Appearance and Applicability of the Tantra Scripture — Principles Of Tantra

chapter I

APPEARANCE AND APPLICABILITY OF THE TANTRA SCRIPTURE

NECESSITY FOR THE SCRIPTURE

The living together of many persons in one family is called the Samsāra.¹ He is a praiseworthy Kartta,² who in the performance of his family duties, jusdy makes all members of the family the objects of an equal care, and of both affection and punishment. Though the householder has equal care and affection for all, yet punishment is properly awarded to him who strays from the right path and thinks the Kartta is partial. This is household morality in man's small kingdom, the house. This morality, when applied to a kingdom, is called statesmanship. In short, whenever equality is to be kept among a number of people living in union, the King must, as all admit, make provision both for the contentment and punishment of his subjects. Whether these understand it or not, the King must, if he would preserve the kingdom, take hold of this rod of statesmanship which is both stern and sweet. What Indian is there who, living in this portion of the Empire which is under the sole sovereignty of the present Queen Empress³ (Rajarajesvari) will deny this? You and I are each the King of a small family kingdom. It is of such combined kingdoms that the Empress of India is to-day Rajarajesvari. Again, She⁴ is the Rajarajesvari of the

¹ The Samsāra is the coming and going, the cycle of birth, action, death, and rebirth: the world in which all live who have not, by knowledge of the self (Atmajfiana) and the extinction of the will to separate life, attained liberation (Moksa). Bharmān is the root of the eternal Asvattha (fig) tree, with roots above and branches below (Kath. Up., iii. 2. 1). It also means in Bengali a family.

² The head of the joint family in a Hindu household.

³ The book was written under the reign of Queen Victoria, whose name is retained to give point to that which follows.

⁴ The Devī ("Goddess") or God in Its mother aspect as creatrix, nouri-sher, and ruler of the worlds (see A. and E. Avalon's "Hymns to the Goddess")

three worlds,¹ whose kingdom is the countless millions of vast worlds. She is the Queen without a second of the kingdom of the universe, and Śāstra² is the name of her universe-controlling and unfailing will. You and I have not the capacity to understand the principles which govern the profound statecraft of the: kingdom of eternal worlds which belong to the Empress of the universe. You and I are in this more insignificant than the most insignificant, illiterate, and ignorant people. Our sole capacity is to obey Her commands. They alone understand the world-play ³ of Bharmāmayi,⁴ who, by the mercy of Mahavidya and the grace of Bharmā-vidya,⁵ have been able to make their way through the mass of dualistic⁶ darkness thick with illusion,⁷ and to reach the ultimate truth of monistic doctrine.⁸ You and I have come to this world with the duty cast upon us of advancing only along that path which is marked by their footprints. As the courtiers of a royal court are not the authors, but merely the interpreters, of statecraft, so the truth-seeing Rsis⁹ are not the originators of the Sadhana Śāstra,"¹⁰ but its remembrancers merely." It is not a Śāstra marred by mistakes, errors, and deception. Bhagavan, the creator of all creatures and knower of all hearts, is its revealer. He in whom mistakes are mistaken, in whom error is erroneous, and in whom deception is itself

¹ The Triloka, Earth (Bhuh), the upper world (Bhuvah, Suvah, and others), and the underworlds (Patala).

² Scripture.

³ The world is the play of the Bharmān. As the Sutra says, Lokavattulila Kaivalyam.

⁴ The Devī who is one with Bharmān.

³ The Devī as destroyer of ignorance and illusion (Avidya), which veils the Reality. Bothmāyā and Vidya reside in the Lord as His Śāktis, like

⁶ Dvaita is that which sets the world and the embodied spirit (Jiva, apart from the supreme spirit (ParaBharmān), as opposed to Advaita which proclaims their unity.

⁷ Avidya. ⁸ Advaita.

⁹ Inspired seers, by whom the Śāstra

¹⁰ śadhana is the means employed to attain an end; in this case the ultimate aim of Being. The Tantra is pre-eminently a practical śadhana Śāstra.

¹¹ The Author of Śāstra

deceived. Bhagavatl,¹ the supporter of the world is its hearer. Narada and other Rsis learnt the truth² from Bharmā³ and other Devas.⁴ Vaslstha, VisVamitra, Gautama, and other Gurus⁵ learnt in their turn from the latter. It is these alone who are the courtiers of the royal court of the Empire of the Universe. You and I, the subjects of this Empire of the Universe, are merely the servants of that statecraft in the form of Śāstra which has been promulgated by them. They have had the privilege of being near the person of the King, and have thus had an opportunity of observing with their own eyes the principles which, even in the smallest matters, govern His actions. They have, with bowed heads, admitted the unerring truths of Śāstra. To look, then, askance at these truths, to attempt airily, without reaching the greatness or acquiring the knowledge of the Rsis to set them aside is just as if one were to try to blow away the Himalayas—an act which is ridiculous enough to make the intelligent laugh, the mad man dance, and which is likely to bring a violent death to the foolish Non-Arya.⁶

UNDERSTANDING OF THE SCRIPTURE

I hear you say: "Take me there; I will examine with my own eyes whether the thing be true or not." But the answer is that it becomes him alone to say this who has eyes to see and feet to walk, and simply desires a knowledge of the path. As for me, I have neither eyes not feet nor knowledge of the path, but only a semoniac, indomitable egotism, which prevents me from seeing what I have, and what I have not. Still, I know not how kind She is. Lame as I am, the Mother⁷ has carried me through the journey of eighty-four lakhs of births,⁸ fraught with the greatest of difficulties, and has placed me in an Aryan gotra⁹in Aryavarta, in the land of Bharata,¹⁰ where freedom has its

¹ Feminine of Bhagavan—the Devī. ² That is, the Śāstra.

³ The creative Deva of the "Trinity" (Trimurti), who must be distingiu-guished from the Supreme Bharmān in the neuter voice.

⁴ "Shining ones," or "Gods". ⁵ Spiritual teachers. ⁶ The Hindus are properly called Arya,

⁷ The Devī who is called Ambika and Śrī mata.

⁸ The previous births, as inorganic things, aqueous animals, creeping animals, birds, beasts, and man, though which the soul evolves. Cf. Empe-docles apud Diog. Leart., viii. 77.

⁹ Lineage.

¹⁰ India.

fullest play. But how hard is the wheel of ill fortune! The moment I fall from the lap of the Mother,¹ that very instant my head is made restless with the waves of freedom. Now, I would rather sink in that sea of freedom which I love so much, and would rather die than believe that I am dying without ocular proof of it.

You may say, "My path leads to death, but, unless I die, how can I know that path of mine is bad and that yours is good ? This is all that I can say about acquaintance with the path." Even he who is prepared to serve egotism with such deadly resolve, the ever-merciful Rsis call with a sweet tone softened with love, and say: "You are not asked to believe as a favour. Practise, and you will see for yourself that Medicine, Astrology, and Tantra produce visible results at every step." ² Lame though I am, I thus reach the place I sought by the blessing of the Most High; and by the grace of Śāstra, unbelieving even as I am, the path is made known to me. But still my wants are not supplied. Without eyes, how can I see? How can I look for the path? .Instantly the Śāstra says: "Jiva,³ even though you are blinded by the darkness of ignorance, seek shelter at the feet of the Guru.⁴ He with sticks smeared with the brilliant paint of wisdom will open your celestial eyes." The Śāstra says: "By whom the eye is opened."⁵ But I hear: "By whom the eye is rooted out."⁶

How may one avert this misfortune ? What shall I do with this egotism which makes me feel ashamed to say to the Guru: "I do not understand." It was for this I said that there is no peace until this indomitable egotism ceases. It is useless to take a Guru if you have yourself understood. But if you have not, why should you be ashamed to admit it? Perhaps you will say:

¹ Literally, "the skirt of the dress" of the mother, to which little children cling.

² A common saying establishing the pratyaksa and experimental character of the Śāstra,

³ The embodied spirit, here the human being. ⁴ Spiritual director. ⁵ CoUyrium, applied with stick to the eyes, which is believed to clear the

vision. ⁶ A play on the words "unmilitam" and "unmulitam."

