Curiously, it is thanks to the concepts expressed in the Sâmkhyä (which tends to be thought of as atheistic since it does not recognize the possibility of a single active god) that one can observe among the Hindus the feeling that the invisible is omnipresent, the respect for the mystery and unexpectedness of the work of the creator, and the principle of tolerance, which is in fact simply respect for multiple paths in the search for the divine.
2
The Doctrine of the Pâshupatä
The Teaching of Lakulishä
LAKULISHÄ IS CONSIDERED TO BE THE LAST REPRESENtative of primordial tradition. He is the last of the visionaries/seers (the Rishi[s]) who brought to mankind yet again a message of wisdom that might bring about a delay in the destruction inherent in the ending of the Kali Yugä. It is not necessarily the only such message, for, at the same moment in the cycle, other voices in other places arose in an attempt to curb mankind's madness. Their teaching went astray, just like Lakulishä's did in India. What survives is, however, sufficient, if we have the courage to reverse the tendencies of the modern world and to renounce the absurdities of religious, moral, and social ideologies which conceal reality from us, to allow part of humanity to survive a little longer and permit a few to pass through the apocalypse and be part of the birth of a new world.
The teachings of Lakulishä expose the principles of the Darshanä (the paths of knowledge) in a simple and popular form full of imagery, and suggest patterns of behavior suitable for the final stages of the Kali Yugä.
Texts
THE texts concerning the doctrine of the Pâshupatä(s), as portrayed by Lakulishä, are assembled in a series of essays entitled the Lakulâgamä Samayä (Summary of the Tradition of Lakulishä). The adherents of this philosophy are known as Lakula(s), Pâshupatä(s), or Kâlâmukhä(s) (Black Faces). Lakulishä takes up the ritual and moral traditions of ancient Shaivism in their entirety and takes into account the materialistic philosophy of the Vaïsheshikä and the logic of the Nyâyä.1
No available Pâshupatä ritual or philosophical texts date from before Lakulishä's time. There are, however, several later works written by the Pâshupatä(s) which summarize the ancient texts. Most important among them are the following:
The Pâshupatä Suträ and the commentary on it by Kaundinya, called the Pañchârthä-Bhashya
The Gana Kârikä of Haradattä and its commentary, the Ratnatikâ by Bhâsarvajñä
The Ishvarä-Kartri-Vâdä (the creative power of the divine beings) by Bonteyä Muni, who preached Lakulishä's doctrines in Andhra during the eleventh century
The Shaddarshana Samucchayä (a summary of the six philosophic approaches) by Râjashekharä (1350)
The Shaddarshana Samucchayä by Haribhadrä with a commentary by a Jaïnä author named Gunaratnä (c. 1375)
The chapter on the "Nâkulisha-Pâshupatä Darshanä" in the Sarvä Darshanä-Samgrahä (History of the Philosophic Systems) of Sâyanä-Mâdhavä (fourteenth century), is one of the best expositions of the doctrine.
Pashupati: Lord of the Animals
IN ancient Shaivism, the creative principle was worshiped in the form of Pashupati, Lord of the Animals. Pati, the herder, is the creator and sovereign of the world. Pashu, the livestock, comprises all the beings of creation: gods, spirits, animals, men. Pasha, the snare, is the visible world: material, illusory, in which all living beings are imprisoned.
The cult of Pashupati is the aspect of Mîmânsâ that concerns earthly life and the relationships between humans and the supernatural and natural worlds. It enables man to carry out his role harmoniously among the other species.
Pati: The Herder
ACCORDING to the Pâshupatä doctrine, Pati, the master of the herd, is everywhere. He is not restricted in time or space.
The power of action or energy (shakti) is part of the material world of Nature (prakriti). The herder resides in Nature under the form of consciousness. Nature is unable to act separately from this consciousness. Nothing in the world happens by chance or hazard.
