* Abhinavagupta's Paramarthasara *
When the spiritual adept views the totality of his being with the vision of unity, he then considers his consciousness to be resting entirely in the cemetery of the universe, considers his own body to be an emblem of the skeleton, and drinks from the skull that lies in his hands, which is a fragment of limited cognition and which is full of the drink of the universe's essence. This is called austerity (vrata), which is both easy and difficult.
Yogaraja's commentary:
To an enlightened spiritual adept an austerity is the following of certain rules in order to worship the divine Being within himself. Why this austerity is both easy and difficult to observe is explained as follows. It is difficult to observe because ignorance can only be destroyed by suffering and because it is attainable only through the supreme Lord's grace after the spiritual adept has given up all other paths of spiritual discipline. It is easy to observe because it is not necessary for the spiritual adept to suffer the pain of such practices as dietary rules, the wearing of ornaments of bones, or the smearing of his body with ashes etc.
It may be asked: what is the nature of this austerity? This is explained as follows: there is only diversity in all that is experienced in the world. The practice of experiencing unity in this world of diversity is his austerity. It is brought about through reasoning, through the authority of scriptural texts and through the experience that “I alone am manifest in the different forms.”
As has been stated in the Bhagavad Gita:
“Harmonized by yoga, he sees the Self abiding in all beings, and all beings abiding in his Self everywhere the same.”
This affirmation of the experience of unity is his (the spiritual adept's) austerity. The universe is comprised of subjects and objects, i.e. embodied beings, jars, etc. that are material in nature and are lying scattered here and there like hundreds of dead bodies, and therefore the universe can be likened to a cremation ground. This is because pure consciousness alone is the Goddess in the world and therefore non-material in nature. All other things, including the physical body and the objects of enjoyment, are inert and material, and require the light of consciousness for their revelation. Therefore all objects are like corpses, and the universe, which is full of them, is similar to a cremation ground.
In the mundane world, consciousness alone shines amidst a very fearful atmosphere characterized by birth and decay. A spiritual adept practicing austerities spends his time in this cremation ground. He is indeed an extraordinary practitioner of austerities, as he lives like a mad person in the world, playing with living beings in bondage (pasu) and also with inert objects like jars and so on, which are also like so many corpses on account of their perishable nature. The spiritual adept always has the experience “I am the sole reality. I am of the nature of pure consciousness” while living in this world and playing with the material of creation. Moreover he regards the embodiment of pure consciousness in the physical body as similar to consciousness being associated with a “skeleton.”
When he succeeds in negating his experience of being a limited subject, which arises from his false identification of his Self with his physical body, he regains his true Self (which is of the nature of pure consciousness). The physical body then becomes like a corpse to him. He starts imagining his physical body as a skeleton. The physical body is then made to serve as an instrument for wearing the kankala mudra (skeleton sign).
A spiritual adept then imagines his pure Self as associated with that mudra (sign) which serves as an instrument for the enjoyment of the object of experience. A spiritual adept practices this kind of experience. He enjoys drinking from the skull of the world of objects. All the five kinds of objects of experience (i.e. ether, air, fire, water, and earth) are objects of our knowledge, this they can be likened to a skull, a bony object in the head, from which the spiritual adept drinks. In other words, the spiritual adept performs the wonderful feat of sucking the pith (the substance or essence of experience) while resting in the absolute Self, which is also a kind of austerity. The spiritual adept who practices austerities tastes “the drink meant for the brave (vira) from the skull” as indicated by the author, Abhinavagupta, by the words “universe's essence”. The meaning of this statement is that the “essence” called nectar that is stored in the skull, symbolized by the fivefold objects of the world, constitutes the best kind of drink, which is technically called rasasava (the liquor of nectar) on account of its ability to produce the highest kind of bliss. The skull is full of that nectar.
In other words, the material portion of the world is symbolized by the skull as its outer covering or shell; the essence stored therein is the nectar capable of producing perfect bliss; hence it is said to constitute the best kind of “drink.”
A skull is held in the hands of the spiritual adept who practices austerities. The rays of consciousness symbolized by the sakti (power) underlying the senses, such as the eyes etc., are the instruments for the enjoyment of objects. This has been stated in the verse by the words “he drinks form the skull that lies in his hands...” Spiritual adepts are said to taste the nectar, the universal drink, through the senses which are in essence rays emanating from the skull which symbolizes all the objects of experience in the world.
This is the meaning of the verses. The spiritual adept always sucks through the channel of power inherent in his senses the nectar underlying all objects of experience, all of which he experiences as resting in his own pure consciousness bhairava. He thus enjoys the integral unity of everything until he reaches the supreme goal. This constitutes the austerity for the spiritual adepts who serve the lotus feet of their spiritual master.