"Explain first, and then I shall believe." Why all this useless importunity? If you think that you can show that the Śāstras are mistaken by dint of your own intelligence, and that you will destroy it with the sharpened arrows of reasoning, argument, and judgment, then you must have made good progress indeed! This Śāstra is neither philosophy nor science. It is the Sadhana¹which leads to Siddhi.² It must be practised as well as understood. By practice, even though without understanding, it will be made plain. But no amount of understanding without practice will effect this. A Mahamahopadhyaya pandit³ who has conquered the whole world with his learning is, if devoid of practice, not the equal of the meanest of insects in the domain of Sadhana. On the other hand, should a great fool prove himself to be a faithful devotee attached to Sadhana, he is considered by Śāstra to be one in a thousand. It has been said: "Perhaps but one man in a thousand strives for Siddhi, and amongst a thousand of those who strive, maybe only one may be found who knows me truly." It is not the hero of intellect, who is not also the hero of austere practices,⁴ who wins the battle of Sadhana. Just as all the efforts of a great charioteer who has with him an army complete in all its four component parts⁵are useless if he be himself unarmed, so all the learning of a pandit of mighty intellect is but a vain thing if he be not equally possessed of the power which arises from Sadhana. Whoever with the resolve, "I will accomplish my object or die in the effort," has jumped into a fire, to him, a crest-gem amongst devotees, the Śāstra gives shelter in its secure arms. If to-day all men had the strength of faith of Kamadeva Tarkika, hero most powrrful in the field of austerity, or of Ganesa Upadhyaya, whose life was one long surrender to the mother; or of RāmapRāsada,⁶ who was, as it were, a bee intoxicated with the honey of the lotus feet of Śākti,¹ should we in that case have had to sing in Tantra Tattva² the song of all these evil designs (against the Śāstra)? But the day is now lost to us. That unflinching faith in Tantra, the śadhana-Śāstra, has been shaken.

¹ Art and practice.

² Siddhi means success generally. It includes the eight lesser great powers, such as dominion over the elements, and the great Siddhi or liberation (Mukti).

³ A tide of honour given to learned pandits.

⁴ Tapas.

⁵ That is, infantry, cavalry, elephant corps, and the chariots.

⁶ The celebrated Bengali poet and Sakta.

DOUBTS CONCERNING THIS SCRIPTURE

It is said: "We have the Vedas the Śāstra of prayer. Why, then, has the Tantra Śāstra again been put forward ? " This is the first point of doubt in the present-day society of men vain of their education. What appears to them as a matter of still greater doubt and the mere raving of a madman is the assertion that by means of the Tantra Śāstra such Siddhi may be gained in one life, in one year—nay, in one week—as can only be otherwise with uncertainty attained after the practice of age-long austerities. Why, they say, should Bhagavan³ be so merciful to the Kālī age⁴ with all its most heinous sins, as to make it possible to attain in one life or in one week that which was rarely attained even by Devas like Indra.' If such be possible, then IsVara,⁶ they say, must be highly partial. At such talk it is difficult to restrain a smile. You and I might just as well be inspectors of the kingly work of Isvara, whose reputation for administration would in that case depend on your or my criticism. On the other hand, I ask, if He is partial, what do you or I lose by that? If He who is the highest, all-powerful, omni-present,

¹ Śākti is Devī—that is, both the power

² This book.

³ God; that is, He who is possessed of the six forms of aisVarya which pertain to IsVara—viz., Śrī

⁴ The fourth or last of the four ages in which the orthodox consider the world now to be, and which is marked by sin and weakness. The first, or Satya Yuga, was the golden age; in Treta Yuga virtue declined by one-quarter; in Dvapara Yuga by one-half; and in Kālī Yuga by three-quarters.

⁵ Deva of the firmament, King of the celestials.

⁶ The "personal God," Creator and Ruler of the world, the Bharmān with qualities; thought of with Prakrti; associated with, but not

and the knower of all hearts becomes partial, how can you or I prevent that? You may say we shall blame Him. But what does it matter to Him whether you and I blame Him? He who knows the hearts of the meanest insect, does He not know that you and I will blame Him ? In spite of His knowing it, He has taken on Himself the blame, and, solemnly declaring, "True, true, again true—true there is no doubt," has said: "It is true and beyond all doubt true that in the Kālī age there is no liberation for him who forsakes the path laid down in the Agama,¹ and attempts to pursue another. In the Kālī age the fool who seeks to attain Siddhi by the paths shown in other Śāstras is like a thirsty man who digs a well on the very banks of the Jahnavi.² For the attainment of happiness in this world or the next there is no path which leads to both enjoyment and salvation³ so excellent as that shown in the Tantra."⁴

What will you gain by threatening with your blame Him from whose own mouth has come this unerring conclusion ? He who is afraid of blame or pleased by praise may be your Isvara, but he is not the God of the world. He who is God (IsVara) of the world is the Lord (IsVara). His divinity and lordship over the universe stands supreme, spurning both glory or disgrace, praise or blame. This is the wealth of his Vaikuntha.⁵ If you please, you may blame, you may chastise, you may deal hard blows with your fist at the foot of the Himalaya Mountains, yet the immovable Lord of mountains will not he shaken, though your fingers will be torn and broken. Those who, in endeavouring to discuss the truth as to the divine (Isvara Tattva), have realized the effect of doing so may desist. But those who judge God by their own ideas of justice will not be satisfied with

¹ Here the Tantra. ² The River Ganges.

³ The peculiar claim of the Tantras is that it gives both worldly enjoyment and salvation. It is Bhuktimuktikaranica. In Yoga there is no enjoyment (Bhoga), and in enjoyment no Yoga (union with the Supreme). But the Tāntrik has both (Mahānirvāna Tantra, chap, i, verses 50, 51; Mundamala Tantra, chap. ii). Bhoga, or enjoyment, is of five kinds—pleasure arising from sound, touch, sight, taste, and smell. This enjoyment may be had on earth or in the transitory heavens of enjoyment, which are to be distinguished from mukti, or liberation, the state which alone endures.

⁴ Mahānirvāna Tantra, chap. v.

⁵ The heaven of Visnu.

that. We ourselves do not deny the apparent partiality alleged, but we say that His strict adherence to justice has not been broken by the mercy shown to the creatures of the Kālī age. On the contrary, not to have treated them with such kindness would have been unjust. We ask what sort of justice was it on the part of God to give to them of the Satya age¹ a longevity of a lakh of years,² with their life centred in the marrow,³ and then to give to men in the Kālī age a longevity of a hundred years, and life dependent on food ? If one injustice is done, that is no excuse for doing a hundred others. Moreover, what can you do if injustice has been once done? But, as a matter of fact, "Poison is the remedy for poison." What does it matter to you or me if He has made up for the deficiency in justice caused by the grant of greater longevity in the Satya than in the Kālī age, by, according to śadhana, a more rapid effect in the Kālī age than in the Satya age? In fact, in Him there is neither deficiency nor the reverse. In this drama of the world He is both the Chief Actor and the Chief of Actresses. This daram commenced in the beginning with the union of Actor and Actress, and will conclude, according to His unfailing will, at that night which is the end of time.

Those who are acquainted with the principles of Sanskrit daram know that it is composed in the form of the tail of a cow.⁴I do not know on what evidence rhetorical poets discovered this form of composition, but, so far as one can surmise, it appears that form was adopted in imitation of the ideal daram of that Primeval Poet,⁵ the Creator of the universe. From the description of the four ages—namely, Satya, Treta, Dvapara, and Kālī⁶—it would seem that in the ideally composed play of the

¹ The first, or golden age, marked by virtue, prosperity, happiness, health, etc. (see

³ The Hindu belief is that in the first age life was centred in the marrow, in the second age in the bones, in the third age

⁴ As Sloka,

⁵ Bharmā, so called in the Śrī madbhagavata, and elsewhere.

⁶ See Introduction to Tantra Śāstra.

universe the chain of things from Bharmā, the Hiranyagarba and grand-father¹ of men, to the close of the Kālī age is arranged in the form of a cow's tail. When the close of the play approaches the King of actors, Mahākāla,² will after hastily withdrawing all the materials for the play, lay down to rest upon the couch of Mahapralaya³ in the last world-scene, the great cremation ground strewn with ashes. The Mother, the Queen of actresses and Charmer of Mahākāla,⁴ will place Her right foot on His heart, and, losing Herself in the waves of love and joy of the great mass of consciousness,⁵ appear, as it were, a dancer maddened by untiring dancing. The hasty closing and destruction of the Kālī age is but a preparation for this dancing, and nothing else. The thought of this scene may make the unbelieving and impious tremble with fear, but these happy tidings will raise joyous waves of love in the heart of the devout. The will of Her whose substance is will ⁶ shall be fulfilled, for it is in the power of none to frustrate it.

