DAKSHINAMURTHY

Veeraswamy Krishnaraj

 

DAKSHINAMURTI 

 

1) Dakshinamurthi Erode District 12th Century AD

2)0.0Dakshinamurti under a Banyan Tree with his

students (Kumaras)

Tiruvannamalai Temple

 

Dakshinamurti Shiva sculpture on the southern entrance of the Madurai Meenakshi Temple --Photo Credit: Wikipedia

Swami Vivekananda:

The Absolute can never be thought of. We can have no idea of a thing unless it is finite. God the infinite can only be conceived and worshipped as the finite.

John the Baptist was an Essene -- a sect of Buddhists. The Christian cross is nothing but the Shivalinga converted into two across. Remnants of Buddhist worship are still to be found among the relics of ancient Rome.

The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda Volume 6 [ Page : 108 ]  NOTES TAKEN DOWN IN MADRAS, 1892-93

 

                                                   Who is a Guru? What is he made of? Who is a disciple?
                                       Excerpt from Talks with Ramana Maha Rishi: Talk 398, page 385-386

Disciple: Swami Vivekananda says that a spiritual Guru can transfer spirituality substantially to the disciple.

Maha Rishi: Is there a substance to be transferred? Transfer means  eradication of the sense of being the disciple. The master does it. Not that the man was something at one time and metamorphosed later into another.

Disciple: Is not Grace the gift of the Guru?

Maha Rishi: God, Grace and Guru are all synonymous and also eternal and immanent. Is not the Self already within? Is it for the Guru to bestow it by his look? If a Guru thinks so, he does not deserve the name.

The books say that there are so many kinds of diksha (initiations hasta diksha, sparsa diksha, chakshu diksha, mano diksha, etc.) , They also say that the Guru makes some rites with fire, water, japa, mantras, etc., and call such fantastic performances dikshas, as if the disciple (sishya) becomes ripe only after such processes are gone through by the Guru.  

If the individual (Guru) is sought he is nowhere to be found. Such is the Guru. Such is Dakshinamurti. What did he do? He was silent; the disciples appeared before him. He maintained silence, the doubts of the disciples were dispelled, which means that they lost their  

individual identities. That is jnana and not all the verbiage usually associated with it.  

Silence is the most potent form of work. However vast and emphatic the sastras may be, they fail in their effect. The Guru is quiet and peace prevails in all. His silence is more vast and more emphatic than all the sastras put together. These questions arise because of the feeling, that having been here so long, heard so much, exerted so hard, one has not gained anything. The work proceeding within is not apparent. In fact the Guru is always within you.  

Thayumanavar says: "Oh Lord! Coming with me all along the births, never abandoning me and finally rescuing me!" Such is the experience of Realization.

Srimad Bhagavad Gita says the same in a different way, "We two are not only now but have ever been so."

Disciple: Does not the Guru take a concrete form?

Maha Rishi: What is meant by concrete? Because you identify your being with your body, you raise this question. Find out if you are the body.

The Gita says: param bhavam ajanantah (Bh. Gita IX - II) that those who cannot understand the transcendental nature (of Sri Krishna) are fools, deluded by ignorance.

The master appears to dispel that ignorance. As Thayumanavar puts it, he appears as a man to dispel the ignorance of a man, just as a deer is used as a decoy to capture the wild deer. He has to appear with a body in order to eradicate our ignorant "l-am-the-body" idea.

 

                                   Talk 35. Identification with the body is Dvaita. Non-identification is Advaita.

Dakshinamurti, the south-facing Siva-Guru is God, Guru, Self, and teacher. He is a very young teacher with aged students at his feet; he teaches Advaitic principles by silence and Cin-Mudra, apposition of thumb and forefinger which indicates the identity of the Supreme Self and the individual self.  His face is suffused in Bliss. Advaitic principle says that the Self appears as the teacher, the taught, god and the self. Sankaracharya, the propounder of Advaita, brings four elements together in one advaitic unity in the following hymns: Jiva, the individual soul and the enjoyer; the universe, the object enjoyed; the Supreme Siva, the grantor of enjoyment, and the Guru, the leader in the path of release.   

.    

The individual soul is not as pure as the Pure Intelligence, that is Siva, because Siva is pure knowledge and does not seek knowledge from an external source; He is self-contained; He exercises Iccha, Jnana, and Kriya (desire (Will), knowledge, and action) without any help from other entities. On the other hand individual soul seeks knowledge from the senses derived from the products of Maya (material cause of universe and beings). Apart from it, the individual soul is enveloped in a shroud of Mala or impurities. The pristine soul is Sat. And yet it has an overlay of Asat and Acit in its corporeal state. The individual soul is Asat and Acit (unconscious matter, insentient matter) because it needs Acit (sensory organs) to acquire knowledge. Once it acquires a little spiritual knowledge, it becomes Sat-Asat. When all Malas are removed and Jnana descends into the soul, it becomes Sat and is ready for liberation. Read more about the soul in Soul according to Saiva Siddhanta. God is Pure knowledge; he does not need hands-on experience, direct perception, demonstration, or instruction to acquire knowledge.  The soul and its capacity to acquire knowledge are compared to an eye or a crystal; God or Siva is the sun.  All objects, including the crystal, disappear in the thick of darkness and the eye cannot perceive any object (in darkness); the eye and the crystal need sunlight to see and shine respectively.  Siva Sakti provides sunlight of knowledge to the soul to cognize an object. This is when the Asat soul morphs to Sat-Asat in Sakala (phenomenal) State; in Suddha (pure) state, it is Sat.

