The innermost nature of Śakti as a power of powers – transcendent potency of becoming into being blossoming into countless immanent energies, rendering service to all
The purpose of this article is to both bring to light and simultaneously elevate two brilliant ideas by our ancestors into practical teachings: first, the innermost nature of energies (śaktis) is about benefitting others and creating oneness rather than division, a much-needed perspective in the current age; secondly, service rendered to the benefit of others is the power of powers (śakti-of-śaktis). These practical teachings are inspired by the 500-550AD philosopher-grammarian Bhartṛhari who had major influence on the later non-dual Tantric traditions. I am broadening and elevating his ideas from ideas provided in a specific linguistic context into practical metaphysical teachings. With profound humility, I am merely following in the distant yet so near footsteps of the great non-dual Tantric masters from 800-1300 AD, who also nourished and elevated many of Bhartṛhari’s other linguistic ideas into practical teachings.
I would like to express deep gratitude to the Sanskrit scholar Veronica Benjamin, Ph.D., who selflessly spent considerable time reading, commenting, and providing invaluable feedback and commentary on this article. She ensured that I do not stray too much in my interpretation of the original meaning of Bhartṛhari’s concepts and provided the necessary rigor – from an experienced scholar to an amateur scholar like me whose primary focus is practical application of ancient ideas and teachings.
KEY MESSAGE: As unmanifested transcendent form, Śakti, the power of consciousness, is the potency of becoming into being. One Śakti comes into being as countless immanent śaktis. In her manifested immanent forms, she is energy which provides services to beings and energies. No energy is independent of other energies, beings, and entities, therefore, śaktis as an expression of the one reality, are energies that provide services to beings and energies. Therefore, transcendent Śakti is the potency of coming into being as countless immanent energies in service to beings and other śaktis beyond difference and identity. Service rendered to the benefit of others is service rendered to the one reality – it is the power of powers.
These are powerful insights, which when embraced, illuminate our journey into the majestic, blissful, indescribable light, which is our innermost nature.
That, at the advance of which the indescribable, very intimate
inner greatness in the mind of man whose soul is light,
manifests itself brilliantly as something new;
which spreads out the highest satisfaction, not in need of
tasting external objects, and eternal;
the form of which is powerful and full of nectar streams
of bliss and majesty;
that, that intuitive insight (prātibham), we praise.
Verses from Helārāja’s Prakīrṇa-prakāśa, a commentary of the Vākyapadiya by Bhartṛhari; translated by Houben in The Saṃbandha-Samuddeśa (Chapter on Relation) and Bhartṛhari’s Philosophy of Language
The earliest meaningful and sophisticated mention of śakti as the energy of consciousness was around 500 AD
The word śakti in the early Vedic tradition has conventionally been used and understood as potency or capacity to be able to do something. The word root sak means to be strong or powerful, be able to, capable of, and competent for. Words for potency in earlier Vedic texts include ojas (vitality), prakṛti (nature) etc., sometimes understood as formed out of the tejas (fire) of the Gods.
The word śakti was first used in a meaningful and sophisticated way to mean the energy of the one reality (Brahman) by Bhartṛhari, a linguistic philosopher around 500 AD in the text Vākyapadiya.[1] The word śaktioccurs ~130 times in the text. This was well before the first non-dual Śaiva and Śākta Tantric scriptures began to flourish around and after 800 AD and elevated śakti to the rank of divinity as the Goddess Śakti. In fact, so close are the śakti teachings of non-dual Tantra to those of Bhartṛhari that there seems to be just one major difference – the deification of śakti as the Goddess Śakti.
I would like to propose that Bhartṛhari was possibly implicitly deifying śakti through his ideas on service and the power of powers, ideas that do not seem to be prominent in non-dual Tantra. In this view, śakti is considered an intrinsic aspect of the one reality as opposed to something separate from the one reality that needs to be deified and worshipped, inevitably creating unnecessary distinctions between Śaiva and Śākta schools. It is conceivable that Bhartṛhari wanted to create and preserve a unitary model of reality by not explicitly deifying śakti.
The opposing view to this hypothesis is that Bhartṛhari as an orthodox Brahmin adhering strictly to the Vedas was highly unlikely to imply these ideas at all in his discussions on energy and service. My view is that whatever the case, and whether consciously or inadvertently, he planted seeds that can be watered and nourished into beautiful and potent teachings which is what this article aims to accomplish.
Deifying Śakti also means Śakti becoming countless energies and assemblies of deities. This development brings to light the many pathways for liberation in accord with her many sacred expressions. The particular karmic tendencies of the practitioner naturally draw the seeker to a particular school. For example, the path of time (krama) is in accord with Śakti as time; the path of vibration (spanda) is in accord with Śakti as dynamism, etc. In theory, all approaches should lead the practitioner to the realization of the one reality.
For Bhartṛhari, Brahma, consciousness, is the seed of everything (sarvabīja). Brahma is the possessor of śakti(śaktimān). Brahma is Śabdabrahman[2], or Brahman “as” / “in the form of” sound and word. Śabdabrahman has endless number of śaktis grounded in consciousness and resolving all apparent expressed differences in consciousness. These śaktis emanate from one śakti, the dynamic aspect of Brahman, of consciousness. In fact, śaktis from the highest perspective of one reality, taken together, function as one entity. Bhartṛhari effectively reformulates the Vaiśeṣika tradition through a non-dual understanding of śakti.
This revolutionary at the time perspective provided the foundation for the teachings of dynamism of non-dual Tantra which emerged centuries later. If there is no śakti, there can be no Tantras, and key teachings and practices of the Tantras such as mantras, deities/Goddesses as mantras, and various forms of the Goddess.
The assemblies of Goddesses, of śaktis, emerge out of initial emptiness and are the activity of transcendental consciousness. They are the potency of consciousness actualizing itself spontaneously from formlessness and emptiness, emerging as space (Śiva) and time (Śakti) – the container for the universe.
Bhartṛhari’s view on language
It can be inferred from Bhartṛhari’s ideas that the monistic Brahman as sound, i.e. as a śakti, at the highest level, is divine undifferentiated supreme speech (parāvāc). Veronica Benjamin notes that for all of his employment of śakti, it is curious that Bhartṛhari doesn’t explain the levels of speech in terms of different śaktis. This only happened in the Tantric literature.
