5.10: THE FREUDIAN STAGE THREE  ANALOGY IN THIRUMANTHIRAM:

Sadhasiva agama by Moolar( திருமூலரின் சதாசிவாகமம்)  is taken for further study  in the similarities between Freudian and saiva siddhantha literatures. There are advantages in taking Thirumanthiram for this analysis:

1)it is estimated to have been written in 5th  century. Hence it has antedated all the 14- sastra texts. Therefore we get a glimpses of the earliest roots of saiva schools. It represents the earliest 9 siva agamas. Hence also called as sadhasiva agamam. It is widely revered by saivite scholars.
2) it has 3000 verses in all. Therefore we get a most elaborate description.

There are disadvantages as well :
1) the chapter arrangements, language, style of narrations need an expert Tamil interpreter
2) as the number of verses are too many there are chances for arbitrary inferences and selective abstractions. Nevertheless the overwhelming similarity between the style of narration in these schools is  surprising enough.

Let us now go to the next stage of the analysis of thirumanthiram  were the father-mother-son relationship analogies are found. The verse from 818-837 describe the pariyanga yogam ,  here the physical relationships are described very explicitly. This is a prelude to the subsequent oedipal like relationships we are going to see[i]. As such they do not have a literal meaning and they have a symbolic connotation only, to the attraction of opposite genders. In fact the later verses detail only the siva-sakthi union. We are trying to make an inference out of the arrangement of the poems and their order and numbers about the progression of the soul from sakthi and then to sivam which may have a similarity to a fruedian type of child-mother-father relationship.Let us see the these verses and move to the verses related to sakthinipatham[ii].

From the 1000th  verse the soul is attracted towards the Sakthi (oedipal complex) (சக்திநிபாதம்). 

AthAravAthEyam

EroLichchakkaram

chaththipEtham^

thiripurai chakkaram

chAmpavi^maNTalach chakkaram

thiruvampalachchakkaram

n^avakuNTam

n^avAkkari chakkaram

pUraNa chaththi

vayiravachchakkaram

vayiravi man^thiram

Sakthi bedham, adharavadheyam, and the meditative charts for Sakthi worship occupy the next 600 verses. This is analogous to mother-son relationship (as the soul is symbolized as nandi it has to be taken as a male child). The glory of mother god is written all in greatest possible manner. The fact is some 20 percentage of the total verses are devoted to sakthi worship should remind us the importance of this mother god worship pattern.

The praise of sakthi  thus clearly portrays the importance given to the mother god pattern of worship. From the self preoccupied stage in the oral stage the soul leaves actively towards the mother god.  The preoccupation with sakthi(sakthinipatham) and subsequent liberation from Sakthi and the efforts to move towards Siva are expressed in the next 200 verses ending with aradharam.  

( the sakthi worshiping pattern in the fifth century AD has become an independent sect. shaktham as it is known tosay is a dominant religion in certain parts of india like Bengal. It gives more importance to these chakras like sambavi chakra,bairavi chakra,eroli chakra..etc. these chkras and the more complex mandalas of concentration together form the many rituals in shaktham. The concept of yantra are also there which is actually the chakras and the rituals put together. The yantra ,mandala and chakra concepts later became obsorbed in budhist sects like Tibetan Buddhism and still later in the far east asian Buddhist religion[iii]. They have more physiological, mechanical and many occult elements. These aspects are of great intrest in western scholars. Besides some of these concepts have some semblance to the JUNGIAN  psychoanalytic techniques.)[iv]

ATTCHMENT TO FATHER GOD:

Then the praise of the father-god in its symbolic influence on the child-soul as PHALLIC representation is described in the subsequent verses from andalingam to Siva lingam in the verses 1695-1760 .  This we shall see now in the following verses.

aNTaliN^kam 

aruLoLi 

athiththa n^ilai 

aNTAthiththan 

AthmaliN^kam 

ARAthAram 

ithOpathEcham 

ain^thin^thiriyam aTakkum arumai 

ain^thin^thiriyam aTakkum muRaimai 

kurupUchai 

kUTAvozukkam 

kETu kaNTiraN^kal 

chathAchivaliN^kam 

chamAthikkiriyai 

champirathAyam 

chaRkuru n^eRi 

chivapUchai 

chivaliN^kam 

chivAthiththan 

chIvan 

njAnaliN^kam 

njAnathiththan 

thiruvaruL vaippu 

pachu 

pachuvilakkaNam pirANan 

piTchA vithi 

piNTaliN^kam 

piNTAthiththan 

puruTan 

pUraNakkukai n^eRichchamAthi 

pOchana vithi 

pOthan 

makEchuvara pUchai 

manavAthiththan 

muththirai pEtham 

 The verses1901-1951 describe the source of germinal seeds(testicles) and the importance of it for the male-child-soul (castration anxiety?)[v]. 

vin^thuRpanam,

vin^thu aiyam

It is to be understood that the soul’s journey starts towards actively towards the sakthi and then eventually to the father god (lingam). It is this that is evident in the verses of thirumoolar which goes to praise the mother god and later the father god. In the temples of agamic style constructions it is very easily evident from the position of the nandhi, sakthi and the sivam. The triangle is very typical of a child-mother-father triangle in psycho-analysis.

The chapters 4,5,6 & 7 thirumandhiram generally deals with the child-to  mother-to father relationship progression. It is a basic triad which helps the child’s psychological development in psycho-analysis. These chapters that occupy the central portion of the thirumandhiram appears to deal with the metaphysical progression of the soul from ealy mother attachment and subsequent attachment to father.

The anal stage (avathai)descriptions are described next to this  stage. In Thirumanthiram they  occupy the verses 1999-2377.

 There after the pati-pasu-pasa relationship fulfillment progresses till the end of 3000 verse.   The liberation from sakthi and union with sivam is glorified as final salvation and mukthi which is analogous to Freudian psyche maturation at the end of phallic stage. This phase is known as SAKTHINIBADHAM( சக்திநிபாதம்)in the saivam. There is no latent stage or genital stage equaling in  thirumanthiram.

However the topographical model of mind is followed in the same order as superego –ego –id and pati-pasu –pasa stages namely the initial description of Siva and the travails of nandi and then the severing of attachments.

