The encounter
Disciple: My beloved Master, I come to you fed up with this Saṁsāra, tired of turning round and round in this world without finding a sense and purpose to my life. Am I going to die maybe without having done nothing but eating, sleeping, mating like an animal and defending what I think it is mine? Is this the whole significance of my existence? I resist to believe that I have entered this human body only to attempt all the time to get my own way. I have done a lot of actions... some good ones, some bad ones... but I have concluded that all of them cannot lead oneself to the Highest Welfare if I do not discover, through your Grace, that Reality underlying all those activities.
Will I have perhaps to spend the rest of my days merely devoted to what is ephemeral or will I have a chance to realize that which is Eternal?...
Oh nectarean full moon refreshing the ones who make their way through the desert of this world, I beg you to reveal me my true nature! All that is needed to do in order to bring about such a revelation, that will most certainly do, because I have nothing to lose aside from a compact mass of ignorance. Show me the path I must tread so that I can lastly arrive in the supreme Goal. I have no other interest whatsoever.
~ || When a Master is so entreated, with a tender heart, he must concede his Grace in the end. In fact, such a pure desire for spiritual Enlightenment steals It from him, as it were.
Master: No doubt I know the path that will finally fill with real significance your existence. This path is full of the teachings and practices stipulated by a venerable scripture: the Śivasūtra-s.
D: I implore you to explain those sūtra-s or aphorisms to me, step by step, very gradually, since my mind is still dull on account of its vain desires. Where did this Scripture come from?
M: To speak about its source is like speaking about the origin of the Supreme Self.
He is right now as everything you can perceive and experience. Though this Self is you as well as me, He is One without a second. It is not completely right to say that the Śivasūtra-s emanate from the pure Self, because they are the pure Self indeed! They are eternal like Him, pure like Him and unfathomable like Him. In the same way, we are the same Supreme Self playing the roles of disciple and master in order to reveal That which is extremely obvious, because God is extremely obvious and completely revealed the whole time, be sure.
The basis of limited knowledge
Disciple: Master, if God is extremely obvious and fully revealed at every moment, what is the basis of limited knowledge?
Master: The basis of limited and contracted knowledge is “the un-understood Mother”.
D: What is the un-understood Mother?
M: Kṣemarāja explains it in the commentary on aphorism 4 in section I of his Śivasūtravimarśinī, after briefly speaking about the characteristics of the three mala-s or impurities. Listen:
"...Mātṛkā, the Progenitor of the universe, is the unknown Mother, and Her form starts with "a" and ends in "kṣa"..."
I will go into this secret knowledge for you to understand, disciple, so pay close attention:
Mātṛkā is the Sound Power inherent in the alphabet. It is the alphabet which is the base of all limited knowledge, since such cognitions are composed of letters. Without these letters firstly forming syllables and then words, it would be impossible to think.
So, all the mental limitation that you subject yourself to every day due to the manifestation of your own Absolute Freedom (Svātantrya), has ideas as its roots, and these ideas have the various letters of the alphabet as their basis.
Q: I have a question. For what reason is it said that Mātṛkā is unknown or un-understood?
M: Because, though Her operation is constant, one rarely becomes aware of Her existence. And even if this happens, it would be extraordinary if he comes to understand Her nature.
D: And what is Her nature?
M: She, Mātṛkā, is the Supreme Śakti (Power), the Sublime Spanda (Vibration) manifesting, maintaining and dissolving the entire universe. She is pure Consciousness and the Highest Bliss. For that very reason, it is useless to start a fight against the various thoughts by considering them as bad or good, as everything is Herself.
If one could realize that all his thoughts are nothing but Mātṛkā, that they are not nothing but pure Śakti, he would realize and understand Her. However, such a realization cannot be attained without the grace of this very Mātṛkā.
About the subject dealing with "contemplation on the mind as the Supreme I-consciousness" we will talk in depth when we study the Second Section of the Śivasūtra-s.
