Sivagnanabodham

Meykanda Devar (aka Meykandar) was a important 13th century CE philosopher and propounder of the southern school of Saiva Siddhanta. Here we read from his work known as Sivagnanabodham (Instruction in the Knowledge of Shiva), a masterpiece of 12 sutras in the Tamil language. It is said that these verses come from or are inspired by the Rauravasutrasamgraha (aka, Raurava Agama). However, this is no longer found in the remaining fragment of the text that goes by that name. 

Within these sutras, Meykanda Devar has carefully woven and saliently highlighted the essential triad that is central to all forms of Shaivism from the ancient Vedic Pashupata and Lakulisha-Pashupata forms all the way to the Agamic-Tantric, Puranic and Vedantic forms. These sutras then also go on to form a school of philosophy within the southern Saiva Siddhanta through their exposition by Shivacharyas that follow Meykanda Devar. 

Verses 1-2 describe the nature of Pati (the Lord), here called Hara, as it relates to the world and the individual Atmans (Pashus). Verses 3-5 elaborate the true nature of the Pashus, and how they are guided by the Pati. Verses 6-7 speaks of the world (the fetters, pasha) and how it is perceived by the Pashus; what constitutes real and not real. Verses 8-11 speak of the quest and means of liberation for the Pashus. Finally, verse 12 describes the remaining life of the liberated soul (jivan-mukta), who has removed the fetters by the Grace (Arul/Anugraha) of Hara. Such is the beauty of the Sivagnanabodham!

 

ஓம் நம சிவாய ~ ॐ नमः शिवाय ~ ওঁ নমঃ শিবায় ~ ૐ નમઃ શિવાય ~ اوم نمہ شوایہ ~ Om Namah Shivaya 

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Sivagnanabodham

Tamil Om

1. As the (seen) universe, spoken of as he, she and it, undergoes three changes (origin, development, and decay), this must be an entity created (by an efficient cause.) This entity owing to its conjunction with anava mala has to emanate from Hara to whom it returns during samharam (dissolution). Hence, the learned say that Hara is the first Cause.

2. He is one with the souls (non-dual). He is different from them (dual). He is one and different from them (dual-non-dual). He stands in union with His Gnana Sakti and causes the souls to undergo the processes of evolution (births) and return (samharam) by including their good and bad acts (karma).

3. It rejects every portion of the body as not being itself; it says my body; it is conscious of dreams; it exists in sleep without feeling pleasure or pain or movements; it knows from others; This is the soul which exists in the body formed as a machine from maya.

4. The soul is not one of the antahkarana (mental apparatus). It is not conscious when it is in conjunction with anava mala. It becomes conscious only when it meets the antahkarana, just as a king understands through his ministers. The relation of the soul to the five avasthas is also similar.

5. The senses while perceiving the object cannot perceive themselves or the soul; and they are perceived by soul. Similarly, the soul while perceiving cannot perceive itself (while thinking cannot think thought) and God. It is moved by the Arul  (Anugraha) Sakti of God, as the magnet moves the iron, while He Himself remains immoveable or unchangeable.

6. That which is perceived by the senses is Asat (non-real in the absolute sense). That which is not so perceived does not exist. God is neither the one nor the other, and hence Siva is called Sat or Chit - Sat by the wise; Chit or Siva when not understood by the human intelligence and Sat when perceived with divine wisdom.

7. In the presence of Sat, every thing else (i.e., cosmos - Asat) is sunyam (is non-apparent). Hence Sat cannot perceive Asat. As Asat does not exist, it cannot perceive Sat. That which perceives both cannot be either of them. This is the Soul (called Sat-Asat).

8. The Lord appearing as Guru to the soul which had advanced in tapas (virtue and knowledge) instructs him that he has wasted himself by living among the savages of the five senses; and on this, the soul, understanding its real nature leaves its former associates, and not being different from Him, becomes united to His Feet.

9. The soul, on perceiving in itself with. The eye of Gnanam, the Lord who cannot be perceived by the human intellect or senses, and on giving up the world (Pasha) by knowing it to be false as a mirage, will find its rest in the Lord. Let the soul contemplate the panchakshara according to instruction.

