The Secret Doctrine of Goddess Lalita
(Sri LalitaAṣṭottara Rahasyārthamu)
20. brahmātmaikya svarūpiṇī 21.tattvamartha svarūpiṇī
She whose nature is the union of brahman and ātmān.
She who is the meaning of tat (that) and tvam (thou).
These nāma-s describe the nature of the great Knowledge that the Guru teaches. The Knowledge is about the Oneness of the jīvā (individual) and brahman (Supreme Consciousness). brahman is derived from the word bṛhat, which means big and expansive. It is so expansive that it pervades everything - time, space, and objects. Such an expansive entity can only be Consciousness because Consciousness alone can cognize Its expansion. Consciousness is the cognizing principle. It is the spark of I-Am awareness (sphuraṇa) in every being. That spark of awareness is ātmā. There is no difference between the Supreme Consciousness (brahman) and the individual Consciousness (ātmā). Since it is the “I Am” awareness (ātmā) Itself that cognizes everything, brahman is ātmā.
Similarly, ātmā is brahman. ātmā is the Consciousness that vibrates as the I-Am awareness in this body. It is neither the body nor the life-force (prāṇa) because they are both inert, and appear as objects to awareness. How can that which I am aware of be me? Therefore, although the feeling of “I” appears to be confined to my body and life-force, my real nature is pure Awareness. As Awareness, I am not confined to my body. Like space, I am formless and all-pervading.
Since brahman and ātmā are both formless and all-pervading, they are not different from each other. Since they are not different, they can be experiences as One (ekātman). It is the one Consciousness that appears as ātmā inside the body and as brahman outside the body. Due to this apparent difference, brahman is experienced as though different from me (indirect) and ātmān as me (direct). In reality, brahman and ātmā are the same and experienced directly as One (aparokṣa).
The Upanishads convey this knowledge through declarations called mahāvākya-s. These statements declare the unity of jīvātman and paramātman, the individual self and the Supreme Self. The Upanishadic statements that analyze and explain how such unity is possible are called avāntara vākya-s. While the former convey the essential or primary meaning of the entire sentence, the latter explains the meaning of each word in the sentence. With the help of these avāntara vākya-s the complete meaning of the mahāvākya-s can be understood. For instance, in the mahāvākya, tat tvam asi, the word tat refers to brahman and the word tvam refers to jīvā. The meaning of the two words put together conveys the intent or the essence of the mahāvākya.
The meaning of a mahāvākya can be understood based on its primary meaning (vāchyārtha) or its secondary meaning (lakṣyārtha). For instance, the word tvam may be interpreted in its primary sense as “this jīvā” and tat as “that brahman.” Interpreted in this manner, the two cannot be united into one because each is perceived as manifesting in different upādhi-s (adjuncts). We think jīvā manifests through the body and brahman through the world. As long as there are two upādhi-s or mediums, jīvā and brahman will always appear separate. They cannot merge into one. Therefore, we must interpret the mahāvākya in the secondary sense. We must apply the principle of jahad-ajahal-lakṣaṇā, where only one of the two entities is considered and the other is ignored in order to arrive at the unity of the two. For instance, if we suddenly see someone from the past and say “He is Devadutta,” it means we recognize that person for himself without paying any attention to the differences in time and space from the last time we saw him. Similarly, to grasp the truth that the mahāvākya is pointing to, we must disregard the upādhi, the body-mind organism that we identify with, and instead focus on the I-Am Consciousness that vibrates in the body. Similarly, we must disregard the names and forms that appear in the universe, and focus instead on Consciousness, the common substance that pervades the entire universe.
Since the Immutable Consciousness is the substratum of both jīvā and brahman, jīvā and brahman are One. The upādhi-s of jīvā (body/mind/senses) and of brahman (five elements) appear in Consciousness, are not different from Consciousness, and dissolve in Consciousness. If we enquire deeply into the nature of anything in this manner, we will understand its obvious nature (in the primary sense) and its subtler nature (in the secondary sense). This understanding will spontaneously lead to an intuitive realization of its intrinsic nature. Devī personifies this Knowledge of Oneness. It is through the mahāvākya, tat tvam asi, that Devī appears as the Guru and imparts this great Knowledge to the disciple.
22.vimarṣarūpiṇī
She who is in the form of vimarṣa.
A disciple must reflect deeply on the Guru’s teaching. Deep enquiry into the nature of a thing is vimarṣa. It also means repeated contemplation. The Divine Mother is of the nature of vimarṣa. A question may arise at this point. If Knowledge is the only means of realizing the Self, and no action, such as yoga, worship, rituals, etc. can help, what is the use of vimarṣa? Isn’t vimarṣa also action? How can it help?
