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Sriyukta Sivacandra Vidyarnava Bhattacarya Mahodaya
The Tantratattva (Principles of Tantra): Invocation1
Edited by Arthur Avalon (John Woodroffe).
Obeisance to The All-Good Mother who is The Supreme Devata!
I
I bow to Thee Who, sweet in the joyous play of the music of the flute, art the beloved of Radhika;2
Who appeareth as a sun illumining the three worlds with Thy effulgent rays; 3
Who destroyeth the body of Kama in the right half of Thine own eternal Self; 4
Who art in joyous play Heramba5 the son, resting on the lap of Thine own Self as Ambika the Mother;
Who art the field of play for the desires of Mahakala; and
Who giveth birth to the three worlds.
II
May the Kaivalya fruit of Kulatattva6 grow in the grove of my heart on that blossoming and verdant Creeper7 who, crowned by the beauty of the crescent moon, and more beautiful than the rain-clouds, and more playful than the wife of the rain-cloud,8 rests on the soft, flowery bed of the breast of Mahakala,9 intoxicated with the sweetness of supreme bliss.
III
O my heart, seek the shelter of that blue cloud-like Lady Who saith "Fear not," Whose restless curling hair makes lines of refulgent beauty, Whose graceful form is clothed with space,10 Who charms the great Bhairava11 with the soft and sweet delights of Her eyes, playful like two large bees.12
IV
I bow at the lotus feet of the Supreme Devi;13 at those feet which give joy to the heart of Him Who is ever joyful,14 whose form is the mantra15 in the mahayantra,16 and Whose embodiment17 is the Tantra.
V
Mother, in Thy two aspects of Sakti18 and Sakta,19 Thou art the source of both Agama and Nigama Sastras.20 What Thou hast said as Parvati21 is Nigama, and what Thou hast said as Siva is Agama. Thou alone, in Thy two aspects of Sakti and Sakta, art the nurse and nourisher of both Agama and Nigama. Thou alone, in Thy two forms as Sadhika and Sadhaka,22 holdeth in Thy bosom the Tantra Sastra, with its teachings concerning Sivatattva and Saktitattva.23 Again, it is Thou Who, in Thy aspects of Sakti and Sakta, art the shelter and guardian of both Nigama and Agama. Whatever modes of Sadhana24 have been prescribed in the Tantra Sastra are hidden in Thy bosom in Thy two aspects of Siva and Sakti. It was for this I said, O Mother, that it is Thou Who giveth birth to, nourisheth, and guardeth Nigama and Agama in this world. But to destroy them, that even Thou canst not do. For the Tantra Sastra all full of mantra is but another form of Thyself. Were the Tantra destroyed, Thou also would be destroyed. Though Thou Art the destroyer of the universe, Thy power of destruction avails not against Tantra. So I say, O Mother, that the Nigama and Agama which are in Thee will never be destroyed! But destroy for once, O Mother, the Nigama and Agama which are in me. Make cease my repeated coming in and going out of this world as Sakti, as Sakta, as Prakrti, as Purusa.25
(Or it may be explained in another way).26 O Mother, Thou alone, as Sakti and Sakta (as Prakrti and Purusa), art the creator of the Nigama and Agama27 of Jiva.28 It is by Thy law that Jiva,29 through the union of Prakrti and Purusa, takes birth. It is Thou who, in Thy two aspects of Sakti and Sakta (mother and father),30 nourisheth and protecteth Jiva. Thou alone, O Mother, in Thy twin aspects of Sakti and Sakta, whereby Thou createth, and sustaineth and guardeth the outgoing and incoming of the world, art the cause of the outgoing, sheltering, incoming, birth, sustenance, and preservation of Jiva.
By Thy Mercy, bring about the dissolution31 of my world32 in these twin aspects of Thyself as Sakti and Sakta.
O Thou Who art Sakti-Siva in Thy universal Prakrti-Purusa form,33 grant me wisdom so that the beauty of the world-enchanting Mother may fill my eyes, my mind, my heart, and the whole of my world.34
Appear, O Mother, in Thy eternal form illumining the ten quarters. With the collyrium paint35 of wisdom grant glorious vision to the eyes of Thy son blind since birth.
Grant to me that wheresoever I may turn them, whether on earth, the waters, or on space, Thy beauteous form may make me forgetful of the appearance of the world.
Invocation36
Mother! in this world, all, before setting themselves to ought, make invocations of varying kinds.
But what invocation shall I make?
I know of none but that to the feet of the all-good Goddess.
All that I am about to write in the Tantratattva is already known to Thee who knoweth the hearts of men.
Yantra, Mantra,37 and Tantra are not distinct from Thee.