Next, when you become jealous at the mere mention of His unfathomable mercy towards His creatures of the Kālī age as compared with that which He showed to those of the Satya age, it would seem as if you thought that the creatures of these two ages constituted two distinct classes at feud one with the other, and never meeting in each other's home. A creature of the Satya age will not (you suppose) appear in the Kālī age, and one of the latter age will not have appeared in the former. No matter; be it so. But I ask: Everyone admits that not every creature in the first three ages has attained Siddhi,⁷ nor, on the other hand, is everyone in the Kālī age devoid of Siddhi. What,

¹ Lokapitamaha.

² Śiva (see Mahānirvāna Tantra, chap. v).

³ The great dissolution of things, when all will return to that from which they on the morning of the day of Bharmā originated.

⁴ The Devī, as MahaKālī.

⁵ Cidghana. Cit, the pure Bharmān, is the hearth of fire from which, according to the Lalita, the Devī springs (Cidagnikundasambhuta).

⁶ Ichchhamayi. The substance of the Devī is the three Śāktis,

⁷ That is, become a siddhapurusa.

then, is the fate of such Sadhakas¹ of the first three ages who have not attained Siddhi, and of such men of the Kālī age as are not, but are about to become, Sadhakas? According to your argument, no creature of the Kālī age will have appeared in the Satya age, and no individual of the latter age will appear in the Kālī age. In other words, at the close of these ages such persons will attain either Nirvana,² and be totally absorbed in the Para-Bharmān,³ or will sink at once into an eternal hell. Blessed be this judgement to which your justice leads you! What an unerring decision!⁴ You were startled at hearing that the Jiva⁵in the Kālī age can attain Siddhi in one lifetime. But the Jiva of your Satya age attains Nirvana the moment it commences śadhana. It may thus, indeed, happen that a man who by good fortune is born at the close of the Satya age may attain without labour in one life, and by the mere circumstance of his birth at the close of that age, that same Siddhi which another has only attained in the same age by the practice of austerities for ten million years.⁶ Advocate of Justice, tell me now of what kind of justice is this the impartial and carefully considered opinion ?

You and I, whose knowledge does not extend beyond, at most, a hundred years, are not in a position to argue as regards that justice, the wheel of which turns but once in eighty-four lakhs⁷ of births. In the Visvasara Tantra the Śāstra says: "There is no birth like unto the human birth. Both Devas⁸and Pitrs⁹ desire it. For the Jiva the human body is of all bodies the most difficult to come by. For this it is said that human birth is attained with extreme difficulty. O Parvati,¹⁰ amongst

¹ That is, those worshippers who practise Sadhana.

² That is, complete unconditioned Mukti, as distinguished from the temporary and conditioned padas known as Salokya, Sarupya, Samipya, and Sayujya.

³ The unconditioned, attributeless or higher Bharmān, as contrasted with the same Bharmān manifesting itself with attributes in creation—the apara or "lower" Bharmān. ⁴Valihari.

⁵ The embodied spirit, which is the supreme spirit, viewed under the limiting conditions known as "upadhis".

⁶ A crore, or an hundred lakhs, or 10,000,000. ⁷ 8,400,000.

⁸ Devas, the celestial intelligences intermediate between IsVara, the Lord, and Man. ⁹ See Introduction to Tantra Śāstra.

¹⁰ The spouse of the God Śiva.

those beings who have obtained this rare human birth, those who have conquered all doubt are very few, and of those who have conquered doubt such as are attached to Mantra¹ and Tantra are again very few. Among such pious men as are attached to Mantra and Tantra, such as are proficient in Tantra, which is adored by all, are the best; and again, amongst the latter the Sadhaka is the best of all, who is deeply versed in all the Tantras."

"It is said in all the Śāstras that of the Jiva's eighty-four lakhs of births the human birth is the most fruitful. In no other birth can Jiva acquire knowledge of the truth. Human birth is the stepping-stone to the path of liberation. But rare are the meritorious² who come by it."

"O Daughter of the mountain,³ Jivatma, which decreaseth not, passes through eighty-four lakhs of births as inorganic things, insects, birds, beast, and the like. And after that, O Supreme Devī, it attains that human body which is so difficult to acquire."

Jiva attains the position of the twice-born,⁴ havnig had thirty lakhs of births as inorganic things, nine lakhs of births as aqueous animals, ten lakhs of births as creeping animals,⁵eleven lakhs of births as animals of the air,⁶ twenty-four lakhs of births as beasts, and four lakhs of births as human beings, having thus in all travelled through eitghty-four lakhs of births. When Jiva attains the human body, it becomes Lord of Dharma.⁷It is again born and again dies. In this manner, controlled by the bonds of Karma,⁸ the Jiva takes birth from various sources,⁹and dies eighty-four lakhs of times. By the command of Yama,¹⁰

¹ See Introduction to Tantra Śāstra. ² Punya.

³ A title of Parvati as daughter of the mountain-king Himavat.

⁴ That is, the three superior castes, Bharmāna, Ksattriya, and Vaisya which upon the Upanayana ceremony become twice-born, and have thus both a natural and a spiritual birth.

⁵ Worms, serpents, etc. A lakh= 100,000.

⁶ Birds, etc. ⁷ See Introduction to Tantra Śāstra.

⁸ Karma is action and the product of action. Each action produces its necessary result. So long as a man's Karma is not worked out, and the thirst for separate life is not exhausted, so long he remains in its bonds. It is of two kinds, good and bad, both constituting tie "impurity of action".

⁹ Yoni. ¹⁰ Lord of the lower world and of death.

Jiva goes to the Bharmāloka.¹ On its return from thence, it obtains the human body, which is so rarely obtained, and is able to secure from a good Guru initiation in the mantra of Mahavidya and knowledge of the truth. Then alone does the Jiva gain the supreme liberation, and by the grace of Mahavidya has not to return so long as the universe² endures. In its eighty-four lakhs of births as inorganic and organic things, beasts, birds, insects, flies, and the like, the Jiva enjoys longevity according to its Karma. Some live one hindred years, some a thousand, some a lakh, some even more, and some live crores³ and crores of years. It passes my understanding that Śāstra can be your authority for the notion that all Jivas-past, present, and future— of this enormous cycle will attain the highest Samadhi,⁴ owing to the simple circumstance that an age has come to an end, and this in spite of the fact that their Karma is of all forms fulfilled, unfulfilled, and partly fulfilled, and partly unfulfilled, worked out and unworked out, partly worked out and partly unworked out.⁵

But you may, as a last resort, say: "I do not believe in eighty-four lakhs of births." But it does not become you to say this either; for the very authority and reasoning upon which you accept the four ages spoken of in the Śāstras are the same as that on which you are bound to accept the statement as to eighty-four lakhs of births. Both are conclusions of Śāstra. Who will believe the man who accepts one part of the Śāstra and judges the other mistaken? Who thinks the right half of a man's body to be conscious and the left unconscious? Let me put to you a plain question. Why should you not believe? What is the cause of your unbelief? You will say, The number eighty-four lakhs. But I reply that that very number which is the cause of your unbelief is the ground of my firm faith. Who are you to say that, because these eighty-four lakhs of births are unseen by you and me, that what is unseen does not exist ? The

¹ Satya: region of Bharmā, the highest, or, according to some, the three highest of the upper worlds—Satya, Mahah, and Tapoloka.

² Bharmāņda , lit. "egg of Bharmā".

³ A crore is 100 lakhs, or 10,000,000. ⁴ Here "end". ⁵ Purna, apurna, pfirnapiirna, bhukta, abhukta, bhuktabhukta.

most you can say is that you do not know whether they exist or not. For the same reason, that I cannot say that it exists because I have not seen it, you cannot say that it does not exist because you have not seen it. If it is non-existent because I have not seen it, then the world does not exist for the blind man. The bund man, moreover, does not see himself. Is it, therefore, to be concluded that he does not exist for himself? It matters not if he does not exist. But I ask, who is it that affirms the negative? He who is himself non-existent cannot affirm or deny anything.

