The Secret Doctrine of Goddess Lalita
(Sri LalitaAṣṭottara Rahasyārthamu)
13. cītśakti-cētanārūpā
She who is the power of Consciousness; She who is Pure Consciousness
As stated earlier, jñāna śakti (Consciousness) transforms first into icchā (will) and then into kriyā (action and results) This mantra explains the manner in which śakti manifests as action and the result of the action. cītśakti is another name for jñāna śakti. Because it is Consciousness Itself, cītśakti manifests as the conscious beings of the world. Consciousness combined with the vital force (prāṇa) that makes humans, animals, and other living beings sentient.
Hence cītśakti is the cause and the source of this visible universe. Since She manifested as the world on Her own will and pervades it, from the absolute standpoint, cītśakti is both the efficient and the material cause of the world. In the relative world, we find that the efficient cause is different from the material cause. For instance, clay is the material cause of the pot, which is different from the potter who is the efficient cause of the pot. Gold is the material cause of the ornaments, which is different from the goldsmith who is the efficient cause of the ornaments. However, there are no such differences between the material and efficient causes in the Absolute Reality. Since Consciousness or śakti is the Absolute Reality, It is both the efficient and the material cause of the world.
Therefore, all sentient beings that appear as separate entities are, in reality, the universal cītśakti only appearing in various forms. They are like the pots that appear as separate objects, although in reality they are all nothing but clay. The two mantras, cītśakti and cētanārūpā, reveal this truth – that śakti or Consciousness is the source of both the sentient and insentient entities of the world. The mantra cītśakti indicates the efficient cause and the mantra cētanārūpā indicates the material cause. That means Consciousness permeates the entire creation as śakti and manifests as the sentient beings of the world. Therefore, a seeker must contemplate on the entire sentient world as cītśakti.