When the spiritual adept views the totality of his being with the vision of unity, he then considers his consciousness to be resting entirely in the cemetery of the universe, considers his own body to be an emblem of the skeleton, and drinks from the skull that lies in his hands, which is a fragment of limited cognition and which is full of the drink of the universe's essence. This is called austerity (vrata), which is both easy and difficult.
Yogaraja's commentary:
To an enlightened spiritual adept an austerity is the following of certain rules in order to worship the divine Being within himself. Why this austerity is both easy and difficult to observe is explained as follows. It is difficult to observe because ignorance can only be destroyed by suffering and because it is attainable only through the supreme Lord's grace after the spiritual adept has given up all other paths of spiritual discipline. It is easy to observe because it is not necessary for the spiritual adept to suffer the pain of such practices as dietary rules, the wearing of ornaments of bones, or the smearing of his body with ashes etc.
It may be asked: what is the nature of this austerity? This is explained as follows: there is only diversity in all that is experienced in the world. The practice of experiencing unity in this world of diversity is his austerity. It is brought about through reasoning, through the authority of scriptural texts and through the experience that “I alone am manifest in the different forms.”
As has been stated in the Bhagavad Gita:
“Harmonized by yoga, he sees the Self abiding in all beings, and all beings abiding in his Self everywhere the same.”
This affirmation of the experience of unity is his (the spiritual adept's) austerity. The universe is comprised of subjects and objects, i.e. embodied beings, jars, etc. that are material in nature and are lying scattered here and there like hundreds of dead bodies, and therefore the universe can be likened to a cremation ground. This is because pure consciousness alone is the Goddess in the world and therefore non-material in nature. All other things, including the physical body and the objects of enjoyment, are inert and material, and require the light of consciousness for their revelation. Therefore all objects are like corpses, and the universe, which is full of them, is similar to a cremation ground.
In the mundane world, consciousness alone shines amidst a very fearful atmosphere characterized by birth and decay. A spiritual adept practicing austerities spends his time in this cremation ground. He is indeed an extraordinary practitioner of austerities, as he lives like a mad person in the world, playing with living beings in bondage (pasu) and also with inert objects like jars and so on, which are also like so many corpses on account of their perishable nature. The spiritual adept always has the experience “I am the sole reality. I am of the nature of pure consciousness” while living in this world and playing with the material of creation. Moreover he regards the embodiment of pure consciousness in the physical body as similar to consciousness being associated with a “skeleton.”
When he succeeds in negating his experience of being a limited subject, which arises from his false identification of his Self with his physical body, he regains his true Self (which is of the nature of pure consciousness). The physical body then becomes like a corpse to him. He starts imagining his physical body as a skeleton. The physical body is then made to serve as an instrument for wearing the kankala mudra (skeleton sign).
A spiritual adept then imagines his pure Self as associated with that mudra (sign) which serves as an instrument for the enjoyment of the object of experience. A spiritual adept practices this kind of experience. He enjoys drinking from the skull of the world of objects. All the five kinds of objects of experience (i.e. ether, air, fire, water, and earth) are objects of our knowledge, this they can be likened to a skull, a bony object in the head, from which the spiritual adept drinks. In other words, the spiritual adept performs the wonderful feat of sucking the pith (the substance or essence of experience) while resting in the absolute Self, which is also a kind of austerity. The spiritual adept who practices austerities tastes “the drink meant for the brave (vira) from the skull” as indicated by the author, Abhinavagupta, by the words “universe's essence”. The meaning of this statement is that the “essence” called nectar that is stored in the skull, symbolized by the fivefold objects of the world, constitutes the best kind of drink, which is technically called rasasava (the liquor of nectar) on account of its ability to produce the highest kind of bliss. The skull is full of that nectar.
In other words, the material portion of the world is symbolized by the skull as its outer covering or shell; the essence stored therein is the nectar capable of producing perfect bliss; hence it is said to constitute the best kind of “drink.”
A skull is held in the hands of the spiritual adept who practices austerities. The rays of consciousness symbolized by the sakti (power) underlying the senses, such as the eyes etc., are the instruments for the enjoyment of objects. This has been stated in the verse by the words “he drinks form the skull that lies in his hands...” Spiritual adepts are said to taste the nectar, the universal drink, through the senses which are in essence rays emanating from the skull which symbolizes all the objects of experience in the world.
This is the meaning of the verses. The spiritual adept always sucks through the channel of power inherent in his senses the nectar underlying all objects of experience, all of which he experiences as resting in his own pure consciousness bhairava. He thus enjoys the integral unity of everything until he reaches the supreme goal. This constitutes the austerity for the spiritual adepts who serve the lotus feet of their spiritual master.
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