Spandakarika

PART I

. SVARŪPA SPANDA NATURE OF SPANDA

VERSE 1

UNIVERSE A DIVINE THROB

1.Yasyonmeṣa-nimeṣābhyāṁ jagataḥ pralayodayau

Taṁ śakti-cakra-vibhava-prabhavaṁ śaṁkararṅ stumaḥ.

Bhaṭṭa Kallaṭa: - 1. Anena sva-svabhāvasyaiva Śivātmakasya saṅkalpamātreṇa jagadutpatti-saṁhārayoḥ kāraṇatvaṁ, vijñāna-dehātmakasya śakti-cakraiśvarya-syotpatti-hetutvaṁ, namaskāra-dvāreṇa pratipādyate.

We praise that Śaṅkara, whose nature is the conglomeration of powers that evolve to cause the manifestation of the universe through their junction and disjunction. His expansion and contraction causes the universe to dissolve and arise. Another meaning will be given in the last part of the discussion.

Bhaṭṭa Kallaṭa: With this verse, Shiva’s nature is recognized through salutations. The nature of Shiva, the Primal Cause, Whose mere will or pulsation of I-consciousness is the cause of the universe’s creation and dissolution, is benevolent, being also the grace-bestowing power of establishing us in oneness. That Self-aware Pulsation is also recognized through salutations. While remaining general non-different independent knowledge, It also has a potential of creating different energies flowing through myriads of specific forms.

THE BOOK SPANDAKARIKAS consists of 52 verses. This is the first verse. It summarizes the subject matter of the book as experiencing the Self or Shiva. It describes the goal as well as the means of attaining the goal.

Jagat or The Universe

The Sanskrit word for the universe is jagat which means that which is constantly going, changing or moving. Science deals with the non-relational physical universe experienced in the waking state by the senses of perception: and it does not resort to concepts of creative agency or energy or consciousness to explain these manifestations. Of course, it is only because of our self-awareness in our waking state that we are able to decipher the sense perceptions of the universe around us. Kashmir Shaivism recognizes a conscious universe and emphasizes that the energy around is also conscious. Philosophy deals not only with the physical universe but also with all the states of an individual - embodied being: waking, dreaming, deep sleep and the fourth or super-conscious states. It is fascinating and yet to be expected that a philosophical system such as ancient Indian philosophy, that deals with Truth in all states, should be consistent with Truth discovered by modern discoveries of science perceptible in the waking state.

Among the ancient Indian philosophies, Kashmir Shaivism is available to anyone regardless of time, space, gender, caste, creed or nationality, and provides logical, scientific, and practical applications to every day life. The Kashmir Shaivite text under discussion, SpandaKārikās, composed about a thousand years ago, describes the universe through the workings of the throb of consciousness. In discussing this text, we will draw upon the insights of Kashmir Shaivism along with supporting statements from Upanishads, modern and ancient saints’ literature, and personal experiences. The present authors were trained in this manner by their Guru. Whenever a comparison between statements of Spanda Karika and Science is under discussion, the authors’ training in science and mathematics compel them to make sure that the philosophy discussed is truly universal, transcending all cultures, rigorously logical, and is consistent with scientific discoveries.

Our universe, which is constantly changing, consists of a general or impersonal set of names and forms, and a special or personal set of emotions and feelings. The set of forms manifests from and shares its nature with the light of consciousness, called Prakāsh in Kashmir Shaivism; and the set of names associated with and uniquely identifying the set of forms, distinguishing each from all the rest, emerges from and shares the nature of Self-awareness, called Vimarsh in Kashmir Shaivism, meaning the energy of consciousness. Among the general aspect of the universe lie galaxies containing stars, planets and other celestial bodies; trees, mountains, rivers and oceans; various insentient objects and sentient beings; energies or forces of gravitation, magnetism, electricity; chemical and biological energy and atomic energy; vital life-force known as Prāṇa, and consciousness, which assures the existence of an embodied being and which, when it departs the being, causes the elements that comprise the body to wither away.

Einstein proved the basic identity of matter and energy. So even something that may appear insentient is also a manifestation of energy. Science has given an explanation of the origin and general working of the physical and biological universe. Physicists say that the universe began with the Big Bang - an explosion, which is a vibration. The vibrations set in motion at the time of the Big Bang can be measured even now as a background noise. This was conjectured by Princeton University scientists and discovered in 1965 by two Bell Lab scientists, Penzias and Wilson, for which they received a Nobel Prize in 1978. We have to understand that even space came out of the Big Bang.

The emergence of the universe from the Big Bang is consistent with the Vedic philosophy. In the Māṇḍukya Upanishad (Nikhilanand, 55) Kārikā Gauḍapādācarya says: "Sarvasya praṇavo hyādirmadhyamantastathaiva ca" [Mā.U. I, 27]¹⁶ The sound Pranav - AUM is at the beginning, middle and the end.

This says that the universe began with the sound vibration AUM. Doesn’t the sound OM itself sound like a ‘humming’ sound associated with a vibration of a string or a machine? Many saints over the ages also have trained and continue to train their disciples to hear the sound of OM in every vibration.

