Five Powers of Siva: Sadasiva in the Agama

Scriptures
A Rarely Explored Form of Siva Reveals the Saivite Hindu Understanding of
Divinity and Cosmology

The Vedas decree that god created the world, and it is true, he did; but that is a
simplistic rendering of a mind-bogglingly complex event. It would be like saying a
child grows from two microscopic cells. It is true. But looking deeper, both processes
are exquisitely magical and complex beyond belief. The growth of two cells into a
human being of 100 trillion cells is a process capable of bringing tens of thousands
of scientists to their knees. Imagine, then, comprehending the evolution of the entire
universe, from God and of God, filled with 100 trillion galaxies. But understanding
God's acts of creation, preservation, dissolution, concealment and revelation is
exactly what the ancient Hindu seers undertook, aided, they would say, by the
Agamas, sacred texts composed by God Himself. With more than a little trepidation,
we undertake to bring forth a summary of what they teach of God and His powers.
We were taxed to do this, and we have no doubt the reader will be similarly
challenged to comprehend it all, though we hope our several charts will provide an
overview of some textual complexities. Still, this central and profound part of ancient
India's understanding of our cosmos and our innermost being is well worth the effort.
It will give the Hindu priest enhanced insight into the deeper meanings of the temple
puja. It will give the advanced meditator new ways to explore the subtle dimensions,
the superconscious mind of God within. It will give theologians grist for their
philosophical and cosmological mills. It will likely give everyone else a headache.
Introduction
The Five Powers of Siva
By Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami
Lord Siva is commonly thought of as the god of destruction, one Divinity among a
divine trinity, along with Brahma, Lord of Creation, and Vishnu, Lord of Preservation.
This theological perspective, especially espoused in Smarta Hinduism, is based in
the Puranas, Hindu folk narratives containing ethical and cosmological teachings

about Gods, man and the world. But other denominations, including Saiva Hinduism,
which is based on the Saiva Agamas, hold a different view. In these revealed
scriptures the three great cosmic actions are all performed by God Siva. In addition
to creation, preservation and destruction, Siva performs two more actions which
relate specifically to the soul. With the fourth, called obscuration, He veils Himself
from us, the embodied souls, purposefully limiting our awareness, keeping us
ensconced in the world--oblivious to our true nature, our past and future lives and
karmas--thus allowing us to evolve. This beguiling force is called veiling or
concealing grace, tirodhana shakti. With His fifth action or power, called revelation,
anugraha shakti, Lord Siva frees us from the illusion of separateness from Him,
granting us realization of our true identity. The Raurava Agama proclaims: "The birth
of the world, its maintenance, its destruction, the soul's obscuration and liberation
are the five acts of His dance."
Siva Nataraja, Lord of Dance, a well-known murti (worshipful icon), clearly depicts
these five actions. Creation, or emanation (srishti), is represented by His upper right
hand holding the drum upon which He beats Paranada, the Primal Sound, from
which issue forth the rhythms and cycles of creation. Preservation (sthiti) is
represented by His lower right hand, held in the gesture of blessing, abhaya mudra,
indicating "fear not." Destruction (samhara), dissolution or absorption, is symbolized
by the fire in His upper left hand, held in ardha-chandra mudra, "half-moon gesture."
Obscuring grace (tirodhana), the power which hides the truth from souls, thereby
permitting experience, growth and eventual fulfillment of destiny, is represented by
His right foot upon the prostrate person, apasmarapurusha, who symbolizes the
principle of ignorance, or anava. Revealing grace (anugraha), which grants
knowledge and severs the soul's bonds, is symbolized by Siva's raised left foot, and
by His lower left hand, held in gajahasta or "elephant trunk" mudra, inviting
approach.
Little known to the general public, but quite well known to the Saivite priesthood, is
another form of God Siva performing these five actions. This form of Siva has five
faces and is called Sadasiva. In Sanskrit the five faces are referred to as
Panchabrahma, meaning "five great Lords." The term Brahma in this context does
not refer to the four-faced creator God (Brahma). A description of Panchabrahma is
given in the Ajita Agama (20, 158-164a) in the form of instructions to temple priests:
"After thus constructing mentally the throne of Siva, holding a handful of flowers, with
steady mind and controlled senses, one should meditate on Siva's body sitting in the

lotus posture, shining with the color of pure crystal, endowed with five heads, serene,
with smiling faces, having the brilliance of ten million suns, of new full-blown youth,
with ten arms, brightened by a crest of tawny tresses rolled upwards, each face
having three radiant eyes, or shaktis, with the crescent moon of wisdom in His hair,
the cause of all causes, His right hands holding the no-fear posture, a trident, an
axe, a sword and a thunderbolt, His left hands holding a noose, a serpent, an
elephant goad, fire and a bell, all fit for a supreme sovereign, endowed with every
auspicious mark, adorned with ample ornaments, in radiant raiments, attractive,
having beautiful garlands and an ointment of sandalwood paste."
In his commentary on Mrigendra Agama, Aghorasivacharya (12th century) is careful
to point out that while we speak of Siva with five faces and many limbs, He does not
actually possess these features. This visualization in only for the sake of meditation
and adoration.
In Saiva Siddhanta philosophy, Lord Siva, God, is All and in all, and is understood in
three modes: formless (nishkala), formed-formless (sakala-nishkala), and formed
(sakala). In the formless mode, Siva is Absolute Reality, Parasiva; in the formedformless mode, Siva is Pure Consciousness, Parashakti; in the formed mode, Siva is
Personal Lord, Parameshvara. Siva is represented in the main shrine of nearly all
Siva temples as the Sivalinga. This aniconic murti represents the formed-formless
aspect of God. Metaphysically, the Absolute Reality, Parasiva, which is formless,
comes to be known as Sadasiva when He presents Himself in the Sivalinga.
Sadasiva means eternally pure and auspicious. In temple ceremonies (puja) based
on the Saiva Agamas, it is this five-fold form of Siva that is being worshiped in the
Sivalinga. To show this, some temples include in their decorations a metal covering
over the Linga with four faces engraved in it. The fifth face, Ishana, may be shown
on the top, but is most commonly omitted. Some Sivalingas have the faces carved
into the Linga itself. The Ishana face looks upward and is of pure crystal color.
Tatpurusha faces east and is gold in color. Aghora faces south and is blue-black in
color. Vamadeva is turned northward and is saffron in color. Sadyojata looks west
and is white in color. In some temples, Panchabrahma is also represented by five
distinct murtis displayed in a prominent place, such as on the outside of the main
tower above the sanctum.
In the Ajita Agama, Sadasiva is said to be formed-formless because His body is
made up of five mantras. In Sanskrit, this etheric vessel is termed vidyadeha or
"knowledge body." The five mantras, known collectively as the Panchabrahma

Samhita Mantra, are: Ishana Murdha, Tatpurusha Vaktra, Aghora Hridaya, Vamadeva
Guhya and Sadyojata Murta. At the subtle level at which Sadasiva exists, there is still
not a definite body in form, only the seeds or potentialities of sound, color and
knowledge.
In his introduction to the Ajita Agama, Pierre-Sylvain Filliozat, offers insight into
Sadasiva in Saiva Siddhanta: "Saivism is a religion of one God, the supreme Siva
(Parasiva). Numerous entities are around Him. They are His creations and
consequently His subjects with definite functions. They participate of His own
essence in different degrees. The major ones among them are said to be
engendered by Him or to be outward manifestations of Himself. We use the word
hypostasis, or "sub-state," to refer to the concept of emanation of a subsidiary entity
from the Supreme, as it expresses in the most general way the idea of existence
separated from the essence without altering the unity of the latter.... The reason
given for the fact of hypostasis of the Supreme God is the necessity of
communication. The Supreme is characterized as inaccessible to senses, speech
and mind. That would render worship impossible. The Supreme makes Himself
accessible through accessible hypostases. In the Saiva religion, the main hypostasis
is Sadasiva; and Saiva worship is precisely the worship of Sadasiva. The
communication with the entity comes through five Brahma mantras, which are
formulas of homage to five entities: Ishana, Tatpurusha, Aghorasiva, Vamadeva and
Sadyojata. Communion is realized through the mental image of five heads, bearing
the same names and placed, respectively, at the zenith, in the east, south, north and
west. The basic action of the worshiper is meditation (dhyana) on these five heads.
Meditation and bodily actions need a point of fixation (dharana), a material support
and target. This is the Linga, a name given in the Ajita Agama only in its sense of
'sign.'"
Editor's Note: The term Parasiva, used by Bodhinatha above to mean Absolute
Reality, carries the additional meaning of Siva as Mahadeva in the main text.
The Story of Creation
The process of gradual manifestation of the Primal and Uncaused Light
By Sabharathnam Sivacharyar

From the Saiva Agama scriptures, we gain a profoundly detailed explanation of the
process by which the universe unfolds. The following is a lucid summary of such
discussions in the Kamika Agama, Vatula Agama, Raurava Agama and Kalottara
Agama.
Siva, in His fullness, is supreme consciousness with the effulgence of trillions and
trillions of suns. Should that intensity be directly manifested, the worlds would be
incinerated, and thus there exists a gradual descent of His presence, leading
indirectly to Karma Sadakhya, the form worshiped as the Sivalinga.
Siva assumes innumerable forms in order to regulate the movement of the worlds
and to liberate embodied souls. Some of these divine forms are momentary, such as
those seen in visions by devotees, saints and sages; and others are eternal, such as
Dakshinamurti and Siva as vanquisher of demons. Temporary and eternal forms of
Siva all arise from the Sivalinga enshrined in Siva temples. Thus, the Shilpa
Shastras categorically call the Sivalinga the primal image (mula bimba). The
greatness and significance of Sivalinga can be understood only by understanding the
order in which these transcendental manifestations are taking place.
Cosmic Creation
Lord Siva, existing in His blinding self-effulgence and love, creates countless souls,
an act that is likened to sparks issuing from a blazing fire. Initially souls are
incorporeal and enshrouded in the darkness of ignorance. That this veiling darkness
may be understood and dissolved, souls need to be embodied in various worlds
where they can experience both merits and demerits. Different forms of the Supreme
God are necessary for them for the purpose of contemplation and worship. The
Agamas speak of a motherly compassion spontaneously arising within Lord Siva to
redeem and uplift the shrouded souls, a divine desire (iccha) resulting in a minute
impulse or movement (kshobha) within Him. It is from this vibration, this divine love,
that manifestation in its myriad forms appears.
That impulse of creativity brings forth a pulse, or Shakti, called Parashakti, which is
one thousandth of Parasiva's brilliant radiance. Next, another Shakti, called
Adishakti, arises as a thousandth of Parashakti. Next, Icchashakti manifests as one
one-thousandth of Adishakti. Then Jnanashakti arises as one tenth of a hundredth of
Icchashakti. Finally, Kriyashakti arises as a thousandth of Jnanashakti. Each Shakti

is less subtle than the Shakti from which it arises. These five Shaktis are all
transcendental and formless, never depicted as images, only contemplated upon.
Parashakti, profoundly subtle, all-pervasive and immeasurably effulgent, conceives
the process of five-fold cosmic function. Adishakti, exceedingly brilliant, pervades
embodied souls, as well as liberated souls. Icchashakti, greatly luminous, begins the
process of creating the worlds and various bodies for the souls. Jnanashakti
illuminates the Deities protecting the worlds and souls living in various planes of
existence. Kriyashakti instills power and ability in the cosmic authorities that perform
the five-fold cosmic function.
In this same transcendental space, five Sivas manifest, each related to one of the
five Shaktis and collectively called the Panchasivas: Anashrita, Anatha, Ananta,
Vyomarupa and Vyapaka. Anashrita appears as one part out of a thousand parts of
Parasiva. In the same way, Anatha arises out of Anashrita, Ananta out of Anatha,
Vyomarupa out of Ananta, and Vyapaka out of Vyomarupa.
Emergence of the Five Sadakhyas
Next, each of the five Shaktis merges with its corresponding Siva. Upon the union of
Parashakti and Anashrita, a form called Siva Sadakhya appears, flashing forth
incessantly with the radiance of thousands of lightning bolts. It emerges as one of
ten parts of Parashakti. This is the first and fundamental tattva, which serves as the
causal source for the evolution of all other tattvas. Sadakhya means that which is
always pure and auspicious, undefiled by external or internal impurities and
dispositions.
From the union of Adishakti and Anatha arises Amurti Sadakhya, as one tenth of
Adishakti. It is likened to a fiery pillar with the brilliance of millions of suns. In the
middle of that pillar is the vibrant presence of a luminous Linga called Divyalinga.
Amurti Sadakhya, also called the primal pillar (mula stambha), serves as the source
form for the occurrence of evolution and dissolution.
The union of Icchashakti and Ananta results in the emergence of Murti Sadakhya,
comprising one-tenth of Icchashakti. It shines forth in the form of a fiery Linga, a
blazing conflagration (kalagni), at the time of final dissolution (mahapralaya). In the
upper part of that luminous Linga is a form with one face and three eyes, four hands,
holding a deer, a hatchet and displaying the compassionate varada mudra and the

