Swami Lakshman Jee’s The Secret Supreme
examines the central theories of the Tantric path of Kashmir Shaivism. The late
swami is credited, along with the much more-famous Swami Muktananda, with a
contemporary revival of Kashmir (Trika) Shaivism,
especially in the West. An American disciple, John Hughes, recorded a series of
talks that Jee delivered at his ashram in Kashmir
in 1971-72, and the edited transcripts form the basis of The Secret Supreme.
The book opens with an explanation of the
nature of the 36 tattvas, or elements that comprise the total cosmos. I
will try to arrange these[1] in
order of increasing subtlety, beginning with the Five Great Elements: Earth,
Water, Fire, Air, and Ether (or Space).
Next, are the Five Subtle Elements: Smell,
Taste, Form, Touch, Sound. Then the Five Organs of Action: Creation, Excretion,
Foot, Hand, Speech. Next, the Five Organs of Cognition: Nose, Tongue, Eye,
Skin, Ear. All of these 20 elements listed so far are known as the Gross
Elements. They are all objective, empirical, phenomenal. The next are a
combination of objective and subjective. The first group is comprised of the
Three Internal Organs: Mind, Intellect, Ego, connected with objectivity. Oddly
enough, two more elements are listed in this group without further explanation
of why a group labeled “three” should actually include five members. The extra
members of this group are Nature (prakriti) and Ego, connected with
subjectivity (purusha). Lakhsman Jee interjects here that the elements
thus far listed “are the limit of the Vedantin’s understanding of the tattvas.
They say there are only twenty-five tattvas. Yet in Shaivism nothing as
yet has happened.” He then explains that purusha, or ego connected with
subjectivity, is not a realized soul, but is bound by the next set of tattvas,
the Six Coverings: Limitation of place, Limitation of time, Limitation of
attachment, Limitation of knowledge, Creativity, Illusion of individuality.
Next we come to the final set of elements, which are associated with pure
subjectivity, The Five Pure Elements: I-ness in I-ness—this-ness in this-ness,
this-ness in I-ness, I-ness in this-ness, I-ness (Shakti) and I-ness
(Shiva). Jee explains the first of these levels as the apprehension of
the pure subjectivity of Shiva, but thinking dualistically that the universe is
unreal. The higher level experiences the universe not as illusion, but as one’s
own expansion. The next higher level refines that realization to the experience
of “I myself am this whole universe.” Rising to still purer subjectivity, the
consciousness comes to subjectivity (identity) in its ultimate form: the
interdependent elements of Shakti and Shiva. “The impression which comes these
two tattvas is only I, the pure I, the universal I,” Jee explains.
Finally comes the absolutely Transcendental Being, not listed in the 36
elements: Parama Shiva. Jee says that Parama Shiva (as in the Puranic conception of Brahman) is beyond all
elements, yet pervades every tattva, from lowest to highest. On the Universal
Shaiva Trust website, devoted to the teachings of Lakhsman Jee, a prayer by
Somananda, founder of the non-dual Pratyabhijna philosophy of Trika Shaivism
expresses the nature of Parama
Shiva. “I, who am Shiva, bow down
to my universal nature which is Shiva, by the power of Shiva, in order to
remove bondage, which is Shiva.”
The next chapter
in The Secret Supreme explains the objective universe as threefold, because it is composed
of three paths (adhvans): gross, subtle and subtlest phenomena. This theory turns out to be
essentially the same as the Mahayana theory of the Three Bodies of Buddha (Trikaya). Next comes an
explanation of the theory of the alphabet (Matrikachakra), which outlines how the primordial creative sound current generates
all the letters of the Devanagari alphabet, out of which the cosmos is
constructed. Jee provides a long treatise that is a bit more comprehensible
than Abhivanagupta’s explanation of Matrikachakra. Nothing escapes the heavy hand of meaning in this complex system. As
an example, the two dots (:) of the visarga are known as the Shiva bindu and Shakti bindu, and they represent Reality and the cup-shaped mirror that is the phenomenal
universe reflecting Reality.
