EMPRESAS ESPECIALIZADAS

A characteristic feature of all Kaula traditions is that they consider themselves to be originally oral transmissions imparted in secret,'6 and the

Pascimamnaya is no exception.17 The master imparted the teaching to the disciple who proved his worth, for it was felt that only in this way could the tradition be preserved and protected from the insincere. It is certainly true, as Abhinavagupta says, that there is a limit to what can be written and learned in books;'* the master is not, however, merely a source of extra information that cannot be found in the scriptures or simply a man who knows how to decipher their codes or interpret their subtle meanings. He is above all the vehicle through which the hidden power of their teachings is transmitted. He is the one who imparts the initiation which marks his disciple's entry into a new existential condition in which he is on the path to liberation, training himself through the grace of the deity (embodied in the master) to attain the enlightened state his master reached before him and thus perpetuate the transmission of the teachings. His constant companions and supports along his journey are the Mantras he was taught when, during his initiation, he made this transition. Full of the vital, living power of consciousness, Mantras can only be effective if imparted directly, properly intoned by one who has activated their hidden energy in his own consciousness. Written Mantras are powerless;39 they are as ineffective as lines drawn on water.40 Equally useless is any other spiritual practice learned from the dead letter of the written word. Thus the Pascimamnaya lays particular stress on the importance of the master. He is the sole essential element41 of this, the "Tradition of the Master" (gurvamnaya)42,

also known as that of the "Mouth of the Master."4' It is here that spiritual knowledge and Mantra reside, by virtue of which he is the Lord of the

Pascimamnaya.44

In the Pascimamnaya, as in all Kaula traditions in general, women are thought to have a special role to play as the transmitters of Kaula doctrine for, as the saying goes, "one should place wisdom in the mouth of a woman and take it again from her lips."45 She is the master's Tantric consort (duti) who, like the master, instructs the disciple and so is to be respected as his

64 THE KAULA TANTRAS

equal in every way.46 She can also be the unattached yogini encountered by the adept (siddha) who, in search of yogic accomplishment, wanders on pilgrimage to the sacred places of the Kaulas where meetings take place.47 It is from her that the wisdom of the tradition is learned and how the rituals should be performed. The Manthanabhairava of the Pascimamnaya insists that there is no difference between the teacher and the yogini.48 The secret of all the scripture, the supreme essence of the oral tradition, is on the lips of the yogini.49 Thus she is venerated as the Supreme Power which bestows the bliss of the innate nature of all things (sahajananda) and is the embodiment of Bhairava's will.50 The yogini is the womb from which the enlightened yogi is born and her mouth, from which issues the tradition, is the sacred matrix (yoni), the triangle consisting of the powers of consciousness to will, know and act.51 As the womb (yoni) of creation, it is the Lower Mouth (adhovaktra) which is the essence of Kaula doctrine.52 This lower face is that of the yogini equated in the Trika with the Primary Wheel (mukhyacakra), namely, that of consciousness into which all the Secondary Wheels (anucakra) of consciousness - those of the senses, both physical and mental - dissolve away and from which they emerge.55 It is the Circle of Bliss (anandacakra) from which the energy of emission

(visargasakti) flows forth as Kundalini, that is, as Kaulikisakti, who in the Pascimamnaya is represented as Kubjika, the presiding goddess.

The 'Lower Mouth', which is the Mouth of the Yogini, is generally considered by the Kaula tradition as a whole to be the source of Kaula doctrine. From it flows the sixth current below the five currents of the Saivagama. The Lower Current is hidden there, below the faces of Sadasiva, symbolizing its esoteric character.54 By virtue of the monism of its doctrines, it is said to rise through, and permeate, the other Saiva traditions, leading them ultimately to the undivided bliss of consciousness which is the experience of Siva in His highest state (parasiva).55 The

Pascimamnaya, like other Kaula traditions, calls this face "Picuvaktra, "

i.e., the face of the yogini called Picu.56 It is the Face of the Nether Region

(patalavaktra) from which creation streams forth.57 According to a system of classification outlined in the Satsahasrasamhita of the Pascimamnaya, the Agamas are divided into seven groups corresponding to the seven psychic centres in the body (cakra). The lowest centre is the Wheel of the

Foundation (adharacakra), which is that of the Nether Region, followed by the five currents of the Saivagama spoken by the five faces of Sadasiva. Above these is the Wheel of the Uncreated (ajacakra). Schoterman explains that in the first - the highest - mouth resides Siva as Adideva together with the Adisakti, while in the seventh - the lowest - mouth resides the goddess as Guhyasakti: the union of these two mouths is the

Mouth of the Yogini 65 goal.58 One of the points, it seems, that is being made here is that the

Pascimamnaya is the highest of the Agamic schools and contains them all

by combining within itself both the highest Kaula and the highest Saiva doctrines.

The tradition which emerges from the yogini's mouth is called in the

Pascimamnaya, a Saivasrotas.59 The Siddhantagamas also consider the

Kaula tradition to be represented by two of eight subsidiary currents

(anusrotas) associated with the five principal currents of the Saivagama.

These two are called Yoginikaula and Siddhakaula. The Yoginikaula is so called because the yoginis heard it from Siva's mouth and kept it within their own line of transmission. The Siddhakaula is similarly originally derived from Saiva doctrine but is transmitted by Siddhas, the male counterparts of the yoginis.60 These two categories are well known in the

Kaulatantras and are vitally connected with each other. In the Kaula- jnananirnaya, Matsyendranatha figures as the founder of the Yoginikula

tradition which is especially associated with the fabulous land of

Kamarupa,61 although he himself seems to have belonged to the Siddha,

or Siddhamrtakaula.62 That Kaulatantras did, in fact, reflect on

themselves as belonging to one or other of these two broad categories transpires from the characterization of the Urmikaulatantra as belonging to the Siddhasantana transmitted through one of its branches.63 The

Yoginikula is mentioned in a work quoted by Jayaratha.64 The typifying characterization of these two classes by the KMT of the Pascimamnaya is essentially the same as that found in the Siddhantagama referred to above.65 The Pascimamnaya, consistent with its characterization of Kula doctrine as the tradition which expounds the essence of the teachings of the Yogini,66 considered itself to be the tradition of the yoginis (yoginikrama)67

and the secret of their oral transmission.68 Even so, Pascima doctrine is considered to be that of Siddhas of the Pascimamnaya69 and is not to be

revealed to those who do not belong to the Siddhakaula school.70 There are places, however, where the Yoginikula is made to appear to be a part of the Pascimamnaya.71 Again, Kubjika, the presiding deity, is Kundalini,

which is the essential teaching of the Yoginikula. Thus amongst the Kaula traditions originating from the sacred places (pithas), the Pascimamnaya presents the most vital doctrine of all the Kaula tradition72 - including the

Yoginikaula. At its highest level, however, the Pascimamnaya agrees with

the Yoginikula that the ultimate object of devotion is Siva (here called Sambhu). He is the abode of the Sambhava state and as such the Supreme Place that, although beyond all characterization, bestows infinite qualities. It is where all practice ceases and all things appear immediately present directly before the yogi.71

66 THE KAULA TANTRAS