At the time of the happening of that cause which gives fatherhood to man and motherhood to woman, the child exists in the atoms of semen and blood. He does net see that incident. Why do you, then, without visual evidence on your part and on the faith of others' words believe that those who are called your father and mother are such? May be on principle you will object and say that you do not believe in that also. On rare occasions a real cause may exist for this unbelief. But, being a man, can you boldly assert it? Are we to suppose that every father and mother in the world is subject to such a doubt ? Such a statement, even if one were able to make it, would be nothing but the raving of a madman. I have no objection to your doubting the eighty-four lakhs of births. But I say in that case let it be strictly a doubt. Do not bring it under the category of things certain. For the doubt is whether the eighty-four lakhs of births exist or not, and no doubt can exist without a knowledge of either existence or non-existence. There can never be a doubt about the existence of that which you know to be nonexistent. It does not exist. This is not a doubt, but a certainty. This is why I said that, should you be doubtful, say that you do not know whether the eighty-four lakhs of births exist or not. To arrive at once at the conclusion that they do not exist because it is doubtful whether they do exist is but a shocking manifestation of ignorance. In our discussion upon reincarnation we will set ourselves to dispel this doubt. Here we shall say this much— that when the number of eighty-four lakhs is definitely given, it would be wise to believe in it. Of him who does not admit the

fact of reincarnation in any manner, whether partly or incompletely, directly or indirectly, I ask: "Are the eighty-four lakhs of births mentioned in the religious book of any other religious community of any country of which we know the history?" Can either the philosophy of Carvaka,¹ or the Koran or Bible, proclaim boldly that the Jiva takes eighty-four lakhs of births? Whose sight can stretch to the extremity of the universe, so as to be able to penetrate through the molecules and atoms of the fourteen worlds—namely, Bhuh, Bhuvah, Svah, Mahah, Janah, Tapah, Satya, Atala, Vitala, Sutala, Talatala, Rāsatala, Maha-tala, and Patala,² and thus gaining knowledge of the nature of every Jiva with grave solemnity affirm and say: "Jiva has eighty-four lakhs of births. True, true, true again—true, there is no doubt." Not to speak of pointing this out, how can one even boldly say that the number of births is eighty-four lakhs ? The Jiva, through change of the curtain of memory in every birth, forgets its previous birth. Its memory is opened and closed. It is not, then, within its power of intelligence to say with certainty either by philosophy, science, perception, or inference, that the number of births is eighty-four lakhs. Only that Dharma and that Śāstra can affirm this, which takes its birth in the heart whose substance is will of Her who is the infinite and eternal Intelligence,³ who dwells in the hearts of all Jivas who are manifested with Her breath.⁴ Who can measure the extent of the births of the Jiva but that Śāstra which has emanated from the mouth of Anandamayi³ Herself, at whose feet this small world is but a plaything for Her eternal play? It is only that Śāstra which dances with joy at the sight of the play of creation, preservation, and destruction taking place at every twinlding of the eye which can boldly assert that the number of births is eighty-four

¹ Sceptic and atheist.

² The worlds from Bhuh (the earth) to Satyaloka are the upper world, and from Atala to Patala the nether worlds, which according to some accounts must be distinguished from the Hells, which lie between earth and the nether world.

³ Caitanya—the supreme is Sat (existence), Cit (intelligence, consciousness), and Ananda (bliss). The Devī is Chinmayi (Lalita, third hundred).

⁴ The world is the out-breathing of the Supreme.

⁵ A title of Devī, whose substance is bliss (see post).

lakhs. If other Śāstras be astounded, let them remain so. You and I have no need to faint away on hearing that. At present merely understand this much: that as he who can count a thousand has surely known the mathematical sign for that number, so he who can assert the number of eighty-four lakhs of births has surely seen them.

REASONING ON THE SCRIPTURE

You may have heard that a reasonable saying should be accepted even from a boy, and that discussion without reasoning causes loss of Dharma. But perhaps you have not had the leisure to discern what is the subject of that reasoning, and what kind of reasoning it is. The reasoning by which the Śāstra asks you to discuss is that reasoning which is within the control of your intellect—the reasoning of practical Śāstras helpful to discussion. Hew can you, with worldly reasoning, prove the truth of that unworldly spiritual Śāstra which, if studied and followed with constancy, will develop the intellect and will, and when Siddhi is attained by such Sadhana, open the portals of the super-sensual principle¹ which is within you? Do not lament because you have intellect, nor be ashamed because you cannot come to any decision without it. It is true that you have an intellect, but the pity of it is that you have not the intelligence to understand what sort of intellect it is. You may feel sorry and ashamed, but that will not open the lock. If you put too much pressure, the key will be broken, and even a Bengal lock² will not open. This is why I was saying that if you proceeded to open the lock of spiritual principles with the key of worldly reasoning, even the play of native intelligence will cease, and, being unable what to decide, you will find yourself at loss in everything.³ For this reason the Śāstra has, after careful consideration, and taking the oath upon its head, said: "Do not attempt to deal by argument with things which are beyond the range of thought"

¹ Attadriya tattva.

² That is, locks manufactured in Bengal, which are (or were) of inferior quality.

³Literally, "to fall off from here and be lost from there."

What, again, may be asked, is the necessity for a Śāstra, in respect of a matter which you and I can decide by argument and discussion? That is called Śāstra which deals with things beyond the reach of the senses, which are unthought of, unseen, and unattained by you and me. Where direct vision is blind and inference lame, there Śāstra alone reigns supreme. The fact that you and I have got eyes does not enable you and I to see what the animals moving in the unfathomable depths of ocean see. The power of sight is different in that kingdom from ours. You and I are blind in this respect, despite our eyes. Similarly you and I have not the privilege to behold that which the Rsis, seers of deep truths immersed in the Divine bliss,¹have seen.

Many people are heard to say in argument as follows: "How can those whose minds are constantly occupied with the thought of the feet of the Devata. of their heart in Nirvikalpa Samadhi Yoga,² by the complete immersal of their own mind and Prakrti³in PaRāmatma,⁴ find time to observe also the physical principles⁵governing the molecules and atoms⁶ of the untold millions of universes,⁷ each of which is composed of fourteen worlds? How, again, can Yogis,⁸ Rsis, and Munis⁹ whose state is one in which the illusion of a dual existence disappears through their acquirement of non-dualistic truths,¹⁰ find time to turn their eyes from Bharmān to observe the Bharmāņda?"¹¹ Bharmān, you say, cannot be seen unless the Bharmāņda is forgotten. The Bharmāņda cannot be seen unless the Bharmān is forgotten. You argut, therefore, that it is impossible to harmonize these two mutually conflicting statements. We, too, do not deny the difficulty, and, although this is not the place for an elaborate explanation, we will briefly refer to one point.

¹ Bharmānanda. ² Ecstasy. See Introduction to Tantra Śāstra.

³ Ibid. ⁴ The Supreme Spirit.

⁵ Vastutattva. ⁶ Anu and paRāmanu.

⁷ Bharmāņda , "Egg of Bharmā."

⁸ Adepts in Yoga. ⁹ Seers and sages. ¹⁰ Advaita tattva. ¹¹ Universe.

Poets have said that if a pearl and a Java¹ flower are brought together, the red hue of the Java will redden the pearl, but the white lustre of the latter will not whiten the former. This is because the pearl is free of all impurity,² while the Java is not so. A thing which is naturally transparent will take the reflection of other things, whilst that which is not so may itself be reflected but cannot receive reflection. For instance, my face is reflected in a mirror, but the mirror is not reflected in my face, because the mirror is pure, which my face is not. Similarly in a Brahm-manda made impure bymāyā,³ everything is impure. Only that one Bharmān who is beyondmāyā is pure. The impure Bharmāņda cannot receive a reflection of the pure Bharmān, but is itself naturally reflected in it.

Looking at a spot of ground on the bank of some lake or river, we see only the verdant land and clumps of trees, but not the stretch of water. Yet the instant we withdraw our sight from the bank and cast it on the water, we see everything therein —the trunks, the tops, the branches, twigs, fruits, and flowers of the trees, and their very roots, together with the verdant land on which they stand. We see also the immense zone of the firmament covered with countless clusters of stars. We thus see all things one after another displayed in the lake. But that which faces upwards on land faces downwards in the water, and that which faces downwards on land faces upwards in the water. Similar is the vision of those who are immersed in the sea of truth.⁴ Just as we can see everything up to the very zone of the firmament merely by looking at the water of the lake and without casting our eyes around it, so the Rsis, without glancing at the Bharmāņda produced bymāyā, cast their vision upon Bharmāmayl,⁵ and see in Her person, whose substance is a mass of conscious bliss,⁶ endless millions of worlds in the hollow of

¹ The scarlet hibiscus, the flower of the Tāntriks.

