Shiva Consciousness
Shiva Raatri Puujaa
Chetaner Liilaa: Consciousness at play.
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Preface.
This is a sermon delivered by the great Seer 'Shri BijoyKrishna Chattopadhaya (1875-1945)' on the knowledge behind the ritual of Shiva-Raatri. (Recorded by His disciple Sarala Devi Choudhurani.)
(The sermon was delivered in colloquial Bengali dialect. This is an English translation.)
The words written in bold italics are Sanskrit words written in Itrans format.
The etymologies or meanings of the Sanskrit terms have been briefly explained in the 'Translator's note' sections. The translator has also provided a few clarifying notes.
The original Bengali version is available at the link <https://upanishadinbengali.blogspot.com/2026/11/blog-post.html>
(debkumar.lahiri@gmail.com)
What is the essence of my life? Consciouness or the Knoweldge.
It is of no value whether a mountain is laid upon me or I am laid upon a bed of flowers, if there is no Consciousness, no Knowledge.
My Consciousness, or my Knowledge itself, assumes the form of the world; it assumes all forms. The radiance of the Moon, too, is my Knowledge; the radiance of the Sun, too, is my Knowledge. Indeed, I myself am Knowledge. That is why I myself am the radiance of the Moon and the Sun. *
(* Translator's note:"I am the effulgence of the moon and the sun" is a quote from the holy text Geeta, and are the words of the Lord Krishna—prabhaasmi shashii suuryayoh. [Geeta Verse 7.8.])The real “I” is stripped of the body (minus the body); it is pure Knowledge alone. For the one who is embodied is, indeed, this “I”; and it is this very Knowledge—that “I have a body”—that makes me say that I am embodied.
Who is this Knowledge? Upon whose bosom do I rest as I know myself as “I,” as an embodied being? What are His principles (dharma)? What are His governing faculties (aishvarya)? What is His glory (mahimaa)?
The essential nature of this Knowledge is nijatva—the awareness of being oneself, nija or svayaM.
His aishvarya (treasure created out of governance or regulation) is the universe; within His nijatva (assertionless self) lies the entire wealth of being the universe. The One whose own form is the entire universe, who has kindled within nija (assertionless self) the spatial dimension (aayatana) of Knowledge (j~naana) through which the entire universe is perceived, and who stands thus manifest—He is the Lord of the Universe.
In this “I,” He is in His form of having become, and where He began to become, in the dense fullness of Bliss (aananda), that is His form of not having become.
(Translator's note: aanada = Bliss of One in the all-encompassing One).
In the “I,” He is in the form of having become; in the inexpressible state, He is in the tranquil form of not having become. There, at that level of Consciousness, He is the unborn (aja) Soul (aatman); here, at this level of Consciousness, He is the aatman that has been born and come into manifestation as “I.” This is why He is named 'shambhu' —not having become + having become.
(Translator's note: shambhu = sham (to be quiet) + bhu (to be born) > unformed/not created + formed/created.)
'shrii' is that which brings satisfaction. Without shrii, without outward manifestation, Knowledge does not reach the fullness of satisfaction. God (Consciousness) has become an insentient piece of wood or a clod of earth, and has lost Himself in that very form. The fulfilment of this lies in the fullness of His joy of satisfaction attained therein. The Bliss of Brahman is, on the one hand, the joy of the fullness of shrii; on the other, it is shaambhavii aananda, the bliss of shambhu* (the state of Consciousness of not having become + having become).
Then these very things will embrace you.
If the Guru is attained, if the aatman, or Consciousness, is continually seen everywhere, how long can the inner and the outer remain separate?
You yourself, too, are rushing from within to the outside—go on, rush forth!
Where do you arrive? In the sky, in the netherworld, in the waters?
Or in that very shambhu, who declares, “I am Brahman”?
Do you arrive in that One who has become the universe?
saattvikataa does not obstruct the active life; on the contrary, immerse yourself in it, and you will see that your work is itself the play of your aatman as Knowledge, the play of praaNa—while its outer covering alone is material enjoyment.
Then you will see that the actions of the universe, the actions of you and me, the actions of everyone, are all divine action. You will be free from liability.
