Part 8 - Śākta Nature: The Inherent Unconscious of Spanda

Discussion on the Śākta nature of Spanda is a common trend among the scholars of Śaivism. Some among them adamantly try to establish that the absolute in Spanda theory is Śiva. Though the principle of Śakti is basically of dynamic character, the representation of Spanda-the vibration-as Śakti, does not create any surprise. Even then the similarities and relationship between Krama and Spanda lead certain scholars to reopen the matter of Śākta nature.^[1]

Vrajvallabh Dwivedi considers the Spanda as a branch of Krama system and he emphasizes that Spandakārikā in any rate, expounds Śākta philosophy.^[2]  

Following him, Navjivan Rastogi in his magnum opus, Krama Tantricism of Kashmir puts forward a firm conclusion that;

The supremacy of the absolute vis-a-vis the same of the Absolutic Dynamism i.e., Śakti or Kālī, is a matter of controversy in view of the fundamental role assumed by the latter in the Krama system, whereas the supremacy of the Absolute has never been questioned in the Spanda with all its accent on the dynamic aspect i.e., Spanda, that is Śakti.^[3]

The concept of Śakticakra needs more elucidation for the reason that it is the central point again in the sixth and seventh verses which run as:

यतः करणवर्गौऽयं विमूढोऽमूढवत्स्वयम् ।
सहान्तरेण चक्रे ण प्रवृत्तिस्थितिसंहृती ॥
लभते तत्प्रयत्नेन परीक्ष्यं तत्त्वमादरात् ।
यतः स्वतन्त्रता तस्य सर्वत्रेयमकृत्रिमा ॥

yataḥ karaṇavargau'yaṃ vimūḍho'mūḍhavatsvayam |
sahāntareṇa cakre ṇa pravṛttisthitisaṃhṛtī ||
labhate tatprayatnena parīkṣyaṃ tattvamādarāt |
yataḥ svatantratā tasya sarvatreyamakṛtrimā ||

(That principle should be examined with effort and reverence because this its uncreated freedom prevails everywhere by virtue of it the senses along with the inner circle although unconscious behave as if consciousness themselves and move towards their objects, rest there and withdraw from them.)^[4]

The previous attempt to include the illustration of Śakticakra in the first verse, as examined already, was indicative of the position of preceding school. Whereas the inner circle mentioned here has a wider Śākta nature. 

Kṣemarāja provides some unambiguous supporting statements like:

परमेश्वरस्य महाप्रकाशात्मनो विमलस्याप्येकै व परामर्शशक्तिः किञ्चिच्चलत्ताभासरूपतया स्पन्द इति स्फुरत्ता इति ऊर्मिरिति बलमिति उद्योग इति हृदयमिति सारमिति मालिनीति परा इत्यद्यनन्तसंज्ञाभिः आगमेषु उद्घोष्यते ।

parameśvarasya mahāprakāśātmano vimalasyāpyekai va parāmarśaśaktiḥ kiñciccalattābhāsarūpatayā spanda iti sphurattā iti ūrmiriti balamiti udyoga iti hṛdayamiti sāramiti mālinīti parā ityadyanantasaṃjñābhiḥ āgameṣu udghoṣyate |^[5]

Some definitions are also found as transformed into the corresponding higher philosophical standards.^[6]

Even though it is arranged in a sporadic way, the exploration of the ultimate experience of sentient individual preserves a chance to be analyzed through a Śākta perspective. There are three contexts where the means of knowledge are predominantly reviewed. One is the declaration of the master who acknowledges the cognition of unusual things (such as that of past, future, hidden and distant) which can easily be attained by the Yogin because he is firm in his inherent power, which is nothing but his own vital nature: 

It is said in Spandakārikā as;

यथा ह्यर्थौऽस्फुटो दृष्टः सावधानेऽपि चेतसि ।
भूयःस्फुटतरो भाति स्वबलोद्योगभावितः ॥

yathā hyarthau'sphuṭo dṛṣṭaḥ sāvadhāne'pi cetasi |
bhūyaḥsphuṭataro bhāti svabalodyogabhāvitaḥ ||^[7]