The soul is compared to an owl which is naturally equipped with the nictitating membrane in addition to the eyelids.  The owl covers its eyes with its nictitating membrane and prevents light from entering its eyes.  In like manner, the soul is covered by Anava Mala preventing the light of knowledge reaching the soul. The soul, unlike God, is subject to vicissitudes in knowing, needs organs (Indriyas), objects, and sunshine of knowledge, and carries a shroud of Anava Mala which prevents diffusion of knowledge. When that spiritual knowledge comes into the individual soul by process of Iruvinaiyoppu, Malaprapakam, and Saktinipatam (Primer in Saiva Siddhanta), the soul attains release. At this stage, the maxim and the Mahavac, That thou art, becomes a reality. That thou art = Siva you are.

The self-centered Anava Mala is full of desires and has a choke hold on Jnana and Kriya Saktis; Siva Sakti stimulates Karma and Maya Malas; the latter induces the soul to perform purifying actions (karma) over many births and life on earth. The soul abandons Anava Mala with the help of Siva Sakti going into Malaparipākam1, Iru-Vinai-y-Oppu2, Satti- nipātham3, Oddukkam4 and VIdu 5  = மலபரிபாகம்1, இருவினையொப்பு2, சத்திநிபாதம்3, ஒடுக்கம்4 and வீடு 5  = Removal of impurities1, resolution of sin and merit2, descent of Sakti3, Involution4, and liberation 5  to enjoy Siva's bliss. 

Oddukkam = ஒடுக்கம்: Involution, as of the elements, one into another; absorption, dissolution, disappearance, as of salt in water; in this instance it means that the soul involutes into Siva Sakti.

 

    New modified terminology introduced for easy understanding of Brahmans.

Transcendent Brahman (Parabrahman) without attributes is Pure Consciousness and therefore is Macrobrahman. Isvara is Mayabrahman or Macrobrahman with Maya. Human beings with a load of Avidya (ignorance) are microbrahmans or avidyabrahmans.   These eponyms are coined by me for easy identification of three levels of Brahman. Macrobrahman is Parabrahman or Supreme Brahman. Mayabrahman (Aparabrahman or Sabdabrahman) is Siva and Sakti covered by a sheath of Maya. Aparabrahman state is Parang-Bindu (complementary halves of seed, two halves or cotyledons wrapped in a tight skin or sheath). Polarization of Siva and Sakti takes place within the sheath; this is like the polarization of the Y and the X chromosomes in Meiosis with the resultant Y and X gametes. This polarization of Siva and Sakti is Parasaktimaya; Sakti (Unmuki) turns toward Siva for a longing glance from Siva, so that Unmuki can give birth to universe and beings. When the Maya sheath explodes with the sound of  Ham and Sa ( Hamsa Mantra), Sakti undergoes reduction division: Bindu, Bija and Nada. Bindu and Nada are the progenitors of universe. You may say Sakti gives birth to Bindu, Bija and Nada.

Macrobrahman is Brahman without attributes. see below all other descriptions of Macrobrahman. His usual name is Parabrahman or simply Brahman. I introduce the words Macrobrahman, Mayabrahman , and avidyabrahman to show the linearity from top to bottom and the interrelationship among them.

    This is the descent and differentiation of Macrobrahman to Avidyabrahman. When Avidyabrahman attains release he becomes one with Macrobrahman. That Thou Art =  Brahman you are. The descent is Pravrrti or evolution to a lesser individual soul; the ascent is Nivrrti or involution, or restoration to the original state. Avidyabrahmans (all humans) are full of spiritual ignorance (avidya). Once avidya lifts and Jnana descends into the soul, he becomes one with Brahman; that is Advaitam (oneness with Brahman). Yogi in Turiya state attains santam, sivam, and advaitam (peace, goodness, and non-dual state).

    This world is an illusion according to Advaitism. Macrobrahman (Parabrahman) becomes Mayabrahman (Isvara) to create an illusory phenomenal world and Avidyabrahman (individual soul) with the aid of Maya; this step-down from Macro- to Maya-Brahman is necessary to preserve the utter purity of Macrobrahman; pure Consciousness cannot have contaminating matter in it. Maya plays several roles: it is an  unmanifest entity that produces manifest Tattvas (building blocks of the universe) and the individual soul; it effects transformation of an  entity from a substrate to a substance in a linear fashion, for example tanmatras becoming Mahabhutas; therefore, it is not only the substrate and substance but an inductive enzyme too; it is a self-contained entity for the creation of the world.

