ŚAKTIPATA - Jankinath Kaul

 

Jankinath Kaul

yā kācidvai kvacidapi daśā 
kiñcidabhyāsapūrād-
ānandākhya bhavabhayaharā
syāt subhaktasya sadyah;
sidhissaisā surapitrnām 
yasya bhaktyā bhavennu
tarn svātmānam vibhavavapusam
sadgurum vat prapadye

That indescribable supreme state which is revealed in a spontaneous moment (of grace) regardless of time or place to an earnest devotee, while he has been absorbed continuously in spiritual practice for an unknown period, confers supreme joy (ānanda) that wipes off all doubt and fear whatsoever. That is verily the true accomplishment for celestials, for manes and for human beings. By whose grace this happens, to That Great Preceptor of supreme splendour who is my own Self, this prostration is made. 

Rediscovery of the Śaiva faith was made around the ninth century AD in Kashmir, conspicuously by Vasugupta to whom the Siva-Sūtras were revealed by Lord Siva Himself. Vasugupta’s Spanda Kārikā, a purport of the Siva-Sūtras, was elaborated by his well-conducted disciple, Kallata by name. Kallata Bhatta is therefore known as the first ācārya of the Spanda order of Kashmir Śaivism, which is also called Trika

Sastra (or Sāsana), because it evidently discusses the three modes of Reality viz. Nara, Śiva and the connecting link Śakti (naraśaktiśivātmakam trikam, Abhinavagupta, Parātrīśikā Vivarana) precisely known as apara, para and parāpara, an evidence of the monistic character of the Tantras. Later Somānandanātha’s Siva Drsti and Utpaladeva’s Iśvarapratyabhijñā respectively introduced and elucidated the Pratyabhijñā thought by which name Kashmir Saiva Mysticism is known today.
Before this development, according to Swami Laksman Joo, the last exponent of Kashmir Saivism, the Kula system, advocating the highest form of Śiva, had been introduced in Kashmir some time in the fourth century AD and the Krama system, connected with rāja yoga and kundalini yoga which
stress the independence of vital airs and mind, had existed there even earlier, as is witnessed through Yoga Vāsistha. The Vedāntic thought of Gaudapāda and Śañkarācārya through their Māndukya Kārikās and Prasthānatrayī respectively had also influenced Kashmir simultaneously. The result was that Kashmir Saiva Mysticism (i.e., Trika philosophy) developed with ideas relevant to the order from almost all schools of Indian philosophy. Kashmir Saivism, in its entirety, was further elaborated in a systematic form by the great Master Abhinavaguptapāda in his Tantrāloka. Among his other important works, Parātrīśikā Vivarana that explains the secret of Tantric mysticism, is the most outstanding one. Thus, Abhinavagupta gave clear dimensions to Saivism that had developed with its different forms in Kashmir.

Consequently, there are different means suggested for attainment of supreme beatitude that every human being, celestials and manes aspire for directly or indirectly. But the most direct and easy way is to have the grace of a guru and the impact of his power, called śaktipāta. Even while the means are followed by aspirants in accordance with their individual capacities, levels of intellect or intensity in devotion, there arises need of one important thing for all and that is compassion (krpā) or favour (anugraha) which the Tantric Ācāryas called śaktipāta. To my mind it appears necessary to understand śaktipāta in three ways namely (i) what it is, (ii) when it happens and (iii) how it works.

What Śaktipāta Is

Śaktipāta is difficult to define, but it is certainly more than just the absence of desire. It reflects a state of  serene and taintless, and virtually constitutes the sovereign will of Lord Siva. In English language we strictly call it ‘grace’ and not ‘favour’, because the latter is measurable against its opposite term ‘disfavour’. Grace is immeasurable. It is an elegance of manner a graciousness, which can only be a gift from God. It is not given because we desire it. God gives this gift out of intense love for the devotee whom he chooses to be blessed. Grace does not descend even upon an aspirant who is actually alert for it or ever in samādhi. Sage Astāvakra said to Janaka: ayameva hi te bandhah samādhim avatisthasi— “This is what binds you, because you always sit in samādhi”. Grace may descend in passive alertness which is actually ‘choiceless awareness’ of Divinity. Śaktipāta, therefore, may depend on the power of complete surrender to the Absolute — īśvara-pranidhānād vā  — according to the Yoga Sūtra of Patañjali. [1.23] The aspirant says to himself:

What have I to do with wishing,
His will be done.
To Him surrendered I have no wish of my own.