fear-not abhaya mudra. This Sadakhya form, too, is not depicted as a visible image.
It is to be contemplated only.
The union of Jnanashakti and Vyomarupa gives rise to Kartru Sadakhya as onetenth of Jnanashakti. Kartru Sadakhya has the form of a crystal (sphatika) Linga, in
the middle of which appears a beautiful, luminous form with four faces, twelve eyes,
four colors, eight hands and two feet. The four hands on the right side display a
trident, axe, sword and abhaya mudra; the four hands on the left side display a
noose, snake, bell and varada mudra.
The union of Kriyashakti and Vyapaka gives rise to Karma Sadakhya as one-tenth of
Kriyashakti. This is the most important Sadakhya form. It is in this form that the Linga
and the pedestal (pitha) of the Sivalinga appear for the first time. The Linga denotes
the vibrant state of sound, or nada. The pedestal denotes the vibrant state of bindu,
the potency which actuates sound. Without bindu, sound is ineffectual. The Linga
denotes Siva, and the pedestal denotes Shakti. Karma Sadakhya is the united form
of Siva and Shakti (Linga and pitha) for the systematic performance of the five
cosmic functions.
In the same manner that the first five shaktis are manifested, there appear various
other sets of Shaktis, each successively less subtle than the last. These include the
five Paranada Kalas and the Aparanada Kalas. Along with the Paranada Kalas, there
appear five Parabindu Kalas with the same effulgence. Corresponding to the five
Aparanada Kalas, there appear five Aparabindu Kalas in the same manner and with
the same effulgence. All of these manifestations explained so far exist in the
transcendental realm known as pure creation (shuddha shrishti), far beyond the
physical world.
The Greatness of Karma Sadakhya
It has already been said that Karma Sadakhya appears in the form of Sivalinga, the
combined form of Linga and pedestal. Now it is to be noted that the pedestal is
constituted of five Aparabindu Kalas--Shantyatita and others. The Linga portion is
constituted of five Aparanada Kalas--Urdhvagamini and others.
Parasiva is vibrantly present in the Siva Sadakhya. The presence of Parasiva and
Siva Sadakhya is in the Amurti Sadakhya. In the Murti Sadakhya, there is the vibrant
presence of Parasiva, Siva Sadakhya and Amurti Sadakhya. The presence of these

four is in the Kartru Sadakhya. The vibrant presence of all five--Parasiva, Siva
Sadakhya, Amurti Sadakhya, Murti Sadakhya and Kartru Sadakhya--is in the Karma
Sadakhya, the final phase in the order of pure creation, manifesting in the form of the
Sivalinga.
Karma Sadakhya is also the beginning phase in the order of non-transcendental
creation. It is the repository for the group of transcendental tattvas, such as
Paranada, Parabindu, Aparanada and Aparabindu. At the same time, it is the source
for the evolution of 36 tattvas leading to this physical level. It is in Karma Sadakhya
that the manifestation of Panchabrahma is taking place. The order of such
manifestation is explained now.
Tattva, Murti, Prabhava
Before introducing the process of manifestation of five great Lords (Ishana and
others), it is essential to know about three categories: tattva, murti and prabhava.
The five Sadakhyas come under the category of tattva. Tattva means that which is
existing from the time of creation, operating in an orderly way, and which is absorbed
into its source at the time of final dissolution.
In the category of murti, there are five--Sivatara, Isha, Brahmisha, Ishvara and
Vyomesha. Who are these murtis? Where do they come from? [Note: In the Agamas,
Sivatara is more often called Sadasiva, and Vyomesha is known as Ishana.] These
five murtis manifest along with the five Sadakhyas from the same source, but they
remain latent within the Sadakhyas.
Sivatara lies latent within Siva Sadakhya. (Parashakti is dominant in Siva Sadakhya,
and Anashrita [Siva aspect] is dominant in Sadasiva.) Likewise, Isha lies latent within
Amurti Sadakhya. (Adishakti is dominant in Amurti Sadakhya, and Anatha is
dominant in Isha.) Brahmisha lies latent within Murti Sadakhya. (Icchashakti is
dominant in Murti Sadakhya, and Ananta is dominant in Brahmisha.) Ishvara lies
hidden within Kartru Sadakhya. (Jnanashakti is dominant in Kartru Sadakhya, and
Vyomarupa is dominant in Ishvara.) Vyomesha lies hidden within Karma Sadakhya.
(Kriyashakti is dominant in Karma Sadakhya, and Vyapaka is dominant in
Vyomesha.)
On the upper portion of the Sivalinga, Sivatara is present. Isha is on the west,
Brahmisha on the north, Ishvara on the south and Vyomesha on the west.

Prabhava is the category of Panchabrahma (five-fold God), or Sadasiva, which

comes into existence upon the union of tattva (Shakti aspect) and murti (Siva
aspect).
Panchabrahma
The union of Siva Sadakhya and Sivatara results in the appearance of Ishana. The
union of Amurti Sadakhya and Isha gives rise to Sadyojata. The union of Murti
Sadakhya and Brahmisha results in the manifestation of Vamadeva. The union of
Kartru Sadakhya and Ishvara gives rise to Aghora. The union of Karma Sadakhya
and Vyomesha results in the manifestation of Tatpurusha. All these manifestations
are taking place in the Karma Sadakhya, which contains all prior levels of devolution.
Ishana is the source of spontaneous grace directed to all beings and to all worlds. It
is beyond all systems and disciplines, unexcellable and unsurpassable, without limit
or boundary.
Tatpurusha is the all-pervasive power that sustains the bodies of human beings,
celestial beings, asuras, animals, birds and so forth, that which fills up and regulates
the entire range of worlds, spreading out everywhere through nada arising from
bindu.
Aghora is pure consciousness (Sivajnana), always calm and tranquil. It is the force
that opposes the dreaded phenomenon of repeated birth and death, remaining ever
aware in consciousness.
Vamadeva is the absolute power of knowing all and doing all, the force which keeps
embodied souls engaged in activities to work out their karmas. It is the subtle and
secret power, the luminosity of Siva, that enables embodied souls to experience
dharma, artha and kama.
Sadyojata is the power that, by its mere will, assumes innumerable forms quickly and
instantaneously creates relevant bodies for souls and relevant mantra-forms for
competent yogis.
Sadasiva Linga--The Formless and the Formed State
The Sivalinga enshrined in the sanctum sanctorum is actually the form of Karma
Sadakhya. The formless and transcendental Parasiva occupies this Sivalinga in the

form of Sadasiva, or the Panchabrahma. The Agamas provide this description:

"Sadasiva appears with five faces: Ishana, Tatpurusha, Aghora, Vamadeva and
Sadyojata. The Ishana face, crystal in color, is at the top, looking upward.
Tatpurusha, whitish-yellow, is turned eastward. Aghora, blue-black in color, is turned
south. Vamadeva, of saffron hue, looks north. Sadyojata, colored like the moon's
rays, looks west. The overall form of Sadasiva is the color of crystal. Each face has
three eyes. The five heads are adorned with a crescent moon and locks of matted
hair bound together with serpents."
Five Mantras that Constitute the Form of Sadasiva
In addition to the five faces, the Panchabrahmas also assume the form of five
mantras to constitute all other parts of Sadasiva's body--heads, chest, shoulders,
legs and so on. Each mantra is associated with vibrant shaktis known as kalas
(pronounced kals).
At this stage, Ishana becomes the mantra Ishana Murdha. Ishana marks the ultimate
limit or boundary; hence Ishana Mantra is considered to constitute the heads of
Sadasiva, the upper limit of the form. Murdha means head.
Tatpurusha becomes the mantra Tatpurusha Vaktra, constituting the five faces of the
Lord. The term vaktra means to protect and to drive away. This mantra protects the
bodies of all beings by bestowing knowledge and warding off the fear of future birth
and death.
Aghora becomes the mantra Aghora Hridaya. It constitutes the heart, chest and
related parts of the form. In this context, hridaya means supreme consciousness.
This mantra metes out an antidote to the dreadful (ghora) phenomenon of repeated
birth and death; thus it is known as aghora, meaning non-dreadful, tranquil and calm.
Vamadeva becomes the mantra Vamadeva Guhya. By nature, Vama is secret and
unseen (guhya), the power of knowing and doing. It maintains progeny and related
activities. Vama, meaning beautiful, also means base or inferior. The experiences of
dharma, artha and kama are inferior to liberation. Vamadeva mantra enables souls to
undergo lesser experiences in order to nullify their karmic merits and demerits. This
mantra is considered to constitute the private parts (guhya) of the body--the hips and
other lower regions.

Sadyojata becomes the mantra Sadyojata Murta (murta meaning form). Sadyojata is
capable of assuming innumerable forms quickly, pervading and spreading. For this,
feet are necessary. Not only feet, but the whole form is required to move. Thus
Sadyojata mantra constitutes the limbs of the body.
Panchabrahma and the Five Deputed Lords: Brahma, Vishnu, Rudra,
Maheshvara and Sadasiva
For the Supreme Lord Parasiva, the main purpose of descending to the level of
Karma Sadakhya is to perform the cosmic activities within the realm of pure maya.
He does this through His form of Lord Sadasiva (or Panchabrahma). The five cosmic
activities are: creation, maintenance, dissolution, concealment and bestowal of
grace. Siva's power of creation is Sadyojata. The power of dissolution is Aghora.
Tatpurusha is Siva's power to veil the soul's inherent nature (of Pure Consciousness
and its infinite power of knowledge and action). Siva's power of revealing grace is
Ishana. The Vedas and the Agamas are revealed through the five faces of Sadasiva.
Sadasiva exists at the extremely rarefied stratum of pure maya (the causal plane)
and therefore cannot be directly involved with impure maya (the astral and physical
realms). So, He performs the five actions in these realms through five Deputed Lords
(Adhishtita, also known as Karaneshvara): Brahma, Vishnu, Rudra, Maheshvara and
Sadasiva. [Note: The Deputed Lord Sadasiva is set in italics to distinguish it from
Sadasiva, the synonym for Panchabrahma.]
So, the cosmic process of hypostasis takes place and directly from Karma Sadakhya
arises Sadasiva, the first deputed Lord, and then Maheshvara (as one thousandth
part). From Maheshvara arise Rudra (one thousandth part), Vishnu (one 10 millionth
part) and Brahma (one 10 millionth part).
Brahma is deputed for the activity of creation under the direction of Sadyojata, its
Controlling Lord (Adhishtatru); Vishnu protects as directed by Vamadeva; Rudra
reabsorbs as directed by Aghora; Maheshvara conceals as directed by Tatpurusha;
Sadasiva bestows grace as directed by Ishana.
Adho Mukha, the Sixth Face
In addition to the five faces of Sadasiva, there is a sixth face named Adho Mukha,
which manifests out of a sixth Sadakhya, Maha Sadakhya, and looks downward. A

pleasant blue color and located at the neck of the Lord, it is associated with Sri
Nilakantha, the blue-throated Lord. Most of the esoteric meanings of Aum, the
Pranava, are connected to Adho Mukha. It is identical with the space of supreme
consciousness (chidakasha) and generates five levels of akasha. Adho Mukha has
its role and presence in the form of Lord Skanda.
Sadasiva in Temple Worship Rites
During the puja, the priest visualizes the form and limbs of the Deity while chanting
the respective five Panchabrahma Mantras three times. Perhaps the most significant
instance is the invocation of the Divine presence into the Sivalinga: Ishana
corresponding to the head; Tatpurusha, the face; Aghora the heart and chest;
Vamadeva, the hips and other lower regions; and Sadyojata, the limbs. While
chanting each mantra, the priest touches the corresponding place on the Sivalinga,
from the top down to the base of the pedestal. Following that, the priest visualizes
the corresponding five kalas while chanting and invoking them into the parts of the
Sivalinga. Thus, during puja, the Sivalinga serves as a microcosm into which is
poured the macrocosm in all of its dimensions of existence.
Next the priest again chants the five mantras while offering flowers in worship of the
various parts of the body of Sadasiva and then to the five aspects, or faces, of
Sadasiva in association with the five krityas, cosmic actions or powers. The five
krityas and corresponding Panchabrahmas are 1) srishti, creation, Sadyojata 2)
stithi, preservation, Vamadeva; 3) samhara, dissolution, Aghora; 4) tirobhava,
concealing grace, Tatpurusha; 5) anugraha, revealing grace, Ishana.
For the final arati, a profound mantra from the Taittiriya Aranyaka, known as the
Panchabrahma Veda Mantra (see below), is chanted to invoke the five aspects of
Sadasiva into each of the five flames while offering the arati lamp before the
Sivalinga.
Conclusion
Congratulations! The Agamas themselves contain a disclaimer for this arcane
discussion: "This is the ultimate subject. There is no subject superior to this. Since it
is ultimate, it cannot be understood by the uninitiated. Even for the initiated, there is
no sadhana superior to understanding this ultimate subject. It is actually a great

tapas (austerity) to meditate on this ultimate subject." Vatula Agama, Tattvasara