    Coming back to the subject of illusion of this world, Panchadasi explains it as follows. According to Panchadasi (Chapter 7), Pure Consciousness, that is God, looks in a mirror and sees its image (which is called) Cidabhasa. This image has no real life or existence without the Pure Consciousness. The mirror is Maya, illusory energy of the Lord, which is the causal agent of the universe. The image carries an aura of reflected glory. When the adjuncts of adventitious nature are removed, such as the mirror, the only remaining entity is the eternal Consciousness or Kutastha. Kûtastha = immovable, immutable, occupying the highest place. Cid-abhasa = Cid + Âbhâsa = Intelligence, Consciousness + luster; apparition; phantom = reflected intelligence or consciousness. That Kutastha is our substratum and hypostasis and we and the universe are the Cidabhasa. Cidabhasa (image) is an illusion with no substance. Cidabhasa apparition does not exist without Kutastha Consciousness; therefore, the illusion has a basis in Kutastha which is Brahman. Cidabhasa is false or a pretender from the transcendental point of view and is real from empirical stance. In empirical world, Cidabhasa is a palpable entity. The bottom line is that Cidabhasa is Kutastha-Brahman with limitations (Upadhi), such as Avidya (ignorance). Here it is spiritual ignorance meaning that Cidabhasa apparition does not identify with Brahman-Kutastha Consciousness but with the body that houses the individual soul. Most of our lives are spent in the upkeep of our body, mind, and matter and not the soul, whose origin is Brahman-Kutastha Consciousness or Soul. We have doctors to tend and mend our body and mind but there is no one to tend to our soul, except God (or Goddess).

What is that force that moves and animates the body? Body is not self-created. This force must be a common denominator for all sentient beings. According to Advaita philosophy even insentient objects have a force in them. This force must be beyond the mind, body and matter, because it is still a mover, a force or a bright light even after the mind and body are gone. Atman is that all-pervasive force that remains after the body falls. It has to be infinitesimal to be all-pervasive; it is what remains after you chop a fig seed to its ultimate infinitesimal size. You cannot see it but you know it is there; It has no shape and therefore no name; the ultimate infinitesimal, the one without form or name, if it is conceivable, is within the fig seed. It (Brahman) is neither Sura (god) nor Asura (Demon), nor man, nor woman, nor eunuch, nor animal, nor insect, nor attribute, nor action, nor existence, nor non-existence; What remains after all negation is THAT.

It is like the salt in the water: You know it is there, but you don't see it. It is all-pervasive like the all-pervasive salt in the salt water. You have an Atman and I have an Atman. How could that be possible if Atman is only One? Each one of us is like a pot holding one’s individual space inside. When the pot breaks, the space is still there. That little space becomes part of the big space. The Real (space) is Atman and the seeming (space) is limit of the Real as in a pot. The space is unbound and bound at the same time: The Real is unbound and the apparent has bounds. That is the difference between the Real and the apparent man. The phenomenal world is an apparent product of the Absolute by intermediation of time, space and causation. Since Atman has no form and is beyond mind, it cannot be under the control of time, space and causation.

Since it is infinite and there can be only one infinite, infinite cannot have a beginning or end, birth or death; and that infinite is Atman. Since the infinite is only one and all-pervasive, Atman pervades the sentient and the insentient, the whole universe. The phenomenal world and superimposition: This phenomenal world rises and falls like the waves in the ocean. The wave has the time, space and causation elements incorporated or expressed in them during the wave. In addition, there are many waves; and therefore, there are many forms and many names. Since the waves rise and fall into the ocean, the waves have a finite existence. How can there be finite elements in the Infinite or the Absolute? As the waves rise and fall (superimposition) on the ocean surface, transient elements rise and fall on the Absolute. That is an illusion and superimposition. Now it is there; and now it is not there, as the waves rise and fall: It is Maya (illusion). The Time, Space, and causation elements are translucent elements between the Upper Absolute and the lower universe. The lower universe is a superimposition on the Absolute seen through time, space, and causation.

 

Brahman-TSC-World.jpg

 

 

 

 

The allegory of a snake and a rope explains this superimposition. In the dark, we see a snake in a rope; the rope is real and the snake is a superimposition and unreal. When ignorance dissipates on closer inspection, the real asserts itself. In like manner, the phenomenal world (the snake) superimposes on the absolute Brahman (the rope). Once ignorance dissipates, realization sets in. That is how Maya manipulates the phenomenal world. The snake depends on the rope, as the world depends on Brahman; if there is no rope, there is no snake; if there is no Brahman, there is no phenomenal world. The world is both real and unreal at the same time. The world is Brahman-dependent, as the snake is rope-dependent. The world and the snake by themselves (their intrinsic merit) are not real and non-existent; they are real if considered in the context of primary essential Brahman and primary essential rope. Isvara has control over Maya whose effect is on the mind. Since there is only one Absolute pervading the whole world, there is no second: The Absolute or the Atman and the manifested universe are one giant organism. There is no individuality: Individuality is apparent only because of the mind; if there is no mind, there is no perception of individuality or the phenomenal world. If you look beyond time and space, the Absolute is One who is real, immutable, all-pervasive; that is Advaitism or Monism of Sankara. When you remove the limiting adjuncts like Avidya and Maya, you only see the non-dual Brahman.

