Hunter Gsoell

Hindu Tantra – Jim Ryan

CIIS Fall 2012

The Tie Which Binds, Liberates:

Liberation and Desire in NonDual Kashmir Shaivism

"[Tantra is]... an attempt to place kama, desire, in every

sense of the word, in the service of liberation... not to

sacrifice the world for liberation's sake, but to reinstate it, in

varying ways, within the perspective of salvation. The use of

kama and all aspects of this world to gain both worldly and

supernatural enjoyments (bhukti) and powers (siddhis), and to

obtain liberation in this life (jivanmukti), implies a particular

attitude on the part of the Tantric adept toward the cosmos,

whereby he feels integrated within an all-embracing system of

micro-macrocosmic correlations." (White, 15)

Desire and the sensual/sexual realm of experience have

perplexed the spiritual conscience of humanity for millennia.

From the shame of Adam and Eve's sex in the Garden of Eden, to the

primordial sexual unity of Siva/Sakti, desire and the

sexual/sensual endeavor has affronted the seeker, mystic, and

saint since days immemorial. The Advaita Vedanta of Sankaracarya,

a major eastern soteriology offers a vision of the Transcendent

Non-Dual which deems the manifest world as being in some sense

"illusory" or not-Divine. This sense of the illusory nature of

Maya treats sensual experience as simply a veil to be cast away so

that one may come into contact with Brahman, the true and 'pure'

Non-Dual which transcends manifest reality and therefore the

sensual pursuit. This casting of the veil denotes that manifest

reality is, at best, a transitory passageway. At worst this is a

world of pure suffering, Samsara, where one toils for lifetimes

chipping away at accrued karmic debt. Enlightenment ultimately

translates to an overcoming of the manifest and dualistic reality,

including all sensual/sexual endeavors into a purely Transcendent

Non-Duality.

In antithesis to this renunciatory Non-Duality, The Tantric

Virile Hero (Vira) is one who in the very dynamism of deep

sensual/sexual endeavor finds liberation in union. Through the

esoteric ritual coitus performed between the yogin and yogini, the

Vira and Priestess perform an alchemical union into Wholeness.

The key to the Tantric sexual ritual's success lies in the fact

that the entire human dimension can be seen as sacralized to the

Tantrika. (Muller-Ortega, 53) The esoteric sexual ritual

performed is affirmed by the tradition as a microcosmic

representation of the macrocosmic union of Siva/Sakti; the Divine

Godhead presents itself as all-in-all. This Divine Union produces

the Emissional Power (visarga) of Kundalini, resulting in deep

samadhi (ongoing Non-Dual recognition in day to day life) for the

awakened Tantrika. The sexual and sensual endeavor of the

Tantrika serves to instill ever more fully and deeply the samadhi

state which eventually extends into every domain of the practicing

Tantrikas life, finally revealing a permanent state of Liberation

while alive (jivanmukti,) the ultimate goal of the Tantric adept.

The Tantric Enlightenment is an ongoing and dynamic process

alive in the world, not renunciation to a static transcendent

absolute. The ongoing Tantric samadhi provides a Non-Dual

recognition that affirms the totality of human experiences to be

Divine through and through. (Muller-Ortega, 54) To a fully

realized Tantrika the esoteric sexual ritual as a microcosmic

event is the macrocosmic Hierosgamos precisely because the Tantrika

does not make any distinction between immanent and transcendent,

Divinity and manifest reality. The Tantric cosmology results from

the union of Shiva/Sakti, Transcendent Consciousness and Manifest

Energy in union which acts as the generative, maintaining and

destructive force of the totality. The Non-Dual nature of the

Tantric micro/macrocosm recognizes Divinity in the union between

perceiving subject and object of consciousness, representative

correlates of the Divine Consciousness (Siva) and Manifest

Immanence (Sakti.) The individual subject therefore finds Union

and Liberation at the heart of engagement with the sensual world.

The result of Tantric enlightenment is Liberation in Enjoyment

(Bhuktimukti,) an ongoing process of Non-Dual recognition in the

very flux of life itself.

Abhinavagupta and Sankaracarya:

Revelations on The True Nature of The NonDual

It is clear that this is not the aforementioned Liberation to

some Transcendent Ideal realm, but serves as a functioning

methodology of apotheosis-in-the-world. The Saiva Absolutist

denies any formulation of the Non-Dual which posits an ultimate

unreality of the universe. (Dyczkowski, 37) This position was

elegantly formulated by Abhinavagupta, a great Indian Sage pivotal

to the evolution of Non-Dual Kashmir Saivism, in response to the

purely Transcendental Brahman of Sankaracarya developed several

centuries prior. Sankaracarya's Vedanta posits finally an

ultimate unreality to things-in-themselves for the sake of a

purely Transcendent Brahman upon which this world of illusory Maya

is cast. The Advaita Vedantist seeks to discover satyam (truth)

which is identified solely with the Transcendent Brahman, beyond

the manifest world of mithya (illusion.) In antithesis, the

Saivite soteriology holds fast to the ultimate reality of both the

immanent and transcendent in coniunctio and functions therefore

toward its ultimate goal of liberation in the world. The Shaivite

soteriology results from deep affirmation of the world, the

Vedantist on negation for the sake of reaching the Real which

finally lies beyond all manifestation.

In Vedanta a very clear distinction is proposed from the

outset between the Self, realized as Eternal and Real, and Nature,

which is seen to be transmigratory and therefore ultimately not-

Real. The Self (Atman,) being totally identified with the

Absolute (Brahman) is necessarily free of all characteristics

since it is the pure Subject par excellence. For how is one to

become aware of the Absolute awareness itself, therefore giving to

it or recognizing any potential set of characteristics? Lacking

any particular characteristics the Pure Formless Brahman

transcends all myriad forms. Therefore all particulars are

likened to a state of unreality passing before the Absolute,

Unchanging Awareness and any sense of a personal self is

ultimately dissolved before the Brahman. "The Brahman is what the

world is not." (Dyczkowski, 35) The manifest world of change is

demarcated as Maya, a grand illusion which is to be cast off

before the Transcendental Absolute which serves as the underlying

Ground of Being beyond all. The Brahman cannot possibly be

subject to transmigration by its very nature as the Unchanging

Absolute and therefore all that is transmigratory, the whole of

Nature, is determined to be in some sense "Maya," the grand

illusion.

