Teaching of Upamanyu

Today we read from the oldest part of Shiva Purana, a large book of two parts called the Vayaviya Samhita/वायावीय संहिता. The Vayaviya Samhita is an ancient recension of the Vayu Purana that was built upon to form the massive Shiva Purana. The entire book then is a narration of Vayu. Within this book the Sage Upamanyu and his teachings are prominent. Sage Upamanyu, like Shvetashvatara, Tandi, Durvasa and many other illustrious ancients were Vedic rishis and Pashupata ascetics par excellence. 

Here, Upamanyu instructs his disciple, Krishna Vasudeva, on the meaning of the five-syllable (panchakshara) mantra, Namah Shivaya. As we know, appended with the seed syllable OM (AUM), it becomes with six-syllable (shadakshara) mantra. The two terms are used interchangeably. Sage Upamanyu recounts a dialogue between Shiva and Shakti on the meaning of this mantra. The divine sage tells Krishna Vasudeva that the mantra OM Namah Shivaya is the essence of all essences, the very meaning of all the Vedas, Agamas and scriptures. The mantra is the expression and Shiva is the expressed. The mantra is Shiva Himself! It is the means to Shiva consciousness, the means for release from the ocean of samsara. 

Let us then, without further ado, imbibe from the teaching of Upamanyu.

Aum Namah Shivaya. 

----

Krishna said:

O omniscient excellent sage, ocean of all knowledge, I wish to hear precisely about the glory of the five-syllable mantra.

Upamanyu said:

It is impossible to explain in detail the glory of the five-syllable mantra even in hundreds of crores of years. Hence, hear it in brief:

The six-syllable mantra is found in the Vedas and the Shiva Agamas. It facilitates the understanding of all topics by the devotees of Shiva. It consists of very few syllables, but is pregnant with meaning. It is the essence of the Vedas and it is conducive to salvation. This expression of auspicious nature is devoid of doubts. It is achieved by the order of Shiva; it is attended by many siddhis. It is divine and delightful to the mind. This expression of Lord Shiva is majestic and decisive in meaning.

The omniscient Lord Shiva spake the mantra OM Namah Shivaya for the acquisition of all topics and meanings by the embodied beings since it can be easily uttered by the mouth. The first mantra [OM] that makes up the six syllables is the seed of all lores. It is very subtle, but serves a great purpose. It is like the seed of the banyan tree. The omniscient Lord, the Creator of everything, that all-pervasive Shiva, who is beyond the three attributes [gunas] is stationed in the single-syllable mantra, OM. The five subtle Brahmans [Panchabrahma] are stationed in the mantra Namah Shivaya occupying one syllable each. Thus in the six-syllable subtle mantra, Shiva in the form of the Panchabrahma is stationed in the way of the expressed and the expressive. Shiva is expressed and the mantra is expressive of Him. The state of being the expressive and the expressed is beginningless inasmuch as this terrible ocean of existence functions without a beginning. 

Shiva too is beginningless and He is the Releaser of persons from worldly existence. Just as medicine is naturally antagonistic to ailments, so also Shiva is antagonistic to the ills of worldly existence. If the Lord of the universe had not been in existence, the whole universe would have been gloomy, since prakriti is insentient and purusha is ignorant. Pradhana (unmanifest prakriti), atoms, etc. are insentient; they never function as creators themselves without an intelligent cause. The instruction in virtue and evil, bondage and salvation, the activity of reflection - in view of all these things - the first creation of men would not have been possible without the omniscient Lord. Just as patients will be devoid of joy and be distressed without physicians, so also the people of the world would be in distress without the Lord. Hence, surely there is the Lord, the primordial, omniscient, perfect, Sadashiva, the Protector of persons from the ocean of worldly existence.

Shiva is devoid of beginning, middle or end. He is the Lord innately pure, omniscient, and perfect as mentioned in the Shaiva Agamas. This mantra expresses Him; He is the person expressed by the great mantra. The Shivajnana (Shiva consciousness) is as extensive as the expression of Shiva, the six-syllable mantra, OM Namah Shivaya. 

