Post by Owain on Jul 29, 2023 14:44:40 GMT
5. udyamo bhairavaḥ //
That effort— the flashing forth of active awareness— that
instantaneously makes universal consciousness shine, is
Bhairava.
There are two kinds of effort, passive and active. Here we are concerned with
active effort, not passive effort. Active effort is elevating . It is effort that, when
it flows out in active consciousness, makes one’s universal consciousness shine
instantaneously. Active effort is bhairava because it carries one to the state of
bhairava.
And active effort that takes you abruptly, in one flight, to your consciousness
and causes the supreme knowledge of being (pratibhā) to radiate is bhairava,
because all energies are diluted and digested in one energy, svātantrya śakti. It
is also bhairava because the whole universe is filled with svātantrya, and
because here all differentiated perception ends.
Active effort is called bhairava because it becomes the means of carrying you
toward the state of bhairava. This kind of effort is found in real devotees whose
consciousness is always introverted in the awareness of God consciousness. This
is the meaning of this sūtra. It is also said in Mālinīvijaya Tantra:
The penetrative inescapable state of trance, which absorbs your individual being, is called śāmbhava
samāveśa. Because of the elevating infusion of power from the master, this śāmbhava samāveśa is
experienced by one who is capable of keeping away all thoughts and impressions. (Mālinīvijaya
Tantra 2.23)
Our masters explain this verse in this way. When you are capable, then your
master will uplift you. If you are not capable, he will not be successful in
carrying you there. This means you must be capable of absorbing this kind of
awareness.
In Svacchanda Tantra it is also said:
Oh Pārvatī, all mantras are successful for the one who contemplates on his own self as one with
bhairava because he is always one with that awareness of consciousness (samāveśa). (Svacchanda
Tantra)
In this verse from the Svacchanda Tantra, “contemplates” means “to meditate on
the introverted active state of elevating consciousness.” This is explained in
Spanda in the following verse:
Take one thought. Contemplate on that one thought with unwavering concentration. Then, when
another movement rises in your mind from that first thought, that is spanda and that is unmeṣa.
19 You
have to observe it yourself and that will be spanda. (Spanda Kārikā 3.9)
Here it is explained how, after instantaneously taking hold of supreme
consciousness, one attains establishment in bhairava, by which establishment he
destroys the threefold bondage of ignorance. And if supreme consciousness is
not held in an instant, it won’t be held at all.
Now, in the next sūtra, the author explains how, by the intensity of meditation
(parāmarśa), the external state of dualistic consciousness is absorbed in
nondualistic consciousness.
6. śakticakrasaṁdhāne viśvasaṁhāraḥ //
By establishing and meditating on the wheel of energies,
the differentiated universe comes to an end.
Bhairava, which has already been explained, carries you to the highest summit
of active consciousness and is found together with svātantrya śakti. How is
svātantrya śakti found as one with Bhairava? You will find Her as one with
Bhairava by keeping your organs in action, and then by establishing yourself
inside, observing the action within. This is Bhairava mudrā. The supreme
energy of Bhairava holds both the successive movement and nonsuccessive
movement
20 of the collective totality of energies. But in fact, here there is
neither a successive way or a nonsuccessive way of meditation. Why? Because,
both nonsuccessive and successive ways of meditation require something to
meditate on. Here there is nothing to meditate on.
So, in the state of svātantrya śakti, there is no meditation. It is not the means
(upāya) of śāmbhava, or śākta, or āṇava. It is anupāya and beyond anupāya.
21
Supreme energy excludes śāmbhava, śākta and āṇava upāyas and, at the same
time, they are all included. The state of svātantrya śakti excludes everything and
also includes everything. This is the state of svātantrya śakti. Why would they
be excluded? They would be excluded because the way does not exist at all.
There is no way to go, there is no traveling. From the point you start, that is what
is to be held. You have to hold that starting point and that is all. Although this
svātantrya śakti is both successive and nonsuccessive, it is above that. Why?
Because it is the supreme energy of Lord Śiva, which is absolutely independent
awareness.
The play of creation, protection, and destruction is the recreation of
svātantrya śakti.
22 Where? In the ground of her own nature (svarūpa). Right
from the element earth (pṛithvī) up to the state of the supreme perceiver (para
pramātṛi). When the heroic yogī meditates with continuous contemplation on
that collective class
23 of energies of Śiva (śakti cakra), which is found in only
one energy, svātantrya śakti, he destroys this dualistic universe right from
kālāgni rūdra
24up to śāntātītā kalā.
25You must understand though, destruction
does not mean that it is destroyed. Although it is individually found, externally
found, or found in his own awareness, the heroic yogī feels that the entire
universe has become one with the fire of supreme consciousness. The secret
teaching is contained in special tantras that remain unwritten and have been
orally transmitted from master to disciple.
It is also said in Bhargaśikhā śāstra:
When, at the time of meditating on the wheel of energies, he digests and destroys everything–death,
the sphere of time, the collection of all activities found in the world, the totality of all emotions,
becoming the object of all perceptions,
26
becoming the object of one thought or various thoughts—in
his own supreme being he causes that whole to enter in that supreme consciousness of God.