Patala, 252-254
1. Sadyojata ("quickly birthing"), the controlling Lord of Brahma, is the aspect of
Siva that wields the power of creation. His direction is west, He is related to
the sphere of earth (prithivi mandala) and His Panchakshara Mantra syllable
is Na. The Agamas describe Him as white in color, in the likeness of a boy
with a charming face, besmeared with sandalwood paste, adorned with white
flowers. One hand displays the boon-granting varada mudra and another the
fear-not abhaya mudra. He is Siva manifest in all of nature; the causer of
birth.
2. Vamadeva ("lovely, pleasing"), the controlling Lord of Vishnu, is the aspect of
Siva that wields the power of preservation. His direction is north, He is related
to the sphere of water (jala mandala), and His Panchakshara Mantra syllable
is Ma. The Agamas describe Him as red in color, with a handsome face and
aristocratic bearing, wearing rich apparel, a turban and garlands of flowers.
He holds a sword and a shield.
3. Aghora ("nonterrifying"), the controlling Lord of Rudra, is the aspect of Siva
that wields the power of dissolution. His direction is south, He is related to the
sphere of fire (agni mandala), and His Panchakshara Mantra syllable is Si.
The Agamas state that Aghora Deva is the color of dark cloud and is adorned
with crescent studded crown and beautiful earring. Though His expression is
pleasant, His appearance is dreadful, with long, projecting teeth, and a tawny
colored beard, moustache and matted hair. He is adorned with snakes and
scorpions and a garland of skulls. The four hands on the left side hold a fire,
khatvanga (a staff with a skull at its top), shield and noose. The four hands in
the right side hold a trident, hatchet, sword and staff.
4. Tatpurusha ("supreme soul"), the controlling Lord of Maheshvara, is the
aspect of Siva that wields the power of obscuration. His direction is east, He
is related to the sphere of air (vayu mandala), and His Panchakshara Mantra
syllable is Va. The Agamas describe Tatpurusha Deva as gold in color,
dressed in yellow silken cloth, head adorned with a crown and crescent
moon. In one hand he holds a string of beads and in another His trident staff.
5. Ishana ("ruler"), the controlling Lord of Sadasiva, is the aspect of Siva that
wields the power of revealment. His direction is upward, He is related to the

sphere of ether (akasha mandala), and His Panchakshara Mantra syllable is

Ya. The Agamas describe Ishana Deva as pure crystal in color, with three
eyes. In one hand He holds a trident and in another a string of beads. His two
other hands present the abhaya ("fear not") and dhyana (meditation mudras.
Bearing a crescent on His crown, His form is charged with benevolence.
Gauri Lata Mandala
The meaning of the term mandala, as given in the Agamas, is "the square, the
interior of which is enriched with various geometrical designs and beautified with
colors." According to the Agamas, square is the basic form from which all other forms
appear and into which they merge. In the yagnashala of a temple, a mandala is
worshiped to channel the effects of the fire-ritual (oblations) and to enhance the
auspiciousness of the surroundings. It is to be placed between the fire pit and the
main altar (vedika). Though mandalas are not meant for meditation, the display of a
perfectly designed mandala in a hall or shrine will ensure the divinity of the place and
ward off any negative forces. Mandalas are of two kinds--those meant for use in
temple rituals and those to be displayed in places of learning, hospitals, libraries and
such. Mandalas consist of various important parts which correspond to various parts
of a standing body, such as face, torso, hands, legs and so on. A mandala is actually
a three-dimensional image rendered in two-dimensional form. The most important
aspect of a mandala is its coloring. Each letter, each word of a mantra, each tattva,
each kala, each form of a Deity, each of the vital airs of our body, each nadi (channel
of the body), each element of the universe has its own significant color. Based on
this concept, the guru who has a perfect knowledge of these principles and colors
designs a particular mandala. The design of a mandala is based on the nature of a
particular Deity to which that mandala belongs. Lord Sadasiva, five Sadakhya Saktis,
Ashta Murtis, Ashta Vidyesvaras, Ashta Devatas (Nandi and others) and all the 36
tattvas are represented in the Gauri Lata Mandala.
Sabharathnam Sivacharyar
Panchabrahma in Shaktism & Vaishnavism
The five Panchabrahma murtis are found not only in Saivism, but also in Shaktism
and Vaishnavism. They are portrayed in various forms depending on the tradition
one follows. The Saiva Agamas depict them as: 1) Sadyojata, 2) Vamadeva, 3)
Aghora, 4) Tatpurusha and 5) Ishana. In the Shakta tradition they are: 1) Brahma, 2)

Vishnu, 3) Rudra, 4) Ishvara and 5) SadaSiva. In the Vaishnava Agamas, they are
named: 1) Vasudeva, 2) Samkarshana, 3) Pradyumna, 4) Aniruddha and 5)
Narayana.
The concept of Panchabrahma in the Shakta school of thought could be best
summarized by the most revered text of the Sri Vidya tradition, Sri Lalitha Rahasya
Sahasranamam, the thousand names of Lalita Mahatripurasundari. Names 249 and
250 are Panchapretasanasena and Panchabramaswarupini. The meaning is that Sri
Lalitha, seated on Her throne consisting of the Panchapretas, or five lifeless bodies
(the five elements), is responsible for bringing existence to these Panchabrahmas
through the infusion of Herself, the Shakti (pure energy).
Scientifically, it is understood that everything in the universe is made up of two
things: matter and energy. Matter represents Siva and energy represents Shakti, and
it is through this mergence that the manifestation of this universe exists. In Shaktism,
the Panchabrahmas are responsible for the execution of the panchakrityas, or fivefold acts: 1) srishti, creation of the universe; 2) sthithi, sustenance of the universe; 3)
samhara, destruction of the universe; 4) tirodhana, concealment; and 5) anugraha,
absorbing the soul into infinite bliss. Understanding this, the aspirant must
acknowledge that in order for life to continue, Siva can never be separated from
Shakti; so we realize and revere Her as Panchabramaswarupini.
Janahan Balasingham
The Panchabrahma Veda Mantra
One of the greatest and most sacred of all mantras, the Pachabrahma Mantrn , is
found in the Kr shna Yajurveda, Taittirya ranyaka 10.17-21. Here its five verses are
cited in reverse order (21 to 17), just as they are chanted during puja. This is a lucid
translation by Sabharathnam Sivacharyar, based on the 12th-century translation by
Ugrajyoti Sivacharyar in his priestly manual Vedartha Nirnaya Manjari, giving the
enhanced meaning of the mantras in the context of the Saiva Agamas.

nassarva vidynm varas sarva bhtnm brahmdhipatir brahman o

dhipatir
brahm ivo me astu sadivom

Lord Ishanathe Supreme Lord and Revealer of all knowledge and spiritual
disciplines, the nourisher and controller of all living beings, the Directing Lord of
Sadasiva, He who is the guiding and directing authority for the eight Vidyeshvaras,
who directs Brahma, Vishnu and othersmay He present Himself in this Sivalinga.
By such benign presence, let there occur absolute purity and auspiciousness in me.
Om.

tatpurushya vidmahe mahdevya dhmahi tanno rudrah prachodayt
As guided by my guru, I realize the form of Siva known as Tatpurusha. I meditate
with pure mind and refined intellect on the Great Illuminator. Let Tatpurushawho
cuts asunder the limiting bonds of the souls and by this act comes to be known as
Rudraguide, enlighten and strengthen my organs of knowledge and action and my
internal faculties.

aghorebhyotha ghorebhyo ghora ghoretarebhyas sarvebhyas sarvasarvebhyo
namaste astu rudrarpebhyah
Salutations to Lord Siva who manifests Himself in countless benign forms, in frightful
and terrifying forms, and to all those countless forms of Rudra (eulogized in the Sri
Rudram hymn). Salutations to all such manifestations of Lord Siva.



vmadevya namo jyesht hya namah resht h
ya namo rudrya namah klya
namah kalavikaranya namo balavikaranya namo balya namo balapramathanya
namas sarvabhta damanya namo manonmanya namah
Salutations to the luminous Lord who sportively creates everything. Salutations to
the One who is eternally the Eldest, transcending the great cycles of time.
Salutations to the One whose lordship excels all other Gods. Salutations to the One
who wards off the sufferings of all living beings. Salutations to the One who is Eternal
Time. Salutations to the One who sets into operation the divisions of time and
maintains the worlds in an orderly way. Salutations to the One who, being the source
of strength, strengthens the auspicious forces. Salutations to the One who, being the

wielder of strength, withdraws the strength of inauspicious forces and extirpates

them. Salutations to the One who guides all souls to ultimately reach Him.

sadyojta prapadymi sadyojtya vai namo namah bhave bhaventibhave
bhavasva m bhavodbhavya namah
I submit my mind, speech and body totally and repeatedly to Lord Sadyojata, who
manifests Himself and instantaneously creates bodies and worlds, who appears to
devotees in the forms contemplated by them and yet transcends such forms
assumed by Him and who has a retinue of Deities formed of millions of mantras. May
He make my form as of His own form.

The Five States of Mind

Exploring the conscious, subconscious, subsubconscious, superconscious and
subsuperconsciousthe interrelated states of our existence
FROM SATGURU SIVAYA SUBRAMUNIYASWAMIS MERGING WITH SIVA

POPULAR THOUGHT PREVALENT TODAY IS THAT WE have an external mind to

be shunned and an inner being to be reached. I look at the internal areas of the mind
and the external areas of the mind as being one and the same, an integrated whole,
one totality of mind. The inner universe of the mind is tremendous. It is much larger,
more complex and better organized than any of the universes we can see with our
physical eyes. The superconscious areas of mind deep within each of us are more
advanced than the externalities of the material conscious world.

Man is discovering new things within the sea and in outer space. All of these vast
new discoveries are being registered within his subconscious mind. Only through his
deep, intuitive, perceptive faculties, resident within the inner area of his mind, is he
able to grasp these new findings, relate them to discoveries of the past and
conditions of the present and hold a mountaintop overview of it all. But if he does not
have this deep, intuitive, perceptive faculty awakened, man becomes confused by
these new discoveries and fearful of his future.
Only the one who is inwardly awake, vibrant, alive and has the burning desire to
know and be creative with that knowledge is content and at peace with himself and
the world at large. For the more he knows about the external world, the more he
discovers from deep within himself as he passes this knowledge on to the present
generation, who will in turn pass it on to the succeeding generation, systematically
and in an organized way. Many enlightened souls on the Earth today are handling
the knowledge acquired from the exterior areas of the mind and the knowledge
acquired from the depths of their own being in this way. To perform this mental
activity, one does not have to be mystically inclined. A mystic is one who lives twothirds within himself and one-third within the external areas of the mind.
A person who lives two-thirds within the external mind and only one-third within
himself is not classified as a mystic. Let us look at the one-third of the inner area of
mind in which he is living. It can be a delightful inner world or a very tragic area of
the mind. This depends upon the character of the individual himself, the nature of his
evolution and how he conducts himself in daily life. Although he is living only onethird within, intuitive flashes can penetrate the exterior walls of his consciousness
strongly enough to change the history and course of humanity.
The Minds Three Phases
The totality of the mind is vast and complicated. However, it is helpful to look at the
entirety of the mind in three basic phases: the instinctive, the intellectual and the
intuitive. The instinctive mind is easy to become aware of and experience. It includes
the impulses of our physical body, our cravings, our desires, our digestive system,
and our emotional mechanism that works through the physical body. The systems of
elimination and blood circulation and the regulation of the heartbeat are all within the
instinctive mind. This phase of mind functions automatically, or instinctively. It is as
much alive in the animal kingdom as among humans.

Man alone develops the intellectual mind and is responsible for its composition as he
lives along through life. This phase is a mixture of mans instinctive desires and
cravings coupled with the knowledge he has gained from others and from his own
intuitive discoveries. Within mans intellect, he organizes a vast amount of
knowledge that begins to accumulate from a very early age. Ninety percent of this
knowledge deals with the externality of the world and mind itself. The intellect can
consume most of mans time through an incarnation, and usually does, lifetime after
lifetime.
The intuitive, or superconscious, phase is even more complex, more organized,
more refined than the instinctive or intellectual phases. It is mystically known as the
mind of light, for when one is in this state of mind, he may see light within his head,
and sometimes throughout the entirety of his physical body, if his inner sight is
developed enough. Otherwise, he just begins to feel good all over, as actinic energy
permeates his nervous system.
The instinctive mind also has within it various forces: the force of fear, the force of
anger, the force of jealousy and the dynamic force of self-preservation. It is what it is
instinctive. It is impulsive and immediately reacts to all situations. Though it is a
great force in developing the intellect, its greatest enemy is intuition, the mind of the
soul, which guides humans out of the morass of the lower nature into sublimity.
Most of us find the intellect a saving grace when it comes from the transformation of
the instinctive nature into something more substantial. Constantly we strive to
broaden our intellect, increase our knowledge, govern the mind with organized
thinking and control our emotions by repressing the instinctive nature.
This is natures way of increasing mans justification of that which has passed before
the window of the mind and was not pleasing to his intellect, the justification being
that enough knowledge has not been acquired by the intellect to sufficiently suppress
the instinctive nature.
While the instinctive mind places great pulls on the individual, the intellectual mind
often has a stranglehold. An intellectual person could run this explanation through his
intellect and be able to explain it back better than we are unraveling it here, relating
this point to that point exquisitely, yet deriving absolutely nothing from the
conclusions to improve his own life. The next day his mental interest would be off on
another subject.