While Bhartṛhari did not specify the supreme speech, he implies it[3] – later some tantric lineages added parāvāc. The supreme speech first expresses itself as non-sequential seeing or visionary speech (paśyantī vāc) as a unifying and unbroken field of non-conceptual reality. It supports the intermediate speech (madhyamā vāc) which is conceptual reality as mental representations, i.e., non-verbalized thoughts. The latter becomes articulated speech (vaikharī vāc) as spoken words. Therefore, there are four levels of speech or energies, a teaching also accepted by non-dual Tantra.
This is how the divine speech becomes sound as words (dhvanisābda) with discrete meanings (artha),[4]differentiating one entity from another, and enabling entities to express themselves. All this happens in a unified fabric through the innate connectivity (saṃbandha) of all entities as an expression of one reality, of one field of consciousness. In linguistics, saṃbandha refers to the relationship between a word and its meaning.
… it can now be seen how śakti is an over-arching, purposefully general model which Bhartṛhari uses to group together categories which other systems of philosophy held to be fundamentally distinct. The corollary of śakti is the process implied by vivarta [unfolding/evolution/transformation/diversification] or vṛtti [movement/transformation], which unfolds as krama [sequence], for every śakti is a “śakti-to-become-x.” …
He also uses śakti in two distinct spheres, that of meaning-objects (artha) and that of śabda [sound], but both have the same grounding in Brahman. The former may be regarded as an ontological potency and the latter as a semantic potency.
The Universe in the Word: On Bhartrhari's Employment of Universals, by Veronica Benjamin
The gradual descent from one undifferentiated supreme speech to countless spoken words is how the one becomes many and how the many express themselves as part of the play of one consciousness. Words as energies in their mundane sense veil the supreme divine speech, and as mantras have revelatory capacity for liberation, clearing out an energetic pathway into oneness.
In Vākyapadiya, Bhartṛhari describes śaktis as energies of the one reality, proposing an alternative model to the fixed and static Vaiśeṣika categories.[5] Some of these categories can be mapped to the 36 levels of reality (tattvas) of the later non-dual Śaiva and Śākta schools. One of the obvious differences between the two, among others, is that the latter has five pure levels of reality (consciousness, bliss, will, knowledge, action) and separation through illusion, which do not seem to be explicitly mapped by the Vaiśeṣika tradition.
According to the Vaiśeṣika school, all things that exist, that can be cognized and named are padārthas (literal meaning: the meaning of a word), the objects of experience. All objects of experience can be classified into six categories, dravya(substance), guṇa (quality), karma (activity), sāmānya (generality), viśeṣa (particularity) and samavāya (inherence). Later Vaiśeṣikas (Śrīdhara and Udayana and Śivāditya) added one more category abhava (non-existence). The first three categories are defined as artha (which can be perceived) and they have real objective existence. The last three categories are defined as budhyapekṣam (product of intellectual discrimination) and they are logical categories.[6]
Wikipedia
Śakti as a service
Bhartṛhari’s use of śakti as service is limited in scope to linguistics. It is also metaphysical, but in a very abstract way that doesn’t have immediately clear implications for ethics and practice. This idea in my view must be elevated to metaphysical scope in a direct way as it has profound practical applications. A śakti is fundamentally something that is of service to something else. All distinctions are resolved through service – service rendered to the benefit of others is service rendered to the one reality.
A practical example of this would be a daily contemplation: when one meditates with the goal of self-realization, one is doing this in service to the one reality. Even the approach “I need to meditate for my own liberation” is a subtle spiritual pitfall. What is happening at the highest level is consciousness freeing itself.
Moreover, when we engage life and people during the day, extending our energies to serve others, this yoga in action also helps us to realize the unitary nature of reality. “My” journey to realization becomes “our” journey to realization into oneness.
My daily breath awareness practice becomes deeper when I begin to view each breath that I take consciously as service to the one reality as opposed to something I do for “my” realization. Said differently, devotion amplifies one’s practice. Many great saints emphasize devotion. For example, the great non-dual Śaivite master Swami Lakshmanjoo emphasized performing simple breath awareness with devotion. This is how in 3 years he achieved his first awakening (specifically, permanent entry in the central channel). Whether service is expressed as devotion, love, gratitude, or compassion, it is an essential catalyst for one’s spiritual practice.
anādinidhanaṃ brahma śabdatattvaṃ yad akṣaram vivartate+arthabhāvena prakriyā jagato yataḥ
ekam eva yad āmnātaṃ bhinnaśaktivyapāśrayāt apṛthaktve+api śaktibhyaḥ pṛthaktveneva vartate
adhyāhitakalāṃ yasya kālaśaktim upāśritāḥ janmādayo vikārāḥ ṣaḍ bhāvabhedasya yonayaḥ
ekasya sarvabījasya yasya ceyam anekadhā bhoktṛbhoktavyarūpeṇa bhogarūpeṇa ca sthitiḥ
The Brahman who is without beginning or end, whose very essence is the word, who is the cause of the manifested phonemes, who appears as the objects, from whom the creation of the world proceeds.
Who has been taught as the One appearing as many due to the multiplicity of his powers, who, though not different from his powers, seems to be so.
Depending on whose time-power to which (though one) differentiation is attributed, the six transformations, birth etc. become the cause of all variety of being.
Of which one that is the seed of all, there is this state of multiplicity, that of the enjoyer, the enjoyed and enjoyment …
Vākyapadiya by Bhartṛhari, verses 1-4, translated by K.A. Subramaniya Iyer
Veronica Benjamin notes that with these four verses, Bhartṛhari puts a bold metaphysical view. After that, he is more concerned with epistemology, the theory of how we know, and gives an illustration of how thought is wholly dependent on language. His discussions of language are within this deep epistemological context.
Based on my research so far (I might be wrong), what might have been lost or at least not explicitly adopted in non-dual traditions is the idea by Bhartṛhari of śaktis as energies in service (upakāra) to other śaktis (or whatever particular aspect of language or being was being analyzed as a śakti).We could say that the highest purpose of śaktis is to be of service. Service rendered to the benefit of others is service rendered to the one reality – it is the power of powers.
Generally speaking, doing one’s practice for the benefit of other sentient beings, a core tenant of Buddhism, for whatever reason, while occasionally mentioned, is not an explicit or a core teaching in non-dual Tantra. Maybe the explanation for this is really simple – it did not have to be because it was an innate aspect of non-dual Tantric communities in medieval times.
