Shakti and Shakta

SHAKTI AND SHAKTA ll¥ SIX JOHN WOODROFFE GANB8H & CO., MADRAS LUZAC & CO., LONDON 1939 KM* mm BrSFinoH iNSTTraif IfilCrJUR. .'OCHIN STATE. >4MAftl9flQ SHAKTI AND SHAKTA ESSAYS AND ADDRESSES ON THE SHAKTA TANTRASHASTRA uv 51 K JOHN WOODROFPE THIRD EDITION REVISED AND ENLARGED QANE3H & CO., MADRAS LUZAC & 00., LONDON 1929 _ I^IHTHO AT Tiff: Pmbm M V'AOllK RO AO, IUtar.Al.Att Cl TV PREFACE TO Thikd Edition. rpHlS edition has been revised and corrected throughout, -*• and additions have been made to boiho of the original Chapters. Appendix 1 of the last edition baa boon mado a new Chapter (VII) in the book, and the former Appendix II has now boon attached to Chapter IV. The book ban moreover been very considerably enlurged by the addition of eleven new Chapters. New also aro the Appendices, The first oontuins two lectures given by ine, in French, in 1917, beforo the Society Artistique et LitAraire Francois® de Calcutta, of which Society Lady Woodioffe was one of the Founders and President. The second represents the sub stance (published in the French Journal " Le Ijotus bleu") of two lectures I gave in Paris, in the year 1921, before tho French Thoosophicul Sociuty (October ft) and at the MtiaAr Uuiinot (Ootobor 6) at tho instunoo of L’Assooiation Fron- caisc dea Ainia do I/Orient. At this Ust meeting Professor Dr. Sylvain LAvl was present) and M. Masson Oursol, also of the College do France, in an Introductory speech said that •• as one inoronaingly explored tho TAutrik literature, hitherto almost unknown, discovery is made not ol moro and more dissimilarities, but of a closer and closer connection between these Scriptures and tho other Religions”. The T&ntrik cult was not, he said, "a mere superstitious imposition" (SimagrAc superstitious©). " Its belief that man can realize the divine in him and outside him is the postulate also of all those who liavo divinised the ritual word as Brahman and of all who neck in Yoga a theurgio equivalent." *Tho Preau Notices (to which I might have added various addresses and letters of approval) are reprinted not merely to nerve theix usual purpose as recommendations to a possiblo reader, but also as showing, firstly, the state of Indian opinion on the Sh&stra, as an integral part of Hinduism VI and not merely a pathological excrescence on it and secondly, the effect produced on Western minds to which the Scripture was presented lor the first time. Thus, Pro- fessor Evola ("11 Nuovo Parst") has recently very truly remarked that the Tincrik system here described " ofiers many suggestions to the West in virtue of its accentuation of Will and Power”. (Offrono grande suggestione per gli Occidentali in virtd del loro accentuare essenzialmente la parte della volonta e della potenza}. To him (“ BilyrJinis", Octobor lOiit) this Bhukta system is one of the mast impor- tant of Ran torn syetemn (ora uno doi emtomi Oriantali pin important®) raining on a grand foundation a vast ensemble of ilietapliyaiu, magic and devotion (8u questo nfondo gmndioeo i Tantra svolgono un vaeto insieme motaflaico, magico, o de vozionalo). .Noteworthy too are the obaervationa of Professor Dr. W intermix in the " Ouasialische ZetUehnft" (1910 Heft 8. See Chapter V of this book) that (aa I have all along con- tended) tho Tantra Sh&stras deserve a study which they have previously not received, and that they have been judged without knowledge. (Aus dom gooagteiu orhollt dusa Avalon reoht hat wonn or crkiiirt dais mun biuhur Ubor dieae litoratur allsu oft geuiteilt und noc.h mehi Abgeurtnilt hut ohne aie zu keiuieu und daw die Tantrna cm verdieneu, bcDBor bokanut zu werden, ala oh blahar dor fall geweeen iat). This statement u» the more weighty, aa this critic is not attracted by the Scriptures which ho tokos to bo pre- dominantly magical. As to this see what I liuve auid in Chapter V post. Tho philoaophor Honnnu Koyaorliug in his now celebrnt «1 work " Das foist TuytbucJi Iiintr Philosopher", recently translated into English (•' The Travel Diary of a Philosj- phei "), writes (pp.‘ 223-2*24) of the Tantras that “however extravagant some of its sayings may sound, their meaning is clear and their fundamental ideas are in accordance with reason”. And again (p. 231), " I personally am convinced that the teachings of the Tantras are correct on the whole, but that it is nevertheless in the order of things that they meet with less and loss observance for the development of humanity tends uway from ritualism." 1 have my doubts as regards this last point A strong ritualistic revival is in foroe to-day and there is likely to be always the reciprocal reaction of Puritanism and Ritualism. 1 cannot do better than conclude these foreign criticisms with a note of the recent observations of a French writer in the Journal " L'HumnniU " in which, referring to the French edition (Bossord, Paris) of A. and E. Avalon’s "Hymna to the Ooddeas ”, and other works on the 8hiatra. lie has nothing to any about its " puerility " or "w orthlewnesa” but, on the contrary, writes : • “ These conceptions display an as- tonishing philosophic subtlety (Uno dtonnante aubtilitd phil- osophique). This volume nnd others of ths collection show the interest which Oriental rmoarch bus for all those who are interested in the evolution of humanity, the future cohesion of which may be expected because of the community of origin. V\'« have still to learn much of Asia. Some Russian revolutionaries have called their coun try Eurasia, as being the junction of the two Continents. There is truth in this. If we persist iu our Western deca- dence, it may be that the sest of civilization will pass to the East, the great primitive source of generations of men. Some poets have already said Europe is no more and that Asia alone contains the future in its secret valleys." With such poets and their propheciea of Western decadence I disagree. Nevertheless, it ia rightly gsid that we, Occi- dentals, cau complete our own culture nnd render our thoughts more complete and humane by observation of the Orientals and establishing contact with the conscience of modern Asia : that between these extreme points of time, past and present, wc shall discover fecund traditions, and our desire for a spiritual universality will find its satisfaction. It is to such minds that the great concepts of India will make appeal. 1 am glad to rejiort that years of work have borne somo fruit in the shape of a more discriminating judgment. For myself it is enough, as it hus always been, to say here in the words of the French writer Duuoyer, " I do not oppose. Nor do I propose. I merely expose.” But for this last we must both know the facta and understand them. " Get knowledge, and with getting get understanding." This process on my own part has led to the revision of some of the matter reprinted so aa to bring it into norordanoe with my present knowledge and opinions. Byqdin, Valdres, I Uh Adjust 1W27 f J. W. PREFACE to Sbconii RnmoN. T'VHIS present edition ia practically * now work, lor 1 have revised and added to all the original Chapters and written six new onoe (1, 0, 0, 10, 11 and 15). Seven of the original Chapter* embodied a set of Lee cures delivered before, and at the request of, the Yivck&nanda Society in Calcutta, a drcumatanco which will explain both the manner of them as also the " Conclusions ” with which the volume cloeea. These Lectures and other collected paper* traverse now ground in the Literature of Indian Religion, for they are the first attempt to give an authenticated and understanding general account, from the Indian standpoint, of the chief features of tho Doctrine nnd Practioo of that aloes of Indian worshippers who am called Hhftktna, that in, thoso who adore the Divine Power (MohAahnlcti) as Mnh&devi, tiro Great Mother (Magna Muter) of tho universe. Ah thin religious community shares in common with others certain prinoi|dee and practices, the work is also necessarily an account of tho worship and spiritual disciplines called S&dlianA which, in varying forma, are adopted by all com- munities of Indian worshippers (Sftdhakae) governed by the igame an<l it* numerous scriptures called Tunlras. Thorn Shftktos aro to be found all over India, but are hugely predominant in Bengal and Assam, in which former Prov- ince I have lived for about tho last tliirty years, and with the boliof of whose people therefore l mu more clooclv ac- quainted than with uny other. And tills, in part, account* for tho fact that I deal with their faith. Their doctrine and practice have not hitherto been understood and have been ill-spoken of, due to abu9ee which have occurred among the members of some sections of the community. If, then, I have succeeded in giving in this and other works a just I account of tho Scripture, and in reducing such evil as has been charged against some of its adherents to its right propor- tions, I filial I be glad to have been in a position to make some small return to u baud which, more than any other, has been my home, and to which 1 am, in manifold ways, indebted. Though, aa I said in the last edition, I rate highly Sh&kta doctrine and (with some exceptions) Shakta rituals. I do not commit mysolf to the acceptance of everything which any Shakta may have hold or done. And though I have fur- nished argument in favour of this much-abused faith mid practice, 1 am not hero concerned to establish the truth and rightness of either. It in sufficient for my present purpose to show that it is reasonable, and that neither it nor " the Turin ” i* the absurd and altogether immoral thing which some have supposed it to be. My attitude is an objective one. I have endeavoured to explain my subject ns simply and lucidly as the recondite matters treated of allow, from an entirely detached and unpre- judiced standpoint. In giving an account of Indian beliefs and practices, we, who arc foreigners, muot place ourselves in the skin of tho Hindu, and must look at their doctrine and ritual through their eyes and not our own. It is difficult, 1 know, for most to do this : but until they can, their work luokh real value. And this is why, despite their industry and learning, tho aocouuta given by Western authors of Eastern beliefs so generally fail to give their true moaning. Many, I think, do not even make the attempt.. They look at the matter from the point of view of their own creed, or. (what is much worse), racial prejudice may stand in the way of the admimriou of any cxccllenoo or superiority in u coloured people. The method T follow is that of the Indian commentator, who, for the nonce, adapts himself to the standpoint of the doc- trine which he explains. I mention this because two of my critics seem to think that my object, is to establish the superi- ority of this particular form of Ved&ntik teaching over others. One may, of course, have one's personal preferences, but it is uot my object here to establish the superiority of any school of Indian thought, Thin is a matter which each will decide for himself. One of these critics has said, “ Tho Tantras arc claimed to be the specific S lustra lor the Kaliyuga by the TAatriks. Mr. Avalon teems to have taken these latter at their own valuation ; and this has considerably influenced his whole estimate of these books us ShAstrua or authorities on the Hindu system. In doing so, he has fallen into a series of curiouo errore in regard to other and particularly the Vaiahnavic denominations." This criticism which was passed on one of my earlier books has been repeated as regards this. What these errors are my critica have not told me. I did not intend to deal, uot uni I aware of having dealt, with the Ynishnava system beyond poiuting out in the most general way that there is a Vaishnava and Shuiva ns well ns a HhAkta Agama. 1 have criticised noithor this nor the Shuiva Agama. both of which aohooln aro also of high value. Though the instructed Western reader is aware that there arc other interpretations of VmlAnUk besides that ol Shafikaia, many write utt if tho VedAnts meant his MftyAvAdu. This is not so. VcdAnta is Upauishnd of which there are vorying interpretations. Each has certain merits and certain defect*, as must nece* sarily be the case when we apply logic to that which is alogicnl. Indeed the point which I took, and which I had hoped I had made, plain was this.— Tantra ShAatra does not simply mean tho ShAkU Tantrn. The latter is only one division of Agoma which has to day three main schools, Sh&kta, Bhaivu, and Vaishnava. There urc certain things common to till. There are certain matters wherein they differ. When it is said that the Tantra Shflstra is the scripturo of tho Kali age, what is meant is that the Agama in all its sohools is that. There arc some ancient schools of Vaishnava Agama such 03 the Puuchar&tra, and there aro comparatively modern developments of ^ aiahnava teaching and practice such as that of the great Chaitanya. xii “T&ntrik" does uot mean only “ Shakta” This is tie main error of these critics and others. Naturally, I have token the Slifiktus “ at their own valuation”, for my object is not to show that they ait- right and others wrong, or the contrary, but to state what they, the Shitktas, hold. They alone can say this. A quarrelsome attitude a a regards other creeds is the mark of a lower mind and of what tho Shllktaa coll a l'ashu. I believe a different position in lUMumed by all higher Sidhakas to whatever denomination they belong. Certainly a wide ami liberal view is token by the Shllcta. The Sammohana TarUra (Ch. IX) says that “it is only u fool who boob any difference botween IUum and Shivu." Knch has hin path which, if sincerely pursued, will procure for him tho fruit of it. Whether some paths in tho Indian or othor Religion* are bettor and surer than others, and gam for their followers greater fruit, I do not here discuss. J. W. PREFACE To Fntsr Edition. •'pHK present work deals with its subject only in a very ^ general and. as far ns the matter permits, popular way* I refer those who wish to pursue it further to the other works on Tantra 8hfatru which are published under the name “ Arthur Avalon" to denote that they have been written with the dircot co-operation of others and in particular with the assistance of one of my friend* who will not permit me to mention his name. 1 do not desire sole credit for what is as much their work as mine. 1, in particular, refer my reader to the series of Articles on the Mantra Sh&stra which I wrote for the “ Veddnln Kuan' now reprinting (since published a* “Garland of IsUerH") and to the "Serpent. Power" shortly to be |«bliahed (published in 1018, 2nd (present) Edition, 102C). In this lust tharo is givon, for tho fust time, the rationale of Yoga through the Kundalint Shakti, the outlines of which uru indicated in Chapter XVI of this volume. Tho ShAkta Tantra is a Hldhaul Sh Astra of Monistic (AdvaitavAda) Vcd&nU. It is to mo a profound and power- ful system, and its doctrine of Shakti or Divine Power is one of the greatest evolved, through spiritual intuition, by tho human mind which, according to its teaching, is a mani- festation of the Divine Consciousness Itself (Shiva). The Doctrine is laid on grand lines and what is not, in this Vast. Land of grout distances? 1 write this on a high plateau in I'alamow, and look across a wide stretch of tall grass with tips of waving silver, the home, until about nine years ago (when the place was firet opened), of the wild bison. The green and silver of the Prairie is splashed here and there with patches of orango flower, which the blazing sun jowcls with itE points of light. The near distance shows the water of a mountain tarn and two clumps of trees— the groves of worship of the ancient Kolarian peoples. Here a sparse remnant adore to-day, as did their ancestors thousands of years ago. Of Brahmanism or other Aryan faith, there is no sign. Be- yond, the grassland rises to meet the great length of ft mounting hill-forest, dark green against the blue of distance, in which other Hill tops beckon forward the curious mind with their lure of mystery. And this hue is all around, for the upland is girdled some fifteen hundred feet below with wooded valleys, valleys on the Mast black with great Sal forests, which, as those of the upland, nro the haunt of hear, tiger and samhur,— wild forest*, lit only horo and there by rare open spaces, nnd the glinting stream and white sands oi the Koel River. Beyond the valleys, and all around the upland are a circle of Hills rising on tlio East, wave upon wave. Here man, who has not known himself and his greatness woma nought, and Mature all, a feeling which deepens as night falls on the earth with quick assault, the dark dome of heaven sparkling with the light of countless rising stars, fading ftgnin at Dawn ns the Visihlc Devatl, the roaplondont joyous Sun, tho Eye of Vishnu, arisas from out the *' Eastern Mountain ”, Suoh a vast scene io but one of many in thin, itself vast, secular, and awe-inspiring land. Such n view, wo may imagine, was displayed before the eyes of the incoming Aryan peoples. Upon thorn the influence of the Soil fell, filling them with awe. The Spirit, manif eating in this Sa- cred Earth, at, length revealed I feel f in their minds. Within them nrose the Inner Sun, which is tho Eight of all. unveil- ing to the eye of mind truths hiddon in it* subtle garb of thought. Theeo tenuous veils again fell nway, when, by tho intuition of the forest- sagee, wae realised the Spiritual Ether of OjnsoiousneBs, whose Mother-Power (Shakti) as Will. Thought and Action ever personahres as the life of this magnotio stretch of earth whioh is India, as the world of which it is an head- ornament, and os (in the words of the Indian Scripture) the countless other universes, which ore but tho dust of Her Sovereign Feet. Netorhat, ) J. W. lllik October 1918.) CONTENTS. Section l.— I ntroductory Chap. T. BhArata Dharma . . • • Page I II. The World m Tower (Shakti) a a 23 in. The Tantraa a a 60 IV. Tantru and Veda Sh&itraa . . c a 06 V. The Tantraa and Religion of the Sh&ktaa a a 100 VI. Shakti and ShAkta • • 127 VII. la 8hakti Force ? . . « a 175 VIII. ChtnlckAra • • 170 IX. T antra ShAatraa in Chinn . . • • 191 X. A Tibotan Turin . . • • • 109 XI. Shakti in Taoiam .. • a 212 XII. Alleged Conflict of ShAatiaa • • 220 xm. SnrvAuandanAtha • • 286 XIV. Section 2.— Doctrinal C hit Shakti e a 240 XV. MAyi Shakti . . • a 272 XVI. Matter aud Couaoitmaneaa . . • • 310 XVII. Shakti and Mftyft .. a a 320 XVIII. ShAkta Advaitavfldo • a 342 XIX. Creation • • 365 XX. The Iudiuu Magna Mater . . • • 383 XXI. Section 3.— Ritual Hindu Ritual • • 407 XXII. Vedinta and Tantra « • 428 XVI Chap. XXII I. The Psychology of Hindu Religious Paqk Ritual 434 XXIV. Shalcti aa Mantra . . 4fi2 XXV. VaraamUA 484 XXVI. Shilcta SAdhana or Ordinary Ritual 4fl0 XXVII. Pnnohatattva or Secret. Ritnal . . MS XXVIII. Matom Rutro (The Right and Wrong Interpretation) DOS Bsction 4. — Yon a and Conclusion! XXIX. Kundnlint Shalcti . . 682 (Tho Serpent Power) XXX The Agaxnas and th« Future <WH XXXI. Ooncluatona 673 APPUNPICKS. (1) Quolquea 0<W»pt* Fomlamontuux doe IlindouaOBS (2) Quclquos Obecmuonn sur le Rituol Hindou 70U SHAKTI AND SHAKTA. Chaftbh I. INDIAN RELIGION AS BHAKATA DHARMA. A KRIEND of mine who read the first edition of tliis book suggostod that I should add to it an opening Chapter, abating the most general and fundamental principles of the subject m a guide to the understanding of what follows, together with an outline of tho lattor in which tho rolution of the several parte should be shown. I have not at present the time, nor in the pxesont book tho apace, to give offect to my friend's wishes in the way 1 would have desired, but. will not altogether neglect them. To the Woetorn, Indian Religion generally seems a “ jungle” of oontradictory beliufa amidst which he is lost. Only those who have understood its main principles con show them tho path. It lus boon asserted that, there is no luoh tiling as Indian Religion, though there are many Religions in India. Thie is uot so. As I have already pointed out (" Li India Civilized I ") there is a oammon Iudiou religion which I have called Bhflrat* Dharma, which is an Aryan religion (Aryadharma) held by all Atyaa whether Brahmanio, Buddhist or Jaina. These are the throe main divisions of the Bh&rato Dharma. 1 exclude other religions in India, namely, tho Semitic religions, Judaism, Christianity and Jalam. Not that all these are purely Semitic. Christianity became in part Aryanized when it was adopted by the West- ern Aryans, as also happened with Islam when accepted bv such Eastern Aryans an tbo Pomians and the Aryanized peoples of India. SHAKTI AND SHAKTA Thus Sufiism is either a funn of Vedanta or indebted to it. The general Indian Religion or Bh&rata Dharma holds that the world ia an Order or Cosmos. It is not a Chaos of things and beings thrown haphazard together, in whioh there is no binding relation or rule. The world- order ia DliamiH, which is that by whioh the universe is upheld (Dliftiyate) Without D harms it, would fall to pienea and dissolve into nothingness But this is not possible, for though there is Disorder (Adharmo), it oxiete, end can exist only looally, for a time, and in particular parts of the whole. Ordor however will and, from the nature of tilings, must ultimately assort itself. And this is tlw moaning of the saying that Righteousness or JJhanna prevails. This is in the nature of things, for Dharma is not a law imposed from without by the Ukase of aomo Celestial Czar. It is the nature of things ; that which constitutes them what they am (Svalokshaoad hflrnofU Dlmrma). It ia the expression of their true being nnd can only ooaso to bo, when thoy themsolvoa cenao to be. Belief in rightcouancee is then in something not arbitrarily im- posed from without by a Law-giver, but belief in u Princi- ple of Reason which all men cun recognize for themselves if thoy will. Again Pluuuia is not only the law of each lieing but noceasorily also of the whole, and expresses the right relations of each pari, to the whole. This whole is again harmonious, otherwise it wo aid dissolve. The principle which holds it together as one mighty organism is Dharma. The particular Dharma calls for such recognition and action in acoordanoa therewith. Religion, therefore, which ety- mologically inouDB that whioh obliges or binds together, is in ito most fimdamentd sense tlw teoMjnUvm that the wodd is an Order, of winch each man, being, and thing, is a part, and to whioh each man stands in a definite, cetablished relation ; together with action based on, anil consistent with, such recognition, and in hawwny with the whole cosmic 2 bhArata dharma activity. Whilst therefore the religious man in ho who fools that ho is bound in varying ways to all being, the irreligious man is he who eguistioally considers everything from the stand point of his limited sell anil its interests, without regard for his fellows, or the world at largo. Tho essentially irreligious character of such an attitude is shown by the fact that, if it were adopted by all, it would lead to the negation of Cosmos, that is Chaos. Therefore all Religions aro agreed in the essen- tials of morality and hold that selfishness, in its widest sense, is the root of all ain (Adharma). Morality is thus the true nature of man. The general Dharma (Sflminya Dharma) is the universal law governing all, juat as the particular Dharma (Viahc^ha Dharma) varira with, and iu peoulior to, each class of being. It follows from what is above stated that disharmony is suffering. This 1 h au obvious fact. Wrong conduct is productive of ill, os right conduct Is pro- ductive of good. As a man sows, so ho will reap. There is an Immanent Juatioe. But those results, though they may appear at onoe, do not always do so. The fruit of uo action is lost. It must, according to tho law of causality, which is a law of reason, boar effect. If its author does not suffer for it here and now in the present life, he will do so in some future one. Birth and death mean tho creation and destruction of bodice. Tho spirits so tfmbodiod aro infinite in number and eternal. Tho material universe comes and goes. This in Brahmanism hus boon said (hcc SaiiAlana Vaidika Dharma by Bliaguvttu Dan) to be "the Systole and Diastole of the one Universal Ilenrt, Itself ut rest- tlio moveless ploy of Consciousness". Tho appearance and disappearance of the Universe is tho nature or BvabhAva of That which it ultimately is. Its immediate cause is Desire, which Buddhism calls TrishnA— or Thirat, that is desire or thirst for world-enjoymont in the univorao of form. Action (Karma) is prompted by desire and breeds again desire. Thia action may I** good (Dharma) or bad (Adharma) leading to enjoyment or suffering. Each 3 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA embodied soul (JlvUtmft) will bo reborn and reborn into the world until it is freed from all desire. This involves the dootrine of Re-incarnation. These multiple births and deaths in the trammigratory worlds are called Sarhshra or Wandering. The world is a Dv&ndva, that is a composite of happiness and suffering. Happiness of a transitory kind may ho ha<l therein by adlieronoo to Dharnm in following K&nia (Desire) and Artlio (the moans) by whioh Inwful dceiree may be given cffcot. Thcac oonBtituto what Brah mania in calls the Trivarga of Llui Purutdiftrtha, or three aims of sentient being. But just na desire leads to mani- festation in form, no dcBirelossness leads away from it. Those who reaoh this .stale seek Mokjlia or NirvAna (the fourth l'tini#hartlui), which is a state of Bliss beyond the worlds of changing forms. For there is a rest from suffering which Desire (together with a natural tendency to pass its right limit*) brings upon men They must, there- fore, oithor live with dooiro in harmony with tho univoroal order, or if doaireless, they may (for each in master of his future) piss beyond the manifest and become That whioh is Mokpha or Nirvana. Uoliglon, and therefore true civili- zation, consists in tlie upholding of Dluinnu as the individual and general good, and the fostering of spiritual progress, so that, with justice to &!1 beings, true happiness, whioh is the immediate and ultimate end of all Humanity, and indeed of all being, may be attained. Anyone who holds those beliefs follows the. BhArato Dlinrmu or common principle* of ull Aryan beliefs. Thus as regard# Ood wc may cither deny His existence (Atheism) or affirm it (Theism) or say we have no sufficient proof one way or another (.Agnosticism). It is possible to accept the concept of an eternal Law (Dharma) and its sanctions in a aolf-govcrued universe without belief in a personal Lord (lshvara). So SAflkhya, which proceeds on intellectual proof only, does not deny Ood but holds that the being of a Lord is “not proved". 4 BHARATA dharma There are then bused on thus ooiumou foundation three main religions, Brahmanism, Buddhism and Jainism. Of the second, a great and universal faith, it lias been said that, with each fresh acquirement of knowledge, it seems more difficult to separate it from the Hinduism out of which it emerged and into which (in Northern Buddhism) it relapsed. Thia is of oouree not to say that, there are no differences between the two, but that they share in certain general and oommon priuoiploo as thoir base. Brahmanism, of wliioh tho Sh&klu dootrinc and practice is a particular form, aooepts Vedu us ilo ultimate authority. By this, in its form n« tlie four Vedas, is revealed the doctrine of the Brahman, tho "All-pcrvader," the infinite Subetance which is in Ita«lf (Bvarfipa) Oonjoiouaneas (Chaitanya or Chit) from Which oomos oreation, maintenance and withdrawal, commonly oallod destruction (though man, not God, destroys), and Which in It* relation to the univewe which the Brahman controls is known oh Ishvara, tho Ruling Lord or Per- sonal God. Voda both ui spiritual experience and tlui word "wliioh is heard" (Hliruti) i* the warrant) for tins. But SklUli, us til ic ultimate authority, hoe received various interpretations and to we find in Brahmanism, as in Chrisui- unity, di tie ring schools and wet* adopting various inter- pretations of the Reveoled Wonl. Veda soys "All this (that is, the Universe) is Brahman." All are agreed that Braluuan or Spirit is, relatively to us, Being (Sat), Conscious- ness (Chit) and Bliss (Anandn). It in SachohidAnnnda. But in what sense is "This" (Idaui) Bmliman ? The Monistic interpretation (Advaitavflda), as given for instanoo by the great echolaatic Sliaflknrloh&rya, is that there ia a complete identity in essence of both. There is ouc Spirit (Atmft) with two aspects ; as transoendeut supreme (Pora- matmft), and ss immanent and embodied (Jtvhtanft). The two arc at base one when we eliminate Avidyft in the form of mind and boily. Accorduig to the qualified Monism (VishiehtAdvaita) of the great scholastic K&inSnuja, “This" 5 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA ih Brahman iu the sense that it is the body of the Brahman, just as we distinguish our body from our inner’aelf. Aoeoid- ing to the Dualists (Dvuitavida) the saying is interpreted in terms oi nearness (Samipya) and hkenesa (SAdpahya) for, though God ami man are distinct, the former so per- vadea and is so unextricably involved in the universe as creator and maintainor, that the latter, in this sense, seems to he Brahman through proximity. Then again there is the Rhuddhftdvaita of that h ranch of the Aganios which is oallod Shnivosiddh&nta, the Vuiah puva Punohar&Lr* doctrine, the Advaita of the Kashmirian Shaivftgatuu (Trika), the folk) wore of whioh, though A.l- voitms, have very subtly oritdoized Shaflkora's doctrine on several points. Diilorence of views upon this question and that of the nature ol MAyA, which the world is said to lx*, neowsarily implies difference upon othor matters of doowino. Then there are, with many resemblances, soruo differences in ritual pmr.taoe. Thus it wimes about that Brahmanism indudes many divisions of worshippers nailing tlicmsclvcs by different numou. There uro Smlrtaa who are the present-day representatives of the old Vftidik dootrinc und ritual praotioe, and ou the othor hand u number of divisions of worehippora colling thonreelvea ShAktus, Shalvas, Vaisliouvas and ho forth with sub-divisions of these. It is not. powiiblo to make hard and fast distinctions between the accta which share much in common and have been influenced the ouc by the other. Indeed the universality of much of religious doctrine and practice is an established fact. What crista in India as elsewhere to-day has in other times and places boon iu varying degree* anticipated, “hi Religion" it lias betra aaid ("Gnostics and their Remains" viii) “there is no new thing. The same ideas are worked up over und over again." In India on elsewhere, but parti- cularly in India where religious aotivity has been syncretistic rather than by way of aupereession, there is much which is common to all sects and more again which is common 6 bhArata dharma between particular groups of tseote. These latter arc governed In general, that h, in their older forma, by the Again as or Tantra-Shitotnu, which, at any rate to-day and for centuries past (whatever may liavc been their origin), admit the authority of the Vedas and recognize other Scriptures. (As to these, soo the Introduction to the Kaul&ch&iya SadA- nanda’s Commentary on tlw tshu Uponiahad which I have published.) The meaning of Veda is not commonly rightly under- stood. But this is a vast Bubject which underlies nil others, touching as it does the seat of all authority and knowledge into which I have not the space to enter lure. There are four main cIamob of Brahiuanical Scripture, namely, Veda or Hhrnti, Rnipti, Purina, and Agamu. Them are ulxo four ogee or Yugu tho latter being a fraction of a Kalpa or Day of BrahmA of 4,390,000 years. This period is the life of au universe, ou tho expiration of which all re- enters Brahman aud thereafter issues from it, A Mah&yuga is ootu posed of the Four Ages oalled Satya, TrotA, DvApura, Kali, tho first being the golden ago of righteousness since whon all lias gradually declined physically, mo rally, uud spiritually. For each of the ages a suitable ShAstru is given, for Satya or Kfitn the Vedas, for Tn*tA the Hmritiah&atra, for DvApara the PurApns, and for Kaliyugn tho Aganm or Tantro 8hQot.ru. So tlw KulArpava Tautm uuys : Krite shrulyukta dcJulrattreldydm mr\ti-wmbkamh Dvdpare tu purdnoktal\, kaldvdf/uinatmmaUik (occ also Mahftnin'&ua Tantra I 28 ft icq.) and tho T&rft- pradtpa aays that m the Kaliynga (the supposed prrucrit ago) the T&atrika uud uot the Vaidika Dharuie, in tho sense of mode of life and ritual, is to be followed (see “ Principles of Tantra,” Kd. A. Avulon). When it is paid that the Agama is the peculiar Scripture of tho Kali age, this dues not mean (at any rate to any particular division of ita followers) tliat something is presented which is opposed to 7 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA Veda. It i e true however that, ae between these followers, there is sometimes a conflict on the question whether u particular form of the Agama is unvedie (Avaidika) or not. The Agama, however, as a whole, purports to be a present- ment of the teaching of Veda, just as the Purhpas and Smritia aTe. It ia that presentment of Vaidik truth which is suitable for the Kali age. Indeed the fihAkta followers of the Agama claim that its Tantros contain the very core of the Veda to which it ib dose ribed to bear tlw (tame relation aa the Supremo Spirit (PoromAtmA) to the embodied spirit (JtvAtuiA). Iu a similar way, in t.ho seven Tantrik AohArna (ace Oh IV post), KaulAchAra is the controlling, informing life of the greas body railed VwIAchAra, each of the AcbArai, whioh follow the lattor up to Kaul&ch&ra, being more and more subtle sheath*. The Tantrn ShAatru is thus that presentment of Vedantio truth whioh is modelled , as regards mode of lilo and ritual, to moot the charaotcriHtice and infirmities of the Kaliyuga, Aa men have no longer the capacity, longevity and moral strength required to cany out the Vaidikn Karma- kftod« (ritual section), tho Tantrn BhAatm prescribe* a tSAdhnnA of its own for the attainment of the common end of all ShAatro, that is,, a happy life on earth, Heaven there- after, and at length Liberation. Religion is in foot the true pursuit of happiness. As explained in tire next and following Chapters, this Agama, whioh governs according to ite followers tho Kali- yuga, m itself divided into uoveral schools or communities of worshippers. One of these divisiona is the BhAkta. It ia with ShftltU doctriue and worship, one of tlio forma of Brahmftniam, whioh it again a form of the general RhArata Dharma, that tins book deals. The Sh&kta is so called because ho is a worshipper of Shakti (Power), that in, God in Mother-form as the Supreme Power which creates, sustains and withdraws the universe. His rule of Ufa in Shftktadlmnna, his doctrine of Shakti is Sh&kuv&da or Shfikta Daruhana. Gcd in wo shipped as tho 8 bhArata dharma Groat Mother because, in this aspect) Cicxl it* active, and produces, uourislieo, and maintains all. Theological Godhead is uo more female than male or neuter. God is Mother to the SAdhaka who worships Her Lotus Feet, the dust on which are millions of universes. The Power, or active aspect of the immanent God, is thus called Shale ti. In Her statio transoencleut aspect the Mother or Shakti or SliivA is of Llie name nature at Shiva or “the Good”. That is, philo- sophically speaking, Shiva is the unchanging ( VniHciousncrM, and Shukti ia it* ohanging Power appearing ai mind and matter. Shiva-Slmkti ia therefore Consciouaiioaa and lui Power. Thin then is the dootrine of dual aspects of the ono Brahman acting through Its Trinity of l’oworw (lohohhA, Will ; JfiAiu, Knowledge ; Kriyft, Action), in the stutio transcendent aspect (Slav*) tin- one Brahman does not change, ami in the kinetic immanent aspect (Shiv A or Shakti) It doew. Thera is thus olisnga!e*Hn«a in change. The individual or embodied Spirit (JlvAtmA) is one with the transcendent spirit (PataiiiAtuiA). The former is a part (Artuhn) of the latter, ami the enveloping mind and body aio manifestations of Supreme Power. SliAkta Dnrahana in therefore a form of .Monism (Adv*it*vAdtt). In creation an affect is pnxlnocd without change in the Producer. In creation the Power (Shakti) "goo* forth” (Piusurati) in a series of enmimtion* or transformations, wJiioh ure culled, in the Shuiva and Sh&kta Tantras, the 36 Tattvrn. These mark the various stages through which Shivs, the Supreme Consciousness, M Shakti, preaenta Itself as object to Itself an subject, the latter at; first experiencing the former as part of the Self, and then through the operation of HftyA Shakti as different from the- Self. This is the final stage in which every Self (l’uruihft) is mutually exclusive of every other. M&yi, which auliievw this, is one of the Powers of t he Motlicr or Devi. The Will-to-l*wniie-iiiuuy (Bahu syAm prnjAyeyu) is the creative impulse which not only creates but reproduces au eternal order. The Lord remembers the diversities latent 9 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA in His own MAy& Shakti due to the previous Kamiss of Jivaa and allows them to unfold themselves by His volition. It is that; Power by which infinite formless Consciousness veils Itself to Itself and negates and limits Itself in order that, it may experience Itself as Form. This M&yfi Shakti assumes the form of Pruicriti Tativa, which is composed of three Gunns or Faotora called SativA, Rajas, Tamos. The funotion of I'rakriti is to veil, limit, or finilisc pure infinite formless Oonnoiouanosn, ao os to produoc form, for withoutsuoh limitation tlrore cannot be the uppeur- anoe of form. Those Guy a a work by mutual suppression. The function of Tamaa is to veil Consciousness, of Sattva to reveal it, and of Rojos the active principlo to make either Taman suppress Sattva or Sattva suppress Tamas. Theso Guyiw are present in all particular l•^ri*t«*nn«^ as in the general cause or Prakrit* Slmkti. Evolution moan* the increased operation of Sattva Ouya. Thus tho mineral world is more subject to Taman than the rest. There is leas Tamas And more Suttvu in tho vegetable world, lu the animal world Sattvu is increased, and still more so in man, who may rise through the cultivation of ihc Sattva Guys to Pure Consci- ousness (Moksha) Itself. To use Western pftrlanco Consci- ousness more and more appear* as forms evolve and rise to man. Oonsoiousncw does not in it««lf ohauge, but its montal nnd material envelopes do, thus releasing nnd giving OonociouanoBB more play. As Pur« Consciousness is Spirit, the release of It from the bonds of matter means that Forms which iMue from the Power of Spirit (Shakti' become more and more SAttvik. A truly S&ttvik man la therefore a spiritual man. The aim of SAdhan& is therefore the culti- vation of the Sattva Guna. Nature (PrakfHd) is thus the Veil of Spirit us Tamas Guya. the Rovcalcr of Spirit as Sattva Guya, and the Activity (Rajas Guya) wliioh makes either work. Thus the upward or revealing movement from the predominance of Tamas to that of Sattva represents the spiritual progress of the embodied Spirit or JlvStraS. 10 BHARATA DHARMA It is the desire for the life of form which produces the univeree. This desire exists m the collective Vfwaua, held like all else, iu inchoate state in the Mother-Power, which passing from ita own (Svardpa) formless state gives effeot to them. Upon the expiration of the vast length of time which constitutes a day of Brahnift the whole universe is withdrawn into the great Clausal Womb (Yoni) which pro- duced it. The limited «elvo« are withdrawn into it, and again, when the creative throe* are felt, um put forth from it, each appearing iu that form and state whioh ita previous Kama had made for it. Those who do good Karma but with denim ami nelf-regard (Sakiinit) go, on death, lo Heaven and thereafter reap thoir reward in good future birth on earth— for Heaven is also a transitory state. Ths bad are punished by evil births on ourth and suffering in the I lolls which aw also transitory. Thoso however who have rid themselves of all twlf-rogardiug desire and work selflessly (NishkAma Karma) walir.e the Brahman nature whioh is BiinhohidAnandii. Such are lihomtod, that is novor appear agaiu in tho world of Form, whioh in tho world of sufferiug, atid enter into tho infinite oocan of Bliss Itself. This is Moksha or Mukti or Liberation. As it is freedom from tho universe of form, it can only bo attained through detach- ment from tlw world and dosirolcKBiioea. For thoso who desire tho world of lonn cannot be freed oi it. Life, therefore, is a field in which man, who has gradually ascended through lower forms .of mineral, vegetable and animal life, is given the opportunity of heaven-life and Liberation. The universe has a moral purpose, namely the affording to all existence of a field whoroin it nmy reap tho fruit of its actions. The forms of life oio therefore tho stair* (SopAna) on whioh man mounts to the state of infinite, otemul, and formloao Bliss. TIub then is the origin and the end of man. He has made for himself his own post and present condition and will make his future one. His essential nature is free. If wise, ho adopts the means (S&uhanft) which lead to lasting happiness, SHAKTI AND SHAKTA for that- of the world is not to lie had by all, and even when attained is perishable and mixed with suffering. This SAdliauS consists ot various means and disoipriiues employed to produce purity of mind (Chittashuddhi), and devotion to, and worship of, the Magna Mater of all. It is with these means that the religions Tantra Hhastras are mainly oon- ocmod. The ShAJcta Tantru Shtatra contains a moat elabo- rate and wonderful ritual, partly iU own, partly of Vaidik origin. To a ritualist it ia of ahsorbing interest. Ritual ia uu art, the art of religion. Art ia tho outward material expression of ideas intellectually held und emotion- ally fait. Ritual art is concerned with the expression ol thoao ideas and fcolings which are specifically called religious. It is a mode by wliioh religious truth is presented, and made intelligible in material forms and symbols to the mind. It appeals to all natures passionately sensible of that Beauty in which, to some, God most manifests Himself. But it is more than this. For it is the means by which the mind is transformed and purifiod. In particular according to Indian principles it is tho instrument whereby the conscious uoss ol tho worshipper (fUkllmka) is shaped »>» urtua l fuel into forma of experience which embody tho truths which Scripture teaches. The ShAlcta is thus taught that h« is one with Khiva and Ilia Power or Shakti. This is not a matter ol more argument. It. is a matter for experience. It is ritual and Yoga-practice which secure that experience for him. Mow profound Indian ritual is, will be admitted by these who lmvc undoixtood the general principles of all ritual and symbolism, and have studied it in its Indian form, with n knowledge of tho principles of which it is nn oxpree- sion. Those who speak of “mummery,” " gibberish” and "superstition" betray both their incapacity and ignorance. The Xganins ore not themselves treatises on Philo- Hophy, though they impliedly contain n particular theory of life. They are what is called SAdhauA Shffetras, that is, practical Scriptures prescribing the means by which 12 BHARATA DHARMA h&ppinesa, the quest of all mankind, may he attained. And as lasting happiness in God, they teach how man by worship and by practice of the disciplines pre- sented, may attain a divine experience. From incidental statement* and the practice*) described the philosophy is extracted. The speaker of the Tuutraa and the revcalei of the Shftkta T antra is Shiva Himself or RhivA the Dov! llereelf. Now it is the first who teuoaes and the second who listens (Agoma). Now again the latter awajmea the role of Guru and answer* the questions of Shiva (Nigama). For t)u‘ two are one, Sometimes there an other inter- locutor*. Thus one of the Tantraa is oulloi MivarakArtikeya- HftihvAda, for them the Lord nddo-.-nes his sou KArtikeya. The Tantra Rhfcxtra therefore claims to 1«* a Revelation, and of the samo osiontial truth* a< those contained in tho BUtnal Veda which is an authority to itoalf (Svutub»iddhu). Thoce who have had experience of tho truths rcoorded in Shftatra, have also proclaimed the practical meant whereby their experience was gained. “Adopt, those moans" they eay, "and you will also have for yourself our experience.” This is tho importance of SAdhunA and all SAdhanA ShAstras. The Guru says: “Do as I tell you. Follow the method prescribed by Scripture. Curb your dosirce. Attain a pure disposition, and then and thus only will you obtain that, certainty, that experieuoe whioh will render any question- ings unncoooanry.” Tho practical importance of the Aguuia lies in ita assumption of these principles and in the methods whioh it enjoins for the attainment of that state in which the truth is realized. Tho following Chaptere shortly explain Rome ol the mam features of both the philosophy and practice of the Rh&kta division of the Agama. For their full develop- ment many volumes are necessary. What is here said is a mere sketch in a popular form of a vast subject. I will conclude this Chapter with extract* from a Bengali letter written to me shortly before his dentil, now many 13 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA years ago, by Pandit Shiva-chandra Vidyftnjava, the ShAkra author of the “Tantxatattva" whioh I have published under the title “Principles of Tantra’'. The words in brackets are my own. “At the present time the gcuBral public are ignorant, of the principles of the Tantra Sh&stra. The cause of this ignorauoo in tlie fact that the Tantra ShJetra ie a SftdhanA ShAstra, the greater part of uhicb becomes intelligible, only by Qddband. For this mason the Shflatia and ite Teachers prolii- bit t.heir general promulgation. So long as the Sh&stra was learnt from Gurus only, this golden rule was of immense good. In course of Lime the old SAdhnnA hnu become almost extinct., nr.d along with it, the knowledge of the deep and mighty principles of the Slits tra is almost lost. Nevertheless some fuiutehado wings of then* principle (whioh our bo thoroughly known by SAdhunA only) have boon put before tho public partly with the view to prworvo BhfUtrio knowledge from destruction, and pertly for commercial reasons. When I com- menced to write TinUMAUv* some 'U> years ago (somo 37 years from date) Bengali society was in a perilous state owing to the influx of other religions, wnnt of faith and a spirit of disputation. Shortly before thin a number of English books had appeared on the Tnntrn Shis tra which, whilst, ignoraut of Dhnrma, SAdhanA and Siddhi, contained some hideous and outrageous pioturcs drawn by tho Bengali historian* and novclisle ignorant of, and un- faithful to, HhAstrio principles. The English books by English writer* contained merely a reflection of what English- educated Bengalis of thorn day* had written. Both are even to-day equally ignorant of the Tantra ShAetra. For thin reason in writing Tantratattva I could not go deeply into the subject aa my heart wished. I had to spend my time in removing thorn e (objectiono aud charges) from tho path by reasoning and argument. 1 could not therefore deal in my book with most of the subjecte which, when I brought out the first volume, I promised to discuss. The 14 bhArata dharma Tantra Shtetra ia bro&dly divided into three parts, namely SAdhanft, Siddhi (that which is gained by Sidhani) and Philosophy (Darahana). Unlike other systems it is not narrow nor does it generate doubt by setting forth conflicting views. For its speaker is One and not many and He ia omniscient. The philosophy is however scattered throughout the Tantrik treatises and is dealt with, as occasion arises, in connection with S&dhand and Siddhi. Gould (as I had suggested to him) uuoli parta be colleotcd and arranged, according to tho principles of the subject-matter, thoy would form a vast system ol philosophy wonderful, divine, lasting, truo, and currying conviction to men. As a Philosophy it is at the head of all other*. You have prayed to Parameshvara (God) for my long life, and my desire to oarry out my projoot makes mo also pray for it. Rut tlic state of my l>ody makes mo doubt whether tho prayer will be granted. By the grace’ therefore of the Mother the sooner tho work is douo tho better. You say ‘that thesis who worship Paranioehvara, He makes of one family. Let therefore all distinctions bo put aeido for all B&dbakas are, us such, one. ' This noble principle is tho final word of all Bh&stros, all communities^ and all religions. All distinctions which arise from differ- ences in tho physical body are distinctions for the human world only. Thoy have no plaoe in the world of worship of PaTameehvnra. Tho more therefore that wo ahull approach Him the more will the differences between you and me vanish. It ia because both of us pray for the removal of all euch differences, that I am led to rely on your encouragement and help and am told to take up this difficult and daring work. If by your grace the gate of this Tantrik philosophy ia opened in the third part of Tantratattva I dure to suy that the learned :n all countries will gaze and be astonished for it is pure truth, and for this reason I shall he able to place it before them with perfect oloarnww." Uufortunatcly Ibis project of a third part of tho Tantra tattva could not be carried out owing to the lamented death »5 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA nf its author, which followed not long after the rocoipt of this letter. Naturally, like oil believers throughout the whole world, he claimed for his Scripture the posBcssion in all iu details of what was true or good. Whilst others may not concede this, 1 think that tlvoae with knowledge and understanding mil free from prejudice will allow that it contains a profoundly conceived dootrinc, wonderfully worked out in practice. Some of it* ideas und principles aro shared (though it l>o under other names and forms) by all religious men, and otlwro either by all or some Indian com mum ties, who are not Sh&ktas. Leaving therefore for the moment aside what may be said to be peculiar to itself it cannot be that wholly absurd, repulsive, and infamous system ("lust, mummery and magic" ns Brian Hodgson oallori it) which it has been said to be. An impartial nriti- aism may lw summed up in the few words that together with what has value, it contains some pructiooi which are uot generally approved and which have led to abuse. As to theae the render is referred to the Chapter on the Panoha- tattva or Secret Ritual. 1 conclude with a translation of mi artiolo in Bengali by n well-known writer, (P. Bandyop&dhy&ya, in the "Sfthitya", Shrubun 1320, Calcutta, July-August 1913). It was evoked by the publication of Arthur Avalon’s Translation of, and Introduction to, the MahAnix-rApa Tautra. It is an interest- ing statement as regards the ShAkto Tautra and Bengali views thereon. Omitting here some commendatory state- ments touohing A. Avalon’s work and the writer’s " thanks a hundred times" for the English version, the article con- tinues as follows:— "At one time the Mali&nirv&oa Tautra had some popu- larity in Bengal. It was printed and published under the editorehip of Pandit Ananda-ehundri Ved&nta-vAgtsha and issued from the Adi-Brahma-Sam&j Press. RAjA R&ui Molun Roy himaelf was a follower of the Tautrus, married alter the Shaive form and used u> practise fcbe Tantrik l6 bhArata dharma worship. HiB spiritual preceptor, SrAmi Harihartnanda, was well known to be * saint who had attained to perfection (Siddlia-purusha). He endeavoured to establish the MahiL- nirv&pa Tantra as the Scripture of the Brahnta-flamAj. The formula and the forms of the Brahma Church are liorrowed from tho initiation into Brahman wonllip, (Brahinu-dtlcahA) in thin Tantra. The later Brahman somewhat losing their aelvm in their opirit of imitation of Clirintian ritual* worn led to abandon the path shown to them by RftjA RAui Mohan ; but yet even now many among tboin recite the Hymn to tho Brahman which oorum in tlve .MahftnirvApa Tantra. In the first era of the exesnsive ilLwminution of English culture and training Bengal rwounded with opprobrious nritieiMmH of the Tantra*. No one among the eduoutod in Bengal could praise them. Even those who culled them- selves Hindus were unable outwardly to support tho Tantrik doctrines. But even then there were very great Tantrik HAdhfths.. and men learned in the Tantras with whoso help tho principle# of the Tantras might have been explained to tho public. But tho educated Bengali of tho age was be witched by the Christian culture, and no one oared to enquire what did or did not exist in their paternal heritage ; the more especially that any who attempted to study the Tantras ran the rink of exposing themselves to contumely from the "educated community”. MahltAjfi Sir Jatindra .Molmn Tagore of sacred name alone published two or three work# with tho help of tho veneraWe Pandit Jaganmohau Tnrkalafi- kftra. The Hnra-Uttva-dldhiti aasooiated with the name of hu father is oven now acknowledged to lie a marvellously glorious production of the genius of the Pandits of Bengal. The venerable (Briddha) Pandit Jogonmohan aloo published a commentary on the MahinirvfLpu Tantra. Evon at that epoch such study of the Tantras was confined to a certain section of the educated in Bengal. MahftcAjA Sir Jatindra Mohan akttie endeavoured to understand and appreciate men like B&raa KhepS (mad B&mA), the Naked Father SHAKTI AND SHAKTA (NengtA Bflliu) of Ka^a aud Sv&m! Hiul&nando. The educated community of Bengal had only neglect and con- tempt for S&dhakaa like Bisho Pagia (the mad Bishe) and Bins the ChrujclAla woman. Bengal is even now governed by the Tantia ; even now the Hindus of Bengal receive Tantrik initiation. But. the glory and the honour which the Tantra had and received in the time of iMaliflrfijAa Krishna chandra and Shiva-chnndra no longer exist. This is tl* reason why the Tuntrilc Sftdhakae of Bengal are not so well-known at prose oh It. seems as if the World-Mother has again willed it, has again desired to manifest Her power, so that Arthur Avalon is studying the Tantraa and has published an beautiful n vewion of the MaliAnirvttna. The ICnglish educated Bengali will now, we may hope, turn his attention to tho Tantm. "The special virtue of the Tantm lie* in its mode of SAdhanfl. It is noithcr more worship (UpAsanft) nor prayer. It is nut lamenting or oontrition or ropenlanoo licforr t lm Deity. It is the BAdlianA which is the union of Tunujlia ar.d Prakrit! ; tho S&dhanl which joins the Male Principle and Hie Mother Element within tJic body, and ntrives to make tho attributed attribute lens. That which is in me and that for which I am (this consciousness is over present in me) is spread, like butter in milk, throughout, the created world of moving and unmoving things, through tho gross and tho subtle, tho conscious and unconscious, through all. It is the objootof Tautrik Slid ban A to merge that self-prinri- p|t* (Svarty) into the Universal (VirA(). This SAillmnA t» to bo performed through I ho awakening of the forces within the body. A man is SiddJui in this SAdhanfl when he is able to awaken Kwtfalint and pierce the six Chakras. This is not mere "philosophy” a mere attempt to ponder upon husks of words, but something which is to he done in a thoroughly practical manner. The Tuntfiu say— "Begin practising under the guidance o: n good Gum ; if you do not obtain favourable results immediately, you can freely BHARAT a d harm a give it up." No other religion dares to give no bold n chal- lenge. We believe that the SAilhanA of the .Moslems, nnd the "esoteric religion” or secret SAdhflnA (and rituals) of the Christians of the Roman Catholic and Greek Ghniohes ia based ou this groundwork of the Tantraa." “Wherever then- is 8AdhanA we believe that, there is the system of tho Tantra. While treating of the Tantras some time hack in the S&kityo, I hinted at this ound union and I cannot say that the author, Arthur Avalon, has nut notioed it too. For ho Iiub expreauod liir surprise ut the similarity which existe between the Roman (Jatholio and the Tout rile mode of SAdlianA. The Tantra has made the Yoga sysU-m of Pfttsnjnll oiwlly practicable ami has combined with it the Tantrik rituals and the ceremonial olwervanoea (Karma- kioJu); tliat is tlio reason why th« Tantrik system of SldlwuA lias been luloptwl by all the luligious soots of India. If this theory of the antiquarians, that the Tantra was brought into India from Chaldea or BhAlciulvfpo be correct, then it may also lie inferred that the Tnntm panned from Chaldoa to ffluropa. Tho Tantra in to be found in nil the strata of Buddhism ; the Tantrik S&dhnnft in manifest in Confucianism ; and Shintoism is but another name of the Tantrik cult. Many historians urknow ledge tliat tho worship of Shakti or Tantrik SiUlhanA which was prevalent in ICgypt from ancient times spread into Phconicia and Greece, (Jon- soquontlv wo may suppose that the influence of the Tantnu was felt in primitive Christianity.” “The Tnntm contains nothing like idolatry or ‘worship of the doll’ which we, talcing tho cute from the Christian missionaries, nowadays call it. This truth, the author, Arthur Avalon, has made very rlcar in the Introduction to hi« translation. The Tan tin repeatedly says that ono is to adore the Deity by becoming a Deity (Dcvatu) himself. Tho Ljhtn-devivtA is the very self of Atman, mid not sepa- rate from It He us tlie receptacle of all, yet lie is not contained in anything, lor He Ls tlio great witness, the SHAKTI AND SHAKTA eternal Punifha. Tilt true Tantrik worship is thu wumliip in Rnd by the mind . The less subtle form of Tar. trio worship is that of the Yantra. (form is born oi the. Yantra. The form is made manifest by Japa, and awakened by .Mantra- shakti. Tens of milium of beautiful forms of the Mother bloom forth in the heavens of the heart of tiie Siddhapurusha. Devotees or aspirants of a lower order of competency (Nimna- adhikfkrf) under the direction* of the Guru adore the groat M&ya by making manifoHt (to themwlvos} one of Her various forms which can ho only aeon by Dhyftim (meditation). That is not. m«iv worship of the idol ; if it wore so the image would not. la* thrown into the water; no one in that oase would Ijo so irreverent iw to sink the earthen image of the Goddess m the water. The Primordial SLakti ia to bo awakened by Bh&va, by Dhy&na.by Japs and by the piercing of the six Chakra*. She is all-will. No one nan say when and how She shows Hcmnlf mid to wlmt S&dhaka. Wo only know that She in, and there are Her names and forma. Wmxlorfully transcending is Her form far beyond the reach of word or thought. This has made the Bengali BhakUi sing this plaintive song. "Uard indeed is it to approach tho eoo of forma, and to Ivatbe in it. Ah me, thin my coming ia perhaps in vain ?’’ "The Tantra deals with another speoial subject Muntra- Bhakti. It is no exaggeration to say that we have never heard even from any Bengali Pandit such a clear exposition of Muntra-Shakti as that which the author, Arthur Avalon, luw given in his Introduction to the Mali^niivfli.m Tan tea. We had thought that Meutra-Shakti wa* a thing to be felt and not to be explained to others. But the author with the force of his genius has iu his simple exposition given us Buch explanation oi it as i» poseihle in the English language. Tho Tantras say that tho soul in the body is the very 8P |f of the letters - of th« Dhvani (sound). The Mother, the embodiment of the fifty letters (Varna), ig present in tho 20 BHARATA DHARMA various letters in ike different Chakras. Like the melody which issues when the chords of a lute are struck, the Mother who moves in the six Chakras and who is the very self of the letters awakens with a buret of harmony when the chorda of the letters ( Varna* ) are struck in their order: and Sidclhi becomes as easy of attainment to rhe Sldhnka as the Amalaka fruit in one's hand when She in roused. That is why the great Sldhaka RAmaplasAd awakened the Mother by the invocation Arise 0 Mother (JAgrihi, janani)’. That u the reason why Lite Dhaktrt tang— 'How long wilt thou sleep in the MfUftdhAra, O Mother Kulakupdalinl V "The Boil harm (awakening) ceremony in the Durgft PujA in nothing but the awakening of the Rluikti of the Mother, the mere rousing of the oonaaiouanMM of the Kuadalinl. Thin awakening is performed by RIantra-8haJfti. The Mantra in nothing but the harmonious sound of the lute of tho body. When the symphony is purfsut, Sho who uni- bodies the Worlds (Jagniuuuyt) roiuiou Herself. When Sho is awake it docs not take long before tlio union of Bhivu und Shukti takes place. Do Japa once ; do Japa according to rulo looking up to the Guru, und the effects of Jupe of whioh we hear ia the Tantrs will prove to I* true at every stop. Thon you will understand that the Tuntra is not more triak- ery, or a falae weaving out of words. Wliut is wanted is tho good Guru ; Mantra capable of g run t ing Siddlii, and appli- oation (BiidlmnA). Arthur Avalon 1ms gia&prd the meaning of tho principles of Mantra which are so difficult, to under- stand. Wo may oortsinly nay that he could oniy muko this impossible tiling possible through inherent tendencies (SaibskAra) acquired in his previous life." "The Tantra accepts the doctrine of rebirth. It does not however acknowledge it bb a mere matter of argument or reasoning but like a geographical map it makes clear the unending ohain of existences of the Sfidhnka. The Tantra has two divisions, the Dharma of Society (Samaja) SHAKTI AND SHAKTA and tho Dliunna of Spiritual Culture (Sfidluuiil). According to the regulation of Somftja-Dbarma it acknowledges birth and caste. But in Siklhana Dhomiu there is no caste distinction, no BriUininna or Shudra, no man or woiimu 1 distinction between high and low follows sumxmb in SMhauA ami Siddhi. We only find the question of fitness or wortlii- n«sn (Adhilc&ra-tattva) in tlw Tantra. This hennas (Adhik&ra) is discovered with reference to tho SarnskAnw ol past exis- tences ; that is why tlie ChniujAla I’QrnAimnda is a Brah- man*, and Kripltshhlha the Sfldhaka is equal U> SarvAnamln ; tint in why IlilnmpiWulu of the Vnidya fltuto is fit tu bo honoured even by BrAhmanas. The Tantra U to bo ntudiod with tho aid of tho toaehinRH of the Guru ; fur itn huigiiogo in cxtruoidinaiy, ami its exposition impossible with a morn grammatical knowledge of root* .uni inflections. Tlw Tan ten is only a system ul SkakU-SltUuuiu. Thera utv rulos in it whorohy wo may drew Slinkti from all created tilings. Thera is nothing to bo uocoptcd or roicetcd in it. Whatever is holpful for SildhanA U acceptable. 'Phis Sih llianft in ilocided nncoiding to tho fitnr*- of tin* particular ponton (AdhikAttAnunAm). Hu imwt follow that for which ho in fit or worthy. Shulcti porvado* all and embraces all beings uud nil things tho inanimate and tho moving, booeta «ml birds, men and women. Tho unfolding of the Power (Shakti) enclosed within the body of the animal (Jlvn) an well us tlio man in brought about only with the help ol tho tendencies within tho body. Tho mode of Sadhumk in ascertained with regard to these tendencies. The very meuning oi S&dlumA is unfolding, rousing up or awakening of Power (Shakti). Thus the Shftkta obtains power from nil fictions in the world. The SfidhanA of the Tantra is not to Ixi niwiHunvl hy the little meosuriug-yaxd of the well- being or ill-being of your community or mine. 'Let you undemtand and 1 understand, O my mind— Whether any one else underatauda it or not.' The author, Arthur Avalon, is fully ocuscious of this. In bhAr.ata i>iiakma apitc oi it, ho has tried to exploit! almost all points making them c«y to uomprehend tor the intellect of the materialistic civilized society of to-day. For this attempt on liia part wo are grateful to him.’’ “Tho Tautra luw no notion of tomu separate far-ageing God. It preaches no auoh doctrine in it oo that God tlui Creator rules the Universe from heaven. In the eye of the Tautra the body oi tile SAdludca in tin* Universe, the wUo- haloa (Atmn-shakti) within the body is tho desired (Inlita) and tlia "to be sought for" (SAdltya) Deity (DevatA) of the SAdhaka. The unfolding of this self-power is to be brought about by self realization (Atmiviluraliaiin) which in to be uohiovod through SAdkauA. Whoever realizes his self ut- taiiiB to Lilwrotion (Mukti). The autlior, Arthur Avnlon, has treated of these mattoi* (SiddhAnU) in hi* work, the Tautruwttva. Many of the topics dealt within tho MahA nirvipo Tuntiu will not Ik- fully understood without n thorough perusal of tho book. The Principles ol the Tautra must be loutumd on to tho Bengali afresh. II the iUhA- nirvAna Tautra as translated by Arthur Avalon is spread abroad, if the Bengali is onoo mom ileairons to hear, thut attempt might well bo undertaken." "Our land of Bengal wed to bo ruled l»y Tontrik works »uuh ns tho SAradfttilukn, ShAktAuandaturailgint, 1’iuim- tajhip!. TantrisAra, oto. Than th« MahAaurvipa Tautra did not hnvo »o great au influence. It eeeiiM to us thut, ooueidoriug tho form into which, as o insult of English education aud oulture, the mind of the Bengali baa been shaped, the Muh&niivApa is a proper Tautra fur the tame. KAj& HAm Mohan ltoy endeavouied to encourage regard for the Muluunrvilpa Tautra because he understood this. If the Engiiiili translation of the Mulianimkna Tautra by Arthur Athlon is well received by the thouglitful public in Bengal, the study of the original Sanskrit work may gradually come into vogue. This much hope we may enter- tain. In fact, the English-educated Bengali community ia SHAKTI AND SHAKTA without religion (Dbanna) ur action (Karma}, and is devoid ol the sense of nationality (Jftdya Dhanna) and oust*. The .Ylahinirvkpa Tantra alone ia lit lor the country and the race at the present, time. We hehevp that probably because such an impossibility is going to be possible, a cultured, influential, rich Englishman like Arthur Avalon, honoured of the rulers, has translated and published the Mnh&nirv&nu Tantra. Whon his Tantrotattva ia published, wo shall l>o able to speak out much more. J>'or the present wo oak tho educated peoplo of Bengal to mad tliis most unprecedented Mahl- nirvAna "1 antra. Its price is eight rupees, l>ut the book is bulky ; and cannot those who waste, so much on frivolities spend eight rupees and obtain so precious a volume ! Ccr tamly they can if they but have the wish to. The reason of our requesting no much ia that. Arthur Avalon has not spoken n single word to satisfy himself nor tried to explain things aoonrding to bin own imagination. Ho bus only given what are true inferences ucoordiug to tlve principles of Shkstrio reasoning. An auspicious opportunity for thcKuglish-know- ing public to undenfanil the Tantra has arrived. It is a counsel of the Tantra itself, that if you desire to icnounce any- thing, renounce it only after a thorough acquaintance with it, ; if you desire to embrace anything new, ncoopt it only after a searching enquiry. The Tantra embodies the old religion (l)hnnna) of Bengal ; even if it is to be oust away fur gpod , that ought only to Ikj done after it has been fully known. In the present case a thoughtful and educated Englishman of high position has taken it upon himself to give us a full introduction to the Tantra. Wc oan frankly say that in this Introduction he has not tried a jot to Bhirk or to gloss over the conclusions of the ShAstru with the vanity of explanation bom of his imagination. Ho has endeavoured to bring before the mind of his renders whatovor ootually is in the Tantia, be it regarded as either good or evil. Will not the Bengali reoeive with wcloome such » lull offering (Arghya) made by a Bhakta from a foreign land ? ” 2 4 Chapter II. SHAKTI: THE WORLD AS POWER. 'T'HERE is no word of widei content in any langiiugu than this Sanskrit tonn moaning ‘Power'. For Sliukti in the liiglieit causal mum in Ood us Mother, und in another ueuae it in the universe which iMuc.i from Her Womb. And what is there which in ueitlter one nor the other ? Therefore the Yoffinihriduyu Tuntru thus salutes Her who oonoeives, beam, produces nnd thereafter nourishes all worlds : “Obeisance Iw to Her who in pure Being-Conscious- HC8.S- Bliss, H» Power, wire exists in the fonn of Time nnd Spuon and all that it therein, und who is the radiant lllumi* natrix in all beings." It is therefore nossihle only to outline here in a very general way a fow of the more important principle# of tlio Shnkti doctrine, omitting iu deeply interesting praotioe (S&dhuuA) in its form* us ritual wuraliip anil Yoga. To-day Western science speaks of Energy as t he physical ultimate of all forms of Matter. Bo has it been for ages to tho SlAktas. a* the worshipper* of Bhakti arc called. But they add that such Energy is only a limited inanifwUtion (as Mind and Matter) of the almighty infinite Supreme Power (Mahft-Sh&kti) of Becoming iu ‘That’ (Tat), wliioh is unitary Being (Sat) Itself. Thoir doctrine is to be found in the tradition*, oral and written, which are contained in the Agamas, which (with Fur&ua, Bmriti and Veda) constitute cue of tho four great Classen of Scripture of the Hindus. The Tan Was are Scriptures of the Agama. The notion that they are some queer bye-produot of Hinduism and not an integral part of it, is erroneous. The three chief divisions of the Agama are locally named BeDgal (Gauda), Kaahmira and Kerala. That Bengal is a home of Tantrash&atra is well known. It a, SHAKTI AND SHAKTA however, little known that Kashmir was in the post a land where Tuntrik doOtrino and practice were widely followed. Tlie ouuiniuiiitiea of so-called ‘TAntrik’ worshippers are live-fold acconling as the cult is of the Sun, Guiiesha, Vighgu, Shiva or Shakti. To the Knower, however, the live named am not distinct Divinities, but dilleront aspect# of the one Power or Shakti, An instructed Shakti-worship- por is one of the least sectarian of men. He can worship in nil tempi***, as the Haying in. Thiw the Sammnham Tanlra Hays that "lie ia it. fool who seen any difference I**.- tween KAmu [an AvatAra of Vi»hnu] and Shiva". "What matter* the oantu, " nays Lite Oummontator of tlie Skufchab'*- nirQpaQu, after running through the gaunt of them. Thu ShAktu id so culled lieonuiw the ohoeen Deity of Ids womliip (I#li(4»dovatA) is Stink ti. In lus oult, both in doctrine and practice, eiupluuua in laid on that aspect of the One in which It ia tho Source of Change and, in the form ol Time ami Space and all object* thorain, Change itself. Tho wonl Shakti ri grammatically feminine. For thin roaann an Amotionn Oriontulist otitic of tho dootrino hiui described it as a worthloM system, u mom feminization of orthodox (whatever that be) VedAliU- a doctrine tmMhiug the primacy of tlw Female and thus fit only for "suffrngotto monUte". It is absurd uritiohiut uf this kind which mukes the Hindu noma* timm wonder whether the Kuropenn has even the capacity to understand his beliefs. It is said of the Mother (in the Hymn to Her in the MdhdkiUhSaMtild) : “Thou art neither girl, nor maid, nor old. Indeed Thou art neither female nor male, nor neuter. Thou are inconceivable, immeasur- able Power, the Bring of all which exists, void of all duality, tho Supremo Brahman, attainublo in Illumination alone." Those who cannot understand lofvy ideas when presented in ritual and symbolic garb will serve their reputation best by not speaking of them. The Shaiva is so called because his chosen Divinity is Shiva, the name for the changeless aspect of the One whose SIIAKTI : THE WORLD AS POWER Power of action and activity is Shakti. But as the two are nwewnrily associated, nil communities acknowledge Sliakti. It in, for the above reason, » mistake to suppose lint a ‘TAntrik,’ or follower of the Again a. is ucrxiaaarily a Sb&kla, und that this ‘Tan tin' m a Sliakta Scripture only. Not at all. The Shftkta ia only one brunch of the Agumik school. And ao we find the Scriptures of ShaivaUm, whether ol North or South, called Tantraa, aa also those of that ancient form ol Vaishnavism which is culled t he PufioharAtru. The doctrine of theae communities, which share certain common ideas, varies from the mouiaut of the ShAktna and Northern Shaivas to the mom or less dualistic systems of others. The ritual in to a large extent common in all com- muniticH, though thore are necessarily variations, duo both to the nut mo of the divine aspect worshipped and to llio particular form of tlieology taught. BliAkta doctrine and pructioo arc contained primarily in thu SliAktn Tuuttua nuil the orul traditions, some ol which M® socrol. As tlw Tanlmn are mamly Horiptima ol Worship auoh dootrihe i* oontoiliod by implication in the ritual. For reasons above stated recourse may ho had to other Scriptures in so far ns they share with those of tlio BiiAlitu, certain common duotrino* and practices. The Tantrnu proper urc the Woixl ol Shiva and Sliakti. But there am also valuable TAntrik works in tho nature of compendia and oommouturic* which aro not ol divine authorship. Tho concept 'Sliokti' is not however peouliar to the ShOktua. Every Hindu believes in Sluikti us God's Power, though he may differ as to the nature of the uni vims* orcoted by it. SliAktu doctrine is a special presentment of no-culled monism (Advaitn: lit. ‘not-two') and Bb&ktn ritual, even in those condemned fonns which have given rise to the abuses by which this Scripture is moat generally known, is a practical application of it. Whatever may have been the case at the origin of these Agamic cults, all, now and for ages past, recognise and claim to base themselves SHAKTT AND SHAKTA on the Vedas. With these are coupled the Word of 8hiva- Shrticti vs revealed in the. Tontras. Shakta-dootrinc is (like the Vedftota in general) what in Western parlance would he oalled a theology based on revelation that is, ao-callod ‘spiritual* or supcraenaual experience, ir. ita primary or secondary sense. For Veda ia that. This leads to a consideration o f the measure of man’s knowing and of the basis of VedAntik knowledge. It is a fundamental error to regard the Vedftnt* as simply a specu- lative metaphysio in tire modem Western sense. It is not so ; if it were, it would have no greater right to acceptance than any other of the many systems which jostle one another for our oustom in the Philosophical Fair. It claims that its oupcroensuftl teachings can bo camblinhod with oertainty by the p/aoticc ol ita method*. Theorising alone is in- sufficient. The Shilkta, above all, is a practical and active man, worshipping the Divine Activity; his watchword is Krivft or Action. Taught that he is Power, he desires fully to realize himself in fact as such. A Tftntrik poem ( Anand/i - irtolrti) speaks with amused disdain of tho learned chatterers who pass their time in futile debate around the shore* of tho 'Lako of Doubt*. Tho bosiB of knowing, whether in nupor-senac or (k-iiso- kuowledge, ia actual experience. Experience is of two kinds : tho whole or full experience ; and incomplete experi- ence- -that u, of parte, not of, but in, the whole. In tho first expenenw, Consciousness is said to be ‘upward-looking’ (Unmukhl)- -that is, 'not looking to another'. In the second experience it is 'outward-looking* (Vahirmukhl). The first is not an experience of the whole, but the Expcri- ence-wholc. Tho sooond is an experience not of parts of the whole, for the latter is partloas, but of porta in the whole, aud issuing from ite infinite Power to know iteelf in and as the finite centres, as the many. The works of an Indian philosopher, my friend Professor Pramatha N&tha Mukhyo- pftdhyAya, sptly call the first the Fact, and the second the SHAKTI : THE WORLD AS POWER Fact-section. The Itha Upmifhad calls the Supremo Experience- Purija, the Full or Whole. It is not, bo it noted, a residue of the abstracting intel- lect, which is itself only a limited stress in OonsoioumiMS, hut a Plenum , in whioh the Existent All is no one Whole. Theologically this full experience i* Shiva, with Sliakti at rent or ftt, Potency. The second axperienoe i» that of tho finite centres, the nuraorow Puruohua or Jfva«, whioh aro also Shiva-Shakti as Poteuoy actualized. Both experiences aro roal. In fuut Llturo is nothing unreal anywhere. All is tho Mother and She is reality itself. "Sfl’ linin'* (“She 1 am"), the Shale ta nays, and all that he senses is Sho in the form in whioh he perceives Her. It ih She who in, and ua, him drinks the ftonsoaratod wine, and She is the win*. All is manifested Power, whioh has the reality of lifting from whioh it is put forth. But the reality of the manifestation is of nomathing which appear* and disap- pear*, whilst that of Causal Power to appear in enduring. But this disappearance ia only the owning to bo for a limited OOnacioUBnOM. Tho eccd of Power, whioh nppnaa as a thing for such OonsoiouHima, remains as tho poteuoy in infinite Being itself. Tho infinite Experience is real as tho Full (PQrpa) ; that is, its reality a fullness. Tho finite experience in real, oa such. There is, perhaps, no subject in Vedanta, whioh is more misunderstood than that of Hu- so -uallod 'Unreality' of the World. Every School admits the reality of all finite experience (even of 'illusive* experi- ence strictly Ho-oalled) while such experience lasts. But ShafikurAchArya defines t he truly Real M that which is ohangclcas. In thia aonao, tho World as a changing tiling haa relative reality only. BhaHlcars so defines Reality because lie -«ete forth Im doctrine from tho standpoint of transcendent Bciug. The Sh&kta Sh Astro, on the other hand, is a practical Scripture of Worship, delivered from the world-standpoint, SMording to which the world is necessarily real. According to this view a thing may be real and yet *9 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA bo tho subject of change. But it* reality as a thing ceases with tho pawing of the finite expericnoor to whom it in real. The supreme fihivu-Shnkti is, on tho other hand, a real, full Experience which over endures. A worshipper rnnat, as Midi, believe in the reality of himself, of the world us his field nf action and instrument, in its causation by God, and in God Himself ns tho object of worship. Moreover to him the world is real because Shiv.vSImkti, which is its material name, is real. That cause, without ceasing to I* what it is, heoomca tho effect, Further tho Worid is tho Lord's Exporioneo. He »h Lonl (Pati) is thn whole Experience, nnrl as oreiitnre (Piwlm) ho is tho oxporiouoer of parts in it. Tho Experience of the Lord is nover unreal. Tho reality, however, which changoltuudy endures may (if we no clioone) be said to lm Reality in Its fullest sense. Real however as all experience is. the knowing diffom according ns the exporionoa is infinite or finite, and in the latter case according to various grades of knowing. Full experience, as it*, name implies, is full in every way. As- sums that there is at, any 'linin' no univemo at all, that, there is then a Complete dissolution of all univoraoa, and not of any particular universe, ovon then the Power which produced poet, and will produce future iillivoiWM, in Olio with tho Biiproiue CoiuoioUMlMH whose Shnktl it iH. When ugain this Power ootualixcs ns a universe, tho Lord-Consciouanee* from and in Whom it. issues is the All-kuowcr. Ah Sarvajlln he knows all generals, and as S arvavit, all particulate. But all is known by Him as thn Supreme Self, and not, ns in the ease of the finite osntro. m objects other than the limited self. Finite exp'rionoo is by ite definition a limited thing. Aa tbo experience i« of a sootional ohnmotcr, it is obvious that, the knowing can only he of parte, and not of tho whole, as the part ciuuiot know tho whole of which it is a part.. But the finite is not always so. It may expund into the infinite by processes which bridge the one to the other. SHAKTI : THE WORLD AS POWER The essential of Partial Experience is knowing in Time and Space ; the Supreme Experience, being changeless, is beyond both T:nie and Space a* aspects of change. The latter is the alteration of parts relative to one another in tho clinngo- less Whole. Full experience is not nenHe-knnwledgc. Tho latter is worldly knowledge (Laukikn Jfiftna), by ft limited knowing centre, of material objects, whether gress or subtle. Full experience is the Supreme Knowing Self which is not mi object at all. This is unworldly knowledge (Alaukika JflAna) or Vedn. Sense-knowledge varies ncoording to the capacity and attainments of tire expenenoer. But the normal experience may lx* enhanced in two wnya : oither physically by scientific instruments such as the telescope and micrcwoope which enhance the natural capacity :o so® J or psychically by tin: attainment of wlmt are oallcil pnycliie powers. Everything is Blinkti i but psychic power denotes that enhancement of normal capacity which gives knowledge of matter in its subtle lorm, whilst tho normal man can perceive it only in tho gross form in a compound of sensible matter (t he Bhfltas). Psychic power is thus an extenaion of natural faculty. There is nothing ‘super-natural’ about it. All m natural, all is real. It is simply a power above the normal. Thus tho clairvoyant nan sec what the normal flonno oxporionoor cannot. He does so by tho mind. Tho grew sense-organs are not, according to VcdAnta, the senses (Indriya). The nenso is tho mind, which normally works through the appropriate physical organs, but which, as the real factor in sensation, may do without them, as is seen I mtli in hypnotio and yogio states. Tho area of knowledge is thus very widely increased. Knowledge may be gained of subtle chemistry, subtle physiology (as of tho Chakras or subtle bodily centres), of various powers, of the ‘world of Spirits,’ and bo forth. But though we am here dealing with subtle thing., they arc still things and thus part of the souse- world of objects, that is, of tho world of MftyA. MftyA, os later explained, in, not ‘illusion.’ but Experience m time SHAKTI AND SHAKTA and a puce of Self and N T ot-Self. This is by no means neces- sarily illusion. The Wliolfi therefore cannot be known by aenee-knowledge. In short, sense or worldly knowledge cannot establish, that is, prove, what ia aupirsenaual, such aa the Whole, its nature and the ‘other aide’ of ita processes taken as u collectivity. Reasoning, whether working in metaphyaic or science, it based on t.he data of tense and governed by those forma of understanding which constitute the nature of finite mind. It may ratublwh a oonolusion of probability, but not uf certainly. Grounds of probability may lie made out. for Idealism, Realism, Plundiam and Monism, or any other philosophical system. In fact, fi'cun what we sec, the balance of probability perhajx favour* Realism and Pluralism. Reason may thus establish that an effect must have n imuse, but not that, the came U one. For all that wo can say, thorn muy be a* many causes as oflocte. Thoreforc it ia said in VedAnta that "nothing [in tihoae matte*] is established by argument". All Western system* which do not posses* actual spiritual experience as their basis, arc systems which ran claim no certainty as regards any matter not verifiable by sense -knowledge and reasoning thereon. Shilcta, and indeed all VsdAntik teaching, holds that the only source and authority (PrtmApt) as regards super- sensual matters, such as the nature of Being in itself, and the like, is Veda. Vedn, which oomes from the root, nid, to know, is knowledge par axoelbncc, that is supcncnsual experience, which according to the Jlonist (to use the nearest English term) is the Experience-Whole. It may be primary or secondary. As the lint it is actual experience (Skkshflt- h-Ara) which in English is called ‘spiritual* experience. The Shftkta, as a ‘monist,’ say* that Veda is full ox- perienoe as tho One. This is not an object of knowledge. This knowing is Being. "To know Brahman is to be Brah- man." He is a 'monist,* rot beoause of rational argument only (though he can adduce reasoning in his support), but 3 s SHAKLTI : THE WORLD AS POWER because be, or those whom lie follows, have had in fact such 'monistic' experience, and therefore (in the light of such experience) interpret the Ved&ntik texts. But 'spiritual' experience (to use that English term) may be incomplete both as to duration and natuiv. Thus from the imperfect ecstasy (Savikaliw-Sam&dhi), even when of n ‘mouistic’ character, there is a return to world -experience. Again itmay not hr completely 'monistic' in form, or may be even of a distinctly dualiatic character. This only means tluifc the realisation has stopped short of the final goal. Thin l>cing tho "ft no, that goal is atill perceived through the forms of duality which linger as part of the oon- stitutiou of the experience!'. Thus there are VedAntik and other schools which arc not ‘monistic'. Tho spiritual experience# of ull urn real experiences, whatever be their character, and they are true according to the truth of tho #tagc in which tho experience is had. Do they contmdiob one another ? The experience which a man has of a moun- tain at fifty miles distance, is not false because it is at variance with that, of tho man who has climbed it. Wlmt. he sees i* the thing from where he sees it. The first question then in: la there u ‘ monistic' experience in fact t Not whether 'monism' is rational or not, and shown to he probable to the intellect. But how oau wt know this t With certainty only by having the experience oneself. The validity ol the experience for the experionoer cannot he assailed otherwise than by alleging fraud or self deception. But how can this be proved 1 To the expcricnecr his experience is real, and nothing else is of any account. But the spiritual experience of one is no proof to another who refuses to accept it. A man may, however, accept what another says, having faith in the latter’s alleged exjnricnoe. Here we have the second- ary moaning of Veda, that is secondary knowledge ol super- sensunl truth, not based on actual experience of tho believer, but on the experience of some other which the former accepts. In this sense Veda is recorded for Brahmanism in the n 33 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA Scripture* called Vedas, which contain the standard experi- ence of chose whom Brahmanism recognizes as its Jjlishis or Scent. But the interpretation of the Vaidik rcoord ia in question, just as that of the Bible is. Why accept one interpretation rather than another 1 Thin is a lengthy matter. Suifioe to lay hero that each chooses the h pi ritual food which hie spiritual body needs, and which it is capable of eating ami assimilating. This is the doctrine of AdhikAra. I fere, as elsewhere, what is one man’s meat is another man’s poison. Nature works in all who are not altogether beyond her workings. What is called the ‘will to believe’ involves the affirmation that the form of a man’s faith is the expression of hit nature ; the faith is the man. It is not man’s reason only which leads to thu adoption of a particular religious belief. It is the whole inau aa evolved at that particular time which does bo. Hi# affirmation of faith is an affir- mation of his wlf in terms of it. The Sh&kta is therefore a 'monist', either because he has had himself spiritual experi- ences of this character, or because he accepts the teaching of those who claim to have had euoh experience. This is Apia knowledge, that in receiver! from a sOUroe of authority, just an icnowiodga of the scientific or other export ia rooeivod. It in true chat the latter may be verified. But so in its own way oan the former be. Revelation to the Hindu is not something btated ‘horn above", incapable of verification 'l»low‘. He who accepte revelation as teaching the unity of the many in the One, may himself verify it in his owu oxperienoe. How ? If the disciple is what is called not fit to receive truth in this 'monistic’ form, he will probably deolarc it to be untrue and, adhering to what he think# ia true, will not further troublo himself in the matter. If he is disposed to acocpt the teachings of ‘monistic’ roligiou- philoeophy, it is because hi.s own spiritual and psychical nature is at a stage which leads directly (though in a longer or shorter time iw may be the case) to actual ‘monistic’ experience. A particular form of ‘spiritual’ knowledge 34 SHAKTI: THE WORLD AS POWER like a particular psychic power ran lx-, developed ouly in him who has the capacity for it. To such an one askiug, with desire for the fruit, how he may gather it, the Guru soys : Follow the path of thoee who have achieved (Siddha) and you will gain what they gained. This is the ‘Path of the (rival’ who are thc«e whom we esteem to be such. We esteem them because they have achieved that which we believe to be both worthy and possible. Lf a would-be disciple refuses to follow the method (S&dhanA) he cannot oompbun that he has not Had its result. Though reason by itself cannot establish move than a probability, yet when the tupaneiunul truth has bwn learnt by Veda, it nmy be shown to be conformable to reason. And this must be so, for all realities are of one poce, Roason is u limited mani- festation of the Slime Qhskli, who is fully known in ecstasy (Stun Alibi) which Manaowids all reasoning. What, there- fore, is Irrational, can never lie spiritually true. With the aid of the light nl Revelation the path is made clear, und all that is seen tells ol the Unseen. PaOts ol daily life give auxiliaiy proof So many miu the truth which lios under their eyes, because to find it they look away or upward* to some fancied ‘Heaven’. The sophisticated mind fears the obvious. "It is here; it » here," the SbAkU and other* say. For ho and ©very other being is a microcosm, and so the PtsAvaadra Tunirn says : "What is here, i» elsewhere. What, is not here, is nowhere." The unseen is tlm seen, which is not some alien disguise behind which it lurks. Experience of the seen i* the experienoe of tho nnsoeu in time and space. The life of the individual is nn expression of the same laws which govern the uni verse. Thus the Hindu knows, from his own daily rest, that t.!us Power which projects the universe rents. Hi* dreamless alnmher when ouly Bliss in known, tell* him, in Homo faaluon, of the causal state of universal rest. From the mode of his awakening und other psychological processes ha divines the nature of creative thinking. To the Shflkta the thrill ol union with 35 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA Ilia Shakti is a faint reflection of the infinite Sluva-Shakti Bliss in aud with which all universes are bom. All matter is a relatively stable form of Energy. It lasts awhile and disappears into Energy. The universe is maintained awhile. Thin is Shakti as Vai$hijavi, the Maintainer. At every moment creation, as rejuvenescent moleoular activity, is going on ns the Shakti Bmlun&ut. At ovary moment there is molecular death and loosening of the forms, the work of Ruilrapl Shakti. Creation did not take plaoe only at some pool time, nor is diasolutiou only in the future. At every moment of lime there is both. An it is now aud before us here, so it wm 'in the beginning'. In short the world is real. It is a true experience. Observation and reason arc here the guide. Even Veda is no authority in matter* falling within sense-knowledge. If Veda were to contradict, such knowledge, it. wonld, as ShafSkam nays, be in this respeot no Veda at all. The Hindu in not troubled by 1 bibliool soienoe’. Here and now the existence of tlw many i» established for the. Bcnae-ex- pemneer. But there in another and Full Experience which also may be had here aud now and is in any oasw also a fact, — that is, when the Pelf ‘stand* out' (ciafaaw) from mind and body and sense -experience. This Full Ex- perience is attained in ecstasy (Samftdhi). Both pxperiemva may bo had by the aamo oxpnrienrer. It is thus the same One who became many. "He oaid : May I be many,” as Veda tells. The ‘will to be many' in Power or Shakti which operates as Mftyi. In the preceding portion of this paper it was pointed out that the Power whereby the One gives effect to Its Will to he Many is Miy& Shakti. What are nailed the 30 Tattvas (accepted by both ShfllcUa and Shaivas) are the stages of evolution of tho One into the Many as mind and matter. Again with wliat warrant id this affirmed ? The secon- dary proof is the Word of Shiva and" Shakti, Rcvealera SHAKTI: THE WORLD AS POWER of the Taiitro-oli4dl.ru, as such Word in expounded in the teachings of the Masters (Acliaiya) in tho Agamn. Corroboration of their teaching nmy be hod by obser- vation of payoliologioal nl alas in normal life and reasoning thereon. These i»ychological states again are tho individual representation of tho collective ccamio processes. “As here, so elsewhere. ” Primary evidence is actual experience of the surrounding and supreme stores. Man does not loap at one bound from ordinary finite sense-experionou to the Full Experience. By stages he advanoew thereto, and by stage* he retraces hi* stop* to tho world, unless tho fullness of exporionoc has boon auuh u« to burn up in the fire of Self- knowledge tin* seed of desire which is the germ of tho world. Man’s oonsoiousnea has no fixed boundary. On the con- trary, it is at root tho Infinite OoiwQioiumws, which appears in the lorm of a contraction fSoflkooha), due to limitation as Shakti in tho form of mind and matter. This contraction may be greater or leas. As it is gradually loosened, consci- ousness expands by degrees until, ull bonds being gone, it becomes one with the F ill Consciousness or Pflrpa. Thus there are, according to common teaching, seven ascending light pianos of experience, called I-olcas, that is ‘what arc seen’ (lokyanto) or oxporioncml ; and seven dark descending planes, or Talas, that is ‘places'. It will bo observed that, one name is given from the subjective and the other from the objective standpoint. The centre of these planes is tho ' Earth-piano’ (Bhfiiloka). This is not tho same m oxpori- enoo on earth, for every experience, including the highest and lowest, can be had here. The planes are not like geologi- cal strata, though necessity may pioture them thus. The Earth-plane is the normal experience. The ascending planes are state* of super-normal, and tbe descending planes of sub normal sxpononce. Tho highest of the planes is the Troth- plane (Satya-loka). Beyond this is the Supreme Experienoe, which i« above all planes, whioh is Light itself, and the Love of Shiva and Shakti, the ‘Heart of the Supremo 37 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA Lord* (Ilridayatn paratnashilvfr). The lowewt. Tala on the dark side is denoribed in the Pur&oas with wonderful symbolic imagery as a Tlacu of Darkness whom moiiBtcr serpents, crowned witli dim light, live m perpetual augur. Below this is the Shakti of the Lord called Tamomayi Shakti that is, the Veiling Power of Being in all its infi- nite intensity. What then is the Reality— Whole or Pflriia ? It is certainly not a hum abstraction of intellect, for the intellect is only a fractional Power oi Shakti in it. Such an ab- straction has no worth fur man. In the Supreme Reality, which is the Whole, there la everything which in of worth to men, and which proceeds from it. In fact, as u Kashmir Soripture says: “The ‘without’ appears without only be aatwi it in within.’’ Unworth also procoedn from it, not. in the nans* that it i« there at un worth, but because the experience of duality, to which evil is attached, arises in dio hi ms ful Whole. The Full in not merely the collectivity (Sunumhti) of all which exist*, for it is both immanent in and transoends the univeae. It is a oommonplaoe that it ia unknowable except to Iteelf. Khiva, in the Y offinlkridaya Tantra, says : " Who knows tho heart of u woman ¥ Only Bhiva knows the Heart of Yogini (the Supreme Shakti).” For this reason the Buddhist Thntrik schools oail it Shflnya or tho Void. This is not ‘nothing’ , but nothing known to mind and souses. Both Shlktaa and some Vaishijavaa use bits tenn Shftnya, and no one suspects them of being 'Nihi- lists' Relatively, however, the One is said to be Being (Sat), Bliss (Ananda) and Chit— an untranslatable term which has been most accurately defined as the ChangelesH Principle of all changing experience, a Principle of which sensation, perception, conception, self -consciousness, feeling, memory, will and all othor peyohio states are limited modes. It is not therefore Consciousness or Pooling ae we understand these words, lor these are directed and limited. It is the 38 SHAKTI: THE WORLD AS POWER infinite root of which they arc the finite flower. But Consci- ousness and possildy (according to the more, ancient view*) Feeling approach the most nearly to a definition, provided that we do not understand t hereby Conaaiouanitfs and Feel- ing in man's sense. We may time (to distinguish it) rail Ohifc, Pure Consciousness or Piuv Feeling as Bliss (Anundu) know- ing ami enjoying its own full Reality. This, as tiuoli Pure Consciousness or Fading, endures even when finite centres of Gonsoiouanew or Feeling arise in It. II (as this system assumes) there is a real causal nexus between the two, then Being, as Shiva, is also a Power, or Shalcti, which ia the source of all Becoming. The fully Real, therefore, has two aspects: one tullnfl Shiva, the static aspect <ii Conscious- n.«s, and the other called Shakti, tlm kinetic aspect of the name. For thin rouson Kill Shakti. dark os a thunder- uloud, i a represented •Urnliug and moving on thn white inert body of Shiva. He is white oa Illuminntiou (PrakAelm). He is inert, for Pure (Jonnuiousuew is without action and at rent, It is Bhe, His Power, who moves. Dark in She here because. h» K0.II, She dissolves all in darkness, that is vacuity of existence, whioh is the Light of Being Itself. Again Sbc is Creatnx. Five corpse- like Shivwi form the support, of Her throne, sot in tlio wish- granting gmw* of the Lie of Oeinn (iMaoidvipa), tlw golden sands of which am laved by th« still waters ol the Ocean of Nectar (Amjita), which is Immortality. In both oner* wo have a piotohol prwontment in theological form of the BCieutillr. doctrine that to every form of aotivity there is a static background. But until there is iu fact Change, Shakti is merely the Poteucy of Becoming w Being and, as such, is wholly one with it The Power (Shakti) and the possessor of Power (Shaktimfin) arc one. As therefore He is Being-Bliiw-Con- ecionsnew. so is She. She also is tbo Full (Ptlrna), which L no mere abstraction from its evolveil manifestations. On the contrary, of Her the Mahakdli Sintra says : “Though 39 SHAKTI ANIJ SHAKTA without feet. Them rnoveat more quickly than nir. Though without oars, Thou dost hear. Though without nostrils, Thou dost Ri».el!. Though without eyes, Thou dost see. Though without tongue, Thou dost taste all Mbtes.” Those who talk of the 'bloodless abstractions’ of Ved&nta, hare not understood it. The ground of Man’s Being in the Supreme T (Purv&ham) which, though in ltsolf beyond finite personality, is yet ever finitely personalizing at, the being" of the univerae. "Sfi’ham,"— 1 "She I am.” This is the Supreme Shnkti, the ultimate object of the SkAktas’ adoration, though worshipped in several forms, some gentle, some formidable. But Potency is actualized as the universe, and this uIho iH Shakti, for the effect, is the catm modified. Monistic Vadinta toucluH that God in tho mutecial cause of the world. L'ho statement that the Supreme Shakti alto exists na tire Forma evolved from It, may seem to conflict with the dootrino ihut Power is ultimately one with Shiva who is changeless Being. IShafikara answer* that the existence of a causal uexm i» MAyft, and that there is (from tho transoeudenta! standpoint) only n seeming cause and scorning modification or effect. Tho Sh&kta, who from his world-standpoint posita tho reality of God as the Cmuo of the univonc, replioH that, while it. is true that tho ofloct (as offoot) is tho cause modified, the ouuse (as cause) remnios what it was and is and will be. Creative evolution of the universe thus differs from the evolution in it. In tho latter case the material cause when pmduomg au elloot ceases to be what it was. Thus milk turned into curd oeueti to be milk. But the simile given of the other evolutionary process is that of 'Light from Light'. There is a similarity between tho ‘ conventional ' standpoint, of Shankarn and tho explana- tion of tho ShAkta ; tho difference being that, whilst, to the former the effect ia (from the transcendental standpoint) 'unreal', it is (irom tho Shftkta’s immanent standpoint) 'real*. SHAKTI: THE WORLD AS POWER It will have been observed that cosmic evolution is m the nature of a polarization in Being into alalia anil kinotio aspects. This ia symbolized in the ShAkta Tantras by their comparison of Shiva-Shakti to a grain of gram (Chan aka). This has two seeds which are so close together as to seem ono, and which are surrounded by a single aheath. The scads are 81iiva anil 8Lakti and the sheath in MityA. When the sheath is unpeeled, that is when lI&yA-Shukti operates, the two seeds oome apart. The sheath unrolls when the seeds are ready to germinate, that is when in tho dreamless slumber (Suahupti) of the World-C'oinuiou»ne« the reiuem- branoo of past enjoyment in Form gives rise to that divine creative ‘thinking’ or ‘imagining’ (SjishtikalpanA) which is 'creation'. As tho uni versa in dissolution sinks into it Memory which i« lost, so it in bom again from tho germ of recalled Memory or Shakti. Why f Such a question may bu uusweied wheu wo arc dealing with facta in tho whole ; but the latter itself is uncaused, and what is caused is not the whole. Manifestation is of the nature of Being -Power , just as it is Its nature to return to Itself after the actuali- zation of Power. To the devotee who speaks in theological language, "It ia Hit Will." As tho Y ogutihridayu says: ‘‘He painted tho World-picture on Himxolf with tho Briwli which is His Will and was pleased therewith.” Again tho World is called a Prapafiolia, that is an cztensv/n of the five forms of sensible matter (Blidla). Whom does it go at dissolution t It collapses into a Point (Bindu). Wc may regard it as a metaphysical point which is the complete 'subjentihcation' of the divine or full 'I’ (FQro&hantA), or objectively as a mathematical point with- out magnitude. Round that Point is coiled a mathematical Line which, being in touch with every part of the surface of the Point, ninkoa one Point with it. What then is meant by these symbols of the Point and Line f It is said that the Supreme Shiva sees Ilimeclf in and as Hie own Powor or Shakti. lie is the ‘White Point’ or ‘Moon’ (Chandra), SHAKTI AND SJlAKTA which is Illumination and in the completed prucess, the *!' (Ahani) side of experience, She is the 'Red Point’. Both colours are seen in the microcosmic generation ot the child. Red too u the colour of Desire. She in 'Fire' which is the object of experience ot ‘This’ (Idam), the objective side of experience. The. 'This' here is nothing but a mass of Shiva's own illuminating rays. These are reflected in Himself as Shakti, who, iu the KdmalcaUivilasa, i* called the ‘Pure Mirror' of Shiva. The Rolf sees the Self, tlie rays being thrown hack on their source. The 'Thin' is the germ of what we call ‘Otherness,’ but hero the ‘Other’ is and is known ae the Self. The relation and fusion of these two Points, White and Red, is called the Mixed Point or 'Sun'. These ure the three Supreme Lights. A=Sliiv», Jla= Shakti, whioh united spell 'Abam' or 'I'. This ‘Sun’ is thus the state of full ‘l-n«u’ (Pflnjihaiu bhflvu). This is the Point into whioh the World at dissolution laps**, and from whioh in duo time it comos forth i.gain. In tho latter case it is the Lord-CouhCunumesB as tho Supreme ‘I’ and Power about to create. For this reason Bindu is called a condensed or massive lorm ol Shakti. It is the tense state of Power immediately prior to its first actualization. That form of Shakti, again, by whioh the actualization tukee place is Mlyi ; and this is the Line round the Point. Ah coiled round the Point, ifc is the Supreme Serpent-Power (Mahftkuncjnlin!) endroling the Sldva-Lifigs. From out this Power oomes tho whisper to onjoy, in worlds of form, ns the memory of past univcisos arises therein. Shakti then ‘seeo’. Shakti opens Her eyes as She reawaken from the Cosmic Sleep INime^ha). which is dissolution. The Line is at first coiled and one with the Point, for Power is then at mat. Creation is movement, an uncoiling of Maya- Shakti. Hence is the world called Jagat, whioh means ‘what moves'. The nature of this Power is circular or apiraline ’, lienee the round nens and ‘ curvature 1 of things of whioh wc now hear. Nothing move® in a really straight SHAKTI: THE WORLD AS POWER line. Hence again the univi-nc is oIho willed a aphoruid (Brahmanda). The gross world* arc circular uni vernal move- ments in space, in which, is tin- Ether (Ak&slia), CVunokm*- nau, as the Full (Pflin-i), b. never dichotomized. but the finite centres which arise i» it, are »<•- Tilt* Point, or Bindu, then rlivides into three, in various wuy», the chief of which is Knower, Knowing and Known, which ronstitute the duality of the world-experience hv .Wind of Mutter. Unsurpassed for its profound anftlynu is 'the account of tha thirty-six Tattvas i>r hiages of Cosmic Evolution (aoocptocl by lx>th Sbaivas and Shftktas) given by the North- ern Shaivtt School of the Agutin*, which flominhcd after the date which Western Orientalist* iMtigu to SluiBknrA- ulihrya, and which was therefore in a position to criticize him. According to thu account (which I greatly ootnieuHe) Subject and Object in Puiu Being arc in undistmguiHhahle union .i* the Supremo Shivn-Shakti. Wo have tlum to sue how this unity is broken up into Subject and Object This does not toko place all at onoo. There is an intermediate stage of transition, in which thorn is a Subject and Object, but both an* part of the Self, which know.- its Object to Ik* Itself. In man’s exponent* they arc wholly soparato, the Object then being perceived uh outside the Self, the plurality of Solves being mutually exclusive oentne. The process and tho result arc the work of Shukti, whose apodal function is to negate, that is to negate Her own fullness, so that it becomes tho finite centre oontraotod as a limited Subject perceiving a limited Object, both being aspects of the one Divine Solf. The first stage after the Supreme is that in which Shukti withdrawn Herself and leaves, ns it were, standing by itoolf the T hide (Aham) of what, when completed, is the •I-This’ (Ahum Id am) experience. But simultaneously (for the ‘I’ must have its content) She presents Herself as a ‘ This’ (Iduui), at fust faintly und then clearly ; the emphasis being at first laid on the 'T and then on the ‘This’. This 43 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA last ie the stage of lahvara Tattva or Bindu, ua the Mantra SlifiaLni, dealing with the causal atato of ‘Sound’ (Shabda), c&Uh it In the second and third stage, as also in the fourth which follows, though tliere is an * I’ and a ‘This* and there- fore not the uridistinguishable * I-Tliis’ of the Supreme Experience, yet both the T and the 'This’ are experi- enced as aspects of and in the Self. Then as a prelimi- nary to Uie division which follows, the emphasis is laid equally on the *1* and the ‘Thin’. At thia point MAyfi- Shalcti intervenes and completely bo pn rates the two. For that Power in the Sense of Difference (Bhcda Buddhi). Wo have now the finite centres mutually exclusive one of the other, ouch seeing, to the extent of its power, finite oentnw os objects outside of and diflerent from the Self. Conscious - ness t hus becomes oonkaaUi. In lieu of being All-knowing, it is a ‘Little Knower’, and in liou of being Almighty Power, it iB a ' Little Doer’. MAyA is not rightly rendered ' Minion’. In the fimfc place it is confloived M n real Power of Being and as such is ono with the Full Reality. The Full, freo of all illusion, experiences llw engendering of the finite centres and tho centres themselves in uud as Its own ohaugeh** parties* Self. It is these individual oentrw produced from out of Power as MAyA-Bhnkti whtch are 'Ignorance' or AvidyA Shnkti. They are bo called because they are not a full experience but an experience of parts in the Whole. In another sense this ' Ignorance ' is a knowing, namely, that which a finite centre alone ha*. Even God cannot liavo man's modo of knowledgo and enjoyment without becoming man. He by and us Uio Power doee bocomo man and yet reniuins llimsclf. Man is Power in limited form ns AvidyA. The Lord is unlimited Puwui as MAyA. In whom then is the ‘Illusion' 1 Not (all will admit) in the Lord. Nor is it in fact (whatever be the talk of it) in man whose nature it is to regard his limitations as real. For these limitations we ho. His experience aa man provides no standard whereby 44 SHAKTI: THE WORLD AS POWER it may be adjudged ' Illusion’. The latter is non conformity with nonnul experience, and here it is the normal experience which is said to he Illusion. If there ware no Avidyft Shakti/ there would he no man. In short the knowing which is Full Experience is one thing and the knowing of tlie limited experience* is another. The latter is Avidyi an«l the Power to produce it is M&yi. Both aro eternal aHpsots of Reality, though the fomis which are Avidyl Shakti uome and go. If we seek to relate the one to the other, where and by whom iu tho oomporiaon made 1 Not in aud by the Pull Experience beyond all relations, where no questions are asked or answers given, Lut on the standing ground of pre- sent Unite experience where all subjectivity and objectivity are real and where therefore, ipaojacto, Illusion is negatived. The two uspeote aro never present at one and the same time for comparison. The uni verse is real m a limited thing to the limited experienoer who is himself a part of it. But the experience of the Supreme Person (PivrihantA) in necessarily different, otherwise it would not 1* the Supreme lixporienoo at all. A Qod who experiences just as man docs is no God but man. There is, therefore, no experienoer to whom the World is Illusion. lie who aces the world iu the normal waking state, loses it in that form iu eCBtaay (SnnrA- dhi). It may, however, (with the RhAkta) be said that the Supreme Experience is entire and unchanging and thus the fully Real ; and that, thongh the limited experience is also real in its own way, it is yet an experience of change in its twin aspect* of Time and Space. 31 Aft, therefore, is the Power which engenders in Itself finite centres in Time and Space, and Avidyi in auch experience in fact of tlie finite experiencer in Time and Space. So much is this so, that the Time-theorist* (K&lavWrns) give the name 'Buprcnre Time' (Parakflla) to the Creator, who is also called by the Shakta 'Great Time' (Alahflkalu). So in tiro Bhairamyd- inala it is said that Alahldrva (Shiva) distributes Hi* Kays of Power in the form of the Year. That is. Timeless 45 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA Experience appears in the finite centres a* broken up into periods of time. This is the ‘Lesser Time* which comes in with the Sun, Moon. Six Seasons and so forth, which are all Shaktis of the Lord, the existence and movement* of which give rise in the limited observer, to the notion of Time and Space. That observer is eaaentiftlly the Self or 'Spirit' vehicled by It* own Sbakti in the form of Mind and Matter, These two urn It* Body, the fiwt eubtio, the second. gross. Both have n ooinmon origin, namely the Supreme Power. Eaoh in a real mode of It. One therefore doc* not produoe the other. Both are produced by. and exist iw mode* of, the same Cause. There is a necessary parallelism between the Perceived and the Perceivor and, beoausc Mind and Matter are at btuve one an modes of the same Power, one can act on tlie other. Mind is the subjaOtivo and Matter the objec- tive. aspect of the one polariwid Consaiouanciw. With the tin important oxooption of the f/ikllyKtus, tlio Hindus liuvo never idmivd what Sir William Jones called ‘thr vulgar notions of matter,' oeoording to which it is regarded uh souk groeb, lasting and indepemlunlly existing outaide thing. Modern Western Srionoe now also deniatorializwi the ponderable mutter of the universe into Energy. Tins and the forms in which it is displayed is the Power of the Self to uppeur kb the object of a limited centre of knowing. Mind again m the Self as 'CoiwciouHiim', limited by Its Power into such a centre. By such contraction there is in lieu of on 'All-knower' a 'Little Knower,’ and in lion of an ‘All-dooT’ n 'Little Door’. Thoao, howovur, to whom tins way of looking nt thing* is naturally difficult, may regard the. Supreme Shukti from the objective aspect as holding within Itself the genu of all Matter which develops in It. Both Mind and Matter exist, in eveiy paitscle of the universe though not explicitly displayed in the same way in all. There is no eoraer of the universe winch contains 46 SHAKTI : THE WORLD AS POWER anything either potential or actual, wliioh is nol to be found elsewhere. Some aspect of Matter or Mind, however, may he more or less explicit oi implicit. So in the Mantra Scrip- ture it is saxl that eaoh letter of the alphabet contain* all sound. The sound of a particular letter is explicit and the other sounds aro implicit. The sound o( a particular letter is a particular physical audible mode of the Shnhdahrahman (Brahman a* the can*- of Shalxla or 'Sound’), in Whom is all aound,. actual and potential. Pur© Consciousness is fully involved in the densest forms of gross or organio matter, whioh is not ‘inert’ but full of movement (8panda). for there is naught but the Supreme Cousoiousneais whioh does not move. Immanent, in Mind and Matter in Consciousness (Chit Shakti). Inorganic nutter is thus Consciousness in full subjection to the Power of ignownre. 11 is thus OonnoiounneaH identifying Itself with such inorganio matter. Matter in all its five form# oi density in present in everything. Mind too ia there, though owing to iu imprisonment ill Matter, undeveloped. "The Brahman sleeps in flu* atone." Life too whioh displays itself with tho organisation of matter ia potentially oonln.ued in Bring, of which such iuorganiu matter is, to some, u ‘lifeless’ form. From thin deeply in- volved state Shakti enters into higher and higher orguniml forms. I’rfkou or vitality is a Shakti the Mantra form of whioh is 'Hangsah'. With the Mantra ' Hang’ the breath goes forth, with ‘Sab’ it in indrawn, a fact which anyone can verify for himself if he will attempt to inspire after putting the mouth in the way it is placed in order to pro- nounoe the letter *H\ The Rhythm of Creative Power as of breathing (a microcoamio form of it) i* two-fold- an outgoing (l’mvyitti) or involution us universe, and un ©vo- lution or return (Nivyitti) of Supreme Power to Itwdf. Bhakti an tbe Great Heart of tin- universe pulses forth und back in ©comic systole and diastole. So much for the natuiv of the Power as on Evolutionary process. It in displayed iu the Forms evolved as an increasing exhibition of 47 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA Cbnaciounueaa from apparently, though not truly, uiioonsoious matter, through tlie slight consciousness of the plant aud the greater consciouanese of the animal, to the more highly developed consciousness of man, who in the completeness of Ins own individual evolution becomes freed of Blind and Matter which constitute the Form, and thus is one with the Supreme OmuMiiouane*. Itself. There are no gaps in the piousas. In existence them are no rigid partitions, Tim vital phenomena, to which wo give tku name of ‘l<ife,’ appear it is true with organised Matter. But I-ife is not then something entirely new which had no sort of being before. For such Life is only n limited mode of Being, which itself is no dead thing but the Infinite Life of all lives. To the Hindu the different* between plant, and animal, and between the latter and man, ha* always bcon one rather of degree than of kind. There is one Consciousness and one Mind and Matter throughout, though the Matter is organized ar.d the Mind is exhibited in various ways. The one Khakti is the Soli o« the 'Siring 1 (SfltrAtmfc) on which ull the Bead* of Form arc strung, and these Beads again are limited modes of Herself us the 'String'. Evolution is thus thu loosening of the bonds in whioh Consciousness (itself unchanging) is held, such loosening being increased and Consciousness more fully exhibited as the process is oorried forward. At length is gained that human state which the Scripture calls so ‘hard to get’. For it has boon won by much striving and through suffering. Therefore the Scripture warns man not to negleot the opportunity of a ntugo which in the noceeeary preliminary to the attainment of the Full Ex- perience. Man by his striving must seek to bcoomo fully humane, and then to pass yet further into the Divine Ful- ness which is beyond all Forma with their good and evil. This is the work of 8&dhau& (a word whioh comes from the root 'uldh,’ ‘to exert’), whioh is discipline, ritual worship and Yoga. It is that by which any result (Siddhi) is attained. The TAntrik Shistra is a S8dhan& Scripture. As Powers 48 SHAKTI: THE WORLD AS POWER are many, bo may be Sail liana, which is of various kinds and degrees. Man may seek to realize the Mother-Power in ller limited forms ns health, strength, long life, wealth, magic' powers anil so forth. The so-called * New Thought' and kindred literature which bids men to think Power anil thus to become power, is very ancient, going buck at least to the Upanijhad which auys : "What a man thinks, that lie becomes." Those who have need for the Infinite Mother as Sic is not in any Fonn but in Herself, seek directly the Adorable One in whom is the caaonce uf all which is of finite worth. The gist of a high form of K fibuMlianA is given in the follow- ing verse from the Hymn of MshAkAlsrudra Himself to MahiVkMt : "1 .torture not my /*»/y with penances." (Ih not. Ins body Hers l If umu be Owl in human guise why torment him f) "/ lams toft my fret in pilyrimnje to Holy Plat**. 1 ' (The body is the DovAluyn or Temple of Divinity. Therein ure all the spiritual Tilths* or Holy Places. Why then trouble to go elsewhere 1 J " / *pmi not my time in muling the Vedas." (The Vodai, which he 1ms already studied, urn tlu) re coni of tho standard spiritual exp-uienoe of others. He seeks now to hnve that experience himself directly. What in the use of merely rending about it ? The Kuldrixava Tanira enjoins the mastering of the essence of all Scriptures which should tlicn l>o put nuide, just as lie who has threshed out tlie grain throws away tho husks and straw.) “But I strive to attain Thy tiro tarred Feet.” 49 Chatter III. WHAT ARB THE TANTRA S AND THK1R SIGNIFICANCE ? A VERY common expression in English writings is "The Tantra" ; hut its nun in often due to a misconception and loads t« othoni. For what does Tantra naan * The word denotes injunction (Vidhi), regulation (Niynma), 8h Astro gene rally or treatino. Thus 8hafiknra calls the SAflkhyn a Tdnlru. A secular writing may be called Tantra. For the following note I am indebted to Professor Suwndra- nath Das Gupta. "The wort! •Tantra’ luw heen derived in the KflwhikA- Vpitti (7-2-0) from the root 'Tan' 'to. Spread' l»y the Aunfldiltu .rule SeivadhAtubhyab trail, with the addition of the suffix 'Iran'. VAohaspoti. Anandngiri, and Govindlnanda, however, doriv* tho word from tho root 'Tetri' or ‘Tontri* in tin. uuiibo of VyiitjAdona, origi- nation or knowledge. In OaoapMhn, however, 'Tail Ur has the same meaning as 'Tan' 'to Spread' and it is probable that the fomior root is a modification of the lutter. Thu meaning VyutpAdnna is also probably derived by narrowing tho general sense of Vistflra which is t he meaning of tho root 'W." According to the derivation of 'Tuntra' from Tan to spread. Tantra is that (Scripture) by which knowledge (Jfifitia) iu spread (Tnnyale, vislftryale jii&nam anonu, iti Tantram). Tho fiuflix Tra iB from tho root "to save”. That knowledge io spread which eavw. What io that but religious knowledge 1 Therefore, as here and generally used, Trntra meunH a particular kind of religions scripture. Tho KAmikfc Agama of tho Shaiva Siddhftnta (TantrAntara Fatala) says Tonr.ti mjfulan artJion tattvamantra- wmanvild it Ttdnancha hirute yrsmdt tantram Uyohhidhiyutf. 5 ° THE TANTRAS AND THEIR SIGNIFICANCE (It i» called Tantro becauso it promulgates groat knowledge concerning Tattva and Mantra and because it wvc-i). It is n common misconception that Tantra is the name only of the Scripture of the Shaktas or worshipped of Shakti. This is not so. There aie Tantras of other sects •of the Aganut, Tantras of Shaivas, Vftiehpavae and so forth. We cannot speak of "The Treatise” nor of “The Tantrn" any more tlrnn we can or do apeak of the Pur&pa, the SnibhitA.* Wo can apeak of "the Tantrea*' as we *lo of “the Puripaa”. These Tantras are Shistras of what in called the Again m. In a review of one of my works it was suggested that the Agamn js a class of ft.-ripture* dealing with the worship ..f Bagiiyn Ishvarn which, was revealed at the oloie of the r.ge of tlie Upanishods. and introduced partly l> i«uac of tlm tailing into desuetude of the Vaidika Aohli». and partly because of the iiintcaaing numbers of persons entering the Hindu fold who were not competent (AdhilcAd) for that Achilrn. I wjll not however deni with thia hiatoricnl question lieyond noting the fact that the Aguinn in open to all persons of all castes and both sexes, mid m not subject to the restrictions of the Vaidika Acli&rs This lost term is a conjmon one and comes ftom the verbal root char, which means to move or to net. the prefix A lieing probnbly used in the seimo of restriction. AcliAm thus moanfl practice, way, rale of life governing » Sftdhnku, or one who does HAdhanft or practice for some desired end (Siddhi). The Agunas are divided into three main groups Accord- ing an the IshtodovatA worshipped is Shakti. Shiva or Vi?kpu. The first, is tli? Shikta Sganm, the nioond the Shaivfigama. nnd the thill the Vsielinavo Agoms or I’ofloha- rfttra. This lu*t ia the Horipture to which the Shrfmad B'a&gavata (X. 90. 34) refers as ShttvaU Tantrn in the lines, Ttmhnng rtltvatang UitUram y:j jndUvd mukibhdfj Niawi Yntm st/tshMra<t:s4ndn<i sangtJcdm vaishijavaJi mritah. 5 1 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA Some Agamas are called Voidik (Vaidika Igama) and Home non-Vaidik (Avaidika). The Kumia Turapn (XVI. 1) mentions ns belonging to the latter, Kapula, LAltulu, V4m», Bliairava, Furva. Paalnihimu, PaBcharftlia, PAshuputu and many others. Pisbupata again is said to be liotli Vaidilca and Avaidika such as LAkula. Kumia PurAija (llttara-. bhftga, Ch. 38) says "By Me wuh first composed, for the attainment of Liberation, Shrauta (Vaidika) P&ahupata which is excellent, subtle, and secret, the essence of Veda (VedaH&rft). The learned devoted to Veda should meditate on Shiva Pa«hupati. This is l'ftslmpaui Yoga to bo practised by sookura of Liberation. By Mo also have boon spoken I'asbupata, Soma, LAkula and Bhaiiava oppi.aod to Veda. (VudavAdaviruddhAni). Those ahould not l« practised. They arc outside Veda." Sanstkimiftiu SaibhitA gays S)tmut6$hiatUtmbkrtena dvimd)uis/u shntiftanutJi Shrulisdramayah thrauiah tah / mtuir dtnvulho vumh SuUanlra itarash cheti nxtiantfo dotbadhd jntrd Taihd'sh (ada.'luidM paths h6l siddJiAnto Hi fftyale Itarafr thrtiiivlra* hi thatakoli- pravixf/irab (See also Vftyu 8uri.hittt, Ch. I. 28). [BhaivAgama is of two kinds, Bhnmtn and Anhruuta. Slirautu is Shrutisllrninaya and of two kind#, Svatuntra and Itara. Bvatnntr* is flint of ten kinds und then 8id- dhlnta of eighteen kinds. (This is Lho ShaivasiddhAnUi A gam a with 28 Mflla Agamas and 207 Up&gomaa. It is Sliuddlittdvaiia because in it there is no VUlicjihaya.) Itara is ShrutisAra with numerous varieties.] Into this mass o£ Bocta I do not attempt to here enter, except in n general way. My subject is the doctrine and ritual of the Shftktas. There are said to bo Shaiva, Vaijluuiva, and ShAlcta Upuni«liade favouring ono or another dootrine. Wo inunt, however, in all ooaoo distinguish between what a School says of itself and what others say of it. So far as I am aware all IganiaB, whatever be their origin, <lavm now to be based on Sliruti, though of course as different THE TANTRAS ANI) THEIR SIGNIFICANCE interpretations are put on Shruti, those who aoocpt one interpretation are apt to speak ol differing Schools as hereti- cal. These main divisions again have subdivisions. Thus there are several Schools of Shalvas ; and there arc Sohktaa with their nine Amn&yif, four Samprud&yas. (Kerala, Kashmir®, Gauda and Viliaa) each divided into two-fold division of inner and outer worship (Sammohana Tantra, Oh. V). There is for. instance the Northern Shaiva School oalled Trika of Kashmir, in which country at one time Tantra SliAsy-as were very prevalent. There is again the Southern Shaiva School oalled SliaivasiddhAnta. The Shakier who arc to be found throughout India aro largely prevalent in Bengal ami Annum. The Sh&ktae aro rather allied with the Northern Ad valla Shaiva than with the others,' though in them also there is worship of Shukti. Shiva and Shaktj are one anti he who worships one neoea- ssrily worships the other. But whereas the Shaiva predomi- nantly worships Shiva, the Shllcta predominantly worehipe ti e Shakti aide of the Ardhunarkhviri Murti, which is both Shiva and Shikti. MahAviahtjn ■ and Radlshiva are also one. Aa the Sammohnna Tantra (Ch. VIII) gay* "Withont Prakiiti the SaiiwAm (World) cannot bo. Without Puruaha true knowledge cannot be attained. Therefore ohould both be worshipped , with .UabAkAlS, MahAkUa.” Somo, it soya, speak of Shiva, some of Sliakti, some of NAiAy-nm (Vi#h$o). But the supreme NArftynya (AdmAiAyauu) is’ supremo Shiva (Paraabambhu), the Nirgupa Brahman pure as crystal The two aspects of the Supreme reflect the one in the other. The Reflection (Pratibimba) is MiyA whence the World - Lords (Lokapilas) and the Worlds are bom. The Ady& Edita (MuhAahakti) at one time assumed the male form of Kfifhga and at another that of R&wa (Ch. IX). For all aspects are in MahAkAU, one with Bhairavn M*h&k&la. Who is MuhAviehou. "It is only n fool” it Bays, "who sees any difference between KAma and Shiva.” This is of course to SHAKTI AND SHAKTA look at the matter from the high Vodantik standpoint of Sli&ktu doctrine. Nevertheloai (separate worship and rituala exist among thB Sect*. A common philuaoplrical baoia of tbe Skaivaa and thoec of ShAktas, who are Agamavftdina, ia the doctrine of the Thirby-flix Tattvaa. These arc referred to in the Tantra (Ch. VII) ao well known in Bengal which ia called KulAronva. They are also referred t> in other ShAkta works and their commentaries such aa the AnnmlalahaiL The ShAradi Tilakn, a great authority amongst the Bengal Shflktoe, ia the work of Lnl^hmapAohArya, an author of the Kashmir Shaivaaohool. The latter school os nlso the ShAktos are Ailvaitino. Tho Slusivh SiddhAntft and Paftoharittra are ShuddhAdvaitn and VjijbiaMAd'aiLa respectively. There ia also a great body of BuddhUt Tantrua of differing suhoola, [1 have published one — the Sbrlchahra Sambhara Tantra tit Vol. VII of TAutrik Text*.) • Now all there schools have Tantru of their own. Tho original connection of the Shaiva schools ia said to he shown omonpit other things, by the fact that somo Tautius are common, cucli aa .\Iri* gendra and MAtafigu Tantras. It has been asserted that tie ShhkU achool in not histoiiunily connected with the Hhoivus. No groundu were given for tliis statement. What over be tire liistoi'ioal origins of the former, tire two nppeur to be in several rwpooUl allied at present, as nay one who knows HliAkta literature may find out. for himaclf. In fwt HhAkta literature is in parte unintelligible to one unacquaint- ed with some features of what is called the Shaivu Darshana. How otherwise is it that tbo 80 Tattvaa and IJhadadhvA |sco my "Garland of Letters''] are common to both ? Tho ShAktas have again been divided into three group*. Thus the ealoemad l’andit R. Anantn ShAatri in the Intro- duction to his edition of tho- Anandalahor! uponkB of tho Kaula 01 Sliuktu Sbaatcaa with sixty four Tautriw ; the Mishrn with eight Tanltna ; and the Hamaya group which arc said to be the meet important of the 8h&kta Agamas, of which Ato arc mentioned. This classify tion purport*. 54 THE TANTRAS AND THEIR SIGNIFICANCE to be baaed on the nature of the object pursued, aoooiding tv> it belongs to one or other of the ParuphArthas. PancharAtra literature i» very considerable, one hundred und eight works being mentioned by the same Pandit in Vol. XIII, pp. 357-363 oi the "Tkecsophist''. I would refer the reader also to the very valuable edition of the Ahirhurlhnyn Sair.hifA by my friend Dr. Otto Schra- der, with ttu Introduction by the learned Doctor on the Panchar&tra eye tom where many Vaighpava Tantroa and Saiiih the ore cited. The Trika school has many Tantras of which the leading one is hlfUinivijaya. Tlio Svaohohhunda Taiitra cornea next. Jag&dlsha Chandra ChattopAdhv&ya VidyAvAridhi has written with learning and lucidity on thia school. The ShaivasiddhfluU has twenty-eight loading Tantras und a large number of Upigamas, suoli as TAmko Tantra, VAnia Tantra and othora, which will be found enumer- ated in Bnhomertta’ "Der ShaivMtiddhAnta", Nallasvnmi Pilhu'a "Stndioa in ShuivasiddhAuta" (p. 204), and "Siva- jfuV.ueiddhiynr” (p. 211). The Suiumoluna Tantra (Oh. VI) mentions 64 TtmLroa, 327 UpuUntras, as ulno YAmulas, PAmar&s, SadihitAs and other Scriptures of the Slilkta class; 32 Tantras, 120 IJpatuulras/a* Also YAnulas, pAimi- ras, l’urAna* and other Scriptures of t)ie .Shaiva class ; 75 Tantras 205 Upatautras, as also YAmalas, PAnuuas, Suihhi- t,As of the Vnisliyavii class ; numerous Tantra* and other scripture* of the GApupatya and Saura cIashw, and a number of Puripsa, UpapurApas and other variously named Bcrip- turcs ol the Bnuddha olaw. It then (Oh. VII) mentions over 500 Tautras and nearly the samo amount of Upulautrns, of some 22 Again os, ChluAgaina (aee Ch. Vl port), Buuddh- Agama, Jaiua, l'Aahupata, KftpAhka Pancbaritra, Bhairava and others. There is thus a vast muss of TAutras in the Agamas belonging to differing schools of doctrine and prac- tice, all of whioh muBt be studied boiore we can speak with certainty as to what the mighty Agama as a whole is. In this book I briefly deal with one section of it only. Nevertheless 55 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA when these Aganias have boon examined -and are better known, it will, I think, lie found that they are largely variant aspect* of the same general ideas and practices. As instances of general ideas 1 may cute the following the conception of Deity as a supreme Personality (Par-A- lum tA) aud of the double aspect of God in one of which* He really is or becomes the Universe ; a t.rno emanation from Him in Ilia oreativo aspect *, successive emanations (AbhAia, VyuLa) as of*" fire from nre” from aubtlo to greats ; doctrine of Shakti ; pure and impure creation ; the denial of uucon- sctoia MAyA such as Shaflkara leaches ; doctrine of MAyft Kuflha and the Kanchukas (the nix Shaiva Kanchultaa being, as Dr. Schrader says, represented by the possibly earlier classification in the PanoharAtra of the throe Safllcochas) ; tho currying of tiro origin of things up and beyond Piirusha* Prakriti ; ftooaptonco at a later stage of Puni*hu-Pralcriti, tlm SAfikhyftn Gtmas, and evolution of Tattvaa as applied to the ilootrmo of Shakti ; uflirmnneo of tho reality of the Universe ; emphasis on- devotion (Blmkti) ; provision for all caHtea and botli.saxus. Instances of common pmotioo arc for example Mantra, Blja, Yantru, MudrA, NyAsa, BhQtashuddhi, Kuttfnllyoga, construction and consecration ol temples and inmges (Kriyft), religions and social observances (CliaryA) such os Ahnika, Vs,roAshraiimdhanna, Utsavu ; and prootieol magio (MAyi- yoga). Where there is Mantra, Ynntra, NyAsa, lltksliA, Guru and the like, there is Tantra RhAstrn In fact one of the nsmes of tho latter io Mantra 8hAotro. With these similari- ties there are certain variations of doctrine and practice between the achools. Necessarily also, even on pointe of oomraon similarity, there is some varinnoe in terminology and exposition which is unessential • Thus when looking at their broad features, it is of no account whether with the PancharAtxa wo speak of Lokshmi Shakti. Vylihu. Sufikocba ; of whether in temis of other achools we speak of Tripura- nvndari and Mah&kalt, TntUras and Kancliukas. Again 56 THE TANTRAS AND THEIR SIGNIFICANCE there arc 30111c differences in ritual which are not of gvcat moment exocpt in one ami that & notable instance. 1 refer to the well-known division of worshippers into DuksUinA- ch&ra and V&mach&ra. The secret Sidhanfi of Borne 6 i tlui latter (which I may here say is not usually understood) hflfi acquired such notoriety that to moat the term “The T antra” connotes this particular worship and ite abuses and nothing else. I may here also observe that it is a mistake to suppose that aberrations in doctrine and practice are peculiar to India. A Missionary wroto to mo some years ago that thi:; country was "a domon-ha unted land”. Thorn are demouu hero, but they arc not the only inhabitants ; and tendon oiea to be found here have existed elsewhere. The West has produced many >» doctrine and prantioe of an autinomiar. oha rooter. Some of the most extreme are to I w found there. Moreover, though this dote not sevui to he recognized, it is nevertheless bho foot that the ho Kaila rites aw philosophi- cally Used on moniatio doctrine. Now it is this Kanin doo trine ami practice, limited probably, u being a secret dootrino, at, all times to comparatively few. which has coum to be known hi “The Tantra". Nothing w more incorrect This is but ono division of vrorsbippm who again are but one Motion of tho numerous follovfera of tho Agamas, Bhiuvo, Shftkte and Vuijheava. Though there are certain common features which may he called T&ntrik yet ono cannot speak of "The Tantra" an though it were ouc entirely homogeneous doctrine and practice. Still lew can we identity it with the particular praobceB and theories of one division of worshippers only. Further tho Tautras are oonoemed with Science, Law, Medicine and a variety of subject® other than spiritual . doctrine or worahip. Thus Indian chemistry and medicine is largely indebted to the T&ntrikas. According to a common notion tho word “Tantra" is (to use the language of a well-known work) “restricted to the necromantic books of- the later Shivfiio ox Sokti 57 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA mysticism” {Waddell’s “Buddhism of Tibet,” p. 164). As charity covers many sins, so "mystic” and "mysticism” are words which cover much ignbrance. "Necromancy" too looms unnecessarily Urge in writers ol this school. It is, however, tlic fact that Western authors generally so under- stand the torn "Taatm". They are, however, in error in so doing as previously explained. Here I shortly dual with the significance, of the Tantra Shflatra, which is of ooursu also misunderstood, being generally spolcen of as a jumble of "blaok magic, ’’ and "orotio mysticism," oemeuted together by a ritual which is “meaningless mum- mery" A large number of poisons who talk in thie strain have never had ft Tantra in their harnlo, and such Orientalists os have read some portions ot these Scripture* have not generally understood them, otherwise they would not hnve found them to be so " meaningless". They may bo bad, or they may be good, but they have a meaning. Men are not auoh fools as. to believe for ages in wluit, is meaningless. The use of this term implies that their oontent had no meaning to them. Vory lilcoly ; for to dofino os they do Mantra, ns "mystical words," MudtA an " niystiosl gooturco" and YanUn <u "mystical diogisms" does uot imply knowledge. These erroneous notions as to the nature of the Agamu are of course duo to tho mistaken identification of the whole body of the Scripture with cine section of it. Further this last ia only known through the abuses to which its dangerous practices as carried out. by inferior persons have givon rise. It is State! ia the Shfbtre itself in whioh they are presor. Iw>d that the path is full of difficulty and peril and he who fails upon it gooB to Hell. That there are those who have so failed, and others who hov c been guilty of evil mogio, is well-known. I aai not in this Chapter concerned with this special ritual or magic' but with the practices which govern the life of the vast mass of the Indian people to bo found in the TantraB of the Agamas of the different schools which I have mentioned. 58 THE TANTRAS AND THEIR SIGNIFICANCE- A Wes tarn writer iu a review of oix of ray books luia expressed the opinion that the T antra ShAstra (I think he meant the Shakta) was, fft least in its origin, alion and in- deed hostile to the Veda. He said "We are strongly of opinion that in their essence the two principles are funda- mentally opposed and that the Tantra only used Vedio forms to mask its essential opposition.” I will not discuss this question hero. It in, howevor, the fact now, as it lias boon for oeuturiee post, that tho Agoniav&dins claim to base their doctrine on Veda. The VedAnta is the final authority und basis for the doctrines set forth in the Tantrai, though the latter interpret the VedAnta in various ways. The real meaning of VedAnta is Upuni*had and nothing else. Many parsons, however, speak of VedAnta as though it meant the philosophy of Shaflkara, or whatever other philosopher they follow. This of flourao is incorrect. VedAnta is Shmti. Shuflkata’H philosophy is merely one interpretation of Shruti just as HAmAnuja'i is another and that of the ShaivA- gnnm or KnulAganm. is a third. Tharo is no question of competition between VedAnta as Shruti and Tautra 81iAstra. It is, however, the fact, that esuh of the followers of the different schools of Agauia contend that their interpretation of the Shruti texts is the true ono and superior to that of other schools. An a stranger to all these sects, I am not here concerned to show that ouo system is Iwtter than the other. Each will adopt that which moat suite him. I am only stating the facts. As the Ahirbudhnya SaihliirA nf the Pannbar&tru A gam a nays, the iwpcots of God are infinite, and no philosopher can seize and duly express more than one aspect. This is perfectly true. All systems of inter pretaliou have some merits as they have defocts, that of Shaflkara included. The latter by his MAyAvld* is able to preservo more completely thou any other interpretation the ohangekssuess and stainlessncss of Brahman. It does this, however, at the cost of certain defects, which do not exist in other schools, which have also their own peculiar 59 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA merits and shortcomings. The basis and scat of authority is Sliruti or experience and the Agama interprets Shruci in its own way. Thus flie 8haiva-Slnlkta doctrines are specific solutions of. the Vedlntic theme which differ in several re- spects from that of ShaSkara, though as they agree (I speak of the Northern Shoiva School) with him on the fundamental question of the unity of JlvAtmA and ParamitmA, they are therefore Advah*. 'J'lio next question is how the experience of which the Agftma speaks may bo gained V This is also priori bed in tho ShAutra in tho form of pooujiar SAdhan&s or disci pKnca. In the fiist place them must be u hculthy physical and moral life. To. know a thing in its ultimate sense is to be that thing. To know Brahman, in nocording to Advoita, to be Brahman. One lanuot reulize Brahman the Puro except by being onesell pure (Bhuddhaohitta). But to attain and keep thin elute. us well aa progress therein, cer- tain speaifio means, proctico, rituals or disciplines are neces- sary. Tho result cannot 1* gob by mere philoeophiml talk about Brahman. Religion is a praotioal aotivity. Just an tho body requires oxorciee, training and gymnastic, so dues tho mind. ’Tliia may bo of a merely intellectual or spiritual kind. The moans employed aro called SAdhanA which ooinee from the root “SAlh," to exert. SAdhuuA is that which lends to Sidrfhi. S&dhunA in the development of Shakti. Man iH Consciousness (AtmA) vehicled by Shakti in the form of mind and body. But this Shakti is at bow Pure Consciousness, just os AtmA is ; for AtmA und Shakti are one. Man is thus a vast magazine of both Intent, and expressed power. The object, of SAdhanA in to develop man’s Shakti, whether for temporal or spiritual purposoe. But where ia S&dhauA to be foimd l Seeing that the Vaidika Aohara has fallen into practical desuetude we can find it nowhere but in the Agamas and iu the PurApaa which are replete with Tintrik rituals. The Tantras of these Agamas therefore contain both a practicai exposition of spiritual 6t> THE TANTRAS AND THEIR SIGNIFICANCE dootrine and the means by which the truth it teaches may he realized. The;r authority does not depend, ns Western writers, and some of their Eastern followers, suppose on the date when they 'were revealed but on the question whether Biddhi is gained thereby. This too is the proof of Ayurveda. The test of medicine is that it cures. If Siddhi is not ob- tained, the fact that it is written “Shiva uvAcha” (Shiva speaks) or the like counts for nothing. The Againa there- fore is a practical exposition and application of Doctrine varying according to ita diffonnt eoliook The latest tendency in modem Western philosophy is to rest upon intuition, aa it was formerly the tendency to glorify dialectic. Intuition low, however, to bo ltd into higher and higher powibilitirH by means of SAdhaoA. This term means work or practice, which in its result is the gradual unfolding of the Spirit’* vast latent nmgnzino of power (Blinkti), enjoyment and vision which everyone poMCHacs in himself. The philosophy of the Againa is, as a fnend and collaborator of mine l'nifomor Proninthanttba Mnldiyopflilltyftyn very well put it. n practical philosophy, adding that what the intellectual worid wants to-day ia this sort of philosophy ; a philosophy which not merely argue* but eaperimenU. The form which SAdlianfl Ukcn is n aeoondniy matter. Ouc goal may be iouchod by many putlw. What in the path in any particular oime dc|irndn ou considerations of personal capacity and temperament, moo and faith. For the Hindu t lie re is the Aganm which con- tains forms of discipline wliich Ilia mcc has cvulvc<l and are therefore primi facie suitable for him. This is not to say that these forms ore unalterable or acceptable to all. - Others wilh adopt other fomiB of SAdhnnA suitable to them. Thus, amongst Christians, the Catholic Church prencril* 1 * a full and powerful Sfldhiuifl in its sacraments (Parivskflra) anil Worohip (I'ttjA, lipflaanu), Meditation (DLyftna), Roeuiy (Japa) anil the like. But any syslrm to be fruitful must experiment to gain experience. The significance of the 61 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA Tantra Shfietre lion in this that it claims to afford a means available to all, of whatever < aste and of either acav whereby the truths Uuglit may be practically realized. Tho Tuntraa both in India ami Tibet are the exprqpsion of principles which are of uni vernal application. The mere statement of religious truths avails not. What is necessary for all is a practical method of realisation. This too the occultist needs. Further tho ordinary run of mankind can neither apprehend, nor do they derive satisfaction from mere mats physical ronoapta. They accept them only when prosciitod in personal form. They enro not for Shitnyatfl tho Void, nor Snohcltid&nanda in tho uoiiho oi mere Con- Bciouiuicu Being— Bliss. They appeal to personal Bodlii- sallvas, Buddha", Shiva, Viijlmu, Dev! who will hear their prayer, and grunt them aid. Next they cannot aUud by themselves. They need the counsel and guidance of priest and Guru and tho fortifying vjituav of the Hsoremente. They need a definite picture of their object of worship, *uoh as is detailed in the Dhyftna of the DevntAe, an image, a Yantra, n Maodale and bo forth, a developed ritual and pictorial religion. Thin in not, to say that they are wrong. Them natural tendencies however beoomo accentuated in oourae of time to a point whore "superstition”, mechanical devotion and lifeless formalism and other abuses are pro- duced. There then takes plow what is called a "Reform," in the direction of a more spiritual religion. This too i$ accentuated to tho point of barrenness. Kell gi on becomen nhorilo to produce practical result and ritual and pictorial religion recurs. So Buddhism, which in ite origin has boon represented to be' a reaction against excessive and barren ritualism, could not rest, with a mere statement of the noble truths and the eightfold path. Something practical wan neoded. Tho MuhAy&uu (Tliegpo Chhenpo) won produced. Nigirjuna in tho second oentury A.D. (?) in said to have promulgated ideas to be found iu the Tuntraa. In order to realize the desired end, use was made of all the powers of 6a THE TANTRAS-AND THEIR SIGNIFICANCE man, physical and mental. Thdstic notions as also Yoga came again to the fore in ihe YogacbaryA and other Buddhist systems. The worship of images and an elaborate ritual waa introduced. The worship of the Shaktia spread, The Mantrovftna and Vajiayfln* found acceptance with, what an English writer The Buddhism of Tibet" by L. Waddell) deaoril*s in the usual style as its “silly mummery of un- meaning jargon and gibberish," the latter being Raid to lie "the most depraved form of Buddhist, doctrine". So- called Tantrilc Buddhism became time fully developed. A Tintrik reformer in the pemon of Ts'Uigkhnno arose, who codified the Tuntras fn his work I -am -rim Chhcn-mo. The great code, the Kah-gyur, contains in one of its sections the Tantms (Rgynd) containing ritual, worship of the Divine Mothers, theology, astrology and natural atienoe, us do their Indian counterpart*. These are of four classes, the Kriyft, Choryft, Yogn, Aniittum Tantms, the lattnr com- prising Malik, Ami mil Ati-Yoga Taut run. The Tnn-gyur similnriy contains many volumes of Tantms (Rgyud). Then, at length, Buddhism wm driven from out of India. Brahmanism und ita rituals survived und inomasod, until both in our day and the nearer punt we nee in the So called rofoimcd sects a movement towards what is claimed to lie a more spir.lunl religion. Throughout the ugos the same movement* of aotion and reaction manifest. What is right here lies in the middle course. Some praotioal method nud ritual is necessary if religion is not to lie barren of result. The nature of the method and. ritual will vury according to the rapacity und development of men. On the other hand, the “crooked influence of t : me" temls to overliy the ewential spiritual tiutlis with unintelligent and dead form- alism. The Tantru ShAstrn scaucla for a prinoiplc of high value though, Ike other things admittedly good, it is capable of, and has suffered., abuse. An important point in this con- neotioji should be noted. In Europe we sec extreme puritan reaction with the result that the religious uiovemeuts which SHAKTI AND SHAKTA embody (hem become one-sided and without provision for ordinary human net: da. Brahmanism 1ms ever been all-inclusive, producing a Sadhanft of varying kinds, material and mental, for the different stage* of spiritual advancement and exempting from further ritual those for whom, by reason of their attainment, it is no longer necessary. 64 Chaptek IV. TANTRA SHASTRA AND VEDA. IN writing this Chapter I have in mind tiio dispute 1 which Mate have raaod upon the question whether the Again as, or some of them, are Vaidik or non- Vaidik. I do not here deal with the nature and scliools of Tantru or Agama nor with their historical origin. Something has been said on these point* in the' Introductions to the English translations of Pandit Shiva Chandra Vidy&rnuvan TantraUttra. I have also dealt with tliia subjaot in tho two Chapters. "What are the Tautens and their signifi- cance?” and "Rhalrti ami Sli&kta’*. T wish to nvokl repetitions, except. so far <w it absolutely nercsxary for tho elucidation of the particular aubjoet in hand. On the disputed question whether the Agauiaa are Vaidik or non Vaidik I daairo to point.out that au answer cannot lie giVrn unless wo keep apart two distinct matters, w':., ( 1 ) what was the origin of the Agamaa and ( 2 ) what they nra now. I am not here, however, dealing with tho first or historical question, but with the second so far as the Shftkta Agama is concerned. Let ua assume, for the sake of argument, that (to taka a specific example) worship of Kftli and other Devts bv the Rhlktea in (lira tee the exiatenoe of non-Aryan elements in thoir Agama. The question of real importance here, an always, in not as to what were the facta in remoto put ogee, but what they ore now. Tho answer then is let it be as you will regarding tho origin of the Sh&ktn Agama ; but at present BhAkta worship is an integral part of the general Hinduism and aa such admits the authority of Veda, accepting, as later explained, eveiy other belief held by the general body of the Hindu people. In a ‘recent prosecution under Sections 292, 293 of the Indian Penal Code against an accused who had published a 65 5 I SHAKTI AND SHAKTA Tontru (but who was rightly acquittod), on Indian Deputy Magistral*; who bud ud vised the prosecution, and who claimed to l>e un orthodox Hindu, stated (I am informed) in the witness box, tlint he could not define what the Tautra Shast.ru waa, or state whether it wuu a Hindu scripture of the Kali tigj, or whether a well-known particular Shhstrh shown to him was one of the Tantro*. Such ignorance is typical of many at the present time and is a legacy from a vanishing age. How is it that a Sh&stra which ha6 had its followed throughout India from the Himilayn (the abode of Shiva and of PArvftd Devi), to Capo Oomoriu (a corruption of Knra&rt Devf) which ruled for centuries, bo that wo may speak of a T&utrik epoch ; whioh oven today governs the household arid temple ritual of uVory Hindu ; how is it that such n ShAstra has fallen into complete neglect and disrepute among't. the larger body of the Kngiiah-cduoattd community ¥ I re mem l;or a time when mention of the Shtotra waa only made (I speuk of oouree of the same class) with bated breath ; and when any one who concerned himself therewith becamo thereby lifthlo to the charge of giving licentious sway to drink and women. The answer is both u general and parti- cular one. In the first place tlio English oducutc- 1 people of till* country were formerly almost exclusively, and later to u oonaidombln extent, under the sway of their English educators. In foot they were in a sense their oreation. They were, and some of them still are, the .M&nasa putra of tlio English. For them whit was English and Western was the mode. Hindu religion, philosophy ami uit worn only, it was supposed, for the so-called " uneducated " women and pennants and fo» native Pandits who. though learned in their futile way, had not received the illuminating advantages of a Wostorn training. In my own time an objection was (I am informed) taken by Indian Fellows of the Calcutta University to the appointment of the learned Pandit Chandrukanta Tark&aflkara to a chair of Indian philosophy on the ground that he was a mere native Pandit. 66 TANTRA SHASTRA AND VEDA In this case English Fellows and the then Vice-Chancellor opposed this ahsord and snobbish objection. When the authority of the Eughsh teachers was at its highest, what they taught was law, even though their judgments were, in respect of Indian subjects of which they had but a scant and imperfect knowledge, defective. If they said with, or in anticipation of, one Professor, that rho Vedas were “the bab- bling of a child humanity” and the BrAhmapas "the drivel of bi admen, "or with another that the thought of the Upa- nij Karls was 30 “low” that it could not ho oorreotly rendered in tho high English language ; that in “treating of Indian philosophy a writer has Ur deal with thoughts of n lower oidor than the thoughts of the every-day life of Europe that Smj-iti was mere priestly tyranny, the Purtlrm idle legends and the Tantnw mere wiekednww and debauchery; that Hindu philosophy was (to borrow another English Professor's language ooncocning the S&fikhya) "with all its folly and fanaticism little batter then n chaotic imperti- nenco and that. Yoga vu, aooording to the same man of learning, "the fnnutionl vagurio* of thcocraoy that Indian ritual was nothing butsuporstition, mummery, and idolatry, and (Indian) art, inelegant, monstrous, mid grotesque - all this was with readiness nocuplod as high learning and wisdom, with perhaps hero and there an occasional faint, ami even apologetic, demur. 1 recollect in this connection o rather halting, end shamefaced, protest by the late Rajcndra Lain Mitaa. I do not say that none of these or other adverse criticisms had any ground whatever. There has bora im perfection, folly, superstition, wickedness, here ns else- where. There has boon much of it, lor example, in* the countries whence theae critics of India came. It is, however, obvious that such criticisms urc so excessive a* to l» absurd. Even when giving an account of Eastern thought the Western is apt to take up a "superior 1 ' attitude because he belie VM himself to be superior. The Bishop of Durham very dearly reveals this sense of superiority ("Christian 67 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA Aspect* of Life” by B F. Westcott, 170) when after stating that the duty of the Christian missionary was to substitute tor " the sterile theism ol Islam and the shadowy vagueness of Hindu Philosophy a belief in a living and speaking God” he goes on to point out that "our very advantage*” by way of "the consciousness of social and intellectual superiority with whioh we are filled” and “the national force which sets us ns conquerors whore wo come oa evangelist*" constitute a danger in the misaion field. It in thi> notion of ‘‘superi- ority’’ also xvhioli prevent* a right uudoratandijig, and which notwithstanding the facta, insists on oliargm wliioB, if established^ would maintain the reputation for inferiority of tho coloured races. It is this reiterated claim to Huperi- ority that ha* hypnotized many persona amongst. Eastern races into the belief that the European is, amongst other things, always a safe and learned critic oven of their own beliefs and proolioos. Rftjfl Rauimulum Roy wm the first to take, up the cause of bin faith, divorcing it from the aupsratitloua accretion* which gather around all religions m the course of the ages. Tho same defence was made in recent timea by that man of upstanding’ oourage. SvAml VivokAnando. Foreign criticism on Indian religion now tends in some quartern to greater com prehension. I say in some quarter*; for even in quite recent years English books have been publishod whioh would |>e amazing, were one not aware of tho deep ignoranoc and prejudice whioh exist on the subject. In roe of these boolw the Hindu religion is described as ‘‘a mixture of nightmare nonsense and time-wasting rubbish fulfilling no useful purpose whatever : only adding to the general burden of existence borne by Humanity in its struggle for existence.” In another jt is said to be "a weltering chaos of terror, dark- ness, and uncertainty”. It is a religion without the appre- hension of a 'moral evolution, without definite command- ments, without a religious sanction in tho sphere of morals, without a moral oede and without a God : ouch no-railed TANTRA SHASTRA AND VEDA God, as there is, being "a mixture of BacclAu, Don Juan and Dick Turpin” It is there further described up the moat material and childishly superstitious animalism that ever masqueraded 06 idealism ; not another path to God but a pit of abomination as far set from God as the mind of man can go ; staggering the brain of a rational man ; filling his mind with wild contempt for his species and which .has only endured “because it lias failed”. Except for the purpoai of fanatical polemic, one would assume that the endurance of a faith was in some measure tho justification of it. It is etill more 'wonderful to learn from this work (“TV Light of India" written by Mr. Harold Bcgbio uml published by the Christian Literature Society for India) that out of thm weltering chaos of oil thut is ignominious, immoral and crassly superstitious, come forth men who (in the words of the author) "standing at prayer Htartlc you by their likeness to the pictures of Christ- eyes large, luminous and tranquil— the whole faco exquisite with meekness and majestic with spirit." (Inc marvels how these porfoot men arise from cuoh n worthier uml indood putrescent source. This nlaur-l picture was highly coloured in a journalistic spirit and with a purjxwe. In other oasoi, faulty criticism in duo to supercilious Ignorance. As another writer says (the italics arc mine) " For an Englishman to get a plain statement of what Brahmanism really means is for from easy. The only wonder is that people who hart to litr on nine pence a week, who marry when they ure ten years old, are prevented from casta life from rising out of what is often, if not always, a degraded state, haet. my religion id all." As the Bishop of Peterborough has recently said it ia difficult for some to estimate worth in any other terms than £. s. d, It is to be hoped t hat all such snobbish materialism will be hindered from entrance into this country. These quotations reveal the depths of ignorance and prejudice which still exist. As wo are however aware, all English criticism ia not as ignorant and prejudiced as these, even 69 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA though it be often marrod by essential error. On the contrary there aro an increasing number who appreciate and adopt, or appreciate if they cannot aoccpt, Indian beliefs. Further than this, Eastern thought is having a marked influence on that of the West, though it is not often acknow- ledged. Vlany have still the notion that they have nothing to learn in any domain frorr. this hemisphere. After all, what any ono olao says thould not affect the independence of our own judgment. Let others say what they will. We should ourselves determine matters which concern us. The Indian people will do bo when they free themselves from that hypnotic magic, whioh makes thorn often place blind reliance on the authority of fomignem, who, even when claim- ing to be scholars, arc not always free from bias, religions or racial. Such counsel , though by no means unnecessary to-day, is happily becoming lc»* needed than in the pant. Thole are, however, still many Indiuiu, particularly those of my own generation, whose English Gurus and their touching Lave made them captives. Their mind has been so domiueted and moulded to a Western mannor of thinking (philosophical, religious, artistic, social and political) that they have scarcely any greater capacity to appreciate thoir own cultural inheritance than their teaohere, bo tliut capacity in any particular case more or I ms. Homo of them caw nothing for thoir ShfUtra. Other* do not understand it. Tho class of whom I epcab aro, in fact, as I have noid, the M&nosftputra of the English in a strict souse of the term, Tho Indian who has lost his Indian soul must regain it if he would retain that independence in his thought and in the ordering of his life which is tho mark of a man, that is of one who seeks Svax&jy&siddhi. How can an imitator be on the same level as his original ? Father he must sit As a Chelfl at the latter's feet. Whilst we can all learn something from one another, yet Borne in this land have yet to learn that their cultural inheritance with all ite dofeote (and none is without suoli) is yet a noble one ; an equal in rank, tantra sh Astra and veda (to say the least), with those great past civilisations wliioh have moulded the life and thought of the West All this luw been admitted by Indians who have discernment Such value. as my own remark* possess, is due to the fact that I can aee and judge from without as an outsider, though (I will adroit in one sense) interested observer— interested because I have at heart Indian welfare and that of all others whioh. as tho world now stands, is bound up with it. As regards tho Tantra Sh Astra in particular, greater ignorance prevailed aud still exists. Its V&m&chitru practice, however, seemed so peculiar, and its abuses were so talked of, that they captured atteution to the exclusion of every- thing else ; the more particularly that this ‘and tho rest of the Shfiatra us hard to understand. Whilst the Shdstrn provides by its AohAras for all types from the lowest to the moat advanced, its essential concepts, under whatever aspect they aro manifested, and into whattvnr pattern they are woven, aro (as Profeooor Do La Vallfo Pouuaion says of tho Buddhist Tantra) of a motaphyaioal and subtle diameter. Indeed it is largely because of the subtlety of it« principle#, together with tho difficulties whioh attend ritual exposition, that the study of tho Tantras, notwithstanding the com- parative simplicity of their 8nnskrit, has been hitherto neglected by Western scholars. Possibly it was thought that tho praotiowunentionod rendered any atudy of a system, in which they 000 lined , unnecessary. There vraa and still in some ground for tho adverse criticism which lias been passed on it. Nevertheless it was not u just appreciation of the ShAstra as a whole, nor c von au accurate judgment in reaped of the particular ritual thus singled out for condem- nation. Let those condemn this Shftstra who will. That is their affair. But let them hid study and understand it. I have dealt with the subject of. the Tantras in several papers. It is only necessary here to say that "the Tantra” m it is called was wrongly considered to be synonymous with the Shiiktu Tantras ; that in respect of tho latter the 7 > SHAKTl AND SHAKTA whole attention was given to the V&m&ch&rH ritual and to magic (§ha*karma); that this ritual, whatever may in truth be said against it, was not understood ; that it was completely ignored that the Tautras contained a remarkable philosophic prwentment ol religious teaching, profoundly applied in a ritual of psychological worth ; and that the ShUetras were also a repertory of the alchemy, medioiuc, law, religion, art and so forth of their tune. It was sufficient to mention* the word “Tantru" and theca was suppoeod to be the end of the matter. I have often boon aekod why I had undertaken the study of the Tautra Shits tra, aud in some English (a» opposed to Continental) quarters it has boon suggested that my time and labour might be more worthily employed. One answer is this Following the track of unmeasured abuse I havo always found something good. The present ease is no exception. I protest and have always protested against unjust aspersions upon the Civilization of India ar.d ite peoples. If there bo what is blameworthy, aoourucy roquiroa that ocitioisiu should be reduced to its. true pro- portions. Having beeu nil my life u student o£ the world’s religions and philosophies, I entered upon u particular study of this Sh&stra to discorer for myself what it taught, and whether it was. as represented, a complete reversal of all other Hindu teaching with whioh I was acquainted. For it was said to 1» the cultivation or pructioe of gluttony, lust, and malovolonoo (“ferocity, luet, and mummery" m B rian Hodgson colled it) whioh 1 knew the Indian SbAstrs, like all the other religious Scriptures of the world, strictly forbid. I found that the Sh&stra was of high importance in the history of Indian religion. The Pantra Sh&stra or Again a is not, as some seem to suppose, a petty Sh&stra of no account ; one, and an unimportant sample, of the multi- tudinous manifestations of religion in a country which TANTRA SHASTRA AND VEDA ewarms with every form of religious sect. It is on the contrary with Veda, Smriti and Purity* one of the foremost important ShAatras in India, governing, in various degrees and ways, the temple and household ritual of the whole of India to-day and for centuries past -Those who are so strenuously averse to it, by that very fact recognize and fear it* influence.. From a historical point of view alone, it is worthy of study as an important part of Indian Culture, whatever be its intrinsic worth. History cannot le written if wc exoludo from it what we do not personally liko. A a Terence grandly said : — "We are meu and nothing which man has done is alien to us." There are some things in some of the Tantraa and a spirit which they manifest of which their student may not personally approve. But the cause of history is not to be influenced by personal predi- lections. It is no influenced in fact. There are somo who have found in tho ShfUtra a useful weapon of attaok against Indian religion and its tendencies. Should ono speak of the heights whioh Indian spiritual exporionoo has roaohod, one might be told that the infamous depths to which it had descended in the Tantra BhAstra, the Pinjhtimflrgn, tbe Vaujhpavu Sahajlya und so forth wore more certainly established. Did one praise tho high morality to be found in Indian Sb&stra, it might be admitted that India was not altogether destitute of the light of gooduoss ; but it might b# naked, what of the darkuei* of the Tantra f And so on and so forth. Let us then grapple with and not elude the objection. There woe of oouree something in all this. But suoh objectors and others had not the will (even if they had tbe capacity to understand) to give a true presentment of the teachings of the ShAstra. But the interests of fair- ness require both. Over and above tbe fact that tbe Shftstra is an historical fact, it possesses, ia some respects, an intrinsic value whioh justifies its study. Thus it is the storehouse of Indian occultism. This occult side of tbe Tantras is of scientific important*, the more particularly having regard 73 SHAKTI AND SIlAKTA to the piusent revived interest in occultist study in the West. "New thought" as it is .called and kindred move- ments arc a form of Mautravidya, Vashtkaranam is hypnot- ism, fascination. There is "Spiritualism" and "Powers" in the Tantras and ao forth. For myself, however, the philosophical and religious aspect of the Scripture is more important •gtill. The main question for the generality of men in not " Powers ” (Siddhi). Indood the study of occult- ism and iW pr&otioe has its dangers ; and the pursuit of these powers is considered an obstacle to the attainment of that t.nu> Siddhi which is the end of every ShAatra. A subjeot of greater interest, and value is the remarkable presentation of ' Vedantio knowledge which the ShAkta Tsntra in particular givoe (I never proparly understood the VsdAnta until after I had studied the Tantras) as also the ritual by which it is sought to gain realisation (Aparokflha- jfiAns). Tht importanoo of the ShAkta Tsntra may bo summed up by Uie statement that it is a Bddhana ShdiUa of Advaiiaiddu. I will develop this last matter in a future paper. 1 will only say now that the main question of tjio day everywhere is how to realize practioally the truths of religion, whatever they be. This applies to all, whether Hindu. Mohamcdan or Christian. Mere philosophical specu- lation and talk will avail nothing beyond a clarification of intelioct. But, that, wo all know, u not oaough. It is not what wo speculate about hut what wo are, which oounte. The fundamental question is, how to realise (SAkjliAtkAia) religious teaching. Thyi is the trait of SAdhanA alone; whether the form of that SAdhanA be Christian, Hindu, Mohamedan, Buddhitft or what else. The chief SAdhana- shAstra for the orthodox Hindu is the Tantra ShAatra or Agama in ita varying schools. In this fact lies its chief significance, and for Hindus itt practical importance. This and the AdvoitavAda on which Iho ShAkta ritual recta ia in my opinion the main reason why ShAkta Darshana or doctrine is worthy of study. 74 TANTRA SHASTRA AND VEDA The opinion which I hud formed of the ShAatra has been corroborated by several to whom 1 liad introduced the matter. I should like to quote here the last letter 1 had only a mouth ago from an Indian friend, both Sauskritist and philosopher (a combination too ruse). He says ‘‘they (the Tantras) havo really thrown before me a flood of new light. So much so, that 1 roally fool at if I haw discovered a new world. Much of tho mist and haziness has now been cleared away and I find in the Tantras not only u groat and subtle philosophy but many of the missing links in tho development of the different systems of Hindu philosophy which I could not discover before but which I have been seeking for, for some years past." These statement! might perhaps lead somo .to think that the flhilst.ru teaches some- thing entirely, that is in every respect, now. As regards fundamental doctrines, the Tsntfft Shlstra (for convenience I confine myself t<> the ShAkta form) tsaohes much which is to be found in . tho Advaita Vedllltn. Thereforo those who think that, thoy will find in tho BhAstra some fundamental truths con coruing the world which are entirely new will bo disillusioned. The observation does uot apply to some doctrinal teaching, presentment, methods, and details, to whioh doubtless my iriond’s letter referred. Ho who has truly understood Indian BhfUUa* a* a whole will recognise, under variety of form and degree of spiritual advancement, tho same substance by way of doctrine. Whilst tho SkAkta Tentru recoguixea, with tho four Vodas, tbe Igamas and Nigamas, it is now based, aa are all other truly Indian Sh&stras on Veda. < Veda, in the Bense of Knowledge, is ultimately Spiritual Experience, namely Chit which Brahman is, and in the one parties* infinite Ocean of w'hich the world, as a limited stress in Con- sciousness arises. So it is said of the Devi in the Com- mentary on tho Trishatl Vtd&ntamahivdkyarjanya sdktfMkdra-rtijn-brahimvidyd. 