Selections from the shAkta upaniShads - 3

[Anand Hudli]

 Continuing with the selections from the bahvR^ichopaniShad,


 saiva puratrayaM sharIratrayaM vyApya bahirantaravabhAsanyantI
 deshakAlavastvantarAsaN^gAnmahAtripurasundarI vai pratyak.h
 chitiH || 4 ||


 She alone, having pervaded the three cities, the three bodies,
 illuminating inside and outside, and in association with space,
 time, and objects, is the MahAtripurasundarI indeed, the Inner
 Consciousness.

 Notes based upaniShad brahma yogin's commentary:

 1) The previous passage referred to the Goddess as the parA shakti
 or Power Supreme,  also the vidyAs beginning with ka, ha, and sa,
 and as the nirguNa Brahman and being present in the AUM and all
 words.

 The upaniShad now affirms that the devI thus situated is also, by
 the Brahman aspect, the inner Consciousness (pratyak chiti) that
 illuminates everything.

  yA-evaM sthitA sA-eva brahmAtmanA sarvAvabhAsaka-pratyakchitir-
  bhavet.h

 2) The three cities, puratrayaM, are the gross, subtle, and causal
    bodies (sharIratrayaM) associated with both the individual
   (vyaShTi) and cosmic (samaShTi) aspects. The gross body
   (sthUla-sharIra), subtle body (sUxma-sharIra) and the causal body
   (kAraNa-sharIra) are described in detail in the vivekachUDAmaNi
   and other works.

 3) The devI, as the Power of Consciousness, illuminates externally
  the world of names and forms, and internally the various vR^ittis
 or activities of the mind. In reality, everything both external and
 internal is Consciousness, the Self only. So the commentator says:

  bahiH nAmarUpavikArajAtaM antaH kAmAdivR^ittisahasraM cha
 svAtiriktaM nAstIti prakAshayantI ||

 4) The three bodies, gross, subtle, and causal, correspond to the
    three states of waking, dream, and deep sleep respectively. At
    the individual level, the Consciousness, which becomes associated
    with the vyaShTi (individual) ajnAna, is called PrAjna, taijasa,
    and vishva, in the three states respectively. At the cosmic level,
   the same   Consciousness is associated with samaShTi (collective)
  ajnAna. Corresponding to PrAjna, taijasa, and vishva, are, at the
  cosmic level, Ishvara,  HiraNyagarbha, and virAT respectively. Thus
  it is that all the objects in time and space can be described in the
  context of these three bodies or three states of waking, dream, and
  sleep.

    The inner Consciousness is the One that illuminates all the
   three states or bodies. So it is the Inner Consciousness that
  is said to pervade all these three states of bodies (tripuraM).
  By the process of proper knowledge of the Self, the three bodies are
  reomoved or taken apart as superimpositions (adhyAropa's) are
  removed from the Self.

 The devI, in the form of the Atma-vidyA, is called the mahA-tripura-
 sundarI, because She takes apart (dArayati) excellently (sutarAM)
 the three bodies, which are super-imposed on the Self (Atman) as
 effects of avidyA, (tripurasundarI) and thus She is great (mahatI).
 That tripurasundarI Herself is the Inner Consciousness.


 desha-kAla-vastvantarAsaN^gAt.h samyagjnAnAtmanA tripuraM
 sharIratrayaM tadupalaxitAvidyApadatatkAryajAtaM sutarAM
 dArayatyapahnavaM karotIti mahatI cha sA tripurasundarI cha
 mahAtripurasundarI vai tripurasundaryeva  pratyakchitiH ||

 Anand









______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com