Thus the arrangement is oral-phallic-anal akin to the model in the agama pattern temples in coramandalam, lingam(superego-siva-father)-pasu(ego-soul-male child)-pasa(id- severance-pedestal). The nandi faces the sivam on the front and the sakthi on the right side of its heart. The flag is an insignia of the final salvation (mukthi). There is no female equalant in the soul as does in the Freudian analytic study. It is generally felt female soul development is similar to male soul.

CONCLUSION:

The work of Moolar not only forms the grammar for saiva schools, it has excellent piece of information in the self-analysis. The therapist –client model in psychoanalysis and guru-sishya relationship appear to have semblance.   Meditation  seem to appear as a form of self –analysis with the individual finding his own deeper unconscious. Both Freudian exploration and yoga-exploration find similar results in form and content(topographical and dynamic) as well of the mind.

However it is premature to come to a conclusion. The Freudian exploration is objective study of mind. The saiva schools study subjectively the  meta-physical elements. It is the symbolism which are glaringly akin. Symbolism in folk psychology is what sublimation in psychoanalysis[vi]. There fore these symbolisms are very important.

More further thoughts and reading increasingly make us wonder the strong similarities between these two schools.

1.Freudian oral stage with siddhantha “iru-vinai-oppu”

2.anal stage to “mala paribaham”

3.and phallic stages resembling the “sakthi nibatham” of siddhantham.

To understand the iruvinaioppu and malaparibaham and the sakthinibatham we may have go deeper into saiva studies. For this we have to refer the other sastra texts and the later adheenam (pandara) texts.

The siddhantha itself is divided into “pathi iyal”( pathi studies), pasu iyal(studies) , pasa studies(iyal) and the sadhana iyal”. (பதியியல்,பசுயியல்,பாசயியல், சாதனயியல்)These we shall see later one by one.

One has to wonder the similarities and revisit more into both schools for deeper meanings especially,  if there is a similarity in the symbolisms between 5th century thought and the19th century one.

---

[i] 19.. .(1). பரியண்-க யோகம்
.(1). பரியண்-கி யோகம்

.825..பூசு வனவெல்லாம் பூசிப் புலர்த்திய
வாச நறுங்குழல் மாலையுஞ்f சாத்திக்
காயக் குழலி கலவி யொடுங்கலந்
.(1). தூசித் துளையுறத் தூங்காது .(2). போகமே
.(1). தூசத் துணையறத்
.(2). யோகமே
.(2). போதமே
.(2). மோகமே

.826..போகத்தை யுன்னவே போகாது வாயுவு
மோகத்தை வௌfளியு மீளும் வியாழத்தில்
சூதொத்த மென்முலை யாளுநற் சூதனுந்
தாதிற் குழைந்து தலைகண்ட வாறே

.827..கண்டனுங் கண்டியுங் காதல்செய் யோகத்து
மாண்டலங் கொண்டிரு பாலும் வௌiநிற்கும்
வண்டியை மேற்கொண்டு வானீர் உருட்டிடத்
தண்டொரு காலுந் தளராது அங்கமே

.828..அங்கப் புணர்ச்சியு மாகின்ற தத்துவ
மங்கத்தில் விந்து வருகின்ற போகத்துப்
பங்கப் படாமற் பரிகரித் துத்தம்மைத்
தங்கிக் கொடுக்கத் தலைவனு மாமே

.829..தலைவனு மாயிடுந் தன்வழி ஞானந்
தலைவனு மாயிடுந் தன்வழி போகந்
தலைவனு மாயிடுந் தன்வழி யுள்ளே
தலைவனு மாயிடுந் தன்வழி அஞ்சே

.830..அஞ்சு .(1). கடிகைமேல் ஆறாங் கடிகையில்
துஞ்சுவ தொன்றத் துணைவி துணைவன்பால்
நெஞ்சு நிறைந்தது வாய்கொளா தென்றது
பஞ்ச கடிகை பரியங்க யோகமே
.(1). கடிகையில் ஆறாண்- கடிகைமேற்

.831..பரியங்க யோகத்துப் பஞ்ச கடிகை
அரியஇவ் வியோகம் அடைந்தவர்க் கல்லது
சரிவளை முன்கைச்சி சந்தனக் கொங்கை
உருவித் தழுவ ஒருவற்கொண் ணாதே

.832..ஒண்ணாத யோகத்தை உற்றவ ராரென்னில்
விண்ணந்த கங்கை விரிசடை வைத்தவன்
பண்ணார் அமுதினைப் பஞ்ச கடிகையில்
எண்ணா மெனஎண்ணி இருந்தான் இருந்தே

.833..ஏய்ந்த பிராயம் இருபது முப்பதும்
வாய்ந்த குழலிக்கு மன்னர்க்கு மானந்தம்
வாய்ந்த குழலியோ டைந்து மலர்ந்திடச்
சோர்ந்தன சித்தமுன்ய் சோர்வில்லை வௌfளிக்கே

.834..வௌfளி யுருகிப் பொன்வழி ஓடாமே
கள்ளத்தட் டானார் கரியிட்டு மூடினார்
கொள்ளி பறியக் குழல்வழி யேசென்று
வள்ளியுண் ணாவில் அடக்கிவைத் தாரே

.835..வைத்த இருவருந் தம்மின் மகிழ்ந்துடன்
சித்தங் கலங்காது செய்கின்ற ஆனந்தம்
பத்து வகைக்கும் பதினெண் கணத்துக்கும்
வித்தக நாய்நிற்கும் வெங்கதி ரோனே

.836..வெங்கதி ருக்குஞ் சனிக்கும் இடைநின்ற
நங்கையைப் புல்லிய நம்பிக்கோ ரானந்தந்
தங்களிற் பொன்னிடை வௌfளிதா ழாமுனந்
தங்களிற் செவ்வாய் .(1). புதைத்திருந் தாரே
.(1). புதனிருந் தானே

.837..திருத்திப் புதனைத் திருத்தல்செய் வார்க்குக்
கருத்தழ காலே கலந்தங் கிருக்கில்
வருத்தமு மில்லையா மங்கை பங்கற்குந்
துருத்தியுள் வௌfளியஞ்f சோரா தெழுமே

.838..எழுகின்ற தீயை முன்னே கொண்டு சென்றிட்டால்
மெழுகுரு கும்பரி செய்திடும் மெய்யே
உழுகின்ற தில்லை ஔiயை அறிந்தபின்
விழுகின்ற தில்லை வௌiயறி வார்க்கே