You who are engaged in action, as you work and as you go along, say to Him:
“If You do not move, my movement cannot take place; if You do not eat, my eating cannot take place.O bhuumaa, O unbound blissful Conscious Being! You become the very act of eating, and thus I experience eating; You become the very act of moving, and thus I move. My actions are subject to Your actions; my will is subject to Your will. I find no one other than You."
On that side is the play of the Knowledge of parameshvara (the Supreme Regulator); on this side is gross, physical action.
aatmatva, essence of aatman/nija, is what an awe-inspiring word! What a word! The Soul (aatman/nija/svayaM)— that which is the fearless (abhyaM) itself, boundless (apaaraM), infinite (anantaM) Brahman (brahman). What a word that is! I shall utter the word aatman, and yet the impressions of the limitations of this one lifetime will remain stamped upon it—is this what it means to speak of the aatman? How many currents from how many lifetimes have flowed through you! And yet, in the name of the aatman, will you remain confined within this wretched, impoverished awareness of nija, in this isolated, separate little hut? Will you speak of shambhu while reckoning only with the account of this one lifetime? At the remembrance of Him, will you not be able to shake off the narrow confines of your present existence and stand forth in your fullness?
Where do you wish to dwell—in that little hut of yours, or in the abode of that divine Being?
You are already dwelling there, at all times. But merely dwelling there is not enough; you must dwell there consciously.
When paramaatma (the Supreme Soul) desired to become many, two poles were created; in one of the poles, the Soul Himself remained as akShara (undecaying), niShkala (having no change of phase or state), nirguNa (not having any qualification); in another pole He became triguNamayii aatmaprakRiti (Supreme Soul exhibiting His three-folded Nature).The principle of the aatman, or the principle of Consciousness, constitutes one limit; the principle of anaatman, the principle of the non-conscious, or the principle of the universe, constitutes the other limit. Between these two, I—the individual living being, the jiiva—run back and forth, being a mixture of the conscious and the non-conscious.
The aatman is the negative pole, and prakRiti is the positive pole. The two powers are at work within the limits between these poles.
The kinetic force of prakRiti, acting at its positive pole, drives me outward, carrying me away in an outward-directed flow. The power of dhRiti, or the magnetic power (chumbinii-shakti), turns me toward the aatman and brings me back to aatmatva—the state of being the aatman.
prakRiti, comprising of the three qualities—sattva, rajas, tamas— is the nature of the God, the nature that has no beginning and no limit. When that very prakRiti becomes tranquil and finite, taking the living being as its locus, She becomes bounded by beginning and end—this is called svabhaava—the nature or character (of a being).
[ Translator’s note: The recorded word shaanta may represent either shaanta (“tranquil, pacified”) or saanta (“finite, bounded,” in the Bengali distinction relevant here). Since the discourse was delivered orally and recorded by listening, the intended word cannot be established from pronunciation alone. The parallel with sasiima (“finite, bounded”) makes saanta a possible reading, but this remains conjectural.]
akShara puruSha (imperishable Universal Soul) and avaktya prakRiti (the unmanifested Primordial Universal Nature) are the two aspects of the very paramaatman—the Consciousness (j~aana)— j~a and an. Whenever j~a or aatman comes in contact with an or aatma-prakRiti (Primordial Nature), aatma-prakRiti becomes active (manifested), otherwise, the activity of prakRiti remains unmanifest, its principle latent within paramaatman. In this unmanifest state, the an aspect of j~na is no longer distinguishable from j~na itself.
The name of j~na, or Knowledge of nija, is paraa-prakRti; an, or 'Knowledge of the other'*, is aparaa-prakRti, shakti, or j~naana-kriyaa (the activity of Knowledge). The paramaatman (the Supreme Universal Soul or Consciousness) Himself is the regulator who determines whether j~na and an, Knowledge and the activity of Knowledge, are to be manifested or remain unmanifest.
(Translator's note: *'Knowledge of the other' means 'Knowledge different from 'nija'.)
Only the paramaatman, who is beyond expression, is infinite, boundless, and immeasurable. As soon as He becomes expressible—as soon as He is brought into words—He, whose very nature is Consciousness, becomes delimited and measurable.