Based on my research so far, service (upakāra) in non-dual scripture is largely used in a general sense as assistance and not viewed as an integral aspect of Śakti, with a few exceptions. The reference below from an important non-dual text specifically uses the term upakāra (service) in the context of benefits to others.
At the time of hearing this verse [the benediction of Utpaladeva], students definitely become one with Śiva through a sequence in the transmission (saṅkramaṇa) of its meaning. To explain: from hearing the word ‘humanity’ [there is the awareness] “we are beings who suffer birth and death, and we are not mentally detached. This [teacher, Utpaladeva], having become a servant of Śiva and desiring to benefit (upakāram icchan) us, brings about the recognition that is the cause of the attainment of all success. And therefore, we ourselves have attained this very [recognition].”
Īśvarapratyabhijñāvimarśinī, verses 1:26–28, translated by James Reich and Ben Williams in Transmitting Awareness (saṅkrānti) A Point of Contact in Abhinavagupta’s Śaiva Aesthetics
Veronica Benjamin points out that the Netratantra is one of the few Śaivite texts that describes channeling one’s sense of fullness and empowerment into the world to be of service to others. It uses the term āpyāyana, nourishing, in a beautiful way that is consistent with the premise of this article. In the Netratantra, Śiva is described as the ruler of the universe in three forms: nourishing, illuminating, and burning.[7] The Sanskrit word seva (service) is used mainly (at least in the Tantrāloka) to refer to service to the guru.
I hope that this work will bring to light this important idea and that each of us will embrace it in our own individual spiritual practice. While Bhartṛhari uses it in a linguistic context, we can embrace this idea and elevate it into a practical metaphysical teaching. We can begin to consciously view and use our own śaktis for the benefit of others grounded in the teaching of the innate purpose of śaktis as power of powers rendering service to all. In the process of truly applying this teaching, the direct realization of the oneness of creation is inevitable.
Let us explore some of the nuances of service between entities as per Bhartṛhari. Veronica Benjamin points out that even though the subject is not totally forgotten in the Vākyapadiya, most of the statements concern the interaction of objectified beings in vyavahāra, day-to-day interactions, and how they are represented in thought and language. Sādhana-samuddeśa (the chapter on the means of accomplishment in the Vākyapadiya) is an exploration of the ancillary factors to an action’s manifestation. It is rooted in a long-held view, also found in Mīmāṃsā, that the verb, kriyā, is primary. All the other things, expressed by nouns and other words in a sentence are kārakas (causes). So, while it must involve the agent, kartā, isn’t necessarily a moral subject, it could be anything, even a rock. Any discussion of two conscious kartās, agents, interacting is absent.
Veronica Benjamin also points out the stark difference in the attention that Bhartṛhari and Abhinavagupta pay to the conscious subject of experience. Bhartṛhari mentions this subject and an implication of his system is that we are all ultimately the same subject, but he hardly explores this in his work. For example, there is a sub-chapter on puruṣa, the grammatical person, in the 3rd kāṇḍa of the Vākyapadiya, but it is only 9 verses long. Alternatively, Abhinavagupta makes the subject the center of his exegesis – ahaṃvimarśa (I am self-reflectivity). When looking at the world as an interplay of conscious subjects, upakāra as service takes on new meaning and this new meaning is what this article suggests and explores.
Elevating Bhartṛhari’s ideas into applied metaphysics, the one monotheistic reality, Brahman, has one śakti, which becomes many śaktis. Moreover, the connection between the different śaktis is not a separate entity.
Bhartṛhari defines an entity (bhāva) as something or someone that is a śakti and has a śakti. Said differently, an entity is a possessor of śakti (śaktimat) with potentiality to act, and when channeled (the cause, kāraṇa), that śaktiproduces various energetic effects. Therefore, śakti is not separate from an entity.
Furthermore, Brahman is identical with its śaktis. This leads to the inevitable conclusion that entities (bhāvas, beings and objects) are not different from each other.
All substances (earth, water, fire, air, ether, time, space, self/soul, and mind) are energies known through their functions. In unity, these energies assist humans on their journey to liberation.
sarvaśaktyātmabhūtatvam ekasyaiveti nirṇaye bhāvānām ātmabhedasya kalpanā syād anarthikā
tasmād dravyādayaḥ sarvāḥ śaktayo bhinnalakṣaṇāḥ saṃsṛṣṭāḥ puruṣārthasya sādhikā na tu kevalāḥ
yathaiva cendriyādīnām ātmabhūtā samagratā tathā saṃbandhisaṃbandha- saṃsarge+api pratīyate
The final and ultimate truth is that [Brahman which is] the One is identical with all śaktis [it has]. [Such being the case,] it would be purposeless to assume that entities are in essence different from one another.
Therefore, [categories] such as substance (dravya) are all śaktis [of the One], which are known through its different [functions]. They, united and not separately, help man to reach his goal.
Just as, [when cognition is produced,] an aggregate which an organ and so on constitute is understood to be identical with its constituents; in the same way, in the case of a conglomeration of what are related (saṃbandha) [i.e., śaktis] with a relatum (saṃbandhin) [i.e., Brahman] also, [it is understood to be identical with its constituents].
Vākyapadiya by Bhartṛhari, verses 3.1.22-24, translated by Hideyo Ogawa in Bhartṛhari on Śakti: the Vaiśeṣika Categories as Śaktis
Based on Bhartṛhari’s ideas above, and even though he does not especially rely on his conceptualization of śakti as a service between conscious beings, I would like to suggest the following teaching: providing service (upakāra) to others and other śaktis, which is inherently dependent upon others because of the connection of one with others (saṃbandha), is also a śakti. The etymology of upakāra is assistance, being of service, help, kindness, benefit to others (upa, near + kṛ, make = make near).
I love this perspective as it helps us arrive at an all-encompassing definition of śakti as immanence:
Śakti is energy that provides services to others. No energy is independent of other energies and entities, therefore, śaktis as an expression of the one reality, are energies that provide service to others.
In Shakti and Shākta, Arthur Avalon (Sir John Woodroffe) beautifully describes Śakti in her unmanifested transcendent form as “the potency of becoming in[to] being.”
Therefore, we could say that:
Transcendent Śakti is the potency of becoming into being as countless immanent energies in service to others and other śaktis, beyond difference and identity.
