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Siva Sutram A Reading p.madhu 2011
Siva Sutram
A Reading
p.madhu
2011
Siva Sutram A reading
P.Madhu
2011
Siva Sutram A reading Author: P.Madhu. Ramavilsam, Malamalkavu, Kerala, India- 679 554 Title: Siva Sutram, A reading
cc by P.Madhu 2011. Some Rights Reserved.
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 To view a copy of this license, visit http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/legalcode.html This work may be freely distributed, in whole or in part, for non-commercial purposes, provided that names of author, editor, and publisher are included.
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Preface
Siva Sutram is part of Siva Agama Sastras. The Siva epistemology is unique and not comparable to the theological discourses of the Semitic faiths. Semitic doctrines present God as a person, creator existing outside the realm of the ‘creation’. Siva Sutram, unlike Semitic faiths, goes beyond the creator-created duality. The Siva doctrine unlike the Semitic constructions of creator-created, God-Satan, good-bad dichotomy is thoroughly non-dualistic. Atman, unlike the ‘soul’ of Semitic constructions is not an individual entity given to every single human individual. Atman, the Siva doctrine holds, is incorruptible. Atmans are not born. They do not die. Atman is non-dual with the primordial spanda. Atman is non-measurable and non-numerable and hence Atman is not even One, it is non-numerable. Siva is not a theological God-head alien.
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Semitic constructions present the creation as a onetime activity of a God alien to the creation. Siva Sutram, unlike Semitic constructions do not hold that the creation as a onetime event rather, it is seen as an ongoing process of veiling the Siva-pulsation (spanda) Time, space, matter or energy is presented as limited forms of the immeasurable immense. Siva Sutram takes creations and dissolutions as never ending processes. Dissolution (laya) is not presented in Siva Sutram as apocalypse. Instead, overcoming the veil of creation and achieving the dissolvence (laya) is a spiritual recommendation of the Sutram.
Historically, and culturally, Siva is a pre-theistic imagination. Hence, theism-atheism divide does not affect the Siva doctrine. Since Siva is unnumbered, doctrines of polytheism or mono-theism do not explain the Siva doctrine. Siva is not everything that exists, dies or anything that go under the cosmic or karmic recycle. For this reason, Siva is not a pan-theistic entity either. Siva is the incorruptible, undercurrent of
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vibrancy with its own will that is understood to be the fundamental source.
The epistemology is explained in Siva Agamas. Some of the known Siva Agamas are: Malini Vijaya, Svacchanda, Vijnana Bhairava, Mrgendra, Netra Yoga, Rudra-Yamala and Siva Sutra. Spanda Karika Pratya Bhijna Hridayam are two important texts help us to understand the Siva Agamas better. Siva Sutra is the most important of the Siva Agamas.
Siva agama sastras are believed to be the authentic voice of the internality (Atman) of the primordial, omniscient, and omnipresent vibration (Spanda). Vibrancies, it is presupposed have their co-present internality. Atman is the internality co-present with the ceaseless primordial vibration which is present before, throughout and after emergence and dissolvance of the cosmic field and the things in it. The subtle internality, the atman, though comparable with mind or consciousness, unlike consciousness or mind, is non-dual, undivided and not conditioned by experiences of individual
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or collective objects. The Atman has no grehya (grasper) - grahaka (grasped) bhedaat (distinction). The will of the Atman is Cit.
All that exist in the field of the cosmos, and the field as the entirety is conceived as one among many forms of limited existence of the limitless Siva. The limit veils the existence of limitless Siva. It is conceived in the Siva Agamas that Siva is the active and internal aspect of effluence of existence. Existence, the Siva doctrine holds, has an active and effluent current of inner aspect. For instance, in the case of light, Siva is understood as the effluent active aspect and inner vibrancy, the prakasha; the light as we witness with our senses is only its external manifestation. The unlimitable current of Siva as spanda, atman and cit is present from the minute to the entirety of the cosmic field hidden beneath the veil of existence. It is hidden to our sense perceptions, languages and measures.