The Vīravala Śāstra also says the same thing:
That consciousness, where everything is destroyed and the totality of thirty-six elements is burned to
ashes, should be perceived in one’s own body, shining like kālāgni rūdra.
27
(Vīravala Śāstra)
The Mālinī Vijaya Tantra also says the same thing.
The one who meditates on that unspeakable and indescribable being gains entry into his own nature by
that trance called śākta samāveśa. (Mālinī Vijaya Tantra 2.22)
Now, the author of the commentary, Kṣhemarāja, tells us that he will not give
us any further clarification because the Mālinī Vijaya Tantra teaches us that this
state and power of contemplation will only appear in the one who serves the feet
of a master. He says that a more vivid explanation must come from the mouth of
the master.
This is narrated in Spanda Kārikās in this first verse and in the last verse:
By whose twinkling of the eyes, in their opening and closing, this whole universe is created and
destroyed . . . (Spanda Kārikā 1.1)
When one is unflinchingly focused to one-pointedness, then he enters in his supreme consciousness . . .
(Spanda Kārikā 3.19)
There is no difference between a mystical trance (samādhi) and the world of
action (vyutthāna) when the world of dualistic perception is completely digested
in one’s own consciousness.
7.
jāgratsvapnasuṣuptabhede turyābhogasaṁbhava
28
//
Such a heroic yogī experiences the expansive state of
turya in the differentiated states of waking, dreaming and
deep sleep.
When that aspirant, who is a hero in meditation, through the flashing forth of
active awareness
29
instantaneously makes universal consciousness shine
(udyamo bhairavaḥ), then for him the expansive state of turya
30 occurs in all
states, waking (jāgrat), dreaming (svapna) and deep sleep (suṣupti). For this
yogī, all the states of experience, waking, dreaming and deep sleep, are one with
turya. He does not experience any difference between this world and the state of
samādhi. This happens to that yogī who is a great yogī, with advanced
development of awareness.
It is said in the Candrajñāna:
Just like the moon, shining in the sky, beautiful like a flower, captivating the mind, instantaneously
fills this world with happiness. In the same way, when this heroic yogī wanders about in this world,
with the rays of his knowledge, he purifies and fills it with supreme bliss right from hell (avīchi) to
śiva. (Śrī Candrajāna)
In the Spanda Kārikā, it is explained in this verse:
In the differentiated states of waking, dreaming and deep sleep, that supreme consciousness of turya is
found as one. (Spanda Kārikā 1.3)
Now, in the next three sūtras, the author explains the three states of
consciousness, waking (jāgrat), dreaming (svapna), and deep sleep (suṣupti).
8. jñānaṁ jāgrat //
External organic knowledge constitutes the waking state.
External organic knowledge (jñānam) is not knowledge of the self; it is dualistic
knowledge.
9. svapno vikalpāḥ //
Internal perceptions and thoughts compose the dreaming
state.
The Sanskrit word vikalpāḥ means “internal perceptions.” If internal perceptions
are found in the waking state, it is also dreaming (svapna).
10. aviveko māyāsauṣuptam //
Forgetfulness and the negation of awareness is the
dreamless state or māyā.
That which is the object of everyone because it is from the external organic
world comprises the waking state (jāgrat).
Those objects which are created in one’s own mind and become perceptions
of only one individual constitute the dreaming state. In the dreaming state,
thought is predominant.
And when you are absolutely unaware, unable to differentiate your being—
not being present where you are—this ignorance, this negation, is the state of
deep sleep. This state is one with māyā. It makes you absolutely deluded about
your nature. So, although it is the dreamless state (suṣupti) that is explained
here, you must understand that the state of māyā, which must be discarded, has
the same explanation.
Up to this point, we have explained the three states of consciousness, waking,
dreaming, and deep sleep. You must now understand that each of these states
contains three additional states. Thus in the waking state there are three states, in
the dreaming state there are three states, and in the state of deep sleep there are
three states. And these three additional states are waking, dreaming and deep
sleep. So there is waking in wakefulness, dreaming in wakefulness and deep
sleep in wakefulness.
You must know that in the waking state, whenever you find that there is
external organic knowledge, that is wakefulness in the waking state. When there
are only thoughts in the waking state, that is dreaming in the waking state and
when there is unawareness (moha), the negation of your self, in the waking state
that is deep sleep in the waking state.
These three states also exist in the dreaming state. When, while dreaming,
there is some subjective knowledge and you are conscious of dreaming, feeling
that you are dreaming a dream, that dreaming state is called wakefulness in the
dreaming state. When, while dreaming, you are given completely to perception
without any awareness of that subjective consciousness, that is the dream state
within a dream. And when these dreams are not remembered at all, that is the
deep sleep state within a dream.
