7

Pas`u-pata Studies (1)

Minoru Hara

209 to 226

"the Pan~carthabhas.ya, which was written by Kaun.d.inya as a commentary to the Pas`upata-sutra, ... is replete with ... the Samkhya ... philosophy. ...

Samkhya philosophy itself had a long history before it took the final form in the Samkhya-karika of Is`varakr.s.n.a, as has been elucidated by E. Frauwallner [1953, pp. 275 sq]. Again, as clearly outlined by M. Hulin [1978, pp. 128 sq], some Samkhya terminology even is traced back to ... Upanis.adic texts such as Kat.haka, S`vetas`vatara, and Pras`na. The doctrines are further formulated in the Moks.adharma-parvan of the Mahabharata and systematized by such philosophers as Pan~cas`ikha and Vr.s.agan.a."

8

Tantric Meditation : beginnings

Paul E. Muller-Ortega

227 to 245

"see ... my book, The Triadic Heart of Shiva, which also contains an English translation of the Paratrims`ika-laghuvr.tti as an appendix. For a recent English translation of the Paratrims`ika-vivaran.a, see Singh's A Trident of Wisdom. ... Raniero Gnoli has published translations into Italian of the Tantraloka (1972), Tantrasara (1960)".

p. 231

"The Supreme Word (para-vak) is the Power (s`akti) and the unitive vision of totality (pas`yanti), and She [Para-Vac] is perpetually conjoined with Lord S`iva ... . From their blissful embrace ... arises the illuminating light of consciousness (prakas`a), and the perpetual self-referentiality (vimars`a) of that light, the self-awareness that animates the light and makes it into the vibrating, pulsating light of consciousness ... . ... The fruitful embrace of the dyad occurs continuously as the source point (bindu) of all that is ... . ... Therefore, ... the Sky of consciousness of Bhairava ... is ... a perfectly coherent and self-contained vibration (spanda), one in which the various waves coherently and implicately cancel each other out ... as

p. 232

the universal vibration (samanya-spanda).

The Word is emitted (visr.s.t.i) within S`iva, and it is A.

{This phoneme /A/ (as "A-khrid") is similarly in regarded in Bon.}

In the self-contained and implicate overflowing within the Universal Self, A joins with A, and there results A, the power of Bliss (ananda-s`akti) ... . ... Simultaneously, there is the power of S`iva's Will (iccha-s`akti : I), and the Will amasses itself within itself and becomes the power of Domination ... (is`ana : I) and its nature is S`iva's astonishment (camatkara). Present also ... is the Opening (unmes.a : U) ... . ... Beyond that are the four supports, the semi-vowels Y, R, L, V, linked to the sheaths (kan~cukas) that keep the transmigrating souls stuck in the middle of things like Tris`anku" {stuck upside-down in the midst of the sky}.

9

S`aiva Tantric Traditions of Kas`mir

Navjivan Rastogi

247 to 280

In the Guhya-samaja Tantra, "The term anusmr.ti stands for remembrance of realization(s) in a previous birth".

According to the Nirukta (13:12), "After the lineage of seers came to its end, people enquired of the gods as to who was now to discharge a seer's function from their midst."

10

Doctrine of the Malini-vijaya-uttara Tantra

Alexis Sanderson

281 to 312

"The most fundamental feature of the corpus of the Tantric S`aiva scriptures is its division into two orders of texts :

those teaching the cult of S`iva -- ... the Siddhanta ... -- and

those teaching the cults of Tumburu, Bhairava, and various manifestations of the Goddess ... [such as Lalita (fn. 5)]. Texts of the second kind claim superiority ... as special or esoteric teachings (vis`es.as`astram, rahasyas`astram)."

Dvaita

A-dvaita

p. 282 "The dualism ... by the Saiddhantikas ... those who follow the Siddhantas ... is the doctrine that (1) S`iva, (2) souls, and (3) the rest of reality ..., are essentially and eternally distinct from each other. According to this view S`iva is only the efficient cause (nimittakaran.am) of the universe. Its material cause (upadanakaran.am) ... is not S`iva, but maya."

p. 288 "It holds that S`iva ... is manifest in the form of individual souls, maya, and its products; so that none of these is other than an aspect of the power of self-representation (vimars`as`aktih.)".

p. 285 "an imperceptible Impurity (malam) ... acts on the soul {an.u} from outside; and this Impurity, though it is imperceptible, is a material substance (dravyam). ...

p. 289 An.avam malam "is consciousness believing that it is contracted (apurn.ammanyata). ...