The objective of Siva Sutram is Sva-tantra, guiding its followers to the unlimited freedom. Siva Sutram consists 77 aphorisms. It is divided
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into three sections. The aphorisms are open ended with potential for multiple meanings. The words are kaleidoscopic and they arrange themselves differently in different occasions in tune with the orientation of the reader.
The first section is called Sambhavopaya which explains the flash of Siva revelation. It is about the experiencing the flash of the hidden subtle internality imploding with its beyond-the-measure knowledge. The experience of flash is called ‘Bhairava’. The Second section is Saktopaya. This section is about the efforts a pursuer (sadhaka) to sustain the flash of Bhairava experience. The third section is Anavopaya. This section explains how a sadhaka (pursuers of truth) can overcome her limit-existence.
The Spanda-Karika, Vignjnana Bhairava and Pratyabhijnahridayam are important texts help a seeker to better understand Siva Sutram. Spanda-Karika explains the vibratory ontology of Siva-existence. Pratyabhijnahridayam explains the existence in time, space, materiality
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and body as limited existence. Vignjana Bhairava explains the practices through which one can sustain one’s Bhairava existence. Siva Sutram is believed to be textualized in the 9th century AD of the Siva belief systems that precedes that century.
It is not a translation. It is my present understanding of Siva Sutram. I hope the reader will benefit. For deeper understanding one has to read the original text. For me Siva-Sutram is a surprise and inspiration as I could re-discover what I was discussing in my writings on ‘non-zeroity’ and ‘being-in-captivity’ with farther clarity and lucidity. The doctrine of non-zeroity is very much there in the ‘neither this-nor that’ middle path recommendation found both in the Siva doctrine and Buddhist philosophy.
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P.Madhu ([email protected])
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Transliterated text of Siva Sutram
I. śāmbhavopāya 1. caitanyamātmā: 2. jñānam bandhah. 3. yonivarga kalāśarīram 4. jñānādhisthāna mātrikā 5. udyamo bhairavah 6. śakticakrasandhāne viśvasamhārah 7. jāgratsvapnasusuptabhede
turyābhogasambhavah 8. jñānam jāgrat 9. svapno vikalpāh 10. aviveko māyāsausuptam 11. tritayabhoktā vīreśah 12. vismayo yogabhūmikāh 13. icchā śaktirumā kumārī 14. drśyam śarīram
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15. hrdaye cittasamghattād drśyasvāpnadarśanam
16. śuddhatattvasandhānād vā apaśuśaktih 17. vitarka ātmajñānam 18. lokānandah samādhisukham 19. śaktisandhāne śarīrotpattih 20. bhūtasandhāna bhūtaprthaktva
viśvasamghattāh 21. śuddhavidyodayāccakreśatva siddhih 22. mahāhradānusandhānānmantravīry
ānubhavah
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II. śāktopāya 1. cittah mantrah 2. prayatnah sādhakah 3. vidyāśarīrasattā mantrarahasyam 4. garbhe cittavikāso'viśista vidyāsvapnah 5. vidyāsamutthāne svābhāvike khecarī
śivāvasthā 6. gururupāyah 7. mātrkācakrasambodhah 8. śarīram havih 9. jñānam annam 10. vidyāsamhāre taduttha svapna darśanam
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III. ānavopāya
1. ātmā cittam 2. jñānam bandhah 3. kalādīnām tattvānām aviveko māyā 4. śarīre samhārah kalānām 5. nādī samhāra bhūtajaya bhūtakaivalya
bhūtappthaktvāni 6. mohāvaranāt siddhih 7. mohajayād anantābhogāt sahajavidyājayah 8. jāgrad dvitīyakarah 9. nartaka ātmā 10. rango'ntarātmā 11. prekśakānīndriyāni 12. dhīvaśāt sattvasiddhih 13. siddhah svatantrabhāvah 14. yathā tatra tathānyatra 15. bījāvadhānam 16. āsanasthah sukham hrade nimajjati 17. svamātrā nirmānam āpādayati
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18. vidyā avināśe janma vināśah 19. kavargādisu māheśvaryādyāh paśumātarah 20. trisu caturtham tailavadāsecyam 21. magnah svacittena praviśet 22. prāna samācāre samadarśanam 23. madhye'vara prasavah 24. mātrāsvapratyaya sandhāne nastasya