10. As the Lord becomes one with the Soul in its human condition, so let the Soul become one with Him and perceive all its actions to be His. Then will it lose all its mala, maya, and karma.

11. As the soul enables the eye to see and itself sees, so Hara enables the soul to know and itself knows. And this Advaita knowledge and undying love will unite it to His Feet.

12. Let the Jivatma, after washing off its mala which separates it from the strong lotus feet of the Lord and mixing in the society of bhaktas (jivan-muktas) whose souls abound with love, having lost dark ignorance, contemplate their forms and the forms in the temples as His Form.

Trans: J M Nallaswami Pillai

[Edited for clarity]

Fifteen Verses of Wisdom

Who here hath not heard of Abhinavagupta? About the greatest of Shivacharyas, we need not say anything for no words can describe the grandeur, the depth, the genius of his being. Unto the feet of this Jagadguru, we pay obeisance. 

In the Bodhapanchadashika (Fifteen Verses on Wisdom), the great Acharya very succinctly summarizes the entirety of Shivadvaya, the non-dualist philosophy associated with what we now term Kashmir Shaivism. Although written about a thousand years ago, the powerful words still resound in our consciousness as we read these beautiful verses. Because this short work was created by the Acharya for his disciples of little understanding, it is easy for us to understand without any explanation. Presumably, he wrote these fifteen verses after finishing his magnum opera. 

As we know, 118 worlds (bhuvanas; 256 in some Agamas) make up the entire universe at various levels, within various tattvas. Lord Bhairava is Himself the nature of all these 118 bhuvanas; all this His experience of His own infinite Being. All this diversity exists within Him. It is by His grace alone that we realize the true nature of reality, the true nature of our own being, which is but Lord Bhairava. Indeed time, one of the kanchukas of maya, and our (mis)understanding of its march results in worldly existence (samsara). The perception of the existence of time is a result of His independence, His means to realize His own nature (see: Time Divine; Doctrine of Time). The fullness of this realization is achieved by those who have been liberated within this life (jivan-muktas; see: Sivagnanabodham). 

These verses have been especially created for those of us with little understanding so we may be instantaneously elevated! Let us, then, as disciples, learn from the Bodhapanchadashika. 

oṃ sauḥ parāyai namaḥ

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बोधपञ्चदशिका [Bodhapanchadashika]

1. The brilliance of the One Being's light does not vanish in external light or in darkness because all light and darkness resides in the supreme light of God Consciousness.

2. This Being is called Lord Shiva. He is the nature and existence of all beings. The external objective world is the expansion of His Energy and it is filled with the glamour of the glory of God Consciousness.

3. Shiva and Shakti are not aware that they are separate. They are interconnected just as fire is one with heat.

4. He is the God Bhairava. He creates, protects, destroys, conceals, and reveals His nature through the cycle of this world. This whole universe is created by God in His own nature, just as one finds the reflection of the world in a mirror.

5. The collective state of the universe is His supreme Energy (Shakti), which He created in order to recognize His own nature. This (Shakti), who is the embodiment of the collective state of the universe, loves possessing the state of God Consciousness. She is in the state of ignorance, remaining perfectly complete and full in each and every object.

6. The supreme Lord Shiva, who is all-pervasive and fond of playing and falling, together with the Energy of His own nature simultaneously brings about the varieties of creation and destruction.

7. This supreme action cannot be accomplished by any other power in this universe except Lord Shiva, who is completely independent, perfectly glorious and intelligent.

8. The limited state of consciousness is insentient and cannot simultaneously expand itself to become the various forms of the universe. The possessor of independence is absolutely different from that insentient state of consciousness. You cannot, therefore, recognize Him in only one way. The moment you recognize Him in one way you will also recognize Him in the other way.

9. This Lord Shiva, who is completely independent (svatantra), has the diversity of creation and destruction existing in His own nature. And, at the same time, this diversity is found existing in its own way as the field of ignorance.

10. In this world you will find varieties of creation and destruction, some of which are created in the upper cycle, some of which are created below, and some of which are even created sideways. Attached to these worlds smaller portions of worlds are created. Pain, pleasure, and intellectual power are created according to the status of being. This is the world.

