Introduction to Svātantryasūtram
(Explanation of the Highest Reality)
These two, the Self and His Power - who are inconceivable - constitute the Highest Reality ||1||
The Self is the Core of all, and His Power has become all. I call the Core "the Self" for the sake of bringing more light instead of more darkness. If I had called Him "Śiva", some people might consider Him as the well-known puranic Śiva who is a great ascetic living in a cave and whose main task consists in destroying the universe, etc. Other people would think that, as Viṣṇu is greater than Śiva, he should be the Core of all and not Śiva. In turn, there is also a tendency to regard Śiva like impersonal while Viṣṇu is personal. There is no end to spiritual foolishness indeed, because there is no difference between Śiva and Viṣṇu really. Anyway, other people could suggest that a better name would be Brahman, etc. In order not to fall into all that ignorant mess of names and viewpoints, I chose to assign the name "Self" to the Core of all. In the end, when spiritual enlightenment arrives, one's own mind is withdrawn (as I will tell by an aphorism later on), and consequently there is nobody to think about if "This Core of all" is personal, impersonal, Śiva, Viṣṇu, Brahman, etc. Ego just collapses and This that remains is the Self as He essentially is.
He and His Power are completely inconceivable, i.e. beyond the mental sphere. The Play of names, viewpoints and such is performed by His Power, which is always so frisky. All in all, the constant question is always: "Is oneself completely free like the Self?". If the answer is "Yes", one has accomplished the goal of life. And if the answer is "No", one must get rid of his own bondage somehow then. This scripture is therefore like a little handbook for your process of Liberation from bondage. I do not look to make you confused with names and complex philosophical viewpoints. My goal is always your Liberation and nothing else than your Liberation. The Self and His Power constitute the Highest Reality. Once you can attain them, so to speak, you are completely free like Them both. The Self and His Power are "two" only in the sphere of words, because as a matter of fact they form one compact mass of Absolute Freedom and Bliss. Just as the sun can be divided into "core of the sun, surface of the sun, crown", etc., so I divide the Highest Reality into two in the world of words in order to explain It to you. The next aphorism will speak about that subject.
Even though the essential nature of Them both is one compact mass composed of Absolute Freedom and Bliss, it is divided into two - only in the sphere of words - for its close study ||2||
The Self is Absolute Freedom and His Power is Bliss. Both form a compact mass (i.e. omnipresent). In other words, the Highest Reality is always "One without a second", but, in the world of words It is divided into two for studying It in detail. When this division occurs, the act of coming to recognize or realize the Highest Reality is made easier. So, the very Highest Reality generates this division in the sphere of words as a help for the spiritual aspirants to realize It faster.
Although the Self is pure Consciousness consisting of Prakāśa or Light, He is called "I" in the sphere of words ||3||
The Self is pure Consciousness, viz. the Supreme Subject who is never an object. Therefore, He cannot be perceived in the form of "this" or "that". He cannot even be delineated in thought by any means. Anyway, in the world of words, He is called "I" or also "real I" for the sake of showing that He is higher than the false "I" or ego.
His Power, which constitutes the first Vibration, is I-consciousness indeed ||4||
In the immutable nature of the Self, there is suddenly a slight stress in the form of a subtle vibration. This is His Power appearing as I-consciousness, i.e. as This who makes the "I" (the Self) conscious of His own existence. Both the Self and His Power form then: "I Am". Without His Power, the Self cannot know about His own existence, not to mention the existence of the universe. This is one of the reasons why I will say that the Self is in solitude in a next aphorism.
After that first Vibration in the form of I-consciousness, His Power becomes threefold ||5||
His Power, after making Him conscious of His own existence, breaks off into three powers: Power of Will, Power of Knowledge and Power of Action.
After having become threefold, It -His Power- manifests the universe ||6||
Through these three Powers of Will, Knowledge and Action, the Power of the Self is able to manifest the entire universe, step by step.
This universe is generated by His Power and not by the Self Himself directly ||7||
It is His Power (the slight stress on the Body of the immutable Self) who produces the universe and not Himself. This is very important. If one could ask the Self about the existence of the universe and such, He would answer: "What universe are you talking about?". He is always alone and without a second. He comes to be conscious of His own existence and the existence of the universe through His Power and not otherwise. Still, He is ever in the same State. He never moves even a millimeter. This is why He is is known as the Core of all.
The Power of the Self remains as I-consciousness or in the form of the universe that is an expansion of that -of I-consciousness- ||8||
The Power of the Self, the slight stress on the immutable cosmic Body of the Self, appears in two ways: as "I Am" (I-consciousness pervading everything, e.g. "I am Gabriel", "I am John", "I am Michel", etc.) or as the universe formed from minds, bodies, external objects, etc. The universe is only an expansion of "I Am" in the same way that "I am Gabriel" is an expansion of "I Am" in myself.
The Self stays always in solitude ||9||
The Self has nothing to do with what His Power does. His State is never disturbed by all that either. He remains in absolute solitude, i.e. He is the One without a second, the impartial Witness in the middle of all these thoughts, objects, people and so on. He never changes, he never perishes, he is never lost or gained, etc. He remains always as what He essentially is. The rest of processes: thoughts, objects, people, changes, birth, death, bondage, Liberation, etc. are only the result of the Play of His own Power and not "really" His own doing. Yes, there is no way to describe all this without looking like contradictory. This is so because the words are always in the field of limitation.