punarutthānam 25. śivatulyo jāyate 26. Śarīravrttirvratam 27. kathā japah 28. dānam ātmajñānam 29. yo'vipastho jñāhetuśca 30. svaśakti pracayo'sya viśvam 31. stithilayau 32. tat pravrttāvapyanirāsah samvettrbhāvāt 33. sukha duhkhayorbahirmananam 34. tadvimuktastu kevalī 35. mohapratisamhatastu karmātmā 36. bheda tiraskāre sargāntara karmatvam
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37. karanaśaktih svato'nubhavāt 38. tripadādyanuprānanam 39. cittasthitivat śarīra karana bāhyesu 40. abhilāsādbahirgatih samvāhyasya 41. tadārūdhapramitestatkśayājjīvasamkśayah 42. bhūtakañcukī tadā vimukto bhūyah patisamah
parah 43. naisargikah prānasambandhah 44. nāsikāntarmadhya samyamāt kimatra
savyāpasavya sausumnesu 45. bhūyah syāt pratimīlanam
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Siva Sutram -A reading
I The Burst into Truth
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The Burst into Truth
1. Atman, the internality of the equiprimordial vibration, the spanda, is absolutely free and beyond measures.
2. Knowledge from any perspective is binding because, it is founded upon measures.
3. The immense in its measured limits as it appears is fertile, creating reproducing, mutating, evolving. Creation is the immense spatially, temporally and materially limited.
4. Measures are the mothers of knowledge. Measures veil immeasurable. Words veil unwordable and numbers veil unnumerable. Knowledge veils.
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5. Truth of the immense hence, is not realized through knowledge. Truth is a gracious event that implodes like a thunderous flash raising the receiver beyond the veils of knowledge. This is the flash of Bhairava experience.
6. The thunderous flash of realization unsettles the receiver from the veils of measured knowledge. This lets one to be in union with the primordial vibration (spanda) and its equiprimordial internality (atman).
7. The Bhairava eruption transforms conscious, sub-conscious and unconscious levels of existence into currents of realization. Irrespective of waking, dreaming & deep sleep status one enjoys the beyond-measures-fourth state of turiya. Turya is the blissful current of the primordial vibration (spanda) and its internality (atman).
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8. The Bhairava eruption transcends one beyond knowledges one gains through aware state,
9. hallucinatory dream-like veiled existence
10. and unsettles ones deep immersion into indiscriminable-delusions.
11. The spurt of Bhairava flash lets one to master all the three states of conscious, subconscious and unconscious - awaken, dreamlike and deep sleep – measured knowledges, veiled existence and indicriminable delusions.
12. This non-differentiated existence (yogabhumikah) is astonishingly wonderful.
13. In this non-differentiated current of existence one is fertile enough with
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creative potential like an about to be fertilized virgin.
14. The whole current of existence appears as one’s body.
15. United with the core of atman, one experiences the whole of said, unsaid, measured and immeasurable.
16. In union with the ultimate, the Siva, the pure principle one crosses the limits of individual material existence.
17. This is the unwavering atma-realization.
18. The bliss of union transcends the receiver and makes the world a blissful place.
19. The Bhairava experience frees one to creative realm:
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20. Freedom to ensemble, assemble, dissemble space, time, materiality and everything else
21. Those who gain the wisdom of being non-dual also gain the creative power of the primordial spanda, atman and cit as they have broken the limit existence.
22. United with the infinite reservoir of creative pulsation, one experiences its vibratory rhythm, the mantra veerya.
II Fidelity to the Bhairava event
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Fidelity to the Bhairava event
1. The internality of the realized (cittam) is
indistinguishable from the originary creative vibrancy, the mantra.