Although there are many mantras, there is nothing like the holy mantra [originally] uttered by Shiva. The Vedas and scriptures (shastras) along with their ancillaries are present in the six syllables. Hence no other mantra is equal to this. Just as an aphorism is ramified and expanded by its gloss, the six-syllable mantra is expanded by seven crores of great and subsidiary mantras [contained within all scriptures]. Whatever texts there are, they expound Shivajnana; all the repositories of lore, they are commentaries of this succinct aphorism, the six-syllable mantra. Of what avail are many mantras and shastras full of details to one whose heart is firmly established in the mantra OM Namah Shivaya?

If one has stabilized himself in the mantra OM Namah Shivaya by frequent practice, he has learned it all, heard it all, and performed it all. For that person on whose tongue's tip is present the three syllables Shi-va-ya prefixed by the word denoting obeisance (Namah), life is fruitful indeed! A person steady in the chanting of the five-syllable mantra is released from the cage of sins whoever he be - wise, low born or learned.

All this was mentioned by the Lord when asked by the Goddess [in the days of yore] for the benefit of all men, particularly the wise.

Shiva Purana, Vayaviya Samhita, Section II, Chapter XII:1-20, 30-38.

Doctrine of Time

Today, we examine a passage from the Vinashikha Tantra (वीणाशिखा तन्त्र), a text found within the shikha group of the Bhairava canon. The Vinashikha focuses on Tumburu, a form of Shiva now largely forgotten. Just as Sadashiva is the central form of Shiva in the Siddhanta stream (srotas) and Bhairava is the central form of Shiva in the Dakshina stream, so Tumburu is the central form of Shiva in the Vama stream of tantras, of which Vinashikha is one. 

Within the Vinashikha, it is said that he who knows Time (Kala) also knows the Eternal Shiva (verse 233), and this doctrine is explained further below. We have previously seen why Shiva is called Mahakala, but here we understand it a little differently, in a more mystical manner. 

In the passage below, we find the sankhya ontology explained in a succinct manner. Beyond the 24 tattvas that make up physical reality (prakriti or pura) is the purusha, the individual self or spirit, residing in the lotus of the heart. The Lord, who is beyond purusha and prakriti, also resides deep within ourselves. He is the center of our existence, just as the pole star is the center of the heavens, and everything revolves around Him. The whole world originates and dissolves in Him. It is interesting to note the absence of discussion of higher tattvas characteristic of tantric Shaivism. The ontology discussed herein is remarkably similar to that found in the Linga Purana, and likely suggests a similar age for the composition of the Vinashikha. 

Now, the Lord is said to reside at the tuft of the spine (sahasrara chakra) and Kundalini Shakti resides at its base (muladhara chakra), dormant. The purusha residing within the cavity of the heart strives to reach up to the Lord in the sahasrara. Time, equated mystically with the 21600 respiration cycles (hamsa) that make up the day, allows this passage, this union. The hamsa powers the upward flow of Kundalini Shakti to the sahasrara chakra allowing for Her to unite with Shiva. 

Said another way, Time exists to allow us to power the Kundalini Shakti lying dormant within so She can unite with Shiva in the sahasrara padma. Time exists only so the individual can realize Shiva within. Time is the great Creator of this experiential reality and the great Dissolver of it all. Time is Shiva and the means to realize Him. He is Mahakala, Time Divine. 

As the grammarian Bhartrhari has said: kalaya tasmai namah - Oh Time, salutations to thee! 

Aum Namah Shivaya

-----

The Lord said: 

O Goddess, hear the supreme mystery, the embodiment within oneself of the real nature of Time. Having obtained knowledge of this, the possessors of mantras easily obtain success.

Twenty-one thousand six hundred [respiration cycles] should be recognized in a twenty-four-fold rhythm occupying the regular course toward and from the mystic centre which lies at twelve fingers' breadth [dvadashanta; sahasrara chakra]. 