² Literally, "is dirtless."

³ Illusion, the power of the Supreme whereby It makes Itself to appear

⁴ Tattva. ⁵ The Devī. ⁶ Cidghanananda.

every hair of Her body,¹ now appearing and now disappearing in each twinkling of the eyes, as it were bubbles in water. No need is there for them to take any wearying journey, nor to waste their lives, nor to pass over the courtyard² of the world so hard to traverse. But they merely, by the eye of wisdom,' in the bed of meditation,⁴ in the house of śadhana, see that beauteous dream of the three worlds, and that truth⁵ to which the Jiva cannot attain even in its causal body, and which, notwithstanding the break of ecstasy,⁶ they cannot forget. Their vision has, however, this peculiarity: whatever you and I, acquainted with the scientific truths of the gross world, see and think of appears to us to be elevated and of up'ifted face, as if nothing else in the samsāra was more elevated than they; but, on the other hand, the devotees, looking at the reflection cast upon the waves of blood of the causal sea in the womb of Bhagavati, perceive that that which is elevated in this world is low at the feet of Bharmā-mayi, and that whatever was downcast in the world has, on approaching the Mother, received Her caress and joyfully lifted its head on seeing the Bharmān aspect of Anandamayi. The same things arc there in both cases. What was seen on land appears again in water, but reversed through change of the medium through which we view it. For those who only see the Bharmāņda in the Bharmāņda , what can be higher to them than it ? But those who have seen the Bharmāņda. in Bharmān have seen the Queen of Queens, Bharmāmayi, sitting on a throne made of all the highest things of the Bharmāņda from the regions of the polestar, moon, and Bharmā⁷ to the cloud-piercing peak of Mount Sumeru» on earth. Seeing that all-pervading⁹ play

¹ The Karnika is

² That is, the surface. ³jñāna.

⁴ Dhyāna (see Introduction to Tantra Śāstra). ⁵ Tattva. ⁶ Samadhi. ⁷ Dhruvaloka, Chandraloka, and Bharmāloka.

⁸ Mount Meru, wherein is

of Śākti which makes the universe stare with wonder, Devas and Rsis have bowed their heads to earth, and said: "Obeisance, obeisance to the Devī who, as consciousness,¹ pervades the entire universe."

"Is it necessary to say, O great Devī, that She lives in the bodies of all living creatures when She is present in the form of energy,² even in such lifeless things as stocks and stones ? There is no place in the world where the substance of Mahamāyā is not."

Man, how dare we expect that that divine³ sight of theirs and this carnal⁴ sight! of yours and mine will be the same? The Śāstra says that this play of the universe is nothing but the play of the waves in the sea of consciousness. Just as those who have gone to the sea, need, in looking at the sea, make no special effort to see its waves, so those who had seen Bharmāmayi had not to make any effort to see the Bharmāņda. They did not see the universe with the help of telescopes or of vehicles on land, in water, or in air. When they saw the Īśvarī³ of the universe it was then they saw the latter⁴ also resting at Her feet. The difference between the sight of those who nowadays display their knowledge of science by a discussion of the principles of matter⁷and that of the Rsis is this: The former, in their short lives having seen but a small portion of the small world, gasp out with tired voices: "Who knows what lies beyond this?" However, on seeing this world-play, one only feels that wonderful indeed must be the nature,⁸ of the real form of Her whose play it is, and that if one would have knowledge of that wonderful Śākti,⁹ there are no better means in human life titan to study the principles of the universe. It is here that Rsis are wont to say that this sport is nothing wonderful for Her who is full of eternal and ever-novel play. The playful manifestation in the molecules and atoms of a single world counts for an incident scarcely worth mention

¹ Caitanya.

² Tejas, which also denotes fire, brilliancy, glory, and energy.

³ Daivi. ⁴ Jaivi, or sight pertaining to the Jiva.

⁵ Feminine of Isvara (Lord). Title of the Devī. ⁶ Tattva.

⁷ Bhutatattva. The Bhuta are the elements.

⁸ Tattva. ⁹ Power.

for Her upon whose mere glance¹ depend the creation, preservation, and destruction of countless millions of universes. The universe does not appear wonderful in the sight of him who has seen the primordial Śākti,² the source of birth of this perfect play. And therefore the Rsis disregarding the Samsāra with its charming display of actors and acting, have sunk in the fathomless sea of the ocean of Her who, holding the thread of the universe in Her hand, makes all those actors act. They, after an attentive view and the attainment of Siddhi, have thrown up their hands, and cried and said: "Do not let your mind and heart be charmed with the varied beauty of this world. This pleasant illusion will not last for ever. As you hope for peace, surrender your mind and heart at the lovely lotus-feet of Anandamayi playing on the breast of Sadananda.³ Cast off the threefold sorrow/ and you will then discover that millions of worlds move and move around every petal, every filament, every particle of pollen, of those lotus-feet, and then disappear immersed in the love-pollen of those lotuses."

To our ears these words, though true, appear somewhat strange. To disregard the joys and sorrows of the visible world, and to be immersed in the joy of the unseen Bharmān, is a remote affair. For the present anyone who avers it seems to be an unsocial, witless fellow. This advice to run in search of something unseen, in disregard of the visible phenomenal samsāra, is thought to be as unbearable and inopportune as would be flippant talk to a person who, disconsolate and with flooding tears is holding his dead child to his breast, or as would be a request to accompany a funeral procession to a young man adorned and joyful on his way to his marriage. Owing to the unacceptable nature of the advice, you and I consider the adviser mad; but the latter is not to be put off from his purpose by that.

Let us suppose that you and I do not know what acting is, but are present at a representation of the Ramāyāna. The grief

¹ "The series of worlds arise and disappear with the opening and shutting of Her eyes" (Lalita Sahasranama, v. 66).

³Adya Śākti, the Devī as primordial source and manifestation of the Divine energy.

³ Śiva, the ever Joyful. ⁴ Tapatraya (see post).

of Kausalya, the death of Dasaratha, the lamentation of Sītā, the tears of Mandodari, move us to profuse tears. On the other hand, the heroic valour of Laksmana, the world-subduing military skill of Rāmacandra, the pride of Indrajit, the war-cries of Ravana, fill us now with joy and delight, now with fear, astonishment, and awe. At the same time we observe that someone who is sitting in our midst, but whom we do not know, has been shaking his sides with laughter at the very same scenes. You and I will probably say that the man is mad, but that will not stop his laughter. I say that it does not matter whether or not you call the man mad. Still you ought to reflect why the man laughs. The place is the same, the scenes are the same, the subject is the same. But while all other people are laughing at one time and weeping at another, why does that one man alone constantly laugh ? If we seek to know why this is so, we shall discover that there is only one cause for the laughing and weeping, and it is this: You and I have come to see the play without either knowing how to act or what acting is. But that man has come to it with the full knowledge of what acting is. To us Rāma and Ravana appear as real, and so we make a great display of weeping, and so on. But that man sees that Nilambara Cakravarti¹ is playing the part of Ravana and that Pitambara Gakravarti¹ is crying in the part of Sītā. What to our eyes are Rāma and Sītā to him are Nilambara and Pitambara, and so he is full of laughter. We become restless at the sight of the incidents in the play, but that man who sees what is at the back of them is calm. We are calling him mad, but you may be certain that he is forgiving us on account of our ignorance. The man whom we slight by repeatedly referring to him as "that man, that man, "is not mad. From the spiritual point of view, he it is who is possessed of the highest wisdom, and is the crest-gem of the race of devotees. He who knows that all things on the stage of Samsāra are merely the materials for the play is not, on seeing the performance, charmed with the acting, but is intoxicated with the blissful love of the actor and actress whose acting

¹ "Monsieur un tel."

it is. Rsis, though calm, are yet maddened by that love; and so they have told us not to waste this human birth, which is so difficult of attainment, by thinking of the little things of the Samsāra, but to think that thought only which will save us from all further thinking. And so, speaking to himself the Sadhaka has thus expressed the purpose of his heart:

"The time of life (kāla) is past, death (kāla) approaches;

let me repair to solitude. In deep seclusion let me sing the glory of kālakamini." ¹ The day upon which you and I shall be on their side, and shall believe or attain the fitness for believing their word, on that day all thinking will be at an end. And we, too, shall understand that the Samsāra is but a mock .representation, and that both the things we see, as well as the people themselves who see, are She, the Bharmāmayi,² full of the bliss of the mass of consciousness who has entered the Samsāra as Jiva, and is revelling in this joyous play. But because you and I have not eyes to see, we say:

"What sort of a play is this of yours, O Mother? It is not a

play, but the very father of imprisonment. The first scene of the play is a gathering on the stage before

the actor and actress. Here the actor is nowhere to be found, so who can find the actress ?