75 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA She is Brahman -knowledge (BrahuiuvidyA) in the foim of direct realization produced by the Ved&ntic great saying (MahftvAkya)— that is "Tat tvain oai” ("That thou art") and ail kmdrod sayings So' ham, ("He lam"), BrahmAami (“I am Brahman”) and so forth. In other words, Seif- knowledge is self-luminous and fundamental and the basis of all other knowledge. Owing to its transcendency it. is beyond both prover and proof. It is self-realised (SviLnu- bLuvti). But Shruti is tho eouroo from which this know- ledge arises, as Shafikara says, by removing (as also to some extent reaeon may do) false noriora concerning it. It revosls by removing the superincumbent mass of human error. Again, Veda in a primary sente is the world as Idea in the Cosmio Mind of the creating Brahman and includes all forms of knowledge! Thus it in eternal, arising with and as the Samakhraa at the beginning of overy creation. This m the Vodamilrti brahman V*da in th* secondary sense ia the various partial revelations relating, to Tottva, Brahman or God, and Dharma, morality, mado at didocent limes and places to the several JtiijhiH which are embodied in the four Vedas, Ijtik, Yajua, Sima and Atharvn. Veda is not oo- extcnaive therefore with tho lour Vedas. But aro those, even if they bo regarded as the "earliest," the only (to use an English term) revelations T Reflation (Akftshav&pi) never oeascH, When and wherever there is n true Riehi or Reer there is Revelation. And in this hptiho tlie Tautra Shkstra or Igania olaiuis to. be a ltorolation. Tho Shobdabrahmarodrti i» Nigeraidishiotromoyn : it being said that Agonnv ia the PoramAtmft of chat Mflrti, the four Vedas with their Aflgas are ite JlvftUnft ; thtf six philosophies its Indriyas ; the Fur&pas and UpapurApiw its gross body ; Smriti ita hands and other limbs and all obher ShAstras are the hairs of its body. In the Heart-lotus are the fifty Tejomayi MAtrikA. In the pericarp are the Agamaa glittering like millions of suns ai>d moons which are Sarvadharmamaya, Brahmajninamaya, Sarvasiddoimaya, and Murtimin. Thoeo were revealed 76 TANTRA SHASTRA AND VEDA to the J-tcshis. In faot all ShAatias are aaid to constitute one great raauy-millioiied collection (Shatakofci SamhitA) each being particular manifestations to man of the one, essential Veda. From thin follows the belief that they do not contradict, but are in agreement with, one another : for Truth is one whatever be the degree in which it is received, or the form in which the Seam (Rig his) promulgated it to those whose spiritual sight has not strength enough to discern it directly and for themselves. But how, according to Indian notions, can that which is put forward an a Re'c- latiou be shown to he such ? The answer is that, of Ayur- veda. A medioine is a good one if it cures. In the same way n Shlatra is truly such if the Siddhi which it claims to give is gained os the fruit of the practice of its injunctions, according to the competency and under the conditions prescribed. The principle is a practical and widely adopted one. The true must be judged by its fruit. Tins prinoiplo may, if applied to tbjc general life of to day, lead to an adverse judgment on some TAutiik practices. If so, let it bo. It is, however, an error to suppose that even such- practices as have been condemned, claim to rest on any other basis than Veda. It is by the learned in Tantra Shflatra said to be ignorance (AvidyA) to see a difference between Agarna and Veda. Ignorant notions prevail on the subject of the relation of tho Tantraa to Veda and tha Vedas. I rood somo years ago in a Bengali book by n Brahmo author that "the difference was that between Ilell and Heaven". Now on what is such a condemnatory comparison based ? It is Bafe to challenge production of the prpof of Buch an assertion* Let us examine what the ShAkta Tantra (to which allusion was made) teaches. In the first, place "Hell” recognizes “Heaven,” for the ShAkta Tantra, ub I have said, acknowledged the authority of Veda. All Indian Sh&etrae do that. If they did not, they would not be Indian Shfiatia. The passages on this 77 SHAKTI AND SIlAKTA point arc BO numerous, unci tho point itself is ao plain that I will only cite a few. Kulfiroavn Taptia says (II. 86, 140, 141) that Kula- dharma is based on and inspired by the Truth of Veda. Tamdi wddtmhm shddrom viddhi kauldtmakom jmyr. In the same place Shiva cites passages from Shruti in support of Fis doctrine. The Prapanchaa&ra and other Tftntras cite Vaidika MahAvAkyo and Mantras ; and hr Mantras are a part of Veda, therefore, Meru Tantra Rays that T antra in part of Veda (Pr&ijAtoohip! 70). Niruttaro Tantra (tails Tunlrn tho Fifth Veda and KulAehAia in named the fifth Ashrama (ib ) ; that is it follows all others. Matsyasukta- mahAtontra (XIII) says that tho disciple must bo puro of soul (ShuddhAtmA) and a knower of Veda. He who is devoid of Vaidikn-kriyA ( Vedalcryft-vivarjita) is disqualified (MahArudrayftmala, I Khapija, Oh 15 ; II Khnoda, Ch. 2 ; PrAnatoeldnl 108). Gandharva Tantra (Oh. 2. PrAootoshiot 6) say* that the TAntrik RAdhaka must b* a believer in Veda (Aatilca), over attaohod to Brahman, ovor speaking of Brah- man. living in Brahman and taking aheltoi with Brahman ; which, by tl» way, u a queer demand to maku of those, the supposed object of whoeo rites is more delwuohery. Tho KulArpava says that thero is no knowledge higher than that of Veda and no doctrine equal to Koula (III. 113, Nahi vedddJidcA vidyd »w kaula-samadar shawm). Here a dis- tinction is drawn between Veda which is Vidyfl and tho Kaula toaoliing which he calls Darshana. See also Mahll- ntrvlija Tantra (I. 18,’ 10 j II. 8-15). In MahAnirvAijn Tantra (III. 72) the Muntra Om »nchohiricl<am Brahma io given aud in lie PrapaqahasAEa (Oh. XXIX) tliiu (what it calls) "Secret of the Vedas” is explained. That the SliAkta Tantra claims to be based on Veda admits of no doubt. In fact Kulluka Bhafla, the cele- brated commentator on Manu, says that Shruti is of two kinds, Vaidik and TAntrik. Vnidikt fdntrxld chaiva dvividJid shrutih. Hrtitfi. 78 TANTRA SHASTRA AND VEDA It is of course the fact that different sects baudy words upon the point whether they in fuot truly interpret Shruti and follow practice conformable to it. Statements are made by opposing schools that certain BhAstras are contrary to Shruti even though they profess to be based thereon. So a citation by Bhftakararftya in the Commentary to V. 70 of the Lalit&sahasran&mu speaks of some Tantras os " opposed to Veda" (VedaviruddhAni). The Viyu Samhiti says "ShaivAg&tm is twofold, that, which is baaed on Shruti aiul that which in not. The former ia composed of the oesenoo of Shruti. Shrauta is Svatnntm and Itara (v. ante p. 10). Shaiudgamo'pi dvivMah, ahrauto' thrautnak r!ia aaihtmrUdfi Shrutistirumayafr ihrautafi avaUuUraatotitaro vMtoh. So again the Bhhgavatn or PanoharAtra Agama has boon said to bo non-Vaidik. Thin matter has been discus- sed by ShafikarAohArys and HUminnja following Yamunft- ohftryn. We must in all case* distinguish between what a school says of itself and what others say of it. In Christianity both Catholicism and Protestantism olnim to be based on the Biblo and onch alleges that the other is a wrong inter- pretation of it. Each . again of the numerous Protestant scots says the same thing of the othora. But is Sh&kta Tantra ooutrary to Veda in fact 1 Lot us shortly survey the main point* in it* doctrine. It tcoohen that I’aiam&tmfl Is'irgupn Shiva is Sue luihidAnonda (Pra- panchasAra, Ch. XXIX : KulArtjava, £h. I, vv. 0-7). Kulfts- pavn Rays "Shiva is the impartite Supreme Brahman, the All-knowing (Sarvajfla) Creator of all. He is the Stainless One and the Lord of all. He is One without a second (Advaya). He is Light itself. He changes not, and is without beginning or end. He is attributcless and above tho highest. He is SaehchidAuauda ” (I. 0-7. Ami «eo the Dhy/tna and Ponoha ratn ostotra in MahftnirvAnn Tantra III. 00, 59-03). Brahman is SachchklAnanda, Eternal (Nitya), 70 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA Changeless (NirvikAra), Partitas (Ni?hkalu), Untouch- ed by MAyA (NInnaia), Attributelew (Nirgupa), Formleaa (Arupa), Imperishable (Akshara), All -spreading like space (Vyonuauunjbha), Self-illuminating (Svayarajyotib), Reality (TattVb) which is beyond mind and speech and is to be approaohed through spiritual feeling alone. (BhAvanA- gamya) (KulArpava I. 0-8 ; III. 02. 03 ; IX. 7). MahA- nirvAoa (III. SO. 89-03. 87 88. 74 ; III. 12). In His aspect a a the Lord (t ah vara) of all, He ia the All-knower (Sarvnjfln) Lord of oil : . whoso Body is pure Snttva (Shuddhaaattva- rhaya), the Boul of the universe (Viahv&tmA) (SUhAnirvApa I. 01, III. 08). Such definitions simply reaffirm the tcach- ing ol Veda. Brahman is That which pervade* without limit the Universe (PrapanchaaAra XXIX ; MahAnirvApa III. 83-36) oa oil the swamum *e«i (ShAradA Tilaka I, ShAktAuandstarnfigipl I, PrAonto»hipt IS). This Brahman lias two-fold aspect aa Parabrahma (Nirgupa, Nifhkala) and Shabdnbrahmon (Sagupa, Sakala). Sanunohana. a highly interesting Tantra, says (Ch. I) thatKubjikA ia of two-fold napeot, namely, Nifhkala whan She ie Chundru vuktrA, and SnkolA when called PaitnVikhl. So too is Ouhyak&lt who aa the Ural ia JDkavaktxA uinhApashupalhihl udvaitu- bhAvasampaimA and as the icoond DashavaktrA. So tlui KulArpava say* ShabdabiahmaparamabrahmabluMlena Brali- mnno dvaividhynm uktam (Khanda V, Ullftsa 1). The same Tantra sap that SadAshiva is without tho bonda (of MAyA) and Jtva is with them (Paahabaddho bhavej jivah pAahamuktah BadAshivahi, IX. 42) upon which the author of the PrApHto?hip1 citing this pannage say* "thus t.h« identity of Jlva and Shivs is ahoWn (iti Shivajlvayornikyam uktam). The Shlkta Tantra in thus AdvnitovAda : for it proolaima that ParamAtinA and JivAtmA aro one. So it affirms the "grand words" (MaliAvAkya) of Veda— "Tat tvam aai," "So’ham,” ‘'Brahmaami” (MnhAmrvApa VIII. 284-205, V 105 ; PrapanchasAra. II ; identifying Hrfm with Kundall ar.d Hangeah and then with So’ lain. Yah SfikBhmah 8o TANTRA SHASTRA.AND VEDA So’hsra (t6. XXIV, Jn&nfirpuva Tantra XXI. 10. As to BrahmUaini, see Kulftrjiuva IX. 32 and ib. 41 So’liambh&vena pujayet). The Mantra “ail this is surely Brahman (Sarvam khalvidam Brahma) is according to the Mah&nirv&tui (VII. 98) the end and aim of TAntrika KulflchAra, the realisation of which saying the Prapanchas&ra Tantra deacribes as the fifth or Supreme State (Oh. XIX); for the. identity of JtvfttmA and Paramfttmft is Liberation whioh the VedlntaaAra defines to bo Jlvabrthmanoraikyam). Kul&rnavn refers to tho Adroit* of which Shiva 4 peaks (Advaitantu shivunok- tam I. 108. See also MahAnirvluo II. 33-34 ; III. 33-85 ; 50-04 ; PraponchnsAro II, XIX, XXIX). Gandharva Tantra says that the S&dhaka must be a nondualist (Dvaiu- hlna). (8 m Ch. II. ib. Prftoatoohiol 108 ; Mubftrudrayflmala I Khaodn, Oh. 15 ; LI Khapd»,0h. 2.) It I* useless to multi- ply quotations on this point of which there is no end. In foot that particular form of worship which has eurned tlie Shtkta Tantras ill-iamc claim* to he u practical application of AdvaitavAda. The Sammohana Tantra (Oh. VIII) gives high praise to tho philosopher RhaftkarAehArya saying that He wait un inoarnatiou of Shiva for tho destruction of Buddhism. KnulAohAryo is eaid to properly follow a full knowledge of Ved&ntin doctrine. 8Liv* in the Kul&inovn (I. 110) saya "some desire dualism (Droit*), others nou- duabsm (Adroit*) but my truth is boyond both (DvuitA- dvoit&vivarjita).” Advaitavodftnta is the whole day and life of the Bli&kta S&dhoko. On waiting at down (BrahrramGhurtn) ho site on liio bed and meditates "I am the Devi and none other. I am Brahman who is boyond all grief. I oni a form of Sachchidftnaudft whose true nature is eternal Liberation. " Aham D&A m chd nyo’rni, Brahmawdham no shokabhdk, Sarheh iddnandarfip:: ’ha m nilya w; ukasm bhdvavd n. At uooo again seated in PujAsano at time of BliGU shuddhi he meditate* on the dissolution of the 'J'attvas in 8i o F SHAKTI AND SHAKTA ParamltmA. Swung no difference between ParamAtmA and JIvAtinA he affirms Sft'ham "I am She”. Again in the evening after ritual duties ho affirms himself to be the AkhilAtraA ami BaoholudAnandu, ami having bo thought he sleep. Similarly (1 may here interpose) in the Buddhist Tantra— the SAdhaka on rising in the state of Devadeha (hLayi-sku) imagines that the double drums are sounding in the heavens proclaiming the Mantras of the 24 Viraa (dPahvo), and regards all things around him as constituting tho Mapdalu of himself as Buddha Vajmsattva. When about to sloop ho again imagines Ilia body to bo .that of Buddha Vajnmnttvu and then nioiguu himself into the tranquil state of the Void (ShfluynlA). Gondhaiv* Tantra sap “having saluted the Guru us directed and thought ' So’kani ' the wise Sftdlinka tho per- formor of the rite should ponder the unity of Jfva and Brahman." (h>rH » fwifsid vidhdwnu no'ttam ili pwodJutsafi Aikytm sombhdmycd dhimdn jiixiMja B/ali>m^o‘pi cha. Kill Tantra says “Having meditated in this way, n Sfcdhaka should worship Dovt as hia own XtmA, thinking I am Brahman." KubjikA Tantra says (Dovl in called Kuhjikft bocauao She ia Kupijall) "A Sidhalca should medi- tate on his own Self os one and the same with Her (Tayft sahituin AlniAnam eklbhQtam vicliintayet) : and so on. The cardinal doctrine of these ShAkta Tantrus is that of Shakti whether in its 8varfips (that ia. as It is in Itself) as Chidrfipiol, the ParApiakriti of I'arnmAtmA (MahArirvuna IV. 10) ot an MAyA and Prakriti (see as to tho latter the great Hymn to Prakriti in PrapanohasAra, Ch. XI). Shakti as the KubjikA Tantra says (Clt. I) is (kmaoiouaneaa (Clmitanya- rfipini) and Bliss (Anandaiupipi). She is at the same time Bupport of (GupAshrayA) and composed of the Go pas (Guna- mayl). Mftyft in however explained from the standpoint of SAdhanA, the Tantra Shflstru (icing a SAdhana ShAatra, and 8a. TANTRA SHASTRA AND VEDA not, according to llic M&y&v&da, that is, transcendental standpoint, of Shaflkara What is there in the great Devi SQkta of the fligveda (M&odala X, Sukta 128) which the Shflktu Tantra does not teach ? The Rifihi of this revelation was a woman the daughter of ftiijhi Ambhrina. It was fitting that a woman should proclaim the Divine Motherhood. Her Hymn soys " T pm the Sovereign Queen the Treasury of all treasures ; tho chief of all object* of worehip whose all-pervading Self all DorntAe manifeat ; whoeo birthplace is in the midst of the causal waters : who breathing forth given form to all created worlds nud yet extend* beyond them, so vast am I in greptneas." (The full Hymn is translated in the French Edition of A. and E. Avalon's "Hymn* to the Qoddeaa'’. Bo8aard Paris.| It i» useloee to oite quotations to show that the Shftkta Tantra accept*. the dootrine of Karma which u« tho Kul&r- nava (IX. 128) says Jlva cannot give up until ho renounces the fruit of it ; an infinite number of universes, and their tranaitorincM (MahAnirvIfl* III. 7), the plurality of worlds, Hoa von and Hell, tho seven Loka», the Devaa and Devts, who IUI the KulaohddAmaci Nignma (following tho Dcvt Sttkta) says (Oh. 1) are but parte of the great Sliokti (8hAl<tA- nandalaraflgipl III). Being AdvuitavAda, Moksha the state of Liberation and so forth is FaramfttmA. It accepts Sinpiti and Purflpas ; tho Mahftmrvlpa and other Tantras saying that they arc the governing ShUstcoa of the TretA and Dv&para ages respectively, aa Tantra is that of the Kaliyuga. So tho T&ripiadlpn (Ch. I) says that in tho Kaliyuga the TAntrika and not the Vaidika Dharma is to be followed. It ia said that in Satya, Veda was undivided. In Dv&para, Kpehaadvaipayana separated it into four parte. Iu Satyu, Vaidika UpiUanA was J’radh&ua, that ia, prevailed ; S&dhakas worshipping Indra for wealth, children and the like ; though Ni^hk&ma Riflhia adored the Sarva- shaktim&n (DevisukU is AdvaitasiddhipCiriia). In TretA, SHAKTI AND SHAKTA worship according to Smriti prevailed. It woe then that Vashightha is said to have done SAdlianA of Brahmavidyft according to ChlnAchAraknuna. Though in the DvApara there was both Smriti and PurApa, rites were generally performed according to the Puripas. There was also then, as always, worshippere of the l^nmshaktirnakAvidyA. At the end of DvApara and beginning of the Kali age the Tantra ShJUtm was taught, to man. Then the tan SaihskAras, ShrAddha anil AntjafhtikryA were, as they are now, per- formed nooording to the Vaidikadharma : Ashroin&ckAra according to D&yabhlga and other Smriti TezU ; Via too according to PurApti ; DtVghA and UpAsanA of Brahman with Shakti, and various kinds of Yoga SadhanA, according to the Agama which is dividod into throe parts Tantra (Sattvftgujja). YAmala (Kajoguna), and f)Anmta (Tamogupa). There were 64 Tantras for eaoh of the three divisions Ashva- krAntA, FtatlmkrAnlA, VtjhoukrAntt. 8uch ia a Tlntrik tradition conooming tho Age* and thoir appropriate 8oripturcs. Whether this tradition lias any historical twin still uwaite inquiry, which is rendered difficult by the fact that many Taatms have boon lout and others doetroyod by those inimical to them. It. is sufficient for my purpose to merely state what is tho belief ; tliat purpow being to show that tho Tantra ShAstra recognizes, and olaims not to bo 'in conflict with, Veda or any other recognized Shlitra. It accept* tho six Philosophies (Darshann) which Shiva «ays are the six linil* of Kuln and parte of His body, saying that lie who sovow them bovoib Ilia limbs (KulArpava II. 84 , 84-86). The meaning of this ia that the Six Philosophies and tho Six Minds, as all else, aro parte of Hia body. It accepts the Sbafcda doctrine of MlmitiisA subject to certain modifications to meet its doctrine of Shakti. It, in common with the Shaiva Tantra, accept* the doctrine of the 36 Tattvas, and §hadadhvft [ Tattva, Kali, Bhuvaua, Varna. Pads. Mantra: see my "Garland of Letters”]. This is an elaboration in 84 TANTRA SHASTRA AND VEDA detail wliioi explains the origin of the Ptirushu and Prakpti Tbtivas of the S&flkliya. These arc shown to be twin facetB of the One and the "development” of Shakti into Purusha-Prakfiti Tattva, is shown. These Tuttvaa include the ordinary 24, Prokriti with its Gunas to Pfithivl It accepts the doctrine oi the three bodies (ounaal, subtle, gioss) and the three stAtes (Jftgrot, Svapna, Sujhupti) in their individual nn<l collective aspects. It follows the mode of evolution (Paripama) of Slnkhya in so far os the develop- ment of Jiva is concerned, as also an Abliiau, in the nature of Vivartta, "from Fixe to Fire” in the Pure Creation. Its exposition of the body includes the five PrAiiaa, the seven Dhhtus, the Do*haa (VAyu, Pitta, Kapha) anct so forth (PrapanchahAra II). tin the ritual axle it contains the commonly accepted ritual ol presontday Hinduism ; Mantra, Yuntra, Prutimfl, Lifiga, Shftlayrluni, Nyiaa, Japa, Pfljft, Stotea, Kuvacha, Dayana and so forth, as well as the Vaidik rit4-s which are the t^n SaihskAms, Homa and the like. Mont of the commonly ooceptad ritual ol the day is TAntrik. It acoopte Yoga in all its forms Mantra, Hatha, Lays, JiUuu ; and is in particular distinguished by its prootice of Laya or K u ;d all- yoga and other Hatha procewMS. Therefore not. only is the authority of the Veda acknow- ledged along with the Igamaa, Nigamaa and Tantraa but there :s uot a single doctrine or practice, amongst those hitherto mentioned, which is either not. generally held, or which has not the adherence of large numbers of Indian worshippers It aooopts all the notion* common to Hindu- ism as a whole. Nor is there a single doctrine previously mentioned whioh is contrary to Vodn, that ii on the as- sumption of the truth of AdvaitavAdn. For of oourac it is upon to Dualists ami Viahishtadvaitins to soy that it* Monistic interpretation of VedAnta is not a true exposition oi Vaidik truth . No Sh&kta will however say that. Subject to this, I do not know of anything which it omits and should have included, or states contrary to the teuor of Vaidik 85 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA doctrira. If thpuu bo anything 1 shall bo obliged, an a student oi the Sh&stxa, to any one who will call my attention to it. The Sbfbtra has not, therefore, up to this point shown itself 06 a "Hell” in opposition to the Vaidik “Heaven". But it may be Baid that 1 have omitted the main thing which gives it its bad and un- Vaidik character namely the ill-famed l’anchatattva or worship with meat, wine, fish, grain and woman. I have also omitted the magic to be found in some of the Shfiatras. The latter may bo first shortly dealt with. Alogio is not peculiar to the Tantraa. ft is to bo found in plenty :n the Atharvaveda. In fact the definition of AbhicLAra i a "the Karma described in the Tantraa and Atharvaveda". AblnohAra is magical process with intent to destroy or injuie. It is HufiiA-kanno, or aot injurious to others. There is nothing anti-Vaidik then ir. .Magic. I may, however, hero also point out that thoro is nothing wrong in Magio (Shutkarma) p*t xe. Ah with ho many other things it is the use or abuse of it which make* it right or wrong. If u man kills, by Mlra«a Karma, u rival in his business to get rid of competition and to succeed to hie client*' diatom, ho Oommit* a vary grave ain— one of the most grievous of sins. Suppofc, however, that a man suw a tiger stalking a child, or a dacoit about to slay it for ite golden ornament ; his killing of the tiger or dacoit would, if necessary for the safety of the child, be a justifiable aot. Magio, is however, likely to be abused and has in fact been abused by some of the Tlntrika. 1 think this in the most serious ohnTgc estab- lished against them. For evil mogio which prooeeds from malevolence is a greater crime than uny abuse of natural appetite. But in this, as in other matters, we must distin- guish between what the Shfletru nays and the practices of its followers. The injunction laid upon the Sfldhaka is that he "should do good to other beings as if they were his own self". Atmawtt sarvalhlitebhyo hitam kurydl kuleshmri (Kulfiruava Tantra XTT. 63). In the Knlfininva Samhitfi TANTRA SHASTRA AND VEDA (a different and far inferior work to the Tank'd of that name) Shiva recited tome horrible rites with tire flesh of rat and bat; with the soiled linen of a Chagd&U woman, with the shroud of a corpse, and so forth ; and then he says “My heart trembles (ayidayaxn kampate mania), ray limlw tremble (gfitr&ni mama kam panto), my mouth is dry oh Pirvatf ! (mnkham shujhyate Ptevattl) Oh gentle one n»y mind is all disturbed (kghobho me jfcyuto bhudro). What more shall I say 1 Conceal it (Na vaktavyam) “conceal it, conceal it. ” He then says " In the Kali age S&dhakas arc generally greedy of money. Having done greatly sinful acts they destroy living beings. For them there is neither Guru nor Rudra, nor Thee nor SAdhikfl. My dean life ! they arc ready to do acts for the destruction of men. Therefore it is wrong to reveal these matter*, oh Devi. I have told Thee out of affection for Thoe. being greatly pleased by Thy kisses uud embtaoo. But it should be as carefully oou coaled by Thcc as thine own secret body. Oli Plrratl ! all tliis is greatly sinful und u very bad Yoga. (MuliA- pttakayuktam tut kv.yogo’yam ixiahriUh.)’’ Kalikdl o tddhaloMU prdyatho dhanablupdfi Mvh&kfitydm xndhdyana prdtundm badJiabluiijinaE Na gurur ndpi Rvdro vd naiva twrm wwi sddhikd Mahdpmnwi'uUhdya samarthab prdnamUabhc Elat prakAdtanam devi dcfhSya parikalpyUe Snehtm lava dwesfii chwntsindUngomistaViA Banhvkyawa mayd devi samam flat prak&shitam Tcay/C ffopyam prayatmtui miyomrim Pdrmli Mohopdtaka-yiiham tat htyogv'yam uddhri/ab- " None of these things are ever to be done by Thee Oh Daughter of the Mountain (Sorvathd mira karlavyas twijfd Parvatamndini ). Whoever does no, incurs the sin of destroying Me. I destroy all such, as does fire, dry grass. Of a surety such iuour the sir. of alaying a Br&hmarui. All such inour the sin of slaying a Br&bmana.” SHAKTI AND 5HAKTA Sorvathd lUiwa hrrtatn/ as ivayd Parvatanandini DatVubhdk manta dcveshi kfitydnrim&m mimeharcl Tasya tanum hardmytishu vah nift shufh/iatrinam yuthd Avyarthdm brakmutuUydniJui brakmaJialydm m vindali. When therefore we condemn t,he sin of evil magic it is nectary to remember bolh such teaching ab is contained in this quotation, and the practice of those of good life who follow the SlUUtra. To do no is to be both fair and accurate. Them is nothing, iu any event, in the point that tho magical content* of the Tantm Shflatra make it contrary to Veda. Tho** who bring such a chaige must also prefer it against tho Athurvavcda. As n matter of fact Mogic is common U> all early religions. It has been practised, though condemned, in Christian Kuropo. It is not neoossary to go back to the old witchcraft trials. There are some who protest against ita recrudescence today. It hsa been well observed that there are two significant foot* about occultism, namely its catholicity (it is to be found in all hinds and ages) ami its omar-ing power of recuperation after it has boon supposed to buve boon disproved un more "superstition". Even oomo quarter oi a century ago (1 am quoting from the same author) there wore probably not a soorc of people in London (und thews kept their preoccupation to themselves) who had any interest at all in tho subject except from a purely anti- quarian standpoint. Magic was dismissed by practically All educated men as something too evidently foolish and non- sensical to deserve attention or inquiry. In recent yearn the position has been reversed in the West, arid complaint is again made of the revival of witchcraft and occultism to day. Tho reason of this is that modem ooicntifio investi- gation has established the objectivity of some leading phenomena of occultism. For instance a little morn than a century or so ago it was still believed that a poison could inflict physical injury on another by means other than physical. And this is what is to be found in that portion 88 TANTRA SHASTRA AND VEDA of the Tanbra Sh&stras whioh deal with tic Shatharma. Witches confessed to having committed thia crime und were punished therefor. At a later date the witchcraft trials were held to be evidence of the supowtitiou both of the accused and accusers. Yet psychology now allows the priuoiple that Thought is itself a Force, and that by Thought alone, properly directed, without any known physical means tlio thought of another, and lienee Kin whole condition, can be affected. By physical moans I mean direct physical means, for ocoultism tuny, und doea uvail, itself oi physical uioane to stimulate and intensify the force and direotion of thought. Thin is the meaning of the magic rituals which have been so much ridiculed. Why is black the colour of MArapa Karma ! Because that colour incite" and maintains and emphasizes the will to kill. Bo Hypnotism (Vauhl- karuijam), as an instance of the exercise of the Power of Thought, makes use of gesture*, rotatory instruments and so forth. The Magician having a firm faith in his (or her) power (for faith in occultism as in Religion is essential) surrounds himerlf with every incentive to oonoontratod, prolonged and (in malevolent magic), malovolcnt thought. A figure or other object such as part of the clothing, lusir, nails ami so forth of ‘the victim represents the person to be attacked by magic. This nerves as the ‘immediate object’ on which the magical thought is expended. The Magician is helped by this and aimiior aids to a state of fund and malignant at- tention whioh is rendered intense by action taken on the substituted object. It is not of course the injuries done to this objeot whioh are the direct cause of injury to the person attaoked, but the thought of tho magician of whioh taoso injuries are a materialization. There is thus present the circumstances which u modern psychologist would demand for success in a telepathic experiment. As the witchcraft trials show, the victim is first affected in thought and then in body by the malignant thought thus focussed upon him. 89 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA Some timeo no apparent means are employed , aa iu a case reported to me by a fr.cud of mine as occurring 'in a Bombay Hotel when a man well-known in India for his “Powers" (Siddhi) drove away, by the power of his thought ouly, a party of persons sitting at a neighbouring table whose pre- sence was greatly distasteful to one of his companions. ThiB, if the effect of magical power, was an instance of what, the Tantraa call Uchchdtana. Ia all oases tlie general principle i8 the same, namely the setting in motion and direction of powerful thought by appropriate means. This is the viow of thcae who give what may be called a psychological explanation of those phenomena. Those would hold that the magical symbolisms are without iu- lierent force but work ucoordiug to raue aud individual characteristics on tho mind which dow the rust. O there believo that there n> an inherent power in Symbolism itself, that the “Symbol" is not merely suoh but an actual ex- pression of, and instrument by which, Certain ocoult laws are brought, into pluy. In other words the power of “Symbo- lism" derives not merely from tho offset which it may have on particular minds likely to be affeoted by it but from itself as a law external to human thought. Some again (and Indian magicians amongst others) believe in the presence and aid of discamutc personalities (such as the unclean rishUchus) given- in the carrying out of occult operations- Similarly it is commonly held by some time where so-called "spiritualistic" phenomena are real and not fraudulent (as they sometimes are) the action is not that of the dead but of Infernftl Spirits simulating thorn and misleading men to their ruin. Occultism in tho tense of a belief in, and claim to be able to use, a oertain range of forces which may be called preternatural, has the adherence not only of savage and barbarous people (who always believe in it) but also of an increasing number of "civilized” Londoners, Berliners, Americana, Parisians and other Western peoples. They differ in all else but they 90 TANTRA SHASTRA AND VEDA ore united in this. Even what most would regard as down- right superstition still abundantly flourishes in the West. Witness the hundreds of thousands of "touchwood" figures and the like sent to the troops in tho recent war, the horror of sitting 13 to a table, and so on. In fact, from the earliest ages, magic has gone hand-in-hand with religion, and if for short period* ’.he former has been thought to bo dead it always risea again. Is this, as some say, ths mark of the inherent silly credulity of mankind, or does the fact show that there ia scmathiug in the olaima which occultism has made in all ages ? India (I do not apeak of tlie Engliah- eduealod community which shares in the rise und fall of English opinion) has always believed w occultism and some of tbe Tantra Shlatraa are repertories of its ritual. Magic and supewtition proper exist in thin country but are also to he found in tho West. Tho same remark applies to evory depreciatory criticism passed upon the Indian people. 8ome have thought that, occultism ia the sign both of sava- gery and barbarism on tho one hand und of decadent civi- lization on tho other. In India it hoc always existed and still exists. It has been well said that there is but one mental attitude impossible to the educated man, namely blank incredulity with regard to the whole subject. There has been, and is, a change of at'-ilidc duo to an increase of psychological knowledge und scientific investigation into objective facts. Certain reconciliations have teen suggested, bringing together the ancient beliefs, which somotimee exist in crude and ignorant forms. These reconciliations may bo rogardod as insufficiently borne cut by tho evidence. On the other hand n proposed reconciliation may bo acooptod as one that on tho whole seems to meet the claims mado by the occultist on one side and the scientific psychologist on the other. Butf in the present state of knowledge it is no longer possible to reject both claims as evidently absurd. Men of approved scientific position have, notwithstanding the ridicule and scientific bigotry to which they have been 9i SHAKTI AND SHAKTA exposed, considered the facte to be worthy of their investi- gation. And on the psychological side successive and con- tinuous discoveries are beiug Trade which corroborate anci- ent beliefs in substance, though they are not always in oon- Honanoe with the mode in which those beliefs were expres- sed. We must face the fact that (with Religion) Occultism is in some form or another a widely diffused belief of human- ity. All however will be agreed in holding that malevolent Magio is a great Sin. In leaving tho subjoot of Magio I uray here odd chat modern psychology and ita data afford remarkable corroboration of some other Indian beliefs such an that Thought is a Force, and that ita operation, is in a field of Consciousness whioh is wider than that of which tho mind is ordinarily aware. Wo may note also the aid which is derived from the establishment of dual and multiple pcraonalitivH in understanding how it may bo possible that in 0110 unity tboro may be yet varying aspect*. The second charge is the alleged Avaidik oharooter of the secret Paaohatabtvn Btdhanft, with wine, fleeh and woman, its alleged immorality of principle, and tho onl livea ol tho 6 e who piactiso it. I am nob :n the preaent paper dealing in full with this subject ! not that I intend by any means to shirk it; but it is more appropriately the subjeot of consideration in future Chapters on the subject of Shflkta T&ntrik Stdhanft of whioh it forms a part. What I wish to say now ia only this Wo must distinguish in the first place between a principle and its application. A principle may bo perfectly right and sound and yet a supposed appli- cation may uot be an application in faot ; or if there bo an application, the latter may violate some other moral or physical law, or be dangerous and inexpedient as leading to abuse. I will show later that the principle involved is one whioh is claimed to be in conformity with Vaidilc truth, and to be in fact recognized in varying forma by all classeo of Hindus. Some do so dualistically. The S&dhanfi of the Bh&kta Tantra is, whether right or wrong, an application 93 TANTRA SHASTRA AND VEDA of the principles of AdvaitavAda and in ita foil form should not, it in said, be entered upon until after Ved&ntib principles hare been mastered. For this reason Kauladharrr.a has been called the fifth Ashram a. Secondly I wish to point out that this ritual with wine and meat is not as some suppose a new thing ; something introduced by the flhikta Tintrika. On the contrary it is very old and has sanction in Vaidik practice as will appear horn the authorities cited in the Appendix to this Chapter. So much is this so, that a TAntrik Sftdhu disclosing the matter with a Bengali friend of mine said of himself, m a follower of this ritual, that he was a Hindu and that thoee who were opposed to rt wore JainM. What he meant, and what seems to be the fact, is that the present-day general prohibition against tho toe of wine, and the generally prevalent avoidanoe, or limitation of an animal diet, are due to the influence of Jainism and Buddhism whioh areas after, and in opposition to, Vaidik usage. Their influence is most marked of course in Vaiulina ▼ism but haw dot been without cfleot olsowhere. When wo examine ancient Vaidik usage we find that meat, fish .and Mudrft (the lutter In the form of PurodAsha) were consumed, and intoxicating liquor (in the form of Soma), was drunk, in the Vaidik Yajfias. Wo also discover some Vaidik rites in whioh there wa« Maithuna. This I have dealt with in my article on "Sh&kti and Sh&kta". The abovementioned fact* show in my opinion that there is ground for tho doctrine of the TAntrikaa that it is a mark of ignorance (AvidyA) to sever Veda and Tantra, My conclusion in not however a counsel to follow this nor to any other particular form of ritual. I am only concerned to state the facte. I may, however, here add two observations. From an outside point of view (for 1 do not hero deal with the subject otherwise) we must consider the- ago in which a particular Bhlstra was produced and consequently the conditions of the time, the then state of society, ita moral and spiritual development and so forth. To 93 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA understand some rites in iLc past. history of this and other countries one must seek, in lieu of surface explanations, their occult significance in the history of the human race ; and the mind must cast itself back into the ages whence it has emerged, by the aid of those truces which it still beam in tho depths of its being of that which outwardly expressed itself in ancient custom. Take for instance the rite of human sacrifice which the KflJikftlpftlfttA says that tho U&jH alone may porform (Rdjd notovalim daddyc nnd yo'pi purameihwri) but in wliich, us the Tantras&m status, no Bitlunaga may participate {Brdkman&ndny narumliddna tid<fh\hdrak). Such an animal sacrifice is not peculiarly "Tlutrik” but an instance of the survival of a rite widely spread in the ancient world ; older than the day when Jehovah bade Abraham sacrifice his son (Gen. XXII) and that on which Sunahsepa (Aitareya RrAhmaga VII, 3) like Iaa&owas released. Inference, it is truo, is made to tbs sacrifice in the Shiotras, but savo as some rare exception (1 myself judged u onse in Court some years ago) it dow not exist to-day and the vast mans of men do not wish to see it revived. The Chakra ritual similarly is either disappearing or bocoming in spirit trans- formed whore thoro had been abuse. What is of primary value in the Tantra Shftstra are oer- tain principles with wliich I have dealt elsewhere, and -with which I deal again in part in this and the following lectures. Tho application of then: principles in ritual is a question of form. All form is a paseing thing. In the shape of ritual its validity is limited to plucc and time. As so limited, it will continue so long as it serves a useful purpose and meets tho needs of the age, and tho degree of its spiritual advance- ment, or that of any particular body of men who practise it ; otherwise it will disappear, whilst the foundation* of Ved&nta on which it rests may remain. In the same way it is said that wo ourselves come and go with our merits and demerits, but that the Spirit ever abides beyond both good and evil. 94 Noth to Chapter IV. The following note aa to Tantra Shhatxa and Veda was kindly prepared for me at rny request by Sj. Braja Lai Mukherji, fH-A.:— A/TY purpose in this paper is not to give to t.he public any pro-conceived opinion, but is aimply to put together certain facta which will enable it to form a comet opinion on the subject. Those facta have been collected from eouroea aa to the authenticity of which there is no doubt. There is no dispute that most of three works disclose the state of Vaidik society prior to the Oth century B.C. and that at the time when the said works were composod the Vaidik rituals weft being observed and performed. Certain elements whioh have been amimrd to he non-Vaidik, appear in the said workn or at least in many of them, and they have been summarily disposed of by some scholar# as supplementary (Poriehishbe), or interpolations (PrukahipU). The theory that these portions sre interpolations is based on the <Mwnj\tion that tho said elements arc non-Vaidik or post- Vaidik and also on the <uawnption that at ths times when the said works were composed, the Auushtup-chhandah was not known ; and that therefore, those portions of the said works which appear in Anustubh, must be later interpolations. We need not go into tho proprioty of theso assumptions in this paper ; but suffice it to say, that the fust assumption simply begs the quuation, and the second one is not of any importance in connection with tho subject of this paper ; inasmuch &B, the statements made in the Amutjibh portions are corroborated by earlier authorities as to whoae antiquity there is no question, and in any case, the fact that the state- ments have been made are proof of earlier usage or custom. Vaidik lacrifioet are divided into throo olasaes : (1) P&ka- yujnna, (2) Haviryajnas and (3) Soma aaorifiocs ; and there 95 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA oro subdivisions under each of the said oloasoe. The Soma sacrifices are classed under three heads accutdiug to the number of days required for performance, viz., Ekflha, Ahina and Satra. Ekflha sacrifices are those whioh are performed in one day by three Savinas, exactly as in the Jagaddh&'.rf Pujft ; Ahir.a sacrifices are performed from two to eleven days and Satras are performed during a long period, tho minimum numhnr of days required being thirteen and the maximum being a thousand years. The twelve-day sacri- fices are arranged as u neporate doss. The prinoipal Somo- yajnas are (1) Agnisht/oma, (2) Atyagniahtorna, (3) Ukthyah, ( 4 ) Shod as hi, (0) Vftjapeyah, (0) Atriatiah, (7) AptoryAma. The Ishti8 or Haviryajnati are also principally seven in number, namely, (1) AgnyAdhcyam, (2) Agmhotram, (3) Darsha-pauraumfisa, ( 4 ) ChAturmAsyiun, (fl) Agrayaneshti, (6) Niruddhapashubaivdlia, and (7) SautrAmani. The PAka- yajniut are also seven in number, namely, (1) AshtakA, (2) PArvanam, (8) SrAddham, (4) SrAvnij, (8) Agrahfcyoni, (6) Chnitri, and (7) Ashvayuji. The lost seven arc to bo performed with the help of the flrihyu fire and are described in tho Qrihya works. Tbo others are described in the Srauta works. Whatever be tho dilferenoe among these Yajniu in regard to the number of stomas or stotras and the S&tuans to be sung and the KApAlas, Grahaa, or tho number and nature of sacrifices or as to other particulars, there are some ideas whioh prevail in all of thorn. All Yajnae oro based on Uieidca that Aiithunlkarana leads to spiritual happi- ness. Sexual intercourse is Agnihotra (S. B. XI. 0. 2. 10). Mithuntkarana is consecration (S. B. III. 2. 1. 2, etc.) They enclose the- Sodas secretly, for enclosing is Mithunt- karaaa and therefore it must be done secretly (S. B. IV. 8, 7, fl ana 10). Bricks (Vishvajyotiis) are made because tho making of the bricks causes generation (S. B. VL 6. 3. 6). Two PAdae or Charanu# of an Auushtubh verso • are read iu ft detached manner and the two remaining are 96 tantra sh Astra and veda road together to imitate the manner of sexuul union (A. B. II. ft. 3) ; they do uot worship a female DevutA unlfl«6 she in coupled with a mule Dcva (A. B. III. 0. 4) ; they use u couple of Chhaudas distinguishing the one as male from the other as female and the two are taken together and believed to be tire symbol of Maithuna, and by such Maithuna the desired result of a ritual is achieved (A. B. V. 3. I) ; they believe that the reading of the Ahanusyl mantra (9. S. 9. XII. 24. MO ; A. V. XX. ISO) will confer bliss (A. B. VI. 8. 10) ; they say that the highest and best form of .Maithuna is that of ShraddlA and 8atya, Pioty and Truth (A B. VII. 2. 0) and this kind of Maithuna in the nlxitraot is dirootod for Aguihotils wlio have purified thonisolves by actual per- formances and observances in a religious spirit. They direct, the observance and performance of Muithuna as a religions rit< or nartof a religions rite (L.8.8. IV. 3. 17 ; K.S.S. Xlll. 42 ; T.A. IV. 7. ft; X. 02. 7 ; A.A. 1. 2. 4. 10 ; V. 1. ft. 13 ; Q.G.8. II. 6. 0, 0, 10 ; 8.0.8. 1. 10. 2-0 ; K.Q.8. I. 4. lfi ; H.G.8. 1. 24. 3 ; Ap. G.8. III. 8. 10 ; P.O.8. I. 11. 7 ; Ap. 8.8. V. 2fi. II ; Tan. Br. VIII. 7. 12 ; Chh. Up. II. 13. 1-2) and they direct that Man tow are to ba Uttered during the observance of this rite (Br. I). V. 00 ;,VIII. 82 ; R.V. V. 82. 4 ; R.V. X. 86. 37 ; R.V. Kh. 30. 1 ; Rik P. II. If,. 1-8; As. 8.8. VIII. 3. 28; U.B. VI. 1ft). 0«io of the articles of faith of Iho Vadik people therefore was, that sexual union led the wuy to bliss hereafter and must lx; performed in a true religious spirit to ensure spiritual welfare; wanton indulgence being severely deprecated. Idfl (u woman) said : —"if thou wilt make use of mo at the sacrifice, then whatever blessing thou shalt invoke through me, shall be grantod to thee." (S.B. I. 8.— 1. 2., otc.) The Vai'dik people performed thoir Somayajnas anil Ilaviryajnas which included th*. SnutrAniani. with libations and drinks of intoxicating liquor (L.S.S. V. 4, 1 1 ; K.S.R. XIX. 1, etc. ; 8.8.8. XV. 15 ; XIV. 13. 4 ; 8.11. V. 1. 2. 12 ; V. 1. 5. 28 ; XII. 7. 3. 14, cto. ; XU. 8. I, etc. ; XU. 8. 2. 21, 7 97 F SHAKTI AND SHAKTA 22 ; V. 5. 4. 10, etc. ; XII. 7. 3. 8 ; Ap. S.S. XVIII. 1. 9). 8urA purifies the aacrificer whilst itself is purified (8.B. XII. 8. 1. 16).- Rishi KakahivAn Rings the praises of SurA (R.V. I. 116. 7). It ia said to bo a desirable thing (R.V. X. 107. 9 ; VIIL 2. 12). They prefer Soma, the aweet drink. Soma is ParamAhutih (S.B. VI. 0. 3. 7) ; it is tho nectar of immortality (S.B. IX. 4. 4. 8). They deprecate and punish the wanton u»e of intoxicating liquor (Ap. Dn. 8. I. 25. 3 ; Ga. Dl. 8. XXIII. 10 ; Vu. Dh. S. XX. 10 ; Ba. 7>h. 8. II. 1. 18, etc. ; S.V.B. I. a). They direot the use of Burft and Soma for attainment of happiness and prescribe tl»e rnntmer ar.d purpose of drinking the same ; they prescribe the measure and number of drinks to be offered or taken at a sacrifice (S.B. V. 1.2. 9, otc., V. 5. 4), and they udd that a broach of these rules destroys the efficacy of the rite. They offer libations of SurA to tlm Fathers (A.B. III. 1.6; S.B. V. 6. 4. 27, r*to.). Thoy offor SurA to tits Aahwins (R.V.B. I. 44). Thoy offor SurA to VinAyolca'a mother (Yog. I. 288). Daring the performance of a sacrifice, the prints and tho householder sit together; they all touoh thoir cupa, and raise them to thoir mouths, all tho while moiling propor Mantras addressed to Devas (A.B. VI. 3. I) and then thoy drink (A.B. VII. 6. 7). The Vaidik poople used to offor to their DevatAs at thair sacrifices animal and vegetable food. The vegetable substaroes are TnnduU, Pishtaka, Phallkaraua, Purod&aha, Odouu, YavAgflh, Pritbulca, LAja, DhAna and Suktu, and the oniuial food was Payah, Dndhi, Ajyuni, AmikshA VAjinam, Vapfi, MAmswn, Lohitam, Paabuxuoah ; tho principal of these being DhAna, Karambha, ParibAha, PurodAehu and PayasyA (A.B. II. 3. 6). Indeed it would not be incorrect to say that no Vaidik rite oan bo performed without these offerings ; the forms and the mode of preparation and the number of cakes to be offered, differing in each esse (A.B. I. 1. l ; IL 1-9; n. 3. 6; II. 3-6; S.B. I. 2. 2; LB.8. V. 4. 1, oto. ; Ap. S.S. XII. 3. 12 ; XII. 4. 9. 14 ; K.S.8. V. 9S TANTRA SHASTRA AND VEDA 309; Tftifc. Br. III. 2. 0, etc.). They oflor animal sacrifices (Ret. 8.8. Chap. VI ; 8.B. III. 8. 4 ; III 8. 1 ; V. 1. S. 2. 14 ; V. 3. I. 10 ; VI. 2. 2. 15. Kanda XIII ; As. G.S. I. 11 ; P.G.8..JII. II ; G.G.8. III. 10. 18 ; Kh. G.S. III. 4; H.G.S. II. 16), which include the horse, goate, sheep, oxen (Tftit. Br. II, 8. 1, etc.) and human beings (Tait. Br, III. 4. 1). They believe, that by pjrforming animal sftorifioea, the sacrificar ransoms himself (8. B. XI. 7. 1. 3 ; A.B. II. I. 3) or wins all these world* (Ap. S.S. VII. 1. 1). The animal is the sacrificcr himself (A.B. II. 2. 1) They direct by special rules , in what manner the animal should lw idled, cut end offered (A.B. II. 8; 8.B. III. 8. 1. 13). They were aware that wanton killing ol animals was wrong (A.B. II. 1. 7) and believed that offering animal sacrifices to tho DevatAs, wm uno of the means whereby bliss hereafter could bo Attained (Be.. Dh. 9. II. 4. 23). And it whs only for certain Yajnni that animate could bn slain (Va. Db. 8. 1 V. 6-8 ; S.G.S. II. 10 ; 1 Bn 8,8. IV). Wanton killing of animals was very severely punished (Ap. Dh. 8. I. 2fl. 13-20; On. Dh. 8. XXII. 18, etc. ; Va. Dh. 8. 18. 23, etc. ; Bn. Dh. S. I. 10. 0). The Vnklik people from the time of the earliest Yojnoa severely deprecated lust of any kind whaLeouvor ; and they allowed Maithuna, MAmsft, Midp and MudrA for religious purposes only and as offerings to the Devas. The Chakra sittings ol the Ttatrik* (M. N. T. Ch. VI) have unmistakable similarities with tho VAjapeyn and SautrAmani (8.B. V; K.8.8. XI V ; A.B. III. 4. 3 ; S.B. XII. 7. 1, etc. ; K.8.8. XlX) and oven the manner of drinking in company 1ms been preserved as will oppoar from the references given above. When performing Yajna in company, the members of the company become BrAhiuuuns and there ia no distinction of c»9te (A.B. VII. 4. 1). The worship in both Vaklik and TAntrik rites begins with Aoh&mana, which is a form of ablution, in which cer- tain parts of the body are touched with water. In this respect, the Vaidik aud the Tftntrik practices arc exactly 99 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA similar (G.G.S. I. 2. 0 ; Tait. A. II. 11 ; M.N.T. Clmp. V). They purify themselves by uttering some mantras as Bijas while contemplating the Deities of certain parts of their bodies and touching such parts with their fingers (A.A. III. 2. 1. 2 ; HI. 2. 5. 3 ; R.V.B. II. lfl). They contemplate each Deva through his or her particular .Mantras (U.V. III. 62. 10) which will be found collected in the Parishishta to tlio Tuittiriyn Aranyaka. They moke uoo of certain sounds for removing unolcan spirits, eg., Klutt. l’hat. Hum. (T.A. IV. 87 ; S.V. St, I. 2. 1 ; I. 1.3; Aranyngftna VI. 1-N ; IV. 2. 10 ; S.fl. 1. 0. 2. 18 ; L 3. 3. 14 ; 1.7.2. 1M4; 1. 7.2. 21 ; XI. 2. 2. 3 and ft ; M.N.T. Chap. Ill) und for other purposes (A.B. II. 3. 6). They attribute a Deity to each letter in a Mantra (A.B. II. 5. ft). They make gestures with their, fingers as part of thoir rcligioun ritefi (S.B. III. I. 3. 88 ; HI. 4. 8. 2) and locate the DrVttUVi of particular sounds in particular part* of their ladies (P.S. M, fttt ; K.S.S. Vil. 71. 73). Thoy perform their baths as a means of and with the view of pleasing their Devas (G, Bn. 8. and M.N.T.) and in performing the Aclui- mana they sacrifice unto themselves conceiving that they are port und parcel of the Great. Bmlima (T.A. X. i). They worship tho Great Brahma tlirica daily, such worship lming oalled Sandhyi-bandonA or Ahnika lcriyft, twilight prayoni or duily rites. How und when tho forms of Vuidik BandlijA now practised by Vaidikas commenced has not yet been ascertained but, there is no doubt thn*. prior to the time when the Taittiriya Aranyaka was oompoBed the practice existed in its present foim. I.t will be remembered that it is only in that, work that we find the SandhyA-inantrns recorded. Tho practice of Prhn&yAmn and Tnrpam to Risliis, Fathom, and Dcvub also existed before BnudhAyana. This practice Of Vaidik SandhyA worship should bo compared with the Tftntrik mode, to gain an insight into the relation- ship of the Vodus and the Tartras. In tbe Yajnas, the Vaidik people principally worshipped t antra sh Astra and veda (I) Saraevati (S.B. 1L 6. 4. C; III. l. 4. 9 ; III. 0. 1. 7 ; V. 2. 2. 14 ; V. 3. 5. 8 ; V. 4. 5. 7 ; V. 0. 2. 7 ) to whom animal* are sacrificed (S B. III. 0. 1. 7 ; V. 5. 4. 1 ; XII. 7. 2. 3) and who is the same as Vftk or Vagdevl who lmcame a lioness aud went over to the Devat&s, on their undertaking that to her offerings should be made before they wore mode to Agni (S.B. III. 5. 1. 21) and who bestows food (S.B. XII. fi. 2. 18) ; (2) MahAdnva or Muhraha, another form of Agni, in all his eight forms (S.B. VI. 1. 3. ID el aeq.) ; (3) Riulra, (4) Viohnu, (5) VinAynka (Gansahn), (0) Slrunda (KArtikeya) (S.V.B. I. 4. 31 et a*i.) ; (7) the Lingam or Phallus (T.A. X. 17) on whom they meditated during the daily SaudhyA wor- ship and who is the same as Shanibhu riding on a bull, (8) Shiva (S.V.B. I. 2. 2). They also worshipped (9) the oow whom they called Bliagavati (A.B. V. 8. 2) and also (10) Imlra, Voruna, Agni, Soma, Rudra, Pushan,*tho Ashwimt, Sfiryya aud some other Deitiee. For purposes of uttaiuing eternal hliiw they worshipped lUtridev! (S.V.B. III. 8) and thin RAtridovt m described as n girl growing into womanhood who bestows happinosn. Sho has long and flowing huir, has in hoi linnd a noose. If she is plosHOil, then all othor Doves ore pleated. 8ho being plcasdd offers booiu, but tho worshipper must reject tbs sains umi llum lie will gum freedom from re-birth. This is the worship of RAtri ; it requires no fasting and muBt bi performed *t night. The Mantras to bo recited, is the RAtri SQIcU which commences with RAtrir bakhyad (Rig Veda X. 127. 1) to be followed by Aratri p&rthivam rajas. The Rig-VidliAna-BrAhmana (IV. lfl) which follows the SAina-VidhAaft-BrAhmana declare* that the RAtri Sftkta must bo recited ; the worship must bo performed bb a SthAlipAka Yojua. RAtri ib substantially tlio sumo with, but in form different from, VAgucvl ; and they are some- times worshipped as one and the same (Tail. Br. 11.4. 0. 10 et seq.). The RAtri Sfikta desoribes her as black (R. V. X. 127. 2-3). The portion of the RAtri Sukta which is included ioi SHAKTI AND SHAKTA in tho Khila portion of tlio Rig- Veda (R.V. Kli. 25) calls K&tri Dav$ by the name of Durgfi and this Mantra appears in Taittiriya Aranyaka (X. 1). She is -described here, as the bearer of oblations ; therefore, she is the same as Agni (Fire) and a# such she has tongues which are named as follows : (1) Kfl.lt, (2) Karflll, (3) Manojaba, (4) Sulohiti, (6) Sudhumra- vamfl, (6) Sphuliugim, (7) Shuchismitfl and these tongues loll out and by thew tongues offerings arc received (Grihya- Sangraha I, 13. 14). The Brihod dovati mentions that Aditi, VAk, Saras vatt and DurgA are the same (II. 79). In conformity with the Vaidik system the Tantrik system of worship acknowledges that Om is the supreme Blja (A.B. m 8 . 8 ; II. 1. 2 ; V. 5. 7 ; A.A. II. 3. 8 ; Chh. Up. I. 1. 1 tl mq. ; T.A. VII. 8 ; X. 03. 21 d itq.\ 8hakatAyana, p. 106 (Oppart); PAnini VIII. 3. 87; Br I). II. 127, 133; G.B. IX. 1. 34 ; I. Is 17. 19 ; M.N.T. II. 32) and they also aoknow ledge and us© the llinkira of the Vedas pronounood Hum (S.B. I. 4. 1. 3 ; IX. 1. 2. 3. 4 ; A.B. III. 2. 12 ; L. 8.8. I. 10. 25 ; 1. 1. 87 ; II. 1.4; IV. 3. 22). The rules and practice of Aohamana, and the bath are exactly tho samo as will be found on a comparison of ohaptor V of the MahAnirvAnu Tant.ra with the RninasAtra of Gobhila. Tho Tantras prefer to use single oompound* insU>nd of long sentences to express an idoa and fora one letter Mantras very much acoording to the Vuidik method. Wo also find the pructioc of NyAsa and Shuddhi foreshadowed in the Vedas as has been already menuoued. (See alao S.B. VII. 5. 2. 12). The principal Devi of the Veda is Saras vati, who is colled Nagna in the Nighantu, expressing nudeness, and also referring to that age of a woman when womanhood has not expressed itself. If we again, take these ideas with that, of the SAma- VidhAna- BrAhmana, we have the almost complete form of a Devi who in called at the present day by the name of KAIL An- other Devi whose worship is very popular at the present day is Durgi, who has a lion for her carrier. It will have been observed, that Vflch turned herself into a lion, and 103 TANTRA SHASTRA AND VEDA aftPi earnest solicitations went over to the Dcvao ; anil therefore, VAoh and the lion are identically the same. Wo have already given references which show that VAch aud DiugA were the same ; and these fads explain how Durga has a lion to carry her. The worship of RAtri ia to bo per- formed at night and therefore the worship of Kfili mast be a night performance ; and therefore, mast partake of all the features of a night performance ; and these elements mast be sought for in the Vaidik AtirAtra. The AtirAtra in a performance of three ParyyAyaa or rounds of four Stotraa and SliAntran in each and at tho end of each libationa uro offered, followed by driulting of 8omn. The some rule* aqd practices as in the AtirAtra are substantially followed in tho worship of tho Devi Kail, bluing being very largely used under the name ol VijayA nml Amcita. It will bo remembered that tho Devi of tlve AtirAtra is- BuuYfttt. Tho principal male DsvabA of llw Tantroa is MahAdeva named also Shiva, Matuwho. Bhambhu. Soma and also in a different aspect Rudra. Rudra an«l MahAdeva are admitted- ly Vaidik gods Rndrn ia described as having bnv* and arrows and hue hundred heads and thousand oyoe (S.B. IV. 1. 1. 0; Ynjur Veda III. 27). MahAdeva is Maliln devah, the great God (fl.II. VI. 1. 3. HI). It appeals that the Mantras of the different aspects of MahAdeva, which are even now used by TAntrikaa, worn luiowu aud used by tliu Vaidik people. 1 cannot, however, trace tho name Mahesha in Vaidik literature. Shiva can be identified with Rudra Susbevn, who is a kind god (S.B. V. 4. 4. 12). MahA- deva (Soma) is clad in a tiger skin which oa-i be traojd in Vaidik literature (S.B. V. 3. 5. 3; V. 4. I. 11). Rudra is black, in the Tantma us well ns in the Vedas. He is tho i ami. iw» Mapyu with a Dcvt on each aide of him' (S.B. IX. 1 . 1 . 0 ; XI. 6. 1. 12 and 13). In this connection, we must not fail to note some of the attributes of Vaidik Nirritti. Nirritti is Hack and is a terrible l)cvt and punishes those who do not offer Soma to her. She is the Devt of ,0 3 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA misfortunes und removes oil misfortune. She is the genetrix ami aha ia loud of the cremation ground (S.B. VII. 2. l ; A.B. IV. 2. 4). The Tantraa direct, the worolup also of Ganeaha, Kdrtika ami Vishnu, for whose worship the SAmu-VidMna-BrAhniana prescribes the singing of certain' Sflmana, Unown as the Vinftyaka SamhitA (8.V. 4. 0. 3. 3), Skanda-SamhitA (S. V. 3. 2. 1. 4) and tho Viahnu-Samhita (S. V. 3. 1.3. 0) respectively. The Tantnui also direct the use of certain figures which am oallcd Yantms. These may bo of various kinds and forms and may be used for vurioua purposes. One of these which is constantly used, is a triangle withiu a square (M.N.f. Ghap. V) and this can be traced to the rules for the prepa- ration of the Agnikshotra, oc tho Fire Altar ol the Vaidik people (8.B. VI. l 1. A). Another curious circumstance in connection with the altar ia, that, both in the Vaidik and tho TAntrik ritual, tho hoads of five unimols are used in ita preparation (8.B. VI. 2. 1. C-8). Tho worship uf the Lingum is foreshadowed by the Vaidik Deity Vishnu Sipivishta. (R.V. VII. 1001, eta; Nirukta V. 2. 2J and tho serpent which twines round Dovbb or Devia is foreshadowed by the Sarpa- rfi]nl, the Serpent Queen (8.B. IV. 0. 9. 17) who is the same as Vftoh. Tbs fACt* collected here will, it ir hoped, onablo impartial readers to oome to a definite conclusion as to the rolutionBhip ol tho Vaidik to tho TAntrik ritual. ABBREVIATIONS. A.A.= Aitareya Aranyukui A .I3.=Aitareya BrAkuianu. As. S.S.=IahvalAyana Shrauta Sutia. Ap. 8.8.^-Api- staniha Shrauta Sfltra. Ap. Dh. 8.=Apastamba Dharma Sutra. Ap. G.S.=lpaatainba Griiiya Sfltra. A.V.=» Atharvu Veda. Ba. Dh. S.=Baudhfiyaua Dhairna Sutra. 104 TANTRA SHASTRA AND VEDA IU. S.S.rrBaudhftyuna Shrauta Sfltra. Br. D.= Brihnd- dcvaifl. (G'aloutta edition). Chh. Up.=ChhAudutia Upa- nishad. Ga. Dh. 8.— Gautama Dkarnia 8ut*o. U.B.— Gopatha Brfthmaua. G.G.8.— Gobhilft Grihya SQwa. G. Sn. S.=Gobhila SnSna SQtra. H.G.S.=Hiranyakealiiya Grihya SQtca. K.S.8.— K&ty&yana Shrauta Stltra. Kh. G.8.=Kii&dixa Grihya Stltra. L.S.8.=lAtyAyana Srauta Sutra. M.N.T.=MahAnirv4na Tftntra. N.8.=Nfiradlya ShikahA. Ngh.^Nijchantu. Nir.=Nirukta. P.8.— Pinintya ShikahA. P.Gfl.=Paiftaham Grihya Stltra. R.V.=Rig Veda. R.V.B.— Rig Vidhlna BrAhman*. Rilr. P.= Rik- Puriihiahta. R.V.Kh. = Uig Veda Khiln. 8.B.— Sbatapatha Brlhmana. 8.0.S.^8Aukhyftyai»a Grihya Stltra.* S.V.B.™ Sima VidhAna Brahniana. S.V.St.— Sima Veda Btobhft portion. 8.V.— S&ina Voda. 8.8.S.«-8aiikhyAyaua Shrauta Stltra. T.A.— 1 Taittirfya Amnyaka. Tait. Br.=THittirlyn Brahmana. Tan. Br.=TAndya Bzahmaua. Va. Dh. S.= Vaabiahtha Dharnia SOtra. Y'ug.= Yftjuavalkya. ,0 5 Chaptkb V. THE TANTRAS AND RELIGION OF THE 8HAKTAS. [What follows this bracket is a .translation, done in literal fashion, from the German, of an article by the learned fianakritist, Profesaor Winteriutz.' entitled "Die Tantras luul die Religion rlnr Saidas " published in the "Berlin monthly, tho " Ostasiutisohe Zeitaohrift,’’ 1010, Heft 8. The article does not show a oomplatc comprehension of its subject matter, nor was this to be expected. In European fashion SAdhaka is translated "Magician" and S&dlunl is thought of u "magical evocation" and MahAyogini as "Great. Magi- cian". This in the more unfortunate, as .the Professor evidently dc«* not like “nmgio". It is true that in indra- jaiavidyfl there is SAdhnnA to achieve its purposes, hut what is of course meant is SftdhanA in its religious sense. Wo hour again of "idolatry" though idolatry is not (in the muim in which those who make the charge into the word) to be found m any part of the world. Manlru is otill "gibberish,’ ' "trash" and so on. After all, many of these matters on an much a question of temperament na argument. The mmd which takes these views is like that of the Protestant who called the Catholic Maes "Hocus Focus". It is super- stitious trash to him but a holy reality to the believer. Such criticism involves the fallacy of judging others from one’s own subjective standpoint Moreover, not one man in thomands is capable of grasping the inner significance of thin doctrine and for this reason it is kept secret nor does any writing reveal it lo those without understanding. . The learned Professor has also evidently no liking for "Occultism 1 * and “India-faddists" (Indienasohwarmem). But the former exists whether we like its facts or not. Nevertheless, in reading this article one feels oneself in the prcsuuco of a learned min i! which wills to be fair ami is not to be stampeded from investigation on hearing the frightful word " T antra ". Several THE TANTRAS AND SHAKTAS’ RELIGION appreciations are just. Particularly noteworthy is the recognition that the T antra Shastras or Agamas are not merely some pathological excrescence on “Hinduism’’ but simply one of iis several presentations. Xor are ihdy simply Scriptures of the Sh&ktas. Their metaphysics and ethics are those of the common Brahmanism of which all the sects are offshoot*, whatever be the special peculiarities in present- ment of dootrine or in its application. Before this Profcisor Albert drunwedel had said (in hia“Dor Wcg Naoh Bambini* ” Munohen 101 ft) : '"The Tantras are nothing but the con- tinuation of the Veda ” (Dio Tantras, siud ebon die fortsetmng des Veda). Ho calls also the Tantras the “model-room" (Akt-saal) of Indian Art. (the Alctsaal is a room in tfn Acade- my of Art in which casta are kept as models for the students). These Soriptumtf, he adds, "furnish the (esthetics and in fact we find that in the later I look* (of the Kalsehakra) the whole figurative mythology (of that system) luu been built up on thin echamo. Whence thin evolution oi 'forms arise* is indeed another qucolion whioh will bring many n surprise to tho friends of 'National Indian Art’ (eio!). Talking is easier. The Jtfins too have such things.” I may add that Che fact that some Jains oarry out tomo so-oallcd "TAntrik rites" is not generally known. Vaiahnavas and Bauddhaa ahto have these rites. Notions and practice generally olinrgcd to the ShAktas only are held and carried out by other soote. It is to bo remembered also that there are many schools of Agnma. Some of them state that other Againas were promulgated "for tire delusion ol men". It is needless to add that, here as elsewhere, to the adherent of a particular Agama his particular soriptuxe is good, and it is the scrip- ture of his opponent whioh i& “for delusion". Orthodoxy is “my doxy" in India also amongst some secia. Bhftkta liberalism (being Advaita Vedanta) finds a place for all. It cannot, thprefore, b& said that, the Agnma* are wholly worthless and bad without involving all Hinduism ih that charge. On the contrary the Professor discovers that behind 107 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA fcho 11 nonsense" Chore may be a deep sense and that "immo- lulity” is not the end or aim of the Cult of the Mother.' ITe also holds that if the T&ntrik 8criplurcs contain some things to - which he and others take objection, suah things in no wise exhaust their oon tents. There is nothing wonder- ful about this discovery, which anyone may make for himself by simply reading and understanding the documents, but the wonder consists in this that it has not hitherto been thought necessary (where it lias been possible) t<o read and understand tiro Tuntni Shfistra* first and then to critioiso thru!. All tlie greater then arc our thank* to the loomed Sauakrjtiat for his shaft in this work of justice.— J. W.) INDIA remains still the most important country on earth 1 for the student of religion. In India we moot with ul! forms of religious thought and feeling which wo find on earth, and that not only at different times but also all together even to-day. Here we find the most primitive belief in ancestral Spirits, in Demons and Nature Deities with n primeval, imsgele** sacrificial onlt, Hero also in a polythe- ism paving all limits, with tho most riotous idolatry, templo cult, pilgrimages, and so forth. And, side by sido w.th and beyond these crudest forma of religious life, wo find what ii deepest und most, abstract of what religious thinkers of all times have over thought about the Deity, the noblest pantheistic and the purest monothoistio concep- tions. In India we also find a priestcraft us nowhere else on oarth side by sido with a religious tolerance whioh lets sect offer sect, with the most wonderful sainte, exist together. Ho re there were and still are forest recluaoa, aaootios, and mendicant monks, to whom renunciation of this world is really and truly a matter of deepest sincerity, and together with them hosts of idle mendicant monks, vain fools and hypocrites, to whom religion is only a cloak for selfish 1. See ■■ to tho Secret Ritual and it*’ Object*. " Shakti and ShlkU", 2nd *<1. THE TANTRAS AND SHAKTAS' RELIGION pursuits for the gratification of greed for money, of greed for fame or the hankering after power. From India also a powerful stream of religion* ideas has poured forth over the West, and especially over the East, lias flooded Central Asia, has spread over Tibet, China, Corea and Japan, and has trickled through the further East down to the remotest islands of the East Indian Archipelago. And finally, in India as well as outside India, Indian religions have often mixed with Christianity and with lelam, now giving and now taking. Indeed, aufHoionl reason exists to welcome ©very work which contributes in one way or other to a rioher, deeper or wider knowledge of Indian religion. I would like, therefore, to drew attention in what follows to some recently published works ol this nature. These are the exceedingly meritorious publication* of Arthur Avalon with reference to the literature of the Tantraa. Through these works wo obtain, for the first time, a deeper insight into the literature of the Tantraa, tho holy books of •lliAlctum. and into tho nat ure of this much abused religion itself. It is true that H. If. Wilson 1 in his essays on the religious soots of the Hindus which appeared from 1R2R to 1832 luw given a brief but relatively relioblo and junt ex- position of this religion. M. MonicrWfllianis* who lunt treated more fully of ShAktism, worship of the Ooddces, and the contents of the Tantraa, hus only to tell terriblo and horrible things. Ho descries the faith of the ShAktas, of the worshippers of the feminine Deities, os a mixture of i&nKuimiry sacrifices and orgies with wine and women. Similar is the picture of this sect presented by A. Barth" who on the nno hand indeed admits that the Cult of the Mother is based on a deep meaning and that the Tantraa are also full of tbeoeopliieal and moral reflections anil oscctio 1. Works, Vol. 1. London, 1882, pp. 240-2M. 2. Brahmanism and Hinduism, 4th cd., London, 1891. p. 18011. 8. The Religions of lodin, 2nd e*d., London, 1889, p. 199 IT. SHAKTI AND SHAKTA theories, but is not thereby prevented from saving that the Shikta is "nearly always a hypocrite and a superstitious debauchee,” even though many amongBt the authors of the Tan tow may have really believed that they were p?rfonning a sacred work.' It. fl. Bhflnriarkar,* to whom we owe the latest and most reliable exposition of Indian acctarianism, happens iu fart to deal with the Shftktas very summarily, Whereas Lho greater part of his excellent book deals with the religion of the Vaishnavas and with the ocflto of the Shni vas, lie only devotes a few pages to the sect of the Shftktas which evidently seems unimportant to him; He speaks, however, both about the metaphysical doctrines and about the oult of this sect, with in every way, tho oool, quiot objectivity of the historian. The exposition is only a little too brief and meagre. tto, all the more are Avalon’s books welcome. Tho moat valuable is the complete English translation of n Tontra, tho MuhftnirvAnn Tnntrn,® with an Introduction of 14(1 pages, wluoh introduces us bo the Chief daotriucs of the SliAkUa and with the exceedingly complicated, perhaps purposely confused, terminology of the Tantras. II we have l*cn accustomed, up till the present, to see nothing else in Shflktisin and in the Tantroa, the snored books of this sect, tlian wild supsratition, oocult humbug, i(hooy, empty magic and n cult, with a most objeotionable morality, and distorted by orgies then n glimpse at tho tort, made accessible to us by Avalon, toachoo us that nil L Op. CU., p. 204. V. Vaiibnavism, Shaivism nod Minor Religious Systems. (Qnuidriss dci indo-ariichen l’hilologic and Altcitumskunde lit (ft), Strasitmre, 1918, p. 142 If.) I {Dr. W.) hnvc spoken more fully »bout this work in the Deutsche Ulernturreitung, 1915. So. 2. [To the »to*e Professor Wlnternlu might have added Professor Vall«e Poussins Studios — J. W.] a. Tnntru ot the Great Liberation (Mshinirvftpa Tnntta), n Translation liom tha Sanskrit, with [ntioduction and Commentary by Arthur Avalon. London. Luzac S: Co. 1918. THE TANTRAS AND SHAKTAS' RELIGION these things are indeed to be found in this religion and in its snored tests, but that by these their contents are never- theless, in no wise exhausted. On the contrary, we rather find that, behind the non- sense there lies hidden after all much deep sense and that immorality is not the end and aim of the oult of the Mother. Wn find that the mysticism of the Tantras has been built up on tho basis of that mystic doctrine of tho unity of the soul and of all with the Brahman, whioh is pro- claimed in the oldest Upaniahud* and whioh belongs to tho moat profound »peo illations which tho Indian spirit haa imagined. Thin Brahman, however, the highest divine principle, is.ocoonJing to the doctrines of the ShAkta philoso- pher*, no “nothing”, but the eternal, primeval Energy (Shakti) out of which everything lws been created, has originated, ho« born bom. Shakti, •‘Energy," however, is not only grammatically feminine. Human experience tend mu also that all life is born from the womb of the woman, from tho mother. Therefore the Indian thin kern, from whom Sh&ktiam hoe originated, boliovod that tho highest Deity, tho imprcmcnt creative prinoiplo, ehould be brought nearest to the human mind uot through the word "Father", but through the word "Mother”. And all philosophical concep- tions to which lan gun go hoe given a feminine gender, as well oe all mythological figures which appear feminine in popular belief, become Goddcr-sos, Divine Mothers. So, Imforo all, there is Pmkpti, taken from the Sangkhya philcoophy, primeval matter, "Nature", who stands in oootmat to Purusha. the male spirit, nnd b identical with Sliakti. And this Shakti is, again, mythologically conceived as the spouse of God 8hiva, Mahidava, the “Great Qod". Mythology, however, know already Um& or Pfirvatl, "tho daughter of the Mountain", the daughter d£ tho Himalaya, as the spouso of Shiva. And so Prakyiti, Shakti, Urn*. P&rvatl, are c.ver one and tho same. They are only different names for the one great. All-Mother, the JaganmAtA, "the Mother of all 1 1 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA the living". The Indian mind had boon long since accustomed to see Unity iu all Multiplicity. Just as one moon reflects itself in inmuneiable waters, »o l>evl, “the Goddess", by whatever other: names she may bo otherwise called, is the embodiment of all Goda and of all "energies" (Shaktis) of the Gods. Within her is Brahmtt, the Creator, and his Shakti ; within her is Vishnu, the Preserver, ami his Shakti ; within her is also Shiva as MahAkftla, "great Father Time", the great Destroyer. But ns -this one is swallowed up by herself, she ia ulso XdynklVIika, the "primordial KAIt" ; and as a “great magician", MnhAyoginl, alio ia at tlio same time Oreatrix, I’reaervatrix, and I>.«tioycr of the world. She ifl also tlw mother of Mah&k&la, who danccH boforo her, intoxicated by the wine of Mudhuka bloiaoms.' As, however, the highest Deity is a woman, every woman is re- garded as an embodiment of this Deity. Devi, "the God dess", in within every feminine being. This oonoeption it is, which has led to a woman wondiip which, undoubtedly, lias taken the ahupo, in many didos, of wild orgiee, but which alau-nt least according to the testimony of the MahAnirvnoa Tan lift— could appear in a purer and nobler form, und has i»h surely done so. To the worship of die Devi, the Goddess, who is tbo joyously creative energy of nature, belong the "five true things" (PanchalAttva) through which mankind enjoy gladly, preserve their life and procreate ; intoxicating drink which is a great medicine to man. a breaker of sorrows and a source of pleasure ; moat of the animals iu the villages; in tlio sir und in tlio forests, which is nutritious anil strength ens the force of body and mind ; fish which is tasty and augments procreative potenoy ; rousted corn which, easily obtained, grows in tlu> earth and is the root of life in the three workls ; and fifthly physical 3 union with Shakti "the 1. As all "five Iruethlnm" begin with an M, they arc »l«o called "the five M". 2. MahflnirvSca Tantra. VIII. 103 IT. (p. 15fll. THE TANTRAS AND SHAKTAS’ RELIGION source ol bliss of all living beiugs, the deepest. cause of crea- tion and the root of the eternal world’.' But these “five true things " may only be used in the circle ol initiates, and only after they have been consecrated by sacred formulas and ceremonies. The MahanirvAna Tantra lays stress on fchn fact that no abuse may be made of these five things. Who drinks immoderately is no t.nu« worshipper of the Devi. Immoderate drinking, which disturbs seeing and thinking, destrop the cficot of the sacred action. In the sinful Kali ugn also, only the own spouse should bo enjoyed as Shnkti. In everything the Tantra taken all imaginable trouble to excuse the Panchatattva ceremonies and to prevent their abuse. In the Kali age sweets (milk, sugar, honey) must he used instead of intoxicating drink, and the adoration of the lotus foot of the Dev! should he substituted for the physical union. The wmship should not be secret, indecencies should not occur, and evil, mi pious people should not 1st admitted to tho oirclo of the worshippers. 3 True, it is permissible for the "Hero” (Vtra) who is qualified to ho Sldhaka or "magician" to unite in secret worship with other Shake*. Only in the highest "heavenly condition’' (DivyabhAvs) of the saint do purely symbolical actions take tlw placo of tho "five true things". But to the worship of the Devi belong in tho first place Mantras (formulas) and Bijou (monosyllabic mysterious words like Aim, Klim, Hrlm. etc.) ; further also Yantras (diagrams ol a myvteriqua meaning, drawn on metal, paper or other material), MudiAs (special finger positions and land movements) and Nyfleas. (These last oonsist in putting the tips of the fingers and the Hat of the right Laud, with certain mantras, on the various parts of the body, in order by that to fill one’s own body with the lifo of tho Dcvt.) By the Application of all these means the worshipper renders 1. MnhSr.irvaoa Tantra, IV. 29-31, V, 141. 2. MabSnlrvSnn TMlra, VI, 180 ff. < P . 185 fl.) « VI, 14 IT. (p. 104 l)s VIII. 171 ff„ ISO If. (pp. 177, 180), "3 SHAKTl AND SHAKTA the Deity willing and forces him into his service, and be- comes a Sfldhaka, a magician. For S&dUanfi, “Magic”, is the chief aim, though not the final aim of Devt worship. This highest and filial aim is the sumo ua that of all Indian sect* and religious systems : Mokgha or deliverance, the unification with the Deity in JlaliinirvApa, the "great extinction”. The perfected saint, the Kaula, reaches this con- dition already in the present life and is one who is liberated whilst living (Jtvanmukta). But tlie way to deliverance oan only bo found through vho Tantraa. For Veda, Smriti, Purfcuu and Itili&aft are each the aaorod boolm of past ages of the world, whilst for our proeeut evil age, the Kali age, the Tantras have boon revealed by Shiva for the salvation of mankind (I, 'M IT.). The Tantras thus on the strength of their own showing indicate themselves to Ixi relatively modem works. 1 In the present age Vwlfo and other ritaH ami prayers Imve no value but only the mantras and cere- monies taught in the Tantras (II. I ff.); And just as the worship of the Dovt loads equally to thoroughly materialistic rcsulte through magic and to the highest ideal of Nirvftyu, so there is a strong mixture in the worship iloclf of the sensuous and the spiritual. Characteristic is Mah&nirv&na Tantm V, 13U-101 (P. 80 IT.) : The worshipper first offers to the Devi spiritual adoration, dedicating to her liis heart, as her scat, tho nectar of his heart as the water for washing her feet, his mind a» a gift of honour, the restlessness of his Houses and thoughts tv* a danoe, sfllfleasuees, dispassionate- ness, and so forth as flowers, hut then ho offers to tho Devi an oooan of intoxicating drink, a mountain of meat and driod fish, a heap of roasted com in milk, with sugar and butter, "nectar” and other things. Besides the “five true things” uud oilier element* of this most sensuous worship which is calculated to produce the intoxication of tho senses, and in whioh alBO bells, incense, flowers, lights and rosaries 1. Not 10. Ir the present cycle these Scriptures come last the Sutra Yue» of the next cycle. 4 THE TANTRAS AND SHAKTAS’ RELIGION are not lacking, thare is also the. quiet contemplation (Dhy&na) of the Deity. And likewise, we find side by aide with man- tras whioh arc completely useless anil insipid such beauti- ful sayings as, for instance, V, 166: "0 AdyS KAli, who dwelloat in the innermost soul of all, who art the innermoat. light, 0 Mothor I Aeoept this prayer of my heart. I bow down before thee.” The ShAktas are a sect of the religion whioh is commonly designated "Hinduism," a term which in a facilo one but which has not been chosen very happil y. The word embrace* all the sects and creeds whioh hive originated from Brah- manism through a mixture with the culls of the aborigine* of India and thus represent a kind of degeneration of the old Brahmanioal religion, hut which still hold fast more or less, to orthodox Brahmanism 1 and so distinguish themfcelwa from the heretical aenti (Buddhists and Jains). In reality there in strictly no sonso in speaking of “Hinduism" *h a " system” or as one "religion". For it h impossible to soy where Brahmanism ends aud where "Hinduism” begins. We are also altogether ignorant as to how much the old Brahmanic religion luul already assimilated from the faith and tile customs of the nou Aryan populace. For it is not admissible to classify without further ado all animal worship, all demon worship, all fetichism and so on as "non-Aryan". In reality all sect* of "Hinduism " which are related to a worship of Vishnu or of Shiva, are nothing but offshoot* of tho original Brahmanism, which they never, however, deny. So uleo ShAktism lisa ae a special characteristic merely the worship of t,he flhsktis, of the female deities, with itn accessory matter (of the “five true things," the. worship in the chakra or "circle" of the initiates, and so on). For the teat, its dogmatics— or if it l* preferred, its metaphysics -as well as its ethics arc altogether those of Brahmanism, of which 1. Compare the definition of "Hinduism" In Mooter William*' " Hinduism". London (Society fo: Promoting Christian Knowledge), 1882, p. 84 IT. H5 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA also the essentia! ritual institutions havo been preserved. Ill dogni utica it ia tl»e teachings of the orthodox systems of the Vedauta and the S&fikhya, which meet us also in the Tantr&s dearly enough, sometimes even under the trash of semolees magio formulas. And ns far as ethics are concerned, the moral teaching in tho VIII chapter of the Mah&nirv&o* Tantra reminds ns from beginning to end of Mann’s Code, the Bhagavad Gita, and the Buddhist sermons. Notwithstanding llw faot. that in tho ritual proper of the ShAktu there are no oaatc ciiHoronoee but in Bhakti worship all cantos as well us the sexes are equal, yet, in harmony with Brahmanism, the caste* are recognised, with this modifi- cation that a fifth caste is added to the four usual ones, which springs from tho mixture of the four older ones, namely, tho caste of the S&manyas. Whilst Manu, however, distinguishes four Ashramna or statuses of life, the MahA- nirvfina Tantra teaches tJiat there arc only two Aahramaa in tho Kali ago, the statue of the householder and that of the oeootio. For the rest, everything which is taught in our Tantra about the duties towards parent*, toward# wife and child, towards relatione and in general towards follovnueu, might find a place, exactly in tho eame way, in any other religioue book or even in a profane manual of morals. An an example wo may quote only a few verses from this Chapter VIII : (W. 24, 2A, 33, 8S, 39, 45-47, 03-07). The duties oh oaoh of tho castes as well as the duties of the king are not prescrib'd much differently from Manu. Family life is estimated very highly by the MahAnirv&pa Tantra. So it is rigorously prescribed that no one is allowed to devote bimeelf to the ascetic life who luis children, wives, or such like near relations to maintain. 1 Entirely in conso- nance with the prescriptions of the Brahmanic texts also are the "sacrament* from conception until the marriage 1. In the Kiuitilya-Arthaahiatra, the oldest manual of politics (11-1-1919, p. 40) a fine it prescribed for him who becomet an ascetic without having previously made provision for wife and child. THE T ANTRA S AND SHAKTAS’ RELIGION which ura described in the Oth chapter of the -Mahonirvuon Twitru {Samtkdnui). Likewise in the 10th chapter tho direction for the disposal and the cult of the dead {Shrdddha) are given- A peculiarity of the Sh&ktaa in connection with marriage consists in the fact that aide by Hide with the Brahma marriage for which the Brahnianio prescriptions are valid, there in also a Shaiva marriage, that is a kind of marriage for a limited period which ix only permitted to the’ member* of tho circle {Chakra) of the initiates. But children out of auch a marriage are not legitimate and douot inherit. 1 • So far Br&hni&nio law applies also to tlio Shiktas, and so the soction concerning civil and orhuiual lair in the 11 th and 12th chapters ol tho MuhAnirviQ* Tuntra substantially agree with *Manu. Of couiha, notwithstanding all this, tho Kauladhamin oxpouudod in iho Tantru is declared tho bwt of ull religions in an exuberant manner and tho vanoratiou of tho Kula- auint is praised a* the highest merit. It u suid in a well- known Rudd bint U\xt: "As, yo monks, there is place for •very kind of footprint* of living beings that move in tlm footprint of tho elephant, because, as is known indeed, the footprint of tho elephant is the first in size amongst all, so, yc monks, all Bftlutary doctrines arc contained in tho four noble truths.” So it is said in the MnliilniivArm Taut r a,* (probably in rcoollootion of the Buddhist passage): “As tho footprints of all animals disappear in tho footprint of the elephant, no disappear all other religions ( dharma ) in tic Kula religion (hda-dharmu)." From what has been said it is clear that Avalon is right when ho declares that uptill now this literature has beau only too often judged and still more condemned without knowing it, and that the Tantras deserve to become bettor 1. Il is incorrect to cull them illegitimate children. But offsprings of a Brahma marriage are preferential Inheritor*.— J. \V, 2. XIV, 180, tf. Msjjiraaiikaya 28. Il 7 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA known than has been the case hitherto. From the point of view of the history of religion they are already important for the reason that they have strongly influenced Mahlylna Buddhism and specially the Buddhism of Tibet. It is, therefore, much to lie welcomed that Avalon has undertaken to publish a series of texts and translations from this liter- uture. It w true that wo have no desire to be made au- quainted with all the 3 x»4 Tantras which are said to exist. For— this should not be denied, that for the greatest part those works contain, after all, only stupidity and gibberish ("doch nur Stumpfainn und Kaxulorwoliioh"). This is spocially true of tho .Bljns and Man tree, the myntcrioun syllables and words and the magic formulas which fill these volumes. To understand this gibberish only to a certain degree and to bring some sense into this stupidity, it is necessary to know the Tin trie meaning of the Hingle vowels und oonaonaatB. For, amongst tho chief insUmmento of the magio which ploys sudi a great part in these texts, belongs tho spoken word It is not the meaning embedded in t he mantra which oxcroiBOB power over tho doity, but tho word, the Bound. Each sound posooaeet n special mysterious meaning. Therefore, there are special glossaries in which this mysterious meaning of tho single vowels and consonants is taught. A few of suoli glossaries, indispensable helps for the SOdhaka, or rather the pupil who wants to develop himself into a Sldhaka, have been brought to light in tho first volume of the series of Tin trio Texts, 1 ' published by Avalon:— The Mautr&bhidhAna belonging to the Rudra- ylmala, Eklksharakosha naoribed to I’unishottamadevR tho Rijanighantn of Rhairavn and two Mltrikanighantus, the 1. Tfilillik Teals published by Arthur Avalon: Vol. I. Tanu#- bbidfin*. II. Shatckakra NliO'pana, III. Pupafichasini (since publishi.il and not befatfl Piofessor Wintcrnlle when he -rote this r«VT»), IV. Kulaehndiraooi, V. KulAruavn, VI. KAItviilsa, VII Shricha'eia Sambhaia, VIII. TantrarAja, IX. KAmoVaiavilija, (A. A.) 118 THE TANTRAS AND SHAKTAS' RELIGION oac by Mahtdharu, the other by Mutlhavu.* Added to those is ouo other moci limy text of this same kind, the Mudr4- nighfttitu, belouging to the V&make$hvar« Tantrn, an ea- umeration of the linger positions as they are used in Yoga. The second volume of the same series of Texts contain the text of the ShatehakmnirupaQfl, the “denoription of the six circles,” together with no lass than three commentaries. The “six circles ” are six places in the human body, imagined as lotua-ahaped, of great ■ myntioul significance and therefore ol great importance for Yoga. The firet of those circled is MQlidhAr*, which is described as a triangle in the middle of the body with its point downwards and imagined an a rot lotus with four petals on which are written tlio four golden letters Vain, Sham, Sam and Sham. In the centre ol this lotus is Bvayambhuliflga. At the mot of this reddish brown liflfln the Chilrintuadi opens, through which tbe Devi Kundalini aaoendi, more delicate than a lotus tibrfc and more effulgent than lightning, and so on.* The 8hatohakranirQpaQ* u the VI chapter of tlxi Shritattvu- ohintdmuni oompoeod by Purntaaudu Sw&nii. In addition the volume contains the text of a hymn, entitled Piduka- paiiohakam, which is said to horn been rnvnnltxl by Bhivo, and a voluminous commentary. Tho third volume of the Series contains the text of the Prapefichaairabantra which is ascribed to the Vcdantio philosoplier Shafikarftch&rya, and by others to the deity Shiva in his incarnation as Shafiknrflchirya. The name Shnnkam app-ars fairly often in Tantra literature, but it » not at all sure that the works in question really come from the Philosopher. Avalon preface* the 1. Cl In connection with then* glossaries also Th Zacharia*. Ihe indiBchcn Worterbucher (Gnindriis der indo-arischen Phil. I, 3B. 1897) Sec. !17. 2. Any one interested in' these " Six Circles " Chakra will find tliem described in Avaion's Introduction to tbo Mahlnirvina Tastra, pp. Iiii-Uiii (and later and rooie fully in " The Serpent Power" — J. W.) SHAKTI AND SHAKTA text by a detailed description of the contents of the work. PrtijKtncha means “ extension, " “the extended Universe from whioh ‘‘Prapafichasaru" “the innermost being of the universe”. The work begins with a description of oreation, accompanied, in the first two chapters, by detailed exposi- tions of Chronology, Embryology-, Anatomy, Physiology and Psychology, which are exactly as ‘’scientific 11 as both the following chapters which treat of the mysterious moan- ing of the lottora of tho Sanskrit alphabet and of the Bfjas. The further chapters which partly oontain rituals, partly prayers, meditations and Stotraa, are of greater importance from the standpoint of the history of religion. To how high a degree in tho Slrakti cult die erotic element predomi- nates, is shown in IX, 23 ff., where a description is given, “how the wives of tho gods, demons, and dcrai-gods impelled by mantras oome to tho magician, the RMhnka, oppressed by tho groatooM of their dMirw.” In the XVIII ohapter, the man tins and the d bylinas (meditations) for the adoration of the Uod of love and his Slmktis aio taught, and the union ol man and woman is represented as a mystic muon of the " I ” ( Aliamkdra ) with perception (UuddM) and os a snored sacrificial action. When o man honours his beloved wifo in auoh a way, she will, struck by the arrow’s of tlm God of love, follow him like a shadow even in the other world (XVIII, 33) The XXVIII chapter is dovotod to Ardha- iwriflAtqfo, tho God who is half woman Shiva, represented as a vrixl looking man, forms the right-hand half of the body, and his Shakti represented as a voluptuous woman, tho loft- haud half. The XXXIII chapter which seems to have originally closed the work describes in its first part ceremonies against childlessness, the cause of which is indicated os lack of veneration of tho Gods and neglect of the wife. The second part is connected with the relation between toucher and pupil which is of extreme importance for tho Shikta religion. Indeed, worship of tho Guru, the tcuuhor, plays a prominent purl in tins scut. 120 THE TAN TEAS AND SHAKTAS’ RELIGION However, Ujb rituals and Mantras described in this Tantra are not exclusively connected with the different forme of the Devi and Shiva, but Vishnu and hie AvatArus are also often honoured. The XXXVI chapter contains a disquisition on Vishnu Trilokyamohana (the Enchanter of the triple world) in verse* 3fi-47 translated by Avalon.' It in a description glowing and sensuous (Voll sinnlioher Glut.) : Vishnu shines liltu millions of sun* and is of infinite beauty. Pull of goodness hia oyo rests on Shrl, his spouse, who embraces hiiu, full of love. Bho too is of incomparable beauty. All the Gods aiid Demons and their wives offer homage to tho August Pair. The Goddesses, however, press themselves iu a burning yearning of lovo towards Vishnu, whilst exclaiming : “Be our husband, our refuge, August Lord 1 " In addition to this passu# Avalon has also traiu- lsted the hymns to Prakriti (Chapter XI), to Vishnu (Chapter XXI) and to Shiva (Chapter XXVl).a Of these hymns the same hold* good as of tho oollootion of hymns to tho Dovl, which Avalon, together with liis wife, lias translated in a sepnrate volumo.* While*, many of these Lexln are mhie insipid litanies of nanus mid epithets of the worshipped deities, then uie others, which, an to profoundness of thought and beauty of language may bo put side by side with tho best productions of the religious lyrics of the Indians.' So tho hymn to Prokjiti in the PrapufiohasAra XI, 48, begins with the words : "Be gracious to me, 0 PrsdhAna, who art Prakriti in the form of the elemental world. Life of nil that live*. With folded hands I make obeisance to thee our Lady, whoso very nature it is to do that which wo cannot understand.” It is intelligible that tho poets have found uiuck'uioru intimate cries of the heart when they spoke of the Deity 1. Introduction, p. HI fl. 2. Introduction, p. 29 If., 43 IT. and 32 ff. 3. Hymns to the Uoddcs* translated from tho Sanskrit by Arthur anti Ellen Avalon (1818). 121 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA as their “Mother" than when they addressed themselves to God as Father. So, for instance, it is said in a hymn to the Goddess 1 ascribed to Shafikara : 2 Ry my ignorance of Thy oommauds By icy poverty and sloth I had not tho power to do that which I should have done Hence my omission to worship Thy feet. But Oh Mother, auspicious deliverer of all, All this should be forgiven me Kor, a bad shn may sometimes lie bum, but a bud mother never. 3 Oh Mother ! Then hast many eons on earth, But I, your son, am of no worth'; Yet it is uot moot that Thou shouldst abandon mo Kor. a bad son may sometimes lie born, hut a I»ul mother never. 4 Oh Mother of tho vrorid, Oh Mother I I have not worshipped Thy feet, $ur have I given abundant wealth to Tlioe, Yet the affection which Thou bos to west, on me is without compare, For, a bad son may sometimes bo born, but a bad mother novor. Avalon looks with great sympathy on the Shakta religion which haB found tlie highest expression for the divine principle in the conception "Mother”. Ho is of opinion 2 that, when the European thinks that it is a debase- merl of the deity to conceive of it as fominine, then this 1. Hymns to the Goddess, p. 94 If., Verse ‘24. 2. Hymns to the Goddess, Preface. 122 THE TANTRAS AND SHAKTAS 1 RELIGION can only be because he "looks upon his mother's sex as lower than Ins own" and because he.thlnkB it unworthy of the deity to conceive it otherwise than masculine. That the conception of the Indian and especially of the ShAkta in, in this connection, the more unbiased and unprejudiced one, we will freely concede to Avalon. He, however, goes stall further and bolievoa that the Tantras not only have an interest from the point of view of tho history of religion, but that they also poetess an independent valuo os manual* of.SAdhanA, that is magio. 1 However grateful we might bo to the editor and translator of these text® for having made us better acquainted with a little known and much misunderstood Indian system of religion, wo yet would hope to be saved from the possibility of seeing added to tho Vadan lists, Neo-Buddhists, Theosophiat# and other Indiu- faddiats (Indienschwarmem) in Europe and America, adherent* of the BAdhanA of the Shakti cult. The student of religion oannot and may not louve tho Tantras and ShAk- tism unnotiood. Thoy have thoir place in tho history of religion. But, uiay tliis o<K)ulli*m, wliioh often flown from very turbid source#— (this word should not lw translated as "Secret Soionco" thus abusing the sacred name of Science, but rather as "Mystery Mongering” Geheimtuerei) remain far away from our intellectual life. (To the above may be added a recent oriticisin of 31. Masson Omul of tire College de France in the Journal "Isis" (iii, 1090) which is summarised and translated from the Frcnob : "Tho obeourity of language, stmngenos* of thought and rites sometimes adjudged scandalous, have turned away from the study of the immense TAntrik literature even tho most courageous savants. If, however, the Tantras hnro appeared to be a mere mass of aberrations, it is because the key to them was unknown. The Tantras are the culmi- nation of the whole Indian literature. Into them flow both the Vedic and popular cults. TAntricism has imposed itself 1. Ttntrik Text, Vol. I, p. 4. SHAKTI AND SHAKTA on the whole Hindu mentality (le Tantrome, eat impost k toutc la mentality hindoue). Arthur Avalon has under- taken with complete success a task which in appearance seems to be a thankless one hut ia in reality fecund of results. 1 ' The article of Dr. Winternit/. deals largely with the Mahinirvftya Tantra. Because objections cannot bo easily found against. this Tantra, the theory has been lately put for- ward by I>r. Farquhar in his last work on Indian Literature that this particular soripture is exceptional and the work of Raiu Mohun Roy’s Guru Hurihar&nandu Bhftrati. Tho argument is in ofTect “All Tantras are lad ; this is not bad : therefore it is not a Tantra." In the first plaoo, the MS. referred to in the Prefnoc to A. Avalon’s translation of this Tantra as hating been brought to Calcutta, was an old MS. having the data Shale Ahda 1300 odd, that is, several hundreds of yean* ago. Secondly, tho MahhnirvAyn which belongs to tho VllhnukrAntA, or ue aome say RathakrAntll, ia uieutionud in the Muhftoiildliis&ra Tantra, an old copy of whioh was the property of Mja Sir liadhskant Dev (b. 1783-d. 1887), a contomporsvy of Hajs Ram Mohun Roy (1774-1933) who survived the latter’* son. The earliest edition of that Tantra by Anundoohandru VcdAntavAglnha was published from a text in the Sanskrit College Library whioh :* not likely to have had amongst it* MS8. one which wan the work of a mnu who, whatever be tho date of his death, must have died within a comparatively short period of the publication of this edition. In fact, the Catalogue deacrik** it as an old MS. and »u original Tantra. Dr. Rajendralala Mitra in his notice of a MS. of the Tagore collection speaks of it as containing only the first, half of fourteen chapter*. This is so. The second half is not published and ia vorv lare. Tho Pandit’s copy to whioh reference was made in the Preface to A. A.’s translation of the MahthiirvAna contained both parte. How comes it that if the Tantra was written by Raja Rani Mohun Roy’s Guru that we only have the first half and not the second containing THE TANTRAS AND SHAKTAS' RELIGION among* l other tlringa the so-called magic- or Shatkaimu. It should be mentioned that there are three Tantnw— the Nirv^a, BphaiuurvAoa and Mahftnirv4rm Tantras, similar to the group Nila, Brihannila and Mah&nila Tantms. It ia to be noted also that in the year 1293 B.S. or 1880 an edition of the MaMnirv&na was published with commentary by a Sannyaain calling himself ShafikarAcharyn under the auspices of the Panda flabha of Ma^ilmnuka Ghat, Benares, whioh contains moro versea than ia contained in tho text,oom mooted upon by Hariharluandu and the interpretation of the latter us also that of Jagamolian TarklWlkara, are in several matters controverted. Wo are asked to suppoae that IlariharAnenda was both the author of, and commentator on, tho Tantra. That the MahAnirvAija has its merits is obvious, but there are othore which have theirs. Tho same critic speaks of the PrapflRr.haa&ra as a "rather foul work". Thin criticism is ridiculous. The text ia published for any one to judge. Ail that can bo said it what Dr. Wintornits hno said, namely, that there are a few passSfoo with nous noun erotic imagery. These are descriptive of the state of women in love. Wlmt is wrong here? There is nothing "foul" in this except for people to whom all erotic phenomena are foul. “This iau very indecent picture," said an elderly lady to Byron, who retorted " Madam, tlie indecency consists in your remark." It cannot bo too often asserted that the ancient Bast was purer in these matters tlurn the modern West, where, under oover of a pruriently modest exterior, a cloaca of extraordinarily varied psyoho- pathic filth xr.oy flow. This was not ho in oarlier days, whether of Boat or West, when n spade was called n spade and not a horticultural instrument. In America it is still, T am told, considered indecent- to mention the word "leg" One must say "limb”. Said TertulUan : "Nature veneranda et non erubescenda" ; that is. where the knower venerate* Iris unknowing critic blushes. The Prapaflehft3&ra which does not even deal with the SHAKTI AND SHAKTA rite against which most objection hue been taken (while the Mahflnirv&na does), t reala of the creation of the world, the generation of bodies, physiology, the classification of the letters, the Kalfia, initiation, Japa, Home, the G&yatri Mantra, and ritual worship of various Devatas and so forth ; with facte in short whioh arc not “foul" with or without tho qualifying “rather". J. W.l Ohaptbb VI. SHAKTI AND 8HAKTA. CHAKTJ who is in Herself pure blissful Consciousness (Chidrupipl) n also the Mother of Nature and is Nature itself born of the creative pUy of Her thought The SliAkto faith, or worship of Shnkti, is, I believe, in some of its essential features one of the oldest and most widespread religions in the world. Though very ancient, it ia yet, in its essential*, ana in tho dovolopcd form in wkioh we know it to-day, harmonious with eomo of the teaohiuge of modem philosophy and srieuoe ; not that tikis is necessarily a test ol iu truth. It muy be here noted that in the West, and in particular in America and England, a large number of boolw are now lieing published on “New Thought," “Will Power,” H Vitalism,” "Creative Thought,” “Right Thought ” "Self Unfoldment,” "8ocret of Achievemant,” "Mental Thera pout ire" and the lilts, the principles of which aro essentially those of some forms of Shskti SAdliani both higher and lower. There aro books of disguised magio an how to oontrol others (Vaehlkarapa) by making them buy what they do not want, how to secure "affection" and so forth which, notwithstanding some 1 hypocrisies, are in certain respocta on the same lovef os the Tftntrik Sliavam as a low class of books on magio axe called. Sbavara or ChapdMa are amongst the lowest of men. Tho ancient and at the same time distinguishing character of the faith in instanced by temple worship (the old Vaidik worship wan generally in the home or in the open by the river), the. cult of images, of lings and Yoni (neither of which, it is said, were part of the original Vaidik practice), tho worship of Devts and of the Magnn Muter (the great Vaidik DcvatA was the male Indra) and other matters of both doctrine and practice. 5 HAKTI AND SHAKTA Many years ago Edward Sellon, with the aid of a learned Orientalist of the Madras Civil Service, attempted to learn ita mysteries, but for reasons, which 1 need not here discuss, did not view them Irom the right standpoint. He, however, compared the Shftlctas with the Greek Teleetica or Dynamic*, the Mysteries of Dionysus “Fire born in the cave of initiation" with the Shakti Pflj&, the Sliakti 8ho* dhana with the purification shown in d'Hftncarville*’ “Antique Greek Vasee” ; and after referring to the frequent mention of this ritual in the writing* of the .lews and other ancient authors, concluded that it wo* evident that we had still surviving in Indiu in the Shftkt* worship a very ancient, if not the most ancients form of Mysticism in the whole world. Whatever ho the value to be given to any parti- cular piooe of evidence, ho was right in his general conclu- sion. For, when wo throw our minds lack upon the history of thin worohip wo see stretching away into tlm remote ami fading pest tire figure of the Mighty Mother of Nature, most ancient among the ancient* ; the AdyA 8hal«U, tho dunk Divinity, many breasted crowned with lowers whcee veil is never lifted, Isis, "the one who ia oil that has been, is and will hr," KAlt, Hathor, Cybele, the Cowmothor Goddess Idu, Tripuraaundari, the Ionic Mother, Tcf tho spouse of Shu by whom He effect*! the birth of all things, Aphrodite, A»t*rtr in whoso groves the Baalim were sot, Babylonian Mjditta, Buddhist Tflrtt, tho Mexican Ish, Hollenie Osin, the conascrntcd, tho free and pure, African Salnmho who like PArvatl roamed the Mountains, Roman Juno, Egyptian Boat the flaming Mistress of Life, of Thought, of Love, whose festival was celebrated with wanton joy, the Assyrian Mother Succoth Benoth, Northern Kreia. Mulaprakriti, Seinele, May!, bhtar, Saitic Noith Mother of tlxe Gods, eternal deepest ground of all things, Kundali, Guhya- mnhAbhairavl and all the rest. And yet there are people who allege that the “TAntrik" cult ia modern. To deny this is not to say that there boa 12S SHAKTI AND SHAKTA been or will bp no change or development in it. Aa man changes, so do the forms of liia beliefs. An ancient feature of tins faith and one belonging to ibu ancient Mysteries ia tlie distinction which it draws between the initiate whose Shakti ia awake irrabuddlia) and the Pasliu the aniliu mined or “animal “ and, as the Gnostics called him, "material” man. The Natural, which ia the manifestation of the Mother of Nature, and the Spiritual or the Mother as She is in and by Herself are one, hut the initiate alone truly recognize* this unity. Ho knows himself in all his natural fi motions as the one GcruoiouBiieaa whothor in enjoyment (Bliukti), or Liberation (MuktiJ. It ia an cesuntial principle of Tlntrik BftdbanA that man in general must rise through end by means of Nature, and not by an uscetio rejection of Her. A profoundly true principle w here involved what- ever has been said of certain applications of it. When OrphcuB transformed the old Bacchic cult, it was the purified who in the beautiful words of Kuripidee "went dancing over the hills with the daughters of Iaochoa”. I cannot, however, go into t his matter in this paper which is (Concerned with some general subjects and the ordinary ritual. But the evidence is not limited to mysteries of tlio Sbakti Pflj*. Them are features in the ordinary outer worship which are very old and widespread, an are also other parts ol the oeotcrio tooohing. In thin connection, a ourioua inaUnco ol the existence, beyond India, of TAuUik doctrine and pmotioe is hem given. The American Indian Maya Scrip- ture of the Zunis called the Popul Vuh speak* of Hurukuu or Lightning, that is (1 am told) Kundolhihaktt ; of the" air tube" or "White-cord” or the Bashumni Nfldi; of tho "two-fold air tube” that is I<1 ft and Pingalft ; and of various bodily centres which are mariced by animal Rlyphs. Perhaps the Panchatatbva liitual followed by somo of the adherents of tho Tant.ras is one of the main causes which have operated in some quarters against acceptance of the authority of thoeo Soripturea and as such responsible for tho 129 r SHAKTI AND SHAKTA notion tJiat the worship la modem. On che contrary, the usage of wine, meat, and bo forth is itself very old. ’ There aro people who talk of these rites an though tliey were some entirely new and comparatively modem invention of the “Taatra", wholly alien to the spirit and prentice of the early times. If the subject be studied it will, I think, be found that in this matter those worshippers who practise these rites are (except possibly as to Maithuna) the con- tanuatore of very ancient, practices which had their counter- part* in the curlier VaidiL’&ch&ra, but wore auleequently abandoned, p<*»ibly under the influenoc of Jainism nnd Buddliisui. I Bay “counterpart", for 1 do not maun to suggest that in every re&pect the rilos were the same. In details and as regards, I think, Borne object* in view, they differed. Thu* we find in this Pknohatattvn Ritual a counterpart to the Vaidik usage of wino and animal food. As regards wine, wo have the partaking of Soma ; meat waa offered in MAtfiifcilitaka Bhriddha ; fish in the Ashtaku- nhrAddhn and PretanhrAddUa ; and Maithuna as « recog- nised lit* will bo found in the VArnudovya Vmta and MuliA- vrata of universally reougnued Vaidik text*, apart fmm the alleged, and generally unknown, SmibliflgyukAnda of the AthoxvHvede to which the KAlikopanishad and .other “T&ntrik" Upanishads are suid to belong. Possibly, how- ever, -this element of Maithuna may be foreign and imported by Chlnftchfira (see Ch. V). So aguin, as that distinguished scholar Professor Ranumdra Sun dare Trivedi has pointed out in his VicLitraprasanga, the MudrA of the Punohatottva corresponds with the PurodAelin dakti of the Soma and other YAgae. The present rule of abstinence from wine, nnd in homo oases, meat is due, I believe, to the original Buddhism. It is to-called "TAntaika", who follow (in and for their ritual only) the earlier practice. It is true that the SamhitA of Uslianfth save, “Wine is not to be drunk, given or taken (Madyam apeyam adeyam agr&hynm)” but the yet greater Manu states, “ There is no wrong in the eating of meat or SHAKTI AND SHAKTA tho drinking of wine (Na mimaabalcahaue dosfio na madye)” though 1* lightly adds, ah many now do, that abstention therefrom is productive of great fruit (Nivritfcmtu mahi- phalft). The TAatrik practice does not allow extra-ritual or "useless" drinking (VrithAp&na). Further, it is a common error to confound two distinct things, namely, belief and practice and the written records of it. Those latter may lie comparatively recent, whilst that of whioh they speak may bo most ancient. When I apeak of the ancient pant of this faith I am not referring merely to the urilwgt which exist to day whioh are called Tantrua. These are composed gonorally in a simple San- skrit by men whose objoot it was to be understood rathflr than to show skill in literary ornament. Thin simplicity in n sign of uge. But at the same time it in Laukika and not Arshn (Sanskrit. Moreover, there are statements in tiism which (unless interpolations) 1U tho limits of their age. I am not speaking of tlic writings themselves but of what they any. The faith that they embody, or at least ite earlier forms, muy hare exited for many ages before it was reduced to writing amongst the KuIm or family folk, who received it n» handed down by tradition (Pftmmparyya) just an did the Vaidik Gotros. That suoh bsliofi and practices, lilio ull other things, have had their development in course of timo is also n likely hypothesis. A vast number of Tanlras have disappeared probably for ever. Of those which survive u large number are un- known. Most of those which ure available are of a frog- mentaiy character. Even if these did appear later than scale other Sh&stras, this would not, on Indian principles, affect their authority. According to such principles tho authority of a Scripture is not determined . by its date ; and this is sense. Why, it in asked, should something said 1000 years ago be on that account only truer than what was said 100 yearn ago ? It is hold that whilst the teaching of the A gam a is ever existent, particular Tantraa are SHAKTI AND SHAKTA constantly being rovi'ilorl and withdrawn. There is no ob- jection against a TanLoi merely becuiae it was revealed let-day. When it is said that Shiva spoke the Tantraa, or Brahmi wrote the celebrated V'aujhnavn poem called the Brahmnsamhitft, it is not meant that Shiva and Brahmi materialised and took a reed and wrote on birch bark or leaf, but that the Divine Consciousness to which men gave those and other names inspired n particular man to teach, or to write, a particular doctrine or work touching tho eternally existing truth. This again does not mean that there wa* any one whispering in his car, but that these things arose in hia consciousness. What iH done in this world is done- through man. There is a pmfoundcr wisdom than is generally acknowledged in the flaying "God helps thoee who help themselves". Inspiration too never oeattu. But how, it mny bo asked, are we to know that what is said is right and true? The answer is "hr ita fruits". The authority of a SMfltia is determined by tho quostion whethor Siddhi is gained through its provisions or not, It is not enough that "Shivs uvholm" (Shiva says) is writ in it. The lost in tliat of Ayurveda. A medicine is a true one if it euros. The Indian test for everything is actual rxpKiicwe. It is from Samfdhi that the ultimate pioof of Advaitav&dn ia sought. How is the existence of Kalpas known ! It is said they have bean remnmberod, an by the Buddha who is recorded ft" having oollad to mind PI past Kalpas. Them are argument" in favour of rebirth but that which iR tendered or real proof is both the facte of ordinary daily experience which can, it is said, be explained ’only on the hypothesis of pro-existence ; as also actual recollection by self -developed individuals of their previous live#. Modern Western me- thods operate through magnetic sleep produoing “ regression of memory". (See A. de Rochas "Lcs Vies Successjvefl” and Lanoelin "Ln Vie posthume".) Age, however, is not wholly without its uses : because on© of the thing* to which iron look to bo© in a Sh&stra is whether it has been accepted SHAKTI AND SHAKTA oi quoted in works of recognized authority. Buck a teat of authenticity can, ol course, only be afforded after the lapwe of considerable time. But it does not follow that a statement is in fact without value because, owing to its having been made recently, it is not possible to subject it to such a test. This is the way in which this question of age and authority m looked at on Indian principles. A wide survey of what ia called orthodox “Hinduism” today (whniovor be its origins) will disclose the following results Ved&ata in the sense of Upaniehad 03 its comma* doctrinal basis, though variously interpreted, aud u great number of differing disciplined 01 modes of practice by which tho Vixlftnta doctrines arc realized in actual fact. Wo must carefully distinguish tliese two. Thus tho Vedlnta says " So’ham " ; which ia Hatha*. "Hakhra is ono wing ; Sukftra ia the other. When stripped of both wings SI10 'lira is KAmakaUL” (TuntrarAju Tantra.) Tho Achlraa set forth tho mean* by which "So'hiun” ia to be translated into actual fact for the particular SAdluilu-.. SAdhanA comnn from the root "SAdh” whioh nicutn* effort or striving or accomplinhmeut. Effort for and towards whnt. ? Tho answer for those who doairu it is liberation from every form in the hierarchy of forms, which exist us such, because consciousness has so limited itself as to obscuro the Rculity which it is, and which "Ho’hftiu” 01 ••Shivo'liani” affirm. And why should man liberate himself from material forms f Because it is suid, thut way only lusting happiness lies : though a passing yet, fruitful bliss may bo had here by those who identify themselves with tin* active Brahman (Shakti). It is tho actual experience of thin declaration of "8o'hnm" which in its fundamental aspect is Veda: knowledge (Vid) or actual Spiritual Experience, for in tho monistic sense to truly know anything is to be that thing. This Veda or experience is not to he hud sitting down thinking vaguely on the Great Ether aud doing nothing. Man must transform himself, that is, <vd in order SHAKTI AND SHAKTA to know. Therefore, tlic watchword of tho Tantraa is KriyA or actiou. The next question is what KriyA should be adopted towards this aid of Jnflnu. "Tanyate, vistdryate jnftnam anona iti Tan tram." According to this derivation of the word Tantra from the root “Tan" “ to spread", it is defined as the Shftstra by which knowledge (Jr. Ana) is spread. Mark the word Jnftna. Tho end of the practical methods which these Shftatras employ is to spread VedAntio JnAnn. It is hero wo find that variety which is so puzaling to those who hove nut gono to tho root of the religious life of India. The end is substantially one. The meant to that end neoea- aarily vary according to knowledge, capacity, and tempera- ment. But here again we may analyse tho moans into two main divisions, namely, Vaidik and Tlntrik, to which may be addod a third or the mixed (Mishra). Tho ono body of Hinduism reveals as it were, a double framework represented Hy the Vaidik and TAntrik Aoh/tra*, which liuvo in certain iaitanOM been mingled. Tho word "Tantra" by iteolf simply means oa I hure already eaid "treatise" and not ueocaoarily a religious scripture. When it has the latter significance, it may moan tho Scripture of sovoral divisions of worshippers who vary in doctrine and practice. Thus there arc Tantraa of Shaivos, Vaitfhnavas, and Sh&ktes anil of various sub-divisions of those. So amongst the Shaivas there are the Shaiv&s of the Sliaiva Siddh&nta, the Advaita Shaivs of tho Kashmir School, PAahupatM and a multitude of other soots whioli have their Tantraa. If "T&ntcio" be used as moaning an adherent ol the Tantra 8h Astra, then tho word, in any particular iaac, is without definite meaning. A man to whom the application is given may Imj a worshipper of any ol tlio Five DevatAs (Sflryu, Gano^ha, Vishnu, Shiva, Bhakti) and of any of the various BampradAyas worshipping that DevatA with tlieir varying doctrine and practice. Tho term is a confusing one, though common practice compels ‘34 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA it* use. So far tu I know, tlionc who arc named “TAntrios" do not themed yen generally use this term but. tall them- selves Sh&ktaa, Shaivas and the like, ol whatever Snmpm- dAya they happen to be. Again Tan on is the name of only one class o! Scripture followed by “TAn tries”. There are others, namely, Xiga- maa, Agamns, Yfljimlaa, Dftniaras, Uddtshas, KakijhapOtas and so loitli. None of these names are used to desoribe the adhe.ents of these 8h Astras except; so far as I am aware, Agama in the use of the term AgamavAdin, and Aguniluta in the descriptive name of Agamunta Shaivu. I givt) later u list of these Soripturaa on contained in thn various Agama*. If we summarise them shortly under .the term Tautru Bhfbtia, or preferably Agama, then we have four main olaases ot Indian Soriuiun, namely, Veda (SamhitA, BrAli- ma*», Upoulshad), Agama or Tantaa SUIatra, I’urApa, Hnipti. Of these Bliletm* tbo authority of the Agama or Tontru Shlstra has been denied in modern times. Thin view may be shown to l>c erroneous by reference to ShAstraa of admitted authority. It is spoken ol as the Fifth Veda. Kullulm Blmtta. the celebrated* commentator on Menu, says: "Blifutf i- twofold,' Vnidik and TAutrik (Vnidilrt tAnt.rikS ohaiva <1 vivid hi nlirutih kfrtitl)”. Thin refers to the .Montra portion of tlic Agama*. In the limit Vuijlmuva Shlstra, tbo Shrimad Bhlgevatu, HluigavAu says : “ .My worship in ol the three kinds Vaidik, TAutrik and .Mixed (hlishra)" end that, in Kaliyugu, " Kesha vu is to be wor- shipped according to the injunction of Tautru." The DevfbhAgavatn spcaloi of the Tantm BhiUt.ru as a Vedluga. It is oited us authority in the Ashfavidishatj Tattva of Raghunandana who presunhe for the worship of DurgA as before him hnd done Slirklatta, HarmAtlw, Vidyftdhara and many others. Some of these and other. references are given in MahAinuhopQdhyaya Yaduvenlm.ru Tarkarat lift’s Tan tier Prlchfuatva in the Slhitya Sam hit A of Aawiu 1317. The T&rlpradipa und other TAutrik works say that in the SHAKTI ANIJ SIlAKTA Kaliyuga fcbe Tfintrika and not the Vaidika Dharma ia to lw followed. This objection about tlie Inte character and therefore unauthoritativBnesa ol the Tuntxu ShAatna gene- rally (1 do not apeak of any particular form of it) baa bean taken by Indians from tlieir Kuropoan Guroa. According to the Shftkta Scriptures, Veda in it6 wide sense does not only mean Bik, Yajus, Sama, Atharva as now published but comprises these together with the gene- rally unknown And unpublished Uttarn KApdn of tho Atharva Voda, ouljod Saubhfigya, with the Upaniehads attached to this. SAyaua’s Commentary in written on the Purva KApd»- These are said (thbugh I have not yet verified tho faot) to bo 64 in number. Some of Uteae, buoh us AdvitiUbhfiva, Kaula, Kflliki, Tripora, TArA, A nip A L'panishads and liahvrichopaunhad, BhAvanopanishfld, I have published as tho XI volumo of TAntrik Texts. ArupA means "She who is red". Redness .(Lauhitynm) is Vimarsha. (Seo Vol. XI, TAntJik Texta. FA. A. Avalon.) I may also hero refer my reader to tho KaulAchAryu SadAnaiula’s Com- mentary on tlw great. Is ha Upeniuhnd. Inohuled also in “Veda" (according to the cumo viow) aro tho Nignmaa, Agamiui, YAmalon and Tantrae. From theao all other SliAstrus which expluiu the uicnuing (Artlia) of Veda oucli ns Pur A pa and Smpti, also ItihAsa and so forth «ro derived. All these ShAatras constitute what is culled a "Many milliou- od" (Shulaltol-i) BamhitA which ore developed, the one from the other as it wore an unfolding scries. In the TAntrik Sangialia called SaivollAaa by the SarvavidyAeiddha SarvA- uuiidaiiAtha the latter cites authority (N&rAyaoi Tantra) to allow that from Nigarrm came Agama. Here I pause to note that the Saminohana snya that Kerala Sampradftya- is DaLihiipa and follows Veda (Vedamdrgastha), whilst Cauda (to whioh SarviWinndanAtha belonged) is VAma and follow Niguma. Hence apparently the pre-emiueucc given to Nigama. He tJieu says from Again* came YAmala, from YAmala the four Vedas, from Vedas the Puriipas, from SHAKTJ AND SHAKTA FurAnas Smriti, and from Suifiti all other Shftstras. There are, he says, five Nigamae and 64 Agaruaa. Four YAw&laa are mentioned, which are said to give the gross form (Sthfila- rflpa). As some may be surprised to learn that the four Vedas came from the YAmalas (i.c., were Antargata of tlie YAmalas) which literally means what is uniting or compre- hensive, I aubjoin the Sanskrit verae from NArAynot Tantra. BrahnnydmaUnamf-Mtam t&mavtda-matam Rudray&malaMmj&ta ivpodo paramo mahdn VuhnuyimaUifambhCto yajurvedah kuleihwri StohtydmalaxmbMtafo ulhurva partmam rnalial. Some Tantras are oalled by opposing sects Veduvirud- dhAni (opposed to Veda), which of course those who accept them deny, just as the Commentary of the NityAshoda- ahikAruava speaks of the PanchurAtrin as Vedahhraehta, That some secta were originally Avaidikn in probable, but in process of time various amalgamations of scriptural authority, belief and practice took place. Whothoc wo accept or not this theory, according to which the Again ua wul kindred BhAaUna are given authority with the four Vedas wo liavu to accept the facta. What arc these? As 1 have said, on examination the one body of Hindu- ism reveals os it were a double framework. I aui now looking at the matter from an outside point of view which in not that of the SbAkta worohipper. We find on the one hand the four Vedas with their SumhitAs, BrAhmapan, and L'paniflliadn and on sho other what hoe been oalled the "Fifth Veda," thotis Nigama, Agatna and kindred ShAetrae and certain especially "TAnlrik" Upanihhads attached to the SaubhAgya KApda of the Athamiveda. There are Vaidik and TAntrik Kalpa HQtxss and SQktas such us the TAntrika Devi and Malaya BQktas. As » counterpart of the Brahmusfitras, we Tmve the Shukti Sfilras of Agostya. Then there is both Vaidik and "TAntrik” rituAl 9uch ae the ten Vaidik Sathskarea and t.h« TAntrik BamakAms, such as 1 37 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA Abhiaheku ; Vaidik and T&ntrik initiation (Upauayana and DlkflLft) ; Vaidik aud T&ntrik G&yatai ; tlie Vaidik Ora, the Ho oalled "TAntrik" Bijas such as Hring; Vaidika Guru and Dealuka Guru and so forth. Thi» dualism may be found carried into other matters as well, such os medicine, law, writing. 8o, whilst the Vaidik Ayurveda employed- generally vegetable drugs, the "Tftntrilre” used metallic auhstancea. A counterpart of the Vaidika Dhunnapatni was the Shaiva wife, that is, oho who is given by desire (K&ma). I have already pointed out the counterpart*. of the Panchatattva in the Vedas. Some allege a special form of T&ntrik script at any rate in Gauda Desha and so Forth. What it the meaning of all this 1 It is not at present possible to give a certain answer. ' The subject has been so neglected and is so little known. Before tendering any conclusions with any certainty of their correctness, we must examine the Ttnfirik Texts which time .has spared. It will be readily perceivod, however, that if there be tuck a double frame us I suggest, it indicates thnt there worn originally two sources of religion one of which (possibly in some respect* tho older) incorporated parts of, and in time largely super- seded the other. And this is what t he "T&ntrikT impliedly allege in 1-heir views as to the relation of tho four Vedas and Agamns. If they are not both of authority, why should such reverence be given to t he Deehika Gurus and to T&ntrik Dlkshl t ProbaWy, there were many A vaidika cult*, not without, a doop and unoient wisdom of their own, that is, cult* out- aide the Vaidik religion (Vedab&liya) which in the course of time adopted certain Vaidik rites such us Homu : the Vaidikas, in their own turn, talcing up some of the Avaidika practices. It. may be that some Br&hmanaa joined these so-called Au&rya Samprad&yas just as we find to-day Br&b- manas officiating for low castes aud being called by their name. At length the Sh&atras of the two cults were given at least equal authority. The Vaidik practice then largely SHAKTI AND SHAKTA disappeared, surviving chiefly both in the SniArfa* rites of to-day and as embedded iu the ritual of the Agamas. These are speculation# to which I do not definitely commit myself. They are merely suggestions which may be worth consi- deration whan search is made for the ongin of the Agamos. If they lie correct, then in this, as in other cases, the beliefs and practices of the Soil have been upheld until to-day against the incoming oults of thcae " Aryan ” who followed the Vaidik ritea and who in their turn influenced the various religious oommunitiea without the Vaidik fold. The SmArtas of to-day represent what in genorally oallod the Shrauta side, though in these rilcn there are mingled many Puuranic ingredients. The Arya SamAja is another premJnt-duy representative of the old Vaidika Aohitra, mingled aa it seem* to me with a modernism, which is puritan and otherwise. The other, or Tftntxik side, is represented by the geooral body of prment-day Hinduism, and in particular by the various sectarian divisions of Shaivw, ShAktas: Vai$hnavaa and so forth which go to ito making. Each sect of wowhippor* lus its own Tantraa. In n previous Chaptor I lu»vo shortly referred to tho Tautras of the 8haivasiddhAnto, of the I’nnoharAtm Agauia, and of the Northern Shaivuiam of whioh tho MAlintvijayu Tauten actn the typo. Tho old fivefold division of woreluppers was, according to the PanohcpAsana, Saura, Gtlnapatyn, Vaijh- nava, Bhaiva, and bhAkta whoso Mfila DavatAs wore Sllrya, Geuapati, Vishnu, Shiva and Shakti respectively. At tho present time tho tlircofold division, Vai^hnava, Shaiva, 8hAkta, u of ftiore practical importance, as the othor two survive only to a limited extent to-day. In parte of Western India the worship of Ganesha is still popular and I believe Dome Sauras or tracea of Sauras Imre anil there exist, es- pecially in Sind. Six AnmAyaa mo mentioned in the Tantraa. (Shad- AinnftyAh). These are tiie six Facca of Shiva, lookiug Eaat '39 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA (PurvnmuAya), South (Dakshin&mnAyu), West (Pashoki- mAinnAya), North (UlduAmnlya), Upper (UrddhvAomftya) Lower and concealed (AdliAmnAya). The six Itonftyas are thus so called aocoiding to tho order of their origin. They arc thus described in the DevyAganm cited in the Tantra- rahasya (see also, with some variation probably duo to corrupt texts PAtula II of SamayAchAra Tantra) "(l) Tho fa<!« in the East (that is in front) is of pearl-like lustre with throe eyas and crowned by tho crescent moon. By this face I (Shiva) revealed (the Davis) Shrl Bhuvaneshvart, TriputA, LaHtA, PadmA, ShAlinf, Saraavntl, TvaritA, NityA, VajiuprasbArint, Annapftma, MahAlakahmt, Lakehmf, VugvA- dinl with all their rites and Mantras. (2) Tho Southern, face is of a yellow colour with three eyes.’ By this face I revealed I’rasAdasadAehiva, MuhAprA-sadamantra, D.tkshinA- murti, Vatuka, Manjughosha, Bhairava, MritasanjtvAni- vidyA, MritvunjayA with their rites and Mantras. (3) Tho face in the W«it (that is at the book) is of the colour of a freahly formed cloud. By this faoe I revealed OopAla, Krishna, NArilyin.iH, Vlnudeva, Nriiirhha, VAmann. Variha, RAmaehandm, Vishnu, Harihara, Ganoaha, . Agni, Yama, Shrya, Vidhu (Ohandra) and other plunoto, Ooruda, I»ik- pAlus, llanuiuAn anil other Suras, their rites and Mantras. (4) .The fsoe in too North is blue in oolour and with three eyes. By tide faoe, 1 revealed the Dovls, DakslnnakAlilcA, MAhlkAU, GuhyakflU, SmashAnakAhkA, MhsdmkAIt, EkajalA, UgratArA, TArint, KAtyAyanf, OhhinnaraaetA, Nllasarasvatl, DurgA, JayadurgA. NavadurgA, VAshult, DhQraAvAtl, VishA- lAkshi. Gaurl, BagalAmukhl, PratyangirA, MAtanggt, Mahiahamardinl, their rites and Mantras. (r>) Tho Upper face is white. By this face I rovoalod Shrlmat’.ripura- sundarl, iTripureahl, Bliaimvf, Tripurabhnir&vf, RmashAua- bhairavf, Bhuvaneahibhniravi, Shatkutabhnirart, Amia- pOmAbhairavl, PanohamI, Shodaahl, Milinl, ValfivaiA, with their ritea and Mantras. (0) Tlio sixth faoe (Bnlow) is lustrous, of many colours and concealed. It is by thi$ mouth that I 140 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA spoke of Dev3tA*thAna, Asana, Yantra, MftIA, Naivedya, Validlaa, SAdhsnA, Purashcharana, Mantrasiddhi. It ia called IshAh&inn&yA. " The SamayAohAra Tantra (Ch. 2) say3 that whilst the first four AmnAyas are for the Chatur- varga or Dharma, Artha. KArna, Moksha, the upper (UrddhvA- mnAya) and lower (AdhAmnaya) are for liberation only. The Sammohana Tantra (Oh. V) first explains PQrvAmnAya, DakshuiAouiAya, PaschimAmuAya, Uttai&mnAya, UrddhvA- mnAya aooording to what is called Deahaparyy&ya. I am informed that no Pujft of AdhftinnAya is generally done but that Shadanvaya ShAmbhavas, very high SAdlukaa, at the door of Liberation do Nyiaa with th*n sixth concealed Face. I* is said that PAtAla AmnAya is Sambhogayoga. Tho Nuthkala aspect in Sliaktikrainu is for Pfirva, Tripurl ; for f)ak»hina. Saorn, GAnapatya and Vaishnava ; for Pashohi- ma Raudra, Bhairava ; for Uttara, UgiA, ApatUrint In Shflivolcarma tho aamo aapaot ia for tlio first, SampatpradA and Maheeba ; for the second, Aghora, KAliicA and Vaifhnava Darahana ; for the third, Kaudra, Dliairava, Bliaiva ; for Che fourth, Kuvara, Bhairava, Saudarshako ; and for UrddhvAmnlya, Arddhan&riiha and Prunava. NirutUro Tantra says that the first two Amuiyaa oontain ntes for the Pashu BAdhaka (see as to tho meaning of this and the other classed of Sfldhakas, tho Chapter on PanchaUttva ritual PtirvAmn&yo&itotn karma pdihavam kathiUm priya, and so with the next). The third or Paihc him AmnAya is n com- bination. of Boshu an^l V!ra {PathcJiimdmnAyajam karma jathu-viraMiruU/irUam). UttarAmnAya is for Vira and Divya (UOardmadyajam karma divtfyvir&tkntam yuje). Tho upper AmnAya is for the Divya ( U rddht&mndyod ilam karma dwyabh&tAtkriam pnyc). It adds that even the Divya does BSdhanl in the cremation ground in VfrabhAva (that is, heroic frame of mind and disposition) but he does suoh worship without VlrAaana. The Sammohanu also gives a classification of Tanicaa according to thn Arnnftyas as also special olasaifloationa, SHAKTI AND SHAKTA such a* the Tantroa of the nix Anm ftyaa according to Vr.tuki- mntlya. Ab only one Text of the Sanunohana i» available whilst I write, it is not possible to speork with certainty of accuracy an regards all tlicso details. Each of these divisions of worshipper have their own Tantras, as also had the Jainaa and Bauddhav Different sects had their own particular subdivisions and Tantras of which there are various classifications according to KranUi*. DeahaparyAya, KAUparyftya and bo forth. The Sammohftnu Tantra mentions 22 different Xgamui including ChinAgtniu (ft Shftlcta form), PAahupatu (a Shniva form), Pane.harAt.ra (a Vaiijhnava.forin), KApAlika, Bhairava, Aghorn, Jnin«, Bnuddltu ; ouch of which in said thorn to contain a certain number of Tantra* and Upatuntnw. .Wording to the Sammobana Tantra, the Tantras according to KAlaparyAya are the 04 ShAktn Tantras, with 327 Upatantras, 8 YAmalus, 4 DAinaras, 2 KalpalatAs and several NamhitAs, ChfulAniapis (100) Amavas, Puripaa, Upave/laa, Kakahapfitan, ViiYmrshin! and Ohintlmapis. Tho Shaiva clusi contain* 32 Tantra* with it* own YAnmlas, DAmarw mid ao forth. The V»i$lui*va olann contains 76 Tftutrns with the semo, including Kelpae and other ShArtrwi. The Saui'ft claw haa Tantras with its own Ylmalns, Dddfsluw and other workB. And the GAnupatya class contains 30 Tantras with Upatantias, Kalpas and othor Sh Astras, including one DAmara and one YAmala. The llauddha class contains Knlpadnunas, KAmadhcnua, Sfilctaa, Krainas, Ambaraa, PurApas and other ShAstras. According to the KulArnava and JnAnadlpa Tantras there are seven AchArna of which the find, four, Veda, Vai?hnava, Shaiva and Dakshina belong to iVshvAchAr* ; then cornea VAraa, followed by Siddhftnta, in which gradual approach is made to KuulAchhro the reputed highcat. Iilen- w lie re six and nine AdiAras are spoken of hn«l different kind of Bliftvas, SabhAva, VjbhAva and DphuhliAvn und so forth which arc referred to in BlulvivchQil&nmni. '42 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA An account of the AchAras » given in the Harutattva- dSdliiti (pp. 339-342. See in particular Vislmwira Tan I ra (Ch. 24) and NityA- Tan Ira and Prftyatoeliiui. Tlve first is the best account). Ved&nliAra ib the lowest and KaulichAm the highest. (Kulfunava Tantra II). Their characteristics arc given in the 24th PataU of VisLvasAra Tantra. The first four belong to Paahv&ch&ra (see Chapter on Sh&kta S&d h a n A) and the last three arc for Vim and Divya SAdliaUas. .Summarising t.hn points of tlie Visliviwftra a ftft(lhaka in VedAchAra should carry out the prescription* of the Veda, should not oohabit vrith hie v.'ifo except ip tlio poriod following the ccunos. He should not eat. fish and moat on tho Parva days. He should not worship the Dova ot night. In Vai^hnavAoliAru. he follows the injunctions (Niyama) of VedlohAra. He must give up eutiug of flesh (NityA Tantra says he must not kill animals), ovoid sexual intercourse and oven the talk of it. This doubtless mean* a negation of the Vim ritual. He should worship VTfhuu. This AchAra is distinguished from tho last by the groat endurance of Tapes and the contemplation of the Supreme everywhere. In HhjyvAnhAm, VedAchAra is prescribed with this difference that there must be no slaughter of animal* and meditation is on Shiva. DakshipiohAra ia mid to have been practised by Hielii DalcehinAmflrti and in therefore no called. Thw AchAra is preparatory lot the Vlra and Divya BhAvos. Meditation ia on the Supreme Ishvarl after taking Vijayft (Hemp). Jape of Mautra is done at uigbt. Siddhi is attained by using a rosary ol human lione (MahAihoflkha) at. oertain plaoea including a Shaktipftha. V Am AchAra is approved of Vtrw and Divya*. One should lie continent (BrahniachArl) at day and worship with the Panchatattva at night (“ PawhaiaUvdkmmervi iiu rdlrau deoim prapUjayei"). Tho statement of NityA ( PmrhUallv&nukalfem ralrau ileoin </ piajrdjnyet) is, if correctly reported. I think, incorrect. Thia ia Vlra Sadlmnn and the Vlra should generally only M3 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA uso substitutes when the real Tattvas cannot be found. Clwkra worship ia done. Siddhi is destroyed by revelation thereof ; therefore tho Vftmn path is hidden. The 8idclliitnt&- ohart ia superior to the last by his knowledge "hidden in the Vedas, ShAstrns and Purftrrus like fire in wood, by his freedom from fear of the Pas ho, by his adherence to the truth, and by his open performanoe of the Panchatattva ritual. Open and frank, be cares not what is said.” He offers tho Panohatattvas openly. Then follows a notable pannage. “Just an it s not hlamenble to drink openly in the Saatr&mani Yajnu (Vaidik rito), so in SiddhAntAchAra wine ia drunk openly. An it ia not blameablo to kill horses in the Aahvatnedha Yajna (Vaidik rite), bo no offenos is com- mitted in killing nnimals in this Dliarum." NityA Tan ten nays that an urtioie, be it pure or impure, becomes pure by purification. Holding a ouj> made oi human skull, und wearing the lludrikaha, the BlddhfcntAoh&ri moves on north in the fom of Bhaimvu Himself. Tho knowledge of the last. AehArn, that of tlie Kaula, mnkos ono Shiva. Just no the footprint of overy animal disappears in that of the olophnnt, oo every Dharma ia lost in tho greatness of Kula- dharuio. Here there are no injunctionn or prohibitions, no HHtriotion as to time or plauo, in fuot no rule at all. A Kaula is himself Guru and SadAtdiivn and none are sup-rior to him. Kaulas are of three classes, inferior (the ordinary or Prfikrita Kauia), who is over engaged in ritual such as Japa, Hoina, PQja, follows VlrAchAru (with Panchatattva) end strives to attain the. highland of knowlcdgo ; middling is the Kaula who does Sddhana with tho Panchatattva, is deeply immoiwod in meditation (Dhy&na) and Sam&dhi ; ouporior, the Kaula who "Oh Mistress of the Kanins seen the imperishable, and all pervading Self in all thing* and all things in the Self." He ie a good Kaula who makes no distinction between mud and sandal paste, gold and straw, a Lome and the cremation ground. He is a superior Kaula who meditates on the Self with the self, who has equally SHAKTI AND SHAKTA regard for all, who is full of .contentment, forgiveness and compiuaion. Nitvft Tantra (I'alala III) says that Knulaa movo about in various shapes, now as an ordinary man of the world adhering to social rules (Shishta), at other times w one who has fallen therefrom (Brashta). At other times he neeme to be as weird and unearthly as a ghost (Bhflta). KaulAohAm is, it says, tho emenoe which in obtaiued from the ocean of Veda and Agama after churning it with tie staff of knowledge. In a modern account of the ScJiAms (see fianAtana- ■Adhana-Tottva or Tantra- rahiaya by SachohidAnanda SvAmf) it in said that uotno speak of AghorAohAra and Yog*- ohAra as two further divisions between the last, but one and last. However this may bo, tho Aghoras of today am a separate sect who, it is alleged, have dugeuurated iulo mere caters of oorpsos, though Aghore is said to only meua one who » liberated from tho terrible (Ghora) Sartiiftra. In Yog&ehArn wan learnt the upper height* of HAdhanA and tho mysteries of Yoga such as tho movements of the V&yu in the bodily microcosm (KshudrabrshinAuda), the regulation of which controls the inclinations and propensities (Vritti). YogAchAra is entered by Yogn-dlkuhA and achievement iu AshtAngayoga (juulifios for KaulAohAra. Whether there wore ouch further divisions I cannot at present say. I prefox for the timo lining to follow tho KulAryuva. The. SvAml’s amount of these is »* follows: — VedAchftra which consist* in tho daily praotioo of the Valdik rit*s (with, 1 limy add, some TAntrik- observances) is the gross body (SthQln- dehft) which comprises within it nil the other AohAnw, which are as it. were its subtle body (Silks hmu-deha) of various degrees. The worship is largely of an external character, the object of which in to strengthen Dharma. This is the path of action (KriyumAiga). This and some other observation* may be a modern reading of the old fact* but are on tho whole, 1 think, justified. The second stage of VaishnavAcbAra is tho path of devotion (BhaktimArga) '45 10 F SHAKTI AND SHAKTA and the aim is union of devotion with faith previously acquired. The wonthipper passes from blind faith to an understanding of the supreme protecting Energy of the Brahman, towards which his devotion goes forth. With an increasing determination to uphold Dhanna and to destroy Adharma, the S&dhaka passes into the third stage or HhaivAchara which the author cited calls the militant (Kshattriya) stage, wherein to love ami mercy are added strenuous striving and the cultivation of power. Thera is union of faith, devotion, and inward determination (Antar- lakBha). Entrance is here made upon the path of knowledge (Jn&namArga). Following this is the fourth stage or DakshinAohAra, which originally and in Tanfem BhAatra doco not mean "right-hand worship" but according to the author cited in the Acliftra “ favourable " to the accomplish- ment. of the higher SAdhanA of which Dnkshma-KAiikA is l>cvl. (The VuhvasAra already cited derives the wool from DaluhiiiAnifliU muni, but Daknhina in either case lias the same meaning. DakshinukAlf in a Dovi of UttarAmnAya and approach is hero made to Vtrt rituals.) This atAgc commences when the wor*hipp*r can make DhvAna and DhflrAtn of the threefold Shnkli of the Biahimm (IohohliA, KriyA, JnAnu), and undomtauds tho mutual connection of the -.lncc and of their expression as tho Guijns, and until he receives the rite of initiation called PflrnAbhishckha. At this stage the Sftdhaka is Shiku and qualified for the worship of the threefold ShAktn oi Brahman (BrahmA, Vishnu, Maheahvara). He worships the Adya-8hakti as Dakshina- KilikA in whom arc united the three Shaktis. The aim of this stage is thn union of faith, devotion, and determination with a knowledge of tbe threefold energies. (Paawge is thus made from the T)i>va-as|»eot lo the Deva-whole.) I 'p to this stage the S&dhnka has followed Pravritti HArgu, or the outgoing path, tbe path of worldly enjoyment, albeit curbed by Dluvrnm. The SAdhako now, upon the exhaustion of the forces of the outward current, ruukes entry on the 146 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA path of return (NivrittimArga). As this change is one of primary importance, some have divided the AchAras into the two broad divisions of DakshinAcnAra (including the first four) and VAmlch&ra (including the last three). Strictly, however, the first three can only be thus included in the sense thar, they arc preparatory to DakshiiiAchAra proper and are all in thn Pravritti MArga and are not VAmAohAra. It is thus said that men are born into DakshiiiAchAra but ure received by initiation into VAniAnhAra. As DakshinA- ofcAra does not mean "right-hand worship” so VlmAchAr* does not mean, as is vulgarly supposed, “left-hand worship”. “ Left-hand" in English has- a had sense and it is not sense to suppose that the Sh Astra, which prewribre this AchAra, itself gives it a bad name. V&ma is variously interpreted. Some say it. i« the worship m which woman (VAniA) entoro that is LatAsAdhunA. VAma, this author says, moans "odvoree" that is tho stage adverse to the Pravritti, which governs iu vaiyiug degrees the previous AohAraa. Por, ont.ry is horo made on the Nivritti path of return to the Source of outgoing. (In this AchAra also thore is worship of the VAmA Dcvt.) In VAmAchAra the SAdhaka commonceH to direotly destroy Pruvritti and, withrfhe help of the Guru, to cultivate Nivritti. Thn help of the Gum throughout in necessary. It is comparatively easy to lay down rules for tho Pravritti MArga but nothing con bo uohioved in VAmA- ohAra without tho Guru’s help. Some of the disciplines arc admittedly dangerous and, if entered upon without authority and discretion, will probably lead to abuse. Tho method of the Guru at this stage is to use the forces of Pravritti in suoh a way ns to render them jelt-dwtructive. Tho passions which bind (notably tho fundamental instincts for food, drink, and sexual satisfaction) may be it is said ho employed as to act as forces whereby the particular lifo, of which thoy are the strongest physical manifestation, is raised to the uni- versal life. Passion which has hitherto run downward and outwards (often to waste) is directed inwards and upwards '47 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA and 'transformed to power. But it is not only the lower physical desires ol eating, drinking, and sexual intercourse which must he subjugated. The Sfklhaku must at this stage commence (the process continues until the fruit of Kaulll- chfira is obtained) to cut off all the eight, braids (Pfisha) which have made him a Pashu, for up to and including Dakahmiohira is Pashu worship. These PfUlia, bonds or “afflictions" are variously enumerated hut the mom numer- ous elsH.Hifirat.ions are merely elaborations of the smaller diviaiona. Thus, according Co the Dovt-bhigavata, Mola ia ignorance or bewilderment, and MahAmohn in the desire for worldly pleasure which flows from it. The Kul&mavu T antra mentions eight primary bonds, D&yh (that is pity as the feeling which binds aa opposed to rlirine compassion or Karupl), Aloha (ignorance), LajjA (shame, which dotM not mean that a man is to be a shameless sinner but weak worldly •heme of being looked down upon, of infringing convention* and so fort h), family (Ruin, whioh ooasea to bo a tie), ShlU (hero usage, convention) and Varna (oasto ; for t.lio on- lightoned in beyond all its diati notions). When, to take the BvfUnl'a example, 8hri Krishna stole tho dollies ol the bath- ing Gopls or milkmaids and cowherds and made them approach Hrru nuked, He removed 1 the artitioial coverings whioh are imposed on man in tbo Boffis&ra. The Uopto wore eight, os are tho Bonds, and the errors by whioh tho Jiva is misled are the clothes which Krishna stole. Freed of theos the Jlva is liberated from all bonds arising from liia desires, family and society. Formerly it wag sufficient, to live in worldly fashion according to the morality governing life m the world. Now the Sftdhako must go further and transcend the world, or rather seek to do so. He rises by those things which are commonly the cause of fall. When he has completely achieved his purpose and liberated himself from all bonds, he reaches the Btage of Shiva (Shivatva). It is the aim of the Nivritti Sfidhana to liberate man from the bonds which bind him to the Saiiia&r* and to qualify SHAKTI AND SHAKTA the VJra Sadhaka, through lUjasika Upilsanft (see Chapter on Panchatattva) for tie highest grades of S&dhanA in wiiioh the 8Attviku (ruaa predominates. He ia then Divya or divine. To the truly Sfi.ttvik there is neither attachment, fear or disgust (QhrinA). What is thus commenced in Vam&eh&ra, is gradually completed by the rituals of Sid- dhftntAuh&ra and Kaul&ck&ra. In the last three Achimo the Sidhaka becomes more and mdte freed from the dark- ness of 8atin&ra and i* a'.tanhad to nothing, hates nothing, ia ashamed of nothing (really shameful acts being rr hypolheti below hin aoquired stage), and liao freed hiniaelf of the artificial bonds of family, caste, uiul society. He becomes au Avadhflta, that ia, one who has "washed ofl" everything and has relinquished the world. Of these, an stated Inter, there are aevoml classes. For him there is no rule of tune or place. lie booomes, like Shiva hinueU, n dweller in the cremation ground (Sinuh&na). lie attains Brahmajn&nu or the OnosU in perfect form. On receiving Mahdpfirnn- dtkshft, he perforins hi* own funeral rites and ir dend to the Bmnuhra. Sootod alone iu aomo quiot place, he remain* in constant Samlklhi (ecstasy), and attains it in its highest or Nirvikolpn form. The Great Mother the Supreme Praltfili Mahftshakt.i dwells in his heart which is now the inner ore- mation ground wherein all passions have been burnt away. He becomes a ParamahaiiiMa who is liberated whilst yet living (Jlvanmukta). From the above it will he seen tliat the Achftnut are not various scots in tho European souse, but stages iu a continu- ous proocai through which the Sfldliaka must puss before lu roaohiw the supreme state of the highest Kauln (fur th* Kaulae aro of difforing degree*). Pawing from the gross outer body of Ved&chfLrn, he learns itu iunenttoac core of doctrine, not expressed but latent ia it. These stages need not be and arc not ordinarily pawed through by each JIva in the course of a single life. On the contrary they are as a rule traversed in the course of a multitude of births, in i 4 y SHAKTI AND SHAKTA which oai-fl the weaving of the spiritual garment is rcoom moacsd whore, in a previous birth, it was dropped on death. Tn one life the S&dhaka may commence at. any stage. If he in a true Kaula now it in because in previous births ho has by B&dhanft in the preliminary stages won his entrance into it. Knowledge of Shakti is, as the Niruttnra Tantra says, acquired after many births ; and according to the Mu hit* nirvipa Tantra it is by»merit acquired in previous births that the mind is inclined to KaulAcMra. Kaoladhaima is in no wise sectarian but on the contrary claims to be the head of all sects. It in said "at heart a Sliflkta, outwardly a flhaiva, in gatherings a VaiijhnRvn (who an wont to gather together for worship in praise of Harj) in thus many a guise the KnulM wander on earth.” Antah-ihdktah vohik-tkatrdh talMyAm vaiahmvAmat&h Nini-r&padbaM Kauldh mclman(\ mahit&lo. The Maying has been said to be an expression of this claim which is 1 think involved in it. It does however Also I think indicate coorecy, and adaptability to sectarian form, of him who hoe pierced to the core of that which *11 Scot* in vary- ing, though partial, ways present. A Kauln is one who has passed through these and other stagee, whioh have os their own inmost doctrine (whether theee worshippers know it or not) that of KaulAchAra. It is indifferent what the Kaulaa apparent sect may be. The form is nothing and everything. It is nothing in the sense that it has no power to narrow the Ksulas inner life, rt is everything in the sense '.hot. knowledge may infuse its apparent limitat.ionn with an universal meaning. A man may thus live in all sects, without their form being ever to him a bond. In VaidUc times there were four Ashnuuas, that is, states and stages in the life of the Axyu, namely (in their order) that of the chaste student (Brahmaoharya), secular life as a married house-holder (Gnhastha), the life ol the forest recluse with his wife in retirement from the world (VAnaprastha), lastly that of the beggar (Bhikshu or SHAKTI AND SHAKTA Avadhuta), wholly detached from the world, spending his tame in meditation on the Supreme Brahman in preparation for shortly coming death. All these four were for the Brihmnna caste, the first three for the Kshattriyu, the first two for the Vaixhya and for the Shfidra the second only (YogiyAjnavalkya. Cli. 1). As neither the conditions of life noi the character, capacity and powers of iho people of this age allow of the tint and tlanl Aahrama, the MahA- nirvipa Tantra atatea (VIII. 8) that in the Kali ago there arc only two iahramaa, namely, the seooud and last, and these are own to ull awtns imlisoriuiinutely [ib. 12). The same Tanu-a (XIV. 141 el aty.) speaks of four clashes of Kulayogls or Avndhfltas namely the ShaivivadhOta and Brahmhva- dhflia, which are each of two kinds, imperfect (Apuraa) and perfect (Pfirna). Thu first three have onjoyinont and practise Yoga. The fourth or Pnnmuhiun.su should be absolutely chaste and should not touah metal. Ho is beyond all housohold duties and ciute, and htnal, such as iho offering of food and drink to Dovnti. The BhniravadAmaiu classes the Avudhiltu into (a) ICuUUudhQU, (h) BlnrivAva- dhflta, (c) BrelunttvadhQtu, (d) Hadisftvadhilta. 8ome spuak of throe divisions of euoh of the classes ShaivivndhGta and BmlunAvadhQta (sue pp. Xldll, XLIV of Introduction to A. Avalon's Kd. of .Mahftnirvina). The ShaivilvndhOUs are not, oither. from a Western or ShAstric standpoint, as high as the Bralunivadhflla. The lowo.nl of the last class oan have iniorcoumr only with the own wife (Svaktyn Sliakti as oppoeod to the Shaiva Shakti) ; (he middling has ordi- narily nothing to do with any Shakti, and the highest mint under no circumstance touch u woman or metal, nor does he practise any rites or keep any observances. The mam divisions here arc VedAchfl.ru, DakshinAuhira and Vam Ac hfi.ru. Vedich&ra is not Vaidikichira, tliat is, in the Shrauta sense, for the Shrautu Vaidikaoh&ra upi*enrs to be outside this sevenfold Tintrik division of which Vedfi- ch&ra is the Tintrik counterpart. For it is Tintrik Upaaana SHAKTI AND SHAKTA with Vaidih rites and mantras, with (I have been told) Agui as Devati,. As a speculation >vo may suggest, that this Aoli&ra was for Llu.ee not Adhik&rt lor what M called the Bhrauta Vafdik&chOra. The second and third belong and lead up to tho completed Dakshinlch&ra. This is Pashva- chftra. Vdmftch&ra commences the other mode of worship, leading up to the completed Kauln the Kr.ullvadhftta, Avadhilte, nnd Divya. Here, with the attainment of Bruhmttjn&na, we reach the region which is beyond all Aohlras which is known as Sveohfthhlchlra. All that, those belonging to thin ntato do or touch is pare; In and after VAmAohAra thele is outing and drinking in, and aa part of, worship and Maithuna. After the Pashu there is the Vlra and then the Divya. Pashu is the starting point, Vlra is on the way and Divya u the goal. Each of the sects baa a Dakshina and Vftma division. It is. commonly thought that this :s |>ecul'ar to Shhlrtas : but this is not so. Thus there aro VAuiu, Ginupatya* and Vaiehnav.w and so forth. Again VAmftchAra is itaelf divided again into a right and loft side In tho former win* is taken in a oup of stone or other subatnnoe, and worship is with the Svaktya 8hakt> or 8Adhaka'a own wife ; in the latter and more advanced stage drinking is done from a skull and worship may be with Parastrl, that in, some other Bhakti, In the case however of some sorts which belong to the VftrnA- ch&ra division, whilst there is meat and wine, there is, I nm told, naShakti for the members are chaste (Brahmaoh&ri). So far ns I can ascertain these soots whioh aro mentioned lator soem to belong to the Shaiva as opposed to the ShAkta group. The T&ntrik Sangroha called Sh&ktAnanda-Toranginl by Brahm&nandn Svflml says (Oh. 2) that Again* is both Sadfigam* nnd Aaodignma and that the former aJ«ne is Agania according to tlte priuiaiv meaning of the word {S<iddgama eva d'jarrwhabdasya mukh'jatt'41). He then says that Shiva in the Agama Samhita condemns the Asaohgama >52 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA saying “Oil Deveshi, men in the Kali ago arc generally of n RAj&aik - and Tftmasik disposition and being addicted to forbidden way*) deceive many others. Oh Sureshvari, lliow* who m dunequrd of then Vanutshrama Dharma offer to -us -flesh, blood and wine become Bhutas, Prebis, and Brahmarflkshaaas, ” that ia, various forms of evil spirits. Thia prohibit such wont hip as ia opposed to VarnAshrama- dharnia. It is said, however, by tfle VAmftchiria, who take consecrated wine and flesh as n Yajna, not. to cover their cans. It ia not uncommonly thought that Vsm&ohil* is that jtohAra into which Vlmft or woman enters. Thia is truo only to » certain extent : that ia, it is n- true definition of those S&dhakus who do worship with Shftkti ucoording to VaniAohAra riles. Rut it acorns to be incoiTcet, in so far as there are, 1 am told, worshipper* of the Vftmrtohilra division who are chaste (Brahnmchflrl). VAmlohitt means literally “left” way, not ''left-handed*' in the English sense whioh means what; in bad. As t ho name is given to these SOdlinkas by themselves it is not likely that they would adopt a title which condemns them. What they msan is that this Xohftra is tho opposite of DsJcskinkohAra Philosophically it is more monatio. It ia said that evou in the highest Si rid l\i of a DakshinAchort “ thcro is always sonio One above him ” ; but ihe fruit of VAmAchAr* and ite subsequent and liigheet stages is that the S&dhake "beoomes the Emperor Himself". Tho BhAva differs, and the power of its method compared with Dakshinflchira is said to be that between milk and wine. Moreover it » to be noted that the Devt whom thoy worship ia on tin? left of Shiva. In Y&m&ch&ra we find KApAlikas, KtUaniukbas, PAshupatas, Bhflndikeras, Digain- bftraa, Aghoms, followers of ChinAohAm and Kaulas gene- rally who are initiated. In some cases, aa in that of the advanced division of Kanlas. worship is with all five Tattvae (Panchatattva). In some cases there is Brahmacharya as *53 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA in the case of Aghoru and PAshupata, though these drink wine and eat flesh food. Some VAmAobArte, I am informed, never cease to bo chaste (BrahmachArf), such &6 Oghada Sadhus, worshippers of Batuka Bhairava, KanthadhAri and followers of Gomtohunfltha, SitonAtha and Matayendia- nAtha, In Nilakrama there is no Maithuna. In some scots there are differing practices. Thus, I am told, amongst the KAUmukhas the KAlavfrns only worship KumArts up to the age of nine, whereas tho KAiuamohanas worship with’ adult Shaktia. 8omo advanced members of this (in ita general sense) VAmAthAra divieion do not, I am informed, even take wine and meat. It is Paid that the great VAmAcharl SAdhaicu HAjA Krahnachanrira of Nadia, Upisaka of the Chhmna- mastA Mflrti, did not tako wine. Such and aiinilur SAdhakas have passed beyond the preliminary stage of VAmAchAra, and indeed (in it* special sense) VAmAchAra itaelf. They may bo BrAhma Kaulan. An regards Slidhukas goncrally it io well to rwnembyr what the MAhAkAlu SamhitA, blio groat SbAetra of the Mndhyaetlia Haul no, saya in the 11th UllAsa called Sliarlia-yogi-kathanani "8ome Knulna there are who seek the g«iod of this world ( A ihtkOrfJtad hr iuUvut nah) . Bo also the Vaidilcas enjoy what is here ( Aihikdrtham kdmayani * ; as do, 1 may interpose, the vast hulk of present humanity) and are not seekers of liberation (Amrite wlm m kuroanti). Only by NishlrAmasAdhanA is liberation attained.” The Puaukatottvo ore either real (Protyakeluv. "Idco- lisiug" aUtenienta to the contrary are, when not due to ignoianoe, folso), suhetitutiunal (Auukalpaj and esoteric (Divvatattva). As regards the second, even a vegetarian would not objeot to "meat" which is in fact ginger, nor the abstainer to "wine” which is cocoanut water in a bell-metal vessel. As for the Esoteric Tattva they are not material articles or practices, but the symbols for Yogic processes. Again sonic notions and practices are more moderate and SHAKTI AND SHAKTA others extreme. The account given in the hlahiuirviga of the BLairavi and Tattva Chakras may be compared with Borne more unrestrained practice ; and the former again may he contrasted with a modem Chakra described in the 13th Chapter of the Life of Bejoy Krishna Gosvltml by Jagadbandu Maitra. There a T&ntrika Siddha formed a Chakra at which the GoavAmi was present. The latter says that nil who were there, felt as if the Shakti was their own Mother who had borne them, and the DevatAa whom the Chakreshvara invoiced appeared iu the circle to accept the offerings. Whether this is accepted as a fact or not, it ia obvious that it was intended to desoribe a Chakra of a different kind from that of which we have more oommonly heard. There are some practice® which are not. correctly understood ; there are some principles which the bulk of men will not underetand ; for to ao understand there nmat lie beside* knowledge that (indefinable Bhiva, the possession of which carries with it the explanation which no words oan give. I have dealt with this subject in the Chapter on the l’ancliatattvs. There uic expressions which do not bear their surface meaning, (ivmdnyta- btuikxhtiTui is not "beef-eating” but putting the tougue in the root of tbo throat. What some translate a* " Ravishing the widow” refers not to a woman but to a process is Kundalt Yoga and ■o forth. lastly and this ia important; a distinction is seldom, if ever, made between KhAstrio principles and actual praotioo, nor is count, taken of the conditions properly governing the worship and its abuse. It in easy to under- stand that if Hinduism naa in general degeucratcd, there has been a fall liere. It is, however, a uialakc to suppose that the sole objeot of these rites is uujoyment It is not necessary to be a "TAntrik” for that. The moral of all this ia, that it ia better to know the facta t han to make erroneous generalize tioii8. There are said to be three Krantaa or geographical divi- sions of India, of which roughly n peaking the North-Eastern SHAKTI AND SHAKTA portion ia Vi?hnukr&ntfi, tho North- Western Riithukr&utA anil die remaining and Southern portion is Aahvakr&ntA. According to the ShAktaiuaugala aud MahAeiddhibAra Tantras, ViahnukrAatfi (which includes Bengal) extends from the Vindhya range to Chattala or Chittagong. From Vindhya to Thibet and China is Rathakrftntl. There is then some difference between these two Tantras as to the position of AshvakrAntA. According to tlie first this last Kx&ntft extends from the Vindhya to the sea which perhaps includes tho riwt of India. According to tho Itah&aiddhigAru Tantra it extends from tho KoratoyA River to a point which cannot bo identified with certainty in the text oited, but which may be Java. To enoh of those fll Tantra* have been assigned. One of tho' questions awaiting solution is whether tlin Tantras ol tliesu thice geographical divisions are masked by both dootiinal and ritual peculiarities and if so what they are. This subject has been referred to in the finit volume of the "Principles of Tantra 1 ’ wherein a list of Tantras is given. In the Rhihta division there are four Sam prod Ayas, namely, Kerala, KAehmira.-Oauda and VilAsa, in each of whioh there in both outer and innor worship. The Snmmo- h*ua Tantra givee theeo four SarapradfcyM, also the number of Tantras, not only in the first three SampnvdAywi, but in China and Prflvidft. • I have been informed that out of 60 I )ra lias (which inoluded beside Hunas, places outside India, such os China, MahAchina, Biota, Sirhhala), 18 follow Gouda extending from NepAla to Kalinga and 10 follow Kerala extending from VindhyAohala to the Southern Sea, tho remaining countries forming part of the KAshmira Deals ; and that in each SarapradAya there aw Poddhotia puoh on Shuddha, Gupta, Ugia. There ia variauco in DevatAa and Rituals some of which are explained in the TArasukta ami Sliaktisangama Tantra. There are also various Matas suoh as Kadi Mata, colled VirAdanuttara of which the Pevatfiia KAli (see Introduction to Vol. 8. (TautiarAja) TAutrik Texts); HAdi Mata called SHAKTI AND SHAKTA Huiiiaar&ja of which TripuraauudarS ia DevutA uid Kali&di MaU the combination of the two of which Tdrl ia DevatA that is NUasarasvatl Certain l>eaha.i are called Kadi, HAdi, Ka-hAdi Deshas and eaoh Mata has several Amnay&s. It ia said that the HarasatAra MahAvidya is the Sovereign Lady of Yoga whom Jainas call PadralvatJ, Shftktas Sliikti, Buuddhaa TArA, China vSAdhaka* UahogrA, and Kaulas Chakreshvart. The KAdis call her Kftlf, the HAdia Shrl- ttim iari and tli© JCAdi-Hfixlia If&iiu&h. Volum&a VIII and XII of "Tintrik Terte” contain that portion of the T&atra- rhjo whioh belongs to KAdi Mata and in the .English Intro- duction I have dealt with this subject. Oauda SampradAyn oorwidero KAdi the highest Mata, whilst KAahmira and ICemla worship Tripurl and TArA. Possibly there may have been originally Denlum which were the oxoluaivc sente of apocific sohuola of l’antra, but later and at present, so far as they exist, this oaunot be said. In eaoh of the lleshas different. Samprod&yas may be found, though doubtless at particular places, a* in Bongal, particular Mots may be predominant, hi my opiuiou it i» not yet. possible to present, with both accuracy and completeness, the doctrine and practice of any particular TAntrdc School, and to indicate wherein it ditiers from other Schools. I*, is not pcesible at .present to say fully and prooiaoly who .the origiual ShAktas were, the nature of their sub-divisions and of their relation to, or distinction from, some of the 8haiva group. Thus the Kaulfta are generally in Bengn inoluded in the BrahmajnAut Shlkta group but the Sammnhana in one passage already oitod mentions Kauia and Shlkta separately. Poasibiy it is there rneunt to diatinguAh ordinary ShAktas from the special group called Kauia ShAktas. In Kashmir some Kauia.-, I believe, call themselves Shaivas. For au answer to these and other questions ire must await, a further exami- nation of the texts. At present I am doing clearing of mud (Paftkoddhara) from the tank, not in the expectation that *57 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA J can wholly clear away the mud and wee da, but with a deairo to make a beginning which otheiB may complete. He who Las not understood Tuutra ShAatra bus not understood what “Hinduism” is as it exist* to-day. The subject is an important part of Indian culture and therefore worth study by the duiy qualified. What I have said should be .sufficient to warn the ignorant from making rash general- izations. At present we can say that he who worships the Mantra and Yantra of Shakti is a Shakta, and that there wore novoral SampradAyaB of these worshippers. What we can, and should first, do ia to study tho ShAkta Durshana as it exist* to day, working hook from the known to the unknown. What I am about to describe in the ShAkta faith as it exist* to day, that ia ShaktivAda, not as something entirely new but us the development and amalgamation of tho various cult* which were, it* ancestors. Summarizing ShAkta doctrine we nnvy first affirm that it in AAmtiavdda or Monism. This ve might expect seeing that it flourished in FVngal which, as the old Gauda Desha, in tho Guru both of AdvoitovAdn and of Tant.ru ShAiitni. From Ooudu oumo Gaudiipldilch&rya, Madhunfidana Sarasvatl, author of the great Advaitasiddhi, KAmaohandru- tlrthabh&iatl, ChiUulchAchAryu and others. There seems to me to be a strong disposition in tha BrahinapsrAyana Bengali temperament towsrds AdvuitavAilu. For all Advaitina tho ShAkta Agama and Advaila Shai vAgunm must bo the highest form of worship. X detailed uccount of the Advait* teachings of the ShAktas is a matter of’ groat complexity and of a highly esoteric character, beyond the scope of this paper. I may here note that the Shflktu Tantros apeak of 04 Tattvas made up of 10, 12 and 16 KalAs of Fire, Bun and Hoon constituting tho K&ntakalA respectively ; and 10 of 8udAshiva, 0 of Ishvaru, 10 each of Pudra, Vishnu and Bmhmfl. Tho 61 Kalis or Miktrika* which are the Shkehmaiflpa of tht 61 letters (Varna) are a portion of these M, These are the 61 coils of Kundali from Bindu SHAKTI AND SHAKTA to Shrim&trikotpatti-Sundari mentioned in my “Garland of Letters” or Studies on the Mantra Bhietra. These ‘arc all worshipped in the wine jar by thoie ShAktas who take wine. The Shistras also set out the 30 Tattvan which are common of ShAktas and Shaivae ; the hve Kalis whioh are SAm&nya to the Tattvas, nanioly, Nivritti, Pratahtha, VidyA, ShftntA, BhAntyatftA, and the ShadadhvA, toamely, Varna, Pads, and Mantra, Kali, Tattva, Bhuvana. whioh represent the Artha aspect and the Shabda aspect respectively. (See “(Sarland of Totten”.) To pass to more popular matters, a hoautiful and tender Ooneept of the ShAktas is the MoOierhood oj Ood, that. is, Ood as Shakti or the Power which produuen, maintains and withdraw* the universe. Thin is the thought of a worshipper. Though the Knmmohaiin Tautra given high plw* to Shafl- knra ivs conqueror of Buddhism (speaking of him as u manifestation of Shiva and identifying his four disciples and himself with the five Mah&pretas), the Xgamaa us ShAstros of worship do not teach MAytvida u sot forth according to Shaflkara’s transcendental method. M4y4 to the Shlkta wonhipper is not an unconscious something, not real, not unreal,* not real-unroal. which is usaociaUid with Brahman in its lshvam aspect, though )t is not Brah- man, Brahman in novor associated with anything but Itself. M4yA to the BhAktn is Shakti ; Shukti veiling Herself as Oonsoioumies, but which, as being Shakti. is Oousciousneos. To the SliAktu all that ho suui is the Mother. All is Conscious- ness. This w the standpoint of SAdhanA. The Advoitins of Shafikara’s School claim that their doctrine is given from the standpoint of Siddhi. 