It is true that Knowledge itself is enough to realize the Self. Knowledge of the Self is the Experience of the Self. However, such experiential Knowledge does not arise suddenly on its own. Some effort is certainly necessary. vimarṣa is such effort. Deep enquiry and contemplation on the mahāvākya, tat tvam asi, is vimarṣa. That is the effort required. Simply hearing the two words tat and tvam is not enough to understand the deeper significance of the mahāvākya. Several questions and doubts will continue to remain. All questions and doubts can be resolved through manana, contemplation on the deeper meaning of the mahāvākya.
Going beyond the primary meaning of a word to its essential meaning is manana. The sentence tat tvam asi (that thou art) states the correlation or congruence between the two words tat (that) and tvam (thou). It states that the two are one. Not just the words but their meanings must also correlate. How is this possible? It is hard for us to visualize the union of jīvā with brahman because the body-mind adjuncts obstruct our vision. Similarly, we cannot visualize the union of brahman with jīvā because the adjuncts of brahman (earth, water, space. etc.) obstruct our vision. To understand the essential meaning of the statement, tat tvam asi, we must disregard the adjuncts and simply contemplate on jīvā as brahman. We will then be able to transcend the limitations of the jīvā, and realize the Infinite brahman. However, this is only one aspect of the correlation between the two. Even if the jīvā realizes the infinite nature of Self, it would only be an indirect or mediated experience (parokṣa). Brahman will still appear as separate from him. To get rid of this feeling of separateness, the jīvā must now contemplate on brahman as his own intrinsic Self. He will then experience brahman directly (aparokṣa). When he contemplates in this manner from all angles that he is brahman and brahman is he, the jīvā will transcend duality and experience his Self as the Supreme Self.
Hence, an earnest seeker must practice not only śravaṇa (listening), but also manana (contemplation) continuously. After he has done enough manana, cleared all his doubts and has a crystal clear understanding of the teaching, he must practice nididhyāsana. He must meditate on the teaching until it becomes an experiential realization. This is necessary for the seeker to stabilize his Knowledge and abide firmly in the Self. Without such relentless meditation, Knowledge of the Self will appear and disappear like a flash of lightening. Instead of abiding as ātmā, the seeker will find himself once again in duality, suffering the pains and pleasures of anātmā. To ensure he does not relapse once again into duality, the seeker must have one-pointed focus on the common substance (Consciousness) that pervades all particulars and not on the particulars. This process is called nididhyāsana.
When śravaṇa, manana, and nididhyāsana are practiced together, it is vimarṣa. It is through vimarṣa that we find the Self shining everywhere in all Its splendor. This practice is like pounding the paddy. The paddy is pounded until the rice separates from the chaff. śravaṇa is like pounding the paddy ten times. manana is like pounding the paddy fifty times. nididhyāsana is like pounding the paddy a hundred times or until the rice separates from the chaff and becomes visible. This practice of śravaṇa, manana, and nididhyāsana is vimarṣa. It must continue until the seeker and the act of seeking dissolve into the Self, and the Self alone remains.
23. parāpara 24. prasiddhā
She who is both parā and apara.
She who is celebrated.
These nāma-s reveal the nature of the Goddess, the Supreme Self, that one attains as a result of vimarṣa. She is parāpara, the one who is both superior and inferior. That which is un-manifested and inaccessible to the mind and senses (Consciousness) is parā and that which is manifested and accessible to the mind and senses (world) is apara. Devī permeates both parā and apara. We can experience Her by perceiving parā as apara, Consciousness as the manifested world, and apara as parā, the world as an appearance of Consciousness.
As we discussed earlier, śakti appears as though remote and not in our direct experience. When śakti manifests, It appears as the world. The names and forms we see in the world are permeated by cītsakti, Consciousness. Therefore, when we see names and forms, we must cognize the underlying Consciousness that pervades them. When we do so, forms will appear as the formless and the formless will appear as forms. There will be no difference between the two. Everything will appear as one undivided whole. These mantras are pointing to that One Universal Consciousness, which is the very nature of Devī who is both form and formless.
A seeker must be capable of such deep enquiry and contemplation. The phenomenal world is always visible. We not only see forms, such as buildings, etc., we also see formless entities, such as space. Because space is formless, it pervades every object internally as well as externally. Isn’t it strange that we see the formless space the same way as we see forms? Both are objects to our awareness and we see them both (object and surrounding space) in the same instance. Yet we cannot integrate the two. We see them as separate entities, one as a solid object and the other as empty space. If we can train our minds to perceive names and forms as solidified space, we will be able to cognize parā, the supreme un-manifested formless Consciousness that pervades every object. A refined mind is capable of such a vision.
