“Great sages affirm that mala or impurity is ignorance and the cause for Saṁsāra -Transmigration - to arise.” ||
The word Saṁsāra is generally translated as "Transmigration." Broadly speaking, it refers to the journey from one body to the next, life after life. It is like a great wheel in which all limited beings spin and spin, constantly seeking pleasure and avoiding pain at all costs.
Due to the mala or primordial impurity (Āṇavamala), those individuals live in total ignorance. Naturally, in the process, they lose sight of the inherent unity that underlies all things. However, within the great wheel of Saṁsāra, there are also mini-wheels.
Example, a conditioned being has a continuous flow of thoughts during wakefulness, and due to his identification with almost all of them, he experiences various moods. One moment he is happy, the next he is sad, and so on. This is true 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 Transmigration to appear.
In this second aphorism we are currently studying, Āṇavamala is that limited or contracted knowledge which is bondage, of course. Thus, the present aphorism synthetically defines Āṇavamala. Āṇavamala is of two kinds:
1. Pauruṣa
2. Bauddha
The first is ignorance relative to the core of a conditioned individual, while the second is ignorance related to Buddhi or intellect. The passage from the Mālinīvijayatantra mentioned above is talking about 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 a lack of plenitude. You feel distinct from the Supreme Self, but as words have not yet emerged at that level, there is no phrase to describe it. It is merely a powerful notion of imperfect being.
In turn, when Āṇavamala appears in its Bauddha mode, there are clear ways to articulate such limitation (e.g., "I am imperfect", "I am not the Divinity", "I feel incomplete", "I need this to be fully satisfied", etc.). And this storm of phrases further reinforces the grip of Āṇavamala.
As a result, you spend the entire day chasing objects and people to find plenitude and perfection when they reside in you as Yourself forever. Truly a great mystery! Thus, Āṇavamala is the first stratagem that Śiva (You!) uses to transform himself into a limited being living in misery. Yes, "in misery," because living an entire life ignoring your divine nature is nothing but misery.
D: How can I overcome my misery, Master?
M: In fact, Āṇavamala cannot be overcome through any means or effort. No matter how hard you perform spiritual practices, Āṇavamala cannot be defeated in that way. All limitations except Āṇavamala can indeed be overcome through spiritual practices.
Āṇavamala, being the primordial mala or impurity, is only removed through divine dispensation. There is no doubt that your practice can bring you to the very threshold of Śiva, but it is He who decides when the door will open. It is a dual way of explaining the process, but useful nonetheless.
In any case, it is possible to be more precise: you, as a limited individual, practice and practice until you reach the threshold of Śiva. Āṇavamala is the door, of course. Then, you, as Śiva, open that door when it is appropriate. Therefore, practice until you identify with Śiva (the Absolute) as much as possible. Afterwards, just wait! The door will open sooner or later. Make sure to enter! This is Śāmbhavopāya, undoubtedly.
D: Although there is no practice for "breaking through," what should be my attitude while waiting?
M: The correct attitude can be cultivated from the very beginning of your practice even though you might not understand it for many years. In summary, you do not need to wait until you are at the doors of Śiva 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, -that is, 'because the individual soul knows all of them'-, therefore, there is no state that is not Śiva, whether in word, object, or thought. The experiencer himself, always and everywhere, remains in the form of the experienced” ||3-4||
Thus, whether in word, object, or thought, there is no state that is not the Supreme Being (You!). If you feel content... 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 else but you in this universe. If you can maintain this attitude for as long as possible, it will truly help you to reach the ultimate 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. In this way, you fall prey to the pairs of opposites and when this happens, be sure that you become a toy in hands of bondage.
The way to overcome this lies in Śivadṛṣṭi (the view of Śiva). If you can see God everywhere, this is the end of bondage, undoubtedly.
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 part 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 - that is, Āṇavamala - consists of considering oneself as imperfect.”
Āṇavamala (primordial impurity) is "saṅkucitajñānam" or "contracted knowledge", 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 with the Lord, as realizing “you are Him” is synonymous with "cessation of bondage" according to the Trika system.
When you cease to feel that you are imperfect, that is the mark of achieving Emancipation. At first, that cessation of feeling lasts for a few seconds, but as your realization that you are the Lord becomes stronger and stronger, the feeling "I am imperfect" will gradually leave you. When it is completely gone, you are entirely free forever. And when you reach this point of “realization”, you also realize that you "always" were free because you, dear Śiva, are not conditioned by time, space, and other limitations. Svātantrya or Absolute Freedom is your constant possession, without a doubt.
Guru Gabriel Pradīpaka
Comentários