Once Párvatii posed a question to Shiva: “Who is competent for mokśa [non-qualified liberation]? Who can attain mokśa?” Shiva answered,

Átmajiṋánamidaḿ Devi paraḿ mokśaekasádhanam;
Sukrtaermánavo bhútvá jiṋániicenmokśamápnuyát.

[Self-knowledge is the greatest means to attain salvation. People are born as human beings due to their past good saḿskáras, but to attain non-qualified liberation they will have to attain self-knowledge.]

The Formulation of Ágama and Nigama

Questions related to spiritual practice and spiritual progress – questions not simply for inquiry’s sake but for the sake of understanding and for the sake of following the instructions given – are known as pariprashnas (for example, questions put by disciples to their gurus as to how to sit, how to bid prańáma [respectful salutations], and how to repeat mantra). Prańipátena pariprashnena seváyá [“By surrender, spiritual questioning, and servicefulness”]. Questions put only for logic’s sake are not pariprashnas; with such questions the time of the questioner and that of the answerer is wasted. And sometimes questions are put not in order to know but in order to test the scholarship of the guru – such questions are not pariprashnas either.

If pariprashnas are put and answered, and then recorded, or if people somehow get acquainted with such questions and answers, people will be benefited. But during the time of Sadáshiva nobody was there to put such questions. Párvatii learned sádhaná from Shiva (as did their son Bhaerava). Párvatii and Shiva decided that the former would pose the questions, and the latter would reply, and thus people would get acquainted with the questions and answers and be benefited.

They decided to formulate these questions and answers for the all-round development of human society. They decided to cover all branches of knowledge – art, architecture, literature, medical science, spiritual science, etc. For example, you know that in ancient times there was [a simple form of] giita [song]. There was also [vádya, basic instrumental music]. And people were performing some mudrás unconsciously with their hands and feet. So Lord Shiva and Párvatii decided to coordinate and systematize giita, [vádya] and mudrá. Párvatii began to pose questions, and Shiva began to answer; and the saḿgiita shástra [science of music] was produced. (The combined name of nrtya [dance], giita and vádya is saḿgiita.)

Dance was known in quite a primitive age. This kind of dance was rhythmic. Even now the dances of soldiers are mainly rhythmic. There is no important role of mudrá in their dance. The rule is that rhythmic dance requires strength; only males can do it; because it is tiring. But Párvatii gave lalita nrtya, in which mudrá has an important role. Indian dances and other Oriental dances are mudrápradhána [dominated by mudrá]. And Occidental dances are chandapradhána [rhythmic].

They decided to categorize mudrá. So Párvatii questioned and Shiva answered. Párvatii would ask, “What is the meaning of such and such mudrá?” and Shiva would reply. In this way mudrá shástra came about, saḿgiita shástra came about. Shiva invented a rhythmic dance and Párvatii created a dance dominated by mudrá. In Shiva’s rhythmic dance one has to jump. In Sanskrit tańd́ú means “to jump”.⁽¹⁾ So the dance dominated by jumping is known as táńd́ava. The dance of Shiva is táńd́ava – “dominated by jumping”.

Mudrá directly touches the mind. For instance, if one calls to a person, as soon as the sound vibrations of “Come” touch the person’s ears, they directly reach the mind. But the person can be made to understand through mudrás [gestures of the fingers] also. Similar are the cases of expressing that one feels hot and sweaty, that one feels thirsty, etc., without speaking, through different physical gestures. Hence, mudrá has shánta bháva [it is peaceful, calm]. It is just the opposite of táńd́ava, and that is why it is known as lalita [graceful].

The posture of sitting which creates madhura bháva in the body is known as lalita mudrá or lalitásana. You will see different idols from ancient times of devadeviis [gods and goddesses] sitting on lotus flowers in lalita mudrá.

In ancient times those who were superior to the mass were known as devatás.

Sarve ca pashavah santi talavad bhútale naráh;
Teśáḿ jiṋána prakásháya viirabhávah prakáshitah.
Viirabhávaḿ sadá prápya krameńa devatá bhavet.

–Rudrayámala Tantra

[In the beginning everyone is a pashu, an animal. But when spiritual thirst develops, these people become viira, heroic. And when they are firmly established in viirabháva, they become devatás.]