Kṣemarāja continues to explain:
“-Mātṛkā- is the Mother of knowledge, whose nature is a flash of various contracted cognitions. This limited knowledge or cognition appears in the form of 'I am imperfect,' 'I am thin,' or 'I am fat,' 'I am the performer of the Agniṣṭoma sacrifice,' and so on…”
The important thing is the simple manner by which the Great Master (i.e. Kṣemarāja) puts the notions inoculated by the three mala-s (impurities) into words. Listen:
"I am imperfect": cognition inoculated by Āṇavamala.
"I am thin or I am fat": cognitions inoculated by Māyīyamala.
"I am a performer of the Agniṣṭoma sacrifice": cognition inoculated by Kārmamala.
D: He has formulated each of the notions or cognitions inoculated by the three mala-s in such a simple way! Those are simply the notions put into words, and not the mala-s themselves, because, as far as I know, in the region where these impurities (mala-s) originate there are no words being formed yet.
M: Exactly! I am very pleased to know that you have a firm knowledge foundation. Upon it I am building my explanation of the aphorisms.
D: What else does Kṣemarāja comment?
M: As a conclusion, Kṣemarāja declares the following:
"Since Mātṛkā is indeed the basis of that limited knowledge, and because, for the same reason, there is undoubtedly absence of an exploration of the inner unity, the limited cognitions do not find any rest even for an instant and are only directed to external things. Thus, to proclaim that those cognitions are fetters is truly appropriate..."
These cognitions appear as the multitude of thoughts that flood your mind all the time, namely: “I am not liberated,” “I am not worthy,” “I am not worthy enough,” etc., without stopping for even an instant. All these cognitions are turned outward (toward objects) and consequently, they are real ‘fetters’ or ‘bonds’ that hinder your path to Spiritual Attainment, that is, to Self-realization.
This is related to one's poor understanding about Mātṛkā rather than to Mātṛkā Herself.
Since one does not understand that Mātṛkā is pure Consciousness, She becomes a great source of affliction. And this lack of understanding is intensified by the absence of an exploration of one's essential nature, which is non-dual. Of course, there is no inner exploration as one fails to fully understand Mātṛkā. The entire process boils down to a vicious circle then.
I cannot escape this circle but through the right understanding of Mātṛkā's nature. So, to understand Mātṛkā constitutes a true path to spiritual Enlightenment indeed.
This same thing was also demonstrated in a different way in the 13th aphorism of the venerable Trikamukhyamatāni:
"Since mind is Śakti after successive contractions, therefore understanding the mind as a form of Śakti is encouraged." ||13||
This Citi or Śakti descends and becomes different minds according to the respective knowers or experients. In this context, the original Śakti has contracted Herself so much as to become the ordinary mind. Anyway, the essence of this ordinary mind continues to be the original Citi. Because of that simple truth, control of mind is not encouraged in Trika Shaivism. How to control the Supreme Power? This is impossible.
Therefore, understanding the mind as a form of Śakti is always encouraged.
The path where one undertakes the understanding of his mind by means of this divine knowledge is called "Śāktopāya". In this path, one tries hard to fully realize that his mind really is the Supreme Power.
When one achieves this, he ceases to be a victim of the power of letters, and lands in the state of Vijñānākala, just below the Āṇavamala. One has then traversed Māyā (category 6) with the invaluable help of understanding one's mind.
The mind as the Supreme Power
Master: Dear disciple, it is said that aphorism 5 of the venerable Pratyabhijñāhṛdayam is the blood of the spiritual path. Listen:
"It is Citi alone who, by descending from the stage of pure Consciousness, contracts Herself assuming the form of the object or knowable; and it is also Citi who becomes the mind".
If one can understand that his disturbing mind is actually the Supreme Power after having undergone a heavy process of contraction, and that his every thought is a spark of Śakti, he will be promoted to the Vijñānākala stage very quickly. From the Vijñānākala stage, liberation is just around the corner. It is simply a matter of not thinking of anything and waiting for His Grace to cross the barrier of Āṇavamala. This is Śāmbhavopāya.
