Shiv Sutras
Translated by Swami
Lakshman Joo Maharaj
Contributed by Virendra
Qazi
Shiva Sutras - Aphorisms of
Lord Shiva
Shiva Sutras
are believed to be a Rahasyagama Sastrasangraha or Sivopanisat Sangraha a
compendium containing secret doctrine revealed by Lord Shiva. It is stated that
once Srikanthanatha, an incarnation of Lord Shiva, appeared before sage
Vasugupta in a dream and directed him that the secret doctrines inscribed on a
particular rock on the Mahadeva mountain, about 18 kms., away from Srinagar,
behind the famous Harvan garden, be studied and taught to those who deserved
such a favor. On awakening sage Vasugupta visited the desired spot and the
particular stone turned upside down by his mere touch. He found the Sutras
engraved on the big rock which is still known as 'samkaropala'.
Sage Vasugupta the discoverer of Shiva Sutras was the guru of
Kallata. He is believed to have flourished in the
beginning of the 9th century A. D. A prolific writer and learned disciple of
Acharya Abhinavagupta, Sh. Ksemaraja, must have written a lucid and detailed
exposition of each Sutras known as Vimarsini, in the 10th century AD The Sutras
are divided in three awakenings dealing with the three means of liberation viz.
Sambhava, Sakta and Anava upayas respectively. Thus these ShivaSutras throw a
flood of light on the entire system of Shivayogasupreme identity of the
individual self with the divine.
It is pertinent to mention here
that our beloved master Shri Ishwara Swarupa Swami Lakshmanjoo Maharaja
explained these Siva Sutras (without Ksemaraja's commentary) in four of his
Sunday lectures in simple English some twenty years (Approximately Mid 1970's)
ago at his Ishwara Ashram situated in the vicinity of the famous Mughal garden,
Nishat, Srinagar, Kashmir.
Ishwar Ashram Trust feels
honored by publishing the English rendering of Shiva Sutras in this issue of
Malini, in exactly the same way as has been explained by Swami Ji Maharaj. The
readers will find the English rendering of these famous sutras highly rewarding
and classically brief as is typical of sutra type compositions.
Aphorisms of Lord Shiva By
Swami Lakshmanjoo
First Awakening
Caitanyamatma
1. Universal Consciousness is one's own nature.
Jnanam Bandhah
2. Knowing the individual consciousness as one's
own nature and not knowing the Universal Consciousness as one's own nature, is
bondage.
Yonivargah Kalasariram
3. Differentiated perception and the field of
individual activities are also bondage.
Jnanadhisthanam matrka
4. This threefold bondage is attributable to and
commanded by the Universal Mother while she remains unknown. Hence the field of
ignorance comes into
existence through her and not through any other
agency.
Udyamao Bhairava
5. To get rid of this triple bondage, a sudden
flash of transcendental consciousness is identical with Bhairava.
Sakticakrasandhane
visvasambarah
6. With deep contemplation on the wheel of
energies, the whole differentiated Universe comes to an end.
Jagratsvapna susuptabhede
turyabhogasambhavah
7. Such a Yogi, who has accomplished this stage,
experiences Turya (transcendental GodConsciousness) in other three states also
viz. Jagrat (wakefulness), Svapna (dream) and Susapti (deep sleep).
Jnanam Jagrat
8. Common knowledge (arising out of
differentiation) constitutes Jagrat (wakefulness).
Svapna Vikalpah
9. Individual differentiated knowledge in the
recess of one's own mind is Svapna (dream).
Aviveko mayasausuptam
10. Loss of discrimination in the field of
unawareness is Susapti (deep sleep)
Tritayabhokta viresah
11. The one who has digested (assimilated) all
these three states in God Consciousness, (Turya) is the Lord of heroes or master
of his senses.
Vismayo yogabhumikah
12. The Yogic powers here (in this state of being)
comprise indescribable astonishment (wonder).
Ieeha saktir uma kamari
13. For such a Yogi, any desire is identical with
the Supreme Energy of Lord Shiva and hence his desire cannot be checked by any
power.
Drsyam sariram
14. For such a Yogi, even his own body becomes an
extraneous object or the totality of extraneous objects is (constitute) his own
Universal Body.
Hirdaye cittasanighattad
drsyasvapadarsanam
15. By establishing one's mind in the heart-the
Universal Consciousness-the whole world of perception appears as one's own
nature.
Suddhatattvasandhanad va
apasusaktih
16. Or by establishing uninterrupted awareness of
Pure Supreme Nature, the energy of Shiva is experienced.
Vitarka atmajnanam
17. For such a realized soul, any ordinary thought
becomes the means of realizing one's own self.