Now, take the state of deep sleep. Where can wakefulness be found in the
deep sleep state? Where can wakefulness exist when there is the absolute
negation of thoughts and awareness? Although thought does not exist in the state
of deep sleep, there is a point before entering the state of deep sleep where one
feels that he is going to get complete rest. This is wakefulness in the deep sleep
state. When the impressions of the deep sleep state remain, causing one to think
upon waking that he was sleeping and does not know anything, this is dreaming
in the state of deep sleep. In the dreaming state of deep sleep, there are
impressions and there are thoughts of these impressions, but these are not gross
thoughts. Rather, these are thoughts held in a subtle way. They are thoughts in
the state of impressions. The completely thoughtless state is deep sleep in the
state of deep sleep.
Now we will analyze these three states: waking, dreaming and deep sleep
from the yogic point of view. When a yogī is completely one-pointed in
meditation (dhāraṇā), that is the waking state. Here the yogī is aware at the
beginning of meditation that he is meditating and he is one-pointed about
meditating. This is active, not passive,
31 meditation. For yogīs, the state of
meditation is called wakefulness because here the yogī is given to onepointedness.
When one-pointedness is breaklessly maintained as the continuity of one
thought, that, for the yogī, is the dreaming state. For the yogī, this state of
dreaming is higher than wakefulness. And, for yogīs, higher still is the state
known as deep sleep. This state exists when both the state of objectivity and the
state of subjectivity instantly vanish. This is samādhi, the thoughtless state of
consciousness, and it is deep sleep for yogīs.
This is why in Mālinī Vijaya Tantra the three states—wakefulness, dreaming
and deep sleep—are shown one in another. In the waking state, there is
wakefulness; in the waking state there is dreaming; and in the waking state there
is deep sleep. Also in the dreaming state as well as in deep sleep there is
wakefulness, dreaming and deep sleep.
Also from the yogic point of view it is explained:
Abuddha is the state of wakefulness in wakefulness. Buddha is the state of wakefulness in dreaming,
prabuddha is the state of wakefulness in deep sleep. And suprabuddha is the state of wakefulness in
the fourth state (turya).
So these threefold states, waking, dreaming and deep sleep, are explained from
the worldly point of view and the yogic point of view.
The heroic yogī, who has destroyed this entire universe by meditating on the
collective wheel of energies and through that process has achieved the expansive
state known as “the fourth” (turya), and who embraces everywhere, in waking,
dreaming, deep sleep, and also in turya, the all-pervading oneness of God
consciousness, ascends to and is established in that supreme summit of turya, the
state known as “beyond the fourth” (turyātītaṁ).
It is said in this sūtra:
11. tritayabhoktā vīreśaḥ //
The one who enjoys in the oneness of awareness all of the
three states—waking, dreaming, and deep sleep—
becomes the master of all organic energies.
When this yogī, through meditating on the wheel of energies (śakticakra),
apprehends the threefold state of waking, dreaming and deep sleep as absolutely
free from all dualistic thoughts, filled with the nectar of bliss (ānanda rasa) and
completely mixed with turya, then this yogī has truly relished these three states
in the oneness of awareness. He is one who, enjoying the oneness of these three
states in turya, becomes vīreśaḥ, the master of all active organic energies.
32
This heroic yogī is simultaneously aware of where objectivity and where
subjectivity exist in the three states of waking, dreaming and deep sleep and is
never stained by them.
33 This kind of yogī enjoys the unrivaled kingdom of the
universal self. He is filled with supreme bliss and becomes master of heroes
(vīras) who are dedicated to digesting the sense of difference in the universe. He
is said to be one with Manthāna Bhairava, which is Bhairava who churns
everything, all objectivity, all cognition and all subjectivity, into one
consciousness, producing a supreme undifferentiated mixture of universal
consciousness. This is how it is explained in very rare Tantras.
On the other hand, the ordinary worldly man, who is not like this heroic yogī,
is played by the three states, waking, dreaming and deep sleep. He is just like a
beast. And so also that yogī who has not attained this supreme state of
consciousness, he too is not the master of all active organic energies. He is also
just like a beast. This is very well explained in sacred texts such as the
Svacchanda Tantra:
The yogī, who has adopted independent yoga and because of that independent yoga is moving in an
independent way and is situated in an independent state, gets entry in an independent being.
(Svacchanda Tantra 7.260)
In Spanda Kārikā, the explanation is given in the following verse:
The knowledge of that spanda is held by him in the same way in waking, dreaming and deep sleep.
(Spanda Kārikā 1.17)
In the waking state, the knowledge of that spanda is not less than it is in the
dreaming state or in the state of deep sleep and vice versa. This yogī experiences
that the state of turya is identical in all three states.
Now the author asks this question. Does such a yogī have any characteristics that
would lead one to surmise that he is established in the state of paramaśiva? The
answer to this question is yes, there are signs. The author now explains in this
sūtra the signs by which we can determine that a yogī is established in that
supreme state of Lord Śiva.
12. vismayo yogabhūmikāḥ //
The predominant sign of such a yogī is joy-filled
amazement.
