Shakti and Shakta
From: "jagbir singh" <adishakti_org@yahoo.com>
Date: Fri Jan 27, 2006 9:38 am
Subject: Shakti and Shakta
> —- In adishakti_sahaja_yoga@yahoogroups.com, "jagbir
singh"
<adishakti_org@y...> wrote:
> >
> >
> > Dear Semira,
> >
> > Definitely and without question the Divine Message will
triumph
> > over the organization itself. In future more and more
people
> > will embrace its central message of evolving into the
eternal
> > spirit that all religions, holy scriptures and prophets
have
> > since time immemorial upheld. The Divine Message is a
spiritual
> > sanctuary, a beacon of hope, joy, peace of eternal life
to all
> > humans. The Shakti/Holy Spirit/Ruh/Aykaa Mayee is the
Divine
> > Feminine that gives Self-realization/Birth of
Spirit/Baptism of
> > Allah/Opens Dasam Dwar for humanity to enter the
Sahasrara/
> > Kingdom of God/Niche of lights/Inner Sanctuary within
where
> > Brahman/God Almighty/Allah/ Waheguru resides as THE
LIGHT.
> > Semira, not only the current Sahaja Yoga organisation
but all
> > religious organizations as well have merely been
intended as
> > temporary vehicles and starting points for the Divine
Message.
> >
> > jagbir
> >
> >
> > —- In adishakti_sahaja_yoga@yahoogroups.com, "jagbir
singh"
<adishakti_org@y...> wrote:
>
> By the way things are moving the Adi Shakti will
eventually
> triumph. All we need to do as Her bhaktas is to stand our
ground
> and not yield an inch because Truth always triumphs. Years
of
> silence from religious regimes is the sure sign that the
Devi and
> Her Divine Message to all humanity cannot be challenged,
and will
> eventually be victorious in Her battle against the evil
forces.
> All we need to do is to fearlessly announce the Truth.
Shanti,
> Shanti, Shanti.
>
Shakti and Shakta
Shakti who is in Herself pure blissful Consciousness (Cidrupini)
is
also The Mother of Nature and is Nature itself born of the
creative
play of Her thought. The Shakta faith, or worship of Shakti,
is I
believe, in some of its essential features one of the oldest
and
most wide-spread religions in the world. Though very
ancient, it is
yet, in its essentials, and in the developed form in which
we know
it to-day, harmonious with some of the teachings of modern
philosophy and science; not that this is necessarily a test
of its
truth. It may be here noted that in the West, and in
particular in
America and England, a large number of books are now being
published
on "New Thought," "Will Power," "Vitalism," "Creative
Thought," "Right Thought," "Self Unfoldment," "Secret of
Achievement," "Mental Therapeutics" and the like, the
principles of
which are essentially those of some forms of Shakti Sadhana
both
higher and lower. There are books of disguised magic as how
to
control (Vashikarana) by making them buy what they do not
want, how
to secure "affection" and so forth which, not-withstanding
some
hypocrisies, are in certain respects on the same level as
the
Tantrik Shavara as a low class of books on magic are called.
Shavara
or Candala are amongst the lowest of men. The ancient and at
the
same time distinguishing character of the faith is instanced
by
temple worship (the old Vaidik worship was generally in the
home or
in the open by the river), the cult of images, of Linga and
Yoni
(neither of which, it is said, were part of the original
Vaidik
Practice), the worship of Devis and of the Magna Mater (the
great
Vaidik Devata was the male Indra) and other matters of both
doctrine
and practice.
Many years ago Edward Sellon, with the aid of a learned
Orientalist
of the Madras Civil Service, attempted to learn its
mysteries, but
for reasons, which I need not here discuss, did not view
them from
the right standpoint. He, however, compared the Shaktas with
the
Greek Telestica or Dynamica, the Mysteries of Dionysus "Fire
born in
the cave of initiation" with the Shakti Puja, the Shakti
Shodhana
with the purification shown in d'Hancarvilles' "Antique
Greek
Vases"; and after referring to the frequent mention of this
ritual
in the writings of the Jews and other ancient authors,
concluded
that it was evident that we had still surviving in India in
the
Shakta worship a very ancient, if not the most ancient, form
of
Mysticism in the whole world. Whatever be the value to be
given to
any particular piece of evidence, he was right in his
general
conclusion. For, when we throw our minds back upon the
history of
this worship we see stretching away into the remote and
fading past
the figure of the Mighty Mother of Nature, most ancient
among the
ancients; the Adya Shakti, the dusk Divinity, many breasted,
crowned
with towers whose veil is never lifted, Isis, "the one who
is all
that has been, is and will be," Kali, Hathor, Cybele, the
Cowmother
Goddess Ida, Tripurasundari, the Ionic Mother, Tef the
spouse of Shu
by whom He effects the birth of all things, Aphrodite,
Astarte in
whose groves the Baalim were set, Babylonian Mylitta,
Buddhist Tara,
the Mexican Ish, Hellenic Osia, the consecrated, the free
and pure,
African Salambo who like Parvati roamed the Mountains, Roman
Juno,
Egyptian Bast the flaming Mistress of Life, of Thought, of
Love,
whose festival was celebrated with wanton Joy, the Assyrian
Mother
Succoth Benoth, Northern Freia, Mulaprakriti, Semele, Maya,
Ishtar,
Saitic Neith Mother of the Gods, eternal deepest ground of
all
things, Kundali, Guhyamahabhairavi and all the rest.
And yet there are people who allege the "Tantrik" cult is
modern. To
deny this is not to say that there has been or will be no
change or
development in it. As man changes, so do the forms of his
beliefs.
An ancient feature of this faith and one belonging to the
ancient
Mysteries is the distinction which it draws between the
initiate
whose Shakti is awake (Prabuddha) and the Pashu the
unillumined
or "animal," and, as the Gnostics called him, "material"
man. The
Natural, which is the manifestation of The Mother of Nature,
and the
Spiritual or The Mother as She is in and by Herself are one,
but the
initiate alone truly recognizes this unity. He knows himself
in all
his natural functions as the one Consciousness whether in
enjoyment
(Bhukti), or Liberation (Mukti). It is an essential
principle of
Tantrik Sadhana that man in general must rise through and by
means
of Nature, and not by an ascetic rejection of Her. A
profoundly true
principle is here involved whatever has been said of certain
applications of it. When Orpheus transformed the old Bacchic
cult,
it was the purified who in the beautiful words of Euripides
"went
dancing over the hills with the daughters of Iacchos". I
cannot,
however, go into this matter in this paper which is
concerned with
some general subjects and the ordinary ritual. But the
evidence is
not limited to mysteries of the Shakti Puja. There are
features in
the ordinary outer worship which are very old and
widespread, as are
also other parts of the esoteric teaching. In this
connection, a
curious instance of the existence, beyond India, of Tantrik
doctrine
and practice is here given. The American Indian Maya
Scripture of
the Zunis called the Popul Vuh speaks of Hurakan or
Lightning, that
is (I am told) Kundalishakti; of the "air tube" or "Whitecord"
or
the Sushumna Nadi; of the "two-fold air tube" that is Ida
and
Pingala; and of various bodily centers which are marked by
animal
glyphs.
Perhaps the Pa—catattva Ritual followed by some of the
adherents of
the Tantras is one of the main causes which have operated in
some
quarters against acceptance of the authority of these
Scriptures and
as such responsible for the notion that the worship is
modern. On
the contrary, the usage of wine, meat, and so forth is
itself very
old. There are people who talk of these rites as though they
were
some entirely new and comparatively modern invention of'
the "Tantra," wholly alien to the spirit and practice of the
early
times. If the subject be studied it will, I think. be found
that in
this matter those worshipers who practice these rites are
(except
possibly as to Maithuna) the continuators of very ancient
practices
which had their counterparts in the earlier Vaidikacara, but
were
subsequently abandoned. possibly under the influence of
Jainism and
Buddhism. I say "counterpart," for I do not mean to suggest
that in
every respect the rites were the same. In details and as
regards, I
think, some objects in view, they differed. Thus we find in
this
Pa—catattva Ritual a counterpart to the Vaidik usage of wine
and
animal food. As regards wine, we have the partaking of Soma;
meat
was offered in Mamsashtaka Shraddha; fish in the
Ashtakashraddha and
Pretashraddha; and Maithuna as a recognized rite will be
found in
the Vamadevya Vrata and Maravrata of universally recognized
Vaidik
texts, apart from the alleged, and generally unknown,
Saubhagykanda
of the Atharvaveda to which the Kalikopanishad and other "Tantrik"
Upanishads are said to belong. Possibly, however, this
element of
Maithuna may be foreign and imported by Cinacara (see Ch.
V). So
again, as that distinguished scholar Professor Ramendra
Sundara
Trivedi has pointed out in his Vicitraprasanga, the Mudra of
Pa—catattva corresponds with the Purodasa cake of the Soma
and other
Yagas. The present rule of abstinence from wine, and in some
cases,
meat is due, I believe, to the original Buddhism. It is so-
called "Tantriks," who follow (in and for their ritual only)
the
earlier practice. It is true that the Samhita of Ushanah
says, "Wine
is not to be drunk, given or taken (Madyam apeyam adeyam
agrahyam)"
but the yet greater Manu states, "There is no wrong in the
eating of
meat or the drinking of wine (Na mamsabakshane dosho na
madye)"
though he rightly adds, as many now do, that abstention
therefrom is
productive of great fruit (Nivrittistu mahaphala). The
Tantrik
practice does not allow extra-ritual or "useless" drinking
(Vrithapana).
Further, it is a common error to confound two distinct
things,
namely, belief and practice and the written records of it.
These
latter may be comparatively recent, whilst that of which
they speak
may be most ancient. When I speak of the ancient past of
this faith
I am not referring merely to the writings which exist today
which
are called Tantras. These are composed generally in a simple
Sanskrit by men whose object it was to be understood rather
than to
show skill in literary ornament. This simplicity is a sign
of age.
But at the same time it is Laukika and not Arsha Sanskrit.
Moreover,
there are statements in them which (unless interpolations)
fix the
limits of their age. I am not speaking of the writings
themselves
but of what they say. The faith that they embody, or at
least its
earlier forms, may have existed for many ages before it was
reduced
to writing amongst the Kulas or family folk, who received it
as
handed down by tradition (Paramparyya) just as did the
Vaidik
Gotras. That such beliefs and practices, like all other
things, have
had their development in course of time is also a likely
hypothesis.
A vast number of Tantras have disappeared probably for ever.
Of
those which survive a large number are unknown. Most of
those which
are available are of fragmentary character. Even if these
did appear
later than some other Shastras, this would not, on Indian
principles, affect their authority. According to such
principles the
authority of a Scripture is not determined by its date; and
this is
sense. Why, it is asked, should something said 1,000 years
ago be on
that account only truer than what was said 100 years ago? It
is held
that whilst the teaching of the Agama is ever existent,
particular
Tantras are constantly being revealed and withdrawn. There
is no
objection against a Tantra merely because it was revealed
to-day.
When it is said that Shiva spoke the Tantras, or Brahma
wrote the
celebrated Vaishnava poem called the Brahmasamhita, it is
not meant
that Shiva and Brahma materialized and took a reed and wrote
on
birch bark or leaf, but that the Divine Consciousness to
which men
gave these and other names inspired a particular man to
teach, or to
write, a particular doctrine or work touching the eternally
existing
truth. This again does not mean that there was any one
whispering in
his ear, but that these things arose in his consciousness.
What is
done in this world is done through man. There is a
profounder wisdom
than is generally acknowledged in the saying "God helps
those who
help themselves". Inspiration too never ceases. But how, it
may be
asked, are we to know that what is said is right and true?
The
answer is "by its fruits." The authority of a Shastra is
determined
by the question whether Siddhi is gained through its
provisions or
not. It is not enough that "Shiva uvaca" (Shiva says) is
writ in it.
The test is that of Ayurveda. A medicine is a true one if it
cures.
The Indian test for everything is actual experience. It is
from
Samadhi that the ultimate proof of Advaitavada is sought.