Disciple: Thank you very much, Master, for such an exalted explanation! Can this understanding of the Mātṛkā also be called: “resting in one’s own Self”?
M: You are correct! It is certainly a rest in one’s own Self, for when one understands that the Mātṛkā is the Supreme Śakti and that Śakti is one with Śiva, there is no place of escape, and no cause for bondage, for there is realization that everything is Him. One realizes that even the knowledge born of the mind is full of Light, so how can knowledge born of the mind be bondage?
But this is true only if, by the Favor of the Supreme Lord, one can so recognize, that is, if one can realize that even the knowledge born of the mind is full of Light.
Thus if one is favored by His favor, the knowledge born of the mind can never bind him, for such a person realizes that even that miserable knowledge is also Light.
D: This is amazing. So can it be said that when one realizes this, he is no longer under the sway of Māyāśakti?
M: Yes! Māyāśakti is Her power to bring about differences (duality) where there is Eternal Unity. Therefore, Her favor or prasāda is simply Her act of removing Māyāśakti, which reveals the inherent underlying unity. Freedom and bondage are then related to Her act of removing or not removing Māyāśakti. It is that simple!
So remember, dear disciple, that the most direct way to realize the Unity of all things is not to try to control or suppress the mind, to fight against your thoughts or emotions, or to try to forcibly eradicate your limited notions about yourself. No... The most intelligent way to "devour" limited knowledge is to realize that it is oneself. That is, to realize that limited knowledge is also oneself.
When there is no "other" bothering you, conflict ceases and peace is attained.
This was also pointed out in section III, 12 of the Spandakārikā-s:
"Beholding all that is within the range of one's own perception by knowledge, one should always remain awake and put all in one place -that is, in Spanda or Consciousness- Consequently, he is not pressed or afflicted by another".
D: Thank you, Master! Really, all this teaching hides the key to Liberation! So, to see if I understand... In order to put everything in 'one place' or 'in one place' - that is, in Spanda or Consciousness - one should remain as a Witness?
M: Yes. Because Śiva is all-pervasive, He is always present as a Witness throughout the three states of waking, dreaming and deep sleep, just as the beads of a rosary are strung on a thread.
But though one speaks about various states of consciousness such as wakefulness, dreaming and deep sleep (dreamless sleep), and even about a "Fourth State" (Turya, the state of being a Witness) pervading the previous three ones, there is only "one" state, viz. the state of Reality.
Despite the constant condition of being a Witness, one is not ‘properly conscious of this condition’ so to speak, because one believes that the experient (the Subject) is the body. Thus, “Self-attainment” (i.e., realizing that one is Śiva, one’s own essential nature) appears in the form of a sudden elevation of Divine Consciousness.
D: And why did this realization not emerge before?
M: Because one did not understand that Mātṛkā (the un-understood Mother) is really His Śakti or Power. When this little Mother is finally understood, She is seen as the Supreme Śakti. This is experienced spontaneously as a sudden flash of Consciousness emerging (Udyama). And yes, this emergence of Consciousness is Freedom. At the moment you realize your true nature, bondage is gone.
D: What is it that remains after such a Self-realization?
M: Only the Lord's Play remains. In fact, even slavery was also His Pastime, for there is no one here but Him!
May your mind dwell in this truth forever.
Uniting with the Great Lake
Disciple: Dear Master, from what I understood, one should then stop thinking that the subject or experiencer is the body, and instead, realize that the Subject or Experient (oneself) is the Self.
Master: Yes, but this is easier said than done, for it cannot be accomplished except by the Grace of the Self itself. First, you must stop resting on the idea of “I am this man”, and rest only on “I am”. When the mind rests on “I am” for a considerable amount of time, the experience ceases to be individual and becomes Universal.
