1. Shakti vishistadvaita or the philosophical aspect of virasaivism[1]

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॥ श्रीः ॥

Sri Kashinatha Granthamala

Saptatrimsha Pushpa (No. 37)

SHAKTI-VISHISTADVAITA

OR

THE PHILOSOPHICAL ASPECT OF

VIRASAIVISM

R. CHAKRAVARTI. M.A .. LL.B.

PRINTED AT SRI PANCHACHARYA ELECTRIC PRESS. HYSORE 1938

PREFACE

The basis for this little book is a lecture on " Sakti- Visiştādvaita", delivered by Pandit Śri Kāšinātha Šastri, before the Mysore Philosophical Congress in the year 1935 and subsequently printed as the final section of his book entitled " Virasaiva Ratna". The main thesis of this lecture has been preserved here with such alterations, omissions and additions as were found necessary to make the book as comprehensive in its English garb as the scope of the lecture allowed; and the outward lecture-form is maintained with a view to make it uniform with the other sections of the English edition of the above work of the learned Pandit. It is my earnest desire that this little book should by no means be taken for an exhaustive treatise on the topics it purports to deal with and that, at its very best, it may only serve as an introduction to a more elaborate and comprehensive volume on the subject which I am making ready for the press. I crave the indulgence of my generous reader for many a possible error of judgment and obscurity of expression he may happen to meet with here.

MYSORE, 20-9-1938. R. Chakravarti.

INTRODUCTION

The cult of Siva is at once the most ancient and the most modern of all the religious systems of India. It is ancient in the sense that its origin and prevailence can be traced far back into the dim antiquities of the religious experience of the people of this country and its modernity is strikingly apparent in its comprehensive grasp of the fundamental problems of existence and experience, centuries in advance of the modern era, and in its scientific method of investigation with a hard realistic outlook of the phenomenal world of matter, which it never loses sight of even while attaining to the emotional heights of religious experience. The spirit of enquiry maintained by its votaries has such an appealing touch of sincerity and deep religious fervour about it, that while its logic is most convincing, even its dogmas carry with them an almost irresistible persuasive influence, as a result of which this great system has always commanded not only the greatest number of following from among the tceming millions of this country, but also a great respect and reverence from among those who are not the adherents of its faith. While, as a result of centuries of spirited enquiry and accumulated experience, its philosophers have built an edifice of amazingly daring speculations offering a metaphy- sical solution for the fundamental problems of reality and religious quest, the system has produced some of the greatest saints and religious men that ever adorned any country of the world and has given birth to such precious gems of literature and art, that should, today, be not merely the glowing monuments of India's past glory, but the most precious heritage of her proud posterity as well. It is

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therefore no wonder that such an eminent authority on this system as Dr. Pope, who had bestowed the best of his thoughts and critical judgment on the religious systems of India, came to regard it as "the most claborate, influential, and undoubtedly the most intrinsically valuable of all the religions of India."1 " No cult in the world " says Barnett, speaking about the literature produced by the saints and savants of this religion, " has produced a richer devotional literature, or one more instinet with brilliant imagination, fervour of feeling and grace of expression."2 " In no literature with which I am acquainted" says Sir George Elliot, "has the individual religious life-its struggles and dejections, its hopes and fears, its confidence and its triumphs received a delineation more frank and more profound."3 No greater testimony, however, is needed to reveal the intrinsic greatness of this ancient religious system than its steady progress in one form or other through the length of time from beyond memory to the very present day, in the very teeth of diverse warring creeds, faiths and tenets all over India. The identification of the Supreme Spi:it with Siva- the auspicious form of the vedic god Rudra-was the earliest and the most universally accepted religious absolutes of ancient India; and in the subsequent history of religions and religious institutions of this country, the Siva cult has been the one persisting influence which has held together the Hindu society during the amazing vicissitudes of its fortune and career through the adverse

1 Introduction to Tiru-vasaham P. LXXIV. 2 " The Heart of India " P. 82. a " Hinduism and Buddhism " Vol. II-P. 217.

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currents of countless faiths and cults which waxed and waned. The Saiva infiuence was never feebled even when the strong ethical forces of Buddhism and Jainism ruled this vast continent. On the other hand, as opposed to these mighty currents, Saivism maintained its stubbornly dynamic force and remained the main outward expression of the struggling Brahmanical religion of the Upanısads, which still carried their influence with a dogged persistence through the avalanche of relentless logic of the Buddhistic nihilism and the devastating influence of atheistic sophistry. This was the formulative period of the great philosophical systems of Inida and Saivism which was the ruling religious expression of the gradually disintegrating Hindu society, was busy laying a strong philosophical foundation for the eternal religion of the Vedas, while a most influential and adventurous section of the population of this country went abroad, established Hindu colonies of modern Annam, Combodia. Java, Sumatra and Bali islands and sowed seeds of Saivism which blossomed into a glorious religion in the alien soil.

The latest archeological 1esearches in the Sindh have brought cut an amazing revelation not only of the universal popularity and influence of the cult of Siva in the dim periods of India's buried past, but also of the hitherto missing link which connects this continent with the great antiquity of an once powerful civilization in Egypt, Assyria, Babylon and South-A merica which strongly pointed towards its Indian orgin; and the discovery of the symbols of Siva in the most unexpected quarters of the globe, has solved this mystery for ever and bears unmistakable testimony to the wide Saiva influence in that dawn of world civilization

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It is not however my task to reiterate here the strong evidence unearthed by archeologists or the force of arguments advanced by research scholars with regard to the great antiquity of the Saiva religion. My purpose is mainly to point out the long trail of un-broken tradition left behind this great religious system from time imme- morial and its unassailable authority which is rooted in the hoary Vedas and Upanişads, the Smrtis, Agamas and the Puranas, and more than all, in the living current of influence carried on by the exemplary lives and sayings of the great Saiva saints and teachers. It may suffice for the present to say that the spirit of these authorities, and of the lives and teachings of the great saints, is as much a live wire to-day in the Virasaiva religion, as healthy, as fresh, as vigorous and potent as it was in the days of yore; and that its strong and healthy faith in a purely religious solution for the main problems of existence, its thoroughly practical outlook of life in deaiing with human and social values in relation to the final goal, its symbolisms which keep the individual in touch with his God and never allow him to sverve away from his only path to salvation, in whatever walks, avocations or worldly pursuits he may be engaged in and, more than all, its cheerful and enthusiastic bearing in the God's best of possible worlds-the world of action which it looks upon as a hard reality where you have got to exist and fight every inch of your way to the goal-these broad principles have given it a noble place among the great religious systems of the world.

Tradition ascribes the first teachings of the fundamental tenets of Virasaiva religion to the five great religious

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teachers-Renuka, Dāruka, Ghantākarņa, Dhenukarņa and Viśvakarna who were the earthly manifestations of the five aspects of the Supreme Lord-Sadyojata, Vamadeva, Aghora, Tatpurusa and Isana. It is averse to ascribe any temporal beginnings like the assigning of chronological dates to these great Acaryas as it is believed that they incarnate from age to age in order to propound the great principles of the eternal religion contained in the Vedas and Upanisads, amplified in the Saivagamas and illustrated in the Saiva Puranas. They incarnated in this iron age of K'ali as Revana Siddha, Marula Siddha, Ekorāmāradhya, Panditāradhya, and Visvaradhya who are believed to have proceeded from the five symbols ot Parasiva corresponding to His five aspects noticed before. The Svayambhuva Agama gives an account of the incarnation of these great teachers of religion, known as the Pancacaryas who were the very first teachers, if not the founders, of the Virasaiva faith. The five great seats founded by these teachers in different parts of India are the centres of the Virasaiva religion and theology as well as the visible symbols of not only the perpetuation of the eternal religion of the ancient Saiva cnlt but also of the essential unity of all the different schools of thought among the Virasaivas in different parts of India. These great religious seats- Kedar in the Himālayas, Ujjaini in the South, Srisailam in the East, Rambhapuri in the West and Benares in the North-have all been very richly endowed by great kings and chiefs at different periods of history and it is particularly interesting to note that not only these endowments have continued down to the present day, but that they were tolerated, nay even proteted and added to, by the Mussalman conquerors of India during

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the scarlet days of Hindu religious institutions. We find an endowment created and donated by means of an inscrip- tion by the Emperor Humayun in favour of the seat at Benares, and this munificence has been reverently recognised and honoured by Akbar and Jehangir. Their successors Shah Jahan and the Emperor Alamgir have both made very rich endowments in favour of this ancient seat of religion and their gift deeds are available today. Other instances of endowments by kings, chiefs, and public and private institutions are too numerous to record here and to mention even those as are of importance from the point of chronology, would take a good deal of space. Our point, however, in noticing these religious seats and the sort of recognition and respect they have enjoyed all through history, is to stress that the religious importance and influence that these five great seats enjoy, are due not so much to the loyalty and religious zeal of the votaries of this faith in different parts of the country, as to the greatness and intrinsic merit of this comprehensive religious system as well as to the exemplary spiritual leading that the notable teachers of these seats have been giving to the world at large.