When intuitive flashes come, he knows the next thing to be done in a creative
activity. This is the superconscious area of the mind. When man is extremely
perceptive, tremendously creative, and knowledge seems to come to him from the
inside of himself spontaneously, he is a superconscious being.
Intellect and the Instinctive Mind
Instinctive is a word that some may understand and others take offense at. Dont. It
only means natural or innate, naming the drives and impulses that order the animal
world and the physical and lower astral aspects of humans. For example, selfpreservation, procreation, hunger and thirst, as well as the emotions of greed,
hatred, anger, fear, lust and jealousy, are all instinctive forces. They are very real in
animals and humans alike. When the mind functions instinctively, it is controlled by
the habit impressions made in the subconscious during its journey through the
experiences of life. Instinctive also means that the driving force comes from the
sexual nature. The nature is turned in that direction subconsciously, even though the
conscious mind may not be cognizant of the fact. It also means that in the event of
an emergency, the animal nature would take over completely, being jarred loose from
lack of what I term mind-control, or from what might be called self-control.
The first steps on the spiritual path consist in learning to harness these tendencies
and impulses and transmute their energies into the higher nature. But we should not
think of the instinctive mind as bad, for it controls the basic faculties of perception
and movement, digestion, elimination, ordinary thought and emotion and the many
other vital functions of the physical being. Animals, birds, fish, reptiles and insects
are the personification of the instinctive mind. Living mainly in the areas of fear, they
react immediately to change. Their driving forces are sustenance, sex, shelter and
security for their young and themselves. It is these instinctive drives that are the
most difficult impulses for humans to deal with. They are, for people, the seeds of all
the desires of all the entanglements within the four areassex, money, food and
clotheswhich we capture in one word, desire. Yes, it is desire that propels
humanity onward.
Intellect and Intuition
Mystics never demean or belittle intellectual reasoning. The intellect is not bad. It is
good and necessary when used correctly. But they also do not elevate it too highly,
knowing it is not the whole mind, it is only one phase of the mind. Instinctive,
intellectual and intuitive phases define the whole of the mind. We often use the terms

unfolding intuitive faculties and developing intuition in an effort to encourage an

individual on the path to work within himself in subduing his intellect so that he can
actually observe the already functioning totality of his intuitive mind.
In order to subdue the intellectthat partial conglomerate of thought patterns and
modes of procedure which accord with the culture of the dayit is first necessary to
inwardly observe how ones acquired intellect actually functions. Observation is a
faculty of the intuitive mind, and this particular aspect of observation only comes into
usage after daily meditation has been maintained over a long period of time. Once
an inkling of success in knowing intuition and how it differs from reasoning,
emotional impulses and pre-programmed patterns within the subconscious awakens,
the contest is won. Then and then only we can sustain this knowledge and dive
deeper into the inevitable, all the time losing the future and the past, and loosening
the reins of the intellect.
Some men say they are part of God, that the God Spirit is within them. The intuitive
mind we consider to be that part of Gods vast mindour inspiration. If you have
ever had a hunch and had it work out, that is the intuitive mind working within you. It
has temporarily dominated your conscious mind and made it possible for you to look
into the future and estimate its happenings. The intuitive mind is the essence of time,
yet it understands time and timelessness, its essence. It is the essence of space, yet
it comprehends space and spacelessness. It is real, yet it does not existreal only
when used, nonexistent to the lower realms of the mind.
Mans individual awareness is either captured by the nerve system of external
consciousness of the animal bodies, which his soul inhabits as vehicles to live in on
Earth, or captured by his celestial nerve system. This, then, is the intuitive nature,
the natural expression of the transcendental soul known as man.
Brain & Mind
Glimpsing the New Science of Consciousness
The old science that we all learned in school teaches that consciousness is created
by the activities of the brain. Perceptions, feelings, instincts, reasoning and memory
all derive from neurological activity in the cranium. The conclusion, quite naturally, is
that when you die, or when the brain dies, consciousness ceases. But there is a new
science of consciousness, drawing from quantum physics, near-death and out of
body reports, which concludes that it is not the brain that creates consciousness, but

consciousness that creates the brain, and every other material thing. This view gives
credence to the survival of the soul after death, and has deep roots in Indian
metaphysics. We share here reflections from the new science trailblazers.

FOR AT LEAST TWO THOUSAND years thinkers have tried to explain the human
mind and disagreed heatedly, but a consensus has formed around one thing. When
you try to figure out where the mind comes from, you find yourself in a strange
domain filled with mirrors, illusions and a shaky grasp on reality. The mind is harder
to hunt down than the mythical unicorn, because the hunter and the hunted are the
same. This frustrating obstacle has led to speculation that swings between two
extremesat one extreme, consciousness is pure illusion created by brain
chemistry. At the other extreme, consciousness is a given that defies exploration,
much as water is a given to a fish. We cant jump out of our minds to land on a place
where objective observations could be made, just as a fish cannot land on dry land
as a way to peer under the sea. Both are physically impossible.
Must the riddle of the mind remain a riddle? Our position is radically different from
the vast majority of brain researchers, who attempt to unravel the intricacies of the
mind by dissecting the intricacies of the human nervous system. We hold that mind
doesnt need the brain in order to exist. It precedes all living things by being
fundamental to the universe. In other words, human beings inhabit a conscious
universe.
Over the past decade or so, this notion has gained in stature, even though it began
as a ridiculed fantasy. Some leading cosmologists are circling back to the insights of
quantum pioneers like Max Planck and Erwin Schrdinger. Planck declared that it
was impossible to get behind consciousness, meaning that it cant be explained by
referring to anything more primal. Schrdinger held that consciousness cannot be
subdivided; there is only one consciousness, even though it appears to be
subdivided into billions of individual minds. To use an honored analogy from the

Vedanta tradition in India, pure gold can be made into countless objects, but in
essence they are the same gold.
Planck, Schrdinger and their like-minded colleagues never pursued this line of
investigation very far, being consumed with the new frontiers of quantum mechanics
and the challenge to create a complete account of microscopic phenomena. Today,
the physicists who are circling back can take advantage of brain science, which
gives them a continuous view of mind from the biggest to the smallest, from the
entire cosmos to the subatomic particles that constitute all objects, including the
human brain.
One of the most open-minded cosmologists, Max Tegmark of MIT, is a gifted
explainer of difficult mind-brain-cosmos issues. Tegmark goes further than traditional
physicalists, the preferred term for those who trace all phenomena back to matter
and energy. He has become identified with a tag line: Consciousness is a state of
matter. However, this view still remains materialistic, in that subatomic particles come
first and foremost, arriving from the quantum vacuum carrying information, which
then becomes one of the primary trademarks of consciousness. By transferring and
building up more complex information structures, one arrives at the human brain and
its potential for creating artificial intelligence in computers of the futureeverything
depends on how powerful their information processing becomes.
Quantum physics is a two-edged sword when it comes to explaining the mind. Its
predictions and theoretical approach have been used to justify a conscious universe
or not, depending on the perspective of the thinker who is wielding the theory. But
there is a consensus on the necessity of mathematical models. This is where
Tegmark has fascinated his peers, because he wants to rescue the materialist view
he totally believes in mathematics as the ultimate model of realityby positing that
matter can have the property of consciousness. His ambitions are, quite literally,
cosmic. He wants to deliver a universe where math is compatible with mind.
The higher you climb, the farther you may fall. In Tegmarks case, critiques have
emerged in equal measure with praise. He himself poses the most troubling
problems that must be confronted:
1. Since it is agreed among quantum theorists that subatomic particles are
essentially mathematical constructs, with no fixed properties that resemble tangible
objects, how did rocks, clouds, mountains and trees get their physical properties? It

looks like creation out of nothing. How do we get from numbers to the hardness of
granite and the sweetness of strawberries?
2. To date, there has been a chain of discoveries of ever more potent mathematics to
explain the structure of the cosmos. But what if the chain isnt endless? We may be
at the point where Natures patterns, and the math that describes them, run out. If
thats true, then the mathematical models will no longer work, just as every previous
model going back to the Greeks has succumbed. The big difference is that no one
trained to view math as the ultimate tool of science can conceive of what would
replace it.
3. What gives some kinds of matter the property of consciousness and not others?
Oxygen has the property of being gaseous, while iron is metallic. The difference can
be explained using the periodic chart of the elements. No such chart exists for why
the sugar in your brain participates in thinking, while the sugar in a sugar cube does
not, until you consume it. No explanation exists for why the same electrons that are
being sent around the brain are somehow associated with thought, while the same
types of electrons are found in the cores of nuclear reactors. If the electrons and
elementary particles are common to both, would we conclude that brains and
reactors are the same? Of course not.
4. Information is a dubious foundation for consciousness. You can make heavier
elements by adding more protons to an atom and more atoms to a molecule, but is it
true that the great achievements of the mind (represented, for example, by Mozart,
Shakespeare and Einstein) were gained simply by adding more information? A
Mozart symphony contains no more and no less information than a symphony by
one of his hack contemporaries. Besides, doesnt information require someone to
make sense of it? Random computer streams of 0s and 1s have no meaning
independent of the algorithms that someone has devised in advance, using a mind.
So tracing mind back to 0s and 1s seems like circular reasoning.
5. There is a limit to all models, because reality is too complex to be whittled down.
The great mathematician John von Neumann supposedly said that the only
adequate model of a neuron would be a neuron. In other words, you cant explain the
mind by reducing it to anything else.
Tegmark offers an eloquent exposition of his claim that matter may have
consciousness as one of its basic propertiesat least he and others in the same
wave of cosmologists are nibbling around the fringes of a universe that may be

entirely mindful. One camp is willing to call itself panpsychist, meaning that in some
way everything is conscious. This would be the same as accepting Schrdingers
original notion that consciousness is holistic and cannot be subdivided. A radically
new view of reality emerges if you accept this one idea, sending shock waves
through brain science, quantum physics and cosmology.
Here are three quotations from Vashishtha, a Vedic sage writing many centuries ago,
almost eerily anticipating the most far-seeing speculations in current cosmology.
The entire universe is forever the same as the consciousness that dwells in every
atom, even as jewelry is non-different from gold.
Cosmic consciousness alone exists now and ever; in it are no worlds, no created
beings. That consciousness reflected in itself appears to be creation.
The world exists because consciousness is, and the world is the body of
consciousness.
By Deepak Chopra, MD; Rudolph E. Tanzi, PhD; Menas Kafatos, PhD; Subhash
Kak, PhD; and Neil Theise, MD
The Five States of Mind
Observing the great vastness of the mind, we can draw another conclusion and say
that there are five states of mind: conscious, subconscious, subsubconscious,
subsuperconscious and superconscious. The first state is the conscious mind, in
which we perform our daily routines. When awareness is in the conscious mind, we
are externalized. This means we take our direction mainly from memory of past
experiences, from other people, from newspapers, magazines, radio, television or
our emotions. The average man is aware in the conscious mind from the time he
awakens in the morning until he falls asleep at night. Thats what makes him
average. Only when he becomes mystically inclined does he become consciously
aware of some of the other four states.
The second state is the subconscious mind, the grand storehouse and computer of
man. It faithfully registers all thoughts and feelings that pass through the conscious
state, whether correct or incorrect, whether positive or negative. It registers them and
acts or reacts accordingly.

The subsubconscious, the third state of mind, is a conglomeration of various actions

and reactions that we have experienced in daily life. It is a subtle state composed of
two or more vibrations of experience which mingle and form a third vibration. We
have an experience. We react to it. Later we have a similar experience. We react to
that. These two reactions merge in the subsubconscious, causing a hybrid reaction
that lives with us many, many years.
The fourth state is the subsuperconscious mind. Deep, refined and powerful, it filters
intuitive flashes from the superconscious mind through the subconscious gridwork.
There are times when you want very much to find a clear answer from within
yourself. However, being aware in the conscious mind predominantly, awareness is
cut off from direct contact with the superconscious. So, you begin to ask questions of
yourself. These questions are registered in the subconscious. The subconscious, like
a well-programmed computer, begins to search for the right answer from the
superconscious mind. Then, all of a sudden, you know the answer from the inside
out. Finding solutions through insight or intuition is one of the functions of the
subsuperconscious. It also is the source of all true creativity, inspiration,
understanding and perfect timing in daily events.
The superconscious is the fifth state of the mind. Within it is one world within another
world and yet another. All mystical phenomena and deep religious experiences come
from the superconscious. It is the mind of light, beautiful and vast. When one is
superconsciously alive, he feels joyously alive throughout the totality of his being
physically, emotionally and mentallyfor new energies are working through his
nerve system. This state of the mind is available to everyone to be aware in. The
superconscious is the mind of bliss. It is vast, pure intelligence. The
subsuperconscious mind is that aspect of the superconscious functioning through
established subconscious patterns.
Unfolding the Superconscious
The average man may have occasional subsuperconscious experiences and rare
superconscious intuitive flashes. His awareness, however, is not attuned to know the
intricacies of the working of his own mind. Therefore, he is not able to identify one
from the other, making his sense of enjoyment less than that of the mature mystic.
Because he is unaware of the higher states of mind, the average man may harbor
his awareness deep in a subconscious state of suffering over the past for long
periods of time, thereby completely ignoring his superconscious intuitive flashes

when they come. As a result, his ability to bring awareness inward, out of the
external, conscious and subconscious states of mind and into more blissful and
refined areas, is lessened. Now sadhana is necessary for him to unfold his inner
depth. Although he is unaware of these superconscious happenings within himself
and unable to astutely pinpoint and dramatically distinguish them from his turbulent
subconscious, his superconscious breakthroughs do have an effect upon the totality
of his being. But when man lives externalized in the conscious and subconscious
states, all the inner enjoyment and conscious abilities of exercising perceptive
faculties are completely lost. The ritual of daily sadhana must be performed to quell
the ordinary minds tumultuous turbulence.
There is but one mind and, in its functioning, it works the same in everyone, as an
autonomous, interrelated, self-perpetuating mechanism. Concentrate upon that
mind. Find out what the mind is. Observe your thoughts, feelings and actions from
within, and know that your mind is yours to use to the extent that you control the
mind with the will.
Why must you study the mind? Because understanding alone is fifty percent of the
control of the mind. This understanding is necessary to impress the subconscious
deeply enough to secure awareness so that spiritual strength continues to come
from within, from the superconscious through the subconscious. Before we can
meditate, we have to know our way around within the mind. What part of you
understands how the mind works? It is your superconscious. The subconscious cant
understand how the mind works, because its the repository. The subsubconscious
cant understand. Its a collective repository. Your conscious mind cant understand
either, for it is opinionated knowledgelooking at the world through the eyes of
others. Only the superconscious and subsuperconscious can conceive how the mind
works.
Remember, these are not five separate departments. They all interrelate. The
conscious and subconscious work together. The subsubconscious seems to work
independently of both the conscious and the subconscious, but it is not really
independent. It is just another aspect of the subconscious. The superconscious is
our vast, pure intelligence. The subsuperconscious is one aspect of the
superconscious, functioning through subconscious patterns.
The Mind & Beyond

Once an inkling of success comes in knowing intuition and how it differs from
reasoning,

emotional

impulses

and

pre-programmed

patterns

within

the

subconscious, the contest is won. Then and then only we must persist to sustain this
knowledge and dive deeper into the inevitable, all the time losing the future and the
past, and loosening the reins of the intellect.