This yogī is filled with joy and amazement. The Sanskrit word vismaya means
“amazement completely filled with joy.” Just as a person seeing some wonderful
object is amazed, in the same way, this yogī is filled with amazement who, in the
objective world of senses, experiences entry in his own self filled with
consciousness, which is unique, intense, always fresh and uncommonly
charming, and by which entry all his varieties of organs are filled with blooming,
ever smiling, one-pointed joy.
What kind of amazement is this? This yogī, upon entering into that limitless
state of bliss (ānanda), is never satiated with the experience. On the contrary, he
feels bathed with the amazement of joy. This is the predominent state of yoga of
a yogī who has become one with the supreme Lord, the supreme tattva, Śiva
tattva. And by this, you can surmise that he has ascended to the state of Śiva.
On the other hand, to perceive at the place of rectum (mūlādhāra) a joyful
state of consciousness or to perceive effulgent light between the two eyebrows
are not the states of such a yogī. These are to be discarded. There is only one
sign of such a yogī and that is that he is filled with amazement overflowing with
joy. It is said in Kulayukta Śāstra:
When yogīs perceive the state of the self by their own effort, then in their own self they perceive the
fullness of wonder filled with joy. (Kulayukta Śāstra)
Here in this verse is the conclusion reached in Spanda Kārikā:
When he perceives his own nature through subjective perception, then he perceives that he is one with
this reality. For him, being wonderstruck and filled with wonderful joy, there is no possiblility of
traveling the path of repeated births and deaths. (Spanda Kārikā 1.11)
Such a yogī, established in this kind of yoga, filled with the wonderful state of
joy,
13. icchā śakttirūmā kumāri //
His will is the energy of Lord Śiva and it is called umā
and it is called kumāri.
or,
For such a yogī, his will is one with the energy of Lord
Śiva, unobstructable, completely independent, always
given to play.
His will is the energy (śakti) of Lord Śiva. And, his will is not only energy it is
also called umā and kumārī. The author has provided these three names for the
will of such a yogī.
The will of the yogī, who has attained complete entry into the state of
Bhairava and become one with supreme Bhairava, is the energy of Lord Śiva. It
is one with umā. Here, in this sūtra, the word umā does not refer to the wife of
Lord Śiva. Here the word umā refers to the independent energy of the supreme
Lord (svātantrya).
The will of this yogī is also called kumārī. The Sanskrit word kumārī can be
translated and understood in a number of ways. It could be that kumārī refers to
that energy that plays in the universe, creating, protecting, and destroying it. But
why use this definition? Because in Sanskrit grammar, the word kumāra is
contained in the meaning of krīḍā, which means “to play.” Kumārī, therefore,
means that energy that is always given to play.
There is another meaning of Kumārī. Kumārī can be understood as kuṁ
mārayati. Here kuṁ means the differentiated perception in this world and
mārayati is the energy that destroys differentiated perception and directs it into
one’s own nature. That is kumārī. Also, kumārī can be understood to mean
“virgin.” In this context, what do we mean by the word “virgin”? Here “virgin”
is to be understood as referring to that girl that has never been enjoyed by any
other agency. She is one who has established her own nature in the state of
enjoyer. She is enjoying her own nature in her own way. She does not require
any other vehicle for enjoyment. This is kumārī and this is the state of being
virgin. This kind of girl is always one with her own nature. She is not looking to
the opposite sex for satisfaction. There is still another way to understand the
meaning of umākumārī. At the time when Umā was virgin, she was completely
detached from the world of enjoyment. When she had given herself to perform
penance in order to receive the blessing of Lord Śiva, her mind was onepointedly focused only on Lord Śiva. She was always one with that being of
Śiva. In the same way, the desire of such a yogī is completely one-pointed. He
always wills entry in his own nature and nothing else. This is how our masters
have explained the meaning of this sūtra.
34
So this kind of yogī, established in yoga in all three states and filled with
joyous amazement, does not, like ordinary people, possess gross desire in his
mind. On the contrary, his energy of will is always one with the supreme energy
of Lord Śiva and, therefore, there is no power that can obstruct it. This verse in
the Svacchanda Śāstra is saying the same thing:
Lord Śiva’s energy of will (svātantrya śakti) is one with devī (goddess) who, as His energy, is known
by many different names. This energy of will is concealed with the magic of yoga and, named Kumārī,
is desired by every being. (Svacchanda Tantra 10.727)
Everyone wants to have this kind of will so that whatever he desires, he gets. In
the Netra Tantra, the same thing is explained:
Oh Pārvatī! His will is one with my will, my supreme energy. It is one with myself and rises from my
own nature.
35
The energy of the will of this yogī has become the cause of the entire universe because the energy of
this yogī is one with the energy of Lord Śiva, just as heat is one with fire and rays are one with the
sun. In the same way, his energy is one with the self of Śiva. (Netra Tantra 1.25–26)
This is concluded in Spanda Kārikā in this śloka.
He does not infuse the power of will in his senses but when he wills, it is done. He does not crave for
any desire but, because he possesses the strength of supreme I, when he desires, he wills, and it is
accomplished. (Spanda Kārikā 1.8)
To such a great yogī who has such a great will, desire . . .