How is the
existence of Kalpas known? It is said they have been
remembered, as
by the Buddha who is recorded as having called to mind 91
past
Kalpas. There are arguments in favor of rebirth but that
which is
tendered as real proof is both the facts of ordinary daily
experience which can, it is said, be explained only on the
hypothesis of pre-existence; as also actual recollection by
self-
developed individuals of their previous lives. Modern
Western
methods operate through magnetic sleep producing "regression
of
memory". (See A. de Rochas Les Vies Successives and Lancelin
La Uie
Posthume.) Age, however, is not wholly without its uses:
because one
of the things to which men look to see in a Shastra is
whether it
has been accepted or quoted in works of recognized
authority. Such a
test of authenticity can, of course, only be afforded after
the
lapse of considerable time. But it does not follow that a
statement
is in fact without value because, owing to its having been
made
recently, it is not possible to subject it to such a test.
This is
the way in which this question of age and authority is
looked at on
Indian principles.
A wide survey of what is called orthodox "Hinduism" today
(whatever
be its origins) will disclose the following results: Vedanta
in the
sense of Upanishad as its common doctrinal basis, though
variously
interpreted, and a great number of differing disciplines or
modes of
practice by which the Vedanta doctrines are realized in
actual fact.
We must carefully distinguish these two. Thus the Vedanta
says "So'ham"; which is Hamsha. "Hakara is one wing; Sakara
is the
other. When stripped of both wings She, Tara, is Kamakala."
(Tantraraja Tantra.) The Acaras set forth the means by
which "So'ham" is to be translated into actual fact for the
particular Sadhaka. Sadhana comes from the root "Sadh" which
means
effort or striving or accomplishment. Effort for and towards
what?
The answer for those who desire it is liberation from every
form in
the hierarchy of forms, which exist as such, because
consciousness
has so limited itself as to obscure the Reality which it is,
and
which "So'ham" or "Shivo'ham" affirms. And why should man
liberate
himself from material forms? Because it is said, that way
only
lasting happiness lies: though a passing, yet fruitful bliss
may be
had here by those who identify themselves with active
Brahman
(Shakti). It is the actual experience of this declaration
of 'So'ham" which in its fundamental aspect is Veda:
knowledge (Vid)
or actual Spiritual Experience, for in the monistic sense to
truly
know anything is to be that thing. This Veda or experience
is not to
be had sitting down thinking vaguely on the Great Ether and
doing
nothing. Man must transform himself, that is, act in order
to know.
Therefore, the watchword of the Tantras is Kriya or action.
The next question is what Kriya should be adopted towards
this end
of J—ana. "Tanyate, vistaryate j—anam anena iti Tantram."
According
to this derivation of the word Tantra from the root "Tan"
"to
spread," it is defined as the Shastra, by which knowledge (J—ana)
is
spread. Mark the word J—ana. The end of the practical
methods which
these Shastras employ is to spread Vedantic J—ana. It is
here we
find that variety which is so puzzling to those who have not
gone to
the root of the religious life of India. The end is
substantially
one. The means to that end necessarily vary according to
knowledge,
capacity, and temperament. But here again we may analyze the
means
into two main divisions, namely, Vaidik and Tantrik, to
which may be
added a third or the mixed (Mishra). The one body of
Hinduism
reveals as it were, a double framework represented by the
Vaidik and
Tantrik Acaras, which have in certain instances been
mingled.
The word "Tantra" by itself simply means as I have already
said "treatise" and not necessarily a religious scripture.
When it
has the latter significance, it may mean the Scripture of
several
divisions of worshipers who vary in doctrine and practice.
Thus
there are Tantras of Salvias, Vaishnavas, and Shaktas and of
various
sub-divisions of these. So amongst the Salvias there are the
Salvias
of the Shaiva Siddhanta, the Advaita Shaiva of the Kashmir
School,
Pashupatas and a multitude of other sects which have their
Tantras.
If "Tantric" be used as meaning an adherent of the Tantra
Shastra,
then the word, in any particular case, is without definite
meaning.
A man to whom the application is given may be a worshiper
of any of
the Five Devatas (Surya, Ganesha, Vishnu, Shiva, Shakti) and
of any
of the various Sampradayas worshipping that Devata with
varying
doctrine and practice. The term is a confusing one, though
common
practice compels its use. So far as I know, those who are
named, "Tantrics" do not themselves generally use this term
but call
themselves Shaktas, Salvias and the like, of whatever
Sampradaya
they happen to be.
Again Tantra is the name of only one class of Scripture
followed
by "Tantrics". There are others, namely, Nigamas, Agamas,
Yamalas,
Damaras, Uddishas, Kakshaputas and so forth. None of these
names are
used to describe the adherents of these Shastras except, so
far as I
am aware, Agama in the use of the term Agamavadin, and
Agamanta in
the descriptive name of Agamanta Shaiva. I give later a list
of
these Scriptures as contained in the various Agamas. If we
summarize
them shortly under the term Tantra Shastra, or preferably
Agama,
then we have four main classes of Indian Scripture, namely,
Veda
(Samhita, Brahmana, Upanishad), Agama or Tantra Shastra,
Purana,
Smriti. Of these Shastras the authority of the Agama or
Tantra
Shastra has been denied in modern times. This view may be
shown to
be erroneous by reference to Shastras of admitted authority.
It is
spoken of as the Fifth Veda. Kulluka Bhatta, the celebrated
commentator on Manu, says: "Shruti is twofold, Vaidik and
Tantrik
(Vaidiki tantriki caiva dvividha srutih lurtita)". This
refers to
the Mantra portion of the Agamas. In the Great Vaishnava
Shastra,
the Srimad Bhagavata, Bhagavan says: "My worship is of the
three
kinds—Vaidik, Tantrik and Mixed (Mishra)" and that, in
Kaliyuga, "Keshava is to be worshipped according to the
injunction
of Tantra." The Devibhagavata speaks of the Tantra Shastra
as a
Vedanga. It is cited as authority in the Ashtavimshati
Tattva of
Raghunandana who prescribes for the worship of Durga as
before him
had done Shridatta, Harinatha, Vidyadhara and many others.
Some of
these and other references are given in Mahamahopadhyaya
Yadaveshvara Tarkaratna's Tantrer Pracinatva in the Sahitpa
Samhita
of Aswin 1317. The Tarapradipa and other Tantrik works say
that in
the Kali-yuga the Tantrika and not the Vaidika Dharma is to
be
followed. This objection about the late character and
therefore
unauthoritativeness of the Tantra Shastras generally (I do
not speak
of any particular form of it) has been taken by Indians from
their
European Gurus.
According to the Shakta Scriptures, Veda in its wide sense
does not
only mean Rig, Yajus, Sama, Atharva as now published but
comprises
these together with the generally unknown and unpublished
Uttara
Kanda of the Atharva Veda, called Saubhagya, with the
Upanishads
attached to this. Sayana's Commentary is written on the
Purva Kanda.
These are said (though I have not yet verified she fact) to
be 64 in
number. Some of these, such as Advaitabhava, Kaula, Kalika,
Tripura,
Tara, Aruna Upanishads and Bahvricopanishad, Bhavanopanishad,
I have
published as the XI volume of Tantrik "texts. Aruna means
"She who
is red". Redness ( (Lauhityam) is Vimarsha. (See Vol. XI,
Tantrik
Texts. Ed. A. Avalon.) I may also here refer my reader to
the
Kaulacarya Satyananda's Commentary on the great Isha
Upanishad.
Included also in "Veda" (according to the same view) are the
Nigamas, Agamas, Yamalas and Tantras. From these all other
Shastras
which explain the meaning (Artha) of Veda such as Purana and
Smriti,
also Itihasa and so forth are derived. All these Shastras
constitute
what is called a "Many millioned" (Shatakoti) Samhita which
are
developed, the one from the other as it were an unfolding
series. In
the Tantrik Sangraha called Sarvollasa by the
Sarvavidyasiddha
Sarvanandanatha the latter cites authority (Narayani Tantra)
to show
that from Nigama came Agama. Here I pause to note that the
Sammohana
says that Kerala Sampradaya is Dakshina and follows Veda
(Vedamargastha), whilst Gauda (to which Sarvanandanatha
belonged) is
Vama and follows Nigama. Hence apparently the pre-eminence
given to
Nigama. He then says from Agama came Yamala, from Yamala the
four
Vedas, from Vedas the Puranas, from Puranas Smriti, and from
Smriti
all other Shastras. There are, he says, five Nigamas and 64
Agamas.
Four Yamalas are mentioned, which are said to give the gross
form
(Sthularupa). As some may be surprised to learn that the
four Vedas
came from the Yamalas (i.e. were Antargata of the Yamalas)
which
literally means what is uniting or comprehensive, I subjoin
the
Sanskrit verse from Narayani Tantra.
Brahmayamalasambhutam samaveda-matam shive
Rudrayamalasamjata rigvedo paramo mahan
Vishnuyamalasambhuto yajurvedah kuleshvari
Shaktiyamalasambhutam atharva paramam mahat.
Some Tantras are called by opposing sects Vedavirud-dhani
(opposed
to Veda), which of course those who accept them deny, just
as the
Commentary of the Nityashodashikarnava speaks of the
Pa—caratrin as
Vedabhrashta. That some sects were originally Avaidika is
probable,
but in process of time various amalgamations of scriptural
authority, belief and practice took place.
Whether we accept or not this theory, according to which the
Agamas
and kindred Shastras are given authority with the four Vedas
we have
to accept the facts. What are these?
As I have said, on examination the one body of Hinduism
reveals as
it were a double framework. I am now looking at the matter
from an
outside point of view which is not that of the Shakta
worshiper. We
find on the one hand the four Vedas with their Samhitas,
Brahmanas,
and Upanishads and on the other what has been called the
"Fifth
Veda," that is Nigama, Agama and kindred Shastras and
certain
especially "Tantrik" Upanishads attached to the Saubhagya
Kanda of
the Atharvaveda. There are Vaidik and Tantrik Kalpa Sutras
and
Suktas such as the Tantrika Devi and Matsya Suktas. As a
counterpart
of the Brahma-sutras, we have the Shakti Sutras of Agastya.
Then
there is both Vaidik and "Tantrik" ritual such as (he ten
Vaidik
Samskaras and the Tantrik Samskaras, such as Abhisheka;
Vaidik and
Tantrik initiation (Upanayana and Diksha); Vaidik and
Tantrik
Gayatri; the Vaidik Om, the so-called "Tantrik" Bijas such
as Hring;
Vaidika. Guru and Deshika Guru and so forth. This dualism
may be
found carried into other matters as well, such as medicine,
law,
writing. So, whilst the Vaidik Ayurveda employed generally
vegetable
drugs, the "Tantriks" used metallic substances. A
counterpart of the
Vaidika Dharmapatni was the Shaiva wife; that is, she who is
given
by desire (Kama). I have already pointed out the
counterparts of the
Pa—catattva in the Vedas. Some allege a special form of
Tantrik
script at any rate in Gauda Desha and so forth.
What is the meaning of all this? It is not at present
possible to
give a certain answer. The subject has been so neglected and
is so
little known. Before tendering any conclusions with any
certainty of
their correctness, we must examine the Tantrik Texts which
time has
spared. It will be readily perceived, however, that if there
be such
a double frame as I suggest, it indicates that there were
originally
two sources of religion one of which (possibly in some
respects the
older) incorporated parts of, and in time largely superseded
the
other. And this is what the "Tantriks" impliedly allege in
their
views as to the relation of the four Vedas and Agamas. If
they are
not both of authority, why should such reverence be given to
the
Deshika Gurus and to Tantrik Diksha?
Probably, there were many Avaidika cults, not without a deep
and
ancient wisdom of their own, that is, cults outside the
Vaidik
religion (Vedabahya) which in the course of time adopted
certain
Vaidik rites such as Homa: the Vaidikas, in their own turn,
taking
up some of the Avaidika practices. It may be that some
Brahmanas
joined these so-called Anarya Sampradayas just as we find
to-day
Brahmanas officiating for low castes and being called by
their name.