2. The realized (sadhaka) actively maintains fidelity with the Bhairava flash.
3. The secret of mantra is that it lets one in rhythm with the primordial vibrancy and subsequent wisdom.
4. Born as a limited mortal, otherwise, one is deluded by measures driven limited knowledge.
5. Burst of the wisdom of non-duality throbs one into the unbounded Siva-experience
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6. Fidelity to the siva status should be maintained through the guidances of gurus.
7. Uncovering the veil of limited knowledge, they are guided into limitless non-duality.
8. Such a realized is no longer limited by body, time, space or matter.
9. They are not limited by phenomenal or knowledges achieved through calculating measures.
10. On the attainment of the beyond-measures-knowledge, one understands the phenomenal or measures-guided knowledges were indeed hallucinatory.
III Transcending the Limit
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Transcending the Limit
1. Internality of the unrealized is merely
their mind.
2. The unrealized are bound by measured knowledge.
3. Hallucinated within gross knowledge they cannot discriminate gross from the subtle.
4. Realized overcome the misrecognition that the existence exists in separate and disconnected parts.
5. The realized understand ‘beyond the element vitality’. The flow of life is not merely a body mechanism of inhalation or exhalation distinct from the vitality sustaining it.
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6. Understanding the secret of non-duality and beyond-elementality, elevates the realized. They appear beyond the normal for those immersed within the veil of ignorance.
7. By overcoming the delusions of elementality and duality, one experiences boundless expansion and thorough mastery, naturally.
8. For the realized existence is experienced as the effulgence of light that is beyond dualities and elementalities.
9. One’s sense of internality is like an actor in the stage.
10. The stage is the primordial internality, spread as the cosmic internality.
11. The realized are the sensors witnessing this enactment.
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12. The current of effulgence is attained by
the realized.
13. Such is the attainment of unrestrained freedom.
14. The realized are not limited by spatial temporal or material existence.
15. They become non-distinguishable from the seed that sprouted the spatio-temporal-material existence.
16. The realized be at the core of the immortal ocean of existence.
17. The realized are not conditioned by measures or limits.
18. So long as they sustain this realization, they are not conditioned by the limits of karma or cycles of birth or death.
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19. Measures are the mothers of limited
existence.
20. The realized are unperturbed by their states of conscious, unconscious or subconscious existence (waking, dreaming & deep sleep), they remain realized in all the states of their existence.
21. The liberated enter the limitless existence gradually and steadily like the gentle flow of oil.
22. The liberated gain equanimity through the internalizing the non-dual vitality present everywhere.
23. However, if not remain with the razor-sharp awareness, the realized in their early stages may fall into inferior states of awareness.
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24. Regaining fidelity to the bhairava irruption, however, one can gain what is lost temporarily.
25. The conquered attain the very Siva status.
26. Their bodily existence thereafter becomes pious observance.
27. Their speech becomes meditative.
28. They gift others the wisdom of non-dual-cosmic internality.
29. They emerge as the source of wisdom.
30. The internality of the cosmos becomes indistinguishable from that of the realized.
31. The realized remain ever in the current of atma awareness.
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32. Irrespective of whatsoever appear or disappear, emerge or dissolve they remain steady in aatmic awareness.
33. They care least for pleasures or pains external to their aatmic awareness.
34. The Liberated remain alone steadily in their awareness.
35. The unrealized, unlike the liberated, remain caught in the cycles of birth, rebirth and reproduction of karma.
36. Recognizing one’s non-distinctness from the core of the creation, one becomes internal to the creation as it continues.
37. From one’s own experience the realized recognizes their creative potential.
38. Of the three states – emergence (sristi), sustenance (sthiti) and dissolvance (laya)-
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the dissolvance (laya) enlivens the realized.
39. The realized experience the cosmos as one’s own body.
40. Others chase time, space, materiality to satiate their wants, desires and greed.
41. Realization lets one to recognize the corruption inherent to the extroversion.
42. Though exist in the gross body, the realized are the Siva Himself.
43. They remain effortlessly non-dual.
44. The sense of non-duality and being one with the primordial atman overwhelms the realized.
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45. Thus the internality of the realized and internality of the primordial spanda remains non-differentiated.
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Siva Sutram
A Reading
P.Madhu
2011