14. dṛiśyaṁ śarīram //
This entire perceived world is his own self.
That effort— the flashing forth of active awareness— that
instantaneously makes universal consciousness shine, is
Bhairava.
There are two kinds of effort, passive and active. Here we are concerned with
active effort, not passive effort. Active effort is elevating . It is effort that, when
it flows out in active consciousness, makes one’s universal consciousness shine
instantaneously. Active effort is bhairava because it carries one to the state of
bhairava.
And active effort that takes you abruptly, in one flight, to your consciousness
and causes the supreme knowledge of being (pratibhā) to radiate is bhairava,
because all energies are diluted and digested in one energy, svātantrya śakti. It
is also bhairava because the whole universe is filled with svātantrya, and
because here all differentiated perception ends.
Active effort is called bhairava because it becomes the means of carrying you
toward the state of bhairava. This kind of effort is found in real devotees whose
consciousness is always introverted in the awareness of God consciousness. This
is the meaning of this sūtra. It is also said in Mālinīvijaya Tantra:
The penetrative inescapable state of trance, which absorbs your individual being, is called śāmbhava
samāveśa. Because of the elevating infusion of power from the master, this śāmbhava samāveśa is
experienced by one who is capable of keeping away all thoughts and impressions. (Mālinīvijaya
Tantra 2.23)
Our masters explain this verse in this way. When you are capable, then your
master will uplift you. If you are not capable, he will not be successful in
carrying you there. This means you must be capable of absorbing this kind of
awareness.
In Svacchanda Tantra it is also said:
Oh Pārvatī, all mantras are successful for the one who contemplates on his own self as one with
bhairava because he is always one with that awareness of consciousness (samāveśa). (Svacchanda
Tantra)
In this verse from the Svacchanda Tantra, “contemplates” means “to meditate on
the introverted active state of elevating consciousness.” This is explained in
Spanda in the following verse:
Take one thought. Contemplate on that one thought with unwavering concentration. Then, when
another movement rises in your mind from that first thought, that is spanda and that is unmeṣa.
19 You
have to observe it yourself and that will be spanda. (Spanda Kārikā 3.9)
Here it is explained how, after instantaneously taking hold of supreme
consciousness, one attains establishment in bhairava, by which establishment he
destroys the threefold bondage of ignorance. And if supreme consciousness is
not held in an instant, it won’t be held at all.
Now, in the next sūtra, the author explains how, by the intensity of meditation
(parāmarśa), the external state of dualistic consciousness is absorbed in
nondualistic consciousness.
6. śakticakrasaṁdhāne viśvasaṁhāraḥ //
By establishing and meditating on the wheel of energies,
the differentiated universe comes to an end.
Bhairava, which has already been explained, carries you to the highest summit
of active consciousness and is found together with svātantrya śakti. How is
svātantrya śakti found as one with Bhairava? You will find Her as one with
Bhairava by keeping your organs in action, and then by establishing yourself
inside, observing the action within. This is Bhairava mudrā. The supreme
energy of Bhairava holds both the successive movement and nonsuccessive
movement
20 of the collective totality of energies. But in fact, here there is
neither a successive way or a nonsuccessive way of meditation. Why? Because,
both nonsuccessive and successive ways of meditation require something to
meditate on. Here there is nothing to meditate on.
So, in the state of svātantrya śakti, there is no meditation. It is not the means
(upāya) of śāmbhava, or śākta, or āṇava. It is anupāya and beyond anupāya.
21
Supreme energy excludes śāmbhava, śākta and āṇava upāyas and, at the same
time, they are all included. The state of svātantrya śakti excludes everything and
also includes everything. This is the state of svātantrya śakti. Why would they
be excluded? They would be excluded because the way does not exist at all.
There is no way to go, there is no traveling. From the point you start, that is what
is to be held. You have to hold that starting point and that is all. Although this
svātantrya śakti is both successive and nonsuccessive, it is above that. Why?
Because it is the supreme energy of Lord Śiva, which is absolutely independent
awareness.
The play of creation, protection, and destruction is the recreation of
svātantrya śakti.
22 Where? In the ground of her own nature (svarūpa). Right
from the element earth (pṛithvī) up to the state of the supreme perceiver (para
pramātṛi). When the heroic yogī meditates with continuous contemplation on
that collective class
23 of energies of Śiva (śakti cakra), which is found in only
one energy, svātantrya śakti, he destroys this dualistic universe right from
kālāgni rūdra
24up to śāntātītā kalā.
25You must understand though, destruction
does not mean that it is destroyed. Although it is individually found, externally
found, or found in his own awareness, the heroic yogī feels that the entire
universe has become one with the fire of supreme consciousness. The secret
teaching is contained in special tantras that remain unwritten and have been
orally transmitted from master to disciple.
It is also said in Bhargaśikhā śāstra:
When, at the time of meditating on the wheel of energies, he digests and destroys everything–death,
the sphere of time, the collection of all activities found in the world, the totality of all emotions,
becoming the object of all perceptions,
26
becoming the object of one thought or various thoughts—in
his own supreme being he causes that whole to enter in that supreme consciousness of God.