Man is created in the image of the divine being, but the divine being is not hemmed in within the five formulae (manträ[s]), which are at the base of the Tanmaträ(s), the five types of interaction in matter, the source of the five elements. The word manträ is used here to mean the formulae, in the mathematical sense of the word, which are at the base of all forms of creation. In Yogä, manträ corresponds to a sound formula which is the verbal expression of an archetype that represents a state of being, ultimately a divinity, and allows that being to be summoned. [Mrigendrä-gamä 3.7.5]
Pashu: The Animal
PASHU, the herd animal, includes the subtle beings that we call gods, genies, or demons, as well as the animal species including man. The mission of some of these beings is to direct the development of each of the species. It is with the genies closest to us that we are able to enter into contact by means of animist perception and rites.
The different levels of creation appear to be quite separate and independent of each other, yet they form an indivisible whole.
Each living being perceives a particular aspect of creation. It is evidence of one of the many aspects of the divine plan, one of the mirrors in which the creator views his work. The field (ksheträ) of each is limited; this is why the animal (pashu) (that is to say, the living being [jîvä]) is also known as Ksheträñä (he who knows the field, that aspect of the world which he is destined to perceive). He represents one fraction of the universal consciousness, residing in a corporeal prison.
Pâshä: The Snare
THE snare, Pâshä, is the apparent world. Consciousness (chaitanyä) is the principle of perception, boundless within Pati, the Master, but restricted in the living beings, the beasts (pashu), caught in the snare (Pâshä).
The snare is formed of four materials:
An individual's innate tendencies (pravritti)
The limits imposed by the divine plan (Ishä-jâlä)
The effects of behavior (Karmä)
The illusory nature (mâyâ) of the world [Mrigendrä-Agamä 5.13]
There are three components (kalâ) of the snare. These are the limits of the power of the mind (vijnânä-kalâ), the destructibility of living beings (pralayä-kalâ), and the multiplicity of the levels of the created world (sakalä-kalâ). [Mrigendrä-gamä 3.7.8]
It is the snare that isolates the individual from the universal consciousness and is therefore the origin of human individuality. Once the obstacles created by the snare are removed, the individual consciousness becomes part of, and lost within, the universal consciousness.
The Creative Power of the Sovereign Being (Ishvarä-Kartri-Vâdä)
THE philosophical doctrine of the Pâshupatä(s) as taught by Lakulishä is called Ishvarä-Kartri-Vâdä (the creative power of the sovereign being). It was quoted in the ninth century by Sankarâchâryä in his commentary on the Brahmâ-Sûträ(s) (3.2.37).
An analysis of it is to be found in one of the main Pâshupatä texts, the Ganä-Kârikä of Haradattä, and its commentary by Kaundinyä called Pañcharthä-Bhâshä (commentary of the five subjects). Râmânujä attributed this philosophy to the tradition of the Kâlâmukhä(s), the sect of "Black Faces" to which Lakulishä belonged.
This doctrine is divided into five parts, known as Kâranä (cause), Kâryä (work/task), Kalâ (divisibility), Vidhi (method), Yogä (union), and Dukhântä (the end of suffering).
The Cause (Kâranä)
KRANÄ (the cause) is the word used for the Sovereign Principle (Ishvarä) which creates, upholds, and destroys the universe. Shivä (the Benevolent) and Pati (the Master) are the words designating this causal principle from which the world has resulted. In its destructive aspect, it is called Bhaïravä (the Terrible).
One of the most distinctive features of the Pâshupatä doctrine as propounded by Kaundinya and the Ratnatikâ is the belief in God's absolute independence, (svatantratâ). This ... means that God acts without regard for human actions (karmâdinirapekshä). This doctrine is c
onnected to Gosâlä's determinism (Niyati). [Lorenzen, The Kâpâlikas and Kâlâmukhas, pp. 190–191]
The creative principle (kartri) is independent of all cosmic or moral law (dharmä). It cannot be influenced by the actions (karmä) of the beings it creates. The reward for merit is a gift from the gods; it is not automatic.
The Work (Kâryä)
KRYÄ (the work) represents the world, matter, and life. Kâryä, the substance of creation, has three components called Vidyâ (knowledge), Kalâ (divisibility, multiplicity), and Pashu (the animal, the living being). Vidyâ, in the form of consciousness (Cit, corresponding to the Mahat of Sâmkhyä), is present throughout the work in as much as it is a product of the Creator and inseparable from him. The principles of matter and of life are themselves also in one sense eternal.