But I, though in reality inseparate, wish to remain scparate.38
As Thou in thy substance art Brahman,39 as Thou existeth in the form of the universe,40 so art Thou full of play and dancing.41
As Thou art all full of joy, will, consciousness and matter,42
So, O Mother, I wish Thee to fill my mind, my eyes, my heart, with love. Thou, too, art the power whereby it is in me, to take Thy name.
It is Thine own song which Thou wilt hear.
In the love of Thyself Thou wilt dance.
What invocation then can I make?
The food which I shall give Thee is already Thine. Of it my portion will be the sacred remnants only.
Thou wilt be intoxicated and forget Thyself in Thine own joy.
In the tranquil and solemn ocean of unity I shall swim, and raise therein the waves of duality which are the cry of " Mother, Mother."
If it vexes Thee, drown me with a thrust of Thy foot, but then in so doing Thou must first raise Thy foot from the breast of Mahakala.43
May be Thou wilt turn to Him with wrathful eyes, and say: " Kill him."
But instantly I shall laugh outright and clap my hands, and say:
" This is Mother's."44 O Dark Beauty, whose substance is a mass of consciousness!45 O Mother! show me for once the full play of wrath upon the splendour of Thy world-bewitching beauty.
Great is my desire, O Mother! to see the play of merciful flames reddening with wrath46 in that face of Thine adorned with smiles.47
Unless that desire of mine is fulfilled, Sadhana48 becomes full of pain.
O Thou who dispelleth fear from the heart of Thy Devotees49
O Thou who gladdenest the heart of Bhava50
Thou knowest (the secret of) Thy play.
Whether Thou makest me afraid or makest me laugh or weep, teach me to say " Mother," so that in doing that which is auspicious (Mangalacarana) or inauspicious (Amangalacarana) I may take shelter at the feet of Her Who is good (Mangala),51 dancing and shouting:
“Victory to the Mother."
Victory to Kulendra Kulananda.52
Victory to Guru,53 Kamadeva Tarkika.
Victory to Kuladananda54 and his disciples.
Victory to the Lord, the Supreme Guru.
Victory, Victory, Victory to Krsnananda.55
Victory to the most Supreme Guru.
Victory to Guru, the object of highest desire.
Victory, Victory to Bhairava and Bhairavi.56
Victory, Victory to the accomplished Sadhaka.57
Victory, Victory to the Sadhika who grants Siddhi.58
Victory to Yantra, Victory to Tantra.
Victory, Victory to the Tantra Sastra.
Victory, Victory to the revealer of the Tantra;
Victory, Victory to the Isvari59 of the Tantra.
Victory, Victory to Her who fulfils all desires.
Victory, Victory to Her who is all-good.
Victory, Victory, Victory, Victory to the name " The all-good Mother of the world. " 60
Footnotes
1. Mangalacarana.
2. The beloved Prakrti of Krsna in Goloka. "He who is the First male, the imperishable One, Hari, on Him you have fixed your affection. Him whom all extol as the invisible, the unseen, the impenetrable, you regard as your husband " (Prem Sagar). Here the Devi is saluted in Her incarnation as Krsna, the adored of the women of Vraja. Tantra says that in the Kali age, Krsna and Kali, Gopala and Kaliki, are awake (jagrata) - that is, effective.
3. See Lalita Sahasranama, verse 3.
4. Man and wife form one body, of which the right half is the male. Siva destroyed Kama, the Deva of Desire, with fire flashed from his eye, when the latter sought to distract him from his great Yoga.
5. The elephant-headed Ganesa, son of Siva and Parvati.
6. The liberation which is the fruit of Tantrik Kulasadhana.
7. Lata: a term for woman, who is thus thought of, embracing and dependent on man, as the creeper (lata) clings to a tree. Thus, in the Yogavasistha, Gauri, the wife of Siva, is described " embracing him as the Madhavi creeper clasps the young Amra tree, with her bosom like a cluster of blossom" (Nirvana Prakarana, chap. xviii.)
8. That is, the lightning.
9. Siva.
10. That is who is naked as both Kali and Siva are represented to be.
11. Siva.
12. So the Yogavasistha speaks of the eyes of Gouri " as resembling the clusters of black bees fluttering in the summer sky " (Nirvana Prakarana, chap. xviii.)
13. " Goddess " or God in Its mother aspect as creatrix, nourisher, and ruler of the worlds.
14. Siva, Her spouse; as are also His worshippers. Tantrik, Gurus names end with Ananda (joyful).
15. Devi is Sarvayantratmika (Lalita, verses 53 and 56).
16. Devi is Sarvayantratmika (Lalita, verses 53 and 56).
17. Tattva. And so the Lalita (verses 53) addresses Devi as Saratantrarupa.
18. Power.
19. That is Saktiman, or one who possesses power. He in whom She as Sakti inheres, though in reality both are one.
20. See Introduction to Tantra Sastra.
21. Spouse of Siva.
22. That is, male and female practisers of Sadhana, and worshippers.
23. That is, the principles relating to the Siva and Sakti aspects of the one Brahman. The Devi is in the form of Siva (Sivamurtih), for, as Sruti says: " There is one Rudra hidden in all things. He is with Maya. He is Devi Herself, and not separate from Her.