The Vīravala Śāstra also says the same thing:
That consciousness, where everything is destroyed and the totality of thirty-six elements is burned to
ashes, should be perceived in one’s own body, shining like kālāgni rūdra.
27
(Vīravala Śāstra)
The Mālinī Vijaya Tantra also says the same thing.
The one who meditates on that unspeakable and indescribable being gains entry into his own nature by
that trance called śākta samāveśa. (Mālinī Vijaya Tantra 2.22)
Now, the author of the commentary, Kṣhemarāja, tells us that he will not give
us any further clarification because the Mālinī Vijaya Tantra teaches us that this
state and power of contemplation will only appear in the one who serves the feet
of a master. He says that a more vivid explanation must come from the mouth of
the master.
This is narrated in Spanda Kārikās in this first verse and in the last verse:
By whose twinkling of the eyes, in their opening and closing, this whole universe is created and
destroyed . . . (Spanda Kārikā 1.1)
When one is unflinchingly focused to one-pointedness, then he enters in his supreme consciousness . . .
(Spanda Kārikā 3.19)
There is no difference between a mystical trance (samādhi) and the world of
action (vyutthāna) when the world of dualistic perception is completely digested
in one’s own consciousness.
7.
jāgratsvapnasuṣuptabhede turyābhogasaṁbhava
28
//
Such a heroic yogī experiences the expansive state of
turya in the differentiated states of waking, dreaming and
deep sleep.
When that aspirant, who is a hero in meditation, through the flashing forth of
active awareness
29
instantaneously makes universal consciousness shine
(udyamo bhairavaḥ), then for him the expansive state of turya
30 occurs in all
states, waking (jāgrat), dreaming (svapna) and deep sleep (suṣupti). For this
yogī, all the states of experience, waking, dreaming and deep sleep, are one with
turya. He does not experience any difference between this world and the state of
samādhi. This happens to that yogī who is a great yogī, with advanced
development of awareness.
It is said in the Candrajñāna:
Just like the moon, shining in the sky, beautiful like a flower, captivating the mind, instantaneously
fills this world with happiness. In the same way, when this heroic yogī wanders about in this world,
with the rays of his knowledge, he purifies and fills it with supreme bliss right from hell (avīchi) to
śiva. (Śrī Candrajāna)
In the Spanda Kārikā, it is explained in this verse:
In the differentiated states of waking, dreaming and deep sleep, that supreme consciousness of turya is
found as one. (Spanda Kārikā 1.3)
Now, in the next three sūtras, the author explains the three states of
consciousness, waking (jāgrat), dreaming (svapna), and deep sleep (suṣupti).
8. jñānaṁ jāgrat //
External organic knowledge constitutes the waking state.
External organic knowledge (jñānam) is not knowledge of the self; it is dualistic
knowledge.
9. svapno vikalpāḥ //
Internal perceptions and thoughts compose the dreaming
state.
The Sanskrit word vikalpāḥ means “internal perceptions.” If internal perceptions
are found in the waking state, it is also dreaming (svapna).
10. aviveko māyāsauṣuptam //
Forgetfulness and the negation of awareness is the
dreamless state or māyā.
That which is the object of everyone because it is from the external organic
world comprises the waking state (jāgrat).
Those objects which are created in one’s own mind and become perceptions
of only one individual constitute the dreaming state. In the dreaming state,
thought is predominant.
And when you are absolutely unaware, unable to differentiate your being—
not being present where you are—this ignorance, this negation, is the state of
deep sleep. This state is one with māyā. It makes you absolutely deluded about
your nature. So, although it is the dreamless state (suṣupti) that is explained
here, you must understand that the state of māyā, which must be discarded, has
the same explanation.
Up to this point, we have explained the three states of consciousness, waking,
dreaming, and deep sleep. You must now understand that each of these states
contains three additional states. Thus in the waking state there are three states, in
the dreaming state there are three states, and in the state of deep sleep there are
three states. And these three additional states are waking, dreaming and deep
sleep. So there is waking in wakefulness, dreaming in wakefulness and deep
sleep in wakefulness.
You must know that in the waking state, whenever you find that there is
external organic knowledge, that is wakefulness in the waking state. When there
are only thoughts in the waking state, that is dreaming in the waking state and
when there is unawareness (moha), the negation of your self, in the waking state
that is deep sleep in the waking state.
These three states also exist in the dreaming state. When, while dreaming,
there is some subjective knowledge and you are conscious of dreaming, feeling
that you are dreaming a dream, that dreaming state is called wakefulness in the
dreaming state. When, while dreaming, you are given completely to perception
without any awareness of that subjective consciousness, that is the dream state
within a dream. And when these dreams are not remembered at all, that is the
deep sleep state within a dream.
