The Real Way of Perceiving You – in Kashmir Shaivism

Chapter 12 (00:15)

सहकारि न किञ्चिदिष्यते

भवतो न प्रतिबन्धकं दृशि  ।

भवतैव हि सर्वमाप्लुतं

कथमद्यापि तथापि नेक्षसे  ॥१॥

sahakāri na kiñcidiṣyate

bhavato na pratibandhakaṁ dṛśi /

bhavataiva hi sarvamāplutaṁ

kathamadyāpi tathāpi nekṣase //1//

Bhavato dṛśi, for finding You, my Lord, for finding You out, for experiencing Your nature, sahakāri na kiñcit iṣyate, there is nothing to be adopted. For perceiving You, there is nothing to be adopted. You are perceived just, i.e., just without any adoption, just without meditation, just without prayers, just without concentration, just without dhyāna, just without maintaining discipline. There is nothing needed in perceiving You.

Actually, in Shaivism, this is the fact that when God is perceived, [He] is perceived, not with the adoption of means.

What are means?

SCHOLAR: Upāya.

SWAMIJI: Upāyas.

Upāyas are just living on that disciplined life, e.g., brahmacarya, satya, asteya¹⁷⁴, all of these things are to be adopted, then God is revealed. But these are not . . . God is revealed without the adoption of these things. When God is revealed, [He] is revealed. This is the secret.

JOHN: There is no cause and effect relationship . . .

SWAMIJI: No [affirmative].

JOHN: . . . between what you do and God’s being revealed.

SWAMIJI: It is not realized with effort. When you do some effort for realizing It, you remain far away from His nature. When you abandon all of your efforts, you remain far away from His nature.

God is revealed just when He so likes. It is not in your hands.

SCHOLAR Śaktipāta.

SWAMIJI: Śaktipāta (grace).

So, bhavato dṛṣi, for realizing Thee, sahakāri na kiñcit iṣyate, nothing is needed, neither meditation, nor anything, nor discipline, nor satya, nor brahmacarya, nor gṛhasthya¹⁷⁵, nor asteya. All of these things are useless there.

DENISE: Then why do anything if it won’t help?

SWAMIJI: It is just . . .

DENISE: To keep you busy.

SWAMIJI: . . . to keep you busy.

There is nothing to do. It is not that if you make yourself busy, you are busy with these things, that you are sure to get the realization of God. It may not come at all. It comes when It comes, by Itself.

Bhavato dṛśi sahakāri na kiñcit iṣyate. For realizing You, there is nothing to be adopted, na pratibandhakaṁ, and there is no obstruction also for realizing You. You are free to be realized! The path is clear for Your realization. So, there is nothing in-between to stop you from realizing your nature.

Because, bhavatā eva he sarvamāplutam, You have pervaded the whole world. You have pervaded the world of upāyas and You have pervaded the world of obstacles. Obstacles are also shining because of You because You are shining in obstacles and upāyas are also shining because of You because You are shining there.

SCHOLAR: Āplutam? Flooded?

SWAMIJI: Flooded.

SCHOLAR: The universe is flooded with You.

SWAMIJI: Yes.

Katham, but the problem is, still then, I am kept away from Your realization. This is the problem. There is no problem existing in a real sense because the path is quite clear, but still I don’t realize You.

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174  Chastity, truthfulness, and not stealing, respectively. See also appendix 2 for an explanation of the upāyas. [Editor’s note]

175  The householder stage (gṛhasthya) is the second stage of an ideal life according to the Ashrama system. [Editor’s note]