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Verses 56-57 · Yukti #29 ~ The System of Paths (an āṇava-upāya practice only suitable for advanced practitioners):
भुवनाध्वादिरूपेण चिन्तयेत्क्रमशोऽखिलम् ।
स्थूलसूक्ष्मपरस्थित्या यावदन्ते मनोलयः ॥
bhuvanādhvādi-rūpeṇa cintayet kramaśo ’khilam ।
sthūla-sūkṣma-para-sthityā yāvad ante mano-layaḥ ॥ 56
One may contemplate the entirety [of the universe] in the form of the Path of Worlds or [any of the other Paths] in proper sequence: through stabilizing [this contemplation] in coarse, subtle, and supreme [forms], in the end, the mind dissolves [into the Absolute].
Word-by-word breakdown: bhuvana = world(s); adhva = way, course, path (a technical term in Shaivism); ādi = and so on, etc.; rūpeṇa = in the form of; cintayet = one may contemplate; kramaśaḥ = sequentially; akhilam = completely, or the entirety; sthūla = coarse, comparatively obvious or superficial; sūkṣma = subtle, comparatively less obvious and more essential; para = supreme, here meaning most subtle and essential; sthityā = through stabilizing; or, through [their] status as; yāvad = until; ante = in the end; mano-layaḥ = the mind dissolves.
In a text that explicitly eschews ritual, metaphysics, and the baroque level of detail that characterize other tantras, it is not only surprising to find two verses that allude to the most complex Tantrik teachings, it is downright bizarre. These verses are probably the most out of place of any in the text. They allude to highly complex details of ritual and doctrine, namely the teaching of the Six Paths or Courses (ṣaḍadhvan), briefly and simply explained in Tantra Illuminated, pp. 164-165 (if you have the book handy, re-read those pages real quick then come back to this blog post). What I didn’t explain there is that each of these Six Paths can constitute a basis for ritual initiation into the tradition. (I speak historically; no one performs these initiations anymore.) You could be initiated via the path of the 118 worlds, or the 36 tattvas, or the five Forces (kalās) that subsume those worlds and principles; alternatively, you could be initiated via the path of the 50 Sanskrit phonemes, or that of the 70 million mantras and mantric units called padas (not that all of those would be invoked!). Needless to say, initiation via the five Forces was usually preferred, because it was far more practical than, for example, purifying all of one’s karma and saṃskāras relating to the 118 dimensions (‘worlds’) in which one may have incarnated.
The VBT verses, however, speak not of initiation but meditation: specifically, meditating sequentially on the 118 worlds, or the 36 tattvas (though this was already covered in Verse 54), or the five kalās, or the 50 phonemes, etc. Now, you might say, “Okay, if I can choose among the Six Paths, I choose the Path of Forces (kalādhvan), because then there are only five stages to traverse.” All well and good, but the commentators understand this verse to be saying you need to traverse three of the Paths, not one, because they implicitly take the words “coarse, subtle, and supreme” in the verse to refer to the Paths of Worlds, Principles, and Forces respectively, or else to the Paths of Words (a.k.a. mantric units), Mantras, and Phonemes respectively. The problem with such an interpretation is that such a sādhana constitutes a near-impossibility for a single lifetime. I propose instead that the verse means to say you should select one of the Six Paths and meditate on it three times in succession, with increasing subtlety. This would add up to fifteen stages in the case of the kalādhvan. How strange, then, that the verse names the Path of Worlds, as this would necessitate 354 stages of meditation in total—however, it may be nothing more than the requirements of prosody (i.e., meter) that caused the author to write bhuvanādhva- and not kalādhva-.
Thus we can say that Yukti #29 is, of the 112 practices, the one that is most impossible for the modern practitioner to complete. Perhaps, then, merely making it through this blog post is sufficient to mark Yukti 29 as ‘done’. (NOTE: this post will be revised and improved over the coming days, so it itself is not yet ‘done’!) The lengthy Sanskrit commentary given by Śivopādhyāya offers us the opportunity to engage in some interesting study and contemplation.
