El enfoque institucionalista de la acción colectiva: diferencias con la TCS

fit to ascend to My Supreme Abode beyond the plane of ordinary knowledge where he shall enjoy Bliss Undying and Divine.

Commentary to Chapter Seven

5. Everything is born of that Supreme Sound: See Chapter 1, Commentary to introductory verse.

9. As in the day the light in the Sky, the Sun, is ever one, etc.: When the Sky is clear as during the day, the World is illumined by one Light only. But when the sunlight is obstructed, as in the night, not even the myriads of Stars can dispel the darkness. Why this great contrast between Day and Night? As the World was created by the Greatest Intelligence in the Universe, it can hardly be supposed to be a random and meaningless collection of things. Indeed, Day and Night exist for a purpose, which is to remind us of a Higher Truth. This Truth is that Reality has two aspects. One in which It reigns Supreme, as the Only Existing Truth, and another in which It apparently assumes a secondary position, leaving the stage free for others to unfold their own life drama, while Itself constantly observes the World Show from behind the ever-changing scenes.

The sage understands that while both realities have their value, only that is really true in which One Reality outshines all others. That reality is the Condition of Divinity, Godhead, Enlightenment, Awakening or Truth. Whatever it may seem, everything else is just a dream, fashioned by the Supreme Reality Itself. Not only this, but just as Day follows Night, so also

Reality returns to Its natural state of Supreme Sovereignty every moment anew before returning to the Grand Show of the Universal Drama. More permanently, It returns to Its True Self at the

"End of the World". This End of the World takes place on two levels. On the personal level, when the Enlightened or Awakened Soul sees through the plot of the World Drama and stands face to face with the Sun of Reality Whom he recognises as his own Higher Self. On the Universal level, the End of the World Drama comes when, at the time of Universal Dissolution (Maha Pralaya), the Divine Show Master dismisses the actors, the audience and Himself and merges everything back into His Infinite, Unmanifest Self.

11. But to the others it is like a sealed chest: The question that arises here is whether Enlightenment can be attained by means other than Yoga. The answer, of course, is no. As the word itself suggests, Enlightenment is the condition of living in and by the Light of Universal Consciousness (or Divine Intelligence). Yoga is both the experience of that state (of Absolute Unity and Identity with the Supreme) and the means that leads to it. Although Spiritually ignorant man cannot escape a sense of isolation that leads him to feel abandoned and forlorn, the truth is that he is never alone. The space between man and Shiva is never empty. It is always full to the brim with the radiant Intelligence of myriads of Yogis who are rays of the Supreme. The All-Embracing Sky of Universal Consciousness from here to Infinity is ever ablaze with Yogic Light which is the Light of Universal Unity. These Yogis, of course, are not limited beings with physical bodies like those seen on Earth, they are Pure Luminous Beings of great Spiritual Power.

The fact is that the Higher Reaches of Existence are occupied exclusively by Yogis who are more and more Identical with Shiva in ascending order. Now, supposing, for the sake of argument, that a non-Yogi somehow succeeded to reach those Higher Planes of Universal Unity, he must necessarily have shed his non-Yogic ideas which are, by definition, divisive, in order to acquire the unitive purity that entrance on the Higher Planes naturally demands. And, having entered those Planes of Universal Unity, he will, by force of circumstances, have been transformed into a Yogi, that is, a Follower of and Participant in Universal Unity, and Pervaded and Enlightened by Shiva's Unitive Light of Truth which is Yoga, and transformed into a Being who is One with Shiva Himself. In consequence, and as everybody will agree, it is a logical necessity for the Higher Reaches of Existence which are Abodes of Pure Universal Unity and ever free of even a shadow of disunity, to be inhabited by Yogis and Yogis only, since otherwise the Universal Unity would cease to be such. To deny this would amount to denying the ultimate Unity of Being and this in turn would expose the denier as being ignorant of the most fundamental Spiritual Truth, which is, that Reality is One.

12. I, the Ever Awake, having put the Souls to sleep, enchant them all with the Great World Dream, etc.: Says the Shiva Stotravali: "Obeisance to You! the only lamp for worldly beings blinded by the darkness of delusion. Obeisance to You, O Supreme Being! Ever Awake in the midst of a sleeping World" (14:18). Likewise, it is said in the Ishvara-Pratyabhijna: "When the whole World is asleep only the Highest Lord, the Creator of the World-Drama, is Awake".

16 (a). Maya is the fetter to be conquered through Sadhana or Spiritual Practice: Sadhana literally means that which leads to Perfection (Siddhi). Any activity, physical, mental or Spiritual that leads to a higher state of consciousness constitutes Spiritual Practice. It is the perfecting of the apparently imperfect Soul and leads to a Perfect Experience of Life which is identical to the Experience God has of Himself and of His Creation.

16 (b). Though the Souls appear to be many, they are in reality One: In reality, there is only One Supreme Soul (the Universal Self or God) and all individual Souls are one with each other in and through the One Supreme Being. External, object-centred consciousness as experienced in everyday life imposes on the mind an awareness of distinctiveness and separateness between

Souls. It is to a large extent a matter of identity. If we identify ourselves with limited physical bodies, then we cannot help feeling distinct to and separate from others. If we identify ourselves with the mind then the self-imposed delimitations are less rigid and become more fluid allowing us to identify in thought and feeling with those with whom we share certain thoughts and emotions. If we identify ourselves with the Soul, the conscious entity at the centre of our being, who consists of pure light, intelligence and energy, then we cannot avoid feeling one with other Souls who are all essentially the same as we are. Finally, if we identify with the Supreme, Universal Being, then logically One Being Only exists and the Oneness of Life becomes the underlying substratum of all our experience.