24. See Introduction to Tantra Sastra.
25. There is a play on the words Nigama and Agama, as meaning not only forms of the Tantra but also the coming in and going out, the birth and death and rebirth, of the human Jiva, who is the manifestation on the earthly plane of Prakrti and Purusa.
26. That is, the Author says that this Sanskrit "sloka" may bear (and probably was written to bear) another interpretation.
27. Birth and death.
28. The embodied spirit, which is the supreme Spirit, viewed under the apparently limiting conditions known as " upadhi ".
29. see ante.
30. The mother is always placed first, not " father and mother," as in English.
31. Pralaya, or the dissolution of the world, which completes the return movement to its cause.
32. That is, the world as it appears to the Author. For to each person the world is his own creation; it is only imagined.
33. See as to Prakrti and Purusa Introduction to Tantra Sastra.
34. “my world”, see ante.
35. Anjana, which is used to clear the vision.
36. Mangalacarana - in Bengali: the preceding invocation being in Sanskrit, with Bengali translation and commentary.
37. See Introductlon to Tantra Sastra.
38. By the will to separate life, which while itself a manifestation of the Devi, is overcome by Her as Mahavidya: and because thus only can he enjoy Her.
39. Brahmamayi. In the Kurma Purana Siva says: " The supreme Sakti is in me, and is Brahman Itself. This Maya is dear to me, by which this world is bewildered." Hence the Devi in the Lalita is called " Sarvamohini " (all-bewildering).
40. Visvamayi.
41. Nrtyamayi and Lilamayi. The world is the movement and play of the Supreme, as the Sutra says: Lokavattulila kaivalyam.
42. Anandamayi, Icchhamayi, Chinmayi and Mrinmayi. The Brahman is Sat (existence), Cit (consciousness), and Ananda (bliss). Icchha (will) is one of its Saktis, and, having created the visible world, the Brahman enters into it. Tat srstva tadevanupravisat. The Devi is (Lalita, verse 76) Ksetrasvarupa that is, the field, which is known by the Soul (Ksetrajna) or matter. Linga Pr. says: " Devi becomes matter " (Ksetra).
43. Siva. The Devi is represented as standing on Siva, who is, as it were, a corpse, for he is bhokta (enjoyer) only, whilst she is karttri (actress).
44. This is a play on the word " ma " (mother) which, as a noun in the possessive case becomes in Bengali "mar," which is also the verbal imperative "mar," meaning "kill".
45. Cidghana, as if Her body were a thickened mass of consciousness.
46. The Devi is Krodhakarankusojjvala (Lalita, verse, 2). This is explained in chap. XVIII of the second part.
47. The Devi is (Lalita, verse 59) caruhasa (with beautiful smile); the saying “The moon is thy sweet smile" means that there is a certain state of consciousness (prabodha), which gives the highest bliss, and which should be learnt from the Guru.
48. See Introduction to Tantra Sastra.
49. Fearlessness, at which the Tantrik aims, and which is the special gift of the Devi. The Markandeya Purana says: " When you are remembered in times of difficulty, you take away all fear of all beings." She is Bhayapaha (remover of fear). Sruti says (Tai. Up., ii. 9-1) : " By knowing the bliss of that Brahman, none fear anything."
50. The watery form of Siva in the Astamurtih.
51. A play on the word "mangalacarana," which also means "invocation.”
52. Celebrated Tantrika.
53. See the Lalita (verse 137) : " We adore the Devi who assumes the form of the Guru (Secret) in the form of secret knowledge beloved by her secret devotees, residing in the secret place." Hence she is Guhyarupini.
54. Celebrated Tantrika.
55. Celebrated Tantrika.
56. Siva and Sakti and their worshippers are so named.
57. See Introduction to Tantra Sastra.
58. Success.
59. Feminine of Isvara-Lord; the Devi the object of Tantrik worship, who is ruler or promulgator of all Tantras, Sarvatantresi and Sarvatantrarupa (Lalita, verse 53).
60. The Devi is the Holy Mother – Srimata - the first of Her thousand names in the Lalita Sahasranama, where its commentator Bhaskararaya says: "The mother is usually called upon in times of sorrow, but our natural mothers are not able to remove the three forms of pain (tapatraya). Great men have said: `Since I have had many thousands of births, I have had many mothers and many fathers. I know not how many I may have in the future. O Treasure House of compassion, save me who am overpowered with fear, and have no other refuge from the vast ocean of Samsara, full of disaster.' The greatest World Mother is the only one who can remove the endless misery of existence. We should praise Her as the Mother, so that She may be induced to show mercy to us."
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