While the Gods Play

by Alain Daniélou

  Among the additional powers acquired by the Siddhä (adept) are those of incantation and enchantment. "The Yogi acquires the power of destroying or injuring his enemies through the aid of imitative magic, as, for example, by making images of an enemy and practicing magical rites and enchantments on them" (L. Chakravarty, Indian Historical Quarterly 6: 114). The Yogi can, with a single glance, reduce all those who oppose him to ashes. He also acquires the power of acting with the speed of thought (manojavitvä) and the power of acting without physical organs (vikaranä-dharmitvä). Among the attributes of divine beings obtained by means of the Siddhi(s) are also the absence of fear, the absence of aging, and the absence of death.

  The Yogi enjoys during his terrestrial existence all the voluptuous delights that others promise after death in a hypothetical paradise.

  The Yogi does not pass his time in some vague meditation. He is constantly occupied by an intensive work which is the exploration, in ever-increasing depth, of this image of the Universal Being that is his own body. He explores all the nooks and crannies in which reside the mechanisms that regulate his physical and mental activities. He investigates and gradually enlarges the narrow and secret passages that will enable his higher faculties to escape from their corporeal prison. He must force certain passages, but he must be careful not to damage this marvelous dwelling place which is his body and which he must maintain with care and love. All asceticisms, all brutality toward himself, is forbidden. The Yogi, through his own power, controls the effects of time and prolongs his existence indefinitely. He acquires a perpetual adolescence, preserves this adolescent body, which he will one day transmute, if he succeeds in his enterprise, into a celestial body. He remains mortal, for the gods themselves are mortal, even though attaining prodigious longevity (sometimes confused with immortality). It is through the efficacy of his powers that he arrives at a suprahuman knowledge of the nature and structure of the world.

  Reincarnation

  THE theory of reincarnation, which promulgates the continuity of the "I," seeks to replace the stages of evolution of a lineage by the adventures of an individual being wandering from species to species.

  It is a strange pride, exploited by religious sects, which persuades man to desire the permanence of the individual instead of the continuity of the species, and to imagine a sort of post-mortem eternity of human individualities while envisioning nothing of the sort for the other species.

  Apart from the very particular cases of possession or of the occupation of an apparently resuscitated corpse, the migration of the Lingä-Sharirä is envisioned only as a phenomenon of hereditary transmission and not as reincarnation, which would be a vagabondage of the individuality through the most diverse bodies. The theory of reincarnation, such as it appears in later Hinduism, was a part neither of the old Shaivism nor of Vedism. It derives from jaïnism, which transmitted it to Buddhism and then into modern Hinduism.

  Belief in the survival of the human individuality in infernal or celestial worlds, like the theory of reincarnation, is tied to the doctrine of Karmä, which assumes the permanence of an "I" which the Sâmkhyä, by contrast, considers ephemeral, and an automatic retribution of actions committed in the course of terrestrial life.

  Prasâdä, divine Grace, is an essential element of the Shaïvä doctrine. The destiny of living beings depends essentially upon the Creator's imagination and not upon their Karmä, or automatic retribution of their actions, good or bad, which would limit the absolute power of the Sovereign Principle (Maheshvarä). Shaivism does not accept the theory of Karmä because it limits the omnipotence of the divine Being, his right to injustice. All that exists in the universe depends upon the whim, the grace, of Shivä. This is why Shaivism orients people toward devotion, Bhakti, and not toward moralism. One does not barter with the gods.

  Transubstantiation

  SHAIVA Yogä is directed toward making use of the powers acquired at the far reaches of knowledge: the mastery of natural forces, magical action. It is through the force of his will, his power of knowledge, the power that he acquires, that the adept of Yogä can launch himself toward the conquest of the celestial worlds, surpassing the limitations of the human state and elevating himself to the level of the subtle powers that direct the world.

  It is by a transubstantiation, which is the ultimate object of the practices of Hatha Yogä, that the realized Yogi (the hero, Vîrä) succeeds in elevating himself, body and soul, to a higher level of the hierarchy of creation. At this point he ceases to be a man, having transposed the harmonies, the characteristic patterns that constitute his physical nature, into another state of matter. What he seeks is to leave the animal state (pashu), to liberate himself from the snare (Pâshä) of the material body, which imprisons the plan or group of faculties that constitute his Transmigrant Body or Sexual Body containing all the elements of his physical and mental personality. By virtue of the Siddhi(s) or powers acquired by Yogä, he comes to realize an ascension in the hierarchy of beings, which culminates in a transubstantiation that transforms the entire body into a celestial body without passing through death. The living being is thus transferred to a higher, more subtle level of existence, free from the constraints of materiality. Christian mythology, in speaking of the Assumption of the Virgin, alludes to this same phenomenon of transubstantiation.