The next chapter
covers the upayas, or spiritual means of realizing Shiva. The supreme means, shambhavopaya, Jee describes
as a mode of effortlessly riding on the grace of the guru. “In Shambhavopaya there are no
means to travel upon. It is the meant. There is no where to go. You must reside
only in the meant. The rest is automatic” (Jee, 34). In this supreme means, the
grace of the master is all that is necessary. A step down from that means of
enlightenment is the upaya called Shaktopaya, which is the way of energy. In this means, the aspirant is said to be
more important than the master, because he must make himself capable of
receiving the master’s grace. “In Saktopaya, the yogi does not have to recite mantras or be aware using his breath
or concentrate on any particular spot. He has only to see to concentrate on
that Supreme Being that is found between any two actions.” By maintaining
unbroken awareness, one is supposed to find the reality between any two
thoughts or any two movements. “He can center between one thought and another
thought, between waking and dreaming, between one step and the next step,
between one breath and the next breath…The saktopaya
yogi must simply insert breakless awareness in the
center of any two actions or thoughts” (Jee, 36).
The next lower means,
anavopaya, involves
techniques of concentration: on breathing, organs of sensation, contemplation,
or focusing on a particular spot. In concentration on breathing, one seeks the
center between the incoming breath and outgoing breath. The second
concentration practice involves unbroken focus on a particular sight, or smell,
etc. (This is the same method Patanjali called dharana, described in his Yoga Sutras as the sixth of the eight parts of ashtanga yoga). Contemplation
(Dhyana) refers
to mantra meditation, and focusing on a particular spot refers to placing the
attention on any of three points: between the eyebrows, at the pit of the
throat, or at the heart. A higher form of focusing on a particular spot is also
described. “Sthana prakalpana is that practice where you have to find out where each aspect of
reality is found in the span of the breath. You have to see where the devas are residing,
whre the lokapalas are residing, where is the location of dawn, where is the location of
morning, where is the location of midday, where is the location of sunset,
where is the location of midnight, where is that location which is the time
when the sun moves toward the Northern side, and where is that location which
is the time when the sun moves to the Southern side…The practice of sthana prakalpana is
simply to see the vastness of this universe in one breath” (Jee, 38). There is
yet another mode beyond these three upayas—shambhavopaya,
shaktopaya, and anavopaya. It is called anupaya, and this “non-method” is simply to abide in an ease of no-dilemma, which Zen calls “Buddha Mind” and Dzogchen
calls “Great Natural Perfection.” Jee
explains:
“Thoughtlessness” is called shambhavopaya. “One-pointedness” is called shaktopaya. “Concentration on and with the support of mantra and breathing and all other elements” is called anavopaya. Above all of
these is anupaya. In anupaya the aspirant has only to observe that nothing is to be done. Be as you
are.[2]
If you are talking, go on talking. If you are sitting, go on sitting.[3]
Do not do anything, only reside in your being. This is the nature of anupaya. Anupaya is attributed
to ananda shakti of Shiva, so is also called anandopaya (Jee, 40).
Trika
Shaivites (and Indian mystics in general) seem to enjoy analyzing things to
death: How do I love thee? Let me list the categories. Most of the chapter titles
in The Secret Supreme reflect this joy of categorization: Thirty-Six Elements, Six-Fold Path
of the Universe, Three Impurities, Seven
States Five States Seven States
When Lakhsman Jee insists that Vedantins are mistaken in counting
only 25 elements, because every good Shaivite knows there are actually 36, he
seems to miss the point that these categories are not necessarily ontological,
but only abstract. Consider this: Does my hand consist of a single element (the
whole hand), or is it actually comprised of six elements (the five phalanges,
plus the palm)? Or is my hand, in fact, made up of countless elements (14
knuckles, dozens of tendons, hundreds of blood vessels, millions of cells,
trillions of molecules, zillions of atoms, etc.)?