20. Knowledge that others claim not to possess even though it was revealed by Myself unto the World: In the same way as the function of the Sun is to radiate light, the function of God is to radiate Truth. Truth or Knowledge of Reality is constantly transmitted (or transmits Itself) to the World in many different ways yet the recipient's power of perception or conception is not always sufficiently developed for him to fully understand the meaning of what he has received. Elements of Yogic Teachings may be found in all Spiritual traditions of the World yet they are not always recognised as such and their existence is denied by the ignorant. For example, the Christian religion recognises that God is One. Islam also teaches that there is no other God besides God.

However, Yoga goes one step further and asserts that God alone exists. This clearly establishes the Absolute Unity of Life and Supremacy of God in a way no other religion does. While this teaching is implicitly contained in all other traditions, it is eminently evident in Yoga alone. It is as if non-Yogic traditions were afraid of exposing the full Truth and attempted to cover it up or dilute it beyond recognition. This is perhaps due to the fact that they are transmitting the Truth to non-Yogis, that is to say, to persons who are not yet ready to assimilate the whole Truth and therefore must be fed diluted versions thereof just as a babies are fed diluted food.

27. Turning My Gaze within, I again see Myself as the Only-Existing-One: The diverse forms of existence from the highest to the lowest are nothing but Shiva's Own Universal Consciousness manifesting Itself as the Thirty-Six Realities. When, at the Time of Dissolution, Shiva re-absorbs everything into Himself, the Eternal, Thirty-Sixth Reality alone remains as the Only-Existing-One. The Enlightened Yogi who identifies himself with the Supreme, Unmanifest Reality, likewise no longer sees the Thirty-Six Realities but only the One. Says the Shivastotravali: "O Lord! how glorious is Your Great Festival of Worship (Puja-Mahotsava) which consumes even the Thirty-Six Realities" (17:30).

32. Dreaming, Deep Sleep and the Fourth, Enlightenment, are known only to Yogis and Beings Divine: The English word Enlightenment is the translation of the Greek Photismos (Illumination) which was the term employed by the Sages of Ancient Greece to describe the condition of elevated Spiritual Awareness, a condition that is often accompanied by visions of light (photisms). In the Yoga tradition itself, the term Illumination (Pratibha) is reserved for the light of Intuition (or Insight) that illumines the mind, as it were, and enhances its faculties prior to Enlightenment proper. The latter is commonly referred to as Moksha (Liberation), Mukti (Release), Nirvana (Extinction of Mental Fluctuations), Duhkanta (End of Sorrow), Bodhi, Sambodhi (Awakening), Sampurnata (Perfection), Shivatva (Oneness with God) or Shiva-Sthana (Being Established in God). The term Enlightenment or Illumination, therefore, may be said to have three levels of meaning corresponding to three degrees of experience: (1) visions of light (photisms), (2) state of enhanced mental awareness and clarity prior to Enlightenment proper and (3) Enlightenment itself, that is, the Highest and Fullest Possible, God-like State of Consciousness or Being. In the final analysis, however, all these are just mental concepts that do little more than vaguely pointing to a condition that surpasses all mental conception. As the Buddha himself has said: The objective field of the Enlightened Ones is unthinkable, it cannot be

thought out; anyone who tried to think it out would reap madness and frustration (Anguttara Nikaya ii, 80). The present verse says this much by stating that dreaming, deep sleep and Enlightenment are known to Yogis and Divine Beings only. Although ordinary people may have glimpses of these, they are far from possessing full knowledge of them, which is the exclusive prerogative of those who have attained higher states (Saints, Siddhas, Perfect Souls).

34. Six Powers Divine: Omnipotence, Omniscience, Infinite Fullness-and-Satisfaction, Omnipresence, Eternity and Infinite Freedom, their Source: These are the Powers of the Supreme Being. In relation to the Universe, they manifest themselves as the Five Powers, Intelligence, Bliss, Will, Knowledge, Action and Infinite Freedom (from which they arise) as described in Commentary to 6:60. As all Divine Powers are included in Infinite Freedom, they may be counted either as six with Infinite Freedom taken as a separate Power or as five with Infinite Freedom implied as the ground and source of the other five.

41. I am the three hundred and sixty days of the human year: See Commentary to 2:65.

42. The All-Encompassing Circle described by the Great Firmament itself: This refers to the great circle of the Celestial Sphere which is described by the line of the horizon (where Earth and Sky are seen to meet). Alternatively, the circle described by the Sun as he passes through the twelve Constellations of the Zodiac in the course of one year.

49. The Effulgent Throne of Heaven: The Throne of God is also mentioned in Western Scriptures such as the Bible and the Quran. In Yoga, it represents the State or Condition of Godhead (Shivatva, Shiva-Sthana) which is attained by ascending heavenwards through a series of States of Consciousness or "Steps". In the Bible (1 Kings 10:19), the Throne of the People of God is said to have six steps, which clearly agrees with the Yoga Tradition. The six steps are the six levels of existence that ultimately lead to the Seventh and Highest State of All-Encompassing Divinity. If we multiply the six steps by the six powers which unfold as the Soul progresses on his journey towards Unity with God, this gives a total of thirty-six, that is, the totality or fullness of experience which restores the human Soul to his Divine Status. In the human body, these steps correspond to the Seven Energy Centres or Chakras the first six of which are progressive steps to the seventh and highest. See also verses 4:58-60 and Commentary.

End of Chapter 7 and Commentary