It has been noticed at the begining that how Saivism as the main outward expression of the Hindu religious feeling was able to withstand the onslaughts of strong Buddhistic and atheistic influences as also to prevent the disintegration of the Hindu religion of the Upanisads. It is needless to say that it was able to do this, mainly because it was speaking with the authority of the Vedas and Upanisads, the infalliable truths of which, the Hindu believed, that his religion was upholding. Saivism preserved the eternal truths and the gods of his Vedas, the highest

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philosophical knowledge of his Upanisads, the rigid economic integrity of the social order by preserving its caste systems and traditional customary laws and practices, and at the same time gave him the practical religion he needed, drawing its inspiration from all the accepted sources of religious experience. And Virasaivism which is the legitimate continuation of this ancient philoso- phical religion has preserved and continued all the characteristics of this ancient faith, though the play of temporal forces have from time to time given rise to internal differences in tenets, views and practices which are bound to arise in any system with such a long history. Virasaivism therefore accepts the eternal authority of the Vedas and Upanisads, of the Saiva Āgamas, which adapt thesc truths for religious and secular practice, of the Puranas and Itihasas which illustrate the working of these eternal truths. The system recognises the prescribed duties of the different social orders and castes as the means for securing harmony in the secular as well as spiritual lives of the individuals and in accordance with these precepts works out a thoroughly practical and nevertheless rational religious and ethical code of duties for its votaries, basing the religion on a strong philosophical foundation which has stood the test of ages amidst varying degrees of adverse influence of thought and religious beliefs. Before proceeding to examine the position of the Viraśaiva system in detail, it is worth our while noting two distinctive features of this system in its two aspects- philosophical and religious. The highest Philosophical Absolute in Virasaivism is identified with Para Siva the Supreme Brahman, who

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is the one real Absolute without a second and who stands self-revealed as supported by all the authorities-Srutis, Agamas, Puranas Itihāsas and the record of revelations to the great seers and saints. This Absolute Para Siva is characterised by the subtle principle of Sakti or Power, which inseperably inheres in Him forming his essential nature. Thus Parasiva with His essence as Sakti is the ultimate Reality to be known, experienced and attained by the individual in quest.

In its religious aspect, the distinguishing feature of this system is the sign or symbol of the Supreme Being known as Linga which is the visible aspect of the God of religion. The need for worship and wearing of the symbol in the vital centres of the body is established and elaborately proved on the authortity of Śrutis, Smrtis and the teachings of great sages and teachers. This symbolical application of the main philosopbic truths to man's religious and ethical needs has been most convincingly carried on by evolving a thoroughly practical code of religious and moral principles and practices. Leaving the religious aspect alone for the present, it is proposed to dwell here briefly on the main position of Virasaivism as a system of philosophy.

Naganuru Brıhanmathadhyaksha PANDIT SRI KASHINATHA SHASTRIJI

A LECTURE DELIVERED BEFORE THE PHILOSOPHICAL CONGRESS AT MYSORE

on the 2nd of April 1935.

BY

PANDIT KASHINATHA SHASTRI, PRESIDENT OF THE BRUHANMATHA AT NAGANUR.

Brother Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I deem it a rare privilege and honour to address this distinguished gathering of scholars and Philosophers assembled here, on the great philosophical system known as Sakti-visistādvaita, dwelling briefly on the fundamental philosophical foundations of the great Virasaiva religion, which traces its antiquity far back into the Vedas and Upanisads. The Saiva-ägamas 1 declare that the main principles of this religion have been taught in every age by the five great teachers known as

• The authoritative Saivagamas are considered to be twenty-eight in number-the series beginning with Kamika and ending with Vatula. They are, according to a text of Viragama, of equal authority with the Vedas on account of their common standpoint with the latter. "Haaay यद्दृष्टं तत्सर्वे द शिवागमे।"

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the Panchacharyas, ª who are believed to have proceeded from the five aspects of the supreme Siva, who inspired them to establish in the world of human beings, the grand doctrines of this faith. The five great religious seats of Rambhapuri, Ujjain, Kedār, Śriśailam and Benares, founded by these teachers in different parts of India, per- petuate their immortal names and remain, to this day, the very vital centres of the spirit of Virasaiva religion and philosophy. And it is these five great teachers that, in response to the divine inspiration, first propounded and then elaborated in their commentaries on Siva Sutras, the system of Sakti. Visistādvaita, the main principles of which constitute the essence of the body of teachings contained in the Śrutis and Agamas. The term Sakti-Visistādvaita means the non. duality of relationship between the individual soul and the supreme spirit both of which are characterised by Sakti. The compound, " when split, literally means " Between the soul and the Lord, each qualified by Sakti, there is no duality (of relationship)."

º Reņukacharya, Dārukacharya, Ekorämārādhya, Panditārādhya and Viśvārādhya. 3 "शक्किश् शक्तिश् शक्ती-ताभ्यां विशिष्टौ जीवेशौ- तयो: अशैतं शक्तिविशिष्टाद्वैतं"

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Sakti-Visișțādvaita is therefore, that system of philosophy which seeks to establish the insepera- ble unity of the individual soul with the supreme spirit both of which are charactrised by an inherent and inseperable power called Sakti. Souls endowed with power, find their ultimate rest in the Supreme Being, whose essential nature is an inherent and inseperable Sakti, which is the primordial power of life and expression subsisting in Him. Since the souls derive their existence entirely from the supreme spirit, and in the ultimate analysis, coalesce into his being, there is, in the result, only one Absolute and that, withot a second. Thus, while the non-dual relationship (advaitam) between the world of souls and Brahman, the supreme spirit, is maintained in one aspect, the distinction of an inherent Sakti, (Saktivaisistya) constituting the essence of their nature, is stressed in the other. Therefore, it is said that the Absolute and the individual souls are, in the final analysis, identical, and that the ultimate reality is the one and only Parasiva Brahman with the distinction of Sakti which constitutes the essence of His being; and this is why this system of philosophy is known as Sakti-Viśistādvaita or non-dualism with the distinction of Sakti.

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Sakti which is intelligent (cif) as well as unintelligent (acif), is differentiated as gross (sthūla) and subtle (süksma). In her gross state she characterises the souls while she abides in the supreme spirit in her subtle state. Her gross intelligent aspect (Sthula cit-Sakti) constitutes the imperfect finite consciousness (kincidjnatā rūpa) of the individual souls, while the gross unintelligent aspect (sthūla-acit.Sakti) constitutes their imperfect and limited power of action (kincit-kartrtā rūpa). Her subtle intelligent aspect (sūkşma cit-sakti) is the perfect, infinite and all-knowing universal conciousness (sarvajñata-rūpa) of the Supreme Being, while her subtle unintelligent aspect (sükşma-acit-sakti) constitutes His perfect and limitless power of action (sarva kartrtā rūpa). What then, is the nature of this principle called Sakti which appears to mark a fundamentally distinctive feature of this system ?

ŚAKTI

Sakti or Power is the attribute which is inseperably inherent in Parasiva Brahman, the Absolute, constituting His essential nature. The core of the Virasaiva system of philosophy consists in expounding the one ultimate Entity whose essential

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distinction is an inherent power, inseperably subsisting in it as an attribute. This attribute, on account of its inseperable existence in the substance, is considered to be as eternal (nitya) in its nature as the substance itself. There is overwhelming evidence in the Srutis to support the view that Sakti abides eternally in Brahman as his essential quality. Śvetasvatara states ' this primordial Sakti, which we hear manifest in diverse forms, is of the essence of His nature (Svabhaviki) and appears diversely as knowledge, power and action.' 4 The same Sruti opines that this Sakti is so subtle that she eludes our finite comprehension and is seen only by those who have equipped themselves with the highest intuitive powers born of meditation and that she is innate in the supreme being, who stands alone, transcending all that is created and conditioned by space, time, and causation." According to the same authority 'this eternal and primordial (Purāni) Energy, in her aspect of supreme consciousness, (Prajnā) expands hersell (Prastā) in manifold

• परास्य शक्तिर्विविधैव धूयते स्वाभाविकी ज्ञानबल क्रिया च॥ (६.८) 4से ध्यानयोगानुगता अपश्यन् देवात्मशक्तिं स्वगुणै रनिगूढां। यः कारणानि निख्िलानि तानि कालात्मयुक्ताम्यधि तिष्ठत्येकः॥ (१-३)

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forms, as power of action and the like.^ The etymo- logical meaning of the word maya in the same Sruti 7 suggests that the word indicates, not the primordial nescience or ignorance as the non. dualists (advaitins) would assert, but the distinctive and discriminating aspect of Sakti, by virtue of which, she becomes the ultimate creative principle, evolving herself into the phenomenal universe. For, Siddhāntagama explains the word māyā to mean that which naturally attains to and eternally abides in the supreme Brahman. In other words, maya of the Suctascatara is only the creative aspect of the eternal power residing in the supreme being. In the Yajurveda (Taittiriya Samhita) we find references to Rudra always as being associated with his Sakti in the form of Ambika or Uma, and never without her." The same idea of inseperable "तद्क्षरं तत्सवितुर्वरेण्यं प्रशा च तस्मात् प्रसृता पुराणी।। (४-१८) मायां तु प्रकृति विद्यान्मायिनं तु महेश्वरं। तस्यावयवभूतैस्तु व्यापं सर्वमिदं जगत् ॥। (४ १०) * मं शिवं परमं ब्रह्म प्रापोतीति स्वभावतः । मायेति प्रोच्यते लोके ब्रह्मनिष्ठा सनातनी।। "आखुस्ते रुद्र पशुस्तं जुपस्वैष ते रुद्रभागः सह स्वस्ं डविकया तं जुषस्व ।। (१८९) नमः सोमाय व रुद्राय थ। (४५.८)

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unity of Siva and Sakti is stressed in the Kaivalya Śruti, wich gives a glorious description of the Supreme Being, who, with the association of Umä or Sakti, as His inseperable consort, is the origin and end of all creation, the one, sublime, all-pervad- ing, omniscient Lord, beyond the Blue, whose nature is supreme consciousness and bliss.10 It is this idea of essential and inseperable unity of Siva and Sakti that is sought to be emphasised by the simile of a word and its concept (vāgarthaviva),11 used by the immortal poet, Kalidasa, in the benedictive verse to his famous epic, Raghuvamsa.