Earnest seekers will find this practice extremely useful. As they mature in the practice, names and forms will lose their specificity, and everything will appear as space. When forms lose their specificity, there will be no difference between apara and parā, the manifest and the un-manifest. As described in Katha Upanishad (2-10), everything will appear as one: “What indeed is here, the same is there; what is there, the same is here; from death to death he goes; who sees here as if different.”
When the division between parā and apara vanishes, Self is perceived as everything and everything as the Self. Devī will appear in Her essential form as Pure Consciousness. We will see Her effortlessly everywhere. Effort is necessary only if She is visible sometimes and not at other times. As the Self, She is ever present. No effort is necessary to grasp one’s own Self. Therefore, Devī is parāpara prasiddhā for the one who realizes Her true nature.
25 bhāvanāgamyā 26. dhyānagamyā
She who can be attained through imagination. She who is to be attained through meditation.
The meditation suggested in the previous verse is for mature seekers with sharp and highly refined intellects. Others may find it difficult to grasp. Even if they are able to grasp it, they my not be able to retain or abide in it. The subtler a thing is, the harder it is to grasp it, even if it is present directly in front of us. The eyes may see it, but the mind may not register it. Imagination is necessary in such situations. The formless all-pervading nature of Devī can be grasped only through imagination and visualization. That is why Devī is called bhāvanā. The more one visualizes and meditates on Her, the more Her shining presence is revealed.
What does the word bhāvanā mean? It is a popular term in Ayurveda, often used in the context of amalgamating different types of herbs to make different types of medicines. The process whereby one substance acquires the attributes of another substance is called bhāvanā. Another word for bhāvanā is vāsanā (impression). The term īśāvāsya means applying the essence of Ishwara on the entire world, so that the world is experienced as Ishwara or Consciousness.
We must apply the same understanding here as well. We must ascribe (bhāvanā) the qualities of ātmā, sat-cīt (Existence-Consciousness), to the world and perceive the world as ātmā. As we mature in such contemplation, names and forms will fade into the background and sat-cīt will appear in the foreground. The form of Devī as sat-cīt will appear everywhere at all times. To make sure she does not appear and disappear like a bolt of lightning, we must meditate on Her continuously without a break. Devī is accessible through relentless meditation. Mediation is one-point concentration. Like the uninterrupted flow of oil, if we meditate on the nature of Devī continuously without a break, She will be established in our minds firmly as sat-cīt. Everything - the mind that thinks, the words that express, and the body that acts – will be experienced as sat-cīt.
27. dhyānadhyātṛ dhyēyarūpā
She who shines as meditator, meditation, and object of meditation.
When bhāvanā (visualization) is continuous and steady, it culminates in meditation. Meditation culminates in experiential realization. Since the realization is of our own Self, it is really not meditation, since there is no separate object to be meditated on and no separate subject that is meditating. The triad, meditator-meditation-object of meditation, all dissolve into the Self. A dualistic mind sees multiplicity. Multiplicity gives rise to feelings such as, “I am the meditator, this is the object of my meditation, and I am meditating.” When the object of mediation is one’s own Self, there is no scope for a meditator or meditation. The triad dissolves into the Self, who is Devī Herself! As separate entities or together as one, the triad is nothing but Pure Consciousness. This means, multiplicity and uniformity, duality and non-duality, are all of the nature of Devī.
28. nirbhēdā 29. bhēdanāśinī
She who is beyond all sense of differences.
She who removes from her devotees all sense of differences born out of vāsanā-s.
In reality, these are no differences in Devī. She is pure, undifferentiated Consciousness. The differences are imagined by us due to avidyā (ignorance). Since the differences are only imagined, the moment we stop imagining them, the Goddess will reveal Herself. In reality, neither does She conceal or reveal Herself since She is ever present as pure Consciousness. Concealment and revelation are attributes of the mind. Even if the mind fluctuates between them, Devī remains immutable. The rope is a rope even if it appears as a snake, stream of water, or a stick. Similarly, even though we see names and forms instead of Devī, Devī Herself remains undifferentiated.
The moment we understand Her true nature, we will realize She is Pure Undifferentiated Consciousness. Without such understanding, we will not be able to transcend names and forms. Since She is undifferentiated, She is capable of blessing us with an undifferentiated vision. This is the significance of the mantra bhēdanāśinī. Differences are imagined by us, but She is un-differentiated. Only what is real can remove the unreal. We must cultivate a homogenous vision that can cognize the unchanging reality which is the substratum of the changing universe. Like the disappearance of the illusory snake when the knowledge of the rope arises, the heterogenous world disappears in a homogenous vision.