The Bhagavad Gita says, "Om Ityekākṣaraṁ Brahma [BG 8, 13] AUM is the one word signifying Brahman - the Self." In the Vedas the - words Brahman and Atman are used interchangeably for the Self. How the universe manifests is also described in the Vedas.

The Taittiriya Upanishad (Swami Gambhiranand, 40) says,

Tasmād-vā Etasmād-ātmana ākāśaḥ saṁbhūtaḥ, ākāśād-vāyuḥ, vāyor-agniḥ, agner-āpaḥ, adbhyaḥ pṛthivī. [T.U. II. i 1]

From the Self emerged space, from space air, from air fire, from fire water, from water earth. Space, air, fire, water and earth (solid matter) are the five elements from which everything in the physical world is made. If we look at the chemical and physical properties of the ingredients of five elements, we see that this Upanishadic statement is consistent with the modern science.

According to modern physics, the universe will end in the Big Crunch. The Vedas also describe a similar end where the earth will merge into water, water into fire, fire into air, air into space and space into the Self, resulting in a void or black hole, except for the eternal Self, which just exists with or without creation.

As per the first part of Verse 1, it is the expansion and contraction of Shiva, the Self that creates and destroys the universe. Elsewhere, in Pratyabhijñā - Hṛdayaṁ, (Singh, 33) another text of Kashmir Shaivism there is an aphorism, "Svecchayā svabhittau viśvaṁ unmīlayati / [PH, 2] By Its own wish Consciousness reveals the universe on Its own canvas.

This general universe is a non-relational and common experience, corroborated by people in the waking state. Even then an individual’s universe is limited to things, people, and life-experiences that surround him or her. The individual may not be concerned about the general universe. According to the science of Yoga, there are four bodies – sthula gross or physical, sūkṣma subtle, kāraṇa – causal and mahākāraṇa - supracausal śarīr – body. The experience of the waking state takes place in the individual’s gross or physical body. The word jagat – or universe used in this verse is not limited merely to a general or physical universe, but also includes a special inner personal universe. In our inner universes lie our ideating mind, discriminating intellect, and ego or I-AM-ness or self-awareness, our thoughts, memories, emotions and feelings. There are three states other than waking. Those are dream, deep sleep, and the fourth or super-conscious states, which an individual experiences the subtle, causal and supra-causal body, mutually exclusive, and are discussed in detail in later verses. They are considered briefly here.

In the dream state each individual has an experience of a reality that may or may not have some connection to the experiences of waking state. The dream experienced cannot always be corroborated by other people in the waking state. If I have a dream about some person whom I know, and if the person meets me later in the waking state, the person may not be able to confirm that I saw him or her in my dream. But there are exceptions to this. Some people have dreams about a person and the person meets and confirms appearing in the dream. We have had dreams of our Guru, which he had confirmed later. A person established in the Self may know about someone’s dream and use it to give a lesson in reality. There are several examples of such instances.

There was such an incident in the life of a saint called Akkalkot Mahārāj, who lived in a place called Akkalkot in Mahārāshṭra, India. He remained unconcerned about the world and many would come to be in his presence. A scholar, Viṣṇubuvā Braḥmacārī, came to test his state and argue about some Vedantic phrase - Brahma tadākāra vṛtti - meaning mind taking shape of Brahman or reality, in other words the state of mind where mind is merged in equality-consciousness. Akkalkot Maharaj ignored him for a few days. But when Viṣṇubuvā insisted, Akkalkot Maharaj asked him to come to him the next day. That night Viṣṇubuvā had a dream, in which scorpions were crawling all over his body. Viṣṇubuvā was petrified and woke up to find nothing around. The next day when he went to Akkalkot Maharaj to argue, Maharaj said, Don’t repeat the Vedantic phrases without experiencing them. When the scorpions were crawling all over your body where did your Brahma tadākār vṛtti go? (Kelkar, 18) This illustrates that some people established in the state of Self can easily know about another’s dreams and mental states in detail.

The dream state is experienced in the subtle body. For an external observer, the physical body of a dreamer appears to be undergoing various movements, brain waves may take a definite shape, and the dreamer may utter sounds while in the dream state. Sleep scientists call this REM (Rapid Eye Movements) state.