With the first act begins the play; next the scenes of a daram are required.

Here, be it the first act or the last, from beginning to end,

the daram is full of scenes. The scene in which the son appears is that in which the father

disappears.

Instantly the curtain is dropped before the eye, and then

who is the son, and who is the father ?" You and I have restless hearts, and so we become disconsolate with weeping. But the very same play raises waves of love in the heart of a calm devotee. Kamalakanta, the peaceful Sadhaka has therefore sung as follows:

"You know not, O mind, the highest cause Śyāmā² is not always in the form of a woman. ¹ Śiva's spouse. ² The Devī.

At times assuming the colour of clouds,

She takes on the form of a man.

With dishevelled hair and sword in hand,

She strikes terror into the hearts of the sons of Danu.

At times She comes to the city of Vraja,¹ and, playing on the flute, captures the hearts of the women of Vraja.

At times, holding the three gunas,² She creates, preserves, and destroys.

Oh! She binds Herself³ with her sonmāyā.⁴

The sufferings of the world She Herself endures.

In whatsoever form one thinks of Her, in that form She grants one's desires.

In a lotus in the lake of Kamalakanta's heart She appears."

It is for this, I was saying, that in what the Śāstra has said there is nothing to discuss, but there is ground for faith. Of Her to whom the Śāstra belongs, the Rsis have said that that eternal highest Vidya,⁵ who is the sole first cause in samsāra both of bondage and liberation, is the creatrix of all creators.⁶The creative power of none surpasses Her who is the creatrix of all creators. Whether you and I understand it or not, the unfailing wheel of state of that Queen of Queens,⁷ whose substance is will, is sure to turn in eighty-four lakhs of births of the Jiva. Should you ever after this ask why it should be so, and what is the reason for it, I shall not in reply need to say much, but will simply put you this question: What reason is there which establishes that the present birth has at all taken place? At base the reasoning is the same for all births. For reasoning which establishes this birth establishes that which follows it. If one section of a wheel turns, all sections turn at the same time. This is the law of Her nature. From Bharmān, the Jiva who is His avaTārā has come into this samsāra. There after wanderings and wanderings, it will again assume the aspect of Bharmān

¹ That is, in the form of Kŗşņa
.

² That is, the three "qualities" which form the substance of Prakrti— namely, sattva, rajas, tamas (see Introduction to Tantra Śāstra).

³ That is, in the person of Jiva. ⁴ Power of illusion. ⁵ The Devī. ⁶ Īśvarī of all IsVaras. ⁷ Rajarajesvari.

and be absorbed in the ParaBharmān. This is the natural law in the world of Jivas. In our discourse on the principles of reincarnation, we will enter into a detailed explanation as to the law under which, and the process by which, this will be accomplished.

Should, even after this, anyone say, "Everything ends with death. Who will then be born again?" to him also we shall explain in that discourse that he is probably ignorant of what life and death mean. He who knows the nature of life knows also that Jiva has no real death except that in Nirvana.¹ What you and I speak of as death is but the death of the mind, and not the death of Jiva. In short, just as it is impossible to make a complete survey of a life in its various stages of boyhood, youth, manhood, old age, and so forth, so also it is impossible to judge of the justice or injustice of eighty-four lakhs of births, or even the justice or injustice of any single birth—which forms but a fraction of the entire life of a Jiva. Bhagavan Rāmacandra, crest-gem of the race of Raghu,² after killing all Raksasas³ in Visvamitra's yajna,⁴

¹ When the Jiva ceases to exist as such.

² The solar race, celebrated in the Raghuvamsa.

³ Demons. ⁴ Sacrifice.

⁵ The titles of the parts of the Ramāyāna epic.

same Marica, that Rāmacandra, instead of killing him, threw him to the other side of the sea. Had this not been so, no greater effort would have been needed to send Marica to the other side of the sea of existence¹ than to send him to the other side of the salt sea. To understand the deep mysteries underlying this play of Bhagavan, the dweller in hearts, it is necessary to know the incidents of the Aranyakanda; otherwise I should not understand more than this—that the Almighty had not sufficient strength in His body to enable Him to kill Marica.

Similarly, in order to judge of His justice or injustice towards Jiva in the Satya and Kālī ages, I must know the history of all the ages to their final chapter Bharmākaivalya or Nirvana. Then only can be considered the justice and injustice of the entire existence of Jiva. It is therefore the height of impudence to judge the justice of Her who is the eternal ever-present truth by a life of forty years' duration. If we are to judge His justice upon the strength of reasoning alone, why should we not suppose that it is the Sadhakas of the Satya, Treta, and Dvapara ages who failed to acquire Siddhi and have therefore been reborn in the Kālī age through the revolution of the wheel of time, and the attraction of the mass of their religious merits. This mass, which is nearly ripe, is about to bear fruit through the opportunities offered by place, time, and person. They, the children of the Mother, will again get up on Her lap. You say that Siddhi has been attained in one age, but I see that Siddhi has been attained in Kālī, the fourth age, after austerities which have extended over three ages. The jack-fruit which ripens in the month of Asadha does not first grow in that month. It first grows in winter, increases in spring, and matures in summer. The bael fruit first grows in the month of Caitra. It also ripens in Caitra. From this fact a European eating the fruit, but who had never seen it growing, might draw the conclusion that the growth, death, and final dissolution of a bael fruit all took place in one and the same month; but a descendant of the Aryas living in India knows that:

¹ Bhavasamudrā.

" In the month of Caitra the bael grows In the month of Caitra it ripens. In one Caitra it grows, But in another Caitra it ripens."

ON MEETING SADHAKAS'

You may ask, "Why, then, is the number of Sadhakas so small in the Kālī age ?" But I reply: "Who says that it is small ?" You may rejoin that if the number be not small, why do we not see them everywhere, in every village, in every city? I, however, say that the population of a country may be considered to be small if people are not seen everywhere in it, but the number of Sadhakas cannot on similar grounds be so considered. It has been already stated that the Creatrix of the universe, incarnated as Daughter, told Her father that "one in a thousand struggle for Siddhi, and perhaps only one amongst such thousand knows me in my true aspect." The same was said² to Arjuna by Bhagavan, the Lord of Vaikuntha on the battlefield of Kuru-ksetra. She has again said: "It is only on attaining Siddhi after many births that Jiva reaches the highest station." Again: "Jiva attains to me only upon the acquisition of knowledge after many births." In the NirutTārā Tantra it is said: "The root of knowledge is that which relates to the union of Śiva and Śākti. Knowledge of Śākti is acquired after many births. O Devī, without a knowledge of Śākti, Nirvana can never be attained."

How, then, dare you and I expect to see crowds of travellers upon a road on which the Śāstra says they are so very scarce. There is a full number of Sadhakas even should but one man in a hundred thousand become such. Wise men have said that a ruby is not to be had in every hill, and that every elephant's head does not contain a pearl. A saint³ is not to be met with everywhere, and sandal does not grow in every forest. Bhagavan Śrī Kŗşņa told Uddhava, crest-gem of devotees, that when a Muni⁴ passes who is calm, free of malice, and equal mind he

¹ A Sadhaka is he who does śadhana (see Introduction to Tantra Śāstra), a devotee. ² In the Bhagavadgita. ³ Sadhu.

⁴ A sage or saint. Uddhava, son of Devabhaga, was versed in Yoga.

follows him, hoping to be sanctified by the touch of the dust of his feet. What impurity could attach to Him, the utterance of Whose name by a devotee sanctifies the three worlds,' so that He should need to purify Himself by touching the dust of the latter's feet? It was no impurity, but intoxication caused by love for the devotee, which led Bhagavan, in his desire to proclaim his greatness, to lose Himself, and to show that, were it possible for Him to be tainted with impurity, even He could regain purity by touching the devotee. Realize from this how rare a thing a true devotee is. Another Śāstra has said: "As a cow runs after its calf, so Śiva and Gauri² run after him who repeats, 'Mahadeva,³ Mahadeva, Mahadeva'." Why, what reason has the consort of Bhavani,⁴ the Creator of all, the shade of Whose feet supports the Bharmāņda , to run after His devotees? The necessity was none other than that of showing that where there is a devotee there He Himself is.