At length the Shastras of the two cults were given at least
equal
authority. The Vaidik practice then largely disappeared,
surviving
chiefly both in the Smarta rites of to-day and as embedded
in the
ritual of the Agamas. These are speculations to which I do
not
definitely commit myself. They are merely suggestions which
may be
worth consideration when search is made for the origin of
the
Agamas. If they be correct, then in this, as in other cases,
the
beliefs and practices of the Soil have been upheld until
to-day
against the incoming cults of those "Aryas" who followed the
Vaidik
rites and who in their turn influenced the various religious
communities without the Vaidik fold.
The Smartas of to-day represent what is generally called the
Srauta
side, though in these rites there are mingled many Pauranic
ingredients. The Arya Samaja is another present-day
representative
of the old Vaidika Acara, mingled as it seems to me with a
modernism, which is puritan and otherwise. The other, or
Tantrik
side, is represented by the general body of present-day
Hinduism,
and in particular by the various sectarian divisions of
Salvias,
Shaktas, Vaishnavas and so forth which go to its making.
Each sect of worshipers has its own Tantras. In a previous
chapter
I have shortly referred to the Tantras of the
Shaivasiddhanta, of
the Pa—caratra Agama, and of the Northern Saivaism of which
the
Malinivijapa Tantra sets the type. The old fivefold division
of
worshipers was, according to the Pa—copasana, Saura,
Ganapatya,
Vaishnava, Shaiva, and Shakta whose Mula Devatas were Surya,
Ganapati, Vishnu, Shiva and Shakti respectively. At the
present time
the three-fold division, Vaishnava, Shaiva, Shakta, is of
more
practical importance, as the other two survive only to a
limited
extent to-day. In parts of Western India the worship of
Ganesha is
still popular and I believe some Sauras or traces of Sauras
here and
there exist, especially in Sind.
Six Amnayas are mentioned in the Tantras. (Shadamnayah).
These are
the six Faces of Shiva, looking East (Purvamnaya), South
(Dakshinamnaya), West (Pashcim amnaya), North (Uttaramnaya),
Upper
(Urddhvamnaya), Lower and concealed (Adhamnaya). The six
Amnayas are
thus so called according to the order of their origin. They
are thus
described in the Devyagama cited in the Tantrarahasya (see
also,
with some variation probably due to corrupt text, Patala II
of
Samayacara Tantra): "(1) The face in the East (that is in
front) is
of pearl-like luster with three eyes and crowned by the
crescent
moon. By this face I (Shiva) revealed (the Devis) Shri
Bhuvaneshvari, Triputa, Lalita, Padma, Shulini, Sarasvati,
Tvarita,
Nitya, Vajraprastarim, Annapurna, Mahalakshmi, Lakshmi,
Vagvadini
with all their rites and Mantras. (2) The Southern face is
of a
yellow color with three eyes. By this face I revealed
Prasadasadashiva, Mahaprasadamantra, Dakshinamurti, Vatuka,
Ma—jughosha, Bhairava, Mritasanjivanividya, Mrityunjaya with
their
rites and Mantras. (3) The face in the West (that is at the
back) is
of the color of a freshly formed cloud. By this face I
revealed
Gopala, Krishna, Narayana, Vasudeva, Nrishimha, Vamana,
Varaha,
Ramacandra, Vishnu, Harihara, Ganesha, Agni, Yama, Surya,
Vidhu
(Candra) and other planets, Garuda, Dikpalas, Hanuman and
other
Suras, their rites and Mantras. (4) The face in the North is
blue in
color and with three eyes. By this face, I revealed the
Devis,
Dakshinakalika, Mahakali, Guhyakah, Smashanakalika,
Bhadrakali,
Ekajata, Ugratara, Taritni, Katyayani, Chhinnamasta,
Nilasarasvati,
Durga, Jayadurga, Navadurga, Vashuli, Dhumavati, Vishalakshi,
Gauri,
Bagalamukhi, Pratyangira, Matangi, Mahishamardini, their
rites and
Mantras. (5) The Upper face is white. By this face I
revealed
Shrimattripurasundari, Tripureshi, Bhairavi, Tripurabhairavi,
Smashanabhairavi, Bhuvaneshibhairavi, Shatkutabhairavi,
Annapurnabhairavi, Pa—cami, Shodashi, Malini, Valavala, with
their
rites and Mantras. (6) The sixth face (Below) is lustrous of
many
colors and concealed. It is by this mouth that I spoke of
Devatasthana, Asana, Yantra, Mala, Naivedya, Balidana,
Sadhana,
Purashcarana, Mantrasiddhi. It is called "Ishanamnaya." The
Samayacara Tantra (Ch. 2) says that whilst the first four
Amnayas
are for the Caturvarga or Dharma, Artha, Kama, Moksha, the
upper
(Urddhvamnaya) and lower (Adhamnaya) are for liberation
only. The
Sammohana Tantra (Ch. V) first explains Purvamnaya,
Dakshinamnaya,
Pashcimamnaya, Uttaramnaya, Urdhvamnaya according to what is
called
Deshaparyyaya. I am informed that no Puja of Adhamnaya is
generally
done but that Shadanvaya Shambhavas, very high Sadhakas, at
the door
of Liberation do Nyasa with this sixth concealed Face. It is
said
that Patala Amnaya is Sam-bhogayoga. The Nishkala aspect in
Shaktikrama is for Purva, Tripura; for Dakshina, Saura,
Ganapatya
and Vaishnava; for Pashcima, Raudra, Bhairava; for Uttara,
Ugra,
Apattarini. In Shaivakarma the same aspect is for the first,
Sampatprada and Mahesha; for the second, Aghora, Kalika and
Vaishnava darshana; for the third, Raudra, Bhairava, Shaiva;
for the
fourth, Kubera, Bhairava, Saudrashaka; and for Urddhvamnaya,
Ardhanarisha and Pranava. Niruttara Tantra says that the
first two
Amnayas contain rites for the Pashu Sadhaka (see as to the
meaning
of this and the other classes of Sadhakas, the Chapter on
Pa—catattva ritual Purvamnayoditam karma Pashavam kathitam
priye,
and so with the next). The third or Pashcimamnaya is a
combination
of Pashu and Vira (Pashcimamnayajam karma
Pashu-virasamashritam).
Uttaramnaya is for Vira and Divya (Uttaramnayajam karma
divpa-
virashritam priye). The upper Amnaya is for the Divya
(Urdhvamnayoditam karma divyabhavashritam priye). It adds
that even
the Divya does Sadhana in the cremation ground in Virabhava
(that
is, heroic frame: of mind and disposition) but he does such
worship
without Virasana. The Sammohana also gives a classification
of
Tantras according to the Amnayas as also special
classifications,
such as the Tantras of the six Amnayas according to
Vatukamnaya. As
only one Text of the Sammohana is available whilst I write,
it is
not possible to speak with certainty of accuracy as regards
all
these details.
Each of these divisions of worshipers have their own
Tantras, as
also had the Jainas and Bauddhas. Different sects had their
own
particular subdivisions and Tantras of which there are
various
classifications according to Krantas, Deshaparyaya,
Kalaparyaya and
so forth.
The Sammohana Tantra mentions 22 different Agamas including
Cinagama
(a Shakta form), Pashupata (a Shaiva form), Pa—caratra (a
Vaishnava
form), Kapalika, Bhairava, Aghora, Jaina, Bauddha; each of
which is
said there to contain a certain number of Tantras and
Upatantras.
According to the Sammohana Tantra, the Tantras according to
Kalaparyaya are the 64 Shakta Tantras, with 327 Upatantras,
8
Yamalas, 4 Damaras, 2 Kalpalatas and several Samhitas,
Cudamanis
(100) Arnavas, Puranas, Upavedas, Kakshaputas, Vimarshini
and
Cintamanis. The Shaiva class contains 32 Tantras with its
own
Yamalas, Damaras and so forth. The Vaishnava class contains
75
Tantras with the same, including Kalpas and other Shastras.
The
Saura class has Tantras with its own Yamalas, Uddishas and
other
works. And the Ganapatya class contains 30 Tantras with
Upatantras,
Kalpas and other Shastras, including one Damara and one
Yamala. The
Bauddha class contains Kalpadrumas, Kamadhenus, Suktas,
Kramas,
Ambaras, Puranas and other Shastras.
According to the Kularnava and J—anadipa Tantras there are
seven
Acaras of which the first four, Veda, Vaishnava, Shaiva and
Dakshina
belong to Pashvacara; then comes Vama, followed by Siddhanta,
in
which gradual approach is made to Kaulacara the reputed
highest.
Elsewhere six and nine Acaras are spoken of and different
kinds of
Bhavas, Sabhava, Vibhava and Dehabhava and so forth which
are
referred to in Bhavacudamani.
An account of the Acaras is given in the Haratattvadidhiti
[pp. 339-
342. See in particular Vishvasara Tantra (Ch. 24) and Nitya
Tantra
and Pranatoshini. The first is the best account].
Vedacara is the lowest and Kaulacara the highest. (Kularnava
Tantra
II). Their characteristics are given in the 24th Patala of
Vishvasara Tantra. The first four belong to Pashvacara (see
Chapter
on Shakta Sadhana) and the last three are for Vira and Divya
Sadhakas. Summarizing the points of the Vishvasara: a
Sadhaka in
Vedacara should carry out the prescriptions of the Veda,
should not
cohabit with his wife except in the period following the
courses. He
should not eat fish and meat on the Parva days. He should
not
worship the Deva at night. In Vaishnavacara he follows
injunctions
(Niyama) of Vedacara. He must give up eating of flesh (Nitya
Tantra
says he must not kill animals), avoid sexual intercourse and
even
the talk of it. This doubtless means a negation of the Vira
ritual.
He should worship Vishnu. This Acara is distinguished from
the last
by the great endurance of Tapas and the contemplation of the
Supreme
everywhere. In Shaivacara, Vedacara is prescribed with this
difference that there must be no slaughter of animals and
meditation
is on Shiva. Dakshinacara is said to have been practiced by
Rishi
Dakshinamurti and is therefore so called. This Acara is
preparatory
for the Vira and Divya Bhavas. Meditation is on the Supreme
Ishvari
after taking Vijaya (Hemp). Japa of Mantra is done at night.
Siddhi
is attained by using a rosary of human bone (Mahshankha) at
certain
places including a Shaktipitha. Vamacara is approved for
Viras and
Divyas. One should be continent (Brahmacari) at day and
worship with
the Pa—catattva at night. ("Pa—catattvakramenaiva ratrau
devim
prapujayet"). The statement of Nitya (Pa—catattvanukalpena
ratrau
deving prapujayet) is, if correctly reported, I think
incorrect.
This is Vira Sadhana and the Vira should generally only use
substitutes when the real Tattvas cannot be found. Cakra
worship is
done. Siddhi is destroyed by revelation thereof; therefore
the Vama
path is hidden. The Siddhantacari is superior to the last by
his
knowledge "hidden in the Vedas, Shastras and Puranas like
fire in
wood, by his freedom from fear of the Pashu, by his
adherence to the
truth, and by his open performance of the Pa—catattva
ritual. Open
and frank, he cares not what is said." He offers the
Pancatattvas
openly. Then follows a notable passage. "Just as it is not
blameable
to drink openly in the Sautramani Yaj—a (Vaidik rite), so in
Siddhantacara wine is drunk openly. As it is not blameable
to kill
horses in the Ashvamedha Yaj—a (Vaidik rite), so no offense
is
committed in killing animals in this Dharma." Nitya Tantra
says that
an article, be it pure or impure, becomes pure by
purification.
Holding a cup made of human skull, and wearing the Rudraksha,
the
Siddhantacari moves on earth in the form of Bhairava
Himself. The
knowledge of the last Acara, that of the Kaula, makes one
Shiva.
Just as the footprint of every animal disappears in that of
the
elephant, so every Dharma is lost in the greatness of
Kuladharma.