In the subtle body also lie the six chakras - nerve centers in the body through which the Kundalini energy (a subtle aspect of the life-force) flows. This aspect of energy remains dormant in the base of every animal’s spine until it is awakened. When the energy is awakened, the experiences which people have of the chakras and the Kundalini energy itself can be corroborated, and have been chronicled from ancient times in the literature of Yoga and saints’ lives. One of the important consequences of Kundalini awakening is spontaneous meditation, in which one experiences the core of one’s being or innate nature, which is the fourth state in the supracausal body. Many scholars and lecturers of science and Vedanta who have not had Kundalini experiences describe it as mere imagination, but it is like the difference between the experience of driving a car and flying. It is a different dimension. A person who only drives a car has to imagine the experiences of one who flies. The experiences one gets of the awakened Kundalini, also called Ātmashakti – energy of the Self, are not ends in themselves, and not obtained by one’s own volition, but are similar to those obtained by many other seekers whose Kundalini energy is also awakened. If they were merely imaginary as some scholars say, then how could it be that over the ages, regardless of erudition or culture, countless people have had similar experiences? Doesn’t the test of empirical laboratory replicability used as the standard of Truth in sciences like chemistry or physics apply here? Here the lab is one’s own body. Detailed discussions of Kundalini energy and the effects of its awakening are given in later paragraphs and later verses of the SpandaKārikās. For a person who has established himself in Consciousness (Shiva), even the waking state is as illusory as the dream state, because of the understanding that there is only one state of absolute Consciousness - Shiva.

In the deep sleep state no thought movement or experience occurs, though the individual being’s metabolism continues. This state is absolutely essential for the rejuvenation of an individual’s physical and mental faculties. This experience takes place in the causal body. The physical senses and mental activity are completely at rest. The physical body remains motionless. The seeds of objective experience that lie in potentiality in the deep sleep state, come back into full blossom as soon as the individual awakens. One’s knowledge about oneself does not change in the deep sleep state.

The fourth state or Turiya in Sanskrit, can be experienced in meditation as a direct experience of the core of one’s being, the pure substratum – Consciousness or the Self. This experience happens in the supracausal body. Even though the experience cannot be described in words, it can be apprehended as the content of the concept of a pure I devoid of attributes. Individual experience of the fourth state can also be corroborated by glimpses given in the words of saints’ and yogic literature. The people who experience this state find that it exists within and transcends all the other three states. The bliss of experiencing this state surpasses any pleasure experienced by any senses. Human restlessness that plagues most people regardless of their worldly achievements comes to an end with the experience of this state. In this state people have had spontaneous experiences of deepest intuitive knowledge, both secular and scriptural.

If we focus only on the outer and inner diversity, we are sure to get confused. All our activities are consequences of our understanding. In order to get a correct understanding, we must look at the substratum. The first verse is about the substratum.

Consciousness as the Substratum

Logically, the substratum of all that lives as well as of the apparently insentient universe can only be one non-relational general conscious existence or Reality. Logical and scientific experimental analysis of creation points to one substratum to all creation. As discussed earlier, science has proven the existence of the Big Bang as the start of creation. It was not a physical event but a cosmic one, because neither time nor the five basic elements, which make up any physical event, existed. This is consistent with ancient Indian philosophy. Scientists have been trying and have succeeded to some extent at this time to develop a general unification theory of all physical energies or forces - such as atomic, magnetic, electrical, gravitational forces, which still needs to be verified.

According to the philosophy under discussion, what we call insentient and sentient are only relative in terms of exhibiting degrees of consciousness perceptible to the senses of an average human being. There can only be one creative force or energy, which is beyond all creation and pervading all creation. If there were two separate all-pervading or omnipresent substrata, one for the sentient and another for the insentient universe, this would require the existence of some omniscient and omnipotent creator equipped with all capabilities and awareness of the two substrata, directing the functioning of both the sentient and insentient; in which case, that awareness would become the substratum. No creation can take place without space, time and causation. The methodical intelligence with which the universe behaves naturally contradicts any assumption of the existence of a random non-conscious creative energy that is neither omniscient nor omnipotent. To claim the existence of such a non-conscious creative entity would still imply a conscious omnipresent observer prior to insentient creation! In Kashmir Shaivism, omniscience is described as jñāmshakti - the power of knowledge, and omnipotence is described as kriyāshakti - power of action.

Even though it is eternally beyond name and form, we give the substratum the name ‘Brahman’ or Self, ‘Shiva’ or ‘Shamkara’ (or ‘Shankara’ using correct Sanskrit grammar).

Shankara and Five Functions

The word ‘Shankara’ means That which bestows grace. Kashmir Shaivism recognizes Shankara as performing five acts or processes. They are 1. – sṛṣṭi creation, 2. sthiti sustenance, 3. saṁhār dissolution, 4. Tirodhān concealment, and 5. Anugraha grace. The first four aspects are the same as postulates in the quantum field theory in modern physics. The grace aspect is not dealt with in science. According to quantum field theory, a particle arises out of the field of energy. It is sustained for a while. Then it dissolves. When it exists, it can be verified experimentally to exist as a particle. It can also remain in the waveform and conceal its exact location to an observer. It dissolves into the field. The objects in the universe, as well as the activities and experiences of the physical, mental and vital nature of an individual also follow these four processes. For example, our breathing consists of inhalation of air, a pause when the air is sustained inside for a while, and exhalation of the air. Then there is another pause, before the breathing process starts again. These four processes can be summarized as contraction and expansion.