Said simply, being fundamentally interconnected means we should act in supportive and compassionate ways towards one another and nature.
Ancient languages, like my home language, Bulgarian, embed key liberating spiritual teachings in the etymology of the word. In Bulgarian, the word consciousness/awareness is saznanie (съзнание), which has two layers of meaning: 1) със + знание (saz + znanie) means with knowledge; 2) с + аз + на + ние (s + az + na + nie) means from I to us, i.e. expansion of consciousness from the sense of I to us, to oneness. Therefore, consciousness means “with knowledge”, the knowledge of the expansion of identity from the sense of me to us, to oneness.
Power of powers
Here I am broadening yet again another idea by Bhartṛhari, the power of powers, into a metaphysical context. Bhartṛhari credits the view of energy as service beyond difference and identity at a linguistic level to the ancients.[8] We could say that humanity might have lost this perspective, which is inherent in the innermost nature of the one śakti to begin with. Maybe humanity adopting this perspective in the current times would be a good idea. Service rendered to the benefit of others is service rendered to the one reality – it is the power of powers (śaktīnām sā śaktir).
upakārāt sa yatrāsti dharmas tatrānugamyate śaktīnām api sā śaktir guṇānām apy asau guṇaḥ
Translation 1: Where there is service rendered, there an attribute (that is, relation) is understood. It is the power of powers, it is the attribute of attributes.
Translation 2: Where this [relation] is, because some service is rendered [from one thing to another, or: from signifier to signified and vice versa], there one arrives at a capacity (i.e. something dependent) of capacities [which are themselves dependent upon the entity which possesses the capacity]; it is even a quality (i.e. something dependent) of qualities [which are themselves dependent upon the entity which possesses the quality] [so it is extremely dependent].
Translation 1: Vākyapadiya by Bhartṛhari, verse 3.3.5, translated by K.A. Subramaniya Iyer
Translation 2: Vākyapadiya by Bhartṛhari, verse 3.3.5, translated by Houben in The Saṃbandha-Samuddeśa (Chapter on Relation) and Bhartṛhari’s Philosophy of Language
taddharmanos tu täcchabdyarh samyogasamaväyayoh | tayor apy upakärärthä niyatäs tadupädhayah || …
tāṃ śaktiṃ samavāyākhyāṃ śaktīnām upakāriṇīm[9] bhedābhedāv atikrāntām anyathaiva vyavasthitām
dharmaṃ sarvapadārthānām atītaḥ sarvalakṣaṇaḥ anugṛhṇāti saṃbandha iti pūrvebhya āgamaḥ
padārthīkṛta evānyaiḥ sarvatrābhyupagamyate saṃbandhas tena śabdārthaḥ pravibhaktuṃ na śakyate
6. As regards saṃyoga (connection) and samavāya (inherence), they are called by that word (relation), because they have (as it were) that property (dependence). Even these two have restricted functions of rendering service, with this [relation] as limiting factor [note: the limiting factor implies that at a certain level entities are independent].
10-12. That capacity (śakti), called samavāya [inherence: the state or condition of being inherent], rendering service to capacities, beyond difference and identity (bhedābheda), being established otherwise, is assisted by saṃbandha (relation), which is beyond the attribute of all categories or objects (padārtha) and which is characterized by everything. This is the tradition from the ancients.
By others it is taken for granted that saṃbandha[10] be always made into a category or object. [But] with this, word meaning cannot be sorted out.
Vākyapadiya by Bhartṛhari, verses 3.3.6, 3.3.10-12, translated by Houben in The Saṃbandha-Samuddeśa (Chapter on Relation) and Bhartṛhari’s Philosophy of Language
Bhartṛhari predominantly focuses on object (thing) in his analysis of how grammatical categories and the power of language shape our perception of reality. I am broadening his idea to read what he says as relevant to agents (people) even in places where people were not explicitly part of the discussion. Based on what Bhartṛhari says in Vākyapadiya, verse 1.4, people are also bhāva (entity) as well, existing as bhoktā (experients), but for some reason Bhartṛhari doesn’t expand on the ethical ramifications of his position.
My interpretation is that because an entity (bhāva) is something or someone that is a śakti and has a śakti, and śaktihas the capacity of rendering service to capacities (śaktis), therefore these inter-connected immanent energies are in service of other entities and other śaktis.
In simple terms, what we are talking about is the symbiosis of life – everything and everyone in the circle of life is in service of others. Only separation and ego perceive otherwise. Imagine if all schools had a course called the “Symbiosis of Life” and all children were taught and demonstrated from a very young age that the countless immanent energies of life are in service (upakāra) to others and other energies, beyond difference and identity. The opposite of service (upakāra) for the benefit of others is doing harm to others (apakāra).
*** PRACTICE *** Connect with a tree or a forest and as you breathe in, offer in service your exhale (CO2) to the tree, and as you inhale feel the service provided by the tree to you (oxygen). Do this for 5-10 minutes regularly and deeply feel the sacredness of this mutual dependence and mutual service, of how entities are in service to each other in a very intimate life-giving and life-sustaining way.
Some examples of the influence of Bhartṛhari on non-dual Tantra
Bhartṛhari influenced the later non-dual Śaiva Pratyabhijña tradition which teaches the direct recognition of reality. This is exemplified by verse 1 from the Śivadṛṣṭi (900-950 AD) below. Using Bhartṛhari’s own understanding of śakti, we could say that Bhartṛhari was a śakti who rendered service to many others. He planted one of the seeds of non-duality which blossomed over the centuries into several non-dual traditions, including that of Pratyabhijña.
asmad rupa samāviṣṭaḥ svātmanātmanivāraṇe |
śivaḥ karotu nijayā namaḥ śaktyā tatātmane ||
Translation/elucidation 1: Let Śiva, who is my nature, bow down to his real nature – to Universal Śiva – by his own Śakti, for the removal of obstacles, which are no other than Śiva.
Translation/elucidation 2: Let Śiva, who is myself, let Śiva do pranam [offering] to his real nature, to universal Śiva, by His own Śakti, for removing the bondage and limitation which is Śiva.
Śivadṛṣṭi by Somananda, verse 1, translation/elucidation by Swami Lakshmanjoo
The influence of Bhartṛhari is also evident for example in Chapter 3 of the Tantrāloka, which is on the liberating path of consciousness. It describes in great detail the teaching of dynamic stillness as a mantric (sonic) view on consciousness and existence, illuminated with the fifty Sanskrit phonemes, mātṛkā. Mātṛkā is the syllabary and the source of all language (see the chapter on Dynamic Stillness in my book Sacred Repose, Abiding in Bliss and Freedom).