.839..வௌiயை அறிந்து வௌiயி னடுவே
.(1). ஔiயை அறியி நுளிமுறி யாமே
தௌiவை அறிந்து செழுநந்தி யாலே
வௌiயை அறிந்தனன் மேலறி யேனே
.(1). உளியை

.840..மேலாந் தலத்தில் விரிந்தவ ராரெனின்
மாலாந் திசைமுகன் மாநந்தி யாயவர்
நாலா நிலத்தி நடுவான வப்பொருள்
மேலா யுரைத்தனர் மின்னிடை யாளுக்கே

.841..மின்னிடை யாளுமின் னாளனுங் கூட்டத்துப்
பொன்னிடை வட்டத்தின் உள்ளே புகப்பெய்து
தன்னொடு தன்னை தலைப்பெய்ய .(1). வல்லாரேன்
மண்ணிடைப் பல்லூழி வாழலு மாமே
.(1). வல்லீரே

.842..வாங்க லிறுதலை வாங்கலில் வாங்கிய
வீங்க வலிக்கும் விரகறி வாரில்லை
வீங்க வலிக்கும் விரகறி வாளரும்
ஓங்கிய தன்னை உதம்பண்ணி னாரே

.843..உதமறிந் தங்கே ஒருசுழிப் பட்டாற்
கதமறிந் தங்கே கபாலங் கறுக்கும்
இதமறிந் தென்றும் இருப்பாள் ஒருத்தி
பதமறிந் தும்முளே பார்க்கடிந் தாளே

.844..பாரில்லை நீரில்லை பங்கயம் ஒன்றுண்டு
தாரில்லை வேரில்லை தாமரை பூத்தது
ஊரில்லை காணும் ஔiயது .(1). ஒன்றுண்டு
கீழில்லை மேலில்லை கேள்வியிற் பூவே
.(1). ஒன்றில்லை

[ii] [ii] Formation of the Shri Yantra:The creation of the Shri Yantra is described in the Yogini Hridaya (Heart of the Yogini Tantra), which still does not exist in an English translation, as far as we are aware. This is said to be the second part of the Vamakeshvara Tantra.

"From the fivefold Shakti comes creation and from the fourfold Fire dissolution. The sexual union of five Shaktis and four Fires causes the chakra to evolve. O Sinless One! I speak to you of the origin of the chakra.

"When she, the ultimate Shakti, of her own will (svecchaya) assumed the form of the universe, then the creation of the chakra revealed itself as a pulsating essence. From the void-like vowels with the visarga (:) emerged the bindu, quivering and fully conscious. From this pulsating stream of supreme light emanated the ocean of the cosmos, the very self of the three mothers.

"The baindava of the chakra has a triple form, dharma, adharma and atma, and matri, meya and prama. The chakra of nine yonis is the great mass of consciousness bliss and is the ninefold chakra and the nine divisions of the mantra.

"The baindava is placed on a dense flowery mass and is the Chitkala. Similarly, the ambika form of eight lines is the circle of the vowels. The nine triangles quiver forth the effulgent form of 10 lines. The Shakti, together with her surrounding nine blossomed forth the 10 trikonas. The second quivering form of 10 lines has Krodhisha as first of the 10. These four chakras, of the nature of light, create the 14-fold form, the essence of perception." -- Yogini Hridaya, I 6-16.

At the very heart of the bindu or centre of the Shri Yantra is that which caused it to emanate. This is Kamakala, consisting of the three bindus or potentials. One is red, one is white, and one is mixed. The red bindu is ova, the white bindu semen, and the mixed bindu the union of Shiva-Shakti, the individual as potential Shri Cakra.

Father and Mother are represented in Shri Vidya by two limbs or aspects of Lalita known as Varahi and Kurukulla. The semen of Varahi, the father-form, gives four alchemical dhatus to the child. The ova of Kurukulla, the mother-form, gives five dhatns to the child. Consciousness enters via orgasm. The three bindus, collectively known as Kamakala (digit of sexual desire), are the root potential of sun, moon and fire. It is like sun and moon coming together in an eclipse, or the seed from which the plant human being grows.

Varahi's four alchemical dhatus are known as the four fires. Kurukulla's alchemical dhatus are known as the five saktis. The combination of these five saktis (downward pointing triangles) and four fires (upward pointing triangles), forms the complex figure in the centre of Shri Cakra.

Varahi's four fires are the 12 (3 x 4) sun Kalas, 12 sidereal constellations. Kurukulla's five triangles are the 15 (5 x 3) Kalas of the moon, 15 lunar days. The complete individual grows within nine months to be born as a Shri Yantra or plant. The flowering of this plant is shown by the 24 petals of the yantra. The above all gives rise to the familiar shape of the Shri Yantra. The yantra is usually arranged in one of two forms. In the Bhuprastara, it is two dimensional and laid flat, usually facing the east, but sometimes the north, depending on the practice. The Meruprastara has the yantra in a pyramidal form. Unless the yantra be decorated with the appropriate bija and other mantras, it is worthless. It is also dead unless it is installed with life and the individual doing the puja is initiated into one of the lines (parampara). http://www.religiousworlds.com/mandalam/tripura.htm

[iii] The Shakta is so called because he is a worshipper of Shakti (Power), that is, God in Mother-form as the Supreme Power which creates, sustains and withdraws the universe. His rule of life is Shaktadharma, his doctrine of Shakti is Shaktivada or Shakta Darshana. God is worshipped as the Great Mother because, in this aspect, God is active, and produces, nourishes, and maintains all. Theological Godhead is no more female than male or neuter. God is Mother to the Sadhaka who worships Her Lotus Feet, the dust on which are millions of universes. The Power, or active aspect of the immanent God, is thus called Shakti. In Her static transcendent aspect the Mother or Shakti or Shivé is of the same nature as Shiva or "the Good". That is, philosophically speaking, Shiva is the unchanging Consciousness, and Shakti is its changing Power appearing as mind and matter. Shiva-Shakti is therefore Consciousness and Its Power. This then is the doctrine of dual aspects of the one Brahman acting through Its Trinity of Powers (Iccha, Will; Jñana, Knowledge; Kriya, Action). In the static transcendent aspect (Shiva) the one Brahman does not change and in the kinetic immanent aspect (Shivé or Shakti) It does. There is thus changelessness in change. The individual or embodied Spirit (Jivatma) is one with the transcendent spirit (Paramatma). The former is a part (Amsha) of the latter, and the enveloping mind and body are manifestations of Supreme Power. Shakta Darshana is therefore a form of Monism (Advaitavada). In creation an effect is produced without change in the Producer. In creation the Power (Shakti) "goes forth" (Prasharati) in a series of emanations or transformations, which are called, in the Shaiva and Shakta Tantras, the 36 Tattvas. These mark the various stages through which Shiva, the Supreme Consciousness, as Shakti, presents Itself as object to Itself as subject, the latter at first experiencing the former as part of the Self, and then through the operations of Maya Shakti as different from the Self. This is the final stage in which every Self (Purusha) is mutually exclusive of every other. Maya, which achieves this, is one of the Powers of the Mother or Devi. The Will-to-become-many (Bahu syam prajayeya) is the creative impulse which not only creates but reproduces an eternal order. The Lord remembers the diversities latent in His own Maya Shakti due to the previous Karmas of Jivas and allows them to unfold themselves by His volition. It is that Power by which infinite formless Consciousness veils Itself to Itself and negates and limits Itself in order that it may experience Itself as Form.