It is thus seen that the relationship which exists between Para-Siva, the absolute, and Sakti, His power, is one of inseperable unity, like that of a substance and its attribute, and that this inherent power is as eternal and real as the supreme reality itself. Or, as Mrtyunjaya

10 तमादिमध्यांतविहीनमेकं विभुं चिदानंदमरूपमङ्भुतं। उमासहायं परमेश्वरं प्रभुं त्रिलोचनं नीलकंठं प्रशान्तम्॥ ध्यात्वा मुनिर्गच्छति भूतयोनिं समस्तसाझषि तमसः परस्ताल् ॥। (१-७)

1 वागर्थाषिष संपृक्तौ वागर्थप्रतिपतये। जगतः पितरौ चन्दे पार्वतीमरमेश्वरौ॥

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Bhattaraka12 explains, ' Even as the essential qualities of light and heat inhere in the Sun and the Fire by virtue of their own nature, and are inseperably associated with the ideas of their substrata,the Sakti of Siva inheres in Him eternally and inseperably (Aviyukta) by virtue of His nature (Svabhavaja), and the same supreme Saktī, in her causal state, is the subtle but potent principle at the root of the entire material universe' It is not however to be supposed that the relation of inseperable unity (avina bhava) existing between Sakti and Siva, connotes the idea of indistinguishable identity or merger, such as the non-dualist would suggest. It is the oneness of the substance and its essential attribute, the latter having the relation of a subsisting quality to the former, and as such, bearing a metaphysical distinc- tion. For, in the Virasaiva system, Sakti and the substance characterised by Sakti, are thought of as one entity, connoting both identity and difference. Thus the Kūrma Purana, emphasising this simultaneous difference and non-difference, says- 'This Sakti is the attribute and Siva is the

12 सा ममेच्छा पराशकतिरवियुक्ता स्वभावजा। वहेरूष्मेव विश्रेया रश्मिरूपा रवेरिव ।। सर्वस्य जगतो वापि सा शक्ति: कारणारमका ॥

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substance possessed of this attribute ; and the sages, therefore, make a metaphysical distinction between the two, while the yogins see Reality as a whole.'13 The special feature of the Virasaiva system is that it views the ultimate reality as a determi- nate entity (sa-visesa), with Sakti or Power as its distinctive attribute,1* and it is only on account of its determinate nature that the Supreme Brahman can be thought of as the cause of the phenomenal universe with its entire organic and inorganic creation. Since Para-Siva-with-Sakti, constitutes the material cause of the universe, we find that

19 एषा शक्तिः शिवा ह्येतच्छक्तिमानुच्यते शिवः। शक्तिशक्तिमतोर्भेदं वदन्ति परमार्थतः अमेदं चानुपश्यन्ति योगिनस्तत्त्वचितकाः ॥

1 A logical distinction between Brahman and its attribute becomes a metaphysical necessity, though the existence of the attribute depends on, and is determined by, the one ultimate substance which is its support. Hence, this system, while striving to preserve the one-ness of the ultimate reality, sees the logic of admitting a difference, though not in itself, yet as an aspect of reality. It is for this reason that the system is known to have been based on the doctrine of bhedabheda (difference and non-difference), and in view of the determinate aspect of the reality, it is also called Viseşadvaita (attributive non-dualism) or non- dualism with a difference. 2

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some aspect of this Sakti characterises every known species of the material world in a special way. However imperfect, insignificant or impotent may be the expression of this power, it subsists in every species as its special Sakti or property, which marks it with a distinct peculiarity of its own. The five gross elements viz earth, water, fire, air and ether are each characterised by its own special power manifesting in its capacity to support, to quench, to burn, to vibrate or to pervade respectively. The self in the individuals is characterised by its power of intelligence and consciousness. Similarly, the special capacity of the plant-life for drawing in water and food material from the earth and air, the burning, cooking and transforming properties of fire, the special virtue of some herbs and minerals for curing ailments, the power of mercury to transform copper into gold, the peculiar force of resistance natural to some minerals like diamond, the special instinct of ants, by virtue of which they are able to cognise the fruits on the top of a tree by merely smelling at the roots, the capacity on the part of a certain species of monkeys to detect poison, and the power of a camel to attract reptiles by the mere force of its breath,- these are some of the common instances of the

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manifestation of Sakti in the objects of the phenomenal world. It is thus within our common experience to infer that every form of moving and non-moving creation in the universe is endowed with some aspect of Sakti or Power and that the cause, out of which it proceeds, must necessarily be endowed with a greater Sakti in order that it might give rise to such a creation.1^ Sakti, thus inherent in Brahman, partakes of His own triple nature of Being, Intelligence and Bliss. Out of His will, she assumes His nature and becomes the primordial creative power operating in the evolution of the material world.16

15 It is interesting to note that the tendency of the modern physical science, appears to be to arrive nearer and nearer, every day, to our conclusion viz that the entire phenomenal universe is a manifestation of the supreme energy inherent in the ultimate reality. The reduction of the gross material universe into an tltimate, electrically- charged particles called electrons and protons, leaves nothing more by way of a barrier between matter and energy, which latter, in the language of the Virasaiva philosophers, is an aspect of the ultimate creative principle called Sakti. 1 तदीया परमा शक्ति: सचिदानंदलक्षणा। समस्तलोकनिर्माणसमवायस्वरूपिणी॥ तदिच्छयाSभवत्सक्षा तत्स्वरूपानुकारिणी (सिद्धान्तशिखामणि. परिच्छेद २)

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When she assumes the creative aspect, she becomes known as the discriminative power of the Supreme Being ( Vimarsakhya), and abiding in Him, she becomes virtually the source of the entire creation. She is also the eternal light and expression, vivifying the whole universe and as such, abides in Him even as the moon-light abides in the moon. This vimarsa aspect of Sakti, residing in the supreme spirit, has therefore two states, viz that of the supreme consciousness which illumines the entire creation, and that of the creative principle which contains the whole universe in embrayo, and thus becomes mainly responsible for the manifestation and dissolution of the universe of souls and matter.17 The creative aspect of Sakti is called vimarsa or discrimination for this reason that the very first movement of Sakti is the effect of self expression

1 विमर्शाख्या पगाशक्तिर्विश्ववैचित्र्यकारिणी। यस्मिन् प्रतिष्ठिता ब्रह्म तदिदं विश्वभाजनं ।३१॥ यथा चंद्रे स्थिरा ज्योत्ता विश्ववस्तुमकाशिनी। तथा शक्तिर्विमर्शाख्या प्रकाशे ब्रह्मणि स्थिरा अंतःकरणरूपेण जगदंकुररूपतः । यस्मिन् विभाति चिच्छक्तिर्रलभूतः स उच्यते ॥३६॥ (सि. शि. परिच्छेद २०)

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on the part of the supreme Brahman. This first self-expression constitutes Brahman's experience- a discriminative experience-of His own triple nature, viz. that He is, that He is conscious and that He is blissful. This is the first spontaneous vibration of the supreme consciousness towards a discriminative experience of His own nature, and thus constitutes the very first movement of Sakti towards evolution. In other words, since consciousness includes experience, Brahman, the supreme consciousness, must be aware of His own nature and this awareness constitutes the first movement of the supreme Sakti-the first vibration disturbing the equillibrium of quiescence; and this first spontaneous vibration of Brahman's Śakti is known as vimarsa. In other words, vimarsa is Sakti-become-discriminative or active.1 8

18 This aspect of Sakti must be specially emphasised here, because it is virtually the ultimate principle to which all evolution must be traced. The ever-changing phenomenal world, and the process of evolution itself, find a more satisfactory explanation in this principle than is to be found in many other systems. I'imarsa which is defined as the "spontaneous vibration of the ultimate reality " is the connecting link as it were, between the absolute and the world of distinctions to which she gives rise. She is the latent energy subsisting in the Supreme Being ; though by herself, she is ot the nature of consciousness, she passes

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This discriminative Sakti, still characterising the supreme spirit, resides in Him eternally in a subtle state in both her intelligent and unintelligent aspects.1 Sakti as intelligent, constitutes the

over to the objective reality in her formative aspect, and becomes the potential principle, projecting the entire objective universe at the stage of creation and withdrawing it into herself at the stage of dissolution. She is not the unconscious Prakrti of the Samthyas, oblivious to and unconcerned with the ends of the world-process. She is intelligent-the very principle of universal life, energy and expression; she is the main instrument of the Supreme Being in His cosmic expression of the triple aspects of His nature viz Will, Knowdge and Action. Sakti or Energy is latent in Brahman in the state of quiescence, and the whole universe abides in her in a potential state. When she responds to the spontaneous vibration of the supreme consciousness expressing the supreme will, she is said to be in action when the evolution and the world process set in. It is she that undergoes change with all the manifold distinctions, changes and effects of the evolution, and it is also she that, at the end of the cosmic process, finds her ultimate rest in the supreme reality, assuming her original state. Thus, whether in the state of action or in the state of rest, she always abides in the Supreme Being as a permanent, inseperable and yet distinctive attribnte, deriving her nature, existence and explanation entirely from the supreme reality-Para Siva Brahman.

1 " That this Vimarsa exists in Parasiva Brahman in the form of subtle intelligent and non-intelligent Energy (Sakşma cit-acit-ātmaka Šakti), is seen before.