It is said in the Tantra that "all admit that the places of pilgrimage⁵ are the cause of purity. But, O Girija,⁶ in very truth, I say that it is the Sadhaka of the Kulacara⁷ rite who gives purity even to all such places of pilgrimage. Blessed is the mother⁸ of a Kaula!⁹ Blessed are his father and kinsmen and relatives! Blessed are those who have conversed with him! In heaven the ancestors of a master of Kula¹⁰ sing: 'In our race will be born a master of Kula.'" In the Utpatti Tantra it is

¹ The earth, the upper and nether worlds.

² A name of Devī as spouse of Śiva.

³ "The great God" Śiva.

⁴ A name of the Devī as spouse of Bhava (Śiva).

³ Tirtha, holy shrines, such as Gaya, or the temple of Juggernath at Puri, with which India is studded.

⁶ Daughter of the mountain—a title of the Devī as daughter of the Mountain King.

⁷ The way of the Kaulas, one of the divisions of Tāntrik worshippers.

⁸ The mother is always, by way of honour, placed first and before the father.

⁹ One who follows Kulacara (see Introduction to Tantra Śāstra). ¹⁰ One who is versed in Kulacara.

said: "Devī, wherever a Vira¹ or a Divya² resides, there also are all the sacred shrines.³ O Thou who art desired of the Vira, there is no doubt that a Vira, though having a human body, is in flesh and blood a Devata⁴ and Śiva Himself. O Devī, what fear can he have who lives where a Vira lives, and under his protection? The protection of a worldly⁵ Vira relieves us of worldly fear, but the protection of the spiritual⁶ Vira relieves one of the fear of famine, disease, the king, and death. It relieves of the three forms of fear—namely, that which arises from troubles of the body, senses, and mind,⁷ from external material objects⁸ and from all superhuman beings."⁹In the Kularnava Tantra¹⁰ it is said:

"My beloved, in all the world the sight of a Kulacarya" is indeed rare, and is only obtained after enjoyment of the fruits of a vast heap of religious merit." Should even a Candala¹²or a person of still lower caste become attached to Kuladharma,¹³then the very memory of him, the recitation of his name and qualities, the singing of his praises, sight of, and talk with him purifies a Jiva. "O noble lady, you and I for ever reside there where he who has a knowledge of Kulacara lives. It is not on Mount Kailasa,¹⁴ Sumeru,¹⁵ or Mandara¹⁶ that I always

¹ Men are by the Tantras divided into three classes or temperaments: Pasu ("animal"), in whom the dark, inert quality (Guna) of tamas predominates and who is bound by the bonds; Vira (hero), or those in whom the active quality (rajas) prevails; and divya (celestial), in whom the pure (Sattva) quality prevails. Worship varies, and is adapted to the temperament of the worshipper (see Introduction to Tantra Śāstra). ² See post.

³ Tirtha, see ante.

⁴ Deva. The Vira here referred to is the Siddha Vira.

⁵ Laukika, or hero in the ordinary English sense.

⁶ PaRāmarthika. ⁷ Adhyatmika.

⁸ Adhibhautika—e.g., fear of injury from the elements or other men.

⁹ Adhidaivika, such as Devas, ghosts, demons, etc.

¹⁰ Chap. ix. ¹¹ Master of Kaula doctrine.

¹² One of the lowest castes, rag-pickers, cleaners of privies, etc.

¹³ The Dharma or doctrine of the Kaulas, a division of Tāntrik worshippers.

¹⁴ The paradise of Śiva.

¹⁵ Vide ante, and chap, ii, Visnu Purana. The Devī is Merunilaya (residing on Mount Meru) (Lalita S., v. 148). The Śrī cakra has, it is said, three aspects —Bhiimi, Kailasa, Meru; the last being when it is identified with the sixteen 'Nitya Deities.' ¹⁶ Used as a staff to churn the Ocean for Amrta.

live. I ever abide there where Sadhakas versed in Kulatattva¹are." (The meaning of this is that He would rather abandon his abode on these mountains than the companionship of Kaulikas.² The devoted Sadhaka will know from this which is the greater—the glory of Mount Kailasa or that of a Kaula.) "The place where a great Tantrika³ lives should be visited and seen with care, even if it should be remoter than the remote, for you and I live in joy there."

The meaning of this is: It may be asked why one should take so much trouble to see a man. Lest such an evil notion should seize the naturally weak heart of man, Bhagavan has clearly given us to understand that we should not desist from visiting a Kulasadhaka, considering him to be a mere man. It is not a human body that the Kaulika possesses. The Śiva Śākti aspect⁴ is that of which the Kaulikas are worshippers, and is that which the world is so eager to behold. In that aspect Śiva and Śākti unite and, as Ardhanarlsvara,⁵ live in the enjoyment of perfect joy in the body of the Kulasadhaka. To see him, therefore, is the same as seeing Their undivided and united form.

"If a Guru of Kulatattva lives even afar, visit him, but not a pasu,⁶ even if he be near." By the term "Kaulika," worshippers should understand a Sadhaka of Kulacara,⁷ the characteristics of which we shall explain in our discourse on Acaratattva. By Pasu is meant a person bound by the eight fetters of shame, etc.⁸ "Sacred is the land in which a master of Kula is born. By seeing and honouring a Kaulika one gives deliverance to thrice seven generations."

¹ Kaula knowledge. ² Kaulas. _ ³ Mahapurusa.

⁴ Murti, or form. ⁵ The bisexual form of Isvara.

⁶ Vide ante, See post. See Introduction to Tantra Śāstra.

⁷ One and the highest division of Tāntrik worshippers, whose way of life-(acara) is according to Kula doctrine.

⁸ See ibid. The reference is to the classification of the Kularnava Tantra. The "afflictions" which are variously numbered, are given as five in the Linga Purana. The Devī Bhag. Pr. says: "In the knower of truth they sleep. In the Yogis they are burned up. In those attached to the world they arise unimpeded."

"Seeing a master of Kula bom in their family and living in their house, his ancestors in heaven say, 'At length we shall obtain the highest abode.' As cultivators with craving eyes pray for rain, so the ancestors in heaven pray with eager hearts that a son or grandson of their family may be initiated in the truths of Kula doctrine. Then blessed will that sinless great man be in Samsāra."

"Beloved after death, masters in Kula joyfully come to me. When a great Kaulika comes to the Kaulika house,' Yoginis,²with Yogis, come to see and welcome him." "Even Pitrs and Devatas seek the protection and pay homage to the great Kaula Yogi. And for this great men devoted to the knowledge of Kula should be honoured and worshipped."

"Devī, such sinful men as after the adoration of Thyself fail to worship Thy devotees never win favour of Thee."

"When Sadhakas place the Naivedya' before me, I accept it by sight only. But, O lotus-eyed, I eat it by the mouths of the saintly devotees."

"Devī, there is no doubt that if one worships Thy devotee he worships- Me, so that he who would do that which is pleasing to Me adores Thy devotees only."

"Whatever is done in the name of Kula disciples is done in the name of Deva. All Devatis love Kula. Therefore should Kaulikas be worshipped."

"Parvatl, even if in any other place,⁴ I am worshipped with great reverence, I am not so well pleased as when a great Kaulika is worshipped."

The fruit which he cannot obtain even by pilgrimage, austerities,⁵ gifts, sacrifices,⁶ and voluntary religious practices' that the Jiva can obtain by the worship of a Kaulika. O, Ambika,⁸ even if a Kaulika (not to speak of any other) dishonours

¹ That is, to Śiva's abode. ² Female yogis.

³ A full plate of offerings to the Deva, consisting of rice, ghee, vegetables, honey, etc.

⁴ That is, than in the person of a great Kaulika.

⁵ Tapasya (see Introduction to Tantra Śāstra). ⁶ Yajfta (ibid).

⁷ Vrata (ibid.) Voluntary, as distinguished from those which are obligatory (Nitya).

⁸ Mother, title of the Devī (see post).

a master of Kaula, all his gifts, sacrifices, homas,' austerities, worship, and recitation of mantra² are of no avail."

