ot q!oleslhree leachers, RegionalTantra works theSaklas. of Saivas lt Tanlra a terarygenre. includes is predom Bengaland Deccan, Sakta became cult andVaisnavas.In chiefly KashmirSouth in Indiawas aslrong' nant. Saivism developed though number Saivas the oJ and Sakias holdoi lhe Vaisnavas, In and India, Saktadevotees wasnot negligible. northern easlern Thereis alsoa Saiva lar oulnumber adherents otherfailhs. lhe oJ In Assam, Saktas fo!nd lhe are sectin no(hernIndia. genqaland in a verylarge number;lhe isVaisnava.Time when resl was there Kerala Kashmir. and were three malor schools lndia, Gauda, in viz., esln the Gauda school, yamamodewas heldin the highest the lorms,are in leem.fn this school, live Makaras, thei otiginai lhe the used. The devotees lhis schoolimmerse deily n theirown ol the and heart. The Kerala shoo merely conlemplate Makaras, no also, immersion lhe of is According lhisschool to subslance used. In school, in lhe deitvtakesDlace thedevolees'hearl. lhe Kashmir Besides theseschoo an s, arc subsltutesot Makatas otdalned. ls olher. calledyllasa alsoknown. ol ihe lt we are to believe lestimony lhe BrhadGautamya

164

Chapler,4 Complgtol lndia and Cultural Tantra

165

:::::':"T?*:1,,f ".1! 3i:!",:Ti^:J :?""1"1ff il:":f:f

Influence Tantra of amongcommonpeople is not,certain whether Tanha arose among common the peo^,^ ^ll

Idnlrd . Inen it ts evideII lnalTantricpreceptors ot dlnerenlregrons haodrt,erent oegreesot repulatron.Thrs holds work thatthose;th;

ii,,?i,ff ':,:1T:';"_"# !^i:L:l"t:fl;i larlyTantric[{;H"J""J::,",."".,".J:: o'""t'""t' particu deities, among nonrhe lf,ll!*nu'"
j,'.4; :Jli:T :i#5ili#"ftil1:j,;ffi ll,,"J:.3..';";;;;. dgi_.1?J",led
-., Ihe Hatiuamsaslales thal Devi, as Kiali, used to be wor-

to as tlvrns mounra,ns roresrs in dnd ,.^ uevtputana tne P:"1 " lxvlt.p3)may be menlroned
in lhjs connexron.

some was orsinary Ary"n anon n,.uui.'."r,u, 0",,y 3ili5"',i:::ili::[:

Thegoddess. worshrpped theChut by

asvindhva-vasini' (e.s sabari ",,r:L"r:il"HtT$.lesisnated Thgreis an impression

among

was belreved be,denhcaJwith lo Dikka ravasrnr Ine Katitapurana; ol . 5.1ehas lwo aspects. r/ksna (tierce)and Lalta lgracef;t). In the re_r.e asoect.she ts dark.pol.bellied. and wearsmafledlocKs. Be. srdes o'terirgsol w,ne,meat,etc.,numanbeings weresacril.eo

:ffi ]:;5;1iX T:"T:"#:i ;*:::.lill [:':iff

. or^ suoans.,frand *a".urr"axr"Jirl;:::1:11::[] Drhjrsriu",.

nowregarded a lormof Durga as orKali.3, Amongthe the Dravidians Souih lnora, ol lhe vanousMoihergoddesses widelyprevalenl?a. worshipo, is In tact,arnonq

::,::T,iL:i"1.,lT,Hl:,1;;: ::::$!ilJf"ilHffi

are Thesedeities genera!ly predominate deities themJemale nol had whetherthey orhad any l"ll"d S"kri.Wh"t"u"ttheirorigin, ol in Sakii, course iimemosloi themcamelo to ielauon thenryan or uponas Durga Kali' be looked the ol temple l\"ladura' maledeilywas ln thelamousI\rinaksi the lemalederty|\.rna\siGraoually ."rf"i dotuuf'ng"and his and wrth lol^at'"oa*as 'aent'tied Siva Minaksiwilh consorl in lo believed be a Saktidwelling is KaliAnkamman poputarly She thecemelerv. eatscorPsesrs ln is a Originally ruraldeity,Candesvari worshippeda6 bylhe abongrnes in Nandavaram Kurnauldistrict in KaliAmTen or lvolherKali is wotshioped someareas'elc InchinoPoly e g..Ianjore. people lrom places saving for in worshipped some Mahakaliis Bengal of Raksakaliof one She epidemics, reminds limes ancrenl lromvery in in vogue Kerala Kar' rlahasbeen lhe amonq pulaol thisdeityonginaled lotBditrcn.the accordrnq people live'n lhe lo by 's believed common ]ili.ln"-.. eh"otuL"i' c"t"i"ry Ma'l mari areworshlpped called sislers' seven ln Mvsore, as Sakt'Theya,e regarded wNesol Siva' means elc-' goats, sheep' pa icularlybufla_ goddesses Beiorefernale and Durga Kaliin Bengal beiore loes,are sacriliced;s ledlolheIntoduclion ideasperhaps Iantric Tnewrdesp'ead In_ (sexuaL Mailhuna (lemple_giy's) ^r rhF nslrlLrtron Devedasls ol 'ilual in things a Tanlfic 'ne trveessential .ll r-",iorit"i *"t ."" o' withwomen So lo provrde rhal qodsare pleased *r.-t"li"*a rl lo dLtv dedcalpd wastherr Ji'qni'ot rn". ,hio"u,dasiswere lhe oi ln deitres course lrme however' iino'"nJor*" o"i-" the andt\enove Ly allilstcovenly into rated proslitution l',.i"JJ1 aeoene Indiaand lo in andspread South p'""""rv lit't "'igrnated as in Bengal ""t.i" te.ieiJeqj"".in.omeolherprovrnces " we'e law_g:vers BrahTaras andlhe oftnesoclery fhe eaders olas lhey sec'llar' showed lowa-os or rel'giouq na^rng'aws Wni,e

166

Chaptef-4

ol Complex lndia and Cultural Tantra

167

the threeupperclasses general, in andthe grahmanasin parlicular. Womenand Sudraswere subjected totabooes. Those,whowere repressed, naturallyahankering relihad ior . gio!s ritesand a resentment agajnstdiscriminalion. Taniraoave As muchlreedom these lo classes, naturay loLndlavour rt wth iem Elilist attitude towards Tantra We haveseenhowandwhyTanlra becaneverypopular among lhe masses The Upperechelons SOCrely, tO.and 4U(r,redt; ol bo.n Vedrclradtlon, lookedoown upon Tanlrawtth a sneeringaflttuoe, althoughthe overwhetming populaity ol this class ot literalure and lhe rtes and practices,taught in it, compeljedeven lhe orlhodox tormulators Sastrato accepl some Tantricriies as part of oi their lAllgio_. he emptsas,s f olTantraon Dhogaas agai!.sltyaga.so zeal. oJsryddvocaled byorthodoxSastras,lheInclLston lanlrd oi w,ne In and meat as essentialrecjpe inTanlricrites,tbe relaxation oicasle_ reslflclors, etc.,were LJnconventional, the peopleol the so, uppef class,pridinglhemseivesonsuperiorAryanculture, detestedTan;a. Wilh the renaissance the 19th century,as a fesun ot lhe of impaclof western cjvilisation,section the intelligentsja a ol denounced Tankasas thoroughly despicable.In this denuncralion, sornewesl ern scholarsspokein one voicewith some highlyenlightened India.s Forr'r<tdnce. Wirson. I\r'onterWiliams, Hopk,ns. torre^ltonsome o lhe stalwarls, ookeduponTanhas a debased as lormol HtndJ 'sn r^dulgng In barbarous ga.th ctsaracler and repulstve pfaclices. rsesa Sahtaot the lelt hand as a.hypocrite and a srpersriltous The renowned BankimChandraChatterjeelound nothingbul . recherv lusr.ano lquor r1 the ldnl4c rel,gron. Mrrra F.L. descibes practrces revoliinq horlble. ranrflc as and In the presentcenluryalso,Tantrais mo,e nalec than undeF slood-Those, who look down upon ii, do not go deep into ihe phi, losophyoi Tantras, and iail lo miss it true sp rrt.The rnalpracl ces, lhal havegrownamongtheTantriks, makethem blindto lhe subtrme aspect ofTantra.

whosays Elliot is ol lhe Amonq fewadmirers Tantra Charles andiltelige_l a brealhe libeta olTantra es rnar oerieratpr'nc'p tne Whereas lhey 3rehonoured: canacl as leachets -.t;'; ;."" lo its ol accused teslnctrng hrghe'code fll''liiu-1y s soneri.es oulside may srna"v,tn" opposile besaidol Tantrism-fui"r, "ni llsmorally excellenfs is thelerrola hits Vidyarnava lhe nail on lhe headwhen he Sibchandra of otlhe plncrp'es Tanlra_ -r.e qeneta p"otcare gao'anl isa "av. ;""ir15e 6rr"rsrgno.a;cethelacllhatTanlra-saslra rs i]iu" _s-r-o"]nr-rr.rrr, only ble nter||g parlotwhrch beco-nes tr'eq "aierbooks by English wrilers 'o'lar'eo iu soAnun"..TheEngrrsh days ol Eengalc lhese educated o'v!:alEng'ish iie,elva rel'ecrior 'gnorant lhe Tanlraol *"" Borhate eventodayequallY ;.;; ol atlitude the Brahmancral deprecatory rhe Despite general nol lhal tfe lacl remains manyBrahmansas Tarrira, e itesiowarOs ol t\'Iost riles Tantric intu *rot" rr""ti."" on f"ntra' but practised were on ilrewriters HinduTanlras Brahmrns
peop'e Inlelleclual oul Nol on v Ihe Ind,aas alsosomghlghly lespecl the Sadha&aswrlh deepe)l 6rrhewesllooo uponTanltic reierred becamea disclpleol *" navearready fiooo,oit", to *noa who was a proioundTantric Vidyarnava sibchandra ,t;.i";;;;b scholarand a devoteeol with caliber' hodox Brahthe Nolwithstanding sneeringatlitudeof lhe o the llve mosl m ns towardsTantra:it is surprisinglo note that all viz lheworsnlo .onsllJenlso'lneBrahmanica'relrgon rmoorlan verv (d od S ;;. aakr' Garaoari and Surva coreLr ;;V::" lhe e'rg'o_s ol ls on itn.oonr"na,^ ou"- lrlc'ilua as esse'llalpa'ls i5 '_ ,t'"a" aya,"'r_s posllor ol Ta|.lra paralleio lhe lLe nr"a,aoa elements Vedic The lact seems may seemto be anomalous Th s svnthesls root and as such to oe traiait'tne aOoveii;esystemshad aTantric lFe hdoo \^ oe anooeeoapoedlro fasses iailh couldnol do ol The orlhodoxadherents ihe Brahmanical rank and llle ol *iir,ll" .v"t#. *hich so Jirmlygrippedlhe and addedVedrcovenones ""* ioc,elv. So, if,"v uaaplecilhem, ,..

168

Chapter.4

169 Tantricjdeas have much in commonwith lhis Lokayatadoctrines. treory. The idealhal Ehulasorgrosselemenlsunderlie everyworldly is lhing,occurringin some works, nolablythe Svetasyalara, found nTanvaalsoThe atheistic Carvakasdo not recognisesoulasindependent has entryapartfromthe body.This similarty wilhlanl]ic. Dehalaftva ot the accordingto which the body is lhe microcosm lhe universe; preservation the body in good healih is an essentialduty of a of Tantrcdevotee. The Carvakasdeny the existenceof the olher world beyond death.lt may have influencedthe Tantrc conceplal Jivanlmukti, lberationn life. .lainaDohasrevealheterodox lendencies, and protestagainst The iniluenceof the Sahallya cult was so pervasive lhat even theVaisnavas, who rnsist punctilious on adherence ethicainorms, to couldnot escapeit.Thereis aconsiderabJe lk of Vaisnava bu Sahajiya 50 ileralure The Vaisnava conception Krsnaand Radha s regarded of as correspond 10Siva and Sakt ofTantraand lo Upayaand Prajila ng ol the BuddhistTantra. ll may be noled ihatTantra,particularly Sahal/ya the idea, is tound irl a I the religioussyslemsof the medievalperiod. 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'/ia cult.For instance, thesongsol Kabir,Ramdas and othersbetraySahallia ideas. Tuls das was a devoul lollower ol Brahmanism.In his Ramacaritamanasa, contemptuously he refers to lhe superiority c a med by Sudraswho actedas teachersof Brahmanas. Not only Sudras, bul also Tells,Candalasand other low-classpeople are

Post-Vedic thought-currents and Tantra India, Lnda Orve,s.ry stra-dso, rhoLgtsl. we " posl-Vedic ol ^ SoTe ot thesehave striraritywilh Ta"tric.deas. 1.,s, "oweve., diffcullto determine extentto the whichTanlra influenced sys_ wilh lems and ylce yersa.In the early Vedicperiod,no Tantrictext ;p_ pearsto rtavebeen composed.llshould,howeve(be remembered lhatTanlrc perhaps, ideas, originated amonglhe lower echelons ol the socretyas early as the Vedicperiod It is,therefore, worthwhile examine ideassimilartoTant|a to the and olher systemsoi thought. The SvetasvatataUpanl-sad declaresthe monotheislic con_ ceplof Rudra Sivawho js idenlified Brahman. raatsospeaks with Tanl We have seen in conneclionwilhpahcapasana that, 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 qomrnating everything. The ,Svlasyatara (Vl.6) considersit as the causeol lhe uaiverse. The Buddhistdoctrrne Ksanika-vada, JainAnastikaya ol the which has no form) as the descriptionof iime teslif es to lts lthat Time is one ol the categoriesol Nyaya_Vaisesika philosophy. ln ihe Tantfa,tt is so important thatthe most prominenlTantric deity, i, has been namedafterKala.Kalits so cated because Ka She is supposedio have controlled iime, pasi, presenl and future. Thanlras generdlly averselo the docll.e ot oeshny whicr praysa very mpo(ant r6tein orthodoxBrahmanical ught. tho ll was, perhaps,due to the influenceoi Ajivikas,who recognis;d deslrny, 'hol Tdnt-a .ecogn,seo In Saiva r. Agara oeslny ,s desc.bedas evolved tromAsuddha Maya. Svabhavavada)sthe doctrjnethal eveMhtng is producedby nature. Traditionally rs sometimes it equatedwith Carvakaand

Chaptsr.4

and Cultural Complex India ot Tantra c earlyan echo of the Tantic Dehatallva. Amonglhe disciplesot Ramananda was Bavidas,a cobbler. ideas manydisci Ravrdassunconventional enlistedthedevolionol ples among whom Kabir was famous, and more celebraledwas and were numerM ra Baiof Bajputana Jhali,queenoJChitlor.There and of ousolherfollowers disciples Ramananda. 398) Iearntthe mainTantricprinci The aloresaidKavir (b.c.1 ples lrom his guru-There are the lutilityo{ caste-syslem. exlernal iormalilies religion lackol distinction and belween manandwoman. of Thougha lVuslirn, had many Hindudisciples. he Kavifs Dohasare popular amonglhe people allclasses, ot highand low Manyof his songsare quoiedin the Gfanlh'Sahlb. The spirltualdescendantsof some ol the well-knownsainls founded minorsects whichpreached doctrines akintothoseofTanlra. 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, secl founded a by MaLukdas, discipleot Kavir,al Allahabad,a sect Joundedby a Rajjab, discpleof Dadu. a was Aianonssect,Parabrahma Sampradaya, founded Dadu by (1544-1603), mostwell'know the exponentof Kavilsdoclrines. He made a colleciionof devolional writingsfrom allforms of religionin aboul1600A.D. Nabha,an untouchable, was the renownedwriter ol the cel ehaled Bhaktamalainwhich recordedlhelile and aclivilyol lhe he porsuasions, devoteesof variousreligious preachingliberalviews Amonglheoihermedievalsainls, infiuenced by Tantra,mention may be made of Namadeva.5! Surdas (1483'1563) (b.1556), Dharanidas Laldas,PuranBhakat,elc. ideasand Ol the religiousleaders,preachingunconventional praclices northIndia inlhe 18thcenluryafewwereBhanSaheb, is (b.1703), whoformeda salvation afo lowerol Kavir, army;Carandas born neaf Alwar,who lormeda sect;Sivanarayana ib.1710) born in

re{erred as gulos. Theserelerences lo testlly thewideinfluence to o{Tantra, granl(1596) 75 of Sewell's TheTamil copperplate No. Lost prieslandhis many refers a Sudra lo disciples. protesl nstcaste-syslem Thealmost India-wide aga appears to havefollowed thewakeol thepopularty n olTantra.In Soulhern India, Tenkalais the started movemenl a against age-o/d this syslem. Tukaram ^raharastra,Sudra, manydisciples upper ot a had of caslesincluding Brahrnanas, Caitanya histollowers and boldly reacted againstlhe system. Theassocialion Caitanya oi withYavana Haridasa well-known. is Gapalabhalta's Hatibhakivila;a, authoritative an trealise among BengalVaisnavas, unequivocally raises voiceof protest a againsl il.lnitscommenla,y(Berhampore 491-93)Sanaiana ed., V Gosvami vigorously vjndicates rightot Sudras. the Slalwarts Narahari like Sarkar, NarotlamaThakur, among etc., thedirecl andtavourile non-Brahmin disciples Caitanya,were ol lhe oulrgol evenBrahmanas, The no-caste campaign Caitanyaism marked Purr of was in where caste-reslriction is notonlydecried, it isalsoregarded bul as srnluland unethicaleven make discrimination lo-dayto any among castes. example, Mahaprcsada For the of ol ltemnanl rice-olfering) people Lord Jagannathacan served low-class be by even staunch to Brahmanas canrefuse onlyal the perilolincurring who il sin. ln Assam, Samkaradeva and {1486-1568) hischleldisciple, Madhavadeva, Kayaslha classol Sudras), hada large (a were but numberof even Brahmana lollowers. His sect was called firahapurusiya.course time,it wassplilintosub-sects, In ol called Bamunia, Moa'maria, Thakuriya. second The one believed lhe in pureTantric mode, (141h-151h a norlh-lndian Ramananda cent), leader the ol quoles relormists, aVaisnava.The scripture, was Sikh Grarlh-Sahlb, (Rama) notto a song Ramanandawho of saysthatGod is belound inthescripiures in anyexternalobiecl, inone's nor hearl.This but is

172

Chapt6r-4

and Cultural Complex India ol Tantra

173

Balia district;Pran of Bundelkhand; Nath Ramacandra orSantRam ol Jaipu ,ounder the Ramasanehi Jagjivan quaner r, of (last sect; ot 17lh cenl,)founder Satyanami Satnami of or secl; Ghasidas, a Salnami leaderand a leather"worker; Lalgiror Lallag,leaderof Alakhnamisecl Bikaner oJ region. Someof lhe aboveattmpted synthesise to Hindu[,4uslim ideas. TheDasakuta movement Karnataka of discarded casle-sys. lem and exlernal formalities. Sjmilar ideaswere propagated by l/aharastrian saintslike Jnanadeva, Namadeva, Ekanatha.etc. Though lheydid notstartanymovemenl, theyenlisted yet adhe. enlslo lheirtaiths. Thelrahanubhava of southIndja sect wasstrongty opposed to Brahmanical religion.The famoos exponents covindaprabhu, were Bhaskara, poetees Kesavaraja, lrahadamba, mention to ontyatew. LiberalVaisnavism Natha formed bedrock lhisschool. and cuh the of Nalhism, known also asYogi-panlha, imbued Tanlric with rites and Practices, towhichwe have akeady relerred, a verypopLrwas lar sectin Bengal, Orissaand Assam. The songsot Goptcandra, popu r alloverNorthla particularly Bengal, India, in werecomposed, trler a/la,by lvluslims. known Bharthari. as In Orissa,two sects,calledIVahima-pantha Kumbhiaand panlha, Which wereproducls themedieval oi religious movemenls, were verypopular, The well-known Siddhacaryas, whornare attribuled to the Caryapadas, calledBauddha also GanO Doha,aopear havewritto lenlorthecommon inpopular man language, analogies using and rmageries lakenlromcommon I\,4any lheseAcaryas life. ot came lromthe lowestclass, as s!ch,were and. opposedlo Brahmanism; such names Dombi, as Sabari, Tanti, Dhobi Kuthari. Karmara. Teli. etc.are indicative theirloworigin. of TheSiddhas sometimes betray contempt the Brahmanica ior syslem, do nolrecognise and caste-dislinclion.They recognise the poweroftheg!ru. Fivebrands Siddha divine of culture Dombi, afe f.'al,Rakaki, Candali Blahmani. and Theyrepresenl lemale live

forms of Sakti.Like Tanka-wrilers they emphasiseKayasadhana, lhe ultimaleobjeclo{ a devoteeis to realiseSahala, basisof all the lhe recognise exislence, sourceof perennial bliss.They Jivannukti. principlesol Thus, lhe Srddhacaryas advocateall the main Tantra.1nthei case, BuddhistTantra,rather Euddhist Sahallya cult appearsto have exercisedthe groatestinlluence.In the Catyas, lhe goddess known as Nairalma, Dombi-Candali, gunyataor P|ajfraollheBuddhistTantric Sabai, etc,is identicalwilh known as Sakli in oiher SyslemsSyslem, people, The Nathacull,originating amongthelow-class shows lhe unmislakable impressoJTanirism oJlhevarious sects,viz.Saiva, Vaisnava, Sakia, Bauddha.lt is, in fact, a composilecull drawing nsorraiion lrom 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.rpata Saivism.Theyhave no scripture. lniofmationaboutthemasgathered tromthe wrilingot o hodoxreligionistswho havedescribed lhem in disparaging terms manner, andderogatory They were worshippers the FemalePrinciple.They ol cast all conventional socialvaluesto the lour winds;casle-system was 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 like oi the barbarouspractices Kapalikas, humansacrifice, elc., of are recorded in Krsnamis.a's dftma, Prabodhacandrodaya.Thelarc also describedin Bhavabhuii's Malatimadhava.Their skonqhold was at Srisailain lhe Andhraregion. Some epigraphs reter to some secls which are, perhaps,

174

Chantanr'

Tanta and CulturalComplexof

175

Kapalikas Kalamukhas. and Some oflhe inscriptions are lgatpu copper,plate Nagavardhana cenl). ri ol (7th Nirnand copper-plaie cnt) Kangra, in {7th Inscription Arsjkore (Karnataka) hom etc. TheKalamukhas appearlo have been stronq a sectInlnegth_ 11thcenrurres (videN. Sastri, j955. op. fbe Colas. t\,Ld.as, 648-49). Eplg raphical evidence oflhe lOthandl lth centuries testilies to theexislence Saivasect ofa inTripuriand neighbouring areasof Central lndia. This is called Manamayura. hibe ol thrsnameis A Rnawn lhe Mahabharata i^ zt_5).T'ls sctappedrs have {11.32. to floJrished the Pala in period Bengat in {V.de N.\. Bhaflacharya. Ancient lndian pp.l33-34). lhjs sectbelonqtheworks. Rituals, To calledSomas ambhupaddhali tsanasivagurudeva:paddhah and According H.Goetz, several to the bas-reliels Khaiuraho oi ternotes owelheiroflgrnlo insprration lhe ofthissect(4rtsAsattqueq];me V Fasc.I pp.35 ft.) Sectsand Subsects toTanlra(AlsoseeTantric offshoots) Erodly speaking, Hindu lanlra wasdjvided twoschools, into SaivaandSkata. Among_the Sakta Tantras again,despite lundamentat unily, . iherewereditlrences which weremainly caused theditference by of the objecls modes woFhipas wellas ot acaras. and of Sakta Tantraswere broadtydrvidedinto two groups, Srikula

be onged to this school.The followersol Kaulacara were divided nto lwo subsecls,Putuakaula d Unarakaula. a Accotding to lhe iormer, Siva and Sakti are known as Anandabhairava and Anandabhairavi. They are relatedto each otheras Sesa and Sesi. Accotding Unarakaulas, b Salliis alwayspredominant. never and ends.Siva appearsas faftva, bul Sakli is ever beyond Tattva. Fromanolherstandpoini SaktaTan aredivided lwo classes; into lhose basedon Daksma cara andthaseon Vamaca?,52 In dilferenl paris ol lhe Saktisamgama, lhere is mentionol someTantricsecls. A we l-knownsecl oJihe Saiva'Saktasecl was Kaparka.lt is generally were so calledbecause believed thal Kapallkas they used to carry humanskulls (Kapala) or drink Jromthem.Thereis, however,an inner signilicance the name,as stated in lhe Pakas'a of 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 GopinathKaviraj53lo lhe be sa.r,eas Kapalikasiddhanla, Soma means Sa+Uma, i.e along wiihUma. fhe Agama-pananyaofYamuna Muni,Slvapurana, name etc. someTantric secls, ThelamousVacaspatiMisramentionslourlvlahesvarasecls. was, perhaps,in vogueamong non-Aryans, Phallus-worship inllllrated intolheAryan society.ltis reterred in lhe lo and gradually Rgveda (vl\,21.5, X.99.3). Hatredand fear appearlo have been againstSisnadevas.5l voicedby the seer who praystor proteclion Phalus-worshrp was invogueamongprim ive peoplesalmosl kinds,representing throughoutlhe world.Phallic symbols dilJerent ol the goddessand her male parlner,havebeen lound in ihe ancient landsol the Agean, Egyptand lhe siles of Semilccivilisation.

and Kalikual.

Again,therewasa divisionbasedon KadimataandHadimata. Eachol these hadsubsects. two In another way, nay divide we Tantra twoclasses_pure into Sakta works lhoseof Bengaland as wo*swilh a l\,,lixture ofsaiva_ Sakta approach, someoflhe worksof Kasnmrr. as From anolher point view, of Tantras divided twoclassare into es, lhose followingSafiayacaraand those loernqthe line of Kaulacara. lotmer beleved becoeval lheVatdtka fhe is lo wih mafqa and related it. Gaudapada, to Smakara, are Deheved na;e etc. lo

176 l. i1dia. lhe ruins ol the IndusVa ey cvjl,satronar [/ofenjo-

ot Complex India and Cullural Tantra

q o t 1 5 . F o r al i s lo l T a n t r a s u o t e d r r e f e r r e do b y h i m ,s e e S K O e ,O p . c l . , 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 FOOTNOTE y l 9 . S e e i n t r o d u c l o r p 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 20 See B. Bhallacharya, Saclhananala, Inlroductron. L 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 _ 22. See Svami Pranjanananda,ahatatiya Sangitetlthas (in Bengali) l, pp.300 ft. 23 See M. Lalou, tcanogtaphic des etolfes paintes (pata) dans tes t\,tanjusrinutakalpa, tndia. 1930. 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 silual on. Tantrc:P.Rowsan,eraticA,l ottte EaslM. Ananl, Plastac 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 M E y e o f L o v e ;O . C . G a n g u l i , 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. SuNey Repot, lX the lemple ol 24 See Cunningham,,4rchaeological 6 4 Y o g r n i si n B h e l a g h a t . Buddhu and the Gospelof Budha,P.p 35 25. See A. Coomaraswarny, 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 P M u s e u m , 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

,nglong l,fe. At Harappaquitea lew conrcalr/rgas and taraeanqs. proballyrepresenting lemaleprinciple, the haveleen uneaith"ad

desrgns.,;'?9a (mate organ) yo,ir.emare and org;n) :11:J:y:ar 9f wnrcn supposed some have ate by to been used amulels as en-s!r:

--,-

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 hrca d t. ta Kama p a upa cta atuena atyant a vtla k sa n a e va p t a st h h anab hed a ) I See A. Avalon, P/i.rc,p/esot Tante, p_4j

5. Names of some South Indian tadtes, not necessafity Tanrrc

saorr,ias, end in amba. e.9.. pamabhad.mba,

2e-e,,::n!arikkj; oancrhatuatantE,XL. 10, Tanttaaia.lantn. XXVI, 36.43. 7 . l l i s i n l e r e s t i n g t o o t et h a tm a n yp e o p t e s t t h e a n c r e n t n o t t m e su s e d ro oleve In the magic pow6r ot le ers and wo,ds; no matter
iilgn rie,man and Ketric (Htstory ot Auddhtst f hought. ; fts)

6.

r, 55, . 57, v|.r(Rashavascomm)

E.J.rhomas rhdr s. wnres spe :Tll:::::"lrh"": l"qanyssnse. srmrrar Hrndu Buddhist to and rypes tound OrdFngtrsh are on Otd

8. E.g.B.C.Majumdar, J,qnS,1905, 355-362. tp. jn 9. Diksatattva Snnj-bflva, l, pp. 645-659. 10.1nsome laterTantras, duatism rcognrseo: Mtgendtars eg tantr.:,ii, 1t. 11.See c. Hatdar,Vajdyaka-vdtanta, 21O. p. tz.See Jiv_s.lagrruDhagavatanda his commenra,y and on rh E.anmasamhitaand catanya-cailahna ol Rts.|adasa. ch. rv A;i, 13. Se6 S.B.DasGupla,Stiaclhar, kamavikas, p. g32. -Iantras, l4.For referencos or quotations lo trom conlatnod the slx rn Sandabhasol Jiva cosvamin,se S.K.De.vagnava Failh and Movement, t961,pp. 418-419.

178 Kannada tetm eltan amma(Univercat [/otho4. 29.See P.B. Dsai,Ka achurisof Karnalaka. 30.N.N.Bhattacharya, Historyot Tantic Religion. g76. p. 31. Actually startedby ths Rajain 1799A.0., it wascompteted his by 32. EroticScutpture tndia,pp. 16-17. of 33 F^o.descrip-rions ot Tantric images, N.N. Bhattacha Op.cit.. see rya, 34. Sse B.P.Desai,JOR,Madras, Vot.XtX.pp. 285_288. 35. For MS., se /VawCatatogusCatatogorun. 36.SeeAccount ofthis Tantra. 37 SeeP.C.Eagchi. Studies Tanhs, pp.17-ft1TheAge thperiat in ot p.321. Kanaui, 38 For exampte. Raghunandana TilhilatNa s n 39- The Mother coctdessKamakhya,p. 1740. tbid,p.66 andKirata-laraklri(Chatrerj0,56. p. 41. TheMothergoddess Kamakhya, p.64. 42. A Cuhurat Historyot Assam,I,p. 149. 43. Ency.ot Religjon and Ethjcs,I,p.4a7. 44. SeeEncy.ot Retigion and Ethics, p. 6. V, 45. Dravidian Gods in Moden Hinduisn, p. 18. 46. lbid.pp A4-AS. 47. tbid.pp 41-119. |, p 285. 49. Woodroffei Sakliand Sakla,8th ed_, Madras, 1975,p.p. 9-10. postcaianya Sahajiya 50.Sse l\,{.M.8ose, Cult. 51.Three percons oflhis namearknown havetivedjn GurudaspLrr, to 48. Hinduism and Budhism, Londonj921, Reprinlj957, connxron with

179 and Bulandsahar Marwar' 52.SeeAcara s3.Tant k sadhanao siddhanta,I,p.33 lo in worldhas beoninierplelod two ways:(1)thos6 whom 54.This organ'i'e (2) thosewho play withlh genital phallus God. in indulgein sexualPleasure. elc S5.Marchall,Mohenjodaro, , pls, xiii' 1,7;xiv 2,4' elc at 56.M.S.Vat, Excavations Hanppa,ll, 5i ' 53, 55 ft' 140'

rorhose havrns pronouncsd some i!;i,i"'iiii;.!il" ""'"'eronrv

o
o' o
G ,(E

ct) o

tr

It

o
*.Cl

9e 6t

Chapter-5
We havegNenaccounts the published of Tantras Bengal of history theirauthoc. Besids ol thesewo*s, alongwiththepersonal in whileolhe6 are knownonly somear available manuscripts, lrom rlerences themcontained olherworks.ln addition lo in to worksol Bengal, whichare mostly theselittleknown unknown or puFoss, rilualistic thera commentaF are digests compendiafor or ies by Bengal wriliors somewell-known on Tantric works. set We lorthb6low titles the oftheunpublishedTantric of Bengalwith workd suchdeiails about theirplaces deposit, ot authors contenls and as could gl6aned be fromvarious sourcos.Tho following abbreviations have beenusedhere: AS A6iatic SocietyCatalogue, Calculta. CataIogues Catah grum byT.Aufrecht. lndiaOllice Catalogue, London. to N Navadv Sadha6na Grarl,6s9ara, ipa Navadwip, Nadiya, WestBengal. NewCatalogues by NCC Calalogrum V Raghavan NM Notlcesol Skl. MSS,by R. L. Mitra. NP Catalogue Sl<t. ol MSS.in P vate Libra es of NS SKR SKBOC SSP Varendla VSP VSPSup Norces ol Skt MSS.by H.P Sastri. (Government) Sanskrit College, Calcutta. A Handlistof MSS.with Saral KumarRoy,1-4. European AsylumLane,CalcuttaAn Unfinished Catalogue the of Dscriptive colleclion. above Handlist SK. MSS,in Sanskrit Sahitya of Parisat, Cabuna. Research A Handlistof MSSinVarendra Society, Rajshahi, Bangladesh. Catalogue l\,lSS. of belonging Vangia Sahitya to Paisat,Calculta. A Supplementary Handlistof MSS,in Vangiya

184

Chapter.5

ol Tantras Bengal

185

Sahitya Parisat, Calcutla. Titles in Devanagari are Alphabetical Order

Title Abhijnanaralnavatl References Remalks

graha

Agama' candrika

to MS. Ramananda AS3603 An exlenstve work TarkalankaIa G viii. A ontheworship ol 6211NM Sakti. TheAS t\rs. xi.Pref. 15 coniarns onlylrag, menls Chapters ol 1217 A u t h o r ,s o n o f Maitra fi,4s. biogra and phyof aulhor, see underTankic Texts Bengal. of AS6209 mohana viii. 6209 Kayasiha i. of VSPp. 187 Purvasthaliin andlnlro. WeslBengalHe pp. xxv-xxvi appears nave to been welloif and to have appointed Pandits lor compiling works ior himself- this ln work,it is sialed to havebeen compiled by
F a n o l l s .t o

someof the eighteenwolks. Vide vii.5250, AS 5251,5508-9; NS Vlll.6209; ll. pp. 41;VSR 125, '187.The Agamacandika withrules ol deals and iniliation the of worship deities of of lhe group N4ahavidya. From itwe learn Ramakrsna NM1269 p.273 thattheaulhor CCl. Tarkalamkara VSPwassonol AS6214 and No.1879 Raghunatha a Sup p. xvii. residentoJ Inko. popularly Napada, known Dak"sina as in Navadvipa, Andulnear lt Calculta. is a ot summary Raghunatha's Agana-taltvadate vllasa-The of of compositiion the Aganacandrika is sake,i.e.Saka (= 1647 1725A.D.)

Agama-

Krsnamohanaare altributed many as as erghteen works includinglhe Kamalodaya and the Nilisataka; these mention iwo

147

Agarnalattvavrlasa

Adyakarana{anlil Anandalahad t,ka

Faghunatha SC 1OS3AS Author, of son larKavagisa G vrii.i.6214 Sivarama.Wrinsn 1611 tX, in 1687 5 NM in 3t86 (tstetc.)chaps; deat, it NS| 22 (5 withTantric chaps) SKR172 modes ot worship and nantftts lor vanous deities. ln th6beginning, the author stated is to haveconsulted 160works includingths TaraEhasya and Syamarahasya. Partot it printed. SeeCat of Printed Boo,in Btitish Mus'um. Vidyavagisa SSpA l3B9 Fromthe work it Mahadva AS G 6582 |s toarntthat the Vidyavagisa tO tV 2624 authorwas of son Yadavananda Chakvani, grandson ot Vidyasagara and great-grancison ol Subuddhimisra. Author saidlo haveobtained the tilleVidyavagisa lromhispreceptor atVisnup!ra, shuated within Mandarana. Dat

ot composition1527 Saka (=160s A.D.). Saideto have benwrittenin Jahangi/sreign. Vide lndianCul p.322. tu@,lV, Harinarayana ss G3973 NSlt 17 Govinda AS G 3694,5204NM Tarkavagrsa x 3373VSP 334 Do Srikrsna AS G 3905 Taikalankara Bhattacarya Amarisamhita AmaraMaitra ForMS.and biography of aulhor, under se Tantric Textsof Bngal. KakaradiPumananda Kali-sahasranaml Kankalarnalini Rarmsvarupa ssP375. Iamra Karpuradi RamakisoraNS ill Aulhorappears lo slavalika DaccaUniveFhavebeena (PraMhini) sity Handlisl,dsscendant of No.3967 SaNavidya. Do Yadavendra Sanskrit Coll96, Bhattacarya Benares, 1916-17, p.3 (No.2624) with lext Kamyayantro- Maharnah@a NS lll. 53 Datd 1375A.D (Haribhaki Suddhodaya) Do

188

Chapter-s

189

ddhara Kalikarahasya Kalikadiahasranama

dhyayaParivrajakacarya Pumananda NPV 138AS v l B 6643-,f6 Dacca University No.552BNSt61 Travancore University No.7799 Visvabharati S1O. 509, Kaliprasada NM|X.2956 Kavyacuncu Srikrsna NS l. 60 Author, ol son VidyalankafaVarendra 979Dacca DR33 Candrasekhara ll. 37 NS SSPI, J. 53 Samkara Ramaratna SSP411 RatnagarbhaNM l.331 Sarvabhaurna SC761 Contains narfag applicablein Tantric rites. Authorappears lo have beenthe preceplorof the tamousCandRay andKedar of Ray Nyayavagisa. Pumannda Kramastava Gururajatanra Gurupadukaslolratrka Samkara Rarmlocana SSPA 1183

Vikrnapura, now in Bangladesh. He is alsoknown as Gosvami Bhatiacarya.

Kalitattvasudhabindu Kali-

samputa KulapujanacaMnka orKulapujacandrika KulamulaKaulikarcanadipika Kramacandrika

Do tpancaKa) Gautamiyalantratattva-dipika

Durgadasa Visvabharau VidyavacaspatiAnnals {b) 190 VSPp. 267 SSPlll. U.52 Dacca University It4S. 1350AS3401, 6118, 5289,3917 A v t. 8.67S857996801,6802 Raghunandana Dacca University Nyayapan- MS.No.1974,2964 canana NS l.97. Radhamohana VSP39(117), Aulhorseemslo 40(335) be identicalwith theVaisnava of author this name, wfote who the K6Mbhaldi 6udhamava and commenlarbs on theSuddhitattua of Baghurrandana and the Gdutaman yayasuata. BadtaftDha@ wasa writerol lhe

190

Chapter-s

Tanlrasof Bengal

19r A.D)in 1 1 Author, Chapters. a disciple ol Kasinathanandanatha olherwise

Cakradipika

Cakradipika Jiana-dipika

Jiananandalarangini Tattvaprakasa

Colebrookes, Vide VSP,p. 16. Famabhadra ASG141Vlll Quoted in Saryabhauma R6622Dacca Tantrasara LJniversit Auffecht's 187A. 1884 BodleianCat.gsa. Ratnesvara SC633 Amarafirailra Forlrs and biographyof author, under see lantric Textsof Bengal. Siromani NMt286 Jnanananda NS | 137 Erahmacari jn Composed 1730Saka (=1808 A.D)in 12 Chapters.

Tantradipika

Tantrapradrpa Cakravarti TantraSanalana NS ll80 pradipa-prabha Taftacarya TanlraGovinda ASG5641 prakasa Saruabhauma

Paramaniranjana. grandson Aulhor, Gopala ASG5097 pancanana NS| 138NM of Krsnananda and vt2262SC Agamavagisa son of Harinatha 874 Bhatlacarya. N S| 1 3 9 Jagannalha

Deals with d,ksa, andthe worship ol TalaandTripura.

Tatlvananda- Pumamnda AS Cat.Vlll. tarangini 6200 TanirakaumudiGovindacandra A. I 184 SSP TantraRamagatiSenaAS 6274 perhaps Author, canonxa identical ihat with ol the yogakatpalatika lNS. t. 299).Heis saldlo nave Den a residenl Easl ol Bengal (Bangladesh). VideNS.I, Preta c ep . 2 1 . Tanlradipani RarnagopalaNS ll79 Composed in Sarma 1626 (=1794 Saka

Tanlraratna

Tantrasamkespacanor Ka 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.

complele 10 in Chaps.On page 93,thereis a quotation from the sr|lattuaol cintarnani Pumananda. prot696 ol Krsnacandra

192

Chapt6r-5

(eighteenth cenlury), of king Nadiya. Jagannalha ASG6537 Bhattiacarya (108, Gaudia vsP33-3s Samkara 732,12i7l lV lO 26038,56 Cat.ol Skt. MSS.,Asialic Society,Calcutta, Vol.Vlll, p. xii Tara-bhaldil(asinatha NMlV 1607 Dar61737Saka ( =1 8 1 5 . D ) larangini A Krsnacandra, king ol Nadiya, menlioned the as patron. author's TaravilaVasudva ASG790,3455 sodaya Kavikankana Cakravarli Tiksnakalpa BadharptEna NS ll 90 Writtenin Saka (=1810 1732 A.D.) Auihor, landlord a ol Candrapratapa, in Daccadistrict (Eanghdesh), Tipurar-cana- Brahriananda NMVll 2ri87

Pancakalpataru

Tatar-camcandrika Tararahasyavrtti

Author,son ot Rarnananda Tarkapaicanana It is a digeslon and rites, Tantric fai y a contains account elaborate ol mystic and mandalas Durgaquiawilh lhosemandalas. ForMSS.and Hagovmda Paffcabiographyolthe maveda-sala- Raya see aulhor, under nimaya ol Tanlras Bengal. Vasude,,/a VSP39 (l3og) Authoridentiliedas PurascaranaSaNa-nandka prayoga-daGa saNabhauma sadhusagnikaNS X 3311 Raghava Devasarma
jMMMnda

bhattacarya tnala. CC Candrasekhara I P.340 Purassc 1058 carana-dipika Puras-camo- Kasicandra SSP1383 llasa-tantra Pranakrsna- Bholanatha Brahmacan Biswas

rahasya Daksinakalpa HaEgovinda NM1291 Diksa-tattva prakasa

Tantravagisa Ramakisora Arthor,amember of thSarvavidya family llhar of (Bangladesh). VideK. Sen, p. CinmayUdnga, 173.

Bhavanirupalra

ASG4660

tor Composgd Pranaklsna in 1748Saka (=r826A.D.). OealswithTantric ritesofVaisnavas. Appearsio b6 a parto{ Ramagatl Senas lanlra'

of Tanlras Bengal l\rantrakosa Jagannatha VSp 43 Cakravarti candnka (Supta). ln thesecond

bhairava

195

IVantrarahakacl Mahimnahstoka-tika Mundamaialantra tuludraprakasa RanaKsota

(154AKha) theautho,,snarne Nlvl Vll2378 ends |n Bhattacarya. ln lheconlents ar mentoned, ,,irl6r atia,Tantrjc bia_ manttasandlheir expranation. tt alsocontains a briefaccount o, theorigin and ature alphabet. of Yadunatha ASG6028 Cakravarli Raghunandana 55lt4B2) VSp Nyayavagisa NyayavagisaSSp417 See Diksataftvapraka'a (Supel SSp 774 NSl299 vsP 60{1408} VSp64(753) A digesr. nrne jn NMtV 1674 chap'ters, b;d on vaflous pLJranas andTantlas. it In atemptshave beenmadelo establish the

t\rs.,

bhidhana

Yaksini-lantra Adjtya Yogakal Ramagati patatika Sena Rahasyamava vanamati Acarya Lalital^_"-:id.. rahasya rarxavagisa

mafrjari Saklakrama Sivar-canamaharalna Saiva"ratna Syamakalpalala Syamakalpalatika

prsdominance ot Klsna. Deals withorigan Barmgopala NM1280 of sound the and Pancanana signilicance ol letters stantng with'a'. Yadunandana 8144 In lhe lasttwo ASG Bhattacarya NN411560 MSS.,theaulhois is lO ll 1046 name 1492 Sdnandana sc Bhatlacarya. ASG3463 Rajafama Bhatlacarya Pumananda Nt\4Vt2067 Samkara

Do Ramacandra ASG3459 NS Kavicakravarti | 372 Saka Guptapalli MathuranathaPub. (with Bengali 1825 translation) Cakravarti ASG5958Indian Syamapujapaddhali [ruseum Collection No.4590 Yadavendra NM| 377 Syamaratna Vidyalamkara Forparticulars Syamar-cana- Ralnagarilha NM1220 the about aulhor, Saruabhauna candrika saeKBma(Su1ra). candrika SyamaKasinatha ASG3540

197

santosana slotra Syamasaparya-vidhi

Tarkapafrcanana Kasinatha ASVvii 360g Composed in Tarkalamkara Saka1699(=1;?z A.D.) seven in chaptersDurgarana AS6628,29 Textol KaryuaSiddhantastot? andits Vagisa Bhattacarya Krsnananda Nt\4 28.1 SriKrsna NM IV 309VSP Vidyavagisa 8s (363) ASG 3881Calcuna SanskritCo ege

Syamastavatika

stava-tika.ln lhe Satcakranitupana, has he mentionedHadvallabha Rayaas hispatron. He nave appearslo flou rished belore Saka1638(= 1716 A.D.). RamabhadraNS 1386 SatcakraSC619 krama-dipika Satuabhauma Pumananda Saicakra(Salcakra) bheda Satpadyamala Ramararna NS 1387 Bhattacarya Jaganmohana SanatanaTarkalamkara dhatmanusthana

Sritatlvabodhini Satkarmadipika

t\rs.410

Satkarmollasa Pumananda NS lV gO8 SatcakraBrahamananda dipika SalcakraPumahanda dipika-tika SatcakraNandarama AS 6967 nirupana Tarkavagisa SC446

Withtheautho/s nameareassoci_ atedtheworks

(rotv 2400),
SamkhyalV 2457), etc. Aulhorperhaps identicalwith the authorof Svarupaklrya-

Sivanatha Saruananda-tarangini

NS iii336

Firstpa deals wilhlhe procedu re oflenfold Samska6in accordancewith Tantra.Second partdeals with proceoulal mafters relating to Sraddhai^ conformity with praclices. Tantric Abiography o{ by Saruananda htsson, givenby Account

ssP634 sadhanamala Vinodacandra Ratnanabha AAS6350 SundaiAgamacarya rahasyav rtti Varendta

198

chaptr-s
Brahmana, Maitreya. of Son Narayana, grandson of t\rukrnda, discipte of Gopjnatha.

Sundadsakti- Adinatha ssP A 1237 vaEtdanam Svarupakhya- Nandarama VSP154 (1336 Ka) stavalika 1s5(1356 Kha) NS | 39.

Chapter-6

Tantrasand their Details

chapter -6

Abtret ialiorrs Indba. cabma. DK DaMkum.did @,nttuMnda.Bib. ivekadSubra.ni, Sahitya Skt Parisal Calcltta. DurgoEavav DV Ekadas ilatvah ffitluaot RaghurEndana. EI lrdi:a,calcuna. s ra&lakunudi 6 Go'titfurtstfu,Bib. s< Tnh iatva inSfi tli-tattva Raghunandam. d TT Bib. Calcutta. Varsa ivakau k mudi Gojndananda. indic, d VK Vraalalaviv*adStr/parri. (ln Devanaqarl alllphabetical order) KapilapaRcaralra DK-s,13,126,129,130, 180,1g2,n4N DV-23 Gavaksatantra DV*12 Garudaianlra vK-283 Gautamnantra vK-146 Naradapancaralra !1<-150 Naradiya-samhila TT_51 , v K - 1 1 8 , ' 1 51 5 8 1 7 6 1 7 9 2, , ET-74,6 Bhuvanesvaritantra VK-lM Matsysukta DK_2M DV-7,11,13,23 Mahakapilapaicaratra DV.23 Yoginilantra vK-l20,132, 49,157, 1 175,372,44,441,442 Rudrayarnah sK-266

nh.hra.!

Tantras and thil Dotails

203

Nigarnapadsista sK-63,317 w-17 Putascar-anarardrika SaEdatlaka vK-1192t,1&4,14 1 3 6 1 3 9 , 1 4 5 ,4 9 t s o , , 1 , 152,153, 157,159,162, 170,171 173,174, 176, , 190,384,385,391, 565

vK-157,2A Sarada Ohl(a?)

Dr'-l1
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, 't91 190, .

SivaganE VK-76 Hayasirsapaff ca|atra Hayaiirsa or w14 TantrasdH Inthe HarrHtvadHhili (lnOevanagari alphabticat order) Littleknownworkshavb66nleftout &EnEilpadrunE AganEtattva-vilasa A96madvaita-nimaya Agana-sandarbho Agafirasara Ulta|akarnaktrya-hrnra Una-tant.a Utapani-iantra UmairrEb Kankalamalini-lanlra lGnla-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

Ghrd+sarhna Katyayani-tantra CinaianFa Kamadhnu-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 Bhmanda-bitsa Tantdkadalpana tantra Bhagavad-bhaklivilasa TaraoanE Bhuvan6\rari-tantra Taralant Bhulasuddhi-tantra TararahaqE BtEira/ai{rEb Tarafiasya-vrtta Bhairava-tantra Taradva ghairavi.lar{E Todala-lar{ra Trailokya-sarnrnohana-tantra Matsyasukta Ma|tlratantra?alsa Daksinamurtikatpa irahakalanphini-tanlra Daksinamurti-sarfiita MahaniMana.tailra Dattatya-ifita|a Matanila.lanlra DurgB-kalpa-lanlra Mahaling6vara-tantra OevillfrEh Mahisarnatdini-tanlra DeryagafiE Mat.kabheda-iantra Navaralnesvatanra Mayatantra Narayana-tianlra Malini-tantra Nitarnakalpalata MundarYEla-tantra Nigaftakalpasara

Tantrasand their Details Nigrnatattvasara Mdani-lanka Nityatantra Meru-lantra Nibandha-tiantra Yogni-tantra Niruttals-tantra BudEfradEh-tanta Nituana-tiantra R6va-bntra Nilatamra Lingarcana-hnlEr Picchila-tantra Varada-tartra Puscarana{arddka Vaanaksvara-t Purascaraia-bodhini Van|adeva-t Purascarana-rasolhsa-iantra Varahi-t Phtkarini-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 Saktian'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 Tantdc authoFmentioned inlheHaalattua4idm! Tarftadipikakara PumrErda BrahrEnandagi.i tl Wo*sandAuthors Clted in the T.ntras ot Bengal (Arranged English in Atphabeticat Orded

205

A/.&-The figuresrctor to the pag6sof the wo.k againstwhich theseare mntioned. A. WORKS Ti e Tanlra which in netioned wih rcterence PV Kandav P 344 s41 T611 P 12,2A T 16,35,240,S 5 PV Kanda ii T 1 ,S 4 P195 P239,T4 T 583 Tant6 in whichmentionecl with T 37, 38 P 349,S 8, t8, 4t

Acaracinlamani Acarasaaa Adatyapurana Adiyamala Adhyatma-viveka Agamakalpadruma Agama6amhila Agamasandalbha Agamasara Agama-tattva-vilasa Agamottara Title

Agastya-samhita (Agneyapu.ana) Agnipurana Aksaya Anandapatala Annadakalpa

su 124 su 120
P 104,PV Kandaii

206

Chaptet.o

Tantras and their Dtai13

207

s44
Bhagavadbhukti-vilasa Bhagavata Bhairaviya Bhairavatanlra 3 Bbairavilanlra gharala Bhasya Bhavacudamani
elc-,

P 181 P9,S39,42 T 467,511 P 63.T 46r, 463,472,S .t9,21,

'I

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

su 33, 66. SR 7 T9 s 18 s l0 P 5 1 1 . 1 5 3 , 5 4 5S U 2 4 , 4 3 , T . 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

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 SU T 375,5n ,4O4. 134(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, T 11.S (Gandharva) 15, 18' 42 P 196,S 15, PV Kandaiii S T 937. 5, 13,18,37,42,8, 17, 20,31 A "t 622 P83 Tantrain whichmentionedwith S T P 162. 7,114. 44.PVKanda P 1A2 S P | 78.T 34,39. 14,19,30,43, sB ,t5. SU7,94, 39,205,2112 A.

s 15
Tant@in whichmentionedwith T 20.S 21, 34. PV Kanda SR ii. 50 / (Sanhita) T 255 f 4a,492,708 P62

Gandhawatantra Ganesavimarsini Garudapurana Gaulamiya

Tantras and their Oetails

6 chetarldasar*|ita Gia Gopalatapaniya uovhdavrdavana urarryrEb Gupta-diksatarira Gu@ralEsya

9:t*"*

P8, rsg.A
T$.S42 P126.A p 144.531 SF,t8 p 11,SU36,76, etc. ps pS P94,SU3r,32,1so Su 67,Og. etc. PVKanda iii

A. p9 SB

9urynava rruptaFsadmna_tantra Gun0t"itantsa Gurugita

:rr""T :"ns"tnah6sva,a T"""""tt"

T,s6.SRi6

P321,326 Jhanotbra P Jyolisladva P@ Kaivalyatantra Pla4 Kalagnirudropanisal lGlika-kula-sarvasva-sarnputa PVKanda P62.S 5.SU49,82, iii, 9.126 Kalika(Kali)-(kulasarvasva) S41.SR32 T46. 83,89, SU |07,169 Kalikalpa T46,51 l(alikapurana sR16 Kalikopanisat T 'l47.PVKandaii Kalihrdaya s3,41. 5 SR Kalikapurana PVKandaiii Kalikulamrla P?30,T475,475AW,52,W. Kalitanfra SU(sirnply 109,111. Kali) S31.

q* f*q

PB,SR2O :rtts+,?rrE1,a,a Ha.Unrdlpq TIST HastihrdayafEbandha p&. pvt(ardavl Iathadipika Hayastrsa-pancaratra p (Hayasirsa) i SO. T6 tsanasamhfra pD

Tn*""r|*"'-a

su 87,89, T,$-s 28 otc.

sF4 sF7

T*t*)a Jffanar'\
JrnnapraqF ._ .1Ettan"h

P27.s 1.A
S3l

P.n,s7 su7,14, dc.

1p**"I"ii 1T*lar". ,JMnesvariamhi{a

pV Kandaiv

plzr,pvKanoav pVt<aida iv

68,eb.SR2 f7@

14, ll74.Tz r27.s r9.su,r6,

lGlivilaslantra Kalikraria Kalikulamda Kalirahasya Kalotta.a Kalpa Kalpasdra Kalpasutratika Kalpalaru Kamadatantra Kamadhenulantra (orKamadhonu) Kamakhya-mula Kamakhyatantra Kankalamalinitantra Kamavipaka Kasikhanda Kathopanisal

P2.SU136 PVKanda iii T488 P321,326 171,@,365 P 17.T,145. 693 T P12 PS P 188 P 15.S 24. PV Kanda ii TR 23 P 91,92,149 P34 P26 P 142 P 449

210

Chaptr-6

Tanirasand their Details

211

Kaulalanlra Kavyaprakasa Kedarakhanda Krarnadipika Kriyasara Kriyasara-samuccaya Krkalasadipika Krsnarcana-candrika Kubjikalanka K!kkuta Kukkutesvaratantra Kulacudamani

sR 34,39 P 11 P 322 T 152167,255. 5 , S T3,75.S4.P7 P 243 P 179 P 6 .T 5 5 , 3 8 1 .1 0 . U1 2 8 , 1 3 6 , S S 138,196, 206

Kulotlama Kurnarikalpa Kumarilantra (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 S T 934, 949. 41.SU P 511. 508, 2 7 , 6 9 1 3 5 S 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 iv. P 6. PVKanda A. SU21,222, T506 TR8 T 930.931 T930 S7,31,39 P96. 112s P 186.T 14 s 18.T318 s26

i
:

su 72

P 339. 586 T P 157. 6, 59,20,37,38.SUs8, T 7 3 , 9 2 , 1 7 4 , 2 0S R2 7. Keralagama P95 Kulamrta T 1 1 2 1 3 0 P VK a n d a , . i 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 . 4 , 5 , 8 2 1 , 3 , 3 33 7 , S , 2 , 44.A. SU 26,400,elc.SR 5 Tanttain whichmentionedwith Kulasadbhava Kuiasara-samgraha Kulasambhava Kulasarvasva Kulasara Kulalaltvasara Kulavali Kuloddisa

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 ,

ChaoleF6

Tanlrasand lheir Details

213

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 104 P 33,

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 Mukl tantra l\lundakopanisat Mundamaiaianlra

PVKanda iii 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 , 0 8 . 6 , 4 1 .S B 5 S r 379,49a,$2 P21

Nibandha Narayaniya Narayanilantra Navacakresvara Nigama'kalpadruma Nigarna-kalpa Nigarm-kalpalata Nigarm-kalpananda Nigamananda Nigama{attva Nigama-tatlvasara Nilasarasvatrlanlra Nilasarasvata Nilatantra Niruttaraiantra Nirvanalantra Nityatantra Nrsimhapurana Nrsimha-lapaniya Padarlhadarsa Padrnapurana Padmavahini Paicadasi Parapancasrka Paraparimalollasa Parasarabhasya Parirnalollasa Phetkarini Phetkafiya Picchlia

T15,20 P6 5 , 1 1T 1 8 7. 4,29, T 188,SU etc. P92,93,189 v. P447,555. PVKanda Su T3. su71,108 su 76,129

su23
su 63,93 su41,42 PVKandaiv.SU214,217,239
TR11 T4A8.TR 1 1s. 13,15. sR2,51.TR P 149.S T. su 228, 84,130 P32. SU32,35, etc. P 5.SU17,59, etc. P149 P 354 S4 P43 S P 180. 65(Padma), 765. T 762, (Padma). A I P 151 P23 P17 P63 P12

r72
P 61

Narayana-kalpa Navaratnesvara

r71
P 1 8 7 T 1 1 , 9 6 , 4 1 8S 4 , 1 9 , 2 0 , . .

T 488,511 . S P 9 3 .T 5 5 6 , 5 5 9 . 1 S , 3 3S R3

214

Chapler.6

Tantrasand their Details

215

Phetkariva Picchila Pingala Prapaicasara Prayogaparijala Prayogasara Purana-Samgraha Puranscaranacandrika Parascaranalaharl-tantra Purascaranarasollasa Radha Raghavaya Ramarcanacandrika Raiirahasya Ralnavali Revatitantra Rudradhyaya Rudray amala 0) etc. SU145.SR27.TR7 A. Sadanvaya-rmharalna Saivagallla (lantlaka) SaktakEmacandrika Saktananda-tarangini Saklikalpa Saktikagarnasarvas/a Saldisara Saktitantra Sakliyamah Sarn4/acarabntra SarrqEl Samayankaanabka Sarnayahntra SanhtE\,a

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 Kanda ii P 185 P 6. PV Kandai

SarniGratantra Samkehcardrodaya SarnarDhanahntra Sanatkumaratant Sanatkurnaria 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

T56 P93, 94,127.S 15,4i],32 T 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.PVKanda iii P 1r5.S27,2s P T673.S20 P117 PA7

su 9,59 s44
P92.T35 P 558 T 38, 40 P54a TR6 P 17.T5, 16, 30, 5,6, 7, 26, S4, P118 T36,P172 su2f,211,220 P27.PVKanda ii Tfl l P564 TR5 PVKahdaiii T8.Sl.PVKandav.TR 38 P64.T 9511, . SU27,31,etc. 961 T 404,441 s19 T4.S10, 15, 12, 16,37,45 T 153

sz7
sJ@ P113,179.T686.S42 T 13,530,680 37 SR T 8,385,797 T,|(n.SR35 P46 P t86.T64,S14 S6 T 937, ,SR40 961 P1S PVKandaiii P 180. 842. T S41. A P288,543 TRl T415,687

tl

216

Chapier-G

Tanlrasand their Details Taini-nirnaya Taratantra Tawabodha Tattvananda-tarangini Tattvasara Tiksnakalpa Tilhitatlva Todalatantra Traip!risruti Tripurakalpa Tripurarnava Triputasarasamuccaya Tripurasara Trisaktitantra Udayakarapaddhati Uddamaresvaratanlra Urdhvamnayatantra Utpattatantra UttaEkalpa Uttarakhandoddisa Uttaratanlra Vabhata Vaikhanasagrantha vaisampayanasamhala Vaisvanarasamhila Vajasaneyasamhita Vamakesvaratanka Varadatantra Varaha Varahitantra Varnabhairava

217

f 2,9,4Q.f37 I s4ttti8). I s39.SR2,34. S8 Sddmlapaniya T155.P32.SR20 Sritttvacintamani 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 PVKanda ii Syarnakalpahta P 179. t0.SU159 S S)EntaralBs1F P4 Taittiriyaka Tanhadevaprakasika s2. s6,13,17,18,20 Tantragandharua P234. T515. 40 SR Tanhacudarnani Taniral(aumudi f374 T18 Tantraraja T5.SR 9 1 Tanlramava Tantrasara TR4 Taranigafib P61 Tapani Tarakalpa T 826. I TR PVKanda TaElaarna iii TRI Taralaila$aruasva TR6 Taa6ara TR81 Tarayoga T593 Tarinitant Tarapradipa T 504,TR Taana\ 8

Sribiiamava Srihan

s31

T 527 T 529 T 397 sR 15 P 39. T 1 16.S 5. PV Kandai, iv, 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

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 ,S 4 , 6 , 2 2 , 41
124. 32 27.SU SR PV Kandaii

218

Chapter-6

Tantrasand their Details

215

Varnavilasatanlra Vamoddhafatantra Vasistha Vasisthasamhita Vasistharamayana Vastuyagapradiplka Vijayamalini Vijayakalpa Viabhad ratantra Vimalanandabhasya Vedantavrtti Vidyagama Vidyanandanibandha Viramitrodaya Viratantra Visnudharmottara Visnuyamala Visuddhesvara

P 131 P49 r72,116 P 1 7 2 , 16 7 4 s 18 P 105 PV Kandai T 946 PV Kanda ii 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 6 . 1 5 ,1 9 , 2 32 7 ,2 9 . S , SB20 (-mahatantra) P 1 3 . 2 2 ,4 3 .S 5 , 6 , 1 3 ,1 8 , 1 , T 2 28,38.SU 58, 149,etc. T685 PV Kanda ii PV Kandaiii P152 T 3 , 2 8 , 3 2 . U 2 , 7 7e t c .S R1 3 . S , , TR30 PV Kanda vi P8 P 323

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 Pandala Bamakrsna Vidyabhusana Bamalocana Bayam!kuta Samkaracarya Smarata Bhallacarya

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

Visvasaroddhara Visvadarsa Visvasvarakalpadruma Yajurvediya hfanyakesiyasakha YanEh Yogacudamani YOgamava Yogasara

22O

ChaDter-o

Tantras and their Details

Sridharasvami Susruta Udayabhanu Vidyanandasvami Vadyaranyasvami Yajnaparsva Yogiyajnavalkya

P 18 P29 P t79 P36 P 495 P 180 P2A

lll. Tanlras Menllonedin tho SanskrltWorks on BengslV.lgnavlsm Someol the imporlanlSanskrit works,relating Bengal to Vaisnavism, contain copious relerences Tantdc to works. This is particularly in the caseol th6works with true dealing the tes and purpose, shallcollect refsrncs rituals. lhe presenl the lo For we Tantras contained lhe following in works againstwhich respecthe tiveabbrevations noled. are 1. BhakliGsamfta-sindhu BS (ThereJerences to th are pages theedition of used.) ofRlpaGosvamin (N4! rshidabad Radhararnan ed., Press) are 2. Haribhakti-vilasaof Gopala HV (The refernces to the pages theedition ol used here). Bhattar (Ed.B. Vidyaratna, Behrampore, WestBengal) are 3. Samksepa-bhagavatamfta SB(Relerences lo pages). of RupaGosvamin (Murshidabad 1303B.S.) ed., are 4. Sat-kriya-sara-dipika, asctibedSD(Feterences to pages). lo Gopala Bhatta2 (Ed. Malh, Gaudiya Calcutta, 44maurabda). Jivacoqvanil 5.SaFia,l&/b/,aof (Tattua, Bhagavat, Paramalria, press Radhararmn ed.) Sfikrsna-d. Gosvamin, P.G. Navadvjpa, SS. 1332 Bhakti--d. Gosvamin, S. Calcutta, 1822. Saka Priti-ed-P.Gosvami, Noakhali). ol 6. Ujjvalanilamani Aupa Gosvamin numerals relerto SS(TheArabic pagesand Rormntigures to the in theSandabhas theorder shown here.)

NOTES 1. Thefollowing abbrevialions been have used A = Amari-sahhita, as described Vangiya in Sahityaparisal Patika, vol. 58/3-4,p.41. P = Praralosrh,i Vasumati ed., Calcutta, 1335BS. = Paficama-vedaPV sarcnimayaas desctibedin Vangiya SahityaPatisatPatika, Vol.59/3-4, p.71. = Radhatantra, R. Chattopadhyaya, R ed. Calcutta. S= Sakananda-taangin R.Chatlopadhyaya, Calcufla. led. SR= Syamarchasya Purnananda, R.lr. of ed. Chattopad hyaya. SU = Saryollasa-tant@, R.M.Chakravarti, 6d. Comilla. 1941. F = Tantnsara,\tangavasi 1334BS. d., 1R = Tarchasya, J. Vidyasagara, ed, Calcutla, 1896.

UN

222

Chaptar

Tanlras and their Details

223

(Kavyamala Bombay, d., 1913). fhe Gopala-cdtupuJivaGosvamin ol coniains references lo several Tanlrasall ot which have boen reterredto also in his purpose, neednot takdthe Sandarbhas. for the present So, we Gopalacanru inloconsideration. (n Devanagari alphabddonter) Asvasirah-pancaratra: AgBnE: SanFasttaJstsa(q,v.) tN. t.41-42,79,82-83,5+55,267, 1 5rel 9,54, 552,582{3, 750, 789790,807@,81 3,117G71 1-1 117679 t.110-14 tv.2-3,a-9,21-2. s83B ss lv. 76,2s5,271335, 565. 626, V. , 634. 477, Vt_ 958 HV.t. | $16,28,71,78,353,397-98, 4oss,51s20,723

Krarnadipika:

tv.5

Gautamiyal

Gautarhiya-tantra:

Tamra:

UN349 HV.l. 83-84, 33G31475, 703 , 11t.44,60,164,285 tv.21,30,32-33, 184-85 67, HV.t.8, 192,2IJ6, 432-3s, ZJ7, 46,2, 913, 14&50, I 126, 1344 [. $10 .4,m-23 tv.1@-@ ,f23. 547, SSlV.220, V. 640,651 Vl. . 959,1074 !N1.70,1176-77 t.183-84 lv.12

Tantra-bhagavata: ss. v. 627 Tantrantara: r. HV- 92-93 Tantrikah: Trailokyamohana-pahcaratra: ll. 179 HV. -7 7 Trailokya-sammohana-paff caratra: l. 60-62, 1-Z3, 377 A HV. 46-49,58,60 tv. 39-40, s s . l v . 2 2 0 . . 5 2 3 , 6 3 0v l . 7 2 5 v . HV L t51 Navaprasna-pancaratra: H V1 . 8 5 Narada-tanlra: .123 HV. |. 20-22,32, 34, 44-45, Narada-pancaratra: -152, 125, t 15 199-201 286, ,233, 436,449,552,790, 287,359-363, 822,1087-88, 1352 41, tv. 13, 20,24-25,28-29,Ss-36, 52-53, 68-69,175-76 54, B S 1 1 , 2 3 , 5 91 0 7 , ss ll. 182, 257,386. 25,127.lV. lll. 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

SB374 UN61 8,521,24,111,170,187 ss. l. 53,72. lv.224,421

224

Chaptst-'

Tanlrasand their Oeiails

225 1209-10.1|.l.4647 1 lv. 82,84,97'9S, 091 1, 129-47' 1 78,183,187-93, 96-202, 15&71, 1 20G36,23841,25G58,260S1, 5,27 *9,2p'2U,2*%.26 M,*7 316'18, -23'32s 321 98,300{0,307-310, 330,33943,34e57,359374400{5'411 -1 425's4'44245' 417 A,42G23, 4&91 4atr8,1.' 45241'&N'47Cn. 633. ssl.53.ll.645.v 567,569' Vl

Prahlada-pafrcaratra: HV. l. 907 Brhat-tantra: ss vt.239 Brhad-gautamiya-lanka: ss |v.305, 309, 568. 567, Vt.239, 564 Brahmayamala: BS 79

ss v. 628

Bhagaval-lanha: Bhagavaladi-lantra: Bhargava-tantra: Mrtyu6jaya{antra: Yamala: Rudrayamala:

Same Tantra-bhagavatav.) as {q. HV . 106 sB 244

ss lv. 296 s s l v . 4 6 3 , 5 6V ., s 0 76
s D 3 3 ,s 0 ,1 0 8 . V t . 8 6 H HV.l. 80-81, 126-34, 354,1245 tv.491 8S334 ssv.613,640 sD20,107 8S333 ss lll.71 .494,572,627 .v HVl.65-70, 75-76,89-91 1 ,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

Vaisnava-tantra: Saradatihka: Sivagama orSaivagarmi giyarnala: Sanatkurnata-lar ra: Samrmhana-liarira:

NOTES is Somelhinklhathe one coniroversial. 1. The idenlityoltheauthoris thinkthathe was whileothers ofVrndavana, ot lhe sixGosvamins ilwas reallyaworkol person. olhersthinklhal Yel a dilfereni il withthe nameof Gopala Gosvaminwhoassocialed Sanatana Bhaita.Therels an opinionthat ii was iheiriolnlwork. by EveniJii waswritten GopalaBhatta, is 2 Theaulhorship doubtlul. ol wilh GopalaBhatta,one ofthe famousGosvamins hls identity concluslvely. hasnol yel beeneslablished Vrndavana,

Satvata-tantra: Svayambhuva-agarm: Hayagdva-paficaratra: l-layasalsa-pahcaratra:

ss tv.272

Same Hayasirsa ) as (q.v. HV.1.26,97, 1 454-57,546,0, 91

226

ChapreF6

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

227 T,P P P P P

Only the maior publishedworks have beentaken intd acco Thelollowing abbreviations used: are S'. Sritattuacintanan i SR : Syamatahasya ST: Sakta@ndataangini T . Tantn'aan fR: Tararahasya (In Devanagani alphabetica rder) Io 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 Ganesvara Gandaki Gaya Godavari covardhana Gautamesvara Candrabhaga

P P, SR, T,P

P ,S R P

T,P

P T,

T,P P T,P P SR,TR

P,

P T, P P P P

T,P P ,S R

224

Chapte|.6

Tanlrasand thoir Details Vaisnava Aparajita Karnapisaci Karnamatangi Kalyayani Kama Bhairavi Kamesvari Kartavirya Karlrkeya Kali

229

V Pantheon BengalTantra in The maior publishedworks havebeenutilised here Thefollowing abbrevations been have useo: '. Pranatosini P Pl ] . Purascarana-ratnaka B S : Sritattvacintamani SB i Syamarahasya ST I SakIananda-tarangini f. Tantrasan IR: Tarahasya Eesides deities the mentioned lhere many here, are demigodes, mlnordeities, elc.fhe ditfetenl Avataashavebeenmenlioned tn sometexts.We have stated not themseparately. Vamana, Oi lhere arelhe aspects Dadhivamana, ol Sadvamana, various The weaponsandotherlhings, supposed be heldby ditterent to deities, e.g. Samkha, Cakra, Khadga, Dhanus, have etc., been deijiedand mentioned somelexts. do nol setlorihthesedeities in We here. Sometexts mention diflerent planestas the deities, which we do nolstatehere. A separate is gjvenof thosedeities list whosemanttasare menl|oned. (lnDevanagad alphabetical r) orde Name Workin Name which Mbh menlioned PU PU PU Aniruddha PU Antarika Sarasvali PU T, PU Annapurna Bhairavi T Agnl Agnidurga lndra T,PU lndrani PU Ucchisla Ganesa T Ucchista Candalint PU Ucchista Matangi PU Ekajala PU Kamalatmrka T,ePU

PU PU T PU IPU PU T, PU PU

(Kamala)

Gayalri ES,PU Goraksanalha PU Gopala PU PU Govinda Gauri I S, PU P Graha (Surya, Mangala, Candra, Budha,Brhaspati, Sukra, TB,T, P, Rahu, Ketu) Sani, PU,ST, Candika s Candesvara IPU Candramauli T S, PU Camunda PU Cinlamani PU Sarasvati Cailanyabhairavi PU PU Chinnamasta (SeePracanda Candika) IPU PU T.P PU,TR PU PU PU T. S. PU IPU I ES,PU

:l

(Ehadrakali, i, Daksinaka Mahakali. Siddhikali, Smasanakali, Guhyakali Kali) Karnakala Kelu PU KaulesaBhairavi I, PU Kaumaai PU

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 Trikuta Sarasvali T,P Triputa Tripurabhairavi Tripurasundari

230

ChapleF6

Tantrasand lheir Detaits

231

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 Yoginis are ol Brahma PU manykinds, Prakatae.g. yogini, Daksini, etc.) Bhaya'vidhavasmsini Bhairavi T,PU Bhafaii Baiamalangi PU PU

r,es

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 Salkuta Bhairav 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 , R , T Harihara T, PU S PU HarnsaVagisvari PU PU Vasnavi T Heramba PU vyasa PU Hrsikesa PU Sarabha SR,T, E S, PU Siva Bharava (Many klnds,e.g. Asilanga, Rudra Canda. Krodha, (Tryambaka,

Bhuvan esvari Bhairavi PIJ I

RahLr

PU

232

Chapter.6

Tantras and theirDeiaits

233

Mrtyunjaya i\,4ahamrtyunjaya, Pasupati, narisvara, Nilakantha,lsana)

List of Deitieswhose ildrtt "asare mer{ioned in BengalTantra (Thenames deitiesare Devanagari ol in alphabeticalorder)
Aghora,

whbh melioned

Annapurna T Annapurnabhairavi T Indra T Ucchislaganesa T lJcchistacandalini T Kamapisaci T Kalyayani T Kamesvari Klsna T Kaulesa Bhairavi 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

Parijata Sarasvati T Pracandacandika T 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

Chapter-6

Tantrasand therr Delaits

Dhumavati Nitya Nityabhariavi Nilakantha Nrsimha Syama Srirarna Srivjdya Salkuta Bhairavi Sakala-siddhida Bhairavi Sampatprade Bhairavi

T T T T T T,SR T I,S T T T

Visalaksi Siva Sulini Smasanakali Surya Hanurnal Hayagdva Haidraganesa Hadhara Herarnba

T T T T T T T T

yantrasand Mandalas Vl.Listof Mudras, mentioned in BengalTantra Themaiorpublishd wgrkshavebeen takeninroaccount Thelolowing abbrevations used: are P : Penatosini S : Sritattva-cintamani J: Tanlrasara TR: Taznhasya SR: Syamarahasya Sf : Saktananada tarangini (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

S T S

T, S, SI SR T,SR T I SB,TF T, S S T IS Bhutini Mahankusa l4ahamudra [runda fulusala l\4rga Yoga

YONI

s
BinduS S T S T T,SR T TR S T, S, ST, T T, S, SR

SB,TR T Laksmi T Leliha T,S, SR,TR

Tantrasand their Details

237

T, SR Trikhanda Durga Dhenu

T, S

Vismaya

s
T 3

YANTRAS into TheYanlras be broadlv can divided twoclasees-Pulaare somenames comyanttaandDharana-yantl.a,willbeseen, As

mon in both the classes. Bhairavi Annapurna Ganesa Guhyakali tann Triputa Ourga Dhanada Pracandacandika Bhuvanesvari Matlangi T T T

Sarvavrdravani Sambodhtni Sakalikarani Sannrdhapani

T,SR,TR Vyana Samkha TR T Srivalsa S samksobhani Sarua S S Sarvonmadrni T,TR Samhara T, P SR S T, S, s, T Sunda Sthapanl T, S, Sr, SB T, S, ST,

T T T T T T

SR S Samana Sammukhikarani T, S, ST,SR Sarvavasyakarani S MANDALAS in mentioned the Tantnsan' are mandalas, ine prominet 7he a Sanatobhadra d Svalp|saNatobhadra Sritawa' Navanabha, ns cinlamani men'lio Goru-nEndaIa

Ftudrabhariavi Laksmi Vagalamukhi Vajraprastarini Vatuka Vagisvari Visalaksi Smasanakali Syama Srividya Bhairavi Salkuta 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

Tantrasand lheir Details

239

Vll.List of Kavacas mentionedin BengalTantra Abbrevialions: P : Praoalosini S I Sritaltvacintamani SR: Syamanhasya I I Tantrasara (lnDevanagari alphabetical order)

Vlll. Lisfof Hymns.nd Protective Mant-as mentionedin BcaEal Tantra Abbrevalions: S: S tattva-cintamani SR: Syamarahasya Sf aSaktananda- E ngini ta f . Tantrasaa alphabetical r) orde {InDevanagari

Work in
P T T T T T T T SR T T T T Pracandacandika Brahma Bhuvanesvai Bhairavi Mahavidya I\rahisamardini Matangi Yoni Laksmi Vamsalabhakhya Siva Smasanakali Syama Srividya Sarasvati T T T P T,SR T T T T,P T,SR T T T T tioned Bhaiavi Ivlanasa Mahakali Mahavidya Mahisamardini lvlatangi Yoni Laksmi Vagalamukhi Vatuka Santi Siva Syama Srikrsna Srirama

Karlikeya Kundalini Ganga Gayati

Guru Tripura Tfipurasundari Trailokyamangala Daksinakalika Durga Dhanada Nayika Nrcimha

Kinkini Kundalini Kumari Ganesa Guru Gopala Tala Triputa Trip!rasu ndan Daksina Durga Dhananda Dhumavati Nayika

T T T

Surya
Haridraganesa

T RST T T P T T,S T T 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
P

Sarasvati Svaha Hanurml

T T T T T

Chapter-7

TantricDevotees

Chapter-7

Bengalproduced only an abundance not oJTantras, bothBuddhisl and Hindu,butalso gavebirthto a galaxyloTantric devotees. Some oi them were ol a very hlgh order,and have carved oul a permanent nichein the shrine humanmemory. them again, Ol oi somewerescholdrdevotees Purnananda, like Sarvananda, elc.They reacheda spiritualherghlnol comprehensibie ordinarypeople, lo inspired bandol illustrious a disciDles, wrolelreatises. and Olhers were immersedin the nectaf ol tho!ght of the MotherGoddessin whosehonou lhey composed r and sangsongs.Evenunderadverse circumstances, they wenl on singingwith sang-troid and unparale ed abandon. othersdevoteda liletimeto silentmeditation. Yet LJnlortunately, have very littleinioimalionabout them bewe yondslores aboutlheir mysticand superhuman powerswhichcom mandedlhe naive and complacent attenlionol the devoled sou s. The Bengalis lovedCorllamrlas, containing moreofliclionandlancy than ol sober lacts, ratherlhan seriousor faiihlul CarltasHere we shalllry lo give short liie-skelches a verylew eminent,Sadhakas ol eav ng asrdeal tancifulaccountsol them, No accounl ot Bengal Tanlracan be complete withoutiniormalion aboutthesedevotees oi rmmorlalJame,whose names have become householdwords in Bengal, and whoseteachings songshavebecome current and a cointhe Bengali sociely. Ramprasad(1) (C.1720'81). Bamprasad Daleol birthaccording others1723 10 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,Wesl Bengaj. tirsta clerk undera wealthy Al person (GokulGhosal, Dewan Bhukailash, of according someor to Durgacharan l\,4lra, according othels),he subsequently to enjoyed lhe palronage a fewolher landiords including Rayol Krishnacandra Krishnachandra ofleredhim ajob. Ramprasad havingdeclined,he

244

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Tanlric Devotees

245

gavehimI00 bighas rent]reelandandconferred himthetifle ot on Kaviranjana. recognition thishonour, In ol Ramprasad composed, 12q3 B.S./ poeticalwork Vrdyasundar. named Kauraniana. a on and Nawab Siraj-u"ddaula issaidlo havebeenverymuchdelighted by s Syama-samgita. Thetimeol Ramprasad flrllol trouble. livedthrouoh was He thebattle Plassey (1757 ol A.D.) theGreal and Bengat Famrne;l 1770. The.esulting dlslress echoed someol his poems_ is in Ouiteearlyin age he is saidto haveacquired proJiciency in Sanskrit, Persian, Bengali. his teens,he couldcompose and In poems highclass. ola Gradually hewasattracted Tantra ihe to and Tantric modeolworship.He saidto have practised is Sadhanaon a pancamundiAsana. spiritual preceptor Srinatha, His was accordino to some,Krpanatha according olhers. to Hts lwo sonswer; Ramdualal Rammohan. and He was reputed a Saktl-devotee highorder, as ol and com, posed rnany songs thedeityol hisdevolion. songs, on His imbued withTantric ideas, became genre. used saynavidya a He to samgitat para;noolheroreis higher thanmusic. Bengal, prasadi llwn In sur or melody Ramprasad's ol songs)hasbecomeproverbial. is, He Indeed, pioneer the intheintroductiona newmode Sakta of ot sonqs. 'Kalk,rlan rsa smallwork him. more by Ot lhan songs. 300 oassing probably by hjsname, someare notgenuine. ot hjssongs Most are marked passion etfusion by or relating Kalibhakti. few ot his to A y4aya songs relate theAgaDani(arrivalof to LJma)and (departure atletDugapuja.Heisknown havecomposed a Krsnakjrtana. to also 2 Kamaf akantaBhattacarya lC.177 B21J 2-1 Bornat village Canna Burdwan in djslrict ofWestBenoat. he was natrve a ofthe village Ambika-Kalna.tatherand H|s motierare saidto havebeennamed l\,lahesvara Mahamaya. and He studiedSanskrit the traditional in way,and becamea leacher. lirst,an initiated Al Vaisnava, lalerbecame dedicaled he a devolee Kalihaving ol received d,'lt(sa atTarapitha Birbhum in dis_ trict ot Wesi Eengal. is said to haveachieved He slddhlon a Pancamundi Asana,With background lraining vocalmusic, a of in

which known Syamasamgla Besides are as he wrotemanysongs ra-samgita, Sivasamagila, K$napadavali, these,hewroiealsoSarna a Dasamahavidya's mgik. (1764-1832), Teichand the of attainmenl, Hearing hisspiritual appoinled hiscourthim atlractedlohim, ol thenRaia Burdwanwas Kolalhat nearlhe house village al Pandil, lor hima residential bulll Here and himanallowance. hespentthe Burdwan, granted lownol by respected the Bajlamily. restof his life,andwashighly but songsnol as a pastime, as part of his He composed was his in Tappa style, Syamasangita notlooked Sadhana.Wtinen in put respectful access lo the soiuponas pedestrian, alsoJound Sadhanannjana. A workby himis entitled Bamakrishana3 in thantheideaexpressed Nolhing be moresacilegious can village (1836-86) anunletlered was quarlerc Ramakishna lhat some priest as masquerading a Sadhu. (westBenof district Hughly Kamapukurinthe 8on atvillage of (181h Gadadhala.Though gal),in 1836, February,)he named was and Ksudiram, Caltopadhyaya his circumslances, parents, indigent wereverypous. Candramani, bent had Gadadhara a spiritual ol mind, In hisveryboyhood, Forquitesome' menanddivinesandlikedthecompanyolleaned way. in Sanskrit Sastras thelradilional tirnehe studied of The reputation ths pielyand devotionof lhe young whowas a of the attracted atiention BaniRashnani Gandadhara Lhe himas priestal newly pious prosperous Sheengaged lady. and on suburb Calcuita, of northern a of builtKalilemple Daksineswar, ln ol thepiest opened' the lt theGanges. washerlhat spirilualeye goddess. of perceived pulsation a living the he image, the lifeless bornandbredin a tact A remarkable ot hislileis that,though in family theearly1glhcent!ry'hewasabsoBrahmin conseruaiive lruilsoJall the rnajor the He lutelylree frombigotry. tasted sweet etc Buddhism' ' and Sikhism, Chrislianity, vz.. religions, lslam,

246

ChapteFT

Taniric Oevolees

247

openly declared there lhal were many as ways there religious as are Hissimple precepts epigrammatic liJe, of yet brevity pregnant wrth noble thoughls sincerity, aboveall, and and, catholicitv heart ol soonaltracled many dtsctpls. Vivekananda,. intelleclualol orderandhavinq an high tiberal educalrofl. at lirstsceptic was about existence God.;nd had lhe ot scantregardlor the Daksineswar priest. But,the magicwandol Ramak.ishna's genius spritilual soonconverlect and entisted him, himas his toremost dasciple. great, Himsell thissaintcameto be glorif thousandtold ied through Vjvekananda. It was,indeed, mistortune a lorlhe people Bengat his of that great man(Rarnkrishna)a victim thelalalftaladv iancerand tell to ol b.eathed lastat thecomparalrvety ageof 5b. hrs earty Vivekananda5863-1 (1 902) Hewasoneol those menwhoneverdie,lhough physical lheir lrameperishes. Bornas Narendranalh Oalla, 1963(Jan.12).to Visvanath In Datta Srmuha Calcuna Bhuvanesvari, rmb,bed liberal ol in and he a oullook lifeiom hjs father on and religiotjs bentol mindlrom his As a youngman.he reluclany parda vrsrlto Ramkfishna through insistence hislriends.Thrs a turnrng rhe ot was pointot his life. The eadydeathol his latherplunged tamity penury. lhe Inro ^ uneoay, unaue bearthe pinch F,overty, to ot heaskedThakur Ramhrrsnna Inlercede. his behall, ^rother lo on to goctdess removing lor hrsdirepoverty. Thakur askect to go to th; nearby hrm tempte, and preao owncase.Hedidgoto theGoddess, hecoutd tor hrs but ask nothing material. Theyonly thlngswhichcameou ol his mouth were (devolron, /nana(knowledgeland bhakl, Atter demise themaster, through munilicence the ol he, the of people thecooperation hrs and ot co-disciptes, (1806)a estabtished Ramkflshna al Baranaoar. Malh

Towards ftiddleol 1890he,as a wandering the mendicanl, traversed many regions India, acquired of and lirsl-hand knowledge aboutthe counlryand its people. this time,he Al studiedmany Saslras. In 1833(May), wentto Amedca represent he to Hinduism in lhe Parliamenl Religions Chicago o{ (SeptemberHissoul,stiF al ). ringspeech lheredisplled peo, ftanywrong notions ofthewestern pleabout outlook lhe Indians. lhe ol Afterlhat he spenlsomenore timein Ame ca and Europe lecturing, interpreling Satras writing and books. A grealeventof this odyssey was his acquaintance with lrargaretNoble,laterknownas SislerNivedila who became hjs dasciple, camelo lndiaanddedicaled hersell social to service. Her book, 'TheMastetas I sa!,v h,,in'throws lighl on the manyJaceted lileol Vivekananda. Having returned India l897,Svamiji, hewaspopularly to in as called, devoted himsell, heart soullothemoral and regeneration of lhe people and socialreform. powerful A speaker and writer,he urged people adhere truth,sacriljce, lhe to to acquare mental and physical strenglh and to shakeofl superstitions redeem and lhe political countrylrom bondage internal and dissensions discords and caused sectarian communal by and feelings. tried,by his He speeches writings, remove socialblots untouchability, and to lhe o, child marriage, insisled liberal scientilic and on and education. Above all, heinsisted theuplitl lhedowntrodden, ontheservice on of and Thefoundalion theRamakrishna andMission ot (1897) math is a mon!ment has to organisang vision. abilily andbreadth ol He wasoneol the pioneers lhe useof spoken in Bengalilor purposes. wrote English lilerary He in also. (June) again In 1899 he visited weslern countries, lounded and lor leach Vedanta, ing some centres Towards endof 1900, came the he to onslaughl back lndia.The ol diabetes the stress and andslrainof a stormy career wereloo much himlo bear. monallrame lor gave His way, hissoulletlil and

t
ChapleFT

Tanlflc Devotees

249

(July at Belur lvlalh. 4) in 1902 Of his severalwotks,lhe Pa vraiaka(1903,)Pracya O de' Kamayoga,Jfianayoga, Bajayoga ar'd Bhakti-yoga Pascatya, wo*s havebeenpublished in menlion. English His servespecial volumes. eight 1) Vama Ksyapa6(1838-191 Caltopadhyaya. ol Son His iull namewas Vamacarana grandsonof Ramananda, a native and Cattopadhyaya, Sarvananda in district(West Bengal), he, otvillage nearTarapithaBilbhum Atla a frenzy. hewasdescribed So even a boyshowed sortofdivine as (mad). as Ksyapa he householder's and lile, In hisveryboyhood, renouncedthe at resorted lhe cemetery Tarapitha. to His falherhaving died,the tamily faceddiredistress. Diven penuryhegota iot at theKalilemple village [iululi. of bydesperate with of Goddess that But,hewasso engrossed thethought Molher he he couldnotfulfilhisobligations. a resull, losttheiob. As Nowhisonlyshellerwas maternal his uncle's house whereil was his duty10tendcatlle.But,whiieon dutyhe usedto be irnHis mersedin the thought Krsnagrazing at cowsal Vrndavanaindifference the cowsastray, led whichcaused damage others' lo crops. his maternal So, uncle drove away, for him Thenheaccepted Jlowers lortheworchip thejobof plucking of Tara whichhe wasto getfoodior Herealsohe col]ldnolstick. He was thenaoDointod cookin the Kachai al lrursidabad. phys But,lhough ically working ther6, mind his wasdrawn lvlolher to Tara, waslhensenlbacklo lhe above He temple. He received Tantricinitialion trom the anchorile. Vraiavasi Kaliasapali, cameto Taraptha Sadhara. who for Since thanhedevotedhimsell Sadhana the localcemelery. to in Thenhe formally renounced theworld, became and a{ull-fledged Sarnyasm. He visiled Varanasi Hardwar, returned theplace and bui to of hrs[,4 r Goddess. olhe

RajaYatindramohanCatcutta ol oncehadhimbrouohtto the crty. ths drnandbustte thecity-life notliked him.So, Bul. ol was by hewentback. Ramakrishna (d.1795 Ray A.D.; according some, to lBOO) Adopted of the celebrated son RaniBhavani Nator(Banglaol desh), hewasa biglandlord eamed titleof Maharaiadhiraia and the Prthvipati Bahadur tromthe lhen MogulKing.Hislame,trowever, rests hisTanlric on sadhana. He pe(ormedSadhana th Kiritesvaf in temple the west on bankot theBhagirathi, sorn6 ihreemibsawayfromvillage Dahapada. Thislemplewas regarded asan Upapitha, because Dartof the a crownof Satiissaidto havedroDoed there. Ramakrishna knownto havepractisedSayasadhana a is on Pancamuncli asanalseat overfive headsor skulls). NOTES 1. See Bharatkos, Margathaby Omkarnath. 2. SeS.K.Oe,Bergalt! itdmturc theNineteenth in Century; Matrgatha (in Bengali) Omkarnalh. by 3.SeeR.RollandLife Ramakdshan, s of Catcutta, andAchjntrva 1929, Sen Guptasparamaputusa Ramakishna Bengati), (in Catcun;. There sveral aro olhers biographies in Engtish Bengti. bolh and 4. SR. Rolland ot Vivekanan(k, Lifa Calcutta, 1931; M.L.Bufte, pl SvamiVivekananda, l; Calcutta, r983 (3rd.ed.), Svami (2nd Vivekanandathe WesL1982 ed.). in 5. R. Folland, The Lileol Vivekananda Therear manvothr etc; biographies. 6. SeeH.C. Gangopadhyay, Sivamatita, Calcutta, t,ll, 1340,1370 B:S.

250

Chapler-7

Tanlric Devotees

251

Tanttic Workaol Bengalr Xl. Buddhist Some in of discussed a chapler lhisbook. Thistopichasbeen lactsarelaiddownhere, more The Tibetanlarlur lestifiesto the {acl ihat the lollowing and wereBuddhist, composedTantras Bengalis. scholars of Auihor lhe following Candragomin Ab k wod/.s Abhica'a: bara- tma, on known It is notdelinilely ya, Camudhavmsopa Bhaya' hewas whetherornol n wilh idenlical thegrammarian tranopaya, Vigh anitasaka' slic n logician ofthisname. Pramatha oPaYa.SomemY or the Manjusri, arealsoaitribuled etc. hymns honour Tara, in ol to are chielly medicine to him.A lew magicalworks relaling penned byhim;e.9. Jvala,ksato been alsobelieved have o vidhi, Kusthaci kits paya. Danasila to Sixty works allributed him. are of Describedas native a 'Bhagala' Eastern also He appears havewrrlten lo in India, a lo Jagaddala Pustakapathopaya. andas belonging Vihara the East. in Jnanasn works.Fromhis Kambala Kambalapada Ten Vajrayana or lo works,he appears be a Eighl works are Bengali. These to attributed him. ate telatedmainlylo Hetuka \ol ln sadhana. Cakrasamvara) Prolo-Bengali is a lhere of colleclion Dohas,Col/el Ol Kambala-gltika. lhese Dohas, In one(No.8) occurs the lhe caryacaaya, earlieslknown A. workol c. 1000 Bengalis D,

Kumaracandra Described an Ayadhula as of slated to have written three Vjkramapui Vihara Bengal. fa tic Panjikasol ol commenlanes. Santideva Aulhor ihreeVajrayana of works. Perhaps ditlerent fromSantideva, authorol lhe Bodhicaryavatara and S/ksasamrccaya. Statedto be a resident ofZahorwhich accordino 10H.P.Sastri, was identicalwith Sabhar the district Dacca_ in ol BangJadesh. Tankadasa Dangadasa or Commenlary. ed ca SUVlsadasamputa,onHe/yalia_ hnha, Dscribedas Vddha Kayastha and a contempo.ary 0harmapala, of rirler Bengal. ot There no certain is evrdence hisbirthin Bengal. ol Vibhuticandra Stated haveauthored lo twenlylhresworks, Statedto belongto a Viharaot Eastern lndia. is notclear lt whetheror hewasa Bengali. not NOTE 1.See S.K.Oe.Buddhist Tantric Literature Bengat, ot Newtndian Anthropol y, Aptit1938. og

.c
CL (u

,i- cn clo
$lt

60

Chapter-8

BOOKS IN WESTERN LANGUAGES Aiyer, K. N. : Allen, IVLR. I Anand, I\/1. ) B. (withA. Thitly twovidyas. The Cult of Kumari. Kamakala, New York, 1958; Tantric lv4agtc i\.4ookherjee), Delhi, New 1977.

Arguelles& Arguelles : Mandala,elc. Arundale. S.: Kundalini. G. 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,Vakreswar and Kamakhya, Ca cutia,1980. Bajpai,la.: The Philosophyol TantalokalAhnikas1-3 with Eng. trs.),Ph.D.lhesis,1971,Lucknow Universily. 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

257

Basu, : Iarlras, a GeneralStudy,Calculla,1976; l\r. Fundamentals ol the Philosophy fanlra, Catcutta, 986. of i 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, : Vaisnavism, .G. 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, studyof Rgvadhanaol a Saunaka (with Texl,trs.)Dethi. Bhatlacharya, /ndia Buddhi,t B.: n lconography, MainlyBasedon Sadhanamala CognateTantic Textsol Rituals, and 2nd. 6d.,Calcuna, 1958; lntrccluctionto Buddhist Esotqism. Bhaitacharya, Mythological RitualSymbotism. D.: and Bhatlacharya, O.C. I Tantic Buddhistlconog@phlc Sources, NewDelhi, 1974. Bhattacharya, : Hrbtory Sakta N.N. ol Retigion,New Dethi, 1974; TheIndianMothetcoddess,2nd,ed.,NewDethi1977; Hi,tory of Tantric Religlor,NewDelhi,1982; Historyol lndianCosmogonical ldeas,NewDelhijg71 -, HistoryofIndianErcticLiterature, NewDelhii 97S. Rituals and thei SocialCorlents, NewDelhi,1975. Bhattasali, N.K. i lconogaphy ol Buddhistand Brahmanicat Sculplures DaccaMuseum,1972. in Bloteld,J. : The Way ol Powet-a Pftcticat cuide to Tantric mysticism Tibet,London, ol 197O ; Mariras, Sacred words power, of NewDelhi, 1981.

gloomfield, : Mantlas(Sacred wordsol poweo. J. pp.92,154. of Architecture, Bose,N.K-: Canons Otissan Calcutta, 1930. : Cultsol Bengal, Bose,M.[,4. CaitatyaSahajiya and ; BoseandHalder Iantras-their Philosophy OccultSecrcts, Calculta,1956. Calcutta, 1932. N. hy Brahma, K. : Phllosop of HinduSadhana, Eriggs,G.W. . Gorakhnath the Kanphatayogis.Calculta, and 1938. F.: CaWa, TheTaoof Physics,1979. /n Upsala,1974. Carlstedt, : Sudles Kularnavalanlrc, G. Chakrabarti C., The Tanta6, Stuideson thei Religionand Litercture, CalclJlla,1946. P.C. Literlures, Calculla, Chakrabarti, : Doct neof Salliin lndian 1940. C,: etc,, Calcutta, 1963, Chakravarir, Ianlras, 1970. H. Calcutta, Chakraborli, (ed.): Pasupata-sutra, Chand?.L. : Mandalas the Tantrcsamuccaya. ol 1959. KSS.ll, 1944, Delhi, ChatterjJ.C.: KashmtSaivism, , A. Chailopadhyay, I Atisaand Tibet,Calcuna. S. on Chatlopadhyay, : Aeflections the Tanlrcs. Buddhist HinduTanlras. and C.M.: Discimination between Chen. Crystallisation lhe Goddess ol Coburn,T.B. I Devi-mahatmya. 1984. Tradition, vol. S.N., A Histotyof lndianPhilosophy, lll. Dasgupia, S.B. , lntrcduclion Tant/icEuddhism, to Calculla, Dasgupta, 1958; Thoughl, Aspeclsof lndianReligious Calculla,1957. of Desai,D. : EfolicScu/ptures /rd,a, NewDelhi,1975. 1958. V.A. Madras, Devasenapali, : SaivaSiddhanta,

254 Diksitar, V.R.R. I The LatitaCult, Madtas, 1s42. Douglas. : Tanlrayoga,New N. Oetfi,1971 Dutta, lV.N. : (Trs.) Mahaniivana Tanta.

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Bedekar). : Hinze,O.l\,4.Tantra-vidya {Trs.V.[,4. an ibetan Buddhism, J.: Aopkins, TheTanticDistinclion, inljo.loT 1984. London, ed.A.C.Klain, 195s E.O.: fhc CultoftheMothetGoddess,London, (pp. James, dealwilhIndia). 99-124 Calculla,1974; Jash,P. : Htstoryol Saivism, Pratyabhijha system its religiousand philosophic 1960; background, 1959, view-points, 1960. Do-Someconiroversial SllJdyot Pratyabhijia Jha, S.K. : A Criticaland Comperative (Ph.D. Darbhanga). Thesis, 1972, Philosophy Symbo sm, to Sri Bhaiava-Padmavatt' Jung, C.G. : Mandala 1972. Trs.,R.F.C. Hull, Princeion, kalpa. Kamakhya,1914. Kakati, B.K. : TheMothetGoddess Kane,P.V.:Historyof Dhamasastn Kaput,|.6.. unyanamanoata, Kaviraj, G.N. : SaklaPhilosoPhY : Eastern weslern,ed , and Philosophy, Historyof 1 London, 952'53; Radhakrishnan, 1931; olTripun-tart a, Varanasi, Phllosophy of SomeAspectsolthe Philosophy SaktaTantta,Vatanasi, 1967. Studyof Mantrcsasl@, and Ctitical Kavoty,M.B-: Compaative 1944. 1967. Hoshialpur, of Kaw,R.K.: TheDoctrine Recognition, 1979. London, lvl. Khanna, : Yattra, in S. Kramrisch, : Unknown lndia: 1968 Philadelphia, in Ritualatt T be and Vil/age, NewDelhi; in G. Krishna, : Kundalini, Timeand Space, in Secrctsof Kundalini Paicastavi;

260

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Kundalini, BiologicalBasis Retjgjon cenus. the ol and Kumat.P.: Tant c coddes, Tara: Si)akti Cuttin Ancienttndia; Saktlsmua Study ; Saktiand Her Episodes,9A1. 1 Kundu, N.L. . Noo-dualism Saiva and Saktaphjtosophy, in 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, : TheEyeof Love.london, 1977. R. LessingandWayman : /rttoduction Budclhist to Tanlic Systems, Delhi, 1983. Lotenzen,D.N.TheKapalikas K;lamuhas,New : and Delhi, 1972_ Mahadeva, T.l\r.P.: Kashtuit Saivism,1952. Mahajan, S.N. : Th6Scisnce yogaand Consciousness. of lvlajithia, : TheGreatyogicSermon,:|969. S.S. [4a,r, G.S.: Sexrr Fel4qlon, London,936. ] Mehta,R.J. I Konark Sun-Tempte olLoye, Bombay,1969. Mehta, Rohiti TheSecrct Self-transformation of : ASynthesis of Tante and yoga. Mish?, K. : Signilicance TantricTradition,Varanasi, of 1981. Mookherji, : Tanta Atl, Dethi,i 966 ; A. TaniraAsana,Basl,New yok, tgTt : TheTantricWay(withN,t. Khamara); Kundalini, Dethi, 1982. N,4ookheii, Khanna Tanttic : Way.

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262

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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. aur Sasfti, D.. Tant@siddhanla Sadhana. Vasavada, (Hindirendering B.S. Upadhyay) A. by 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 Cosmo Publications FirstPublished1999 ISBN817020. 7 (s.l) 86i1 867 4) 817020 x (volLrle

CONTENTS
t.

Oiviniiyin BuddhbtTantras Classifications Divinily ol TheAdiEuddha

Publish..l

by

RANIKAPOOR MRS. foTCOSMO PUBLICAIIONS oi Div GI'NESIS PUBLISHING P\"T]L']'I) 24-B, Ansari Road, Darya Canj, NewDelhi 110002, INDLA.

11 Initiaiionol Dbclples Preparalion Disciples of tor Evocation Deities of ThMeaning Initiation of A.Conceming Dharna. B.Concrning Path lnitiation Mirror ol Ofterlng i,laterlab.nd Thei. ileaninga ClassilicationOflerings ot TheFour Otferings Oblations the Deities to fulaterials in lnserted lhe Flasks Symbolism tho of Mandal&Palace Varieties Mandala ot Symbolism Introducirig Palace the ol Explanation Parts lhe Palace of "fhe.|-tiangular nodaYa Dha

5.

7. 8.

Symbolism Mandala ol Ritual TheBef lectd_lmage lllandala TheMt MeruMandala TheMt.MeruTemple Banner Tantric Rituals Orienlalion towards lhe,.Three Mysteies,, FourKinds Yoga of External matedals l,4undane and Siddhis TheFiveAmbrosias TheThree RitualObservances (Vrata) Ornaments ofthe Deities The Khatvanga, damaru,andKapela * Fourlvludras TantricSongsandTwillght Language 95 TheN4eaning Expression ollhe lllusakations Samdhya of bhesa TheDiamond Song TheNineOritices the Body ot 1O7 Fundamentab lniiiationin ot theKriyiTantra ts Holding ofViewin theKriyaTanlra FundamentalsStudying path of lhe alterreceiving Initiation taken vows and TheProcedure ofrtheK.iyaTanlra (1)lreditation Muftering with a. Prelimjnary to theiour members acts ot mutteing b.Themainpartol thelourmembers ol mutering a. Generation selfDeity ol Thefirslgod god Thesecond

god Thelhrid Thetou h god The fivethgod The Si)dhgod of Discussion Self Generation Pranayama ol Generalion Deily in Ftonl P. of L Generation lhe Residence \adharotqattt) lo ll. Invitarion tne godslo be residenls (adteYa)and ofterlngof seals o{ lll. Exhibition the Seals (mudGdarsana) lV Otferingand Praising (PuiastutYadika) of V Con{ession Sins etc (pujastutYadika) of Vi. Contemplation the four Boundless slales (caturap ramanabhavana) ol and Gneration the Mind (ckotPada) general x.The FourI\rembers, on whiledewelling the L lvluttering shape of ihe syllables whiledwellingon the ll, muttering sound ol the syllables (2) N,,leditation withoutN,4uttering (a) Meditation dwellingin the llame ol ofdwellingin the sound (b) Meditaion granting at Jreedom the (c)Meditation limitol the sound of (3) Accomplishment Siddhiafter Appropiate Seruice

ix

9.

Fundmentats the CaryeTanka 6t

145

a. TheVarieties theTantra ot b. l4ethod studyingthe ot steps ot thePath Procedureof Preliminary seruice AtterBeing Commited the pledges to (a)Yoga images ninifla-yoga) wjth (Sa (b)YogaWiihoul lmages (animifta_yoga) (2) Manner Accomptishing of Siddhis afterAptitude in lhe Service 10. Fundmenials lheyogaTantra ot 171 a. Method which by theyoga Wheel of th Lawwasset in motion b. Method studying sleps ol the path ot the (t ) Meaning lhe Expression,Four ot Seals, (2)Varieties Thesphere purilication ol Thepalhof purflication Thetruitot pudficalion (3)Sequence (4)Requiremontand Bsnefit of SealExecution {5) Methodot SeatExeculion Symbolis Sal LawSeal Action Seal creat Seal 11. Fundmentab the Anunrra-yogaTantr, ot 191 a, Divisioninto twoTantras b. I\reaning the several ol divisions

(1)Relulalion ot otherSchools by of ia)Triparlition enunciation promulgation (b)Tripartition meaning by ol the sub,ecl matter Triparlilion Steps Production by of Tripartilion Sleps Completron by of Triparlition Puritication Atiendants by of (c)Tripartitjon thePelitioner by (2) EslabiishrnenlOurSchool of Th6 Birth of Agni in the Tantdc Agniianana 205 (1) Tantric ijanana Agn (2)Undedying ldea

o
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Chapter-1

the For lhe numerous deiliesol lhe Buddhisl Tanlras, 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 growthofthese cultsis luxurious lndianBuddhisllconagraphy.The ol ng some generalexplanations bewilder n complexity.Therefore, a un fyinglype are n oder. Narc-pada, in a Vajapada-sarc-sangnha-pahjike (Pff Vol.54, lo p. 11'2),inaugurales deitychapler two cilalions explain his by 'divinily"(devad).The (Kalacakd wotk') Vimalaprabhe the worcj re convenlional ecstasy hasarisenin the body'snatu stales: Because 'divinity." And the Si-Vajhmrlaof five elements,one speaks ol doesonespeakof"diviniv'?Inthe bodyis localed tartla slales:Why possessor;in order lo comprehend,there is the the body .comprehende/'; orderlo comprehend in one-sell, lhere isdvinily. Forlhal reason,one speaksof "diviniM Naro-pada explalnsdivinityin terms of the one who achreved r.e., in the body (lheco-nataljoy)and who comprehended. ecstasy h was enlighlened. mplies Buddha underthe tiile "Tal agala". He lhe deities, lhe or because is lhe source alltheBuddhisiTanlric lhis ol in on dominion whichlhey serue.Mkhasgrubrje,in his cornmenlary lhe Hevattulanh calledbriellylhe 8,1a9?rel (LhasaCollectedWofks, which lshallfurlher Vol. io io 104a-3,ll.), a usel!| exposition, Ja, has paraphrase lollows: as summarize and parlially 'fathegatd'.fhefalhrgala has la) Meaningol lhe exptession and ol Meril lpunya). the two collections,ol KnowledgeUhana') Through Knowledge,i.e. the lnsight (ptalta) indissolublelrom Thusness(tathala), has gone intolhe singletaste olThusness. he lrom Thusness. Throughl\rerit,he has come (agata),i-e.,returned to the cvcleot exislence(samsara). wilh as Besidesidentilication maledeities, in lhe Hevajralanlra the appearin elc.,sometimes Buddhas withthe namesBrahma,

*legats FdEg Fi3j $g$ gi#i iasi f, [;eg ig

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Table-1 Stageol Completlon L Shelhe Crow-Faced pravahaa ('withdrawal")
She the Owl-Faced 2. 3. Sh ths Dog"Faced

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Wilhdrawal, interiorlzalion i.e (live ol lhe lensoflsebases personal live objclivb. and ot Mediralion the nalure the on five Talhagalas of Conlrol lhe windsin liv withdiamond multedng colors,
4. Sh lh BoarFaced

a
("meditalion") pranayAma ('conlrol lhe winds') of lvainjApal dheran6 ("retention")

5.

Yamas She, Messnger 6. She,Yama's Ground Cremation

('recolleclion') Samadhi ("Consummation")

etc.,wilh Thefivesings, mirage, purilication mind (cdlavisuddh,) ol btessing and personal Gvedhisthdna\. jn Recollection, as lo proc6es so the reveBeorder,with Revelation(abhisanbodhi Enlighlenmenl ). Th consummation Knowledge ol with yuganaddha, pah-unrted. the

sFFIs;caEesi;Ei *;i $iggigF $5[ gfis rfs:gi$'fi

i$i +ig:?c;i
Table-2 Nature Divinily of Consisting ol Formal body (ripa-Keya)
( 1.) Shapedwith eye, etc and colporeal membefs (2) Consistng of Mudl:t

Ea {i e;5f#iig 6Fi $Fl 9'Eii:;EiiE FFEd gi+,5g FE Fffi .;ig igEiiEFE $$$ii$i FF gFi isg$$=s Eig;aEic $i;

I = Consisling sound ot ofabsolutekind

( l ) c o n s i s ln g o l l e t e r s . (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 equrpment beings(Saftva)trcm lo respeclivemarrra lelters.

