The Secret Doctrine of Goddess Lalita
(Sri LalitaAṣṭottara Rahasyārthamu)
17. parā, pratyakchitī rūpā; 18.paśyantī, paradēvatā
She who is Supreme; She who transcends all - She who is of the nature of un-manifested Consciousness. She who sees - She who is the supreme deity.
How did the un-manifest become manifest? These mantras describe the process. The un-manifest becomes manifest in four stages. The first stage is parā, un-manifested Supreme Power, the inner-most core (pratayak) of manifestation. This mantra corresponds to the mantra chidēka rasarūpiṇī. Consciousness (cīt) is always pratyak (innermost reality), not parāk (external appearance). If Consciousness were also of the nature of parāk, Consciousness would become an object. Because it is formless awareness, Consciousness is ever the subject and never the object. This pure Consciousness is called parā.
As long as the parā śakti (Supreme power) is in complete union with śiva (Supreme Consciousness), there is no vibration (spandana) or movement in its intrinsic power. When the desire to manifest or expand arises in parā śakti, a corresponding vibration appears in its intrinsic nature. This vibration or desire (icchā) to expand is called paśyantī. Hence, icchā śakti is the second stage in the transformation of the parā śakti into the manifested world. While parā is Pure Consciousness, paśyantī is the movement towards expansion. We see this principle operating in the empirical world as well. Before desire in the form of a thought arises in our mind, the mind is still. As soon as the thought arises, we sense a disturbance in the previously still mind. Similarly, the moment the impulse to create arises, the Goddess (śakti) moves from the state of parā to paśyantī.