Having
said that, I must now add that the chapter, “Seven States of Turya” describes the
movement of kundalini during meditation better than any other account I have
come across. The congruency with my own familiarity with the kundalini
experience is uncanny, and here I will quote Swami Jee at great length:
When you
concentrate in continuity with great reverence, with love, affection, and
devotion, then your breath becomes very subtle and fine. Automatically you
breathe very slowly. At that moment you experience giddiness. It is a kind of
intoxicating mood. And when, during this experience of giddiness, you do not
destroy your alertness of concentration, this giddiness becomes firm and
stable. This is the second state of turya known as nirananda which means “devoid of limited bliss”…In entering this junction the
aspirant enters into another world. It is not wakefulness, nor is it the
dreaming state, nor is it sound sleep. This world is the fourth world…At that
moment the aspirant hears hideous sound[4]
and sees furious forms. Those aspirants who are worried by these things try at
once to come out from this state and after exerting great effort they come out
and are again in the waking state. On the other hand, there are those aspirants
who try to tolerate these hideous and terrible things. For example, he may
experience that the whole of the house has collapsed on him, or he may
experience that there is a fire burning outside and this fire will burn
everything including himself. These experiences, if endured and tolerated, will
pass away…[5]
Here only one thing is predominant and must be maintained and that is
breathing. The aspirant must breathe in and out with devotion and great love
towards his Self, which means breathing in and out while reciting the name of
the Lord, etc. He may actually think that he is going to die, that he is really
gone…All of these experiences occur when the aspirant desires to move from
individuality to universality because individuality has to be shaken off…
If you
continue with tolerance, breathing and internally reciting your mantra…then
these terrible sounds and forms vanish and pulling and pushing in your
breathing passage begins to occur… This state is called parananda which means
“the bliss of breathing.” When you breathe in and out with great divinity it is
not ordinary breathing. Here your breathing becomes full of bliss and joy even
though you are experiencing the fact that your breath is about to stop.[6]
If you continue your practice with intense devotion in continuity your
breath does stop…The aspirant feels that his breath is neither moving out nor
coming in. He feels that his breath is winding round and round a central
passage. This state is called bhramananda which means “that bliss which is all pervading.”… Then after some time
yawning[7]
takes place or his mouth becomes crooked just like at the time of death. These
stages are the same stages which take place when your breath has stopped and
you are about to die… The apprehension of death then arises in the mind of this
yogi. He feels now that he is really dying. He is not afraid, he is
apprehensive. This is the kind of death which takes place when individuality
dies and universality takes birth. It is not a physical death, it is a mental
death. The only thing the yogi must do here is shed tears of devotion. He must
pray for the experience of universal “I”…
[After breathing
has stopped] your prana immediately
rushes down in the central vein. Your breath is “sipped” down…The gate of the
central vein madhyanadi [sushumna] opens at once and your breath reaches down to the bottom to that
place called muladhara. This state of turya is called mahananda which means “the great bliss.” After mahananda no effort is required by the aspirant. From this point on, everything
is automatic…You must put your force of devotion without knowing what is to
happen next. You cannot use your mantra because when your breath is gone your
mind is also gone, as the mind has become transformed into cit [unqualified
consciousness]. Here breathing takes the form of force (vega). It is this vega which pierces
and penetrates muladhara cakra so that you pass through it.
When the
penetration of muladhara cakra is complete then this force rises in another way. It is transformed
and becomes full of bliss, full of ecstasy, and full of consciousness. It is
Divine. You feel what you are, actually. This is the rising of cit kundalini which rises
from the muladhara chakra to that place at the top of the skull known as brahmarandhra. It occupies
the whole [central] channel just like a bloom. This state, which is the sixth
state of turya, is called cidananda, the “bliss of consciousness.”
This force
then presses the passage of the skull [brahmarandhra] piercing the skull to move from the body to the universe. This takes
place automatically, it is not to be done. And when this brahmarandhra is pierced then
at once you begin to breathe out. You breathe out for only a second, exhaling
from the nostrils. After exhaling everything is over and you are again in cidananda and you again
experience and feel the joy of rising which was already present. This lasts
only for a moment and then you breathe out again. When you breathe out your
eyes are open and for a moment you feel that you are outside. You experience
the objective world, but in a peculiar way. Then once again your breathing is
finished and your eyes are closed and you feel that you are inside. Then again
your eyes are open for a moment, then they close for a moment, and then they
again open for a moment. This is the state of krama
mudra, where transcendental “I” consciousness is
beginning to be experienced as one with the experience of the objective world.
The establishment of krama mudra is called jagadananda which means “universal bliss.” This is the seventh and last stage of turya[8] (Jee, 109-17).