SHUTTERSTOCK
When you begin to sense this changeless existence within, your intuition begins to
awaken, and if you function through the use of your intuition you are able to clear
many misunderstandings about the experiences of life. In this clarity, intuition is born.
Right now you perhaps think you are the mind; you may feel remote from your Inner
Being, but ask yourself each time you think you have found yourself, will this
change? You will find that every image you hold of yourself is subject to change
even your soul, or your superconscious mind, is subject to change through evolution
and, therefore, is impermanent. Only the Self, the very core, is eternally the same,
eternally Real. Find your Inner Being through feeling; realize it is closer to you than
your hands or feet, closer to you even than your breath. Your mind will want to leave
this consciousness as soon as you attain it, but gently guide your mind back through

the channel of concentration until once again you become rejuvenated, uplifted in the
awareness of That which has never changed. That is your very Self, and That is
God.

A. MANIVELU

1. The Conscious Mind

There is but one mind. The consciousness, or ego, functions within the minds
various phases. The one-tenth of the mind of the conscious plane, in
ramication, is carried on by its own novelty. The object is to control the
conscious mind and become consciously conscious.

IND IS VAST, AND FROM a mystical point of view it includes everything,

even encompassing the elements of the physical plane. Mind and matter are not two
different things. Matter is simply one phase of the mind, and it is in the conscious

mind that material existence has its existence. Expand your concept of the mind to
include the entire universe, from atom to galaxy. Then realize you are that mind, and
that its outer manifestation is but one-tenth of the totality of the mind.
When we live in the conscious mind, we are aware of other peoples ideas. We listen
with our ears, we see with our eyes, we feel with our fingers. We are involved in our
physical senses, functioning instinctively as far as the physical body goes. We are
functioning intellectually as far as our education goes, and we are dealing and
working vibrantly and vitally in the world of external form. We can live in the
conscious mind and be aware of that area of consciousness life after life after life
after life, because the conscious mind is ever changing, perpetuated by its own
novelty. One thing or idea leads us to another, and then on to another and another
and another. We listen to people talk, and we want to know what they will say next.
The conscious mind is very curious. We taste something and we want to taste
something else. We see something and we want to see something else. We feel
something and we want to feel something else, and we go on and on, completely
dominated by our five senses. This domination by the senses makes up the totality
of the conscious mind. These five senses are constantly active, as energy
continually flows out into the external world through them. The conscious mind
makes up what is called the external world, and the external world is the conscious
mind. We are all participating in making our own conscious mind as we go along
through life.
Though the conscious mind is only seeming, it is very real while we are in it, as it
glorifies in adding to itself. This process is called the intellect. As concepts and partial
concepts are added one after another, the average person develops his or her
intellect, and if it is not balanced by inner knowing, it holds the person firmly in the
external realms of consciousness. Many people are trained to think, having had their
conscious mind programmed in such a way, that the superconscious mind is nothing
but a farce, that it doesnt exist at all, that the only reality is the external world, and
pleasing the external senses is what life is all about. They are coached to believe
that anything of an inner life or an inner nature is just pure fantasy, imagination,
which only weak-minded people believe in. Many people live this way, with their
awareness bogged down in the conscious mindbelieving reality to be outside their
physical body. The object of spiritual unfoldment is to transcend the conscious mind
into superconsciousness and beyond.

The Donkey and the Carrot

When we are in the conscious mind, we are like a donkey with a carrot in front of our
nose. We are always walking to try to get that carrot. We are never satisfied, and we
are never happy. The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. No
matter how much money we have, we want more. No matter how many clothes we
have, we need more. No matter how many television programs we watch, there is
always a better one coming up. No matter how many sights we have seen, the next
one may surpass them all. No matter how much food we eat, there is always the
next big wonderful meal to enjoy. No matter how many emotions we experience, the
next set of those emotional experiences will be the high point of our entire life, and
we are sure of it. That is the conscious mind.
When we live in the conscious mind, we only surmise. We make guesses. We are
never quite sure if we are right. Therefore, we are insecure, because the conscious
mind only knows what has gone before it. It is certain only about the past. If it has
been provided with a good memory, then it knows the past very well. But without a
good memory, the conscious mind doesnt know the past well at all. So, when we are
in the conscious mind, we have one predominant and solid quality that we really can
be sure of, and that is fear. We are afraid! Were afraid of the future. And many of the
things in the past petrify us, for we dont want them to happen to us again.
The conscious mind is the real enemy, the real barrier, the real distractor to someone
on the path of enlightenment. It is intriguing. It is the temptress. It leads us on and on
and on, life after life after life after life after life after life after life. It is a wonderful
state of mind, however, as long as our superconscious faculties are also available for
awareness to flow into once in a while to become refreshed and renewed by a
change of perspective and influx of energy. Otherwise, the conscious mind is a
difficult and onerous state of mind in which to live, day after day after day. The
spiritual path leads us out of the morass of the darkness of the conscious mind into
the mind of light, which we call superconsciousness.

A. MANIVELU
The conscious mind is likened to a donkey and a carrot, for it pursues whats in front
of it, drawn by desire. Here a womans external mind is depicted as a house with
many rooms, each filled with a different experience: family, meals, conversations,
chores and relationships.
Reason Reigns Supreme
It really hardens a person to live in the conscious mind all the time, because he has
to build an ego shell around himself for protection, and that makes him insensitive
and rough. One of the biggest protective influences of the conscious mind is anger.
Anger makes a person cunning in his thinking, and of course the predominant
underlying quality of anger is fear. He is always afraid of something. It is generally
something that may happen or is going to happen. He is always in conflict with
someone. These are the motivating forces of the conscious mind: anger and fear.
Most people live in the conscious mind unconsciously.
The conscious mind is the area of the mind where memory and time are Gods, and
reason is the Supreme Ruler. If it is not reasonable, it is not acceptable, declares

the conscious mind, and If we cant measure it, it does not exist. That is the
conscious mind. It is active. It is alive. The conscious mind perpetuates itself, and we
all help it to do that. It is carried on in ramification by its own novelty. We can always
find in the conscious mind some distraction to please us, to intrigue us, to dominate
our awareness of other states of consciousness. And we dont have to look very hard
to find it.
The mystics goal is to control awareness while he is in the conscious mindto know
where he is in consciousness. When he finds he is aware in the conscious mind, and
the five senses have become his ruler, he then controls his awareness within the
conscious mind itself. He does this in a number of ways. One way is through the
control of breath. Breath is life, and life is breath. Breath is the controlling factor of
awareness. Awareness rides on breath. Breath is also a controlling factor of our
willpower. A seeker must develop a dynamic will to walk the path of enlightenment,
so that he does not stumble or falter, but continues onward no matter how difficult
the path seems to be for him.
Like Writing on Water
Spiritual unfoldment leads us along the path into the illumined knowing of where we
are in consciousness at any point in time. There are many methods through which
this may be accomplished. Carefully choose one path and then stay with it with
extreme loyalty. For this a preceptor is needed, a spiritual guide to answer questions,
to raise questions for you to find answers to within your meditations. It is an arduous
journey. The rewards come only near its end.
To live positively in the conscious mind each day, exercise at least a half hour. Keep
the vital energies of the body high and healthy. Eat simply and follow a vegetarian
diet, feeding the stomach rather than the mouth. Be considerate of others always
and live inconspicuously, almost transparently, by not ruffling your surroundings, by
keeping the home neat and clean, by passing through a room or place and leaving it
in a nicer condition than before you arrived. Seek fresh air and learn to breathe
deeply. Get out in the sun. Move the physical body, walk briskly, dance, keep the
energies vibrant and buoyant. Be close to nature. Grow food. Develop an art or craft
so the hands are active, creative. Of course, being neat and attractive in personal
appearance keeps the thoughts of others toward you positive. This is the way to live
in the conscious mind. Try to live life as though you are walking in the rain without

getting wet, or carefully writing on water. No ripples, no disturbance, no reactionary

residue that has to be faced at some future date.

2. The Subconscious Mind

The part of mind beneath the conscious mind, the storehouse or recorder of
all experience (whether remembered consciously or not)the holder of past
impressions, reactions and desires. Also, the seat of involuntary physiological
processes.

HAT IS YOUR SUBCONSCIOUS MIND? think about this for a minute.

Realize that everything that has once passed through your conscious mind in the
form of experience is resident right now within your subconscious. Not only that, but
imbedded within the cellular structure of your body, in the DNA codeone of the
most formidable discoveries of modern sciencelie all the experiences of your
genetic history. The life, the biological evolution of your forefathers, is all registered in
the molecular strands of your subconscious, capable of being recalled into memory.
The subconscious mind, like the conscious mind, has a form of its own. It is given
form, shape and momentum by the nature of your experiences in life and the way
you react to them. Most people are not happy with the form of their subconscious
mind. They are still reacting to early experiences, early environments. Some people
go to great expense in trying to change the form of their subconscious through
therapy or travel, but because there is no absolution in either, in time they generally
manage to recreate their subconscious in the same old form. Childhood experiences
do have a profound influence on ones make-up in this life, but these influences are
by no means binding. Any attitude, any personality conflict or block in the
subconscious can be demagnetized and resolved.

How do we change the form of the subconscious? We purify it by resolving in

understanding those experiences which have created it. How do we resolve those
experiences through understanding? We bring them up into the light and face them
without reaction. By resolving our reactive experiences in understanding, the
subconscious becomes more and more transparent to our own view and, therefore,
necessarily undergoes positive change. To be able to objectively observe ones own
experiences without reaction is one of the powers acquired through the performance
of sadhana.
Resolving Past Experiences
Suppose when you were young you stole some money from your mothers purse.
She promised me this once and broke her promise, you rationalize. Besides, I
really need it, you add. Then, because you are not particularly pleased with yourself,
you pack this experience away in a corner of the subconscious where you will not
need to think about it. You suppress it. But the next day, your mother casually
mentions the subject of money to you, and you react or emotionally re-enact the
experience. You feel guilty. Not wanting to think about it, you suppress it again,
deeper in the subconscious. Suppose then later in life your mother has become
seriously ill, and in a reflective mood you realize that you have not been close to her
for many years. Mixed in with a rush of buried memories you come across the
incident of the stolen money.
For the first time you appreciate and realize the sense of guilt that had lingered,
influencing your life since that time in a hundred subtle ways. In the light of
understanding, the experience suddenly becomes clear to you, and you objectively
and unemotionally see yourself as you were at that time. You feel relieved and
strangely lifted, not because you were able to analyze why you stole the money, but
because in totally facing and accepting yourself in that circumstance you realize that
you have expanded beyond it into a new realm.
Intuition travels through a purified subconscious. Before we can utilize the
superconscious or intuitive realms of the mind, we must be able to resolve those
past experiences which may still vibrate in our subconscious. Realize, however, that
you need not seek out mental repressions. Simply face each one honestly as it
naturally arises in life. Imagine that you are trying to arrive at an important business
or family decision. All the facts you need to know have already been outlined, yet you
find yourself frustrated in not being able to arrive at a clear decision. The more you

concentrate upon the problem, the more obscure does the answer seem. What your
conscious mind isnt aware of is that the personality problems you are having with
your superior at the office, or with your spouse at home, are clouding the issue. Soon
after, while relaxing on a family outing, thinking about nothing in particular, a great
feeling of compassion, forgiveness and understanding wells up within you, and all at
once that bright idea needed to solve the problem comes to you unbidden.

A. MANIVELU
Exploring the states of mind, this seeker reflects on the nature of the subconscious
by recalling his childhood. He remembers moments as a baby in his mothers lap,
one summer day when he and a friend found a mango tree full of ripe fruits and his
years of work mastering the drum.
A Channel to Intuition
Why does intuition come at this time? Your mind being at rest and no longer
disturbed, intuition can flow through it unhampered. Then, too, the elements of a
problem have a way of piecing themselves together in the subconscious when it is
allowed to relax. Your best answers often come after you have removed the

searchlight of your conscious minds focus for a time. This is the superconscious
working through the subconscious, making it subsuperconscious.
You have now unfolded the key to living an intuitive and productive life. People who
live positive lives have clear goals well impressed in the subconscious mind. They
often draw upon their subsuperconscious mind, though they may call it by another
nameperception, insight, intuition, instinct or sixth sense.
The subconscious mind performs many, many functions for us. In fact, it would be
impossible to do without it. But think of some of the uses of the subconsciousthe
skills which your memory bank acquires, such as typing, driving, playing musical
instruments or speaking a language. As soon as any learning process becomes
subconscious, the conscious mind is free to direct its attention to new areas of
learning. Even all the processes of the physical body are governed by the
subconscious mind. Can you imagine having to think through and control your
heartbeat, or your digestion every time you enjoyed a meal, or the intricacies of
muscular coordination? It is only when we interfere with the natural processes of the
subconsciouswhich are very intelligent if left alonethat we become aware of our
dependence upon this positive state of mind.
The subconscious mind is a storehouse, a reflection of all previous conscious mind
experiences. The power of our decisions creates our reactions of tomorrow. When
tomorrows reactions happen, they program the subconscious. We have to be careful
that our programming is just right, so that the channels to superconsciousness begin
to open through the subconscious.
Facing Old Memories
When man finally turns inward, sits down and asks Who am I? Where did I come
from? Where am I going? what is the first thing he discovers? The subconscious
mind, of course. Do not be afraid of the subconscious. It is useless to be afraid of the
past. If memories come up from the subconscious as if they happened yesterday,
and you begin reacting emotionally and even physically all over again, say to
yourself, Welcome, welcome, welcome, memory from the past. My goodness,
youre shaking my emotional body. I remember going through these emotional states
years ago, and here we are reliving this film over again. But now I am on the spiritual
path to enlightenment. I am the Self. One day Im going to realize it fully. I only live in
this physical body. I use these emotions, but I wont be used by them. They are my
tools. So here you are, my memory pattern, trying to make me feel like I did five

years ago before I reprogrammed my subconscious and awakened spiritually. O,

memory from the past, you have tested me well. Thank you. Then, like a good
secretary, write down on a piece of paper everything you can remember about these
experiences that have come before your vision, and burn the paper when you have
finished. Write down the entire experience that you are reacting to emotionally.
This paper-burning serves three purposes. First, it is symbolic to the subconscious
that you are not going to react anymore to that particular problem. You have, through
the act of writing it down, taken it out of the subconscious. Second, burning the
paper means that no one else will read it, which might cause other problems. It also
means that through the act of burning subconscious memories, you have released
them forever.
When you begin to meditate, you become keen and perceptive enough to begin to
see within yourself. Occasionally, you will see into the subconscious area and begin
emotionally to relive the past. This means that many of the predominantly strong
memory and reactionary patterns of the past loom up before you, one after another,
and you may begin to react to them all over again, emotionally and even physically.
These are not real experiences. It is only a layer of the subconscious exposing itself
to your inner vision, indicating that reprogramming is needed.