This Maya Shakti assumes the form of Prakriti Tattva, which is composed of three Gunas or Factors called Sattva, Rajas, Tamas. The function of Prakriti is to veil, limit, or finitize pure infinite formless Consciousness, so as to produce form, for without such limitation there cannot be the appearance of form. These Gunas work by mutual suppression. The function of Tamas is to veil Consciousness, of Sattva to reveal it, and of Rajas the active principle to make either Tamas suppress Sattva or Sattva suppress Tamas. These Gunas are present in all particular existence, as in the general cause or Prakriti Shakti. Evolution means the increased operation of Sattva Guna. Thus the mineral world is more subject to Tamas than the rest. There is less Tamas and more Sattva in the vegetable world. In the animal world Sattva is increased, and still more so in man, who may rise through the cultivation of the Sattva Guna to Pure Consciousness (Moksha) Itself. To use Western parlance, Consciousness more and more appears as forms evolve and rise to man. Consciousness does not in itself change, but its mental and material envelopes do, thus releasing and giving Consciousness more play. As Pure Consciousness is Spirit, the release of It from the bonds of matter means that Forms which issue from the Power of Spirit (Shakti) become more and more Sattvik. A truly Sattvik man is therefore a spiritual man. The aim of Sadhana is therefore the cultivation of the Sattva Guna. Nature (Prakriti) is thus the Veil of Spirit as Tamas Guna, the Revealer of Spirit as Sattva Guna, and the Activity (Rajas Guna) which makes either work. Thus the upward or revealing movement from the predominance of Tamas to that of Sattva represents the spiritual progress of the embodied Spirit or Jivatma.

It is the desire for the life of form which produces the universe. This desire exists in the collective Vasanas, held like all else, in inchoate state in the Mother-Power, which passing from its own (Svarupa) formless state gives effect to them. Upon the expiration of the vast length of time which constitutes a day of Brahma the whole universe is withdrawn into the great Causal Womb (Yoni) which produced it. The limited selves are withdrawn into it, and again, when the creative throes are felt, are put forth from it, each appearing in that form and state which its previous Karma had made for it. Those who do good Karma but with desire and self-regard (Sakama) go, on death, to Heaven and thereafter reap their reward in good future birth on earth -- for Heaven is also a transitory state. The bad are punished by evil births on earth and suffering in the Hells which are also transitory. Those, however, who have rid themselves of all self-regarding desire and work selflessly (Nishkama Karma) realize the Brahman nature which is Saccidananda. Such are liberated, that is never appear again in the World of Form, which is the world of suffering, and enter into the infinite ocean of Bliss Itself. This is Moksha or Mukti or Liberation. As it is freedom from the universe of form, it can only be attained through detachment from the world and desirelessness. For those who desire the world of form cannot be freed of it. Life, therefore, is a field in which man, who has gradually ascended through lower forms of mineral, vegetable and animal life, is given the opportunity of heaven-life and Liberation. The universe has a moral purpose, namely the affording to all existence of a field wherein it may reap the fruit of its actions. The forms of life are therefore the stairs (Sopana) on which man mounts to the state of infinite, eternal, and formless Bliss. This then is the origin and the end of man. He has made for himself his own past and present condition and will make his future one. His essential nature is free. If wise, he adopts the means (Sadhana) which lead to lasting happiness, for that of the world is not to be had by all, and even when attained is perishable and mixed with suffering. This Sadhana consists of various means and disciplines employed to produce purity of mind (Cittashuddhi), and devotion to, and worship of, the Magna Mater of all. It is with these means that the religious Tantra Shastras are mainly concerned. The Shakta Tantra Shastra contains a most elaborate and wonderful ritual, partly its own, partly of Vaidik origin. To a ritualist it is of absorbing interest.

Ritual is an art, the art of religion. Art is the outward material expression of ideas intellectually held and emotionally felt. Ritual art is concerned with the expression of those ideas and feelings which are specifically called religious. It is a mode by which religious truth is presented, and made intelligible in material forms and symbols to the mind. It appeals to all natures passionately sensible of that Beauty in which, to some, God most manifests Himself. But it is more than this. For it is the means by which the mind is transformed and purified. In particular according to Indian principles it is the instrument whereby the consciousness of the worshipper (Sadhaka) is shaped in actual fact into forms of experience which embody the truths which Scripture teaches. The Shakta is thus taught that he is one with Shiva and His Power or Shakti. This is not a matter of mere argument. It is a matter for experience. It is ritual and Yoga-practice which secure that experience for him. How profound Indian ritual is, will be admitted by those who have understood the general principles of all ritual and symbolism, and have studied it in its Indian form, with a knowledge of the principles of which it is an expression. Those who speak of "mummery," "gibberish" and "superstition" betray both their incapacity and ignorance.

The Agamas are not themselves treatises on Philosophy, though they impliedly contain a particular theory of life. They are what is called Sadhana Shastras, that is, practical Scriptures prescribing the means by which happiness, the quest of all mankind, may be attained. And as lasting happiness is God, they teach how man by worship and by practice of the disciplines prescribed, may attain a divine experience. From incidental statements and the practices described the philosophy is extracted.