In
a subsequent chapter Lakhsman Jee compares the non-dual philosophy of Kashmir
Shaivism with the more widely known non-dual philosophy of Advaita Vedanta. He
emphasizes what I regard as the most important difference between these two
schools: their understanding regarding the reality of the material universe.
Vedanta holds that the phenomenal worlds are figments of maya; all worlds are
illusion and do not really exist. Concerning this point Jee writes, “Kashmir
Shaivism argues that if Lord Shiva is real, then how could an unreal substance
come out from something that is real? Kashmir Shaivism explains that the
existence of this universe is just as real as the existence of Lord Shiva”[9]
(Jee, 106). Another important difference is that Advaita Vedanta does not
recognize kundalini yoga, or the Advaitins say kundalini yoga is an
inferior path. Trika Shaivism, on the other hand, promotes kundalini yoga as
the most effective means of divine realization.[10
Jee goes on to
mention another significant difference between Trika Shaivism and Advaita
Vedanta, on the question of who is fit to practice the teaching. He points out
that Sankaracharya insisted that only sanyassins were qualified to practice Vedanta, and women and castes below the
Brahmins were unsuited to attain its fruits. By contrast, Trika Shaivism
teaches that its path can be practiced and realized by anyone, and several of
its most important teachers, including one of Lakhsman Jee’s own gurus, were
women. “In fact, our Shaivism teaches us that this thought can be practiced
more fruitfully by women than by men” (Jee, 107).
Works Cited
Jee, Swami Lakhshman. Kashmir Shaivism:
The Secret Supreme. Albany ,
NY
Press (under the imprint of The Universal
Shaiva Trust). 1988.
[1] I say
“try,” because the book gives some lists in order from gross-to-subtle and
other lists in order from subtle-to-gross—without any labeling of which is
which, leaving it to the astute reader to guess. It’s easy to decide when you
go from Earth to Ether. But what about some of these other lists? I leave it to
my own astute reader to check if I have listed these elements in correct
ascending order.
[2] “Be as
you are” is what Ramana Maharshi repeatedly advocated, and is the title of a
book of his teachings.
[3] “When
talking, just talk. When sitting, just sit.” (Seung Sahn, Korean Zen teacher.)
Also: “No need to add a head on top of your head.” (Dogen, patriarch of Soto
Zen).
[4] Somewhat
like being in the center of a thundercloud.
[5] My
theory is that these are archetypal apocalyptic visions, generated by the
psyche just before the “death” of ego. My personal favorite is when I saw an
entire football stadium, filled with spectators, swallowed up by a hole that
opened below in the earth in the shape of a perfect delta (hint: trikona
devi), then covered over by a grassy field of green leaving no trace that
the people had ever existed. While enduring these terrible visions the
subjective experience is, oddly enough, blissful. It is the awful bliss of the
“fear of God.” Nowadays, I do not often suffer these visions prior to
ego-dissolution, I usually just melt away as easy as you please.
[6] Yes,
even though it feels like being squeezed to death, the experience is blissful.
[7] Not
sleepy yawns, but huge, jaw-cracking, leonine yawns, as in “simhasana,”
the lion pose.
[8]
Abhinavagupta, Sri Aurobindo, Ramana Marharshi and Da Avabhasa explain this
transition as the passage from nimilana samadhi, the introverted
absorption in God, to unmilana samadhi, the extroverted stage of
God-realization. The stable realization of jagadananda is synonymous
with unmilana samadhi, (which Maharshi and Avabhasa call sahaja samadhi).
Jee says, “Shiva is the state of cidananda, and Parama
Shiva is the state of jagadananda” (Jee, 117).
[9] Even
Advaitins sometimes skirt around this tricky issue, as with Ramana Maharshi’s oft-quoted
paradox: “Brahman alone is real. The world is unreal. Brahman is the world.”
[10] Trika
Shaivism categorizes (of course!) Kundalini Yoga into three modes: Para
Kundalini Yoga is supreme and is generated by Shiva within His universal
body, not the individual body. Chit Kundalini Yoga is Kundalini in
consciousness, and Prana Kundalini Yoga is kundalini in
breath.
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