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primordial Ego or self-sense, as it is Brahman's experience of his own triple nature; and in her unintelligent aspect she constitutes the primordial creative principle, becoming the material cause of the universe-to-evolve. In this latter aspect, the entire phenomenal world, with all its manifold varieties and distinctions, exists in her in a subtle but potential state, even as the different organs with the variegated colours of the would-be. peacock, exist with all their manifold distinctions in a rudimentary state, within the fluid embrayo of the egg."0

When the process of cosmic evolution sets in, vimarsa or the discriminative energy gets conscious of her own nature and distinctions, and assumes the three qualitative moments of sattua, rajas and tamas21. With part of the pure consciousness of her perfect creative faculty, she evolves the sattvic power of vidya or knowledge; with part of the creative principle, proceeding from the conciousness of her perfect knowledge, she evolves the rājasic energy which is a mixture of sattva and tamas

20 ' Mayarānda-rasa-nyāya' -a maxim used to Illus- trate this potential creative principle. 1 गुणत्रयात्मिका शक्तिर्ब्रहनिष्ठा सनातनी॥३६। (सि. शि. परिच्छेद ५)

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elements. Though in the original state, knowledge and action are identical as being related through the same substratum, yet in the process of evolu- tion, the power of knowledge and the power of action, become so distinct from each other that the idea of their distinction, viz that knowledge cannot become action and action cannot become knowledge, gives rise to the consciousness of difference, constituting the tāmasic energy. This tamasic energy is known as māyā and is unintelligent. Even as the sun's rays, falling on a crystal, and thrown back by a reflctive process on a piece of cotton by the side, assume the form of fire, Siva's power of Vimarsa enters the unconscious māya by a reflective process(prati-sphurana gati) and evolves itself into prakrti which, with its triple quality of sattva, rajas and tamas, becomes the source of all pleasure and pain, desire and attachment. In the Vīrasaiva system, this prakrti is termed as citta or finite intelligence. Citta is the characteristic attribute of the individual soul which is a part of the supreme consciousness of Siva. In otherwords, soul is a part of the supreme consciousness of Siva, expressing itself through the power of vimarsa in the form of finite intelligence abiding unconscious matter.

JĪVA

oY The Individual Soul

Jīva or the Soul is a fraction of Siva and is of His nature but is differentiated on account of ignorance.2ª The same idea is contained in the aphorism ' amso nānā vyapadesat' Explaining this idea, Mundaka says " Even as the sparks spring in thousands of forms from a great fire, the souls innumerable, spring from Brahman in his own essence and find their ultimate rest in him only."23 In the Virasaiva system, Siva and the souls are neither entirely different and distinct entities, nor can it be said that they are entirely identical and one. For, metaphysically they can be viewd both as distinct and as indentical even like the sparks from the fire, which are neither entirely different from the mother fire, nor could they be said to be the same as fire. Souls are identical with Brahman in the sense that they proceed from

• अनाद्यविद्यासंबंधातदंशो जीवनामकः॥२४॥ (सि. शि. परिच्छेद ५) 'यधा सुदीपात् पावकात् बिस्फुरलिगा: सहसरः प्रभवंते सरपाः। तथाऽक्षरािविधा: सोम्य भावा: प्रजायन्ते तत्र चैवापियन्ति। (२-१-१) 3

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Brahman partaking of the same essence, that they find an ultimate rest in Him, and that apart from Him they have no real or independent existence, as they ultimately become one with Him. They are distinct from Him in the sense that though they partake of the nature of Siva, they are devoid of His all-knowing and all-accomplishing powers, His all-pervading supreme consciousness and omni- presence. Their consciousness, knowledge and power of action are finite and imperfect, and theyare subject to taints of finitude, karma and māyā, as also to births and deaths, pleasure and pain. Yet they are not entirely distinct from Him in the way that the unconscious material world is different from Him. For, unlike the material world, they are endowed with consciousness and powers of volition and action, and they enjoy the supreme bliss in community with Him. The spark springing from the fire, has all the characteristic essence of the fire such as light, heat and energy; but has these, only to such an imperfect extent as you will not be able to employ it for the purposes to be accomplished with the great fire. And so, when you say that the spark is the same as the fire, you admit their identical relationship in one aspect while you differentiate them in another. Similarly, in the case of Jiva and the Supreme Spirit, you admit two aspects of the same relationship-identity and difference. It is

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for this reason that the philosophers of this system apply what is known as the doctrine of bhedābheda or simultaneous difference and non-difference, in viewing the relationship between the individual soul and the supreme spirit; and on account of this, the system is often characterised as dvaita. dvaita or dualism and non-dualism. The teachers of this system, as all the true followers of the vedic religions ought to be, are obliged to the task of reconciling the apparent conflicts in the equally authoritative dualistic and non-dualistic texts of the Srutiª* by finding out the most rational way of explanation for them; and they consequently consider that the doctrine of bhedabheda offers the best and the most convincing explanation for all such conflicts. As Sripati, the great Virasaiva commentator on the Brahma Sutras says, ' It is only according to the Virasaiva system, which applies the doctrine of identity as well as difference, that a proper and cogent explanation can be found for all the authoritative Sruti-texts bearing on the problem of Reality.'2 a4 Such as 'द्वा सुपर्णा सयुजा सखाया समानं वृक्षं परिषखवजाते' etc., of the dualistic import; 'अहं ब्रह्मास्मि' 'नेह नानास्ति किंचन' and the like of the non-dualistic import. 2मैताहे तमते शुद्धे विशेषाद्वैतसंज्ञके। वीरशैवैकसिद्धाम्ते सर्वक्षतिसमन्वयः ॥

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The power of vimarsa which, as we have noticed before, resides inseperably in supreme Siva, evolves itself into three distinct forms viz the enjoyer, (bhoktr) the objects of enjoyment (bhojya) and the inducer (preraka), according to the inter. play of the three qualitative forces of sattva, rajas and tamas. The individual consciousness with elements of sattva and rajas becomes the enjoyer. (bhoktr). The conscious matter conditioned by an entirety of tamasic force, constitutes the objects of enjoyment catering to the senses of taste and the like. The supreme consciousness characterised by an entirety of sattric elements constitutes the Supreme Lord Maheswara, the inducer (preraka). The conditioning principle itself is called māyā.

Maya is a condition or a limiting adjunct which has two aspects-the higher and the lower. The higher māya (ūrdhvamāya) which is pure, is an adjunct of Siva but cannot bind or limit Him in any way. The lower maya (adho maya), which is impure and therefore a taint, is what is called avidya or ignorance, and is the limiting adjunct of the individual soul. It is also called prakrti or gross matter. On account of the varying degrees of the force and influence of ignorance (avidya), souls are of varying nature. The soul, in the grip of

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ignorance, gets farther and farther away from the consciousness of his identity with the Supreme Spirit. Though he is himself of the nature and essence of Siva, he becomes woefully limited and imperfect in his knowledge, energy and power of action ; and, deluded by the ignorance born of end- less karma, he loses the knowledge of his oneness with the supreme spirit and becomes entangled in a mesh of samsara-the endless cycle of births and deaths-and thus becomes fettered to matter. But the soul, by nature, is of the essence of the Supreme consciousness. Residing in the heart of the organic material body, though he is as subtle as a hundredth part of the tip of a hair,20 he illumines and enlivens with his consciousness every part and corner of the organism, even as a tiny lamp brightens every corner of the room in which it is placed. Thus is he able to be aware of the pleasures and pains in any part of the material body. This atomic self, occupying the innermost recesses of the seat of consciousness in every living being, becomes, however, enveloped by the taints of finitude and other impurities, and gets

वालाप्रशतभागस्य शतधा कल्पितस्य च। भागो ीव: स विशेय: स चानत्याय कल्पते।। (शेताशतर ५-९)

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himself entangled in a network of karma of his previous births. Though bodiless himself, he occupies the bodies enveloped by māyā, and revolves like a wheel in the endless worldly process of births and deaths. Himself bodiless, the soul should naturally have no attachment to body or matter; but being in touch with ahamkara or self-sense (the ego), he develops a peculiar attachment towards the body in which he dwells for the time being, even as a pure crystal takes the red colour of the rose placed before it. As a fruit of ignorance and on account of the chains of karma growing stronger and stronger from birth to birth, he takes different bodies suitable to the nature of his karma, which however must wear out before he could be released finally. Atman is neither god nor demon, neither human nor beastly, neither man nor woman. He simply takes the name and form of the body he temporarily resides in, and undergoes pleasure or pain peculiar to one or the other of the eight million and odd species of bodies, according to the nature of his karma, which conditions him to birth and death. The apparent interest he takes in the material body, is only due to the limiting conditions or upādhis like ignorance karma and maya. When the conditions are removed he becomes his own.

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But the complexity of the network of karma once created, becomes so confusedly knotty, that unless the grace of the Lord descends on him, his release from it becomes very difficult. It is the Supreme Lord that must come to his rescue and redeliverance. It is only by the grace of God that the soul, once caught in the web of life, could tear off the sheaths of three kinds of impurities, (mala- traya)37 and thus realising his own nature, could feel his identity with the Supreme Siva and enjoy the supreme bliss in community with Him. How could the soul free himself from such a web of life, and find the grace of God and absolution, will be explained in another place.

27 The three kinds of impurities o: taints (mala) referred to here, are those of ānava, karma and māyā, which are the various degrees of limiting conditions binding the soul to the wheel of lite. Freedom from the bondage of endless births and deaths could be secured only when the soul purges itself off these three layers of impurities. The anava mala is the taint of ignorance due to the soul imagining itself to be finite and bound to the body ; this false notion limits or clouds the intelligence, causing ignorance, which is the source of all error. For, the soul, being under the influence of this false notion of finitude, feels itself imperfect and limited in power, and gradually comes to identify itself with the gross material body which it inhabits. This is the first layer as it were of the impurity enveloping the soul, and could be destroyed only by true knowledge,

PARA-ŚIVA

The Supreme Brahman.