Here there are no injunctions or prohibitions, no
restriction as to
time or place, in fact no rule at all. A Kaula is himself
Guru and
Sadashiva and none are superior to him. Kaulas are of three
classes,
inferior (the ordinary or Prakrita Kaula), who is ever
engaged in
ritual such as Japa, Homa, Puja, follows Viracara (with
Pa—catattva)
and strives to attain the highland of knowledge; middling is
the
Kaula who does Sadhana with Pa—catattva, is deeply immersed
in
meditation (Dhyana) and Samadhi; superior, the Kaula who "Oh
Mistress of the Kaulas sees the imperishable, and
all-pervading Self
in all things and all things in the Self." He is a good
Kaula who
makes no distinction between mud and sandalpaste, gold and
straw, a
home and the cremation ground. He is a superior Kaula who
meditates
on the Self with the self, who has equal regard for all, who
is full
of contentment, forgiveness and compassion. Nitya Tantra (Patala
III) says that Kaulas move about in various shapes, now as
an
ordinary man of the world adhering to social rules (Shishta),
at
other times as one who has fallen therefrom (Bhrashta). At
other
times, he seems to be as weird and unearthly as a ghost (Bhuta).
Kaulacara is, it says, the essence which is obtained from
the ocean
of Veda and Agama after churning it with the staff' of
knowledge.
In a modern account of the Acaras (see Sanatana—
sadhana-Tattva or
Tantra-rahashya by Saccidananda Svami) it is said that some
speak of
Aghoracara and Yogacara as two further divisions between the
last
but one and last. However this may be, the Aghoras of to-day
are a
separate sect who, it is alleged, have degenerated into mere
eaters
of corpses, though Aghora is said to only mean one who is
liberated
from the terrible (Ghora ) Samsara. In Yogacara was learnt
the upper
heights of Sadhana and the mysteries of Yoga such as the
movements
of the Vayu in the bodily microcosm (Kshudravrahmanda), the
regulation of which controls the inclinations and
propensities
(Vritti), Yogacara is entered by Yoga-diksha and achievement
in
Ashtangayoga qualifies for Kaulacara. Whether there were
such
further divisions I cannot at present say. I prefer for the
time
being to follow the Kularnava. The Svami's account of these
is as
follows: Vedacara which consists in the daily practice of
the Vaidik
rites (with, I may add, some Tantrik observances) is the
gross body
(Sthula-deha) which comprises within it all the other Acaras,
which
are as it were its subtle body (Sukshma-deha) of various
degrees.
The worship is largely of an external character, the object
of which
is to strengthen Dharma. This is the path of action (Kriyamarga).
This and some other observations may be a modern reading of
the old
facts but are on the whole, I think, justified. The second
stage of
Vaishnavacara is the path of devotion (Bhaktimarga) and the
aim is
union of devotion with faith previously acquired. The
worshiper
passes from blind faith to an understanding of the supreme
protecting Energy of the Brahman, towards which his devotion
goes
forth. With an increasing determination to uphold Dharma and
to
destroy Adharma, the Sadhaka passes into the third stage or
Shaivacara which the author cited calls the militant (Kshattriya)
stage, wherein to love and mercy are added strenuous
striving and
the cultivation of power. There is union of faith, devotion,
and
inward determination (Antarlaksha). Entrance is here made
upon the
path of knowledge (J—anamarga). Following this is the fourth
stage
or Dakshinacara, which originally and in Tantra Shastra does
not
mean "right-hand worship" but according to the author cited
is the
Acara "favorable" to the accomplishment of the higher
Sadhana of
which Dakshina-Kalika is Devi. (The Vishvasara already cited
derives
the word from Dakshinamurthi muni, but Dakshina in either
case has
the same meaning. Daksinakali is a Devi of Uttaramnaya and
approach
is here made to Vira rituals.) This stage commences when the
worshiper can make Dhyana and Dharana of the threefold
Shakti of
the Brahman (Iccha, Kriya, J—ana) and understands the mutual
connection of the three and of their expression as the Gunas,
and
until he receives the rite of initiation called
Purnabhisheka. At
this stage the Sadhaka is Shakta and qualified for the
worship of
the threefold Shakti of Brahman (Brahma, Vishnu, Maheshvara).
He
worships the Adya-Shakti as Dakshina-Kalika in whom are
united the
three Shaktis. The aim of this stage is the union of faith,
devotion, and determination with a knowledge of the
threefold
energies. (Passage is thus made from the Deva-aspect to the
Deva-
whole.) Up to this stage the Sadhaka has followed Pravritti
Marga,
or the outgoing path, the path of worldly enjoyment, albeit
curbed
by Dharma. The Sadhaka now, upon the exhaustion of the
forces of the
outward current, makes entry on the path of return (Nivritti-Marga).
As this change is one of primary importance, some have
divided the
Acaras into the two broad divisions of Dakshinacara
(including the
first four) and Vamacara (including the last three).
Strictly,
however, the first three can only be thus included in the
sense that
they are preparatory to Dakshinacara proper and are all in
the
Pravritti Marga and are not Vamacara. It is thus said that
men are
born into Dakshinacara but are received by initiation into
Vamacara.
As Dakshinacara does not mean "right-hand worship" so
Vamacara does
not mean, as is vulgarly supposed, "left-hand worship".
"Left-hand"
in English has a bad sense and it is not sense to suppose
that the
Shastra, which prescribes this Acara, itself gives it a bad
name.
Vama is variously interpreted. Some say it is the worship in
which
woman (Vama) enters, that is Lata-sadhana. Vama, this author
says,
means "adverse" that is the stage adverse to the Pravritti,
which
governs in varying degrees the previous Acaras. For, entry
is here
made on the Nivritti path of return to the Source of
outgoing. (In
this Acara also there is worship of the Vama Devi.) In
Vamacara the
Sadhaka commences to directly destroy Pravritti and, with
the help
of the Guru, to cultivate Nivritti. The help of the Guru
throughout
is necessary. It is comparatively easy to lay down rules for
the
Pravritti Marga but nothing can be achieved in Vama-cara
without the
Guru's help. Some of the disciplines are admittedly
dangerous and,
if entered upon without authority and discretion, will
probably lead
to abuse. The method of the Guru at this stage is to use the
forces
of Pravritti in such a way as to render them
self-destructive. The
passions which bind (notably the fundamental instincts for
food,
drink, and sexual satisfaction) may be it is said so
employed as to
act as forces whereby the particular life, of which they are
the
strongest physical manifestation, is raised to the universal
life.
Passion which has hitherto run downward and outwards (often
to
waste) is directed inwards and upwards and transformed to
power. But
it is not only the lower physical desires of eating,
drinking, and
sexual intercourse which must be subjugated. The Sadhaka
must at
this stage commence (the process continues until the fruit
of
Kaulacara is obtained) to cut off all the eight bonds
(Pasha) which
have made him a Pashu, for up to and including Dakshinacara
is Pashu
worship. These Pasha, bonds or "afflictions", are variously
enumerated but the more numerous classifications are merely
elaborations of the smaller divisions. Thus, according to
the Devi-
Bhagavata, Moha is ignorance or bewilderment, and Mahamoha
is the
desire for worldly pleasure which flows from it. The
Kularnava
Tantra mentions eight primary bonds, Daya (that is pity as
the
feeling which binds as opposed to divine compassion or
Karuna), Moha
(ignorance), Lajja (shame, which does not mean that a man is
to be a
shameless sinner but weak worldly shame of being looked down
upon,
of infringing conventions and so forth), Family (Kula, which
ceases
to be a tie), Shila (here usage, convention) and Varna
(caste; for
the enlightened is beyond all its distinctions). When, to
take the
Svami's example, Shri Krishna stole the clothes of the
bathing Gopis
or milkmaids and cowherds and made them approach Him naked,
He
removed the artificial coverings which are imposed on man in
the
Samsara. The Gopis were eight, as are the Bonds, and the
errors by
which the Jiva is misled are the clothes which Krishna
stole. Freed
of these the Jiva is liberated from all bonds arising from
his
desires, family and society. Formerly it was sufficient to
live in
worldly fashion according to the morality governing life in
the
world. Now the Sadhaka must go further and transcend the
world, or
rather seek to do so. He rises by those things which are
commonly
the cause of fall. When he has completely achieved his
purpose and
liberated himself from all bonds, he reaches the stage of
Shiva
(Shivatva). It is the aim of the Nivritti Sadhana to
liberate man
from the bonds which bind him to the Samsara, and to qualify
the
Vira Sadhaka, through Rajasika Upasana (see Chapter on
Pa—catattva)
of the highest grades of Sadhana in which the Sattvika Guna
predominates. He is then Divya or divine. To the truly
Sattvik,
there is neither attachment, fear nor disgust (Ghrina). What
is thus
commenced in Vamacara, is gradually completed by the rituals
of
Siddhantacara and Kaulacara. In the last three Acaras the
Sadhaka
becomes more and more freed from the darkness of Samsara and
is
attached to nothing, hates nothing, is ashamed of nothing
(really
shameful acts being ex hypothesi below his acquired stage),
and has
freed himself of the artificial bonds of family, caste, and
society.
He becomes an Avadhuta, that is, one who has "washed off"
everything
and has relinquished the world. Of these, as stated later,
there are
several classes. For him there is no rule of time or place.
He
becomes, like Shiva himself, a dweller in the cremation
ground
(Smashana). He attains Brahmaj—ana or the Gnosis in perfect
form. On
receiving Mahapurnadiksha, he performs his own funeral rites
and is
dead to the Samsara. Seated alone in some quiet place, he
remains in
constant Samadhi (ecstasy), and attains it in its highest or
Nirvikalpa form. The Great Mother, the Supreme Prakriti,
Mahashakti
dwells in his heart which is now the inner cremation ground
wherein
all passions have been burnt away. He becomes a Paramahamsa
who is
liberated whilst yet living (Jivanmukta).
From the above it will be seen that the Acaras are not
various sects
in the European sense, but stages in a continuous process
through
which the Sadhaka must pass before he reaches the supreme
state of
the highest Kaula (for the Kaulas are of differing degrees).
Passing
from the gross outer body of Vedacara, he learns its
innermost core
of doctrine, not expressed but latent in it. These stages
need not
be and are not ordinarily passed through by each Jiva in the
course
of a single life. On the contrary they are as a rule
traversed in
the course of a multitude of births, in which case the
weaving of
the spiritual garment is recommenced where, in a previous
birth, it
was dropped on death. In one life the Sadhaka may commence
at any
stage. If he is a true Kaula now it is because in previous
births he
has by Sadhana in the preliminary stages won his entrance
into it.
Knowledge of Shakti is, as the Niruttara Tantra says,
acquired after
many births; and according to the Mahanirvana Tantra it is
by merit
acquired in previous births that the mind is inclined to
Kaulacara.
Kauladharma is in no wise sectarian but on the contrary
claims to be
the head of all sects. It is said "at heart a Shakta,
outwardly a.
Shaiva, in gatherings a Vaishnava (who are wont to gather
together
for worship in praise of Hari) in thus many a guise the
Kaulas
wander on earth."
Antah-shaktah bahih-shaivah sabhayam vaishnava matah
Nana-rupadharah Kaulah vicaranti mahitale.
The saying has been said to be an expression of this claim
which is
I think involved in it. It does however also I think
indicate
secrecy, and adaptability to sectarian form, of him who has
pierced
to the core of that which all sects in varying, though
partial, ways
present. A Kaula is one who has passed through these and
other
stages, which have as their own inmost doctrine (whether
these
worshipers know it or not) that of Kaulacara. It is
indifferent
what the Kaula's apparent sect may be. The form is nothing
and
everything. It is nothing in the sense that it has no power
to
narrow the Kaula's inner life. It is everything in the sense
that
knowledge may infuse its apparent limitations with an
universal
meaning. A man may thus live in all sects, without their
form being
ever to him a bond.