3. The Subsubconscious Mind

The area of the subconscious mind formed when two thoughts or experiences
of the same rate of intensity sent into the subconscious at different times
intermingle and give rise to a new and totally different rate of vibration. This
subconscious formation later causes the external mind to react to situations
according to these accumulated vibrations, be they positive, negative or
mixed.

HERE IS ONE AREA OF THE SUBCONSCIOUS MIND THAT SEEMS rather

devious and extremely hard to program. It is called the sub of the subconscious
mind. It often could seem like faulty software in the computer. But when finally
programmed correctly, it can become the greatest asset. It brings us good luck and
assists with perfect timing through life. At times we feel as if nothing is happening to
us anymore. Everything is going along smoothly. We walk up to a closed door and
the door opens for us. We walk up to a telephone and it begins to ring. These signs
show us that the subsubconscious is going along very nicely. As soon as we do not
enjoy this fine timing, it is generally because of the sub of the subconscious area.
For when two programs of a similar nature go into the subconscious computer at
different times, they mix and mingle and form a third program within the
subconscious that is difficult to fathom intellectually. This is recorded in the sub of the
subconscious. For this reason, the sub of the subconscious mind seems awesome
and foreboding. If both of the programs are good, beneficial, positive and spiritually
vibrant, things go smoothly for us. But if they are not, this area of the subconscious
can be very disturbing. Remedies are deep introspection and emotional-intellectual
honesty. The subsubconscious can become very powerful, creating healthy new
tendencies in this life and molding a dynamic personality.
Color shall be our example. Blue stands alone as a color, and so does yellow. When
they merge, they make a third color, green, which creates a mood when you look
upon it, different than the mood that arises from looking upon blue or yellow alone.
Only in understanding that green is a composite of yellow and blue is the mystery
dispelled. Add white to red and you get pink. Add water to soil and you get mud. This
is easy to understand and shows the nature of impressions coming together in the
subconscious. Add oxygen to hydrogen and you get water. That is a mystery which
parallels the nature of the subsubconscious mind, a realm where one plus one
equals three, while in the subconscious the sum is two.
Fathoming the Unfathomable
If psychological structures build up as problems in the subsubconscious and are not
resolved, they can inhibit or hold back the superconscious. One then easily feels
depressed and subject to many lower emotions. Then the concept that one is a selfeffulgent being seems quite distant, indeed. When the subsubconscious build-up is
problem free, superconsciousness is there, bringing success and well-being.

The subsubconscious concerns us primarily as the state of mind which relates to

congested subconscious force fields, or vasanas, caused by two similar intense
emotional reactions at psychological moments. The resultant deeply suppressed
emotions are puzzling to the seeker because, unless he is able to resolve through
periodic review his subsubconscious, he may find them welling up from within him
unbidden, and he knows not why. The subsubconscious influences us when we are
encountering an experience similar to one that caused one of the two component
reactions. This releases highly unexpected emotional responses, inobvious reactions
and new behavioral patterns, some positive, some negative. The hybrid formation
continues to react within the subsubconscious mind until resolved. Once understood,
the mystery is gone. The vasana loses its emotional power. To a very great extent, it
is the subsubconscious that harbors our subliminal aspirations, self-esteem,
impulses toward success, neuroses and overall psychological behavior.
An example of this state of mind is as follows. A young man goes to an office party
and accidentally spills coffee on his suit. Being a gentle, shy man, he becomes
embarrassed and emotionally upset when everyone turns to look at him. Many
months later, he attends his sisters wedding. In her excitement at the reception, she
accidentally spills tea on her beautiful new sari. She is naturally embarrassed. But it
is a psychological moment for him, intensified by his attachment to his sister, and he
becomes more embarrassed for her than she is for herself.
A year later he discovers that each time he attends a social gathering, his solar
plexus becomes upset, his digestion is affected, he gets a headache and has to
leave. The fear mechanism, stimulated by the subsubconscious mind, is protecting
him from another upsetting condition among a group of people. This continues for a
number of years until the subsubconscious, in a semi-dream state, reveals itself to
him and he sees clearly how the two reactionary thought patterns, caused by the
dual experiences, met and merged and gave rise to a different conscious experience
the indigestion, the headaches and the dread of being among people. Once the
obstacle was resolved in the light of understanding, he would be able to be among
people in gatherings without these ill effects.

The Minds Potent Alchemy

It is only when the emotionally charged experiences that go into the subconscious
are of a strictly instinctive nature that the subsubconscious is uncomely or not
beneficial and becomes a strong hindrance to well-being. On the other hand,
experiences of a positive, intellectual or spiritual nature merging in the subconscious
can create a subsubconscious that is quite dynamic and helpful, giving courage and
competence in worldly affairs. Feelings of security, love and compassion can come
up from the subsubconscious during psychological moments in ones life to
counteract and eliminate or subdue feelings of jealousy, hatred and anger, which are
natural to the instinctive mind.
For example, a mans business flourishes during the summer. The next winter he
experiences great exhilaration and satisfaction at winning a skiing competition. The
summer success and the winter accomplishment merging in the subconscious create
a third, different impression which builds an abiding confidence and impulsion toward
future victory. The next year, he goes into a second business and again prospers.
The strong impression of being successful planted in the subsubconscious has
created a positive habit pattern for the forces of the subsuperconscious to flow
through.
The subsubconscious can also be formed by the blending of strong, intuitive,
religious or mystical impressions. For instance, a devotee has an elevating vision of
a Deity in an early morning dream or a conscious vision during meditation. A year
later, while meditating, he has the experience of flying through the akaa in his astral
body. These two impressions merge in the subconscious and create a deep-seated
faith and unwavering certainty in the inner realities. Such vasanas bring up courage
and eliminate the fear of death, replacing it with the assurance that life is eternal, the
soul is real and the physical body is but a shell in which we live.

A. MANIVELU
A subsubconscious complex is created when two similar experiences enter the
subconscious, making a third. A woman recalls tea staining her sari at a party. Years
later she sees coffee spilled on her husband. These experiences combine to create
a fear of social events, just as blue and yellow create green.
Resolution in Dreams
Through the powers of meditation, one can straighten out a few of the
subsubconscious minds predominant misprogrammings that cause tendencies that
make us act in certain ways. The subsubconscious mind can be understood
consciously when the thoughts which created this sub are traced. These will
usually be found when the conscious mind is at its lowest ebb. When resting it is
possible to study the sub of the subconscious mind with ease. The body is relaxed
and the conscious mind has loosened its hold on external objects. When study has
commenced, trace through the thought pictures consciously, without disturbing the
overall picture. Take into consideration the fact that all thought stems from a series of
influences within the ego. These influences take form and shape in thought. When

you manifest pictures before you, trace them to their conception by holding the
consciousness lightly over the mind, blotting out all distractions that may creep into
the mind in an effort to disturb your consciousness. Take your findings, whatever
they may be, and consciously think them through until all doubts have been
dispelled. You will then find that through your conscious effort the sub of the
subconscious mind has been understood consciously as well as subconsciously.
Remember, however, that it is not necessary to remove each and every negative
impression, one by one. Rather, we seek to strengthen the positive impressions. This
in itself is sufficient and will allow unseemly impressions to be naturally resolved.

The Subsuperconscious Mind

This is the intuitive state, which brings clarity, creativity and insight. It
functions when the subconscious is quiet, allowing the superconscious to
work through both the conscious and subconscious states.

HE

SUBSUPERCONSCIOUS

MIND

IS

THE

AREA

OF

THE

SUPERCONSCIOUS that has a subconscious which is connected with the physicalbody functions and everyday life affairs. The subsuperconscious state is the total
man, functioning at a higher vibratory rate than he did when in the instinctiveintellectual area. What is the subsuperconscious mind? It is the superconscious of
the devotee well-programmed in the contemplative life. This devotee can work with
himself and move awareness freely through any area of the mind that he wants to,
consciously, without being hindered by habit patterns and reactionary conditions of
the past which were programmed in the subconscious for him by parents,
schoolteachers, friends and the public in general as he came along through life from
birth.

When your timing is perfect and everything works correctly around you, things
happen as you expect them to happen, or even better, you are in the
subsuperconscious area of the mind. Certainly you are not in the subconscious area
or in the external conscious mind. You are subsuperconscious. You are aware within
the inner realms and the external realms at the same time. When you feel stationary,
stable, as if the whole world stopped and there is only you in the center, and yet you
are able to converse with your friendsthis is a subsuperconscious state.
Subsuperconsciousness is really awareness traveling, propelled by energy and
willpower.
The devotee who has developed the subsuperconscious area of the mind can sit
quietly as a being of pure cosmic energy and observe the many thoughts of the mind
without being affected by them. The intuitive knowing that we are pure awareness,
the soul, and not the thoughts that we think gives the security to move from
concentration into deeper meditation. The subsuperconscious state gives that
inherent feeling of inner stability, the feeling of being stationary or centered within the
realms of the thinking mind.
Man in the subsuperconscious area of the mind in meditation is sitting as a being of
pure energy. Even if many thoughts go past his vision, he knows he is flowing
through the world of thought as a subsuperconscious state of awareness. Awareness
is in a stationary state within the realms of the thinking mind. When we are out of the
thinking mind, we are in the conceptual, subsuperconscious areas.
Defining the Subsuperconscious
The subsuperconscious mind is a quiet subconscious. That is actually what it is. It is
the subconscious that has been made to be peaceful by putting into it a
contemplative lifestyle. It is a receptacle for the superconscious areas of mind to
permeate the physical body from the psyche, so that the body of the soul can look
out through the eyes of the physical body, radiate through the cells of the physical
body and allow superconscious rays to radiate out through the aura.
Would you like to try to locate the subsuperconscious state of mind? Look at the
room around you. That is the conscious mind you are aware in. Next, focus on your
feelings and be aware of what you are thinking. You are now aware in the
subconscious mind. Next, feel your spiritual identity, feel the power in your spine. Sit
up straight. Feel powerful energy on the inside of your spinal cord. At the same time
you are identified with being the energy in the spine, and separating the feeling of

energy from the physical spine, look at the room around you and become conscious
of your personal thoughts and feelings.
Doing this brings you into a subsuperconscious state, because you are conscious of
your superconsciousness, the power and energy and life and spiritual forces resident
right within the body. Simultaneously, you are conscious of your thinking faculty, the
room around you and yourself as being pure energy. It is that easy to be in a
subsuperconscious state, more difficult to remain in it for long periods of time.
The feeling of the eternity of the moment is experienced upon the first arrival into the
subsuperconscious state of mind. This occurs when the subconscious state of mind
is in a quiescent state, a state of full receptivity to superconsciousness. It has not
been destroyed, but has been purified of all barriers, such as negative attachments.
When this occurs, the devotee has the feeling that there is no future, there is no
past, and the only reality is the eternity of the moment.
Great vistas of creativity are opened to those who learn to keep open and receptive
to the subsuperconscious mind. Music, art, drama and dance flow most
spontaneously, and answers to questions in the subconscious, previously
unanswered, come forth in intuitive flashes, without the use of reason, while not
conflicting with reason. A feeling of contentment and confidence resides within an
individual who has learned to consciously identify and use the subsuperconscious
mind.
Security in the Superconscious
When the superconscious forces diminish, the subsuperconscious mind, in effect,
recedes from the actual consciousness of the devotee, and he becomes simply
conscious of his subconscious mind. In the very same way, from time to time, the
conscious mind overshadows the subconscious mind, and the devotee becomes
conscious fully in the external world, the subconscious mind receding from his
conscious awareness of it. Therefore, the object of the devotee is to control the
materialistic forces and the impressions that they create in his mind, so that he can
become consciously conscious in the state of mind he chooses.
Meditation is conscious use of the subsuperconscious mind to solve problems that
confront us in our daily activity and derive creative solutions from the inner recesses
of our own mind. Another way of using the superconscious forces is through
affirmation. When you say to yourself, Im all right, right now, you immediately bring

the forces of the mind together. All fears, worries and doubts cease. An influx of
actinic energy fills the subconscious, and a sense of dynamic security permeates
your being.