The supreme reality is Brahman which is termed as Para Siva in this system. Para-Siva is the only, absolute, eternal, uncaused reality, in whom the entire creation of souls and matter finds its existence and explanation. His essential nature is Being, Consciousness and Bliss; He has neither beginning nor end, neither a compeer nor a second. He is all power, all knowledge and all glory, endowed with the highest attributes. His

which is the knowledge of identity of the self with the Supreme Reality. Karma mala or the impurity due to tarma, causes the soul to take new bodies and subjects it to the endiess cycle of births and deaths with all its incidents. Karma can destroy itself only by gradual wearing out and by no other means excepting by the grace of the Lord. Maya mala, the basis of all other impurities and taints, is the source of all desires and attachments and the consequent miseries, pains and sufferings that the soul undergoes in the material body. It is the gross, dense ignorance, and it makes the soul mistake the unreals for meals and to cling passionately to the material world and its sense-objects. This is the onter layer of impurity and could be destroyed only through a well-disciplined religious and ethical life, by means of which the soul is brought nearer and nearer to realising its own nature and working its way for salvation.

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supreme consciousness comprehends all; His supreme will is unrestricted and independent. He is the uncaused ultimate cause (parama kārana) of all that exists, the entire universe of souls and matter being only a projection of the mere force of His will (sva sakti pracaya). His own inherent power reflects His consciousness as souls, while the same power, in another aspect constitutes the objects of the material universe for their experience, and the same power, also in a different aspect, remains the prompting cause or the inducer that directs the actions of the souls. As the underlying Reality of the entire universe, and without Himself undergoing any change, He, out of His mere will, directs his Sakti, the inherent power, to assume different aspects, and operates through her as the material as well as the instrumental cause of the phenomenal universe. The whole world of matter exists in Him in the form of His energy in a subtle and potential state, until out of His will, the equilibrium of the state of quiescence is agitated and the evolution of the universe begins. That which already existed unmanifest in the form of subtle potentiality, becomes manifest when projected, and this is what is called creation (sarga or srsti); and when the manifest gross universe is dissolved into its original ; 4

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rudiments, we have what is called pralaya or dissolution. Brahman has no limiting adjuncts as the souls have. He is perfect and remains unaffected by the changing processes of the evolution or by the pleasures and pains that the souls undergo. Nor is he bound by the laws of karma or māyā, as even these are subject to the control of the power of his will. Even the higher state of māya (ürdhva. mäya) which is only an aspect of his Sakti, is only an instrument of his creative energy and does not affect him. As he is both the immanent and the transcendent cause of the changing universe of matter, he remains unaffected by the evolutionary process. In His aspect of supreme personality, Para Siva is infinite mercy and grace. Through His Sakti He evolves Himself to be ever near His devotees and to save the erring souls. He has limitless compassion and His very nature indicates auspicious blessing. This is why he is known to Vedas, the agamas and the seers as Para Siva or the Supreme Blessing. The Kaivalya Śruti describes Him thus: "Without beginning or end, He is the eternal, all pervading, one Reality whose nature is supreme consciousness and bliss. The wise contemplate Him as the sublime, blue-

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throated, three-eyed Lord beyond the Dark, ever united with Uma (His Sakti), and as the origin and end of all creation, and the eternal seer of all actions.""8 To attain Him is the goal; to feel one in His nature and enjoy the supreme bliss in eternal community with Him, to merge into His being-this is the real end of all the souls.

. THE MEANS of KNOWLEDGE.

The Virasaiva Philosophers accept percep- tion, inference and scriptural testimony as the only three valid sources of knowledge. The cārvāka materialists rely on sense perception only, while the Buddhists and the vaisesika pluralists accept perception as well as inference as vaild sources. The samkhyas maintain that scriptural authority is also a necessary source while the logicians of the nyaya school lead by Udayana, add comparison («pamäna) to the list as an independent source of

तमादिमध्यान्तविहीनमेकं विभुं चिदानन्दमरूपमङ्भुतम्। उमासहायं परमेश्वरं प्रभुं तिलोचनं नीलकंठं प्रशान्तम् ।। ध्यात्या मुनिर्गष्छति भूतयोनिं समस्तसासि तमसःपरस्तात्॥ (9-v)

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knowledge. The Prabhakara school would have one more source which they call arthapatti or implication, while the advaitins accept non-percep- tion (anupalabdhi) as a distinct means of knowledge. The traditionists of the Purana and Itihāsa schools add subsumption or origination, (sambhara) and tradition (aitilya) to the list, thus making in all, eight valid and independent sources of know- ledge. The Virasaiva school, however, maintains that the latter five are not independent means of knowledge as they could be brought under one or the other of the three main heads-perception, inference and scriptural authority. Thus, what is called anupalabdhi or non-apprehension, is not a distinct source from perception and as such must be included under that head, while comparison, implication and subsumption or origination are only the variations of inferential knowledge and as such find their place under inference. Tradition, if it contains the sanction of authority, is not different from scriptural testimony ; and if it does not, it need not be considered at all as a valid source of knowledge. Of the mechanism of knowledge, and the stages of the actual thought process from sense perception to the cognitive processes of the intellect and the experiencing self, I have neither time nor place to elaborate in this short thesis.

EVOLUTION of MATTER, and the REALITY of the MATERIAL WORLD.

The Virasaiva philosophers consider that the entire universe of the moving and non-moving creation evolves out of Para-Siva characterised by His Sakti, and that it is a real entity and not an illusion. The Srutis and the ägamas proclaim that Siva with Sakti, Himself appears in the manifold forms of his creation. Siddhānta Sikhāmani tells us that " just as a fold of cloth spreads itself in all directions into what is called a tent, Siva by the expansion of Sakti inhering in Him, appears as what is known as the universe." " Even as a tree spreads itself in manifold forms as boughs, twigs, leaves, flowers and fruits, the one and only Siva spreads Himself in the form of the material world." " Even as a great banyan tree with all its huge branches, leaves and fruits, exists latent in the tiny seed, this entire creation with all its wonderful variations, lies dormant in the heart of Brahman."2 9

१ आरमशक्तिविकासेन शिवो विश्वात्मना स्थितः। कुटीभावाद्यथा भाति पटः सवस्य प्रसारणात् ॥६५।। पत्रशासादिरूपेण यथा तिष्ठति पादपः। तथा भूम्यादिरूपेण शिव एको विराजते ।६६।। (परिच्छरेद १०)

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The Siva-Stra speaks to the same effect when it says " this universe is the expansion of His power."8° The sarvamangala declares "Of the two real entities viz Sakti, and the One with Sakti, the former appears in the form of the whole universe, while the latter is the Supreme Lord mahesvara,"$1 and the chandogya supports this view declaring " I become many."a 2 Mundaka makes use of the famous simile of the spider and the web to the effect that even as a spider spins her web out of herself,98 the Para Brahman (with Sakti) creates this universe, expanding his own essential energy, and draws it ultimately into himself. Thus, evolution is projection and manifestation of the universe, lying latent in Brahman, in the form of his Sakti. Even like a turtle which spreads out and draws in his limbs, the Supreme Brahman spreads out the "वृक्षस्थं पत्रपुष्पादि वटबीजस्थितं थथा। तथा हृदयबीजस्थं विश्वमेतत्परात्मनः।३६।। (परिच्छेद २०) १० "हवशक्तिम्रचयोऽस्य विश्वं" (३-३०) 91 शक्तिम् शक्तिमांगैव पदार्थडयमुच्यते। शकयोऽस्य जगत् कृत्लं शक्िमांस्तु महेश्वर: ।। बडु स्यां प्रजायेय। (६-२-३). यथोर्जनामि: सृजते गृहते थ। (११५)

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universe by the mere force of His will, and draws it in the end, into Himself. You could never say that the appearance of limbs out of the turtle was the creation of those limbs; nor could you assert that they were destroyed when they disappeared into his body. The limbs were all there complete, full and distinct, as real in their hidden state as when they appeared out. Similarly, the phenomenal universe with all its plurality and diversity exists as a real entity in Brahman, and its manifestation is not creation as also its dissolution is not destruction. "4

34 The Virasaiva philosophers adopt the doctrine of Satkarya vada in explaining the causal relation between Brahman and the finite world. The material universe, according to this doctrine, is the effect evolved out of a pre-existent material cause. For, Brahman with his inherent Sakti, constitutes both the material and the efficient cause of the universe of matter and souls. As Sakti has both the conscious and the non-conscious aspects, we could not ask how Sakti, which is of the nature of Siva's consciousness, could evolve herselt into the gross world of matter. Nor could we ask how Siva, the material cause of the universe, could remain unchanged during the process of evolution. For it is really Sakti that, in her varying aspects, undergoes change. It is through her that Siva becomes both the material and the efficient cause of the world, which is immanent in Him in the form of His inherent energy. But He is also transcendent and remains unaffected through the changes while Sakti goes through the eyolutionary process to

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This view of the reality of the phenomenal universe is amply supported by Śrutis and the agamas. Taittiriya says that Brahman, out of his own desire (will), created in a subtle form the whole universe of the conscious and the unconscious, the moving and the non-moving, and that, entering himself into his creation, became the world; and that this world, which is Brahman-become, is real.3 Reņukācārya in Siddhānta ikhāmaņi

evolve herself into the material world. Through Sakti, which operates as the connecting principle between the world of finite reals and the supreme infinite reality without compromising the position of the latter, the Virasaiva philosophers seek to explain away the chief difficulty which besets all the monistie schools, whether absolute or qualified, viz the difficulty of finding a satisfactory explanation for the causal connection between the change- less, eternal absolute and the ever-changing finite world of souls and matter. Can a changing material world proceed from the one, absolute, changeless reality ? Can such a reality undergo change without compromising its position as the absolute? We must seek to find an answer to these questions in the principle of Sakti, inherent in the Supreme Reality. 2 सोऽकामयत। बडु स्यां प्रजायेयेति। स तपोऽतप्यत। स तपस्प्त्वा। इदं सर्वमसृजत। यदिद किद्च। तत्सषटवा। तवेवानुपाविशत्। तवनुभविश्य। सब्न स्वन्नामवत्। निरुक चानिरकं व निलयनं यानिलयनं स । विज्ञानं चाविज्ञानं च। सखयं बानृतं व सत्यममवद्। यदिदं किश्म। तत्सस्यमित्या कसते # (आनन्दवली ६).