11)Natuteat dharnadhAtu (2)Nalure nondiscursive ol krowledge with non-apperce, tionof medllative objecls

l I '{ d

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), necessarytor quickpalh oJTanlra. the Classiticalionsot Divinity incorporaled the n I\loreover,lhe multitude minordeitiesare ol Buddhafamiliesby the mannerol speakinglhat those deitiesare "seals"(mudla)oJihe Buddhafamilies. Thus, when the pedormer gesture(mudra)can betaken rdentiiies himself witha dejty, hand his procedure, there is a developmenla as the de ty. In lhe evocation order of the derty as a syllable(aksara),then as a hand symbo (c/tna), and flna ly as a deilicbody.[,4ore fully,Buddhaguhyan his Dhyenattan'patala4ke(PTT. Vol.78,p.75-4)setsiorth three main kinds ol div nily to be conlemplaled, and he fLrrther breaks thern down inio varietes. whichwe labulateas lollows: the one, s Anothertype class calion, o{ f overlapping loregoing found in Padmavajra's work, the Vahikalikanama (DergeTanjur. is Rgyud,Dza,29b'1,il.)- Hereihe organizalion in termsof lhe lhese are lhe Bodes of the Buddha. the oldeslcassilcalion, In lLrlherdivrdes Dharmakaya lhe Frlpakaya. and Laterthe Rupakaya whrch standard are inlolhe Sambhogakaya the Nrrmanakaya, and in the N4ahayana. SomeMahayana secls addeda lourthone ca led Slalement: lhe lvlahas khakaya. is is Padmavalra's u Th have a body Those deties who are bom by transformation on among lheiour belonging theNirmankAya, whichaccount, to NirmaAna, Mahasukha, and three bodies, Dharama, Sambhoga, navevaleltes, them,lhe Nimanakaya thegodsbornbylransiofmais Among (maksatra), tion.TheDharmakaya the setol planeis, is asterisms and the etc.The Sambhogakaya the twojooled (divlnilies); is is in Nirmanakaya tikethe Sambhogakaya ihis respecl. The Nirmanakaya the gods who range in the palace.The is Sambhogakryais lhose (yogins)with samapaftiin the n t a The samedhilpralhamasamardhl). Dharmakayas those who

the transcended ecslasy have gocls by I Besrdes,is explained theDharmakrya:Whateverlhe on riding thewinds) vijffaia anaviFiEia(ie i,i"tt'noinrnew'na with lhose Moreove( isthe ineirno-n-apperceptron Dharmalaya are rn equiposie) the threesamadhis ;a.napiid (meditalional of gazeby reason rhose who mutually it e iamltrogataya ot idhering to the idea of "mine"'are the t uult"nergy Nirmaiakaya ecstasy non-oozlng by it Likewise,is explained knowledge:The Those rs (heaven) theDharmakaya l_eA\anislha in ;'dwe 'rng in the tasting Dharma Introspeclion o'tequently '^rl5 e;slasy r_. by whoareself-originated rea_ Those aretheSambhogakaya lormervow,buldo nol knowit' arelhe N\(nehak^Ja' sonoi a s ol as ca_ be laken a_ explanalion Buddhaguhya A I Ihese f\ese of nalure dhatmadhhtu oe oi care.rorv ab"olLrte ty irrstkrnd: ol by o" o scr-ssed the termrnology three sadvas for .-" 1." grubrjes wh ch seeMkhas one can expanduponthe absolltedivinilyol Besides, kaowledgei' to retePed as'non'discursive s variety BLdohaou_ya fso' ^f''a-pa. Shagsrin chenmo al lolio 37b-2cites lhe thal rdo by on Commentary the Samputa Dpa'bo rie ('Suravajra) firstis based ecslasy'The ol thereareth;eelevels non_discursive ls experlence whichin mystical on sound(thesoundot laughte0, (seeing onsight is The the reierred as"hearing Lord" second based lo the re th theIormol thedeity) erelo "seeing Lord"Thelhirdis based and or holdhands unite), deityandconsod ontouch(aswheni'he lniact,thisseciion Lord" as would iaterdescribed "louchingthe be oi lhe establishes division four ol lhe Sfrags chen mothereby rim Thatis to of theTantra Tantras iermsoJthe roleof the divinilies in Tantra'Ihe Carye laughing;the has sav ihe Krva Tatfra ihe deities hands; holding deilies the gazing;theYoga Tantra, deiiles mutually in yogaTanlra, deities union lhe theAnuliara TheAdiBuddha ol orthelinalpedeclion Buddha Finalrv. s thePrimordial tnere (Holder ol Vajradhara called re d v n tv th; comoos ol all Buddhas

lheD|amondj, alsoVajEsattva and (Dianond Being), Sama abhadra Vowot Entightenmenl), Keitacakr; 1:l]rrrlry.tLrspicious-the or Time). Vairadhara ts depicled union rh; in wrth Ele,:l^of andsome.times somelrme; boooess, by himself. in the ilJustration. as

GdhaG'cu va naktnt (chap. the h sa a ra

jsbowedtobyallthe . .ThenVajradhara,theTeacher,who Buddhas, Dest,olthe threediamonds,bestol the grear oest. supremelord ot the lhree diamonds._. And ihe Explanatory TantB Vajanaale lpf-f.Vot.3, p.229) states: Vajradharais explainedas endowed with the profound and ., laffeachingithe Diamond being(vaj.asattva). besl otthose withlwo (legs)iwhois masterol destroying and benetitting Aslo Guhyasamaiaverse ,39). the pradli, (xv oddyotana ,, , I58, p..r^54-3) vol. states in part that the lhree oamonds \p1r are lhe 0lamonds Body,Speech.and l\rindin the of case ot..suprerre,o,d or the threediarnonds". Tson_kha_pa's Mchan_grelexp,ar;s lhe..tord ol body': disptayssimultaneously innumerabte mafe.,alizatrons ol oody:,lordot speech':teacheslhe Dharma srmultaneousry to ooundtesssentienl beingseachin his own tanguaget.lord mt;d,.. ol unorstands alllhe knowablewhjch seemsimpossibte. Hence,Inesa 'lhree aJeJhe mysteries'ofthe yal;fEa uers. stiesses Buddha.The valraohara humanlorm as Valrasaflva. in the chje, hierophdnl.

"":"r:1tJ?ii:J,'JI*f?

Chapter-2

Initiationof Disciples

Chaqter-2

By "preparation disciples" manttheir preparalion ol is lo trequently calledin Sanskril sadhana; evokedeities-a process from ol and thisrs lo be distinguished the inilialion disciples. essay, exhibited lextually Thustherearetwopartslo lhe presenl workwith"outline lhe ThobYig lowardthe end of lhe present ol Chaoter of lhe outlinedheatise 4 GsalBahiMe Lonl' because ol treats lineages permission evokedeilies. itssubsequenl the lo and treatsinitiation shows and thatlrantrayana with Chapter5 begins initiation. Preparation Disciplesfor Evocation Deities ot ot It is well knownthat Tibetanmonksmeditale upon a wide gods vanely deities. of Manyollhese andgoddesses aredepicled upon the iemple bannerscalledTankas,of which a goodlly number havetoundtheirwayintoWestern museums wellas as into privatehomes. The Sanskrit wordior these evocations is sardhara, translaledintoTibelanas sgrubthabs(prcnovceddrewp lop).Westerners invariantly wantto knowthe meaning these of deilies (mantla), Tibetan andtheiraccompanying incantalions in pronounced sngags, ngok:and wouldbe surprised learnlhat lo iheydo nothave such andsuchmeanings iheWestern in sense ot inlelleclual underslanding. Their meanings arisethrough the practice service the deity. regular and of Nevertheless, are there somegeneral remarks can be madeaboutsuchpraclices. thal TheSanskril books available thesesubjecls on convey meager intormation. This is becausethe collection se dhanas ol contain onlythe baredescription lhe deity.These lrealises or tiny may stari oul by sayingthat out oJlhe void appears such and such germ a syllable, which changes a such into upon andsuch, which certain a deity imagined so many is wilh heads arms, and wilhcertain symbols therighthands cerlain in and onesin thelett hands, so on. Separale general and books inslructions contajn

14

Chaptef 2

lfi:1rt"i;i"':nT":?cern
."

n anJats e supefior rhelorrer ina,an a lo on*, ,, ,"r, ,,, ii" jns

course d, rne,,r<,ruc,,o-s,r;,;,Jthl :i,l;;J.'1;";i:,':; ;::;;;;::

aooulsuchevocaiions, oi and

aparticurar evocatron are brousht

s 5la-led,,n VLhas grub ,p,s Fuidamentarc o! ,he Bttddhtst unavo:oably, Derntssion evoke q6r1r..f.l Ine to a ,,4,?fas. rrom^-the deity jtself, especially in ausprctous dreams.The . ",rrseli inroln6 deitv and tl-en,as the de y. to q.a-1p"i"1.rion rolhe disLipi-s. fha. ts one .easo-why lne O,sc.o,e .s suoposeo

:";:tg:g:t: "?'J ;,ilruT,il,:fi : l;:.:;ii;*:i

A" essellal ,ngreotenl every of evoca,ror a oe.tyts l al of

j;4,:",;"#:;"n,.t.";J;;;;:: ;J'l,:::'":;".ixT:fl .:o'::

;il::T':: ?:'#:;"",:. ' he.orsctp,esaving t bathedano lpproached ,".p.if ,,,V n" 'nasler.i.nplor,ng nim tor the,,pernrrssron letts hc rnen so.l.eo, lna llasrr BudohJsr leacnings. example, For how d:t,.-,,t . rs ro hLm.inb flh a.nongrhe va orJs desl,nresgoodandoao, :l:rl. lhe ro'lunatecrrcL,mstances Lndrng ot rhe ,eacne.. ?;:.rhel

|i;i[J*"]:,lT!"ii.#:'[":f;:3l::'il:;*l1?1'JlT"ti: :":?;1".i:*":J";.#"liTl:;f,*. ::j:":r:{"'i.::"ff

a,t,lual'v .BJddna, bLl orty tl,dt a oy so regaro.nqtFF g./ru the

j'f'ji",'n j".'60' n iillS rhe ?iT-.,Xhl'ilF,i,illi, i pl g.it,t'" " .neani-s '"""orio,y'p,",i.in'i

__^]l:.ti":,*"*

skya Hurukhtu pekins, ot Nsagdbans Bto-

lhe non-lanrnc trd lhe lanlric.Havingla(cn rnoseprecFpts lo neart.lhe candtddtes convrnced are th;t by retyr^g sLcn and on sL.h a lLl+lary oeilvor and o, 'ne" /l'e,ca-dioales) s,'lct^ sucha prorecto- t, e religon. will(eepa forl.lnare condtl t.eerron_, o1 tne unrowaroslates(oi beingborn when or wherernerets no leacher, ano so on).The candidates on to imagine go thal in the skv in

I:HJ Tf"i:i;r;; :t: :j"*:iliiriliiJ:,#:fl ":I

il lronl ol ihe offerings, is as lhougha vast cloudoi the tulelary proteclorsol the re gion, de1y, the Buddhas,Bodhisattvas, Belore that throng,lhe faraes,and so on, were condensing. take reluge n lhe ThreeJewels,conlesstheir sins candidales rejoice inthe v rtuesaccumulaiedby themseves ongaccumulaled, and,for the sakeof the sentient ngs,praylor the and others, be "permss on" of suchand sucha tutelary deltyor protector the ol The masterhas lhe candidates religlon. repealkey senlences afler hirn.Then, n order to reveal the mandala and vivity lhe basisoi ihe permiss the disciples generated deily. on, are nto The way rn whichthis "permission" graniedis especia is ty shown n the Tbelan rtual ol the goddessUshnishavijaya as lound n lhe four-volume collection sddhaDas of cattedthe Fin /har. I once siudiedthls lexl n the EastAsiatic Ltbrary,University of California. Herewe i nd thatthe master lirstgenerates himsell inlolhe goddess Ushnishavijaya her relinue eighldeites. with of Ths has lhe two phasesof generalion sell into deity and ol generation deily in lront,whtchare described of extensively n Mkhas grub rje's Fundamentals the BuddhistTantrcs.fhe Rin af /hanlexlIirsiselsforththe "perrnission body", oJ whichconcerns lhe bodies,small,large,and infinite, ofthe LordesslJshnishaviiaV:r ard ol her retinue. Then it portrays "permission speech,', the of wh ch conceTnsthe vow lo hold the Lordess as the protective deity. Finaily, tel s the "permission mindl'which it ol concerns the installation the Lordess's oJ body,only the lengthof a finger,in the heari. Naturally, thosethreekindsof permission eachhavea we l-defrned riluaiside complex go inio now too lo il is clear that the processol evocation and of graniing permission somewhat is padicularly the demands advanced, n uponlhe imaginatlve abilily ihe masierandihe disciples. ot From ancient limes,B!ddhismclassifted candidates terms of keen in lacu ty, medlurnfaculty,and inferiof faculty.Certainly,lhere is a precediog training foflhe disciple. Ofthis,thelheorvof Buddhist medilal has muchto say_ on For example, Norbuloanedme the firsiloliosoi a work lvr. enlled Bgyal bahibstan skyonggYu Ctags gnis kyisgrub thabs dang hbrelbahitjes gnangbya tshul.fhe{1le fieans:"Melhod o{

16

Chaptef-2 o{ Initiation Discrples

't7

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("She diamond the turquoise tamp,') ;and then, how he confersthe permission otthose 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; the main pa of the riie;(c) concluding (b) acls. The evocationand permissionare countedas the main part oflhe rile. Mr,Norbu called myattenlion a wordwhichoccurs lo nearthe beginnjngol this work. lt is wriflen tsa-ka-li and he exptainsthat I meansthesecertainminiatu paintings, whichlam presentlV re on writinga bookbasedon the manuscripts the late professorF.D. of Lessrngol BerkeleyNaturally, mastercannot be expectedto the carry aroundwilh him lhose large tankas which hang in the lernples.For the purposesol permission and initiation the ol disciple,lhe miniature serves handily.ll mustbecarefuliy prepared to deprct corfectly mannerin whichthe particular lhe deitvis 10 becontemplated. Hencethiskindofpainting madewithespecially is fine delailsand with vivid coloring. fact, ihe text tn queslion In menlions this word in connection praxis. with {a) the iniiial Here we fird thaton a platiorm frort.the pe.lornera'ranges in vanous offerings and adornments for the deily, includingihe isa-ka,/i which,as I understand senlence. adorned lhe is wttharrowand sik.l After i\/r.Norbupointedoul that word tsa ka ,, I soon had the luckofiindrng expression a textof theTanjur commentarial the in (the Tibetancanon).Those who have readlhe translalion, Mkhas arub rje s frndamentals of the Buddhist Tanras. wit. nave ga -ed some idea _lanlra oJthe dijlerencebetweenlhe iour classesof Buddhist They wrll\now that the Indran wrilcr Ananoaqarbha LrTibetan, Kun-dgah-sning-po) a celebrated was commentaior on

ilsellr whrch calledthe Yogatantra rhe thrroclassol Tant'a ol lhese'ectronslhe one calle i"r,;"cnons Il;'iJ"r"";i; on inlereslrng lh :pr"ri""iio" ol Evil Deslrnyis especially a has Anandagarbha writlen comrnenta and srde, "oirmentarial hereil wa 1o i-n 'r. in *fl|"f' I happened findlhe word'though as leilers lsax-Aa./r' inlo lranscrtbed Tibelan "Beside key Let me lranslateAnadagarbha's sentence: on those manlras; (rkyen)for generating there is a condition o lhe tnen n ihe mindand arranges rcah'Aa' lo,r, ons lhe "rruno"a ioou.: fni.-.ho*. that in order to etlecluale ircantal and in the or simuttaneousparallelprocess mind in th is ttrer'e a and are tn tf'".ind ihe incantaiions arranged' i ar the derty oi ""j"inuf*otfa. representations worldihe symbolic the external 'epresenlall external lhose be lt arrdnqed.mlqhl thoughlIhal prop as parntings sewrng mediialion are such tnerrin,ature is particular or deilie oeity the tn" n"'o'nq p"+ora"'ro visuaLze nte-d but r"'! ii ."ti"'^V a validlunclion. Anandagarbna ascerl lhepointoneshoJld rnor"fnrntnatTosee aoa"tfl|nq lheo'v o tits meclitatlon into the general now tnis'pa'ticutar medilation. Buddhist on Lam Tson_kha-pa's rimchenmo' seclion zhi9'a9 calml res scriptu as wellas KamalasR that foftht;ind)", shows various ma lll ll bhAva ndkrama and Bha\vandkrama allow that one kh tl-e booy ol lhe Tathdgald ailomptisn samaarlby raking o'hod objectThis is thoroughly as Budol'at a rnedilatrve whi ofthe "mindJulness Buddha"' r""*sJ it is.""o"i"teawith thereare tn qenerate inlinityol merits Besides' an is said to i", losingmindlul;essof the Buddhaat the time r"-rn" upon'becom "f as the death.When boJyof theBuddha' meditated of inis ij tfre"calming" keenfacultyThe medita tirm, vViOanO scriptures in ia indicated theMahay'rna beloreth aspratiors "un'tt,"n"lntinr",ollerings and lervent a",al"q "" ["*,"". included meril accunJ in is u-"ov-urr;lwhich vowsbelo'eth "."i"i'or"r"o qo sins tion:anatf"en on to contess andlake lo in is O:,ta-"ll of which included ptrr''icatio' "discerning {l "o.t".pf"t"a The latter seemsto pertainlo ol""ut"tion" benelilsiro nrtr,"rgt.rhils there are numerous i.rt'i;ira"g

t8

Chapter-2

lnitialion Disciples ol

t9

holding thoughl the body of the Buddha. on Atso,there/s a well de',ned procedure sucha conlemplatton fof Tson kha-pa quol;S rheBhavan;krama tl ln regaJo thal,lirstthe yogrn lo tastens mrnd lhe lormal hrs on oooyor rne tathjgalaas tl rs seenandas tt is heard, andlhen rs to accomptrshcalming. He orients nis mina conlnuouslv on ,he forrnol rhe lathijgalasbody,yettow tr*erne cotri pu lred qo,d.adornedwith lhe {32) characrerisrics lhe and rour_mtnor,,,na,ks, dwellirgwtth,nils rett"ue.ano acli,lgto. rne. arn o. lhe Senl,ent beings djverse by nreans. Oeneralrno th: .nerrs ot that (bodyr.he subouesradins: :._:::Ii,':' and excte'r.e.', the othe,taujts, ano shouldp?cl,ce medtlalton

rs notaccornplished whatthe senseare awareot).Rather, by lhe lsak-kariis coveredor unviewed.In sucha case.al an appropriat poinl in lhe seruicelhe tsak-karl can be uncoveredto constilule a revelalion.

ilt]n"uftn

t't" as that (bodv) dwells frontand is seen in

of lhe particular medtumof the replica, th." painting ingredients and lhe parncutar features :y:n ,".a. bfoughl in by reasono, a metal casttng. Neve4heless, lhe In '1 ralstageone doeswellto use a good;epttca a -nedila(tve as

a o, medrtative oO;ec| O;vorceO rni is rirn ll:l-"-:r!lcharaclerislics o.rystcat

ln the same place,Tsofi_kha_pa rnakesa drsl,nction ., between the initralfetlecledimagejn the mind ot the exrernatreptica,such parnting metalcastjng;and the advanced as_a or vivid recollection ollhai bodyas nalurally present the mind.The in latter attainment 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 eteganflyreluteO,b; "y", the leacherye,ses-sdejsa/rddhi is not accompliif,"O'Uy *nut tf,! senseareawareof;rather js accomplished it 6y,n"t tf."rninJl" awa re,oi." Tsoi,kha-pa meansthalthe rheasure success his ol in knd ol rned,ral rs :n lhe degreelo wh,ch on Ihe med,ratrve oblect rs4onpietery.translerred rrjnd,so thal to the bothlhe sublte;nd rough pads ot the body appear vividlyin lhe minOas though alive "basis

Mkhas-grub,rjewrites: "Now il someonewere made only lo enter lhe mardala and not to be conferredInitiation, whal would be the advantage. one takesthe relugevow and behotds lf the mandala with iaith, thefe is the advantage that he becomes purified lrom sinsaccurnulated manyaconsand plantstn his lor slreamol consciousness (samtara)lhe disposltion (risara) oi becoming fuluretimes receptaclelitforentering profound in a the mantra palh (i.e. the Vajra-yana)." Then in order to reveat the mandala..."Thoseexplanations Mkhas-grub-rje the Lcang by and skya Hutukhtu show thai there is no revelationof the marda; jusl by exhibiling or by the disciple's it, mereseeingit. Likewise a manclalais nol revealed when it is published in some modern bookandeveniflhousands persons of buythebooksandlookal il. But one can take Mkhas-grub-rje's remarks as meaningtulby presumrngthat the menlal ritual js direc y correlated with lhe hiddenexlernalrepresenlation, wh,chtnus becomesa seal ol

0":1."' medirarrve ooleJr" Ine Tr^o th.s is not lhe rn ::^t:: r. pnase which one is roo(rng thelsal.laJ;(beca,jse at samadrl

:"::il: :::# : i:!jii,":"#,ff"ff illii.';Tti:,:

Anandagarbha'smentionsof arrangingmarflas n the m nd haslo do wilh whatis calledin Tibetan booksthe nqesdon (i na meanrng ol tl^ernanlrd. ) whenil rs p.onounceo lh; nrndd l|r1q n .nedrlatiorathefrhdnIn oulwardspokenlorm, In whtchcase;i wouldbe calledd/ang do, ("provisional meaning,,). There is now a good treatmenlol the "meditationol dwelljngin the flame and in lhe sound" in the Engtishversion of Mkhas-grub,rje book. In s allernate words, lhe mantra has two main levels-lhat of ils orOrnarymullered expression,when it has the meanlno oi the wakrng stateiand thatolrtsextraordinary itatronat med expiessron when it has the meaningol the dream state. One mav noticeas analogous the two stages in contemplationol lhe meditation object,mentionedabove,as the initialreJlected imagetn the m nd andthe advanced vtvidrecollection the object oJ abiding naiurally 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 inrtiaiioni and tt is sale to say lhat not beiore its plbhcaton was such a surveyol the toptc available deplh. in Howevef, thereis a so ihe linetrealment nilialon accordlno ol to -h lFe Aa/J-dArdlante I Mat a f Care Is nr.odJction lo s Sanskril lion oi Neropa's ed (Baroda, Sekoddesatka 194t). The presenl essayrsnol Intended subslitute lhoseexposil 10 lor ons lo whrchlhe readersaltenlion inviled-or lo substitute the is tor 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; Arcane Lorc af Fotty verses. lhe The word in liation'ts lhe lranslat ol lhe Sanskrit on word abhlseka. which s renderedntoTibetan "conlerral power" as oi 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 (3)whetherthe lormalmolions rntialion; ol orocedures iniltallon ol by lhe gurusare ihe same as what one could read in a text or manualonthetopc(orwhetherthebookcouldbesoL'lnderstood). (l )The preceding essayon preparalion disc pleslor evocalron of ot dertes showslhat ii is not necessary be in itate.l n ordeflo to evoke adeity.The simplestexample oiihis is oi course medital on on lhe ELrddha on oneol the lranscendent or Bodhsattvas such Avalokrtesvara, thesemedilations as were practiced counlries n w(h Maaana Buddhism. tacl,suchmeditalions thesedo nol In as even requife"permission", the theoryol permission', bul arose wrlh Tanlricdeities.Nalurally, such medrtalions both nonon lantrc and lanlric deilies have gone on in countlesscases wilhoutany forrna nil ationceremony lhe type developed ot in lantrc EuddhismAnd also for tantricdeilies,I ciled n the partwhat Nlkhas grub rje sald:"Now if someone ioregoing were madeonlyloenlerlhe mandala and nol to be conlerred Initialion. whal would be the advantage?...:By mandala is meant both the residence (the deities). and residents The rdeahere is that one does not needto inttialed orderlo medilate a deitv. one in on bul must gel the permission (arulne)to so meditate, and with ihat permiss comeslhe directionsforlhe on meditation Forexample. havesludiedwilh the TibetanLamesls of a number Westerners deily lo norlhernIndiaand Nepaland been gjvenafi individual upon,usually alongwilh someversesdirected ioward medilate e.g.Vajrasattva.This requrres onlya preparat oithe on lhatdeity, and a decisonlo meditaleupon . But, n addilion,I is disciple possb e lo gei an nitialon in conneclion witha cerlaindeity, say givesthe personso iniialed and Avalokitesvara; this iniliation in lhe rghl to bed inslructed lhe enlire cult of thal deiry,and lherelorern the procedures gainingvarioussiddhis(occull ol powers) lhrough lhal cult.Besides, hrgher the initialions through suchdeites as Guhyasamala intended empowerlhe are lo candidate goal01Buddhahood lhe Present fe. n lo allemptthe supreme (2)Thenexlpo nl s by no means nconsequenl because al a numberolWeslernefs nowgonethrough have iniltal ceremonres on forexample. NorlhIndiabytheT betanrelugeesl as conducted n wrilefand hls wile so parl cipaiedin the greal and the presenr Kalacakra iniliation conducled H H. lhe DalarLama Ln1970 by SomeWeslerners havewriltenon lhese loprcsin a mannerlo suggesl the reader lo lhatlhey knowsomething aboutthe Tanlra !r queslon by virl!e of gelling lialed.Th s is far lromthe truth in In lacl ntalon s meanllo quaify the candrdat receive lo lhe leachngs of the Tanlra,becauselhe seventhoi the iourteen j!ndarnentalrransgressionsMkhasgrubrie's 328)is loleI p. lel. lhe secrets immalure lo (i.e.uninitialed)persons." lrvent inlo anolher aspecloi lhis problem my lalk beiore rn lhe Internalronal Conlerence Orientalists Japan (1970), ol in wh ch was publshedIn the rTransaclions XV.1970): (No. pa,ita;Sanskrit, Buddhisrn leaches lhreekinds insight oi 1Pali, prajnd), that consistng ol hearing or learning (s/ufamayl pralra) lhat consrsting meditalionor ponderng \cintamAyt of p/alta), and lhe consisling pultingintopracl ce or culiivating ol prajha). Iherc is a revelalofy in ones lile (bhevanalrnayi example lhe tirsione trom my recenlslay in Dharmsala, of Pradesh India-In [,1arch, Himachal of 1970,H.H. the Dala Lama confeffed lhe KAlacakra Initialion loudspeaker via lo over 10,000Tibelans. Atlerwards askeda learnedLama I how His Hohness could possibe inttiate so rnany,when

22

Chaptef.2

inrliattons were usually gven lo small groups ol proven disclp The Lama answered: es. ltlledw th failh lhey came fronriaFoil distances considerabte at sacriiice; showed thal theirsu labtlily. couldadd:and they sat tor hours.tistening I respecllully and patiently, ollen under a hot sun withoul drinkng tacllilies.The hereis lhat lhe one who has tarlh idea and endures hardship hearihe teachrng lhe f rst eve to has ol insightin the Buddhistsense,lhe nsightconsisttng ol lreaflng. Nalurally, of thesepersonsevergo on lo the few secondslage,the insighlconssling o1ponderingwhich In convenl onal Euddhist lheoryshoutd nvotvelhe taiddown pfoc-odure Buddhislmedilalion. ol Again,slr fewer.havrng heard withlaithand havingpondered agarn and aga n, go lo the thirdsiage of being exemplars pu ng ihat teachifg ol inlo praclice, insight cultivaling one'strle the ol in Therelore, is undeniabte a personparlrc ng in an il that pat inrlra!ion learnsmoreaboutlhe proced!rethan he knewbeiore Moreover, lhere are variousvowslhat are g ven duringthe rnI atton and whichthe candidates usually haveto repeal ihreettmes, and ol course serious the acceptance vowsandadherence them ol to in the fulure,rs a matterthai dilierslrom il: even thoughlhey havea superior background undersland il by reading it il lor ng il. were possible achieveunderstanding way.Again this is lo lhis nol to denylhal a cerlain Tanlra, reasonol varyng Ineages. by practiced was sometrmes diflerenlty its prolicienls, shorl by in lhatthe bas c Tantra was sometimes underslood dlfferenIy the in aulhoritative ineagesNow,lbegan lhis chapterby pointing lhal Mantrayana ou1 begrnswilh initration." Mantray:tna" a synonymot Vajrayana is (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 explain s malleras partot lhe preliminary lh explanalions the tor one to getthe higherinitialions theTantra;and ot theseexptanations lollow the schoolsol Mitraiokiand Abhayakaragupla's Vatravah.l Mantraydna.fhallitetan work, which I shaltreler to in short as the lnitiation Preliminary," explains:

characte.istic manlras of is lt saysin the Vajasekhara."lhe accomplishes dharma-heart, the the mindoi all Buddhas, possessesthe Dharmadhdlu-lhatis said to be the ol characlerislic mantras:'Forthat raason,it is said thal is the non-dualwasdom belonging mantra UAra)of bliss-void mindol allthe BLrddhas; it is saidthat manlrais and to the is after the lhe deties;and il is saidlhai manka lhe calling c of deilest and it is saidthal manira lo be is characlerisl vessels(snadma yin pa). Bekept secretfrom unworthy rig sldes,thereare threekinds:gsat siags (mantra), sfiags (vidya), gzun siags(dharafri). and (r ) Gsai siags. The gsad("secret') as statedin lhe Sr.i' is outside lhe Sampula One):"lt is secrel because lChap. B ; a s c o p e o f V s n u , I \ l a h e s v a r a ,r a h m e s r a v a k a s n d pralyekabuddhas." snags(manlra), As to sinceit incorpo ratesthe meanings lhe previo!sexplanalions is mantra oJ , il by prolecling mindfromsigns{fromsenseobjects) the and (vikalpa), explainedtheConlinualion in d scufsive thoughl as (i.e. ol lhe Sri-Guhyasanarjalantra Chap. XVlll). lt is as slatedin the workDbanyou tan rimpat "Themeaning the ol expression'mantra'is explained the non'duality void as ol | haveexplained mar-as Great lhe insight andcornpassion(mahaprajna) separals noi fromlhecharacter lhe void,the of breath Vajrasattva. hasthe meaning protecling.The ol Ira of is breath lhe Talhagatas lhe method non-dualily void ot oJ of and compassion," expression Th siags slandslor mantra, mar- is mind,and tra is prolecting, it ln explanation, so protecling performe/s lromsigns discursive means ihe mind and lhought. lo how il prolecls, purpose manlrais the As the ol recitalion the mantrathro!gh non-dualengagement of ol (upaya-prajfia).That of cultivation means insight and method general6s non-dualwisdom lhe ot voidness compassion and 1n praclilione/s the ol stream consciousness; because oJ and thal melhod,it is called"mantra". l2J Rig snags.The Vajrasekhanslales: "Coul|.letingavidya) (nescience) overcoming darkness passion by and by lhe ol over-coming delilemenls, is calledvldle."Hence,il s it of

24

Clraple.2

ntal0n

lhe preeminenl relurn10 deslroyrng lautst and thal rs the purpose v/dya(occuli science). oi (3) Gzunssnags. The samework stales: The characler ol dharfair'-srsholdthe Buddha-dharmas; ho dingis caled 10 ils ''hoding of dharmas' 'virlue'." and Hence, s the preemnenl it reiurn holding merlts; lo of and lhat is dharan. Besides, Buddhaguhya explains lhe Dhyanoliarapatalal n ka D T , , { T o h . 2 6 7 0 , e r g e 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), whichmanilests (deriy)The reverse elc. thal ol lhat (ie. a male deily,etc. is the characterslic nanlra And ol the samauihorsays (7b-3): "The passagemeansthat rl even Rrshs cannolmake a manlrasuccessful when they are nol n Medtalion (dhyana),how much less could other periorrners (sadhaka)l' Thai is the myslerious world into which lhe in tiale enters Antllhe Guhyasamelalartr.a (Chap.XVlll, Bhatlach-aryyaed.. p 156.16'17)stales: (samaya) vow (samya/a) The pledge and saidlo be libefated lrom worldy conducl, whenprotected alllhe diarnonds' by (valra).is pronounced"pracliceal mantru." fhis passage calesthatthe tantric ind devotee enlersupona new and perhapssecrelivelife that slarls wilh the vows and pledges his in tiations. word"vow"(Tibelan oi The sdompa) s a sialement lakenrilually and ordinarily ulleredlhreetrmesiil rs rn a Iorm easilyundersiood and musl hold logelher. adhefein the discrple's slreamol conscioLrsness, vows are usualLy a The ol generanalure, holdingfortheeniireTantrainwhichthecandidale s Lntiatedand lor lhe entire time aller his niliation. lhe olher On hand,lhe pledge"(Tibelan dam lshigl is less comprehensib e and may requife Commenlarial oral expansron gel lhe or lo meaningThe pledgesare not general,bul may apply lo a parlicular element01 lhe Tantraand lo a specialphase ol lhe practce. Frequently irom,po niing1owhal theyare in a negalive lhe d scipleshoud avoidor not engagen

dLl are The vowsthal are lakenby the disciples ng initialion and sometimes Jnessharedbelweendifierenlinitialions sonrel in Decu|ario a certainrniliation which case lhey are termed '!fshared".Examples on pelilion are andtwovowswhichGeshe Rablenol Dharrnsaaasked me to lranslaiefrom Tibetanon in Europeans whowere atlending Kaacakra tiallon the behallofthe 1970.Each one ol these ls to be repealed hetd21-23 l\,4arch, ol lrmesby direction lhe guru(whoin lhiscasewas H.H.lhe three Dala Lama): Thou my teacherwilh greal joy arl the sole A. (Petilion): wilh such allended sav orlrom the oceanof phenomenalllle greatwater monslerof birlh, old age, and dangersas lhe in death. bowto lheelhe greatlordwho is steadiasl the way Granl the greatenl ghtenment. Granlmelhai samepledgel ol Grantme the threereluges me the thought enlighlenmentl oi me Dharma, and Sanghal lord,prayinlroduce O ol Buddha. 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 hold mentally sympathetic wilh the virtueso{ (olher) the enlightenment. lving beings, wellas withlhe Buddha's as Tantra): Having C. (unshared vow,peculiar the Kallacakra lo oJ conferred upon me lhe sublimeinitiation the irreversible wheel,O lord, pray explainthe realilyof lhe gods ot lhe wheel,thewondrousaclionof the hierophanl, pledgeol all the lhe Buddhas, and the hrghesl secretof the vow. So as to servedlhe aim ol all sentientbeings may lforever be a h erophanti Theiacl lhatlhesethreeutterances qivenherein sequence are s no indicalionol their actual localion in lhe long and elaborate Kalacakra lor is iniliation ritual.The lime ol oeliiion iniliation when lhe dlsciplesmade lhe gesiure (mrdrir) ol the universe(the lour conlrnentsand l\41. I\,4eru)tamiliesolTathagatas The pledgesare specialto the different and to dillerentphasesol the palh. For example, there is the

pledge refiain lo Iromlhefourteen fundamental gres ionsol Irans s the Anuttarayoga Tantra. lourteen givenin Mkhasglub The are r/es /p.328nole)as tollows: 1. Todisparage one'smasler. 2. Totransgress directives the Buddha. the of 3. Toexpress angertoward "diamond brothers.,' 4. Toabandon of ihesentient love beings. 5. Toabandon l\lind Entighlenmenl. lhe ot 6. Todisparage Doctrine one's the of ownorof another's tenets. 7. Toiellthesecrels immalure persons. lo 8. Toabuse liveskardhas theirnature the for belongs the lo tiveBuddhas. L Tohavereseruations concerning nalures the Inlrinsically 10.Tohavelovetor lhe wicked. 11. apply To discursive lhought thewordtess to natures. 12.Tohavebelittling thoughls lowards betievers. the 13.Tonotadhere the ptedges lhe waytheywere to in i 4.Todisparage women, arethenature insight. who ot AllerTson-kha-pa's individual commentary those on fourleen ir his Dofisgrubkyi shema (PTT. 160,p. 7O-j,2)he groups Vot. theminthisway(mysurnmary including maleiallrom indiv his dual commenlary)i A. Concerning Dharma. (1)Teacher theDharma_ 1 "todisparage s mastel oJ No. one (dcaryaJ. (2.) Associales accomplishing Dharma. in the (a)Good assoicates. No.3'fo express angerloward diamond brothers" arelellowiniliales the samemasler. 12 who of No. .Tohavebeliltling thoughls lowardthe betievers" are fil who vessels thepath. lor

(b) Bad assooales. No. 10 "To have love (rra r/) lor the who damageand destroythe Doc' wicked",especiallythose (karuna) them. but havecompassion for trine, one should 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 Doctrine one'sown (mantrayana) ol another's ol or (prajnelparamilerayna) lenels. No 7 "Totell the secrets to (uniniliated) persons"; Tsofr-kha,pa immalure but retects a certainlearnedopinron that it is a lBnsgression to 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. Concerning Path (1) Basisol Path. lhe lime one has generated l\rind Al the oi Enlightenment: No.4 "To abandonlove of ihe sentient beings by actlngwaywardlyloward lhe sentientbeings. No.5"Toabafdonthe lvlind Enlighlenment'by of abandoning lhe true nalureof the mind. (2) Nature Path. of (a)The Slage of Generalionlutpalti-krama).No.8 abuse "To the iive skardhaslortheirnalurebelongs the fiveBuddhas", to suchabuse including injury, all mortification, suppression. and (My iorthcoming Yogaol lhe Guhyasamejatantra cleatly will showwhythis transgression applies the Slageol Generation, lo becausein this Stagethere is the medilationof associaling lhe ska.rdhaswilh the respectiveBuddhas). (b) The Stage oJ Completjon(sampanna-krama). I "To No. have reservalionsconcerningthe natures(dbarma)intrinsi callypure".No.11 "Toapplydiscursivethoughtto wordless lhe

2a
wordless nalures".

Chapler-2 'eye opening proceedsby recilng and The rnelhodoi vessel in lThe guru)places a goldor silver ipf y rg (ot orntmenl). ol and honeyWhi e lhe consisling butter qo den eyeo ntmenl lhe e d sc p e magnes on his eyes ihe syllab PRAIM, (the guru) recting OM wth a probe (sa/aka), es (the eye orntment) app HRIH ("Om. Removelhe APAHARAPATALAM VAJRANETRA He the eye! Hrih."). repeais verselol I rr lhat s of lhe diamond 'Jusl as the King ol healing \he vatrocendbhtsambodht-tantra): lhe raF) wilh h s proberemoved wor dly tilm,so may irha,sa/ya y o u r i r l m o ifg n o r a n c e ,y s o n ! W h i l e h e r s m t h eB u d d h a s d i s p e eye s openedupon they magine thatthe knowledge reclrng. s. ol the nescenceIim. ri?r|ova (lhe disciple) ll. Havinghad hs eye opened n lhat manner, shorld look rpat\ a dharmasas rellectedirnags.So (the that, he (the guru) shows a mrrror a sc p e) may accomplish ,r.anled th an AH, and recites: w All dharmasate lke tellectedimages, lurbulence; ungraspable, clearand pure.wilhout nexpressible. afisen lruly ''o r d lc6 e'd dcI'or lhelu and ^a!ma\. n thai is Just LkeVajrasaliva a mirror lurbulence;so also c ear.pure.wrlhoul lords, trreBuddhas, universal themselves abidein lhe heartol lhee, rnyson. llow lhatyou haveso underslood dharmas the as withoulinlrinsic nalureand wilhout location, may you priormincomparably the m ol senl enl beings, they may be bornas so a sonsoi the Proleclorsl (lhedisciple)to in thal verseenjoin understand general Thc'se thal lhe image, al dharmasare likea retiecled and In padicular image n a vajrasallva dwel ng n one'shean is like a reflecled

(3) Ancillaries lhe Path_ ol No. j3,To not adhere to lhe pledgesin the way they were taken" becauseple.lges are the substance lhe palh,whether the Anuttarayoga ot theyoga of oi or Tanlra. 14 "Todisparage No. women, who arethe nalure insioht" ot be.aLsewomenare a h ndrance lhe path.-wonen d.e b;l.r ro themundanekind lhe supramundane olVairavarah he and Kind Diarnond Sow). elc. lnsighf js the Inowtedgeol grFat trtss One {mahasukha). disparages womeneither way or tusllng by tor themoi (in overtconduct) reasonot tusting them. by for Initiationol the Mirror Again,wh le I do nol inlendto competewith Mkhas grub rie s aulhoritativemalerial on iniliations-those of the fiask and the higheriniliaiions AnuttarayogaTanlra; can a writtenaccounl ol nor lake lhe place o, actualparticipalion these tanlric initialion in ntuals,it is stiil usefulto presentone here as found in written lorm.The"initiation the mifiof is oneof lhe six in the Guhvasamara oi Aksobhysrilualthat corresponds lhe rote of the live flask to lniliationsas portrayedin Mkhas grab /je,s.Besidesthe inlrinstc inlerest oi this iniliation, is especially pickedfor 1s brevitv, it becauseinilialionritualsaretrequentlyot considerabte tenglhand delailwhereby theirpresentalion wouldrequire much sDace too lor presenl purposes Thtsis lranslaled t.omTson-kha-Da s wo.k. "Dban gi don gyi de itd nb Iu gsal ba (Ctar;rying rne ,eatrtres belonging lhe meaning initiation) to of {pTT,Vot.160,p. I j j _3,4). Previously 109-4-6) had listedtne s.x irrtrar,ons tlr (p. he as nilrdtion water.(2) initration the diadem. i.itialon ot lne of (3) ol val.a. ilrtiation the be , (5) inrtiation the m,fror, (4) of ol ano lbr in,tratron lhe name.Nowtor the lnitiatton lhe mt,,or.. ot ol The placement the mirrorinitiation this phasewhich s ol in lhe fillh stage,is as doneby Ktu byan (.Nagabodhi). that (i.e. In hs method) thereare two paris,Siarting with the.eye opening', {nlel.

Whenthelhirdot thoa"thr"" u.r""" .. 'aswithout ,$ithout "p""*s ol the dhafrras inlinsic nature'and location', it relers respeaively to lhe tirstandsecond verses.This because is whenthe second verse proctaims that "the Buddhas... lhemselves abide in the hearl-of thee',ihis is possible tho Mehayana with posilion lhe o, "NirvdiaoJnofixedabo lapfttisthita-niNafrd), the Buddha de" so q.atu.tes lBuddha-dharma) be understood abrdein rhe can to 0rscrple heartwhileabidrng s elsewhere. Theretore second the vers expressed theslandpoint supreme is from of ltuthUaatrbdhasatya). whilethe tirstverse,stressing the drarmasare "Lke thal rerlecf images" expressed corwentronal l samvrt ed ts with truth 6atya). Srnce.these cruciat are poinls grasping for Manayana BuOOitiit rnougnt, tswe to expend lillle. rt a The mirroris incanledwith an AH, whichsuggeslsbrealh comelo a slop on lhe mirrorand lherebycreating insubstantial shapes. The guri, recitesthe lirst verse,"All dhamds are like rellecled irnages..."to showthat allmundane dhamasarewithoul htrinsic yet nalure, kuly arisen lromcauseand aclton, i.e.,In Uependenl Origrnation (pntitya-samuhAda).fhts he scopeof rs conventional iruth,or sa|,sA/a. Thenthegurureciteslhe second verseto showthatwhenthe mindis'-smooth clearlikea mlrror, whenit is ptunged and i.e. in samadhi. can reftectlhe lorm ol Vajrasttva. il treasured lhe in orscrpreheart, atsoIn thiscaselhe Buddhas s But dwe In the heart, meaningthat there is no limitalion their dwelljng_ lo wnetherin thtsp6rson's that prson's or heafl, or etsewher6_ andso thtsreferstothesupramundane dharmas arewdhoul lhat rocaron.thts ts lhe scopeof supremetruth,or'N,rvitria ol no lrxeoabode,'nol limited ilhersalns:r/a ,,7rada,but both_ lo or Thethirdversethenalludes the meaning this initiation. lo ol _ First the disciple's knowledge eye is openedand then he is orcughl new toa understanding--about mundane sLpranundane and onarmas-sohecannowperlormthe ol sentient aim be,ngs. Thts showsihe meaning inilialion of as"maturalion" the ca;didate, ol In this case,maluration ihrough "initiation lhe mirrol". the ol

Chapter-3

and OfferingMaterials Their Meanings

ChaPter-3
oAflongl, e p o{uS ol I rLaltnpl..renrsandorhersubsrancec maleralsare paramount the ol lhe tanlrc cults, ollering because in lheyare lhe moslwrde-spread ali the cullsand oi courseslem lar thanBuddhisrn ilsell. irom practices rnoreancient The usual is is Sanskrtword lor "ofiering" pula;lhe wordlor "loodoifering" hama.Besrdes, nolionof an otfeflngbali andtor "burnlolieflng". the s generaized.as wrllbe seen belowby theirclassiiications. classif icalion of Ofterings In tantric commenlaries oneirequently notices termino the ogy ot 'oulel and "innel' otferings. Somel mes the category'secrel"is added.Usuallythe commenlalors take for grantedlhat the reader knowswhal is meanl.However, somesoufcesdo giveexplanalrons andlwo suchwillnowbe presented. Kukuri-pa, his Mahameyesedhanaman in dalavidhi(Toh.1630, DergeTanjur, Rgy!d, Ya,238b-4),states: Thenhe makes otlering outerofterings, "waterforthe wilh trom 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) ring"is lhe conlemplation non dualily. olle ot The secondpassageis tound in the manusc pt remainsoi lhe iale ProiessorF. Lessing. D. Somelama,perhapsa lama-teacheroi hisduringthe Chinayears,wroteout inTibetan scripla classitication oi oileringsbut withoutindication a lextual source. Here s my ol 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 meditatively crealed

and TheirMeanings Materials Ofiering ollerings by way of deities,after they have clearty arisen in onas rltndInlhe manner olra,gesse, oneo,le,slne.r rrd,vrd,ral|vto themagnanrmous oi detttes host (mJrasutra) as the detttes d|ssotve oneselt, snoujdrnake In one olleringin the senseol inseparability meansand insrght_ ol Goal.offenng (dongyimchodpa).As the true-nalure a or otterings d ssolvesIn trLle narureand spontaneous appea one ofleis ly rs. rnern the senseof no hr.d,an.e ones ttoraton. rlo Symbolicofferlngs kyi _(rlags mchod pa.) As one sees detightful thrrgs, suchas ltowFrs, clean waterrgratns. rrate. oltle. he 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.ngrng ard artachmertlo ofie,ing;. personal .,i,b"]11.."" ro wrt. lhe Dody and personalryaqgregares lsAard/?a) otfers one them ll s Jppa'ent rhalKLr(ur,-pas ktnos rnat.h toLr toLrol lnesixIn InFsecond given Dr.Iessrng rama tsl by s leacl-e,.lhe three O,rhe ,nnerand secret) easijy asree:and KJkuri-p;.s ::::-'ll" oJ !lirnale ]:r:9.. carego'y oller|ngseems be lhe "goalo,leng oilhp to ornerJrsr. a.nong the two exlra ones,lhe syrnbohc ollpa-g; made ro r6e grru afe obviousty T,belanaod:l,on a oecaJseTtbelan 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, wprt may be l^:"j:l-i."]::' jl'ustraltve ,nr,malery retaled),The .earLre oileringsare a specrat ol r^e peneLllon otg;v,ngtdAna-pircmalolttseBool isadva parh O,l-lhose varous categones, ouler olrefingsalO symbortc the -.,oreflng_s dis-cJssed rhe presenI essay;lhe inner are In oile.,ngsare realured Oytherive ambrostas.rn theTantrrc R,lualessayitne secrFl olfering the mainlheme thematerial Twitight is ot on Language;the , r f m a r eo f l e r n gt s a r t u d e d i o n v a r : o u s J a c e s i p ol tr,s wo,k, oanrcurarty the descflption conlempjatton non.dJahty... by of

35

Sec'.1it!e-yg19sa,i mchodpa). ga Havrng enjoyed grealecsrasy

olie o{ onlylhecategory illustrative ngstobefurther Thatleaves _al dllrcle lhe /ndo_/Hnan Joutnalllll l9S9 ol ns r-)pohFl. co'nme'lafy on lhe a i " , z t z z , I c r l e o B " d d h a g , r h ys 'viot*,,o.unr. uoort t'e nne' bu' nrotlering (T nan q sbvinsteq\ " rne malerlallils lha s16 "rer'tor9h h" usesl'e wordlor nnFr" I ILrsrral category) Here I repeatmy lrans ation ol the passage ve" aboullhrsk nd oi olfering: in one deslroyslhe live etmaka-skandha Vodness Moreover, (v/saya)' lormsol senseotrjecls lhe {srnyala),andalsodeslroys ln in (ag,rrkonda)'Vordness the s!ch as ihe external"hearth" ol the destroys issuances six-doored samewavone indvidually oer-eprnn(viiana),andwhenlheydo 4ol issueandareslopped '_ I wh'c]' {bodDicrlla rre sane waylr e "lhoug_lole_llghlen'nFn[ stops lhose is ilsell sloppedby the non_lssurng deslroysand and lnslght(pra./na); lhal abldingin the non'discursiuelavikalpa) 'fire the InnerBurnlOlfering Hence,one stopsthe sa;adhlls and Insight, "Onemakes bythe non-issuing ol wind' (vayv_agrD olferinglo iire wlth the mind (manas)l "Slopsthe lrre the burnl of wind" means"reslralnslhe prena and eyama:"'Onemakes burnslhoughl means"one to lhe burntollering firewithlhe rnind" or e immobi (aninjya aniniya)l ol ' Hereprara hasthe specialmeaning winds(vayu) andayana togetherlhey make up lhe term relers lo the mentalcomponent; ndes pe'cept.va consclousness on thesewinds DtAnavbmatsnce u rnestopprng p oi tnesewrnds(cl my seclon on The NrneOrilices) to s iantamount the burntolteringol mind inlo lo Finalv while it is convenienl havethis classification slx geneially mentron lor discussionpurposes,lhe lact that the te)ds 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 ove ap anVcase lhere is considerable The Four Ofterings who has been ciled above,is amongtne greal Buddhaguhya, (Kriya, Carya, estcommen;lo;s intheiieldolthethreelowerTantras islhecommenlary andYoga), amonghismosiremarkableworks and

rara,becauseof the legendlhat jn one of her formei ives she was a queenwho vowed thal in heriuture llves she wouldalwaysbel

1t) bzan- \Si po a-sp,c,o,s perrum".on""v" so rhe rn" or enrrghten.renf sFensa so Io be ",*il.ililillli,irll.iil] Th,s the.nean,r o,lhe Green g

partof rhe TibelannameKu1

"::rry*,r."1'oa,,:od' jil"liii'"I?;',',i;,ll-lifi anpna.,,n,\,atel l'""".:,:.":y,,I:;:ri::,:?,1,1 " :-l::t:.

ana ns Alha,

$ffirTil:|ti:T:fjvin
Oblalions to the Deities

rhe incarnaiion oiawo'un o""o'"

of ot the the indvdualFamilies, among dharanrs Invitation. That passage, however,does not give lhe complele list oi ob atronsin the severalcases.Snagsrim (236bto 237a) sets lroth riles,thereare i. each, For appeasing iwo tsls ot seven oblations 4. 6, 2. milk,3. whle flowers, klsa grass,5. sesamum, barley, For riles,lhere are 1. rce, and 7. ambrosia. prosperity parched per{ume, sour f 4, sesamLrm,2. mik.3,yellowlowers, kusagrass,5. lor A lisl 6. yelow water,7. ambrosia. similar was not presenled

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,." oTiered the heart,Those (localions) io are commonlo al rrtes.

:1;:iiil:i;"",i":,"":ff :: :"r:'*-y';'J"j:T"il:l:':illifi
q 177) a fjne has summary slaremenr

y,; I i:::l?:1,:-,, ;il;"";l;:;;::':i"i::"5:ti:,'*:

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. Snags tim\2370la zJUa) srateslhe places where lhev are oll

of rtes rnthe cale-gory Pehapsthe moslimporlanl allspecial (the Buddha). s of "appeasrng" the cultof Bhaisajya-gutu Healing in slructure lorthe o{ferings thiscaseis ndeed Thee aboralelayered riles, the most eagerlypursuedrs lhe Arnonglhe "prosperity" of in the cu t ofthe "threed vinilies longliJe"- the iconography, Buddha in Amiteyus, Usnisavijaya theWhiteTara theioreground. with and rilesi there Inthe coercingseruice, included amongthe "lerrible s, for example,ihe otleringmade to the Lord of lhe Dead,Yama, ATibeian text in my possession,lheDrug bcu pa, and his fetinue. (balD and menlions foodotlering the tothe'threesweets threewhites" (dkar gsum mRar gsum),which the Saral ChandraDas llbeian EnglishDictionaryexplains be molasses, honey, and sugar;and 10 nrik, curds, andbutier.lnlheritual,lheseolferings in argeprecious (Thisis vesselsare imagined becomeavast oceanoi ambrosia. lo perhapsalso the meaningol lhe item "ambrosia" the abovetwo in lsts ol seven oblations lhere is a largelrianeach).ln this seruice, gularconstruction "zol'-in my text"gtorzorgnenpo'(adveF called sary zor ior the offerng)- tor combatingthe evil spirits. On the pinnacleot giving h ress-thewhole a thetriangle skullwith eadd isa scare-c appearance, offedngsare shownin moreimagnative row The torm n the Yama-oflering tankas of Tibel, of which a sample is reproduced. included lhese coercing in The kindsoi materials o representalions llsied by Lesslng, ior example, anirnalsto lhe afe gralilythe sightol the fiercedeity,the eightofferings bowls n the in Inolicethe Ioreground, so on.InLessing's remains, and manuscript descr ptionofwhat is calledinTibetanthe dkar rgyan,ornamentol

ol lhe ^,,^y!!:" !:il,ii.r ootaltonsLrsed lhe invitation: for Th ejnvitation must be done with an oblaiion (arghya), which . rnerelo.emLsl be.prepared betorehand. Tne vesi"f.ro, ff""il.

lhe r superiorsrddnr. baretyand mrli are requrrodI or lres to ncreaseprospenty (pausfka) theirmiddling and siddhi, 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 :..r:".::- 9:::"rr-,i"eo rordl rrtes- cornmon. preparedand are trcensedW;lh tJ-eodo,s ot ,,-e, se Onc bJesses obtalion the by rel{|n9sevenLn-es an approor,dle one_among generaidherdnls lhe ot lhe vidyj,jja andotthe lh.eaFamities. amohg dhdlanls a,tthe'Jres the ol ol

;,,;I";ff i.J,ff ?,":;"Ji:'Jfi ; ","xi:"#;f:;fi ffi

Table-1 Materialsin the Flasks

o
Symbolicsubstances(Ftags)

Superintendence
Speech Mind Marvellous Action Merits Perlumes(s): (5): Essences (5): Crains (5): Jewels

t; lq
incense sandal, musk, saiiron,aloe, sesamum, butter, salt, molasses, honey peas lodder, y, sesame, mustadseed,barly, ba precious gem,co1,goldpead,crystal sapphire anolher or

lsr

lt

t: ls
ta ld

purposes. godsdregeneraled senetat rhe !t::!yPt:sa)lot ,lask sprinkting In lhe viclorious I tound. numberof itemizations the liveiold a of sets in the commenlafl on the Va -vdaE na-d @ i.-frre es tB n ira com.nentary li r1"","t9 rhebody, speech. mind. rnarverrous adsron :,Tjl]:"-r:: merits rxarma), and (guna) the deity;as shown the to o;,nd ot rn raDre. atong withmoreor lessslandard listings eachset. In rromcrean rs buneri sall (4Jlroma tree,rnolasses. kom (5) -(1, honey. florvers, The commentary (Toh.269t)byVrmatamitra and (2) rhe and :1:,1:,-"..,1:r !1) essence fire_crysrat the moon.crystal tprpsumaorythe as o,lhesunandlhe moon). grealest variely seems be in the hstol herb(. to Thetjslrn , .Thelstrom rneta0'e lhe Srags rimchem Jianaval gtves mo, ra insteao: vyakfl, seikri,jirikarnika, hasa. hasadeva totro 195b-3, stares rheherbs, rhat grarns, ^^_ ano1:ol,lh:Sug:..,.. in lhe Hevafa-tantrc are Jewels explained lradttion lokens as | /ragsl respectively the.njnd enhghtenmenr, and ol ot neart, bodrtv coror, tnemandala-deities.On or thesamelolio. Tson_kna-pa quote; ^uKuta|asamayoga-mandalavidhi 1|61 s (Toh. 1l,."fhetiveherbs are themind enlightenmenllhecompassionare ot ol gratns one;the are rl]:11:]:e_x]srence gods: fivekindsofjewers of the the ari rnerrgrrt ormeroocttes:lhe essences arelhe heart-realm ol knowtedge:ine penumesare the victorjous meritsof virtue.,, course,-these Of coresponoencescommentaries theAnullarayoga in on Tantra diflei trorh thoset^,hich smrttgives a Kriya in Tantra cornmenlary lhrs and rTr rh:-commentaries the ditferenr on Tanrra livrsions, ;:-99e:: ^rrya,-u_4rya, Anuttarayoga. have and may theirownwayol workjng ourrnecorrespondences tivefold ol lhe sets

f;Jll: i;',","* "..*""":ilTT:x'J"[:1.?'J],,';,"':"T#?fr

Chapter-4

Symbolism the of Mandala-Palace

ChaPter-4
l.varietiesqt MandalaSymbolism
diagrams calted mandala, usually the formol in TheTibetan paintlngs, havearoused muchinterest theWest. in These square with are ckcularborder mandalas especiallydepicled anornamented palace,The a lorm encloses lwo"dimensional ol afour-sidd which presenl study notmeant convey is to athorough account thedch ol whatlight becastonthesubieci involved, to show biil can symbolism passages fromaulhoritative works.Forlhis purpose, by selected PTT numberwillbe used citalions for theabbreviation withvolume photographic edition thePekingTibetan ol canon. lromtheJapanese Theabbreviation Siags rim refers Tson-kha-pa's to Sfiagsrimchen Peking mo in a separale blockprint. worksof Ralnakarasanli The (known theTibetans S2lnti-par) beenespecially to as have helpful. Introducing palace the The palacedemands propersetting. For example, in a (gdhanatAtA, No.239),we Ratnakarasanti's MahanAlasedhana read: "Oneshouid contemplale below, spotof earlhmadeof as a diamond;across, adiamond enclosu above, re; atent;inthemiddle, ground'(adho a dreadful burning vajramayim bhirmim tiryag vajraprakaram upari vajrapanjaram madhyeghorasmasanam vibhavya). text continues: the midstol that, one seesa "irl The palace a singlecourtyard madeentirely jewels-wilh and ol Wilh loLrr four corners, four gales,decoraled withfourarches, having allars, radiant nets soon,andwilhnymphd'(tanmadhye and whh and pasyet-calurasram kulagaram ekapulamsarvratnamayam caturdvaram catustoranabhisitan*rAradyairapsarobhis ca bhasvad vedicaiu stayam4. palace beunderstood thetranstormation ol Besides,lhe can as the body, the context whichSiags /im (234a-6) citesthe Exin of planatory Tantraol the Guhyasamaja, vajrafirhi'The body the (/lusni becomes palace, hallowed a the basisol all the Buddhas'

...-hnr'sm ol he Vdndala_Palace

45

passase su this orthe Pa F#illi'illlYi]:j'"'" "^av*rii;

gzalyas.lhari gyur/ du sarisrgyas gyiyandagnen/).When kun th6 oooyoJtheyoginhasthistranslormation treis crff"CIf," O,"-'noni

The understoodas the lour courtyards. fourbasesol projections (rddhi'pada) lhefourEate are magicalpower
(ntNihal. (bodhyaiga) ate ol 123 The sevenancillaries enlightenment garlands flowerbundles.The and eighllhe adornmentwrlh lold NoblePalh is explained lhe eighl posts. as on Fo owingare extraclslrom lhe commentary the loregong jbandha'rahasya_pradipa_ his by Banla-karasanli, Sri-sarvarahasya-n , n a m aP T l V o l . 7 6P . 1 2 ' 1 , 2 , 3 ) : l 'Sublme' (dampa) because is comprised lhe Sambhogait by The equaLily the ol meansinslght(pralta)... kaya."Knowledge" is fo!r srdesin termsoJexlernalmeasuremenl, the "fourI nes"; n really, t is friendliness(mailr4, etc., lhat is, lriendliness, Becausethey compassion,sympalheticjoy, and imparliality. Jourboundlessslates iake the sentientbeingsas object,lhe When !rpramaia) ol iiiendliness,elc. are called"boundless". wilh lhe realm theytake as objectthe sentienlbeingsinvolved (brahma-vr'hala)...(ln are ol d,"sir-",lhey calledthe pureabodes" the lirst case, see verse 119)the line is lhe realily(laltvaJ:lin the secondcase),it is lhe knowledge 0tana)...Theiive hopes of are ihe iacullies laith.etc-

saio tt'e s"' ;[TJ;i''if'J;],"J,Tr:#ars robe ctono's

Explanation otthe parts ofthe palace

there? Becausehe has marrc oorn ot lhe sKy_rs supre.newrthoutbegjnning end, the great or set,_exist-

diamond beaurjried eishr wirh posrs, ;-l-rj]:ildg9 by a gates, tine, decoratod four with arches, attars, Oannersinjnatil oannrs, so on,Howis Vajrasattva and understood the as pflncrpat meantng

lhe p _ . _ U n d o u b t e d l y , T a n j u r( c o m m e n r a r i a ro , l , o n o r t h e canon)conlainsmany commentafles on the basic palace ,roetan rermnotogy, Invariably, suchelemenls lhe louI gdresaretdentdted as wIncategonesolthe Buddhist, path,thusindrcalrnglhal vatrasanva rs^he_syntheljc paragonot allBuctdhist accomphshmenls. firsl The solunon comsfrornthe lf ,Vol S, p. 3d.5,.verses 117_j PaNanhas@nama-tantaeF lp 23 in my counljng: 117.Whete.lheJfiandalais explained is the sublime menial 118.TheloLlroutercornercestablish equattty measure. ot The ftind of maitri,etc. is explained the iour a; iines. 119. Tie rccollection Vaxis ol dhama rs explainedas the 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 exptajned the knowledge as line_ 120.Thehojycolledionof moralityis reiefiedto as,.ornament,.

f;ifiti1:ffjilx:"n:fowrease6rdna)'erectionoranTurnng to lhe Guhyasameja-tanlra there are two main cycle,

orindependence. and on, so [:fJ3,?];lHJi::?li:

and commenlar lradt ons,lhal headed Buddhajnanapada lhal by a headed thelantric Hereonef ndsan interesting, bul by Nagaduna. ga ha overiy briei,explanation Buddhajhalnapada's in Calurafi -sAd nap.19,whlchhasbeenoverly tikA-sAmahtabh'ada-nfin4 PTTVol.65, expanded Samantabhadra's in Caturanga-sadhana-tika-saramanlar nama, p. willpresent lhe PTTVol.65, 116,f-The following summary prrncioa detals 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). lhe wheelofEHRUI/syllables anse From Varocana poinlto the divrne (Thesewords logelherwithhisconsort. residenls lhe mandala), The lour cornersshow ihat there is no ol neqLrality Buddhahood Complete in and Buddhahood companson o{ w th Buddhahood lncomplete galesmean and Buddhahood.Thelour

trt tTj?_T.llo_"!11.:" (w:moksa) sares. tour are the rhe rishr G'-tt-pra'tara) are arctres ttre a-nJ :;[ii::;i:"n"^
122. The fourstations mindlulness oJ lsmntyupasthanal arc

ex.erlelce wayof mrldtulness by (smrr)ano tacut\ tndt,y4.rhe nr_d Lli!5s is sa d lo :moly the tourslat:ons nr-O,uness,ttre or four rightelimtnalion,exertions, the fourbasesot magicat and powerl lacultymeanslhe sel beginning with faith.Besides,ttrJstationsoi .r I dru-ess.have Inreeteve,s way oi Ine ,hreF,nsig"rs, by that co-srsrrng tearn,ng. pondering. ol cullrvarion. ot prelmtnarv of and rodrr rte.F\l.s tarlh ddha). lhalrslhe Easlern (s/a so care. I Le lou'r '0' I p rnr-a-to--pxert:ons or lOLf slflvirgs lvlyr, dre IneSouthern rlarp ro the Weslern Gale are assrgned mindl j Ines generated lhe s Dy aralySlsot lhe docl,rre Idhatma-pavcay4 as we,tas l^e rour oa"e. o nag catoower.The -led sd,?adhl NortiernGarehasone_po whrchimpliesthe fivefacutlies (lrdfia)and tive powerslbala).The rour archesare the four Dhyanas;and these are encircled by lhe 'outsDa'l perineter l4emr)ot samadhrs, he,oJr Cated SLramodma. L,agalaga.td Vrmdta. Srmha.v4r and rbhrta s par ,s we.i:JrnjTh Tpnreo wrrh oblecls worshipBe^ause ntne ol lhe o:vts ot scnp_ a-. ture are rnlended pleaseand attractthesentjenlbeings,they io a;e 'ep'Fsenledby the flutleringbannersot e,ght dit,prent.o.o.s and I n'1rr-qbells. -knowtedgecalled nrnelotd the miscertany rp.dk,.rar mrrror s expandedasnel (h,.a),halfnet (andha_hAra), mrrror, flowlr ganand,and so on-represenling seven ancillaries lhe of enJighten_ rne'r.Tie erght dcoraled postsstandtor rhe pLfityot .he erghl lbera,ro'rs. diamond ne slandsIOrtLrning Thp the wj^pel rhe ol doctrne by the diamondmethod, whjchis the methodot incantalron \mantn). Jhe (flowers, powdered incense, lamp, ,five .aflerings pe-ume, and food lor the gods) represenlthe Dharmaohatu Be5roes.lhepdlace lo be sludded is withas,ranyrewelc pocstole. as lnlhe caseofNegarjuna, thereis his p/rdiklta si\dhana,!,!hich . rorlunalely been edrled Louisde t a Vat,ee has poussrn hJs by in -0 t,on otlhe-P-aicakram rOald.t896).Verse hdsInesorlng oi 23 l-e paldce: "Whenonedrawslogether fourmandalas, lhe lherers rne mandala a spotof diamondeadh ln lvafabhubh;gaLTt-ereone snoJrd contemptateplacearjserlromthe sytJab,e a BpRtJ[.a:_ 24 26.Wilh lourcorners, gates,decorated lour wiih tour arches, associated with 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

Mahavalra: posls ', ^to, rqeo.rle'crclPl.Wrlhllasks andlHe w es o heaos Ado'neo lh be l ban_e's: on ] .lo-o"os rne ser also wlth camaras and so on ' 'n has wellco'n'nerled nB P'ndihrld' .1n rnls.Ralnd^a'asarl Vol 62 p 74) He h"s ---:,-^.:^-LA . dbalnavatt'nama lPFf ol lermrnology hinredmeanrng(nefallhd) ]"-L,.r"o 'n" "'"".'lflng wh,chlurrs out lo be herelTp Teanngit4ia4har :";:;".and tnen exler'.allv ll-l ^. '.]n 1",*"""',"" conceplJdr'zeo lhp one hand andlhe bodymanJalaon lhe i"0," l_'"0 -rnorr,on

aboul ll'e Meanrg f ^e spreaool the ramparlperlmeler ' ' 'i".,t A Htnled il rslhe our:lY because lo ioLr a/ig'rlr' i "o,' " "'ou_ts "samenessknowledge"(samaia-jff6na)"Four gales" oi gatesin each directrcnbecause meansaccompaniedwith and lhc rnev are lhe pJnry ol lhe lour gales lo liberation lha medns spe to.listaton:ol m nd{ulnessFourarches over the lour gates as a lovely decoralion' cial structures purity thelourDhyanasLikewise of tneyarettre O"cause :;ocialed with four lines" means wilh the lwo Brahma are lhe orwln tfre (lour) basic lines' becausethey fLnes with eight posls' ouritvof lhe lour pure abodes "Adorned ;;a;s with theit positionsin lhe directionsol the eastern they pos_ ol soLare(AoslhaAa) lhe cakravaflh elc since w'lh valras mr"ors marked and aIe se"s varor,s,ewels oi u"i""." if't"v *" ttte purityotthe (eighl)liberations "". ;editalion Likewise,"beautified"meansthatthenel'w are anA ine natl-net,which is withoul a lord' las a torO, becausethey and half_moons l"urrifiea *'ttt ..niu";ras 'All ol IiJ." p" uvo'r"" t"u"a ancillarres enlignte'rrenl ol i. oltne.otn"ts teans lornls lhe fourdi'ecl'ons: ",nt. rne oateprojeclions lhe oulerparlsandlhe are i,teuse. i oift.t 'nner parts They are "studded wilts t't',e " " r'e with vajrasmafkedw h ralnaslhal s|g\rLy "arraratnasi emanatetighl'becausethey are the inlrinsrc sijno our ano

tlasksareplaced rt" m"*t"iges Likewise' flasks; "Irt" "iir'," ol eachgate,that is' eighlgolden on toft' "la"a'n" L"vu ind Maigalaare In lhe Fasl lhe i.Jio tr'"-, i' the and F,ainlrvaanoS ooi' 'n lheSoulh:vriaya Sa4li

48

Chapter-4

^ .--^h<molthe vdndala_Palac

49

:ff::?',x: ::j:$ i::'"l?g";g'":1*:u"ff

!uamltvakas.in North,becausetheyare lhe puri,icalion the

eactr tn"'r ;::|;sffiJff::i;iln9a9h,at oate; uJo'ni

,ff;';,:',i':itr'"i[l,f J,]i?,"Tji"1i"ii.j,[il]li

''*#:,"f 3ff#"i:.:,i:'ii#",il#:f#?i:fiji
:;:i: =,,uiqil:i:lx;:.;: r:: "jil,,'.",1ii:;:i;",i:il11",:,i::;iH;: ,;:Hil;f
lt1fff 1""":!:;:;*;nlnl.:::ill::i iJ"""{:+",ft g:,;:::.
",rslr partofrnealsr upara.ncorDora.,ng part "":t lne o.

;iffi ffi j,'J::::;::1" :L:","? rnln;:;yni:li .ffi g;:;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

;;-i1:.iq"","",:t:Jg#_#1*ff#lffi

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i,oreq. lotatl.g ooorn" ;" ; ; rz p wn(

fil'::,':,"T'J;:: :-',.'*"'n,n^, :'#l3l|'I"",:ff

;t,l:;#;;:j;l

In Camatais the hairot head The llowergarlandsincluded ''andso on" are lhe intestines. eightpercep "Deefare lhe EvidentMeaning(nltartha) tions.(Theloregoing:) 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 lhe ;norlhodoxway of inlerpreting same ( lerm loinl;oouce obscuteT'betan pha_khu pha gu) tne ;a rrcrlar iine rourboundless elc ' arethe fourgales ol stales lriendliness. arethe The lour samadhisare the lourarches The eighlliberations lour sides(logs) The four etohtposts.Thelour nobleTruthsare lhe the Finally, nine samapal'sare Div:inas are the jewelledpha_khu. rhenetsand half_nels". to Those commenlarieson ihe pan ol the palace,attnbuting agree'alhe consrs' ascenslon ot the1.lhe cdlegories Buodhisl ln lenllv on the basic parts to be so trealedsymbolically addiiron which are ol go into lurther technicalities conslruction, ihe books Rile in lhe Sragsrim'chapteronPreparatory elaboratelv;eveloped lhe "Explaining meaningof the lines gan gicho ga),subsection lsla wnic-n re'struci' (otabp ahithignams kyidon bsadpaho) Besides' a olscusslon foroul present informalion has lh s subsectron valuable show two circularslrips,lhe outer mandalapainlings Loa iadat, havenotcedin otlhe lotusAlreadywe enclosure rinoandtheinner Sddgs enclosurF lhatthereis a dlamond oi the"sen'no the patace hmt l78b:3) cilesKluhtBto('Nagabuddhi)'The atch (lotana)hasa oinnacleoi diamond; beyondthat is lhe ouler wall which has the 'eference lhe inner e^clo to oi aooohqhl a d'arond garland With 'Oulsde the In'e l,[e. iaaqs rin i175a'?) cileslhe sameaulno' The lolowI I equall complele'y . rcle, o_;hoJlod?w thelourlices 04 expresq ola thaltl"e flm ol oassaoe Sriaoa (178a-2{) nslsls -enclosu'eoLlerwallo'lhe (vairap'akara) meansboll"lhe .ono (fecundsourceol allihe naluresol lhe wo d and the Dharmodaya ol world).They are, so to say,lhe outer and inner boundaries lhe lo the Stags flm tne world.,lccordlngly. tour equallinesaccording are really bou-ndtess, iust as was set lorth above lrom lhe -tanltd tdja: SaN arahasYa' nama T \'4e ol Tne eoualmeasure lhe"FlremoLntarn{S ag-r'parudla oi hasthe'reanlng oleqJalneasJre emitlng nr tn -,id|eclions

^,-hn.,sm ol the Mandala.Palace

5l

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j[',::l ne ro pos,r;on oirson-<nalfi.';ffi; .. -A_c.ord rhat
TheTriangulaf Dhanhodaya DFarmodaya tiangle ts apparentty asa sh ownn a n4ndala ,- mypossession n _The onjy In pholographic iorm

ri'i:;r d T f[iir;.[:]ff f'#lfinrtrtr#fr q[:,",."T;"i.";:1?l?;:1lT:f

mandalabelow lo the Akanistha abov

ji:iilr;t fi1;;41';m:'r'i,",..i*dd#*",:',"tr* ffi ;il"l?,t?t?fffJi.iil1?:|i:l'J? J?f

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"",ifl ii,l:i,""#1f"l,:."f lil{"iji,:Y:iiqiff asits :'J:T:l :f iil""::;:;'1ff":il"J1;rtcorors ceirine,,, j

":ff #[

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:ru ;,m*::,il"ffi lii,llil,!llil;.:,fi:::ill:lf;
._--Here,,what llake to be lhe Dharmodaya rflangteis within the

i_slead ol .ne "irc,eis sllng wilh s(ulls:and wilhn lhe tnangle is ts a slrtlsiruclure-there whal seemslo be a inu ,,snaual a'*ntcn (as in ol iiee representallon the svastika its meaning Buddhagunya oelow)ol the unionol meansand insrghl or ol lhe male ;libe crled padma This becones by ;rd'emale. symbolized lhe valn andlhe the small,drtluse triangulararea ol lhe photogtaphls . ea when seemslo figurewlthlnthe lrla''lgle u,eweotnder a mic.oscope.The wherethey each attheir midpoints ol two scarvescrossing consrsts in whichthe artisl has embellished wavelashion' are tied together, la;ing page is a drawingof the centralarea only oJ this On lhe oarliculat mandaia The ligurewithinlhe drawingis such thai il canbe lurnedInany Inanycase,thetriangle'whiledrawnpointingdownward 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 commentaryonlhe Pradipoddyolana annotaiion (aftertheshapeol the "E-triangle" lhe is 13-3),lhere aliangle called meaningthe lotusof lhe vrdya and lete;"e" in an Indianalphabet) a so meanrngthe three liberations(the voidness,wishless,and srgnlessJ.

ijfi:11itr,;i"+*"illff;iili:'lii".;i.J:.",:[;J,.l?il'
tocatedabove tikethe skv with a visva-padma_vajrain the middle. , . In rne presenl casethe,diamond thread,,wnlcn sufiounds lhe

'nIne rnansrJar o.uu Dharmo r=iili#iZli

r#:i*i!iii:j":ili:L?I;1X":il"jt,;".,,",".*1,,*: * *,,u,r'" orrjjJ.i ;ill::':,:i:'lj:"i,T

L,li,:?,,:::,,:::i''ossed lhunderboJt)
Jspic s r:';iT"Tfi i[:T'il"ilH# a oLme'nbe

ll. Symbolism ot Mandala Ritual contains Tanlras of enlals theBuddhisl l\rkhasgrubrje'sFundam hereandtherelor our present a iund ol b;sic data,butscattered line Let ourooses. .rsrecalllhe cted komthesatuanhasya'nama' mental is is lhe tantraAja,"Whete rnandala explained lhe sublime it "sublime because commenls: karasanti which Ratna mandalal'on that indicates thema'dala iscomprised bytheSambhogakaya'.This heaven palace theAkanistha ol to canbeundersiood representthe (say, Mahayanalradition lheLahkAvalara'sutra)' lo where according the Buddhawilh bodycalled was Gautama i;iiated as aComplete to is heaven considered be al the Akanistha Sarnbhoga-karya.This ol wo;d at the rrmit the "pureabodesof the "Realrro' roool tn; the grubrle's workconlarns lraditio'lhdl Mkhas form (nlpa-dh2tlu). Stage ottheTenth teach;sonlyBodhisattvas thisSambhoga-kaya the is Theimplicalion lhaithemandalaconslitutes re-establishment that 10 arnounls saying mytholog|cally arrangemenl.ll oltheheavenly lo heaven re' lothe Akanistha ascend Bodhisaftvas theadvanced

52

Chapier-4

symbo!!4g.lE!9!ql9:i919!f

53

ceive the instruction the Sambhoga_kaya, that in practice ot and rhey constructa ,randala.Mkhas grub rje'swork clarifiesthat the mandala mustbe oore constructed: mustbe realized.rhe it mandale s conslructedin lhe order ol steps generaltyemptoyedin the Tiberan hreratic parnUngs. Frrst.the,e is a sketcn acc;rdrng lo the rules In ihe Tantra,this is calledthe karmaJme,which is white. Then,areasare givenappropriate colors.IntheTantra, is called this th/iara-hne,wtlhhnesof tivecolorsrepresenting trveauOdhaq the ano Mknas9rub rje exptarns thal live sets ol threadsol tive colors, mak.nga totatof twentytive, are lwistedtogether. constitule lo the Las Jnana-trne. y, thedetails put in.IntheTantra, rsthe lasl are th,s slage ol mandala-construction, erectionof an editice. the thataulhorValravarman crt.,p. 133,,ol. says. (op Sr i--B,esdes. lnere are lwo trJtlt'nal mandalas,wllh lhe rretnod ot rFe ularr,ahaya andwilhthe method oftheSarrbhogakdya.. goes He on to r|uslrale the .method of lhe Dharmakaya,,as the ljve knowredges whicha.e the natureolthe tive Buddhas,startingwith lhe Dharmadhatujianawhich is the basis of a supramu;ane knowledge and whichhaslhe natureofVairocana. one tollowsthe lf lerminology the tradjtion in ollhe MahAva ocana-rarlra whichleads up lo lhe lwo mJndalas lhe Japanese ngonScnoot, or Sn the melhoo r:,e uha:mdkayamisht bea mandatarcptese.trngtFe D,amond :' neatm tvalracthetu) andlhe methodot the Sambhogakayd mrghtbe a mandata teptesenlingthe Nature Ftealm lDh;naAhetui. fhe mandalaol the DramondFleatmrs inexpressrbte. and that ot lhe r!arureHea|mrs expressjble, The Retlected-lmage Mandala followingmalerjalsare based on six verses in a Tantra . .The of fhe Yogaclass_reterred brieftyas lhe Sarvaou lo gau-pansodhana tFunrcat on ot al evit desliny).While lhere are severalexlensive commenlaieson thisTanlrapreserved inTibetantranslation, lshall lranstatehere onty the one by Buddhaguhya his in work of reconsrrucred Dulgrati-pe hane tllle. risod dhav@hlana.vrfr:Frrstthe six ve,se-s(s/ola) ot the Tantra(pTT.Vot, 5, p. 84_4,5) transtaled lromlhe Trbetanl 1. Oneshould stadbyblessinglhe ptacewith rileoi what_ a

ever be lhe sorl, i.e. vihara,upavana,slupa, devakula, One shoulddrew the outer mandalain ihat place whrch oflourcorners,lour hasbeenblessed, towit,possessed and gates,tour arches;adornedwilh Jourslaircases pendant garand,lions, bullsiadorned silk,tassels, with garland,bells,yak tails. necklaces,
4 . One shouldadom it with the seals (mudra)ol diamond,

jewel, lotus,svaslika.lt should possesseight lines.and with outergateprojections. be adorned 5 A . One should dress it Lnnine parts and renderthe gates into and gate projeclions three 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. theseversesln commenlaryon NextliranslateBuddhaguhya's the sectionwhrchhe calls "lhe concisemeaningot the mandala' illegible spolsin (PTT, 76, p.22-1lo 23'1)Because certain of Vol. Na(hangianjuredilion. the pholographic ediiionlalso consultedthe I shall use superscripl letlers, siarting with "a" lo indicate the paragraphs my annolalion whichfollowsthe lranslaiion. of 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 'ellecledimage red mandala powde colorsappearsin lhesensory oi 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) upavana\qove) of kind s madewilhinthe conlines a monasteryThe kind occursvariolrsy on a spotoJgroundlhat in smoolh.

54

Chapter-4

fhe stupa,devakuta, aama. l he stupahtro occu,swherethere retcso he body.The (chapet) a restdence mundevakula ts tor -dre oane goos thearama (garden) drawn n d ptacewhere ts nany personscongregate. .With a ite of whateverbe the sor!."Ot whaleverbe the sorl,, Indrcates whatever ol sortoJplace,ol whateversorlol implements, and of.whalever of Incantalton sort exped.Incanlatior ass,slanl, and plron.The "rile" involves place. re ot Inves galrng the (permrssron) a visible king, or ol an invjsibledeily,and oJ 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,aled acljvil;es according lhe rulesit3r usingrncanlatron to t manlq,\.geslweImudA).anddeeoconcenlralio'r (srrrdh,lo otess I Into tfe .n nd of entightenmenl whrchts lhe nalurFor lhe Lve Knowdges;(4)examjning self,existence cnaracteasttc the ano ol earth;(5)contemptaling accordjng tolhe fite;(6)beseeching know lo accorOrrg the flle,doingthe ntualmethodtcatty, nol lo ano wave ng rn samadht. whv so? One shouldbtesstheptace:fherc arclat'kinds oi blessjng:(1) . blessing placejntothetn e natureoJ the knowledge;(2) blessing tle place of the dhatma-mandala a.isen trom tne iarnadlr:mlnd]i3j blessingthe placeof conceptual names inlo the AnarnadhAtu,iij L'lessing lhe mandalaol powderedcolorsas a ptace ol material mar(s, Intoa dwellingplacelo.lhe Buddha. 2-3 ln thatplace which hasbeen btessed. lhe manner ln ihat a lhousand-ounces silverare changedjntogoldby ustnggoldparnt, ol 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,lhatandstncethal lhe requ,red s, ts bas onespeahsol dn manclald . in order symbolize lo lhat,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

passessed four arches; adoned with lour staircasesand ol -arc'es. lhe Ierracesleps ol lhe ma']dala_stand are n,and. l _e steps rn lhe gatewaysThe "slaircases are made i]oe ol re'race lrom lhe arches.The "garland consislsol lhe ., sr a', "ta'tsatcnes, (ot by and ls beautiired eighlInlervals seg_ ,no .u '.asos of consisting the ;ents) which appear along with the "staircases" ilis states,andwithlhe garland Besides, ornamented boundles toLrr slates' ofthe fourboundless consisting of bv possession lhe "arches" 'gadand"consisting inlinilecompassion; and il also ex_ ol lhe wth hlbiisthe eight liberations Adarned utilh liansand bul/s.There are "lions"since the one ol ol wlthgreaicompassion meansis notlrighlened sams2lEThere 'buls'in lhe senseol inlinite marksof righlpowers. are pendantnecklaces'garland,bells' Adarnedwith sitk,tassels, andvak tajls,lhey a@ on lhe left and righl of the gates."Silkl'or offivekindsof knowledge. haslhemeaning paicaaga\live-colorcd), ''Tassels," t//aga (three-colored), lho pure naiure ot body, are or soeech,and mind. "Pendanlnecklace' is a hanging necklaceol is pearls,slandingfor the Bodhisattua's "Garland" a pearl garioy. this meansthe set ol lhe and surrounding circularncklace; 'Bells'are combined withthe necklaces; requirements samadhi. for becausethev are lhe pu ty of speech,lhey causethe leachingol madeof pearl,theycirclethe border Dharma the livingbeings;and to extendoui;lree lrom taull' ol the mardala."Yaktailsl' Himalayan, 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_ consisting fencelikediamond mond.i.e.an unconstructed is garland ol'lewels"there the Inner (vdye',ffana). Witha knowledge allsortsol olher merits"'Lolus' crrcle lhe palace;itarisesthrough ot il rs the specialthing with lhe variousseatsfor goddesses; means '^. drrr ol lvrrg beings of wrlhthe grealcompassion skirlir lhe ol The_svasrkais an angularcross unaltacned me.rs,^,nrle berno lt is a symbolol lhe unionol means(up?rya) vajras,like the m;on. ol if'means ornamentation beautilythe and nsighl(pralrzt)"Adorn oi to rellecledimage,and ornamentalion claritythe appercephon

ol <"m oohsm lhe Vandala-Palace

57

nnrsymDoF, /t srouldpossess ejghtlinsand bs adorned withoutergale prcjeclions. "lines,', threads, fhe i.e. nean contemptation t;; in manner the mindol enlightenment. ot Having "eight" meansit i; decotated fourdkectionat wnh threads tourInner anct threads, makind eight. Possess the eightkindsmeans rg thatthe personwrtht;: eighl good-luck symbols hisbody, on hasthe syrnbols clcompletion. gatproiections" thegale-bends *hugpa),standing are (sgo :Oulermeans lor lhe ot anlering samadhi by "Adornedi comprehensron. wth lhos khds,mans three levels (sumr,m)in gates. lt^e exhrbited gates.This Oy twelve meansthat ordertoturn senlrent in the beings ot lhe ihreerealms awaytromthe twelvemembers depende;l of origination, thereis the &tddhain the melhod the rwetve ot acts. Adorning-the (6rambu)witha quadruplee|es lbzi rim) a strips s is symbol purilying ol thefourkinds brithplace medns rhetour ot by oi knowldges.That meaning adornrng is lhe ot d. 5A.One shoulddtuss nineparbandrcndertheoates itin and gete prolectiotrs threeparls. in Thismeansthatbecause purilies one withcompassion lheihroe realms lhe nine and stages, explains one lhe single laceol the mardala having as nine(parts).,,One s;oud render gates galeprojections, lhe and means oneshould thal render lhe gatesandgateprojections the unionol calming by (themjnd) anddiscrnrng(thetruth);andbecausethatperlectsbody. speech, andmrnd, explains therarelhreeparls, one thal Thatfinishos teaching Indra lhe of dilferentiatjon. Nowtoteach themeaning ths innerWhyso? of 58. The castingof threadv/ith dianpnd tjne is the castinaol lhrcad thecentet ol mandala. "Diarbnd" taken thelamrtyi-gs), is ( as because is ble6sed mind enlighten.neni.e ,,line,' iaien it into ot Th is as th lhreadwhichis th6 meansot showina and that.The thrs 'cenle/ istaken palace asa round whichishe;vmbol slandino tor lhe dhanadfAtu.lhe "lhread" the dEmond is ihreadol wrsJom (vrdra) and is to be takenas ihe greatbtiss(mahasukha) the of mindol nlighlenmont, that.thread'x/ith magical From perlorthe r|l6'_nc6. ol emanate raysoJ knowtedge \pAtiharya) btessing, th (./:6ana) which exhorl the illustrioushearts of the noble ones and blessby prlonning aim of sontienl the beings. Casting lhe'.son

the ot and thatis blessed is emanaling light thread' i.e.ihe thread knowedge,meanscaslinglheskythread(gnamlhlg)and the earlh it brahmathread, is blessed ihread.(sa lhlg).8y so castingthe pLlre or intoPUrily brahma 6. Likethe wheelof the /aw' Here'wheel" meansthat when it has a nave and spokes there is capabilityas a wheel Like lhai when one has aTeacher.relinue,place,etc.becausehe example, reacheslhe law,thereis thewheel(set intomolion) The one with a wheel is llke an oflering. Because right knov/ledgecuts olf the il kind dellLemeni ol sullerlng, is saidlo bethewheeloflhe law; tis rslanding that perceives meaningaltercutlingdownthe ihe the unde ntellecl. "Net" is a lerm that takes as one the slxleen nets ol with havingspokes,and is asymbolshowingthal.The conslructed dhamadhittu is ptimotdially pwe lye nasmam pat dag pa)llhe nave s a svmbolshowingihal.The spokesare asymbolofthe pefeclion ol compassionwith skill in the means; and dharma is lhe tel.r]' aclion at exhibiied the nave.The wheel is exhibiledas marvellous as (phrin/as),and lhe spokesare exhibited 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 ihroughihe arisingoldesirethereis the Sambhogakaya- posits Whal is the reasonforthal? the exampleof the horse-marda/a. It has sixteenspokesalong wilh a nave.The"nave",whlch is "Alongwith" the c rcular palace ol the cenler,i5 the Dharmak?rya. jewels surrounds circleand lhrough the meansihat ihe garlandol i.e spokeC', lhe arisingof desirelhere is the Sambhogakelya.The who are perlectLon sattvas thewheel,exhibrt nalureotthe sixteen ihe Why oi compassion, and are the Nirmenakarya. so? l! is Dossessed af a triDleseles. The "series"is exhibiledas wilhinlrom withoul,andthreeexitsfromwithin The threeenlrances exits lrom within are exhibitedas the nave,lhe garlandot iewels, the and lhe spokes,Among lhem, the nave represents symbol ol is (k{rm,9)Vairocana, Dharmakdya, "Series" a lerm the A l-Kennng garlandol jewelsrepresenls (avenika).The for arisingof the special theJamily, lhe BuddhasoI the lourfamiliesas wellas the MotheroJ i.e.lheSambhogakaya greatbliss.Thespokesof the lriple series in

a_Palace elmbo sm olthe l\4anda

59

58

Chaotr-4 more inlormalion,see Mkhas grub rjes especiallypp. at Tucci,The Theoryand Practice the 270'71. Guiseppe generaltreaimenland Jor Mandalars recommended a 'residenis"of lhe mandalaln mainly ior the theory ol schons French lo contrast the mandalaof'?esidence").Two porlrayed In the have studied llte mandala as Mahi usrimut akaIpa: li si MarcelleLalor, IcanogIaphE des etoffes pelnles (1930), and more recently'Arlane Macdonald,Le Mandaladu Mafriusrinulakalpa\1962). Far is e the most remarkab contribution individualmadalas, Panlheon,Pafls 12-15,pub now A new Tibelo-Mongol LokeshChandra and by lished Proi.DrRaghuVira Prof.Dr' AcademyoJ IndianCulture,1967).the (lnternational nd vldual parls conlainingan enormousnumberor wilh mandalarepresenlalions de ty lists. The d ilerent parls oJthe rite are wnttenup more exlen_ swelyin Mkhas grub rje's, pp.279,11 are Whenthe knowledges givenas lour,therels lhe correspondence syslem ot theYogafa n(cl Mkhasgrub are so r/es,pp.232-33);and the knowledges lhe l/irrorol and ike,Equally,Discriminalive, Procedure Duty wilh activilyof Mindof Enlightenmenl Bodhisativa respective ol of Perfecling Giving.Perlection Insighl'and Perleclion ot Striving. The four boundlesssiaies were akeady set lorlh in the seciionon partsofthe palace Thefour meansol conver_ ol sion are (1) Giving,equalio the Perlection Giving'(2) Fine,pleasanlspeech, Actsinaccordance(4)Onesell {3) staled "eightlibelations"were servinqas an example.The Buddhist ancient the eadieriorepresent eightposts;forlhe theory oJ the eight, see, for example, Paravahera VajiraiZrnaMahathera,Buddhist Meditationin Theory and in pp. Ptactice, 48+86; andlheannotaledversion Etienne gnnde vertue de sagesse.Iome Lafiolle, Le lale de ]a pp. lll (1970), 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

are the Nirmanakaya, they representthe Nirmanakaya the i.e. as nalure oi lhe supermundane retinueof s/xteensallvas,elc. Afier the dlamondlence, the cteatedcicte (nimitacak.a)shoutdbe undersloodas mundaneand supramundane. iriple seriesol The enlranceslrom withoulrepresent !hree levels(sum rlm) jn the the gale,There the lerm "entrance is Iromwithoul,'because arouses one the mind in the creal Vehicte the seriesot performing aim ol in lhe livingbeingbywayol the bodyand speechof the Tathigalaiand by installing livingbeingsthat way among the Bodhs;ttvas. Now the 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 thegarland ofjewels ofthe center. l\roreover, is because aarland il the ol jewe's andtheaforemenriored -ave, doubhrg lane.,se-ror rr-,i llral the spokesare to be doubled.lt js said thal therets doublinglor the sake oi performing aim ol livingbeingsby way of ihe me;ns the ano Insrght. Theconcise meaning otlhe mardalais llntsneo. Subsequently (p.27-j) Buddhaguhya an exptanatron has ot .canopy" mandalaonarnenls:,'17 text) mentions he 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 orha tmadhatu,tNe llashs lhal are ltlled with the waler ot lhe rrve ram ties_lhe hnowiedges the ltvela.ny'ies. "lamp tnsrqht:sl.ewsloodolterng., o' a'arfcompassioi "looda-o dnna -'ood fortFegods.o ve,seroods r havrng thehundredllavorc,ofieringwaterhavingthe eighlaspects,

b.

d.

nere are my commentson lhe above: Buddhaguhya heredefineslheword mandalaintermsol lheconlarned, manda,andlhecontainerorholder, la.For

^ -h^r<m ot thelvlandala-Palace

61

secruslon, elirninationof hindrances,andrightdwelling; t

::rurn; ::: i:i:liir:..6ff; ^l::}:u:

'1"_i19n1g."0-tuck symools, {nenext see sectron of

i:iir:i,""*y f iff::-",,fl,Ji "'J:tiix:::":' :li1fl* :Tdiiij ir!ty:,"',",ffitl*i";lii

;:f:,Hi["J"J]J:,fj:,""]:,""f i:t,J:l?'"":is,$

Dt)armadhatu-knowlldge is added rheotherrourThe ro

and the TantncTradilion. (note

ill;;E: r"lt,ii,l ili{i'":r'ff ;!s:f !:f ,ti:.1#'.yi::itilffi1ii%.":,"'* iiiiff

can purjrytherFce,ta,nry needsrurlhe,
ti: bJI how rne ,oLr

lilliSlilifl ilI, iq*:*,,riii,:;:""Ti?i?l;:,xif jitl-;#

,rc5, ect;( t) rne p. oescenlfrom tta, entrance Tus t2) jnto ,I."J?.b. (Str"U,dn. l+t.kr inwoddtyans. tb)enJoyment (6)departure home. rrom (7lariuo,rs ::::^larem.women.

:li?i t,ii;; iti,ff j?t iiilii; i;ifffi."iit;ru:ffi aretM^has rhe Buddha s:ub lliiIT.ly:l::::1" "f

mor,var,ons. iii"",i.],l"li:i.""1",?r rsri,"l""p,.", lil

or or'|;'|;;i:: "ltr':i l[l:fli:rnembersdependent

l:J

g.

ji:",*l: ;Hff :H,lii"-i,."il:1ili"""T:ilJ :::"fi

:l;ill"a,,::. Ti^e,term hine stages" somewhat is obscure same ohe

#lH,T:"?',:ffi E?,"::':;z,y:l::J:;'::::.,{"

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

iour dhyira stagesof th r6almof form(dpa-dhdtu),the called iour stagesofthetomless (arrpyas),andthestage "cessationof ideasand leelings' \in Pali:9afffra-vedita' is of and Union calming disceming in sanskrit, nlrodha). sanat ha-vipasyaM ! uganaddha. explanation. The use of the word"lndra"hererequires Vairavarman's commentary on lh same (PTT. SaNaduryatipatisodha@ Vol.76,p. 121-3),mentlns one are thatthere two kindsof Indra;the otlhe hundred eyes. and otlerings(salakralu) the one of a thousand is inpoint, because ofidngs Herethe oneolthehundred (p.33-g) saysthatIndra Buddhaguhyahiscommentary in yalamara), patron (Sanskrit, i.e. ofthe ls the'yo, bdagl' (belonging Great to However, termMahgndE the sacrifice. So Tantras mean'arth". to Indra) usedintheBuddhist is spot ofthe lar therehasbeena ditferenliation sanctilied so ol earth, thismustbe lhe mainusehereol the word "lndra'. (adh,bthara)oneotthelour kinds pratharya ol is Biessing to according MkhasGtub 4e's,p. 26 (nole),the other conAction, Oeop and threebeingInitiat,on, Marvelous threadandbrahtAtines, centration. Fortheknowledge grub |e's pp.284-87. WhileMkhas-grub-rie seeMkhas 'slq and "earlh does not use the terminology thread" Th his is applicable. thread", explanation immediately thread roally is meaning course thatthe knowlodge of is on i- theskyiandso the thread earthmuslbe imaginawiththe knowledge tivelyliftedto the sky and imbued downlo 6a h as ihe whichis there,then brought "knowledge line',whichaccordingly a "sonihread;' is blessed knowledge. wrth Buddhism the of Concerning wheel lhe law in non-tantric u's onemaytakeVasubandh Arya-Aksayamatinidesa-tika ol (Derge Toh. Tanjur, 3994,6a-4,tf.):"ln lhe manner a wheel'meansthere is a wheelby reasonol a nave, spokes, and rim;so also lrom amonglh Tathegata's

of Symbolism theMandala'Palace

or

:ls-jlll:]9 f"?1." and nght Jivelihood undersloodas the aggregate are o; norarity. lhe nave.The l;\e fOur, LgnturOe.srano,no. ri.ii concept:on. mindfutness. rrgut nght a"O eriorta.e JnO"ell stoodas lhe aggregate insrgnl.liL; the sookes. of Ridhl samdl7i theaggregate samadhnrstr-epacrtrcation (i.e. ol ol allprapanca{expansion sensealtachment), of hence |lkelhe.rjm." Noticethal Buddhaguhya.s ,jumbersrxtee; In a mutttpte oflour,and can be takenas ole in the sense or a nei. But whenBuddnaguhyd exptaJns spokesas the rne nature ol compassion,il doe! not agree w,lh vasLbandhu-s understand,ng tnemas rneaggragate ol rnsghl.A turlherdtvergence whe'rBuddnaoJhya of ts takes r'le rave toSlandforlhe d,hamarealn. wL:leVas,oandhu pursnerethe aggregate morattly, ol a,tdeviopnl.y counts mennrewheelas.epresenltng drarma And the wnen Euoonaguhya lahes the ctrcle(hencethe rin as the ) xnowtedge garland,lhe dFagreementis .omplete.Thal sr' doesnol clarify "horse-ma4da/a,. the tsameredd,ng In lhe Narlhang Tanjur). the prev,ous o. rhe word But Lse 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 cerlarnry the sel of srxleen t oonrsatwas which Buddhaguhyd hsts in nis conmenrary,p. ?4_2,3 and wherehe ca s them the'Bodhrsattvas o, lhe-Bhadrakalpa (tort!nate eon),,_ list js not quite His rne same as In any ol lhe mandalas cl lhe tvtspannavogavalt, the closesl Jtsls bul dre n lhe u andDutgati dsodhanamanoa pa Ia,

Paih, rishtspeech, bodiry rishr acrion,

Aksayamati Akasagarbha' Amoghadars, Wesl (whohavea hostofments): Saru;ipayanjaha' PralbhinakUla,[,4ahaslhamaprapta, Sarvasokalamonirghatamali -oidelilement lhe Norlh(whc haveelimlnaled lwoobscurations andknowable): Atnnaprabha,Samanta-bhadra Candraprabha 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 especialy sincethe Dharmadhetu'vegtsvara v stn does nol fai ), va, mandalaal lhe Nhpanna_yoga in its lisl ot sixteenBodhisaltvas and omils the name Amoghadars Some includesAvaokitesvara the vearsaqo,when lwas reading lisi in the Dharmadhaluanandala sixleen lold GegenHulukhlu methatihose lamaDilowa ihe Monoolian to l;theTenth Stage(andso according Mkhasgrubiesate belonq Thistheniswhai Buddhaguhya rnthe;elinueoithe Sambhogakaya) retinueby"supramundane meansin hrsnexl paragraph as 1.The threeexilslromwilhinare:(1)thenave Vairocana Buddhas oljewels,whichls the nrn-the (2) Dharmakava; thegarland lorm; (3) the sixleenspokes-the sallvasas in Sabhoqakava may relerto the specialgroupoi wofd "avenika" Nrrmanak;ya.The nalures called unshared lhe peculiarto Buddha, a altribules eiohleen In oll'e elghteen exposilion ,lu"n,^o-onr,^"t.t'" nost elaoorale 703)l"Flhrepen_ c , ; o w . n L a m o l l eo p . , l . )C h a px l l ( p p ' 6 2 5 _ l of lrom withoutarethe specialkind body,speech and mind trances previously slated to be the round' The diamondlence'was Eadier inTson_ wisdom-knowledge ol lenceconsisting unconslructed and mountain" the outerwallol passageiriscalledthe"lire kha-pa's the wodd. ln fact, it is the hallowedcircle,blessedinlo diamond are elemFnts all outsidelhey cannolcrosslLe and lre demontc The Mt. MeruMandala exposilionol the 6ady'mandata Ratnakaras:lnti's PrevlouslY debody ThenBuddhaguhyas Merurepresentsthe mentionedrh;i elght spoke oJ a person having lhe scriplionol the mandala-Ale

! ! !l!!ari!n!aa1 wnere,n lhe Sanskrit namesare eslabltshed. Here ts Bu0Ohaguhyas listing togetner d.recliona w,lh rreanino: East(whodo not swervelrom the lrue nalure ot mtndj: Maitreya, iratitusri,Gandhahastr, Jienakeru. Soulh (who have purityot view and praclrce). Bnadraoata.

64

Chapter.4 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, lady' 31. lhe Incense lamPlady, 32. the lady, 33. lhe Perfume Sun, 34. 35. Moon, Umbrella, 36. lhe Precious overthe Ouarters 37. the BannerVictorious goddesses In that lisl lhe eight ladies(Nos.26 through33) are ng lhe ndrvid'raoa 'reqLently dep cleo in Tibetanbaanersas hold song dance llower' l.Ing IndcaledbYlherrnames(playgarland. lamP, Incense, Perfume)

90od-lucksymbolson his body,The meanlngor Inese remarks re_ lale_sto lemple banner of Ml. Meru. but the we musl starl wrth the mrndala ot Ml. Meru. here reproduced. l/eru ts In lne cenlerol lhe rour conlrnent syslemot the realmof desire(kamadha lu). ,:^,_:T,:,, '9xr I nor,ced desc prionwh,ch a ,_.^ ]lo:l:" eoes wrlh t,ts mandab and lherefore alsohelpsexplatn temple lhe oanner /below).lr my_translation the pasaage ot I shatj resroreIn pa( lh; welfafesled.Strshrit namesatongwrihnumDers ag;ee lhar with lnose on the tvlt_ l\,,leru Mardala. l Mandla:)OV VAJBABHUtt4tAH 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.amond sketch. Hu.n:.). Ah _ tTnere apoear; 1. Su-l\reru.theKjngof Mountains, inthecenter,surrounded on lhe oLtstdeby tfe Cakravata tronrnou-lta,ns. or 2. Putuavideha (Videhaofihe East)_ 3. Jambudvipa intheSouth, 4. Aparagodaniya rGodanryaol West,. the 5 Uttarakuru (Kuru oflhe North). 6. Deha, 7. Videha, L Carnara L Aparacamara OtherCarnara). (the 10. alha. 11. Uttaramantina, 12. Kurava 13, Kaurava, 14. the l\rounlain Gems, of 15. theWish.granlingTree, 16 the Cow ol ptenty, 17. theHarvesl ptouohrno_ Without 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 exceltent horse.

The Mt. MetuTemPle Banner io applicable the Tibetan lemple A I ihat dala is irnmedialely wilh Mkhas gtub ies \p banner reproducedhere and combines slages are nol visiblein lhe temple izst.1n" tlt"t t*o 'he must imaginean earlh suriace made ot manv "uoaation banner:(f/rsl) ewes anostipwnwithgoldsand: andseco"dhe hasthedidmond slage svisibe n lFe The nexl lor lnirdievocalioF sketc or p'an. (Mkhas grub r/eb):"Uponil he imagrnesan bannerat the bottom Sumeru a he ol the ocean milk...ln middle this, imaginesloursided oi madeof gold iour sideswith rowsoJstairs on aOorneA atl mountain, siver, sapphire,and arnber,all over which springup wish-$antrng trees decoratedwith a thousandllutteringviciory bannersl'In the 'efers io the sroesas case ol the body as Meru, Ratnakarasanti '1ront, East' west' leli". which are respectively back, right, and South. andNo h.Onethetemplebannerinlhemanner0larelLnue 1|1e tnree wnite crescenl shapes are lhe Easlern continent Oeha (mlddle), lwo minorcontinents andVideha wilh Puruavldeha by is represented a blue square-lhe one The Soulherncontlnenl is becausethe meditation not Ior JamOudv)pa v sible,presumably

66

Chapter.4

lhe Norlhern continenl Uttarakuru its two rn a;d Kuravaand Kaurava

-llinenr (=rndia)Lhe - - - squaresr e lwo o " l:: t ln"1::.".:]Ta d n d A o a r d c a m d r a t h F r F r r v s/bre" - " ' ! a are Ife e.serCama' tre red.r.cta) dre lhe o?-rsodinrya arons rre .es<Fr.onrrnels wrr. l"::'."^l:?ll,T" Salna dnd- aramdntnna. U lne
tfrreeyetilw t,un.arporfidngtes are

c to lhe tewet woman,sanadrl or 'o ltol ren,el Ine rrtn,sler t.eaSure,. tor anarysr\ l-o ooct.nc lo o, 'na rewelollie,eleonant str,vtlg thpjewet lneer"e te" norse, ro ot equ-lnrmriy the jewetof the generai. seven to A woird,emperor,s l4t!e'sdre deo.ced on rheterrpe oan.F. on rr e oo."rvo, i ,,ont F_oT'op oow_ thFre thewl-ee, are a,tdtuerrpe- argen \ .=w;n_ gtanling gem,cin6manl, thewomanandlhe rreasurer, the etephanl, the general,and the horse. ln the case ol tne Daay_mandata, lhe yoginnaturatty the seventjmbs enlightenment. has of lnthemiddleaiongwiththeSunandMoon, lhereare the external -.,orerngq- sl ltveolleflngs rhesenses. with to o,t ob!erver.s 'artrrg the ,e^n rlrrror (ihe ptajnone),damaludrum,and ar!o,.,o"s ,,nco,se, I a.k,tbhadekahsdt: lhe right: on iood d-d conch!he,t ltr e one whcF ,s,hejdlBeteathlneseltveare a tolatol rvlelve ollerings. tunong lhese thereslandoul. on the tefl tamp {canotes; anct oJer (rorr.rs)i the flgf't:_incense on (incenseourner)ano p"ri""," 1af,"tl w,lhscen'edrrale,t hesearelhelourbasic I olle,.ngs d.scussed t1 'ryote'.. Materiats chapler and are shdredbetwe;n lhe trsfin 'q the oferings In tne t\;t.Merui\,,la-OaL, namely,play, garlan4 song,and dancejare not represented in the bur the remainingtour in Mkhas grub tje,stisr ol :eTr:_-blnner; e gnrare apparenily represenled: oblalion, leeFcoo ng waler,mrrror

iscompa;bterne;e*e, ro or*r,eei ,^.i] jlir J6wetol m"-orLtnes. rov_ rhe Jni911'r lhe calharl ro ger.

te-Eodhrsd[va seve,r hs compa.abet rl_e rewels to t-npflalspven. I ne boonsallva tew-lsarerhpseve, lmos ol e'lt,qhten.re-r \Nos. 19-25.of thirly-seven lhe nalures accessory enlrghtenmenl,lsted to

r:;[: lpiH:l *iiiliii!ffiil:i.;,'i,,:ii"Iiffi^:;l ,:?"il?n,

:n",, ;:::L'i3#Hi::: ffiiii:,y:ii,,ffi il

body foodlo'lhe lne ,,ncorhero-e wllh raysllor wash'ng olv'ne r appea lo be vanous ^^r. i n" ,".,."'nq tou,otlerngs{ol lhe Meve ) dnd slars 'n go wrlh Sun l\',|oon 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 meaningappheshere Bur ir i-]'.- lii r' '. a;l'"r', a know rl this lhal palaceil wasobserved ,"nn!.,r'ong"pf"n""onof parlsol lhe 'e ir'gsreoresenls Dharrradhalu lhe rr.e ol tve o ret each rough Tne slar q'oups deprcledon lhe banner a'e The lanous conslellalions one assoclarFo -^"..' m;t oni to two ar conslel'airo_ v neant lo be lhe crrcunpo t"ri .f .": '^ "u"io".Creatoea' IhePloughGrealD ppe' a'0 bv rne ir,,, vaior. "a'teo mylhobqy in lo sevenslarscallod Indian narres.tr orner "mounrs lhe'mind_born Bhma Theone sons'of ni"nlt, *no i "re "!"""" wrth ttre moon in even note detormed bul its slx slars associaled any constellalionolher than the Pleiades' iu"-t.tJrv aslerisms orlwenly_eighl "o^.tirrt" gtorp ol twenty-seven tf," ir""ura" "tong fndianworks alwayshad lhe moon siartlng ,nuLarft t, tt The "'un"i"nt LanguageKdtikd lndan in lhe Indian i,iinin" bf" u0"", \edds lo lhe Karlllkeya war_qoo ""r"d oweshrsnameandh's s'x Sdrv,l'c sldrs ol llrs poenotna' ne was lo5leredby lhe six wel_nurse the Sun and ln lhe skv (lhe part ol ihe temple bannerabove a rmagine canopy s Moonr rMkna;o,ulr./e p 175l"Above ' he is lo generales comolele the nq, n i_ '_"i"nl On loo ol lhal he w'th "oo"r. slcs ol an eavedpalace a'd generales n il varorc ;:idcle' palace sfupasor Ine seats: and he may also generatewilhin the i"l",orori *o;diant'l' At lhis upper levelthere.arethe s ""iii"l lhal are on theyogin bodyor symbols emblems e gnr'g;oO_tucX the satvadurgattparEa |]rinail". auaar'"gri'y"'s commentaryon dtunA LPlf Vol 76 o ?6'41itrsl pnor to setling {orlh lhe erghl {rnal'bvol l I"inJ,:uoo":or uog'" bywaiorrls Tibelanranslatrcr

has qe 1 How. Yl:YiJ^, YadlS ?b*, atijMk stub s @p /e j s3). ever Ine.prrarringlourgoddess

tdha'mata) :lr;k; i;i;;., i'r; r rianq"i'trrv 'st're atrrc trnalt " savs: B,rodhaguhya Yoga Ther , ,i:1i,""1." o"lrf 'skrowi"g t.:, or on trtass) rherruenarure emoierns in" ;.;;,r;. i;';;D "isnt luck are: lne "' (asta'maDgala) endless oi boiv. elgnemotemsgood ine wh (cakra) ch rs lhe is l""i itt,*La which lotus-like; wheel

^ -h.ar,<molrh lvandala-Palace

69

i"r""',:,ia:ri"JtrJ;,:"-;ffi

**'$#itfrgfr i-frftiiitml,o-l;--if$ [#rtH#::li"j""'"*'ilj

^liirtiff] tne three-storied which onthe parace resrs

l"{:{1ii1!,a::;?tlf a.e creo,red I:f 1:1';;iit*tt*ilj:,,si::'J,i:,,r,'"'ee,

iT: :::,",'f Tl""ili.iP""lff rhe :.."rrii,ii :g::i""JtTi'"::s: s,nce so,de; ;;:;:i::;ff
fiT;"HlJj'Ili#ilili""
"*:"i,i;

fji-!i";:[T;i|qi[it{lili::H?f:',}"{,r:Ift il::',ffifl'jT;i:m*:r,:l it;f

paona) andl.e olhero'e {nigher)tl'e lottrs wHichsLpoorlc odan ;he oa?sol' \gdugs degsPadma). lrom Finally,the lop oi the lemple banner is described exPasilior previouslylranslaied The Buddhaguhyas mandala peads,standinglor lhe is Jenaant-necklace a hangingnecklaceof joy-The silk (scarves)-live colored-have lhe 6"ani.attu"'. meaningol live kindsol knowledge

,ggil'Eq$litr:;,i;git?I-jflf,til!r*it.$;

lll;"*,1,1il,Xi"xliii!:,,lln*:";rrn:nu;:1";:l;ai;

'li[t'*il#rLTii,,:,[F"llffi li':lnfi ty,,::,"1#;ll,iii=:J[l::'":ll*,;m"::iiil*i

f ilHiliJJ ;ru m',.m:n":n:ln:,'"'"1#ffi

::L#lf,,":$:::ffi _.["jT:::::::'*a,rhiss"uc,ur+

':',ffi ii;i",;***d".;5**::lti;ii$

I
G

!DE

,:. q

-c _ao
()F

(!L

ChaPter-5
Tanlrassomehow nlual i. tre Buddhrst alwaysrevolves of aboutlhe "threemysleries the Buddha"-his 8ody.Speech, and howthetantricperlormer coffelates ownbody, his andMrnd, and mindwiththose"mysteries" secrets. or Thatwill be speech, Then I shalllurn to various topicsol the rny firsl concern. Tanlra,a note on mundaneoccult attainments Anuttaaayoga (srddhr), "Jve ambrosias" the Stageol Generation, the o, finally (vrala)and olher mattersoJ lhe the three ritual observances "threemysleries theBuddha" lhe ol Stage Completion.The of are liieof all these discussions. orientaliontowardth "ThrMysteries" 11 was alreadypointedout that lhe otliciantcorrelales his body to lhe Eody l,4ystery meansof geslure(fiuda), his by (manlla), speech tothe Speech lvlyslery means incanlation by ot andhis mindto the l\4ind Myslery means intense by ol concentraliofi (samedhl.I now go into these in reverse order,because samadhlis partwhichis shared lhe withnontantric Buddhismand n faclis a fealure Buddhism itsoulset. of lrom grubie's (pp.198-201), Accotdlnglo Mkhas whichshould be co.sulled thesepoints, (themind)(samalha) on calming and (ihe discerning trlth) \vipasyane) Ihe backbone bolh the ate of .Paramita-yana" ths "Nilantra-ydna'. grub4epoinls and out Mkhas thatlhe specilic techniques developing of theselwo essential rngredients samedhi-asonecan readabout ol themextensively rnordinary lor Buddhist texts-are not mentioned the Tanlras in the simplereason thal theconlemplataon, according the rules, lo of the yoga oJ the deily bringsthe complete of characteristics calming.Likewise, discerning lor reality,one musl have the voidness in conlemolalion. whichis an essential element lhe Buddhisl in Tantras even though theydo notlreatvoidness lhe mannerof a Madhvamika trealise.with its refulations the oJ opponent the llke. This voidness contemplationtantric in and

ssrFf faF iif

3;Ffrii Pq-sdi

iit6;'f$;i; $#[:i iq:Ed

3 *d f,

I s;i?