1 will not argue this question hero. When Siddhi is obtained there will be no argument. Until that event Man is, it is admitted, subject to MAyA and must think and act according to the forms ‘which it imposes' on him. It ii more important, after all to realize in fact the universal presonco of the Divine Consciousness, thun to attempt to explain it in philasopliical terms, 159 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA The Divine Mother first appeara in and aa Her worship- per's earthly mother, then as Ilia wife ; thirdly as Kfilik&, She reveals Herself in old age, disease and death. It is She who manifests, and not without a purpose, in the vast, outpouring of Saiiihilra Shakti which was witnessed in the groat world-conflict of our time. Thn terrible l>eauty of such fomm is not unriefctood. And so we get the recent utterance of a Missionary Professor at Madras who being moved to horror at the sight of (1 chink) tha Chftmundft- nidni collod tho Dcvt n “ Sho-Devil ", Lastly Sho takes to Herself tho doad body in tho riaroo tonguee of flame which light the funeral pyre. The Monist is naturally unseoUma and so the ShAItta faith, as held by those who understand it, is free from a narrow sectarian spirit Ncxtly it, like tho otlior Agamaa, makes provision' for all ante* ami both sax*. Whatever bo the true doctrino of thn Vaidikivt, their practioe is in faot marked by exclusive- nofls. Thus they exclude woman and Bhfldra*. It i* oasy to understand why tho ao-calUd Anftrya Sam prod (tyua did not do eo. A glorious feature of tho Shlhfo faith in tho honour which it pays to woman. And this is natural fur those who worship the Great Mother, whrm? representative (Vigraba) all earthly women aro, Striyo dovdh > tnyah pidwUi. " Women are Devos ; women are life itself, " as an old Hymn in the Sorvollaea baa it. Jt is because Woman is a Vigraba of the Ainb& Devi, Her likenc&j in flesh -and blood, that the Sh&kt* Taatraa enjoin the honour and worship of women and girls (Kumirla), and forbade all hamuto them such as the Bnti rite, enjoining that not oven a female animal U to be sacrificed. With tho aamo solicitude for women, tho Mnh&nirvflnn proscribes that even if n man speaks rudely (Durvvochyong kathayan) to has wife, he must fast for n whole day, and enjoins the education of daughters liefore their marriage. The Moslem Author of the Dalmtan (li. 1«1. Ed. 1813) says "The Aganra favours both sexes equally. SHAKTI AND SHAKTA Men and women equally oompose mankind. This scot hold women in great esteem and call them Slmktis ami to ill-treat a Shakti that is a womau is a oriuie.” The ShAkta T&ntnw again allow oj uwnem being Guru, or Spiritual Director, a reverence which the West has not (with rare exceptions) yot given them. Initiation by a Mother benre eightfold fruit Indeed to the enlightened Shftkta the whole uni verso is Stri or Shakti. "A ham strl" as the Advaitabhftva Upanishad says. A high worship therefore which can he offered ro the Mother to-day oonsista iu getting rid of abuses which liavo neither the authority of ancient SlifUtra, nor of modern social monce anil to honour, oherish, educate an«l advance Woman (Shakti). fUnyo deutfi atriyah prdndh. Gautaintya Tniitra soyo flarvana / nddhikdniah eha ndrUutm t/ogya cm dm ; that is, the Taut re ShAatre is for all oantes and for women : ami the Mah&nitv&^u says that the low Kaula who refuses to initiate a (JhaigjAl® or Yavana or a woman out of disrespect goes the downward path. No one is excluded from anything except on tlw grounds of n real and not artificial or imagined inoompctoncy. An American Orientalist, oritio, in speaking of "the worthleaintu of Ttotrio philranphy", said that it was "Rehgtoui feminism run mid," odding "What it all thin but the feminuation of orthodox VedAata l It. is u dootrino for aujfragttie Monista : the dogma unsupported by any evidence that the female principle antedate* and inekule* the male principle, and that this female principle is supreme Divinity." The “ worthlessness ’’ of the TAntrik philosophy is a personal opinion on which nothing need bo said, the more particularly that Orientalists who, with insufficient knowledge, have already committed themselves to this view are not likely to easily sbandou it The present, criticism, however, in disclosing the grouuds on which it is based, has shown tlwt they are without worth. Were it not for such ignorant- notions, it would be unnecessary to say that the ShAkta SAdbaka does not believe that there is a Woman SHAKTI AND SHAKTA Suffragette or otherwise, in the sky, surrounded by the members of some celestial feminist association who rules the male members of the universe. As the Y&mala says for the benefit of the 'ignorant " n etfam yo&it na cha jnmdn no •kando no jadah smilah". That is, Gcd is neither female, male, hermaphrodite or unconscious thing. Nor is his doctrine concerned with the theories of the American Professor Lester Ward and other* as to the alleged pre- eminence of the female prinoiplo. We are not horc dealing with quoetious . of science 01 sociology. It in a common fault of western criticism that it gives material interpreta- tion* of Indian .Scriptures and so misunderstands it. The Sh&kta doctrine is concerned with those Spiritual Principles which exist before, and are tire origin of, both men and women. Who tlior, in the appearance of the animal species, the female “antedates” the male in a question with which it. in not concerned. Nor doe* it *»y that the “female principle” is the supremo Divinity. Sbiya the “male" in oo-cqual with ShivA the female,” for both arc one and tho same. An Orientalist might have remembered that in the SAfUihya, Prakrit! is spoken of aa ” female ", ami Pumshu a« "male". And in VedAnta, MAyA and Devi are of tho feminine guuder. Sluvkti is not a nmlo nor a female "per- nou", nor a male nor a female “principle”, in the sense in which sociology, which is concerned with gross matter, uses those terms. Shakti is symbolically "female" because it in tho productive principle. Shivs, in so far as He represent** the Chit or oonBciounnoas iiepeot, is ootionlcea (Nishkriya), though tire two are inseparably associated even in creation. The Supreme is the attiibutelesi (Nirguna) Shiva, or tho neuter Brahman which is neither ''male" nor "female With euoh mistaken general views of the doctrine, it was not likely that its more subtle aspects by way of relation to SlmBkara’s M&yAvida, or the BAfikhya Danhaua should be appreciated. The doctrine of Shakti has no more to do with “Feminism 1 ’ than it hoe to do with “old ago pensions’ ’ 1 62 SHAKTJ AND SHAKTA or Any oilier wjoiological movement of the clay. This « a good instance of thos* apparently “smart” and cooksurc judgments whioh Orientalists and others pas on things Indian. The errors would lie lo» ridiculous if they were on occasions more modest a-f regard* their claims to know and understand. What is still more important, they would not probably in such case give unnecessary, ground for offence. The oharaotiriatiu (sutures of Sliaktn dharma arc thus its Mon'sm ; itn concept of the Motherhood of God ; its unseotaiian spirit and provision for BhQdras and women, to the latpei of whom it renders high honour, recognizing that thsy may be even Guru* ; and lastly it* SldhanA skilfully designed to realize it* teachings. As I have pointed out on many an occwdon this qnwt'on of Sidlmni it, of the highest, importance, and has been in recent times much overlooked. It i* that whioh more than anything els* give* value to the Aganm or Timtra Shhstra. Mere Wilt about religion is only an intellectual exercise. Of what nae are grand phrases about Atml on the lips of those who liato and injure oue another and null not help the jwor, Religion is kindness. Religion again is a praotical activity. Mind and body must bo trained. There is a spiritual os well as a mental and physical gymnastic. According to BhAkta doctrine each man aud woman Contains within him- self and herself a va*t. latent magazine of Power or Shalcti, a term which nom« from the root "Shak” to lie able, to liavc force to do, to aot. They are each Shakti and nothing but Shakti, for the Svarflpa of Shakti that is Shakti as it is in itself is Consciousness, and mind and hotly are Shakti. The problem then is how to raise and vivify Shakti. This is the work of SJdhaca in the Religion of Power. The Agama is a practical philosophy, and as the Bengali ffiend and collaborator of mine. Professor PramathanAtha MukhyopAdhyAya. whom 1 cite again, has well put it, what the intellectual world want* to-day in the sort of philosophy which not merely argue* but PXperitimUe. This is .Kriyl, The form which SHAKTI AND SHAKTA S&dhftnA lakes necessarily varies according to faith, tempera ment 8nd capueily. Thus, aruong*t Christiana, the C*itholic Church, like Hinduism, has a full and potent S&dhanft in its sacraments Sainnkhm, temple (Church) and private worship (Pujh, Uphaanfl) with L'pachftra "bell, light and incense" (GhantIL, Dips, Dhflpa), Images or Pratiroft (lienee it has been called idolatrous), devotional rites such us Novenas and the like, ( Vrat.it) the threefold "Angelus" at morn, noon and evening (SandhyA), roaary (.laps), the wearing of Kavarhan (Scapulara, Medals, Agnus Dei), pilgri- mage (TSrtha), fuating, abstinence and mortifioatiou (Tapaa), monastic renunciation (Sunnyfiaa), meditution (DhyAna), emling in tlxc union of mystical theology (SamAdhi) and so forth. There am other timaller details such for instance as ShAnti abhiihcka (Aspcrges) into which I need not enter here. I may, however, mention the Spiritual Director who occupies the place of the Hum i the worship (Hyperdulia) of the Virgin-Mother which made SvAmt Vivek/lnanda cull the Italian Catholic*, HhUrtaa ; and tbs uao of wino (Modyo) and broad (coneaponding to MudrA) in the Euohn list ot Communion Service. Whilst however tJio Mussed Virgin evoke* dovotiou i\s warm u that wliioh is hum paid to Devi, she in not Dovl for she is not God but a creature selected a« the vehicle of His incarnation (Avat&ra). In the Eucharist the broad and wine arc tho body and blood of Christ appearing under the form or "accidents" of those material substances ; so ulao T6r& in Dravomayl. Hint is, the "Saviour in liquid form". (MahAnirvflna Tr. xi. 106- 107.) In the Catholio Church (though the early practice was otherwise) the laity no longer take wine but bread only, the officiating priest consuming both. Whilst how- ever the outward forms in this case are similar, the inner meaning is different. Those Jiowever who contend that eating and drinking are inconsistent with the "dignity’’ of worship may bo reminded of Tertullian’s saying that Christ instituted His great, sacrament at a meal. These 164 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA notions arc those o i the dualist with all his distinotious. For the Advuitin every function and set may be made u Yajna. Agape or "I/ive Teaits, ’’ a kind of Chakra, were held in early times, and discontinued as orthodox practice, on uucount of abuses to which they led ; though they are said still to exist, in some of the smaller Christian sects of the day. There are other points of ritual which are peculiar to the Tantru 8h<Utra and of which there is no counterpart in the Catholic ritual such os NyAaa and Ynnlru. Mantra exists in the form of prayer and as formula) of consecration, but otherwise the subject is oonceivod pf differently here. There ate certain gestures (MudrA) mudo in the ritun!, as when oonsecratiug, blessing, and so forth, but they aru not so numerous or prominent at they are here. I may sonic day more fully develop theno interesting analogies, but what I have said is for tbs present sufficient to establish the numerous similarities wluch exist between the Catholic and Indian TAntrik ritual. Because of these facts the " reform- ed" Christian seels have charged the Catholic Church with "Paganism". It is in foot the inheritor of very undent practices but it not neoraeerily the worse for tliat The Hindu finds his HAdhmiA in tho Tantms of the Agama in forms which his race has evolved. In tho abstract there is no reason why his race should not modify these forms of S&dkunA or evolve new ones. But the point is tlrnt it must hair *onv. form of SMhatUt. Any system to lie fruitful must experiment to gain experience. It is because of its powerful sacranmnta and diooiplinen that in the Went tho Catholic Churn h lias survived to this day holding Arm upon its "Rock" umkl the dissolving sect*, born of what ia called the “ Reform 1 ’. It is likely to exist when these, an presently existing sects, will have disappeared. All thing* survive by virtue of the truth in them. The particular truth to which 1 here refer is that o faith cannot be maintained by mere hymn -singing and pious addresses. For tliia reason too Hinduism lias survived. SHAKTI AND SKAKTA This is not necesaary to say that either of these will, as presently existing lonus, continue until the end of lime. The so-called Reformed or Protestant sects, whether of West or East, are, when viewed m relation to tuna in general, the imperfect expression of u truth misunderstood and misupplied, namely that the higher man spiritually asoends the loo* dependent iR he on form. The mistake whioh such Sect* make m to look at the matter from one side only, and to suppose that all men arc alike in their requirement. The Agirnia is guilty of no such error. Itoflere form in all it* fullness and holiness to those below the slugu of Yoga, at whioh point man readies what the KulArnavu Tantm calls the Varna and As hr am a of Light (JyotirvarnAshriimt), and gradually releases liimscK from all form that he may uni to his self with tho Formless One. I do not know which moat to admin the colossal affirm a turn* of Indian dootrino, or fcha wondrous variety of tlis differing disciplines whioh it proscribes for thoir rouliaatkm iu fact. The Buddhists railed BrAlimoni.un BhCavratapurA- niandia, that is, a, sysumi believing in the efficacy of ritual note. And so it is, and so at length was Buddhism, when passing through MahJyimi it curled up with the full T&ntrik Btdluuill of the VajrayAna School. There are human tendencies whioh cannot be suppressed. Hinduism will, however, disappear, if and when SAdhanh (whatever be ile form) ceases ; for that, will be the day on which it. will no longer bo something real, but the uioio subjoct of pliiloao- phical aud historical talk. Apart from it« great doctrine of Sliakti, the main aigiiificuiice of the SliikU 1’autra Sh&atra lieu in this, that it affirms the principle of the necessuy o f S&dliaiM and claims to uflord a means available to all ol whatever caste and of either sex whereby tlie teachings of Ved&nta may be practically realized. But let. no one take any statement from any one, myself included, blindly, without examining and testing it. I an: only concerned to state the fact* oa 1 know them. It 166 SKAKTI AND SHAKTA ie man’s prorogate ve to think. The Sanskrit word for "uiau" tomes from the root man "to tliink”. Those who are Shlktw may be pleased at what I have -said about their faith. It must not, however, be supposed tliat a doctrine is neoewarily true simply because it is old. There are some hoary errors. As for science, its conclusions shift from year to year. Keoent discoveries liave so abated its pride that it liaa ooiuiderably reused to give itself those pont’fical airs wlrioli formerly annoyed some of us. Most will feel that if .they are to bow to any Blaster it should be to a spiritual ono. A few will think thut they can safely walk alone. Philosophy again is one of the noblest of life’s pursuits, but here too wo must exanr.no to see whether what is proposed for our aooeptanoe is well-founded. The maxim is current that there is nothing so absurd but that it has hcen held by some philosopher or another Wa must ouch ouemIvm judge aud choose, and if honeet, nono can blamo our Choice. We must put all to the teat. We may here recolloot the words of flhniti — "SArotoeyoA, Uanlatyah, Nididhy&sMw/a}i l ,, -' , \\*iw, reason and ponder ” ; for as Alanu says " Yutarken&nuMndhatU m dhannam tx xla, nefaroA” "lie who by discussion' investigates, ho knows Dkarni* and none other." Ultimately thoro is experience alone which in 8h&kta apeech is S&liam -‘‘She I am". Note to Chapter VI. I have referred to the Vaidik aud Agamic stcauda'in Indian Dharma. I wish to add some weighty remarks made by the well-known VedAntic Monthly the Frabuddha BhdrtUa (Mftyftvati, U. P., July 1914, 1910). They were elicited by the publication of Arthur Avalou’s "Principles of Tantra". After painting out that a vindication of the Tantrae rebounds directly to the benefit of Hinduism as a whole, for T&ntriknm in its real sense is nothing but the Vedic religion struggling with wonderful success to reassert itaelf amidst all those new problems of religious life and discipline which historical SHAKTI AND SHAKTA events and development* thrust upon it, and after referring to the Introduction to that work, the author of the review wrote aa follows : — "In tins new publication (Messrs. Luzac & Co., of London) the moat noteworthy feature of this new Intro- duction he lias written for the Tantratnttva is hia appreci- ative presentation ot the orthodox views about the antiquity and the importance of the Tan tins, and it is impossible to over-estimate the value of th : « presentation. For hitherto all theories about tlie origin and the im- portance of the Tan trM have boon more or lose prejudiced by u wrong bias against Tiutdkiaui which aonie of iU own later niniHtor developments were calculated to create. This bum has made almost even’ such theory read either like u condemnation 01 an apology. All investigation being thus disqualified, the true history of Tftntrikism has not yet been written ; and wo lir.d cultured people mostly inclined either to the view that TAntrikiam originally branobed off from t.lu< Buddhistic MahAy&na or Vajraylnu as a cult of somo cor- rupted and self -deluded monastics, or to the view that it was the inevitable dowry which some barbarous non-Aryan races brought along with them into the fold of Hinduism. Acoording to both tliess views, however, the form which this TAntrikism eitlior a Buddhistic development or u barbarous imputation has subsequently assumed in the literature of Hinduism, is its improved edition as issuing from the - crucibles of Vndic oi VodAntic transformation. But this theory of the curious co-mingling of tin* Vedns and VedAntu with Buddhistic corruption or with non-Aryan borlwrity is perfectly inadequate to expluin the all-pervad- ing influeooe which the Tsntras exert on our present-day religions life. Here it is not any hesitating compromise that we huvo'got before us to explain, but a bold organic synthesis, a legitimate restatement oi the Vedic culture for the solution oi new problem* and new difficulties whioh signalized the dawn of a now age. 168 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA In tracing the ovolution of Hinduism, modem historians take a blind leap from Vedic ritualism direct to Buddhism, as if to conclude that all those uewly formed oomm unities, with which India had been swarming all over since the clow of the fateful era of the Kurubhetra war and to which was denied the right of Vedic sacrifices, tlie monopoly of the higher threefold castes of pure orthodox descent, were going all the time without any religious ministrations. These Aryaniscd communities, we must, remember, were actually •Wimping the Vedio orthodoxy, which was already gradually dwindling down to n helpless minority in all its Mattered oontroe of influence, and was just awaiting the finul blow to be dealt by the rise of Buddhism. Thun the growth of these new communities and their occupation of the whole land constituted a mighty event that had been silently taking place in India on t ha outskirts of the daily shrinking ortho- doxy of Vedic ritualism, long before Buddhism appeared on the field, and this momentous event our modem historians foil to take due notice of either, it may be because, of a curious blindnsss of self -com plaiv-nry or he causa of the dstxle which the sudden triumph of Buddhism and the overwhelming mass of historical ovidonose left by it, create More their eyes. The traditional Kali Yuga dates from the rise of tlwae oomniunitioa and the Vedic religious culture of tfie preceding Yuga underwent® wonderful transformation along with a wonderful attempt it made to Arynnise these rising communities. History, as hitherto understood and read, speaks ol the Brahmins of the pre-Buddhistic age,— their growing alien- ation from the JnAna-kftnda or the Upaniehadic wisdom, their ini potency to save the orthodox Vedic communities from the encroachments of the non- Vedic hordes and races, tbeit ever-deepening religions formalism and softal exclusive- ness. But this history is silent on the marvellous fonts which the Upaniahadic sects of anchorites were silently performing on the outskirts of the strictly Vedic community SHAKTI AND SHAKTA with the object oi Aryaniaing the new India that was rising over tire ashes of the Kurukabetia conflagration. This now India was not strictly Vedio like the India of the bygone ages, for it could not claim the religious ministrations of the orthodox Vedio Brahmins and could not, therefore, perform Yajnas like tlie latter. The question, therefore, is as to how tliis new India became gradually Aryanimd, for Aryaniaation i* ess er rial ly a spiritual process, consisting in abnorhing new communities of men into the fold of the Vedio religion. The Vedio ritualism that prevailed in those dayB was power- less, we have seen, to do anything for these new communities springing up all over the country. Therefore, we are obliged to turn to t£« only other faotor in Vodic religion besides the Karnia-k&pdu for an explanation of those change- which the Voflic religion wrought in the rising community in order to Arynniae them. The Upuuinhada represent the Jnhna-kAoda of the Vedio religion and if we study all of them, wo And that. not. only the earlirat ritualism of Yajnas was philosophised upon the carlior Upanishods, but tho foundation for a. now, and no Ic.-t elaborate, ritualism wan fully laid in many of the later Upomsliads. For example, wo study in tlwe Upauishads how the philosophy of Paneha- uptaana (fivefold worship, oi*., tho worship of Shiva, Devi, Bun, Qanesh ami Vifhnu) was developed out ol tlic mystery of tho Pra&ava ("Om"). This philosophy cannot be dis- niissed aa a poat-Buddhiatic interpolation, awing that some features of the same philosophy can be clearly traced even in the Brahman «u the disoourso about the conception ol Shiva). Hero, therefore, in *101110 of the later Upanishads we fiud recorded the attempta ol the pre-BuddhisUo recluses of the forest to elaborate a post- Veilic ritualism out of the doctrine oi tho Prapava and the Vedic theory of Yogio practices. Here in these Upaniohada we find how the Blja-mantraa and tho Shatchakta of tho Tantnw were being originally develop- ed, for on the Pranava or Udgttlra had been founded a SHAKTI AND SHAKTA special learning and a school of philosophy from the very earliest age* and sonic ol the " spinal ” centres of Yogi*- meditation had been dwelt upon in the earliest Upanisliads and corresponding Bralunanas. The Upakarauas of T&ntrik worship, namely. such material adjunct* as grass, leaves, water and so on. were moat apparently adopted from Vedir worship along with their appropriate incantations. So even from tlio Brahmana* and the Upanishudii stands out in clear relief a aystam ol spiritual dinoipJiive, vvliioh we would unhesitatingly oliwvtdy m T&ntrik having at it* oore ihc Panoha-upAsunu and around it a lair round of rituals atuf rites consisting of Blja-nmutras and Vedic incantations, piopei meditative proteases and proper manipulation of saored adjuuota of worship atloptetl from tin- Vedic rites. This may 1* legavded M the earliest configuration which TUntrikism lm«l on the eve of those silent hut mighty social upheavals through which the Arvanisation of va*t, and innreiunng multitudes of now races proceeded in pre-Buddliis- tie India and which had their culmination in tho eventful centuries of the Buddhistic coup do yro ct. Now this pre -Buddhistic TAutiikisin, perhape, thou recognised os the Vedic Pnuclm-uptsHim, could not have contributed at all to the creation of a new India, luul it remained confined completely within the limits of lnomwtio Boots. But like Jainism, this I’ancha-uptaumi went forth nil over the country to bring ultra- Vedic communities under its spiritual ministrations. Even if we enquire carefully into tho social conditions obtaining in the strictly Vedic ages, we find that there was always an extended wing of the Aryanised society a lien* the purely Vedio Kanua-kapda could not lw promulgated, but whore tho moulding influence of Vedic ideals worked through the <lcvc!opmeut of suitable spiritual activities. It is alwnyo to the Jndua-k&vda auil the monastic votaries thereof, that the Vedic religion owed its wonderful expansiwneas and its progressive sell-adapta- bility, and every religious development within the Vedic SHAKTI AND SHAKTA fold, but outside, the ritualism of Homa sacrifices, is traoeaMe to the spiritual wisdom of the all-renouncing forest recluses- This ‘forest’ wisdom was. most forcibly brought into re- quisition when after the Kurukshetra a new age won dawning with the onrush and -upheaval of non-Aryan and semi- Aryan races ull over India - an echo of which may be found in that atory of the MahAbhArata where Arjuna fails to vbo hia O&ndiva to buy# his protogda from tho robbery of the non -Aryan hordes. Tlie greatest problem of the pre-Biuldluotio nges was J,he A ryani antion of the new Lidia that rose and a urged furiously from every aide against the fast-dwindling centres of tire old Vedio orthodoxy struggling hard, but in vain, by social enactment! to guard its perilous insulation. But for those roligiouj movement*, such as those of the BhAga- vatoi, ShflUtas, Saurvaa. Shaivas, GAnapatyas and Jainas. that tackled this problem of Aryanisatdon most sucomsfully, nil t.lint the Vedio orthodoxy atood for in tin real Honan would have gradually perished without trace. These move menu*, specially th*i five cults of Vedio worship, Look up many of the non Aryan races and cast their life in the mould of tho Vedio spiritual klual, minimizing in this way tho gulf tlu»t existed between thorn aud the Vodic orthodoxy and thereby rendering possible their gradual amalgamation. And where this task remained unfulfilled owing to the mould proving too narrow still to fit into tho sort of life which some non-Aryan rnoos or oommunitiea lived, there it re- mained for Buddhism to nolvo the problem of Arynniaation in due tune. But still wo must remember that, by the time Buddhism made its appearance, the pre-Buddhiatic phase of TAntrik worship had already established itself in India so widely uud »o firmly that instead of dislodging it by ita impetuous onset all the force of which, by the bye, was mainly spent on the tottering orthodoxy of Vedic ritualism Buddhism was itself swallowed up within three or four centuries by ita perhaps least suspected opponent of this SHAKTI AND SHAKTA Tlntrik woraliip and then wonderfully translonned and ejected on the arena as the Aiah&y&na. The publication of these two volumes is an event nl great interest and importance. The religious beliefs of the modern Hindis have lieen represented to English readers from various points' of view, but the peculiar mould into which they have been sought to lie east in comparatively modern oratories has not received adequate attention The exponent* ol the religion of modem Hindus toko cognisance more of the matter and source of their belief* than of the ahange of form they have lieen undergoing through tlie many oonturics. The volumes under review, as well an other publications brought out by Arthur Avalon, nerve to carry this important question of form to such a prominence as almost makes it obligatory lor every exhaustive exposition of Hindu doctrines in future to acknowledge and discriminate in them the formative influences of the Tft.nt.rik restatement. In the Tantmtattva, the presentation and vindication of tbs Hindu religious belief* and prtetions avowedly and closely follow tho methodology of tho Tan true, and tiro learned pundit haa fully nuoocodod in eeUblmhing the fact t luaL what lien behind time beliefs and practices in not mere prejudice or superstition but a system of profound philosophy based on the Vedas. Every student o! modem Hinduism should acquaint himself with this, namely, its immediate background of TAntrik philosophy and ritualism. The Hindu religious consciousness is like a mighty Ganges emerging from the Himalayas of Vedio wisdom, receiving tributaries and sending out brunch stream* at many point* in it* course. And though the nature of the current, its colour, velocity or lines may vary at different placeB, the Ganges is the »omo Ganges whether at Hardwar. Alloliabod or Calcutta. The attoam ia not only one but it has also its one main channel in spite of all the many tribu- taries and branches. And the whole of the stream is sacred, though different scot* may choose special point* and *73 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA confluences as of special sanctity to themselves, deriving inspiration thence for their special sectarian developments. Now, though the rise ol Tintrik philosophy and ritualism created in formor times now currents and backwater** along the stream of Hinduism, it was essentially an important occurrence in the main stream and channel ; ami instead of producing a pormanent bifurcation in that stream, it coal- oaced with it, colouring and renovating, more or leas, the whole tenour of the Hindu religious ix>n»cioumi<»B. A * a remit, we find Tftntrik thought and sentiment equally operative in the extreme metaphysical wing of Hinduism an well as in its lower motwr-of-laot phases. This autual permeation ol Hindu religion* consuiousneHu hv Tflntrik thought, and sentiment should receive the fullest recognition at. the hands of avery up-to-date exponent. His predecessor* of former generations might have to strengthen their advocacy of 'rflntrik ’doctrines by joining issue with the advocates of particular pliwos of Hindu rcli giou and philosophy. But the piescut epoch in the history of our religious coiuotomneM in pre-eminently an epoch of wonderful syuthetio mood of thought and sentiment, which is gradually pervading the Hindu religious consciousness ever since Brl KAmnkrinlina Parnmahamsn embodied in him- self its immediate possibilities, to find in the literature that in being so admirably proridsd for English reader* by Arthur Avalon an occasional tondcucy to use .TAntrik doet.rinrn u weapons for oombatiug certain phases of Hindu belief and practice. This tendency seems to betray quite n wroug standpoint in the study of the-Tantras, 'heir relation to other Scriptures and their real historirn! significance." 174 Chatter VII. IS SHAKTI FORCE I 'T'HERE »re tome penona who have thought, and still think, that Shakti means force’ and tluu the worship of SLalcti ifl the worship of force. Thus Keshuh Chuiuler Sen (AW Dispensation, p. 10*), wiote : Four centurwi ago the Shflktfts gov.- way iWtare the BhaktAs. Chaitanya's army pruved invincible, anil carried all Bengal captive. Kveu to-day his gospel of love ruliw ns a living force, though his followers have considerably de- clined both in faith and in morals. Just the reverse of this wo find in England and other European countries. There tin* Sbftktas arc driving the Bhaktiu out of the field. Took at. the Huxleys, the Tyndalls and the Spencer* of the day. What are thoy but SbAlctns, worshipper, of Bhakti or Foroc ? The only Deity thoy odoro, if thoy at all adore ono, in the I’riuus Koroo ol the uuivenw. To it they offer dry homage. Surely then the sclentiete and materialists of the day wo a Not of Shakti-worshippers, who or* chasing away the true Christian devotees who adore the Ood of Lore. Ala* I for European Vaifhnavw they are retreating before 1 the advanc- ing millions of Western Shftktaa. We ainoerely trust, how- ever. the discomfiture of devotion and Bhakti will be only for a time, and that a Ohaitnnya will yet urine in the West, crush ilia Shlktas, who only recognize Force as Deity ami are sunk in carnality and voluptnousneus, and lead nature* into the loving faith, spirituality, simplicity, and mptumus devotion of the Vaijhnava. Professor Mnnier Williams (" Hvidui*ni") also called it a doctrine of Furw. Recently the poet Rabindranath Tagore has given the authority of Ids greal name to this error {Modern Review. July. 1919). After pointing out that Egoism is the prioe *75 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA paid for the fact of oxistenoe and that the wlioie uni verse is tutwaUng in the desire that the'“I” should be, he soya that man has viewed this desire in two different waya, either as a whim of Creative Power, or a joyous Belt-expression of Creative Love. Ib the fact then of hi* being, lie aska, n loveahuentof Force or of I-ove ? Those who hold to the first view must also, he. thinks, recognize conflict a» inevitable and eternal. For according to them Peace and Love arc hut a precarious coat of armour within which the weak seek shelter, where** that which the timid anathematise as unrighteousness, that alone is tliu road to suooess. "The pride of proepority throws man's mind outwards and tho misery and insult of destitution draws man's hungering desires likuwise outwards. These two conditions alike leave man unashamed to place above all other gods, Shakti tho Deity of Power- the Cruel One, whose right bund wields the weapon of guile. In tl«' politics of Europe drunk with Power we sen the worship of Shakti." In the same way the poot says that in the days of their political disruption, the cowed and down-trodden Indian pcoplo through the mouth* of their poets sang the praises of I he same Shnhti. "The Cliandi of Kavikanffkan and of the AimadAmangola, the Ballad of .M&nasBt, the (Jodocos of Snakes, what are they but Fainnn of the triumph of Evil 1 The burden of their song in tho defeat of Shiva the good at the hands of the cruel deceitful criminal Shakti." "Tho male Deity who was in possession wan fairly harmless. But all of a sudden a feminine Doity turns up and demands to I* worrhippod in his stead. That is to say that she insisted nn thrusting herself where she had no right. Under what title l Force I By what method i Any that would serve. ” Tho Deity of Pence and Renunciation did not survive. Thus lie adds that, in Europe the modem Cult of Shakti says that the palo amnmic Jesus will not do. But with high pomp and activity Europe celebrates her Shakti worship. IS SHAKTI FORCE? "lastly the Indians of to-day have set to the wot? hip of Europe's Divinity. Iu the name of religion some are saying Unit it is cowardly to be afraid of wroug-doiug. Botli those who have attained worldly nucceaa, and those who have failed to attain it are singing the same tune. Both fret at righteousness as an obstacle which both would overcome by physical force.” I am not concerned here with any popular errors that there may be. After all, whan we deal with a ShAstrik term it is to the ShAatra itself '.hat we mutt look for its moaning. Shakti cornea from the root Shale “to bo ablo," "to do”. It indicate* both activity and capacity therefor. Tho world, m world, in activity. But when wu haTo said that, we have already indicated that it in erroneous to confine the meaning of the term Shakti to any special form of activity. On the contrary Shakti means’ both power in general and every particular form of power. Mind is a I’ower: so is Matter: Mind is constantly functioning in tlie form of VriUi. Reasoning, Will and Feeling (BliAva) such as love, aversion, awl so forth am all aepeots of Mind- power in its general sense. Foroe is power translated to tho iu atonal piano, and is thmtore only one and the grossest aspect of Shakti or power. But all these special powers arc limited fohne of the great, creative Power which in the Mother (AmbikA) of the Universe. Worship of Sliakti is not worship of thcac limited forma, bu,t of the Divine will, knowledge and action, the cause of thcec effects. That MnkAaliakti is perfect consciousness (Chidrflpinl) and Bliw (Anandanmy!) which, produces from Itself the contracted conscioiwopss experiencing both pleasure and pam. This production ia not at all a ‘‘whim”. It is the nature (SvubliAva) of tho ultimate. Bliwi is Love (Niralith'iynprrmti/yadalmm dtion/Mttxmi). The production of tho Universe is according to the ShAkta an act of love, illustrated by the so-cmll«l erotic imagery of the Sh&stra. The Self loves itself whether before, or in, creation. The thrill nf hunum love which continues the *77 ia T SHAKTI AND SHAKTA life of humanity is an infiniteaini&Uy amall fragment and faint reflection ol the creative act in which Shiva and Shakti join to produce the Bindu which iBthe seed of tiie Univeme. I quite agree that the worship of mere Force in Aaurik and except in a transient sense futile. Force, however, may be moralized by the good purpose which it nerves. The antithesis in not rightly between Might and Right but be- tween Might in tire servioe of Right and Might in tho norvioo of Wrong. To worship force merely in to worship matter. Ho howovor who worships the Mother in Her Material forma (Sthdlurupa| will know that She hoa othora, and will worship Her in all auoh forma. He will also know that She ia beyond all limited forms an that whioh given being to them all. We may then say that Force w a gross form of Shakti, but Shakir is much more than that "here” (Iha), and the infinite Power of OonsoiounneHH “there” (Arautra). Thin laet, tho Shakti of worahip, is called by the ShAetra tho Pdnift- hambh&vn or tho experience "All I am”. 178 Chapthr VTII. CHINAOHARA. (Vashwhtha and Buddba.) IT has been the subject of debate whether the T&ntrik 1 Panchatattva ritual with wine and so forth is a pro- duot of Buddhism, and whetlier it, in opposed to Vaidika Dhanna. Some have suppos'd that these rites originally came from yellow Asia, penetrated into India where they received ite impron, and again umdo their way to the north to encounter earlier original forma. J hove elsewhere put forward some facta which suggest that, these rite* may be a continuance, though in another form, of ancient .Vaidik usage in which Soma, Mout, Kish and PurodAsha formed a part. Though there arc tome AlaiUuma ritca in the Vodaa it it possible that, the Bengal BhAktu ritual in thin respect has it* origin in OhinAchAra. Possibly the whole ritual cornea tlwiefrom. I Uve spoken of Bengal because we should distinguish it from other forms of ShAkta worship. Tho matter in 10 obscure at present that any doiiuito affirm- ation aa to historical origins lacks justification. Most important however in the alleged Buddhist, conueutiou is the story of Vashistha to lw found in the Tantraa. He is said to havo gone to MahAohlnu (Tibet), which, according to popular belief, w half way to heaven. Mahftdeva is satd to bo risible at the bottom of the Uanaaarove 1-ake near K^ailAsa. Some of the Text* bearing on it liave been collected in the Appendix to the edition of the TarA Tantra which hut been published by tlie Vareudra. AnusandhAiia Satniti. The T&rA Tantra opens (I. 2) with the following question of Devi TArA or MahAnfla-Samsvati : " Thou didst speak of the two Kula-hliaixavas, Buddha anil Vashishtha. Toll me by what Mantra they became Siddha." The same Tantra (IV. LO) defines a Bhairava as follows : “He who purifies these *79 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA five (i.e., Pnnchatattva) and after offering the same (to the Dnvitfi) partake# thereof is a Bhairava.” Buddha then is said to he a Kula-bhaimva. It is to be noted that Buddhist Tlntnks who practise this ritual are accounted Kaulaa. Shiva replied, "He Janflidana (Vishnu) is the excellent Deva in the form of Buddha (Buddharfipl).” It is said in the Saumyftclillra Tantra that T&ri and K&likft, in their different forms, as also MiU.au gf, Bhairavi, OlihinnsmastA, and Dhftmftvati belong to the northern imn&ya. The sixth Chapter of the Sammohana Tantra mentions a number of Scriptures of the Bauddha dans, together with othera of the ShAkta, Sliaiva, Vaifhnava, Saura and Gftnapatya classes. Vashishthft is spoken of in the XVII Chapter of the Rudrayhmala and the 1st Patala of the Brahmuyitmala. The following » the ocooiint in the formor I’hntrik Scripture Voahishta, the self-oontrollod, the son of BrahmIV, practised for agon eovorc uunteritioe in a lonely spot. For six thousand years he did 8/kllwu4, but still the Daughter of the Mountains did not appear to him. Becoming angry he went to his father and told him his m.ethod of practice. He then said, "Give me another Mantra Oh Lord since this V lily a (Mantra) dowt not grant me Siddhi (success) other- wise in your presence 1 shall utter a terrible mu»e." Dissuading him BrahniA said. “Oh son, who art learned in the Yoga path; do not do so. Do thou worship Her again with wholehearted feeling, when She will appear and grant you boons. She ia the Supremo Shakti. She uaven from all dangers. She is lustrous like ten million suns. She is dark blue (Nllft). She .8 cool like ten million moons. She is like ten million lightning-flasliea. She ia the upouae of KAla (Kftlak&minf). She is the beginning of all. In Her there is neither Dharma nor Adliarma. She is in the form of all. She is attached to pure CkindcJidra (ShudclhachinfL- ohhraratA). She is the initiator (Pravaittikfil of Shakti- 180 chInAchAra chakra. Her greatness is infinitely boundless. She helps in the crosoiag of the ocean of the SaiQs&ia. She is Buddk- eahvari (possibly Buddhlshvarl, Lord of Buddhi). She is Buddhi ..(intelligence) itself (Budrlhiruph). She is in the form of the Alharva branch of the Vedas (Atharvavedashi- khinl). Numerous Sli&auio references connect the Tautra Shftstra with the Atharvaveda. (See in this connection n»y citation from Shaktiaangama Tautra in "Principles of Tentra”,) She protect* the being* of the workla. Her action ia spread throughout the moving aud motionlcan. Worahip Her, iny son. Be of good ohcor. Why so eager to curse ? Thou art the jewel of kindness. Ob son, worship Her constantly with thy mind (Chotas). Being entirely engrossed in Her, thou of a surety shalt gain sight of Her." Having heard those won In ni ins Guru and having bowed to him again and again the pure one (Vashishtha), versed in the meaning of Veddnta, betook himself to tho shore of the oceau. For full a thousand ye*rs he did Jape of Her Mantra. Still be received no message (Adosha). Thereupon the Muni Vashishtha grew angry, and being perturbed of mind prepared to oumo the Mahlvidyi (Devi). Having sipped water (Aohamaua) ho uttered n great and terrible curse. Thereupon Kuleshvarl (Lady of the Kuulas) Mah&vidyft appeared before the Muni. She who. dispels the fear of the Yogim said, "How now Vipra (Are Vipra), why liave you terribly cursed with- out cause ? Thou dost not understand My Kuldgama nor knowest how to worship. How by mere Yoga practice can either n\an or Deva got sight of My Lotus-Feet. My worship (Dhyina) is without austerity ami /tain. To him who desire* My Kulftganm, who is Siddha in My Mantra, and known My pure Vcddchdra, My Sddhanft is pure (Punyn) and beyond even the Vedas (VedhnamapyogochaTft). [This does not mcau unknown to the Vedas or opposed to them but something whioh surpasses the Vaidife ritual of the Pashu. This is made plam by tin- following injunction to follow the SHAKTI AND SHAKTA Anharviwiwla.] Go to Mahdchim (Tibet) and the country oj the B'tuddhas and always follow the Atharvawda ( Bauddha deriie’tharvavedc MahdcJiine sudd braja). ] laving gone there and aeen My Lotus-Feet which are MahAbhAva (the gieal blissful feeling which in Her true nature She in) thou shalt, Oh Malxarnhi, become versed in My Kula and a great Siddha." Having so said, She became formless and disappeared in the other and then passed through the ethereal region. The great Rishi having heard this frorfi the MahAvidyft ftaraavatf u»nt to the land of Chinn whero Buddha is eitabliih- ed (Buddhapratiahthit*). Having repeatedly bowed to the ground, Vuahi»htha said, "Protect me, Oh MahAdova who art the Imperishable One in the form of Buddlui (Buddha- rfljw), I am the very htuulilo VashiBbths, the son of BrahmA. My mind is ever perturbed. I have come hero (China) for the SAdhanlt of the Muhudovt I know not the path leading to Siddhi. Thou knowext the path of the I>evaB. Seeing however thy way of life (Achhm) double assail my mind (RAaf/dnt son/* me hridi : became ho saw the (to him) MXtmoYriinary ritual with wine and woman). Destroy thorn and my wiokod mind which inclines to Vnidilc ritual (Veda gftmint; that i», tlie ordinary Paahu ritual) Oh' Isjrd in Thy abode there ore ever riles tohirh art outside Vnta (Veda- vahishkritu : that is, the Vaidik ritual and whatie consistent with Veda oh Vashwhtha then supposed). How is it that wine, meat, womah (Anganl) arc drunk, ent-.-n anti enjoyed by naked (DigamUia) Biddhas who arc high (Vara), and awe-inspiring (RaktopAnodyata). They drink constantly and enjoy (or make enjoy) beautiful women (Muhurmuhak prapivanti ramoyaMi miAngan&m). With red oyes thoy are ever exhilarated and replete with flesh and wine ( Sadd mSnysdsavaih pdrrAh). They arc powerful to favour and punish. They are beyoml the Vvlas (VedunyugocharAh). They enjoy wine and women (Haclyastrlsevanc rat&h)" (Vashishtha merely saw the ritual surface). chInAchAra Thus a polo; tbo gloat Yogt having boob fclio rites which ore ouisuk the Veda (Ycda-vahiaiiknla. v. ante). Then bowing low with folded hands he humbly said, "Hvw can irxlvuUioM such as these be purifying to the mind f Him, can there be Siddhi without VavUk rites f” Manoh-pravrittireUshu kaiham bhamti paconi Kathang tid jiyale siddkir veda kdtyjany oind prahho. Buddha said, "Oh Vashishtha, listen the while I apeak to thee of the excellent Kula path, by the mere knowing of whioh one becomes in a short time like ltudra Himself. I apeak to thoo in brief of the Agama which is the essence of all and which loads to Kuloaiddhi. First of all, the Vita (hero) should be pure (Shuchi. Buddlia hero states the condi- tions under which only tbo rites are permissible). Ifis mind should bo penetrated with discrimination (Viveka) and freed of all PnhubhAva (state of an uninitiato Pasha or animal man). Lot him avoid the company of tho Pashu and remain alone in a lonely place, free front but, anger and other passions. lie should constantly devote himself to Yogs practice. He should be firm in his rosolvo to learn Yogs ; hs should ever tread the Yoga path and fully biota the meaning of the Veda (Vsdirthanipune mahAii). In this way the pious one (DharmAtma) of good ooaduot and large- ness of hoart (AudArya) should, by gradual degroos, restrain Ins breath, and through the path of breathing compass the destruction of mind, following this pructioo the #clf- oontroLcd (Vnshl) becomes Yogi. In slow degrees of practice the body firstly sweats. This is the lowest stage (Ad hams). The next is middling (Madliynmu). Here there is trembling (Kampa). In the third or higheet. (Para) stage one is able to levitate (Bhfimity&ga). By the attainment of Siddhi in PrAnAyAnm one becomes a master in Yoga. Having become a Yogi by praotice of Kumbhaks (restraint, of breath) ho should be Maun! (given over to silence) and full of intent devotion (EkAnto-bhakti) to 8k; va, Krkhna and Braluui. SHAKTI AND SHAKTA The pure one should realize by mind, action, and speech that Brahmi, Vishnu and Shiva are restless like, 'he moving air ( V ftyo vlgatichanchulali. Quaere, Perhaps the tmnsiwit nature ol these Devat&u, as compared with the supreme Shakti, is indicated.) The man of steady mind should fix it on Shakti, who is consciousness (ChidrflpA). Thereafter the Mantrin should practise Mah&vtrabhflva (the feeling of the great hero) and follow the Kula path, the Shaktj-olmkm, the Vuwhnava Sattvu-chakra and Navuvigralm and Hltould worehip ICulakAtyflyant, tho excellent one, the Pratyaksha PcvfttA (that is, tho Deity who respond# to prayer) who grant* prosperity and dootroy# ull evil. She is consciousness (Cliidiupft), Hlie is the ubode of knowledge (JuAjim) and is ConsciousneM and Bliss, lustrous *a ten million lightnings, of Whom all Tuttvas are the embodiment, who ia Itaudil with eighteen arms, fond of wine and mountains of flesh (the text is Sh i»&mAnq*<kJia lupr i&dm, but die first word should bo Surd). Man should do Jnpn of the Mnntm, taking refuge with Her, and following the Kula path. Who in th.* three worlds knows a path higher than tliia ? By tho gmoo gained therein, the great BrahrnA Himrolf booamo tlio Creator, and Vi?hnu, whoso subetanoe is Sattva-gupa, the object of adoration of all, highly deserving of womhip, the great, and Lord of Yajurveda, became able to protect. By it Haro the fiord ol Virus, the wrathful one, lK>rtl of wrath and of mighty power, became the Destroyer ol all. By the grace of VSrabhllva the Dikpftlas (Protectors of the quarters) became like unto Kudra. By a month’s practice power to attract (Sknrahunasiddhi) is attained.. In two month" one hecotnrs the lord of Speech, fn four months one becomes like uuto the Dikp&laa. in five months ono becomes thn five arrows (probably mooters the five TanmAtrns), and in six month# lie becomes Rudra Himself. The fruitof this method (Achftra) is beyond all otheis. This is KaulamArga. There is nothing which surpluses it. If there be Shakti, the Vipra becomes a complete Yogi by six months' practice. Without chinAchara Shakti evcu Shiva uin do nought. What then shall we soy of men of small intelligence. ” Having said this, He whose fonn is Buddha (Buddha- rup!) made hint practise SAdhanA. Ho said, ’‘Oh Vipra, do thou nerve JIah&ahakti. Do thou practise Sodhuua with wine (MadvatUldhanh) and thus slialt thou get sight of the Lotus-Feet of the MahAvidya.” Vashislitha having heard these words of the Guru and meditating on Devi Saras vatt went to the Kulamnndspa to practise the wine ritual (MadirA* aAdhauA) and having repeatedly done SAdhanA with wine, meat, fish, parched grain and Shakti he became a complete Yogi (Pdrnayogl). A similar account is given iu the Brabmay&tnahi. There are some variants however. Thus while in the Rudiayhmala, Vuhistha U said to have resorted to the allow of the ocean, in the BrohniayAmnla ho goes to KftmA- khyA, the great TAotrik Pltha and shrino of the Devi. (The prevalence of Her worship amongst the Mongolian Assamese is noteworthy.) It may be hero added that this Yimala etalcn dint, except at time of worship, wine should not be taken not should the Shakti be unclothed. By violation of these pro visions life, it says, is shortened, aud man goes to Hell. According to the account ot the Brahmny&mulu, Vashishtha complaining of his ill-suoce&s was told to go to the Blue Mountains (NMohala) and Worship Parameshvarf near KAmAkhyA (Kamrup in Assam). He was told that Vishnu in tho form of Buddha (Buddhnrfljd) alone knew this worship according to ChlnAehAro. Dovt said, "without ChinAcli&ra you cannot ploaae Me. Go to Vfehnu who in L'dbodliatQpl (illumined) and worship Me according Ui t,bu AcliAra taught by Him.” Vashishtha then went to Vishnu in the country MaliAehlna, which is by the aide of the Hima- laya (HimavatpArahve), a country inhabited l»y great SAdhakas aud thousand* ol lieautiful and youtlifu! vvomeu whose he aits were gladdened with wine, and whoee minds '85 SHAKT1 AND SHAKTA were blissful with enjoyment (Vil&sa). They were adorned with clothes which inspired love (Slmng&ravesha) and the movement of their hips made tinkle their girdles of little beUfl. Free of both foar and prudish shame they enchanted the world. They surround Iahvara and are devoted to tho worship of Devi Vashiahtha wondered greatly when he saw Him in tlu> form of Buddha (Buddharfipi) with eye*, drooping from wine. "What” he said, " is Vighnu doing in His Buddha form ? This way (Achdra) is opposed to Veda (VcdavUdaviniddha). I do not approve of it (Ammmato mania)," Whilst so thinking, he heard a voice ooming from tho other saying, "Oh thou who art devoted to good acts, think not like this. This Achhra is of excellent result in the SAdhanft of TArinl. She is not pleased with anything which is the oontrary of this. If thou dost wish to gain Her grace speedily, then worship Her according to ChfnftcMra." Hearing this voice, Vashishtha’s hairs stood on end and he foil to the ground. Being filled with exceeding joy ho prayed to Vishnu in the form of Buddha (Buddhurflpo). Buddlia, who had taken wine, neeiug him was greatly pleased and said, "Why have you ooine here 1” Vushishtha bowing to Buddha told him of his worship of Tftrinl. Budd ha who is Hari and full of knowledge (Tattvajnftna) spoke to him of tho five MaMrtu (M : that is, the fire commencing with tho latter M or Madya, or wine and so forth) which are in OMmAeh&m (Majndnam ChinachArdtlikdramm ) saying that this should sot he disclosed (a common injunction as regards this ritual and renders it from the opponents ' stand- point suspect). "By practising it tliou shalt uot again sink into the ooean of being. It is full of knowledge of the Essence . (Tattvajnftna) and gives immediate liberation (Mukti).” He then goes on to explain « principal feature of thia oult, namely, its freedom from the ritual rules of the ordinary worship above which the Sftdhaka lias risen. It is mental worship. In it lathing, purification. Japa. and ceremonial worship is by the mind only. (No outward note 186 CHINACHARA ore necessary ; the bathing and so forth i a in the mind and not in actual water, an is the case in lower and less advanced worship.) There are no rules as to auspicious and inauspici- ous times, or as to what should be done by-day and by night. Nothing is pure or impure (there is no ritual defeot of im- purity) nor prohibition against the taking of food. Dev! should be worshipped even though the worshipper has had his ford, and even though the plane he unclean. Woman who is Her image should' be -worshipped (PQjunam airiyah) und never should any injury bo done to her {StrUvcsho now* kaiiavyah). Are we here dealing with an incident in wluoh ShAkya- rnuni or some other Buddha of Buddhism was concerned ( According to Hindu belief the R&mAyana was composed in the Tret* age, and Vashishfcha was the* family priest of Duhamthaand KAma(&likanduVn. 4 . 6 , VI II. 8, Ayodhyi- kanda V. 1). The MahAbhArata was composed in Dvftpara. Krishna appeared in the Snndhyft tatween this and the Kaliyuga Both Kimikshrtm ami Buddha were in the Kali ago. According to this chronology, Vuehishtlm who was the Guru of Dosharntha was earlier than Sh&kyomuni. There were, however, Buddhas before the latter. The text does not mention 8hftkyamuni or Gautama Buddhu. Ao- cording to Hnridhistio tradition there were mony other Buddhas before him sunh as 'Dlpankara “The Lumiuous One", Kmkuehhanda and others, the term Buddha being a term applicable to the enlightened, whoever he be. It will no doubt be said by the Western Orientalist that both these YAnuda* were composed after the time of ShAkyamuni. But if this be so, tlieir author or authors, as Hindus, would be owarc that according to Hindu Chronology Vashishtha antedated ShAkyamuni. Apart from the fact of there being other Buddhas, according to Hiuduism "types” as distin- guished from “forms” of various things, ideas, and faiths, are persistent, though the forms are variable, just as is the oase with the Platonic Ideas or eternal arohitypes. In this 187 SH/\KTJ AND SHAKTA acnsc neither Veda, TantnaahAatra nor Buddhism had an absolute beginning at any time. As types ol ideas or faiths they are beginningless (AnAdi), though the forms may have varied from age to age, and though perhaps some of the types may have lieen latent in some of the ages, if tho Vedas are Anftdi so are the Tantra-shiatras. To the Yogic vision of lhe Bis hi which makes latent things patent, variable forms show their hidden type*. Nothing is therefore abso- lutely new. A liishi in the TretA Yuga will know that which will apparently begin in Kali or Dvftpare but which in ulroody really latent in his owu age. Vishnu uppeara to his vision an tho einbodimout of that aln-ndy latent, but subsequently patent, cult, Moreover in a given age, what is lutout in a particular land (say Aryftvarta) may lx» patent in another (say Mah&uhtna). In this way, acconiing to tho Hindu Shftatro, there in an essential conservation of types subject to tho conditions of time, plooe, and person (I)oshnkAlapfttra). Moreover, aocordiug to these ShlUtras, the creative power is a reproducing principle Thi* means that the workl- proewts is oyolio according to a periodic law. Tho proocas in oao Ivalpa is substantially repeated in another and Vasliishtlm, Buddha, and the rest opponred not only iu the present but in previous grand ovoid or Kslpas. Just as tliere is no absolute first beginning of the Universe, so no- thing under the sun is absolutely new. Voshishtha, therefore, might have romembored past Buddlus, a* he might have foreseen those to oouie. In Yogic vision both the past nnd tho future enn project their shadows into the present. Kvery Purftga and 8am hit A illustrates these principles of Yogin intuition backwards and forwards. To the mind of Is h van* both past and future are known. And ro it is to suoh who, in the necessary degree, partake of the qualities of the Lord's mind. The date upou which a particular Shftatrn is compiled is, from this viowjwint, unimportant. Even a modern Hh Astra may deal with ancient, matter. Jn dealing with apparent anachronisms in Hindu Skfistra, it is necessary to chInAchAra bear in mind these principles. Thin of coiirw is not the view of " Oriental scholars" or of Indians whom they have stampeded into regarding the beliefs of their country absurd. It is however die orthodox view. And as an Indian friend of mine to whose views I have referred has said, “What the Psychic research society of the West is conced- ing to good ‘mediums’ and ’subjects’ cannot be withheld from our ancient supermen— the Rishia." The peculiar features to bo noted of tliis story are these, Vaahiahtha must have, known what the Vedas and Vaidik rites were, as ordinarily understood. He is described as Veddntavit. Vet 1m was surprised on seeing ChluAohllm rites and disapproved of them. Ho speaks of it ns ’’outaide Veda " (Vedavahishkrita) and even opposed Co it (VodavlUla- viruddha). On the other hand the cunneotion with Voda is shown, in that the Devi who promulgates tliis Auhfkra is connected with the Atharvaveda, and directs Vuahishtlui always to follow that Veda, and speaks of the Aehlra not as boing oppo&od to, but as something so high ah to bo beyond, the ordinary Vaidik ritual (VedlnAmepyngpoharoh). He w to be fully learned in the import of Veda (YtdArfcha- nipuno). It was by the grace of the doctrine and practice of OhtnltchAra that Vishnu became the Lord of Yajurvada. Thu moaning thoreforo nppaars to be, that the doctrine und praotioe lie implioit in t.lio Vedas, but go beyond what is ordinarily taught. Vishnu Ulcrcforo Bays that it is not to lie disclosed. What meaning again arc \ve to attach to the word VijhnubudfllitrQpa. Buddha means "enlightened" but here a particular Buddha seems indicated, though Vishnu is also spoken of as UdhodharflpT und the Dev! as Buddhcsh- vail The T&rft Tontxu calls him a Kulablmimva. As ia well known, Buddha was an incarnation of Vishnu. Vashiab- tba is told to go to Mah&chfna by the Himaluyii und the country of the Bauddhaa (Bauddhadesbe). The Bauddluw who follow the Fancliatattvu riturtl are at conn ted K aulas. It is a noteworthy fact that the flower of the Dev! is Jabi, SHAKTI AND SHAKTA the scarlet hibiscus dr China rose. As the last name uiay indicate it is perhaps not indigenous to India but -to China whenoe it may have been imported possibly through Nepal. This legend, incorporated us it iB in the Sh&stra itself, seems to me* of primary importance in determining the historical origin of the Panchatattva ritual. igo Chapter IX. THE TANTRA 8HA8TRAS IN CHINA. A DOPTING for the purpose of this essay, and without discuiuion as to their accuracy, the general views of Orientalists on chronology and the development of the Buddhistic schools, the history of the Buddhistic Tantra in shortly as follows. The Mahhyfinn (whioh commenced no one known exactly when) was represented in the find, ami seco n d centuries by the gTeat names of Aahvaghoaha and NAgArjuna. Ita groat scripture is tho PrajaApAmmitA. Its dominance under the protcotion of Ennishka marks tho first stops towards metaphysical, eheistic, and ritualistic religion, a recurring tendency amon^i men to which I lisve previously referred. In the second lislf of the first century A.D., Buddhism, apparently in its MuliAyAus form, spread to China, and thuuoo to Corea, then to Japan in the sixth century A.D. and to Tibet in the seventh. Some time between tho 4th and 3th centuries A.D. Asangu, a Buddhist monk of GAndhAru, * said to have promulgated the Buddhist YngAchAra whioh, as its name imports, wait an adaptation of tho Indian PaUnjali’a Yoga Dandutna. Dr. Waddell says that "this Yoga parasite (most European* dislike what, they understand of Yoga) containing within itself tbo genus of TAutrisni" boou developed "monster out-growths” which “cankered” "tho little life of purely Buddhistic stock” in the MahftyAna, which is itself characterized as merely "sophistic nihilism”. Whatever that may mean, it certainly hue the air of reducing the Muh&y&na to nothingness. Wo are then told that at. tho end of the sixth century "T&ntrisra or Sivaio mysticism (a vague word) with its worship of female energies (Shakti) and Flendessra began to tinge both Hinduism and Buddhism, the latter of which "became still more debased with silly SHAKTI AND SHAKTA oontcmptiblo mummery of unmeaning jargon, gibberish, charmed sentences (DhAmnt) and ma'gio circled (Muodald)" in tJit? form of (.he “Vehicle" called Mantriiyanu alleged to liave been founded by Nflgftrjuim who received it from the Dhyflni Buddhii Vairoehana througli the Bodlmattva Vajra- satwantthe "Iron tower" in Southern India. Continuing he says “that on the evolution in the tenth century of the demoniacal Buddha* of the K&laehakru fsy3teni) the Mantra- yAna developed into the Vajroy&na “the moat, depraved form of Budd hint doctrine" wherein the “Devotee" endea- vour? with the aid of the “ Demoniacal Buddha*" and of “ FiendaMOa" (l)Akinl) “to obtain vacioue Siddhia". Tho missionary author the Rovd. Graliau. Sandberg, who is no little favourable to Buddhism tliat. ho can discover (p. 200) in it "no uchume of metaphysial or morality which can be dignified with tho titlo of an ethical system, " when however b peaking of Uub “most depraved form" in a short Chapter on the Tantras and TAntrik rites ("Tibet and the Tibetans", 918) a*yn that this new vehicle (Ngag-kyi Thegps) did not profe/m to supersede the time-honourod Vttjrnynnn (Dorjo- Thogpa) but it eloimed “by ito expanded mythological scheme and ite fascinating and oven sublime mystic oonnep- tiioua to crystallize the old TAnlrik methods into a regular Bciencd as complicavd as it was resourceful." Wo are all naturally pleased at finding reseni blames in other doctrines to teachings of our own, and ao the reverend author, after pointing out that a leading foaUuc of the Kftluohnkra (Dus- Kyi-khnrlo) was the evolution of the idea of a Supreme Persons! Being, says that “many fine and disUnotcvoly thoistic chamctoristieg of the Deity, His disposition, purity, fnthedincBS, benevolence and ieolatcd power are set out in the KAlachokra treatises." But lie is, as we might expeeb, of tho opinion that this was only an effort towards the real thing, probably -influenced by the fact of Christian and Mahomedan teaching. We commonly find tliat a Semitic source is alleged lor what cannot be denied to be good in «92 THE TANTRA SHASTRAS IN CHINA Hinduism, or its child Buddhism. One wonders however how the " demoniacal Buddhas” and " FiendeBses ” work themselves into this be-praised effort to teach Christian ideas. At the risk of straying from my subject, I may paint out that in Buddhism the Devat&s are given both peaceful (Zhi) and wrathful (Khro) aspects. The latter denotes the terrible (what in India is called Bhnirava) aspeota of the Divinity, but does not change Him or Her into a Demon, at least in Buddhiat or Indian belief. Even to the Christian, God has both a torn bio and benign aspect. It is true that ■omc of Umj representations ol the former aspect in Northern Buddhism are, to meat Westerns, demoniac in form, but that is the way the Tibetan mind works in endeavouring 10 picture the matter fot itaelt. as the Hindus da with their Devis Kill, ChhinnnmastA and Chandl. Anothor mid artistically conceived idea of Bhsirava is pictured in n beautiful Indian Kangm painting in my possession in which n smouldering restrained wrath, as it were a lowering dark storm-cloud, envelops the otherwise restrainod faoe and icimobilo pcoturo of tho DovatA. As regards the esoteric worehip ol DAkinti I have said a word in tho Foreword to tho oovculh volume of my "TAntrik Texts Without having recourse to abuse, wu can better state the general conclusion by saying that the TAntrik cult introduced a thoiflticol form of organised worship with piayers, litauies, hymns, music, flowerx, inixawe, recitation of Mantra (Jap), Kavachas or protectors in the form of Dh&ranls, offcnngB, help of the dead : in short, with all practical aidB to religion for the individual together with a rich and pompous public ritual for tbc whole body of the faithful. For the following facts, so far iw China is concerned, I am indebted in the main to the learned work of the Jesuit Father L. Wiegcr "His Loire des Croyances religicuscs et des opinions philosophiques en Chine ” (Paris Challume! 1917). The author cited states that Indian TAntrism “the school of efficacious formula’’ devebpd in China in the seventh SHAKTI AND SHAKTA and cightli centuries cf our ora, as a Chinese adaptation of the old Theistic Yoga of Pa:«mjali (Becoml century B.C.) recast by Sauanta Bhadra, "and fixed in polytheistic (?) form" by Asamgha (circ. 400 A.D. or as others say COO A.D.). A treatise of the latter translated into Chinese in 047 A.D. had but little success. But in 710 the Indian Shubhakara oame to the Chinese Court, gained the support of the celebrated Tchang-soei, known under his monastic name I-hing to whom he taught Indian doctrine, the latter in return giving aid by way of translations. Shubhakara, in the Tdntrik way, thought that tho Buddhist Monk* in China were losing their time in mere philosophising since (1 cite tlia author mentioned) the Chinese people were not capable of abstract speculations. Probably Shubhakara, like all of his kind, was a practical man, who recognized, os men of sense must do, tliat in view of Uw present character of human nature, religion must bs organized and brought to the people in such a form as will be fruitful of wault. Metaphysical speculations count with them for little either in China or alsawhora. Shubhakara and hia school taught tho pooplo that "man wan not liko tho Banana n fruit with out kernel'’. His body contained a Soul. A moral life was necessary ; for after death the Soul was judged and if found wicked was cast into Hell. But how was man to guard against this and the evil spirits around him ? How was he to seouro health, wealth, pardon for his sins, good being in this world and the hereafter? The people were then taught the existence of Divine Protectors, including dome forms of Hindn Divinities as also the manner in which their help might bo invoked. They were instructed in tho uso of Mantras, DhftranSa, and Mudr&s the meaning of which is not explained by Dr. Waddell’s definition "certain dis- tortions of the fingers". They were taught to pray, to make offerings, and the various other rituals everywhere to be found in Tantia Shistra. Father Wieger says that pardon of sins and saving from the punishment of Hell was explained >94 THE TANTRA SHASTRAS IN CHINA by the Chinese TAntriks of this school not a a a derogation from justice, but as the effect of the appeal to the Divine Protector which obtained for the sinful man a fresh lease of life, a kind of respite during which he was enabled to redeem himself by doing good in place of expiating his sins by torture in Hell. The devout Tflntrik who sought after his death to he bom in the heaven of such und such Buddha, obtained his wish. Sinners who had done nothing for themselves might be helped even after their death by the prayer* of relatives, friend* and priests. The devotion of the TAntriks for the jalvalion of the deceased was very great. “Let us suppose" says one of the Text# "that a member of your family is thrown in prison. What will you not do to relieve him there, or to get him out from it. In the same way we must act. for the dead who aro in the great Prison of Hell." Prayer and charity with the view to aid them is accounted to their merit. Above all it is necessary to obtain the aid of the prie*t« who deliver these bound souls by the ritual ad hoc, accompanied by music which forms on important part of the Buddhist TAntrik rite*. Tho rosem- blanoc of oil this to the Catholic practice as regards the souls in purgatory is obviou*. As in tlie Indian Compendia, such a* the TantnwAra, there were prayers, Mantras and DhArants to protect againat every form of ovil, against the bad Spirits, wild beaate, natural calamities, human enemies, and bo forth, which were said to I* effective, provided that they wore applied in the proper disprevition and at the right tinie and in the right manner. But more effective than all these was the initiation with water (Abhiaheka). For innumerable good Spirits surround the initiates in all places and at all times so that no ovil toucher, them It was recommended also to carry ou the body the written name of one’s protector (IshtadcvatA) or one of those signs whioh were called "Transcendent seals conquerors of all Demons". This practice again is similar to that of the use by the Indian TAntriks of the Kavacha, and to the SHAKTI AND SHAKTA practice of Cotholica who wear scapulars, “ Agnus Dei”, and consecrated medals. In order to encourage frequent invocations, as also to count thorn, the Buddhist TAntriks had Buddhistic chaplet* like the Indian Mflli and Catholic Rosary. The beads varied from 1080 (Quaere 1008) to 27. In invoking the Protect-ora the worshipper held firmly one head with four fingers (the thumb and first, finger of both hands) and then centred his mind on the formula of invo- cation. Carried on the body, these RoeoricB protooted from every ill, and made ull that one said, a prayer. To use the Indian phrase all that was then 'aid, was Mantra. Ttatrioam was reinforced on tho arrival in 710 A.D. of two Indian Brohmanaa, Vajrabodh! and Amogha. The demand for Tautras then became ao great that Amogha was officially deputed by the Imperial Government to bring hack from India and Ceylon as many as be oould. Amogha who was tho favourite of three Emperors holding the rank of minister and honoured with many title* livod till 774. Ho made TAntiioism the fuehionablr soot. Father Wieger says that m tho numerous works signed by him, there is not to be found any of those rites, Indian or Tibetan, which come under the general term VfimAchAra, whioh inoludos worship with wine and women. He has it from Buddhist sources that they deplore the abuses which as regards this matter have taken piano in India. In the state of decadence witnessed to-day there largely remains only a liturgy of ihvboations accompanied by Mudra and Music, with luntorns and (lags from which Bon sea of low degree make a living when called upon by houecholdere to cure tho sick, push their business and so forth. Amogha, however, demanded more of those who sought initiation. In the Indian fashion ho tested (Parttuhij the would be disciple and initiated only those who were fit and had the quality of Vajra. To such only was doubtless con- fided the higher esoteric teachings and ritual. Initiation was conferred by the ritual pouring of water on the hear! (Abhiahaka), , after a solemn act of contrition and devotion. THE TANTRA SHASTRAS IN CHINA The following » a description of tlui rite of initiation (Abhiakcka). It is the Buddha who speaks. "Just ae an imperial prince is recognized as he who shall govern bo my disciples, tested and perfectly formed, are oonseoruted with water. For the purpose of thia ceremony one places on a height, or at least on rising ground, a platform seven feet in diameter strewn with flowers and sprinkled with scented water. Let ailonoo be kept all around. Persian incense is burnt. Place a mirror of bronte and aevcu arrows to keep away demoniac spirit*. The candidate who lure been previ- ously prepared by a rigorous abstinence, fully bathed and clad in freshly washed garments kneels on the platform and listens to a lecture explaining the meaning of the rito. His right shoulder is uncovered and his two hands joined. He forms interiorly the necessary intention. Then the. Master of the ceremony, holding him firmly by the right hand, pours with the left on t he hoad of the candidate for initiation the ritual water," This initiation mede the Chela a aon of Buddha and a depository of the latter's dootriuc, for the Tantns wore deemed to represent the «otgrio teaching of the Buddha, just as in India they contain the esacuoc of all knowledge as taught by Shiva or l)©vt. Tbo initiates of Amogha were distinguished by their retired life and secret practices, which gained for them the name of "Sohool of Mystery". It transpired that they wore awaiting a Saviour in a future ugo. This rendered thorn suspect in the eye of Government who thought ’.hot thoy wore perhaps a revolutionary society. The sect was accord- ingly forbidden. But thia did not cause it to disappear. On the contrary, for as the Reverend Father says, irv China (and we may add elsewhere) the forbidden fruit is that which is of all the moat delicious. The lower ranks avoided this higher initiation and largely lapsed into mechani- oal formalism, and the true adepts wrapt themselves in a mystery still more profound, awaiting the coming of the future Buddha Maitreya, who, they taught, had inspired 197 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA Aaufighft with tho doctrine they hold. Father Wieger nays that their morality is severe and their life very austere. (Leur morale, rat severe, leur vie Irds austere). There is a hierarchy of tcaohcre who visit the households at appointed intervals, always after nightfall, leaving before daybreak and supported by the alms of those whom they thus teach. The learned missionary author adds that Tfintrik adepts of this class are often converted to Christianity and quickly become excellent Christians "Him* then- morals are good and they have a lively belief in the supernatural M . (“fours nioeurn nyunt 6t6 bonnes ot leur uroyunco eu lur natural Ataul Iris viv*.") Here I may note on the subjoct of Dh&ranls, tliat it has lioon said that these were only introduced into China during the Tang Dynasty. Father Wieger, however, (p. 385) says that an authentic Riddhi -mantra is to bo found in translations made by Leou-Keatoh’an in the second century A I). Buddha is said to have announced to Ananda, who accompanied him, that five hundred years after his Nirvana, a Boot of magicianH (whom the author calls Sivait* Tin trios) would he the causo of the swarming of evil spirits. Instruc- tions were then given for their exorcism. This puts tho •' Si voile*" far back. Chapter X. A TIBETAN T ANTRA. [This Chapter is an admirably understanding review (reprinted from the "Tluioflophist” of July 1910) by Mr. Johan Van Muuon, the Tibetan soholar. It was written on the seventh volume of Tftntrik Text* wliioh contains the first Tibetan Tantxa to be published. The Tantra which was selected lor the series was the Shrlchakra - Sam bliara , because the Editor happened to have manuscripts of tins and other works of the same school.] A LL lovem of Indian philosophy are familiar with tho ^ * magnificent series of works on the Tantra wliioh, under the general editorship of "Arthur Avalon”, hove soon tho light within the last few year*. Some 15 volumes, either texts, translations, or studies, ha v.» hitherto been- published, and tho titles of n number of further works nrn announoed on in preparation or in tho press. Just now a now volume lias been added to the series, Constituting Vol. VII of the "Texts", and this book is undoubtedly one ol the most interesting ol all thaw hitherto issued. Up till now tho series has only dcult with works and thoughts originally written down in Sanskrit; this new volume goes further afield and brings us the text and transla- tion of n Tibetan work, dealing with the same subject the whole series is intended to study. Tibetan Tintrism is un- doubtedly o development of ito Indian prototype, and at a further stage of our knowledge of llio whole subjoct, tho hiatorioal development of this school ol thought will lw, no doubt, studied minutely. Though this present volume brings valuable material towards such an historical study, our knowledge of the Tantra under this aspect, is as yet far too limited to enable us to say much about this side of the questions raised by its publication or to find u place for it 199 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA in the present review of Llie work. What ia more urgent now ia to examine this book as it stands, to try to defint the general trend of ire content#, and to attempt to value it generally in terms of modem speooh and thought. In our diaoussion of the book, therefore, we sha-ll not ooncorn ourselves with questions of technical icholaaliip at all, but attempt to go to the heart, of the subject in such a manner as might be of interest to any intelligent man attracted towards philosophical and religious thought. And it is por- liape easier to do ao with the present work titan with many other* in the aerie* to which it belongs, for more tliun those othere this work makos an appoal to tho intellect direot, and proves very human and logical, so us to evoke a response in eveu such readers as arc not prepared by a detailed know- ledge of ayBtom and terminology, to disentangle an elaborate outer form from the inner substance. It ia true that here also, every page and almost every line bristles with names aud terms, but tho thought oonnocting suoh ternm is dear, and these, serving muoh tko purposes of algebraical notations in mathematical formula, can be easily Ailed in by any reader with values derived from his own religious and philoso- phical oxpericnoo. The Tantras have, often, not. been kindly spoken of. It has been said that they havo hithnrto played, in Indology, the part of u jungle which everybody i« anxious to avoid. Still stronger, n great, histor.an is quoted as having said that it would bo “ tho unfortunuto lot of some future scholar to wude through tho disgusting details of drunkenness and debauchery which were regarded as an essential part of their religion by a largo section of the Indian community not long ago” And Griinwedel, speaking especially of tho Tibetan Tantr&i (Mythology, p. 106), from the immense literature of which as yet nothing had been translated, says : “To work out these thingB will be. indeed, a saarijw.ium intellects, but they are, after all, no more stupid than Uib Brahman as on which so much labour has boon spent.” But hero we have the first 200 A TIBETAN TANTRA translation into a European language of one of these T&nfcrik texts ; and far from being obscene or stupid, it strikes us as a work of singular beauty aad nobility, and us a creation of religious art, almost, unique in its lofty grandeur. It is ho totally unlike any religious document we are. acquainted with, that, it is almcst inconceivable that this is only a brief specimen, a first specimen, made accessible to the general public, of a vast literature of which the extent (as existing in Tibet) cannot yet even be measured. • Yet, in saying that the nature of our book is unique, we do not mean to imply that olose analogies cannot bo found for it in the religious literatures and practices of the world. 8uoh an aloofneau would be rather suspicious, for real religious experience is, of oourse, uni vernal, and, proceeding from the same elements in the human heart, and aspiring to the Homo ends, must always show kinship in manifestation. Yet this Tibetan product has a distinctive style of its own, which singles it out in appearance as clearly, 1st us say. as the specific character of Assyrian or Egyptian art is different from that of othor stylos. When wo now proceed to examine the document before us, at tho outect u verdiot of one of the critics of Tintrism comes to our mind, to the offeot that the Tan tea is perhaps the most elaborate system of auto-suggestion in the world. This dictum was intended as a condemnation ; but though aocepting t he verdict as oorrect, we ourselves are not inclined to accept, together with it, the implied conclusion. Auto- suggestion is the establishment of mental states and moods from within, instead of as a result of impressions received from without. Evidently there must be two kinds of this auto suggestion, a trao and a false one. The true one is that which produces states of consciousness corresponding to those whioh may be produced by realities in the outer world, and the false or.e is that which produces states of conscious- ness not corresponding to reactions to any reality without. In the ordinary way the consciousness of man is shaped in 201 SHAKT1 AND SHAKTA response to impressions from without, and ao ultimately rests on sensation, but theoretically then* is nothing im- possible in the theory that these “ modification? of the think- ing principle" should be brought about by the creative will and rest rather on imagination and intuition than on sen- sation. This theory has not only been philosophically and scientifically discussed, but also practically applied in many a aohool of mysticism or Yoga. If I remember well, there is n most interesting hook by a German (non-myBtic) Professor, fitAiirlenmcyor, dealing with this nubjoct, under the title of Mayic. cm on Experimental Science (in German), and the same ide«t seems also to underlie Steiner’s theory of what he calls "imaginative olairvoyanoo In Christiun mysticism this has Itcon fully worked out by de Loyola in his " Spiritual Exercises” as applied to the Passion of the Christ, In what is now-a-days called New Thought, this principle is largely applied in various manners'. In our book wo find it applied in terms of Tintrik Ruddhiam with a fulness and detail surpassing nil other examples o£ this typ* of meditation. In order to preoent the idea in such a way iliac it may look plausible in itself, wo have first to sketch out the rational underlying any such syatem. This is easily done. We oanconocivc of this uiuvonw as an immense ocean oi consciousnesi or intelligence in which the separate organisms, human being* included, live and move and have their being. If wo conoeivc of this mass of consciousness as subject to laws analogous to those of gravity, and at the same time as being flnidio in nature, then the mechanism of nil intel- lectual activity might woll bo thought of, in on© of itn napoo W, ag hydraulic in character. Lot any orgnuiam, fit to bo n bearer of'oonsriounnes*, only open jtself for the reception of it, and the hydraulic pressure of tbo surrounding sea of oonsoiouane® will make it flow in, in such a form as the construction of the organism assumes. The wave and the aea, the pot and tho water, are frequent symbols iu the East, used to indicate the relation between the all-oonsoiousness 303 A TIBETAN TANTRA ana the individual consciousness. If the human brain is the pot sunk in the ocean of divine consciousness, the form of that pot will determine the form which the all-conscioiB- ness will assume within that brain. Now imagination, or autosuggestion, may determine that form. Through guess, intuition, speculation, tradition, authority, or whatever the determinant factor may be, any auoh form may be ohosen. The man may create any form, and then, by expectancy, stillness, passivity, love, aspiration or whatever term wo cboceo, draw the ooBmic consciousness within him, only determining its form lot lumnclf, but impersonally receiving the power which is not from himself, but from without. The process is like the preparation of a mould in which molten metal is to boonat, with thin difference, that the metal cast iuto the mould is not self-active and alive, and not ever-present and pressing on every side, as the living consciousness is which constitutes our universe. We may take an illustration from the mechanical universe. This univerec is one seething mass of forocs in constant interplay. The forces are them and at work all the time, hut. only become objectified when caught in suitable receivers. The wind-foroo, if not caught by tho arms of the windmill, tho force# of stream or waterfall, if not similarly gathered in n proper mechanism, disperse themselves in space and are not focused in and translated into objective unite of action. So with tlie vibrations sent along the wire, in telegraphic or telephonic communication, or with the other vibrations amt wirelessly. In a universe peopled with intelligences, higher lieings, gods, a whole hierarchy of entities, from the highest power and perfection to such as Wong to our own limited cl ton, constant streams of intelligence and consciousness must continuously flash through apace and fill existence. Now it seems, theoretically indeed, very probable, assuming that consciousness is one and akin in essence, that the mechanical phenomenon of sympathetic vibration may be upplied to that conuMOUanos* 203 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA aa well aa to what are regarded as merely mechanical vibra- tions. 80, putting all the above reasonings together, it is at least a plausible theory that man, by a process of auto- suggestion, may so modify the organs of his consciousness, and likewise attune hia individual consciousness in such a way, as to become able to enter into a sympathetic relation with the forces of cornuio ooiusciouHness ordinarily manifest- ing outside him and remaining unpemeiveri. passing him iw it wore, instead of boing caught and harnessed. And this is nut only a theory, but more thun that -a definite state- ment given as the result of experience by mystics ami medi- tators of all times and olimea. Now wc may ask : how has this method been applied in our present, work 1 A careful analysis of its content* makes us diaoover several interesting characteristic*. First of all we have to remember that nnr text proiuppoMS a familiarity with the religions conceptions, names, personalities and philceophioftl principle* of Northern Buddhism, whioh are all freely used in the composition. What, is strange and foreign in thorn to the Western reader is no only because he moves in unfamiliar surroundings. But the character of t.hc compo- sition is one which might bo compared to such analogous Western productions (with great differences, however) as the Passion Play at Oberammergau nr the medieval mystery- plays. Only, in some of the latter the historical element predominates, whilst in the Tibetan composition tho mytho logical clement (for want of a better word) form* the basis and substance. In other words, in this ritual of meditation the Gods, Powers aud Principles arc tho actors, and not historical or symbolical personages of religious tradition. Secondly the play is enacted in the mind, inwurdly, instead of on the scene, outwardly. The aotore are not persons, but conceptions. First, the meditator has to swing up his consciousness to a certain pitch of intensity, steadiness, quiot, determination aud expectancy. Having toned it to the required pitch, lie A TIBETAN TANTRA fixes it on a simple centre of attention which is to serve as a starting-point or gate through which his imagination shall well up as the water of a fountain cornea forth through the opening of the water-pipe. From this oantral point the mental pictures come forth. They are placed round tho central conception. From simple to complex in orderly progression the imaginative structure is elaborated. The chief Woos appear Buocewivoly, followed by the minor deities. Spaoce, regions, directions arc carefully deter- mined. Attributes, coloum, symbols, sounds are all minute- ly prescribed and deftly worked in, and explications care- fully given. A miniature world is evolved, southing with elemental forces working in the universe as conmio force* and in man as forces of body and spirit, licet of tho quantities in thia elaitorate notation are taken from the body of indige- nous roligioiH teaching and mythology. Some are an uni Venal and tranaparont that tho non-Tibetan roedor can appreciate them even without a knowledge of the religious technical terms of TiUt, But anyhow, an attentive reading and re- reading reveals something, even to the outsider, of tho force ol this symbological structure, and makes him intuitively foel that bore wo are asmsting in the unfolding of a grand spiritual drama, sweeping up tho mind to height* of exult- ation and nobility. Aa to the terminological side of the text, the Editor’s abundant notai prove ao valuable an useful. They may disturb the elevated unity of the whole At first, but after some assiduous familiarising, load to fuller and deeper comprehension. Even a single leading iB sufficient to gain the impression that a stately and solemn mental drama is enacted before us with an inherent impressiveness which would attach, for instance to a Christian, to the performance of a ritual in which all the more primary biblical persons, human and superhuman, were introduced, iu suitable ways, ao actors. And the superlative cleverness of thia structure ! Starting from a single baaio note, tlua a developed into a SHAKTI AND SHARIA chord, which again expands into a melodv, which ia then elaborately harmonised. Indeed the meditation is in its essence both music and ritual. The initial motive* are developed, repeated, elaborated, and new ones introduced. These again are treated in the same way. A symphony ia evolved and brought to a powerful climax, and then again this full world of sound, form, meaning, colour, power in withdrawn, limited, taken hack into itself, folded up and dissolved, tumoa inwards again and finally returned into utter stillness and rest, into that tranquil void from which it wits originally evuked and which ia its eternal mother. I do not know of nay literature which in its nature is bo abso- lutely symphonic, ao directly akin to music, as this sample of a Tibetan meditationnl exercise. And curiously enough, it makes us think of another raanJestation of Indian religious art, for in words this document is nkia to the Indian temple decoration , especially the South Indian go pure, which in ita cndloae repetitions and elaborations seems indeed instinct with the enmo spirit which ha« given birth to this sohomo of imagination taught in these Tautras. Only, in atone or plaster, the mythological host ts sterile and immovable, whilst, as created in the living mind, the similar structure partakes of the life of the mind within knd without. The sculptural emfcodiinnnt is, therefore, serviceable to the less evolved mind. The Tantra is for the religious thinker who possesses power. But wo said that our meditational structure was also ukin to ritual. What we mean by this is that nil tho figures and images evoked in the mind in this meditation are, after all, only meant, as the words, vestures aud gestures in a ritual, to suggest, feelings, to provoke states of consciousness, and to furnish (if the simile be nbt thought too pathetao) pegs to Lang ideas upon. Like as a fine piece of musio, or a play, can only be well rendered when rehearsed over and over again, and practised bo that the form aide of the production becomes almost 206 A TIBETAN TANTRA mechanical, and all power in the production can bo devoted to the infusion of inspiration, 50 can thin meditation only be perfectly performed after untold praotioe and devotion. It would be a totally mistaken idea to read this book as a mere piece of literature, once to go through it to see what it contains, and then to let it go. Just aa the masterpieces of muaic can bo heard hundreds of times, just, as the great rituals of the world grow in power on the individual in the measure with which ho becomes familiar with them and altogether identifies himself with the must infinitely small minutuo of their form and conntitution, no this meditation ritual is ono whioh only by repetition can bo mustered und perfected. Like the great productions of art, or uatuie, it has to “grow” on the individual. This meditational exercise is not for the small, nor for the flippant, nor for those in n hurry. It is inherently an MOtario thing, one of those touchings belonging to the regions of “quiet" and "tranquillity" and "reat" of Taoistic phi- losophy, To the ignorant it must be jabber, and so it is truly esoteric, hiding itself by his own nature within itaelf, though soomingly open und accessible to all. But in oon- noction with thin meditation we do not think of pupils who read it ouoc or twice, or ten times, or a hundred, but of austere thinkers who work on it as a life-work through laborious years of strenuous endeavour. For, what must bo done to make this meditation into a reality? Every concept in it must be vivified and drenched with life and power. Every god in it must be made into a living god, every power manipulated in it made into a potenoy. The whole structure must be made vibrant with forces capable of entering into sympathetic relation with the greater cosmic foreffl in the universe, created in imitation on a lower scale within the individual meditator himself. To the religious mind the universe » filled with the thoughts of tho goda, with the powers of great intelligences and ooniciousneeece, radiating eternally through space and really constituting SHAKTI AND SHAKTA the world that is. “The world ia oaly a thought in tho mind of God.” It must take years of strenuous practice even to build up the power to visualiac and correctly produce an an internal drama this meditation given in our book. To endow it with life and to put power into this life is an achievement that no small mind, no weak devotee, can hope to perform. So this meditation iB a «olemn ritual, like the Homan Catholic Mass ; only it is performed in the mind instead of in tho church, and the mystery it oelebrates is an individual and not a general sacrament. In what we have said above we have tried to give some outlines of the chief ohuraotorutice of this romorkublo work, now brought within the reach of tho general reading public, ami especially of benefit, to those among thorn interested in tlic study of comparative religion along broud linen. We owe, indeed, a dobt of gratitude to Arthur Avalon, vrtroao enthusiasm for and insight into the Indian religious und philosophical mind have urioarthcd this particular gem for un. We tnoy be particularly grateful '.hat his enthusiasm has not sot itself a limit, so as to prevent him from dealing with othor than Sannkrit loro nlone, and from looking for treasure even beyond the llimnlayao. In. this oounoetion we may mention that it is his intention to maintain this catholic attitude, for ho ia now taking steps to incorporate ulso an important Japanese work on tho Vajraydna in his TAntrik series. As fnr as this first Tibetan text « concerned , the choioe has Ixen decidedly liappy, and he has been no less fortunate in hnving boon able to secure a competent collaborator to undertake the philological portion of the work, the translating and editing labour. The result of thus oaooiating himmilf with a capable indigenous scholar to produce the work, has beeu a great success, a production of practical value which will undoubtedly not diminish in all essentials for a long time to come. For not only ia thin particular work in and for itself of interest, with a great lieauty of its own ; it has another value in quite other A TIBETAN TANTRA directions than those connected with the study of meditation or of religious artistic creation. The work furnishes a most important key to « new way of understanding many phases and productions of Indian philosophy. The projection of the paraphernalia of Hindu mythology inwards into the mind as instruments of medi- tation, the internalising of what we find in the Pur&riaa or the Epic externalised as mythology, lias seemed to me to throw fresh and illuminating light on Indian symbology. To give an illustration : In this Tantra we find an elaborate manipulation of weapons, shields, armour, as instruments for the protection of the consciousness. Now all these implements figure, for instance, largely and elaborately in auoh a work aa the Ahubudlinya Samhtid, of which Dr. 8chrAdcr has given iu» n splendid summary in liis work, Introduction to the PonoharAlro. But in the Panchardtra all these implements aro only attributes of the gods. In our text we find a hint as to how all these external mythologi- cal data can also bo applied to and understood as internal workings of the human consciousness! and ia this light Indian mythology assumes a new and richer significance. I do not want to do more hero than hint at the point involved, but no doubt any student of Hindu mythology who ia aUo interested in Hindu modes of thought, in the Hindu Psyche, will at once aoo how fruitful this idea can be. One of the riddles of Indian thought is that its symbo- logy is kinetic ami not static, and eludes the objective formality of Western thought. That is why every Hindu god is another, who ia again another, who is once more anothor. Did not Kipling say something about "Killi who is Pflrvati, who is Situlo, who is worshipped against the small-pox" ? So also almost every philosophical priaciple is an "aspect" of another principle, but never a clear-cut, well-circumscribed, independent, thing by itself. Our text goes far towards giving a hint as to how all these gods and principles,- which in the Pur&nas and other writings appear SHAKT1 AND SHAKTA i»k extra-human elements, may perhaps also lx: interpreted as aspects uf the human mind (and oven human body) and become a psychological mythology instead of a ccwmio one. The idea is not absolutely new, but ha* been put for- ward by mystics before. Thu Clieruhinio Wanderer sang that it. would be of no avail to anyone, even if the Christ were horn a hundred times over in Bethlehem, if hu were not. bom within the man himself. It has been said of the Bluujauid-Qftd that it is in one sense the drama of the soul, and that meditation on it, transplanting the field of Kuru- kshetra within tire human consciousness, may lead to a direct realization of all that is taught in that book, and to a vision of all the glories depiotod therein. That ideu is the same as that which is the basis of our text. Ite message is : “ Creato a universe within, in order to be able to hear the echoes of the universe without., which is one with that within, in essence." If aoer*. occultist*, meditators really exist, they may bo able to outline the way and method by whioh tl»y themselves have attained. So it woe with do Loyola and his "Spiritual Exercise*," and there 1 b no reason why it, should not bo the same with the hook wn are discussing here. As to how far we have here a result of practical experi- ence, or only an ingenious theory, a great "attempt.” ax it wore, we will not and cannot decide. To make state- monte about thin needs previous experiment, and wc huvo only read the book from the outside, not, lived its oontento from within. But however this may be, even such an outer reading is sufficient to reveal to US the grandeur of the conception put before ur, and to enable us to feel the sympho- nic 8|dendour of the creation as a work of religio-philosopbic art ; and that alone ia enough to enable us to judge the work a masterpiece and a document of fiat-class value in the field of religions and mystical literature. The form is very un- Western indeed, and in many wap utterly unfamiliar and perhaps bewildering. But the harmony of thought, the 210 A TIBETAN TANTRA greatness of the. fundamental conception*, the sublimity of endeavour embodied in it, me clear ; and these iiuulitica are certainly enough to gain for its admirer* mul friends perhaps here and there a dixciple oven in our times *0 badly prepared to hear thus Tibetan echo t’oni that other world, which in many ways we in the West make it our alrenuoun brininess to forget and to discount. an Chapter XI. SHAKTI IN TAOISM. T HE belief in Sim's ti or the Divine Power qb difltmguisbcd from the Divine Essence (Svaitipa), the former being generally imagined for purposes of worship tm being in female form, ib very ancient. The concept of Shokti in Chinese Taonm is not merely ft proof of this (for the Shukti notion is ranch older) but is an indication of the ancient Indian character of the doctrine. Tliorc ore some who orronoously think that tho conoept had ita origin in “ Bivivio mysticism," having it* origin komawhare in t he sixth century of our era. Lao -Wo or tlia "old master” wua twenty years senior to Confucius and his life war said to have boon passed between 070-490 B.C. A date commonly accepted by European Orientalist* a* that of the death of Buddha (Indian and Tibetan opinions being regarded, as ."extra- vagant”) would bring Ilia life into the sixth oentury B.G., one of the most, wonderful in the world’* history. Lao tro i* said to have written the Tao-tci-kiug,‘tbo fundamental text of Taoism. This title mean* Treatise on Tno and Tei. Tao which Lno-tzo oalls "The great” is in it* Sanskrit equivalent Brahman and Toi is ft* power or nctivity or Shaliti. Ah Father P. L. Wiogcr, 8.J., to whose work (Ifistoiro des croyunccs rol gieuses «t <le» opinions philono- phiques e.n Chine, p. Mil ei «g. 1917) I am here indebted, point* out, Lao-Wa did not invent Taoism no more than Confucius (657-119 B.C.) uiveutod- Cbnfnniansim. It is characteristic of these and other Ancient Kustern Musters that, they do not claim to be more than "trunsmittere” of a wisdom older than themselves. Lao-tze was not the first to teach Tao-iam. Ho hod precunora who, however, were not authors. He woo -.lie writer of tho firet book on Taoiem which served os the basis for tlie further development of tho doctrine. On this account its paternity is attributed to him. sia SHAKTI IN TAOISM There woe reference to thia dootrino it ia said in tho official archives (p. 743). The pre-Taoista were the muialia la and astrologers of fclin Toheou. Lao-tae who formulated the system was one of them (id. 69). The third Ministry uon- tauuug these archives registered all which came from foreign parts, as Taoism did. For as Father Wieger says, Taoism is in iit main hrvs a Chino w adaptation of (he contemporary doctrine of the- Upanithad* (“or le Taoiawe cut daua ses gmndfts lignes une adaptation Chinonw* do la dootrino Indienno contempornino dec Uptmiahads"). The actual fact of importation cannot in dofault of documenta be proved but as the learned author says, the fact that tho doctrine woo not Chinese, that it wan then current iu India, and its sudden spread in China, creates in favour of t he argument for foreign importation almost a certain conclusion. The similarity of tho two doctrines is obvious To uny one acquainted with that of the Upaninhmla and the doctrine ol Shakti. The dualism of tho manifesting Unity (Tho) denoted by Yinn- Yang appears for the tiiat time in u text of Confucius, u contemporary nf lao-t.w, who may have informed him of it. All Chinese Monism descends from LaadM. Tho patri- arolial toxtu were developed by tho great Fa tire re of Taoism Lie-Lmu and Tchong-tzeu (*oc “Lea Fires du iiyotdnio Taoistc" by tho sumo author) whom the reverend father calls the only real thinkers that China Ires produced. JJoth were practically prior to the contact of Greece and India on the Indus under Alexander. The first development of Taoism was in the South. It passed later to the North where it had a great influence. Aocording to Taoism there was in the beginning, now, and over >vill Ire an ultimate Iteality, wliioh is variously called Huan the Mystery, wliioh coiuiat be named or defined, because hum an language is the .language of limited beings touching limited objects, whereas Too is imperceptible to the senses uud the un produced cause of all, beyond which there ia nothing : Ou the Formless, or Too the causal principle SHAKTI AND SHAKTA the unlimited inexhaustible Bourne from which all conics, ("Tito lc principe par ocque tout derive do lui”) I Well proceeds from nothing but all from It. So it is oh id of Brahman that Jt is in Itself beyond mind and speech, formless and (ne the Brahmasiitra sap) That from which the Universe is born, by which it is maintained and into which it is dissolved. From the abps of Its Being, It throws out all forms of Existence and is never emptied. It is an infinite source exteriorising from Itself all forms, by It* Power (Tei). These forms neither diminish nor add to Tao whioh remains ever the name. These limited beings arc as o drop of water in Its ooean. Tao ia the sum of, aud yet na infinite, beyond all individual existeooas. Like Brahman, Tuo in one, eternal, infinite, self-existent, omniprment, unchanging (Immutable) und oomplotc (Pflrua). At a particular moment (to speak in our language for It was then beyond time) Tao throw out from Itself Tei Its Power (Vortu or fihalcti) which operates in alternating modes culled Yinn and Yang and produces, us it were by condensation of its subtility (Rhnkti ghiint- bhflta),tho Heaven and Earth, and Air between, from which oomo all beings. The two modos of Its activity, Yinn and Yang, arc inherent in the Primal That, ur.d manifest as modes of it* Tei or Sbnkti. Yinn is rest, and therefore after the creation of the phenomenal world a going back, retraction, concentration towards the original Unity (Nivritti), whereas Yang is action and therefore the opposite principle of going forth or expansion (Pravritti). These modes appear in creation under the sensible forms of Earth (Yinn) and Heaven (Yang). The one original prinoipla or Tao, like HIuvb and Shakti, thus becomes dual in manifestation as Heaven- Earth from whioh emanate other existence*. The etotc of Yinn is one of rest, concentration and imporocptibility which was the own state (Svarftpa) of Too before time and tilings wore. The state of Yang is that of notion, expansion, of manifestation in sentient beings aud ia the state of Tao m time, and that which is m a sense not Its true state (“ 1,'etat 214 SHAKTI IN TAOISM Yinn do concentration, de repos, d’iui perceptibility qui fat oclui du Principe »v»nl lo temps, cat non itat propre. L'otot Yung d’exp»nsion et d’actiou, dc manifestation dam tea fitres sensible*, est son Atat dans lo wmj*, en quelque eorto impropro”). All this again is Indian. The primal stale of Brahman or Shiva-Shakti before manifestation is that in which It rests in Itself (Svnriifa-viahrflnti), that is, the state of rest and infinite formlessness, It then by Its Power (Shakti) manifests the universe. There exists in this Power the form of two movements or rhythms, namely," the going forth or orpanding (Pravritti) and the return or centering movwnont (Nivritti). This is the Eternal Rhythm, the Pulis of the univomo, in vrhioh it comes and goon from that which iu Itsolf, dow neither. But is this a reul or ideal movement? According to father Wiegec, Taoism ia a realistic and not idealistic pantheism in which Tao ia not » Conscious Principle but o Keaeaaaiy l*aw, not Spiritual but Material, though imperceptible by reason of its tenuity und state of rest (“Lour sysMine ret uu pantheisroe reallstn, pea idlaliste. Au commencement dtait un 4tre uniquo non p«a intelligent mais loi fatsle, non spiritual maia matfriel, imperceptible a force do tenuity d' abord immobile"). He also oalls Heaven and Earth unintelligent agents of production of sentient bcingo (Agent non-intelligcnts do la produc- tion de tom les Atref sensible*). I spoak with nU respect for the opinion of one who line made a special study of bho subject which I have not so fur as ita G'lnuesc aspect is ooncemed. But even if, as ia possible, at thin epoch the full idealistic import of tho Ved&nta had not been dovoloped, X doubt the aocuracy of tho interpretation which makes Tao material and unconscious. According to Father Wiegor, Tao prolougutea Itself. Each being is a prolongation (Prolongement) of the Tao, attached to it und therefore not diminishing It. Tao iB stated by hint to 1 h- Universal Nature, the Hiun (Samaahti) of all individual natures which arc terminal points (Teiminoieons) of Tao’a prolongation. SHAKTI AND SHAKTA Similarly in the ITpanhliads', we read of Bramhan producing tie world from Iteclf tie the spider produces the. web from out itself. Too is thus the Mother of all that exists (“la mdro de tout oe qui eat”). If so, it is the Mother of mind, will, emotion and every form of consciousness. How are these derived from merely a "material” principle I May it not be that just as the Upaniahads use material images to denote creation and yet posit a spiritual conscious (though not in our limited sense) Principle, Lao -ire, who was indebted to them, may liavo done the same, la this also not indicated by the Gnostic duo.trino of the Taoist* 1 The author cited says that to the casmio states of Yinn and Yang correspond in the mind of man the states of rest and activity. When the human mind thinks, it fills itself with forms or images and is moved by desires, Then it perceives only the effects of Tao, namely, distinct sentient beings. When on the contrary the action of the huinau mind stops and is fixed And empty of images of limited forms, it is then tho Pure Mirror in whioh is reflected tho ineffable and unnamealle Essence of Too ltsolf, oi whioh intuition the Fathers of Taoism apeak at length. (“Quoad on contruire 1 'esprit hu- raain est urrCtfi est vido ot fixe, alore miroir net at pur, il mire l’essenoe ineffable et innouiublo du Principe lui-mume. Lea Pfirca nous parleront ail long de cette intuition. ") This oommon analogy of the Mirror is also given in the KAma- kalAvilAaa (v. 4 .) where it speaks of Shakti a» the pure mirror in which Shiva reflects Himself tyraiiphakti vimar- sha darpane vishade). The conscious mind does not reflect a mntcriol principle ns its essence. Its essence must have the principle of oonacioiumoaB wliioh the mind itself powumMiR. It is to Tei the Virtue or Power whioh Tao omits from Itself (“ce Principe se mit a dmettre Tei ua vertu”) that we should attribute what is apparently unconsoiota and material. But the two are one, just as Shiva tho poascasor of power (ShaktimAn) and Shakti or power uio one, and this being so distinctions are apt to lie lost. In the same way in the 2*6 SHAKTI IN TAOISM Upanishads Rtatements may be found which luvo not the aocuracy of distinction between Brahman and ite Pralcriti, which wo find in later developments of VcdAnt* and parti- cularly in the Sh&kta form of it. Moreover wo axe here dealing with the One in Its ohoraoter both as came and as subatanco of the World Its effect • It is of Praknti Shakti and poaeibly of Tex that wo may say that it is an apparently material unconscious principle, imperceptible by reason of ita tenuity and (to the degree that it is not productive of objective ofloot) immobile. Further Father Wieger assures us that all contraries issue from the same unohacgiQg Tao and that they are only apparent (Tout* riontreridti n’eat qu' appuronto"). But rolativo to what? Ho says that they are not suhjeotive illiiBionn of the human mind, butobjootivo appearauceo, double nspecis of the unique Being, oorreo ponding to the alternating modalities of I’m** and Yaw/. That is no. For an Bhaflkara says, external objects are not merely projections of the individual human mind but of the cosmic omul, the Ishvari Shakti. We must not, of oourso, read Taoism as held in the sixth century B.C as if it were tho wimc a-t the devdopod Ved&ntA of Bhafikara who, according to European chronology, lived more than a thousand years later. But this interpretation of Vcd&nta is an aid in (mailing us to nee what is at leost implicit in earlier versions of the meaning of their common source— the Upanishads. Ah is well-known, Hhafikara developed their doctrine in un idealistic sense, and therefore his two movements in creation are AvidyA, the primal igno- rance which produces the appearance of the objective universe, and Vidyfl. or knowledge which dispels such igno- rance, ripening into that Essence and Unity which is Spirit- Consciousness Iteelf. Aupani8hadio doctrine may be regard- ed either from the world or material aspect, or from the noil -.world mid spiritual aspect. Men have thought in both ways and Rhonliara’s vpnriou is on attempt to synthesize them. SHAKTI AND SHAKTA The Taoist master Ki {(ip. cit., 1 * 38 ) said that the celestial harmony was that of all bciugi in their common Being. All is one as we experience in deep sleep (Sushupti). All contraries are sounds from the same flute, mushrooms springing from the same humidity, not real distinct beings but differing aspect* of the one universal '‘Being”. " 1 " line no meaning except in contrast with "you” or "that". But who ia the Mover of all I Everything happens os i/'there were a real governor. The hypothesis is acceptable provided that one doaa not make of tills Governor a distinct being. Ho (I translate Fftthor Wiegor's words) is a tendency without palpable form, the inherent norm of the universe, ita imma- nent evolutionary formula. The wise know that the only Real is the Universal Norm. The unreflecting vulgar .believe in tl»o existence of distinct beings. An in the case of the Vedftnta, much misunderstanding cxista because the ounoept of Conaniousneee differs in East and Wert as I point out in detail in the essay dealing with Chit-Bhakti. The space between Heaven and Earth in which the Power (Vcrhi, Bhakti, Tsi) is manifested in compared by the TaoisU to the hollow of a bellows of which Heaven and Earth are tho two woodon aides ; o bellows which blows without exhausting itself. The expansive power of Tso in the middle spaoe in imperishable. It is the mysterious Mother of all Wings. The come and go of this mysterious Mother, Hint is, the alternating of the two modalities oi the One, produce Heaven and Earth. Thus acting, She is never fatigued. From Tao was exteriorized Heaven and Earth. From Tao emanated the producing universal Power or Shakti, which again produced all beings without self- exhaustion or fatigue. Tlie one having put forth its Power, the latter note according to two alternating modalities of going forth and return. This action produces the middle air or Ki which is tenuous Matter, and through Yinn and Yang, issue all gross being*. Their coming into existence is compared to an unwinding (D&vidage) from That or SHAKTI IN TAOISM Tao, as it were a thread from ieel or spool. In tho same way tho Shikto. Tantra a peaks oi an “uncoiling’'. Shakti is coiled (Kundalinl) round tlit Skiva-point (fiindu), one with It in dissolution. On creation She begins to uncoil in a spiral line movement which i* the movement ol creation. The Taoist. Father Lieu-Ire analysed the creative movement into the following stages "The Great Mutation" auterior to the appearance of tenuous matter (Movement of the two modalities in undefined being), "the Great Origin" or the stage of tenuous matter, "the Great. Commencement" or tho stage of souaiblo matter, "the Groat Flux" or the stage of plaecio matter and actual present material compounded existences. In the primitive state, when matter was im- perceptible, all Icings to conic were latent in aa homo- geneous auto. I will only add as bearing on tho subject of conscious- ness that tho author cited states that the Taoistt lay great s treat on intuition and ecstasy which n said to ho compared to the. unconscious state of infancy, intoxication, and narcosis. These comparisons may perhaps mislead just as the comparison of the Yogi state to that, of a log ( K Am ht ha- vat) has misled. This does not mean that the Yogi’s oon- aciousnoee is that of u log of wood, but that he no moro perceives tho external world than the lottor doce. Ho does not do so because ho has the 8 amid hi conscious, that is, Illumination and true being Itself. Ha is one then with Tao and Tei or Shakti in their true slate. 219 Chapter XII. ALLEGED CONFLICT OF SIllSTRAS * A NOT uncommon modern criticism upon the Indian ShAstras is that they mutually conflict. This is due to a lack of knowlodg© of tho doetrino of Adhiklra and BhumikA, partioulaily amongst Western critics, whose general outlook and inode of thought is ordinarily deeply divergent from that which has prevailed in India. The idea that the whole world should follow one path i» regarded by tl>e Hindus as abeurd, being contrary to Nature and its laws. A man must follow that path for which he is fit, that ia, for which he is AdikhArl. Adhiklru or competency literally means "spreading over” that is "taking possession of". What is to bo known (JnAtavyo), done (Kartavya), acquired (Pr&p- tavya) is determined not onoo und generally for all, but in eaoh case by tho fitness and rapacity therefore of tho individual. Kaoli man can know, do, and obtain not every- thing, nor indoed one common thing, but that only of which lu* is capable (AdhikArl). What the .ISva can think, do, or obtain, is lus oom potency or AdhikAra, a profound and practical doctrine on which all Indian teaching and SAdhanA is'bntcd. Ah wii are different and therefore the AdhikAra is different, so there are different forms of teaching and p notice for each AdhikAra. Such teaching may bo Shrauta or Ashrautu. Dealing here with the first, it in said that of nil VidyAs tho Lord is TsliAna. and that throe dilloring forms are meant for differing competencies, though all have one and the some object and aim. This lian teen well and concise- ly worked out by BhAskumrAya, the Commentator on TAn- trio and Aupanishadic Texts in his BhAshya upon the NUydfhodashikdrna>xi. which is, according to him, a portion * This Chapter originally appeared in the Indian PhUmphUal Knuw, Vol. II. No. 4 (April 1919). J20 ALLEGED CONFLICT OF SHASTRAS of the great V&makcahvara Tantra. The second portion of tho NitydshodaskiJcdrnava io also known aa the Yogini- hridaya. These valilahle TAntrik Texts have Iwcn published as the 06th Volume of the Foona Anand&ahraraa Series which includes also (Vol. 69) the JnAnfirpava Tantra. The im- portance of the V'&makeshvara is shown by the faot that Bh&akarar&yu claims for it the position of the independent 65th Tantra which is mentioned in the 31st verse of the Aruivdalahart. Others say that the Svntantra there spoken of, is the Jnfinfiroava Tantra. and others again are of thn opinion that the TaMmrdja is the great independent Tantra of which the Avnndalaharl (ascrihed to BhrfmadAnhnryya- lihagavutp&da, that is, ShaflgkurAehftryya) npouka. Bkftalcamr&ya who lived in the first half of the eighteenth oentury, gives in his Commentary the following exposition: — In this world all long for happiness wliioh is the solo aim of man. Of this there is no doubt. This happiness again is of two kinds, namely, thatwhioh is produced and transient (Kjitrimu) anti that which is unproduced and enduring (Akritrima), called respectively Desire (Kftmu) and Liber- ation (Moksha). Dhuruia procures happiness of both kinds, and Art J>a helps to the attainment of Dharma. Tluao therefore are desired of all. There are t.lnn four aims of man (Pumshftrthu) which though, as between thomsclvee, different, are yot intimatoly oonneotod, tho oao with tho other. The KalpiuQttA says that self-knowledge is the aim und cud of man “(Bvaviiranihoh puriuliiithuh). This io said of liberation us being tho highest end, since it alono gives real and enduring happiness. This saying, however, does not raise any contradiction. For, each of the four is to lw had by the Jn&na und Vijn&na appropriate for such attainment. These (Punish&rtha) are again to be attained according to the capacity of tho individual seeking them (T&dp«ha-t8drisha-chittaikaK4dhylui). Tlia competency of the individual Chittn depends again on the degree of Ha purity. 721 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA Tic very merciful Bhagavfin Paramcehvara desirous ol aiding men wlu*e mind and disposition (Chitta) differ according to the results pioduu.nl by- their different ante, promulgated different lands of VidyA which, though appear- ing to be different aa between themselves, yet have, as their oominon aim, the highest end of all human life, that is, Li Inration. Shwii also says. (NrisinghaptkrvatApanf Up. I-d ; MahAn&rftyaoa Up. XV1I-5) : — "Of all VidyAsthe fiord in IahAua” (Ishunah aarvnvidyAn&ni) and (Sveta. Up. VI 18) "I who desire liberation nook refuge in that. Deva who crouton JkulmiA who again reveal* the Vedas and all other learning" (Yo BrnhniApam vidadhAtf pflrvntn yo vai vedAngsheha prahinoti). The particle "oha" impliodly signifies the other VidyAs collectively. We also find it said in furtherance of that statement “To him the first born Ho gave the Vedas and Purikma.” Swift also atatoa tliat the omniscient Toet (Kavi), Carrier of the Trident (Shiva shAlapAiji), is the first Promulgator ol them eighteen VidyA* whioh toko differing pathn (Bhinnnvartma). It follows that, inasmuch an Puramashiva, tlio Benefactor of the Worlds, is the Promulgator of all VidyAs, they are all autho- ritative, though each ia applicable for differing olawoa of competency (AdhikAribhcdena). This has been clearly stated in SdfcwaW/tM and similar works. Capacity (AdlukAra) ia (for example) of this kind. The unbeliever (NAetika ic„ in Veda) has AdlukAra in Darshanae such M Arhata (.Taina) and the like. Men of the first throe castes have AdhikAra in the path ol Veda. Similarly the AdhikAra of an individual varies according to the purity of his Chitta. For we see that the injunctions relating to Phamm vary according to Aslinutia and caste (Varna-bheda). Suoh toxte us praiw any particular VidyA are addressed to thorn? who are AdhikArl therein, and thpir object is to induce them to follow it. Such texts again as disparage any VidyA are addressed to those who are not 772 ALLEGED CONFLICT OF SHASTRAS Adhikftrl therein, and their object is to dissuade them from it. Nor again should these words of blame (or praise) be taken in an absolute sense, that is otherwise than relatively to the person to whom they are addressed. Yftni tattad vidyhprashangoakini vach&nani lAni tattadadhik&riyum pratyeva pravartakani. Yftni eha tan- nindakAni Uni tattadanadhikftriuam prati nirtutakAni. Na punamahi nindAnyftyena vidheyaatavakftni ( Bhiakararftya’s Intro<luctory Commentary to N ityduhodAshilrArnam Tantra. ,, 2). In early infancy, parents and guardians onoourage the play of the child in their charge. When tire age of study is reached , the same parents and guardians chastise the ohild who inopportunely plays. This we all see. A male of the three higher mutes should, on the passing of the age of play, learn his lottors and then metre (Chhandna) in order to master language. The Agnl Purina haa many toxta such as " Fn iltlem is a goo<l Kflvya " : all of which encourage the study of Kivyn. We also come neroas prohibitions such os "He who luu muntored the subject should ovoid all discussion relating to Klvya". When the object to be gained by the study of Klvya is attained and competency is gained for the next, higher stagy (Utturabhduiikft), it is ouly a harmful waste of time to busy oneself with a lower stage (Pflrvabhftmikft), in neglect of that higher stage for the Sid haul of which one haa become oom patent This is the njeaning of the prohibition. Again the injunction is to study NyAyash&stra 60 as to gain a knowledge of the Atmft as it it, and other than as it appears in the body and so forth. The texts are many such as "By reasoning (Shungga) seek tho Atmft." Shnnggn-r-Hetu— Avaynva- samudayltmakanyAya, that is Logic with all iU fivo limbe. When it is known that the Atmft, assuoh is other than the, body, is separate from the body and so forth, and the moans which lead to that knowledge are mastered, then man is prohibited from occupying himself with the subject of the SHAKTI AND SHAKTA former stage (PtirvabhGmikA) by such texts as “Aavikakiki and Ix>gio (Tarbavidyft) are useless" (Anvikshikim tarka- vidyAmantiralcto nirarthikAm). Injunctions- such as "The wise should practise Dhamm alone (Dharmam evAcharet prAjuah)" urge man towards the next Btago (UttnrabhdmikA). The study of the PdrvamimAfigsA and the KarmakAnda in the Vedas is usoful for this purpose. When hy this means D harms, Artha and K&uia are uttamed, thero arista a doe ire for the fourth Puruah&rtha (Liberation or Moksha). And therefore to sever mao from the former stage (Furvabhu- milcA) there ure texts which doprocat© Karma such aa (Mund, Up. 1-2, 12) "By that which is made cannot lie attainod that which is not marie" (NAatyakfitah kfitenu). Vashishtta says that these (earlier stages) are seven and that all aro stages of ignorunce (AjnAnabhtimikA). Beyond those aro stages of JnAna. For the attainment of the samo there are injunctions relating to BrahniajnAua whioh lead on to the next higher stage, mioh na (Mund. Up. I. a, 19) " Ho should go to tlio Outu alone" (So gurum ovAbhiga- ohchhot) "Listen (Hr. Ar. IL 4, 0, IV. ©,0), oh Maitroyi, the AtmA should be roalisod" (AtmA rA are dmahtavyah). 8ome say that tho JnAna-bhtimikAs arc many and rely on the text " The wise say that tho stages of Yoga arc many". The holy Vashishtha says that there are seven, namely, VividishA (desire to know), VichflranA (reflectinn), Tnnu- mAnaaa (concentration), SattvApntti (commencement of realisation), Aaamsakti (detachment), Pad&rtbAbhAvint (realisation of Brahuim only) and TuryagA (full ilhunina- tion in the fourth state). The meaning of these is given in, and should be learnt from, the JnAnashAstra of Vashisjitha. Theae terms are also explained in BrahmAnanda’s Commentary on the Hathayogn PradlpikA (1-3). . H's aocount differs from that of BhAskararAya as regards the name of the first Bhvbnikft which he calls Jnfinabhdmi or SubhochchbA, and the sixth is called by him ParArtha- bhAvinf and not PndArth&bhftvinf. The sense in either 33a ALLEGED CONFLICT OF SHASTRAS cao; is the same. According to Bmhmflnaiula, Jjiflunbhu- ini is. the initial stage of Yoga characterised by Vivelra, VairAgya, and the aix SAlhunA* boginning witJi Shnma and leading to MiumikshA. Vidi.invua is Shrovami and Manana (Sliravunajn&nnnatmikA) ranmu&nnHa=N:<Iidliyflsana when the mind, die natural characteristic of whioh is to wander, iB directed towards its proper Yug.vobjeot only. These thro* preliminary stages are known as SfhllmnAbhflinikfl. The fourth stag* RaWvfipatt m Ram pm jn a tnyoga- bhfl m i l:A The mind having been purified by praotioo in tho throo preceding BhOmikA. the Yogi *uinmcnceo to realise and ia called Brulunuvit. Tlic last three stages belong to Asam- prajnftuyogtt. After attainment of SuttvApatti BhQinikA, the Yogi reaches the fifth stage callod Anamsakti. Here he in totally detached and in the state of wakening (Vyuttish- thate). A» such lie w called Bnvluuavid-vain. At the sixth, or ParirthAbhavin! Bh&nukft, lie meditates on nothing but Para brahman (ParabmlunAtiriktam na bhAvayati). He is supremely awakened (Paraprabodhita) and is awake (Vyutthita). He in then called Brahmnvid-vnrfyAn. In the last oraoventhatugo (T(lryyi<ga) he ia BtahmavidvariahU, and then truly attain* illumination in itoelf (Svatahpurato vA vyuttlAnain pr&pmiti). Tho Upnniabuls and UttaramtmAngsA are helpful for thia purpose (Upayogl) unci should therefore b« studied. Braluuajnftna again m of two kinds namely, Shftbdn and AparokBh&nubhavardpa. Understanding of the mean- ing of ShAstra (ShAstradrisliti), the word of the (rum (Guror- vAkyam) and certainty (Niahchhya) of tho unity of the individual self (Sva) and the At.mA are powerful to diapel inward darknws, but not the meye knowledge of words (RhAbdabodha). (See YogavoahiBhtha Utpatti, Kh. IX. 7-lfl.) Therefore, when the Sh&bdabhumikA is attained one should not waste one’s time further at this stage, and there are texts which prohibit this. ThuB (Br. Ar. Ill, 5-1) SHAKTI AND SHAKTA "Having become indifferent to learning let him remain simple as in childhood’’ (PAcdityfiunirvidya bAlyena tish- thflset). Between the Becond and third of the seven stages (Bhiimikfi) there is the great stage Hhakti. Blu.kti- mlraAmsA (t.g., NArada Sdtra, Sanatsuj&tiya) is helpful and should ho atudiod. Bhakti continue* to the end of the fifth Bhflmikfl. When this last is attained the BAdhaka gains the fifth stage which is AparokahAnubhftvarflpa. This is Jfvanmukd. Following oloeoly upon thin in Vido- hoknivalya. In the text "From JnAnn alone Kaivalya comes (JnAnAd ova tu Icaivalyam), the word JnAna signifies something other and higher than Anubhava (Aaubhava* paratva). In NyAya and other BhAstras it ia stated that Moksha will be attained by mostoiy in suoh particular ShAatra, but that is merely a device by which knowledge of the higher stage in nut disclosed. Thin is not blame- worthy because it* object is to remove the disinelinstion to study Buch ShAatni by reason of the delay thereby censed in the attainment of I'urushArtha (which disinclination would exist if the SAdhaka know that thom was a higher ShAatru than that which he was studying). Thcro are text* such ns “By Karma alone (eva) is ae.hievemcnt" (Karma* naiva tu samaiddhih) j " Him whom ho selects by him ho is attainable" (Yamovaisha vrinnute teua labhyah). The word "eva" refers to the HhfimikA which is spoken of and prohibits fiftdhanA for the attainment of fruit which can only bo gainod by rnastory of, or competency in (AdhikArn), the next, higher BhAmikA (UttarabhfimikA). Tho words do not deny that thero is a higher stage (BhumikA). The word alone (ova) in " JnAn&d eva tu" (“from JnAua alone") indicates, however, that there is a stage of 8Adhan& aubec quent to that here spoken of. There is thus no conflict between tho Rishis who are teachers of the different VidyAs. Each one of these BhfimikAs has many sub-divisions (Avftn- tarahhftroikA) which cannot be altogether separated the 226 ALLEGED CONFLICT OF SHASTRAS ono from Chs othor, and which ure only known by the discerning through experience (Anublwva). So it has been said : “Oh Klghava, I hare spoken to thee of the seven States (Avaathfi) of ignoranoe (Ajnfina), Each one is hundred- fold (that is many) and yields many fruits (Nin&vibhava- riipixi!). Of these many Bhumikis, each is achieved by 8&dkan& through many births. When a man by great effort prolonged through oountloso livee, and according to the regular order of things (Kramena), gains a full compre- hension of the BhhmikA in which ho has certain knowledge of the Shabdatattv* of Par a brahman, he ceases to have any great attachment to, or aversion for, Sangsftra and this is a form of exoeilcnt Chittushuddhi. Suoh an one is qualified for the path of Devotion (Bhakti).’’ For, it has been oaid : " Neither indifferent (Nirvinna) nor attach- ed ; for such an ono BhalctiyogS grunto achievement (Biddhida).” BLiikti again ia of two kinds Osuid (secondary) and Para (supreme). The first comprises Dhyftna, Arohaua, .Inpa, Nflmaktrtann and the like of the Sogunn Braliman. Parabhakti is the special state (Anurftgavmhoshartpa) which ia the product of these. The first division of Bhakti include* several others (Avftnura-bhfiinikft). The lint of these ia BhAvnn&aiddhi illustrated by such Lixta “Let him meditate on woman as fixe” (Yoahinugnim dhy&ylta). The seoond ia worship (UpfUti) as directed in buck *.oxki (ChhA. Up. III. 18-1) as “M»no brahmotyupoattu”. The third is Tshvarop&sti (woralup of the Lord). Since the aspects of the Lord vary according ns Ho is viewed n« 8firyya, Oancaha, Vishnu, Rudia, Parashiva and Bhakti, the fornm of worship belong to different Bhflmik&s. The forms of Shnkti again are endless such aa Chh&yft, liallabhft, Lakshm! and the like. In this mannsr. through anmtleas Rgos nil these Bhfimikho are mastered, when there arises Gaunn- blrnkti for TripuraenudorL On perfection of this tbero ia Parabhakti for Her. This is the cud, for it has been said SHAKTI AND SIlAKTA (Kul&rpava Tuntra III. 82): "Kaulajutaa is revealed for him when© Chitta lm boon fully purified, Arka, GAna- pntya, Vaiahnava, 8haiva, Daurgfl (fihfikta) and othnr Mantraa in their order. 1 ' BltfUkarar&ya also quotes the sUfment in tho Kulflrpava Tantra (II. 7, 8): "Higher than VedAnhAra is VaishnavAchAra, higher than VaishnavAchAra is Shaivftohftra, higher than ShaivAchAra is I^kshinAohara, higher than DalahinAohAra ia* VAmAchAra, higher than VlmAohAra ia PirldhAntAohAra, higher than RiddhAnlAohAro in KaulAohAra than which tliere ia nothing higher nor better." Many original text# might be cited relative to the order of stages (BhdmikAkrara*) but which are not quoted for fear of prolixity. Some of the*© have been set out in SaubhAgya-bhAskara, (that, is, BhAskurafAya’s Commentary on the LalitAsahasranAma). The Sundarl tApnnlpanchakA, BhAvanopitnishad, Kaulopanishad, Guhyopaniahad, Maho- panishad, and other Upaniahadx (Vedaahirobhlga) deaoriha in detail the Qauu! Bhalcti of Shr! Mahltripuraiundarl and matter rotating thereto. The Kalpuefltnw of Ashvaliyana and others, the Smritw of Manu and o the re come after the PArvakAnda (KnrmakAndit) of the Veda. In t.lie same way the Kalpaafltras of Paraehurftma and others and the Tftmalae and othor Tantraa belong to the latter part of the Veda or the UpanishadkAnda. Tho ParlQM relate to, and follow both, K&ndaa. Thoroforo tho authority of tho Ebnritia, Tantraa, and PurAyus in duo to their being baaed on Veda (Smriti- tautra puifLnAm vedamQlakatveuaiva pxAmAnyam) ; Those whloh seem (Pratyakaha) oppcxwd to Sliruti (Shrutiviruddlm) form a clans of their own and are without authority and should not be followed unless tbo Veda (Mfllaahruti) ia examined (and their conformity with it established). Thcro are some Tantraa, however, which are in every way in con- flict with Veda (Ylnittt sarvAmshena vedaviniddhftnyeva). They are some P.ftehupat* ShAstraa and PanoharAtra. They aro not for those who aro in thin BhumikA (t.e., Veda PantliA). He who is qualified for rites enjoined in Shxuti and Smriti ??8 ALLEGED CONFLICT OF SHASTkAS (Shrauioam Arta-karm ad hikAra) is only AdhikAri for these (PAshupata and PanoharALru) if by reason of some sin (Papa) he falls from the former path. It has therefore been said:- "The Lord of Kamala (Vishnu) spoke the Panoha- rAtras, the BliAgavata, and that which is known as Vaikhi- naaa (VaikhAnasAbhidhama form of VaiAhnaviem) for those who have fallen away from the Vedas (Vedabhrashta).” The following Texts relate only to some of the BhAatraa of the classes mentioned. So we have the following : — "Ho who has fallen from Shruti, who ia alruid of tho expiatory ritee (irAyuokclutta) prescribed therein, should sock iihcltoi in Tontra so that by degrees ho may bo qualified for Shruti (Shruti fliddhyartham).” Though the general term "Tantra" is employed, particular Tantras (that is, thoM oppoaod to Shruti or Aahrauta) are here 'moant. The Adhikaxaua (SQtra) Patyuraafcinanj asyAt (II. 2. 37) apphes to Tantr&e of this olasa. The Agastya and other Tantraa which describe tho worship of RAraa, Krishna, Nrimngka, Rudre, I’arashiva, 8uud»ri (Shakti) and other* evidently derive from the Blmat&pani and other Upanishad*. Thera is therefore no reaeon to doubt but that they are authoritative. Worehip (UpAati) of Sundari Shakti ie of. two kinds Bahiryftga or outer, and Antarylga or iunor, worship. Antar- yAga is again of three kinds : 8»knla, Sakida-Nishkala, and Niehkala, thus oonatituting four BhUmikAs. As already stated, the passage ie from a lower to a higher and then to u yet higher Bhdmikl. Five forma of BahiryAga are spoken of, namely, Kevala. YAmala. Misha, C'hakrayuk and Vira- safigkara, which have each five divisions under the heads Abhigamanu and others and Daurlxidhya and others in different Tantras. BahiryAga with those distinction* be- longs to one and the bbHic Bhumikt. Distinctions in the injunctions (VyavaatM) depend entirely on difference* as to place, time, and capacity, and not on bhe degree of Gnttashuddhi (Nft punaahcMtt^huddhi-bhedena). On the other hand injunctions given according to difference of SHAKTI AND SHAKTA BiiUmikfi, which ia itself dependent on tho degree of purity of the Chitta, arc mandatory. To sum up tho reply to the question raised by the title o£ this paper Tire Shfisties are inuny and are of differing form. But Ishvara is the Lord of all tho Vidy&a which arc tliua uuthoritativc and have a common aim. Tho Adhikftru of men varies. Therefore so does the form of the ShAstra. There ere many stages (Bhttaukfi) on the path of spiritual odvanoo. Man makes his way. from a lower to a higher Bhdmikfl. Statements in any ShAstra which seem to bo in con Hint with Home other ShAatra must be interpreted with roferenoo to the AdhikAra of the persons to whom they are addressed. Texts laudatory of any VidyA are uddroubod to the AdliikA.it therein wjth the object of inducing him to follow it. Texts in disparagement of any VidyA are add row- ed to those who an? not AdhikAii thoroin, either bocauso ho haa not attained, or has surpassed, tho BhOmikA applicable, and thoir object ia to dissuade them from following it. Neither statements are to be taken in an absolute sense, for what is not fit for one may bo fit for another. Evolution governs tho apirituul oo the physical process, and the truth ia in each case given in that form which is suitable for tho stage reached. From step to step the Sfcdhuku rises, until having passed through all presentment* of the Vaidik truth which are necessary for him. he attains tlio Vcdasvnrdpa which is knowledge of the Self. These ancient teachings arc in many ways very conson- ant with what is called the “modernist” outlook. Thus, lot it be noted that there may be (on BhAskararAya says) Adhikfira for Ashrouta ShAatra such as the Arhatu, and there is a Scripture for the Vedabhrashta. These, though non- Vaidik, ure recognised as the Scriptures of those who are fitted for them. This is more than die admission that they are the Scriptures in fact of such persons. Tho ramm- ing of such recognition is brought out Ly an incident some ALLEGED CONFLICT OF SHASTRAS year*) ago. An Anglican clergyman suggested that Maho- medaniam might be a suitable Scripture for the Negro who waa above “ fetichiam ’’ but not yet. fit to receive Christian teaching. Though ho claimed that the latter was the highest and the moot complete truth, this recognition (quite Hindu in ite character) of a lower and less advanced stage, brought him into trouble. For tooie who criticised him gave no recognition to any belief but their own: Hinduism does not deny that other faiths have their good fruit. For this reason, it ia tolerant ton degree which has earned it the charge of being "indifferent to the truth". Each to his own Ite principles admit a progressive revelation of the Self to tlic self, according to varying competencies (Adhilthra) an<l stages (BhftmiH) of spiritual advance. Though eaoh doctrine and practice belongs to varying levels, and therefore tho journey may be shorter or longer as the caso may bo, ultimately all load lo the Vodaavarupa or knowledge ol the Self, than whioh there is no other end. That which imme- diately precedes this complete spiritual oxperienoe is tho Vsdintik doctrine nnd RldhanA for which all o there are tho proprodoutik. Thore is no real conflict if ws look at the stage at which tho particular instructions ere given. Thought, uiovee by an immanent logio from u l«m> to a more oomplete realisation of the true notun: of tin thinker. When tho latter has truly known what he is, he lu»» known what all is. Vedayite iti Vedah. “ Voda is that by which wliat is, and what is true, ia made kuown,” Whilst the Smritis of the Score vary and therefore only those are to be accepted whioh are in conformity with the Standard of tniB oxperienoe or Veda, it is to be remembered that because a Seer such as Kapila Adividvan (upon whose Smriti or experionoe tho SAfigkhyn is wwumeri to be foundod) teaches Dvaitav&da, it does not (in the Hindu view)' follow that he had not himself reached a higher stage, such a* AdvaitavAda is claimed to be. A Beer mov choose to conic down to the level of more ordinary people and teach a SHAKTI AND SHAKTA Dvaitav&da suited to their capacity (Adhik&ra). If all were to teach the highest experience there would be none to look after those » ho were incapable of it, and who must be led up through the necessary preliminary alagm. S&ftgkhya in tiro science of analysis ami discrimination, and therefore the preparation lor Ved&uta which is the science of synthesis and assimilation. Kapila, Gotama and Kanftda mainly built on reason deepened and enlarged, it may lie, by Smriti or subjective uxparienw. We do not find in them any com- plete synthesis of Shruti. A "general appeal is made to .Shruti and a fow texts are cited which accord with wliat (whetheT it wae bo in fact to them or not) ia in fact u pro- visionally adopted point of view. They oonceutrate the thoughts and wills of their disciples on them, withholding (if they themselves have gone further) the rest, as not at present suited to the capacity of tlie Shishya, thus following what Shaflgkara calls Arundhnti-darshana-nyflya. Never- theless the higher truth is immanent in the lower. The Differential and Integral Calculus are involved in elementary Algebra and Geometry booausn the former generalise what tho latter particularise, But Ihu teacher of elementary Mathematics in the lower forma of a school would only confound liis young learners if lie wore to introduce nuoh a general theorem (as suy Taylor’s) lo them. He must keep baok the other until the time is ripe for them. Again the great Teaohon teach wholohcartodness and thoroughness in both belief aud action, without; -which the acceptance of a doo trine is useless. Hence u teacher of DvaitavAda, though himself Advaita-darsht, present* Dvaita to the Adhiklrt Shishya in Such a foirilile way that his reason may be convinced and' his -interest, may bo fully aroused. It. ia useless to nay to a SAdhaka on tho lower pluuo “ Advnitft is the whole truth. Dvaita is not ; but though it is not, it is suited to your capon ty and therefore accept it.” He will of course say that lie doca not then want Dvuitn, and, being incapable of unde standing Ailvaitn, will loss himself. 232 ALLEGED CONFLICT OF SHASTKAS This*, I may observe, is one of the cause# of Scepticism to-day. In the olden time it was possible -to tench a system without anything being lcnown of that which was higher. But with the printing of books some people team .that all ia Miyft, that Upflaanfl w for the. "lower" grades* and ho forth, and; not understanding what all this means, are disposed to throw SMatric teaching in general overboard. This they would not have done if they had' been fust qualified in the truth of their plane and thus bcoomc qualifiod to understand the truth of that which is more advanced. Until Brahma*, s&kah&tlc&ra, all truth ia relative. Hence, Bhagavin in Ihn OitA Bays : 41 Na buddhi-bhadam januyod ajninum karma aaugm&ni." Tradition supports these views. Therefore Vyflaa, Kapila, Gautama, Jainiiui, Kauftda and others have differently taught, though they may have possibly experi- enced nearly similarly. Jaimini in Ins FQrvu Mtmflmsfl diffdra in several refipocta from Vyflaa or Uddarftyano in lun Uttara-Mlmknafl though lie wan the disciple of the latter. Vyflaa is Advaita-darshl in VedAnta but Dvnita-darsh! in Yogubhlshya. 1* it to be supposed, tliat £ho Shishyn was AmulhikArt, and that his Guru, the refers, withheld tho higher truth from him, or was the Guru jealous and kopt bin Shishy* iu actions, withholding Brnhniu jnflna ? A Ruhi who lu*a realised Advnitu may touch Ayurveda or Dlumuvwiu. He need not be Blhfllu-dnrohi, bccaiwo lie teaches SthOla-viahaya. Again Shflstras may differ, because their standpoint and objective is different. Thus the Pflrva- mtmAmsa deals with Dhanna-jignftaa, stating Uiat Veda is practical and enjoins duties, bo that a Text which does not directly or indirectly mean or inipoae a duty is of no account. The Uttam-mimflinsfl, on the other hand, deals with Brahma* jign&afl and therefore in the Sutra 4 Tattu samanvayftt’ it is laid down that a Mantra in relevant, though it. may not impose u duty ("Do thin or do not do thin") but merely produces u Juflua (Know this, "That Thou art”). The difference in interpretation is incidental to difference iu SHAKTI AND SHAKTA standpoint and objective. The sarno remarks apply to the various forms of Advait* ouuh us Via Irish tad vaita, Skuddbll- dvaita ; between the Shaktivlda of the SliAkU Sgama and Vivarttavftda. In some Shflstras stress is laid on Karma, in others on Khukti, anil yet in others on Jn&na as in the case of .MAyavida. But though the emphasis is differently placed, each is involved in the other and ultimately meet and blend. The Mahimnastavn says : "Though men, accord- ing to their natures, follow differing paths, Thou. art the end of all, as is the ocean of all the rivers which flow tliereto. ” Mudhusihlana Suraavatl oommenting on thio, luut written his Pronth&nabheda, the reconciliation of varying doctrines. To-day the greatest need in these matters is (for thoec who are cajwblc of understanding) the establishment of this intellectual and spiritual VVholo (Puma). The Seem who live in tlio exalted Spliere of Calm, understand the worth and significance of caoli fonn of spiritual culture us also their Synthesis, and to the degree that lessor minds attain this level to this extent they will also do so. Whilst the lower mind live* in a section of the whole foot and therefore eooe difference and oonfliot, the illumined who Lvc in and have in varying degrees experience of the Knot itself, see *11 such os related part* of an Whole. Chai-tkr XIII. SARVAN ANDANATHA.* 'T'HE forvollasa, a copy of which came into my possesion 1 some three yearn ago, in a rare MS. Ib ia a Sailgralia by the .Savvavirlyfisiddha riarv&nandan&tha who, though celebrated amongst the Bengal followers of the Agamn, ia. I nhoixld think, almost unknown to the general public. There ia a life in Sanskrit of Sarvdnandan&tha entitled SurvAnandataraugml by his sou ShivanAtho in which uu account of the attainment of inn Siddhi ia given and i »n» indebted >n respect of this article to a abort unpublished nuuuoli by Sj. Dime he Chandra BhattichAcyya, formerly Itoseamh Scholar, who as a native of Tipperah lute had the dcaire to sec Sarv&nanduiuUlw’a plaoe in the History of the so-called "Thntriciwn " in Bangui duly reoogmred. It is said that Sarvftnnnda had striven for Siddhi for seven previous births and a verse preserves the names of the plooco whore ho diod in Uum successive lives. His grand- father VAsudcva originally lived at Purvsathali in the Burd- wan district bub wuh led by a divino cal! to Me bur in Tipporoh whore in ages past Mfttanga Muni liod done Tapes. A deep hole is still shown as being of Mbt&nga’s Uiue. It is also suid that round about the plaoe where 8arv&muidanAtha performed his ShavosAdhanA, adept SAdhakas even now discover the hidden Lings established by MAtanga marked out by equally hidden harriers or Kilakas. Vtaudeva t.lien went to Ktkm&khyA where ha died after undergoing sovoro Tapaa. He left, his son at Mehar who himself afterwards had a son, the grandson of VAsudev*. In fact it is said that the grandfather VisudoVa was roborn as the hou of his own son, that is, ae SarvAnaudo. In early life the latter waa stupid and illiterate. He was shorply * Reprinted from TAt Hiiulusta>, Rteitm, Vol. 41, January 1920. SHAKTI AND SHAKTA rebuked by the local Rajah for his ignorance in proclaiming a N ew Moon day to be Full Moon day. Being severely punished by his relative* he determined to begin his letters and went out lo March for the necessary palm-leaves. There in tlie jungle he mot a Sannyaai, who was Mah&dera himself in that form and who whispered in his cam a Mantra and gave him certain instructions. His servant Puna was an advanced SAdhaka, who had been psychically developed under Vfiaudcva. Puna separating the subtle (Sfikshma- dsha) from ihe'giow Ircxly, served as a corpse on the back of which BarvAnandn performed ShavasAdhanA and attained Siddhi that same now moon night on which to the amassemont of all a perfect moon shone ovor Mcliar. ThiB full inoon episode is popularly the most famous of Sarv&iiando’a wonders. Some time after Sarvlnanda loft Mohnr after having given utterance to the oureo that hie own family would die out in the 22nd, and that of the local chief in the 10th gene- ration. This last Announcement is said to have come true as the Itnjah’a descendant in the fifteenth generation actually died without issue, though the family survives through his adopted eon. Sarvlnanda stnrtod for Benares but stopped at Sonhati in Jessore where he was compelled to marry ogain and whore he lived for some years. His plaoc of worship atSenhhti is still shown. At the age of ftO he wont Ui Benares with his servant Puna and nephew SadAnanda. At Benares the Shaiva Dandins were then, an now, predominant. He quarrelled with them, ox they with him, on account of his doctrines and practice. In return for their treatment of him lie to their awe and possibly disgust, converted (so it is said) their food into meat and wine. 'Of course the Benares Dandins, as is usual in such cases, give a different aooourit of'tho matter. Their tradition is tliofc, after a ShAatrio debate, BorvAimiidu was convinced by the Dumliim that the Siddhi which ha boasted of was no real Siddhi at all and was then made a oonvert to 2j6 SARVANANDANATHA their own doctrines, wliich is die meat satisfactory of all results for the men of piety who wrangle with others and try to make them oome over to their views. It is worthy of note how quarrelsome in all ages many of the pious and wonder- workers have been. But perhaps we do not hear so much of the quieter sages who lived and let others live, diffusing their view* not amongst those who were satisfied with what thoy know or thought they knew, but among such tie had not found and therefore sought. After this event Servlnande disappeared from Benares whioh rather points to the fact that the Dandins did not acquire a distinguished adversary ior their community. Tradition is silent as to what happened to him later and as to the date and place of hi* end. Sj. Dinesh Chandra HhattAchlryya has made for nie a calculation as to the date of SarvAnanda’a Siddhi whioh fell on a Pnunhft SamkrAnti corresponding to Chaturdasi or AmAv&nya falling on a Friday. Between 11200 and 1700 A.I> there are throe datce on whioh tho above conibinalioii took place, viz., 1342, 1420 and 1048 A.D The .first date is too euTly as 15 or 10 generations, to which his family descends at present, does not carry us so far back. The last date seems too late. For according to tradition JAnaktvallobha IJurwA- ch&ryya, himself a famous Siddha, and fifth in descent from SarvAnunda, was a contemporary of one of tho "twelve Bhuiyiw ” of Bengal latn in the reign of Akbur (cwo. 1 000 A.D.). The date 1426 A.D. is therefore adopted. It will thus appear that ho lived about a century before the three great Bengal TAntrikas, namely, Krisbinanda, Brahminanda and FumAnuuda, all of whom uro of tho ldth oontury. But. this calculation has stdl to lie verified by data oullod from an examination of tho Sarvollftsa such as the authorities which its author citeB. This last work, I am told, is that by which he is beat known. Two other short TAutrika works ure ascribed to a SarvAnanda though whether it is the same Siddha is not 237 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA oc ruin. There in, I aiu told, a Nav&mapfljapaddhati by SarvAnandantUha in a MS. dated 1(508 Viknun&bda in the Raghun&th Temple Library in Kashmir and another work the TripurArchanadtpilcft is reported from the Central Provinces. As is usual in such cases there in a legend that RarvA- nanria ta still living by KAyavyuha in some hidden reaort of Siddha-puruahaa. The author of the momoir from which I quote, tolls of a SAdhu who aaid to my informant that some years ago he met Barv&aaiidan&tha in a plaoe colled Champa- k&ranya but only for a few minutes, for the SAdhu was himself miraoulomly wafted rlsewhore. Somo very ourioua reading of deep intorcst to tha psycho- logist, the student of psyohio phenomena and the historian of religions in to be found in the stories which are told of BAdhtM and fliddluw of 8arvftnanda'« typo who, whether tl»y did nil that ia recounted of them or not, yet lived so strangely, as for inutanoo, to toko anothor case, that of Brah mlnandn the author of the 8hAlctAnondatoraugint who, going in liis youth in quest of u prostitute, found in the house he entered and in the woman who came to him h;s own mother, hcrwll the victim of a Mussulman ravishor. It was the horror of this cnoounter which converted his mind and led him to byome a SAdhu, during which life he did DhyAnn in the body of a dead and rotting elephant and the other things related of him. They await collection. But whop their value has been discovered possibly these traditions may have dis- appeared. Even if all the facte related of these Sid hue nud Siddhaa were the work of imagination (and whilst some of them may be so, others are in all probability true enough) they arc worth preservation as such. The history of the hu- man mind is as much a fact as anything which is reverenced because it is “objective”. This last class of fact is generally only the common experience. It is attractive, yet some- times fearsome, to follow the mind's wanderings both in the light nnd in that, curious dark, which only explorers in these 238 sarvAnandanAtha paths know. If one dues not lose one's way (and in this lies a peril) we emerge with a confidence in ourselves at having passed a test— a confidcnoc which will serve our future. In any case as I have said there is an opportunity of research for those whose workings are in the outer crust of mere historical fact. 2 39 Chapter XIV. CHIT-SHAKTI. (THB C'ONHOIODHMWa A8PKCT OX TUB UnXVSBSE.) f^HIT-SHAKTI in Chit, uh Shukti, that is as Power, or that aspect of Chit in which it is, through its associ- ated M&yft-fihakta, operative to create the universe. It is r. commonly accepted doctrine that, the ultimate Reality is 8am vid, Chaitanya or Chit But whAt is Chit? There is no word in the English language which adequately describes it. Ft. in not mind : for mind is a limited instrument through whloh Chit in manifested. It is that whioh is behind the, mind ami by whioh'the mind itself is thought, that it created. The Brahman is mindless (Azucnah). If we exclude mind wo also exoludc all forms of mental process, conception, percep- tion, thought, 'reason, will, memory, particular sensation and the lilco. Wo are then left with three available words, namely, Consciousness, Keeling, Kxpovion'o. To the fust term there ore several objection*. For if wo uw nn English word, wo must understand it aooording to its generally received meaning. Generally by "Coneoioiumnsa" is meant self-cointciouanws, or at least something particular, having direction and form, which a concrete and conditioned ; an ovolvod product marking the higher stages of Evo’.uticn. According to some, it ia a mere function of experience, an epi phenomenon, a mere accident, of mental process. In thin sense it belongs only to the highly developed organism and involves a subject attending to an object of which, as of itself, it is conscious. Wo are thus said to havo most con- sciousness when wc arc awake (JAgrat avaathA) and havo full experience of all objects presented to us ; less so when dreaming (Svapna avasthft) and deep anwethesia in trao dreamless sleep (Sushupti). I may hero observe that recent researches show that tliis last state is not so common as is 240 CHIT-SHAKTI generally supposed. That ia oomplcte dreamlofeneas in rare ; there being generally some trace of dream. In the last state it is commonly said tliat. goiiscioumiimsh has disappeared, and so of course it has, if we firet define coiiBoiouauess.in terms of tho waking state and of knowledge of objects. Aooording to Indian notions then u a form of conscious experience in tho deepest sleep expressed in the well-known phrase “Happily 1 slept 1 knew nothing”. The sleeper re collect** on waiting that, his state has been one of happi- ness. And !u> cannot recollect nnliwH then* hat been h previous experience (Anubhava) which is the subject-matter of memory. In ordinary parlance wo do not regard some low animal form*, plants or mineral an "conscious" It is true that now in tlio West them is (dun to the spread of idor.s lung current in India) growing up a wider uso of tho term "consciousness" in connection not only with animul but. vegetable ami mineral life, but it onimot be said that the term " consciousness" has yet generally acquired this wide signification. If then we use (as for convenience we do) the term "ConsciouanoBa" for Clut, we must give it a content, diffomnt from t.hnt which is attributed to the terms in ordinary English parlance. Nextly, it is to bn remembsmd that what in oitlior view wo undorr.tand by ooiuoiousnoss ia Bomotliing manifested) end therefore limited, and derived from our Quito experience. The Brahman as Chit is tlie infinite substratum of that. Chit in Itself (flvarftpa) is not particular, nor conditioned nnd ooncrete. Particularity is that aspect in which it manifests as, and through, AIAyA- Shalcti. Chit manifests as JrAna-Shalcti which, when usod otherwise than as a loose synonym for Chit, means know- ledge of objects. Ohit-Svarupa is neither knowledge of objects nor seH-oonsoiousnem in tho phenomenal aensn. Waking, drenming and dreamless slumber are all pheno- monal otatea in which oxponenoo varies ; auch varianco being due not to Chit but to the opjration or cessation of particular operation of the vehicles of mind (Antahkurnnn) SHAK'ri AND SHAKTA nnd sense (Illdriya). But Ohit never disappears nor varies in either- of the three states, but remains one and the same through all. Though Chit-8vurdpr\ in not a knowledge o i objcoki in the phenomenal sense, it in uot, acoordiug to Slmiva-Sliftkl.a views (I refer always to Ailvaita Shaiva- dnrehana), » mere abstract knowing (JnAua) wholly devoid ol content. It noncams within itself the Viniarsha-Shakti which w the cause of phenomenal objects, then existing in ilie form of Chit (Chidr&piul). The Self then knows the Self. Still Ism oan w<« speak of meru “awareness" us the equivalent of Glut. A worm or meaner form of animal may lie said to bo vaguely aware In feet mere "aware- uses " (aa wo umlorstsnd that term) is a state of Ohit in which it is aoomingly - overwhelmed by obscuring MAylt- Blmkti in the form of Tamoguiu. Unlesa tliercforo we give to "awareness", ns also U» uonsidousneM, a content, otliei than tliat with which our experience furnishes us, both terms are unsuitable. In sonic rrepaota Uhit oan lie more closely described by Fueling, which soenu to have been the moat ancient meaning of the term Chit. Feeling is mow primary, in that it is only after wo have been first affected by some- thing that, wo Income conscious of it. Feeling has thus been said to be the raw material of thought, tho oseontial clement in tho Helf, what wo oall personality being a porti- culax form of fooling. Thus in SAdkhya, fclm Gunae are said to-be in tho nature of happiness (Sukhu), sorrow (Duhkha) and illusion (Molia) as they are experienced by the Funwha-Conaciousnesa. And in Vod&ata, Ohit and Ananda or Bliss or Lovo are one. For Oonsoioiwncse then is not consciousness of being (Sat) but. Bcmg-congoiousnesfi (Sot-Chit) : nor a Being which ia conscious 0 / Bliss (Amindn) but Being-OonRciousncRH-bliRs (SachohidAnonda). Further " feeling” has this advantage that, it is associated with ail fomia of organic existence even according to popular usage, and may scientifically be aptly applied to inorganic matter, Thus whilst most consider it to be an unusual and a! mined CHIT-SHAKTI uao of language, to speak of the oonaoioubnow of a plant or stone, we can and do speak of the feeling or eentiency of a plant. Further the reapons* which iti organic matter inakch to stimuli is evidence of the existence therein nf that, vital germ of life and aentioiicy (and therefore Chit) which expands into the eentiency of plants, and the feelings and emotion* of animals and men. It. is possible for any form of unintelligent being to fee! howovor obscurely. And it must do bo, if its ultimate l»«i* is Chit and Anandn, however veiled by MdyA-Bhftkti t,hcw. may he. Tlx* response which inorganic matter makes to stimuli is the manifestation of Chit through tl*> Sattvaguna of MAyft-Shakti, or Shnkti in its form m I’ralcriti fihakti. The manifestation is alight and apparently mechanical because of the extreme predomi- nance of the Tamoguua in the same Frakriti-flliakti. Bco*um of tlie limited and extremely regulated character ol the movement, which seems to axdude all volitional process a* known to us, it ib currently nsaumed that we have merely to deal with what is an unoonidoua mochani- c*l energy. Because vitality is so circumsoribed and seemingly identified with the apparent tueohanicol process, we are apt to assume mere unconscious mechanism. But os a fact tins latter is but the form Assumed by the conscious Vital Power which ia in and works in all matter whatever it bo. To the eye, however, unaMmted by scientific instruments, whioli extend our capooity for experience, establishing urtifiuial orguua for the gainiug thereof, the matter appeuis Jade, (or unconscious) ; and so both in common Knglish and Indian parlanco wo call that alone living or Jlva which, an organized matter, ia endowed with body and senses. Philosophically, however, m well as acientifically, all is Jfvltmfi which is not Paramatmfi : every- thing in fact with form, whether the form exists as the simple moloculo of matter, or as the combination of these simple forms into cells and greater organisms Tlie response of metallic matter is a form of aent ionoy its germinal form— a 343 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA manifestation of Chit intensely obscured by tbe Tamoguna of Prokriti-Shakti. In plantc Chit » less obscured, and there is the sentient life which gradually expands in animals and men, according as Chit gains freedom of manifestation through the inoreaaed operation of Sattvagun* in the vehicles of Chit; which vehicles are the mind and senses and the more elaborate organisation of the bodily particles. What is thus mere incipient, or germinal sentiency, simulating unconscious mnohanioal movement in inorganic matter, expands hy degree* into feeling akin, though nt first. remotely, to our own, and into all the othor psychic functions ot conscious- ness, perception, reasoning, memory and will. Tiro matter has l>«s4*ii very eJearly put in a Paper on “Tlia Four Coemio Etementa" l»y C. 0. Ssrulei which (subject to certain reser- vations stated) aptly describes the Indian views on the subject in hand. Ho rightly says that sentionoy is an integrant constituent of all existence, physical ns woll as metaphysical, end its manifestation can l>o traced throughout the mineral ami chemical an woll vegetable and animal worlds. It essentially comprises the functions of relationship to environment, yoiponte to stimuli, and atomic memory in the lower or inorgnnic plane ; whilst in the higher or in- organic planes it include* nil tiro peyohio functions such as OonsaiouanwB, perception , thought, reason, volition and Individual memory. Inorganic mutter through the inherent! element of sentionoy is endowed with wthesta or capacity of feelmg and response to physical and chemical stimuli auch as light, temperature, sound, eleotrioity, magnetism und the action of chemicals. All snob phenomena are examples of the facility of perception and response to outside stimuli of matter. We nnut here include choiuioal sentionoy and memory; that is the atom’s and molecule's remembranco of its own identity and behaviour therewith. Atomic memory does not, of ooursc, imply self-consciousness, but only inherent group-apirit which responds in a characteristic CHIT-SHAKTI way to given outside stimuli. We may cull it atomio or physical consciousness. The consciousness o f plants is only trancc-lihc (what the Hindu books call ‘Comatose’) though aoriie of the higher aspects of sentiency (and we may here use the word ' consciousness') of the vegetable world are highly interesting ; such as the turning of flowers to the sun ; the opening and shutting of leave* and petals at certain times, sensitiveness to* the temperature and the obvious signs of oonsoiousnosa shewn by the sensitive and insectivorous plants, such as the Sundew, the Venus Fly-trap, and others. The aentaency of micro-organisms which dwell on tho border- land between the vegetable and animal worlds have uo Manse organs, but are only endowed with tactile irrita- bility, yot they aro pomeaeod of puyahic life, nontionoy, and inolinetion, whereby they porooiva thoir environment and position, approach, utiock and devour food, flee from harm- ful substances and reproduce by division. Their move- ments appear to l» positive, not reflex. Every oil, both vegetable and animal, possosioa a biological or vegetative ooofioiouaooM, wliioh in health ia polarized or subordinate to the government of the total organism of which it forms an integral part ; but which is locally impaired in disease and ceases altogether at the death of the orgahism. In plants, liowavor, (unlike animals) the cellular ooimcimwnw is dif- fuaed or distributed amongst the timiuos or fibres ; there being apparently no special conducting or neutralising organa of consciousness suoli as wo And in higher evolu- tionary forms. Animal consciousness in its liighcst modus becomes aelf-conaoiouaneas. The psychology of the lower animals ia still the field of much controToray ; some regard- ing these as cartesian machines and others ascribing to them a high degree of psychic development. In the animals tii»m ia an endeavour at centralisation of consciousness which reaches its most complex stage in man, the possessor of tho moat highly organized system of consciousness, con- sist' ug of the norvoun system and its oentres and functions, 245 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA buoIi as the brain and solar ploxia, the site of Ajuft aud upper centre#, and of the Manipdra Clu*ki». Seutienoy or feeling in a oonaWtueut of all existence. Wo may call it tonsciousnees howeveT, if we understand (with the author cited) tho term “consciousness" to inolude atomic or physical consciousness, the trance coneciounnesh of plant life, animal consciousness and man's completed self-oonsoioimiess. The term Sentiency or Feeling, as the equivalent of manifested Chit, ha*, however, this disadvantage whereas intelligence and consciousness are terms for the highest attributes of man's nature, mere eentienay, though more inclusive nnd common to all, is that which wo share with the lowest manifestations. In the case of both terms, how- over, it i* neoesary to remember that they do not represent the CluVfivarOpa or Chit as It :s in itself. Tho term Sv&rQpa (own form) is employed to convey the notion of what constitutes anything wlwt it is, namely, its tnin nature as it is in itself. Thus, though th* Brahman or Shiva manifests in the form of the world a* Mhyl-Sliakti, its Svarftpa is puro Chit. Neither aentionoy nor oonaoiousncea, os known to un, is Chit-8 varflpa. They are only limited- manifestation# of Chit just as reason, will, emotion and memory, their modes arc. Chit is the back-ground of all forms of experience which are its inodes, that is Chit veiled by H&yA-Shakti. Uhit-Svarflpa is never to Ixi confounded with, or limited to, its particular modes. Nor is it their totality, for whilst it manifests in these modes It yet, in Its own nature, infinitely transcends them. Neither sentionoy, consciousness, nor any other term borrowed from a limited and dual universe adequately describe what Glut is in Itself (Svardpa). Vita- lity. mind, matter are its limited manifestations in form. These forms are ceaselessly changing, but the undifferentiated substratum of which they are particular! red modes is change- less. That eternal, changeless, substratum is Chit, which may thus be defined as the c hatuplm principle of all our CHIT-SHAKTI changing experience. All ia Chit, clothing itself in forma by its own Power of Cliit-Shakti and MAyA-Shakti : and that Power is not different from Itself. Chit is not the subject of knowledge or speech. For as the Varfiha Upanishad (Chap. IV) says it is “The Kea.ity which remains after all thoughts are given up." Whnt it is in Itaelf is unknown but to those who become It It is fully realired only in the highest state of Ecstasy (SamAdhi) and in bodiless liberation (Videha Mukti) when Spirit is free of its vehicles of taind and matter. A Modem Indian Philosopher hoo (Soo "Ap- proaches to Truth" and the "Patent Wonder" by Professor PminathnnAth* MukhyopAcIhyAya) very admirably analysed the notion of the universal Ether of Oonsuiousness (ChidA- kislia) and the particular Stress formed in it by the action of MAyl- 81 iakti. In the first place, lie points out that logical thought is inherently dualistic and therefore presupposes a subject and object. Tlrerefore to the pragmatic eye of the western, viewing the only experience known to him, consciousuosH is alwayn particular having a particular form and direction. Hence where no direction or form is dia- cairmblo, they lmvo lx>*n apt to imugino that ooiuoiouanosa as'HUch has also oemied. Thun if it were nonorded that in profound sleep there were no dreams, or -if in perfect nnu»- thoaitt it were granted that nothing particular was felt, it was thereby considered to be conceded that consciousness may sometime® oeusc to oxinl in us. Whatdocs in fact cease is the consciousness of objects which we luvv« in the waking and dreaming states. Oonsciouwieee as such w neither aubjeotivo nor objective and is not identical with intelligence or under- standing- -that i» with«lirected or informed consoiousneoa. Any form of unintelligent being which feels, however ohuo- tioally it may bo, in yet, though obeeuroly so (in the sense here mount) oouscious Pure oonsoiou-meai, that is conjoimw neas as such, is the background of every form of experience. In practical life and in Science and Philosophy when swayed by pragmatic ends, formless experience has no 247 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA interest, bitt only certain forms and tones of life and con* sojousneta. Where these are missed we are apt to fauoy that we miss life and feeling-canaciousnces also. Hence tlie eeser.tial baas of existence or Chit has been commonly looked upon as a very much specialized and pcouliar mani- festation in nature. On the contrary, Chit is Being or Reality itself. Chit ss such is identical with Being as suoh. The Brahman is both Chit and Rat. Though in ordinary experienoa, Being and Feeling-ConacioueuusB uro essentially bound up together," they still norm to diverge from each other. Man by his very Constitution iuveteratcly believes in an objective existence beyond and independent of his self. And this is so, so long as lie is subject to the veil (MAyA-Shakti). But in that ultimate basis of experience which ie the Panuntttma the divergent has gone ; for the same boundless substratum which is the continuous mass of experience is also that whioh is experienced. The self is it* own objoct. 'J’o the exalted Yogin the whole universe is not different from himself os AtmA. This ie tho path of tho " upward-going" Kundali (Urddhva-Kundelinl). Further, there hus been u tendency in faut tu luoh upon consciousness ns a mere function of experience ; and the Philosophy of unconscious ideas and nnud-Btufl would even go so far as to regard itaa a mere accident of mental process. This is to reverse the actual facts. Consciousness should rather bo taken u« un original datum than ns a later development and peculiar manifesta- tion. Wo should begin with it in ite lowest forms, and explain its apparent pulso-lifo by oxtending tho principle 61 veiling (VlAyt-Shakti) whioh is ceaselessly working in man, reducing lus life to un apparent series of pulses also An explanation whioh does not start with this primordial extensity of experience cannot expect to end with it. For if it be nob positive at, the beginning, it cannot be derived at the end. 248 CHIT-SHAKTI But what, it may bo asked, is the proof of suoh puto experience < Psychology which only knows ohuuging state* does not tell us of it. This is so. Vet from those states, some of which approaoh indiffereutiation, inference! may be drawn ; and experience is not limited to suoh states, for it may transoend them. It is true that ordinarily wc do not meet with a condition of consciousness which is without a direction or form ; but tests drawn from the incidents cf ordinary normal life nm insufficient, it has been arguod, to provo that there is no oonaciousnoas at all when thiH dirootion and form uro supposed to have gone. Though a logioal intuition will not tell it* own story, wo can make reflection on intuition render us acme Kort of account, ao that the intuitive fact appears in review, when it will appear that consoiouimees in the bums of, indeed, existence iUell, and not merely an attendant circum- stance. But the only proof of pure cotwoiousnraH is an instunoe of it. This cannot bo established by mote reflection. The liuro connoiouimnM of this or.tliat, the experience of just going to sleep and jusb waking, and ev.'n the consciousness of beupg as such, are but approximations to the state of oonsoiounneM m such, that ii pore oonsoiouanoaa, but arc not idontionl with it. Thou, what evident*, it may be a^ked, have wo of the fact that, pure ooiwoiousUMtt is an actual stuto of being ? In, normal life us well as in abnormal pathological states, wo have occasional strotolws of experi- ence in which simplicity of feature or determination him advanced near to indiflnrentiation, in which experience has become almost structureless. But the limit of pure experience is not there reached. On the other hand, there is no conclusive proof that we have ever hail a real lapse of consciousness iu our life, and the extinction of consciousness ao suoh ia inoouoeivablo in uny ease. The claim, however, that oonaciouancK as such exists, irate not so much on logical argument as on intuitive grounds, on revelation (Shruti) and spiritual experience of the truth of that revelation. 