Madhusudan Kaul Sastri translates the Spandanirṇaya on this stanza as;

In spite of mental attentiveness a thing is seen dimly owing to such difficulties as distance etc. It becomes not only clear, but also clearer when observed minutely through one’s own visual power.^[8]

This power of awakened Yogin is the vitality of mantras which serve as the means to perform rituals. Mantras are the ordered arrangements of phonemes which together signify the deity. They are considered as the methods having innate omniscience-the power itself. Therefore indeed the senses of the individual soul must be made conscious only through his contact with his own inner strength.^[9]

Power (bala) is the common element among these three contexts that made such a connected interpretation. Philosophically reviewing, these three verses (36, 26 and 8 respectively) are dealing with a core theory that logically is pertinent to the status of Spanda in the domain of monistic Śaivism, for the reason that the thought shared here (i. e., the individual’s neediness to attain the supreme) is adequate to the schema of doctrinal values of the subsequent stream of Śaivism; and exceeding it, the stress on the nature of Śakti remarkably reveals the inherent Śākta character of Spanda. But still not a single inquiry has been focused on the basic treatise Spandakārikā which is capable to provide some references about the oblivious influence of Śakti on the doctrine of Spanda.

Footnotes and references:

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[1]:

S. Rajendra offers a divergent view saying that it is not right to connect Spanda with Krama. For details see, S. Rajendra, Spandakārikā-A Study, Bharatiya Vidya Prakashan, Varanasi, 1993.

[2]:

Vrajvallabh Dwivedi, Tantrayātrā, p.69 as cited by Dyckzkowski, Op. cit., p.49.

[3]:

Navjivan Rastogi, Krama Tantricism of Kashmir, p.53. On contrary, none among the traditional teachers directly expressed any Śākta tendency except Pradyumnabhaṭṭa. Kallaṭa through his shorter commentary, and Utpalavaiṣṇava through the Spandapradīpikā, proposed the suggestive similarities between Spanda and newly originated Pratyabhijñā School. Ksemaraja as suspected by modern scholars never depicted himself as a Śākta interpreter of Spanda. As such any of the post scriptural commentators as well as the authors of Spanda did not accept Spanda as a system of feminine dynamic principle called Śakti. But still not a single enquiry has been focused on the basic treatise, Spandakārikā which is the work to provide some references about the oblivious influence of Śakti on the doctrine of Spanda.

[4]:

Spandakārikā, 6-7; Mark S. G. Dyczkowski, Stanzas on Vibration, p.XV.

[5]:

Spandasaṃdoha, p.7. Also see ibid., p.12:

अस्ति चागमः; लेलिहाना यदा देवी सदा पूर्णा च भासते ।
ऊर्मिरेषा विबोधाब्धेः शक्तिरिच्छात्मिका प्रभोः ॥

asti cāgamaḥ; lelihānā yadā devī sadā pūrṇā ca bhāsate |
ūrmireṣā vibodhābdheḥ śaktiricchātmikā prabhoḥ ||

—cf. Spandavṛtti and Spandavṛtti on this verse.

[6]:

शक्तिचक्रं मन्त्रगणो मुद्रासमूहश्च;

śakticakraṃ mantragaṇo mudrāsamūhaśca;

किं च शक्तिचक्रं खेचरी-गोचरी-दिक्चरी-भूचर्यादिः बाह्याभ्यन्तरभेदभिन्नो नानायोगिनीगणः

kiṃ ca śakticakraṃ khecarī-gocarī-dikcarī-bhūcaryādiḥ bāhyābhyantarabhedabhinno nānāyoginīgaṇaḥ

—For a detailed discussion on the eleven-fold interpretation of Śakticakra, see Mark S. G. Dyczkowski, Op.cit, pp.67-72.

[7]:

Spandakārikā, v. 36.

[8]:

Madhusudan Kaul Shastri (Ed. and Tr.), The Spandakārikās of Vasugupta with Nirṇaya by Kṣemarāja, KSTS, 1925, p. 107.

[9]:

See, Spandakārikā, vv. 26 and 8.