Thus, both akShara-aatmatva, the imperishable state of the aatman, and kShara-jiivatva, the perishable state of the living being, constitute limitations of Consciousness. As soon as one says akShara (imperishable) or nirguNa (without qualities), a corresponding dimension of Knowledge has been established. And when jiivatva, the state of being an individual living being, is constituted, the conditions of bondage and liberation pertaining to the aatman are also constituted.
The process by which a living being's habit emerges, that happens by the action of the finite triguNa shakti (threefold power), and another great powerful form carries out that activity. A particular mode of behaviour, when repeatedly employed in performing an action, becomes one's nature or habit; and that very nature becomes established as saMskaara (instinct/impression). Then that saMskaara, or the action fully accomplished through that habitual activity, returns again and again. Whenever an opportunity presents itself, and when the appropriate time arrives, an action characteristic of one's nature emerges from that very nature. kratu-maya ayam puruShaH — This person is constituted by kratu (determination or resolve).
Now you are able to see your own nature (svabhaava). But you do not see the triguNaaa (threefold) prakRiti that lies beyond it; beyond that, you do not see akShara-bhuumaa (the unbound, blissful, imperishable Soul); and beyond that, you do not see the paramaatman (the Supreme Universal Soul) who exists there. If you wish to change your nature, your saMskaara (instincts/impressions), your adRiShTa (unseen destiny), or the consequences of your actions (karma-phala), merely observing the nature from which your nature-conforming actions emerge will not suffice. Through action, get hold of the One who is at the very root of your nature.
It is like this: approaching the 'naayeb' (the landlord's agent) will not do; you must approach the 'zamindaar' (the landlord) himself.
Nature creates the individual personality. It spreads the web of notion, "I myself am the doer." As long as karttaahaM manye (“I consider myself the doer”) persists, the responsibility for this sense of doership and for the consequences of the actions arising from it will remain with the individual.
The moment this vision begins to shine, you will become free from the consequences of action, and saMskaara and adRiShTa will change.
The more you continue to observe in this way, the less will your nature remain your own; it will become His nature.
“I keep asserting, ‘I am the doer,’ because that very nature has come into being through Your liilaa (play). This action of mine is also You Yourself; this work belongs to You.” By observing in this way, again and again, one must return to Him the sense of doership.
Those who search for and collect tiny particles of gold from the currents of the Suvarṇarekhaa River, earning a rupee or two by the end of the day, keep their eyes not on the water, nor on the moss, nor on the mosquitoes that carry malaria parasites—but solely on the tiny particles of gold.
In the same way, you must go beyond this sense of “I” and act as a seer of the aatman.
He who is the aatman or paramaatman, the bhuumaa—the boundless blissful Consciousness— is the Seer, the Hearer, the Thinker, and the Doer. He is the One who sees you and knows Himself as you, the active, embodied individual.
First, observe the Guru, who is the very embodiment of Knowledge, and see how He exists in two aspects: aatma-j~naana (knowledge of the aatman, the assertionless Self) and sarva-j~naana (knowledge of everything).
Then observe how He directs you according to your svabhaava (nature) and saMskaara (impressions), and according to the fruits of your actions that have matured in the course of time—sometimes through anger, sometimes through love, sometimes through the experience of sorrow, and sometimes through happiness.
First, contemplate the Guru and, taking these two aspects as your basis—Knowledge as the aatman and Knowledge as everything else—bring everything to its resolution.
Unless this becomes your very nature through continuous practice, nothing will be accomplished.
The very Knowledge that I employ in carrying out my everyday activities, such as eating rice and lentils, is to be applied in my relationship with God. Nothing more is required.
Maintaining this relationship, and allowing the body to perform physical activities in accordance with its own natural functioning, is what makes external worship meaningful.
While engaged in worship, one must attain the realisation that the physical proceeds from Knowledge, and Knowledge from the aatman. The transformation of one's nature throughout one's life depends on attaining this realisation.
To become established in this plane, one must enter into the understanding of polarity (meru j~naana).
Whenever the principle of shakti (Power) plays out anywhere in the universe, it does so by creating two poles, positive and negative. In the same way, the principle of Consciousness, in its conscious nature, has sustained me by establishing polarity.
He Himself has become one pole and has made me the other. Consequently, I stand at one pole as a beggar, lacking everything, while He stands at the other as the One who is All and the giver of all happiness.