 

Pati, Pasu and PAsam = Siva, soul and bondage (of the soul). Param = The Supreme. Ninmalan = One without impurity.
Saiva Siddhanta considers that the universe has three things: The inimitable God, the ubiquitous souls, and the impediments or bonds in the way of souls to attain liberation. Agamas, Vedas and various spiritual treatises talk about these three entities. Worldly books talk about only the bonds (தளை).
Pati, Chief or Master, refers to Param Porul (the Supreme Being--பரம் பொருள்). There is only One Pati in the universe. He is second to none. Pati is eternal, neither having a birth nor a beginning, nor an end. Pati is beyond form, formlessness and form-formlessness. And yet Pati can sport all the said forms and other forms as He desires. He comes into existence in all the said forms without attributes or marks. The attributes or Gunas proceed from MAyA and are called Sattva, Rajas and Tamas which are embraced by the souls and all objects without exception. The marks (icons, symbols, emblems) and the attributes are incidental to God and not His nature or His Supreme Nature.
God is the only one that remains without bonds or impediments. He is thus called Ninmalan--நின்மலன். Since He is not bound, He can remove the bonds from the roiling souls. He is the ONE-ஏகம். He has no one to compare with, no one greater than Him and no one above Him worthy of worship.
He is Eternal--நித்தன்--and thus does not take birth, live and die. He is Immutable and brings the world into existence, safeguards and destroys it.
Though the souls are endowed with intelligence, they do not have self-knowledge unless they are taught. God is not so; He is Omniscient and has a plenitude of Self-Knowledge. God stands as the Soul of every soul and confers knowledge of the world around Him. Though He is intimately involved in creation, maintenance and destruction of innumerable worlds and universes, He remains immutable and immovable and is not subject to transformation.
He is not subject to circumscription or division --அகண்டிதன்-- God, as an undivided whole.
God is the goal of human endeavor. The Knowledge of His Sacred Feet--திருவடிஞானம்-- is what takes the soul to the feet of Siva, is necessary for salvation and is provided by Siva Himself to the soul. He is of the form of Ananda--ஆனந்தம்--or Bliss.
He is smaller than the atom and bigger than the biggest. He is மெய்ப்பொருள் = Truth or Reality. He is தற்சிவம்--Absolute Being, as self-existent; முதற்கடவுள்.
Vivekananda says: “I am in everything, in everybody. I am in all lives and I am the universe.”    
The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda Volume 1 [ Page : 357 ] THE VEDANTA PHILOSOPHY
The theory of the Vedanta, therefore, comes to this, that you and I and everything in the universe are that Absolute, not parts, but the whole. You are the whole of that Absolute, and so are all others, because the idea of part cannot come into it. These divisions, these limitations, are only apparent, not in the thing itself. I am complete and perfect, and I was never bound, boldly preaches the Vedanta. If you think you are bound, bound you will remain; if you know that you are free, free you are.
 

How could you say that Atman pervades everything in the universe, both sentient and insentient? You cannot compare a tree or an animal to a man. Yes, you can. Sentience is same in all from a sage to a stone. Only the extent of its manifestation varies. Sentience manifests the most in man and the least in the insentient (none or little in the stone) or the inanimate and somewhere in-between from the plants to animals. Sentience may parallel the sophistication of nervous energy. When Vishnu says, "I pervade the whole universe through and through," no one can question Him? Is He the Dark matter, the Dark Energy and everything else in the universe. Vishnu means Pervader and also the One who takes various forms. Simply put, He is Isvara, Cit and Acit; that pretty much covers everything in the universe.  Cit is consciousness; Acit is unconsciousness. We are Cit; stone is Acit. Consciousness sleeps in stone, feels in flora, senses in fauna and thinks in man. Sentience runs parallel with consciousness. 

 

Since there is only a difference in the (expression of ) degree of sentience between animal and man, how could one kill an animal for whatever purpose? That is the basis of Ahimsa or noninjury.

Dakshinamurti (DKM) is the Great Lamp whose light radiates through the holes in the lamphade, whose knowledge emanates from the eyes and other organs, whose light is the light of all that shines, and whose form is that of Guru; to him I pay my obeisance.

The light of the Great Self illuminates the objects of the universe. Avidya is the cover or the smoke that surrounds the flame; the light escapes through the holes and chinks in the Avidya shade; the light itself demonstrates the Avidya shade.

 

 

 

From The Garland of Guru's Sayings: By Ramana Maharishi.

1080.  Advaita

Whether in the pot or in the house

Space is ever one and the same

Like space, awareness is but one.

And so is the Self, though manifest

In various forms as god and Jiva

Suffers no change in substance. 1080

 

1081. Advaita

Are there two different entities

As jiva and Siva? Say, is there

Any real difference between

The slave-doll and the master-doll

Both made of one sweet nectar? 1081

 

1139. Jivanmukta

If one asks, "How can deeds get done

When doership is lost? Do we not see

Deeds done by Muktas?" , the answer is,

"They  being egoless, it is God

Himself who dwelling in their hearts

Performs these deeds." 1139

 

 

 

 

Verse 1.

विश्वं दर्पणदृश्यमाननगरीतुल्यं निजान्तर्गतं

पश्यन्नात्मनि मायया बहिरिवोदभूतं यथा निद्रया।

यः साक्षात्कुरुते प्रबोधसमये सवात्मानमेवाद्वयं

तस्मै श्रीगुरुमूर्तये नम इदं श्रीदक्षिणामूर्तये।।

 

visvaṁ darpaṇa-dṛśyamāna-nagarī-tulyaṁ nijāntar-gataṁ

paśyann-ātmani māyayā bahirivodbhūtaṁ yathā nidrayā/

yaḥ sākṣāt-kurute prabhodha-samaye svātmānam-eva-advayaṁ

tasmai śrī guru-mūrtaye nama idaṁ śrī Dakṣiṇāmūrtaye//

 

The universe is like the city reflected in a mirror as an illusion, exits within oneself, but arises in a manner  of a world in a dream, which disappears upon waking and realization that the universe is non-dual with his own Self. To Him the divine teacher Sri Dakshinamurthy, I offer my salutation. 