FiF;i;gli
@e:+ I;.5 a.i

iE;; a 5; ni

$fieg g iAfi; Eig Bg;; tq

Table-1 MeditaliveObjectsfor Calming (The [,lind)

ll, By Dwelling on what is seen outstde

\E-

\1
a. oolstanding
ls based on lhe body

on A, Owolling the body

a. oridinary

lB
1.Onthebreath sings 2. On thesubtle sma-nimilta) lsik 3.Onthedrop(blndu)
1. Dwelling the (notlisted) on the body 2. Dwelling seech on

ot 1-As lhe aspect a god 2. As theunpleasant lhingol skeleton, 3.Withoutstadang signslke khaivanga

4. Onthe member rays (p6i0 5. Onrapture andpleasure {sukha)

c Tanlr R tuals

77

;;f"rfr i#:{##*"r#litr';':

::fi lrs:i:*:U@iiitfr.tfff Tfffi l,"j: jJ"i"}tf",.ffi,{i

(5)

fl15 ir" ;lbii: n:r"isilirliru'ffi

{t)

i; ;",;,;#; jllll: :T"""'.?ffl',lil:,ffi,i: ll:i: :ii".11;r

aim,s HH?:";iii:: ::fl:fi1";::;,:*"'he a',er
Meditation dwe ing In ths ot soundhetdIn accordance

nrir,""ov r'," ;,i' ::i,ffilffJ';j,].',jl"jlll,,!o:,,1,'-.,"o

ffi,..:"ff ::t on ;1"{lElqill,::f,ii,:nT;;ji:.",T : s*."chMystery. stub secrjon :1"^".iliiltllr Mkha; ,/e.s ffi

i:i.l: r*tgin:tyi;$ilif;":,:!#r# '''iiTi:;]l}-qt.,l;;]ff""r"'i.""H:":'ii;"ffi

'ill":J i:ffJ,:"#:if ,::ltn: Jt1ff :i:"::;i:t'.]i; i:i
(3)

(4)

li",l;l',ii,,iJi."",$;;;"#JJ5:;"il":J"::":;

$nl$*#****l+t

plicitv,so that one arrives3l lhe realm ol the Buddha. Meditalionol dwellingin the soundwhich producesthe palh which is lhe true-naiure the stageol complelion. oi oflaithwho hasalready become This is for the disciple on a "soliary hero"ol lhe stageoi generat and having of donned armorol lhe godsis now a beginner lhe the He a capacity stageof complelion. hasgalned superior to pursuelhe aims of olhers.seated.ona pleasant seat, he imagines on his tongue a HUI\,Ilrom which lhe issuea myriadraysoJbluediamond, endsol which ol are encircledby a dhalanl:garJand his lllelary deity right. Oulsideollhal isanolher whichis revolvingtolhe gar and composedof voweis, revolvinglo the left; and ol outsideol ihe laiieris anoihergar and, composed right. The minddwellson consonanls, revolving the to dwelling yogindestroys ihe thesel ollhreegarlandstso thosethree the iaullsol body, speech, and mind.When kinds of faults are destroyed,then dwellingon the firsl garland,he reachesthe Nirmelnak:lya Vajravidarana; oJ by the second one, he reaches tho Sambhogakaya; By on and by ihe third,the Dharmakaya. dwelling the rays oi the HUM he reachesthe body oJVajravidarana As inseoarab hom the threebodies. lo how he dweils e ot on in on them'hedwells the firslgarland the manner it a dreamidwellson the secondone imagining to be like water;dwellson the third one as thoughit wete sky. as Finally,he dwells on the rays ol HUI\,4 the profound rea m oJthe Buddha.

frIg#i*[li**t#it{1"ii'"i='#il

is exposition a sampleof the rich material Dipamkarabhadra's on this subiect in the BuddhislTanlra,here parl of the theory ot rana, becomng a Buddhathroughthe KriyaTantra deityVajravida 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 32-5),where he slateslhal tnerearg (pp. (1) lhreekindsof mudra: lhe mudA whichis notlranscended. is lt

TanlricBittrals

are the six ornaments th; o, Buddhrst.lanlric deitiesithal to say.theseornamenls ust.ale is or srand the six perleclions. ttrstkindo, mudra tor His appears to be, lor example,lhose also mentionedin this essay as the three I-ner Sealsand threeOulerSeals.becausethesesea,s oo nol Irusfiatesomelhtngs else, but are lhemselves lne.,ue-nalu.e expenences aimedal, he4ceare not transcended; ,tkewise the Irnattoprc ot,tourmudraslallsin lhts category, any case.lhe In corretanon mudrais withrheBody Myslery. ot Four Kinds olYoga

lare, essai :^,:-"Pg!fll 1n"loo*rs robeexerhptitred ir rFrs as Ine -s/( mud.a.d whichIn lact

notlranscended reflection true nature(dh by on amatir\. 12)the lllustration mudra.The illustration vrith mudrai", if'fl;J (3J colors. thehand-gesture rrudra.lt is a gesrure empowerind ot ".g. wnntherrngers lhe hand. of Furlhermor. is a mLdra saidto b: usrrious Decausep/eases because ls non_dua, tl and tt _ That is Buddhaguhya's bul masterlul briet explanation. Thereis Jearnej lfrormatlon belonging theTjbetan to tradition Mkh gruA r1i,s in as (especially 228,49). pp. One can find muchmaterial m;dd on loilowing Japanese the tradilion E. Dale Saunders, in Mudrd; in thrscase,-it practically is allon the thirdkjndol mud,?,the hand gesture. Conceming secondkind oi mrdrj mentioned lhe by

ie dovrn olss ,s lhe naluleof lhe ClearLight he shou'd natat lhe Means and of w,Ihwfat consists Insrghl

'The"Yoqaol eallng ls ol course involvedwlth lhe sectlonon inlhec'assilica'ro_ '*u.,-rIo.""t "trtaow'thlhe-innerotlering MaterialsThe chapleron.ollering ; t;" orevrous "il'i";"gt

j'"r.1ifr'"%#1".:i'-:"j,'&,"o" :."J ,l?:

:l: !'li::#:, i:!::1,Y.'.'*;t.:,:l,"ll'll"iT"":#i: o'gellng Yoga theyogrr-The ptace within

L,i"j"'iri"yr' lnsight.

:l J::'l nni:::::: :,j':::'li"T: ,*]',g#r;"j iJ ;"T:

"1"" Slddhis and Mundane Externall/laterials

f :"'.T:ii"li :":::il:il"'*'li'f ,".t:,:ir::'fi one lhrngrr commonrstheleatureol i"t'a

to arlention Mkhas gtub4es(P211l: lntr mateialssuch as the sword lo recou-rse exlernal ;;;;;"Ll^g

:.i,"ai"e s/ddhid' ol Slage Generation "ri""l"",t"ta" "*" althoughlhe l,"r',ir'" i"l'"0 (still greal srdohrs nundanel the erghl r 'i"o,""tfV.'"oit"O "uh

*.ety the or yoga 1111" ryrngv"gu,and then yoga eanng. orwashrns, llil.. yogaor :t downi
addsa fourthone catledyogaol geltingup. I nowkanslate allfourdescriptjons: Yoga,of eating. lhelimeof takjng At lood,Includr"g d.ir'kand rnerrke, should mindfutot one be oneself thedeily: as and havingempowered food to be like ambrosia the (;/aL shouldenjoyit by lhinkjng that it is a divineofiering. Yoga $/ashing.ll to be doneas in thephaseof iniliation_ ol i6 Yogaof lying down. Havingconvincecl oneselfthal the natureol voidness whichconsistsot the true lrom of co,

-^_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

trequen crtesAbhayakaragupra y s g,ear

mii*t:;!:ij:""f,tlli:"i:::,,'ilj'ii rl"*t9'l:. o' i,aJi,, e"aoh"f'ooa

ll-tl.]" !i[i#.Ti.i;i

:,!,ii#'! xT [:"'^ **ri*: r*lT:ilH'il'i:i'ffnorurlhe'iInlor.rais thero gzo'i' il wh ch place Ji-. io,'a"" "11 jjl"*::g:;::*'1;ii:l,ii'1".1'Jl". ;"::
member tvpical lisl longer lo indicate .J"J"!i winii'. o'gnllv

JrnY;t'ii8;ti"1 iilii ",',:*li]:xtxi 1?1"::xf "-','l,t#ti:n"ru"',il*:x;ll,'j'l if$ :k In:,m::tl":n:ll,:;,*#[""i'

c Tantr Bltuas
b a

- """"::#:;#'ii;#:;'i;.T;;":";,;;:.:;" ; r;1.;; :' ":;; ;- ::,;ff ::1 :1 ::,lr,j";:"_t:: :":J

"r "

o r o a d do r , r r a , I _ . t a l h u r o . , o o . , u , . o , . *._

ll." :ija: :'i:":;, *::'.", lril"".l +j;.;:" - :,.",:i,

, ,,o..,

It e :-ld- Idt Unl,, s rwn t mp cS np,.

,OA,alao o, d OoCO-la5

nT th j4tg) founderof eGelugpasect ibt,setslorththistopcrn relormol the Tantras calledShags rim chen mo. wih the hs Now,I wishto signa sorneol the authorities. v ews of nurnerous ng Becausethe preced ma n part of the yoga has weared body and mind, there s thls rile oi enjoyingthe ambrosra, yoglnrmagines thetop ol hisheada at envgoratng the body.The a unardisk markedw th an Om. Frornth s Om ambros lrrckes paricles al the way to hrs leet BLrt the moLstening finesl do$rn processwh ch is var ous y tlrat s the end resut oi an evocation H wilhlhe celebfaied ndu presumabLy connected and .iescflbed, tire amlla.over ol lhe oceanlo exlract accounlo1lhe churning dem gods(asura)lought whichthe gods(deva)and one starts wrtirthree ln lhese texls cted by Tson kha_pa kind,skullbowl,and so on one In lront vessels authorzed of (Skl.=bar)suchas n ik and rnaterals offerrng ccntarling iq|rld on ihe rghi and ell sldes conlalnngso d oflering two Tnore says Tson kha_pa maierals. such as meal and fish. However, one lusl that f these maierals are not available, can Lrse \!ater' wilhcrossedegs He genelates' y Pfesurnab the yogi, s sllting slackng lrp a the olfering maiera s n threeslepsor evocalrons, wind.on thal a iire,and on the atlera skullbow . lhe latterLtsell t r e s tn g o n a l r i v e o { 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 irom ten gerrf o 'n head (or s il hs own head?),he generates and the lve sylables startingwth Hum, the ive ambrosias 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 ale manin the m ddle.In lhe ntermed dilections cenlertfrere pa as, and Tson_kha quotes Trom lhe are the i ve arnbros l\/lahdmudrdtllaka: is is Ratnasambnava blood,Amildbha semen;
4-rogndsroo\, <'lLTd' llesh. Al'oo1vd c _':

1"" i:J,:,:;:".:lpbd

L o,"-,,,-o ,.oo.nd., y

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!ersonalty invitedthe goods of the t!4afdala, one

;j;l;" i,";, ;": i;,::" "",,|i,.:;""i:; i::ii _i'i ii1ti":!it::::;.,""":"::;":";13;;lr:i

6d/, d,,, .oa,,touF,SOt.re,:,,rLotrFr Lnr,OOidor) I,ao

"": danran, a switn ",0",.-I"" "rT:JH"il: ru m ron ".:on::: oJj"l!,i d ln" *i.1i "",

ill# .i1*-:ffi -" ^ U:*;;: :,. "'"""U:Ulnrh:i:s, o ewe ::.:T ;: n.#J:

:ii *,i! r# r*i# ry;:fi :r:r :i:::rr: *".;:f

5rou d .rate d hucJg quet bar lor olt

", i.;rt""*"":;:; i :T;i ::i.::t:1.^it;

The Five Ambrosias

, ::,:i:,j; i;::i,, i";.!i:r; r;;:::i",::;: {iir:'; ::X'";"1"#":;:;:n

"91"":;"';;:T :,;;-: ; "

j.l;,'.::

,' erv6B, lona

:i; :;:;jli;'i ;

as Thereare the iive besl ambros s Vairocara excrenrenl. On Ah Hin' n stackslhe threegermsyllables, The yoEri, y that order.apparent ai the level01the crownol the head.leveL a of the eyebfows.and level ol the llttlelongue uvLr These and Buddhas of and syllables irradiate, atlractihe ambrosLa the

83

Bodhsattvas the ten direclions, wetlasthe ambrosia the ol as in The upwardevocationcan be interpreted tems of .cenlers" in of lhe body by relerence lhe Tableoi the precedinq to secljon. The'p lhe wrndd,skrs In lhe ravet a-d t-e firaorskr. t;e lhroal The thirdevocation, ot the skullbowt,wouldthuscorrespond ihat lo ones own head.This upward"generalionnaturallv reminds one ol Vr5nu ThreeSteos.In lacr, in the H ndu tegendo' the s churningof lhe ocean ol milk,Visnu himsetlis seatedon the mounlain[,4and?rfa, which constitutes churningslrck.This lhe 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-headed steed,and lhewhite etephant Airavata. Theselhreemayaccountforthree kindsof lleshgenerated the in skullbowl.Fleshot man in the mtddlema!,derivelrom Visnus centralpositron. Alone fleshol dog is not accounted in the lor HindLr legend. Hencethis remarkable yogicevocalon described n the BuddhistTantras seemsinlimately relatedto certainlegends In evalualing curiousdescriplion lhe iive ambrosias. lhis ot whlch in this lileratureare said to purifythe oflering matertals, is it welllo observe thalTson,kha-pa the bodhisattva in section his ol Steps oi the Paihto Eniightenment, Lam rrr t cnen mo, sleaKs the ol lhe impropriety certaingifts.For example, Bodhrsattva of ihe musl not givelood and drinkpolluted with excrement and urine, spillle,vomil, pus and blood;or give forbjdden flesh. lt is mV oo,nron rhatTson-kha-pa bothers menliorlh s in lFe iqht o' lha to Tanlric doctrine the live ambrosias. ol TheThree Ritual Obseruances(yratrJ The word yrala for a ritual obseruanceis of ancteni usaoe in 'nora. ftse standard Tibetanequ,valenl brtr,rzugs. and tne is presentmaterials happento be mainlybased on lhe Tibeian passages usingthis term.As the aflainments d scussedin are lhe MotherTanlraof the Anutlarayoga Tant|a,they usuallycome in lhe orderof the lirstthe ornamenls the deities ot and nexl the

ff :iTillff 1""::i'"il:'""T'T'?"T :#1fi

'^'--r'noraon_*n' ol o" s explanalion 'nil'atiors hlgner lhetnree

ji#"rliJti:lillll'"""';':ll*,ff iljl';:'::; ::::ii', (''tualobsewancel il'"#,","" i'la. v'"la "r '-'::r:::;r::":ru:'""#1"i,::::fi "J:,1;:i:'j::1 JT [ii:l*":li"J:::',*'n;':Jfi:"'iJ"i "::"":'.':n:f
orlhe ;or lnef,rsro'e catled-vdya'vratdltiualobservance he vrdya)' says:
lbsdusrioqsPa)in anv Penoo' bv malenalsn r^o nnrase rnany penod can be understood Ihe vrdld' that Y# ; I he Guhvasam^Ptantrc -', ,:l;;":;;;.

i"".1" JT,,'ft J'i ii; li l:; ;::*:::"".. fl ;:'$:":liii :i;:i'll*ll*:i:!x*i:,,t;:'.''l"r:l* Iff i:"*: :[# jjJff idr#sl!1'j:li::in::li o' bod *-*s rhe
ff ;:;nifi'Til:n:tlfl'il:il ""' *f':t one
tt'e e'pta'ns tienr'e

-:1',";ii'J:,[:fL::'#;::: j:.:j',iii:i*l*.gi;t:i:*:" $r:""li,T::'"'"'j

..^'namanl). Thereare threelotms:\ | i

; ;";rs'|ve'ln ?l".iJ.",llii,iJji;;; LiJxlJii"lil'"'."ii, " -i""

*i:fu *is":irp'+lll*"r*
unoelsla khatvanqaelc ) One can also

j:li',,';i'$:XTiliff *',0 " *""9":i",:. "-"

il$f!':":J.i:i;'Jl,[",i{11,,,:.,#

85

"seals laking firsloneas the Falher by ihe (yab), second the as lhe Praina, and lhe third as the mantrcbeing reciled.(2) The second engagement lhe ritual is observance engagement of togetherwith yogini the whowears fiveornamenls; having the by thisobservance, applies one himsell generaling fivekinds io lhe ot knowledge, whichare pureDharmadhtu knowledge, so and lorth.13)The engagementtheapplicationarousing thifd is lo the mindot enlightenmenl whichhas the indivisibility void and oI compassion, is io say,il one has achieved capacity thal the of lhelourdivrne slances, supernormal the laculties, etc.-applying them accomplish aimot seniient to the beings; il yoginis and and yoginis oulside lold)lhrough go (the worldly occupations-applying thepower allone's ol owninner oprnamenis lheir iof airn. Ornaments lhe Deities ol Thereare six ornamenls calledmudas (seals) worn by lhe deiles andsaid representlhe perfections to (paramlta)of stx the Bodhrsailva, according the tinal versetn Durjayacandra's to (No.250 Saple ksarasa dhana intheSadhanamala). Besides,live of lhe six are made to represent the live Buddhas according'lo Hevajratanlra ll,vi,11)and, consistently, according lhe Explanalory to Tantra, samputa(PTl vol.2,p. the 260'3). Nero-pada's explanalion lheornaments ht)s of iA Vaiapada(PTT. sara-semgraha-pafrjika Vol.54, p. 36-1,2,3,4) accordingty concerns riself withihe sel ot live.Hence sixthornament a (the sacred lhread) left is over;and besides there some are variants in statingcertainornamenls, example, lound in Tsofr-khafor as pa'sSbasdon commentary the Sri-Cakrasamvara Vol. on (pTl p. 157, 90-2).only I lound aclual lhe itemizaiionlheornaments of wilhcorrespondences pertections theBuddhas, to boththe and in Klon-rdol bla'ma's collecled works,vol.Ga (p.74-5 in Dalafila,s edilion, Vo].1),lorwhich a sixth Buddha (Mahavajradhara)to has be allolled. Nevertheless, factthat the various the contexis in whichllind lhe lislol lheseornaments not correlate do them and exphcrtlv respectively lhe six perlections; furtherwith and, more, theexplicilly respeclively thesixperfections; lhal and with and. Iurthermore, theindications lhal given already connect them

'z
5 i di v

E z
= coo gur E
UJ F

^ E c 7.E
I

i F! !F g
E H3 3 :
EE egeg i E 9g -u-^ 9 a! i !
E Ec,

ii a'oH

E E 5

L
E
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87 Fituals fantric

wih thelivekindsol knowledge, shows thatit is morepracticallo sel up lhe intended correspondences thisjn mind(n.b.. wjth in lhe ardetol lhe Hevajratantn lisl:): According Sfragsrim,3O2a-1,ll., to whenone has alreadv e. ered'nlotheyrdyal-vlala. which,s reguta, the conlacl rh; w,rh divnityat the sardhls (dawn, elc.), lhen is to enterintothe he carye vrab.fsoh-kha-pa makes adistinclion to wheiheritis a as woman a manthatentes lhe carye-vrata, or qenerates Awoman h^e'seI lh-e inlo formof VajravArehi Diamond /the Sowr.ilarratmya (Shewhois Setftess). thegoddess rhelami,v or ot Indrcaled bv the lhrownflower(ln Ihe ltowerInrtiation: Mmis grubrje.sj ct 315). mangenerates A himsetf Hevajra, In eilher into elc. case. rneperson must then altract, means lheravs by of lromlheseed inhishean, knowtedge the being thenmake and itenter, whereuoon he shodldconvrnce hrmsett that f.om lhe translormalton ot Aksobhya, the respective etc. ornaments appear his person. on .mudAd' Thatjs whythe ornaments calted are iseajs).Foreach ornament respeclive a manira setforthto be citedlhfice.Tsoi_ is kha-pa states thosemantras taken thal are fromthe Vajrapafijatd, Chap. Nine. short, yogin theyoginitry gitn tnetive ln the and to o-rnaments, "avoiding the'sacred thread'(precept the Sriol Cakrasamvaratra. Chap. 27),at leastin thisphase. Nowthe N:rro-pdar's explanaitonsthe fiveornaments: of He goes lhrough explanations the lwice,lirst lorthe,hinted meaning, and \neydrtha) nexllor the.evidenl meaning,' (r/tartha): neyarlha: One wearsthe cakra so as to bow lo lhe guru, arcalrya. kemadeva. Onewearslhe ear-rings the earsso as lo noi on nearany harshwordsdirected loward ouru. lhe holder the v4ra. ol Thenecklace reciting rnantra;the for wiih bracelets toravoiding ki ingol living any beings; beltfor lhe recourse mudfa. to nitartha: Ore wearsthe cakraso as to nonorano navea lransitof the',drop', (b/rduJ thebodhicjtta o! lmind

which is called"guru' acarya' o{ enlighienment)

**f::l;:l""mT:i1:#i""1.'l:
ll n":ff"",J'";:ffiiiiirlris

[";:n::*tt"":'":Ti:ifl dil'ltff",T ueinss, tiving wnere

i e.lhe krmd-m1dtA tum oul ratherclose lo 'Ihose explanattons the ornam-enls ol 'perlections" as given by Kloi-rdol blaol *. "ori""oo,ia"*u"

iii"l:l':*;m:r#i;lil,iii""iT

:*';il ,:ffi :$":#ili:i;xff Eln: :l i.".':,'*"L.* iTji'lil",",.'l","1#1,:n:::'j:::::

::"i i ;';;;-;";G;"' '" ,' ";-3;t;;'h;;d it]"""i'""in"i 3 Forbearalce' 2. Moralitv'bracerers; lhread Meditatron-sacred ornament;s lhe ornament "sacred the tn'. inlroduces extra

':Bi'I" d*f:*:*wr;;i;;rl::i#ff :* lilli: '":ffilf ilff i" il1111 ;ri*i:rnrllr*1k'-'r

is Tson-kha'Pa, theAdibuddha tantricdeitiesrepresenleo The lord and ihe Buddhist Lo B have all six ornamenlsReference ,"onooLon'"urrV ;";;;';i;; and of snake' sometimos- bone ohamenls "

:?lJ: ir,'::',l",jg*inr'*.';'"'ii"ii""",x? I: 1il:LilT;n:'::".';,,1i;il i:".:"'"T:[[xlffi

;'J#'sfl::*F*gilrmil:J'mt il:lrui "": *: g;'":"J""*11i.'"i:' ffi:l?'ii' fttt*;;illH:1i:iln':flx"Hffi

rrgll]lgE ran
lexlsspeakor1iV BUddhaS, ot Tathagatas, or The Khatvanga, damaru,and kaoala Pictures padmasambhava ofthe tegendary (gthcenlurymagician _ ,^ TibFtJ havelrequenny appeared theWesrIn bookson Trhar. in and,Tany,persons.have notrced pecuriar lhe w""d ;.i;,i;;: 'erl arms rhat's calledthe khalvanga, Fo,merrravo,Fr.,n T,bel .ave_cpoten aboutthe nyslerious caled Cr,oO. rne nle a-d drii cre0 damdll/(la.gesizedvarjety) useo In tha,.ya,",,or, arit. (\ole rharthe spptr.ng oarna,u ;idndard.bur wnen,.ansc.,oed rs 'nJol rbela tle wordtsganerally t wntten damalu). rbeta.tconooraDhv 1 ,reque flVdep,clstl e sku -bowl(kapala) iutJof btood n;tj b; irgJre,Those sone ,tFrce lhreea,e lhealtr,buled l"no sy.rboli or JrnaS. wrlnll"e sounool HLJI/l l ot ..-.,r dnd lne oealrng the damaru LsF< whichTson kha_pa syslern i?"'..rt, "oles-pondence chenmoisconsislenl wrlnhrs p"'t or tn" shags im i,'"ilio* "r"'

ot a soo: ihe oanarurs ,^",nr.. 'pla/nar: .t^^: alo'Manlrarslhe ^:r.::1:p,1 ls drinkrng skurr ikapala)..,tn torego;g Ine rrFarme' ol lhe lhree lLalobservances, pla( I lhts e r. tr e SrJg; altuded In exposrtron tn" to o, i, "u.yuu,rr".
Symbol Innerseal kha|VaAgaOnes own bodyas a damaru
Kapala

as l:-*1,:", the Brn ?y co ection oepr.'edIn .,,u"ll*byun {Lokesl_ Cnandra. Nery A panthean, patt g, Rin Ttbeto-Mongot byun 141) On th,ofacing pagelhe lhreeatiributes ma.lemore are saIent: Al lhreea.e atso lahenlogelherin a passage wh,.h T\o,Xnd-paclles jn tr,e Srjagsnm chen ma (3lta.-4,. runntnqas rollows ll s said ln lhe Kun spyodte\tdentty te Vog,nisamcatyal.

.:

Buddhadak,ni ,syaq {sdns rr\ha.,9.o)

celebrareo ol *"'- r42da-s) a passagerromtne :1,";;;;;;." '- ']1"", aga The L narnedur-paincludrng: thalva -i:; "i ' * L,l"t'"'r-tra rhe 'otd p,"rti" is thesound lhe damau ol ooou, 1Ine "";;; /d,.4.soav'I.e yogrni n'gnl " A pdssage rs .'^i* '-:: " 'n." arelo dccepl 't eens lo corlrao l'e aboveil we ".r";,, rrs iParrI I vr 1r):wrsoom svn'oorr/Fd) r :;:r1"";." ";:.;"'"" means lhe d/um BuI nole hr- ow_ oY ano ,i. ,,* ^i"'*"q" by r Sansf t iconlrrmed lheTibetan): ect'teO khatv,ragaruPrnl .prajna ' damaruPaYar!Pena consistenl this a manner to ll seemspossible iranslate in
to) lhe for embodied (or has the body belonging the rreans for re klralvaiiga s the damalu, by embodiment obgcure by s'lpoorted lhe somewhal appears N/\ nlFroretalion 'For cheatrnq unnmery '." or if'e !,,_car.-sa-ua'alanlta {chap 35): a death. body rs appledlo the hhalvanga dlscrep_ awareof lhe seemlng was undo!btedly Tson kha-pa heval'alanlra ^ ^l'-,"""1i. ,'ra'r on he rs;ollowng ano the sbrs doncommenlary i'_".oLi,on **n 'n" S,mpula) and 'n nrs p ratantra' ea-z' he rreatsthe lopic alons :; ;* ;;;;;';;r.', -kharvanea Norrce tqar Ahdiva ; l; : ;"';;;;;; _couch so kha&ehga(with aiga Inthe mFanng ";p'ession i"' o, -"r* wnles: " of "body"): the body on the cot" Tsoi-kha'pa rha rF:r,rv lhe oraiie body (sesrabyan lag)is explar_eo ol ol the o'alna by l"rr*aS, o' il'" embrace the body "The ordlna "-i"" '.l"olo" pi slales In his lvlandala-vidhi: |di"

rnebo.o.y.

Outer Seal Falher (yab)

Indestructible sound prajia (ihe Insioht ol the"heaf consorl) basis torenjoyingbliss t\ranlraberng rectleo

(yab_yum), kh atueiga and lhe the oamaru trequenlly are menttoned togelher. exanp p. sbas don lor LrJ. f,/-zr: ...atong wrththe kharvanga with stu s mar{edwrtha

prajna theMorher(yum)can theja]l'er as {yab)and 0e ^?:lai:9 "^ comblnedas Father-Mother

i?v 't?l.Ji"i

ladv rhal tr''tmeans thepra'rna is robe

body'ihenprajna body"is the khatuA Thatis lo sav,it "prajnd line Hence,thal Hevairatantra (l' vi 11)' *" r,ltrt"'a " "?""r1

'dl.o a,'he col

Filuals Tantric ::,:--

91

:?:6^;";:::T ii;,ji*i ;' f",""i,",Ll,,"ili ilii:il?iifl j::,sJ"fl'J,"^H;1"'iil?,J,:Ji,il iJi#"jfi

1"":;i::".i"iil:'.:,"'"','"1",:"#i::::T*"'"rr'eManivana '"";li"; "i;;'5lT;33ffi;;';''* o'*eHe:rvajrarantra
9jl, il83l"rt^:,l"rlf,l:

i"'"ffi ffiil:'-":?::: li",::?T.,'#,::l.yl:f m:tr,,* :::; ;'j;JiiSti;?.,ii,,.i; ',! ;iil',".,x lii" o" ,o fn"i!r,ii ;iifi :i:aliffi meril hence,lo accomptish onemust both, horo
/-nenmo (Bodhisallva sectton), in the cor,rse e"pta,n,ng o, the

:':::,:,r#J:: f:rld:j]&:&".#iileI;j:'i;":f,:Tfl
i

;$T..:: J;:iff T.":;r Ii: ii!:iHiiir i', :?# :1T

rconography showsthe Buddhais that the tantricform oi

il;Ll:J",:'jl

;ii;::4"*'":'"ll:Iffi m::,;i:n:##;+::j{'H
fiY, -":1,'. lhrs possrbte? Comparb x Kunjunnr wiltHa1a.

ll:,i:ft'j:f .^:i:T';:;,:j'fi':'i:

J;:i"1Hlll,:"11i::: " i::: ;::;:::i:ff:ffi :il,.:i::;:i,l *'e'np'anon

o''he

khat.r'ansa asa'',',," o"-" l,at.na "J

slards lor'lhechildfen the cots and lhe ,h,It.stands ir ler,t1 'or lhe ,cots lrees on the lreeson thehtlt" In the prespnt .ase w6 can

;::::::',iltr:::: j;";:? :';" :i,'jT';;JilTlT fj",lffi ::I 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 ll,;*r'ffi i1';p1 ,'Jil:fi:"",:1,i.mi ,i::*

ho (ktatua)to havea metap ricalI ransler, the undersland 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 drum is strelched suggestedlo me-perhaps because H-ixon, involved, lo analogous a col.As lolhe kindof suggeslion rnalerla suggestpn lindthatpoetical wherewe seeAaja\ap. cit.,pp 302-03) idrvarl) is ot two sorls: avivaksita'vdcyalanimplicit expression lransler that is not inlendedlo be lold) based on lhe melaphorical (an implicit expression that rs tlaksanal: and vivaksita'vacya intendedlo be iold) basedon the literalmeaninglabhidha) lnthe have as exampleof metaphonca oresenlcase, we obviously was nol inlendedto be told, becausepan usaqewhose message ol rh_e secrecvcode oJtheTantra.Still I am here telling,it, through the lorlunate conlluence ot explanalionslrom diverse sources' to r{ lor dndalsobecause, ( rsproper Westerners tellmanyw'ong prope'for someone il Tanlras' is surely 1gsabort lhe Budohist rh lo tell some right things lhat have come to his nolrce 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 (bodhicllta). Hence,"diamond-skull" mindot enlightenment But lhe skull conlai;ing the convenlionalmind ol enlightenmenl. lrom as skullis explained the mantrabeingreciled So drinking he rs no and of the skull is the yogin'srecilation the mantra; is lonoerrec.ti.q rl: l_e recttalion done by prailie-lhecol convevng n'--tnrorront-nose three severedhead on the kh ava ga pole (chap 31) As to;he skull bowl,the Sri'Cakrasamvaratantrc ol lhe embodimeni lhe says: "Who would revilelhe skull of (satkna)' arisenlrom thelhree sources-conch-shell Dharmakdva, -kha'pa's commentary (suktr), pearl{muktA)!"Tsofr or molher-ol-pearl (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 basislor accomplishing Dharmakaya d slinquished Those three, greatbliss (mahdgukha./6Ara). ol and tie knowledge conch-shell,etc. are used to constluct the sk!ll in five secllons (representing live goddesses), attachedtothe head-dfess' as lhe in Sheddingluriher lighl on the damaru,Indrabhuli' his

TABLE-3 THEFOURMUDRAS

$.

Li t=
Contemplalion an enernal ol p.alnaonly in thelom ol Kamadevi(goddessol love)

IF
The HUMand olhersyllables
fhe inner parana,lhe avadhllt in conremplaled the body

Dhamamudra samayamudra

the Emanaling collecting and mardalacirc e ol deilies)

The mate alizalon ol diverse acccomplshodtom rhe seed Tho Aodhi.ittawilh qreatblissm Conremplaring oneseI as lhebody

is ol In thal erDlanalio.,lhe Mahesukhakaya expandedas the bodh,b,?ta bliss-voLd

o
ct!

-(') P
i-ox X.=o

oo

EKG
OFJ

Chapter-6
I In In ny paperpubhshed the Louis Renoumemor|al volume' I 'Cerlainlythe Vajrayanais not now as obscure as when began, Chandra Bagchiwrote stillvallable his Prabodh Sludies the Tantras in (Univercilyol Calcutta, 1939). Neverlheless, both the torm, the and ol rneaning, illustralions the expression samdha-bhasa deserve In a fresh approach basedon primarysources." the tirstsectionoI the paper I concluded'that lhe correctlorms are samdha-bh sa. orsamdhyabhasa,and thattheyall inlendbhasain samdhi-bhasa, the mannerol samdhi(=samdha)'l'To continue:The Meaning ol the Exprssion Bagch, in lhe same place (p. 27) wriles, "Prof.Vidhusekhar has Sastriin lhe /ndianHlsto cal Quarlerly(1928.pp.287 11.) tried lo determinelhe exacl meaningot lhe expressionSandhAbh sA. He hascollected largenumberolJacts a whichjustiJies in rejecting us lhe old inlerprelaiionsuggesledbyMahamahopadhyaya Sastri H.P as'lhe twiight language' Gbendhai bhes4...fhe large numberof textsquoledby Prof.Vidhusekhar Sasfihasenabledhimlo inte.pret 1 as ebhipra^yika vacana ot neyertha vacana. i.e. 'inlenlianal 'intended implyor speech....(VS. Sastri) to suggestsomeihing difierent lrom what is expressed the wordsl'Thi6inierpreiation by is generalamong modern discussionsot the BuddhislTantras;bul Edgetlan lBuddhist Hybtid Sanskit Dictionart4, lakes samdhA as "esoleric " meaning" whencesamdhd-bhisia expressed esoleric with meaning. Candrakirti's delinition gradhyar ol bhasais extanlin the Bihar manuscriptof the Prcdipoddyotana (Plate l, 2d folio) and I transcribe ihe passage exactly as it occursJvisistaruci-saUvanam dhatmalattvaptakasanamlviruddhalapayogena yai lal sandhyayabhasitam/ "Whichever one revealsa lrulh oi nalurelor sentient beings havlng superiorzeal, bylhe method and ofambiguous discowse lviuddhalapa)-thal one is expressedin lhe mannerol

99

i]rnffi "l#;*:tl'*tiil; [,::d:!1,,J'."'.;fiwavrn", crear ::J::;#11fJ-:il:::ind ina.very """r. ""i

n,i", ilililJ::;lil1ffiifi ff#F*: *. -"v", J^

g"ni*,1: ;,ffi :q1fJ""y.,{ii:,TJ;}#[j;:X,";t,ff

negallvealternatrve, sandhy|yabhasj na

s.amdhi. t,Hete I assume a scrjbal corruplron in the lorm

*:*".".r ;:ili:iil #: ri;:rH# Fl:".;i,r

areDased alternallves o, mean;ng or lkot) Gdha)iti. *_inya.ii

'.,lrH*:ij):#x"".,#1fi ] l:"J l:#"rl*:,",i ';ii; a s a'o,h s, s e :,';Z : :;i :: lllinri.", ",7:o'11"f;

"" ;H;il#l.ffi ;::ll!",i] fli: ti"'"Ii, ffi :*'',",'.r",io;;; ":

theworc,s samdhi,samdha,andsamdhyi, ,,-^Olco{Jrse, cana| be useotor "twitight". whrtethe word samdhyaisr

sa ha.bhb m! se

TdffJ:Affi:,:ry,n:n""r;n#li ri:i:Fj[]'i!j much'ess ;:.i"":il:l-ili_:i:il,!lli,""iLT;,',?" d;rhe

rentrenditron ot rnr"nr,on"i r"-nor'"# l::_cuf

reresro thatgoat. mentoned byCandra\;lr;s r^"t.nr*_ii.i dna

"-'."t#.1i#[ilj;:'":fr i:$f, itt lifli,tx"l.:ffi

[fl""".,ffi tr"T :"'f.j,:,{,il{i:,r",?"""J$#"ffi f.",:?,:,1.,:ii_"i1;[1 ;:rri"'::i+1{,,1","ii:i,iii jffi

zeartor the higheslsritdhi(success I but the

remarksihal and Tson-kha-pa's doubttrorn Candrakirli's lhe right H.PSzlstriwas intranslating termas Mahamahopadhyaya -The expression bh:tsais rendered samdha language". "twilight 'language themanner tl/vilight". in ol titerally ("twilight refersio the language")aplly Thetermsamdha-bhas?r between darkness ol contradiction, orparadox lhemoment ambiguity, N/ylhology Religion." and Histoty of these and ight.lnancentIndia. ll timesthai Hindus 4:2 lwinlet,1965). is onlyin recent Religions and and to to haveceased respond thodawn dusk(morning evening nalu the ancient Hind!wellapprecialed paradoxical re lights).The tw appearance oJ o{ Ushas,goddess Dawn,whoseever_youlhful closelo dealh. r men day bringing lhatmuch another oi life, helalded il was a hostoJ spirilsemerged: lhelime descended When evening Gaulanaunder lhe lo hoslappeared the medilating lhatthe Nrara pointsin the the The symbolized sensilive bodhi-tree. twilights A viclorywas possible. special llow whenspiritual lemporal poinls called In and was to to vocabulary created reler lhesecrilical This Tantras twilight language". shouldhavebeen the Buddhist research lheTanlras. the in Bul obvous fromtheoutsel olWeslern lo by was scholars' underctanding blinded theirprelefence regard cults. Hence depicting degraded a literat!re, theTanlrasasrepusive "cover_ was lhatthesamdha-bhesa a kindof literary theyconcuded in lf are Of uo"lordissolute oractices. course, thelerms underslood positively not and underslandable thelatler sense, theyareindeed had language" to be rendition'twilighl ambiguous, theobvious os lheTanlras. relecled investigalorsof byearlyWestern y a iimein India when everyearned Buddhisi There wassure laund sam-dhya...bhasilAm lhe monk could understand terminology s e'ao nverses Saripulra mad sayinlheSaddhamtapundarik'a,Chap Beader,p.55): lll (Edgerton's Euddhlsl Hybrid Sanskrit I O Daysandnights spent, Lord, [4oslly thinking that;now,I shal] iusl or I asktheLordwhether havefailed not. O Andas I so reflected, Jinendra, on. uailypassed Thedaysandnightsconiin belng many olherbodhtsativas praised Andnoticing

:::;x; ;iffi:t##??*H''ii#ill *,;:[

100 by the Preceptor the world, ol

Chapter-6 aslhydbharanalDane rs ornamenl) nlramsuka (naked) (wander is ng) preakhana dgalr (wooo) rs krplla "lhese be One should convnced, very bonesol mineare my ornamenls." (coming) inhalationi one is and shouldstop it lrom its v|olenlacts. the undefealed sound also,by the conlrolling przliaandayama, one bealsil (thedrum)andmakes it even. is v/kalpa(menialemission)and shouldnol be elsewhere.

And havingheardthisbuddhadhafama, lhoughr,,tndeed, ld ihis rs expressed the manner lwilight; in of tr"" oi enIghtenmenl Jtnareveats knowiedge is inac"itn" the the that cesstbte logic,sub e, and immaculale.,, to lllustrations of Samdhya bhasa sa-t/lka w len by Nagaruna.pre\Jmaotylhe rs ^ ^ _r-h.1:,andl,btta saTe unl..c wto aJl'rO,ed paicak.a.raor t^e Cu"yds,rmaja lhe sysrem tn the Japanesepholo, edjtion,/t is in Vot.56, pp 67_6i). He lL( i i<explanalions he .twrlghf. ls ol expresstons sevengroLps r or roJnos ll shoJld o, irleresr cqnp6rpr,, erp be lo ald.ronsvr,lh (ose,^ | e Her'attdlantra, accepttng wort ot S,rel,grove.n rFe 1 ost

(em ss on)rs dundura (non-polential) abhavya

Samdhibha sa,ltka(isl ro!nd) madhya l\\ine) is madana rs the ambrosia(amrla) of (inloxicaiion) heaven,lo drunk be conljnously mamsa (ltesh)is bala s wrnd, food,lo be is (slrength) controlled. malayala (sandtewood) is thecoming logether exlernal of m//ara(meeling) states, senseorgans, and perceptions (based thereon)_ whichis so lobe conlemplaledi also rne consubslaniial joy (sahahnada). krela (phetegm)is gati the passageol the wind;also, (gorng) whenonehaslhefouryogas, he contemplales withoulholdingit. r.e.lels it go. sava (corpse) s sraya rs rhe yartra of body hav nq (resort) intinite light(amihbha),and one shouldresort to that group.

(N. has avlkalpanalureialso, Kalinjara ol a while windis beinginhaled the bhavya rnountarn)is lhere is no recilalion, {potenlial) less Padnabhajana(lolrs el) is the tour wheels(cakralol the is the is kapala(skull) bodylloneof which] either

wheelat head the orthewheelai oi ihe nave; or t is the kakkola the lour are karmamudra-.-the wheels thepadmabha)jana.. is lhe meditation be ealenby lhe to yogrns. scraping e ement the thatscrutiny is to be ealen. hence present is is Vairocana, through anoinlmentthebody. ot is Aksobhya,dltla. is Ratnasambhava, ditto. is is Amitabha, hence present through anointmenl,

lrplikara(satislying)s bhaksya (laod) malatindhana (jasmine (herbs) wood)is vyaarjana caluhsarra(a potionol fouringredienls) grlha is loLing) kastuika (nrsk) is mutra (unne) srhlaka (lrankincense) is svayambhu (blood) Karpura (camphor)ip

102

Chapter

Tsntrrc

is is Amoghasiddhi, hence present is sarla(riceproduci) ma hi\mamsa \human-l lesh)lhe sameway. 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, elsethe exter or praiRa, means lhese, nalsecrel by ol oneactsin /oga. Thaiendsthelirstround seven Nagarjuna's of in commentary andaccounls eachitetninlhe Hevajratantra except "dln tor list for (untouchable),"itledin Negerjuna dima(smalldr!m)is asparasa orn list,or omrtled manuscript in copying. lhe subseqLrenl In rounds NAgaiunalreats verysame the oeressions dilferenl wilh commenls, anddindima doesaDDear thethird in round. Nageiuna's commenlary suggesls lhe HeyalTaianlra lhat has given lhebasic of"lwilighl lisl language".These areexpressions for yoga "non-lwilight rejers stales ambiguous slates, while language' to of yogathatare notambiguous. theseallernatives Bolh should be yathdrita, distinguished fiomtheoth sets,7?ela nftirtha; er /tha, na" yalharula: w|,ilea similarly and exlended discussion the latler of lerms wouldlake us aiieldfrom our maintopic,some brief explanations, tollowing andtakili's C Pndlpoddyolara, in order. are Intantric usage, ,eyarthaand niianha allernalive are explanalions iora given term, retering a momenlous usually io orprecious elernent ol thebody. Forexample,thecaseotthe in "greal expression blood". The neyadha ordeinary is human blood, rl/iartha menslrual the is blood. Theset yalha.ufa na-yathAruta lo lhe lermsemand rc|et ployed given lor obiectlve enlilies-When termemployed stanthe is datd,ii is yatharuta.When termis coined, ihe apparently enable to ihe insdersol thecultlo preserue secrecy evenif thetextlallsinto 'lwilig exp ion" hands, is na-yalhrula.In unworlhy it contrast, ht ress givenentity. does not relerlo a delinite and it is nol a meaning lartha).

Song fhe Diamond in language" the after the sectionon "twilight tmmediately called songin thetypeol language ,t"itiratant,a,tiereis a tantric '^i,"i,r-ra whichis with identified old Bengali)' {sometimss DohaTheSiddhas(tantric called lo.tnemystcsongs l5i"-,a 'v group "seOas Saraha Karnha have a remarkable lell and i-ustersrsrcn ' Doh?r called whrch vadously are ol niln"r" .ong", rn" "otr"cttons ad -kG a, andCarydp as' a. kos Caryitgiti have on Ol course,thevariouscommentators the Heva./7ata'lra and song, Snellgrove' tant'ic lhis e)dent to had each to explain some usedsomeof nalurally d i,tro editedandtranstate lheHevairatantra master tantric the unalely, greal Fo iorhisversion. malerials these of the songalongwith his the has reproduced text tlarooa ol expressions the on in exDlanalions his commentary particular e^anl n iiu"tr"turtr. i^ lhe Vairapada-sda'sattgtaha-pafijika' on Vol. Tibet;n(PTT, 54, pp.1 to 41),wherehis commentar/ this (calya)' ol p.32-2, is tf.This a song theengagement occurs, oorlion arelhree thatlhere on section tantic ritualshows andourloregoing obse anceol the engage' lully'Vrata" rnore ot {ritual kinds carya, by ment), symbolized the khatvaiga'elc Thercis a considerable to on of amount jnlormation this topic,pertaining lhe "Stageol Yogaot the in my fo hcoming Comolelion" lsampannaaamal' commentary As to lhe songitsell,Naropa's Guhvi\samaiatantra. possible lormreading provides understandingit thatis hardly ot as and translation notesThisis notlo denylhe valueol Snellqrove's lact, labors;in hisinlormalion and context Snellgrove's theH;valra is here thehead_where in (mind enlightenment) ot lhatlhebodhicltta as is rnierentially kollagiri-is a helpluladdilion, ar his notes as of generally. that is alsothe meaning "diamond-skull', But observe One on'lilualobservances" should ;xolained mvsection in the thatthe songiakesfor granted basiclistol'\wilighllanguage' ol as alsothatthe songserves an expanson Notice expressions. geminthe Om' OM mantra MANIPADMAHUI\'1, the thecelebraled with text lolus,Hirm. Snellgrove's is adopted a lew modilications

104

KOLLAIRE TTHIA VOLAMUMMUNIRE KAKKOLA onsst: Katkola lotus)at (the Mummunj{ihe navetd,sk). GHAAN KtpnTAHOVAJJAT KARUNE KtAtNA ROLA

rro y:3,(]1,".9':T"lg

ent,shtenmenr) arKoas,ri dwerrs (se "f

worrdsts meltedform.The lwo organs congregate wjth friction. TIHAMBALU KHUJJAIGHADEMAANA PU.,AI

exhorrarion uninterrupied. dramond rs lhe l1:.,0J:.9"0 o, m^o-ugnts of enlightenment rne inirinstc holds ruros theIn$rnstcnarure the th nalure or the tl ol

Having unitedthe andthekakkota, should vola one eat meat(=the 'rvepersonatity aggregates whichare the natureot lho tivi rarhagalas, andrrhich thereby self_existence, lose into sefl-errstence the mindof enlighlenment meffing ihi ol possessing-the fivi etc.)iandhavingunitedrhoserwo,on; llol,:dq":. mirror-tjke, should drinl wine(i.e.ambrosia) HALEKALINJARA PANIAI DUNouRuTAHIM vARJJIAI HaillThe,ortunate mrnd enlightenment o, (Katinjara) shoutoenter lhe_anllers lhe lolus. ot The uniorlunale sensebasesol eye.etc. (ounduru) shouldbeavojded CAUSAMA KACCHUFI SIHLA KAPPUM LAIAI He-fih-e_Lord) thefou polron takes r,old (Varrocana). (Aksobhya), rraft rncense (Ratnasambhava). camphor mLsh and (Arnrlabha ) (beca;se nersInseparable lhern). fiom MALAINDHANA SALTJATAHIM BHARU KHA|AI OJ)e-shou td eal (matatndhana) ,especialty vegetabtes ( dive aggregales) with atong nce{s:rtija)tfieknowledge o,lheTathagara). PREMKHANA KHETA KARANTE SUDDHA MUNIAI NA Coming going, cannol and one comprehend pure theimpure. the and NIRAMSUA A'i4GHA CADABIAITAHIM SARABA JA PANI ne paysno attention the boneornaments. to on hrs .aked body l..me,0tamond mind enlightenment. of lhe ol rnenarLre thelive ol xnow"'edgesJ. corpse(sadba), The i.e.the mrno e.tgnlenment o. wnrch setfless, siluated thettp rs ;s al ol lhe noslnt the rolJs. or

KUNDURUBATTAIDINDIMATIHAMNAVAJJAAI MALAYAJA mindof e^lghlenran' al lne r aorng rna ayaja)oI the diamond .tt r,ep.atna._hereisunronollhetwoorgans.Oneooesnot'o any (dindima)(in event,becauseit ls "untouchable"rhesmalldrurn 'Dombl'tandI ltimalely, becauseeverything become has Hevatra's !nifed). ngthe "com ng and going"ofthal song,the Samdhibhds?1Concern prevously cted, has the explanalionthat t is inhalalion t/ka.as poinlto the yoga praclice the Suchremarks of land exlralalion). ''pat' wh ch ls treaied in my subsequentsecUonon lkunbhaka), NineOrlces

It

o
o -c

o
o o
o
'=

o
0)

g,z
:-

OF

ChaPter-7
I

leature Buddhist It is a well-known of canonical literature that (Parli: early disciples theBuddha, Maudgalyayana of oneoJthechief powrs lddhiin ( was withspecial magical Moggallana) credited with whichhe often visited various other Pali,fddhlin Sanskrit) Ihe realms the world ol thanours. Suchas thehells andheavens. (Vol. visMahavaslu l) soonlakesup an account lhisdisciple's ol grealandotherrealms.Thes6stories explain itsto theeight do nol howhe managed accomplish teat.ll is onlymuchlaler-as lo the faras I know-in theBuddhisl Tantfa literature,lhat canfindan one explanalion howa yogincancontact subdivision thelree ot lhe ol worlds, according the traditional lo Buddhist classification, is that !o say, realm desire, the of realm lorm,andformless realm, The ol realms desire said to include sixpassion oJ is the deity familjes, as ghosts prei4, andhellbeings.The ( wellasmen,animals, hungry purposes, realm lormis called,lor of meditative thefour dhyanas, andhasturlherdivasions. tormless The realm aisohasitsdivisions perception, so on.These oi the bases intinite ol space, inlinite and literature drvisions are knowntromeadyBuddhisl and are discussed in of called acutely lhe branch literature Abhidharma. According the l:ntric literature wall citedbelow, waya lo as be the yoginlike [4audgalydyana gain enlrance thoseworldsis can to golherc atter analogous how a person to might d6ath reason ol by destiny. short,theyogin In. concentratesa specialway various in on bodyorilices thal aredeemed be cofielated lhe beings to with ot various realms, while person the who dieswithhisstream conot passing goes to the sciousness through one orifice another, or appropriate realmof the intermediate state{ arla Abhava).'lheotificeslhemselves made are salient ancient in lndian lilerature.The restmay well havebeenstrictly oral for conturies; thereare bul suggestions therathercudoustheory unlolded thewideof herein in spread injunclion thinkola deityin the hourofdeathso as to go lo lo the realmof thal diety. Sucha leaching loundin the Hindu is classic, American the thagavadgia,and the famous Sanskrilisl

111

Ftanklin Edgertononcecollected manymalerials lhis subject on foran arlicle Annals theBhandarkar in of lnstitute 1i927\. Thenineolicesarerefe.red jnthe S veta!vatara to lJpanigadwhich this has well,known (lll,18): vrse Theembodied swanmoves andlro, in the citvol lo ninegates oulside, controller lhewhol; and the ol ,^/orld. lhe statronary themoving. of and Thistradition nineis maintained the thagavadgitb 1S), ot in (V wherethe mention ninegatesis commented of uponas lhe two eyes, twoears, twonostils, mouth, thetwoorgans the the the and ot excretion generation. and However, KathalJpanj'ad the {male) (ll,2, 1)refers thecilyol eleven gates, thecommentary to and adds lhe navel theopening thetop of the skullto the listof nine. and at ln a nat'veTibetan of aslrology, Dgeldan rtsis...lsec. work the Ja) by Miphamtshafrs-sras dgyes-pa'i-rdo,rje, is a correlhere spondence orifices planets oJ and which is of interest mention to heresimply because nineditferby inclusion the navetand the of omission the mouth, of whichai leaslshowa lackol unanimitv on whatthenineorifices arewhen soelled out: lwoyes - Sun(right eye)andMoon(tefieye) - MarS MerCUry hVO ears and twonostrils - JuDiterandvenus - Saturn navel -Rdhu andKetu(head tarlotthe and dragon) :::11. i Whenwe passto the Buddhist Tantras, find in lhe Budwe dhajnaidpada wingol the Cultyasamajatantnltadilion, thewoft in of thefolnderBuddhas'rilfranapada, Dvikama-tattvablAvarAtAhis ma-mukhagaha p.8-5to p.9-1),lhis of njneorifictist \PTt,Vol.65, es in explanalion lransfer transil(samkrant, a yogjnor of or by lhrough dealh wayof oneor otherorificeto associated by an externalrealm: forehead,2. 1. navel,3. crown head, eyes,5.ears, ol 4. 6.nostrils, moulh, 7. S.urethra, 9. an!s.This lisl includs and the elevn the KathaUpanlsdd, ol rcduced in,number counting by the eyes,ears,andnostrils, oneeach; thenaddsthelorehead as and center.The workconlinues inthismanner:

,,:1[,jri][[$:i?rff '"*lsvl:iff H #r:'iil]"'f nxlru:'" livfi *:';:xuJ.::"'j."#;r,",'"u ji*il!"!: i=,r:rlffy:::1titi:"""::*;*g::f

iltt;j:i;,:,,:";;

i ji1,J"HI"":il"_i;il"J,ff

fi #"'#:w [*ri*,i*ll*H:":,"iid' glnxlnr*.*ru:lq iiilfi i :$i""*:h:* -#f ,f,tr'r#:" iHfr lfltr*illh+"",ffJfi j:rm[:,15:i''!f j*:i":";;;*j ij['IiH;ll'"'0""
thatPassagei Beioregoingturther,letus summarize of Prognostic whatPlaceor betng Oilice ol realm lorm Iotehead ol oeslre
crownol head nostllls

:[.",''.?I""

ureln

godsin realm passion realms folml6ss abodeol Yaksas of abode vidyadharas a kingol men hungryghosls animals

unuffi I::i[JJ; "o.'*ffi liili:::s,y"tf:,

***'ffi*,$i*

112

9lgpter-7

The Nine Oilices of lhe BodY

113

t,l,t":;llly,:i;;*};1":1i,,mii ii:;,,T1":".;Tiliiffi j",ff l#hlTi,Ji:

::
(Dase ranru,, ;'.".Ti:i;.:,u.""0*"-nama'rnahatanrrarav.ri Bsyud.
porlion these o, slarements. Bhavabhadra .,,, ]1.:gj"":t"nl y'ln "

or eyeorntmenl-, etc.The soundrngs HUf.,l, trve are 0"""1r"" ,ii" ,J

j::r;i:;3:* jmgtlf,;;f,".Tilf, ;: :r Decom,ns ;;; ;:"J,:J!:iTirI":rT:,,h:: di: H:x1r enc_er.means ar;r;

1", i.:"#,'il"T"::: *[,J#[i

godsot lhe realmol,orm.The lext, .proceeotng .lpwards,,. meansgoingforththroughthe golden doorithe Brahm6,_

jil}J,:J [::1i:ii{",!."1'"#;:l:,il:

m ;::XJ El="i"lil",iilil'i!;i: ji::;:r

:ffr""",,:fl ; iliiii1!:fr:l.Ti:!,,#?i:;:ff j,q",,."T1#

:t1r";tJ; d:rff r:l#*a"i,x,fr?r[,H"]iji"{il*,1ffi

*:im?*:;:#ni*Li[{rrlffi;lilfl l";i.ff ##

ft'ilt;.{fil']ff ::ffif:5'i; r+ff*$e*,*$m JJffi xJ,il in"J""$flx*"T""![ [f

j::titff :H",:at :j:["f#+:'"ri"il,il?'t'.lu,i

Notice.In shoft, that the lhree bad desrl

in rino lo lhe lhree commentaries lhe Tanjur(usingthe Narlhang commentary readilylind the placein Indrabh0ti's edii on). I did nol so turnedto the explana_ {Toh.1197,lhe Smrlisamdar"s'arar/oka), ions-wnich I quickly located-in Abhayakaragupla's Fatnamaia Ooh 1199)' andin'Suravaira' i\nnavanahiari Foh.1 1gg) (Narthang lanjur'Rgyud Dza l9b l tr')slales abha;ahardqupta ol rnat rhe praitice betongslo lhe Slage ot Complel|on I he use mean or seed-syllables of evokedgoddesseshere seems also lo seed by orifices lrnaginlng o{roorn;oroarni"qcontrclover respeclive employs .r.iu-ot"i uno goddessesir lhose places Thrs ltadilion syslem,which suggeststhal ditterentsylabies than the preceding lhe mporianl thing s not the pa icular syllablesemployedbut or rathera consistency stickingto the same systemlhroughoulall be lanlratradllon lhe seed syllab'es rhe oracuce.In lhe Samparia jianadaknr llhe W sdom ono to lne erohllormsol lhe qoddess as and lhe Dak'n1.'or wtiichreason noslrrls earsare coLnled one ano are counl syslemol eighlterms' onlicein lhe correspondence 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 lhe Bhattacharlya)' following by hlhe Nispannayogavali(edited B are someot lhe seed syllables summarvis oossible(unloriunalely, stilqueslionable): io leatures ihaitab e Foronethrng' Thereare someinlriguing are represent stateoln lhe iour elementswhichthe seed-syllables Afies is a fire slgn'Taurus order, because the siandardaslrological lhe earth,Geminiwindand Cancerwater;with sameorderrepealeo to ReJelence the matenalsIn my lor the resi ol the zodiacalsignswill in the BuddhislTantras" essay FemaleEnergyand Symbotism are madelocoffespondtolhe showthatordinailythe lour elemenls The etemenrcakras navel,throat (=neck),heart and "privilies" an entrylor"pnvilies and so lhele 15 tabledoes nol havean Dresenl leplace'nentlot legs Becauselhe lhal arms ls the rnD'rcalion they In a'e lo"r -"leme"ts nothere lhe usuallocalior' rrustbe u^de' stated for water' ie way, as explicitly stood in an extraordinary (PTT Vol 2'p "ambrosialwate/'. Again,when the Sampula-tantra lo syllabre lhe neck one might lhe oe uslon 246-33 4) ass'qneo ihal f would start the usuarBuddhislsel of "lhree have rheorized

o"'.,".".o"or"o"oJ,Loltto. r", *,"oo,,oo^,",

ol fire-KSUM ot earrh-HoM longue
Canddli

ams (ampits?)

ol ambrosial water_Sut\,4 Puhtying delrsioo_STuM ponryrng pain_HAM puntying vibrarjon_SMAM (Pasupati)-DHU[,{

Simhini,rhe Lion{aced Vy:tghri,the TigeFtaced Jambuki,rheJackat-faced ul!ki, rhe owt-facd

f'

igIEigEilgIEli igigaE EgliiiE [iEEiE* e:iffi: ffitteiesei[ia

The Nine Ofiticesof the BodY

117

;ff

jl: ;1;i:y".:;il il:*:"{:#ii{{,Tx,,Tr.:;;:ff

;X;:5ilI'unce ord'|vrnitv ro,rr Iie'knowredse 'ln rhe or

jTlfi',,:;ij:j as en,ranc. fJT#'i:x":,j""::1""*,,on ':,:lJii:] ". d^be,nsar

rhe rnrermed,a* i,,n""#l,Ti"ifi ""i"

f ;:*n": *,p'"".'J:' *ll

r"''::ffi tr":;in:*l mlji5il: :t$'fj:il vj:. ' fi:*:'?""T:1

ff l:

*ry3Nf"x*i:ri:;:l"l["lil;iir"#iil[ ;.::",:r;fiT5i11":_X,lij",lilljji".,."b"""" "",.,-ti"

;r+***n.n+*iii",i:.1111#t+riiiti

#:lii*1!.!,!ff t[",,::::i,i:"..a:,tT::"il:?: ,.'??ft above iaie ililff'#:1ltJ::::1il:J;:i:?,::J"',.;;o ro

transit(pho ba; Sanskit, samklent). Just prior lo the passage I p. he Vol.161,p. 10-4-81o 11-2-2) mentrons shalltanslate(PTT, personwho is sick.sultering, orold, shouldnotengageIn lhrs thala praclice;and aller lhe passagehe alludesto some devlatevlews aboulil. There are two basiccounselsabout transil.Ol lhese lwo, ya' llitsll lhe purification sbyafi ba) is as lollows:The \ g rivajradeka -na\ma-mah:llarlra) states: lradaka(i.e.lhe 'The alternations mlhal ol the place are to be purrled. ( shouldperlom transito{ihe stale ol Atterthe r ourilication being.Otherwiseit would be purposeless]Thai relers lo pleasureand pain, ol lhe place, Le the the ailernalions, thatil onetransilswith Thatis, thavabhadraexplains body. ot oul havinglirst purifiedby cultivation lhe heal-the ,ial Thus, the prior clrllivation ba (yogin'sresl) is purposeless. lhe basis for accomplishing ol lhe heat is a distinguished "tJpon binding states: transil.Fullhermore,lhe Vairadarka the the orificesby meansol the'pot'( kumbhaka), oritice ho es becomeoure."Boththe CatuspithaandlheSampula wilh that,becauselhey expresslhe neces_ are consisient sity lo clllrvate the kumbhakaol wind wfh a capacrlylo wilhinthe windlhal entersthe senseorgansand compress explarned lo Now, kumbhakawaspteviorsly otheroriflces. three degreesol hlghesl,middling,and lowesl; have the and those manvpersonswhoassedthal itsulficesto have speakas lhoughtheydo nol undersland the lowestdegree, Hence,whenone stopsthe lranmeaningottheTantra, the sil ot vihana throughlhe eight orifices,not includingthe goldengateat the crownot the head,itlransilsthroughthe goldengale al the crown of lhe head-And lhat lransil ol (wisdom atlainmentis the chiel basis for the vidyadhara holder)who oractices marltat SLlchslatemenlsol lhe eventhoughthereare (varlous) are Tantras essential;and stream)departrng ol visualizalions 4frana (theperceptual the from the body,it is necessaryto complete characlenstolhoseTanlras according it lics oJvisualizing as explained

::#il:;il,xt,:J,'.::.""1[.JH.#T.:7,".,;1"il:] j lil,il;l i;'",."" ll!"1l.iiJ.X"ii,".* o"he rpa"*n'"ns lva

onng togetherlhe skandsto lorrna un re.tn,.

jfl:*::,,'", ::::!:j,:; j[:til;lr *.'.""i: ,:,#ni ffi

j:"r#ff ,Hrxl,::# # ;',ll:",{il$i#qf ,:"",:xn:*:l*l'*,"1.,:#l"lih.TitrT#lf : ,*pydches ffi;:ll,::3y,,"1,"fiii"J;:,'":L:," ssui,

118 The.e is both briel and expandedsubjectmatterof visularzaiion lhe kansil accordinglo the loLrln Cdams of n,^ s e9 drrlandol the kans,taccordtngto tt-ecounse,s ol t;: 'rnog schooj. Herelsnal, speakbr,e,ty.:sI as sourcei g gulus who pLr upDe,.nos, pr"""pii t|," I:jle-ceo's,o1tn: o'Inrsscnoot (/.e.lhat Rnog). thtscasFo.e rray Ot In wonJ6'.wnc'rdettyshould conle-nplaleo .he baSrs be as lor ourryttgthe trdnsil. The g.//ds,ndtnla,n onF should Inat contemplaie whatever one s own tutelarydeity. is 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. itwould As 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;mplalingth; secrer ptace.or.lhe nave,, one maq,nes a,eo A at ttre navel,a blackHUM at the heart,a while KSA at lhe brahmarcndh? (the goldengate).Then one venemenfly draws up-theower wt.d, and :ma9na! it pLshedro lhe A syhabte ot lre ndver' and havng a,1veo, pLsFed t-e HLJIV; to ano ravrnqa .|vedat.lf,eHUV, pusneo to Ine KSA.5yhdbte. ano -e magrnes re-desceldr.g lhe ptdce F; it to o 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" solvrn9 the A andHU[,4, dojngit lhe lormerway rn but (i.e. s rrotvar v ng. nol dissolv,nq, berler. ts One \nortd wor( aI I lral,wayas tongas Ina prog-ost | /laosJ rdvo .ot cs are an ich nq sensa..on, rhroborng. ::lse]. .t-henrog"ostics erc.dt 'ha crownol the head..Tr.e, apprrca,ton he lo lhe rre < as loJlows. shO,.:lO rner'ra,n Ore put pa,tot t.e boOy I srltng up posilton, c.a\o h s two^-eFs 'h dno 11 h,! iwo '.an0s. ()ne siortd slartw h la(r.g ,etJge a.d genF.atrng rnFn--d ote-t,ghterment .br,gFt. Tne- trom rr-e,eatnotthe lvhere onesell is the tulelary deity, one vrsualizes in the spaceslratghtup in lronl ol one,shead,al a distance,rom 1/2,1o leer al a comlo'lable reve' he s'x ,l oe.ty 9rrr.rand tLte_ ta'y ,^ Inseparabie manne.. Deeply noveow rhdevo-

NineOrilicesol the BodY

119

tion and faiih, one terventlybeseecheshim Then' having o ohrrvposrledthe A ol the navel the HUIvloithe hearl' drawing Ks,qot tt e crownol lhe head;vehemenlly "ni rl^i thal the A itselfis within the lower wind one conlemplates a rhe centralvein and whiie (moving)!pwad pronounces ( khyu ru ru byut ,as) and dissolves oroucdeerlike sound ; th? HUM oftheheart. and one recitesA'HlKlor as many the Furthermore, Hill',ltseltpronounctimesas necessary. up (whlle moviig) upward,and one recitesA-HUI\'{ io es lhat il (he HUM) is pro' times and conlemplates twenlv the noun;ino in the throat.Then one should conlemplate K6A-svl'able al the bhmarandhra and thal rs blohl lhe constituled pu;e wh'te,as though the brahmarandhla frvPrimesone vehe'nently A_HlK .la'ry realm.ano tecitrng HUM proceedhastilythroughthe bhhmarand' sees_thal hfa and dissolvein the heart ol the inseparableguru ano lhat way he sel_ consciousness I ilelarv deily.Controlhng rles .t rn tne tealm wrthouldrscursvethought Thal shows to lom the lrans according lhe sayl'gs o{ .n abDrevraled lhe ouus and lhe CatusPitha

ol lhai clearly some ralher eslablishes s T<o/i-(ha.pdpassage ' . r aryrng brought akeady ol sbme lhose lorexample. descrplionsphases lhe ot lo lorward thisessay-have do withtwo separate in the phaseol praxs Tfiat is to sav,lhe descriplion may concern lhe with purifying orlices, lhisisassocialed containing winds and the "heal",' lhe description or to in kumbhaka. whichis relerred as the ( principlevi6ana) ol ol mav concern ohase transit theperceptual lhe ol lhrough galeal thecrown lhe head. the ol lo Tsot-kha-pa reterred lhreedegrees kumbhak,whichhe menihe He lreated erinthesame work. maywellintend three earl "The p 205-2-7,8)r (PTT, l aned lhe Sambarodaya-tatlra Vol 2, \n ihemedium;the is otlhat doubling owesl iolhiftv-six;lhe amounls ol io lr plng is the greall'The seems meanthe number times text il-The "great lenglhening one p;rformsthe kumbhaka,lhercW kLnd amounts 108t,mes. to thus

it

NineOrlicesof lhe BodY Thatbrrngs to the question whatis meanl us ol by lhe ,,pof,/ . kumb.,kka)..J,\$tnv.olv eslabltshing usLrat a es j.n or:;"1 the ancelhrough oriltces thecontrasUng "o"dii the and aonormaroryogacon_ drtron thatissLrance. of Cor.. n ng ,v dl 6 L<Jdrry,ssLt, o .or,nt. ).n Ina . ., oJs ofirtc -er bLdrjhdou\o \tJtes n lnb Dhyana\au1,". (D".0" Tdnr., F { g v ' o I ' L - 4 b . 2 1 ) " P r a s t h ev t t dd r ' " r;"",r,;;. """, Ing,lrom, enlering, eyes,ears,noslnls,. and th mouth,navel, maL d ler dles-, o'gans. ,n. e.. orit.e. thFpo,es I pad rhe " or I arr d_0bod\ior. BJddhcgLr-yd IneaLlhotol iso,so rnF Td.t,arlharatata /--on. -.0 . Joo- wh cn pddnavaj,a Tantn|hd,"ta,.r,aJnnn; s (Toh. 2502) comrnents (DergeTanjur, Bgyud, t69b-S, ): Hi, if Moreover, rfust explainlhe orificesthfough we which the v iata rs of brealh rssue and howtheydo so,howto inhibil rhern, timeof Inhibjting ihe them.anclitustraticns Among |neT,th o_ohwrarofl,tce< oo.FeV rssr- l e1 r ,,e *ntotrta d !!,ti:n d/ rFe.n ne.or,t,ce: ,hFboov, F ot I no rt-], tqc ,a.rd dr rle po?" How do.FFy i"^.i il)li'o:"' .\ ,o d tor-g \l!dys. d wnen I is brLno rd:..Inoi s)uc d d, -ho-t' tr"ys.ard rLbspqrenl,V. wnd.evar In.r,gdt,e, n9 o. o d _ F . - l e r n c d t . e . r , os t , . o ' t a o o v .I , . , d , e . e A: ro rowone ir,ibirrl-am onegdlro,s t-en wtlhrhp-.remo 6 ' I d , r o o a b o d v o t o . t o t $ , t e .n o r o - r . b . e d . r _ I , t , ) e r (Unona(3, onegatLers-he.rwrFr, rhF--re.ro.,. _sez t-0 'n nF na-ner or rherongLe o nh,lg ,^.tFI s dnow rLolt Dre:.hn9 t-. with Ine smd.lrongua ,rF. LvL,dl.t.e a .dtrt 7rslrea-n a.rdwthout aIi-9 Retaxeo i.orgfr a. " olooth|' n sleeD. |,ord\ g one dndeqLari?e! t-en. Ac Io lhe e\rF,I ot Lme .o. roslra Al the ou.spt. n.: wL.- ra>ro,ltng onesellin samadhl,one restrains gradually, cloesjias and ds tte samadi,and mutrar,ng -o. ,r-rsr Fd The .onq "r" Ia,Lll nol do,rg I lhal wav s as Jortows. o InFtr no wr t. s wne'erpo lFeh6arlgel! seaseotFebody, .dvy. d one < pnc-slicken andone,sihoughts becorne rurnutruous (t.e, rheyrace).lloreover, fone holdsihe breathJiercety, a lault lrom occursln lhis case:lt ls laughtthat upon revenlng like spoiled.When, an an mal,lhevrtal lhat,lhe samadhlis hrnent is it a fis nolcontroled, is said,'There no accomplis al samedhi:... n u On strikinglaclemerges:InBuddhag hya'slraditio the procal kumbhaxa,or ho ding ihe breath in the body as though it ess were a poot, does nol involve manifa placementas we have noAnothe lhing, kumbhaka I liced n some oltheioregoing materials. andtryrngto a method oftaklng deepbreath heres nottheordinary holdone'sbreath,bul a gfadualmethodof drawingin the brealhby lt it withthe tonguelapplng up as thougl, b impercepl e degrees, is to \r!ere Also,implicit a lthesediscussions thetheowaterdrops. cycleswith indi ry of w nds n the body operatingin thelr individual yogin must be famlllar. v dLa co ors and the ike,with which the cenlralveln invoivesthe Anuttarayogatreatmeni Tsot kha-pa's veins (in the position oj lhe body,hence the systemol lhree chief In lhe oi the sp ne) and implies sysiemol caklas. lhisconnectron, the "loweroril ce".Thus "upperorilce"and there lhe terrnnology ls commenlary in hls Prakas'lka tartric w rter Bhavyakrl mentions (PTT,Vol.61, p. 1'5): " Arises vla ihe at\ 1le Pradipoddyatana but oi v athe pathol thetwonoskils lhe iace," upper ce'means, orf "owerorlfice" al is ihe upper ce is aLso treated the neck.The as orf perineumlriangle, Ln which theposition oflhe Hindu Mirladhara,the the rnaleis al the rot ol lhe penis,the junclureol the tree ve ns.The Siags rim chen mo (437a 1)citeslhe Samputatanlra:. starlingatthe neck The leit ddi(i.e. /a/ana) (i.e. wilhthe Sambhogakarya ihe "slstei'), s She lnto al lhe navel,and drips lntoxication who rests orilce. the lower golngupward fromthe navelis(She) The nadl f rasana) drippingin lhe upperorifice,who rests at the likewise the neckand is known dripblood(i.e.Shewrth to N rmdnakeya, "daughtel'). the is Th intoxicallon explainedas moon. The bloodis saidto be sun.

122

9Ept"nl

NineOrilicesol the o1 com-nenlary l^rsproDlen ll is in lhe Mani_ma/a ,h-r mdr <olva .rn nc 'laqa't.rnas Panca^rama\PTIVol62 p 15a-2) "So'ne ,n" watery o'9d' otilice lail s", I onrbeings, learlullyinloa won3" s o!ery oay a'e oornard dlel Hencelhe lexl cou'ls ltsebl'lF a, o oas' LIi4ary lo or'lice. corroaraole the'nale-s .h,nne as lhe L.|nary o'semen Accordl'g the wonans lor rssuarce al.o "sed ".g" are alson ne. orl ces lantrictext, as discussedby Shashbhu_ However.in a HindLr lernrrolo_ op (d . D.sguola.Obscu? RehEaus Cutts 239-40.lhe o.l1 ooor' s appled Io lhe moulhol lheSa,rLhni aLL'ved a, .L r n Ineheaol\al sla ls lromlhe moor 'n lre lrousand_pelalled ni lhis ot!s al the crownot the head.Thfough S'aakh velnpasses the ambrosia(amta) \cl our previousseclion on the "F ve out as")which s discharged ol the lowerend' calledlhe Ambros de_ on FrnalLv. lhere is no conclusion whetherl\,4audgalyayana oi visilinglhe oendedon such orrficeslor his legendaryexploils 'tea!e.! ard'rells.Thelact llal lhe nlnegalesdre ne_lloned n sLtch anc enl works as lhe Svetas'vataa Upanidad Which has a on thalthe yogicexpe mentat wilhthese sectiononyoga,suggests great anliqulty. ihele is no proofthat around the BLrt or lices is of ol ite any Buddhatherewas dejin correlation these 1meol Gautama ofifrceswilh exlerna realmsin lhe welldevelopedmannerol lhe lanlrc texlsciiedheretn.

That is ratherobscure,but is presentedhere lo contactmys$ ,, . dllyw,lhsomeolthe loregoing rnaler.als dlso fo aod an asp6ql and toothe ofltices lhar nes in wilh sLbsequent ttntnc stJd,esrn"this

jJ; j."i:,'J Mi::::{1;TXiJ#ii:;";:rx?i:::H"i": person r,rsmLsr pr.pa.ed ir the do,ns oe to, l:'.io^ l9ivrou:ry. l::
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 ,

r" bL,r nolhins oarricLra, In nappened. l:.:,^11"]:y9 "l,"cr,ons r rrs eva.rote showslhalbv concFnt,atrng on
a spolor rhebodyin

r_qrru^leo mediraie ou, hear. Lslo o,r whrre breatning u"rsoi with in re-rea-sured sound-beal nade b,yamelrol.orlrcinslrument (which *-1. . wirh hea.r.bea ,rrer rn d very shorr :::l::"]: erperre^ced lsree ::' w.Ip I a slra.geshrflol co^c,senoss.wag ,n some I iv5lefloLsplacewtlna f,e,ce rLshtrg baci and to h, dnd became '.n f eo.P.onpl'V jtt tq tneneaou.ed-b.eath,ng a-d OoLnLed oack ro,norn consctousness. at sittng lLrougn the resro, tha sesston wrlnoL, coooeralng. theconcrusto- ne de.nonsl.at taSked At o on rh,othertwo lriendswhatthey had experienced. Each reptiedthal

j;lt: J:i";*ii":ff [i[tr*"rii.]i!;ri::"1",lil',nffi

I,ce , Here a curiOJs personalexpe ence rray be me^ oned.In rhe year 1946,soon upon returning Los Angeles to aft., f wasiisl ch_.arged iromlhe U.S Army,an otdeririend of;tne toot me itJi"g wlh anotheririend who hadjustbeendischarged fromthe U.S.Nar,i rots-lree_oub?, demo.slratio. a^ occu,ttypporgan,zal,on by thai eroe(%dlhereby encou,age to .o so.re of thedrrenoees enrolt tor

:":i:,i$;ff"."titrlilT;Y::;".::,::,::i::i:.,::"jJ:

ffi?L:lt

what do if heis successlul s ttre to rhal "voginl

Anolherobservation thal the texls cited make is no distinction , reeards ji: l:g:l_q,reremareas r\eorrcFs a.r"ouehrr 'nrgnr rr o'rght ::,:1::: De thallhe femate onelro,e rhdntre TatF has 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,ld passage d

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ol Fundamenlals Inilialion

127

Chapter-8
Holdingot view In the Kriy6Tantra

I hedcarya Abhykara teaches lhe yalAuar-nAmain nandalathat sadhana the {Toh.3140} whenone is conferred six Initialion (abhisheka), lhe flowergarland, waler,the diadem, ie. the the the thundelbolt, bell,andthe name.he is authorized all such tor things listening and explaining Tantras as to the belonging the to Kriyaand CaryaTantra classesand for concretely teaching the Initiation(s); lhat consequently and thereare no olherlimilations than thosesix in the Kriyaand CaryaTanlras. is said in lhe lt ("loh.422), Jhdna-tilaka-tantta Thewaterandlhe diadem lnitiations Arecelebrated the KriyaTanlra; in Thethunderbolt. andname bell. lniliaiions Arecelebraled theCaryalTantra; in Theirreversibla lniliaiion ls revealed theYogaTanlra; in The passage shows lhal onlyllowergarland,the waler,and thediadem Initiations appear the Kriya in Tanlra;lhat thoselhe to Carya. Tanlra addsonlythethreinitiations as lknown ] thunderbolt,bell,and name; thal lhe Yogatantraaddsonlythe lnitiation nt ot the Hieropha (valr.a-. rya)lcalled] ce irrevers (avaiva ible rtika); andthaltherearenoothers lhosethree Tanka divisions], while lin lhe AnuttaraTantra accompanies thosewiththethreeHigherInilialions. Then howis it that an occurrnc lhe Hierophant's Iniliaof tionin the KriyeandCaryeTantras stated, is among other, the by (in acalya Rahula-s'ri-kalayaramitra Toh. 1818, lhe g prophecy Yu alanaddhaprcy,a6- rdme-sekapA ktiyA?He explains h ) (prasvasa), permission (anujra) encoutagemnl and \vyitkanna), to be the Hierophanl's Initiaiion thoseare not the complete but lnitialion. the complele characleristics the Hierophanl's of For

on oJ Fundamenials Initiai

,"JJ ;J;;;*l, : :.': - ;l #ll;:::lj";i:, ;J.; ::i: 2 nF o.,' gna,,r.*',,, .. l i'l1o"T':r: *,. ;,: ;:,.::;:: ':::::: pl-ose, .'r ;".";r,;: :,T.:,1::i;,::t: :,r':," :,:::33ij,: f,;".1';:: ;;; ryi. [f;#ii]j:ir:':::::jr "nf';":, ::.;::.: :1:ii;".::[t;l;#:; ""
^ I n F . r r e Fp , a o g e < r e . r Jr h e d rh rndefb p r'aaDpcJoa(

cnaraclelsr ol the Hrerophant,s cs lnrtr

,;"U"",1;t:,:;;;"i:i'": 1;:;"":; ":;''i,:;:'" "":;: t;;; !: ;;::'::l:;i: ""t :;:lJi;

:: .:"1;::""" "; "^,l;

Bolh the yoga and the Anultara Tar

rnara moreoveT niBhutadal oiVairapa the lheVajraFamily, lniliaiions from the wh te Vajravidara,awith manygods as descended oi suchaslne manclala cornpositions, ma har siddhaS'abarl_pa's the vldhl ( .e. Toh.2932, lhe Vairavida rcna'ne ma'dhe rantmandaratnadvulind ma) lavidhi pe be whalever ihe KriyaTanlraIniliation ormed' Moreover, (sa dhogand to f rst one makesaccording the ru es the soi rite niliation Ilowerrgarland Alierlhose,lhe (sla the preparation gon). are the waierIn t ation,andthe d adem Inltiation conierredAfter are and encouragement, permission vald when the atler,prophecy, are nol ernployeo' whentfley emooved.and thereis no violatlon (i the thal thoseaccomplish lour lnitiaiions e the llask, How;er. herelca an arbitrary andthe lhreeH gherones),is lantamountto In( il oi the as Furlhermore regards melhod bestowing alron, the Tattvasamgrahalloh Tantra, s sa d in the FundamenlalYoga 479), For entry nto ihls great valladhAlu'ma'dala, one need not recep or is whelhersornebody a worthy an unworlrlv nvsligate lhls slatmenl oi laclei As a consequence misunderstanding eachI me Initiation oi therehasbeenthe grealblunder beslowrng The rnean receptacles' unworlhy h!ndredso1worlhyand Lrpon i no o l-al .r'o_ Jn he latlva>ong'ah' s e pla ed' O ( r " F L e receptaca may worthy es,1he receptac andthe unworlhy worthv m a n d a t a n db e c o n l e e d l n t i a t o n ' i t h u s l h e u n both;n1erthe le mayonlyenterthe ma'dala'bul meanwn s wortfv recepiacle ol the Concerning pr ncjple onlyentering Iniliation. nol c;nlerred the Iniiiation, nol and meanwhile belngconlerred ihe /nndaia 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....". kara explainsin lhe mandala'vidhiVaiA Abhayar The :rcarrya belween a worlhya and an that the dillerence vali(Toh.3140) ls receptacLe whetheror not one is able to keepllre unworthv lh'veyl'd n'd a'd'rdSan' o; n t' o .aNt )aTto.a
nTa. rdr\ _or I . 8--.'hF t;/ronrnc g'eoi d.arva D.o"nf a,dbhdd " " [ ^ 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

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of Fundamentals initiation

13r

*.ifl: :lt ;:5 dJ,:;:.j"t Ilx": nk"i; li:

0o^erat and specral vowsol the fiveFarnitres

"e expld,ns lFalthenlnlythe ltve yldlj InIraUors are conle(ed.

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rsl inJ l:l:l:l.jr, vow For those, boonrsattva ""0 one lrespectrvetylengages lh; with

lhevows hetd common (1)the in are taking reluge theThree ot lin

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rhe seneraring[rind Enrishrenme;r. ot

450_verses the Mariju.vala cuhyasantqamanchta-vtcthr o, fidh

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-victhrs Sitatapatra pandrtapadrnankus,a ol by

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ln rega d to that,he (i.e.S enli-pa) expratns whenone is that rddp lo hold lhe v,dyadhara vow, h;eis compratety conferreolhe hrtrar|on atong wirhlhelhreeHigher ones.BLrr whe; :11",1!:1,. one rsiot conlerredthe Hierophanl.s Initiatton. is not made lo he noro 'ne vows of the five Famitiesiand when he is made to holj

the rrind snrrghren.n"enrl, ::l:ilJ:!::ifl:fl:":r seneratins ror

FLrrhernore.borh Knya CaryAaciorarng in the and roAuOOfragulya,! Mahavanocana-silrc comrhentary 2663), one*n6,",rn. (To. th" t1e volvsmayneretyenterrhe mandata,whte it he 1ul""l: l:lo
ln short, whoeveris unableto keep the

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on'ndm qu,hya-untnIJoh.806)ajsospeaks meretyo, ho,dh9 the

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common and lfle un-

i;i:ff;xx"_':l"Jt#lt::xl f i,""".x: i;::,?::ffi :i:il:i

re' only vowsis permitted to enterlhema'dalawithoul common lhe Fundamenlal ol This :";;.; ."" lnitraiion. is the teaching Tanlra tn. t o*"amgtaha(Toh479) itsExplanalory Tanlra] mandara"lo"iintti, ,il valase*nara(Toh.480),and the lYoga 'vdht.6e phase rl rs For (Toh.2516) the Anutlara vaircdaya '""tri""rarv t\ on the mandala'vidht '"""."i '" tn.{Toh 1871) in explains hiscomAnd iso"sranzas tToh 1865). Buddhaguhya pnnc'_ lhesame on menrarv {Toh.2663) lhe Mahevairocanalhal caryelTanlras and pleqov;r.s ootnlhe Krryar the lhe a'e lnitialions conferred i'onrytheI've vidi'd Moreover, and one is nol madelo rs -.croonant in tiation not conlerred s the S The acdrya anlr-p'r' i,*-in. ol the five Famtlies and ".*. ^-oa'pa'Ratnarksrta i'carya Anadagarbha the ^i riat iaan"tu iakesthe vowsoI allteachlhatwhoever Abhayakara the acerva Inilialion theHrerophanfs -.rst ueconterred rn! t'veiamities and weremade onlyto enterthe mandala Nowil someone ? whal wouldbe lhe advanlage ll Initiatron. ..t i" U" with lailh "."f"ir"O lhe beholds mandala and rnf ,"rrs" .".'Li". "ow purified lrom sinsaccu' inereis t'e aovantigelhat he becomes ot planls his stream conscious_ in and -li.tla-rot."* r' ""-ons ( vasana) becomrng lulure ol i.r.n"rri rn" ai"position palh(i'e mantta "..I the iirl-"'" ,"""pt"I'r" fit foi entenng profound theVajra-Yana) five and ol In Tnetive v/dva ;atrons the KriyA Ca'ya andlhe lnil'a' vidvh lhe ,au, in't'aiions'ot Yogaare alikein being'rve ao nJt havethe samealm' therebeingthe r,,i'iJ r'o*eu"r, ,ev andlow ol qreal dlslrnction nigh thal if' lrom amongthe The Slsiddhi (Toh.807) explains the is someone conferred Initia' ol threeF;milies theKriyaTanlra, has not obt|t" i.tr'a,g"tu F;mily,then eventhoughhe ii"" and "r r"iri"r." i,iir'" Families e Padma vaira)' {i i'j"J to Families' the ,o "rher'two godsof lhe three ill i" lrt*i."d he However' "*lmplate to listento theirTantras .i,i.t tii"ir. ar,at"n;"' "ni of ptopn"cyand permission suchgods .u.ioor"in rf," ol the Padma the ll someone -l""i"o has beenconlerred lnitiation h Families' is in .ura"ed initialion the other r".iru

Chaptero
a!lhor|zed contemplate, to mutter, listenlolheTantras and inthe lwo Famrl ( .e.Padma es andVajra); however, hasno authorily he rn the TathagataFamily. ll someone hasobtained Initialion the VajraFamily the of but nol obtaned Inittation the otherlwo Farnities, s authorized in he lo conternplate, muner, and listen theTanlras precisety to in that ValraFamiy, but he has no authority the otherlwo Familles. in Whal constitutes holding the commonvow which one is oi madelo holdfor Initiations the Kflyaand Carya? Holding ol the vow ol the llind of En|ghlenment amounts10 generatingthe EnlfanceMind (prayesh-clfla)and hotdingit ritualy (wrlha ;/dhr. tven when the Entrance lvlind bornin the stream conscious_ is ol ness by the powefof intense contemplation,il is not held ritu, if ally, doesnotbecomea il vow(samyara;i,e.js not,heldlogethel). The feasontorcalling vow.,common', lhe ( sadhalaia)is that rl nLS' be heldwhelher ore enlersby way or lhe grealparamla vehcle o' by wdy of rhe Manlralvehtcrel. and. no.eover,,r oy way ol lhe Mantra vehicle, thatit must be heldwhtchever of one Ihe fourTanlradivtsions provides pathoi enrrance; the and, moreo_ ver.ii by wayolthe Anuttara it lTantra],lhal mustbe hetdwhether one rs masle,nng path of produclion(ulpatr) or ol comptetion the (n/spanra)Consequenlly, speaksol a,,common one vow,; As regards occastons whtchthe disciples lo lake t, the at lhe authonlalive lexls propound lhree views.According one, lo 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 tp re p a r a l o r y n t e a n d o l h e enlenngthe mandala; according anolher, to only at the lirst,not al lhe second occasion; according slill another, to only at the second,not al the flrstoccasion, Wilh what words does he take il ? They are grvenIn the Vaj rapaa aratantra (Ioh. 4 19). I (1) ltake my refugein theThreeJewels, tcontesseveryone of my sins; I e,oiLe the menrsot lhe l,ving il oFing": I set my rnind the Entightenment the Buddha. on of (2) ltake my reiuge, to Enlightenment, up

afon s Flrndarnenta of Lnit

133

hosli hrs ln the Buddha, Law,and the supreme my own and olhers'alm For accomplishing the I qenerate Mindoi Enlightenment' Enlightenmeni' ol the (3) Aitergeneraling N/ind Supreme oerngs; hosl lo allthe sentrent shallbe ol the besi practice Enlighlen_ zesliully I shallpractice tor May I becomea Buddha the sake ol the world! ( mandola'vdh' al the Auhyasambia vcle lfe acatya Marv toht Aohd,a,aa5 mandala'v VararaLtToh3140l anomanyolher \ow I pravesa' of aaopttne metnod lakingthe entrance wort<i. with only lhe llrst slanza.On the other hand many samvara) comple_ ol adoptlhe method takingll wlththe luLl mandata-vidht ment ol slanzas. the to l{ onlvthe firslslanza s used,it is necessary nterprel ior generaling technique ihe tirsilhre; linesas showing receptive anO traind, lhe singleline"l set my mindon lhe En' entrance tfe o'Asp'a' bolhlre holding o ||onle_ne_l lho BJodro as showing 'np hord,ng enlrance nd nlLally lr one IV oi ano r i- V,_c r'tuatty the line "l set my of does il wilh th; Iull complement stanzas, secLs synopsLslthe a Buddha" mindonlhe Enlighlenmentoflhe "l ihrough shall lionIrom I takemy reiuge up to Enlighlenment"' of showsthe holding Aspiratlon b; hostlo al the s;ntientbeings" practlce zesiiullylhe bestprac_ rtua ly; andthe line"lshall lMind lvlnd ntu_ ol the tice ot En ahtenment'shows holding Entrance ally. ritually'it does nol At the time of holdingthe Aspirationt\,,lind ;May I ailainBuddhahood the aim oi lor lo suffice thinklhe vow, must hold ii by the method whlch but beings", one al sentient I ilrin|(s in aaoltioi ihe vow, "Until I have attained Buddhahood vowed" shallnol give up lhat vow so Mind takenholdol the Aspiration Whenone has lhus rilually things mustlearn certain one bv wav ol that melhodoi holding, 'learned. is What is to be learned ihisl In lhe srx timesol tJ ne ol give lho,ighllo lne oeneiils lakr_g el_ oa; aro riqhl hF nusl lhe and relecling lourblacknalures the uq; andge;erating Mrnd:

c . . t a m n l a t 5 o f I nt r a t r o n

he I ks na dharma), 'rluslaccomplish collecl iour white and the nalrtes \s ukla dharma).'Thus, it one does not relectthe four b ack natures, they becomea causein his subseq!ent btrths lor lhe non b rlh oi generation theMind, oi evenlhoughn lhe presenl liie he takelhe generalion lhe Mindand not rejectil. Now,lhe ol one wfroabandons generation lhe lvlind the ol abandons hope lhe oi aclingior lhe sake of all senlientbeings;and ihe one who abandon hopewhichrs the des re of achievlng lhe Buddhahood, abandons general ol the lV nd. the on When one has r tuallylaken holdoi the Enirance nd, he tvl musiwellunderstand basc transgfessions ancilaryla!lls the and of lhe Bodhisatlva and guardagainst vow them. Belore being conterfed In liation, one lakes ho d ol lhe Bodhisallva vow.He repeatslhe wordsthree limes atter his leacherwhile being mindtul lhe srgnificance explarned of as above. Whenlhis repetition iinished. vow rs bornin his slreamoJ is the conscrousness.rt is not perlormed lf with mindfulness the sigct nil cancein lhatway, therets neitherthe birlh 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 the Mind s admintstered a arge of to groupof persons, they mustI rst be maderesotute way ol the by seven memberedrile ( sapbigavidhl a^d an exptanat oi the on a m ( arlha)and benefit hlta).In lhe phaseof the mainpart lof ( ,Think, I lhe rite ot takinglhe vowl,they shouldbe instfucted, shal allarncomplele Buddhahood the a In of the senl ent be, lor Ings, and repeatrt atler me:'Whenthey have been drawninlo repealing itaiterthe inslruclorand avegene h raledthe cognrlion ol lh nking,'l shallattainBuddhahood the aim of alllhe sen, Ior grealmentarises. tientbeings", Also,whenthe Asprralion Mindis nol takenwilh a specialrile,thereis no faultwh ch v olatesthe thingslo be learned. Whenone s conferred Initialions the Kriyal Cary:r of and and is nol conlerred Initiaiions belongingto lhetwo higherTanlradivisrons,lheTers no reasonto prolecta vow beyondthe Bodhisaltava one, lhat s, ihe l\,4anlra vow lvoreover,when there ts lacking in

( lhe rhesteamol sciousness-al the lowerend' merely morally deedsor merelylhe laylhe sii/a)oi renounclng ten unvirluous or ianls vo* to guardthe live precepts; at lhe upperend lhe vow monk lhe4 ll^eBodhisallvd he ordarned vow o' n/a/JroAsd on merely Initial an Hence,rl one s conlerred no.- no'o'lq,nat: musthavethe lwo vows or Carya, he certainly the ot eilher Kriyir o' llansgresslo_ aro , e. ordrn_o^sa Bodhrsallva)andlre bas,c of 16c vowts)amou.llslo a basicI onsgresslor the "or''6o_''q grves M nd ol Enlighlenment However,the Suslddhl(Toh 807) (samaya)of Kriytr the specialpledges lorproiecting manvreasons 01 to rn andilarvathal arenot included the things be earned lhe or the Bodhisaitva [vows] oralimoksa W h a n o n e o o l d , n s 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 and Anultara(Tantrasl, an.l belowoi theYoga H erophanfsInitialion he oossesses lhe tree vows \t.e. ptatimoksa Bodhisatlva and are and the basiclransgressions the basiclransgres_ lvantra). sionsol lhe Manlra[vow]and Now ii for the vows of the Kriye! CaryalhereIs no basrc vow, s thrsnol otherthan thal of the Bodhisattva lransgresslon by w n dis;greement th the Samaya'samgrahacomposedJo bo ol the Kriya, thlrty basictransgressions which rnenlions lAtlsal, ol and so on ? That work says,"Fourbasic transgresslons lrle ihirly ol the Kriya louF Iwelve ol the Bodhisattva, oratimaksa, of Tanlra,lourleen ot fourleen lhe Yoga ieen ollhe CaryaTantra, make and yogaTantra, additionallour, sl llllvemore, an the Mahar .l'elv_seve_ l Ives a a otal ot sFve_ly Havrngenurreraled Bul a lhe counialoneis obviously blunder' totalol sevenlyiand says i lhe passage,"As my guru Samayavalra lhere occurs was and since ^Krsnasamayavajra not lhe gur! ol Jo bo, thal Llork s nol composed bY Jo bo.

oi Fundamenlals lnitiataon

'137

Fundamentals of studying the path atter receiving lnitiation and taken vows
Inlhethree owerTants(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, is not sulticienl im t onesetf it to lo an Inlense contemplation (bhayara)in immedacyconiorming to lhe I ve perfeclions the resuttalive ol comptete Buddha, I i; lor also necessary havethe yoga of intense lo contemplal conon _on rg to the rh'ee soleresol purificalron { lDya,i9zr).nanely. brrth, death,landthe rntermedrate state.ln the treelower Tantrai there s lhe intense contemplation jmmediacy in conlorrning to lhe frvepertections lhe resullalive ot phase;however, lhereis as no yoga ot Inlensecontemplation conlormingto lhe lhree spheres ol puriication, namely, bith, death,and the intermediale state. 'nerearPno sleps ol Productron. For the completecharacterisiics the Steps ol Comotelion. of rl ooFs rol sulltcelo have merelylhe Intense conle.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 alsonecessary havethreespecial to things, the case as may be: (1) the knowledge blissvoid ol (sdkha-srnya) whichoccurs lforn maktngthe wind(s) enler. stay, and rise for teavingin the cenlral ve n I avadhnti)t the djvinebody which occurs (2) '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 knowledge and the divne bodv).In the lhree lowerTantras, lhere is the inlense conlemplation thg ol vo dnessot lhe natural stateandthereis lhe intense conlempla, lron of lhe.yogaol the wrnds;but as the others(i.e_ the three speciallhlngs) lacking, are lhere is no intensecontemplation of lhe stepsot Completion Therefore, eachot the lhreelowerTanlras, in thereare bolh the yogascalled wilh signs"I sanimina-yoga) d .w thout signs" an \ antmlfta-yoga).

The Procedureol the KriyaTantra

Thereare three melhodsot procedure(a,uslhana)in ihe K ya by muttering Tantra,narnely, medilalior|(dhyena) aacompanied and ol muttering, accomplishmenl independent /joaJ,medilallon ol slddhlafter approprialeseruice(seva/. (1)MEDITATIONWITH MUTTEBING acts to lhe the prehmlnary T_rcrds lhree sactio's.namely' ol lhe of mullering, mainpartoJlhe lour memllers lour members ol acls to the lour members mut_ and the terminallng mLrttering, rerng (a) Preliminary acts to the lout mernbers ol muttering andseals general dhe'n's l.makinglhe Thishaslourphase: 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 l.goes outside the dweuing;2 goes througtr one resp-eclivety,l 3' the the balhingritu;ian; so on and then reenters dwelling; seat;4- perlormssuch and takesa dressesi;religious apparel acls as blessingthe ollering and prolecliononeselfand ihe place ol These acts are equivalenlio the contemplating the protectve c rcle(raksacakra)ol the higherTantras (b)The main part ol the lour members ol mutlering con_ ue-e Ine'e are lwo parts:lheservice be donethrough to ol lernpLation sell Generationin Fronl a. Generation ol Sefi DeitY The thst god @hevana) The sell Realily (alma-laltva)is the contemplation and as lhal (1) is lree irom suchconcepts singleness multiplicily and by recourseto lhe reasonedlofmulationsol the Madhyamika; because accom_ (2) which decides that on's own mind is void plished by intrinsic nalure After that' the God Reality (devataIaftva) s ihe contemplation oflhe realityotthe God to be conlem-

o1 Fundamenials n lialion 'l: S:" R*,rty as insepardbte as devo and o ot Inrnn. l]:t::.ilo I he lwo src narur-a. realliesconstrlure Aeat,ry the Cod rrarivaderarar-arnorg sixgods.Theyare equrvalent the lo lhe conte;o aron oi vo,dness the htgher in T6ntra d;vts tnrt o. 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" aredmedttalively) of lhe sphere theVord rnar \r cre. oul of ,s very goO,n esselce, andlhathtsaspecl (j{ar.a) the;ntonalon thesou.ds is ol 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 ., his retinue(parivEra),pa ace (vtmana),elc The filth god

139

Then, f one know llhem]he toucheswlth the variousdheranis and sealslmudre):1. the crown of the head,2 the spacebe5 eyes,4 the shoulders' lhe hveen eyebrows furna'kosa),3.1he and 7. the naval.lf one does not know the neck,6. lhe heart, places withasingle dharatis helouchesthose thatextent, (them)to And particular amongthe threeFamrlies Family and sealof that adhislhlta),they are the Seal God (mudra_ having been [thus] devah). ol to That is equivalenl the blessing thesense bases(ayalama) divislonsh gherTantra n the The sixth god the Then wh le the aspectot the god is bright,one lortilies ega (ahamkA? or garva).Thai [aspect]laken as the mind'ssole meditativeobject is lhe Sign God I nimitta-devalA) by lo Those lgods]are equivalent the generalion meanso{ in lhe |ve Abhisambodhis the higherTaniras. Discussion of Sell Genetation the maintained tollowing:ln Kriya the The o der gufusolTibet of Tantra the contemplation onesellas a god does not exlstbecause lfre magical ta enl (s/ddhl)is obtained as a result of con_ "oneobtains theysaid, for lenrpatinga god n {ront, whichreason srddhltrom a god who is so to say a masler (/ha rie bo lla bu)" nevin of There is contemplation Sell Generation lhe CaryfrTantra thereis neitherlni in ertheess,alterdrawing lhejnana beings, t alion labhiseka)nor ihe applicalionof the seals (mudr?r-nyasa) the withoutgeneraling samayabe ol the I\/laster the Family; of them, and,afterseating Ingsin lront, one invites the/narabeings 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, app is draws n lhein,rnrbeings, conlerredlnitialion, liesihe seal asks the god to depad.In of the Master the Family, finally and ol

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, rre.Fa, Fssence ur Iupahtdaya) dhaHnL The lourth god Then one imaglnesthat frorn those letler emanate Innumer_ ,, able raysof hght. lrom the ends ot wnich.ssLer^nurnef"b,e as.

tl: r.no9l disk(candra-mandata) whicir upon tre sJ; ll t)e_conle'nplaleo :fy.hto? Io

rhey fl ^:l]l:.,!::l punryal senttenl beingslromlhetrsins,obscurattors. sutt"r,.gs. and andthey givejor/lo allthe Buddhas and thejrsons Bodhisattvisl bynnarking olferings to ihem. Then the rays, li_e. rogetherwrth the gods.are,wrthdrawn. absorbed rhe lelte;siano t-e noon, toby
o, 9^"]ij"*]lnJ!" lransJortrq rn^e, to be conlempjated. god This as ihe nedtlafve oblect rs lne rotm (j00 \tupa-clevabr.
Al the ljr'reot dorngservicethroughconlemptalon ol Setl ^uenerdtron, needonrycontemplate Lordrprabhu) .rot one the but

,o grhir sod be nrersery conranp,areo

t:!1"",

rtse rnro oa.recreo rhe body

140

9!9pter-e

ot Fundamentals lnital dharant loh T50l a.'d lhe vat!avtdarana'nama ,nnL.-rantta)il-.F 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 ^ eh o d o l tl el -cJhod or conrenord soos andrha ;T; ;;;';; "";" ;;" s'|x ce ol l ^-'" ,'." -..,rjr'on ou meansol lne loLr memoets serv Tdnlrdsu'h'chsldle l *n'e".enr wih Ihe ou'\ ol Knya a wayi.a.to e Ir disaoreenanl "i. " 1 an unclear i1"-. *" l"'"*"1 i .i: ..; b y l h e t w o e c a r v a sv a ! a b a d n d n ' t ;'.i ":rt';"t BuddhaguhYa the lo" t:TY: the Dhvanoftaa\Iah 808),when stating - ' 1m e r s P y o L s e' " l h e t o J n d l q e ' n n d o ^ o l . " - " -a ' . t does -ol -e'r "".'"'o" ", ': ,". grouno {g'lrloi thal passagF a god lhan whp_ I_p ' 1 , " ' 6 6 " ' " n p r a r ' o : o l o n e < e l 'a s

the AnuttaaTanira one generalesthe self into a god, draws in lhe is /nana,betngs, conlerred Inrtiation. apptiestneleat otrhe [,lasl tpr or rne famrty. and at lhe concluston godsare not asked lhe lo depart.The fourTankadjvisionsare determined accoralngroihi rourdiherent waysol generating gods.This .rd" k."o;; the r" ;; Ine E!olanatoryTanlra the Auhyasamaia. Jnanavajesamuol the ccaya (fah.447J, which sets forth lhat the accomp|shmenl tree fromlhe sublime joyol the /nana berngs and freelro.r lhe pride or oFeseIas a god,is wellestablshed lhe K ya Tantra ,n Bu-slon.Hrn-po-cie .The ,cArya Buddhagunya sard. rnen. . Uons lnal n theKriyaTanlra thereis SellGeneral.oard "e marn_ larns that tt is not in conflicl with the Kriya and Carya, but ihe import here has to be investjgaled.,,Thus, lejl the he matter unde_ Ourown schoolmaintainslhal in the KriyaTantralhere are . all lh.ose things generation set,Into god. Iniliarron owrngthe ot a to rnlrod,rclron the /nanabern9, ol and apptical,on lhe ceato, the of Mslerol the Family. Whenthe icarya Buddhaguhya quotesthe Mahava t.oca,na (foh. 494)a d lhe Vajepeny-abr'se*a rfon. aSOl ranrras, doesnol deflvea reason asserl,ng ne lo, lhd, lhe expla. nalion ol Selt Generalionjs consistentwith the KriyaTanlra, be_ cause.he has nol quotedtromthal (classoit Tanlra. when In Bur rne uhyanoftatalika (foh. 26701he quotes the Vatrcsnga-lantta andthe Vaira-vidaana-vaipulyatantra, showtrlglhe.narhod conoi te-rnplalrng srx gods. he we exptainsthallrnelhod .o the be Knya rarlral: and the specialtsts who do nor adm,t those two to be Knya_Tantra in turn wilfoul reason, are becasue s a,sosatdIn I t,ne caryametapaka(foh. 1803)..'Accordrng Ine Kriya to Tantra distoriedview which holds that . Moreover,il is an untounded, in lhe CarydTantra there is no Sellceneration, becausethal 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.4s concisefotm (laghu-tantra) Dhyanolrara (ton 808,, lhe Val@viterani-vapulyalanlra, errtnenlco.crse p.a^ its {ialpa-

l*l';:"*:1":l;#'i"'ji,'llliiS';li'"l"ln:: ^or also neawould Jr,ns passage oFdor'e

ioiil ti. s'or.o
wetFthe !ase rFl as a god ll.rha' o" ot i"""'.^';;';' conse' "r.esell in the carva Tanlra: in", *." J ["r" o" s"'l Generalion own lhesis [i'e that oi the oloer ai"*v. ,iti"t *"." so.your qrrLrsl wouldbe contradlcleo in explains his lucrdexposL the Moreover aceryaVarabodh _e S'rsrddhr ll l hcrewPIe o levJl<or lhal ." ,.""'f"'n roo" ""

'::l':=i:';:;:;:I"x"J1"":1.,i:,:"11 ;:: s bFnosiddh jii'n" $oJlo oi alllrings lhere 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;; whatsoevercoulo De ,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 vatokiesvaasbdhana 2736| !t- Lh 1""]ij 'i. lr'i 5 'nr",,f"n be nq r-rraIn -;J'; G""",rrr.n rcedrawing or rqernana Ilah ";'r 'o. rno opp cr'ion oi seal:ArYasangas.Mdrlreyasadn'"d
';t ::.

il'Jl""ji:i:1'"'il:' :"{''i':.,*":"*::,'j,",'.'"i "":':::

h d w H d b e l e d l e ld p e r 3 ' 1 6 r a n oJ e l a r r - f e h o * ,- t;" e a',olwhcL \ordnrre ;:;",or; l.h.rt tq-rt:g'nctus'u"' l h eF r I o n r a . r l ' . 1 . : " . " . . " l l a sa q o o a n d h ' - F L o o _ "'''"-,

ol Fundamenlals Int at on

143

j::"J:."fl: ::"",,;fi ::l::"::t:";::Tl ;;:,."jt:: ::13

fl il*:[':J""'u :';li: rilili*::"']ii["j']ii'l"ili rhe precepror "r*, j:il:;t,,i:x. l: ;: "i;*1,'1,"J,llil x,ffi]fl ;H5111 ""
o,. a,""ipr" s"nli,"ffi,';;;;;i;:ujij:' ro

ll: J:r:lrJ#,11?1il}ffii";,q:?i?*rrilrr"*',f ji
and

il1i;#: :i:i,:,,'il'""j,::.'"';ift ?":Hj,'jJ,",fJ'^",ilTjh;; Furtherrfore, lhe timeol conlerrino at

1';;l'#1':"d:i;i":'";::.:::i:,;;::"1.".;:;ffi

;:'i::;::T"",_::."1 r:1::j,ii r!!;:?:'i::ii?l j";::;j:!:2.:t;; : ,:::;:;"1;"",.,'"-.;l,ll,l"1l,ffi f

r^_ Moreover, lhe KriyaTantra tr therewouid not be a complele

if h:t iil:#fr l{iii+:ifiji:r-,lf i:itn:"n:

?iiif Tii:j"j: ti: ,ii; :Tf

Ing-the preceptor a god,generating into theo/scrpre a god rnto

; I* :;; :ri: :,ff.::I!:ft;:i". iii i:;::: :i;,'"i1"l:;:11 ryi ";, :";; :j;",:::',:, r"l ;.p-;'; ?;:;,.: ;,:.'