249 SHAKTI -AND SHAKTA Aoooixling to Indian Monism, a Pore Principle of Experi- ence not. only in, but is the one and ouly ultimate permanent being or roulity. Tt does not regard Chit as u mcru function, aocident, or epiphenomenon, but holds it to be the over existing ylcivum which sustains and vitalizes all phenonional existence, and is the very basis on which all forms of multiple experience, wliei, her ol sensation, instinot, will, understand- ing, or. nuwon, rest. It is. in short, the unity and unchanging Ideality behind all tliase various ohanging forms which, by the veil or .VUy& Shakti, Jtva asuunioB. The Ohit flvarilpa, inadequately described as moro blissful mvar.uiMs of feeling, exists as the basis and appears in the form of, that is olotlied with, mind ; a term'whioh in its general mm no U uot used merely in the sense of the purely mental function of reason but in the sense of all the forms in which conscious new is displayed, as distinguished from (Jhit Itself, which ia tlio unity bohind all these forms whether reason, sensation, amotion, instinot, or will. All these arc modes wherein tlio plnitio unformed clay of life is determined. For every conception or volition is cnsontially an apparent circumscription or limitation of that 8at which is the basis of phouomeiml life. ProfeBeorP. N. M ukhyop Ad hyftyn bus deacn bed pure con- sciousness to lie an infinitude of “awaremyss, ' lacking uanie and form ami every kind of determination, which is a state of complete quiescence where the potential is zero or infinity —a condition without, strain or tension ’ which is at once introduced when the slightest constmction is put- upon it., resulting in a consciousness of hero “this” and “that”. It is not u oous'uousncss of anything. It is au experience of nothing in particular. But this must not be oonfounded with no experience. The former is token to be the latter because l*fe is pragmatic, interest being shown in particular modes of awareness. To man’s life, which is little else than a system of partialities, pure experience in which there is nothing particular to observe or shun, love or hate seems CHIT-SHAKTI practically to be no experience at all. Pore (JoneciouHncaH ia impartial. There is no difference (Bheda) so far as pure Awareness is concerted.. Pure Consciousness is a kind of ex- perience which stands above all antithesis of motion and rest. Itdoes not know Itself either as changing or statical, siuoe it is consciousness M »uch without, any determinations or mode whatever. To know itself as changing or permanent, it must conceal it* alogickl and unspeakable nature in a veil (MiyA). Every determination or form makes experience a direotivo magnitude. Consciousness then assumes a direc- tion or special refeieuoe. It is not possible to direct ami reWriu a spooiul way without inducing such a feeling of strain or tension, whether the conditions be physiological or psycho- logies!. Pure consciousness has, thus, been compared to an oquipotential surface of electrical distribution. There is no dilferenoe of potentials between any 'two points A anil B over this surface. It in a stretch of consciousness, in which there i*, apparently, no sensible diversity of features, no preference, no differential incidence of subjective regard. Like the oquipotential ouriuoo, such consoiousneen is also quiescent. To seouio a flow on it, there must be a difference of potentials between any two points. Similarly, to have a reference, a direction, a movement of attention, livers mart bo a determination in the total experience of the moment in the given mass of consciousness. Absolute quiescence is a state of consciousness whioh is pure being with no special subjective direction and reforenw ; with no difference of level and potential I -it; wen one part of tho oxpcricnoe and another. Experience will show special nubjeotivc direction and reforenoo if it assumes at least form or determination, such an “this” or ‘‘that.”; to have no difference of level or potential, experience must bo strioUy undeferentiated— that is to say, must not involve tbe least ideal or representative structure. Absolute quiescence exists only with that Consciousness which is pure Being, or Para- mfttmfi. SHAKTI AND SHAKTA With regard, howovor, to ull descriptions of this state, it must be borne in mind iliat they only negatively correspond with their Hubjeomattai by the elimination uf characteristics whioli are peculiar to, and constitute the human conscious- ness of,, the JJva, and are therefore alien to the Supreme Consciousness. They give us no positivo information aa to the nature of pure Chit, for this is only known in Yoga by the removal of ignorance (AvidyA) under which all logical thinking and speaking is done. This "ignorance" in nothing but a term for thcee limitations which make the creature wliafc lie in. It ia a common plaoo in Indian religion and philosophy that the Brahman an Itoxinta in Iteelf in beyond ull thought and words, and is known only by tliu Sain&dld of Yoga. As the MahA.nirvAna Tontm troys (XII. V. 0. tt tteq.) : "Tha Brulunan is known in two ways : from His manifestations which arc cho object of HAdhanA or ae It, is in itself in Sam Ad hi yoga for, at Oh, XIV, V. 133 Ibid., says, Atmajn&na is the one means of liberation in which Ite nat ure is realised. It is, perhaps, in part at least, bemuMt the merely negative and imperfeot character of Buohdoaorip- t-ion in not euffiaicntly noted that pure conic iouancas, as the author cited point* ouv, has in general awakened no serious interest in the practical West ; though it lias boon tlio crown of glory for some of, what have boon said to be, tho stateliest forms of Kwteru thought, which assorts iteoll to bo in posses- sion of an experimental method by which tho oonditicn of pure oonaoiouanoM may be realised. The question is, thus, not one of mere ■ peculation, but of demonstration. This state, again, is believed by the East to lie not a dull aud'dreary condition, a dry abstraction or reduetio ad absurdwn of all which imparts to our living it* worth and significance. Not at oil since it u the first Principle in wliioli as Power .ill existence is potential and from vhioh it proceeds. It is reasonable, therefore, it ia contended, to assume that, all whi<!h life possesses of real worth exists in the Source of life itself. Life is only a mode of infinite Supremacy CHIT SHAKTI with beatitude, which is Being and Consciousness in all its metaphysical grandeur, an absolutely ununderstandabJe condition which no imagination can depict and no categories can reach and possess. Owing to the necessarily negative character of some of the d Ascriptions of the Supreme Brahman we find such questions “How oan it differ from a nullity ?" (“Dialogues on Hindu Philosophy," 250, by Rev. K. M. Bancrjoe) : and the statement of the English Orioutalmt Colonial Jaoob (whose views are akin to those of others) that "Nirv&na is an unconscious (sic) and utono-like (sio) existence Such a misconception is the more extraordinary in that it occurs in the work of ah author who was engaged in the translation of u Ved Antic treatise. Thcee and many similar statement* ssem to establish that it is possible to make a special study of Vedluta and yet to misunderstand it* primary concepts. It. is true that the Brahman is miconRoiouB in the sense that It ia not our coMOiouaaois ; for, if ao, It would 1x> Jtva and not PanunAtmfc, But this is only, to say that it ha* not our limitations. It is unlimited Chit. A rtono represent* it« most veiled existence. In its Self it is nil light and self- illumining (SvupraUAahu), As Shruti savrt (Kntha Up. 0-lfl) “All things shod lustre by His lustre. All things shine because Heahinw." All things depend on It: hut It has not to depend on anything olso lor Its manifestation. It ip therefore belter to say with the Hafisopanishad and- tho Christian Gospel that It is the Peaoo beyond nil understand- ing. It has been drily rsmaikod that “Tho idea thnt Yoga inepns a dull state is duo, perhaps, to tho misunderstanding of Patanjali’s definition of it.” Man, however, ordinarily and by his nature craves for modes and forms (BhamuAna.nda) ; uud though all enjoy- ment comes from the pure Supreme Consciousness, it is supposed that dualistio variety and polarity are necessary for enjoyment. What, thus, in its plentstude belongs to the. sustaining spirit of all life is transferred to life alone. All 253 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA knowlodgo and existence am idea tided with variety, chungo, polarity. Whilst skimming over the chequered surface of the sea, we thus, it in said, ignore the unfathomed depths which are in repost* and which nothing stire, where ui ia the Supreme Peace (ShAntA) and Witts (ParanUnanda). 'I' he BrihatUmnyaka L’panialiad says "Other beings live on a fraction of this great, Bliss." The Bliss of Shiva and Shakti are one, for they are inseparat*. Hence she is called (Triahat! II. 32) Bkahhoga: for Rka^'Ishvara and Bhogft— RvnsvarupAimnda. Nyflya and SAfikhya say that the chief end of. man is the nlaoluto cessation of pain, but Vedflntins, going heyoiul this negative definition, say that, all pain having surcooao.l on Unity with the Supremo, the chief end is that poaitivu BUss which is of its essence. The Duvt KalyAnt, the Mother ol all, is Herself Bliss— that is, all blus from earthly blisa (Bhnuniilnanda) to Brulimim-bliHS (BrulimAnanda). Ah the Commentator 9hafil:am in Ins commentary on the Triahatf nays (citing Shruti) : “ Who else can make us breathe, who nine can make us lire, if this blissful Wther were not ?” Ff, further, it l*o asked uJiat in pure ICltperienoe which manifesto itsolf in nil theeo diverse forms, it must bo said that from Its very definition pure Chit, or the Supreme Brahman (Paimbrahman), is that about which nothing in particular can be predicated : for predication is possible only in relation to dcUrrrrinations or modes m consciousness. And in this sense Yogatativa Upanishad says that those who sook a knowledge of it. in ShA-tras arc deluded : " How can that which is self-shining bo illuminated by the Shfatras ? Not even the Dovas can describe that indescribable .state." The M&ndukye Upaniehad, speaking of the fourth aspect (Pads) of Atroll, says that it is the non-dual Shiva which is not an object which can be sensed, uaod, taken, determined (by any markB), or of whioh an account can be given, but is unthinkable and knowablc only by the realization of Atm A. Negative predication may, however, clear away improper CHITSHAKTI uotiona. It in really inscrutable Being upon whioli no category can be fastened. This must always be borne in mind in any attempted definition of this transcendent state. It is of a self-existent (Nirftdhftra), unending (Nitya), changeless (Avik&ri), undifferentiated (Abhmna), apaoelenn (Pfima), timeless (Shtevata), all-pervading {SarvatfAvastha), self-illumining (Svayamjyotih), pure (Shuddha) experience.- As the ICulAmava Tantra anya (1—8, 7): ".Shiva is the impartito Supreme Brahman, the nll-kiiowijig Creator of. all. He is the itEamleeti One and tlxo L»tsl of all. Ho is one without n nocond (Advaya), He is light itself. Ho changes not, and is without beginning or end. He is without attribute and above the highest. He in Being (Hat), UonsoiousnesH (Chit), and Bliss (Auanda), As Hat, It is unity of being beyond the opposites of "this" and “that," "here and there," “then and now". As Chit, It is sn experiencing l*eyond the opposites of worldly know- ledge snd ignorance. As Suprame Ainmda, It is thu Bliss which is known upon the dissolutimi of the dnalistio state whioh fluctuates botwoen, and in composed of, happiness and sorrow ; for crested happiness is only au impermanent change of state (VikAra) or Becoming, but the Hupmmc Bliss (PuratuAnauda) euduros. Bliss is the very nature iBvarflpo) of this Supreme ttonsoiousness, and not, as with the creature, a mere changing attribute of some form of Becoming Sup- reme Being (Sat) is a unity without parts (Nishkala). Supreme Feeling-Consciousness (Ohit) is immediacy of experience. In the Jtva, Consciousness of Self is not oyer against the not-self . for logical thought establishes * polarity of subject and objeot. Thus the nndiflerenti atari Supremo Consciousness transcends, and the Supreme Bliss (Para- mAnanda) is beyond, the changing feelings of happiness and sorrow. It is the great Pcaoe (ShfintA) which, in the words of tho Hafaopamshad (V. 12, Ed. Anand Ashrams, XXIX, p. 5081 as of the New Testament/ passes all. worldly under- standing. SachchidAnandn, or Pure Being, persist* in all the SHAKTT AND SHAKTA ■statef, of Becoming which arc its manifestation as Shakti. It may be oomporcd to a continuous, partJeoa, uudifforenti- ated Unity universally pervading the manifested world like ether or ipeoo, as opposed to the limited, discontinuous, discrete character of the forms of “matter". which are the products of its power of Shakti. It is a state of quiescence free of all motion (Nihs panda), and of that vibration (Span- dana) which, operating as the Primordial Energy, evolves the phenomenal world of names tad fomw. It is. in short, said to he the innermost Self in every lieing— a changeless Reality of the nature of a purely experiencing principle (Chaitanyom XtmA) iu distinguished from whatever may assume the fonn of nither the experienced, or of the moans of experience. This Cliit in bodies underlies us thuir inner- most S?lf nil beings. The Chit or Atmft ns the underlying Reality fn all is, according to VedftuU, one, and the same in all : undivided and unlimited by any of them, however much they may be separated in time ar.d apace. It is not only nil-pervading, but all-transoending. It lias thus n two-fold aspect : an immanent ftspoct •• Shakti (Power), in which It pervades the muvorucs (8ugun» Brahman) ; and a tmnaoen- dcntal aspect, in which It cxlits beyond all Its worldly manifestations (Nirguna Brahmiri)'. Chit., ns it is in itself, is spaceless and timeless, extending beyond all limitations of tune and space and all othor categories of existence. We live in the Infinite. All limits exist *n Chit. But these limits nre-also another aspect, of h that i9 Shakti. It i« a boundless tranquil ocean on the surface of which countless varied modes, like waves, are rising, tossing ami Binlcing. Though It is the one Cause of the universe of relations, in itself It ie noithcr a relation nor a totality of relations, but a completely relntionlcan 8elf-identity unknowable by any logical process whatever. Chit is the boundless permanent plenum which sustains and vitalizes everything. It is the universal Spirit, all- pervndmg like the Ether, which is, sustains, and illumines 356 CHIT-SHAKTI all experience and all proocas in the ocnlinuum of experience. In it the universe is bora, grows and dies. This plenum or continuum is as such all-pervading, eternal, unproduced, and indestructible : for production and destruction involve the existence and bringing together and separation of parts which in an absolute partless continuum is impossible. It is neccaaarily.in itself, that is as Chit, motionless, for no parta of an all-filling eo«tfwmumcaa move from one plaoe to another. Nor can such a continuum have any other form of morion, auch as expansion, contraction, or undulation since all thoao phenomena involve the oxistonoo of parte and thoir displacement. Chit is one undifferentiated, portlosn, all; purvading, eternal, spiritual substance. In Sunskrit, this plenum in called ChidAbA/diu ; that is, just as all material things exist in the all-porvading phyBioal Ether, so do they and the latter exist in the infinitely extending Spiritual "Ether" which is Chit. The Supreme Consciousness is thought of at a kind of pormanent spiritunl "Spaco" (C'hi- dftkftehn) whicli makes room for and contains all varieties and forma appearing and disappearing. Space itself is »n aspect of spiritual Muluttmioe. It ia a special posture of that BtroM in life which takes place in unchanging oonsoiousnets (P. MukhyopAdhyAyn "The Patent Wonder," 91 — 34). In thin Ocean of llcing-Ooimciumiiess wo live, move end hove our Wng. ConBciuusness an such (that, is, iw distinguished Irotn the products of Its power or Shakti), is never finite. Like spaco, it cannot be limited, though, through tho ope- ration of its power of solf-nogntion or MAyft-Shakti, it may appear as determined. But such apparent determinations do not ever for us express or exhaust the whole conscious- ness, nny more limn spaco in exhausted by tho objects in it. Kxprience is tnken to lx» limited heomise the Erperienwr in swayed by a progmntio interest which draws his attention only to particular features in tho continuum. Though what is thus experienced is o part of the wholo experience, tho latter is felt to be an infinite expanse of consciousness or *57 17 r SHAKTI AND SHAKTA awareness in which is distinguished a definite moss of especi- ally determined feeling. As Chit is the infinite plenum, all limited being exists «tt it, and it is in all suoh beings as the Spirit or inner- most Self and up MftyA-Shakti it is their mind and body. When the existence of anything is affirmed, the Brahman is affirmed, for the Brahman is Be:ng itself. This pure Consciousness, or Chit is the ParandtmA Nirguna Shiva who is Boing-Consciousne-m-Blis* (SachchidAnanda). Conscious- ness id Being. Paroui&tmA, according to Advoita VodAnta, is not a consciousness of being, but Being-Consciousness. Nor it is a consciousness of Bliss, but it w Bliss. .AH these are one in pure Consciousness. That whioh is the nature of ParamfitniA never changes, notwithstanding the creative ideation (SririhtiknlpanA) which is the .manifestation of Shakfci as Chit-Shakti and MAyA-8hnkti. It is. this latter ShalcLi which, according to the HhAkU Tuntra, evolves. To adopt a Kuropeaii analogy which is yet not mmplete, Nmh- kala PammAtnifl ia God-bead (Brahmatva). Sakala.or Saguna At in A, is Qod (Ishvsm). Kaoli of tho three systems SAA- khya, MAyAvAdu, VudAnta, and BliAklu inoniaiu agrees in holding tho reality of puro oon.icloumio.ss (Cliit). The queation upon which thay differ is os to whether unconsciousness is a second independent reality, os HAfikhya alleges , and, if not, how the admitted appearance of unconsciousness as the Korina is to be explained consistently with the unity of the Brahman. Such then is Cliit, truly known as it. is in Itself only in comploted Yoga or Moksha ; known only til rough Its mani- festations in our ordinary experience, just as to use the simile, of the Kaivalya KAlikA Ta'ntm, we realise the presenoe of lUhu or BhuchchhAyA (the Rclijwa) by his actions on the sun and mooii. The Rclipee is seen but not the cause of it. Chit- Shakti is a name for the same changeless Chit when associated in creation with its operating M&yA-Shakti. The Supreme Chit is called ParAs&mvit in the scheme of the Thirty-six CHIT-SHAKTI Tattvas which is adopted by both the Sfaaiva and Shikta Sgamas. According to Shaflkara, the Supreme Brahman ia defined as pure Jn&na without the slightest trace ol either actual or potential objectivity. The Advaita Shaiva-ShAktaa regard this matter differently in accordance with an essential principle of the Agamio School with which I now deal. All oooultiam whethor of East or West poait* the principle that thore is nothing in any ono state or plane which is not in some other way, actual or potential, in another state or plane. The Weatim Herinetio maxim rune “As above ao Mow”. . This is not always understood. The saying doea not mean that wlmt exists iu one plane exists in that form in another plane. Obviously if it did the planes would lx- the some and not different. If Iahvara thought and felt and saw object*, in the human way, and if he was loving and wrathful, just m men are, Ho would not ba Iahvara hut Jhro. Tire Haying cited means that a thing which exists on one plane exists on all other plauee, according either to the form of each plane, if it he an intermediate causal body (KAranavAutanulinrlra) or ultimately as the mere potentiality of becoming which exists in Atm A in ita nspect m Sbakti. The Hemotio maxim is given in nnottar form in the VishvasAra Tantra : "What is here is elsewhere. What is not here is nowhere” {YadOidati tad anyaira. Yanwhditi.ua tat kwchit). Similarly the northern Shaiv* 8'nAetrn says that what appenre without only bo oppoare because it exists vtittfn. One can only take out of a receptacle what is first assumed to be within it. What is in us most in some form be in our cause. It we are living, though finite forms, it is because that cause is infinite Being. If we have knowlodge though limited, it is lees use our essential substance is fihit tho Illuminator. If we l»ve bliss, though united with sorrow, it is became It is Supreme Bliss. In short, our experience must oxiel iu germ in Its Tliia is bo- causc in the ShSktn Agama, there is for the worshipper a 359 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA real creation ami, therefore, a real nexua between the Brah- man a* cause and the world hb effect. According to the transcendent method of Shankara, there ia not in the alsolute sense any such nexua. The notion of creation by Brahman is as much M&yl as the notion of the world created. Applying these principle we find in our dual experience an “I" (Ahum or subject) which experiences ag objeot a "This" (Idam): that >a the oniverBc or any particular object of tho oolloctivity which compose it. Now it is said that the duality of "I" and “Thin” ootno from tho One which is In its essential nature (Svarflpo) un unitary experi- orioo without such consoious distinction. Kor VcdAnta, whether in ito MAyAvAda or yhAkt* form, agrees in holding that in tho Supremo there is no oonsoiousneas of objects such as exist* on this plane. The Supreme does not see objecta on teuic Itself, for it ia the whole and the experience of thn wholo Tshvam. It noos nil that in as* Itaolf. It is Pflrnu or the Wholo, How then, it may bo naked, oan a supreme, uuo hanging, partlow, formica#, Consuiouaiawi produce from Itself something wliioh is so different frera Itaolf, something which in changing, with parts, form and so forth. Blmfikare's anawer is Hint, trnnscondentnlly, it does not proiluce any- thing. Tho notion that, it does so is MdyiV What then is his MAvA 1 This I have more fully explained in my pa- pers on “MiyA-Rhakti" and on "Mftyftand Rhakti". I will only here sty that, his MAyA is an unoxplauitiblo (irnirvu- chunlya) prinoiplo of unooneoiouenM/i ^hioh is not real, not unreal, ond not partly either ; which is an eternal falsity (MitliyAbhQlA aanAUnt), which, though not Brahman, is inseparably associated with It in Ita aspect as Ishvam ; which MAyA has Brahman for its support (MAyft BrahmAahritA) ; from which support it, draws an appearance of separate independent reality which in truth it does not possess. The Parabrfthman aspect of the One is not associated with MAyA. CHIT-SHAKTI According to tho Sh&kta exposition of Advaitav&da. hl&yl is not an unconscious (joda) principle but a particular Shakti of Brahman. Being Sliakti, it is at base consciousness, but as MayA-Shaku it is Consciousness veiling lt»elf. Sliakti and ShattimAn are one and the same : that, is, Power and ita Possessor (Slmktuolu). Therefore MAyA- ShaHi is Shiva or Chit in that particular aspect which He aamnnw as the material cause (IJpadAiia-khraaft) in creation. Creation is real ; that ia, there is a direct causal nexus be- tween Shiva as Shalt ti (Chit Bhukt, aud MAyJi Shakti) aud tho universe. In short Shiva as Shakti ia tho cauac of tlu» universe, and m Sliakti, in the form of Jfva (all manifested forms), Ho actually evolves. Comparing those two views Shaftknra says that there ia m. aUoluto truth no creation and therefore there can be no qimation how it aroec. This ia because ho views the problem from the transcendental (Param&rthika) standpoint of self-realization or Biddhi. The ShAktn Hhlstra, on tho othor hand, being a practical S&dhanA Sit Astra views the- matter from our, that in tho Jlva, standpoint. To us the univoreo and oursolvoo are real. Aud Ishvara the Creator is real. Therefore thorc is a creation, and Shiva as Sliakti creates by evolving into the Universe, and then appearing an all JIvas. This is tho old Upanisliudio dootrino of tho spider ootunlly evolving the web from itself, the web being its substanoe in that form. A flower cannot be raised from seed unless the flower was in some way already there. Therefore as there is an “Aham” and "Tdjun" in ourVxperienre. in some way it is in the eapromo experience of Parashivs or ParAsauivit. But tho Idem or Univoreo in not. there os with us ; other- wise It would be Jfva. Therefore it is said that thoro uro two principles or aspects ui the Brahman, namely, thutPia- kasLa or Chit aspect, and Vimarsha Shakti, the potential Idam, which in creation explicates into the Universe. But in the supreme experience or iraaraha, Vimarsha Shakti (which has two states) is iu Its supreme form. The subtler SHAKTI AND SHAKTA iiUtrt it in the form of consciousness (C'hidrflpinl) ; the gross oloto is in the form of the Universe (Vishvaripini). The fonner it beyond the universe (ViahvottlrnA). Bub if Vimariba Shakti it there in the fonn of consciooaucas (Chi- drflpinl), it is one with Chit. Therefore it is sai^i that the AIihiii and I dam, without ceasing to be-in the supreme experience, arc in supremo Shiva in undistinguiahable union aa Chit and Chidcupiiil. This is the Nirguna Htato of Shiva- shakti. Aa She ia thou in unclistinguibhublu union with Shiva, She is then alio simple unmanifeatad Chit. Sim in then Chaitanyu-rflpA or Chidrfipmt : u subtle Sanskrit, expression which denote* that She is the sumo as Chit and yet suggest* that though in » presort some She is one with Him, She is yet in a sense (with reference to llcr potentiality of future manifeatution) different from Him. She ii Saobchi- dinsridamayl and He ia SaohohiiUhanda. She is then the unnumifoitcd univoras re the fonn of undifferentiated Chit. The mutual relation, whether in manifestation or beyond it, whether its tho imperfect or Ideal universe, is one of in- separable connection or inherence ( Avi n Al 'h IVva -sum band ha , Reman vaya) such hi that between "I-noss" (AhantA) ami "I” (Alum), oxiltouco mid that which exists (Bli&va, Bhnvnt), an attribute and that in which i # t inheres (Dharmu, Dhiuiuin), sunshine and the nun ami bo forth. Tho I’aiuhn* rAtia School of the Vaishuava Again* or Tantra, speuking of tho Mahflehakti Lnkshnit nays, that in Her supreme state She is undistinguiahable from the “Windless Atmosphere *’ (Vaeuaova), existing only aft it were in the fonn of "dark- ness” and “emptiness” (that is of unmanifestod formless- ness). So the.Mnh&nirvAna Tantra speaks of Her "dark formlesBiiesa”. In tho Kulachudftmani Nigama Dev! gays (I. 18-24) — “I, though in the form of Prakriti, roat in con- soiousncM-bliBB ” (Aham pmlcritirflpft chet chidAnanda- parayauA). R&ghava Bhatta in hi* commentary on the ShAradA Tilaka (CL I) says “She who is eternal existed in a subtle (that is. jinmanifested) state, as oonsoiousness, daring a6a CHIT-SHAKTI the final dissolution” (Yi an4dirfip& chaitanyadhy&Hena uiahApralaye sfUcshmA stliitft). It would be simpler tp nay that She is then what She is (Svarflpa) namely Conscioua- neaa, but in creation that consciousness veils itself. These terms "formless”, "subtle”, “dark", "empty” all denote the same unmauifoatod state in which Shakti is in undiatin- guishable union with 81iiva. the formless cooRoiousneaB. The PaucharAbm. (Ahirbudhnya Snnihifa, ('h. IV), in manner similar to that of the other Agaiunx, describes th»* supreme state of Shakti in tho dissolution oC the Universe an one in which manifested Shnlcbi " rntuniH to the condition of Hrnh- man" (Brnhuiubh&vam brajato). "Owing to complete inten- sity of embrade” (AtisafikleshAt) tlio two all-pervudiug ones NflrAynnn and Hie Shakti become iw it were a single principle (filcum tattvaiu iv»), This return to the Brahman condition i« Haiti to take plaoo in the «ainu way as a con- flagration, when there is no more combustible mutter, returns tho latent condition of fire (Vahm-bhlva). There ih the same fire in hoth oases but. in one onio there is the activity of oombustion and in the other there is not. It follows from this that the Supreme Bmhronn is not a more knowing without trace of objectivity. In It the Ahum is tho Self as Ohit und tlia Idam is provided by ('hidrftpinl- shnkti. 'Here is Atmflrdmu or play of the Sulf with tho Self in whioh the Self kuowt and enjoys tho Self, not in the form of external objects, but as that aspect, of conscious- ness whose projection all objects are. Shakti is always the object of the Self and one with it. For the object is always the Self, since there is nothing but the Self- But in the supreme experience tho object ih one in nature with Shiva beiug ChftiUnya-rflpa ; iu the universe the object socuiB to tho Jtva, the creation of and subject to Mfiyfi, to be different from tho Self ae mind and matter. The next, point is the nature of creation or rather emanation (Abhflau) for the former term ia associated with duaiistio notions of an ex*.ra-Co8uuc God, who produces a SHAKTI AND SHAKTA world which in as separate from Himself as is the pot from the potter. According to this doctrine there in an Evo- lution of Consciousness or Chit-Shakti (associated with MAyft-Sholcti) into oertain forms. This is not to say that the Brahman is wholly transformed into its emanations, that is exhausted by them. The Brahman is infinite and can never, therefore, be wholly held in. this sense in any form, or in the universe as a whole. It always transcends the universe. Therefore when Consciousness evolves, it nevertheless does not. reuse to ha what it was, is, and will he. The Supremo Chit becomes as Shakti tho universe, but still romuins supreme Chit. In tho name way ovory atago of the eiiiiuirttiuu-proooas prior to tho real ovoluliou (Parinftnin of Prakrit!) re mums what it is, whilst giving birth to u new Evolution. In Parinftma or Evolution u» known to iw on this plane, when one. thing is evolved into another, it ceasea to lw what it was. Thus when milk is changed into ourd, it ceases to be milk. The Evolution from Shiva-fihakti of tho Pure Tattras is not of this kind. It is an Abhfcsa or "shining forth", adopting tho simile of the sun which shines without (it was supposed) change in, or diminution of, its light. This unofiootodness in spite of its boing tho material Cause is called in tho Panoharlten by the term Vtryys, a condition which, the Vuiahnuvn Lakshin I Taithmiaya, is not found in the world "whore milk quickly loses ita nature when curds appear". It is a process tn which one flame springs from another flame. Honoo it in called "Flame to Flame". There is a second Flame but the first from whioh it oomee in unexhausted and still thorn. The cause remains what it was and yet appears differently in the effect. God is never “emptied" an it is aaid wholly into the world. Brahman in over changeless in one aspect ; in another It changes, such change being as it were a mere point of stress in the infinite Ether of Chit. This Sbh&su, therefore, is u form of Vivartta, distinguishable however from the Vivartta of M&y&vlda, because in the. Agama, whether Vaishnava, 264 CHIT-SHAKT or Shaktu, (he effect ia rogardod as.reftl, whereas according to Shftfikara, it ia only empirically so. Hence the Iettor system is called Sat-kAianovada or the doctrine of the reality of the original source or basis of things, ami not also of the apparent effects of the cause, This Abh&sa has been called Hariri* I m Parinftma (See Introduction to Principles of Tantra, Vol. II), a term borrowed from the Bafikhyn but which is not altogether appropriate. In the latter Philosophy the term is used in connection with the stale of tho Gunas of Piakriti in dissolution when nothing - id produced. Here on tho contrary wo arc dealing with oreation and an ovolving Powor-Consciousneas. It is only appropriate to this extent that, ns in Badriaha ParinAma there is no real evolution or objectivity, ho also tliure in none in tho evolution of the Tuttvau until MAy& intervenes and I’mkriti really evolves tho objective universe. This being tho nature of the Hu prone Shiva and ol the evolution of oonscioUHiioau, this dootriiw aasuinca, with all others, ft l.ronscendcnt oud a creative or immanent ospoot of Brahman. Tho first is Nisliicala Shiva ; tho second Sakala Shiva ; or Nirguna.Saguna ; Pamnia, Apara (in Hhaftkura’s parlance) ; Panunhtniil, tshvnra ; and Pai-amabrahman, Shabdnbrohmon. From tho uooond or changing unpout the universe ia born. Birth means 1 manifestation ’. Manifest ation to vrbat? Tho onswer ia to oonsoiousness. But thcro is nothing but Chit. Creation is thou tho o volution wlwreby the changeless Chit through the power of its Mitya Shftkti appears to Itself in the form of limited objects. All is Shiva whether as subject or object. This evolution of consciousness ia described in the scheme of the Thirty-six Tattvas. Shankara and Sftukhvo speak of the 24 Tattvas from Prakriti to Prithivl. Both Shaivns and Shftktas spook of tho Thirty-six TattvaB, showing, by the extra number of Tattvas, how Puruaha anc Prakriti theoisolvcB originated. The uorthem or Advuita Shoiva Agama and tho ShflJrtu 265 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA Agama are allied, though all Shuiva Scripture udoptb tko panic Tuttvas. In all the Agumus whether Vaulina va, Bhaiva, or Shikta, them are point* of d outline which ure the same or similar. The Vaulina vu PanoharAtra, how- ever, moves in u different sphere of thought. It speaks in . lieu of the AbhAaa here described of four VyOha or forms of NArayuna, m., VAsudova, Safikarshaua, Pradyumna and Aniruddha. Tlie Thirty-six Tattva* are the 24 from Prithivi to Prakriti together with (proceeding upwards) Purusha, Mhyh and the five Ksnchukas (RalA, KM a, Niyati, Vidyft, RAga), HhuddhavidyA (or fiadvidyi), 8hakti, Shiva. TJmm are divided into throo groups named Shiva Tattvn, VidyA Tattva, Atmu l’attva, and Shuddha, ShuddhAehuddha, Aahuddlia Tattva*. The Shuddha or Pure Tattvm nro all the Tattvas from Shivn-ShaJcti Tuttvaa tQ and including Sodvidya I'attva. Cho Pure— Impure or Mixed (Shuddhiahuddha) Tattvas are those between the first and third group whioh ure the Impure Tattvag (Ashuddha Tattva) of the world of duality, namely, the 24 Tattva h from Pmkriti to Prithivi. The other group of three is as follows : Shiva Tatfcva innlndas Shiva Tattva and Shakti Tattva, VidyA Tattva includes all Tattva* from Sad Is hi va to SadvidyA, and Atmu Tftttvu ihotadea all Tattvoa from MAyA ami the ffpuohuka* to Prithivi. The particular description here of the 38 Tattvon, held by both 8haivas and HhAktas, is token from the northern 8 halva Kashmir philosophical Bchool, itaelf based on the older Agotnas such as MAlinlvijayu Tantra and others. It, is common doctrine of AdvaitavAdu that thu Quo is of dual aspect ; the first static (Shiva) and the other kinctio (Shukti). This doctrine of aspects is a dovioo whereby it is sought to reconcile the fact that there is okangelosane&s apd change. Philosophically it is an evasion of the problem and not a solution- The solution is to lie fouud in revelation (Veda) and in direot Spiritual Experience (Samftdhi). These states vary in different men and iu different races and a 66 CHIT-SHAKTI creeds. But in support of Ad vaiuiv&da, reliance may be placed on Llw fact that Saiu&dhi or euatacy, in all parts of th« worid and in all faiths, tends towards flora® kind of unity, more or leas complete. All seek union with Hod. But the dispute ia as to the nature of that union. Pure Advaitav&da is complete identity. The scheme now outlined sIiowh how that unitary experience, without censing to be what it is, assumes limited forms. The reader is referred to the Diagram. Pnr&anm vit shown On top of the Diagram is Nishkala 8hivu or the ohangelesa Brahnmn aspect ; and 8hivu-8hakti below is the aspect of tho supreme Brahman from which ohango comeH and which appears as its products or ohnuging forms. .Both are 8hiva4jliakti. When, however, Shiva ia kinetic. He is called Shakti. Regarding the matter from the Shakti aspect, both uro Shakti. Neither ever exists without tho other, though Shakti is in one a»j>oot Chidrflpinf, and in tho othor in the form of the Universe (Viahvarflpint). In themselves and throughout they ore ono. Tho divergence taken place in consciousness, after it has been subjected to tho opiration of Mftyl, tho ofToct of which is to polarise consciousness into an apparently separate “I” and "This” PaiAsniuvit is not accounted a Tattva, for It- ip Imyond all Tattvae (Tattv&tlU). Shiva Tattvn aud Shakti Tottva are counted separately, though Shakti Tattva ia merely tho negative aspect of Shiva Tattva. Shiva Tattva and Shukti Tattva are not produced. They thus nro, even in dissolution. They are Saguna-Uiuhman ; and Par&aamvit is the Nirguna- Brfthmnn. The first evolved Tattva in Sadftnhivn or 8ad&- khya Tattva of which the meaning is Sat &kby& yatali, or that state in which there is the first notion of Being ; for hero is tho first inoipiency of the world-cxporience as tho notion "I ain this" Which ultimately -becomes « separate "I” and “Thu In my "Garland of Utters ” I have with more technical detail deaoribed the evolution of Jlva consci- ousness. Here I will only shortly summarize the procese. 267 PArtf 5AMWT MNVATATTVA BMAITl) <iAMANr «M««rnl ma*t«a*a>«i*h<a"A 3K0k>U <k TATVVA (nAUA tiiAftru tHUOOMA TAT?VA oa |H*VAT« T Vtf A aja* main vama •ft*f*AA »AlfVA ( #IMOj AMA«Tt) V«J*1*I*ALA BtLOW*ACVlC»yX » A A0O*« MivA / MAIAY&MALA H MAY* MA»T««* A L c ion T t\ OXt twAfUft i 9AOYIOV A TATTVA M«»l mai a A T*f • pTiAVtMKTO rAOlHJOl • A*AU ALU tiir« 0 t mom e«AMH*oowawAno« %MOAAUWOT*UKTA t*« T*tt*ai rnoM 6U30HI To Plimiivf ASHOOOHA Tatt>a On lr*X TATTVA CHIT-SHAKTI As already stated, tho Ahara and Idam exist in an unitary state which is indescribable in Pariaamvit. Shakti Tattva is called negative because negation ia the function of Shakti (Nishedha-vyApara-rfipa Shaktih). Negation of what ? The answer in negation of consciousness. Tho universe is thus a product of negation. Where there is puro experience there ia no manifested univerae. Shakri negates the pure ©xperionco or oomtoioiumw* bo the extent that it uppeuia to itiolf limited. Shakti diaengagaa tlio unified dements (Ahum and Idam) which ore Intent in the Supremo Erpcriouoo as an undialiuguialwble unity. How I The answer is one of great subtlety. Of the Shiva-Shakti Tattvus, Sliiva ro presents tho PrakOshn and Sliakti the Vimawha aspect, which contains potentially within it tho seed of tho Universe to be. The roiult is that tho Praklalia uspect ia left standing alono. Tho 8hivu Tnttva is I'ralfAsha niitra, that is, to use tho imagery of our piano, an "I" without a "This". This ia a •tAte in which tho unitary consciousncsH is brokrn up to this orient, that it is no longer a Porfoct Bxperieuc© in which tho Ahem and Warn exist in undistinguinknblo union, but there is one Supreme Ali&m Consciousness only, which is the root of all limited subjectivity. To this Aliam or Hhivn Tattva, Shakti gradually unveils Herself us the Idam or Vimawha aspect of consciousness. The result is that from Shiva and Shakti (in which the latter takes the playful part) there is evolved the first, produced consciousness called Sodhkhya Tattva. There ia then an Aham and Idam aspect, of experience. But that experience is not like the Jtva's, which arises at n Inter stage after the intervention of MAyA- Shakti. In tho Jtvo consciousness (JtvAtmA) the object (Idmn) is seen no something outaido and different from itself. In Sadfihhyn Tattva and all tho subsequent pure Tattvas, that is Ishvara Tattva and Sliuddhavidyfi. Tattva, the "This'’ is experienced as part of the Self ami not us separate from it. There is (as will appear from the Diagram) 269 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA no outer and inner. The circle which represents tho ono Consciousness is divided into "1” and “This" which are yet parts of the same figure. The “This” is at first, only by degrees and hazily (Dhyftmala piftyam) presented to the Aham like a picture just forming itself ■ (UnmlUtoraitra- ohitrAkalpam). For this reason it is said that there is emphasis on' the Aham which is indicated in the Diagram by tlie arrow-head. This is called tho “Nimeshlt" or “closing of the eyas” of Shalcti. It is so called because it is the last stage in dissolution before nil effect* are withdrawn into their first canto. Being the last, stage in dissolution it is tho first in creation. Then the Idam sido becomes oloar in the next evolved Ishvnia Tnttva in. which tho emphasis in therefore said to l>e on tho “This” which the Ahum sub- joctifioa. This is tho “Uumcshu" or “opening of the eyes" state of Bhakti ; lor this is tho stare of consciousness when it is first fully equipped to create and doen so. The result again of this is tins evolved consciousness called Slnuldlia- vidyA Tnttva in whioh the omphaais is equal on the “I" and “This". Consciousness is now in the stole in whioh tho two lull ves of experience are ready to be broken up and experienced separately. It is at this state that MAyA Shakti intervenes and does so through its powei and tho Kanohukoi which are forms of it. MAyA-Shukti is thus defined us tho sense of difference (Bhcdabuddhi) : that is tlin pmvor by whioh things arc soon os dillorout from the Sell in the dual manifested ' world. The Kanchukas which ’ are evolved from, and are particular forms of, the operation of M4yA are limitations of the natural perfections of the Supreme Consci- ousness. These are KAla which produces division (Pnrioh- r.hheda) in the partless and unlimited ; Niyati whioh affect* independence (SvutsntmtA) ; Riga which produces interest in, and then attachment to, objects in that which wanted nothing (Pfimu) ; VidyA which urnkcH tho rurusha a “little knower” in lieu of being all-kuower (Sarvajnula) and KulA which oiakes Purusha a Tittle door”, whereas the Suprome CHIT-SHAKTI wag. in its Kartrittva or power action of almighty. The result of Jdijl and its offshoots which are the Knnchukas ia the production of the Purusha and Prakriti Tattvaa. At this stage the A ham and I dam are completely severed. Each consoiousnr.sK regards itself as a separate ‘I’ looking upon the “This” whether its own body or that of others as outaido its oonacionancs*. Each Purusha {and they are numberless) is mutually exclusive the one of the other. Prakrit! is the collectivity of all Slink tia in contracted (SftflkuohadriLpt) undifferentiated form. She is Peeling in the form of the undifferentiated mas* of Buddhi and the rest anti of the three Guuas in equilibrium. The Punish* or Self experiences. Her as object. Then on the diatur- lunre of the GunM in Piakriti t ho latter evolves the VikritU of mind and matter. Tho Punuhn nt this stage has experi- ence of the multiple world of the twenty-four impure Tattvaa. Thus from the supreme "I" (Purftimutl) which is the creative Slhva-Shnkt.i aspect, of Parhsamvit whinh change* loasly endure* on Sarhohkdinunda, CoimuouMiio-H oxperi- euoee Jtself.ns object (RulAkhya. Tsbvnra, PndvidyA Tottvun) and then through AlAyA and tho limitations or contractions which are the Kanohukaa or Suftkouhns it loses the know- ledge tlwt- it ia itaelf it* own object. It sees the sepamto "other" ; and the one OonaoioumieMi becomes tho limited experiences which nre the multifile selves and their objects of the dual universe. 8hakti who in Herself (Svaiilpa) is Feeling-Consciousness (ChidrQpint) becomes more and more gross until physical energy assumes the form and be- comes embedded in ti e "crust" of matter vitalised by Her- self ns the Idfe-Principlo of nil things Throughout, nil forms it is tho same Shukti who works nnd Appear* ns Cliit-Slmlrti and MAyA-Shakti, the Spirit and Matter ivpcct of the Power of the Self-Illumining Pure Super-ConaciQiuin&sj or Obit, 771 Chapter XV. MAYA-SHAKTI. (Tub Payono-PitT8ioAi. Aspect op the UpnvERsn.) S PIRIT, Mind and Matter are ultimately one, the two latter being tho twin aspects of the Fundamental Sub- Btance or Brahman and Ite Power or Shakti. Spirit ia tho substance of mind-matter, tho Reality (in ike leimo of the lasting ckangclc&anenB} out of which, by Its Tower, all Appearanco is fashioned not by the individual mind and Benue* but by the cosmic mind and senses of which they are but a part. What It creates It perceives. In tho last chapter I dealt with the Spirit or Consciousness (Chit) aspect.: in this I consider tho mind-matter aspect in which Consciousness veils Itself in apparent anoonaoioiumew. Those twin principles »ro collod Pimm ha, Brahman, Shiva on the one hand ; and I'rnkriti, MAyA, and MAyA-flhakti on the other by the SfUikhya, MAyivfUla Vedlntu and SliaktivAda of the ShAkta Againu respectively. The latter 8 h Astra, however, alone treats them »* aspects of the ouc Substance in tho mnnnor here described and thus moot aptly in this respect accommodates itself to the doctrine of Was tom Boicntifio monism. So, Professor Haeckel points out in conformity with ShAkta Advaitavlda that Spirit and Matter are not two distinct entities but two forms or aspects of one single Entity or fundamental Buhatnneo. According to him, the One Entity with dual aspect is tho solo Reality which presents it-sclf to view os tho infinitely varied and wondrous picture of the univeme. Whatever bo the case transoendentally in what tho Buddhist Tuntra nptlv calls "The Void" (SliQnyatA. In Tibetan sTong-pa-nyid) which ia not "nothing" ns some have supposed, but That which in like nothing known to ua ; the ultimate formless (Axfipa) Reality as contrasted with appearance (sNang-va-dang) or 272 mAyA-shakti form (Rflpa) of which the PrajuApttra!Tiita,-briclByttgarbha says only “aeti neti” can be ofirracd.-in this universe im- material Spirit is just us untlunkable as spiritless matter. The two are insepuratcly combined in every atom which, itself and its force*, possess the element* of vitality, growth and intelligence in all their developments. In the four StmAs which nro contemplated in the Chitknnda iu the Mi'll AdhAra Chakra, Atml prAnxrflpt represents the vital aspect, JuAaAtmA the Intelligence aspect, and AntarAtmA in that spark of the P»rum&tm& whioh inhere* in all bodice, nnd whioh when spread (VyApla) appears as tho Bhflta or five forma of sensible matter whioh go to the making of tho gross body. Those arc all aspect* of the one ParamAtmA (JnAnAmava Tautre, Ch. XXI, Vv. 1—8). The VedAnta reoognir.es four states of experience, JAgrat, Svapna, Siuhupti aud Turlya. These, os my friend Prof moot Pratnathan Atha MiikhyopfidhyAyahns.in his radical olour-thinking way, pointed out, may lie regarded from two stundpoints. Wo may, witli Bhafikara, from the standpoint, of Biddhi alone, regurd the lost only, that is Iran soon dental ox pure experience (Nirvishetha juAna), on tho real Fact or Kxpcriouoo : or we may, with the HhAkt-n Agama, looking at tho matter from tho standpoint of both S&dhanA (that is practical experience) and Biddhi (or transcendental experi- ence), regard not only the supreme experience as olone real, but the whole of experienoe without any reservation what- ever— the whole concrete Fact of Being and Becoming- -and call it the Real. This is the view of the Shaiva-ShfLkta who says that the world is Shiva's Experience and Shiva's Experi- ence can never be unreal. The question turns upon the definition of “Real ”. Shftfilrarn’a conception of that term is that, That to whioh it in applied must bo absolutely change- less in all the “three times’’. It is That whioh absolutely continues through and underlies all the changes of experience; being that which is given in all the four states, Jftgrat and the rest. It is That which can never be contradicted (VAdhita) is 273 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA in all the three tenses of time and the four states of Experi- ence. This is tha Ether of Consciousness (Chidftklsha) and none of Its modos. Our ordinary experience, it is claimed, as well as Supreme non-polar Nirvikalpa Samftdhi proves this unchanging aspect of tho ultimate Substance, as the chnngeless principle of all our modes of changing experience, which according to this definition are unreal. Thus Shafi- kara’s Rea I ■= Being =Sat- Chit- An an da : Un real = Becoming — Vivartta—Jagat— Prapancha or universe. According to thin view, them uro three levels or pianos of being (Sattft), nunudy transcendental (Pftramftrthika), empirical (Vyftva- h&riku) and illusory (Pifttibhft/iika). The Real (Satya) is that which is given in nil the three planes {PAnuiiftithika Satya) : the empirical (Vy&vah&rik* Satya) is that which is given in tho second and thinl planes but not in tho first. It is worldly or dual experience, and not undual experience of Samftdhi or Videka-Mukti which latter, how- ever, underlies all states of experience, being the Ether of Consciousness Iteolf, Tho last (PrfttibhAsiku Satya) is given or obtains only in tho Inst- plane, l**ing only mir.h reality as can bo attributed to illusion such ns "the lopo-sanke A higher plane contradicts n lower : tho third is contradicted by the second, the sooond by Um firs*., and the first, by not lung at alb Thus there in u process of gradual elimination from changing to changeless consciousness. Real change or Parinima is said by tho Vcdftnta Paribh&shft to exist, when t.hn effect or phenomenon and its ground (Up&dftna or material cause) belong to the same level or plane of existence ; as in the case of clay and pot, milk and curd which both belong bo tho Vyfcvahftrika plane ; milk being the Up&dAna and curd the effect or change appertaining it (Parinftmo hi upftd&na sama aattakn kAryy&pattih). When, however, the effect’s level of existence is different from (Viohama) and therefore cannot be equalled to that of ita material cause or Up&dftna ; when, for instance, one belongs to the Vy&va- h&rika experience and the other to the Pr&tibhftaika, there *74 mAyA-shakti ia Vivartta (Vivartto Id upkJaca-vishamn-nattjlta-karyya- pattih). Thus, in the case of the ' rofe-snukc”, the SattA of the rope is Vyftvabarika, whilst that of the Rajju-sarpa is only Pratibliftaika. For the same reason, the rope, and the whole Jagat-prapancha (universe) for the matter of that, is a Vivartta in relation to the Supreme Experience of pure Chit. On ita own plane or level of S&ttH, every phenomenon may ho a Parinlma, but in relation t*> a higher level by which it becomes Vftdhita, it is only a Vivartta. The Sh&kta Agumu differs in its presentment as follows. The Fuot or Concrete Experience presents two aspocte what Professor Mukhyopidliyiya ban aptly (piled in his work tho "Patent Wonder"— tho Ether and tho Stress— tho quieeoent background of Chit and tho sprouting und evolving Shaktf. Agnraa takes this whole (Shiva Shukti) embracing all th* aapccte as its real. If one aspect bo taken apart from the others, we are landed in the unreal. Therefore, in the ShUlctn Agama, all is real ; whether the transocudent real oi Shafikara (Turtya), or tho empirical real of waking (J&grat), dreaming (Svnpnn) or dreamless sleep (Snshnpti). If it is oonoodod that Itcal™Chnngelos»n<n», then the last three states arc not real. But this dolinitlon of Reality is not adopted. It is again conceded that tho Supreme Substance (Paravastu) is aluuo real, in tho sense ol ohaugoloso, for the worlds oomo and go. But the Again a says with the Bifikhya, that a thing is not unreal because it changes. The Sul*tanoe lias two aapecte, in one of wluch It is changeless, and in tho other of which It change*. It is tlve same Substance in both its Prftkasha and Vimarsha aspeota. Shnfikara hmits Reality to the Pr&kaaha aspect alone. Agama extends it to both l’r&kasha and Vunnrsha ; for these are aspects of the ono. Aa explained later, this divergence of views turns upon the definition of Mfty& given by Shnfikara, and of Mftyft-Shakti given by the Agama. The M&yft of Shankarn ia a myHtcrioua Bhakti of Tali vara, by which Vivartta is sought to be explained und wluch ban two mauifeabatious, SHAKTI ANL) SHAKTA viz., Veiling (X varonn) nnd moving, changing and projecting (Vikshepa) power. Ink vara is Brahman reflected in Mftyi ; a mystery which is separate, and yet not separate, from Brahman in Its Iulivaia aspect. The Shftkta M&yft-Shakti is an aspect of Shiva or Brahman Itself. Starting from theme premises wn must assume ft real nexus between the universe and ita ultimate cause. The creation iH real, and not Mflyhin Shaflkaraa sense of M&yft, hut is the operation of and is Shakti Herself. The cause being thus rval, the effect or universe i« real though it changes and passes away. Eton when it is dissolved, it is merged in Shakti who is roul ; withdrawn into Hor as tho SAflkhyan tortoise or Prnkriti withdraws its limlie ( Vikriu > into inseU. The universe cither is ae uiunanifeitad Shakti, which is tho perfect formless universe of Bliss, or arises us manifested Shakti, the limited and imperfeot worlds of form. The assumption of suoh nexus necessarily involves that what is in the offcot is in tho oauae potentially. Of count, the follower of Shaflkara will say that if oioauoo is the becom- ing patent or actual of what is latent or potential in Shiva, than Shiva ia not really Xislikala. A truly \ T iranjana Brahman cannot admit potontial differentiation within Itself (Bvagatsbheda). Again, potentiality in unmeaning in relation lo the absolute and infinite Being, for it pertuixiH to relation and finite existence. If it is suggested that Brahman passes from one condition in which AlttyA lien as a seed in it, to another in which MAyft manifeeta Herself, wo bib involved in the doctrine of an Absolute in the making. It is illogical to affirm that whilst Brahman in one aspect doe.9 not change, It in another aspect, that is as Shakti, does truly change. All such objections have alogical founda- tion nnd it is for this reason that Khafikara sap that all ohnngc (Srishti, Sthiti. Lava) arc only apparent, being but a Kalpana or imagination. But au answer is given to these objections. The Shikta will say that the one Brahman Shiva has two aspect* in one 276 mAya-shakti of which, as Shakti, it changes and in tin. other of which, a a Bhivn, Itdoeo not. Itcality is constituted of both those aspects. It is true that the doctrine of aapeete does not solve the problem. Creation is ultimately inscrutable. It ib, however, he urges, better to hold both the reality of the Brahman and the world leaving spiritual experience to synthesize them, than to neglect one at the cost of the others. For this, it is argued, is what Siiaiikara does. His solution in obtained at tho cost of a denial of true reality to tho world which all our worldly experience affirms ; and thin solution in supported by the illogical ntavernont that Mftyi is r.ot real and is yet not unreal, not partly real and partly unreal. This also, it ia said, flies in tlie face of the logical principle of contradiction. Both theories, therefore, it may be noid in diflorent ways, run counter to logio. All thoorics ultimately do. The matter is admittedly alogical that is beyond logic, for it is beyond the mind and its logioul forms of thinking. Practically, therefore, it is said to he bettor to buao our theory on our experience of the reality of the world, frankly leaving it to spiritual oxpori- onoo to oolvo a problom for wliich »U logio, owing to tho vory constitution of the mind, fails. Tho ultimate proof of authority is Spiritual Experience either recorded in Veda or realized in Sam &d hi. As I ha vo already said in my ohaptcr on tho spirit-aspeot of the One Substanoo, all occultism, whether of East or West, poeits the principle that there is nothing in any one state or plane which is not in some way, aotual or potential, in another ntatc or plane. The Western Hermetic maxim, “as above bo below”, is stated in the VishvaaArn Tantra in the form, "what ia here is there. What ia not hore ie nowhere ” ( Yud iKdtli tad anyatra yan nthdtii na tat kvachit) ; and in the northern Shoivn Scripture in the form, “that which appears uilhovi only so appears because it exist* within,” " Vartamdn&vabhdsdiukn bhdvdndm utubh&tanam ariah- utkitamt&m cm ghatate bahtrUmitd" . For these reasons a 77 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA man is rightly railed a microcosm (Kshudrubrahrofinds ; hominrm quasi minorm quondam mundum. Firm. M&temus Math. Hi init.). So Charaka says that the course of production, growth, decay and destruction of the universe and of man are the same. Rut these statements do not mean that what exist* on one plane exists in that, form or way on another piano. It is obvious that if it did, the plane* would he the same and not different. It mourn that the same thing exist# on one plane and on all other level* of being or planes, according either to the form of that piano, if it be what is called an intermediate causal body (KftranA- vantara-Bhnrira) or ultimately as mere form leas potentiality. According to 8hafikant all such argument is itself Mftyft. And it may bo so to those who have realized true conscious- neas (Chitsvarflpa) which is beyond all causality. The Tantra Shhit.ru ia, however, a practical and Sldhoni ShAatm. It tokos the world to bo real and then applies, so far os it may, to tho question of it* origin, tho logio oftho mind wbioh forms a part of it. It says that it ia true that there ia u Supreme or Perfeot Experience which is beyond all worlds (Shiikti VishvottlrnA), but there is alao a worldly or (relatively to tho Supreme) imperfect (in the sense of limited) and partly sorrowful experience. Because the one exists, it does not follow that the other does not : though mere logic cannot construct an unassailable monism. It is tlie one Shiva who is Bliss itself, and who is in the form of the world (VishvAttneka) which is Happinega-Unhappincse. Shiva is both ehangnlooo an Shiva and. ohangoful us Shukti. IIow tho One oan bo both is a mystery. To say, however, with Shufikaia that it is M&y&, and in truth Brahmeu does not change, is not to explain, in uu ultimate sense, tho problem but to eliminate some other possible cause and to give to what remains a name. MAyA by itself does not explain the ultimate. What can ? It is only a term which is given to the woudrous power of the Crcatrix by which what seems impossible to ua becomes possible to Her. 278 mAya-shakti Thin is recognized, as it must be, by Shsflkara who says that MAyft io unexplainable (Anirvaohantyft) an of course it ia. To “explain'’ the Creator, one would have to be the Creator Himself and then in such cose there would be no need of any explanation. Looking, however, at the matter from our own practical stand [joint, which is that whioh concerns us, we Bre drawn by the foregoing considerations to the conclusion that, what wo call “matter", is, in somo form, in the cause which, according to the doctrine hero described, produce* it. But matter as experienced by us is not there ; for tho Supremo is Spirit only. And yet in some sense it is there, or it would not be hero at all. It is the iv as the Supreme Shaku whioh ia Being-Cons riouo- ness-Bliss (Chidrflpint, Auandainayt) who contain* within Herself tho potentiality of all worhia to be projected by Her Shakti. It w there as umnanilcatcd Consciousness Power (Chidrhpint Shakti). it here emu as the mixed consoious-uncoMoiouhneh* (in the sense of the limited con- sciousness) of the psyohicol and materiul. universe. If tho ultimate Heslity be one, t hem in thu* one Almighty Sub- stance whioh is both Spirit (Shiva -Shakti Svartkpa) and force -m ind -m attor (Shiva-Shakti-Viahvitmaka). Spirit and Mind-Matter are thu* in tho end ono. This ultimate Supreme Substance (Paravajtu) ia Powor or Shakti, whioh ia, again, of dual aspect as Chit Shakti which roprerente tho spiritual, and Mftyft-Shakti whioh repre- sent* the material and mental aspect*. Tho two, however, exist in inseparable connection (AvinObhiva-sambandha) ; as inseparable to use a aimile of the 8hAstra aa tbe winds of heaven from the Ether in which they blow. Shakti, who is in Henwlf (Svarflpa) Consciousness, appears as the Life-force, as subtle Mind, and a* grras Matter. Sec volumes in my ••World aa Power" dealing in detail with Life (Prftna-Shakti), Mind (Mftnosi Shakti) and Matter (Bh4ta-8hakti). As all ia Shakti and aa Shakti-ovarapa is Bohg-Conaciouaneea- B’iiss, there is, and con bo, ’nothing absolutely unconscious. SHAKTI AND SHAKTA I'or Sliuliii svardpa is unchanging Boing-Consciou&noea be youd all worlds (Chidrupin! Vishvotciruft), the unchanging principle of experience in such worlds ; und appears as the limited psychical universe und as the apparently unconscious material forms which are the content of man's Experience (ViflhvAtmikft). The whole universe is Shakti under various forms. Therefore it in seen os commingled Spirit-Mind- Mattcr. According to Shaiva-ShfiHa doctrine. Shiva and Shakti aro on«. Shiva represents the statio aspect of tho Supromo aubntunoo, and Shakti ite kinotio aspect, : the tonn being dorived from the root “Shuk" which denotea capacity of action or power. According to ShaRk&ra, Brahman has two aspects, in ono of which as Ishvara, it in associated with Mitya and seems to change, ami in the other dissociated from MayR (Parabrahroan). In the Agamn, tho one Shiva is both the changoloss Parashiva and Paraihakti nnd the really changing Shiva-Shalcti nr universe. A* Shiva is one with Himself, He in never associated with anything but Himself. As, how-over, tho Supromo, Ho is undiepluyed (Bliivu-Shukti SvarApa) and, ai Shiva Shakti, Ho is raanifoet in tho form of the universe of mind und mutter (Vishvarflpo). Before the manifestation of the universe them won MahOsattA or Grand-being. Then also there was Shiva- Shakti, for there is no time when Shakti is not ; though She is sometimes manifest and sometimes not. Power is Power both to Bo and to Become. But then Shakti is not manifest and ia in its own true nature (Svnrfipa) ; that in, Being, Pooling-Coneoiousneeft-Bhas (Chinmayi, Anandanmyt). As Shiva is consoiouoncoe (Chit) und Bliss or Lovo (Annnda). She is then simply Bliss and Love. Then when moved to create, the Great Power or Megale Dunamis of the Gnostics issues from the depths of Being and becomes blind and Matter whilst remaining what She ever was : the Being (Sat) which is the foundation of all manifested life ami the Spirit which sustains and enlightens it. This primal Power (Adyft Shakti), MAyA-SHAKTI as object of worship, is the Great Mother (Magna Motor) of all natural things (Nature Natural^) and nature itself (Natura Naturata). In Herself (8varftpa) She is not a person in man’s sense of the term, but She is ever and incessantly penonatixmg ; assuming the multiple masks (I'emona) which are the varied forms of mind-matter. As therefore manifest. She is all Personalities and as the collectivity thereof the Supremo Person (Par&hantA). But in Her own ground from which, clad in form, She emerges and personalises, She is beyond all form, and therefore beyond all personality known to us. She works in und aa ull things ; now greatly veiling Her consciousness- bliss in gross matter, now by gradual stages moro fully revealing Herself in the forms of the one uni vernal Info which She is. Lot us now first examine Her most gross manifestation, that is, sensible matter (Bhflta), then Her more subtle nepeot as the Life-force and Miud, and lastly ller Supreme Hhakti aspect ua Consciousness. 1 here deal with the subjeot in a general way having treated of it in greater detail in the books just now cited ("World aa Power" erries). The physical human body is oompoaod of certain com- pounds of which the chief aro water, gclntino, fat, phouphalo of lime, albumen and fohrinc.and, of these, water constitutes some two thirds of the total weight. These compounds, again, uro composed of simpler non-metallje element* of which the chief are oxygen (to the extent of about two- thirds), hydrogen, csrbon, nitrogen, caloium and phosphorus. So about two- thirds of the body is water and this is H,0. Substantially then our grow body is water. But when we get to these simpler elements, have we got to the root of tho matter ? No. It was formerly thought that matter was composed of certain elements boyond which it was not possible to go, and that these elements and thoir atoms were indestructible. These notions have been reversed by modern science. Though the alleged indestructibility of the elements and their atoms is still said by some to present SHAKTI and shakta the character of a "prootical truth”, well-known recent disco veiieo and experiments go to re-establish the undent doctrine of a single primordial substance to which these various forms of matter may be reduced, with the resultant of the possible and hitherto derided transmutation of one element into another ; ainoo each is but one of the many plural manifestations of the same underlying unity. The so-called elements are vaned forma of this one substance which themselves combine to form the various compounds. The variety of our orporicnoo is duo to permutation and combination of the atoms of the matter into which the primordial energy materialises. We thus find that owing to the variety of atomic combinations of II N 0 0 thore are differences in the compounds. It is curioui to note in paw- ing how apparently alight variations in the quantity and distribution of the atoms produce very varying substances. Thus gluton which is n nutrient food, ami quinine and strychnin* which are in varying degn-e poisons, are each compounds of C II N 0. Strychnine, a powerful poison is C„ir tta N a O B ond quinine is 0, 0 H, 4 N,O a . N and 0 are the same in both aud them is a difference of one part only of 0 and 2 of H. But neither these compound* nor the ao-oall«d elements of which they are composed arc permanent thrngs. Scientific matter is now found to bo only u relatively stable form of cosmic euorgy. AU matter disaooiates and passes into the energy of which it is a materialized form and again it issues from it. Modern Western Science and Philosophy have thus removed many difficulties which wore formerly thought to be objections to the anoient Indian doctrine on the subject, here dealt with. It hae, in the first pluee, dispelled the gross notions which were hitherto generally entertained as to the nature of "matter’’. According to the notions of quite recent science, "matter” was defined to be that which has mass, weight and inertia. It must be now admitted that the two latter qualities no longer stand the teat of 282 mAyA-shakti examination, since, putting aside our ignorance as to the nature of weight, this quality varies, if we conceive matter to be placed under conditions which admittedly affect it; and the belief in inertia is due to superficial observation, it being now generally conceded that the final elements of matter are iu a state of spontaneous and perpetual motion. In tact, the most general phenomenon of the universe is vibration, to which the humon body as all else is subject. Various vibrations affect, differently each organ of sensation. When of certain quality and number, they denote to the slcin the degree of external temporature ; othero incite the eye to soo different colours ; others again enable the ear to hoar defined sounds. Moreover, "inertia,” whioli is alleged to bo a distinguishing quality of "matter,’’ is said to bo tho pceseo- sion of eleutricity , wliich is considered not to Ihi "inatorial". What, then, is that to which we attribute "mass’' f In tho first place, it is now admitted that "matter,” ovon with the addition of all possible forces, is insufficient to explain many phenomena, suoh as those of light ; and it has, accordingly, come to be for some an article of icitntifio faith that there is a ■uh* tones called "Ether”: a medium wh’oh, filling the univerio, trnniporto by its vibrations the radiations of light, heat, electricity, and perhaps action from a distance, ouch o.' tho attraction exorcised between hoavcnly bodies. It ie said, however, that this Ethor is not "matter”, but differs profoundly from it, and that it is only our infirmity of know- ledge which obliges us, in our attempted descriptions of it, to borrow comparisons from "matter”, in its ordinary physi- cal sense, which alone is known by our senses. But if wo assume the existence of Ether, wo know that "material” bodies immersed in it can change their places therein. In fact., to use an Indian expression, tho characteristic property of the vibratious of the A kasha Tattva is to make the space in which tho other Tattvas and thoir derivatives exist. With "Matter” and Ether aa thoir materials. Western purely "scientific” theories liavo sought to construct the world. SHAKTI AND SHAKTA The scientific atom which Du Bois Raymond described as an exceedingly useful fiction — “atusemi nutzliohc fiotion" — is no longer considered the ultimate indestructible element, but is held to be, in fact, a kind of miniature solar system, formed by a central group or nucleus charged with positive electricity, around which very much smaller elements, called electrons or corpuscle*, charged with negative electricity, gravitate in closed orbits. These vibrate in the ethcric medium in which they and the positively charged nucleus oxiat, constituting by their energy, and not by their mass, the unity of the atom. But what,, again, is the constitution of this " nucleus " and the olootrona revolving around it T There is no scientific certainly 11*1 any port of either is due to the presence of “matter’*. On the contrary, if a hypo- thetical corpusolo oonsUting solely of an electric charge without material mass is made the subject of mathematical analysis, the logical inference is that the electron is free of •‘matter", and is merely an oloctrio charge moving in the Kthor ; and though the extent of our knowledge regarding the positive nucleus which constitutes the remainder of the atom it small, an eminent motheimtioinn and physicist has expressed the opinion that, if there i« no " matter” in the negative chargee, the positive charges munt also bo froo from it. Thus, in Lho words of the uuthor uptiu whose lucid analysis I have drawn, (Houlleviguo’s “Evolution of Science”) the atom has been dematorialiui, if one may nay so, and with it tho molecule* and tho entire universe. ‘'Matter” (in the scientific sense) disappears, and we and all that surround us are physically, according to these vjows, more disturbed regions of the ether determined by moving electric charges — a logical if impressive conclusion, because it is by increasing thoir knowledge of "matter" that physicists have been led to doubt its reality. But the question, as he points out, docs not remain t here. For if the speculations of Helmholtz be adopted, there is nothing absurd in imaging that two possible directions of rotation of a vortex formed a8 4 mAyA-shakti within, and consisting of, ether correspond to the positive and negative electric chaigea said to to attached to the final elements of matter. If that be so, thon the trinity of matter, other, und electricity, out ol which science has hitherto attempted to construct tho world, is reduced to a single element, the ether (which is not scientific “matter”) in a slate of motion, and which is the basis of the physical uni- verse. The old duality of force and matter disappears, these being hold to he differing forms of the saire thing. Matter is n relatively stable form of cnorgy into wllioh, on distur- bance of ita equilibrium, it disappears ; ior all forms of matter dissociate. The ultimate basis in that energy called In Indian philosophy Piakriti, M&yA or Shnkti. Herbert Spencer, tho Philosopher of Modern Scienco, carries the investigation farther, holding that the universe, who that physical or psyohical, wbothor within or without us, is a play of Force, which, in ilia tase of Matter, we experi- ence ns object, and that the notion that the ultimate realities aio the supposed atoms of raattor, to the proportion and romhinnrions of which the complex mi i verso is due, is not truo. Mind, Life und Matter are such varying aspect* of tho one ooainio process from the Fiat Cause. Mind na such in na milch ft "material ” organ ft' the brain nod outer souse uigaiiB, though they are differing forms of force. Both mind and mutter derive from what Herbert Spencer cal 1 b tho Primal Energy (AdyA Bhakti), and Hronkol the fundamental Spirit-Matter Substance. Professor Fits Ed- ward Hall described tho Sftftkhya philosophy as being “with all its folly and fanaticism little better than ft chaotic im- pertinence". It has doubtless its weaknesses like nil other systems. Wherein, however, consists its "fanaticism”, I do not know As for "impertinence”, it is neither more nor less so than any other form of Western endeavour to solve tliu riddle of life. As regards its leading concept, "Prokriti”, the Professor said that, it was a notion for which the Euro- pean languages were unable to supply a name ; a failure, SHAKT1 AND SHAKTA he added, which was "nowise to their discredit”. Tho implication of this sarcastic statement is that it was not to the discredit of Western languages that they had no name foT so foolish a notion. Ho wrote before the revolution of ideas in science to which I have referred, and with that marked antagonism to things Indian which has been and to some extent still is so common a feature of the more ordinary type of professional orientalist. The notion of Pmkriti is not absurd. Tho doctrino of a Primordial Substanoc was held by Homo of tho grottiest minds in tho past and has support from the moat modem developments of Science. Both now concur to reject wlu»t the great Sir William Jones called the " vulgar notion of material substance ” (Opera 1 . 30). Many people worn wont, as some Htill are, to laugh at the idea of MltyA. Was not matter solid, permanont and real enough ? But recording to acienoc what am w« (a* physical beings) at base I The answer is, innnitoly tenuous formless energy which material- ises into rolativoly stable, yot ossontially transitory, forma. According to the apt expression of the SlULkta Shftetra, Sliakti, ns She creates, become! GhnntbhQlA, that in, massive or thickened ; Just as milk becomes ourd. The pro- cess by which the subtle become* gradually more and more gross continues until it develops into what has been called hhn "crust” of solid matter (Pftrthiva bhfltn). This whilst it last* in tangible enough. But it will not last for over, and in some radio-active substances dissociates before our eyes. Whore doco it go, according to Shftkta doctrine, but to that Mother-Power from whose womb it came ; who oxiata as all forms, gross mid subtle, und is the formless ConscioumuflH Itself. The poet's inspiration led Shakespeare to say, " We are such stull us dreams arc made of." It is a wonderful saying from a Ved&ntic standpoint, for centuries before him AdvaitavAda had said, "Yes, dreams ; for the Lord is Him- self the Great World-dreamer slumbering in causal sleep as Ishvara, dreaming as Hiranyagarbha the universe experienced mAyA-shakti b y Him aa tho Virit or totality of all Jlvaa, on waking. Scientific revision of tlio notion of "matter", helps the Vedintio standpoint, by dispelling gross and vulgar notions upon the subject ; by establishing its impermanence in its form as scientific matter ; by positing a subtler physical substance which is not ponderable matter ; by destroying the old duality of Matter and Force ; and by theae and other conclusions leading to the acceptance of one Primal Energy or Shakti which transforms itaelf into that relatively stable state which is pcrcoivad by tho aonuo* as gross " matter”. As, however, soienco deals with mattor only objectively, that is, from a dualistio standpoint, it does not (whnfc ever hypotheses any particular scientist may maintain) resolve the essential problem whioh is stated in tho word Mlyd. That problem is, " How oau the apparent duality bo a real unity ? How cun wo bridge the gulf between the object and tho Self whioh perceive* it I Into whatever tenuous energy tho material world is resolved, we aro still left in t.hr region of duality of Spirit. Mind and Matter. Tho position is not advanced boyond that token by Slflkhya. Tho unswor to tho problem stated is that Shalrti whioh is the origin of, and is in, all things hoe the power to voil Itaolf bo that whilst in truth it is only soring itaelf ae object, it does not, ns the created Jtvu, perceive this but take* things to bo outside and different from the Self. For this reason Mtyd is called, in tho Shfcstra, Bhedabuddhi or tho sense of difference. This is the natural cliaraoUuistic of man’s experience. Herbert Spencer, the Philosopher of Modern Science, carrying the investigation beyond physical matter, holds, as I have already said, that the universe, whethor physical or psychical, whether as mind or mattor, is a play of Force ; Mind, Life and Matter being cook varying napoote of tho one coemic process from the First Cause. This, again, is an Indian notion. For, tlie affirmation tint “scientific matter”, is an appearance produced by the play of Cosmic Force, and 287 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA that mind is itaoli u product of the same play ia whut both 8&flkhya and MAyAvAda Vcdfintu. hold. Both these systems teach that mind, considered in itaelf, in, like mutter, an unoonsciouH thing, and that both it and matter ultimately issue from the same single Principle which the former calls Pr&kriti and the latter MAyfl. Cbnsoiousncss and Unconsci- ousness are in the universe insoparate, whatever be the degree of manifestation or veiling of .Consciousness. For the purpose of analysis, .'find in itself — that is, considered hvpothotioally aa dissociated from Consciousness, which, in fact, is never the case, (though ConaoiousuoHa exists apart from tilie Mind) is a force-process lilco tho physical brain. ConHoiousnew (Chit) is not to be identified with mind (Auteh- karanu) which is the organ of expression of mind. Consci- ousness is not a mere manifestation of material mind. Consciousness must not be identified with its mtnlal modet ; an identification which leads te the difficulties in wluoh western metaphysics has so often found itaolf. It is the ultimate Iteality in which all modes whether subjective or objoctive exist. The assertion that mind ia in itself unoonooiouo may seem a strange statement to a Wee torn reader who, if he does not identify mind and conaciouaneas, at any rate, regards the latter as an attribute or function of mind. The point, however, is of <moh fundamental importance for the understanding of Indian doctrine that it. may lie furthor developed. According to the Lok&yata School of Indian Materialism, mind was considered to be the result of the ohemical combi- nation of tho four forms of material autalanm. earth, water fire and air, in organio forms. According to tho Pfirva- Mimflihsa and the Ny&ya-Vaishcshilca, tho Self or Atm& in iii itself and that is by uature (Svabh&vatah), unconscious (Jads, Achidrhpa) : for AtrrA is said to be unconscious (Ache tana) in dreamless sleep (Sushupti) ; nnd consciousness arises as a produced thing, by association of the Atmft with mAyA-shakti the mind, scnaco and body. The reader b referred to Pnudit Chandra Kftnta TarkfLUiGlAia'a Bengali Lectures on Hindu Philosophy. At p. 105 he cites Pmbh&kftra Mlmlimaakftchftryya, saying that Vaisheshika-NyAya sup- ports the view. Sachelamshchitlayog&l ladyogena vin&jodah. “AtmA is Conscious by union with knowledge [Jnftna] which comes to it by association with mind and’ body. Without it, it is unconscious.” Atm ft. according to this Darshana, is tluit in which (Xahmva) Jnftna inheres. Kumft- rila Bhatto aayii Atmft b partly PrakAiha and AprakAsha, (luminous and non-lumiuous) like a fire fly. But this it denied, as AtmA is Niraihahn (portions). Knowledge thus arise* from the association of mind (Manas) with Atu> ft, the senses (Indriya) with Manas, and tho senses witli thoir objects, that is, worldly (Laukika) knowledge, which in the true— that is, non-illuaive- apprehension of objects. Jnftna in the spiritual Vedftntio nonse of Mftyftvftda in Puramfttinft, or pure Consciousness realised. The former Jnftna, in that it arises without effort on the presentation of the objects is not action (KriyA), and differs from the form* of mental notion (Mftnsst KriyA), such aa will (IchchliA), contemplation and the like. Almd man tud iufhyvjpaU, tnawi mdreyowfl, iwlriyamarfaita.tato bhavali jndnam. Both these theories are refuted by Sftflkhys and Advaitavids VodAutn (os interpreted by ShaBkeru, to which unless otherwise stated 1 refer) which affirm that the very nature of AtmA is Consci- ousness (Chit), and all else, whether mind or matter, is unconscious, though the former appears not to be so. The Jtva mind is not itself consoious, but reflects consciousness, and therefore appears to be conscious. Consciousness as such is eternal and immutable ; Mind is a creation and chauge- ablo. Consciousness as such is unconditional. Tn the mind of the Jlva, Consciousness appears to be conditioned by that MAyA-8hakti which produces mind, and of which Shalrti, mind is a particular manifestation. Mind, however, is not the resultant of the operation of the Bhula— that is, of SHAKTI AND SHAKTA gross natural forces or motions — but is, in S&Bkhyft and in Sh&kta monism, an evolution which is logically prior to them. The mode of exposition in which Consciousness is treated as being in itself something apart from, though associated with, mind, is profound ; because, while it recognizes the intentiingling of Spirit and Matter in the embodied being ( JIva), it yet at the same time clearly distinguishes them. It thus avoids the imputation of change to Spirit (Atmft). The latter is ever in Its own true nature immutable. Mind is ever changing, subject to sensfttiona, forming idea*, making roaolvei, and so forth. Spirit in Itself in neither thua affected nor acta. Manifold oliango token place, through motion and vibration, in the unconscious Pmkriti and M&yft. Mind ia one of the results of such motion, as matter is another. Each of thorn is a form ol specific transformation of the one Princi- ple whenoe unconsciousness, whether real or apparent, arises. That, however, mind appears to bn conscious, the M&yftvflda VodAnta ami SAfikhya admit. This n called ChidAbhlBa— that is, the appearance of something ss Clut (Consciousness) which is not really Chit. This appearance of OonsciouanoiH is duo to the reflection of Chit upon it. A piece of polished steel which lie# in the sunshine may nppoar to bo solf lumi nous, when it is merely reflecting the sun, which is the souroo of the light it appeals to gi vo out. Glut us such is immutable and never evolves. What do evolve arc the various forma of natural forces produced by Praknti or Mftyfl. These two are, however, conceived aa being in association in such u way that the result of such association is produced without Ohit being really affected at all. The classical illustration of the mode and effect of such association is given in the Shflkhyan aphorism, "Just like the jewel and the flower ” — Kuaumavachcha tnanH (SABkhya-Pmvaohnnn Sfltra, II, 35) that is, when a scarlet hibiscus flower is placed in contiguity to a crystal, the latter appears to be red, though it still in fact retains its pure transparency, ns is aoen when the flower mAyA-shakti is removed. On the other hand, the flower as reflected in the crystal takes on a shining, transparent aspect which its opaque surface does not really possess. In the same way Consciousness appears to be conditioned by tin* force of unoouaoiouanoss in the Jiva, but is really not so. "Change- less Ckib-Shakti, does not move towards anything, yet seems to do so" (Saflkhya-Prhvar.hana-8'ltia). And, on the other hand, Mind R9 one of such unconscious forces takes on the semblance of Consciousness, though this is borrowed from Chit and is not its own natural quality. This association of Unconscious Korea with ConHciousneas has a two-fold result, both obscuring and revealing. It ohoourw, in so far ae, and no long as it is in operation, it, prevents the realizatiuu of pure Oouaoiousneen (Chit). When mind in absorbed pure Consciousness shines forth. In this sense, thin Powor or MAyfi. is spoken oi as a Veil. In another sense, it reveals- -that is, it manifests -the world, which dona not exist except through the instrumentality of Mf\y& which the world is. Prakriti and W dyt produce both Mind and Matter ; on ths former of which Consciousness i« refluoUxl (Chid- ftbhiaa). The human mind, then, appears to he conscious, but of its own nature and inhereut quality is not so. The objective world of matter is, or appears to be, an uncon- scious reality. These alternatives are ncocssary, because, in Sifilrhya, unconsciousness is a reality ; in Vedlnta, an appcoranoc. In the ShAkta Tantra, apparent unconsciousness is an ns pent (AvidyA fthakti) of Conscious Shalcti. Consoi- ousnee* is, according to Advoita Vedinte, tho true existence of both, illumining tho one, hidden in the other. The internal instrument (Antahkarana) or Mind is one only, but is given different names— Buddhi, Aliaflkftra, Manas— to denote tho diversity of its functions. From the second of these issue the senses (Indriya) and their objects, the sensible* (Mah&bhuta), or grass matter with the super- scnsibles (TamnAtra) as its intermediate cause. All these procood from Prekriti and Mftyfl. SHAKTI AND SHAKTA Therefore, according to these systems. Consciousness is Chit, and Mind or Antnhkarana Is o transformation of Prakrit* and M&yA respectively. In iteelf, Mind is an un- conscious specialized organ developed out of the Primordial Energy, Mflla-Prakriti or MfiyA. It is thus, not in itaelf, consciousness but a special manifestation of conscious existence, borrowing its consciousness from the Chit which is reflected on it. ShAkta doctrine states the same matter in a different form. Consciousness at. rent, is Chit-SvarQpa. HonttiiouanesK in movement is Ohit-Shakti RSHOoiat. d with MtyA-Shakti. The Shiva-Shairti Svarflpa is consciousness (Chit, Chidrfipinf). Thoro ia no iudopondent Pmkriti as SfiBldiya holds, nor an uncuunoimw MAyft which is uut B/uhmau and yet not separate from Brahman, as fllmflkaru teaches. What there is, is MAyA-Sbakti ; that is Consoious- ncea (for Slinkti is iu itself such) veiling, ns the Mother, Herself to horscll as Her creation, the Jlva. There ia no need thon for ChidAbhiso. For mind is I’oiuoiouimwa veiling itself in the forma or limitation of apparent unconsciousness. This is an attractive exposition of the matter because in the uni vc no ooiweiouanees and uncon*dou»n<M are ntinglod, and the abolition of unconscious M*yA satisfice tho dcoire for unity. In all those «»sea, however, mind and matter re- present either else real or apparent, unconscious aspect of tilings. If man's consciousness is, or Appears to be, limited, suoh limitation must be due to some principle without, or attached to, or inherent in consciousness ; vrhioli in somo sense or other must ex hypolhesi be really, oi apparently different from the consciousness, which it poems to affect, or actually ulTeola. In all thene systems, mind ur.H matter equally dorivc from a common JiniHstny prineipio which actually or apparently limits the Infinite Consciousness. In all three, there is, b-youd manifestation, Consciousness or Chit, which in manifestation appears as a parallelism of mind and matter ; the substratum of which from a monistic standpoint is Chit. MAYA-SHAKT! Herbert Spenoer, however, es many other Western Philosophers <lo, dillera from the VedAnta in holding that the Doomenon of these phenomena is not Conscious uese, for the latter is by them considered to be by its vory nature conditioned and concrete. This noumenon is therefore declared to be unknown and unknowable. But Force sb such is blind, and can only act ns it has been predetermined. We discover consciousness in the univoree. The cause must, therefore, it is argued, be Consciousness. It is but reasonable to hold that, il the first came he of the nature of either Consciousness or Matter, and not of both, it muat be of the nature of the former, and not of t he latter. An unaonsoioua object may well bo conoeived - to modify Oouaciousncw, bub not to produce Consciousness out of its Self. According to Indian Realism, the PanunAuus are the material (UpAdAna), cause (KArana), and Iahvara the instrumental (Nimitta) cause, for lie makes thorn combine. According to VedAnta, Matter is really nothing but a determined modification of knowledge in tbo Isbvara Consciousness, itself unaffected by suoh determination. Isbvara is thus both the material and instrumental cause. A thing con only dissolve into its own cause. The agency (Kartritva) of lehvara is in MAyA- vAds attributed (AupAdhikaj only. The VedAnta, therefore, in its Sh&lcta presentment says, that the Nouinonun is known bio and known, for it is the inner Self, which is not an unconscious principle but Being ConHOiousnefiB, which, ns above explained, is not conditioned or concrete, but is the absolute Self-identity. Nothing can be more intimately known than the Soil. The objective aide of knowledge is conditioned because of the nature of its organs which, whether mental or material, are conditioned. Sensation, perception, conception, intuition are but different modes in which the one Consciousness manifesto itself, the differences b*iug determined by the variety of condition and fonn of tbo different organu of knowledge through which tonsciousnoss muni fonts. There SHAKTI AND SHAKTA is thus a groat difference between the Agnostic and the Ved&ntist. The former, as for instance Herbert Spencer, says that the Absolute cannot be known because nothing can bo predicated of it. Whereas the Ved&ntin when ho says that It cannot lie known (in tire ordinary sense) means that this is because It is knowledge itself. Our ordinary experience does not know a consciousness of pure being without difference. But, though it cannot he pictured, it may lie apprehended. It cannot bo thought because it is Pure Knowledge itself. It is time state which is realized only in Saraldhi but is apprehended indirectly as the Unity which undcrlico and sustains all forma of changing finito experience. What, huidy, is Life ? The underlying subatomic iH Being- m -itself. Life Ik a manifestation of such Being. If by Iiife we understand life in form, then the ultimnto sub- stance is not that ; for it is formless. But in a supremo sense it is Lifo ; for it is Eternal Info whence all life in form proceeds. It is not dead Being. I f it were It could not produce Life. The Orest Mother is l.ifs ; both the life of Her children and the Life of their lives. Nor does She produce what, is without life or potency of lifo. What, is iu the cause is in the effect. Some Western Scientists have spoken of the "Origin of Lifo", and liuvo sought to find it. It is a futile quest, for Life as such has no origin though fife in form has. Wc cannot discover the beginnings of that which is essentially eternal. The question is vitiated by the false assumption that, there is anything dead in the sense that it is wholly devoid of Life or potency of Lifo. There is no such thing. The whole world is a living manifestation of the source of all lifo which is Absolute Being. It is sometime* made a roproaoh against Hinduism that it knows cot a "living God ” Whnt is meant 1 cannot say. For it is oorUin that it dues not worship a "dead God", whatever such oiay be. Perhaps by "living" is meant "Personal". If so, the oharge is again ill-fountled. Isfcvara and Isbvari are Rulers 294 mAyA-shakti in whom all poraonalitiea and personality ireelf are. But in their ground they arc loyond all manifestation, that is limitation which personality, as we understand it, involves Man, the animal and the plant alone, it is true, exhibit certain phenomena whioh are commonly called vital. What exhi bits such phenomena, we have commonly called "living”. But it doeu not follow that what does not exhibit the phenomena which belong to our definition of life ia itself altogothor “dead”. We may have to revise our definition, ns iu fact we are commencing to do. Until recently it, was commonly anBUnicd that matter woo of two kind# : inorganic or "doad", and organic or "living”. The mineral was "dead”, the vege- table, animal and man were endowed with "lifo". But these living forum are compounded of so-called “dead” matter. How, then, is it possible that there is life in the organic king- dom the part* of which aro ultimately compounded o i "dead” matter '1 This necessarily started the futile quest for the “origin of lifo”. Life cau only oomc from life : not from death. The greatest errors arise from the making of false partitions in nature whioh do not exist. We make these imaginary partitions and then vainly attempt to surmount, thorn. There aro no absolute partition* or gulfs. All is conti- nuous, even if wo cannot ab present, ostahlish in each case the connection. That there should be such gulfs is unthinkablo to any one who has even in small degree gm.'|<cd the notion of tho unity of t hings. There is a complete connected chain in the hierarchy of existence, from the lowest forms of apparently inert (but now held to be moving) matter, through the vegetable, animal, human worlds ; and then through such DevatAs as aro Bupor-human intelligences up to the Brahman. From tlie latter to a blade of grass (pays the Nli antra) all are one. Western scientific notion* have, however, in recent years undergone a radical evolution as regards tho under- lying unity of substance, destructive of the hitherto accepted notions of the discontinuity of mutter and its organisation. SHAKTI AND SHAKTA The division of nature into the unimal, vegetable and mineral kingdoms 18 still reganlcd as of practical use ; but it is now rcoognized that no such clear line of demarcation exists between them as has hitherto been supposed in the West. Between each of nature’s types there are said to be innumer- able transitions. The notion of inert, “dead” matter, the result of superficial observation, has given way upon the revelation of the activities at work tinder this apparent inertia— forces which endow “ brute aubstanoo " with many of tho characteristic* of living Wings. It is no longer possible to dogmatically affirm where the inorganic kingdom •nda and "life” begins. It must bo rutiior onaortod tliut many phenomena, hitherto considered oharacteristio of "life”, belong to "inert matter”, composed of molcoules and atoms, an "animated nutter'' ia of colls and micella*. It has been found that so-called "inert matter ”, pr**eM*tB an extraordinary power of organisation, And is not only capable of apparently imitating the forms of “living" matter, but prenenta in a certain degree the same functions and properties. Soatiouoy is « characteristic of all forma of Existence. Physiologist* measure tlie sensibility of a Wing by the degree of exoitemunt nocossAry to produce in it a reaction. Of this it baa Won said (Lo lion " Evolution of Matter, " ‘ifiO), " Thin sensibility of matter, so contrary to what |wpular observation seems to indicate, is becoming men and mom familiar to physicists. This is why such an expression as the "life of matter”, utterly meaningless twenty-five years ago lias come into common use. The study of mere matter yields ever increasing proofs that it has properties which were formerly deemed the exclusive appanage of living beings.” life exists throughout, but manifests in various ways. The arbitrary division which lias Wen drawn bo- bween "dead" and “living” matter lias no existence in fact, and speculations as to the origin of "life” arc vitiated by the assumption that there is anything which exists without It, however much its presence may bo veiled from us. Western 296 mAyA-shakti science would thus appear to be moving to the conclusion that there io no “dead” matter, but that life exists every- where, not merely in that in which, as in “organic matter,” it is to us plainly and clearly expressed, but also in the ultimate " inorganic” atoms ol which it la compoaed -atoms which, in fact, have their organizations as have the beings which they go to build and that all, to the minutest partiole, is vibrating with unending Energy (Tejas). (See Author’s “World us Power”. “Life".) Manifested life is PrAna, B form of Kriyft Shakti in, and evolved from, the Ling* Hhartrn, itself horn of Prakriti. PrAna or the vital principle hu« been well defined (“ Hindu Realism", by J. 0 . Chntterji) to bo, “the apcoinl relation of the itmft with a certain form of matter which, by thiH relation , the Atui A orgaimes and builds up aa a me ana of having experience.” This special relation constitutes the individual PrAna in tiio individual body. Just as in the West, “life” is a term commonly used of organized body only, so also is tho term l'rina used in the E«*t. It is the toohnical name given to the phnnomena, called "vital”, exhibited by hucIi bodies, tho source of which is tho Brahman Itself. The individual PrAna is limited to the particular body wbioh it vitalises and is a manifestation in all breathing oreatuio* (Prhnl), of the creative and sustaining aolivity of the Brahman. All beings oxiot so long as tho PrAna is in tho body. It in as the Kaushltakl Upituislud says, “tho life duration of all ”. The cosmic all-pervading PrAna is tho collectivity of all Prflr.aa and is tho Brahman us the source of the individual Prana. On the physical piano, PrAna manifests as breath through inspiration, “Sa” or ShuJcti and expiration. "Ha” or Shiva. So the Niruttara '1*0111x0 (Chapter IV) saya:-“By HangkAra it goes out and by SakAra it cornea in again. A Jfva always recites the Supreme Mantra Hangoa.’’ llaruj-kdrcna bahir ydti tJi-kdrerut viAit punah Ilangteti paramtm mantrom jivo japali garvadd. ag 7 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA Breathing is itself the AjapA Mantra. Pr&na ia thus Shnkti as the universally pervading source of life, organising itself as matter into what we call living forms. When the Prftoa goes, the organism which it holds together disinte- grates. Nevertheless oaoh of the atoms winch remain has a life ol its own, existing as such separately from the life of the organized body of which they formed a part. ; just as each of the cells of the living body has a life of its own. The gmea outer body is heterogeneous (Paricholihinna) or marie up of distinct oi well-dcllned parts. But the PrAna- maya Heli which lion wilhin the Annamaya Self is a hnmo- goneoiu undivided whole (SAdhArima) permeating the whole physical body (SarvapiudavyApip). It is not cut ofT into distinct regions (AsAdhAmna) ns is the Find* or mioro- oosmio physical body. Unlike the latter it has no specialized organs each discharging a epeoifio function. It ia a homo- geneous unity (SadhAromi), presout in every part of tho body whioh it ensouls an ita inner vital bolf. VAyu, as universal vital activity, on entry into each body, manifests iteolf in ton different ways. It is the one Prlna. though different, names are given according to its functions, of which the live chief am Appropriation (Prflna), Rejection (Apftnn), Assimilation (Samftna), Diirtribution (VyAna), and that vital function (UcIAim) whioh ia connected with self-expression iu speech. 1’iAiift iu ile general sense xepicacnta the in- voluntary roflex action of the organism ; just aa the Indriyas are ono aspect of its voluntary activity. Breathing is a manifestation of tbs Cosmic Khythm to whioh the whole universe moves and according to which it appears and disappears. The life of BrahmA is the duration of the outgoing breath (Nishvftsa) of KAla. The S&filrhya rejecting the LokAyata notion that V&yu ia a mere bio-mechanical foroc or mechanical motion result- ing from such a YAyu, holds, on tho principle of tho economy of categories, that life is o resultant of the various concurrent activities of other principles or forces in the organism. 398 mAyA-shakti Thin, again, the Vedintiata dony, holding thBt it is a separate, independent principle and. material form assumed through Hftyft by the one ConaoiouancsB. In cither case, it ib an unconscious force, sinoe, everything which is not the Atmi or Puruaho, is, according to Mlyfivida and Sftfikhya, unoonsciouB, or, in Western parlance, material (Jada). If we apply Shlkta principles, then Prina is a name of the general Shakti displaying iteclf in the organization of matter and the vital phonomoua which bodies, whan organ- ised, exhibit.. Manifest. Shakti is vitality, which in a limited concrete display in forms of Tier own form less Being or Sat. All Shukti is Jnftnu, Ichchhft, Kriyt, and in its form aa Prakrits, the Gunns Sattva, Rajas, Tanuui. She desires, impelled by Her nature (IohchhA), to build up forms ; neoa how it should be done (Jn&na) ; and tlien duos it (Kriyfl). The rawtT&masic form of Krlyft is t he apparently mechanical energy displayed in material bodice. Bat this is iteelf the product of Her Vitivity and not. the cause of it.. Ultimately then Ir&na, lilco everything olse, is ooiisoiouaucss which, as Shakti, limits Itself in forms wliioh it drat crcatea and sustains ; then builds up into other more elaborate forms and again sustains until their life-period is run. All creation nnd msintewvnoo is u limiting power, with tho appearance of unoousciousneas, in so far an, and to tho degree that, it confines the boundless Boing-Oonsciounnoos-Blios ; yet that Power is nothing but Conaciousuosn negating and limiting itself. The Groat Mother (Shrl Mfltfl) limits Her infinite being in and as the universe and maintains it. In so far us the fonu and its life is a limited tiling, it is apparently un- conscious, for consciousness is thereby limited. At each moment there is creation, but we call the first appearance creation (Srishti), and its continuance, through the agenoy of Prftna, maintenance (Stliiti). But both that which is apparently limited and that whaio operation has that offoct is Bcing-Consdousncas. Pr&aa V&yu ia the sdf-fcogottcu bat limited manifestation of the eternal Life. It is called SHAKTr AND SHAKTA V&yu (Va=to move) because it courses throughout the whole univoree. Invisible in itself yet its operations are manifest. For it determines the birth, growth, and decay of all ani- mated organisms and as such receives the homage of all created Being. For it is the Prftnaripi Atmi, the Prana Shakti. For these by whom inorganic matter was considered to be "dead” or lifeless, it followed that it could have no Feoling-Oonsciouan&ui, since the latter wan deemed to ho an attribute of life. Farther, consoiousnoiw was denied because it was, and i» indeed now, commonly assumed that every oousoioufl experience prc-nupp«.»o* a subjaot, conscious of being such, attending to nn object. As Professor P. Muldiyo- pAdhyflya ("Approaches to Truth”) has well pointed out, ounsciousnnss was Identified with intelligence or under- standing • -that is with directed consciousness ; so that whom no direction or form is discernible, Western thinkers have boon opt to imagine that, oonscioumi&n as such has also waned. To their pragmatic eye consoiouiiiesH is always particular having a particular direction and form. Aocording, howover, to Indian viowe, thoro are three states of conauiousnesa : (l) a ouprumcintal supreme oousoioiis- mwB dissociated from mind. This is the PaiaiulUmA Chit which is the basis of all existence, whothor organic or in- organic, and of thought ; of which the Shruti says, "know that which does not think by the mind and by which the mind itself is thought.” There are then two muin manifested states of consciousness : (2) consciousness associated with mind in organic matter wotkiug through its vehiolee of mind and matter ; (3) consciousness associated with and almost entirely voilod by inorganic gross matter (Bliftta) only ; suoh as tho muffled consciousness, evidenced by its lcsponoo to extemnl stimuli, as shown in the experiments with which 8ir Jagadish Boses name is associated. Where are we to draw tho lowest limit of sensation ; and if a limit be assigned, why there 1 As Dr. Ernst Mack has pointed mAyA-shakti out (Analysis of Sensations, 243) the question is natural enough if wc start from the commonly current physical conception. It. is, of course, not asserted that inorganic math* is consoioua to iteelf in the way that the higher organized life is. The response, however, which it makes to stimuli is ovidonoo that contcioumicss is there, though it lies heavily veiled in and imprisoned by it. Inorganic matter displays it in the form of rhat s«w! or rudiment of ■entdenoy which, enlarging into the simple pulne* of feeling of the lowest degrees of organized life, at length emerges in the developed self -consoioua sensations of human life. Owing to imperfect noientifio knowledge, the first of these aspects was not in antiquity capable of physical poof in the name way or to the same extent, as Modern Science with its doliouto instruments have made pomblo. Starting, however, from the revealed and intuitionally held truth that, all wun Brah- man, the conclusion ncowaurily followod. All BliQta is oompoMd of the three Gunas or faotora of Prukriti or the psycho-physical potentials. .In is the Bflttva or Principle of Proflsntation of Ooneoiousnoss in grow matter (almost entirely suppressed by Tamas or the Principle of Vailing of Conscious- ness though it bo) winch manifesto the phonoxuoua of sensibi- lity olieervod in uiattor. In shurt.natuie.it has been well said, knows uo sharp boundaries or yawning gulfs, though wc may ignore the subtle connecting links between things. There is no break in oontiataty. Being and Consciousness arc co- extensive. Consciousness is not limited to those centres in the Ether of consciousness which are called organized Indies. But just s* life is differently expressed in the mineral and in man, so is GonaoionanMs which many have been apt to think exists in the dovolopod animal and even in man only. Consciousness (Chit-Shakti) exists in all the hierarchy of Being, and is, in fact, Being. It is, however, in ull bodiou veiled by its power or M&yft-Shakti wliich is composed of the three Gunas. In inorganic matter, owing to the predomin- ance of Tamas, Consciousness is so greatly veiled and the 301 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA life force ifl so restrained that wo get the appearance of insensibility, inertia und mere mechanical energy. In organized bodies, the action ol Tanias is gradually lessened, bo that the members of the universal hierarchy become more and more Sittvik as they ascend in the scale of evolution. Consciousn6ab itself does not change. It remains the same throughout. What, does change is its wrappings, unconsci- ous or apparently so, as they may alternatively be culled. This wrapping is Mfcyfi and Prakriti vrith their Gunns. The figure of "wrapping" in apt to illustrate the presontraont of SiBkliyn and Miyiv&dn. Prom the Shllcta aspect wo may oompare the process to one in which it being mummed that in one aspect there in an unolmuging light, in another it, is either turned up or turned down us the case may bo. In gross matter the light is so turned down that it is not ordinurily perceptible and even delicate scientific experiment may give rise to contending assertions. When the veiling by Taman ia lesicnod in organic life, and the JSva is thus less hound in matter, the same OonnciouancM (for there is no other) which previously manifested as, what aeems to us, a moro mochauical reaction, manifests in its freer environment in that sensation which wo aaaooiato with connoiounnosn us popularly understood. Shakti whu over negates Herself as Mftyft-Shukti, ruom und more reveals Herself as Cliit-Skakti. Them is thus a progressive release of Consolousnees from tho bonds ol matter, until it attains complete freedom or liber- ation (Moksha) when the Atm a is Itself (Atm ft Bvarfipl) or Pure Oonaoiousneas. At this point, the same Shakti, who had operated as Mfiy&, is Herself Consciousness (Chidrfipint). According to the Hindu books, plants have a sort of dormant Consciousness, and nrc capable of pleasure and pain. Cbalrrnpftni says in t he Bhftnumatl that tho Conscious- ness of plant** ia a kind of stupefied, durkonod, or comatose Consciousness. Udayana also says that plants have a dormant Consciousness which is very dull. The differences between plant and animal life have always been regarded mAyA-shakti by the Hindus as being oae not of kind, but; of degree. And thin principle may be applied throughout. Life and Consci- ousness is not a product of evolution. The latter merely manifests it. Menu speaks of plants as being creatures enveloped by darkness caused by past deeds having, how- ever, aa internal Consciousness and o capacity for pleasure and pain. And, in the MahAhhAmta, Rhrigu aaya to Bhnmdhvflja that plants possess the various senses, for they aro affected by heat, sounds, vision (whereby, for instance, the creeper pursues its path to the light), odours and the water which they taste. I may refer also to such stories as that of the Yimal&rjonavriksha of the Shrlmad Bh&gavata mentioned in Professor Brujeudra Nath Seal’s learned work on "The Positive 8oiences of the Ancient Hindus”, and Professor 8. N. Das Gupta’s scholarly paper on Parinftma to whioh I am indebted for these instances. Man is said to have passed through sll lower states of ConsoiousnoM and is os pa bio of reaching the highest through Yoga. The Jtva attains birth as man after having beau, it is said, Uiru 84 lakhs (84,00,000) of times us plant* (VrikshAdi), aquatio animnla (Jalayoni), insects and the Lkc (Krimi), birds (Pftkshi), beasts (Paahvfldi), and monkeys (ti&nara). He then is born 2 lakhs of times (2 ,00,000) in the inferior speoica of humanity, and then gradually attains a better and better birth until hs is liberated from All the bonds of matter. The exact number of each kind of birth is in 20, 0, 11, 10, 80, and 4 lakhs, respectively— 84 Utkhs. As pointed out by MohAmohopAdhyAya OhnndmkAnta Tark&lehk&xa Lec- tures on " Hindu Philosophy” (flth year, p. 227, Lecture VII), pre-appearauce in monkey forms is not a Western theory only. The Consciousness which manifests in him is not altogether a new oreation, but an unfolding of that whioh ha6 ever existed in the elements of which he is com- posed , and in the Vegetable and Animal through which prior to his human birth he haR parsed. In him, however, matter is so re arranged and organized as to permit of tho 303 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA fullest manifestation which hfts hitherto existed of the underlying Chit. Man’s is the birth so “difficult of attain- ment” (Durlabha). This is an oft-iepsated statement of Shaatra in older that lie should uvail himself of the opportu- nities which Evolution has brought him. If he does not, he falls back, and may do so without limit, into gross matter again, passing intermediately through the Hells of suffering. Western writers in general describe such a descent as un- scientific. How. they ask, can a man's Consciousness reside in an animal or plant ? The correct answer (whatever be populur belief) is that it docs not. When man sinks again into an animal ho coMM to be u mau. Ho does not continue to be both man and animal. Hie coneoiousneM is an animal uotiauouAuuM and not a human conscious uei». It is a childish viow which regards such a case ue being the imprisonment of a man in an animal body. If lie can go up he can also go down. The soul or subtle body is not a fixed but an evolving tlnnR. Only Spirit) (Chit) in eternal and unchanged. In mau, the levelling constituent of Prukriti Shokti (fUttVNguua) eommauom to more fully devolop, and h» oonneiouinesH is fully swam of the objootivo world and liin own Ego, and displays itself in all those func- tions of it which are called his faculties. Wc here roach the world of ideal, but these are a superstructure on oonnei- ounnesa and not its foundation or basis. Man's conscious- ness is still, however, veiled by MftyA-Shakti. With the greater predominance of Battvaguna in man, consciousness becomes more and more divine, until he is altogether froed of the bonds of Mflyfi. and the Jlva Consciousness expands info the pure Brahman ConRcioufttiess. Thus bfo and Con- sciousness oxiet throughout. All is living. All is Conscious- ness. In the world of grow matter they *oem to disap- pear, being almost suppressed by the veil of MftyftShakti’s Tamoguna. As however ascent is made, they are less and less veiled, and True Consciousness is at length realized in Sumidbi and Moksha. Chit-Sliakii and M&va-Shakti exist mAyA-shakti inseparable thioughouo the whole universe. There is there- fore according to the principles of the Shftkta Sh&eora not & particle of matter which is without life and consciousness variously displayed or concealed though they be. Manifest MAyi-Shakti is the universe in which Ohit-8hakti is the changcleas Spirit Unmanifeat M&yl-Shakti is Consoious- ni«H (ChidrUpinl). There ure many persona who think tlrab they have disposed of a doctrine when they have given it au opprobrious, or what they think to be an opprobrious, D&mo. And eo they dub all this “ Animism ”, which tire reader of Census Ro porta ossoointsu with primitive and savage tribes. Thore are some people who are frightened by names. It is not names but fools which should touch us. Oortainly ” Animism’’ is in aome rwpeoto an inoorwet and childlike way of putujig the matter. It is, however, an imperfect presentment of a central truth which has been held by soino of the profoundeat thinkers in the world, oven in au age whioh wo arc apt to think to be superior to all others. Primitive man in his simplicity mado discovery of sovoral such truths. And ao it has been well said that the simple savage and tho child who regard all existence, as akin to thoir own, living nnd feeling like himself, hovo, notwith- standing their orrora, more truly felt, the pulse of being, than bbo civilized mnn of culture. How oswntiaDy stupid ai.rae of tho latter con be needs no proof. For the prooeoa of civilisation being one of abstraction, they ore leaa removed from the concrete fact than he is. Hence thetr errors winch seem the more contorted due to the mass of useless verbiage in which they are expressed. And yet, as extremes meet, »o having passed through our present condition, we may regain tho truths porcoivod by the simple, not, only through formal worship but by that which comista of the pursuit of all knowledge and science, when once the husk of all material thinking is cast aside. For him who qecs the Mother in all things, all scientific research is wonder and worship. So Grotry said that the calculus of Newton and Leibnitz was a SHAKT1 AND SHAKTA supra-logical procedure, and that geometric induction ia essentially a pw<z?a oj prayer, by which lie evidently meant an appeal from the finite mind to the Infinite, for light on finite concerns. The seeker looks upon not mere mochanicnl movement* of so-called "dead" matter, but the wondrous play of Her Whose form nil matter is. As She thus reveals Herself She induces in him a passionate exaltation and that sense of security wliicli is only gained as approach is mode to tho Central Heart of things. For, as the Upanishad says, " He only fears who sees duality". Some day may bo, when ono who nnitos in himself the scientific ardour of the Went and the all embracing rcligioun feeling of India will cronto another uud u modern Gbaud f, with its multiple salutations to the sovereign World-Mother (Nimastasyai iiamo namah). Suoh an one, seeing tho ohanging matveli of Her world-play, will exclaim with the Yoginfhridaya Tantra, "I salute Her the Sumvid Halt who shines in tho form of Space, Time and all Objects therein.” DetJvMIapaJdrthitmi yad ynd va slu yathd yathd, TattadrUpeno j/d M*t lAm »hmy« lamvitkim ItaJAm. This in, howovor, not moro Naturo-worship ns it is generally undcrotood in the West, or the worship of Foroo as Keshub Chunder Son took the Shftktn doctrine to he. All things exist wt the Supremo who in Itnolf infinitely trails- omuls all finite forms. It is the worship of God as the Mother- Creatrix who manifestc in the form of all things which are, as it were, but an atom of dust on the Feet of Her who is Infinite Being (Sat), Experience (Chit), Love (Ananda) and Power (Bhakti). As Philibert Commerson said : “La vie d'nn naturalist* eat, je L’oac Hire, une ado- ration praquo pcrpituello.” I have in my paper “Sliakti and Mftyft" (hero reprinted from the Indian Philosophioal Review, 1018, No. 2) contrast ed the three different concepts of the Primal Energy as Prak- rit! . and Shakti of Sftflkhya, Yedftnta and the Sgama respectively. I will not, therefore, repeat, myself but will mAyA-shakti only Bummariac conclusions here. In tlie Best place, there nrc features oomuion to all three concepts. Hitherto, greater pains Lave been taken to show the differences between the Darsbanas than to co-ordinate them systematically, by regarding their points of agreement or as regard apparent disagreement, their view-point. It hae been said that Truth cannot be found in such a country as India, in which, there are six systems of philosophy disputing with one another, and where, even in one system alone, there is a conflict between Dvaite, VishiuhtAdvaitfl. and Advaita. Ono might suppose from such a critioism that all in Europe were of one mind, or that at least tho Christian Community was agreed, instead of being split up, sn it is, into hundreds of scots. An American humourist observod wibh truth that there was a good deal oi human nature in man everywhere. Of course there is difference which, na the Radd-ul-Muhtar says, w also the gift, of God. This is not to deny that Truth is only ono. It is merely to recognize that whilst Truth is one, the nature and capacities of those who seek it, or claim to possess it. vary. To use a common metaphor, tho same white light which passes through vuricolournd Rinse take# on its various whins. All cannot, apprehend the truth to tho oamo cxter.t or in tho same way. Honoe the sensible Indian doctrine of compotenoy or AdlukAra. In tho Chris- tian Gospel it is also said, “Throw not your pearlo before Bwinc lest '.hey trample upon them and then rend you.” What can be given to any man is only whst ho can receive. The Six Philosophies represent differing standards noeording to the manner and to tho extant. to which the one Truth may be apprehended. Each standard goes a stop beyond the last, sharing, however, with it certain notions in common. A a regards tho present matter, all these systems start with the foot. that there is Spirit and Mind-Matter, Osnaciouenesa and Unconsciousness, apparent, or real. S&fi- khya, Vod&nta and the Shflkta Agsms called the first Purus hn, Brahman, Shiva ; and the second Prukriti, May A, 307 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA Shakti respectively. All agree that it is from the associa- tion together of tlieae two Principles that 'the universe arises and tliat such association is the universe. All, again, agree that one Principle, namely, the first, is infinite, formless consciousness, and the second is a finitmug principle which makes forms. Thirdly, all regard this last as a veiling principle, tlmr. is, one which veils consoiouaiiewi ; and hold that it is eternal, All-pervading, eir.Hting now as »«id (MflU- prakriti, Avyakta) and now as fruit (Vikriti), composed of the Ounfts 8at’,vn, Rujus and Tamaa (Principlon of piosenta- tion of Gmeoiu unne-ia, Aotiou. and Veiling of OoiiooioiisncsB respectively) ; unperoeivable except through its effects. In all, it is tho Natural Principle the material cause of the material universe. The word Prakriti has hoen Baid to be derived from the root u Kri\ and tluj affix “Klin", which is added to exprestf Rhflva or the afwtmot idea, and sometimcH the Karma or objoct of tho action, corresponding with tho Greek affix Si*. Hein inflected in the nominative boconioii fi*. Prakrits, therefore, has been ttaid to torreepond with Phuiia (Nature) of tho Greeks. In all three systems, tlieroforo, it ia, m tlio "natural," eontrastod with tho "spiritual" aspect, of things. The first main point of difference ia between S&fikhya, on the one hand, ami the Advaito Vcdfinta, whether as interpreted by Shaflkara or taught by the Shaiva-ShAkta Tantra on tho otbor. Classical Hlfikhva is a dualiatie system, whereas the other two nro nori-dualistio. The classical Bftfikhya posits a plurality of Atmans representing the formless consciousness, with one unconscious Prakriti which is formative activity. Prakriti is thus a real inde- pendent principle. Ved&ntio monism docs not altogether discard theao two principles, but says that they cannot exist as two independent Realities. There is only one Brahman. The two categories of S&fikhya, Purusba and Prakriti am reduced to one Roality, tire Brahman ; otherwise tho Vflkya, MAyA-SHAKTI “All this is vorily Brahman ” (Sarvam kholvidom Brahma), is falsified. But how '.a this effected ? It is on this point that MAyAvada of Shafikara and the Advaita of Sbaiva-Shakta A Kama difler. Both systems agree that Brahman has two aspects in one of which It ia transcendent and in another creative and immanent. According to Shafikara, Brahman ie in one aspect Iehvura associated witli, and in another ono dissociated from MAyA which, in hie aystem, occupies the place of the Sfiflkhyau Prakriti, to which it ia (save an to reality and independence) similar. What is MAyA 1 It is not areal independent Principle like the SAfikhynn Prakriti. Then is it Brahman or not! According to Shafikara, it is an unthinkable, alogical, unexpluinable (Anirvachuntya) mystery. It is an eternal falsity (MithyAbhQti lanttant), owing what falao uppearamx* of reality it possesses to tho Brahman, with Which iu one aspect it is associated. It ia not wul for there is only one such. It cannot, however, bo said to be unreal for it is the cause of and is empirical experi- ence. It is something which ia neither real (Pat) nor unreal (Asat), nor partly real and portly unreal (Sadasot), and which though not forming part of Brahman, nnd thoxeforc not Brahman, is yet, though not a second reality, inseparably oeoooiatod and sheltering with (Mdyl brahmOshritA) Brah- man in It* Ishvara aspect. like the Sftfijchyan Prakriti, MAyA (whatever it bo) is in the nature of an unconscious pnnciple. Tho universe appears by the rcfloctiou of consci- ousness (Puruaha, Brahman) on unconsciousness (Prakriti, MAyA). In this way the unconscious is made to appear conscious. This is ChidibhAsa. MAyA is illusivo and so is Bhafikara’s definition of it. Further, though MAyA is not a occond reality, but a myste- rious something of which neither reality nor unreality can be affirmed, the fact of positing it at all in thiB form gives to Shankara’a doctrine a tinge of dualism from which the ShAkta .doctrine is free. For, it is to ho noted that notwith- SHAKTI AND SHAKTA standing that Mi y& is a falsity, it is not, according to Shan- kars, a mere negation or want, of something (Abh&va), but a positive entity (Bhfivartipam ajafinam), tbut is in the nature of a Power which veils (Achchh&daka) consciousness, ah Prakriti does in the case of Fumsha. Shankura’s system, on the other hand, has this advantage from a monistic standpoint, thst whilst he, like the Khftlrta, posits the doctrino of aspocts saying that in ono aspoot tho Bruhnun is Maodated with M4y4 (Iohvam), and in another it is not (Patabr* liman) ; yet In neither aspect docs his Brahman change. Whereas, according to Sh&lcta doctrine, Shivo does, in one aspect, that is as Shakti, change. Whilst then Shnflk&r&’s teaching is consistent witli the (ihangulusancss of Bialimau, he is not so successful in o'tabliahing the saying, "All this is Brahman". The posi- tion is reversed os regards Shaiva-Sh4kta Dar*h»na whinh puts forth its dootrine of M4yft-8hakti with greater oimpli- city. ShAktn doctrine takas the saying, " All this is Brah- man" (the realization of which, as the MahAnirvftua Tantra states, ia the aim and end of Kul4ehAra) in it« literal sense. "This" is tho universe. Then t.be universe is Brahman. But Brahman is Consciousness. Then tho universe is really That. But in what way 1 Shftfiksrft says thst what we sense with our booms is M&yl, wLich is practically sontothing, but ui » real sense nothing ; whioh yot. appears to be some- thing because it it associated with the Brahman which alone is Real. Its appearance of independent reality, is thus borrowed and ia in this sense said to be “illusory” When, therefore, we say, “All this is Brahman”— accord- ing to Shafikara, this means that what is at the back of that which we see in Brahman ; the rest or appearance ia Again, according to Bhafikara, man is spirit (Atm ft) vestured in the MAyik faluiuoa of mind and matter. He, uooordingly, can thou only establish tho unity of Isbvara and Jlvo by eliminating from the first MftyA., and from the second Avidyft ; when Brahman is left mAyA-shakti ub u ooxmuon denominator. The Sh&kta, however, elimi- nates nothing. Fox him, iu the strictest sense, “All is Brahman”. For him, man's spirit (AtmA) is Shiva. HiB mind and body are Shakti. But Shiva and Shakti are one. Param&tmA is Shiva-Shakti in umlistinguishable union. JivAtraA is Shiva-Shakti in that state in which the Self ia distinguished from the uot-Self. Man. therefore, seconding to the ShAktu Tantra, is not Spirit seemingly clothed by a non-Brahmun falsity, but spirit covering Itself with its own power or MAyA-Shakti. All is Shakti whether as Chit- Shakti or MAyA-SLukti. Whoa, therefore, the ShAkta TAntrio says, “All this is Brahman", ho means it literally. “This”, here means Brahman us 8hakti, as MAyA-Shukti, and Chit-Shskti. Shiva as Parabralunan is Shiva-Shukti in that state when Shakti is not operating and in which She is Herself, that ia, pure oonsoiouaness (Chidrflpint). Shiva us Ishvura is Sliiva-Shakti in that state in which Bhiva, Mtoaiafeed with MAyA Shalcti, is tho sourco of movomont and c hangs ; 8hiva- Sliakti as Jiva is the state produced by such aotion wliioh is subject to MAyA, from which Iahvara, the Mftyia is free. The creative Shakti is tLoreforo ohaugelosB Ohit-Shakti und changing MAyA-Sftakti. Yot tlio One Shalcti must never be conceived as existing apart from, or without the other, for they are only twin aspeote of tho fundamental Substance (Paravaatu). Vimamha-Shakti (See KAmakulAvilAsa, Yol. X, TAntnk Texts, Ed. A. Avalon) its MAyA-Shakti pro- duces the forme in which Spirit as Chit-Shakti inheres and which it illuminates (Praklsha), But MAyA-Shakti in not unconscious. How can it be ; for it is Shakti and one with Chit-Shakti. All Shakti is and must be Consciousness. There jb no unconscious MAyA which is not Brahman and yet not separate from Brahman. Brahman alone is and exists, whether at Chit or ns manifestation of MAyA. .All is Consciousness, as the so-called “New Thought” of the Weet also affirms. 3 <« SHAKTI AND SHAKTA But surely, it will bo said, there is an unconscious ele- ment in tilings. How is this accounted for if there bo no unoouscious MAy& ? It is aonflcioua Shakti veiling Haraelf and so appearing as limited consciousness. In other words, whilst Shafikara says mind and matter arc in themselves unconscious but appear to bo conscious through Chid&bb&sa ; the Sh&bta Agama reverses the position, and saya that they are in themselves, that is in their ground, conscious, for they are at base Chit ; but they yet appear to be unconscious, or mom strictly limited consciousness, by the veiling power of Conaoiouaneiiu Itself as M Ay A- Shakti. Thin being so, there is no nood for ChidAbhfiu which assumes, as it wore, two things, the Brahman, and unoouscious Miyi in which the fonnor reflect* itself. Though some of tlw Shis teas do apeak of u wflootlon, Pmtiviwba is between Shiva ai d Shakti. Brah- man is Miyt-Shakti in that aspect in which it negates itself, for it is the funotion of SluikU to uogatc (Nished ha vyftpfl.ru- rflpA shaktih), us it is said by Yoga-Bftja oc Yoga Muni (us ho is also called) in his oummentary on Abhinava Gupta’s PurumArthasAra. In the ShAkta Tantras, it is a common saying of Shiva to Dovl, "There is no difference between Mo and Thoo." Whilst. Shaflltara’s IshvarA is assooiatod with tho unoonsoious MftyA, the Sliaiva ShAkta 'a Ishvara is never associated with anything but Himself, that in as MftyA-Shakti. Whether this doctrine lio accepted as the final solution of things or noe, it is both great and powerful. It is great because the whole world is seen in glory accord- ing to the strictest monism as the manifestation of Him and Her. The mind is not distracted and kept from the realization of unity, by the notion of aay unoonsoious Mlyd which is not Brahman nor yet separata from It. Next, this doctrine accommodates itself to Western scienti- fic monism, so far as the latter goes, adding to it however a religious mid metaphysical basis ; infusing it with the spirit of devotion. It is powerful because its standpoint is the 3« a mAyA-shakti 'hero' and ‘now’, and not the transcendental Siddhi stand - point of which most men know nothing and cannot, ouloidu Sam&dhi, realize. It assumes the reality of the world which to us is real. It allows the mind to work in its natural channel. It does not ask it to deny what goes against the grain of ita constitution to deny. It is, again, powerful because wa stand firmly planted on a basis which is real and natural to us. From tho practical viewpoint, it does not ask man to eschew and fltw from the world in the spirit. of asceticism ; a course repugnant to a large number of modern minds, not only booauso more aBOoticism oftou Lnvolvte what it thinkn to be a futile aolf-donial ; but be- cause (hat mind in waking to tiie truth that oil is one ; that if so, to deny the world is in a sense to deny an aepeet of Tbut which is both Being and Becoming. It thinks alio that whilst some natures are naturally ascetic, to attempt, MOOtio treatment in the <*ic of most is to oontort the natural being, and to intensify the very evils which asceticism seeks to avoid. Not one man in many thousands lias true Vairftgjra or detachment from the world. Most are thorough- ly even glued to it Again, there are many minds which are puzzled und confused by M&yAvAda ; and which, tho ro- foro. falsely interpret it,- xuay bo to their harm. Three men, MlyAvftda, or rather their misunderstanding of it>, weakens or destroys. Their grip on themselves and the world ia m any case enfeebled. They become intellectual and moral derelicts who are neither on the path of power nor of renunciation, and who have neither the strength to follow worldly life, nor to truly abandon it. It in not neces- sary, however, to renounco when all is seen to bo Bor. And, wheu all is so seen, then the spiritual illumination which transfuses ail thoughts and acta make* them noble and pure. It is impossible for a man, who in whatever sense truly scos God in oil things, to orr. If he doca so, it ia bcoaoso hiB vision ia not fully strong and pure ; and to this extent scope ia afforded to error. But given perfect spiritual eyesight SHAKTI AND SHAKTA tlicn all “this” in pure. For, as tJic Greeks profoundly said, “pant* kathara tois katharois”, "To the pure all things are pure". The Shltfcta doctrine is thus one which ha* not only grandeur but, is greatly pragmatic and of excelling worth. It hag always been to me a surprise that itt value Rhonld not havo been rightly appreciated. I can only suppose that its neglect is due to the fact that it is the doctrine of the Shflkta Tantros. That fact has boon enough to warrant, its raj cation, or at least a refusal to examine it. Like all practical doctrines, it is also intensely positive. There are none of those negations which weaken and which annoy those who, as the vital Western mind does, feel themselves to he strong and living in an atmosphere of might and power. For power is n glorious thing. Wlist ix wanted in only the mum that all Power is of God and is God, and that Bhftva or feeling which interprets all thoughts and acta and their objects in term* of the Divine, and winch usi God in and ao all thing*. Those who tiuly doso will exorcise power not only without wrong, but with that compassion (KarunA) for nil beings whioh is so beautiful a feature of the Buddha of northern and TAntrik Buddhism. For in them Sliakti Hemlf has deeoendod. This Is ShaktipAW, as it is techni- cally called in the Tantia Shlatra ; tho descent of Sliakti whioh Western theology calls tho graco of God. But grace is truly not some exterior thing, though we may pictorially think of it a* ‘streaming’ from above below. Atm A neither oomoB nor goes. To be in grace is that state in whioh man oommenocs to realise himeolf as Shivn-3hakti. Hia power is, to use a Western phrase, “converted". It. is turned from the husk of mere outwardness and of limited self-seeking, to that inner Reality which is tho great Self Whioh, at base, he (in this doctrine) is. The principles of Sh&ktn doctrine which will vary ac- cording to race, are arcgenerating doctrine, giving strength where there is weakness, and, where strength exists, directing MAyA-SHAKTI it to right ends. “Shi to* ham", “I aiu Shiva”, "81’ ham", “I am She (the Devi)", the Tantras say. The Western may call It by some other name. Some call It this and some that, as the Veda says. "1 am He”, “I am She", 4, I am It”, matters not to the Shikta so long as man identifies himself with the ‘OvcraouT, and thus harmonises himself with its Being, with Dharmic actions (as it manifests in the world) and therefore, necessarily with Tta true ends. In its oomplete form the Sh&lcts doctrine i» monUtio. But to those to whom monism maltca no appeal, the Shflktn will nay that by adopting its spirit, so far us the forms of their belief and worship allow, they will experience n reflection of the joy and strength of those who truly live because they worship Her who is Eternal life-- the Mother who is seatod on the couoh of Shivas (Muhftprcta), iu the Isle of Gums (Manidvipa), in the "Ocean of Neotar", which is all Being-Consciousness and Bliss. This is the peari which those who have ohuroed the ocean of '('antra iliacover. That pearl is there in an Indian shell, l’horo is o beautiful nacre on the inner shell which is the Mother of Poari. Outeido, the shell is naturally rough and coarse, and bears the oooretione of weed and prrosito and of things of all kind which exist, good or bad as wo cell them, iu the oe«un of existence (Somalja). The Scripture leads man to remove those accretions, and to pass within through the cruat, gross, though not on that uocount only, bad ; for there is a gross (Sthfilo) and subtle (Hflksluua) aspect of worship. Finally it leads man to seek to ace the Mother of Pearl and lastly the Pearl which, enolceed therein, shincu with the brilliant yet soft light which is that of the Moon-Chit (Chiohchaudra) Itself. Chapter XVI. MATTER AND CONSCIOUSNESS.* rPHE Bubjcot of my lecture to-day is Consciousness or Chit, and Matter or Unooneoiousnets, that is. Achit ; the unchanging formlessness and the n hanging forma. Ac- cording to Sh&kta Advaitavlda, man ia Consciousness-Un* conociousnona or Chit Achit ; being Chit-Shukti us reganiu liia AntarAUnft, and the particularised Mftya-flhakti ta to his material vehicles of mind and body. The reason that I have selected this subjoct, amongst the many others on which I might have add leased you, is that those two ideas are the key concept* of Indian Philosophy and religion. If thoy arc fully understood both m to their definition and relations, then, all is understood so far as intciloct can make such matters intelligible to n« ; if they are not understood then nothing in properly understood. Nor are they always understood oven by those who profeos to know and write on Indian Philosophy. Thus, tho work on Vtdlnte, of an English Orientalist, now in its second edition, describes Chit as tho condition of a stone or other inert substance. A more absurd error it is hard to imagine. Those who talk in this tray have not learnt tho elemunts of their subjoot. It is true that you will find in the 8hiatra, the state of tho Yog! described as being like a log (KfUhtavat). But this does not mean that his Consciousness is that of a piece of wood : but that ho no moro porcciv©* tho external world than a log of wood does. lie does not do o o because he has the Samftdhi consciousness that is Illumination and true Being itself. I can to-night only scratch at the surface of u profound subject. To properly expound it would require a series of lectures, and to understand it in its depths, years ol thinking thereon. I will look at the matter first from the scientific • Sturt Sunmiuy of A<Mr«* <UJIr.r«l at ill* Dmo» R*hltj* P»rUhM, Jane 1 P 18 . 316 MATTER AND CONSCIOUSNESS point of view ; (secondly, state what those concepts menu iu tlicuisol vta ■ and' thirdly, allow how they are related to one another in the SAfikhya and the Mly&v&da and Shaktivida presentments of Ved&nta doctrine. The .Shaktivftda of which 1 deAl to-night may be found in the Tantras. It has been supposed that the Agamas arose at the close of the age of the Cpanishads. They are ShAstraa of the UpAaanft Kftnda dealing with the worsliip of Sfiguna Tahvaia. It has been conjectured that they arose partly because of the declin- ing strength of the Vaidika Ach&ra, and partly because of tbe increasing number of persona within the Hindu fold, who wore not competent for the Vaidika Aohflrn, and, . for whom aorne spiritual discipline wub ncoessary. One oommon feuturo distinguishes them ; namely, their toaohing is for all castes and nil women. They express the liberal principle that, whilst socially differences may exist, the path of religion is open to all, and that spiritual competency and not thn external signs of caste determine the position of lemons on that path. Ishvam in those Agamas in worshipped in threefold forma ns Vishnu, flhiva, Dovt. Therefore, tho Agamss or Tenting are threefold, Vaiahnava, Sliaivu end ShAkta, such ns tho Psnolinrfttrn Agamas of the first group, tbo Bhaiva Biddh&uta (with its 28 Tantrna), the Nakulisha Pishupata, aud the Kaslimirian Trika of the second group ; •Mid the alleged division into Ksula, Mishra, Sftmnya of the third group. I express no opinion on this last division. I moroly refer to this matter in order to explain what I moan by the word Agama. The Shaktivftda, however, whioh I contrast with MAyilv&da to day, is taken from the 8hAkta Agama. By Mflyflvftda I mean ShaflkaraV exposition of Ved&nta. Now, with roforenco to tho ooicniifio aspect of tho subject, I show you that in three main particulars, modem western physics and psychology support Indian philosophy, whatever such support may be worth. Indeed, Mi. Lowea Dickinson, in an acute recent analysis of the state of 3*7 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA ideas iu India, China and Japan observes that the Indian form of religion and philosophy ie that which moat easily accommodate* itself to modem western science. That, does not prove it is true, until it is established that the conclu- sions of western science to which it does conform ure true. But the fact is of great importance in countering those who have thought, that eastern ideas wens without rational foundation. It ii of equal importance to those two classes who either believe in the idea* of India, or in the particular conclusions of saonce to which I rcfor. Tho thioo points on this head arc fiistly, that physicists, by increasing their knowledge of so-called “ matter ", have boon led to doubt ita reality, and have demateriuliised the atom, and, with it, the entire universe which the various atoms compose. The trinity of matter, ether and electricity out of winch aeienoc has hitherto attempted to construe*, the world, hss been reduced to a siuglo element - the other (which is not scientific "matter”) in a state of motion. According to Sftflkhyn, the objeotive world ia composed of the Bhfitea which derive ultimately from Ak&aha. Ido not say that scientific "other" is AklUhn, which is u concept belonging to a different train of thought. Moreover the sensible is derived from the super- sensible Akftsha Tanm&tra, and is not therefore an ultimate. But it is important to note the agreement in this, that both in Bast and West, the various forms of grow matter derive from some single substance which is not "matter". Matter is dematerialistd, and tho way is made for tho Indian concept of M&yA There ia a point ati whioh the mind cannot uny longer usefully work outward. Therefore, after the Tanmfltra, the mind is tumod withiu to discover their cause in that Egoism which, reaching forth to the world of enjoy- ment produces season urn, senses, ami object* of sensation. That the mind and senses are also material has the support of some forms of western philosophy, such as that of Herbert Sponcer, for he holds that the Univorse, whether physical or psychical, is a play of force which in the case of matter we 3‘8 MATTER AND CONSCIOUSNESS experience as object. Mind as such ie, ko eaye, as much a “ material " organ as the brain and outer eenee-organa, though they are differing lormo of Force. Ilia affirmation that scientific "matter” is au appearance produced by the play of coemio force, and that mind itself is a product of the same play, is what Siflkhya and Vedfinta hold. The way again is opened for tha concept, Mavft. Whilst, however, Spencer and the Aguoatio School hold that the Reality behind those phenomena is unknowable, the Ved&nta affirms that it m knowable and in Consciousness itself. This is the Self than whioh nothing can he more intimately known. Force ia blind. We disoovor oonsoiouaneaa in the Universe. It ia reasonable to suppose that if the first oauao ie of the nature of either Consciousness or Matter, and not of both, it must l«o of the nature of the former and not of the latter. Uuooneei- ousnem or object may lw ouneoived to modify Consolous- ncea, but not to produce ttonaciouancea out of it* unconscious Self. According to Indian ideas, Spirit which is the oauno of the Universe is pure Consciousness. L’liis i» Nmhkala Shiva : and, as the Creator, the giout Mother or Dovl. The exis- tonne of pure cousciouanuM in the Indian sense lias been decried by some thinkers in the West, where generally to it« pragmatic oyo, Consoiouenesa is always particular having a particular direction and form. It assumou this particularity, however, through M&yfc. We must distinguish between Oon- sciousnwf us such aud modes in oousciouaueaa. Conscious- ness is the unity behind all forma of consciousness, whether sensation, emotion, instinct, will or reason. The claim that Consciousness as such exists can only be verified by spiritual experience. All lugh mystic experiences, whether in East or West, have l men experiences of unity in differing forms and degrees. Even, however, in normal life as well as in abnormal pathological states, we have occasional stretches ofexp?rienoe in which it becomoa almost structureless. Secondly, the dis- covery of the subliminal Consciousness aids Shhatric doctrine, ill so far as it. shows that behind the surface consciousness SHAKTI AND SHAKTA of which we are oidinurJy awaro, there is yet another raysteriouB field in which uU its operations grow. It is the Buddhi which hero manifests. Well 'established occult powers and phenomena now generally accepted such as telepathy, thought-reading, hypnotism and the like are only explainable on hypotheses which approach more nearly Kaatem dootrino than any other theory whioh has in modern times prevailed in the West. Thirdly, as hearing on this subject, wo linvo now the scientific recognition that from it* materia prima all forma have evolved ; that there is life or its potency in all thingi* ; and that there are no breaks in nature. There is the same matter and Consciousness tlirough- out. Thoro is unity of life. There is uo such thing us " dead ” matter. The well-known experiences of Dr. Jagadish Bose establish response to stimuli in inorganic matter. This res- ponse may be interpreted to indicate tho existence of that Sftttva (Jans whioh Vodlntu and SAflkhya affirm to exist in ull things organic or inorganic. It ia the play of Chit in this fcattva, bo muffled in Tamae an not to bo roooguizable except by delicate aoientifio expoxiraent, which appears as the so- called " mechanical" response. Consciousness in hose veiled and imprisoned by Tamaa. Inorganic matter diaplaya it in the form of that seed or rudiment, of sentieney which, enlarg- ing into the simple pulses of feeling of the lowest degrees of organised life, at. length emerges in the developed self- conscious sensations of human life. Consciousness is oliroughout theuamo. What varies is its wrappings. There is, thus, a progressive release of CocBcionsneaB from grow matter, through plaute and auiuiuls to man. .This evolution, Indian doctrine 1ms taught in its 84 lakhs of previous births. Acoording to the Hiudu books, plants have a dormant con- Bciouanc&s. The Mah&bh&reta says that plants can soe.and thus they reach tho light. Such power of vision would have been ridiculed not long ago. but. Professor Hnberlandt, tho wall-known botanist, has established that plants possess au organ of vision in the sLapo of a convex Ion* on the upper MATTER AND CONSCIOUSNESS eurftce of tie leaf. The animal consciousness is greater, but seems to display itself almost entirely in the satisfaction of animal's wants. In man, we reach the world of ideas, but these are a superstructure on consciousness, and not ita foundation or basis. It is in this modeless bait is that the various modes of consciousness with which wu are familiar in onr waking and dreaming states arise. The question then arises kh to the relation of this princi- ple of Fonu with Formlessness ; the unconscious finite with infinite consciousness. It is noteworthy that in tlo Thom- iatic philosophy, Matter, like L’rakriti, is the particularising or jnilitvu) principle. By their definition, however, tlioy ore opposed. How then can the two bo one f S&khya demea that they are one, and says they ore two separate independent principle s . This, VedAuta in ita turn, denies for it eaya that there ie in fact only one true Reality, though from the ompirioal. dualize standpoint there seem to be two. Tbs question than i* wired, la dualism, pluralism, or monism to bo accepted 1 For the Vsdlntist tlio answer of 8bruti is that it ie the lent. But, apart from this, the question is, Does Bhruti record a truooxperienoc, and is it the foot that spiritual experience ia monistic or dunlin tic 1 The answer ia, as wo can see from history, that all high myatic experiences are experiences of unity in differing forms and dogreea. The question cannot he decided solely by discussion, hub by onr conclusion as to the conformity of the particular theory held with spiritual experience. But how can we reconcile the unity of pure consciousness with the plurality of unconscious forms which the world of experience gives us V Vedftnta gives various intellectual interpretations, though experience alone can solve this question. Slia&kaia says there is only one Sadvastu, the Brahman. From a trans- cendental standpoint, It is, and nothing happens. There ia, in the state of highest experience (Paramfttma), no Ishvara, no creation, no world, no Jiva, no bondage, no liberation. SHAKTI AND SHAKTA But empirically ho must and does admit the world or M&y&, which in its seed is the cosmic SaSskita, which is tho cause of all tie** notions which from the highest state arc rejected. But i9 it real or unreal ? Shafikara says it is neitlier. It cannot be real, for then there would he two Reals. It is not unreal, for the world is an empirical fact an experience of its kind, and it proceeds from the Power of Mvoro. In truth, it ia unexplainable, and as Sftyann says, more wonderful than Chit itself. But if it is neither Sat nor Asat, then ab MAyl it is not the Brahman who is Sab. Does it then exist in Piulaya and if bo how and where ? How can unconsciousness exist in pure oonnoiouoncoB 1 Shaflkara calls it eternal, and aaya that in Pralaya, M&yftaatbi in Bralunaantth. At that time, Mftyft, an the power of tho ideating oonsokiuauMH, and the world, ita thought do not exist : nnd only the Brahman iB. But if so how dou* the next universe arise on tho assump- tion that chore is Pralaya and that then ia not with Him us MayA the need of the future universe ? A Btja of Mayft as Saftakftra, even though Avynkta (not. present to DniHciouenmn), in yet by ita termn different from ennscious- neaa. To nil such questioning*, Shafiknrn would nay, they are themselves tho product of the M&y& of the ntato in which they are put. This is truo, but it in possible to put the matter in a simpler way against which there are not so many objections as may be laid against. Mavflv&da, lb seems to mo that Shafikara who coinbata SAfikhya is still much influenced by ita notions, und as a result of his doctrine of M&yfi he lias laid himself open to the.charge that liia doctrine ia not Shuddha Advaita. Ilia notion of Mfiyft retains a trace of the Sflfikhyan notion of separateness, though sepnrateness is in fact denied. Tn S&fikhyn, M&yA ia tlw real Creatrix under tho illumination of Purusha. Wo find airailor notions in Bhanknrn, who compares Cliit to the Ayask&ntamnni, and denies all liberty of self determi nation ill the Brahman which, though itself uncluuiging, is 33 a MATTER AND CONSCIOUSNESS the cause ol change. Juana Kriya is allowed only to Ishvara, a concept which is itself the product of M&yfi. To some extent the distinctions made are perhaps a matter of words. To some extent particular notions of tbc Xgainns arc more practical than those of Shafikara who was a transcendcnta- list. The Ag&ma, giving the richest content to the Divine Consciousness, does not deny to it knowledge, but. in its supreme aspect, any dual knowledge ; spiritual experience being likened by the Brihadflmnyaka Upanishad to the union of man and wife in which duality' exists a* one and there is neithor within nor without. It is thin union which ia the Divine Ltlft of Bhakti, Who in yet all the time one with Her Lord. The Shift* exposition appears to bn both simple and clear. I can only sketch it roughly -having no time for its detail. It ia first the purest Advaitavida. What thon does it say ? It starts with the Slirnti, "Sarvam Khalvidam Brahma". Sarvam* world ; BrahiEiin== consciousness or SiuiluiludAnanda ; therefore this world is in itaclf Conscious- ness. But wo know we r.re not perfect eonsoiousnoss. Thorn ia an apparent unconooiowincno. How then in this etplainodf The upmanifwrtod Binlumm, before all t.ho worlds, in Nirguna Shiva— the Blinnful undual consciousness. This is tho atatdo lUpuot of Shiva. This manifests 8hnkti which is the kinetio aspect ol Brahman. Bhakti and ShaktunAn are one ; there- fore, ShivH manifests os Shiva -Shakti, Who are one und the same. Therefore Bhakti is consciousness. But Shakti has two impede (MOrtti), via., Vidy& Shakti or Chit-ShaHi, and Avidyft Shakti or Miri-Shakti. Botli as Bhakti (which is lire same ns Shaktimftn) are b themselves conscious. But the. difference is that whilst Cirit-Shakti is illuminating consciousness, MfLyfL is a Shakti which veila consciousness to itself, and by its wondrouo power appears as unconscious. This Mhya-Sholdi is Oonaciounueaa whioh SHAKTI AND SHAKTA by its power appears as unconsciousness. This Mfiyft- Sliakti is Triguna Shakti, that is, Shakti composed of the throe Gunatj. This U KftmakAlA which is the Trig mi At- raakavibhilti. These Gunas are therefore ut base nothing but Chit-Shakti. There ic no necessity for the Mflyovadir.’a Chid&bh43a, that is, the reflection of conscious reality on un- conscious unreality, as M&yhvdda says. All is real except, ir. the .sense that some things endure and are therefore truly real : others pass and in that senso only are not real. All is Brahman The AntarAtmA in man is the enduring Chit.- Shnkti. Hit apparently unconscious vehicle* of mind and body aro Brahman us MAyA-Shakti, that is, ooiucionineaB appearing ns unconaoionsnes* by virtue of its inscrutable power, lahviira is thus tlie name for Brahman as Shakti which is conjoined Clut-Shakti ami MfkyA-Shakta. The Mother Dovt is Ishvara considered in His feminine aspect (Iahvarl) ae the Mother and NouriBhcr of the world. The Jtva or individual self is an Amelia or fragment of that great Shakti : the difference being that whilst Ishvara is MlyAvm or t.he controller of VU&k, Jtva is subject to MftyA. Tho World-thinker retains His Supreme undual Conaniotu* ncus ®von in creation, but His thought, that is Che forms created by His thinking ore bound by His MftyA, that is tho forms with wkioh they identify themselvea until by the power of the VidvA Shakti in them they are liberated. All is truly Sat— or Brnhmnn. In creation Shiva extends His power, and at Pralaya withdraws it into Himself. In creation, MftyA is in itself Consciousness which appears as unoonsoiousnchB. Before creation it is as consciousness. Important, practical result* follow from the adoption of this view of looking at the. world. The latter is the crea- tion of Ishvara. The world is real ; being unreal only in tho senao that it is a shifting passing thing, whereas Atm A as the tiiuo Reality endures. Bondage is real, for Bondage is Avidyftshakti binding consciousness. Liberation is real for this is the grace of Vidy&sliakti Mon arc each Centres 324 MATTER AND CONSCIOUSNESS of Power, and if they would achieve aucoea* must, according to thin Sh lUt re , realize theinaelvea an such, knowing that it ia Devoth which thinks and note in, and as, them and that they ore the DevalA. Their world enjoyment is Hie, and liberation is His peaceful nature. The Again as deal with the development of this Power which is not U> be thought of an something without, but us within man’s grasp through various forms of Shakti SAdhanl. Being in the world and working through the world, the world itaelf, in the worda of the KulAruava Tantra, becomes tht neat of liberation (Mokshl- yate SamsAra). The Vtra or heroic BAdhaka dees not shun the world from fear of it. But. he hold* it in his grasp and wreata from it it* aoorot. Realizing it ut lougth an Conacioua- MM the world of matter ccaaoa to be un objoot of deairo. Baoapiug from the unconscious drifting* of a humanity which has not yet realized itself, He b the illumined master of himself, whether developing all his powers, or seeking liberation at his will. [As M. Mosaon-OutHel ao well puts it (Kaquisae dune liistoiro da la philosophic indionne, p. 267) "Dans Ic tantnamo triomphent line conception irainanontiute de l'intclligibilitd, L’cnprit s’oasigne pour but, non de se lai&acr vivre main de ** erfor un« vie digna do lui, une existence omnisciento omnipotent!!, qu’il maitriiera psroe qn’il en sera auteur" (by SAdhmil).] 3’5 Chaftbr X\1I. SIIAKTI AND MAVA. I N the Eighth Chapter ol the unpublished Semniohana Tantra, it ia said tliat Shafilcam manifested on earth iu the form of Shafikar&chiiryya, in order to rcot out Buddhism from India. It compares his disciples and himsolf to the five Mub4preta (who form the couch on which the Mother of the Worlds rests), and identifies his Mirths with the Amuiyas, namely, the Govaidhana in Puri with PurvAmu&ya (the Sumpradilya being Rhogavftra). and so on with the rest. Whaiovor bo tho claims of Bhafikara an doitroysr of the groat Buddhistic heresy, wkioh owing to its subtlety was tlie moot dangerous antagonist which tho VodAnto luis ovor had, or his claims as expounder of Upanishod from the Standpoint of Siddhi, his MAyAv&du finds no place in the Tnntras of the Agamas, for tlic doctrine and praotioo is given from tho standpoint, of SAdbauA. This is not to say that the doctrine is explicitly denied. It is not considered. It, is true that in actual fact wo often give accommodation to differing theories for which logjo oan find no living room, but it is obvious that in so fur as man is u worshipper he must aooeptth© world standpoint, if lie would not, like KUMAsa, cut from beneath himself tho brunch of tbo tree on which lie sits. Next, it would be a mistake to overlook tho possibility of the ao-oulled "Tftntrik” tradition Loving been fed by ways of thought and practice which wore not, iu the strict sense of the term, part of the Vaidik cult, or in the line ot its dceoent. The worship of the Great Mother, the Magna Mater of the Near East, the Advft Shakti of the Sh&kta Tantras, is in its essentials (as’ I have elsewhere pointed out) one of the oldest and most widespread religions of the world, undone which in India was possibly, in itB oiiginR, indepen- dent of the Brithmunio religion as presented to us in the Vaidik Samhitus and Br&hmanus. If this be so, it was later SHAKTI AND MAYA on undoubtedly mingled with the Vedanta tradition, so that tiie ShAkta iaith of to-day is a particular prewentation of the general Ved&ntib teaching. This is historical speculation from an outside standpoint. As the SarvollAsa, of SarvA- nandanAtha points out, and as is well-known to all ad- herents of the ShAkta Agamas, Veda in its Reneral eenHe includes these and other ShAatras in what is called the groat ShaUkoti SamhitA. Whatever lie the origins of the doctrine (and this should not bo altogether overlooked in any proper appreciation of it), 1 am horc oonoornod with ita philosophical aspect, ao shown to U» to-day in the teachings and praotioo of the ShAktaa who are followers of tlie Agauia. This teach- ing occupies in some sense a middle place between the dualism of the Sfcfikhy*, and ShafUcara’H ultra-moniatio interpretation of VodAnta to whinh, unless otherwise stated, 1 refer. Both the Sliaiva and ShAkta schools acoept the threefold aspect of tho Supreme known m 1'mkAsha, Vi- nuirnha, Prakisha-Vimursha ; called in TAntrik worship, "The Three Feat.” (Chanuia-tritAya). Both adopt tho Thirty-nix TaUvm, Rhiva, Shakti, RsdAahiva. Tahvora and ShuddhavidyA, preooding the Punuha-Prakriti Tattvas with which tho SAfilthya oomnvmce*. For whereas thoso are the ultimate Tattvas in tliat Philosophy, the 8hnivo and ShAkta schools claim U> show how Puruaku and Prukriti Aro themselves derived from higher Tattvas. These Jattcr Tattvas are also dealt with from the Shabda side as Shak*.i, NAda, Hindu and as Kalfts which are the KnyA ol the various gmdea of Tottvas whioh are aspects of Shakti. The ShAkta Tantras, such as tho SaubkAgyaratnAkara and othor works, speak of ninety-four of such KalAs appropriate to SedAshiva, Lshvara. Rudra, Vishnu, and BrahmA. "Sun.” "Moon,” and “ Fire,” (indicated in the form of the Rani Bfjn with Chnndra- bindu transposed) of which fifty-one aro MAt.rikA Kalfis, being the aubtlo aspects of the greos letters of the Sanskrit alphabet. This last is the Mfir.Amsaka doctrine of Shabda adopted to the doctrine of 8hakti. Common also to both 327 SHAKTI AND SHAK.TA SIiAkta au<t Slmiva Samprad&yas ia the doctrine of the Skadadhva. (See my "Garland of Letter* n .) I am not however hem concerned with these details, but with the general concept of Shakti whioli is their under- lying basis. It is sufficient to nay that SliAkta doctrine is a form of Advaitarflda. In reply to the question what is "silent concealment'’ ((ioptavyam), it is said Atraftham- bhAva-bhAvansyA bh&vavitavyam ityarthah. Hitherto great- er pains have been taken to show the differences between the Dnrslianas than, by regarding their points of agreement, to co-ordinate them system a ti rally. So far ah the anbjeot of the proeont article is concerned, all three systems, SAfi- khya, MAyAvida, Shakti vAdft, are in general agreement os to tlm nature of the infinite fo rude so Couscioiuiueas, and posit therewith a fluitixiug prinoiplu oallod l’ralcriti, MAyA, and Shakti respectively. The main point* on which KAflkhya (at any rate in what h»B been called its classical form) diflers from MAylvldu VodAntu ure in it* two doctrines of the plurality of Atman* on the one hand, and the reality and indepen- dence of Prakrit.i on the other. When however we examine theso two SAftkhya doctrines olnssly we find them to he more accommodations to llio infirmity of common thought, A VtdAntio oonolusion in ooncealod within its dunlistio prosentr mout. For if each liberated (Mukta) Purushs is all -pervad- ing (Viblm), and if there is not the slightest difference be- tween one and another, what is the actual or practical difference between such plumbum and the doctrine of Atm A f Again it is difficult for the ordinary mind to conoeive that objects cease to exist when consciousness of object* ceases. The mind naturally conceives of their existing for others, although, according to the hypothesis, it lias no right to conceive anything at all. But here again what do we find V In liboration Prakriti cesses to exist for the Mukta Purualia. In effect irliftt is this but to say with VedAnta that MAyA is not a teal independent category (Pad Art ha) 1 A critic lias taken exception to my statement that the 3*8 SHAKTI AND MAYA olaaoical Sankhya conceals a Vcdtotio solution lie Lind ilo dualistic preaenUnent. I was not then, of coarse, speaking from u historical standpoint. Shiva in the Kularnava Tantra says that the Six Philosophies are parte of His body, and lie who severs them severs His body. They are each aspects of the Cosmic Mind as appearing iu Humanity. The logical process which they manifest is one and continuous. The conclusions of each stage or standard can be shown to yield the material of that which follows. This is a logical necessity if it be assumed that the VedAnto is the truest and highest expression of that of which the lower dualistio and pluralistic stages are the approach. In Kiflkhya, the Puma ha principle represents the form* loos consciousness, and J’rakriti formative activity. Shaft* kara. defining Reality as that which exists as the same in all the three tinios, docs not altogether discard these two princi- ples, but says that they cannot exist as two independent Realities. He thus reduces t.lic two categories of SAfikhys, the Punuba Consciousness and Prskr.ti Unconsciousness to one Reality, the Brahman \ otherwise tho V&lcya, "All in Brahman" (flarvam khalvidam Brahma) in falsified. Brah- man, liowevor, in one uspocl is dissociated from, mid in another associated with MAjA, which in his system takes the place of the SAflkhyan Prakriti. But, whereas, Prakriti is an independent Reality, Mftyfl is something which is neither real (Sot) nor unreal (Aaat) nor portly real und partly unreal (Hadasat), and which though not forming part of Brahman, and therefore not Brahman, ih yet. though not a second reality, inseparably associated and sheltering with, Brahman (MAyA Brohm&ahritA) in one of ita aspects : owing what false appearance of reality it hue, to the Brahman with which it is so associated. It in an Sternal Falsity (MithyA- bhutA sanfttenl), unthinkable, alcgicnl, imcxplaiuable (Anirvaohantya). In other points, the VcdAntk MAyA and S&nkliyan Prakriti agree. Though MSya is not a second reality, but a mysterious something of whioh neither reality 329 SHAKTI AND SIlAKTA nor unreality can be affirmed, tho fact of positing it at all gives to Shaftkara’n doctrine a tinge of dualism from which the ShaJcta tBeory is free. According to SAnkhya, Prakriti is real although it ohanges. This question of reality is one of definition. Both VTilla prakriti and MAyA are eternal. The world, though a changing thing, lias at least empirical reality in either Tiew. Both are unconsciousness. Consci- ousness is reflected on or in unconsciousness : that is to state ono view for, as in known, there is a difference of opinion. The light of Piirusha-Consoiousness (Chit) is thrown ou the Prakriti-Onoonsoiousnass (Achit) in the fonu of Buddhi. VijnAnahhikshu speaks of h mutual reflection . The VedAnfio PrutivirabavAdin* say that AtmA is reflootod in Antalikuruna, and the apparent likonoss of tho latter to Chit whioh is prodacod by such roflcctiou in ChidAbhA.-'ft or Jtva. This question of ChidAbliiai. is one ol the niuin points of difference between MAyAvida and ShaktivAda. Notwithstanding that MAyA is a falsity, it is not, according to Shaftkaro, a mere negation or want of something (AbhAva), but a positive entity (BhAvarflpnraajlnara) : that it, it is in the nature of a power which veils (iohchhAdaka) consciousness, as Prakriti docs in the rase . of Purusha. Tho nature of the great " Unexplained " as it is in Itself, and whether wo call it Prakriti or MAyA, in unknown. The Yoginihridayn Tantrn beautifully says that we rpeak of the Heart of Yogint who is Knowcr of Ilorself (Yogiul svavid), because the huurl is the plaoc whence all things issue. " What man”, it says, “knows tho heart of a woman 1 Only Shivs knows the Heart, of Yogini. ” But from Shruti and its effects it is said to be one, all -pervading, eternal, existing now as seed and now as fruit, unconscious, composed of Gunas (Gunamayl) ; un perceive hlesxcop*. through ita effects, evolving (Pariuftmf) those effects which are its products ; that is the world, which however bbbudios in each system the character of tho alleged cause ; that ie, in SAnlfhya, the effects are real : in Vedinln, neither real nor unreal. Thu forms psychio or physical arise SHAKTI AND M.AYA in both ease* a* conscious-unconscious (8adaslt) effects, from tho aanociation of Consciousness (Purualia or tflhv&ra) with Unconsciousness (Prakriti or W ay a), Miyute onena iti Mdyd. M&yi is that by which forms ant measured oi limited. This too is the function of Prakriti. MAyA, as the collective name of eternal ignorance (AjnAna), produces, as the Prapaficha- shaktj, these forms, by first, veiling (Averanashakt:) Consci- ousness in ignorance and then projecting these forms (Vik- shnpashakti) from tho store of tho cosmic SamskAras. But what is the Tain as Gun a of the S&ilkhyan Prakriti in effect but pure AviriyA? Sattva is the tendency to reflect conscious- ness and therefore to reduce unconsciousness. Rajas is tho activity (KriyA) which moves Prakriti or MAyA to manifest in its TAmnoik and SAttvik aspect. Aridyl means "na vidyute," "is not aeon," and therefore is not experienced. Chit in uwsociation with AvidyA does not see Itself hh huoIi. Tho fiat experience of tho Soul reawakening after dissolution to world experience is, "There is nothing", until tho SamakAros arise from out this massive Ignorance. In short, Prakriti und MAyA are like the materia prma of the Thomistic philosophy, the finitmng principle ; the activity which "measures out” (Mlvnte), that is limits and tnakrtfyrm in tho/oimfcss (Chit). The devotee KamnlAkAnta lucidly and onneuely calls MAyA, the form of tho Formless (ShAnymsya ftkAra iti MAyA). In one roepoct, MftyAvttda is a more ooaaiataat presen- tation of AdvaiUvAda, than tho Shikta doctrine to whioh we now proceed, For whilst Skaflkam’s system, liko all others, pceits the dootrinc of aspects, saying that in one as|»ect tho Brahman is associated with MAyA (Ishvara), and that in another it is not (l’arabrahman) ; yet in neither uspect does his Brahman truly change. In SliAida doctrine, Shiva does in one aspect; (Shakti) change. Brahmnn is changeless and yet changes. But ns change in only experienced by JlvAuuA subject to MAytt, there is not perhaps substantial difference between Duoh a statement, and that which affirm* chnngc- lessuesa and only seeming change. In other roiipocts, however, 33 * SHAKTI AND SHAKTA to which I now proceed, Sb&kta doctrine in a more monistic presentation of Advaitavftda. If one were asked it* most essential characteristic, the reply should be, the absence of tbo concept of unconscious M4yft as taught by Shankars. Shruti says, “All is Brahman. ” Brahman is Consciousness : and therefore all is consciousness. Them is no second thing called U&yft which is not Brahman even thongh it he “not real", “not unreal a definition obviously given to avoid the imputation of having posited a second Real. To apeak of Brahman, and MAyi which is not IJrahman is to speak of two categories, however much it may be sought to explain away the second by saying that it is “not real" and “not unreal " ; u falsity which is yet eternal and so forth. Like a certain type of modern Western “ New Thought”, Sh&kta doctrine affirms, “all is oonsoiousnoas”, however much un- conaciouanttw appears in it. The KaulAchArvya Sadtaanda says in his commentary on the 4th Mantra Iaha Tfpanishnd [Rd. A. Avalon): "The changeless Brahman, whioh u con* aoiouanoM appeara in oroation m M&yA which is Brahman, (Drahmamayi), oonaoiousness (Chidrfipiul) holding in Herself unlxgiuniug (Anfldi) Karmik tendenoioe (Kannaiamaktm) in the form of the three Gun os. Honoe, She is Gunamayl, despite being Ghinmayf. As there is no second principle these Gunos are Ghit-Shakti. " The Supreme Devt is thus PrakAshavimar- shisflinaranyarfipinf, or the union of Prak&eha And Vimarsha. Aooording to Shafikara, man is 8pirit (Atml) vestured in the Mfcyik 'falsities' of mind and matter. He, accordingly, can only establish the unity of Ishvaru and J!va by eliminat- ing from the first MAyA, and from the second AvidyA ; when Brahman is loft ss common denominator. The 81iAku eliminates nothing. Man’s spirit or Atmfi is Shiva, His mmd and body are Shakti. Bliakti and Shiva are one. The Jtv&tmft is Shiva-Shakti. So is the ParamAtmA. This latter exists as the one : the foraier as the manifold. Mad is then not a Spirit covered by a non-Brahman falsity, but Spirit covering Itself with Its own power or Shakti. SHAKTI AND MAYA What then ie Shakti, end how does it come about tliat there is some principle of unconsciousness in things, a fact whioh cannot lie denied. Shakti oouies from the root "ahak", “to be able,” "to have power”. It may be applied to any fonn of activity. The power to see is visual Shakti, the power to burn is Shakti of fire, and so forth. Those are all forms of activity which are ultimately reducible to the Primordial Shakti (Adyft Shakti) whence every other form of Power proceeds. Hhe ia nailed Yoginl because of Her con- nection with oil things oa their origin. It is this Original Power which ia known in wornhip as Dev! or Mother of Many Names. Those who worship tho Mother, worahip nothing "illusory" or unconscious, but a Supreme Conaoiousnoss, whose body is all forms of consciousness-unconsciousness produced by Her as Sluva’s power. Philosophically, tho Mother or Daivashakti is the kinetic aspect of tho Brahman. All three systems recognize that there is a static and kinetic aspect of thiugs : Purusha, Brahman, Shiva on the one side, Prakriti, MAyA, Shakti on the other. This is the time- honoured attempt to reoonoile the doctrine of a ohangeloss Spirit, a ohanging Manifold, und tho myatoriouu unity of tho two. For Power (Shakti) and the possessor of tho Power (Shakti mAu) are one ami tlm same. In the Tantraa, Shiva constantly says to Devi, "Thoro is no difference between Theo and Me. " We say that the tiro burns, but binning it fire. Fire is not one thing and burning another. In the supreme transcendental cliangcless state, Shiva and Shakti are, for Shiva is never without Shakti. The connection ia railed AvinAbhAvaaambandha. Consciousness ui never without its Power. Power is aotive Brahman or Conscious- ness. But, ua thoro ia thou no activity, they exist in tho supreme state os one Tottva (Ekam tattvara ivn) ; Shiva as Chit, Shakti as Cliidrftpini This is the state before the thrill of NAda, the origin of all those currents of force which are the universe. According to Shsfikara, the Supreme Experience contains no Craw or seed of objectivity whatever. SHAKTI AND SHAKTA In terms of speech, it is an nlxstxaot consciousness (Jnana). According to the view here expressed, which has been pro- foundly elaborated by the Kashmir Shiva School, that which appears "without" only bo appears because i*., in some form or other, exist.