The fifth aspect, called grace, is that process of consciousness by which the earlier four aspects are understood. Grace resides in the observer, distinct from the objective world that continually undergoes the first four processes. In the process of breathing, for instance, grace exhibits as: 1. understanding that breathing happens due to Prāṇa or the life-force; 2. the experience of stillness in the two pauses between the breaths; and 3. a subsequent blissful experience of the Self. Because of grace, Kundalini Shakti is awakened in an individual that leads to the understanding of the four other aspects of reality. In general, the grace aspect removes the confusion and subsequent affliction that arises out of regarding the first four processes of the world as four separate activities.

Salutation to Shankara

The phrase We praise that Shankara recognizes Shiva as the Reality of these five processes, that transcends the entire cosmos, yet is the warp and woof of the universe, creating everything including us. It not only creates living beings and substances, but also the non-living material world. Praise of Shankara means entrance into His being. The word His or Her does not refer to classification into male or female sexes. As per tradition, we call the principle of Reality It, we refer to Shiva or Shankara as He, and to Shakti, His energy, as She. All the three terms are synonymous and used in the appropriate context. How can we bring about that entrance into Him? Since Shiva is all-pervasive, we are also made of and pervaded within and without by It. Shiva is the Self, our innate nature, or the core of our being. In other words, how can we experience our own nature or enter our supracausal body? The grace element brings this about.

A Guru who is established in the Self is regarded as embodying the grace-bestowing power of Shiva, and can give a seeker that experience without effort by a process called Shaktipāt or transference of energy. By following the examples of the people, called saints, who have accomplished that entrance and established themselves in their true nature, we can also establish ourselves in Shiva, the Reality. Saint Jñaneśwar, a well-known great 12th century child saint from Mahārāshṭra, lived thousands of miles away from Kashmir, but knew the Shiva Sutras¹⁷. Jñāneśwar Mahārāj¹⁸ says beautifully in his book Amṛiānubhav – Nectar of Experiences: (Jnaneshwar, 14)

Aho aikyāce muddala na ḍhaḷe, āṇi sājirepaṇācā lābha miḷe,

tarī svataraṅgācīṅ mukuḷeṅ, turaṁbu kā pāṇī.

Mhaṇoni Bhūteśu Bhavānī, vaṅdilīṅ na karoni sinānīṅ,

mī nighāloṅ namanī, teṅ heṅ aise.

Darpaṇāceni tyāgeṅ, pratibimba bimbī rige,

kāṅ buḍī dīje taraṅgeṅ, vāyūcā ṭhelā.

Nātarī nīdajāta khevo, pāve āpulā ṭhāvo.

taiśi buddhityāgeṅ devīdevo, vaṅdilīṅ miyā.

Sāṅḍūni mīṭhapaṇācā lobhu, miṭheṅ siṅdhutvācā ghetalā lābhu,

tevī ahaṁ deūni mī Śaṁbhu, śāṁbhavī jāloṅ.

Śivaśakti samāveśeṅ, namana keleṅ myāṅ aise,

raṁbhāgarbha ākāśe, righālā jaisā. (Amṛtānubhav 1|59-64)

Hey! without losing the principal

(without disturbing their oneness)

I have the opportunity of offering salutations

to Shiva and Shakti,

just as without disturbing oneness with water

the waves can be enjoyed.

I have offered my salutations,

without regarding Shiva and Shakti as separate,

in the following manner.

Just as when a mirror is taken away,

the reflection merges with the object,

or just as when the wind stands still,

the bubble merges with the water;

Or just as when sleep goes away with the dream,

the sleeping person wakes up,

I gave up my intellect and offered my salutations!

Just as salt gives up its desire for solidity and limitedness

to merge with the ocean,

I gave up my "I" to become one with the Self

and attained oneness with Shiva and Shakti.

Just as when the outer layers of a banana tree are peeled,

only space inside merges with the space outside,

Peeling of my identification with the four bodies,

I offered my salutations by merging with Shiva-Shakti.

Thus the saints and their writings teach us that by obliterating our identification with the outside we merge with Shiva. It is as simple as changing our attitude and the way we look at ourselves and at the world. The attitude of separateness is so ingrained in us that logical arguments, proofs, examples, our sense of time and space and our own practice following these examples are required to overcome our resistance and the logical objections that our intellect raises. They teach us those arguments and how to achieve that change in attitude.

Spanda as the creative energy

Shiva is never without His Shakti – the energy of pulsation, vibration or Spanda. Without this energy the universes cannot be generated. Shiva is the light of consciousness (Prakāsh) and Shakti is self-awareness - ‘I AM’ or Aham-Vimarsh. It is also called Chitishakti, Sara, Samvit, or Urmi. Shiva and Shakti can never be without each other just as fire can never be without its power to burn. Just as an electric light or toaster are effects of the electricity at home and a proof of existence of the general principle of electricity in the universe, the fact that we are conscious and we have self-awareness is the proof that the substratum is consciousness (Prakash) and has self-awareness (Vimarsh).