The speaker of the Tantras and the revealer of the Shakta Tantra is Shiva Himself or Shivé the Devi Herself. Now it is the first who teaches and the second who listens (Agama). Now again the latter assumes the role of Guru and answers the questions of Shiva (Nigama). For the two are one. Sometimes there are other interlocutors. Thus one of the Tantras is called Ishvarakartikeya-samvada, for there the Lord addresses his son Kartikeya. The Tantra Shastra therefore claims to be a Revelation, and of the same essential truths as those contained in the Eternal Veda which is an authority to itself (Svatah-siddha). Those who have had experience of the truths recorded in Shastra, have also proclaimed the practical means whereby their experience was gained. "Adopt those means" they say, "and you will also have for yourself our experience." This is the importance of Sadhana and all Sadhana Shastras. The Guru says: "Do as I tell you. Follow the method prescribed by Scripture. Curb your desires. Attain a pure disposition, and thus only will you obtain that certainty, that experience which will render any questionings unnecessary." The practical importance of the Agama lies in its assumption of these principles and in the methods which it enjoins for the attainment of that state in which the truth is realized. The following Chapters shortly explain some of the main features of both the philosophy and practice of the Shakta division of the Agama. For their full development many volumes are necessary. What is here said is a mere sketch in a popular form of a vast subject. http://www.sacred-texts.com/tantra/sas/sas09.htmShakti and Shâkta by Arthur Avalon (Sir John Woodroffe),[1918]

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[iv] The Tantras have, often, not been kindly spoken of. It has been said that they have hitherto played, in Indology, the part of a jungle which everybody is anxious to avoid. Still stronger, a great historian is quoted as having said that it would be "the unfortunate lot of some future scholar to wade through the disgusting details of drunkenness and debauchery which were regarded as an essential part of their religion by a large section of the Indian community not long ago" And Grünwedel, speaking especially of the Tibetan Tantras (Mythology, p. 106), from the immense literature of which as yet nothing had been translated, says: "To work out these things will be, indeed, a sacrficium intellectus, but they are, after all, no more stupid than the Brahmanas on which so much labor has been spent." But here we have the first translation into a European language of one of these Tantrik texts; and far from being obscene or stupid, it strikes us as a work of singular beauty and nobility, and as a creation of religious art, almost unique in its lofty grandeur. It is so totally unlike any religious document we are acquainted with, that it is almost inconceivable that this is only a brief specimen, a first specimen, made accessible to the general public, of a vast literature of which the extent (as existing in Tibet) cannot yet even be measured. Yet, in saying that the nature of our book is unique, we do not mean to imply that close analogies cannot be found for it in the religious literatures and practices of the world. Such an aloofness would be rather suspicious, for real religious experience is, of course, universal, and, proceeding from the same elements in the human heart, and aspiring to the same ends, must always show kinship in manifestation. Yet this Tibetan product has a distinctive style of its own, which singles it out in appearance as clearly, let us say, as the specific character of Assyrian or Egyptian art is different from that of other styles.

When we now proceed to examine the document before us, at the outset a verdict of one of the critics of Tantrism comes to our mind, to the effect that the Tantra is perhaps the most elaborate system of auto-suggestion in the world. This dictum was intended as a condemnation; but though accepting the verdict as correct, we ourselves are not inclined to accept, together with it, the implied conclusion. Auto-suggestion is the establishment of mental states and moods from within, instead of as a result of impressions received from without. Evidently there must be two kinds of this auto-suggestion, a true and a false one. The true one is that which produces states of consciousness corresponding to those which may be produced by realities in the outer world, and the false one is that which produces states of consciousness not corresponding to reactions to any reality without. In the ordinary way the consciousness of man is shaped in response to impressions from without, and so ultimately rests on sensation, but theoretically there is nothing impossible in the theory that these "modifications of the thinking principle" should be brought about by the creative will and rest rather on imagination and intuition than on sensation. This theory has not only been philosophically and scientifically discussed, but also practically applied in many a school of mysticism or Yoga. If I remember well, there is a most interesting book by a German (non-mystic) Professor, Staudenmeyer, dealing with this subject, under the title of Magic as an Experimental Science (in German), and the same idea seems also to underlie Steiner's theory of what he calls "imaginative clairvoyance". In Christian mysticism this has been fully worked out by de Loyola in his "Spiritual Exercises" as applied to the Passion of the Christ. In what is now-a-days called New Thought, this principle is largely applied in various manners. In our book we find it applied in terms of Tantrik Buddhism with a fullness and detail surpassing all other examples of this type of meditation. In order to present the idea in such a way that it may look plausible in itself, we have first to sketch out the rationale underlying any such system. This is easily done.

We can conceive of this universe as an immense ocean of consciousness or intelligence in which the separate organisms, human beings included, live and move and have their being. If we conceive of this mass of consciousness as subject to laws, analogous to those of gravity, and at the same time as being fluidic in nature, then the mechanism of all intellectual activity might well be thought of, in one of its aspects, as hydraulic in character. Let any organism, fit to be a bearer of consciousness, only open itself for the reception of it, and the hydraulic pressure of the surrounding sea of consciousness will make it flow in, in such a form as the construction of the organism assumes. The wave and the sea, the pot and the water, are frequent symbols in the East, used to indicate the relation between the all-consciousness and the individual consciousness. If the human brain is the pot sunk in the ocean of divine consciousness, the form of that pot will determine the form which the all-consciousness will assume within that brain.

Now imagination, or auto-suggestion, may determine that form. Through guess, intuition, speculation, tradition, authority, or whatever the determinant factor may be, any such form may be chosen. The man may create any form, and then, by expectancy, stillness, passivity, love, aspiration or whatever term we choose, draw the cosmic consciousness within him, only determining its form for himself, but impersonally receiving the power which is not from himself, but from without. The process is like the preparation of a mold in which molten metal is to be cast, with this difference, that the metal cast into the mold is not self-active and alive, and not ever-present and pressing on every side, as the living consciousness is which constitutes our universe.