',i,^ .:;jl:;ljj,: "l:],""J "1li"'i"!:rif":;.ilT;::] " rne'-'\o-d -olboa.orrp,eteconsrru.,,ono|'nooor, o rp . u s , o Ia

cornp-lete resultativepalh constrLlclion in tne Kr ya Tantra,be-

Fi^ii:!-jl"JHiilJi,ff j "?1,'"*"',,,,"?#:i"r*i:1# f;X'f :]il'::,fllf; :: t

L "aa' bolhll . Hprdia-lant a, e tToh. 7-a - $., o, na ianpLttc

ol /naravalrasamuc In regardto the meaning the scnplure caya(Ioh 447),t doesnol ieachlhat in ihe KnyATanlrathere s ol intoa god nor entrance lhe /talna be oi no generalion onesell ng into thal person Ralherit teachesthal there occurs n lhe conlemplairng oneselias without a Kf ya Tanlra meihod n which, lntoonesell,one ng a god and w thoutintroduc the /rilra beings 1o makesolierinEs lhe god in lront and takes s/ddrl. lt also ex candidates the Kr yA ol as p a n lhal method onein whichordinary to with week senselaculliesand belonging the c ass ol Tantra of the peoplencapable comprehending comtemplalion onesell ol the ailercorntemplairng go0 of lronl. In one as a god,lake disshL o{ he s a canddatejor the hlghgoal fuddesa) ihe KriyaTantra, is oi alionfor lhe high goal(uddesa) the Kr ya tau!lhtthe contemp with the expanationol the leacher Tantra.he ls n agreement Buddhagulrya Tantrassil The ihesisthal in ne ther lhe Kriyirnor Caryar dlsagrees lh w beingsinlooneseli, the proper introdLrce /narta to yairapAny'abhiseka'tantra (Toh 496)ihat it by lhe explanation the rn thal h s habituated the convlclron one becomessteadlastly irornlhe and mindare inseparable speech, body, own [orc]naryl the body,speechand mindoi a god,he acquires mert Iexaltdl ent to the all xing of belng equlva bodiy movements ol a I his equvalentlothe berng sea lmudla)anda lh s vocalexpfessions (dharatD; thus t it is notproper draw io oi ncantations muttenng one mostdenylhat it rs propertobe beingintooneself, theinana body,speech,and m nd afe in convncedthal one'slordinaryl speechand rnindoi the /tena body, lrornlhe Iexalled] separable ng. be the Now, f n bothlhe Kriyaand CaryATantra /,rara beings ln and may andhe may be conlerred tialion the person mayenter why is il that the iwo y the sea oi lhe Masierof lhe Family, app do and preceptors Buddhaguhya Varabodhl not set thoselorlh? way the necessily oi do They rnerely not sel lorth in an explicil but do ng thosethings; they do not say thatthey should not be one musl not inlerthat lhey sfloud nol be done,and lherefore

Chapter-8 Whenrno!r schoolthe ordinary candidate the Kriya of Tanira takes s/ddhl alter contemptation the god n frontand wjthoLrt ol rhe conlemp alionol himse as the god, thal rs jusl lhe gateo, enrrance the path,noi the conlemptatron lo whichcompteles the palh.In.egardlolhecontemplationwhich completesthepalhlor lhe leadng candidates the Kriyer of Tantra, lherewere no conit templation onesellas a god the body ol the palh woLrtd of be Incomptele, whichreasonit is irnproper omit Sell Generator lo tron And sincelhe enlrance the/iana being,conferrng Ini_ ot oJ tralron, application the seal ol the Maslerof the Famrly, oi are ']|mbs'(or'ancillaries',a,?ga) olpe ection, inen we marntarn thal even t theyare not done,lhereis no fauilwhichsevers body Ihe ol lhe path. pranayama TherFdrealsocontemlationot ptena-eyana lne I.eetowel In _ ranlrdsHowever, p/ana-ayama drsctssed In lhe cIcte o- rhe as Arya schoolof the Guhya-samaja; prena,eyamaas discussedin accorOance wtth other A nuttaraTantras,such as the Kalacakral and lhat Jotthe lhreetowerTantrasl are certantylhfee ditferent thrngs. Now,whatis the prana-ayema discussed lhreelower In Tantras? ll is^aslhe yrrcana-larlra(Toh.494) and its conrmentary(Toh. 2663) by Buddhaguhya say : prera is the vila a r fvayu.) passing It'oJgh l-e doorsot lhe sense organs t;notryd). afama,s,ne orspe,sal othersensory Inlo oomains{v/sdrdlor Ine .ne-,atete ments flarka). Binding or abolishingthe prena Ayema means prevenlrng vitalalr and the mentalelemenls the frornescaping ouls de, and containing them inside. On what,occasion pranayema] conshoutd lhal lparticutar be templaled? On lhe occasionol yogawith signs (santmtta-yaga). And on whato!casro'r wthrnthal J yogdwrth s,q,sJ \-oL d ,l oe . lnle.rpla'ed: ll ts conlemplaled lh6 Jcc.s.o- <iF,v o(e or lseva)in the Kriyaand CaryaTanlras, eitherafier compteiing conlemplal ol lhe sixgods, on oralleraccornpllshinq Generatio; in Fronl,as the case may be.

ol Fundamentals lnitiation

145

? The is Forthe sakeoJ what requiremenl it conlemplaled lhe involving abolr_ object the oorilrn"nt to aoLla,fv meditaiive the ano appeatances nvorv''o .."."s t"; otdinary l"l-iit"" Inlolhalol a god Fo' sold'iying i,"..1'ou'",.^ ori*. body ee' ol lhe menlal iri"', ii" '"qr'r""'"nt lo in;iol the escape
lhal lhe rrrnds wh:r is lne orofoL'omeansol inhlbitlng ? lhe vila' arrrs t o' therelore .,""J,. if'" u,'"' , , {vayu)i -when ol .n'_or; he d wilh no lreedo'Yr ts own Thal 's '"r,*" *'in'" . t* the why one contemplates prAha-ayarna' ? Controllngthe in Whatistheprocedure thisconiemplalion (irrdhvalo the naver' lo^ge"ri"|I r"r",v rJpo_ god Tneteuoonwhen one s no lna i":r"o s reldiing one and whrle ,i.Jto,"iu'],n" "nu'"r; il rs emitleo lfe uponlhe god TnFnhe agarnho'ds il -'na,s t'"eo sorelv rra'_er in vrla'a'$,ith .1d'd co_lemplates the sarre has divislons drr' threelowerTanlra fhe pana'eyemaoll.le ol conlen"p'alo' ,"q''rements and melhods ,","nI i.i"t'o".

vitalair the '*r'"""i"t. ll in" o"ay,onedraws upperdraws rherower and '|t ptessinsdown: ',ronrt_"ryr',p ii;;;:;;;; ;;;;";r' The rr'd rl holo'ng lnere

Inlhe Anutlara lranrral "v"J" "tprained A.Genefttion ol DeitYin Front and ollering so on to be donewnlle Thereare six lhings, ol ll'e resl i^t c";eratron in Fronl:generalron *...pi"n'"g o'sea s andorrerrrg lo i""".,'""'r"'L" a rn" gocl be resrdenls con'ession <'s 01 arsing and ii"io,r."" i;t* ."r'". JFerrng o slale< o'lne lourboLndless co.lenpldion i"l in"" o7(adheropatti) I' Genentionol the Residence in things lronl[ol a to ll it is prescribed have llask andother s omrss'on o'ope' 't p'ope': thPir orherwise ';"i ' made Dhum4a/ai ol'rra'V sulace{ earth ".ti.LiiL ni ."'i'-"n'"" 'r sa^d He DrecsPsw'thrh' ro nL'a ; "" ooro G "i ;l"i: "ff;i;".,ij Am calavi(ral hrm svaha'

146

of Fundamentals lnitlatlon

147

Uponil he imagines ocean milk, an ol treerromsucha tault as iishgills, adorned such Jlowers the rcdlolrs (padha) wilh as 'olus{utpala), overwhich a.d lhe blue and soarllocksof beJewHe blessesit wilh lhe lormula. Om vimala-dhaha elled birds. ln lhe middle ofthislocean], imagines foursidedSumerLr he a mountain, adorned allloursides on withrowsof stairs made kespectivelyl gold,silver,sapphirc (indra la). and amber,atl of overwhjchspring wish.granlrng up lrees (kalpa,wk6a)deco?led wilh a thousand flullering victorybanners. imagines He rising abovethoselo a heightof many yol'anas lotustrunk which a lroma shaftin the center Mount lakesils origin ol Sumer!,is gracedwilh manyjewels,hasleavesmadeof variegated jewels and lblossomsl whoselilaments ot gold,anthersol amber, are andlops of pistils ringed lines silver. addition, by ol ln th6re are othermynads lotusnetsoulstrelched. ol Atterjoiningthe palms of hishandsin salulation, presses he downhis leftthumb wilhthe righland recites hundred one times,Namah satua-tathagatanam saruathA rdaglesphatatrahimangagankham svitA, and so blesses Ihjs visionl. Aboveil, he is to imagineacanopy (vihna)lappearingl an in nslanl. topol lhal[canopy], generates complete On he the charpalace(kuagara/andgenerates acterislics an eaved of withinit various seals;andhemayaisogenerate within palaceslupas the 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,), whichtherefore mustbeprepared belorehead.The vessellor that is of gold,silver, so lorth;anda copper vesselis auspicjous and for all [invilations] common. appeasing in For rites Genika) and lheir superiors/itdhl barleyand milk are required. ritesto For prosperity increase and s,itdhisesamum {paLlsdka) theirmiddling andsourmilkareneeded. terrible For rites (abhiceruka) andtheil tnletiot .iddhi,ordinary urineiogelher with mittet, blood,is or otlered Parched ffagranlodors, up. rice, white llowers,krsagrass,

Jor whichale auspicious all in and sesamlm mrxed pure!1/aler' with lhe odorsol incensed prepared and l''.-"_'"_"".ton are Iimes an seven bv the i;;" o,essei obtation recilrns i;;";". and ol generaldhilrani lhe Vidyar'ria lhe .". ".*g ;mong the dhannis o{ all the rrlesol lhe "ot"oii* Famrlies "iii.in*" ramit'es ot amongthe dharanis Invitalron lna'v'o,rat of and painted lmage ol Thereupon looksInlhedirection the -;i;", one dow" ther exaculeslne tr and kneels salules "^ ^; lhe ol * i"ins lhe fingers his hands allowing i""", ano Indexes ni. n*0. irrr"" "r'i""Li'on, l; touch'slrlchesou! botl' "i wrlhhrstwothumbsThenhe rei:rles: ;eckons o( Bv reason mYla[h andmYPledge O Comehilher,comehithr. Bhagaval: lhis oblationof mine' Andallel enloyrng il Becasue wa; ottered' makemeloylul| ... (enyentl l he At the end ol the darad; adds"Com come Tathagala it to lhe and *,,hth oblation otlers *"..a"r t-f.l" ""*a n ,"*r with his head Forthe othetlwo Families iiriir". i" iiin 'nl'"iiil,. Then a*'"1 his breaslor navel respectivelv ', whoresemblehimselt ",i'n" iril ]t"Jr""-" ir," ."""1 ol Fa'a beings male ihe dharatis,the -susddii sayslhal the Regardrng ol lhe Vidvarajathe with the die'ani aenili?e oJsr invrled thal ol *,rf' tr'" dharan; theVidyaralni'and irvrta' i#"i" or dharanis wilhlhe gen individual ';;;;;k; ""1'"" eilhetwithlhe

li"l iriiti" Ll. i"li"i

Fami three last] r"rnilies flhese aretorthe :vi"rin ehv "i,r'" hv eh; " Arotik ehi! and vairadht^ !" "

says lhal lhe S!$ddhi in ils chapteJon lnvitalion [,4oreover, is slandinguprighl'.orsilling' oI *n""'ii-t" O""ii q"a t" Ueinvited

invinting while oosture on"ir,ortoasswe thesame i" u"niou"r, is oblation notavailable' prescribed il lhe ;;"rt,;;;il;;;th., '"ffi;.al invitarion and ;;:l iil;;"itvl lor indulsence dorhe is with whalever available'

s FLrndameniaof lnilialion

't49

Thereupon, wilh sealssuchas ihe ,,loius posture,, sitting and wlrh dhdraa sucnas Om ^bmalalasvahe.aneo|ers seatsto Oerlres ac.ording iotha'i to.,rcLrrstal.Fs. oros a,ld rr^" O"s.a,.J. '.e two lea.hersl, e. B,jdohdgJny" .Va."ooOn,, ano Oo reier -o a "or -ave o' 9ereratton tl^e samaya be'ngs atte,rhe /.ana bernqs Deen nvtled and askedto be seated. Thefeiore, ts not;ecesit sary lo generatethem,bui neither it tnqrroper ts ro oo so, lll'. Exhibition ot the Seals (mudra-clarsana) one re^,tes rana. a-o disp,ays lj-e c _Th^n ^.9ankarcsamaJ. rvToor. rnJnoerbot sa'l (samayaval rr,d,j, oy o-e.s ng Ife a rp or nis srna'lti-ge. w,tr-nis rightt' ,r o. 6"6 .Lqgss1,n{.a" rFaDeo, a tfJ derboh wttr- r.rna nr. I ltr.-eji,. ger\ lhe Next,he exhibils sealsof the threeFam|ies the and recites thethree htdayas,Jinajlk,and so on_In regardto lrre seats:both hanos,arejolnedso as to make a fisl, showlng both thumbs; wrrn/n same seatthe left thumbis hidden tne 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.ties c.eat sy.nboi rmalrdsamayol rhe sea,soJthe _Fam|tes a-0 gy,ateslt-err,which :s satd lo provoe a greal p.orecrton nst 6l :nluriesdone by aga obstrucr oFmonswho ve DU-SUe wrthoul. tron whe. oneproceeds.hat 3no.snol src_ way cessl!ltin the proteciionl,he shouldrecitethe dheran)af whicheverwrathtul deitysuitsthe occasion, whilethrowing whilemus_ iaro seed, and lhe pursuingobstructive demons ;ill be lrig;i(pujastutyadi4a) oe I,eatedIn two p3rts,presenlat.on o.o[efl1gs --,]l.l_ -1, ano prats/nq. A. Ptesentationof ollerings, _.The olrari4g rrraleflals are ,, ol|etert a..rdrivtng awdylneirobstruclive ocrnons, ol,fltytng and glonfying them.Thereare manydiiferences Oet*eentne iriya_ IV'. Olle ng and pnising

lhP ralttasas regards nJnoer Jno lre AnJttara L 't , a. lha Yoga. nr oo'rr'on" l'lelr seque'ce dnd lhe lacco'r'pa'yl'q]sFal_ and sequence' sealstor the presentatlon Thenwhalare number, in o{ ofierings lhe KriyaCarye? by (l) One execules Seal"Assigning otteringl" inler the lthe br two ringlingers, ngingihe two the tacinq two litllefingersand drawinglogether outstretched' againstone anolher, middieiingers joinl,andioining two thumbson their lhe the ndex;s at the third r e d g e ; a n de c i l e s : O Bhagavalwho wentlo bliss, Comeh therandbe seated mY enjoyed oblairon, Having yourminddeepenmYmrnd; lvlay to lam devoted Theel the he deity, presents oblation of the dharanioflhe Ai lhe end the oblalron, ting. Atghampratic.hasvaha ("Accept wh e rec (2) With h s righlhand in a fist, he formsa pincerswith hrs and picksa llowerform lhe vesselconlainlng lndexand thLrmb retor lhe leet, then makesthe seal ot successively ihe waler watel'Jor"oblation" "feei-cooling Substiluting the fingers. easing water' whrle he in the stanzacitedabove, ollersthe leet'cooling tec ling, Om pravarcm salkarampedyan praticchasvahe ("On! leet'coolingwaler,svehal) beneJicenl Accepith s mosl excellent il the he (3)Thereupon reflects imagein a mirror' he can pro vrde t. and gives an aclual bath lo the reflected image ll he or oflering assistanttoihe provide suchpersonsaslhe ii, cannot 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 svehA ("Oml balh, while reciting,Om sarvadevab-acintya'amrla ol ambrosia alllhe gods,svahai', The lnconceivable and,while (4) Nexl he mentalyofterslood and ornamenls; of praiseThen, oilerlngwith rnusc, he menlallyperlormsmelodies refuge"and mark ng withhr; righthandhe makesthesealo{"iaking

lnitialion grlls . Seizing wrjstwiththewietthana,ne lhe ma(esthe sealoi ''pedume", reclting: TheseaLlsptcious umes,divtne perf sLlbstance, P,rreand borntro.npLrity. tp."senr w..hdevor,o_ Havrng enjoyed rhen. makan e,oytJtl reclrng,Ahdfa;hara saruawdyadnai prljrFsLd,ha Iake . .-.Whlle {r.,rahe, U HoJder at, yidyas. re worsh.Dped. r. of wlsLard ) hF o_er! the pedL.nes. uses'hrssarncorhd,aaj He wre- n" pre"enti offering the otherthreecases,exclusive the lamp 1n oi lhence,n cases5 to 7, betowl. (5) He makesthe .i/owel,seatatlerthe model of the Iotus: . thP f,_g--"rs boln hands ntertaced: o' w:lnir.n Fa-ds.ne tps o, 'ne Inoe^lingers come ro a pornlrnak.g d braLe.et ,rJnbs tLe roucntn9 srdes, lhe and recilesi This auspicioLrs llower, divinesubstance, Pureand bornfrompurity,... wrlh rha orhe.two,tnes as orevtoJsrv. orfors rard r ttowe,w.tn (6) He makes .perfumed the incense,,seai: li le.ring,and the . m'dd]cfinqers ollhe rwonards are oroLqhtagdi-<,o.e a-orher a-o -neDacrs tfe najls eachot esF,. .hdtorde, ot of a-" ororgnt dginsr Fd!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 sLbslance cor.rpo"eo pe,, tr e, wrlh t, e detighlful errx,r !orestI,ades, ol I devoufly offer _. (And oiiers incensewiththe dharad) /7l,He Tdhes the seal ot -toodrorlFe gods.: .ne pa,ns .re cuppeo and thp .ndex frngers slight,y draw, rowa.d on6 anol'rer ,

151

lhe linger (8) He makesthe sealo{ "lamp": thumpand middle stretchedupward,louchingone anothe( lhe hand made intoa are iisl; and recllesi Pray enloy these lamps, Auspicious lriumphant and overharmlul elemenls, Virl!ous and dispelling devotion. of Which I offer wilh devolion. pujite svaha ("BeWhile reciling,A/k15l/i abkaya vidyedhari while worshipped, svahal,heoffets O hold,beholdl 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 is r..?e$,.lor rhe rrenlaloffering lhe chieflhi.g. to one according B'. Pralsing.-Thereupon, should proceed the s'usiddhi,which says that the There jewels and the Maslers afe of the lhree Families lo be praised. I saiutetheTathilgata,the Lord ol great Compassion, tield of an ocean of merit and The omniscientTeacher, noblequa ities. I sa ute ihe quiescentLaw (dhama), pure,lreesirom craving Wh ch. berng . liberales fromevildesliny, Which,beingviriuous, is goal. Which,beingsolilary, lhe ultimale Virluous Host fsamgha), I salute the Which after liberationteachesthe path o1liberation, in of 1swellfounded the points moralinstructionlhe goodqualities the holyfield. oi Possesses MaRjus?;, lsalute Who bears the aspecl ol a youth (kurnara) And is adornedwith the lamp ol insight That dispelslhe darknessol the three worlds. one I saluie him, the ever-mercilul by the name Avalokita, Called

Theserepasts dharani, of Thedelighttul oi medicjnes etixir , (Andoffers ioodwilh lhe dheranj)

ol Fundamentals Initiation

153

Whois praised a the Buddhas by Andhasaccumulated allholy merits. tsatute vajrapani, Powertul, fiercesome, viluous vidyetaja lhe Whotamestheobdurate. Moreover. makes one praise wayol whaleve,be thedeitv by . , of rhatoccaslon, recites hundrectlrmes and a the oraislno ani)l

procedure]. [h gher Tantra x. fhe Fou Members,genenl of Those lwo l,:e.,the Generation Selfand the Generation members mutteringAapa-aiga). the Fo( n Frontlconstitute of genurnemL.rttering mustcomplete tourmembers mutone the of yourself in the says,'lmmerse lenng.Consequently, Dhyenotara the and lhesound. mind, lheground." The"ground" membe.f he'ground"(T. 9zl,S: vaslu)is lhe is Ot lhe dharariwheel deposited. bodyoi thegodin whoseheart ground" (bdaggi gzi) is the conrhe two kinds,lhe "subjective into lemplalon of oneselitransfigured a god;andthe "objective gtou^d" (gzangyigzi)is thecontemplation oflhe godgeneraled thelourmembers in{iont.Those are each memberamonq lwo a ot muttering, The membet of immersionin mind ( citta-nimna);Thishas in the vividmeditative object(a/aabana) consisting one'smind (citta)in the shapeot a moon-m andalain the hearlol the diely generaled lront. in in Themember immercion 6ound(svara-nina)iThishas ol g object consistin intheletters ofihe dharani lhe vividmedialative to be reciledlocaledupon thal [moon-mandala]. madeol[seeds Thechapletfaksa-mala) should preferably be Famiry, lotus podsfor the otl lhe Bodhi kee for the Tathegata Padha Family, of Ganilrus) and frdfaksa(berries Elaeocarpus fortheVaira other material Family;bul those are not available, if will do.One blesses by counting 1008, 108, or 21 limes, 54, it and recites accordingto the rite. muttering while There are two methodsior the multering: dwellng on theshapeof thesyllables, muttering whil dwel! and ingon their sound. l'. Mufte ng while dewelllng on the shape ot,he sy ables There twokindsimuttering whiledwelling ontheshapeof are lhe syllables lhe heartot lhe deitygenerated front;muttering in in

ii;iilj! namo.stutesydh:i (Homage "-1Tpd!!"M!::ttubnem to att the rast,nt Buddhas ini bodhtsallvasr Everywhere llashion thy beamsol supernormal lacullies. Namoslutesyihn,) V'. Conlession otsirs, elc.(papaclesanaatika)
A'. Confessionol sjns (pepa-desand). 8'. Re,uge formula(sar, na"gamana). C . Svmpathetic detight(anumodana)Iwtlh lhe metil (punya) andknowtedge by 0nen4 amassed the &jd;has ano eoohisattvisl .,Exhortal,on entreaty the Bljddha Iurnrhe and lto to Whel , _,D or l"e,Low.andlo not departinlo NrlyAna as long as lhere be candrdatesl. E . Fervenlaspiratlon(prcndhanelllo a|eviale rhe sufferings ,. o, humanrtvl

sa?ata am;ku_^,i" s

u_t::::tlneb.tyn ot af bu boundbss sbtes(cetu,ewm.n bhavanat and cenerationot theMlnd(ciftotpada)

The purposeo, conlesston so on. contemplation and ol the .'ourooundress states.- andgeneration theI\rind Enhghten_ ol {of Tefll o enngandprais;ngis to purify vowby iasiening , the -alte. lw nc0nJ6ssron,whichiscomparablelotakingthebows' tsamvari) ol thefrve Famitres so on jn thehigher and Tantra d,visions aftei leartlol lmandatal comptect[J,n lmandatal and lJ,e-Yln9.lhe,otfering orenngi lhe,besl procedurat oflering @ratipaitrp.) trlrcugh jej orlelings is lor the purpose rhe besl detight th ot ot :rT_l-olaj onenngdomai4.and this lofleringlhere is also srmrtar to that

whi/edwelling the shapeof the syllabtes one.s on In head_ The litst knd: One binds lhe pdna-dyamd as p,evrouslv , oesc Deda-d mutters way ol lhe complete by lour meTbersoi -nune'ngwhrte srmu[aneousty dwe rngon ihe bodyot the de[v gFnerareo tronland on the lhreesyllabtes otn whtct, are on lh; lre hearrlotthe de,ry.s bodyl.Whenerhatr.g.one l"-":_.:1." snouto-ot rrLfler dhar.ani, hold the mrndltxed b.l( on one-bown ooov.ontemptared the derlyThen.againholding as Ihe breath, one should multeras betore The se.cond kind.IFe garlandol dheanis B at a rrrooesl , o'slance lronl oihirnsel.strghtjy rr hiqnerIna" h msetf uponlhe .-roon hearto, lhe derry Ine generaled lronl.Wh.le In .nnatinq. he d,rracrs thatIrnoon and garland]rnro h,mse and rrans,ers into rt -,9 own hearl.He dweJts il wt tlemulle.tng. lo'lgas he does on ds nor rerease breadth; when he exhates his bul the w nd, he is t; Inaglnetnallhe moon.alongwithlhe garland ol ohalrni,is emtl_ Ieo logelher wilh the wrndand then rs statroned the heartof In lhe god in lront. Againin thesamemannefas berore lraosfers he rl Inlohis own hearl, ll'. Mune ng while dwetting on the sound of the sy abtes Firstone distinc{yrecallsthe four memberso, mutierlng. -. Ther wirhorldeeltng onthest^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, ,ather o^e oweJls bLl on lFe toneol Ihe sound ot that dhatani at lhe lime onesetirs recfrng [. This rite ofdwelljng the toneolthe dheranj on invotves both menlal recitationand whispefedfecitation.The commenlary(Toh_ 2670)lon the Dhyenoftara]stateslhat one cannor emptoywhrs_ pered recilationwhjle restrainingthe prana-ayama; [lhe wo:k) explarns sequencejn out|ine way:iirstone p;dorms the lhis th; wn spered'ectatio. when,dufingthal lhe [recrtat.on]. m,nd is nol dlslracted,lhen one reslratnsthe pr;r,a j yema. petlotmj-|g lhe mental recitation

ng in Accord lo the commentary, the first case (l', lhe first and objects: god,the moon, the k nd).lhere are three meditalive garland; the second kid),there n case(l',the second lhe dharani ir objecls: moonandthe dhercni-gatland: the arelwo meditative object: the sound lhird case(ll ). thereis onlyone meditalive lhe A by lol lhe dharanr,. singlepersonmust proceed lhesethree (Toh.805) tellswhal shoud The lilth chapter the Subeh./ ol be done at the time ol multering: While multerng,one shouldbe neilherhurried Ne ther too loudnortoo ow, Ne Iherspeaking distracted, nor Nord sregarding upper and owervowel signs, the lhe anusvera,at lhe visarga. lascivious, and The one whosemind is slothJul, unvirluous, it dislracted, Whenever and wherever maywander, Thenand thereirom mustquickly he lurn il back And apply it to the excellent syllablesollhe mantn dhArani. (Toh. 807) says that at lhe lime of FLrrlhermore, the Susddhl muttering. whenone s in lhe phaseof dwe lingupon a god,and lo so lorlh.allhough therebe olherexcellent objects upon whrch dwe , one shouldpay no attenlron them. lo pfosperity, recites and lncreasing one In rtes ol appeasing y: to The periodsof ersure and in terrlbleriles,audible others. recilation as lollows: fullwatchin the morning al nighi; and a are wilhera half,a third,a a haliwatchal duskand at dawn;al noon, lourih parl ol a watch, evena briel recitalion. is preterable It or lo fol ow the rec tation with brunt ollering fhoma). Fegardingthe numberot recitations, the Susiddhisays: In general, lherebe of syllables il The numbers lilleenol fewer, ol timesl One musl mutter leachsyllablel100,000 it is said Up lo lhiriy-two syllables,

ol Fundarnentals lnitiation The mutlering musi be lof the entire tormula] done30,000 timesi When the syllabes morethanthat, are Do the pretiminary service the enlirelormula] [of 10,000 times. rt rs not necessaryto do the recitationlor any other Jdeityl L'esrdes Lord. the When duringthe recitalion one becomesdrowsy,yawns, sneezes, coughsaloud,breakswind,or feels an urge to ease nalure,elc., he immediately sets aside hls chaplet, nterruDls makesabtutions. slartsagar- tron lhe beq.nJlheservicel. and ni-g or lhe coL-1. Whal has beel rectled oe.ore ooes not co;nr Moreover, the Suslddhlleachesthal il througn naoverlenceone maKeslhe recitalion anolherdeityand has appealed him oi to menlally, recommences muttering; he his also, lhat rf one is oppressed inimicat by spirits or plaguedby disease,slothlul. careless, fatigued body and mind;if he has transoressed in lhe lrmessel lor lhe nlual,is Lncontrolted. mrtrerswttr an rmpure mrnd,has had an evjtdreamlhe nightbelorebut nol rectted a hundred limeson the iotJowing the dharani the Masterof day ol lhe Family, muflering not co!nt in the recitation. his do Furlhermore, lhe same work statesthat il one reciteshalf in one location andhallsone whereelse,though compleles whole recita_ he the lron,it is all to no ouroose. The timesol the watches as follows:The are morninq interval 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- minuteperiod,j/4 ot a watchl. 45 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_ merged lhroughhalfthe nighl.The period lromlhis ha f_way point lodaywhen hali lhe sun dlsk has emerqed calledihe second ts nleryallof night]. N4idnight onwardin the lime for tefiibterites,such Jsiddhisl as rnvisibility, the cemetary and riles;whilein otherperiods one pedormsthe appeasingrites,etc.,as is explained Iby'Varabodhi]. lirnes than the estab_ Fl explainsthat recitationsmade al other do walches not count' tlshed "Lucid Exposition One shoulddo just as quoied in lhe (Toh 3066) byVarabodhron te commentary Taaisainaya)lie the Susiddh4i wilh recrtalroni the one mustcomplete mullering protect by dolng il permanently Then times lwentY_one The multering ol lvotherand Master the Family To the and are ol N,{others lhe threeFamilies Locaana' Pandara The MarmaK/ fiemberc of muttering G) ferminating acts to the four 'r!' 'lhe Ihe '{dv rr w'lc_ o_e co'rclJdes {our r'le.rbes ol d' u r-"'no r- o offe'hls lools ol meril lhusatamdnaran'ilat '",-" by meansol lhe sda'o' h' oerly s,ddhrlorhe ,ft"t|o I ask (kalasa'mudra) have let the Thosewhosavthatwiththisseal chap is ollered aller fi'r5hr"glhe eclalron However, .n, -,ro"o ts".,.''e.rtVl. _or be rr LonI ol lhe de ty lor rr sho!rd 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: -" "n.,ltt'o" J rno olrer npe'leclio-s ol lhe sarv" o as!o's "",, ,," the deilyaway,and so iorlh 'Hav steps ol nq reciledlor the maln part of lhe watch'the inreverse release aitne im t oi the watchare lhis:One release the i" which six gods were contemplaled' orl-Jr in"."qr"""" to obiectin the soundot the dhalanlbernqreThe medilative ihose' oJ on bV c ted is released dwelling the lellers lhe 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 booy ing onlyol ones own divine by thinkrng rs Thal div ne bodyoi Sell Generation released'rng o' l*e ,"" a"' ,"'"a n rls hearl:thar' n lJr' by dwe edsFBodvoi ""1. "' ;;;r;" '".'; n rJ'n ov dwe|inson rhe K"ow

158

Chader-8

ol lialion Fundamentals ln

159

the god; lhal,in turn,by dwelling the Dharma-kaya.turn, on ln unsupporled lhat,oneshould by dwellontheSellRealtV 1'ahalallvaJ. Ihal. In lurn,rs released lhinkrng l1e [/laluratron oy ot Body (vipeka-keya)which appears an illusion, as mirage, so and torlh. Having summarized steps by those meditative oblects, f! nally isequipoised he invoidness (sunyalal.Thereupon, because the emerges the fashion an illusion, in oJ event ihe timeof al giving the watch, should releasehis hotdon divine up he not procedureequivalentto unificationthe phase egaly.This is the n ol theAnuttara {Tantral. Thereupon readsa Prajiaparamita one blood, establishes a stupa,and so on- l oreover, everyday offerlng the vesselsare washed, flowerofterings ihreetime sweptaway, upperandother robes three limespraised washed, sensed, sprinkled and or or lwithholywalerI. When muttering, making burni the offering, making offer lhe ings [Jor s/ddh4, elc., he musl always wear the upperrobe, exceptlor the lime of sleepingand reclining; musl not reand move lower his robe allow to be soiled nor it v/ithdusl, exceptlor thelrmeol sleeping washing. and He musltie a knotin a threaci spunby a ungin (kanyA) and dyed wilhtherediuice llhe Salflower. o orwith alllron. recites He athousand limes,Omahara alhaabadhane sukradherani siddhal the svaha'("Om.Maythe retainer semenwilhhold, ol withhold, while thefeatirring efficaciousSraha"), binds is I and threadl Jthe on his loins night.This protects at agajnsl semjna emiss on. (2) MEDITATIONWITHOUT MUTTERING Thishasthree sections, namely. exposilion ofthe meditation ot dwelling thetlarne, in exposiiion ofthemedjtationdwellino of in thesound. exposnion the medrtation ng treedo;at and ol grant thelimit lhe soundot (a) Medilatlonof dwelllng in the flanre Whai type o, personhasthis conlemplalion The one who ?

gods has contemplationof lhe six come to the limil ol lhe has

*:fiitTjj": ".*'ltlh;iti:,',:i,:'"[i::ffi :"r*'::#fi g "ti: luill"^:;u !:+:T1""{::i

,""fut "t ol whale tn" tone ol the sound

::#li.l' ^ i*;, :; - ::l* ru;"":ffi",'l,"lilH,T': 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' l#l#+ ;1i ;;g :":lii ?i3':i;"il;ny#"J ;; ":::li

1""""1i" """"tal, t *t'aherlherecrlalron
n P 'arre in the ohaseordwerr'ns rf :: :;J,;;.'lt't;;i;;r'o' case is alsolikethePresent

i;'T:'" i;;:*r lur;: -;:;: :ir:i{:11;;

,""[:::lll;:::,::";li'.T"i::,:?":J:[':: ol essence ones own rnrno'

iH'"::'-;;;;';h; '' "inl For lollows: to *ving come thelimit is as

""',11""i, lT jF#f": ::::"iJ?illlili ] :ll:::"::* i:ill ll: m borhl:i,'lj ::ii""',mu onHil andl,:?:'l;-:lli hre sourd' n'rnd
",^"0'o "'

r60

9!apt."a

of Fundamenlals lnitiation and r",ind Seal (naha-mudrA),speechas Incantalion @herana), as Really (lattva). Body as the Great Seal:This is the conlemplalionol the six gods.

ff *#,Hiliilfl *.ir"i n"{",,&.fi iiirl,,irl

**'Is ] ano ama'|ha ;:r"-,*,;lr,,:r#[l,lfi
(c) Meditation granling freedoh at the timit o, the souhd

,"i'";:g;$[q##*1,lii+#i**tf li:fr in ir:#ilJFqi:q:b:il:ffi

r;

This is the medilaliveobjecl in lhe Speech as lncanlation: of and ihe meditalrve soundsot lhe syllables the Incantalion, in obleclin lhe tofrn ol the syllabies, the phaseof meditalion wilh mutlering. However, mainparlis lhe medilalive the allended in objeclin the soundsot lhe Incanlalion the phasesof medila iion of dweling in the flame and meditationol dweilingIn the Mndas Reality'-fhisis [the lhfee lhings, v/2.]the medLla of and I ve obiectn the Realrty lhe mind,lhe yogawiihoutsigns, lhe limil of the medtationof dwelling lhe sound.Becauseil in of whichis the basisol consttules lhe contemplation voidness with the Dharama-kayaal asubsequenllime, it granls the alfilialion which the freedomoi lhe Dharmakrya, thusis the medilation and granlslreedomat the limit ol the sound. fhat being so, those lhreeare denlical. lhe onswithsigns Evenwhenone reaches limitot lhe mednal that eradicates rool ol lhe he s slill withoutlhe basicantidoie lhe For eradicating rool Ihe'cycleoi lransmlgration' /samsara). ol samsen. onc must have lhe yoga wiihout sg rs (animiltayoga).In the latter one any conlemplalion, doesnot contemplate convenlional aspecl,such as lhe body ol a god, bul conlem plates skilled the in lo through becomlng according the precepls analysingconlernplation (dpyad sgom) and ll'e stoppage con_ \emplali'or (hpg sgom) of voidness.ll throughones own powel ol contemp one rs ableto atlraclIn actualtly ationin lhat manner, lhe com_ lhe physicai one accomplishes and mentalcalhritic, p ele characteristics HigherVislon. ol (3) AccoI\,IPLISHMENT SlDoHlAFIER OF APPROPFIATE SERVICE

il+*TffiTtrfiHffi,:rll*rnT

;*

*iq-1ffi*li;..1#;"',, ifr g;tp j*ill;inft j;

;iffi *l:l;ijil,r,

:;;:Ht::,i;::;i;;";;:';i#"J:"',1';:'?ffi ::fJ

nli:fu* :iilfiiti[il"l;.#,:"J;#

itll:;$it:ilgfi td]#i4t$j"":,iffi

division thal beloreone ac_ It is the methodin allfourTantra complishes rites[called] Prosperity, Terrble, and Appeasing, the

r62

ChapleFs

F u n d a . n e n i a Lo i l n l r a l r o n s

163

with [lhe r allendants/ddhl, lhe vareties]Insght. ,protonga of 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 s/ddhls al/aying nessand allating the ol il 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, Terrbe r tes (Ka.nta)are and accompis' ad ,n llal otder oy, .e<oect !Fty.t.! ratFdgdid fd1 r,) .he L H r o r r d f a - r \ n d t h . V a , . d d . t ) r !I.n r n - r d r l - o r o . . u l . d c cornprshessuperior. middting, tower s/ddr,s Moreove.as and n each ol the lhree Famtieslhere are at lhree ol lhe s/ddhls cn led superiofmlddt and ower, we as a lhreeot lhe ltes ng as cal e.lAppeasing, Prosperily, lerrible, pe ormsthe three and one r les ol Appeasing, by rneans the Masterol the Family. elc ot Vlother lhe Famiy.and Wralhful of One ot the Fanriy respe; lrvey n eachol the Fanriles. Thereare manyways ol distrbutingthe s/.ronls amonglrre , threec asses Ctass lied according theirnal!re,.w sdomholclto tng tvtoya dhata).supernormattac! lies (abhUne). antl pe ecl conrprehens ot the s aslras on (techn lrealses),are superior. cat nv s b lity,vrgour, swiftness ioot,are m ddlng Subject and ol ng olherslo ones wil. kiling,and Ifighlening. tower are Classit by therr ed omens, threetypesocur afterbtazrng the suDslance,s nq smoke, r and warrnth C assfied by thetrbases,there are lhe s/ddh,sof lone,s ownJbody.of Inluat] subslances, oi possessions and lbhoga.). Classfledby lheipronounces, thereare Incantaltans _ @harana) oflhenobiity (Arya), the gads fdeyaJ, ot the earlh-bouncl at and A though lhe bestower slddh;be h ghestrank.he rnay ol of even grant ower s/ddhl because one who accomp shesd/d the nor servew(h the proper exeriion. on serveswe I, lhen even lf a rowranking deily. having pelitroned oiher[higher ranking ones],

grantsuperror siddh' rnaY

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 "]a r rc;tuhpati'aotli avBJddhisls olo"n i"JrJJ',J '

ng ad n'noo 'iche5 croth and50on hF shoJrd t_eoOra a-c;;t the accomplishmenl exerl h msellloward phaseol yoga that explains whenone is in the The Susjddhr T illerr'ga'd conlcn' ^r ,.. ^o N rhp-eare lhe omFnslhal h 5 'ron rrnessoJ hJnse' lreolon Fedinqrrrlrnq ;l.i;;-;".". ^rnoLs {rerds) goodd'Pars q;edland:Itong ,t" ;'.;r;"'".".' r'rrer'rs ns:s'brera' to ";";;;;:;;;,"";;,aorLrodur';srhe earns applcatlon acqu r ng odors, ioJJ"i".ion oi fragranl lhe toward delly deep reverance m-eril, 0e ol the explalns causeslor deparlure lhe The Dhyarotlra bv o scor''rrJ'p hLnqpl , ,^ ;; ';... tackoi,a,rh,s,ornl.rrnesq do jbl: 'o'1!PIn'_qI_o . o .r'r"'o. aow.lhaarledness d "lo1',,'- . r t r n , r o n r o w a - d k e r r u l l e n g d n o r r e o i l a l o n e l i q n ' r ,,. a., denoric obses(o- rhedroa-r n'J i" i o'on ou"CpJ'sL ls ro' ao' " n: a^d so on and exora hP cd 'se ;.";' ;;. ;;;; hdlr'd .o Jl crdving .'".r" ri"'',1 o"uv oe l_e'e : Ihe alay49 m nd

elepha-ls rrounlairs "S""o nuns)l: ir'po.rr'"^J,no -onksland

:i;:: ;;";ii ;

;;;;

oithe dwerrins the and continuous

(E

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Chapter-9

I herearetwoparls:thevarielies lheTantras, method ol and lhe ol studying stepsof the path. a , The varieties ot the Tenla The chief ol all Tantrasof the Carye Tantraclass is the By Mahevairocana-abhisanbodhi-tanta lloh. 4941. whom was it preached, where? lt waspreached and byVairocana, Bodyof the ( Enjoyment sanbhoga-keya) lhe VictorS'ekyamuni, ol complete by lhelakeof thesnowy range theAkanislha in Ghanavyirha the ol ( wordlyrealms /okadhalu) are calledKusumatalagarbhalankara (Toh.4)6)i am extensice statedin the VajaFAny-abhisekalantra desciptionis foundin the BuddtAttatantsaka(toh.44, chapter eight). There, OOO3worldly l ot realms the lourcontinents of conslilute a 1OOO3 realms. OOd 1 sysiemcalledl/iAtltsaftl,lAdhas vtorldly of ihosetaken togelher a single ar medium es.1OOO3those se of Iakellogelher a single 1OO(pot are wide-spread senes. those taken logether are an aftay (vytthal of worldly realms Kusumatalaga.bhalamkara. takes everything. That in ThislMahavairocana] is a Tantra lheTathagata Tantla ol Family.lld6scribesthree z,anda/as, beginning theoneinwhich with lhe laceol lhe Lordis turned toward Westgate- (thethree) the consti(kuAgara) tuling intha mandalaol lhreetiersoJthesloried-palace Vairocana.3 Thereis alsoa TantEContinuation, which,however, describes t\ivomandalas. only NoTanlrasof the Padma Familyin the CaryaTantraclass have been translated Tibelan. into In lhe VajraFamily, there is no controversy the concerning Vajapdnyabhiseka-lantra 496). Bul such works as the (Toh. Nildmb EdhaIa'vajtij. pani-tartra (Toh. a 498)andtheVairapat?rla-tantra (Toh. 499)wereviewed withsuspicion Bu stonRinpo cheand by olhers,

Fundmenlals lhe CaryaTanlra ot b. Method of studying the steps of the path glvenior lhe sake of Thereare lour parts: niliation( abhlseka) making one a lit receptacle ntense lor contemplation lhe path: ol puri calronoi lhe vows (samvara)and pledgeslsamaya): ptocedure ol prelimrnary servrce( pirrva'seva)alter berngcornmi[edlo the pledge;mannerot accomplishings/ddhlsaller aptiludein lhe service.The first two parts becausesharedw lh the Kriy:rTantfa, fiavealready beendiscussed. (1) PROCEDURE PRELIMINARY OF SERVICE AFTERBEING PLEDGES COMMITTEDTOTHE There twophases:Yoga rmagesiYoga are wilh withoutmages. TheI rsl ol lhese s lhe yogaof thedeiiynol governed voLdness; by the second,lhe yoga oi the deity governedby voidness. lloweve( one shouldnol conlemplate only voidness,becauseone does nol becorneaBuddhabymerely conlemplating voideness: is explained il lhal one does nol accomplish both s/ddhlsby meansof the Yoga w tho!t mages.Moreover, someoneenactsthe contemplalion il oJ pror to lhe contemplalion Yogawrlhimages, voidness ol wilhlhat a one he doesnotpassinloYoga withoul images. (a) voga with images (saninitta-yoga) This has two sections:l\rutlering, consislrngol lour external membersi Mullering, consist ot fourinternal ng merrbers. Mutleing, consisting of tour extemal members Oneconlemplaies inseparabilitythe'SeI RealIy'lalnathe ot laflva)pahr- whereinoneconcludes that one s own mindis voidol lntlnslc nalure ts yabha .siddhl, homlhe Deiy Rea|ly (devaL' va laltvaFwherein one [concludes lhat]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 Vairocana with one tace and two hands,makinglhe seal of equipoisefsarapatlimudAl, his goldgarland seated a cushionol co oredbodywrapl bya blazing and on

r69

a white otus and a moon.He has headornaments and chignonand galb ol silk.This the'Subjecis is aitred n upperand lower monk's lw Gtound'l bdag gi g2l:) lt is also calledthe'momentaryreproductionrisen ( abhyudlta)'. Thereuponhe conlemplates Tathagata, himselt, tfont the like in of himself. Thls is the OqecliveGrcund'\ glan gyi gll. The intense contemplalion his own mrndin the shape ol a of moond wthin the ffathageta'sl sk heartis the'Ground lmmersed 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 holding mindon lhe deity.While his reciting mentally musl he bindlhe pdnaand ay:lma in ihecaseot lhe KriyaTanlra.The as recitalion lo be made100,000limes. is Mutle ng, consisting ol lour intemal members Fromthe sphereof the void, one generalesas beJore deity] [a 'hc Vrcror a<yarruni hom a1yot lhe fourlette's A, Am, A1. A. or S This is the'SubjectiveGro!nd'. lt is taught that in lhe heart of lhat moon-disklike a miror with [deiiy] he imaginesan unblemished two surfaces.He lixes lhis atlention]on it, contemplating own his body until he sees il as lhe body of lhe deity. He inienselV contemplatesVairocana the moon,as described on is betore.This the 'Objeclive Ground'. In lhe hearl loi Vairocana]he imagineshis own mind in lhe shapeoi a moon-disk.This the'lmmersionin lhe heart'. is of On il he imaginesthe syllables the dtArari . This is lmme. and the binding sion in Sound'.Here,too,thetwo kindsof recilalion ptdna andeya\ma lhesameas belore.Recilalion to be rs ol lhe are performed 100,000 limes. (b) yoga without imeges (enimitta-yoga) This rs lhe habiiualionin lhe decisive knowledgethal concludesthroughhighercognitionthal allthings { saNadharmh)ate void and not isolaled,as regardsaccomplishment intrinsicnaby

( conlemp atrons the ol The srgnature"/ag 4:es) that/ntense of the lr,rnsfrguratron bodyol thedeilyon the manaslacel ylda) as mages. the belorethe eyes allerreaching imitoiYogawrlh lhouqh thalbr ghlness in by Andlvhenhe coniemplales themanner whrch pa)wrthout eav appearsonyonlhebuddht-sdeblokhaphyogs I to ol n! rt and the bodyof the de ty appears be 1ke the rlusron a the siLcs vo d accumu on.he s ableto attract competecharacle. at ol h ghervson ( v/pas)r,r) inYogawlhout rnagesls contemplatron The melhod inlense of lloh.494) 1n explainedntensively the aboveway by the Vanacana as !,rel as n lhe concisecommentary(lhe Pnde rtha Iatr 2662) w Moreover, is consrslent lh the l'4edhyamika il by Buddlrag!hya IN (2)MANNER ACCOI]IPLISHING AFTEFI APTITUDE OF SIODHIS THESEBVICE to In th s Tantra s sel lorthlhal by lakingrecourse -axterna it nrateaalssuch as the sword I khadga), one acconrp shes the so i stddhl khadqa-vidyd-dhara,and lo(h; lhal by contemplatrng the waler, fire, andwind mandalasal r posrtLons iflensely earth, the Increas lhe ol wrth lhe body, accomp|shes rites Appeasrng, n one Manjusiialld so lorlh lhose rq. afd so lorth:that by evoking ( -onll s_adl,rrrr. and Bodhrsaltvas louchones head.or say "Excel rppearl' al thal J thev appear the conclsron ol recilng Appear. lvllnd En iqhterrment ot orreobtans the samadh/Theunlorgotlen ng AndtheTantra a ns manymethodsolaccomplshsudrsrddhrs exp

Cha Pte r-1 0

of Fundamentals the Yoga Tantra

Cha p te r-1 0
-r
melhodby w h c h l h e Y o q a W h e eo l I lrcrare two parls:the .h-c Law rJassel n rfol on I lrre method a. Method by which theYoga wheel ol the Law was set in lest Complete Buddha ol S nce lhe mothod becomng a lvlan to school hasalready beef according lhe Yoga ::i/r,sr/rlrir./dhal nour lakeup lhe melhod wh ch lhe specralWhee by ir! 3 fe.l u/,a ol rhe Law ol Yogawas sel In motron. Heaven, does nol pro Va (xiana d,,,/el n lhe Akanislha ng possess ng he se!!herebecause is lhe sambhoga-kaya :ep. ,-r app :n: r !e .eria nlres But wilhlhe magical at |on I ntrnttalol a lour heads, proceeded lne he to vi, r..aria N rmina kayahavrng I sumnr 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 of the Bodhrsatlvas thcrrlasl -:. s lhronei s/rrhisana)lormed oi i. !rir.iha.lbeenlrafslormednlo lhe appearance lronsThen oi an(lthe Ike, f. look h s p ac- on a lhroneconsistrng e ephants who and lortrred the remarn iourTathagalas are Aksobhya ng by i. l.irllrand by the Bodhsattvasin the r as1lfe who had been '':.s'crnrtrdifto lhe appearance elephanls the Ike and ol T h . r e u p o n 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 h ot Taflra nc udlngthe Fundamenla Tantra a I theTantras the of / 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 .ta nT a n t r aw h c h c o n h ed s ( i'nr 1olr,ospeclvel sectlons cha mlhlr) lol the Iundamentar rslhe Arxrngthem. lundamenta lhe oneofa theYogaTanlras ( lnrlxrs,rnrqEha 479). lhatworklhe ll 1a summary /rdara) (Toh In s ro!!sVi rocana having perfection thetwogoas ( a.|hai. ol as lhe T i rii,r,p. genefales desre lo altain lhat lhem Assumin!l llh-o rt lhe lesir..lirnsbeenqererated, of the subsequent Tanlra leaches all lh! ntr,: rs ol reaizifg thosegoalslo be atlarned, lhe F!nda and

174

.---.<

thapteFj0

Ei nd-manr) \ ol rn-. /ooa Tollrr

rnenla Tantrateachesthe commonmeansot accomplshingmLlndane and suprarnundane s/ddhjs. Furthermore, ihat work his four sections,namely, (1) Diamond{orThunderbott) Reatm( yalra_dhelu); (2) Victoryover the ThreeWo ds I tritokyavtjaya.)l (3) Training LivingBeings ( jagad wnaya); the (4) Achievng the ObjecriveI siddheftha). The text containsthe expressions ,Tathagata,' ,,Talh and agata _ Family"( tathAgatakuta).,Tathegata'stands lhe f iveTarha;ala tor 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'sattvas and so fonrh the otherro lr Fan lt.s. oi 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 sJbouing Vatra the Famrty. wh,chis Ah"ob-ya:s Farri y: he Padma Fam;ly. wnicn Amiabha Famr'yitt Rdtna is s e Fa.nrty Iuliillng desires the olthe living beings, whichis Ratnasambhava,s The faci that the Fundamental TantraonJydescr|beslour, a! though lhereare fiveFamilies, expJained Buddhaguhya a is by as merger ol action \karmal and age ( karaka)since rt has the Ral^a La.n'lyIn lhe senseol the agenl thar acconpt,snes lhe w\hes ol lie r,vi']g beingsand has the K"r.r" Fafi.,ty in.he senseot lhe aciionlhat doesso_ That Tantra has a Tantra Continuation( uttaratanlra) and a Conlrnuation the ConlinualionI uttarattara). ol Continuatjon expressed sakeol the highest was for .TheTantra candjdalewho delightsin the yoga of inner samadhl.tt expJains exlensively means of accomplishing highest sAdhls that the the are menlionedin the four sections;and it explainsin a way that supplementspoinls not adequatelycovered [in the Fundamental Tanlral. The Conllnuation the Continuation expressed of was forsub-

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_< nno samddh 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 supple way that 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

point. tnnt ua"qrately covered in the Tantraand lts Con_ .,,.-"nt" linual onl. d laiddownin lhe fourTanlra vl thereare two methods No\,!.
t\hva sJcnds bdlh'_g ' 'd_ nq 9lo - na re V a!!q a.lontbAhta w'< er . rno ",",1og" "onvatma-yogatlhal\tyald_lta I v r n e v d r 5 o d e i g h ri - o u r ' l w ";;,..d '. .Ld,r;g rhecand,oale\ ;r1 , . , ' . l o r 5 u b d _ r g l Lc . w '. ,_. C" Va Ianlra was exo-esseo and tnneryoga candidates who delight ir praclicing outeraction

lor a"uart" fn" VogaTanlrawas expressed subduing r y o g aa l ' n n e ts a n a d n w t a , " ."ouuio a r e " w ' o o t t g ; l n l n e 'rno 'n"oto"tuo tonlra lor 5uoo ring rnl q.ri"i, iog" f"nt'"-'t t"" " lhe candldateswho delighlln tnneryaga' that ol lhe to ls lh s contradiction the second exposition Tantra-expounded the Yoga of Contnuaton of the Continuation who delighl in ouief aciion ? To of the canciidates i., in" ol ihe candidaies lhe "ll" answertle questionwe notethal among _rghest ca'd date ca redl-F' ewe li\' '" tre 1,,1,,a,trr,n" prodL' " hav.iq a'r,vedat re lrrrilol tne slepq ol ;;.;;'-;;" 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,ddhrs Thereare 'l o a," ar obla rr'g ILe .r'.."", " " ol i " " o ' o " " ' u " " " . o n ' ' . 1 _ ; { o L r c l a s s e so e r s o n s c d l ' e d ' w ' i l e <o o lh who nav'nga'vFd at the lln ol lFe io*. it" "no as sucl_ lhe e g-l o {,"". ., ptooucr , seehlne con.ro'r srddhrs ror (inds ol candrdales ILe re'ce Ihorea c lwo .li"t a* ". lrerear'aso J l o o " ' , r o a " . r , t o f , ' d l T a _ l ' al ' l h e s a n e w a v rorll-Fh gh goal " 'r.i .no rneo'd'naf amongthe canodales "i v"Ll"",* "i wr'en rre toprcrs Ine sLbdu''g ol Ino ctsie{ r"" rs no ldiscr-s''o_ "i to i ro"q I"; c"noioates the hlgl'goar'lhere ls no drscfepancv' ones Hencethere ofl su;duingthe ordinary sectjonsrefertoiour dillerentpersons'or Doesthis pathof {oLlr guidance a single ol phasesin the sequeniial 1" i;;iil";;nt

176

Chapter-10

ol Fundamentals lhe YogaTantra

177

thirdone, delusron(moha)orwayward views ( m,lnya-drsti);thecanddate ol the lourlh, avance lmatsatya). For lhis reason,there are lour diflerentsenes (samtana)ol Dersons.

o1.tl:."gg.n rg.."ction a preponderancxe kaga)i has ottusr :l:u]: rhe candidateolthe

person ? The great commentaryon lh6 Sri-paranactya \t.e. the 5n-paranadya ditikd, Toh. 2512 by Anandagarbha)states thal rne.recrter and evokerof the live Tathagalashas a good nalure ano acls wrlnthe lhe lhreepotsons equalparls;lhe evoker in ol rhe talhagata Famity a preponderance tust(ra9a):the has ol can-

Tanlral Yoga sectons thFundamental lol with aoreeinq thevanous w h thatoi Initial , i.'.it'" .'*in .r'tn",nt"e samddhis beginning dtaani'md'tdatadhanp' i,i.'i"o. Llr";" on""* a ftr,ta'flr:d,ala' 'ii.iZiili,n words Inother

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;_ nalron lh teacher by Buddhaguhya. same commentarymatchescorrespondentially tour the _ ,The Bodlesr/taya), svab,5a vipaka-,sambhoga-.andnrmenathe va-, iayas. wrth the Famrties lhe four seclions In the g|ve order. ol ll likewisesels in correspondence lour knowledg". j/lona,f_rh" the '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 perlectron strivingfv,.rya_ of pa.am,la) thegiveorderThis in expositon madet,omlhe sl;nopoinr is ol lhe lrurtlo be Obtained Accordingto this procedure,alllour Familiesare requiredfor lhe attainments olthe individualcandidatesleach in one Familyl. Therelore. the candidate who acts in equat parts mtjust be a candtoate lhe seclions ot underlhe 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 lflJrrphanl mandala. and triumphanl r,tLal acl. each have three -nooes devetoprnent. or namely. exlended. average, and concise Agarn,the lhree extendedsamadh,b each have lour classes

of opment the threesanadhrs' eachhave lour classesacThe three average sam?rdhis lhe eachw h its own seal (mudrb) al a t-n" ".rai"" each"*r."a. ol the lov fiandalas phase;{ accoro_ eachhavefourclasses sarrtrdhis Thelhreeconcise at the phases wilhit sownseal(mud'a) i;;;;;;;;' """h "" a singlemandara of lfoh 2'lo by Anandagarbha) to Acc-ordrng the Tattubtoka of lhe lour Families lhe lour sec oelween tr'" and Body(kaya) the Greal as lollows: "o"rii"poio"n""a r"rt i1."". seal{samava""a" "re(c'?a)andthe Symbohc ""iii" rurind i"""i i"r#--ra.f nd and (virgr) lhe Law seal (dl'?rrma-mudra) i]rJii.-so*"n

manda'a tc.tma inZ,-.'.tndata and ol or rrs classes ihe mode dever' has ::1ffiii;;;;-.;."s

seat lkarma'muora) and i'ili,"i|Ji r"i'"; r*i;ma) theAction are ro rhe sears made core' and tour ;ii":l;; ';;;;;ti;"s
spondin the givenorder' (mudriJcot' and lourseals th" Moreouer' lov mandalas th mandatas beginning lhe^lour g':"" i'oer' because *"JlJoi"ii" EodYMind speech ano ,,"''ifii." rn"n"-L-arr" lav skess on Amilabha Aksobhya ol iltirv",[r" o"u* . *" tamilies Varrocana and in the otherlwo Families Realmsectronlor In_ in the Allhouoh mandaia the Dramond Fami!it rs own

ol *".lil'ii,"".i"" tii" creatsealo{Bodv its lheorhers and lnind' seatot ^are it'-"svtuotic -i^ ;'iffi;;;; ol thelourSealsone

seals ol applying ''"""^' ^tt waY "o"afs lmanda/asjin same the ii.i JnJ",it"norrt"orher hESpeech' isemphasized;but ol the Moreover' Body Vairocana so arenotlacking' oneapplies-seals v.i'.i"iiiut"rr"r"iction is ol Aksobhya emphasrzeo ns"'n lhe lvlind ,li'ii"l"r"J""L r^ are Actron alsoprese^r' Marvellous i"ir']" e;,0"1;*i nrs arearso bul ol speech Amitabha' there 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

::t1.:ff #1T.,J"":: tiil[{tiiTrf j,"lt",:;:::;::.i:::;-"" B,, .,.,o,a l"^

;T':r;:li::": I: i;ii l":i', .*',,..i,:-"i j,*_;*:;:

-;;1""!:i:';::;;i'"""" ::;" " : ":
il .,, F ornprehends h,r r va.relres oh d

,n :ui;:,m*i5*1ru ru i:*i; :,:: #:;li,t"#

Body Mrnd and t\4arveltous Actron ln
ThF

musl be br elly d sclssed. b- Method of studying the steps of the path ol Th s has lrve parls: meanrng lhe expresionfo!r sea s i sealsi and requiremenl benelt ol appLylng var elres sequencel ng seals. ol and mellrod apply SEALS' (] ) IllEANING THEEXPBESSION'FOUB OF with of meanrng impressing seals:21 not OneshouLcl overlookthe aliono1a god The mpres' melhodol lntenseconlemp Its the n s o n w l h l i r e s e a s o i l h e l o u r s e a l m u s l n o 1t r a n s g r e sls a l (2)VABIETIES Herelhereare the seas. (a) GreatSeal,(b) SymbolcSea . lrre lherear_o lhreeseals' rclLawSea idlAclonSeal, Moreover' (l) Sealof the palh ol puntl re) sea ol Ihe sphereol p!rLflcation, cat on, (gJSealo' lhe lruitol pur ficaton The sphete of Puritication of 1o ln regarcl lhe Sea oJlhe sphere purficalon.the or dnary are. In lhal order lhe ch e1 body.m n.l. vo ce. and lher.condLct spheresol puf{catronfor lhe Greal Seal.Symbo c Seal Lavr S e a La n dA c l o n S e a l a 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 r e n l h a t o r _ pur ficalion the lour sea s, lor of Cer .orrr.aled \\,th the spheres i D e g L n n rw gh t l r eG r e a lS e a l T h e r e a s o no r l h a t s a s l o l o u / s : nl ol !v lh preponderance lusl elc lvere prevouslylhe candidales dalesol lhe iolrrsea s were sei as correaied n sequence cand oroer' n n corrspondencethe proper lire.andw nd.are cor waler. earth, Aga n. lhe foufelemenls, The reason oi w th the spheres p!nfrcation re aled In lhal order io lows:thelour Sealshavebeen placed ncorre ior that is as and rn lhose of vlilh the Families the iour sections; spondence is lour Fanrles Vairocana the perteclpurilyol earlh a ksobhya puriiyoi fire.and lh purilyol water, t,rbha perfect Am lhe perf-acl

;.J:ji:::":"5iil:J'"n

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o.,nd i : .::t":"";.;:;i: t::::i":i:: f,,t:. -" d\v,, ..e ",: o,.,,"-,.",.,n",.i-;:"" ;.; :irj'r:::;:".', ","*" ;,;;
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t80

ro 9Epte,.
Ano.Jhasrddhilhe perfect pufilyoi wino. The path of purilication

F ! . d n r n e r t l a o i l h e Y o g aT a n l r a s

l8l

l";ii :;:"1"" r1::;;$; r5;'" l:" :11 :";:"

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ilmonsrheparhsbeq nnrn

Ine.llo af se ns handsyrnbos fhasl c/hral [as.e g lhuderlroll foose (pasa/ etc I. The sea ol the external syrnbo ng iz iy:rll:rt. in a!tefl rs llie handgestureexecLrted conlormrty lhal Ihand wilh symboI Tho sea ol Ihe inlernalsymbolzing agenl,s m! tane oLrs th thal. s the conlemplal ol onesej as the de ly and the w on non (i scursve kfow edgeIn h m. irnagrned aflseas handsynr lo In lh.' c.rse c,flhe Law Seal. the symbo|zedobleci s rfre de 1ynnd h s srxlye egances 01 vo ce whichexpress 84.000 lhe doclrnes ldharrral. Thesealol lhe exlernal symbol zingagefl s lhe do ty an]:l arrangement sy lables the of rn conlemplaled hrnrn s!ch , aces as lhe longueand throat. The seal ol the internal s y m b o r z n q 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 . a rred the ars ng In h m ol v vid phonemes. I The fruit of purification rr regar.l to the Sea oi lhe lruii of purfrcaton, one core iiileslhe8ody. Mr.d SpeechandMarveilous Aclion lheiru lona oi phasc n fcguar order wilhthe Io!r Seas beginn w th the Greal ng Sea [4o.eover one correales lhe iour Knowedges{/n,rna) th !v thioLrr Scals regu In arorder, thereason lhefourKnowedljes ior lhal are cotrealed w th the four seciionsand the lour sectons are correaled w lh il'e lour Seals Furthermor, IoLrr the Bodres and lhe lo!r Seas are correlaled regular in order lor lhe reason lhal rhelorrrBodcs afe correlaled th lhe toursecl ons and lhe louI w secl 0ns are correLaled th the louf seals w (3)SEOUENCE One generates Symbolic the Berngfsamayasailya)anddraws ln the Knowledge ng jfrana sattva),lhen Be appleslhe sea s of lhe lour Seals.b!l not il thereis on y the symbolic Beingor only purposeol execuling sealsoi lhe Being.The lhe Knowledge the lour Seas s lo mergeand unily the Body.Speech.N,4 and nd. Acis ol rhe Knowledge Beingwith th body,speech.mrnd and acls of tlre symbolc Being. There wouldbe no toundal lor on nrergerI eillT werepresent ilsell. s Ls er by Th cornparable havlo ,fg bothSeliGeneralLon Generat in Fronl[inthe Kr ya and and on

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142

Chapler-10

YogaTantra Fundamentalso{ the

Carya. Tanlrasl. That silualion relerred by lhe Parantadya is to \foh.4AA) =,btadeyaL'overlord'lis impressed Whichevet adhideva I by someone's seal, Thetormeris lhe latter's Self-existence; (Toh.480)when andby thBajrasekhara il says: Oneshould avoidthe extreme ol Either'the uppermost' or'thelowef. Here'lhe uppermost the knowledge is Being;'ihe lower'is lhe symbolic Being. One shouldavoid applying seal an exthe i.e., side. lreme, to a single The schoolof Anandagarbha maintajns they are to b that madein the sequence, Symbolic Seal,Law Seal,ActionSeal, andGrealSeal.The schoolofthe two acilryasBuddhaghyaand u maintains thattheyareto be madein the sequence, Sakyamitra GrealSeal,Symbolic Seal,ActionSeal,and LawSeal.Thethesis ol the fattertwo acaryas has beendiscussed manypast by but leachers, the thesiswas nol understood. Someassedlhatwhalis mainlained thelwo atcAtyasli.e. by Buddhaguhyaand Sakyamitral untenable, is because "SupeF lhe yyirkhya (T. commentary" stodhgfel Toh.2501 , Anandagrabha's an Ihe Tattvasamgftha) lorlh ihai one accomplishes sets wilh the Symbolic Seal,arranges withthe Law Seal,allendslo marveilousaclionwiththe ActionSeal,andslabilizes the manner in (prat;sfha, lhe GreatSeal;andthat,moreool consecration with ver, eachdeitymustbe evoked way of all sixteen by ways:the process allracling'(akaEana),'dawfourSeals; fourhold the of ing in (ptavesanaI'tyand (bandhana), and suhduing'(vasikara): (abhiseka)and (puFl;both seal'(muda) bolhInjtiation otfering' and heart'(hrdaya);and both incantalion'(fiantra)and wisdom' (vidya). fhen they asserl that the position of the two ?rca/yasis untenable because sixleen the wavsarenoicomplele fin theirsystem]. Thoseassertions are When lhe relhemselves] untenable. "One marks, accomplishes theSymbolic with Seal", so lorth. and

made, we,e 1,1"1*^.il:g'lllil]9;:lll,lii"Y,i,;"; vvere rhey ;nor i.'.il':i*"::';::

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184

Chapler-t O

oi Fundamenlals the YogaTanva and tne Vafadava{Ioh 2516\ seouen.e,beLdusebolhthe Tantras 'ie any Seals arise lrom the lhudetooll sdv. All r-e Symbolc 'H"u'ngexecuted lhunderboll rtl tie"' thus lposit]ng as the rrv, of al lhe inception all SymbolicSeals' ih; causeadded thelrrun_ execule Somepersons,whie mulle ng "Vajrasatlva" therebythe eyes are blessed (adhisthna) derboltl e. and cld m ihal nal That is nol valid,because "Vairasaltva"is a dhAni Ior blesslor dharrani execulingihe thunde|bolttre no the eves, bul lhe 1s A;ording to the valrcdaya,"Vajradrsti" the dharaniior bless_ a lo if it werenot necessary execute thunder_ Thus, no the eves. be Seal,it wouldllkwise nol neces' eacn Svmbolic uo]ttle oifore " rani "Vairasatlva[but it is neces_ sarv to uller each lime lhe dhe lie one enactsthe thunderbolt whilemullerng Therelore, sar;1. ''Viiiasattva":and, gazrng withthe eyeof divineknowledge(rrlal]a '\/ajradstt mulj.,eting (or caisls) wh ch is theeyeblessed explored)by Being (i*na'sattva) the one seeswilh directperceplion Knowledge while mllleting "Vaiasaftva in dwelling tronl.Thereupon, Vairocana 'Om mullering a in one imaqines 6ackol Vairocana sun halo;and Vatadh;Ivisvarc" \'Om, the Lord of the Diamond Realm ), one "Jah"' and muttering Seal of Vairocana; the Symbolic executes 'Hum"."vam","Hoh"in lhal order'one respectively attracts,draws aboulnon_ bringing Beingl, Ln, ties,and subdues llhe knowledge Be'ng Then mulle" d-dlrv oelwecno^esellandIne Knowledge lvam aham \'o valrasallvayou rhe na val,.satleasamayas (garya.)in onesellthal s;bol a/n l').one bringsaboutthe'pride' non-dual. Beingare andthe Knowledge onesell those sea's asse'l lhdl Soma oer.ons who have execuled the sealsol alllhe iies, subse_ executing whenone has Iinished o-enlrv,or Ihe rroo_ In lhe heart of each ol lhe de lles lhe'e primordral lhunoerbolt Gd'vaih\' B"l o I ue_ptonqed "ooeri. Alter tor the aim of the conlemplation thala one doesnot sullice on 'r'rsrrnqerFculionol lhe seals.one lirsl conlemplales he then representing non_0rs_ thunderbolt moona while{ive'pronged uponil as heart Dwelling whichisVairocana's cursve knowledge one mutterlhrice eachgeneraldh'rrani ihought, the soleareaof dno nLrlles lhrLF eachspecial dhbrani Dwelll'gon thal lo a_ cause'of ihe seal periodconsttutesthe 'malerial extended

a ends to Marvellous Acltons. For this reason,one pedormslhird lhe'-aclion Seal.When has consummaled dualityotoneone non sell 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'ereo rr'sltFe^on-dJalily. is not eqL,poised Inp mednr^g he n ol -o.-dualilv. Fo.lhts ,eason, is raLghllndl o^e peao,msnexl it rrresea execulron lhe GrealSeal. of il JSuppose be askeo.l"Welt now rnyorr own schoo. whr.nol rne r/vo.s tolowed? Erther thm.However I ol one .akes re.,:l:::,o,ln" 'Toh tt"4andatavidhtsarvavattadaya 25.t6. by A'a"dagarbha). rrlus. he oe,io,m accoro.ng lheporuo- ot ,arry, to {4)NEOUIBEMENT BENEFTT SEALEXECUTION ANO OF lhe cl_ter require.nerr that the vJlgd, Dooy. s soaocn,and Trro. w,th t-to tae Bud_roqpther thetrconducl,be transmuteo dhas 8ody,Speech, and Mind,logether their[,4arve Ac_ with ous (5}METHOO SEAL EXECUTION OF [ F o r e a c h s e a t ] l h e r e a f e l o L r r l c a uh e ,s l, t , c e ^ .a J s e , o l l se e c rne sFor. the tormalcause fsyarrrpa,/ot sea,a-d rf o the nre Ot execunng the .malerialcause" the tlnatcause. 11, and Symbolic Seal tgu:.h_tnat thuderbofilre paraDandha) 6the rhe ^,,.-Tf:,turo: errcrenl caJse ol alrsymboltc seals.some persons asse( 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.pSA3 Sakyamttra by r exp,arn cduseot all rhe r-e^sear Dethe rhJnderbolt Theirpurpofris to t;e. 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 hosepersons conclude.l Hence,Jtrsl one e)(ecJtesthe thLderboll thenexecules symboiL tie, the Sealoi varrocana. and' w ihoul.Lntyrng origrnalhJnderbo lhe tre,en_ acls arlerlhe Svrnbolic seal ol Va,.ocana syrnoolL lhe Sealqot rFeolFerdeilies. is ,rrproper execure lt to r[rhe seats] dny other

186

9!upt""r o ro oFLoroness ,"r"r"[ ,,

Law Seal The eltctenl caUse theLawseal ts tf e rnsI,satr)n ol ':. sdrrs*/a/ a. rhe pre.d4r,or the;""il;;;; seal rs as 1 . rfFdF,ry InInar aro dJe,ui,nl*,,"*ri"'|,f1-',", ar'se< e.9F.pe.dl'ed torus. dn reo Tnestng,e "tT;TTil:; petd,r, rneorrect.on o'IrF rong.Je chdnoes a longue. ,nto and ;po- lLr, a"." .pp"",a The methodot caslrng the Thereupon, conlemplation lhe which , destrovs ones pFrsondr'rv dqg,egdtestskandha,/ so rorlh and '"J".,n],"',n" 'n

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artraction lowards ra'!ra'a) " IB,;Jno""l;fl'""tol"t" or ns.ne,., ::l::.,-ail.ng, s/ddhrs o, lJlr ab'o :,rr,ns. une obtarnsall
O.Ih)s the paranAdittka(Toh. 2512) commenrs: Whrlereciting Thatness, one mustcorremplate Ihe ,rJgF olo-e c oeirv wnateve. \la, ornqot .,it,n9

Drdrnono k,owtedgp.). a.rangeo a are ,:,?.,*"". .( I c,rcte on rne naveot lhe lhunderbolt The recrtat,ons |hos"j as lort),Fs rhe Law constlutetl-emeI or od o,ca:t,nE nF seal "yffa. ThFrenI es tn6o,ocedL.e ooth ot Bu..lonBt. Do . hF and R,. --

r". -;,;; ;x" ;"jfi:::3'u;ff;lf":,rl%T,r.',p, ;:?, " ;; Tn.v",,o,rs,. d\,d;ar sr,r6; ;;;J ;j;';;j;:::':::;""1

meansvocalrzlng Thalness" on whlle reclting The express r a es n. svlldb ol lhe I aw One execules seal co4srsllng an godo_ who.r lho lo d'r' uoeo' bodyco-'orrnlng lhe aspeclol lne or siliing, so on One he s lo be casl,whether be slanding, seal The synchroni_ ol q! po ses his m nd in the meaning Thatness cause l?! ol lhe seal ll lhe salronol lhe lhree is lhe elticienl ma_ wouldbe an Incomplele GrealSealwerenol executed,lhere opposethe to it ter al cause Consequenlly, is mosl improper ot erecution lhe GrealSealat ihis pornt. lhe The linal cause ol the Law Sealsis as tollows: body rs god,andthe mrndrs particular transiguredIntothe aspeclol lhe realilyOne contemlocused lhe sole areaol comprehending on oJ lhe Prolound Ilhe olaleslhal from lhe realmol non_duality lhe and lhe Erighllthe physicalcomponenl] menlalcomponenll lhal lhere_ upperpalale: the touches w tonoue th lhe thunderboli no !D; a linv ihunderboll(suksna-valra) biggerthan a barley tl which [tinylhunderbo one orarnslavs on the trp of his nose, feel and see it Thus' by takrngre_ until he can iontemptales which co!rse to the Law Sealvery greal siddhlsare'malerialized', cause' lor ls the standard the'tinal Action Seal Iisi cause ol the AclionSealis lhe thunderboll The eiiicienl the one places lhe The methodoi casting seal is as follows: list; ol the letl thundelboll and, pre list r ghl lhunderboll on lop the Great Seal ol lhe executes c;d nq w(h the'lotuswhirling', handsymbolsOne recltes [thedietys] own de 1y;nd w thouthis his seal;and, snapping lingefs,imagines lhe releases dh?r;ani, Action the that he pedorms Marvellous wrlhconviction The materal cause'is as lollowslAl lhe llme ol execulrng thunderbolt the the seal,one contemplales deilyand a crossed wrlrr karma'vaia)in the deily's heart,and imagrnes (visva-valrao( crossed thunderbolt]is the essence ol the convrclionlhal lthe knowledgeol lhe Procedrje al Duly (krtyanusthena-jnAna) wilh convicone conlemplale The linal ca!se'is as lollows:

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188

Chapter-l O

ol Fundamentals the YogaTanta ol the execLtes sealol Aksobhya lhe East'seesthe

189 knowledge

tionthatlhe godsmakeollering th godsby rneans all sortg to ol or oool,ypostures (jryepatha), suchas dancrng: the gods that makeoffering the godsby way ol alt sortsof vocat xirsto srons{abhi,epel, suchas singing; eventhe food.dnnk,and lhat so torth,are all in essence indisssoluble the unionot the deities and voidness; that the various and typesol aclion (kama) ap_ pearIn shapes and sounds. Andoneconlemplaies relianc with on conlinuatmindlulness awareness the conviclion . and ol that lhe godsmakeoffering the god.When is lirmtyhabituated to one in conlemplaling way,and wh6none ,materializes, Marlhat the vellousActionot the godsby meansof allthe attiludes bodv of andvoice, there lhe .finalcause'. is GreatSeal The'eflicient cause,of the GreatSealis chjellythethundF boll list. The mthodot casting seal is to enactlhe GreatSeal the whichabidesin self-existence (syabhaya). is sucha sgal This as theone of highest enlightenment (pamnabodhi). TheJinalcauseis the conlemplation those godsandof a ol _. ve-pronged primordial thunderbott' eachot lheir hearts. in Th,e_'linal cause'consists attainjng in firmnessin the dgity . yoga (devaldyoga)ol non-duatity the plofound the Brighi ol and unlrlconlemplatingas attained. thisis easylo comprehe;d, it As its prrport neednol be expliciy explained. IA Ramark on the prccedure] "Alterxecuting sealof Vairocana, the whenoneis execuling . the-sealof Aksobhya, doesone do thal by contemplaling oneseltin theaspect olvairocana, doeshedo thataftertranaformor ing himselfinlo Aksobhya ln the tormercase, wouldnol th6 ? seal be execuled Vairocana on and th6 seal not executed on Aksobhya Inthelattercas, itthatone ? is contemplates Aksobhva of fhe Easlshitling hithe(leaving Eastern quarcg6thaia) th S empry, doesone contemplate Aksobhyas or hro ?'" Without onesell changing tromthe aspectot Vairocena, one

in dwelling lrontlot hrmsell] Aksobhya i,.i"" lrrrr-"ru"rl "ldeedsol attracting ''drawrngin lvrng lhe ;; ili".mpt;* ginglin himsellln thal way inJ suoouinq rnatXnowledge tot combrned i-heEasl] indissolubly lol 'i ti"i Aksobhya com_ is ""iJ" XnowteCqe alsooneselt indissolubly Being,but *'tt itre is becausethere lheconlemplafi""i *'rft t'e x,,o'*reage-Being, series(or anOAisobhyahavea slnglemental riontnat onesett ekalanl@) (ekasmtana' srr"a. ol "ons",or.nessl' basic to as has Thrs to be understood applying alltheolher as deities well.

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C h a p te r-1 1

Thereare lhree parts:division inlo lwo Tantras; meanng of the several v sions;rprocedure the meanng ol the slblect matd in a. Division into twoTantns rhe Sambarodayallah.373), the Vajtapahjara {Toh.419), l,Tah. lhe BLddhakap,la 424),and other[An!tlara-yoga]Tanlras, rnakea basrcdivrsron the Anutlara-yoga ol Tanlra nlo t mahal yoga tantra an.)yogini-tantra.fheKAla cakrc\Toh 362) and olh ers makea basicdivrs ofthe Anuttara-yogaTanlra opaya on inlo (Toh.45I ) and lantra a|].) paiaelanta.fhe VajrahrdayAlankara olhersspeakoi the daka-tantn and lhe d'kini-tanta yaga peya tantra, Amonglhoseexpressions,lmaha\) tantra, and daka'lantra dilletenl are lermswiththe samemeanng.ivloreove r yogtni-tantra, pralna-tAntra, and daktni-tantru arc also synony Now,lhal wh ch is held n cornmon belween two Tanlras, lhe yoga and An!ttarayoga, s cal ed the yoga-lantn Pecurar to lhe yogais the mah'yagalanlra; Anuttara 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. Theseexpress ons presenl as s mrafities termsbul havedillerent meanrngs; hence lhey must be wel distrnguished. b. Meaning ol the severcldivisions Thereare lwo seclons;relltat on oi otherschools; establ shrnenl010Lrr own school. (1)REFUTATTON OFOTHER SCHOOLS whenmaking basic sion nthe anutlara' drv Somepersons. the yogaTantra. vLde inlothree:Falher (p/lr)Tanlra Molher(matr) rt d lhal Tanlraand Non dual( advalla)Tanlra, mainlain lhe lhree and

194

are mutualty exclusive inthe senselhalifaTanlrabelongs one lo dlv,sron. cannor I oelongto anv ol thp olFers.FJrrne.nore lto 'herers a divr<,on rha'drv,sronl, tusIrV Intolhjee lirno otjTdrlra by lhF dlstlnc rionsol lhe enLnc,atronot promulg the attan *a;akana, dnother 4oo oydr, I,iparlilton dtsltnctto,s tn6 ned,Ing ol by ot rre su0lecl mdlter lyacva, btpd lJya\., anoLet tnpd.Irt,orby orsluncnons lhe Delitioner ol (a)T pa ition hy enunciation ol the promulgatioh Now,when the Anu ara Tantrais taken inlo account, such - arlrd\ T a s d r e r l r r o d u c eb y l n e o h r a s e. T r u s I n a v o r e a r d . , d Ie\am maya s,utdm\.a.e reckoned as Farner Tdntrd! F.9 rhe Ct'hlrsdmaB-bat:a{ fon. 4r'21i ald rhose introou!eooy-sucn pnra\es as ' l de ght In lne H gnesl ot Se-rers.. 'dmelbetong lne groupo, p^aramam tranasva to 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 lwrthotherTantrasl Exptanalory Ta'lrra. rhe rautatat,toh.4'9\.tt'ete,s It] detrght tFe Hrghesi In o, Secrel.. ; Elptanaroryranr.d thF sampura iat 38tl :ll: i ln: :l"j-d rnere-d.e bolF"ThLsI haveheard, a1d ltl de,rghln rne Hrgnesl o'secrets , co'rseqLenttyts a Non-duatTarl.a tl That s whal s LlarnFd: lhe aulhor,ty it rs sardlo be lhe explanatro- rh; ior by grearmagusNag-po-spyod,pa. it unlenabte: teadsro rheaosLrd,ry ,"^. l.e 5an vad-lan|a rnd ]l^" l1llo" "."o"]pterety,nsucna casedlso would be d No"_oual Talr. ;he Fundame^lat raltra {Tc,h. 368r has ..[t] detgnl ,n tne ng"rec o' Secrets the unshared xpta-atory a;tra, : r E lha aDhtohano aial.|oh369thas"Thus haveheard,, lheshared I ano Tanlra. the Samputa 38 {Toh. r ) nas botn,oirasesl. Storanalo-y

Anultara YogaTanifa (b)hipartition by meaning of the sublect mattet

195

ollhe Thereis adiv sionintothreeTanl by lhe distinctions ras ol producl on fuFattl-krama),lhe dislinclionsot the Sleps Steps ol Complelion (nispanna'krama), andlhe dislinctionsof lhe puri' I cal on of allendants (anucdra-visuddhi). Triparlition by Steps ol Production ollhe AnuttaraTanlra.Then, One assumes basicdivision lhe themselvesas rnwhatever manCala iiveTathagatasmani{est lhe goddess ldevi), goddess the Lord,or the goddesses consti_ is a In one hasa [lolherTanlra. whallule lhe ma orilvin lhe relinue. as manilest themselves male lhe ever mandala IiveTalhagatas lhe de t es, a maledeilyis the Lord,or the ma e de tiesconstrlute authorily tor maiority lhe retlnue, in one has a FalherTanlra.The in that s grvenas lh s passage the Prnlara(Toh.419):"Because hostot Dakiniand the five.Dakin ol all il oortravs rluslrious the 'All lhe Buddhas,it is explainedas Dakini-tantra;' lhe Buddhas lo Illuslrious ol Dakni"relers lhe hosl meanslhe t ve Progenltors. the preponderance goddesses."Becau il portrays five Dak n se ol Tathagalas underlhe aspecloi of showsthe generation the Jlve goddess. as Finaly, tmeansthatoneexplains Daktni-tanlraane thal a Furthermore, lhey maintain thatportraysn thal manner. in Tantra nol explicit lhal passage.rl rmpres is Ihougha Father rs lhe lkewiselor Falherlanlrasbecause MolherTanlra explicd. as There s no cogencyin inlroducing thal scripture prool whichporwas expoundedto showthegeneration Thatscrplure 'concisepafilarehm9' oi travslhe frvelorosof the manda/a the lhe (gur rigsbsuds). I is not necessarily casethal the expreswalkef fmkhah hglo.)refers on y to a goddess fdevt) s on Sky Tripartition by Steps of Cotupletion sleps showschiefiy sublectmatteroflhe Ihe WhentheTanlra (nispanna-kftma) lconcernedwilhl the circ e of oi Completion aMotherTantra. WhentheTanlrashowsch eily lhe (mandala),1lis wilh] subleclmatterof the Stbpsoi Completion lhe lconcerned drop /bindu) and sublle yoga (suksma-yoga.),il is a Falher lhe Tanlra.Whenthe Tantrashows chieily lhe subjecl matterol both,

.:.:: herd to was ?i:l'1.'.be a l\,4olher Tantraald it was hetd thal rhe ftrolher Tanlrasand Non-dualtantrasexcludeoneanoiher. Moreover,lhere wouldbe rhe aosL'dily lhat \\e Hevaia-Enrz woL d d so be d I arne tantralbecalsert oeg,ns wrth"Thus, -ave hea.o,]wh ch . wou 0 teadlo manyserious dilliclllties.

,"t"."".bte,tecause lr.e.. Sanva,a-rantil rhjs the

196

C h a p l e r , ll

ArullaraYogaTanira (c)Tripartition by the petitioner

'197

That is what s maintained I is a Non dualTantra. The source is We lgivenas aulhorityl the same as belore. ma nla n lhal it ts rnterna contradictory. ly Now, n regard lhe Stepsol Compltion to wilh] lconcerned the clrcleoi lhe mandala,lhey rta ^ a melhodol conlemp ma a I on ol lhe Slepsoi Complelion based an externalsea(nudrA)' on y, Consequent I reduces the absurdily lhe Samvara lo that Tantra sasoa Non dualTanlra, becausen the method conlernplattng oi the Stepsoi Compelionbasedon an externasal,lhere s no drstinct belween on the SamvaraandlheHevajra, andhecarse the Stars ol Completion wilh ] lhe drop and subte lconcerned yoga are d scussed elaborately the .Samvara'larlra this rs in I admitted, conlradiction, the thess rs reand lsol is lhe nlernal Tripattition by purilication ol attendants Whalever Anullara Tanlra a Tantra is showng chiellyhe pufl I cat on of the personality aggregales (skandha), rcal-r,s@hatu), and sensebasesfayalara.), a FatherTanira.Whalever shows is one chefly the purircation the veins'friidll s a [/o1herTantra. oi Whaiever one showschieilybolh is a non-dualTanlra. r auThe thorty is ihe sameas before. n lhal case,jl is i logical ellherclassily n01 lo of classiiy the Samvara and the Heyalaamongthe Non-duaTantras being as neitherlvlolher FalherTantras.The nor reasonts as follows: s ll agreedthal the Samya,.a leachesthe purtcalon oi lhe'ven' The Hevalla leaches puriicalion contemplat thelilteen the by ng goddesses beginn wilh narralrnya the natureol the person ng as a ily aggregales andso on.The Samvala so teaches pur I a the calionol the personalily aggregates so on by conlemp and ating the sevenleen elemenlsbeginning with rupa-skardha having as gods.The the rnalure n theseventeen Heyalia teaches purificailon no beyondthis.Our concusions are as statedabove. Therefore, thosedistncl ons cannolbe used lor classf ca

Guhyasamaja, samaledeLly, asirihecaseolthe lfthepetitoner ll the petilioner a lemae deity,as ln the is t s a FalherTantra. t whichis requested Vajriivarehi, is a by case oi the Samvara, The lirst assemblyloi lhe HevalraTantral is relvlotherTartra by questedby Valragarbha, hencerequesled a male deily;the by hencerequested is requesled Nairatmya, by second assembly dellyi and lor lhe reasonlhat both male and lernae a femalr That il es deLt makerequesl, ls a Non_dualTantra. is what tney an Againwe ma nta nihatlhis nvolves internalconlradiction lf the r lhes s were granied, lhe Guhyasameiawauld also be a for Tantra{Toh.442)was re Tantra, ts Fundamenlal Non-dlral quested by a male d ety, and the ExplanaioryTanlta Calurdevt Our paiprcchA\foh 446)was requesled goddesses. conclu_ by Moreover, reduces lhe absurdrty il to sionsare as slatedabove. ies, lhe lirst is a Father Tanlraand the thal of the two assemb secondLsa MolherTanira. Ll to Furthermore, s notvalid dlvideinlothreekindsofTantra ons ol enuncationol the promugal on, cla ming by the d slrncl Whal he ma n_ as the greatmagusNag po-spyod'pa authority. as tains rs that such expressons "Thus I have heard"and "[l] at occurring ihe beginningol delightin lhe h ghestoi secrets", the ihe Tantras, fler in wordsand lhat, nevertheless, lnlroduc d ot maiterof the inseparabilty Beali torywordsteachlhe subject tude and Vold (sukhasunnya)inotderto showthal thereis no pure (svabheva vis'uddhi). Ils on dislincl in whal is intrnslcally .r'tnd (ctta-vajta) has this proclaimed: said, "The thuderbot ol 'There Bence. are no vanelles o{ inlrinsicnalure (svabhava)"'. oi lhat scrip_ al the on there s no cogency a I in holding introducl for a on ture as lhe reason establishing iripartil of the Tantras. (Toh. Oihers,lol ow ng lhe KAlacakra-tantraCarntnenlary 845), in lhaischooland maintain whenan Anuttara ihat becomeconceileC il Tantra, has as Tanlraor lvlother Tanlrais d slinguished Father ng ior rnean freyerlha), whichis noi appropriale grasping hinted the standardief m fyathalula);and that when an AnultaraTantra

Anutlara-Yoga Tantra

199

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nology' (na-yatheruta) suchsortlas'FalherTanAa','MotherTantra,]. of Moreover, there is no cogencyin positinga FalherTantra and a Molher Tanlraon the groundsthat the Katacakraspeaksol a maDdala which all the gods have equality of heads and arms in due to the purityot equaldayand night,or in whichallthe gods have inequality headsandarmsduelothe purityolearlierand of Ialer inlervalsol watches.The meaningol that is as tollows:the lords and the reiinuesolthe Samaja-mandala and lhe Mayajala mandala menliat,edtnthat work show equalityot headsand arms; whenone coordinates purityofthat precise lhe time,the coordinatron "equalily headsand arms due to the purityoi equal is, ot day and night".The deities in the larger and smallet fttandalas ol Samyarataught in that work show inequalityo1headsand armsj whenone coordinates purity thaltime,lhecoordination the of ot purily of lhe mandala "inequality headsand arms due lo the is, o, pur ly oi earlier and laterintervats walches_ of

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(2)ESTAALTSHMENT OFOUR SCHOOL 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 drflerent trorl lhe meanrnq 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'taken themselves That,means,isthe Knowlby ? edge bo.nlogelherwith (sahala/creat Beatjtude (mahasukha). lhar'rns'ghlrs the knowtedge whichtultycomprenenos atl rhdt nalljres (safvadhannah)aredevoidot intrinsicreality (nihsvabhavd. ll one has an AnuttaraTanlra,jl necessarilyleaches the subject malter of the inseparability 'means'and ,insjghl,jn ol those senses ln the Conlinuation (Toh.443)ol lhe cuhvasamaialantra (Toh.442), Bodhisattvas the relinueask the Teacher the ol the meanrng lhe termyogaol theAnuttara-yoga-tanka.replyto ol In thalquestion, Teacher lhe says, "Theequalentrance(samepa t) Intomeansand ins ghl is explained yoga',, as and so on. Hence, one cannot classify FatherTanlras lrotherTantras wav ol and bv ,f 1 ea_< aad rs qhl i- ll-osesenses. one d d, rl woutdtea; ro

200

C h a D t F r - rl

the absurditythatthe cutryasanajawould naIbe a FatherTantra, nat lhe Hevajtaa MoIherTantra. both alike teach the subjci But matlerot lhe non-duality meansand insightl, thists st;led lor Jol in lhe KAlacakta-tantra Commentary(Toh.84S,as well as in th; Vajragarbha Commentary(probabtyToh. 1B0). 1 Hence,lhe meansand the insightin the sensesdescribed aoovedo nol seruelo differentiate varieties Non_d Tantra, the of ual But whenone assumes varielies the outset, the al they [,Means, and nsrghl'lseparateihem into FalherTanlraand t\,4otherTantra. What is lhe meaningof'Means' (upAya)whenFather Tantraand upayalantra arc laken as identical? Whal is the rr1eanino ,lnot s gt ' /ptajnjt wne^ Mother'la-trd and palnalanrc atet;ker as rdent ? cal 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-tantra arise?,, Vajradhara spoke:,The means'ol praine paramna s proctarmed be yogrl. The one who adds lhe to creatSeat (mAha-mudra) enters Reatitv (tallva.) [or: eniersthaivery yogndihencethename yaginjlantrc: Howis thatpassage explained ?,Great Seal'means Knowl_ the edgebornlogelherwith creat Beatitude.Where isthatadded li ? rs added by way oi entering Feality ftaitya.), which reason. for such an indissolubte combination Beatitude ot andVaid lsukhe<Lr'rdr'5caled yog, W.rnlhe larntne sutlix t-lnl,raal,, Teans l' e ca j\e rhelu'o, rhe uncornmon /asjdhelanalai,tlatton wilh the Dharma-kaya amongthe lwo Bodies:ie., from amonolhe oa r oltre vea-s o^ lha onenomenal s,de d-d the pa.t or lhe ' nsighton the voidside,il is the ,tnsight'on voidside.hence the lhe femininesulflx.Thus, a yogtnLtant@ explatned one is as whrchexplicily exphasizes subjectmatterol lhe Knowledge ihe o ' i n d s s o l - b eB e a i t u d e 1 d V o t dn l h e p a r t o l I n s i q h r ' oIn e a h Vo,05r0eIn Ihatway whi e notexptarnrng tusory the Booywrrcn ls the uncornmon atiiliation with the FormalBody ( pa-kaya)in lhe parl ot [/eans'on the phenomenaj side or lhe comlnoforlh

Body] ng ol w th sk ll' n the rnethod accomplish lhat [lllusory ll lollo\osr s Thalbenolhecase,aNlotherTantra estabishedas KnowL' of the whlcnexphasrzes subjeclrnaller the . anvfan-tra and Void in lhe part ol of indissolusilily Bealitude eliie'ol'the sucn 'Lnilqlrlon tne Voiaside,whilenot especially emphasrzrng Body In lhe lhe rhi;; as lhe melhodoi accomplishing lllusory Tanlra srde or any Anullara on parioi lt'teans the phenomenal lo belonging rtscaleqory ldnlt ' ' e Wndr 1 l_dr Veo_s whenFdl'elTa'lrd' d t'pir' o ' 6 $ o d s 371 r- c .6*i.ri .'" ruq'roylh6 Da^dtnevatla\ amongthe yogasn the krnqof Tanlras of Knownq them and lhe varieties the r rites' o1the ClearLLghl the I have;xp arnecl lllusion world usorY To lhe iL ? T1e etolanalon s <Lqqes' ho!! 5 l_al pas\dgeexplarned ' h nsaLl live ,neyal Bywhonlrsrl explarnedl BVVdlradhard 'o 'lq ? The Means o oroouc lh6 rLrL v wr,.' Ooe" e.p,ai.l ? world ol cand dales ". soJu io *f,orn ldoes he explainl To the Tan\tainio [nalte]vaga the Dividing Anullra ,"i,L'ul.wn"r"i l""l' 1' tunt't a d raq n, rJ4ra- l'lhP k ngs ol thP[maha]@oa o-F go-Fr'rP( Bv whdrnelhod rs rrdone ? r:ken o. ,r';-"lv's r o - i " . t " ' " p l c a l e o l - r g h r' d l o ( d r ' ( p 'd d o ' ,;'h". la' ",'"" " ,,lr faiotatlasu) anCCu minal on'ol_Lghl (Alokopalab'Jht) ng alihe llmeol enrerq and the oetherwllh clear Llghl (prabhasvara): lrre one accomplishes difeclion inm rne aner,in thi reverse iio. ti'" rive rays ol wind lvayu) rldingon lhe-lour i r-rioru-eoov Bodylrom in in emerqing lhe lllusory vn a..'fn" ."ll,o,l "on.ists in exactilldesuch lhlngsas ihe ClearL ght by way ol knowing ol lheir riles rn" .o. nq torrn*'tt skilland lhe varletles Tanlrasrs ol ln slrorl the baslc c assillcalion the Anuttara p 'q '.d. F aboralery s loje^l rdle' olll K_ov!l lhe *n ,.,n rnose l h e5 d F o r I ' e an y F . ; - 6o l r ' e 1 0 ' \ o I b i l , r o l B e a l r l L d e oV od o ^ _'" r_oce*i ct leach e'aooalalv the ccrring lorl' V."" Bodylrom the it .,rl, .t"-Oln tn" t"tf'oa of accornplishing lllusory in the lour Vords the parl orlne lhe i ve ravs ot wind rigldon es calegor :v"on. -or to belonging lhe lrespective] "nyf"nttus character wilh lherrIrespective] a To nrentron iew exarnples

Chapler.ll

lhe Ghuyasamaja (Ioh.442),ior instance, a bastcFalherTantra: is 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) areTanlrasbelonging the calegory the Father lo ol Tantra. (Toh The Semvara 364) Hevatrallah. 417,4181, Kelacakralfah. 362), Mahemudretjtaka (Toh.420), the upper maya in three residences (Toh.425,the Mehamayain lhtee .haplers), and ihe BuddhasamAyoga lT:ah. 366, 367) are [,4olher Tantras. Ther, of the FatherTantras,the GuhyasamAias lhe chiell and of the lvlotherTantras, Samvara the ch ef.The reason the is ls thattheolherFatherTanlras cannol compare wiih|he Guhyasamaia in regardlo exlensve lieatmenlol the Stepsof p rcdt-)ctian iutpaftikrama),Sleps ot Comple an (nispanna-krama), set ol r tual and acts f/aslshogs). And similarly, otherMolherTantras lhe cannol comparewith the samvala in regardto exlensivelrealmenlof the Stepsot Production, Slepsot Completion, set ot rrlualacls. and The AnullaraTantras, dividedintoFalherTantra so and tvlolher Tanlra, iurlherdivided are inloTanlraofthesound whichDromulgalesandTantra the meaning the subjecl ol In malterThe Tantra oi the soundwhichpronru gatescomprises allthepassage the of AnnultaraTantra are proctaimed lhal byVairadhara.The Tanlra cf lhe rneanrng the subjectmafleris ot lhree kifds, Tanlraot Cause In (hetu-lantra),'fantaolMeans (upaya-tantra), Tantraof Eftecl and (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 candiddles lhe h,qh rot godlof lhe Anu ara ITanrral. Sanrr-pa Abnayakard a.nra;. and n lha r ls lne TrueNalJ.e ol M,nd (citta.dhatmdljl i-r,,ns,cat,v pJrebul possessed adventrtrous Ol dellements. Tantraof Elfect.fhis is the rank of Vairadhara. ch rs lhe wh supreme attatnment. lerminology combined The pair beyond tearning (asatKsayugnacldha rankpossessrng sevenmembers01 ) and the lhe samputahas the samemeaning.

Tantraol Means or at'Palh.This comprisesihe lwo kramas alongwiththeirmembers(anga)' (utpalti-krama l nispana-krama), an atlain_ thal supreme palh which s the meansol attaining of the or ol all In short, f one compiles the Tantras N4eans ol lhe ol Path,consltutingthe procedure the palh by whichihal lewe of ol who is the Tanlra Causeor Tantra Groundmay likeperson" is beyondlearning'which the su_ attainrank of'pair combined premeattainmenl, they lall in lour classes: which malurethal ol (1) Al the outsetlhe Tantras lnltiallon is Tantra Groundllhat nol yet mature; loi ol (2) The Tanlras Pledgesfsamaya)andVows(samvara) lromdelenoratlon; the which protecl maluration (3) The Tantras lor Production (utpattj) and CompletLon whichis io be takenlo hearli lhat (n/sparna,)ol essence ol (4) TheTanlras Covergence luponthe supremeattainmenl]

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Chapter-12

1.TantricAgniianana (a) Preliminary: Among manualscurrentin Bengallhe the desc bedin theTantrasar fire-ritual beenelaborately has Tantric (16thcentury?) the Saktand Agamavagisa by Krsnananda are These Giti by Brahmananda (16century).i anandalarangini lromdifiefen the worksandquitenaturally cilaiions colleclion regarding the beenconducive clarily to havenotalways works A in treatises. syslemali items {ollowed theoriginal as order ol in descriptionavailable lhe Saradatila is as wellas closelilling of who by Laksmanadesikendra wasa disciple the Kashmirla fire-rituallin (c.l Pafrcaratra cenl).'?The Upalacarya Olh master sludymarnl The on descript in theJayakhyasamhita,3present cornmen Padarthadarsa the ST withRaghavabhaila's lollows C. 1492A.D) Vikrama Samvat. tary (1550 oliire iscalled TheTantriclire-rilual Agnijanana-'generalion t d 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 i n i l U n l i k e h e rite is the Agnyadheya Agnjijanana nol an independent bullorms In partof various olherceremonials.lhe sT ii is a necessary (dikser amongthe rules ol the iniliation'ceremony described herersthe performer lhe lire-rilLlal ol Forlhis reasonthe active to (eterya)who as ihe guruof theindividual be acls highpriest that comesin as partof kriyavatidika The nitialed. Agniianana riles oi consisting external is initiation are The fireplaces calledkundas of lb,)Synopsis the ritual. is partof theritual performe major are There ninek!ndas.The like is this of withthe kunda theAcarya. kunda square-shaped iirePlace.4 theAhavaniya pedeclions thekundas alterwhich oJ occur eighteen There pointing the towards eastandthree threelinesare drawnin these with are the poinling towards no h.These lhensprinkled water

The Birth ol Agn

Vagisvaris thoughl as at the end of her per od and then of worshpped as un ted with vagisvara.5 A tirers brought fiom the houseof a Srotrrya, s generaled or wth a sun stone,a porlionoi jl is teft out lor the,lre ol the pyreand threepurifications it are penormed. luneral of Attercertaincontemplations the ttfethe Acaryamovesthe ltrethrice wtth aroundtrrekundaand Iinally placesit in the kundasmovingit in h s own dtrection. this lime he also remainskneeting. At Water rs offeredto the parentsof Agni,the flre is kindted and praised wrlhan appropriate verse. The plactng the iire in the kundais fol/owed the nyasas of by whtch mean inducingin one's own body whal can be called vaflousaspectsot Agni, his seventonguesor.flames, the deitresthereot, jatis6 the and the ejghtliguresoi Agni.Agni is conrempraled slayingon a lotushotding sakti wilh two as his arms. The Acaryasprinktes girdtesol the kunda with water the and lhrowsaway lhe paridhi-sticksT all sidesexcep!onthe on easl, Nexl Iollow worships.The the iig!res oi Brahrna and certain ornergods are worshtpped the direction the thrown in of away pandhi-strcks. sevenflamesoi Agni,the deities The oJthe jatjs, the eighll guresot Agni and the l,4others worsntpped are on a conlernptaled eighl-petalled lotus.six of the flamesof Agni at lTlecornersand one al the centre,the deilieson the filarnenls, lhe erghtfigures the petals on and the Molherson the llps ot the petals. The cuardiansoi the Regions (Lokapalas) atsoare worThe oblation implements-lhe spoons called sruk,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 foltowed ghee_oblations. oblations by Fo;r 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 _ h e T Smarla samskaras from conceplion marriage, ot which are prescribed tor the lwice-borncaslesare heldforAgniand represenied lhrough

and inlusedinlo oblations. parents Agnrare worshipped The ol The longues, oneself allerlh iillh samskara, viz.,Namakarana are the r deites etc as induced worshipped earlier a so g ven and ob alions, Gheeis lakenintothe sruva,pouredintolhe sruk and coveredwith ihe sruva,The perlormer the r le standsereci ol ol and quietand makesten oblatons wilh lhe mantras Agniand (Ganesa). the rnoulhof Agni. vighesvara This is called nlo Agn is nowworshipped lhe deitywho hasdescended as the lire.Twenty'iive oblalons aTemade nto ihe mouthol Agni. rana,.Ihrcugh This is ca led lhe mergingol the mouth(vaklralklka anolherseriesoi elevenolleringsthe mergeroi the arteries lakesplace. Aller thislhe fife s takento allthe l.nedisandhana) 4 I n d a rw t s e o l l F ' p ' e s l s n a \ e o { l e . i ' q s . e TIF p'1cioa Ag'lr a""rs end ha,e. Atrer lhrq IhF A.a va g perlormsihe'purificalons ol lhe six-ways' comprisin gradelkalr) lheory (latlva). reqion(bhuvana),wotd lpada),letler (vana) and Theseare thoughlol in lhe leel, genrlal, naval,heart, mantra. Touching those lorehead and the crowno{ head ot lhe disclple. a wrlh d ouncl ol kusagrass Aca'va o'ler5 e g_' the o-F oy or nayel,) the ways n Siva Ln oblalons and lhus rcsatb. (vilayam lhe the crownoi head,and thencrealesthem againby eiiecting Thenthe Acarya's consciousness reverse orderol the process. s madeto devove upon the d sciple. Aiter that lhe completion-olferingmade and the deity rs is tromlhe fire to a jar a readykepl lhere10rthe purpose. brought w The { re-rituals concluded lh lhe ulleranceol lhe l ahavyehrilisq The ed accompan by oblations. lire is unitedwrththe performer upon.The paridhl'stlcks burni. are ot the rile and is sprinkled 2. Underlyingidea (a) Generalremarks:Only summaryol lhe descnption a cl been given above.Whal lhe varous items o{ the the ST has parllytromlhe verses is and ritualsignify obtainable concerned alsoIromolherpartsoi lhe lextas wellas lromlhe commentary.

The Birth oi Agn

211

Evenlrom the sLlmmary is not ditficult see lhat the birthof it to Agni is accomplishd the rile. l-lowever wholething,as in the presenled here, is dilferentkom the Agnyadheya every re_ is spect-struclure,basictheory, purpose and modusopeandi. In lhe Vedicritethe basicmylhwasone of tho unionot Aoni will^ cosm;c lhe waters hisowncrealion subsequent for and ;i_ versaltsallon. in lhe Agnijananais a difterenl Here il thing. The basictheory, obtainable thepadadhadarsa alsoother as from and philosophical works,consists th conjojnl principles crea_ ol ol lion-Siva and Sakti, called Vagisvara Vagisvari not and and Agnrandthewaters whattheysymboljse theVedas. or in lroreover, the Tanlricideais not a mythaccording the sensepro_ to posedearlier (introd_ 2e)-Siva and Saktibeing distinct met;_ physrca concepls.,0 thisreason For while symbotismAgni the ot perlarn mainly the ritual lo and is clear, mythological no coun_ lerpaft rs evident. The said structural diflerence also proceeds lrom lhis.In the absence a mythol the primeval ot bith and unrversalisation oJAgni, placing Agniin thekunda a the of has difterent meaning a differenl and position the sequence in ol items. However, allhough underlying lhe sensehereis genera|y clearer lhaninVedic fi!,thology betow), imagery human the of {see reproduclion continues existvery prominenfly the Tanlric 10 in rituai and is dramatised consistenlly moreminutely ad lhanin lhe Agnyadheya wherethe imageryis parliallyruineddue to apparenl obliviousnsss. lb) Diflercntarrangement: analogyol reprcduclionrThe most significant features the structure theTanhic ritual ol ol tire are thal,!nlrke Agnyadheya, thre noprominent rn (t ) is ceremonial meant lhe generaljon Iirealthough ideaof thebirthol lor of the prominen witha dillerent Agnrappears y (2) signilicancei lhe generation fire that is to say ils flaringup in the kundadoes ot nol lake place simultaneously the birth ol Agni which is with represented through certain (3) oblations; theplacing thelire ol

in lhe kundalakes p ace not after but belorelhe birth ol Agni or lrom lhe houseol a Srotriya s pro A I re rs iirst brought n Th d u c e db y s u n - s t o n e . s s n o t t h e r i l u a g e n e r a t i oo l i i r e C l JS.XV 58 59'bwhereit is c earlystatedthat the fire s bfought some loresl lire lor the produclion Iire."Firsthavingbrought ol generalion Fire lrom Sakt ol produced a sun-slone the ior by be ongrng Bhagavanl.. the placedin !he kunda.Bul unlrkern ThrsIre s subsequenlly ailair lor the yel to rJe-oorn lh the Agnyedheya, s is pre-natal canceol lhe placingoi lhe fire in the kundars Agni.The srgnLl ol is lndicated the iollowng.Vagisvari thought as al the end by Vag svara. These mean Sakli oi her peflodand as unitedwilh and the and S va."The kundarepresenis bodyoi the Goddess o t h e l i r e r h e s e e d 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 s adhina. as oi lrreGoodess the seedol Sival'.This undoubledly acluallyusesthe root a Jdha vahhnibtjen The Vayavya Samhita'? samuccerya lv edadhitagnimesane yonimergena.... Bui lhis is oi gahhedhena, .e., ihe conception Agni by the Goddess. is as The samayatanlra cltedin the SAT'3 quiteexplcrt Aller medilale upon ol lhe Iire rs placed perlormer the rite"should lhe fire and as held by the ulerinellrbel The God n lhe lorm ol faomsome Samhitawhich states Padarthaarsa les a veTse c tharone shoud lhink of Agnias born thoughlhe worldlyrepro duclivepropertes ol his parenlsbe' These show that in spite ol some apparentsimllarily verse O GoddessAdili, the mageryin lhe Agnyadheya lween ol dtrr In yo!r lap do I placeagni...'1(uttered ng the placing lhe 'Thefire s lo be placed in rule, lrre)and the inragery lhe Tantric a lhe iormer one accompanres rn ihe womb ol the Goddess', one intendsto arrangelor lhe posl nalaL act wh le the Latter ensuingb rlh ol Aqni. Tanlras. For S mrlarideas are lound also in the Vaisnava to exampe according lhe JayakhyaSamhla Sakti rs I rst in

Chapterl2

The I rlh of Agn

213

vokedinio lhe kunda,and then the fire s placedin the kunda. The JS mentions this as lhe unionoi Agnt,lhoughtlo be cod, with lhe Goddess and also speaksol the eventual entrance ol the seed rntolhe womb ol ihe Goddess.,s Aflef lhis the flre is made to ftareup rn lhe kunda. This ts Ihe rilua production fire,butas shownbetowthe b rth oi Aqni of lakes piaceeven allerwards. ll rs nol only Agnr'sbirthwhrchts represented the rituat. in lhe whole courseol his development lrom concept to maron riage 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 Jatakarman lakes place. Thts is Agn s birth.Th s rnctudes lhe cullrng ol lhe cord connecting lhe molher and th-ababy and a so the tual pur f cationof Agnrs b rlh Oelapanayana) The nd apanayana done with iive obtations is This s to owed bv \anala dnd- Name-grving gni is grve-a .on o rro A Krsnagni. Durgagni, Narayanagnt,'elc. according the nameoj lo the deilyol choice. Thenthe olhersamskaras uplo mafi age (or death/n abh cara-praclices) follow.'3 (c) Putposeand madusopelardl rThe Namakarana Name_ or grvn9 ceremony a clear indication whal the birth 01Agn ts of means.The dety of choice (/stadeval which rneansGod as underslood the performer the rile is madelo descend by ol inlo the fre. The poinl is quite clear atso tn the Jayakhya Sarnhrta. Accordrng this, alter all lhe len Samskafas lo have been per lormedthe perlormer the rileshould nk of t re as Narayana. ol Ih _ 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 dtscip The orientatron the rite e. of lo lrlatend rs ev denl iirstin lhe facl lhat whenlhe frreis p aced rn lhe kundathe frrein the body,exlernat lerreslrat Iire and lire In the material bas s of crealionco-extsient wilh S va and Sakti

vahni)le lhoughtot as one.That the tire is placed ate \baindava rnthe kundaafterbeingmovedin the direclion lhe perlormer ol ol lhe r le also seem to lacililate that,The nyasas,loo, mean lhat Agnr n hrs variousaspeclsis inducedintothe body ol lhe worshpper. The mergerof ihe moulhs'andlhe'mergeroj the atle.|es lvaktratktkarana and 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'. grvesthe lollowThe PaderthAdarsa rng c talionlrom lhe Saivagama the commentary the sard in to verse:The mefglngof mouthsintolhe moulhoi the the deityis un ty. The same commentary explains ,adisandhena lhe lhe as rnergrng tlTearteriesol Fire,God and sell . Therers another ot citaion in the Padadhadarsa theal effectin ihis connect to onl stal\rn btahn.maJtm mn tm soucnty;gnaLt pradpatel in lhe JayakhyaSamhita versesenjoining eslablishthe the menl ol lhe rdentilyare corrupl_ the senseis more or less but ctear:tatra talanitam (?) kundei jvalanAryena cegaten/ patananciaprakasebhannasikye (?) dvadasevadht// tata 'vaterayogenapravistem bhevayed dhrdi i Th s eslabIshment dent/1y not lor lhe sake o, exlendoi ts Ing the vrddh oi Agn to lhe Acaryaas il is in the Agnyddheya.. On lhe contraryit looks hkea ritualenactmenl whal s theo oi retrcally sraredin the N/lahayanasraddholpedasestra,?, accordng lo whrchlhe rdea manrlests itselias the N rmanakaya for the benelrl conrmondisciples. oi Underthe same principte cod descendsupon the personoi lhe Acaryato rniliale drscip the e 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 nature Srva. For thrsreason ot whenthe Guruseesthe discrpte and exercises the act oi p!rification upon him, he does t as a drvrne berngand then rnakeshigherconsctousness exlenct to lhe d scrple. ST.V.78cd-79ab, Cl., "Having observed him (i.e. the d sc ple)w th a d vine ook the gurushould pltrfy lhe ways,aller

214

chaptr.12

215 For this terms see G,N. Kaviraiin lhe Pincess ol Wales a Bhavana Vol. x. 21 ll and also Tantra Studies, Saravasli agamashasttet digdarshan, 1 ll. lr 12. 13. See n. 5 above. Citdin commntary ST.V 16. to SATch. XVlllip.314. lormula(TS l ol This is one ol lhe mantras the Sarpaajni lo ol the during placing the firc according Aps 5.3)utlered alsosee lll, 5a above lor V. 11.7, which See 16 below/ But conceplion. theaclualconceplion meaos Garbhadhana place earlierwilh lhe placingol the firc in lhe ot Agni took is Ths presnl Garbhadhana JS. kunda(STV.16, XV.74). ot as to be understood the rilualpurilication lhe secularacl The Garbhadh5na ceromonyhas two sides-lha secular ol ritual solemnisation the same act and also lhe rcligious, lsee HinduSanskeas. R.B Pandey84 fl) The anomalyin lhese, perhaps,riseson accounl regarding lhe Agnijanana ritualdrama_ in involvd lhe simultaneous difliculties ot lhe solemnisalion lisationol the secularact and ils fl,gious the JS XV 74 underslands placingof lhe li in lhe kunda as onlythe unionof Agniand his Sakti,kundanadhyasthaya catha saklye naayane khyaye nesa grcna tam agnim ca sam_ But ghEtan dhveyersvahrdgataD. the Garbhadh6na trom this lts skara whichtakes placelater is ditlotenl told anJS.XV 132"4 leatures dislinctly are characrerisltc gab' pravesanam yad srikrksikuharc vaibahislhasya 133'r, henamla lad viddhisamskenmpBthaman nune.
17. 18.