A. MANIVELU
The subsuperconscious mind becomes the daily experience of devotees unhindered
by reactionary patterns. Here a seeker sees light in his head and spine, and hears
the nada, a vina-like inner sound. He inwardly cognizes and resolves his karmas,
shown as a thunderstorm.
The Flow of Creativity
A devotee who can command his mind to be instantly creative, and be consistently
successful, has acquired a conscious control of the use of the subsuperconscious
state of mind. This is because the subconscious mindmade of odic force, a stickylike substance that absorbs impressions, holds impressions and files them (not
always, however, in an organized way)has been understood, dissolved and
brought in line with the cosmic forces through living a religious life. In this pure
condition, the devotees attempts to direct his own mental forces are quite naturally

successful. Unobstructed, the superconscious forces flow into the life of the devotee,
and creativity is in abundance. Once the first breakthrough has been made, we find
that these brilliant rays from the cosmic mindwhich we also call Satchidananda,
the mind of God iva, the Gods and your immortal soulpenetrate the sticky-like
substance of the subconscious, reorganizing and purifying it.
The next time you feel physically, mentally or emotionally fatigued, use your
willpower to command access to the cosmic energies that exist deep inside of you.
Do not allow the body or mind to fall into lethargic, depressed states. Feel the life
forces stirring, flowing out to invigorate every cell of your being.
When you can see a white light aglow in your head in a darkened room, or even see
a flash of it, or hear the inner, high-pitched sound, eee, humming in your inner ear,
then you know that you are consciously functioning in the subsuperconscious state
of mind. Devotees who have had their first flash of white light in their head or heard
the constant high-pitched eee in their inner ear have awakened the process of the
subsuperconscious state of mind, and it works quite automatically after that. All they
have to do is to learn how to consciously use their subsuperconscious
transcendental powers. All this will naturally occur through their continued sadhana.

The Superconscious Mind

The mind of light, the all-knowing intelligence of the soul. The Sanskrit term is
turiya, the fourth, meaning the condition beyond the states of wakefulness
(jagrat), dream (svapna), and deep sleep (sushupti). At its deepest level,
the superconscious is Parashakti, or Satchidananda, the Divine Mind of God
Siva.

E HAVE TO ADJUST OUR SUBCONSCIOUS TO THE IDEA THAT we

are a superconscious being, rather than an instinctive being or an intellectual being
driven by the impulses of the five senses. Awareness is the core of us. If we dropped
off this physical body today, we would be a superconscious being without a physical
body.
When Are You Superconscious?
It is easier to know when you are not superconscious than when you are
superconscious, because your superconsciousness is such a natural state. It is such
a beautiful state. It is such a full, wholesome state to be in, that you are not aware
generally that you are superconscious.
When you are not feeling too well within yourself, you are not superconscious. When
you are feeling really good and satisfied within yourself, you are superconscious.
When your timing is right, when everything is happening just right during the day, you
are superconscious. When nothing seems to be happening right, then your
awareness is flowing through one of the congested areas of the thought realm.
When everything seems to be going wrong, you are flowing through an instinctive
area or a congested intellectual area.
When you are arguing with yourself, you are not superconscious. You are flowing
through an area of the intellectual mind, taking two points of view and flowing from
one to another. When discussing something with someone, you are not
superconscious, for superconsciousness is a one-way street. You speak right from
the core of existence without really thinking about what you are going to say. You just
speak out and hear what you said afterwards.
When you are arguing with someone, you are not superconscious. You have moved
into a congested area of the thought strata of the mind and you are verbalizing it,
and are congesting the aura, too. Then awareness has to be unwound from that area
of the mind and directed back again to superconsciousness. When you are disturbed
about yesterday, or even have a consciousness that there was a yesterday, you are
not in a superconscious state. When you are afraid, you are not in a superconscious
state. When you are peaceful, when you are calm, when you are in the eternity of the
moment, when you feel secure on the inside of you, you are in a superconscious
state. Superconsciousness is not something you will get, because you have never

been without it. You are superconscious this very minute, and functioning in all five
states of the mind.
Be Aware of Energy
Become aware of the totality of Being. This does not take a lot of time. The easiest
way, the simplest way, is to be aware of the spine and the energies within the head.
Locate the consciousness of energy. Be aware of energy. When you are aware of
energy, you automatically forget what you were previously aware of and it fades
away. You leave the consciousness of the instinctive-intellectual area of the mind
and move into superconsciousness. If you can remain totally centered in awareness
of the energy within your spine and the energy within the head, you become aware
of the same energy within everybody and everything you see. You are immediately in
a superconscious state when this happens.
Therefore, the simple goal is, stay in this consciousness of energy for the rest of your
life. It is just that easy, but it is not quite that simple to accomplish, because you have
already trained your awareness to move into other channels of the mind, and it will
do that automatically as soon as you cease to be aware of the energy within the
spine. Then you forget that you are a superconscious, immortal being and begin to
think you are only temporal. You may begin to think that there is a past, or that there
is a future, and begin to feel that the eternal now is an insecure time. You may find
yourself beginning to lean on other people rather than on your own spine. When you
discover this happening, then begin to meditate. Go deep within yourself again and
find superconsciousness. Seek the company of people who center their awareness
within. This will make it easier for you to do so. Being around people who center
awareness in the external areas of the mind is difficult because they draw your
awareness into the external areas of the thought strata.
People who really value awareness being hooked, shall we say, into the inner
areas of energy, and have studied that function of energy, draw your awareness into
it. When this happens, you begin to see from inside out. You actually see from the
inside of everything that you look at to the exterior of it. You look at a tree. You first
see the energy within the tree. The bark is the last thing you see. When you are in an
outer consciousness, first you see the bark of the tree and then you intellectually
surmise that there must be energies within it because you happen to notice that a
leaf is growing and assume that it must be alive. How awkward awareness is when it

is stumbling around in the external area of the mind. And how smooth awareness
flows freely when it is dynamically cruising into inner layers of inner space.
We shall now compare the superconscious mind to an onion of seven layers, each
interior layer more subtle than the outer ones. 1) Experiencing the consciousness of
the eternity of the moment, as if the world was revolving around you; 2) Experiencing
a cosmic energy, a divine force, flowing through your external mind which is more
real to you than the external mind itself; 3) Experiencing hearing voices singing,
music playingthe divine sounds of the flute, mridangam, vina and tamburawhile
in meditation or early in the morning just before awakening; 4) Experiencing seeing
the faces of Gods or devas, or a rishis face, looking into yours while in meditation or
early in the morning just before awakening; 5) Experiencing the peace and inner
poise of the all-pervasive Satchidananda; 6) Experiencing the anandamaya kosha,
the body of the soul, as it comes into conscious union with the physical body; 7)
Experiencing being on the brink of the Absolute, Parasiva, the void, having lost
consciousness of the physical body and of being any of the five states of mind.
These seven states of superconsciousness are only a few, to be sure, of this vast
area of mind.

A. MANIVELU
As the superconscious awakens, the seekers third eye, the ajna chakra, reveals a
world of inner peace and mystical experience. This woman sees Siva dancing atop
her head, His anklet softly jingling as blissful energies, symbolized by flowers, flood
her nervous system.
Learn to Move Awareness
You must not think the superconscious mind is way out of your reach simply because
of the word super, because it is quite the contrary. It is within you. It has always been
within you. All you have to do is to reprogram the subconscious a little and move
awareness out of the conscious mind, and your journey is within. You are
superconscious now. You have to accept that. You do not have to get to be
superconscious. This is not something that is going to happen to you all of a sudden
and then cause you to be different. The thing that is going to happen to you is that
you will release your individual awareness from the so-called bondages of the habit
patterns of the external mind that it had been accustomed to flowing through. Once it
is released, you will automatically flow into other inner areas of the mind because
you have been studying about them and now have the map clearly outlined for you.
You might be wondering why, if you are supposed to be superconscious right now,
you have not had the wonderful experiences that I have told you about. This is easy
to answer. You may be superconscious now but not consciously superconscious all
of the time, or even for long enough periods to have these beautiful experiences.
Though you are superconscious right now, awareness is still externalized enough
that you touch into it only a little bit and then are pulled back to the subconscious or
to the conscious mind.
Through regular practice of meditation, one learns to move awareness through the
superconscious areas like a dancer learns to move across the stage according to the
rhythm of the music. It takes much practice for the dancer to acquire the technique in
the preparation of himself to fulfill his calling. He has to live a disciplined lifestyle. It is
the same for the contemplative. He has to work with and exercise the currents of
awareness so dynamically that he can flow into a superconscious area and remain
there long enough to look around a little bit and enjoy it

Love of God Is Vedanta!

The Life & Teachings of Sri Ramanuja, Indias Great Theologian
By Lakshmi & Tim Sridharan

PAINTING BY S. RAJAM
Ramanuja sits on the gurus traditional seat in worshipful acknowledgement of the
pervasive presence of Varadaraja (Vishnu), who reclines knowingly on the divine
serpent Adisesha, a conch in His left hand and discus in His right.

SURI KESHAVA SOMAYAJULU AND HIS WIFE KANTHIMATHI , a young

orthodox Vaishnavite couple living in Sriperumbudur (30 miles southwest of modernday Chennai), yearned for a child. As so many young Hindu couples before them,
the two regarded birth as a blessing held in the hands of God. Together they prayed
ardently to the Varadaraja Perumal Deity in nearby Kanchipuram. Their heartfelt
prayers were answered by the birth of a healthy, divine childa son who, according
to legend, was an incarnation of the serpent Adishesha (who had long ago
incarnated as Ramas younger brother, Lakshmana).

Kanthimathis brother, Thirumalai Nambi, struck by his nephews noble appearance

and brilliant aura, named him Ramanujan (brother of Rama). Also named as Ilaya
Perumal (younger God) by Nambi, Ramanuja would grow up to became a great
scholar, teacher, theologian, philosopher and social reformer. Born ten centuries
before Mahatma Gandhi, he foreshadowed Gandhis vision and ideals. He believed
that the holy scriptures and Lord Narayana, God, are not the sole property of the
brahmin community. Rather, everyone, irrespective of social status, has the right to
learn the scriptures and worship Narayana. He believed that service to humanity is
service to God.

RANGANATHAN
A view of the temples in Sriperumbudur. The largest tower is one of the gopurams of
the Adhikesava Perumal temple.
Ramanuja and His First Teacher, Yadavaprakasha

Young Ramanuja had an extraordinary and precocious gift for grasping the meaning
of the most difficult Sanskrit texts. He sought out the company of wise men, scholars
and devotees. Ramanujas family arranged his marriage at age 16 to a beautiful girl
named Rakshambal, culminating in a week-long ceremony at which the whole town
rejoiced. But the joy did not last long, as Ramanujas father, Keshava, fell severely ill
and died shortly after.
Following the traumatic demise of his father, the young groom left Sriperumbudur
with his wife and mother and moved to the neighboring town of Thiruputkuzhi, near
Kanchipuram, a well-known center of learning. Having studied Sanskrit and
the Vedasunder his father, he would now study advanced Vedanta. There,
Yadavaprakasha, a renowned advaitic acharya, accepted Ramanuja and his cousin
Govinda as his disciples.
There is a saying in Tamil, Guruvukku minjina sishyan, praising the exceptional
student who in some way surpasses his guru. Ramanuja was one such student.
Yadava was strict in his beliefs, demeanor and expectations, demanding complete,
unquestioning devotion from his disciples. Though faced with an intimidating
teachers unbending ways, Ramanuja could not suppress his profound disagreement
with Yadavas views.
For instance, he openly challenged the teacher on the meaning of Satyam, Jnanam,
Anantam Brahma (Taittiriya Upanishad 2.1.1). Yadavas interpretation was,
Brahman is the whole form of truth, wisdom and infinitude. Ramanujas gleaning
was much fuller: Lord has qualities such as truth and knowledge and has no
beginning or end. God is eternal. However, those qualities alone are not Brahman.
Yadavaprakasha was not impressed with his disciples extension or interpretation of
the text, but rather annoyed. He was afraid that his brilliant student was a real threat
not only to his status as guru but also to his advaita philosophy. Concerned that, if
allowed to thrive, the youth might found a rival school, the guru hatched a plot to kill
Ramanuja during a pilgrimage to Varanasi that he would make with all his disciples.
The plan was to drown Ramanuja near Manikarnika Ghat. According to Life of
Ramanujan, Yadav rationalized this as a death which, taking place in the Holy
Ganga, would be counted as an affair of merit, which they thought would not involve
the actors in sin! What travesty of spiritual ethics by Yadava!