We may take an illustration from the mechanical universe. This universe is one seething mass of forces in constant interplay. The forces are there and at work all the time, but only become objectified when caught in suitable receivers. The wind-force, if not caught by the arms of the windmill, the forces of stream or waterfall, if not similarly gathered in a proper mechanism, disperse themselves in space and are not focused in and translated into objective units of action. So with the vibrations sent along the wire, in telegraphic or telephonic communication, or with the other vibrations sent wirelessly. In a universe peopled with intelligences, higher beings, gods, a whole hierarchy of entities, from the highest power and perfection to such as belong to our own limited class, constant streams of intelligence and consciousness must continuously flash through space and fill existence. Now it seems, theoretically indeed, very probable, assuming that consciousness is one and akin in essence, that the mechanical phenomenon of sympathetic vibration may be applied to that consciousness as well as to what are regarded as merely mechanical vibrations. So, putting all the above reasonings together, it is at least a plausible theory that man, by a process of auto-suggestion, may so modify the organs of his consciousness, and likewise attune his individual consciousness in such a way, as to become able to enter into a sympathetic relation with the forces of cosmic consciousness ordinarily manifesting outside him and remaining unperceived, passing him as it were, instead of being caught and harnessed. And this is not only a theory, but more than that -- a definite statement given as the result of experience by mystics and meditators of all times and climes.

Now we may ask: how has this method been applied in our present work? A careful analysis of its contents makes us discover several interesting characteristics. First of all we have to remember that our text presupposes a familiarity with the religious conceptions, names, personalities and philosphical principles of Northern Buddhism, which are all freely used in the composition. What is strange and foreign in them to the Western reader is so only because he moves in unfamiliar surroundings. But the character of the composition is one which might be compared to such analogous Western productions (with great differences, however) as the Passion Play at Oberammergau or the mediaeval mystery-plays. Only, in some of the latter the historical element predominates, whilst in the Tibetan composition the mythological element (for want of a better word) forms the basis and substance. In other words, in this ritual of meditation the Gods, Powers and Principles are the actors, and not, historical or symbolical personages of religious tradition. Secondly the play is enacted in the mind, inwardly, instead of on the scene, outwardly. The actors are not persons, but conceptions.

First, the meditator has to swing up his consciousness to a certain pitch of intensity, steadiness, quiet, determination and expectancy. Having tuned it to the required pitch, he fixes it on a simple center of attention which is to serve as a starting-point or gate through which his imagination shall well up as the water of a fountain comes forth through the opening of the water-pipe. From this central point the mental pictures come forth. They are placed round the central conception. From simple to complex in orderly progression the imaginative structure is elaborated. The chief Gods appear successively, followed by the minor deities. Spaces, regions, directions are carefully determined. Attributes, colors, symbols, sounds are all minutely prescribed and deftly worked in, and explications carefully given. A miniature world is evolved, seething with elemental forces working in the universe as cosmic forces and in man as forces of body and spirit. Most of the quantities on this elaborate notation are taken from the body of indigenous religious teaching and mythology. Some are so universal and transparent that the non-Tibetan reader can appreciate them even without a knowledge of the religious technical terms of Tibet. But anyhow, an attentive reading and re-reading reveals something, even to the outsider, of the force of this symbological structure, and makes him intuitively feel that here we are assisting in the unfolding of a grand spiritual drama, sweeping up the mind to heights of exaltation and nobility. http://www.sacred-texts.com/tantra/sas/sas10.htm, http://www.sacred-texts.com/tantra/index.htm

[v] RISE OF BINDU

1923 Devolutes of Bindu

When Creation commenced,

From Para Bindu arose Kundalini

And from Kudilai the Vaindavam in the firmament vast

And the nine gods Brahma and the rest

And their Saktis

And in order corresponding

The Karanas, the Kalas and the sound Vaikari (Nada).

1924 Thirty Six Tattvas Devolute

Bindu attains modification five times five (twenty-five)

Nada attains modification four and six (ten)

The rest two--Sakti and Siva--attain not modification

But activate the other two--Bindu and Nada.

1925 Saktis Devolute from Bindu

Out of the Mamaya

Para Bindu gives rise to--

All these manifestations

Vagesi, Tatparai, Kudilai and Kundalini;

These Saktis four ultimate from Bindu evolute.

1926 Kalas Nada and Karanas Devoluted

The Kalas Nivirti and the rest,

In which repose sounds "A", "U" and "M" composed

There in Nadanta Bindu enters

And into the Karanas that include the Mind

And the internal organs intellectual

Devolute manifesting these

The Bindu its act of creation ceases.

1927 Bindu is the Causal Seed of Five Acts

The Parapara that is the End and the Beginning

Immanent, He expands thus;

As Cause and Effect, too, well He is;

And as Bija

The Five Acts performs.

1928 Bija is the Macro and Micro Causal Seed

By the power of Bija that from Bindu emanated

The world and the cosmic universe arose

From out of Casual (Asuddha) Maya (Stuff of matter)

Arose the elements five--the sky and the rest;

And this Bindu, micro and macro, is.

1929 Bindu is White and Nada Red

The Bindu that shines

Within the body and without (in all Nature)

Is white in hue;

Red is vibrant Nada;

As Sakti and Siva embedded within

Well can they Mukti grant,

If in wisdom activated.

1930 Bindu is Cause-Effect

All-pervasive unto the Param

The Bindu stands;

Veiling all unto a filament vast;

And filling everywhere as the space in pots all;

As Mamaya that is Cause and Effect

It all cosmos pervades.

1931 Bindu is the Seed in the body and Divine Swan in Cosmos

There in the Bindu,

Nandi stands His Grace to bestow;

That it is in their Bija within, they know not;

That Seed as scented flower in the (body) into microcosm blossoms

As a Divine Swan So-ham in the macrocosm it is;

He the Blessed One that is the Causal Seed of all.

1932 Siva is Seed, Bindu is Embryo

Without seed is embryo none,

Except from seed the embryo appears not;

The seed and the embryo are but one, separate never;

Thus are the Bindu and Siva too;

This you should know.

1933 How Food Builds Body, Blood and Mind

The food you partake in divisions three go

To the body, to the mind and to the excreta;

The parts that to the body and the mind go

Verily become the blood, first.

1933 How Food Builds Body, Blood and Mind

The food you partake in divisions three go

To the body, to the mind and to the excreta;

The parts that to the body and the mind go

Verily become the blood, first.

1934 How Bindu is Formed From Food

Out of the seven constituents food breaks into,

(Blood, lymph, bone, skin, flesh, brain and semen)

The Bindu forms in days three

Unto the tiny dew drop on a blade of grass;

And full matures in days three times seven.

1935 Bindu is Transformed into Mind and Kalas

When in the body for three days it remains thus,

It becomes a part of the Mind;

As Kala Bright--Intelligence illumined;

For those immersed in thoughts holy, it is there retained;

For those who in sex intercourse indulge,

It will depart, their mental powers deteriorated.

