74 - Discourses on Tantra Volume One

Chapter 20

The Pervasive Influence (1)

Is Shiva a philosophy or a personality or a deity? We must first say a little about Shivatattva [the inner meaning of Shiva], devatátattva and daevii shakti, and then analyse Shiva and the other gods and goddesses who are claimed to be related to Him. There are deep-seated questions in human minds about this, but all the questions remain unanswered.

Shiva was a great personality. At the same time, His entire life we may say, His very way of life is a philosophy. And when one’s personality becomes fully identified with one’s philosophy of life, one becomes a god.

Dyotate krid́ate yasmát udyate dyotate divi;
Tasmát deva iti proktah stúyate sarvadevataeh.

[The vibrational manifestations emanating from the Supreme Nucleus are known as devatás, and these devatás address that Supreme Nucleus as Deva. He with His powers vibrates the entire universe, makes the entire universe dance; and He by dint of His occult and supra-occult powers brings everything back onto His lap.]

The endless expressions of life emanating from the Universal Nucleus which move all-pervasively in and through everything of the universe and influence all entities are called devatás [deities, gods and goddesses]. Shiva’s ideology is totally identified with His life, with His way of life. Hence, Shiva is definitely a devatá.

Now while we are discussing devatátattva [the inner meaning of a devatá] we must add something more. Normally, each and every expression that emanates from the Supreme Hub, the Cosmic Nucleus, is a devatá. In that sense, Shiva is not merely one such devatá; He is the aggregate of these devatás. Shiva is no doubt a god, but the word “god” does not encompass the totality of His personality. He is not only a god, He is the God of gods Devatánáḿ devatá, devanáḿ devah ityarthe Mahádevah [“The God of all gods and goddesses is Mahádeva”]. Shiva is Mahádeva.

Now it is necessary to discuss those entities who were involved with Shiva, such as Párvatii, Kálii, Gauṋgá, Sarasvatii, Lakśmii, etc.; and all the other gods and goddesses of Shiva Tantra, Buddhist Tantra, Jain Tantra, Post-Shiva Tantra and the Puranic religion. First we shall find out how much Shiva was related to them from the philosophical, social and personal points of view or whether there was any relation between Him and them at all.

In this context, the topic of daevii shakti must be discussed. When some wave of expression emanates from the Universal Hub and moves in the process of systalsis, two main forces are active, Prajiṋátattva [the Cognitive Force] and Shaktitattva [the Operative Force]. The former is called Citishakti, and the latter is called Káliká Shakti. It is called Káliká Shakti because the Operative Force maintains Her creation through kálacakra, the eternal time factor. (This has nothing to do with the deity Kálii.)

Now, to discuss Shivatattva, devatátattva and daevii shakti, we must review briefly a long period of history stretching over seven thousand years. In the field of applied Tantra that was popular during Shiva’s lifetime, there were different forces, no doubt, but they were not deified into gods and goddesses. So to say something about gods and goddesses, we must go back still further. In the Vedic Age there were gods and goddesses, but there was no system of idol worship. People used to worship those gods and goddesses through sacrificial rituals. Indra, Ágni, Varuńa, etc., were all Vedic gods, but they were not worshipped with idols. Nor was there any system of worshipping Parama Brahma [the Supreme Entity] with idols. It was said that Iishvarasya pratimá násti [“There cannot be any finite pratimá, image, of God”]. Pratimá means “duplicate”, something identical to the original. Suppose there is an eggplant. If we create an object exactly like the original eggplant, we say that the second eggplant is the pratimá of the original eggplant. But as there is no other entity like Parama Puruśa, Parama Puruśa cannot have a pratimá. Tulá vá upamá Krśńas-ya násti [“Krśńa has no parallel or equal”]. These were the ideas of the Vedic Age.

Next came the age of Shiva Tantra. In those days, many kálashaktis [deities] were accepted, but there was no system of idol worship. Then followed the age of Shivottara [Post-Shiva] Tantra, during the periods of Buddhism and Jainism. During this period, various systems of worshipping different gods and goddesses were introduced. In the subsequent period, that is, the period of the metamorphosed Post-Shiva Tantra (metamorphosed because it was Shiva Tantra but largely influenced by Buddhism and Jainism), image-worship became quite popular.(1)

Now in the course of time, when Post-Shiva Tantra evolved, Shiva was still a devatá, but the Buddhist and Jain Tantra of that time exerted some influence on His image, and, by adding some new elements to the existing image of Shiva, tried to create a new entity. Sometimes, in the Puranic Age, Shiva was invested with a sacrificial thread, but in reality Shiva never had any thread on His body; if He had any, it was a thread of snakes.