Swamiji answers the question, “What is the fruit of these two boon-giving trees (Lord Shiva and his devotion)” in this excerpt from The Magical Jewel of Devotion in Kashmir Shaivism – Stava Cintamani, by Bhaṭṭanārāyaṇa, verses, 54-56.
Read and listen to both verses in the video below, an excerpt taken from the 2022 Fall Retreat…
गुणातीतस्य निर्दिष्ट-निःशेषातिशयात्मनः ।
लभ्यते भव कुत्रांशे परः प्रतिनिधिस्तव ॥५४॥
guṇātītasya nirdiṣṭa-niḥśeṣātiśayātmanaḥ /
labhyate bhava kutrāṁśe paraḥ pratinidhistava //54//
You are guṇātīta, You are beyond the three guṇas (sāttvaguṇa, rajoguṇa, and tamoguṇa). Niśeśatiṣātmana, You are above all, You are the extreme of all.
You know “the extreme of all”?
DENISE: The highest of all?
SWAMIJI: Whatever highest you perceive in this world, it is more than that highest.
DENISE: Beyond the highest?
SWAMIJI: So, there is no comparison. Any element, which could compare with Your beauty, with Your glamour, it is not found in this world. There is no pratinidhi (pratinidhi is “opposite”).109 Lord Śiva is beautiful, there is no other [more] beautiful [thing]. . .
JOHN: To compare Him with.
SWAMIJI: . . . to compare with.110
निरद्वन्द्वे निरुपाधौ च त्वय्यात्मनि सति प्रभो ।
वयं वञ्च्यामहेऽद्यापि माययामेयया तव ॥५५॥
nirdvandve nirupādhau ca tvayyātmani sati prabho /
vayaṁ vañcyāmahe’dyāpi māyayāmeyayā tava //55//
O my Master, You are existing before me to help me. Nirdvandve, You are without dvandva [duality]. Without dvandva [means], You don’t love those who love You, You don’t hate those who hate You. You are the same to those who love You and for those who hate You. You are the same to both sections.
Anybody who hates You, kicks You, ignores You, You don’t ignore him. Anybody who loves You, You don’t love him, because You are nirdvandva, You have no dvandva (dvandva means, opposites), You don’t find any opposites.
Because what can he do? [He] who hates Lord Śiva, what can he do to Lord Śiva?
DENISE: Nothing.
SWAMIJI: If you love Lord Śiva, what benefit can you give to Lord Śiva by loving Him? It is for you to get satisfaction. For your satisfaction, you love Him, not for His upliftment.
DENISE: He is already uplifted.
SWAMIJI: He is already above that cycle.
And nirupādhau, there is no upādhi111 for Lord Śiva. And You are existing in front of me; this way, You are existing in front of me. Still, this is a great pitiable condition for You. This is the greatest pitiable condition for You that we are begging, still we are begging in this world, having such a Lord in front of us.
Is it fair for You?
Why don’t You make it work like that so we won’t [have to] beg. We beg from everywhere. For śabda we beg, for sparśa, rūpa, rasa, gandha,112 all of the senses, we are hankering after these senses in each and every way of our life.
Is it good for You that You tolerate this pitiable condition of ours?
This is the meaning of this śloka.113
अणिमादिगुणावाप्तिः सदैश्वर्यं भवक्षयः ।
अमी भव भवद्भक्ति-कल्पपादपपल्लवाः ॥५६॥
aṇimādiguṇāvāptiḥ sadaiśvaryaṁ bhavakṣayaḥ /
amī bhava bhavadbhakti-kalpapādapapallavāḥ //56//
O Lord Śiva! You are just like a Kalpa Tree.
You know the Kalpa Tree?
DENISE: Wish-fulfilling tree.
STEPHANIE: Boon-giving tree.
SWAMIJI: Boon-giving tree.
You are Yourself a boon-giving tree, and there is another boon-giving tree just opposite You. That is Your devotion. Anybody who devotes his life for Your sake, that devotion has become another boon-giving tree. And these two boon-giving trees (Yourself and Your devotion), they have produced sprouts, they have produced branches, they have produced fruits.
What are those fruits?
Aṇimādi guṇā vāpti, the great yogic powers. The eight great yogic powers come out . . . these are the eight fruits of those trees.114 Which trees?
JOHN: The boon-giving trees.
SWAMIJI: Lord Śiva and Lord Śiva’s devotion. And sad aiśvaryaṁ, you are always glorified if you have got these two trees at your disposal.
Bhava kṣaya, and the destruction of pain, sadness, etc., these are also sprouts of This tree. No sadness remains, all sadness vanishes, all glory comes forth, and all great yogic powers are there as the fruit. This is what comes out from Your Kalpa Tree and Your devotion.
You know “devotion” – bhakti.115
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109 Lit., substitution, likeness.
110 “The śāstras have defined that the topmost seat is possessed by You, but it seems You have another topmost seat for Parabhairavī who sits face-to-face with You. She is just like You. If You are the Topmost Being, how does another great Being exist on the same level as You?” Stava Cintāmaṇi (1990).
111 Without foreign attribute, adjustment or limitation.
112 Sound, touch, form, taste, and smell, respectively.
113 “You are the possessor of māyā, but māyā does not affect You. If, by Your grace, we have come out of māyā, why does māyā continue to affect us and not You? This is Your situation. Isn’t it shameful that we people are misled by Your māyā altogether?” Stava Cintāmaṇi (1990).
114 The eight worldly powers are: aṇimā (the power to make one’s body extremely small), mahimā (the power to make one’s body infinitely large), garimā (the power to become infinitely heavy), laghimā (the power to become weightless), prāpti (the power to be anywhere), prākāmya (the power to achieve any desire), īśitva (the power to possess absolute sovereignty), and vaśitva (the power to subjugate).
115 “O Lord, O universal Master, there are those three great gods, Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Rudra, who have possessed the eight yogic powers as mentioned in Yoga Darśana. And, at the time of samādhi, some yogis attain the states of Sadāśiva, Īśvara, and Śiva, so they have achieved greater power than those gods. And there are some great souls greater than Sadāśiva, etc., who have unminded their minds. For them, repeated births and deaths have been put to an end and they are mixed with the Parabhairava state. But I (Bhaṭṭa Nārāyaṇa) achieved those great powers when I maintained Your devotion, Your bhakti, so I am united in such a way in Your Being that these great gods and the power they have attained are like leaves of that Kalpa Tree. I have been blessed with Your bhakti (devotion) and that is the greatest achievement of all.” Stava Cintāmaṇi (1990).
Source: The Magical Jewel of Devotion in Kashmir Shaivism –
Stava Cintamani, by Bhaṭṭanārāyaṇa,
revealed by Swami Lakshmanjoo.
All Content is subject to Copyright © John Hughes.
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