The Serpent Power — Arthur Avalon (Sir John Woodroffe) (1924)
“In this Lotus” (Kamale)—i.e., in the pericarp of the
Vishuddha Chakra.
“In this pericarp is the spotless region of the Moon, without the mark of a hare” (Shasha-parirahita), conveys the same meaning. The spots on the moon are called “the sign of the hare,” “the stain on the moon”. She is likened to the Stainless Moon.
“The gateway of great liberation” (Mahā-moksha-dvāra).— This is attributive of Mandala, the lunar region, and is used in praise of the Mandala. It is the gateway of Liberation, of Nirvānamukti, for those who have purified and conquered their senses, among other practices; by meditating on this in the path of Yoga they attain liberation (Mukti).
“Who desires the wealth of Yoga” (Shriyamabhimata-shīlasya). —By Shrī is meant “the wealth of Yoga”. For him who by his very nature desires the wealth of Yoga, that is the gateway of Liberation. This clearly explains the meaning of Shuddhendriya, whose senses are pure and controlled.
In the pericarp of this Lotus is the Nabho-mandala (ethereal region): inside the latter is the triangle (Trikona); inside the triangle is the Chandra-mandala; and inside it is the Nabhobīja⁴: and so forth. Cf. “Think of the full moon in the triangle within the pericarp; there think of the snowy Ākāsha seated on an elephant, and whose raiment is white. There is the Deva Sadā- Shiva.” “Whose raiment is white” qualifies Ākāsha.
1 See Introduction to A. Avalon’s Mahānirvāna Tantra.
2 i.e., She is the Devatā of the Asthi Dhātu.
3 The nature of the Dhyāna (meditation) varies with the aim which a Sādhaka wishes by his worship. See Tantrarāja. Tantrik Texts Vols. VIII and XII.
4 The Bīja of Ether—Hang.
Verse 31
HE who has attained complete knowledge of the Ātmā (Brahman) becomes by constantly concentrating his mind (Chitta) on this Lotus a great Sage,¹ eloquent and wise, and enjoys uninterrupted peace of mind.² He sees the three periods,³ and becomes the benefactor of all, free from disease and sorrow and long-lived, and, like Hangsa, the destroyer of endless dangers.
COMMENTARY
In this verse he speaks of the good gained by meditating on the Vishuddha Chakra.
“Who has attained,” etc. (Ātma-sampūrna-yoga).⁴—He whose knowledge of the Ātman is complete by realisation of the fact that It is all-pervading. Ātman=Brahman.
According to another reading (Ātta-sampūrna-yoga), the meaning would be “one who has obtained perfection in Yoga”. Hence the venerable Teacher⁵ has said: “One who has attained complete knowledge of the Ātmā reposes like the still waters of the deep.” The Sādhaka who fixes his Chitta on this Lotus, and thereby acquires a full knowledge of the Brahman, becomes a knower (Jnānī)—i.e., becomes possessed of the knowledge of all the Shāstras without instruction therein. His Chitta becomes peaceful; he becomes “merciful towards all, not looking for any return therefor.
1 Kavi.
2 Shānta-chetāh. Shama, says Shangkarāchāryya, in his Ātmānātmaviveka, is Antarindriya-nigraha—i.e., subjection of the inner sense.
3 Past, present, and future.
4 The word Yoga is here used as equivalent of Jnāna.
5 Shrimadāchārya, i.e., Shangkarāchārya.
He is constant, gentle, steady, modest, courageous, forgiving, self-controlled, pure and the like, and free from greed, malice and pride.”¹
“He sees the three periods” (Tri-kāla-darshī)—i.e., by the knowledge acquired by Yoga he sees everything in the past, present, and future. Some say that the meaning of this is that the Yogī has seen the Self (Ātmā), and, as all objects of knowledge are therein, they become visible to him.
“Free from disease and sorrow” (Rogashokapramuktah)²—i.e., by having attained Siddhi in his mantra he becomes free from diseases and long-lived, and by reason of his having freed himself from the bonds of Māyā he feels no sorrow.
“Like Hangsa, the destroyer of endless dangers” (Niravadhivipadāng dhvangsa-hangsa-prakāshah).—From acts good and evil various dangers (Vipat) arise. The Sādhaka becomes like the Hangsa which is the Antarātmā that dwells by the pericarp of the Sahasrāra,³ for he can destroy all such dangers and in the result open the gate of Liberation (Moksha). Hangsa is the form of the Antarātmā. The rest is clear.