Pārvatī seems to have made such an utterance to herself when Śiva, in the guise of a brahmacārī, came to see the depth of her faith that had led her to severe penance. No sooner did the brahmacārī want to deviate her mind from Lord Siva than she wanted to turn away from his presence. But how far! She could neither go ahead nor keep back. This situation is beautifully expressed by Kalidasa [Kumara sambhava 5.85]: śailādhirājatanayā na yayau na tasthau  It was that divine ecstasy, that abrupt bloom of supreme consciousness where there is no ‘coming in’ or ‘going out’. Pārvatī experienced perfect bliss on recognising the presence of Śiva Himself.

Saktipāta, according to monistic mysticism, is unconditional and unhindered. Nātra ko’pi ātmīya purusakarah vidyate — There is no human effort for earning saktipāta. gale pādikayā nātha nīyate sadgurum prati — “One is directed to the great preceptor as if tethered with a rope.” The Upanisad also declares [Katha Upanisad 11.23]:

yamevaisa vrnute tena labhyas
tasaisa ātmā vivrnute tanūm svām.

The Ātman can be realized only by him whom He favours and to him He reveals Himself.

Dattātreya’s Avadhūta Gitā begins with the declaration: iśvarānugrahādeva pumsām advaita vāsanā.  — “It is through the Lord’s grace alone that one is led to monistic practices for self-realization.” It is, therefore, by the independent will of Lord Śiva that saktipāta or Divine grace may be granted to anyone at any place and even at any time. It is a transmission through guru-śakti through which the śakti in the person of the disciple is awakened and activated. “And that is natural”, says M.P. Pandit. Clarifying further “For this discipline revolves upon an axis of two ends, the guru and the disciple. In the dynamics of this yogic sādhanā both have their parts to play. True, the major role is played by the power of the guru which initiates and works the yoga. But the disciple too has a responsibility. He has to contain and support the śaktipāta in its continued workings. Ceaseless purification and reorientation of one’s energies of the body, life and mind so as to collaborate with the power set in operation by the guru is indispensable . . . Personal exertion, in some form or other, is necessary to equip and perfect the ādhāra in which the guru releases his tapas-śakti. At any rate, it is indispensable till the nature and the being of the disciple are completely surrendered to the higher will that is active and his sādhanā is entirely taken charge of by the śakti.”

It is evident, therefore, that surrender (prapatti) and grace (śaktipāta) go together as is concretely expressed by Keśava-mūrti of Sri Aurobindo Ashrama: ”It looks as if in the scheme of manifestation, both man and God wait for some excuse — one to receive the grace and the other to bestow it, and at the end of the long journey both man and God fuse in a grand play — Lilā.”

Thus śaktipāta is an indefinite point of contact between jiva and īśvara, where the former’s individual age merges completely in the Supreme Reality, the monistic sovereignty that the wise call Eternal Joy and Perfect Bliss.
Divine grace is that light whose presence removes the darkness of ignorance with all its associated doubts. It changes a guessing game into a vivid and colourful experience of Supreme awakening where there is not an iota of duality — all self everywhere — sarvamidam aham ca brahmaiva -
says the Sruti. Utpaladeva prayed to Lord Siva and pined to get firmly established in this super state [Sivastotrāvalī XIII.9]:

anyavedyamanumātramasti na 
svaprakāśamakhilam vijrmbhate
yatra nātha! bhavatah pure sthitim
tatra me kuru sadā tavārcituh

Where not even a trace Of otherness exists,
Where self-luminosity is everywhere manifest,
There, in your city,
Let me reside
Forever as your worshipper.