Under the influence of Impurity the soul ... is bound to experience the effects of its past acts (niyatih.)."

Impurity of karman ... becomes the belief that one is affected ... by one's actions ... in ... sucessive births."

p. 286 "Actual liberation occurs only at the time of death."

p. 290 "complete enlightenment and liberation are also possible before death (jivanmuktih.)."

p. 287 At "the moment of death ... the remnant of the fetters ... disappears".

p. 289

"Just as the nondualists' bondage is said to be incomplete awareness of S`ivahood (apurn.akhyatih.) so their liberation is defined as the unconditional realization that one's true identity is this one autonomous light of awareness (prakas`ah.) eternally immersed in the macro- and microcosmic activity of self-representation (vimars`ah.).

p. 290

One is therefore not merely S`iva's equal -- the liberation (moks.ah.) of the dualists -- but aware that

one is and always has been S`iva himself".

{For a woman, the aequivalent would be that one is and always hath been Parvati herself.}

[quoted from Abhinava-gupta : Tantra-aloka 37:13c-25b] "Above the [common] scripture in ... Tantras ..., there is the Bhairava ... comprising sixty-four Tantras. ... [Therein] are four Collections (pit.ham) in the following order of ascending importance :

the Man.d.alapit.ha, the Mudrapit.ha, the Mantrapit.ha, and the Vidyapit.ha. The most important scripture of the Vidyapit.ha is the Siddhayoges`varimata.

Beyond even that, as its ultimate essence, is the Malinivijayottara."

p. 293

"In 18.4b the initiate is exhorted to adopt ... the worship of an internal, spiritual "idol" (lingam) is preference to a blind cult of external images : "One should worship the internal idol (lingam) ...; for an external idol deserves its name only because it is empowered by that [within]. ..." ...

As Abhinavagupta says (M[alini]V[ijaya]V[arttika] 2.66) ... : "It is in vain that men resort to the worship of external idols ... . Their action ... can have no effect.""

p. 294

[quoted from Malini-vijaya-uttara Tantra 18:5c-9b, 10cd] "If he concentrates ..., [he will experience] Trembling and Ascent. When ... the idol has risen from his heart to the aperture of Brahma [at the top of the cranium] ..., he will rise above it ... . ... This, the great S`iva idol, is accomplished by means of the self-idol (atmalingena)."

p. 295 "According to Abhinavagupta, ... These are the Idol of the Individual (naralingam), the Idol of Power (s`aktilingam), and the Idol of S`iva (s`ivalingam)".

p. 301

"maya is activated at the beginning of each period of cosmic activity (sr.s.t.i) by the powers of Ananta, the Lord of Mantras (mantrarat.). ... When maya

p. 302

has been activated by Ananta is emits (sr.jati) the thirty impure tattvas and the many submayic worlds (bhuvanam, puram)". (Malini-vijaya-uttara Tantra 1:27-36)

"nondualism did not originate entirely with the ... interpretations and systematizations of Somananda, Utpaladeva, and their successors in the Kashmirian lineage of the Trika. ... a nondualism of dynamic consciousness was already present in certain scriptures of the Trika and the Krama [fn. 89 : "Particularly the Trikasara and Tris`irobhairava in the Trika, and the Kalikakrama, Kalikulapan~cas`atika, Kalikulakramasadbhava, and Jayadrathayamala (Tantrarajabhat.t.araka) in the Krama."] ... . ...

Nondualism or the one-soul doctrine (ekatmavadah.) is known and rejected in the Siddhantas; ... it is a Vedantic ... nondualism."

11

Kubjika Upa-nis.ad and Its Atharva-vaidik Character

Jan A. Schoterman

313 to 326

p.

cap.

contents

316

1

"Pippalada Angiras poses questions to Sanatkumara Atharvan.a [p. 324, n. 11:5 : "in the Atharvas`ikha Up. : Pippalada, Angiras, and Sanatkumara ... question Atharvan"] about ... Kubjika, the Lady of the Western Tradition. Sanatkumara first describes the yantra of the goddess (who in this connection is identified with Pratyangira); it consists of a bindu, triangle, hexagon, eight-petaled lotus, octagon, and square with four gates."