Lokanandah Samadhisukham
18. His being in the ecstatic state of Samadhi
bestows bliss and happiness to the whole humanity or the totality of enjoyment
in the universe constitutes (or comprises) his ecstatic state of Samadhi.
Saktisandhane
sarirotpattih
l9. By putting (concentrating) one's mind on
Universal Energy, body internal or external, is formed by his mere will. (Such
power is attainable by him in two other
states also viz. dream and deep sleep).
Bhutasandhanabhutaprthaktvavisvasamghattah
20. Such a Yogi is capable of (i) helping humanity
unbounded by space and time (ii) casting off his body for specified timeperiods,
and (iii) manifesting his body at various places simultaneously, by remaining in
God consciousness.
Suddhavidyodayaccakresatvasiddhih
21. When such a yogi abstains from such powers, he
attains lordship over the wheel of Universal Energies through the rise of Pure
knowledge.
Mahahradanusandhanan
mantraviryanubhavah
22. By contemplating on Supreme Ocean, Self
experience of the UniversalI occurs.
The end of First Awakening.
Second Awakening
Cittam mantra
1. Here (i.e. in Saktopaya) by intensive awareness
the mind of a yogi becomes Mantra.
Prayatnan Sadhakah
2. The cause of attaining this Mantra is one's own
effort.
Vidyasarirasatta
mantrarahasyam
3. The state of totality of knowledge is the secret
of Mantra
Grabhe cittavikaso
visistavidyasvapnah
4. When a yogi's mind remains satisfied in cosmic
powers, his Samadhi is as good as ordinary dreaming state.
Vidyasamutthane svabhavike
khecari sivavastha
5. At the rise of natural (pure) Supreme Knowledge,
the State of Shiva, residing in the Eather of God Consciousness, is attained.
Gururupayah
6. For such attainment, the means is the Master,
the Guru.
Matrkacakrasambodhah
7. When the master is pleased, the disciple attains
the knowledge of the wheel of Universal Mother.
Sariram havih
8. For such attainment a yogi has to offer all his
three bodies of wakefulness, dreaming and dreamlessness as oblations into the
fire of Universal God Consciousness.
Jnanam aunam
9. For him the differentiated knowledge is the food
he assimilates into undifferentiated knowledge or the undifferentiated knowledge
constitutes his food yielding him fullness and peace in his own nature.
Vidyasamhare
tadutthasvapna-darsanam
10. By out stepping his own nature of true
knowledge, at the time of entering into Godconsciousness, i.e. Turya, he
ill-fatally enters into dreaming state.
The end of Second Awakening.
Third Awakening
Atma cittam
1. Here (in Anavaopaya) mind is the nature of
individual being.
Jnanambandhah
2. Differentiated knowledge of pain and pleasure is
bondage.
Kaladinam tattvanam
avivekomaya
3. Ignorance of the essence of Universal Action and
Universal Knowledge is illusion-the Maya.
Sarire samharah kalanam
4. So one has to absorb the individuality of
principles (Tattvas) in one's own body successively, i.e., absorb the five
elements into five tanmatras, those in turn into the five organs and finally
integrate them in the Supreme GodConsciousness.
Nadisamharabhutagayabhutakaivalya
bhutaprthaktvani
5. A yogi must develop the power of absorbing prana
and apana into Susumna-the middle path of Lordship over five elements, of
isolating one's own self from the five
elements and residing in the field beyond the five
elements.
Mohavarnat Siddhih
6. Such powers appear only when the veil of
ignorance falls in the way of entering into Pure GodConsciousness.
Mohajayad anantabhogat
sahajavidyajayah
7. By obtaining victory over such an illusion of
cosmic powers and by enjoying the state of limitless being, the Pure and Supreme
Knowledge manifests.
Jagratdvittyakarah
8. For him the state of wakefulness (Jagrat) is
secondary (beam) of God-Consciousness.
Nartaka alma
9. For him, the actor, who plays in the drama of
Universe, is his own self.
Rangontaratma
10. Movement attributed in this totality of Cosmic
Dance, is nothing other than the Supreme Being.
Preksakani indriyani
11. The spectators in this Cosmic Dance, are one's
own cognitive and active organs.
Dhivasat Sattvasiddhih
12. Purity and completion of this dance is
accomplished by establishing the Supreme Subtle Awareness of intelligence.
Siddhah Svatantrabhavah
13. For him the state of utter freedom exists
spontaneously.
Yatha tatra tatha anyatra
14. This kind of freedom obtains for him within and
without.
Bijavadhanam
15. Even after such achievement one has to remain
aware in contemplating on the seed of Universal Being.
Asanasthah sukham hrade
nimajjati
16. So by being established in such state one sinks
into the ocean of God Consciousness-joyously.