In effect, the 36 levels of reality (tattvas) correspond to the 50 sonic levels of reality embedded in the Sanskrit alphabet. In Chapter 3 it is taught that the vowels are considered to be the seed of the universe (i.e. the consciousness of the universe), while the consonants, which spring forth from the vowels, are the creative matrix (i.e. the energies of the universe). This approach is useful for multiple reasons including:
Illustrates that everything exists as sonic energies with varying degrees of intensity and subtlety, all emanating from one unstruck sound. We all experientially and intuitively know this to be the case through our own experiences of the energetic power of words, the resonance of different emotions, feeling the body as energy, etc.
Demonstrates the subtlety of consciousness that we must discover in our own inner work in order to penetrate into the subtlest of the subtlest of the 50 sonic energies. We can accomplish this through the teachings of sacred repose.
The letters, which represent energies, repose within each other. We could say that they are in service of each other and benefit each other. One letter leads to another. Therefore, my tracking back all the letters to their parents, the
Displays the gymnastics that the divine had to enact in order to generate the blueprint of manifestation. No wonder that sacred repose is a much-needed fundamental principle of creation.
*** PRACTICE *** We can experience this sonic teaching by simply reciting the vowels of the Sanskrit alphabet. We can regularly sing the Sanskrit vowels to still our mind and purify thought constructs. Every sentence is a collection of words; every word is a collection of letters; every letter on its own is a sound with no meaning. It is the mind that attaches meaning to a collection of letters. By singing the vowels, we let go of all meaning and allow every part of my being to bask in the liberating resonance of the vowels.
The tradition understands very well the process of inclusion where letters encompass each other, i.e. one letter is included in another, with ultimately all letters emanating from vowels a, i, u.
Verse: The letter a is in the heart and the letter h in the end of the twelve. (The wise) know that this (pair) is (pure) nondual ‘I’ (aham) (consciousness), which is the repose of light (of consciousness enjoys) in (its) own nature.
Commentary: It is ‘nondual’ (advaita), as it includes within itself all the letters, by the process of inclusion (whereby) (letters) encompass (other letters)) (pratyāhāra).
As is said (concerning this) ‘light’:
‘The repose (viśrānti) of the light (of consciousness) within its own nature is said to be the state of (pure) ‘I’ (consciousness) (ahaṃbhāva).’
Tantrāloka, verse 6.238 and commentary, translated by Mark Dyczkowski in Tantrāloka, The Light On and Of the Tantras, Volume 4
The foundation of this sonic teaching is profoundly sacred – all vowels and all consonants emanate from a combination of the vowels a, i, u, which represent supreme reality, divine will, and divine knowledge, respectively. We can think of this triad as waves of self-reflective awareness which pervade everything and are in service to all levels of reality. The essence of everything is the triadic self-reflective awareness of the absolute, divine will, and divine knowledge.
What this is teaching us, among other insights, is that all activity derives from this triad. Therefore, the highest action is non-action. In other words, we could translate this teaching into the following insight:
Be still and know that there is only One. The One out of its freedom willed the bliss of its being into existence within its own Self. The One is ever-immersed in the knowledge of its own Self.
Confirmation of the importance of this sonic teaching is evidenced in the teaching on the seven perceivers. The seven perceivers represent the levels of self-awareness of the knowing subject, ranging from the deluded individual to the perceiver residing in pure consciousness. The three perceivers above the level of separation (māyā) contain the word mantra as part of their name (mantrapramātṛ, mantreśvara, mantramaheśvara). The spiritual evolution of the individual knowing subject is not complete right after one rises above and abides beyond separation. The evolution continues within pure consciousness with mantra as the sonic vehicle for the continuing expansion of consciousness above the level of separation.
At the level of the individual, the power of vowels and consonants (sonic energies) bond with the glue of differentiated meaning created by the mind (mental formation), which creates thought. A chain of thoughts creates mental identity through patterns expressed as beliefs, views, opinions, etc. A chain of patterns creates a story, reinforcing our ego and identity as separate individuals.
And this is how we go from the pure sonic energy of a, the supreme reality, to the egoic stories of our lives, strengthening our separate identity, which keeps us from realizing the supreme reality. The sound of a has become a novel about the individual containing the egoic stories of our lives. This is how separation has been accomplished and reinforced.
The cosmic play continues until the supreme reality decides to burn the individual novel, ascending from a novel to a, because it wants to and because it can. We have to understand that our egos and minds are not in charge, the supreme reality is. When grace descends on us, it is calling itself back home, the ascension is not about ‘us.’ Consciousness has played ‘hide’ long enough, now is the time to ‘seek’ and reveal.
We can measure the range of consciousness from an individual novel to the short vowel a. This spectrum represents the path of expansion of consciousness. When we practice our mantra (let us say oṁ namaḥ śivāya) or seed (bīja) mantra (let us say oṁ), can we become so still that we can feel the three or more measures subsiding into two and then just one – one measure, one consciousness? A letter (vaṛna), such as a, is a subtle mantric practice and the maturation of the practice of mantra and seed mantra. Mantra is full of the essence of consciousness and its unifying energy because mantra is free from all ordinary word associations among subject, knowing, and object.
This is what stillness is all about – moving from an individual novel to the simplicity of the freedom and bliss of the single knowing subject reposing in a single measure – a, which is the supreme reality.
Consciousness and its power, energy, in non-dual Śaivism
It seems that Bhartṛhari’s views are largely aligned with those of non-dual Śaivism (maybe except for his views on reality/unreality[11]). Non-dual Śaivism is about rediscovering and abiding in the fullness of consciousness. Consciousness has two aspects: light of consciousness (prakāśa) and self-reflective capacity (vimarśa). Out of its inherent freedom, consciousness embarks on a grand journey – the play of consciousness – creating the universe as we know it.
Consciousness accomplishes this through its inherent power, its energy (śakti), which is inseparable from consciousness. As the play of consciousness unfolds, one energy harmoniously becomes a plethora of creative energies. Before the one energy becomes a multitude of energies, she first manifests as three energies: transcendent, intermediate, and lower. The lower energy is the power of differentiation.