1936 Waste Bindu, the Body Perishes

They know not the destruction that wasting of Bindu results in;

They resolve not their decay to prevent by will power determined;

They who thus perish in this perishing body

Know not the way they perish;

And give it up not.

CONQUEST OF BINDU--REGULATION OF BINDU FLOW

1937 Siva Yogi Sublimates Bindu

Do not look at women

Who intent on lust look at you;

Away from them;

Light the fire of Kundalini;

Melt your heart in divine love;

Uproot the evil desire that sight kindles;

Fix it on the source of Primal Energy

He who does it is verily the Siva Yogi.

1938 Waste Not Bindu

He to lust a slave becomes,

Will in constant fear be;

His body deteriorates,

And his life ebbs away;

He will not Grace receive,

And in Siva Yoga lasts not.

1939 Regulation Days for Sexual Union

Those who wish to sleep with women

Let them observe the periodicity thus:

Of the two phases of the moon,

The first eight days of the waxing moon

For union appropriate are not;

In the six days that remain,

And in the first six days of the waning moon

Can they in union be.

1940 Regulation Days for Practising Yogis

Let those that Yoga practise

Avoid the fifth, the sixth and the eleventh days

After the woman menstruates;

The rest, who the pleasure seek,

Take the six days, in the middle

Of the three weeks that follow.

1941 Duration of Sexual Union and Rules for Release of Bindu

When on union they decide on,

Let it be for muhurtas* four,

Following the injunctions of Kama Sastras,

Let them the sexual act perform;

When the Moon's Kalas (Left Nadi) shine bright,

And breath in Sun Nadi's low runs

Emit Bindu, the breath holding,

Breathing through nostril right, quelling left.

1942 Sublimate Sex Act

Embrace the damsel,

Your five sense organs with her five conjoining

But, detached your passion for the woman be;

Like the senses that are Godward sublimated

Be calm; excited be not;

Control your breath, senses and mind,

Concentrated be your thought,

Thus emit your Bindu.

1943 Direct your senses Inward

Goodly amour, beauty and youth

Shapely form and coral lips

And breasts that swell,

--When in union with damsel such as she--

You the Bindu emit,

Emit, your senses inward directed.

1944 Determine the Results of the Act

Having emitted,

Examine the laws of conception

The time of union, of pregnancy and delivery

The baby's length of life, and death;

Its character, good and bad,

These you in detail determine.

1945 Seek not Further Union

Having examined these,

Abstain from worldly concerns,

And leave the maiden of shapely breasts;

And further union seek not;

Within months two

Will the baby its form take,

And all the rest you have reckoned follow.

1946 Know the Seed of Seed and Preserve Body

Except for those who plant the seed,

Harvest there be none, future;

Except for those who plant the seed,

Wisdom great there be none;

If they know the Seed of seed for certain

Preserved their body be

Unto the mango fruit kept in vessel suspended.

1947 Lord Settles Fate and longevity of Embryo With Concern

The Lord has concern great

For the seed in womb;

Even in the seed with forethought

He settles its fate and span of life;

Thus, when the Seed itself is the Causal Thought,

To attribute Cause and Effect to factors outside

Is but imagination's figment.

1948 Conserve Bindu and Attain Siddhis

If Bindu stands retained in body

Life ebbs not;

Great strength, energy, intelligence alert,

Tapas, contemplation and Maunam (silent-ness)

And siddhis enduring,

--All these are attained,

--If Bindu be conserved true.

1949 Conservation of Sex Energy Vital for Yoga Practice

Thus conserved, they light the Fire of Kundalini,

And forcing it upward through Nadi Sushumna

Reach the state of illumination;

There they partake of the ambrosia

From the Moon within flows;

Those who do this in unbroken continuity,

Are verily Siva Yogins true.

1950 Conserve Sex Energy and Become Heroes

The Yogi, the Jnani, and the Siddha high

The Bhoga Yogi who is yet the king of Jnanis,

All these, though troubled by passions

Yet savour the ambrosia within; (in the Yogic way)

Heroes, all, they are indeed,

Who the Bindu had conserved.

1951 Burn Bindu in Fire of Kundalini

The fiery Bindu above is Lord's Body (macrocosmic)

The Bindu wasted here below is vital Prana (microcosmic)

If mixing the two, they burn it in the Fire of Kundalini

Then they consume the very ambrosia

--This, the wisdom of Yogis true.

1952 In Yoga Bindu is Divinely Assimilated

In ignorance the folks waste it daily,

And destroyed by senses, in pain weep;

If in wisdom, they conscious perform Yoga supreme,

The Bindu disppears, divinely assimilated.

1953 Lust is Death's Messenger

If you hold women as Death's messengers,

Love's passion vanishes away;

Death there is none;

For ages innumerable will you in Divine Light be,

Your Impurities forever totally rid.

1954 Conquer Bindu and Conquer Time

He that has conquered Bindu has conquered Time;

He that has wasted Bindu has perished before his time;

They know not that Bindu that has been preserved

In time becomes one with Kundalini,

Their breath controlled in the Yogic way.

1955 Embrace Woman after Cleansing Her

If you desire woman's love, intense to excite,

The day before you in sexual union indulge,

Cleanse the woman of her bowel, phlegm and bile,

Then in union embrace her.

1956 Bindu is Assimilated in Body Through Yoga

Direct Prana breath to Bindu and Nada

That in cranium Sphere arises,

Upward through Sushumna Nadi

By devices appropriate;

Thus you reach to the nectar divine;

Hold on to it,

That Bindu in you indissolubly dissolves,

Your illusions to disappear.

1957 Conquest of Bindu Leads to Nada

The ripening of Bindu,

The result full of that ripening,

The dire consequences of wasting it,

And the blessings of retaining it,

The Nada that ensues

And the transformation that Nada effects,

--Those who all these realize

Have verily conquered the Bindu.

1958 Fry Bindu in Kundalini Fire

The Bindu that is Bija (Seed)

Burn it agreeably,

In the Fire that is Kundalini,

That from Muladhara flames;

Course it upward into the Solar Sphere within

And touch the Lunar Sphere beyond;

There, indeed, is the nectar divine.