 

The Jiva, the universe, the Self and the Guru are non-dual; universe by itself without the hypostasis (Self) is Maya (illusion). We experience the palpable world and yet how are we think of it as an illusion. It is the lack of understanding of the Truth. The universe is the dream-world; when the dreamer is awake, it disappears; in like manner upon realization, we come to know of the non-duality of Self and the universe. The universe exists because of the Self. The dream-world exits because of the dreamer. Here the Self is the Brahman.

The Garland of Guru's Sayings: Ramana Maharishi. Translation from Tamil by Prof. K. Swaminathan.

Verse 55.

The nature of this mind-created

World, now seen in a dream-light dim,

Is truly known only in that

Bright Being-Awareness which transcends

The minds illusion.

Verse 56

Fond, foolish mind, deluded daily

By dreams woven out of your own stuff,

If but you knew your own true strength,

Say, could this world exist outside

The one Being-Awareness-Bliss?

 

Ramana Maharishi in his book, Talks

Talk 399. In fact, wakefulness and dream are equally unreal from the standpoint of the Absolute.  They say that the world is unreal. Of what degree of unreality is it? Is it like that of a son of the barren mother or a flower in the sky, mere words without any reference to facts? Whereas the world is a fact and not a mere word. The answer is that it is a superimposition on the one Reality, like the appearance of the snake on a coiled  rope seen in dim light. Wrong identity ceases when a friend points out it is a rope.  The appearance of water in a mirage persists even after the knowledge of the mirage is recognized. So it is with the world. Though knowing it  to be unreal, it continues to manifest.  Once one knows it is a mirage, one gives up and does not run after it for procuring water.

Talk 288. The Vedantins says that Maya is the Sakti of illusion premised in Siva. Maya has no independent existence. Having brought out the illusion of the world as real, she continues to play upon the ignorance of the victims. When the Reality of her not being is found, she disappears. Sakti is coeval with Siva. Siva is unmanifest , whereas Sakti is manifest on account of His independent will, Swatantra. Her manifestation is the display of the cosmos on pure consciousness, like images in a mirror. The images cannot remain in the absence of a mirror. So also the world cannot have an independent existence. Swatantra becomes eventually an attribute of the Supreme. Sri Sankara says that the Absolute is without attributes and that Maya is not and has no real being. What is the difference between the two? Both agree that the display is not real. The images of the mirror cannot in any way be real. The world does not exist in reality (vastutah). Both schools  mean the same thing. Their ultimate aim is to realize the Absolute Consciousness. The unreality of the cosmos is implied in Recognition (Pratyabhijna), whereas it is explicit in Vedanta. If the world be taken as chit (consciousness), it is always real. Vedanta says that there is no nana (diversity), meaning that it is all the same Reality. There is agreement on all points except in words and the method of expression.

 

Verse 02. 

बीजस्यान्तरिवङ् कुरो जगदिदं प्राङ् निविकल्पं पुन-

र्माया-कल्पित-देश-काल-कलना-वैचित्र्य-चित्रीकृतम् ।

मायाविव विजृम्भयत्यपि महायोगीव यः स्वेच्छया

तस्मै श्री-गुरुमूर्तये नम इदं श्रीदक्षिणामूर्तये।।02।।

 

jasyāntarivāṅkuro jagad idaṁ  prāṅ-nirvikalpa punar-
m
āyā-kalpita-deśa-kāla-kalanā-vaicitrya-chitrī-ktam /
m
āyā vīva vijmbhayaty api mahā-yogīva ya svecchayā
tasmai
śri-gurumūrtaye nama idaṁ  śri-dakhiṇāmūrtaye || 2 ||

Verse 2.
The tree grows from a seed; the universe was unmanifest before; like a magician or a Yogi out of his own free will by the power of Maya, Time and Space He projected Himself as the world of multiplicity. To Him the divine teacher, Sri Dakshinamurthy, I offer my salutation.  

 

Ramana Maharishi:  
Talk 288. The Vedantins says that Maya is the Sakti of illusion premised in Siva. Maya has no independent existence. Having brought out the illusion of the world as real, she continues to play upon the ignorance of the victims. When the Reality of her not being is found, she disappears. Sakti is coeval with Siva. Siva is unmanifest , whereas Sakti is manifest on account of His independent will, Swatantra. Her manifestation is the display of the cosmos on pure consciousness, like images in a mirror. The images cannot remain in the absence of a mirror. So also the world cannot have an independent existence. Swatantra becomes eventually an attribute of the Supreme. Sri Sankara says that the Absolute is without attributes and that Maya is not and has no real being. What is the difference between the two? Both agree that the display is not real. The images of the mirror cannot in any way be real. The world does not exist in reality (vastutah). Both schools  mean the same thing. Their ultimate aim is to realize the Absolute Consciousness. The unreality of the cosmos is implied in Recognition (Pratyabhijna), whereas it is explicit in Vedanta. If the world be taken as chit (consciousness), it is always real. Vedanta says that there is no nana (diversity), meaning that it is all the same Reality. There is agreement on all points except in words and the method of expression.
 