He is complete; I am incomplete. He is great; I am small. He is an ocean of peace; I am a turbulent, restless wave. And yet, I remain connected to Him.
Just as a river remains connected to the sea, and a wave remains connected to the water, so too do I remain connected to that Supreme iishaana aspect of the aatman, at that opposite pole.
Nijatva (the state of being nija) exists in both. Both possess a common characteristic, called nijabodha—the awareness of nija—and this is the bridge (setu) between the two. Taking that bridge as one's support, when one passes from this nijatva (the state of being nija or the assertionless Self) to that nijatva, one sees that here, within this kshara (perishable) nijatva, are contained earth, water, and wood. There, in the nijatva of that akShara-puruSha (Imperishable Soul), who sustains my entirety, there exists Knowledge alone.
At that imperishable, steady, Knowledge-filled, conscious pole of nija, abides the akShara-puruSha, named nija. At this other pole, which is kshara, restless, and filled with both conscious and inert forms, stands a Supreme Primordial Nature (paramaa prakRti), the living embodiment of Consciousness, named nija, who has become the living beings.
When these two visions of nija meet eye to eye, will their encounter create a wheel of directions extending in every direction—above, below, and all around? Or will it create a vast nija, absorbed in Itself, through Itself, and within Itself?
(Translator's note: The contrast here is not necessarily between the presence and absence of the material world. The earth, water, and wood, which appear at the kShara pole in their physical and perishable forms, exist at the akShara pole as pure Knowledge, stripped of physicality and mortality.)
And wherever there were souls — kShara aatman, in whatever numbers — would they not cease to identify themselves as kShara (the perishable) and dissolve into the Oneness of akShara?
The many fragmented nija selves that I have scattered across the farthest horizons — some identifying themselves with form, others with taste — will they not all now come together and culminate in a single nijatva, a single, living, assertionless Self?
This is called the experience of shiva, the experience of shambhu.
And all those 'shiva-linga', or the fragments of aatman, all who were grounded into a single nija—in whom (in the embodiments) they earlier existed —where have those embodiments gone now?
Have become unmanifest; they could no longer be found by the identification that happens through manifestation; they are shrouded by the darkness.
Thus, in this manner, drawing all the embodiments into the darkness of the night (raatri), and staying sedant in the knowledge of the bhuuma (boundless, Blissful nija), in the awareness of shiva, means performing the holy vow (vrata) of (the ritual named) shiva-raatri.
And all those shiva-lingas, or fragments of aatman, which have all been crushed together and become this one nija — where have all those aayatanas (spheres/bodies) of knowledge, in which they had previously existed, gone?
They have become unmanifest; they can no longer be identified through manifestation. They have become shrouded in darkness.
Thus, to bring all the aayatanas of knowledge to their culmination in the darkness of the Night (raatri), and to remain absorbed in the knowledge of the One bhuumaa (the unbound blissful Soul) — the knowledge of nija, the knowledge of shiva — is what it means to observe the sacred vow (vrata) of shiva-raatri.
“nija, nija, nija! It was none other than Him that I had been searching for in the heavens and the netherworld! The supremely radiant Form, enshrined in the very word nija — that directly visible God. There can be no religion without seeking Him.
Whose fulfilment have I been seeking? nija’s! What a fearsome word this is! It has revealed to me the utterly pure ‘me’ — and yet, how far removed is that pure ‘me’ from this ‘me’ that engages with the world!”
When I behold that (pure) ‘me’, this ‘me’ is no longer worthy of consideration. That ‘me’ is bhuumaa — the One who abides in each and every atom. When I realize that One as my own ‘I’, this present ‘me’ has withdrawn, has disappeared — is there even the slightest cause for grief in that?
Having become one with the Supreme Majesty, the Supreme aishvarya (the Supreme state of Power), what value can this mortal ‘I’ any longer hold in my eyes?
This ‘me’, having effortlessly withdrawn, has merged with God — and, having merged with God effortlessly, if it were to cry out again, what words would it utter? — “ahaM brahmaasmi” (“I am Brahman”). Could it identify itself by any lesser designation than this?
From what hell have I come, and into what heaven! Where was I — a beggar, the most abject of slaves — and where am I now — a sovereign emperor, supreme over infinite power!