  It is thanks to a particular technique that the body made of corruptible matter (ashuddhä-mâyâ) is made to correspond to incorruptible matter (shuddhä-mâyâ) and transubstantiation takes place . . . the human body becomes liberated from the requirements of the animal economy when the transfer from corruptible Mâyâ to incorruptible Mâyâ occurs. It is then no longer subject to death ... it is transfigured into a body of glory and power called Jñânä-tanu or spiritual body. The living liberated man (jîvan-muktä) leaves the domain of matter and with his body disappears suddenly into light. [V. V. Ramanan Shastri, Cultural Heritage of India, pp. 307–308]

  Transubstantiation, by which the living being can transmute himself into a being of a more subtle essence without passing through death, is a completely different phenomenon from a post-mortem transmigration. The entire structure of the living being, in which resides the notion of "I," the persona of individual being, can be transmuted into another form of substance and subsist in proximity to (samîpyä) the divine beings, in what we imagine as paradise. On the other hand, when death takes place, the group of elements that consitute the human person disperses and the "I" ceases to exist. There exists no immortal soul independent of the body and the Internal Organ. It is omnipresent consciousness (cit) that is immortal, but although it inhabits the Internal Organ just as it does all the cells of the body, it is not a part of it. Confusion between consciousness (cit) and the notion of the "I" (ahamkarä) has given birth to the belief in the immortality of the "soul." The word soul, from anima (that which animates), is furthermore connected with the notion of prânä, of breath, regarded as the principle of life.

  Liberation (Mokshä)

  WHEN a created being, at whatever stage he finds himself, that of man or of god, reaches the highest level of awareness and perceives the nature of the world, he identifies himself with the plan, with Purushä, and goes beyond the stage of Prakriti or nature. He leaves what is created and makes his way back to the Bindu, the initial point. This is what is called the final passage or liberation (mokshä), also called the "instantaneous or total end of the world" (atyantikä. pralayä) from the point of view of the individuality. In all events, the individual sooner or later ceases to exist and is dissolved into the various entities from which he was formed and which themselves will cease to exist when the universe is reabsorbed and returns to nonbeing.

  Immortality

  IMMORTALITY does not exist. Everything that has a beginning must one day have an end. When the universe is reabsorbed, when space and time no longer exist, when there is no longer either matter or harmony or plan or consciousness or thought, no form of survival, of existence, is possible or conceivable at a
ny level.

  All the same, within the hierarchy of creation there exist forms of consciousness, of matter, of organized complexes whose duration appears immense (or infinitesimal) with respect to our perception of time. Some of these forms of being are what we call the immortals.

  Formed at levels of more subtle combinations than those perceived by our senses, spirits and gods still are within the domain of the multiplicity, the domain of Prakriti. Thus, the gods are mortal even if their life might seem of very long duration measured against the norms of time that human beings perceive.

  When the divine dream becomes extinguished, when desire is obliterated, space and time, which are only the determining elements of what is "measurable" in the world, will be reabsorbed and cease to exist.

  Yogä and Tantrism

  YOGIC method makes use of the vital energies as sources of energy, particularly the combination represented by respiratory energy (prânä), but also sexual energy, connected with the very principle of life. Starting from the center where the Transmigrant Body's models are manufactured, that is to say, the sexual center, by means of particular exercises and practices, the methods of Yogä can lead to the control and utilization of sexual energy.

  When the adept seeks to attain knowledge by means of the Siddhi(s) or powers, he makes use of the practices known as the "left hand," centered around the genital functions. He transforms his procreative force into creative force. For this reason, the development and mastery of the sexual power plays a central role in the practices of Hathä Yogä. All the forms of shamanism are based on these techniques.

  Shaiva Hathä Yogä is therefore tied to the magic rites of Tantrism, to the Yogi's grasping of the subtle plan according to which both his physical body and his mental image of Purushä—Universal Being—develop. The body in its entirety becomes the instrument for the realization of the higher powers of knowledge and for going beyond the limitations of the apparent world. It is in exploring the most secret regions of the body, developing the powers hidden in them, that the Hathä Yogi succeeds in transgressing natural laws and, by a transubstantiation of the entire body, elevates himself in the hierarchy of beings. Having then acquired the status of the subtle beings, he integrates himself into the company of spirits and gods.

  He becomes equal to the gods, a god himself; but before realizing this ultimate stage, the disciplines that he must follow isolate him from other mortals. He becomes, with respect to human society, a strange being, disturbing, marginal, who has no place in materialist society. He leads a life both ascetic and lustful, for the sources of his power are in the Sexual Body. He is respected but feared.

  Aryanized Yogä

  THE religions of the Kali Yugä have endeavored to recapture the amazing methods of Yogä by adapting the teachings and practices to the modes of thinking of the urban cultures. The result is that there exists a Taoist Yogä, a Buddhist Yogä, a Zen Yogä. The Râjä Yogä of Patañjali is an intellectual path, while modern Shivä Yogä finds itself reduced to a devotional path based on the veneration of images and the hypnotic repetition of formulae or Manträ(s). The adepts of these new conceptions of a "civilized Yogä" have little in common with the marginal society of magician-sages practicing the ancient Hathä Yogä. "The entire yogic process is seen as a preparation for the pure mentalism of the Vedantä" (Thomas McEvilley, An Archeology of Yoga, 1, p. 58).

  The goal is no longer knowledge or the exploration of the secret of the nature of the world and the conquest of heaven, but a negative conception of liberation that is nothing more than the destruction of the Transmigrant Body. The influence of Christian dualism, which separates body from soul (readily identified with the "I"), will find expression in the spiritualist conception of Vedantä and of an aseptic Yogä.