In Vaidik times there were four Ashramas, that is, states
and stages
in the life of the Arya, namely (in their order) that of the
chaste
student (Brahmacarya), secular life as a married
house-holder
(Grihastha), the life of the forest recluse with his wife in
retirement from the world (Vanaprastha), lastly that of the
beggar
(Bhikshu or Avadhuta), wholly detached from the world,
spending his
time in meditation on the Supreme Brahman in preparation for
shortly
coming death. All these four were for the Brahmana caste,
the first
three for the Kshattriya, the first two for the Vaishya and
for the
Shudra the second only (Yogayaj—avalkpa, Ch. I). As neither
the
conditions of life nor the character, capacity and powers of
the
people of this age allow of the first and third Ashrama, the
Mahanirvana Tantra states (VIII. 8) that in the Kali age
there are
only two Ashramas, namely, the second and last, and these
are open
to all castes indiscriminately (ib. 12). The same Tantra
(XIV. 141
et seq.) speaks of four classes of Kulayogis or Avadhutas
namely the
Shaivavadhuta and Brahmavadhuta, which are of two kinds,
imperfect
(Apurna) and perfect (Purna). The first three have enjoyment
and
practice Yoga. The fourth or Paramahamsa should be
absolutely chaste
and should not touch metal. He is beyond all household
duties and
caste, and ritual, such as the offering of food and drink to
Devata.
The Bhairavadamara classes the Avadhuta into (a) Kulavadhuta,
(b)
Shaivavadhuta, (c) Brahmavadhuta, (d) Hamsavadhuta. Some
speak of
three divisions of each of the classes Shaivavadhuta and
Brahmavadhuta (see pp. 32-33 of Introduction to Tantra
Shastra). The
Shaivavadhutas are not, either, from a Western or Shastric
standpoint, as high as the Brahmavadhuta. The lowest of the
last
class can have intercourse only with the own wife (Shvakiya
Shakti
as opposed to the Shaiva Shakti); the middling has
ordinarily
nothing to do with any Shakti, and the highest must under no
circumstance touch a woman or metal, nor does he practice
any rites
or keep any observances.
The main divisions here are Vedacara, Dakshinacara and
Vamacara.
Vedacara is not Vaidikacara, that is, in the Srauta sense,
for the
Srauta Vaidikacara appears to be outside this sevenfold
Tantrik
division of which Vedacara is the Tantrik counterpart. For
it is
Tantrik Upasana with Vaidik rites and mantras, with (I have
been
told) Agni as Devata. As a speculation we may suggest that
this
Acara was for those not Adhikari for what is called the
Srauta
Vaidikacara. The second and third belong and lead up to the
completed Dakshinacara. This is Pashvacara. Vama-cara
commences the
other mode of worship, leading up to the completed Kaula,
the
Kaulavadhuta, Avadhuta, and Divya. Here, with the attainment
of
Brahmaj—ana, we reach the region which is beyond all Acaras
which is
known as Sveccacara. All that those belonging to this state
do or
touch is pure. In and after Vamacara there is eating and
drinking
in, and as part of, worship and Maithuna. After the Pashu
there is
the Vira and then the Divya. Pashu is the starting point,
Vira is on
the way and Divya is the goal. Each of the sects has a
Dakshina and
Vama division. It is commonly thought that this is peculiar
to
Shaktas: but this is not so. Thus there are Vama, Ganapatyas
and
Vaishnavas and so forth. Again Vamacara is itself divided
again into
a right and left side. In the former wine is taken in a cup
of stone
or other substance, and worship is with the Svakiya-Shakti
or
Sadhaka's own wife; in the latter and more advanced stage
drinking
is done from a skull and worship may be with Parastri, that
is, some
other Shakti. In the case however of some sects which belong
to the
Vama-cara division, whilst there is meat and wine, there is,
I am
told, no Shakti for the members are chaste (Brahmacari). So
far as I
can ascertain these sects which are mentioned later seem to
belong
to the Shaiva as opposed to the Shakta group.
The Tantrik Samgraha called Shaktanandatarangini by
Brahmananda
Svami says (Ch. 2) that Agama is both Sadagama and Asadagama
and
that the former alone is Agama according to the primary
meaning of
the word (Sadagama eva agamashabdasya mukhyatvat). He then
says that
Shiva in the Agama Samhita condemns the Asadagama saying "Oh
Deveshi, men in the Kali age are generally of a Rajasik and
Tamasik
disposition and being addicted to forbidden ways deceive
many
others. Oh Sureshvari, those who in disregard of their
Varnashrama
Dharma offer to us flesh, blood and wine become Bhutas,
Pretas, and
Brahmarakshasas," that is, various forms of evil spirits.
This
prohibits such worship as is opposed to Varnashramadharma.
It is
said, however, by the Vamacaris, who take consecrated wine
and flesh
as a Yaj—a, not to cover their case.
It is not uncommonly thought that Vamacara is that Acara
into which
Vama or woman enters. This is true only to a, certain
extent: that
is, it is a true definition of those Sadhakas who do worship
with
Shakti according to Vamacara rites. But it seems to be
incorrect, in
so far as there are, I am told, worshipers of the Vamacara
division
who are chaste (Brahmacari). Vamacara means literally "left"
way,
not "left-handed" in the English sense which means what is
bad. As
the name is given to these Sadhakas by themselves it is not
likely
that they would adopt a title which condemns them. What they
mean is
that this Acara is the opposite of Dakshinacara.
Philosophically it
is more monistic. It is said that even in the highest Siddhi
of a
Dakshinacari "there is always some One above him"; but the
fruit of
Vamacara and its subsequent and highest stages is that the
Sadhaka "becomes the Emperor Himself". The Bhava differs,
and the
power of its method compared with Dakshinacara is said to be
that
between milk and wine.
Moreover it is to be noted that the Devi whom they worship
is on the
left of Shiva. In Vamacara we find Kapalikas, Kalamukhas,
Pashupatas, Bhandikeras, Digambaras, Aghoras, followers of
Cinacara
and Kaulas generally who are initiated. In some cases, as in
that of
the advanced division of Kaulas, worship is with all five
Tattvas
(Pa—catattvas). In some cases there is Brahmacarya as in the
case of
Aghora and Pashupata, though these drink wine and eat flesh
food.
Some Vamacaris, I am informed, never cease to be chaste
(Brahmacari), such as Oghada Sadhus worshipers of Batuka
Bhairava,
Kanthadhari and followers of Gorakshanatha, Sitanatha and
Matsyendranatha. In Nilakrama there is no Maithuna. In some
sects
there are differing practices. Thus, I am told, amongst the
Kalamukhas, the Kalaviras only worship Kumaris up to the age
of
nine, whereas the Kamamohanas worship with adult Shaktis.
Some advanced members of this (in its general sense)
Vamacara
division do not, I am informed, even take wine and meat. It
is said
that the great Vamacari Sadhaka Raja Krishnacandra of Nadia,
Upasaka
of the Chinnamasta Murti, did not take wine. Such and
similar
Sadhakas have passed beyond the preliminary stage of
Vamacara, and
indeed (in its special sense) Vamacara itself. They may be
Brahma
Kaulas. As regards Sadhakas generally it is well to remember
what
the Mahakala Samhita, the great Shastra of the Madhyastha
Kaulas,
says in the 11th Ullasa called Sharira-yoga-kathanam: "Some
Kaulas
there are who seek the good of this world (Aihikarthadhritatmanah).
So also the Vaidikas enjoy what is here (Aihikartham
kamayante: as
do, I may interpose, the vast bulk of present humanity) and
are not
seekers of liberation (Amrite ratim na kurvanti). Only by
Nishkamasadhana is liberation attained."
The Pa—catattva are either real (Pratyaksha. "Idealizing"
statements
to the contrary are, when not due to ignorance, false),
substitutional (Anukalpa) or esoteric (Divyatattva). As
regards the
second, even a vegetarian would not object to "meat" which
is in
fact ginger, nor the abstainer to "wine" which is coconut
water in a
bell-metal vessel. As for the Esoteric Tattva they are not
material
articles or practices, but the symbols for Yogic processes.
Again
some notions and practices are more moderate and others
extreme. The
account given in the Mahanirvana of the Bhairavi and Tattva
Cakras
may be compared with some more unrestrained practice; and
the former
again may be contrasted with a modern Cakra described in the
13th
Chapter of the Life of Bejoy Krishna Gosvami by Jagad-bandhu
Maitra.
There a Tantrika Siddha formed a Cakra at which the Gosvami
was
present. The latter says that all who were there, felt as if
the
Shakti was their own Mother who had borne them, and the
Devatas whom
the Cakreshvara invoked appeared in the circle to accept the
offerings. Whether this is accepted as a fact or not, it is
obvious
that it was intended to describe a Cakra of a different kind
from
that of which we have more commonly heard. There are some
practices
which are not correctly understood; there are some
principles which
the bulk of men will not understand; for to so understand
there must
be besides knowledge that undefinable Bhava, the possession
of which
carries with it the explanation which no words can give. I
have
dealt with this subject in the Chapter on the Pa—catattva.
There are
expressions which do not bear their surface meaning.
Gomamhsa-
bhakshana is not "beef-eating" but putting the tongue in the
root of
the throat. What some translate as "Ravishing the widow"
refers not
to a woman but to a process in Kundalini Yoga and so forth.
Lastly
and this is important: a distinction is seldom, if ever,
made
between Shastric principles and actual practice, nor is
count taken
of the conditions properly governing the worship and its
abuse. It
is easy to understand that if Hinduism has in general
degenerated,
there has been a fall here. It is, however, a mistake to
suppose
that the sole object of these rites is enjoyment. It is not
necessary to be a "Tantrik" for that. The moral of all this
is, that
it is better to know the facts than to make erroneous
generalizations. There are said to be three Krantas or
geographical
divisions of India, of which roughly speaking the
North-Eastern
portion is Vishnukranta, the North-Western Rathakranta and
the
remaining and Southern portion is Ashvakranta. According to
the
Shaktamarigala and Mahasiddhisara Tantras, Vishnukranta
(which
includes Bengal) extends from the Vindhya range to Chattala
or
Chittagong. From Vindhya to Tibet and China is Rathakranta.
There is
then some difference between these two Tantras as to the
position of
Ashvakranta. According to the first this last Kranta extends
from
the Vindhya to the sea which perhaps includes the rest of
India.
According to the Mahasiddhisara Tantra it extends from the
Karatoya
River to a point which cannot be identified with certainty
in the
text cited, but which may be Java. To each of these 64
Tantras have
been assigned. One of the questions awaiting solution is
whether the
Tantras of these three geographical divisions are marked by
both
doctrinal and ritual peculiarities and if so what they are.
This
subject has been referred to in the first part of the
Principles of
Tantra wherein a list of Tantras is given.
In the Shakta division there are four Sampradayas, namely,
Kerala,
Kashmira, Gauda and Vilasa, in each of which there is both
outer and
inner worship. The Sammohana Tantra gives these four
Sampradayas,
also the number of Tantras, not only in the first three
Sampradayas,
but in Cina and Dravida. I have been informed that out of 56
Deshas
(which included besides Hunas, places outside India, such as
Cina,
Mahacina, Bhota, Simhala), 18 follow Gauda extending from
Nepala to
Kalinga and 19 follow Kerala extending from Vindhyacala to
the
Southern Sea, the remaining countries forming part of the
Kashmira
Desha; and that in each Sampradaya there are Paddhatis such
as
Shuddha, Gupta, Ugra. There is variance in Devatas and
Rituals some
of which are explained in the Tarasukta and Shaktisamgama
Tantra.
There are also various Matas such as Kadi Mata, called
Viradanuttara
of which the Devata is Kali (see Introduction to Tantraraja
Tantra,
A Short Analysis); Hadi Mata called Hamsaraja of which
Tripurasundari is Devata and Kahadi Mata the combination of
the two
of which Tara is Devata that is Nilasarasvati. Certain
Deshas are
called Kadi, Hadi, Kahadi Deshas and each Mata has several
Amnayas.