SUMMARY OF THE VISHUDDHA CHAKRA
At the base of the throat⁴ is the Vishuddha Chakra, with sixteen petals of smoky purple hue. Its filaments are ruddy, and the sixteen vowels, which are red and have the Bindu above them, are on the petals. In its pericarp is the ethereal region (Nabho-mandala), circular and white. Inside it is the Chandra-mandala, and above it is the Bīja Hang. This Bīja is white and garmented in white,⁵ seated on an elephant, and is four-armed. In his four hands he holds the Pāsha (noose) and the Angkusha (goad), and makes the Vara-mudrā and the Abhaya-mudrā. In his lap is Sadā-shiva, seated on a great lion-seat which is placed on the back of a bull. He is in his form of Arddhanārīshvara, and as such half his body is the colour of snow, and the other half the colour of gold. He has five faces and ten arms, and in his hands he holds the Shūla (trident), the Tangka (battle-axe), the Khadga (sacrificial sword), the Vajra (thunderbolt), Dahana,¹ the Nāgendra (great snake), the Ghantā (bell), the Angkusha (goad), the Pāsha (noose), and makes the Abhaya-mudrā. He wears a tiger’s skin, his whole body is smeared with ashes, and he has a garland of snakes round his neck. The nectar dropping from the down-turned digit of the Moon is on his forehead. Within the pericarp, and in the Lunar Region and seated on bones, is the Shakti Shākinī, white in colour, four-armed, five-faced and three-eyed, clothed in yellow, and carrying in Her hand a bow, an arrow, a noose, and a goad.
1 The portion within inverted commas is from the Bhagavad-Gītā, XVI, 2, 3.
2 Cf. Sarvarogaharachakra in Shrī Yantra.
3 That is, the Hangsa is in the twelve-petalled Lotus below the Sahasrāra. Shangkara and Vishvanātha call Hangsa the Sun.
4 Kantha-mūle.
5 That is clothed in space.
1 Agneya astra.
“In this Lotus” (Kamale)—i.e., in the pericarp of the
Vishuddha Chakra.
“In this pericarp is the spotless region of the Moon, without the mark of a hare” (Shasha-parirahita), conveys the same meaning. The spots on the moon are called “the sign of the hare,” “the stain on the moon”. She is likened to the Stainless Moon.
“The gateway of great liberation” (Mahā-moksha-dvāra).— This is attributive of Mandala, the lunar region, and is used in praise of the Mandala. It is the gateway of Liberation, of Nirvānamukti, for those who have purified and conquered their senses, among other practices; by meditating on this in the path of Yoga they attain liberation (Mukti).
“Who desires the wealth of Yoga” (Shriyamabhimata-shīlasya). —By Shrī is meant “the wealth of Yoga”. For him who by his very nature desires the wealth of Yoga, that is the gateway of Liberation. This clearly explains the meaning of Shuddhendriya, whose senses are pure and controlled.
In the pericarp of this Lotus is the Nabho-mandala (ethereal region): inside the latter is the triangle (Trikona); inside the triangle is the Chandra-mandala; and inside it is the Nabhobīja⁴: and so forth. Cf. “Think of the full moon in the triangle within the pericarp; there think of the snowy Ākāsha seated on an elephant, and whose raiment is white. There is the Deva Sadā- Shiva.” “Whose raiment is white” qualifies Ākāsha.
1 See Introduction to A. Avalon’s Mahānirvāna Tantra.
2 i.e., She is the Devatā of the Asthi Dhātu.
3 The nature of the Dhyāna (meditation) varies with the aim which a Sādhaka wishes by his worship. See Tantrarāja. Tantrik Texts Vols. VIII and XII.
4 The Bīja of Ether—Hang.
Verse 31
HE who has attained complete knowledge of the Ātmā (Brahman) becomes by constantly concentrating his mind (Chitta) on this Lotus a great Sage,¹ eloquent and wise, and enjoys uninterrupted peace of mind.² He sees the three periods,³ and becomes the benefactor of all, free from disease and sorrow and long-lived, and, like Hangsa, the destroyer of endless dangers.