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explains that " this world consisting of the moving and the non-moving, proceeding as it does from the Supreme Lord, is not different from Him even as a jar is not different from the clay." "This world which proceeds from the very essence of Siva, cannot be seperated or distinguished from Siva even as the bubbles, foams, waves and the other variations of the ocean could not be distinguished (in their essence) from the ocean itself." " Even as there can be no distinction in the essential nature of the flowers and leaves from the nature of the tree itself, there can be no difference in nature between this moving and non-moving creation and Siva, the supreme consciousness."3 And therefore it is said that the universe of matter and souls evolved out of Brahman is a real entity, though its reality is to be explained only through Brahman in whom it exists as his inseperably subsisting Sakti.

6 यस्मावेतत् समुत्पनं महादेवाश्चराखरं। तस्मादेतन्न मिद्येत यथा कुम्भादिकं मृदः ॥६२।। शिवतस्वात् समुत्यनं जगदस्मान्न मिदयते। केनोर्मिबुद्दुदाकारो यथा सिन्धोर्न मिद्यते ।६३। (परिच्छेद १०) यथा पुष्पपलाशादिर्षृसरूपान् मिचते। तथा शिवात् पराकाशाजगतो नास्ति मिजता।।७१।। (परिच्छेद १९) 5

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We have seen before that the spontaneous vibration of the inherent power of the Supreme Reality is, in its creative aspect, known as vimarsa or the power of discrimination, and that this discriminative aspect of Sakti constitutes the primordial creative principle which contains latent in itself all the potential rudiments of the universe. to-be-evolved with all their manifold distictions and diversities, even like a peacock's egg which contains all the distinctive particularities of the future bird, in a potential state. We will now see how the further vibration or agitation of this vimarsa or discriminative energy of the Supreme Being, gives rise to the evolution of the thirty-six principles or categories, underlying the phenomenal universe of matter and souls. They are in the order of their evolution, the principles called Siva, Śakti, Sadāsiva, Isvara, Śuddhavidyā, māyā, kalā, vidyā, rāga, kāla, niyati, puruşa, prakrti, buddhi, ahamkāra, manas, srotra, tvak, netra, jihvā, ghrāņa, vāk, pāni, pāda, pāyu, upastha, sabda, sparsa, rūpa, rasa, gandha, ākasa, vāyu, agni, jala and prthivi.87

37 The five principles above māyā (Siva, Sakti, Sadašiva Isvara and Suddha vidya) are the five transcendental categories which partake of the characteristic essence of the Supreme Spirit in as much as they are the expressions through His inherent energy, of His consciousness, bliss, will, knowledge and power of action. The remaining

THE PROCESS of EVOLUTION.

The Chandogya declares that out of his will Brahman became many.8 According to Sivāgama, "from the eternal and sublime prime cause-the Para Śiva Brahman-proceeded the first mani- festation of His discriminating power viz the Will, i.e. the will to self-expression; from the will-power proceeded the power of knowledge and thence the power of action; from this came

principles from māya downwards are called atma tattvas belonging to the phenomenal world, and maya itself operates as the connecting link between the transcendental and the phenomenal categories. The rest of the evolution takes place as a result of the play of various aspects of the creative force on mā) ā. The thirty-six categories enumerated above can. therefore be grouped under three main classifications viz (1) the five transcendental principles from Siva to Suddah- vidya (2) The connecting link, māya and the intermediary principle, purusa with its five-fold sheath or limiting condition and (3) the twenty-four phenomenal categories begining with prakrli. The last class (the phenomenal categories), includes in order: prakrti, the three inner organs (antahkarana), the five organs of sense-perception (jnanendriya), the five organs of action (karmendriya), the five subtle senses (fanmätras) and the five gross elements (bhatas). हु स्यां प्रजाबेय" (६-२-३)

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into being the creatures and the fourteen worlds." 8 9 The powers of knowledge and action are only the inner and the outer expressions of the power of will. When Para Siva Brahman unites with the power of knowledge and gets self-conscious that He is the all knower, we have the principle called Siva-the first principle in the evolutionary process. It is in this Siva aspect that the Brahman, by virtue of his power of knowledge becomes the instrumental cause of the would-be world even as the spider constitutes the instrumental cause of the web. When, on the other hand, Brahman unites with the power of action and gets self conscious that he is the all-dorr, we have the principle or category called sakti. It is through this sakti aspect that Brahman, by virtue of his power of action, constitutes the material cause of the universe.to-become, like the same spider which, by virtue of its body, capable lof producing yarn, becomes the material cause of the web. That the same Para Siva Brahman is alone the undivided material as well as the instrumental cause of the

8अनादिनिधनाच्छान्ताच्छिवात् परमकारणात्। रच्छाशकिर्विनिष्कान्ता ततो ज्ञानं ततः किया॥ तत्रोत्पश्नानि भूतानि सुबनानि बतुर्दक।।

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universe, is the purport of the spider-and-web simile, contained in the Mundaka.4°

The principle of sakti, entering into the power of knowledge which is the inner expression of the will, gets self-conscious (as ' I am this world ') in respect of the would-be-world which is just sprouting, and the principle called Sadasiva results; while the same principle of sakti, enter- ing into the outer expression of the will, viz power of action, gets self-conscious (as ' I am this world') in respect of the world just sprouted, and the fourth principle called Isvara evolves. When the same sakti principle develops the consciousness of identity between the self-sense "I" and the objective world "this" (like the identity between the ocean and its waves), suddha vidya (pure intelligence)-the fifth principle-evolves. But on the other hand, when the sakti which has thus envolved into suddha vidyā, begins to develop the consciousness of distinctions among the subtle varieties of the potential rudiments of the world to-become, existing in itself, (as the potential particularties of the bird in peacock's egg), this consciousness of the mutually exclusive distinctions gives rise to the principle called māyā.

" यथोर्जनामि: खुजते गुक्ते थ। (१·१-७)

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After mäya, in the order of evolution come the five categories or principles of energy (kalā), intelligence (vidyā), desire (rāga), time (kāla) and order (niyati), which are together said to form a five-fold envelop (pañca-kañcuka) of the next category called purușa or the self. Since these five envelops are only the limiting sheaths or adjuncts of the dweller within them, we will deal with purusa first and then consider the principles which constitute his cover. As the union of two sticks generates sparks of fire, even so, part of Siva, in accordance with the supreme will, enters maya and becomes the principle called purusa or the self. When the sell gets into contact with the impurities due to māyā, be develops the consciousness of pleasure and pain and gets confused with regard to the real nature of the self and the not-self. As he becomes gradually tainted with the impurities of finitude and the like, he gets entangled in the web of life and bondage. When the self becomes tainted with impu- rities as above, he loses his original and natural powers of unlimited comprehension, perfection, ctomity and pervasion; and instead, becomes limited and imperfect in his powers of will knowledge and action. This limitation gives rise,

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to the five principles which are together called, as noticed above, the five-fold sheath or envelop which limits the natural powers of the Sout. Thus, his limited and imperfect capacity for action gives rise to the principle called kala or energy; his limited and imperfect capacity to know gives rise to vidya or intelligence; his imperfection and incapacity to give free expression to will, gives rise to raga or desire; his loss of eternity and the consequent development of the notion of finiteness develops the temporal notions like the past, the present and the future, giving rise to the principle called kala or time; while the loss of his capacity for universal pervasion, generates his notions of fixity and cause-and-effect relations, and thus gives rise to the principle called niyati or order. All these five principles- energy, intelligence, desire, time and order-are in effect, the limiting conditions of the soul, differentiating it from the universal spirit from which it proceeded as a part. The will to self-expression in its creative aspect, reflects in the maya principle, which is, as we have seen, the basis of the notion of distinction between the powers of knowledge and action (as knowledge is not action and action is not knowledge') and generates the principle called

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prakrti. Prakyti is primordial matter and is the substratum of the three qualities of sattva, rajas and tamas in their state of equilibrium, and thus, it forms the basis for the remaining twenty-three principles from mahat down to the gross element of Earth. From prakrti first evolve the three inner principles, called 'the inner organs' of the body- which are the cognitive principles of buddhi (intellect) ahamkāra (self-sense) and the manas (mind). Buddhi, also called mahat, is the faculty which decides (as ' this is thus'); when the sakti principle which has thus evoled itself into buddhi, becomes the basis for the sense of ' I' and ' mine,' it is called ahamkara or the self sense; when this principle forms the basis of the sense of doubt and the like (as 'whether this is a man or a post'), it is called manas or mind. These three principles, being the internal instruments (antahkarana) within the organism, are the essence of the power of Will (icchā-sakti). The sakti-principle which thus evolved itself into the three inner organs, becomes, in its outer expression, the five organs of knowledge. They are: the organ of hearing (srotra) for cognising sound, the organ of feeling (tvak-tattva) for cognising the sénse of touch, the organ of vision (nietra-fattva)

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for cognising form and colour, the palatal organ (jihva) for cognising the sense of taste and the organ of smell for cognising odour. As these five organs are of the essence of the power of Know- ledge, (¡nana-sakti) they are called the organs of knowledge (jnanendriya). These five sense-organs which are, in effect, the evolved forms of the sakti principle, give rise to the five organs of action (karmendriya), which partake of the essence 'of the power of Action (kriya-sakti). These are: the organ of speech (vak) for articulation, hands (pāni) for actions like giving, feet (pada) for the actions of movement, excretory organs (pâyu) for actions of discharging the impurities and the generative organ (xpastha) for actions of reproduction. Thus we have seen that the foregoing three sets of inner and outer organs-the three organs of the cognitive process, the five organs of sense perception and the five organs of action-together are the expressions of the three aspects of Sakti, viz the powers of will, knowledge and action (iccha, jnana and kriyd). The same sakti principle evolves itsell, on the objective' side, into the five subtle principles of sound, touch, colour; taste and odour which constitute the phenomena to be cognised by the five sense-organs detailed above. Thus, sound is cognised exclusively 6

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by the organ of hearing; touch is exclusively experienced by the organ of feeling; form-colour is exclusively perceived by the organ of vision; taste is the exclusive sphere of the palatal organ while odour is the special province of the organ of smelling When the internal distinctions of these five sense qualities are not manifest (i.e., the distinctions like articulate and inarticulate in sound, hot and cold in touch, blue, yellow etc., in colour, sweet or sour in taste, fair and foul in smell), and when they are in their original state, they are known as tanmätras or sense-phenomena in their essence.