To a Vedantist the greatest mistake one can make is to believe

that this world is reality. The individual who identifies with

the body, the world, or an individual self is like a man in a cave

who upon groping around in the dark feels a rope and believes it

to be a snake. Maya as all manifest reality is the snake which in

ignorance (avidya) we mistake to be real, it is like a sheath to

be cast so that one may experience the True, Transcendent

Divinity. In order that an aspirant may reach Brahman and

therefore overcome his ignorance and transcend this world of

transmigration and suffering he/she must renounce this illusory

realm for the sake of the Pure and Formless Transcendent Non-

Duality of Brahman. This illumination through renunciation leads

the aspirant to jnana, the Gnosis or divine knowledge of Advaita

Vedanta which overcomes the ignorance of Maya through total

identification with and absorption into the Transcendent Brahman.

The manifest world is finally viewed by the Advaita Vedantist to

be "anirvacaniya," undeniably existent but ultimately unreal and

that which cannot be described. This notion of anirvacaniya is a

subtle epistemology which purports that any knowledge of the world

is both real and unreal. (Chattopadhyaya, 94) This highly complex term

reveals the problematic nature of manifest reality in the

metaphysics of Advaita Vedanta. The Advaita Vedantin soteriology

skirts the problem of the manifestation of this transitory world

of Maya as being ultimately inexplicable, that which nothing can

be said about.

I suggest that by the very nature of its renunciatory

soteriology the Advaita Vedantist position undercuts the potential

for a true Non-Duality. The integral monism of Kashmir Shaivism

contends that a system proposing the renunciation of any aspect

cannot be truly Non-Dual as a duality is ultimately affirmed in

Vedanta between that which is Absolute (Brahman) and that which is

not (Maya.) The Pure Subjectivity of Brahman which denies the

reality of diverse objective phenomena lands itself ultimately

back into duality now between the Pure, Transcendent, Non-Dual

Brahman and Maya, the illusory world of manifest reality. In

antithesis to this renunciatory soteriology of Advaita Vedanta,

The Non-Dual Kashmir Shaivism posits an integral approach,

maintaining ontological reality to all phenomena in the economy of

the whole. (Dyczkowski, 37) The Integral Monism of Kashmir

Shaivism posits a metaphysics which relies upon the principle of a

Divine unity-in-diversity. This position rests upon a holistic

Non-Duality which holds both Brahman and Maya (brahmamayi) to be

fundamental to Reality. The NonDual Kashmir Shaivism avoids

falling into the dualistic trap of the renunciatory Vedanta by

embracing all (purna,) recognizing the whole phenomenal realm of

existence as aspect of Divinity itself which embeds the entire

cosmology from the diversity of manifest reality to the Unified

and Transcendent Absolute Consciousness through micro-macrocosmic

interdependence.

The Kashmir Shaivite Non-Duality rests upon omniformity. The

true nature of Reality from this perspective is the All (nikhila.)

(Dyczkowski, 38) The Eternal Oneness thus cannot said to be any

one single thing precisely because it is all things at all times.

The Transcendent All necessarily collapses into the Immanent and

multiform world of manifestation in order that Maya may come to

be. This multiform manifestation is at once realized to be none

other than the Transcendent Absolute One in its veiled state as

all spurious forms and in coniunctio the Whole is known to be

Divinity itself, outside which nothing can be said to exist. The

Tantric Yoga of Kashmir Shaivism is ultimately integral in the

sense of lacking nothing in its formation of the Absolute.

The practice of Kashmir Shaivite Tantra serves to instill ever

more deeply the nature of this complex Non-Duality through

integration of all manifest phenomena in "nirvikalpa," the

penetration of awareness into the interstices of its own contents

(Muller-Ortega, 93.) Maintaining conscious awareness at this

center point which rests between all dualistic concepts, the

Tantric adept realizes the Divine unity-in-diversity which is the

underlying generative mechanism of all particular objects of

consciousness. The perceiving subject therefore actualizes the

Non-Dual state precisely with and in the dualistic manifest

reality through realization of the unified underlying nature of

all seemingly particular phenomena. Awakening into the nirvikalpa

condition known, knower and knowing are dissolved into the Unified

Subject and the Tantrika attains Bliss of Consciousness. Finally

totally absorbed in samadhi the Tantrika reaches jivanmukti,

Liberated and ongoing Unified Consciousness in the manifest world

of duality. In this manner it is precisely through engagement in

the phenomenal and seemingly dualistic realm that the Tantrika

finds Liberation and Apotheosis.

These two pathways to the Non-Dual may be demarcated as the

Vedantin pathway of renunciation and the Kashmir Shaivite

realization through affirmation. By a greater and greater

dispassion (vairagya) the Vedantist seeks to detach ultimately

from all which is not-Real (Maya.) This process of realization

through denial rests on the foundation of ultimately detaching

oneself from all attachments to this illusory world for the sake

of overcoming ignorance in Maya and transcending to dissolve the

limited and transmigratory self into Brahman. Desires are seen as

great impediments upon the path which would serve to tie one ever

more deeply to this world of transmigration and suffering.

Liberation is ultimately gained through absolute world-denial

including especially renunciation in the realm of desire and

sensual/sexual attachments. On the other hand the New Way

(navamarga) of Kashmir Shaivism affirms desire itself as the

Freedom (svatantrya) of the Absolute. (Dyczkowski, 39.) The

primary ignorance stems from not recognizing that the infinite and

finite, the transcendent and immanent are ultimately deeply and

intimately intertwined and unified. However the awakened Tantrika

who has realized the true nature of the Absolute as at once all-

in-all realizes desire itself is to be the very act of the Cosmic

Will (iccha) which is the free act of Union with the Divine. The

act of merging personal desire with the Divine Will for the sake

of liberation is a topic for later. First it will serve to

extrapolate more deeply upon the methodology for attaining the

Liberation in Union of the Kashmir Shaivite Tantra.