2-5

"Sanatkumara, who studied all the nine schools of the Atharvaveda ..., proceeds with the exposition of the yantra ... connected with the exegesis of the famous stanza pun.d.arikam navadvaram (AV 10, 8, 43)."

6

"worship of the guru lineage : Parames.t.higuru, Paraparaguru, Paramaguru, one's own guru. This

317

is followed by worship of dawn and night with Atharvanic mantras ... . Without ... wisdom revealed by Paras`ara ..., the performance of the morning ritual is declared to be useless."

7

"After a bow to the Kula tree [p. 324, n. 11:6 : "The Kulavr.ks.as are enumberated by L. Finn, The Kulacud.aman.i Tantra and the Vamakes`vara Tantra ..., p. 80, n. 3."], the officiant should practice the ascension of the hamsa ... within his own mystic body. ... The characterization of the hamsa and its movements along the six cakras is greatly inspired by the Hamsa Upanis.ad ... . ... A remarkable feature is the quotation of a stanza from Gaud.apada's Man.d.ukyakarika's ... (I, 7c-8b)." "Mahakubjika, also called Siddhikubjika, ... is seated

on the Western throne on five corpses (Brahma, Vis.n.u, etc.). ...

{JMN, the Kemetic 'West', is likewise the realm of divine corpses (of WSJR, etc.).}

On her throne in the heart, she is served by Kubjanatha or Kubjes`vara, who is equal to ...

the thousand-eyed Purus.a of the Vedic tradition."

{cf. the 1000-eyed Mitra of the Zend-Awesta}

8

"long quotations from the Gopatha-Brahman.a (I, 24 and 25), and the Atharvas`ira- and Atharvas`ikha Upanis.ads. ... This chapter is proclaimed by Prajapati."

9

"In the middle of the night, on a cremation ground, the practicer should prepare with flour an image of a female deity,

318

infuse it with life (jivanyasam kuryat) ..., worship this deity and request her ... . ... The ritual is concluded by a short worship of Yama."

10

"The KuUp is ... recommended for a Brahmin of the Paras`ara gotra who is ... a teacher of the "Pippaladas`aunakis`akha" ... . The performer should then ask ... Kubjika ... before beginning (again at midnight on a cremation ground) the ritual of lighting a lamp in a Western direction."

11

"the worship of the ten Mahavidyas, well known from Bengali Tantras. Their names are enumerated as

Kalika,

Tara or Ugratara,

S.od.as`i or Rajarajes`vari,

Bhuvanes`vari,

Bhairavi or Caitanyabhairavi or Annapurn.a,

Chinnamasta or Pracan.d.acan.d.ika,

Dhumavati,

Bagalamukhi,

Matangi or Matangini, and

Kamala or Siddhilaks.mi. ...

12-21

Each of these ten deities is then the subject of a special chapter (... 12 to 21). ... Chapter 14 contains the greater part of the Bhavana Upanis.ad (the last chapter of the Tantraraja Tantra)."

22-25

"The last four chapters give more particulars on magical rituals ... . The exposition again is introduced by Prajapati, who answers a question posed by Indra."

capp. 1-5

"various mantras, vidyas, of Kubjika and her various manifestations"

capp. 6-7

"philosophical and meditational background of the morning ritual"

cap. 8

"analysis of the syllable OM"

capp. 9-10

"magical ritual in Atharvanic style"

capp. 11-21

"worship of the ten Mahavidyas"

capp. 22-5

"magical rituals, presided over by manifestations of Kubjika"

"two portions ... (6-10 and 22-25) ... have the character of a treatise in truly Atharvanic fashion".

p. 320

[quoted from cap. 20 of the Kubjika Upa-nis.ad] "the Royal Matangini ... is clothed with a blue garment ... seated upon a blue throne, with a blue parrot in her hand ...; thus is the teaching of the S`aunakas ... .