COMMENTARY
In this verse he speaks of the good gained by meditating on the Vishuddha Chakra.
“Who has attained,” etc. (Ātma-sampūrna-yoga).⁴—He whose knowledge of the Ātman is complete by realisation of the fact that It is all-pervading. Ātman=Brahman.
According to another reading (Ātta-sampūrna-yoga), the meaning would be “one who has obtained perfection in Yoga”. Hence the venerable Teacher⁵ has said: “One who has attained complete knowledge of the Ātmā reposes like the still waters of the deep.” The Sādhaka who fixes his Chitta on this Lotus, and thereby acquires a full knowledge of the Brahman, becomes a knower (Jnānī)—i.e., becomes possessed of the knowledge of all the Shāstras without instruction therein. His Chitta becomes peaceful; he becomes “merciful towards all, not looking for any return therefor.
1 Kavi.
2 Shānta-chetāh. Shama, says Shangkarāchāryya, in his Ātmānātmaviveka, is Antarindriya-nigraha—i.e., subjection of the inner sense.
3 Past, present, and future.
4 The word Yoga is here used as equivalent of Jnāna.
5 Shrimadāchārya, i.e., Shangkarāchārya.
He is constant, gentle, steady, modest, courageous, forgiving, self-controlled, pure and the like, and free from greed, malice and pride.”¹
“He sees the three periods” (Tri-kāla-darshī)—i.e., by the knowledge acquired by Yoga he sees everything in the past, present, and future. Some say that the meaning of this is that the Yogī has seen the Self (Ātmā), and, as all objects of knowledge are therein, they become visible to him.
“Free from disease and sorrow” (Rogashokapramuktah)²—i.e., by having attained Siddhi in his mantra he becomes free from diseases and long-lived, and by reason of his having freed himself from the bonds of Māyā he feels no sorrow.
“Like Hangsa, the destroyer of endless dangers” (Niravadhivipadāng dhvangsa-hangsa-prakāshah).—From acts good and evil various dangers (Vipat) arise. The Sādhaka becomes like the Hangsa which is the Antarātmā that dwells by the pericarp of the Sahasrāra,³ for he can destroy all such dangers and in the result open the gate of Liberation (Moksha). Hangsa is the form of the Antarātmā. The rest is clear.
SUMMARY OF THE VISHUDDHA CHAKRA
At the base of the throat⁴ is the Vishuddha Chakra, with sixteen petals of smoky purple hue. Its filaments are ruddy, and the sixteen vowels, which are red and have the Bindu above them, are on the petals. In its pericarp is the ethereal region (Nabho-mandala), circular and white. Inside it is the Chandra-mandala, and above it is the Bīja Hang. This Bīja is white and garmented in white,⁵ seated on an elephant, and is four-armed. In his four hands he holds the Pāsha (noose) and the Angkusha (goad), and makes the Vara-mudrā and the Abhaya-mudrā. In his lap is Sadā-shiva, seated on a great lion-seat which is placed on the back of a bull. He is in his form of Arddhanārīshvara, and as such half his body is the colour of snow, and the other half the colour of gold. He has five faces and ten arms, and in his hands he holds the Shūla (trident), the Tangka (battle-axe), the Khadga (sacrificial sword), the Vajra (thunderbolt), Dahana,¹ the Nāgendra (great snake), the Ghantā (bell), the Angkusha (goad), the Pāsha (noose), and makes the Abhaya-mudrā. He wears a tiger’s skin, his whole body is smeared with ashes, and he has a garland of snakes round his neck. The nectar dropping from the down-turned digit of the Moon is on his forehead. Within the pericarp, and in the Lunar Region and seated on bones, is the Shakti Shākinī, white in colour, four-armed, five-faced and three-eyed, clothed in yellow, and carrying in Her hand a bow, an arrow, a noose, and a goad.
1 The portion within inverted commas is from the Bhagavad-Gītā, XVI, 2, 3.
2 Cf. Sarvarogaharachakra in Shrī Yantra.
3 That is, the Hangsa is in the twelve-petalled Lotus below the Sahasrāra. Shangkara and Vishvanātha call Hangsa the Sun.
4 Kantha-mūle.
5 That is clothed in space.
1 Agneya astra.
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