The SAuH Bija and Visarga:

The Heart Of Liberation In Union

The soteriological method outlined by the Shaivite mystical

philosophers may be understood through the analysis of a

particular mantra, SAuH, by which the complex concept of

Liberation in Engagement may be approached. SAuH is the means of

attaining jivanmukti and rests on the Trishula of Siva: Will,

Knowledge and Action, or alternately Fire (Subject,) Sun

(Knowledge,) and Moon (Nectar-Giving Object of Consciousness,) as

represented by the phoneme 'Au' in the SAuH mantra. This mantra

is equally associated with the Emissional Power (Visarga,)

represented by phoneme 'H' which ultimately generates the sought

after Freedom in Union, and underlying the bija is the Absolute

Wholeness of Brahman as Divine Unified Being, 'S.' The SAuH

Mantra is not a formula meant for recitation, but serves to

activate the 'energy full of potency' (mantravirya,) leading one

back to the source (Silburn, 55). This is the Supreme Heart

Mantra (Muller-Ortega, 170,) also known as the mantra of the

Supreme Goddess Matrsadbhava (Silburn, 83.) Such a rich and

potent mantra may serve as entryway into the complex concept of

Liberation in Union.

The entire realm of manifestation is seen to the Shaivite as

an emittance or utterance of the Supreme. (Muller-Ortega, 172.)

This power of the Divine Consciousness from which the entire realm

of manifest reality emanates (the visarga-sakti) is identified as

pure energy which runs the full gamut from the level of the

Supreme Word (para vak) all the way to generation of mundane

language. The entire phenomenal world is known to be constituted

from the roots of language structures which have at their

foundation para vak, the Supreme Word. The mantra, and indeed all

particular manifestation is therefore imbued with Divinity itself,

remembering of course the ultimate correspondence between micro

and macrocosm in Tantric cosmology. Each particular notion from

the Supreme to the most mundane is recognized as part and parcel

of the Divine, and the word which has at its source the Supreme

Word constitutes the Liberating potential itself.

Paradoxically it is the very manifestation of language which

diffuses and isolates the various components of phenomenal reality

that serves the awakened Tantrika as the instrument of Liberation.

The particular mantra having emerged from the Divine utterance and

closed off through the isolated contextual meaning in the form of

a word or phrase, when unsheathed by an awakened Tantrika serves

as the very tool by which the phenomenal and isolated self may

recognize its harmonious relationship to Divinity. Through total

recognition of the innately expansive nature of the Ultimate

contained as a seed within each particular phenomenon the Tantrika

comes to know the Absolute in even the most mundane. This is a

paradoxical condition of finding Liberation into the Divine

through the contracted and limiting forces very similar to the

role of desire, a topic for later.

The expansive Consciousness having contracted as the

particular word, mantra, or any particular object of consciousness

may serve as the tool which held appropriately as vehicle of the

Supreme serves to vibrate the finite mind/senses ever more fully

in ‘spanda.’ This vibrational energy which is the emanation of

the Divine, generates manifest reality and leads ultimately back

to Divinity as the liberating Emissional visarga. This vibration

which at once delimits the boundaries of the finite in the

generation of all manifestation resonates ever more rapidly in the

Tantrika who has awakened to the underlying unity until the

contracted and limited aspect of self/mind dissolves completely

and the Tantrika reaches jivanmukti. That which contracts

particulars is thusly known to be equivalent to the expansive

force, contraction and expansion taken in coniunctio for the Kashmir

Shaivite Non-Dual Mystic and the whole pulsation of existence

constantly and concurrently contracting all the infinite and

myriad limited forms and re-opening through a concurrent act of

expansion into eternal Oneness. By engaging this process at the

point of reunion between object of consciousness, personal

consciousness and the Absolute the awakened Tantrika finds

Liberation in Union with the world. The elucidation of this

process may be understood through in-depth analysis of the SAuH

Mantra and visarga.

The SAuH mantra may be split up into three moments for the

sake of elucidation, although ultimately for one to access the

energy full of potency the complex Whole must be held with each

part in simultaneity, an ultimately and necessarily indescribable

experience. It is pertinent to note here that this experience is

paramount to any metaphysical speculation for the Tantrika, and

the attainment of jivanmukti is the highest goal. (Muller-Ortega,

6) The phenomenological survey must take the fore, finally, and

any metaphysics stems wholly from the experience of the Ultimate.

For upon reaching the profound dissolution into Source which

underlies all manifest structures including language, what is

there finally to be said? From this standpoint it is possible to

delve into analysis, understanding always that any and all

metaphysical speculation must be held in its proper context as

secondary to the religious and spiritual experience itself. One

additional note is that what we are given with SAuH is not in fact

a full mantra, but a bija (seed of Divine Consciousness) which

when unpacked serves as the root of a profound mantra. (Muller-

Ortega, 175) Most accurately depicted then SAuH may be viewed as

a seed which contains within its essence the profound esoteric

teaching of the Supreme which when unpacked generates spiritual

transformation, the mantra of SAuH ultimately then stems from this

act of opening the esoteric bija.

Taken in a linear fashion, although the mantra must ultimately

be read both backward and forward to be fully comprehended

(Silburn, 55,) the originating point of departure rests on 'S'

which stands for 'Sat.' This particular bija has at its roots the

absolute recognition of profound subject/object Non-Duality

characterized here by Brahman as Sat (Pure Being.) Beyond all

cognizable forms the knower and known are realized to share an

underlying structure of Pure Being. Through ongoing meditative

contemplation on the true nature of the object of consciousness

one comes to the profound realization of pure 'Is-Ness' which

exists beyond all conceptual characteristics (Muller-Ortega, 177.)