Now, take the state of deep sleep. Where can wakefulness be found in the
deep sleep state? Where can wakefulness exist when there is the absolute
negation of thoughts and awareness? Although thought does not exist in the state
of deep sleep, there is a point before entering the state of deep sleep where one
feels that he is going to get complete rest. This is wakefulness in the deep sleep
state. When the impressions of the deep sleep state remain, causing one to think
upon waking that he was sleeping and does not know anything, this is dreaming
in the state of deep sleep. In the dreaming state of deep sleep, there are
impressions and there are thoughts of these impressions, but these are not gross
thoughts. Rather, these are thoughts held in a subtle way. They are thoughts in
the state of impressions. The completely thoughtless state is deep sleep in the
state of deep sleep.
Now we will analyze these three states: waking, dreaming and deep sleep
from the yogic point of view. When a yogī is completely one-pointed in
meditation (dhāraṇā), that is the waking state. Here the yogī is aware at the
beginning of meditation that he is meditating and he is one-pointed about
meditating. This is active, not passive,
31 meditation. For yogīs, the state of
meditation is called wakefulness because here the yogī is given to onepointedness.
When one-pointedness is breaklessly maintained as the continuity of one
thought, that, for the yogī, is the dreaming state. For the yogī, this state of
dreaming is higher than wakefulness. And, for yogīs, higher still is the state
known as deep sleep. This state exists when both the state of objectivity and the
state of subjectivity instantly vanish. This is samādhi, the thoughtless state of
consciousness, and it is deep sleep for yogīs.
This is why in Mālinī Vijaya Tantra the three states—wakefulness, dreaming
and deep sleep—are shown one in another. In the waking state, there is
wakefulness; in the waking state there is dreaming; and in the waking state there
is deep sleep. Also in the dreaming state as well as in deep sleep there is
wakefulness, dreaming and deep sleep.
Also from the yogic point of view it is explained:
Abuddha is the state of wakefulness in wakefulness. Buddha is the state of wakefulness in dreaming,
prabuddha is the state of wakefulness in deep sleep. And suprabuddha is the state of wakefulness in
the fourth state (turya).
So these threefold states, waking, dreaming and deep sleep, are explained from
the worldly point of view and the yogic point of view.
The heroic yogī, who has destroyed this entire universe by meditating on the
collective wheel of energies and through that process has achieved the expansive
state known as “the fourth” (turya), and who embraces everywhere, in waking,
dreaming, deep sleep, and also in turya, the all-pervading oneness of God
consciousness, ascends to and is established in that supreme summit of turya, the
state known as “beyond the fourth” (turyātītaṁ).
It is said in this sūtra:
11. tritayabhoktā vīreśaḥ //
The one who enjoys in the oneness of awareness all of the
three states—waking, dreaming, and deep sleep—
becomes the master of all organic energies.
When this yogī, through meditating on the wheel of energies (śakticakra),
apprehends the threefold state of waking, dreaming and deep sleep as absolutely
free from all dualistic thoughts, filled with the nectar of bliss (ānanda rasa) and
completely mixed with turya, then this yogī has truly relished these three states
in the oneness of awareness. He is one who, enjoying the oneness of these three
states in turya, becomes vīreśaḥ, the master of all active organic energies.
32
This heroic yogī is simultaneously aware of where objectivity and where
subjectivity exist in the three states of waking, dreaming and deep sleep and is
never stained by them.
33 This kind of yogī enjoys the unrivaled kingdom of the
universal self. He is filled with supreme bliss and becomes master of heroes
(vīras) who are dedicated to digesting the sense of difference in the universe. He
is said to be one with Manthāna Bhairava, which is Bhairava who churns
everything, all objectivity, all cognition and all subjectivity, into one
consciousness, producing a supreme undifferentiated mixture of universal
consciousness. This is how it is explained in very rare Tantras.
On the other hand, the ordinary worldly man, who is not like this heroic yogī,
is played by the three states, waking, dreaming and deep sleep. He is just like a
beast. And so also that yogī who has not attained this supreme state of
consciousness, he too is not the master of all active organic energies. He is also
just like a beast. This is very well explained in sacred texts such as the
Svacchanda Tantra:
The yogī, who has adopted independent yoga and because of that independent yoga is moving in an
independent way and is situated in an independent state, gets entry in an independent being.
(Svacchanda Tantra 7.260)
In Spanda Kārikā, the explanation is given in the following verse:
The knowledge of that spanda is held by him in the same way in waking, dreaming and deep sleep.
(Spanda Kārikā 1.17)
In the waking state, the knowledge of that spanda is not less than it is in the
dreaming state or in the state of deep sleep and vice versa. This yogī experiences
that the state of turya is identical in all three states.
Now the author asks this question. Does such a yogī have any characteristics that
would lead one to surmise that he is established in the state of paramaśiva? The
answer to this question is yes, there are signs. The author now explains in this
sūtra the signs by which we can determine that a yogī is established in that
supreme state of Lord Śiva.
12. vismayo yogabhūmikāḥ //
The predominant sign of such a yogī is joy-filled
amazement.
This yogī is filled with joy and amazement. The Sanskrit word vismaya means
“amazement completely filled with joy.” Just as a person seeing some wonderful
object is amazed, in the same way, this yogī is filled with amazement who, in the
objective world of senses, experiences entry in his own self filled with
consciousness, which is unique, intense, always fresh and uncommonly
charming, and by which entry all his varieties of organs are filled with blooming,
ever smiling, one-pointed joy.