Śivopādhyāya’s commentary:
“When the verse says ‘in the form of the Path of Worlds and so on’, this is the meaning: one should meditate on the universe as having the nature of the Six Paths—the Path of Worlds and so forth—which can be [contemplated as] coarse, subtle, and supreme. The Six Paths, known as the 1) phonemes (varṇa), 2) mantras, 3) words or mantra-units (pada), 4) forces (kalā), 5) principles (tattva), and 6) worlds (bhuvana), are all essentially the expansion of the power of action (kriyā-śakti), which appears as signifiers and signifieds [respectively, i.e. three of each], existing in supreme, subtle, and coarse forms. Among these, the phonemes [are ‘supreme’, for they] reflect the universe as nondual; the mantras reflect it as unity-and-diversity (bhedābheda) [and so are ‘subtle’]; and words reflect it as dualistic [and so are ‘coarse’]. Each preceding Path exists as the pervasive element in the subsequent one(s) [listed above], and each subsequent path is contained within the preceding one as that which is pervaded; thus, everything exists in everything. For this very reason, the purification of a single Path, which [implicitly] contains the other five Paths, is enjoined [as sufficient] in various scriptures.
The sacred Svacchanda-tantra teaches that the Worlds are pervaded by the Principles, which are themselves contained within the Forces (the five kalās beginning with Nivṛtti); likewise for the mantra-units (padas), mantras, and phonemes, which are linked to the [first set of three] through the relationship of signifier and signified. (Paraphrased from SvT 4.95-97; what follows is most of Kṣemarāja’s commentary on those verses in his -uddyota, here quoted at length by Śivopādhyāya.) —Thus, the worlds [presided over by the deities] from Ananta to Śiva are pervasive within the tattvas, and those pervasive principles are thirty-six [in number]. . . . The tattvas and so forth are the signified, and the mantras and so forth are the signifiers. . . . Śiva states the inclusion of the five other Paths [in the kalās] by saying “contained within the Forces.” This is the summary of the whole text on the Paths: The Supreme Lord, the independent Sovereign, who is nothing but the bliss of awareness (cidānanda-ghana), through his own power of independence known as the Transmental (unmanā) simultaneously manifests the infinite [universe], from the Void to the Earth, upon the canvas of his own self (svabhittau), as if separately from himself although it is not. In that [divine act], the signifier is situated in the aspect which is the perceiver and is threefold, divided into supreme, subtle, and coarse, consisting of phonemes, mantras, and words [respectively]. The signified, situated in the aspect which is perceived, consists of the forces, principles, and worlds.
The phonemes are essentially the reflective awareness of unity (abheda-vimarśa); through becoming somewhat more coarse, they take on the form of mantras, which have the nature of nāda, the reflective awareness of diversity-within-unity. They then appear with even greater coarseness in the form of words, which convey the reflective awareness of difference. In the same way, the Supreme Power in the form known as kalā, which is the signified, assumes the nature of the worlds through successive degrees of distinction [mediated by the intervening tattvas]. In reality, this power of the Supreme Goddess vibrates & shines without any sequentiality; yet, even there, due to Her own independence, She displays sequentiality, just like a city reflected in a mirror [has many interrelated yet distinct parts].
Even in sequentiality, each preceding [element] exists in the subsequent one as a pervader, just as clay exists in ceramic pots and the like, while the subsequent [element] exists in the preceding one in the form of potentiality, just as a tree exists in its own seed, as it were; thus, everything is of the nature of everything else. For this very reason, in the initiation into the five principles (pañcatattva-dīkṣā), the pervasion of the elements (bhūta-vyāpti) extends up to the principle of the Independent One (anāśrita-tattva). [i.e., the five great elements are pervaded by, and are implicitly present within, all the Principles above them, up to and including tattva #1, Anāśrita-Śiva; therefore, initiation in their terms is comprehensive.] Thus, every individual subject or object is, in reality, nothing but the form of the Supreme Bhairava, whose essence is the repose in the “I-consciousness” (ahaṃtā), which is the core of the ‘reflections’ (parāmarśa) that are the phonemes from ‘A’ to ‘HA’, consisting of the Supreme Lord’s power that expansively manifests as these Six Paths. (Here ends Kṣemarāja’s commentary quoted by Śivopādhyāya.)
Having thus contemplated the entire universe as consisting of the Six Paths, one should dissolve that which is coarser into that which is less so, then dissolve that into the subtle, and then dissolve that into the supreme, i.e. into pure awakened awareness (cinmātrabodha). In this way, through the initiatory procedure of the Paths (adhva-prakriyā) which consists of the reflection on the Śaiva principles of reality, the great arising occurs. (Note: this shows that Śivopādhyāya’s text had mahodayaḥ as the final term of the verse, not manolayaḥ; but this is redundant with the following verse.) This meditation on emptiness (śūnyatā-bhāvanā) is also taught through the sequence of dissolution of each respective principle of reality. To summarize: The triad of worlds and so on is the signified (vācya), and the triad of words and so on is the signifier (vācaka). This Sixfold Path is the Power (śakti), and the Holder of the Power is the Great Lord (maheśvara).”