Upon taking repose in this awareness the essential character is

illuminated as Pure Being, Brahman. Total realization of the

underlying Being reveals the knowing subject and object of

consciousness to be One, the Brahman which is ultimately equal to

the Atman, or Self. Upon dissolving away all veiling particulars

the underlying ground of Being is realized to be shared amongst

all, Being is at once the true nature of an object stripped of its

characteristics and equally the ground of the self. This

recognition of Atman equating to Brahman, that the all is One and

the One is all right down to the personal self in total union is a

fundamental key to SAuH.

This realization of the Absolute as a Divine Unified Wholeness

is the final state of repose for the Vedantist. However the

Tantrika is not appeased to remain here, and therefore we have the

continuation of the SAuH bija into the next phase of the mantra,

the 'Au' correlated with the esoteric Trisula of Siva. The Pure

Transcendental Absolute cannot be the final as outlined in the

previous section precisely because it denies the existence of the

manifest and dualistic phenomenal reality. In order to more fully

incorporate the immanent and manifest beyond the ‘pure’ non-dual

Brahman state exists the Dyad of Bhairava: Supreme Consciousness

and Sakti, the Moving and Potent Energy of Manifestation in the

coniunctio oppositorum. This complex pairing of Siva (Supreme

Unified Consciousness)/Sakti (Manifest Reality, Power and Energy)

underlies Tantric Cosmology. One representation of the Sakti

manifestation is the triad of powers related to the Trisula (Au.)

(Muller-Ortega, 178) In the Kashmiri Shaivite tradition the Sakti

power is ichnographically given the status of the Supreme standing

over Sadasiva (The Divine, Transcendent Consciousness) who lies

ultimately inert at her feet. (Silburn, 83) Although Divine

Consciousness may transcend the totality, the perfect self-

awareness of the Goddess grants both Freedom and Power due to her

nature as being beyond both immanence and transcendence in union

while the Pure Transcendent Consciousness remains inert (dead)

without Her, just as Supreme Consciousness remains unformed

without manifest reality. The Trisulic energy which serves as the

Freedom and Power so precious to the Tantrika as jivanmukti is the

Power of the Great Goddess, who in perfect self-awareness

illuminates and activates the Universal Consciousness. Freedom in

Union, the ultimate goal of the Tantrika is found at this second

moment (Au) at which the Unified Consciousness comes into immanent

manifestation through the Dance of the Great Goddess (Adi

ParaSakti.) The Siva/Sakti powers in eternal union therefore form

the foundation, maintenance and dissolution of All.

The triadic aspects which rest at the heart of this liberating

mantra may be described at once as: will, knowledge and action,

remembering of course that the three are held by a unified pole in

the hand of the Supreme Consciousness. This is the Trishul of

Siva. There is no will without it's concomitant knowledge and

action. It is the incessant unification and separation if these

three energies which serves to illuminate Divine Consciousness and

elevate the individual to the level of the Supreme. (Dyczkowski,

90.) The great apotheosis, the Liberation in Union of Kashmir

Shaivism is held here in the recognition of the relationship

between these three energies and visarga, the emissional power of

the Divine. To the unenlightened these powers serve to bind one

into disjunctive isolation, remaining in a state of

unconsciousness blinded to the Supreme and therefore Liberation,

caught in suffering and the world of samsara. However the

awakened Tantrika finds in the very potency of the combined

Trisula and flow of visarga the means of Liberation, totally

illuminated in the midst of the pure power and manifestation

itself. The potency and importance of this philosophy therefore

cannot be overstated.

The means of attaining the Supreme Vibration (spanda) which

serves to Liberate the finite self into Non-Dual Divinity is

initiated by earnestly attending to the very first movements of

will. (Dyczkowski, 94) The unconscious individual lacking

adequate self-awareness is thrown into the tumult of sensation,

not realizing that the impulse, the will, and it's resultant

knowledge and action are harmoniously unified as the flow of

Supreme Consciousness. Believing the impulse, perception and

action to be distinct from the universal pulsation at the root of

her true nature, the unawakened individual is overcome by Maya,

the illusion of separation. In moments of extreme sensation a

contraction then disjoins personal will from total engagement,

leading to wholly unconscious reaction in which the unified flow of

energy is broken and the individual is cast upon the rocks of

saktivisarga, the flood of energy. The dissemination of the

Trisula thus leads one ever more deeply into samsara, the illusory

nature of separateness which underlies all worldly suffering. In

this manner the veiling aspect of Spanda, the Supreme Vibration

responsible for all manifestation, maintenance and reabsorption

keeps the unawakened trapped in veiled isolation by severing the

tie between the personal self and unified Flow of Consciousness

underlying all.

However the Awakened Tantrika, residing in total awareness at

the very first stirring of will, known to be the microcosmic

representation of Universal Will, realizes the innately undivided

nature of Universal Consciousness as a whole stream which has at

its root the Supreme Subject with which she has become identified.

Residing in this place at the base of will all resultant knowledge

and action are known in their true nature to be one in the flow of

Consciousness and therefore non-separate from the individual’s

underlying true nature as the Supreme Subject. Finally and firmly

planting awareness at this first moment of will the whole triad of

powers is seen in its true nature as unified in the Supreme Flow

stemming from the Supreme Subject. Here residing the pulsation of

Consciousness expands into the whole of the Tantrika's life and

the ongoing samadhi provides illumination throughout the three

states: waking, sleeping and deep sleep.

Now totally awakened the Tantrika no longer wanders in

samsara. (Dyczkowski, 96.) For such an awakened Tantrika firmly

planted at the base of the will, extreme states serve to vibrate

the personal consciousness to the point of aesthetic rapture and

the resulting vibration is the liberating visarga itself. By

attending fully to the first moment, the Tantrika may ride the

very waves of Saktivisarga as the ongoing current of sensation

unified in the flow of Consciousness. Without becoming

disidentified from any sensation ones entire life serves as fuel

for the supreme fire of rapturous liberation in union. The

Saktivisarga which catapults the unconscious individual into

samsara vibrates the finite self into ecstasy and serves as the

very means of Liberation. The sensual/sexual endeavor which

entraps the unawakened individual into a state of contraction and

perpetual longing provides the very Liberating Energy itself to

the awakened Tantrika.