(placed) the lolusol lhe hearlwith in thal consciousness uniting that childwith a dr"i himsell again,"The guru whileobseruing (so that consciousness, long)placed vine look,shouldemploy within himsell.inlo the disciple." difference lhe tundamenlal furtherto explain li is needless belween the enkance of Agni inlo the saciificer lot lhe exten and lhe eklkararasof the sioi of vrddhi in the Agnyadheya aimedat addingthe signsof divinegraceol lhe acl ot Tantras initialion.

NOTES
1. 2. For lhe dates see TCC, pp. 66 and 67. See Kashml Shaivaisn by J-C. Chalteii, p 26a lo,lhe date i a o l U t p a l a c a r y a in d M . J . B a k s h i sU p o d g h a l an t h e S T t o r rhe date ol Baghavabhatta and other Infomation. ( , B . B h a l t a c h r y aF 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. Unless otheMise noted lhe relerences in parenlhese are lo ir 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 es s h o w nt h e s l h c h a p _ ter of the ST is to be understood. L rerally lhe words mean the [,'l]slfessoi Speech and the Lord ol Speech They mean Sakli and Siva-th lwo con_ b s c i o u s p r i n c i p l e s 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

16.

3.

6.

The mantra-endings,amah, svaha vasal, hum, vausat and phat ae called Jatis. See Feghavabhalla on ST lV 33.34. l S t i c k se n c i r c l i n gh 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; lhe gidless (mekhara, are raised just outside each dge ol lhe kunda

on See Raghavabhatla Sl V 60-64. in are The samskaras mentioned jusl tive verses(V 61_65) and lhe in the ST wilhoutmuch details.The explanations mainlyftom lhe commen detailsgivenhere are obtainable matt6rsee G.N.Kavirajin Ianlra o For bunduas pimoradal digdarshan, crleslwo 1lt.ThePada hadarsa agamashaslrer

L 9

S e eS T l l l . 9 4 - 1 0 5 . bhuh. bhuvah and svat.

19

216

ChanrFr.r,

liews: binduh ptasiddhah: paramelmathpah tasyagnlsonatue., hdbhavo vahnn baindavah: anye bindur bhnmadhyanin vadarlt (on Sl Vl3). 20. 21. 22. nol The On Sl V 46: sourc6 mentioned. explains purthe poseot healing ghee-por. lhe See OipakBhaltacharya, Jounalof Besearch, Vts\a Bha?li. pp t., 1976-77, 45-50.

gSTTTGt|CtPAEI'UA C'F

WANqTRA

b!

SADHU SANTIDEV

VOLUME 5

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
Publications @ Cosmo 1999 FirstPublished
86!7 (set) ISBN 81.702t! (vol'tme5) 81-702u86&8

't.

ThewakingStateandThe'why' ol the Samadhi-Plunge Whatis SamadhiorYogic Trance ? oI TheCJitlque theTrancesolution TheCrilioueotlh 'Jivanmukti-Solution'

1 21 31

Published by

MRS. RANIKAPOOR Div PUBLICATIONS of t<.rrCOSMo PVI. GJ'NESIS PUBLISHING LTD. AnsariRoad, 24-B, Darya Ganj, INDIA NewDelhi-110002,

7. 8.

Thelssue: Statusol Dynamis Themind-Consciousness : Its Achievmnels Failures and 53 TheInwa.dization the Ascension and 71 TheConquest 93 Sureivara 105 TheWorks theAuthor theVartika of of Ih6 closeconnection between the BrahmaSiddhiandtheSambandhaVartika TheRaval Doctrines Examined the in SambandhaVartika Refutation Mandana's of Posilions the in Vartika TheTretment lhe Dockine of ot BhartrpraancatheVartika in Nretaphysical lgnorance Suresvara in Objections answers and onthesubject

of lvlelaphysical Ignorance by Thetrealment lgnorance Sri of Compared Sankara Suresvara and into Enquiry theseatof ignorance and withil conceals the objecl TheOperation ol ofthelvleans Knowledge Cancellalion lllusion ol Authority theVeda: ot Roleof NegativeTexls Preception, Cannol etc Contradicl theVeda Treatment theTopic Cause of of and Eifecl Thetrealment Universal of and Particular Thetreahent ol theDiscrimination of the FiveSheaths Teaching examinalion by olThe Dram and ThreeStates oJWaking, Sleep Dreamless Cantherebean Injunclion tor Knowledge Compaison SriSankara ol and on of Suresvara theTopic Hearing andthe Rests TheIniunclion Inne.andOuterConlrol lor andlhe other disciplines HowAction Mediiation and Relale Thereis noother Liberation Excepl Eradication lgnorance of All Duality lmagined is lhrough lgnorance Approved Thetormot Non-Duality in thevartika

9.

't0. 11.

ol TheMasrery the Nighls 227 HowBestto Enter Stateol Sleep? ihe Howto Relaan Awareness the of Dreams ? HowtoGrowConscious Sleep in TheLureol theDream-Consciousness TheVisionotlhe DivineBody 237 of TheConquest Sleep 243 HowtoReduce Hours Sleep the of ? Howto Eliminate Necessity the ol Sleep ?

'12. Attemptsai'Kayasiddhi' and Reiuvenation 257 13. TheMystery Lifeand Dealh of Death theService Lile at of 14. Metaphysical Factors Dealh of 283 FirstFactor TheParlAgainst theWhole Second Factor The ParlAgainst AllOtherParts ThirdFaclor Aclion andReaction Fourth Factor LiletheConsumer FifthFactor Warollhel\rembers SixthFactor lmpertect Poise Consciousness ol andForce Sevenlh Faclor Thetntinite a Summation as of lhe Finite

viii

ThePhysiology Senescence Death ot and fi/eiaphysics Lifeand Death ol

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 lhe sole wakingstate posis sessed 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 necessity the of Yogictrance (sri Aurobindo, p.379). The Synthesis Yoqa, ol To enler into Sahadhi is to passinlo a state of whichno memoryremains awakening... on conscious When people speak ol Samadhi, I te them, "We , try to developyoul innerindividuality you can enter into these very and regionsinfull consciousness, with the delightof communionwith the highest rcgions without losing consciousnessfor thal and retuming with a zefo in,tead ol an expeience." Bu flhe N,lolher, etin,Vol.XlV, No. 3, pp. 43-45) Yes,they[a the states ol higherrcalisation]can be aftained even in lull activity. Tance is not essential. (SriAurobindo, p.744) Lettercon Yoga, A THOROUGHGOING psychological self-invesligalion lar kanscending present its artilicialbounds, occull-spirilual an exploralion the tolallieldol our boing,revals truththatwhat ot the we normally knowoi ourselves not all we are: il is no more is lhan'a bubble theoceanof our eristence,' on lndeed, apartfrom

Chaplef l

theveryinsigniJicanl restricled oJourwakrng parl and individual consciousness, arenormally we perlectly ignoranl thewhole of ol the restof our being, lhe immense " more', lhat lieshidden in apparenlly inaccessible "reaches beingwhichdescend of into lhe protoundesl depths lhe subconscient riseio highesl ol and peaksol superconscience, or whichsufiound littie the lieldol ourwaking witha widecircumconscienl self existence which ol o!r mrnd and sense catchonlya lew indications." As a matterof fact, following the ancientWisdomof the L.Jpanishads, can broadly we dividethe tolalityol our existence into Jor.ir provincesor states:the waking siate' \jagrat).the sublirninal lhe'dream-state' (syapna), superconscienl or the or the sieep-state' (sr/suptl and linally the statebeyond lhe or 'ultimate slate'(lurjia, Co(esponding lheselour stalesof our lo existence, havein us tour selvesor ratherlhe fourfold stawe lus ol the oneSelfthalis Brahman:the wakjng ot Vaisvanara. sell theWaker;the dream,se[ faiasa,ihe Dreamer;the or sleep-setf or P/e/,ia, Sleeper; the and tinallythe supreme absotute or selJ ot being,lhe Foutth (caturlha),he Incommunicable t (avyavahey@), Ooe wilhoulsecond(adyaia),ot whichthe lhe threebetore derivations, are In less abstrlse and mysiicallerms, may statethat the we fourfoldscaleol beingdelineated aboverepresenls, to say, so lhe 'degrees the ladder being'that embodied must of ot an soul successively atiainil he wouldseekio clrrnb backhom hjs phenomenal and ignorant slf-view towardsthe supreme superconscience highest of the state hissell-being. what of But are lhe essenlial traits of theselour statuses? TheWaking State: waking Ow consciousness, theconsciousness lhal we normallypossssand that is dominated the by physical mind, a limping is surlace consciousness upin the shul bodylimitation wilhin conlines thelittle ol personal and ihe o{ bit mind. are ordinarily We awateonlyol our su ace selves and .what quite ignorant allthat ot lunctions behind veil. lhe Andvet

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 and knownonly by behindthe veil,occtrlt lrontalconsciousness an occultknowledge." a consciousness,rnanbecomes Whilein thisnormalwaking ised and gazes outward and rarely il ever inward rxlerna lparampasya nenlaralman). Hence the selt in this slalus ol has been described as wrse ol the oul_ exlernal v,/aketulness no spiiluallife or any higher watd (jegaritaslhe bahihprajfiah).No possible one remarns iettered to if becomes or deeprrea isalion lhrs wakrngslale the The Dream-Stab:fhisrepresents subliminacondtion realmol inlerior the exislence, largeluminous ol our conscrous and lo thal consciousness, corresponds lhe subller lile_plane planeor our being.ln mind planeand even a sublle physical our outer mind and lrleand deed. behindour outerexislence, Our arger be ngs sits behindcrypticwalls: 'hprp hrddenIn our unspFnparls are grealnesses 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 lhe dwartishmodicumwe call life; Supports Our bodys sublleself aslhronedwilhrn dreams. In rts viewlesspalaceol veridical comprrses Inner our reachoJour berng Thus,lhe subliminal -oxrslence, thal s to say, our inner mind, inner lile and inner physica wilh lhe soul or psychicentitysupporling them all. lt ano s of lhe natureoi a secrelIntraconsctent clrcumconscrenl

Chapterl

awareness lullpossession a brillianl rn of mindoower. limoid a litetorceand un unclouded physical subtle sense things. ol It rs in th s subliminal realmof our interior existence. lhe ream of subllesubjective supraphysical experiences ot and dreams visions heavenly and and intimations, a vefltable d wor ol wondertul illuminations, our mindand vilalbeingretire that whentheywilhdraw inward-drawn by concentralton theirab, from sorpl In surlace on activties, It s because ils inward plunge ol bringing itsirain wealth n a ol nnerexperiences, dreams and visions, lhe selltn this that statLrs beentermed has the dream-self is wiseot lhe in, that ward lsvapnastheno' ntahpajfiah). The Sleep-State: This corresponds a still higher to s r p e r c o n s c i e n ll 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 s pwe hyenandabhuk) pwe \prajhanaghana), blisslenandamaya and naslety lsatvesvara).T exalted his slateol seltabsorbed conscrousness called'sleep'becausemental sensory rs all or expeflences ceasewhen we enterthis superconscience. This 'dreamless sleepstate'{yatr supto... kafrcana na svapnam pasyall,), statusoJmassedconsciousness omnipotenl lhis and lnle )gerce(satvesvara saNajfta), canlains it "alllhe powers in ot being a 1compressed bul within itsetf concentrated and solely on lse I andwhenactive, thenactive aconsciousness in where 'sleep a I rs the self." is in thissuperconscienl lt state'thai we become "inherently intrinsically and conscious our sell and ot spirl, not as herebelowby a reflectton silenlmindor bV in acquisrtion lhe knowledge a hidden ol oi Being withinus; il is through through either super il, lhat of conscience, we can lhal passto a supreme status. knowledge experience." TheTuriya Slarc:fhis corresponds the higheslstatuslar to lranscending tirstthree, the being stalus puresell-existthe ol enceandabsolute being, where consciousness unconscious_ and nessas we acluallyconceive bothloselheir validily. is the ol lt supreme state Sachchidananda,'a ol superconscience ol state

in in ora absorbed its self-existence, a sl'.silenc self-ecstasy.' state, Mandukya the Aboutthe selfol thislourthortheTuriya sPeaks: Upanishacl inward-wise, oulward-wise, bolh nor nor "Hewho is neither norpossessed oulward wise, norwisdom seU-gathered, and inward H and nor of ol wisdom, unpossessedwisdom, whois unseen un , i n c o m m u n i c a b l e , 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 , Whose essentialityawareness theSeliin is ol andunnameable, in dissolve, Who is exislnce, Whomall phenomena its single Whois OnethanWhom lhereis no oiher, Who is Good, Calm, He ot Himtheydeemthe lourth: is the Self,He is the object Knowledge." division the totalityot our existof Suchis lhen the fourtold that is to say,spiritualknowledge ence,and true knowledge, becomes aboulour seltbeingas well as aboutthe world-being to in a available us onlywhenwe succeed establishingconscious realms rapport with the subliminal the nowsuperconscient and oJ our being.But unforlunately wakingslate is blissfully our ignorant its connection ot with or eventhe very existence t o thesesupernal reaches. the goalof Yoga whichis essentially So an attemptat arrivingat an integrals6lf-knowledge, entire an conscrousness powerot beinganda supreme and Lrnion !nily or withSachchidananda, Existence-Consciousness-Bliss Abthe solute, be altained can onlyby a progressive ascension lhe ot m nd lo higher slilihigher plan6s degrees consciousand or oJ Butherea serious seemingley and insuperable presents hitch itseli. mindis thesolewaking For pos, consciousness aciLlally sessed rnanthe mental by being and thismindin its aclualily completely lails to remainawake,beyond certainline,in lhe a reallyhigherstatesof realisalion wherethe heightened inand tensilied spirilualexperiences ao nature thingssought. are the ot Inrsalmost absolute incompatibilily ourwaking of mentality with he highest ranges spiritualconsciousness ol is strikingly brought

out in thelollowing veryinteresling account Sri Ramakrishna,s ot repeated lailures hain remain physically to awake thesumon mrlsol reaiisation. Swami Saradananda, ol lhe closesl one direcl discipls SriRarnakrishna thewriter hisauthor! ol and of lative biography, reporling: is "ln howsirnpie lerms Thakur SriFamakr]shnal lhe [i.e. used lo expiarn L_ts lo theseaJstruse lruthsol sptrilual lile "'Well, something lrommyteelandclimbs rises towards the head. longas it doesnotreach heao,rera consctousSo the n ness; but as soon as it reacheslhere, an utter t'otgett'ulness ovenakes - lhenlhereis no moreseeing hearing, be me or lar il to speak _ oltalking.'Who would speakthen? Thevery sense oi l' and 'ThoLr' vanishesaltogether! often decidelo speak | everylhing yo!, all aboutthe visions to and experiences thal accompany ascension. longas thal hasreached lar lhis So so Ipointingto his heart)ot evenso lar (pointing his throat),jl to seemssomebody shutsmy mouth and I fajltocontrot lorcet_ mv tutnessl tPonlng to histhloat) whenone ascenos turiier stiti lhanihts level, sooner no lhanI conlemplate a mornenl ior to speakoi lhe visions and experiences there, mindimmedrthe atelyshootsupwards and no reportjng becomes mor-a anv oos''Oh, innumerable aretheoccaslons theThakur when sought to exerctse utmost lhe conkoloverhimsell lhal hecouldreporl so 10us about types experiences onehaswhen mind the ot lhat the transcends throal-cenlre eachtimehe failedl... dav the but One he emphaticallv stated: '''Today I mustspeak youeverythingnot a bil wouldI to , hide' and he started speak. coutdverywe speakatl to He about centres the uplotheheart andthethroal, thenpoinl. and inglo ihe junciion his eye-brows said,.Whenever mrnd ol he the ascends here, embodied hasa vjsion lhe supreme lhe soul of SellandgoesintoSamadhi. Thenthereexists a thintrans, bul parent veilbetween individual and the S!preme. lhe Sell And

in so therethe so!l experiences this way-'. Speaking lar, as the ot he soonas he startddtailing realjsation the Supreme, intolhe Samadhislate. Attercoming ol histrance oul state, went reporting again,bui againwntintoSamadhi. he recommenced repeatedattempts and lailurcsho spokoto us with Altetsuch tearsin his eves: ' lvy sons,my intontion to repo to you is everylhing wilhthe oui hiding l6astbit oi il: butlhe l\rother won'lallowme to speak Shecompleloly my mouthl' shut "Wewondered lhisandthought:'How at slrangel is appar lt enl lhal he is kyingto report and thathe is evensuffering becauseof his lailure do so, but he seems be altogelher lo lo in helpless thismaller - Surely Mother lhe musthavebeenvery naughty indeedlHe wantslo speakaboutholythings,aboutlhe vision God,andit is surely thalSheshould ol odd shuthismouth!' "Wedjd nol knowal timethatlhe mind's range indeed is very muchIrmited and thal, unless one proceeds farther then its iartheslreach,one cannotexpeclto havethe realisation the ol Supremel ourinnocence could ln we not.understand time ai lhal lhat out of sheerlovelor us lhe Thakur was attemotino the mpossiblel" SriRamakrishna himsell hls inimiiabte ernphas in style sed on more thanoneoccasion lactof lhe inability our mind this of consciousness to relain iis'power conscious oJ disceroment and defin experience' it rises thesuperconscient ng when to heights, '1esaid: Whathappens whenthe mindreaches seventh plane the . goesintoSmadhil Lano cannolbe described. Oncea boalenters the [black waters]ollheocean, doesnotrelurn. il Nobodv knows whathappens the boalallerthal.Theretore boatIi.e.Mindl to the udrlnol us anyInformalion grve about ocean, lhe ''Ofce a saltdollwentio measure depth theocean. ihe ol No sooner it enter water did the thanit melted. Now, whowould tell

10

Chapler-1

rhewe!493919-34-I!9-9ry
the Beyandthe realmof thought,trcnscending domainol ity, leavingMaya with all her changesand fiodilications dual shinesthegloryoltheEtenalBrahman the far behind,.... in Nirvikalpa Samadhi. Knowledge, knowet dissolve in the mensttuumof One EternalConsciou'ness:bitth,growthand death vanEh in that infinite Existence:and love. lovet and meryeinthatunbounded beloved oceanol Supteme Felic, 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 joy sweet ol Brahman thatsupetconscious in state.Space disappears in nothingness, time is swallowedup in Eter nny... The [and] it is all stillnessindefinable.... Nivikalpa Sanadhi is the highest fliqht ol Advaita Philosophy (Llleof Sri Ramakrishna, Advaita Ashrcm, Almoa, p. 181) The acquisition the highest ol spiritual consciousness, at leastslatically nol dynamacally,the goal of all spiritual if is endeavor. as we havenotedbefore, sDaritual But, the reaches of conscrousness taabehindand aboveour notmalwaking lie mentality. lhe question is it possible possess Now is: lo the spirilual consciousness stillremaining while hbedded the in ordrnary menlal funclioning? otherwords, lhe normalunIn can regenerate sudac6 consciousness lhespiaitual beconand one comilant simultaneously and operative? Seekers allages an and clrmes, who have ihe necessary credentials pronounce to on this poinl,are universally agreedto denylhis possibility. So,broadly speaking, allernalives four mayopenout before hose whoasprre afterspiritualily: (i)Tocreate division, separation.dissociataon a a a of conscrousness to be spiritual and withinor above whilethe outer conscroJsness its ignorant and movemenls Indiflerenfly are walched felltobe and something intrinsically loreign drspaand 'ore lr s s thesolulion ol the Witness Consciousness . (rr) be satisiied To withthe indirect glories the spiriiual ot

howdeeptheoceanwas?" So it is seenthat jn the actualslate of our evolvedwaking realms our ol the and existence ascension entryintothehigher fartherand lar al only by rcceding beingbecomes all possible lher Ircm the waking mentality,by vtilhdtawingfrom and losing life touchwilh the dynamic surface and iakinga plungeinlolhe And immobile ecstatic or lrancaof absorbed supetconscience. herein tor thespiritual lies seeker necessily eventhe inlhe or evilability the Yogiclrancestate,so much Fo that n is emol phalically means asserled Samadhi that is'notonlya supreme verycondition ot arriving thehighesl al consciousness, b!t...lhe ilself, alone it andstatus thathighesl of consciousness in whrch possssed enjoyed we while are in lhe can be completsly and divinisalion lifebeoi Butin lhal caseour goalotdynamic the comes foredoomed lailure. we mustnowseewhether lo So progressively into trancecanbe transformed a wakingSamadhi in made and even ourwakandilsspirilualgains manilest aclive In9extstence, IS WHAT SAMADHI ORYOGICTBANCE? ln her owndepthsshehead the unuttercd thoughl Thatmadeunrealtheworldand alllife meant. 'Whoart thouwhoclaim'stthy crownor separale btrlh, Theillusion lhe soul'srcaity ol goclheacl an ignorantglobe Andperconal on In the animalbodyof impedect man? Onlythe blankEternal can be true All elseis shadow and flashin Mindbbrighl glass, and O soul,inventot man'sthoughts hopes. of Thyself inventian lhe moments'stream, the of centreor sublleapexpoint, illusions' cease." from vainexistence At lastknowthyself, ($ Aurabindo, Saviil.,BookVll, CantaVl,p 535

rh. Wak'ng slale and The

12

Chaplerl mavlunctlonin five dilferenllevelsor conditions(cilhbhhmayah). or are (i) Ksiptaor lrom down upwards lrom out inward, These. condition whichthe mindis acliveand in lhe dissipated resltess, and runs aller objeclsol varioussorts;(ii) mtidha externalsed condition whichhe mind underthe in_ in the or lorprd, stupelied Iluence ot an excessjve larnas gravitales downwards and wal(iii) towsIn the obscuredepthsol ignorance: v,ksrplaordistracled, pacilied relatively and at in whichlhe mindbecomes a condilron somewhal concentrated but lhrown out again outwards times (iv) ekagraorconcen. movemenls; becauseot lhe dislracting dominated sallvain whichthe mindis able by a tfated, condilion lor stretch iime to the exclusion ot ol to concenlfale a prolonged chosenobjector suba I olhef lhoughls,upon some particular jecl ol concenlration;and lastly (v) niruddhaor slilled. a condrceases lion n whrcheven the acl or r!nclion ol contemplation modilications the mind beingstopped. nothingwhal and.ail ol so ever s known or conceivedbv lhe latter. The ltrst lhree conditionsolthe mind enumeratedabove are ol caLtrse nol al all conduciveto lhe praclice ol spirituaiity lyogapaksena vartate)til is only the lasl two o ihal make possi. ble afy spiritual illuminalion. a matterol tacl,in the parlance As ol lhe Palanjali System,"ekegraor the state ol concentralion. when permanenilyeslablished,is calledsampfali eh Yoga lhe ot lranceol medilalion. whichthreis a clearand distinclconin scrousness the obiectof contemolation. is known also as of lt samepalei or samprain ta samedhi in as much as citla or lhe mrndis. in lhis stale, entirely pul inlo the objecl and assums Ine lorm of lhe obiect itsell. So also lhe state o, niruddha rs caled asampalnala Yoga orasampajneb samedhi... because Inrsis lhe lranceof absorplion whichall psychoses in and appearances objects o{ are stopped,,,,' generallerms we may say that Samadhr yogrc or rrarco s lhal slale of super consciousness which the asprrin anl.divingdeep or soaring high in the searchol ihe sout or the

ol in and as consciousness reflected rellacted lhe bosom oul 'spiritual menlal This normalmentality- is whal hasbeentermed reatsalron conscrousness and lrom (iii)To andwithdraw themenlal still This is whal can be called reaches. lo ihe supra-menlal relire the'lrance-solulionconscious(iv)To ol translorm nalure thenormalwaking the downlherelhe say,by bringing ness, divinise as we would to il so heighls, that its of fullest weath and splendor the spirilual rectil ed may present and relractorinss be altogether opacity by envlsaged of'divine transliguralion'as This is the solulion ourYoga. and'spirilual_menlal Consciousness' Evidently the'Wiiness it slaled, for.be onceagarn tar realisatioJall shorlol ourgoal; n' ol upon goalis no lessthanthe establishmentLiteDivine this Sachchidananda waking exislence embodying earth, dynamic a glories. in histu 1ymaniiesled is Butsincethe yogickanceor Samadhi so oilenheldup possrb e to means access lhe higher ol notonlyas a supreme and ol but'astheverycondition status spirilua consciousness il alone canbe com_ itselt, thalhighest consciousness in which we plelelypossessed and enjoyedwhile we are in the body," of the lor to musldigress here a while examine nature Samadhi ol in or andfindoul its utility olherwise the pursuit lhe Integral yoga. rS10 1ence. mind-Co'lsciousneSS Since a' Samadtu Yagtc slateot spiritual wrlh rnally lound be lncompalible thehighest to by yogaor union mustalmost detinit olr realisat a verrlable on, cessalion of all menlal lunctrons connote lhe or even (yogascittavrtlinirodhahl) ol themindilsell\manoneso as Now.1olollowthe terminology usedby Vyasa,lhe greal our slull Paianjali, rnind Aphorisms'ol the'Yoga commentatoron

14

Chapter-1

sell,enlers, whenhis consciousness, through inward an concenlration, withdraws tromlhe surface worldas perceived ihe by sensesand reliresto progressively deeperinleriorrealmsof supersensus experiences.thisprocess inward In of withdrawal or upward ascension, consciousness enlersth 'dreamthe first e state'and thenproceeds th'sleeo-state'. jnthe to While dram, quiescenl slalae,the ouler mindol the Sadhaka becomes and his innar mind. separated lhe outerandno from longer covered upbyit, ranges lh.oughawondorlulworld richandvariegated ol Inner expenences. To obviate any possjble rnisunderstanding the nomenthat cialuredram-stale' or'sleep-state' may engender an unwary in spirit,we may{orthwithstate thattheyogic here dream,or sleepslaleshavenothing do wilhthe physical to stalesof dreamand "lnthe sleep. possession Yogic dream-slate...lhe mindis inclear physical ol itself, lhoughnot ofhte world, (is works coherently,... perlectlyl awake...not withthe out-going, withan ingalhered but wakefulnesswhich, in though immersed ilseli, exercises in it all In thedream-state thereis an infinite itself series deplhs o{ startjngwith thal tor whichthe worldol physicalsensesis almoslal the doorsthoughmomentarily out,and reaching shirt to depthsnot likelyto be brokenin uponby the impact or cattof the sensuousphysicalworld.As a malter ol Jact,"beyonda certainpointlhelrancebecomes complet and it is thenalmost quile impossible awakenor call back lhe sout that has reto ceded them;ilcanonlycome into backby itsownwillorat most by a violentshock.olphysical appealdangerous the system to owrng lhe abruptUpheavalof lo relurn." Withthe incrasing depths heighls lhe degrees con, or of of sciousness altained the soul, experiences by the obtained becomeprogressively remole lessandlesscommunicable and to the wakingmind,unlilthe trancebecomes complete an utter in selfgathering the berng ol whenlhe central consc nessseparous

Then it becomes an of lrom the lasl vesting mentalityrates ot ortranscripls theexpefor impossibility anyrecords absolute waking conol to lhe lherein reach portals the normal r ences claimed lo of Nirvikalpa Samadhi Thls scio!sness. is lhe state and of attainmeni assidLrously status spiritual be the hlghest lrance. by seeker after after every sought existot lrance-state puresuperconscienl In lhrsultrmate being and immersion lhe infinite in thissupra-mental in ence. the oi space hence world and bliss, theuncondilioned timeand ol inlo allaction mentalaware' vanish noihing, land names forms abol_ is of or things allogether resswhelher outward ol inward Beyond up cosmic is and ished everythingdrawn inlothesuper trance, the this staleof Nirvikalpa Onceatlaining supreme agarn the to \,1/ell"nigh impossible, return lo sou l ndsrt diilicull, aclveIfe-consciousness,tor"illoseslheholdonthecord mainof b ndsil lo the consciousnesslife,andlhe bodyis leJl, bul nol ta ned indeed its sel position, deadby dissolution, in it." incapabie recovering ensolued whichhadinhabited lite ol the physiognomy Wehave in solaranalysed abskacllermsthe ol iheYogic nowlike we trance.Io complele accounl would the to reproduce brief concreie Uddalaka caiesof thesages in the andRamakrishnashowhowin laclthe consciousness withto draw inward passes progressively slaies ng deepening through 01be ng to rGpose finallyin lhe absolute siale of inrvikalpa Samadhi. Fjrstthe scripluralaccouniol the lrance of Uddalaka as oeplcted the grealwotk Yoga-Vasishtha into Mahanmayana: Theftanceaf lJddalaka:"One thesagedeliberaled:'When day wrllyou atlain eternalpeace reachingthe ot lo by slatus mindless' nes(.lo'sJchrsIndeed condrtron getting for lreedfromlhe the oondaqa reoealed ol sat brrlhs?' Thenhe Brahmin ... Uddalaka down concentrate withdraw mind. to and his But he couldnot sLcceeo olce . alta,nrng Samadhi al lor in state. hrs?nrnd, the

Chaoter.l

the tashionof a restless baboon, beganto tleet from objectto objeci... a lalerstag6,the mind-monkey At wouldat limesleave outsidecontracts and lelt eagerfor the enjoyment lhe inner ol Sattwic bliss;butthiswasindeed intermillent an mood.lor most ollenthe mindwouldrushlowards outward objeclsagain,as il it was stungby a wouldrushlowardoutward objoctagain,as if it was stungby a venomous snak6.Al times,his innerstatewas being cleared thoobscurity ignoranc Uddalaka ol of and visioned the glory of a sun; but in no lime his Chittabecameres ess againand flewoulwardin the manner a starfledbjrd.Again, of he withdrew inward and oxperienced limesa vacantspaceor al the Zerool an impenetrable darkness...Aswarrior bat e a in killshis enemies witha sword,Uddalaka slarleddestroying one by onealllhe vikalpas gone, thalwereappearjng conhe inhis sciousness. vikalpasl lhe 9on6,he saw into he innerspace a green-black butproceed Sun immediatly eradicate inky to this darkness.Then softness a massed the of greeted sage lustr lhe jn Uddalaka thattoo eliminated notimefotlowing way But he the ol an elephant calf that gets into a lotuspondand tears away anddevastates lotuses the allaround. Once thismassed splendourwasgone, Uddalaka's succumbed a spellof dseo mind to sleepjust manhighly as intoxicated loses sobriety then his and getsrntotorpor; thesagewasprompt but enough annullhis lo state sleep.Then mind of his waslilled withtheconscjousness ol vyoma;pul as thewindsweeps awaythedew-drops, he iust loo sweptawayfromhismindthisclearandstainless consciousnessof vyoma. But,following that,somesori of dazeddullness ovenook as if he was a heavily him drunkmanwho had just comeoutol his torpid slale.Even thistoo he vanquished. "Then, longlast,lhe sageUddalaka at reached slalusof the Nirvikatpa Samadhi, where the16 wasneither obscuritv anv nor anY ePhemeral luster." That, in the state of Nirvikalpa lrance,the body becomes immobile a paintedimage(citdrpjtamivacalah) evena lik6 and vrolenl sense-appeal to bringbackthe soullo the waking tails

oul brought by the lorcefully has consciousness beenequally ol ol accoilnt the Samadhi tollowing in Yoga-Vasishthalhe Shlkhidhvajal lherethe andlound wentto theforest Chudala "Thequeen lree, like saated, a sculptured in the staleol klngShikhidhvaja re'awaken I mustnow seekto deliberaled: lrance.she \rrvrkarpa the his bodyverysoon'Then he the king,otheruise willleav at shouted the bodyand the approached king's Chudala oueen This loudsoundand thenthe soundot lhe too oi her voice. but creatures' the lhe and frightened slartled sylvan trumpet lrom failedto evokeany response attempts queen'srepeated like and kanced immobile a gran_ romained body whose theking on laid ile mass.Chudalalhen herhands thebodyof Shikhidhvaja body the it.Thusshaken, king's agilating andslafledviolently but on lell downand rolled the ground, eventhenhe did not wonde'ed Thenthe queen consciousness his recove- waking to nol seemlo be an easypropostlron and lhought.'lldoes the gainol a desire my awaken KinglOnlyil he slillpossesses back will in hidden seed'lorm,lhat helphimto come somewhere ' wisecanhe bearoused In slale, no other again thewaking to we ol Si TheTrance-Experience Ramaki'hna:Now cometo caseol theSageol Dakshinesvara hislorical thevervaulhentic biog' in as depicled hisauthoritative whose trance-experiences we reproduce Orderitself published the Ramakrishn raphy by below: -Sr Ramakr,shna o' a covered widetange expe_ s Samadhi lo visions theannihilalion I ences of various fromhisDerceplion lt ot oi hismind theintinile consciousnessErahman. hadalso in powel,or'aworld of into rnany he forms....Thus entered a'world cofil_ He grandeur'... would of beauty', or'a worldof spiritual Incarnaor rnunewith isible rms inv beingsJo ol theDivinity Divine fons ot the pasl, ol "Such lo belong thedomain Personalily, visions however whlch notthelastwordin spiritual So experiences longas a is

18

ChaptFl

sadhakais salisliedwith lhis kindol samadhi. a ainments his cannoibe side to be complele. has not reached He unlathomabledepths the ocean, of lhough undoubtedly hasgonelar he bhind sudace, the encouni6ring lormsol life abounding the lhere,but he has noty6t ransacked priceless th6 treasures oJ ihe deep, whichr6val themselves lo those only whohavethe courage diveandon tilltheyhave to touched om. bo "So we ,ind Sri Famakrishna takingup another course ot sadhana allogether dilterent lromhisprevious ones." Then, lewpages a luriher the biographer givesa vivid on, d6scription thefirstNirvikalpa of Samadhi-siateSri Ramakof rishnal passedintothe ineJfable "Sri Ramakrishna gloryof the Nirvikalpa Samadhi. ihal rapturous In estasythe sensesand mindslopped lhei lunctions. bodybecame The motionless a as corose. The universe rolled awaylrom h's vrson.even space itsellrnelted away. Everything reduced ideas was to whichlloated llkeshadows th dimbackground the mind. in of Onlylhe faint presently conscioLrsness ot'l'repeated itself dullmonotony. in thatloo stopped, whalremained Existence and was alone.Ihe soulloslitself the Selt, in andall ideaot duality, subject ot and objecl,waseflaced. Limitations weregone,andtinitespacewas onewithinfinile space. Eeyond speech, beyond experience and beyond thought, SriRamakrishna realised Brahman-had had the become Brahman. the "Tolapuri Ramakrishna's orthespiritual preceplorl Guru {Sri sal lor a ionglime,silently watching discipte. his Finding him pertectlymotionless, stoleout ot the roornand lockedthe he doorlestanybody should inkudewithout knowledge.Then his he awajled calllrom Ramakrishnaopen door.The the Sri to the daV passed thenight on, came. Another andstill day anotherthree passed days andlhrewas call. no Tolapuri astonished was and wenl to seewhatwas wrong. 'He opened the door and enteredthe room.Theresat Sri

in he in Ramakrihan theverysameposition which hadlelthim. of was no manifeslalion lile in the body,bul lhe counle' There He and radiani. sawthatthe disciple was calm,serene nance in world, mindabsorbed the his wasstilldeadio the objective steady!. Sell,w lhouta llicker-absolutely il determined lhe hearl "Withthe utmoslcare he lTotapuril kace of respiration or il there was lhe slightest was beating body.There disciple's corpse_like andagainhetouchedthe Again wasundoublof wasno signeither lileor ol consciousness....ll ol culmination Advaila Samadhi-lhe edy a caseof the Nirviklapa ''Tolapuri look immedialely stepsio bringthe mindol Sri of down Ramakrishna to lheworld phenomena. decideto Sri lell AflerTotapuri Dakshineswar, Ramakrishna 'Mine'and live conslanllyin withdraw trom lhe worldot 'l' and reveal' lollowed isverymuch then wilhihe Supreme.What unily into reproducing he sainfs of nglromourpoint viewandworth owninimltable words: ''Islayed thatineffable a at Jor in State six months a slretch, his statefromwhichan ordinary soul knowsno reiurn, body leaf dropping lifea withered froma treelTherewas no sense olj oi lhe passage lime,ol howthe daysandthe nighlswentbyl ol Flies ol andnostrils my and insects usedto getinlothe mouth no response bodyas J in thoseol a corpse, theyevoked but fromme.OJtentimes withoul involuntarily lwould easenalure berngn lhe leaslawareol itl trlybodywouldnot haveremalned viable long, would down dead, lor bul for have surely dropped it lhecircumstancelhearrivalat timeol a Sannyasin a wilh this ol heavystick in his hand.he realisedmy state at the very firsl glance iell lhat il thisbodycould be and somehow prserved, muchgoodwouldbe doneto the worldlhrough agency. li its thusso happened during he meal-iimes usedio beatmy thal oody glimmer wilhthestick nosooner hefindthata taint and did ol awareness come, would pushsomemorsels good ot had he

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 lhe weltare the world!'Then serious lor ol a disease assailedmy bodilylrame-blood-dysenlery wasl I had lhen it lrequent bouts ot gripingpains and unbearable cramps and wrenchesin the stomach!After I had sufferedlrom such in lense agony lor long six monlhs,my consciences couldcome down little by; lillle inlo my body and linally I regainedthe waking slate ol orindarv men," 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 however deep,failto meelthe demands ourYoga. ol and at lhe sametime indicale howourgoalol dynamic divinisation 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 leaveunchanqed old dustylaws? the Shalltherc be no new lable6,no new Word, No greater light come down upon the earth Delivering from her unconsciousness, her Man'sspititlrcm unalterable fate? 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 labourcr rctuns, her taskundone?" Sayili',EookVll, Canlo ll, pp. 475-76) fsri Aurobindo, "l am concened wilh the eatth, not with wotlds beyondfor thetrown sake;it is a lartestial rcalisation I seekanc!not that a flightlo distantsummits." (Sri Aurobindo, Himsef.p. 124) On TRANCE-experiences areundoubledlygreat ot value lhe in pursurt the spiritual ol goalas ordinarily undersiood, the and Nirvikalpa Samadhitakenthespecific in in sense whjch term the rsused, doubt no represents a supreme height realisation ol that a seeker mayaspireafter.Naturally this enough, mostelevated trance-slale provesto be adequatsif the goalis to passaway lnlolhe Superconscient nol to bringdownihe Power and and

24

ChapteF2

ol TheCrilique theTrance-Soltttion and cessaiion all modiflcalions, ol therers no relurn !ie Samadhi 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 Bul the AvaIarc cherish a few desires lor the good savdat........ lhe wa d. By taking hold of that thread they come down hom al ous to the conscious slale:' (ltalicsours) the superconsc his the Narralion own personalexperience Swamrsays in the same conlexl: ''| had lust a lrcce of the feeltng af Ego, so I could again (/bld., 139). p. retur,to ihe worldoi relatvily lrom the Samadhi." (lta cs oufs) (iv)ln a moregeneral way we may statethatii the enlry into the lr gherreachesoi our beingis elleciedonly in ihe absorbed staie ol trance,the experience superconscienl cannolbecorne 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 experiences {v) TheYogiclrancehelpsus to fix lhe spiritual rn our nner consciousness aloneiii cannotautomalically ead to the sp rilualsationol the outerwakingconsciousness. lor so {rswho a m al a lotal spirlual and supramenlal change,even, and In partcular,oi lhe outerpans of our Nalure,Samadhias an InslrLrmentat provesto be altogether on inadequale and fuI e. (v ) Becauseof the aforesaid tnability exercise 10 anything 0ul a re at ve and rnoderaie evation e influence lhe oulercon, on sc ousness,t so happens ihal when lhe Samadh ceases,lhe ihreadrs brokenand the sou relurns onceagainto the.,dislracI or ' l " ' o I p F . t l ci o n so l r h e o u t w a ' d l , As a rnalteroi fact,sinceone cannotcontinlaly reman in l h e t r a n c e - s l a l e , 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 , w vyufthanaat 're|u.n" lhe lromthe superconscious slatebecomes unavoidable, wilh lh s vyuthana"lhe lawet conscousness and romwh ch lhe ascenttookp ace fallsbacklo whal it was, wilhe

G ory ol the Supercoscient o!r normal into waking consciousness.B!l Samadhi experiences cannot sulJice the leasttor in the objecloi ourYogaol TransJormation; our goaljs no less 1or, lhanthedynamrc divinisationo!r total ol xistence including the parts Pradriti.To more oulermost of be specilic, viewed fromlhe perspeclrve oulr off goal spirilual - lhe goalof embodying and manitesting highest lhe spiritualconscjo!sess uponearth here itseli- lhe kance-solution ihe actualimperie lor tionsof our world'ex stence sulJers, among others, Iromtheioliowing defi(i)Th. supreme trance-state represents slateol conscious, a nessor rather superconsciousness to which onlya rare can iew ordinarily aitain. Thus, hasgotnogeneral ii valldity faras lhe so goalol a wide-based terrestrial fealisation concerned. is (ii)Even when attained, thereis no return themajority for ot seekers fromlhissLlpteme heighl splrituat of consctousness. tt rsonlytheexceplionaily lswarakotis ,,divine gifted or souis,, who succeed coming in backto the waking state. CI. SwamiVivekananda, Camplete Wotks,Val.Vl, p. 4gg: "When once they[ordinary Sadhakas] somehow allain the to direclrealisalion Brahman, cannoi of they again comebackto plane rnaterial the lower perception. meltawavin Brah, of They rran .' A5,re niavat - likewareri. milk. So thequestion the divlnisation thewakinq ol ot existence becomes otiose and iftelevanl, (lll)Tradlionally,it is avefredthal evenlhose rareiew who happen return lo lromlhe supreme state do so on y through can lhe inlermediary a trace egoanddesires. ol of Hence cerlain a .lower ngol lhe key"becomes unavoidabte places at a which it remove lorrnlhe perfecl ne realisatlon aspire div we atter, Cl. Swami Vivekananda, Camplete Works, Vl, l p. 140: Val. "Theconclusion the Vedanta thatwhenthereis absoof is

Chapler-2

TheCriiqueottheTr nc

ion

27

onlytheaddition an unkept a remembered no longer of or bul dynamic experience," It rs because this persistence the disabilities the of o1 of wakingmentality even after attainment Samadhithat it is oJ somelimes asserted an absolute that eradication lgnorance of or a compiele ascension consciousness the "mortal of from mentality" become leasible ohlywhenthe bodyandthe bodily rfeceaseto lunction dealh.\Cf. Yoga-Shikhopanishad,l. at i63 pendapalena muktihse muktirna hanyate.) ya tu Theforegoing discussion makes clear il thaltrance,exper ences maybe all righlso lar as the traditionatYogas con, are cerned;ior, all,according themthetruebondage the after lo is veryprocess birthihe liability the individual rebirth o{ of 1o ln this"unhappy lransienl wo..ld" lokam). Libeta\anltyamasukham tionachieved through altainment the knowledge Reality the of of shoLrld therefore havelor its practical consiequence definilhe lrvesloppage lhis cyclic process birth-death-rebirth. oi off Andii thisis so,if the cessalion fromembod existence ed ls consrdered be the summum lo bonum,one needconcentrale onlyon an innerrealisaiion the innerDivine ol and not bother oneself thepossjbilily olhelwise an integral wilh or of terreskial rea sation. Also, body, the allhough initially necessary a instrumenl for the realisalion our spirjtualdesliny\sariramadyam ot khaludharmasadhanam), be allowed disintegrate may to once (Cf. thaigoalis achieved. Sfi Bamakrishna: oul thethorn "Take with the helpot a thorn"tand Yoga-Vasishtha: "Renounce ihat wrlh whichyou rcnounce" Iyajasitamtyala). lyena Butthiscan by no means our altitude the bodyand be 10 bodilylile. For the Integral Yogahas for ils objectve: (i)io make spiriiualexperiences thewhole reallo consciousnessincluding of the outerbeing; that (ii)toestablish highest possible the realisationthewakinq ln stateand makeit endure there;

velyand in ones lhe (ii ) not onlylo experience Truthsublecl a Consciousnessone, but to manliestt even in full acliv_ nneT
Llyi

ity ol ( v) an inlegra possesslon the iniegra of the D vine n y beyond I lhe tfe ol this world and nol on 'lt ln short, in the words of Sri Aurobindo: is the obieclof downinto t the Light,Power iile myyogalo iransform by bringing This DivineTruthand its dynamiccerlitudes. and B iss of the but asceticism, ol d vine Yogals not a yoga of world_shunning nol and existence, as somelhng al ife . .il aLms a changeol liJe " oi subordlnate nc dental,but as a d stinctand centra oblect pointsout that "not on y musl the Sfi Elsewhere Aurobindo staiesout of itselllntoa higher r se in abnormal m nd be ab e to mentality also miust be entiely brl iIs waking consc oLrsness, a/ore Th s then s ourgoal, and hencetrance-experlences lhe lvoreover cannolhe p us much in ach evingour objeclive. greal realised sutierslrom anotrler Samadhstateas ordinarily as disablily which may not be considerer such when viewed goal oJth lrad tionalworld-sh!rnning lrom the standpoint the oi Yogas certainly from our pointof view.Thiss as regrads but so theabsence any conscious of memorj/ the tranceexperence of wl -r or " erLrns o lha wakrngmenlaL.IV 1. agd As a rnalterof factthe aim of the old Yoga stopassaway rnto Superconscient not to bringbackLls [iches lhe dynamic and 11r wakingouler existence the a spi. with a view lo effectuate ituallransformallon Hence, soonas theYogin goesabove ther. as Ine evel ol the spirtuai mind, he does not seek lo retarnany contnuilyof awareness he lhere;instead, passesintothe mysI c sleep ol Samadhi, slale of superconsciousness wh ch in a Ine humamrnrnd ils actually cannotremain condition in evolved awakeevenwith what has beentrmedthe " innerwaking" and nencepasses nto 'the blankincomprehension oon-recep and

2a

Chapter_2

tionoJslumber." as a resull,because the gull o, oblivion. And ot lhe spirjlualexpraences superconscrenr ol lhe rlance_stale lose all theirdynamjcvalu6lor the wakingconscrousness. Britthisdisability to be remedied. has Sincewe seeklo bring downlhe Superconscjent ournormalwaking into consciousnesswe mustsornhow bridge gur, heighten inlensify the and o[jr sp{,tuat awakentng inthenormally 6ven superconscienl reaches ol berng and trainour consciousness bringbackin lull the to ,,lrom dynamic memory the inner the outerwakjng.,, to ln thisconnectton leeltempted ,eprooJ tn we lo ce extenso wnarlhe Mother said In repty the question..ls stareo, lo the lrance Samadhi signol progress?, or a "Toenter inlo Saftadhi is to pass into a state ol whichno conscious memoryremains awakenirrg. on "ln ancient tirhesthjswas considereo a very hagh as . condition.lt was eventhoughtthat it was the sign ot a jreai reatisa_ tion....-lhavereadin all kindsof so-caed spirituat titerratue rnarvellous thjngsaboullhis stateof tranceof Sarnadhi; il and happened I hadnever ihat hadit. I didnotknowiJit wasa sign A"9 *i"" herelarpondicherry]. ot riy one larnved ::^it:.:1I r,rs!questions Sa Aurob,ndo to was..WhalAo you tnrnr. 5amadnt. slateot lracewhichonedoesnol remembe.? oi this One enters a condition into which seems be blissrullbut lo whenone comes of il one never oll knows whathappened.,He looked at rrle,he sawwhal lmeantand loldme.,ll is unconsctousness, ...yes, enlers whatis called one into Samadhi, when onecomes outol one'sconscioqs beingandenters a pan ol one,s into being whichis completely unconscious ratherintoa domainwheri or one_has corresponding no _ consciousness one goesbeyond lhe fieldul one'sconscjousness entersinto and a i"gton ,ri"re one hasno morconsclousness. is in the impersonal One slale. Thatis why naturally one remembers nothing, oecause one has nor beenconscious anything'..... ol .So you havelh6 reply.The signof progress when there ts

is no morc unconsciousness,when you can ise to the same without enteing inlo a trance." regians At the time ot the publication thesTalk,the Molheradded ol remark: lhefollowing .Thereare peopiewho enterinto domains wherethey have but this stateand their a consciousness, between conscious wakeful consciousnes is a gap:lheirindividuality ihere normal th stateand th deeper state; doesnot existbetween waking pa66age lheylorgeL Theycannot ihenin the cafiy theconsciousthevhadthere theconsciousness becaLrse into here ness lhere s a gap belweenthe lwo. There is even an occult discipline in which consists building intermediary the fields, thal one so maybe able to remember things.' Buteventhisdoesnotsuffice ourgoal. lor Forwhat aim we al is nol the conscious nging back of the impressions, b the reprolrng back lo lhe wakingconsciousness, transcriptions in rnore lesspedect,whalon experiences statesal presenl or in superconscrent we wantinslead integral to al: an supramenlal lransformalion the waking ol existence itself. lhe luminous In words Sri Aurobrndo: ot "lt lhecontrol [th] of highest spiritual being to be brought is intoourwakrng theremustbe a conscious lile, heightening and wtderind inla mnensranges new being, of new consciot/sness. newpotentialitiesaciion, taking - as integral ol a up as poss - ol our pregenl ble being, consciousness, activities and a lransmulationtheminlodivine of values which would euecla Iransfiguratton human of our exislence. wherever radical For a lransition to be made, has lhere is alwaysthjstriplemovement, - ascenl, widening fieldand base,integration..." of So we see that anordertohavea divinely translo.med wakrngexrstence, ascension lhe trance-stale even and to or the oL dr^qup ot a conscrous bndge between andthe waking that slalersnolenoJghSomething muchmorerevolutinary needed: is

.e
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Chapter-3

I he Passaoe clescribes slale of consciousness lhe when one is alool frc; a thlngs even 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 But,at the sametime,oneloelsno necessity llee lo another. to kom the worldor not to do any action,because beingfrce lrcm the illusian,actionot livingin the wo d does not weighupan one, one is nol boundor involved. Lette6 on Yoga,pp.682-83) fSri Aurobindo, Whenone seesa mircgefotthefircttime,he mistakes lor it a reality,and after vainly trying to quench his thitst in it, leans lhat il is a miage. Eut whenever seessucha phenomenon he 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, ected Wotks,Vol.Vl, p. 104) Co I am neitherthe doet nor the enjoyer. Action' haveI none, pasl or present or fulute. I possess ,o body nor does todylessness characteise state.Howcan I say whatis mine iry Avadhuta-G 1.66]l ita, lDattal(aya, We haveseenin lhe previous chapler theYogic why kance even it be of lhe supreme il sort,the Nirvikalpa fail Samadhi, to meetthe demands theYoga Transformalion. a matter ol of As of tactwhalwe envasage our goalis verymuchwiderin base, tor iar superior scope in andloJtier itsJlight in thanlhe attainments oflered ihe Nrrvikalpa bV In trance. Sri Aurolindo's words, own ''the realisaiion thisyogais noi lower higher oi but thanNlrvana

Chaoter-3 or N rvikapa Samadhi," we do nol wantto be satisfied For, with innerpsycho,sp rilLalexperiences alone,we seek loo the iotal ano cornptele reallsatron lhe Divinein lhe ouler;onscious, oi 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 beenalready pos, sessed by those who have been varously lermediivanmukta { beratedwh e slill leading bod|y tile').s/h/tapralta a (,estab_ shed in the lrue Knowetdge Wisdom), and ativarnasrami(,beyond al standards conducl')ot brahmavid('one ol who has known and becomelhe BrahmanT - 1heimplicallon the question of )?" belnglhat there is aller al nothingesseniiaity new in lhe deal BLrt rit e ref ect on w I suffice showthat the Jivanmukti a io realrsatron realisalionS the Samegerr"e iar shori of the or of lall goal ol dividnised wakingphyslcal existence that is lhe object of our own Yoga.Alter all, who is a Jivanmukta? And what es_ sent ally characlerises comportmenl his vis-a-vts lhis world oi dynamtcmanJeslation? a suitableanswer et us lall back For uponthreec lalions,chosenai randomJromamongsta host ot olhersand culled trom ancient textsas well as lrom lhoseof our oay. F rst lrom the great lvlonislictexl yoga-Vasishtha Bamayana: "The Jivanmukia one to whose consciousness is only the und lterentialed Vyoma existsand this phenornenal world has lost ail realiiy, ahhoughhis organs may appearto tunctionas belore.... maintains bodywilh whatever e comesto it He his lit naiurally and effortlessly... is calleda Jivanmukta He who is no more awaketo the wotld oi sensesalthoughhis sense-organs appearto be awakeas ever,,.. who has transceaded ego_ He the senseanddoesnol gel involved actionis indeed Jivanmukta in a wfrelherhe is aclive or not.', ,,He NowfromSri Famakrishna: who has aiiained thisknowl,

of The Critique the J vanmukti'Solulion

35

wh liberated le livingIn the edge ol Brahmanis a Jivanmukta, righily underslandthat lhe Atman and the body are two body.He These two are separatelike the kerne and separatethinqs.... lhe shellof the coronulwhileits milkdriesup The Almanmoves, as it were, withinlhe body. The kernelof a green almondor lrom the shell;but whenlrreyare cannotbe separaled beleL-nut Irom lhe shell dries up and ihe kernelseparales rioethe luice ol ol Knouieldge Brahman'the'milk ol AJterihe altainment dires worldlv-mindedness uP. a Finally long excerpifrom Swami;Vivekananda: He has wantslo atiain;atd whichthe Advailist ihe perfection reached fall veil at thatmament...Ihe of ignorance awayirom him'and he nature.Even in this liie, he wil leel thal he rs will teel his own For a dme,as it were,ihe wholeoJthis one with lhe universe. whal for wiil ohenomenalworld disappear him,and he wrllrealLse he is- But so long as lhe Karna ol this body remains he wtll and yet lhe This siate,when the veil has vanished have 1o/jve. ca Jlvan ns tor some tlme, is what the Vedantist bodv rema li a man is deludedby a mirageior mukli,the livingfreedom. il sometime ano one daYthe miragedisappears_iicomesback 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, longas he has organsand eyesto work with' he will as on se lhe image,butwill no morebe deludedThal tinedislinct and the he and between actualworld the mirage, hascaught, the has lattercannoldeludehim any more.So when the Vedanllst for the wholeworldhasvanished him. /1 realised own naiure, his wilt come back again, bul no mare the same wo d. purpoding characiefise stathe to The abovethreeexcerpts prima facie tus oi a Jivanmukla make il abundantlyclear Ihal under Jivanmukti the specific sense in whichil is generally in slood can be" by no meansmeasureup lo our idealof the di_ vinelvdvnamictransformation the wholeol our wakingexist of

of The Cfltrque 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, propensitv futLlre the to brths In lhts phenomenal untverse al(ogether ts srampedoul; 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 attainedSettKnowledge but is still leadingthe presenl bodilylifeawaiting day whenthis willceasetor goodand he the will become "liberatedjn bodylessness,' fyldehamukta) h follows thenihal the Jivanrnuktistatus the morevatued is the moreil approaches characterof lhe Videharnukti 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\ronislic Work Panchadashtwrote aJulllrealiseonJivanmukt , calledJivanmukti Viveka, only to proveat the end thal after all Videhamukti the sum mun bonum and Jivanmukti a is is slep towardsthissupremegoal. But il this so, lhe queslion arises: why, then, even after the allarnment Sell-Realisalion. of shoutd the Siddhaagreeat all to remarnlor some time in lhe body in the Jivanmukti-status and n0t pass immediately and direc y into VrdehamLrkti, when lhe lalteris the realobjeciive soughlalter?The answerthat is oenerallyolle'eo is in te.msof the Theoryof Karmawhrchwe ;ave

37

Karmas(lhal is l. in discussed Chapter SincePrarabdha already to say, lhose that have started bearing lheir rrujts) have pro' ducedour presentbody and sincethesecannotbe in kuciitied even on the al_ by exceptthroughtheirexhaustion sufferance, lo body may continue remainviable lhe ta nmenlol liberation, are Whenthe Prarabdhas lor sometime,bul lor sometime only. disintegrates ihe Jivanmukir and over,the body automatically stalusgives placeto Videhamukti. realisation appearsalmosias lhe vrrThus lhe Jivanmukti lhe waking physicalexistenceIn lhrs lue ol a necessilyand in phenomenal cannolbe considered ihis viewto be a universe worthyol spiritualisalion I eld specially the thalwe havemadeabove, In ordeflo substantiale points we adduce below a lew observalionsdrawn lrom dillerenl _...Alter lhe in that slate described lhe scrrplures, realising de_ sarnlses 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 ol by statewhich has beendescfibed the authors the Shaslras (scriplures) Jivanmukti,'Freedom whileliving'." as (llalicsours) Works, Vol.Vll pp ll2' Complete {SwamiVivekdnanda, 113). A Devolee:Doeslhe body remainevenaiterthe realizalion o'God? withsomeso lhal lhey may worK Masler:'The bodysurvives oi Ol out lheirPrarabdha Karmaor worklor the weltare others.... course,he ..escapesfuture births which would otherwisebe necessary reapng lhe results his pasl Karma.His presenl ol ior body remains is aliveas long as its momenlum not exhausted; but luture blrlhs are no longerpossible. The wheelmoves so

38

Chapter-3

39 noi, in "When takes hisabode it, hegrieves butwhen he up ("anusheya na is set freelrom it, thatis his deliverance"l he panisad, V.l.) vimucyate" : Katha-U sacativimuktasca has in reality "TheJivanmukia, evenwhilehe is slillalive, :Shankat). asairatvan siddham" rc bodyalAll"\"jivato'pi body indeed is atthefalloflhe "Theliberailcn onegains thai be any for thlsliberation cannot negatived more" one, the highest ("pindapArcnaya muktih 6a muktina lu hanyate": isad, Yogasikhopan 1.163) ''At sell merges his supreme in Jheiall oi his bodytheYogi in justas the space inside earthenpoi vanishes the an be ng, (ghate and gone" great-cosmic whenthe pol is broken Space, talha yogi bhinneghaEkesa, ekaseliyateyathe,dehebhAve i6, Dallateya,Avadhuta'G 1.69\ svat upepatametnani": to there "Once attains toVidehamukti, is no morereturn one kaivalyam phenomenalwo(ld" \"punarevrtlirchitam ih s : i @tipadyale" Shankaecha rya, Vekyawtti). (tesem punatawftih": na "There morecoming backforthem" is Bthad Upanisad, 6.2.15). atanyaka " N o m o r e w h e e l i n gn t h i s h u m a nw h i r l p o o l( " i r r a m i " Upanisad,8.15). manavamavartam nevartante"C endogya I to ll is clearirom what goes beforelhat, contrary olr own ideal atltude thebody andphysical existence, Jivanmukti th to realisation does not altach much impoftance any terrestrial to as such;it onlytolerates bodily so longas il hasio be life lhe borne the andthuslries,if we maysayso,make beslol a bad bargain. how Butwhalever the nature the ideal be ol sought, doesa Jlvanmukta his waking stateis concerned? behave far as so Does dynarric salisly crilerion a divinely purposive his the ol life andactvephys exislence? Heretoothe answeris unambigan ical
UOUS O N

long as the impulsethal has set t tn molion lasts.Then tt comes (talics urs) o (The Gaspelof SriRanakrishna,p.431 "The ullirnate liberation ffromthe cha]nof birthslis attarned w th the dawning ihe Knowledge of itsetl.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 , n e h a s n o r n o r ef u t u r e b i r t h s , o 'bhhyajanmavinirmuktamjivanmuktasya l tanmanah : yogayesrsthaUpashama-Prakarana, 18). 90. has Knowledge...reaches goal whence he is that naI bam again"('yastu vijfiiinayanbhavati...sa talpadamepno[i tu vasmrd bhRyo jeyate"r no Katha-Upanisad, ///.8). 'Even afteratlaining the stalusi Jivanmukia, conlinto one !es for a whie to remain in his body, merelyloexhauslthe mementum ihe Prarabdha" ol ('prerabdhakarmavegeraiivanmukto yadii bhavet. Kahcil kalamathetabd ha ka rm av and h asy a Shankaracharya,Vekyavrtti, 52). has to wait ffor h]s Videhamuktil only so long as he is not released trornhis body.A1the fall ofthe body he atiainsto the supreme status" ("tasya Evadeva clram yevanna yimakse aiha sampatsye":ChSrdagya-Upanisad, 14.2) 6. "Oncethe Prarabdhas expenenced are and gone ihrough, one acquiresthe supremeliberation'(bhogera tvitareksapayitve rarrpadydte: Vva.a,B2hmasnlra,4 1 19 . ''Oncethe bodygels consumed byTime,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 n ne r s h e s t a l e o fi d e h a m u k t ' il tol V ljivanmuktapadam tyaktva svadehe kalasetkrte, vrsaiyadehamuktalvam": Yoga-VAslstha, I 14 ) ll. 'tle 'He that

40

Chaple.3

'JivanmuKi-Solution The Critioue ol the

41

goalweenJivanmuktaand DynamicWaking the State:The is, visagefor our sadhana as we haveslressed manytimes so ignorant beiore, "notonlyto riseoul o, the ordinary is world' consciousness lhe divin into consciousness, lo bringlhe but powerol that divineconsciousness supramental downinlo lhe ignoranca mind, andbody, lranslorm lif of to them, manilest to lhe Divinehereand creata divinelite in Matter." is ihus allt mostanaxiomatic truthlhatYoga byworksshould Jorm indisan Densable of our sadhana an essential oart and element our ot realisation we wouldseeklo transplantthe iJ fullness the spirii ol in ihefield lifeandaclion., theJivanmukla ol But doesnotin the leastmanifest divine this dvnamis thusdoesnot measure and upto ourideal. As a matter lact he is altogether of indifferenl aclion lo kutvatah). although For, apparently in his body, sljll the \kurvato' Jivanmukia in does not reallyparticipate any of iis workings. Theworld appars still beforo him,buthe is no longer deceived by whalhe would its mry6.Indoed looksuponh s body call he "as if a corpseseparated fromhis Sell"('syavapuh kunapamiva drsyateyatasladvapu hvasta : Paramachmsa-Upanisad rapad m" ). The result that a Jivanmukta indilJereni his bodlly is is lo lile. Jusias a person inloxicaled liquor altogelher wilh is obliviousol theabsence olhelwise hisdress, tslheJivanm!ka or of so otlhe staltand location hisephemeral ol body. Whether body the remains stalionary a place qetsdisplaced al or lrom lhereor even sturnbles downis equal him." to Also, "lheBrahmavid does never remember body. continus be maintained the his ll lo by Lile brcalh,pfina-veyu,just as a trarned horsegoeson pulling thecaflas evereven when lhedriver withdrawnthisatienhas a lron.' Thusthebodily mechanisma Jivanmukta indeed ol may coniinue iunction 1o because thegalhered oi force Prakriti he ol and may apparently walk and speakand behaveas belore,but all thisis likean emplymachine no waysupported any par in by

spiritwilnesseslhese The consciousness. liberatd ticipating cesya (Seksyaham) nottakepartthem("ksiyante butdoes action lV45).There is no senseof per' Yoga-sikhoparisa4 karmeni: sonalaclion lno ku e napi kaaye) hencelor the Jivanmukta there is no bondageor responsibility sa mudhavallipyate; lna mamekatturaleqasYa). As a matlerof facl, it is ihe organso, senseand actionlhal ol maintenance for automalicallY aclive the conlinued become lhe body (cak suredindriyamsvalah pavatlate vahihsva he ) "in ol living allthewhile communaon himseif andtheJivanmukla eye 10 soems theoulward to be with oneness theTranscendent" he as acting a somanbulist ). \suptabuddhavalFot''although has he hasears,he actsas allhough he eyes, actsas lhe eyeless; 'rF ea4ess: he he allhough has sDeech, aclsas lhe speech he less;and although has lile,he actsas the lileless."' purposive in action Thustherecannot any dynamically be if at Jivanmukta. pariicipates, all,onlyin simple He thelifeol a innocuous aclionmeanlsolelylor the upkeepof lhe body byhis seiam karma), in thosewhichareoccasioned or lkevalam prevlous ('lrurvacerakamegabm ecerumecannti" Samskaras ) aciions which are signilicant or at the moslin lhoseapparently initiation butonly through nollhrough personal his broughl about kutu (yathepreptam hikarlyavyam, theagency the Prarabdha of yathegahm). keryam shows unmistakably Jivanmukti lhat analysis Theloregoing to as traditionallv conceived cannot all be equated ourideal. at lrom lhis status radically dillerent Whatwe aim at is somelhing ol rnner liberation,

.9 E
G

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 manildst secrctGod, The Spititsha lake up lhe hunan pla,, This earthly hfo becomelif6 divine (ibld,Book Canro p. 711) Xl, I, Elernal statusand etenal dynamb dt6 both true of the Bealtty which it9elf aurpassesboth status and dynamis; the immobileand the mobileBrahman both;thesameRealitv arc (SirAufobindo, Lile Divine, p.459) The possess Wehave...to consciouslythe activeBnhmanwithau! losingpossessionot the silent Se , Wehavea presetye the innet silence, tranquility,passivity as a foundation:but in place of an alool indilfercnce tha ti/orks th6actjveBrahman to ol we have ta arrive at an equal and ifipattial delightin them:in place ot a rclusaltoparticipate oul heedom le6t andpeacebe lost we navelo arriveat a conscious possession theacliveBahman ol whase of existence jay does not abrcgateHi6peace,not His ladship al atl workingsimpah Hiecatm lrcedom in the midst of p.389). The ol fSriAurobindo, Synthesis Yoga, Thediscussion lhepreceding in chapter mad point has the c earthalsince ourYoga aimsat the realisation the Divine ol in Iheouter consciousness lileas wellas in theinner and one, the Jlvanmukhwith his aiool inditferonco or al the best a beto nevolent lolerance lhe dynamic r,vaking lor oxistence never can oeouf ideal_

Chapter'4

8ut what are atier all the essenijalditficulties spirilual ot realisalion lhe grossphysical plan? on Whyis the liie ol action andcreation viewed withso muchmisgiving mostol the kadtby lional. spirilual seekers? Whatmakes pre6enl our worldly exist, ence apparently incorrigibleitsnature to induce so in as evenSrl Krishna, propounderofthe the gospelof dlvine actton, almost to admitaltheendthatloshunthistransientand unhappyworld in perhaps after allthebestpossible solution? And what about that wonderfuldynamicsain Swami Vivekananda? he notat the snd givethe simileof a god,s Did tail In orderto represent impossibilily transformation? tho of Alas, slraighlen as muchas you like,but release andthe momeni il i! lbe after, wretched thing becomes curled again! looks lt almost an ironyof s'tuation personality that this dynarhic who did not flinchlo declarein the earlierpart ol his Yogiclite: "l havelost all wish lor my salvation, may I be born again and againand suffers thousands miserjes thal I maywor of so shiptheonlyGodthatexists, onlycod I betieve lhe sumth6 in, total allsouls,-and ol above myGodthewicked, cod ihe all, my miserable, Godthe poorof all races, all pecies the my of is specialobiet0f my worship." -should just two yearsbefore almostabdicate and confess his passing away: "l havebundled thing my andam waiting thegreat of deliv"Shiva,O Shiva,cafiy my boatto the othershore/ "AJler I am onlythe boy who usedio lislenwith rapt all, wonclermentthewonderlul to words Ramakrishna of under the Eanyan Dakshineswar. js mylrue nature:works acat That and goodand so forthareall superimpositions. I tivities, doing Now again hsarhisvoice: same voice the old thrilling soul. my Bonds are breaking-love dying,workbecoming tasteless- glamour lhe

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 beforeme:I leelri at times-the same is a oceanof peace,withoula ripple, brealh..inllnite "The sweetesl moments of my life have been when I was dtillin$ I am difling agan-with the bright warm sun ahead and is in around-and ihe heat everything so massesoi vegetation _ in the warm still,so still,so calm-andlam driltinglanguidly 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 and I dritl.I comel Molher,I forpowel/Now they are vanishing, Thou takest comel In Thy warm bosom,floatingwheresoever I in the voiceless, the skange,inlohe wonder,and,comein me, a speclalor, no mote an actor.' elernents Arelhen actionsand creations such greatbinding as to be obligatorily oul al lhe end? Did not Sri Ramakrishna left give the image ol a pregnant dimin_ woman whose work-load ishesday by day? seekerin guard_ Bul the difficulty experienced a spiritual by ingthe peaceof the silenlSelfwhileengaged dynamics in activ_ ily is more incidenlal lhen intrinsic. arises oul of the menlal lt being's exclusive on concentration ils "planeol pule exislence in which consciousness at rest in passivilyand delight oJ is exrsienceal rest in peace ol existence."Because of lhis exclLr siveness, when the Mind seeksat timesto ally itselfto aclion, Ln absence adequate the inlo preparation plunges headlong il of Ine old obscuringmovemantof lotce insteadol exercisrng a conscious masleryover it,

4a

ChapleF4

49

It is because thisignorant of relapse brought aboutby the playihal lhe menlal dynamic Purusha so ready condemn is to all action and dynamism,. ils judgment, dynamism To all must be loreign ihe supreme to nalure whoseonlytrue otlheAbsolute and wholebringmuslbe a statussilentand immulable, fealureess and quiescenl. Thuscancelling dynamis Brahman, the of lhe Mindgoeson to asserl thallhissupreme Reality at all can be rea sed onlylhrough consciousness hasitselllalten a thal nonaclive silenl and and, "liberalion dostroy whatis more, musl all possibility mental bodily ot or living and annihiate lndithe vidual exrstence everin an impersonal for infinity." Butwe shallpresently that noneof the foregoing see assumplions absolulely is valid. a matter facl,all the ditfiAs of cullydisappears alongwiththe plane pureexistence if ot one can embrace planeol conscious lhe forceof exjslence, Chit the Tapas,of Sachchidananda. which"consciousness aclive in is as powerand wjll and delightis activeas joy ol exislence." Andlhis is possible. Eecause Brahman ilseltis integral, ll hasan acliveaspectas wellasaslaticone and bothare equally r e a l .T h e i n t e g r a r e a l i s a t i od e m a n d s h e r e a l i s a t i oo f l n t n Sachchldananda rnbothHisaspects, theaspecl whichH6 in ln is 'sovereign, lordot things, free, acting of an inalienable out pouring calm rlseltoul in inJinite actionand qualily ol an oul eternal seitconcenlration, one supreme the Person holding in himself lhisplayol personalily a vastequal all in impersonatity, possessing infinile phenomenon the universe lhe oi wilhoul atlachmenl wilhoul but any inseparable aloolness, a divine wilh mastery an innumerable and radialion his eternal of luminous sejf-delightas a manilestation whichhe holds,but by whichhe is notheld, which governslreely by which he and therelore is he -as nol bound." wellas in that in whichHe is "sjlenlpassive qui-.lisijc, absorbed, seif self-sufticient,...one, impersonal, without playof qualities,lurned lromlhe infinile phenomenon away ol theuniverse viewing wiihindillerence without or partici it and

palron. as ol We havesaidlhaltheelernalstalus being wellas lhe Flealily ol movemenl beingare bothrealol the supreme eternal question can lhese two stalusesco-erisl?Are arises: 8ut lhe one Or, lhese simultaneouslyrcalisable?rather, haslo withdraw so so the to in lromoneol lheslaluses order realise olher' much al oneconcenltales lhe on on lhal depending theslalus which ol to ol thesemayappear be lhe inerlia repose one momenl. repeiilion movement ot of the while olher inertia mechanical the sla' lhal atlirms the elernal realisalion spirilLlal An rntegral butlheyare are dvnamis notonlybolh/eal lus andlhe eternal 'The and also simullaneous, statusadmitsol actionol dynamis "all the not abrogate status.'Thus lhai is in he the actiondoes is the the kinesas, movemenl, action, creation, theBrahman; lhe is of is the becomanga movement thebeing;Time a manilesta one one Consciousness All lion ot the Elernal. is one Being' il and evenin inlinitemultiplicily, thereis no needlo basect Inlo May-' Realily unrealcosmic and transcendent ol an opposition assededas a is Bul the dif{iculty that il is oftentrenchantly leaiureless is indd that experience the Reality lactol sDirituat aboul is ol and andimmutablo lhe universe mani{eslationbroughl this Allhough ol the l\,4aya'Power Suprome by the illlsionary Truthpos' Power lhe absolule onlvactive lhal assertion the and'dissolving' and illusion lalsehood is sesses lhatof creating is the lhemin lurn lacksin vraisimilitude, rejoinder madeihat or of thisis nol a question vraisemblanceno,nor is il an issue or validalion otherwrse' lhat can be seitledby meansot logical nollo he ol myslery Maya(aniNacaniye) lor this is the inetlable or comprehended reason mind. by the For, inded. whalever merlts is Andlhisposilion sound philosophl' points, a parlicular oi ordemerits, slrong weak or the lo lhal experience il seks repre_ cal iormulalion. spiritual the validandcanonlybe integrated senlremains ilselieiernally in

50

Chapter-4

or Status Dynamis The lssue: tram lrto t beganto disappear a greaterSuperconsciousness and itself realisation to added realisalion But above. meanwhile At experience an earlystagette withthisoriginal fusedltself wotldgaveplaceto onein whichillusion of aspect an ittusionary Divine wilh is onlya smallsu{acephenomenon an immense it above andan Realily Divine il behind anda supreme Realitv thai in Reality the heartof everything hadseemed Divine lntense And or shape shadow. thlswasno /eim_ a onlV cinematic a1lrrst exorfalltromsupreme no in Drisanmenl the sense, dininution andwidening heighlening as perience,camralher a constanl it nol oi the Truthiil was the Spirilthat saw objects, lne senses' al' remained in keedom InJinity the Silence,lhe andthePeace, ln incidenl onlyas a continuous the wavs wlth wold or allworlds oi eternitY lhe Divine lhetlmeless ''..Nrrvana my liberated oLl turned Io be consciousness n a of the beginning my realisation, fist step towardsthe com' possible even a or ptetething,noi the sole irue attainment cuiminat finale." ng the is the is Theworld thusreal, Becoming as realas Be ng' tacl a is as ol lhe dynamls Sachchidananda rnuch spiritLlal as all doesnolcontain only Indeed, Divine the slatus. Hislmmobile He is theoneSelloJall' safconsciousness. n'a transcendent In nol saryam, merely He vabheantaretma. is Ihe All,vesudeva "All andforms names in the'unioue essence'bul the manifold of existence alllhalexisis Iis] vital, bodily thesoul-life, mental, who is the ol movemenl activity lhe Being and one ndivisible one one "All same ever." is oneBeing, consciousness, even for in inlinite mulliDlicilv,." oi in cannot theverynature lhings and Thusaction creation oJ be lncompaiible the pedectand totalrealisalion the Su_ wilh go lo preme; really cannot counier ihe allainliving dynamic a thatisin kinesis' lor of mentoi the supreme status being; "all is lhe movement.lhe the aclion, creation Brahman."

in thecompass another of expe encemuchmorewideandmuch morelofty. as SriAurobindo so forcelully For, pointed 'a has out, single decisive spiritLral experience undoa whole may edilice of reasoning conclusions and erecled thelogical by intelligence." So,instead engaging sterileintellectuaiebates, this ol in d in matterol lhe realily orotheMiseot the dynamis theAbsolute, of let us listen SriAurobindo to describing ownpersonalspirhis lualreal;sation: "Thesolulion the malter of mustrest not uponlogic,but upon growing, heightening, a ever widening spiritual experiencean experience whichmustof course include havepassed or through of Niruana Maya,othewigeit wauld be comthat nad not plete and wauldhave no decisive value. "Nowto reachNirvana wasthefirst radicalresultol my own Yoga. lhrewme suddenly a condition lt into above andwithout through, unslained anymentalor by vitalmovement; thefe was na ego,no real wo d- onlywhenone lookedthrough immolhe brle perceived boreupon sheer senses, something or ils silence a worldol emptyforms,materialised shadows,lithouttruesubslance-Therewas no One or manyeven,only just absolutely Thal,Iealureless, relationless, sheer, indescribable. unthinkable. yet absolute, supremely andsolelyrealfhis was no mentai teal realisalion something nor glimpsed somewhere above,_no abstracl,on,-it posilive, onlyposjtive was the reallty,alihough not physical a spalral wofldpervading, occupying rather or llooding and drowning semblance a physical lhis ol wortd, leaving no roomor space any reality itsell, tor but allowing nothing to else seemat all actual, positive substantial... it [lheexper! or What peace, stupendous encelbrought was an inexpressible a Si_ ence, infinity release freedom.lived thatNirvana an oi and I in dayandnight before began admit it to other things itsell into or modily ilself all,andthejnner al heart experience. of a constant memory it anditspower returnremained of to until in theend

Chapter-4

Granled Brahman twoaspecls that has equally real, equally lrue: anaclive as wellas a passive Granted there one one, that jusljJication lhe two aspecls is amplelheoreilcal why can be question simuitaneously embraced realised. slillthe and Bul remains: Whyis il lhat "1r, expeiencewe lind thal...ilis, normally, a qubscence brings lhe stable lhat in realisation the eternal ol and the rnliniter is in silence quietude we leel most it or thal iirmly Something is behind world ihe that the shown us bVour to mind andsenss.?" ll isihusreasonedihat, nprucllceif intheory, not allaction, perception all creal alldelermining on, must n theirverynatufe mit andobscure stable lhe realisalion, hence and thesehave to diminish disappearwe would and if seekto enler rndivisthe ibleconsciousnessthe Real. oi Heretoo,as wellshallpresently the reasoning falla, see, s cious. Fcr it is not dynamism sLrch bindsand invotves as that the soulof lhe seeker; is lhe intrinsic it incapacity our rnindol conscrounsess is al the rootof lhe trouble. that

Chapter-5

: its The mind-Consciousness and achievements Failures

Chapter-5
A bldck veil has been lifted; we have seen ot The mighty shadou'| 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 As haveto go beyondthemind. lhercis no tnstru' lhe mind.You mind-foronlythe Atmanexiststherclhetethe menlbeyondthe ol becomeslhe same as the instrument obiectof knowledge 'Viineadmere knowledge....ltis thereforethat the Shruti says, kena vijeniyetlhoughwhal are you to knowlhe ElrnalSubiect? (swamiVivekananda, Compldte Wo*s, vol.vll, p.142) be' lf the Mind6werethe lastwordand therewerenothing 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 Mind is not the lasl t/od hele ol the Spirit...There a Trulh but Consciousness, staticonly and sell-introspective, also nol dynamic and creative... (SriAurobino, Himsel,P.1a3) On we haveseen thai for the seekerof the lnlegralYogalhe quiescenl seltrealisationlhe'passive of 8lahman', thepure of be than lhe existence cannol more independentaliworld-play, ol in necessarvJirst an restwith ullerwilhdrawal basis.We cannol We consciousness ihe univetsal manileslation. muslinlrom sleadreturn and of and uponlhe world action creation seeklo

Chapter-5

: The mind-Consciousness

repossess remould mind,lifeand bodywiththe lumiand our nousdynamis the'active Brahman'and identify ourselves, ot freeiyand in the infinite sel'-delight lhe Being, ol withall the oulpouringol Force, Chil-Tapas, ofConsciousness itscreative and inTime andin SpaceBut lhe goalis easierstatedthan realised. For,almoston generally universal evidence, greatstressol dynamism any obscureslhe innervision, bringsin a relalive lossof the Peace and Sllence the soul,and olherwise ol lndsto lower status the ol spiritual atlainmnl. But his disabiliiy to arisesfrom the lacl that attempls possessthe active haveso lar beenmadeexclusivelv Brahman lhoughlhe I\rind-consciousness. AndsinceI\,4ind, greatdiihe vider, suflers fromsomeintrinsic iffemediable and limitaiion lhese allemplshavebeenlore doomed lailure. to Bul thequestion be raised: in may sinceMind, lhe aclually possible evolved existence, the highest is inslrumeni available power andsince there noolherstillhigher is organised through which realise Sellor Brahman to oossess to lhe or divinelv lhe world, it not almosl is axiomatic lhe transformationour thal oi waking dynamic existence we envisage oursadhana an as in is proposition? impossible if is liberation Of course, lhe above assumplion correct,lhe and transformalion our embodied of exislence wouldbe impossiblenereuponea h, andinstead running of afietlhe jgnisfatuus pass ilwould moresensibleto awayinloSuperconscienl be and notto seekto bring down Superconscient thetield our lhe into of wakrng conscrousness, As a matler fact,thishasbeenso far ihe general trend. of For"intheordinary Yoga...it onlynecessary recognise is lo lwo planes ourconsciousness, spiritualand the malerialised menot the belween lhesetow viewsthem 1a1; purereason standing vrorld, bolh,culs lhrough illusions lhe phenomenal lhe ol explane, the mental seestherealjly thespir' oi ceeds malerialised

Purusha unilyingilsell ilual;and then lhe !,rillol lhe individual poiseknow;edge rieclslhe lowerand drawsbackto with thrs plane, dwells ther6, lossmindand body, sheds lh6 supreme ilselfin the supreme Purusha, delivis litetromil andmerges exaslence." eredkom individual Bui a deeperandhigher spiritual exploralion reveals lacl the is thallhe aboveassumption notcorfeclaftrall.Mindis notlhe principle cosmicetistence,wilh onlythe pure Spiril. highest ol Absolut beyond ilslf.As a matterottacl,there lhe lmprsonal principls transcending normal is a hierarchy superior ol lar the mind consciousness consequnlly present and al superconscienl lo il. A supreme Trulh-Consciousness, Rita-Chit, whichSri Aurobindo lermsas Supermind, the series and this is a lops Power rnerely not staticandintrospeclive supremely but dynarnic posandcrealive. is lhis Sup6.mind mustb consciously lt that sessed into out ea h-nature we would il and macle descend to havea translormed wakingexistence. Otherwise staticrleas remains solepossibilily lhe befor spirilual lhe seeker. l.Jnto(unately, knowledge the exislence thes6 lhe ol ot planes ourbeing been supernal ol has losl almosi to thespiritual memory lhe racewithall the adverseconsequences ol atlendanlupon ancint "inlheUpanishad (usually il.In lore. theTaillirya) thereare someindications lhesehigherplanesand lheir naof Iureandlhe possability gathering thewholeconsciousness ol up and risingintolhem-Bul thiswaslorgotlen afterwards peoand plespoke ol theBuddhias higheslthing thePurusha only the with or Se f jusl above, therewas no clearideaol lhese planes. but Now, longas lhesehigher planes lhe menlle so spirilual of being planeol Supermind not consciously and linally the are possessed and madeactiveand organised the norhal in conscrousnesstheembodi6d ol beino, longas thespiritualised so firind approaches Suprm the through direclly and notpassing thisTruth-Consciousness,supramonlal is bound lhe Gnosis, one lo expel|ence dilriculties fromth pointot viewol the realisation

Chapter'5

: The m nd-Consciousness Buddhists,theTaooromnrpresenlard tr e _ hr src r!4adhyamrka Nihilby lhe Chinese, and as the indetinable and transcendenl 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, ' through whichthe spirtualsied lvlind rance, a divineDarkness' has to pass belore one can expect to attain lo the supreme And it s becauseof this incompalibility mindexperience. of Lvith ol consciousness the experience lhe Absolule thatso many svstemsof sprritual discipline have come to condemnthe cosp ay.As a matterot Jact. is this very incompatibility is mic il thal at th basis ol the lllusionist that "lakes such firm hold oi the humanm nd in ils highesloverleaping itsell." o{ li wlthoulany rnlermediale transilions, withoulawakening in the s!pernalreaches ourexistence, whichwe havealready of of spoken, Mindkies lo lake a short-cut the and passsuddenlV the 'gaies of the Transcendenf wherestands'themere and perlect Sprnt lhe inactive Brahman, transcendent the Silence, sense a ol utterunreality and illusory character all cosmicexislence o{ sezes il n a mosl convincing and oveRhelmingexperience. 'The unverseand all that is...appears(lthen] the mind as a to 0'au1 1 o'e Lnsubstantial than any dreamever seen or tmaglred. so tfLal even the worddreamseemsloo oositrve thinosto a expressts entireunrealiiyl' Bul h s universal lllusionism not a necessaryconcomitant is oi the supremespiritual experience. insleadol the mind'sabrupt ll Sa.nadhi-plunge the mysic sleep slate ol susuptithat is into now superconscient therefore and inaccessible il, one suclo ceeos n acquiring spirilualwaketulness ihe supernalstales in nlervenng betweenlhe lrind and the Spirit, one does not pass Inroughlhe perception an illusionary oJ Maya, bui ratherhas lhe experience ihe passage of fromMindto whatis beyondii so Inal our menlalslructLlre lhe universe of ceasesto be validand anotherreahlyoi 11 substituted the rgnorant is for mentalknowf

realioi ourgoal, bothin themind's ascent in itsattempted and Brahman. salion theaclive of Lel us havea bird's-eye view of sorneol the more salient dilliculties encounlered at the sametime,ot the achieveand, menls Mindas wellasof its failures. of TheAscentand lllusoiness.lJMindis takenlo be the highprinciple, is estpossible cosmic since Absolute notseizable lhe by lhe mind-consciousness, the seeker lhe lraditionalYogas of lriesto getaway fromthemorlalrailingsmind thesuper ol into conscient In{inite, shedding its activities formalions, by all flnd 'engulfingis in ihe Unmanitest,' making biank it andfinally ii a of Darcm awaktam. Inihis progressive wilhdrawal lrommind-consciounsess, the the 'pure, slill, self' sadhakcomesto realisethe Sad-Atman, peaceful, active, undisturbed awareexistence, undivided, one by the actionot lhe world." Although Sad-Atman theunique this is Origin Suslainer and beingitselfpassive, the oJeveMhing,saryari hyetadb@hma, onlyrelation appears havewiththrsworld manileslation it lo of n is lhat ot'a disinlerested Witness at all involved or alnot lected eventouched anyol its activilies. by Whenonepushes larther staleof conscious_ess lhis one 'an comslo realase alooland transcendent Exislence' Feal appearing haveno conneciion commerce all w th lhe to or at world-existence. When mental lo it the being seeks go stillbeyond, negales yet {urlherand arrivesal an Asal "a Voidof everything thal is peace here, Void unnameabl andextlnction all,evenol ol a ol whichis the impersonal basisol lhe Sal,evenof that Existent personality." thisAsatarrived by ll is individual universal or at of and theabsolute annulmnt mind-existence world-exrstence, or variously lermed T!riya featureless relaas and thathasbeen by the monistic Vedantins, Shunyarn the by tion lessAbsolute

ChapleF5

: The mind-Consciousness

to il to edge.In lhis transilion is possible be arvake al lhe slates experelnce to and and unilied togelhefin a ha.monised of being Then we experience,as Sri see the Realityevery where."'z pul, that it is not an unrealor real' has so beaulilully Aurobindo but Realily, a on lhal is reposing alranscendent unrealuniverse and lran_ reposing a Realilyal once universal on real universe or scendenl 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 Inlegra'Realrty lrulh ol cosmic consciousness well as lhe He Nirvana o, world_consciousness. is beyond the lhal of the duality and the non-dualily,paratahpanh and,s aclityavana tn conlrasl to ttie darkness o{ the Unmanitest. He is ihe light of lighls, jyotisam jyotih, and lies in a supreme golden sheath. hiranmaveparc kose.lndeed,"the sun in theYoga is the symbo is and the supermind the tirst power ol the oJ the slrpermind wherethe expenthe boader Suorerne whichone meelsacross condivine andthe unmodified mindceases enceol spiritualised Para sciousnessbeginsthe domain ol the supreme Naiure. Prakrlr. h is lhal Light of which the Vedic mystics got a glimpse ol darkness lhe Christian of and it is lhe opposite the interuening is Ior the supermind all light and no darknessTo the mysiics, mind the Supreme is avyaktatparcm avyaktam' bul il we follow the line leading to the supermind,it is an increasingaffimation ralher lhan an incrcasing negationthrcugh whichwe mave lhal We have so iar dwell upon lhe disabrhtres I;e m'no lo way ol ascensLon lhe sum_ sullersirom on its consclousness ousness or Tils o' spirlual consciousness ralher superco_sc that vitiateits at' Now lel us turn oLlrgaze on the limitations when rl ot lempl at complelepossession the active Brahman, Jromthe summiland embracelhe lile oi action seeks10 return The tncomplete possessionof the aclive Brahman: llls al

consciousness, at ils waking even co!rsetruelhat our normal can awareof Brahman moments, become lhrougha process ol concentration. the pointto noteis that il is onlyihe But inward aspeclof Brahman is thusapprehended, lhal slaleand passive nol its activeainddynamicside. Theresultis lhat intoreturnuponworld-extslence nental the Iinds a wall ot non-communication being between passive the Brahman all dynamic andtheactive and activity appears its lo consciousnss as a hallucinationa st lledandinaclrve eilhet or dream,or like a puppetshou or evenas a purelyrnechanical actionbroLight aboutby th8 playol Prakriti withoulany activee partiiicpation oi Purusha.The incommunicabilily maysometimes be so slrong, gulfseparating inner the the consciousness and lhe dynamic outerbeingso widethatlo all outward appearance the seekermy a "moveaboul likea thinginerl in the handsol Nalu /adayatlikea lealin the wind,or otherwisetinl slateol re, a purehappy freeirresponsibilityaction, and ot balayat... Theouter being[may] in a God-possessed live lrenzycareless itselland ol lhewotld,unmattavat, withan entkedisregard or whelherol the convenlions prop.ieties and offitting human action of theha. or monyand rhylhms a greaterTruth. actsas the unbound of lt vital lrerng plsacayal, divinemaniac elsethe divinedemoniac." the or Butthissorlot'stalic possession theSelf'or'the by unreguateddynamic possession the physicaland Nature,is why vital lar removed Jrorn goalof the lnlegralYoga, whatwe aim the for al s ihe 'mastery the Prakriti the Purusha ol by landlthesublimairon Nalure of power, intinite intoherownsupreme glothe nesot the ParaShakti.' Conlronted with this inabilityto participate aclivetyin the . qynam manilestalion c withoulat the sametime losingthe possessron thekeedomand peace oi oflhesilent Sel{, mental the oernggels lemptedto adootlhe aliitudeof an indiflerent and nactve witness the world-play at lhe beslallowhis oF ol and ga'< ol sense andmotor-act,on a freeplayof lheirwo1unsup.

: The mrnd-Consciousness on initiation lhe part of the witnessing portedby any conscious sell The rdealoi courseis 10 reduceactionto the barestm n oi wiih lhe maintenance ihe bodily mum possiblecompatible life. chorce possibility, alternalrve an thereis another Oi course, may come lo a slale where a properdiscipline one T5'oLgt a wllh periect o.lIe'dynamisn pelecr innerpassvity1\ayco-exlsl ol independent each olher' In this situaton it rs bul altogether thal mind in lhe Sadhaka n01the willedmotiveof lhe conscious inralherthe universal the activitv,but lniiialesand eiiectuates and usesthe livinginslrumenl and will of naturethal telligence to or trom centrssuperconscious sublimlnal works flawlessly lhe conscious mind. But thls loo js nol what we seek 1o realisein our Yogaol slatusol inner pas' Fo. dynamc divinisation. in this particular the mere organs, kevalair indriyair' sivitv and ouler aciion bV lor ot "lhereis an evident absence integrality; thereis stilla gulf' belweenthe pas unityor a lelt of consciousness an unrealised We have still lo possessconsive and lhe active Brahman. ol rouslytne aclrveBrahmanwilroul loslnglhe oossession s( tranquLlity, the haveto preserue innersilence, We ihe silentSelf. to passiviiy a loundalion; in placeol an aloofindifference bu1 as equal we lhe workso'lhe activeBrahman have lo arriveat a_ delightin them;in placeot a relusalto participate and mpartial lesl our freedomand peacebe lost,we have to alrive at a con_ ol scious possesslon the activeBrahmanwhose ioy ol exlstoi ence does noi abrogaieHis peace,nor His lordshlp allwork ings impairHis calmlreedomrn the midslol His works" But lhe n fo i n c r u c i a l q u e s t i os : i s i t a t a l l p o s s i b l e r l h em e n t a l b e g i n h i s stalus lo embraceat once, eq!ally and lully, actuallvevolved and boththe worldand the being,bothconsciousdess action? The lnlrinsic lncapacityi To answer the above quesllon we ol musl Iirst noie that belweenthe normalconsclousness man a_d a lruly spinlJalsJprame'Ia co_s'iolrs_ Lqpmenlal berng

d 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 ie , mukham, and unlessthis veil is liftedand lhe satyasyapihitam lhereis no possibility knowing divine, be of lhe Jar id rernoved, is through arduit to attan to it. Butthedilliculty thisthateither Tapasya by anactoJGrace or lromabove, when mental the ous in by il "as succeeds pLrlting veil, seesthe0ivine somelh' being beyond, around evenin a sense, ingabove, bulwllha gulfbet3nd that an or an ween being ourbeing, unbridged even unbridgeaJheteis thisintlnite eristence; it is quiteother but ble chasm. being whobecomes aware ii....There lhis of rs thanthe mental great, boundless, unconditioned consciousness iorce;but and a iorcestands )1, it, ourconsciousness apattltom evenil within m led,petiy, discouraged, disgusted itselJ lhe world, wiih and in brl unableto patticipate that higherthingwhichil has seen. Thereis th s immeasurable unslained and bliss;bul our own be ng remains sport a lower the of Nature pleasure pain oJ and anddullneutral incapable ils divine There sensation of delighi. is thrsperfecl Knowledge Will; ourownremains and but always the menlal deiormed knowledge limping incapable and will oi sharngin or even in being tunewiththatnature Godheadl' of Now, an attempl bridge chasm healtheriii,ihe in lo lhis and mentai being seeks risethrough Herculea lo all-iorgetting et a Iorlout oi lsell nlo lhe Inlinite "the above. in thisprocess But m nd hasto /eayeils ownconsciousness,Io disappear aninto olher permanently llse/i.- lhe trance andlemporarily or in lose of Samdhi." obvrous For reasons mindless lrancethis absolule slatecannot ourobjective (vide be V:TheCritique lhe ol Chap. Trance ution). aim is to iransiorm waking So Our the mentalily ilselJ, 10r possibilitv lo and thalwe have invoke lo another open t h em e n t a t b e i n g . As a matler fact,mindhasa greatreflecting of capability, rellecling whaiever knows it and contemplates. I ii paci Th{rs rrestsel{and callsdownthe divineinto itself. succeeds it in rellecting mageof ihe divlne lhe andgetiing spirituallsed. But

Chapler-5

The nrind-Consciousness rid enterintothe absohasperforcetoget ot mindallogelherand lt lule mindless susupti. is for this reasonthat so manyseekers of the pasl have recommendedmanonasaot lhe annulmenl ol the Mind as lhe v,a/oyalto lhe supremespirilualexperience. "The knowledge ol declaring: thus we lind Sri Flamakrishna ol Brahmancannotbe allainedexceptlhroughthe annulmeni me A [,4ind. Guru lold his disciple,'Give your mind and I shall giveyou knowledge."' "NowI haveawakened of The RajarshiJanaka old declared, I must kill it, musl scorch lhe and discovered thiefthat is l\.4indt il lo death.For lvlind the rootof this worldol rgnorance.' is a According lhe grealsageVasishtha, greal goodcomes 10 oul ol lhe deslruclion ol Mind, manaso'bhyudaya manonaso mahadayah and lhe Mind ol lhe knower ol the Truth verily gels The Yoga Shikhopanishadtoo annulled.lnantno nasamabhyeti. is declaresthat mindlessness the supremestalus. ,a marah lestimony, lhe ideal belorelhe Thus. almosl on universal seekeratler the Truth is 10 gel lo lhe slale ot mindlessness, amaraslawherelhe m nd losesall itsJaculties , yade na manule tnanah non'mind to say,unmanibhuyal. so andbeaomes alterthe freedom Whatis lhen the solution us who asprre Jor ol oi drvne aclionas well as the liberation divinerest? ll mind reachesproves conscousnessrnclus oi ils highestspiritual ve ils inadequacyas an instrumenland medium lof lhe divine possession our wakingexistence, whal othercosmicprincol p1e/s there that can help us to realiseour goal? For. lor the properlullillment our objeciive, "we have lo reviewand re' ol mo! d lhe lower livingin lhe light,lorce and joy ol lhe higher rea ly We have to realiselvlatler a sense-crealed mouldol as Sp r(. a vehicletor all manifeslation the light,forceand ioy o1 of ot al Sachch in conditions lerrestr be ng and dananda lhe highest aclivty.We have lo see Liie as a channe for the ni n te Force

the the troubleis that in this operation" minddoes not entirely possess divineor bscomedivine,but is possessed rl or by the rellection it so long at ils remansan... pure of by a luminous turbid momenl it becomes activemindbecomes oassivitv."The s aqain andthe rellection thedivrne losl. ol quielism Henceit is ollendclard an absolute lhat and lhe wayo!l of lhe cessalion allouler ol andinner aclion lhe only is the aboveimpasse. evidently ,ailsto satisfy demand But this transformasoy lhe IntegralYoga. Whatwe seekas"a positive quiescence waking mentalilionandnotmerely nogative a ollhe ly. Bul the basic dil{iculty the mind-conscaousness with is lhal rl is an invelerale and dividerol lhe indivisible dwellsuponone aspeclat a time lo the exclusion all others.For "mrndin ils ol whichmeas!res.lamits. essenceis a consciousness cuts oul tormsof lhingslrom lhe indivisible wholeand contains lhem as il eachwerea separale integer...Mind divide,mulliply, may add, sublract,bul it cannotget byondthe limitsol this malhematrcs.lJit goesbeyond tries conceive realwhole. loses and to a it rtsell a loreign in it elemenl; fallslromits wonfirmground into lheocean theinlangible, lheabysms theinlinite of inlo of where perceive, I caneilher concoive, sense dealwilh subject nor its possess infinite, lor creation enjoymenl....l\,4ind and cannot the rt can onlysuffer or be possessed il; it canonlylie blissil by tullvheioless under luminous the shadow theReal ol castdown on it lrom planesof existence beyondits reach." It is because lhis inherenlpropensity divideand ol lo overstress lhal lhe Mind cannothold at once Unityand Multiplicily. consciousness action, and beingand becomingt canit nol possesssimullaneously active and the passiveBrahlhe man.Andbecause Mind's inability possess Inlinite. ot lo the it golden instead being ol salisliedwilh the'luminous shadow', lid, hiranmayapatrc, wouldseekto realisethe uttef Real,one one

Chaple.5 divineand breakthe barrierofa sense-crealed mind-crated and larnessand division lrom 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 conscious lorce ot Sachchidananda. have stmiWe laf y lo changeour sensational and emolional mentalily Into a play oi dlvineLove and universal Delight; and we have to surchargelhe inlellect which seeksto knowand will inus wilh the ght of lhe divineKnowledge-Will until it is translormedn1oa f gure ol lhai higherand sublime activily.', Such is thenour high ideal,bul how to realjseil rn practice, howto conquer spiritual penLtry our wakingphysical lhe of extstenceand embrace equally activeand passive the aspects the ot Divrne? Mindlails,what etseis therethat saveslhe siluation. li

: The mrnd-Consciousnoss

67

APPENDIX ASCENT FROi'THE MtND-CONSCIOUSNESS' '''Conseni be nothing none, work. dissolve Time's to and Cast otl thy mind, step back lrom form and name that Annualthyself onlyGodmaybe. voice, and lhe Thusspoke mighly uplilling mused shebowed headand her AndSavitriheardi inlo her Plunging deepregard herselt Night. in In hersou's privacy thesilent and backdelached calm, A looland standing A rrllressol the dramaof hersell, ol A student herowninlenorscene, passion and lhe loil ot lile She wafchedthe ol Andheardin lhe crowded thoroughfares mind of lreadandpassage herlhoughls. Theunceasing Al she allowedlo riselhat choseto stir; Calling,compellingnaughl,lorbiddingnoughl, in lormed Time Sheleltallto the process ol will. Andthefree nitlalive Nalure's Abovethe birih of bodyand ol thoughl in sell Ourspirit's truthlives lhe naked the Andlromthatheight, unbound, surveys world. Out of the mindshe roseto escapeits law deepshadow selt of Thalil might s/eep some in ol Or fall si/erl in the silence lhe Unseen. Thenall grewlranqullinherbeing's space, Onlysometimes aroseand fell smallthoughts Llfequielwaves sea upona silent
' f-rom Sr Alrobindos Sav l.i, Book Vll cantoVl, pp 538 49 ( la csours)

68

Chapter-5

: The mind-Consciousness

69

passingoverlonely pool Or ripples a Whena straystonedislvtbils drcaming rest. Yetthe mind'sfactoryhad ceased work, lo There wasnosound ofthedynamo's throb There cameno calllrom stillfields lle. the ol There cameno callfromthe stillfieldoi liie,. Thenevcnlhosestiffing' rcse in her no more: Hermrnd nowseemed a vaslempty like room Or liea peacetul landscape without sound. This mencallgulelude prizeas peace. and Butto her deeper sightallyet wasthere, Elfervescing a chaos like underalid; Feelings thoughts and cried outlorword act and Bul foundno response the silenced in brcjn: Allwas suppressedbut yet nothing expunged; At every moment mighl explosion come. Thenthistoopaused;lhebodyseemed stone. a A I nowwas a widemightyvacancy, Bul slill excludedtom elernily's hutsh; Forstillwas {artherepose theAbsolute of Andlhe ocean Silence Infinily, ol Evennowsomethoughts couldcloss her soltlude: lhesesurged tromthedepths Jrom not within or Castup tromformlessnessseeka torm, to Spoke thebody's not neednorvoiced mind's call. These seemed bornnormade human not in Time,

immensity Shesawa spiritual and the Pervading ecnompassing world-space our As eiiher iransparent tangible air, il lranquillylhoughl. a Andthrough sailing glides shinearing a aporl, As smoothly ll came lo lhe bilenl city of the brain quay, il and Towards accustomed expectanl will, Bulmeta barring a blowof Force in Andsankvanishing the immensity pause Atler aiong vacant anotherappeared Andothers by onesuddenly one emerged, ,4ind's unexpected vislors fromlhe unseen lar'oflsialsupon lonely Lrie a sea. Butsoonthatcommercefailed, nonercachedmind'scoast nothing then allgrewstill, moved more: any lmmobile, seltrapt, timeless, solitary pervaded A silenl spirit silent Space.

lnlhal absolute stillness bareandformidable There wasglimpsed all-negaling supreme an Void thatclaimed mystic ils Nihil's sovereign right TocancelNaturcand denythe soul. Even nude the sense selfgrewpaleandlhin: ot lmpersonal, signless, ieatureless, ol lorms, void A blackpurc consciousness had,teplaced mind. the

Outol sone Jarexpanse theyseems come dot As if carried vaslwings large on like whrle sails. Andwitheasyaccess reached inner lhe ear.

Yelst li her bodysawand movedand spoke; It understood wilhout aidot thought, the It saidwhatever needed be said, to It drdwhateverneededbe done to There wasnopersantherebehind act, the

As yettheirpathlaydeepconcealed light in thenlooking know lo whence inlruders the came

7A

Chapter-5

word: lhe fitting No mmdlhai choseor passed apt like AlLwrought an unerring machine. old As I contrnuing habilualturns, force And pushedby an old !nexhausted work for whichit was made: lhe enginedid the lookedon and look no parl; Her consciousness

lhe This seeingwas identicalwilh seen: al{thatcouldbe known, It knewwithoutknowledge ihe li saw imparilally worldgo by, gtance unmovrng But in the samesupreme Saw 1oo i1s abysmal unreaItY. It watched ligureoJihe cosmicgame, the seemeddead Bui the thoughland innerlifein Jorms of by her own collapse ihought; Abolished A hallow physical shell persisted,still.

Chapter-6

The Inwardization and the Ascension

alivein brainand flesh Once sepulchred and She had risenup from body,mind lile; was no rnorea Personin a world, she She had escapedinto infinitY. ,., Only sone lasl annulmentnow remained, inable step" vagueindef Annihilation's

Chapter-6
Hisknowledge inviewcaught an unlathomable, An outview no briefhorizons by cut: He thaught and feltin all, hisgazehadpower. (SirAurobindo, Sayll4Bookll, Canto p. 301) XV, Thethingto begained the binging in ol a Pawerat'Conis (the Supramenlal) yet oryanised activedinot sciousness or reclly in eatth-natute, even in the spirituallife, but yet to be and orcanised madedircctly active On {SirAurobindo, Hinself p. lag) Theaverhead ascension not indispensable the usual is for putposes,- but itisindispensable the putposesof spirilual far this Yaga. its aim is to becomeawarc of and liberuteand For transfamanduniteallthebeinginthe lightof a Trulh-Consciousnesswhichis aboveand cannotbe rcachedil tbereis no en ttrelyinward-going notranscendingand upward-going and movepp. (tbid.. t79-A0 I he l_le'gral Yoga nansformation lor hs objectrve ol nas nolmerely supreme lhe realisation Sachchidananda, Hls ol but 0lvne seli-expression, llawless the manifestationthe aclive of Brahman,ourdivinely in tansiigured embodied earthly existence. Bulthequestion howlo realise goalol ourYoga is: this and whalit is ihai my possibly bethe medium theserealising of ascensions world-possessing and descents? in the aclually For, elaborated evolullonary status human ol consciousness, rnind represenls highest principle power consc the cosmic and ol ous n e s ss o l a r o r g a n i s e id a m n t h e m e n t a b e i n g .B u 1t h s n l rnndconsciousness, in itshighest evn llights, no more is thana

Chapter-6

and The Inwardizalion the Ascension

75

il is movemenl the lgnorance: nolinherentlyTruth-Consciousin or of incapable possessing evenal_ it And hence is allogeiher itselfand rest at to taining the Divine; bestil can immobilise sll of with satisfied Retlections the sunln waterc or wlh But ii is far kom our goalto be contented "bright lhat pholog of Reality" themrnd raphs films a disla0l or shadowy to for achieve us:we wantto ascend the supreme canat most glor ils and down dynamic es and in Realiiy iullawaireness bring siate. in theplayoi ourwaking splendours experrbut Bul we cannot takenoteof the lact ot sp ritual ihal an immense oi encece ifiedby mosiseekers the Truth lhe hialus seems exisl to belween supramentalTrulh_Conscious_ we nessand the l\rind-consciousnessnormay knowol, And gulf belween the unbridgeable iniervening this unless seemingly torego dream our we io bridged, have two is satisfactorily Truth ihe ...to plant earth living on worldthe homeof God. Or makeol lvlatter's thanto takea we In thatcase, shallhaveno otherchoice e station MindintotheUnknowab ol leap super-consclent lromthe conclulrenclrant willy-nilly thelollowrng to and beyond lo agree persuading abandon Savitrlio Darkness s on oi theincredulous herlaskoi world-translormationl the turn.lo Godmustleave word; He "vho would musigiveup life; live He whowould in lhe Spirit, selt. He whohasmetthe Sell,renounces routes mind of of Thevoyagers the m;llion to lhrough Exislence is end. Whohave lravelled s theworld'oceanvasts, exploring Sages safe. the Have found extinction soleharbour both and as lndeed, ndfails an inslrument mediLrm forour m as as into ousascension the Iniinite weLl for thedynamic consc powersof Spiritthe of and descent manileslation the supreme ideniily the wilh al cannol arrive As hasbeenso wellsald,mind

it into il in a swoonor extinclionAbsolule, can only disappear DafknessoflhemyslicNight-' rnloSt.Johno{ the Cross's'divine and aclion,the mrnd Also, as a mediumof divineexpression planecannotin its very natureallowot the supremeworklngs natlveto the d ivineConsciousnessForce.'The m ind spiritualised, perfected purilied, liberated, withinits own limitsmay come as but-..this is near as possibleto a faithfulmentaliranslaiion, atter all a relatve lidelityand an imperfectperJection...The mind...can take iis llhe Inlinite's] suggestrons act ihernout and its own way, a way always fragmentary,derivative and subin but iect lo a greateror less deformalion, it cannotbe ilsellthe directand perlecl instrumenl lhe infiniteSpiritacting in its of ownknowledge." It becomesimperaiive then lor the fullillment our divine ot dest nv uoon earth thal man shouldbe ableto raise hrmsellmuch abovethe planeoi mindand normally and permanent{y, evenin his wakrngstate,live in the supernalheightsof the Sprril, also to manifesl and organise his embodied in existence new plances and powersof consciousness otherlhan and superior mind, io so that these may offer lhemseives ihe proper media and as insirLrmentalron throughwhichthe divineWill and Wisdomcan lreelvact and self-exoress, But betweenthe l\,,lind the Spirit,arethere other superior and p aces of spiritualconsciousness-not merelyslalic and ntrospeclive,bul creativeand dynamic-which man can possibly hopeto ascend? And is il al all possible manlo developand for o-o ,ricp hese supernalplanes his wakrng In conscioLs-ess so muchso lhat he may outgrowand lranscend presenimenla his statusand becomesomething morethan human? The anweiand hopelie in the process evoluiionary of elabo.at on ol manifesied exislence here uponthe face of the earlh. The resullsso lar achieved Evolution indeedtruly slrikare by ng: rl is surelyalong march from the insentient N,4alter the io sell conscious mlndoJman,But who can savlhat the evolutton

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Chapter6

zationand lho Ascension The Inward

77

of itsellwith lhe emergence man the ary nisushas exhausled courselelt tor the emmentalbeing,so thal the only possible bodiedsoul is how lo make an exit lrom lhis not loo perlecl a w o r l d - e x i s l e n c e 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 and Unknowable Unmanitest? oestrusis e'/en now As a maller o{ fact, the evolutionary very much at work and il is nol liableto annul itselfuntil and hereIn our is unless divineSachchidananda fullymanifesled the the liJe divine.' embodied exislence and'thisearthlylitebecome is intended meaning crealion,lhis lhe ol For such is the original march.Thus Savitri sense of the evolulionary secrel spirituai oJ answered retulethe conjecture lhe sophislPowerol do!bt to and denial: How sayslhou Truthcan neverlightlhe humanmind And blisscan neverinvade lhe mortals heart Or God descendintolhe worldhe made? rose, Voidthe creataon ll in the meaningless ForceMallerwas bron, li frorna bodiless tree, ll Lifecou d climbin lhe unconscious greendeLighl breakintoemerald leaves li And its laughter beaulyblossomin the flower, of and ll sensecouldwake in lrssue,nerve cell, And Thought seizethe gregmatlerof the brain. lhroughlhe llesh, And soul peep {romits secrecy nameless lightnot leap on men, How shallthe powersemerge from Nalure's Sleep? And unknown Truthlike stats Evennow hintsot a luminous splednour 'gnorance; ol Afisein the mind-mooned Lover's touch we leel: Evennow the dealhless It the chamber's door is evena lillleatar, in Whatthen can hinderGod from stealing soul?' Or who lorbidhis kisson the sleeping thatthe pasl is no sure guide But the skeplicmay sti I rejoin So, lo to the tutureand plausibiltys neverequivalent cerlainly.

the ol aller establishing plausibility our goal ol divinetranslor poinlout we of malion the wakingexislence, musl now specially which lhis goal can be realised practice. in following the sleps specula_ And lor this we must relt surelynot on philosophical bul I on or logicalsurmisings, solelyon the verdictol ihe everspiriiual exploralion our being of and ascending ever'deepening For, in and becorning- this alonehas any realvalidity lhjs tield. Now. lhere are two lypes ol movemenls oi our conscrousfor ness lhroughwhich il becomespossible us lo have access reachesof our being,a movemenl Io lhe deeperand sLrperior tnwardand an upward ascension. we By the firsi movementol inward penetration, seek to ou. selt from our breakasunderthe wall separating subliminal and existence. leavethe surlace conscrousness surface Dresent lLVe enlirelyin the realmol our innermind,innerlile, innefsub This in lle'physrcal and finallyin the in most soul ot our beingin moslsoulorthepsychic beingis the Purusha the secrethearl, hrdye guheyem, a potton of lhe Divine Sell supporting the indivrdualnature, ot Now,an enlargemenl complelion our aclualevolulronand ary slatus becomes the very lirsl consequenceot such an nwardizalion consciousness. our Innerberngis toundlo For, oi possess dynamismand potenlialities much superior those lo a ol our sLrrface mind and liJe and 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 universal being no onger limitedby the existingwalls oJ our loo narrow mental, vilal physicalexislence. This wideningcan extendilsell to a complele of Mind,inlounrly enlryinlolhe consciousness cosmrc w lh the universal Life,even into a onenesswilh unlversaMal_

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and The Inwardization lhe Ascension

79

For, Butthisfirstresuli nolallthatcanbe deslred. howeis perfected dynamism, beingreand in our ver cosmic scope in cosmic lruth,if in mains embedded the lieldol diminished slill ll lranscend limitalhe notin totalcosmic lgnorance. we would status,we musl seek 10 betions of our presert evolulionary lo in what is now superconsceint us and ascome conscious presenl not accesslble cendto native the heights lhe Spiril at ol movemenl inconsciousness, "thepsychic Thus, to ourwaking by upwardio theinner being,...must compleled an openrng be wardto a supreme spiritualstatusl' more Now.lhis lhe second-andlrom pointol view,much is our living. For, inward momentous-consequence accomplished ot an realms ls sublimirlal il is loundthatoncetheentry inlotheinner pres_ being exerts growin9 a successfully underlaken, inner lhe lid constricling, hard andbight of mind,-mind sureonthe"strong 1(om the dividing separative" clouds superconscienl our and that ptessure comesin the end so waking consciousness, This be and great thin,opensanddisappear. thatthe lidol mindwears privileged havea vision the of to our consciousness becomes 1s Whatwe seebythisis upward openrng "aninsupernal things. Presence an inlinile Existence, an finity above an eternal us, or Sell, infinily bljss,-a ol boundless infinity coflsciousness, o{ an Ecslasy." Light,a bou|ldless Power, boundless a a boundless not awareness below'is suliicient. trom Buteven this'wide lo ol We mustmakean actual ascension the height the spirit or reabove,Fortunaiely, too is an alternative subsequent this consciousness up towards rises sultof lhe inward living. Our mental level. much beyond present the thereaches ourbeing, of and dilticulty supervenes unless But herea very serious one maybe verywellled remedied time, in thisis successfully ol awaylrom lhe palh of divinelransformation Natureinto the L,nmanilest and silenl immobility theTranscendent o1 at10 lndeed, sincethe heights whichour consciousness to are superconscient ascension in general tainsin its upward

our mind,the latierlailsto tema n awakethereand henceconblank Thus,our mind_ siderstheseascentsas only luminously and lake a a is consciousness lempiedto eflecluate short_cul On straght jump to the Transcendent. this line,"the firsl mosl ord nary resut is a discoveryof a vast staticand silenl Self may whichwe feel to be our realor our basicexistence...There Niruana bothof our aclivebeingand ot a be evenan exlinction, a 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 n d ls to nexpressible...lt posslble remainin a Nirvanaoi all ind all or, to v dualily, stop at a siaiic realisation regarding ihe cos_ imposedon the play or illusion movemenlas a superficial rn c and sient Se I, 10pass inlo somesupremeirnmobile lmmulabe statusbeyondihe universe, yth line Butforlunate s is notiheonlypossible of supernormal on from all pariicipat n lhe the spifllua experience: withdrawal wor d-ex stence and the immergenceor exlinctloninlo the for destjnydecreed lhe hu is Llnmanifest not lhe only spiritual Lnto vergeoJNirvana f divinereturn romthe mansou , A supreme possible is and thrswiththe und minished the world-play eqLrally wealihamasseda1 of splendors and potencies all the spiritual The choice is indeedhard and dlif cult For, lhe the summits. s and Eterrrily withdrawal the Infinite into u timateand definitive prospectto be easilyrejeciedby the ascending too a uring a birth'onemusl have soul.To have nstead'thesupernal narlowedge ..trodalongextinclion's Neafthe h gh vergesoi eternlly. ot between Th s doublealternative the dilJicull choosing and passage lowrng the two havebeen beautiiully depicledin lhe lo 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,

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Chapt6r-6

and The Inwardrzalron the Ascension

a1

indef inable stepi Annihilation's vague A memory being stillwas there of Andkeptherseparate fromnothingness: wasin Thatblt stillbecame That. not She so to Thisshadow hersolf close noughl of couldbe again seli'spoinld'appui live, lo Relurnout of the lnconceivable Andbe whalsomemysierious might vast chooseEven theUnknowable as dcred, Shemightbe noughtot new-becamethe All, Or if thecmnipolenl Nihiliook shape a Emerge someone redeem world. as and lhe Even, learn whatthe mystic cipher held, shemight Thisseeming or closed ot all exit end passage from Could a blind be tenebrous screned sight, Herstaletheeclipsing shell darkened ol sun On its secretway to the Inetlable. Evennowhersplendid mightflame back being Out ot the silence lhe nullity, and portion lh alfwonderful, A gleaming of A powerof someall-affirming Absolute, A shining mirror the eternalTruth of To showto the One-in-all rnanitest its Jace, Tothesoulsol mentheirdeepideniity. quietude wakeinloGod's Or shemighl Beyondthe cosmicday and cosmicnight Andreslappeased hiswhite in eternity. we to Butonce setaside exit-solution noiconforming the as !n ourgoaland instead become lry to aware thoses!pernalreaims where could remain we not awake before, findthatourconwe where sc ousness rises those to ascending heighls theSpirit of greatly rtsimmobile for stalus butthe necessary is foundation a potenl luminous dynamism. thepower remain Once awake and to develops us,onc6we riseout ol the sphere mortal in mind of ol and ookdeepandhighandfar,we discover splendors a the

inlerof and graded series planes powers consciousness-an ol belween as links mind-range-serving andbridges spiritual venlng o 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 s l being. and supramental purespiritual the that"welindthe altitudes'of Spirit It is in these'radiant the of themeans thelransiiion, needed we secret are seeking, a for we perceive transJormaiion a ; steolowards supramental wlth gradualily ascent, communication a moreand more a ol lightand powerJromabove,a scaleot deep and lmmense siairin theascenas can inlensit which be regarded so many es is fromThalwhrchbeyond into or in a descent Mind sionof Mind

gradation which con_ our through ascending ln lhisincessanl Truth-Consciousness, lhe rises sciousness towards supramental Thesegradations maybe distinguished lour pr nc ple ascents of seriesof sublimaiions the described as'a mav be broadlv Higher has whalSriAurobindo lermed through consciousness' "there a suc_ is Intuition Overmind; and lVIind, Mind.lllumined of at the cesson ol selt'iransmutations summil lvhichliesthe In degrees Supermind Divine-Gnosis....Allthese are9nostlc or to for evenat thefilsl we begin pass and thelrorinciDle oower; and In based an original consclence on lroma consciousness Knowledge-lgnorance lgnorance ina mixed or acting a general n Knowledge self'existent based a secret on to a consciousness grades grades energy'substance of are and..ln these lhemselves grades thesubstance of oJ oi lheSpirit...they domains being, are are whrch iieldsol existence being, andenergy the spiritual of tuting Force Consciousness- const each eve ol theuniversal a ol stage ihisas_ stat!s..Each andorganls itselfntoa higher ng oi centrsa general, nota tolalconversion thebeingntoa new if lrght power a greater exisience.' and of andthe dy' d Forthe characlerisatlon iourlo asceni ol this relered Chap' Ia namc'sorrtualimolicatons readeris thereof,the al ter XXV\, Book lwo ("The AscentlowardsSupetmind") Sti

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Chapter6

and The Inwardizalion ihe Ascension ol exaclrelation truihto lruth.'Thus lighining rangein a brighlpack Intullion's 'lu-lrng all nrdden lrulhsout ol lheir lairs. absolule Its liery edge of seeang Cleaves inlo locked unknown retreatsoJsell, RJ.nmages skv-recesses the brain. the ol of Lighlsup the occullchambers lhe hearl; ictusol discovery lls spearpoinl Pressed lhe coverol name,lhe screenol torm, on Slripsbare the secretsoul ol allthat is sun-brighl eyes; Thoughllhere has revelalion's Voice, The Word,a mighiyand inspiriling EnlersTruth's inmostcabinol privacy And lears awaythe veiltromGod and lile.