11. If you do not understand that there is actually no span of time, this misunderstanding is also the independence (svatantrya) of Lord Shiva. This misunderstanding results in worldly existence (samsara). And those who are ignorant are terrified by worldly existence.

12-13. When, because the grace of Lord Shiva is showered upon you, or due to the teachings or vibrating force of your Master, or through understanding the scriptures concerned with Supreme Shiva, you attain the real knowledge of reality, that is the existent state of Lord Shiva, and that is final liberation. This fullness is achieved by elevated souls and is called liberation in this life (jivan-mukti).

14. These two cycles, bondage and liberation, are the play of Lord Shiva and nothing else. They are not separate from Lord Shiva because differentiated states have not risen at all. In reality, nothing has happened to Lord Shiva.

15. In this way the Lord, Bhairava, the essence of all being, has held in His own way in His own nature, the three great energies: the energy of will (iccha-shakti), the energy of action (kriya-shakti), and the energy of knowledge (jnana-shakti). These three energies are just like that trident which is the three-fold lotus. And seated on this lotus is Lord Bhairava, who is the nature of the whole universe of 118 worlds.

16. I, Abhinavagupta, have written and revealed these verses for some of my dear disciples who have very little intellectual understanding. For those disciples, who are deeply devoted to me, I have composed these fifteen verses just to elevate them instantaneously.

Hughes, John. Self Realization in Kashmir Shaivism. State University of New York Press, 1994. 

Sutras and Tantras

Sutra [सूत्र] means thread, derived from /siv/, to sew. When applied to scripture (shastra, शास्त्र), it means a text wherein core ideas around a certain subject are stitched or sewn together. Technically, sutras are written in a very terse language, making them easy to memorize. The language is so terse that context is often left out, and it is very difficult to understand sutras without extensive commentary or explanation. Sutra literature of Sanatana Dharma comprises of hundreds of texts that begin, historically, at the end of the Vedic age covering a every imaginable subject from Vedic rites and rituals, philosophies, linguistics, Dharma, bhakti, medicine, astronomy, etc. In many cases, a sutra text forms the foundational basis for a given system. For example, Yoga Sutras of Patanjali is the first encoding of Yoga philosophy.  

Famous extant sutras of Shaivism include the Pashupata Sutras, Shiva Sutras, Vatulanatha Sutras, and Meykanda Sutras (Sivagnanabodham). Early core of early Shaivite Tantras (Agamas) also likely began as sutras, even if they don't fit into the category of terseness in language. This principle is clear in the Nishvasatattvasamhita, and implied in the titles of Svayambhuva and Raurava Agamas both of which are termed sutra-sangraha (collection of sutras). 

The literal meaning of tantra [तन्त्र] is loom, derived from /tan/, to stretch. When applied to shastra, it means a text wherein a complex range of ideas are woven elaborately together incorporating both philosophy and practice. Tantras are generally written in poetic meters (shloka or anushtup chandas) and are very voluminous. Tantra literature of Sanatana Dharma comprises of hundreds of texts that also begin, historically, after the end of the Vedic age and experienced efflorescence during the first millennium of the common era. Tantric literature spans a variety of topics, but largely focusing on ritual, practice, theology and philosophy. Whereas the Vedic literature espouses a fire ritual called Yajna, the Tantric literature endorses a ritual called Puja using consecrated icons and recommended for the Kaliyuga, the age of discord. 

Generally, the extant Tantric texts of Sanatana Dharma are divided into three categories - Shaiva, Shakta and Vaishnava. The Shaiva-Shakta system is conjoined and the Tantras of this system represent a continuum of ever-evolving esoteric knowledge traditions which presuppose older, simpler forms of the same. Therefore, the epistemology and ontology of both is similar, if not the same. Hundreds of Tantric texts or Agamas have come into existence through the sub-traditions of the Shaiva-Shakta system; most of them lost and many of the remaining untranslated. The Tantric literature of what we term Shaivism proper encompasses the 92 principal Shaiva Agamas divided into 10 Shiva, 18 Rudra, and 64 Bhairava Agamas. While this system of thought within Sanatana Dharma has remained distinct, running parallel to the Vedic-Vedantic system, in truth the latter has been strongly influenced and subsumed by it.

Aum Namah Shivaya.