* “within". So also the Sh&kto Vishvashra Tantra says, “what is hero is there, what is not here is no- where." If therefore we know duality, it must, bo because the potentiality of it crista in that from which it. arises. The Shuivaehaku school thim assumes a real derivation of the universe and u causal nexus between Brahman and the world. According to Shaflkara, thin notion of creation is itself MAyfi, and there is no need to find a cause for it. 80 it is held that the supreme experience (Amaraha) is by the Self (Shiva) of Himself as Shakti, who as such is the Ideal or Porfoct Universe ; not in tho sense of o perfected world of form, hut that ultimate formless feeling (Bh&va) of Bliss (Annnda) or Love which at root the whole world is. All is Love ond by Love oil is otwinod. Tho SliUktn Tactras oomparo the ntat© immediately prior to orcotion with that of a groin of gram (Chunuka) wherein the two seeds (Shiva and Shakti) are held as one under a single sheath. There is, as it were, a Maithuna in this unity of dual aspect, tho thrill of whioh is N&da, productive of the seed or Bindu from which the universe is boru. When the sheath breaks And the seeds are pushed apart, the I leginning of a di- chotomy is established in the one consciousness, where- by, the “I”, und tho “This" (Idam or Univorse) appear m separate. The specific Shiva aspect in, when viewed through MAyH, tho Self, and the Shakti aspect the Not-Self. This is to the limited oonsciousneoB only. In truth the two Shiva and Shakti are ever one and the same, and never dissociated. Thus each of the Bindua of the KAmakala aro Shiva- Shakti appearing as Purusha-Prokriti. At this point, Shakti assumes several forms, of which the two chief are Chit- Shokti or Chit as Shakti, and Mftyft-Shakti or MAy& as Shakti, MfiyS is not here a mysterious unconsciousness, a 334 SHAKTI AND MAYA non-Brahman, non real, non-unreal aomothing. It is a form ol Shakti, and Sbakti is Shiva who is Consciousness which is real. Therefore MAyA Sbakti is in iteelf (Bvariipa) Consci- ousnuas and Brahman. Being Brahman It is real. It is that aspect of conscious power which conceals Itself to Itself. " By veiling the own true form (Svarfipa^Conaciousneas). its Bhaktis always arise”, (SvarftpHvarano chfisya shak- tayah satatotthitAh) as the Span dak ArM says. This ia a common prinoiplo in all doctrine relating to Shakti. Indeed, this theory of veiling, though expressed in another form, is common to Slfixhya and VodAnta. The difference lies in thin that in SAfikhya it is a second, independent Principle which vuila ; in MAyAvAda VedAntn it is the non-Brahman MAyfl (called u Sbakti of Ishvnra) which veils ; and in Skftkta Advaitavlda (for tho ShAktas are non-dualists) it is Gon- nciousneai which, without ceasing to he such, yet veils Its nil. A* already stated, the Monistic Shoiva* and Shildas hold certain doctrinee in common such as the thirty- nix Tattvas, and who l arc called ShadadhvA which also appear ns part of the teaching of the other Bhaiva Schools. Jn tho thirty-six Tstfcvs sohsmo, MAyA which is defined as “the senso of difference” (Bhcdabuddhi), for it iB that which makes the Self sec things as different from the Self, is technically that Tattvn which appears at the close of the pure creation, that is, after Shuddha- vidyA. This MAyA reflect* and limit* in tho Paehu or Jtvo, the IchchhA, Jn&nn, KriyA Shaktis of Ishvara, Throe again are the three Bindus which are "Moon”, “Fire”, and "Sun". (See Author's "Garland of Lottera".) What are Jnlna and KriyA (including Ichohhfi its preliminary) on the part of the Pali (Lord) in all beings and things (BhAveshu) which arc His body : it is these two which, with MAyA as the third, are tho Sattva, Rajas and Tam as Gun as of the Paahu. This veiling power explains how the undeniable element of unconsciousness, which ib seen in things exists. How, if all be consciousness, is that principle there ? The SHAKTI AND SHAKTA answer is givron in the luminous definition of Sliakti ; "It is the function of SkaJcti to negate" (NishedhevylpArerflpfl shaktih), that is, to negate consciousness and malco it appear to Itself ah unconscious (K&riki 4 of YogarAja or Yoga- mum’s Commentary on Abhinava Gupta’s ParamkrthMAm). Tn truth the whole world is the Self whether as " I" (Ahum) or "This” (Idam). Tho Self thus becomes its own object. It becomes object or form that, it may enjoy dualistic ex- perience. It yet remains what it was in its unitary blissful experience. This is the Eternal Way iu which the Self hides and seeks itself. Tho formless cannot assumo form unless formlessness is negated. Eternity is negated into finality ; the all-pervading into the limitod ; tlui all-knowing into the "little knower” ; the almighty into the "little doer”, and so forth. It is only by negating Iteolf to Itself that tho Self becomes ite own object in the form of the universe. It follows from the above that, to the fihftkta wor- shippor, there is no unconscious MAyA in bhafikara’s sense, and therefore thore is no OhidftbhAsa, in the sense of the reflection of oonsciousnths on unconsciousness, giving tho latter the appearance of consciousness which it docs not truly possess. For all is Consciousness ns Shakti. " A ham Sul", as the AdvsitabhAvopaninhftd exclaims. In short, flhafiksra says there is ono Reality or Cbnuoiousncwn and a not-real not-unreal Unoonaciousnesa. What is really unoon- aetouB appears to be conscious by the reflection of tho light of Consciousness upon it. Sh&kta doctrine says conscious- ness appears to be unconscious, or more truly, to have an element of unconsciousness in it, (for nothing even empirically is abeolutely unconscious), owing to the veiling play of Con- sciousness Itself as Shakti. As with so many other matters, these apparent differ- ences are to some extent n matter of words. It is true that tho Vcdftutists speak of the conscious (Chetana) and un- conscious (Achetana), but they, like the Shlkta AdvaitinB, say that the thing in itself is Consciousness. When this SHAKTI AND MAYA io vividly displayed by reason of the reflection (Prativiaibha) of cuiisciouoiiess in Tattva, (such as Buddhi), capabio of displaying this reflection, then we con call t.hftt in which it. is so displayed, conscious. Where, though consciousness is all-pervading, Chaitanya is not so displayed, there we speak of 11 n consciousness, Thus, gross matter (Bhflta) does not. appear to refleot Chit, and so appears to us us unconscious. Though all things are at base consciousness, sonic appear as more, ami some as less conscious. Shaflkara explains this by saying that. Chaitanya is associated with a non- oonseious mystory or MfcyA which veils consciousness, and Chaitanya gives to what is unconscious the appeunwoo of oouaeiousneas through reflection. “ Reflection" is a form of pictorial thinking. What is meant is that two principles are associated together without the nature (8 void pa) of either being really allected, and yet producing that effect which is J!va. Shflkto doctrine say* that all is consciousness, but thin same consciousness assumes the appearanoo of changing degrees of unconsciousness, not tlirough the ope- ration of anything other than itself (Mftyl), but by the operation of one of ito own powers (MAyAshnkti). It is not unconscious »MAyA in Shafilcarn'a tansa which veils oontoi- ouanoas, but OonsoiousneM as Shahti voils Itaclf, and, as so functioning, it is callod MAyAohakti. It may bo askod how can Consciousiunt becoma Unconsciousness and cease to bo itself 1 The answer is that it does not. It ucver ocaaou to be Consciousness. It. appears to itself, as Jlva, to be nn- oonacioua, an<l even then not wholly : for as recent scientific investigations liave shown, even so-called “brute matter" exhibits the olemonta of that which, when evolved in man, in self-consciousness. If it be asked how consciousness can obscure itaclf partially or at all, the only answer ia AohintyA Shakti, which MAyAvAdins a* all other VedAntiito admit. Of this, aa of all ultimate*, wo must say with the Western Bcholusticss, “omnia exeunt in mystexium". Prakriti is than, aocordingto 8fifikliya,a real independent SHAKTI AND SHAKTA category different from Purusha. This both M&yAvftda and Sliaktivflilu deny. MAyA ib a not real, not-uureal Mystery dependent on, and associated with, and inhering in Brahman ; but cot Brahman or any part of Brahman. ll&yft-Shakti is a power of, and, in its Svanlpa, not different from Shiva : ia real, and is an aspect of Brahman itself, Whilst Brahman as Iahvara is associated with MAyA, Shiva is never associated with anything hut Himself. But the function of all throe is tho *ame, namely to make forms in the foimlees. It is That by which tho Iahvara or Collective Consciousness pictures the univorac for tho individual Jtva’e experience. Shalcti ia threefold as Will (IchohhA), Know- ledge (J n Ana), and Action (KriyA). All three are but differ- ing aspects of the one Sbtkti. Consciousness and its power or action are at, base the same. It is truo that action is manifested in matter, that, is apparent unconsciousness, but its root, ns that of all else, is consciousness. JnAna is self- proved and experienced (Svatalwiddha), whereas, KriyA, being inherent in bodies, is perceived by others than by ourselves. Tho characteristic of action :a the manifestation of all objects. These objoote, again, characterised by consci ouaness-unoonaoiotanesB are in the nature of » shining forth (AbhAAft) of Consciousness. (Here AbhAsn is not used in its sense of CliidAbhAsa, but as an intensive form of the term BhAsa.) The power of activity and knowledge are only differing aspects of one and the same Conaciouanosa. According to Bhaflkara. Brahman has no form of aelf- dotormination. KriyA it a function of unoonsoioua MAyft. When Iahvara ia said to bo a doer (KartA), thin ia attributed (AupAdhika) to Him by ignoranoo only. It follows from tho aboTC that them are otlier material difference* between ShAkta doctrine and MAyAvAda, such as the nature of tho Supreme Experience, the reality and mode of creation, the reality of the world, and so forth. The world, it is true, is not, as tho MahAnirvAr.a Tantra says, absolute reality in the spur? of unchanging being, for it conies and goes. It is SHAKTI AND MAYA nevertheless reel, for it is the experience of Shiva, and Shiva’s experience is not unreal. Thus again the evolution of the world as Abh&sa, whilst resembling the Vivaria of MftyAvftda, differs from it in holding, as the SAnkhya does, laat the effect is real und not unreal, as Shafikaia contends. To treat of these and other matters would carry me beyond the scope of this cwiay whioh only deals, and that in a summary way, with the essential differences and similarities in tho oonoepta Prakiiti, M&yft and Shakti. I may howovor conclude with a few gonoral remarks. The dootrinc of Shakti is a profound one, and I think likoly to br utlraoUve to Western minds when they have grasped it, just as they will appreniotc the TAntrik watchword, KriyA or action, its doctrine of progips* with and through tho world and not against it, which is involved in ita liberation- enjoyment (Bhukti-mtktl) tlioory and other matters. Tho philosophy is, in any case;, not, a* at American writer, in hi* ignorance, absurdly oallcd it. "worthless," "religious Ftfni- niam run mad," and a "femini nation of VsdlntA forsuffra gotte Monista". It is not a "feminization ’’ of anything, but a distinctive, original, and prootioal doctrino worthy of a careful study. Tho Western student will find muoh in it whioh is more acceptable to generally prevalent thought in Europe and Amorioa than in the " illusion " doctrine (in itself an unsuitable term), and the ascetic practice of the VcdAntius of Shafikara’a school. This m not to nay that ways of reconciliation may not be found by thoeo who go far enough. Tt would nob be difficult toahow ground for holding that ultimately the same intellectual result* nre attained by viewing tho matter from the differing Htand points of SAdhanA and Siddhi. The writer of an interesting urtiolo on the same subject in the Prabuddha BhAvata (August. 101 A) states that tho Hannyftsi Totapurl, the Guru of Shrl UAmakrishna, m»in- tained that a (MAyAvidia) VedAntist could not believe in Shakti, for if causality uaelf be unreal there is no need to 3oV SHAKTI AND SHAKTA admit any power to cause, and that ic is MAyA to apply tho principle of causation and to say that everything comes from Shakti. The SannyAal was converted to ShAkta doctrine after all. For as the writer well eays, it is not merely by intellectual denial, but by living beyond the “unreal”, that the Real is found. He, however, goes on to say, “the 8haktivAda of Tantro is not an improvement on the MAyAvAda of VedAnta, (that is the doctrine of fihafikara) but only its symbolization through the chromatics of aenri- mont and concept. " It is true that it is a form of VedAnta, for all whioh is truly Indian muni bo that. It is also a fnot that the Agama, as n ShAstre o( worship is full of Symbolism. Intellectually, however, it is un original presentment) of VedAnta, and from the practical point of view, it has some point* of merit which MAyAvAda does not poaseas. Varieties of teaching may be different precautions of one truth leading to a similnr mid. But oue net of "chromatics” may lie more fruitful than another for the mats of men. It, ia in thin that the strength of the ShAkta doctrine and practice lion. Moreover (whether they bo an improvement or not) there are difference* between the two. Thurf the followers of Sliahknra do not, so far as I am nwnre, aooept the thirty- six Tattvas. A question, however, which calls for enquiry is tliat of tho relation of the Shiktn and Sliuiva (Advaita) Schools. MAyAvAda ia a doctrine which, whether true or not, ia fitted only for advanced raindB of great intellectuality, and for men of ascctio disposition, and of the highest moral development. Thin is implied in it* theory of competency (AdhikAra) for Ved Antic teaching. When, as is generally the case, it is not understood, and in some cases when it is understood, but is otherwise not suitable, it is liable to be a weakening doctrine. The ShAkta teaching to bo found in the Tantian has also its profundities which are to be revealed only to the competent, and contains a practical doctrine for all claves of worshippers (SAdhaka). It has, in this form, for 340 SHAKTI AND MAYA the moss of men, a strengthening pragmutio value which is beyond dispute. Whether, as home may have contended, it is the lruit of a truer spiritual experience I will not here discuss, for this would lead me into a polemic beyond the acopu of my present purpose, which is an impartial state- ment of the respective teachings, on one particular point, given by the three philosophical systems here discussed. 34 ' Chapter XVIII. 8HAKTA ADVAITAVADA. T HAVE ofW» been asked— in what consists the difference A between VcdAnta and ‘ Tantra This queation ib the product of substantial error, for it assumes that Tantro 8hA*tra is not based on VndAnta. I hope that, after many yearn of work, 1 have now made it clear that the Tantra Shlkdtra or Agama (whatever be its ultimate origin as to which littlo in known by anybody) ia now, and has been for centuries past, olie of the recognized Scripture* of Hinduism, and every form of Hinduism ia baaed on Veda uud VedAntn. Anothor erroneous question, though leas so, is— In what con- sists ilia difloreuce between Advait* VodAuu and ' Tantra ' ShAitra, B it here again the question presupposes a mis- understanding of both Vedlnts and Agama. There are, a« should be well known, soveral schools of Advaita Vedlnta, such as MAyAvAd* (with which too commonly the Advaita Vodfmtu is identified), such as tho schools of the Northern ShaivAgama, und Shuddhldvaita of V»H»bhAchhryya. In the same way, there are different. achooln of doctrine end woroliip in what are oalled the 'Tantras', ami a grievous mistake is committed when the Tantra is made to mean tho Shftkta Tantra only, such as is prevalent, in Bengal and which, according to some, ut either the product of, or has been influenced by Buddhism. Some English-speaking Bengalis of a past day, too ready to say, " Aye aye”, to the judgments of foreign critics, on their religion os on everytliing else, and in a hurry to dissociate themselves from their country’s "superstitions”, wore the source of the notion which has had hucL currency am ongut Europeans that, " Tantra ” nccce- anrily meant drinking wine mid «o forth. A legitimate and accurate question ia — In wliai consist# the difference between, say, tlie M&yAv&din’s Yed&nta and that taught by the BhAkta Samprad&va of Bengal. One shAkta advajtavada obviously fundamental difference ut; ouoe emerges. The Agamaa being essentially ritual or SAdhani ShSatras are not immediately and practically concerned with the Yoga doctrine touching Par&mlrthikft Sattt taught by SliaikarA- oharya. A S&dhoka ever assumes the reality of thu Uni- verse, and is a practical dualist, whatever be the non-dual philoeophical doctrines to which he may be intellectually attracted. He worship*, thut ia assumes the being of some Other who is worshipped, that is a Real Lord who really oroutea, maintains, and rosily dissolves the Universe. He hiaiself, tho objoofc of bin wonihip and the means of worship arc real, and his Advaito views arc presented on this hueis. It is on this presentment then that tins next class of differences is to be found. What are they I The easenco of thorn lies in this that tho SAdhaka looks at the Brahman, through the world, whereas to the MAyAvAdin Yogi, placing himself at the Brahman standpoint, theto is neither creation nor world but the luminous Atm A. The Clear Light of the Void, as the MahiyftnisM call it. that alone m. Nevertheless, both the Advaita SAdhaka and the Advaitn Yogi are on® in holding chat the Brahman alone is. Sarvom Khalvidam IiraJima is the great saying (VAkyn) on whioh all ShAkta Tantro Sh&stra rests. The difference in interpretation then consist® in tbo manner in whioh this MahAvAkya is to be explaiuod. Does it really mean what it says, or does it mean that the saying applies only aftor elimination of M&yA and AvidyA. Hero there is tho necessary difference because, in the nose of tho SAdhaka, the VAkya must be explained on the basis of his presuppositions already given, whereas the Yogi who lias passod the stage in which he became Siddha in SfidhanA surpasses, by auto -realisation, all dualism. Tho vast mags of men ore better warned off discussions od ParamArUiika SattA. Whether the couoept be true or not, it only leads in tliair case to useless argument (ViihAra), and thus enfeebles them. ShAkta doctriuo, a a its name implies, is a doctrine of power. It is true that Yoga is power, indeed the highest SHAKTI AND SHAKTA form of it (Yogubala). Bat it is * power only for those qualified ! Adhikart), and not for the moss. I am not tlu:re- fore hero adversely criticising Mny&vAda. It ia a pity that tlr'a country whose great glory it ia to Imve preached Abheda in varying forms, and therefore tolerance, is to-day full of hateful Bheda of all kinds. I say " hateful ”, for Bhedn is a natural thing, only hateful when accompanied by hate and intolerance. Profoundly it is said in Halhed’s Gentoo laws that, “oontrarietioa of religion und diversity of boliof aie a demonstration of the power of tho Bupreme. Differ- ences and varieties of created things ure rays of the Glorious Km once, und types of His wonderful attributes whose com- plete power formed all creatures." There is also the saying attributed to tho Apostlo of God, Mahomnmd, in tho Radd- ul-Muhtar and elsewhere -"difference of opinion is also tho gift of God”. In these saying* speak* Urn high spirit of Asia. Thoro may bo political remedial for sectarian ill- feeling, but a medicine of more certain effect in this country is the teaching, “Rama Rahim ok liai". Let ua thou not only objectively, but in all amity, examine the two grout systems moutioued. We all know what is normal world-experience in the SamsAm. Some through auto -realization have super-normul or "mystic" experience. This Inst is of varying kinds, and in had in all religions. The highest form of it, uncording to MAyivAda, is Nirv&na Moksha, but there are many degrees short of this oomploto self-realization as the Whole (Pvlmu). Bnt the groat majority of uieu are not concerned directly with Buch high matters, but with o realization of power in the world. World-experience is called ignorance, Ajn&na. This may confuse, it is ignorance only in this sense, that whilst we have normal experience, we arc by that very fact ignoring, that is, not having super-normal experience. In Bupcr- normol experience again there ib no finite world-experience. The Lord Himself cannot have man’s experience except as und through man. Avidtjd means Ao Vtdyate, that is, whioli 344 shAkta advaitavAda is not Boon or experienced. Some speak in foolish disparage- ment of the world which is oui very close concern. As a link between Yoga and Bhoga, the ShAkta teaches, Yoyo Bhogd- yate. 1 am now dealing with MAyAvAda. Whence does this ignorance in the individual or AvidyA come ? The world is actually ignorant and man is part of it. This ignorance is the material cause of the world. This is not ignorance of the individual (AvidvA), for -hen there would be u many worlds as individuals ; but the collective ignorance or MAyl. AvidyA exist** to provide happiness or pain (Bhoga) for individuals, that is normal world-experience. Stated simply, ignoranoo in the sense of MlyA has no beginning or end, though worlds appear and go. What ia thia but to say tliat it is in tlie nature (Svabhlva) of the Real which manifests to do so, and the nature of its future manifestation proceeds up>n lines indicated by the punt oolleotro Karma of tho world. Now, eujoyrnont and sufluring cannot bo douiod, nor tho existence of na clement of unconsciousness in uian. But the PantuiAUui, aa such, does not, it ia said, Suffer or enjoy, but is Pure Consciousness. What consciousness then does ao ? Shafikara, who is ever aolioitous to preserve purity of tho Supremo unchanging Self, says that it itt not t.nio consciousness, but a false image of it reflected in ignorance and which disappear* when the latter is destroyed. This is in fact SAflkhyan Dualism in another form, and beoauM of this ShaktivAda claims to have a purer Advoito doctrine. In SAnkhya tho Puruaba, and in MAyAvAda the AtiuA illumine Prakriti and MAyA respectively, but are never in fact bound by her. What is in bondage is the reflection of Purusha or Atm A in Prakriti or MAyA. This is ChidAbhfaa or tha appearance of consciousness in a thing which is in fact not conscious ; the appearance being due to the reflection of consciousness (Chit), or ignorance (Ajn&na), or unconsci- ousness (Achit). Tho false oonsciouaneBB as JtvAtma Buffers and enjoys. According to the ShAkta view there is, as later explained, no ChidftbkAaa. SHAKTI AND SHAKTA Now is thi» AjnAna independent ol Atmn or not 'i Ite independence, such as Bifikhya readies, is denied. Igno- rant* then, whether collcotivn or individual, must be traced to. and have ita origin in, and rest on Consciousness as AtmA. How this is so is unexplained, but the unreal which owes its existence in some inscrutable way to Reality is yet, it is raid, in truth no part of it. • It is Brahman then which is both the efficient arid material cause of ignorance with its liuve Gunea, and of ChidAbhAsa Brahma is the cause through its inaorutebio power (AohinbyAshaktitv&t) or M&yl-Shalcti. Now,' in this Shakti real or unreal t According to the trunsoeudout standpoint (PAnunArthiku) of M&yJv&da it in unreal. The creative consciousness is a reflection on igno- rance or AUylu It is Brahman seen tlirough the veil of MAyA. This is not u denial of Brahniuu, but of the fact that- it creates. A true ooniftiouanoss, it is said, can have no incentive to create. From the standpoint of the Supreme State nothing happens. Both the eonsoiousnenH which a* Iahvara oresUn, nod as Jfva enjoy* are Chidlbhlu, the only difference l>ciug that tho first is not, and the second io under the influence of MAyA. Then it is asked, ignorance being unconscious and Incapable of indojHMideut operation, true consciousness being inaotivr (Nishkriya), and OhidAbhAsa being unreal, how is ignorance capable of hiding true con- sciousness and producing the world out of itself ? To this the only reply is SvabhAva, that is, the very nature of igno- rance makes it oapabie of producing apparently impossible effects. It is inscrutable (Aiurvachantya). The Shikta than asks whether this Shakti is roal or unreal, conscious or unoonscious, Brahman or not Brahman 1 If it be s Shakti of Brahman it cannot be unreal, for there i« no unreality in Brahman. It must be conscious for other- wise unconsciousness would be a factor in Brahman. It is Brahman then ; for power (Shakti) and the possessor of power (Shaktimftu) are one and the same. Therefore, the ShAlra Tantra ShAstra says that Shakti shAkta advaitavAda which, operating as Chit and M&yA, is Chit-Shakti and Miyi- 8hakti, is reel, conscious and Brahman itself (Sarixm Klw lvidam Brahma) . It follows that ShaLti which is Brahman in its aspect as Creator is, in fact, both the efficient and material cause of the world. If the first or cause is real, so is the second or world. Jf the first be the cause of un- reality, then it iB in itself unreal. But what is real is Brah- man. Therefore, the world has a real cause which is not unreal unconsciousness or ignorance composer! of three Gunna , but conscious Shalcri and Brahman. It, therefore, does away with tlw necessity for Chidftbh&sa ; for, if real conscious 8hakt. in the cause of the world, then there is no need for unreal unconsciousness which MlyivAda iB driven to posit to secure the absolute purity of the Bruhmun Con- sciousness. From the standpoint of M&yAvAda. the objection to tho exclusion of ChidUbhAsn lie* in the faot .hat, if the world is derived direct, from conscious Shakti (as Shftktn» hold), then the 8upr«mo Consciousness is mads both enjoycr and object of enjoyment. But it bolds that I’atamlUma docs nut eujoy and has ao nood to do so ; whilst the object of enjoyment ia uncoraoioua. Hence the trace of S4flkhyun dualism, the Atrr.lt exerting an influence over MAyA by virtue of it* proximity only (Sannidhim&trona Upnk&ri). Pure Atmll is not itseli oonoemed. Mftyi receives its influ- ence. This in anolagous to what in called in Chemistry catalytic action. The catalytic substance influence* another by its mere presence, but remains itself apparently un- changed. Atm I is m tliia sonso an efficient but not instru- mental or material cause of the world. As Aiinl is only Saohohid&nanda, the world, so long an it. in considered to exist, must exist in Pure Consciousness (Atrnaatha), though essentially it is different from it (Atml- vilakshana), and does not exist for its puipose. In M&v&v&da the world, from tbe trausocndcntal standpoint, doea not exist and Atm 9. is not cognizant of it. Hence the question 347 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA of t>ho cause of Orcfttiou is bred of ignonneo. So also is tile idea of efficient cause, for it proceeds from a search for the cause of Creation which does not exist. MAyivAda, from tho standpoint of normal conventional experience (Vyava- h&rika Satifi), speaks of the Bhalcti of AtmA as a cause of Creation.eimply to provide the empirical world of the worldly man with a worldly interpretation of its worldly existence. From this p^int of view, Brahman ib looked at through the world, which is the natural thing for all who are not liber- ated. From the other end or Bxalunan, there is no Creation nor worhl, and AtmA alone is. Tlic ShAktu may reply to this Is not your PAra- mftrthika standpoint in fact empirical, arrived at by argu- ment (VichAra) with a limited intellect ? If insorutablo power is a cause of the world, it is insorutable because the intellect cannot grasp it, though it is known to be AtmA. If the latter can show inscrutable power, how can you say tluit it is inoapablo of appearing as enjoyor and object of enjoyment t To dony this it to deny tho unlimited character oi insorutable power. If it bo objected that AtmA cannot be object of enjoyment, bocauso, tho former is conscious and the latter unconscious, wliat prouf is there that such bti object is essentially unconscious 1 It may be that consci- ousness is not perceived in it, that is, the material world appears to be unconscious, ami therefore unconsciousness come* in somewhere, otherwise it could not be perceived as unconscious. Thus, o school of European idealists hold the Universe to be a sooiety of Spirits of all kiuds and dogroos, human, animal, and vegetable, and even inorgonio objects. All are minds of various orders, liven the last are an order, though yet so low that they are in practice not apprehended as minds. The material world is merely the way in which these lower kinds of mind appear to our senses. The world of objects are (to use Berkely’s word) "signs” of Spirit, and the way in which it oommunicates itself to us. Thus, to the Hindu, the Bbargnh in the Sun is the Aditva DevatA, and 348 shAkta advaitavAda tlie planets are intelligences. The physical sur. is the body of the 8flrya DevatA. The whole Universe is an epiphany of Spirit. Matter is Chit as object to the mind, as mind in Chit as tho Knowcr of suoh object. It. is not, however, denied that there is an element of unconsciousness in the material world as it appears to us. But the Shfikta says that Shakti has the power of hiding ita consciousness, which is exercised to varying extent ; thus, to a greater extent in tho case of inorganic matter than in tho ooao of tho plant, and leas in tho latter than in man, in whom consciousness is moat manifest. Thin power is Her Avidyfl Mflrti, just as consciousness ie her VidyA Mflrti. Nothing then in tho material world is absolutely unconscious, and nothing is perfectly conscious. Tho Vidyi Mflrti over w bocauao ah consciouanoas it is tho own nature or Svarllpa of Shakti. Tlui Avidyfl Mflrti which conceals consciousness appeal* in Creation and dis- appearo in dissolution. The MAyAvAdin may however ask whether this AvidyA- ehakti is conaoioua or unconscious. It cannot, he says, bo tlio latter, for it is said to bo Atm a which is consoious. How then oan it conceal itoell and appear ns unconscious 1 b'or, nothing oan be what it is not, and tho nature of consciousness is to reveal and not to conceal. If, again, consciousness on account of its concealment, is incapable of knowing itself, it ceases to bo consciousness. The reply is again that this also is empirical argument, based upon in imperfect idea of tbe nature of things. Every one knows that there is con- sciouaneos in him, but at the samo time he recognizes that it is imperfect. The MkyAvAdin seeks to explain this by saying that it is a false consciousness .(ChidAbhflsa), which is again explained by means of two opposites, namely, uncon- sciousness, which is an unreality to which Chidlbhlaa ad- heres, and true consciousness or Atmfl, which, by virtue of its inscrutable power, act* a* efficient cause iu its production. Thia theory compels ire adherent* to ignore the world, lire SHAKT1 AND SH.AKTA limited consciousness, and Shfatra itself in order that the perfection o: Atm& may be maintained, though at the same time, Shakti is admitted to l>e unlimited &nd inscrutable. The Sh&kta’s answer on the other side is that there iK in fact no false consciousness, and essentially speaking, no uncon- sciousness anywhere, though there appears to be sorno unconsciousness. In fact, MftyAvIda says that the un- conscious appears to he conscious through the play of Atm 4 on it, whilst the Shftkta .savH that, really and at baso. all in consciousne w which appears to be unconsciousness in vary- ing degrees. All consciousness, however imporfeot, is real consoiousnr.is, its imperfeotiou being due to its suppressing it«i own light to itself, and all apparent unconsciousness in due to thin imperfection in live consoiouanese which boob it. MflyAvIdi seeks to explain sway the world, from which nevertheless, it derives the materials for its theory. But it. is argued tliat it fails to do so. In its attempt to explain, it brings in s second principle namely unconsciousness, and •Ivon a third ChiilAbhAsa. Therefore, the theory of Sliakt.i- vAd» which posit.* nothing but consciousness is (it is contend- ed) a truer form of non-dualism. Yet. wa must note that the theories of both oro mado up with the imperfect light of man's knowledge. 8oiuothing must then remoin unexplained in all systems. The MAyAvAda does not explain the oharocter of tbo Shakti of At mA as efficient cause of creation, and the BbAktn does not explain the character of the Shakti of Atm A which, in spite of being trup consciousness, hides itself. But whilst the ShAkta difficulty stands alone, the other theory brings, it is said, in its train a number of others. The MAyA- vAdin may also ask whether Avidyft Muiti is permanent or transient. Tf the latter, it cannot be Atmft which eternally is, w’hcreaa if it is, permanent liberation is impossible. It. may be replied that thin objection does not lie in the mouth of H&yAvida which, in a transcendental sense, denies crca tion, world, bondage and liberation. The lattor is a transition frorr. bondage to freedom which presupposes the reality of 350 shAkta advaitavAda the world And a connection between it and that which ia beyond all worlds. Thia, Sha&kara denies, and yet acknow- ledges a method of spiritual culture for liberation. The answer of course is that transceadontally Atmft is ever free, and that such spiritual culture is required for the empirical (Vyavah&nka) need of the empirical self or OhklAbh&su, for empirical liberation from an empirical world. But aa all these conventional thing*, are in an aliaolute sense "unreal”, the Mdy&vAda's instructions for spiritual culture have been likened to consolations given to sootho tho grief of a sterile woman who lias lost her son. [flee J. N. Maxumdar's paper road before the Iiuliuu Research Society on die Philosophical, Religious and Social Significauoe of tho Tantra Shllatra (July 31st, l!»15, to whioh ! am here indebted).] TlieoreUcally tho answer may be sufficient, though thia may not. be allowed, bat the method can in any ease have full prngmutio value only in exceptional cases. Doubtless to tho unliborated Mftyflvftdin SAdhnlca the world is real, in I he sense that it imposes jt« reality on him, whatever hia theorios may bo. But it is plain that suoh a system does not (ordinarily at least) develop tho tame powor as one in whioh doubt un to the reality of things docs not exist. In order that instruction should work we must assume u real basis for them. Tliernfore, tlw Tantra BliAstra here spoken of, deals with true bondage in n true world, and uima at true liberation from it. It is Shakti who both binds and libemtes, and S&dhanA of Her is the means of liberation. Nothing is unreal or false. Shakti is and Shnkti creates and thus appear* as the Universe. In positing an evolution (Pari- uAma), the flhftstra follows Biflkhyn. heoause. both systems oonsider tho ultimata source of tho world to bo real, as un- conscious Prakriti or conscious Shnkti respectively. The ShAkta takes literally tho great saying, "All this (Universe) ia Brahman"— ovary bit of it. M&y&vAda achieves ita unity by saying that JIvfttina— Paraui&tnia after elimination of Avidya in the first and MiyA in the second. Ignoiauoe 35 * SHAKTI AND SHAKTA ie something neither re si nor unreal. It is not real in com- parison with the supreme unchanging Brahman. It is not unreal, for we experience it as real, and it is real for Che length of the duration of euoh experience. Again, Shakti vflda assumes a real development (Parin&Qia), with tliis proviso that the cause becomes effect, and yet remains what it was as cause. M&y&v&da says that there is truuseendentaUy no real change but only the appearance of it ; that is, the. notion of Parinhma ia Mlyfi like all the rest. Tho T antra SliAatm deals with troo bondage in a true world, and aims at. true liberation from it. Atmft binds itself by tho Aridyl. Mftrti of its Shakti, and liberal** itself by its Vidyft Mflrti. Sftdhanft is the means whereby bondage he comes liberation. Nothing is unreal or fulse. Atm 4 by its Shakti causes the play in itaolf of a Shakti which is eoMntiaJlj nothing but itself but operate.! in u dual capacity, namely as A vidyft and Vidyft. Creation is thus an epiphany of the Atm A, which appear* and is withdrawn from and into itself like the limbs of a tortoise. Tho All-Pervading Atm ft monifosto itnolf in many Jfvtle ; ns the world which oupplien tho objects of their enjoyment ; an tho mind and senses for tho attainment of the objects j us ignorance which binds ; as knowledge which liberates when Aunft oeanos to present itself ; as Avidyft ; and as Sliftstra which provide® the means lor liberation. 8haktivftda affirms reality throughout, be- cause, it is a practical Scripture for real men in a real world. Without such presupposition Sftdhanft in not possible. When Sftdhanft has achieved it* object— Siddhi — as Auto- realisation — no question of the real or unreal arises. In the Budd hnchanta-kftvya it is said (cited in Hodgson “Nopul”, 40) that Sftkya being questioned on an abstruse point, ia reported to have said, “Por myself I cau tell you nothing on those mutters. Meditate on Buddha and when you have obtained the supreme experience (Bodhijn&ua) you will know the truth yourself.” In these high realms we reach a point at which wisdom is silence. shAkta advaitavAda Alter all ra&u in the mass is concerned with worldly needs, and there is nothing to be ashamed of in this. One of the greatest dootrinoa in the ShAkta Tantra is its Bhukti Muktj teaching, and it is not less great because it may have been abused. Ad systems are at the mercy of their followers. Instead of the ascetic method of the MAyAvAdin suited for men of high spiritual development, whose Aecesis is not something laboured but an expression of their own true nature, tho Kaula teaches liberation through enjoyment, that in tho world. The path of enjoyment is o natural one. There is nothing bail in enjoyment ileelf if it to according to Dhanna. It is only Adhamia which is blamed. Libe- ration is thus had through the world (Mokshdyato 8am*&ra). In the natural order ol development, power is developed in worldly things, but the power is controlled by a religious SAdbanl, which both prevent# an excess ot' worldness, and moulds the mind and disposition (BhAva) into a form which, at length and naiwaUy, develop into that knowledge which produces dispasaion (VairAgya) for the world. The two paths loud to tho same end. But this is iteelf too big n subject to I* developed heir. Sufficient bo it to repeat what 1 have said elsewhere. " The Vlra docs not shun tho world from fear of it. Ho holds it in his grasp and wrests from it its secret. Then escaping from tho unconscious driftings of a humanity which lias not yet. realized itself, he is the illumined master of himself, whether developing all his powers or socking liberation nt his will.” As regards (ho state of dissolution (Praluya) both systems arc at one. In positing an ovolutiou Tiratru follows SAflkhjB because both tho two latter theories consider the ultimate source of the world to be real ; real as uuconsoious Prakrit! (Slflkhya) ; real as oonscioua Shakti (ShAkta Tantra). In the MAyAvflda scheme, the source of the world is an unreal ignorance, and reveals itself first aa TanmAIm which gradually assume the form of sensei and mind in SHAKTI AND SHAKTA order to appear before ChidAbliftsu as objects of enjoyment and suffering. The Tantra Sh&stra again, subject to modifi- cations in consonance with its doctrine, agrees with Nyftya- Vaiaheahika in holding that the powers of consciousness which are Will (Iehchha), Knowledge (Jnfina) and Action (Kriyi) constitute the motive power in creation. Thme are the great Triangle of Energy (KAniaknll) from which Shabda and Art ha, the forces of the peyohio and material worlds, arise. 354 Chapter XIX. CREATION AS EXPLAINED IN THE NON-DUALIST TANTRAS* A PSYCHOLOGICAL analysis ol our worldly experience ordinarily givea us both the feeling of persistence and change. This jiersonal experience expresses a ooamic truth. An examination of any doctrine, of creation similarly reveals two fundamental concepts, those of Being and Becoming, Ohangoloa-mess and Change, tin) One and tho Many. In Sans- krit they are oallod the Kfltmtha and BltAvu or BhAvana. The first in the Spirit or Puruaha or Bmliman and Atman wluoli in unlimited Being (Sat), OoimuionsnoM (Glut) un«l Bliss (Ananilu). Aocordlug to Indian notion* tko Alnum an such is ami never become. Its Power (8hakti) manifests ns Nature, which in the subject of change, Wo may understand Nature in a two-fold aonno : first, as the mot principle or noumcna) cause of the pln-nunional worid.that ia, as the Prin- ciple of Burning, and secondly, as such World. Nature iu tho former senne is Mfllnprakriti, which means that which exist* HR t he mol; (Mftlft) sulwtnnee nf l.hing» liefore (Pm) creation (Krit.i), and which, in ansooifttion with Chit, either truly or ap- parently creates, maintain* and destroys tho Universe. This MAlapmkriti, the Shftradll Tilaka calls MfilabhQtn Avyalda, and the VcdAnU (of Slwfikuiu to which alone I refer) Mftyfl. Nature, in the second Bens©, that is the phcnomennl world, which is a product of Mulaprakiiti is tlie cotnjwund of Iho u volutes from this root aubatano© which am called Vikritia in the 84fikhva and Tantra, and name and form (NAmarApa) by the Vedftntins, who attribute them to igno- rance (Aridyft). Mfllnprakriti aa the material and instru- mental cause of tilings is that potentiality of natural power * A paper lead by the Author at the Stiver Jubilee ol the Chaitanya Library. Calcutta, held on the 18ih January 1910, unde r the Presidency ol H. E. The Governor ol Bengal, acd revised lor insertion in this Edition ol " ShnUii and Sbiht* ". SHAKTI AND SHAKTA (nature naturons) which manifesto as the Universe (nature noturata). Touching thebe two Principles, there are certain fund*- mental point* of agreement in the three system* which I am examining — BAfikhya, VedAnta and the Advaitavlda of the Tantru. They are as follows. According to the first two systems, Brahman or Purusha as Sat, Chit and inunda is Eternal Conscious Being. It is changeless and has no activity (Kartrittva). It is not tliarefore in Itself s cause whether instrumental or material ; though in so far a* Its uimplo presence gives the appearance of oonsoiouanoHd to the activities of Prakriti, It may in auoh sense be dosignated an efficient cause. So, aocoriling to Stfikhya, Prakriti reflect* Purus ha, audio VedAnto, AvidyA of the throe Gunua i uke# the reflection of ChidAnuuda. On the other hand, the substance or faotora of MOInpraknti or MlyA arc tho three Ounas or the three characteristics of the principle of Nature, according to which it reveals (Sattva) or veils (Tanias) ConsciougnoiB (Chit) and the activity or energy (Rajas) which urges Sattva and Tamas to operation. It also i« Sternal, but ii unconscious (Achit) Bu'oming. Though it is wit hout coimciousnos* (Chaitsnya), it is eiaohti- oily ootivily (Kartrittva), motion and cluvngo. It in a true cause instrumental and material of the World. But not- withstanding *11 the tiling* to which Mdlaprakrili gives birth. It* substance is in no wise diminished by the pro- duction of the Vikntis or Tattvas : the Gunns whioh consti- tute it ever remaining the name. The source oi all becoming is never exhausted, though tho things which are therefrom produced appear and disappear. Passing from the general point* of agreement to those of dilTerenoe, we note firstly, those between the Sifikhya and the Ved&nta. The S&fikhya it commonly regarded as a dualistic system, which affirms that both Putusha ond Prakriti are real, eeparate and independent Principles. The Yedfinta, however, says that there cannot be two Principles CREATION IN NON-DUALIST TANTRAS which are both absolutely real. It doc* not, however, altogether discard the dual principles of the SAfikhya, but says t hat Mftlaprakriti which it calls MAyA, while real from one point of view, that is empirically, ia not real from another and transcendental standpoint. It affirms therefore that the only Keal (Sad-vastu) is the attributelcas (Nirguna Brahman). All else is MAyA and its products. Whilst then the S&filchyan Mdlaprakriti is an Eternal Reality, it is accord- ing to tlie transcendental method of Shankara an eternal unreality (MithyAbhtltA Snnatanl). The empirical reality which is really false is due to the AvidyA which ih inherent in the natur© of the embodied spirit (JIva). MAyA is Avaetu or no real thing. It in Nistattva. As AvidyA ia neither real nor unreal, so is iia uauae or MAyA. The kernel of the VedAntik argument on this point is to bo found in its inter- pretations of the Vaidik MahfWAkya, “That Thou art” (Tat. tvum asi). Tat here is IshvarA, that in, Brnhman with MAyA as His Ixxly or IIpAdhi. Tvain in the Jlvn with AvidyA ns its body. It is then shown that JIva is, only Brahman when MAyA is eliminated from Tshvara, and AvidyA from JIva. Therefore, only a* Bmhrann is the Tvnm the Tat ; therefore, neithor MAyA nor AvidyA really exist (they are Avaetu), for otherwise the equality of JIva and Ialivara could not be affirmed. This conclusion that NA/A is Avastu lias far-reaching consequences, both religious and philoso- phical, und so has the denial oi it. It is on this question that there is a fundamental difference between BhuAkara'a AdvaitavAda and that of the BkAlcta Tantra, which I am about, to discuss. Before, howover, doing so I will first contrast the uotions of creation in Sfiflkhya and Ved&nte. It is common ground that creation is the appearance produced by the action of Mftlepmkriti or principle of Nature (Aoliit) existing in associ- ation with Chit. According to BAfikhya, in Mulapralcriti or the potential condition of the Natural Principle, the Gums arc in a state of equality (SAuiyAv&sth A), that is, they ere 357 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA not affecting ono nnothor. But, as Mulapralrriti is essentially movement, it ia said that even when in this state of equality tho Gunas are yot continually changing into themselves (SanlpaparinAiiia). This inherent subtle movement is the nature of the Guna itself, und exists without effecting any objective result. Owing to the ripening of Adriahta or Karma, creation takes place by the disturbance of thin equality of tlic Gunns (Gunakahobha), which then commence to oscillate and act upon ono another. It is thin initial creative motion which is known in the Tantr* hr Cosmic Sound (PeriU'iabda). It is through the association of Purueha with Mdlaprafcriti in oosmio vibrution (Spandsna) that creation takes plaoo. The whole universe arises from varied forms of tlus grand initial motion. So, scientific ‘‘matter” is uow currently held to bo tho varied uppouianuc produced in our minds by vibration of, and in the single substance called ether. This new Western eoientifiu dodriua of vibration is in India an ancient inheritance. "Hring.tho Supreme Hangs* dwells in tli© brilliant heaven." Tho word "Hangba" comes, it is said, from the word Hanti, which means Gnti or Motion. Sftyana n»y» that It m called Sditya, henauso It is in por- petual motion. But Indian teaching oarrieB the application of this doctrine beyond tbo scientific ether which is a physi- cal substance (Muh&bhdta). There is vibration in the csumil body tlrnt is ol tho Gunas of Mfflsprakriti as the result of SadnshapanntUna of Par&Bhabdasriitkti ; in the subtle liody ol mind (Antahkarana) ; and in the grees body, compounded of tho Bhfltas which derive from tho Toumitras their im- mediate subtle source o£ origin. The Hiranyagarbha and Vir&t Sound is coiled Madhyumi and Vaiklmri. If this strik- ing similarity between ancient Eastern wisdom and modern scientific reaesreh lias not I teen recognized, it is due to tho fact that the ordinary Western Orientaliit and thceo who take their cue from him in this country, are prone to the somewhat uoulewptuoua belief that., Indian notions are of “historical" interest only, aud as suok, a welcome addition 358 CREATION IN NON-DUALIST TANTRAS possibly for some intellectual museum, but are otherwise without valuo or actuality. The vibrating Mhlapmknti ami its Gunne ever remain the same, though the predomi- nance of now one, and now another of them, 'produces the various e volutes called Vikritis or Tattvaa, which constitute the world ol mind and matter. These Tattvaa constitute the elements of the created world. They are the well-known Buddhi, AharigkAra, Manas (constituting the Antahkaranu), the ten Indriyas, five TanmAtras and five MahAbhfitas of “ether ’’."air”, “fire”," water” and “earth”, whioh of course must not be idontifiod with the notions which the English terms oonnoto. These Tattvun uro names for the elements which we discover as a result of a psychological analysis of our worldly experionoo. Thai experience ordinarily gives us both the feeling of persistence and change. The funner is duo to tho preaence of the AtmA or Chit-Shakti, which exist* in us in association with Mulupmkriti or MAyA-Shakti. This is the Chaitanya in all bodies. Change in caused by MOU- prakriti or MAyA-Shakti, and its elomoute may bo divided into the subjective and objootiv.* Tatlvas, or wliat we call mind and mutter. Analysing, uguin, the former, we discover an individuality (AiiangkAra) oonoing through tho Indriyas, a world which forme the material of its percepte and con- cepts (Manas and Buddlii). The object of thought or "matter” are the varied compounds of thu VaikriU creation, whioh are made up of oombinatioua ol the gross elements (MahAbhfita), which them solved derive from tho subtlo elements or TunmAtm. Now, according to SAflkhya, all this in real, for all are Tattvaa. Puiusha and Prakriti are Tattvss, and so are the Vikritis of tho latter. Aocordiug to the VodAnte also, creation taken place through the association of the Brahman, then known as tho Lord or Isbvara (Mayop&dhika-Chuitanyam lahvarah), with MAyA. That is, Chit is associated with, though unaffected by, MAyA which operates by reason of such association to produce the universe. The unchanging Sad-vastu in tho Brahman. 359 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA The ever-changing world is, when viewed by tho spiritually wise (Juuni), the form imposed by AvidyA on r.hc Changeless Sat. It is true that it lias the quality of being in accordance with the greatest principle of order, namely, that of cauaal- ity. It in the Sat, however, whioh gives to the World the cha- racter of orderliness, because it is on and in association with that pure Chit or Sat that MAyA plays. It is true that behind all this unreal appearance there is the Real, tho Brahman. But the phenomenal world has, from the alogica! standpoint, no real substratum existing as itA instrumental and material cause. The Brahman a* such in no true canae, ami MAyA is unreal (Avastu). Tho world has only tho uppeuiance of reality from tho reflection wliich is oaat by the real upon the unreal. Nor in Ishvara, the creative and ruling Lord, in u transcendental sense real. For, as it is tho Bralunan iu associution with MAyA, which Shaiikara calls Ishvara, t.ho latter is nothing but the Brahman viewed through MAyl. It follows thnt tho universe is the product of the association of the real and the unreal, and when world-oxporionce end* in liberation (Mukti), the notion of luhvora as its creator no longer exists. For His body is MAyA and this i>i Avastu. Bo long hownwr as there i* a world, that is, so long av one is subject to MAyil that is embodied, so long do wo recognise tho existenoo of Iahvnra. The Lord truly exists for every Jlva au long as lie is such. But on attainment of bodiless liborution (Videha Mukti), the Jlva become* himself Hanh- chidAnanda, and as such Ishvara. does not exist fox him, lor Ishvara is but the Sat viewed through that MAyA oi which the Satis free. “The Brahman is true, the world is false. Tho Jlva is Brahman (ParamAtmA) and nothing else." The opponents of this .«yistciu or MAyAvAda have charg- ed it with lieing a covert, form of Buddhistic nihilism (MAyAvAdarn agnchobbftstrum pmchehliHnnum bauddham). It has, however, perhaps been more correctly said that Shri Shafikaro adjusted his philoeophy to meet the MAyAv&da of tho Buddhists, and so promulgated a new theory of Mftyfi, 360 CREATION IN NON-DUALIST TANTRAS without abandoning the faith or practice of his Slreiva- Shftkla D ha Him. All systems obviously concede at least the empirical reality of the world. The question is, whether it has a greater reality than that, and if so, in what way I Saftkhya affirms its reality ; Shafikara denis* it in order to secure the complete unity of the Brahman. Each system has merit* of its own. SftQkhya by ita dualism ia able to preserve in all ita integrity the specific character of Chit ag Niranjana. This result, on the other hand, ia effected at the coat of that unity for which all minds have, in some form or other, a kind of metaphysical hunger. Shufikara by Inn MftyAvAda sec urea this unity, but this achievement is at the cost of a denial of the ultimate reality of the world, whether considered as the produit (Vikriti) of MQUprakriti, or as Mfilapraknti itaelf. There in, however, anothur altamat<ve, and that is the great Shikta doctrine of Duality in Unity. There is, this ShAstra says, a middle course in which the reaiity of the world ia affirmed without compromising the truth of the unity of the Brahman, for which Rlmflkam by such lofty speculation uonbnuU. 1 hers shortly state wliafc ia developed more fully later. The Sh&klo AdvaitarAda recognizes the reality of Mfllapiukriti in the senao of MAyA Shakti. Hero in a qualified way it follows the SAGkhy*. On tlw other bond, it differs from the Sftfikhya in holding that Mfllaprnkriti as MAyft-Shakti is not a principle eepaintc from the Brahman, but exists in and as a principle ol the one Brahman substance. The world, therefore, is the appearance of the Real. It. is the Brahman as Power. The ground prinoiple of such appearance or MAyA-Shakti ia the Real ub itmfi and Power. There is thus a reality behind all appearances, a real substance behind the apparent transformations. Mftyft- Shakti a* such ia both eternal and real, and so is Tabvaia. The transformations are the changing forms of the Real. I pass now to the Advaitavftdn of the Sh&kta Tantrn. 3 6 ' SHAKT1 AND SHAKTA Tiie Shaktu Tftntra i* not a formal system of philosophy (Daiahaua). It is, in the broadest sense, a generic term for the writings and various traditions which express the whole culture of a certain epoch in Indian History. The contents are therefore of an encyclopedic character, religion, ritual, domestic rites, law, medicine, magic, and so forth. It has thus great historical value, which appears to be the moat fashionable form of recommendation for the Indian Scrip- turn* now-a-day*. The mere historian, I believe, derives en- ooumgement. from the fact that out of bad material may yet be made good history. I am not here concerned with thiH aspect of the matter. For my present, purpose, the ShfLltla Tantra is part of the UpftsanA k&nd* of Lha thxeo depart- ments of Sliruti, and is a system of physical, psychical and moral training (SMhanft), worship, and Yoga. It is thus essentially practical. This is what it claims to l». To its oritius, it hno appeared to bo a system of immoral indisci- pline 1 am not We concerned with the charge but with the doctrine of creation to be found in Ibis 8hAH'ra. Under- lying, howovor, all this prootioo, wliutnoovor bo the worth or otherwise which is attributed to it, there is a philoeophy which must be nbstiuoted, as I huvu hero done for the first time, with sonic difficulty, and on points with doubt, from the disquisitions on religion and the ritual and Yoga directions to be found in the various Taut res. The funda- mental principles are as follows. It is sbid that the equality (Sflmyu) of the Chilian is MfiUprakriti, which has activity (KartrittvA), but no con- BciouBuesa (Chaitanya). Biukman is RachohidAnanda who has Chaitanya oud no Knrtrittva. But this ia bo only if we thus logically differentiate them. As a matter offset, however, the two admittedly, ever and everywhere, co-exist, and cannot, except, for the purpose of formal analysis, be thought of without the other. The connection between the two is one of unseparuUmeas (AvinAbhftva Soinbandha). Brahman docs not exist without Prakriti-Shakti or Prakriti CREATION IN NON-DUALIST TANTRAS without the Brahman. Some call the Supreme Chaitanva with Prakriti, others Prakriti with Chaitanya. Some worship It an Shiva ; others as Shakti. Both are oue ami the same. Shiva is the One viewed Irom Ita Chit aspect, Shakti is the One viewed Irom Its MfikyA aspect. They ere the “ male” and “female" aspects of the same Unity which is neither male nor female. AJcula is Shiva. Kula is Shakti. Tho same Supreme is worshipped by Sadhaufi of Brahman, as by SAdhauA of idyishakfci. The two cannot he separated, tor Brahman without Prakriti is aetionleas, and Prnkiiti without Brahman ia uuooiwciou*. There is Nishkala Shiva or tho transcendent, attributeless (Nirguna) Brahman ; and Sa lod a Shiva or the embodied, immanent Brahman with attributes (Saguna). Kail or Shakti corresponds with the Slflkhyan Mflln- prakriti or SAinyAvuethA of the three Guubh and the Ve- rt An t«o MiyA. But Kalft which ia MOlnpmkriti and M&yft eternally is, and thoreforc When we spiak of Nishkala Shiva, it ia not meant that there is tlurn or at any time no K.i!A, for KalA over is, but, that Brahman ia meant which in thought. of ua boing without the working Prakriti (Prnkritoranyah), MiLyL Shakti is then latent in it. Aa the Dovf in tho Kula- ohfid&uiani eays, "Alrnin Prakriti rOpA chet OhnlAnonda- parftyauA". Sakai a Shiva Is, on tho other hand, 8hivn considered as associated with Prakriti in operation and manifesting the world, in one case, Kaltt is working or manifest, in the other it is not, but exists in a potential state. In the same way tho two Sliivus are one and the name. There is one Shiva who iB Nirguna and Saguna. The TAntrik Yoga treatise Shatoliakrauirflpana describes the JSvAt.mil M tho ParyyAya of, that is another name for, the ParamitmA ; adding that tho root of wioiom (MfilavidyA) is a knowledge of their identity. When the Brahman mani- fests, It in called Shakti, which is the magnificent concept round which Tantra is built. The term comes from the root “Shak", which means “tu be able". It is the power 3<»3 SHAKTI AND Sh'AKTA which ik the Brahman and whereby the Biahmait manifests J.scif ; lor Shakti und possessor of Shakti (Shnktim&n) one and the same. An Shakti is Brahman it is also Nirgunfl and Sagunft. Ishvara is Chit Shakti, that is, Chit in association with the operating Prakriti as the efficient cause of the creation ; and MAyA-Shakli which means MtyA as a Shakti that is m creative operation as the instrumental (Nimitta) and material (Up&dAna) cause of the universe. This is the Shakti which produces AvidyA, just as MahAmAyA or Lshvurf is the Great Liberatrix. These twin aspects of Shakti appear throughout creation. Thug in the body, the Chit or Brahman aspect is eonscions Atmft or Spirit, und the MAyA aopoet is the Antahkorana and its derivatives or the unconscious iJada) mind uud biKly. Wlu-n, however, we speak lion* of Shakti without any qualifications, what 1 h meant ih Chit-Shukti in tunvooi- ation with MAyA-Shalui thnti* Iahvail or Devi or Mahani&yfl, the Mother of all worlds. If wo keep thus in view, we shall not fall into the error of suppoBing that the ShAktan (whoeo religion is one of the oldest in the world ; how old indeed is as yet. little known) worship material force or grosn metier. Tshvnm or Uhvart in not Aohit, whieh. m pure Sattvnguim is ouly ltis or Her body. MAyA-SImlcti in the •tense of MfUaprakriti is Ohit. So also is AvidyA Shakti, though it appeal's to be Aoliit, for there ia no ChidAbbAsu. In a certain class of Indian images, you will see the Lord, with a diminutive female figure on His lap. The maker* and worshippers of those images thought of Shakti An being in the subordmate position which some persona con- sider a Hindu wife should occupy. This is however not the conception of SliAkta Tuntra, according to whioli. Sham not a handmaid of the. Lord, but the Lord Himself, heing but the name for that aspect of His in which He is the Mother and Nouriahor of the worlds. As Sliiva ia the transcendent, Shakti in the immanent aspect, of the one Brahman who is Bhiva-Shakti. Being Its aspect, It is not different from, 364 CREATION IN NON-DUALIST TANTRAS but oue with It. In the KulaohAd&mani Nigamn, the Bhui ravi addressing Bhairavu bays, "Thou art the Guru of all. I entered into Thy body (hr Shakti) and thereby Thou did6t become the Lord (Prabhu). There in none but Myself Who is tbe Mother to create (Kftryyavibhavinf). Therefore it is that when creation takes place Sonship is iu Thee. Thou alone ait the Father Who wills what I do (K&ryyn- vibhivaka ; that is. She is the vessel which receives the nectar which flows from Nityflnanda). By the union of Shivs and Shakti creation eomrH (Shivu-Shnlrti-samAyoglt jfiyato sriBhtikalpanA). An oil in the. universo is both Shiva and Shakti (Shivoslmlctimayo), therefore, Oh Mnhcahvora, Thou art in every pluoe and I am in every plaoe. Thou art in all and I am in all.” The oroative World thus sown Its need in It* own womb. Such being tbe nature of Shakti, the noxt question is whether Miyft as Shufikant affirm i is Avastu. It is to be remembered that according to his empirical method it is tnkon M real, but tranaoondentally it is alleged to bo an eternal unreality, because, the object. oMhn lattor mothod is to explain away the world altogether so as to soouro tho pure unity of tho Biuhman. Tlio ShAktu Tivntru is how- ever uut cunoernod with any auoh purp»w.. It ia an tip&iauA ShAstra in which the World end its Lord have reality. There cannot be SAdbanA in an unreal world by an unreal SAdkaUa of an unreal Lord. The HhAkU replies to MflyA- vftda If it be said that MAyA is in some unexplained wuy Avastu, yet it ia admitted that there is something, however unreal it may be alleged to be, which is yet admittedly eternal and in association. whether manifest or uumanrfi>nt. with the Brahman. According to Shafikara, Miyl exist* »s tho more potentiality of some future World which shall arise on the ripening of Adriahta which M&yA ia. But in the MuhAnirvftna Taatra, Shiva aays to Devi, “Thou art Thyself the Par& Prakriti of the ParamAtmft" (Ch. IV, v. 10). That is Mfty& in the sense of Mfllaprakriti, which i 6 5 SHAKTI AND SIlAKTA ia admittedly eternal, is not Avastu, but is the Power of the Brahman one with which is Chit. In Nislikala, Shiva, Shakti lies inactive. • It manifests in and as creation, though Chit thus appearing through its Power is neither exhausted nor affected thereby. We thus find Ishvart addressed in the Tuntra both as SachohidAnandarQpinf and TrigunltmikA, referring to tlia two real principles which form part of the one Brahman auhetanoa. The philosophical difference he- tween the two expositions appears to lie in this, Shftfikara HflyB that there arc no distinctions in Brahman of cither of the throe kinds : ovugata hhedo, that is, distinction of parts witliin one unit, svajAtfya-bhoila or distinction lietwceu units of one class, or vijAttya-bheda or distinction between units of different classed. Bhftrsti, however, the Commentator on the MahflnirvAnu (Ch. II, v. 34) says tliat Advaita there mentioned moans devoid of the last two classes of distinc- tion. There is, therefore, for the purposes of Sh&kta Tantm. « Hvngata-bheda in the Brahman Itself namely, the two aspect* according to which the Brahman is, on the one hand, Being, Chit and on the other, the principle of becoming which manifests ns Nature or scorning Aohit. In u myste- rious way, however, there is a union of these two principles (Blulvuyoga), which thus exist without derogation from the parties* unity of the Brahman which they are. In short, the Brahman may bo conceived of as having twin aspects, in one of wbioh, It is the esuw, nf the changing world, and in the other of which It js the unchanging Soul nf the World. Whilst the Brahman Svarflpn nr Chifc is Iteelf immutable, the Brahman is yot through its Power the cause of change, and is in one aspect the changeful world. But what then is "real” ; a term not always correctly understood. According to the Mfty&v&da definition, the "real” is that which over was, i3 and will bo (KAlatraya- sattv&v&n) ; in the words of the Christian liturgy, "as it was in the beginning, ia cow, and ever shall be world without end" ; therefore that which changes, winch was not, but 366 CREATION IN NON-DUALIST TANTRAS ia, and then ceases to be is according to tliio definition "unreal”, however much Irom a practical point of view it may appear real to us. Now M&yAv&da calls Mfilaprakriti in the sense of M&yft the matonal cause of the world, no independent real (Avastu). The Sh&kta Tantra says that the Principle, whence all becoming comes, exist* as a real substratum so to speak below the world of names and forms. This MAyA-8hakti is an eternal reality. What ia “unreal” (aooording to the above definition), are these named and forms (Avidyft), that is, the changing worlds (uant-trilok! sadbh&vam avarflpani Bxahnianah sraritam, Oh. Ill, v. 7, MahAuirvAna Tantra). These are unreal however only in the aonao that they are not permanent, but oome and go. The body is called Shartra, which oomosfrom the root Bhri— "to decay”, for it is dissolving and being renewed at every mo- ment until doath. Again, however real it may seem to us, the world may 1>« unreal in the House that it in something othor than what it worn# to be. This thing whioh I now hold in my hands sooms to mo to be paper, which is white, smooth and so forth, yet we ore bold that it really in some- thing different, munoly, a number of extraordinarily rapid vibrations of ethorio substance, producing tire false appear- ance of scientific "matter In the same way (as thoso who worship Yantras know), all nature is the appeamnoo pro- duced by various forms of motion in PrAkritic substance. (.Simrm Khalvtiam Brahmi.) The roal is the Brahman and its Power. The Brahman, whether in Its Chit or MAyfl uapect, eternally and ohangclessly endures, but, A virlyft breaks up it* undivided unity into tho ohanging manifold world of namoa and forms. It follows from the above that Brahman and Ishvara are two co-licing aspect* of the Ono ultimate Reality, as Power to Be and to Become. For as Sbafikura points out (Comm. ShvetSshvatara Up. I. 2) DuvAtmashakti, the cause of the world, is not separate from tho Paramfttn.8, ns S&fikhya alleges its Prodh&na to be. And thus it is that Shiva in the Kulftruaya Tantra (I. 110) says, “some desire 367 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA dualism (Dvaitavada), others monism (AdvaitavAda). Such however know not My truth, which is beyond both monism And dualism (Dvaitfidvaitavivarjita}." Thin saying may doubtless moan that to “the knower (JnAnt) the argu- ments ot philosophical systems are of no account, ns is indeed the case." ft lias also & more litoral meaning as above explained. The Sh&atra in fact makes liigh claims for itself. The Tantra. it has been said, takes into it« arms as if they were its two children, both dualism and monism affording by it* practical method (SAdhanA), and the spiritual knowledge generated thereby the means hy which their antimonies arc resolved and hurmonizod. Its purpose is to give liberation to the Jiva by a method according to which monistio truth in reached through the dualistie world ; immersing Ha Sfldhakas in the current of Divine Bliss, by changing duality into unity, and then evolving from the latter a duahstio play, thus proclaiming the won- derful glory of the Spouse of Paramashiva in tho love embrace of Mind-Matter (Jsdn) and Consciousness (Chai- tanyn). It therefore «ya that those who have realised this, move, and yet remain unsoiled in the mod of worldly actions which lend others upon tho downward path It. cl aim i, there- fore, that its practical method (RfldhaoA) in more speedily fruitful than any other. Tte praoticul method is an applica- tion of the general principles nlx*v* described. In fact, am* of its AohArss which has led to abuse is an nttorr.pt to put. into full practice the theory of AdvaitavAda. ShAflkara lias in his transcendental method dealt with the subject as part, of the JnAna KAnda. Though the exponent of the MAyA- vAda is esteemed to bo a MahApurusha, this method is not in favour with the 'I'Antric BAdhaka who attributes much of the practical atheism which is to he found in this country, as elsewhere, to a misunderstanding of the transcendental doctrines of M&y&vodn. There is some truth in this charge, for, us has been well said, the vulgarization of Sliaukura'a " Higher Science" which is by ito nature an esoteric doctrine 36S CREATION IN NON-DUALIST TANTRAS destined fora small minority, must be reckoned a misfortune in so far uo it lias, ill the language of the Gfc&, induaed many people to take to another’s Dharma instead of to their own, which is the “ Lower Science ” of the great Ved&r.tin followed in all ShAstra* of worship. Such o Shftstra must necessarily affirm God as a real object ol worship. Dionysius, the Areopagite, the chief of the line of all ( Christian mystics said that we could only spank “opophatically” of the Supreme AN It existed in Itself, that is, other than as It displays It- aolf to ub. Of It nothing can l>e affirmed but that It ia not this and not that. How ho followed tho, "noti noti”, of the VadAntft. Iahvar! is not leas real than the thinga with which we arc concerned every day. She is for the Indian S&dhaka tho highest reality, and what may or may not bo tho statu of Videlia M ukti has for him, no practical concern. Those only who Imve attained it will know whether Shaftkar* is right or not ; not that they will think about this or any other subject ; but in the hcii.su that when the Brahman i« known all is known. A friend from whom I quote, writes that, he bnd mice occasion to leurn to what ridiouloitt liaiightinero, sorno of the modern " adepts” of Shrl ShaRknra's gohool are apt to let thwneclvoa bo carried away, when ono of them spoke to him of the personal Ishvsra ivs being a " pitiablo Croat urc". The truth is that such so-called “adepts" are no adopts at nil, being without the attainment, and far hum the spirit of Shaflkara— whose devotion and powers mode him Boem to his followers to be an incarnation of Shiva Him- self. Such a remark betrays a radical misunderstanding of the Vedunta. How many of those, who to-day discuss his YedAnta from a merely literary standpoint, have his, or indeed any faith 1 . What some would do ia to dismiss tho faith and practice of Shaflkara ng idle superstition, and to adopt, his philosophy. But what ;b the intrinsic value of n philosophy which emanates from n mind which is so ignorant as to be superstitious I Sliaukora, however, has 3akl that, faith and Sftdhanfi, are the preliminaries for SHAKTI AND SH-AKTA competency (AdhikAra) for the JnaunkAnda. He alone in competent (Adhik&rf) who possesses ull good moral and intellectual qualities, faith (ShraddhA), capacity for the highest contemplation (Saipftdhj), the SAftkhyan discrimi- nation (Vivoka), Absence of all desire tor anything in this world or the next, «nd an ardeut longing for liberation. There are few indeed who can claim even imperfectly all auoh qualifications But what of the rest \ There is no Vaidik KarmakAnda in operation in the pressnt ago, but there oro other Shfkatraa of worship which is either Vaidik, TAntrik or Paurinik. These provide for those who are Still, as are most, on the path of desire. The Tantiu affirms tlia't nothing of worth can be achieved without SAdhanA. Mere speculation is without result. This principle is entirely sound whatever may be thought of the mode in which it is sought to be applied. Those to whom the questions here discussed am not mere matters for intellectual business or recreation will reoall that Bliailkura hut said tlu»t liberation ie attained not merely by the discussion of, and pondering upon revealed truth (ViohAre), for which few only arc compe- tent, bat by the grace of God (Ishvnra AnUgraha), through the worship of the Mother and Father from whom all creation springs. Such worship produces knowledge. In the Kula- chOdAmani, the Devi says "Oh nil-knowing One, if Thou Imoweat Me then of what use arc the Amnftyns (revealed teachings) and YAjnnam (ritual) ? If Thou knoweat Me not, then ngain, of what use nro they?” But neither am, in nnother sense, without their usee for thereby the SAdhakft becomes quolifioil for some form of UrddhvAumAya, iu which there are no cites (Karma). With this short exposition of tho nature of Shnktitottva according lo ShAkta Tantra 1 pass to an equally brief account of its manifestation in the Universe. It is sufficient to deal with the main lines of the doctrine without going into their very great accompanying detail. I here follow, on tho main theme, the account given in the celebrated ShArada CREATION IN NON-DUALIST TANTRAS Tilaka a work written hy Lalohman&charyya, the Guru o£ Abhinava Gupta, the great Kashmirian Tintrik, about the commencement ol the eleventh century, and its Commen- tary by the learned TUntrik Pandit Kfighava Bhatta whioh ia dated 1454 A.D. This work lias long been held to be of great authority in Bengal. Why creation takes plane cannor in an ultimate sense he explained. It. is the play (I.tlA) of the Mother. Could this be done the Bruhman would bo aubjoct to the law of causality which governs the Universe but which its Cause necessarily transcends. The Tantra, howover, in common with other Indian Sh&atras recognizes AdriBhta brishti, or the doctrine that the impulse to creation is proximatoly caused by tho Adrishta or Karnm of Jfvas. Hut Kanna is eternal and itself requires explanation. Karma oomo* from SamakAra and SomskAra from Karma. The pi-ocean of creation, maintenance and dissolution, uncording to thin view, unooaeingly recur* a* an eternal rhythm of oi»mic life and death which in tho Mother’s play (L11A). And bo it is said of Her in die LalitA Sahasrandma that, "the scries of universes appear and dis- appear with the opening and shutting of Hor Eyes". The existence of Karma implies the will to cosmic life. Wo produoe it as the result of suoh will. And when produced it becomes itself the cause of it. In the aggregate of Karma which will at one period or another ripen, there ia, at any particular time, some whioh arc ripe and others which are not so. For the fruition of the former only creation taken place. When this seed ripens and the lime therefore approaches for the creation of another universe, the Brahman manifests in Its Vuveiflpa aspect, no that the diva may enjoy or Buffer therein the fnnta of his Karma, and (unless liberation be attained) accumulate fresh Karma which will involve the creation of future worlds. When the unri pence! actions which are alworbed' in MflyA become in oourse of time ripe, the Vritti cf Muy& or Shakti SHAKT1 AND SHAKTA in tho Iona of Job! re for creation arises in Paraniushivo, for tiro bestowal of the fruit of this Karma, This state of M fly ft is variously called by Skruti, Ikshanu, Kirna, Violiiklrahfl. It is when the Brahman "saw'', "desired”, or " thought” “ May I be many", that there take6 place what is known as Sadmliapaiiiiiina in which the Supremo Hindu appears. This, in its triple aspect, is known as K&makalft, a manifestation of Shakti whence in the manner hereafter described tho Universe emanate*. This KAmakalfl is t.he Mflla or root of all Mantra. Though creation takes plaoo in order that Karma may be .uffered and enjoyed, yet iu the aggregate of Karma which will at one tunic or another ripen, there is at. any particular period some which arc ripe and others which are not bo. For tho fruition of tho former only creation takes placo. As creation will serve no purpose in the omc of Karma which in not ripe, there is. uftei tho exhaustion by fruition of the ripo Karma, a dissolution (Prnlaya). Then the Universe in again merged in MAyfl which i hus abide* until the ripening of tho remaining actions. Karma, hko everything oho, re-ontore the Brahman, and remains there in a hidden potential state as it were a seed. When the seed ripens creation again taken placo. With Bahrain, or the manifestation of creative will, creation is really instantaneous. When the "Word” went forth, " Let there be light”, there was light, for the ideation of Ishvara is creative. Our mind by ita constitution is however led to think nf creation as a gradual prooess. Tho SAfikhya start* with the cwoillnt.ion of the Ounas (ftunn- kihobha) upon which the Vikiiti* immediately appear. But just aa it explains ita real Parinflma in terras of successive emanations, bo the Shflkta Tnnt.ru describes u Sadrishapuri- nflma in the body of Ishvum ’.lieir cause. This development is not a real Parinflma, but a resolution of like to like, that is, there is no actual ohange in the nature of the entity doalt with, the various stages of such Parinflma being but names for the multiple aspects to us of the same unohanging Unity. 3 72 CREATION IN NON-DUALIST TANTRAS Shakti i.i one. Tt appears as various by its nmnifeatn- tioua. Iu one aspect there is no Parin&ma, fox Sachchidi- nanda iB as such immutable. Before and after and in creation It remains what It was. There is therefore no Parin&ma in or of the Aksharabnhinan ns auch. There is Parin&ma, however, in its Power aspect. The three Gunns do not change, each remaining what it is. They are the same in all forms hut appoar to the Jfva to exist in different combinations. The appearance of the Gunas in different proportions is due to Avidyii or Karma which in this apparent Gunakshobhu. It is SaiuskAra which give* to the fl&mya Prakriti, existence a» Vamhainyu. What the Tantra doioribos as SadriBhapnrinAma ia but an analysis of the different aspects of what ii shortly called in other Shfta- tras, Ikahana. This 8udri8hapnrin&ma is concerned with the evolution of what is named Porft 8ound (Pamslmbda- srishti). This is Cosmic Sound ; the causal vibration in the subatAnoe of Mfllaprnkriti which gives birth U> the Tattvus which are its Vikritia : such Cosmic Sound being that which ia distinguished in thought from tire Tattvuo so producod. Tl»e ShArodA oayo that from the Salcala ParamcBlivnra who ib SacliuhidAnunda issued Shakti that is, tlml power whioh in necessary for creation. God nnd His power are yet more than the croation which He manifest* Shakti is noid to issue from that which is already SakaU or associated with Shakti, because as Rftghnvn Bhutto says, She who is clonin'. (An&dirftpa) was in a subtle state as Chaitanya during the groat dissolution (Prnlaya), (Yfl AnAdirflpA Chaitanvfldhyflaenn Mahlpralaye Silk slim A SthitA). With however the disturbance of the Gur.as, Prakriti became inclined (UchchhQnA) to creation, and in thin sense, ia imagined to iaauo. Shakti, in other wordo, paatco from a potential statu to one ol actuality. The Pnrameshvara i», he adds, described as Saohchid&nauda in order to affirm that even when the Brahman is associated with AvidyA, ite own true nature (Svarupa) is not affected. According to the 373 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA ShAradA, from this Shakti issues Xftda and from tlio Utter Bindu (known as tlie Parabindn). The Sh&rada thus enumerates acvcu napeota of Bliakti. Thin it dots, accouling to RAgkava Bhatw, so as to make up the seven component ports of the Oink dm. In some Skftkta Tautraa this first. Ndda is omitted and there are thus only six aspects. The Shaiva Tantras mention five. These which recognize Kala as a Ttttlva identify Nada with it. In some Tantras, K alii is associated with Tamoguna, and is the MahftkAla who is both the child and spouse of Adydshalcti ; for creation oonie« from the T&musif'aspeot of Shakti. In the ShAradAtilaka, NAda and Bindu are one and the same Shakti, being the names of two of Her states which ore considered to represent Her an 1 icing more pronu to oreutiun (Uchuhhuui vaslli A). There arc two states of Shaktibindu alii table for creation (UpiyogyA- vasthl). ' An thoro is no maw or Ghana in Niahknln Shiva, that Brahman ropresonti the AghajiAvasthA. The Pm- panohanAia Tantra says that fine, who in in the first place Tattva (mere "thatneea”), quickens under the influence of Chit which fllie re theta ; then She longs to create (Viclii- k Irabu) und becomes niivniivo (QhautbbfltA) and appears as Bindu (Purabindu). Ghanihhdtn moans that which wan not dense or Ghana but which has bcoome so (GhanAvnsthA). It invulves the notion of solidifying, coagulating, becoming massive. Thus milk is said to become GhunlbliAu when it condenses into cream or curd. This ia the firnt gross condition (BthQUvasthA) ; the Brahman associated with MAyl in the form of Karma assumes that aipeot in wliich It is regarded as the primal cause of the subtle and gross bodies. There then. lies in it in a potential, undifferentiated mass (Ghana), the universe and beings about to he created. The Pnnibindu is thus a compact aspect of Shakti wherein action or KriyA Shakti predominates. It is oomparod to a grain of gram (Ohanaka) wliich under it« outer ohpath (MftyA) contains two seeds (Shivashakti) in close and undivided union. The Bindu is symbol.zed by a circle. The ShAnyu CREATION IN NON-DUALIST TANTRAS or empty space within ie the Brahniapada. The supreme Light is formless, but Hindu implies hoth the void and Guns, for when Shiva l>ooomes Bindurupa IIo is with Qunm. RAghava says, “She alone can create. When the desire lor appearance as all Her Tattvas senses Her, She assumes the state of Bmdu whose characteristic is action” (KriyU- shakti). This Bindu or Avyakta, as it is Uie sprouting root of . the universe, is called the supreme Bindu (Parabindu), or causal or K&rana Binrlu, to distinguish it from that aspect of Itself which in called Bindu (K&ryya), whioh appears as a state of Shakti after the differentiation of tho Parabindu in Sodriahapnrinlnia. The Parabindu is the Iahvura of the Vedinta with M&yi ns Ilia Up&dhi. Ho is the Saguna Brahman, that is, the combined Ohit-Shakti and MAyft-Shakti or Taiwan with undifferentiated Prakriti ivs His AvyakUihharlra. Borne call Him Ma hi vishnu and others the Brnhnmpuruaba. Hero ib Paramaahiva. "Some call the Haiigsa, Devt. They are those who are filled with a passion fur Iler lotus feet/' A* Ktltoliurnna, the Com- mentator of tho ShatohakttmirApau* says, it matters not what It is culled. It is adored by all. It is this Hindu or state of supreme Shakti which is worshipped in secret, by oil Dovus. In Nishkula Shiva Prakriti oxistu in a hidden potential state. ’The Bindu Pamslaklimoyn (Shivushakti- mays) is the first movcinont of creative activity whioh is both the expression and result of the universal Karina or store of unfulfilled desire for oosmio life. It is then said that the Parabindu "divides" or "differ- entiates". In the Satyaloka is the formless and lustrous One. Sire exist« like a grab of gram (Gfcanaka) surrounding Herself with M&y&. When canting of! (Uterijyo) the covering (Bandhana) of Miyi, She, intent on creation (Unmukht), be- comes twofold (Dvidhi bhittvl), or according to the account here given threefold, and then on Hub differentiation in Shiva and Shakti (Shi vu-9ktwkti- vibhdgeii a) arises creative ideation (Sriflhtikalpanh). As bo unfolding the Bindu ia known as 375 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA the Sound Brahman (Shubdabrahman). "On the differenti- ation of the I’aiubiudu there oioee unman Heated sound” (BhidyttmAnAt purAd biudoruvyakiAluiA ravo ’bhavat). Shabda here of courao does not mean physical sound, which ia the Guna of the Karyydlcaslm or atomic Akflsha. The latter is integrated ami limited and evolved ut a later stage in Vikriti PariuAma from T&nuisika Ahangkara. Sliahda- brahman is the undifferentiated ChidAkhalia or. Spiritual Ether of philosophy, in association with its Kali or Pmkriti or the BakAk Shivs of religion. It is Uhit-Shskti vehicled by undifferentiated Prakrit!, from which is evolved Xftria- mAtiu {"Sound only” or the "Principle of Sound”) wliioli in unm&nifasb (AvyakU), from which again in displayed (Vyukta) tlis changing universe of numon and forum. It ie the Pranavarfipo Brahman or Om which is the cosmio causal pnnciple and the manifested Shabd&rtha. Avyakt* Nftda or umnanifostod Sound ia tho undifferentiated causal priuciplc of Manifested Sound without any sign or characteristic manifestation such us letters und the like which marie ite displayed product. Shalxlabnrhman is tho all-pervading, impartiu, unmauilctod NAdabiudu aubitaneo, the primary creative impulse in Pamshlv* which is the cause of tho mam tested ShshdAitha. This Bindu is called Paru because It is the first and supreme Hindu. Although It- is Bluikti like tlie Shakti und NMa which precede It, It is considered as Shakti on the point of creating the world, and an such It is from this I'arabmdu that Avyaktu fclound is said to oome. Raghava Bhatta ends the discussion of this matter by shortly saying that the Shabdabraliman in the Cbuitanya in all creatureB which aa existing in breathing creatures (PrAni) is known as tho Shakti Kundalini of tbo Mfllfldh&ra.. The aoouracy of this definition is contented by tho Compilor of tlx; Piftuntoshinf, but if by Ckaitanya wo. undentond the Manifested Chit,- that is. the luttor displayed as and with Mfflaprakilti in Cosmic vibration (Spandanu), tlien the apparently differing views arc reconciled. CREATION IN NON-DUALIST TANTRAS The Pnrabindu on such differentiation manifest* under the olireefold aspeots ol Bindu, N&da, BIja. This ia the fully developed and kinetic aspect ot ParashaUln. The Bindu which thus Incomes threefold is the Principle in which the germ of action aprouta to manifestation producing a state o: compact intensive Shakti. The threefold aspect of Bimlu, as Bindu (K&ryya), Nftda and Bfja are Shivamaya, ShivaahaHimaya, Shaktimaya ; Para, Sffkuhma, Sthilla ; Ichchhi, Juiua, ICriyA ; Tunma, S»ttva, Rajas ; Moon, Fire and Sun ; and the Shalctis which ore the ooBinio bodioH known an Iahvaxa, Hiranyagarbha, and VirAt. -All three, Bindu, Bija, N&da axe the different phanen ol Shakti in cre- ation, being different aspects of Parabindu the GhanAvuHthfl ol Shakti. The order of the throe Shaktia of.wdl, uction and knowledge differ in Lhvaru ond Jlva. Ishvara in un- knowing and therefore the order in Him ia IihchhH, Jn&na, Kriyft. In JIvn, it is Jn&na, Ichchhft, ICriytt. IohchhfL is said to ha the capacity which conceives the idea of work or action ; which brings the work before the mind and wills to do it. fn this Bindu, Tuiiius ip said to be predominant, for there ia as yet no stir to notion. NAdn ia Jnftna Shakti, that is, tko subjective direction of will by knowledge Ui the desi rad end. With it ia associated Sattva. Bija is Kriyft Shakti or the Shakti which arises from that effort or the action done. With it Kajoguua or the prinaplo of activity is associated. Kriyd arises from the combination of lehchhft and Jn&na. It is thus said, "Drawn by Ichchhft- shakt.i, illumined by Jn&nonhakti, Shaldi the Lord appearing IIS Male oraates (KriyAshakti). From Bindu it in said aroso Raudrf; from N&da, Jyeshtlifl ; and from Bija, VAmft. From theee aroee Rudra, Brohrna, Vishnu." It is also aaid in the Gorakbha Samhitfl, “IohuhlxA is Br&hmt, Kriyft ia Vaishnavt and Jn&na is Gaurl. Wherever there are these three Shaktia there is the Supreme Light called Oin.” In the Sakala Parameshvara or Shabdabrahman in bodies (that is, Kundalin! Shakti). Bindu in which Tamas prevails 377 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA is, li&ghava any*, called NirodliikA ; NAda in which Sattva prevails ia culled Ardliondliu, and BSju the combination of tbo two (IchehhA and JnAna) in wliioh lift jus as Kriy& works is railed Binda. The three preceding states in K inula - linl are SUakti, DUvaru, and NAda. Kundalinl is Ckit- Shakti into which Sattva enters a state known as the Para- mak^Hli&vast.hft. When She into whom Sattva luis entered ia next pierced by Rajas, She is colled Dhvani which is the AkaharA vast lift. When She is again pierced by Tamos, She is called N'fldo. This ia the AvyaktAvssthA, the Avyakta NAda which is the Pambindu. The three Hindus which are aspects of Parabindu constitute the mysterious KAmakulA triangle which with tho HArddhakalA fonna tho roseate body of tho lovely limbed grout Devi Tripuraaondart who is ShivakAmA and manifnts tho auivcroc. She is tho trinity of Divino energy of whom tho BhrftaUvIjnuvu says "Those glorious men wlio worship in that body in Sftmarasya are freed from the wives of poison in the tmtraveisnblo sea of the Wundoring (Saniiln,)". Tho main principle which underlies the elaborate details here shortly summarised is this. The state in which Ohit and Prnkriti-ShAlctu arc at One undivided whole, that is, in which Pmkriti lies latent (NUhkala Shiva), iseuoceudod by one of differentiation, that is, manifestation of MAyA (Sakaln Shiva). In such niunifcsta tiun it displays eoveral aspect*. The totality of such aspect* is the MAyA body of Ishvara in whioh aro included the causal, subtle and gross bodies of tho Jlva. Thus ore, aooording to the BhAradl, soven aspect* of the first or Pari state ol Sound in Shabdasrishti which are the seven divisions of the Mantra Om.ws.:— A, U, M, NAda, Bindu, Shakti, Shanta. They constitute Para.shalxlasriahti in the Ishvara creation. They are Ishvara or Oni and seven aspects of the cosmic causal l>ody ; the collectivity (Samashti) of the in<lividuftl (Yyaahti) caudal, subtle and gross bodies of tho Jiva. Before passing to the manifested Word and Its meaning (Shabd&rtlia), it in necesiuiy to note what is called Art ha - 378 CREATION IN NON-DUALIST TANTRAS siishti in the Avikriti or Sadrishaparin Area : that ip the causal state of Sound culled Parasbabda ; the other three states, viz , : Pashyantl, MadhyamA and Vaikharl manifesting only in gross bodies. As Parabindu is tbe causal body of Shabda, It is also the causa! body of Artha which is inseparably associated with It as the combined Shalxi&itha. As such, He is called Shambhu who is of tie nature of both Bindu and KalA and the associate of KalA. From Him issued RuUnhiva, “the witness of the world”, and from Him Isha. and then Rudra, Vishnu and Brahmft. Those six Shiva* aro various aspect* of Chit as preeicling ovor (tho firet) the subjective Tattvaa and (the rest) the elemental world whose centres arc the flvo lo'ver Chakras. Those DevutAs when considered as Iwlmiging to the Avikriti Parinflnna are the DevatA aspeot. of apporently different states of causal sound by the prooeas of resolution of like to like giving them tho semblance of all pervasive creative energies. They are Sound powers in the aggregate (Sunushti). As appearing in, tint, is, presiding ovor, bodies they are tho ruling Lords of the in- dividual (Vyenhti) cvoUitoe from tho primal oauso of Shubdu. The completion of the causal Avikriti I'arin&mu with its eusuing Cosmic vibration in the Gunas is followed by a reul I’srinAmu of tho Vikritia from the substance ol Mdla- prakriti. There thon appears the manifested Shabd&rtba or the individual bodies subtle or gross of the Jtva in which are the remaining three BhAva* of Sound or Shuktis called Pashyantl. MudhynniA. Vaikharf. Shabda literally means sound, idea, word ; ana Artha it« meaning ; that is, the objec- tive form which corresponds to tho subjective conception formed and language npokon of it. Tho oonooption is due to SamaktUu. Artha is the externalised thought. There is a psycho-physical parallelism in the Jlva. In Ishvara thought is truly creative. The two are inseporcvblo, neither existing without tlic other. ShabdArtha baa thus a composite mean- ing like the Greek word “Logos", which means both thought and word combined. By the manifested 8 ha bd Artha is meant 379 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA what the Ved Ant-inn call Nfinurfipn, the world of names and forma, but with thiii diffcronco that aooording to tho TftntriU notions here discussed there is, underlying this world of names and forms, a real material caoae that, is Parasha bda or Mftlapmkriti manifesting as the principle ol evolution. Tho ShAradfl says that from the UnmnnifcHted lioot- Avyakto Being in Bindu form (Mfllabhflta Biiulurupa) or the Para vast u (Brahman), that is, from Mfllaprakriti in creative operation theiu is evolved tho HAJlkhyan Tattvas. Transcendentally, creation of all things takes place simultaneously. But, from the standpoint of Jfva, there in a rcnl development (ParinAjns) from the substance of MAla- bhflta Avyakta Bmdurflpa (on thoShAradA call* Mfllaprakriti) of the Tattvas, Buddhi, Ahongkflro, Monas, the Indriyos, Tunin Atr&i and MshAbhAtss in the order stated. The Tnntra therefore adopt* the SAflkliysn und not the Ved Antic onlor of emanation wliich starts with the Apanohikrita Tan- mAtra, tho Tflmasik porta of which, on the one hand, dove- lop by Ponohfkorons into the MahAbhAta, and on the other, the Rftjasilc and SfUtvik parts of which are collectively and separately the source of the remaining Tattvas. In tho BhAktn Tantm, tho BhAtiw derive directly and not by Ponohtkuiana from the TanuiAtras. Panchtkanma exists in respect of the compounds derived from tho Bhfitas. Thoxo is a f ml. her point of detail in the TAntxllc exposition to bo noted. The Shflkta Tautia, as the PurAnaa and Hluuva Shftstras do, speaks of a threefold aspect of AhangkAru, aooording to the predominance t.herain of the respective GunaB. Prom the VaikArika AhangkAra isbub the eleven Dcvatfts who preside over Manas and the ten Indriyas ; from the Taijasa AhangkAra is produced the Indriyas and Manas: and from the BhfitAdika AhangkAra the Taumfttras. None of these differences in detail or order of emanation of tho Taltvus haB substantial importance. In one cnao start is made from the knowing principle (Buddhi), on the other from the subtle object of knowledge the Tanm&tro. CREATION IN NON-DUALIST TANTRAS The abovemcntioncd creation io known aa Ishvara Sriahti. 'i'he Viahvns&ra Tantra says that from the Barth come the herbs (Oshadhi), from the latter food, and from food seed (Betas). From the latter living beings art*, produced by the aid of sun ami moon. Here what is called JIva Srishti is indi- cated, a matter into which I have no time to enter here. To sum - up, upon thin ripening o£ Karm a and the urge therefrom to ooamio life. NiHhkala Shiva becomes Sakala. Shakti manifesto and the causal body of tshvara in thought of as assuming aeven causal aspect* in Sadriuhopnrinftnia whioh iro aspoota of Shalcti about to oroato. The Purabindu or state of Shukti thus developed in the causal body of both the manifested Shubda and Artlia. The Purubiudu is the source of all 'lines of development, whether of Shabds, or aa Sharabhu <»f Artha, or as the MQlabUQta of the Manifested Shabdlrtha. On the completed idoal development of this causal body manifesting as the triple Sfaalctis'of will, know- ledge and notion, the Shabd&rt ha in tho souse of the mani- fested world with its subtlo and gross bodies appoare in the order described. Prom the above description, it will have been aoen that tho creation doetrino bore doncribod is compounded of vari- ous element*, some of whioh it shores with other 8hAstras, und some of which arc ite own, the whole being act forth uncording to n method and terminology which is peculiar to itself. The theory which is a form of Advaitavfldu lias then some characters tics which are both Sftfikhyin and Vod&ntio. Thus itacceptaa real MQIaprakriti, not however ns an inde- pendent principle in the S&fikhyan sense, but as a form of Lite Shalcti of Shiva. By and out of Shiva -Shakti who are one, there is a real creation. In such creation, there is n special Adrishtn Shriati up to the transformation of Shakti as l’ara- bindu. This is Ishvara Tattvu of the thirty-aix Tattvag, a Hchcme accepted by bot.h Advait* Shaivaa and Sb&ktne. Then by the operation of Mflyh-Shakti it is transformed into Purus ha-Prakriti and from the latter are evolved tho SHAKTI AND SHAKTA Tattvaa of die S&fikhjra. Lastly, there is Yaugika Shrieti of the NyAya VaiBheehika in that the world is held to bo formed by a combination of the elements. It accepts, there- fore, Adrishta Srishti from the appearance of Shakti, up to the complete formation of the Causal Body known in ita sub- tle form an the KAmakalft; thereafter Parin&ma Srishti of the Vikrilia of the subtle and groH* body produced from tho causal body down t-o the MahAbhdtas ; ami finally Yaugika Srishti in ao far m it. is the Bhutan which in varied combi- nation go to malm up tho gross world. There are (and she doctrine here disowned is an instance of it) common principles and mutual connections existing in atul between the different Indian Shflatraa, notwithatwiding Individual peculiarities of presentment duo to mitural variety o i intellectual or temperamental stand point or tlw purpose in view . $hi va in the K ulflrnava says that all tho Darshanas are parts of His body, and he who severs them hpvn* His limbs. The meaning of thin is that the nix Darkftanaa arc the Six Minds, and three, as all else, are purtii of the lord’s Body. Of thcae six minds, Ny&yn and Vauh.shika teach Ynu- gika Srinhti ; SAflkkyo and Patcnjali teonh Ynugikn Srishti arid PariiiAma Srishti ; MflylvAda Vedflutn tcanhw Yaugika Srishti, ParmAniaarishti according to t.ho empirical method and Vivartta according to the transcendental method. Ac- cording to the Vivartta o! M fly A v (Via, there is no real change but only the appearance of it. According to Shflktavflda, Ultimate Reality does in one aspect really evolve but in another aspect is immutable. Mfly&vftda effects its synthe- sis by its doctrine of grades of reality, and ShAkta-vIlda by its doctrine of appectn ol unity and duality, duality in unity and unity in duality. Ultimate Reality as the Whole is neither merely static nor merely active. It in both. The Natural and the Spiritual are one. In this senee the SliflkUi system claims t.o be the synthesis of all other docirinevS. CHAma XX. THE INDIAN MAGNA MATER.* Introductory. AN the last, oocaeion that 1 had the honour to address you, I dealt, with the subject of the psychology of Hindu religious ritual from the paiticular standpoint of the religious community called Sh&ktaa, or Worelnppers of the Supremo Mother. To-day I apeak of the Supreme Mother Herself as conceived and worshipped by them. The wore hip of the Great .Mother as the Grand Multi - jdior is one of the oldest in the world. Ah I have elsewhere said (“Shakti and Sli&kta," aeoond cd., 04), when we throw our minds back upon the history of this worship, wo discern- even in the most remote and failing past the Figure, most anoient, of the mighty Mother of NsttUW. I suspect that in tho boginning tlio Goddoss ovorywhoro antedated, or at leant wan predominant over, the God. It hau boou affirmed (Gluts: •• ilSgcau Civilization," 248) that in all countries from tho Euphrates to the Adriatic, the Chief Divinity was at first in woman form. Looking to the east of the Euph- rates wo see tho Dualc Divinity of India, the AdyAShakti and Mahft-Shakti, or Supreme Power of many names- a» Jagadambd, Mother of the World, which is the Play of Her who is named LalitA, MAyfl. Jlalifttripumundnil and Mohfl- kundalint uh Muhft-Vaisluiavi, the Sapphire Devi who supports the World, a» MahftlcUt who dissolves it, as Guhya- mnh&bhairavl, and all tho rest. This Supremo Mother is worshipped by Her aevoteos from the Uimilayas, the “Abode of Snow”, the northern homo of Shiva, to Cape Comorin in the uttermost south — for the word Comorin is a corruption of Kumiri Devi or the Mother. Goddesses arc spoken of in the Vedas as in * From Vol. 2. No. 2. "Indian Art* and Letters" reporting a lecture given to tho India Society. London, Nov. 18, 1923. SHAKTI AND SHAKTA the later Scriptures. Of these latter, the SliAkte Tantraa ant the particular repository of Mother-worship. To the Sh&kta, God is hiB Supreme Mother, lu in- numerable births he has had countless mothers and fathers, and he may in future have many, many more. The human, and indeed any, mother ia sacred as the giver (under God) of life, but it is the Divine Mother of All (SAriw&d), the " Treasure-House of Compassion”, who alone is both the Giver of life in the world and of its joys, and who (an T&rini) ia tho Saviour ohm from its miseries, and who again ia, for all who unite with Hor, tho Life of all lives— that, unalloyed bliss named Liberation. She ia tho Groat Quoen {Mtthd- rdjn I) of Heaven and of yet higher worida, of Earth, and of the Underworlds. To Hor both Devas, Dev!*, and Men give worship. Her Feet are adored by even Bralimh, Vishnu, and Rudra. Tho Slnlktu system, in its origin possibly Nou-Vaidik, is in several reapeota an original presentment, both as re- gard* doctrine and practice, of the great Vcdfintio Theme concerning tho Ono and tho Many. An an organic and dynamio system it interprets all in to mi* of Power, from the atom of Matter, whioh is said by modern soisnos to be « rone r voir of tremendous energy, to the Almighty, which ia the commonest, name iu all Religion* for God. It is tho cult of Power hoth a* the Partial and as the Whole, as the worshipper may desire. God is here regarded under twin aspects : as Power-Holder or the "male" Sluva, and aa Power or Shakti, the Divine Spouse and Mother. The symbolism of the Shftktas’ "Jewelled Tree of Tantra” is brilliant, and meets the demand of Nietzsche that the abstract should be made attractive to the senses. It is largely of tho so-called " erode” type which i* to ho found to some and varying degree in Hinduism as a whole. The symbols employed are cither geometric- that in, Yantric- -or pictorial. A YatUra is a diagrammatic present- ation of Divinity, as Mantra is its sound-expression. The 384 THE INDIAN MAGNA MATI'R former is tho body of the latter. The higher worship iB dour with Yantia. Pictorial symbolism is of higher and lower types. The former is popular, and the latter may bo described by the French term peupk. I will now show you a Yantra and the greatest of Yantra9, namely the Shrlyuntra, figured on the truth of the "TAnirik Text*”. We have no longer to deal with pictures of persons and their surroundings, but with lines, curves, circles, triangles, and tho Point. Tho grout symbol of tlic Mother in the Shriyanlra, from the oentre of wlrich 8hc arises like the solar orb at mom, but In a blaze of light excelling the brilliance of oountleM midday suns and the coolness of innumerable moons. The oentre is the Point, or flindu— that is, the Mother a* Con- centrated Power ready to crente. Around Her is the Universe, together with its Divinities or Directing Intelli- gences. From the Point, the World isaues. Into it on dissolution it enters. Tho extended Universe then collapse* into on unoxt.cndod Point, whioh itself thon subeidos lilto n bubble on the nurfoco of the Counol Waters, which are tho Immonso. I.— Thu Divink Mother. The Real ns 8hiva-8liakti may be legarded from three aspecte— namely, as Universe, aa God, and aa Godhead. The Real is the World, but the Real ia more than the World. The Real ia God.. The Real ia God. hut. it ia also more than what we understand by the word God. The Real ia, an it were, beyond God Godhead. This does not mean, m Bomc have eupposod, that God is a "fiction", but that the Real os it iB in its own alogical being is not adequately described in terms of its relation to tho world ns God. I will deal, then, first with its aspect as Godhead, then as the Supremo Self, or Person, or God, and thirdly, with Shiva- Shakti ns the manifest and limited Universe. SHAKTI AND SHAKTA Pervading and transcending the Existent is t)io “Spiritual Ether", also called the “Immense", in which in the Measurable, which Immense is also called the “Fact” (Sat), in which are the Fact-Sections (Kali), which Fact is also called the alogical Experience-Whole (Pdma), tn which are all Experience-Mode* (VriUi) of the limited Selves. The ultimate that is Irreducible Real is, in this system, not mere undetermined Being, but Power whioh ia the source of all Determinations. This Power is both to Be, to Rftlf-conaerve, and to rwtist. change, ns alao to lie the efficient online of oliongo, one! as material cause to Become and nutter change. Relatively to tho World, Immutablo Being is fts Divinity called Shiva the Power- Holder, and Hi* Power is Sliakti or the Mother Shiv ft, but in the supreme ological slate, Power to Be and Being-Power-Holder are merged in one another. Wluit ia the nature ol this Alogical Experience ? In tho Yoginlhridnya Tantra ib is asked, "Who knows tho heart of a woman ? Only Shiva known the heart of Yoginl" -that in, t he Divine Mother mo called, a-, being one with, that ia in the form of, all that exist*, and »s Icing in Herself tho Ono in which thoy arc. Since the Irreducible Real ia the Whole, it cannot be conceived or deeoribed. It ia neither Father nor Mother, for it is beyond Fathorhood and Motherhood and all other attributes. It ia alogical. Though it cannot be conceived or put into word*, some oonccpt* are held to be more appropriate to it than otkera. And thus it it approximately Mid to be infinite undeter- mined Being, mindless Experiencing, and Supremo Bliaa unalloyed with pain and sorrow. As Being and Power are merged in thii alogical *t«te, Power, in its form as Power to Bo (OhidrUpint), ie also Boing-Cousoionanom and Blise. Shiva-Shakti, the “two in one”, are here the Nameless One. The experience of this alogical state is not, however, that of an “I” (Ahum) and “This" (Idam). The next or 386 THE INDIAN MAGNA MATER oau«al aspect of the Real is a Supremo Sell. Its third and effectual aspect is the limited selves ox Universe. The physical Ether is a symbol of this alogical state, in which the twofold Shiva-Shakti are the One in the unitary state, which is called the “Ether of Consciousness ” (Chidd- kfoho), Physical Ether is the all-extending, homogeneous, relative Plmum in which the. Universe, of particulars exists. Tlie "Spiritual Ether,” or “Ether of Consciousness,” is tho undetermined, nil-diffusive, though inexti-ndod, absolute Plenum ( Pdma ), in which both theao particulars and tho physical Utlier itaell exists. Ether is the phyaioal coimter- purt ol Consciousness, just ue the Notion of Space is its peychicfl counterpart. These ure such counterpart* lo- calise Consciousness lieccmes tluough its Power uh niutcrial cause both Matter and Mind. Esoh is u manifoHtud form ol Spirit in Time ami Space. The shoreless Ocean of Nectar or DeaUilessness is another symbol of the aloRical Whole. We now pass to a consideration of the same Real in it* aspect us related to the Universe, whioh in the appearance of tho Immense sa tho Measurable or Form. The Real is hero related to tho Universe as its Ouse, .Maintainor, and Directing Gmsciousnoss. Form is Mdyd, which, however, iu tliis system (whatever be its meaning in Atdydvddii) docs not mean "Illusion”. All is power. All is reul, The alogical One is here of dual aspect as Slava nnd Shukti. The two concepts of being and Power me treated ae two Persona. Sluva is the Power-Holder, who is Being- ConsciousucAS-Bliss, and Shakli is Power and the Becoming. She. in the alogical statn. is also Being-ConnoioumiesH- Bliss. Without ceasing to bn in Herself what She ever was, is, and will be, She in now the Power of Shiva as efficient and materiel oauac of the Universe and the Universe it*elf. Whilst Shiva represents the Confoiousncsa aspect of the Real; She is its aspect m Mind, Life, and Matter. Ho is the Liberation (Moksha) aspect of the Real. She is in the 337 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA form of tJxe Universe or Sanu&ru, Ah 81riva-8hulcti are in themselves one, so Moksha and Samdrrt Hre at root one. Shiva, in the Kulimava Tautra, Bays that His doctrine itj neither non-dualist nor dualist, hut beyond both. We havr here a non-dualistic system as regards its teaching concerning the Alogioal Wide, in which Shiva-Shakti are fused in one. We have again a kind of Duo- Mono theism. It is Monotheistic because, Shiva and Shalrci are two ospoota of one and the uumo Rcolity. It is dual because, these two aspects are woraliipped as two Persons, from whuuo union U Being and Power the Univente evolves. The experience of this state, relative to the Alogical Whole, is a disruption of unitary alogical experience. I any “relative” because tin* Whole is always the Whole. Such disruption is the work of Power. She, a.* it. were, disengages Herself us Power, from the embrace in which Power-Holder and Power are fused in one, and then re- present* Horcelf to Him. On this representation, Con buousiitttn-IWor assumes certain posture* [MudrA] pre- paratory to the going forth os Universe, and tl*n, when Power ib fully concentrated, manifests as the World. The term Consciousness, which is inadequate to describe the alogical state, is here approximately appropriate, for tire experience of this state is that of an “ I ” and “Thie". But it is to be distinguished from man’s Consciousness. For the experiencor as man is a limited (and not, ns here, a Supremo Self), and the object in experienced ob separata from, and outside, the Belf (and not, a* in the cose of the Lord and Mother, as one with the experiencing Self). The experience of Shiva an the Supremo Self viewing the Universe is, “All this I am”. As contrasted with the alogical, all-diffusive, Spiritual Ether, the symbol of the second aspect of Shiva-Shskti, as the Supreme Self and Gtuse of the Universe 1 b the meta- physical Point (Rindu) or Power ns n Point. What, then, ia tbo meaning of the latter term ? In Being-Power about 388 THE INDIAN MAGNA MATEK to evolve there is a stressing of Power which go there itaelf together to expand again as Universe. When it has beoome couoentrat*d and condensed (Ghantbfdtid Shakti ) it is ready to evolve. Bindu, or the Point, is, therefore, Power in that Concentrated state in which it is ready and about, to evolve the Universe. Though infinitely small, as the Absolute Little, when compared with the Absolute Great or Spiritual Ether, it. is yet a source of infinite energy as (to borrow an example from wodorn soionoe) the relatively Little or Atom, or other unit of matter, existing iu the relatively Great or the physical Ether, is Mid to be a source of tremendous energy. Just as, again, tho relative point or atom is bk a fact in tho relative Ether, so the Absolute Point is cuncemU to 1* in the Absolute Ether. 1 say ‘‘conceived’', because, as both Spiritual Point and Spiritual Ether are uach abso- lute, it ix only figuratively that the one can be said to be "within” the other. The "Isle ol Clems" (ManidiApi) iu the "Ocean of Noctur” {.imrtidrnaw) in another symbol of this state. Tho painting now shown oxhibite both tho Alogical Immense and the Point of Power or Hindu "in” It. The former is here symbolised by the shoreless " Ocean ol Nectar” (Amrit6num}—4 that is, Immortality. This sym- bol of all-diffusive Consciousness is similar to that of the all- spreading Ethsr. Iu the blue, tranquil Waters of Eternal Life (imridreata) is act t.he lale of Gems (ManMUpa). Tide Island io tho Bindu or metaphysical Point of Power. The Island is shown as a golden circular figure. The choree of the Island are made of powdered gems. It is forested with blooming and fragrant trees- Nipa, Mftleti, Champuka, P&rijftta, and Kadambe. There, too, is the Kalpa tree laden with flower end fruit. In its leaves the black bees hum, and the Koel birds make love. Its four branches are tho four Vedas. In the centre there is a house made of Ch irtdmani stone which grants all desire*. In it. is a jewelled Mandapa or awning. Under it and on a gemmed and golden SHAKTI AND SHAKTA t krone there ia the Mother Mah&tripurosundarf as the Deity of the Bmlu, which, as shown later, becomes the three Bindxta or Puras. Hence Her name “Three Pores" or Tripui&. She is red, for red is the active colour, and She is here creative as Vi 'marsha Shakti, or, the “This” of the Supreme Kxperi- encer, which through M&y& becomes the Universe. What man calls Matter is first experienced by mindless Conscious- ness p.n a “This”, which is yet though the “Other" one with the Self. Then, by tho operation of A fdyd, the “This" in experienced by mind fta separate and different from and outside the Self, ns complete “otherness”, She holdn in Her four hands, hows and arrows, noose and goad, which are explained lator. She site on two inert male figures which lie on a six-sided throne. The upper figure is Shiva ( Sahtla ), who in awake, because, 1ms is associated with his Power as officient and material oauee. On Jlia head is the crescent Digit of the Moon, called NAda, tho name for a state of utreraing Power, Ilia Shakti being now creative. He lies inert, for He ie Immutable Being. He is white because he is ConsoiousuuBs and Ilium i nation (PmkAeha). Con- sciousness illuminates and makes manifest tho forma evolved by it« Power, which in ite turn by supplying the form (as object unconscious) helps Shiva to display Himself as the Universe which is both Being and Becoming. Under him is another male figure, darker in colour, to represent colourlessness (tntxmur), with closed eyes. This mysterious figure {Nithkala Shiva) is called Sham or the Corpse. It. illustrates the doctrine that Shiva without his Power or Shakti can do ami is, so far us tho manifested is concerned, nothing. There is profundity in the doctrine of which this Corpse is a symbol. To those who have understood it u real insight is given into the Kaulo Shdkta system. This representation of Shiva and Shakti as of the same sise, hut the former lying inert, ia perhaps peculiar to the Kaula ShiktM, and is the antithesis of the well-known “Dancing Shiva”. 390 THE INDIAN MAGNA MATER I will hero noto some oilier symbolitm, pictorial and geometric or Y&nlric. Pictorially, Shakti is Bhown either as the equal of Her Spouse— that in, as an Androgyne figure in which the right half is male and the left female— or as two figures, male and female, of equal size, as in the last picture. Inequality is indicated where the Shakti ii smaller than the male Divinity. The meaning of this difference in dimension of tho figures of Shakti Lea in a difference of theological and philceophicu! oonoepts which may yet be reconciled. In the Shikta view, the Power-Holder and Hie Power an 8he is in Herself, that is, otherwise than as the manifested form, are one and equal. But Ho is recumbent, ThiB picture (shown) is the Mother as the Warrior Leader or Promachos with Shiva under Her feet. Where the figures arc unequal it is meant to assert (a fact which is not denied) that Supreme Power as manifested is infinitely lew than Power unmanifost. That Powor in m no wiso exhausted in tho manifestation of t he World# which are said to be no it were but dust on the feet of the Mother. Passing to Yautrio symbols, the Male Power-Holder Shiva is represented by a triangle standing on ite base. A triangle is selected as being . tho only geometric figure which represents Trinity in Unity- the many Triads such a* Willing, Knowing, and Aoting in which thn one Consciousness (Chit) display# itself. Power or the feminine prinoiple or Shakti is necessarily represented by the same figure, for Power and Power-Holder are one The Triangle, howcvei, is shown reversed- that is standing on ite apex (Plate IV). Students of ancient symbolism arc aware of the physical significance of this symbol. To such reversal, however, philosophic meaning may also be given, since all is reversed when reflected in the Waters of MAyft. Why, it may now be twked, does the Shftkta lay stress on the Power or Mother aspect of Reality ? Like all other Hindus, he believes in a Static Real as Immutable Being- SHAKTI AND SHAKTA Consciousness, which i» the ground of and serves to main- tain that which, in this system, is the Dynamic Reel. He will point out, however, Unit tlie Mother is also iu one of Her aspects of the same nature as Shiva, who ia auch Static Real. But it ia She who does work. She alono algo moves as material cause. He aa Immutable Being does and can do nothing without. Her as His Power. Hence the Kaula Shfl.kt.ft symbolism shows Shiva as lying inert and to he, if deprived of His Power, but n corpse (Khava). Even when associated with hie Shakti as efficient cause, Shivu does not move. A not unoommon picture, oo unted obscene, is merely the pictorial symbol of the foot that Being, oven when associated with its active Power, is Immutable. It is She as Power who takes the active and changeful part in generation, as also in oonceiving, tearing, awl giving liirth to the World-Child. All this is the function of the divine, as it ia of the human, mother. In such work the male is but y helper (SahakM) only. In other a yn terns it. is the Mother who is the Holpsr of Shiva, It. ia thus to the Mother that man owes the World of Form or Universe. Without Her as materia] cause, Being cannot display ltaelf. It is but a corpse (Shava). Both Shiva and Shakti give that supreme beyond -world Joy wluch ia Liber- ution (Mukli, Powmdwnda). They are each Supreme Consciousness and Bliss. Thu Mother is Anandalahari or Wave of Bliss. To attain to that is to lie liberated. But Shakti the Mother in alone the Giver of World-Joy ( Bhukii . Bhaumfaanda), ainoe it is She who Women tho Universe. Aa such She is the Wave of Beauty ( 8aundarya1tihar \ ). Further, it ia through her Form bo World that She, as also Shiva, are in their Formless Self attained. If, however, union is nought directly with Reality in its u on- world aspect, it must necessarily ho by renunciation. Liberation mny, however, be attained by acceptance of, and through the Worid, tho other ftapeet of the Real. In the Shftkta method, it is not by denial of the World, but, by and through the THE INDIAN MAGNA MATER World, when known as the Mother, ihat Liberation is attained. World enjoyment ia made the meano and instru- ment of liberation (MokthStfau Sarntdra). The SUAkia has both ( Bhuktt , MuMi), This essential unity of the World and Beyond World, and passage through and by means of the former to the latter is one of tire most pro- found doctrines of the Shhkta, and is none-the-lean so be- cause their application of these principles has been limited to man's gross physical functions, and such application has sometimes led to abuse. For theee and other reasons pri- macy is given to the Mother, and it is said : “What care I for the Father if I but be on the lap of the Mother ? " I note here in connection with the primaoy of the Mother-God that in the Mediterranean (JSgean) Civilisation the Mule God is said to have been of a standing inferior to the Mother, and present only to make plain Her character as tl» fruitful womb whence all that exist* springs (Olota, 213, el seq.). 8uch, then, is the groat Mother of India in Iler aspect aa 81* is in Herself us the alogical world-transcending "Whole (J'dma), and secondly, ns She is as the Creatrix of the World. It remains now but to say a word of Her as She exists in the form of tho universe. The psyoho-phyeioal uuiverse is Mdyd. Tho devotee Kamal&k&nta luoidly defines M6y& ns the Form (Ikdra) of tho Void (SAdnya) or Fomiloss (not Nothiugueai). Is it Heal ? It is real, because M6y&, considered ns a Power, is Pevl Shirk ti, und She is real. Tho eflect of the transformation of that Power must also be real. Some make a oontrast between Reality and Appearance. But why, it ia asked (apart from persistence), should appearance be unreal, and that of which it is suoh appearance alone be real ? Moreover, in a system such as this, in which Power trans- forms itself, no contrast between Reality and Appearance in the sense of unreality omorgeo. Tho distinction is between the Real as it is in its formless Self and the same Real as it 393 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA appeal* in Form. Moreover, the World is experienced by the Lord and Mother, and their experience is never unreal. We are here on a healthy level above the miasma of Illusion. The experience of man (to take him as the highest type of all other selves) is not the Experience-Whole. He knows the world as other than Himself, just because Power has made him man- that is, a limited Expcricncor or centre in the Whole. That is u fact, and no Illusion or Deceit. When He realize* Himself as “All this I am" -that is, as an “I” which knows all form as Itself then Consciousness as man expands into llio Experience- Whole which is Ou Fact (Sal). Man is Shakti, or the Mother, in so far as he is Mind, Life in Form, and Matter. He is Shiva, in so for on his essence ia Consciousness as It is in Itself, which is also the nature of the Mother in Her own alogioal Half. This union is achieved by rousing the sleeping Power in the lowest centre of solid mutter and loading it upwards to the cerebrum a* the centre of Consciousness. I rmv pass to the second part of my paper, which deals with the coamio o volution of Power that ia, tlio "going forth" of the Supremo Self upon its union with ite Powor in manifestation. As the result of such evolution wo have Shiva-Shakti as the limited selves. Shiva-Bluikti are nut terms limited to Grxl only, but thu forms into which Power evolved are also Shiva-Sliakti. God as the Mother-Father is supreme Shivu-Shakti. The Limited Selves arc Shiva- Shakti appearing as Form in Time and Spaoo. The Measurable or World (fiomadro) and the Immense Ex- perience-Whole (AfoktHa) are at root ond. This is funda- mental doctrine in the community to whose beliefs reference is now made. II.— Evolution. Shiva and Shakti us the Causal Head (Shiva-Shakti T&ttvas) of the world-evolution are called Kftmeshvara and Khmeshvari. KAma is Desire. Here it is the Divine 394 THE INDIAN MAGNA MATER Desire, or (to use a Western term) the Libido, which iu the Vodu is expressed as the wieh of the One, "May ! be many". So also the Voda says : “Desire first arose in it the primal germ.” The form of this wish tells us what Libido, in its Indian sense, means. In its primary sense, it does not mean sensuous desire, but the will to. and affirm- ance of, “otherness ' 1 and differentiation, of which sensuous desire is a later and grow form in the evolutionary aeries. Procreation is the individual counterpart of Cosmic Creation. Why were the worlds (for there are many) avolvod t The answer given ii because it ia the nature (StvibAdw) of almighty formless Being-Powor, whilst remaining what it w. to become Form— that is, to exist, The Bvabh&vo, or nature of Beiug-Powor, is IMA, or Play, a term which moans free spontaneoua activity, Hence Lalitft, or "Player”, is a name ol the Mother as Hhe who Plays and whoso I'lay is World-Play. She ia both Joy (/f>wnd</-;ruii/?) and Play (IAlAma y/C). The action of man and of other solved is. in so far as they are the psycho-physical, determined by their Karma. The Mother’s play it not idlo or mcaningl©** so far us man is concerned, for tho world ia tho llold on and monna by which he attains oil liio worths, the greatest of which is Uniou with the Mother as - 81 m 1 is In Herself as Highest Being, The Player is Power. How docs it work ? The Whole (/'dnw), which moans here, the Absolute Spiritual Whole, and not tbc relative Whole or psycho- physical universe, cannot us the Whole ohange, It is Immutable. Change can then take place only in It. This is the work of Power which becomes limited centres in the Whole, which centres, in relation to. and compared with, the Whole, are a contraction of it. Power works by negation, contraction , And Haiti ration. This subtle doctrine is explained profoundly and in detail in the scheme of the thirty-six Tattvas accepted by both non-dualists, Shaivae and Shflktos, and is also dealt with in the Mantra portion of their Scriptures. A Tattva is a 395 SHAKTI AND SI1AKTA Posture (MudrA) of Power tliut is, Reality-Power defined Ml a particular vay, and, therefore, the alogical aspect is that which is beyond all Tattvaa (TattvAtUa). A TaUva is then a stage in the evolutionary process. Mantra is a meat important subject in the Tantra Scriptures which treat of Sound and Movement, for the one implies the other, Sound as lettered upeeoh is the vehicle of thought, and Mind is a vehicle of Consciousness for world-experience. The picture of Sliiva riding a hull is a popular presentation of that fact. Bull in Sanskrit ia "Ob", and that word also means "sound”. iV<Wrt os inchoate stressing sound is shown in tho form of a crescent- moon on lli» head. The cult of the Bull is on anoient one, and it may be that originally the animal had no significance as Sound, but auhwquantfy, owing to the sameness ol the Ssuskrit term for Bull and Sound, the animal became a symbol for sound. Sometimes, however, u more lofty ooucoption is degraded to a lower one, It is here noteworthy that the orescent-moon worn by Diana and used iu the worship of other Goddesses is said to I* tho Aik or vessel of boat like shape, symbol of fertility or tho CuuUliuur ol the Germ of all life. I can only in the most summary maimer deal with the subject ol tho Evolution of Power, illustrating It by Yontrio symbolism. Tbc Shiva and Shakti triangles arc ever united. To represent the ulogical stato, wo may place one triangle without reversal upon the other, thus making one triangular figure. This will give some idoa of t,h* state in which tho two triangles aa "I” and "This" are lused in ono a« Being-Consciousness Blis3. Here, however, we are concerned with the causal state which is the Supreme Self in Whose experience there iH an “1" and a “This”, though the latter is experienced as the Self. There ia, therefore, a double triangular figure ; Shiva and Shakti are in union, but now not B3 the alogir.al Whole, but as the Supreme Self experiencing His 396 THE INDIAN MAGNA MATER object or Shalcti as one with Himself. The marriage of the Divino couple, K&meahvaru aud K&mcshvarf— that is, Being and Power to Become is the archetype of all generative em braces. To represent thia aspect, the triangles are placed across one another, so as to pro: luce a Hexagon, in which one tri- angle represents the “I", or Shiva, ami tho other the "Thia”, or object, as Power and its transformations — that is, Sliakti. As tho result of this union, Power assumes certain Posturea (Mudrd) in its stressing to manifest ns Univerro. The first, of such produced stresses is, from the Taitoa aspect, 8ad&ihiva, and, from the Mantra aspect, inchoate sound or movement called Nida. Thia state ia shown by the Hexa- gon with a urvmuMitfiuooii, the symbol of Ndda, in its centre. Thia Ndda is not manifested sound or movement, but an inchoate state of both. In the next Muntric stage (corrwpouding to the Tnt- t.vM, Tali vara and Shuddhavidyfc) the or«scent-muon en- larges into the full moonlike Bindu. This also is stressing Power ns inchoate sound and movement, but in now such Power ready to evolve into manifested sound and movement. Tho word Bindu also moans sood, for it is tho need of tho universe as tho result of the union of its ultimate principles us Shiva mid Hliakti. The Point, or Hindu, is shown an a circle, so as to display its content. In tho diagram, a line divides the Point, one half representing tho "1", and the other, the "This” aspect, of oxparienco. They ore shown iu one circle to denote that the "This”, or object, is not yot outside the self as non-self. The Bindu is compared in the Tantras to a grain of gram { Ghnmka ), which contains two seode (Aham and Idam) so close to one another within their common shoath or. to seem to be one seed. At the stage when Consciousness lays equal empltams on the "I” and "This” of experience, Mdyd-Shakti and i!*i derivative powers culled sheaths (KnnchuJca) and contrac- tions {Sankocha) operate to disrupt the Bindu, which comes 397 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA apart in two. Now- the “I" and "Tina” are separated, the latter being experienced as outride the self or as nou-aelf • The former becomes limited us a "Little Knower” and “Little Doer". This is the work of Mdyd-ShaMi. Power again {as Pnbnti-ShakU) evolve* the psycho-physical organa of this limited Self, as Mind, Senses, and Body. I have spoken of two Bindun standing for Shiva and Shakti. Their inter-relation and its product is another form of Ndda. Those then make threo Bind™, which are a grosser form of the KdnuikaU. .The Divinity of tho threo Hindus is the Mother as MahAtripuritsundari, "the Boun- teous One in whom ore tho three Punu," or Hindus. The Mantra equivalent of tho state in which the Hindu divides and becomes threefold is the first manifested sound, which is the Great Mantra Om. As tho Supremo Hindu burst* there is a massive, homogeneous, vibratory move- ment, ns it wore a coaraio thrill (tdmanya npand/ina) in psyobo-physioal Substance the sound of whioh to man’s gross cam is Om. The original sound of Om in that which was heard by the Absolut® Kara of Him and Her who caused that movomeut. Om is the ground-sound and ground movement of Nature. The Mundakopanishsd enys that the Sun travels tho universe chanting the mantra Om. Prom Om arc derived all special (xishasba spindana) move- ments, sounds, and Mantras. It is itself threefold, sinoo it in constituted by tho union of tho lottors A, U, M. The Divinities of these three letters ore BrohmA, Vishnu, Kudra, and their Shaktis. Thsae, together with Sadhshiva and Isha, are the Five Shiva* to whom reference iB made in the ritual, and who are pictured in the ShAkta symbolism as the Five who are Dead (Prcta). Power, after involving itself in solid matter, technically oalled "Earth", then rests in thin last-named clement. The evolution of the Tattms is not a temporal process. Time only ootnea in with sun and moon, on the completion of the evolution of the Tattoos as constituent elements of THE INDIAN MAGNA MATER the universe. Tho Tattvas ore given as the results of an analysis of experience, in which the Priu* is logical not temporal. For these reasons a Causal Tuttva doeB not cease to bo what it ia as Cause whan it is transformed into it* eiloot, which is not the case in tho manifested world wherein, as the Ukahml-Tantra says, “Milk when it be- comes curd ccasea to be milk.” Reality does not coaac to he the Alogical Wholo because it is from the Causal aspect a Supreme Keif. It; does not cease to be the Coamic Cause because it evolve* an tho Universe its effort. Nor in uuoh ovolution dooa ony Tattva oea:ie to bo what, it ia ua onuflo because it in transformed into its effect. I am now in the position to explain tho groat Yuttira or dingram already shown you, which is usod in the worship of the Mother and which is called tho Shii Yantm, a symbol of both tho Universe and its Cause. I have not the time to describe it at length, but its meaning may be generally stated It. is composed of two sets of Triangles. One set, is composed of four male or Shiva triangles called Sftrt- Icanlhai, demoting four nsjyoto (Tatlva) of evolved or limited G>nacioiiMicss-Powcr, and the five female or Shakti triangles (Shivaywatif) denote the five vital function#, tho five senses of knowledge, tho five senses of action, and the five subtle and the live gross forma of matter. The place of the psychic element as Mind and tho Psycho-physical Substance of both Mind and Matter, I will indicate lator when we have fully formed the Yanira. These two sets of triangles are su|>erimp«qed to show the union of Khiva and Shakti. As so united they make the figure within the eight lotua potals in tho full Yantra now shown you. Outside these eight lotuses there ore sixteen other lotuses. There are then some lines, oud n surround with four gates or doom, whioh surround is found in all Yanlms, and is called Bkupwu. It serves the purpose of what in Magic is called a Fence. 399 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA This Yantra has nine Chakras, nr compartment*, formed by the intersection of the Triangles. There is first a red central point or Hinlu, the Chakra of Bliss. The central point or Bind* is Supreme Divinity — the Mother as the Grand Potential whence all the rest which this diagram sigoifiej proceed. It is rod, for that is the anti w colour, and thus the colour of V muiraha Shulcli, or Evolving Power. The sooond Chakra is the whito invented Trianglo, or "Chakra of All Accomplishment". In the comers of thin white Triangle arc tluj Diviniti** of the general Psycho- physical Substance and its first two evolute* as Cosmic Mind. Outeido the Chakra is Klma, the Divinity of Desire, with lfis Bow of Sugar-Cane, which is the Mind as dimeter of the xonses ; with its Five Arrows, which are the five form* of subtle matter, which in their gross form are perceived by these senses ; with bis Noo»e, which is Attraction, and his Goad, which is Repulsion. Another version (taking the Bow and Arrow »s one symbol) makes the tlixoc implement*, the Powers of Will, Knowledge, and Action. The third Chakra is eight red Triangles, and is called “Destroyer of all Disease," a term which means lack of that Wholeness (Apflrnam-manyatA) whioh in Spiritual Health. The fourth Chakra is ten blue Triangles. The fifth is ten red Triangle*. The sixth is fourteen blue Triangles. The sovonth is eight red petals. The eighth is nixtcon blue petal*, and the ninth is the yellow Biirround. Each of these Chahras ha* ite own numc. In them there are a number of lesser Divinities presiding over forum of Mind, Life, and Body, and their special functions. Those who hear the Dews spoken of as “Gods" are puzzled by their multitude. This ia due to the ill-rendering of tbc term b Devon and De\As as G<xls and Goddesses, Gcd is tlie Supreme Mother and Father, the “Two in One”, who 400 THE INDIAN MAGNA MATER are alono tho Supremo Self, and as such receive Supreme worship. All forma— whether of Devos, or men, or other creatures — in eo far as they are the psycho -physical form, subtle or gross, are manifestations of the Power of their Immanent Essence, which is Spirit or Infinite Conscious- ness. That Essence is in itself one and changeless, hut as related to a particular psyoho-physical form as its cause and Director of its functions it is its Presiding Consciousness. Mine: ami Matter are not, as suoh, self-guiding. They aro ovolred and directed by Consciousness. The presiding ootuoiouanoas of tho Form and its functions is its presiding Devoid. A Dtva is thus the consoiouanoaa aspect of tho psycho-physical form. So tho Dev u Agui ip the one Con- sciousness in its aspect as the Lord of Fire. A Devoid may also mean an aspect of the Causal Consciousness itself. And so MahatripuniHumisii is the name given to the creative aspect of suoh Consciousness-Power, ns Muh&kfllt is that aspect of the same Consciousness-Power which dissolves all worlds. The object of t.hr worship of the Yantm ia to attain unity with tho Mother of the Universe in Her form* as Mind, Life, and Matter und their Devoid*, as preparatory to Yoga union with Her os She is in herself as Pure OonauiousnOM. The world is divinised in tho conscious ijobb of the Worship- per, or Bddhaka. The Yunira is thus transformed in his oonsoiousness from a material object of lines and curves into a mental state of union with tho Universe, its Divinities and Supreme Deity. This leads to nuto-ioalization as Mindless Consciousness. The iSAri Yaniro ia thus the Universe and its one Causal Power of various aspects. The worshipper, too, is a SM Yantm, ami realizes himself a* such. IU.— Dissolution. I hare dealt with tho nature of Shiva Sliakti and tho evolution of power as tho Universe, and now will say » word as to the relative muling of the world on its withdrawal to SHAKTI AND SHAKTA reappear again, and as to the absolute ending for the indi- vidual who is liberated. Tn Hindu l»lief, this Onivewe had a beginning, and will have an end. But It in only one of an infinite aeries in which there is no al>snlutnly first Universe. These Uni- verses come and go with tho beating of the Pulse of Power now actively going forth, now returning to rest. For the World has its life period, which, reckoning up to the Great Dissolution, is the duration of on outgoing " Breath of Time”. In duo oouno anothor Univorso will appoar, and so on to all eternity. Thin series of Worlds of Birth, Death, and Heiuoa ination is called by the Hindus tho Sonudra, and was named by the Greeks the Cyule of the Becoming (kuklvs tin gencsedn). All aelves which are withdrawn at the end of a world-period continue Vo reappear in the new worlds to be until they arc liborated therefrom. The picture now ahown ciepicU the Mother- Power which dissolves- that is, withdraws the World into Herself. This is another airport of one and the aama Mother Ah such She is Mtthllcllli, dark blue like n rain cloud. NAda is in ller head-diva*. She is encircled by nerponfij, no in Shiva. Sho holds in Hoi lunula, boaidos the Lotus and two wonpons, a skull with blood in it. She wears a garland of human hands which arc exotcrically the heads of conquered Demons, but are csotcxically tho letters of the alphabet which, as well as the UniveiHO of wkioli they are the seed -mottos, are dis- solved by Her. She stands on the white, inort Shiva, for it in not He but His power who withdraws the Universe to Herself. Ho lies on a funeral pyre, in tlia burning-ground, whoro jackals— favourite animals of Kfllt -and carrion birds air gnawiug and peoking ot human flash and bone. The Cremation ground is u symbol of cosmic dissolution. In a similar picture, wo see the Mother standing on two figures, the Shiva, ami Shaw previously explain- ed. On the Corpse the hair has grown. The Ikvas, or "Gods", as they are commonly called, are shown making 402 THE INDIAN MAGNA MATER obeisance to Her on tho loft, for She is their Mother as well an being the Mother of inen. There arc some variations in the imagery. Thus K&lt, who is commonly represented naked — that is, free of hei own Mdyd is here (if thin be heie) shown clad in skins. Her function here shown is commonly called Destruction, hut ss the Sanskrit saying goes, “the Dcva does not Destroy". The Supreme Self withdraw the Universe into Itself. Nothing is destroyed. Things appear and disappear to reappenr. To pass beyond the Worlds of Birth and Death is to !>o Liberated, Human solves alone cun attain liberation. 1 fence the supreme worth of human life. But foxv men understand and desire Liberation, wliioli is the Experience- Whole. They have not reached LliS stage in which it in sought as the Supreme Worth. The majority are content to sook the Partial in the satisfaction of their individual interests. Hut an an unknown Sage cited by the Common* tatore on the Yoginlliridoya and Nityashodnsiks Taut ran has profoundly said, " Identification ol the Self with the Non-Whole or Partial (/I pdrnumimnyitA) is Disease and the solo source of every misery." Hence ore of the Chakras of tho SKA Yantra which I have shown you is called "Destroyer of all Disarm Eternal Health is Wholeness, which is tho Highest Worth as the Expcrieuce-Wbole. The " Diacaso of tho World” refers not to the World in itself, which is tho Mother in form, hut. to that darkness of vision which does not see that it ih Her. As Upanishad said, “ Ho alone foars who socb Duality. ” This recognition of the unity of the World aud the Mother 1ms its degrees. That Whole is of varying kinds. It is thus physical or Ixxlily health as t he physical Whole which is sought in tlathayoga . Man, as he develop, lives more and more, in that Current of Enorgy, which, having immersed itself in Mind and Matter for the purpose of World-Experience, returns to itself as the Perfect Experience, which is Transcendent Being-Power. With the transformation of man’s nature his 403 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA values beoomc higher. At length ho discerns that hia Self in ruouid in and is a flowering of Supreme Being-Power, Hie cramped experience, loosened of its limitations, expands into fulness. For, it. must be ever remembered, that Con- sciousness as i*. is itself never evolves. It is the Immutable Essence, and ShakLi the “Wave of Bliss ” as they each arc in themselves. Evolution is thus a gradual rekate from the limitations of Form created hy Being- Power. Interest, in the Partial anil Relative Wholeness gives way to a striv- ing cowards tho Mother as the Absolute Whole (PGrna), which She is in Her own spucoloaa, and timeless, nature, Thin complete Liberation ia the Perfect Experience in which che Self, oromped in Mind and Body, overcomes its tndt/ik bonds and expands into the Consciousness- Whole. Tho practical question is therefore the conversion of 1m- perfeot (Ap&rna) into Perfect. (I'dr-an) Experience, This last is not tho "standing aloof" ( Kaivafya) "here" from some discarded uni raise “over there", upon the discovery that, it is without reality and worth. For the World is the Mother in Form. It ia ono and tho nnnio Mother-Power which really appoota a.' the psycho- -physical universe, and which in itself in Perfect Co rtfcio nances, Liboiatiuu in, uccording to this system, tlx* expansion of the empirical Consciousness in ami through and by means of the world into that Pcrfcot Consciousness which is the Kxperienoe- Wholo. This can only ho by the grace of the Mother, for who otherwise can loosen the knot of MAy& which She Hereelf has tied ? The state of Liberation can only be approximately de- scribed. Even those who have returned from ecstasy cannot find words for that which they have in fact cxporicuood. " A full vowel," it is said, " makes no sound. " It is not in this system an experience of mere empty "being", lor this is an abstract concept of the intellect produced by the power ol Consciousness. It is a concrete Experience- Whole of infinitely nch "content". The Mother is both the Whole 404 THE INDIAN MAGNA MATER ausl, a« Satnvid Haiti i& tho C»ubo and archetype of all Partial* {Kald). She is Herself the Supreme Partial as She is also the Whole. So, She is die Supreme Word (Paruvdk), Supreme Sound and Movement (ZWenAoMa ParanMa), Supreme Space (ParatyoinaJ, Supreme or Transcendental Time ( ParaMUo ), the infinite "limit** of that which man knows on the rising of Sun and Moon. She is again the Life of all lives (prAnaprdnasya). She thus contain* within Herself in their "limit" all tho realities and values of worldly life which is Her erpretwion in Time and Space. But over and beyond this, She is also the alogical Exporicnoc Whole. This Exponent neither bUpomode* nor ib superseded by expeiience an the Bupromo Self. This Alogical Experience in only approximately spoken of as Infinite Being, GMUJCiouenena and Joy wliioll is the taatnlfSH (aJt/uinda) KxperHinoe- Whole (P*2ma). Relative to the Supremo Sell the Perfect Kxporicncer, Sho an Hia Power ib the Perfect Universe. li| the alogical transcendent stale in which Shivn and Shaker arc mingled m tho One, She it tho Massive BUm ( Anaida gham) which is thoir union, of which it h«B boon said : NiuOixiiiiya pr«mA«pad<ilmt'i Amndahym, whioh moy be translated : "Love ill it* limit or uttermost lovo is Joy’*. This in the love of the 8olf for its Power aud for tlw Universe as whioh auch Power manifest.*. She in called the Heart of the Supreme Lord (Hndayom Parawshituh), with whom tho Sh&kta unites himself an he says Wham —" She I am" If wc analyse thin description we find that it can be summed up in the single Sanskrit term . imndaghano , or Maps of Rlins. The essence of the Uuivoree is, to the Sh&kta, nothing but that. Mystical states in all religions arc cxporionucB of joy. An I have elsewhere said, tbn creative and world-siuttniniug Mother, as seen in 9 h Meta worship [HMimtUa), is a Joyous Figure orowned with ruddy flashing gems, clad iu red raiment (LauJtityam ctavtfo sarvatya vimarshaA) nioro effulgent than millions »f red rising SHAK'I'f AND SIlAKTA muHi. with ono hand granting all blesoing* (vuranuird), and with the other dispelling all fears {abhayamudrA), It is true that She seems fearful to the uninitiate in Tier form as K<Ui, but the worohipporu of this Form (K&divuibi) know Her as the Wield er of the Sword of Knowledge which, severing nun from ignorance that is, partial knowledge -gives him Perfect Kxpcricnoo. To such worshipper the burning ground — with its corpses , its apparitions, and hauntiug malignant spirit* — is no terror. These forms, too, are Hers. Hinduism has with doop insight seen that Fear is an essential mark of tho animal, and of man in bo far os ho ia so Animal (pasAu). Tho ShAlcta unites himself with this joyous and liberating Mother, haying Sd'/iai/i "She I am”. As ha realireH this ho is tho fearlosa Hero, or Vtra. For he who aces Duality, he alone fears. To sec Duality means not merely to see otherness, but to see that other ** alien non-aelf. The fearles* win all worldly enterprises, and fcBiiesmiesH is alao the mark of the Illuminate Knowor. Such an one is also in hi* degier independent of all outward powor, and Mritywtjoya, or Mnstor of Doath. Suoli an one is not troubled for himself by tho thought of Death. In tho apt words of a French author ("I/Aine Paienne,” JJ3), he no more fear* than do the leaves of the Woes, yellow- ing to their fall in Liu* mists of autumn. An imperishable iiutinot tell* him that if ho, like the leaves, is about to fall, he is also the tree on which they will come out again, as also the Earth in which both grow, and yet again (os the Shilkta would nay) he is also, in his Ikdy of Bliss, the Essence which ns the Mother-Power sustain* them all. As that Raaence is imperishable, so in the deepest sense is it* form as Nature. For whatever exists can never ultogefclier ooaae to be. Either manA consciousness expands into that Lordliness which sees all as Itself, or he and all lower beings are withdrawn into the Womb of Power, in which they are conserved to reappear in that Sphrmw or Blossoming which is the Springtide. of some new World. Chapter XXI. HINDU RITUAL.' TT i# well said that Ritual is tile Art of Religion. A* A practised by the Hindus it is not rightly judged, be- cause the religious and philosophical doctrines of whioh it is a praotioal expression and method are either unknown or misunderstood. If \vc add to incapacity, a temperament hoetilc to all Ritualism, tluj resultant criticism is "mum- mery,’' "idolatry.” “ gibberish, ” and so forth. It is true that Ritual in meaninglMS to those who do not know ita meaning ; just ah a telegram xent in cypher is without sonic to those who oro iguorant ol tlxo oodo according to whiuh it is written. It may, however, be admitted that in no fur an, and to the extent that Ritual is carried out without under- standing on the part of the worshippar, suoli criticisms may, to that extent. b» justified. Despite shallow views, Ritual is a necessity tor men as a whole. Those who profoM to reject it in religion ore yet found to adhere to it, in some form oi other, in sooiul and political life. The neomsity of Ritual is shown by well-known historical roactiona. Dege- neracy leads to “ Protestant ” abolitions. The jojuuo worship of tho "reformer” lacks appeal and power, and Ritual comes into it« own again, This osoillation in woll marked in Europe in the history of Catholicism and Protestantism. It. is dis- played again iu the East in Buddhism, which, starting as o revolt from an excessive Vaidik Ritual, adopted in the und the elaborate rites to be found in the Hindu and Buddhist Tantrai. The Brahmanic position is the middle and stable way, acknowledging the value of both the "Protestant” and "Catholic” attitude. Its view is that all men need Ritual, but .in varying degree and of various kinds, until a Kepiinted from the "Thcosopblcal Review" 407 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA they arc Siddht, that ia, until they have aohicvod the end wuicll Ritual io designed to secure. Wheu the end ia gained there ia no longer need for the menus to it. Further, the need becomes less and less ss approach is made to tliat end. The Ritual must be suitable to the spiritual attainments ami disposition of the worshipper. For the simple and ignorant the Ritual is of a Slhdln or gross kind. The word SlMla in Sinskrit does not necessarily imply any moral censure. It is here used as the opposite, of SdhKrm or subtle. Again, count, is token of human omotion and of ite vorioties. The dispositions or temperaments, or Dhdva, of worshippers vary. One worahippor may place himself before the Lord in the relation of u aervunt towards his Mnator, another in the relation of a friend, and yoc another in the relation of a lover. In tho :'ame way, Yoga, in the sense of a system of self-control and soif-fulfllmcnt, varies. For those who arc predominantly intellectual tliere is tho Yoga of. Knowledge (JnAna) ; for those in whom amotion ia atroug there m the Yoga of Devotion (Bhakti) ; for such as baloug to noithor of those daaaeit thmo ia tho grout Yoga of Action (Karma). The ond to which each mediately oi directly works ia the sumo. There is, in fact, no religion more Catholic tlun Hinduism. For this reason, those who dislike and fear it epoak of its "rapacious inaw’\ It has, in fact, an enormous faculty of assimilation ; for there is in it that which will satisfy all views and temperaments. In the Went, we are too apt to quarrel with views and piacticeH which wo dislike. Wo will not, in such caso, accept them, but that is notnoojoaarily a reason why thuso who like thorn ahould not do no. Thus, to some, all Ritual in repellent, or some lands of devotion, such as tins use of erotic imagery. Let each take or reject what is suitable or unsuitable to him. Controversy is futile. Fitnpss or AdUkdra is a fundamental principle of Hinduism. Some may be fit for one doctrine and practice, and others not. The* wisdom of the universal man with a world-mind converts many an HINDU RITUAL absolute judgmont into a relative one. For the judgment, "This is bad", he will substitute, “This is not good for me". In this way he will both nave his own health and temper, and that of the other. The term "Ritual’’, in its religious sense, is included in tho Sanskrit term Nddkand, though the latter word how a wider content. It is derived from the root Sadh — to exert or strive for, and inoludts any exertion or striving for any- thing. Thus a man who goes through a special training for an athletic match is doing Sddhand with a view to win in that eon teat. The taking of lesions in a foreign language ia Sddhand with a view to attain proficiency in tliut language. Orientalist* frequently translate the term by tlio English word “evocation". There is, of oouem, SddJuind, to gain tlio fruita of mngio. But this ia only one form of Sddliand. The form of which 1 write, and that to which reference is generally made, is that effort and striving in the form of solf-training, discipline, and worship which has un its end a ‘spiritual’ and not merely physical or mental result though suoh result necessarily involve a transformation of both mind and body. The end, then, is soma form of Unity with God as tho Universal Vuthor, or Mother, as tho BhiUrtae nay. The person who does Sddhaad is called Sddfuika or, if a woman, SddhikA. The end sought by the process of tiddhand is SMhya or tfteWAt. SitUUti, or accomplishment, means any successful result, and the man who attain* it is, in respect of such attainment, oalled tiuldha. The highest SMM is Unity with Brahman, the Ail-perv&der, cither by merger in or expansion into It, as some suy, or, as others hold, by varying degrees of association with and proximity to the Lord. Dogmatic views ou this or other pointa are necessarily, to some extent, rullectod iu tho Ritual presented for their realisation,' but at tho Sddkuui stage there is lei* divergence of practice than might be supposed, because whatever ho the doctrine held, u wor- shipper must practically be a dualist. For worship includoa SHAKTI AND SHAKTA both a tots hippo i aud that vrhioh ia worshipped. There are persona who, iu popular language, “worship themselves," but thia is not a spiritual exercise. Whatever God may be in Himself, Herself, or Itself, the worship is of a Supreme Person (Purnihnm). The world sometimes distracts the Mind from this, its supreme object. Nevertheless there is another univeisal tendency towards it. This last tendency ia proof of man’s divine origin. Springing from such a source, he must need# return to it. The striving to realize God ia part of man’s nature. Sddhand u such striving in the forms which experience has shown to be fruitful. In the Orphic Mysteries it was said : “I am the child of the earth and slurry sky, but know that my origin is divine. T am devoured by and perish with thirst. Givo me without delay the fresh water which flows from the 'Lake of Memory’." And again : "Pure, and issued from what is pure, 1 come towards Thee." So again St. Augustine said that t.ha Mind was not at real until it found itself in God Bmhnianic doctrine also states the same and gives the reasons for it. A profound oayiug by an Indian sage runs : “ Identification with the imperfect (ApAinammauyntA)— that is, want of Wholeness, is Dmase and the souroe of every misery.” Whole— llale—Health. 14 very form of want of wholeness, be it physical, psyohical or spiritual, is disease nnd inflicts un- happiness. God is the whole and complete (Pfirna), which is without parts or section (Akhanda). Man is the reverse of this. Hut hnving xpraftg from the Whole, 1* seeks self- completion oither by beoonung or reflecting the Whole. The greatest of illneflMB is tliut which the Hindu Scriptures call the Disease of Existence itself, in so far as such finite existence involves a hindrance to the realization of perfeot infinite Being. Tor these reasons one of the Chakras or compartments of the great Shri Y antra, or Diagram, figured on the Tantric texts and other books which I have published , is called Rogahara Chakra, that is, the “Disease-destroying HINDU RITUAL Chalcra". What ia mount by the saying is that man’s identification o: the self with ita particular form, that ii with imperfection, is Disease, just as the knowledge that he is one with the whole is Health lasting, To gain this it is necessary that man should worship lua Lord in one or ether of the many ways in which his fellows have (lone ao. For that purpose he may invent a ritual. But the more effec- tive forms for the mans are those sfkieh tradition accredits. Amongst the greatest of ritual systems is that of the Hindus. Hinduism (to uae a popular term) cannot he understood without t knowledge of it. But, it may bo aoid, theio ore many Rituals. Which are to be adopted, and how can we know that they will give result I The answer is that the Ritual for any parti- oulor individual Is that for which ho :s It (AdhikAri). The proof ot ita efficacy )h given by experience. The Ayurveda, or the Veda which teaoho.« the rules *.o seemn a long life (Ayuh) says that that only is a modicino which oures the disease and which, at the same time, given rise to no other. To those who put the question, the answer of the Teacher is— "Try". If t.ho wfcksr will not t.ry ho cannot complain that ho has no success. The Teacher lu* himself or herself (for 4oco riling to the Tantras a woman may be a Guru) been through the training, and wsriantA success to those who will fuithfully adopt the means he has himself adopted. What, then, arc the basio principles o t 86dhan&, and how does it work ? To understand this wo must havo correct ideas of what the Hindus undontend by the terras Spirit, .Mind, and Body. I have in my volumes on "Mind” and “Matter" explained these two terms and will now very shortly summarize what is there said, so far as it touches tho mo principles governing che subject of this papor. II. The ultimate object of the ritual thut is, the real- ization of Goo— is effected by the Munsfomiation of the SHAKTI AND SHAKTA vvomhipper into lilconoEd with the worshipped. Let us assume that the R&dhaka i» doctrinally ur. adherent of the Advaita VedAnta wliicli is called Monism, but which ia more accurately translated “N'ot two,” or non-dual, because, whilst it can be affirmed that the ultimate Reality is not two, still an it is beyond number and all other predicates, it cannot be affirmed to bo one. Let us, then, investigate some of the general principles on which the Ritual expressing this doctrine works. Man is «aid to bo Spirit— to use an English term — with two vehicles of Mind and Body. Spirit, or Bmhmfln a# it is in Itflclf (Svartlpo), nocording to the Vodiluta in, rulutive to us, pure infinite Being, Oonaciounueflft, Biiaa (Sal, Ohil, Anando). That is Spirit viewed from oiu aide and in relation to us. What Spirit is Itself only Spirit In Itaelf can «ay. This is only known in the experience of the perfect {Suidlm) Yogi, who haa completely transformed himself through tho elimination of thowe elements of Mind and Body which oonatatate a finite individuality. "To know Brahman ia to be Brahman.” (♦ml. or tho Lord (Ishvava) i- pnm, infinite Spirit, in its ftspeot relative to the world a« it* Creator, Maintainor, and Ruler. Man is. according to tliia school, that Hclf-aume Spirit or ConaciouaneM which, in one uapout ia immutable, and in unothoi is finitinxl by Mind and Matter. ConscioumioM and Mind arc, then, two differ- ent and, indeed, opposite things. Mind is not Conscious- ness, but ia (considered in iterif) an Unconscious force. Consciousness is infinite. Mind ia a product of a Unitizing principle or power inhoient in Consciousness itself, which appears to limit conBcioiumeen. Mind per Mis thus an un- oonsoioua forre limiting OunHf.ioiiKnesn. This Btatement may aeom strange in the West, hut is coming to be acknow- ledged to some extent there, where it is now recognized that, them is such a thing as unconscious mind. Ved&nta says that mind in iteelf is always an unconscious force. The mind appears to be conscious, not because it is so in itself, HINDU RITUAL but because it ia aaaooiated with and is the vehicle of Spirit which alone is Gonaciouaiiesb in Itself. The function of Mind, on the contrary, in to cut up into sections section! eon Consciousness. Let us suppose that Consciousness is re- presented by an unbroken light thrown on a blank screen. This unbroken light imperfectly represents (for images fail us in one respect or another)— Consciousness. Let us suppose, then, another meuil screen cut up into patterns, imposed on the former, and thus letting the light through in parts and in various shapes, ond shutting it out in others. This lust opaque soiceu represent* Mind. ConsuiousnoM ia self-revoahug. Hind occludes it in varying ways, and ifl ft subtle form of the power (Shakti) poamaacd by Spirit to appear in finite form. Matter or Body is another but grosser form of the same Power. Ami because Mind or Body have a common origin, the one us subject can know the other ns object. Cognition ia then recognition. The same Power which hint the capacity to so veil itself cun unveil itaolf. The first step towards such unveiling is taken by Sidband in ita form as self-purification, both n» regards body and mind, self-discipline and worship in iUi various ritual forms. At a high point of advance this Sfidhan* enters what is generally known i»h Yoga. How then dow Sidhanfi work ? It must be remeinlored that there is no such thing as mind or soul without some form of body, bo it gross or subtle. The individual mind has always a body. It is ouly Spirit which is Mind-lew, and therefore wholly bodilim Mind and Body are each an real us the other. • When there is subject oi mind there ia always object or matter. The proper discipline pnrifien ond con- trols both. A puro body hslps to the attainment of a pure mind, because they are each uepocta of one Power- Sub- stauce. Whenever, then, there is mind, it has aoruo object or content. It i# never without coutent. That object may be good or bad. The first, design of the Ritual, then, ia to secure that the mind shall always have n good object. The SHAKTI AND SHAKTA best of nil ohjectn ia its Lord. What, then, i s tho reeult of meditation on the Lord ? Wliat is tlia pcocass of knowing ! When the mind knows an object, that process consists in tlx? projection from the Mind of ft Mind-Ray, which goes out to the object, takes its form, ami returns and models the mind itself into the form of the object. Thus, if attention is completely given, that is without any distraction, to an image or Deity, a jar or any other object, the mind so long as it holds that object is completely transformed into the shape of that object. Thus, with complete concentration on tho Lord, tho mind is shuped into the image of Him, with all Ilia qualities. That image ia formulated by what is called tlw Dhyfcua. The Ritual givaa tho Dhytnn of cuch of the forms of Ood or Spirit. Let it bo assutnod, then, that the mind is thus trans- formed ; it » then ner*ssary to keep it so. The mind is so unsteady, agile and variable tlint it has been compared both with mercury and the restless monkey. If this variability displayed itself in the choice of good thoughts only, it would not so muoh matter. But tliere ere others which are not good. Moroovor, both intensity and durability of trans- formation are desired. The endeavour then in to attain complete power of concentration und for periods of increas- ing length. The effect of this is to establish in tho mind « tendency in the direction desired. All hove experience of tbn psychological truth that the longer and more firmly an ohjoot is held in the mind, tjlie less is the tendency towards distraction from it. A tendenoy is called Sangskdra. Such tendency may be physical or psychical. Thus, the tendency of An India rubber bend when stretched to return to its original condition before such stretching, is a physics! tang- skira of India rubber. In tho eamo way, there mo pByohi cal sangskdnw. Thus, a man of miserly disposition is influ enced by Borne sufficient impulse to be, on a particular occasion, generous, but when that or other sufficient impulse lacks, his miserly dispeeitaon or sangskdra asserts itself. 4*4 HINDU RITUAL On tlie other Laud, but little is required to call out gonolo- oily in a naturally charitable man, lor the good tendency is there. SddharA confirms good and eradicates bad sang- skdras. As tendencies are produced by post action, intel- lectual or bodily, present and future good actions will secure that good sangtkAras are kept and otliers eliminated. Man is both bom with sungskdras and acquires others. No Hindu holds that the mind at birth is tabula rasa. Ou the oontrary, it in compounded of all the sangtkAras or tenden- cies which result from the notions of the previous lives of the individual in queation. These are added to, varied, reversed or confirmed by actions taken in the present life. Many of such Songskdmt are bad, and step* must be taken to substitute for them others. All are aware that bad acta and thought*, if repeated, result in the establish- ment of a bad habit, that in a bad ScmyiMra realised. The object of Sddhand is, then, firstly to substitute good object* for th* mind in lieu of bad objects, and to overcome the tendency towards distraction ami to revert to wluifc in bad. Thin means iho stabilizing of character in a good mould. How is this to bo olleoted 1 Tho SSdhand must avoid ull distraction* by keeping the mind occupied with what is good. Wo accordingly find the repetitious which may bo, but by no moans necessarily are, "vain". A common in- stance of this is Japa, or repetition of mantra. This is dono by count on a rosary (Mdld) or with tho thumb on the twelve phalange* of the lingers. There are also forms of repetition in varying ways. Thoughts are intensified and confirmed by appropriate bodily gestures (Mudrd). Again, real processes are imagined. Thus, in Ngdsa, the worehippar with appro- priate bodily aotions places difforent parts of the body of tho Divinity on the corresponding partB of his own body, Thus the BAdhabt imagines that, he has ooquired a new divine body. Again, in the more subtle rite called BhUUsthvddki, the worshipper imagines that each of the con\ponent ele- ment* of the body is absorbed in the next higher element SHAKTI AND SHAKTA until nil wo merged in the Supreme Power of whom man, u compound of such elements, is a limited manifestation. Whilst this is merely imagined in S&dhanft, it objectively and actually takes place in Kundalin! Yoga. Tlie mind is thus constantly occupied in one form or another with, and thus shaped into, that, which is divine and Incomes itself, by lieing kept in such shape, at length permanently divine. For, as the ChohhAndogya Upanishad says : " What a man thinks that lie beoomea." So also the Omni larva Tantra aayn “ By meditating on anything as oneself, man booomoa that.” Thinking always on the Lord, man is transformed, within limits, into an imago of Him. The preparatory work of SAdlmnA is completed in Yoga. 1 will next shortly note some of the pnnotpul forms of ritual employed in womhip, vis., image and emblem, Yunln, PQja, Mantra, Mudrd. Nydsa, JlhHUiihuMi. These are in constant uh>. either daily or on special occasions. The ritual of tho Sacrament*, or Sangskdraa, are performed once, vis., on the date of that saomment, such as naming ooremouy, marriage and so forth. III. The third Chapter (here summarised and explained) of the Sanskrit work onllcd " Want of bliss, for worshippers of the Mother-Power (Shakti)’’, deals with the necessity for the use of images and other forms as representations of the formless All-Pervadcr (Brahman). The latter 1 b, in It« own true nature, bodilcoi (asharlri) and pure Consciousness, or in Western language, Spirit. Bat Biahmau, through Its power (shakti), aasumes all the forum of the Universe, just as it is said an aotor (natavat) assumee various roles. Thus Brahman has two aspects : the subtile, in which It itBOwn unnunifested Soli ; and tho gross, in which It appears as the manifested universe. Or, if we reserve the word "subtile" for what, though it is not pure Spirit, is yet finer than gross matter- that is, Mind, we may say that the HINDU RITUAL Ultimate Reality has three aspects : (a) Supreme or trans- cendent, that is pure formless Spirit j (6) subtile, or tho same Spirit as manifested in mind ; (o) gross, or the same spirit as manifested in Matter. It is clear that one cannot meditate on tliat which is wholly formless as is the supreme Brahman, which is without body. In meditation (Dhyina) there is duality, namely, the subject who meditate* and the object of such meditation, though, in fact, the two are (according to tho Advaitn or non-dualism of the fthftktns), both differing aspect* of the one Brahman through Hr Power. An the mind oannot remain steady on what ia formless (amfirta), therefore, a form (mfirti) is necessary. Form is gross or subtile. Form is necessary both in Bhdhani and Yoga -in the latter for acquiring accomplishment in Trhtska-Yoga, that is, ateudy gate which leads to onc-polntedneus (Ekfcgmta), and thin latter U> Sam id hi or ecstasy. The grosws*. form is that which I* shown in the round, with hands, feet, and so forth that is, the image. Nothing is hero left to tho imagi- nation. The particulars of the image, that is, how it should be shaped, its rolour. posture, and so forth, ia given in what are called the meditations or DhyAtias, and the dimen- sions may be found in the Silps Bhistms. These describe the loan, attitudo, the position of tho hands and legs, tho articles suoli as weapons and the like carried, tho vohiolo or Vfthana— and the attendant Divinities {Ataitm Devoid). L»s gross forms arc pictures ox representations in the flat, emblems such as the Shftlagruina atone sacred to Vishnu, the Lings or sign of Shiva, and the inverted triangle whioh is tho emblem of tho Mother. Thus a Linga set in the Yoni or triangle repnsents the union of Shiva and Shakti, oi God and His Power, or in philosophical language, the union of the static and kinetic aspects of the one Ultimate Reality. A still mow snbtilo form i« the YanJra, whioh literally means " instrument," vis., the instrument by which worship ia done. It is shown on the flat, a diagram which varies *7 4*7 * SHAKTI AND SHAKTA with each of the Devoid* or Divinities, end has been called “the body of Mantra". Whilst grow (sthftla) meditation takes place on the gross image, emblem or Yantra, aubtilo (silks hma) meditation has as its object the Mantra. The Mantra and thp DevatA am one. A Mantra is Devoid in that form, that is as Bound. Hearing is considered the finest of the aonsoe. What i« called Supreme Meditation i» nothing but ecstasy, or -Consciousness, freed of both its subtile and gross vehicles, and, therefore, limitations. An the Brahman is only directly known in the ecstasy of Yoga, It is imagined with lorn, or, as some translate this passage, It assumes form lor the a*ke of the worship- pers (updsakMm kdryydrthm), Those forms are mala or female, such as, in the firat claw, BrahmA, Vishnu, Siva and others, and in the geoond Tripxumaundart, Ijilrehmi, Kill and other*. The worship of a Eunuch (napungaalca) form does not boar fruit. What shall bo the selected or patron Divinity depends on the oom potency (adhikfcra) of the worshipper, that in. what is suitable 01 fit for him given h:a character and attainments. The Y Amain says: "Men aco Him in various ways, each according to his own incli- nations.” But an sdviitist worshipper should at the sains time remember that each ia an aspect of one and the same Deity. Vnr&ha PuvAna say* : “ What DuTgi is, that, is Vishnu, and that also is Shiva. Tho wiso know that they are not different from one another. The fool, who in his partiality thinks otherwise, goes to the ltaura va Hell.” There in, however, from tho nature of the case, some distinction in the case of the worship of those on the path of enjoyment, who should worship according to the mode in which they have lwen initiated. But the renouncer should discard in every way all notions of difference. The Wave of Bliss, citing Samaya Tantra, says : *‘Ry the worship of some Dova, liberation iB with difficulty attained, and by the worship of others enjoyment io to be had, but in the case HINDU RITUAL ol the worshipper of the Mother, both enjoyment and liberation lie in the hollow of his hands." Bat, unless pray- ed to, the Mother or Devi does not give fruit, and naturally no. For the Dev! is moved to action through the prayers of the worshipper. • Essentially the worshipper is the Devi Herself, and unless She in Her form oa the worshipper is moved, She in Her aspect, as the Supreme Lord—' “Our Lady"— doea not move. By " worshipper" is meant one who i» proficient in Karma and Dhakti Yoga. The Jndnayogi’a effort is directed towards the attainment of the formless Brahman. Worship implies duality, and so does ifontra-yoya ut wliich worship is a part, From the Btja-mantra or seed mantra the Devatft u rises and this Devatl is tbs Brahman. In the Kflrma Purina it is said : "Those who think themselves to be differ- ent from the Supremo Lord will never see Him. All their labour is in vain. " Therefore, the Hhrtkrama says : " .Medi- tate upon youraolf aa the Supreme Mother —the primordial Powor by your mind, word, and body." AH three take part in the ritual. The, uund, whioh must from it* nature have an object, is given a good objoot, that is, the imago of its Lord. It holds to that. The worshipper uttsn tho ritual words and with his body performs the ritual acts, such as the gestures (Mudrl), the giving of offerings, and so forth. And tho reason is, as tho (landharva Tantra says : " By meditating on anything as oneself, man booomen that. ’’ The mind assumes the form of its object— that is, by good thoughts man is transformed into what is good. So the worshipper ia enjoined constantly to think : " I am the DtVi and none other.” By meditating on Vishnu, man becomes Vishnu. By meditating on Devi, man bsoomos Dtvt. He is freed from bodily ills aud io liberated, for lie attains spiritual knowledge. Such knowledge, in the Ad- vaita sense (though there are also other schools) means "to be". To know Brahman ia to be Brahman. Brahman in Itself is not an objeot, and is not known as such. Brahman 419 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA ia known by being Brahman, which man attains through ritual forma, and Yoga presses, of which worship is ft necessary preliminary, IV. In the preceding paragraphs, I have, in very general outline, dealt with the meaning of S&dhand as ritual worship, both as to if a object, and the principles on which it is based. 