Now fully identified with the Supreme Consciousness which

resonates throughout all experience and planted at the seat of

will, the harmony of the complex Tantric subject/object Non-

Duality is illuminated. The will erupts at the initial moment of

sensation and sets the subject and object into relationship.

Desiring the cupcake I have set two existences into play, the

desirous subject who longs for the cupcake and object of desire

itself. It is thus that knowledge follows the initial moment of

will and similarly as before the unawakened one who believes this

duality to be absolute suffers greatly at the inevitable

separation and loss. The awakened Tantrika, however, who is

deeply situated in samadhi Knows that there is no contraction to

particulars without its paired expansion, the Universal

Consciousness which mediates and serves as the basis for all

possible knowledge. The cognitive power of consciousness

therefore at once contracts to produce the knowledge of particular

manifestation, but without unconscious delineation into illusory

separateness this manifestation is realized at once to result from

and return to an underlying Unity in Being. At the precise moment

of desire for the cupcake as an object of consciousness the one

who is firmly planted at the base of will realizes the absolute

Unity of desiring subject and object of desire in the flow of

Consciousness. Thus the Divine is perceived in the Absolute

Knowledge of the contraction/expansion of Consciousness into and

out of subject/object Non-Duality. The Divine Consciousness

continually contracts to generate the world of manifestation and

simultaneously expands as All in Non-Duality. (Dyczkowski, 97)

No longer lost and wandering in the unconscious state of

differentiated disharmony between the three powers and self/other,

the will and knowledge come into harmony with the pure autonomous

act of Being which underlies all moment-to-moment.

Caught in the world of disharmony via engaging in action

resulting from a forceful exertion of will without unifying

Knowledge disconnects one from Being in the form of subject/object

duality. Karma exists in the form of action and reaction in a

world of diverse phenomena which are dualistically set apart and

is therefore tied to the world of samsara. Pure Action is the

result of coming fully into harmony with the great Autonomous

Agent, Divine Consciousness itself which is free in all respects.

(Dyczkowski, 98) Resting at once at the base of will, and Knowing

the true nature of subject/object non-duality, action itself comes

fully into harmony with Being and karma dissipates with the

personal will totally dissolved into the Divine Will. Thusly act

and actor, subject and object, perception and perceiver are fully

united in the concept of 'nonaction,' which is in fact a misnomer

meaning action disengaged from the fruits of the act. (Odier, 53)

Pure Grace is achieved through the identification of the three

energies: will, knowledge, and action with the Divine

Consciousness which lies at their source and acts as the unifying

stream itself. Resting upon this realization the awakened

Tantrika discards any notion of a goal to be desired, which would

wreck the harmony of the undifferentiated flow by generating a

differentiation between action and goal. Fully absorbed instead

in the unified Trisula she experiences the Sacred Tremor which

produces the emissional power visarga, and ultimately reaches the

Tantric Liberation in Union. The resultant 'nonaction' is a sort

of action without actor as the personal and differentiated will

has dissolved fully in the Supreme Flow itself and Grace becomes

one’s existence in deep Tantric samadhi.

The last esoteric key to our bija lies with the phoneme 'H,'

final letter of the Sanskrit alphabet representing the emanation,

maintenance and ultimate return of all manifest reality to and

from the Supreme Godhead. Termed visarga, this Divine Emissional

Power is made manifest through the Supreme Godhead agitating into

duality so that the supreme love can be made. The unifying power

of this lovemaking between Siva/Sakti ultimately results in

visarga, the Emissional Power of all manifest reality. (Muller-

Ortega, 135) The various layers of symbolism here are potent in

terms of the Tantric micro/macrocosm. On the one hand we have the

macrocosmic originating Dyad and the Supreme Emissional Power

generated through the coitus of Siva/Sakti which is at the origins

of All. On the individual level, visarga serves as the kundalini

energy by which the awakened Tantrika may be illuminated finally

into the Non-Dual state of jivanmukti. This profound Non-Duality

fully realizes the immanent and transcendent, the macrocosmic

union of Siva/Sakti at the Ground of all Being and microcosmic

subject/object unification in the sensual realm of manifestation

as wholly unified and actualized moment-to-moment. The Emissional

Power of visarga serves as a stream running at once from the

Supreme Godhead through the totality of manifestation and leading

one ultimately back to recognition of the supreme Non-Duality

itself.

The Tantrika who is fully absorbed in the stream of

Consciousness realizes the supreme bliss, or divine vibration of

visarga at the very heart of sensation. (Muller-Ortega, 136) At

the first moment of sensation, fully absorbed in the repose of

consciousness resulting from total recognition of the Trisula and

Non-Dual nature of all experience the Tantrika drifts inward,

experiencing ever more fully the inner fire which consumes all

sensation in absolute emptiness (sunyatanala.) Of course, the

Tantrika does not wish to stop here. At the second stage the

Tantrika opens her eyes into recognition of this total unity,

holding all sensual experience: sight, touch, sound, etc. immersed

fully and dissolved in awakened consciousness. Finally, the

highest visarga realizes the inseparability of all sensation from

Divine Consciousness with which the personal consciousness has

become inextricably identified through the profound and ongoing

Tantric meditation. Now even the personal self becomes completely

non-differentiated from the Supreme Vibration.

Ultimately the individual mind is dissolved in the ecstasy of

the dynamic Dyad at the root of the whole play of visarga which is

revealed as a pulsating essence generating, maintaining and

reabsorbing the totality of phenomenal sensation. Totally

immersed thusly in the ecstatic pulsation the fully awakened

Tantrika finds Liberation in Union, becoming completely and firmly

established in her True Identity as Divine Consciousness and Power

itself, from which all things are inseparable. This is the heart

of the Tantric Liberation in Union. It is absolutely crucial to

note at this very moment of ultimate expansion the contraction of

particulars occurs ever again, the expansion and contraction being

totally inseparable phenomenon, and even at the heights of total

Non-Dual recognition the personal self is simultaneously known

contracted in the world of particulars. This is the heart of the

complex Tantric Non-Duality of immanence/transcendence in

coniunctio oppositorum which allows for jivanmukti and bhuktimukti

(liberation in enjoyment.)