83

Aurobindo's LifeDivine.Fo(1he The continuity our discussion ot we conlenlourselves with 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 assumes lhe nalureof Truth-Thoughi. mosl characler lts slic movemenl "a mass idealion, systemor totality iruthis a of seerng al a srngleView;...this lhought is a sell-revelatlon ol elernaiWisdom, an acquired nol Knowledge. Beyond the Higher [4ind ol Truth-Thoughiis the Illumined M/rdol Truth-Sight, Mindwhere a thereafe vaslsol visionand eternalsuns, Oceanso' an im.rortallumrnoLsness, Flame-hills assaLrlllng heaven with theirpeaks, Theredwelling becomes blazeoJsight; all a A bufningheadof visionleadsthe mind, Thoughtlrailsbehindil its longcornetiail; The heartglows,an illuminale seer, and And senseis kindledinlo identi\,. powerof the illumined Thus the characteristic lvlnd is not Thoughlbul Visioni is the fieldol "theoutpourings massive ii of irghlning flamingsun-stull." on the dynamicside thereis of And here 'a goldendrrve,a lumtnous'enthousiasms'ot innerforce and power,...almoslviolent a lmf,elus rapidtransformalion.' ol Next in the order oJ ascension in the lntuttive Mind whose powr is an intimaieand exactTruth,perception characterislrc whichis muchmorethan sighland conceplion. Iniuition in us is ''a projecling blade,edge or point of a tar-olt superrnind light enterng inloand moditied someinlermediate by truth-mind subpowef.A oower ol stance above us,,,lntuiiion has a Jourlold revelalo truth-seeing, powerof nspiralion lrulh-hearing, ry a or a power of truth-louch jmmediate or seizingoJ signilicance,... a power of true and automalicdiscriminaiion the orderlvand ol

l\rindis a superconscrenl Beyondlhe planeol the Intuitive whichcarriesin rl of cosmicMind,a principle globalknowledge 'a delegated is Overmind lighltromthe supramenlalgnosis,'The and SupramentalTrulh-Consciousness in direciconlactwiththe ihe represents the'higheslpossible stalls-dynamis'of Spirit n cosmicempireol the Overmind' the spirlual-mindrange-'The linites lasl expanseand represenls boundless the Elernity, Trrne's butter slatebordering vasl lor lhe experience mans so!l: of Too Allhere gathersbenealhone goldensky: take The Powerslhal buildthe cosmosslalron possibility; n its houseof inlinrle worldi Eachgod irom therebuildshis own nalure's phalaniedlikea groupof sums; ldeasare Thoughlcrowdsin massesseizedby one regard; AllT me is one body,Spacea singlebook: gaze, Thereis lhe Godhead universal s And therethe boundaries immonalI\rind: ol The Overmindmay be considered be lhe delegaleoJ lo Superrnind lhe lowerhemisphere Knowledge-lgnorance; il ot to

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ChapteF6

The Inwardization the Ascension and penury. ihat suprememovemenl descent For diablyspiritual ol movemenl ascension ol and Heaven shouldlollowihe supreme shouldconsentto come down CHAPTEBXupon Earth.But is that al all possible? THE DESCENT OFTHE SUPEBMIND I know lhat I can lift man's soul to God, I know thal he can bting the immortal down Sav/lfi BookXl, Canlo l, p.687) lSriAurobindo, 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 transformationinwhich is merged Divine in the cosmic all in cansciousness.Thirdis the supramentaltransformation 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, HlmseL p. I I8) On In our attemplto chalkout lhe slepsfollowing whichan em' bodied his beinghereuponearthmay hopeto transligure waking existence muchso thal a divinely dynamic can llowerout lile so in lhe earthlygarden,we have come to lhe lindingthat an essentialpreliminary ascondrtions for our soul to consciously cendlo the supernal grades beingand powerot the sell-manio{ {estng spirit,lhat intervene betweenour normalmind and the TruthConsciousness Supermind. ol

linksthe lallerwiththatsupramental GnosisorTruth-Conscrous, ness, ...whileyetatthesametimewith brilliant goldenLid it ils veilslhe faceol the greatertuth fromour sight..This lhen is the occultlinkwe werelooking for;Thislhe Powerthat at oncecon, neclsand divides supreme the Knowledge the cosmiclgno, and rance. With the Overmindwe thus reach the line lhat paris and joins ihe lowerand the upper hemispheres exislence. of Here two possibililies open up beJore soul. Eitheril may seek lo the reachthe supreme supracosmic Sachchidananda direct lromthe sprrilualased mind-range and 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 ralher pure Sat (Existence), or absoluteand elernalor elsea pureNon-existence, absolute and elernal." But evidently this is nol our line.Sincewe seek to possess drvinelyourworld-being wella sourselt-being, muslcross as we pass inlothe upper hemisphere the borderhne, transcending even the highestreachot spiritual mindand seek to rea se Sachchidanandaon the planeof Supermind. For,supermindis Sachchida, "..power of selt-awarenessand wo.ld-awareness,lhe nanda's world being known as wilhin itselfand not outside..llt the isl Trulh'Consciousness whelheraboveor in the universe which by the Divineknows not only his own essenceand bring bul his manifestationalso. lts fundamenlalcharacter is knowledge by identity, lhal lhe Sell is known, DivineSachchidananda by lhe rs known, bul also lhe truth of manileslation known.because is lhis loo is That." Hence il becomesimperative the soul to pass lhrough ior jl, instead departing the supramenlal ralisation ol intotheTran, scendence, wouldsimullaneouslV in the lranscendnce rt live ol lhe supremeSachchidananda Dossess world-vew too. and tts Bul even thesesupremeascenisaccomplLshed tull sprF n rlualawareness not provesufficient our purpose. do for These cannotcureourwakingconsciousness its apparently ol irreme-

Chapler-6

The Inwardizaiion the Ascensaon and

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ascending these lo Of course, is truethatwilhout it actually planes permanently there, we living if and higher fitual sp mental and from to canopenourselves below theirknowledge splritual waking spirilualise normal our beinfluences, cansomewhal we in But change effected this ingandconsciousness. lhe spiritual prolound widein ils scope. louches lt onlythe way s never or In fr nge of our dynarnic existence, orderio havean entrre and oi ii indlspensaconsciousness power Being, s allogether ble that we gather our consciousness riseout ol the up and mindintothe radlant higher allitudes the of sphere gnorant ol Spiril. Andthese ascents mustbe made fullawareness not in and merelyin the immobile trance-siale absorbed of superconscience. in ihe latler For case, lhe relurn thewaking on to cononly sciousness thesetemporary lrom sojourns, an rndeterminatespiritual impression abidebut not muchol dynamic may elfect. orderto In havethe dynamis otthehigher spiritualgrades life,we mustfirst of beingactive and organised ourwaking in "a ellecluale conscious heighlening widening immense and into ranges newbeing, of newconsciousness, potentralities new of action." Butthisascension ourconsciousnessihesehigher oi to luplanes, m nous even permanently i{ does sufnol centred lhere, licefor thespiritual translormalionour being andnature. of the permanent ascent fromlhe lower the hrgher to consciousness process a permanent muslbefollowed thecomplementary by of descent the higher ol i,rlolhe lower. iransmutalion our The of present modes being ot andactivities spiritual into values leadinglo the trans{iguration waking ol our existence necessitates thennol merely ascension theplanes an 1o above even nor the pressure inlluence or] exert iromthereof an indirect and upon oLrr lower ngbulthebrining be down thePower L ghtof the ol and in iield ournormal supernal reaches thevery of being, conscious' proper ihespirilual For"lhere adynamism is nessandaction. lo 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 , n a n d a , A

Peace, Knowledge, infinite Wideness, that muslbe posand intothe wholebeing. Otherwise can se'sed and descend one get muktibutnot peiection ottnnsformation (except relative a psyc ho-spirilu change)." al potencies Thedescent ofthespirilual andforcsofths higher places (homthe Higher Mind theOvermind) thuslhethird to is necessary motion tollowing othertwo ascension permathe ol and nenlstaiioning above. thisprocess pe.colation, In of downpour "an or influx. occur rncreasing inflow fromabove, experience an ol reception retentlon the descending and of spiritor its powers and elemenls consciousness." of Whenthisphase moreor is less completed, saylhatlhe we being nalure undergone and has spiritualtransfotmation, lransformation a lhat links the manifestedexistence with whatliesbeyondand aboveit. Bui eventhis is not;nough for ou. goal.For,the process of spirtualisation brings about mostly subjective a transformation, theinstrLrmental Nature remaining beforefullof as many disabilities anddeficiencies. theOvermind, summil-reach Even the of our spiritual mind-range, lo eflecluale complte fails a change of Nature, this too is "subject limilaijons the working ior to in of the eflective Knowledge, limitations the working the Power in ol subiect a Dartial to and limited Truth." Forthe fullandradical transformation is indispensable whal isthedirectintervention the unveiled and action thesupramenof tal Gnosisin our earth-existence earlh-nature. lhat can and But come about onlywhena prior ascent lhe plane Supermind lo of rslolowed the supramental by descent thelieldol teffeslrial in manifeslation. Butwhal precisely the difticulties are offeredby our presnt berng and naturs,lhal cannotbe salisfactorily evenby the mel nlgnest powers? spiritual-mental Whalare the lacunaeir+velved in the processof spiritualtranstormation? esseniialdilfiTh6 culty comesfrom the lact that we are evolutionarv creatures. OLrevolLtion slarted has lromtheapparently blank bosom ln of

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The Inwardrzalion the Ascensron and

89

is ol Nescience st con scrence and this dark herrtage orrginal we ghl ng very heavilyuponour nalure.Our normalbe ng is aloul and mostwhollyrnoLrlded of the Inconsceince "it s lhis sub nto lhat has10be_transformed a substace stanceol nescience and ol sLrperconscience, a subslancen whrchconscrousness a are alwayslhere even when lhey are nol spirtual awareness lhal aclive,nol expressed...Till is done,lhe nescence rnvades or encompasses even ceilsup and absorbsinto ts oblivrous or darkness thal enlers inlo it; il compelsthe descnding tht a to compromise wilh ihe iesserlght il enlers:thereis a mrxlure, a a diminut and iilution oi itsell,a drminution, rnodilcailon. on nconrp authentlcriy its lrulh and power.' ol an cte th ll s becauseol this blind opposingNecessrty, s dark y an e altach,nenl Ihe a readyestablshed seeming nexorab lo and Lavr's lhe ignorance lhe h ghersp rilua Lghls powers. o1 that even lhoseol lhe overmind,com ng down nto the obscunlyol po' our physrcalconseiousness muchot lheirtranslormrng Iose muliated,circumscfibed nol aland tencyand becomeinstead iogetherdynamically efiective. Thus a peffeci lranslguralon oi our lowernatureis a far cry f we u/ouldrely on the sp ritua menlalpowersalone.We may ll rndeed innerconsciousness our luminous and berated and w o e c s l a l i c ! 1 o u ro u t e r e i n g n dn a l u r e i l l s ll l g o o n n t h e i r l d b b a n l s u n f e g e n e r aw a y ,b r i n g g n p e r i o d s o l d u lo b s c u r a t o na n d le due to lhe play ol the guras The powerof !n\lanled reaclions d v ne y rllumirred mind may be rmmense compareow th ordipowers.bul t will st b sublecllo incapacily nary and 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 lorm 1o lhe modes oJ workingand cannol grve any aclequale greatness $ilhin il Ths is ihe lragedyol rn eilectv ty. ol ihe h , a l ! sb e l u / e e n e a la n d e i f e c i v e w r l .. d

Th s is the reasonwhy it has been alwaysJound thal a sub, on lectve spirtualty concentrated lh6 changeof the innerbeing a one, leavng the outernalureto go its old way,is mucheaster to accomplish lhan to objectivies spirituality lhe dynamic this in I|lecl a lree wor d,action. the courseol our Spirituat In Sadhana. our lola|ly of existence very 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, receives lreelythe higherspiritual iniluences and gels moreor lesstranslormed, ihe external Bul surface selj and natureare mosttymoulded the iorcesof the established by lgno_ ranceand the originalNescience. And hencethey are tardy in awakenrng, sluggish receiving in and impervious uninhiblted to ass mrlalion. is, for this reason,"alwayseasierto spiritualise lt the innerselt sullicient partsthan to transform ouler aclion; lhe perieclion introspective, a ot indwelling_..spiritualily trom atoot the worldor selt protected againstit is easierthan a perlection ol lhe wholenaturein a dynamic, kinetic spirituality objeclivised n the ie, embracing world,masterol jls environment, the sov_ e.e qn In ts comrnerce wath world-naiure.,' Bul whethereasy of fulfillment nol, this is what we have or p ace0 bel0reus as our goal:an inlegraltranslormation our ol culer betngand nalureas wellas thatof the innerone, entailing the drvnrsalton our wakingphysical oi existence and ot the dv_ .amic llleol aclion.And as lve have menlioned before,it is onlv lrreoverlintervention lhe divine of supermind our earlh-nature in lhal .an negativethe dark Necessity downwardpull ol our ol presenlevolulionary existence and usheranthe eslablishmenl oi the L fe Divine And for thal an ascenlout ot the lowerhemisphere topped by lhe Overmind ontothe planeol suprarnenlal Gnasisbecomes Ine I rs1necessily. For, the dynamicas well as the stalic reahsa1on oi Sachchidananda cannolbe inseparcbly and simultane.!s/v fad exceptthroughlhe Supermind, T.,Jth-Consciousthe f-as5.)l the drvineReality_ "The universeis uynamrsm. move-

90

Chapler-6

The Inwardizatlon th Ascension and

91

menl-the essenlialexperienceSachchidananda of apartlromthe is slalic.The full dynamiclruth ol dynamrsmand movemenl Sachchidananda the universe and and its consequence cannol be graspedby any olher consciousness than the supermind, because inslrumentation ail olherllowerlplanesrs inlef or lhe in and there is thereJore disparity a betweenthe fuilnessof the stal c experience the ncompleteness the dynamc power, and ol knowledge, resultot the interior Ight and powerol otherplanes. this is lhe reasonwhy the consciousness lhe other spirlual of p anes,even if ii descends, can make no radicalchangein the earlh-consc ousness,I can only modilyor enfich t." So we see lhal th s sublirne ascenlfrom be ow. lrom out ol the sp ritualmrnd's p sphere,inlo lhe supramenlal ane oi being and consciousness, lhe lirsl radicalslep on the way to lhe is iullillment havebeen seekingin ourYoga. we Bul h s ascension rs nol enough:it has lo be completed a supremedescenl by irom above, ihe descentot lhe Supermind earth natufe For, in rl is only in the divineTrulh'Consciousness Supermnd lhat or lhe powerof dynamic lransformalion be integraland can absaAs a rnalterol fact, on y lhe supermind can lhus descend wnhautlasing ils lull poweroi aclionifor ils action s a ways in trinsic and automatic, will and knowledge its idenlical al-ld lhe resull cornmensuratei natureis a self achieving ils Truth-conscrousness... y lhe supramenlal on Forcecan enlirclyovetcame d fticuI ol the fundarnenlal Nescience; with t entersan for [the] opposiie and luminous imperat Necessly whichunderlies ve all lhingsand is lhe or ginalandlinalseltdeterminrng trulh lorceol lhe se l-ex slenl Inlinile. This greaterlumtnous r l!a neces, sp s ly and rts sove.ergn imperative a/onecan dtsplace enlirely of penelrale. transform inlo ilse i and so iapracethe blfd Ananke " of lhe lnconscience So. this is lhe secondcap tal movemenl: descentol lhe ihe in Supermind earlh-exrsience earlh nalure B!l somelhrng and

much more has to be achievedbelore our goal of divineand dynamiclile upon earlh becomesa realised fact ot existence The involved Supermindas to emerge to meet the descendtng As a malterot iact, even now,the supramental principle is here secrellylodgedin a I existence, even behind lhe grossest malerality.lt is lhe S!perrnind that rs sustajning and governing lower worldsby its self-concealed ihis maniiested power and law ELrt present Supermind tnvolved hiddenbehlnd al lhe is and th s ower tflplicily mind,life and matter: cannotacl overlty ol it or in ils won nlrinsicpower,becauseoi lhe absenceof proper Instrumentat n lhe earth-nature. "powerveils 1tsell on lls and law worksunseen through shackled tations the ltm timpItsl and ng deforrnat ol lhe lesserruleof our phystcal, ons vilal,menla Nalrirel Now il the supramental changeot the who e substance ol our beingand ol all its modesand movements has al al to be made perlecl and integral, thls involvedSupermind Nalure in join m!sl [reI berated uponearth, withthe descending Superm nd, prepare ihe groundlor lhe divinedynamicplay oi Supernalure \.paraprakrti) and acI as "an overlly operattvepower n lh ler- n restra vr'orkings..., the sameway in whichlh nkingi\,4ind has 0eeneslabiished through humanevolut as an overllyop the on eratve powerrn Lile and Maller. This wou d mean lhe appearance n the evolulion a gnoslc beingor Purusha ol and a gnos1 c P f a k rI a g n o s l i c - N a t u r T . e r e m u s t b e a n e m e r g e n l eh sLrpramenlal Conscousness-Force lberatedand act ve withrn the lerrestria wholeand an organised s!pramenlaInstrumenlat.n cf lhe Sprrii n the lile and the body... It is n th s way thatlhe sp rilualpenuryot our wakingex stenceca4 be radrcally remeded and one can enjoya dlvrne Ie nereuponearlh tseif,even n the physcal embodied stence, ex w thoutany needto shun exislence plungeiniolhe ann htta or I on oj lhe spirtua Person some sell extrngu in shingNirvana,

r\C

o o) ct

9o
*or :OF

t-o

Chapter-7
The Spirit's topsand nature's baseshalldraw Neatto the secretof their'eparate truth And knoweachothetas one deity. the spiritshalllookout thtoughMatter's gaze And Maftershallrevealthe Spitit's lace Thenmanand superman shallbe at one And alllhe ea h becomea sngle lile. (SriAurobindo, SayltilBookXl, Cantol, p.7092) A manrtestation the Supermind of and its truth-conscjousnessis.,,inevhable:it musthaDDen thjswo d sooneror later. in But it has two aspecls,a descentfromabove,an ascentlrom below, self-revelation the Spirit,an evolution Nature a ol in (SriAurobindo. p.80) TheSupamental Manifestation, As the psychic change has to call in lhe spiritual to completeit, so thefist spiitualchangehasto callin thesupramental translarmatian complete to it...Thisthenmustbe the natureof thethirdand finaltnnslotmationwhichfinishes passage the af the soul thraughthe lgnorance and bases its consciousness, its life, itspowerand formof manifestation a comptete on and completely effectiveself-knowledge..So must be createdthe supramental spiitual beingas the firstunveiled and manifestattonal the truthol the Selfand Spirit the materialuniverce. in -18) (SrjAurobindo, LifeDivine, pp.917 The It, YY e have almos( cometo theendol our longo.sse,tal,oon howto remedy spiritual penury our waking physical the ot existence. an escape Not orattheleastaquientisttc withdrawal trom world-consciousness, lhe butralherthe integraland vlctoriousembracing the lifeof actionand creation andthe divlne of a IransfigLrration the wholeof our existence. whal we have of is

Chapler-7

placebeloreus as our goal. Buta furtherpoint remains be elucidate lo here.Awellestablishedlineol spiritual exoerience showsthat whenever soul our gels involved action,it in losesholdand becomesnescient ils of passiveand so-called rmmobile, ttue slatus,whereasa withdrawallromdynamism and an involulion intopassivily makesit totallyoblivious it is activestatuswhich thus appears10 be of just a false supenmposition upon lhe lreedomand bIss ol the soul. Now,if this experience the only or the ullimateexpefi, is pertorce admitihat an acirvelife ence possible, lhen we have lo cannotbe compalible withthe conscious experience enjoyand menioi ihe soul-status. fo unatelythis noi so.Thisallerna, Bui is lion in the nescienceof the activeand lhe passtvestaluses occursbecause ls only apartof our beingna dot lhe totality ii ot rt lhal shiits it cenlre and makes the alternattve movements. But in realitythereare not two distinciand separateslatuses: thereis instead only a unique dualslatus,a stalusembraces al lhe sametime boihthe aspects, staiicone and the dynamic the We haveakeadyspoken ofthe activeBrahman and the passive Brahman, thereare nol lwo independent bul realilies, one imrnobile, other mobile."The Fleality neitheran eternal the is passivilyof immobile Being nor an eternalaclivilyof Beirlgin movemenl,nor is il an alternalion Tirnebetweenihese lwo in ihrngs.Neitherin fact is the sole absolutetruth ol Brahman's rea ily...There not a passive is Erahman and 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 aliernately lrom passrvtly aclivityand back to passivityby to cessation its dynamic of forceo{ being....lntegral pos, Brahman passivityand the activity slmultareouslyand does sess Lolh the not pass alternately fromone1olhe other as from a s eep 1o a wakino."

here For, is of Theanalogy sleepandwakingaveryaptone aboul we state forget is normallyiind thatin ourwaking whatwe oblivi_ we in and sleep status while lhe sleep-stale become our a But exislence, ihisis so onlybecause small ousoi ourwaking belween and oscillales the parto{ our beingmakes transition And since this part cannotem' the lwo slales oJ awareness. ol nescient oneor il o{ the brace totality ourexistence,becomes station on depending ;tsparticular other thelwostatuses, ol the on sell-disciplinecanso wrden a proper ai lhelime.Butlhrough thal discernment onehasnomore conscious thescope one's ol bul change'over, can In_ and all-torgeiting thisabrupt lo make gaze sleadho d boththe stalesin a singleuninterrupted Aclion ol withtheexperience Brahman It is the same thrng lhe not neednotandshould externalise conscious_ andcreation Brah treedom thepassive of onelosethesilent nessandmake Brahman inbe of mannorshouid experience the immobile the statusThe of with compatible the tree possession ils mobile ordinarily iden' we arises lromlhe{actthat incapabilily apparent ves with only apart ol the totalityof our conscioustify ourse parl the ness-ihe mentalor at its highest spirituaLmental ol it parlalone through limited this the andseekto realise Divine consciousAnd sincethis iustaparland not lhe integral embrace theaspecls.Thus both ness, cannot simullaneously it and fromils awareness dynamis obliterates sellof status the passvitvloosens holdon lhe sellot aclion. Whenlhis pasiis falls so sivily enlire, mind-consciousness asleep, our becomes o{ or to say,enters the trance-state Samadhi elseis liberlnto Bul this atedinlo a spirilual silence. evidently is not the line from it For which would to lollow. "though is a liberation we like pariral il in ilsfluxof action, is earned theignorance the being oi Reality nescience the dynamic o{ by pltling on a luminoLls beingremains mental orauminous it: separationlrom thespiritual an slalusol exislence be_ seli-absorbed a silenlessenlial in lo or comes lhe incapable active consciousnessrepugnanl of is all activitvl'

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ChapteFT

The Conq!est

8ul our goalis the integral lultjllmenl our inteorat of existence, Inlegral simullaneous lhe and possesstonboth static ot tne and dynamicaspeclsol the Divine,as rs rne case wrth Sachchidananda Himself. this is possible But ontyif we possess lhe Inlegral consciousness. this integralconscious_ And nesscomesonly with lhe attainment the supramenlal ol Gno_ sis- For,as we havemenlioned belore,this cnosis is twolold Truth-Consciotisness, an inherent integral -knowtedge and self and al lhe sametimean intimate integral and consciousnessthe ot manilestation. a malter lact,Sulermind none As ol is other ihan Sachchidananda's powerof awareness world-awareness. sel, and andihusthe dynamically inlegral liberation futfimentthat and we are seektng aflercan be achieved in andthfough only this suptamenlalvijnanna, We haveseenhowto retainthe consciousness the oas_ of srve Brahman whileal the samelime parlropation lhe gtn consciousness the activeaspectof it. Bui thatdoesnol auto_ ol matrcally signily our nature-part distinct that as lromour inner soul-exislence alsogettransrormed be moulded the will and in irnage the Divine. thisis whalwe precisety of But needlor the lull llment our goal.For it isn,tmerely liberation our of the of soul, theliberation thedivine bLrl and transiiguration whole ot ihe ot our Nature, p,?kftirnuktj, pakit-rupantan, enabjing esthe tabljshment a LifeDivine of uponearth, thatis thetolatcontent ot our aim.Letus nowproceed showhowthisprakrili to tvlukti and Prakrili-Rupantara be integrally can achieved throuqh the Supermind. 8ul whalis meant soulor by Nature, purusha his by by and Prakrili? relatively Any prolound psycho-spiriiuat inquiry makes us awareol lwo elemenls ouf being, souland a Nalure. of a Purusha soul,individual universal, lhe observino or or is and erperiencing conscous exislence seentrgry Inactive bLt;nreation withitsbecoming, prakritior while Nature, again individual or universal,theprinciple thepowers thebecomrng, s and { ap_ peaflng an executive as Force an energy process or of which is

and lo drlve activities seen constitute, andg!ideallconcelvable formsvisiblelo andinvisible uselhem us and iocreate mVflad a flux suooorts lo incessanl ot aclion tor andcrealion." as slable Apparently, Purusha Prakrili and seemto be lwo differenl Principles. onlythal:in the ordinary Nol slalusol and drstrnct lhe and inlluence Prakriti ot seem conscious exislence, action of to ot As to bedeleterious theprogress thesoul. a maller lacl, put problem ol has as Sr Aurobindo so beautifully it,lhe whole liferesoves itsellinlothisone question: "What we to do wilhlhissoulandnature laceto face sei are this and activily, w th eachother, lhis Nature, personal cosmic conlrol, iiself uponlhe soul, possess, io wh ch lries1oirnpress it, determine andthisoulwhichfeelsthatin somemyslerious tot wayil has{reedom,control a overilself, responsibilitywhat a ils therefore turnuponNalure, own to t rs and does,andtries possess, rt en,oy, even, may or andthe world andto conlrol, s fromher? be,reiecl escaoe and ol lo ll is because lhisapparenl ol tendency the Purusha el the in th6obscuring action Prakrililhat ol nvolved selllost and if s6li'recovering soulleels sod oJalooldelachmenl noltotal a to backkom repugnance theplayot NaiLrre seks stand for and il anddestroy earthward tendencies thatil maysecurely so all possess slalic nfinity. ils Naiure more is appar Bulthisantagonism between Souland enl lhan real.lor in realily,lhey are not distinctand ditlerent Principles; lrenchanl in duality tictitious, represent is they t;he {acl, Two-in-One rather One-in-Two. lhe or lhe thus, ''There twoshowareOnce worlds: andplayin many are In Knowledge lgnorance have spoken met and and lhey interchange. Andlighlanddarkness theireye's are Thushavetheymade lheirplaywilhus Jorroles: Author actor as and wilhhrmsell scene,

100

He movestheras the Soul,a Nature she. This wholewideworldis onlyhe and she." Thus,lhe Purusha-Prakriti dualily, although separate ap. in pearance, in factinsparabl6. is Wherever lhereis prakriti, there is Purusha; wherever ih6ris Purusha, thre prakriti. is Evenin hisinactivity holds himself he in allherforce eneroies and readv lor projection: inlhdrjveol even heraclion shecarrr; withher all his obseNingand mandatory consciousness TO whole as supportandsenseol het creative ouroose." Bul why is thisso? Because, lheir6ssenlial in nalure and onginalaspecl, Purusha Prakritiarise ihe beincrol and trom di, vrneSachchidananda. a matter As aflecr,Se .conscro;s existence lheessential is natur the Being; is Saior pLrrusha: ol that lhe Powerof self-aware oxislence, whetherdrawninto itsetfor acting in the worksol ils consciousness force, its knowtand edge and its wiil, Chil and Tapas,Chaland its Shaklj,-that is Prakriti. Delight boing, of Ananda, theelrnal is truth theunof ionof lhisconscious being anditsconscious lorcewnether ab_ sorbed itsell lsdeployed theinseparable in or in duality iis ot lwo aspects, unrolling worlds the and vi6wing them,acting in themandupholding action, the execuljon works andgiving the sanctron without whichihe forceof Nature cannot act,executing and conlrolling knowledge the and the will and knowingand conlrolling delrminations th knowledge-lorce the of and welfares, ministering th6 njoyment enjoying,,the 1o and Soul possessor, observer, knower, ol Nature, lord Nature expressing thebeing, executing will,satislying setf,knowtedge, tho the min_ istering thedelight beingof lhe soul.There have, to ol we founded on lhe verynalureol being,lhesupteme and theunive5alrelation ol Prck ti with Purusha.Theabsolutejoy of thesoutin itsetf and baseduponthat,lhe absolute of the soul in Nature joy arc divine lulfillmeni the relalion.' of Thuslheapparenl duality vanishes theTwo-in-One and re.

the or veaisHimselt Hersellin the divineSachchidananda, Sat is the con' Chit the lor Chilananda, Satis the Being, Purusha' lorce or Prakritiand Anandais the halo and executive scious union, ot aroma iheirindissaluble are andPrakrill union B!tthisessentialunityand ot Purusha planes existence' lower the -ot overly ol on real'sed lhe lower of planesol manifestation the Spirit.The tru inkinsicrelalion and division separalron and th16 a pramatic ha beenperverted along_ havedeveloped consequences all theirundesirable with srde. ot a plane exisl' of Alterall,whalis a plane consciousness, poise gneral or settled elsethan'a A ence? planeis nothing belween the Purusha Prakriti, and between world relations' ot involution sglf' or Nowwiththe progressive Souland Nalure. has concealment Sachchidananda, ensuedthe progressive of the ol Nature, tromheolher, reslll beone sell-hiding Souland svaraiya ingthatlhe self-possession the world-possession, and difficult achieve thesametime. lo at andsAmdjya,havebecom PrincipJe Now, depending the nalure thedominanl on of cosmic oi which Souland Nature the the decide andpower being around planes to weave we theirgame hideandseek, have of difterent ot consciousness existence. and Thus we have,in ascending order, malerialplane, a alife-plane theplanes mind. and of planes,the But even on the highestrangof spiritual-mind absolute harmony lhe unionof Purusha-Prakriti fully of is not recovered. even Thus lhough separate the lib6ration static and release thesoulbecome of feasible there, latter the cannotlreely possess Nature, become conscious its Lordand lransform il Into an etfectiveand flawlessinskumnlot divine manifestalion. Forlhatwe havelo reach planeol supermind,,Ihe the vij+and orgnosis Sachchidananda, is notonlylhe concentraled ot which consciousnessoflhe Essence, rnfinite and [but]also atthesame t meandiniinrle knowledg themyriad playol the Infinile. of

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The Conq!est

103

In the gnoss lhe dualismoi purushaand prakriti, Soutand Nature d sappears their biuneunity, dynamicmysieryoi in the lhe occullSuprerne. Truth-being the Hara-Gauri lhe InThe is oi d 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 doublePowermascultne born Jromand sup" pofledby the supremeShakliof the Supreme.,, Bul evenihen lasl po nl remans. FoT, do nol wanl lo a we w tirdraw lromthe matera planeof exislence ihe Supermrnd's inio 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 evenlual lranslorming descenlof ts Conscrousness Forceintoour enlirebeingano naiureano a concom lant or subsequenl emergence the concealed ol Supermrnd al presenl nvolved here be ow,This tniluxirom aboveand lhe unveilng Irombelowwillbetween ihem remove whal s leitoi lhe natureol the Ignorance. The rule ot ihe inconscienl disapwtll pear:lor lhe e the In conscience be changedby the ouibursi will 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 supramental ng, the gnoslicsout,lhe Vijfianamaya be Purusa,lhrs appearing earlh-existence be lhe list unin wr ve ed manlieslation Sachchidananda the malerial ol in universe. Noi a self oblivion the lnfinite, an integrat in but seI possession and worldplssession the Infinite be its character rnove, rn will stic menl lt will be the I rsi to participate world aci on not only n in the Ireedom but in the powerand sovereignty the Terna. For ol t rec ves the iullness, has the senseof plenitude the God it oi head n ts act on t shares lorce,sp endidand roya marcho1 the the n|nile, is a vesse oi the orrginaknowledge, the mmacuate power lhe tnviolab bltss,iransmutes ie inlo the etere all

nalLrghl andihe eternalFire the eternalWinde the nectare. and of ll possesses infinite lhe Self and jl possesses infinile th of the ol Nalure... The gnostic soul is the child,butihe King-child; here rslhe royalandeiernalchildhoodwhosetoysarklheworldsand a un versal Natureis the miraculous gardenot the play that t res never....This biunebeingof Purusha,pfakriti as if a flam, is rng Sun anybodyoi DivineL ghts sellcarriedin its orbit by iis own nner consctousness poweral one with lhe universe, and atonewilh a supremeTranscendent,madness lts consciousness and powervibratng withan infinite senseof freedom and 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 rhythmic order,the selftracedharmonic circes of His Rasa-Lila,,' Thus,wrthlhe supramenlattransforrnation beingand ot our nalure,lhrs earthly lie wiil flowerinto the Lrie divineand our wak ng phystcal stencewill be adivinised ex existence tnie, ol grarconsctousness dynamis, and Neither will one then have lo p unge Inlo tlre superconscient trance-state orderto experiin ence the AbsoluteExislence non -Exislence, to conlent or nor onesellwith the J vanmukti-status waitingall the whileior the linal releasein Videha-lVuktt. Because, then Nalureshal ve to rnanifest secretGod, The Sp rit shalltake up the humanplay, This earthlylife becomethe tifedivine. ln the wordsol lhe lvlotheri 'ln the supramental crealron therewillbe no more__.whal men n o wc a l g o d s . ''Thesegreat dlvtnebelngsthemselves be able lo parwtll Ircrpaten lhe new creation, lor ihat they us pul on what we bul may cal/ the supramenial substance earlh.And I there are on sorne!!irochooseto remain lheirworld,as lhey are, if lhey do in dec de not to rnanilesithemselves physically,Iheirrelattonwih lhe oiher beingsoflhe supramenlatworld earthwillbetela an

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Chaptdr-7

tion of lriends,of collaboralors, equalto equal,because ol the highestJivineessence willhavemanilested thebeingsol the in newsup@mentalworld earth. on "When physical th6 substance willbesupramentalised,be to bornon earthin a bodywill not be a causeof inleriority, rather whichcouldnotbe thecontrary, therewill be gaineda plenitude obtained otheNis6". going Butlhe question Whenis thisdivine is: Supermind to gointo descend the earlh-exislence orthe involved Supermind ing to emerge? Th answeris thal it is no longera question of when in lhe future,it is akeadyan established The divine fact. Supermnd descended the year 1956and a new world s has n already born,although yel manifest the grossphysical noi to consciousness man.The ol lrotherwhoalonewilhSriAurobindo has 'luminously laboured' d6cadesfor the descentof the Ior Supermind Hersell her vouchasafted this assurance: us "The greatest thingthat can ev6r be, the most marvelous thingsincethe beingof creation, mifaclehas happened". the "Themanifestation theSupramentalupon is no more ol earlh a promisebut a livingtact,a .eality. is at work here,and one lt day willcomewhgnthe moslblind, mostunconscious, the even the mostunwilling shallbe obligd recognize il." lo has nol yet ernerged. "The Only,the involved Supermind emergence lot the future, is but,ol course, now il is merely a of auestion lime:the orocessis naluraland inevitable."

Chapter-B

Sure5vara

Chapter-8

The Works ol the Author ol the V6rtika We nowbeginthe examinalron theVeftika ot school. Allcntics a g r e e t h a t t h e V a r t i k a so n S r i S a f r k a r a ' s a l l i r i y a a n d T Cornmentaries were composedby Sri Suresvara, Brhaderanyaka as wel as ihe Narskarmya Siddhi. Our sludy herew ll thereiore lo Thecorn ntary lhe Daksinamurtl me on be confined iheseworks. [/anasollasa Slolraca ed the and the Balakar]da Commenlary cn Yejnavalkya Smrii,whichare saidto havebeencomposed by a personcalledv svafrjpaAcarya,cannolbe accepted be as onginglo the Vadika school,nol only becausescholarsare d vrdedaboullheir authenlrcity, also because but they advance vews n contradiclion with lhe teachingot the Varlikas The PairckaranaVArlikais also eft oul of accounttor the same feasonsTheretore shalllry to delermine we the natureo1the Varlrkatachingwith the help ot lhe earliestmenlioned lhree

The close connection betweenthe Brahma Siddhiand the Sambandha Virtika We havealreadymenlioned lhe beginning the chapler al oJ on [4andana(M.V.91) how, in lhe matterof the retutalion oj oppLrnenls'views, thereis much simila ly in !he lineol lhoughl of the BrahmaSrddhi and Suresvara's Varlika. This is especia ly lrrre n lho case oi the BrahmaSiddh and the nkoduclory portlonof SLresvara Brhadaranyaka s Vartrka, called Sarnbandha the Verrka.Thls ihemewill be developed lililelurlherhereto help a thosewho would like to make comparison the two schools. of Tfe co!rse .i try ng lo explain how lhe Absolute can onlybe anouN lhrou lhe Veda,sketches vanouslheoriesol the re, gh in

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lalionbetween ritual-section the knoveledge-section the and ol .efutesthem.Thosesamelheoriesare also sumthe Vedaand in mosllyon marrzed relutation the samewayin the Vertika, tor For lhe samewords. examole: of ofl \1j TheDoctine of theEliminalion the Univerce DesEverywhere the Vedalh6re is taughtlhe elimrin lirationsr Thus nation somedistinction ol somewhere. the ritualislic in iunctions heldlo be auxiliaries are towardsaplitudelor knowledge the Sell throuqh visibleresullot eliminatol the p.27;S.V (verss) ingdifferences. The B-Sid. 378-a3. refulalion: Sid.pp.28-30; 384,389,424-6. B. S.V is through 12)TheDoct ne thatPleasure-desie eliminaled ll /Ddulgercer is heldthatlhe ritualistic seclionol the Veda promotes aptitude knowledge the Sellby making tor ot every pleasure'desire p.27; 343-4.The available. B.Sid. S.V relup.30;S.V 345-54. lalion:B.Sid. ol ll \3) TheDoctine of the Discharye the ThreeDebts: is prepare torknowledge hed thatritualistic injunclions one ol the Selflhroughsecuring discharge the lhreedebis, ol wilh beginning lhatto lhe gods. Statemenl relulalion: and B. Sid.p. 36i S.V.436. of \4) VEw tha! knowledge the.Self entersthe Sphercol purilying pedo nerol Bitual:8.Sed-p.28. Ritual thtough the The reiutalion: Sid.p.31 S.V.427-35. B. ; with \5) The Dactine that the Whole Vedais concerned p.23 Three Actsto be Done:B.Sld. andthe wholeot Section pp. (Niyoga Kanda); S.V477-541. relutation: The B.Sid. 256: S.V 540-760. (6) Doctrine Ritualmay that helpthe Riseol Knowledge because its Results differ accordingto Motive with which it is perforned:B.Sid.p.27.AccepledS.V.322.Accepted with a oua ticatron. B.Sid. o.36.

(7) TwoViewsaccordingto which Ritualgarc eithet for Purificalion or else Patts of the Discipline ol Knowledge: Accepledat B.Sid.pp.27-8,36. Doclrine that rituals lor are lor knowledg, lhattheymusibe but awakening desire the given tortheactual lortheAbsolute:S.V14, up aliainmenl 322.Acceptance th doctrane rilualsare lo. purilicaof that t i o nS . V8 7 . 1 9 2 . 3 0 1 . : (8\ Relutation Differencei B.,Did. The wholeot Section of (TarkaKanda): S.V 917-86. Two where rival schools examare in these. andin olherplaces showa striking similarily, onlyof meannot ined, lwoworks the ingbul evenol words. Vattika The Rival Doctrines Examinedin lhe Sambandha lor Thelollowing a listol some is otherviews described purposes refutation theSambandha Vartika which nol noticed are oJ an in lhe Brahma Siddhi. (1)Thedoctrine symbolic are for that medilalions enjoined (2)Thedoctrine liberathat ihe sakeof liberalion. S.V20. soirl, in as tion,unde6lood abiding one'snature individual as formsol tromfitualistic action. S.V32. (3)Various arises lhe doctrine that knowledge actionare lo be combined and in lhreewaysfor liberation. 357. (4) Doctrine there thal S.V i s a n i n j u n c t i o n 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 i (prasankhyana). that S.V761.(5)Thedoctrine knowledge is torthe sakeol meditation whichwil lurn leadto libera" lhat lion.S.V.438. Doctrine lhal knowledge all is lhe {6) (7) oneSelfis onlya piece symboiic meditation. S.V439. of waking Doctrine uppression the impressions the of of of (8) and olherslates. of S.V441-2. Doclrine ihe suppres_ sronof the mind. S.V443. lrandana Andthereareolherdoctrines thesameking.Why ol ooesnot relerto lhemwhileSuresvata is nol clear. does

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Relutationof Mandana'sPositionsin the Vartika The quesiion whetherMandana ol and Suresvara werethe person muchdisputed theywerebothAdvaitins same is that and lhaltheyeachquoted theirownworkthansamearguments for against dualists are lo b9loundin the worko1the other. the that It is also noticeable that in lrandana'sbook one occasionally linds the argumonts and evenlhe wordsof the reveredCommentator Sankara. Fromthis one may conjecture that the Advaitins been usingthesesameargumenis had with slight changes a longtim6. for Thencame Suresvara [s3.ya.whoaccepledandborrowed arguments the usedby N4andana other and lorerunners against olherschools whetesucharguments not did contradict ownsystem. he relutedthe contractions his But even of memberso, his own school if they did contradicthis own system.And it appears likelythat he did so at lhe comrnand oi hisGuru.This be substantiated a glance his Narskarmya can by at siddhi. (1) lt is anobdience lhe comrnand my curu that I to ol expound secretdoctrine the hiddenin lhe heartoi the Upanishads, whichendslransmigration takesone lo and jmmortality.am awarethat il has also been explajned I by others. {N.Sid. l.3) This bookis writien neither gainfame,nor wealth, 1o nor delerential treatment, in orderto test lhe metalot my own but knowledge the touch-stone the God-realized al ol sages.(N.Sid. t .6 ) Froma considration lheselwo versesone mightconjecof ture lhal when AcaryaMandana's fame had spreadwide Suresvara Ac6rya composed independent an lreatrse calledthe Naiskarmaya Siddhi.lts name was a faithlul rellectionol ils contents, sinceit was writlento helppeopleto establish them, selvesin lhe actionless though Sell knowledge alone.lt was composed also witha viewlo reluteMandana, who counselled

_ a ol to oi theonedesirous liberation practise combinationknow of (in affirmalion knowledgeand actlon ihe tormof repeated was [r.V meditaiion, 38,4,ad tn.).Therefutalion edgeihrough werein iotal and lhat by accomplished showing knowledge aclion conlradiction. in that combaled thiscon_ Tvpical theteachings Suresvara ol lrornwords poinis. derived two Knowledge textwereihe tollowing who liberation hasrisen and indireci, onlyheallains is ineviiablv meditalion other and ot awareness lhe Sellthrough to immedlate that (lV.V. 5, nole);the lalse appearances 101, ve measures act io be persisl offiheSelfcanonly broughl even alterknowledge allied on one'svisionof the reality meditation an endby repeated (B duties Sid p.35, caste and ol 10pedormance sacrllices other by beencontradicled Sri Sankara, Thishadalready M.V. 100,1) lexi shows. as the Jolbwing comes (2)Theknowledge oneis (intruth)everliberated thal And knowl_ lrom no olhorsource. lromthe holyiexlsand first wlihoul of edgeo1the meaning a textis not possible words ll rs ol io calling mindthe meaning its component to oi certarn lhe meaning a wordis called mindon the that (in and basisof agreements dillerences the way one has for wordusedand in the meanings whichit is heard the waYonecomes knowoneselas lo In madelo sland). this painand actlonThe Seli, lhe puretranscendent boyond Seli of knowledge lhe inmosl fromol authoritative clearest arlses on (i.e. based identity-leeling) immediate awareness lhouart',justas it didlrom'Thou lromsuchtextsas'That XVlll.190-2 Nl.V59, 14).(U.S (verse) art the tenth'(cp. It was by quoting thesewordsof his Guruas his authority meditalion of thal Suresvare lhe reiLrtdd docirine repealed and thal (Prasankhavana N.Sid. 31-3; V 206-8) also lV S. Vada; in and knowledge ol liberation of action a lhrough combinaiion ol thisdoctrine comhisVartika Naiskarmva re{ule Siddhi.To and VAdika, bination wrotesomeverses his Brhadaranyaka in he

S!resvaTa

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beginning wilh on sayingthat onlyhe whowas without attachin mentfor lhe en,oymenl anything thisworldor the nextwas of a fil candidate liberation. for pleasures. (3)'Children alterextrnal run . .'(Kalha i.2) ll. pleasures dwells themis and again?He desires who and on reborn'(Mund. ii.2)andagain'He lll. who hasno desires. . . (beingnothing th6 Absolute, dissolvs the Ab: he in but solute', Brhad.lV iv.6). (Having thus doclared lhal onlyhe who is indillerent the enjoyment objectsin this world to ol qualifis metaphysical for lgnorance, nothing andlhe next is required metaphyscial but knowledge, SriSuresvara conAnd tinues: ) To removemetaphysical knowledge. lo give riseto suchknowledg, nothing elseis required except ihe virlues beginning innerand oulercontrol. orderlo with In ol acquire thesevirtues,nothing required purification is but purificalion the mindnolhing required the mind,andfor is of butthe pedormance the obligatory ol dailyritualas a duty. Sincethoughl, wordand bodily deedarisosolelyfromignoranceof the Sell (readatma-ajnana), whenthal has ben canclled knowledge lhe S9lf,howcouldlherb d6by ol pendence action (8.8.V l. iii.97-100) on afteMards? One may nole lwo turtherdoctrines the BrahmaSiddhi of thatwerereluted Suresvaraby lvlandana argues asfollows. Every meaningful sentence communicalos a particular previously nol knownto the hearerIn the Vedic terts proclaiming Absolute, lhs 'catlse' the universal 'being' we findihe universal notion and nolion conveyed phrases by suchas'Thatfromwhich(these creatures (in (Taitt. areborn)' lll..1) and'Nolgross. .'.The6e . ideas themselves unrversal) acquire particular a meaning known not through olher means knowledg of whnthoiruniv6rsal meaning naris rowed downby themeaning olherwords the sentence, ol in eithr by wayof association of exclusion;and palticular or this meanp. ing is the burden the texl (B.Sid. 157,cp.M. V 99, 1).Or ol plurality maybe elfected through revelaagainthe elirnination of 'plurality' (readprapafrca-pdartha) tron-The meaninb the term of

is already known. And the meaning 'non-existence'also of is The is known. non'existence plurality the newlruthcommuof nicaledas a sentence-meaning the association by lhesejwo p. (B.Sid. 157,cp. M.V 99,1). word'meaning Theselwo lheoriesare tefutedby Suresvara. remarks He againandagainthatthereis noassocialion exclusion word' or ol in th meanings textsteaching idenlityof the true Seli withthe Absoluie. because inmosl lhe non-dualSelf cannol bethemean(N.Sid.lll.25, ingexpressed anysentence by 26;76. 902,909S.V 10;B.B.V iv.1406-8, L 1431; lll.iv. 29,33,46; 100,184,190). lll.v. (Brhad.Vi.1) remains In explaining text'TheInfinite, the verily, he expresses himself thus: (4) Reallity, whichdoesnotadmilof anydistinction between Godandthe individualsoul, appears through lgnorance to incl!dethisdistinclion. Whenlgnorance abolished is lhrough theknowledgo says"neitherthis that', that nor only Self the remains. Thereis seento be no association exclusion or ot word-meanings lorm a senlence-meaning,evena to no negation whenlgnorance, rootof all thesefalsenothe tions,is abulished through authoritalive knowledge derived (B.B.V fromthe Vedain the manner explained. Vi.21-2) The Treatmentol the Doctrine ot Bhartrpraancain the The Vartika We havespoken lar as il the principle so doctrine be relo futed theNaiskarmva ln Siddhi thetwoVerlikas lhatol and was lVandana [,4isra. il should remembred whathasbeen Bui be that described abovecouldequally wellhavebeenintended refule 10 Bharlfprapafrca. thereare somestrongreasons suppos' And Jor ingthisto haveactually beenthe case.Because Bhartrprapafrca was an exponeni the doctrine Dualily Nonduality, in he of of accepled doclrine the thatlhe meaning evonol the supreme texts oi the Veda was based on the mulualassocialion and exclusion the word-meaningsforma senlence-mearrng. o{ to

I14

Chapter'8

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I t5

jusl quoledabove, Varlikasard'There lhe When,in lhe passage lo or s seen to be no associalion exc usionol word meanrngs (B.B.V 22) V iorrna sentence meaning, evena negation' nol ihat tolloweda lhal a occurredin the courseot a relulation interpretalion the lexl Thal is oi ol Bhartrprapaiica's summary n l i nt e . . . a on Likel\/landana, Bharlrprapaica advocaled combinal ol (l\,1. knowedgeandaclionfor liberalion v 87).AlsolikeMandana, there had lo be a new lorm ol he accepledlhal lor liberation ofaly by the mmediate knowedge,dilfereni lrom lhat conveyed relers (as I lexts (lvl .v. 84). Again, it s lrue lhal Suresvara lo speakrng ft/andana) lhe doclrne ol those who say The oi lexls knowedge I am the Absoule ar s ng lromthe upanshadrc depend son the assocaiion oi lhe meaningsof ts d tterenl to wordsand hencedoesnol penetrate the real{non component (N.Sid.l.67, prose inlro.).Neverlhedua ) natureol lhe Self less. he atlributes s leachlngto lhose who sel store on lhe lh knowedge of lhe injunct Once the w se man has acqurred on (Brhad V afirrmatron Seli alone.he shoud pracliserepealed take noliceol the allernat ve rv.2l ). And he does to anywhere rn to obedence to ihis lexl advocaled l\,4andana lhe words by 'Or allernatrvely cou d be mainlaned llral an iniunct would it on would be uselesshere,as lhe desirable end which it promlsed in broodng on somelhing one's alreadybe atla ned.Prolonged of apprehension rl and thal is m nd may grveriseto rmmediate p a fesull alreadyatla nabe in this very life'(B.Sid. 154, M.V 98.4). And lhere s anolherpoint. The wholelenor of Sri Sankara s tjpanishadis ior h m to cornmenlary the Brhadaranyaka on whilerel!ling lhal oi eslabish h s own methodol interpreialion lo Bhartrpranca.Thereeveryreason suspecllhalaccornplshis Lngthis was lhe main reasontor lhe composlion bolh ol the il. commenlary and of Suresvara Vartikaexplaining And we s V havedescrlbed engthin Chapter aboveon Bhartrprapaica at how both the commentary and lhe Verl ka estab|shthe r own

vrew oi lhe meaningol lhe lexl ot the Brhadaaranyaka aiter relutingthat of thartrprapaaca every slep. But we t nd no al elaborate relulalion IVandana this kind eitherin the corn ol ot menlaryor lhe Varlika. And we find lhe lollowing remarkrnlhe 'th relerring Bhartrprapanca: erefore, allthose who commentary, 10 are c everal thinkrng dillerenlinterpretatons lheVedaexp a l up oi the meaning lhe upanshadiclext diiierenlly. ol Evenso, I wou d accepl anylhrng that relexldillerenlly, Even so, lwould accepl anything lhal represented true meaning lhe Veda have the of n o t h r n g g a i n s t 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 . a l . 1 0 , l l l , n o l ,p . 2 6 ) (l) They say (lhat is, Bharlrprapaica says,) One shoud alwaysmed lale ntensely the Absolute the rea . n ts on supremeformas the whole,bothas a collectrve wholeand parls'.somelimeshe speaks as a syslemoi nler-relaled ol the Abso utes constlutinga wholeas implying series a ol stales, alongwrlha cerlainbeingassuming thosestates, sometrmes describes Absoluiein lerms oi a cause he the assocraled wilh ils efiects.Sometimes the 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 tradilion There s a (so-called) who ho ds, ior sooth,thal p uralily and |rnilyare one and the same.He sa d lhal name,lorm and aclionare bothditlerenl and non, dillerenlirom lhe Absolute(8.8.V.L v. 46) . . . And thereare rnorepassages this vetn,such as: There in is anotherol lhesegreatluminaries (Bhartrprapanca ) who e x p l a i n e h e f e l a l i o n s t o l l o w s . . ' ( B . B . Vl l . r2 1 ) . S l u d a . denlsmusl examine thesetwo views(those Sankara of and Bhartrprapaicaand accept chever wh seemsto thembest' ) iB.B V. ..255). A certainpersonwho regarded msellas h a greal -oxpeft inlheupan shadsinvenled inlerprelat an on

ChapreFS

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and spokeas iollows,qu le ol own, with great ingenuily, actually of any underslanding whal the Upanishads wilhout (brahmaAbsolulist is another mean'(B.B.Vll.ii.90).'There the example(of the spokes hub and vadin)who explains ll. fellyof a well givenat Brhadaranyaka v.15)diffefentlyn a orderto suit his own dogmasaboutthe Self constituting Here, a 11.v.67, N,r1.V.86,4) cp. forth'(B.B.V. whole and so taught, a specal pieceol wrsdom as certalngrealgenious lhai supp ed lree by Vaisvanara, a personis not I nallylib_ erated even when he has been liberatedfrom his lwo bodies thatlhe Abso "Theretore wholedoctrine (B.B.v. the lll.ii.41). lute s both one as a collectiveunity and many as the parts is a rneresuperstllronll may Dea spec al d fferentiated but lree by Vaisvanara, il does preceol wisdomsupplied n01 obeythe rulesol reason(8.8.V lV. ii.1187) Dependlng (not on reasonbut) on a free donationof wisdom lrorf on (B.B.VlV iv-391).This was lhe explanat Vaisvanara... sup givenby that augustsage,lhe greal Bharlrprapaaca, porledneither the Vedanor by reason(B.BV lV v 4l2) by ingenurty it He explained olherwisewith marvellous (B.B.V.V..28). as ol the In lhese and otherpassages, doctrine Absolutism thfougha plurality, and ihe doclrineof liberation nfectedwith and activilywere t relessy rnocked ot cornbination knowledge repeatedly When Suresvara in of and criticized hundreds ways. specifiedthe irue naiure ol the Self or Absolute as ne lher n had Bharlrprapahca he nor lranscendenl immanent probably the Absolulewas a un 1y mind-Bhartrprapaicawho heid thal ate who e and a pluralty as a systemol nterre ad as a colleclive 3 p a r l s ( B . B . Vl.. i v . 2 9 ,6 5 6 , 1 4 4 5 ;1 i . i . 8 8 ,6 1 ; l i i i i l 2 ; l l v l 8 ; 5 9 1 l l; ; i v . 4 1 1 , 4 7 3lil . i x . 1 5 6V . 1 . 3 6 81 V i v 5 6 9 , 8 4 6 - 7 , 1 2V 81 0 ) e it Puttinga this together, seernsmofe reasonab to sup lhe chielopponent poselhat Bhartrprapanca s ngledout as was And lhere is anotherrelatedpoint lhal requres to be refuted. was vrtti l{ Bharirprapa6ca's on the Brhadafanyaka investigatlon.

philoso' day,why is il that rneticulous so we I known n lviandana's pher drd nol so much as vouchsaleil a glance?As I am nol quesiion,ljust raise il and mysel able lo settlethis doubtJul philoogists and historians, whilewe ourselves wrllcarry oller t lo on wilh the malterin hand. Secause the unity and sole realily ol the sell expresses itself by nalure as awareness, il is self-evident pornted thal the Selfwas seli The revered Commentalor out He trevident. sad, The Sell is not a thing lhal a supersedes The and anylhng e se; tor il s self-eslablished sell-manitesl. be meanso{ knowledge ong lo it. ll does nol dependon lhem to (B.S.Bh.ll.iii.7, M.V.28,3).'We not base do eslablsh 1sexislence our doctrine the unilyand solerealitv the Sellon lhe aulhor ol of ilativemeans oi knowledge, since ihe Self is bare irnmediale awareness very nature. we shallshowlaterthal no means by so app y to t. The meansot knowledge lhemselves ol knowledge (N.SLd. resl in and dependon awareness'1hrs of Suresvara text .8S)shows thal h s teachrng iully agreedwilh sri sankaraon lh s po nt ln rnanyp aces in the Vartlkait is poinledoul lhat lhe presence and a so the absence meansof knowledge on y oi can be eslablshedby the seli as awareness, and lhat the sel s selt-ev dnt For instance ihereis the verseKrrowef, knowledge, on knownand cerlil!d a dependior their establshment the presence the Self On whal,lhen,cou d lhe Sel{depend rts lor cl Liv.870), thereare manyolher and o!^rn eslab shmeni?{B.B.V, 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.) . .
llletaphysical lgnorancein Suresvara The revered Comrnentalor, is weil known,said: Superim' it post on lhus delind wrsecal lgnorarrce' Bh.l..l . ntro.. (B.S lhe c p l , / 1 . V . p . 1 9 ) . 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 Ma melaphysical lgnorancen lhe ind vidualsouls {begnnrngless)

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non-apprehenerther {B Srd.p.12).But he posedthe allernalive, a (B.Sid.p.9),and then expressed sion or false apprehension i.. p r e f e r e n c e b y s a y il n g o r a n c s p o s i t v e e r r o r ( B . Spd 1 1 , c p . gn e and the nd]' He [,4.V.92). aso said, Becauseboth lgnorance less,likelhe cycleol seedand sprout, v dua soul are beginning does not aase of argument il fo ows lhat the question circular (B.Sd. p.10,cp. M.V94,1).Bhartrprapaica said,'lgnorance is realize am all"' (l\,1.V820.ar ses ol lts own accord, "l lt ia ure to 79, like desertp aces on parls 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 <uptemePr'n 'pte t4nd'd"g', a" B.B.V lgnorancers however, says that metaphysical Suresvara, and the efiectsoi thal. lt is established absenceol knowledge nol rneans knowlof through ones owndirect experience, through throLrgh immedate experiedge or prooi.S nce it js established t ihe grip of the variousmeansol knowl' ence aLone, escapes 'established -"dge For I is only through lack ol rel eclron. Failure realise to thal one'sown Suresvara saysth s repeatedly. lts Seli rs the sole realilyis calledlgnorance. seal s the Self,as ll on. immedaie experlence. is the seed of transmigrat lts deconsttuieslhe rberatron the soul' (N.Sd. .7).'The oi struction are only eilectsof lgnorance "established through uckol rellec' when lgnoranceisdeton'even likelgnorancetself.Thefefore, and rs turned inlo p!re slroyed,the whole world is deslroyed

.As Conscousr1ess' (B.B.V 1.iv.1329). metaphysical lgnorance is established throughtmmediate expenence only,jusl like lhe imrnediate experience am the Absolute,', when deslroyed "l so, throughthe 11se an authontalive ol cognttion, dissolves it and turnsintothe Seii'(S.V117). Thesetexisshowthat lgnorance is occasonallydeclared Suresvara be subject cancellation by to to through authoritative the means knowledge. shallhere of We quote some lurlher versesfrom the Vartikas throwlighton this. to (1)The sole causehere is impermanenl lgnorance, which means l do not know'.lt is established by any authori {nol talivemeansoi knowledge but)onlythroughone,sown ex_ pefience it, I ke the owl'sexperience nightof day. B.V ol of (f 176) The phrase'cause here'means the cause or appare limitationssuperimposedon the Self. oe-

(2) He who wouldwish to see lgnorance the sightpro, wit ducedby the authoritative meansol knowledge keone is hoprnglo see the darkness the depthsoi a cave w th a in lamp.Whatever appearshere in the worldas ,not_selt,is a resultof lgnorance. Henceit is also calledlgnorance. But knowledge has only one lorm, lhat of ihe SeJl.lgnorance has no othernaturebut failure apprehend Sell.lgno_ lo the rance s non-knowtedge' the sense oi.the oppositeol in s k n o w l e d g e ' s a ' n o n J r i e n jd ' t h e o p p o s i i e o ff r j e n d . T h e a, a conception alwaysbe intelliglble this sense.(T.B.V. wi in 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,Iiterally non-knowledge) becauseit is thecon tradictoryof knowledge(as'non-cat', in logjc, js the cantra dictory af'cat'). ,3 \or ca. lhe theorV rhal lgno.alceafisessponlanaoLs y from the supremeSell, ljke deserl placesappearing here

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chapter.S and lhere on the surlaceol the earth, be correct.ll lgno_ Sell,lt wouldmeanthat lib_ rancearoselrom lhe supreme weredeslroyed, Or wouldbe impossible. it lgnorance eration ol the lhen on thislheoryit wouldirnply destruction lhe Selt., (B.B.V. ll.iii.130_1) of doclrine lhe Buddhisis. the erroneous Thesetwo verses werc compasedto rclule Bhartrprapaica.

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Objections and answers on lhe subjeclof Metaphysical lgno' rance oi on In lhe courseol reilecting the lopic ol lhe cessalion lgno_ objeciionwas raised I the rance,the iollowinghypothelical Brahma iddh. S is ils the Absolute elernal, essencets ndeslrucl_ r 1) Srnce (which requires be deslroyed) lo lheretore, ible.lgnorance, canncl be of lhe nalureol the Absolute.lgnorancemust lrom the Absolule.ll it is not eilherbe or nol be diffefent diitereni, whai couldtherebe in it thatcouldbe deslroyed? ll is So lel us say that lgnorance mere non'apprehenslon. {romihe Abso ule. . . . difierent couldnol lhen be anything Bul knowledge whichputsan endto lgnorancers elernally preseniin the Absolute. And nothingelse aparl irom lhe lgnoAbsolule exisls.. lt, on the olher hand,metaphysical lhen how couldil wrongapprehension. rancewere posilive be broughlio an end? For we have now pointedout how be such a theoryhas defecls,whelherlgnorance laken as be ng olthe nalure oftheAbsouleornolol its nalure (B.Sid. pp. 8-9,summar zed) was as Iollows The answergivento ihis objeclion nor (2) gnorances nol partot the nalureoi the Absolute, rs unrea. I a secondthingover aga nst il, nor rs I a togelher M e 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 c1 sc a L e d a y aa n d lhen. lf a Ialseappearance. il were lhe nalureol anylhlng. lromthal thingor nol,it wouldbe periectly whelherdillerent

rea and so would not be lgnorance_ il it were tolally But Ltnreat, a llowersupposed be growng in the sky, il trke to wouldnoi enterintoexperience. it is indelerminabte So (eilher as reat or unreal,LSid. p.9)...lf the matter is concervedthus, lgnorance may be taken as belonging the 10 indivdual souts,regarded dirtrent as lrom the Absolute, wrthoul deieciscomplained by the opponent, the ot (B.Sd. p.10summarized) , On the same lopic, an objection quotedlrom lhe Sloka is Vartlkaoi Kumarita. (3) ll rgnorance werelhe true natureoi anylhing, couldnot il be exlrrpated ever.For what exists naturally can only be deslroyed the advenlol some dilferent by externaitactor. 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 relulalion the objecllon l\randana through of by is appea ro lhe rn delerminabilily lgnorance. ol But lgnorance never is lound reierredto as indeterminable anywherein Suresvara,s Varl ka. I rs lhereaccepled betngof the narure non appreas or nenson, expfessed the feellng,ldo nol know,. we musl as So if nk how lh s objection wouldhave been met by Suresvara. In r'r s aonneclon Ihe loilowtng verses are worthyol considera, l.lrThough th/smelaphys/cal ignorance nalurat, is mani is it festonlyon accounl the Selfas immedtate of experence.lt rs ousledand destroyed knowledge, darknessis de by as slroyed by lhe riseol the s!n. Begrnningiess lgnorance rs seen lo be destroyed an instanlby metaphysicat in knowtedge u.hichhas begrnning time.We do nol acceptthal in (nowtedge sLJcn requires realfirmat Thoughhis our in_ on. 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 c 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 s

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ate experence disc pline,as our won rmmed upanishadic (S.V 1088-90) (ot ldo not know') ndicates. is Here rs what the passagemeans.lgnorance nalura, tor immedate experience'l not know. And we see do we havethe in how priorabsence knowedge s re ol everywhere experience knowedge,without movedonceand lor all lhroughadventitious there beingany questionol the need for re-affrrnatonoi such 'Howcou d there Nor knowledge, shouldone ra se the oblecton which is knowledge nature?' by in be lgnorance the Absolute, knowledgelhrough the For beiore lhe rise ol metaphysical texts as adm nrsiered a Teacher, by the Se I can !panrshadic one and as un lgnorance)both the ignoranl as appear(lhrough k r o w n . l h o u g hr l s e l t h e W i n e s s o f a 1 lk n o w e d g e n d l g n o i a lgnorance. eventhough rance Andso in lhiswayour metaphysica is lo nalural(andso beginningless), brought an end buy lhe admelaphys knowledge singfrom lhe Vedictexts. cal ar venlitrous How ca. lhis be so. f nolhNor shoLr one .aiselhe objection, d n! apart lrom lhe Absoluteexisis?'Forwe acceptall experiknowledge ence as lcomes beiorelhe riseof metaphysical could be Very wel . Bul how do we exp ain how lgnorance ate experience? And il t can be shown eslablshedby rmmed tiral t s so eslab shed, how coud il be lhat defclsare nol w and ftrodLrced Ihe Absolute into through contact th gnorance i estab shed by immedrale expe' ts ellecls?And how could t, we r ence,be brought an end?On thrssublect havelhe Io owto ng vefses, (5) Everyone, therrnatural lgno' evenchildren, I express w whenaskedaboulsomething rancebasedone experience wiLL oi whrchthey have no knowledge.They say. Ido nol know anylhrng aboul rl. . ln regardlo th ngs lhat are en like on t re y beyond rangeof experience. thrngs the rool the lhLrs d flerenlfrorn no wakingexperiences ol lhe Hrmalayas, il.lraamess sleep There s no break here n experlence ii.\'r Arrdlirhen sa i as $ie ha'/elhe experieace io nol

we see sornething tormerly drdnotsee, (theremusl lhal we have been experience nol seeingsince)we knowaller, of 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-ldblisqed one r own e\oerienca .ven by 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 tk n o w '( B . B . V . l V . 2 l 6 ) . . l 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 s everireefrom lgno ch 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 i1s connect with lgnorance on impossible past,presenl in or luture ll rs then seen lhat the nolionlhai the pre Sell was connectecj anylhing with through elsewas onlyestablished ack of retleclion. (B.B.V Liv.217) The enlighlenedone whoknows theSell in immed@ieexpeleFce hes the convictian lgnaranceis tmpassiblein me in pasl, p'Esenl fulurc-The nalionof connec onwi!h lanatance or \/as

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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, together with ils eflects,neverexisted the past,does not existnow,and wtll in 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 experience it. He who is oi afflicled with lgnorance cannotdeterminethe lruth about that lgnorance, is only one who has experienced final lt lhe realiiywho can make the discovery, relerence that, by to '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 knowtedge is the causeoi lransmigfatory experience. erefore he lays il down: Th 'Failure to realize thai one s olvnSell is the sole realitys called melaphys lgnorance. seat is the Self as immediale cai lts expe, rence. lt s the seed ol lransmigration. deslruction lts conslitules lhe liberaiion the soul' (N.Sid.1.7)_ ol On th s proinl, M mamsakas lhe and othersraisean objec llon. Absenceof authorilalive knowLedge may assumeone ol

threeIorms- wrongknowledge, absence knowledae doubl. ol or [ro ol lFes6.{w,ongknowledge osubtj,b.rrg p;srtrverea I and lies,are explrcatrie due to somedelectin thetactors knowl, as of edge (Kumarila, S.V CodanaSutra54). Basing ths...1r...|1 th s texl from an acknowledged authorjiy,lhey that erronehotd ous knowledge, beinga positive reality, can functtons cause. a bul thalmere ackol knowledge cannot regarded the cause be as oi tranmigralory experience, becauseil is nol a postllve realily. Th s was probably reason lhe whyAcaryaMandana the ma; laid emphass on posttive erroneous knowledge lhe nature ol lq, as ' r o r o _ L er e m a r k g . N o n - a p p . e h e n s r o n . 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 SsLresvara argJeoas Iollows. (l0) Afe you sayingthat,in the case of error, what is ne_ gatedby an authoritalive meansof knowedgeis rcality?ll realiiy were negated thus,whatwoutdbe tefitor an authorilalrve means of knowledge knou/?... lo 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, hnowlpdoe being 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 as rearity n*",ioll,inflt"l,:.li"jr: raken a '" n""n,

pearance whenidentified the rope,and,as such,would with be contradjcled cancelled knowledge the latter.lf and by o, erroneous knowedge 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... iact is lhal The ,wrong n the tnad absence knowtedge,, ol knowtedoe,and 'doLol . absence(B.BV.t.tv.423. 425.7,1368) Wl at s arquedhercis thatetrons7us 4nsr1.^.a;.2n tt^rc.,t | ,L,st h^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-

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Suresvara The reveredCommentalorSankarahad declaredopen y thal was of the sole purpose the Upanishads to pu1an end to super' ihe entireupanishadic leachingis besaying,'And imposition, gun lo communicate knowledge the sole realityot ihe one ol the Sell,and lhus lo put an endto thissuperimposition, causeol reversed this inlro.ad fin.) But Suresvara all evil'(B.S.Bh.l..'1, as righl his own viewvery clearly follows:'When viewand slaled absenceoi knowl arisesit cancelsand conlradicls knowledge thereis no neediorfurther that has beencancelled, edge.When cognition. The facl lhat a eiforts1o cancel posltve erroneous is can be cancelled only so becauseil lmp es fa se cogniilon harm us when How can ia se cognllton absenceof knowledge. (8. So is rool has beendeslroyed?' B-V Liv.437'8) the queston and I shallexplan whal appears ar ses whichview is between, to rneto be the truthin this maller, said that lailureto discrminale The reveredCommentator 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 ihe Self and the wilh But superimposition. in sayingthis he was only concerned For experience. he ng the m nd funclion as the basisot empiricai one fromthe other(Sell the says,'through fa lurelo dislinguish based on and nol self)...there resulisthis worldlyexperience intro.). his Gila commentary In wrongknowedge'(B.S.Bh.l.l.1, whichis iniact(nota leal too,we i nd lhe words,'a "coniunction" of superimposilion ihe Fleldand conjunct but)a meremutual on wlththeirallribules, the Knower the Fie d (M.V p. 35) togelher oi by a superimpos on that is condilioned a ialiurelo discrimnate t l-26, lwo ullerlydistnct entities one ifom the othef (Bh.G.Bh.Xl tion superlmpos cp. Ml.V.251,6). ordinary worldlyexperience, In ol silveronio a piece oi shell occurs when there is lailureto d scriminale shellandsilver.When the belween lwo phenomena, iron the revered said lhat our mulualsuper,mpos Commenlalor of Sell and noi'seJ was condilioned a iailureto distrnguish by belweenthe lwo, he was assuming p!rposes ol exposilion for that lhe same lhing thal happensin the case oi the shellsilver error happensalso in ihe case ol that superimposition Self of

sence of knowledge,the Mimemsakas'obiection was incoffect. The treatmenl ol lgnorance by Sri Sankara and Suresvara Compared In the inlroduction his Brahma Sitra Comrnentarv. to Sri Sankaradeclares lhal erroneous cognition superirnposil is on. (Selfand nonHe says: ;'Andyet, thoughlhese two principles self.pures!bject and object) are utterly dislinclin nature, there s a failure dislinguish lrom the other,and each,logether io one wilh its atlribules. suDerimoosed and identified is on wilh ihe other. Andlromlhat thereresulis ihis natural worldly experience, basedon erroneous knowledge and involving synthesis the a of rea wlh the ialse, whlch expressesitsell as "l am this" and "Thisis mine" (N4.V 22,4).He also says'Superimposition oi is the natureoJ a lalse idea' (8.S. Bh.1.i.1inlro.ad tin.).And he , deciares metaphysical lgnorance be thal very erroneous 10 cognition, synonymous with superimposition. ln Suresvara's Vanika,however, metaphysical lgnorance is said10be non-discriminalion,the nalureol lackot or absence ol oi knowledge, example, havei'Therelation For we belweenthe Self and lgnorance the Self is held to be that between the ol Sell afd 'beingconsliluted the Self withoutbeing awareof by 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 indicale ihal absenceol knowledge 'Absence was ihe one core ol erroneous knowledge. of knowledge, constantlypresenl as il is, is identical with erroneous knowledge; causeand erfecl, as they are constant conemilanis' (B.B.V.Liv.386). he makes his view clear wiih the verse, An 'Fromdoubtwe deduceabsenceol knowledge. Fromwrongknowiedgewe deduce same.lf we are asked,'What the essence the is reply'Theiressenceis abol doubl and wrongknowledge?'we (B.B.V l.iv.440). sence ot knowledge'

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and nol sell lhal conditions empirical all experience- lhe two Bul casesare noi lhe same.In lhe case ol the worldlyexarnple, the one who saw lhe silverwas alreadyestablished indrvldual as empircal expefience belorehe saw il. In the caseof lhe mutual superimposition the Seil and not-self, oi however, Sell is nol the alreadyeslablished an individual as experence belorelhat super mposrtron nrade.The sell, ai thal slage is not (yel an rs ndivdua experiencer and so nto) yet in a posilionto'lail to d scrrminate Sell and not se l'. So we cannotspeakol any such {ail!rre discrimrnale the causeot the mulua supermposilo as t on ot Sell and not selt. For lhe teachingis that becoming an nd vrdu?l experencercan on y occurthrough sa d supenmthe posrlon. lt lo ows lhal (rnlhe caseof lhis in I al superimposilion that makesall olherspossible) was not inlended assertreal it to Iemporal sequence non-discriminalion superimpo belween and sition, onlylogical but sequence according the conceptions to oi lhe humanrnindlhe COnceplion superimpositlon of impliesthe priorcondilion. conceplon ol non-discriminalion rls ogically as As lor the objectron lhal lhere are no exceplions lhe rule to thalabsence knowledge lhe causeof all emp ical phenomeoi is na, becausewrongknowledges ts eilect-1h s obleclion may be answeredon srm aT nes as lollows. The whoe nolion ol causeand ellecl,we may say,lallswithinsuperimpos on. For t unirlsuper mposilion had lselfalready come nto being,il cou d n o t s e i u p l e m p o r a o 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 l , Hence our own view is that, n relalionto lhe Sef, all ap, pearancg non apprehension, of doubtand Wrong-apprehenston riseI superimposlt and thal in this conlexlthere s no occaon, sion to enquireintothe natureof its material eff crentcause. or as lhere mighlbe in lhe case of lhe rncidental superimposilions thatoccurin lhe course empiricalexperience. Ol Forthereversed (i.e.uncaused) Comrnenlalor says. Thus lhis natural beginnrng lessand endless supermposrt whjch s of the nalureol la se on,

And Suresvara accepts thissarneview,butexpressest n a presenl constantly dilierentway by sayrngAbsenceol knowledge, knowledge'(8.8.V,1.iv.386, as I s, s dentcal wilh erroneous p.31 cp. N.f.V. 1). So one should not supposelhat there is any tundamenlaldifference belweenlhe lwo systems lhrshead. on n Whenthe maller s exarn ed in lhis lght, il s Ia r to see trealmenl non-apprehension lalseapprehenot and Suresvara's form of the lheory sion as d rectedonly lo reiuting pariicular a lgnorance was erroneous cogntlon-lhe Iorm that metaphysica was advanced anolherschool(ihatol by n wh ch that doctrine Bul non-apprehension cloubl and Mandana). wrong apprehension, (r.e. experiencer w ihin can on y occur n lhe caseof an ndividual lhe realmoi superimposition). Such is our own view o{ the mal' ler. Enquiry into the seat ol ignorance and the obiect wilh it conceals who does nrela The Brahmas ddhi raiseslhe question'To physcal Lgnorance belong?'and answer'Wesay "it be ongs to p.10). We have alreadyexamined the indrvidual souls"'(B.Sid. a Bhartrprapaica held thal rneiaphysc th s v ew (M.V.94;95). gnorance y sprngs sponlaneoLrsfromthe Abso ute,and,modisou fy ng a pori on oi the latler,has ts seat in the indlvidual . lt s, however, characterisl oi the nofsef- Lislen now to lhe a c wordsol Suresvara. (1) Now,lgnorance cannolexislrn the void.ll musl always Furtherwe have lgnorance somecne ol aboutsomething. be exist,and on y lwo. already eslablished iwo calegories that Fromlhis it follows thatthe seatol the Selfand lhe not'selt. ailecls) lgnorance(lhe conscious beingwhich lgnorance cannolbe the nol-seli For the very nalureol the not'sef rs Even i lgnorance, cannolaf{ectlgnorance. and lgnorance it coLrld, whal dillerence wouldthe tiseot lgnorancen lgno

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Nor s the atla nmentoi knowedge possiblen the nol'sei, cthaton-a couldarguelhattheremusthavebeensomecontrad Furlher, not_ lhe in tory lgnorance the nol-sell(for it to negate). ll seii is born oi lgnorance. is absurdto supposethal wh ch is by ogrcalyand causaly pr or can only ex st supporled and de pendenton is own efiect.Nor,again,has lhe not se I any form wherebyil could ndependeni and d Iferenilrom lgnorance. of serveas ls seat and supporl. (wh ol Thesearguments ch retuleihe possibilily lhe nol sell showihal t cannotbe the serv ng as the seatoi lgnorar alsc, ce) the nol-selfls e objectconceaed by lgnorance lher.Therefore by nor ne ther the seato{ lgnorance the obleclconcealed lgno ve as Hencewe conclude, the only femaningallernat lhat i1 s the Seli a one wh ch is both lhe seat of and the obleclcon_ I A c e a e d b y l g n o r a n c e . l l o i u s h a v et h e e x p e r i e n c e d o n o l kfow . and in the Vdawe hear'l am on y a knowelol lfre man V 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 d l l l . 3 ) . ,
l\or oo -.r'gLrenl.! tsrhle ?gain-l rF o q.rdssacl

per What.then. s the oblectconcealed this lgnorance by larning the Sei/The Selfis thal objecl. io Bll is rt nol a lacl lhal gnofance ncompat wilh the Seli,srncethe latteris ot lhe rs ble very natureo1knowedge,and is withoul (so differentlation thal t cannotserveas a seat lor lgnorance, whichwouldimp y a dlstincton belween seatand the thingseated)? the And is it nol lhe case lhai the Sell givesr se to knowledge, and s contradiclory to lgnorance olherway too? in To this oblecton we rep y that lgnorance compalible is with the Seli. For in reallty the Self remalnsund Ilerentialed.t ap pearsto become lfereniialed knower, d inio knowledge known and throughmere gnorance alone,jusl as il is throLrgh mere igno rancethat the rope appearsto becomea snake-the Seli and in Hencewhen gfothe roperemainrng really quiteunaiiected. ranceis shakenoll lhere s complete absence alllhe evilsof ol 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 lgnorance has ils seat in the Absoute anc!belongsto rt is itselfonly magned in gnorance. Fronr standpo oi lhe Absolute, the n1 lgnorance intoway can e xs t ( s . v r 7 6 j . Whal s heresaidis ihal lhere s no olhermiaphysicagnorance, wilh ls seat in the noi-selfoverandabovelhe lgnorance s,.eled the Se I thalobscures Self Bul lhis does not mean in the llral one can rlterprel Suresvara be sayinglhal there s no lo otlref gnorance the empifical at evel,suchas lgnorance she ol rnlhe shell s ver error. Thatwoulddrsagree with h s arguments menl ofed severalt mes jn the prevous secton (M.V112) and supporledwilh the usualexampleslike the rope-snake, aboul absen.e ol knowledge beinga iacior (andthe iundanrental iactcr) n error,over and abovelhe erroneous cogniltontsef But Iiori the stafdpo nt of the highestlruth lhere is on y one lgno

app y to the Seli.)TheSel{, ndeed. s not rdenlca1 01lgnofance [/oTeo s !,r' gnoranc, nce its natureis pureConscousness. th a ver, (lhe flse ol) gnorancen the Se f produces d fierence n ol And oi the formol an obstruction knowledge. atialnrnenl knowls possble because the Se i s lhe sourceoj knowedge edge oi Nor has the Se I the characlerlslic being an eliecl oi lgnof (which, we haveseen,prevented not-se iromiunc lhe rance, as t oningas ils seat):for t is rock ilrm and raisedh gh abovea And I na ly,the conscoLs Se i has a formand changeby nalure. whereby canserve ii lndependent lhoseoi lgnorance, o{ existence as a seat ior the laller.Hence we conc ude that t s ihe Sel a one that s aiiectedby gnorance.

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rance,which has the Self lor its seat and aiso lor the object kindsoi lg_ iwo dilferent whrchil conceas. Thereare not really norance. And that Lsallhewishedtosay.Ths w be madeclear We 1 at lvl.V T5 (wherehe deniesa realilylo lhe s ver ereor). ol the doc_ on at have alreadyreferred [1.V.69,9 to his refutat Thai was said in the courseot lfine o{ two klndsof lgnorance. Vadins(exponents ng ol inlroduc a refutation lhe Prasankhyana meditation repeated through the doctrine thatI beralon cornes ol iollows: on lhe lexts),whosedocirinewas as (3)They (the Prasankhyana Vadins)hold that thre are a The nat!ral and adventitlous. ad two k nds of lgnorance, venritious kind appliesto worldy obiecls,the naturalk nd disappears lhroughthe lgnorance lo the Self.Adventitious as in lhe caseol the prince riseoi knowledge occurring once, ler broughtup as a ioresl-dwe and th nking himsei to be he such.and who remembered was a pnncewftena mLnrs'Youare to a toresler, you are a pr nce . ter camelo 1e him, through these Nalura lgnorance, lhough t may be removed relurns, we as once,nevertheless oi knowledge occurring and see irom exampes of attachment olher deleclsarising lrom gnorance once more,even in the cas ol thosewho lV. truth.(B.B.V. v.881-3) have knownlhe metaphysical was This coni rms our thesis,as it shows lhat Suresvara and rejecled ii. oi awareof the dcctrlne two kindsof lgnorance Commentator In lhe sameway in the systemol the revered with supenrnposition, ls himseli,by whom ignorance dentltied jusl as lt s le I to b n practcal the Se f is the seatoi lgnorance 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 to On and gnorance ilselibelongs the sphereol ignorance. thls \i/emightquotethe Iollowing. (4) li you ask'To whom does this lgnorancebeong?'we lf feply'To you who ask this queslion'. you lhen ask, But

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,'Whose th s lgnorance"/The is replyrs, 'It belongsto him to whom it (Bh.GBh appearsio belong'.

x| 2)
(6) The Teacher says:You take that which rs the supreme I and which s notsubject transmtgration Se lo wronglyand have the conviclon 'l am subjectlo lransmigration'. You take lhat wh ch does not per'ormactionas a perlormer ol aclion,you take one who does not enioyemp rica exper. you -ance lhe emp r ca experiencer, takethatwh ch alon-o as y exisisas f I werenon existent.That melaphysica rea s lgnorance(U S. (prose) seclion5tl) Hef aso we see lhat the leachrngs Sr Sankaraand ol S!resvaraare esseniially same Bolhtakeabsence knor('1, the oi edgeand erroneous supermposrtion lundamenta o ne. as ly The Operationof the Meansol Knowledge The facl ol obleclsbeingunknowns not estab shed by !he means ol kno!|/ edge (perceplion, inlerence. reveation, elc. l it because is the invariab pre-cond belore means know, e tion a ol edge can be appled. li t couldbe eslablished a validmeans by ol knowedge that an objeclwas unknown, this wou C irnpy the absurdresut lhal the stateof a thingas unknov/n woLr persisl d ior everlwhereas knowthatlh ngsprevtoLlsunknown y we some 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 , 2 n d 3 ) F o r t h e s a m e a reason t cannolbe eslab shed by lhe valid meansol knovrledgethal tl ngs ar,o doubto. erroneously In (s represenled fcr va d kro\r edge rernovesIhe doubl and m srepresental crl S V.688). Indeed. meansol knowedgeonlyapJ:r 1ovrhai s the y i o l a l l y! f k n o w n 1 B . B . V ,v . 2 5 8 l P e r c e p l i oa n d t h e r e s t a r . L r meansof knovr'ledge precise because y pLri end to r!tIo an they

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Chapter'8

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 n .h e i n d i vd u a l T experencerandthe means knowledge h1s sposal bolh ol at d are experencedas appearances a selJof uminous entily. And n ts that ent ty wh ch ts Be ng and (because is lhe on y realty) I s ii t h a ta n dl h a ta o n ew h c h i s u n k n o w nN . Sd . l l l . 7 - 8 ) . ( Aga n, a meansoi knowledge establishes obiecl, ke a an pieceof she lhat is already existent belorethalmeansot knowi edge is app ed. lt does nol estabtish existence anything the oj lolallynon ex sienl. But it wouldhave been wronglo have sa d tlrat the usory s vef for wh ch the she I was mislaknwas ex slentbut unknown,rkethe she was.And t wouldhavebeer ','/rong have saidthat the siiverwas elernalyex stentblrtunto knov/n irkelhe Selt Therefore is wrong,tn the case oi lusory it srlver, say that a meansof knowledge app ed io removea to is s p e c a l n c r e m e n l o ig n o r a n c c o n c e a t n gh e s i l v e ro v e ra n d e l . abovelhe ignorance that conceats Self (B.B.V. lhe lV.r|.j66-7). It is the !nknownshe ihat is wfongly nierpreted sIver.ln the as sameway the Selfis wrongy interpreted the not-seli lhose as by who have not gainedmetaphys knowtedge. the exampe cal In knowedgeol the illusory silveris not knowledge lhrougha va d meansoi knowledge, herethe ex slenceof silverindepend_ as eft of the illusorycognilon s never eslabtished. Nof is lhe si ver' I usionbasedon lhe app icatton a vaId meansof knowlol edgeto the she I as lgnorance lhe shell s not removed ol (B.B.V v v.904). In the caseot erroneous knowedgeof the Sell,lhe phenom enon that the srlver-lusionexampiewas intended illustrate. to no cognt on bearing the nofsell are examples the applca on ot t on oi va d cogn t on. The nol sell can nertherbe known ncr unkncwn any morethanthe illusory ver can lbecaLtse does sr t not-a exlsi).Nor can lhe Seli be knownthrough va d cognI on a beafng on the not,sef; ior a cogntionbearing the nol-sell | on \/ n.t deslroy ihe gnorance felatng to the Sett. Ffomthe emprfcal

te wh ranceof potsand otherobjecls, ch lalterare themselves oniy in and through(theSe I as) immediale vealedas unknown neverlrearon lne the experence Therefore meansol knowledge withoutalso bearingon the supremeSell (S V 1002) nol self Potsand otherwor dly objectsare known on y througnan au and meansoi knowledge, do not ose lhe r condition thoritative be without one.TheSelf,however, ng lhe seli of beingunknown to rea established lty, may be understood lose lts condilon of throughthe nreansol valid knowledge be ng unknowndirectly (the Vedc texl) and withoutan act of cognilionproducng as (S.V.1004). resutantcognition. 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/ in thatcontradrclslgnorance.Consciousness itspure larm does (since it co exists with il as its Witness) ta clasa This is nat in contradrctionwith the true teaching af the sys I lem. Nevertheiess, submit that what Surcsvarats rcally saying Pals and ather waldly objects h the present verse is as t'ollows. by established 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 from right'knowledgeby nature unknawn. For it is non dift'erent cou d not even what was reallynol_self ln 1rulh,hon'ever, oi reachthe stageof be ng !nknown.Thegrealphilosophers al experence obiectslike pots are schoos hold thal in practical wh before r se ol the cogntionlhrough ch tireycome the -rfknown thereare nc d st nctrons 1obe known(B.BV lV.lii158) However

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chapler-8

Sursvara neouscognttton and doubtcan no morebe knownthrough vaId cognition than ignorance can. (The rule,namey, that whatis braughfioan erdbya validcognilton cannotbe a, abtectrevealed lhal vatidcognition). by (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-evident realily,musrDecomeknown wtthautthe hetp at an act ol cognitian.(S.V1A0O4) (6)Thal (the Selt)withoLrt takingcognrsance whicheven oi the emptrical meansol knowlsdge couldnot righltydeleF mine lhe not-self-howcan the rilualtstsdeny lhal the Upanshadscan cornmunicate knowledge it? (S.V 551). ol (7) S nce everyobiectis unknown beiorethe idea01it Irsl ar ses in oLlrminds,and since(evenas unknown), exlsts il by the powerof lhe one reatity (sat),il is thal reatrty which rs {ullrmalely) lhing that is unknown. the The Sett,wh ch rs lne reartymanilesting itseltrnbolhthe knoweranorne means ol knowedge whenan ernpir cognilion be ng soLlghl, cal ts andwh ch s revealed ts own power- thatis (atways) by the ent ty concealed lgnorance by (N.S. .7,8) {8) In the case of the tttusory cognition s|ver rn whal is oi rea y a pece ol shett,the vald meansoi knowtedge ex, pressesils validriy reveaIngthe she and showrng by that lhe atter ex sted belorethe means of cognitton was app ed.BLltno validmeansot knowledge bearson rne s ver wn cTrrs nol st'town have existedat al. when illusory lo sl|verrs erroneousty perceved jn a pieceot she , there s no s ver be ng revealed valtd cognttion exisl n lhe by to same'r"/ay the shelldoes. thal 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)

give rise the however, variousmeansol knowledge slandpoint, The app cationoi spheres in to validknowledg theirrespective which, (pramd)' in results cognition a validmeansol knowledge is experience, ilsell becauseit is ot the naturo ot immediate In slandpoint Hence (fromthe empirical the identicalwith Selt. (ap meansol validcognitlon whichthey havethirplay)allthe ol knowledge lhal Selfwhich is revealed pearto) communicale neithercomes selt-established But in the Upanishads. that,being goes. lt does not stand in deed ol a valid meansol knowl_ nor in however, prac arelamiliar' edgetorevealit(lB.V 11.526).We 'l do nol know'inrelalion rl' ln lo wilhthe leeling ticalexperlence of ihis sensewe are ignorant il, andthe validmeansoi cognlion Thus whenlhe this lgnorance. us calledthe Vedaliberates Jrom that causes praclicalexperienceol an Lndivdua lgnorance by has his experlencerand meansof knowledge beendeslroyed Veda'all lhe meansol vahdcog lrom the arising lhe knowledge And lhis meansrLe realrza nilionceaselo be such any longer' tionoi man'slrue end (S.V 162,10007) Here we subioina lew verseslrom the VaftlkasI uslrallng of lhe way Suresvara's of examining validrneans knowedge ( 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 s ' 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 1 'unknonness !!ha1luncton 'knownnessil lhey produced . va ld knowedge fullll?1BB.V rv 295) woLrld samatlerol mmedlateaware' (2)Ourrgnorance anl,4hing oi \ta and ceases precedes d cognilion ness,and invariably oi by be thereiore, eslablished lhe rneans with t. ll cannol, (S.V.686). valldcognltlon. to of (3) li ignorance a thingwere accessible the ineansof a pol it wou d be real,and like knowledge, obiectssuchas ior wouldbe unknown ever whal was al any time u4known

(s.v.687).
statedlhe rulewhi'h showsthal erro (4) We havealready

Suresvara (9) The illusorysilveris only knownwhen ihe she ls nol known,In the same way,lhe not-seI can only 0e Known ls experience' nol known (ln when ihe Seli,as immediate cannotbe the objectoi a valld silver lllusory ils kue nature). unlikelhat ol lhe shell,cannot as cogniiion, iis exislence, by fromthe cognition wh ch il is known' apart be esiablished known in other circurnas since it is never eslablished does nol reveal silver-cognllion Sincethe illusory stances, oi lhe shellas an object validcogniion' it cannolbe a means al all, for lack of an object The llusofy of valid cognitlon lor cannotbe a meansot validcognition lhe sllvercogniiion as it does not cancel shell any more than it can for sllver' its of lgnorance the shellor assurne iorm And it shouldbe sllvercognthat,as in the case oi the illusory understood that bearon the meansol validcognition tion,all apparent al meansof cognilion allfromthe stand_ nol seliare notvalid 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 untll the herein worldas LJnknown he is enl ghtexperienced (appropriate) meanso{ knowledge(lhe supreme ened by the lV.iv.901-6) vedic texrs).(B.B.V. is ('10)But whereihe cognition (nol of the not-selibut) ot the {ormand natureof the Seli,beingpureConsclousness on all excluding else,there is no dependence any turlher rises,t neversels Onceihisknowledge cognilion. meansoi (r8. .526). iaught 1rle (11) lt is noi the case (that if the Upanishads Sell of sole reality the transcendent the Vedictexls enjorng Allvalid meansol knowl' wouldbe contradicted). in rituals oi validitytill knowledge lhe Se i' For all edge relainihek (S V162) in, culmllrate but end with' that. that (12)Thelgnorance givesriseio lhe wholeplayot knower'

139

and knowtedge knownis cancelled enlighlenment, by whichis of the natureoi identity withthe one inljnite Self,arisinglrom upa, nrshadrc lexls tike.Thalthou art,.(s.v 1006) (l3)Therelore Vedais a validmeansof knowledge the in that destroys rl lgnorance the Selt.And this is man,shigh;st goal. of Such is the view of the wise_ (S.V10OO7) CANCELLATION ILLUSION OF In 1necourseol refuting the (Mimamsaka) theorythai per ceptual,effors arise from failureto perceivea dislinction(akhyativada) Acarya[,4andana goesontostatehisown doctrine folas (1) Therecould not be the correcting_cogniiion ,this is not si vel tf errorhad beenmefe non_apprenenston, srncenolh_ ing.positive resultfroma non,apprenenston; can a non_ap, prehens cannotgive riselo any idea,as tr ts on a non-extsl_ ence.On lhe otherhanda positive erroneous cogniirori,re_ vealing'sitver, did not in iact exisl,In a nearbypercep_ that t ble object,or a cognition.fevealtng,(cltstance) silveras tl rrwere ctose,woutdgivea positive resuii(in ihe form of an dea subiect canceilation)... do not hotdthat to We lhe cor, rectrng js cognition.this not silver,merely negatesthe ex_ slenceol silveror of an objectIn coniactwiththe senseo, srght. hold that ti eiiherdentesthai the thing in We contacl !1/ the sense oj sight is silver,or else denjes th that il ts s ver thal ts rn contactwith the sense ol sight. A non apprehenston cannotsiand as the objectoi eiiher o, these negalons, :rom the mefe factoi beingno more tnan a tatt_ ure1oapprehend. one mustthereJore necessarily fesortto the theoryol positive erroneous cognition (vjrprita-khyati) if or e rs io accountfor the facl thai therels anything positive r o n e g a r e(.B . S i dp . j 4 3 ) . d rry'n6314 e3ni, r s a y sr n a l r e s h e . t ) . r e o D l e Lo t l h e , r - , -, r ' t s o u .rlvercoqnitron.