Svamatranirmanam apadayati
17. Such a yogi can create or destroy anything by
his Supreme Will.
Vidyaavinase janmavinasah
18. When the Supreme Knowledge is well established
in an uninterrupted way, the pangs of recurring births and deaths are avoided
for good.
Kavargadisu mahesvaryadyah
pasumatarah
19. When the awareness of GodConsciousness slackens
a bit, the Universal Energy disintegrates into innumerable individual Energies
to carry one away from the Kingdom of Universality.
Trisu caturtham
tailavadasecyam
20. So the fourth state of Universal Being, i.e., Turya, must be made to permeate the three other states viz. wakefulness,
dreaming and dreamlessness.
Magnah svacittena praviset
21. By developing the awareness of one's own
nature, he enters and is lost into the Universal God Consciousness.
Pranasamacare Samadarsanam
22. After being well established in that state he
breathes out that state into the Universal activities. Hence the differentiation
between the self and the Universe is not recognized.
Madhyevaraprasavah
23. If one proves a failure in infusing the state
of self in the Universe, he illfatally remains satisfied in his own internal
nature.
Matrasvapratyayasandhane
nastasyapunarutthanam
24. When a yogi, after developing awareness of GodConsciousness, Transcend the state of
Turya, he enters into Transcendental
God-Consciousness.
Sivatulyo jayate
25. Such a yogi becomes one with Shiva.
Sariravrttir vratam
26. For him the austerity is nothing else than the
normal routine of physical life.
Katha japah
27. And for such a yogi the daily routine talk
becomes the recitation of real Mantra.
Danam atmajuanam
28. Such a yogi gives as alms to humanity his own
knowledge of the self.
Yovipastho Jnahetusea
29. The yogi, who commands the entire wheel of
cognitive and active organs, is the only means of attaining knowledge of
Transcendental God-Conscieness.
Svasakti-pracayosya visvam
30. For him the whole Universe is the totality of
his own energies.
Sthti layou
31. Living in this world of ignorance or remaining
in the Transcendental God-Consciousness is the totality of one's own energies of
Consciousness.
Tatpravrttau api anirasah
samvetr-bhavat
32. Such a yogi, though apparently engrossed in the
daily routine of life, is in no way separated from God-Consciousness.
Sukha-duhkhayor
bahirmananam
33. Because such a yogi perceives the states of
pain and pleasure only superficially, they, in no case, affect his state of
Supreme-BeingConsciousness.
Tadvimuktastu kevali
34. Hence he is liberated from the states of pain
and pleasure and is uniquely established in his own nature.
Mohapratisamhatas tu
karmatma
35. On the contrary, the one who feels the absence
of God-Consciousness in the states of pain and pleasure, is an individual soul
and a victim of recurring births and
deaths.
Bheda-tiraskare
Sargantara-karmatvam
36. The one who stands, aloof from
differentiatedness becomes the creator and destroyer of the entire Universe.
Karanasaktih Svat6nubhavat
37. The energy of creating and destroying the whole
Universe comes within the experience of such a yogi just as an ordinary soul
possesses the power to create and
destroy during his dreaming state.
Tripadady anuprananam
38. The state of Turya God-Consciousness, that
comes into experience in the beginning and at the end of the other three states
(viz. Jagrat, Svapana and Susupti), should be infused and transmitted into these
three states by firmly establishing one's own awareness during these intervals
viz. beginning and end thereof.
Cittasthitivat
Sarira-karana-bahyesu
39. And by developing such process, a yogi must
transmit the God Consciousness not only into the three states of individuality
but into the entire Universe.
Abhilasat bahirgatih
samvahyasya
40. By the slight appearance of individual desire,
one is carried far away from the state of God-Consciousness.
Tadarudhapramites
tatksayaj ]iivasam Ksayah
41. By firmly establishing one's own self in the
state of Turya, all desires disappear and individuality lost into Universality.
Bhuta-kancuki tada vimukto
bhuyah patisamah parah
42. Such a yogi is Liberated-in-Life and as his
body still exists, he is called Bhuta-Kancuki, i.e. having his physical body as
a mere covering just like an ordinary blanket. Hence he is supreme and one with
the Universal Self.
Naisargikah
pranasambandhah
43. After remaining in this state of Universal
Transcendental God Consciousness, the functions of inhalation and exhalation
automatically take place with the object, that this whole Universe of action and
cognition is united in God-Consciousness.
Nasika-antarmadhya
samyamat kimatra savyapasavya sausumnesu
44. When one contemplates on the center of
Universal consciousness, what else remains there to be sought in the practice of
prana, apana and susumna ?
Bhuyah Syat pratimilanam
45. When a Saiva-yogi is completely established in
God-Consciousness, he experiences this state spontaneously within and without or
both.
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