It is in this very state that atra martya amRito bhavati, atra brahma samashnute! Here! Here, in this nija!”
(Translator’s note: atra — here; martyaH — the mortal; amRitaH bhavati — becomes immortal; atra brahma samashnute — here one attains or experiences Brahman. Thus: “Here the mortal becomes immortal; here one attains Brahman.” The Seer has explained that this “here” is the nija.)
Only upon attaining this did I come to realize that this nija is the sustainer and upholder of all powers.
Then, the one small eye that I had merged into bhuumaa and became the faculty of vision, identifying itself with limitless seeing; the one ear that I had within me became the faculty of hearing, identifying itself with limitless hearing.
I began to realize that all the indriyas (sensory organs) are receptacles of infinity.
The very paramaatmaa (the Supreme Universal Soul/Supreme Self) became an embodied and living (pervaded by praaNa) being. That being (puruSha) is thus named 'sahasrashiirSha puruSha'(the being with thousand heads), the being within 'sahasraara'. All these worlds have turned into the absolute flood of effulgence of this magnificent shakti (Power). Within each and every manifestation that has radiated forth from that inundation, and deep within it, whom did you discern? The nija? In that radiance of colours, the nija declares itself —"I am full of all the colours." Within the glows in the forms of sound, touch, taste, and smell, He declares, "I alone am all the forms of sound, touch, taste, and smell.""There is no one else but Me, full of all the smells, full of all the forms, full of all the thoughts, full of all the praaNa, and full of all bliss." This is the language (of the nija).
(Translator's note:praaNa means Consciousness who is One and many [dual] simultaneously, holding every duality in Oneness; thus in praaNa exist unconditional love, compassion, unbound cognizance, unwavering attachment, all-pervading presence, vitality that defies mortality, ever-newness, etc.)
Can the bliss of this be compared with the pleasure squeezed out of the mud, dust, bones, and flesh of the mortal world? Having drunk such pure, refreshing water, would one wish to drink that mud-splattered water again?
Will you not say, ‘O Life of my life, O my own aatman, directly present before me! I pour this impoverished nija/self of mine into your bhuumaa (blissful, boundless) nija. Grant me there (in bhuumaa) also the happiness and fulfilment that I experience within this limited nijatva/self.
The ostentation of contentment lingers in my lentils, my rice, my vegetable stew—in a hint of flavor, a trace of aroma, a fleeting touch. Show me that all these are attributes of You—You, all-Consciousness —the very essence of Consciousness; and take them all with You to Yourself.
Come! Descend into me in this very way.
Let it happen that, when I set out to eat food, I find annapuurNa (the Goddess who is the source of endless food, vitality). I set out to drink (rasa); I find the Goddess who is full of drinks. In this way, descend and grant complete fulfilment to my senses. Show me, Mother, that You surround me on every side! It is You who are doing everything. You alone will raise me up; I shall not do it myself. You are doing it! You alone do it!”
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Therefore, together with the feeling that He is the One— "I must worship and revere"—an intense longing to worship Him arose.
Now, while continuing to behold akShara aatman, across all horrizons and dissolving into Him is worshipping aatman by aatman. Although shambhu (the state of Consciousness of not having become + having become) has stood before me, veiling the directions, space and time in darkness, I cannot see anything else but the nijabodha (nija Consciousness), consequently the presence of the universe has become hidden—that is true;but I am not able to lose myself fully in the state of akShara. So, I have to worship the state that is akShara worship of shiva on the night of shivaraatri—worship of the aatman by means of aatman, worship of the (holy river) Ganges with the water from Ganges.
“In the worship of Shivaraatri, the sages prescribed that He be worshipped in four forms: —iishaanaaya aghoraaya vaamdevaaya sadyojaataayaa namaH— ‘I bow to Iishaana, to Aghora, to Vaamadeva, and to Sadyojaata.’
(Translator's note: The four forms are (i) iishaana,(ii) aghora, (iii) vaamadeva, (iv) sadyojaata.)
etasya akSharasya prashaasane chandra-suurya vidhRitau tiShThatau (by the regulation of this akShara, the moon and the sun remain upheld and established.) Awaken the awareness of iishvara in every direction and every aspect of your own being.”