1959 Bindu Sublimated by Kundalini Yoga Leads to Ambrosial Flow

When the Bindu of the body

Thus perishes (by Yoga)

It is into Divine Bindu transformed

Of the ambrosial Lunar Sphere within;

When the Bindu of the body

Perishes in the fire of Kundalini,

The ambrosial waters flow and fill the body;

Then indeed is Siva Bhoga that is ambrosial sweet;

And thus bathed in divine waters of ambrosia

The Yogi attains Siddhis rare.

1960 In Yoga Way Bindu is not Released

Two bodies in union may unite,

Yet if he emits not Bindu

That union is Yoga way;

That Bhoga is Siva Bhoga;

That the true Bhoga

Where the Yogi emits not

To quell the witless woman's passion.

1961 Bindu is not Emitted

They who stand in Yoga way

Even though with women unite,

Their Bindu, in passion, they emit not;

And the women their life's passion unquenched

Will verily pine and droop,

Yearning still for love,

As lovers new forever do.

1962 Bodily Bindu Becomes Cosmic Bindu

By Kundalini Sakti, Bindu conquer;

Kindle that Fire in Muladhara

Course it upward straight

Through central Nadi, Sushumna;

Reach Nada,

And swill ambrosia there flows;

Your Bindu the Divine Bindu becomes.

1963 Union of Bindu and Nada

When Bindu and Nada unite,

And Kundalini Fire each minute hair root permeates,

All thought devoid,

Siva Himself you Become;

And the Bindu then dies in the Primal Bindu

Of the Body Divine.

1964 Yogi Sublimates Bindu

He who pounds seed and consumes it

Knows not good that of harvest comes;

Different is he,

Who fries it (in Kundalini Fire) and in body absorbs;

The latter, of the seed a meal does not make,

But the Seed of Birth he ends.

1965 Merging of Bodily Bindu in Cosmic Bindu

Coursing upward, Bindu that is Prana vital

Merging it in Divine Bindu

That the "Swan" in cranium (Sahasrara) is,

There, uniting in Nadanta,

The luminous Bindu is in body absorbed.

1966 Absorb Bindu in Body and Become Immortal

The Swan (the macrocosmic), and Prana (the microcosmic)

--Bindu is thus two for all;

Those who realize this

And absorb one in Other

--The Prana (Individual) in the Swan (Cosmic)--

Will eight siddhis attain;

Their body as gold glitters;

They immortal become.

1967 Secret Way of Bindu Conquest

Intone sound "Si" (the first sound of Panchakshara)

In your Prana (life breath)'s silent thought

Merge in "Aum"--the sound cluster of "A, U, M"

Thus ParaSakti reach;

That indeed is the way of Bindu Conquest

--This the Mystic Secret (upadesa)--you hold.

1968 Conquer Bindu and Attain Siva State

This the Mystic Secret

There is none--but this

He alone is; nothing else there is;

The Bindu heavenward ascends,

The Organs Fourteen

(Jnanandriyas five, Karmendriyas five and Antakaranas four)

Their action cease;

Then does Jnana follow;

That verily is Siva State.

1969 Sivoham when Bindu Subsides

In union of Bindu and Nada

Was born this creation vast;

It is beginning and end of all life,

Of great mantras too,

When Bindu subsides,

Then is Sivoham.*

1970 Fry Bindu and End Birth

Fry the Bindu, Mind its balance winning;

Raise it high, to mount of Sushumna;

That way, your interminable Karmas are scorched;

Then the day you pluck away

The Fruit of Fig that holds

The seeds of birth, innumerable.

1971 When Bindu Merges Ambrosia Wells

When Bindu and Nada uniting in one

Enter the Sphere of Moon within,

The heavenly ambrosia wells and flows;

The Mantra (Aum) that arises there

Is the sacrificial offering to Lord Supreme.

1972 Merge Mind in Bindu, Away From Lust

When the Mind in the Bindu merges,

Then the Mind, the ears and all organs besides

Will together rise the Divine Goal to seek;

But when thought and sound and words

That in the Mind arise

Seek lust,

As fluid thick it transformed be.

1973 Jnanis Know Lord's Seat

The Sound (Nada), and the Mind that perceives Sound,

And the place where Mind undistracted discerns Truth,

--These they know not;

That place the Jnanis truly know

That verily is Lord's Seat.

1974 Regions of Five Elements in the body

Earth is, where the legs are (Muladhara);

In the navel (Svatisthana) is the Region of Water;

Below the breast (Manipura) is the Fire;

Above the breast (Anahatha) and below the shoulder (Visuddhi) is Air;

And around the neck and beyond (Ajna) is the Region of Space.

[vi]  The concept of folk psychology has played a significant role in philosophy of mind and cognitive science over the last half century. However, even a cursory examination of the literature reveals that there are at least three distinct senses in which the term “folk psychology” is used. (1) Sometimes “folk psychology” is used to refer to a particular set of cognitive capacities which include—but are not exhausted by—the capacities to predict and explain behavior. (2) The term “folk psychology” is also used to refer to a theory of behavior represented in the brain. According to many philosophers and cognitive scientists, the set of cognitive capacities identified above are underpinned by folk psychology in this second sense. (3) The final sense of “folk psychology” is closely associated with the work of David Lewis. On this view, folk psychology is a psychological theory constituted by the platitudes about the mind ordinary people are inclined to endorse.

To reduce terminological ambiguity, throughout this entry the term “mindreading” will be used to refer to that set of cognitive capacities which include (but is not exhausted by) the capacities to predict and explain behavior. “Folk psychology” will be used only in the second and third senses identified above. When separate names are required to avoid confusion, the second sense of “folk psychology” will be called the mindreading approach to folk psychology and the third sense the platitude approach to folk psychology. This terminology is due to Stich & Nichols 2003. In an earlier publication, Stephen Stich and I called the mindreading sense of folk psychology the internal sense, and the platitude sense the external sense . However, the current labels are more informative.

It's not clear who introduced the term “folk psychology” into the philosophy of mind. It gained wide usage during the 1980s and is rarely used outside philosophy. The phrase “commonsense psychology” is sometimes used by philosophers synonymously with “folk psychology”, although the former term seems to be dying out. Psychologists rarely use “folk psychology”, preferring the phrase “theory of mind” (or sometimes “naïve psychology”). Just as there is ambiguity in the use of “folk psychology”, “theory of mind” is used to refer both to mindreading and to the theory hypothesized to underpin mindreading. http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/folkpsych-theory/