1 have given at t he same time some exam plea. I propone here to pass a few remarks on oertoin other particular forms of ritual. 1 have already referred to image -worship upon which, however, I will add u word. Western people speak of the imago worshipped as being an “idol", just as some so-called "reformed” Hindus influenced by Western views call it a "doll". The Hindu term is ProMa und PrutmA indicating -.lmt which ia pinced befon one as the immediate and apparent object of worship. rtprti9nt<tih'>) of the Invisible Supremo. Tho mind cannot, fieizo pure Spirit any more than (to uso the ninnlo of an ludisn author) a jwir of tougn can ht-i xe the sir. The mind must, however, necessarily have before it some definite object, and one of such objects is the image or emblem. At. tho same time, the Hindu image is something more than n mere aid to devotion suoh aa i« the case in general as regards images in the Catholic ritual. For, by the "life-giving” (]*diui-pralwhlha) ceremony the life of the Devatl or Divi- nity ia invoked into the image. Deity in all -pervading and thoreforo onnuul oome or go. The imago, like every thing else, is already an appearance of Deity immanent in it, in the particular form or mould of earth. Btono, metal, wood or whatever other the substance may he. Therefore, "in- vocation" {Ivdham) and " disnin-nal ” ( Vuarjam) in the Ritual by which the Deity is invoked “to 'be present” and bid “to depurt” mean this— that the iaunanence of Deity in the object, of worship is recognized, kept present, before, and ultimately released from the mind of the worshipper. 4J0 HINDU RITUAL Tn foot.,' t be Deity in there, ritual or no ritual. By tbo ritual I he Deity ie not only tbero in fact, bat is so for the oonaoious- uees of the worshipper whose mind is transformed into a Divine mould. The Deity dees not move, but the mind of the worehippeT does so. It ia the particular modification, a Vritti of the mind which comes and goes. Personally, I believe that " Idolatry” in its strictest literal senao is not to be found anywhere. The most ignorant individuals belong- ing to a primitive humanity are aware that they are, in one sense, in the presence of “stock* and stonea", and that the worshipful character of tho imago ia not because it is such etook and stone, for, in that cuo all stock and stone is wor- shipful, but for other reason*. It ha* been noted already that the ritual is graded In Uiis mutter, as in other*, into grass and subtle. The subtle form is that in which tho least is left to the imagination, namely, an image in tho round. Less bo, in tho ordor given, is tlw picture on tho Hut ; the emblem which ha* no external likeness to Divinity (suoh as the Ling a and Sh&lagiamo stono), and then the Yantru or diagram of worship. This Y antra in made up of different combination* of linos and curves, nnd ia dmoribod ns tho body of the Mantra. B*iidos tho«o external object*, there are mental representations of them and of other things. Thus actual flowers may la- offered physically, or mental "flowers" may bo offered by the mind, oi the '‘flowers" of tbo virtuee may be laid before the Devoid. How often the word Mantra as used, and yet. how few cun say correctly what the term means I It ia only possible here to lay down a few general lines of explanation of a subject, with which I liavo endeavoured to deal in my recent work, The QarUtud oj Letters ; for Garland or Rosary are names given to the alphabet ot Sanskrit letters, which are caoh a manifestation of tho Mother of the Universe. The Universe ia movement, of various kinds, of tho ultimate substance. This movemeut is soused in five ways. Whatever is heard iB the sound made by boiub particular SHAKTI AND SHAKTA form of movement, and l lie hearing by mind and oar is again a form uf movement. If tlieic be no movement there is nothing to l«ar. When a letter is uttered in our hearing there is u particular movement which can lie represented us a form for the eye, which form again involves colour, for what is perfectly colourless ia formless, and, therefore, invisible. The letter* are temporarily manifested by the action of the vocal organs ami the oircumamlilent air, but are in them- selves, that is, as attitudes of Power, eternal. A9 Postures of Power they are eternal, though oh manifeaiationa they appear with eftoh universe ami disappear with it. They are, like all clee, ft form of appearance of the Magna Mat* r, the one great Mother-Power, and are particular world-aspects ol Her. The souud which ia heard, and the mind and car which hear it, are each each appearances. Bach thing lias a double aspect ono as a produced thing, or effect ; the other as the particular Causal Power which produces or more accurately manifests na that thing. That power again, relative to any of its particular productions, i* an HS|M»ct of the goncral Mother-Power, and is, ns such, a Dovatft. Thun, the tun is a glorious epiphany of the Brahman, or All- Pervadar which, in it« character ns tho jwwer inherent in tliat particular manifestation, is the 8 un*Lord or Silrya- Devoid. Devoid in its supremo (para) sense is the Lord of All, manifesting as the All. The Sim Dovatft is the same Lord in the character of 0 particular power of the All -Power- ful manifesting in this form of -the Sun. Whilst, therefore, in a souso, Mantra is the Sound-aspect of all that, is, each DovatA has Hie or Hoc own Mantra, anil it iB to such mantras that the Scripture refenj, Tho Mantra dooa not merely stand for or symbolize the Devoid. Still less is it a mere conventional label for the Devoid. It is the Devoid. Tho Devoid and Mantra are therefore one. In each inantra, however, there are two Shaktis or powers. The Devoid who is the mantra is called the indicating power (Vdehaka Slutki). The Devoid who is indicated (Vdchya 42a HINDU RITUAL Skakti) ia tlic Ultimate Reality, or Supreme Brahmail. The former leads to the letter. A» each worshipper has his own Patron Deity or Ishtadevatft, so each woiahipper it initiated in and practises a particular mantra. The Patron Deity is a particular aspect of the One Supreme Reality which cannot be directly worshipped, but which is worshipped indirectly as an aspect of that Reality in a world of duality. What Mantra a worshipper should prac- tise is determined by the Gum who initiates. He should acttlo what it shall bo by roforenoo to the physical, psychi- cal and spiritual characteristics of the worahippor, This ie the theory, but ia practice a elate of thing* often oxiata which has led to the •oriticisni tliat Mantra is "jabhoi”. Thus (to take but one example), I, though not a Hindu, was once asked by a Brahmin lady, through a pundit know to both of us, to tell her the meaning of her mantra, and this though she had pawed fifty, she had never been told, nor could she find out even from the pundit. She was led to oik mo and thus to reveal hex mantra whioh ehould be kept uoorct, beenuso she had heard that I had » manuscript. Ittju Kotha, or Dictionary, which gavo the meanings of mantras. This incident is significant of the present ntoto of things. Initiation bus ollen and perhaps in moat oases uow-a-daye little reality, being merely a “whispering in the ear”. A true and high initiation ia one in which not merely Instruotion is given, but there is also an actual transference oi power by teacher to disoiplc whioh enables the disciple both to understand, and then transforms him by infusing him with the powers of his Guru. Mantra sddharut consists of the. union of the Sddhaad shahi or the power of the individual worehipper and the Mantra thifcti or the power cf the mantra itself. The worship- per eaerte his own individual power to uohieve through the mantra, and as he docs this, the power of the mantra, whioh is as far greater than his own as the Dtva td is greater than he, aids his effort. On the theory this must be so, because SHAKTI AND SHAKTA »s the worshipper more and more realize* tho Devoid iu mantra form, and identifies lrimeelf with thu Devoid, ho gains divine posers which supplement liis human power aB a worshipper. There are some Mantras which may be called prayers, such as the great GAyatri Mantra which prays for illumination of the understanding. A mantra, however, is not to be identified with prayer, which may be said in any form and in any language that the worshipper chooses. Prayer may lie, of course, a great, power, but it is never- tholceB tho power of tho particular worshipper only what- ever that may be. Worship {Pdjd) is done with meditation, recital of umn- tns, obeisance, manual gestures, the making of offerings and the like. The gestures (Aludtd) ure part of a system which employs both body and mind, end makes tho former express and emphasize tho intentions of the latter. Similarly, nu orator give., expression to Ins thought and emphasizes it by gesture. Thus, in tho Matty* Mudrd, the hands are put into tho form of a fish to indinuto that the worshipper is offering to tho Duity not inorely tho littJ# quantity of water which is used in tho worship, but that his intention is to offor all the ooeana with the fieh and other nmrinc animals tl*’ rein. This is part of wliut 1ms been culled '* tuummory". Well— it is “noting” ; but it is not nsoresarily more foolish than touching one’s hat as a sign of respect. The charge of mummery hs against, all religions is largely due to tho fact that there are many people who will paw judgments on matters which they do not understand. Ignorant and linl f -educated persons everywhere peoplo tho world with fools taeause they are themselves such. Atana, or posture belongs to Yoga, except that the general poet ure for warship is Padmdsana, and worship in part of Mantra Yoga. J'tpa is " recital ” of Mantra. There is no exact English equivalent for it, lor "recital” signifies ordinary utterance, whereas Japa is of three lands, namely : (a) that in wliioh 424 HINDU RITUAL the Mantra is audibly uttered ; (&) where tlio lips are moved, but no sound ib heaid ; aud (c) mental or by the mind only. The count is done on a rosary (t/uUd) or on the phalanges o! the ftngem. One of the great Mannas is the physical act of breathing. As this is done of itself so many times a day, now through the right, and then through the left nostril automatically, it is called the Ajapa Mantra — that is, the mantra which is said without Japa or willed effort on man's part. The mantra wlnoh is thus automatically uaid is Hangaah. Breath goes out with Hang, and oomos in with Bah. When outbreaking and inbreathing takes place, the throat and mouth are aaid to be in the position in which they are when pronouncing the letters H and 8 respectively. In other words, outbreaking ia the name form ol movement which in heard aa the letter H. An important rite much referred to in the Tantrae is Nydta, which means the "placing" of tin hands of the wor- shipper on different parteof his body, imagining at the nemo timo that thereby tho corresponding parts of the body of his Iihtadnatd are being there placed. It terminate* with a movement, ‘‘npreading" tho Divinity all over the body. "How absurd," someone may say, "You cannot spread Divinity like jam on bread." Quite so; but the Hindu knows well that the .word Brahman means the All-spreading Immense and cannot therefore be spread. But what may he and is spread is the mind— often circumscribed enough — of tho worshipper, who by this thought and act is taught to remember and realise that ho is pervaded by Divinity, and to affirm this by his bodily gesture. The ritual is full of affirmations. Affirm again, affirm, and still affirm. This injunction ono might expect from a aysUjni which regards man aud all that exists iu> limited forms of unlimited Power {Shakti). A ffirm in every way is a principle of the ritual, a principle which ought to be as easily understood as a child’s repetition in order to lesra a lesson. A man who 4 J 5 SHAKTI ANL) SHAKTA truly thinks himself to bo becoming divine becomes, in foot, in varying degree*, so. It is not possible in an account such as this to note more than ft few of the leading rituals, and 1 conclude therefore with the very important BMUashiuidhi. This term does not mean, as an English orientalist thought, “the driving away of demons” but purification of the Elements {BKCia) of which t he hotly is composed. There are five of these with oentres or Chakras in the spina! column. The grossest ia at the base of tho spine which iu the snat of the power called Kundulint 1 n Yoga, this power is roused, and loti up through tho oolumn, when it absorbs us it gooa, oaoli of tho oentres and the elements, and tlwu the psyohio centre, fiually merg- ing with Spirit or Pure Consoiouunesa in the upper brniu which ia the “aeat" of the latter. Iu Yoga this actually tokos plaoe, but very few am Yogis ; and not all Yogis possess this power. Therefore, in the oase ot ritual worship this ascent, purification of the body, and merging of Matter and Mind in Consciousness takes place in imagination only. Tho "man of sin” is burnt in mental fire, nnd a now body is oreatod, refronhod with the nooUr of divine joy arising from tho union of tlio "Divino pair” (Shiva and Shftkti) or OonnoiousneM and its Tower. Tlii/i ia done in the imagina- tion of tile worshipper, and not without result since on tho Chohhandogya Upaoishad says : " What a man thinks that he becomes. ” 80 also the (Jundharva Tantra nays : " 13 y thinking of That, one becomes That.” In Kundalint Yoga or Lays Yoga, there is effected a progressive absorption of all limited and discrete formH of experience, that, is fact-section* into tho Primary Continuum which in Shiva and Shakti united together. Therefore, it. ia a merging or more properly expansion of the finite into the infinite, of the part into tho whole, of the thinkable and mean arable into the unthinkable and immeasurable. When we worship this progress is imagined. There is in time a transformation of Mind and Body into a condition which 426 HINDU RITUAL renders them lit for the spiritual experience, which is the Samddhi of Yoga or the catiasia or “standing out” of Spirit from its limiting vehicles. Oouacioiumoeo is then the Pimu or Whole. Ohahkk XXII. VEDANTA AND T ANTRA SHA8THA. TAT HEN your representative naked me to speak this even - ’ * mg, he suggested to me m my subject, that ShiUtra which is a practical application of the VedAntio teaching. Mere talk about) VedAnta is nothing but a high form of amusement. If more than thift in to l».‘ achieved, definite Sldhanfi is nooesBOry, In the grand opening chapter of the Kul&ninvo Tantm it is said “ In thin world are count- leas maaaas of beings Buffering all mannor of pain. Old ago is waiting like ft tigress. Life ebbs away .v» it were water from out of ft broken pot. Disease kills like enemies. 1'rospexity is but a dream ; youth is like a flowor. Life in seen and in gone like lightning. The body is but n bubble of water. How then oan one know this and yet remain content t The Jivfltmtt posses through lakhs of existence, yet only as man can he obtain the truth. It is with groat difficulty that one in bom as man. Therefore, he is ft self- killer who, having obtained »uch oxcellont birth dooa not know w'hat is for his good. Some there be who having drunk the wine of delusion are lost in worldly pursuits, reck not the flight of time and are moved not at the sight of suffering. There are other* who have tumbled in the deep well of the Six Philosophies -idle disputants tossed on the bewildering ocomi of the Vedas and Sh Astras. They study day and night and learn words. Some again, over- powered by conceit, talk of Unrnani though not in any way realizing it. Mem words and talk cannot dispel the delusion of the wandering. Darkness is not dispelled by the mention of the word lamp 1 . What then is there to do 1 The Bh&slrvw are many, life is short and there ore a million obstacles. Therefore should their essence be mast e led just 4 Speech at the Meeting held in Calcutta on the Anniversary of Swatni Vivekananda on 28th January 1917. VEDANTA AND TANTRA SHASTRA ns the Hangsa separates the milk frum the water with whioh it has been mixed.” It than says that knowledge alone can gain liberation. But, what is this knowledge, and how may it be got. ! Knowledge in the Shftstric sense in actual :mm<xliate ex- perience (Sftks'uAtkftra), not the mere reading about it in books, however divine, and however useful as a preliminary such study may he. How then to gain it? The answer is, by Sftdhanft — a term which oomos from the root "to exert”. It ie neocMiry to exert oneself according to certain disciplines which the various religions of the world provide for their adherent*. Much shallow talk takes place on the subject of ritual. U is quite true that some overlook the faot that it is merely a moans to an end. But it is a necessary means all the same. This end cannot be uchieved by merely silting in Padmftaana and attempting to meditate on the Nirguna Brahman. One may as well try to seize the air with a pair of tonga. How then may the Vedftntic truth ho realised ? Tho Indian ShfUtre purports to give the means for the Indian body and mind. What Sh&atn ? Not; the Karma* k&nda of the Vcdos, beemwe with tho exception of u fow hardly surviving rites, such ns Hours, il has passed away. The aclual discipline you will find in the Tantron of the Again a«. I profer the use of this term to that of “the Tantra”, now so common, but whioh has risen from a misconception and leads to others. Tantra moans injunction (Vidhi) or regulation (Niyama) or treatise, i.e., simply Sh&stra. Thus Rhnnknra calls the SAflkhya "Tantra”. One cannot speak of "tho Tantra’’ any more than one can speak of "the treatise". We do not speak of tho Purftna, tho Samhita, but of the Purftnas and Sainhitnu. Why thon speak of "the Tantra”? One can speak of the Tantras or Tantra SLftstra. The faot is tliat there is an Agama of several schools, Shaiva, Shftkta and VaiBhnnvn, Shiva and Shakti 429 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA are one. The Sli*iv» (in the narrower sense) predominantly worshipe tlie right side of the Ardhanariahvara MOrti, the Sh&kta worships the left (Vftma or Shakti) side ; the place of woman being on the left. The Vaishnava Agnma is the famous Panchar&tro, though there are Tantras not of thiB school in which Vishnu is the IehtadevatA. All Agarnas ol whatever group share certain common ideas, outlook and practice. There are also certain differences. Thus, the Northern ShaivAgama which is oallcd Trika and not “the Tantra” is, as is olao tho ShAkta Tantra, Advaitn. The Southern fihaiva school which is called 8haiva RiddhAnta and not "the Tanlia”, as olao the Vaislinava Againa or PanrharAtra (and not "tho Tantra”) are VishiahtAdvaita. There is some variance in ritual also as follows from variance in the lahtadevatl worshipped. Thus, as you all know, it is only in some forms ol worship that there is animal aaorifice, and in ono diviaion. again, of worshippers, there arc rites which have led to those ahusee which have gained for "the Tantra” its ill feme. A person who eats meat can never, it is said, attain Siddhi in tho Shiva Mantra according to DakshinopAsium. Each one of these sohoole line its own Tan Uae of which there were at oua time probably thousands. The Shaiva SiddhAnta npaalu of 28 chief Tantrae or Agsmas with many Upatantras. In Bengal mention ia ma«lo of 04. There are numerous Tantrae ol the Northern Shaiva school of which the MUintvijaya and SvachcLhanda Tantrae are leading examples. The original connection between the Shaiva feohools of North and South is shown by tho foot that there are some books which are oommorto both, snob as tho MAlanga and Mrigcndra Tantras. The PancharAtra is composed of many Tantias, such as Lakshin! and Padmn Tajiuaei and other works called ftaaililUe. In tho Com- mentary to the Brahma Samhlta wliioh has been called the "essence ol Vaishnaviam", you will find JJvn Ooswami con- stantly referring to Gautamiya Tantra. How then baB it come about that there is the ignorant notion that (to use the vedAnta and tantra sh Astra words of an English work on Tibetan Buddhism) “Tantra* is restricted to the nenrom antic books of the later Shivnic or Shakti mysticism" ? I mn only explain this by the fact, that those who no apeak had no knowledge, of the Tantras a* a whole, and were possibly to some extent misled by the Bengali use of the term “the Tantra”, to denote the Sh&kta Tantra* current in Bengal. NuturaUy, the Bengalis spoke of their Tantra* a* "the Tantra”, but it does not follow that this expression truly repreeents the fact. I might develop this point at great length but cannot do so here. I wish merely to correct a oommon notion. Well, it is in these Tantra* or the Igaraas that you will find tho ritual and SAdhnnA which governs the orthodox life of the day, as also in some of the Pur&uns which contain much T&ntrik ritual. I am not concerned to discuss the merit* or the reverse of those various forms of SAdbanl* But the Agomo icaohe* An important lesson the value of which nil must admit, namely ‘.—mere talk about Religion and its truths will aoliievo nothing spiritual. There must be action (Kriyi). Definite means must be adopted if the truth is to Iw realised. The VedAntaisnot spoken of m a mere speculation as some Woatorn Orientalist* dooorilx it to ho. It oluimu to be based on orporienco. The Again** auy tliat if you follow tlioir dircotion you will gain Siddhi. As a Tibetan Buddhist onoo explained to me, the Tantias were regarded by liis people rather as a scientific discovery than as a revelation ; that is, something discovered by the self ruther than imparted from without. They claim to be the revealed means by which the Tattva or other matters may be discovered. But the point is, whether you follow these directions or not, you must follow some. For this reason every ancient faith hat it* ritual. It. is only in modern times that, persons with but little understanding of the subject have thought ritual to be unnoceseary. Their condemnation of it is based on the undoubted abuses of mechanical and unintelligent SHAKTI AND SHAKTA devotion. Bui because * thing is abused it does not follow tliat it in itself bud. The Agent* is, ns a friend of mine well put it, a practical philosophy, adding what tliu intellectual world wants moat to-day is this sort of philceophy -a philosophy which not merely ori/uea but experiment*. He rightly points out tlmt the latent, tendency in modern Western philosophy is to rest upon intuition, an it was formerly the tendency to glorify dialectics. But, us to the latter “TarkapratiahchAnAt," intuition, however, has to be led into higher and higher pos- aibilitiea by means of HAdhanA, which is merely the gradual unfolding of tho Spirit’* vast latent, magazine of power, enjoyment, and vision which every one possesses in himself. All tliat. exists is l*re. There is no need to throw one’n oyua into the heavens for it. Tho Vwhvasftni Tantra says, " What ts here in there : what is not hero is nowhere. ” An I have said, I am not here ooncomod with tho truth or ex- pediency of any particular religion or method (a question which each must decide for himself), but to point out that tho prinoiplo is fully sound, namely, that Religion is and ia based on spiritual experience, and if you wish to gain such experience it is not enough to talk about or luve n vaguo wish for it, but you must adopt some definite meano well calculated to produce it. The claim of the Igama is that it provides such means and is tliUB n practical application of the teaching of the Vedftnta. The watchword of every Tlntrik is Kriyfi— to bo up and doing. You will find in the useful compilation called Yatidhormanirnaya that even Dandins of Shafikora’s school follow a TAntrik ritual suited to their state. In fact all must act who have not achieved. Thin leads me to say a word on the SvAmi in whose honour wo meet to-day. He was always up nnd doing. The qualities I moat admire in him are hia activity, manliness and courage. There arc still Indians (though fortunately not so numerous w then; were when I first oerae to India now getting on for 30 years ago) who aecm 43 * VEDANTA and tantra shAstra to be ashamed of and would apologise for their life, ouotoma, race, art, philosophy and religion nad bo forth. The Svftmi was not of this sort. He wan, on the contrary, amongst the first to affirm his Hindu faith and to issue a bold challenge to all who attacked it. This was the attitude of a man. It is also a manly attitude to boldly reject this faith if after fully studying and understanding it you find that the doo- trines it pr&ftchcs do not commend themselves to your reason. For we must, at all cost, have intellectual, as well as every other form of honesty. But; this is another thing from the ahamo faood apology of which I speak and which is neithor one thing nor another. The Svlmi spoko up and acted. And for thin all must honour him who, wliutevcr be their own religious beliefs, vuluc sincerity, truth and ooursge which are the budge of every nobility. And so I offer those few words to his memory whioh we all here, vitlier by our speech or presence, honour to-day. Ohaptbh XXIII. THE PSYCHOLOGY OK HINDU RELIGIOUS RITUAL.* '"pHE word 14 religious " in the title of thin lecture hftn 1 been inserted in order to exclude magic*] ritual, with which I do not deal, though I have a word or two to nay on the subject. An regards the word 44 Hindu", it must bo remem- bered that there is conaidemble variety of doctrine und ritual, for there are a number of communities of Indian worshippers. Though, perhaps, too much atro&s is gene- rally laid on thme dilTeronceH, and sufficient notion is not taken of fundamental points of agreement, y«t there are difference*, and if wo are to be oxact, wo must not forget tint fact. It in not, of oourso, putuiblc, during the hour or ho at my disposal, to treat of all thesu differences. T have, tlioreforo, select**! the ritual of one of these communities enllod ShAktns. Those worshippers ure so culled because they worship the great .Mot here Power or MahftHhnlcti. Their doctrine and practice is of importance, because, (an an Italian author has recently observed,) of its acoentuntion of Will and Power. He describe* it as 4, a magnificent en- swmblo of metaphyric, magic, and devotion raised on gran- diose foundations.” And so, whether it bo acceptable or not, I think it is. The title, therefore, is, in this matter, not exact. Some of what is hero said is of common appli- cation and some in peculiar to the ShAktas. Now as to the word "Ritual". Ritnal is the Art. both of Religion and Magic. Magic, however, is more com- pletely idontifiod with ritual than is religion ; for magic is ritual, using the latter term to include both mental and * Lecture delivered before the India Society on June 24, 1926. Chairman : Sir Francis YoucEhusband. 434 PSYCHOLOGY OF HINDU RITUAL bodily activity ; whereas religion, in the wide sense of Dlmrma, is not merely ritual-worahip, but covers morality also. And so, it is finely said : " The doing of good to others in the highest Dharma." In this sense of the term Dhnmia, wo are not concerned with ritual. Ritual has been the ftubjeot of age long dispute. Whilst there are some who favour it, othem aro fanatically opposed to it. In this matter, India, as usual, shows her great reconciling wisdom. She holds (I speak of those who follow the old ways) that ritual is » necessity for tho mass of men. To this extent ■ho adopts what I may call tho “ Catholic” attitude. She makes, however, conceaaion on tho othor hnnd to the " Pro- tfataut” view, in holding that, us a man becomes more and more spiritual, he is less uud less. dependent on exter- nals, and thoroforc on ritual, which may be practically dispensed with in the cuaa of tho highest. Then an to the word “Psychology”. In order to under- stand the ritual, ono must know the psychology of tho people whose it is ; and in order to know and to under- stand their psychology, we must know their metaphysic. Then- aw some who claim to dispense with metnphysic, but the Indian people have been, throughout their hiatory, pro eminently thinkers. Tho three greatest metaphysical peoples have lwen, in tire past, tho Greek* and the Indians, both Brahmaniat ami Buddhist, ami, in modern limes, the Germans. The Greek, Souskrit, and German language* are pre-eminently fitted for metaphysical use. Wo must thou deal with ractnphyBio when treating of Hindu ritual. I do not propose, however, hero to enter upon the subject more than is absolutely necessary to understand the matter in hand. Now, when wo look around ns, we see everywhere Power, or fihakti. The world is called Jagftt, which meann “the moving thing”, l>ecauee, anticipating modern dootriuo, the Ancient Hindus held that everything was in a state of ceaseless activity, which was not tho Brahman in Itself SHAKTI AND SHAKTA (Svarflpa). Such movement is either due to the inherent power of mind and matter, or to a ceu.se which, though immanent in the universe, yet is not wholly manifested by, but transcends it. This latter alternative represents the Indian view. Power (Nhakti) connotes a Power-holder (8haittimtn). Power as universe is called Sams&ra. The state of power, an it is in itself, that is, the state of Power- holder, is (to use one of the better-known terms, though there are others) Nirvana. What, then, is the nature of experience in the Bamshra 1 Tho luttor is the world of form, and Dhurmn in the Law of Form. Form nooc.marily implies duality and limitation. Therefore, experience in Sams&ca ia an experience of form by form. It is limited, dualist ic experience. It Is limited or Apflma (not tho wholo or oomploto), relative to the state of Nirvfcna, which is the whole (Pflrna) or complete or Perfect Experience. Therefore, whilst the latter is a itato of all-knowingaeaa and all-mightinem, man is a contrac- tion (Saflkooha). and is a “ little-lcnowsr" and " little- doer". The Power-holder is called Shiva-ahakti that is, the supreme Shivashnkti, for tho Uni Wso, being but the manifestation of tho transcoudent Shiva shokti, in also itself Shivnuhakli. The names flhivn and Shakti aro tho twin aspects of one and the same Reality. Shiva denotes tho masculine, unchanging aspect of Divinity, while Shakti denotes its changing feminine aspect. Those two are Harasnh, Ham being Shiva and male, and Sail being Shakti and female. It ia this Hamsah, or legendary “Bird”, which is naid, in the poem called "Wave of Bliss,” “to swim in the waters of the mind of tho great”. The unniani- feat Shiva-shnkti aspect is unknown, except in the 8am 1- dhi or ecstasy of Yoga. But tho Shakti UBpcct, ns mani- fested in tho universe, is near to tho Shlktn worshipper. Ho can see Her and touch Her, for it is 8ha who appears as the universe, and so it is said : " What care I for the Father, if I but lie on the lap of the Mother l" This is the PSYCHOLOGY OF HINDU RITUAL Great Mother, the Mayna Mater of the Mediterranean civilisation, and tho Mahfldovl of India that August Jmago whoso vast body is the universe, whose breasts are Sun und Moon. It was to Her llut the " mad”, wine-drinking Sadhu Bh&ma referred, when he said to a man 1 knew who had lout his mother : “ Earthly mothers and those who auok their breasts are mortal ; but deathless are those who have fed at tho breast of tho Mothor of the Universe." It is She who personalizes in the form ol all the beings in the univrfpte ; and it ia She again who, as the essence of such personalizing, ii tho Supreme Personality (Par&hantA), who in manifnatation in " God in Aotion”. Why, it may bo naked, ia God thought of ub Mother 1 Thia quoatiou may bo countered by another— "Why iu God called Fathor ?" God is sexists. Divinity is spoken of as Mother beoauac It " conocivcu, boars, gives birth to, and nourmhos tho Univene”. In generation man is said to be » helpor only. Tho learned may call this mother-notion, " infan- tiUam M ftod 4t anthropomorpliibiii”. But tbo ShflJcta will not be afraid, and will reply that it is not ha who ha* arbi- trarily invented this imago of the Mother, but that is tho form in whioh 9ho hou heraelf presented Herself to his uuud. The great BhftkU poet, Rlxnapmsida, says : " lly loeling (UhAva) is She known. How then cau Abhhvu (that is, lack of feeling) And her!" In any cose be may re- call the lines of the Indian poot: "If I understand, and you underetand, 0 my mind, what matters it whether any other understand or not!” Viewing the matter more drily and metaphysically, we have then to deal with two states. Firstly, the limited experience of Someira tho Bnoamg, and tho Porfcot Experience or transcendent Ben ly, which is Nirvina. Thin lost atuto is not lor the Sli&kta mere abstract Being. Thia ia a Action of the ratiocinating intellect. It us a massive, rich, and concrete experience, a state which- being power- ful to produce from out itself the Universe- must therefore 437 SH.AKTI AND SHAKTA hold the see:l or raseuoe of it within itself. It is a mistake on this view to suppose that those who attain to it will lose anything of worth by so doing. The first point which is therefore established ia that there are these two states. Both are so established by ex- perience —the first by the ordinary experience man has of this world, and the second by supernormal spiritual experi- ence. For the Hindu holds that the Supremo State is proved not hy speculation or argument (which may yet rendu it* support), but by actual spiritual experience. The second point to romombor ia that then Itio states arc one. We moat not think of '‘creation” in the sense, in which then; is an infinite break bet ween man and God, and, therefore, nun cannot become God. Man, in this system of VedAnta, is, though a contraction of J’ower, nevertheless, in es*cm*,the Bclf-same Power which is God. There is unity (Abhoda) as Essence, and difference (Bheda) iw Manifestation. Similarly, Islamic philosophy diatin- goiahu between independent Zal, or essence, and dependent, and derivative Attribute, or Sifat. F.wonco is ono, Mani- festation is differant. The two are thus neither identical nor separate. Them is that which tlic Hindus call Abheda- Bheda. The third point then is that Man, being sticli Power, he can by his effort, and the grace of lus patron Deity, en- hance it even to the extent that ho becomes one with Divi- nity. And so it is said that " by the worship of Vishnu, man becomes Vishnu”. To know a being or thing is, according to non-dunl VedAnta, to be that thing. To know God, then, is to be God. Mon can then pass from limitod experience, or Samsoia, to Perfect Experience, or Nir- vina. This " towering tenet,” to use Brian JIougBon’e phrase (*' Nepal”), that finite mind may be raised to in- finite consciousness, is also held by Buddhism. Tho practical question then is : How is this experi- ence of oneness with Divinity, its powers and attributes, 438 PSYCHOLOGY OF HINDU RITUAL obtained 1 The answer is that this is the work of BAdhanA and Yoga. The tenn SAdhanA comas from the root S&dh, which means to exert, to strive to attain a particular result or Sirldki, as it is called. The person making the effort, is called S&dhaka, and if ho obtains the result desired, or Siddhi, lie is called Siddha. Etymologically SftdhanA may refer to any efloi't. Thun a person who takes lcaaons in Frenoh or in riding, with a view to learn that language or to become a horseman, is doing HAdhanA for those purposes respectively. If French or riding is learnt, then Siddhi is obtained, and the man who attains it is Siddha, or pro- ficient. iii French and riding respectively. But technically RAdhani re fan either to Ritual Worn hip or Ritual Magic. A SAdhaka in olwayH a dualist, whatever his theoretical doulrinu may be, Ixcauh* worship implied both worshipped and worshipper. The highest aim of religious, worship iu attainment ol the Abode or Heaven of the Divinity wor- shipped. This Heaven ia not NlrvAna. The latter is i\ formless state, whoieas Heaven is a pleasurable abode of forms— a state intermediate between Death and Rebirth. According to the ordinary' view. Ritual Worship w a pre- paration for Yoga. When a man is Siddha iu SAdhanA ho becomes qualified for Yoga, and when he in Siddha in Yoga he attains Perfect Experience. Yoga in thus tho pro- cess whereby mau is raised from Limited to Perfect Ex- perience. Tho SAdhanA with which I um now concerned is religious SAdhar.A, a spiritual effort to aohiovo u moral and .spiritual aim, though it may also seek material blessings from the Divinity worshipped. Magic is tho development ol supernormal power, either by extension of natural faculty or by control over other beings and forces of nature. 1 use the word “ supernormal'' and not " supernatural" because all power is natural. Thus one man may see to a certain extent with his eyes. Another 439 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA m«u with more powerful eyes will see better. A man with a telescope will see further thun either of these two. For the telescope is a scientific extension of the natural faculty of sight. Over and beyond this is the ‘‘magical" exten- sion of power called clairvoyance. The last power is natural hut not normal. Magic (of which Lhoro has boon abuse) has yet boon indiscriminately condemned. Whe- ther an act is good or bad depends upon the intention and the surrounding cimunatancos, and this name rulo applies whether the not. is normal or magical. Thus a man may in dofonoe of his life use physical moans for self-protection, even to the reusing of tho death of hie adversary. Killing in such a case docs not become bad because the moans employed are not normal but " magical". On the other hand, Black Magic, or AbhiohAra, is t)» doing of harm to another without lawful excuse. This tho Scripture (ShRstra) condemns us u great sin. As the " Kulftrnava Tantra" say* (XII. 0.1), " sftmaval sanubhutcbhyo hi(am kmi/ydi KuUalmn "— that is. a man should not injure, but should do good to ofchew a* if they were his own self. In tho Tantra ShMnis are to he found magioal rituals. Some cIiuwob of worku, euoh as the “ Damura*," uro largely occupied with thin subject. It in a mistake, however, to suppose that because a practice in described in the Scrip- ture, It is counselled by it. A book on legal madicina uniy state the substance* by and manner in which » man may lie poisoned. It describes the process which, if carried out, produces u particular result, but it docs not on that account counsel killing. As regards tho magical rites themselves, the view that they are more childish super- stition is not an understanding ono. The objective ritual stimulates, is a support of, and serves the Mind-Hays, which, the Hindus would say, are not less but more power- ful than the physical forms we cull X-rays and the like. It has long been known in India, »s it is Iwcuming known in the West, that the mind is not merely a passive mirror 440 PSYCHOLOGY OF HINDU RITUAL of objects, but is a great and active Power. As I havo al- ready said, liuwever, 1 do nut propose to deal with this subject, and now return to that of religious worship. Religious ritual is either formal (Karma, such as the H6ma rite, or is devotional (Up&sanft), according as the act done belongs to the Karma or Up&sanft lunulas, which together with the Jn&na Kfinda. constitute the three-fold division of Veda. The distinction between Karma and Up&sauft is this. In ritual Karma the result, is produced by performance of the rite, such as HOmu, independently of the effoit of the S&dhaka, provided there bo strict rituul accuracy ; whereas, the fruit of Upft«an&, or psychological worship, depends on the personal devotion of the worehippor, aud without it tho act ia of no avail. Upft-mnft, or devo- tional worship, is again either grow (Sthflla) or subtle (Sflksluna), according to tho degree of competently or ad- vancement ol the SAdhsku or peraon who does Sftdluwifl. We must not understand by tho word *' groes” anything bad. It is merely used in contra-distinction to the wonl “ subtle”. Thus, n worahippor who iu doing his SfldhanA before an exterior image in porfonumg gross worship, where- as he who worships « mentally conceived imago is doing subtlo worship. A man who offers »h 1 fluwora is doing a part of gross worship. Subtle worship in such a case would be tho offering of flowen ol the mind. I will now shortly examine the Ved&ntio theory of Mind, which must bo known if tho ritual is to be understood. There is no Mind without Mutter or Matter without Mind, except ill dreamless sleep, when the latter is wholly with- drawn. Tho Mind has olway* nn object.. In a literal sense, there is no vacuous mind. It in not nwure. of coureo, of all objccta, but only of those to w bicliit. piy* att ention. Nextly, Mind ib not CoiiBciousnesa (Chit) wliicli is immaterial. Mind, on tho contrary, is a quasi-material principle of Un- consciousness, wliich, ou one view, appears to be conscious by reason of tho association ol Consciousness with it. 44 r SHAKTI AND SHAKTA According to tlio Sliftkta Sh&stra view, Mind is an uncon- scious quasi-material force, being the powor of Conscious- ness to limit itself, and to the extent ol such limitation, to appear as unconscious. How than does Mind operate ? A Mind-Hay goes forth to the object, which in its turn shapes the mental substance into the form of the object. Thus, when a man thinks of an image of Divinity intently and without distraction, his mental substance takes the form of the imago. The object which is perceived leaves an impress on tl» mind, and this impress, if repeated, sets up u tendency or Samak&ra. Thua a man who ropaatodly thinks good thoughts has a tendency towards the thinking of such thoughts, anil by continued good thought character in moulded and transformed. As the Ghhandogya IJpu- nishad says: " As a man thinks that he becomes." Simi- larly, the Oandharva Tantra nays : " By meditating on anything as the self, ono becomes that thing." A man can thua shape his tniud for good or bad. The mind affeots the body. As it is said in the West, “the soul is form and doth the body make." 1C very thought has a oornviponding change in the material substance of the brain. Woll, then, as the mind must liavn an objoot which aguiu ahapM the mind, tin ritual selects a good object, namely, the Divinity of worship with all good attributes. The Sftdhalca modiUtes on and worships that. Con- tinued thought, repetition, the engagement of the body in the mental action co-operate to produco a lasting and good tendency in the mental substauce. Sincere and continued effort effect* the transformation of the worshipper into a likeness with the Divinity worshipped. For as lie who is always thinkiug bad thoughts becomes bail, so he who thinks divine thoughts becomes himsolf divine. The transformation which is commenced in Sftdhanl is com- pleted in Yoga, wlmu the difference between worshipper and worshipped oeases in that unitary consciousness whioh is ecstasy or Bam&dhi, or transcendent perfect experience. 44 * PSYCHOLOGY OF HINDU RITUAL Let uo now examine come illustrations of the psycho- logical principle* stated. Divinity as it is in Itself cannot (as an Indian writer has said) be seized by tho mind any more than nir can be grasped by a pair of tonga. It is necessary, therefore, to have something placed before one as a rt.jn&tenlatux of something else, which is what the Sanskrit forma, Pratt ks Pratiml, for tho object worshipped, mean. This mnv ho an external object or u raontal one. As regards the former, there are varying dugreee of groseuws and subtlety. The grossest is lliul in vvliiuh Ilium is uo call upon imagination - that is, the Image of tliree dimensions. Leu so is the painting on tho flat ; then comes the emblem, which may be quite unlike the Dovnta or Divinity, of which it is an em- blem, such ay the ShhlagrAma stone in tho worship of Via huu, and, lastly, the Yantra, which is flic diagrammatic body of * Mantra. Worship U outor -that in, of an outer objoct with physical acts such uh bodily prostrations, offering of rani flowers, mid so on : or it uioy be partly or wholly mental, as in the latter case, w lie re both the form of the Divinity is imagined (according to the nieditotional form or DbyAna given in the Hcriptures) as also the offerings. The forme of worship vary according to the capacity of the worshipper. In tho simplest form, the worshipper draws upon the daily life, and treats tho Divinity whom ho invokes m lie would a guest, welcoming It after its journey, offering water for tho dusty foci and the mouth, present- ing It with flowers, lighte, olothce, and so on. Thoeo in- gredient 8 of worship are called Up&chftrk. In the psycho- phy&iologiCAl rites of some Sh&ktas, tho abuse of which has brought them ill-fame, the 1 UplchAiA are the functions of the body. In image-worship, the mind is shaped into the form of the object perceived. But the perception of a material image is not enough. The worshipper must see Divinity before him. This he invokes into the imago by 443 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA W’Jiat is called the welcoming fXv&hana) and Life-giving (Prilnapmtiahthh) ceremoniea, just ae, at the conclusion of the worship, ho hida the Deity depart (Viaarjana). Un- comprehending minds have asked : “ How can God be made to come and go #" The answer is that Ho docs not. Wliat come and go are the modifications, or vrittis, of and in tlio mind of the Sftdhaka or worshipper. To invoke the Deity means, then, a direction not to the l>oity, but by the worshipper to himself to understand that the Deity is there. Deity which is omnipresent is in the Imago as elsewhere, whatever the Sftdhaka may do or not do. The Sftdhaka informs hia own mind with the notion that the Deity is present. Ho in then conaoioua of the preocnco of end modi* tatw on Divinity and itn attributes, and if lm 1)« midis* traded , his mind and ila thought are thereby divinely shaped. Boforo the Divinity so present, both objectively and to the mind of tho Sftdhaka, worship is done. It is olear that the mow this worship is sincerely continued, tln» greater both in dogroe and persistence is the transform* Atinn effected. The body in made to take its part either hy appropriate geaturee, called Mudrft, or other acta such ua prostrations, offorings, libations, and so forth. By oonstant worship tho mind and disposition become good, for good thought* repeated make a man good. Ritual produces by degrees transformation, at first temporary, later lasting. " Bidding the Divinity deport" moans that tho mind of the Sftdhaka has oeaaed to worship the linage. It is not that the Deity is made to retire at the behest of his worshipper. A true Sftdhaka has Divinity ever in his thoughts, whether he is doing formal worship or not. “ In- vitation” and " Bidding Depart” are done for the purposes of the worship of the Image only. Personally, I doubt whothcr idolatry exists anywhere in the sense that a wor- shipper believes a material image as such to be God. But, in any case, Indian image-worship requires for ita under- standing and practice some knowledge of Vedftnta. ■m PSYCHOLOGY OF HINDU RITUAL Transformation of consciousiiefia-fefUng by ritual may be illustrated by ft short examination of some other of its forms. Gesture of the hands, or Mudrft, is a common part of tho ritual. There is necessarily movement ol the hands and body in any worship wliich requires external action, but I here speak of the specialty designed gestures. For instance, I am now making the Fish (feature, or Mats y a Mudrfl,. The hands represent a fiah and it* fin*. The making of this gesture indicate* that the wornhipper ia offering not only the small quantity of water which is con- tained in the ritual vessel, hut tliat (such is hi* devotion) his intention is to give to the Deity all the oceans with tho fish and other marine animals therein. Tho flfcdhak* might, of course, form this intention without gesture, but oxperienoe show* that gesture emphasize* and intensifies thought, as in the case of public speairirg. The l>ody is modo to move with the thought. I refer hero to ritual gesture*. Tho tom MudrA ia ulao employed to denote bodily pn lures assumed in Hatha yoga as a health-giving gymnastic. Xaone, or scat, has more importance In Yoga than in Sidhanh. The principle as regards Asana is to acoure a comfortable scat, because that ie favourable to meditation and worship generally. If one is not comfortablo there is drill action ami worry. Both MudrA and Aaana are. there- fore, ancillary to worship an I'fljA, the principle of which has been described. Jupa is recital of Mantra, tho count boing done either on a rosary or the phalanges of the fingers. What ie a Mantra ? A Mantra is Divinity. It is Divine Power, or Daivi Shalt ti, manifesting in a sound body. The SbAstra guys tliat those go to Hell who think that an image is a mere s‘one. that Mantras are merely letters, and that a Guru is a mere mar, and nob a manifestation and represent- ative of tho Lord ns Supremo Teacher, Eliminator, and 445 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA Director. The cliief Mantra is Om. This rcproscnte to human ears the sound of the first general movement of Divine Power towards the manifestation of the Universe. All other Mantras are particular movements and Bounds (for the two co-exist) derived from Om. Here the Sftdhaka strives to realtze his unity with the Mantra, or Divinity, and to the extent, that he does so, the Mantra Power (Mautra-Shakti) aupplements hi* worship-power (SAdhanA Shakti). This rite is also an illustration of the principle that repetition makoa perfect, for the repetition is done fit may lie) thousand# of times. Japa is of three kinds- -gross, subtle, and supreme. In the first, tho Mantra is audibly repeated, the objective body-aspect or sound predominating ; in the second, there is no audible sound, the lips and other organs forming themselves into the position vrhioh, together with contact with the air, produce the sound of the letter* ; in the third, the Japa in mental - that is, there is omphasia on tho Divine, or subjective aspect. Tliia is a means for tho ritual real- ization— that is, by mind— of the unity of human power and Divine Power. Ny&se is an important rite. Tho word means " placing" —that is, of the hands of the SAdhaJcA on dillerent pari# of his body, at the same time, saying the appropriate Man- tras, and imagining that by his action the corresponding parts of the body of the Deity are placed there. The rile terminates with a movement of tho hands, " spreading" the Divinity all over tho body. It is not uupposod that the Divinity can bo spread like butter uu bread. The Supreme Mother-Power is tho Brahman, or All-Pervading fmmense. What is all -spreading cannot be moved or spread. What can, however, be " spread” is the thought of the worship- per, who. with appropriate bodily gesture, imagines that the Deity pervades his body, which is renewed and divinized. By imagining the body of the Deity to be his body, he purifies himself, and affirms hia unity with the DevAtA, 446 PSYCHOLOGY OF HINDU RITUAL An essential element in all rifcee is Bhfitaehuddhi, which means the purification of the elements of which the body it composed. Sian is physical and psychical. The physical body is constituted of five modes ol motion of material substance, which have each, it is said, centres in the spinal column, at points which in the body corres- pond to '-he position of various plexuses. These centres oxter.dfrom the base of tho spine to the throat. Between the eyebrows is tho sixth or psychical centre, or mind. At the top of the brain, or cerebrum, is tho plaoc of con- sciousness ; not that Conaciouaneaa in itself- -that is, as distinct from Mind— cun have a centre or be localized in any way ; for, it is immaterial and all-porvading. But, at this point, it is tho least veiled by mind and matter, and is, therefore, most munifest. This place is the abode ol trans- cendent. 8hiva-8hakti as Power-holder. In tho lowest centre (MMAdhftra), which is st the base of the spine, there Bleeps the Immanent Oosmio Power in bodies called Kun- dalinl Shokti. Horn Sbo is ordinarily at rest. She is bo, so long as mau enjoys limited world-experience. Bho is tlu-n roused. " JdgraM Janani" {" Arise, 0 Mother !”,) calls out the SMhaka poot, RAmiprssftda, “How long wilt thou sleep in the MOWdhara !" When so roused, She is led up through the spinal column, absorbing all the physical and peychical centres, and unites with Shiva as consciousness in the cerebrum, which is known ns tho •* thouwmd-petallpd lotos”. The body i» then drenched with and renowed by tho noctar which is tho result of their union and is immortal life. Thia is the ecstasy which is the marriage of the Inner Divine Man and Woman. Meta- physically speaking, for the duration of such union, there is a substitution of the Supreme Experience for World- Experience, This is the real process in Yoga. But in ritual (for all are not Yogis) it is imagined only. In imagination, tho 11 man of Bin ” (Papapurusha) is burnt in mental fire. 447 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA Kundaliul abaorbe tho eontrca, unites with Shiva, and then, rcdeeoendiug, recreates the centres, bathing them in nco- tar. By the menial representation of this process, the mind and body arc purified, and the former is made to realize the uu:ty of man and the Supreme Power, whose limited form he is, and the manner whereby the Universe is involved into and evolved from Shiva-ahakti. All these, and other rituals which I have no time to mention, keep the mind of tlie S&dhaka occupied with the thought of the Supreme Power and of hi* MKntial unity with It, with tho result that he becomes more and more tliat which he Lkiulu upon. Hio Bh&vu, or disposition, becomes purified and divinised bo far as that can lx- in the world. At length practice makes parfeot in S&dhnnA, ami on the arising in such purified and illuminated mind, of knowledge anti detachment from the world, there is com- petency for Yoga. When in turn practice in Yoga makes perfect, all limitations on experience are shed, anu Nirvftna is attained. Ordinarily it i« said that enjoyment (Bhoga) only en- chain a and Yoga only liberates. Enjoyment (Bhoga) docn not only mean that which is bod (Adhnrma) Bad enjoyment certainly enchains and also leads to Hell. Good— that is, lawful— enjoyment also enchains, even though Heaven is its fruit. Moreover, Bhoga means both enjoymeut and suffering. But, according to the Bengal Shakta worshippers, Enjoyment, (which must necessarily be lawful) and Yoga may be one. According to this me- thod (see Mnsspn-Oureel, “ Kequisso d’une Histoiro dc la Philosophic I julienne"), the body is not of necessity an obstacle to liberation. For, there is no autinomy, except such as wo ouraolvcis fancy, between Nature and Spirit, and therefore there is nothing wrong or low in natural function. Nature is the instrument for the realization of the aims of the Spirit. Yoga controls but does not frus- trate enjoyment, which may be itself Yoga in so far as it 44 » PSYCHOLOGY OF HINDU RITUAL pacifies the mind and makes man one with his inner self. The spontaneity of liic ie under no suspicion. Supremo power is immanent in body and miud, and these are also forms of its expression. And ho, in the psycho-physio- logical rites of those Sh&ktas, to which I have referred, the body and its functions are sought to he made a means of, as they may otherwise be an obstacle to, liberation. Thn V!ra, or heroic man. is powerful for mastery on all the plains and to pass beyond them. He does not shun the world from fear of it, bnt holds it in his grasp and 1 earns its secret. He can do bo because the world dona not exist in isolation from somo transcendent Divinity exterior to Nature, but ie itself the Divine Power inseparate from the Divine Besenoe. He known that lie is himself as body and mind euch power, and an bpirit or Self such essence. When he lias learned tlus, he escapee both from the servile sub- jection to circumstance, and tho ignorant driftings of a humanity which ha* not yet real i ted itself. Moat are still not men but candidates for Humanity. But ho is tho illumined master of himself, whether ho is developing all his powera m this world, or liliomting himself therefrom at his will. I conolude by citing a verso from a Hymn in the great *' Mah&k&la 8am hith," by a Sftdlialca who hod uurpansc.1 tho stage of formal external ritual, and was of a highly advanced devotional type. I first read the vewe and then give a commentary thereon which is my own. " I torture not my body by austerity.” (For the body is the Divine Mother, Why then tor- ture it ? The Hymnist is speaking of those who, like him- self, have realized that the body is a manifestation of tho Divino IWnce. He does not say that no one is to practise austerities. Those may be necessary for those who have, not realised that tho body ia divino, and who, on the con- trary, look upon it as a material obstacle which must he atriotly oontrollcd. It ia a common mistake of Western SHAKTI AND SHAKTA critics to take that which ia meant for the particular cose aa applying to all.) 11 I make no pilgrimages. ” (For the; sacred places in their esoteric sense are in the body of the worshipper. Why should he who knows thia travel ? Those, however, who do not know this may pro- fitably travel to the exterior sacred places such as Benares, Puri, Brindaban.) “ I waste not my time in reading the Vedas." (This dons not mean that no one in to read the Vedas. Ho has already done so, but the Kul&mavn T intro nays : “ Rxtraot the essoin* of the Script urea, and then cast away the mat, as chart is separated from the graiu.” When the easenco has beon extracted, what need ia there of further reading and study ? Moreover, the Veda recalls the spiritual experiences of others. What each man wants is that ex- perience for himself, and this is not to be had by rending and specula! ion, but by practice, aa worship or Yoga.) But, says the author of the Hymn, adducing the Divine Mother : " I t.ako rofugo at thy Snored Feet." (For this in both tho hichmt Sftdhan* and tho fruit of it.) In conclusion, 1 will say a won! upon the Tftutra 8h4r stra to which I have referred. Tho four chief Scriptures of the. Hindus arc Veda, Smriti, Purina and Agama. Them are four Ages, and to each of throe Ages is assigned its own peculiar Scripture. For the present Ago the gov- erning 8cripturc in the Agama. The Aganin or " tradi- tions,’’ ia made up of several schools such us Vaishnava, Shaiva and Rhftlrta. It is a mistake to suppose that Agama ia a name given only to the Southern Scriptures, and that Tantra iB the nemo of.tlie 8cripturc« of tho Bengal School of Shlktas. The 8oripta» of all thcae communi- ties is the Agama, and the Agama is constituted of Scrip- tures CAlled Tantra and also by other numes. To these Tautras titles are given just as they are given to chapters in 450 PSYCHOLOGY OF HINDU RITUAL a book, such as the Lakshin! Tantru of the Vaishnava Panchar&tra, MdlinSvijaya T antra of the Kashmir Shaivo Agama, nnd the Kulfimava Tantra of thi Bengal Sh&lcta Agama. Those four Scriptures do not supersede or con- tradict one another, but are said to be various expressions of the one truth presented in diverse forms, suited to the inhabitants of the different A^es. As a Pandit very learned in the Agama told me, all the Scriptures constitute one great " Mony-millioned Collection” (fihatakoti Samhita). Only portions of the Vnidik Ritual have survived to-day. The bulk of the ritiul which to-day governs all the old schools of Hindu worshippers is to bo found in the igamaa and their T antra*. And in this lies one reason for their importance. ClfAPTBB XXIV. SHAKTI AS MANTRA. (Mamtrauavi Shakti.) 'T'HIB is in every way both a moat important, as well 1 us a inoat difficult, subject in the Tuulra Sliftatm ; ao difficult that it is not understood, and on this account lias been ridiouled. Mantrn, in the words of » distinguished Indian, haa been called " meaningless jabber". When we Ibid Indiana thus talking of their ShfUtra, it is not surprising that Europeans should take it to he of no account. They naturally, though erroneously, supposo that the Iudian always undcrotnndH hia own beliefs, and if he say.« they are absurd it is taken that tlwy are so. Even, however, amongst Indian*, who have not loat. t.hemaelvoa through an English Education, the Soionce of Mantra it largely unknown. Them are not many student.* of the Mliu&iuiA now-*-daye. The English Educated have In this, as in otheT matters, generally taken tlw cue from their Western Gurus, and passed upon MautrnvidyA a borrowed condemnation. There are those among them (particularly in this purl of India), those who have in the pant thought little of their old culture, and have been only too willing to aril their old lamps for new ones. Because they are new they will not always he found to give better light. Lot us hope this will clungo, as indeed it will. Before tho Iudian condemns his oultural inheritance lot him nt least first study and understand it. It is true that Mantra is meaningless - to iJiost who do wl know its meaning : but to those who do, it is not "Jabber” ; though of course like everything else it may become, and indeed has become, the subject of ignorance and superstitious use. A telegram written in code in a merchant's office will seem the merest gibberish to those who do not know that code. Those who do may spell thereout a tranurtotion bringing 452 SHAKTI AS MANTRA lak iut of “ roal” Rupees for those who have sont it. Mantra - vidyi, whether it be true or not, is a profoundly conceived science, and, as interpreted by the Sh&kta Agama, is a practical application .of Vcd Antic doctrine. The textual aouroe of Mantras is to be found in the Vedas (see in particular .the Mantra portion of the Atharva- veda bo associated wi'.h tire Tantra ShAattt), the Purinaa and TantraB. The Utter Scripture is essentially the Mantra- ShAstra. In fact it in ao called generally by Sftdhakns and not Tantra Shietnt. And so it ia said of all the ShAatrae, symbolised uh a body, that Tantra ShAatra which consist* of Mantra ia tho ParamAbmA, tlie Vodaa uco the JivAtmA, Daraliuua or system* of philosophy are t he nonane, Purines are ths body and the Suuitis are tho limbs. Tantra Sliiatm is thus tlin Shakti of Oonaoiouenm consisting ol Muntra. For, us the VUhvuflftraTontm (Ch. 2) says, ths Parabruhmuu in Its form as tho Hound Brahman (Bhabda-Urahman or Saguna-Brahmun), whoso eubstanoo is all Mantra’, exists in tho body of the JtvlunA. Kundalint Shakt.i is a form of ths 8b»lvU*Brahinan in individual bodies (HhAmdA-'l'iUks, Ch. 1). It in from thin Shabda- Brahman that tho whole uni verso proooods in tho form of sound (Shabda) and tho objeote (Artha) whioh sound or words denote. And thin in tho moaning of tho statement that tho Dev! and tho Universe ara oomposKl of lottore, tliat is, tho signs fur tl>e aounda which denote all that is. At any point in the flow ol phenomena, wo can enter the stream, and realize therein the changeless Ronl. Tho latter is everywhere and in all things, and is hidden in, and manifested by. sound as by all else. Any form (and all which is not the Formless is that) can brt pierced by the mind, and union may bo had therein with the Devntft who is at its ooro. It mattors not what that form may bo. And why ? What I have raid concerning Shakti gives tho answer. All is Shakti. All ia Gmsoiousnesa. We desire- to think and speak. This is IchchhA Shakti. We make *n SHAKTI AND SHAKTA effort towards renliitation This i* Kriya Shalcti. We think and know. This is Jn&na Shalcti. Through Prfcua- v&yu, another form of Shakti, wo Bpaak ; and tho word wo utter is Shakti MantramayL For wrk»t is a lottor (Varna) which i& made into syllable (Pad*) aud sentences (Vakya) ? It may be hoard in apsech, thus affecting the sense of hear- ing. It may be soon a* a form in writing. It may be tactu- ally sensed by the blind through the perforated dots of Braille type. The same thing thas affecting the various senses. But what ia the thing whioh does so ? The senses am Shakti. and so is the objective form whioh evokes the sensation. Both are in thamsolvca Shakti fta Chit Shakti and May* Shalcti, and tho Svariip. of theao io Chit or Feuling-Consoiouanoso. When, therefore, a Mantra is real- ised ; whan there is what in called in the Sh&atre Mantra- Chuitunya, what happens is tho union of tho consciousness of the Sldlioka with that Consciousness which manifest* in tho form of the. Mautra. It is this union whioh makes the Mantra "work 1 ’. The subject is of such importance in the Tantraa that tboir other name is Mantra Bhistra. But what is a Mantra ? Commonly Orientalists and others describe Mantra as “Prayer," “Formula.* of worship," ". Mystic syllables" and bo forth. Thcso am but tho suporfioinlitica of thoeo who do not know their subjeot. Wherever wo find tho word “Mystic", wo may be on our guard : fur it is a word which oovbib much iguomnee. Thus Mantra is said to be a "mystic" word ; Yantra a "myotic" diagram, and Mhdrft a “mystic” gesture. But have these definitions taught us anything f No, nothing. Those who framed these defi- nitions knew nothing of their subject. And yet, whilst 1 am aware of no work in any European language whioh 8 hows a knowledge of what Mantra is or of its science (Mantra- vidya), there is nevertheless perhapo no subject which has been eo ridiculed ; u not unuaual attitude of ignorance. Tlicrw i» a widoly diffused lower mind whioh says, “what I 454 SHAKTI AS MANTRA do cot understand is absurd”. But this science, whether well-founded or not, is not that. Those who ao think might expeot Mnntrua which arc prayers and tko moaning of which they understand ; for with prayer the whole world is familiar. But such appreciation itself displays a lack of umlereUndiug. For there is nothing necessarily holy or prayerful alone in Mantras as some think. .Some combinations of letters constitute prayers and are called Mantras, as for instance the most celebrated Gftyatri Mantra. A Mantra is not the same thing ns prayer or self- dedication (Atma-nivedana). ProycT is conveyed in tho words the Sidhaka chooses. Any set of words or letters itt not a Mnntia. Only that Mantra in which the Devatft has rovealod His or Her particular aspects can reveal that aspect, and is therefore the Mnntra of that ono of His or Her particular aspects. The relations of the letters (Varna), whether vowel or consonant. N(lda aud Bindu, in » Mantra indicate the appearance of Devatft in different forms. Cer- tain VibhdU or aspects of tho DovatiL am inherent in certain Varna, but perfect Shakti does not appear in any but a whole Mantra. All letters are forms of the Sbabda-Brahmun, but only particular combinations of lottera aro a particular form, just iu the name of a particular being is made up of certain lottera and not of any indiscriminately. The whole universe in Shalcti and is pervaded by Shakti. Nftdn, Bindu, Varna are ell forms of Shakti aud combinations of theao, and thoso combinations only ore the Shabda corresponding to tho Axtho or forms of any particulai Devatft. Tho gross lettered sound is, as explained later, the manifestation of Bound in a more subtle form, ‘and this again is the production of causal "sound” iu its supreme (Para) form. Mantras are manifestations of Kulekundalint (see Chapter on the same) which is a name for tlie Shabda-Brahman or Saguna-Brabman in individual bodies. Produced Shabda is an aspect of the Jtva’s vital Shakti. Kundalt ia the Shakti who gives life to the Jlva. She it is who in the MQlftdhftra Chakra (or basal bodily 455 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA oentre) is the cause o{ tlie sweet, indistinct ami murmuring Dhvani which ia compared to the humming of a black bee. Thence Shabda originates and, being first Pc.rh, gradually manifests upwards ao PoahyAnti, Madliyaiuh Vaikhar? (see yesf.) Juat as in outer space, waves of sound are produced by movements of air (Ylyu), no in the space within the JSva's body, waves of sound are said to bo produced accord- ing to the movements of the vital air (Prina-vhyu) and the process of in and out breathing. As the Svnrflpa of Kundall, in whom are all sounds, is Paramltmi, so the ■ulstance of all Mantra, Her manifestation, is Consciousness (Chit) manifesting as letters and words. In fact the letters of the Alphabet which are cnllod Alaliara oro nothing but tbu Yantia of the Akahara or Irnporishable Brahman. Thin ia however only reulired by the BAdhaka, when his Bhukti generated by SAdhanft is united with Mwitra-Shakti. Kuudalinl, who is extremely subtle, manifest* in groas (Bthflla) form in differing aspects as different DevatAe. It is tins gross form which is the Presiding Deity (Adlshthht.il Devathj of a Mantra, though it is the subtJc (SQkahnia) form at which all SAdhalcai aim, Mantra and Da vat A are thus one and particular form* of Brahman as 8hiva-8hakti. There- fore the ShAstra nays that they go to Hell who think that the Imago (or " Idol” as it in commonly cnllod) is but a stono mid the Mantra merely lottere of the alphabet. It in therefore also ignorance of Bhtatric prinoiple which suppose# that Mantra is merely the name for the words in which one ex- presses what one has to say to the Divinity, if it were, the Sid lmlc a might choose hia own language without recourse to the eternal and determined sounds of ShAstra. (Sou gene- rally m to the above the Chapter on Mantra-tatitva in second volume of “Principles of Tantra,” Ed. A. Avalon.) The particular Mantra of a Devatft is that DevatfL A Mantra, on the ooutrary, consists of certain letters arranged in dofinifcc sequence of sounds of which tbo Icttcra arc the representative signs. To produoc the designed effect, the Mantra must be 456 SHAKTI AS MANTRA intoned in the proper way, according to both sound (Varna) and rhythm (Svara). Tor these reasons, a Mantra when translated ceases to be such, and becomes a mere word or sentence. By Mantra, the sought- for (SAdhya) DevatA appears, and by Siddhi therein is had vision of the three worlds. As the Mantra is in fact DevatA, by practice thereof this is known Not merely do the rhythmical vibrations of its sounds regulate the unsteady vibrations of the ahoaths of the worshipper, but therefrom the image of the DevatA appears. As iko Brihad-Gaudluirva Tantra says (Clu V) • Shrinu devi pramkehydmi btjdndm deva-rtipahtm Mantrochehdraramdtrcna deva-rUpam prajttyate. Mantrasiddhi is the ability to make a Mantra efHcaoious and to gather its fruit in which caae the fildhaka is Mantra- ■iddha. As the PrAnatoahint (610) tays, "Whatever the SAdhaka desires that he surely obtains." Whilst therefore pmyor may end in merely physical sound, Mantra is sv«r, when rightly said, a potent compelling toroo, a word of power effective both to produce umUiiinl gain and accom- plish worldly desires, as also to promote the fourth aim of sentient being (Cluiturvarga), Advaitic knowledge, and liberation. . And thus it ia said that Siddhi (success) is tko certain result of Japa or rcoitation of Mantra. Some Mantras constitute also what the European would oall "prayers", ns for instance the oelebratcd GAyatrt. But neither this nor any other Mantra is simply a prayer. The GAyatrt runs Om (The thought is directed to tho three fold Energy of the One as represented by the three letters of which Otn ia composed, namely, A or Braltml, the Sliakti which creates ; U or Vishnu, the Shakti which maintains ; and M or Rudra, tho Shakti which "destroys,’’ that is, withdraws tho world) : NAda and Bindu, Barth, Middle region, Heaven (of which as the transmigrating worlds of SamsAra, God, as Om, as also in the form of the Sun, is the Creator). Let woo n- templak upon the Adorable Spirit of the Divine Creator who SHAKTI AND SHAKTA ts in the f own of the Sun ( Aditya-Devati). May He direct our minds, tounrds attainment of the four fold a inu (Dharma, Artha, Kftma, Moksha) of all sentient being. Om. This great Mantra bears a meaning ou its face, though the Commentaries explain and amplify it. The Self of alt which exists in the three regions appears in the form of the Sun-god with Hia body of fire. . The Brahman ta the cause of all. and as the visible DovatA is the Eye of the World and the Maker of the day who vivifies, ripens and reveals all beings and thinge. The Sun-god in to the sun what the Spint (Atm&) ia to the body. Ife is the Supremo in the form of the groat Luminary. His body is the Light of the world, and Ho Hiiusclf ia the light of the liven of all beings. He is every- where. Ho is in the outer other as the sun, and in the inner ethereal region of tire heart. He is the Wondrous Light which is the smokeless Fire. Ho it ia who is m con- Htant play with creation (Sriahtd), maintenance (Hthita) and ‘'destruction" (Finlaya) ; and by Hie radiance plenties both oyo and mind. Lot Us adore Him that wo may uacapo the- misery of birth and death. May He ever direct, our minds (Buddhivritti) upon the path of the world (Tri varga) and liberation (Moksha). Only the twicoborn castes and men may utter this G&yatrf. To the Shfldra, whether man or woman, and to women of all castes, it is forbidden. But the Tantiu ShUtra has not the exclusiveness of the Vaidik s>-stem . Thus the Mah&uirvftna provides (IV. 109-111) a Brahmagftyatrt for all: "May we know tho Supreme Lord. Leo us contemplate the Supreme Essence. Aud may the Brahman direot Us." All will readily under- stand such Mantras as t he Gftyatrf, though some comment, which is thought amusing, has heen mado on the "meaning- less" Om. T have already Htated what it means, namely, (shortly speaking) the Energy (Nlda) in 8ad&khyn Tattva which, springing from Bhiva-Shakti Tattva, "solidifies" it- self (Ghapfbhflta) as the creative Power of the Lord (Bindu or Iahvara Tattva) manifesting in the Trinity or Creative 458 SHAKTI AS MANTRA Energies. (For further details see my “ Garland of Lettere ’’.) “Oxn" then stands for the most general aspect of That as the Source of all. As it is recited, the idea arista in the mind corresponding with the sound which has been said to be tho expression on tho gross plane of that subtle "sound” which accompanied tho first creative vibration. When rightly uttered this great syllable 1ms an awe-inspiring effect. A* I heard this Mantra ohantod by some hundred Bud- dhist monks (one after the other) in a northern monastery it soomed bo be the distant murmuring roll of sorao vast cosmio ocean. "Om” is the most prominent example of a " meaningless” Mant ra, that is, one whioh does not bear its meaning on its face, and of what i'a called a seed or BIja Mantra, because they are the very quintessence of Mantra, and the seed (Bfjn) of the fruit which is Siddhi (spiritual achievement). These are properly monosyllabic. Om in a Vaidik Btja, but it is the source of all the othor T&ntrik Btjns whioh represent particular Devatl aipscte of that whioh is presented as a whole in Om. As a Miintre-Sh fcetra, tho Ten trad have greatly elaborated tho Bijao, and thua inourred tho charge of "gibberish, ” for such the Btjaa sound to those who do not know what thoy mean. Though u Mantra such as a Bija-mautra may not convey its moaning on >ts face,’ the initiate knows that its meaning is tho own form (Svarflps) of the particular Dcvatll whose Mantra it is, and that tho essence of the Btja is that which makes letters sound, and exists in all which we say or hear. Every Mantra in thua n particular sound form (Rtlpa) of the Brah- man. There are a very large number of theso short unoty- mologioal vocables or Bfjae euoh an Hrtm, Shjfm, Krlm, IIQui, Hum, Phat called by various names. Thus the first is called the Mlyft Bfja, the second Lakshml Bija, the third Kali Bfja, the fourth Kurcha Btja, the fifth Vorma Bija, the sixth Astra Btja. Ram is Agm Btja, Em is Yoni Bija, Klim ia K&ma Bija, Shrtm is Badhfl Bfja, Aim Saras vati Btja and so forth. Each Devatd has His or Her Bija. 459 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA Thus Hrfm is tho M&yft Krfm the KA1I Bijo. The Bija is used in the worship of the DcvutA whose Mantra it is. All these Btjaa mcntiouod aro iii common use. Tliere are a large, number of others, some of whioh are formed with the first letters ol the name of the DovutA for whom they stand, such as for Cam (Ganeaha), DQni for Durgfi. Ut us then shortly see by examples what the meaning of suoh a Bija is. (For a fuller aooount see my "Garland of Lntoew”.) In the first place, the reader will observe the common ending “ni” which represent* the Sanskrit breathings known n« NAda and Hindu or Chandru- bindu. . Tluvic have tho same meaning in all. They aro tire BUaktio of that name appearing in the table of tho 30 Tattvus given ante. They are ntutoa of Divine Power immediately preceding tho manifestation of tho objective universe. The other lot ten denote nubecqucnfl develop- ment* of Shakti, and various aspoot* of the manifested Devatifl mentioned below. There arc sometime* variant interpretations given. Take the great Bhubaneihvari or MltyA Btjn, Brim. I have given one interpretation in my Studio* above cited. From the TAntrilr compendium tho PrAnatochinf quoting the BnradA Tanttra we got tho following: Hrtm-H+R+I+M. H-Shiva. IU. Shakti Prakrit!, t— Mali Am Ay A. "M" is os above explained, but Is here stated in the form that NAda is the Progenitrix of tho Uruveroo, and Bindu whioh is Brahman as Iahvara and Ishvari (IshvaraUttvu) is dosoribed for the Sudhaka as the "Dispeller of Sorrow". Tire meaning therefore of this BJjo Mantra which is used in the worship of MabAm&yA or Bhuba- neshvarf is, that that Devi in Her Turlya or transcendent state is NAda and Bindu, and is the causal body manifesting na Shiva-Shakti in tho form of tire manifested universe. Tho same idea is oxpreased in varying form but with the same subeUmeo by the DevigttA (Cli. IV) which says that H— gross body, R=subtle body, 1= causal body and M= the Turiya ur transcendent fourth state. In other words, SHAKTI AS MANTRA the SAdhaka worshipping the Devi with Hiim, by that Bija calls to mind the transcendent Shakti who U the causal body of tlw Bubtle and gross bodies of all existing things. 8krtm (see BaradA Tantra) is used in the - worship of Lakshin! Devi. Sh=Mahalakshml, R— Wealth (DhanArtham) which ae well na I— (satisfaction or Tushtyirtham) She gives. Kritn is used in the worahip of KAIL Ka=KAJ! [Shakti worshipped for relief from the world and its sorrow*). K= Brahma (Shiva with whom She is ever ssaooiated). I— MahimAyA (Her aspect in which She overcomes for the SAdhnkn the MftyA in which ae Croatrix Sho hsa involved him). " Aim ” is used in the worship of Snraavntf and ia VAgbhava Btja. Dflm is used in thv worahip of DurgA. D^Durgi. protection. NAda=H«r aspect as Mother of tiro Uuivurse, uud Biudu is its Ijord. The SAdhaka aal» DurgA as Mother-Lord to protect him, and looks on Her in Her protecting aspect as upholder of the universe (JaguddhAtrt). In "Btrtm," S= saving from difficulty. T»cleliv,*rer. R«=*(hcro> liberation (Muktyartho replia ukto’tro). I— MahAmAyA. Bindu»Dis- pallar of griof. N Ada* Mother of tire Universe. She as tho Lord is the ditpoiler of MAyA and the sorrows it produce*’, tho Saviour and deliverer from all difficulties by grant of liberation. I have dealt elsewhere (“Serpent Powor") with Hum and Hfha the former of which is called Vemia (armour) Btja and the latter KArgha, H denoting Shiva in "fl", His Hhairava or formidable aspect (see generally Vol. I, TAutrik Toxta. TantrAbhirlhAna). Ho ia an armour to tho SAdhaka by IDs destruction of evil. That is tho weapon or guarding Mantra used with Hum, just as SvAhA (tho Shakti of Firo), is used with Voshat, in making offerings. The primary Mantra of n Devatl is called M Ala-mantra. Mantras are solar (Saura) and masculine, and lunar (Saumya) and feminine, on also neuter. If it be asked why things of mind are given sex, the answer is for the eakc of the requirements of the worshipper. The masculine and ueuter forms are called specifically Mantra and the feminine Vidyft, SHAKTI AND SHAKTA though the first tenu may bo used for both. Neuter Mnulras end with Nnmah. Hum, Pliat arc masculine terminations , and “Them” or SvfthA, feminine (see BhArad&tilaka II. Nlradapancharfttra VII, 'Prayugito&nt, Pr&natoshiu! 70). The Nityi Tantra. gives various names to Mantra according to tho number of the syllables such as Pinda, Kartell, Bija, Muntra, Mali. Commonly however the term Bija is applied to monosyllabic Mantras. The word “Mantra" comes from die root "man" to think. " Man" is the first syllable of mammi or thinking. It is also the root of the word "Man" who alone of all oroation is properly a Thinker. “JVfl" come# from tho root "tri," for the effect of a Mantra when used with that end, is to save him wlu» utters and realises it. Tia is the fiml syllable of Trdm or liberation from tho Sams lira. By comhinatton of man and fra, that is called Mantra which, from the religions stand-point, calls forth (Amantrana) tho lour aims (Chatur varga) of sentient being as happiness in the world and eternal bliss in Liberation. Mantra is thus Thought-movement vehicled by, and expressed in. speech. Its Svarftpa is, like all olsc, consciousness (Chit) which is the Shabdn-Brahman. A Mantra is not merely oound or lottcro. This is a form in which Bhalrti manifest* Herself. The mere utterance of a Mantra without knowing its meaning, without realisation of the consciousness which Maiitro manifests is a mole movement of the lips and nothing else. We are then in the outer husk of consciousness ; just as we are when we identify ourselves with any other form of gross matter which is, as it wore, tho “crust" (as a friend of mine lias aptly callod it) of those subtler forces which emerge from t ho Yoni or Cause of all, who is, in Herself Consciousness (Chidrfipini). When the S&ilhaka knows the moaning of tho Mantra ho ruakr8 an advance. But this in not enough. He must, through his consciousness, realise that Consciousness which appears iu the form of the Mantra, and thus attain Mantra-Chaitanya. At this point, thought SHAKTI AS MANTRA ia vitalized by contact with the centre of nil thinking. At this point again thought becomes truly vital and cxoativo. Then an effect ia created by the realisation thus induced. The creative power of thought in now receiving increas- ing acceptance in the West, wliioh ia in some cases taking over, and in others, discovering anew, for itself, what, wan thought by the ancients in India. Because they have discovered it anew they call it "New Thought" ; but ita fundamental principle is as old an the Upanishada which said, “ what you think that yon become All recognize this principle in the limited form that a man who thinks good becomes good, ami lie who ie over harbouring bad thought* becomes l»d. But the Indian and " New Thought ” doctrino is more profound than this. In VedAutio India, thought has been over hold creative. The world is a creation of the thought (Chit Shaktt associated with .MAyA Slinkti) of tho Lord (Uhvara and Uhvarl). Her and His thought is the aggregate, with almighty powers of all thought. But each mau in Shiva and nan attain His powers to the degree of his ability to consciously realize himael( ns such. Though! now works in man’s small magic just as it first worked in tho grand magical display of tho World -Creator. Each man is in various dogicco a creator. Thought is ns real ns any form of gross matter. Indeed it is more real in tho oonso that the world ia itself a projection of the World-thought, which again is nothing but the aggregate in the form of the SumakAras or impressions of paat experience, which givo rise to the world. The universe exists for each Jlva.becauso he consciously or unconsciously wills it It exists for tho totality of beings because of the totality of SaniskAras which are held in the Great Womb of the manifesting Chit Itself. There ia theoretically nothing that man cannot accomplish, for be is at base the Accomplishcr of all. But, in practice, he oan only accomplish to tho degree that he identifies himself with the Supreme OoneriouaucBS and Its forces, which underlie, arc at work in, and manifest an. 463 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA the universe. Thin is the basal doctrine of all magic, of all powers (Siddhi) including the greatest Siddhi whioh is Liberation itself. He who knows Brahman, becomes Brahman to the extent of his “knowing”. Thought- reading, thought-transference, hypnotic suggestion, magical projectiona (Mokshana) and shields (Grahana) are becoming known and practised in the West, not always with good results. For this rouBon aomo doctrinee and practicee are kept concealed. Projection (Mokahana) the uocultint will understand. But Grahana, I may here explain, is not so much a "fence" in the Western sonse, to which use it Kavaoha is put, but the knowledge of how to “catch” a Mantra thus projected. A stone thrown at one may bo warded off or oauglit and, if the poraon so wishes, thrown back at him who threw it. So may a Mantra. It is not neooMury, however, to do so. Those who are ahdterocl by thnir own pure strength, automatically throw back all evil influences which, coining back to the ill-winhor, harm or destroy him. Those familiar with the Wcstoru presentment of similar matters will mow readily understand than others who, like the Orientalist snd Missionary, as a rule know nothing of ooouliinm and regard it aa superstition. For this reason their pmwntmontof Indian teaching is so often igno- rant and absurd. The occultist, however, will undetHtiand the Indian dootrine which regards thought liko mind, of whioh it is the operation, ns a Power or Shukti ; something therefore, very real* Rial creative by which man oan aooomplmh things for himself and others. Kind thoughts, without a word, will do good to all who Burround us, and may travel round the world to distant friends. 80 we may suffer from the ill- wishes of those who surround us, even if such wishes do not materialiie into deeds. Telepathy is the transference of thought) from a distance without r,he use of the ordinary sense oiganB? So, in initiation, the thought of a true Gum may pass to hia disoiple all his powers. Mantra is thus a Shakti (Mantra Shakti) which lends itself impartially to any use. 464 SHAKTI AS MANTRA Man caa identify himself with any of nature’s forces and for any end. Thus, to deal with the physical effect* of Mantra, it may be used to injure, kill or do good ; by Mantra again a kind of union with the physical Shakti is, by some, said to be effected. So the Viahnu-Pur&na speaks of genera- tion by will power, as Home Westerners believe will be t.ho case when man passes beyond the domination of liis gross sheath ami its physical instruments. Children will then again he “mind-bom”. By Mantra, the Homa fire may, it is said, be lit. By Mantra, again, in the TfLntrik initiation oallcd Vodhn-dlknhH there is, it is said, suoh a transference of power from the Guru to his diaoiple that the lutter swoons under the impulse of the thought-power which pierces him. But. Mantra is also that by which man identifies himself with That which is the Ground of all. In short, Mantra ia a power (Shakti) in the form of idea clothed with sound. What, however, ia not yet undent food in the West ia the particular Thought- aoienoe which ia Mantra vidy 4, or its basis. Much of the “Now Thought” lacks this philosophical basis which is supplied by MantmvidyA, resting itself on the Vodflntik doctrine. Mantrsvidyl ia thus that form of 8Adhon& by which union is had with the Mother Shakti in the Mantra form (Mantramayl), ip Her Sthffia and Sflkshma aspects res- pectively. The SAdhnka passes from the first to the ecoond. This SldhanA works through the letters, other forms of SAdhanA work through form in the shape of the Yantra, fthata or PrutimA. All such SAdhanA belongs to ShAlctopftya Yoga as distinguished from the introspective meditative procoBBos of ShAmbhnvopftya which seeks more directly the realisation of Shakti, which ia the cad common to both. The TAntrik doctrine as regards Shabda is that of the Mlmknsl with this exception that it ia modified to meet ito main doctrine of Shakti. In order to understand what a Mantra is, we must know its cosmic history. The mouth speaks a worth Whnt 465 so SHAKTI AND 5HAKTA is it and whence has it come ? An regards the evolution of conaoiouanuss as the world, I refer my reader t« the Chapters on 'Cliit-Shakti and MAyA-Shakti' dealing with the 36 Tattvus. Ultimately, there is Consciousness which in it« aspeot as the great “I" sees the object as part of itaelf, and then as other than itself, and thus has experience oi the universe. This is achieved through Shakti who, in the words of the KAmskalAvilisa, is the pure mirror in whioh Shiva experiences Uimself (Shivarfipa-vimarsha-ninr.alA- danihah). Neither Shivu nor Shakti alone suffice* fox creation- Shivarflp* here=8varflpa. Aham ityevamAk Aram, that in, the form (or nxperienoe) whioh consists in the notion of "I”. Shakti is the pure mirror lor the manifestation of Shiva’s experience os "1” (Aham), Aham ityevam rfiparn jnAnom tasya p raids hane nirmalAdarshnh: os the commutator Natan Ananda (V-2) says. The notion is, of course, similar tn that of the reflection of Puruaha on Prakriti oh Sattva- miyl Buddhi and of Brahman on MAyl. FroVn th<« Mantra aapoot starting from Shakti (Shukti-Tattva) (wgociat*.! with Shi vn (Sliiveh-Tattra), there was produced NAdu, and from Ndda, came Bindu which, to distinguish it fruui other Buxdua, is known ns the causal, supreme or Great Bindu (Klrana, Pura, MahAbindu). This is v«ry clearly set forth in the ShlradA Tilaka, a TAntrilc work by an author of the Kashmirian School whioh wan formerly of great, authority among the Bengal HhAktas. I have dealt with this subject in detail in my " Garland of Letters". Here 1 only sum- marise conclusions. ShnMa literally mean.i and is usually tranalatod "sound ”, the word coming from the root Shabd " to sound ". It must not, however, be wholly identified with spund in the souse ol that which is heard by the ear, or sound us effect of cosmic stress. Sound in this sense is the effect produced through excitation of the car and brain, by vibrations ol the atencephere between certain limit*. Sound so understood exists only with the sense organs of hearing. And even 466 SHAKTI AS MANTRA then it may Ik perceived by some and not by others, duo to keenness or otherwise of natural hearing. Further the best ears will miss what the microphone give*. Considering Shabda from its primary or causal aspect, independent of the effect which it may or inay not produce on the sense organa, it is vibration (Spandaua) of any kind or motion, which is not merely physical motion, which may become Bound for human euro, given the existence of ear and brain find the fulfilment of other physical conditions. Thus, Shabda is the poaoibility of sound, and may not be actual sound for this individual or that. There is thus Shabda whorever there is motion or vibration of any kind. It is now said that the electron* revolve in a ephore of positive electrification at an enormous rate of motion. If the arrange- ment 1<* stable, we have an atom of matter. If some of the electrons are pitched off from the atomic ayatem, what is called radio-activity is observed. Both these rotating and shooting clootrons aro forms of vibration as Shabda. though it in no sound for mortal cam. To a Divine Ear ull such movement* would constitute the "musio of the spheres". Wore the human oar eubtlo onough, a living tree would preedit itoolf to it in tho form of a particular sound which is the nutuiol word for that tree. It is said of etlier (Aicftsha) that its Guna or quality is sound (Shabda) ; that is, ether is the possibility of Spundanu or vibration of any kind. It is that state of the primordial "material " .substance (Prakriti) which makee motion or vibration of any kind possible (ShabJagunn &ltflshah). The Brahman Svarflpa or Chit is motionless. It is also known as ChidftkftahB. But this Akitiha ia not created. Chid&kiUha is the Brahman in which stress of any kind manifest* itself, a condition from which the whole creation proceeds. This OhidMriksha ia known as the Shabda -Brahman through its MAyishakti, which iB the cause of all vibrations manifesting themselves as sound to the ear, as touch to the tactile sense, as colour and form to the eye, an taste to the tongue and as odour to 467 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA the noao. All mental functioning again ia a form of vibration (Spaudana). Thought in a vibration of mental substance just aa the expression of thought, in the form of the spoken word is a vibration affecting the ear. All Spandana presup- poses heterogeneity ( Vaishamya). Movement of any kind im- plies inequality of tensions. Klcctrio ourrent flows between two points bcoauso there is a difference of potential between them. Fluid flows from one point to another because there is difference of pressure. Heat traveln because there is dilferenoe of temperature. In creation (Srishti) this condi- tion of hotorogoneity appear* and rondora motion pousiblo. AkAslrn ia the p-.Hsibihty of Spandana of any kind. Honce iu» precedence in tin) ordur of creation. Ak&slm means Brahman with MftyA, which MAyAshakti or (to use the words of Professor P. N. Mukhyop&dhyftya) Stress is rendered actual from a previous state of possibility of stow which is the Shakti’s natural condition of equilibrium (Prakriti?- StmyAvH.sl.ha). In dissolution, the MAyA-nhakti of Brahman (according to the periodic law which is a fundamental pretu- lnt« of Indian cosmogony) return k to homogeneity when in oonsoquunco AkAshu disappears. This dmappoomnai moarn. that Shakti is oquilibrotod, and that therefore there is no further possibility of motion of any kind. As the Tantrus say, the Divine Mother booomes one with Piuuumshivu. The ShAradft says— From the Sakala 1‘arameshvara who ia BaohohidAnnnda issued Shakti ; from Shakti caiuo NAda ; and from N&dn issued Bindu. Sachchiddmndavibhavdt nakaldt paramexhwrdl ArfckcbhuklisUito nado n/iddd bindusamudbhatah. Here the Halcaln Parameshvara is Shiva Tafctvn. Shakt.i is Shakti Tattva wherein are Samani, Vyipint, and Anjan! Shaktin. NAda is the fust produced source of Mantra, and the subtlest form of Shabda of which Mantra is a manifest- ation. NAda is threefold, as MaklUiftda or NAdAnta and Nirodhini representing the first moving forth of the Shabda- Brahman as NAda, the filling up of the whole universe with SHAKTI AS MANTRA Nftdtata ond tho specific tendency towards the next state of unmanifaated Shabda respectively. Nida. in it« three forma is in the S&d&khya Tattva. Nftda becoming slightly operative towards the "speakable" (VAdliya), ftlie former operation being in regard to the thinkable (Mantavya)] is called Arddhaohandm which develops into Bindu. Both of these arc iu Ishvara Tattva. This -Mahlbindu ia three- fold as tire KAmakall The undifferentiated Shnbda-Brah- maii or Brahman as the immediate cause oi the manifested Shabdft and Arthn is an unity of oonsoiotunriut (Chai- tenya) which then expresses itnelf in three fold function as tho throo ShalcCia, Iohchhfl, Jnftna, Kriyft ; tho three Gun *8, Sattva, Ilajaa, Tam an ; the threo Bindua (Kftryy a) which are Sun, Moon and File ; the tluoo DcvatAa, Itudre, Vialrnu, Brahmft and so forth. These an the product of the union of Prak&sha and Virrmrshu SbalcU. This Triangle of Divine Doairo ia tho KAmaltah^ or Craative Will and its liwtBubtle ilium fintauon, the cause of the universe which is personified us the Groat Dev! Tripnrosundarl, tho K&mcsli- vara and KMncahvnrl. tho object of worship in the Agamas. K4m»kal4viiAsa, as explained in tho work of that name, is the manifestation of tho union of Shiva and Shalcti, tlin groat "I" (Ahiun) which dovolops through the inherent power of its thought-activity (Vimarnhn-Shakti) into tho uuivorno, unknowing us Jlvn ite true nature ond the occict of it* growth through Avidyft Sliakti. Here then there appears the duality of subject and object; of mind and matter, oi the word (Shabda) ond its moaning (Artha). The ono is not the cause of the other, but each is inseparable from, and concomitant with, the other as a bifurcation of the undifferentiated unity of Shabda-Brohiuan whenoo they piooocd. The one cosmic movement produces at the same time the min d and the object which it cognises ; names (Nfima) and language (Sliabda) on the ono hand ; and forrua (Itdpa) or object (Artho) on the other. Those ore all purta of one co-ordinated contemporaneous movement, 469 SHAKTI AND SI I ART A rtnd, therefore, each aspect of the process is related die one to the other. Tho genesis ui Sliulxln in only one aspect ol the creative process, namely, that in whioh the Brahman is regarded as the Author of Slwbdu ui;d Aitliu into which the undifferentiated Shnlxla-Bralmian divides Itoclf. Shakti is Shabda-Brahman ready to oreatc both Shabda and Artha on the differentiation of the Parabiudu into the Kamakaift, which is the root (Mflla) of all Mantras. Shalula- Brahman is Supreme “Speech” (ParH-Vftk) or Supreme Shabda (Para- Shahla). Prom this fourth atftta of Shabda, there are three others Pashyanlf, Madhyami and Vailchari. which are the Shabda aapeot of the stages whereby tho seed of formleos couaciouniu'M explicates into the multitudinous conoret* ideas (expressed in language of tho mental world) the counter- part, of the objective universe. But for the last three elate* of sound the body je required and, therefore, they only exist in the JJva. In the latter, the Shabda- Brahman in in the form of Kundalint Shakti in the MfUtdhlxa Ohakn. In Kundalint in Paraahabda. Thin develop* into the "M&trik&s” or “Little Mothers" which are tho subtlo forum of the groan manifested letters (Varna). The lcttcra moke up syllable* (Puds) und syllablee make sontenoes (Vftkya), of which elements the Mantra is composed. Para Shabda in the body develops in Pashywrt! Shabda or Shakti of general movement (Sftmlnya Spauda) located m tho tract from the MtU&dh&ra to the Mnnipum associated with Manas. It then in tho tract upwards to the An&hato becomes Madhya- ni 4 or Hiranyagarbha sound with particularized movement (Viahcoha Sponda) oaBoeiatod with Buddhi-Tattvn. Vftyu proceeding upwards to the throat exproaBoa itaolf in npokou speech which is Vaikharl or Virit Shabda. Now it ia that the Mantra issues from the mouth and is heard by the car. Because the one cosmic movement produces the ideating mind and ite accompanying Shabda and the objects cognized or Artha. the creative force of the universe is identified with the M&trikfta and Varriaa, and Devi is said to be in the forms 470 SHAKTI AS MANTRA of the letters from A to Ha, which are the gross expressions of the force# called Alltrikl ; which again are not different from, but are the. same forces that evolve into the universe of mind and matter. These Varna# am, for the same reason, associated with certain vital and physiological centres which arc produced by the same power that gives birth to the letters. It ia by virtue of these oentres and their controlled area in the body '.hat all the phenomena of human psychosis run on, and keep man in bondage. The creative force is the union of Shiva and Shakti, and each of the lettera (VAma) produced therefrom and thereby are part and parcel of that, Foroo, and aro, therefore, Shivu and Shakti in those parti- cular form#. For this reason, the Tan tie Sills tra enyn that, Davatl and Mantra compound of letter#, are one. In abort, Mantra* are made of letter# (Varna). lettera are MAtrikA. Mltnkl m Shakti and Shakti ia Shiva. Through Shakti (one with Shiva) KAda-Shukti, Bindu-Shakti, the Bhabda- Brahinan or Para Shabda, arise the MAtrikl, Varna, Pada, VAkya of the lettered Mantra or manifested Shabda. But what in Shabda or " Sound "1 Here the Sh&kta Ton tra ShfUtn follnwa the MtmAmal doctrine of Shnbdn, with such modi filiations as are uoconary to adopt it to it# dootrino of Shakti. Sound (Shabda) whioh ia quality (Guna) of other (AkAaho) and is sensed' by hearing is twofold, namely, lettered (Vamfttmuka Shabda) and unlettered or Dhvaui (Dhvnnyfttm.ika Shabda). The latter is oauacd by the striking ol two things together, and is apparently meaning- less. Shabda, on the contrary, which is Anlhata (a term applied to the HeartrLotua) is that Brahman sound whioh is not caused by the striking ot two thingB togotlier. Lettered sound is composed of sentence# (VAkva), words (Pada) and letters (Varna). Such sound hftR a moaning. Shabda manifesting as speech is said to he eternal. This the Naiylyikas deny saying that it in transitory. A word is uttered aud it is gone. Thin opinion the Mbnlmsft denies saying that the perception of lettered sound must be SHAKT1 AND SHAKTA distinguished from lettered sound itself. Perception is due to Dhvani caused by the striking of the air in contact with the vocal organ*, namely, the throat, palate and tougue and so forth. Before there is Dhvani there must, lie the striking of one thing against another. It ia not the mere striking which is the lettered Shabda. Tliis manifests it. The lettered sound is produced by the formntion of the vocal organs in contact with nir ; which formation is in response to the mental movement or idea which by the will thus seeks outward expression in audible sound. It iH this per- ception whioh is transitory, for the Dhvani which manifest* idea* in luuguagc is suoh. But lottcrod sound us it is in iUel/, that is, M the Oonhoiousimn* munifnsting Idea exprw- e<l in speech is eternal. It was not produced at the moment it vu perceived. It was only manifested by the Dhvani. It existed before, as it existe niter, such manilosUiUon, just us a jar in a dark room which is revealed by a flash of light- ning is not then produoed, nor doe* it oease to exist on it* ceasing to lm perceived through the disappearance of its manifestor, the lightning. The air in contact with the voice organs reveals sound in the form of tl* letters of tho alpha- bet, and tbrir combinations in words and sontenoo*. The letters are produced for hearing by the ponou desiring to speak, und become audible to tho ear of others through the ope ration of unlettered sound or Dhvani. The latter being a manifeater only, lottcrod Shabda is something other than its manifeater. Before describing the nature of Shabda in its different, form of development, it is neccssaiy to understand tho Indian psychology of perception. At each moment, the Jiva is subjeot to innumerable influence* which from all quarter* of the Univereo pour upon him. Only those roooh his Consciousness which attract liis attention and are thus selected by liis iManas The latter attends to one or other of these 8CtBe-impre36ions and conveys it to the Buddbi. When an object (Artha) is presented to tlie mind, and 47 ° SHAKTl AS MANTRA perceived, the latter is formed into the shape oi the object perceived. This ia called a mental Vritti (modification) which it io tire object of Yoga to auppreaa. Tlio mind at a Vritti is thus a rcprcacutation of the outer subject. But, in uo far a* it ih such represoutation, the mind i» us rnucb an object u« tlus outer one. The latter, that ia, Ike physical object, is called tlie grew# object (8 thdl a art. ha), and the former or mental ftnpmwion is called the subtle object. (SQkshina artha). But, besides the object, there is the mind which perceive* it. It follows tbit t he mind has two aspects, in one of which it is the percciver, and in the other the perceived in the form of the mental formation (Vritti), which in creation precede* its out or projection, and after the creation follown us the impression produood in tlio mind by tho sensing of u groan physical object, Tho mental imprcn- oion and the physical object exactly correspond, for tho physical object is in fuct but a projection of tho ooomio imagination, though It has tho same reality us the mind bus ; no more and no Ichh. The mind m thus both cognnuu' (Orfhaka) and cognised (Ur&hya), revealer (Bmkftshaka) and revealed (Prskibiliya), denotcr (VAohnku) and denoted ( Vflc.liya). When the mind perceives an object, it is trans- formed into the diiipo of that object So the mind which thinks of tlw Divinity which it womhips (iKhtiiduvutA) is, al length, through continued dnvption, tnundormed into the likonoo* of tbit DuvutA, By nllowing the Dovatl time to occupy the mind for long, it becomes us pure iu* tlw DuvutA. This is a fundamental principle of TAntrik SftdluvnA or religious practice. Llie object perceived is callod Artha, a term which conies from the loot “Ri ", which means to get, to know, to enjoy. Artha is that, which is known and which, therefore, is an object of enjoyment. The mind as Axl ha, that is iu the form of the mental impression, is an exact reflection of the outer object or gross Artha. As the outer object is Artha, bo is the interior subtle menUil form which conxaponda to it. That aspect, of the mind which cognizes 473 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA is called Shabda or Nflmu (name), and that aspect in which it ia ite own object or cognised is called Artha or ItQpa (lomij. 1'lie outer physical object, of which the Utter is m the individual uu impression, is also Artha or Rfija, and spoken speech is the outer Shabda. The mind is thus, from the Mantra aspect, Shabda and Artha, terms corresponding to tho Ved&ntic Nftma and RQpa or conoepts and concepts objectified. The MftyftvAda Vcdfintu says that the whole creation :h Nftnu and R&pa. Mind as Shabda is the Power (Shakt.i) the function of which is to distinguish and identify (Bhedasarasaigavritti-Shalcti). Just nn the body is causal, subtle und grow, 10 is Shnbdn, of which there ant four stales (Bhftva) called Parfl, Pasbyantl, Mad hy an: ft and Yaitrharl. Parft sound is that which exists on the differentiation of the Mahflbindu before actual mani- festation. This is motionless, cauaal Shabda in Kundnlint, in tho MflllUlhftra centre of the body. That aspect of it in which it commonoca to move with * general, that is, noti- paitimilarirod, motion (8ftmAnya Spanda) in Pashyantl whoio pUoo ia from the Mdlftdhftra to tho Monipfira Chakiu, tlio next eiMitire. It is how onsocUtad with Manas. These represent the motionless and Unit moving lahvara an poo t of Shabda. Mudhyamft Shubda iu associated with Duddhi. It is Iljrnnyagarbhft ftound (Hiranyagarbhartipa) extending lrom Paehyantl to the heart. Both Madhyamft sound which is the incur "naming" by tho cognitive aepect of mental movement, as also its Artha or subtle (SQksbma) object (Arthu) boloug to the mental or subtle body (Sflkslur.a or I.inga Shartra). Perception is dependent on distinguishing and identification. In the perception of an object, that, part of the mind which identifies and distinguishes and thus " names ” or the oogninng part is, from the Shabda aspeot, subtle Shabda : and that part of it which takes the sbapo of, ar.d thus constitutes, the object (a Bhape which corresponds with the outer thing) is subtle Artha. The perception of an object is thus consequent on the simultaneous functioning 474 SHAKTI AS MANTRA of the mind in it« two fold aspect a* Shabda and Artha, which are in indissoluble relation with ouo another us ooguiser (Qrdhokn) and cognised (QrAhya). Both bolong to the subtle body. Iu creation MadhyamA sound first appeared. At that moment there was no outer Artha. Then lie Cosmic Mind projected this inner Madhyamft Artha into the world of sensual experience and named it in spoken speech (Vaikhari Shabda). The last or Vaikhari Shabda ia uttered speech, developed in the throat, issuing from the mouth. This is YirAt Shabda. Vaikhari Shabda is therefore language or grow lettered sound. Its corres- ponding Artha is the physical or gross object which language denotes. This belongs to the gross body(8thfila Sharlra). MmihyaiiiA Shabda is mental movement or ideation in its cognitive aspect, and MudbyumA Artha is the mental im- pression of the groas object 'lie inner thought-movement in ita aspect m Shabdikrlhu, and consider'd both in its know- ing aspect (Shaiida) and as the subllo known object (Artlia) belongs to tho subtle body (Sfikshma Sharlra)., The cause of thane two is the first general movement towards particular ideation (Paahyantt) from the motionless csosn Pam Shabda or Supremo Speech. Two forms of inner or 'hidden speech, oaueal, nubtlo, accompanying mind niovomont thus preoede and lead up to spoken langungo. Tho inner forme of idea- ting movement oouetitutc the subtle, and tho uttered sound the gro»a aspect of Mantro which is tho manifested Shabda- Bmhmaa. The grow Shabda called Vaikhari or uttered apcoch, and the groas Artha or tin* physical object denoted by that speech are the projection of the subtle Shabda and Artha, through the initial activity of the Shabda-Br&hman into the world of groas sensual perception. Therefore, in the gross physical world, Shabda means language, that is, sentences, worda and lettore which are tho expression of ideas arid are Mantra. In the subtle or mental world, Madhyomfl sound is the Shabda aspect of the mind which "names " in ite 4?S SHAKTI AND SHAKTA aspect as cognizer, and Artha ia tho same mind in it* aspect as tie mental object of ila cognition. It is defined to be the outer in the form of the mind. It is time similar to the state of dreams (Svapna), as Pamahabda is the causal dreamless (Sushupti), and Vaikhar! the wakmg (Jagret) state. Mental Art ha is a Samsk&ra, an impression leit on the subtle body by previous experience, which is recalled when the Jfva reawakes to world experience, and reoollecte the experience temporarily lost in the cosmic dreamless state (Sushupti) which is destruction (Pralaya). What is it which arouses this SamskAra ? Ah an effect (Kriyft) it must have a cause (KArana). This KArnna is tho SJvabda or Name (NAma) subtle or grows corresponding to that particular Artha. When the word "Ghata" is uttered, thiH evokes in the mind the image ol on objoot, namely, a jar; just os the preaentation of that object does. Jn trio Hiranyagarbha state, Shabda as SamskAra worked to evoke mental inmgin The whole world ia thus Shabda and Artha, that in Name and Form (NAma, Rfipn). These two are in- separably associated. Thera is no Shabda without Artha or Artha without Shabda. The Oreck word "Logos” ftlno means thought and word combined. There is thus a double lino of oroation, Shabda and Artha ; ideas and language together with (heir object*. Speech as that which is heard, or the outer manifestation of Shabda, stands for the Shabda creation. The Artha creation ore the inner and outer ob- jects Been by the mental or physical vision. From the ooamic creative standpoint, the mind oomea first, and from it ia ovolvod tho physical world aoooxding to tha ripened Semak Ann whioh led to the cxifttenoe of the particular existing universe. Therefore, the mental Artha precedes the physical Artha whioh ia an evolution in groBS matter of the former. This mental state corresponds to that of dreams (Svapna), when man lives in the mental world only. After creation whioh is the waking (JAgiat) state, there is for the individual an already existing parallelism of names and objects. 476 SHAKTI AS MANTRA Uttered speech is a manifestation of the inner naming or thought. This thought-movement is similar in men of all races. When an Englishman or an Indian thinks of an object, the image is to both the same, whether evoked by the object itaelf or by the utterance of ita name. For this reason possibly if thought-reading lie accepted, a thought* reader whose cerebral centre is m rapport with that of another, may read the hidden “spoooh", that i« thought, of one whose spoken spoeoh ho cannot understand. Thus, whilst the thought-movement is similaT in all men, the expression of it an Vaikharl Shabda differ*. Acconimg to tradition there was once an universal language. According to the Biblical account, thia was so before the confusion of tongues at the Tower of Babel. Similarly there is, (a friond tells me though he has forgotten to send me the reference), in the Rigvedu, a mystorfoui passage whioh speaks of the "Three Fathers and throe Mothers”, by whose notion like that, of the Klohim "all-comprehending Kpeech” wan modo into that whioh won not no. Nor is this unlikoly, when we consider that difference to gross speech ia duo to difference of raoea evolved in the course of time. If the instrument by which, and conditions under whioh thought is revealed in spoeoh, were the same for all men then there would bo but one language. But now thia ia not no. Racial characteristics and physical conditions, suoh os the nature of the vocal organs, climate, inherited impressions and bo forth differ. So also does language. Rut for each particular man speaking any particular language, the uttered numo of any object in the gross expression of liis inner thought-movement. It o volte a the idea end the idea is consciousness as mental operation. That operation can bo so intensified as to be itself creative. This ia Mantra- Ohnitanya. It is said in the Tantra Shftstma that the fifty let- ters of the alphabet are in the six bodily Chakras called Mftlftdhftra, Sv4rlhishth6.ua, ManipQra, Anfthata, Vishuddha 477 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA and Ajnfi. These 60 letters mold plied by 20 are in the thousand-pe tailed Lotua ot Saluur&ra. From the above account, it will be understood that, when it. is said that the “ Letters” are in tha six bodily Chakras, it is not to be supposed that it is intended to absurdly affirm that the letters as written shapes, or as the uttered sounds which are heard by the oar are there. The letters in this sense, that is, ob gnas things, are manifested only in speech and writing. This much is clear. But the precise significance of this statement ia a matter of some difficulty. There is in foot uo subject which presents more difficulties than Mmitrovidyfi, whether considered generally or in relation to the particular matters in hand. 1 «lu not pretend to have elucidated all it* difficulties. What proceeds from the body is in it in subtle or Cftutal form. Why, however, it may bn uskod u;o particular lottors assigned to particular Chakras. I have heard several explanations given which do not, in my opinion, boar the test of examination. If th« arrangement 1* not artificial foT the purpose of Sldhanh, the simplest explanation is that whioh follows : From the Brahman are produced the five Bhfitna, Ether, Air, Fire, Water, Earth, in the order stated , and from them issued the aix Chakras from Ajntt t*o MAlftdhAru. The letters am (with the exception next stated) placed in the Chakras in their alphabetical order ; that is, the vowels as being the firet letters or Shakt.is of the consonant* (whioh cannot be pronounced without them) are placed in Vishuddha Chakra : thn first consonants K» to Tha in An&hata and so forth until the MAIftdhAra wherein arc set the Inst four letters from Vn to 8a. Thus in Ajni thoro nro Ha- and Ksha as being Brahmahtjaa. In tho next or Vishuddha Chakra arc the 10 vowels which originated first. Therefore, they ace placed in Vishuddha the ethereal Chakra ; other also having origi- nated first. The same principle applies to the other letters in the Chakras, namely, Ka to Tha (12 letters and petals) in 478 SHAKTI AS MANTRA An&hata ; Da to Phn (10) in Manipftra ; Ba to La (6) in SvftdhishthAna ; and Va to 8a (4) in MGl&dbflrB. The con- nection between particular letter and the Chakras in which they are placed is further said to be due to the fact that in uttering any particular letter, the Cholera in which it ia placed and its surroundings are brought into play. The sounds of the Sanskrit, alphabet are classified according to the organa used in their articulation, and arc guttural (Kon- tha), palatals (Tain), cerebral* (Mflrddhi), dentals (Dauta) and labials (0*htha). When so articulated, each letter, it ia uaid, “touohos” the Chakra in whiohit iu, and in which on thin account it has been plaoed. In' uttering thorn certain Chakras ore affected ; that in, brought into play. This, it is alleged, will bo found to be so, if the letter is carefully pro- nounced and attention is paid to the accompanying bodily movement. Thus, in uttering Ha, the head (Ijnfl) ia touch- ed, and in uttering the doop-Muted Vu, the basul Chakra or MQltdh&ia. In making the first Round the forehead ia felt to bo uffeetod, and in malting the last the lower part of the body a found the root-lotm*. This is the theory put. forth a* Recounting for the position of the letter* in the Chakra*. A Mantra i«, like everything also. Shakti. But the more uttaraaoe of a Mantra without more is n mere movo- mouti of the lipa. The Mantra must be awakened (Pra- buddha) just like any other Shakti if effect is to be had therefrom. This in the union of sound and idea through ft knowledge of the Mftntrn and its meaning. The recitation of a Mantra without knowing its moaning is practically fruitless. I say “practically” because devotion, even though it be ignorant, is never wholly void of fruit. But a knowledge of the meaning is not enough ; for it is possible by reading a book or receiving oral instructions to get. to know the moaning of a Mantra, without anything further following, Eaoli Mantra is the embodiment of a particular form of Consciousness or Shakti. This is tbc Mantra-Shakti. Consciousness or Bliakti also exist* in the 479 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA form of the Sftdhaka. The object then is to unite t.heae two, when thought id not only in the outer hunk, but is vitalized by will, knowledge, and action through its conscious centre in union with that of the Mantra. The latter is Devatft or a particular manifestation of Shakti : and the Sftdhaka who identified himself therewith, identifies himself with that Shakti. According to Yoga when the mind in concentrated on any object it is unified with it. Whan man is an identi- fied with ft Varna or Tattva, then the power of objeou to bind ccoaos, and he become* the controller. Thus, in Kunria- linl-Yoga, the static bodily Shahti pieroes the Chakras, to meet 8hivu Shakti in tlm SahasrAra. Ah the 8Adh»k» id, tlirough the power of the rising Shakti, identified with each of the Centres, Tattva* and MAtrikft Shakti? they cease to bind, until pawing through al! he attain* Samftdhi. As the Varna* are Shiva-8hakti, concentration on them draws the mind toward*, and then imifie* it with, the Devatft which is one with the Mnntxa. The Devatft of the Mantra in only the crontive 8h<vkti asHuming that particular form. An already stated, Dovatft may bo roalizcd in any object, not merely in Mantras, Yantms, Chata*, I'ratiinftH 01 other ritual objects of worship. The same power which manifest* to the ear in the Mantra is represented in tho lines and curves of tbc Yantra which, the Kaulavall Tantra Bays, is the body of tlio Devatft Yantram mmltarmyrm ■proktnm mnnlrdtml dvcaiaiva hi Dcl&tmano' yotM bheio ymlm-derntnyoslatM . The Ynntia is thua the graphic symbol of the 8hftbti, indicated by the Mantra with which identification tokee place. Tho Pratimft or image is a grosser visual form of the Devatft. But the Mantras are particular forms of Divine Shakti, the realization of which is efficacious to produce particular results. As in Kundalinl-Yoga, so hIbo here the identification of the Sftdhaka with different Mantras gives rise to various Vibhfltis or powers : for each grouping of the letters represents a new combination of the MAtrikft Shaktis. SHAKTI AS MANTRA It is the eternal Shakti who is the life of the Mantra. Thorefore, Siddhi in Mantra S&dlianA is the union of the S&dkaka’a Shnkti with the Mantra Shakti ; the idcntiScation of tlio S&dkaka with the Mantra ia the identification of tho knover (Yedaka), knowing (VidyA) and known (Yedyn) or tlia SAdhaka, Mantra and DevatA. Then the Mantra works. The mind must feed, and is always feeding, on something. It seizes the Mantra and works its way to its heart.. When tliore, it is tho Chittaor nnnd of the SMhaka unified with the Shakti of the Mantra which works. Then suhjoct and object, in ite Mantra form, meet as one. By meditation tho SAilhnka gains unity with the PovutA hnhiiul, ns it, were, tho Mantra and Whoso form tlio Mantra in. Tho union of th« Sftdlmka of tho Mantm nnd tho T>ovatA of tiro Mantra is tho roKiilt of tho effort to malizo permanently the incipient desire for such union. Tho will towards Divinity is u dynamic foroe which pierces everything nnd finds there Divinity it.-elf. It is bccmno W*»tornom and sonic Westernized Hindus do not understand tho principles of Mantio ; prinoijjleH which ho at the eon I n? of Indian religious tlioory nnd practice, that they see nothing in it where they do not rogard it ns gross superstition. It must bo admitted that Mantra Sfidhnufl is often done ignorantly. Faith is plftond in externals and the inner moaning is often lost But oven suoh ignorant worship is hotter than nono at all. " It is bettor to bow to NArArar.n with one’* shoes on than never to bow at all." Much also is said of “vniu repetitions”. What Christ condemned was not repetition but "vain” repetition. That man is a poor psychologist who does not know the effect of repetition, when done with faith and devotion. It is a fact that tho innor king- dom yields to violence and can bo taken by B'suult. Indeed, it yields to nothing but the strong will of tl» Sadhnlcn, for it is that will in ite purest and fullest strength. By practice with tbc Mantra, the DevatA is invoked. This means that, tho mind itself is Dorati when unified with DovntA. This is attained through repetition of the Mantra (Jape). SHAKTI AND SIlAKTA Japa is compared to the action of ft man Blinking a sleeper to wake him up. The SAdhaka’a own consciousness is awakened. The two lipn are Shiva and Shakti. The movement in utterunce is the “coition" (M&ithuna) of the two. Shabda which issues therefrom is in the nature of Hindu. The Derate then appearing is, as it were, the son of the Sfldhaka. It is not the supremo Derate who appears (for It is actionless), but in nil eases an emanation produced by the B&dhnka's worship for his benefit only. Ir. the case of worshippers of the Shiva-Mantra, a Boy-Shiva (BAlu- Shiva) appears who ia then made strong hy tlin nurture which the Sftdhnka gives him. The ocoultiat will understand all nuoh symbolism to mean that tho DovalA is a form of the Oonaniouaneaa which booomes the Boy-Shiva, and which, when strengthened is tlw lull-grown Divine Powei Itself. All Mantras are forms of oonaciousncbs (Vijnlnarflpa), and when the Mantra is fully practised it enlivens the Sams kftra, and the Artim appears to the mind. Mantras used in worship arc thus a form of tlio Sarosk liras of Jfvas ; the Artha of which manifesto to the Oonaniouenees which is pun. The oawmrte of all this is — concentrate and vitalise thought and will power, that is Shakti. The Mantra method is ShlklopAya Yoga working with concepts and form, whilst BhAmbhavopAya Yoga has been well nun! to Ixi a more direct attempt at. intuition of Shakti, apart from all ponsing concepts, which, rb they cannot show the Kcality, only servo to hide it the more from one’s view and thus maintain bondage. These Yoga methods are but examples of the universal principle of SAdhant, that the SAdhakn should first work with and through form, and then, so far hr may lie, by a meditation which dispenses with it. It has been pointed out to- me by Professor Surondra Nath Das Gupta that this Varnu-SAdhonA, *o important a oonlcnt of the Tontra ShAstra, is not altogether itii creation, but, aa I have often in other matters observed, a develop- ment of ancient Vaidik teaching. For it was, he says, 482 SHAKTI AS MANTRA first attempted in the Sranyaka Epoch upon the Pratikopl- sftnft on which the TAntrilc SAdhnnA ia, he suggests, l«sod ; though, of course, that Sh&atra has elaborated the notion into a highly complicated system which is so peculiar u feature of ita religious discipline. There is thin a synthesis of this Pratllcopflsana with Yaga method, testing as all else upon a Ved Antic basis. 483 Chapter XXV. VARNAMlLA. (Tub Garland op Letters.) qpHK world hiw never altogether been without the Wis- *■ dom, nor ita Teaohore. The dogren and manner in which it boa been imported have, however, acocsaarily varied according to the onpocitiw of men to receive it. So aUo have the symbols by which it has been conveyed. These symbols further have varying significance according to the spiritual advancement of the worshipper. This question of degreo and variety of presentation have led to the superfi- cial view that the difference in Ixdiew negatives exiatenco of any commonly established Truth. Hut if the matter bo regarded morn deeply, it will bo seen that whilst there is ono essential Wisdom, its revelation has been more or loss complete according to symltola evolvod by, and, therefore, iittsug to, particular racial temperament* and characters. Symbols aro naturally minondorxtood by those to whom the beliefs they typify aro unfamiliar, and who differ in tempe- rament from those who have evolved them. To the ordinary Was tom mind the symbols of Hinduism nro often repulsive and absurd. It must not, however, bo forgotten that some of tho Symbols of Western Faiths have the same effect on the Hindu. From the picture of the "Slain Lamb," and other symbol* in terms of blood and death, ho nnturnlly ohrink* in disgust . Tho same effect, on the other hund, is not ocldom produced in tho Wee torn at tho eight of the torriblo forms in which India has embodied Her virion of the un- doubted Terrors which exist in and around us. All is not smiling in this world. Even amongst persons of the same race and indeed of tho same faith we may oteervo such differences. Boforo tho Catholic Oultus of the “Sacred Heart" had overcome the opposition wliich it at first 484 VARNAMALA encountered, and for a considerable time after, ite imagery w*a regarded with aversion by some who spoke of it in Icriua which would be to-day counted as shocking irreverence. These differences are likely to exist so long as men vary in mental attitude and temperament, and until they reach the stage in whioh, liaviug discovered the essential truths, they become in di ff e r e n t to the mode in which they aio presented. We must also in such matters distinguish between what a symbol may have meant nad what, it. now means. Until <juite recent times, the English peasant folk and otliem danced around tho flower wreathed Maypole Thai, tho pole originally (like other similar forms) represented tho great Linga admits of as little doubt as that these folk, who In recent ages danced around it, were ignorant of that fact. The Bishop’s mitre is said to bo the I lead ot u ftsh worn by ancient near-eastern hwrophanU. But what of that.? It has other aaaouiaUona now. Lot us illustrate these general remarks by u short study of ono portion of the K&ll symbol isni which affects so many, who aro not Hindus, with disgust or horror. Kftll is the Deity in that aspsat in whioh It withdraws all tilings which It had oroated, into itaolf. Kill is so culled booauso Sho devours E&la (Time) und thou resumes Her own dark form- lessness. The scene is laid in the cremation ground (Slunu- shftna), amidst whito sun-dried bonus und fragments of flesh, gnawed end peeked at by carrion boasts and birds. Hero the " heroic” (Vlra) worshipper (S&dbaka) performs at dead of night his awe-inspiring rituals. KfUi is set in such a scene, for She is that aspect, oi the great Power which withdraws all things into Herself at, and by, the dissolution of the universe. He alone worships without fear, who has abandoned all worldly desires, and socks union with Her as the One Blissful and Pcrfoot Experience. On tha burning ground all worldly desires are burnt away. Sho is naked, and dark like a threatening rain-cloud. She is dark, for She who is Heraelf beyond mind and speech, reduces *11 485 SH.AKTI AND SHAKTA things into that worldly "nothingness," which, as the Void (Shflnya) of all which wo now know, is at the same time the All (Puma) which is Peace. .She is naked, heing olothed in space alone (Digambari), because the great Power is un- limited ; further, She is in Henetf beyond Mftyfi (Miy&titfi) ; that Power of Here which creates all universe*. She stands upon the white corpse-like (Shavarilpa) body of Shiva. Ho is white, because he is the illuminating transcendental uapoct of conaoiouaness. He in inert, because ho is the ohnngeloas aspect of the Supremo and She the apparently changing aspect of the same. In truth, Slie and He are one and the same, being twin aspect* of the One who is ohangc- lesanow in, and exists as, change. Much might bo said in explanation of these and other symbol* such as Her loosened hair, the lolling tongue, the thin stream of blood whioh trickles from the comers of the month, the position of Her feet, the apron of dead mon'a lianda around Her waist, Her implement* and so forth. (See Hymn to Kdli by Arthur Avalon. Vol. 0, Tanfcrik Textn.) Hero I take only tho garland of freshly-severed heads which hangs low from Her neck. Some have conjectured that KM! was originally the Goddess of the dark-skinned inhabitants of the Vindhya Hills taken over by the Brthmanaa into their worship. One of them has thought that 8ho was a deified Princess of these folk, who fought against the whit* in-mining Aryans. He pointed to the significant fact that the severed heads are those of white men. The Western may say that Kill was an objectification of the Iudiau mind, making a Divinity of the Power of Death. An Eastern may roply that She is tho Sa&keta (symbol) whioh is the effect of the impress of u Spiritual Power on the Indian mind. 1 do not pause to oonsider these matters here. The question before us is, what does this imagery m«au now, and what has it meant for centuries past to the initiate in Her symbolism ? An exoteric explanation describes this varnamalA Garland as made up of the heads of Demons, which She, an a power of righteousness, lias conquered. Aooording to an inner explanation, given in the Indian Tantra BhAatra, thia string of heads is the Garland of Letters (Varnani&lA), that is, the fifty, aud as some count it, fifty-one letters, of the Sanskrit Alphabet. The same interpretation is given in the Buddhist Demohog Tantra in respect of the garland worn by the great Ilcruka. These letters represent the universe of name* and forms (Nlmarflpa), that is, Speech (Shabda) and ite meaning or objeofc (Artha). She tho Dovourer of all "slaughters" (that is, withdraws), both into Her undivided Conaoimumeen at the Great di«solutinn of the Universe which they arc. She wears tho Lettors which, Sho as tho Croatrix boro. Sho wears tl» Letters whioh, She ns tho Dissolving Power takes to Hemclf aguin. A very profound dootrinc is oonneoted with those Loiters whioh space prevent# mo from fully entering into bore. This has been set out in greater detail in the Hud Edition, 1UHC, of the “Serpent Powor” (Kundalinf) which projects OonsciousnoHi, in Its true nature blissful and beyond all dualism, into the World of good and evil. The movements of Her projection are indicated by tho Letters subtls and gross which exist, on the Petals of tho inner bodily oentree or lotuice. Very shortly stated, Shnbdo which literally moans Sound here lettered sound— is in ite causal #toto (Para- shabda) known as “Supreme Speech" (Par A VAk). This is the Shabctft-Brahman or Logos ; tha: aspect of Reality or Consciousness (Chit) in wnicb it is the immediate cause of creation ; that is of tho dichotomy m Consciousness which is “I” and "This,” subjeot aud objeot, mind and matter. This condition of causal Shabda ia tho Cosmio Dreamless State (Suflhupti). This LogoB, awakening from ite causal sleep, "sees,” that is, creatively ideates the universe, and is then known ae Pashyan'J Shabda. As Consciousness “ gees’ ' or ideates, forms arise in the Creative Mind, whioh are themselves impressions (Sauiskfira) earned over from 487 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA previous worlds, which Ceased to exist as ouch when the Universe entered the state of causal dreamless sleep on the previous dissolution. These re-ariae as the formless Con- sciousness awakes to enjoy once again sensual life in the world of forms. The Cosmic Mind is at first itself both cognising subject (Or filial™) and cognised object (Gr&hya) ; for it has not yet projected its thought into the plane of Matter ; the mind as subject oognizor * Shabdn, and the mind «w the object cog- nized, that is, the mind in the form of object, is subtle Artha. This Shabdn culled MadhyiunftShabda is un " Inner Naming" or "Hidden Speech". At tliia stage, that which answers to tko spoken letters (Varna) arc the *' Little Mothers” 01 Mfitrikft, the subtle forma of gross speech. There is at this stage a differentiation of Consciousness into aubjeot and object, but the latter is now within one! forma part of the Self. This is the state of Ooanile Dreaming (Svapnn). Thin " Hidden Speech" is undorstandablo of all mou if they can got iu mental rayj»rt ono with tho other. 80 a thought reader oau.it is said, read tho thoughtful a wan whoee spoken speech ho oannot understand. The Cosmio Mind then projects these mental images on to the material plane, and they them become materialized as gross physical objects (SthtUa arthu) which make impressions from without on tho mind of the created consciousness. This is tho cosmic waking state (JAgrat). At this last, stage, the thought-movement expresses itoolf through tho vocal organs in contact with tho air as utteicd speech (Yaikharl Shabdn) made up of lotto rs, sylla- bles and sentences. Tho physical unlettered sound which manifests Shabdu is called Dhvuni. Tliis loitered sound is manifested Shalxla or Name (Nima), and tho physical objects denoted by speech are the gross Artha or form (Rflpa). Tliis manifested speech varies in men, for their individual and racial characteristics and the conditions, such as country und climate in which they live, diffor. There is a tradition varnamAlA that there was onoo an universal speech beforo the building of the Tower of Babel, signifying the confusion ol tongues. As previously stated, a frieud has drawn my attention U» a passage in the Rig-Veda which he interprets in a similar sense. For, it says, that the Three Fathers and the Three Mothers, like the Elohira, made (in the interwit of creation) all-comprehending speech into that which was not so. Of these letters and names and their meaning or objects, that is, concepts and concepta objectified, the whole Uni- verse i> composed. When Kill! withdraws the world, that is, tho names and forms which tho letters signify, tEo duoliem in consciousness, which is creation, vanishes. There is neither “I" (Ahum) uor "TUia" (Idum) but the uno non- dual Perfect Experience which Kali in Her own truo nature (SvarQpa) is. In thin way Her garland is understood. "Surely,’' I hoar it said, "not by all. Docs every Hindu worshipper Hunk buoIi profundities when ho aces tho figure of Mother Kill T " Of oourae not, no more than, (say) an ordinary Italian peasant knows of, or can understand, tho suhtloties of either the catholic myatic* or dootori of theology. When, however, the Western man undertake* to depict and explain Indian symbolism, ho should, in tho interest both of knowledge mid fairness, uudorntund whal it means both to the high as wall us to the humble worshipper. 489 CuAPTBa XXVI. 8HAKTA HiDHANA (Thb Onm.vARV Kituai..) CADHANX is lhat which produces Siddhi or the result ^ Bought, 1» it material or spiritual advancement, It ia the meuna or practieo by which the deaired end may bo attained and consiata in the training and exorcise ol tho body and psyahio faculties, upon the gradual perfection of which Siddhi follows. Tho uuturo or degrao of spiritual Siddhi dopends upon the progress made towards the realization of the Atmi whose veiling vesture the body is. The means employed aro nuniorous and elaborate, such as womlup (Pfljft) exterior or mental, Sh&strio learning, austerities (Tapes), Jape or recitation ot’ Mantra, Hymns, meditation, and so forth. The SAdhanA is necessarily of a natum and ohuruotor appropriate to tho end sought. Thus S Ad hunt for spiritual knowledge (BrahmajnAna) whioh consists of external oontxol (Dame) over the teu acnaos (Indriyn), internal control (Shaurn) over the uiind (Buddhi, AliankAra, Manas), discrimination between the transitory and eternal, renunciation of both the world and heaven (Svarga), differ*) from the lower SAdhanA of the ordinary householder, and both are obviously of a kiud different from that prescribed and followed by tho practitioners of malevolent magic (Abhioh&ra). SAdluJras again vary in their physical, mental and moral qualities and aro thus divided into four olassos, Mridu, Madhya, Adhim&traka, and the highest Adhim&txama who is qualified (AdhikArl) for all forms of Yoga. In a similar way, the Sh&kta Kaulaa are divided into the 1‘rhkrita or ODicmon Kaula following Virftchirn with the Pancha* tattvas described in tho following Chapter ; the middling (Madhvama) Kaula who (may be) follows the same or other SAdhanA but who is of a higher type, and the highest Kaula 490 SHAKTA sadhana (Kaulikottuma) who, haring surpassed all ritualism, medi- tale? upon the Universal Self. These are more particularly described in the next Chapter. Until a Sfidhakft ia Side! ha all S&dhanA u or should be undertaken with the authority and under the direction of a Guru or Spiritual Teacher and Director. There is in reality but one Guru and that is the Lord (Ishvarn) Himself. He is the Supreme Guru as also ia Devi Hia Power, one with Himself. But ho acta through man and human means. The ordinary human Guru is but the manifestation on earth of the Aili-n&lha MahAkAla and MahldcAlt the Supremo Guru abiding in Kail&aa, As the Yogint Tantra (Oh. 1) says Ouroh ithdmm hi kaUdsanu He it Li who ia in, and npuikn with the voice of, the Kaitbly Guru. So, to turn to an analogy in the West, it is Chnnt who speaks in the voice of the Poutifox Maximus when declaring faith and morals, and in the voioo of the priest who confers upon the penitent absolution for his sina. It is not the man who h|*'h)cr in either case hut God through him. It m the Guru who initiate* and holpn, and tho relationship betwooa him aud the diaoiplc (Shishya) continues until the attainment of spiritual Siudhi. Ii ia only from him that SAdhanA and Yoga are learnt, and not (as it is commonly said) from a thousand ShAntras. As the ShntkurraadipikA says, mere book-knowledge is useless. Pnstake UUiitd tidyd yma nmdari japyaU Siddhir na jdyato lasya kvlpakoti-ahatair api. (0 Beauteous one I he who does Japa of a VidyA (—Mantra) learnt, from a hook can never attain 8iddhi even if ho poreiata for oountlcua millions of years.) Manu therefore says, “of liim who gives natural birth, and of him who gives knowledge of the Veda, the giver of sacred knowledge is the mure venerable father.” The Tantra ShAstras also are full of the greatness of the Guru. He is not to be thought of os a mere man. Thera is no difference between Guru, Mantra and Deva. Guru is father, 491 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA mother aud Brahman. Guru, it ia mud, can nave from the wrath of Shi va, but iu no way can one be saved from the wrath ot the Guru. Attached to this greatness there is, however, responsibility ; for the sins of the disciple may recoil upon him. The Tantra Shastras deal with the high qualities which are demanded of a Guru and tho good qualities which are to be looked for iu un intending disciple (see for instance Tantra*. A in, Ch. I). Before initiation, the Guru examines and testa the intending disciple for a specified period. The latter's moral qualifications are purity of soul (8huddhAtmA), control of the censes (Jitendriya), the following of tho Purush&rtha or oiius of all ssntiout being (Funuli&rtha- parftyana). Amongst othorB, those who me lewd (Kftmuka), adulterous (Para-dAritura), addicted to sin, ignorant, sloth- ful and devoid of religion should be rejected (see Mateyu- sOkta Toutra, XIII, Prftnatoshinl 10B, MakftrudrayAirmla, I. XV, 11. ii. KulArnova Tuntra Ch. XIII). Tho good Sidhoka who ia entitled to the knowledge of all Shlatra is he who ia puro niiuded, self-controlled, over engaged in .loing good to oil beings, free from folac notions of dualism nttuchod to tho speaking of, taking shelter with and ever living iu the connciouoiu»s of, tho supremo Biuhmau (Gandharva Tantra, Ch. ii). All orthodox Hindus of all divisions of worshippers submit themselves to the direction of a Guru. The latter initiate*. The Vaidik initiation into tho twice -bom classes is by the Upanayana. This is lor the first three castes only, viz., BrAhmano (priesthood and teaching), Kahatriya (worrier), Vainhya (merchant). All are (it iR said) by birth, Shfldra (Jonmand j Ay ate Shudrah) and by sacrament (that is, the Upanayana ceremony) twice-born. By study of the Vedas one ia a Vipra. And he who has knowledge of tho Brahman is a Brithmana (Bmlinia jftnfttj br&hnranah). Prom this well-known verse it will he seen how few there really are who are entitled to the noble name of Brdhmana. The T&ntrik Maatra-initiation is a different ceremony and 492 shAkta sAdhanA ia for a'.l castes. Initiation (DlksliA) is the giving of Mantra by the Guru. The latter should first, establish the life of the Guru in hie own body ; that is the vital power (Prfl.ni- shakti) of the Supremo Guru in the thouaand-petalled lotus (Sahasrlra). Ho then transmits it to the disciple. Aa an image is the instrument (Yftntra) in which Divinity (Devatva) inheres, so also is the body of the Gunn The candidate is prepared for initiation, fueta and lives chastely. Initiation (which follows) gives spiritual knowledge and destroys sin. Aa one lamp is lit at the flame of another, ho the divine fihakti consisting of Mantra is communicated from tho Gum’s body to that of the Shiahyn. I need not bo always repeating that this is the theory and ideal, which to-day in generally remote from the fact. The 8upremo Guru speaks with the voice of the earthly Gum at the time of giving Mantra. As the Yogint Tnntra (Oh. I) says MantrnpraddnoMlc hi m&nutht Napananlini Adhishthdnan bltavcl tatra Mahdk&lMtja Shankari A to na ffuiutd devi mdnvshe nd»a titmthoyah. (At the time tho Mantra in communicated, thore is in man (».e., Guru) the Proscnoe of MaliikAla. There is no doubt that man is not the Guru.) Guru is tho root, (MQla) of initiation (Dikshfl). Dtkshft is the root of Mantra. Mantra is the root of DovntA, and DevatB is the root of SiddhL Tho MundnmllA Tantr* says that Mantra is born of Guru, and DevatA of Mantra, ao that the Ouni is in tho position of Fathor’a Father to tho Ishta- devutA. Without initiation, jApa (recitation) of tho Mantra, Pfijft, and other ritual aots are useless. Tho Mantra ohooui for the candidate must bo suitable (AnukCUa). Whether a Mantra is Svnkula or Alailn to the person about to be initiated is ascertained by the Kulflkulaehakm, the zodiacal circle called Rftahichakra and other Chakras which may be found in the Tontrasftra. Initiation by a woman is efficaci- ous ; that by the mother is eightfold so (*&.). For, according 493 SHAKTJ AND SHAKTA bo the Tant.ro ShAatra, n woman with tho nooessary qualifi- cations, may Ik a Guru and give initiation. The Knlagurus nm four in number, each of them being the* Guru of the preceding ones. There arc Also three lines of Gurus (see MahlnirvAna, Ed. A. Avulon, p. Ill, n. 10; p. 120, n. 3). So long as the Shakl.i communicated by a Gum to his disciple is not. fully developed, the relation of Teacher and Director and Disciple exist*. A man in Shishya so long os hoisSAdhaka. When, however, Siddhi ia attained. Gum and Shishya, as also all other dualiamn, and relations, disappear. Besides the preliminary initiation, there arc a number of other initiations or consecrations (Abhishelra) which mark greater and greater degree* of odvuneo from ShAktAbhi- fthek* when entrance is made on the path of ShAkta SAdhsnA to Pumadtkahabhisheka and MahAptlrnndfkshAbhinheka Also oftlled Virajl-grahan&bhiiheka. On tho attainment of per- fection in the lost grade the SAdhuku performs his own funeral rite (ShiAddha), make* Pflrnlhuti with his sacred thread and orown lock. The relation of Guru and Shishya now ceases. Prom this point he ascends by himself until ho realises the great saying SoTiam "Ho I am”, BA’ ham “She 1 am”. Now he is Jfvan-inukta and Parainabanua. The word BAdhanA comes from tho root Sddh, to exert or strive, and SAdhnnA is tliarefore striving, practice, disci- pline and worship in order to obtain success or Siddhi. which may be of any of the kinds, worldly or spiritual, desired, but which, on the religious side of the ShAstro*. means spiritual advancement with it* fruit of happinoar. in this world nnd in Heaven and at length Liberation (Moksha). He who practises BAdhanA is (if n man) called Sfidhakn or (if a woman) SAdhlkA. But men vary in capacity, temperament, knowledge and general advancement, and therefore the means (for SAdhana nlao means instrument) by which they are to be led to Siddhi must vary. Methods which are suitable for highly advanced men will fail as regards the ignorant nnd undeveloped for they cannot understand them. What SHAKTA SADHANA suits the latter haB been long out- passed by the former. At least that is the Hindu view. It is called Adhilrftm or competency. Thus some few men arc oompotont (AdliikAri) to study Vedinta and to follow high mental rituals and Yoga processes. Others are not. Some are grown-up children and muat be dealt with ns such. As all men, and indeed all beings, ere, as to their pBychica! and physical bodies, made of the primordial substance l*rakriti-shakti (Prakrity&tmakn), es Prakrit: is Herself the three Gunss, 8attva, Hajss and Tamas, and as all things and beings are composed of theae three Gunns in varying proportions, it follow! that men are diviiiblo into throe general oIbohm, namely, thoeo in which tho Hattva, Kajnn, and Tamas Gunos, predominate respectively. There ore, of oourse, degrees in each of these three clauses. Amongst SAttvika men, iu whom flsttva predominates, some are more nnd aome less SAttvilra than others and ao on with the mat. These three classes of temperament (BhAva) aro known in tho ShAkta Tantrai as tho Divine (DivynbhAva), Horoio (VftabhAva) and Animal (PoshubhAva) temperament* reapnouvnly. BhAva ia defined a* n property ot quality pharma) of the Manas or mind (PrftnntoehinI, 870). The DivyabhAva is that in which Sattvo-gunn predominates only, because it ia to bo noted that noue of the Qunas are, or ever can be, absent. Prakrit! cannot be partitioned. Prakriti is the three Gunna. Sattra is essentially the spiritual Guna, for it ia that which manifests Spirit or Pure ConadouaneHs (Chit). A SAttvikn mnn is thus a spiritual man. Hia is a calm, pure, equable, refined, wise, epiritual temperament, free of materiality nnd of passion, or he possesses these qualities imperfectly, and to the degree that ho possesses them ho is SAttvik. PoshubhAva ia, on tho other hand, the tempera- ment of the man in whom Tamas guna prevails and produces such dark characteristics as ignorance, error, apathy, sloth and bo forth. He 1 b called a Paahu or uniuial because Tamas predominates in the merely animal nature sb compared with 495 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA the diupoflition of spiritually-minded men. He U hIbo Paahu bcc&uae I»j is bound by the bonds (P&aha). The term Pftsha conies from the root Path to bind. The Kulftrnava ernune- ratce eight bonds, namely, pity (Dayft, of the type which Taoista call "inferior benevolence" as opposed to the divine compassion or Karunfl), ignor&noe and delusion (Moba), fear (Bhaya), sliamo (LajjA), disgust (Ohrinfl), family (Kula), habit and observance (Shtla), and caste (Varna). Other larger enumerations arc given. Tho Pashu is the man caught by the world, in ignoranoe and homing.-. Rh&sknni- riiya, on tho Rfltra " have no non verse with a Pashu”, says that ft Pashu is Buliirmukha or outward looking, seeing the outside only of thing! and not inner realities. The injuno tion, he says, only upplicn bo con verso as reganln things spiritual. The Hluiva ShlUtra spenks of three qImsm of Pasha, namely, Haltnla bound by tho three l'lahaa, Anu, Hhedu, Kahna, that is, limited knowledge, the seeing of the one Self us many by the operation of Mlyd, and notion and its product. These are tho throe impurities (Mala) called Aimvnmnln, MAyltnmU, nnd KArnumalw. Tho Ratal a Jtva or Pftshu is bound by nil throe, the i'ndayhkftln by tho first, and loot, and the VijnftnAknln by the first only. (See as to these tho diagram of tho 3(1 Tattvivs.) Ho who is wholly flood of '.ho remaining impurity of Ami is flhivn Himself. Here however Poshu ia used in a different sense, that is, os denoting the creature as contrasted with tho Lord (Tati). In this sense, Pashu is a name for all men. In tho Shftkta use of tbe term, though nil men are oortuinly Pashu, as com- pared with the Lord, yet us between theniselvee one may be Pashu (in the narrower sense above stated) and the other not. Some men nre more Pashu than others. It is a mis- take to suppose that, the Pashu it necessarily n bad man. Ho may bo and often is ft good one. Ho is certainly hotter than a bad Vila who is really no Vfra at all. Ho is, however, not, according to this Bli Astra, an enlightened man in the -196 shAkta sAdhanA sense that the Vira or D<vya is, and ho is generally marked by various degrees ol ignorance and raateriul-mindetlness. It is tbo mark ol a bad Pashu to be given over to gross acts of sin. Bet ween these two comes the Hero or Vira of whose temperament (Vlrabh&va) so muoh is heard in the Sh&kta Sh&straB. In him there is prevalent the strongly active Rajas Guna. Rajas is always aotivc either to incite Tamaa or Sattva. In the former case the result is a I’ashu, in tho latter case either a Vira or T)i vya. When Sattva approaches perfection of development there is tho Divyabhttva. Sattva ia hero firmly oatabHahod in calm and in high degree. But, until such time, and whilst man who hna largely liboratod himself through knowledge of the influence uf Tamus, ia active to promote Sattva, he ia a Vira. Being heroio, he is permitted to meet his enemy Tamaa face to face, counter- attacking where the lower developed man flees away. It haa been pointod out by Dr. Gar be (Philosophy o! Ancient India, 481). ns before him by Baur, that the analogous Gncwtio classification of inon as material, psychical, and a'piritual also oorresponda (as does this) to the throe Gunas of the SAfilchya Dnnihanft. Even in itfl limited Shhkta sense, there are degrees of L'aaliu, one man being more so than another. Tho PAnhnn are the creations of MAyft Shakti, Thu Devi therefore is piotured as boaring them. But us She is in Her form as M&yft and AvidyA Shakti tho cause of bondugo, so no Vidyft Bhakti She breaks tho bonds (Pushup &»hn- Vimoohinl) (see v. 78, LalitAaahaaran&ma), und in thun tho Liberatrix of the Pashu from his bondage. NityA Tantra says Hint the Bhhva of the Pirya is the best, the VSru the next brat, and Psalm tho lowest. In fact,, tho etnto of tho loot io tho starting point in SAdhanfl, that of the first the goal, and that of tho Vira ia tho stage of ono who having ceased to be a Pashu ia on the way to the attain- ment of the goal. From being a Pashu, a man rises in lliig or some other birth to be a Vira and Divynbb&va or SHAKTI AND SHAKTA DevuifibhAva is awakened through Virr.bhivn. The Pioh- chhilft Tantro says (X, see also Utpatti Tantra, LXIV) that tlio difference between the V!ra ami the Divya lies in the Uddhatamftnasa, that is, paHiionateneas or activity by wliioh tlic former is characterized, and which is due to the great effort, of Rajas to procure for the Sftdhaka n Sattvik state. .Inst as there are degrees in the Pashu stale, so there are elesaes of Virus, some l»eing higher than other*. The Divya Sftdhaka a!*o is ’of higher or lower kind*. The lowest ia only a .degree higher than the licet type of Vim. Tho liighest completely realise the Deva-naturo wherein Battva exists in a* state of lasting stability. Amongst this cla\- arc the Tattvajnfti! and Yogi. Tho letter are emancipated from oil ritual. Tho lower Divya class may apparently take part, ia the ritual of the Vfra. The object and end of all S&dhanA, whether of Pashu or Vtra or Divya, in to develop Sattvagunu. Tho Tantres give descriptions of oncli pf these throe claMM. The chief general distinction, wliioh in cocutantly repeated, betwoon tho pure Pashu (for then are also Vibhftva-pashua) and tfaft VSru, in that the funner does not, and tin: latter does, follow tho Ponshctattva ritual, in the form prescribed for VlrAchAm and doaCiibed In tho next Ohaptor. Other portions of tho description are oharauteration of tho Tftmasik character of tho Pashu. 80 Kubjiltl Tantra (VII) after describing tliia class of man to be tbo lowest, points out various forms of their ignorance. So it nays that he talks ill of other olaaseu of believers. That is, lie in seotarian-iuindod and decries other forms of worship than lus own, a characteristic of tho Pashu tho world ovor. lie distinguishes one Dcvo from another on if they wore really different and not merely the plural manifeetationa of the One. 80, the worshipper of Rftuia may abuse the wor- shipper of Krishna, and both decry the worship of Shiva or Dovt As the Veda says, tlie One ia called by various names. Owing to bi» ignorance “lie in always bathing’’, that is, lie is always thinking about external and ceremonial 498 SHAKTA sadhanA purity. This, though good in its w»y, ii nothing compared with internal purity of mind. He has ignorant or wrong ideas, or want of faith, concerning (Shftkta) Tantra ShAetra, Sacrifices, Guru, Images, and Mantra, the last of which lie thinks to be mere letters only and not Devatft (sec PrAna- toshin!, 547, ft seq., Piohohhill, X). He follows the Vfiidik rulo relating to Maithuna on the fifth day when the wife is RituanAtA (Riiu-Wom vind dev* ramanam par war jay ft). Some of the desoriptioua of the Pashu seem to refer to the lowest class. Generally, howover, ono may say that, from the standpoint of a VtrAohArl, all those who follow VedA- chAra, VaishnavAcbAra and HhaivAchlra are Pasbus. The KubjikA Tantra (VII) gives a description of the Djvya. Its enlogiw would soom to imply that in all matters whioh it montionn, the Pashu is lacking. But this, ns regards some matters, is Stuti (praise) only, Thus he hue a strong faith in Veda, ShAntra, Dova and Guru, and ever spooks tho truth which, as also other good qualities, must be allowed to the Pashu. Ho avoids all cruelty and other bad actions snd regards alilco both friend and foe. He avoids tho company of the irreligious who decry tho DovatA. AU Devai he regards as beneficial, worshipping all without drawing distinctions. Thus, for instance, whilst nn orthodox up- oountry Hindu of tho Pashu kind who is a worshipper of ItAmn cannot even Lear to hoar tho name of Krishna, though both RAuui and Krishna arc each AvntAn of tho same Vishnu, tho Divya would equally reverence both knowing each to be an aspect of the one Groat Shakti Mother of Dovaa and Men. This is one of the first qualities of tho high ShAkta worshipper. As a worshipper of Shakti he bowa down at the feet of women regarding thorn as his Guru (Strindm p&dalalam dritftfvd gurvcad bh&myet sada ). He offere everything to the supremo Devi regarding the wholo universe as pervaded by Sfcrf (Shakti, not “woman") and as DevatA. Shiva is (he knows) in all men.- The whole universe (BrahmAnda) is pervaded by Shiva Shakti 499 SHARP! AND SHAKTA TLe description cited nlso deals with his ritual, saying that he does daily ablutions, SandhyA, wears clean cloth, the Tripundra mark in ashes or red sandal, and ornaments of RudrfUfflha beads. He does Japa (recitation of Mantras external and mental) and worship (ArchanA). He wor- ships the Pitri& and Devis and performs all the daily rites. Ho gives daily charity. He meditate* upon hifl Guru daily, and doce worship thrice daily and, oa a Bhairava, worship* Porameahvurl with DivyabhAva. Ho worship* Devi at night (Vuklik worship being by day), und alter food (ordi- nary Vaidik worship being done before taking food). He makes obcimnoe to the Kaula 8halcti (Kulastrl) versed in T antra and Mantra, whoever She be and whether youthful or old. Ho bows to the Kula-trons (Kulavrikslia). He over strive* for the attainment and maintenance of DevmtA- bhive and i* himself of the nature of a Devntft. Portion* of thin doncription appoar to rofor to the ritual and not AvadhQta Dirya, and to this extent are applicable to the high Vlru olio. The UuUAnirva.ua (I. 00) describes the Divya a* all but u Dm, ever pure of heart, to whom all opposites uro alike (DvandvAtitn) such a* pain and ploaburo, heat and cold, who is free from attachment to worldly things, the *aino to all creature* and forgiving. The text 1 have published, therefore, says that there is no DivyabliAva in tho Kaliyuga nor PniihubhAva ; for tho Pasha (or his wife) must, with hia own hand, oolloot leovce, flowers and fruit, and cook his food, which regulations and others are impolitic or difficult In the Kali ago. As a follower of Smriti, ho should not "see the face of a ShQdra at worship, or even think of a woman" (referring to the Panohatattva ritual). Tho Shy&m&rchuna (cited in Haratattvadtdhiti, 3-18) speak* to the same effect. On the other Laud, there is authority for the proposition that in the Kaliyuga there is only Poahubh&vo. Thus, tho PrAnatonhini (510-617) cites a passage purporting to oomc from tho Mah&nirv&na which is in direct opposition to the above . 500 shAkta sAdhanA Divya-tAra-mayo bhdvah kalau nasli kad&chana Ktvalan yu stui-bh&oma manlm-sidtlhir bhaven nrindm. (In tho Kali ago there is no Divya or VIrabhAva. It is only by the Paahu-bhAva that men may attain Wantra- siddhi.) I have disouB&od this latter question in greater detail in the introduction to the sixth volume of the series of “Tftntrik Texts” Doaling with tho former paasago from tho Mah&nirvAna, the Commentator explains it as meaning “ that the condi- tions and characters of the Kaliyugu are not such as to he productive of PoahubhAva, or to allow of its SchAra (in the ucuso of the strict Vaidik ritual). No one, he says, can now-a-days fully perform tho VedAch&ra, VaishnavdchAru, and ShaivAoh&ra rites without which tho Vaidik and Paurfinic Yajna and Mantra urn fruitless. No one now goes through tho Hrahmaeharyn Aahrama or adopts, after tho flftioth yoar, VAnapmthn. Those whom tho Vaidik ritoa do not oontrol oannot expect tho fruit of their obser- vances On tho ooutroxy, men huvo taken to drink, aaaoei ate with the low aud are fallen, as are ulso those who associ- ate with them. There can, therefore, be no pure Psalm. (That is apparently whilst there may bo a natural Pnshu disposition the Vaidik rites appropriate to this Bhftva cun- not be carried out.) Under those circumstances, the duties prescribed by the Vedas which are appropriate for the Pushu boing inoapable of performance, Shiva, for the liber- ation of meu of the Kali age, has proclaimed tho Agama. Now there is no other way." Wc ore, perhapB, therefore, correct in suyiug that it comes to tins In a bad age, such as tho Kali, Divya men are (to say the least) very scarce, though common-sense and experience must, I suppose, allow for exoeptions. Whilst tho Pasha natural disposition exists, the Vaidik ritual which he should follow cannot be done. It is in foot largely obsolete. The Vaidik Pashu or man who followed the 50 « SHAKTI AND SHAKTA Vaidik rituals iu tlioir entirety is non-existent. He must follow the Agamic rituals which, as a fact, the bulk of men do. The Agama must now govern the Puahu, Vfra and would-be Divya alike. As I have frequently explained, there are various communities of the followers of Tantra or Agama ac- cording to tko sovoral divisions of the worshippers of the five DevatAs (Panobopilsaka). Of the five classes, the most important are Vaishnava, Bhaiva and Shftktn. I do not, howovor, hoaitato to ropont a statement of a toot ol which those who speak of “The Tantra" ignore. The main elements of SAdh&nA are common to all such communities following the Agama* ; such an PfljA (inner and outer), PratiraA or other emblems (Linga, Bhflla- graraa), UpachAra, Sandhyl, Yajna, Vrata, Tapoa, Mandala, Yantra, Mantra, Japa, Purashohamna, NyA*a, Bhuta- shuddhi, MuJrt, DliyAna, Bamskhra and so forth. Even the VUmftchflra ritual which some wrongly think to be peculiar to the ShAlrtJW, is or was followed (I am told) by mem- bore of other BompradAyas including Jainus and Bnuddhna. Both, in oo for an thoy follow thin ritual, uro rookonod amongst Kuuloa though, a» being uou- Vaidik, of a lower class. A main point to bo here remembered, and one whloh establishes both tho historical and practical importance of the Agamas is this:— That whilst some Vaidik nice still exists the bulk of the ritual of to-day is Agamic, that is, what is popularly o&lled TAntrik. Tho PurAnas arc replete with TAutrik rituals. Notwithstanding a general community of ritual forms, thoro oro. soroo vnrianco# whioh are due to two causes : firstly, to difference in the DevaU worship, and secondly, to difference -ol philosophical basis accordiug as it is Advaitu, VishiBht&dvaita, or Dvaita. The presentment of funda- mental ideas is sometimes in different terms. Thus the Vaishnava Panchar&tra Agama describee the creative pro- cess in terms of the Vyflhas, and the Shaiva-ShAkta Agamas shAkta sAuhanA orplain it as the AbhAsn of the thirty-six Tattvaa. 1 here deal with only one form, namely, Shikta SAdhanA in which the lohtaduvatA is Shakti in Her many forma. I will hem shortly describo some of the ritual forma Hbove-mentiorvod, premising that so cursory an account does not do justice to the beauty and profundity of many of them. There are four different forma of worship corresponding to four different states and dispositions (Rhava) of the BAdhaka himself. The realization that tbo Supremo Spirit (ParxraAtmA) and the individual spirit (JtvAtmft) are one, that everything is Rrahmau, and that nothing bub the Brah- man has lasting being is tho highest state or Brahma- bh&va. Constant meditation with Yoga-proces»os upon the DevatA in the heart is the lower form (DhyAnabhAva). Bower still is that Bhftva of whioh Jape (recitations of Mon tin) and Hymns of praise (Stava) arc the expression ; and lowest of all is external worslnp (BAhyapfljfl). PfljAbhAva is that which arise* out of tho dualiatio notions of worshipper and worshipped, the servant and tho Lord, a dualism whioh nooessorily exists in greater or less degreo until Monistic experience (Advoita bh&va) is attain- ed. lie who realizes the Advaitatattv* knows that all is Brahman. For him there is neither worshipper nor worship- pod, ncithor Yoga, nor PQjfL nor Dh&ranft, Dhyftna, Stava, Japa, Vrnta or other ritual or process of Hftdhanft. For, he is Siddha in its fullest senso, that is, ho has attained Siddhi which ia the aim of S&dhonfl. As the Mah&nirvAita says, "for him who has faith in and knowledge of the root, of what, use nxo the branches and leaves * ” Brfthmnnism thus oagely resolves the Western dispute os to tho necessity or advisability of ritual. It affirms it foT thoeo who hare not attained the end of all ritual. It lessens and refines ritual 88 spiritual progress is made upwards ; it dispenses with it altogether when there is no longer need fox it. But, until a man ia a real " Knower”, some Sldhanfl is necessary SHAKTI AND SHAKTA if ho would become one. Tho ifaturo of Sldhani, again, diflen according to tho temperaments (BhAva) above de- scribed, and ulno with referenre to the capacities and spiritual advancement of each in his own Bh&va. What may he suitable for the unlettered peasant may not be so for those more intellectually and spiritually advanced. It is, how- ever, a tine general principle of TAntrik worship that capacity, and not social distinction such as caste, determines comjw- tency for any particular worship. This is not so as regards the Vaidik ritual proper. One might have supposed that credit would have been given to the Tnhtra Hlifat.m for this. But credit is given for nothing. Those who dilato on Vaidik oxolusivoneaa have nothing to aay aa regards tho absence of it in tho Agama. The fihfldra in precluded from the performance of Vuklik rites, tho reading of tbu Vedua, and tho recital of Vaidik Mantras. His worship is practically limited to that of his IshtadavatA, the VAna-lingapQjA with Tlntrik aud l’&urftmk mantru and such Vrata aa consist in penanco and charity. In other oases, the Vruta is per- formed through a Brfchmatin. The Tuntra ShAstra makes no caste distinction ns regards worship, in the sense that though it may not challenge tho exclusive right, of the twire- born to Vaidik rites, it provides other and similar ritoe for tho Shftdra. Thus there is both a Vaidik and T&ntrik flftyntrl aud SandhyA, aud there are rites availablo lor worshippers of all castes. All may road tho Tantras which contain their form of worship, aud carry them out and rodte tho Tftntrik Mantras. All castes, oven the lowest ChnndAln may, if otherwise fit, receive the TSntrik initiation and bo a membor of a Chakra or circle of worship. In the Chakra all the members partake of food and drink together, and arc then deemed to bo greater than BrAhmanns, though upon the break-up of the Chakra the ordinary caste and social relations are .re-eBtablished. It is necessary to distinguish between aooial difforonoce and compotonuy (AdhikAra) for worship. Adhik&ru, 30 fundamental a principle of Br&hmuniam, shAkta sAdhanA mcana that all are not equally entitled to the same teaching and rituaL They are entitled to that of which they are capable, irrespective (according to the Agoma) of 3uch social distinctions as caste. All are competent for TAutrik worship, for, in the words of the Gautamfya which is a Vaiahtiava T antra (Cap. 1), the Tantra Shaatra ia for all castes and all women. 