For the benefit of the practitioners I shall explain the hamsa as it resides within the body in divisible and indivisible form.

Wise men recognize twenty-five categories of reality [tattvas] within the body.  Feet, organs of excretion and generation, hands and speech [karmendriyas]; ear, skin, eye, tongue and nose [jnanendriyas]; earth, water, fire, wind and space [mahabhutas], sound, touch, form, taste and smell [tanmatras]; and mind, intellect, ego-consciousness, the unmanifest [prakriti] and the purusha. 

With these (being considered) as substrate, the superstructure should always be meditated upon. The substrate is called the Fortress [Pura], the superstructure is called the Purusha, who resides in the filament of the lotus of the heart, striving upwards, of the nature of existence. This is the residence of the indivisible [nishkala] God within the substrate. 

That Purusha; the substrate and the superstructure; this body consisting of the six covers, the twenty-five tattvas; the Fortress [Pura] with the ten airs [pranas], pervaded by yogic ducts [nadis], the three temperaments [gunas: sattva, rajas, tamas] and inhabited by hosts of Deities -- all this revolves like a wheel under His presidence, that indivisible Supreme Shiva. 

Just as the whole host of stars, planets and celestial bodies in orbit revolve around the presiding Pole Star despite being immovable, so is the body to the Lord identical with the complete host of Bijas. 

Having obtained the insight that [this body] is presided over by Shiva, one will attain success in the Tantra.

The Shakti, which has the crooked form of three-fold bending [Kundalini], characterized by the sixth vowel (U), pervaded by the Bindu, residing in the body, of divisible nature - of Her, a fiery tuft exists, subtle, equal to the flexible stalk of a lotus. And it should be known as having a glowing form; at its extremity Shiva resides. 

The whole living world up to Brahma's heaven, from a to ksa (as it's phonic manifestation) originates from Him and is dissolved at the same place. 

This is the supreme, subtle Lord who resides within the substrate and the superstructure. 

Vinashikha Tantra 238-253  

Trans. Teun Goudriaan

(edited for clarification)

Body of Sadashiva

Today we examine an excerpt from the Mrgendra Agama (मृगेन्द्र आगम; also known as Mrgendra Tantra/मृगेन्द्र तन्त्र or alternatively as Narasimha Agama/नारसिंह आगम). Although considered a subsidiary Agama (upagama), it is of great importance because it espouses very ancient philosophy and theology of Shaivism. We find that scholars belonging both to the Shaiva Siddhanta and Trika schools quote from the Mrgendra Tantra. Most notably, Bhatta Narayanakantha has commented on this text. Mrgendra, meaning Lord of animals, is so named because it is narrated by Indra while wearing lion's armor, and is supposed to be an abridged version of the Kamika Agama Mahatantra.

This excerpt below speaks of the body of Sadashiva. As we've examined previously, Sadashiva is the embodiment of the five mantras known as the Panchbrahma mantras. The five mantras correspond to His five cosmic functions (panchakritya; creation, sustenance, dissolution, concealing and revealing grace), His five forms (Sadyojata, Vamadeva, Aghora, Tatpurusha, and Ishana), His five Shaktis, the five pranas, the five mahabhutas, the five tanmatras, the five karmendriyas, the five jnanendriyas, the five antahkaranas, the five letters of na-ma-shi-va-ya, etc. (see: Panchabrahma - Shiva Purana) 

Aum Haum Namah Shivaya.  

-----

Since there are no body-creating seeds such as mala (impurities), karma and others for the Supreme Lord, His body is not like our bodies. His body is of the very nature of Shakti. The body of Shiva is constituted of five mantras so as to be instrumentally useful in performing the five cosmic functions. These constituent five mantras - Ishana, Tatpurusha, Aghora, Vama and Sadyojata - are designated the head and other parts of the body of Shiva.