As a reward for what religious merit can worldly creatures like you and I expect to meet those unworldly great men whose greatness the Śāstras have declared by lakhs of such evidence? To what hill, to what forest hermitage, to what great cremation ground, to what great shrine' have we been? In what Muni's hermitage,⁴ in what saint's⁵ humble abode, in what Dandi's⁶ matha,⁷ in what Bharmācari's ⁸ abode have we sought protection? What mantra have we recited according to the rules of Japa?⁹ What Devata have we worshipped? In what Vrata¹⁰ have we been initiated? Along what path have we advanced? Restraint of mind and body, contentment, forbearance, meditation, concentration of thought and process towards ecstatic contemplation¹¹—which of these have we practised? Listening,¹² thinking,¹³ and constant meditation,¹⁴which of these have we done? Of discrimination,¹⁵ dispassion¹⁶what have we understood? In the name of Dharma open your heart and say, brother, what have we done to deserve to meet the saintly Sadhakas whom even Devas rarely meet? You will say, may be, we have not done anything, but still we honour and revere them, bow to them, and anxiously pray to meet them. That is not altogether untrue. We pray in our minds, but what of our actions? Had we acted, we should not have remained satisfied with mere prayer, but we should have run with passionate hearts without looking at the path, and having found him, we would have prostrated ourselves and clasped his feet, and said: "Lord, I have made no provision. How shall I be saved?" Say truly, O brother, has anyone's heart wept in this fashion? If it had, it would not have had to weep any more,

¹ The sacrifice made by pouring clarified butter into fire.

² Japa (see ibid). ³ Mahapitha. ⁴ See post.

⁵ Sadhu. ⁶ A class of ascetics. ⁷ Monastic institution.

⁸ Celibate ascetic. ⁹ See Introduction to Tantra Sdstra. ¹⁰ Ibid. ¹¹ Samadhi. ¹² Sravana.

¹³ Manana. ¹⁴ Nididhyasaaa.

¹⁵ That is, between the real and the unreal. ¹⁶Vairagya: unattachment to worldly things.

The pious poet Daiarathi Ray has, on the subject of the coming¹of the Mother of the world,² said:

"My child, the mother says, you will come to know,

You will no longer have to weep.

Incessant tears have brought an end to weeping,

The child who clings to and calls 'mother,'

That child holds the mother fast.

The mother is ashamed to let it weep.

Mother does not care for the children who mix with others

And go about laughing and playing.

She does not go to them and easily obtains leisure,

And takes the child who weeps on her lap." O Thou who art full of mercy for the poor, tell me, O Mother, when will the day come for Thy Sadhaka, when I shall weep as I ought to weep for Thee, the day on which Thou wilt come and say: "No longer weep. Incessant tears have brought an end to weeping?"

A patient in delirium suffering from Sannipatika fever³feels no sorrow. Hari, Hari,⁴ shall we learn to weep ? If, when we are at worldy work, anyone should happen to stand before us in the dress of a Sadhaka we instantly leave the work, and with all the frown and fury at our command, expel him from our house and then find peace, Being such as we are, will our sinful hearts weep to obtain Sadhakas, instead of weeping for Hell. O thou Dweller in the Heart! O thou Saviour! Dost thou know, O Mother, how long it will be before we are delivered of this sin ? With a heart such that the very attempt to speak of it makes me fear because of the fearful visions of sin which it raises before my eyes, I am prepared to dishonour Śāstra, Sadhu, and Dharma. With such a heart again I proceed to meet Sadhus. How great is my shamelessness! To say that were there living any saintly Sadhaka, he would surely one day or other meet me in my house, argues great vanity on my part.

¹ Agamanl. ² Jagadamba, a title of the Devī.

³ A violent fever, said to affect the blood and produce delirium.

⁴ Name of Visnu.

What a ridiculous display of impudent presumption!¹ Why, what Indras, Candras, Vayus or Varunas, have you and I become that we should meet Sadhakas without having to stir from our houses? You will say, you have learning, wealth, and a following. You have. But what is that to the Sadhaka? It is our mistake which leads us to tell him we have learning. Shall I speak of learning to him who, through the grace of Mahavidya, holds the eight forms of Siddhi² in the palm of his hand ? Shall I boast of my wealth to those who, possessing the priceless wealth of the feet of Tārā,³ consider even the position of an Indra as of no worth ? I want to show the strength of my following to the son of that Mother, Creatrix of all, Whose very glance commands the service of everyone from Sankara⁴ Himself to the molecules and atoms of the Bharmāņda! How mighty is the strength of my intellect! And even should we, whilst sitting at home, or going to places of pilgrimage, or moving about cremation grounds or places of execution, ever come across Sadhakas are we able to recognize them? Have we come to know Devata because He is installed in every house?⁵ When, after killing Hiranyakasipu, Bhagavan Nrsimhadeva⁶ wished to grant a boon to Prahlada,⁷ crest-gem of devotees, the latter at once said: "As worldly persons who are unable to discriminate the unreal from the real, form lasting attachments to wife, children, and other things, so often as they willingly or unwillingly constantly think of them, so may I constantly remember Thee. May my love for Thee never forsake me." Bhagavan, the abode of the supreme love, was then standing in a visible form before him, but yet Prahlada did not say: "I want Thee." Without seeking

¹ Devas of the firmament, moon, wind, and water.

² The eight great powers, as to which see Introduction to Tantra Śāstra.

³ One of the ten great forms (Daia Mahavidya) of the Devī (see Dasa Mahavidya, Upāsana Rahasya, by Prosanna Kumar Sastri).

⁴ Śiva.

⁵ Referring to the image (Pratima) installed in Hindu households.

⁶ Visnu in his man-lion incarnation, undertaken for the destruction of the atheist Hiranyakasipu, who had cruelly tortured his son Prahlada because the latter was a devotee of Visnu.

⁷ For his great devotion to the Deva.

Bhagavan himself, he prayed that he might have devotion towards Him. For, Prahlada, the crest-gem of those who have true knowledge,¹ knew that the presence of Bhagavan was not rare, since He pervades the universe. He knew, however, that what is rare is devotion to His feet. To him who desires to possess devotion, the presence or absence of Bhagavan are the same, since there can be no realization of Bhagavln without pier.. But if a man have devotion, Bhagavan, even though he were at a distance of hundred crore of yojanas² must appear before him wherever, and in whatsoever form, he desires. Just as the water of a river when mingling with the sea cannot be distinguished from it, so the existence of a devotee minghng with Bhagavan cannot be distinguished from Him. Just as the rare presence of Bhagavan is obtained through devotion, so pious men too, though rare in every place, are subject to control by love. Again, just as through want of piety we are a hundred yojanas from the presence of Bhagavan, though he is always before us, so we are unable to discern the real self of a saintly Sadhaka, a devotee of Bhagavan, even if we meet him. We see with our physical eyes, but our eyes of wisdom are ever blind. The Tantra Śāstra has said that he alone is dear to the Mother of the world,³ whose heart naturally rejoices with love at the sight of Kulasadhakas,⁴ in the same way as the heart naturally rejoices at the sight of wife, children, and friends.

Now, to speak truly, do I look at Sadhakas with eyes open with such joy and softened with such love? If I did, how could my heart forsake their company and be charmed by that of kith and kin? And why does my heart long for the latter even after I have seen a Sadhu ? The reason is, that a saint is saintly, but my vision is unsaintly,⁵ and is therefore a hindrance instead of being a help towards meeting Sadhakas. Say now, is it not a great sin to think that there are no Sadhakas merely because we do not see them in every city or village? Whether we see them

¹ Literally, persons proficient in tattva.

² A crore is 10,000,000 and a yojana is about eight miles. ³ jagadamba. ⁴ Worshippers according to Kulacara. ⁵ A Sadhu is Sadhu, but the vision is Asadhu.

or not, do not widen your own path to Hell by saying that there are no Sadhakas in the world. Do not also be astounded to hear that in the Kālī age Sadhakas who follow the Tāntrik form of worship attain Siddhi in one lifetime. At the very moment when you and I are virulently criticising the subject of Sadhakas, be sure that at that moment hundreds of Sadhakas in the boundless kingdom of the universe are making their births blessed, their lives blessed, and the world blessed by clasping to their hearts the feet of Her who gives success to all purposes. Blessed are we who, being born in Bharatavarsa,¹ made holy by the touch of their feet, are able to gratify ourselves by the taking of their names.

¹ India.

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