(For alternate translations of verse 56, see below.)
अस्य सर्वस्य विश्वस्य पर्यन्तेषु समन्ततः ।
अध्वप्रक्रियया तत्त्वं शैवं ध्यात्वा महोदयः ॥ 57
asya sarvasya viśvasya paryanteṣu samantataḥ ।
adhva-prakriyayā tattvaṃ śaivaṃ dhyātvā mahodayaḥ ॥
Thoroughly meditating on the System of Paths (adhva-prakriyā), up to the limits of this entire universe, then on the Śaiva Tattva, there comes the Great Dawn [of awakening].
Word-by-word breakdown: asya = of this; sarvasya = of the whole, entire; viśvasya = of the universe; paryanteṣu = to the limits; samantataḥ = thoroughly; adhva-prakriyā = the ritual systems of [six] courses or paths; tattva = reality, principle; śaiva = relating to or derived from Śiva; dhyātvā = meditating, having meditated; mahodaya = the great arising, or great dawn, or great awakening; also, good fortune, blessedness, etc.
Śivopādhyāya’s commentary on this verse is exceptionally fascinating:
“Śiva, the Supreme Lord, is the creative light of consciousness (prakāśa) and reflective awareness (vimarśa). Having meditated upon this Śaiva reality, which is His own nature, there is the great awakening, which is the manifestation of that light of consciousness [and its reflective capacity]. Therefore, one should meditate upon the aesthetic wonder (camatkāra) of the simultaneous experience of the two powers—extroversive unfolding (unmeṣa) and introversive enfolding (nimeṣa)—that [wonder] which is the essential nature of the ‘kindling sticks’ that are the union of both of these: the category of the signified (vācya), which has the creative light of consciousness as its ultimate reality, and consists of worlds (bhuvana), principles (tattva), and forces (kalā); and the mass of signifiers (vācaka), which has reflective awareness as its nature, and consists of phonemes (varṇa), mantras, and words (pada). [to summarize: the essential nature of their union is the camatkāra of the simultaneous experience of unmeṣa and nimeṣa; on that one should meditate.] Indeed, since nothing in the universe, up to the limits of the Six Paths, exists apart from Śiva, for one who abandons the form of the world [as something separate from consciousness] and meditates solely upon Śiva, the great awakening [shall come to pass].
As is said in the Karmakāṇḍakramāvalī: ‘He who is on the path of the Triad, composed of the three, the seven, the four, and the pair, united with Śakti—that Lord of Immortality (Amṛteśvara) is supreme.’
The meaning of this [verse] as taught by the preceptor is as follows: the three are the vowels a, i, and u, representing the Absolute (anuttara), the Impulse (icchā), and the Unfolding (unmeṣa); the seven are the vowels ā, ī, and ū —blissful awe (ānanda), sovereignty (īśana), and the wave [of incipient action] (ūrmi), plus the four infertile [vowels] (ṛ, ṝ, ḷ and ḹ); the four are the diphthongs [comprising the Power of Action] (e, ai, o, au); and the pair consists of anusvāra and visarga. Being on the path of the Triad—which consists of these [phonemes], i.e. has as its essence that Self (puruṣa) which consists of these 16 powers—means to [traverse] the triple path (adhva-traya) of phonemes, mantras, and words, which collectively are the domain of the Signifier (vācaka), and which are grounded in unity, diversity-within-unity, and difference respectively. The one [who is discovered] on that path is the Supreme Lord who is Awareness, [also known as] the Conqueror of Death (mṛtyuñjaya), he who removes the body of time, and who is united with Śakti, that is, merged with his Power known as kalā that takes on the form of the principles of reality (tattva) and worlds (bhuvana). In this way, the three [other] Paths characterized by kalā, tattva, and bhuvana, that together are the domain of the Signified, are implicitly indicated. Thus, the supreme, subtle, and coarse nature of such a sixfold path should be understood.”