This visarga which provides the illuminated un-differentiation

from the myriad and manifest forms of sensation can be actualized

due to the Absolute Freedom of the Ultimate which cannot be fully

bound to even Absolute Transcendence. (Muller-Ortega, 138) The

nature of the Freedom of the Ultimate is such that a dynamic

overflowing is constantly occurring, breaking free from any

restrictive mode and continually generating itself anew. Not able

to be restrained by the wholly transcendent, the Divine engages in

a free play of creativity known as Maya, bringing into

manifestation the whole Dynamic Universe. Becoming thusly the

totality of atomic beings, the Absolute Freedom shows itself once

more by returning the all-in-all to the Pure Undifferentiated

Source at the same moment, an ongoing creative process uniting

micro-macrocosm. In this way visarga has a triple nature, at once

unifying, emergent and appeased. (Muller-Ortega, 140)

This Emissional Power leads to a realization of the one taste

(ekarasa) that is knower, known and act of knowing in combination

which generates Liberation in Union precisely because visarga is

the energy which runs the entire gamut of existence, from the

Supreme Godhead through to the manifest world and individual self,

back to the Divine Unified Wholeness in an ongoing play of

contraction/expansion. The microcosm is rightfully equivalent to

the macrocosm as all phenomenal manifestation is a seed of

Divinity itself Being and Becoming moment-to-moment. Thusly, all

being the free will and act of the Divine Consciousness at play,

all is caught up in the Divine Emission. For the awakened one

then even that most elusive of experiences which may sway the

spiritual aspirant seeking illumination, desire, is known and

actualized as pathway to the Divine.

The Tie Which Binds, Liberates:

Divinization of The Senses And Objectless Vs. Egoic Desire

"Forget all the externals; only when your heart melts and

is consumed in the flames of your desire for your Beloved will

you ever come close to qualifying to learn the true Aghora."

(Svoboda, 186)

A great innovation of the Non-Dual Shaivism of Kashmir was

internalization of the external Tantric sexual ritual and

divinization of the entire sensory realm for the sake of

personal liberation. In the 12th Century Vatulanatha Sutras, and

the following commentary in the 16th Century with

Anantisaktipada, the semanticization and internalization of the

sacred ritual hierosgamos performed through the act of coitus

between Siddha and Yogini is explicated in terms of the senses

and objects of the sensory realm in loving Union. (White, 242)

The Divine Mystical Union of the subject and object of

consciousness takes the fore and the achievement is none other

than radical personal spiritual Liberation without external aid

such as a guru or master. This particular esoteric doctrine of

personal liberation does not seem far flung from what has been

discussed prior and falls completely in line with the total

subject/object Non-Duality which the Tantrika comes to find in

the full reception of the SAuH mantra. However it is pertinent

to note that proper reception and recitation of highly esoteric

mantra still remains the key to full realization of this state

and the sine qua non of the Tantric practitioner, so that even

without intervention of a guru the highly guarded mantra must be

fully accessed. (White, 243)

This radical personal liberation is possible due to a

divinization of the sensory realm effected by the NonDual Shaivism

of Kashmir. The Wheel of Energies which constitutes the sensory

realm is known to be none other than the Emission and Vibrational

Power generated by the Godhead as Siva/Sakti in Loving Embrace.

The Wheel flows forth from the Tantrika in the form of her senses

reaching out into manifest reality to engender the Fire

(Perceiving Subject), Moon (Nectar-Giving Object of Consciousness)

and Sun (Means of Knowledge) with each phase of the Emissional

power of Divinity: destruction, creation and maintenance of the

entire cosmos. (Dyczkowski, 125) Deeply absorbed in Tantric

samadhi the Supreme Vibration which emanates from the Divine

Hierosgamos of Siva/Sakti pulls the Tantrika ever deeper into the

enjoyment and bliss of Cosmic Consciousness through the ongoing

creative play that is the Wheel of Energies. Over the course of

this practice all particular 'I' consciousness becomes wholly

identified with 'This' consciousness along the substratum of the

flow that is the Wheel of Energies.

Liberation in this sense is constituted by total absorption,

becoming ever more sensitive to the Vibration of Consciousness

that elicits ongoing ecstasy through recognition of the Divine

which runs the entire gamut from initial manifestation of form, to

the Vibrational Energy which provides Liberation into the

Universal Consciousness which is the underlying Source of all

sensation. The phase of contraction of the Absolute Consciousness

into particulars engenders unconditioned Freedom (svatantrya) in

the Tantrika while the simultaneous expansion fuses the individual

self with Pure Consciousness. (White, 127) In this manner

Liberation is inextricably tied to the sensual realm through

contemplation of the Great Light which is Undivided Consciousness.

All sensation finally becomes realized as drops in the great ocean

of Cosmic Bliss that is Consciousness until the isolated self

finally merges in the Bliss of Cosmic Consciousness through an

ongoing practice of fully opening to the Wheel of Energies that is

all sensation Divinized in the ongoing creative Flow.

Paramasiddhi (Supreme Perfection) is effected through total

sensual engagement in and with the body for the awakened Tantrika

through absorption in ongoing meditation on the Wheel of Energies

which issues from and returns to the senses in the great Flow

which constitutes all emanation and reabsorption. However, the

very same Wheel of Energies severs and limits the faculties of

those who are 'afflicted by embodied egoity.' (Dyczkowski, 128)

The power, ecstasy and Liberation afforded to the Tantrika in

meditative sensual absorption are available precisely because of

the undivided nature of the Tantric samadhi which illuminates the

Supreme Consciousness as wholly undivided. The illusion which

leads to samsara stems from identifying the ego with a limited

body, generating a division between self and object. The Tantrika

must therefore offer the greatest sacrifice to attain great power

and Liberation, that of her personal egoic self. (Dyczkowski,

142) In order to attain jivanmukti the ego must become identified

completely with the Supreme Consciousness which is the root of all

subjective existence and therefore all egoic consciousness, any

'me', or 'mine' is burned in the sacrificial fire of the Great

Void (mahasunya.)