The Upanisad also tells about the favour granted to Brahma among devas, to Sanaka among risis and to Sukadeva among human beings, who remain not even for a moment without the awareness of Supreme Consciousness. - ksanārdham naiva tisthanti vrttim jnānamayīm vinā, yathā tisthanti brahmādyāh sanakādyāh śukā- dayah
Abhinavagupta calls this state jagadānanda, universal bliss, imparted to him by his guru through śaktipāta [Tantraloka 5.50-52]:

 yatra kopi vyavacchedo nāsti yadviśvatah sphurat. yadanāhatasamvitti paramāmrta brmhitam, yatrāsti bhāvanādīnām na mukhyā kāpi sañgatih. tadeva jagadānandam asmabhyam śambhur-ūcivān.

Where there is no gap of thought, no distraction, Which is the universal gleam of consciousness,
Ever new, ever filled with increasing how of divine nectar, Where there is no sitting for samādhi etc.
That is jagadānanda as explained to me by Sambhunātha

Blessed with śaktipāta, the aspirant devotee witnesses no distinction between within and without, between the knower and the known. He has realized that Brahman is ever the same, residing in all things. In the words of Sri Aurobindo, "the highest emergence is the liberated man, who has realized the self and spirit within him, entered into the cosmic consciousness, passed into union with the eternal and so far as he still accepts life and action, acts by the light of energy of the Power within him working through his human instruments of Nature."

After this state is revealed to an aspirant through śaktipāta of the utmost intensity — Tīvrātitīvra as classed by Abhinavagupta — nothing can shake his sense of Reality. There is no pain above this and no joy beyond this for him as is endorsed by the Bhagavad Gītā itself [6.22]:

yam labdhvācāparam lābham
manyate nādhikam tatah,
yasmin sthito na duhkhena gurunāpi vicālyate

He wins a prize beyond all others — or so he thinks. Therein he (firmly) stands, unmoved by any suffering, however grievous it may be. 

 When śaktipāta happens and the ego gets consumed in the fire of God’s wisdom, the devotee gets dissolved in the ocean of His love. That ānanda of Para Brahman is knowable only in experience, when there is slow dawning of Rtambharā Prajña — consciousness full of Truth. Then there is the revelation of Para Brahman at the lucky moment of śaktipāta. It operates in every line of spiritual effort when the most pious relation of Preceptor-Disciple is recognized. Śaktipāta works in different forms at different levels of spiritual progress. Abhinavaguptapāda in his Tantrāloka has discussed at length the different levels of consciousness at which śaktipāta works in a systematic combination of its three basic forms, viz. tīvra (intense), madhya (middle) and manda (slow). Śaktipāta, being an integral part of the Indian spiritual tradition, is made to happen by the preceptor who has capacity and the higher sanction to effect the pāta in the disciple whom he chooses or is directed to choose. Such a guru is capable of regulating and, if necessary, checking this course of Power already released into action. In the latter case also there is an injunction prescribed in the Tantra:
viparīta pravrtitvam jñānam tasmāt samāharet - Finding opposite or negative inclination in the disciple, the guru should draw back the infused power of knowledge from him.
To quote a few examples of positive inclinations:

(i) Kāka- bhusandi lived the long life of yogi-jīvanmukta on being established in the middle path of the two breaths, prāna and apāna — with perfect knowledge of self — as also evidenced in the Netra Tantra. His supreme consciousness had awakened through the grace of prāna-kundalinī.
(ii) Queen Cudalā  is described to have worked grace on her husband Sikhidhvaja at the mental plane. She aroused his cit-kundalinī telling him “Recognize kundalinīin your self, that is the very life of mind which is called puryastaka.” Such a grace is imparted like the scent of a flower., by means of touch.
(iii) Hanumān, directed by king Sugrīva for spying, was chosen for śaktipāta through  bodha-kundalinī, when he met Sri Rāma, who had been wandering in the forest of Kiskindhā in search of Sītā. Hannmān recognized his divine preceptor in Rāma who graced him through mere sight. Both had met in their choiceless awareness.