8arva-varnddhik6rash cha >\MnAm yogya em cha. Though according to Vaidilc usage, the wife was co-operator (Sohudharmini) in tho household ritea, now-u-duya, so far as I can gather, they are not accounted much in such matters, though it in said that the wife may, with the consent of her husband, fast, take vows, perform Homa, Vrata and the like. According to tho Tantra Shflatra, a woman may not only receive Mantra, but may, aa Guru, initiate and give it (see Rudray&mala II. ii, and XV). She ia worshipped both os wife of Guru and as Guru herself (see id. I. i. MfttrikAbhcda Tantra (c. vii), AiinadAkalpa Tantra cited in PrftnatoihinJ, p. OH, and a* regard* the former Yogint Tantra cap. i. Guru- patni MaJuuhd** gurur ova). Tho Devi is Harsslf tho Gum of all ShAstraa and woman, as indeed ull fomnlou Her ombodi moutfl, oro in u peculiar sonsc, Her representatives. For this reason all women aro worshipful, and no harm should bo over done them, nor should any female animal be sacri- ficed. Pujd is the oommon term for ritual worship, of which there are numerous synonyms in tho Sanskrit language auoh a» Archanl, Van dan A, SaparyyA, ArlianA. NamasyA. Arohl, Bhajoni, though some of those atresa certain aspects of it. Pujft iui also Vrata which are Khuiya, that in, done to gain a particular end, oio preceded by tho Sankalpa, that is, a statement of the resolve to worship, aa also of the parti cular object (if auy) with which it is done. It runs in the form, “I of Gotr* — and so forth (identifying the individual) am about to perform this Pflj& (or Vrata) with the object Thereby the attention and will of the 5°5 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA Hftdhaba arc focussed and bra cod up for the matter in hand. Here, as elsewhere, the ritual which follows is designed both by it* complexity and variety (which prevents the tiring of the mind) to keep the attention always Died, to prevent it from straying and to emphasize both attention and will by continued acts and mental workings. The object of the worship is the lshtadovatft, that is, the particular form of the Deity whom the Sidhaia wor- ships, suoh us Devi in the case of n .HhAkta, Shiva in the case of the Shnivn (in eight forms in the case of Ashta- mftrti-pfijA as to which see Tod ala Tantra, cap. V) and Viflhnu os such or in Hia forms us ROino and Krishna in the coso of the Vaisbnava BAdhoku. An object is used in the outer Pfljft (BAhyapftjft) such as an image (PratlmA), a piotuxo, and emblem such u a jar (Kolas*), BhllagrAifi* (in the ease of Viahnu worship), lingo and Yoni or (Jauripatta (in the COM of tho worship) of Shiva (with Dovt), or a geometrical design called Y antra. In the oaao of outer worship the first is the lowest form said the last, the highest It is not all who arc capable of woraliipping with ft Ynntra. It is obvious that simpler minds must bo satisfied with images which delinoato the form of tho-DovutA completely and in material form. The advanced contem- plate Povutii in the linos and curves of a Yautra. In uxterual worship, tho SAdhaka should first worship inwardly the mental image of tho DevatA which the outer objects assist to produce, and then by tho life-giving {Pi&na- pratishthft) ceremony he should infuse the image with life by the communication to it of the light, consciousness, and energy (Tejas) of tho Brahman within him to the image without, from which there then burets the lustre of Her whoso substance in. Consciousnoeo I tool! (ChaitanyamayS). In every place She oxiete on Shakti, whether in stone or motol uti chew here, but in matter is veiled and seemingly inert. Chaitanya (ConsciouanesH) is aroused by the worship- per through the PrAnapiatishchA Mantra. An object exists 506 shAkta sAdhanA fo t a Sidhaka only in ao far 13 his mind perceives it. For and in him ita caecnco os Consciousness is realized. This is a fitting place I <1 say & word on the subject of the alleged “Idolatry" of the Hindus. We are all aware tliat a similar charge has been made against Christiana of the Catholic Church, and those who are. conversant with this controversy will be better equipped both with know- ledge and caution against the making of general and indis- criminate charges. It may be well doubted whether the world contains an idolater in the nenne in which that term is used by persona who speak of “the hoathon worship of stick* and fltonr>s". According to the traveller A. B. Ellis ("The Tahi upoalcbg peoples oi the Gold Coast of West Africa"), even "negroes of the Gold Coast ure always conscious that (heir offerings aud worship are not paid to the inanimate object itself but to the indwelling God, and overy native with whom I have conversed on tho subject has laughed at the possibility of its beiug supposed that, he would worship or offer sacrifice to some such object as a stone. ” Nevertheless a missionary or some traveller might toll him that he did. An absurd attitude on the part of the superior Western is that in wlxkh tho latter not merely toll* tho coloured race* what they should boliovc, but what notwithstanding donyd. thoy m fact bulievo and owjht to hold aocording to tho Usnots of tho latter’s religion. The charge of idolatry is kept up, notwithstanding tho explanations given of their beliefs by these against whom it is made. In foot, tho conviction that Koatoru races mo inferior is responsible for this. If we disregard such beliefs; then, anything may be idolatrous. Thus, to those who disbelieve in tho " Real Prwence", the Catholic worshipper of the Host i* an idolater worshipping the material substance, broad. But, to the worshipper who boiio'oe that it is tho Body of the Lord under tho form of broad, each worehip oau never be idolatrous. Similarly as regards the Hindu SHAKTJ AND 5HAKT4 worship of imngOB. Thoy arc uot to bo hold to worship clay or atone because others disbelieve in the efficacy of the Prftnapratishthfl ceremony. When impartially consider- ed, there is nothing necessarily superstitious or ignorant in thin rite. Nor is this the case with the doctrine of the Real Presence which is interpreted in various ways. Whether either rite has the alleged effect attributed to it is another question. All matter ia according to 8hftkta doctrine, a mani- festation of Shakti, that is, the Mothor Herself in material guise. She ia present in anil a» everything which ariats. The ordinary man doe* not ao view things. He aoea merely grow unoonacious mattor. If, with ouoh an outlook, ho wore fool enough CO worship wlmtwas iuforiur to himself, he would be an idolater. But the very act of worship implies that the object is superior and conscious. To the truly enlighten- ed ShAkt-a everything is an object of worship, for oil is u manifestation of Hod who i* therein worshipjicd. Hut that way of looking at things must be attuned. The untutored mind must be aidad to see that this is so. This is ellecled by the I’rAnnpratishthA rite hy which "life is established” in the imago of groan mutter. The Hindu then boliovon that tho PrnlimA or imago is u representation and the dwell- ing place of Deity. What diilerencc, it may bo naked, docs this xcully make 1 How oan u man’s belief ulter the objectivo fact I The uuBwer is, it doe* not. God is uot muuifcsted by the image merely because the worshipper believes Him to be there. He is there in fact already. All that the PrADapratishthA rite does is to enliven the consciousness of the worshippor into a realization of HU presence. And if He bo both in fact, and to tho belief of the worshipper, present, then tho Imago is a proper object, of worship It is the subjective state of the worshipper^ mind which determines whether an act U idolatrous or not. Tho 1’rAua pralishthA rite is thus a mode by which the IS Ad ii aka is given a true object of worship and is cuubled to uffirm u belief in tho divine omnipresence with respect to that particular shAkta sAdhanA object of Ilia devotion. The ordinary notion that it is mere matter is cant aaidu, aud the divine notion that Divinity is manifested in all that is, is held and affirmed. "Why not then" (some missionary has said) "worship my boot'” There are contemptible people who do so in the European sense of that phrase. But, nevertheless, there is no reason, according to ShAkta teaching, why even his boot should not ho worshipped by one who regards it and oil else ns a mani- festation of the One who is in every objoct which constitutes tho Many. Thun this Monistic belief is affirmed in the wor- ship by some ShAktaa of that which to tho grosn and ordinary mind ie merely an objoot of lust To auoh minds, this is n revolting and obsceao worship. To those for whom suoh object of worahip is obscene, such worship is and must be obscene. But what of tho mind which is ho purified that it secs the Divine presence in that which, to tho moss of men, is an incitement to and object of lust I A man who, without desire, can truly no worship must bo a very high HAdhaka indoed. The ShAkta Tantm affirms the Creek saying that to the pure nil things are pure. In this belief and with, as the JnAnArriftvn Tantra nays, the object of teaching men that this U so, we find the ritual use of aubetABOM ordinarily accounted impure. The roal objootion to tho fionornl adop- tion or even knowledge of auoh rites lien, from tho Monistic standpoint, in the fact tlml the vnnt bulk of humanity tvro either of impure or weak mind, and that the worship ol' an object which is capable of exciting lust will produce it, not to mention the hypocrites who, under cover of such a worahip, would seek to gratify thoir desires. I n tho I’aradise Legend, just as amongst some primitive tribes, man and woman go naked. It was and is after they have fallen that nakedness is observed by minds no longer innocent, Rightly, therefore, from their standpoint, the hulk of men oondemn such worship. Booausc, whatever may bo its theoretical justification under conditions which rarely occur, prag- matically and for the bulk of men they aro full of danger. SHAKTI AND SHAKTA Thcee who go to meet temptation should remember the risk. 1 have read that it is recorded of Robert d'Arbrissel, the saintly founder of the community of Font* d’Evrault that he was wont on occasions to sloep with his nuns, to mortify his fleBh and as a mode of strengthening his will ugainst its demands. Ho did not touch them, but his exceptional success in preserving his chastity would be no ground for the ordinary man undertaking so dangerous an experiment. In short, in order to he completely just, wo munt, in individual cases, consider intention and good faith. But, practically and for the maw, the counsel and duty to avoid the occasion of sin is, uecordiug to ShAstrik principles themselves, enjoinod. Ah n matter of fact, such worship has been confined to so limited a class that it would not have been necessary to deal with the subject were it not connected with Shilkta worship, the matter in hand. To revert again to the "missionary's boot”: whilst all things may he the object of worship, choice is naturally mndo of thoso objects whioh, by roaaon of tlxcir oftoct on tho mind, are raoio fitted for it. An image or unc of tho usual emblems in more likely to raise in tho mind of the worshipper tho thought of a Dovatft than a boot, and therefore, even apart from scriptural nuthority, it would not ho chosen. Ilut, it has fcocu again objected, if the Brahman is in and appears equally in all things, how do we find some affirming that one imago is more worthy of worship than another. Similar- ly. in Catholic oountrinp, wo find worshippers who prefer certs in .churches, shrines, places of pilgrimage and re- presentations of Ohriot, His Mother and the Saints. Such preferences are not statements of absolute worth but of personal inclinations .in the svurshipjwr due to his belief in their special efficacy for him. Psychologically all this means that a particular mind finds that it works best in the direction desired by means of particular instruments. The image of Kilt provokes in general only disgust, in an European mind. But to the race-consciousness which has SHAKTA SADHANA evolved that imago of Deity, it ia the caunc and object of fervent devotion. In every cate, those means must be sought and applied which will produce a practical and good result for the individual consciousness in question. It must bo admitted, however, that image worship like everything else is capable of abuse ; that is a wrong and (for want of a better term) an idolatrous tendency may manifest. This is due to ignorance. Tlius the aunt of a Catholic school-boy friend of mine had a statue of 8t. Anthony of Padua. Tf the saint did not answer her prayers, oho urod to give the imago s beating, and then shut it up in a cupboard with it* "face to the wall" by way of punishment. I could cite numbers of instances of thin ignorant state of mind taken from the past and present history of Europe. It is quite erroneous to suppose that such absurdities are con- fined to India, Afrioa or other coloured countries. Never- theless, wo must, in each case, distinguish between the true scriptural touching and tho acte and notions of whioh they are an abuse. The matoriala used or thing* done in I’dji are called UpaohftrA. The common number of thooo io ibetoon, but tho re uro mow and lorn (*ec "Priudploe of Ton tin,' ' vol. ii). The sixteen which include some of the lesser number and are Included in thegreator are: (1) Asana (Heating of the image), (2) Svigatn (welcoming of tho Devatft), (8) Pldya (water for washing the feet), (4) Arghyu (offerings which may be genoral or Sflmfcnya and spocial or Viahcaha) made in the vessel, (6) (0) Achamana (water for sipping and clean- sing the lips -offered twice), (7) Madhuparka (honey, ghco, milk and curd), (8) SnAna (water for bathing), (ft) Vaaana (doth for garment), (10) Abhnrana (joweln), (II) Qandhn (Perfume), (12) Puahpa (flowore), (13) Dhflpo (inccnae), (14) Dtpa (liglite), (10) Naivedya (food), and (10) Vandana or NamqakrivA (prayer). Why should suoh things be chcaen ? Tho Westerner who has heard of lights, flower and inoexuse in Christian worship SHAKTI AND SIlAKTA may yet ask the reason of the rest. The answer is simple. Honour is paid to the DevatA in the way honour is paid 10 friends and those men who are worthy of veneration. So the Sftdlwka gives that same honour to the DevatA, a course that the least arlvanocd mind can understand. When the guest arrives he is bidden to take a seat, he 1 b welcomed and asked how he has journeyed. Water is given to him to wash hia dusty feet and his mouth. Food and other things are given him, and so on. These are done iu honour of mon, and the Deity is honoured in the same way. Some particular articles vary with the Pftjh. 'I'htla, TulaaS leal ia issued iu the Vislwu-p&jA ; haul leuf (Bilvu) in tho fthiva-pflji, and to the Devi is offered the scarlet hibisjus (Jnbfl). The .Vluntroa said and other ritual details may vary according to the DevatA worshipped. Tho scat (Asana) of the worshipper in purified an also the Upaohix*. Salutation is made to t he Shakti of support (AdhArn-shnkti), the Power sustaining all. Obstructive Spirits are driven away {BhfltftpMnrpina) and ths tan quarters ure fenced from their attack by striking the oarth throo times with tho lelt foot, uttering the weapon-mantra (Astmblja) "Phot", and by snapping the fingers rouud tho huud. Other rituals also enter into tho worship besides the ottering of Upaoh&ra such as PrAn&y&ma or Breath control, BhQtnshuddhi or purification of the element# of the body, Japa of Mantra, Nyflsa (v. jml), meditation (Dhyhna) and obeisance (Pra- nflma). Resides the outer and material PA j 1, there is a higher innor (AntarpGjR) and mental (MAnasapOjii). Here there is no offering of mntcrinl things to an image or emblem, but the ingredients (Upachfiia) of worship are imagined only. Thus the S&dhaka, in lieu of material flowers offered with the hands, lays at the feet of the DevatA the flower of good action. In the secret R&jasik PfljA of *.he VamhehAri, the Upachiira are the five Tattvas (Panchatattva), wine, moat and so forth described in the nest Chapter. Just as flowers 512 shAkta sadhanA und incense and bo forth are offered in the general publio ritual, so in this special secret ritual, dealt with in the next Chapter, the functions of eating, drinking and sexual union arc offered to the Devatfl. A marked feature of the Tantra Shflstras is the use of the Yantra in worship. This then takes the place of tho image or emblem, when the Sfldhaka has arrived at the stage when he is qualified to worship with Yantra. Yantra, in its moat general sense, moans simply instrument or that by which anything is accomplished. In worship, it is that by which the mind is fixed on its objeot. The Yantra, in lieu of the imago ot emblem holds the attention, and is both the object of worship, and the means by which it is carried out. It in said to bo so colled because it subdues (Niyantruna) hut, anger and tho other sufferings of Jiva, and the sufferings caused thereby. (Tantra- tattva, 519. Sftdhflrana UpisonA- tattva.) The Yantra is a diagram drawn or painted on paper, or other substances, engraved on metal, out on crystal or stone, The magical treatises mention extraordinary Yantra* drawn on leopard*# and donkey's skin, human bonos and eo forth. Tho Yantra* vary in design according to the Devatfl whose Yantra it is and in whoso worship it is used. The difference between a Mandela (which is also a figure, marked generally on tho ground) is that whilst a Mandate may be used in tho case of any Derail, a Yantra is appropriate to a »i>ocific Devatfl only. As different Mantras are different DevatAs, and differing Mantras are used in the worship of caoh of the Devatfts, v> variously formed Yantra s are peculiar to each Devatfl and are used in its worship. The Yantras are therefore of various designs, according to the object of wor- ship. The cover of "TAnferik Texta” shows tho great Shrl YantTa In the metal or stone Yantras no figures of Devatfts are shown, though these together with the appro- priate Mantras commonly appear in Yantras drawn ox- painted on paper, such as the Devatfl, of worehip, Avarana 5*3 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA SImlitia and bo forth. All Yantroa hnvo n common edging called Bhupura, a quadrangular figure with four "doom” which encloses and separates the Yantra from the outside world. A Yar.tr fi in my possession shows serpents crawling outside the BhApura. The K&ulflvaltya Tantra lays that the distinction between Yantra anil DevatA is that between the body and the self. Mantra is DevatA and Yantra is Mantra, in that it is the body of the DevatA who is Mantra. YarUram numtta-nayam prokUm mantr&tnd dexaluiva hi DfJi&lmanc/r yalhd bh*(b yantrailtxvilayoa tath/L Aa in the nnse of the image, certain preliminaries pre- cede the worship of Yantra. The worshipper first meditates upon tho DevatA and then arouses Him or Her in himself. Ho then communicates the Divine Prtseuoo thus aroused to the Yantra. When tho DevatA has by the appropriate Mantra been invoked into the Yantrn, thb vital airs (I'rAna) of the DevatA are infused therein by tho Pr&napratiahthA ceremony, Mantra and MudrA (sec for ritual MakAnirvflna VI. fill el ttg.) The DevatA is thereby installed in the Ynntrn which is no longer mere grow matter veiling tho Spirit which has boon always than*, but instinct with its aroused pmecnoo which tho Sldhoka first wolcome* and then worships, I n TAntrik worship, the body as well aa tho mind has to do it« part, the funner being made to follow tho latter. This is of course soen in all ritual, where there is bowing, genutlection and so forth. As all else, gesture is hore much elaborated. Thus, certain postures (Asana) are assumed in womhip and Yoga. There is obeisance (1’ranAma), some- time* with eight ports of the body (Ash'.Angapran&ma), and circumorabulation (Prndakshina) of the image. In Ny&sa the hands on* made to tonch various parts of the hixly and bo forth, A notable instance of this practioo arc the Mudrtto which are largely UBcd in tho TAntrik ritual. MudrA in thiB sense is ritual manual gesture. Tho term MudrA has three meanings. In worship (UpA&anAj it means these gestures. Tu Yoga it means postures in which nut only shAkta sAdhanA the hands but . the whole body token port. And, in the secret worship with the Panchatattva, MudrA rae%na various kinds of parched ooreals which are taken with the wine and other ingredients (UpachAra) of that particular worship. The term MudrA is derived from the root “to please” (Mud). The Tantrarlja aays that in ita UpAsanA form. MudrA is so called because it gives pleasure to the DevatAe. Theao Mudr&a are very numerous. It ha* been said that there ure 108 of which 55 oro in common use (Shabdaknlpadruma Sub, Voo MudrA aud see Nixvftua Tantra, Chap. XI). Possibly there are more. 108 is a favourite number. 1 he MudrA of t'pAsanft is tho outword bodily expression of inner resolve which it at the same time intensifies. Wo all know how in speaking we emphasize and illustr&to our thought by gosture. So in welcoming (AvAhana) the DcvatA, an appropriate gesture is made. When veiling anything, the hands asaume that position (Avagunthana MudrA). Thus again in making offering (Arghya) a gosturo in mado which ropwoonto a fioh (Mateya MudrA), by placing tlio right baud uu tlie back of tho left, and extending the two thumbs Qnliko on each sido of the hands. This is done os tho ex- pression of tho wish and intention that the vowel which contains water may be regarded os <m ocean with fish and all other aquatic animals. The Sftdhakn says to the DevatA of his worship, " this is but a small offering of water in fact, but so far as ray desire to honour you is concerned, regard it is as if I were offoring you an oooau.” The Yoni in tho form of on inverted triangle represents tho Dovf. By the Yoni MudrA the fingers form n triangle ae a manifestation of the inner desire that the Devi should couie and placo TTersqlf before the worshipper, for the Yoni is Her Htha or Y antra. Some of the MudrA of Hathayoga which are in the nature both of a health-giving gymnastic and special posi- tions required in Yoga-practice are described in A. Avalon’s “The Serpent Power”. The Gheranda Somhitl, a T&ntrik Yogs work, says (III. 4. 8. 10) that knowledge of tho Yoga 5‘5 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA Mudr&S grant all Si dd hi, imri that their performance produces physio*! benefits, such as stability, firinnoas, and cuio of diacsso. Bhutasliuddhi, an important Tin Irik rito, means purifi- cation of five "elements" of which the body is composed, and not "removal of evil demons,” ns Professor Monicr- Williams’ Dictionary has it. Though ono of the meanings of Bhfita is Ghost or Spirit, it is never safe to give such literal translations without knowledge, or absurd mistakes arc likely to be made. The .Mantromahodudhi (Taranga I) speaks of it as a rito which is preliminary to the worship ol a Dava. De<'fircht)-yoif>jatfi-fr&ptt/ai bMui thvddhm KM&charet. (For tho attainment of compotenny to worship, the elements of which the body is oompowd, should be purified.) The material human body is a compound of the five Bliflta* of "caith”, "water", "fire", "uir", and "ether". 'Ihcse terms have not their usual Kngliah meaning but denote tho five forms in which Prakriti tho Divino Powor as materia prim* nuuiifoats Horsolf. Those have each a contre of operation in tho five Chakras or Padinua (Centres or 1/t tunes) whioh exist in tho spinal oolumn of tho human body (hoc A. Avalon's "Serpent Powor" where this matter is fully do- scribed}. In tho lowest, of them centres (Mfilfldhflra), tho Groat Devi Kundalinl, a form of tho Saguna Brahman, resides. 8he is ordinarily nleeping tliorc. In Kundulinl- yoga, She is aroused and brought up through the fivo (cntrus, absorbing, aa Sho passes through each, the Bhfita of that centre, the subtle Tanmfltra from which it derives and the connected organ of senao (Indriya). Having absorbed all these, She is l<xl to the sixth or mind centre (Ajnft) between the oyobrows where the last Bhfita or ether is absorbed in mind, and the latter in the Subtle Prakriti The last in the form of Kunda'.i Shakti then unites with Shiva in tho upper brain called the thou Rand -pc tailed lotus (Sahoarftra). In Yoga this involution actually takes place with the result 5>6 shAkta SADHANA that ecstasy (Sam id hi) is attained. But very few are SUOCefld- ful Yoglu. Therefore, Bhutashuddhi in the cate of the ordinary worshipper i$ an imaginary process only. The SAdhakn. Imagines Kundilt, that Slie ifi roused, that one oleracut is ubaurbcd into the other anil so ou, until all is absorbed in Brahman. The Yoga process will be found described in "The Serpent Power", and Oh. V. 98 e.t stq. of the Mah&uirv&na gives an account of the ritual process, Tho Stolhaka having dissolved all in Brahman, a process which instils into hiH mind the unity of all, then thinks of tho “blnck mnn of sin” in his body. The body in then purified. By breathing and Mantra it is first dried ami then burnt with all its sinful inclinations. It is then mentally bathed with the nootar of tho wator mantra from hood to feet. Tho B&dbaka then thinks that in lieu of hin old sinful body a new Dovn body bin come into being. He who with faith and sinoerity taltovos that ho is regenerated is in fact so. To each who truly believes that his body is a I leva body it becomes a Dcva body. Tho Pova body thus brought into being is strengthened by tho Earth-mantra and divine gaze (Divyo-dr.shti). Saying, with BijAs, the .Mantra " Ho 1 am" (So’ham) tho SAdhaka by Jivany&aa infuses his body with the life of tho Devi, the Mother of *11. NyAaa is a very important and powerful TAntrik rite. Tho word oomoe from tho root, “to plnoo", and moans tho placing of tho tips of the fingers and palm of tho right hand on various parts of the - body, accompanied by Mantra. There are four general divisions of Nyftea, us., inner (Antur), outer (Baliir), according to the cieativo (Srishti) and dis- solving (Samhara) order (Krama). Nyaaa is of many kinds such as JIva-nyAsa, MAtrikfi or Lipi-ny&sa, Rishi-nyflsa, ShadaDganyaaa ou tho body (HridayAdi-shadangu-iiyAsa) and with tho hands (AnguahthAdi-shadanga-nyAwi), Ht.ha- nyAsa and so on. Tho Kulftmava (IV. 20) montions sue kindB. Eaoh of these might come under one or the other of the four general heads. 5'7 SIIAKTI AND SHAKTA Bcfoxo indicating the principle of thin rite, let us briefly ecu what it is. After the SMhaka has by Bhuta-shuddhi dissolved the sinful body and made a new Deva body, lie, by Jiva-nyAsa infuses into it the life of the Devt Placing his hand on his heart he says, "He I am" thereby identifying himself with Shiva-Shakti. lie then emphasises it by going over tho parts of the body in detail with the Mantra Am and the rest thus: saying the Mantra and what he is doing, and touching the body on the particular part with his fingers, ho recites Am (and tho rest.) the vital force (Prhna) of the blessed JCftlikA (in this instance) are here. Am (and tho roat) tho life of tho Blocwod Kftlikh is hero ; Ain (uud tho rest) all tho sense# of the Blessed Kaliki are Lure ; Sin (and the rest) nwy the spriM:!), mind, sight, hear- ing, sewe of stnoll of the Bleiacd Ivfilikft coming hero over abide here in ]>caco and happiness. SvalnV" By this, the body is thought to booomo like that of DrfvatA (DevatAmaya). lYUtriki nro tho fifty ldttorn of tho Sanskrit alphabet, for as from a mother cornea birth, 10 from the Brahman who, as the oreuUnr of "sound'' is rvdlwl "Shabdahrahman 1 ’, tho universe proooeds The Mantra bodies of t he DovntA uro compoood of tho MUtrikft or lutton*. Tho Sfldhuka first sets the letters mentally (Antnr milrikA nyftaa) in thoir several places in tho six inner centres (Chakra), and then externally by pkyeicul uction (BfUiyn-mdtrikA-nyAao]. The letters of the nlphabet lorn; tho different parte of the body of the Dovnt& which is thus built up in the Sfidhaka himself, lie places liis baud on different parts of his body, uttering distinctly at the same tiino the appropriate MMnkft for that part. The mental disposition in tho Chukra is that given in the ".Serpent- rower” by A. Avalon, each letter being repeated thus, Om Ham Namali (obeisanoe), Om Ksham Nainah and so on with the rest. The external disposition is as follows The vowels arc placod on the forehead, face, right and left eye, right and left car, right and left nostril, right und left cheek, upper and lower lip, shAkta s Adman A upper and lower teeth, head and hollow of the mouth. The consonants, Ka to Va, are pieced on the huso of the right aim and the elbow, wrist base and tips of fingers, left arm, and right and left leg, right and left side, back navel, belly, heart, right and left shoulder, and space between the shoulders (Kakuda). Then, from the heart to the right palm, Sha ; from tho heart to the loft palm, Sha (second) ; from the heart, to the right foot, Sa ; from the heart to the left foot. Ha ; and lastly from the heart to the belly and the heart to the mouth, Kaha. This M&triku-nyAiia is of several kinds. Oco foiro of Itinhi-nyAsa ia os follow* “In the head, salutation to Brahma and the Bruhmarehie ; in tho mouth, salutation to Gftyatrt and other forms of Verne ; in the heart, salutation to the primordial Do vat h KA1I ; in the hidden part (Ciuliya), salutation to the Bljo Krlm, in the two loot, salutation to Hihu; in ull the body, salutation to Shrtm and KAlikfL In Sluidauga-nyAsa on the body, certain letters ore placed with tho salutation Nnmah, und with the Mantras SvIhA, Vaahat, Vaushnl, Hrim, Phat on the heart, head, crown-look (Shikhft), eyes, the front and hack of the palm. In Karu-nyrtwi, t.ho Mantras nr« unsigned to the thumbs, index fingers, middle fingers, fourth fingers, little fingers, and the front and back of tho palm. From the above examples the meaning of NyAsu is seen. By awociating the Divine with every part of tho laxly nnd with the whole of it, tho mind and body ere sought to be made divine to tho consciousness of the S&dhaka. I hey are that olready, but the mind is made to so regard them. What if it does the English reader may ask ? How can the regarding a thing as divine make it so ? In one sense it does not, for mind and body nre ns Shakti divine, whether this be known or not. But this must he known to the S&dhaka or they are not divine for Atm. His mind is trained to look upon them as divine manifestation? of the one Su- preme Essence which at base he and they arc. According to Hindu views, primary importance is attached to menial 5'9 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA stut08, for as tho Divine Thought made the World, man makes his character therein by what he thinks. If he is always thinking on material things and bus desires therefor, he becomes himself material and is given over to lust and other passions. If, on the contrary, he has always his mind on God, and associates everything with tho thought of Him, his mind becomes pure and divine. As the Upanishad says, "What a man thinks that he becomes.” Thought is everything moulding our bodily features, moral and intel- lectual character and disposition, loading to and appearing in our actions. Much superficial criticism is levelled at this or other ritual, its variety, complexity, its longthy character and so forth, If it is performed mechanically end without attention, doubllew it is mere waste of time. But if it is done with will, attention, faith and devotion, it must necessarily uchieve tho result intended. The reiter- ation of the same Ids* under varying forms brings homo with emphasis to tho console usneas of tho S&dhakn the doctrine his Scripture teaches him, we., that Ilia essence is Spirit and his inir.d and body an* its manifestation All is divine. All is Consciousness. The object, of this and all the otlmr ritual is to mnko that statement u real experience for tho SAdhaka. For tho attainment of that state in which tho S&dhakn feola thot tho nature (Bh&va) of the DovubA has conic* upon him, NyAsn is a great auxiliary. It is as it were the wearing of Divine jewels in diflerent parts ol tho body. Tho Bljas of tho Dovatha {which are Devat&s) are tho jewels which the Sfidbaka places on tho different parte of his body. By the juirticular Ny&so he places his Abhlshta- devatA in such parts, and by Vy&paka-Nvftaa he spreads its presence throughout Limself. He becomes thus permeated by the Divine and its manifestations, thus merging or ming- ling himself in or with the Divine Self or Lord. NyAro, ■iLiana and other ritual axe necessary for the production of the dcaircd state of mind and its purification (Chitta- shuddhi). The whole aim and cud of ritual is Chittashuddhi. 5 ao shakta sAdhanA Transformation of thought, it transformation of being, for particular existence is a projection of thought, and thought is a projection from the Consciousness which is the Root o: all. This is the essential principle and rat ions! bams of this, us of all, Tantrik Sadhani. Ny&aa also has certain physical oflccts, for these ure dependent on the state of mind. The pure restful state of meditation is reflected in the body of the worsliipper. The actions of Nyasa are said to stimulate the norvo centres and to effect the proper distribution of the Shaktia of the human frame according to their deposi- tions and relations, preventing discord ar.d distraction during worship, which itself holds steady the state thus induced. In the Chapters on MantramayJ Shalcti and Varnain&U, aa also in uiy "Garland of Letters’’, I hdvo dealt with the uature of Mantra and of its SAdhanA. An account will also bo found of the subject In tbo Mantratattvn Chapter of the second volumu of " Principles of Tantra". Mantra is DovotA and by SAdhanA therewith the sought-for (SAdhya) Dovii tA is attained, that is, bocomoa preeent to the con- Bciousness of the SAdhaka or Mantrin. Though the purpose of Worship (PfljA), Reading (PAtha), Hymn (Btava). Sacrifice (Homa), Meditation (DhyAna). and that of the DlkahA-mantra obtninod on initiation are the same, yet tho latter in no id to be far moro powerful, and thin for tho reason that in the Brat the SAdhuka's SAdhanA-ahakti only opemles, whilst in tho cuao of Mantra that SAdhanA-slndcti works in conjunc- tion with Mantra- shakti which bus tho revelation and force of tire, than which nothing is more powerful. Tho special Mantra which is received at initiation <Dush&) is tho Bija or Seed-Mantra sown in tho field of the SAdhaka’s heart, and the TAntrik Sandhya, NyfUa, RfljA, and the like are the stem and branches upon which hymns of praise (Stuti) and prayer and homage (Vandana) arc tho leaves and flower, and the Kovacha consisting of Mantra, tho fruit (See Chapter on Mantra tattva, voi. ii, !‘PrincipIes of Tantra,” Ed. A. Avalon.) SHAKTI AND SHAKTA The utterance of a Mantra without knowledge of its meaning or of the Mantra sadhnnd is a mere movement of the lips and nothing more. The Mantra sleeps. This in not infrequently the case in the present degeneracy of Hindu religion. For example, a BrAhmana lady confided to me her UIkahA-mar.tr* and asked me for its meaning, aa she understood that I had a Bija-koeha or Lexicon whioh gave the meaning of the letters. Her Gum had not told her of its meaning, and enquiries elsewhere amongst BrAhmana* were fruitless. 8ho had been repeat- ing the Mantra for years, and time had brought, the wisdom that it oould not do her much good to repeat what was without meaning to her. Japn is the utterance of Mantra oa described later. Maatm-sAdhanA is elaborate. 7 hero are various processes preliminary to and involved in its right utterance whioh again consist* of Mantra. There are the sacrament* or purifications (SamakAra) of the .Mantra (TantraaArn, p. 00). There arc "birth'’ and '’death” defilo- ments of a Mantra (\b., 70, et seg.) which have to bo cleansed. This and. of course, much else mean that tho mind of tho Mantrin has to ho prepared and cleansed for the realisation of the. DnvatA. There are a number of defects (Dosha) whioh have to bo avoided or cured. Thcro is purification of the mouth whioh uttcre the Mantra (Mukha shodhana) [see ns to thia and the following ShAradA Tiloku (oup. x)J, purification of the tongue (JihvA-shodhana) and of tho Mantiu (Ashaucha-bluinga), Mantra processes called KullOka, NirvAna, Setu (see ShAradH Tilaka loc cii Tantra-silro, and Puraahcharnnabodhini, p. 48) whioh vary with the DevatA of worship, awakening of Mantra (NidrAbhanga) its vitaliz- ing through consciousness (Mantraohaitanya), pondering on the meaning of the Mantra and of the MAtrikAs constitut- ing the body of the DovatA (MantrArtha bh&vani). There are DSpani, Yoni-mudrA (see Purohitodorpanam) with meditation on the Yoni-rApa-bhagavati with the Yonibija (Bng.) and so forth. shAkta sAdhanA In ascertaining what Mantra may be given to any particular individual, certain Chnkro calculations ure made, according to which Mantras arc divided into thoeo which are friendly, helving, supporting or doafcroying (Siddhu, SAdhya, Susiddha, AriJ. All tJris ritual has as its object the establishment of that pure state of mind and feeling which are necessary for success (Mnntra-siddhi). At length the Mantrin through his Chit-shakti awakening and vitalizing the Mantra which in truth is one with his own consciousness (in that form) pierces through all its centres and contemplates the Spotless One (KubjikA Tantra V). The Shakti of the Mantrn is called the VAehiliA Rhnkt.i ot tho moans by which tho VAohyA 8hukti or ultimate object in attained. Tho Mantra livoo by the cnorgy of tho former. The Saguna-Hhnkti in the form of the Mantra is awakened by SAdhauA uud worshipped and Bho it is who opens the |HirUl» whereby the VAcby&Sluikti is reached Thus tho Mother in the Saguna form is the Presiding Deity (AdhisthAtrl DovatA) of the GAyutrl Mantra. Ah the Nirguna (form lees) One, She is its* VAchyA Shakti. Both uro in truth one and tho same. But the SAdhnka, by tho laws of his nature and its three Gunas. must first meditato on the gross (Hthflla) form before ho oan malira tho subtle (Sfikahmn) form whioh in hi* liberator. So far from being merely nuperstition, the Mantra-aAdhanA is, in largo part, baaed on profound notions of the nature of Conaciouwioss and tho psychology of its workings. Tho SAdhaku’s mind and diapooitiou aro purified, the DevutA is put boloro him in Muntia form and by his own power of devotion (SAdhanA Skakti) and that latent in the Mantra itself (Mantra- shakti) and expressed in his mind on rcaliiation therein, such mind is first identified with the gross, and then with the subtle form which is his own transformed consciousness and its powers. Japa is defined as VMdnena manfrocJtchdrartam, that is (for default of other more suitable words), the utterance or recitation of Mantra according to certain rules, Japa SHAKTI AND SHAKTA uiay however be of a nature which ia not Jef.ucd by the word, recitation, ft ia of three kinds (Jnanfirnava Tantra, XX) namely, Vflchika Japa, Upirimhu Japa, Mftnaw Japa. The first is the lowest and the last the highest form. Vflchika ia verbal Japa in which the Mantra, is distinctly and audibly recited (Spaahta-vflchfi). Up&duhu Japa ia less gross and therefore superior to this. Hero the Mantra ia not. uttered (Avyakta) but there is a movomont of the lips rind tonguo (Sphuradvaktr*) but no orticuluto Bound is hoard. In the highest form or mental utterance (Mfluasa-japa) there is neither urtieulato sound nor movement. Jopn token place in the mind only by meditation on the letters (Chintanflkahaxa- rflpavfln). Certain conditions are prescribed as threw under which Japa should be done, relating to physical cleanliness, the dressing of the hair, garments worn, tho seated posture (flaona), the avoid Anca of certain state* of mind and aotioni, and the nature of tho recitation. Jnpn io done a specified number of times, in lakh* by great SAdha - kae. If the mind io really centred and not distracted throughout these long and repeated exercises tho result must be successful. Repetition in in all things the usual process by which a certain thing is fixed in the miud. It is not considered foolish for one who has to learn a lesson tu repeat it himself over and over ugain until it is got by heart. The same prinoiple applies to 8 Odium A. If the " Huil Mary" is said again and again in tho Catholio rosary, and if the Mantra is similarly said in tho Indian Japa, neither proceeding is foolish, provided that both bo done with atten- tion and devotion. The injunction against " Vain repetition” was uot against repetition but that of a vain character. Counting is dono either with a MA1A or rosary (MftlA-japa or with tho thumb of the right hand upon the jointe of the fingers of that hand according to a method varying according to tho Mantra (Karu-japa). Puroehchorana \a a form of SftdhanA in which, with other ritual, Japa of Mantra, dune a huge number of times, 5=4 shAkta sAdhanA forma the chief part. A short account of the rite is given in the Pnrnshcharana bodhin? by Harakum&ra Tagore (1895). (See also Tauti-asAra 71 and the Purashohuryfirnava of the King of Nepal.) The ritual deals with preparation for tho SAdhanA as regard* chastity, food, worship, measure- ments of the Mondapa or Panda! and of the altar, the time and place of performance and other matters. The Sfldhaka must lead a ohnato life (Brahmacharyya) during tho period prescribed. He must eat tho pure food called Havish- yAnnam or boiled millr (Kithira), fruits, Indian vegetables, and avoid all other food which line tho efleeth of stimulating tho paaaioaB. Ho must batho, do Japu of the SAvitrt Mantra, entertain Br&hraanas and ho forth. I'anchngavyn is oaten, that is, the fivo products of tho cow, nninoly, milk, curd, ghco, urine, and dung, the two last (except in the case of the rigorously pious) in smaller quantity. Before the I'fljA thore is worship of Ganokha and KahetrapAl* and the Sun, Moon, and Devas oro invoiced. Then follow* the Sankalpa. Tho Ghata or Kalasa (jar) is placed in which the DevatJl is invoked. A Mandaln or figure of a particular design is marked on tho ground and on it the jar is placed. I lion tho five or nine game axe plaood in the jar which ie painted rod and covered with leaves. The ritual then prescribes for tho tying of the crown lock (ShikhA), the posture (Amina) of the SAdhnka, Jnpa, NjAhu, and the Mantrn ritual. There is meditation as directed, Mautru-chnil.anya and Japu of the Mantra tho number of timcA for which vow has been made. The duily life of the religious Hindu waa in former time* replete with worship. I refer those who are interested in tho matter to tho little work, " The Daily Practices of tho Hindus” by Srfaha Ckundiu Vosu, tho SandhyAvandnna of all Vcdik Sh&khaa by B. V. Kamesvara Aiyyai, the KriyA- kAndavfLridhi and Purohita-darpanam. The poaitiona and MudrAe ore illustrated in Mrs. 8. C. Bolnos' "Sandhyfl or daily prayer of the Brahmin” published in 1831. It is not SHAKTI AND SHAKTA hero possible to do more than indicate the general outlines of the rites followed. An the S&dhaka awoken he mnkco salutation to the Gum of all and radios the appropriate Mantras and confess- ing his inherent human frailty (“I know Dharina and yet would not do it. I know Adharma and yet would not renounce it,")— the Hindu form of the common experience “Video meliora”, he prays that he may do right and offers all the actions of the day to God. Upon touching the ground on leaving his hod he BalutaR the Knrth, the manifestation of tlx* All-Good. He then bathes to tho accompaniment of Mantra and makes oblation to the Dovus, Kiehis or Poors and tho l'itrm who issuod from Sandhyft, Brnhmfl the PitAmalia of humanity, and then does rite. This i» the Vaidik form which differs according to Veda and Shftkhft for the twice-born un<l them is a Tftntrikl Sandhyft for others. It is performed thrice a day at morn, at noon, and evening. Tho Sandhyft oonsista generally speaking, of Achwrunn (sipping of water), Mftrjjana-uftna (sprinkling of tho whole body), PrAnftyftma (Breath-control), Aghomarshona (expulsion of sin), prayer to tho Sun and then (the canon of the Randhyft) Japa of the Gftyatrt-imtiitra. Rlshi-nyftsa and Bhndanga-nyisa (v. <tvic), and meditation on the Dev! Gftyatrl, in tho morning at Brahmanl (Shakti of Creation), at midday as Vainhnavi(Shaktiof maintenance), and in ovoning so Rudrftnl (Shakti which "destroys " in the sense of withdrawing creation). Tho Sandhyft with the Aupftsana lire- rite and Panohnyajna are the three main daily rites, the last being offerings to the Doras, to the Pitria, to animals and birds (uftoi tho Vuiiibvadov* rito), to men (as by entertainment of guest") and the study of Vaidik texts. By these five Yajuas, the worshipper daily placea himself in right relations with all being, affirming such relation between Devas, Pitrie, Spirits, men, the organic creation and himself. 526 shAkta sadhanA The word “Yajna" comes from the root Yaj (to worship) aud is commonly translated “ sacrifice ", though it includes other rituals than what an English reader might, understand by that term. Thus, Manu speaks ol Jour kinds of Yajna as Deva, Bhauta (where ingredients are used), Nrivajna and Pitriyajna. Sometimes the term is used in connection with any kind of ceremonial rite, and so one hears of Japa- yujna (recitation of ' Mantra), DhyAna-yajna (meditation) and so on. The Panchatattva ritual with wino and the rent, ia accounted a Yajna. Yujnaa arc also oloimified according to tho dispositions and intentions of the worshipper into S&ttvikn, TtAjaaika and TAmaaUca Yajna. A common form of Yajna is tho Dava-yajna Homa rito in which offerings of ghee are made (in the Kundn or firopit) to the Deva of Eire who is the carrier of oblations to the Dovas. Homa is an ancient Vaidik rite incorporated with others in tho Genoral T&ntrik ritual. It is o: several kinds, and is performed cither daily, or on special occasions, such us the .-acred thread ceremony marriage and so forth. Besides tho daily (Nitya) ceremonies such m SandhyA there are oooasioual rites (Nai- mittika) and tho purificatory sacraments (SomskAra) per- formed only onco. The ordinary ten BamakAru (bos MahAnirvAua T antra, Ch. IX) uro Vaidik rites dono to aid und purify the individual in the important events of his life, namely, the Garbh&dhftno sanctifying conception prior to the actual placing of the seed in tho womb, the Purasavana and Simantonnavana or actual conception and during pregnancy. It has been suggested that the first SninskAra is performed with refer- ence to tho impulse to development from tho "fertilization of the ovum to the critical period : the second wit h reference to the same impulse from the last period to that of tho viability atogo of the frotus", and tho third refers to tho period in which there i a viability to the full term (seo Appendix on SaraskAros. PruoavavAda, I. 1 94). Then follows tho SamskAra on birth (JAU-karma), the naming 527 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA ocromony (NAmnkorona), the taking of the child outdoors for tlic first time to see the buq (KiaUcramana), the child’s first eating of rice (Anuapr&sana), Lis tonsure (ChiklOknrana), and the investituro in the case of tlic twice bom with the sacred thread (L'puuayana) when the child is reborn into spiritual life. This initiation must be distinguished from the T&ntrik initiation ( Mantra- diksh A) when the Btja- mantra is given by the Guru. Lastly there is marriage (Udvfth*). Three Samnkftras, which arc all described in the ninth Chapter of tho MukAnirvAnu Tautra, are porformod at oortain atogoe in tho human body with a view to effect result* beneficial to tho human orgunism through tho superphysical and nub- jectivo methods of ancient Eastern aoicnoe. Vratn isapartof Naimittika — occasional ritual or Karma. Commonly translated as vows, they are voluntary devotions performed at specified timee in honour of particular Dtvatfta (such aa Krishna’s birthday), or at any time (such as the SAvitrl vratn). Each Vrsta has its peculiarities, but thoro uro certain fonturos oommon to oil, ouch a a ohiuitity, fasting, bathing, faking of pure food only and uo flesh or fish. Tho groat Vruto for a ShAkta is the Durgi-pflji in honour of the Dovl as DurgA. Tho fasting which is done in these or other cases is called Tapae, a term which includes nil forms of ascetic austerity and xealoui SAdhanA such ae tho sitting between five fires (Punch Agni-tapah) and tho like. Tapaa has how- ever a still wider meaning and is then of three kinds, nnmely, bodily (Shttrlroka), by opccoh (VAchika) and by mind (Mlnnsa), a common division loth of Indian and Buddhist Tautra. The first includes external worship, reverence., support of the Guru, Brfthmanae and the wise (Pr&jno), bodily cleanliness, continence, simplicity of life and avoidance of hurt to any being (Ahimsfl). The second form includes truth, good, gentle and affectionate speech and study of the Vedas. The third or mental Tapes includes self-restraint, purity of disposition, tranquillity and silence. SHAICTA SADHAKA Eacli of those classes has three subdivisions, for Tnpas may bo SAttviku, RAjaaika, or T&masika according as it is doue with faith, and without regard to its fruit ; or for itd fruit ; or is done through pride and to gain honour or respect or power ; or lastly which is done ignorantly or with a view to injure and destroy others such u AbhichAra or the SAdhanA of the TAntrik Shatknrma (other than Sh Anti), that i», fasci- nation or Vaslilkarana, paralyzing or Stambhana, creating enmity or Vidveihana, driving away or UchchAtana, and killing or Maroon when performod for a malevolent purposo. Karma ritual is called KAmya whon it is dono to gain some particular end suoh as health, prosperity and tbo like. 7 ho highest worship in called NislikAmu-knrnm, tluil is, it is done not to secure any material benefit but for worship's sake only. Though it is not port of ordinary ritual, this is the only place where 1 can conveniently mention a peculiar SAdhanA, prevalent, so far as 1 am aware, mainly if not wholly amongst TAutiikas of a SbAkta type which is called NSla- aAdhanA or Black SAdhanA. This is of very limited appli- cation being practised by some Vlra SAdliakas in the cre- mation ground. Thoro aw terrifying things in these rituals and thoreforo only the fonrlea* practise thorn Tho Vfrn trains himself to bo indifferent and above all fear. A leading rite is that called Shuvu SAdhanA which is dono with tho means of a human corpse. I have explained olsowhcro (see “Sorpont Power") why a corpse is chosen. The corpse is laid with its face to the ground. The SAdhaka sits on the back of the body of the dead man on which ho drawB n Yantra and then worships. If the rite is successful it is said that tho head of the corpse turns round and asks the SAdhaka what is tho boon he craves, be it liberation or sorao material benefit. It is believed that the Devt speaks through tho mouth of the corpse which is thus the material medium by which She man if eo to Her presence. In anotbor rico, the corpse is used as a scat (ShavAnanu), There are sit- tings also (Xsana) on skulls (MundAsana) and the funeral pyre 5’9 SMART I AND SHAKTA (ChitAeana). However repellent or suspect these rites may appear to be to a Western, it is nevertheless the fact that they have been and are practised by genuine SAdliakas of fame such os in the past the famed Mah&r&ja of Nattore and o there. The interior cremation ground is within the body that being the place where the passions are burnt away in the firo of knowledge. 1'he Adyft Phnkti or Supreme Power of the Sh&ktas is, in the words of the Trishatt, oonoisely described ns FkAnnnda- ohidAlrritih: Eka=-Mukyn, Anunda=Sukham, Chit— Chai- tanyara or Prnk Asha — J nAnam j and Alcritih Svnriipa. Phc is thtu BachchidAnnnda-brohniarftpA. Therefore, the worship of Her is direct. worship of the llighcht. This worship is based on Advaitavlda. Thereloro, for all Advuitins, its SttdhanA is tho lnghast. The Shftkta Tantra U thus a Sldhunfl ShAstru of AdviitavAda. This will explain why it is dear to, and ho highly considered by Advaitins. It is claimed to be tho one and only stopping stone which lends directly to Knivnlyn or NirvAnninnkti ; other forms of wor- ship procuring for thoir followers (from the Seuru to the Bhuivft) various ascending forms of Oaanninulai. Othen of course may claim this priority. Every sort considers itself to bo the best and is in fact tho bent for thoeo who, with intelligence, adopt it. Were it not so its members would presumably not belong to it but would choose some other. No true ShflJcta, however, will wrangle with others over this. He will be content with his faith of which the Kignmnknlpatnra says that, ns among castes the HrAhmanns ore foremost, so amongst Sndhnkan arc tho ShAktaa. For, an Niruttarn Tantra sayB, there is no NirvAno without knowledge of Phnkti {Shaktijn&nam twnd den nintinam naim jdyalc). Amongst the Sbuktas, tho foremost ore enid to bo the wonihippers ol the Killi Mantra. The AdimnhA- vidyi is KAlikft. Other forma are Mflrttibheda of Brahmn- rfipinl K Alika. KAllkula iB followed by Jndnis of Pivya and Virn BliAvas ; and ShrJkuln by Karmin S&dhskas. 530 shAkta sAdhanA According to Niruttara, Kflltknlft inoludee KAlt, TArA, Rakta- Icftlt, Bliuvana, Mivrdinl, TriputA, TvaritA, PrntyangirAvidyA, DurgA; ami Hlirikulu includes Sundnrf, Bhairavl, BftlA, Bagalft, KamalA, DhilmAvati, Matarigi, SvapnavatdvidyA, Madiiuinati MahAvidyA. Of thcac forms ICAlikA is the highest or Adyamfirti as being Shuddhftaattvftgunaprfidii&nA, NirvikAra, N'irgunabrahmasvarfipnprnkflshikfi, and, ns the KAmadhenu Tontra says, directly KaivalyadAyinl. TilrA ia SattvagunAtmikA, TattviividyAdAyin!, for by TattvnjnAna one attains ICaivalya. ShodftBhl, Bhuvaiwudivrirl Chhiimn- maatA are Rajuhpradhllnd SattvagunAtmikA, the given of Gaunamukti ivnd Svorgu. DhiimAvati, KumnlA, BagolA, MAtiuigt are TamnlipradbAnil whoec action ie invoked in the magical Bhalkninm. The moat eaiiontinl point to remember an giving tlie key to nil which follows is that ShAkcndharmn is Monism (AdvnitnvIUla). Oandharvn Taotra nays, "liaving aa enjoin- ed milutod tho Guru and thought ‘.So’hum’, the wise Bfldlmka, tlic performer of tho rito should meditate upon tho unity of Jiva and Hrohnmn." UurJin ivtlvd vidhdruma to'ham iti purodhamh Aik yam aambhdvayr.t tlJiitn&n jivaaya brahmano'pi cha. 1C Alt Tantra says : " Moving thus meditated, tho BAdhoka should worship Dovt with tho notion, ‘So’hwn’." Evam dhydtvd lato devim av’hamdlmdnam archnyet. KubjikA Tantra says: “A SAdkuku should meditate upon himaelf as one and tho same with Her" (Tayd sithUa- nuiiindm m rkibhUtam oiihintayt). 1 lie same teaching is to be found tliroughout tho BhAstrn : Nila Tantra directing tho Sftdhaka to think of himself as one with Tftrinl ; Gan- dharva Tantra telling him to meditate on the self os ono with TripurA not different from ParamAtma , and KAli- kulosarvnsvn ns one with K Alika nnd bo forth. For aa the KulAmava Tantra says: "The body is the temple of God. Jiva ia Sadashiva. Lot him give up his ignorance as the 53 ' SHAKTI AND SHAKTA offering which ia thrown away (Kixm&lya) and woraliip with the thought and feeling, ‘I am He’." Deho dcmlnyah proktah jivo devah Saddshivah Tyajtd ajndmmrm&lyam so'ham bh&vma pujayet. Thin Advaitavada ia naturally expressed in the ritual. The SamhitA nnd Brfthmanas of the four Vedas are (aa contrasted with the Upanishads) Traigunyaviahaya. There ia therefore much in the Vnidik KaimnkAnda which ia contrary to lirnhniajnAna. The same remarks apply to tho ordinary Paahu ritnal of tho day. 1 hero aro differenoco of touchable and untouchable, food, oaato, and How oon a man diroctly qualify for Brahmnjnina who even in woraliip is always harping on distinctions of caste an<l sex nnd the like! Ho who distinguishes doos not know. Of such distinctions the higher Tuntrik worship of the ShAkUi typo knows nothing. As the YoginI Tnntra aaya, the 8 h Astra is for all castes and for women as woll on men. TantrnShAatra is Up Aunt KAnda, and in thisShAkta Up turn A the Karma and JnAna ICAndas aro mingled (Mishit). That in, Koriun is tho ritual expression of tho teaching of JnAna KAnda and Ib calculated to loa<l to it- There is nothing in it which contradicts BrahnmjnAna. This fact, therefore, renders it more oonducivo to tho attainment of such spiritual oxperieuce. Such higher ritual serves to reveal JnAna in the mind of the Paahu. So it is rightly said that a Kula- jnAnt even if ho be a ChandAla, is hotter than a BrAbmann. It is on thos® old TAntrik principles that tho rndinn religion of to-day oon alone, if at all, maintain itself. They have no concern, however, with social life and what is oulled "social reform". For all secular purposes the Tuntraa reoognir.e caste, but in spiritual matters spiritual qualifi- cations alone prevail. There aro many such sound and high principles in tho Tautru SiiiUtra for which it would receive credit, if it could only obtain a fair and unprejudiced consideration. But there are none so blind as those who will not see. And bo wo find that the 11 pure and high" 533 shAkta sAdhanA ritual of the Veda is set in contrast with the supposed “ low and impure" notions of the Tantras. On the contrary, a Tiutrik Pandit once said to me : “The Vaidik KarmakAudu is as useful for ordinary men as is a washerman for dirty clothes. It helps to remove their impurities. But tho T&ntra Shftstra is like a glorious tree which gives jewelled fruit.” SAdhanft, ss I have said, is defined as that which leads to 8iddui. SldhanA come* from the root "SAdli”— to exert to etrivo. For whet 1 That depends on the SAdhanA aud its object. SAdhanA is any means to any end und not necessarily religious worship, ritual und discipline. Ho who does Hathnyoga, for physical health and strength, who accomplishes a magical Prayoga, who practises to gain an "eightfold memory” and so forth uio each doing HArlhanA to gain a particular result (Siddhi), namoly, health and strength, a definite magical lesalt, increased power of ro- oollootion and so forth. A Siddhi again is any power gained iu the result of practice. Thus, the Siddhi of VetAla Agni SftdhanA in control over tho firo-olomeut. But tho SAdhanA which » of most aooount and that of which 1 here speak, is religious worship and discipline to uttain true spiritual experience. What in thus sought und gained may be either Heaven (Svargu), secondary liberation (Gnunimiukti) nr full Nirvln*. It is the latter which in tho highest sense is 8iddhi, end striving for that end is the chief und highest form of SAdhanA. The latter term includes not merely ritual worship in tho sense of adoration or prayer, but every form of opirituol discipline such a* sacraments (SamskAra), austerities (Tapae), tho reeding of Scripture (SvAdhyAya), meditation (DhyAna) and so forth. Yoga is a still higher form of SAdhanA ; for the term Yoga means strictly not tbe result but the means whereby Siddhi in the form of Sainftdhi may be had. Ordinarily, however, SAdhanA is used to express all spiritual disciplines based on tho notion of worshipper and worshipped ; referring thus 533 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA to Upieanfl not Yoga. Tho Utter passes beyond these and uU other dualism* to Monistic experience (Snm&dhi). The first lead* up to the second by purilying the mind (Chittaahuddhi), character and disposition (Bhftva) ao us to render it capable of Jn&na or Liya Yoga ; or becomes itself Parabhukti whioh, as theDevibhagavata says, is not different from Jn&na. The great Siddhi is thus Moksha; and Mokaha ia Pariunfttml, tliat ia, the Svardpa of AtraA. But the SAdhaka ie JivAtmA, that is, AtmA associated with Avidyfl of which Moksha or PanunitmA is froc. AvidyA manifest* oa mind and body, the subtle and gross vebiolea of spirit Man is thus therefore Spirit (Atmasvarflpa), which ia Sachchidl- nanda, Mind (Antahkmana) and body (BthQll-shirlra). The two latter aro forms of Bhiditi, that is, projection of tho Creative Consciousaote through and os its Mftyft. The essential operation of M&yi and of the KanchGkaa ia too seemingly emtrart conacionsnew. As tho Yoginlhridiya Tantra aays, the going forth (Prison) of Consciousne** (Snnivit) ia in foot a contraction (Bnmkochu as Mfttri, MAnu, Moya or known, knowing, being known). OonaoiousnceS ia thus Unitized into a limited self which and other sel- ves regard one another as mutually exclusive. The One Self becomes its own object as tho many forma of tho universe. It conceives itself as separate from them. Obli- vious in soparatences of it* essential nature it regards all other persons and things as difforont from itself. It acta for the benefit of its limited self . 1 fc is in fact selfish in the primary to rue of the term ; and this selfishness is the root of nil its desires, of all its ema. Tho more mere worldly desires are fostered, the greater in the bondage of man to the mental and material pianos. . ftxoeasively Belli sh desires display tbeuiselvee as the sine of lust, greed, auger, envy and so forth. Those bind more lirmly than regulated desire and moreover load to Hell (Noraka). The most general and ultimate object of Sddhanfl ia therefore to caste off from the 534 shAkta sAdhanA Self *.his veil of AvidyA and to attain that Perfect experience which ia AtmaavarApa or Mokehu. But to know Bru liman ia to be Brahman, litahnu i tvda brahman ** bkawiti aa Shruti says. In essence man ia Braliman. But owing to Avidya it i8 necessary to do something in order that this ever existent fact may be realized. That action (KriyA) is tho work of SAdhanA in its endeavour to clear away the veiling of AvidyA which is ignorance. In the sense that Avidy3, is being removed man may be said by SAdhanA to becomo Brahman : that is. ho realizes himself iw what he truly is and was. SAdhanA, therefore, by tho grace of Devi or “ descent of Shakti” (ShftktipAtn) " eonverta** (to use an English term) tho Sidhaka, that is, turns him awny from seporatUb worldly enjoyment to neck bin own true self us the pure Spiritual Experience. This trana formation is the work aud aim of SAdhanA. But this experi- ence is not to l>o lmd in its coinplotest sense at once and at a bound, it ia, as Pntanjali says, very rure. Indeed thoeo who truly deeiro it uro very few. Bralunan is min dle— (Auianah) ; for mind is a fetter on true coneoiousnees. This mindlessnws (Nir/Unmlmpurl) is sought through tho moans of Yoga. But no would-be Yog! OAD attain this state unless bin mind is already pure ; that is, not only free from grow sin, but ulroady pooscmiing somo froodom from tho bondage of worldly desires, cultivated and trained, and desirous of liberation (Mumukshu). The uiin, therefore, of preliminary SAdhanA is to eecuro that purification of mind (Chittashuddlii) which ia alone tho basis on which Yoga works. The first object then is to restrain tho natural appetites, to control tho souses, and all that excessive selfishness beyond tho bounds of Dhorma which is sin (PApa). Dharma prescribes those bounds because unrestricted selfish enjoyment leads man downward from the path of his true evolution. Man ia, as regards part of his nature, an animal, mid has, according to tho ShAstia, pnaacd through all animal forms in hiB 84 lakhs oi pievious births. But he hoe also a higher nature and if 535 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA he conform* to the path laid out for him will progreat by degrees to the state of that Spirit whose limited form he now is. If he strays from that path he falls back, and continued descent may bring him again to the state of apparently unconscious matter through many interven- ing Hells in this and other worlds. For this reason, the Shftatra repents that he is a "self -killer” who, having with difficulty attained to manhood, neglects the opportunities of farther progress which they give him (Kul&mava Tantra I). Therefore, ho must avoid sin which loads to a fall How can the impure realise the l’ure ? How can the mere seeker of sensual enjoyment desire formless liberating Bliss < How oan he recognize his unity with all if he is bound In selfishnoas which is tho root of all sin ? How oan lie realize the Brahman who thinks himself to be the separate enjoyer of worldly object* and is bound by all sensualities ? Tn various forms this in the touching of all religions. It would bo hardly nucowary to elaborate whnt is eo plain wore it not apparently supposed that tho Tantm Rhftstro is u strange exception to those universally recogni/od princi- ples. "I thought", said a recent English correspondent of mine, " that the Tantm was n wholly bad lot belonging to tho ioft hand path.” This is not so: common though tho notion be. Tho Shftstrn teaches that tho S&dliuka must slay his "Six Enemies" which are the six cardinal sins and all others allied with them. Whether all the mcini enjoined are good, expedient, and fitting for the purpose is a different mattor. This iu a distinction which none of it* critioa ovor nialco ; but which accuracy and justice require they ehould lnake if they condemn the method It ie one thing to say that a particular method prescribed for a good end is bad, dangerous, or having regard to tho present position of the generality of men, unadvisablc ; and a totally different thing to say tliat tho end which is sought is itself bad. The Tantra, like all Shastras, seeks the l'ar&m&rtha and nothing elec. Whether all the form* of search are good (and against the shAicta sAdhana bulk of them no moral objoctioa can bo raised) is another HucBliou. Let it be for argument supported that one or other of the me a ns prescribed is not good but evil. Is it accurate or just to oondemn not only the particular Sli Astra in which they occur (as the discipline of a particular class of S&dhakas only), but also the whole of the Again as of all classes of worshippers under tho misleading designation “ The T antra "? I era here speaking from tlie point of view of one who is not a Hindu. Those, howovor, who aro Hindus must logically ciuhor deny that the T antra Shfistru is tho Word of Shiva or accept ail which that Word says. For if a fun tea prescribes what is wrong this vitlatee the authority, in all matters, of the Tantra in which wrong is orduinod. It may be that other matters dealt with should bo aooepted, but this is so not because of any authority in tho particular rantrn, but because they have the countenance eleewhoro of i true authoritative scripture. From this logical position no escape is poMtblo. Let us for the moment turn to tho celebrated Hymn' to K&lt (of, uo thoiw who road it might ouU. tho extremist, that is Vlra Bliilkta woxahip) entitled the Karpflrftdi Stotra (T&Qtrik Texts, VoL IX), which like most (probably nil) of its dnd has both a material (Sthtila) and subtlo (SQksluua) meaning. In tho mb verse it is said that the Devi delights to receive in sacrifice tho flesh, with hones nnd hair, ol goat, buffalo, cat, Bbeep. camel and of man. In its literal sense tliis passage may be taken as an instance of tho roan-sacrifice of. which we find traces throughout the world (and in some of tho Tantraa) in pint stages of man’s evolution. Human sacrifices permitted by other Somites were forbidden by the Mosaic Code, although there is an obvious allusion to »uch a custom in the account of tho contemplated sacrifice of Isaac by Abraham (Gen. xxii). The Israelites, however, offered bloody sacrifices the savour of which God (Yahvveh) is represented as enjoying, they being necessary 537 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA in Ilia honour and to overt His wrath (Gen. viii. 21 ; Lev. i. 9, 13, 17 ; Judges vl 17, xiii. 15 ; Gen. viiL 20-21 ; 1 Sara. xivL 19). Nothing is more common in all religioue (and (Christianity as by some understood provides many examples) than to materially understand spiritual truths. For such is the understanding of material or Sthflladarshin (grossly seeing) men. Hut, oven in the past, those who were spiritual referral nil sacrifice to the self; an inner sacrifice which all must make who would attain to that Spirit which we may call Kill, (Jod, Allah, or what wo will. But what Is the Svardpa-vyttkhyA or true meaning of this apparently revolting verse ? The meaning is that inner ot mental worship (AntaryAga) is done to ller who is black (AaitA) because She is tho boundless (8it&— BaddbA) Consci- ousness (OhidrQpA) whoso true nature is eternal liberation (Nityamulcta-flvabhAvA). And just as iu outer worship materiel offerings (UpftehAra) arc made, so tlin SAdhaka auoriftoes to Her his lust (tho Goat Klim a), liin nngor (tho Buffalo- Krodha), his grco«l (the Oat Txibha), his stupidity of illusion (the Sheep Mohu), bin envy (the Oamel-MAUaryya) aud his pride aud infatuation with worldly things (tho ManMada). All will readily recognise m these animals and man the qualities (Guna) hero attributed to them. It is to such as so sacrifice to whom is given Siddhi iu tho form of tho five kinds of Mukti. Competency for Tantrn (TantTashtotrAdhikAra) is de- scribed in the second Chapter of tho Gandharvn Tontra no follows:— Tho aspirant must be intelligent (Pakslia), with senses controlled (Jitendriya), otetaining from injury to all beings (SarvahimsA-viuirmulcta), ever doing good to all (Sarvaprikm-hite rata), pure (Shuchi), a believer in Veda (Astika), a non-dualist (Dvaitahina), whose faith and refuge ia in brahman (Brahmanishtha, Brahmavhdi, Brahma, Brahmaparflyana). "Such an one", it adds. " is competent for this Scripture otherwise he is no Sddhaka" (So'tmrn shastn' dhik&ri tad anyaira na s&dJfihih). It will bo allowed by all 538 siiAkta SADHAnA that these are atraug* qualifications £or a follower of "a bod scripture of the left hand path'’. Those who tuu on such a path are not supposed to be seekers ol the Brahman , nor solicitous for the good of all being. Rather the reverie. The Kulurnava Tantra (whioh I may observe deals with the ill-famed Pauohatattvu ritual) gives in the thirteenth Chap- ter a long list, of qualifications necessary in the cose of a Tintrilr disciple (Shiahya). Amongst these, it rejocts the slave of food and sexual pleasure (Jihvopasthapara) ; the lustful (ICHmuka), ahamale*s(Nirlajja), the greedy and veraci- ous ''ater, the sinner in general who does not follow Dharina and Achl.-u, who is ignorant, who has no doeiro for spiritual knowledge, who is a hypocrite, with Brahman on his lips but uot in his heart, and who in without devotion (Bhakti). Such qualifications are inconsistent with its alleged inten- tion to cncoumgo sensuality unless wo assume that all such talk in uU the bhuatraa throughout all time is mere hypocrisy. It is not howovor sufficient for the Sfldhaka to turn from sin and tho occasions of it It ia nocomary to present the mind with u pure object and . to busy it in pure actions. Thin not only exclude* other object* and notion* hut train* tho mind in such a way toward* goodness and illumination that it at length no longer desires wrongful enjoyment ; or lawful Paahu enjoyment or even enjoyment infused with a spiritual Bhhvn, and thus finally attains deaiieleMness (Nishlcimabhiva). The Mind dominated by matter, thon regulated in matter, consciously releases itself to first work through matter, then against matter ; then rising above mattor it, at length, enters the Supremo State in which nil the antithesis of Matter and Spirit have gone. What then are the means by which spiritual Siddhi is attained 1 Some are possibly common to all religious ; some are ocxtainly oominon to more than one religion, such a a objective ritual worohip (BAhyapdjA), inner or mental worship (M&nasa-PGjQ or Autaipujft) of the IshtadevaU, 539 SHAKTJ AND SHAKTA prayer (Prdrthanfl), sacraments (Samakhru), frelf-diaoiplino for the control of the will and natural appetite* (Tapaa), meditation (Dhyinu) anil ho forth. There is, fur instance, as 1 have elsewhere pointed out, a remarkable similarity between the Tftntrik ritual of the Agarnaa and Christum ritual in its Catholic form. It has been suggested that Catholicism in really a legacy of the ancient civilization, an adaptation of tho old religions (allied in many roapocta with Shhli ta worship) of the Mediterranean races ; deriving muoh of ite strength from ita non-Chriatian e lament#. I will nob observe on this oxoopt to say that you do not dispose of the merit* of any ritual by showing (if it be tho foot) that it is extremely old and non-Christian. Christi- anity is one of tho great religions, but oven it* adherents, unless ignorant, will not claim for it the monopoly of all that is good, To deal in detail with Ttatrik 8ldhnka would take more than a volume. I havo shortly summarized some important fit.mil* 1 will now shortly indicate Homo of tho general psychological principloe on which it is based and which is understood, will give tho key to an underotandiug of the extraordinary complexity and variety of the actual ritual details. 1 will also illustrate the application of those principles in some of tho more common forms of worship. It is recognized in the first place that mind and body mutually react upon one another.- There must therefore bo u physical Sftdhanl as the groundwork of tho mental SldhtioA to follow. India ho* for uges rccogui/cd what is now becoming generally admitted, namely, that not only health but clarity of mind, character, disposition, and momls, arc affected by the nourishment, exercise, aDd general treatment of the body. Thus, from the moral aspect, one of the arguments against the use of meat and strong drink is the encouragement they give to animal passions. Why then it may be asked do these form a part of some forms of Shflkta S&dhanftl 1 answer this later. It is however 540 SHAKTA SADHANA a Hindu trait to insist on purity of food end person. T&ntrik Tlnthnyoga deals in full with the question of bodily cleanliness, food, sexual continence, and physical exercise. Gut there are injunctions, though less utriot, for the ordinary house- holder to whom wine and other intoxicating drinks and the eating of beef (thought by some to be a material found- ation of tho British Empire, but now recognized by several medical authorities to be the source of physical ilia) and some other food*, as also all gluttony, as regards permitted food, are forbidden. Periodical fasts are enjoined ; as also, during oartain religious exorcises, th© eating of the pure food called Havishyflnnam mode of fruit, vegetable and rice. The sexual life has also its regulations, T n short, it ia said, lot tho bexly be well treated and kept pure in order to keep the mind sane and pure and 11 good and not rebellious instrument lor mental Sftdhank. In _ the Tontras will be found instances of several necessary bodily perfections in the SAdhakn. Thus he should not be deformed, with defective limb*, wanting in, or having oxoms of any limb, weak of limb, crippled, blind, deaf, dirty, diseased, with unnatural movements, paralysed, slothful in action (KnUlrnava. X1T1). Let. un now paw to the mind. For tho understanding of Hindu rituul it is noocSBury to understood both Hindu philosophy and Hindu psychology. Thin point, so for no I am uwarc, hue never been observed. Certainly Indian ritual has never been dealt with on this basis. If has generally been considered sufficient to class it as "Mummery" and then to pass on to something supposed to be more worthy of consideration. It is necessary to remember that (outside successful Yoga) tho mind (at any rate in its normal state) ia never for one moment unoccupied. At every moment of time, worldly objects are seeking to influence it. Only those actually do so. to which the mind, in its faculty as Manae, give© attention. In ono of tho Tfintrik TextR (Shnt- ckakraiuxftpana), the Manas in aptly spoken of ae a door- keeper who lets some enter and keeps others outside. Fot tbig 54i SHAKTI AND SHAKTA reason it is called Sankalpe-vibidpAtmaka : that is, it selects {Sailikalpa) some things which the senses (Indriya) present to it and rejects (Vikalpa) others. Tf the Manna attends to the sensation demanding entrance it is admitted and passed on to the Buddhi and not otherwise. So the IlrihadAranyaka Upaniahad says, “My Manas was elsewhere and therefore I did not hear." This is a secret for the endurance of pain which not only the martyrs and the witches knew, but some others who have suffered lesser pains. When the aonaation ia puaaod on to the Buddhi, us also whon tho latter note upon tho material of remembered percept*, there is formed in the Buddhi a Vritti. The latter io u modification of the Mind into the form of the perceived object. Unless a man is a SiddhayogI, it in not possible to avoid the forma- tion of mental Vrittis. The object, therefore, of SldhanA is firstly to take the attention away from undoairablo objects and then to place a desirable obje.ot in their stead. For the mind must feed on something. This object is the Tshta- dovatA. Whon a SAdhaka fully, aincorely and dooply oontomplotc* and worships his Ishtadovntft, hin mind is formed iuto a Vritti in the form of the DovnlA. As the lutter is ull purity, lie mind, which contemplates it, is during, and to tho depth of Buch contemplation pure. By pro- longed and repeated worship tho mind becomes naturally pure and of itself tends to reject all impure notions. What to others is a source of impurity is pure. To tlio pure, as tho Hellenes said, all tilings are pure. Things are not impure. It is tho impure mind which makes them so. Ho lcarna to eco that everything and act an manifestations of tho Divine. Ho who realize? Consciousness in all object* no longor ha* drain* therefor. In this way a good disposition or BhAva, as it is called, is attained which ripena into that which is divine or Devatabhiva. This is the principle on which all SftdbanA, as well as what is called specifically Mantra yoga, is based. It is profoundly said in the Kulftmava TanLru that a man must rise by means of the same things which SHAKTA sAdhanA oro tho cause of hia fall. If you fall on the ground you must raise yourself by it. The mind is thus controlled by means of its own object (Vishnya) ; that is, the world of name and form (NAmarhpa). The unregulated mind is distracted by N&marilpa. But the same N&mardpa may bo used as the Krat means of escape therefrom, A particular form there- fore of Nimarupa productive of pure Bhilva is therefore given as tho object of meditation. This is called Sthfiln or Saguna Dhyflna of the five DevatAs. Material media are used ns tho first steps whereby tho Formless One is, through Yoga, attained, such nn Images (l'mtinut), emblems (lingo, Bhfilagmmii) picture* (Ohitra), nmrnl markings (Bhitli rekhft), Jur (Glmta), Mundnlas and Ynntrm To these wor- ship (Fftjft) is done with other rites such as Jnpn, Nyflsa and so forth, and gestures (Jludrft). Siddhi in this is tho Smnldhi called MiihAhhfiva. The second principle to bo noted in that the objoct or mind’s content, m also tho sorvit* (Sevfl) of it, may lie either groan (Sthflla) or subtle (SQksluna). Ihi* distinction per- vndm all the rituals and rightly so. Men are not nil at tho same degree of intellectual and spiritual advancement. For the simple- minded there are simple material and mental imngcn. Progroeeivoly considered, the objects need to fix in tho mind the thought of tho Dovnttk arc images in human or semi hurniui form, similar pictures, non-human forms or emblems (such ns Linga and Oaoripatta, HhAlagrAnia, the Jar or Ghata, MandaJaa) and lastly Yautroa. Tho image is not merely used fox instruction {ut pklura pro striptwa habertlur), or to incite in tho mind a mental picture, but after the Prftna-pratishthA rite is itself worshipped. So also amongst Christians, where however this rite in unknown, "eikonen ncheiropoietoi ” (what, are called in Sanskrit Svnyanibhu emblems) and wonder-working images have been directly venerated. Superficial persons doubtless think themed ves profound when they oak how the Dcvntft can be invoked (AvAhana). To them also ilie dismissal (Viaarjara) 543 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA savours of childish impudenoe and absurdity. How (I have read) can God be told to come and go ? A Christian who sings the Hymn, " Veni creator Spiritus”, is indeed igno- rant il he fancies that at hie request the Holy Ghost cornea to him flying through the skies. As Sharhkara says, Spirit (Atraik) never comes and never goes. That which in fact moves is the rair.d of the Sddhakn in which, if pure, Spirit manifests Itself. That Spirit is in all plaocB, and whnr. t.ho Sftdhnka's mind fully realizes ita presence iu the Imugo, the latter oa the manifeetation of that Spirit is n fitting object of worship. Some knowledge of VcdiuUi ia needful for the uaderatanding and performance of image- worship. Yantrn worship is however higher and is litter lor those who have reached a more advanced stage in SftdhanA. The term, as I have Raid, literally moans an instrument ; that by which anything is accomplished. In UpAsnnA it is that instrument by which the mind is fixed upon the DovatA of worahip. Tt is, as drawn, a diogrnm consisting of lines, angled and curves, varying with tho DovatA worshipped ns also, to Homo extent, according us it in a PQjA or DlilVrunu Ymitro, tho whole being included in a common Rhflpurn. A Yantra is three-dimensional, though it is very generally reprenented by n drawing on tho flat. The Ynntra and each part of it, ub representing oertain Shnktis, has a Hignificanc© which is known to tho instructed Sfidhaka. On tho great Shri Yantra with its Baindava and ot.hor Chnkras there ia an entire literature. It is neglected now-a- daya Those who have fully understood it arc maatore in Tantra Shftstrae. Tho aubjeefc is shortly dealt with in the Introduction to the Tantraxflja (Vol. VIII, p. xii, Tflntrik Texte, Ed. A. Avalon). Not only is tho object of worship subtle or gross, but so also 1 b the ritual with which it ia worshipped. For the simple Indian worship avails itself of the ordinary incidents of daily life understood by even the most ignorant. And so we see the tending of the idol, waking it. bathing it, giving it food, putting it to sleep and 544 shAkta sAohanA bo forth. In ordinary worship thero iB tho offer of flowera, light, iucenao and the like TIpacliAra. In the subtle inner or mental worship (Antazpfljft) these are but symbols. Thus the JnAneshvara SamhitA cited in the Mantrayogarahasya- nirnaya speaks of the offering of “flowers of feeling" (Bh&vn- puahpa) to the Divinity- namely, the virtue of selflessness (Anaharhk&ra), deairclcasueaa (Arftga), guileleasnces (Adam- bha), freedom from malice and envy (Advesha, Amfctsaryya), and infatuation and delusion (Amada and Amoha), and eon- trol ovor tho fooling!) and mind (Akuhobhakn, Anmnaka). He who win truly make euoh offerings to Devi is a high flikUuika indeed. The Sh&stra makes wonderful provision for all types. It recognises that thero must be a definite object to whioh the mind must turn ; chooses that object with a view to tho capacities of tho SAdhaka ; and similarly regulates the ensuing worship. Much ignorant talk takes place as to the supposed worship of the Formlem. Worship implicit an object of worship and every object has some form. Hut that form and the ritual vary to meet the needs of differing capacities and temperaments; commencing with the" more or less anthropomorphic imago (or Doll ; Puttall, ns those who disliko such worship call it) with it a material service reproducing tho ways of daily life, passing through pictures, orabloms, Yantras, and mental worship to adoration of the Point of Light (Jyotirbindu) in which at length, consciousness being merged, all worship ceases. The Shaktirahasya summarises the stages of progress in a short vorte, thus: — “By images, ceremonies, mind, identification, and knowing tho Self, a mortal attains Liber- ation (Kaivalya)." In tho same way, meditation is either gross (SthQlu) or subtle (Sfikshma). The forms of the Mother of tho Universe arc threefold. There is first the Supreme (Para) form of which tho VishnuyAmnla says “None know”. There is next Her Bubtlo form which consists of Mantra. But as tho mind cannot settle itself upon that which is formless, Sbo 545 » SHAKTI AND SHAKTA appears also in physical form oa celebrated in the Devi atotras of the PurAnas and Tantraa. The third principle to bo noticed is tho part which the body is made to take in the ritual Neoeasarily there is action in any coso to carry out the ritual, hat this is so prescribed as to emphasize the mental operation (Mdnaat- kriyi), and in addition certain symbolic gestures (Mudxft) nro proscribed. Tho body is mado to take its part in the ritual, the mental proONM* being lliua •mphuuzod and intensified. This is based on a well-known nutuiul tendency. When wo apeak with conviction and intensity of feeling, we naturally adopt appropriate movements of the body and gestures of the hands. We thus apeak with the whole body. Take for example Nyftao which like Yantra w peculiar to the Tantras. Tho object of the NMhikn is to identify himaalf with the DavatA he contemplate* and thus to attain DovatAbhftvn for which it is, in its many forms, a meat powerful means. Regarding tho body of the DcvntA us composed of Btja Mua true, ho not merely imagines that his own body is no composed but ho actually places (Nyrtaa moans plaoing) thev> 111 j as with tho tip of his fingers on the various part* of his own body. The Abltfsht* PevatA is thus in imagination (expressed by outward nets) plncod in oaoh of the part* and members of tho KAdlmka's body, and thon with tho motion of hia arma ho, by VyApaka NyAsa, as it were, spreads the presence of the DovatA all ovar his body. I fe thus feels himself permeated in every part by tho presence of Doratft and identified with tho Divine belt in that its form. How, it may be asked, can tho DovatA bo spread os it were butter on bread ? These are crude questioning* and because critics of tho ritual do not get beyond this crude Hlato of mind, this ritual is not understood. DcvatA is not spread. God is everywhere and He is not to be placed by man’s fingers anywhere. Waat to done is to produce in man’s mind the notion that lie is so spread. Again with certain ritual acts Mudifl to marie. 1 hia MudrA expresses 546 shAkta SADHANA by. the hands the thought of the worshipper of which it is sometimes a kind of manual shorthand. A further important point for consideration is that the mental Vritti i8 not only strengthened by accompanying physical action, but by a prolonged repetition of either or both. There may l>e a literal repetition of either ox both, of which a prominent example is Japn of Mantra with which l hnve dealt in the Chapters on Shah Li as Mantra and on the VarnamAlA ; or the object of contemplation may be severed into parte, ao where meditation is done not simply on tho Devoid ns a whole, but on each of tho imrte of Ilio body anil then on the whole i or a particular result, such u the dissolution of the Tnttvos in Bhfitaahuddln, may be analysed into the componout part* of a process commencing with the first movement and ending with the last. Repetition of a word and idea fixes It in the mind, and if the same essential thought can be presented in variod forriia the effoct is more powerful and at the aame time leas calculated to tire. “ Vain repetition" is itself in tho mouths of many a vain eritioiam when not a platitude. If it ie in faut vain it ie vain. But it need not be so. In tho current gross way of looking at things it is naked, "Will the Duity yield (ako u modoru politician) to repeated clamour 1" Tho answer is tliu DevatA is not so affected. What is in fact nfTocted is tho mind of the SAdhaku himself which, being thus purified by insistent effort, becomes a fit medium for the manifestation of a divine consciousness (DevatAbhAva). In short fact Indian ritual cannot be understood unions tho VedAnt.ik principles of which they are a particular practical nppli- calion ore undcretood. Even when in dovotion, complete understanding and feeling are not attained, the intention to gain both will achieve success by quickening tho worship- per's interest and strengthening the forces of the will. A word now as to Symbolism which exists in all religious in varying degrees. The T antra Shfistra is extraordinarily full of it in all ita kinds — form, colour, language, number, 547 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA ncliou. The subject is a highly interesting but very lengthy one. 1 cun only make two remarks with regard to it here. Rod is u favourite colour in the fihftkt* Tautens. As pointed out in the Bhflvanopanishad (Sdtra 28) an Upaniahad o( the KAdimatu and Blmskarariya’a commentary thereon, Redness denotes Rftga and Vimaraha Sliakti. (Sec Introduction to TantrarAja, Vol. VIII, Tflntrik Texts, Kd. by A. Avalon find Vol. XT, TAntrik Texts.) 'I' here is u good doal of what is called erotic symbolism in Home of the Tantnw Thin is apt to shook many English peoplo, who are by no means all oo moral in fact as sonio might think this sensitivity suggests. "The Hindus a it very natural ah regards sexual matter*. '* An English clergyman remarks (E. F. lilwln “ India and the Indians", p. 70) " A lending Indian Christian •aid to me 'there is no reserve Among us in the sense that you English people have it. There is nothing which our chil dren do not know.' " It should bo added, says this author, “that the knowledge of evil (why I may auk is it always ovil !) does not an a mat, tor of courts produce evil." 'I ho mind of the anoionta was u natural on# and they called a spade n spado and not mi horticultural instrument,, and worn not. shocked thereby. For inetauoo. Couplod Yob Yum figures wore not thought impure, Another point has boon observed upon by the luilinu author Guido GoiR&ano, namely, that the European has lost the power of "worshipping through the flesh” which existed m antique pagan times. (Verso la cuna del iilondo). Fear of orotic symbols is rather indicative in the generality of coses of a tendency to weakness and want of self-control. The great Edward Carpenter speaks of the " impure hush ” in these matters A person whore mind is naturally bout towards sensual thoughts but who desires to control them hno no doubt a fear, which one readily understands, of anything which may provoke such thought**. But such a man is, iu this reaped, lower than him who looks upon natural things in a natural way without fear of injury to himself; and greatly lower than him to 548 shAkta sAdhanA whom all is a manifestation of the One CoiiBcioueuoos, and who realize* this in those things which are the cause of all to the imperfectly self -governed Pashu. Nothing is in itself impure. It is the mind which makes it no. It is however absolutely right that persons who feel that they have not sufficient self-control should, until thoy gain it, avoid what they think may do them injury. Apart from symbolism there arc statements in some ShAstraa or so-called HhAstraa whioh are, in the ordinary modern sense, obscene. Home years ngn n man wrote to mo that ho had come across in the Tontraa “obscenities the very rending of which was demoralising". The very fact that these portions of the Soripturo hud such an effect on him is n sufficient reason that he and others similarly situated should not road them. The TuiiUu ShftsUa reooguirai this principle by certain injunctions into which I cannot enter here. The KulArnava oxprewdy says that tho Chapter on the Wino ritual ia not to be rend ( 1 V .1 plhed AtavoUAnam)] that is, by the un- qualified. Again it is not necessary to admit either that every Text which calls Itaelf u Tantra in a genuine ono or if to that it was the product of a high olaaa Bftdlmka. What is outhoritutivo in that which ia generally admitted to bo so. Even if tho Scripture be one of general acceptance, there is another matter to bu remembered. As pointed out in Karpftrhdistotra ( Vol. IX, Ttntrik Texts, p, 11, whore in- stance* are given), an apparently ‘‘obscene ’ statement may disguise something whioh is not so. Why it may be asked f An intending disciple may be questioned as to such passages. If he is n gross-minded or stupid man his answers will show it. Those who uro not fit for the reception of the dootrino may be kept oil on hearing or reading such statement* whioh may be of such a character 'hat anyone but a fool would know that they wore not to bo taken literally. It may bo that the passages which my correspondent read were of 549 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA As regards erotic symbolism, however, (for to thiH I now limit myself) it is not peculiar to tho Tantraa. It in as old aa the hills aud may be found in other Scriptures. It ia a matter of embarrassment to the class I have mentioned that the Bible i& not free from it. Milton, after rcierriug to Solomon’s wedded leisures says, “In the Song of Songs which is generally believed, even in the jollicst expressions, to figure the spouaals of the Church with Christ, sings of a thousand raptures between those two lovely ones far on tho liither side of carnal enjoyment." If wo would picture the cosmic pro- cesses wo must toko tho materials thorofor from our own lifo. It is not «lwayn necessary to go to the erotic life. But man has generally dono bo for reasons I need not discuss Imre ; and hi* selections must sometimes bo admitted to ho very apt. It has however been mud that "throughout SkAlcta symbolism and pseudo- philosophising, there lies at tho basis of tho whole system, the conception of soxual relationship mi tho ultimate explanation of the universe." Beading theso words a* they stand, they arc nonsense. What is true is tLab some SMkta T antra* convey philosophio and scientific truths by the media of erotic imagery ; which is another matter. But bo tvlso does Upanishad. The oliorge of paeudo- philosophy is ill-founded, unless the Advaita voddnta is such. Tho ShAkta Tftntrs simply prownts tho Vedfintik teachings in u symbolical ritualistic form for the worshipper to whom it also preaurilieH the means whereby they may be realized in fact. Those who think otherwise have not mastered the alphabot of tho subject. I will conclude with a reply to s poesiblo objection to what I liavo ubove written. It may be said that some ol the rituals to which I have alluded are not merely the property of the Tantra Shtetras, and that they are not entitled to any credit for thorn. It is a fact that &ome (many have become extinct) Vaidik rituals such as tho ten SamskSraa, Sandhyft, Homa and so forth are imbedded in and have been adopted by the Xgamos. These and other rituals are to be found 550 SMAKTA SADHANA also in the Poiftnaa. In any case, the Agnmn ia what it is, whether its elements are original or dorivotl. If tho ritos adopted are creditable then praise must be given for the adoption of that which ia good. If they are not, blame equally attaches to the original as to the copy. What how- ever the Agamas have adopted has been shaped ao aa to bo suitable for all, that is, tor others chan those for whom the original rituals were intended. Further many of the rituals here described seem to have been introduced by and to he peculiar to the Agamas. Posaibly some of these may have been developed from other forms or seeds of form in the Vaidik ritual '1 lie whole subject of Indian ritual and its origins is still awaiting enquiry, l’omonolly I um dispoeod to favour tho view that tho Agnuiaa have made a contri- bution which is both original aud considerable. To me also the contribution seems to have greater conformity with Vodflntik doctrine, which is applied by the ritual in a jaychological manner which is profound. On an "historical" view of tho mattor this Menu noccwwily to be no. For, aocoiding W that view, tho eurly Vaidik ritual either ante- dated or was oontemporanoouH with the promulgation of the VedAntik doctrine to bo found in tho Upauishuds, for the general aooeptunoe of which considerable time was neoeeeary. It oould not therefore (if at all) ombody that dootrinn in tho aamo way or to tho sumo degree an a Ritual devclopud at a rime when that doctrine had been widely dilemma ted, generally accepted and at least to a greater degroo systematized. Ritual is only n practical expression of doctrine, and the Agamas, according to a generally accept- ed view, did not oome into being earlier than a date later than the lint aud chief Upaniahada, and perhaps at the close of what is generally colled the Aupaniebadik age. No "historical’' argument, however, is yet entirely trustworthy, os the material upon which it is to be based han not been sufficiently explored. For myBelf I am content to deal with prcecut-duy facta. According to the Indian view, all Sh Astras 55 1 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA are various parts of one whole and that Part which as a proacnt-Uay fact containa the bulk of tho ritual, now or recently in practice, oonsiate of the Tantrua of tlic various schools of Agaiua. As iui Indian author and follower of the Shaiv&gujna has said — the Temple ritual throughout India ia governed by the Again ns. And this must be so, if it bo tho fact os alleged, that Tern pica, images, and other matters were unknown to the original Vaidik Aryan If the Agamos have adopted some of the ritual of the latter, those in their torn in course of time took to themselves tho practices of those outside tho body of men for whom tho Vaidik Kanna- kliula wus originally designed. YedAnta in its various forms hue now for oenturuui constituted tho religious notions of India, and the Agaiuas in their differing schools are ilo practical expression in worship and ritual affording the moans whereby VodAntik doctrine la realized. 552 Chapter XXVII. THE PANCHATATTVA. (The Secret Ritual) rpiIE notoriety of the Shfekta 1’anohaUitlva ritual with wine aud woman has thrown into the shade not only the practical topics with which I have dealt, but every other, including the valuable philosophical presentment of Ved&nta contained in the Shikta Tantrn. Notwithstanding, end indood because of, the off-hand and (in certain respects) ignorant condemnation which this ritual has received, the interests of both scholarship and fairness (which by the way Hhould be identical) require that we should first ascertain tho facts, think nloarly and fnarlcrnly, and then determino without prejudice. From both tho Bh/uitrik and hintoriial poiut of view the subjoot is of ftuoh importance that it in not possible for mo to here doal with it otherwise than in u very general way. It ia noowaury, however, in a paper on UpAsanA, to at least touch upon the muttor because as against everything one says about the Tuntras, there is raised the express or implied query "That may be all very well. But what about, tho infamous PanchamakAra ?” Anything •aid in favour of tho BhAstra is thus discounted in odvanco. We must first diecutanglo the general principle! involved from their particular application. The principle may bo sound and yet the application may not bo bo. Wo may, for instanoo, approve striving for Vodflutik detachment (AudAslnyn), whilst at the same time we may reject the Aghora’s application of it in eating human carrion. Next, let ns see whai in fact is the ritual application of these principles. Thou let us judge tho intention with which the ritual was prescribed. A principle may be good and the intention may bo good, but its application may be intrimi- cally bad, or at least dangerous, and therefore inexpedient as icading to abuse. In life it is u mistake to altogether 553 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA neglect the pragmatical aspect of an y tlieory. Logic and life do not always go hand in hand. Lastly, let ua see whether the application is good or bad or inexpedient ; or whether it is partially one or the other. In the first place it in ncoessury *.o clear the air of some common misconceptions. It is commonly thought flint all the pructitionor* of the Panchstattva ritual with wino, woman, and so forth oro immoral men, profoosing to follow a Scrip- turn which does not accept the ordinary rules of morality ha regard* food, drink and woman which enjoin that men should curb thoir sensual desires. Rather is it thought that it teachea that men should yield to them and thus ‘‘enjoy" themselves, This view turns at least this portion of the fih&kta Tnntra into a scripture of libertinism, thinly voiling itself in pseudo-religious forms. It* followers are supposed to bo in the condition of n nenaual man who finds h» wishos thwartod by the rule* of morality of his fellows around him und who, asking himself how he can infringe those rules under colour ol some supposed authority, gives to the fulfilment of doairo a "religious" sanction. In the words of an English writer, the bent towards religion of some sort is ho strong in India that, some of its peoplo oven " oin religiously ". They oro, on this view, hypocrites putting thcmselvoa to u doul of uuncooswiry trouble, for mon can ami do in India, as elsewhere, gratify their desires without religiouB rituals, and if wishful to establish a theory of enjoy- ment justifying their conduct, they can, as some have also done in India as elsewhere, advocate an “epicurean” material- iam for that purpoBO. For the true sensualist who wishes to get at, tha object of hia desire, these long Tflntrik rituals would be obstructive and wearisome. Whatever may he thought of tho ritual in question, those notions ol it are wrong. The charge, however, if uarcfulcd, ojncti’.utea a blot on this country’s civilization, which has been allowed to remain because some who know better are either afraid to acknowledge that they follow these rites, or it they do 554 THE PANCHATATTVA not, that it may be suppoeed that they do so. This blot, iu so far as it is not justified by actual fact, I propose in the present Chapter to remove. The word Sh&stra or Scriptures comes from the root Shis, to oontrol, because its object is to control the conduct of men otherwise prone to evil. Whether its method* he mistaken or not, the ShiVkta Scripture is n Shftstra. Morality or Dhftrma is preached by all RhiUtrn whether of East or West. That morality (Dharma) io in ha essentials the same in all the great Scriptures. For whnl purpose is con- duct controlled '< The Indian answer is in order that man may make for himself a goed Karma which apellB happiness in this and the next world (i’araloka), and that then he may at length free himself of all Karma and attain Liberation (Moksha). Bad Karma lends to suffering hero and in tho Hells of the after-life. This is taught in the Skllcta, an in other ShfUtrai, which sock to train the Sddhnkn to attain Liberation. In u work of tho present scope, I havo not tho •pnoo to cite authority in support of nil those clomontoxy propositions. Thors is, however, an abundance of Text* in support of thorn. Consult, for instance, tho grand opening Chapter of tho Kulftrnava 'l antra, whioh points out the frailty of Man, the passing nature of this world and of all it gives to Man, and his duty to avail himself of that Manhood which is so difficult of attainment ao thut hr dooa not fsll but risen and Advances to TJborntion. I cite tho Kulftrunvn not merely because it is reputed to bo a groat Tantrn. and authority readily accessible, but because it touches in full the practioo of tho rituals uuder conaiduratiou. But what is Liberation 1 Tt is the state of Brahman the Pure. How can the Pure be attained by counselling tho practice of what the author of the ShAstra thought to be impure. Every Tantra counsels the following of Dharma or morality. The same Tantra (above cited) in ita Chapter dealing with the necessary qualifications of a disciple points out that he muRt bo of good character and in particular must not be lewd 555 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA (K&muka) and given over to <lrink, gluttony and woman. If he i a so, he ia not competent for this particular ritual and must be trained by other disciplines (PashvAch&m). I bore and hereafter deal with these particular in- fractions of morality because they alone in this mattor concern us in our attempt to understand a ritual which is supposed to be an instance of tho commission of those very sins. The Mahftnirvftna Tantra, which is of special interest because it ia on attempt to provido a gonorol oode including luw (iu its European souse) for tho followers of ite cult, makes provision, amongst other matters, for general decency and so forth, for the state- punishment (unknown to English legislation) of men who go with prostitutes (XI. 43) as also with unmnniod girls lib., 211-34), with women of prohibited degree lib.), with the wives of others (iA., 35-41), or who mere- ly look with an eye of lust upon thorn (ib., 47),stating (t b„ 40) " A man ohould consider as wif® only that woman who has beon married to him according to Brdhma (tho common) or Bhaiva form. All other women are tho wives of others." It deplores (1-37) the evil customs of the present ago (Kali- yugu) with its irreligion, lust, adultery, gluttony and addic- tion to strong dr into. How strangely hypocritical are these laments in a ShAstra which is supposed to coureiously promote the vary tendencies it doploree. It has been said that the Mah&nirvAnn is a worthy exception in an unworthy das®. It is true that this Tantra evidence® what, may be called a reforming tendency on account of abuses which hsd occurred and thus pule restrictions on tho ordinary householder as regards particular portions of the ritual, a fact which made a Pandit, of whom I was told, say that in comparison with tho Mah&nila Tantra it was “a woman's Sh&stre”. Nevertheless on the general matters here dealt with it is not an exception. Possibly those who so speak had only read the Mahinirv&na which is the sole Tantra which has been translated in English. Certainly nothing 556 THE PANCHATATTVA that they say indicates any real acquaintance with any other. There arc in fact other fine and more philosophical T antra*, and all the great authoritative Scriptures are at one, so far as 1 am aware, on the general question of morality and the search for Liberation with which I here deal. How, as I have said, could it, on commonly acoeptad principles, be otherwise I Whether tho S&dhonh they leach is good ami effective for the end sought in another matter, and still more so ia the question whether it haa been productive in fact of abuse. What then are the general Indian rules touching drink- ing, eating, and aexual intercourse ! In ancient Vaidik time* intoxicating liquor was taken in tho form of Soma. Such drink was found, however, in the course of time to be productive of groat evil*, and wm thrice cursed by liralimJt, Shukr&chftryn and Krishnu It wo* then prohibited with tho result that India has been tho moot temperate among the great pooploa of the world, Maim having deelnml that though the drinking of winu won a natural tendency, absten- tion therefrom wa* productive of great fruit. 'I ho l) shariah SamhitA says "Wine should nut bo drunk, given or taken” (Madyom apf.yam atoyun agr&hym). The drinking of wine is one of the great sins (Mahlpltaka) involving expi- ation (Priyaahohitta), and otherwise leading the sinner to that great Hell in which the slayer of a Brflhraana is confined (Viaiinu Purina, II. c. vi). In undent Vaidik times, meat wm enton by the fair-coloured auburn-haired Aryans, in- cluding crcn hoof, as ia dono by tboir follow -Ary ana of tho West. But in process of time tho slaughter of cattle for food was absolutely prohibited and certain meats such os that of the domesticated fowl and pig were held to be impure. As regards the eating of flesh and fish to-day, I believe the higher castes (outsido Bengal) who submit to the orthodox Smart* discipline take neither. Nor do high and fltrict Bifthmanaa in that province. But tho bulk of the people there, both men and women, eat fish, and men consume 557 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA the flesh of male goals previously offered to the Deity. Grain of all kinds is a common diet. 1 speak, of course, of orthodox Hindus. Some who have adopted Western civili- zation have taken over with it the eating of beef, the whisky pog and champagne, the curses of BrahmA, Shukra, Krishna, and the Hell of their Shftstras being nothing to them. As regards DurgA Devt the absurd statement has been made (“Empire of India” by Sir Bampfylde Fuller, 1111) that “to extremists among Hor votaries any aexual restraint is a denial of Her authority." Yet it is common ground to all ShAstrus that acxual intercourse (Maitkunu) by a mun with a woman who is not lawful to him is a sin. T ho Vuidik Dharma is strict on tha point. It forbids not merely actual Maithuua but what ia called AahtAnga (eightfold) Maithuna, namely, Smaronom (thuiking upon it), Kirttanam (talking of it), Kali (play with women). Prckshansjn (making eyes nt women), GuhyahhAahummi (talk in private with women), Snrhkalpa (winh or resolve foT noxunl union), AdhyavasAyn (determination towards it), Kriyftnishpatti (aotunl aooom- plishment of the sexual act). In short, the Pushu or follower of tho ordinary ritual (and except for ritual purposes those who are not Pashu) should, in the words of the ShAktn- kramfya (cited by MnhAmahopAdhyAya KrishnauAtha NyAya- pnnohAnnnu BhattAchAryyo in his Commentary to v. 15 of the KarpflrAdiatotra, TAntrik Texts, Vol. IX), nvoid Maithuna, conversation on tho subject und assemblies of women. Mailhumm lalbuh/Mpam tadyoshlMm pariuiijayi l. Even in marriage certain rules are to bo observed such as that which prescribes intercourse on the fifth day after the termination of the poried [Rituidfom vmd devi ramamtn parivarjayet) which is said by the Nityn Tantra to be a characteristic of the Pashu. Polygamy is permissible to all Hindus. The Divinity in woman, which the ShAkta Tantra in particular proclaims, ia also recognised in tho ordinary 55 « THE PANCHATATTVA Voidik teaching. The wife ia a Rouee-G oddest) (Griha- devatft) united to her husband by the sucramcnt (Seufuk&ra) of marriage and is not to be reguided merely as an object of enjoyment. Further, Voidik Dh&rma (now neglected) prescribes that the householder should ever worship with liia wife as necessary partner therein, Sastriko dhamumd chant (see also Matayaaflkta Tantra, XXXI). According to the sublime notions of Bhruti the union of man and wife is a veritable sacrificial rito-a sacrifice in fire (Home) wherein she is both hearth (Kunda) and flame- and he who know* this as Homa attains Liberation (*eo Mantra IS of Homa- pmkarana of BrihodAranyaka Upaniahad and Edward Oarponter’a remarks on what ia called the "obeccnit'y” of tins Upaniahad). Similarly, tho TAntrik Mantra for Maithuna runs (see I’rfiuatueliinl and TuutriuAru 008), "Om. Into tho Fire whioh in Spirit (AtmA) brightened by (tbo pouring thereon) of the ghee of merit and demerit, 1 by the path of Sushumni (the control ‘nerve’) over sacrifice (do Homa of) the functions of the senses using the mind as the ladle. SvAhl" (In the Homa rite the performer pours ghoo into the firo which cause* it to shoot up and flame. The ghoo ia pound in with a ladle. This being internal lloma the mind ia tho ladle whioh makoe tho olloring of ghoo). Om DkarmddMmna-havmKfle dlindgmu matvuA svuchd Sushumndvatlimnd nityam aMavriuir ju!<omyoham\ Svdhd. Hero sexual union takes on the grandeur of a great rite (Yajna) compared with which the ordinary mere animal copulation to ease desire, whether done grossly, shame facedly, or with flippant gallantry is bnso. It is because this high conception of the function is not known that a “ grown**" is charged against the association of Bexual function with religion which does not belong to it. Groasnees is properly attributable to those who mate like dumb animals, or coarsely and vulgarly, not to such as realise in this function die cosmic activity of the active SHAKTI AND SHAKTA Brahman or Shiva-Shakti with which they then, as always, unify themselves. • It has been already explained that Sfidliakas have been divided into three ekuu*«-Pashu, VIra and Divya, and for each the Sinistra prescribes a suitable SAdhanA, TAraasik, RJijadk and SAttvik accordingly. As later Mated, the Panchatattva ritual in its full literal souse is not foT the Pssliu, and (judging upon principle) the Divyu. unless of the lower ritual order, should be beyond it. In its fulleat and litoral sense it ia for the Vlru and is thoroforo callod KAjusik BAdlianA or GpAsanA. It is to be noted however that I'uehu, Vlra and Divyu are tho throe primary claws (MukhvasAdhaka). Besides these there arc secondary divi- sions (Oaunaaidhaka). Thus in addition to tho primary or SvabhAva Pashu them is the VibhAva Pashu who ia a 8 top towards VlrAuhAra. Virus again have been said to be of three kinds, flvabhAva Vlra, VibhAva Vlra, and Mantra aiddhn VSnu It in to this RAjaaik PftjA that tho Hymn to ChhinnamoatA from tho Devimhaaynkhanda of the itudrn- yAmala refers when the Vlra therein snya, A UytohiUtpuroudhti-bhcijipCj&paro'Xam FhhuvirtlHthiUwi(lf<jdruvMa-s\mM&vtio'lium Pathujanamnukho'ham /Sltuimxim dshrito'/tum QvruchoroiumUtham Bhairaxo'han Shivo’kan (“I follow the worship wherein there ia enjoyment ot vrine. flosh and wife as also other different forma of Kuln worship. In Bhnirnvl (the Goddess) I seek my refuge. To tho feet of Guru I am devoted. Bhuirava am 1. Bhivn am I.") To the ordinary English reader the association of eating, drinking and sexual union with worship will probably be incongruous, if not downright repulsive. “Surely,” ho might say, " such things are far apart from prayer to God. We go and do them, it is true, because they art a necessity of our animal nature, but prayer or worship have nothing to do with such coarseness. We may pray before or after (as iu THE PANCHA TATTY' A Grace) on taking food, but the physical aota between ore not prayer. Such notions are based partly on that dualism which keeps separate and apart God and His creature, and partly on certain false aud depreciatory notions concerning matter and material functions. According to Indian Monism such worship is not only understandable but (I am not speaking of any particular form of it) tho only religions attitude consistent with its principles. Man is, in his essence or spirit, divine and one with tho universal Spirit. His mind and body And all t.liair functions are divine, for they are not merely a manifestation of the Power (Hhakti) of God hut that Powor itself. To say that matter is in itoolf low or evil is to calumniate that Powur. Nothing in natural function is low or impuxu to the mind which recogniwa it us Shakti and the working of Shakti. It is tho ignorant and, in a true nenw, vulgar mind which regards any natural function ns low or OOUM. Tho action in this case is scon in the light of the inuer vulgarity of mind, It fans been suggested that in its proper application tho Miithunn Karma is only An application to sexual function of tho principles of Yog* (M*Mon-Ourisl HUtoira do In Plulosophio ludinnne, pp. 231 233). Once tho reality of the world as grounded in tho Absolute is established, the body scorns to bo lose hii obstacle to freedom, for it is s form of that self-lame Absolute. The cruutivo function being natural is not in itself culpable. There is no real antinomy between Spirit and Nature which is an instrument for the realization of the Spirit. The method borrows, it is Slid (*,), that of Yoga not to frustrate, but to regulate enjoyment. Conversely enjoyment produces Yoga by tho union of body and spirit. Tn the psycho-physiological rites of these Shftktas enjoy- moot is not merely an obstacle to Yoga but may also bo a means to it. This, ho says, is an important conception which recalls the discovery of the Mahftyioa that Boms&ra and Nirv&na am one. For here arc made cue, Yoga which liberates and Bhoga which enchains (ib.). It will then be sc 56 1 r SHAKT1 AND SHAKTA readily understood blxat according to this doctrine only chose are competent for thia Yoga who are truly lree, or on the way to freedom, of all dualism. External worship demands certain acta and instruments, such ns bodily attitude, spcoch, find materials with which the rito is done, such as flowers, incense, lights, water and other offerings. These materials and instruments are called Upachura. Ordinarily thero are sixteen of these, but thoy may be more or' loss. There ia nothing nboolute in either the quality, quantity or nature of the ofleringe. Ordinarily such things are offered as might bo given to guests or friends or others whom the worshipper loves, such ns sent (Annua), welcome (Svflgata), water to wash the feet (Mdya), food (Nnivcdya), olotlia (Voaana), jewels (Abharana), with other things Biii'h a* lights, incense, and flowers. In inner nr mental worship (Mhnasapflji) theso are not things material, but of tho mind of tho worshipper. IToaaing things are selected an offering to the DovaUL because tl.r worshipper wishing to please DevaU offers what ho thinks to be pleasant and would be glad himself to receive. But n man who rocoguized the divinity (and therefore value) of nil things might offer any. With such a disposition n pieoe of mud or a stone would he as good an offering as any other. There Bfo some thing* tho ordinary man looks upon as “ unclean" and, os long os he docs so, to off or ouch a thing would bo an offence. But, if to his "equal eye" these things are not so, they might be given. Thus the Vtra-sldhanl of the Shftkte.' Tantra makes ritual use of what will appear to most to be impure and repulsive substances. This (as the JnftnAmava Tuntra says) is done to accustom the woishipper not to sec impurity in them but to regard them as all else, an manifeetation of Divinity. Ho is taught that there ia nothing impure in itself in natural functions though they bo made, by misuse or abuse, the instrument of impurity. Here again impurity consists not in the net jxi se but m the way and in the intention with which it is done. To a THE PANCHATATTVA Vira all things, acts, and functions, done with right intention, may be instruments of worship. For, a Vira is one who seeks to overcome Tanias by Sattva. Therefore, the natural functions of eating, drinking and sexual union may bo used as Upach&ra of worship. This does not mean that a man may do what he likes as regards these things and pass them off as worship. They must be rightly done, otherwise, a man would bn offering his sin to DevatIL Th t principle of all this is entirely Hound. The only question which exists is an rogaids tho application to which tho ritual in quostion puts it, Worship and prayer arc not merely the going aside at u particular time or plana to utter set formula* or to perform particular ritual acts. Tho whole of life, in all its rightful particulars, without any single exception, may be un act of worship if man but makes it so. Who can rightly dony this f Of course, us long as u man regards any function as impure or matter of shame, his mental disposition is such that he cannot worship therewith. To do so would distract and perturb him. But both to tho natural- minded and illumi- imto man this is possible. The principle hero dealt with iu not entirely peculiar to this school. Those Hindus who are not Moniits, [and whatever be their philosophical theories, no worshippers in practice are so, lor worship connotes tho dualism of worshipped (UpAsya) and worshipper (UpAsaka), of the means or instrument (8ftdhana) and that to be at- tained thereby (flAdhyaJJ, yet make offering of their acts to DovatA. By thus offering all their daily speech, each word they say booumes, in the words of ShOstra, Alantro. Nor, if we examine it, is the principle alien to Christianity, for tho Christian may, in ojiciiing hie day, offer all his acts therein to Cod. What liu thereafter does is worship. Tho difference in these cases and that of the Vira principle lies (at any rate in practice) is this, that the latter is more thorough in its application, no act or function being exclud- ed, and in worship, the Shfikta being a Marxist is taught to regard the offering not a» given to someone other than his SHAKTI AND SHAKTA own essential Self, but to That. lie ia thus, according to the theory of this practioe, led to divinise his functions, and by their constant association with the thought of Brahman his mind is, it is said, purified and led away from all carnal de- sires. If these functions are set apart as something common or impure, victory is not easily won. There is 6till somo part of his life into which Brahman does not enter and which re- mains tho source of distraction By associating them with religion, it u tho religious focliug whioh works first through and then tuftrtedM them. He thus gradually • attains PivyabhAva and the suite of the Dovatft he has worshipped. For it ia common Indian principle that the end of worship ie to aeaimihite oneself to its object or DevatA. Thun it is said in the Agni Pur Ana that by worship of Rudra one becomes Rudra, by worship of Vishnu one becomes Vishnu, and by worship of Shnlrfi one becomes flhakti. This ia so because the mind mentally transforms itself into the likenow of that on whioh it is sot. By thinking always, on tho otlvor hand, on oonmiul objects one become* sensual. Even before worship, one should strive to attain tbo true attitude of worship, and so the Gnndharva Tantra says, "Ho who is nob Dova (Adeva) should not worship Devi. Tho Deva alone should worship Deva.” The Vim or strictly the SAdhaka qualified to enter VirAchAra— since tho true Vlrn is its finished product commences SAdhanA with this RAjaaik UpAaauA with the Panchutottva an UpaohAra which are em- ployed for the transformation of the aansual tendencies they connote. I have heard the view expressed that this part of the SkAstra «m really promulgated for SliMras. Shiva knowing tho animal propensities of their common life must lead them to tako flesh and wine, prescribed these rites with a view to lessen the evil and to gradually wean them from enjoyment by promulgating conditions under which alone such enjoyment could be had. and in associating it with reli- gion. “It is better to bow to NArfivana with one's shoes on than never to bow at all." A man with a tasto for drink will THE PANCHATATTVA only increase his thirst by animal satisfaction (Poshupanu). But if when he drinks he can be made to ruguxd the liquid as a divine manifestation and have thought of God, gradually such thought* will overcome and oust his sensual deeixoa. On the same principle children are given powders in jam, though Hi i* method is not confined to actual children only. Those who bo argue contend that a Brtthmana should, on no account, take wine, and Texts are cited which are wud to support this view. 1 have dealt with this matter in the Introduction to tho aixth volume of “T&ntrik Testa". It ia auffioient to say here that tho reply given is that such Texts refer to the unauthorized consumption of wine on by uninitiated (Anabhiehikta) Briihmanas. In tho same place 1 have dLftciutsvd the question whether wine can be token at all by any one in this Kali age. For, aocording to some authoritiea, there is only PjujhuhhAvo in tho Kuliyuga. If this be correct then all wiiuwlrmking, whether ritual or otherwise, is prohibited. For the worship of Shskti, the Panohatlttva are de- clared hi he MHHitial Without the I’anchatattva in one form or another ShaktipfijA cannot bo performed (MnhA- nirvAnn, V. 23-24). Tho reason of this is that those who warship Shakti, worship Divinity as Creatrix and in tho form of the universe. If Shu appouiri us uud hi natural function, She must be worshipped therewith, otherwise, u* the Tnntra cited Bays, worship in fruitless. The Mother of the Universe must bo worshipped with these five clement*, namely, wine, meat, fish, grain, and woman, or their substi- tutes. By their use the universe (Jagad-brahmftnda) itself is uacd as tho articlo of worship (Upachfira). Thu MahA- nirvAna (VII. 103-111) says that wine which gives joy and dispels the soitowb of men i» Fire ; fleah which nourishes and inoroaBea the otrongth of mind and body ia Air ; fish which increases generative power ia Water, cereals grown on earth and which are the baois of life are Earth, and sexual union, which i3 the root of the world and the origin of all 565 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA creation, is Ether. They thus signify the Power (Shakti) which produces all fiery elements, '11 terrestrial and aquatic lifo, all vegetable life, and the will, knowledge and action of the Supreme Prukriti productive of that great bliss which accompanies the process ot creation. (See also Iluratattva- didhiti XV, KAmAkhya T antra, Nigamatattvaaftra IV). The KuilAsa T antra (PflrvAkhyA, Ch. XC) identifies this Pentad (Panchatattva) with the five vital airs (PrAnAdi) and the five MahApieta which support the couch of Tripura- eundorl. With these preliminaries, and postponing for the moment further comment, we may proceed to an cnuuiiui- tion in greater detail of the five (Pancha) elements (Tattva), namely, Wine (Madya), Meat (MAmea), Fish (Mateya), Parched Cereal (MudrA), and Sexual Union (Maithunu) which stand- for drinking, eating and propagation, because they nil rommenoe with the letter 111 , they are vulgarly called Panoha ma k&ra (or fivo M’s). These Poncha tattva, Kulndravya or Kulatattva an they are called, have more esoteric naiuos. Thus the last in known os "the fifth". Woman ia culled Shakti or Trakriti. A Tlntrik commonly calls his wife his .Shakti or Bhairavl. Woman is also called LatA or "creeper", because woman clings to and depend* on man a* tho creeper does to the tree. Hence the ritual in which woman is enjoyed is called LaMis&dhana. Wine i# called "cnuaal water" (KAranavAri) or Tirtho water (TIrthav/Lri). But tho lWhnlallvft have nob always their literal meaning. Tho meaning differs uccoiding a* they refer to tho TAmaaik (Puehv&riiAra), RAjaaik (VlrAchAra) or S&ttvik (DivyAchara) H Ad harms respectively. "Wine” is only wine and Maithuna i8 only sexual union in the ritual of the Y'tra. To the PaBhu, the Vira ritual (VSr&chAra) is prohibited as unsuitable to his state, and the Pivya, unless of the lower ritual kind, is beyond such things. The result is that the Panchatattva have each three raeaningE. Thus “wine” 566 THE PANCHATATTVA may bo wins (Vha ritual), or it may bo cocoanul water (I'nshu ritual) or it may mean the intoxicating knowledgo of tho Supremo attained by Yoga, according aa it iB used in connection with the Vila, tire Paaliu, or the Divya icepec- tively. The Paucliatattva are thus threefold, namely, real (PratyakshaUittva) where " wine” means wine, substitutional (Anukalpatattva) where wine means coooanut water or sonic other liquid, and symbolical or divine (Divyatattva) where it is a symbol to denote tho joy of Y oga-kno wledge. T ho Paahu worships with tho substitutional Tattvaa raontioned later and never takes wine, the Vfra worships with wina, and the Divya’s “wino” is spiritual knowledge. There are further modification* of tliww general rules in tho case of the inter modiato BhAvas. Thus tho author next cited Bays that whilst the Svabhlva Vtru is a drinker of wino, tho Vibhlva Vim worships internally with the five mental Tattvaa and externally with substitutes. The .Mantroaiddhavliii is free to do as he pleases in this mutter, subject to tho general BhAatrik rolaa. In an essay by Pandit Jayachandm Sid- dhlVntablniBharm, answering certain chargOB made against tho Tantra ShAstm, he, after stating that neither the Vibh/tva Vtra nor Vibhiva Paahu need worship with real wine, says that in modern Bangui this kind of worship is greatly preva- lent. Such T&ntriks do not talco wino but otherwise worship aooording to tho rule of Tantra ShAotra. It in, as ho says, an erronooue but common notion that a "Tlntrika” necea- hiirily means u drinker of wir.o. Some BAdhukaa again, in lieu of the material Maitkunn, imagino tho union of Shiva and 8hokti in tho upper brain centre known us the SohaorAra. The Divya Pnnchatattva for those of a truly S&ttvika or spiritual temperament (DivyabhAva) have been described as follow* "Wine” (Madya) according to Kaula Tantra (we p. 85 of I’anchatattva-vichAra by Kilamani MuldiyopA- dhyAyu) is not any liquid, but that intoxicating knowledge acquirod by Yoga of the Porabrohman which renders the worshipper eenseleea aa regards the external world. “Meat” 567 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA (Mlmsa) id not any fleehly thing, but tho act whereby the SAdhaku consigns all his acts to Me (Mam), that is, the Lord. "Fish" (Matsya) is that Sflttvik knowledge by which through the sense of “Minenees’ 1 (a play upon the word Matsya) the worshipper sympathizes with the pleasure and pain of all beings. Mudra is the aot of relinq u i shin g all association with evil which results in bondage. Coition (Maithuna) is the union of the Bhalcti Kundalini, the “ Inner woman” and World-force in the lowest centre (MdlArlhflrn Chakra) of the S&dhuka’e body with tho Suproiuo Shiva in the highest ceutro (Bahaarlra) in the upper llrnin (oee Eceay on Kunda lint Slmkti port). This, the Yoginl Tautra (Ch. VI) says, is tho best of all unions for those who are Yati, that is, who have controlled their pssmons. Suhasr&ropari bindau kvndaiyd tnelatum Shive Matlhtnam poramatn dravyam yufindm pan/ctotitam. Aooording to the Aguinas&ra. 'wino' is the Somadhftrfl. or lunar amhroaia which drops from the SahasrAra "Moat” (Minina) is the tongue (Ml) of which its ]»rt. (Amsha) is spoooh. Tho Sldhoka in oafcing it control his opeooh. "Fish” (Mutsya) ate those t.wo (Vlyu or currents) which are constantly moving iu tho two "rivers” (that, is, Yoga "nerves" or NAdts) called Id! and TingalA, that is, the syinpathctios on each side of the spinal column. lie who controls his breath bv Pilnlyimn, "oata” them by Kumbhaka or retention of breath. Mudrl is the awukcning of knowledge in tho pericarp of the great Sahasrlra Lotus (tho upper brain) where the XtmA. resplendent as ten million suns ar.d deliciously cool an ten million moons is united with tho Dor! Kundnlinl, the World-foroo and Consciousness in individual bodies, after Her aaoent thereto from the MtUl- dhlra in Yoga. The esoteric meaning of ooition or Maithuna is thus stated in the Agama. The ruddy hued Ra is in the Kunda (ordinarily the seed-mantra Ram is in ManipQra but perhaps hero the Kunda in the MdlAdh&ra is meant). The letter Ma [white like the autumnal moon, Sattvaguna, THE PANCHAT ATTVA Kaivulyar upa- prul< ritirQpf |Ch. 2, KAmadhcnu Tiintra)] is iu the Mahiyoni (not I may observe the genitals but tho lightning-like triangle or Yoni in the SahasrAra or upper brain; in the form of Bindu (a Ghanibhuta or “ con- densed ’ form of Shakti and transformation of Nfida aliakti). When M (MakAra) seated on the Hamaa (the “bird” which in the pair Shiva-Shakti as Jiva) in the form of A (A-kAra) unites with R (Ka-kAra) then Brahman knowlodgo (Brahma- j nana) which is tho aourte of Hupreme blisH is gained by tho SAdhuka who i* then (Milled XtinArlma (Knjoycr with tho Self), for his enjoyment in in tho AtmA in tho Saluu-.mia. (For tliia rooaou boo tho word RAnia, wliioh alto uiouna aoxuol enjoyment, ia equivalent to tho libera tor-Bruhii-un, Ra-|-a-|- ina.) The union of Shiva and Shakti ih described (Tnntra- aAra, 702) as true Yoga (Shimt/takiMandijoyo t/opi cm na mi ns/iayah) from which, as the YAuinln twys, arise* that Joy which is known as the Supremo Bliss (* 6 ., 7U3) [Stmtfou&j jdi/ale taukhyatn jMruiiidnaruInl/thhniam). This is tho union on tho purely SAttvik plane which corresponds in tho Mjatuk plane to the union of Shiva and Nhukti in the person* of their worshippers. It will hnve been observed that here in this Divyn or SAttvik SAdlinnA " Wino", " Woman" and bo forth are really niunca for Yogik operations. Thu substitutional Tuttvua of PaalivAchAm also do not answer to their names, being other substances which ore taken as substitutes of wine, moat, liah (aeo KulochQdAmani ; BhniravayAmala, Ch. I). These have been vnriously de- scribed and sometime* as follows In lien of wine the l’nshu should, if a BrAhmana. take milk, if a Kshatriyu ghco, if a Vaishya honey, and if a Shfldra a liquor xnado from rice. Cocoanut water in a bell-metal utensil is also taken as a substitute. Salt, ginger, aesamnm, wheat beans (MAsha- kalfti) and garlio arc oomo of tho aubotitutea for meat ; the white brinjal vegetable, red radish, masur (a kind of gram), red sesamum and PAniphala (an aquatic plant) take the 569 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA place of fish. Poddy, rice, wheat and groin generally oro JdudrA Loth in Taiuasilc (Patshvftcliftra) and R&jaaik (VtriV ehi\ra) S Ad hands. In lieu of Maitlmna there may be an offering of flowers with the hands formed into the gesture called Kachchhapa-mudrH, the union of the Kaiavlra flower (repift^ntative of the Liriiga) with the AprAjitA (Clitoria) flower which is shaped as and represent* the female Yoni and other substitutes, or thurc may be union with the Sddliaka’s wife. On this ami some other matters hero dealt with thoro in variant practice. The IvnulilcArchanndfpikA nponlcs of what is nailed the Adyatftttvaa. Adyamadva or wino is hemp (Vijayft), Adya ahuddhi or meat is ginger (Adruku), Adytuiilua or flub is citron (Jamblra), AdyamudrA is DhAnyaja, that is, mude from paddy mid Adyusbakti m the wornhipper’s own wife. Quoting from the TuiitrAntarn it says that worship without those Adya forms w fruit km Kven the rttrictest total ubatainer and vegetarian will not object to "wine” in tko shupe of hot milk or cocounut waMr, or to ginger or other substitutes for mast. Nor is there any offence in regarding sexual union between the Sftdhwka and his wife not as n inure animal funotion but os u iiaoriiloiul rito (Yujim). At this point we may pus to the literal Tuttvas. Wine hero is not uiuroly grapo wine but tliut which is made from various substances such as molassos (Oaudl), lice (Poishtl) or the Madh’ftka llowor (OlAdhv!) which arc said by the Mohl- nirvina Ttuitra (CL VI) to be the best. There are others such us wine made from the juice of the Palmyra and date tree, and aniseod (Moureya wine). Meat is of three kinds, that, is, nniimls of the water, earth, and sky. But no female animal must be slain. Superior kinds of fish are Sli&la, I’Athina, and Rohita. MudrA whioh every Orientalist whom I have road calls " ritual gesture " or the like is nothing of the kind here, though that is a meaning of the term Mudrft in another connection. 'J'hey cannot have gone far into the subject, fox it is elementary knowledge that in the 570 THE PANCIIATATTVA Punchatattva, Mudttk meant parched cereal of various kiwis and is defined in Yoginf Tantrn (Ch. VI) aa BhrithladhdnyddHam yudyad efiarvantyum prachakeJmte Sd mudrd kalhiid Ik in' mrvwhdm NagaKondini. (Oh Daughter ol the Mountain, fried paddy and the like - in fact all such (cereals) as are chewed are called Mudrft.) Tho Mahfinirvina (Ch. VI) says that the moat excellent is that made from Shftli rice or from barley or wheat and which ha* h**n fried in clarified butter. Meat, fish, Madrft offered to tho DevatA along with win® i» technically called Shuddhi. Thu MahiuirvAna says that tho drinking of wine without Shuddhi ia like tho swallowing of poison and tho S&dlmcA ie fruitless. It is uot difficult to see why. For, wine taken without food has greater ciloct and produce greater injury. Moreover, another check on mdiacriminnto drinking is placed, for wine cannot bo tuken unices Shuddhi >h obtained , prewired, and eaten with the neoewary rite®. Woman, or Shukti, aa She ia properly callod, ainco She ia purified and consecrated for the rite and represent® khn Devi, it of tliroo kinds, namoly, KvlyA or Svaldyl (one’* own wifo), ParaktyA the wifo of anothor or aomo other woman, and 8ftdhAranf or one who is common. This aapect of the subject 1 deal with later. Here 1 will only say that, where sexual union is permitted ot all, the ordinary Shnkti ia tho Sftdhaka’a BrAhmt wife. It ia only under certain conditions that there can be any other Shakti. Shaktia nro also of two kinds, namely, those who are enjoyed (BhogyA) and those who are worshipped only (Pfljyl). A SAriliaka who yields to defire for the latter commits the sin of incest with his own mother. Here again, according to Sli&ktn notions, ono must not think of these substances as mere gross matter in the form of wine, moat and so forth, nor on woman as mere woman ; nor upon the rite us a mere common meal. The usual daily rites must be performed in the morning, midday and evening SHAKTI AND SHAKTA (Wuhanirviiift, V. 28). These are elaborate (tb.) and lake up a large part of the day. Bhiitashuddlii is accompli ehed, at which lime the BAdliako thinks that a Peva body has arisen as liia own. Various Nyflsae are done. Mental worship in performed of the Devf, the Alyi K Alik A, who ia thought of as being in red raiment seated on a icd lotUB. Her body dark like a rain-cloud, Hor forehead gloaming with the light of the crescent moon. Japa of Mantra is then done and outer worship follows. A further elaborate ritual succeeds. F pause here to ask tho render to conceive the nature of the mind and disposition of the Sndhnka who luu sincerely porforwud those rites. Is it likely to be lustful or gluttonous I Tho onrae is removed from the wino and tho S/Ullmka medi- tates upon tho union of Dova and Devi in it. Wine is to be considered us Devntd. After the oonsocrution of tho wine, tho meat, fish and grain are purified and are mode like unto nectar. The Shokti is sprinkled with Mantra and made the SAdhaka’s own. Sho ia tbo Devi Herself in tho form of woman. The wine is ohargod with Mautrnb ending with the realisation (MuhAnirvAna Tsntn*. VI. 42) when Hnma in doim, that offering is made of the excellent nectnr of "This-neat” (Idantik) held in tho cup of “l-ne»” (AhautA) into the Fire whioh in the Hupreme I -now (I’arflhantA). AhunlAjnUm-bharUam id/* iUd]/u ntmumrUam Purdfiantdmaijo mJtmu homMtttAraldhliamtn. Here tho distinction is drawn between the “I" (Aham) and tho "This". The former is either tho Supreme “1” (l’urihonta or Shiva) or the individual "I” (Jivu) vohidod by the “This” or Viinarsha-Shakti. The SAdhaka is tho cup or vessel which is the individual Ego. " This- ness” is offered to the Supreme. Drinking is an offering to that Fire which ia the transcendent Self “ whence all individual selves (Jlva) proceed”. Wine is then T&rA Dravomayl, that is, tbo Savioureas Herself in tho form of liquid matter (MahA- nirvAna, XI. 100-IC7). None of tho Tattvas can be offered unless first purifiod and consecrated, otherwise the Sfldhalu* THE PANCHATATTVA goes to Hell. With further ritual the first four Tattvas are consumed, tlio win© being poured aa an oblation into the mouth of Kundalf, after meditation upon Her aa Conscious- ness (Chit) spread from Her neat, the MdUdhftm to the tip of tho tongue. The whole ritual is of great interest, and 1 hope to givo a fuller exposition of it on some future day. Worship with the Panohatattva generally takes place in a Chakra or circle composed ot men and women, Sftdhakas and SMhikfls, Bhairavns and Bhairavts silting in a circlu, the Shakti being on the Sldhaka’s left, llcnoc it is called Chakrapfijl A Lord of the Cholera (Chakieahvara) presides sitting with his Shakti in tli« centre. During the Chakra, there is no distinction of caste, hut 1 ’nshus of any OMto wo excluded. There are variouo kinde of Chakra productive, it io said, of differing fruits for the participator therein. An amongst Tftntrik Stilhako* we oome ucroso the high, the low, and mere pretenders, bo tho Ghikw* vary in their characteristic* from nay tho Tnttva-ohakra for the Brahma kaulu, aud the Bhairavt-chikra (ns dosoribed in Mahtk nirv&na, VI 11. 163) in which, in lieu of wine, the householder token milk, sugar and honey (Mndhurariraya), and in lieu of mutual union doc* meditation upon the Lotus Feet of tho Divine Mother with .Mantra, to Chakras the ritual of which will not bo opprovod such iu ChfidAchokra, Xnnndobhuvnna- yogn ami othern referred to later. Just aa there uro some inferior " Tftntrik" writings, no we find rituals of a Iowot type of men whuM notions or practices were neither adapted by high BAdhakas in the past nor will, if they survive, be approved for practice to-day. VVhnt is wanted is a dis- crimination which avoids both unjust general condem- nations and. with equal ignorance unqualified commenda- tions which do harm. I refer, in my Essay on “ Shakti and ShAkta”, to a modern Chakra. I hoard a short time ago of a Guru, influenced by an English education, whose strictness went bo far that tho women did not form port of the Chnkm but sat in another room. This was of course absurd. 573 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA Tho two main objections to the R&jasik Pfijn aie from both the Hindu and European standpoint the alleged in- fraction of sexual morality, and from the former standpoint, the use of wine. By "Hindu" I mean thow who are not Shfiktas. I will deal with the latter point first. The Vtra ShAkta admits the Smarts mlc against the drinking of wine. He, however, snyB tluit drinking is of two kinds, namely, extra-ritual drinking for the satisfaction of sensual appetite, and the ritual drinking of previously purified and conse- crated wine. The former is called raahupAna or "animal drinking,’’ and Yrithftplna or "useless drinking”: for, being no part of worship, it is forbidden, dong no good, but on the contrary injury, and leudo to Hell. Tho Western's drinking (oven a moderate "whisky and soda") io Piuhu- pAua. Thu VtrAohArt, like uvery other Hindu, condemns this and regards it an a great sin. But drinking for the purpose of worahip is held to stand on a dilfcicnt ground. Just as the ancient Vnidila drank Soma os part of the Sacrifice (Yajna), no does the Vlrs drink wine m part of his ritual. Just, iir the killing of animals for the purpose of sacrifice is noeountod no "killing", »o that, it does not infringe ngninat the rule against injury (AhimsA), ao nlao <lrinking as pari of worship is raid not to be tho drinkipg whioh the Smritis forbkl. For this reason it i» contended that the TAntrilc secret worship ( Rahasyn-pQjA) is uot opposed to Veda. Tho wino is ix) longer the gross injurious material substance, but has been purified and spiritualized, ao that the true Sadhaka looks upon it as the liquid form of the Saviour, Dov! (TArA Dravamuyi). The joy it produces is but a faint welling up of the Blira ( Auanda), which in its essence it is. Wine, moreover, is then taken under certain restrictions and conditions which should, if adhered to, prevent the abuse which follows on merely sensual drinking (Pashupftna). The truo Sadhaka docs not perform the ritual for tho purpose of drinking wine, (though possibly in these degenerate days many do) but drinks wine in order that be may perform the 574 THE PANCHATATTVA ritual. Thus, to take au analogous case, u Christian abstainer might reocivc wine in the EuckarUt believing it to Iks the blood of his Lord. He would not partake of the sacra- ment. in order that he might have the opportunity of drinking wine, but he would drink wine because thut is the way by which he might take the Eucharist, of which wins together with bread (Mudrfl) in an element I ntay here mention in this connection that not only nro drops of wine (sometime* sprinkled on tho PraaAda (sacred food) at DurgA- pujft nnd thus oonsumsd by person* who mo not VtrAchftrto, but (though this is not gcmomlly known and will pcrhnpn not bo admitted) on the PnvsAda which all consume at the Vuialmavo shrine of Jagann&thu at Puri. Thin question about the consumption of wine will not apjienr to the average European a curious affair, though It is so to the non-HhfUtto Hindu. 9o strong is the general fooling against it that when Babu Kcohab Chandra Sen, in one of his imitations of Christian doctrine and ritual, started an Eucharist, of his own, the elements were rire and water. It is, however, n mutter of common reproach against these T Antilles that noma nt least drink to oxcor*. That may lx* so. From what I have hoard hut little credit attaches to the common run of this dan of T&ntrika to-day. Apart from the general degeneracy which luw affected all forms of Hindu religion, it is to bo remeuilwcd thut in aucieut times nothing whs done except under the authority of the (biru. lie alone could say whether his disciple was competent for any particular ritual. It was not open to any one to enter upon it and do as ho pleased; Nevertheless, we must clearly distinguish between the commands of the 8 h Astra itself and abuses of itfl provisions by protended ftiVlhnltus. It is obvious that excessive drinking prevents the attainment of success nnd is a fall. As the MahAnirvftnn (VI. Iflfi-lft" ; occ also VI If. 171) with good boiuio euyu, "Mow in it poaeiblo for a sinner who becomes a fool through drink Co say 1 1 worship Adyil KAlikA 1 ." William James says (“Varieties 575 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA of Religious Experience ", 8«7) “The sway of alcohol over mankind is unquestionably due to ita power to stimulate the mystical faculties of human nature, usually crushed to earth by the cold fact and dry criticisms ‘of the solwr hour. It unites. It is in fact the greatest exciter of the “Yes*’ function in man. It brings him from the. chill periphery of things to tho radiant core. ” In its effect it is one bit of the mystic consciousness. Wine, as is well-known, also manifesto and emphasizes the true disposition of a man ("In vino ventas. ”). (As to wine, drugs and 'anesthetic revelation ’ at* to the duo to tho meaning of life wto R. Thoulosa, "Introduction to Psychology of Religion," 01.) When the worshipper is of n previously pure and devout dis |Mu>itioii, tlie moderate use of wine heightens his feelings of devotion. But if it is drunk iu excess there can be no devo- tion at nil, but only sin. Thia same Tentra therefore, whilst doing away with wine in the case of ono class of Chakra, and limiting the consumption in any case ‘for householders, says that excessive drinking prevents huoooss coming to Kaula worshipper*, who may not drink to Ruoh an extent that the mind is effected (literally “goea round"). "To drink beyond this", it says, "is bestial.” Y&wn na cMlaytd drithtir t/dmn na ch&laycn manah T6vat pdnam prakunnUa jmhu-pdmm <tah pa ram. Yet. the fnnt that tho Mahftnirvftnn thought: it necessary to give this injunctiou is significant of somo obiuio. Similar counsel may be found howovor elsowhcro ; as in tho ShyAraa rnhasya which says that excqwivc drinking leaila tu Hell. Thus also the great Tantrurflja (KAdimata) aiys (Ch. Mil) (TAntrik Texts, VoL Vlll).— Na kaddehit pivet tiddha favyarghyam anwditam P&nnncha t&vat lurtAln ydivr/d ty&n mnnolnyah TotaJi karoli chef sadyuh p&taki hhamti dhmvam Demtdyunmvdnyal pimnndtovam fokayS Pdftd-i rdjadandt/ash chdvidyop&aJta eva c ha. 576 THE PANCHATATTVA (Tho Siddhu should never drink the Axghya (wine) meant for the Devi, unless tLc same ban been first offered (to Her). Drinking, again, should only be continued so long as the mind is absorbed (in the Devi). He who does ao thereafter is verily a sinner. He who drinks wine through mere wnsual deeirc and not for tho purpose of warship of Devatft and Guru is a worshipper of Ignorance (Avidya) and a sinner punishable by the King.) It must bo admitted, however, that there are to be found wordn anil jmwngen which, if they are to be taken literally, would indicate that wine won not always takon in modera- tion. (800 AimvollAwi in Kul&mava. 'I ho UllAnua, howover, are abated to ho stages of initiation.) In reading any Hindu Scripture, however, one must allow for exaggeration which is culled "Stuff". Thus if there is much meat and wine wo may read of ''mountain* of He.'h" and " oceans of wine". Such statements were not made to bo takon literally. Somo description* again may refur to KaulAvadhfttu who, like other " great " men in other matter*, appear to have morn liberty than ordinary folic. Some things may not. be " tho word of Shiva" at all It is open to any one to sit down and write a "Tantrn,” "Stot.m" or what not The Xnandn Stotm, for oxumplo, roads in ports Hko a libortino'e drinking song. Though it has horn attributed both to the Knlnohft- dimani and Kulflrnava, a learned TiVntrik Pundit, to whom I am much indebted uixl to wlitxu I showed it, laughed and said, "How can this be the word of Shiva. It is not Shivn Bhflstra. If it ib not the writing of some fallen Upflsaka (worshipper), it is the work of Achflryyus trying to tempt disciples to themselves. ” Though a man of Tlntrik learn- ing of u kind rarely met with to-day. and n practitioner of tho ChakrapQjii, he told me that he had never heard of t-his Stotia until it was sung at a Chakra in Benares. On asking onothor Pundit there about it, I10 was told not to trouble himself over “ what these kind of people did". Even when the words Shiva uuSchn (Shiva said) appear in & work. HI 577 » SHAKTI AND SHAKTA it docs uot follow thnt it hns any authority. Though all the world condemns, as does the Hhastra itself, excessive drinking, yet it cannot be said that, according to views generally accepted ly the mute of men in the world to-day, the drinking of alcohol is a sin. General morality may yet account it such in some future day. I pass then to the other matter, namely, sexual union. The ordinary rule, as the KaulikArchana-DJpM rays (I roferto theexoeption later), ia that worship should be. done with the worshipper's own wife, called the Xdyii Shakti. Thin is the general Tlntrik rule. Possibly because the oxoeptiou to it led to abuao, tho Mahinirvfina (VIII. 179), nftcr pointing out that men in tho Kali age are weak of mind uud distracted by lust, and so do not recognize woman (Shakti) to bo the image of Deity, prescribes for such m them (In tho BhfUxavl Chakra) meditation on the Feel of the Divine Mother in liou ol Maithuna, or whore the worship is with the Shakti (Bhogy/l) in Bhoiravt and Tattvn Chakra tho worshipper should be wedded to his Shakti according to Slmivu rites. It adds (»/», 12ft) thnt " the Vtra. who without marriage worships by enjoyment « Shakti. is without doubt guilty of the sin of going with another woman ” Flsewhero (VI. 14) it points out thnt whan theovil age (Kaliyuga) in nt ita strength, tho wife ulono should l>e tho fifth Tattva for "thin is void of all dcfcot” (Sarva doeha vivarjita). Tho Baramohana T antra (Oh. 2) also says that the Kali ago ia dominated ly lust (Kama) and it is then most difficult to subjugate the senses and that, by reason of the prevalence of ignorance (Avidyft) the fomalc Yoni is used for worship. That is, by reason of tho material nature of man a material form is used to depict the supremo Yoni or Chuso of all. The commentator on the Mah&nirvAnu Tantrn. Pandit Jagan- mobsnn TarkAlankftra (ace. Bhnkte Rd. 946) says, however, that this rule in not of universal application. Shiva (he nays) in this T antra prohibited SfldhanA with the fifth Tnttva with other Sliuklia in the case of men oi ordinary weak THfc PANCHATATTVA intellect ruled by lost ; but for those who have by SndhanA conquered their passions and attained the state of n true Siddha Vira, them 1 h no prohibition as to the mode of I*tA- sAdhani. With this 1 deal later, but meanwhile l may olxserve that because there in a Shakti in the Chakra it does not follow that there is sexual intercourse, which, when it occurs in the worship of houw.holdem, ordinarily takes place outside the Chakra. Shaktis are of two kinds those who ure enjoyed (Bhogyl Shakti) and those who arc worshipped only (Pfljyft) as earthly rapresantativcN of the Supremo Mother of ulL Those who yield to deeire, oven in thought, ob rogurd* tho latter commit tho sin of inoont with thoir mother. Similarly, there is a widespread- practice amongst nil ShftkUs of worship of Virgins (Kunihifpiijft) — n very beautiful ceremony. So also in Braiunarijuyoga there ih worship of virgins only. It is plain that up to thin point there is (opart, from tho objection of other Hindus to wine) nothing to be «ai:l against, tho morality of tho SldhanA prescribed, though some may toko exception to tho association of natural function Of any kind, however legitimate, with what they regard ns worship. This is not a question of morality and I have dealt with it. Tho reader will alno remember thut tho ritual already do scribed applies to the general maw of worshippers, and that to which I am pausing is the ritual of the comparatively few, and so-called advanced SAdhakas The cliargo of immorality against nil ShfUrtas, whether following this ritual or not, fails, and people need not run away in fear on hearing that a man is a " T&ntrik * '. He may not be a ShAlrta T Antrik at all, and if he is a ShAkta, ho may have done nothing to which the world at large will take moral exception. I now pans to another claw of cases. Generally speak- ing, we may distinguish not only l>etween DakRhirftobAm and V&mAchAra in which tho full ritoa with wine and Shakti are performed, but also between n Virus and Dalcshina division of the latter AclrAra itself, It is on the former aide 579 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA that there is worship with & woman (P&rokfyA Shakti) other than the BAdhaka’s own wife (Svaktyfi Shakti). But under what circumstances ? It ia necessary (as Professor de la Valldc Poussin, the Catholic Belgian Sanskritiat, save (Adhik&rma-pradlpa, 141) of the Buddhist Tantra) to re- number the conditions under which these TAntrik rituals are, according to the BbAfltn, admissible, when judging of their morality, otherwise, he says oor.dcm nation becomes exceuivo ("Js oroin d'ailbvrt qv'tm a tmgtti la churactbe cfmmoraUto dcs acton liturgiquot do Mailhuna faxUo cT avoir fit A lea ditxnes conditions dans IrsqueUts \ls, (found tire prali- quia." 8oe also Mamou-Ourael Kaquium dune Histoivo do la PhlloBOphie Indienne 1923, p. 230, who says that Western people often see obscenity where there is only symbolism.) An 1 have mid, the ordinary rule is that the wife or AdyA Shakti should he orperformcr (Sahodlmrminf) in the rite. An exception, however, exists whore the SAdhuka has no wife or she U incompetent (iVmulhikArint). Them seems to ho a notion that the ShlUtra dirootfl uniou with aomo other person than tbo SAdhakA’s wife. This is not so. A direction to go ufter other women as such would lw counsel to commit fornication or adultery. What the ShAatrs aayo is— that if the SAdhaku has no wife, or she is incompetent (Anndhi- klLriuI), then only may the SAdhuka take some other Shakti. Noxt, this is for the purpose of ritual worship only. Just as any extra-ritual drinking is Bin, k> nlso outside worship any Mnithuna. otherwise than with the wife, is sin. Tho Taltvos of onch kind can only be offered after purification (Shcdhann) and during worship aocoxdiug to tho rules, re- strictions, and conditions of tho TAntrik ritual. (Sec Tantra sara, 098, citing BhAvnchfidAuiani, Uttam-Kul&inriU. In Cb. TV, Brihannllu, Tantra it is said Puraddrdn na gadichhercm cjnchchlvch cha pT&yayed .yadi, but that is for purposes of worship). Outside worship the mind is not even to think of the subject, as is said concerning the Shakti in the Uttara Tantra. THE PANCHATATTVA Pujdkdiam two nanyam punuham tnaruud spnihct Pdjd-kdlc cha Dtttaki veshyevu pinto&huycl. What then ifl the meaning of this "competency" the non-existence of which relaxes tho ordinary rule? The principle on which worship is done with another Shakti is statod in the GuhyakAlikhnnda of the Mah&kfUa SarohitA as follows YAdriahuh a&d/aiknh proktah sddhihA 'pi cha tddruhi TataJi nddkim avdpmti nAnyathA mrsku-kaiiMih. ("As iB tho oompetonoy of tho Sudhaka bo must bo that of tho S&dhiki. In thin way only is ouocco# attained and not otherwise evon in ten million years. ") That is hoth tho niun und tho womau must bo on the same lovol and pluuo of development. Thus, in the performance of the great Hhodhllnyasa, the Shakti must be possessed of the same powers and oompetonoy as the SAdhaka. In other words, u Sahadharmin! must have the somo competency as the SAdhaka with whom she performs the rite. Next, it is not for any man at his own undiaciplinod will to embark on a practice of this kind Ho can only do so if adjudged compe- tent by his Guru. A ponton of nn ignorant, irreligious, and lowd disposition ir, properly, iijoompoUmt 'I Lou, it iu oouimoaly thought, that because another 8hnkti w permitted, unlimited promiscuity is allowed. This to of course not ho. It must be admitted that the SbAkta Tautra at least pretends to lie a religious Scripture, and could not as such directly promote immorality in this way. For, under no prctcnco can morality, or Sildhaiul for spiritual advancement, be served by directions for, or tacit permissions of, uncontrolled promiRcuoua sexual intercourse. There may, of course, have been hypocrites wandering around the country and its womon who sought to covor thoir lasciviousness with tho oloak of o protended religion. But this to not SAdhanA but conscious sin. The fruit of SAdhanA is lout by license and the growth of sensuality. The proper rule, I am told, to that the relationship with such a Shakti should be of u permanent SHAKTI AND SHARIA character; it being indeed held that a Shakti who is abandoned by the S&dliaka takes away with liei the latter's merit (Punya). The position of such a Shakti may be described as n wife “in religion" for the Sftdliaka, one who being of his competency (AdhikAra) works with him us Sahadharmini, in the performance of the rituals of their common cult. In all cases, the Shakti must be firs: made lawful according to the rules of the cult, by the performance of the Shaivn sacrament (Shaiva-samskira). From a third party view it may, of couraj, bo said that tho necessity for till this is uot tccn. 1 am not hero concerned with that, but state the rules of the cult as I find it. It is dosirablo, in the inturesw both of the history of religion and of Justice to tho cult described, to state these facts accurately. Kor, it w sound theology, that good faith is inconsistent with sin. Wo cannot call a man iimnoml who is acting according to his lights and in good faith. Amongst a polygamous people such as were tho Jews and an nre tho Hindus, it would be absiu’d to call u man immoral, who in good faith practised that polygamy which wan allowables by tho usago which governed him. Other Hindus might or might not acknow- ledge the status of a BUivu wife. Hut h Blmivn who was bound to a woman in that form would not bo an immoral man. Immorality, in the bohsc in which on individual is made responsible for his actions, exists where what is be- lieved to ho wrong is consciously followod. And so whilst a Tuutrilc acting in good faith and according to his ShILstra in not in this senas immoral, other T&nfcriks who misused the ritual (or their libidinous purposes would be so. So, of course, would also bo thc«o who to-day, without belief in tho Toatra Shuelra, and to satisfy their passions, practised such rituals as run counter to prevalent social morality. Though the genuine TAntrik might be excused, they would not escape the charge. When, however, we are judgmg a religion by the standard of another, which claims to bo higher, tho lower religion may be considered immoral. The distinction is 5 ^ THE PANCHATATTVA commonly overlooked which oxiata between the question whether an individual ia immoral mid whether the teaching nml practice which ho follows is so. We may, with logical consistency, answer the first iu the negative and the second in the affirmative. Nevertheless, we must mention tho exis- tence of same practices which seem difficult to explain and justify, even on the general principles upon which Tftntrik H&dhana proceeds. Peculiar liberties have been allowed to the Siddha Vtras who are said to have taken part in them. Powihly they are non-oriatent to-day. A Siddha Vita, 1 may incidentally oxplain, is a Vira who has become accom- plished (Siddha) by doing tho rito called Pumahclmraiiu of hia Mantra the number of times multiplied by one lakh (100,000) that tho Mantra contains kiltura. A Pandit friend tolls me that the Siddlmmftlanihasya describes a rite (ChffilA- cliakra) in winch tifty Siddha Vfraa go with fifty Shale tia, each mun getting hia eompunion by lot by selecting ouu out of n heap of tho Shakti’a jackets (ChfldA). His Shakti is the woman to whom the jacket belongs. In tho Snclia- fdinkm (I.ovo Chakra), the Siddha Vlrai pair with tho Shaktia nrcording iu* they have a. liking for thun. innnrlnhhuvana- yoga ia another tmknown rite performed with not loss than throe and not more than one hundred and eight ShiJc tia who surround the Vira, JIu unites with one Bhakti (BliogyA ehakti) and touches tho rest. In the Uruft Chakra (Urnft— spider's web) tho Vtros sit in paira tic<I to one another with cloths. A clue to the moaning of these rites may perhaps be found in the fact that they are said to have been performed at the instance, nud &t the cost, of third parties for the attain- ment of some worldly success. Thus the first was done, I am told, by the RitjAs to gain success in battle If this be so they belong rather to tho side of magic than of religion, und uro in uny wine no part of the ordinary S&dhanl to attain the true Biddhi which is spiritual advancement. It may also he that just as in the ordinary ritual BrAJnimnaa axe fed and receive gifts, these Clmkrns were, in port at 583 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA least, held with the same purpose by the class of people who had them performed. It is also to be noted (I report what I am told) that the body of the Shakti in the Chakra is the Yantra. By the union of Vtra and Shakti, who is a form (Akira) of the Devi, direct union is had with the latter who being pleased grants all that is desired of Her. There is thus what is technically called Pratyaksha of DevatA whcroiui in KuraAlt-pfljA and in ShavaaAdhcuiA the Dovf speaks through the mouth of tho virgin or the corpso ro* speotively. 'I he Siddha Virus conuuuuicute with flliiva and ShuJtti in AvadhQtaloka. This question of differing views and practice was noted long ngo by the author of the Dabistan (Vol. 2, pp. 1*4, lot. Ed. 1843) who says that on a learned ShAkta being shown a statement, apparently counselling immorality, in a book abused it, saying that tho Text wu contrary to custom .and that no such thing was to bo found in tho ancient, hooks. Tho Muslim author of tho Dabistan says that there is another class of ShAktus, quite different from those previ- ously alluded to by him, who drink do wine and never have intercourse with the wife of another. I, the more readily here and oUcwhoxc state what is un- favourable to this Sh Astra, us my object is not to “ idoulise” it (n process to which my strong bent towards the cleat and accurate statement of foots is averse) but to doacribo the practice as I find it to bo ; on which statement a just judgment may be foundod. After all men have l>eeii and ore of all kinds high and low, ignorant and wise, bad and good, and just as in the igamas there are differing schools, so it is probable that in tho ShAkta practices themselvw. there arc the same differences. Lastly, the doctrine that the illuminate kuowor of Brahman (Brahmajnanf) is above both good (Dhamia) and evil (Adharma) should be noted. Such an one is a Svech- chhnohfixt whose way is Svechchhnchfira or ‘do an you will”. Similar doctrines and practice in Europe are there 584 THE PANCHATATTVA called Antmomianism. The doctrine is not peculiar to the Tautraa. It is to be found in the Upauiahada,. and is in fact a very commonly held doctrine in India. Here again, aa bo stated and aa understood outside India, it has the appear&noe of being worse than it really is. I { Monistic views arc accept- ed, then theoretically we must admit, that Brahman ia be- yond good and evil, for thesfe are 'terms of relativity applicable to boinga in this world only. Good has uo meaning except in relation to evil and vice veraa. Brahman is beyond ull duali- ty, and a JnAnl who lws beoome Brahman (Jlvanmukta) is also logically no. It is, however, equally obvious that if a man has complete Brahman-consciousness he will not, otherwise than unconsciously, do an aot which if done con- sciously would be wrong. He is a hi^tolhcsi beyond lust, gluttony and all other passions. A theoretical statement of fact, that a Brahmajnlnl is beyond good and *vil it not a statement that ho may will to do, and is permitted to do, evil. Statement* as regards the position of a Jlvanmukta are mere praise or South In SvechokhftohAiu there is theore- tical freedom, but it is not consciously availed of to do what is known to bo wrong without fall and pollution. Svech- chh&chirin! is a name of the Devi, for She does what She pleases sinoo 8ho is the Lord of all. But of others tho Shaktuwnggiuna Tantra (Part IV) saya- Y adyipyaiti to xJcdlajnaitra ilcky&iiaishana-hharnak TathA 'pi lavJiik/kh&ram maivuApi na langhayct. (“Though a man bo a knower of the Three Time*, past, present, and future, and though he be a Controller uf the three worlds, even then he should not transgress the mice of conduct for men in the world, were it only in his mind. ") What these rules of oonduct are the Shfeatra provides. Those who wrote this and similar counsels to be found in the Tantra Shftstras may have prescribed methods of Sftdhanft which will not bo approved, but they were not immoral- minded men. Nor, whatever be tho actual reaulta of their working (and some have been evil) woe their Scripture SHAKTI AND SHAKTA devised with the intention of sanctioning or promoting what they believed to be immoral. They promoted or counte- nanced nomc dangerous practices under certain limitations which they thought to be safeguards. They liave led to abuse as might nave been thought to be probable. Let us now distil from the mass of material to which 1 have only cursorily referred, those principles underlying the practice which are of worth from the standpoint of Indian Monism of which the practice is u remarkable illustration. The three chief physical appetites of man arc eating and drinking whereby his body is sustained, and sexual intercourse whereby it is propagated. Considered in them- selves they are natural and harmless. Monu puts tliib vory clearly when he says, '“There is no wrong (Dosha) in the eating of meat and diiukiug of wine, nor in sexual inter- course, for those arc outural inclinations of men. But abstention thorefrom is productive of great Iruit. ” Hero 1 may interpose and any that the TAntrik method in not a forced abstention but a regulated uao with the right BliAva, that in, Advaitabhlrn or monistic feeling When this in |wr- feotod, natural desires drop away (except so far ns their fulfilment is absolutely necessary for physical existence) ns things which nro otherwise of no account. How w this done ! By transforming PnehubhAvn into VlrabhAva. The Inttcr is the fooling, dinpouition, and character of a Vtru. All tliingn spring from and arc ut base Auanda or Bliss whether it is perceived or not. The latter, therefore, exists in two forms; as Mukti which is Anandaevarupa or transcen- dent, unlimited one, and as Bbukti or limited worldly bliss. TAntrik SAdhauA claims to give l>oth, because the one of dual aspect ia both. The Vim thus knows that JlvAtiuA and Para- mfttmft are onn ; that il is the One Shiva who appears in the form of the multitude of men and who acts, suffers, and en- joys through them. The Shivasvarflpaie Bliss itself (Paromd- nandu). The Bliss of enjoyment (Bbog&navda) is one and the same Bliss manifesting it«lf through the limiting forms 586 THE PANCHATATTVA of mirnl and matter. Who is it who then enjoys and what. Bliss is thus manifested ! It in Shiva in the forms of olio Uni verse (VisdivurQp*) who eujuya, and the manifested bliss is a limited form of that Supreme Bliss which in His ultimate nature He is. In his physical functions the Vlru identifies himself with the collectivity of all functions which constitute the universal life. He is then consciously Shiva in the form of his own and all other lives. As Shiva exist* both in His Bvarflpa and as the world ( Vishvartpa), ho union may, and should, he had with Him in both aspects. These are known uh SQkahma and Sthfila Rftmnmsya respectively. The S&dhakn is taught, not to think that we are one with the Divino in Liberation only, but hero and now, in every oot we do. For in truth nil suoh is Slmkti. It ie Shiva who an Shakti ie acting in and through the HAdlinka. 80 though, according to the Vaidili injunctions, there is no eating or drinking before worship, it u mud in the Shflktn T antra that he who worships KlUikA when hungry and thirsty lingers 1 lor. 'I hose who worship a God who is other than their own Essential Self may think to please H im by such nets, but to the Slilldn, Rhiva and .Tfva are one and the mme. Why then should one givo pain to diva t Tt wn», I think, Professor Poyoo who suid, borrowing (though probably unconsciously) nn essential T&ntrik idea, tlmt Cod Butler* and oujoya t'n and an and through man This ie so. Though the Brahma svnrfljm i» nothing but the perfect, actionlesB Bliss, yet it is alas the one Brnlimon who an Jlva suffers and enjoys ; for there is none other. When this is realised in every natural function, then, each exercise thereof coasts to be a mero animal act and becomes a religious rite- a Yajna. Every function is a |hu'L of the Divine Action (Shnkt.il in Nature. 