The Advaita Vedantist seeks to abandon the illusory realm of

sensorial manifestation through total identification with the

wholly Transcendent Supreme which is taken to be somehow Beyond.

On the other hand the Tantrika reaches the Vibrational Energy of

Divinity which leads to Liberation at the heart of sensory

engagement through the 'one taste' (ekarasa) which identifies

perceiver and perceived as unified with the moment of perception.

The unifying factor between these three principles at play in the

sensory realm: subject (fire,) object (moon,) and knowledge (sun)

is known to be none other than Divinity itself which constitutes

the whole play. Perceiver, perception and perceived as particular

moments of manifestation are known to be a single moment in the

great flow of emanation, maintenance and return of the entire

cosmos. In this manner the Kashmir Shaivite Tantrika comes to

realize the Undivided Nature of the Supreme through apotheosis in

the sensorial realm which is Divinized. Absorbed in the Vibration

afforded by the ongoing recognition of the totality of sensation

as the ongoing Emissional Flow of the Great Wheel of Energies, a

profoundly deep wonderment is engendered deep within the heart.

(Dyczkowski, 149) This deep reveling in life generated by Tantric

samadhi is the pathway to Liberation in Union through Bliss.

The essential identity of Being (Sat,) the whole interplay of

subject and object of sensation with Consciousness (Cit,) is

realized through total absorption in the play of the senses.

Meditating on the True Nature of subject/object correlation the

Tantrika realized the underlying Consciousness which is none other

than Being underlying all particular manifestation. In this

manner the Great Wheel of Energies leads the Tantrika down the

pathway to self-realization to her True Nature which is nothing

other than this Being and Consciousness itself, realized to be

unified through the Tantric samadhi. What finally results is a

merging of the will, knowledge and action in harmony of Bliss

(Ananda,) (Dyzckowksi, 154) Finally firmly established in her

True Nature the Tantrika comes to know the entire Wheel of

Energies and the whole of the sensorial realm to be the creative

unfolding of Consciousness to which she becomes awakened. All

unconscious delineation ceases and she reaches Liberation in the

NonDual in, with and through the entire Wheel of Energies. Well

established in this Universal Egoity the whole cosmic play carries

on and the Tantrika remains completely free as the Universal

Subject, while totally engaged in the free play of Consciousness.

However the profundity of this realization is available only

to the one who has sacrificed any sense of a limited egoic self.

An individual caught in egoic isolation and feeling

himself/herself to be separate from the Divine is disturbed by

craving and desires to fill an endless hole with any number of

myriad manifestations. True and lasting satisfaction can never be

reached as all manifest reality is fleeting, an ongoing dynamic

which volleys the egoic individual from one sensation to another

always craving the next fix to fill his void. Either attached to

his pleasure or attempting to stave off suffering man enters into

a world of constant struggle, loss and pain... that is, samsara.

The transitory nature of Maya as the dynamic and ongoing creative

change of the universe necessarily cannot be pinned down, and the

moment one feels he has reached happiness having settled into some

satisfied equilibrium or another his world is shaken and again

samsara returns.

Desire seems to be the very driving force behind this deep

suffering in the world. One is always desiring some object or

experiences in order that he/she may find momentary pleasure or

reprieve. In either situation the dynamism of Maya comes and

wrecks the momentary state of harmony, either through the loss of

the acquisition or imposition of a new negative impetus. This

creates an endless cycle of egoic craving and an unquenchable

desire that constitutes a majority of needless suffering for

humanity. Many pathways seek therefore an end to desire for the

sake of an Eternal Bliss and Harmony. Wholly unsatisfied with

this approach as it leads to duality between the Absolute and

sensations of desire the Tantrikas instead place desire in the

service of Liberation by identifying desire with the Sacred Tremor

itself. (Odier, 40)

The role of desire and the senses is outlined in the

Spandakarika of Vasugupta around the 9th Century, a key source text

for the Kashmir Shaivite lineage. (Odier, 2) According to the

Spandakarika it is limited or egoic desire which is the problem as

it constitutes an inherent sense of initial separation between

self and other, throwing one into the tumult of samsara as

outlined above. However, resting at the first movements of will

the Tantrika may become embedded in the Vibration of desire itself

which like all sensation is an act of the creative play of the

Supreme Will (icchamatra.) Like any force or movement, desire is

a product of the Emissional Power and therefore constitutive of

the Divine. The Absolute Agent which is the profound source of

all will, knowledge and action is eternally free and therefore the

Tantrika who has sacrificed his/her egoic self and aligned their

will with the Absolute reaches this freedom as well. Even totally

entrenched in duality the Tantrika inherently Knows the underlying

Non-Dual nature. This ongoing freedom becomes deeply embedded

through total identification with the ongoing Dynamic.

The key to Liberation through desire is a total recognition of

the intimate union of the infinite and the finite. (Dyczkowski,

40) With the finite will and desire wholly identified and

absorbed in the ongoing creative Flow of the Divine Will absolute

freedom is engendered. Even as desire, sensation, acquisition,

and inevitable loss come and go, one realizes through their

identification with the Flux a deep Bliss in union with the

Dynamic process of emanation, maintenance and return of all. The

limited self is caught up in the ongoing Flow by which one has

become identified. The result is not diminution of desire, but

elevation to the status of the Supreme. Desire itself is

experienced as the Supreme Vibration, leading one ever more fully

into Loving Union with the Divine as desire desiring itself. As

stated in stanzas 5-10 of the Spandakarika:

"In the absolute sense, pleasure and suffering, subject and

object, are nothing other than the space of profound

consciousness. To grasp this fundamental truth is to see absolute

freedom everywhere. Thus, the activity of the sense itself dwells

in this fundamental freedom and pours forth from it. Therefore,

the person who rediscovers this essential sacred tremor of

consciousness escaped the dim confusion of limited desire.