Next comes the worship of 'aghora'. Undivided (absolute Oneness), pure and radiant, untainted! Ah, I am so soothed! Regulator (iishaana)—yet the nija is unassuming, serene and tranquil.
Next worship 'vaamadeva'! He is the bestower of all external siddhi-s (attainments), all the power and capabilities attained in the external world.
He is the Regulator who brings forth into the light of day all those aayatana-s (the embodiments of Knowledge or Consciousness) which have become Night, have been enveloped in darkness, and have become unmanifest—causing them to blossom forth once again as Day.
The Power (shakti) through which all the outward-oriented attainments are awakened—the Power within the aatman known as vaamaa-kaalii—He who is active through that very Power: the worship of that One is the worship of vaamadeva.
“Many of your saMskaaras (impressions) lie hidden in that Night, but they are now beginning to stir. Now they say, ‘We shall not fight’; yet, even at this very moment, they may gird themselves and stand ready for action.
How much of the saMskaara (impression, instincts) of egoic authority—the sense of being an independent doer—is still at play! It is as though I need only give the slightest signal, and each one will rush forth in its own direction.
Therefore, all these must be purified, each in its own place, within each and every one of those saMskaaras. In each of them, one must perceive the hand of iishaana (the Regulator), the presence of iishaanatva.
That is why I say to Him: ‘namo vaamadevaaya’—I bow to vaamadeva, He who has Himself become established as saMskaara (as my impressions, instincts).
Then I shall observe, by what means He becomes sadyojaata in that domain of vaama (vaamadeva). He enters into each and every fragment, all the while knowing Himself (kowing nija). Becoming that very fragment Himself, He is born again and again, remaining awake in the knowledge of nija, knowing Himself as He does so.
Only when these four principles are discerned does the worship of shiva become complete! One must perform the worship of shiva with this understanding.
This is called the vision of the puruSha named tat. One of the names of shiva is tatpuruSha. oM tatsat. 'tat' means 'tanute': He who extends, expands, and spreads Himself.”
Thus, in the prescribed procedure of shivaraatri worship, you have seen that the different names have different profound significances. Unless one performs the worship with a realization of these significances, it cannot be regarded as proper worship.
iishaanaayaH namaH aghoraaya namaH vaamadevaaya namaH sadyojaataaya namaH.
iishaana is the akShara parameshvara (the imperishable Supreme Controller), surrounded by unmanifest potency (tejas) or saṃskaaras —the li~Nga-shariira (subtle body). He is rudra—drutaM svaruupaM upalabhyate—He attains His own form instantaneously. Here, nijatva (the state of being nija) is predominant.The unmanifest tejas (potency) is filled up here. The moment He releases it, it will rush down and become manifest. Whatever blossoms forth, whatever exists in an unmanifest condition, blossoms forth from here alone. Nothing that is to manifest can do so without the expression of aatma-chaitanya (the aatman as universal Consciousness), or independently of the regulation of aatmatattva (the principle of aatman).
The ritual of remaining awake during the night (raatri) of the shivaraatri festival implies remaining awake in the domain of the unmanifest (avaktya bhuumi).
shivaraatri means the state in which both shiva and raatri are perceived— the domain of the unmanifest, where we sleep, where we die.
Where, in your own body, do you sleep? In the brain, in the sahasraara. It is there, from amidst all your manifestations, that you are drawn away; you are not allowed to perceive anything. Is it in the brain, or where else? It is there that everything is held and contained, in complete fullness and immense abundance, each and every thing within its own cell. To make you sleep, are you brought to that very place?
There are two ways to reach satyaloka (the abode where the Truth is realized). In sleep I reach that very Brahman (brahman), but I myself become swooned; while with the knowledge of aatman, reaching that same very place I attain satayM (Truth) j~naanaM (Knowledge) anataM (the infinity).
One path is through black darkness; the other is through the light that pervades the entire universe. The very same One has become both light and darkness—this is what may be inferred.Does the akShara puruSha reside there? Is that unmanifest domain (avyakta bhuumi), satyaloka, the cerebellum?
And right beside it is the cerebrum, the operational domain called tapoloka. From there, aghora directs and operates—aghora—a great, singular Consciousness, bearing the name nija.