 

 

 

यस्यैव स्फुरणं सदात्मकमसत्कल्पार्थकं भासते

साक्षात्तत्वमसीति वेदवचसा यो भोधयत्याश्रितान् ।

यत्साक्षात्करणद्भवेन्न पुनरावृत्तिर्भवाम्भोनिधौ

तस्मै श्रीगुरुमूर्तये नम दं श्रीदक्षिणामूर्तये ।।3।।

yasyaiva sphuraṇam sadātmakam asat-kalpārthakam bhāsate
sākṣāt Tat-tvam-asi-iti vedavacasā yo bodhayaty āśritān |
yat sākṣātkaraṇād bhaven na punarāvṛttir-bhavāṁbhonidhau
tasmai Sri-gurumūrtaye nama idaṁ  Sri-dakṣiṇamūrtaye || 3 ||

Verse 3. He alone is existent Reality and appears as objects of the world. He imparts to His surrenderers enlightenment and  the Vedic words (‘That Thou Art’), after realization of which they never return to the ocean of transmigration. To Him the divine teacher, Sri-Dakshinamurthy, I offer my salutation.                        

     

 

 

 

नानाच्छिद्र घटोदरस्थित-महादीप-प्रभा-भास्वरं

   ज्ञानं यस्य तु चक्षुरादि-करण-द्वारा बिहिः स्पन्दते।

         ज्ञानामीति तमेव भान्तम अनुभात्य् एतत् समस्तं जगत्

             तस्मै श्रीगुरुमूर्तये नम दं श्रीदक्षिणामूर्तये ।।4।।

nānācchidra-ghatodarasthita-mahādīpa-prabhā-bhāsvaraṁ
jñānaṁ yasya tū chakṣūrādi-karaṇa-dvāra bahiḥ spandate |
jānāmi-iti tameva bhāntam anūbhāty etat samastaṁ jagat  

tasmai śrī-gurumūrtaye nama idaṁ  śrī-dakṣiṇamūrtaye || 4 ||

Verse 4. Just like the light escaping from the lamp through the many holes in a jar, his (Light of) Knowledge radiates through the eyes and other sense organs; after His Light, the whole universe of objects shines. To Him the Guru Murthy, Sri Dakshinamurthy, I offer my salutation.

 

 

देहं प्राणम् अपीन्द्रियाण्यपि चलां बुद्धिं च शून्यं विदुः

स्त्री-बाल-न्ध-जडोपमास् त्वहम् ति भ्रान्ता भृशं वादिनः।

माया-शक्ति-विलास-कल्पित-महा-व्यामोह-संहारिणे

तस्मै श्री-गुरुमूर्तये नम दं श्रीदक्षिणामूर्तये ।।5।।

deham prāṇam apīndriyānyapi calām būddhiṁ ca śūnyaṁ vidūḥ
stri-bāla-andha-jadopamās
tvaham iti bhrāntā bhrṣam vādinaḥ /
māyā-śakti-vilāsa-kalpita-mahā-vyāmoha-samhārine
tasmai śrī-gurumūrtaye nama idaṁ  śrī-dakṣiṇamūrtaye
//5//

He removes Maya Sakti Vilasa in innocent  women, children, the dull, the blind and the likes who see that Aham is Deham, Prana, Indriyas, Buddhi, or Sunyam. The Guru destroys this Maya Sakti Vilasa. To Him the Guru Murthy, Sri Dakshinamurthy, I offer my salutation.

 

 

The innocent women, children, the dull, the blind and the likes see that the body, breath, senses, intelligence and void constitute the Soul.  The Guru destroys the sport of Maya's power.  To Him, Sri Daksinamurti I pay homage.

 

Stri bala andha jada apamah = women, children, the blind (unwise), the dull and the likes.

In olden days, the women were not educated formally but not looked down upon. Remember there are goddesses. The term women is used in a generic sense (euphemism) to indicate lack of spiritual education. There were many poetesses and female religious leaders. Also remember that without the female Sakti, Siva is sava (dead).

Maya Sakti Vilasa = Maya power sport = the sport of Maya's power.

Deham = body; Prana = breath; Indriyas = organs; Buddhi =  Intelligence; Sunyam = void

    The deluded put the body before the Self, thus identifying the Self with the body and its adjuncts. Each theorist has his own idea: materialist thinks that the Self is the body and so on and so forth.  These faculties each enjoy their momentary glory; individually or collectively they do not make the Self; this is kshanikavijnana, momentary cognition (Kshna = moment; Vijnana = knowledge or cognition); there is no durability. DKM destroys this delusion that projects this non-self as Self.

 

 

 

              राहु-ग्रस्त-दिवाकरेन्दु-सदृशो माया-समाच्छादनात्

              सन्मात्रः करणोपसंहरनतो योऽभूत्‌-सुषुप्तः पुमान् ।

             प्रागस्वाप्सम् ति प्रबोध-समये यः प्रत्यभिज्ञायते

तस्मै श्रीगुरुमूर्तये नम दं श्रीदक्षिणामूर्तये ||6||

rahū-grasta-divakarendu-sadrṣo maya-samācchādanāt
sanmātrah karanopasaṁharaṇato yobhūt-sūṣūptaḥ pūmān |
prāgasvāsam iti prabodha-samaye yaḥ pratyabhijñāyate
tasmai śr
ī-gūrūmūrtaye nama idaṁ  srī-dakṣinamūrtaye || 6 ||

Verse 6. Self is Pure Being during deep sleep though there is veiling by Maya; it enjoys SatChitAnanda.  Veiling by Maya during deep sleep is like lunar and solar eclipses.  There is consciousness during deep sleep, though mind is in abeyance; thus, upon withdrawal of Maya veil and awakening, the mind says, "I just woke up from good sleep."  I pay obeisance to Dakshinamurti in the form of Guru.