The word Spanda arises from the Sanskrit root - Spad, which means Kiṅcit calanam ‘a slight movement,’ or the dynamic throb of Aham-Vimarsh. Spanda is not itself the vibration, but it is the cause or energy of vibration. The Big Bang is a vibration. Astronomers talk about the dark energy that is everywhere, from which the new matter and antimatter emerges and into which it dissolves, while the universe keeps expanding. The people who have experienced Spanda say, It is actually live breathing dark energy. In all activities we can experience this vibration. How does the Spanda work? The verse says, Through Unmesh-Nimesh" or simultaneous expansion and contraction, respectively. A detailed discussion of Unmesh-Nimesh follows. This process takes place simultaneously in the sense that expansion of one is contraction of another.

Several examples from everyday life can be given regarding experiences of Spanda. Spanda is not visible, but its effects as waves are seen everywhere in the whole universe. A wave is a vibration, whether it is a waveform of an atom, a sound wave, a light wave, a heat wave, an electric current, a magnetic wave or a wave in an ocean. According to science, whatever we perceive through our senses are vibrations. We hear a sound - a quality of space - through our ears, because of the vibrations of the eardrums. We perceive a touch, a quality of air - through our skin, because of the vibrations of the hair follicles. We see an object with our eyes, when the light wave - a quality of fire - from the object passing through the eyes’ lenses sets up vibrations on the retina. Taste is a quality of water. We taste food with our tongue, because of the vibrations of the taste buds on the tongue. We smell fragrance - a quality of earth - with the nose, due to vibration of the hairs in the nose. All these five types of vibration of perception are carried to our brain as electrical impulses. The involuntary actions in our body take place as vibrations in the form of contractions and expansions. The heart pumps due to contraction and expansion. Blood flows by contraction and expansion of blood vessels. The organs of voluntary action perform due to the electrical impulses in our brain. We breathe due to the pumping of the heart, which is nothing but a vibration. The nervous system according to neurologists is comprised of electrical impulses. If we look at an MRI of a brain, we can see that it is all wired and functions with electrical impulses. For a radiologist, the body is an electro-magnet, again a form of vibration. The five sense organs of voluntary action also perform due to the electrical impulses from our brain. When we do any activity, it is due to Spanda.

Now let us look at our functioning as a human being. When a thought arises in our mind it bubbles out like a bubble in an ocean. It slowly arises from the substratum, takes shape and stays for a while and subsides. There is a gap; some time elapses before the second thought arises. Sometimes the gap is large, sometimes it is small; and sometimes when the mind is agitated the gap is miniscule. Emotions like fear and exhilaration produce shivers in the body or body hair stands on end. These are vibrations.

Thus, whether at the level of the universe or an individual, a vibration pervades physical and mental existence. The vibration in an individual is a sign that the individual is conscious or alive. The non-relational universal vibration may appear to us as happening automatically without consciousness taking any part. But again this understanding of relational or non-relational vibration occurs in us due to consciousness. It is necessary to reemphasize that our own existence as consciousness is a proof for the existence of universal consciousness, but the universal consciousness itself transcends all individual existences or any universe. Processes of expansion and contraction take place simultaneously. Expansion of light is contraction of darkness. Expansion of the waking state is contraction of the deep sleep or dream state. When agitation of an individual mind subsides, his or her essential nature – the Self – appears as consciousness and bliss. [Spanda Kārikā, Verse 9] When agitation of the mind manifests, thoughts appear, the universe is experienced in terms of the senses, mind and ego; and the bliss of immortality or of the Self disappears. This fact will be discussed in the commentary on Verse 9. When the awareness of Shiva arises, awareness of the universe as a universe dissolves. When the universe is considered as an entity, awareness of Shiva drops away. This is also the reason physical scientists are not aware of Shiva as the substratum. When a movie is being projected on a screen, awareness of the screen goes away. An observer is not aware of his or her own consciousness within when the observer uses it to observe or perceive an object. In reality or from the point of view of Shiva nothing appears or disappears. Spanda is always arisen or emerged. It does neither emerge nor submerge, since there is nothing else except Itself. It is neither active nor inactive. Its dynamism, directed inward - Aham - I AM or outward – Idam – That, is only of the nature of thought. The inward aspect transcends the creation of universes, being the form of knowledge as the light of Consciousness - Prakash. The outward aspect is the potency of creation of the universe - Vimarsh. But it is not actually separate creation; it is more like the potential for the variegated colors of peacock feathers that dwells in the fluids of a peacock egg. However, though the egg is destroyed when a chick is born, Vimarsh is not destroyed when the universe is born, since there is nothing else other than Itself.

There are two aspects of Spanda. One is general and the other is special. Vimarsh is the general aspect of Spanda. Because of Vimarsh, the potential manifestation of the outward universe of That rests in the inward I AM, and the outward-oriented That idea of the universe arises in the inward I AM – self-awareness, while remaining indifferent. The outward That idea is also called Māyāśakti - – Power of illusion.