Saktipāta, thus, takes place in a situation of desire-lessness or kāma-samnyāsa, which the Bhagavad-Gītā calls karma-samnyāsa or niskāma-karma-yoga. This may be possible only when the individual ego is not able to work for its limited ends and when actions are performed with detachment but devotion and to the best of one’s ability. Then the endless chain of karma also ceases: [Mundaka Upanisad II.2.9.] — ksīyante cāsya karmāni tasmin drste parāvare, — When the Supreme Reality is revealed, all karmas (āgāmī, sañcita and prārabdha) are put to flight.

‘God-realization’, the wise say, is an over-all change in mental attitude of a sādhaka. It is spiritual entirety and that divine transformation comes in a moment when the grace of saktipāta works through. It comes instantaneously, almost unaware. For that Brahmā-world is ever illumined.  The sādhaka blessed with very intense (tīvra-tīvra) saktipāta, has not to strive or search for it. It comes spontaneously to him like a surprise gift. Among the thousand names of Parā Sakti listed in the 139 Sanskrit verses in Bhavānīnāmasahasrastutih, there are names like ‘nimesa, meghamālā’ and ‘muhūrta’ extolling the deity, who is one with Para Siva. The name ‘nimesa’ connotes that Parā Sakti bestows grace of saktipāta in a moment, like the high tension power of electricity, which is blissfully soothing and eternally sweet. Parā Sakti is named 'meghamālā' as She acts like a streak of lightning in the clouds. The Divine Mother’s grace may rise from anywhere or may get absorbed at any moment. Her grace accelerates the degree of awareness in an aspirant. The name 'muhūrta' stands for the equinoctial point of grace. Śiva, according to Śaiva mysticism, is the great Guru. His grace remains always unlocked. Pārvatī or śakti is the power of His grace, known as 'guroranugrāhikā śakti' in the Saiva- Śākta way of thought. Śiva impels grace through His śakti who, with Her own free will, effects śaktipāta on a sincere and earnest devotee; the when-where-and-how of which cannot be known. It is an internal process concealed in the rarely catchable moment at the equinoctial point. The devotee who is passively aware of the Supreme Self, may benefit from this flowing grace. That moment is like the moment of passing colour shades of the setting sun — sandhyābhralekheva muhūrtaranga.[Pañcatantra 1.194.]. In yogic parlance that moment of grace is also termed 'visuvat' and 'abhijit', quite different from uttara mārga (higher path) and daksina mārga (lower path), as referred to in the Bhagavad-Gītā, the Brhadāranyaka Upanisad, the Pañcastavī, etc. For an external illustration the two moments geographically correspond with summer equinox and winter equinox. But in the internal setting of the moment there is no taint of any thought whatsoever, as is beautifully put by Srī Samba: utābhyāmanyā visuvadabhijin ma-dhyamā krtyaśūnyā. [Sāmbapañcāsikā v. 49]  It is called madhya mārga, the middle path or royal path. This middle path of graceful character is krtyaśūnya, without any taint of action, for there is no egress or ingress of prāna and apāna for the period one can remain in the state. It is the state of ‘perfect ease’, termed samādhi, the state of bliss. [Gita 6.21]:

sukham ātyantikaṁ yat tad
buddhi-grāhyam atīndriyam
vetti yatra na caivāyaṁ
sthitaś calati tattvataḥ

Nay, in which the soul experiences the eternal and super-sensuous joy which can be apprehended only through the subtle and purified intellect, and wherein established the said yogi moves not from Truth on any account 

 It is then that śaktipāta may come to happen out of sovereign spontaneity.

How Śaktipāta Works

Śaktipāta affords what is called the 'waking samādhi' to the devotee yogin to whom effortless normal state of consciousness is revealed. Utpaladeva uses the phrase 'vyuthāne’pi samāhitah' wherein, in his own words, there is spontaneous revelation of Supreme Reality — evameva śivābhāsah syāt. Astāvakra uses almost the same phrase to effect his grace upon Janaka. That is 'evameva sukhi bhava'. By this it becomes clear that śaktipāta is bestowed, not obtained. Lord Siva, in the form of guru, gives the aspirant ammunition to fight the attraction towards petty enjoyments of the world. Otherwise, the search remains a mere intellectual exercise and the individual soul becomes an easy prey to confusion, doubt and frustration. Since the source of grace is the real Self, all beings can partake of it equally. But the veil of ego, even though unreal, blocks the light of grace as do the clouds which cover the sun and make its life-giving power ineffective. One has, therefore, to wait and watch with passive spontaneity as is said : ‘Waiting for the word of the Master, watching His hissing sound’. One has only to be alert with purity of mind and sincerety of heart till śaktipāta is bestowed. Then how it works, is remarkably expressed in the Sat Darśana Bhāsya of Sri Ramana Maharshi:

 

Ramana Maharsi and Ronald Nixon (Shree Krishna Prem)

"The Beyond takes hold of you. You can feel yourself one, with the One that exists, the whole body becomes a mere power, a force current; your life becomes a needle drawn to a huge mass of magnet and as you go deeper you become a mere centre and not even that, for you become mere Consciousness. There are no thoughts and cares any longer; they are shattered at the threshold; it is an inundation, you are a mere straw; you are swallowed alive, but it is very delightful for you become the very thing that swallows you. This is the union of jiva with Brahman, the loss of ego in the real self, the destruction of ignorance, the attainment of Truth.”
Śaktipāta worked on Śukadeva when king Janaka told him: “mithilāyām pradīptāyām na me dahyati kiñcana.” — ‘Even if the whole of Mithilā burns, nothing is burnt to me’. Śaktipāta worked in Maitreyī when she posed a resounding question to sage Yājñyavalkya, her husband, while he was renouncing: “That which cannot give me immortality of what avail is that property to me?” Brhadāranyaka Upanisada 2.4.3— yenāham nāmrtā syām kim aham tena kuryām?] It worked in Nāmadeva when he ran after the dog who had taken away his bread. The saint ran after the dog saying, “O my Gopāla! just stop and let me apply butter to the bread so that you swallow it with ease.” This is how śaktipāta works.

In the end I again quote Ramana Maharshi, who gave a practically useful prescription for aspirants to follow: “Retreat ever within thine own self, seek the source whence the restless mind spins out an unceasing web of thoughts, brush aside the springing thought, concentrate at the root of thought and take repose in that stillness and quietude. So much is thy effort. What next is one for inner realization and does not admit of exposition in words”. 

The Nine Variations of Śaktipāta

Actually there are no classes of grace. These are, as Abhinavagupta himself says, only the variations between intensity and slow process. [Tantrāloka XIII.210 — ‘tatrāpi tāratamyādivaśācchīghracirāditah] The nine degrees of śaktipāta discussed in the Tantrāloka and Tantrasāra, are in brief:

I. Tīvra-tīvra or the grace of extreme intensity: This is spontaneous and sudden, infused with the great power — mahāśaktih samāvistah. [Tantraloka 13.211]. Jayaratha, in his commentary of Tantrāloka, says that the person who happens to receive this degree of śaktipāta is fit for experiencing the wonderful Reality of Supreme consciousness. It is impressed that such a soul cannot live in a body and that he is automatically liberated at once. [Tantraloka 13.130 - tīvratīvrah saktipāto dehapātavaśāt svayam moksaprada iti ]

II. Madhya-tīvra or the grace of middle intensity: With this degree of grace ignorance gets dissolved because the yogin himself knows the essence of liberation and bondage through his own wisdom and not from the (external) guru or śāstra: [Tantraloka 13.131-2] -madhyatīvrātpunah sarvamajñānam vinivartate. svayameva yato vetti bandhamoksatayātmatām, tatprātibham mahājñānam śāstrācāryānapeksi yat. 

His body remains but ignorance vanishes. [ibid comm]. He has unflinching ‘devotion to Rudra-Siva’: 'rudra bhaktih sūniścala' [ibid 13.114] This sign of the yogi, according to Pūrvaśāstra is followed by mantrasiddhih— ‘accomplishment of the divine syllable’. The third sign is ‘control over all the elements’ — sarvatattva vaśitvam. The fourth sign is ‘indifference towards the fruit of actions of previous birth’ — 'prārabdhakāryanispattih' and the fifth sign is ‘perfection in knowledge and speech’ — ‘kavitvam sarvaśāstrārthavettrtvam'.