It is said that the Hamsatara Mahavidya is the Sovereign
Lady of
Yoga whom Jainas call Padmavati, Shaktas Shakti, Bauddhas
Tara, Cina
Sadhakas Mihogra, and Kaulas Cakreshvari. The Kadis call her
Kali,
the Hadis Shrisundari and the Kadi-Hadis Hamsah. Volumes
VIII and
XII of "Tantrik Texts" contain that portion of the
Tantraraja which
belongs to Kadi Mata and in the English Introduction,
mentioned
above, I have dealt with this subject.
Gauda Sampradaya considers Kadi the highest Mata, whilst
Kashmira
and Kerala worship Tripura and Tara. Possibly there may have
been
originally Deshas which were the exclusive seats of specific
schools
of Tantra, but later and at present, so far as they exist,
this
cannot be said. In each of the Deshas different Sampradayas
may be
found, though doubtless at particular places, as in Bengal,
particular sects may be predominant.
In my opinion it is not yet possible to present, with both
accuracy
and completeness, the doctrine and practice of any
particular
Tantrik School, and to indicate wherein it differs from
other
Schools. It is not possible at present to say fully and
precisely
who the original Shaktas were, the nature of their
sub-divisions and
of their relation to, or distinction from, some of the
Shaiva group.
Thus the Kaulas are generally in Bengal included in the
Brahmaj—ani
Shakta group but the Sammohana in one passage already cited
mentions
Kaula and Shakta separately. Possibly it is there meant to
distinguish ordinary Shaktas from the special group called
Kaula
Shaktas. In Kashmir some Kaulas, I believe, call themselves
Shaivas.
For an answer to these and other questions we must await a
further
examination of the texts. At present I am doing clearing of
mud
(Pankoddhara) from the tank, not in the expectation that I
can
wholly clear away the mud and weeds, but with a desire to
make a
beginning which others may complete.
He who has not understood Tantra Shastra has not understood
what "Hinduism" is as it exists to-day. The subject is an
important
part of Indian culture and therefore worth study by the duly
qualified. What I have said should be sufficient to warn the
ignorant from making rash generalizations. At present we can
say
that he who worships the Mantra and Yantra of Shakti is a
Shakta,
and that there were several Sampradayas of these
worshipers. What
we can, and should first do, is to study the Shakta Darshana
as it
exists to-day, working back from the known to the unknown.
What I am
about to describe is the Shakta faith as it exists to-day,
that is
Shaktivada, not as something entirely new but as the
development and
amalgamation of the various cults which were its ancestors.
Summarizing Shakta doctrine we may first affirm that it is
Advaitavada or Monism. This we might expect seeing that it
flourished in Bengal which, as the old Gauda Desha, is the
Guru both
of Advaitavada and of Tantra Shastra. From Gauda came
Gaudapadacarya, Madhusudana Sarasvati, author of the great
Advaitasiddhi, Ramacandratirthabharati, Citsukhacarya and
others.
There seems to me to be a strong disposition in the
Brahmaparayana
Bengali temperament towards Advaitavada. For all Advaitins
the
Shakta Agama and Advaita Shaivagama must be the highest form
of
worship. A detailed account of the Advaita teachings of the
Shaktas
is a matter of great complexity and of a highly esoteric
character,
beyond the scope of this paper. I may here note that the
Shakta
Tantras speak of 94 Tattvas made up of 10, 12 and 16 Kalas
of Fire,
Sun and Moon constituting the Kamakala respectively; and 19
of
Sadashiva, 6 of Ishvara, 10 each of Rudra, Vishnu and
Brahma. The 51
Kalas or Matrikas which are the Sukshmarupa of the 51
letters
(Varna) are a portion of these 94. These are the 51 coils of
Kundali
from Bindu to Shrimatrikotpatti-Sundari mentioned in my
Garland of
Letters or Studies on the Mantra Shastra. These are all
worshipped
in the wine jar by those Shaktas who take wine. The Shastras
also
set out the 36 Tattvas which are common to Shaktas and
Salvias; the
five Kalas which are Samanya to the Tattvas, namely,
Nivritti,
Pratishtha, Vidya, Shanta, Shantyatita, and the Shadadhva,
namely,
Varna, Pada, and Mantra, Kala, Tattva, Bhuvana, which
represent the
Artha aspect and the Shabda aspect respectively. (See
Garland of
Letters.)
To pass to more popular matters, a beautiful and tender
concept of
the Shaktas is The Motherhood of God, that is, God as Shakti
or the
Power which produces, maintains and withdraws the universe.
This is
the thought of a worshiper. Though the Sammohana Tantra
gives high
place to Shamkara as conqueror of Buddhism (speaking of him
as a
manifestation of Shiva and identifying his four disciples
and
himself with the five Mahapretas), the Agamas as Shastras of
worship
do not teach Mayavada as set forth according to Shamkara's
transcendental method. Maya to the Shakta worshiper is not
an
unconscious something, not real, not unreal, not
real-unreal, which
is associated with Brahman in its Ishvara aspect, though it
is not
Brahman. Brahman is never associated with anything but
Itself. Maya
to the Shakta is Shakti veiling Herself as Consciousness,
but which,
as being Shakti, is Consciousness. To the Shakta all that he
sees is
The Mother. All is Consciousness. This is the standpoint of
Sadhana.
The Advaitins of Shamkara's School claim that their doctrine
is
given from the standpoint of Siddhi. I will not argue this
question
here. When Siddhi is obtained there will be no argument.
Until that
event Man is, it is admitted, subject to Maya and must think
and act
according to the forms which it imposes on him. It is more
important
after all to realize in fact the universal presence of the
Divine
Consciousness, than to attempt to explain it in
philosophical terms.
The Divine Mother first appears in and as Her worshiper's
earthly
mother, then as his wife; thirdly as Kalika, She reveals
Herself in
old age, disease and death. It is She who manifests, and not
without
a purpose, in the vast outpouring of Samhara Shakti which
was
witnessed in the great world-conflict of our time. The
terrible
beauty of such forms is not understood. And so we get the
recent
utterance of a Missionary Professor at Madras who being
moved to
horror at the sight of (I think) the Camundamurti called the
Devi
a "She-Devil". Lastly She takes to Herself the dead body in
the
fierce tongues of flame which light the funeral pyre.
The Monist is naturally unsectarian and so the Shakta faith,
as held
by those who understand it, is free from a narrow sectarian
spirit.
Nextly it, like the other Agamas, makes provision for all
castes and
both sexes. Whatever be the true doctrine of the Vaidikas,
their
practice is in fact marked by exclusiveness. Thus they
exclude women
and Shudras. It is easy to understand why the so-called
Anarya
Sampradayas did not do so. A glorious feature of the Shakta
faith is
the honor which it pays to woman. And this is natural for
those who
worship the Great Mother, whose representative (Vigraha) all
earthly
women are. Striyo devah striyah pranah. "Women are Devas;
women are
life itself," as an old Hymn in the Sarvollasa has it. It is
because
Woman is a Vigraha of the Amba Devi, Her likeness in flesh
and
blood, that the Shakta Tantras enjoin the honor and worship
of women
and girls (Kumaris), and forbid all harm to them such as the
Sati
rite, enjoining that not even a female animal is to be
sacrificed.
With the same solicitude for women, the Mahanirvana
prescribes that
even if a man speaks rudely (Durvacyam kathayan) to his
wife, he
must fast for a whole day, and enjoins the education of
daughters
before their marriage. The Moslem Author of the Dabistan
(ii. 154.
Ed. 1843) says "The Agama favors both sexes equally. Men and
women
equally compose mankind. This sect hold women in great
esteem and
call them Shaktis and to ill-treat a Shakti, that is, a
woman, is a
crime". The Shakta Tantras again allow of women being Guru,
or
Spiritual Director, a reverence which the West has not (with
rare
exceptions) yet given them. Initiation by a Mother bears
eightfold
fruit. Indeed to the enlightened Shakta the whole universe
is Stri
or Shakti. "Aham stri" as the Advabhavano Upanishad says. A
high
worship therefore which can be offered to The Mother to-day
consists
in getting rid of abuses which have neither the authority of
ancient
Shastra, nor of modern social science and to honor, cherish,
educate
and advance women (Shakti). Striyo devah striyah pranah.
Gautamiya
Tantra says Sarvavarnadhikarashca narinam yogya eva ca; that
is, the
Tantra Shastra is for all castes and for women; and the
Mahanirvana
says that the low Kaula who refuses to initiate a Candala or
Yavana
or a woman out of disrespect goes the downward path. No one
is
excluded from anything except on the grounds of a real and
not
artificial or imagined incompetency.
An American Orientalist critic, in speaking of "the
worthlessness of
Tantric philosophy", said that it was "Religious Feminism
run mad,"
adding "What is all this but the feminisation of orthodox
Vedanta?
It is a doctrine for suffragette Monists: the dogma
unsupported by
any evidence that the female principle antedates and
includes the
male principle, and that this female principle is supreme
Divinity."
The "worthlessness" of the Tantrik philosophy is a personal
opinion
on which nothing need be said, the more particularly that
Orientalists who, with insufficient knowledge, have already
committed themselves to this view are not likely to easily
abandon
it. The present criticism, however, in disclosing the
grounds on
which it is based, has shown that they are without worth.
Were it
not for such ignorant notions, it would be unnecessary to
say that
the Shakta Sadhaka does not believe that there is a Woman
Suffragette or otherwise, in the sky, surrounded by the
members of
some celestial feminist association who rules the male
members of
the universe. As the Yamala says for the benefit of the
ignorant "neyam yoshit na ca puman na shando na jadah
smritah". That
is, God is neither female, male, hermaphrodite nor
unconscious
thing. Nor is his doctrine concerned with the theories of
the
American Professor Lester Ward and others as to the alleged
pre-
eminence of the female principle. We are not here dealing
with
questions of science or sociology. It is a common fault of
western
criticism that it gives material interpretations of Indian
Scriptures and so misunderstands it. The Shakta doctrine is
concerned with those Spiritual Principles which exist
before, and
are the origin of, both men and women. Whether, in the
appearance of
the animal species, the female "antedates" the male is a
question
with which it is not concerned. Nor does it say that the
"female
principle" is the supreme Divinity. Shiva the "male" is
co-equal
with Shivé the "female," for both are one and the same. An
Orientalist might have remembered that in the Samkhya,
Prakriti is
spoken of as "female," and Purusha as "male". And in
Vedanta, Maya
and Devi are of the feminine gender. Shakti is not a male
nor a
female "person," nor a male nor a female "principle," in the
sense
in which sociology, which is concerned with gross matter,
uses those
terms. Shakti is symbolically "female" because it is the
productive
principle. Shiva in so far as He represents the Cit or
consciousness
aspect, is actionless (Nishkriya), though the two are
inseparably
associated even in creation. The Supreme is the
attributeless
(Nirguna) Shiva, or the neuter Brahman which is neither
"male"
nor "female". With such mistaken general views of the
doctrine, it
was not likely that its more subtle aspects by way of
relation to
Shamkara's Mayavada, or the Samkya Darshana should be
appreciated.
The doctrine of Shakti has no more to do with "Feminism"
than it has
to do with "old age pensions" or any other sociological
movement of
the day. This is a good instance of those apparently "smart"
and
cocksure judgments which Orientalists and others pass on
things
Indian. The errors would be less ridiculous if they were on
occasions more modest as regards their claims to know and
understand. What is still more important, they would not
probably in
such cases give unnecessary ground for offense.
The characteristic features of Shakta-dharma are thus its
Monism;
its concept of The Motherhood of God; its un-sectarian
spirit and
provisions for Shudras and women, to the latter of whom it
renders
high honor, recognizing that they may be even Gurus; and
lastly its
Sadhana skillfully designed to realize its teachings.