What kind of amazement is this? This yogī, upon entering into that limitless
state of bliss (ānanda), is never satiated with the experience. On the contrary, he
feels bathed with the amazement of joy. This is the predominent state of yoga of
a yogī who has become one with the supreme Lord, the supreme tattva, Śiva
tattva. And by this, you can surmise that he has ascended to the state of Śiva.
On the other hand, to perceive at the place of rectum (mūlādhāra) a joyful
state of consciousness or to perceive effulgent light between the two eyebrows
are not the states of such a yogī. These are to be discarded. There is only one
sign of such a yogī and that is that he is filled with amazement overflowing with
joy. It is said in Kulayukta Śāstra:
When yogīs perceive the state of the self by their own effort, then in their own self they perceive the
fullness of wonder filled with joy. (Kulayukta Śāstra)
Here in this verse is the conclusion reached in Spanda Kārikā:
When he perceives his own nature through subjective perception, then he perceives that he is one with
this reality. For him, being wonderstruck and filled with wonderful joy, there is no possiblility of
traveling the path of repeated births and deaths. (Spanda Kārikā 1.11)
Such a yogī, established in this kind of yoga, filled with the wonderful state of
joy,
13. icchā śakttirūmā kumāri //
His will is the energy of Lord Śiva and it is called umā
and it is called kumāri.
or,
For such a yogī, his will is one with the energy of Lord
Śiva, unobstructable, completely independent, always
given to play.
His will is the energy (śakti) of Lord Śiva. And, his will is not only energy it is
also called umā and kumārī. The author has provided these three names for the
will of such a yogī.
The will of the yogī, who has attained complete entry into the state of
Bhairava and become one with supreme Bhairava, is the energy of Lord Śiva. It
is one with umā. Here, in this sūtra, the word umā does not refer to the wife of
Lord Śiva. Here the word umā refers to the independent energy of the supreme
Lord (svātantrya).
The will of this yogī is also called kumārī. The Sanskrit word kumārī can be
translated and understood in a number of ways. It could be that kumārī refers to
that energy that plays in the universe, creating, protecting, and destroying it. But
why use this definition? Because in Sanskrit grammar, the word kumāra is
contained in the meaning of krīḍā, which means “to play.” Kumārī, therefore,
means that energy that is always given to play.
There is another meaning of Kumārī. Kumārī can be understood as kuṁ
mārayati. Here kuṁ means the differentiated perception in this world and
mārayati is the energy that destroys differentiated perception and directs it into
one’s own nature. That is kumārī. Also, kumārī can be understood to mean
“virgin.” In this context, what do we mean by the word “virgin”? Here “virgin”
is to be understood as referring to that girl that has never been enjoyed by any
other agency. She is one who has established her own nature in the state of
enjoyer. She is enjoying her own nature in her own way. She does not require
any other vehicle for enjoyment. This is kumārī and this is the state of being
virgin. This kind of girl is always one with her own nature. She is not looking to
the opposite sex for satisfaction. There is still another way to understand the
meaning of umākumārī. At the time when Umā was virgin, she was completely
detached from the world of enjoyment. When she had given herself to perform
penance in order to receive the blessing of Lord Śiva, her mind was onepointedly focused only on Lord Śiva. She was always one with that being of
Śiva. In the same way, the desire of such a yogī is completely one-pointed. He
always wills entry in his own nature and nothing else. This is how our masters
have explained the meaning of this sūtra.
34
So this kind of yogī, established in yoga in all three states and filled with
joyous amazement, does not, like ordinary people, possess gross desire in his
mind. On the contrary, his energy of will is always one with the supreme energy
of Lord Śiva and, therefore, there is no power that can obstruct it. This verse in
the Svacchanda Śāstra is saying the same thing:
Lord Śiva’s energy of will (svātantrya śakti) is one with devī (goddess) who, as His energy, is known
by many different names. This energy of will is concealed with the magic of yoga and, named Kumārī,
is desired by every being. (Svacchanda Tantra 10.727)
Everyone wants to have this kind of will so that whatever he desires, he gets. In
the Netra Tantra, the same thing is explained:
Oh Pārvatī! His will is one with my will, my supreme energy. It is one with myself and rises from my
own nature.
35
The energy of the will of this yogī has become the cause of the entire universe because the energy of
this yogī is one with the energy of Lord Śiva, just as heat is one with fire and rays are one with the
sun. In the same way, his energy is one with the self of Śiva. (Netra Tantra 1.25–26)
This is concluded in Spanda Kārikā in this śloka.
He does not infuse the power of will in his senses but when he wills, it is done. He does not crave for
any desire but, because he possesses the strength of supreme I, when he desires, he wills, and it is
accomplished. (Spanda Kārikā 1.8)
To such a great yogī who has such a great will, desire . . .
14. dṛiśyaṁ śarīram //
This entire perceived world is his own self.