1 bus, when talcing drink in the form of wine die Vtra knows it to ho TArft Drnvainayt, that is, "the Saviour Herself in liquid form”. How (it is said) can he who truly aces in it. the Saviour Mother roooivo from it harm '? Meditating ou Kundolinl as pervading his body 5«7 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA to t-ho tip of his tongue, thinking himself to be Light which is also the Light of tho wine he takes, he ttys, “I am She”, (S& ’hum) ‘‘I am .Brahman", “I Myself offer offering (Ahuti) to the Self, Bvihi. " When, therefore, the Vfra eate, drinks or luta sexual intercourse he docs so not with the thought of himself as u separate individual satisfying his own peculiar limited wants ; an annual filching as it were from nature the enjoyment ho has, but thinki ng of himself in such enjoyment as Shiva, saying “Skivo’ham,” “Bhaira vo’harn”. Right sexual union may, if associated with meditation and ritual, be tho moans of spiritual advance; though poreona who tako a vulgar and animal view of this function will not readily understand it. The function is thereby ouuobled and receives a new significance. Tho dualintdo notions entertained, by both some Easterns and Westerns, that the "dignity" of worship is necessarily offended by association with natural function is erroneous. As Toitullian says, the Eucharist was usLablishud at a meal. (As to sacramental meals and "Feeding on the Owls", nee Dr. Angus’ "Tho Mystery Religions and Christianity", p. 127.) Doeire is often an enemy but it may bo made an ally. A right method doos not oxcludo tho body, for it is DovatA. It is a phase of Spirit uud belongs to, uud is an expression of, tho Power of the Self. The Universe was created by and with Bliss. That same Bliss manifests, though faintly, in the bodies of men and women in union. At such time tho ignorant Poshu iB intent on the satisfaction of his passion only, but KulasOdhaktis then meditate on the YogAnanda Mflrti of Shiva-Shakti snd do Jupa of their lahtamantra thus making them, in the words of the KAlikulaanrvaava, like buiIohs Shuka. If tho union bo legitimate what, 1 may ask, is wrong in this ? On the contrary tho physical function is ennobled and divinised. An act. which is legitimate docs not become illegitimate because it ts made a part of worship (UpAaanft). This is Virabh&va. An English writer has aptly spoken of “the profound pagan instinct to glorify the THE PANCH ATATTVA generative impulse with roligioirs ritual" (Times Lit. Sup., 1 1-0-1025). The ShAkte is a developed and typical case. The notions of the Puohu arc in varying degrees the reverse of all this. If of the lowest type, ho only knows himself as a separate entity who enjoys. Some more sophisticated, yet in truth ignorant, enjoy and arc ashamed ; and thus think it unseemly to implicate God in the supposed cairioneaa of His handiwork as physical function. Some again, who arc higher, regard theac functions us an acceptable gift of God to them as lowly i-r*ntuivn who enjoy nnd are separate from Him. The Vaidika* took enjoyment to bo the fruit of the nacritlco and tho gift of the Dovae. Others who urc jot higher ofTer all that they do U> tho Ono Lord. Thin dualintio worship is embodied in tho command of tho GltA, " Tal marlarjxmum kurv«hvo." "Do all this us uu offering to Me." What is “all” ? Dow it mean all nr some particular thinga only f But tho highest SAdhanA from tho Monistic standpoint, and which in its AdvuitabhAva differs from nil others, is that of tho Shftkta Tant.ro which proclaims that tho SAdlihkn us Shiva and tlmt it is Shiva who in the form of tho SAdhnka onjoya So much for the principle involved to which, whether it he accepted or not, cannot bo truly denied nobility and grandour. The application of tlue principle is of greatly loss interest and importance. To certain of such ritual applications may bo assigned tho chargee commonly made against, tlus ShAstra, though without, accurate knowledge and discrimi- nation. It was the practice of an ago tho character of which was not that of our own. The particular shape which tho ritual has taken is duo, I think, to historical causes. Though the history of the Agamos is still obscure, it is possible that this Panchatattva-Karma is in substance a continuation, in ultcred form, of the old Vaidik usage in which eating and drinking were a port of tho sacrifice (Yajna), though any extra-ritual drinking called “useless" (VrithAp&na) or Pashu 589 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA drinking (Puahupdna) in which tho Western (mostly a hostile critic of the Tuntra fthflatra) ao largely indulges, in a great sin. The influence, however, of the original Buddhiam and Jainism were against the consumption of meat and wine ; on influence which perhaps continued to operate on post- Buddhistic Hinduism up to the present day, except among certain followers of the Agamas who claimed to represent the earlier traditions ami usages, I say “certain,” because (an T have mentioned) far the Paulin them are substitutes for wino and meat and ao forth ; und for tho Divyn tho Tattvua are not material things but Yoga processes. I have shown the aimilnritiea between tlie Vaidik and TfLntrik ritual in ray paper on "Shaktl and ShAkta" to which I refer. If this suggestion of mine be correct, wliilst tho importance and prevalence of the ancient ritual will diminish with tho passage of time and the changes in religion which it effects, the principle will always retain its inhereut value for the followers of the Advaita Vedlntn. It is capable of application according to tho modoni spirit without recourse to Chakras and tboir ritual details in the ordinary daily lifo of tho householder witliiu tho bounds of hia Dlianna- aliAstn. Nevertheless the ritual ha* existed and still exist*, though at the present day often in a form free from tho objections which me raised against certain ancient liberties of praotioe which led to abuse. It is necessary, therefore, both for the purpose of accuracy and of o just criticism of its present adherents, to consider tho intuition with which the ritual was proscribed and tho nwdt in which that intention wan given effect to. It is not the foot, a* commonly alleged , thut. the intention of the ShfW.ra was to prumote and foster any form of sensual indulgence. If it was, then, the Tantros would not be a RhiUtra at all whatever else they might con- tain ShAstra, os I have previously said, comes from tho root “Shits” to control , that is, ShAstra exists to control men within the bounds set by Dharma. The intention of THE PANCHATATTVA this ritual, when rightly understood, ifl, on the contrary, to regulate natural appetite, to curb it, to lift it from the trough of mere animality ; and by aeeuciuUng it with religious worship, to efiect a passage from the state of desire of the ignorant Pashu to the completed Pivyabhfiva in which there is darirclosanew. It is another instance of the general principle to which I have referred that man must be led from the gross to the subtle. A BAdhaka onco well explained the matter to me thus: Let ua suppose, he aakl. that man’s body is a vessel filled with oil which is the passion*. If you simply empty it and do nothing more, freoh oil will take ite place issuing from the Source of Desire which you have loft uudestroyed. If, however, into the vessel there ia dropped by alow degrees the Water of Knowledge (JnAua), it will, as being heavier than oil, descend to the bottom of tho vessel and will then expel an equal quantity of oil. In thin wuy oil tho oil of passion ia gradually expelled and no more can re-enter, for tho water of Jnina will then have wholly token it* place. Horn again the general principle of tlio mothod is good. As the Latins said, "If you attempt to expel nature with n pitchfork it will ooino back again." You must infuse something else ns a mediooraont against tho ills which follow the natural tendency of desire to exceed tho limits which Pharma Beta. The TAntrik Pandit J oganmolmna TarkAlankftrn In Ida valuable notes appended to the commentary on the Mulit- nirv&na Tnntro of Harihar&naiulu BhArnfcl, the Guru of the celebrated “Reformer" H&jl Ham Mohan Roy (Ed. of K. G. Bhokta, 1RRR), says, " Let. us consider what most contribute* to tho fall of a men, making him forget his duty, rink into sin and die un early doath. Firet among there are wine and woman, fish, meal, Mudri and accessories. By these things man have lost their munhood. Shiva '.hen doairoa to omploy these very poisons in order to eradicate tho poison in the human system. Poiaon is the antidote for poison. Tina ia the right treatment for those who long for drink or lust for 59i SHAKTI AND SHAKTA women. The physician must, however, l>e an experienced one. If there be a mistake as to the application the patient is likely to die. Shiva has said that the way of Kul&chhra is as difficult hh it is to walk on the edge of a sword or to hold a wild tiger. There in a secret argument in favour of the Panchatattva, and those Tattvas bo understood should bo followed by all. None, however, but the initiate can grasp this argument, and therefore Shiva has directed that it should not bo rovoaled boforo anybody uud ovorybody. An initiate when he sees a woman will worship her as his own mother and Goddess (IshtadavatA) and bow before her. The Vishnu Purina nays that by feeding your desires you cannot satisfy them. It is like pouring ghee on fire. T hough this is truo, on experienced spiritual teacher (Gum) will know how, by the application of this poisonous modicino, to kill the poison of the world (Sam*Jlra). Shiva has, how- over, prohibited the icdiacriminitc publication of this. The object of Tintpk worship in HrahmnaAyujyu or union with Krnhmau. If that is nut attained nothing in attained. And with men’s propensities as they are, this can only be attained through the special treatment proscribed by the Tantras. If this is not followed, then the sensual propensities uro not eradicated and the work is, for the desired end of Tnntra, k* useless ns harmful magic (Abhichflua) which, worked by such a man, loads only to the injury of himself and othom. " The passage cited refer# to tho nocoasity for the spiritual direction of the Guru. To the want of bucIi is accredited tho abuse of the system. When tho patient, (aiiishyn) and the disease are working together, there ia poor hope for the former : but when tho patient, the disease and the physician aro on one, and that tho wrong side, then nothing can save him from a descent in that downward path which it ie the object of Shdharft to prevent. All Hindu oehoola seek the suppression of mere animal worldly dcairc. What is peculiar to tho K aulas is the particular method employed for the transformation of desire. 592 THE PANCHATATTVA The Kulimnva i'antra gays that man must be taught to rise by the means of those very things which are the cause of his fall. “ As one falls on the ground, one must lift one- self by aid of the ground. ” So also the Buddhist BubhAaita Sangraha says that a thorn is used to pick out a thorn. Properly applied the method is a sound one. Man falls through the natural functions of drinking, eating, and RexuaJ intercourse. If these are done with the feeling (BhAva) and under the conditions proscribed, then they become (it is tough t) the instruments of his uplift to a point at which such ritual is no longer necessary and ir» aurpeseed. In the tirat edition of the work, I spoke of Antinomiau Doctrine and Practice, and of some ShAkta theories and rituals which have been supposed to be instances of it This word, however, requires explanation, or it may (I have sinee thought) lead to error in the present connection. There is alwnys danger in applying Western terms to facts of Eastern lifo. Antinomiar.iam is the name for heretical theories and practices which havo arisen in Christian Europe. In abort, the term, ai goneruily understood, has a meaning in refer- ence to Christianity, namely, contrary or opposed to I/aw, which here ia the Judaic law as adopted and modified by that religion. The Antinomiau, far varying reasons, oon- siderod himself not bound by the ordinary laws of conduct. It ia not always possible to state with certainty whether any particular sect or person alleged to be Antinomiau woe in fact ouch, for one of tho commonest charges made against sects by their opponents is that of immorality. We are rightly warned against placing implicit reliance on tho accounts of adversaries. Thus charges of nocturnal orgies were made against the early Christians, and by Jhe latter against those whom they regarded as heretical dis- sidents. such as Manidueans, Montanints, Pri&rilliamete and others, and against most of tho medieval sects such as tho Cathari, Wuldensaa and Frsoticdli. Nor can we be always curtain as to the nature of the theories held by porsona 593 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA flai«l to l:o Antinomian, for in a largo number of cases we have only the accounts of orthodox opponents. Similarly, hitherto every account of the Sh&kta Tantra was given by persons both ignorant of, and hostile to it. In some cans it would seem (I speak of the West) that Matter was held in contempt as the evil product of the Demiurge. In others Antinomian doctrine and practice won based on “Pan theism”. Tho latter in the West hae always hod as one of ite tendencies a leaning towards, ox adoption of Autinomianism, Mystics in their identification with God supposed that upon their oonacious union with Him they were exempt from the rules governing ordinary men. The law was spiritualized into the one precept of the Love of God which ripened into a conscious union with Him, one with man's essence. This was deemed to be a unless state, Thu* Amuliic of Bona (d. 1204) is reputed to have said that to t'noao constituted in lovo no mn is imputed (Diieral ttiam t/uod in oharitate cxmUx- t nullum peccatum mjAUabatur). Bis followers are alleged to havo maintained that harlotry and other carnal vicoa are not sinful for the Hpiritual man, because the spirit in him, which w God. is not affected by the flesh nnd can- not sin, and because the man who is nothing cannot sin so long na tho Spirit which is God is in him In other words, sin in a term relative to man who may be virtuous or sinful. But in that state beyond duty, which is identification with the Divine Essence, which at root man is, there is no question of sin. The body at no time sins. It is the state of mind which constitutes sin, and that state is only possible for a mind with a human and Dot divine consciousness. Joliunn Hartmann is reputed to liavc said that ho had become com- pletely one with God ; that a man free in spirit is impec- cable and can do whatever he will, or in Indian parlance he is Svechchbdch&ri. (See Dollingcr’a Beitidgo zur Sektenge- achichte des Mittelalter’s ii. 384.) This type of Antinomi- anism is said to have been widespread daring the later middle ageB and was perpetuated in some of the parties of THE PANCHATATTVA the to-called Reformation. Other notions leading lo similar results were based on Quietistic and Calviniatic tenets in which the humun will was so subordinated to the Divine will as to lose its freedom. Thns (jomar (A.I). 1041) main- tained that “Bins tako place, God procuring mid Himself willing that they take place". God was thus made the author of ain. It has been alleged that the Jesuit casuists were "constructively antinomian" because of their doctrines of philosophical sic, direction of attention, mental reser- vation, and prubabilism. But this is not w, whatever may be thought of such doctrines. For here there wua no question of opposition to the law of morality, but theories touching tho question "in what that law consisted” and whether any particular act was in fact a violation of it. Ihey did not teach thnt the law conld in any caae be violated, but dealt with tho question whether any particular net wai such a violation. Antmomiiumm of several kinds and based on varying grounds luu been charged against tho MoniclucanB, the’ Gnostics generally, Cainitos, Carpocratss, Kpiphanes, Meusdiaus (with their promiscuous sleeping together of men and women), Adamites, Bogomilos, lollowers of Amalric of Bonn, Brethren of the Free Spirit, Beghards, FratriccUi, Johann Hartmann ("a man free in spirit is impeccable"); the pantheistic ‘'Libertines" and " Fairiliste” and Huntore of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries {"Nothing is gin but what a man thinks to ho so" ; "God ocea no pin in him who knowB himself to be in a state of grace" ; see Gatn- kcr’s 'Antinomianism Hiacovered and Refuted’, A.D. 1032 and we Rufus Jones’ " Studies in Mystical Religion Ch. XIX), the Alurnbradofl or Spanish Illuminate (Prabuddha) Mystks of the Sixteenth Oautury ; Magdalena de Grace d’Aguilar and other* (Mendes y I'elayo— "Historic dc Ice Heterodoxos Espanolee") whose teachings according to Malvasia (Cata- logus omnium hneieninm ct conciliorum) contained the following propoeitioD, “A perfect man cannot oin ; even an act which outwardly regarded must be locked upon us 595 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA vicious cannot contuuunate the soul which live* iu mystical union with God." “The Holy and Sinless Baptists" held that the elect could not sin, an antinomian doctrine which has often appeared in the history of theological -ethical specu- lation to the effect that the believer might do what he liked, since if he sinned, it affected the body only, with which his auul had no more to do than with any of the other things of this world (Belfort Bax Anabaptists 36). The Frw Brother* held that for the rebaptized, ain wag impossible aa no bodily act could affect the soul of the believer. Women did not sin who went with Brethren because there was n spiritual bond between them (ib. t 38). Kessler alleges tliat the Votaries practised sensuality on the plea that their souls were dead to tho flesh and that all the flesh did wm by the will of God {il., 62). The Aluiubrada Kranciac* Garcia is alleged to have said that her sexual CEOseua were in obedi- ence to the voice of God and that "carnal indulgence was embracing God" (l.oa's Inquisition in Hpain, 111. 62). Similar doctrines are allegod of the French Illuming called (Juori- nete of tho Seventeenth Century i the German " Theoso- phers” of Schonliea : Eva Von ButUer : the Muckers of the Eighteenth C'entuTy ; some modem Russian seels (Taalcui '* Ln Russie SectBire") and others. Whilst it is to be remem- bered that in these and other cobjb we mult receive with caution the accounts given by opponents, there is no doubt that Anlinomianistn, SvechrhhAchftra and the like is a woll- known phenomenon in religious history often wsxiatcd with so-called " Pantheistic " doctrines The Antinomian doctrines of the Italian nuns. Spighi and Buonaroici, recorded by Bishop Scipio de Rioci " 1'ucmo t rtuto Metro y nca«ino lu puo legate nelio iprito : ” "man is bom free and none can chain his free Spirit are here dealt with in more detail, for the writer Edward Sellon ("Annotations on the writings of the Hindus”) thought that he had found in the last cited case an instance of “Tftntrik doctrine” in the convents of Italy in the Eighteenth Century. I will give some reasons. 596 THE PANCHAT ATTV A which refute his view, the more particularly because they are contained in a very rare work, namely, the first edition of De Potter's “ Vio de Scipion de Ricci livequs do Piatoie et Prato", published at Brussels in 1826, and largely with- drawn at the instance of the Papal Court. The second edition is, I believe, muob expurgated. Receiving report of abuses in the Dominican convent of 8t Catherine de Prato, the Bishop of Pintoia and Prato made an inquisi- tion intd the conduct of the nuns, and in particular au to the teaching end practice of their leaders, the 8 is tar Buumunici, formerly Prioiwa and after wokIs novice-mistress, and tlie Bister 8pighi, assistant novice-mistxcfie. Do Potter's work contains the original interrogatories, in ltaLac ( 1 . 881 ) in the writing of 'Abbe Laurent l'alli’, Vicar-Kpijcopal at Prato, token in 1781 and kept in tho archives of the Ricci family. The Teaching of the two Bisters 1 surnmam* ns follows "flod" (I. 413, 418) “is a first principle { Prmo principio) who is u collectivity (in Sanskrit Sama.ifili) of all men and thingn (un conpl otto cl* tuUi le cose anti di tuUo ii genera uttuino), Tho univerwl Master or God ia Nature (ct o if nvuMro, ohe e Iddxo cow la n alum). At God is the totality of tho univeim und is uulhing but Nature we all participate in tho Divine Essence (Quetto Dio non c aUro olio la Satwa, Noi iwdesimi per questa ragione participiamo in quakhe minimi deU’esser divtno), Man's eoul is s mortal thing consisting of Memory, Intelligence nnd Will, It dies with tho body disappearing aa might a mist. Man ia froe and therefore nouo can enchain his free spirit (I. 428). The only Heaven and Hell which axisle is the Heaven and Hell in this world. There is none other. After death there is neither pleasure nor suficring. The Spirit, being free, it is the intention which renders an act bad. It is sufficient (I. 460) to elevate tho spirit to God and then no action, whatever it be, is sin (Rssendo U nostro gpirifo libro, I’mUn ziont. e jutUo gut vends eattiva Variant. BasUx dunque coda mtntc clomrsi a Die petche qualeixeglia aciane non iia pecailo). 597 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA There is no nin. Certain (impure) acta are not sin provided that the spirit ia always elevated to God. Love of God and oub's neighbour is the whole of the commandment*. Man (I. 468) who unites with God by means of woman satisfies both commandments. So also docs ho who, lifting his spirit to God, has enjoyment with a person of the same sex or alone (Usoiamo con alcuno d’cqual sesso o da se toli). To be united with God is to be united as man and woman. The eternal life (I. 41R) of the soul and Paradise in this world is the Iran substantiation (or it may bo transfusion) which takes pkco whan man ia united with woman {Depone credere (fueiUa vita ctenui deU’anima ttsen la -truneuetansiaaione (forte transfiuione) neli' unite i c he fa Vumo con (a donna). Marie Clodesindo Spighi having stated that Paradise consist- ed in the fruition in this world of the Enjoyment of God (fa fruixione di Dio) was asked "How is this attained 1" Her reply was, by that act by which one unites oneself with God. "How again", Hhe was questioned, "is this union affected?” To which the answer was “by ooop« ration of mon und woman in which I reoogniso Cod Himoelf." I. 428. (Medianle I’uomo nel quale ci rwonoaco Iddio.) Everything wan permissible becnuac man vvns free, though sots might obey the law enjoyed for the general governance of tho world. Mon. she said, (J. 4‘JO) can bo saved in all religions (in tuVi le religion* ci potnamo saltan). In doing that which we erroneously call impure is real purity ordained by God, without which man cannot arrive at a knowledge of Him who is the truth (e esenilando moneamente queUo che diciamo inpurila era la vcm ptirila : qusUa iddio ci comanda e virolc run pratickiamo, e aonaa dcla quale non vi e nKtnicra di trvvarc Iddio, c/tce tvrifa). “'Where did you get ull this doctrine i” The sister said "I guthered it from my natural inclinations ” (L'/io rictvulo dull indiwizione della naluni). Whilst it will not be necessary to tell the moat ignorant Indian that the above doctrines are not Christian teaching, 598 THE PANCHATATTVA it ia neoesaary (as Sellon’e remark 3howa) to inform the Eagliah reader that this pantheistic libertinism is not “TAatrik". This imperfect charge is due to the author’s knowledge of the principles of Kaula S&dhanft. I will not describe all the obscene and perverse acta which these " Religious" practised. It is auflioient that the reader should throw bis eye baok a few lines and nee that their teaching justified sodomy, lesbianism and masturbation, aina as abhorrent to the Tantra ShAstra as any other. Owing, how ever, to ignorance or prejudice, everything is called "Tin- trik” into which woman enters uud in which sexual union takes on a religious or so-called religious character or com- plexion. The Shtatra, on the contrary, teaches that there is a God who tranKsnda Nature, that Dharma or morality governs all men, that there is sin and that the acts here referred to are impurities lending to Hell ; for there is (it says) both suffering and onjoymant not only in this but in an after-life. It was apparently enough for Edward Sollou to adjudge the theories and practioe# to he Tin trik, that these women preaohed the doctrine of intention and of sexual union with the fooling or BnAva (to uso a Sanskrit term) that man and woman were parts of the one Divine essonco. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing, and this ia nn instance of it. Thane corrupt theories are merely tho “religious” and " philosophical” basis ^or a lifo of unrestrained libertinism whioh the Tantra ShAetra con- demua a* emphatically aa any other Scripture. The object of the T An trik ritual is to forward the morality of the senses by converting mere animal functions into acts of worship. The Scripture says in effect, " Just os you offer flowers, incense and bo forth to the Devatfl. in the Rftjaaik worship let these physical functions take their place, remembering that it is Shiva who is working in und through you.” Tho doctrine of the Brethren of the Free Spirit (Delacroix "Le Mysticiamo speculate en Allemagne au quatoriifime sicclo) »o far as it was probably really held, has, in points, reeemblana to some 599 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA of the TAntrik an<l indeed Aupanishadic teachings, for they both hold in common certain general principles to which 1 will refer (see also Progei’a "Geshichte der Deutachcn Mystik iiu Mittelalter”). Other doctrines and practices with which they have been charged are wholly hostile to the Sldlkta Danhana and S&dhonA. Amalrio of Bella, a dis- ciple of Scotus Erigana, held that God is all, both creature and creator, and the Essence of all which is. The soul which attains to Him by contemplation hseomes God Himaolf. It was oh urged against him that man could act in tho manner of God’s action and do what he pleased without falling into sin. Tho doctrine that the BralimajnAnf is above good and evil ip bo generally misunderstood that it is probable that, whatever muy have beeu tho cane with some of his disciples, tho charges made against the master himself on this point are false. It has boon well said that one is prompt to aocuse of immorality any one who plaoce himself beyond tradi- tional morality. As regards the Brethren of the Kreo Spirit also, this alleged dootrino comes to us from the mouths of their adversaries. 1 hoy are mid to havo hold that thoro were two religion*, one for the ignorunt (NAdha), the other for the illuminate (Prabuddhu), the firat being the traditional religion of tho letter and ritual observance, and the other of freedom ond spirituality. '1 he soul is of the same substance as God (identity of Jivatmft and TaramAtanA). When this is realized men is deified. Then he is (as BrahmajnAni) above all law (Dhorma). Tho ordinary rules of morality bind only those who do not see beyond them, ond who do not realise in themselves that Power which i* superior to all thcac laws. United with God (Anma dec unite) man enjoys a bleated freedom, lie sees the inanity of prayers, of fast*, of all those supplications which can do nothing to change tho order of nature. He is one with the Spirit of all. Free of tho law ho follows his own will (SvechcbhAchirl). What the vulgar call “sin”, he can commit without soiling himself. There is a distinction between the act which is called sinful THfc PANCHATATTVA and aiu. No tiling is aic but what the doer take* to fce such. The body does not sin. It is the intention with which an act in done which constitutes sin. “The angel would not have fallen if what he did had been done with a good inten- tion" (Quod on gtku non cecidis&l si bona intentions Jecissit quod fecit). Man becomes (Jod in all the powers of hia being including tho ultimate elements of Mb body. Therefore, wisdom lies not in renunciation, but in enjoyment and the satisfaction of his desires. The tormenting and insatiable paaelon for woman ia a form of the creative Bpontanooua principle. The worth of instinct renders noble the eola of the flesh, and he who in united in spirit with God can with impunity fulfil the sensual dedrea of the body (item quod unitus deo audacter postil explore litndimn eamu). T here in no more nin in sexual union without marriage than within it a«d no forth. With the historian of this fleet ard with our lrnowledgo of the degree to whioh pantheistic doctrinen are misunderstood, wo may reasonably doubt, whether these uocuiutious of thoir anemia* ropreaont in all particulars their true teaching. It acems, howover, to have been hold by those who have dealt with this question that the pantheistic doctrine of the Brethren led to comi!unioun contrary lo the common morality. It is also highly probable that some at least of the oxoewee condemned wore tho work of false brethren, who find- ing in the doctrine a convenient excuse fox, and an encour- agement of their liceDtioiuneu, sheltered themselves behind He alleged authority. Ab this remark of Dr. Delacroix suggests, one must judge a doctrine (and we may instance that of tho SbAktae) by what its einooro adhorents hold and do, and not by the practices of impoetore who always hio to sects which floem to hold theories offering opportunities for libertinism. One may here recall Milton who saya with insight "That sort of men who follow Antinomianiam and other fanatic dreams bo such most commonly as are by nature gift- ed to religion, of life oIbo not debauched and that their opini- ons having full swing do end in satisfaction of the flesh." SHAKTI AND SHAKTA Whilst there is a similarity on some points between Kaula teacliiug and some of the Western pantheistic theories above alluded to, in others the two are manifestly and diametrically opposed. There are some who talk as if intellectual and moral aberrations were peculiar to India. No country is without them, but the West, owing to its chaos of thought and morals, has exhibited the worst. With the exception of the atheiatic ChftrvAkaa and Loknyatas no met in Tndia haa taught the pursuit of sensual enjoyment for its own ookc, or justified tho oommisaion of any and ovory (evon unnatural) sin. To do so would be to run counter to ideas whioh arc those of tho whole intellectual and moral Cosmos of India. These ideas include those of a La\y (I)harma) inherent in the nature ol all being ; of am ns its infraction, and ol tho punishment of sin ua bad Karma m this and tho next wotW (Poraloka). It is believed and taught that tho end of man is lasting happiness, but that this is not to be had by the satisfaction of worldly desires. In- dsod tho Kaula teaches that Liberation (Moksha) oannot bo had eo long aa n man has any worldly desires whether good or bad. Whilst, however, thor© is on eternal Dhermn (Sanatoria Dhaiina), onu and tho sniiiu for all, Lkuro ant uImi particular forms of Dhiirnu governing particular bodies of men. It is thus a gonoral rule that o man should not un- lawfully satisfy hia sexual desires But the conditions under which he may lawfully do so have varied in every form and degree in times and plaoes. In tbia sense, as the Sarvolliisa says, marriage is a conventional (I’llribhilshiku) thing. The convention which in binding on the individual must yet be followed, that being hia Dharuia, Sin again, it is taught, consists in intention, not in a physioal aot divorced therefrom. Were this otherwise, then it is mud that the child which, when issuing from the mother’s body, touches her Yoni would be guilty of the heinouB o lienee called Guru-talpaga. The doctrine, of a singlo aot with differing intentions is illustrated by the T&ntrik maxim, ‘‘A wife is kissed with THE PANCHATATTVA one feeling, & daughter's face with another" (Bhdxx tk» chumbiid k&nld bhdvena duhvAmtam). In the words of the SarvolUsa, a man who goes with u woman, in the belief that by commission of such act ho will go to Hell, will of a surety go thither. On the other hand it may be said that if an act is really lawful but is done in the belief that it is un- lawful and with the deliberate intention of doing what is unlawful, there ia subjective ain. The intention of the ShAstra in not to unlawfully satisfy carnal desire in the way of oating and drinlcing and so forth, but that man should unite with Shiva-Bhakti ir. worldly enjoyment (DhautnA- nauda) as a stop towards the supreme enjoyment (Para- mAnanda) of Liberation. In so doing he must follow the I) liar uia prescribed by Shiva It is true that there are different observances for tho illuminate, for thoso whoso power (Shakti) is awako (Piabuddha) and for the rest. But the BldhanA of these laat is ns necessary ss the first and a stepping stone to it Tho Kaula dootrino and practios may, from a WosUrx) standpoint, ouly ho called Anlmoxuian, in the sense that it holds, in common with the Upanishnds, that tho BrnhmnjnAni is above both good (Dhurina) and evil (AUhanna), and in the sense that some of these practices aro contrary to what the general body of Hindu worshippers consider to be lawful. Thus ShAkta Darehana is said by some to be A7uidika. It is, howevor, beat to leave to the West ite own labels and to state the caao of tho But in its own terrm. After all, when everything unfavourable has boon arid, the abuses of so mo Tftutrike are not to be compared cither in nature or extent with those of the Wool with ite widespread Bordid prostitution, its drunkenness and gluttony, ite sexual perversities and ite so-called pathological but truly demonia- cal enormities. To take a specific example Is the dnnkiug of wine, by a limited number of V Am Act Art TSntriks in the whole of this country to be compared with (say) the con- sumption of whisky in the single ritv of Calcutta ? Is SHAKTI AND SHAKTA this whisky drinking less worthy of condemnation because it is Puahupina or done for the satisfaction of oemuul uppetlle alone ? The doalistic notion tliat the "dignity" of religion ia impaired by association with natural function is erroneous. The well-known English writer, Sir Conan Doyle, doubtless referring to these ond other wrongs, has expressed the opinion that during the then last quarter of a ceu- tury we Westerns have been living in what (with some few ameliorating {sutures) is the wickedest epoch in the world's history. However this may be, if our own great sins woro here know, the abuses, real and alleged, of TUntnkn would be seen in better proportion. Moreover an effective reply would be to hand against those who am always harping on Devadlita and other sensualities (supposed or real) of, or, connected with, Indian worship. India’s general present record for temperance and sexual control is better than that of the West It is no doubt a just observation that abuse# committed under the supposed sanction of religion are worn than wrongs done with the sense that they are wrong. That thoro havo boon hypocrites covering tho satisfaction of their appetites with tlio cloak of religion io likely. But ail B&dhakas are not hypocrites, and nil cases do not show abuse. I cannot, therefore, help thinking that this oonstanl insistence on one particular feature of tho Bhftstra, together with ignorance both of the particular rites, and neglect and ignorance of all else in the Againa Scripture is simply part of the general polemic carried on in some quarters against the Indian religion. The Tantra ShAtrtra is doubtJew thought to be a very useful heavy gun And is therefore con- stantly fired in the attack. There may he somo who will not readily believe that tho weapon is not us formid- able as was thought. All tills is not to say that there have not been abuses, or that some forms of rite will uot be con- sidered repugnant, and in fact open to objection founded on the interests of society at large. All this again is not to say that 1 counsel the acceptance of any theories or practice, 604 THE PANCHATATTVA not justified by the ovolvod morality of the day. According to the Shlatra itself, some of these methods, even if carried out as directed, have their dangers. This is obvious in the actions oi a lower class of men, whose conduct has made tho 8criptore notorious. The ordinary man will then ask “ Why then court danger when there is enough of it in ordinary life ? ” I may here recall an observation of the Emperor Akbnr which, though not made with regard to the matter in hand, is yet well in point. Ho eaid, "I huvo never known of a man who was lost on a straight rood." Tt in necessary for me to so guard myself because those who oonnot judge with detachment arc prone to think that other* who deal fairly and dispassionately with any Uoctrino or practice ure necessarily its adherents and the counsellor* of it to others. My own view is this —Probably on tho whole it would !>©, in general, better if men took neither Alcohol in the form of Spirits or Meat, purtioularly the latter, which is the source of much disease. Though it is Mid that killing for sacrifice iB no “killing", it can hardly be denied that total abstention from slaughter of animals constitutes a more complete conformity with AhiroiA or doctrine of non-injury to any being. Moreover, at a cer- tain stage ment-oating is repugnant. A fooling of this kind is growing in tho West, where even tho Meat- cater, impelled by disgust and a rising rogsrd for decency, hide* away tho slaughter houses producing the meat which he openly displays at his table. In the same way, sexual errors are common to day. Whatever license any person may allow himself in this matter, few if any will claim it for others and foster their viooa. Nor was this the intention of the Sh&stra. It is well-known, however, that much of what poooflB for religious sentiment is connected with sex instinct even if religions lifo is not a mere " irradiation of tho reproduc- tive instinct" (see “Religion and Sex", Cohen). SHAKTI AND SHAKTA I understand tlic basis on which thcec Tnntrilc practice real. Thus what seems repellent in sought to be justified on the ground that the Sftdhaka should be above all likes and dislikes, and should sco Brahman in all things. But the Western critic will say that we must judge practice from the practical standpoint. It was this consideration which wan at the back of the statement of Professor de la Vallec Pauflrine (Boudhiam. Etudes et Materia ux) that there is in this country what Taine called a ‘reasoning madness' which makes the Hindu stick at no oondunion howover attuiige, willingly accepting oven the absurd. (11 y rci/nc da V oriyinr ct que Taine ajrpcUc la folic raiionnnfe. LfH Hindous now volontiers jusqud I'abturde). This may be too strongly put; but the saying contains this truth that the Indian temperament is an absolutist one. But such a temperament, if it has ita fascinating grandeur, also carries with it the defects of ita qualities ; namely, dangers from which those, who make a compromise between life and reason, are free The answer again is, that some of the doctrines and practices here dcscribod wore never meant for the general body of men. After all, as I have elsewhere said, the question uf this particular ritual practice is largely of historical interest only. Such practice to-day is, under the influences of tho time, being transformed, whore it is not altogether disappearing, with other ritual customs of a post age. Apart from my desire to clear away, so far as is rightly possible, charges which have Inin heavily on this country, I am only interested hero to show firstly that the practice is not a modern in- vention but seems to be a continuation in another form of ancient Vaidik usage ; seoondly that it claims, like the reet of the ritual with which I have dealt, to be an application of tho Advaitavftda of the Upaniahads , and lastly that (putting aside things generally repugnant and extremist practices which have led to abuse) a great principle is involved which may find legitimate and ennobling application in all daily bod THE PANC HATATTVA ucw of physical function within the bounds of man’s ordinary Dharma. Thojo who bo practise this principle may become the true Vlra who hue been said to be not the man of great physical or sexual strength, tho great fighter, eater, drinker, or the like, but Jitendriydh yti’jax&di nity&nmhth&iui tatparah K &m&d\-valid&na9hcha na vita Hi giynle. " He is a Hero who has controlled his senses, and is a speaker of truth ; who is ever engaged in worship and has sacrificed lust and all other passions." The attainment of these qualities is the aim, whatever is said of some of the means, of all nunh Tkntrik RhdhanA. 607 (itAPTHIt XXVIII. MAT AM RUTRA. (Thr Right and Wrong In'itirphetatiqn.) TN oonneotion with tko doctrine and SfclhanA juet doecrib- A ed it is apposite to cite the following legend from Tibet, which shown how, according to its Sddhakas, it may bo either rightly or wrongly interpreted, and how, in the latter case, it leads to terribla evils and their punishment. Guru I’adina-aanibhava, the so-called founder of “Lamaism,” hud five women disciples who compiled several accounts of the teachings of their Master and hid them in various places for the benofit of future believers. One of these disciples— Kbsnrlro Yeshs Tsogyal— was a Tibetan Indy who is said to have possessed such s wonderful powur of memory that if nho was told a thing only onoo eho re- membered it for ever. She gathered what she had hoard from bur Gum into a book called tho Pad mu Thangyig Serteng or Golden Rosary of the history of her Guru who was entitled the Lotus- born (Badms-aimbbavt). The book was hidden away and was subsequently, undor inspiration, revealed somo five hundred years ago by a Terton. The first Chapter of the Work deals with 8ukliavatt the realm of Buddha Amit&bha. In tho sooond the Buddhn emanates a ray which is incarnated for the welfare of tho Universe. In Chapter III it is raid that there have boon a Buddha and n Guru working togotkor in various worlds and at various times, the former preaching the Sfltras and tho lutter tho Tantros. Tho fourth Chapter speaks of the Mantras and the five Dhyftnl Buddhas (as to which see Shrl- chakru-sambhara Tantra m Tintrik Texts, edited by Arthur Avalon), and in the fifth we find the subject of the present Chapter, an account of the origin of tho VajraySua Faith. The present Chapter is based on a translation, which I asked 608 MATAM RUTRA Kazi Dawufamdup to propaic lor me, of portions of tie Thangyig flerteug. I liuve further had, and here acknow- ledge, ihe assistance of the very learned l.nma I'gyen Taman, in tie elucidation of the inner meaning of the legend. 1 cannot go fully into this but give certain mdica Lions which will enable the competent to work out much of the rest for themselves from the terrible symbolism in which evil for evil’s sake is hero expressed. The story is tluit of the rise and fall of the Self. The disciple “Transoendont Faith” who became the Bodhisattva Vajraplni illustrates the former ; the oaso of ” Blaek Salva- tion” who incarnated na a Demoniao Rutra displays tho latter. lie was no ordinary man, for at the time of Lin initiation he had already attained eight out of the thirteen stages (Bhftmikft) on tho way to perfect Buddhuhood. His powers were corresitoodiiigly great. But the higher the rise the greater the fall if it comes. 'I hrough misunderstanding and misapplying, ns bo many others have done, the TlntrUc doctrine, ho "fell back” into Hell Extraordinary men who were teachers of recondite doctrines sunh as those of Thnbka, who was himself "hard to overcome ”, Mein not to havo failod to warn loaner brethren against their daugors. It in commonly said in Tibet of tho eo-callod "horoio" modes of extremist Yoga, that they waft the disciple with tho ut- most speed either to tho heights of NirvAna or to the depths of Hell. For the aspirant is compared to a snake which is made to go up a hollow Bamboo. It must ascend and escape nt tho top. at the peril otherwise of falling down. Not- withstanding these warnings many of the vulgar, the vicious, the misunderstanding, and the fools who play with fire have gone to Hells far more terrible than those which await, human froiltiee in purounnoo of the common life of men whose progress if slow is mire. “ Black Salvation”, though an advanced disciple, misinterpreted his teacher's doctrine nnd consciously identifying himself with the world-evil fell into Hell. In time he rose therefrom and incarnating 609 SB SHAKTI AND SIIAKTA at first in gross material forms, he at length manifested as a great Rutra, the embodiment of all wickedness. The Tibetan Rutra here spoken of and the Indian Rudra seem to be etymologically the same but their meaning in different. Both are fierce and terrible Spirits ; but a Rutra ae here depicted is essentially evil, and neither the Lord of any sensual celestial paradise, nor the Cosmic Shakti which loosens forms. A Rutra is rather what in some secret circles in called (though in ungrammatical Sanskrit) nn Adh&tmH, or n soul upon the lower and destructive [«ith. The general destructive energy (SamhUra-Shakti), however, usee for its purpose the disintegrating propensities of these forma. The evil whioh appoara oa Rutra iB tho wpruttion of various kinds of Bgoiem. Thun Motnm Rutra in Bgoiam an attuohod to the gross physical body. Again, all sentient worldly being gives expression to its feeling*, uuying " 1 am happy, unhappy, and so forth." All thin is here embodied in the speech of the Rutra and is called Akir Rutra. Khatnun Kutxa in Egoism of the mind, as when it is said of any object " this is mine". “ Black Snlvution" became a Rutra of such terrific power that to save him and the world the Buddhas intervened. Then are four method* by which they and the Bodhisftttvns subduo and save sentient being, namely, the Peaceful, tho Grand or Attractive, tho Fascinating which renders poworhvw. (Vaslitksnuiam), and tho stern method of downright Force. All forum of Egoism must bo dcelroyod in order that the pure “That Which Is" or foimless Con- Hcioubiuss may be attained. "Black Salvation" incarnated ns the Pride of Egoism in its most terrible form. And, in order to subdue him, tho Inal two methods had to be employed. He was, through the Glorious One, redeemed by the suffering which attends all sin and became the "Dark Defender of the Faith", which by his egoistic apostasy he had abjured, to be later the Buddha known an the “ Lord of Ashes" in that world which is called "the immediately self-produced". How fchie came about tho legend describe?. 6ro MAT AM RUTRA The fifth Chapter ol the Golden Roeary says that Guru P odnia- Vajradhara was reborn us Bhikihu Thubkarhouna, which means the “youth who is hard to overcome". . He was a Tautrik who preached an abetrasc doctrine which ia condensed in the following verse ‘‘He who has attained the 'That Which Is’ Or uncreated In-iUelf-ncn Is unaflected even by the 'four things' Just as the cloud which Moats in the sky Adheres not thereto. This is tho way of Supreme Yoga. Than thin in all the three worlds There in not a higher wisdom." This Guru lrncl two disciples, Kuntri and his servant Pramndeva. To the latter was given, on initiation, the name “ transcendent Keith", and to the former “ Black Salvation". This last name was u prophetic prediction that he would bo saved, not through peaceful ox agreeable means but through tho just wroth of Uio Jinaa 'I ho real meaning of tho verso n» undumood and practised by Pramadovt and n* declared to he right by the Guru woe no follows : "Tho pure Con nuiouuneoB (Dogpo-yo slias) is tho foundation (Gshi hdsin) of the limited consciousness (Ihuun shra) and is in Scripture “That which is," the real uncreated "In-ItseH-nese". This being unaffected or unruffled is the path of Tantra. Passions (Klceha) are like clouds wandering in tlic wide spaces of the sky. (These clouds are distinct from, and do not touch the buck-ground of h|«cc against which they appear.) So passions do not touch but disappear from tho Void (Shdnyatl). Whilst ascending upwards the three fold accomplishments (Activity, non-nctivity, absolute repose) must hp persevered in ; and this ia tho moaning of our Teacher Thu bka’a ‘doctrine." The latter, however, was misunderstood by “Black Salvation" (Tharp* Is’agpo) who took it to mcun that he was to inako no effort to save himself by the gaining of 5HAKTI AND SHAKTA merit, bub that lie was to indulge in the four uote of .“infill enjoyment, by the eye, nose, tongue and organ of generation. On this account he fell out with his brother in the taith Pramadevn, and later with his Guru, both of whom ho caused to be persecuted and banished the country. Continuing in a career of reckless and sin-hardened life, ho died un- repentant after a score of years passed in various diabolical praotioos. Ho fell into Hull and continued there ior count- leas ages. At the close of the time of Buddha THpunkarn (Maiuiedzad or “Light maker") he wu» reborn several times os huge sea monsters. At length, just before the time of the last Buddha ShAkya. Muni, he was born as the son of a woman of loose morals in a country called LunlcApuri of the Hakshusas. This woman U9cd to consort with three Spirits a Dova in the morning, a Fire Genius at noon, and a Daitya in the evening. "Black Salvation" was reborn in the eighth month as the offspring of theeo throe Spirits. The ohild wee n terrible monster, black of colour, with three heads, each of which had three eyes, six hands, four foot and two winga He was horrible to look at, and immediately at his birth nil the auspicious signs of the country disappear- ed. and the eighteen iuauspicious sign* were soon. Mulignant epidemics attacked the whole region of UnkApurt. Home died, others only suffered, but nil were in misery. Lament- ation, famine and sorrow besot the land. There were disease, bloodshed, mildew, hailstorms, droughts, floods and all other kinds of calamities. Even dreams were frightful, und ominous signs portending n great catastrophe oppressed nlL Evil spirits roamed the land. So great wero the evils that it seemed as if the good merits of everyone had been exhausted all at oDce. The mother who had given birth to this monster died nine days after its birth. The people of the country decreed that this monstrous infant should bo bound to the mother’s corpse and left in tho cemetery. The infant was thon tied to his mother’s breast. The mother was borne away in a MAT AM RUTRA stretcher co the cemetery, and the a tre toiler was left at the foot of a poisonous tree which had a boar's dcu at ita root, a poisonous snake coiled round the middle of its trunk, and u bird ol prey sitting in it* uppermost branches. (These animals axe the emblems ol lust, anger and greed respectively which "kindle the lire of individuality”.) At this place there was a huge sepulchre built by the K&kskaaaa where they used to leave their dead at the foot of the tree. Ele- phants and tigers come there to die; serpents infested it. and witch-like spirits called Dkbinta and Ghouls brought human bodies then*. Alter the humors of the corpse had left, the infant sustained his life by sucking the breast* of liis mother’s corpse. Thctie yicldod only a thin, yellowish, watery fluid for seven duya. Next ho sucked Urn blood and lived a week ; then be gnawed at the breast and livod the third week ; thon ho uto the on trails and livod for o track. Then ho ut« the outer llosh and lived lor the fifth week. Lastly he crunched the bones, racked the marrow, licked the humours and bruins and livod a week. ll.o thus in six weeks developed full physical maturity. Having exhausted his stock of food he moved about ; and hi* motion shook tho cemetery building to pioooa Ho obrorvod tho Ghouls and DUdnts feasting on human oorpneo which ho took os bin food and human blood a* hi* drink, filling the skulls with it. His clothing was dried human skins as also the hides of dead elephants, the lleah of which lie also ate. Ho ate also the tlesli ol tigers and wrapped Ills loins in their lure. He used serpents as bracelets, aiiklets. armlet* and as necklaces and garlands. His lip* were thick with frown fat, and his body was covered with ashes from the burning ground. He wore n garland of dead skulls on one string ; freshly sovored heads on another ; and decomposing heads on a third. These were worn crosswise ns a triple garland. Each cheek was adorned with a spot of blood. His three great heads ever wrathful, of three different colours, were fierce and horrible to look at. The middle head was dark blue SHAKTI AND SHAKTA and those Jo the right, and left were white and red respec- tively. His body and limfca which were of gigantic eiao and proportions were ashy grey. Ilia skin was coarse and his Lair as ntin at> hog’s bristles. Ilia mouth wide agape showed fangs. His terrible eyes wore fixed in a store. Half of tho dark brown hair on hi« head stood erect, bound with four kinds of snakes. The nails of his fingers and toes were like the talons of n great bird of prey, which aeited hold of everything within reach, whether animals or human corpses which he. mished and swallowed, lie bore a trident und other weapon! in his right hands, and with hia loft he filled tho emptied skulls with blood which ho drank with great relish, lie was a monster of ugliness who delighted in every kind of impious act. His unnatural food produced n strange lustre on hia face, which shone with a dull though great and terrible light. Hia breath was so poisonous that thoso touched by it were attacked with various dueium. For his nostrils breathed forth disease. Ilis eyes, ears and onus produced the 404 different ills. Thus, the diseases paralysis, epilepsy, bubonic swellings, urinary ills, skin discasco, aeliwr, rheumatism, gout, colic, cholera, leprosy, cancer, small pox, dropsy und vaiiouo other oorou and boilu appeared in this world at that time. (For evil thought® und ucta make the vital spirit wok and thence springs grosa disease.) llie name of this great Demon was Matarn Rutra. He was tho fruit of the Karma of the great wickedness of his former life as Tharpa Nagpo. At that timo, in oaoh of the •24 Pilgrimages, there was a powerful destructive Bhaimva Spirit. These Devas,. Gondharvaa, Rikahasaa, Aauras and N3gu» wore proud, malignant and mighty Spirits, despotic masters of men, with grout magical powors of illusion and transformation. These Spirits used to wonder over these countries dressed in tho eight sepulchral raiments, wearing the six kinds of bone ornaments, and armed with various weapons, accompanied by their female consorts, and revelled 614 MAT AM RUTRA in all kinds of obscene orgies. Thnir ohio: occupation con- sisted in depriving all sentient beings of their lives. Alter consultation, all these Spirits elected MaUun Rutin as their Chief. Thai all these non-human beings became his slaves. In the midst of his horrible retmue he continued to devour human beings alive until the race became almost destroyed and the citios emptied. He was thus the moat terrible scourge that the earth had ever seen. All who died in those days fell into Hell. But, as for Matam Rutra himself, his pride knew no bounds : he thought there was no one greater than himself and would roar out : " Who is there greater and mightior than 1 ? If there be any Lord who would excel me, Him too will 1 subjugate." Aa there waa no one to gainsay him, the world was oppressed by heavy gioom. At that time, however, KAU proclaimed, "In the country of UnkA, the land of RAkataaos, In a portion of the city colled Koka-Thangmaling, On tho peak of Malaya, the abode of Thunder, There dwells the F.ord of Lank A, King of RAksbasaa He ia a disciple of the light-giving Buddha. Hie fiuno far excels thine. He ia unconquerable in fight by any foe. Ho sloops secure and doth awake in peace." Hearing this, the pride and ambition of the Demon become aflame. Hia body emitted flames grout enough to have oonaumod all worlds at the great Kalpa dissolution. His voioe resounded in a deep thundering roar like that of a thousand daps of thunder heard together. With sparks of fire flying from his mouth he summoned a hugo force. He fillod the very heavens with them, and moving with the epoed of a meteor he invaded the RAkahasa’a capital of Koka-Tbeugmaling. Encamping, Matam Rutro procloimed his name proudly, at which the entire country of LaukA trembled and was shaken terribly aa though by an earth- quake. The RAkahaaas, both male and femalo, became SHAKTI AND SHAKTA terrified. 'I he King of the R&kahasas cent spies to find out the cause of these happenings. They went and saw the toinblo force, and being territied at the sight reported the fearful news to their king. He sat in Samddhi for a while, and divined the following According to the Sfltra of King Gunadhara it was said, “One who has vexed his Guru’s heart, and broken his friend and brother's heart: the haughty eon, being released from the three Hells, will take rebirth here, and he will surely conquer the Lord of Lenka. In the end, he will be conquered by many Sugatas (the blissful ones, or Buddhas). And tins event will give birth to the AnutUrn- Vajray&na Faith." 'I bo Buddha Mac- medziid having revealed the cveut, ho wished to see whether this was the Mu tarn Rutra Demon referred to in the pro- phesy. Ho he collected n force of Hdkshasas and went forth to fight a buttle with the Demon force. Mutum Rutra was vory angry and said : "I am the Great Invincible One, who in without n peer, I uni tho lull vara MnhAdavu. Tho four groat King* of the four quartern ore my vnwnla, The eight different tribes of Spirit* aro my slaves, I run tho Lord of the whole World. Who is going to withstand and confront me 1 Rutra, Matra, Marutm." With this bottle cry he overcome the foicee of the lUkBhaeas. Thou ‘.he King of tho R&kshasas and all his forocs submitted to the King of the Demons, saying “1 repent me of my attempt to withstand you, in tho hope of upholding the Faith of the Buddhas, and to spread it far and wide. I now submit to you and become your loyal subject. I will not; rebel against you. " When he had thus overcome tho RAkshu^ie, ho assumed tho title of Mutam ka, the Chief of all the Rdkshusna. His pride increased, and he pro- claimed, “Who is there greater than IV’ 616 MATAM RUTRA Thon, Rill again cleverly excited hi a ambition and pride by saying, “The Chief of the armies of the Asuras (Llwmin that U “not Devas"), named Slthfikaru, is mightier than you.” Thereupon he invaded the realms of the A suras, with his demon force, and all the A suras becoming afected with various terrible maladies were powerlew to resist him. T he Rutin caught hold of the A sura King by the leg and whirling him thrice round Ids head flung him into the .Tambudvipa whore ho fell in a place called the Go-no- gyad, meaning the place of eight merits. Then those of the Asuras who hud uot been killed, the eight planets (Graluis), and the twenty-eight constellations (Nakshatras) and their hosts sought refuge in every direc- tion, but failing to obtain safety unywhero, they returned and surrendered themselves to the Demon Matam Rutr*. Then tho Asuras guided the Rntrn and his forces to a Palace named the Globular Palace like n skull whom they estab- lished th«ir Capital, la tho centre o £ this Palace, tho Rutrs hoisted hi* banner of Victory, They arranged tlioir dreadful weapons by tho side of the ontmuoe, and the place was surrounded by numerous follower* with magical power*. Having thus shewn his own great magical powers, ho took up tho King of Mountains, Meru, upon the tip of his finger and whirling it round his head, he proclaimed these boast- ful words, " Rutra, Matra, Marutra, who is there in this universe greater than myself? In all the three Lokas, there is none greater than T. And if there bo any, him also will 1 subdue.” To these boaetful wordn K&li annwerod, “In tho thirty-third Deva-Loka and in tho happy celestial regions of the Tuslpt* Heavens, Sitting amidst the golden assembly of dinciples, la the Holy Saviour of all beings, Regent of the Dovas (Dompa-Togkar) Having been anointed, He is venerated uud praised by all the Reva KingB. 617 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA Ho summons all tho Dovun to liis assembly by sound- ing the various instruments of heavenly music Accompanied by a celestial Chorus. He is greater than yourself." On ber so saying, the Archdeinon blazed forth into a fury of pride and wrath, and set forth to conquer the Tushita Heavens. The Bodkiaaitva (Dampa-Togkar) was sitting enthroned on a throne of precious metals, in the midst of thousands of Deviit&s, both male and female, and was prcaohing JMiarma to thorn. The Arohdcmon noised Dampa- Toglcar from hie throne, and threw him down into this world-systoui. All the Dcvua and Doyis there gathered exclaimed, "Alas, what a fate, 0, the sinful wretch!” seven times over. Thereupon the Kutra fiercely said : "Put on two cloths, and sit down on your neat«, ovory one of you t How can I be conquered by you T 1 am the mighty destroyer and subjugator of all." (The expression "Put on two cloth*" wu* said by way of contempt for tho priestly robes whioh consist of three pieces, being a wrapper above, and one below uud one over both. Dampn-Togkar in tho Bodhiaattvu who is coming as Buddha to teach in the humun world. Ho de- scends from the Tushita Heavens whore lie reigns us Kegent) When the celestial Kcgcnt of tho Tushita Heavens (Dompa-Togkar) wus about to puss uway from them, ho uttered this prophesy to his disciples, who were uround him : “Listen unto me, Ye my disciples: This apostate disciple, Tharpa-N'ogpo (Black Salvation), Who does not believe in the Buddha’s Dootriuo, He is destined to pervert the Devaa and Asurao, And to bend them to his yoke. He hates the perfect. Buddha, and he will work much evil in this world-system. There are two, who can deprive him of his terrible power ; MATAM KUTRA 1 hey are Thubka-Zhonnu and Dsd-Phogs (Pnuuadovu, Aryn Shraddha called Transcendent Faith) 1 hey will be able to make liini last© the finite of hie evil deeds in this very life. He will not l« subdued by peaceful, nor by any gene- rous means. He will only be conquered by the methods of Fascina- tion and Sternness. (Tho various means of redemption have been previously explained. Thubkn and bin good disciple "Transcendent Faith” who had then become Buddha Vajm-Sattva, and Bodhisettva Vojrapilni were selected for this purpose. They assumed tho forma of the DcvntfU with the Home's head (Hayagrlva) aud tho Sow’s head (Vejra V&rlht.) " Who, of tho Noble Sanghu, will doubt this, That HuyagrSva and Vnjrn-VflriUif will give him their bodies. {When it is said "These will givo him their bodies” this means, as hereafter described, entering the Rutrn’a b«ly, lunuming his shape and destroying his Rntxa life and unturo. They give him tarir divino bodies so that thoy may destroy his demoniac body.) "And who will not trust in tho Windoiu of tho Jinos, to conquci him by the upwArdpiaicing method, From this (demon) will come tho Precious- nectar, which will be of use in acquiiiug Virtue. From this (demon) will originate the changmg ol poison into elixii. (There are various TAntrik methods suited to various natures. "The upward-piercing ' (Khutar-ysr-phig) is that of Vajroyftna. This is the method which goes upward and upward, that is straight upward without delay and without going to right, or left. To change poison into nectar or elixii is a well-known principle of these schools.) “This Demon will have to be ground down and destroy- ed to the last atom, in one body. 619 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA (It is said "in one body” because, ordinarily, several lives nrc necessary ; but in this rase and by this method Liberation is achieved in a single life time and in one body. Not one atom of the Rutra body is left, for Egoism is wholly destroyed.) “The Divine Horee-headed Deity (Vajra IUvagrtva), U he who will dispel this threatening misfortune, Dad-pkaga, (Pruwndcva who was given on initiation the name ‘'Transcendent faith”) ia at present Vajro pAni (Bodhisattva). And Thubka-Zhonnu is, at present, tlie Buddha Vajrasattva. The divine prophesies of the Jinas are to be inter- preted thus They will caterminato their opponents For mywll 1 go to take birth in MAyA-Devt’s womb. I will practice Samtdhi ot the root of the Bodhi-Tree. 1 will not hold thoeo beliefs in doubt. For it has boeu sahl that the Buddha’s Faith will triumph over thie, And will remain long in the Jambudvtpa. By means of the mysterious practice of Emancipating by moons of Communion.' (The practice here referred to is the method called Jordol (aByor olirol) which has both exoteric and esoteric moanings, such as in the cuao of tho lattor tho communion of the Divine Male and Female whose union deetroye to ita uttermost root egoistic attachment ; the communion with ShQnyatfi. whose innermost significance is the non dual Consciousness (gNyismed-yeshes) which dispels ignorance and cuts at the root of all S&msAric life by the destruction of all the Rutra forms. “ Female” here is Sh&nyatA and not a woman. When a learned l.ama in naked why the terms of sex arc used they nay it ia to symbolise Thahs (Upfiya) and Shes-nibs (PrajnA) which it is not possible to further explain here. (Sec VoL XIII, XI V of Tflutrik Text*, Ed. A. Avalon.) 6so MATAM RUTRA ‘ ‘ The Matam Rutra, which is clinging to the body bb ‘I’ will be diapcllod, All forms of worldly happiness and pain, the Egoism of Speech (Akar Rutra), Will be destroyed. Tha saying 4 this is mine 1 of any tiling, The mental T (or Khatram-Rutra) is freed. The true nature and distinguishing attributes of a Rutra, Which is mauifoat outwardly, oxiota inwardly, and lies hidden sooretly, In short all the fifty-eight ltutrae, with their hoeta, will be destroyed completely. (I have already dealt with the meaning of the term, Rutra. Here the Egoisms of body, feelings, mind are referred to. The Glorious One will eradicate the physical and all other Rutnut, the monster of the solf in all its forms, gross, subtle and retinal.) "The world though deprived of happiness will rejoice again. The world will bo rilled with the Freciouo Dhanna of the Tri-Riitna. The ‘Righteous Faith has not declined, nor hnn it passed away. " (Thus did the Regent of the Tuahita Heavens prophesy the advent of the TAntrik method for the complete destruc- tion and the elimination of the demon of " Egotism" from the nature of tho devotees oh the path by means of Jordol) After uttering those prophocire ho passed away and took re-birth in the womb of Queen M fly ft Devi. Thon the Axchdemon, having subjugate! ull the Devas of the thirty- third and the Tuahita Heavens, appointed the two Demons M&ra and Devadatto, his two chief officers, to suppress India and Brahmft. The Archdemon himself took up his abode in the Malaya Mountain, in the place celled tbe Human skull-like Mansion. He ue?d to ieed upon Devas 621 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA and human beings, both males and females. Drums, bells, cymbalo and every kind of atringed and other musical in strumente were played to him in a perpetual concert with songs and dances. Every kind of enjoyment which thr Davao used to enjoy, he enjoyed perpetually. (8ch Chapter ends.) The 9th Chapter deals with the defeat and destruction of the Archdemon Matam Rutra by the Buddhas of the ten directions Then there assembled together Dharmakftya Ruildha BanmntAbhadra (Chosku Kuntu Zangpo) and his atten- dants from the Wogmin (Akuniahtsi) Heovons, from otlior Huuveua, Sambhoga-k&ya Vujra-dLura with hia attundanta ; and VajrapAni Nirmftnakhya with hia attendants. In short, from the various heavens of the ten directions camo the different Buddha* and Bodhisattvaa. All held a con- sultation together and came to this resolution : “Unless the power of the Buddhas bo oxorted to subju- gate the Rutra, the Faith of the Buddha* will cease to apreod and will degenerate. That, body which has com- mitted auch violent outmgea on ovory other boing, must bo made to suffer the agonic* of bring hurt by weapons, wielded by avengers. If he a not mado to feel the consequences of his deeds, the Jinaa who havo proclaimed the Truth will be falsified. He is not to b« destroyed but to be subdued." Having thi» agreed, all the Buddhas began to seek with their omniscient eyes, him who was destined to conquer this Rutra. They saw that Thubka-Zhonnu who had at- tained tlm state of Buddha Vujra-sattva and Dadphago who had become Vajra-pAni were to subdue him, and that the time wau also ripe. So both of them camo with their respective retinue and were blceeed and endowed with Power by all tbe Buddhas, who gave three instructions. “ Do ye assume the forma uud sexes of Chenier.) and Dolmn (Avalokita and T Ar A} and do ye subdue the Enemy by assuming the shapes of the Deities having the Horse-mane and the Sow’s head (Haya-griva and Vajxa-Varahf). 622 MATAM KUTRA (The latter is commonly known in English trnnsln- ticmo as the "Diamond Sow”. Vajia is the Sanskrit equivalent of the word Dorje in Tibetan. The latter haa many meanings; Indra’a thunderbolt., the Lamas' sceptre, diamond and so forth: and is in fact used of anything of a high and mystical character which ia lasting, indestructible, powerful and irresistible. Thus the high priest presiding at Tflntrik Rites is called Dorje Lopon. In fact, diamond is bo called because of the hard character of this gem. In the Indian Tintrik worship, Vajra occurs ua in Vajropushpa (Vajra- •flower), Vajra- bhflmi (Vnjra-ground), and ho forth, hut these are not "diamond” flowers or earth. An extremely interesting enquiry is here opened which w beyond the scopo of this Chapter, for the term Vajra, which is again the appellation of this particular school (Vnjraytnn), and is of great- significance in the history of that power aide of religion which is dealt with in the 8bftkta Tantra. See Introduction to 8hrt-Ch»km Sambhara, edited by Arthur Avalon, VoL MI of Tlntrik Texts. Here, without further attempt at explanation, 1 keep tb«- term Vajra adding only that llariniw is not, ns has been thought, Vajra-VftrfthI (Dorje phagmo) Horeelf but the Btja Mantras (Hu, ri, ni, ss) of Her four attendant DAkinls.) Vajra-Sattva and Vajrapini, Buddha and Bodliiaattva ol the Vajray&na faith transformed themselves into the forms of Hayo-griva and VajrvV&rthl, and assumed the costumes of Hcmkue. (The Herukas are a class of Vajra- yinn DevatAa, of half terrible features, represented us partly nude with an upper garment of human skin and tiger skin round the loins. They have a skull head-dress, carry bone rosarioa, a staff and Dainaru like Shiva The Hemkas nre described in tho Tibetan books os being beautiful, heroic, owe-iuspiring, stern and majestic.) Blazing in the nine kinds of physical magnificence and splendour, they pro- ceeded to the Malaya Mountain,— the abode of the Rutra. On the four sides of the Mountain were four gates. Each 623 SHAKTI AND SMAKTA gate was guarded by a Demoness, bearing respectively u Marc's, Sow's, Lion’s and u Dog’s head. These the Glorious One conquered, aud united therewith in a spirit of nou- attachmeut. From their union wore born the following female issue: (1) The White Horse-faced, (2) The Black Sow- faced, (3) 'I he lied Lion-faced, (4) and the Green Dog-fucod daughters. Proceeding still further Ho met unothor cordon of reutries, who too wore females, U-aring the heads of (1) Lioncaa, (2) 'lignum, (3) Fox, (4) Wolf, (6) Vulture, (o) Kunka, (!) (7) Raven, and (8) Owl. With these Demonesses too, the Glorious One united in » spirit of non- attachment, and blessed the act. Of this union were born female offspring, each of whom took after the mother in outward shape or Matter, and after th,e father in Mind. Thus were the eight Demi goddesses bom : fir., the Lion- headed, Tigar-hosded nnd so forth. Being divine in mind, they possets prescient* mid wisdom, although from their mother they retained their shape and features, which lire those of brut*e. Then again proceeding further inward, He came upon the daughters of the Kutras and of ROlcahoans, named re- spectively, Nyobyed-ma or “She who maddens, ' Tagbycd- ma “She who frightens," Dri-medma '"Ihc unsullied," Kempania “She who dries one up," Thorthogma “She who bear* the Chip" and Zhyongthogmn the "bowl bearer". 1 ho Glorious One united with there in the some ninr.nor, and from thorn, wore born the eight MitrikSa of the eight. SthAnas (sacred places), known as Gaurlmfl and so forth. These, too, possessed divine wiedom from their father and terrific features and shapes from their mothers. (There are 24 Sth&nas which are places ol pilgrimage nnd eight great cemeteries making 32 in all. In each of these cemeteries there is a powerful Goddess also called Mamo, thnt. is. M&trikfi. These terrible Goddesses are, ac- cording to the Zhi-Khro, Gaurfma, Tsaurfmfl, ChAndAlf. Vctalt. GhasmaiL Rhonnmft, Prnmo, Pusknal. These are in 634 MAT AM RUTRA colour white, yellow, yellowish white, black, dark green, dark bluo, red, reddish yellow, and are situated in the East, South, N.W., North, 8.W., N.E., West, 8.R, “ nerve-leafs el the conch shell mansion” (brain) respectively. These arc the eight great M&tdkfla of the eight great Cemeteries, to whom prayer is made, that when forms are changed and entrance is made on the intermediate plane (Bardo. See as to this Ur. Evans-WenU, "Tibetan Book of the Dead”), they nuiy place the spirit on the clear light path of Radiance (Hodsal). (Them various aocouplemont* denote tho union of Divino Mind with gross matter. In working with matter tho Divine mind is always detached. Work is possible even for tho liber- ated consciousness when free from attachment, that is, desire (Klina), which is bondage. The Divine Mind unites with ter- rible forms of groffl matter that- thcao may be instruments ; in this ease instrument* whereby the gTOH Egoism of the Rutra is to be subdued.) Then going right into tho innermost abode, he found that the Rutra had gono out in Match of food, which consisted of human flesh »uid of Devas, Adopting the disguise of tho Rutro, tho Glorious Ono went in to tho Consort of the Rutra, the Kfiksharf- Queen Krodhoshvarl (Lady of wrath) in the same spirit as before, and blowed tho act. By Krodhwhvari, Ho hud main issue, Bhagavin Vnjra- Heruka, with three facos and six hands, tenitio to bohold. Then the Glorious One, Hayagrlva. and his divine Consort, Vajra-Vilritht. enoh expressed their triumph by neighing and grunting thrice. Upon hearing the** sounds the Rutra was 3truck with mortal fear, and coming to tho npot, ho said: “ What sayest Thou, little son of Hayagrlva and Vajra- VlrhhL All the world of Devas and A suras Proclaim my virtues and sing my praises 1 cannot bo conquered. Rest yourselves in pence, Regard mo with humility, and bow down to mo. SHAKTI AND SIlAKTA Even the Regent of tie Devos, of the odd garment (priestly dress), Failed to conquer me in days of yore." Saying this he raised his hands, and came to lay thorn on the young oi’.o’b head. Thereupon, Ilayagrfva at once entered tho body of the Rutra by tlio secret path (Guhya) from Mow and piercing him right through from below up wards, lie ahowed His Horn's Head, on the top of the head of the Rutra. Tho oily fat of the Rutra’a body made tho Horn’s head look green. The mane, being dyed with blood, became red, and the eye-brows, having been splashed with the bile of the Demon, became yellow. Tho forehead, lining splashed with the brains, became white. Thus tho Glorious Ono, having assumed tho shape and drosses of the Rutra, took on a terrible majesty. At the aarnn time, Vajra-VftrAh!, His Consort., also entered the body of the Kurins Consort Krodheahvnrt, in tho nemo manner piorcing and impaling her. Bho forced Her own Sow'o head right up through tho crown of lire Demoneas' head, until it towered above It. The Sow'a head had oiwumed a black colour, from having been stoeped in the fat of the lUkahoat. Thonthe two Divine Beings embraced each other, and begot an offspring, a Divine Be- ing, a male of tho Terrific Order, a Krodhabhnirava. Having done this, Hoyngriva noighod shrilly six times, and Vujn- VftrAht grunted deeply five times. Then the host* of the Buddhas and the Rodhisattvns assembled thorn as thickly ob birds of proy Bottling down on carrion. They filled all space. They were of the peaceful, the wrathful, the half- peoceful and the half-wrathful orders, in inconceivably large numbers. They began to surround the Rutrn-Tharpu- Nagpo, who, being unable to bear this pnin of being stretched asunder, cried in agony “Oh, I am defeated! The Horse and the Sow have defeated the Rutra. The Buddhas have defeated the Demons. MATAM RUTRA Religion haa conquered Ir religion, 'Hie Sangha haa defeated the Tlrthikns. Iudru haa defeated the AsutlW, The Asuras have defeated the Moon The Garuda has defeated the Ocean Fire defeats fuel, Wind acatxcib the Gouda Diamond (Vajra) pierceB metals Oh 1 it was I who said that last night’s dream por- tended evil. Oh i slay mo quick, if you aio going to slay mo. " As ho said this, his bowels wore involuntarily loosened, und from tho oxcreta which, being thus purified, fell into the Ocean, there at once arose a precious sandal tree, which was a wish-granting Lrue. This tree struck ito root in the nether world of the Serpent-spirits, spread its foliage in the Asurn lokua, and bore its fruits in the Deva-lokas, And the fruits wore named Anuitu (the essence and elixir of life). Then the two Chief Actor and Actroos, Hnyogrtvn and Vajra- Vftrllhi aoted the joyful plays called the ’Plays of Happy Cauio, ' 'Happy Path’, und 'Happy Result', in the nino glorious moaauioa. (T hat is, play* in which tho actors arc happy being tho malo and fomolo Divinities, in this cow Hayagitva and Vajra-Varflhf They are the cauao ; their play being exoterically "Dalliance” (LtlA), and their result tho dispelling of Kgoiarn which is Illumination.) Just as a victor in a battle, who has slain his enemy, wins the armour and the accoutrements of his slain opponent, and puta them on hh a sign of triumph, so also, the Glorious Ono having conquered the Kutra, assumed the eight ac- coutrements of tl« foo, including the wings, and tho other adornments which made him look so bright and magnificent. T hose tho Glorious One blessed and consecrated to the use of the Divine Deities. Having done aU this, both Hayngrivu and Vajra- Vftrftht returned to the Realm of pure Spiritual Being (Dharmndh&tu). Thus it comes about that those costumes, assumed by the Kutra, ranie to be adopted ns 627 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA tho attire of the Deities. Their having three heads, the eight sepulchral ornaments, and the eight glorious costumes and wings, had origin in this event. Then Pal Chag-na-dorje (Slid Vajrapflm) multiplied himself into countless AvatAraa, and these again multiplied thcxcaelvca into myriads of Avatlras, all of the terrible and wrathful type. The Rutra too allowed supernatural powers, for he transformed himself into a nine headed Monster, having eighteen hands, as huge oh the Mount Meru. Should it be doubted, how this sinful being could still pom**! such supernatural powers, one must; Itnow that ho wua a Dodhhu.ttva of tho eighth degree (One who has attained eight Bli&iuik&H or h logon of advance out of thirteen) who had fallen back. Hence was it, that oven tho Buddhas found it difficult to subdue him, not t© count the world of Dbvhm and men. Then Vajraplni manifested still greater divine power® of every imaginable description, and all tho Buddhas and BodhieattVRR fixed their abodes on the greatly enlarged and distended body ol the Untra. 'I ho latter being unable to bear tho agony of this pressure, roared with pain, "Como quick to tho rescue, 0 myfollovroru, who inhabit tho ten directions To tho right aud left of the Skull-like Mansion And those who live in the gardens uud the orchards. YukiOms, RAkshasas, and Pretas millions in number, edvnnoe to the rescue at once. 0 ye followers and adherents of the Rutra who dwell in the twenty-four places, and countries Numbering millions and tens of million, who have nwom allegiance to me And promiaod to servo me faithfully, and vo from tho illimitable spices in every direction Fill tho hcavons and the earth with your innumerable hoete And all in one body strike (at the foe) with the weapons in your hands, sounding the battle cry Ora-nilu-nihi.” 628 MATAM RUTRA Though he uttered these commands, there was none to obey him. Everyone surrendered to BhugavAn Yajra- Heruka. Thus all the subordinates of the Rutra, the thirty- two Dikinia, the seven hlatrikas, and the four “ Sisters, " (Sringbzhi), tiro eight Furies (Banrias or flaming ones), the eight Genii (spirits or attendants on the Dovatfta) and the sixty-four Meraengcrs all camn over to the Heruka and the Divine offspring (tire Krcdha-Bhairava) took upon himself the duty of nerving the food of the Deities. (Thin is the Deity usually invoked when any purification and religious contrition has to bo performed or done. By thin it ia seen that his undertaking to serve the food of tho Deities means purifying and absolving the sins of the llutra.) VnjrapAni, producing ten divine beings of the terrific type (Krodhallmiruva), gave a Phurpa (triangular almped dagger) to each of them, and oommandod them to go and destroy the Rutra and hia party Thereupon Hayagrtva came again, and noighod three times; upon hearing which sound, the entire host of tho Rutra wore Mixed with a panic and nil wore subdued. Then "Black Salvation" (Tharpa- Nngpo) and hw follower* »-i« rendered powerless and hnlp- lcas : humbled and quite nubmiseivo. So they surrendered tJicix own homos, personal ornuincnto, and lives, and uttored these words of entienty: "Obeisaucc to Thoo, 0, Thou fleld of tho Buddhas' influence, Obeisance to Thee, 0, Thou who dost cause Karma to bear fruit. I and all of us having sown previous evil Karnuv Aro now reaping the fruite thereof, which all indeed may aeo. Our future depends on what wc have done now ; Karmn followR us, aa inexorably ns the shadow does the body. Everyone must taste the fruit of what each has himself done. 629 5HAKTI AND SHAKTA Even should ono repent, and bo aorry for bin deeds There io no help for him u ICarma cannot be avoided. So we who ure destined by Karma to drink iho bittor cup to the very dregs, We do therefore offer up our bodies to serve as the cushion of 'Ihy footstool. Pray uccept them »s such." Having said so, they laid themselves prostrate, and from this originates the symbolism of every Deity linving a Itutra uudemouth hie feet. 1 bon the vaasul Chiefs of the Rutiu submitted their prayers .— "We have no claim to sit in the middle, He pleased to place us at the extremities of the Mau- dalas. We have uo right to demand of the best of the ban- quets Wo pray to he favoured with the leadings, and the dregs of food and drink. Henceforth, wo ore Your mihjocts, and will iwver dieoboy Your couinmnds. We will obey You in whatever You are plmwud to command. As a loving mother i* attracted towards her son, So ahall we. too, be surely drawn near th(*o who remind us of this oath of allegiance . " Thus did they take the onth of allegiance. Then the Holder of the Mysteries, the (llorioua One Vajrapftni, piorecd the heart of the prostrate Rutra with the Phurpn dagger uud absolved him. All hid K&rmik sins and his Passions (ICleaha) were thus immediately absolved. Then power was conferred on him, and vows were laid on him, and the water of Faith was poured on him. His body, speech and mind were blended and consecrated towards Divine Service, and the Dorje of Fuith was laid on the head, throat and heart. 'I henceforward he was em- powered to be the Guardian of the Faith, and named 630 MATAM RUTRA the Good dark One, end Iiis secret name oonforred at the Initiation wu Mah&k&U. Thus wns he included in the aeaombly of the Vajray&aa Deities. Finally, it was revealed to him that he would become a Buddha, by thu name of Thulwai Wangpo (the Lord of Ashes) in the World called Kod-pa-lbundnip (that is "self- produced" or "made-ull- at-once”). Then the Kutra’s dead body was thrown on this Jambudvipa, where it fell on its back. The head fell on Sinhaltt (Ceylon), the right arm and hand upon the Thogar (?) country and the left hand on Le (Ladak country). Tho right leg fell on Nepal, and the loft on Kashmir. 'I he entrails fell over Zohor. The heart fell on Urgyen (Cnbul), and tho Lingo. ou Mngodhn. Those form tho eight chief countries. Thun tho eight M&trikAs of tlio eight Sthinas, howled by GaarhuA luid others: the eight natural Stapes headed by Potalu ; tho eight ocoult powers, which faacinato ; the eight guardians (fcmolo), who onchnnt ; the eight great trees, tho eight groat realm-protectors (Hhing-kyong), tlio eight lakes, the eight great Nftgu spirits, tho eight clouds, nnd the eight great DibpftJas (Chyogv kyong or I'roteotore of the Directions) as w.ill ah the eight, great cemeteries originated. With tho end of the sixth C'haptoi of tbo Goldon Roaury is ounoluded tho oocount of tho VujrnyAno Dovot&s who appeared to aid in tho conquest of human Kgoiam which hud manifested itself in terrible form in the person of the great Hutra. As ull but the fully pure hnvo in them Kutra dements, they are enjoined in Vajmyftna to follow tho methods of oxpurgation there revealed. 631 Chapter XXIX. KUNDALINI SHAKTI. (Yooa.) 'T'HE wold ‘Yoga’ comes from tlm root “Yu/ 1 which A means “to join" and, in its spiritual sense, it is that process by which the human spirit is brought into near and conscious communion with, or ia merged in, the Divine Spirit, according as the nature of the human spirit U held to be separate from (Dvaita, Vishiahtftdvaita) or one with (Adruita) tho Diviuo Spirit As, aooording to Sh&kta doe trine, wiUr which alone wo arc concerned, the latter pro- position in affirmed, Yoga is tlwt process by which the identity of the two (JlvALmfi and PnrainfttmA), which identity over in (net. e.xiste,— ts realirod by tho Yogi or practitioner of Yoga. It in hq realized because the Spirit has then pierced through the veil of Mftyft which as mind and mutter obscures this knowledge from itself 'I he means by which this ia achieved ia the Yoga prooow whieli liberate* from MftyH So the Ghemnda Samhitft, a Hutlmyoga treatise of tho T&ntrik school, says (Chap, fi) : "There in no bund equal in strength to MlyA, and no power greater to destroy that bond than Yoga." From un Advaitu or Monistic stand- point, Yoga in the Bcnra of a final union is inapplicable, for union implies a dualism of the Divine and Human spirit. 1 n such case, it denotes the process rather than the result. When the two are regarded as distinct, Yoga may apply to both, A person who practise* Yoga is called a "Yogi". According to Indian notions all are not competent (AdhikAii) to attempt Yoga ; only n vory few are One must, in this or iu other lives, have first gone through Karma or ritual, and UpAaanA nr devotional, worship aDd obtained tlie fruit thereof, namely, a pure mind (Chitta- shuddlii). This Sanskrit term does not merely mean a KUNDALINt SHAKTI mind free from sexual imparity, bh an Knglinh reader might suppose. The attainment of this and other good qualities u the A B C of Rftdluiul. A person may Lave a pure mind in this senee and yet be wholly incapable of Yoga. Chittashuddhi consists not merely in moral purity of every kind, but in knowledge, detachment, capacity for pure intellectual functioning, attention, meditation and bo forth. When, by Karma and Upftant, the mind is brought to thia point him! when, in thn roao of Veil In tile Yoga, there is diipasaion and detachment from the world and ita doraroa, then the Yoga path is open for the realization of Tattvajnlna, that is ultimate Truth. Very few persona indeed ore com- petent for Yoga in ite higher fomu. '1 ho majority should seek their advancement along the path of ritual and devotion. There are four main forum of Yoga, according to a common computation, namely, Miuitrayogn, Hathayoga, Layaynga. and Rljayogti, the general characteristics of which have Immui doioribcd in “The Serpent Power”. It ia only necessary here to note that Kundtll yoga in Lave yoga. 1 ho Eighth Chapter of the Sanunohana Tantaa, however, speaks of five kinds, namely, JnAn», Hftja, Laya, Ilathu, and Mantra, and mentions hr five aspects of the spiritual life, Dhamu, KriyA, BhAva, J ulna, and Yoga.; Mantrayogn being said to be of two kinds, according as it is pursued aJoug the path of KriyA or BhAva. Many forms of Yoga are in fact mentioned in the Books. There are seven RldhanAs of Yoga, namely, Shalka-rmn, Xsana, Mudrl, Praty&hAra, PrAnAy&ma, DhyAaa, and Sam&dhi, which are cleansing of tho body, seat, postures for gymnastic und Yoga purpose*, the ubstmotiuu of the senses from their objects, breath control (tho celebrated Pitniyima), meditation, and ecstasy, which ia of two kinds, imperfect (Savikalpa) in which dualism is not wholly overcome, and perfect (Nirvikalpa) which is complete Monistic experience— “Abarn BrahtnAsmi”. "1 am the Brahman "—a knowledge in the sense of realization which, it ia to be observed, does not produce SHAKTI AND SHAKTA Liberation (Moksha) but is Liberation itself. The Samudhi of Luya-yogu is said to be SavikalpasamAdhi, and that of complete RAja-yoga is said to be NirvikslpaaamAdhi. The first four processes ore physical and the last three mental and sopramental (sec Gheranda SamhitA Upadeaha, 1). By these seven processes respectively certain qualities are Rained, namely, purity (Shodhana). firmness and strength (DridhatA), fortitude (SthirntA), steadiness (Dhairya), light- neiw (LAghavn), realisation (Protyakaha), and detachment, loading to Liberation (Nirliptattva). What ia known os the eight-limbed Yoga (Ashling** yogo) contains five of tho above SAdhaoAs (Aaana, Pr&nA- yAma, PratyAhAra, Dhyflna, and Bamftdhi) and three others, namely, Yama or self-control by way ol chuatity, temperance, avoidance ol harm (AiumsA) and other virtues, Niyama or religions observances, charity und so fort h, with Devotion to the Lord (Ishvara-praaidh&na), and DhlranA. the fixing of the internal organ on its subject, as directed in the Yoga practice. For further details, 1 refer tho reader to my in- troduction to tho work or.titlod "The 8oxpcnt Power" ( 2 nd lid., 1020 ). Hero I will only deal obortly with Luya-yuga or the arousing of KundalinI Shukti, a subject of tho highest importance in tho Tautm ShAefcra, and without some knowlcdgo of which much of its ritual will not bo understood. I cannot hero enter into all tho dotuils which demand o lengthy expedition, and which 1 have given in the Introduction to tho two Sanskrit works railed Khntchnkraiiiifipnnn, nnd PAdukApanohaka translat- ed in tho volume, "Tho .Serpent Power" which deals with KundalinI Shnkti nnd tho piorcing by Her of tho six bodily centres or Chakras. The general principle and meaning of this Yoga has never yet been published, and the present Chapter is devoted to a short summary of these two points only. All the world (1 apeak, of course, of those interested in such subjects) ia beginning to speak of Kundalini Shakti. KUNDALINt SHAKTI "cetta famous* Kundtlini” as a French friend of mine calls Her. 'I here is considerable talk about the Chakras aud the Serpent Power but lack of understanding as to what they mean. 1 hia, us usual, is sought to 1 » covered by an air of mystery, mystical mists, and sometimes the attitude ; " 1 should much like to tell you if only l were allowed to give it out." A ally Indian board of which I lately read is, “I have the key and I keep it" Those who really have the koy to anything arc superior men, above boasting. “ Mysti- cism,” which ia often confuted thinking, is also a fertile aoil of humbug. I do not, of oourso, spook of tmo Mysti- cism. Like all othor matters in this Indian Shfatrn the basis of this Yoga is essentially rational. Its thought, like that of the ancients generally, whether of Bast or West, has in general the form and brilliance of a cut gem. It is thiH quality which makes it so dear to some of those who have had to wade through the slush of much modem thought and literature No attempt hnn hitherto bean made t«o explain the general principles which underlie it. This form of Yoga is an application of tho gonorel principle* relating to Shakti with which I have already dealt. The subject has both a theoretical and practical aepcct. Tho latter is concerned with the teaching of tho method in such a way that tho aspirant may give efloct to it This cannot be learnt from books but only from the Horn who has himself successfully practised this Yoga.- Apart from difficulties, inherent in written explanations, it cannot be practically learnt from hooks, because the eanying out of the method is affected by tho nature nnd capacity of the BAdhaka and what take* place during his BAdhanA. Further, though some general features of the method havo been explained to me, I have had no practical Experience myself of this Power. 1 am uot speaking as a Yogi in thin method, which 1 am uot; but aa one who has read aud studied the ShAstra on this matter, and has had the further advantage of some oral explanations which have enabled me to better t>35 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA understand it. I have dealt with this practical aide, bo far as it is possible to me, in my work on "The Serpent Power”. Even so far ae the matter tan be dealt with in writing, 1 cannot, within the limits of such a paper as this, deal with it in any way hilly. A detailed description of the Chakras and their significance cannot be attempted here. 1 refer the reader to the work entitled ‘‘The Serpent Power” (second Edition). What I wish to do is to treat the subject on the broadest lines possible and to explain the fundamental principles which undorlio this Yoga method. It ia because these are not understood that there in much confuted think- ing and misty, if not mystical, talk upon the subject. How many poisons, for instance, can correctly answer the question, "What is Kundnlinl Shuktr ?" One may be told that it ia a Power or Shakti ; that it is ooiled like a serpent in the M&lAdh&ra ; uud that it is wakened and goes up through the Chakras to the Sahaarflra. But what Shakti ia it? Why, again, ia it ooiled like a serpent ? What is the meaning of this ? Wlu»t is thu nature of the Power ? Why is it in the MfilAdhira ? Wliafc is the meaning of “awakening" the powui ? Why if awakened should it go up ? What nru the Chakras ? It ia ousy to aay tlmt they are legions or lotuses. What are they in themselves ? Why have each of the lotusos a different number of petal* ? What is a petal? What and why are the “Letters” on them f What, is the effect of going to the Sahaarhra : and how does that effoot come about ? Thc3c oud other similar questions require aii answer before this form of Yogn own bo understood. I have said acme tiling os to the Lottoro in tho clwptore on Shakti ns Mantra and VamamfilA. With these and with other general questions, rather than with the details of the six Chakras, set forth in “’ihe Serpent Power” I will hero deal. In the first place, it is necessary to remember the funda- mental principle of the Tintra Sh Astra to which I have already referred, viz., that man iB o microcosm (Ksluidra- brabmAnda). Whatever exists in the outer universe exists KUNDALINt SHAKTI in him. All tho Tuttvua and the worlds arc within him and so are the supreme Shiva-ShaktL The body may bo divided into two main parte, namely, the head and trunk on one hand, and the legs on the other. In man, the centre o l the body is between these two, at the base of the spine where the legs begin. Supporting the trank and throughout the whole body there is the spinal cord. This is the axis of the body, just, as Mount Mem is the axis of the earth. Hence man’s spine is called Meru- dundn, the Mem or axis-staff. The legs and foot aro groan matter which show lean signs of conacioasneaa than the tnmk with its spinal white and grey matter ; which trunk itself is greatly subordinate in thia respect to the head containing the organ of mind, or physical brain, with its white and grey matter. The position of the while and grey matter in the head and spinal column respectively are reversed. Tho body and legs below tho centre aro the seven lower or nether worlds upheld by the sustaining Sbaktii of the universe. From the centra upwards, con- noiousnm more freely manifests through tho spinal and cerebral centres. Hero there aro tho sovon uppor regions or Lokaa, a term which SatyAnanda in hi* commentary on Isha I'panialiad says, ir.eaoa " what arc soon" (Lokyante), that is, experienced and are honco the fruits of Karma in tho form of particular re-birth. These regions, namely, Hlnih. Bhuvah, Svnh, Tnpah, Jana, Mohnb, and 8atyn Lokns correspond with the 6ix centres ; five in the trunk, the sixth in the lower cerebral centre ; and the sevonth in tho upper Brain or Safcyaloka, the abode cf the supreme Shivu- Bhakti. Tho six centroB are tho Mfil&dhin or root- support situated at the bar* of tho apinal oolumn in a position midway in the perineum between tho root cf the genitals and the anus. Above it, in the region of the genitals, abdomen, heart, chest or throat and in the forehead be- tween the two eyes (Bhrflmadhyc) are the Svftdhishthana, &37 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA Mauipfiru, Anfthata, Viahnddba and Ajnft Chakras or lotuses (Padnia) respectively. Theec arc the chief centum, though the books speak of othere such ns the Lalana and Manas and Soim Chakras. In fact, in the Advaita Mar- tan da, a modern Sanskrit book by the late Guru of the Mahirija of Kashmir, some fifty Chakraa and Adbaras are mentioned though the six stated are the chief upon which all account* agree. And so it is said, " How can there be any Siddhi for him who knows not the six Chakras, the sixteen Adharna, the five Ethera and the three Lingua ill liis own body 1 ” The oovonth region boyond the Chakraa is the upper brain, the highest centre of manifestation of Consciousness in the body and therefore the abode of the supremo Hhivo-Shakti. When "abode" is Baid, it is not meant, o( course, that tho Supreme ia there placed in the sense of our "placing”, namely, it is there and not elaewhoro. The Supreme is nover localized whilst it* mani- festations are. It is everywhere both within and without tho body, but it is mid to be in the ftahosr&ra, because it ia there that tho 8upromo Shiva Shakti ia realized. And this must be so, because consciousness is realized by entering in and passing through tho highest manifestation of mind, tho Snttvamayl Buddhi, above and beyond which is Chit and ChidrOpin! Shakti themselves. From their Shiva- Shakti Tattva aspect are evolved Mind in itt form as Buddhi, AhainkAra, Manas and associated senses (Indriyas) the centre of which is in and above the Ajnil Chnkra and below tho SahnsrUrn. Prom Ahnmkftrn proceed tho TenmAtree or generals of the sense-particulare which evolve the five forms of scnsihln matter (BhOta), namely, AkAshft ("Ether”), Vftyu ("Air"), Agui ("Fire”), Apas ("Water"), and l’rithivf ("Earth"). The English translation given of these terms do not imply that the Bhfitns are the Rame as the English olemonts of air, fire, water, earth. The terms indicate varying degrees of matter from the ethereal to the solid. Thus Prithivi or earth is any matter in the l'rithivf state ; 638 KUNDALINT shakti that is, .which rnuy bo Donned by the Indriya of small. Mind and matter pervade the whole body. But there are centres therein in which they are predominant. Thus AjoA is n centre of mind, and the five lower Chakras are centres of the five Hhutas ; Viahuddha of Akflaha, Amlhuta of Vftyu, Manipttra of Agni, Svldbishthana of Apae, and MfilAdhfira of Prithivi. In short, man as a miorocoam ii the all-pervading Spirit (which most purely manifesto in the Sahairnra) vehicled by Shakti in tha form of Mind and Matt or the con tree of which ore tho sixth and following five Chakras respectively. The six Chakras have been identified with tho following plexuses co mm e nc i n g from the lowest, the MfilAdhflra : -The Sacrococcygeal plexus, the Sacral plexus, the Solar plexus (which forma tho groat junotion of the right and left sym- pathetic chains Idfi end PingalA) with the cerebro- spinal axis. Connected with this is the Lumbar plexus. Then follows tho Cardiac plexus (An&data), Laryngeal plexus, and lastly the AjnA or rorehellum with ito two lobes, and above thia the Manas Chakra or aenaorium with its nix loben, tho Soma chakra or middle Cerebrum, and lastly tho 8alnian.ro or upper Cerebrum. To some extent these localisations are yet tentative. This statement may involve an urronooua view of what tho Chakras really are, and is likely to produoo wrong notions concerning them in others. The six Chakras themselves are vital centres witliin tho spinal column in the white and grey matter there. They may, however, and probably do, influenoe anil govern the grow tract outside tho spine in tho bodily region lateral to, and co- extensive with, that section of the spinal column in which a particular centre is situated. T he Chakras arc centres of Shakti aa vital force. In other words, they are centres of PiAnoabokti manifested by Piinaviyu in the living body, the presiding DevatAs of which nre names for the Uni vernal Conuciouanura as It manifests in the form of those centres. The Chakras axe not perceptible to the gross senses, whatever may be a SHAKTI AND SHAKTA Yogi’s powers to observe wliftt in beyond the senses (Alfu- driya). Even if they were perceptible in the living body which they help to organize, they disappear with the dis- integration of organism at death. In an article on “The Physical Errors of Hinduism”, (Calcutta Review, XI, 436-140) it was said:— “It would indeed (write the surprise of our readers to hear that the Hindus, who would not even touch a dead body, much letw dissect it (which is incorrect), should powoas any anatomical knowledge at all It is the Tantroa that furnish us with some extraordinary pieces of information concerning the human body. .. .But of all the Hindu SliAntrao extant, tku Tantraa lie in the greaicHt obscurity The Tftntrik theory, on wiiich the well-known Yoga called ' Shatchakrabbeda' in founded, supposes tho existence of six main internal organs, called Chakras or P admin, all bearing a special resemblance to that famous flower, the lotus. These are placed one above tho other, and connected by three imaginary chains, tho emblem* of tho Gangs*, tin* YnnimiA, and the Sarnavatt. Such is tho obstinacy with which tho Hindus adhoro to theeo erroneous notions, that, oven when wo show them by actual dissection the non-existence of the imaginary Chakras in the human body, they will rather have recourse to excuses revolting to common-sente than acknowledge tho ovidenoe of their own eyes. They say, with a shame- lessness unparalleled, that these Padraaa exist as long as a man lives, but disappear the moment he dice,” This alleged “8h»melearaMu” reminds me of the story of a doctor who told my father “that ho had performed many post- mortems and had never yet discovered a soul.” Tho petals of the lotuses vary being 4, 0, 10, 12, 10, 2 resi>cctivoly ; commencing from the MQl&dh&ra and njiding with AjnA. There are 00 in all, ns are the IctteiH of fclio alphabet which am in the petals ; that is, the MatriMa ore associated with the Tattvaa since both are products of the same creative Cosmic Process manifesting cithor os 640 KUNDALINT shakti phy Biological or psychological function. It is noteworthy that the number of the petals is that of the letters leaving out either Knha or the Second La, and that these 50- multi- plied by 20 are in the JOOO petals of the SahasrAra. a number which in probably only indicative of multitude and magni- tude. But why, it may be asked, do the petals vary in number”! Why, for instance, are there 4 in the MfilAdh&ra and fl in the SvddhiuhthAna 1 The answer given is that the number of petals in any Chakra i« determined by the number and position of tho Nfldl# or Yoga “nerves’” around that Chakra. Thus, four Nftdla numiunding and pawing through the vital movements of the MulldhAm Chakra give it the a ppearanoo of a lotus of four petals. Tho petals are thus configurations made by the position of Nikita ut any particular centre. These Nkdis are not those which are known to tho Vakha of Medical Shftstitt. The latter are gross physical nerves. But the former here spoken of are called Yogs-NlUlto and are subtle chancels (Vivaro) along which the TrAnik currents flow. The farm NfldS cornea from the root "Nad" which means motion. The body is filled with an uncountable number of NAdls. If they ware revealed to the oyo the body would present tho appearance of s highly compli- cated chart of ocean ourrents. 8uporftoially tho water seems one and the same. But examination shown that it is moving with varying degrees of force in all directions. All these lotuses exist in the spinal column. An Indian physician and Sanskritist lias, in the Guy’s Hospital Gasetta, expressed the opinion that better anatomy Ib given in the Tantras than in the purely medical works oi the Hindus. I have attempted elsewhere to oo-relate present and ancient anatomy and physiology. I can, xowever, only mention here Borne salient points, first painting out thnt tho Shivasvaxodaya Shflstra gives promi- nence to nervo centres and nerve currents (Vayu) and their control. Bucb teaching being for tho purpose of worship 6-ii u r SHAKTI AND SHAKTA (UpasanA) and Yoga, The aims and object of the two Sh&stras are not the same. The Mcrudanda is the vertebral column. Western Anatomy divides it into five regions ; and it is to be noted in corroboration of the theory here exposed that these cor- respond with the regions in which the five Chakras are situate. The central spinal system comprises the brain or encephalon contained within the skull (in which aro tho LalnnA, Ajnh, Manas, Soma Chakrul and the Suh&srAru) ; as also the spinal cord extending from the upper border of the Atlas below the cerebellum and descending to the second lumbar vertebra where it tapera to a point called the jUum terminal*. Within the spine is the cord, & com- pound of grey and white brain matter, m which are the five lower Chakras. It is noteworthy that the JUum termi- nal* whs formerly thought to be mere fibrous cord, an un- suitable vehicle, one might think, for the Mtillldhllrii Chakra and Kundult Bhnkti Rooent microscopic investigations have, howover, diedowd the e.xiotcnco of highly sensitive grey matter in $he filwn terminal Ir which represents the position oi the MfilAdhArn. According to Western soicnoe, the spinal cord is not merely a conductor between tho periphery and the centres of sensation and volition, but is also an independent centre or group of centres. The Suahumnft. is a Nfldi in the centre of tho spinal column. Its biuo is called the RrahmadvAra or flats of Brahman. As regards the physiological relations of tho Chakras all that can be said with any degree of certainty in that tho four above the MAl&dh&ra have relation to the gonito-ex- cretory, digestive, cardiac and respiratory functions, and that the two upper centres, the Ajui (with associated Chakras) and the Saharrftra. denote various forms of its cerebral activity ending in the repcse of Pure Consciousness therein gained through Yoga. The Nftdls on each side called Idft end Pingala are the left and right sympathetic corda crossing the central column from one aide to the other, 642 KUNDALINf SHAKTf making at tlie Ajui with the Suahumilk a throe-fold knot called Trivenl ; which is said to lie the spot in the Medulla where tho sympathetic cords join together and whence they take their origin— these N&dls together with the two-lobed Ajna and the Suahumnfl. forming the figure of the Caduetus of the God Mercury which is said by some to represent them. How then does this Yoga compare with other* ? It will now bo uakod what are tho general pnneiplea which underlie the Yogn practice above described. How ia it that the rousing of Kundalinl Bliakti nnd her Union with Shiva c fleet tho state of ecstatic union iSumhclhi) and spiritual experience which ia alleged. 'Ihe reader who hut. understood the general principles recorded in the previoua easaya should, if he has not already divined it, readily appreciate the answer here given. In the first, place, there are two main linos of Yoga, namely, Dhytoia or BhdvonA Yoga and Kundolt Yogn, tho subject of this work , ami there is a inurkod disleronoo betwoon the two. The fintt claw of Yoga ia that in which ecstasy (Saraftdbi) is attained by mtelloctive processes (KriyA-jnAna) of meditation and the like, with the nid, it may be, of auxiliary proocssca of Mantra or Hatha Yoga (other than the rousing of Kmulalini Shakti) and by detach- ment from the world ; the second stands apart a* that, por- tion of Hatha Yoga in which, though intolloetivo procceeoo are not neglected, tho creative nnd oustaining Shakti of tho whole body ia actually and truly united with tho f.ord Consciousness. The Yogi makes Her introduce him to Her Lord, and enjoys tho bliss cf union through Her. 1 hough it is he who arouses Her, it is She who gives Jn&na, for She is Herself tkat. The DhySnayogi gains what acquaintance with the supreme state his own meditative powers can givo him and knows not the enjoyment of union with Shiva in and through his fundamental Body-Power. The two forms of Yoga differ both as to method and result. The Hatha- yogi regards his Yoga and ito iruit us the highest. The 643 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA JnuuayogS may think similarly of liis own. Kuudalini is so renowned that many seek to know Her. Having studied the theory of this Yoga, 1 have been often asked “ Whether one can get on without it. ” The answer is, “ It depends upon what you are looking for." If you want to rouse. Kundalini Shakti to enjoy the bliss of union of Shiva and Shakti through Hor and to gain the accompanying Powere (Siddhi), it is obvious that this end can only, if at all, be achieved by the Yoga here described. But if Libera- tion is sought without desire for union through Kundal! then such Yoga is not necessary ; for Liberation may bo obtained by pure Jnftnayoga through detachment, the exorcise, and then the stilling of the mind, without any reference to the central Bodily-Power at all. Instead of setting out in and from tho world to unite with Shiva, tho Jn&nayogt, to attain thi# result, detaohes himself from tho world, Tho ©no is tho path of enjoyment and tho other of UBcetioiem. SamAdhi may also bo obtained on tho path of devotion (Bhslcta) as on that, -of knowledge. Indood, the highest devotion (Pnrabhukti) i a not different from know- ledge. Both are realization. But, whilst Liberation (Mulcts) is attainable by either method, there are other marked differences between tho two. A Dhyflnayog! should not noglcot hio body knowing that as ho is both mind and matter each tracts, tho one upon the other. Neglect or mere mortification of the hotly is more apt to produce dis- ordered imagination than a truo spiritual Experience. Ho is not concerned, however, with the body in the senee that tho Hathayogi is. It is possible to be a successful Dhy&nayogl nnd yet to be weak in body and health, sick, and short-lived. His body nr.d not he himself determines when he shall die. He cannot die at will. When he is in SainAdhi, Kundal! SLakti is still sleeping in the .MOl&dhAxa and none of tho physical symptoms and pGvchical bliss, or powers (Siddhi) described as accompanying Her rousing are observed in his case. The Eratasis which he calls “Liberation while yet 644 KUNDALINl SHAKTI living” (Jivanmukti) is not a state like that of real Libera- tion. He may be still subject to a suffering body from which he escapes only at death, when, if at all, he is liberated. His ecstasy is in the nature of a meditation which passes into the Void (BhAvanftaam&dhi) effected through negation of all thought-form (Chitta-vritti) and detachment from the wurld ; a comparatively negative process' in which the positive act of raising the control powor of the body takes no part. By hie effort the mind, which is a product of Kuudalinl as Piakriti Shakti, together with its worldly desires is stilled so that the voil produced by mental func- tioning is removed from Consciousness. In Layayoga, ICundalinl Ilerseli, when roused by the Yogi (for such rousing is his act and part), achieves for him this illumination. But why, it may be asked, should one trouble ovst the hody and it* Ontrnl Power, tho more particularly as there are unusual risks and difficulties involved ? Tho answer has been already given— alleged completeness und certainty of realization through the agency ol tho Power which is knowledge itsolf (JnAnnrupA Shakti), an interme- diate acquisition of Powers (Siddln), and intermediate and final enjoyment. This answer may, however, be usefully developed ns a fundamental principle of the ShAlcta Tantra. The Sh&ktu Tantra claims to givo both Enjoyment. (Bhukti) in tho world and Liberation (Mukti) from all worlds. Thin claim is baaed on u profoundly true principle, given Advaituvftda us a bums. If the ultimate reality is the One which exists in two aspects of quioBcent onjoyment of the Self, in liberation from all form und active enjoyment of objects, that is, as pure spirit and spirit in matter, then a complete union with Reality demands such unity in both of Its aspects. It mart he known both " here” (Iha) and "there” (Amntre). When rightly apprehended and practised, there is truth in the doctrine which teaches that man should make the best of both worlds. There is 645 SHAKTE AND SHAKTA no real incompatibility between the two, provided action is taken in conformity with the universal law of manifest- ation. It, is held to be false teaching that happiness here- after can only be had by absence of enjoyment now, or in deliberately aought-for suffering and mortification. It ia tho one Shiva who is the Supreme Blissful Experience and who appear# in the form of man with a life of mingled plea- aura and pain. Both happinea here and the blLsa of Liber- ation horc and hereafter may be attained, if tho idontity of these Shivae bo realized in every human act. This will be achieved by making every human function, without exception, a religious act of sacrifice and worship (Yajnu). In tho ancient Vaidik ritual enjoyment by way of food and drink was preceded and accompanied by ceremonial sacrifice and ritual. Such enjoyment was tho fruit of tho sacrifice and tho gift of the Devaa, At n higher stage in the life of a BUdhakn, it is offered ter the One from whom all gifts come and of whom tho Dovat&s are inferior limited forma. But thin offering uLo iuvolvos u dualism from which tho highest Momatio (AdvaiU) SftdhauA of the filnikta Tun tin is freo. Hero the individual life uud the world-life are known ns one. And so the 'I'Antrik Sfl/lhnka, when oating or drinking or fulfilling any other of the natural function!) of tho body does so, saying uud believing, Shivo'ham, "l am Shiva”, Bhniravo'ham, "I un Bhairava”, “S&'ham”, "I am She”. It is not merely the separate individual who thus acts and enjoys. It is Shiva who does so in and (hough him. Such on one recognizes, ns has been well said, that his life and the piny of all its aitivitiee are not a thing apart, to ho hold and pursued egotistically for its and his own soporate flake, u» though enjoyment was something to be filched from life by his own unaided strength mid with a sense of separated* ness ; but his life and all its activities are conceived as part of the .Divine action in nature Bhakti manifesting and operating in the form of man. He realizes in the pulsing beat of his heart the rhythm which throbs through and is 646 kundalin! shakti tlio sign of the Uni versa! Life. To negloot or to deny the needs of die body, to think of it aa something not divine, is to neglect and deny the greater life o: which it is a part ; and to falsify the great doctrine of the unity of all and of the ultimate identity of Matter and Spirit. Governed by such a eoaoept, even the lowliest physical needs take on a cosmic significance. The body is Shakti. Its needs are Shakti’a needs ; when man enjoys, it is Shakti who enjoys through him. In all he sees and does, it is the Mother who looks and acta. His eyes and hands are Hem. The whole body and all ita functions are Her manifestation. To fully roalizo Her ua euoh is to perfect this particular manifesta- tion of Here which is himself. Man wheu seeking to be the master of himself, seeks so on all the planes to lie physical, mental und spiritual ; nor can they be severed, for they aro all related, being but ditloring aspects ol the one all-pervading Consciousnoca. Who is the more divine ; lie who neglects and spurns the body or mind that ho may attain some fan- cied spiritual superiority, or he who rightly cherishes both as forms of the one Spirit which they clothe T 'Realization is mors speedily and truly attained by discerning Spirit in and at nil bring and its activities, than by fleeing from and coating those aaido ns being either unspiritual or illusory and impediment* in the path. If not rightly conceived, they may be impedimenta and the cause of fall , otherwise they become instruments of attainment ; and what others are there to hand I And bo the Kulkruava Tantru says, " By what men fall by that they rise.” When acts aro done in the right feeling and frame of mind (Bhiva), those acts give enjoyment (Bhukti), and the repeated and prolonged Bh&va produces at length that divine experience (Tattvajnflna) which is Liberation. When the Mother is seen tn all things. She is at length realized as She who is beyond them all. Those general principles have their more frequent appli- cation iu the life of the world before entrance on the path of Yoga proper. The Yoga here described is. however, also SHAKTI AND SHAKTA an application of these same principles, in so far as it is claimed that thereby both Bhukti and Mulcfci are attained. Ordinarily, it is said, that where theie is Yoga there in no Blioga (enjoyment); but in Kaula teaching, Yoga ia Bhogu, and Bhoga is Yoga, and the world itself becomes the seat of Liberation ( Yogo bhogiyaU, mohh&yalc aamtdroh). By the lower processes of Hathayoga it ia sought to attain a perfect physical body whioh will also be a wholly fit instrument by which the mind may function. A perfect mind, again, approaches and in SamAdhi panes into. Pure Consciousness itaclf. The Hathayogf thus Maks a body which shall bo us strong as stool, healthy, free from suffer mg and therefore long-lived. Master of the body he ia, master al both life and death. Hi* lustrous form enjoys the vitality of youth. He lives as long as ho has the will to live and enjoy in the world of forma. His death i» the “death at will” { IcfKhh&mrityu ) ; when making the great and wonderfully expressive gesture of dissolution (SamhAra- mudrfc) he grandly depart*. But, it may Iw s»id, the Hatha- yogis do get sidle and dk«. In the first plnoe, tho lull disci- pline is one of difficulty and rich, and can only bo pursued under the guidance of a skilled tluru. A" the Oornkahu Sambiti says, unaided and unsuccessful praotioe may lead not only to disease but death. He who seeks to conquer the Lord of Death incurs the rink, on failure, of a more speedy conquest by Him. All who attempt this Yoga do not of course succeed or meet with the same measure of suoceas. Those who fail not only incur the infirmities of ordinary men, but also others brought on by practices which have boon ill pursued or for which '.hey are not fit. Those, again who do succeed, do so in varying degroo. Ono may prolong his life to the sucrod age of 84, others to 100, othore yet further. In theory at least those who are perfected (Siddha) go from this plane when they will. All have not the same capacity or opportunity, through want of will, bodily strength, or circuniatunoe. All may not be willing or able to follow 648 KUNDALINl SHAKTI the strict rules necessary for success. Nor docs modern life offer in general the opportunities for so complete a physical culture. All men may not desire auoh a life or may think the attainment of it not worth the trouble in- volved. Romo may wish to be rid of their body and that as Bpoodily aa poesiblo. It is therefore said that it is easier to gain Liberation than Deathlessnew. The former may be had hy mumlfinhneiw, detachment from the world, moral and mental discipline. But to conquer death ia harder than this, for these qualitiea and ucta will not alone avail. Tie who does so conquer holds life in the hollow of one hand, and if he be a successful (Siddha) Yogt, Liberation in the other. He has Enjoyment and Liberation. He is the Emperor who ia Master of the World and the Possessor of tho Bliss which is beyond all worlds. Therefore it is claimed by tho Hsthayogt that every SfldhanA is inferior to Hatba- yoga. The Ilathayogi who works for Liberation does so through tho Yoga SAdhanA here described which gives both Enjoyment and Liberation. At every oentre to which ho rouses Kundalinl he experiences a special form of bliss (Ananda) and gains special povrore (Siddhi). Carrying Her to the Shiva of his cerebral centre he enjoys tho Supreme Bliss which in its nature is that of Liberation, and which when established in permanence is Liberation itaelf on the loosening of Spirit and Body. She who “ shines like a chain of lights”, a lightning flash— in the centre of his body is the "Inner Woman" to whom roferonoe was made whan it wo a w»id, “ What need have I of any outer woman ? 1 have an Inner Woman within myself.” The Vira (Ileroic) S^dhaka, knowing himself as the embodiment of Shiva (Slilvo'ham), unites with woman as the embodiment of 81»akti on the physical plane. The Divya (Divine) Siidhaka or Yogi unites within himself hiB own Principles, female and male, which are tho " Heart of the Lord” (Hridayam Parameshitub) or Shakti and Her Lord Consciousness ot Shiva. It is 649 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA their union which is die mystic coition (Naichuua) of the Tuntrus. There are two forms of union (Sftmuraaya), namely, the first which is the gross (Sthula), or Uie union of the physical embodiments of the Supreme Consciousness ; and the second which is the subtle (Bflkshma), or the union of the quiescent and active principle in Consciousness itself. It ia the latter which is Liberation. Lastly, what, in a philosophical sense, is the nature of the process hero described ? Shortly stated, Energy (Shakti) polarises itself into two forms, namely, atntio or potential (Kundnlinl) and dynamic (the working forces of the body as Piflaia). Behind all activity them U a statio background. This statio centre in tho human body is tho central Serpent. Power in the MQl&dhtra (Root-support). It is tho Power whioh is the etatic support (Adhltra) of tho whole body and all its moving PrAnik forces. This Centro (Kendra) of Power is a gross form of Chit or Consciousness ; that is, in it.wlf (SvarQpa), it is ConaciounnwH ; and by appearance it is a Power which, as the highest form- of Force, ia a manifeetotion of it. Just as thoro is a distinction (though itlcntio.d at bmio) botwoon tho supremo quionoont Consciousness and Its active Power (Shakti): oo when ConeoiouanesB inuuifcute as Energy (Shakti), it potueuea thu twin uspccts of potential and kinetic Energy. There can bo no partition in fact of Raility. To tlio perfect oye of tho Siddha the process of Recoining is an ascription (Adhyfisa). To the imperfect eye of the Sadhuka, that is, tho aspirant for Siddhi (perfentod accomplishment), to tho spirit which is still toiling through the lower planes and variously identifying itself with them, Becoming is tending to appear and appearance h reel. The Shakta Tontrn is a tendering of VcdAutik Truth from tliiu practical point of view, ond represents tho world- process ac a polarization in Consciousness itself. This polarity os it exists in, and aa, the body ia destroyed by Yoga which disturbs the equilibrium of bodily consciousness, which consciousness is KUNDALINI SHAKTI the result of the maintenance of those two poles. In tho human body the potential pole of Energy which is the Supreme Power is stirred to action, on which the moving forces (dynamic Shakti) supported by it are drawn thereto, and the whole dynamism thus engendered moves upward to unite with the quiesceut Consciousness in the Highest Lotus. There is a polarisation of Shakti into two forma — static and dynamic. In a correspondence I had with Profoeeor Pramutha Nhtha Mukhyop&dliyAya, on this subject, he very well developed thin point and brought forward some suitable illustrations of it, of which 1 am glad to avail myself of. He pointed out that, in the first place, in the mind or experience this polarization oi polarity is patent to reflection : namely, tho polarity between pure Chit and the Stress which is involved in it, This Stress or Shakti develops the mind through nn infinity of forms and changes, themselves involved in the pure unbounded Ether of Consciousness, tlio ChxUlcAnhn.. This analysis oxhibits tho primordial Shakti in tho same two polar forms sa before, atatio and dynamic. Here tho polarity is most fundamental and approaches absoluteness, though, of coureo, it is to be remembered that there is no absolute rest except in pure Chit. Cosmic energy is in an equilibrium which is relative and uot absolute. Passing from mind, lot us take matter. The atom of modern science haa, hh 1 have already pointed out, conned to be an atom in tho sense of an indivisible unit of matter. According to tho election theory, the so-called atom is a miniature uuivorao resembling urn sol hi syet*ru. At the centre of this atomic system wo have a oharge of positive electricity round which a cloud of negative charges called Electrons revolve. The positive and negative charges hold each other in check so that the atom iB in a condition of equilibrated energy and dees not ordinarily break up, though it may do so on the dissociation which is the characteristic of all matter, but which is so clearly 65 > SHAKTI AND SHAKTA manifest in radio-activity of radium. Wo have thus hero again a positive charge at rest at the centre, and negative charges in motion round about the centre. What is thus said about the atom applies to the whole coamio system and universe. In tho world-system, the planets revolve round the Sun, and that ayBtem itself is probably (taken as a whole) a moving mass around some other relatively static centre, until we arrive at the Brahma- bindu which is the point of Absolute Rost, round which all forinw revolve and by which all are maintained. He has aptly uuggeatod other illustrations of the Paine proocoo. Tluui, in the tinauce of the living body, the operative euergy is polarised into two forma of energy anabolic and katabolic, the one tending to change and tho other to conserve the tissues ; the uctual condition of tho tissues being simply the resultant of these two co existent or concurrent activities. In tho osao, again, of the impregnated ovum, Hhnjdi is already presented in its two polar aspects, namely, tho ovum (possibly the static) and the •pernmtiToon, the dynamic. Tho germ cell does not oenae to be such. It splito into two, one hulf, the somatic ocll gradually developing itaclf into the body of the animal, tlm othur half remaining encased within tho body practically unchanged and os the gonn-plaam ia transmitted in the process of reproduction to tho offspring. In short, Shukti, when manifesting, divides itself into two polar aspects static and dynamio— which implies that you cannot have it in a dynamic form without at tho some time having it in n static form, much like the poles of n magnet. Tn any given sphere of activity of force, we must, hevo, according to the cosmic principle, a static background — Sbokti at real or ‘coiled” as the Toutias say. This scientific truth ia illustrated in the figure of the TAntrik KAIL The Divine Mother moves as the Kinetic Shakt.i on the breast of Sadftshiva who is the static background of pure Chit which is actionless (Nishkriya) ; the (iimamayi Mother being all activity. 653 KUNDALINl SHAKTI The Cosmic Shakti is the collectivity (Samaahti) in relation to which the Kundali in particular bodies is the Vyashti (individual) Shakti. The body is, as I have slated, a microcosm (Kahudrabrahmlinda). In the living body there is, therefore, the same polarization of which I have Bpoken. From the Mahikundali the universe has sprung. In Her supreme forai She is at rest, coiled round and one (as Chidrhpinl) with the 9hivabindu. Sho is thon at rest, Sho next uncoils Herself to manifest. Here the three roils of which the Tan turn apeak are the three Cunas, and the three aud a hulf coils to which the Kubjikft Tantra alludes are Prakrit! and its three Guam together with the Vikritis. Her 30 'coils are the letters of the alphabet As She goes on uncoiling, the Tattvas and tho Mfttxikfta, the Mothers of the Varnas, issue from Her. She is thus moving, and continues even after erection to move in tho Tattvas so created. For as they are born of movement, they continue to more. Ths whole world (Jagnt) as tho Sanskrit torm implies, is moving. Sho thus continues creatively active until Shu has evolved PxitliivJ, tho lust of the Tattvas. First She creates mind And then matter. This latter becomes more and more dense. It has boon suggested that the MuhdbhQtas arc the Densities of modem science Air density associated with the maximum velocity of gravity ; Fire density associated with the velocity of light ; Water or fluid density aasociatyd with molecular velocity and the equatorial velocity of tho Earth’s rotation ; and Forth donaity, that of basalt aoeociatod with the Newtonian velocity of sound. However this be, it is plain that the Bhfltas represent on increaeing density of matter until it reaches its three dimensional solid form. When Shakti has created this last or Pxithiv! Tattva, what is there further for Her to do 1 Nothing. She therefore, then again rests. She is again coiled, which means that She is at rest. " At rest”, again, means that She assumes a static form. Shakti. however, is never exhausted, that is, emptied into any of SHAKTI AND SHAKTA its forms. Therefore, Kuiidall Shakti at this point is, an it wore, the Shakli kfl mrr (though yet a plenum) after the Prithivi, the last of the Bhfllaa haa been created. We hnvo thus .YabAkundftlt at rest as Chidrdpini Shakti in the Sahast&ra. the point of absolute rest ; mid then the body in which the relative static oentre is Kundall at rest, and round this oentre the whole of the bodily forces move. They an Sliakti, and so is Kundall Sliakti The difference lx 1 tween the two ie that they aro Sliakti in specific differentiated forms tn mouvunt ; and Kundall Shakli is undifferentiated, residual Sliakti Ol rrit, that is, coiled. She is uoiled in the Muladhftra, which means fundamental support, and which is at the same time the seat of the Prithivi or fast solid Tattvs and of the residual Shakli or Kundalint. Tire body may, therefore, be compared to a magnet with two pole*. Tho Mfllffdhlrt, in so far as it is the neat of Kundall Sliakti. a comparatively grow form of Chit, (being Chit Sliakti and Mftyll Shnkti) in tho atotio pole in relation to tho rest of tbo body which is dynamic. The "working" that is the body necessarily presupposes snd finds such a stntte support; hence the name XlQlAdhflrft. In one wmse the static Shskti at the MfilAdhim is necessarily co-existent with the creating and evolving Bhnkti of the body ; because the dynamic aspect or pole can never ho without its static counterpart. Tn another sense, it is the residual Shakti left over after such operation. What, then, happens in tin; accomplishment of t his Yoga ? 1 his static Sliakti in affected by PrAn&y&mn and other Yogik processes and becomes dynamic. Thus, when completely dynamic, that is, when Kundall unites with Shiva ill the SahasrAra. tho polarization of the body gives way. The two poles are united in one and there is tbo state of consciousness called Samffdhi. The polarization, of course, takes place in consciousness. The bedy actually continues to exist as an object of observation to others. 1 1 continues its organic life. But man’s consciousness of his 654 KUNDALINT shakti body and all other objects in withdrawn because the mind has ceased, so fat aa his conscious ness is concerned, the function, having been withdrawn into its ground which is consciousness. How is the body sustained ! In the first place, though Kundall Shakti is the static centre of the whole body as h complete conscious organism, yet each of the parts of the body and their constituent cells have their own static centres which uphold such parts or oelk Next, the theory of the Tintriks themselves ia that Kundall ascends, and that tho body, as a complete organism, is maintained by the "ncotar” which flows from the union of Shiva and Shakti in the Sabaarftra. This nectar in an ejection of power generated by their union. My friend, however, whom I have cited, is of opinion (and for this grounds may bo urged) that the potential Kundall Shakti becomes only partly and not wholly converted into kinetic Shakti ; and yet since Shakti ovon as given in the IVIfila centre— is an infinitude, it ia not depleted; the potential store always remaining unexhausted. I n this ease, the dynamic equiva- lent in a partial oon version of ono mode of energy into an- other. If, however, tho coiled power nt tho Mflla boeamo absolutely uncoiled, there would result the dissolution of tho three bodies, gross, subtle and causal, ami consequently Videba-Mukti,- because the static background in relation to a particular form of existence would, according to this hypothesis, luwe wholly given way. He would explain the fact that the body becomes cold as a corpse as the Shakti leaves it, as being due, not to the depletion or privation of the static power at tho MtdfidhAra, but to the concentra- tion or convergence of the dynamic power ordinarily diffused over tho whole body, so that the dynamic equivalent which is set up against the static background of Kundall Shakti is only the diffused five fold Px&na gathered home-with- drawn from the other tissues of the body and concentrated along tho axis. Thus, ordinarily, the dynamic equivalent is 655 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA the PrAna diffused over all the lis&ura : in Yoga, it is con- verged along the axis, the Btatio equivalent of Kundalf Shakti enduring in both cases. Some pait of the already available dynamic PrSna is made to act at the base of the axis in a suitable manner, by which means the basal centre or MfUidhAxa becomes as it wore, over saturated and re-acts on the whole, diffused dynamic power (or PrAna) of the body by withdrawing it from the tissues and converging it along the line of the axis. In this way the diffuaed dynamio equivalent become# the converged dynamic equivalent along the axis. What, according to Ihis view, ascends, is not the whole Shakti but nu eject like condensed lightning, which at length reaches the Parama-HhivaathAna. There the Central Power which upholds the individual world- oorciousneu is merged in the Supreme CoMdouqurei. The limited consciousness, transcending the pawing concepts of worldly life, directly Intuits tho unchanging Reality which underlie# the whole phouomonul flow. When Kundull Shakti tU*jH in the MftlAdhArt, man iu oiojAvi to the world ; whoa eko auahx to unite, and doee unite, with the supreme static CouaciouencM which is Rliivu, then cunaciuuaneM in aslteyj to the world and is one with the Light of all things. Putting aside detail, the main principle appears to be that, when "wakened”, Kundalf 8hakti either Herself (ox as ray friend suggests in Her eject) oenscs to bo a static Power which sustains the world-consciousness, the content of which iH held only so long os She "sleeps" : and when once »t in movement is drawn to that other statio centre in the Thousand-petnlled Lotus (Sahaar&re) which is Horoolf in union with tho Shiva-oonociouunora or tho consciousness of ecstasy beyond tho world of forms. When Ivundal! "sleeps” man is awake to this world. When She " awakes" he sleeps, that is 1 teies all consciousness of the world and enters his causal body. In Yoga he passes beyond to formless Consciousness. I have only to add, without further discussion of the point, that practitioners of this Yoga claim that it is higher KUNDALINl SHAKTI than any other anil that tho SamAdhi (oCBtoey) attained thereby is more perfect. The reason which they allege is this. In Dhy&nayoga, ecstasy takes place through detach- ment from the world, and mental concentration Jedding to vacuity of mental operation (Vritti) or the uprising of pure Oonsciouanesa unhindered by tin; limitations ol the mind. The degree to which this unveiling of consciousness ia ejected depend" upon the meditative powers (Jnfinashakti) of the ft Id halts and the extent of his detachment from the world. On tho other hand, Kundal! who is all Shakti and who ia therefore Jnftmahulcti Horwilf produce*, when awakened by the Yogf, full JnAna for him. Secondly, in the SamAdhi of DhyAnayogo there is no rousing and union of Kundall Hhakti with the accompanying bib* ami ac*|umition of special Powers (ftiddlu). Further, in Kundull Yoga there is not merely a SamAdhi through meditation, but through the central |>ower of the Jlva » power which camra with it the forces of both body and mind. Tho union in that aenne ia claimed to be more complete than that enacted through mental methoda only. Though in both enses bodily conaciouinoi* i» lost, in Kundalinl-yogn not only tho mind, but the body, in ho far u* it is represented by ita central power (or may bs ita eject) is actually united with Shiva. This union produces no enjoyment (Bbukti) which tho DhyAnayogl docs not pww*. Whilst both tho Divyn Yogi ami the Vtra SAdhaka lmvc enjoyment (Bhukti), that of tho former is mid to bo infinitely more intense, being sn experience of Bliss Itself. The enjoyment of the Vfra ftidhakn is hut n reflection of it on the physical piano, o welling up of tho truo Bliss through the doadening coverings and trammel* of matter. Again, whilst it is said that both have Liberation (Mukti), this word is used in Vim SAdhanA in a figurative sense only, indicating n bliss which is the nearest upproach on the physical piano to tbnt of Mukti, and n BhAva or feeling of momentary union of Shiva and Shakti which ripens in the higher Yoga SAdhanA into the SHAKTI AND SHAKTA litoral liberation of the Yogi. He has both Enjoyment (Bliukti) anil Liberation (Mukti) in the fullest and litoral Benue. Hence ita claim to be the Emperor of all Yogas. However this may be, I leave the subject at this point, with the hope that others will continue the enquiiy 1 have here initiated. It and other matters in the Tantra Sh&atra seem to me (whatever he their inherent value) worthy of an investigation which they have not yet received." •See "Mysterious Kundali’', by Dr. Reic (Taraporeva’.a, Bombay), and "The Chakras”, by Dr. C. Uadbeater (Theosopliical Publishing House, Madras). Chapter XXX. THE AGAMAS AND THE FUTURE. [The following k a reprint of a very understanding arti- cle in the Modem Revi/w (February 1018), by Dr. James H. Cousin*, reviewing the works on Tantra Rhftstrn then pub- lished by Arthur Avalon which have been considerably ndded to during the la*t ten years.] INDIA is at present experiencing the interesting sensa- tion of a national revival ; and, like all other such hap- penings, a national revival is no more confined to nation- ality or nationalism than n religious revival is confined to religion. Such phenomena in the course of human history have revealed therawlvos in retrospect, ns incursions of energy from the hidden sources of life, to which tho cir- cumstances of the time havo givon an adventitious bont ; and if. is not always oven certain that the physical location of such movement* was thoir true home. this reminds mo that Mr. 0. K. Chesterton haa remarked in his book on "The Victorian Age in English Literature," with his usual inconsequential profundity, that, "towards tho end of tho eighteenth century, the most important event in English history happened in France, " That i« to say. tho upheaval in human consciousness and emotion celled tho French Revolution won far from being exclusively French in the scone of ite oporotion or its result*. It revolved the world over : it moved in Wordsworth and Byron and Shelley, and in the latter is carrying ita influence, in democratic thought expressed with the force of compelling imagination, right into the coming times. It will be the same with tho Indian National Revival. Tho extent to which it means a revival, or perhaps a revo- lution, fer instance, in European drama and poetry is n matter with regard to which positive prophecy may be safely indulged in by anyone who bos coine into contact with tho 659 SHAKTI AND SHARIA stage and literature of the last twenty years in Great Britain and Ireland, and who has also touched not merely the outer side of the work of Rabindranath Tagore to which publishers and book-sellers have an eye, but the vital force that Yeats felt ami communicated when he murmured tho songs of “GitAnjali” through the street* of Dublin and along tho country lanes of Normandy. But, even within its own territory, the Indian National Revival cannot he restricted to the political interpretation of nationality. One listens instinctively for reverberations in the arte, in science, in religion, and one ia not disappointed. The Calcutta painters and the researches of Bose come readily to the mind. Religion, however, is not so obvious ; and yet 1 am inclined to think that a series of stout books, and some slander ones, all bound in bright red cover*, which havo boon growing in number on my bookshelf during tho lust four or five years, will bo found in future to bo not isolated literary phenomena, interesting translations for tho Sanskrit scholar, but an integral and perhaps vitally impor- tant constituent of the revival. I refor to tho scries of translations of works on the Tantra Bhiatra or Agnma, with introductions and commentaries, by Arthur Avalon. [Principles of Tantra, ? vols ; Tnntra of the Great Liberation ; Hymn6 to the Goddess ; Wave of Bliss ; Greatness of Shiva, Tftntrik Texts, 0 vols. (containing TantrAbhidhAnu, Shatoha- kranirfipano, Praponchas&ra in KulachfldAmani, KulArnava, and KAltvilAsu) ; Studies iu Muntra 8hAM.ni and vmious Essays,] The number of their cureory readers is probably small, the number of their students smaller still ; but 1 think these books will rank among the precious things of the first quarter of the twentieth century, in muoh tho some way ns “The Secret Doctrine” of Madame Blavatsky and "The Perfect Way" of Dr. Anna Kingsford ranked in the last quarter of the nineteenth. My purpose in writing this note on the first translations of this venerable scripture into a European language is not 66o theAcamas and the future to enter into exposition or criticism, but to express a few general thoughts of n Western mind which have arisen during a sympathetic reading of the translations and the discovery of their affinity with and satisfaction of a need, which is showing itself outside India, for a restatement of religious and philosophical principles tliat will be at once wider in their contact with the actual constitution of humanity, and mors explicit in contrast with tho current sentimentality and vagueness of Western doctrine and mawkish practice. My first contact with the TAntrik teaching was through a footnote in "The Voice of tho Silence" in which Maclaine Blavatsky referred to several sect* of “sorccrere" as being “all Tftntrikaa '. Tl)e assumption that, since the Borcerera were all TAntrikaa, all T&nbrikafi wore therefore sorcerers, is not necessarily revolved in tile footnote aa I now read it with greater knowledge and experience. In any case, even if Madame Blavatsky adopted a hostile attitude to tho Tantrn, os she adopted a hostile attitude to spiritualism, we have the example of her great iuooessor, Mrs. Resent, who lies bridged tho gulf between Theosophy and Spiritu- alism or perliajw more accurately, between Thooaophista and Spiritualist* in their mutual search for the realisation of the inner worlds of faculty and experience ; an example which enooumges those who, in the increasing light of modern research to whioh the translations under consideration are a notable contribution, are impelled to seek for the great unities underlying all diversity* of religious thought and experience, even though thoy may, like myself, have found tlicir own path towards tho coutro along another radius of tho vast circle of manifreUtion. Apart altogether from the question of VAin&cliara, antinomianism or abuses of Shikta TAntrik ritual within the bounds of the general morality (which ritual, after all, is only concerned with one portion oi a vast .Scripture governing not only the Vaniftchins, Shikta or otherwise, but other communities), the fact that some of the 66i SHAKTI AND SHAKTA root prinoiplce mid ideas us well us practices of Hindu ism, ancient uud modern, are contained in the T&ntrik Scriptures makes it incumbent on these who wish to understand fully the significance and development of religion to rid themselves of pre -conceptions and to study these books, in which the translator endeavours to substitute an accurate statement of the facta for the "general statements by way of condem- nation" which have teen tlio only kind of literature on tho Tuntnis heretofore in the English language. “The abuses of the commonor jieoplo," ho comploine, “as time wont on dovclopod such proportiona ns to ultimately ojiacuro ull other matters in the Tantru, thus depriving them of that attention which is their due." Unfortunately, it Ls just such developments that tho purposely critical eye lights upon. It abuses Islam ior the boaflitioi of Mohurrom festi- vities, ignoring the foot that tiger- dancing one! sword fonts have no more bearing on tins teachings of Koran than “Blind mnn’a buff" at a Christmas party baa on the Sermon on the Mount, The translator undertaken to show that behind the alleged “black magic and sensual rltea", there exists within tho Tuntni, "a high philosophical doctrino and tho means whereby its truth may bo roaliaod through dovo hj iment," and the student who is worthy of tho uarne cun linrdly escape the conclusion tliattho translator has succeeded In his great and memorable work. Indeed, tho success achieved on the purely expository side is all the time en- hanced by the challenging phenomenon of a decried and abused Eastern scripture boiug championed with mission- ary ardour (albeit in the most judicial manner) by u writer whose name takes him outaidc India in race (though the suggestion of France in one magazine might be modified in front of Hume Jonos' unfinished picture of Arthur iu -I'Yflon), and who oxprcteee the most ancient and profound truths in the most excellent of modern Rnglisll. Ml. Kipling may try to put a big "barrage" between Rant and West on the surface of the earth, but apparently under the surface THE AGAMAS AND THE FUTURE there may be passages and channels beyond his ken. Rein- carnation may be a useful key. The prow criticisms in the West which followed the first publication of the translations offered an excellent example of that process of finding in a thing that which we are capable of finding, which is referred to in a non- TAntrik scripture as “the savour of life unto life or of death unto death.” Such journals as had been in touch with recent Western movements in the direction of cultivating the esoterio senoo, not merely in mythological and thoologi cal matters, but in all relatione of life-wciug layer upon layer of significance und analogy in the simplest of acts— welcomed the work on the strength of the percentage of wisdom which it disclosed, and notwithstanding a frankly observed percentage of matter which ift unfamiliar, and therefore repugnant, to the Western mind. But, there were other journals of the “literary” and “ oriental " order, to which the surface value of a thing make* most appeal, which fixe, I their critical eyus on certain phases of tho Tautra flkAatra. Thoy found a spot on the sun, ignored the shining surface, und proceeded to prophesy worms thou the plague* of Egypt, as a sequel to the publi- cation of books on the Tautra To value this kind of criticism for what it is worth, one haa only to imagine the effect of a first reading of certain portions of the Old Testament, on a simple follower of some gentle and peace-loving faith. If he wan as verbally clever as ha was forgetful, or perhaps ignorant, of human psycho- logy, he would probably upend himsolf in a piece of parallel " smartness" to that of the “ Athenn um” thus “ It appears that this Psalm of David ia the first to be translated into English. Unfortunately the programme of similar enter- prises projected by the translator deprives ua of the hope that it might also prove the last.” The objection of the “Atherucum” reviewer, to tho publication of the Tantra. Sh Astra is that, in it, “ we find the 663 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA lofty conceptions of earlier and purer beliefs often uhiioirt entirely obscured by brainless hocus-pocus and debasing and sensual rites. " We may pass by the suggestion of liocua- ]>ocus with a reference to the illuminating circumstance that a man of the eminence of Edward Carpenter (in his recently published Autobiographical Notes) can see nothing but literary hocus-pocus in the prose of George Meredith. I he railing up of the ghosts of the dead, or the evocation of unseen powers by mantra, may be hocus-pocus in the East : when it in done by the witch of Endor in the Hebrew scriptures if is quite another matter I The objection of the non-Christ inn reader to certain of the Psalms of David and to certain incident* in his history, would probably bo grounded on the hlood-thirstinoiw of tho poet, his claims to the monopoly of a Divine Power which soema more savage than divine, and u sensuality that had no qualms (until afterward® when found out) in stooping to conspiracy and lying, not. to mention murder by proxy. This is not, of course, all that is to l»o said on tho subject, but it i» the parallel to the "Athcuiuum" attitudo to tho Tuntra. The •• Athenwum " would aiaert that tho iniquities of the Psalmist wore part of his human nature ami the cir- cumstances of his tiruo, and did not invalidate the truth of Christian teaching, precisely ns an apologist of tho Tontias might claim that post abuses in the application of some general principles of the Shftkta 8 h Astra do not touch their truth. This attitude of nxclumvoneas on both sided is one of tho inevitable things in human nature, and one of the moat interesting of psychological problems. It i* also the greatest bar to the unification of religion, and can only be undermined by scientific and rational advance, or overleaped by intui- tion which conies from spiritual experience. 1 remember well a quaint and much respected figure in Dublin university life, some twenty years ago, a Professor of Oriental Lan- guages or something of the kind, who6enan>e now eludes me. THE AGAMAS AND THE FUTURE Indeed, my only memory of his personality is of a brown skin arxl a foreign head-dress. But I remember the impact which a reply of his to tome teasing undergraduates made on me. They twitted him of heathen ignorance in worship- ping a (Jod with three heads. He smiled and said it was almost as bad as worshipping a God with threo persons, a sly dig at their Trinitamnism which they did not anticipate, and which helped at least, one searcher after truth a stage nearer his doaire. It is easy for tbo Westerner to condemn the "hcathon practice" of slaughtering goats in the Temple of Kflll, ami it is equally easy for the Westerner to excuse tho slaughtering, not for religious tncrifice but for apputite, of vast numbers of cattlo and sheep ; which is funny and very sad. It is somewhere round this point that tho twin globes of heterodoxy {''your 'doxy”) and orthodoxy ("my 'doxy" revolve. There ora reprehensible practices connected with Tlntrik observance ; but honoaty Oompala tho recognition of tho fuct that every practice suppwwd to bo oncourogod by the Tantrae with a view to the attainment of occult j lowers or spiritual illumination is duplicated uutaido Tlntrik obsw vaueo, and with no other motive than self-gratiflcution. The dillerence in position seems to bo this ; Christianity (which is the nominal religion of the critica of Tuntra in the West, and must therefore mainly be referred to) narrows itself to a counsel of perfection in conduct, and henco, since the true ohwirvers of Christ's injunctions ("Recompense no man evil for evil "—illustrated by the Great War 1) nro in on obvious " microscopic minority, " reduces tho pnrtici- punta in salvation to a small and ohoice company. Cliriati- anity, us ouluuuily interpreted, pula au impassable gulf between the ideal and human nature. Tho Agama, on the contrary, throws its circumference around the whole circle of human activity, and by linking every phase of conduct with religion, endeavours to lift conduct from stage to stage, not. as in non-T&ntrik observance, by focussing 665 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA attention on the act itoeli, which only intensifies it, but. by gradually raising consciousness which will, in due time, influ- ence conduct. It includes worship with flesh-foods, irttoxi- oantt aud sex, because it recognises that these ore inherent in certain stage of human development, and because it believes that they are. more certain to be transcended through being associated with the religious idea, than through being left alone, or in an antagonistic relationship to religion. I am quite aware that this statement of the matter will shock any of my Western friends who hapi>eu to read these lines : it shocks the Nonconformist lobe of my owu brain which had a quarter of a century of careful development. But I cannot ignore the phallic element involved in every Christian marriage ceremony, and I cannot forgot the fragments of slaughtered end cooked animals that, are on every wedding- broakfast table. It ull depends on mental adjustments, and whnt tho groat oducationiat, Hcrbart, calU the "apper- ception manes" tlint spring into relationship in renpon/w to impacts from without The Muhfldcvl herself anticipat- ed the degrading tendency of human nuture in the KaU Yuya, when sh« Mid to Shim : " I fear, 0 Lord 1 that, even that which thou hast ordained for the good of moo will, through them, turn out for •evil." But it would be us foolish to attribute the debasement of the observance to the Tantro no a whole, as it would bo to blame the gignntio slaughter and gluttony of Christmas on the teachings of Jesus Christ He Himself commanded hia followers to do all things in His Name : Tantra takes tho oU to iUi fullest extent. We must not, however, allow ourselves to be lured into the very mistake which we are condemning, that is, the fixing of attention on that which is, in reality, only a frac- tional part of T&ntrik teaching and practice even in its Sh&kta form. It is enough to expose the falsity of the cur- rent attitude of criticism, and to point oat that tho Tantra, recognizing the spiritual gradations of human evolution, 666 THE AgAMAS AND THE FUTURE not only tako-s cognizance of the * debasing and sensual" aspects of human uuture, und tries to elevate them through religion, but pubs its severest condemnation on thine who participate in tho lower rite* when in oonaoiousneM they belong to the higher levels of evolution. It is this recognition of ply chic distinctions that marks the Tantra as a scripture that will appeal morn and more to the future. Science has passed inwards from the physical to tlm psychical, and it will draw religion with it in due time, und leave those systems outside that have not a psycho- logical basin to thoir faith and pmotioe. In this rospcct, tho Agamue present a contrast to Christianity J not that the kernel of Christianity does not ouiue from tho some hidden Tree as all the other great Religions, but the over- growths have, in the case of Christian faith and practice, obscured tho implicit psychology of the system by senti- mentality. The Tantra Slfl-tra, in this respoot, also presents n contrast to that other venerable presentation of the re- lationship of Humanity to Divinity and tho Univereo, tho Vodftnta, not, however, in ultimata*, but in method. "The Tantra," as the editor says, “harmonise* Ve din tic monism and dualism. It* purpose is to give liberation to tho jiva by a method through which monistic truth is reached through the dualistic world." That is to soy, it accepts the principle of tho One Absolut* as the source and goal of evolution, but it focusses ite attention on a point nearer human power, and substitutes for philosophical dissertation, practice bused on knowledge of, and relation with the relative world, though with the Absolute as aim. It says to the spiritual athlete. "Your aim of a development so harmonious that it will appear to be as one, is excellent, but. you will not secure it by disco rarion or moditation merely : you must realise the actuality (if not the philosophical reality) of biceps and triceps, and descend to pushing against walls and moving youranlf up and down on a piece of common iron stretched between two ordinary wooden supports." SHAKTI AND SHAKTA It, aaye, “Faith is good, but, it. is unwise to defer practice until faith is secure. Get to work, and faith will follow, and bo more than mere faith an injunction which is not far removed from the Christian commandment to the disciple to lire '.he life and he shall know of the doctrine. There U a further distinction which has to be marked. Simple religion, Huch os Christianity, removes God from His creation, and removes Him also from full contact with a complete humanity by speaking of Him n* single- ttoxed, and do vitiating the whole superstructure of commentary and cuatom. Simple philoaophy, on tho other hand, rodncea everything to abstraction. The Tftntrik teacher, however, declares : " It is as impowible to hold the firmament between a i»ir of tongs as it is to worship an attributeleM Bruhman by a mind with attribute." Tan tot replaces tho attributo- lofla oa an object of contemplation, by Shakti (tho Creative Energy in all its forms, personified as feminine) us an object of worship, and holds thut the subtler aspects of Shakti can only be reached through Her physical and mnntro forma. Thua, tho Tantra Shflatra unites tho religious and phi- loHophic funotions of human nature, by prsoouting n system which ia in lino with modem psychology in ite recognition ol human divergencies ou tho lcvol und in tho vertical, and which at the same time gives to human and cxUu-huiunn power* the warmth and appeal of personality. It is ns monotheistio as Christianity or Islam, notwithstanding the weird kind of propagandist arithmetic that taught me in my ignorant youth that Hindus worshipped n thousand “gods” (but always spelt with a small </) when in simple reality, the thousand goria (a* far oa Tantra Shftstra is con- cerned) ore but names for aspects and operations of the WahfidovA as recognition of tho “Divine immanence", which is elowly but certainly finding ite way into the advanced religions of the West But the monotheism of the Sh&kta Tantra (that is, its unification of the fundamental duality of Shiva-P&rvati 668 THE AGAMAS AND THE FUTURE on the thither aido of manifestation) is unassailable. This Shfletra is never guilty of thr. inconsistency of attributing to the One Absolute actions and qualities which can only properly belong to degrees of relativity. Thus it escapes the maze of contradiction in which orthodox Christian exe- gesis has lost itself (liko Daedalus and Icarus in the labyrinth of their own building) by claiming its God as the One and Only, and then degrading chat lofty conception to partici- pation in prejudices and actions belonging purely to the relative planes .of the universe. The Agamu also escapes the coldnosa and impersonality of philosophical ubslraotion which ia only endurable by the few who are able to brentho in " the chill air that unfolds the wise". Pure philosophy has never countenanced the personal element in devotion ; otherwise it would not have been philosophy but religion. Lung ago Goaar said that those who followed philosophy did not worship the gods, bo muoh the worse for philosophy ns n moving influence in human udvanoement ; it remains the intellectual interest of the learned few, when it might, have Icon the innpiror and uplifter of the unlearned but intelligent many. The need of the future, nay. of the present, no 1 hnve pointed out in my book, "The Uaecs of Tbcoeo phy" is a restatement of truth in a form and through a method that will make religion philosophical and philosophy religious; and it appears to me that the Tantxn ShOstra, being based on an experimental and demonstrable psychology, and vivified by the breath of personal devotion, and mads practical by application in daily life, is bound to exert an ever-increasing influence on humanity rh it rises towards the needs whioh the RhAaira supplies, including a ritual, with regard to which the oditor, in u moment of refreshing belligerency, says: "Doubtless, to the newer ‘protestant’ spirit, whether issuing from Europe, Arabia or elsewhere, all ritual is liable to be regarded as ‘ mummery, ’ except, possibly, the particular and perhaps jejune variety which it rails its own for even the most desiccated SHAKTI AND SHAKTA Protestantism has not been ablo altogether to dispense with it. " It is declared that the Tantra Shflatxu was given as the scripture suitable to the Kali Yuga. The degeneracy of humanity in the present ago was not considered to be capable of being influenced through speculation aud medi- tation alone ; but rather through discipline and mantrik practices that would vibrate through the material incrus- tations of the ages, nnd shalce consciousness into activity. “The word is a mere display of letters, ” says the author, referring to mere philosophical discussion, " whilst mantra in a mass of radiant onergy. Sayings give advice to men of the world, whilst inautras awaken superhuman Bhakti.” Yet, while it may be quite true that u people goto just the government which it doeervos, it ia certain that an ago does not got tho regenerating influence that it needs in the same measure a* the need. That which would assuredly bo ito snlvation is always in advance. In earlier and less sophisticated times, the rlm-aso nnd ito remedy may havo existed nnd boon applied aide by aide ; but, to day, wo have an extraordinary monster (compounded of cheap literature aud cheaper oducatiou) culled linlightenod Public Opinion, or sometimes The Man in tho Street, that interposes itself between principles of reform and thoir execution, and labels os " premature" the age’s most, urgent need. That has bean tho experience of reform in the Wort, particularly during the last, six or seven years in which it has become obvious to n few rlanr-seeiiig minds that tho general vulga- risation and materialization of life which win sotting in all over tho world (not excluding India) was tho direct out- come of a predominantly maaoulinc attitude and orgaui- ration in affairs, including religion. Ifence the struggle which developed not only in Great Britain and Ireland, but in America, Russia and elsewhere, with faint echoes in India as yot, for tho active participation of the feminine element in all departments of life ; with all that hangs 670 theAgamas and the future upon that element cot merely in the matter of sex difference, but in the qualities of conservation (which is not conser- vatism as many erroneously think), intuition, devotion, sacrilioe, which must become active complements of the masculine qualities of aggression, reason, question, acqui- sitiveness, if & balanced human organ! ration and character are to be achieved. That struggle not only challenged the male exclusive- ness of politico, in it* peroonnol and ita interest* and methods, but invaded the very pulpit* of Christendom. So aoutely, indeed, did some women feel the lack of the presentation of the feminine side of life in the ordinary churches, that they banded themselves into a church run by women, but with a pulpit freely open to both sexes, and a liturgy and attitude that was exclusively human. This innovation was, T nm convinced, the deepest indicator of the souroe of the lopsided order of things ; that ie a purely manculino oonoept of Divinity, and a con- sequent purely maeoulino religious organisation with it* sequel, a purely masculine Bocial machine. The conaoioua- nrea of that defect is growing in Europe, aided by the last grcue example of the logical end of unrelieved masculine aggression, the European War. The full inclusion of tho feminine element in public life will be the groat fight of the immediate future, together with the uprising of a complete democracy (displacing the pseudo-democracies of to-day) baaed on tho equal rights and duties of men and womon in the human household of the State. Thee- circumstances, and the manner in which they aro capable of being met by the Tantra Sh&stra, give another ground for the belief that some of the fundamen- tal principles of this ancient scripture will become one of the religious influences in modern life, not necessarily directly, in the sense of superseding Christianity in the West, but oertainly in an interaction through which the ShAkta ShAstra will help os an irritant, so to speak, in tho great oyater 671 SHAKTI AND SHAKTA of Western, and perhaps Eastern, religion, to produce the Mother-pearl of n complete and true religious exegesis and practice. All things are possible to a scripture whose supreme personifications, Shiva and l’Arvati, give and receive in- struction mutually, the feminine sido being of equal impor- tance with the masculine. On the knees of the Mother, as the author put* it, "all quarrels about duality and non-duality are settled. When the Mother seats herself in the heart, then everything, bo it stained or stainless, becomes but an ornament for Her lotus feet. " “ film lives in the bodies of all living creatures wherein 8’ne is present in tho form of energy, oven in such lifeless things as recks and atones. There is no place in the world where Mnh&mAya is not." Here we have an anticipation of modern scientific thought as to the universal permeation of energy ; but the Tftntrilc idoa of energy is of a Consciousness, and therefore of a Power related to personality, and so, capable not merely of aciontifio study but of woruhip, though tho worship in always (to the higher TAntxilia) with the realization of the piuMing nature (M&yu) of ull limitation by contrast with tho Supreme Reality. With such an ideal as the Divine Father and Mother, equal in all respects in manifestation, and One beyond manifestation ; and with all the implications of influence on conduct and organization inherent in such n belief; ono is moved to pray for tho purification of practice where such purification is needed, so that the Sliftstra may without obstruction fulfil the prophecy of its future ; for it is no leas n spiritual than it is n physical truth, that it is only when masculine and feminine are in equal co-oper- ation, though through dissimilar functions, that there is the possibility and promise of a future. Cjupnat XXXI. CONCLUSION'S. 'DIIAIIMAXISM or Hinduutui, as iu its Liter development the foiruer has been called, is not merely n religion. It is a Sooio-Kconomio System, the foundation of which is the Law of Caste and Stages of Life. 1 That System has ita culture of which several forma of Religion, resting on a certain common basis, arc but a part. Dealing, however, with Brahmanism in i*« religious aspect, we may say that it, together with Jainism and Buddhism, are the three chief religions of India, m opposed to those of the Semitic origin. All three religious systems share in common certain funda- mental oonoeptu which ore denoted by the Sanskrit term# Karma, Samt&Ht ami liokthu. These rouccptn oonotitute a common denominator of Indian Belief os nwt etated. Tho Universe is iu constant activity. * Nothing which is Psycho- physical is at rest. Karma is Action. Tho Psycho-physical se such Is determined by Karma or action, and, therefore, mnn’s preoent condition is determined by past Karina, either his own. or that of oollectivitioa of men of which he is a raembor. or with which ho is iu relation, as alio by thd action of natural causes. In the same way, present Hanna determines the future Karma. The doctrine of Karma is thus tho uJBnnnnco of tho Low of Causality operating not only in thin hut in nn infinity of Univcraee. I. Vsinlihmnu Dbsrma, For ibis icaaou it was commonly thought that an individual non Hindu cannot become n Hindu because there is no place for him iu the csste system. The Patna H. C have, however, recently hold that Hindu Law recognises con- version to Hinduism snd coiner lion makes the person convened a Hindu in every sense, *&.. for marriage. (Thompson or Maharaja of TiltATi.) 1 A Sanskrit term for world is J*gat or that which moves, since the Universe is in constant motion. SHAKTI AND SHAKTA As you 60iv so shall you reap. The present Universe is not the first and last only. It is true that this oarticular Universe has a beginning and an end called dissolution,' for nothing composite is eternal ; but it is only one of a ■eriee which has neither beginning nor end. There has Veen, ia now, and ever will be an Universe . Mental action ar. desire for worldly enjoyment, even though such enjoyment he lawful, keeps man in the Worlds of repeated Birth and Death, or (to use the English terra) of Reincarnation. These worlds the Greeks called the Cycle of Becoming,' and Hindus the Samira, a term which literally means the unending ' moving on ’ or wandering, that ia, being bom and dying repeatedly." These worlds comprise not only Earth but Heaven and Hell, in which are reaped the fniita of nun's actions on Earth. Heaven and Hell are states of enjoyment, mid suffering which exist hero on oarth as well aa in the after c^cath state u the re- sult of mime good and bad actions returning. When iiimii die* there ia no resurrection of the gross body. That is involved into ita sub tie sloments, and the specific relation between man and a particular gross body comes to an end. But there is always Home body until bodiless liberation' is achieved. On death man in his subtle body enjoys the state called TTeaven or suffers in that called Hell Neither is ster- nal, but each a part of the Cycle of the Becoming. When, then, man has liad Hoavcnly enjoyment or suffered the pains of Hell in hin subtle body, in the ufter-denth state, aooord- ing to liis merits or demerits, he is ' reincarnated ' in a gross body on Barth. He continues thus to be ' reincar- nated’ until he has found and desires the way out from the Cycle, tlint is, until he ceases to desire world-existence. His desire is then not only for release from the sufferings 1 . Fralay*— The MtroSmal doctrine as to this is exceptional. 2. Kukloa TOn GcneseOn. 3. PuDarutpitli. 4 . Vide ha Mukti. 674