Divisibility (Kalâ)
THERE are two aspects to the Sovereign Principle. One is manifest and composite (sakalâ); the other is transcendent and indivisible (nishkalâ). In his composite form, the divine being is immanent, present in all things, and therefore has many facets or aspects.
In his indivisible form, he is shapeless, unknowable, and beyond thought and words. In these two aspects the Sovereign Principle has limitless powers of knowledge (jñânä-shakti) and action (kriyâ-shakti).
The qualities of sovereignty (patitvä), of existence (sattvä), of being the beginning of all things (adyaträ) and not being born of something else (ajatvä) belong to the composite aspect, corresponding to the Sâmkhyä's Purushä. This is the aspect which is at the base of the "constituent elements of the apparent world" (the Tattvä[s]) envisaged by the Sâmkhyä.
Method (Vidhi)
THE other aspects of Lakulishä's doctrine concern not the nature of the world, but rather the nature of man and the rules of his behavior. Method is divided into four sections called Padä(s) (feet). They are Kriyâ (things needing to be done, meritorious acts), Charyâ (observances), Yogä (union), and Jñânä (knowledge).
Meritorious Deeds (Kriyâ)
THE Padmä Samhitä (3.1.6) says that Kriyâ(s) (obligations, meritorious deeds) are mainly the construction of sanctuaries and the creation of images. An important part of the gamä(s) concerns the selection of the sites, plans, architecture, sculpture, and installation of images within a sanctuary.
The Temple
THE temple is a Mandalä, a geometric configuration designed according to the archetypes and patterns that are the basis of the structures of the universal and of the human being.
Sacred architecture, based as it is on the symbolism of numbers, the geometric diagrams of the Yanträ(s), and its orientation in relation to the constellations of the zodiac and other astrological features, plays an essential part in communication between the various states of being, between men and gods. The real presence of the divine being can be invoked, through the power of the Manträ(s) (magical formulae), within the image at the center of the sanctuary.
The Kali Yugä is the age of the worship of idols. Contact between man and the supranatural is most easily achieved through the architecture of the temple and the images of the gods based on magical diagrams. The god Shivä taught mankind music, dance, sculpture, architecture, and the ability to work with bronze and iron at the dawn of the Kali Yugä. In all civilizations, the origins of sacred architecture and the concept of the Great Work can be traced to protohistoric Shaivism, beginning with the megalithic monuments to be found wherever Dravidian influence extended. The "idolatrous" Shaïväs have long been criticized for the building of temples and the worship of images. The cult of images was unknown to the nomadic and warrior peoples who survived the Tretä Yugä and who did their best to destroy sanctuaries and idols until at last they adopted them themselves. The iconoclastic Hebrews overthrew the Golden Calf and laid the temples of Baal to ruin. (There is a striking parallel between the biblical Baal and Bala (the adolescent), another name of Skandä (head of the army of the gods, the son and double of Shivä), who is worshiped in the form of a bull.) Later, the Islamic Arabs destroyed temples in India and the Christians broke up the images of the Roman gods before filling their churches with statues of the Virgin and the saints.
There is no mention in the Vedic texts of the building of temples or the worship of idols. Vedic sacrifices were (and still are) carried out under temporary shelters, the Mandapä(s) being built for the occasion and subsequently destroyed. The building of temples and worship of images are by contrast a fundamental part of Shaivism.
The Freemasons and guilds in the West are the remnants of the ancient associations of temple builders and can provide us with an idea of the moral and social values of an artisanal tradition.
Following the destruction of the cities of the Indus by the Aryans, sacred architecture disappeared from India. Only small sanctuaries, a few stones surrounding a Lingä, are to be found in the mountains and other isolated places. It was the Buddhists, much later, who again took up the construction of stupä(s) (mounds covering relics) derived from the ancient dolmens.
It was only with the Shaïvä renewal that the construction of temples began again, using the traditions whose secrets the artisanal associations had preserved. Pâshupatä temples were built almost everywhere in India, including Kapishä (Afghani Nuristan), during the time of Harshä (606-647); the work had, however, begun in the time of the Guptä(s). The Chinese pilgrim Hsüan Tsang makes mention of them.