The Highest Reality, which is a compact mass whose nature consists of Freedom and Bliss, is never nonexistence, i.e. absolute void ||10||
Both the Self and His Power are always existent and never nonexistent. If the Highest Reality were absolute void, nobody would have perceived It in the first place, and consequently nobody would realize that It is the Highest Reality. As there is always "Someone" who constantly realizes the presence of the Highest Reality (i.e. the Highest Reality Itself appearing as "I Am"), there is never nonexistence, viz. absolute void. This subject is extremely subtle.
The nonexistence of this Highest Reality can never be proven ||11||
Nonexistence of the Self and His Power can never be proven because the one proving it "must first exist". If the denier of Its existence does not exist, then how could he even attempt to deny It? And if the denier exists, then there is existence and not absolute void. For this reason, atheism appearing in the form of deniers of the Highest Reality, only reaffirms Its existence. While there is a certain argument for the existence of an atheist in the form of someone who does not believe in a "personal God endowed with human characteristics and the like" or else who does not believe in an "impersonal God", there is never an argument for the appearance of an atheist who conceives the Highest Reality as absolute void. If the Highest Reality were absolute void (absolute nothingness), the very atheist would not exist in the first place. Though such a person insists on calling himself "atheist" out of sheer stubbornness, he is just proving the existence of the Highest Reality by his affirmations. In short, nonexistence or absolute void is never occurring and consequently it can never be proven. This topic has been elucidated extensively by the sage Kṣemarāja while commenting in his Spandanirṇaya on aphorisms 12-13 of the Spandakārikā-s.
The Highest Reality, the Supreme State, acts as the background or substratum of all the universe and also of its absence - of the absence of universe - ||12||
The Self and His Power in the form of "I-consciousness" (I Am) are the constant support of all that exists. One could think of Them both as the earth and mother nature. While the earth provides the ground for Life, mother nature displays it. In the same way, the Self is always in the same State of Absolute Freedom. On Him, the Power of the Self displays the Play known as the universe or the absence of universe. When the universe is manifested, the Highest Reality is the substratum, and when the universe is dissolved, the Highest Reality continues being the substratum of that dissolution. Next, when the universe is manifested again, the Highest Reality is here again, as the foundations of all that is manifest. This cycle of universe appearing and disappearing goes on and on till one perceives the Truth, i.e. until one attains Liberation.
The Supreme State is This which certainly has one taste in all the beings ||13||
The Supreme State, the Highest Reality, is always experienced as the same "I Am" by all the beings. It never changes even a little bit. That is why the aphorism states that the Supreme State has one taste always.
This Supreme State is always unobstructed ||14||
As It is a compact mass of Freedom and Bliss, It occupies all. For example, during the various states of wakefulness, dream and deep sleep, the Self remains as the Witness to those three states. He is a compact mass pervading them all. If He was not a compact mass, one would not detect the transition from one state to the next (e.g. from wakefulness to sleep). Besides, there would be problems to explain the processes of memory, because with every change of state, one would forget all that was experienced in a previous state. As this is not so, i.e. one detects the transitions from one state to the next, and the memory is safely kept, all this indicates the presence of "Something or Someone" that does not change through the states and that is omnipresent. As the Highest Reality is so, It is never obstructed by anything, because "all that occurs" is always happening "in the states" and never "in Itself".
If the Highest Reality could be obstructed by something, there would be an interruption in the existence of the universe. As nobody has ever experienced total nonexistence (since there is always someone existing even in the middle of void), it is proven that the Highest Reality is never obstructed by anything at all. There is never total annihilation of the Highest Reality because there is always someone looking how the rest of beings die, etc. In the end, This One who always survives and exists even after the greatest universal annihilation is always the Highest Reality. If a total annihilation had ever existed, nobody would exist now. Also, nobody could remember it. Since all the annihilations are always recollected, there had to be "someone" surviving always. This One, as I said previously, is the Highest Reality. Thus, the absence of total death, total nonexistence, total unconsciousness, total "everything" is fully proved by the same process of detecting the presence of "someone" constantly perceiving death, void, unconsciousness, etc. Yes, one can insist on all that (i.e. total nonexistence, total death, etc.) as being a "solid reality", but it is just mere "solid" stubbornness and never something to be proven by "solid" arguments. One's own existence proves the existence, consciousness, eternity, etc. of the Highest Reality. Hence It is always "unobstructed".
The Highest Reality is said to be "a compact mass" due to Its omnipresence ||15||
It penetrates all the states of consciousness as their immutable Witness: waking, dream and deep sleep. The expression "svasarvavyāpakatvāt" may also be translated as "due to Its all-pervasiveness", that is, "because It pervades everything". If the Highest Reality were not immutable and a compact mass, one could not detect changes and transitions through the states of consciousness. What is changing constantly is just a manifestation of the Power of the Self and never the Highest Reality as It essentially is.
There is nothing at all apart from the Highest Reality||16||
As all that exists is an expansion of the Power of the Self, there is never nothing that is not the Highest Reality. If something exists, that is the manifestation of His Power. And as the Power of the Self is always in oneness with the Self, in the end, all that exists shines constantly with the Light of the Highest Reality.
Svātantryasūtram - Complete scripture: https://www.sanskrit-trikashaivism.com/en/svatantryasutram-scriptures-non-dual-shaivism-of-rosario/648