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141

il (2) In erroneous cognition,is notin itstruelormas shell lor ol as lndl lhe shellstands obiect lhe srlver_cognrtron the shellwouldpromptno activityin its lrue Jorm lt stands up ol as in the formol silver, thereis an activity picking (8. Sid.P.147) on founded lhat. is Variklalgnorance laken as a non_enllly In Suresvara's posi_ percepl'on erroneous the (aDhava). Neverlheless, cloclnneol lorm, a under dilJerent is cognition clearlyapproved lrveerroneous 'The above ot beginning lhe versequoled at as is shown lhe ' (B B V is when shell nolknown the is rllusorv silver onlvknown t!4.V251,6). 1V.1v.901, on Mandana the ques' is Noclearstaiemenl forthcominglrom But exisis. there aclually silver or nol lhe illusory lionwhether is silver a mete thatlhe showing clearly in areverses theVartika anywherehas which no realexistence aooarition to not r3rThe nolionthissilver'does refer any realentily ol knowledge silver lt anywhere. lurnslherewas genuine In lhe shelland thal the silverwas lo a genuine exrstrng 'this'(nota genuine in existing trontol us) Some object nor neither'silver' because sayihat,in the silverillusion, 'ln,s (asassocrated silver) be sHown anywher lo can wrlh or elsethevmusiexislin theWitness in the mind Buthis oi also we denv There is no knowledge any object at all by caused talseknowleclge' is a mereapparition here.There (B.B.V. 1.iv.275-6). o'obiec' cannot ol anywhere a lalsenolion rne exrslence coglhe illusoryobjecl' illusory proved byvalidcognilron.The be and experiencer so on-alr thelndividual itself, lgnorance nilron, oLl means cognrtion by lhe oi not tnese e eslablished by valid a 'r redialee'(pe'|enca chanoeless consciousne5) o{ in arises the like (4) Therefore appearance a memory an ol experiences oI lhe m ndlhaibears lmpresslonsprevious changeless the only But silver. it manilesls lhrough elernal,

andunitary light thesupreme ol Self.In lgnorance lhreis onlythe individual experincor hisexpenonce_there and is no reatobjectof validcognition beyondthem.Hencelonorance and its indivrdual experincer obiects fh;im_ are ol med'ale apprehnsiontheWitness.There noteven ol could be an individual experiencer his empirical and experience wilhoutthe supportol pureconsciousness (samvit). jn For. theirtrue natur,lhe individual knowerand his knowledoe and its objects,whichtogelher constitule not-sef,a;e the nothing pureConsciousn6ss. but (B.B.V 1iv.279,02). Thus lor Suresvara pointof introducing example ihe the ol perceptual rllusions rllusory tike silver wasto show thatthewhote vision lhe world of wasa mereillusion.The illusory appearance oi theworldrisesup in the Selfwhen laherramatns lhe unKnown. Evenlgnorance cannotmanitest exceptthrough supportof the self-evidenl pureConsciousness. Suchmaniteslation occursin theabsence deepmotaphysical ol reflection. lhis pointthere On are the following versesin the Vartika. (5) Theretore our familiarity all with vajidempirical know! edge.with apparen?ly valid empirical knowledge anclwith invalid koowledge (error) as alsowjthmetaphysicat lgno_ rance-ts madepossibleby that specialmeansoJ knowf edge(theSelf)whichrequires nothing elseto ifiumin its objecl_ Thiswholeuniverse objeclsthatcomeinlo beino ol dndpassawaycanonlybe known through specrat this ini ternalverifjable principle, whichis self_svjdent indpend_ and entoi anyothermeans knowledge. o (B.B.V 1.iv.272_3) The intenal veiliabte principte is the 'Self-oot-yetknown,. ,Ananyamam' means,selt-established independent any and ol athermeans knowledge'. ol (6)This erroneous cognilion cannot correct be knowledoe , onesponding anyobjecl, il doesnolretate to as today o;. iec'ol vatidcognttron. Because is known, cannot il it said

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Sutssvara

r43

perceived somenotlo exist all.Because is directly al it as present,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. phrase'lhefalse Theleaching thisverseis hke SriSankara's ol place of whathad previously beenseen al appearance one at memory' anolherplace,al lhe natureof (butnot identicalwith) ll.i. lB.S.Bh. 1. intrc..). Authoriryot theVeda:Roleot NegativoToxts ln thiswav.because Sell hasthus beenshownlo be the lhe it be as onlyentily thatis unknown, mustundeniably accepted phiThustheVedanta being onelhing lhe lhathas10be known. losophy has a seltledand well-demonstrated objectof enquiry, whileotherohilosoohies nol.Thefacl thal the Sell as immedo reality demonstraled all lhe is by d ale experience a verifiable is means cognition.Thal Consciousness isaccepted very which oi and as the resullanl-cognilion following uponperception iheother valid meansol knowledge beingappliedto exiernalobjectsthat veryConsciousnossaccepled the subject-mafler is as ot with the Upanishads, which theycommunicatethehearer ihe to aulhorilyof a validmeansof knowledge. ll is forthisreason we do nolaccept vedictextslo that the jusi be aulhoritarive because theyare Vedictexts. They are accepted authoritative as because doubtand wrongknowledge andso forlhareimpossible;n Selfas immediale the experience, knowledge which theyeffectively communicate. Srnce metaoi physical lgnorance ils effects onlyeslablished and are through lack ol deep melaphysical rerlection', can be removed it solely by knowledge arrsrng lhelexts. lrom Because Se'i ts ol lhe Norshould one rarse oblection, the lgnorance ils own on lhe nature knowledgecan eliminate ot il

Whatis lhe needot any fLrrther tactorsuchas Vediclexls?,For tgnorance? is atwaysa vatidrneansot cognrtr ::-"t..1:1:*. r,on. provides resullant.cognition rn whrch a whtch turn,emo;es rne uh(nowns ils object. the Sellrs notcontradiclory ot But to metaphysicallgnorance, conslant toras anoeternal awarenes s rl remains impermanent co_existence withlgnorance. what So destroys metaphysical tgnorance-and ttreontythtngtn;t it is destroys the Selfwhenit hasbeenimmecliately it.ls experi;nced in itstrueformthfough Veda means cognition. the as o, ,The Norshould think, one lrue nature the Seilhasto be of sellted lhrough iogical argumenlaiion, employing method lhe o, agreemenl driterence. appeat the and Why to Veda?.For rs rl onry retalton lgnorance theSelfappars In lo thal to rnanilesl as cause sffect. lrunalure and lt cannol otscoveredils manib in lestation eilheras effeclor cause.So logjcal enquiry the by method agreement djfference, ot and whichkeatsotefiectsand causes, notawaken to a knowledge will us ol thetruenalureof theSelf Agarn, Se[ is theAbsolute theAbsolute the anct is the Selt, . l"er'idenlrly t,respecial is thern6 theupanrshad,c T.at ol te\ts, '" _0ra subjecl thatcanbe approached anyothermeans by ol Knowreoge tromthose aparl texls. should raise obNor one lhe leclon I themeani^gs ihe words .,Sett., of "Absotute,.and are w-t n hLr ancomorehenston,l means theymusr lnal oe .o'rnal a ownrnrough sorleolhe,means knowledge ot aparllromver. od .evetalonandlhenverbal revelatton could beanaulhonla. nol rve rreans knowledge-or themeanings ot etse o, nLsr -ormarhumancomprenension, lhewords !e oevond rn whichcasethe 'absoiute wo.Os ano"56l, woutd ine,lecttve tacK any be tor ot ,n"lr meanins. elher casetheirmeanins In ::::::11:::_ 1',1 Ld lo co_stlLle ttse

{rhe Absoture) rsramir,ar exp.g5s,ng as ;::]i"^1"':.?.i^"""lexl '| icgr',rroeA Ved,c

can therefore very we emp,ovlhose

themeol the upanishadjc leacF,1g.. SJcn o ooleclro..s not righr Fo. infact meanrng the word.seJt. lhe ot ,drrrar,asreternng lhe to essence lrue natureol anylhtng. or ,-

Suresvara nolmalhuman thatlranscends a meaning to words communicale and oJ identity theAbsolute lheSelt namelylhe comprehension, suporanothr andheaven of knowledg the deili6s We have texlsol the Vedain justihe same lhrough th matters nalural thouarl'and'l am we ln lhisconnection findtexlslike'That relation. pairs in theAbsol!ie'having ofwords subiect-predicat in o{ thatthe meanings the words each Fromlhiswe conclude ol qualilied qualilier. theprocess qualiBy and as suchoairsland ls expenencer) individual sullerer'(the ficalion element'th lhe 'thou', theelement and ol hom eliminated themeaning lheword 'notdirectly ol lrom known'is eliminated the meaning lhe word 'that'. these properly prepared lhrough siudnl acqukes Hnce the indicated Selt,indirecily of ol textsknowledge the identily ihe 'thous' and throlgh knowership of as the meaning the word with pointto lhe Consciousness the hearer), o, (which egohood ol meaning theword'1hat" indicatd ihe lhe Absolule, indirectly ol exporience that(transcendenl is Thisknowledge immediate (i.e which cannot dr' be ol principle) is which notthe meaning ealher it by) rectly denoted any sentence; is notcommunicated to lorma sen' of or bv lhe exclusion associationword-meanings oi Hero tence-meaning. lhereis no needof the applicalion any 'Jrrherreans ot knowledge lhe lext has beenptoperly {once as is reterence to Consciousness the Real, sincethe understccd), (alauis in and consciousness its tnle nature super_lerrestrral There awareness kika),and Realilyis of the natureol absolule quarter other lrom on dependence knowledge some canonlybe lert in a casewherelhe otherthantheVedic or on sornething ot ol is ihe thinglo be known within scope someoiher means fromtheBlhadverses lhe In knowledge. thisconnection, following aranyaka Vartikaare relevant. which initially is to (1)Thaiwhich hasullirnately be known, and individual knower the and unknown whichtranscends - thatcan be known thls in and his knowledge its objects

145

(B.B.V. worldlrom lhe Vedaand from no othersource. tiv.339). (2)Thal which lo beknown has here, known and lhrough the is Upanishads th6 means valid as ot cogniiion, pureCon' whichmanilests as the resullanl-cognisciousness, also lionwhenthe empkical means cognition applied of are lo (s.v159). external obiects. (3)Nordo we maintain thereason taithin theVeda that lor is its ownstatement it is of suporhuman that origin(atBrhad. ll. iv.10); reason theimpossibilitythe usual the is of causes (human of invalidity slalments ol origin, whichimplies fallibilily, being accessible other to means knowledge, ot elc.) (B.B.V in the statements V6da. ol ll.iv.325). (4) N4etaphysicallgnoranceiis elfeclscannot proved and be wil to exist,either il take as idenlical the Absoluteor as Henewe say that it is only established all 'for ai diflerent. lackol reflection'. oplion Th lhat the etherof lhe sky is bluelikea lotus-petal dayandthenchanges become by lo like is accepied black thebelly a bumbl6-benighl only of al lor lackof rellection. should thallhe whole One see notion ils eltecls ot the existence metaphysical ol lgnorance and (B.B.V ls an illusion lhe samskind. 1.iv.332-3). ol and its affectsare So we see that nelaphysicallgnorance indeleminableeitheras the rcal ot as anything dilferent, and (accepted) onlyfor lackof deepciticalreflectheyarc established (5)Though lhe and enlghtened nalura, Selfaccepls iolby known, th6 ableto do so, erates being not being onlyentity sinceit is ihe onlyentity that is real.lt doesnot desiroy The lgnorance wilhout aidol a valid cognition. SelJ de' the onlhepedesstroys ownlgnorance its onlywhen mo!nted The ta ol a means validknowledge, notolherwise. of and In lgnorance, al ance means validknowledge of destroys

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Chap]er-8 wrththe Se 1,when it bearso nreality. (B.B.V. lV. .181-2)

Suresvafa

'147

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) Because causeand elfectowe theiroriginto meTe TelaI ve cognition, cannot one findreallty eilherol them.Hence in reasoning agreement by and diilerence, whichoperates in ihe realm of cause and effecl,cannotlhrow tighl on lhe rea ty laught in lhe Upanishads. The linal rea ty can be knownonly through the upanishad texts,ihe sole means c {of knowing t. (B.B.v. lV.lli. 400-1) The Self is non-dual,so cause and et't'ect nol real. Hence are there cannal be knowledgeafthe Self thtcugh reasantngby the method of agreemenland differcnce, (7)The iactthalthe a lrue Se 1is idenlical withthe Abso ute and the Absoluleidenlical th lhe tfue Se { s the spec a w topicoi lhe metaphysicaltexts the [Jpanshadslike'That n thou art';and it cannotbe knownihroughany othermeans ot knowedge... The use ol lhe work 'se f'ts currentin the word and nol restricled that ol the metaphysicalerm to 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'are knownlrom wor d y experience. What,then is the obstace to lhe iormalron ol a senlence'Tneaning lranscends thal sense experience lrom lhese wordsas jlxlaposed in a sentence the in Veda?Eventhe meanings suchlechnicaterms used by ol the r tua isis as Lrnprecedenled' the occLrlt ( .e. powerol the riiual),deily and'heaven'areknownirom wortdlyexperence. Bui in their case, loo, a specialmeanlnglhe kan,

scends sense'experiencelearn is tromlheVedic text.(B.B.V lViii.115, iollowed S.V 861-3) by (8) On our view,thal whichis nol lhe difeclmeaning any of sentence(ytz. the Selt or Absolule,which cannol be di rectlydenoted any sentence), knownthrough by is immediate apprehens as lhe meaning on of'thal'and'ihou'through the exc us on (ofthe mutuallyconiradrclory parts ol lhe wordmeanings) ihat arisesthroughthe words being placedin sublect-predicate relalion.lt is ihe same processas that 'Verily, e lher in wf|ch occursin the sentence lhe 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-meaning that 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-meaning that arises frcm exclusionor assactalianand sa an (amonglhe ward-meanings inthe manneral nonalspeech dearng with finite defects). (9) the lact that the meaningoi the word'thou'is not the individual soul (lit-'thesuflerel) is conveyed ils being by qualified lhe Absoluie, as whichis the meaning the word of 'thaf; and the fact that the (lranscendeni) Absolute,the meaning the word'lhal',is intimately of knownas one'sin mosl Selt is conveyed the presenceof lhe word'lhou' by 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 inferiority the Sell, raised of

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Chaplr.8 hrghaboveall changelike a lixed mounlain peak, are not accidenlaicharacterislics introducedlrom 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 ego.There{ore Selfis ind[ect]yindian the caled by appeal(through use of the word thou')to the the soul'ssenseof beingan individual expenencer an ego. and ( N . S i d .l l . 11 )

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149

lhe realmot lhat whrchhaslo be negated. The upanishadic negation'neilher nor lhal', however, lhrs exlendsuniversally, ne, rl qates whaleveris found,excepllhe Absoluteor Selt,the Wii (B.B.Vll.iii/183-207) nessol all,whichlatlerpersists unlouched Butthe text'neitherthis norlhat'isalso exolained Suresbv vara in another way.On lhe secondview,allhough lhis lexl has the lorm ol a negation,I is not aclually negatlon. For before a the occurrence lhe texl'Andso thereis lhe teaching ol "neilher the thrsnor that"'(Brhad.ll-rii.6), Absolulehad alreadybeenestablished transcending gross and sublleelemenls(the as the entirerealmol the empirically knowable, T.N.al M.V 79,1). cp. And in lhe texl 'There are lwo lorms of the Absolule (Brahad.ll.iii.1l. word'ol'imDlies the that lhe Absoluteis dilfer enl lrom (transcends) two lornrs. lhe Fromthe mereiact lhai the presenttogelherwilh ihe Self (e.9. n not-seliis noi regularly dreamless sleep),il on-exislence the Sell has alreadybeen in proved(so that the purposeoi the lexl'neitherthis nor lhal cannotbe a reDeal lhal Droof. which wouldamountlo a mere And thereare olher reconsideralion ch showlhal laulology). wh lhe lext neitherlh s nor thal'neednoi and shouldnot be laken Therers a sensein whichthe nol-sell, as a negalion. sinceil is eslabishedby percepiron another means va ld cogntion,canoi nol 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 positive leaching(adesa), formalion lhe Abso ute. So the a of correctwas to analyses the meaningol'neli (= na + rti) rs lo lake na (not)as an rndirect reference self-eslablished (as lo Selt lhat n whLch empirical lhe knowei, knowledge known and are not present, B.V,l1iii.229), B and lo lake'lt'as hav ng lhe forceof dently 11g inmosl Selt wilh lhe Absolule(lherebybringrng lhe withinlhe scopeJorlhe possrble lhe Absolute expenence the ol h e a r e r l n h e s a m ew a v a s ' T h a t t h o u r l , B . B . Vl . . 2 3 3 ) . T h s t a rs Suresvara teachno al Brhadaranvaka Vartika | .214-34 s

Explanalion lhe IVechanism lhe Negative of of TexlGivenin the Varelrka Herewe may take up the explanation givenin the Va ika ot lhe meaningol lhe wordsin the negative rnetaphysicaltexts oi the Veda.lnitially have an accountof a theme lound in Sri we Sankara commenlaries, theme,namely, s lhe thal all lhis realm ol name,lorm and aclionwill have to be negated. And lhts is lollowedby its actualnegationthroughthe word 'inot ln lhis contexl, shouldnol suppose we that onceform,elc., havebeen negaledol the Selftheymightpersist elsewhere, 'existence', as ior instance, whennegaled persist relalion of'pot'may in to'clolh'. This agreeswithworldly experience, whereno lorm is iound loo, lo subsrst separation rn fromthat oi whichit rs a torm.And when metaphysica lgnorance the supremeSell has been negated, ol none of ils effeclsand lound to persistanywhere Again,the things thalhavelo be negated notlnvariably present are togelher withone anolher, whereas presence the inmostSelfnever the ot lails.Henceit is tirsttaughtthat all thisworldol name,tofm and aclronrs erroneoLlsly superposed the Sell,and then its existon encein th Absolute denied, Absolute is lhe itselibeing(unenvi, ab e because)selleslablrshed immediate as experience.The word 'nol can on y negate whal has to be negaledon the basisof acceplrng existence ihe Sell. For the Self as pure Con lhe ot sciousness inseparable is lrom any negation. that has to be All negatedis dependent its (apparent) lor exisienceon the SelJ, whrchcannolbe negated. Negalion, therefore, does nol implv totalnon-ex slence anylhing, non,existence lallswtthin ol as itself

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Suresvara

151

go Herewe quotea few moreversesrlluslratron theirpoints made in lhe Vartika. (10)Thatthe Absolute ditferent is kom the grossan subtle aspecisoi theworld (lhe'lwo lorms')has a ready beeneslab' positive (adesa, lished belore promiseof the teaching Brhad. ll.iii.6).Therefore teaching givento enable hearer is lhe lhis to havedireclapprehension he is the Absolule(B.B.V. lhat |.iii.214). The negatve text'neithef this nor lhat'is not pr mar y con(suchas the gross cernedwith negaling whal hasto be negated and subtleaspects lhe universe) wiih an rndrrect of bul method ol communicaling true nalureol lhe hearer. the lext merely li the negaledthe universe ils gross and subtleaspects,and the in Absolule were nol eslablished someotherposilive by cognition. the resullwouldbe a vold... iB.B.V ll.iii.2l5) 'na' (not) in 'na + iti = neti'indicates The element indireclly thalprinciple Conscrousness ol whichis seli establlshed without need oi a separalemeansol cognilion, wh ch the ind vidlal rn knower, knowledge his and 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)indicates thatwhichhas ultrmalely be to ( known(the Se f) is self-established its own power. t is thal by processes). word whichis /rol knownthrough the empirical The 'na (nol)is augrnenled by'ili'(this) lorm neti to showthatthe to Self s the Absolute. The Absolute here ndicaled lhe lerm is by 'it (because lerm 'lhis' lhe allied10not'negates lhe grossand sublle aspectsof the world which appearto characlerize lhe absolule, leavrng Absolute rls p!re torm denticalwilh the in lhe (B.B.Vll.iri.233). Wiiness' so Anandagiri). Hereit mightappearthatan objecion couldbe ralsed. lhe lf lwo lorms of lhe Absolute, subte and the gross aspectsol lhe the un verse,are denied, why souldI lhat be lhoughlto leavethe

Absolute void?The merefacl that it is bevond scooeot all a the otherfieans ot knowldge wouldnol render a void,sinceil it sell-revealed. though is self-revealed, we nolwonEven it might deril lheVedic textswould be needed cancel not to metaphysicallgnorance? the Vedic 8ul texl'netther norlhat',which this precisely thispurnegates thatis superimposed, all exists lor oose. Buthasnotlgnorance provd bea distinct principle, been to lhe cause whathasbeensuperirhposed,thatit cannot of so b thusnegated? we do not accept No, lhis.Th6 method exlor pound the Absolute thatof negating ng is everything has that beenimagned in regard it. h is likecommunicaling irue lo the nature the ropeby negating snake ot the and all elsethathas imagined il.Knowledge in otlhelrue nature oftheAbsolute arises simu taneously lheunderslanding negations, wecanwith the so noladmil anylhing lhat furlher requires done knowledge tobe {or ol theAbsolute once negalions understood.To there. the any us, Iore,it seems be mereobslinacy claim lo to thatthererequires lo bespecral further negation lgnorance andabove of over nega, lionof wrong knowledge. O'agan. we could happrly concur Anandagirisosson wilh g Brhadaranyaka Varlika ll.iii.233, whenhe says,'the expression ''net s theproolto " show thaltheWiiness, indicated lheword by ''nol" .e.notlhe individual ( knower anyfaclor lhe empirical or in personality), Absolut'. enough allthese s the But ol subtleties; Alllhevafious waysheredtscussed toraccounting lorthevalidityol lhesuprerne negative texts lollow method lalsea ri the ol bulion followed subsequent retraclion, henceareaacby and
cepia0le. Percepiion, etc., Cannot Cont.6dict theVeda We have already menlionedabove (M.V 105) that, like N'landana, Suresara retuted the notionoi dilierence orderio in answerlhe objeclionlhat the melaphysical texts of the Veda

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Suresvara reallyinlended say.No realexistence causeand eilectis tn to of admilted, a sl!dy of cerlainparts ot Suresvara's lacl as works would show.lndeed,he stales it openly,and also reluteslhe wholeconceplio,r causeand effect. of (l ) And lhe wholeuncritically accepted worldof dua ity is per se erdless,in lhat it restson barelgnorance lhe non ol dua Sell, as the lanciedSilverresls on lgnorance lhe ol shell Henceit is lgnorance the Se J whichrs ultrmalety 01 l h e c a u s e f a e v i l . ( N . S dl.. 1 , i n t r o . ) 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, whrch means 'l nal know"' (TB.UIL176, M.U 11O, cp. 1 ) 222.1 nale thal lgnaratrceis a nonentity(abhava)and cauld nat posstbly a materialcause. be ( 2 ) F u r l h e rt.h e n o t - s e l1 sb o r no l l g n o r a n c eN . S r dl l . 1 , t (. l 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 any lgnarancecontradtcling ot knawledgetn 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 butabsence knowiedge, of and, srncethe laller s a non-entily nature,t cannolstandas by llre causeo1lransmrgratofy experience. existenl The cannol spr ng irom lhe non'exislenl. (N.Sid.11.7, inlro.) Hete an oblectarsu99eststhatgnorance cannotbe lhe cause L:1) Srnce everyobject unknou/n is belore ideaot ils anses the n our mrnds, and since(evenas unknown) ex sts by lhe il

sinceihey means knowledge ol couldinlobe an aulhoritalive with of that stoodn contradiction othervalidmeans cognilion a ol Our conveyedknowledge duality. ownviewis lhatSuresvara when arguing position thebasis his on onlyraised objection lhis For deliberaie concossions lhe viewoJoihrs, elsewhere to ol means in lhe thal ol he reiules clear terms doclrin6 lhe ditlerent (S.V. 1076'81r d. N.S knowledge one couldcontradicl anolher means ol lll.86). alsoreluies doctrine the various He the lhal knowledge could conlradict anolher thelopc ot lheunity one on realrty theSelf thecourse explaining in ol SriSankara's andsole of (B.B.V i.588-94;cp d. 11.96) N.S Erhadaranyaka Commentary ll. 'Suchan author nol lhallhemelaphysrca could seriously admii with textsoJthe Upanishads couldstandin conlradiclion the He o{ deliverances olhermeans knowledge. alsoheldthat ol ol even Veda the wasan authoritalive means knowledge the of it could negating lgnorance, that nol communr' Selfonlythfough Varlika 999. For, al cateit directly- as reexplained Sambandha of exoeriencer and hisviewwasthatthe exislence lheindividual his know along withtimeandolhercond' edgeanditsobjecls, experience supplied t ons,depended entirely ihe imrnediate on by the Sell.Howcould anyof themaffct Se I in anyway? lhe ' (Cp. NSID. lll.96,intrc.:'Wespeakthus (of lhe passibility of a canfliclbelweenVedictevelation and perceptton) lhe an we basisal a delibenteconcession. Otherwise, havemarethan that one meansof cagnilian cannotbe conlrconce remarked dictedbv anolher'. TN.) Treatmenlof theTopic of Causeand Elfect AsinSanka's Brahma Commenlarv,jn Suresvaras so SLrtra is BrhadaranyakaVartika, thesubjecl cause eiiect intraduce and onlyinorderlo notion causeand ol ettect.There reJute whoLe the areplaces theVarlika where Suresvara appears lakelgnolo in rance lhemater cause theworld, lhisis onlya superas al oJ bul i cialviewlhal mighloccurai lirslsightto one unable grve to S dueconsrderaiionwhaltheVartikas Naiskarmyaddhl 1o and

Suresvara which is ultlpowerot ihe one reality(sat),it is thal reality (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 (5) lgnorance the Sell s the precondilion the appear_ of is andtheAbsolule ca led anceoflhis magicshowoidualty, alely lhroughthat.(B.BV 1rv 371) lhe causeirnmed 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 ll 112; 113,2, note; 113,3). is clear that lhe explanatrcn lhts an thts verse 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 musl have lor its cause samething whtchts far tackol ret'lection, nat a non entity (as a nan-enlily cannol lunctian as a cause) ll ta tequtresa materialcausecorrespanding 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 Seli ol the exislence ihe transcendenl the sakeol proving to make the SelJava lable as one wno They are a device knewttretrulhproclatmed (G.K.lll.15, tV.V.33,3;75,j0). cp. The negation all notionssuch as causedoes not suffce of lo establrsh non-d!ality. The negation itselfrequires to.be negaledby the awakening the homogeneous to un(y and sole realrty the Seti.Firsltherejs a thorough ot demonstra Iron lhat al lhis appearance pturatily ol has Being for its lrue nalure.Then it is taught how Being (setf mettsinlo rnJrnily pre Consciousness. as (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'erent t'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, meritanddemerit the impressions past of End acltonstylng unevolved the elements in fire, waler,earlh and wind.and dtssolved ether,remaining exislenlbul in as nol manrlesl these, together withthe Se , iorm The Unde velopedPrinciple'.... is tgnorance lt that rnanifests the in lorm ol the objective universe maleriat of objects(visva). a s r l s l h e n a l u r eo t l g n o r a n c e o d o s o . H e n c e l h e t Upanrshad says,'This universe lhen (belore prolecas the t 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 ( B r h a d . t i v . 7l)B . B . V ed |.',!2a5'7) Frsl the natute of'the Undevetoped'isexplained.Thenit rc declared lhat it is lgnorance only thal appears as the manit'est

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8 Chaprr 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,havrng sent lhis body to'Avidya'(= unconsciousness)'. iB.B.V.1.iv.256). 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) death (tightis im, is monal) (Brhad..l.iii_28) and'tn the beginning, unrverse this was watel Brhad.vv.l) showthat metaphysical lgnorance rs contrnually work,eilherin manifest uDmanilesl at or form. (B8.V r.ii.136). 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), wotd'watet' atso rclers to tgnorance.but thjs the ttme the referenceis to lgnorancein its unmanifestform.fhat is lhe meaning of the verce. One,annot hee accep! Ihe stalement Anandagnt.h ts ot 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-

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 use al the alsa is only a metaphotical ll 178.M.V251,6).This of (8) lf vewed lrom the standpoinl the linal 1rllir, lgno_ as ranceand ils eflectscannolbe established ex stlng el_ From ol ils sownpowerorlhroughlhat anolher' lherthrough 10 it is somelimesrelerred ljy ol the slandpoinl lgnorance on we lhe lerm lhe Undeveloped'.When rellected our expe' sleepwe say'l knewnolh tromdreamless nenceon waking 1n is ng. wh ch showslhat Consciousness rellected lgnool and gin,marnlenance dissolulion the world rance The or The Sel{ as in lake p ace Inlhe Sellas reJlected lgnorance ol bodreswhere is assocaled w lh lgnorance, the cause beingwhereConpredorninales ol conscious gnorance and are predominates such distinctions cond' All sciousness pasl thought, medilationand activ ly (B B V troned by 1v.340-2). ioLq'e5r df pe3 r'0 'l gnurar(e rs aon -: lor and Lnco^s( As the In lhe realily, se i, which s in trutheverenlLghtened are and unconscloLlsness tound Lnthe not sell conlusron world s called'dealh'(B B V IV '157) lh s whole as fhe !exl (al Brhad.lV.iii.T) spoken ol llrc forms al deatll' 'lgnorance' Earlier it had satd Darkness whete ctea!h means SuresvaBs pf-'se/llverse tlEnonnc-") death (Brhad.l.itt.28). E from lhat. Cont'usianand uncansctausttessate lhe 1l)ii,rw,s o/r And the factthalbothal theseappeateven t::lrt e cl lgnatance. haw tt)e al s 1t) t)a!.self an e^pressian death the verseexplaths 'ignaBnce come ta be appliedta the nat s'ii tl't' lrtrr j doesnot rneananvtlirig D!l ncnI 11l The term lgnorance'

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 iorm is called tesls as name.lorm and action- its subtlest 'Death'.(B.B.V l.iv.1 35). ' 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 leaching thal the world-appearance ariseslrom absence knowledge the Absolule) iind of ol we the clearverseol Gaudapada, whichbegins, wellsupporled perceived... the dark by analoges,'As a ropeirnperlectly (in is variously inaginedas a snakeor a slreamoi waler or in olher ways, so s the Selt wrongy imagined this and as lhal (G.K 11.17, l\r.V23)cp. That whch as no name or lormmanifesled lhe beginning (al 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 Undevelaped Pinciple, ane should see t'rom given by Gaudapada.with examples, the explanalionof creatian 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'lecting me' dium and lhe teflection passessbeing by vittue al the changeless Self, (unlil it is discriminatedlrcm it', cp. M.v. 144, 10). (14)Transmigratory experience taughlto be an erroneous is superimposilion the Sell.And, according lhe genera on to wor dly view , lhere cannolbe erroneous superimpositton wilhoula cause.Therefore,lo explain whal is the cause.Sri Sankarasays hisbrhadaranyaka in Commenlary That(Se1) wh ch rs lhe causeol the wholeuniverse.. has not the Eut causealready beendeclared havebeenthe superimposrto tionon the Self,lhrough natural lgnorance, the notions oJ ol beingone who acls,alongwilh actionand its resulls? Yes. Bui the leachingls repeated a specialJorm intended in lo relulethe Sankhya (non-conscious doctrine thatNature and

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Chapter-8 independent Spirit)is the malerialcause ol lhe world. ol lhroughlgno The causeol the world s lhe Se t, unknown (guna) mak ng up lt ls not the three constituents' rance (B.B.V 1 v.478-80) Nalurespokenoi by the Sankhyas

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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 as assaciatedwith aclion and its resDlts, being supettmpasiion. 'superimpositian' used here lo mean lhe result at is The watd 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 abaut the falsity al lrcnsmigrattan,consEttng in the na feeltng that one is acting, associatedwlh action and its results Far he says, Transmigralian sel up lhtough nalural 19norance is in the form af erroneous knowledge'.Where he said,'That Selt

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 explanations agree basical ly, hawever,as we have aheady explainedat M.V.112. (15) li lhe etfeclwere taken as diflerenllrom the cause, how couldthey because and effecl? They wouldbe known as separate, unconnected enlilies,lke lhe Himalayas and ihe V ndhyamountains. if the effectwerelakenas nonBut difierent, lhen, sincethere would be identty, there could nol becaLrse eflect. and Whal is actronless cannotfunclion as a cause.Thatwhrch not ihe oblecloi aclionshouldnot s be calledan efiect.And lhal whlch s void oi aclioncannot be a factorof action. Time and aclioncouldnot be causes, as ihey lhemselves only exst throughthal (the Self) n whichthey are due lo d ssolve.lt is evidentthat what can nol evenbr ng tself nio berng couldnol br ng anything else nlo be ng, whateverts efforts. (B.B.V11.i.399 402). Here the whale concepttanaf causally ts rejected as atianally indefensibie. few verses later Suesvara sums up.'And so A 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 causeandeiieclin Suresvafa's oi works rs not ntroduced show lhal lhe Absolute lhe causeol lhe lo rs \\ror ts purpose s aclua y to refutelhe who e conception d. ol

ChaplerS causality firstsuperimposing notionol causalily by lhe onlo lhe Selt in orderlo leach and existence lhe laller(lhe Sell,read ol almano slilvam), and lhen rellling caLrsality the lighl o{ the n 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, the end,lo be ableto denylhal il is characlerizabie in erlheras a universal as a particular, Here loo. Suresvara lolor lowslhe method lhe revered of Indeed,n the preCommentalor. I m naryialseattribulion lhe notions universaand parlicuof ol ar, he Io lowslhe method the Upanshadilse t, as we can now of see, As the parlicular bealsin a drum-roll cannotbe heardseparalelylrornthe drum'roll tsel{,even so lhe thingswhoseexrst' ence dependson lhe Sell cannotbe perceived lrom separately 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, stillgeneral, but lorm as Thosesounds arrsetromthe slriking a drum in a specraway' Bul any relaol live y speci|c sounds,or particriiar sounds,are only heard as pa( ol theiruniversal, generaldrum-roll B.B.V. (cp. the ll.iv.275genera indeterminate perceplion 80) Aga n. lirst one has the pot. aller ihat lhe specitication'is', yieldingexrslenl pcf. And so lhe ongina generalperceplion lurtherspectredinexper' is perceplion turther enceby sub general is specilied experience in parircular by subseqLrenl zation(having longspoul,existing a at place and time, etc.: B.B.V.ll. v.281). such and such a Again, eachiurtherspeciticat in our knowledge a !niversalandto on of the accornpan menl ol il. And, in the same way,everygenusor parl cularrs itself knownas accompanied Consciousness (cil) by rrnperleclly known.ll is superimposed lhe Sel{ lhfoughabon senceof knowledge lhe laller.Bll lhe inmoslSell does nol ol require any exlernal supporllo eslab sh ts own ex stence. The Sellbeholds nol-sell the onlywhenrtsputson ihe I very of belng anindvdual experience. il experiences B!i itsellas ndepend

Suresvara in ent Consciousness ils lrue stateonly.Examples such as lhe sounds ol lhe conch and lute are also given to tllustrate lhe drssoutron01all parliculars everywhere intothe 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 general mentioned exemis to p||lythe broad unrversal such.The drum,roll'reiers as to lhe partrculars conceved as the universai its other (r e. in parlicuarized)lorm. And lhe reference 'exlernalsounds' lo (Brhad.ll. reiers the ( mpossbil ty oi hearng the)par v.7) lo 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 established the meansot by

Chapter-8 oi oi va ld cognrtion independently lhe notion Be ng,whether concoml throughnvanable regarded lhe sameas Being as or Independence. as of irom t through tance,or as ditlerent therecannotbe anylhng the nalureof non being,BecaLlse separaieJromBeing,lhere cannoibe anything n re alron thal,whatevers lhe undersland wrlhdolng. And one should case with Being,exactlylhe same is the case w th the rn and does most Self,the realityol which is sell'revealed, meansol cognr_ by not havelo be established anyseparate tion. (B.B.V ll.rv.290-1 ) as No realityseparatefrom Being conceive.J 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' ..luality obtains inter case of lhe self revealed Self (whlch rc nat frarn the higheststandpoint,a universal). a (3)The pot is perceived ex stenl,as having longspout as place,as existing a certalnllme al as situated a certarn at eacht me thereis a furlherde No new obieclis pefceived 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 is 14)In the sameway,everylhng lhat is perceived super perceived as mposed pureConsciousness, it is nvariably on in by accompanied that. Everything lhe world whethera ol has or a particular, lgnorance p!re Consclous universal (B.B.V. ll.iv.282). ness as ils causeol (5) There is no other sourcelor the eslablishmenl the 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 ndividLra knower, who dependslor his own existence on the Self.iB.B.v.11.1v.283, gloss). with 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-self when it does the very ol an ndrvidual able act and experience. pureV, As sion rased above change,il does not beholditseli n lhe same way.The not sell, beingcomplex, knownlhrough is perception. Self,beingsimple, s knownthroughltsei The in ihe iorm of knowledge bearinginwards. B.V ll.iv284(B 5). 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 recourselo any exletnalmeans.Moreaver,lhenol ence Attthout 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 conception universai ol and particulars is ,,v un ntelligibleThe universal can no rnorebe idenlcal ih ) the part cularsthanthey can w lh L But if lhe un versa;be takenas d slinctfrom ihe parliculars therecan be nc un! versal(andhenceno parliculars either). a un versalvrer lt as laken per impasstble not being n constanla concorli lanceu/ilhils partculars(andso as nol be ng denl:ca\ rith them),lhe unlversal and its part cularswould be dislinct, likean elephant and a ral. Bul thenwhal we ca I a universal parliculais, asho:t horned wouldb-o pari cu ararnong a ike ( 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

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Chapler-8

Suresvara

167

sub-speciesamang species, ot a partlcular among parttculars Thetreatmenl ot the Oiscriminationolthe Five Sheaths in expressed his Varlikais lhal the The view ol Suresvara (cp.N/.v.39),10o, ntroduced rs leaching aboutthe FiveSheaths in lhe Upanishads orderto bringout the natureot the Sell as in to lhe Absolute by first attributing il possessionof the Five This blrtonly wilh a view to denyingthenrafterwards. Sheaths, as {ollows. may be brrefly summarized methodot teaching lhe The nolionthatwe are in deilicalwilh shealsis implanled ln lrom beginnnglesslgnorance. arising in us by an impresslons as accepled a devicethrough Vedanta, sheaihsare nitially lhe whLch introduce to lhe idea ot the inmosl Sell ex st ng wilhln The them (TB.V. 11.232'3). inmosl Sell, tholgh only one, appearsthroughlgnorance if limited lhe Five sheathsin two as by plans and on lhe cosmicplane ways, lhl is, on the individual with the sheathmade (T.B.V.11.234-5).The sheaths, beginning They each haveto be are eJlects. (thephysical body) up oi lood f rsl dissolved inlo their malerialcauses,food and so on.Then inlo the next in the each earlierone in turn has to be dissolved ca!se, and lhen even series,untiltheSelfis leftas lhe supreme ans_ by lhe nolionlhal ii is a causeis cancelled the knowledge il finallyremains overas lhe lexls,and 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 Ltntil ts finally felt to be so (T.B.V 11.253). none must medt il tate ane s own vilal eneryy lill it is felt la be ane with the cosmic M.v.25,8)as (T.B.V 11.254), one'smind (manas, on vitalenergy 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' f.), 1'.8 V. 11.306 and an lhe ioy arising lram the merit af ane s riluals and prescribed meditations (TB.V. 11.320'22:342'5)as

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, resullwoutd the be the knowledge a'seli' ndividualized ts own body and of by m nd. rnlhe manner the Sankhya ol (T teaching B.V 268).Each lalersheath thal s menlioned the seriesis spoken as some, in oi th ng separaletrom lhe earlierones,lt is regarded .anolher as 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 conslrlutes true'se l'. So we se6lhal the sheathmadeup of its iood s accompanies the remaining by four,beginning wth the sheathmade !p ot the vitalenergy. The shealhmade up ot the vrtalenergyis accompanied the remaining by lhree, 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 inconstanl concom, lance w lh lhe laterones (T.B.Vll.263). The realilylhal has to be communicated this device s by lhe Absoute. lt ls laughtin the secondSectionol ihe Tait|riya Upanishad Ananda Brahmananda (the or Valll). thethirdSecAnd lron (BhrguVa i) explains how the exislence and natLrre lhe of Absoule has ear|er beenlaughtby poinling the mutLratcon, to comrlance non-concomtlance and amongsl varioLls the sheaths. sc lhal the two Sections agree.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 Sheaths ch are effecls lgnorance, is rmp cit in the lext wh of as fie had the knowledge "The Absolute bljss"' is (See lTaitt.lll.6).

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SLrresvafa

16S

T.B.V|L332-s). And,in the sameway,lhe meaning the lext'A person of (af becoFes non-xislenc he thinks the Absoluteto be non(Taitt.ll.6) loundto be th same.Foril saysthat il existence)' is a manthinks lhe Absolule, ol whichis in fact realas his own Sell,as being oneol the sheaths therelore and he unreal, becomes himsel{ unreal.The knowers theAbsolute thathe ol hold alone r6alwho is knows himsoll thereal as Absolule..bevond lhe The sheaths. refore should one ngate alltheshealhs, whichhave been imagined lgnonce realize oneis thesuthrough and lhal preme (lB.V 11.353-6). Sell,nolsubjct change to 'n thrsconlext, theseare lhe versesof lhe Taittlriya Varlika mostworlhyol Consideralion. (1)Themind become has deeply impregnated impres with sionsin thisbeginning realm lransmigralion. less oJ lt can, however, lurned towardslhe inmostSelf bV a device, be andso thisdevice nowselforlh.In kulh,theoneinmost is Self has no contactwith duality. only undergoes lt bifurcationInloinner andouler, subjecl objecl, wayof illuand by sronlhrough lgnorance. the subjective On side,ihereare lhetivesheaths beginning lhe sheath wilh made ot food up (thephysical body), along withthe inmosi Seilion the ob' jeclive side, there maleracauses arefood theremaining and (i.e. of ihe Iivesheaths earth, fire,aif andelher). water, Having ihe d;ssolved riveindividual sheaths theircosinio miccounterparts meditation, should by one medllale lhelive on cosmic counterparts the fivesheaths, ol laking eachsLlcceeding one as the inner'self'ol predecessor. its Having thls dis' soived whole lhe notion lhatoneis in anysense elfecl, an one restin the nolion should thatoneis thecause. Andthenlinally oneshould dissolve nolion that lhrough supreme the Vedic lexls, (T.B.V andattain ihe Absolute one's to as fealSelt. 11.233-7). (2)Thoughlhe Selicannot identical theFive be with Shealhs,

rl appearslo be so throughlgnorance. the rope,snake as ap, pears to be identical with 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 seriesexistsindependen of its eflect,which prey cedes lt in lhe series(as the cosmtcvilal energy exists independentty food and is lhe sourceJromwhich food of proceeds).And yei it invariably jls accompanies ellecl. Henceour lhesisthal lhe eltectls nothjng over and above the malerialcause can be supporled argutng by trom indepen0ent extslence and invarjable concomilance (vyalireka and anvaya)...aillourol the other(andhighe, sheaths are presenl the shealh In madeup oi lood.The threeotherh gher ones are presenlin the vrtalenergy, rn lhe mrnd(tnteltwo recrand btiss),one (btiss)in ihe inte ect. (T.B.Vi1.268,9, 271). (4) The Absolutewas taughtin the secondSectron the ot Taitlifiya Upanishad_To explain method the how it hasto be rearned, thirdSection the Upanishad the of recounls (Tarll. ,Hotyonel ll.l. ,olc.) how Bhrgusaid to Varuna, Teachme BrahmanlWhen the goal has {irstbeen exptained, Ihen tt remarnslo explainthe means.The means are the Five Sheaths, one reaches Absolute tor the ihrough(meditat ng on) them {as taught).lt is ctear lhat they are the rneans, llecause the Seti is seen through lhem when Ihey are analyzed and meditaled according the tawsot univeron to salconcomitance (anvaya) Independent and exrstence (vya 1 i-.kal.(T.3.V. t1.333-5). After explainingStiSankarc'sinterprctation the ,\|ord'tapas of 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. wilh lhe shealhs'thinks (5) lJ a pe|son idenlilying himselJ in is that lhe Absolute 'inreal allhough facl't rs rearas l_s own Sell, he himseltbecomeslnreal in this world This _avebee_ beingso.one shouldrlseabovethe shealhslnal throughlgnoranceOne shouldlake relugein the imagined endlessand nol subiectto supremeSell, beginningless, 356) (T.BV ll 353' modilicalion. and Objecl BelweenSubiect 121The Oistinction ol The Selfin iis lrue nalu as seenlrom lhe standpoinl lhe highesltruih is also laught by the melhod ol lirst talsely at_ sulliect experiencrng ol trib!lingto it the character an individual we For example, find the pure the and then felracting teaching the thal Consciousness constilutes lrue nalureoi the Sell frguthe rativelvrelerredto al variousplacesin the Upanishadsas perceiver' This and ol oerce;tion the individual as the individual as whichin itslrue natureis one,appears many ionsciousness, in And then Consciousness its true lorm as throughlgnorance, anging ' lhe consclousness withlhe empirical one is contrasted experiencer: ;and in this courseot ihe activityof the individual its lrLlenalu'e lo ln lorrr I rs telerredlo as ConscroJsness ensutelrle conlrasl. comes into beingand suffersthe consciousness Empirical qrowlh srx cnangesol slate lcomlng orlo belng exlslence by everylh'g In undergone declne, deslructlon) develop'renl. lne remporalreal/n.Bul it is pervadedat every stage by J_ in changingpure Consciousness its true lorm We have lfe 'The Absolute and rmme which is directly lexl, too, upanishadic presentwilhin all (Brhad lll iv2) dralelyevidentis lhe Self, mightsuggesllhal rl was tne Indr' The word directly'(evident) vrdua sublectwhich was belng relertedlo So tqF word\'ard thal lhe rel are irnmedlalely added1osel at reslany suspicion

171

wasto perceptual knowiedge fromthe division erence arising knowledge known. Inlo knower, and The details givenal are Vartika lll.iv.1 (seeM.V121,5 5-18 below). Brhadaranyaka Consciousnessitstruenature in onlyexists where divithe intoknower, knowledg known been sron and has transcended. Thesequel the passage'You to cannot the se6rof sseing' see (Brhad.lll.iv.2) thatlhe Sellis theWitness thecomplex shows of lormed the Individual by knower wiihhisknowledge itsoband jecis. rsnolilsell object cogniiion, we know li an ot and Jrom the (which verylactol rtsbeing realin itshue nature lhe transcends alldisinctions, including intosubjsct objecl). ihat and Thusit is perception. saidthatthe SelJ cannot an object empirical be oJ There exisls Witness thelighl which in a ol alone experience the 'l see'and 'l do nol see'is possibl. ThatWitness musl be ndetilied pure wlth Consciousness. only known ll can be through percep' ts own lght. ll cannot become ob,ecl empirical th ol tron.The individual knowerand knowledge iisobiects his and are non'consciorJs nalure. by Being complex, a theyexislfor lhe sakeof anolher {cp.u.S. (prose) a seclion 56).Theycannot provrde knowledge thevision theinmosl oJ of Witness.They cannoi evenknoweachotherunaided. Theydepend lhe conon sciousness the Witness establish ol to themselves all.How at could lheypossibly theseerot all? see On lh s sublecl,one should consider tollowing the verses. (1)ThalSeer(the Witness) iiselt sight. is notoneot is lhe ll in a complex aclors an actron, srght hereclaimed ol For is (B.B.V oi as a characlerislicthe Seer. lViii.1435) On accouniof the alt bulian al seeinglo the Seet as an essenttal prapetly (nol as a mare temporatyactivfiy)in the upanishadic phrase'(There nabrcakin)lheseeing the Seer' is ol v/eundersland seetng to be lakenasthe essentialnature lhal is al the Seer.So the Sell is not an agentcatryingoul an act ol seeing.

Sutesvala 172

Chapter (2) Consciousness one only every where. t s differenl is undergoes This one Consciousness frorn all the not-sell. in manydillerentlorms throughcauses illusorymanitestation lll.vii.60). of arisinglrom lgnorance it. (B.B.V. (3) Consciousness, which is actionless,assumesthis la' dividedinlo individua knowledge, miliarform ot empirjcal il' act subject, of knowingand objecl.But consciousness division. Eecauseil is one and the sole self ls wilhoutthis onlyarisesas an appear empiricallorm reality, familiar lhe in by ance,everpervaded consciousness ils truelorm. i is In are and pervaded exhausted thatreonlywhenpervader In latianlhal we have peruasion the irue sense,as ln lhe by ol case ol the pervasion the rope-snake the rope.There pervasion the full sense betweenlhingslhat in cannolbe and by are dilterentiated spaceor lime, likethe Himalayan (B.B-Vlll.iv.96-8) Vindhyaranges.

173

imitations, theapparnt iike limitationsspac6 in introduced by the production apot(cp.M.V 27,1)(B-B-V ol lll.iv.gg100). (5) Andin caselhe characlerization'directly evidenl'suggesls an active seer,the phrase'ihmdiatelyevident'is (Brah.lll.iv.1)...phrase added prevent supposition io this The 'rmmedialely enl' (aparoksad) is usedto negatelhe evid dislinclion inlo individual subjecl,knownobject,and knowledge,and lo convey realaly is wilhout a that distinctions. Whenlhe disiincllon subject, itno objcland knowledge is negdled, self-revealed the Witness remarns alone overas established, revealed lhe characterizalion'immediately by (B.B.Vlll.lV.15,17-8). evidenl'. (6) ll is sald(bythe revered Commentator) sincethe that, rndv dualsubject hisknowledge itsobject and and onlyexisl relalrvelVoneanother, is thetrueandeternal to it nalure ol theSeltto be theWilness... withthatvision you lt, whereby are ableio say'l know'and'ldonotknow'you ableto are lurn roundand see lhal very visionitsell (as i, it were an 'then please oblect) speak (andluckto you!)... out Those whosaylhal,whentheWitness all the modilications ol ol the mindis esiablished sell-revsaled as experience, there slillremains something be brought to aboutby aclion, will haveihe diJliculty explaining whatinstruments ol with the perlorm aclionWilness could in B.B.v. lll.iv.82; 1.iv.320. 80; The operalian the validmeansol cognition ol depends on thepriat establishment the Con ciousness is Witness of lhat of all This, beingself-revealed, doesnot depend anything on else. No contribution lhat whichis the Witness naturecan be to by givenfat aclivities apprcptialeto thatwhich merely known. is lhe As the pawer af a lamp to shed llght cannot be increased byanvolh Lamp,so the lampof mmedale e^penence inca$ pable ol being increased any olhet immediate by expeience. Thisbeinglhe case, lhosewhosaythata immediate expeience

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 empirical on visiorr the part ol the Slfdependson iactors Butknow expereincer otherillusory and lhe rndividual ofthe inmost Selfis real n lhe high' lhallhe Consciousness ol the est sense lt is onlylhrough presence realCorlsciousby ness,and peruaded it, thatthe empificavrson en joyed by the Sell comes and goes and solferslhe s x stagesoi lypicalol alliempcralbeing(comingrntobe' developnent Ing. etc., cp. above, Ivl.Vp.344) The mitatons thereby sness:r'o bul apparenl Consciot lmposed lhe universal on

f $ s
d f
j

'i:

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 talseallribut on, Now we begrn the corresponding retracpriorlo all activity t gn-The Sell's unconditioned Visronstands eilheroi seelngor of any otherkind.lt is not subiect increase lo or diminution. is not a lactor in any action.lt is lhe Seli in lts ll true {orm.lt becomesa Witnessonly lhroughassocialion wiih metaphysrcal lgnorance. Andthe very notron assocat on with ol lgnofance itselia creation lgnorance. ls true nature, is oi In the unconditioned Visionraisedaboveall changecan no rnoTe a be W t_eqslhan Ihe non-conscioLs can, PLreconscroLsness cannot be a Witness lackof a connection lor wrthany objeclcapable of beingwrtnessed, whrlethe non-conscious cannol be a Witness evenwhena connectron with such objeclsexisls. The supremeSefasConsciousness sthereforeonlyaWitnessthrough lhe rnedi!rnot its refleclion lgnorance. this view,a d lfi' in On cu ties can be solved. (7)The nmoslConsciousness stoodeiernally has without ever risingor selting,the priorcondilion the possibility lor ol the actlvity an individ!al of expereincer, itsellnot a factor _ dny act on. lransce-dent(relationles./. T'rq ,c r.e l'ue iorm of the SelJ, of the natureerther a causeor of an not of eilecl, eternally manifest, homogeneous, void of a dark ness and all distinclions. assumeslhe lorm of a lV tness lt only through connection with metaphys cal gnorance. And lhe noliongl conneclion with lgnorance itselldue only to is lgnorance. (B,B.V. lll.iv.83-5). (8)The unconditioned visionraised abovea I change can no rnore be a Wltnesslhan what s non-conscious can. The Lrncondilioned on has no conneclion Vis withany objectcapableof beingwitnessed: non-consc the ous is notcapabe

oi be ng wtiness evenwhensuchan object at hand There is torethe s!preme becomes Wilnessof ils own reflectton a n lgnorance the iorm of the tndivid!al (in knower, knowiedge and known).For the reltection Consciousness lgnoof in rance(rsan objeclcapable beingwttnessed, nce it) is a oJ s compound implytng retaiionship between eiiectand 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 lgnorance ts apfor pareniconditioning adjunct. Neverthetess, talsetdeathal the 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, {10)Theindividual stationed lhe intelecland iclen, in tiiied with t, convjnceshimselfol the presenceoj tgno rance and [s effectsin the Se1, though in truth ii s nol present, lhroughhtsown exlroverled gaze- as simple souls aitribule bluecoiour lhe co ourless to etherol 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.

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177

Teaching by Examinatlon otThoThree Stelos ofwaking, Dram and Oreamless Sleep The exposition the lhree slates ol waking,dream and of dreamless sleep is nol aimed al teachinglhal those three states reallyexrsl. The purposeot the aulhorot the Vartikais only to communite vLrenalureof th Sell by tirstleachingI lhrough the supermposingon it lhe threestates,and then, by a cr lical exthe amination the latter,lo revealin immediateexperience ol elernalSelf Ireefrom all changing states. lorrealizingthe Fourlh' Brielly,the praclicalrnethodJollowed ([/.V. 23, intro.)or ljnal realityis this. Whjle slill in the stale where he rs subjectlo talse superimposition, studenlmusl lhe Indidty, nust then realize he the identilyof lhe body of lhe universew th lhe cosmicmldn (Hiranyagrabha). mustlhen disHe solve 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 exolained lhe Vartikaon in lhe sectlonol lhe Brhadaranyaka Upanishad dealingwith light (lyol h,Brhad.lV.iii.l The individual ft.). soul as the SpirI viewed predominaling (M.V 44, 5, note)is underadluncts wiih intellect he wakingexpeol the naiureof Ight. fhroughlgnorance enjoys rience whenlhe intellect awake,and when il is asleephe sees is ( d r a m s B . B . V V i i . 4 4 8 ) . T h i si n d i v i d u a l u l ,a f a s e a p p e a r ' l. so ance composedof impressions and consisting an individual of passintothedreamis subjecl and hismeans ofcognition, saidlo its slate whenlhe m nd becomes won objectas lighl,and in that dream-state ihe soulis selt-luminous only. in dreamalso liqhl Bui less sleep the only conditioning adjunctis metaphysical lgno' rance.The will waking Seli hereis lhe causewhich lalerproduce and dram as rts effecls (8.8.V lV iii.979).In the wakingstate lhe soul perlorms actions through bodyand organsand expeits r encespleasure and parn,ln lhe dream-stale, with the intellect lor condilioning adjunct,it sees dreams under the impulseoi

desire In dreamless sleepits adiunctis Ingornace atone, and it lhere standsas lhe causeol the nind and otherlaclorsoJlhe ndividual organism; between slatesol ihe ;thalis the diflerence dreamand dreamless sleep(B.B.VlViii.1528). ln this connection, Suresvarafollowsthe method of the lJpansiahd lhe reversed and Comrnentator usinglhe example in ol a greal lish. The fish slands,in his exposition, lhe Se J, tor diilerenlbolh fromthe bodyand the organsot the wakingstate, knownas'deaih', and trom the desireand activity that prompt lhe Jurther exrstence lhe physical ol body. And so it can be shown lhal lhe notionthat lhe Sell undergoes transmigralorf experience is due to melaphysical (B_B.VlV 148-51). lgnorance iii.1

In dreamless sleepthesoulstands as'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. havethe upanrshadic we lexls 'All go ihesecreatures da ly lot he realmol lhe Absolule are bul 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 givingthe example ihe hawk,too. texl of ( B r h a d . j V. 1 9 ,c p . M . V . 8 3 ,2 ,n o t e ) s i n i e n d e d t o e x p o L r n d l h e 1 i pure,conscious lrue natureol the Sellas eternally and liberaled (B.B.V lV.iri.1158). phrase folds its wings'referslo its reThe marnrng lgnorance. in The phrase'(isbornedown)to lhe nesl' relersio llle tacl thal n dreamless sleepeven the relleclion ol Conscousnessresisin lhe lorm ot pureSpirI (B.B.VlViii.l 172, 3) Thal.lheretore, which,in lhe lwo statesol wakingand dream was assooaledwilh lgnorance the senseol havingapparent in 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 extraneous condrlioning (B.B.V. adjuncl,caused by lgnorance V ir 1205-6). One musl, however, remberthe other point thal a though as explained, desiresceasewhenwakingand dream

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ChapterS

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r79

lhev do remainin dreamlesssleep In lhe cease.neverlheless againin the case and Iorm o1a lalenlimpression, they manilest They are nevercompletely oi one who has awokenlrom sleep. knowledge the Sell dawns(B.B.V. ol till ellminated metaphysical Viv.378). by In dream,the Selfis deliled desireand meritand demerit. unrelaled the exlernalworld, lo because Yetit is oarllvluminous. the to and rt conforms and illumines objeclscreatedby menlal ol rmoressicns underihe imoulse desire.On lhe otherhand,in only as lhe the Sell slandsalone,conditioned dreamless sleep pedectiranquillity, dreamless eep s Hence cause,and assumes We B.B.V lViii.976-8). admit rs calledpertectpeace(sampraseda, sleep in a certainsense. in absenceof knowledge dreamless of Thereis absenceof internal knowledge the form'Thisam l , of of knowledge lhe lorm thesecreaand also absence external comesJrombeingin iden_ tures'.But lhis absence knowledge ol lt One'(prajna). s trtywrlh the supremeSell as the'conscious ge qultedilierenliromlheabsenceoJ rs dram knowled I hatoccu Ln adjuncts. And conditioning and waking, whichis due to apparent with the help of the exampleol this is iaught in the Upanishad lhe man embracing wite {B.B.V.lVili.1309'10). his indream' absence knowledge ol But howdowe knowthatthis and not to a naluralab_ less sleep rs due to allainingidentity, is, AbsenceoJ knowlege alter all,lhe senceot consciousness? 384) beings(B.B.V.lV.iii.1 typical characteristrc non-conscious ol that the Upanishad says,'Verily, It is to answerlhls objection whenthere(in the stateot dreamless sleep)he does not see,he s, verily, seeing,thoughhe does not see. For lhere is no break iii.23). n the seekingol lhe seer'(Brhad.lV and the like the nol lhe natureol Desire,aclion,ignorance tells us lhat lhe Seil, as Consciousness And the Upanishad is. in lhe soul is unattached and is nol tollowed wakingby the eti.15-6, cp. when dreaming(Brhad.lV. iects ol rts experiences lgnorance l\,,1.V40,3). relalion the Sell with melaphysical The ol

is begrnningless, the senseol limeless), doubt.But il is (in no accepted thal ts relation wilh such elfeclsof lgnorance posras live acls ol eroneous cognition, destres and so iorth has a be ginning (B.B.V. iii.1408-9). BLrlwhat is lhe connection one who is lhe victimof abol senceof knowledge and erroneous knowledge wiih the metaphysical teaching(B.B.V lViii.l4lO)? To answerthis queslion dreamless sleep is expounded a statelree lrom ignorance, as desireand actiorr. Evenin the dteam-state thesense-organs dtssolveinlo the vehicleof the impressions, we knowfrom the as lext,'Himseli sleeping, looksdownon ihe sleeprng not he senseo r g a n s ' ( B r h a d . l v . i i i . H 1 ) . c o u l di h e o r g a n sb e p r e s e n il n 1 ow dreamless sleepwhen not even their impressions presenl are (B.B.V. lViii.1416)? So, sincethe actionof seeingand ils Jac, lors and resullsare alikeimpossible, persondoes nol see in a dreamless sleep.And (in another sense)he does see, sincehe is Consciousness nalure(B.B.V. by lViii1417). Fromihe l6e rng'l did not see (anylhing)'on part ol one the who has woken up, we know thal, in dreamless sleep,the absenceol the lndividual subjectand his knolwege and il oblects has beendirectly experienced thal slateby Consciousness In in ils true nalure(8.8.V lV.iii.1420).therehad beenany breakin It the visionof consciousness wouldnot be awareof dream, one ess sleep, as it would nol have been experienced(B.B.V. lv.ii.1a38). The presentparliciple'seeing the phrase, . .al in thoughseeing,He does not see. For there is no break in lhe (brhad.lViii.23) seeing the seer...' of does not meanlhal there s an ind vidualsubjecl enjoying experience. Forthatis impossib/e in dreamless sleep, Youhavelo be conienlwiththe explanatron lhal the l-notionot dreamless slaep ('remembered'retrospec live y in subsequent wakingexperience) represents Seli in the rls lrue natufe.lt is ihe subjeclol lhe participle'seeing'in lhe samesort ot (meiaphorical) (noi implying sense action) thatwe speak af space as'givtng'rooms lB.B.V.lV.iii.l1442).

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'Howcanthe SelJ see al One shouldnot raiselhe objoction, For all if it hasnofaclorsol actionat ils disposal?' evenin world we do nol se the factorsot actional work beforean aclion. 1o Whether therers action be doneor not, belorean action Whether lhere is actionto be doneor nol, laciorsol actionas a pre-condition be ruledoul in ilher case(M.V 122'15). can ii l\roreover, lhe casewhereseeingis constant, is impossible in belweenan aclion sequence a ot lo eslablish relation tomporal the toestablish existence and its resull.so thal it is imDossible (andhonce lo ol impo6sible think theseeol anndandmoans Thedislinc' B.B.VlViii.1449). ingot theWilness an aclion, as his seer, seeof tionslhalsei upthe appearance an individual (B.B.V lgnorance to lhrough ingandils resulls shown arise are with tor on lViii.1450). Thre dependnce lgnoranc relation is or not-selt; there is no suchdependence but knowledge the oJ mereappearance orlhe lactorsol actionwhicharea lgnorance, thatonlythe Sell exists(B B V tromit, whenit is known deriving lviii.1451-2). lgno" ihrough the and waking Seltappears Thusin dram ot according ihe dislinclions name lo ranceloundergo dislinction so sleep, lhal in andlorm,Butthisis lo the casein dreamless waking. In as thai slateone doesto see dualily, one doesin has lhelormof thechangeveMhing assumed dreamless sleep, no. no lgnorance, ils efiecis, lessSell.Thereis thenneither for absence lgnorance, ther is then nothingapartfrom the of as Self tor th Sell to '6/itness its objecl(B.B.VlViii.1518-23) sleeplhe Sll knowsnolhing,without Theretore, dreamless in Thu ness. s alldifiicultherebygivingup its natureas Conscious lrescanbe explained. sleep dreamless about TheUpanishad ofthelinallruth sums passag sleep) see is one' the dramless in the bginning'(ln iniro.)Her lV.iii.32), M.V.44, cp like transparent water'(Brhad. sleep In is lhe moaning. Waleris pure. th statof dreamless ol there is no awareness causeand oflectbecauselgnorance

and its effects cannotp enetEtethatwhich eternalty is consciaus 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). is everimmediately h evident.The rcatmol the Ab'oluteis no,prcpe y speaking, eitherltanscendent tmmaot nent. 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 highest textsol the Upanishads, whercthe subject-ptedicate qLlalilication rclation the wotds,andlhe mutual ol givesriseto a sdntence ol lhe word-meanings whichcan only (andnotdenole definite express indjcation an a meaning, B.B.V lv.iii.l8'l9-21). is the highest this stat6 thsout, ol whichputs an end to all otherstates(B.B.V. lviii,1828).lt is his supreme possessaon, unsurpassable has slalo ol glory.lt is the highest realmto which he can attain,lor it is indestructible. is his ll supreme For bliss. it exceEds oth6r all bliss, and'all other creaturessubsist a fraction tho bliss'(B.VV on of tViai. iB2B,-32, -40). 36, Thls troln an examination the stateso, wakrng, of dream anddreamless sleepwe caneslablish th sell is real,lhat it that kanscends aillhe not-self, thal it is unalloyed, its natureis that passable unsure bliss,lhat it is a pureunily, that it is Consciousnessand nothing elseand thal it is without second. a The moslimportant verses consid6r lhis regard the lo in are iollowing. (1)The6eeker liberation (having of identified himsell wilh Vaisvanara, Sellas associated the cosmos its the with in proceeds lromVaisvanara objective lorm,cp.M.V43,6), on andidentilies himsell hish6anwithitsinner in self, Taijasa or Hiranyagarbha 43,6).Then dissolves inro he this {M.V23;

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ils innerself,the CosmicVitalEnergyThe term VltalEn_ ergy as used in ih s contexlmeansihe Self as cause(viz' lt lhe Self qua unknown). is ihe seed oi everyeiiectand rs v One' (prajia, l\'4 23 and as lhe Conscious also ;known dissolveanywhereexcept into lhelr 43). E{iectscannoi oi the rnalerial cause.Therefore,when seeker iberaion has proceed lo the Abso_ on the reached causeoi all,he should 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 thereis the lalse the and dreamlng oneis wlinessing dream, withlhe dream (B B V oneself one identilies ideawhereby lV.iir.448). (3) The Self as cause is indeedthe inmost princp e, bul viewedunder lhe adjunctof bare lgnoranceThe eilects are calledwakingand 0ream wh ch, as such,il produces (B.B.V. ri.979). lV. is (4) lgnorance the cause ol ihe mind The mlnd is the lt experiencer.is onlyin lhe realm of the individual condllon pleasure and pain.AII rs ol the body thai one experiences self. (B B V l\/.iii1528) of causedby lgnorance 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 ol (6) By the imageol the lolding the wingsthe upanishadic lhal lext leachesthal, even hereln thrsworld,the crealure (i e ln the of has sprungfrom lgnorance the Selfrestsin ts By sleep). the words'isbornedownto lhe Seli in dreamless form ol the inmostSell assumed nesl t reiersto ihe pLlre inmostConscousnessrn lgnorance of by the retleclion ihe e o s w h e n t h e o u l c o m eis t h ei n m o s t S e(fn d r e a m s ss e e p ) (BB.V lv.iii.1172-3).

s).

(7) When a I the effectsol lgnorance, rnctud the rnrnd, ng are wtlhdrawn, relleclion Consctousness the of is alsow/ihdrawn,as the reileclion lhe sun in warerOtsappears ot wifh rne orsappearance the reilecting ol medi!m.Be,ofedrearnless sleep,lhe Consciousness associaied with lgnorance was identified with ihe efiectsof the talter(in wa-king and clream) The dislinction beiween Consciousness ils supand posedreflection arisesfrom tgnorance. (B.B.V lViii.j jT4

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 itsown true na_ ture as pue Consciousness, lhe reflectionaf as 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 oreamless steep. One should knowtha he otherlormoitheso!1,undergoing waKtng an0 dream,is due lo an exlraneous cause, thal sole causebeingtgnorance the SeJl. ol (B.B.VtViii.j2OS-6). (9) lndreamlesssleep, whenwaking oreamhavedisapano peared.a rnen,s desiresdisappear wiih them.They jusl remainrn the form ol taientimpressiors. The upanishadtc texl (Brhad.lViv.7) specities desires,ro snow that, tor all immorlalily, even the latentirnpressions desirehave lo oi be neutrallzed. When lgnorance, causeot des re, has the b.en F dot.dreo. ate-, 'rnpressro, 1o rerra.,sover,o. d-yth ng elseetther, Ignorance the rooror everyphenom as ls enon in lhe emprlical world.(B.B.V. iv 378 S). lV It ts only fram the standpaint of empirrcalexperience. ac o d 'o lo Su ectaG. tha!tgnorance and $ elta.tsalp. io to
F 1|ta\<nn. teddng somckata-se<arva)

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it is ol (10) Thenature the Sellis puroConsciousness: nol and ignorance lhe rest For (psychological) desire,aclion, llowed lhelexts'unattached'and'not (inwak trom we know dreaming)'iBrhad' that ingby its exporiencs it hadwhen Pu and lV. i 5)lhatdesiro the restare illusory reconsciousiii. is aboveatlchange, the truenaiureol the Self raisd ness. is lgnorance begrningless' with Its association motaphysical desireand olher e{leclsol lgnowilh while iis association a as is rance regarded having beginning' ol by Whenthesoulis alJlicld lgnorance the Sellandconse_ lo what quentposilive misconceplion, is the leaching whichI exThisthe Upanishad ol the truth? haslo turnlor knowledg there theslaleol oreamless when Verily, rt tln p,ains when says, he lhough doesnot seeing' he sleeo doesnotsee,h is,verily' (Brhad lViii/ of in is se6ilor there no break lhe seeing lhe seer' (B.b.vlv.iii.1 408-10). .23). Thetext(Brhadlviii230 syas"Hedoesol see'0e{1'1) ol be causelherecannot le tacolrs acloa ' dreamless to relalion the lruestale seeing'in ll sleep. says'although ConsciousoJ (namely presence theuniversal the ol aljairs (B.B.V lViii 1417). ness). on deoe'dence ones wrlhoul (12)(TheSeltcanbe known knowl' yielding empirical cognilion subiecl-objsct individual (in realily dreamless For il is atlerfirstbeholding edg3.) and knowledge by unattained the triadof knower, sleep), ol lhe ol known. onealterwards aware t_ataDsence lhat 0s see rino'earlpsss'eep) tdrd nol (then) lfiaoand)savs by is o{ Thisabsence seeinE wilnessed theSellin its pure just as whai is seenls also so lorm as Consciousness' isestablished Consciousness Seltas witnessed isothalthe and as constant elernal)(B.BV lViii 1420) in lt (131 lnetewereany brea^in lhe s'eing ol thPseer ol not onewould havethe leeling knowlsleep dreamless ol ihe Therelore v sron tnesu onehadbeento sleep edoe

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 the actionless to etherol space as ,grving space, so may one reier metaphorically the actionless to S e l ia s s e e i n g .( B . B . V V i i i . 1 4 4 2 ) l (15) BecaLrse iaclofof actionis foundal work no belorean ac1rs begun. faclors actions ot muslbe deerned universally inoperat at lh s siage...lj thereis no aclon lo be ve 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 irnposs to establsha lemporal ble sequence belweenan act and its result,il ts impossible eslabtish lo the existence an endandmeans of eilherBul it lgnorance accepted rs is the cause. alt these diilic![ies becomeexplcabie. Everylhrng s a mere appearance resulting tronrtgnorance. There rs nothrngncorrecl. j448_50) (8.8.V tVtii.1444, 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. l\,4ahedeva A sesttip.515)

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ChapterS is not-sell taught, oJtheSelfwilhthe (16)where aconnection based on lgno_ is therelhe relerence to be a connection ol lorminglhe notion,basedequallyon lgnorance, rance, to acl, and ol factorsol actional his disable an individual posal,etc.But whenfor the man oi wisdomlhen notion"All idea is basedon realrly SelJ'arises.lhis is the (actionless) dependon lgno' il does nol. like the notionot a not-selJ, ranceand its eltcls.(B.B.V lViii.1451-2)

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(as (17)Wherethereare distinciions in wakingand dream) (in o{ lhereis the appearance lgnorance lhe lorm oi'l do not In whatever dreamless known'. Butthereare nodisiinclions no sleep(and consequenlly ieeilng'l do noi know'and no lo belongs ihe mrnd' lgnorance cp.l\r.V122,19). lgnorance. found.ll does not belong where it is consislently as that s sleep(prana) in lo Consciousness the stateol dreamless aboveall change raised ln lhe one undividedConsciousness ariseslhroughvlsionbasedon lg' distinction an (apparent) lhousandsol lur_ which comprises norance,a distinction d stinctlonsthrough name, form and aolion Bul n ther lhe sleep that dualilyis not lound lgnorance' dreamless for present.There thanno duality lhe is causeot evil, is not sublecl, inlo lndividual distinclion lhroL.lgh soul to pefceive and obiecls,as thereis in the wak ng knowledge emoirical and of speakoftheabsence lgnorance reamstates.To and ol altirmthe sole existerlce ihe Seli.eternal ils eflectsis lo and raisedaboveall change,as lhe only realilyTo alfirm sleep in of lhe soleexistence the Sell,lhe cause, dreamless (B s lo the exislenceof the elfect as a reality. B Vl\/.iii ol 1517-20).We now showthe method the negalon of the lh ree states. oi ignorance lhe Seli is nolhingreal Our cerltude as to rls ln nol lhal arises the ex slencerestsonlyonlhe{eeling'ldo knovv In (T 176) The sou ' cenlred ol course emplricalexperienceB V 11 lhe rrind and lookingnot inwardsbul ouiw3rds conv nces itsell ol onasel ol lhe blue oi its gnorance ihe Selt,as one convlnces

co olf oi lhe (colourless)elher ot the sky. But if it turns its gaze nwards,it tinds neilherignorancenordoubt norwrong knowledge n waking, dreamor dreamless sleep(B.B.V1.iv298,9). And one shouldnol raisetheobjeclion that one has to acceptthatlgnorance in was presenl dreamless sleep oneaccountotlhe memory'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 reDresents a 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 Wilness time.spaceand causation, o{ it cannol undergodelermination byiime, 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 independent the Setl and is af rcducible to a temparary illusion arising on the substratum ol the Set, cp. (A)nandagirionB.B.V. 301, lVii.25.TN.) lgnoranceis Liu an illusron arising the Sell and appearing in beloreit, 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 nothing otherthan rope,so lgnorance imag, the is ned in Consciousness, beingin its trlle natureConsciousand, ness.rnanllesls there. And whenthe eternalConsciou ness rarsed s :bo'/e a lch3nge is known,lgno.anceafld its elfectsare canceled 3.tsV l.,v300 6) li is tftrelhat ai Naiskarmya ddhi lll.58(prcseintrod!ction) S SLrresvara rrakesa caseforthe existence lgnorance dreamof in lcss s eep,sayrng,'ln dreamless sieepthere s presenithal ,rei/

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lgnorance lhe Sell lhat is the causeof all evil'- But there is ol nolhing wronghere.Forthiswassaici the assumption eveon thal accepts lgnorance ilsfacevalue at uniililis finally cancell6d ryone through metaphysical knowledge derjved fromthe holyiexls. Nor should think one thatlhis imp,ies thalthere noexperiencelhe is oJ Selfin dreamless sleep, which might imply, lLlrn, it didnol in that thenexist. Forwe haveio accept thatthe Conscio!sness which present enable to say'l knewnothtng dreamwa6iniallibly to us (in lesssleep)' in taci the Sell,of the natureol immediate is experience(B.B.V lll.iv.103). itstruenalure Sellis lolally In the devoid ol lgnorance, onlyin dreamless nol sleep inwaking dream but and as well. lt is noi active. lt is inlerior all. lt constitules lt is lo all. thetruenature iiselt ol anything both ot and else.SotheUpanishad was correcl saythatwhenil doesnotsee,in dreamless to sleep, yet il is seeingwhenit doesnol see, Brhad.lviii.23. no more ll sees(inthesense an activity) waking dream ol in and thanit does in dreamless sleep. And thereis no moreany breakin ils real Consciousness indreamless sleepthanthereinwaking dream is and (B.B.V iii.1493-5,1 tV 907-8). ll canbe proved reason thestatesof theSelJ talse by that are appearances. slateof wakingis a falseappearance The simply because its lorrnas waking oi experience, because has a and il (admittedly beginning anend,likelhe and (to illusory)appearance the dreamer) beingawakein dream.The eflects lgnorance ol oi thalliebetore areapprehended non-conscious, theyhave us as and no independent existonce theirown,likethe water ot seenin a (B.B.VlViii.1072-3). waking dream notpeF mirage Again, and do tainto lhelrueSell.Forlheyareonly{ound belonging theindito vidualsoul,as apparently delimiled the mind,itsellassociated by \,/th psychological ignorance desire.Theydo nol in anyway and belong lheinnerWitness individualsoul. lo oilhe FortheWitness, kom theveryfaclol being lheWitness, cannolbeorganicallycon; nected wilhwhatit witnesses (since subjecl the can neverbe the nor oblecl lheobjecl subject, B.B.VlViii.905). agarn, And allthe

are as one another not-selves lalse appeahnces, they exclude like mulually, the snake,stick,trickleof water,elc.,lalselyimagAnd sleepand inedin the rope(B.B.V1.iv.1496-7), in dreamless exclude themsolvos mutually all combut) comalhey {notmerely pletely disappear lromview(B.B.Vll.iii.222). the Sellas ConBut is neverlosl(B.B.V sciousness ll.iv.126), it is theWitness as bolh 'l ll.iv.129). o1the feeling know'and'ldo not know(B.B.V Thus lromtheslandpoint thetinaltruih, of neitherwaking drearinor nor dreamless sleepbelong therelalion Sell.These to les6 states are expedences frommlaphysical lgnorance, like onlyillusory arising the experience the ropo-snako the rest(B.B.V11.i.264-6)ol and Thus in all circumstances S6lf is plre Consciousness. is the lt non-dual, doesnolundergo and ditferent stales. Thewhole doctrine lhe selfpassss that lhrough diflerenl slales (andthenlaterdeni6d) to bring howthesupreme is taught only out realityis free from such stales. lt is only lrom the te{s ol the Upanishads one can knowthat the supremerealityis freefrom that suchstates. lt is onlylromthe textsof the Upanishads one that canknowthatlhe supreme rality lheAbsolute, fromlogical is not investigation the implications the threestatesand kom that ol ol (B.B.V alone lViii.1112-S).That teaching is the oftheVartika. Here arethe chiefverses worthy considration thesetopics. ol on (18)lgnoranceofong's Selfisafals own apparance, in alike wakrng, dreamand dreamless sleep,lhat comsintothe Ueldof practical experience, wiln6ss6dbytheSeltlhatisself-revealed... It is onlywhenthe Conscious One,seated the mindand identiin liedwith lgnorance, turnsils gazoutwards it lailsto apprelhat hendits own true Selfand accptslgnoranco its efteclsas and real,likea childaccepting ralthe blucolourof the sky. lt as doesnotdo so through ownlru naturc. Butwhenits gazeis its lurnedinwards. lindsnithor it ignonce,nordoubtnorwrongknowledgeinwaking, (B.B.Viii.1293, dream ordreamloss slsep. I.iv.2989). (19)One whoawakens lromdreamless sleephasthememory

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' drdnot know anything'. thalis nota genuine But cogntlion bearingon the slaleol dreamless sleep. nothing betongs lhe For thal lo Sell can periain to the past, since the Self is unditierentiated by rin e. spa,a or ol-er .aclors. B V t.rv300) {B (Farlhewhale notion'lgnorance residingnthe Self was expe nenced tn the pasl'makes na sense (since neither lhe Self nar metaphysical lgnotance lals within tine.) (20)The innermosl Sellis not accepted be ng louched as ei, ther by past lime or by luture time. Whateverexisls lor anotherexists an tllusion as appearing thesubslratum ihai on ol Whrch set-exislent. is Henceit is tradilionaliy laughlio be ialse rmaginatron. faci that a thing belongs the pasl The to cannot known be perceplion, ihe iactthata thing through and liesin lhe fuiurecannot known be through any means vatd oi knoweclge. Henceall notions pasl and lutureare false oi knowledge... lgnorance manfestsin the Sett,bul iI truihrt is onlyp!re Consciousness. Sincei1is dependent ihe nmcst on Sellra sedaboveallchange, tmagined ihts causecanbe canceled,togetherwilh ellects, its (lhrough realization a oJone,s -3,6) tr!e nature lhe inmosi as Seli).(8.B.VLiv.30l (21) I Consciousness iramediate as experience was not nvar afilypfesenl drearnless tn sleep, how do you explain how the onewhoawakens fromil canhavethe idea l knewnolhng in dreamless eep? (B.B.Vlll.i"103) s (22) The Selfin dreamless sleep'is seeing thought doesnol see because hasnoneol lhe taciors action, t ol because is it inieror lo all,because is a I, and becauser ts rne rTue it nalure ol all else. 11 does nol see in dreamless sleepfor lhe reas0nmentroned (namely thai it has noneol the jactorsot action,so that it is presentshiningbul does not perlormany act of seeing); one should but understand it doesnol see that n r,,ak anddreameilher,lorthe ng samereason. Andiustas Consciousnessunbroken s 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

(23) This Se f has unbroken vision.This has a readybeen decaredlo be the casein dreamand waking.But t is truein lhe caseof dreamless sleepalso,as the iexi'Whentherein ihe slate oi rJreamless sleep....'8rhad.lViii.23 shows. And the of i!sl as the Selllranscends lactors acton in dreamless s eepasbareeternal conscio! nessraised s above allchange, so does il also transcendthe laciors of aclion in dream and wak ng. (B B.V.lVii .1907-8). (24) This stateol waking unreal, is simply account the on oi facl thal il is a staleol waking. For t has a begnn ng and comes an end,Ike lhe slaleol waking to (lo thalappears lh dreamer) occurin dream.The waking to slale s a mereappearance arising lrom lgnorance. objects ncethey ap lls (s pearbeiorethe Witness) are nvariably non-consc ous, and have no ndependent existence theirown, lke the water ol (B.B.V. seen n a rnirage. Vii.1072-3) (25) I is the mindthalacls,aliiicted ignorance desire by and S eepng andwakingbelongtothemind;theydo be onglo not theWrtnessof themind,pureConscousness. (B.B.VlVii.9C5) (26) Whena garland rnisperc6 as a snake, cannol s ved it be rnsperceived a stickor in olherways at tfie sarneI me. as Simiarly. whenthe nrnosl Sells m sperceived undergorng as 0_6ol l'. lh pF rldleso' wa(.ngd ea r andd .a'r e:. sreep. rtcannolbe m sperce ved as undergo oneol lhe othersat ng the sarne me. Even!nder metaphysrcaL 1 lgnorance. vari the ous not-se ves (areseenlo be unreal they)exclude because eachothermulualy. Howmuchmoreclearly theirLrnrea wrl 1y be reveaed when al lgnorance d ssolved is wilhoutrernainder the nrnosl n (B.B.V. v.l496-7) Self'1. L 127)The variousmanfestaiionsof the not-self(are knownto lreunrealbecauselhey)excludeoneanothermutualy. And n dreamess sleep,svroontranceand othersuch staleslhe

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Chapie.S

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Sell as Witnessreveats compele disappearance the the ol notself'.(B.B.Vli.tv.222) (28) ln dreamless sleepthe rndividual subject andh s knowf edge and tls objeclsd sappear,but pure Conscousnessdoes nolCrsappear. However, lotherthings theworld a in apartirom Consciousness exclude oneanother mulually disappear and allogether dreamless in sleep... Whenever therearisesthe notron I do not know', this s witnessed by the Seli. How muchmoreevidently ihisthe casewiththefeeling,l is know,? 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 doesnol undergo Sell etlher dreamless steeporwaktng. could How itthen undergolheslareof drearn? Waking, dreamanddreamless sleeparebulnarurat (uncaused, beginningless)lgnorance the Self.The rmag of inationary ea id llraltheSelfis asleep orawake is dreamtng or belongs onlyto crealures asteepin the njghtoi lgnorance. s wholeuni Th verseconstsling the movingand the fixedis a mere illu_ of sion. The Supreme ils true nature, lhe ropeis the tfue is as nalureol lhe tllusory snake. (A.B.V11..264,6) (30) The notion thailheSellpasses througn rnetnree states oJwakrng, dreamand dreamless sleepa risesirornother(secuia, meansol knowledge. The vedc teaching appearing to connrmthe existenceof the three states(does nol constilute valrdauthortai/veteaching b!t)is onlygivento contorm with (fa se)knowledge derivedirom othersources (secuar expen_ ence). But the fact that the one who appearsto be passing thro!gh(repeated cycies ol)waktng, dreaming dreamless and sleep rs reallythe Absolutecan only be known from the upansftadtc iexts. Henceil ls lhatwhch theyare concerned ro communicate validknowledge. purport as The of,Thatthou art'and oiher rnelaphystcal texts of the Veda ts to leach that lfe truenature one'sown Selfis the Absolute, the lrue of and narure the Absolute ot one'sown Self. (B.B.VlV ii.l i 13,5)

Thereis atext in ihe section the Brhadaranyaka oi Upanishad givento N,4aiirey contaning the teaching which runsi'The Self, ndeed,shou d be seen,heardaboul,pondered overand subjected to sustainedmeditation,Maitreyr Verily,through seeing the Seli, through hearng aboulit,throughlhinking itandlhrough of knowing rt,all this(word) becomes known' Brhad.ll.iv5. In thisconnection, question the whether nottheseetng or and phiososo on wereenjonedhasbeena subject dispule lor among phers. example, phrase "should For AcaryaIVlandana wrole:'The be subjected sustained lo rnedtation"lspaftofone long connected passagethai begins"Forthe sakeolihe Sel{"and ends"Allthisis v5-6. The purpose but ihe Se f' Brhad.ll. ofthis passageis io phrases expound tfue nature the Slef.The the ng ii, ol occurr within "shouldbe seen","shouldbe heardabout"and"shoud besublected to sustainedmeditalion", thoughexpressed(in mpefalrve iorm) as gerund ves, are not separate injunctions, (belong the maln bul lo passageexpound the Absolute ng and) are rntended eulogy. for Forthegerundivetermination to haveolhermeanings is said apart (cp. Iromcommand, suchas ascribing worth value Panin or lll.iii.l69, quoledabove,lvl.Vp.19). The iexl thereioreonly rneans"The Se f is worthy berng of seen,eicl'). We havesuchexamples th s as of 'V gerundive) (it."should offered", sii! is worthyolbe ng olferer be the Upamsu Sacri ce"(lS.ll.vi.6), which occurs arnongst texts lhe aboul offering lhe Uapassu B.Sid.p.155; see also sabara,PM. B h a s y al . i i . 1 0 ) . l Suresvara,however,makes three d sl nclions n treatingth s probem.He saysthai'should seen'cannot be bean njunclon,as I relefsto knowedgeco.dilionedby realily.'Should heardabout' be and shoud be pondered inlunctions, over'are sincelhey refer10 actions wi to dependent the human l. "Should subjected sus on be ta ned medilation not an nlunction.For sustained is medilal on nididhyesana nal an actton bul lhal mmediaie experienceof is

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ones own true Sellthatconstiuies goaloi lhe Vedantic ihe spir, rlualdiscrp ine. 'll shoud be seen', then,is nol an injunction. not?In lhe Why 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 expressed here by the verb'seen' cannot be enjoned, as t is conditioned reality. by When the word '('owedge s Jseo to reler lo synboic med alo-s \sJah as 'Woman, Gaularn, O is the sacrlfic fire', ial Chand, 1.1) stands Vvi it lor something can be enjoined, symboic meditation not that bui is lhe lopic ot lhe presentpassage. Again,there ts no otherseer aparlfrornlhenrnoslSell. Andwhereiheseerandthatwhchhas to be seen are lhe sametherecan be no nlunclion the lorm'lt oi shoud be seen'. For therecannotbe an injunction an acl of to seeng where seer, the acting himsell, performerand on is objecl of the same act. Thereiore teachingAl thls (world) bLrt lhe is lhe Sell'(Brhad.ll.iv.6)givenby the Vedaafterit had f rsl usedthe is Iormulanetherthis nor ihat' (Brhad.ll.ii.6) negatethe notion to t h a t t h e S e hfa d a s s u m e d t h e t o r mh e n o f s e i . A n d s o t h e r e a l l t of lorceoi the apparenl injunclionlhe Selfshould seen' s to give be some nlormalion aboutsomelhing hearer the dld not previously know Th s s the gisi of Suresvara's refutalon 01the possibililyot tnefebe ng an injunction seeing. for Oblectionsra sed by opponenlsare disposecl as fo lows. of One shou d not objectthat the Vedictexts mak ng rnetaphysi cal stalements no rnoreaulhoriative are lhan casualworldlyremarkslke'Thereare fiveiruilson the riverbank'. Norshoutd one oblect lhal the wordscannot properly be interconnected iorrna io sentence ack of a verb. For the Vedawill be an authoritat ior ve meansolknowedgeii il canawaken anyoneto truthoi thesole lhe rearly of lhe one Seli,a truth naccess e lo any olhermeansof b knowedge.AndtheVedictext pedorm function can this evenwhen the connect ons of the wordswithlherrrneanrngs nol appreare hended, in the caseoi sentences awaken as thal sleepers. do Nor

lhe melaphyscaiiexts ever lack verbs,as forms of the verb'to be' can alwaysbe understood supplied, remark and The aboutthere beinglruils on the iver bankconcernsa matterwhich can be known Iromsources olherlhan the spoken word. lt does nol concern a maiterlhal can onlybe known lhrough verbal revelation, il was so an fie evanl exarnpte. Hereare lhe chiefverses consider. to (1) In the phrase'The thatshould seen'(Brhad.ll. Self be v.5) lhe word Sell'fefers lhe inmost to Self,as lhe Sell is invari' ablyexperienced lhal whichis inmosl.The words'should as be seen'relerto correct a knowedgeofthatthrough Veda. the It s trLe thal everyone s naturallyaware of lher own Seli Bu1 whaltheydo notknowis thal it is the Selfol all. ll is that deathal s alilrmed theVeda something by as newthathaslo be known.Thistext,however, couldonlybe an injunclion to acl f lhe knower andthe thingto be known weredifierenl In lhe present contexl lherecan be no injunclion acl,tor ack to ol any ditference betweenwhai was enjoned and the one on whomlhe injuncl v,/as (B.B.Vll.iv.95-7) on laid. (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'Alllhis the Self is validknowledge is conditroned by the objeclknown Only if it had been the idea ol somelhing l akeadylamilari.oin wor d y experience,ke f re,couldri havear sen ng rndependence lhe arbitrary of theindividualknow subjecl on will ( a n d o n l y 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 cnoua n n l l l nc for nstance injunclion rneditate, s mp icily lhe case an to as tion, fire', (Chand. n the lext Woman,O Gautama, the sacriiicial is . in 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 an i u n c t o n i o r m e l a -

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Suresvara physical knowldge lhe Self,as il is not ideathatarisesin deot pendence the willol man. Butactions reasoning on like overth meaning lhe wordsol lh texlsby ihe method agreement ol ol an dilterence enjoined, are sinceihey are dependent the will ol on man. (B.B.V ll.iv.120-1) (3) Whensubjecl objeclaredifierent, and thereis pervasion ol lhe object the subjecl orderloknowil, as in the case by in pervade oi perception a pot. Bul the Selfcannot of actively itsellto haveknowledge ilsellin thisway.Therecannolbe of pervasion wh6rlhereis non-diflerence, the very reason for lhalperuader peruaded (B.B.V and would be already 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 thereanyothersubject whocouldseethe Sell as an objecl,Iorlhis specitically is in denied thetext'There no is otherseer...brlt (8rad.lll.vii.23). indeed, do not He' And, we tindintheworld subjects playjng two between themtheroleof subject (B.B.V.ll.iv.1 andobject. 36) Whenthe Vedbtextsays'Thereis no otherseer...but He'it means thal,Ircmth6stdndpoint thehighestttuth, Selfis not of the 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 conlradiction thelawsof ac,tion. if (bysomestrange ol And chance) it coulddo so,it would always bedoingso,so thattheinjunctionto do so would rendered be useless. lB.B.Vll.iv.137) Thecontadblion ol th6laws ol actionwouldconsistin the lact oI the one doingan actionbeing himsef the objectof lhat action. Theimplication th6verceis thal therccannotbe an iniunctbn to ol

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see oneb own Self,whethetsuchvisionbe ol the verynatureol the seeror whethetit be associated an individual with knowing subjec!. (6) Here.loo, in the Brhadaranyaka welt as in ihe as Chandogya, thelextaccepts thebasis common on of experience all lhal il hasnegated notbeingof the nalureot the as inmost in lh6 words'n6ithsr norlhat'(Brhad. Self lhis .iii.6) andatfirms'All (world) theSlf'(Brhad. lhis is ll.iv.6).....The injunclion her6'The should seen'(Brhad.ll.iv.5.6) Selt be is lherefore more no than communication th ol hitherto unknown inlormation (i.e.'The should seen'='See Sell be that,narnelv. you lam telling that, Setf as heretaught', the is cp.M.V.12s,2). The texf lhe Sell should sen'couldnot beintended bs as an injunction act addressed one not yet acting, to to as actionis impossibie the caseol the Setf. in (B.B.Vll.iv.104 and115) (7) lt is nolcorectto saythalallthetextsof the Upanishads have be,nlerp.eled injunclions, theground state, to as on that menlsol lacl are never authorilalive, sincetheydepend tor theirvalidily knowlodge on gained iromother sources. Forthe meiaphysical slatements lh lJpanishads an author of are italivemeansof knowldge, sincethey awakenone to the solereality lhe Selt,not knowable ot fromany othersource, as wordsare usedto awaken sleeper. (B.B.Vll.iv.148) a (8) Thereis no rulethata verbmLlst appear overtly a senin lencebeiore wordscan b6 connected. the metaphysithe ln caltexts, verbs like'art'and'am'canverywell beunderstood andsupplied evenwhennotovertly expressed. is truethat ll thereis dependence olhersources knowledge the on of in caseol thecasual remark'There fruilsonthe riverbank'. ate because lhere the thingsdenoted the words'fruits'and by 'riverbank'are accessible meansoI knowledoe. lo another -2) perceplion. namely (B.B.VlVii.161

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mecrponderng and Sustarned lor CanThreebe iniunclion hearlng, talion? ponoenng' Innerano ouler It rs correcllo holdlhal hearing, can discipline be en_ contro and olhersuchparlsol the spirilual lhe as theylall withln scopeof humanwill,and are ndis_ loined, ol pensableauxiliarles that rationalexaminailon the mean ng ol to whichLs lexts ollhe Upanishads th wordsof the metaphysical As meaning. sri)Saakara oi tor necessary a cornprehensionthelr Snhasi): sa d in h s ljpadesa comes thal 11) The knowledge one is (intruth)ever berated oi Vedic textsandlrom no othersource And knowledge iromihe lirst wiihout ca Ing to mindthe !s notpossible the meanng oi a text mean ng of its componentwords, lt is certainthal the meanrngol and dllferences a word is calledto mindon the basisol agreemenis lor {rnlhe way one has heardthe word usedand the meanlngs I to whichlt is madeto sland).In thisway onecomes knowonese (U palnor actlon. S verse Self, lhe puretranscendent beyond as XVlll.l90 1, cp.N,4.V107,2) nlhe coniextln the Brhadaranyaka, nethisiurther Letus exarn be the words'rtshould head aboul'areaddedto showthat lhe one not (TheSeli)should beseen'do implythat shoud earherwods bul resorlto allihe valrdmeansof cognition, only to lhe textso! phraseit shouldbe pondefed As the Upanishads. lor the further ng ior varrous melhods determin lo ovef, this incudesresort the Six Formsoi by iexts, suchas testing lhe ot lhe meaning theVedic whh n (M.Vp.23), wellasreasoning consonance lhe as Evidence lo be On the otherhandthe phrase'itshould subjected sus experence to ihe irnnrediate is lainecimedltaiion' declaredlc reler oughlio culn"inateWhenthere ln wh ch hearng and pcndering de_ intuil of one'so\qntrue nalurs/hrch on that mmediate airses el! lhereis noth:ng thatone has pencls no externa iactor,lhen on as Se to {jo. Whentho non_dual f has beenperceived a resuI ol pondenng hasthe convc! of 'Theres no iurtfer ohe and hearlnq

knowedgelelllo arise,lhere no lgnorance is leftlhat hasnotbeen burnt up. One should not ralse lhe objection that the work 'n d dhyesana muslmeanmeditalton. Forthemeaning theterm of 'nididhyasana has been expressed the term,immediate by iniuiton, (vljiana)in the passage,'verily, through seejng Seli,through ihe heann9 aboutit, through thinking it and through of knowing (in il rmmedrate inluilion, viinana), this (world)becomesknown, all (Brhad.ll.iv.5). mediiation That (dhyina)is a prerequistie imme_ of drale ntuition not dened. Bui it is immediate is intuition, not and medrlat andthe reslof the discipline, is ullimatety on ihat required goalof liberation. to realizeihe Norshould oneobjectthai 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, lact.Allthathasto be eliected tmmediate a by intuilion the practical is negation our lgnorance we are the ol that one universalSeli. Liberatiof jn no way distinctirom is irnmediale intuition the Sell. One shouldunderstand of that,i{ iberatonis spoken as the result lmmediale ol of intuition, is onlya tigure this On lhis topc, the tollowing verses should noteci. be (2) So there cannoi be an injunclion metaphysical ior knowt_ edge of the Selt,as il is not an ideathatarisesin dependence on the wlllot man. Butaclions reasoning like overlhemean_ ng ol the words ol the texis by the rnethodoJagreement and drilerence enjoined, are sincetheyaredependent the wi on oi man. In the same way, a person can decide whether to carryoul hearng and pondering weil as lnnerand outer as contfo and ihe otherpads of lhe spiriiual discipline so a I thesepractices enjoined. (B.B.Vll.iv.121-2) are (3) One mlghtsuppose thai all lhe meanso{ va|d cognrtion fevea ed the Self in that the cognitionresultrng Iiom them dependedont intimately fortheirlight.Buiihe Brhadaranyaka Upanrshad says'll mustbe heardabout,, pointing thereby to 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-cognition each. But lhe lorce ol of 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)can brcughl to an end. be (4) lt is the application the Srx Formsot Evidence (Nl.V. oi p.23)lhat bringsoul lhe true lorce of the words.Then the texl says'lt (lhe Selt)mustbe pondered over'lo delermLne lhe lrue meaning lhe traditionai of communicaling lt it. texls pondered is clearirom lhe command'ltmust be over'that whal s being hereis realily ilslruenature.InWoman in taught s the sacriticral fire'(Brhad.Vl.ii.l3), do nol lind any we rnjunclion ponderover the meaning. (B.B.V ll.iv.214-5). lo 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)Feasoning coniormity the wordsol the Vedc lexls in with s also enjoined, this is whal enablesone to delermrne for accuralely what 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)Awaken to imrnediale ng knowledge lhe supreme I ol Se dependng on no externaltactor calledNidrdhyasna. is is lt menl onedallerseeingand hearing showthata lhey culto rn nate n lhat.... One s lirstknowledge lhe Sell is through of hearing, and then one pondersover whal one has heard. When heaf ng and pondering comp ete, one comesto are have immediate knowledge lhe Se f... Becausethe use ot ol lhe word Niddidhyasana'( sustained il medtalion) might leadlhe hearerto supposelhat meditalion was meant,lhe lntuition Upanshad deliberaiely uses lhe term'immediale

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(vrlnana) a synonym il at Brhaderanyaka as for ll.iv.5,to snowthatmeditations heremeant. not lalready mentioned eartierhow meditation otherpractices a means and are to rmmedtale experjence. immediate But experj6nce doesnot exrst ihe sakeof anylhing lor else.ll is taughl be just lo 0 e r a ! o n ,a l t a i n m e no f t h e l i n a l g o a lo f a l l . ( B . B . v t |.iv.217 ,220 233-4J. , (7) Hearing lhe reslare lhe means and lo thatjmnediate inrurrion whichdepends nothrng on apart trofi ttselt. When rhrshas arisen. nothi4g,nore required is apartkom thal immedtate 6xperience th Sltalready of aitain6d... There s noolherresult knowledg ourSelfis thesole of lhat reat_ rryexcepl sradicaljon our ignorance the ol ol the fact.For rnrsrs everby nature truestale,,. one inmost our The selJ is rhe reatityof whichcauseand etfectare mere latseap_ 0earances. Whenthal56lfis known, howcould tgnorance 'artto be desroyo? Tell me,pray, howthe,6 coutd vefbe tgnorance the Sellagain. ot (B.B.V ll.iv.22t, 205,231). t have9tventhe totm.ajiena ( tgno.ance.) at he enoot the u\t ve'se ( tgnorance the Set ) fottowlng al Anandagitr. Bul lds woutd atsobetegtttmate) wod wercrcad asnena.(knowt. the edge), then we wouldhave.On accountof knowtedge ol the tnmostSelf, othetknawt1dge no neodsta baacqutled..The pas|.hen aSrce wnhhe endottheprccedng verca ::ge^:!ttd IB.B.u ', 'v.zrur. tyqtcn says lhercis (lhen)no knowtectge has not that oeenacqutred;there no lgnorcncethat is hasta been destrcyed,. C.ompa son ol S sankara and Suresvah on the Topicol Heatingand the Rests At ilrsts ghlthere appears bea cBrtain to disagreemeni be_ . IweenSri Sankara Suresvara and on th6 queslonot whether neafng and the resl can be the subjects ot an injunction. Sri rnxaramakes oppo an nentask,what theseapparenl do Inlunc( ons mean. texts|ke "Theself, verily, should seen,heard be

Suresvara l.i.4, so about-.-'and lorth?'(B.S.Bh cp [4 V68 3) On accounl thal it mighl seem injunctions, apparenl hisuseol lhephrase o{ ol be and thal hearing the resicould subjects he did notadmit that io place seems admrl hear_ he a Bul iniunciions. al anolhor 'Repetilio thealJirn ol He can ingandlherest beenjoined. says: il oul mustb carried Why?Because is taughlrepeatmation aboul' like Seltm!si be heard teachings "The repeated edlv. the poinl meditation" to a to subjctd susiained pondered ad over lnto (B ot repetition the aflirmation' S.BhlVi.1) For he wolrld werean Iniunclron lhee had saythatanything to be doneunless in on the subject lh0Veda. lhe'eis no .eleron s Vadtka, lheolherhano. ln SUresvara Inlunc_ and lor lo ence iniunctions hearing lhe reslas apparenl lhat and emphatically he On tions. the conlrary, saysopenly can A person oecroe in praclices enjoined, thewords are these so and out lo whelher carry hearing pondering... alllheseprac_ (B M are enioined' B.Vll.iv.122' V 124'2) lices point renceln SriSanis Andthere anolherapparent iordiffe be the Brahma SulraCommenlary, text'theSellshould kara's as (Brhad 5) is accepted ll.iv meditation' 1o subiected suslained as For lo re'erring a dutylhal haslo be pertormed iI s trealed (upasana) meditalion by is shown the passage'And an act.as are (nididhyasana) saidlo constitute meditation andsustained (B.S Bh- lVi.1, cp. ['1V56, 8, repelition one acl that entails susthat tor Thereare grounds supposing he regaroeo note). of (nididhyasana) a species medltation as tainedmedilation ol as he in (upasanaJ because lhenexlpassage glves exanpres She on) on (oraltends hisGuru'and meditates it'Heassiduously on iB is dwells himfixedly' SAh lvi l) husband abroad whose 'awake lo nrng On the otherhand,in theVdriikao{ Suresvara on Sell of knowledge thesupreme oependrng no eximmediate oi is clearlysaid to be the meaning the lerm lernaliaclof 'nididhyasana' said And l\4 (B.B.V. 217, V 124,6). havLng thrs ll.iv lo denythat the term g Suresvara oeson in the equal
refers toan ac hat has to b pedormed.He aims to demonslratelhat the term .njdidhyasana'did referlo medi, not latron(dhyana) becausethe lext usesthe term.immediate intui_ t on (vijiana) as a synonymtor jl (B.B.V .iv.2gS M.V.124,6). Do the two systems, those ot Sri Sankaraand Suresvara. agree'ordotheycontradictoneanolheronthesepolnts? lf thev do ,n facrcontradict another. one whichts the be er? lt ,s a po,ni worlhconsidering. My own view is the lollowing.sri Sankaraspokeof the ao_ peardncoot an Injunclton a particular jn conlexl.His pr,roose wds to refutelhe Contenlton the authOrs the earlie,comOl of mentaries (vrtti)onthe Brhama Sutrathalthe metaphvsicaltexts o'rhe Upa- shadswereauthoritat,ve it regarded subordronly is nateto an injunction acquire to metaphysical knowledge.He did r s iry assertrngthat metaphysicalknowtedge something is conditioned reatity, by and dillerent trom meditatjon. Here is hi; text as he himseltset it out. (1)Theldealol lire,whenone is in the presence that ot wetl knownobjecl,rs not dependent an injunction, is it a on nor mere creatron the human mind. lt is in lact a piece of ot k odedge, condilioned bylhe nalureofthe obiectperceived. rt ts not an act. And it is the same with all objectsol the vaflousmeansol knowledge (suchas perception inference, etc.). s being so, knowledge lhe Self in its true torm Th of as the Absoluiecannotbe dependent an in iunction on to acl.l1 peralive and si.rtlarlormsapptted tt, evenr,-Vedtc lo lexls, lose lhere imperative lorce 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.v 68.21 Thus a view is Ientatrvety advancedby an opponenl(and . r?juiedby Sri Sankara). According thisvievv Absolute 10 the can 'n didhyasana

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Chapter-o ingol suchphrases realyis'Payattention', not,Acquire and a pieceof dirctknowledge'. Whenanyoneis in proximity with a knowable object,knowledge it sometimes ol arises andsometjmes doesnol.Therefore, anyone whowishesto acquaint someone anobiect with should showit to him. When it hasbeenshownto him,knowledge willariseaccording to the nature the objectandlhe means cognition ol ol applied. cp. {8.S.Bh. lll.ii.21, M.V 68,4). Thus lorceol theinjunctions' the apparently enjoining hearing and so on is not actually enjoin lo immediate knowledge lhrough these disciplines. force, therevered Th6ir as Comftentalorconcludes saying, to inculcale by is atlention the Sell. to Thereis noconkadiction whatis saidal Brahma wilh SulraCommeniary lVi.1,as it is taught lherethatit is justthis altention to the Seltthat hasto be repealedly practicod. Suresvara also maintains his Brhadaranyaka in Varikathat only that which is withinthe scope of hee humanwill can be enloined. doesnotinsiston He denying knowledge aise that can from one act ol hearingand so on. His wordsare'the actionof hearingand so on musl be continued here diligently until the rmmediate intuitionwe have spoknot arises in all its glory' (b.B.V ll.iv.218). lhereis no dilferencs So between twosysthe temsin regard the toaching hearing pondering to thai and are opens iniunclion, lo Suresvara doesgivth6 appearance sayingthat no on6 ol colld attaindirectand immediate intuition lhe Sell merly ol lromhearing. one ol the verses theVartika For ol beings'Acquaintance with the Self is first throughhearing, then one ad ponders overwhal one has h6ard'(B.B-V 11.jv.220, M.V124,6). On the otherhandSri Sankara saysin his Brahma SutraCom'Repeaiedresorllo hearing, menlary, pondering sustained and meditation wouldindedbe uselessin lhe case of the person who gainedimmediate experience lhe tact that his true Self ol was the Absolutemerelyfrom hearingthe texl That thou art"

involvingsome duly lo be only be taughtlhroughinjunclions done.But th6 wholetheoryis wrong.For there is also such a conditioned its true naby of thingas knowledg the Absolute gist of this passagein the commentary. it And ture-thatis the goeson to ask,'Bulwhatdo theseapparent injlnclionsmeans (wherelhe whichsaythaltheSellshould releronco to passages is so be'seen'or'heardabout'and on).The very facl thal this cannotbe the questionis raisedalso impliesthat knowledg the refutalion the oppool Consider, loo, subject an injunction. ol person comes desire su_ to the nent. runs:'Bul lt whensucha premehuman goal,lextslike"The Self,verily,is lo be seen"and so on lurn him awaytrom the naluralconcernwith the psychophysical organism its allairs,and engagehimin conlinuous and remembrance lhe inmostSell'(cp.M.V 68,3).lt doesnot say of hearinglandthe rcst areor are notable anything aboutwhether a to be enjoind, that is nol the question tissue(whichis lhe as No can refutalion theviewthalknowledge be enioined). doubt ot there is the implication lhere is also a certainelementol that like enioininga duly in placeswhere gerundiveexpressions 'should sen'or'should heard about'areused; onlyso tor be be -ya, in and-aniya, willthegerundive ending thesuffixes -tavya meaning. thisdoesnol Bul whichdenots dulyto act,having a lhatknowledge canbe also mean thatonohastheright insisl to is lo as the subjeclol an iniunction, the passage only tntended in hand (namelylhe refLrtation lhe of strengthan argumeni the Thereis an' viewthat knowledge be enjoined). can opponnt's passage SriSankara's the expresses other in Commenlarythat sameidea. (2)Texls lhetormol a command suchas'TheselJshould in dealingwilh ihe be seen',M/hich lound in the sections are lor hrghest knowledge. lundamentally lhe purposeol are ol ol turning hearerin the direction knowledge lhe Self" the to to as and are not primarily be regarded injunclions be' give whenpeople lhe real.Eveninlhe world, comeawareol themean' here'or'Listenthis', lo and a command say'Look

Chapter-8

Suresvara he al someplaces usesthe lerm'upasana'lo standfor it, as (upasane)aimd rightintuitive whenhesay'lvled itations at knowtedgehaveto be pe{ormed untilth6finalend is achieved, like pounding paddy extract rice'(B.S.Bh.lVi.12, the io the lvl.V56,8). And yel lhere is a cerlain difterence belwon'susiained (nididhyasana) meditation described Sri meditalion' and as by passage:'Considr lexts, Sankara th6lollowing in "Man, ih O Gaulama, thesacrificialfire" "Woman, Gautama, the is and O is sacriticial (Chand. lire" Vvii.1, Vviii.l). Here identilication lhe ol manor womanwath sacriticiallire a menialidea.lt is an lhe is act owingits originsolelylo the iniunction medilate thus.ll to a is lherelorean action,and one thai is treelydiermined the by human (B.S.B.l.i.4). will' (nididhyasana) Sustained meditation as conceived Sri Sankara by dillersfrom medilalion described as abovein that it does not owe it originsolelyto lhe in,unction lo meditale. hearing For aboulthe Sell,pondering overil andsub, jectingit lo sustained meditation tor the sakeot sornething are which can experienced in his world, tor rsalizin here and one's dentity withlhe Self. Thisis shown sucha passage in as'The Sellcomes be seenthrough disciplines hearing, lo ponlhe of dering sustained and meditalion pursued. rsolutely Flight knowledgeof lhe Absolute the sole realityonlydawnswhenlhese as lhreedisciplines hearing, pondering suslain6d of and medilalion arelunded one, inlo andnotolherwise, torexample lhrough heafing alone'(Brhad.Bh.ll.iv.5). lt follows from passage:'Bui also ihe in anycasepondering becarriod by reasoning accordmust out in ancewithwhatis laiddownin the Veda. And sustained meditalronmustbe performed whathas beenpondered on reationally, on what has been ascerlained throughrevelalion and reason (Brhad.Bh.ll.v.1 Even intro-) though disciplin referred this is to , by thelerm'!pansana'it evidently is difterent suchmdilafrom llons those proscribed lhei6xisspeaking woman lhe as ln as of sacrilicial whicharefor the sakeof a resull to be per fire, not ceivedin ihe presentlife namelylhe accunulaliono{ spiriiual meril through meditation. ihe notion woman he sacriFor is thal

(B.S.Bh.lVi.2). could Spoken once' How lherebe sucha conlradiction? thiscase, In too,we reply, thereis nolhing more lhana superlicial appearance disagreement.For of Sursvara wrote in lhe Naiskarmaya Siddhi:'Ot (fourditferent lhe kindsof hearers ol lhe text 'Thatthousare"),thereis onewho knows"lhatwh'ch is nol the meaning any sentence" his inmoslSell. Forhim, ot in allihenot-selt come anand. all has has to As impediments have beendestroyed, thereis anhiscasenothing moreto be said.Nor is thereanything furtherto b saidaboutlhe one who acquired realization merely from hearing text (that is, wiihouihaving the lo reasonover it at all). He, also,is in possession some suol pe.nalural powe/(N.Sid. prose lll.64, intro.). Thuswhenit was saidin lhe Brhadaranyaka Vartika'One's knowledge the lirsl of Sell is lhrough hearing'and lorth,lhis was only said with so relerence lhosewhoare unabl apprehend meanding lo to the ot lhe textand realize theirownirue Sellis theAbsolute thal merely lhroughhearing once.Solhereis agreemenl it belween systhe lem ot SriSankara Sursvara maintaining and in that;mmediate know'edge arise car lhrough mere hearing. Lelus lheretore ourattention turn totheaDoarent contradictionon ihe subiect ol'sustained (nididhyasana). meditation' ln Sri Sankara's Brahma SutraCommenlary'sustained medilalion' (nididhyesana) seento bea kindot spirilual is praclace to be and enjoined. Speaking theterm'suslained of medilatio.n', instance, lor hesaysclearly when areusing we areHkingof an acl that we il (B.S.Bh.lVi.1. M.V56,8, note). lhal enlails repetition cp. And he saysalso,'Pondering sustained ad too, .meditation likehear ing,arelorlhesakeot direct experience'(8.S. th.l.i.4).Thus he refersto'sustained mediiaiion something difierent kom immedF ate jniuilion, something whichone has to applyoneselt as to for the sakeol immediale inluilion. we concludd lor him So thal susrarned meditation a kindol praclice was thal couldbe enjoined. alsoheldlhat sustained He (nididhyasana) medrtatibn was notdifferenl kindfrommeditation general in (upasan)For in

208 Iicialfireis not a notionbasedon the true natureol reatitv. rs ll '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 attalned afterdeath).Bui aller death).Bul trre case $7 sustained ih meditations ditferent. Thal which one s!bjecls to suslainmeditation one perceives here ln lhis very le. ll is a case ol sustained attention and nothinge se Thal is the d lfurence belween meditation (upasana) suslalns and medi tat on (n d dhyasana) the systemof Sri Sankara. in It swell knownthal words like'vison', 'knowledge, so and on may be loundused by Sn Sankara ie appropriatetV qu eilher to des gnateknowledge the realor elseto designale certain of a 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 o r t h eb e u s e d maV y n drliereni sensesaccordng to whether they 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 o rn oo f l e d g e o f kmw lhe Absolute (thelatterbeingnot so muchknowledge ihe Abol so uteas medtatton il underprescribed on lorms,) And we should understand thal, in the same wav,phrases such as,one should nredtale or'one shouldpractice sustalned medilation,may eitlrer relerto lhe merecherishing a menial dea (bhavana) oi or eise to suslained attention previously to attarned rght knowledge - accordng lo the conlext. That is how we explan the use ol the lerm sustaned medilaton'in Sr Sankara,s system, Now lel us consider Suesv.ara's Vartika, says,'AwakenHe Ing to rmmedate knowledge the supremeSe f depending ot on 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 . v . 2 1 7 l , l.i M.V 124,6). Fromthis cleaT statement one deduces that for hrm the term nididhyasana cannotrelerto any activity the forrnol ol cherishing mentalldea (bhavana), a although does not denV he that meditation required a prelimlnary is as discip ne for right melaphysical knowledge. learnthisfromihe sequel, We whenhe says l already mentioned earlier how meditation otherpracand lices are a means lo irnmediate expenence,Blt immediate expenencedoes not exisl {or the sake oi anvthinqese, lt is

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tairghtto be jlst liberation, attainment the iinat goal oi a , oi (B.B.V l. .234,M.V124,6).This showsthatthoughSri Sankara and Suresvara underslood tefrn'nididhvasana'indifferent the a sense,their syslemsagree in munching lhat medrtat is an on act v ty and a prel minarydiscipline knowedge. Howevef, for suresvaiadoes nsiston lhe polntlhat because the Upanishad u s e s t h e t e r m ' r m m e d i a t en t u i t i o n ' ( v i i R a n ia ) t h e s e q u a i n (Brhad.ll.iv.5) a synonymlor the'nididhyasana'referred as to jusl before,one shouldnot supposethal t had meanl'medta(B.B.v. tion by'nididhyasana' 11.iv.233, l\,1.V124,6). 'Nidd dhyasana'isplacedhefe n ihe Upanishad apposrin t o n w i l hh e a rn g a n dp o n d e r i n g o i l s p r o p e r t o s u p p o s e l h a l r i s, represents acl v ty.And we tind the equrva of 'v liana n an ent lhe form oi a verb usede sewhere denoleacl on lor the sake to ol immedate intuition, n'That one shouid nvesligate, is as thal what one shoud desireto know in immediate ntuition' (Chand.Vlll.i.l,vii.l;; [,4.V52,9 note).In the present cpand text ( B r h a d . l l . i v . 5 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 t) 'nididhyasana' means rnedtation the sake of directv slon. ior For Suesvara himselfacceptssuch meditat as the causeoi on 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) relerlo immedrate to exoerience conceived the as resultol seeing,then lhere would be nothingwrong in taking hearng pondefing (nididhyasana) and sustained medilalion as beinga lhreefod aclivilyenjoined the sake ol that resull. t for seems,therelore, lhal lhe revered Commenlator's exolanat on of lhe term'n didhyasana'is belter one.Oiherwise(i.e.on the view) it appearsihat uselessrepetiiion Suresvara's wou d be attributed ihe iJpansiahd to when it says'drastavya'(shou be d (interpreted SLrresseen) followedaier by'nididhyasitavya' by vara as 'shoud be seen in immediate inlution'),ln anv case. thereis no disagreement between two allhors on the questhe t on of whal are lhe meansio melaphysical knowedge.so lhal no sef ous diiiiculty ses. ar

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the TheIniunction Innerand for OuterConlroland olherdis_ ciDlines glory theonewhohasreallzed is ol Thetexl'This theeternal means cp.l\.4.V.53,7) lhalthe per' the Absoute'(8rhad.lv.iv.23, glory reaof has enlightenment lhe eiernal sonwhohasgained this nor really as'neilher z ng the undillerentiated expressed lhe ol in thal. A verseouoted the texl expresses nature the by person saying'He notlrained ls g ory of ihe enlightened by aclion, whlchis evil''meaningthal the resultof his exalled merttor delhe slate s to placehim beyond 'tainl'ofkarmic who knowlhisstale SL]lesvara explains lerm'one lirst the in Commentary, lhengoes and l) {pada-v accord lo SriSankara's meaning the lermas 'onewho of on to suggesl alternalive an B.B.V knows meaning thewords'{padarlha-vii, l.,lV1190). the ot meantodiscoverlhe Onthisview,therewould an injunciion be lexls,and lhe ing ol lhe ndividual wordsol the metaphysical ot reward obeying wouldbea knowledge the meaning the Ior it ol sentences which lheycomposed. possessed ol The upanishadic conlinues,'Therelore, lext lor ends, nne andouter r abandoning action personal all conlrol, to and strenglhen himsell volunlary ng by resistance discomlort, ol concentratlng mind, seestheSelfherein themidst this his he (Brhad.lV.iv.23). Suresvara explains that lilein lhe present body' implles thispassage, conncted whatwentbetore, as with ths he idea'Because knowledge thisresult, has therefore whoknows thusbecomes Dossessed lhe disciolines innerand outer of ol meanino oJihe word controland reslandcomeslo lhe knowlhe ''glory"' (B.B.V lViv.1 192-3). lt is saidthalsuchan one,possessed lhe lourtoid means of (discrimination, spirilual equiplo liberation dispassion, sixfold the p. 766)ment (seethequalities mentioned I\radhavananda, at anddesire liberalion), is,having lor inner andoulercontrol lhat prereqursrles. the a_o lhe olhersp,ritual havrng drslrngurshed

SelfJrom nol-self ihe lhroughreasoning bythe method agree, ol mentand diilerence, ,inally coftes to see'Allis ihe Self'(B.B.V. 1V.iv.1201 2). In ihe modernprinted editions Sri Sankara's of Commenlary '23). "'Possessed at lhis point we read (Brhad. Bh.lViv.1201 ol innercontrol" (sanla)means"desisling lrom lhe aclivities the ot exlernal sense-organs' "possessed outerconlrol" (danla) and of "iree lrom menlalthirsl"'Onemusl presumethai these means lerms (sanlaand danta)haveb6enwrilienlhe wrongway round due 10the carelessness sofie copyisl, ol For elsewhere lind we "thecoming resi an explanalion runnn9 "'lnnerconlrol" means to rest ol the mind"and"'outercontrol"means"thecoming of the to exierna senses"'(Bh-G. Bh.XVl.1). in line with this we tind An passage lhe Vartika.'Firsl Suresvara sayingin ihe presenl ol he becomespossessed outercontrol, ol then possessed inner ol control, and alte ards he wilhdraws trom all activitv for oer sonaleds.For!n interpreling sequence rational the lhe o.der in qualilies whichthe wouldhavelo be dveloped musttake prec, edenceover lhe literalorder in whichthey happento be mentionedin the lexl underconmenl'{B.B.VlViv.12034). 'Why Suresvaranext addresseshimsellio the question. shouldlhere be an injunction innerand outercontrol lor and the rest,whenlhe desire ou pursue ti themarises naturally? says He thal humanactions oliour kinds, are basedrespeclively transon gression lhe law.personaldesire, of unthinking instinct and duly (B-a.ViViv.1208). is clearlhal lhe seekerol ltberatlon ll cannot ind!lge rn the tirstlhree.Bul how coulda manof undersianding wantlo pursueevenduly whenhe seesthatil leadslo the same rebirth) non'perlormance it? (B.B.V as of lViv.1213). evil(namely Therelore, whena personis aclinglorduty's sakehis mindnatu rallybecomes purilied, and he comesto leel thal he musl g ve up evenlhis tormof aclion, lhal the desire lnnerandouter so tor leading on to the capacily lor withdrawalfrom all aclion control lor personalends arisesnaturally.We teaching the same lind lo elfectin the Smrti:'The wise personshouldapplyhimselfcon'

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tinuouslyto the broad moral principle(yama,cp.Yoga Sutra ll-29.1.), h6 should applyhimself the particular but not to daily d!lies'(niyama,l\4anu 1V204). smrti lf you arguein this mannerand ask why innerconkol and restare enjoined, replyis that,evenlhoughthesepractics th prompted mighlbe naturally, function the otthe upanishadic texl is lo njoinlhem specilically mansto knowledge rality. as of Or again,il mighibihat the here ideaol withdrawal tromaclivity for personalend6mightarise naturally, withoutthe idea ot duty,expressed lhe feeling'l musl actuallycarry that within drawalo!t'. Thatduty ol carryingoul 10ihe practices whal is is enjoined here(B.B.VlViv.l220).Norwould be correct raise it lo theobieclion.'The mention innerand of outerconkolwouldhave been quitenough,sinceall actionis givenup throughthem. Whal was the needfor specifying withdrawal well?' For in as positive perlorm soundexegesis,lhe injunction to dailydutywill prevailovera meregeneralnegation, whichis alwaysopento exceptions, lhal the upanishadiclext so withdrawal enjoining has lo be supplied bringaboutthe delinitive lo abandonment the ol (B.B.V. dailyduties lViv.1 233-6). 'Hearing One shouldnot raisethe objection and cogilation and so on involvedisturbance the mindjust as muchas perot formance lhe dailyduiies.Why is no effoft madeto discourof agethem?' it would wrong givethem since For be to up, lheyare predominantly (B.B.V helpful the atlainment withdrawal to of lViv.1238). The disciplin strengthening of onesell through voluntary resistance discomlort to implies acquiring power endure the lo (h6atand cold,pleasure the pairsoJopposite and painand so forth). The upanishadic adds'concentraling mind'. lext his This is to enjointhe renunciation even ol lhose activaties, such as casualfanlasies, regardto whichman is not naturally in free. 'Wilhfaithful (sole) his walth'{Brhad.lViv.23, dhyandina Ma recension) enjoinsthe total renunciation all action (8.8.V of

lViv.1269). Thuswilh the helpof theseauxiliary disciplines person a should come seelheSelfeven io while alive ihe presenl in bodv, reasoning agreement dillerence.Thencomes by he through and (8.8.V. iv.1278).Thal meanto seeall as his ownSelJ lV is lhe observe in9 ol brhadaranyaka Upanishad lv.iv.23. should One verses Sutesvara, oJ thefollowing (1)Firstone should control, acquire oulerconlrol, inner then and tinally capacity withdrawal all activily the ror lrom for personal ends.Forthe logical orderin whichlhe qualilies (in haveto be developed lakes precedence inlerprelation) overtheorder which in theyhappen bementioned lhe to in (B.B.V comment. lViv.1203). lext under (2)Yes,it is lrue thatlherecan be no injunclion inner for controlandthe rest,sincetheyare prompted the natural in course. Theyare prompted naturally. is kue. Butwhatlhe it Vediclext does is to lay downaulhoritatively lhey are thal the specific means leading correct lo knowledge the in ol mostSelt.(8.8.V1V.iv.1218). (3) Or elsewe maysay thatthe ideaoJabandonment ol as aclioncomesnaturally, explained, lhal the noiion but ihal t is a dutythatone haslo carryoul (if one wishes to altainenIghtenmentdoesto arisenaturally. Hence is it ) (B.B.V. enjoined. lViv.1220). (4)The injunction perlorm dailyobligatory lo the ritual all powerlul liJe be aulhorily preand one's willcerlainly a moro (as vail. overany gereralinjunction giveup action lhe lo parlicular prevail injunctions kill at a sacriiice lo overthe genela/prchibition'One nolha.manyliving should being'). Forlhe injunction do lhe dailyobligatory lo ritual one's all (and to lileis onlyconcerned keeping with one's bodyalive passions)withminislering andencouraging egorsl,c to the to Sincethe gereralinjunclion innerand oulerconlroland

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so on will not sufficeto annulthe injlnctionlo do the dailv rilualall one'slife,the texl takeslhe lurthersleo ol sr,eciflcal/yenjoining abandonmentallactions personal the ol lor ends{uparari). (B.B.V tViv.1225-6). (5) It the performanceol obligatory the dailyritualisprohib! tedbecause creates it distulbance, wandering abouito beg tor one'sfoodandotheraclivities the mon( atsocreatea ol greatdeatotdisturbanc6. are they nol prohabiled Why too? Hearing pondeting and overlheupanisnatc lexts,loo,cause a good deal of disturbance. Why are not these aclivities also prohibited the Veda, wellas the rituals?Butlhis by as objection w.ong.Forthese is aclivities conlribuieto chief the goal.Wandring aboutto beg for almsand lhe resl are lo prohibiled iheyareengaged forthesakeol thal as in ooal. (B.B.V lViv.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 hn s m i n d , t h e i ig , l]panashadac enjoins lext continual reduction a minimum to ol lhose actions whichone is not lree lo abandon entirelv. (B.B.V. lVrv.1246). Theremustbe the stictest controlover :Ll,ose activities ol lhe mindand the senses whichwe arc nol lreeto abandon enttrely, such as seeing, hearing, mentat lantasy and so forth. Whereconcenthtion eniojned, mean6thatone shoutdabjt is sorb the sensesin the mind and the mind in the Seff (through nol {7)Oneshoutd suppose thereading that (ottheMadhyand 'Wiihfaith in a recession) tor his (sole)weafth,is olisoe,on lhe groundthat total renunciation akeady been pre_ has scribed. the enlightened For person stillhassomeactionto pe orm rn the realmol perceptible objects(in the form o, maintaining bodyandso on).The lhe purpose the ghrase ol is to enjoin qu,shment anyteeting theretrng ol o,,mine,in regard the instruments maierjals iheseacts.(B.B.V to or ol lViv.1268).