The final stage in the process of evolution is the manifestation of the five grosselements of Ether, Air, Fire, Water and Earth, each of which is specially characterised by a preponderance of one of the five sense qualities enumerated above. Thus the sakti principle evolves itself into the principle of Ether (akasa) the distinctive charac- teristic of which is sound, Air (vayu), whose special feature is the quality of touch, Fire (tejas) characterised by the exclusive principle of colour, Water (jala) with the quality of taste or rasa predominant in it, and Earth (prthivs) distinguished for the exclusive quality of odour. Among these five elements, each latter element

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includes the characteristics of the former while its own special feature remains predominant. Thus we have seen that the whole universe embodying the thirty-six categories or principles described above, is the evolved effect of the supreme reality- the Para Siva Brähman united with His Sakti, and that the effects are not illusory but real and permanent in their ultimate abode-the Supreme Being, who is their prime cause. This is the result of the enquiry conducted by .the Virasaiva philosophers and the result as we have seen, is amply borne out by the authoritative texts of Śrutis and āgamas.

LINGĀNGA-SĀMARASYA

or The ultimate unity of Linga and Anga- the Lord and the Soul.

In the Virasaiva system the ultimate goal*1 of the souls is described as aikya or unity with Siva, the supreme reality. The soul in aikya becomes one with Siva and enjoys the supreme bliss in union with Him. This final union of the soul with Siva and this experience of the supreme bliss in community with him is termed samarasya by the philosophers. Samarasa is union

+1 As in the other Indian Systems, the fundamental probiems of the Virasaiva philosophers and their religious quest revolve around Man in this world-his origin, existence and goal, and their enquiry therefore, proceeds entirely from an empirical standpoint viz the investigation into the sufferings of man, their canses and the remedy. How did man, who is by nature, of the essence of consciousness, power and bliss, come to be in fetters ? How could he be freed from these shackles so that he may regain his own nature ?- These are the problems common to philosophy and religion. Philosophical enquiry diagnoses the nature of the ailment, analyses its causes and prescribes the remedy which religion applies through a rigorous and well-disciplined practical course of conduct leading to the attainment of the desired end. The enquiry

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in blissful experience with the Supreme Soul and the state or condition of samarasa is samarasya.42 The Supreme Reality-Para Śiva Brahman is termed Sthala in this system. Sthala is the ultimate position or abode. "The wise who know the real have said that the Supreme Reality in which this entire creation of the moving and

reveals that man's sufferings are due to his ignorance and imperfections arising out of the limitations of his environ- ment ; the conclusion we arrive at is that a release from the bondage of births and deaths is the only solution for the problem of human misery and suffering, and that all enquiry and experionce must ultimately rest in the one universal experience which is the origin and end of all that exists. The realisation of this ultimate rest is what is called Mokşa or Freedom, the ultimate destiny of the souls. In the Virasaiva system, this goal or moksa refers to soul's realisation of its identity with the supreme spirit.

** Samarasa is the highest and final stage in the progress of the aspirant devotee along the six stages of bhakti or devotion viz Sadbhāva bhakti, nisthā bhakti. avadhāna bhakti, anubhava bhakti, ananda bhakti and samarasa bhakti. The soul, arriving at this last stage of devotion, identifies itself with the supreme spirit and experiences the supreme bliss in perfect community with Him. This state or condition of identity is called sāmarasya or identity (in essence) between the Lord (Linga) and the soul (Anga), which is the summum bonum or the supreme goal to be attained by the aspirant soul in quest.

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the non-moving universe becomes dissolved, and stays eternally, is called ' sthala'-the position or abode."*$ Sthala, therefore, is the fixed, permanent and final resting ground of the universe of matter and souls, and this is the one and only Para Siva- the Supreme Spirit. Para Siva Brahman, called sthala, out of His own sportive will, and by the agitation of His inherent Sakti, becomes divided into Linga or the Supreme Lord and Anga (literally a part) or the individual soul, ** which is the aspirant ever aspiring for unity with the Supreme Being. Anga or the soul is characterised, as we have seen before. by the power of chitta or finite intelligence, while Linga is the Lord Para Siva, characterised by the power of supreme consciousness.

"स्थीयते लीयते यत्र अगदेतबराखरं। तक्ह्य स्थलमित्युक्तं स्वलतस्वविशारदैः ।

'सशक्तिक्षोममात्रेण स्थलं तद्न्रिविध भवेत्। एकं लिंगस्थलं प्रोक्तमम्यदास्थलं स्सृतम् । (अनुभवसूत्र १-१०)

Similary, the inherent Sakti also becomes, out of her own will, divided into kala and bhakti, the former adhering to Linga (Lord) aud the latter to anga (soul).

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Linga ** manifests itself for the redemption of the devotees in three forms-Istalinga, Prāzalinga and Bhavalinga corresponding to the three states of the body-gross, subtle and causal (sthūla, sūkșma, and kārana). Anga likewise, assumes three forms .- Tyaganga, Bhogangaand Yoganga, corresponding to the above three manifestations of Linga. Each of the three divisions in both, has two parts thus making six parts or positions of Linga and six of Anga. Ista linga is divided into acara linga and guru linga; Prāna linga into siva linga and caralinga, and Bhava linga into prasāda linga and mahālinga. Similarly, Tyagānga is divided into bhakta and mahesvara, Bhoganga into prasādi and prānalingi and Yogānga into sarana and aikya. Further divisions and sub-divisions result in 44 positions of Anga and 57 positions of Linga, making a total of 101 sthalas, a true knowledge of which only can lead the soul to its ultimate unity with the Supreme Reality. In other words, the union"

"लीयते गम्पते यत्र जगस्सर्व बराचरम्। तवेतलिंगमित्युक्ं लिंगतस्वपरायणैः ॥ (अनुभवसूत्र ३-३) ** The progress of the individual soul (anga) in gradual stages till he has attained the goal, is marked with corresponding stages of attainment which he has reached in the supreme objective manifesting in the form of Linga.

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of Anga with Ltirga is the only means for freedom of the scul from bondage. Of the three manifestations of Linga.sthala, Ista linga, is apprehended in the gross form while Prana linga and Bhava linga are realised in subtle and causal forms respectively .** Let us now consider each of these in its positions.

These various stages are marked as six steps or positions in each, leading to the ultimate unity of both (Linga and anga) at the end of the final step.

"इए्टलिङ्मिदं स्थूलं यद्राह्े धार्यते तनौ। प्राणर्लिंगं तु तत्सूक्ष्मं यदंतर्भाषनासयं ।। परात्परं तु यत्मोकं तृप्तिलिंगं. तवुष्यते।

Bhavalinga is so named because at this stage the Linga, as it transcends space, time and causation, can be apprhended only by the highest intuition (bhava) born of extreme devotion on the part of the soul, while Praa linga, also transcendental, corresponds to praya or the vital principle and can be apprebended only by the mind. Ista linga, so called because this is the form in which the Linga can be worshipped by the devotee, is the gross manifetation of the Being and therefore visible to the phenomenal world. These three forma correspond to the soul, präna or the vital priociple and the material body of anga, respectively and as stich are carried by the symbolism of Linga being worn on the causal, snbtle and the gross bodies of the devotce respectively.

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Acara linga is associated with bhakta-sthala (the corresponding first position in Anga); it is characterised by a part (kala) of Sakti called nivrtti, and is the means of cognising odour. Its sense-seat being the organ of smell, it is the basis for the movements of the vital breath through the nerve centres called idã and pingala ; since it constitutes the means for the purification of the body through a proper control of the vital breath, it is called Acara linga .* 8 Guru-linga is of the form of the tongue or the palatal organ, the means for cognising taste; it is associated with the second Anga position, mahe svara-sthala, and is characterised by a part (kalā) of Sakti called pratișthā. The tongue is the means of uttering the sacred six-syllabled mantram which is imparted by the preceptor (guru) and this sthala is therefore termed Guru-linga.49 Siva-linga is of the form of the organ of vision and is therefore the means for cognising form and colour. It is associated with the third position in Anga viz prasādi-sthala and is

"आचारालगं घ्राणारपं भक्तस्थलसमाश्रयं। निवृत्तिकलयोपेतं गन्धप्रहणसाधनं ' गुरुलिंग तु जिदाल्यं मदेशखथलसंभ्रयं। प्रतिष्ठाकुलयोपेतं रसभ्रहणसाधनं 7