Liberated in this way from the multiplicity of impulses tied to

the ego, he experiences the supreme state." (Odier, 5 and 6)

Meditating at first on the objects of particular desire one

comes into an ever fuller state of ekarsa, unification of

perceiving desirer, object of desire and desire itself through a

deep recognition of the True Nature which lies at the foundations

of will, knowledge and action. This unification provides the

Vibrational Energy which leads to realization and Liberation in

the depths of experience and desire. Now the dynamic nature of

Maya is no longer an impediment, but in fact a boon which

generates ever new objects of contemplation and fully embedded in

the Flow life takes on the characteristic of supreme wonderment

and play. The eternal worship of the Divine through ever changing

enjoyment in the sensual realm brings rasa (essence and eternal

nectar) of all objects of consciousness finally back into harmony

with Divine Consciousness. (Muller-Ortega, 195) Upon total

realization of the Divine Pulsation at the root of all desire the

Tantrika may find appeasement of particular desires without

impediment to her path. At the foundation of desiring and

attaining she Knows the essential identity of All, including

herself and the object of desire with Divinity itself.

However, upon reaching the Supreme State which underlies

sensation all particular desires dissipate and the Goddess in her

Absolute form becomes the Supreme Object of Desire, for what is

left to desire upon reaching the Supreme Source of all itself?

Finally all particulars are carried away in the Flow of

Consciousness and Desire becomes single-pointedly focused on the

Manifesting principle of the Totality, the Supreme Goddess.

Desire and passionate engagement serve as ongoing meditation which

enjoins ever more deeply the individual to the Absolute through

the creative act of the Divine desiring itself in the free play of

subject/object interaction. Desire thus freed from limited

objects reaches the Universal Nature of the Supreme and in this

manner desire itself serves as pathway to the Divine. In the same

way that egoic desire limits and ties, objectless desire is

freedom itself and the passion of this desire serves as a pathway

to Liberation. Having experienced the Supreme and totally wonder-

filled, joy flows freely from every experience, the ongoing

Dynamic Force of Divinity. Totally enmeshed in this bliss the

Tantrika becomes firmly established in bhuktimukti, Liberation in

Enjoyment and jivanmukti, Liberation while alive in the world, the

supreme goal of all Tantric practice.

Conclusion:

Speaking From the Inside, Speaking From The Outside

Agehananda Bharati, a modern Western Tantric who lived and

worked in the United States through the middle of the 20th Century

explored the importance of creating distinction between speaking

from the 'inside' (emically) and speaking from the 'outside'

(etically) when discussing any level of mysticism, (Kripal, 239.)

This distinction seems to be especially applicable with reference

to the study of Tantra. Writing and thinking about mysticism is

not mysticism, claims Bharati, just as writing and thinking about

poetry is not poetry, and it is the greatest flaw of a scholar of

mysticism to confuse the emic and the etic, the inner mystical

experience with the outer evaluation. The mistake is to confer

any level of ontological status upon the subjective mystical

experience. The truth being that mystical writing is like a

beautiful poetry which stems from the profundity of an

indescribable phenomenon. Ultimately the experience itself is

paramount, for how can one discuss that which transcends all

duality, and therefore all rational discourse? The Kashmir

Shaivites make clear the same point and fully except the secondary

status of all metaphysical speculation, deferring finally to

experience itself as the only true means of realization. However

the line is blurred, and the experience of reading and studying

veers into the mystical and the deeply felt experience inevitably

spills over into the work. The student of mysticism with all of

his rigorous examination and the protocol of distant analysis

finds himself slipping into and out of the ether and finally the

lines become blurred, leading to a grey emic/etic hermeneutical

practice.

In my time with Kashmir Shaivism I have run the entire

gamut from totally detached analysis of doctrine to deeply

involved (almost inescapable) meditative absorption. Finally I

would say that indeed the proof is in the pudding, and no matter

how fully we analyze the doctrine a clear understanding must

ultimately be experienced. It is clear from textual analysis that

desire, the sensual/sexual endeavor and liberation hold

fundamental roles in the doctrine of Kashmir Shaivism. From the

foundational iconography of sexual union at the formation of

Tantric cosmology to the esoteric sexual practice and a whole

Doctrine of Vibration (Spandakarika) based upon liberation through

deep sensual engagement, Kashmir Shaivism is imbued to it's very

core with a doctrine of total absorption in the sensual/sexual

world of desire which is absolutely crucial to the Liberation in

Union of the Tantra. One could say the defining characteristic of

Tantra is the reaction against Brahmanical purity and renunciation

by means of Divinizing the whole realm of human experience. For

this reason precisely a doctrinal analysis cannot hold sway in the

end, for speculation serves only to remove the scholar ever more

fully from the object of analysis and Tantra promotes ever more

fully a deep engagement in life and realization through

experience.

This is not to say that the previous sojourn was all for

naught, I simply want to encourage my reader to examine the nature

of these claims for himself/herself. Finally if the personal

liberation doctrine is taken to its fullest extent the individual

moment of contact is a highly personalized journey. An individual

must lay himself/herself upon the sacrificial pyre of the Great

Void and there is no one in the world able to take his/her place.

Although the guru-disciple relationship is held at the fore in a

majority of Tantric practice, freedom is engendered ever more

fully for the disciple and after the full reception if this or

that mantra or particular initiatory ritual it comes down to the

individual seeker to find the access point between his finite self

and the infinite Divinity. This is a road that can be walked only

be a free individual as it is the pathway of Liberation in this

life. Finally all speculation and discourse, even the guru-

disciple relationship must fall away in the pure Bliss of Being

which relies ultimately upon the individual subject in loving

Union. The role of direct experiential relationship to Divinity

through the sensual/sexual endeavor and liberating desire may then

be taken to its fullest possible end as a means to radical

personal spiritual Liberation in Union. This is the profound

possibility of Kashmir Shaivite NonDual Liberation.

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1987. Print.

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