Thepurposeol the text'Withlaithtot his(sote)wealth'isto enjointhe abandonment leelings possession of of eventowarcls like the beggingbowl. obiecE (8) Failhis his onlypossession. Because has nothing he ,One else, onewhohasabandoned the allactions called is who has taithtor his (sole)weatth'. (B.B.VtViv.1269). (9)Heshould se6lheSelfwhitheisyetinthebody, separaf ingit fromlhe wholmassol the notellthrough reasoning by agreemnl diiterenc and supporled byihespirjlualdisciplinesmentioned above. the reading Or may be just .He see....(B.B.VlV.iv.1 272-BJ. Torcad'He shouldsee...'would to lollowthe readinaol be theMad yandina traditio h n. Howactlon and Meditatioh Relat. Thereis a passage theVaritka ln whichexplains orderin the whichthe various disciplines leading the riseol metaphysical to knowledge have to be pfaclisedand describes mthodoi the thosepraclices. (1)Onlymetaphysical knowledge requked theerad! is for cataon metaphysical of lgnorance. Only innercontroland lhe otherspirilual disciplines areiequired metaphysical tor knowledge. Onlypurification the mindis required the ol tor acql] isilion jnnercontrol lhe oth6rspiritual ol and disciDlines_ Onlylheperformance thedailyobligatory of rjtualisrequired Ior the purification the mind,Metaphysical ol lgnorance of theSelfisthesolecaus ofaclion, menlal, vocalorphvsicaL Whenthat (melaphysical lgnorance) beencancelled has by knowledg th Selt,howcouldthreb6 any furtherdeof pendence aciion? (B.B.V on l.iii.98-100). It is alsosaidin lhe Naiskarmya Siddhi: From pe ormanceol the obligatorydaily rituals comes

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ot merilihommerit comesdestruction (tho karmiceff6ctsot) this purity mind;lrom comesa correct ot comes sin:tromthis to lile;lromthiscomesindiffs16nce ol evaluation lransmigratory trom this comsthe liberation; it; lrom this comesdsirefor renunciatlon this to for search themans tiberallon:lrom comes (lhe sacrodthread' actionand its accessorios oJ all ritualistic ol this ofYoga;trom lhe locusing thiscomespractice etc.);kom ot ol this a knowledge the meaning the the mind withinifron this lhouart';trom the eradicalion like'That metaphysicaltexts own in one's flom lgnorance: thisestablishmenl ol metaphysical beingnothingbul the to Sell alone,according the txts''Verily, and in he Absolute. dissolves th Absolute'(Brhad.lv.iv6) 'Though (Kalha ii l) ll ires heacqu finalrolease' released, already it is proseinlro., M V 60'2 and 3) tvledilations' cp (N.Sid.l.s2, And just as the clear,eachhavethirstatedrewardlikeriluals. as enjoined prelimidaily performancetheobligatory ritualis of is as or to naru contributinqtheriseof knowledge. oven allrlUal lor ol lard down a ;6ans to theawakening theoesire knowl_ as and Vedadevoledlo knowledge edge,so in the sectionof the as a meansto preparare the meditation, meditations laiddown For Jit ing one to become lor knowledge we havetextslike' 'whenyouare reloased will where yougo?'(Brhad, fromhere, on are thatmeditations uselul the pathol lV.ii.1) we know And with arelaughlin conneclion the they because oradualrelease, see (OnthePathof theFlame, and iath of the Flame elsewh'te. 1912, chapterxxx T.N Deusssen, ) in of on as {3)Whatever laught the subjeci medilalions the ol the Vedais onlylor lhe sakeol preKnowledge-Section lhat lor parirgonesell the knowledge all lislhe one Self We where from are thetoxt'Whenyou released here knowJrorn the lVii go"/(Brhad l) andtromreJeronc-'rlo Path willyou are meditations not limitedin theif results that o{ the Flame promised them(bui may also lsad lo for lo the rewards betweon ihe correctly relation This releaso) shows oradual

th Rituals-Sectionandthe Knowledge-Sectionof theVeda, and thre are no grounds assedingany ditferent tor relation.(S.V329-31). Meditations:;Ihe referorce is to those meditationstaughtin the Knowl9dge-Section tha Vedadnd digsociated ol with the Path of the Flame and other teachingsabout rclaase by stages.The refercnce b not to all meditationsthtoughout the V6dain genpromised Notlimited lh6ir rosults in tol6 rewards forthem:/t means lhat theyarc notmerclyconcemed with 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 exceptthrough 9uccession stages.Therc no grcunds a fol ol arc (4)WhatSriYaifiavalkya askedKingJanaka was(notabout eniry intolh6 worldof a deilyat dealhlhroughmeditalion, aboulwhichlhe king knew,but)'Whnyou leav6the first plane of exislence, what is th6 secondlo which you will go?'Thiswas to showlhat moditalion deitisand purilion praclices alsoa means cation oflhe mindthrough similar ar6 lo the (gradual) attainment knowledgo. ot SriYajidvalkya's question,'Why are roleaged you from here,wherewill you go?'reallymeant'Doyou believe that,in the caseof onefit tor the higheslknowledge, prescribd alithe mediiations in theUpanishads to liberation stages?'(B.B.V l6ad by 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.andtherc the Upanishads in thatthe teaching theAbsool lute in its highest lo n is exhibited,as indicated,lot instance,by certatnphrasesin the convercation betweenGaryya an

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dAjebsattu, ot in thatbetweenKng Janakaand SiYajiavalkya' be suchas:"'ttcannot knownif lhercis no motekhowledgethan "Thenlet mo comelo yau as a pupil",said that'6aid Ajek'sattu. "l (Brhad.tl.i.l4) and ''Vetyv/ell',said SriYejhavalkya' Gergya' lhe king because will teltyou wh6rcyou will go (i.e. nowhere, lea)"' (Brhadlvii l; see had akeadyreachedthe slatebeyond B.B.v.lV.ii.3l ft.). Thereis no other LlbsratlonExcgplEladlcatlonof lgnoranc 'l which runs: am in There is a l6xt in the Brhadaranyaka path,having tinally ancienl lar'roaching touchwiththe subtl6, theAbsoit. discovered By thispalhlhe wisewhohaveknown lule go to lhe shiningrealm afier leavinghere, released' lrom is (Brhad.lV.iv.8). lhe knowr notditlerent theknown' Hore phrase'l in iouchwilh'isused(B B.V am so the Absolute, the 'scovered the loundit through leachit'means'have lViv.549). lurned (8 ingsol theVedaandtho ACarya' 8.V lViv 550) Having this path,and havingat' by theirbackson lgnorance following the whohaveknown Ab' they lo theAbsolute, go Those tained of'gotolhe this in theAbsolute" is them6aning solute'dissolve 'Aflerleaving (B. here' V lViv552) realm aft6rleaving shining here'doasnot implythat they haveto wait lor the dealhof the ot th iheyattain AbsoluteForlhe eradicalion meta' bodybelore experience, empirical of physical the lgnorance, cause illusory only'andfor noth_ knowl6dge lhey haveto waillor metaphysical wilh and conpassage agrees The ing else(B.B.Vlv.iv.554). but nothing theAb' being lext the firms othr whichruns'Verily, ld n s o l u t e h e d i s s o l v eis t h e A b s o l u t o ' ( E r h aV i v 6 ) , s a y s . on commnting a lator parl ol the text (B B V Ruresvara, lViv.560). versesshouldbe noled Thelollowing nol (1) Because would impossible theAbsolule !o tor be it wit lI me, rnclude therelore is sarolam in toucn lhe palh" has dscnbed, correlo me loscove'edil Thls oath,as

myselt, lottowjng teachings theVedaand the Aca.va. lhe of In Knowtedge theinmost ol Sell,thesubiecl notdiffer;nt rs tromthe objecl. (8.8.VlViv.55o). (2)This'shining realm'(the Absolute, not'heaven,) what was was rea y meantbetoreby the word.svarga,, evenin the phrase'He who wanissvarga should offersacritices,. For js thatwhrch established the knowledge by arisingkom the upanlshadic textscannot reached be through rjtuals. (B.B-V tv.iv.555). Even in the ea ier emark, 'He who wantssvarya shouldofter sactifices', rcal rcfetencewasIo the,Absotule a shinthe as tng reatm, not to'heaven'asa hapry aboda.tn any case,it is onlv lhe Absolutelappearing heaven)undera conditionino as adiunctthatcan be rcachectthtough uals. r i3)Thewordsvarga'is usedhere onlyto mean.the highest bliss'.Becauseil occursin the contextoJteachinalabera_ I'on. s something rl eternat. Hence itcannothere me;nwhat comse the result porforming as o, (B.B.V rituals. lViv.556). (4)Onthe(false) lheory thattiberation dependdon death the ol the body,it woulddepend dissolulion the cause. on in 8ut altertheeradication thecause all,enlightenmenl of ol superseoes aulomatically, nothing and else is needed. (B.B.VlViv.5s8). jn ll woulddependon dissolution lhe cause:/tmears d/sso_ luttantn the Absoluteas yet unknown,assumjngsome such atnetapparent formas the cosnic vitalenergy. Aiterlhe eradicalion theca!se of all: fhls means of alter the eradicalionof metaphysicaltgnorance. (5) Nooiherobstacle liberation admitied to is except lgno, rance. Accordingly, whenlgnorance beendesttoved. has then a person is liberated (nr) already thislileevenbe_ in lore he is tinally liberated irom rebi(hat the dealhol the bodyThe Upanishad already has taught earlier the this in

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in he thing theAbsolute, disolves theAbsobut lext'Being passage, theretore, No lute'(8rhad.lViv.6) laterupanishadic on liberation depond thedeath lhat make believed !s could oi the body.(B.B.v lv iv.559-60). from one akeady...before is...liberated rebirih:thls Liberates Il.ii.1. ol is a reminiscence KathaUpanishad All Duality ia lmaglnedThroughlgnorance all In the systemol Suresvara, dualily is an elject oi nolhingelse to be denounce Thereis lherejore lgnorance. between lhe dislinclion lgnorance beeneradicated.The has knownand un' between the Selfandlhe nol-sell, distinclion real and unreal, distinclhe tho dislinction between known, knowing subject individual beingandnotbeing tionbetween Five shealhs' lgnorance. arisethrough all thesedislinclions cosm tive ths encasing individualand corrasponding c sheaths lgno_ only are standing lheircauses dislinguished through as like lhat betweenmanilestand rance.Olher distinctions ellectand cause wholeand parls,aclronand li unmanifesl, and res!lis aaealso sel up by lgnorance tacloas componenl and mainlenance wllh' crealion, The the alone. Witness. Lord. dream and the ol drawal the universe, threestatssol waking, ol dreamiess sleep,and,in a word,the very relallonship ihe alone itselJ, allthe workof lgnornace is Seli wilh lgnorance principle atlained is and inmost Therefore whenvisionol the to to lgnorance brought an end,all bondage transmigralory of The ceasesimmedialely. manileslalion lgno' experienc6 whatover the on haveno ettect ranceand its latereradication ol principle reality, morethanlhe imagrnation any of Sell,the ol thal imaginalion a snakein a ropeand tha latercessation _aveany eflecton lne rooe.Herealso,as In the syslen ol on'ollhe Com.nutator, rrclhodol ial'e allrrbut tne revered evelollowed retraciion consislenlly is oweoby subsequenl we havelo accePl. rywhere. This

(1) Clothed lhe liveryof bingan individual in knowng subject, Sell beholds not-selJ; it cannotbelhe lhe but holdthe Setfas an objeclin lhis way,as the Sell is lhe pure light of Consciousness nothing and else.(B.B.V Liv.734). (2)Thedislinction between known andunknown, disthe tinclionbetween appearing knowledge as lgnoas and rance, and the distinction between beingand not being an individual subject enjoying knowledgenoneol these distinctions beingto lhe SelJ. For they are not self,esrablished. Theydepend lh Witness. on {T.B.V. .666). (3)Texis (lgnorance) death, like'Darkness is (light imis ( m o r t a l ) 'B r h a d .i li . . 2 8 a n d ' l n t h e b e g i n n i n gh i s ! n i i ) t, versewas water'{Brhad-vv.1showlhal melaphysical ) lgnorance continually work,eilherin manifesl is al or u n m a n i f e sfto r m - ' E m e r g i n gr o m l h e s e e l e m e n l s f (Brhad.ll-iv.12), Lord, the though raised above change. all appears throughlgnornace the Knower ihe Field as ol p.35), ([,1.V. lhrough a illusory of appearance Himself oJ a s l h e n o t - s e l l(.B . B . V , . i i . 1 3 6 -c p M . V . 1 1 8 , 1 1 d 1 7, an (4)Thatwhichis neither causenor an ellectassumes a ihe appearance causeand dllecllhroughlgnorance. of Hencethe Vedaworkslor the eradicalion the latler... of lgnorance lhe Self manilests of everywhere cause as andeftect, though haslor ils lrue nature it lhat (theSell) whichis not eilhra caus6or an eflect.lt is witnessed (B.B.Vl.ii.130 as an object its ownlrue Self. by .1.jv.309)(5)The nolionwhichwe haveherein the worldol whole and parts blongs the planeof lgnorance the into ot mosl Sell. ll does not balongto the supremSelf. ih whichall lgnorance blindess) negaled (lit. is by'neither l h i s n o rl h a t . ( 8 . 8 . V . i i a . 2 6 9 ) l

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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 . 1 8) . 2 (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 e n d i t s e t t e c l sa p p e a r s s ' t h e W r t n e s s ' a n d a , a ' 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 , 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 . r 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 no t s time and space are, When you have seen realily, you know lhat the creation,mainlenanceand wilhdrawalol the universe (B.B.V ll.i.41I , cp l\4.V1 18, are impossjble. 15 and nole) (9) The imaginaryrdea thal the Self is asleep or awake o r s d r e a m i n g e l o n g s n l y l o c r e a t u r e s s l e e pi n l h e b o a . n r g h lo l l g n o r a n c e(.B . B . V1 1 . i . 2 6 M,. V . 1 2 2 . 2 9 ) 5 (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 8 . . V . 1 2 1 . 1 ( . M

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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.

The lorm of Non-Duallty ApprovodIn the Vartika The Varlikaol Surssvara accepts lhal the true Self.as lhe absolute, innon,dual. is accessible ll whenmetaohvsrcal l g - o ' a _ c e h es o u r c e l t h ew h o t em a g i n r yn e l w o r ; f d u l. i o a k alily, beeneradtcaled has through texts theUpanishads. lhe of 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 relutd lhe exisling all systems Advaila of opposed his o',n. H did so on lhe authority Vedicrev_ lo oJ elation, backed r6ason by and his owndireclintuition, we as lravehad occasion nole at the poinlwherewe examined to the dilterent varielies the earlyperiod the teaching ol of (cp. M . V . 9 0i,n t r o . ) W h a v e l s oe x p l a i n h e r e n dt h e r e n t h e e a d a i presenl chapler someol lhe dilferences belween syslem the ol AcaryaMandana thatol ihe Varlika. and Various theories of Advaila accepted lolerated lrandana relutedby or by are Sursvara: mightreferlo the theories Non-Dualism we of ol lhe Word(Sabdadvaita, [/4.V cp. 102,3), Non,duatism Beof Ing, whereBeingis conceived a universal (sattadvaita, as c p . l \ 1 . V1 0 2 , 4 ) a n d N o n - D u a l i s m l p o s i l i v eB e r n o . o ' b l ^ a v d d v a rca ..M . V .t 0 2 . lp 5 ) .W e s h a l r t o s e h . sc h a p l e ; c t wilh a few verseson thesetopics. (l ) Thatwhichhas in trulh no nameor lorm manilested as name torm, and dep6nd solely lgnorance manilested ing on (i.e. atthebeginning world ofthe period). Statemenl,general, in is calied'name'(nama); stated, generai, caled ,Jorm, the in is (rupa).Through thesetwo categoris Lordis ableto mani_ lhe lesl Hirnself all crealures lor bornin the realm manilestaot I on; il He had staydin his unmanilest lormth s wouldnol possible. have (B.B.Vl. 390-2) iv For the Non-Dualsmol lhe Wod adoptedby Mandana,one shauld consult Behna Siddhipp.lT-19 potteL19A1, (cp. pp.3568).

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(2)Thereforo bcauso (i.. monialrepetitions rated traditionally higherthan ol the ol oralrepetitions lhetexts) hue nature lhe Yajur Veda(andof all vedicl6xt6)is to be divineknowledge in In ol implanted lh mind. thigwayth6 eternalily theVedas pervades etemal Consciousness canberighlly oxphind(sinc il lhe mind.TheirDower communicatae beeslablished lo can words(butas ideas); iheyarenollakenas phy6ically spoken ittheirabgnce supoosd bethe is to it cannot established be (sphota) (assumed) iatent thespoken in word. etemalprincipl [.297-8). GB.V. For Mandanabviewson'SDhota', shouldconsulthis wo* one the Sphota Siddhi(seeBiAiogEW undetBiardeau). (3)Hereinth6upanishadic theterm'lhe Absolute'is txt usd in its direct msaning h ralily is neithr as that transcendent (B.B.V nor immanonl, ngithera universal a pariicular. nor tviii.1815). the TheAbsolute descibedih thegetefits thtoughout vadikd, b 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). Mandana But undersloodthe Ats<rute to be the univeBal called Being(saftit), see*ahnta Siddhip, 37 (M.U 102,4). (4)Theinmost principle, above rmains is allchange, conjtself in wittemplating as th light(lil.rsuh) ev6rycognition, nessing knowledge being all of andnon-being. is ilseltthat lt immediate expodonce is not experienced anotherAnd that by and so whenthe individual krowingsubjec{ his knowledge and itsellas its obiects ceas,lhen the inmostSell establishs power.When laclthai by the lhe soleexistgnt itsowninherent theindividual subject hisknowledgeand objects not and ils do thsn exislis established through awakening loon'st.ueSelt, the notionol 'not'indicates whichis etehallyluminous that (B.B.V and notknowabl arryextoriormeansol knowledge. by -9]'. .iii.227

Theimplication thi6b that thenotbn of'not'doesnot aDDi,e ol one ol non-gxislence. thisrclutesthe Non-Dualism posilive And ol Being(bhgvedvaka). Mandanaaccepld SeeBahna Siddhi But it,

'(At B. Sid. p4, cp. M.U 102. Maldana /'iaka9 5, an opponsnt rcna* dpl the Absotute can b6 assetaled * h ,oinw 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 viewka! ke he A$olute coulal haw thenegallw atilbuls ot abenco ttta hiwrfet at cassa. ol tion ot lgnorcnc.' (cp. B.Sid.,ed. Kuwuswani, Englbhlnto. W xi-xv).]t is nonduath itsposltNeaspect(bh'vtdvalla), but tdarE!$ 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 nagatiot aN! setfng hen W a3 a stange kind ol rcdity, s 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 Absotuta iE tua brn. TN.) in

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Chapter-9
Sddhanacan go on in the drcam or sleep stateas well as in the wa4ing. p.1 (Sri Aurobindo;Le erc on Yoga, 481) 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. (TheNlotheL Bul/oLh, Xll, No.4,p.91) Vol. has lolal I he InlegralYogaSriAurobindo foritsgoallhe of liberation of ol iranstormation ournalu16aswellasthcomplete only But slale ourbeing. in ournormalwaking weareconscious ol a very restricled lield and actionof our nature,lhe resi ol il oursu ace remainingandfunclioningbehindtheopaqueveilof personalily. sinceall thatwe'become do and bear'in But, and and zones ourouterliteis prepard govemed bylhesoconcealed subconscient subliminalto and ourwaking awareness, ol activity imporlance a yoga whichaims al for alassumesan "jmmense th translormalion lite to grow conscious what goes on ot of lhesedomains, be masler to ther6and be ableto leel, within our knowanddealwithihe secrettorcsthatdetermine destiny exlernalgroMh decline." or andourinteinaland Now,as we havenoledbelore, sledplikyogictranceopens worldsand allowsus an enlry into lhe gateto thesesubliminal il realms ofourexistence. although is a And lhe moresignifjcanl ness sialeot our conscious lacl that in the ordinary undeveloped ourcognition remains unknownto most oursleep-experience of surJace to and oventhe lillle that manages reachour recording ligures "notinlhat and and doesso inthetormol dreams dream

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condilion whichmighlbecalledan innerwaking whichisthe and rnostaccessib form of the lrancestate," e througha properand .lelhodica self-disciplining nay g'ow n conscioLsness we in sleepitseiiso muchso thal in the end we may iollowin uninterrupted awardness passage our lhrough ous realms our invar ol journey " ner be ng and the return thereirom.At a certainpilchoi this innerwakefulness kind of sleep,a sleepof expeience this can replace ordinary the subconscrous slumber," It is thenthatwe haveveridical dreams, dream-experiences oi grealvalLre, conveying lruthsthal are nol so easylo gei in our ordinarywak ng staie.Thus problems are solvedin our dream consciousness, whichourwakingconsciousness couldnot possrblycope with;weare provide wiih warnings and premonitions and indicalions the fulure and wiih "recordsof happenings of seenor experienced us on otherplanes our own berng oi by ol or universabeinginiowhichwe enler." Our sleep-exisience, we are conscious il, rendersus ii in valuable another servicein the exploration our subconscient ol nalurethat conlainsmuch that is obscurein us bul not distinguishably pursuit the activein ihe wakingsiate.A conscious of sLrbconscient wanderings our sleep-consciousness of bringsto our notrce classoi dreamslhal "arise a lrom the revenge our of innerbeinglreed tor a momentfrom the constraint that we im poseon it.Thesedreamsojtenallowus lo perceive sorneof the tendencies, tastes,impulses and desires whichwe wouldnol ol otherwise conscious long as our will to rea rse our ideal be so heldlherndown,hiddenin some obscurerecessof our being." For ii is one ol the most disconcerting discoveries made n Sadhanaihat whai we have thoughilo have settledand done away wilh in lhe upper layersof our consciousness obstiare fate y relained our glutinous by subconscienl. just lor that And reason, SriAurobindo poinled as has out,thesedreamsprovide u s w i t h a u s e l ui n d r c a t i oln ,r " l h e ye n a b l e s t o p u r s u e h i n g s o u t and excisethem." io thelrobscurerootsin this unde|world

we y Hence seethai lhe iieldsof our sleepii proper cultl, valed cany e d us a great andeffective onourroad aid towards se l-knowledge seltmastery, ln the pursuit our naand also oi lure'lranslormatlon. howto acq!ire cognii of theactiviB!t a on tiesol ournighis? Howto transform nature ouf sleep? the oi may Theprocedure dealwih s eepandthedreamland be to ( the sard havelhreema n limbs: ) howbestto enter staleoi to ( conscious sleep in itself? (iii)how and sleep? ) how10remain to retain memory ourdream-experiences whenwe the oi even to awareness? comeback thewakrng In our quesllor the answers thistr ple query, whom to to we and the elsewould lurn lhanio Sri Aurobindo the lvloiher. jagrat, worlds our being, supreme rnasters the fourlold of of for svapna, susuptia^d llrya? so we makenoapology quoting n exlenso fromlhe r luminous writings an atlempi offer in to

How Bestto Enterthe State ot Sleep? "Yourrusl lie flal on yourbackafd relaxall the muscles and nerves...lo be ike whal lcalls pieceoi clothon the bed, noih' ing else remains. you can do that with the mind also,you get lf r d of all stupiddreamsthat make you moretiredwhen you get up than when you went lo bed. lt is the celluar activilyof the Therebrainlhal cont nLeswilhoutcontrol, and lhat I res much. late a lotal rclaxatian,ak nd ol campletecalm, withauttension n whicheverylhng s slopped.But lhis ls only the beglnning. "Aileftards, a self-giving total as possible, all, lrom as of inmosi, and an eradcation lrom the oulsideto the lop io bottom, o{ aso as tota as possibe oi ail resisiance the ego, and you if beg n repeatng your mantra- your mantra, you haveone or Irom any otherword whichhas powerover you, a word leaping hearl, spontaneously, a prayerand lhal surnsup your ke lhe a asp rat on. Aiter hav ng repealed few t rnes, it you ale acclspass lrom that tranceyoLr lonredlo it, yau get inta lrance.And

naluas end quite ntosleep. kancelasts longas it should The 8ul you passinlosleep. whenyou come spontaneously rally, lhe everything' sleepwas backtromlhis sleep,you remember of but a cantinuation the tance. lhe ol "Fundamenlally solepurpose sleepis to enable lhe sftecto{the lranceso thal the effectmay the bodyto assimilate to everywhere, enablethe bodylo do its nalural be accepted the andeliminate toxinsAndwhenil wakes tunction lhenighl ol lhe whichcomefromsleep' thereis no lraceof heaviness Lrp, eftectoJlhe lranceconlinues. it good to in been lrance, Ls "Even those whohavenever for going intosleep But prayer before a a repeal mantra. word, a I theremuslbe a lilein lhe words, do not meanan intellectual And of nothing thalkind,bula vib@lion on the body signilication, vibrale and vibrate' itbeginslovibrale, ils eltect extraordinary: is you io go quietly letyourself asthough wanied get Inlosleep you moreandmoreandslillmoreanoawayyou Thebodv vibrales
gol

of theAwareness Dreams? Howlo Retain the deal naiurally wrth should Theiii partot ihisdiscipline alL and, our dreams above to dlstingu_ quesllon nowlorecognise theyvarygreally noted beiore' tor them; as we have shbelween nlghl maynave we in Otlen thesame in lherr nalure quality. and and categorles tfrus to whichbelong dilterent dreams several whrch the Now, regards procedure as value. inlrinsic have dillerent ol retain memory o!r nightsLelus lislen the to we should adopt to thewords theMother: ot be' divergence a always considerabLe "....There almost is acllallyis andtheway n wh cn activity whatourmenlal lween v/e conthe perceive andespecially wayrnwhich remarf we il, whal determlnes vibra_ acllvily this scious it.Initsownsphere, oi up by lionsare lo be lransmitted repercussion lo the cellLrlar subte brain,lhe but ol syslem ourcerebralorgan, in o!r sleepy a can domain onlyaliect very vrbrations thesupersensible lfom

rntted nurnber cells;the inertraot rnostof ihe organicsLtpol portsol cerebral phenomena reduces number lheiracltve lhe ol e ernenls, rmpover shesthe mentalsynthesis and makesil unlil ro repfoduce act vity ol lhe inlernal lhe staiesolhet lhan by m ages,ottenesi very vagueand inappropriare_.., 'The cerebra rende ng ot ihe activities the night s al ot r mes so mucnd storled thata lorm js givenlo phenomena whtch ts the exact oppasite of the rcalily,.. '[8u1]it one knowshow to transtale inte]iectual in tanguage lhe rfofe of less inadequaie tmagesby whrchlhe brarnreproduces ihese {acts.one may learn many thingswhtch lhe too rrmrled physlcaliacullies nol perrnit to perceive. do us _Some even succeed, a specialcullureand lrarning, by rn acq!rnngand retatning consciousness the deeperactrvi ihe ot 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 lhrs [lhenjto cutlivale iield of aclion?how lo acq!rrea cagntttcno out activjties ol the night?... 'fhe same disctplineaf concentralian wh ch enables a ntaf no ongerto remaina slranger his Inneractrvilies the wak to in ng state.a so furnrshes him with lh; rneansor removng lrre rgnorance lhose,slill richer, the diverseslatesof S eep ol ol 'Usuaty theseac|vities leaveonlyrareanoconrused merno, I nds however lhal at timesa fortuilous rcumstance. c an mpresslon recelved, word pronoLlnced enonghla reawaken a is suddenly ta cansciousnessthe whale al a long dream al whtch lhe monrenl beioretherewas no recol/eclio[ "Fromthis simple tactwe may tnlerlhal our consctous v act parlicpates very ieebtein lhe phenomena lhe steepng ty oi siale as n the normalstaieoi lhingsthey wou d rcrnaintostt'ar ever tn subconsctenlmemoty.. .One

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dream memory a forgotten ol to "Onewhowishes recoverthe impreson fix firstplace hisattenlion suchvague in should lhe it behind andio low mighlhavelell trailing as sions the dream possible. as tracs tar as the indistinct everyday wouldlet him go tarther "Thisfegular exercise wherelhe lorgotobscure rclrcatol thesuconscient towardsthe ot ten phenomena sleeptake relugeand lhus ark oul a roule ol lhe between twodomains consciousness. easylo lollow of lrorn thispoint viewis to "Onepractical remark be made is ol thal the absence mmory veryotlendue lo abruptnesswtlh takes lo which return consciousness placeAt thismoment' lhe 0nve ol into lield consciousness, ihe break n fact.newactivities more make andatlelwards to all ouliorcible thatis foreign them lhe to necessary recall things dilficult workol concentration lhe cer_ whenever on This thusexpelled- is tacilitated, theconirary, lor precautions observed a are mentaland even physical lain to peaceful from transilion onestate anolner." can of slipping awayof thememory our nights be Thus,lhe going in memory back ol greatly remedied a powerdeveloped and coher io till fromstate state, a sufficiently io fromdream dream, up. lile oi enl knowledge our sleep is built as o, ol Butthislraining lh racullies memory, we shallpre' ot provesu{licient linkthe lotality our to see,doesnot sently to For awareness. lhalwe have with sleep-exislence ourwaking ilselt. of growconscious the state sleep in In llow to GrowConscious Sleep the back thread memory lollow lo Thetraining ourphysical of giveilsfulldividend thesinple ior lails of ourdream-activilies to to reasoa lhal n thiswaywe are"able ltanslorTnloconsciolJs werealready which those alone phenompna lhewaking stale oi duringsleep.For whele lhere was no il mosl fleelingly, so, be lheracan f'e no nemoty. consciolsness,

We should lherelore seek,in the second ptace, extend lo lheparticrpalionconsciousnessa greater ot lo number activi_ ol tresIn the sleeping stale.Now,.,the dailyhabilol goingwilh inlerest overlhe various dreams the njghl, transforminq of this ther vestiges by trt e inloprecise ttttte memories wellas thai as oi noling themdown waking veryhelpful on are lromthispoint of "By virtueol thesehabits, mental the lacultjes be in_ will duced adapt to theirmechanism thephenomena thisorder to ot and lo direct uponlhemtheira ention, curiositv oowefof and analvsrs. "ll wiil then produce a sotl ol inteltectuatisation of dream,achievingdouble lhe result interspersing conscious ot the aclrvtltes moreand moreinlimately the play, in hitheno disordered,ol the activities the sleeping ol stateand of augmenling pfogressrvely scopeotlheseactivitjes making the by lhemmore andmorerationaland instructive. "Dreams would thentakeonthecharactsr orecise ol visions and,at lirnes. dream of revelations," But alongwiththisparticipation mental oJ consciousness, tnrsrevetatory Inteilectualisation ot dreams, musltryto cuili_ we vatea stillhigher deeper and modeoI consciousnsssleep. in In lact,our sleep,life should as mucha partol Sadhana be as the waking one,andihe developing consciousness we at_ that tarnin our waking statethrough spiritual endeavor aspiration and should extend itself tullyand continuously alsoto sleep the state. ll is truethatat the beginning ior a longtime it becomes and difficull maintain consciousness same to lhe pitch night, al the al lor "thelrueconsciousness comes firstin thewakng slaleor at rn medilation. takespossession the mental, vital,the it ot the conscious physical, thesubconscious but vitaland ohvsicai re, marn obscrrra thisobscunty and comes whenlhereis sleep up or an rnerlrelaxalion_"Bul the grow,th an intense with ol Sadhana Inourwakrng stale, when develop inner we our beil|g, lromin Iive

by and penetrated is wrthouiand our subconscient enlightened oi and light, thisdisparlty ihis dislocalion conscious the l\,4otheis goeson in the dreamor sleep andour"sadhana nessdisappears, " stale as well as in the waking The Lure ol the Drcam'Consciousness we Al lhis poinl ol our djscussion would like lo addressa noteol warn ng lo ihe seekersaiterlhe masteryof lheir n ghls ot a Through propercultivation the fieldsoi sleep_exrstence lo begins deveop and along sleepconsciousness whenthe rnner dreams, fromordinary as experlences distincl w th t appeardream lo pull lhere is olten an irresistible on the consclousness w tn_ irorirlts waklngsialus,go withinand lollowthe develop_ draw menl ihere evenwhenthereis no ialigueor need ol sleep so so oi are ihe experiences dream-consciousness, overalluring is whelrning the charmthereoTl must nol be a lowedto of But thlsattraction the sleep_world 'wanl ng to get back to encroachon lhe wak ng hoursand ihe the and enthralng which accompanles somethrngnteresling curbed Olhelwise be etlectively shoud desre to Iall inlo sleep" 'a ol and decfease lhe e theremay be an Lrndesirabunbaancing ho d on ouler rea t es.'

Chapter-10

The Vision of the DivineBody

Chapter-10
TheLightnow distant shallgrcwnativeherc, power; TheStrenght thalvtsitsus out comrade Thelneflablesha finda secretvoice, Matter's screen burnthrough Thelnperishable godhead's robe Makinglhismorlalbody (SriAurobindo, ll, ll,p. Savltli,Book Canto 110) the Pastand goneare threemortalgenercIions: lourtltand willenlel last inta lhe Sun (Rig'Veda,V l.102.14) that ll the transformalion thebodyis complete, meansno ol - il doesnot meanthatonewillbeboundlo subjeclion death to keep lhe same body lor all time. One crcatesa new body fol oneselfwhenone wantsto change... (SriAurobindo, leltels on Yaga,p.1 1) on lo o' I hel- reg'alYogaSellTransformalas 'evedled nan has ndo by SriAurob andtheN,4other forilsaim,in contradistincthe in chapler, creamentionedthforegolng tionto theallempts of earth and matler. herein thecoaditions tionoi a d v ne body, witha clnmayadeha,or lranIt doesnoi wantto be conlenled nor body, in lhecaseof theVaishnavas, wilhlhe as scendenla 'pneumatic' ol Pauljne body conpossession a post'mortem of ceplion. exisl_ For,lhis YoSaaims not 3l a releasefrom embodied do lhe and ence{as even Tanira Vaishnavism at the end),al a worldol departureout ol the worldinlo some supElerrestrial lile of at a change earthly and andspiritual enjoyment, but bliss eadh,andthat, oJ ar lulfilment lifehereupon exlsience, a divine

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Chapter-10

The V s on ol the D v ne Eody

241

subordinate incidenla, as a ol but and thal too "notas something d stincland cenlral object". Also,"lhe obiectsoughlafter[in lhis ol lor Yogalis not an individual achievemenl divinerealisalion gainedtor lhe to lhe sake oi the individual, somelhing be bul here." earth-consciousness Now, in this irameworkol the goal of a divineiuli lmentol of obvious. For, terrestrial the importance lhe bodyis indeed life, 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, on its the lrteof the Spiriifulfilled earth,lifeaccomplishing own spiritual lransformation even here on earth in lhe conditions ol be unless bodvtoo underthe the material universe.That cannot goesa transtormation, unlessils aciionand lunclioning attain lo a supreme capacity''and the physicalconsciousness,and physi cal being.the iisell...be suflusedwith a light and beautyand blissirom lhe Beyond and lhe litedivineassumea bodydivinel Elsewhere SriAurobindo soundsanoleofwarning:'lt is because he has developedot been given a body and brain capable menlalillumuinalron lhal of receiving and servinga progressive man has risenabovethe animal.Equally, can oniy be by deit veloping body or at_least iunctioning lhe physical a a of inslru. menl capableof receiving and servinga stillhigherilluminalion and realise, merelyin thought not that he will riseabovqhimself and in his internalbeing in life,a perleclly but divinemanhood. Otherwrse eitherthe promiseof Lile is cancelled, meaning its annulled and earthlybeingcan only realse Sachchidananda by abolishing itself,by sheddingfrom it mind, life and body and returning the pure Inliniie, elseman rs not the divlneinstruto o{ progressive ment, lhere is a destinedlimit lo the consciously power which dislinguishes him lrom all other terreslrial stex ences and as he has replaced them in the ironl ol things,so anothermusl evenlually replace him and assumehis heritage." But forlunaiely earth-lif for and for man neitherof these

altenatrves needbe envisaged, manhasconvjnclngly For shown by hrs pasl achievement ihat he is capablejn a parts of h s beingof exceeding adlrllrllumthe boundsol his actuality.Thus there s no inevitabilily logicwhy he himself oi shouldnot at the glonousprospectol divinemanhood, operjngal his memby bers,- h s menlaity,his life,and,ihe last but not the leasl,h s bodyiise l, - to the unveiled aclionofthe Supermind altow, and Ingthemio be integra moulded transiigured that'grealer ly and by term ol the Spifiimanriesling Nalure.' in For. rt shouldbe ciearlyborne in mind that the divrnebodv lhus envrsaged comeintoexistence can and ils physicalimmortalitybe achievedand assured,not throughthe pallry eitorts madeby scrence, northrough occull-spiriluralinlluences the lhat seek lo act upon Mtlerthrough soleagencyofthepowersol the conscrousness lar organised earth-nature, through so in bui lhe actronol lhe Supramental Power, lhe powerof "the lall TruthConsciousness the DivineNature". ol This Trulh-ConscioLls ness, rla-clt.the Supermln SriAurobindo as termsit, is a dynamic and nol only a slalic Power, onlya Knowledge. a Willaccordnot but inglo Knowledge,'lhat "manilest can directils worldof Ltghland Trulhin whichall is luminously basedon the harmony and unily oi the One, not dlsturbed a veil of lgnorance". by Also,whenthisSupramenial Power overtly intervenes the rn lield of body and Matter, wofkingwill be 'notan intluence its on lhe physica givingil abnormallaculties, but an enlranceand penetrat changing whollyintoa supramenlalised on physcal . il 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 making possible appearance, supramenta|sed the here upon earth itsell, ot a who ly iransfigureddivlne body, Sri has wrtten in greatdelailin lhe penultrmale Aurobindo chapler ol The Llfe Diviae and, more exhaustivelv.in hrs last work Ihc Supramenlal Manifestationupon Earth. The mitedspan ol the present work does nol perrnit to us discuss n luli lhe natureol this apotheosrs the malerial body ol oi man, as env saged in ihe Yoga'Phllosophy Sri Aurobindo ol nor whai waythe and ihe Mother, can we ind caie howfor and.jn

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problems loodand sleep, disfaiig!eand inerlia, insistent of are unregenerated impulses appetiles goanci ease anddecay, body appear time. io in ingto besolved theiransformed in divine one thetheme, Weconlent ourselves picking here theme, with up problem deathsn of we mightas wellsay,ol the Sphinx-like physical body. dissolution lhe individual's oJ For, have we assured SriAufobindo lheIVolher by and been Manileslotion achievement theSupramental of thatas a crowning physical con' uponEarih, therewillcomewillcomeaboul'lhe jmmoftal,ly', 'in the sensenot oJ quest death, earthly of an but altachmenl ot restriclion ourpresenl or to corporeallrame an body." "fromthe divine For, exceeding the lawo{ the physical ol Delight existence,the ol lmmorlalily o{ Lord Bhss, original the comespor]ring wine ol that Bliss, the the mysticsoma, inlo living matter; eiernal and beauliful, he therejarsof mentalised inlo ot for lranslorenters these sheaths substance theinleqral malion thebeing nature". of and yearning, "the Andthuswillbe realised manhisage-old lor of consummation a lripleimmortality, immortality lhe naol immodalily lhe Spiritand the ot turecompleting essenlial the psvchic will ol sufvival dealh," which be"thecrown rebirth ol indication the conquest the nalerial ol ol and a momentous Inconscience lgnorance and evenin lhe veryloundalion the ot regnof N,4aller,...atemporarsignollhespirit'svicloryhereover Dealh Maltel. ahd ot can ButbeJore vision theconquest Death, be realthis of necessiiy ils exisllor sed in the liJe man,lhe melaphysical ot enceandawayso far hasto be adequately andabrogated. met So ourtasknowis lo proceed thestudy lhe melaphysto oi necessarv lhe attaincs oi death andindicale condition the ior menlot a phys immortality. cal

Chapter-11

The Conquest Sleep of

C h a p te r-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. Callected Paemsand P/ays. Vol ll.p 122r He has see, Gods slu/nber shape these magic vvorlds He has v.'aiched dumb God lashiontngMaltet s lra )-.. lhe 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. lL'latte. sleep s Else never can TtuthconqLter Antt all eatlh laok inlo lhe eyes of God -Saydr/, BookVl Canloll, pp 4?19.50) lSr Aurobindo. y W" tlou" .""n n the courseol our slud at tangue h.:tten1-E nalufeand luncton of s cep lhal lh-"penol c spcl s of the occLrit \a oJdormancyof our body need nol pta'Je be an !navoillabe growlh. n anycas-o. phys our .v | .or.r han.icap 1oour spirrlLral meanan abeyancc consco!s ol dces nol /,.e;essaf//y ca sle-op b . n e s s o 1 t h - .r i h o l eo J o u r d y n a m i c e r n g n o r a n ( r h l y I n f r ) o t d o ' n . n o re v e na n f i e r r u p o n n t h ep u r s u r l l o u rS a d h a r aO n tl the otherlrand.th s may be trafsJorrned,we krtowhov,tc.io l nto : s/eep a{ expe encesg v ng us an access1o lne nner dona ns ot oi.rr ng be

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Chapter'11

The Conquest Sleep of

247

stence, to may be the valueof the sleep-ex Butwhalever priceof the suspension our ol livein the dream-v/orld lhe at a achievement waking awareness cannolbeconsidered laudable ol in the Yogaoi Transformation Lile.We haveto br ng out and t l c a l l d o w n t h e r e a c h e s r o m o u r s u b l i m i n ad e p t h sa n d of height and makelhesean acquisition our superconscienl "spiriturally physical has waking lile.Our consciousness to be as conscrousnessin sleep." awake" "asopenin thewaking and oulat We havesomehowto "arrave a poinlwhenone remains in being hasal will and wardlyconscious yetlives lhe inner and orlhecutpoured condilion." lheindrawn bouts unconsciousol It is thusevident the irresistible that occasronally nessoi sleeplo whichour body's waking status in cannot beviewed a signof imperfectionthe but as succumbs prevailing Whatrsthennecorganisationour physical of being. an elemenl is essary lhat- andthismustconslilute essenlral - sleepm6l in the tolal lrans{iguration our bodilyexistence of be Gised ftom the level of necessilyto that of a free accept' absorplion our ol as arce,as and whenso willed, an indrawn be by Thusthemastery overournights should lollowed the Bul is lhislotalvicatlempl an absolute ai conquest sleep. ol in human sleepat all feasible lhe present tory overphysical condilions have lhal to bodv? And.if not.whatarelhe essenlial lite lhis prospecl bodily enlersthe fieldof lor be met before possibilities? realisable queslions propose we to By wayoi answering lhesecrucial lwo related and somelentatrve Dutforward Droblems venlute solutions thereol. Howto Reduce Hoursof Sleep? the physical-vital plane, sleep hasIor ils essenOn the purely physical energies ol the oI lia lunclion restoraticn the nervous bodily system. Ioran eJieclive But fulfilmeni lhis ol ourlatigued should bo iunction, is absolutely it necessary oursleep-lite thal

andreposeful, relaxed luminous. veryrarely our and calm Bul do nights measure to thiscrilerion: up theseare,moreollenthan not,morefatiguing even dayslor reasons than our which ollen us. escape But the l\,4oihr warnedus that iJwe get up nol so well has refreshed the mornjng, is because a lormidable in it of mass of Tamas."lt isTamas whichcauses sleep.There twokinds bad are you heave, oJbadsleep: sieep lhe thal makes dull,as lhough yo! loseall lhe eflectoi lhe efforlyou put in duringthe precedyou ingday;andthesleep exhausls as if youwerepassing that yourtimein iiqht. "...Two lhingsyou musleliminate: Jalling lhe torpor into oi inconscience, allthese wilh the lhings lhe subconscienl of and you,enter you;anda inlo ot theinconscienl rise!p, invade lhal vitaland mental superactivity whereyou passyourtimein lighlingliterally terrible baitles. People comeoul ofthatstalebruised, as il theyhad received blows- and lhey did receive them,it is nol'as if'!" (A)Relaxation:Now, sincethe totaltimejnterval needed tor lhe recuperationourenergies in inverse of is raiio thequalily lo in ot repose we allain oursleep, verylirstprocedure that the we mustadoptto cut downthe duration our nightly of sleepis to practise artof conplele lhe relaxation body of andmind, short a period which proving bemore of to refreshing hours restthan of "Relax lesssleep, therecommendation Buddhisl In of a author: porlion thebody oi deliberately consciously; close and each lhen theeyesandlry lo visualise darkness. yoursell utter Fel floal. ing in a srlent void,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 g u c h a c o n d i t i o n s s a "Only etrnal an eternal in nightl'And the Swinburnes's a sleep concludes oncelhBproper thal, knack abundance is ol auihor tresh energy a clean-swept and invigorated mind. cannol Bethatas it may, negative lhis method felaxation ol to ot lt lakeus verytar on our road lhe conquest sleep, should

preliminary step lo a lor moreeltecive the from rather essenlial In one:to becomeconsclous our sleep beneficial and spirilually nightslor progress our utilise and deliberately (B) Conscious utilisatian of nights: Al this porni we would lhal like to dispeia possiblemisunderstanding may arise ln ul lor withthis suggeslion a conscious lsalionol our connection lear in some mindslhal lhrs at' lurking Theremay be a nights. of ternptat lhe cullivation the vast fieldsot our n ghts, Inslead a and in of bringing a morereposelul lheretore moreinvrgoraling wouidon the olher handallecl its deplh and delracllrom sLeep ol the efficacily our nightlyresl wh ch is so salularyand indishealth pensable our physical ior Bul thisfear and doubthavegot no basisin iacl For.as lhe and uncontrollable us, Molherhas assured it is onlythe useless ln activities our sieep that make our and mosllysubconscious 'il lhan the day.On the conlrary our nLghl nightsmoreialiguing oi the qrantedus lhe acquisition new knowledge, solulron an oJ In our rnnerbeing conlact the ng absorb problem, eslablishmentoi with some centreol lile or of lighl,or even the accomplishrnenl we ol some usefulwork, shouldalwaysget up wilh a ieelingol lt vigorrrand well'being. is lhe hours wastedin doing nalhtng good that are lhe mosl latiguing useful at' lor o{ cultivation our sleep-exlslence reaprng Th s conscious fruiisior our innergrowthis then the secondesssnlraelemenl sleepa real re' lo of our endeavour rnakethe state01physical slorerof our energies. evenin thisway seemsto be lim ted in Bui the gainacquired ol ls scopeso lar as our main problem drastcallyreducng the For hoursol sleepis concerned, that we have 1obecomecon_ phenomenon our s eepol significant maslers another oi scrous ol "susupli01 Brahrnan lie: ihe poss b lity oi enlranceinlo lhe Brahmaloka. lC) Attainnent of SachchidanandatmmobilttyjOnce beiore to madea passingreference thlsslaleol luml_ we havealready

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 eilher one"inwhich thereis a luminous silence,,or else one 1nwhich lhereis Ananda thecells."The ol oursleepin rest lile is an attemptat sleep,not sleepitself.fo quotelrom the Molhera passage whichwe haveaheadyreferred: to "Thereis the possibililyot sleepjn whichyou enterinloan a absolute silence, immobility peace allparts yourbeing and in of andyourconsciousness merges Sachchidananda. can you into hardlycall it sleepfor it is extremely conscious. thal condi_ In lion you may remainlor a few ninutes, bul theselew minutes qiveyou morc restand refreshment thanhouts of ordinarysteep." Sri Aurobindo has trealedthis topicon numerous too occasions. Thus,to quotelrom himonly one passage: "ln sleepone...passes from consciousness oeeoercon_ ro sciousness a longsuccesston In unlrlone reaches osvchic the andrests rhereofelsefrom higherlo higher consc iousnesuntil s 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 dreamless resl"thal.givessleepall its reslorative value" cannotbe had 'by chance;it requires lono a lraini.g.tndeed, ordrnary our sleep, even whenrt is of thebesi vanety,s rnosllytakenup withour actualIrayel/ing towards this staleol Sachchtdananda immobility our return and Journev lo Itse wakJng av/areness. without often very eveireaching siare the atal. Andeventl we reach state sorne this on rareoccasions,,.it rsooneunconsciously it is, lf onewants do it consciouslv as to andregulale onehaslirstlo become L conscious sleep.,. in An; lhena onecanthe prospect possibly openup betore ol reduc_ us Ingthe hours sieep a bareminimum. ol to

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The Conquesl Sleep ol

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ol the eliminale necessily allogelher Buteventhiscannot physiological occuit-spirilual, and is The sleep. reason twofold, we consideralion nowlurn. lo whose Howto Eliminatethe Nacessityof Sleep? physico-physiological prccondition: the pi-rrely On Physicat response ils lo ptane, srnce sleepis the body'sunavoidable of expenditure lhrough ill-balanced an and overstrain exhaustion of o, is whalis needed thetotalannulmentallpossibility energy, problem of us Andihisbrings lo lhe general iatigue. ourbody's physical For' present organisation and of incapacily inertia our can or the it altho!gh is a facllhal"either yogic thevitalenergy physicalsystem' or at longkeep workan overstraineddeclining so is whenthisdrav/ing no longer easynol per' a timecomes longheldbacklrom mani' possible"and bad resulls lhe haps ;nsues. a allatonceancl breakdown lestrng explode ' and sovedon has of So the problem incapacity to betackled lhe ptaneof the body ilsell.For'the body is the key,the body weakness ol and bolhof bondage ot rlease' animal thesecret andsouland power, thobscurationthemind ol of andot divine and to of ol theirillumination, subiection painand limllalion ot ot sellmastery, dealh andof immorlalily" ol tor reason lhislaligue ourbody? Bulwhatis the inherent tired?Whycan it systemget periodically our physical Whydoes wav? nol workin a continuous of latigue the bodycomes ot In lhewords the Mother:"The Theremay be manyolhet apparen! lrom an innerdisharmony. circumstance." r;abons,bul allamounlto that lundamenlal lies due Whatis thiswantof harmony to?Theanswer in ihe and oi theconfines a limited in life-force, lodged factof a limited vainwilhthe in conlending existence, individualised egobound to ihal seeksconsianily govern AllLile and All-Force universal and emergence developmenl it. master In lhe evolulionary and

of liiein malellal forms, is lruethatas consciousness it devel_ opsmoreandmore, thelight ils ownbeing "as of emerges trom lhe enerldarkness lhe involutionary ol sleep,lhe indivjduatexistence becomes dimlyawareol the powsrin it and seeksferst nervously ltrenmentally master, and enjoythe play.". and lo use Bul,even ourbest, mental at we beings bound bound are are by a poorandlimited power lile whichis allthatourbody canbear ortowhich cangive it scope. And" theconsequent in interchange and balancing between movement interactlon thevital the and ol energies normally workin thebody al andtheirint6rchange with thosewh ch acl uponit fromoulside, whether energies lhe ot olhers the general or Pranic forcevariouslv aclivein the environment, there rs a constantprecarious balancing and adj!stmenlwhichmayat anymoment gowrong"5 Thus, lhe verynalure things, individualised and In ol our life lorce in lhe body cannol masterthe AlfForce workingin the world.On the contrary lhe resistance which it ottersthrough blindignorance lhe movement the infinite lo ol universal Life ''wilhwhoselolal will and kend its own will and trend may nol rmmedialely agree",r subjects to the law oJincapacily it and tatlgue, one o{ lhe basiccharacteristicsindividualised diol and videdLifein lhe body. Hence cureou. physical to system all liability fatigue, ot lo the lirrilationof ego has to be totallyabrogated only in the not parlsol ourbeing, in theveryphysical inner but consciousness and the malerialorganisation the body.Our body has to be ol broughlinlo completeharmonywith the demandsot our own inner conscrousoess withlhe infinile and cosmic |hvthm. 'lhat means',ln lhe words Bul " of the [,4other, a work in eachcellof the body, eachsmallaclivity, eachmovement in in of the organs... haveto enterintothe disposition the You of js yourinner physical cells, organisation body lo answer if the to ihe Force lhatdescend.. mustbe conscious yourphysi You ol calce s, youmusiknow theirdifterent lunctions, degrees the AI

Chapler-11

The Conq!rest Sleep ol

253

and whichofthemarein goodcondition which receptivity each, in with Butthiscannot altempled lhe helpol ihe lnsuillclent be mind'consciousness. onlythro!gh lt rs and inetficient ol lighl of Gnosis, and emetgence the divine thedescend concomilanl Becomrng, thal Supermind, inthemidsl theevolutionary here o{ Matterand materialbody can be rid ol their ineriia and between lifehe and established inconscience a properequation playing an individual formation the surges lhe and of energy in is ihe con' All-Force. in lhe Supermind For "alone embarking willand knowledge are unily alldiversilies; alone of there scious and harmony; therealone Consclousness equaland pedect in Force arrive lheirdivine at equation." ol our It is through supramentaltranslormation physica the Inconscience."4body,-thal "is slill a llower of the material down itsverycellsandJunclioning the lawoJincapacity io thal and fatigue be linally will abrogated wllhit the andconsequenl physiological compulsion sleep. for neces' the Butlhererernains finalhurdle, occull-spirlual a annulled the wilh sityof sleep, thattoo will be completely but gnostic exislence. transformalionourwaking 01 we Occult-sDirilual Drccondition: have seen ihal n iis esis lo ol sential nature body's our sleep theaesponse thedemand in the individual consciousnessgo inward awake planes to and awareness of existence at present not accessible thewaking to hall-sleep. unless So, whlch stillin thegripol an involutionary is is eliminated ailparts Jrom anduntil spiritual his slumber totally molher including veryphysical our consciousness, of thebeing into Nature constrainour to ialloccasionally theswoon will body lite of s umber thalthe podalsof the innerand higher can so open. whenSupermind Gnosis, Truth'Consciousness or lhe Now, to emerges ihe fieldof evolution in overtly ol Sachchidananda,

principle our embodied becomethe governing ol malerial sxisf e..e. r_c nanrfesledbeingwiL be in securepossess ot dn on nlegralConsciousness an integraS ght, so that therewill and be no morea slale of sleepin oppositron the stateof pefmato nenlwaking, norforthatmatteralineol demarcation separating the inner and outer domainsof existence. The evolvingbeing wil lhen be fuly aroused fromthe self-oblivion an Involulronary of sleepand,a ong withit, lhe spirilual compulsion behind sleep the ol our body wlll altogelher lose its occultsupporl. ln ihal loresbleGoldenDawn,the body will thrill w th lhe fu I menl of its destiny, will parlicipate tullawareness the it in in gloriesof a d vrnised upon earth.and law of the inexoralife the ble necessiiy sleepwill be 10rever lilledfrom its head. ol But ln the meantrme us notlorgel evenlor a momentlhe let greal rolethai sleepcan play in the present organisation our of liieand being; does it nol openlo us ihe doorsof the dream10r, land, the Yogicdream-world, we oniy know how to put it lo if And who can be litllelhe inlintle charmand beaulyand bliss ihat ihe [/otheroi Dreamsmay beslowupon us, if we only know how lo courl Her favour?

ChapteFll

Th Conquesl Sleep ol

255

APPENDIX THEMOTHER DREAMS' OF SRIAUROBINDO Goddess supreme, Mother Dream, lhe ivorydoorswhen of by 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

Holdest night thy ancient the in right, Mother divine, hyacinthine, witha girdle beauty of detended. Sworded tire,allracting with desire, linebourskingdom thy thoukeepesl, Starry-sweet, the moonat thy feet, now hiddennow with seen the clouds between gloom lhe andthe drjtlol lhy kesses. On y to lhosewhomlhy tancychose, thouheartJree il O is givento see thy wetchcraft and fell they caresses. Openthe gatewhere children jn theirworldol a lhy wait beauty undarkened, proud High-throned a cloud, on victorious, lhave espied Maghavan whenthe armies windare behind ride ol him; Food has been givenfor my tastingfrom heavenand fruit o{ rmmorlal sweelness; I havedrunkwineof the kingdoms divine and haveheard the change music ol strange Jrom lyrewhich hands a our cannol master; Doorshaveswungwide in the chambers p.idewherelhe ol Godsreside andthe Apsaras dancein theirckcles faslerand

""n Who are thosethat pace by the purplewavesthat race to lhe clifi-bound o, thy jasper floor shoreunder skiesin which myslery muses, Lapped moonlight ol our night plrnged sunshine in not or in that is notd urnal? Whoare theycoming theyOceans roaming wiihsailswhose slrands afe nol madeby hands, unearthly an windadvances? Why do theyloin in a mystic withthoseon the sands lin6 linklng hands s{range stately in and dances? Thouin the air,witha flamein lhy hair,the wh rl ol thy wonders watching,

more radiant earrn rhan

i."gii3i

Thereal the gates the heavenly of states thouhasl planted lhy wandenchanted the headol theYogin over waving. Fromtheeare lhe dream and the shadows seemand that the lugitive lights lhat delude us; Thineis lhe shade whichvisions made; in are spedby thy hands lromcelestial lands comethe soulslhal rejoice for ever. Inlothy dream-worlds passor lookin thy magic we glass, thenbeyond the6we climboul of Space andTirneto endeavour. the peakol divine

For rhou she art whom tirsl we can *n"n *" o"lTlii """ bounds the mortal, of

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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 sacetdotal scienceof the alchemtsts, veily a scienceol rcgeneation... is 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, Nuesure Le Sanctuaire) La Senescence naluraldealh,'lamott naturcl/d, are thus and seento be nol al allnecessary intrinsic and attribules oraccompaniments incarnate of life.Hencehavarisenon the part of planned manvariousdeliberately attempts the physical at and practised the modern in West,- this battlfor the vicloryover seniledecayand the body'sdeathis no longer considered be to problem tarcicaland tutile, but ratheras a veritable scienlitic andproposition. Already theyear1924, l4elalnikov lhe in S. of InstitutePasteur(Paris)wrote:'All elfortsof ihe biologisland medicalmen lo wagea successtul battleagainslthe onsel of youthto the agedand dcadent senescence restore and ought possible to be considered practically as and 6cientitically moti valed (prcjudgementpossibleset scientiliquementmotiveesf Herewe maybriefly statethema in attempts, bolh scientific and occull-spiritual, havebeenso lar madelorthe physical that conquest dealh. ol Prccedures. lndeed,in recenlyears,sc! \A) Rejuvenation in ence has procedod right earnestlo lacklelhe problemof fromlhe lowrend ol lhe rangeot our agingand dealh,starting being.

264

Chaple'-12

Atlemprs 'Kayas al ddhi

261

t has soughl1o tormulate lheories,and act efiectively, on physico-chemical the underlying iaclorsand processes that govern the phenomenon progressive of senescence the bodylocked oJ havetortheir ullimaleand inexo rableconseque nce soma-cells and the sornatic dealh of the individual ln time rnuch organism. oLrr va uabLe work has beenne in thisspecialized d of biology iie and publicalions the nterested readermay consultappropriate ior relevant rnlormalionIn brief,we may statethat manyare the theories that have been put forward explain onselol the phenomenon se' to lhe of nescence(e.9., those of l,4aupas, Hertwg, Mainol, Koltzoif, IVetchnikot, Weissmann havebeen and olhers),and numerous the altemptsto achieve rejuvenation the aging body and of lengthenthe span oi lilei by various surgicalaleralions of particularly essentiaorgansof certarned endocrinal organs, the ndeed,it hasoflenbeenthought thatagingis brought about by the tarlureof or1e other of the endocrineg ans and atlempts or have been made to rejuvenale aging body by grafting il an io glandsor injecling glandular appropriate inio it extracts. polntof v ew, lhese have by no But, lrom the fundamental meanssolvedihe problem ils base.For,on the one hand,no al as theoryof sinei declineso faf put loffiard can be regarded ent re y satisfaclory oras generally eslablished bylhe evidence. Also,"mostof them sufferfrom the logocal defecloi settingup some particular observed attfibute elemeniof the phenomor enon oi seaescenceitsell, such as prolopasmic hysteresis, (meanrng only reduced slowingrale of melabolism essentially aclivity), etc as lhe cause of the whole". may havebeenthe immediale Onethe otherhand,whalever p h y s i c a a n d p s y c h o l o g i c ae f f e c t so l t h e p r o c e d u r e s f l o lo rejunvenation, thesehaveproved be no morethanlemporary enl he ghtening someglandaclivities, ol aliogether"trans resulls" is lhem.There as yet as one distinguished biologist hasiermed

no evidence whaisoevelh al thes medico-scientit r e c procedures specilc longev helplo increase any way ihe bas c polential in ty of the indivdlal. In the words of Prol.VernonT. Schuhardi, an authority lhe i e di in ''Aihoughloudly proclaimed,lhese procedures werenotwe I Ioundedin theoryand have not withstoodthe exacling lhe criticaltesls timeandconiirmalion. evidence been of No has d scovered lhat a ihe agingthe body as a r/holels depend' or ent on eilherlhe activily lhe tailureo the sexualglands, per se . . . The elfectswere lemporaryand did not oiiset the slowdec ine ol oldage.Indeed, somedanger involved is n such a one-sded stimulalion lhe senilesincethe oroJ ganismas a whole may nol be physically constituted to wthslandthe sudden and abnormalstress,,,The hormones may ater lhe background physiologica of reactons and rnodily thai structuralnlegrityol the cells and tissue,bu1 lhey have little lasting effect on the primary causes of aging Thuswhilethe germinal elements becomethe the ser,i//ty... nedto weaken, source poslerty, bodyseemspredesl of the grow o d and dle. And by the latler 1950'snomeanshave y been iound lo serious alterlhis decline." So we see lhal the scienlilic attempts preventing at devitalthe life'span man haveso lar sationand proionging individLral oi provedfut le and usive,and we on our parl venture asserl to lhese w ll proveequaly so even in the lulure;ior, the rool that of the ma ady ies somewhere else and is too deep and inscrulable lor sc ence to probe or to find the rernedythereof.To the ne ol suggesled solution, may siatetorthwith we anticipate or thal "even t Sc ence-physcal Science occultScience-were the necessary condilions meansior an indefnlte or lo discover survivalol lhe body,stlll,if lhe body could not adapl iise I so oi on as to becomea iit nslrument express for the nnergrolvth, il lhe sou wou d iind somewayto abandon and passon io a nev/ ol ncatnalon. Themate al or physicalcarses dealhare not ils inmost reasonls the spiriluaL soe or ts tTUecause; its true

262 necessity the evolution a new being." lor ol

Chapter-12

Atlemptsat Kayasiddhi'

263

(B) Keyesiddhiprocedures;Leaving behind the iield ol scipass onnow lo a enlific achievements well as lailures,we as surrmary consideration some oi the attemptsfnadeby man, of starting frori the other.lhehigher, end ol the rangeol our being. These occull-spirilual attempisal dehasiddhl, atlainment the oi pedeclionof lhe material body ol man, have in the majolty oi cases come down to us in lhe lorm ol tradilions and a lore whose sourcessometimes have been lost n the obscureand remote past ol lhe race. Thus, in lhe words of lhe Mother,"in a very ancient lradilion, preceding eventhe VediandChaldean traditions, therewas already the questionol a glorious body whichwouldbe plasiicenough Io be conslanllyremodelled lhe deeperconscrousness, by a body expressing conscio lhis usness, herewas the quesljon T ol luminosityi matterconstituting body being able lo beihe ihe corneluminous atwill.There was the question a kind of light ol ness being possiblewhich would enablethe body to move about in lhe air by merewill-force someprocedure handling and of the rnnerenergyon so on.' Some Buddhist kadilionsspeakol lhe Buddha's lemporary victory over death, Mttyumata.Fhese are based on a Buddhist beliefthat usi as an arhalcan abandonthe'coeftic ents ot lile.' so he can also slop them (sthApayatr. "According lo the Varbhasikas, saintsays:'lVay the lthe 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. this process,'vanquishBy ng death',the Buddhaprolonged lile three monthsfor ihe his salvation men, and the disciples of ernploy lhis to assurethe duralron the dtamma . This lerm of three monlhs seemsto ol be grvenas a maxrmum, as lhe mark ol the viotoryot the ad Brddha over Mrlyumera, 'l\rara, who is dealh'."'

Thrsqueslion a possible of maximum limltto the postpone menl ot deaihis very signilcanl and h ghlygermane lhe prob, to lem we havebeendiscussing. althoughtherehavebeen in For, the past seem ngly a lied ideasand ant crpalion-lhe perfecl ibrlity the race,certain ol Tantric sadhanas, iorl aftera cornthe plele physicalsiddhiby ceriain schoolsof yoga, " lhese have personal beenatlempted ihe mostpartas indiviudal lor achievemerits, mperlectand precariously maintained the help ol by Yogasiddhis, nol as a dharma,nalu'al law,oi the transformed and physcialnature.But mentalor vital occultpowel', warns Sr Aurobindo,can only bringsiddhisof the hgherplane nlothe indiviudal life- like lhe Sannyasiwho couldlake any po son withoulharrn. he diedola poison but afterall whenhe forgctloo observelhe condilions the siddhi." of 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, lhe Raseswara by secl; (iii) attemptsat skandasiddhi made by certianl,4ahaya Tanlrc ni schoolsamonglhe Buddhislq; (iv) atlempts at keyesiddhiby Nathayogis like I!,latsyendra, Goraksha, Jalandharanaih others; and (v) attempts al the elaborai on 01 a bhavadeha by Saha)ya Vaishnavas. Siddhis Bul noneol theseattempted becameinlrinsrc the io As material bodyand hencecold nol be madelo endure. a mat"therecan ter of tacl,as we shallsee in lhe courseoi our study, salionilhe be no immorta ty of the body w lhout supramenlal polentralily therein the yogicforceand yogiscan livelor 200 is or 300 years or more, but there can be no real princp e ol lts withoutthe supramental."5

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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.. p.681) (lbid., lmmartal lile breathe in that monstrous death. p.43) (SriAurobindo, Last Poems, 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, p.18) Mofe Poems, W" no* to the qirestionof questions,prasnam "o-" problem utfamam, ultrmate thatall embodied has lo tace: lite the

268

Chapter'13

The Myslery ol Lile and Dath

Whal rs ttie raisond 6lre of death,this crueland monstrous necesslly ol lest playedwith immortallife by some mysterious Power, some in lherrexasperaas or by somediabolical thlngs, tronwouldliketo declare? asked ol Nachikeias, youngaspiranl the Kathopanrshad, ihe ol Yamalor lhe solulion thisproblem dealh-Yamalhe knower to whach soul haslo rise the and keeperol lhe cosmicLaw through oJlmmorlality: Evenwhenasked by deathand litetotheireedom O Lordol Death:"Anolher boonchoose, Nachikelas; byYama.lhe imporlune nol, nor urgeme;lhis,lhis abandon,lhe seeking me "Thisol whichthey soul of Nachikelas stoodlirm and declared: lhus debate,O Death,declareto me, even thal which is in lhe grealpassage; lhan thisboonwhichentersin inlothe secrellhal is hrdden lrom us, no otherchoosesNachikeias. lore who sel out ol And Gilgamesh lhe ancientBabylonian Lile but la led in his on lhe quest afterthe Plantol Everlasling cry lo the departedsoul ot allempt.raisedthe same insisient me, my Friend,lell me, reveallo me, lhe myslery Enkidu:'Tell oi dealhl' Thrsques' is remarked:"Why lheredeath? As the Motherhas t on has been pul al leastonce in lheir life by all pefsonswhose in degree.In lhe deplh conscousness awakened lhe slightest is perpeludevelop, thereis sucha needlo prolong, of each being producesa shock, a recorl:In ate lite that conlactwilh death in beingsil produces horror, others,Indlgnatrcn. somesensilive One asks: What is this monslrousfarce in which one has lo il? lake part withoutwishingior il or Lrnderslandrng Why lo be lor lor efiortlor growth, progress, 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." and lhe and iuslilication the cu' Whiledrscussing necessily firnal on and self-fuliment of the processol death.we musl al

lhe very outsettry lo get rid ot a basicand besetling errorof perspective tends vitiate proper unbiased that lo a and evaluaphenomenon death. tionot lhe For,if we cancontemplate ol lhis phenomenon, fromthe limited necessarily sombre nol and dislortedangle vision lhe linileterrorstruck ot ego-bound indiol vidual,butfromlhe perspective cosmicBecoming, cannot we ol taillo discover dealh is thal anddissolution nolsuchan unmili' gated evilas it appears lirst sightto be. As a matterof facl, at dealh as death has no sepaate ot intrinsic reality: it is there solelyto servethe purposeol lite.Wecan evengo larlherand statethat deathis a orocess and ohaseol life itselfand thatlhe lalter,and by no meansdeath,is lhe fundamenlal all-pervading lrulhof existence. But whal is Life, what are its criteria?Biological sciences knowno delinite answerlothesequestions. a matterof fact. As menol sciencehavesoughlto probethe the moreprofoundly myslery lhe essence life,the moreit haseluded ol of theirgrasp, jmmanently so muchso that lile at timesappears themto be to presenl everywhere, overtmanifeslalion its depending uponsome lavourable conditions whichaloneSciencecan hopeto sludy and speciiy.To modernbiological thoughtlhere are no uriyersally validctiletiaol lile- Ballledwiththe lask of deliningwhat a living organism biology is, seeks times proceed a roundaat to in boul way.as in the lollowing definilion offeredby Prof.George E. Hulchinson: ''The necessary sutlicienl and condition an object be Ior lo recognizable a living as organism, so to be thesubjecl and investigation, that il a discreet is massol mat' oi biological boundary, undergoing conlinual inlerter, with a detinite without change material withils surroundings manitest of alteratron properties overshoft periodsol time and, as ol with ascerlained directobservations by analogy of eitherby procother originating some by objecls thesameclass, of essot division fortification oneor two pre-exisling from or obiects lhe samekind.' ol

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Chapter 13

The Myslery Life and Dealh ol

271

. To crle a few observalions reflectingthe sense ol biotogical predrcamenl belorethe task oJdeljmiting tieidof Liieand ot the lMrnd: (i) "Whilelhere is littledifficulty tellingwhethera higher in organism alive, ts thereis no agreement lo whal charas acleristics would be required the most primrtive lor organisms in order to call them living."(Prof. Stanley L.Miller.) (r) In recenlyears,the "studyol viruseshas becomeinten sive,leadtng a blurring the conceplion ihe ,vilal to of oi phenomena. is still doubtlulwhethera v rus can be ll described livingand,tndeed, to whal we meanby as as iiiing."(Prol.CharlesSinge0 In lacl, as the fainlglimmerings recentscientiirc ol research suggesl and spriritualexperienceand vision certity, Life reveals rtselt essentially sameeverywhere as the laomlhe atomlo man, thq atofi conlaining the subconscious stutl and rnovemeni ot beingwhichare released inloconsciousness the an mal.with in plant lile as a midwaystage in lhe evolution. Lile s reallya unrversal operation Conscious-Force oi actingsubccnsciously on and in lvlatter; is the ope.alion it that creales,mainlains. de, slfoys and re-createsforms or bodies and attempts by play of nerve-lorce,that is to say, by currents of interchangeol stimulatrng energyto awakeconscious sensation lhose bodies. In in this operation lhere are threestages; lowest s that in wh ch the lhe v brationis stillin the sleepol Matterentirelysubconsclous so as l0 seem wholly fiechanical; the middle stage ts thal in wh ch rl becomescapableol a response still submental on but lhe vergeol whal we knowas consciousness; higheslis thal the In whrch liJe develops conscious menlalily in lhe lorm of perceplible ame,ntally sensalron whichIn thtslransl on beco,r-es lhe bas s lor lhe developmenl sense-mtnd .-te ligence.ll ol and s In lhe middlestage lhal we catch the idea ol life as distingu shed trom Matterand lviind, in realityit is lhe same in all but

lhe slages.'Thus, "thereis no break,no rigidlineol demarcalion betweenthe earth and the meial tormed in rl or belweenlhe meta andlheplant and...there none eilherbetweenthe ele_ is menlsand alomsthal constitute earthor metaland lhe metal lhe or earlh that they constltule. Each step ol this gradedex sl in enceprepares nexl,holdsin ltselJ whal appears thatwh ch lhe or iollowsit. Lite is everywhere, secrelor manilest, organised im' bli all-pervading, elemental, involved evolved, universal. or perishable; only its tormsand organising dilter" 1 s this prana sarvAyusam"the omnipresent Lile lhal has rnaniiesled and nhabilslhe malerialuniverse"lhat Mother lhe has in view when she relets in one of her articleslo " a few lo lundamenlal nolions...needed help us n our endeavour: to 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 This knowledge one musl eslablish transientand brittle. in securely and permanently the mind,and as lar as posswilh the lifeevone'sconscousness b e one nrustidentify iioi erlasting that s independenl any form but manifests givesthe indispensable psychological in a iorms.This sell basrslrom wherelo face the problem. ''Lilethen does not die;bul the tormsare dissolve, and il is lears- And yel lhis dissolution physicalconsciousness lhat form changesconslanlly and there is nolhinglhal de' lhe Thispragressive barsthis changelrom beingprogressrve. changealone can make it possiblelhal death wouldna more be tnevttable. explore, Bul since,due to reasonslhal we shall presently physical progress beingof man, lhis changeoJlhe bodyand the responding fullyto the demandsmade upon it by the divineIn_ progressive cou habilaniin His inlinitely sili-bocomtng, d nol be and madelo play deathhasbeen puttorward so lar ellectuated. rts roe as an agent ol life ilself lo serve the ends al cosmtc

The Mysteryol Lrle and Death

213

of Deathat the Service lile

placed against curlain atemporary is Thatdeath nomorelhan ol - more januavilae- or thal dealhis butthe obverse elenallile has been l\,4ysleries, by the coinof Liie,as hinted the Osirian has knowledge the lhroughout ages.This known the mystics lo a ol expressions which lew repre_ given literary beenvariously onesmaybe citedhere: sentalive (i)"Death lifel'(Novalis) is is (ii)"Lileis deaih and Dealh lile" (Euripides) appears itsell is (iii)"AllDeath Nature Bi h, andin Dealh in ol {Fichle) visiblylhe exaltation Lite." the (iv) "Forbirthhalhin itself gern ol dealh. the haihin iiselJ germot birth ' Bul death yet Fortheyaretwain one,andDealhis Bitlh" "Odeto the SettingSun") Thomsoni (Francis one who relieve another (v) 'LiteandDeath- twocodpanions end ol in theleading thesoulto ils journey's " (PaulRichard) ol andDealh life" of (vi) "Liie[is]a figure death p Upatishads' 51-ln) Eight (SriAurobindo' makes bo_ that So we seethatthe opposition ourmenlality more than an error ol perspeclrve tween lite and deathis no by deceived the view by about thesuporficial of ihings brought to serve simply is oJ As appearances. a matler lacl,death there no ol substance lessthan purpose lile,anddisintegration ot the thanmalnlenance no changeoilom less nce, ren ewalof substa process lile itself Dealhis the vaullol ot lorm are the consiant pass to irombirth greater in that has ing-board life chosen orderlo willbe there when hourcomes birth,lilllhe the "Theend oi Death, 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 Saviri, BookX' CantolV p 666l {sri Aurobindo, 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' becomes Life that is lmmartaltty ity... Death transt'ormed (Sri Aurobindo'fhaughts and Apharisms) When the earlh will not need ta die in order to progtess' lhere willbe no mate death. VoIXV No 3' p 47) (The Mother, Builelin, ' ! am lmmattality as well as Death. Gita , lX 19) (SriKrishna Bhagavad in servlngthe Inler_ instrumenl The bodys deathis a verilable perpelualyevo ving lile lndeed'as we shallsee in lhe ests ol course ol our st,jdy,given the imperlectand limitedselJ-cabined of andcapabliiyoJman,ihe process death capaciiy instrumental salularyin its effect' as has becomenecessary a meansand lo otlorm islhesole immortalily whrch "elernalohange beca!se can aspireand elarnalchangeol ex_ substance the Iin le lrving perence the sole inlinityto which the iinite mind involvedIn lo ot iiv ng body can attain.This change tormcannotbe allowed iorm_lype such rem;rn merelya conslanlrenewalol the same

274

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The Myslery Lile and Death of

27a

birthand dealh;lor unless as conslilulesour bodiiylilebelween the experlencing mrndis lhrown the lorm-typeis changedand placeand environinlonew formsin newcircumstances time, oJ whichthe very nament,the necessary variation experience ol cannotbe efJeclure ol ex stencein Time and Spacedemands, of and luated. And il is onlyihe process Deathby dissolution by absence ol lreedom. the devouring of life bV Life.ll is only the to lhe compulsion, struggle,lheparn,lhesubjectron some' the thing lhal appearsto be Nol-Selfwhich makes this necessary to andsalutarychange appear terrible undesirable our moralal and mentalilv ot ol So we see that the shole oersoeclive our discussion of andwe are ledto the concluthe problem deathhas changed, and sionlhat in lhe as vet imoerlect slatusol Lileso far evolved upon earth,deathcannolbe viewedas a denialol elaboraled Lile, in ils slill imperlecl Life,bul as a pfocessol Liie".Indeed, manrleslalion, requires lhe spuaof death in order lo evolveto progressively In higherand higherforms exislence. lhewords ol oi SriAurobindo: "Dealh rs the quesiionNalure puls conlinually Lile and lo ll her reminder it ihal il has not yet tounditself- lherewere no to wouldbe boundlor ever in lhe torm s ege ol dealh,ihe creature ol an imperfecl living. Pursued dealhhe awakeslo lhe idea by ot perfectlifeand seeksoui its meansand iis possib ly." As a matlerot iaci, death has provedlo be highlysalllary, of cerl?inlyto the evolution their types ol species,bul also lo lhe_ndividuals constituting speces, lhanks lo lhe spirilual the phenomenon soul-rebirth, ol Deathservesa beneficial forlhe individual role creature, bein lhe lattefsconcauseit is an indispensable means10awaken sciousness needol perfection lhe and progression.Indeed,"within wouldremain contented indelinitely lhe condroul lt, creaiures it tionwheretheyare,"and wouldhavebeenwel -n gh rmpossible "hisslow in hear"'and 1obreaklhe 'deadresistance the mortal's

inerla as ol livingslone," the luminous wordsol the Mother: ln "Opposiles lhe qurckesl are meansof andthe mosteftective lashron l\,4atter that it may intens iis manifeslalion... ng so 1y In v pn, o' lhrs. nere s evidel' y a- analogo expeience n 'ets specl ol whal one calls liie and death. li is lhis krndol'overshadowng'ol constant presence Deathand the possibiity ol ol death, as t is said in Sayilriryou have conslanl companon lhro!ghoulyour lourneyfrom cradleto grave;you are cease, lesslyaccornpanied the menaceor presence Dealh. And by ot 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 because [/antthe lestationrlsell is very crude. And as it pertectsitselt,as il becomesmore lit 10 maniJesl progresthal which is eternally sive.crudermeanswillbe lefl behind subllermeansand lhe lor worldwill progress. wilhoutthe needol suchbrutalopposilions. This is so. simplybecause the worldjs stillin ils childhood and humanconscrousness is altogether ils childhood also in . poinlof viewtoo,the dispensalion Froma more practical ol 'nalural death comes indeedas a boon lo the lile-weary indi, vrdua In his presentslatusoi ego-bound ignoranlconscrous, ness. Did not the grandfather Edison ot iind lifetoo longaller a cenluryand drebecausehe wanledto? ll is onlyd vinisedconscrousness lilelhat caniind sources perpelua nterest and ot to keep lhem goingon. For lhe ordinary time-bound limlled'l'ol lhe ind vrdual the very prospect physrcal of irnmorlality would prove lo be a damnablecurse. In the picl!resquewords oi ''Think of lhe k nd of lifewhichthese mmortals wouldhave io ve. Centuryaiier cenlury, millennrum aftermil enniumlhey wouldsee lhe same everlasting laces,conlronllhe sameever

276

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The Myslery of Life and Death

277

recurrng phenomena, engagein the same worn-oulexercses, or lounge dly in the same unchanging slagnalion. They have drained everyspr ng ol knowledge. They haveexhausled every sourceof enjoymeni.No dim marvels,no bou4dlesshopes,bckon lhem iowardsthe fulure,They haveno fulure.They havenoth Ing but neverending now The incessant repetllron, unmitthe galed sameness, the eternalmonotonyoi things would grow horrble and appalling lhem. The worldwouldbecomea hateto Iuldungeon,and lile an aMuldoom. What wouldthey not give lo migrateto some untriedexislencel They would be lhanktul even lo lie down lor ever in the attractive unconscrousness of lhe lomb. The process ol dealh has served the Inleresls nol merelyol lhe individuals individuals of the speciesas well. Was il as but nol Goethe who declared:"Dealh Nature's is experlcontrvance to get pleniyol lile"?lndeed, the dealhlessness lhe constilr.iol wouldprevent othersol the same specieslrom lrve Individuals being alive at all. A simple calculalion would show lhat lhe descendanls Adam,endowed oJ withphysical immorlalrty, would years and in that processprohave doubledeverytwenly{ive generations, duced,in lessthana hundred manylrillions huol man beingsso much so lhal theirbodies,packedlwo or three deep,and conglomeraied one solidmass,wouldhavecovinio eredrl_e enliresurlaceoI lhe planetl As a malterof facl. the remarkable truth that lhe natural ind vidualisa mrnorierm of beingand existsby lhe universal" and that "lhe individual is compeled,and used, lo secure life permanence raiherfor its spec es thanfor itsel" s borneout by and manilod. The b o ogicalevidences that havebeenspecilic opinion has evenbeenexpressed all liv ng matter ihal oncepospotential immortalilv sessed and deathas a condition, non-existenlin lhe beginning, was evenlually adoptedtor lhe s mple reasonlhal "juslsucha safetyvalvewas necessary permilol lo going ntoan !nnecesrace'.Insteadof the rperpetuationolihe sary elaboraiion lhe evolulionary ot evidences supporlol this in

hypothesis, may well quole Jromthe writingsol a lew sawe vanls,thus bringing lntofocuslhe consensus opinionheldby oi conlemporary men of science. "Liie was described Bichatas'the sum ot the funclions by whichresistdealh',bul this is a one-sided emphasis. For,while I rs charactefislic organisms oJ lhal they are conlinually work al n securingthe persrsience their specific of organizalion, s rl equallycharacteristic that they spend themselves securing in of ol lo the coniinuance thelrkind.(lnstead seeking avoiddealh. to speak metaphorically,they often rathet invite il, sacrilicrng in and providinglorlhe nexl generalion. themselves producing ''Fromlhe standpoint survivalvalueol lhe species,rl of s lor oi lo desirable the individuals todaylo give placeeventually those ol lo-morrow, becauseenvironing conditions are never periods, lor and it is onlyby giving the reproconslanl exlensive ductivevarianlsa changeihal new lilnessmay be established and prolonged sirrvival madepossible.Insurance the wel be of iare of lhe speciesls the all-important accomplishmenl.' _llwe couldproduce two socielies two groupsol an rnals, or individuals the olher and one ol them beingformedof immorlal oi individuas growrngold and being progressively aced rep dealh by new and younger through ones, il is wilhouta shadow ol doubllhatlhe secondgroupwouldbe the hardier andsirongef ol the two.' "Frorn pointof vlewof evolutionary lhe history, dealhhas nol il on been the primaryphenomenoni is ralhera late-comer the not scene,appeaflng so much as an intrnsic and absoluleneot as cessilyinherng in the very essence livingmatter, ihrough processol progressive'selection'in adaplalon lo the weliare a ind dealh A dreadfulevilforthe vidual, oi the species. hidousand srnce, thanksto rtsagency, for has provedsalLriary lhe species, rze renovale and revita tselflhrough lhe species can conlinually ol and rnorerobuslrndivdualsrep aclhe inlroduction younger rnglhe worn-oul ones.'

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Chapter,t 3

The Myslery Lile and Dealh ol

279

We are herediscussing benefit lhe lhat accrueslo the species ihroughthe generalprocessol death of the constituting individuals. Bul modernbiological lhoughthas gone furtherto polential suggest astonishing the viewthallhe'speciiic lile-span' particular ol the individuals lorminga speciesdoes nol depend solely, even primarily, or factorsarising upon lhe physiological rnlhe individuals takenin isolation, is ralhergoverned the bul by globalnecessilyoflhespecies. Thus,in the viewof Prof.J.Arthur Thomson, naluraldealh is not to be thought as like lhe runof n ng down ot a clock. ll is morclhan an individualphysialogical prablem; it is adjusled in reference lo the welfare af the specres... Thereis goodreason regarding for occurrence deathat of a parlicular time as adaptive." Metalnikov expresses sameideawhen he declares lhe lhal ''the individual cells are as a rule polentially immoral,but the limitation thisprinciple immortality the caseof the higher of in of lorms oJorganisms apparently occursnol so much due to indivldualphysiological exigencies to some unspecifred as supra, ndividualcauses (causessurlndividuelles." Dr.J.A.V Butlerseekslo specity thissupra-indrvidua cause of naluraldecayand deathin the lollowing terms: ''Itwouid seem lhal the lite span is determined the interby play of two eflects,the necessity livrngong enoughlo start ol oll the new generation and, havingpertormed task,the fact lhe lhal a furlher Helime is unnecessary and, in many respecls, harmlullo lhe well-being and development lhe spectes. s ol lt quitepossible that mechanisms existin organisrns ch bflng wh aboulthis limitalion ihe lifeperiod, of whenthe biologically useful periodis over,bul we do nol knowwhal lhese mechanisms li these views represenled wholelruth ol lhings,lhere lhe couldbe no possibility whatsoever increasing lile-span ol lhe oJ prolonging life. Bul although man.nol to speakoJindefinitely his the aioresard biological conclusion probably is valid n the case

of all inlra-human sDecies. is nol at all so in the caseol man. it For,as has beennotedand commenleduponby someobservers,manis unique in a among living beings having dispropoF long, useless, tionately andJrom onepointof viewbiologically posl-reproduclive in thelile-cycle. implicationobphase is The vio!s:theindividual is noltheresolely fulfil inteiesls the man to of therace.lndeed, lheappearance manupon earthwilh of the changed process its and scenethe evolution docisively has wasel' ol evolllion bourse. lillth6 advent manthe organic Up lhe operation Nature of withoul conthe fected through automatic pafticipation any living bing, the {ormof its selfin scious ot 8!l will aspiralion endeavour. in manthe or aware or seeking, awakeandawareot livingcreature torthe firsttimebecome has himselt;he has felt that there can be a higherstatusol conaspiration exceed to andtranscend sciousness hisown;lh than a is'delivered arliculate'in ll hasthusbecome him. himself and praclicalproposition in mana conscaous evolutjon may re' lhal placethe subconscious subliminal and evolltionso far adopted by Nature. has Theappearance manonlhe earth-scene beonindeed ot of Becoming, and eventin lhe gralprocess cosmic a unique is verily capital. For,"tothe Life-Spirit, his rolein the universe is in centre pre"eminently the indivldua whomils potentialities capa' lt {\,4an, Purusha. is theSonol Manwhois supremely the the is thinker, God. ThisNlan the N,lanu,lhe bleol incarnating person soulin mindof lhe anPurJsha, menlal or Manomaya mammal he,bul a conceptiv is No cienisages, meresuporior bodyin Matter. is conscious He itself lhe animal on soulbasing formas a hediumthrcugh acceplrng utilising and Name Numen or whichPerson candealwithsubstance.' journey, lhe Also."lhe ascentto lhg divineLile is the human This alone is man's Sacrifice. Work ol works,lhe acceptable of andlhe iustilication hisexislence, realb{rsiness lhe world in amo!ng crawling olher without which wouldbeonlyas insect he mudandwalerwhich ot eohemeral insects a spock surlace on

2aa

Chaplef-13

The l,4yslery Lrfeand Dalh ol

241

es has managed iorm ltselfamidthe appallng mmensil oi ihe to physicaluniverse. lo And this adds lor man a new dimension the problemol we For,allhough haveseenthal dealhand earthlyimmortaliiy. lile opposilion are apl1omakebetween anddeath we the nalural of is an efior of the habilualmyopicconsciousness man, an "falselo innertruthlhoughvalid n surtacepractcal opposiiion experence", and also that "deathhas no realilyexceptas a pfocessoi fe", yel, the queslionremains:if death is not the as if lundamental trulhot experience, it is to be regarded a proc_ impe ect statusof self'unloldstill ess ol 1e lselfin the latter's ol ing, does nol man, so iar the highesternbodiment evo v ng ot lhal im' lile, possessthe capacty and capability outgrowing the of perlect andthus rendering process deathno longer status, and hence eliminab from his lndivdual e a practca necessily le? lhai needsio be accom Aiter all a rnovement progress oi p shed throughrepeated and radicalshuilling moltallorms, ol lhe of th!s necessitating appearance dealh, s nol a'game lhat conslruclive intrnsica y desrrabe. As the or s lundamentally Motherhas observed while discussing queston ol lhe nethe cessityol dealh: ''She lrials. lovesher meanderings, successive her [Nature] her hef deleals,her recoTnmencement, new invenlions, She joveslhe caprices lhe way,the unexpecledness the expeoi ot r ence One mighta most say lhat for her the ongef lhe time it 1akes, more il is amusing. ihe "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 the Mother by And sincewe are asslrred SrlAurobindo grventhe lullilment a certan sel ol cond t ons deathcan ol that.

be done away withinthe life oi the individual, and cosmlcLife progressive can lu I itsell n a contlnuously way,we seek lo f nd out lhe basicmelaphysical iactorsthat render adventoi the dath nevitable the lile o{ a humanbeing. And for thal we in may very well starl wilh the suggestive conc usionsarrivedat in by contemporary researches this field, not indeed scientific as probalive only as iliustrative the natureand process oi but of Lrleand Dealh. is not allogether Lnjusiilied; for Thrs approach a- S r Ar'oo oo l-d" so clearlypo nled oJI: "Science (whether and metaphysics Iounded pure intelon lectualspeculation as in India,ultimately a splritualvision or, on experience oi thingsand spiritual have each rts own province and methodol inquiry,Sciencecannoldiciateits conclus ons to metaphys any morethanmelaphysics imposeiis concs can c usronson Science- Slill if we acceptthe reasonablebeliel thal Beingand Naturein all theirstateshavea syslemof correspondences expressive a common of Truihunderlying them,it s perrniss to sLlppose lrulhs of the physical ble that universe can ihrow sornelight on the nalureas well as lhe processoi lhe Force thal is aclive in the universe- not a completelight,for physicalScienceis necessarily incomplete the range oi ls ir inqu ry and has no clueto the occultmovements the Force."' ol

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Chapter-14

AlthaughGod madethe wo d for his delight, An ignorant Powettook chargeand seemedhis Will And Death'sdeepfalsityhas mastercdLife. (SriAurobindo, SayllrlBookX, Cantolll, p.629) Deathis the canstant denialby the AII of the ego'sfalse self limitatian in the individual frame ol mind, life and body. (SriAurobindo, p.1A3) lsha Upanishad, It was the conditions matteruponearth that havemade of deathindispensable.The wholesense ol afthe evolution Mattel grcwthfroma firststateaf unconsciousness an has beena la increasing consciausness,,, fixedfom was neededin order A thatlhe organised individual mighthavea slable consciousness And yet it is this lixity of the lo n that made death support. p. of lcanversations the l,4otheL 58) How couldthal escapedeathwhichlivesby death? (PaulFichard,The courage Chtist., p.1a6) af A. First Factor : The Part against the Whole wave lile, as and Theindividual emerging a tinite ephemeral is governing world, the has in the bosom lhe'AlljForce'that oi In impact lhe laller. order oJ to constantly bearthedisrupling to w to it tor secure oermanence ilsell, hasperforce contend th this it with its All-Force establish harmony it. Bulalthough is a and powet,veyurugni, and thal lhe growthol the fact that Life is increase the ot in individual brings itswakea corresponding life

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Chapter'14

MelaphysrcalFaclors of Dealh

247

"il power, in thenature things, is impossible for individual still, of a divided individualised and consciousness a divded.indiwith power v dualised therelore limited andwillto be master of and the All-Force; the Allwill can be thal and the ndividuai only only, at all,by becoming it again onewilhtheAll-Wlll thereand lorewiththeAll-Force. Otherwise, individual in lhe indthe lite vidual formmustbe always subiect the lhreebadges ils to of limilation, Death,Desireand Incapacity." B, Second Factor: The Parl againsl All Other Parts Thedivided individualisgd represenls onevorlex and life bul pul number similar vortices folthby the amongst countless a oi AllForce,sarva-kratu, manifesting intheunivelse. is no betler lt play to mainlhan"a particular ot enelgy specialisedconstilule, rtsulrlrtyfs tain.energise tinally dissolve and to when over. one of the myriad fo.mswhich serve, eachin ils ownplace, time all playof lhe universe. a^d scope. whole lhe jostling Now, thisweller rn!lually in lragmenled lilejorces, of theenergy lifeimprisoned a particular ot in indrvidualframe has constantly withsland mutlipronged to the altacks coming lrom all around. Indeed, eachindividual it lurnsout 1obe a tor lile ruthless battleof one againsl And the cosmicmovemenl all. wherclr, seemslo takethe formof acrcal{ungel mahebubhukse, eachseparate is tryinglo preyuponlhe energy olheraives liJe ol by leverishly seeking devour 1o and feedon them.Bul in the occult dispensationlhings, limiled of a exislence cannol an be 'eater,' anneda, the while, all without lhe sametrmeserving at as'lood'. anra lo others. Thus,"lheliteorganis6d lhe bodyis constantly in exposed possibility beingbroken up by the attack ol the lile to the of insullicient nol externallo or, itsdevouring il capacity being or properly served iherebeingno rightbalance or between lhe or capacity devouring the capacily necessily providing ol and ol to iood Jorlhe lile outside. is unable oroleclitselfand is it

devoured is unable renewilsellandtherelore or wasledaway to or brokeni hasto go through process dealhtor a new rl ol lhe conslTlrct oTrenewal." on C.ThirdFactor:Aclionand Reaction Lifeby its verynature sellexpansive the individual is and liteforms exception lhisrule. no though limiled in to Thus, even capacily deficient resources,altempts, and in il consciously or subconsciously, lo extend swayoverlhe environment. ils Bul this envrronmentnot a merevacuum, is it a masspasis nor yield to any pressure sively ng hom outside. Occultly viewed. thrs ookslikean arena swarming innumerable with and enlilies powers thalloo in theirlurn are constantly seeking sell-exto pand,and hencebecome "intolerant revollagainst atlack of, and the exislence whichseeks master lo therlr. ln lhrs way,a very adversereactionis sel up in lhe milieu againsl encroaching impacling lhe and individual and howIle everslrong mastering unless the lite, eilher is unlimited else it or succeeds establishingnewharmony in a with is environmenl, ii cannot waysresisi a and trilmphbul mustone day be over comeanddisintegaled." D. Fourth Factor: Lile the Consumer Whal rs lhe relalionbelween subslantial lorms and lhe lhe pervading lhatcreates mainlains lite In and them? thelanguage ol the Upan shad,the lije-lorce as ihe anna,lood,of the acl and as body, at thesametimeit usesupthe body iis ownfood. in creature conin olher words, lite-energylhe individual the provides necessary and malerials which with stuft tinually the and lhrough a theforms being are built maintained renewed up, process lime.as a reverse ofdynamic equilibrium. at thesame But in individual operalion, self-imprisoned the lile-energyihelimiled in drawsuponthe substantiai of its own creation, an alslutl its lemotio reolenish ownlund.

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wletaphysical Faclors ol Dealh purs

249

Thus,in lhe matrixol the individual body,thereis a constant and conlrnuouslwo-way llow ol ene.gy: liJe{orcesupporling lhe physrcal stabrlly, and the material body supplying needsol lhe lile.But lhis is nol alwaysdone in harmony; ralher, and body lile oflen acl as "co-wives",sapahelivyedhino,6alllingagarnsleach olher to the delrirnent bolh.The aioresaid ol stale ol reciprocal maintenance consilules theretorea highly unslabe slate o1 eqdilibrlum, lo be easilydislurbed apt and brokenbecauseol lack ol innerharmonyand a so owingio the essenlial limr' th s tat on of ihe liie"energy lhe ego-bound in separativend vidual Now," i lhe balance belween lheselwo operalrons imperis playol the dijlerent lecl or rs disturbed if the ordered or currenls liiejorce rs lhrownout ot gear,thendiseaseand decayinlerol vene and commences processol disinlegration. lhe Over and abovethis,whenappeaGon lhe sceneand seeks lo grow and developin lhe individual frame,it createsan addilionalslrainon lhe body and the maintenance lile becomes oi proportionalely precanous, "thereis an increasing For, demand of ihe le-energy lhe lorm, a demandwhich is in excessoi on ihe ong nal systemot supplyand disturbslhe orig nal ba ance ol supp y and demand, and beforea new balance can be eslablished,many dlsorders are inlroduced inimlcal the harmony 1o and to the lengthot mainlenance the llie." ol E. Fifth Factor:War of the Members To a superficial view ol things,the individual man seems rndeedlo be a singlewhole, undivided consciousness in and nlegraled will.Bul a deeperproberevealslhe disconcerting in Iacl lhal, in lhe presentstateol his evolulionary developmenl, man'sbeingand nalurers nol all ol one kind,oJone piece,'but rathera complexand helerogenerous amalgamol manyelemenls, nol a I of them harmonised and co ordinated their urqesand in

Thus il is thal in lhe compassol an individual existence, thefe exislsan acutediscordand disparily the contrary sellin drlvesof the lhree evolulionary Lile formations,[,4atier, and Mind lnslead ot being anyonyabaddhabehu,each ollering lhe oihone ers its helping hands, and grhiakantha,all seized and governed by the divineLord inlhesupremely harmonious cosmicDance, fesarla,lhey to go theirown separate ways,in iotaldisregard lry ol lhe stresses and slrains lhey are apl lo intlictuponthe olher parls, in lheir whimsicaseparaieswirls. In partrcular,-and is very muchperlinenl our discusthis lo sion,-"the Lle rs at war with body; it attemplsio iorce I lo from satislylrle's desires, impulses, satisJactions demarlds and possible an immortal lo its limried capacilywhal couldonly be and drvinebodyi and lhe body,enslaved and lyrannised over. suifers and is in conslanldumb revoltagainstthedemandsmade upon rl by the Lile' The mind on its parl is engagedin war bolh againslthe lile of and ihe body.And lhe consequences ihis ballleof the members,this nternecine of attrition he being, war inlo cannolbul be mainlenance the embodied le. of dlsaslro!slor the prolonged F. Sixth Factor: lmperfecl Poise of Consciousnessand Force The ind vidualselfor berng in essence is one wiihthe Div ne y awareof ts divinepotentialilles. manifestation ln and s secret or beingsupporling il assumes aspeclol Purusha consclous the side ot Chil-Shakli. lhe Prakriti Nalurelhat is the executive or ilselfon each planeoi Thrsone and uniqueBeingprojects Prushaor beingthat is nature,inlo he lorm of a represenialive plane. properto that particular Thus, in man, lhere is a menlal to beingcorrespondrng the menlal nalure,a vital being corte_ beinganswering to sponding the vla natureand a physical io

294

Chapter-14

l,{etaphysical Factors Dealh ol

291

the ohvsicalnalure, Now in the evolulionary emergence lar ellectualed so here upon earth,the dual aspectof chit-shakti-the aspectol consciousness and the aspeclof Jofce-have nol quitemarched in slep,lhuscreatinq adeleterious division between demand the ol the conscious being,Purusha, and the capacities the lorceol ol nature,Prakriti-Shakti. man,Jorexample, In there is not onty a d visionand conllictbelween the diversedemandsand pullsol lhe mental, vitalandthe physicalbeings, what is worse, the but each ol lhem is also dividedagainslitsell. Thus, "the capacity the body is lessthan the capacilyoi o{ lhe inslinctive soulorconscious bejng, physical the Prusha withjn il, lhe capacilyof lhe vital lorce less than lhe capacityof the rmpulsive soul,the vital conscious being or Purushawithinit, the capacily of the mental energylesslhan the capacity of the Inlelleclualand emotional soul,lhe mental Purusha withtn For it, the soul is the inner consciousness which aspiresto ils own completesell-realisation and theretorealways exceedslhe individuallormalion the moment, oi and the Forcewhrchhas laken rls poise inthe lormationis alwayspushed by its sout to that which rs abnormalto the poise,lranscendent it; lhus conof slanllypushedil has muchtroublein answering, modern evolv1g trom lhe presenr a greatercapacily lo Now lhe questionis: how lo solvethis probtem division of belween consciousness force?Mind,as it grows,triesin its and own limlted way lo resolve resultant the conflicts, mosllythrough a processot makeshilt compromise. this ad hoc solulions But no solr.riion all. and mind tails miserablyin the end. As a malter at of fact, lhe problem cannoibe solvedon lhe ptaneof the mind. lor essenlially this is a queslionot satislying full the nlinite in asp ralron an immorlal of being,-the secretgodhead, the embod ed Divine-lodgedin the contines a mortalliie and body. of Hence,the mind of man, baffledby the immensily ihe task, of g ves up the atlempt a moodof desperation in "either submisby

sionwithlhe materialisl lhe modaliiyof our apparent ng or lo be and withthe ascetic and the regionalist bythe rejection condem_ nationol the ea hly liie and wilhdrawal happierand easier lo 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 the lundamenlaloJ all,-that necessitales justilies presence and ol oeath nlhe actual state ol evolutionaryprogression.For, il arises lrom the basic "necessity ol lhe nalure and objecl ol on embodiedlile itself,which is lo seek infinileexperience a linile basis." has Indeed, this slupendous cosmicBecoming Jorits secret in purposeand goal the discovery and enjoymeni, Spaceand beyond Time and Space.And in Time,of all that alreadyexisis this cosrnic D.ama, visvaJile, The soul is a figureof the Unmanifest, The mind labours lhink ihe lJnthinkable, lo The lile lo call lhe lmmorlalinto birth. the llliumilable. The body lo enshrine pos elaboralron evolulionary of But, in the as yet imperfect ihe sibrlilies, form and the basislhroughwhichand upon which the individual soul sourredbv its secrelsense of divineinfini' is lude seeksto build up its inliniteexperience, by its very or_ the ganrzation limltedand rigid,thus circumscribing posslbility preas al present ln ol ol experience, the conditions existence on this inliniteexperience a finitebasisbecomesat all vailing, and dissolLr_ assumptjon teaslbleonlVlhroughthe successive an inlinite seriesol forms ln the wordsof Srl Aurobindo: tion ol on itsellby concentratlng the "The soul,having once limited aga n by the momentand the field,is drivento seek iis inlinity to by princip ol succession, addingmoment momenland tflus e whichit callslls pasl;in lhatTime storingup a Time-experience

292

Chapler.l4

rt moveslhroughsuccessive Jields, successive experiences or lives,successive accumulations knowledge, of capacity, enjoynenl and all lhis rl holds in subconscrous superconsc'oJs or 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 meansdissolution the body,", of We havecompleted studyoi lhe metaphysics Deathi our of vr'e have seen lhe necessity and juslificalion lhis processof lor Nature, indeedas a denialofLife,but as the process Liie not ol itseli.For lo repeatin part what we havequoiedbefore, "dealh rs necessary because elernalchangeof form is the sole immortalily lo which the ,rlle living substance can aspire and elernal changeof experlence sole infinilylo wh ch the linte mind lhe invalved in living body can allain." Such rs lhen the problem death;and once the problem ol is kncrvn rrs'undamenla' In nalure, solulton mustbe torlhcomlne ing inlhemarchof the spiril.Indeed, italjcised portions the lhe ot above crlaliona ready suggestthe possible clues lo tt.

Chapter-15

The Physiologyof

Senescence Death and

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: Progrcss becamea purveyorol Death llbid., Book , CantoV[, p. 204) "Thisis the scientific view of death. But it teavesdeath with allit mystery, withallils sacrectness; are not in the leas! we 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 essenllal thesetwo slat6s,science ulte y unable b u; to 6 lo at the prcsenItitne." (Dr.Minot,Age, Growth and Death) T I he phenomenon sentledecayand naluralctealhhas ol remained thisdatean insoluble lill riddle science. have to We willy.nilly cometo acceplthe tacl that all thingsbornmustljve grow with lor a while, old timeandeventually Butphysiology dje. knowsno reasonwhy lhe bodyshouldineluclably wear out in lhisway. Dr Maurice As Vernet so kenchany poinied has oul. "Biologically speaking and jn naturalcondations, is io sav. that accidenlal vrolence being excluded, lhereshould and need not not havebe endealhat all...Viewed ths aspect the bodv. from of dealhseems us to be altogelher lo meaningless ron-seas (un

Chapter-15

waysby some in Thesameideahasbeenexpressed different authorities well:e,9,, as medical eminenl other reasonal the presentday why "Thereis no physiological William Hammond) A. diel'(Dr. menshould accidenlally frame, unless as "Sucha machine lhe human would by externalcause, seemiormed or injured some depraved (Dr. for perpeluity. GerDanMedicalProspectus) in \i) Lawof oryanisation-All life realises timeand n space conoJ whena characteristic lhe species organisation a specific under normal condilions, ol cerned, course has livingorganism lhe powerlo (ii) Lawof assimilation-A lhe to and lranstorm makesimilar ils ownsubstance naterials as that it borrowslrom its environmenl its nulrition ot hatever maybe the quanlrty lhe liii\ Lawof rcgulation-W sels up qualityof exchange operations that a livingorganrsm inlervenes lo regulation worldan incossant withthe surounding ol its rhythms' equilibrium in the maintain organisation lhe specific and tissuecomposition. founctions -Even living normal under being, (iv) Lawol reproduction itselfin possesses Powerto self-reproduce the conditions, enlicallY. lvJ Law of specilicity Every livingJormis, in ils lunda_ to (response), specifice the species whrch to mentalexcitability i1belongs. thereoc' lvi) Lawol revesibility Foreverynewexistence, and, cursa cyclicreiurnlo the stateol indiflerentiation, lhroughlocomeback a out the cou.seol lite,theremanifests tendency equitibrium ol the species slale to lhe lundamenlal Wilhoutseekingto elucidaletheselawso{ life in terms in' on readers,lel concentrale lhesecond us lo telligible non-screnlitic proves suliicient thal Iawalone.For,it is this lawol assimilation some a by ilseltto characterise livingbody,and it is perphaps

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 deathdeath 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, tma-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-Blissan 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 dhma, 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 individualityalthough 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.