Vimarsh is total freedom, called "Svātantryaśakri" in Kashmir Shaivism. Without Vimarsh, Prakāsh can only be an inert light. Freedom is Its main power because there is nothing else besides It to oppose It. By Its freedom It dissolves a manifested object into Itself. It can keep an object in a submerged state. It can appear together with a manifested object - such as creating a living being and giving it self-consciousness. It can appear separate from a manifested object - such as creating different living beings. It can sport by hiding Itself, and manifesting at lightning speed, as succession or order where there is actually none, and as simultaneity. It creates every visible and invisible object, as well as empty sets or totally fictitious objects such as the child of a barren woman. While being eternal and all pervading, devoid of any limitations, It produces unlimited space, and other principles such as air, fire, water, and earth, as well as the limitations of location, time, name and form for created objects. It produces all seeming triads such as observer, observed, and observation and pervades them. It produces internal things such as mind, intellect, ego, feelings, and external things such as bodies and objects, and also transcends everything. It is important to keep in mind and to discern within ourselves this Vimarsh, which is beneath the emergence/submergence phenomena of the universe. We must reiterate that though from the point of an individual all this happens, from the point of view of the Self or Consciousness, nothing is actually happening apart from Itself, as there is nothing else except Itself.

As the general aspect of Spanda, Vimarsh appears in the Universal Self as Cit – Consciousness, Ānanda – Bliss, and three powers – Iccḥā - Will, Jñāna - Knowledge, and Kriyā - Action. In the Universal Self, the innate Freedom is the mass of Bliss; the efflorescence of Bliss is Will power; Consciousness is Light; Vimarsh is the power of Knowledge; and the Power of Action is the ability to create individual forms, individual states and universes.

The special aspect of Spanda is the universe of myriad forms – sentient and insentient. It is clear that the entire universe is an expansion of the power of Freedom that belongs to the Self. It appears as individuals with Prāṇa - life-force, and Antaḥkaraṇa – the inner psychic instrument consisting of mind, intellect, ego and the five subtle senses, as well as outer sense organs. While there are infinitely many forms, the power of Freedom always manifests mainly as three powers – Will, Knowledge and Action.

We conscious individuals, as special aspects of Spanda, have self-awareness, and through self-awareness we have the three powers – Will (Desire), Knowledge, and Action. Regarding our own selves, we feel we are free. We are free to turn or not to turn inward. We are free to perceive or not to perceive an object. We are free to make ourselves experience happiness or sorrow or transcend them. We are free to perform or not to perform a particular physical activity.

Suppose we desire a car. As a desire it is an object within, not separate from ourselves. Using the power of knowledge we discern how much money is required, the place where to get the car, and we know how to acquire the car. By the power of action we actually arrange for the money and contact the dealer and get the car. If a desire for a car happens to arise again we have the freedom of not acting on the desire. Many times when we desire something, we may not know how to acquire it. But the power of will is so strong that it knows how to bring the other required forces or factors together, and to attain the object. Time is a factor since we, the individuals, experience all events in time. Modern science has verified that there is a ‘gene’ in creatures that recognizes time.

In the universal Self a desire arises to create the myriad of forms. Through the power of Knowledge it is known how to create the individual forms each with its own characteristics. Through the power of Action the actual forms are created. In the universal Self, the Time element does not exist.

We have to understand that the power of will, knowledge and action in the Supreme Self and ourselves are all versions of Idam That or Māyāśakti - Power of illusion of Vimarsh – spanda shakti.

Unmesh-Nimesh

The words Unmesh-Nimesh in the first verse describe expansion and contraction, but also have deeper meanings.

Unmesh brings about the dissolution (Pralaya) and Nimesh brings about the arising (Udaya) of the universe. Jñāneṣwar (Jnaneshwar) Maharaj writes exactly the same thing as in Verse 1, in his work called Cāngadev Pāsaṣtī (65 verses on Reality written to Cāngadev) (Jnaneshwari, 15):

Swasti Śrī Vaṭeśu, Jo laponi jagadābhāsu

Dāvī maga grāsu, pragaṭalā karī

Salutations to Shri Vatesha (Shiva)

Who, when hiding Himself,

makes the universe visible,

And when hiding the universe,

makes Himself appear.

Whatever exists is the inseparable pair of Unmesh-Nimesh, as used in the verse to connote Iccha Shakti (Will Power) of Vimarsh or Spanda. The word Iccha means Wish. The root verb is - "Ish meaning to wish or will." Universal Consciousness, the substratum of everything that exists, is totally fulfilled. What kind of wish can Consciousness have? The Vedas declare that it is the wish: – "Eko ’haṁ Bahu Syām" – I am one. Let me be many. This wish or desire is the Idam - That- aspect of the original Spanda – the pulsation or stirring. The word Shakti originates from the root verb "Śak meaning to be able. Universal Consciousness is capable of doing whatever It wishes since, as said earlier, there is nothing else to oppose It. This is total freedom or what is termed in Sanskrit as – Swātantrya." The words Unmesh and Nimesh together describe this spiritual dynamism, total capability and total freedom. The word Unmesh describes the divine will of transcending ( -Viśvottirṇatā) the universe. The words "Eko ’ham" (I am one) signifies Unmesh. It is the doership aspect ( - Aham or I am) of the universe, in which the universe ( - Idam - That) is as yet submerged in oneness. The words Bahu Syām (Let me be many) signifies Nimesh. It is Consciousness’ projection as the universe and varied forms of the universe. This projection must take place on the screen of Consciousness, and cannot take place anywhere else because there is nothing else. This projection is also called concealment ( - Tirodhān) of the Self. This projection is due to Shiva’s Māyāśakti, power of illusion.