On our spiritual journey, from the perspective of sacred repose, we penetrate through the lower power by resting in it. This reveals the intermediate power which in turn reveals the transcendent power. This is also possible through repose.
In this system, the highest divinity has as its essence all-inclusive expanded awareness, and its power is this very inclusive wholeness (pūrṇatā), denoted by utterances in the scriptures such as: the totality (kula), potency (sāmarthya), the wave (ūrmi), the heart (hṛdaya), the essence (sāra), pulsation (spanda), pervasive power (vibhūti), the Goddess of the three (Trīśikā), the Black one (Kālī), She who devours time (Kālī Sankarshinī), the Fierce one (Caṇḍī), the word (vāṇī), experience (bhoga), perception (dṛk), and the constant one (nityā). Each name denotes an activity of divine consciousness related to its meaning, such that she may be meditated upon in one or another of these aspects and so become seated in the heart of each meditator.
This all-inclusive expanded awareness manifests through clearly seeing the fact that all powers [belong to it and cohere in it]. And its powers are innumerable. Enough to say – its powers constitute the whole of reality. How could all these powers be taught?
Like this: the whole of reality is encompassed by three primary powers. She by whose power the highest divinity manifests, perceives, and supports all this, from Śiva to earth, as pure undifferentiated awareness is its sacred transcendent power, parāśakti. She by whose power it manifests, perceives, and supports all this as diversity within unity – like elephants and other creatures appearing in a single mirror – is its sacred intermediate power, parāparāśakti. She by whose power it manifests, perceives, and supports all this as pure differentiation, characterized by mutual separation [of subjects and objects], is its sacred lower power, aparāśakti.
Tantrāsara, verses from Chapter 4, translated by Christopher Wallis, https://hareesh.org/blog/2019/7/31/the-aspects-of-the-goddess-tantrasaara-chapter-four-part-4
These beautiful verses transmit the important teaching that all powers repose in all-inclusive awareness. Consciousness possesses countless dynamic energies. When we view these energies collectively in our heart center as one energy consisting of the totality of all energies, the fullness of consciousness becomes apparent. And from that place we can realize that from the highest perspective, all our energies are meant to be in service of others.
*** PRACTICE *** Pause now for 20 minutes (use a timer). Breathe slowly and naturally for 2 minutes while tuning into the center of the chest, the yogic heart center. Then, for 5 minutes, imagine or visualize all your energies (bodily/somatic, sensory, intellectual, mental, emotional) merging in the heart center. Feel the heart center drawing them all in and mixing them into one energy. Then, for 5 minutes, with your awareness, drop into the one energy. Finally, for 8 minutes, lean in, let go into the one energy even deeper, and repose in the one energy in stillness.
Key aspects of Śakti
Non-dual Śaiva and Śākta traditions discuss the Goddess Śakti as having several key aspects.
Śakti as freedom. In non-dual Kashmir Śaivism it is understood that the highest power of Śiva, consciousness, is svātantryaśakti, the universal energy of freedom, the primal source of all creation. In fact, according to Swami Lakshmanjoo, the energy of freedom supersedes both Śiva and Śakti.
First is the existence of svātantryaśakti, then is the existence of Śiva, then his Śakti. But the svātantryaśakti is the chief point from which these both sprout – Śiva and Śakti.
Swami Lakshmanjoo, The Mystery of Vibrationless-vibration in Kashmir Shaivism
In non-dual Kashmir Śaivism which is also known as Svātantryavāda – The Doctrine of Absolute Freedom, Svātantryavāda is the main doctrine of the Pratyabhijñā system and it refers to the doctrine of sovereignty of Śiva and his creative power.
Energy of freedom is described as the absolute power of freedom, the energy of will, the power of knowledge and action, power of creativity, the matrix of creative phonemes, the seed of the universe, the power of doing and undoing, vibrationless vibration, motionless motion, and with attributes such as perfect fullness, self-reflective power, self-sufficiency, sovereignty, complete independence, beyond contradictions, beyond limitation, the glory of Śiva, and others. My book Sacred Repose, Abiding in Bliss and Freedom, has a detailed chapter on the energy of freedom.
Because of its innate freedom, Śakti as a creative emissive power (visargaśakti), becomes countless śaktis. It is because of its freedom to express itself in infinite number of ways and through infinite number of beings, Śakti morphs into countless creative energies emanating from Śakti as the energy of emission (visargaśakti).
These countless śaktis are also semantic power. As we just saw, the tradition adopted the views of Bhartṛhari of language as metaphysical power, including the four layers of speech. The tradition was also likely influence by another precursor – the mantric and ritual powers of the Mīmāṃsā school.
These śaktis unfold as time and in time. While space is Śiva, the container for the universe, Śakti is time (kālaśakti), unleashing her creative power in linear sequential (krama) time as creation, maintenance, and withdrawal. Simultaneously, Śakti is grounded in timelessness (akrama), in the eternal moment. Śakti as the Goddess Kālī governs time and time as power, as energy. Bhartṛhari also views time as an inherent power of Brahman. My book Sacred Repose, Abiding in Bliss and Freedom, has a detailed chapter on the nameless state inherent in the pauses between creation, maintenance, and withdrawal.
The power of self-reflectivity (vimarśaśakti) is the glue between Śakti and the countless śaktis. Self-reflectivity ensures that as śaktis perform the ever-new moment-by-moment play of consciousness, concealing their true nature as one, they also have the innate capacity for revelation of their innermost essence as one Śakti and one absolute reality. In this way, the infinite is contained in the finite and vice versa, and the transcendent is contained in the immanent and vice versa.
vimarśaśaktiś ca . . . niratiśayasvātantryātmikā. . . |
Accordingly, the power of reflexivity is comprised of absolute freedom.
vimarśajīvitaprakāśamayatvam eva sattvam |
The sense (tva) of being lies in being comprised of luminosity that is sustained by reflexivity.
Parātrīśīkā-Vivaraṇa, from verses 5-9 and verse 4, translated by Sthaneshwar Timalsina in Reconstructing Abhinavagupta’s Philosophy of Power
The Divine blueprint of the wonder of life – a summary of the first 16 stages of the unfoldment of consciousness
How do the three main energies: transcendent, intermediate, and lower, create the universe as we know it? The following excerpt is from my book Sacred Repose, Abiding in Bliss and Freedom.