As I have pointed out on many an occasion this question of
Sadhana
is of the highest importance, and has been in recent times
much
overlooked. It is that which more than anything else gives
value to
the Agama or Tantra Shastra. Mere talk about religion is
only an
intellectual exercise. Of what use are grand phrases about
Atma on
the lips of those who hate and injure one another and will
not help
the poor. Religion is kindness. Religion again is a
practical
activity. Mind and body must be trained. There is a
spiritual as
well as a mental and physical gymnastic. According to Shakta
doctrine each man and woman contains within himself and
herself a
vast latent magazine of Power or Shakti, a term which comes
from the
root "Shak" to be able, to have force to do, to act. They
are each
Shakti and nothing but Shakti, for the Svarupa of Shakti,
that is,
Shakti as it is in itself is Consciousness, and mind and
body are
Shakti. The problem then is how to raise and vivify Shakti.
This is
the work of Sadhana in the Religion of Power. The Agama is a
practical philosophy, and as the Bengali friend and
collaborator of
mine, Professor Pramathanatha Mukhyopadhyaya, whom I cite
again, has
well put it, what the intellectual world wants to-day is the
sort of
philosophy which not merely argues but experiments. This is
Kriya.
The form which Sadhana takes necessarily varies according to
faith,
temperament and capacity. Thus, amongst Christians, the
Catholic
Church, like Hinduism, has a full and potent Sadhana in its
sacraments (Samskara), temple (Church), private worship (Puja,
Upasana) with Upacara "bell, light and incense" (Ghanta,
Dipa,
Dhupa), Images or Pratima (hence it has been called
idolatrous),
devotional rites such as Novenas and the like (Vrata), the
threefold "Angelus" at morn, noon and evening (Samdhya),
rosary
(Japa), the wearing of Kavacas (Scapulars, Medals, Agnus
Dei),
pilgrimage (Tirtha), fasting, abstinence and mortification (Tapas),
monastic renunciation (Samnyasa), meditation (Dhyana),
ending in the
union of mystical theology (Samadhi) and so forth. There are
other
smaller details such for instance as Shanti-abhisheka (Asperges)
into which I need not enter here. I may, however, mention
the
Spiritual Director who occupies the place of the Guru; the
worship
(Hyperdulia) of the Virgin-Mother which made Svami
Vivekananda call
the Italian Catholics, Shaktas; and the use of wine (Madya)
and
bread (corresponding to Mudra) in the Eucharist or Communion
Service. Whilst, however, the Blessed Virgin evokes devotion
as warm
as that which is here paid to Devi, she is not Devi for she
is not
God but a creature selected as the vehicle of His
incarnation
(Avatara). In the Eucharist the bread and wine are the body
and
blood of Christ appearing under the form or "accidents" of
those
material substances; so also Tara is Dravamayi, that is,
the "Saviour in liquid form". (Mahanirvana Tr. xi. 105-107.)
In the
Catholic Church (though the early practice was otherwise)
the laity
no longer take wine but bread only, the officiating priest
consuming
both. Whilst however the outward forms in this case are
similar, the
inner meaning is different. Those however who contend that
eating
and drinking are inconsistent with the "dignity" of worship
may be
reminded of Tertullian's saying that Christ instituted His
great
sacrament at a meal. These notions are those of the dualist
with all
his distinctions. For the Advaitin every function and act
may be
made a Yaj—a. Agape or "Love Feasts," a kind of Cakra, were
held in
early times, and discontinued as orthodox practice, on
account of
abuses to which they led; though they are said still to
exist in
some of the smaller Christian sects of the day. There are
other
points of ritual which are peculiar to the Tantra Shastra
and of
which there is no counterpart in the Catholic ritual such as
Nyasa
and Yantra. Mantra exists in the form of prayer and as
formulae of
consecration, but otherwise the subject is conceived of
differently
here. There are certain gestures (Mudra) made in the ritual,
as when
consecrating, blessing, and so forth, but they are not so
numerous
or prominent as they are here. I may some day more fully
develop
these interesting analogies, but what I have said is for the
present
sufficient to establish the numerous similarities which
exist
between the Catholic and Indian Tantrik ritual. Because of
these
facts the "reformed" Christian sects have charged the
Catholic
Church with "Paganism". It is in fact the inheritor of very
ancient
practices but is not necessarily the worse for that. The
Hindu finds
his Sadhana in the Tantras of the Agama in forms which his
race has
evolved. In the abstract there is no reason why his race
should not
modify these forms of Sadhana or evolve new ones. But the
point is
that it must have some form of Sadhana. Any system to be
fruitful
must experiment to gain experience. It is because of its
powerful
sacraments and disciplines that in the West the Catholic
Church has
survived to this day, holding firm upon its "Rock" amid the
dissolving sects, born of what is called the "Reform". It is
likely
to exist when these, as presently existing sects, will have
disappeared. All things survive by virtue of the truth in
them. The
particular truth to which I here refer is that a faith
cannot be
maintained by mere hymn-singing and pious addresses. For
this reason
too Hinduism has survived.
This is not necessary to say that either of these will, as
presently
existing forms, continue until the end of time. The
so-called
Reformed or Protestant sects, whether of West or East, are
when
viewed in relation to man in general, the imperfect
expression of a
truth misunderstood and misapplied, namely, that the higher
man
spiritually ascends, the less dependent is he on form. The
mistake
which such sects make is to look at the matter from one side
only,
and to suppose that all men are alike in their requirement.
The
Agama is guilty of no such error. It offers form in all its
fullness
and richness to those below the stage of Yoga, at which
point man
reaches what the Kularnava Tantra calls the Varna and
Ashrama of
Light (Jyotirvarnashrami), and gradually releases himself
from all
form that he may unite his self with the Formless One. I do
not know
which most to admire—the colossal affirmations of Indian
doctrine, or the wondrous variety of the differing
disciplines,
which it prescribes for their realization in fact.
The Buddhists called Brahmanism Shilavrataparamarsha, that
is, a
system believing in the efficacy of ritual acts. And so it
is, and
so at length was Buddhism, when passing through Mahayana it
ended up
with the full Tantrik Sadhana of the Vajrayana School. There
are
human tendencies which cannot be suppressed. Hinduism will,
however,
disappear, if and when Sadhana (whatever be its form)
ceases; for
that will be the day on which it will no longer be something
real,
but the mere subject of philosophical and historical talk.
Apart
from its great doctrine of Shakti, the main significance of
the
Shakta Tantra Shastra lies in this, that it affirms the
principle of
the necessity of Sadhana and claims to afford a means
available to
all of whatever caste and of either sex whereby the
teachings of
Vedanta may be practically realized.
But let no one take any statement from any one, myself
included,
blindly, without examining and testing it. I am only
concerned to
state the facts as I know them. It is man's prerogative to
think.
The Sanskrit word for "man" comes from the root man "to
think".
Those who are Shaktas may be pleased at what I have said
about their
faith. It must not, however, be supposed that a doctrine is
necessarily true simply because it is old. There are some
hoary
errors. As for science, its conclusions shift from year to
year.
Recent discoveries have so abated its pride that it has
considerably
ceased to give itself those pontifical airs which formerly
annoyed
some of us. Most will feel that if they are to bow to any
Master it
should be to a spiritual one. A few will think that they can
safely
walk alone. Philosophy again is one of the noblest of life's
pursuits, but here too we must examine to see whether what
is
proposed for our acceptance is well founded. The maxim is
current
that there is nothing so absurd but that it has been held by
some
philosopher or another. We must each ourselves judge and
choose, and
if honest, none can blame our choice. We must put all to the
test.
We may here recollect the words of Shruti—"Shrotavyah,
Mantavyah,
Nididhyasitavyah,"—"listen, reason and ponder"; for as
Manu
says "Yastarke-nanusandhatte sa dharmam veda, netarah"—
"He who by
discussion investigates, he knows Dharma and none other."
Ultimately
there is experience alone which in Shakta speech is Saham—
"She I
am".
NOTE TO CHAPTER VI
I have referred to the Vaidik and Agamic strands in Indian
Dharma. I
wish to add some weighty remarks made by the well-known
Vedantic
Monthly The Prabuddha Bharata (Mayavati, U. P., July 1914).
They
were elicited by the publication of Arthur Avalon's
Principles of
Tantra. After pointing out that a vindication of the Tantras
rebounds directly to the benefit of Hinduism as a whole, for
Tantrikism in its real sense is nothing but the Vedic
religion
struggling with wonderful success to reassert itself amidst
all
those new problems of religious life and discipline which
historical
events and developments have thrust upon it, and after
referring to
the Introduction to that work, the author of the review
wrote as
follows:
"In this new publication, the most noteworthy feature of
this new
Introduction he has written for the Tantra-tattva is his
appreciative presentation of the orthodox views about the
antiquity
and the importance of the Tantras, and it is impossible to
overestimate the value of this presentation.
"For hitherto all theories about the origin and the
importance of
the Tantras have been more or less prejudiced by a wrong
bias
against Tantrikism which some of its own later sinister
developments
were calculated to create. This bias has made almost every
such
theory read either like a. condemnation or an apology. All
investigation being thus disqualified, the true history of
Tantrikism has not yet been written; and we find cultured
people
mostly inclined either to the view that Tantrikism
originally
branched off from the Buddhistic Mahayana or Vajrayana as a
cult of
some corrupted and self-deluded monastics, or to the view
that it
was the inevitable dowry which some barbarous non-Aryan
races
brought along with them into the fold of Hinduism. According
to both
these views, however, the form which this Tantrikism—
either a
Buddhistic development or a barbarous importation—has
subsequently assumed in the literature of Hinduism, is its
improved
edition as issuing from the crucibles of Vedic or Vedantic
transformation. But this theory of the curious co-mingling
of the
Vedas and Vedanta with Buddhistic corruption or with
non-Aryan
barbarity is perfectly inadequate to explain the
all-pervading
influence which the Tantras exert on our present-day
religious life.
Here it is not any hesitating compromise that we have got
before us
to explain, but a bold organic synthesis, a legitimate
restatement
of the Vedic culture for the solution of new problems and
new
difficulties which signalized the dawn of a new age.
"In tracing the evolution of Hinduism, modern historians
take a
blind leap from Vedic ritualism direct to Buddhism, as if to
conclude that all those newly formed communities, with which
India
had been swarming all over since the close of the fateful
era of the
Kurukshetra war and to which was denied the right of Vedic
sacrifices, the monopoly of the higher three-fold castes of
pure
orthodox descent, were going all the time without any
religious
ministrations. These Aryanized communities, we must
remember, were
actually swamping the Vedic orthodoxy, which was already
gradually
dwindling down to a helpless minority in all its scattered
centers
of influence, and was just awaiting the final blow to be
dealt by
the rise of Buddhism. Thus the growth of these new
communities and
their occupation of the whole land constituted a mighty
event that
had been silently taking place in India on the outskirts of
the
daily shrinking orthodoxy of Vedic ritualism, long before
Buddhism
appeared on the field, and this momentous event our modern
historians fail to take due notice of either it may be
because of a
curious blindness of self-complacency or because of the
dazzle which
the sudden triumph of Buddhism and the overwhelming mass of
historical evidences left by it create before their eyes.
The
traditional Kali Yuga dates from the rise of these
communities and
the Vedic religious culture of the preceding Yuga underwent
a
wonderful transformation along with a wonderful attempt it
made to
Aryanize these rising communities.
