Master: The word Saṁsāra is generally translated as “transmigration.” Generally speaking, it refers to the journey from one body to the next, life after life. It is like a big wheel on which all limited beings go round and round, all the time seeking pleasure and avoiding pain at all costs. Due to mala or primordial impurity (Āṇavamala), individuals live in total ignorance. Of course, in the process, they lose sight of the inherent unity underlying all things. However, within the big wheel of Saṁsāra there are mini wheels as well. For example, a conditioned being has a continuous stream of thoughts during waking life, and because of his identification with practically all of them, he experiences different moods. Now he is happy, now he is sad, etc. This is actually bondage, and the root cause for its emergence is Āṇavamala.
Thus Āṇavamala or primordial impurity is merely ignorance of one's essential nature and the cause for the appearance of Transmigration.
The Āṇavamala is of two kinds: (a) Pauruṣa and (b) Bauddha. The first is ignorance relating to the core of a conditioned individual, while the second is ignorance relating to Buddhi or intellect.
Disciple: I really don't understand.
Master: Simple. When the Āṇavamala appears in its Pauruṣa mode, you feel imperfection in the form of lack of fullness. You feel distinct from the Supreme Being, but since words have not yet emerged at that level, there is no phrase to describe it. It is only a powerful notion of being imperfect.
In turn, when the Āṇavamala appears in its Bauddha mode, then there are clear ways of formulating such limitation ( e.g., “I am imperfect,” “I am not Divinity,” “I feel that I am not complete,” “I need this to be fully satisfied,” etc.). And this storm of phrases further strengthens the grip of the Āṇavamala. As a result, you spend the entire day running after objects and people to find fulfillment and perfection when they dwell in you as Yourself forever. A great mystery indeed! So, the Āṇavamala is the first stratagem that Śiva (You!) uses to transform Himself into a limited being living in misery. Yes, “in misery,” because spending an entire life ignoring your divine nature is nothing but misery.
D: How can I overcome my misery, Master?
M: Actually, the Āṇavamala "cannot be overcome" by any means or effort. No matter how hard you perform spiritual practices, the Āṇavamala cannot be overcome in that way.
All limitations "except" the Āṇavamala can "really" be overcome through spiritual practices.
Āṇavamala, being the mala or primordial impurity, is removed only by divine dispensation. No doubt your practice can take you to the very gate of Śiva, but it is He who decides when the door will open. This is a dualistic way of explaining the process, but a useful one nonetheless.
Anyway, it is possible to be more precise: You, as a limited individual, practice and practice until you reach the gate of Śiva. The Āṇavamala is the gate, of course. Then you, as Śiva, open that gate when it is appropriate. Therefore, perform practices until you identify yourself with Śiva (the Absolute) as much as possible! Afterwards, just wait! The gate will open sooner or later. Be sure to enter! This is Śāmbhavopāya, undoubtedly.
D: Even though there is no practice that can overcome Āṇavamala, what should be my attitude while waiting?
M: The right attitude can be cultivated from the very beginning of your spiritual practice even though you may not be able to understand it for many years. In short, you need not wait until you stand at the gates of Śiva to develop the right attitude. In the venerable Spandakārikā-s, the third and fourth aphorisms of the second section contain the key to the kind of attitude you are asking about:
“Because the individual soul is identical with everything, since all entities spring from it, and since it has the feeling or perception of identity with those entities due to the knowledge of all of them—that is, “because the individual soul knows all of them”—therefore there is no state other than Śiva, whether in word, object or thought. The experiencer himself always and everywhere remains in the form of the experienced.” ||3-4||
So, whether in word, object or thought, there is no state other than the Supreme Being (You!). If you feel contented... that is God. If you feel otherwise... that is God too. All possible states are nothing but Divinity. You are everything and everyone. There is no one but you in this universe. If you are able to have this attitude for as long as possible, it will really help you in attaining the final Goal, namely, complete Liberation from bondage.
When you make separations and differences, duality arises as a result. With duality, you start getting attracted to what is pleasant and rejecting what is unpleasant. Thus, you fall prey to the pairs of opposites and when this happens, be sure that you are a plaything in the hands of bondage.
The way to overcome this lies in Śivadṛṣṭi (Śiva's viewpoint). If you can see God everywhere, this is the end of bondage, certainly.
D: I'll do my best, Master!
M: That's good to hear!
Q: What else did Kṣemarāja write in his commentary?
M: In another portion of it, he expresses the following:
“Bondage is only that limitation whose nature lies in ignorance consisting of 'not realizing' one's unity with Śiva and whose essence is contracted knowledge in the form of Āṇavamala, which—namely, Āṇavamala—consists in considering oneself as imperfect.”
In this way the sage is indirectly specifically stating that "jñānam" in the second aphorism of the Śivasūtra-s is actually "saṅkucitajñānam" or "contracted knowledge," i.e., Āṇavamala (primordial impurity). And this Āṇavamala is bondage. And bondage means not realizing one's inherent unity with the Supreme Being.
For this reason, cultivate Śivadṛṣṭi (the viewpoint of Śiva) by identifying yourself with the Lord, for the final realization that "you are He" is synonymous with "cessation of bondage" according to the Trika system.
When you stop feeling that you are imperfect, that is the mark that you have attained Emancipation. At first, this stoppage of feeling lasts for a few seconds, but as your realization that you are the Lord becomes more and more established, the feeling "I am imperfect" will gradually leave you. When it is completely gone, you are totally free forever. And when you reach this point of "realization," you also realize that you were "always" free because you, dear Śiva, are not bound by time, space, and all other limitations. Svātantrya or Absolute Freedom is your constant possession , without any doubt.
D: How did Kṣemarāja come to perceive all these subtleties?
M: On the one hand, this knowledge came to him partly through the Secret Tradition (Rahasyasampradāya). This Tradition appeared mainly as his Guru, the renowned Abhinavagupta. On the other hand, much of what he states is his own experience. Remember that Kṣemarāja is a great being, and a great being is one who has fully realized his essential nature. As a consequence, Kṣemarāja lives in everyone's heart as their Self.
D: Will I ever achieve his state of consciousness?
M: You are already He. If you fail to realize that, it is because of your own impurity (Āṇavamala). This primordial impurity should not be looked upon as some kind of evil enemy or anything like that. No! It is simply a device you deploy to bring about the manifestation of dualism. When dualism comes, the drama called “this world” begins. And you take on that contraction or limitation, for you love to be an actor in the said drama.
Thus, the process of contracting or limiting yourself implies the unfolding of the universe, whereas the opposite, i.e., the process of 'realizing' your true nature, marks the end of the universe… By "the end of the universe," I am not saying that it will fall apart or anything like that, but that it will be seen as it essentially is. The universe is your own cosmic body and nothing else, my dear Absolute.
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Source: Fragment of the Śivasūtravimarśinī-hṛdaya - (https://www.sanskrit-trikashaivism.com/en/shiva-sutra-vimarshini-hrdaya-2-1/535#Aphorism2 )