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characterised by a part (kalā) of Sakti called vidyā. Since the organ of vision, on account of the presence of Siva's light in the eyeball, is the means of revealing the objects of the external world, this Linga is named Siva.linga.50 Cara-linga (also called Jan gama-lin ga) is of the form of the sense of feeling (tvak) and is the means for cognising touch. It is associated with the fourth position in anga viz pranalingi-sthala and is characterised by a part (kalā) of Śakti called sānti. Since the sense of feeling pervades the whole of the external body getting aware of the feelings of hot and cold and the like, and since it is of the essence of Air whose quality is movement, this Liiga is termed as Cara-linga.s 1 Prasada-linga takes the nature of the sense of hearing and is therefore the means for cognising sound. It is associated with the fifth position of anga viz sarana-sthala and is characterised by a part (kalā) of Sakti called santyatīta. Since the organ of hearing is the means for cognising sound, and

० शिवलिंगं तु नेत्रा्यं प्रसादिस्यलसंभ्रयं । विद्याकलासमायुक्तं रूपग्रह्णसाधनं त्वगाव्यं जङ्मंलिंगं प्राणलिंगिस्यलाअपं। शांत्याक्यकलयोपेवं स्पर्शमहणसाधनं

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since it is the main channel through which the grace or prasäda of the Lord descends in the order of nāda, sunāda, nināda, mahānāda, parā, pašyantī, madhyama and vaikhari, this aspect of Linga becomes known as Prasāda-linga."2 The final position in Linga-sthala is Mahalinga which is of the form of manas or mind, the means for cognising every kind of experience. It is asso- ciated with the final position in aga viz aikya- sthala and is characterised by a part (kala) of Sakti called sāntyatīla-uttarakalā. Since the manas cognises perceptions of every kind, and since it is the king, as it were, of all the senses, this position is named Mahalinga.83 We have seen above that anga-sthala or the individual soul becomes divided into three stages -- Yoganga, Bhoganga and Tyaganga corresponding to the three main positions in Linga or the

"प्रसावलिंगं श्रोत्राल्यं शरणस्थलसंश्रयं । शांत्यतीतकलोपेतं शब्दग्रहणसाधनं "मानसं तु महार्लिंगमैक्यस्थलसमाश्चयं। शांस्यतीतोस्तरोपेतं सर्वग्रहणसाधनं Each of the above positions of Linga is associated with one of the corresponding position of anga, is distinguished by one of the six kalas or parts of Sakti, and is identified as occupying a sense-seat with the cognising faculty peculiar to that sense.

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Supreme Being.& We shall now consider the nature of these three stages and the six positions in which they are seen. Yoganga is so called because at this stage, the aspirant identifies himself with the three visible forms of the Supreme Being viz the guru (the preceptor) the jangama (the devotee who has attained realisation) and the linga (the deity). In the Bhoganga stage he experiences the grace (prasada) of the Lord through offerings dedicated

अंगस्थलं तथा प्रोक्तमाचार्येः सूक्ष्मदर्शिमिः। योगांग प्रथमं प्रोक्तं भोगांगं च द्वितीयकं।। त्यागांगं च तृतीयं स्यादित्येवं त्रिविध स्मृतं ।। The corresponding stages in the subjective attain- ment of the devotee, which constitute his own equipment, are marked as three steps-Yoganga, Bhoganga and Tyaganga. The first indicates the highest stage of devotional development which the soul has attained and where it is ready to realise its identity with the final position of the final stage in Linga. Bhoganga is the next lower stage where the soul enjoys the bliss of God's grace and this corresponds to the middle stage of Linga viz Prāņa Linga. Tyāganga is the first stage in the upward progress of the devotee and here, after acquiring the necessary spiritual qualifications, he has surrepdered him- self with a complete and unreserved dedication of his body, mind and soul, to the service of the Lord. This corresponds to the first state to be realised in his objective viz Istalinga.

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to guru, linga and jangamas. Tyaganga derives its name because the aspirant in this stage surrenders himself with all his body, mind and soul, to the guru, linga and jangama," without any reservation. . The nature of the aspirant in these six positions is described as follows-The bhakta is virtuous ; does not descriminate between the guru, linga and jangama; has unswerving devotion to the symbols of the Lord and His devotees.& 6 The mahéswara is one that engages himself in selfless and God-dedicated charity and with his sole and exclusive aim on Siva, surrenders himself to His service.87 When mahéswara solicits the grace of Siva for the sake of purifying and cleansing his mind and for the sake of attaining pure knowledge, he is in the position of prasadi."8 When the

5 å The aspirant is recommended to look upon his own preceptor (Gurw) and the other devotees of the Lord Jangamas) as the visible forms of God Himself. "सदाचारः शिवे भक्तिलिंगे अङ्रम एकधीः । लांछने शरणे भकिर्भकस्थलमनुत्तमं।। केवले सहजे दाने निष्णातः शिवतत्परः। ब्रह्मादिस्थानविमुखो भक्तो माहेश्वर:स्मृतः॥ मनःप्रसादलिदथर्थ निर्मलज्ञानकारणं। शिवम्रसादं स्वीकुर्षन् प्रसादीत्येव कम्यते।।

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prasādi attains to the discriminative knowledge that Para iva is supreme consciousness and that the Sakti existing in Him is of the nature of His vital energy, and that Linga is of the essence and form of both Supreme Conciousness and Sakti, then he is in the position of pränalingi."° When the pranalingi views Linga as the Supreme Lord and himself as the consort and in this contempla- tion loses himself in ecstacy and becomes oblivious to the material world, he has attained to the position of Sarana.®° When at last the Sarana who has already begun to experience the bliss by being in contact with Prāna linga, gets gradually to identify himself with Siva and feels himself one with Him and thus becomes united with Him in His blissful experience, he has reached the final position of aikya or identity.°1 Thus, these six positions from bhakta to aikya, form six steps, as it were, to the final absolution or mukti. Bakta-sthala which is the first position in anga, is a part of the first

लिंगं चिदात्मकं मह्म तच्छक्ति: प्राणरूपिणी। तद्रपर्लिगविज्ञानी प्राणलिंगीति कथ्यते।। ० सतीवाहं पतिलिंगं हदि युक्त: स्वयं प्रभु:। प्रापंचिकसुखं नास्ति शरणस्थलमुत्तमं। ० प्राणालगादियोगेन सुखातिशयमेयिवान्। शरणाल्य: शिवेनैक्यभावनाऐेनपचान् मचेलू।

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position of Linga viz Acara linga, and therefore becomes united with it; in the same way, māhéswara becomes united with Guru linga, prasadi with Sivalinga, pranalingi with Caralinga (jangamalinga), sarana with Prasāda linga while aikya becomes "identified with the final position viz Mahā linga. Similarly, Acara linga becomes united with the next higher position, Guru linga, Guru with Śiva, Siva with Cara or Jangama, Jangama with Prasāda and prasada with Mahalinga while at last, Mahalinga becomes one with Ghanalinga or the Supreme Siva the ultimate and the only one changeless Position. Thus does the individual soul raise himself, through the grace of the Lord, in gradual stages, till at last he becomes one with Siva, in the experience of the supreme bliss and this condition is called sāmarasya.8 2

6 ª By the foregoing analysis it will be seen that the Anga is the subject-aspirant ever aspiring for the realisation of his identity with the Supreme Spirit, while Linga, the manifestation of Reality, constitutes the object to be attained. How far has the subject progressed in his devotional endcavour to realise his objective must be seen ih two aspects-subjective and objective. What stage has he reached in the development of his own powers in his march towards the goal, and how much has he attained of the objective which he has been pursuing-these are the

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As Mundaka says, even as the rivers, on reaching the ocean, leave off all the distinctions of name and form, and mingling in the ocean become united with it in oneness, the souls which know Brahman, Jeave off all distinctions of their name and form and become united with the supreme reality into one,68 and this is the nature of the samarasya that the Virasaiva, knowing reality,

two ways ot looking at the progress of the individual soul towards self-realisation, and it should not be forgotten that the self-imposed division of the Supreme Spirit into Linga and Anga is solely out of compassion for and with a view to redeem the souls entangled in the meshes of samsara and that therefore the entire scheme must be viewed from the perspective of the individual soul. Thus when the aspirant-devotee has completed the first (Tyaganga) stage of his own development, he is in union with Ista Linga, the visible symbol of Reality. At the end of the next higher stage (i.e. Bhoganga stage) he is in union with Prana Linga, the subtle manifestation of the Supreme Being, and when he reaches the final position in the last stage of his development viz the aikya poshtion in Yogänga stage, the soul attains union with the final and highest state in Linga (viz Mahalinga sthala) and here the soul's union with the Supreme Being has become complete and sāmarasya is attained. " यथा नद्यः स्यंद्माना: समुद्रे अस्त गच्छंति नामरूपे विहाय, तथा विद्वानामरूपाद्िमुक्त: परात्परं पुरुषसुपैति

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attains finally. When he is thus united with Para Siva in oneness he is no more distinct from that Supreme reality of which he was but a part but now become one with. Or as Renukacharya says " Like the water, placed in water, fire in fire, the soul that becomes mingled in the supreme Brahman is not seen as distinct."* In other words, when the . Virasaiva, by going through the six positions described above, attains the condition of sāmarasya with Linga, like the fire in fire and water in water, he gets mingled in the Supreme Spirit and becomes His nature. Thus, the soul (anga) which is but a part and of the essence of the Supreme Spirit, but which had only come to be differentiated on account of ignorance, gets at last to realise its own nature in essential unity with the Supreme Being (Linga) and enjoys the eternal bliss in perfect community with Him. This identical union in essence, of the soul (Anga) with the Supreme Being (Linga), is expressed by the term Linga. anga-samarasya or the identity of the Soul with Siva (sivaikyam) -- the ultimate goal of the Śakti Visistādvaita philosophy.

" अले जलमिव न्यस्तं वडौ वह्विरिवार्पितः। परे म्रह्मणि लीनात्मा विभागेन न दश्यते I।२।। (परिच्छेद २-)

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