"History, as hitherto understood and read, speaks of the
Brahmins of
the Buddhistic age—their growing alienation from the
J—ana-kanda
or the Upanishadic wisdom, their impotency to save the
orthodox
Vedic communities from the encroachments of the non-Vedic
hordes and
races, their ever-deepening religious formalism and social
exclusiveness. But this history is silent on the marvelous
feats
which the Upanishadic sects of anchorites were silently
performing
on the outskirts of the strictly Vedic community with the
object of
Aryanizing the new India that was rising over the ashes of
the
Kurukshetra conflagration. This new India was not strictly
Vedic
like the India of the bygone ages, for it could not claim
the
religious ministrations of the orthodox Vedic Brahmins and
could
not, therefore, perform Yaj—as like the latter. The
question,
therefore, is as to how this new India became gradually
Aryanized,
for Aryanization is essentially a spiritual process,
consisting in
absorbing new communities of men into the fold of the Vedic
religion. The Vedic ritualism that prevailed in those days
was
powerless, we have seen, to do anything for these new
communities
springing up all over the country. Therefore, we are obliged
to turn
to the only other factor in Vedic religion besides the
Karma-kanda
for an explanation of those changes which the Vedic religion
wrought
in the rising communities in order to Aryanize them. The
Upanishads
represent the J—ana-kanda of the Vedic religion and if we
study all
of them, we find that not only the earliest ritualism of
Yaj—as was
philosophized upon the earlier Upanishads, but the
foundation for a
new, and no less elaborate, ritualism was fully laid in many
of the
later Upanishads. For example, we study in these Upanishads
how the
philosophy of Pa—ca-upasana (five-fold worship, viz., the
worship of
Shiva, Devi, Sun, Ganesha and Vishnu) was developed out of
the
mystery of the Pranava ("Om"). This philosophy cannot be
dismissed
as a post-Buddhistic interpolation, seeing that some
features of the
same philosophy can be clearly traced even in the Brahmanas
(e.g.,
the discourse about the conception of Shiva).
"Here, therefore, in some of the later Upanishads we find
recorded
the attempts of the pre-Buddhistic recluses of the forest to
elaborate a post-Vedic ritualism out of the doctrine of the
Pranava
and the Vedic theory of Yogic practices. Here in these
Upanishads we
find how the Bija-mantras and the Shatcakra of the Tantras
were
being originally developed, for on the Pranava or Udgitha
had been
founded a special learning and a school of philosophy from
the very
earliest ages and some of the "spinal" centers of Yogic
meditation
had been dwelt upon in the earliest Upanishads and
corresponding
Brahmanas. The Upakaranas of Tantrik worship, namely, such
material
adjuncts as grass, leaves, water and so on, were most
apparently
adopted from Vedic worship along with their appropriate
incantations. So even from the Brahmanas and the Upanishads
stands
out in clear relief a system of spiritual discipline—
which we
would unhesitatingly classify as Tantrik—having at its
core the
Pa—ca-upasana and around it a fair round of rituals and
rites
consisting of Bija-mantras and Vedic incantations, proper
meditative
processes and proper manipulation of sacred adjuncts of
worship
adopted from the Vedic rites. This may be regarded as the
earliest
configuration which Tantrik-ism had on the eve of those
silent but
mighty social upheavals through which the Aryanization of
vast and
increasing multitudes of new races proceeded in pre-Buddhistic
India
and which had their culmination in the eventful centuries of
the
Buddhistic coup de grace.
"Now this pre-Buddhistic Tantrikism, perhaps, then
recognized as the
Vedic Pa—ca-upasana, could not have contributed at all to
the
creation of a new India, had it remained confined completely
within
the limits of monastic sects. But like Jainism, this
Pa—ca-upasana
went forth all over the country to bring ultra-Vedic
communities
under its spiritual ministrations. Even if we inquire
carefully into
the social conditions obtaining in the strictly Vedic ages,
we find
that there was always an extended wing of the Aryanized
society
where the purely Vedic Karma-kanda could not be promulgated,
but
where the molding influence of Vedic ideals worked through
the
development of suitable spiritual activities. It is always
to the
J—ana-kanda and the monastic votaries thereof, that the
Vedic
religion owed its wonderful expansiveness and its
progressive self-
adaptability, and every religious development within the
Vedic fold,
but outside, the ritualism of Homa sacrifices, is traceable
to the
spiritual wisdom of the all renouncing forest recluses.
This 'forest' wisdom was most forcibly brought into
requisition when
after the Kurukshetra a new age was dawning with the onrush
and
upheaval of non-Aryan and semi-Aryan races all over India—
an echo
of which may be found in that story of the Mahabharata where
Arjuna
fails to use his Gandiva to save his protégés from the
robbery of
the non-Aryan hordes.
"The greatest problem of the pre-Buddhistic ages was the
Aryanization of the new India that rose and surged furiously
from
every side against the fast-dwindling centers of the old
Vedic
orthodoxy struggling hard, but in vain, by social enactments
to
guard its perilous insulation. But for those religious
movements,
such as those of the Bhagavatas, Shaktas, Sauryas, Shaivas,
Ganapatyas and Jainas, that tackled this problem of
Aryanization
most successfully, all that the Vedic orthodoxy stood for in
the
real sense would have gradually perished without trace.
These
movements, specially the five cults of Vedic worship, took
up many
of the non-Aryan races and cast their life in the mold of
the Vedic
spiritual ideal, minimizing in this way the gulf that
existed
between them and the Vedic orthodoxy and thereby rendering
possible
their gradual amalgamation. And where this task remained
unfulfilled
owing to the mold proving too narrow still to fit into the
sort of
life which some non-Aryan races or communities lived, there
it
remained for Buddhism to solve the problem of Aryanization
in due
time. But still we must remember that by the time Buddhism
made its
appearance, the pre-Buddhistic phase of Tantrik worship had
already
established itself in India so widely and so firmly that
instead of
dislodging it by its impetuous onset—all the force of
which, by
the bye, was mainly spent on the tattering orthodoxy of
Vedic
ritualism—Buddhism was itself swallowed up within three
or four
centuries by its perhaps least suspected opponent of this
Tantrik
worship and then wonderfully transformed and ejected on the
arena as
the Mahayana.
"The publication of these two volumes is an event of great
interest
and importance. The religious beliefs of the modern Hindus
have been
represented to English readers from various points of view,
but the
peculiar mold into which they have been sought to be cast in
comparatively modern centuries has not received adequate
attention.
The exponents of the religion of modern Hindus take
cognizance more
of the matter and source of their beliefs than of the change
of form
they have been undergoing through the many centuries. The
volumes
under review, as well as other publications brought out by
Arthur
Avalon, serve to carry this important question of form to
such a
prominence as almost makes it obligatory for every
exhaustive
exposition of Hindu doctrines in future to acknowledge and
discriminate in them the formative influences of the Tantrik
restatement. In the Tantratattva, the presentation and
vindication
of the Hindu religious beliefs and practices avowedly and
closely
follow the methodology of the Tantras, and the learned
pundit has
fully succeeded in establishing the fact that what lies
behind these
beliefs and practices is not mere prejudice or superstition
but a
system of profound philosophy based on the Vedas. Every
student of
modern Hinduism should acquaint himself with this, namely,
its
immediate background of Tantrik philosophy and ritualism.
"The Hindu religious consciousness is like a mighty Ganges
emerging
from the Himalayas of Vedic wisdom, receiving tributaries
and
sending out branch streams at many points in its course. And
though
the nature of the current, its color, velocity or uses may
vary at
different places, the Ganges is the same Ganges whether at
Hardwar,
Allahabad or Calcutta. The stream is not only one but it has
also
its one main channel in spite of all the many tributaries
and
branches. And the whole of the stream is sacred, though
different
sects may choose special points and confluences as of
special
sanctity to themselves, deriving inspiration thence for
their
special sectarian developments. Now, though the rise of
Tantrik
philosophy and ritualism created in former times new
currents and
back-waters along the stream of Hinduism, it was essentially
an
important occurrence in the main stream and channel; and
instead of
producing a permanent bifurcation in that stream, it
coalesced with
it, coloring and renovating, more or less, the whole tenor
of the
Hindu religious consciousness. As a result, we find Tantrik
thought
and sentiment equally operative in the extreme metaphysical
wing of
Hinduism as well as in its lower matter-of-fact phases.
This actual permeation of Hindu religious consciousness by
Tantrik
thought and sentiment should receive the fullest recognition
at the
hands of every up-to-date exponent. His predecessors of
former
generations might have to strengthen their advocacy of
Tantrik
doctrines by joining issue with the advocates of particular
phases
of Hindu religion and philosophy. But the present epoch in
the
history of our religious consciousness is pre-eminently an
epoch of
wonderful synthetic mood of thought and sentiment, which is
gradually pervading the Hindu religious consciousness ever
since
Shri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa embodied in himself its
immediate
possibilities, to find in the literature that is being so
admirably
provided for English readers by Arthur Avalon an occasional
tendency
to use Tantrik doctrines as weapons for combating certain
phases of
Hindu belief and practice. This tendency seems to betray
quite a
wrong standpoint in the study of the Tantras, their relation
to
other Scriptures and their real historical significance."
Shakti and Shakta
http://www.sacred-texts.com/tantra/sas/sas06.htm
SHAKTI AND SHAKTA
by Arthur Avalon (Sir John Woodroffe), [1918]
Chapter 1: Indian Religion As Bharata Dharma
http://www.sacred-texts.com/tantra/sas/sas01.htm
Chapter 2: Shakti: The World as Power
http://www.sacred-texts.com/tantra/sas/sas02.htm
Chapter 3: What Are the Tantras and Their Significance?
http://www.sacred-texts.com/tantra/sas/sas03.htm
Chapter 4: Tantra Shastra and Veda
http://www.sacred-texts.com/tantra/sas/sas04.htm
Chapter 5: The Tantras and Religion of the Shaktas
http://www.sacred-texts.com/tantra/sas/sas05.htm
Chapter 6: Shakti and Shakta
http://www.sacred-texts.com/tantra/sas/sas06.htm
Chapter 7: Is Shakti Force?
http://www.sacred-texts.com/tantra/sas/sas07.htm
Chapter 8: Cinacara (Vashishtha and Buddha)
http://www.sacred-texts.com/tantra/sas/sas08.htm
Chapter 9: The Tantra Shastras in China
http://www.sacred-texts.com/tantra/sas/sas09.htm
Chapter 10: A Tibetan Tantra
http://www.sacred-texts.com/tantra/sas/sas10.htm
Chapter 11: Shakti in Taoism
http://www.sacred-texts.com/tantra/sas/sas11.htm
Chapter 12: Alleged Conflict of Shastras
http://www.sacred-texts.com/tantra/sas/sas12.htm
Chapter 13: Sarvanandanatha
http://www.sacred-texts.com/tantra/sas/sas13.htm
Chapter 14: Cit-Shakti (The Consciousness Aspect of the
Universe)
http://www.sacred-texts.com/tantra/sas/sas14.htm
Chapter 15: Maya-Shakti (The Psycho-Physical Aspect of the
Universe)
http://www.sacred-texts.com/tantra/sas/sas15.htm
Chapter 16: Matter and Consciousness
http://www.sacred-texts.com/tantra/sas/sas16.htm
Chapter 17: Shakti and Maya
http://www.sacred-texts.com/tantra/sas/sas17.htm
Chapter 18: Shakta Advaitavada
http://www.sacred-texts.com/tantra/sas/sas18.htm
Chapter 19: Creation as Explained in the Non-dualist Tantras
http://www.sacred-texts.com/tantra/sas/sas19.htm
Chapter 20: The Indian Magna Mater
http://www.sacred-texts.com/tantra/sas/sas20.htm
Chapter 21: Hindu Ritual
http://www.sacred-texts.com/tantra/sas/sas21.htm
Chapter 22: Vedanta and Tantra Shastra
http://www.sacred-texts.com/tantra/sas/sas22.htm
Chapter 23: The Psychology of Hindu Religious Ritual
http://www.sacred-texts.com/tantra/sas/sas23.htm
Chapter 24: Shakti as Mantra (Mantramayi Shakti)
http://www.sacred-texts.com/tantra/sas/sas24.htm
Chapter 25: Varnamala (The Garland of Letters)
http://www.sacred-texts.com/tantra/sas/sas25.htm
Chapter 26: Shakta Sadhana (The Ordinary Ritual)
http://www.sacred-texts.com/tantra/sas/sas26.htm
Chapter 27: The Pa—catattva (The Secret Ritual)
http://www.sacred-texts.com/tantra/sas/sas27.htm
Chapter 28: Matam Rutra (The Right and Wrong Interpretation)
http://www.sacred-texts.com/tantra/sas/sas28.htm
Chapter 29: Kundalini Shakta (Yoga)
http://www.sacred-texts.com/tantra/sas/sas29.htm
Chapter 30: Conclusions
http://www.sacred-texts.com/tantra/sas/sas30.htm
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