The word Maya consists of two words: Mā and yā. Mā means ‘No’ and Yā means ‘who.’ Thus Maya means that which does not exist. Mā also means ‘measurable’ or limited and Yā means ‘who.’ Thus Maya is that which brings limitation. It is this Maya that manifests as the thirty-six principles from Shiva to earth. The thirty-six principles include the first five principles - Shiva, Shakti, Sadāshiva where will is predominant, Īśvara or Aiśvarya where knowledge is predominant, Śuddhavidyā where Kriya or activity is predominant. A detailed account of the thirty-six principles is given in a later verse.

Both Unmesh and Nimesh keep happening simultaneously. There is no time element or succession involved, since the concept of time applies to what is created, and exists only in the mind of the observer. Contemplation of Unmesh is grace, and that of Nimesh is bafflement, that results in going through the cycles of birth and death, pleasure and pain, and all such results of experiencing duality. It is the Divine Will that one individual is established in the Unmesh aspect and another individual is established in Nimesh aspect. It is also the Divine Will, which stirs in an individual to unravel the Nimesh and experience underlying Unmesh.

In an individual Unmesh is the self-awareness I AM, while Nimesh is the conditional qualified I am so and so. From Nimesh the individual’s diverse world comes into being. It is comprised of sentient and insentient beings as external forms, and thoughts, memories, and emotions as internal forms. Whenever an individual creates something, a desire arises in the individual’s mind followed by knowledge, which is followed by appropriate activity. We have discussed the powers of Will, Knowledge and Action earlier in explaining Vimarsh.

In an individual Unmesh-Nimesh describe a movement in awareness. Swami Ishwarananda Giri¹⁹ (Swami Ishwaranand Giri, 41) describes this movement in a beautiful manner. He says, The ‘movement in awareness’ manifests both action and cognition (knowledge). Acharya Sureshwara, the most outstanding disciple of the Great Master Shankara, says: When knowledge pulsates within as thought and will, the volitional force flows out of the body and is seen as action, initiating change. Therefore it is possible for man to cooperate with God, by lifting his own level of awareness during action, to be in tune with the Kāla or Kriyāśakti of the cosmic being. Every action springs from Will. Will is a mental force initiated in awareness. And that awareness is seemingly enclosed in your body, like a space in a room; whereas in truth, awareness (Chaitanya) is of such a nature that it cannot be divided. In pure self-awareness you can be one with the cosmic soul."

Shakti-chakra

The word Shakti-chakra or the conglomeration of powers consists mainly of the three shaktis or powers discussed earlier as will, knowledge and action. Shakti-chakra also includes the sounds or letters, which are manifestations of Vimarsh, the power of self-awareness (Spanda) that label or describe the objects of the universe. Words are formed of letters. In Sanskrit there is one letter for one sound. The Sanskrit alphabet consists of fifty letters divided in eight classes, starting with the letter (A) and ending with the letter (ksha). Each letter has a power instilled in it. These together are known as Mātṛkā – the unknown mother of the universe. The word Mātṛ means mother and kā means who, thus signifying that all names of objects of the universe are generated by this mother–energy that most of us are unaware of. Each of the eight classes of letters in the Sanskrit alphabet is presided over by a deity or energy form. In addition, there are four energies called khechari, gochari, dikchari and bhuchari that preside over various internal and external functions, to wit: the sense of unlimitedness or limitedness, speech, the five senses of perception and action, and the five types of corresponding objects of the senses. Details about these energies appear in later verses. In short, every manifestation from Brahma to a blade of grass that becomes an object of perception is a conglomeration of infinitely many energies of the Self.

This Shakti-chakra is replete with vibhava – omnipotence, and has the capability of manifesting with total freedom - will. It can transcend the universe or become the warp and woof of this awesome universe. The origin or prabhava of the omnipotent Shakti-chakra is Shiva - Shankara. To that Shankara we offer our salutations. This is the meaning of the second line of the verse.

As said earlier, this salutation indicates entrance into Shiva. The means of this achievement is also given in the verse that follows.

There is an aphorism in Shiva Sutras –(Singh, 34) (Swami Lakshman Joo, 45)

Śakticakra-sandhāne viśva-samhāraḥ (Shiva Sutras I-4)

By aligning oneself with or contemplating on the main energy – Vimarsh – underlying the conglomeration of energies, one’s universe gets destroyed.