The supreme reality is incomparable and indescribable omnipresent consciousness, which is universal self-reflective awareness and self-aware light. Self-awareness is the innate freedom of consciousness. Out of this freedom, the supreme reality desires to manifest the universe. It first creates within itself the innate essences of Śiva (consciousness) and Śakti (energy, the power of consciousness). Therefore, the supreme energy of consciousness is Śiva indissolubly united with Śakti, the divine couple in an eternal embrace, the source of the rest of manifestation.
From the union of self-awareness and the light of consciousness, which is the initial subtle vibration of the Self, is born the energy of bliss. All manifestation flows from the energy of bliss. Consciousness embraces its sense of totality through self-awareness of all things. Self-awareness arises through awareness of energy. That self-aware supreme energy of consciousness holding the totality of all energies is the supreme kuṇḍalinī, containing the triads of divine energies and functions.
Out of the bliss of the divine flows out the first instance of will, the instrumental cause of all energies of manifestation. The divine will then rises to the surface to bring forth its desire through its sovereignty.
Grounded in self-awareness, the sovereign wish to know the desired universe of objects blossoms into the awakening of energy of knowledge. The energy of knowledge then increases its vibration into its innate predisposition to be the principal foundation for diversity.
The ocean of knowledge begins to manifest objectivity through dynamic stillness. Dynamic stillness is the two-fold aspect of divine will of vibration and non-vibration. This is how divine will becomes inseparable from objectivity through both its pulsating and illuminating light and the impulse to repose within itself. This repose has the nature of ambrosia.
The container for objectivity is the womb of the divine mother, represented as a triangle, fusing the energies of the incomparable, bliss, and will, to produce the unmanifested energy of action. The triangle of the womb, of the divine mother, merges with the triangle of consciousness, the divine father, to create a six-pointed star, the divine couple in perfect balance, generating the fully-manifest energy of action. The energy of activity continues to unfold in various degrees of concrete activity.
The energies of activity, expressed as the supreme still point, illuminate all the phases of phonemic self-awareness through a subtle sound. That subtle sound dynamically shines and vibrates as the vitality within all sentient beings.The supreme still point becomes the still point in the heart of each sentient being.
The complete fullness of that resonance of the supreme still point overflows into emanation as universal emission (visargaśakti), the projection of the Self into the Self by the Self.
In all the modalities of existence, the supreme subject has a direct experience of self-awareness of the supreme ‘I’. Even the limited individual operating from the level of thought is endowed with a reflective awareness of self, which while being discursive, still has the sound that is light as its essence.
Remembering the one reality through sound – liberation through mantra
Mantra is a vehicle for liberation. A practitioner can follow mantra back to its source, the one energy from which it arose. Mantra (especially bīja, or seed mantra, consisting of a few letters such as oṃ or hrīṃ, and varṇa, a single letter such as a) is full of the essence of consciousness and the unifying energy of consciousness.
Why? Because mantra is free from all ordinary word associations among subject, knowing, and object, the very basis of the teachings of Bhartṛhari on the many energies. Bhartṛhari held this view with regard to the praṇavamantra (oṃ) and later non-dual Tantric teachers extended this to all mantras. Bhartṛhari probably wouldn’t have recognized the validity of non-Vedic mantras.
The progression of mantra has three phases.[12]
Utterance (uccāra)
Offering in oblation (havana)
Repose (viśrānti)
It is in the following of the sound of utterance through offering our own sense of self into the vitality of the mantra, and then reposing in the quiet space that the mantra opens, that we truly find the liberating potency of the mantra. Moreover, we can approach any spiritual practice using this potent three-fold progression.
I can attest from personal experience that incorporating this understanding of mantra has taken my matric practice to greater depth and effectiveness. Consciously offering one’s sense of self, i.e. one’s sense as separate identity, into the mantra, naturally leads to openness into a state of consciousness where one simply reposes in being. As that sense of being seeps deeper into our consciousness, we realize that there is only one knower, reposing in consciousness, bliss, and freedom. And then, from that place, we observe how the one knower becomes many through its inherent potency of śakti.
We ascend into liberation as consciousness, and then we descend into liberation as śakti – two sacred motionless waves as one. Oh, how wonderful, the mystery of life, is.
In service to the power of powers,
Shambhu
Yā devī sarva-bhūteṣu
Śakti-rūpeṇa saṃsthitā
namas tasyai namo namaḥ!
To that Goddess who dwells in all beings as their energy, their very life-force,
Reverence, again and again
Reader feedback on this article
“Thank you! So, so, many beautiful parts in this piece!! Hope everyone reads it.”
“Thank you for this. There’s a lot in it. I enjoyed reading a hard copy of it in a leisurely way a second time. Yes to this beautiful idea regarding service versus doing harm: ‘Imagine if all schools had a course called the Symbiosis of Life and all children were taught and demonstrated from a very young age that the countless immanent energies of life are in service.’
I like the mention of the novel we create. Most people talk about the stories… but it does become a full- blown full-length thing.
Another thing that’s happening for me this week… more self-awareness of my garden variety contractions which can be painful… the habit energy as the Buddhists call it. Tossing it all in the fire of awareness.”
“Thank you Shambhu for this marvelous article. It is soo rich! Among my key notes, I also singled out this beautiful nugget on a curriculum for kids based on the ‘Symbiosis of Life.’ Teaching children that ‘everything and everyone in the circle of life is in service of others.’ I adore the idea of modeling & teaching service at an early age.
Oh, yes, then there’s this:
‘When one meditates with the goal of self-realization, one is doing this in service to the one reality. Even the approach ‘I need to meditate for my own liberation’ is a subtle spiritual pitfall. What is happening at the highest level is consciousness freeing itself.’ Yes❣️
Didn’t Ramana Maharshi say that the greatest service we could offer humanity is our Self-realization? In this case, it would be true selfless service (sans any pitfall) as the ego would be subsumed by the Self.
Where it’s truly at for ‘me’ these days is in exchanging ‘me’ for we,’ as when you say that ‘when we engage life and people during the day, extending our energies to serve others, this yoga in action also helps us to realize the unitary nature of reality. ‘My’journey to realization becomes “our” journey to realization into oneness.’