With blood of ram and tomcat,

with red flower spontaneously grown ["That is, menstruate blood." (p. 325, n. 11:12)];

with flesh from pit and bulb ["kun.d.agola" (p. 325, n. 11:12)]

one should sacrifice to Matangi."

p. 321

"her worship ... refers to the authority of the S`aunakas with whom ... the representants of the Atharvavedic school of that name are meant."

p. 321

"the [Kubjika] Upanis.ad contains about 140 Atharvavedic stanzas -- a really unique phenomenon in the Upanis.adic corpus."

[p. 325, n. 11:14 "Only the Culika or Mantrika Upanis.ad also contains quotations of Atharvanic stanzas, but much fewer."]

"of Atharvanic schools, ... the number of the schools is given as nine. Of these, the text of only two has been preserved : the Paippalada and the S`aunakiya. ... In our Upanis.ad, the nine schools are enumerated in ... Chapter 2 ... : Pippalada, S`aunaka, Damoda, Tottayana, Japala or Jabala, Brahmapalas`a, Kunakhi, Devadr.s`i, and Caran.avidya." [p. 325, n. 17 : "This list should be corrected, see Weber ..., p. 278."]

"Chapter 10 mentions a preference for a Brahman of

p. 322

the Paras`ara gotra. In this connection ... a commentary on the Gopalatapani Upanis.ad ... said that the Paippalada Atharvaveda is handed down in Gurjara by Brahmans of this gotra. ... However ..., all the Atharvavedic stanzas that occur in the KuUp have been quoted according to the S`aunaka version."

"As to the Hamsa Upanis.ad, although there is also a tradition that assigns it to the White Yajurveda, is is usually characterized as an Atharvanic Upanis.ad.

The same holds for the Maha Upanis.ad, which is sometimes reckoned to the Samaveda."

p. 323

"KuUp ... Chapter 8 ... largely consists of a combination of passages from the first chapter of the (Atharvanic [Bloomfield 1899]) Gopathabrahman.a ..., and from the Brahmavidya Upanis.ad. ... From the Persian translation it appears that [the] Pran.ava Upanis.ad consists of the literal text of Gopatha Brahman.a I, 1, 16-30. ... in the collection ... called Upublished Upanis.ads ... are even two texts called Pran.ava Upanis.ad, but the second one is identical with the mentioned Brahmavidya Upanis.ad. ...

Our text (Chapter 8 of the KuUp) ... can rightly claim the title Pran.ava Upanis.ad."

12

Prati-abhi-jn~a of Buddhism

Raffaele Torella

327 to 345

"the Pratyabhijn~a school, which constituted the highest point ... reached by nondualistic Kashmir S`aivism,

starting from Somananda (c. 875-925 A.D.),

then especially Utpaladeva (c. 900-950 A.D.), and

later Abhinavagupta (c. 950-1020 A.D.),

is ... one of the least investigated."

Buddhist logicians and

Pratyabhijn~a start out from presuppositions ... :

an impersonal world of events, on the one hand, and,

on the other, a world permeated and vivified ... by the dynamism of the I (S`iva or Consciousness)."

{How can the multitudinous deities (dhyani-buddha-s, dhyani-bodhisattva-s -- all constantly prayed to and appeased by endless rituals) and their worlds ever in any way be accounted as "impersonal"? That the Vajra-yana theists would ever allow "logicians" to label themselves as co-religionists is utterly absurd and downright hypocritical.}

{Whereas all the deities of Vajra-yana are said to pervade the minds of all mortals, the same is not asserted by orthodox traditional S`aivist theology. Somehow, the schools of "logicians" have traded places, for the Prati-abhijn~a philosophy is far more alike to what could fit Vajra-yana theism than is Vijn~ana-vada or Madhyamaka. Only political matters could hindre Prati-abhijn~a metaphysics from becoming accepted as orthodox by Vajra-yana theologians; and only political affairs could hindre Vajra-yana theologians from condemning Vijn~ana-vada and Madhyamaka "logic"s.}

"[Logical] positions pertaining to {advocated by} the Buddhists {so-called "Buddhists", i.e. atheistic logicians} are accepted but only to show that they become admissible in all their implications only if they are placed in a S`aiva {or in any other truly metaphysically theistic} frame of reference."