  In modern times, Svâmi Vivekânandä, the founder of the Râmakrishnä Order at the end of the nineteenth century, was particularly active in the propagation of a theory of Yogä and of Vedantä adapted to the concepts and prejudices of Anglo-Saxon puritanism. He was followed in this path by Aurobindo and other recent commentators on Hinduism writing mostly in English. These new forms of Yogä extol negative methods such as abstinence, nonviolence, vegetarianism, chastity, and nonpossession. Certain essential practices of Hathä Yogä are eliminated. The "six acts" are replaced by mental attitudes. Symbolic elements are substituted for the material rituals of Tantrism. The attitude of the new Râjä Yogä is alien to the general conception of the world and the hierarchy of creation. Words such as spirituality, transcendental meditation, and liberation remain vague and often devoid of meaning, for the principle which dreams the world is beyond creation; it is in any event unknowable, unattainable.

  The intermediate powers, on the other hand, are multiple, very diverse, and very defined. The world of the gods is part of creation; it is not in essence different from the world of men; it is only at another level of reality. It is through the Siddhi(s) that it is possible to contact, to communicate with, the individualities of the celestial world, then to become assimilated to them. The Siddhi(s) also make it possible to control the nature of the invisible forces with which certain practices permit contact.

  PART THREE

  THE MÎMNS: THE RELIGIOUS, RITUALISTIC, AND MYSTICAL APPROACH

  1

  The Two Mîmânsâ

  THE THIRD METHOD OF INQUIRY ENTAILS THE INVEStigation of contacts with the world by the subtle powers who represent the various levels of consciousness within the hierarchy of creation, and whom we call spirits or gods. It involves on the one hand experiment and intuition, the elementary approach (pûrvä), and on the other hand theory and theology, the higher approach (uttarä).

  Pûrvä Mîmânsâ, primary intuition, tries to establish, by means of symbols, rites, sacrifices, and magical practices, contacts with the powers which inhabit the subtle worlds but which cannot be identified by any other means. We are able to create, with the assistance of the symbols, images, and rites, meeting points which allow contact between the different levels of existence and which help us to better understand through direct experience the structural similarities between the various types of beings. If the rites and magical practices are functioning and are giving tangible results, this means they have found an echo in a world that is invisible to us. Prayer is part of this approach: when we beseech the gods, spirits, or saints to help us overcome our problems, it is as if we are sending out a radar signal toward the invisible in the hope of picking up an echo.

  In order to establish communication between the different types of being, the rites that are dubbed Tantric use the similarities between the archetypes at the base of our Sexual Body, our genetic code, and the analogous ones that give rise not only to the subtle beings but also to the other forms of life (plants and animals).

  We call gods or spirits all those beings that cannot be directly perceived by us, but whose existence and presence we can sense. They are of various types: they are not immortal and differ from us less in their form than in their substance, dimensions, and length of life.

  Our efforts to communicate with subtle beings, the spirits or the living creatures of other worlds, presupposes that their concepts of time match ours (and there is no evidence of this) or that they are temporarily to be found at the meeting points between the different worlds. This is why attempts to establish contact are usually unsuccessful. Interaction between beings of different dimensions and time are only possible in certain specific cases. We cannot communicate with extraterrestrials, fairies, or genies unless they are, however temporarily it may be, in conditions of time and space similar to our own. Otherwise, communication can only be by means of that part of our subtle faculties which is not the prisoner of relative space and time.

  Beings for whom, according to the theory of cycles, a human day corresponds to a second or to several centuries, can never be perceived by us: this is the cause of the problems of communication between different worlds, for the value that we attach to a given length of time is relative to our p
hysical body. It is determined by the vital rhythms of each species.

  One of the characteristics of what we consider to be sightings of celestial beings or extraterrestrials is the speed with which they disappear in relation to what is normal for our vision of time. Their presence in our world, which may last a day for them, takes only a few seconds for" us.

  The animist intuition and experience of the mystics are part of the experimental forms of Mîmânsâ. The problem is to discern with which types of beings, with which types of invisible forces, we are establishing contact and with whom we are eventually entering into agreement. A misunderstanding as to their nature or a mistake in the rites might make them harmful. Those who try to make contact with the spirits by making tables turn are taking part in a form of ritual experience similar to those of religious or magical rites.

  The second, "higher" Mîmânsâ (Uttarä Mîmânsâ) attempts to define the nature of the subtle beings that we contact through rites, and whose very existence we sense through mystic intuition. Such an intellectual approach, which tries to rationalize and to explain the features of mystical and ritual experience, might be termed theological or metaphysical. The Uttarä Mîmânsâ analyzes the echoes of the invisible so that it can establish a kind of hierarchy for the forces which control the subtle world.

  The Gods

  THE Absolute, "that indefinable thing which is only Being" (sattâmâträ), is outside the world and hence unknowable. It can only be conceived of in negative terms. This is why it can only be said that it is impersonal, formless, inactive, unreachable, inconceivable, without dimension or limit.