Why this world is not an illusion (maya) in Kashmir Shaivism

In the summer of 1987, Swamiji began compiling important verses from the various scriptures he had studied throughout his life. Each Sunday he would distribute one or two slokas to devotees, at the same time giving, in brief, their essential meaning. In all Swamiji revealed a total of eighty-five verses. The following year Swamiji traveled to Nepal where he spent a month with the Hughes family recording his revelation on those verses in the “Special Verses on Practice“.

When asked about the source of these verses Swamiji replied, “It is not for research, it is for your daily recitation . . . maybe sometime you will experience these stages . . . it will be helpful to you in your spiritual practice.”

In this excerpt from the recordings, he explains why this world is not an illusion (maya) in Kashmir Shaivism.

आश्यानं चिद्रसस्यौघं साकारत्वमुपागतम्  ।

जगद्रूपतया वन्दे प्रत्यक्षं भैरवं वपुः  ।।८।।

aśyānaṁ cidrasasyaughaṁ sākāratvamupāgataṁ

jagadrūpata yā vande pratyakṣaṁ bhairavam vapuḥ // 9 (8)

Cidrasasyaughaṁ aśyānaṁ; cidrasa the coagulation of cit rasa is the universe, it is the universe, it is not anything else [other] than God consciousness. It is just God consciousness but [it’s] coagulated consciousness. Coagulated means that it is just like, it becomes hard to experience.

JOHN:  Hard to experience?

SWAMIJI:  It has become hard [solid] by coagulation, but actually this is also God consciousness. The manifestation of this whole universe is God consciousness. Sākāra tvam upāgata and it has taken its formation, i.e. this is Viresh, this is Denise, this is Shanna, this is Inderji, this is Lakṣmanjoo, this is John; it has taken this formation. What?

DENISE:  This universe?

JOHN:  This is the coagulation of cid rasa.

SWAMIJI:  No . . . God consciousness. God consciousness has been coagulated in these varieties of forms and shapes and time.

Sākāra tvam upāgataṁ, it has taken its shape, jagad rūpata yā, in the formation of the universe. In another way the universe is none other than God consciousness. It is God consciousness [this] universe; it is the commentary of God consciousness, it is the manifestation of God consciousness in its coagulated form. Jagadrūpata yā vande, so we must embrace it, we must hug it, we must not throw it away. It is not a dream; this world is not a dream. This is just God consciousness.

JOHN:  Or illusion, it’s not illusion.

SWAMIJI:  It is not illusion.

Jagadrūpata yā vande, I bow to this universe, which is pratyakṣaṁ bhairavam vapuḥ, this Bhairava has come with formation. [This] Bhairava can be photographed and that Bhairava cannot be photographed which is . . .

JOHN:  Transcendental.

DENISE:  Transcendental.

SWAMIJI:  That is transcendental.

So this is also Bhairava. You must not be afraid of this God consciousness, which is coagulated in the formation of saṁsāra. So you should not get afraid from saṁsāra. There is no question, there is no room, for fearing this universe. Because the universe, as long as it is concerned, it is the actual formation of God consciousness in a coagulated form. That is the only difference.

Source: Special Verses on Practice from the Video Archive of the Lakshmanjoo Academy

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