One of the many reasons a sangha like this is so beautiful & powerful!” 💕🙏💕
Footnotes
[1] “Explanations involving ‘śakti’ can be found prior to the Vākyapadiya. It is used in a general yet pervasive way in the Śābara-Bhāṣya, slightly more technically in the Sāṃkhya doctrine of the buddhi-bhāvas and is even an independent category in some versions of Vaiśeṣika like that of the Daśapadārthī. Two other sources for ‘śakti’ deserve to be noted here. One is its inclusion in the Nighaṇṭu, the oldest surviving Vedic dictionary, where it is mentioned in the semantic group of words associated with ‘karma’. This shows that ‘śakti’ was indeed part of the Vedic vocabulary, which is significant as this is the tradition to which Bhartṛhari goes to great lengths to show his allegiance to. Second, there is the use of ‘śakti’ in an Upaniṣad; namely, the Śvetāśvatara. Even though there is no evidence of a link, as there is with the Maitrāyaṇīya, between the Vedic branch of the Śvetāśvatara and Bhartṛhari, what is said there deserves attention for how it links śakti and language: ‘He who is unitary and is without phoneme, due to being endowed with power (śakti), creates the manifold phonemes for the sake of arranging [the universe]; and who impels the universe at the beginning and at the end, may that God endow us with benefic intelligence.’ Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 4.1, in Olivelle edn. (1998), p. 422.”
The Universe in the Word: On Bhartrhari's Employment of Universals, by Veronica Benjamin
[2] Note by Veronica Benjamin: There does not seem to be a clear consensus in scholarship: the few places where Śabdabrahman comes up in the Vākyapadiyavṛtti (on Vākyapadīya 1.11, 12), it is most likely a reference to the Vedas, as a privileged/pure reflection of Brahman. Whenever Bhartṛhari makes his enticing metaphysical claims, he is making them about Brahman, rather than Śabdabrahman specifically. This is a point that has to be made more clearly in the existing literature about Bhartṛhari.
[3] Note by Veronica Benjamin: In Bhartṛhari’s system, it is śabda/vāk, that equals Brahman and possesses powers. Maybe this is one crucial difference with Kashmir Śaivism. Also, parāvāk isn’t directly mentioned in the Vākyapadīya. Something possibly analogous (“paraṃ tu paśyantīrūpam. . . “) is mentioned in the Vākyapadīyavṛtti (Iyer’s 1966 edition, p. 216). For all of his employment of śakti, it is curious that Bhartṛhari doesn’t explain the levels of speech in terms of different śaktis. This only happened in the Tantric literature.
[4] Note by Veronica Benjamin: For Bhartṛhari, words and meaning or co-eval, with a fundamental primacy given to words. Actually, the levels of speech are invoked to explain how the word and meaning are unified at the plane of paśyantī, mentally distinguishable at madhyamā, and fully distinct as an articulated word and its referent. Both the word and meaning are particularized. Meaning is a complex topic in Bhartṛhari.
[5] Note by Veronica Benjamin: Bhartṛhari doesn’t explicitly align himself with, or mention, the Sāṃkhya tattvas, but his metaphysics seems much more similar to a Sāṃkhya/emanationist one, which the Tantras also adopt, rather than a Vaiśeṣika one. Bhartṛhari didn’t need to accept or pretend to accept the Vaiśeṣika categories by equating his śakti-based metaphysics to them. Instead, he is showing the weakness of static categories and the superior explanatory power of a śabda-based śakti.
[6] Dravya (substance): The substances are conceived as 9 in number. They are, pṛthvī (earth), ap (water), tejas (fire), vāyu (air), ākaśa (ether), kāla (time), dik (space), ātman (self or soul) and manas (mind). The first five are called bhūtas, the substances having some specific qualities so that they could be perceived by one or the other external senses.
Guṇa (quality): The Vaiśeṣika Sūtra mentions 17 guṇas (qualities), to which Praśastapāda added another 7. While a substance is capable of existing independently by itself, a guṇa (quality) cannot exist so. The original 17 guṇas (qualities) are, rūpa (colour), rasa(taste), gandha (smell), sparśa (touch), saṁkhyā (number), parimāṇa (size/dimension/quantity), pṛthaktva (individuality), saṁyoga(conjunction/accompaniments), vibhāga (disjunction), paratva (priority), aparatva (posteriority), buddhi (knowledge), sukha (pleasure), duḥkha (pain), icchā (desire), dveṣa (aversion) and prayatna (effort). To these Praśastapāda added gurutva (heaviness), dravatva(fluidity), sneha (viscosity), dharma (merit), adharma (demerit), śabda (sound) and saṁskāra (faculty).
Karma (activity): The karmas (activities) like guṇas (qualities) have no separate existence, they belong to the substances. But while a quality is a permanent feature of a substance, an activity is a transient one. Ākāśa (ether), kāla (time), dik (space) and ātman (self), though substances, are devoid of karma (activity).
Sāmānya (generality): Since there are plurality of substances, there will be relations among them. When a property is found common to many substances, it is called sāmānya.
Viśeṣa (particularity): By means of viśeṣa, we are able to perceive substances as different from one another. As the ultimate atoms are innumerable so are the viśeṣas.
Samavāya (inherence): Kaṇāda defined samavāya as the relation between the cause and the effect. Praśastapāda defined it as the relationship existing between the substances that are inseparable, standing to one another in the relation of the container and the contained. The relation of samavāya is not perceivable but only inferable from the inseparable connection of the substances.
Source: Wikipedia
[7] See The Yoga of Netra Tantra by Bettina Sharada Bäumer, p. 162.
[8] By āgama, Bhartṛhari might mean something more specific as the tradition of grammarians rather than the ancients.
[9] Note by Veronica Benjamin: When Bhartṛhari states this, he is talking about samavāya, a highly technical form of relationship. In Vaiśeṣika, it holds between a substance and a quality and between a universal and a particular, but it cannot hold between two universals, in their view. It is this limited view of samavāya that Bhartṛhari takes aim at in the Saṃbandha-samuddeśa.
[10] Related words include mixture (saṃsarga), contact (saṃparka), fusion (saṃśleṣa), dependence (pāratantrya), and requirement (apekṣā). See Saṃbandha as a ‘Śakti-of-Śaktis’: Bhartṛhari’s Influence on the Relational Realism of Pratyabhijñā by Jesse Berger.
[11] See The Peacock's Egg: Bhartṛhari on Language and Reality by Johannes Bronkhorst.
[12] See The Yoga of Netra Tantra by Bettina Sharada Bäumer, p. 22.