III. Manda-tīvra or the grace of slow intensity: The yogin gets eager to meet his precepter who is perfect in every respect — ‘samsiddhah samskrto'pi ca’. [Tantraloka 13.224] He becomes instantly liberated at the time when his preceptor initiates him into the Absolute and continues to live in the body as a jivanmukta. [TĀ XIII.230-31]: yasmin kāle tu gurunā nirvikalpam prakaśitam,  tadaiva kila mukto’sau yantram tisthati kevalam.

All doubt regarding pain and pleasure of the body goes off.

IV. Tīvra-madhya or the grace of intense middle degree: When initiation does not become firm in the aspirant because of certain persisting impressions, these haunt the mind throughout his life, and so there is absence of comprehension of the Absolute. He knowingly asserts that he is Siva but gets release only after leaving the mortal coil. [Tantrāloka XIII.242 — vikalpāttu tanau sthitvā dehānte śivatām vrajet] He is called putraka sādhaka.

V. Madhya-madhya or the grace of middle degree of middle intensity: The yogin, even being earnest to profit by attaining Śivahood ‘śivalābhotsuko’pi san’ [Ibid. XIII.242].enjoys yogic accomplishments in the same body and finally on its fall attains to Siva. [Tantrasara 6: sa ca yogābhyāsalabdhamanenaiva dehena bhogam bhuktvā dehānte siva eva] Such an aspirant is known as śivadharmī.


VI. Manda-madhya or the grace of slowed middle intensity: This aspirant in the category of śivadharmī, enjoys yogic accomplishments in the following birth. After that he attains to Siva through the slow degree of saktipāta [Tantrasāra 6 — ‘nikrsta madhyāttu dehāntarena bhogam bhuktvā sivatvameti]

VII. Tīvra-manda or the grace of slow but intense degree: The aspirant sustains with the power of initiation. He enjoys his desired accomplishments through some lives. In the long- run he takes to the path of sakala or akala (concrete or absolute) according to his capacity and finally attains Śivahood.
Such an aspirant is called lokadharmī

VIII. Madhya-manda or the grace of slow-but-middle degree: The aspirant of this category enjoys his accomplishments through some more births and life experiences and finally gets initiation in the course of attainment of Śivahood.

IX. Manda-manda or the grace of slow, very slow degree: The aspirant, by and by passes through sālokya (seeing from near), sāmipya (being near) and sāyujya (becoming one with) stages of spiritual development and only after enjoying the accomplished desires, receives initiation for proceeding towards the attainment of Śivahood. There is essential relation between saktipāta and kundalini: Awakening of kundalini śakti takes place with corresponding variations of saktipāta. In fact, it is the power of grace that brings about various blossoms on the tree of kundalini. It is the sovereign will of lord Śiva that works through Sakti-Pārvatī, unconditioned by any human effort. It falls spontaneously on any seeker after truth in its own range of variety comprising intense (tivra), middle (madhya) and slow (manda) degrees. This trichotomy of saktipāta apparently works through kundalinī śakti in various ways of its various states. It is therefore that this essential power is given the name mahākundalinī. The nine degrees of śaktipāta are described to set a standard for aspirants who have to comprehend the intricacies and subtleties within the limitations of their minds. According to different modes of the awakening of kundalinī the nine kinds of śaktipāta are classified under three heads: (i) tīvra, comprising tīvra-tīvra, madhya-tīvra and manda-tīvra, falls in the region of bodha kundalinī, which awakens through the grace of sudden and spontaneous revelation of Supreme knowledge, (ii) Madhya comprising tīvra- madhya, madhya-madhya and manda-madhya, is the range of cit-kundalinī or grace through citta, i.e. reflection, meditation, etc. (iii) Manda comprising tīvra-manda, madhya- manda and manda-manda, is the work of prāna-kundalinī, the grace initiating the right practice of prāna and apāna or simply called prānāyāma including japa and other modes of saguna worships. Awakening of kundalinī thus takes place in the corresponding degrees of śaktipāta.

Peace be to all
on this earth, in the sky and beyond.