The destruction of the universe does not mean the objects of the universe actually get annihilated, but the sense of duality, of objects existing separately from the energy falls away. This contemplation of the main energy happens due to grace, the fifth process of Shankara. A guru is called the grace-bestowing power of Shiva – - Guruḥ pārameśwari anugrāhikā śaktiḥ. A guru bestows grace on the seeker in one of the four ways – touch, look, thought, or word. A set of words is called a mantra. Grace awakens the kundalini shakti of the seeker and unravels the mystery behind the shakti-chakra. Grace removes the confusion and affliction that arises out of dealing with only the first four processes of the world as four separate activities. That is the reason we call that grace-bestowing power of the Universal Self Shamkara, wherein Sham means grace and kara means bestower.

In the light of our discussion, let us look at the first verse again.

1.Yasyonmeṣa-nimeṣābhyāṁ, jagataḥ pralayodayau

Taṁ śakti-cakra-vibhava-prabhavaṁ, Śaṁkararṅ stumaḥ

The words Unmesh-Nimesh connote the freedom (or Iccha Shakti) of Spanda. The power of concealment inherent in Spanda is called Maya. Concealment hides the nature of reality. It shows duality or separateness where there is none. Because of Maya we experience the universe. It causes us to feel that there are two types of objects - insentient (jada) and sentient (chetan). Because of maya we make distinctions of high and low. Unmesh-Nimesh means the expansion and contraction of Spanda. When the awareness of Spanda expands, Shiva is experienced and the universe as universe made up of separate sentient and insentient objects dissolves, and when the awareness of Spanda contracts the universe as separate objects appears. The last part of the verse describes the means. Vibhava also means experience and Prabhava means manifestation of Shankara. By experiencing the conglomeration of Powers inherent in the universe through intensive and fixed awareness, the universe dissolves as a separate entity from Shiva, and we can find the manifestation of Shankara or that grace-bestowing power for ourselves.

BEFORE ENDING this discussion of the first verse we describe in the following an example of grace that took place in Chitra and Umesh’s lives during the week preceding the series of talks on the SpandaKarikas given in their meditation center in New York.

It was the last week of December in the year 1980. Chitra and Umesh visited Miami Beach to spend time in the physical presence of their Guru. At the time the ashram was located in an old hotel right on the beach near the ocean. Chitra and Umesh spent all the time totally engrossed in doing guruseva (service to the guru), participating in the various chores around the ashram, and just being around Baba, their Guru. When it was time to return to New York, one morning Chitra and Umesh decided to visit a shopping mall located in downtown Miami.

Miami beach is a place well-known for its warm weather. Many retirees spend their ‘sunshine’ years in Miami or visit Miami to avoid the cold winters of their hometowns. After finishing shopping, Chitra and Umesh decided to have lunch in the restaurant of a department store. Sitting at a table next to them was an elderly couple, who had ordered plenty of very attractive-looking food. Just as they started to eat, the old man started coughing. The cough was very severe and would not stop. The old lady started stroking his back while repeating, Take it easy, honey! Take it easy. But the old man’s coughing continued. After finishing the lunch, Chitra and Umesh left to return to the Ashram. While riding the bus back to the ashram, Chitra and Umesh discussed with each other that people work so hard for many years and save money, so that they could retire and enjoy their retirement years in warm Florida. But when the time comes, many have no strength left in the body to enjoy life. That is life’s irony. Why in vain do people struggle so much to achieve power and wealth? After all, every person’s life ends with old age, sickness, and ultimately in death. Pondering over these ideas for quite some time made Chitra and Umesh sink into depression.

In this depressed mood they returned to the ashram, where they had their separate rooms and started packing their bags for the return trip. Soon the telephone rang in Umesh’s room. It was Baba at the other end of the line. Umesh was thrilled to get this unexpected call. Baba said, Oh, it’s Umesh! Are you leaving today? Umesh said, Yes, Baba! We have to catch a plane to New York at 6 PM. Baba said, Very Good! Meditate a lot. Run your meditation center with lot of love. Many people will come. In the few moments of the conversation Umesh felt so energized, encouraged and enthusiastic that the depression he felt a few minutes before had vanished. As he shared with Chitra the conversation Baba had with him, Chitra also felt elated.

After returning to New York, the whole week passed quickly. On Saturday the center had a satsang in a devotee’s house in Jersey City, New Jersey. It was a bitter cold day in early January. During the satsang, Umesh spoke about the incident that happened in their visit to Miami Beach. He added, Company of realized beings is essential. They have the power to wipe out depression from anyone’s mind. Even though they might not have any particular personal interest or desire, they are enthusiastic about life; they do everything with great enthusiasm. They can make others enthusiastic as well.

The satsang was over and the host family was getting ready to distribute the prasad – blessed food. Chitra had an urge to leave everyone and be alone. She slipped away unnoticed from the group, went upstairs and sat in one of the bedrooms. In this room devotees’ winter coats were piled up and little children were playing around. Chitra sat down on the floor resting her back against a wall. Her eyes closed. She started drifting into a different state. Gradually children’s voices became inaudible. All objects began to disappear. When you are standing on a seashore, waves break on your feet and while returning to the ocean some sand below the feet slips away. Then it