Because of the nature of bestowing grace upon all, because of its existence and function in the higher plane of pure adhva (pure realm of maya) and because of its highly elevated state comparable to the head-portion, the Ishana mantra is considered to constitute the head of Lord Shiva (Ishana murdha). 

Since it exists as the activating and energizing source in the bodies of the higher souls (Devas) and of other beings, since it manifests and illumines the knowledge of the beings, since it dispels the fear related to the continuing transmigration and since it protects the souls, the Tatpurusha mantra is considered to constitute the face of Lord Shiva (Tatpurusha vaktra).

The word hrdaya is synonymous with consciousness. Shiva’s form which is of the nature of that consciousness is pure and tranquil. Being free from the state of dreadfulness (aghora), the mantra assumes the form aghora hrdaya. Since the assumptive energy (parigraha shakti) otherwise known as adhikara shakti related to impure maya is very dreadful, the form of Shiva has been figuratively told to be dreadful.

Since the three goals – dharma, artha and kama – are of inferior nature when compared to the highest state of liberation (moksha), they are collectively known as vama. That effulgence of Shiva which enables the souls experience dharma, artha and kama according to their karmic fruits becomes known as Vamadeva. Since, by its own nature, it remains very subtle and secret (guhya, not exposed to vision), the Vamadeva mantra is considered to constitute the privy part of the form of Lord Shiva (Vamadeva guhya). 

By its mere will (volition, iccha), the Sadya mantra creates bodies to the souls instantaneously and it creates the mantric forms befitting the contemplations of the yogins. Because of this power and because of its quickness of action (sadya), the mantra assumes the form Sadyojata Murta. Shiva is called Murtin (possessor of form) not because He assumes forms, but because of this mantra.

In reality, there is no body for Lord Shiva, since all the actions to be carried out by the body are all fulfilled by His Shakti itself. The form as constituted by Shakti is said to be body, only in the secondary sense. Even though this Shakti is only One, the enlightened Sages maintain that Shakti is associated with different states such as Vama and others in view of the varied actions concerned with the pure path (suddha maya).

Mrgendra Agama, Vidyapada III:8-14.

Trans. Dr. S.P. Sabharathnam 

To Rudra Who is Such

All this verily is Rudra.

To Rudra who is such, we offer our salutation!

We salute again and again that Being, Rudra, 

Who alone is the Light and Soul of creatures.

The material universe, the created beings and manifold creation, 

Whatever there is in the past and in the present in the form of this world,

All that is indeed Rudra!

Salutations be to Rudra who is such.

We sing a hymn that confers on us happiness of the highest degree to Rudra, 

Who is worthy of praise and endowed with the highest knowledge,

Who showers blessings upon worshipers most excellently,

Who is most powerful and who is dwelling in the heart.

Indeed all this is Rudra!

Salutations be to Rudra, who is such.

Taittariya Aranyaka X:24-25 of the Krsna Yajurveda

|| Aum Namo Bhagavate Rudraya ||

O Holy Month of Shravan

O holy month of Shravan!

The first month of Chaturmaas,

The most auspicious of months,

For Shiva is very close to us during.

O holy month of Shravan!

May your Mondays bring us peace,

May your full moon bring us strength,

For Shiva is very accessible to us during.

O holy month of Shravan!

The first month of heavy rains,

May you bring us prosperity,

For Shiva is always listening to us during.

Aum Namah Shivaya. 

Notes:
1. Shravan (Skt: shrAvaNa, श्रावण) is the first month of Chaturmaas.
2. Chaturmaas (Skt: caturmAsa, चतुर्मास) refers to the four month period of rains and consists of the purnimanta months of Shravan, Bhadrapad, Ashvin and Kartik.
3. Mondays of Shravan are considered especially holy for Shiva worship.
4. The name Shravan is derived from Shravana (Skt: shravaNA, श्रवणा), the name of the asterism on which the full moon occurs during this month, and literally means hearing or listening. Hence the word listening has a double meaning here.