When people were being taught táńd́ava and lalita, they found difficulty with both. With táńd́ava they found difficulty in jumping, and with lalita they felt troubled in expressing the correct bháva [ideation] through mudrá. Therefore they requested Lord Shiva and Párvatii to bring about a balance between the two. Párvatii posed some questions, Shiva replied, and a balance was brought about for the good of the people. The new [beat or rhythmic expression] thus produced was called tála – tá from táńd́ava and la from lalita.

In spiritual practice only a few get the chance to listen to spiritual discourses, and only a few among those few understand. And fewer yet are there who follow the path. And among those who follow the path, only a counted few reach the goal. Therefore, that Párvatii got the opportunity to ask spiritual questions and to listen to the answers, and that Shiva could make her understand, was a very rare thing. The questions of Párvatii, together with Shiva’s practical answers, can be called “philosophico-spiritual cult”. This means the combination of all philosophy, pariprashna, and spiritual practice, along with Shiva’s practical answers. The questions of Párvatii are known as nigama shástra, and the answers of Shiva are known as ágama shástra. The combined name of ágama and nigama is Tantra.

Ágataḿ Shivavaktrebhyoh gataiṋca Girijáshrutao;
Mataiṋca Vásudevasya tasmádágama ucyate.

Ágataḿ Shivavaktrebhyoh refers to “Shiva’s answers”. The first letter of ágatam is á, and the first letter of gataiṋca Girijáshrutao⁽²⁾ is ga. And the first letter of mataiṋca Vásudevasya – “this is the Lord’s thought” – is ma. Tasmat ágama ucyate – “therefore it is known as á-ga-ma, that is, ágama.”

Mokśa

So Párvatii’s question was, “Who is competent to attain mokśa?” Shiva replied,

Átmajiṋánamidaḿ Devi paraḿ mokśaeka sádhanam;
Sukrtaermánavo bhútvá jiṋániicenmokśamápnuyát.

Mokśa is átmajiṋána. What is átmajiṋána? Átmajiṋána means “self-realization” – not “self-knowledge” [in the ordinary sense]. Suppose you know of a flower. Here there are three – the knower, you; the known, the flower; and the knowledge, the link between you and the flower. But in the case of self-realization, the knower, the known, and the knowledge are all one.

If you know your self [in the sense of átmajiṋána], knower and known are one. The link between knower and known is knowledge – and there is no question of even a link there. If the two banks of a river become one, what space is there between them?

Self-realization is mokśa. What happens there is oneness. Oneness means seeing Brahma in all objects. And who is competent to get mokśa? Sukrtaermánavo bhútvá jiṋániicenmokśamápnuyát – “When one attains human form through good actions, one becomes adhikarii (competent) to attain mokśa.” What is the meaning of sukrti? In laokik [comparatively recent] Sanskrit, su means “good” and krta means “that which is done”. But in Vedic Sanskrit, su means sva [own, self] – that is, when the jiiva attains humanity due to its own actions, it becomes fit to attain mokśa.

What is the stage of mánava (humanity)? I remember having told you at Allahabad Dharma Mahácakra⁽³⁾ that humanity is obtained after reaching a particular standard of intellectuality. Animals and inanimate objects are at a lower standard. At this lower standard, the spirit is personal [or individual] and the medium impersonal [or Cosmic]. Animals and inanimate objects progress due to an impersonal medium. Therefore they can only progress – they cannot have a downfall. But if a human, with a particular intellectual standard, makes good use of that intellect, he or she will have progress, whereas if he or she abuses that intellect, he or she will have a downfall. So a human has intellect, but the intellect is double-edged. Therefore one must be very careful in making use of one’s intellect.

Footnotes

(1) As rice jumps in the process of being separated from the husk (implying that the nature of rice is to jump), in Sanskrit it is called tańd́ula. Tańd́ula means “uncooked rice” – cooked rice is odana.

(2) “Girijá” means Párvatii, shruti means “ears” – so, “that which has gone into the ears of Párvatii”.

(3) Ananda Marga Dharma Mahácakra was a special spiritual gathering addressed by the guru. See “Mantra Caetanya” in Subháśita Saḿgraha Part 10 or Ananda Marga Ideology and Way of Life in a Nutshell, Part 11 (1990) for this discourse. –Eds.