 

Though the Self is eclipsed by the veiling Maya during deep sleep, it does not suffer at the hands veiling Maya, which does distort the image of Self from the point of view of the individual self. In short, Self is Knowledge (Being, Consciousness and Bliss); Maya blocks knowledge from the individual self.

Solar eclipse does not diminish the effulgence of the sun; in similar manner, deep sleep does not diminish the cognitive consciousness, though the mind is in abeyance. The Supreme Self exists in its pure state though Maya veils it from the individual self. When a person wakes up, he knows he had a dream and slept until arousal from sleep. When an aspirant wakes up to the Reality of the Self, he becomes aware of the previous eclipse of ignorance during his sleep.  May DKM in the form of Guru remove this veil of Maya by his teaching. I pay my obeisance to him.

 

 

 

बाल्यादिष्वपि जाग्रदादिषु तथा सर्वास्ववस्थास्वपि

व्यावृत्तास्वनुवर्तमानमहमित्यन्तः स्फुरन्तं सदा ।

स्वात्मानं प्रकटीकरोति भजतां यो मुद्रया भद्रया

तस्मै श्रीगुरुमूर्तये नम इदं श्रीदक्षिणामूर्तये।।7।। 

bālyādiṣvapi jāgradādiṣu tathā sarvāsvavasthāsvapi
vyāvṛittāsvanuvartamānam-aham-ity-antaḥ-sphurantaṁ sadā /

svātmānaṁ prakaṭīkaroti bhajatāṁ yo mudrayā bhadrayā
tasmai śrī -gurumūrtaye nama idaṁ śrī -dakṣiṇamūrtaye //7//

Verse 7. He, whose Being is immutable during states of flux  (as in infancy and childhood; and during awakening, dream, and deep sleep) and who manifests his own Self to his votaries by his Cin Mudra, is Dakshinamurti in the form of Guru. I pay obeisance to him.

 

Self is self-same under all conditions and states of flux, for example during infancy, childhood, and so on; and wakefulness, dream and deep sleep. The body, mind, environment and others within you and outside change; though through them all, the Self remains the same. It neither grows old nor changes.

When you subtract the body from an object, sentient or insentient, you arrive at Brahman, which is Pure Consciousness and awareness, according Panchadasi (3.21). When you strip away all the sheaths, Matter (Anna), Life (Prāna), Mind (Manas), Intelligence (Jnāna) and Bliss (Ānanda), what is left is the Witness or the Self (Pure Consciousness) -- IBID, 3.22.

  Aham Brahman = I am Brahman. The Ego and the Spirit are shrouded by the body. When the pot (body) breaks, the ether in the pot becomes one with the all-pervasive Ether. In like manner the Spirit in the Body is one and the same Spirit (Paramatman) that is present in all bodies. When Antakharana, the inner organ, is subtracted, what remains is Consciousness which is the Witness; this Witness is the only one qualified to call itself, "I am Brahman."

Krishna in Bhagavad Gita tells Arjuna the following on the Self or Atman.

2.23: It (atman) can neither be chopped into pieces by any and all weapons, nor burnt, nor made wet, nor dried by wind. (Beyond the ravages caused by elements).

2.24: This (atman) is unbreakable, fireproof, waterproof, moreover without doubt drought-proof, eternal, all-pervading, stable and immovable, and it is everlasting (sanātanah). 

2.25: This (atman) is unmanifest (avyaktah), unthinkable (acintyah), and unchanging (avikāryah). Knowing this as such, you should not grieve.

 

 

विश्वं पश्यति कार्यकारणतया स्वस्वामिसंभन्धतः

शिष्यासार्यतया तथैव पितृपुत्राद्यातमना भेदतः

सवप्ने जाग्रति व य एष परुषो मायापरिभ्रामितः

तस्मै श्रीगुरुमूर्तये नम इदं श्रीदक्षिणामूर्तये||8||

 

Viśvaṁ paśyati kārya-kāraṇatayā sva-svāmi-saṁbandhataḥ
śiṣyācāryatayā tathaiva piṭṛ-pūtrādy
-ātmanā bhedataḥ |
svapne jāgrati vā ya eṣa puruṣo māyā-paribhrāmitaḥ
tasmai śri-gurumūrtaye nama idaṁ  śri-dakṣiṇamūrtaye || 8 ||

Verse 8. Self, deluded by Maya, sees a manifold world in cause and effect, property and proprietor, disciple and teacher, father and son and deep sleep and awakening. I pay obeisance to Dakshinamurty in the form of Guru.

 

Manifold world of panoramic colors; people of diverse races, religions and hues; geography with rivers, mountains, valleys, plateaus, deserts and all the rest; customs and practices; and daily rhythms, seasons and colors have a common element, Maya. It is veiling, revealing and projecting. It veils the Real; it reveals the nescience or ignorance of the subject; it projects the illusion of this universe. It is  superimposed on the Real, that is God or Brahman. This Avidya and Māyā can be compared to a web. The spider moves about the web easily. In the same manner, God moves about easily in this phenomenal world, but the individual self gets caught in Māyā, as a fly gets caught in a web. It is like the honeybee drinking nectar gets trapped behind the closing petals of the flower and drowns in the sap.