An extraordinary number of temples were built in the areas where the influence of Lakulishä was strongest; from Rajputana to Orissa, and in the south of India. Among them were the temples of Ellora, Elephanta, Bhuvaneshvar, Khajuraho, and, in the south, Badami, Aihole, Chidambaram, Conjeevaram, Madura, etc. They are among the most beautiful monuments in the world, evidence of a period of religious exaltation that calls to mind the later golden age of cathedrals in the West, which was influenced in all likelihood by the Indian architects who fled the Muslim invasions (see Alain Daniélou, Le Temple hindou).
Union (Yogä)
IN the texts of Shaivism, Yogä is defined as "the establishment of a relationship between the individual being and the universal being through the gateway (dvarä) of the consciousness (chittä)." According to the Ratnatikä, "Yogä is the means that permits the identification of the living being (jîvä) with the total being or Sovereign Principle (Ishvarä)."2 This relationship is established in the first place by the repetition of Manträ(s), verbal formulae which evoke the archetypes that constitute the nature of certain aspects of the divine being. This initial preparation is followed by mental concentration (Dhyînä) and other observances of Yogä that lead to mastery of the various faculties and energies that make up the human person.
The End of Suffering (Dukhântä)
THE sixth subject with which the doctrine of Lakulishä is concerned is known as Dukhântä (the end of suffering). This involves the destiny of beings after life. According to Kaundiyä, there are two varieties of Dukhântä: the personal (sâtmakä) and the impersonal (anâtmakä). In the personal form achieved by the Siddhi(s), the human being can pass beyond the animal condition and, becoming a subtle being, can unite with Shivä (Rudrä sayujyä). In the impersonal form, the self ceases to exist and the various components of the living being return to the universal principles from which they came.
3
Communities and Monastic Orders
The Monastic Orders
THE MEMBERS OF THE SHAIVA SECTS ARE REFERRED to in the Vedä(s) by the name Vrâtyä (the Excluded), meaning people living on the fringes of society, practicing ecstatic dances and sexual rites with prostitutes, sacrificing animals and eating the flesh of their victims, drinking intoxicating beverages, and worshiping serpents and trees. They earned their living as roving minstrels, specializing in song, sex, and dance.
The Rig Vedä (X. 136) describes one of these non-Aryan ascetic-magicians, whom it calls jîvikä(s) (beggars), "with long hair (keshin), clothed in space (vâtä-rasanä), driven mad by austerities and the practice of silence, body smeared w
ith yellowish dust, possessing magical powers and drinking poison (a drug) in the company of Rudrä (Shivä)." It was, however, these Vrâtyä(s), the Excluded, considered outcasts, who little by little introduced Tantric rites and the practices of Yogä into Aryan society, including Ur Yogä or Union by Force, by which the Vîrä (hero), through his power, conquered the heavens, and also Ultâ Sâdhanâ (the inverse method), which utilizes for man's spiritual progress the very elements that are normally the cause of his fall.
The priests, described in the Atharvä Vedä as practicing magic rites, were probably the Kâpâlikä(s) (Skull-Bearers). They are also mentioned in the Maïtrï Upanishad. These ascetics, who perpetuated the religious practices of the preAryan world and had been able to maintain the ancient traditions with a remarkable continuity for more than two thousand years despite persecutions, invasions, and religious and social changes, came out again at the time of the Shaïvä revival. We still meet them today, covered with ashes, in forest hermitages or pilgrimage places. They live completely outside of official Hinduism.
These ascetics are divided into several sects, among which the gamä(s) mention principally the Pâshupatä(s), Kâpâlikä(s), Kâlâmukhä(s), Soma-siddhantä(s), and Lakulä(s).
The Shaddarshanä Samucchayä (Summary of the Six Philosophic Systems), a Jaïnä text, considers that the most important sects are the Shaïvä(s) (worshipers of Shivä), the Pâshupatä(s) (who worship Pashupati), the Kâpâlikä(s) (Skull-Bearers), and the Kâlâmukhä(s) (Black Faces). All rub themselves with ashes, wear a sacred thread, and knot their hair on top of their heads. They are differentiated from one another by their rules of life (achara).
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