The same has been stated in the last aphorism of the first Section of the Śivasūtra-s:
"By uniting with the Great Lake, the Yogī has the experience of the generative source -virility or potency- of all mantra-s" ||22||
What is meant is that when the Yogī merges with the Great Lake of his own I-Consciousness, he has the experience of that same I-Consciousness in the form of “I Am”. This is, ultimately, the generative source of all mantra-s. In short, he experiences the vastness of His Supreme Power.
What I have stated is also corroborated by Kṣemarāja through the following paragraph:
"...By uniting with that Great Lake, in other words, by being internally aware of one's ceaseless identity with it, then does shine forth, as a form of one's Self, the experience of the generative source -virility or potency- of all mantra-s which -the generative source- is full of the Highest I-consciousness expanding in the form of a multitude of words"
Therefore, the Great Lake is the Supreme Śakti, the I-Consciousness Itself.
When one realizes that he "exists" as "I Am" - and not as the mortal, limited body - he experiences the potency of all the mantras, for all of them have "Aham" or "I-Consciousness" (I Am) as their source.
D: Thank you, Master. I will meditate on this profound and valuable teaching...
Remain as the Supreme Subject
Disciple: Dear master, through this series of aphorisms, we have seen how understanding one's own mind as a form of Śakti leads us from Śāktopāya to Śāmbhavopāya, where one simply becomes thoughtless. Does Kṣemarāja add any conclusion to this First Section of his Śivasūtravimarśinī?
Master: Yes. Here is the entire text with which the sage ends this Section:
"Here ends the first Section called Śāmbhavopāyaprakāśana -the Section revealing the means that pertains to Śambhu, i.e. Śiva-, in Śivasūtravimarśinī written by venerable Kṣemarāja dependant on the lotus feet -i.e. feet beautiful like a lotus- of the eminent spiritual preceptor Abhinavagupta, the great devotee of Maheśvara, the Great Lord -epithet of Śiva-"
Succinctly he says that these twenty-two aphorism forming the First Section refer to Śāmbhavopāya, the means or method of Śambhu (i.e. Śiva). In this path there is a sudden realization that one is the Absolute. This spontaneous realization puts an end to the work of the three Mala-s or Impurities (Āṇavamala, Māyīyamala and Kārmamala).
Then, Śāmbhavopāya is a way in which one directs his Icchāśakti or Will Power in a very subtle manner, toward a condition of silently waiting for the revelation of the Supreme Self. He does not direct it toward any object, gross or subtle, but he simply applies it to Self-recognition.
As oneself is not an object but the eternal Subject, he cannot be an object of concentration or meditation -though this way of speaking is commonly heard-. Both concentration and meditation need "objects". It cannot be said, strictly speaking, that directing the Icchāśakti toward that aforesaid Recognition be some kind of "concentration" or "meditation", but rather, it is a permanence or repose in the already realized Self.
The pure Self is a State, and not something to be achieved or taken like an object of meditation. This is always wrongly understood and gives rise to erroneous conclusions.
When one realizes that he is Him, he abandons all desire of spiritual accomplishment. He does not wish to attain any "enlightened" state, he does not want to get any higher knowledge or supernatural powers, and he is not interested in having "visions" during his practices. It is not being lazy, but establishing oneself in his own Essential Nature.
Since one's essence is formless, whether or not the forms are out there or in here is not a matter of worry at all. Such a person always retains the experience that he is the Subject. That fact occurs spontaneously.
Actually, everybody is in that condition of Subject, but the vast majority of them just do not realize it. It is a natural State, and not one which is strange.
D: Consequently, while there is a notion of spiritual goal, is there still slavery?
M: Exactly. When one fully realizes his Primordial Essence, ceases to seek and long for. He is not a seeker anymore, and there is no doubt about it!
~ || And in this way, Master and disciple finished this supreme conversation.
Source: Fragments of the Śivasūtravimarśinī-hṛdaya