What is māyā? This phenomenal world is a world of dualities. There is dirt covering the diamond; in this case dirt is veiling the diamond. There is a Truth behind a lie, ignorance or superimposition. There is a Real behind Māyā; the web of phenomenal world is hiding the Real. Māyā is a veil on the Real; Māyā is the cloud between you and the sun. The Real is Atman, Self, Soul or the Eternal Light.

This illusory world is compared to a dream; the sights, sounds, and smells appear real until awakening; once it happens, the illusion disappears and reality sets in. The awakening is awakening of the spirit in man.

 

 

भूर अम्भांस्यनलोम्बरमहर्नाथो हिमांशुः पुमा-

नित्याभाति चराचरात्मकमिदं यस्यैव मूर्त्यष्टकम्।

नान्यत्किञ्चन विद्यते विमृशतां यस्मात्परस्माद्विभो-

तस्मै श्रीगुरुमूर्तये नम इदं श्रीदक्षिणामूर्तये ||9||

bhūr ambhāṁsyanalo`nilo-`mbaram aharnātho himāṁśuḥ pūmān
ityābhāti carācarātmakamakam idaṁ yasyaiva mūrty-aṣṭakam |
nānyat kincana vidyate vimṛśatāṁ yasmāt parasmād-vibhoḥ

tasmai śri-gurumūrtaye nama idaṁ  śri-dakṣiṇamūrtaye ||9||

Verse 9. He is Ashtamurti (eight-fold form), the creator of this moving and unmoving world, and appears as earth, water, fire, air, ether, the sun, the moon and the soul. Beyond Him, who is Supreme and all-pervading, there exists nothing.  To Daksinamurti in the form of Guru, I pay obeisance.

 

 

Isvara is Mayabrahman and Maya gives rise to the building blocks (Tattvas) of the universe.  Go to Siva-Ashtamurthy and TATTVAS-36 for more details.

 

 

 

 

सर्वात्मत्वम् इति स्फुटीकृतम् इदं यस्माद अमुष्मिं स्तवे

तेनास्य श्रवणात् तदर्थ मननाद ध्यानाच्च सङ्कीर्तनात् ।

सर्वात्मत्व-महा-विभूति-सहितं स्याद् ईश्वरत्वमं स्वताः

सिद्धयेत् तत् पुनर् अष्टधा परिणतं चश्वर्यम् अव्याहतम् ।।10।।  

sarvātmatvam iti sphuṭīkṛitam idaṁ  yasmād amūṣmiṁ stave
tenāsya śravaṇāt tadartha-mananād dhyānācca saṅkīrtanāt |
sarvātmatva-mahā-vibhūti-sahitam syād Īśvaratvaṁ svataḥ

siddhyet tat pūnar aṣṭadhā pariṇataṁ caiśvaryam avyāhatam || 10 ||

Verse 10. Sarvatmatva is explained and understood by hearing, reflection, meditation, and recitation; Isvaratva comes naturally along with Sarvatmatva, leading to the attainment of unhindered Siddhis in its eight forms.

 

    Sarvatmatva = Self is All; Isvartva = Isvara is All; Siddhi = Acquisition of supernatural powers, eight in all; perfection; spiritual accomplishment.

    Please go to TMTM03 for details.

Samadhi is the final stage of Ashtanga yoga, the eight-step yogam starting with Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana and Dhyana. When a Sadhaka (Yogi) attains perfection, he becomes a Siddha and the powers he gains are called Siddhis

The siddhis are eight: Anima, Mahima, Gharima, Laghima, Prapti, Prakamya, Isatva, Vashistva, (and Kāmarutattva.)

1.    Anima. (smallness):  Supernatural power of becoming as small as an atom, atomization

2.    Mahima. (largeness): The supernatural power of increasing size at will

3.    Gharima. The supernatural power of making one self heavy at will

4.    Laghima. (lightness): The supernatural power of levitation

5.    Prāptih. Supernatural power to obtain everything

6.    Praakaamya. Capacity to accomplish anything desired

7.    Isitva. Supremacy or superiority considered as a supernatural power

8.    Vashistva. The supernatural power of subduing all to one's own will

                                ---Definitions as found in Tamil Lexicon, Madras University

 

 

    Kāmarutattva (consummation of all desires)

For a complete list of Siddhis go to TANTRA

Dictionary: Prapti = Ability to reach anything like touching the moon with fingers. Isita = supreme dominion. Vasita = Subjugation by magic. Kamavasayita = suppressing all desires.

Clairvoyance, Clairaudience, Divination, and Hyperacuity to pain, taste, and smell are supranormal faculties, which are an impediment to True Siddhi (Oneness with One) because they generate Ahankāra, the I-ness, and the Mine-ness and prevent total surrender to God. The eighth power indicates the consummation of yogi's desire for God-realization and subduction from Kāma or sexual desire.

A list of some qualifications of Guru, according to Tantrics.DAKSHINAMURTI

Knowledge of  Vira Knowledge of Divya Knowledge of Kaula Knowledge of Sattva Knowledge of Rajas Knowledge of  tamas
Knowledge of Mantra Knowledge of Guru Knowledge of Devata Meaning of Mantra Awakening of Mantra Yoni Mudra
Calm Self-control Pure mind Siddha (perfection) reveals to Sisya  previously unknown knowledge reveals spiritual Truths