(Translator's note: During idol worship, two bell fruits branching off from a single stem are placed on a small pitcher. The stem represents the spinal cord. One bell fruit represents the cerebrum, and the other represents the cerebellum. The cerebellum is called shriiphala, and the cerebrum is called shriiniketana.
All the phalaas, or consequences of our activities, are stored in shriiphala and manifest from there. Our impressions, those that are hidden or dormant, and our unseen destinies are located in shriiphala (cerebellum). shriiniketana (cerebrum) is the primary source of all the phalaas, or unseen destinies and impressions. The pineal gland, which is nearer to the cerebrum, is the location of akShara aatman in the body. The pineal gland is behind the forehead, located above the medulla and Pons Varoli. The cerebrum and cerebellum constitute the region of sahasraara in the body, and the pineal gland (the location of akShara) is below cerebrum. [Collected from the various sermons of the Seer, Shri. BijoyKrishna Chattopadhyaya.)
Have you now discerned the two levels of that very akShara? iishaana and aghora. aghora is the form of bhuumaa akShara.
vaamadeva brings forth all siddhis (attainments or modes of manifestation): the attainment of being human, of being a tree, of life and death—every possible attainment that is to be bestowed. vaamadeva is abiding in the soul of a being ('pratyak aatman') with the attainments to be bestowed.
(Translator's note:* 'pratyak aatman' is a term for any individual soul. 'pratyak' means prati (every) ak>a~nch— bending, curl, direction. pratyak aatman is the 'Soul' or assertion less self always present behind every active stage of a being. Thus the word pratyak implies 'inward'.)
HE himself is this— now established as a human soul, that is the attainment (siddhi), or whatever 'attainment He will bestow to Himself. this is vaamadeva.
That which is now present as the human aatman—or whichever siddhi (attainments or modes of manifestation) He chooses to bestow upon Himself at any given time—that is vaamadeva.
Unless one recognises the distinctive nature of vaamana (vaamadeva), the glory of the Supreme Deity cannot be fully grasped. To say that vaamadeva is the bestower of siddhis means that He bestows all siddhis. What, then, is the difference between Him and aghora? aghora is He in whose aatmabodha (self awareness) the state of complete non-attachment (asa~Nga bhaava) and the power of regulation (niyantraNatva) are predominant. vaamadeva, on the other hand, is indeed the Director and Regulator, but at the same time He accepts connectedness and association within Himself. This is why, in the worship of vaamadeva, it is said: “One should not reject anyone—na kaa~nchana pariharet".
The nature of aghora is non-attachment: renouncing everything, relinquishing everything, releasing everything from oneself.
But the nature of the aatman in the form of vaamadeva is to leave no one out. Whatever is blossoming forth is within your own nija; it is you yourself.
(Translator's note:The reference to vaamana may recall Katha UpaniShad 2.2.3, where vaamana is described as seated within the embodied being (madhye vaamanam aasiinam). In the present teaching, this indwelling presence appears to be associated with vaamadeva, the bestower of all siddhis, who is present within every manifestation.)
Then comes the state of being immersed in experience (bhogamayataa). sadyojaata Himself assumes the forms of the dead and the living.
At one level, He is completely detached, entirely withdrawn; at another, He is wholly involved, entering completely into that very manifestation.
He who, at one level, is the absolutely independent Regulator, is, at another level, that very One who becomes entirely subject within the awareness of nija.
When I am constituted by experience (anubhuuti-aatmaka), whatever I experience, I become that very thing. But when experience cannot proceed without the object that is apprehended through experience, Consciousness becomes immersed in the experience of joy and pain (bhogamaya), becoming Consciousness bound by its objects.
vaamadeva has siddhi on one side and mukti on the other. Without siddhi on one side, no individual being (jiiva) comes into existence on that side.
“I am human”—my awareness of nija is filled with the knowledge of my confinement within this human condition. vaamadeva has attained the siddhi of being human within me.
See what these different levels are like! All four speak from within aatmatattva (the principle of aatman).
chinmayaM vyaapRitaM sarvaM trailokyaM sacharaacharam—
“All the three worlds, with everything that moves and does not move, are pervaded by Consciousness.”
aiM shriigurave namaH.
aiM: I bow to the revered Guru.
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