ALTERNATIVE TRANSLATIONS OF VERSE 56:
One should contemplate step by step on the whole universe under the form of bhuvana and other adhvas (courses) as being dissolved successively from the gross state into the subtle and from the subtle state into the supreme state till finally one's mind is dissolved in Cinmātra (pure consciousness). (SINGH)
One should think successively of everything in the form of the path (adhvan) of worlds (bhuvana) and the rest (of the paths), in their gross, subtle and supreme condition until, in the end, the mind dissolves away. (DYCZKOWSKI)
One should meditate successively on the entire universe in the form of the stages (adhvan) of bhuvana (world) and others, in their gross, subtle and supreme condition and in the end the mind will dissolve. (BÄUMER)
One should meditate on the Whole, part after part, throughout (the device) of the Path of the Worlds, etc., dissolving (each world) throughout its gross, subtle and supreme states, so that at the end, attention/mind dissolve away. (DUBOIS)
By meditating on the entire form of the universe and the course of its development through time and space, gradually dissolve the gross into the subtle and the subtle into the state of being beyond, until the mind is finally dissolved (into pure consciousness). (SATSANGI)
Consider the form of the entire universe being dissolved successively from the gross state to the subtle, and from the subtle state to the supreme, until finally one’s mind is dissolved. (CHAUDHRI)
One needs to meditate on how the gross world is getting dissolved into the subtle and the subtle into the subtlest in the same order until one reaches the state of complete dissolution of the mind. (Singh & Maheśvarānanda)
Il faut se concentrer par degrés sur l’univers sous forme de monde et autres cheminements, en le considérant dans ses modalités grossière, subtile et suprême, jusqu’à parvenir finalement à l’absorption de la pensée. (SILBURN)
On doit méditer toute chose sous la forme des Chemins des mondes, etc., selon un ordre allant du grossier au subtil, jusqu’à l’état suprême, jusqu’à cette fin où le mental s’abolit. (DUBOIS)
Man soll darüber meditieren, wie das ganze Universum in Form der (sechs) ‹‹Wege›› beginnend mit ‹‹Erde›› stufenweise vom materiellen in den subtilen und vom subtilen in den transzendenten Zustand übergeht. Am Ende (dieser Kontemplation) wird das Denken (in das reine Bewußtsein) absorbiert. (BÄUMER)
Debe meditarse en todas las cosas según la secuencia de [los seis] senderos – comenzando con el de la tierra, etcétera – y según las modalidades burda, sutil y superior. De este modo, al final, la mente se disuelve. (FIGUEROA)
Consider the entire universe to be dissolving in subtler and subtler forms until it merges into pure consciousness. (ODIER)
As, subjectively, letters flow into words and words into sentences, and as, objectively, circles flow into worlds and worlds into principles, find at last these converging in our being. (REPS)
ALTERNATIVE TRANSLATIONS OF VERSE 57:
If one meditates on the Śaiva tattva (which is the quintessence) of this entire universe on all sides and to its last limits by the technique of ṣaḍadhvā, he will experience great awakening. (SINGH)
Having meditated on the reality of all this universe as Śiva (who is within all things) right up to the ultimate limits, all around (in every way) by (applying) the procedure of the (six) Paths (adhvan), (there comes about) the Great Awakening! (DYCZKOWSKI)
While perceiving the Reality of Siva in this whole universe up to the ultimate limit by the method of the 'stages' (adhvan), one will experience the great awakening. (BÄUMER)
One should contemplate all the universe, until the ultimate (level), completely, through the device of the (Six) Paths. Meditating thus the level of Shiva, so that the highest awakening happens. (DUBOIS)
By this method one should meditate on all the sides or aspects of the universe up to the Shiva tattwa (which is the quintessence) of all. In this way the experience of the supreme reality arises. (SATSANGI)
Meditate that this entire universe all round up to its end limits, is part of Shiva. By meditating in this manner – the Great Awakening. (CHAUDHRI)
By meditating on the dissolution of the entire creation up to the end of the line as indicated by the Śaiva school of thought, one has the prospect of attaining the state of Śiva. (Singh & Maheśvarānanda)
Après avoir médité sur la réalité Śivaïte selon la méthode des (six) cheminements, de façon exhaustive en y incluant l’univers entier, (alors se produit) le grand Éveil. (SILBURN)
On doit méditer l’être-Śiva de tout cela – l’être de l’univers – jusqu’à sa fin ultime et absolument, grâce à la méthode des Chemins. Alors se produira le grand éveil. (DUBOIS)
Wenn man über die Śiva-Realität (das Śiva-Sein) des ganzen Universums bis an die äußersten Grenzen auf umfassende Weise nach der Methode der (sechs) ‹‹Wege›› meditiert hat, erfährt man die große Erleuchtung. (BÄUMER)
Al contemplar, por la vía de los [seis] senderos, que la esencia de este vasto universo – de principio a fin y en cada rincón – es Śiva, [acontece] el despertar supremo. (FIGUEROA)
If, boundless in space, you meditate on Shiva tattva, which is the quintessence of the entire universe, you will know ultimate ecstasy. (ODIER)