“The great sages affirm that mala or impurity is ignorance and the cause for Saṁsāra -Transmigration - to sprout.”||
Saṁsāra is generally translated as "Transmigration". In general speaking, it refers to journey from one body to the next one, life after life. It is like a big wheel in which all limited beings turn round and round, the whole time seeking pleasure and avoiding pain at all costs.
Due to the primordial mala or impurity (Āṇavamala), those individuals live in complete ignorance. Of course, in the process, they lose sight of the inherent underlying unity of all things. However, within the big wheel of Saṁsāra there are mini-wheels as well.
For example, a conditioned being has a flow of continuous thoughts during wakefulness, and, because of his identification with practically all of them, he experiences different moods. Now he is glad, later he is sad, etc. This is bondage indeed, and the root cause for it to emerge is Āṇavamala. So, Āṇavamala or primordial impurity is merely ignorance of one's own essential nature and the cause for Transmigration to appear.
In this second aphorism we are studying right now, Āṇavamala is that limited or contracted knowledge which is bondage, of course. Thus, the present aphorism defines Āṇavamala synthetically. Āṇavamala is of two sorts:
1. Pauruṣa
2. Bauddha
The former is ignorance related to the core of a conditioned individual, while the latter is ignorance that pertains to Buddhi or intellect. The abovementioned Mālinīvijayatantra's passage is speaking of the Pauruṣa aspect, obviously.
Disciple: I don't really understand.
Master: Simple. When Āṇavamala appears in its Pauruṣa mode, you feel imperfection in the form of lack of plenitude. You feel different from the Supreme Self, but as the words have not emerged yet at that level there is no phrase to describe it. It is just a powerful notion of being imperfect.
In turn, when Āṇavamala appears in its Bauddha mode, then there are clear ways to formulate such a limitation (e.g. "I am imperfect", "I am not the Divine", "I feel I am not complete", "I need this to be totally satisfied", etc.). And this storm of phrases reinforces even more the grip of Āṇavamala.
As a result, you spend your entire day running after objects and people to find plenitude and perfection when these dwell in you as You Yourself forever. A great mystery indeed! So, Āṇavamala is the first stratagem Śiva (You!) uses to transform Himself into a limited being who lives in misery. Yes, "in misery", because to live an entire life ignoring your divine nature is nothing but misery.
D: How can I overcome my misery, Master?
M: As a matter of fact, Āṇavamala "cannot be overcome" by any means or effort. No matter how hard you perform spiritual practices, Āṇavamala cannot be vanquished in that manner. All limitations "but" Āṇavamala can "actually" be overcome through spiritual practices.
Āṇavamala, being the primordial mala or impurity, is only removed by divine dispensation. No doubt that your practice can take you to the very Śiva's doorway, but it is Him who decides when the door will be opened. It is a dualistic way to explain the process, but useful though.
Anyway, it is possible to be more precise: you, as a limited individual, practice and practice until you come to Śiva's doorway. Āṇavamala is the door, of course. Then, you, as Śiva, open that door when it is appropriate. Therefore, perform practices till you become so identified with Śiva (the Absolute) as possible. Afterward, just wait! The door will be opened sooner or later. Make sure you will enter! This is Śāmbhavopāya, no doubt about it.
D: Although there is no practice to "break into", what should be my attitude while I await?
M: The right attitude may be cultivated from the very start of your practice despite you cannot fully understand it for many years. In short, you do not need to wait till you stand in Śiva's doorway in order to develop the proper 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 all, since all entities arise from him, and inasmuch as he has the feeling or perception of identity with those entities due to the knowledge of them all, -i.e. 'because the individual soul knows them all'-, therefore, there is no state that is not Śiva, whether in word, object, or thought. The experient himself, always and everywhere, remains in the form of the experienced”||3-4||
So, whether in word, object or thought there is no state which is not the Supreme Self (You!). If you feel sad... that is God. If you feel glad... that is God. If you feel otherwise... that is God as well. All the possible states are nothing else but the Divine. You are everything and everyone. There is nobody but you in this universe. If you are able to have this attitude for so long as possible, it will prove really useful in order to attain the final Goal, viz. complete Liberation from bondage.
When you make separations and differences, duality arises as a result. With duality, you start feeling attracted to what is pleasant and rejecting what is unpleasant. Thus, you fall prey to the pair of opposites and when this happens, be sure you are a toy in the hands of bondage.
The way to overcome this lies in Śivadṛṣṭi (the viewpoint of Śiva). If you can see God everywhere, this is the end of bondage, without a doubt.
D: I will do my best, Master!
M: It is good to hear that!
D: What else did Kṣemarāja write in his commentary?
M: In another portion of it, he expresses the following:
“That limitation alone is bondage, whose nature lies in ignorance consisting of 'non-realization' of one's unity with Śiva and whose essence is contracted knowledge in the form of Āṇavamala, which -viz. Āṇavamala- consists of considering oneself as imperfect.”
Āṇavamala (primordial impurity) is "saṅkucitajñānam" or "contracted knowledge", and this Āṇavamala is bondage. And bondage means non-realization of one's own inherent unity with the Supreme Self.
For that reason, cultivate Śivadṛṣṭi (Śiva's viewpoint) by becoming identified with the Lord, because the final realization that "you are Him" 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. In the beginning, the stoppage lasts a few seconds, but as your realization that you are the Lord gets more and more steady, the sentiment "I am imperfect" will gradually abandon you. When it is completely gone, you are thoroughly free forever. And when you attain this point of realization, you also realize that you were "always" free because you, dear Śiva, are not subject to time, space and the rest of limitations. Svātantrya or Absolute Freedom is your constant possession, no doubt about it.
Guru Gabriel Pradīpaka
Source: Śivasūtravimarśinī-hṛdaya