NAINEE SHAH
Ramanuja has a heated philosophical debate with his first teacher, Yadavaprakasha
(seated on bench), who scolds the impertinent student.
Along the way, Ramanujas cousin Govinda learned of the murderous plot and informed Ramanuja. Shocked and fearful of his teachers intent, Ramanuja fled the
party, hiking off into the Vindhya hills. Traveling through the forest, he met and was
befriended by a hunter couple who said they were on pilgrimage south to
Kanchipuram. He shared that he wanted to go to Kanchi as well, and they offered to
take him there. They suggested a well they knew of where they could gather water
and bathe. They camped for the night and the next morning hiked to the well.
Ramanuja went down a hill to the well and drank of the cool water. When he returned
with water for the hunter couple, he could not find them. The couple had
disappeared. Weary and confused, he continued his journey. Approaching a town
and seeing its temple towers, he recognized it as his beloved Kanchipuram.
Suddenly it dawned on him that the hunter couple were not human but divine beings.
The Deity Varadaraja Perumal of the Kanchi Temple and His consort Perundevi had
become his guides in the Vindhyan wilds and that night while he slept had
miraculously transported him 1,000 miles to his destination.
South Indias Four Renowned Philosopher Saints

indu faith, religion, ethics, culture and traditions are strongly rooted in the
vast body of ancient scriptures called the Vedas. Hindus revere these scriptures,
compiled thousands of years ago, as revealed truth, or shruti (that which is heard).
The first sections of the Vedas represent the karma kanda, emphasizing human life
and worship of the Divine. The final portion of the Vedas, the Upanishads, being
philosophical

by

nature,

represent

the jnana

kanda (wisdom),

emphasizing

philosophy. They are also considered the ultimate end of the Vedas; hence the
termVedanta (Veda + anta, meaning end). The Upanishads speak of the nature of
reality, the world and the souls path to liberation from rebirth.
In scripture it is proclaimed, Acharya devo bavah: Acharya (guru) is God, implying
that only with the guidance of an acharya can one comprehend and interpret the holy
scriptures, lead a righteous life and use jnana, or knowledge, as a vehicle to attain
moksha. The four great acharyas of South India, who lived many centuries ago, are
Shankara,

Ramanuja,

interpretation

of

the

Nimbarka
relationship

and

Madhva.

between

the

Each
infinite

formulated
God

his

own

(Paramatman,

Parabrahman, Purushothaman, etc.) and the finite atman (individual self), as

revealed in the Upanishads and other texts. The three basic concepts in their
philosophies are God, soul and worldthe fundamental triad of existence.
These four acharyas were not contemporaries: Ramanuja (10171137 ce) could
question the interpretation of Shankara (780812) but not of Madhva (12381317) or
Nimbarka (13th century). Nor were they of the same faith: Ramanuja, Madhva and
Nimbarka were staunch Vaishnavites, while Shankara was of the Smarta tradition.
Shankara promulgated pure Advaita, a non-dualistic or monistic philosophy teaching
the oneness of the soul, atman, with Paramatman, the Supreme Soul, or God, and
focusing on Reality as transcendent. Madhva, at the other extreme, taught Dvaita, a
dualistic and theistic philosophy, postulating an eternal distinction between atman
and Paramatman. He regarded the Supreme Person as a great Being, a Personal
Lord. Nimbarka taught Dvaita-Advaita, positing three equally real and co-eternal
realitiesBrahman, the souls (chit), and the world (achit). Brahman is the Controller
(niyantri), chit is the enjoyer (bhoktri) and the achit is the object enjoyed (bhogya).
Ramanujas philosophy, known as Vishishtadvaita, or monism of the qualified, finds
a middle ground, leaning towards monism yet disagreeing with Shankaras
understanding on several points: the relationship between atman and Paramatman;
the definition of Parabrahman as nirguna (without guna, qualities) and the concept of

maya, which Shankara defined as illusion. Ramanujas Vishishtadvaita synthesizes

the Advaita philosophy with the devotional practices of dualists and the alvar saints
path of surrender, saranagati.
When Yadavaprakasa arrived at Kanchi, to his astonishment and dismay he found
Ramanuja there ahead of him. Feigning joy, he said, Our grief at your loss in the
wilds was great; but seeing you now, it has given way to boundless joy. Ramanuja
reported to his would-be assassin that he had lost his way and gotten separated
from the group, but was aided by a hunter couple who had magically transported him
to Kanchipuram while he slept under a tree. Hearing this account, Yadava stared at
Ramanuja in fear and wonder, at that moment realizing that Ramanuja was not an
ordinary man but a great soul to be looked upon with utmost regard. Ashamed of his
evil intentions, Yadava invited Ramanuja to again grace his school with his presence.
Ramanuja resumed his studies with Yadava, but their relationship once again
became bitter as philosophical differences kept them at odds. When Ramanuja could
no longer endure his gurus intellectual tyranny, he left him. The following incident,
narrated by Swami Tapasyananda in his book Sri Ramanuja, illustrates their
divergent perspectives:

NAINEE SHAH

Ramanuja kneels beside Yamunacharya, who has just left his body. The thumb and
two fingers on the right hand are clenched, which Ramanuja interprets as three
wishes he must fulfill.
One day Yadavaprakasha was interpreting the Upanishadic passage, Sarvam
khalvidam brahma, neha nanasti kinchana, All this is Brahman; there is no diversity
here whatever. He was interpreting it, justifying the doctrine of the oneness of the
Atman and Brahman. Ramanuja differed from him and said the passage would have
meant the oneness of all with Brahman if it were not followed by, Tajjalan iti shanta
upasita, This universe is born in, sustained by and dissolves in Brahman; meditate
thus on Him. This qualification makes the earlier part mean: The things in
this samsara are not existing severally, but as pearls strung on a thread; they are
interpenetrated by Brahman and held as a unity without impairing their
manifoldness. This interpretation of Ramanuja generated a violent fit of annoyance
in Yadavaprakasha. He asked Ramanuja to get away from his school. In obedience
to the teacher, he took leave of him after worshiping his feet in all reverence.
This was a turning point in the young philosophers life. Years later, Ramanuja
defeated this former master in a debate. So potent was the victory that the once
arrogant advaitin became a staunch Vaishnavite and a devotee of Ramanuja.
Ramanuja was glad to leave this teacher of an impossible and absurd philosophy.
Straight home he went, and informed his mother Sri-Devi of all that happened.
Enough of thy studies, son! said she; there is Tirukkacchi Nambi who is in great
favor with Lord Varadaraja. Seek his advice and service, and abide by his will. That
will do thee all the good. Ramanuja at once sought Nambi and besought him to
employ him in divine services in the temple (as recounted in Govindacharyas The
Life of Ramanujacharya).

FOTOLIA
The distinctive sectarian forehead body insignia of four Vaishnava denominations
along with the tripundra tilak worn by Saivites.
Ramanuja and the Great Yamunacharya
After leaving Yadavaprakasha, Ramanuja searched for a spiritual master.
Meanwhile, the renowned Yamunacharya (917-1042) of Srirangam, now ailing, had
been looking for an ideal student to become his successor. Yamunacharya was a
scholar, a spiritual master and a powerful debater. As a mere child of twelve, he had
defeated the most formidable scholar at the kings court, winning half the kingdom
and receiving the title Alavandar (ruler, savior) from the queen. Yamuna later
renounced the kingdom to become a sannyasin and acharya, fulfilling the wishes of
his grandfather, the great Nathamuni. It should be mentioned that the Vishishtadvaita
philosophy and the creed of Shri Vaishnavism were already well established in South
India at this time, firmly embodied in important temples at Kanchipuram, Tirupati and

other major towns. The prefix Shri refers to the Goddess Lakshmi, consort of Vishnu.
Yamuna was in charge of the Ranganatha Temple and Vishishtadvaita Math at
Srirangam, the main center of the Shri Vaishnavas.
It is believed that Ramanujas break with Yadavaprakasha was due to the prayers of
Yamunacharya. Having had heard of his saintly prowess, Yamunacharya foresaw
him as his successor. Author Govindacharya narrates this prayer: Yamunacharya
now mounted up to the central shrine of Lord Varada (called Hastigiri). Standing
before the Deity he prayed, Great Lord! grant me a boon. Thou art Vara-da (BoonGranter). By thy favor, the deaf hears, the lame runs, the dumb speaks, the blind
sees and the barren bears. I have sought Thee. Grant me that Ramanuja shall
become the bearer of the torch of our faith.
Ramanujas Philosophy & Theology

amanuja, in contrast with Shankara, asserts that the Upanishadic absolute

Brahman is not a bare identity or a non-entity but rather a determinate whole,
maintaining an identity in and through the differencesthat the absolute, infinite
Brahman manifests in every finite reality. He echoes the words of Prahlad, who
defied his atheist father by saying God is in this pillar and even in the smallest of all
things (Thoonilum ullan, thurumbilan ullan). Life is real, matter is real, and universe
is real; these are not figments of imagination, not illusory objects, however transient
they may be. Ramanujas personal Deity is a composite of the divine characteristics
described in the holy Sanskrit scriptures and the Tamil Divya Prabandham. The
Supreme has a divine form peculiar to itself, not of the primal substance or matter
(prakriti) and not due to karma.
To illuminate the acharyas brilliant outlook, we gratefully offer the following long
excerpt from the book Sri Ramanuja, by Swami Tapasyananda of the Ramakrishna
Mission.
.....................
The philosophy of Sri Ramanuja is the most pre-eminent among the Bhakti Schools
of Vedanta, both because of the profundity of the doctrines it expounds and the
balanced devotionalism it teaches. Barring Bhaskaras Bhedabheda (identity-indifference) interpretation of Vedanta Sutras, Ramanujas was the first comprehensive
criticism of the Vedanta as expounded by Shankara some three centuries before

him. The other schools of Bhakti Vedanta that came after him have only taken up his
criticisms and teachings with minor re-statements to suit their theological leanings.
The common object of all these systems may be stated thus: They seek to establish
the supremacy of the Divine Personality, known under the different sacred names of
Purushottama, Narayana, Vasudeva, Krishna, etc., and equate Him with Brahman,
the Absolute of the Upanishads. For them, the Supreme Being is a Person with
attributes, and there is no Absolute beyond Him. They also lay stress on the
exclusive position of devotion and Divine grace as the only means to overcome the
hold of karma on the jiva and enable him to attain salvation. Salvation or release
from the hold of karma does not mean for them the mergence of the jiva in Brahman,
but attaining to the status of an eternal servant of His, which alone can give
unalloyed bliss to the jiva. Most of these teachings are mainly theological, but they
require the backing of a consistent metaphysics to establish their credibility.
Among all the teachers of this devotional brand of Vedanta, Ramanuja is the one
whose metaphysical genius rivals that of Shankara himself. He was a master of
Vedic lore and methodology of arguments and exposition. While in his subsidiary
works he leans very much on the devotional writings of his school of Vaishnavism, in
his main work, the Shri Bhashya or the commentary on the Vedanta Sutras of
Badarayana, he exhibits himself to be a pure Vedantin, that is, the follower of the
Upanishadic doctrine of Brahman, which of course is for him identical with Narayana,
the Divine Person.
The Upanishadic Brahman is the unity which comprehends in Himself all the
diversities of common experience and yet remains unaffected and unlimited by them.
Shankara establishes that unity by reducing all diversity into a mere appearance like
a snake superimposed on a rope in semi-darkness. According to him, the darkness
of ignorance is the cause of illusory presentation of multiplicity. All the time the
multiplicity is perceived, it is not actually there, and the unitary Consciousness had
remained unchanged. On the light of knowledge arising, the illusory presentation
disappears without leaving any residue beyond the Non-dual One, which was always
there unchanged as the substratum. He thus achieves the unity of all existence and
the unchangeableness and unaffectedness of Brahman. This achievement leaves
many problems unsolved and creates many others to be solved. He however gives a
prima facie reality to the world of diversity from the practical point of view
(vyavaharika satta), only to deny it absolutely in the end. An unmodified and
attributeless Consciousness alone is the Ultimate Reality. Reality has thus for him
two tiersthe apparently real and the truly real.

Ramanuja is totally hostile to this Advaitic interpretation of the unity proclaimed by

this brand of Vedanta. Unity is not the sublation of all diversity but the subordination
of diversity to unity. His system is called Vishishtadvaita, a term which, according to
competent authorities, is not used by him anywhere in his writings, but came to be
used later to differentiate it from the other systems of Advaita, just as Shankaras
doctrine came to be called in later times Kevaladvaita. Both Shankara and Ramanuja
considered themselves only as Vedantins, and for both of them their system is the
Vedanta.
The term Vishishtadvaita is often translated as qualified non-dualism. Scholars
disagree

with

this

translation.

The

compound (sandhi) is

not karmadharayan butbahuvrahi, and its English translation will be the non-duality
of the qualified whole. Von Buitenin has elaborated it as unity of the universes
spiritual and non-spiritual substances with, and in, a God whom they modify as His
body. A more compact translation is pan-organistic non-dualism. In this system,
the world is ultimately true, the jiva is ultimately true, God is ultimately true, and
liberation from bondage is also factually true. Thus, in effect, it is a totally realistic
theism in which God and the Absolute are one and the same. The non-dual, allinclusive qualified Whole is the Brahman of the Vedanta, according to Ramanuja.
While this metaphysical framework is established and argued with relentless logic
and philosophical methodology of Vedantic tradition, Ramanujas system gets flesh
and blood by his devotional ideologies of the passionate devotees of the Lord Vishnu
(the alvars) that the Tamil land produced from the second to the eighth century. Thus
Ramanujas Vedanta becomes philosophical Vaishnavism. While he is a strict
Vedantin in his methodology and way of scriptural exegesis, he identified the
Upanishadic Brahman with Vishu-Narayana; and this is his turning point from
philosophy to religion. His Vaishnavism is indicated in his early major writing the Shri
Bhashya, but becomes pronounced in his later writings. The account of Ramanujas
life given earlier makes clear how these two streams of thought, the Vedic and the
Vaishnava, came to mingle in him.
Theology
In fact, Ramanujas mission in life was thisto effect a rational and natural mingling
of the rapturous devotion of the alvars with the Upanishadic quest of the ontological
and unifying ground of the changing world of the many. Bhakti, or devotion, requires
twothe adorable and lovable God who is a Person as also the Supreme Being on

the one hand, and the devotee who finds his fulfilment in service of Him, on the
other. The Vedanta of the Upanishads mainly preaches the doctrine of the Absolute
Being, who is the non-dual source, substratum and dissolving ground of the many
that constitute the world of our experience. That out of which all beings come, in
which they all subsist, and into which they are withdrawn is Brahmanthis is the
watchword of the Upanishads. Brahman is all-inclusive and all-absorbing, and is
described by such epithets as Sat-chid-ananda (Existence-knowledge-bliss) and Satyam, Jnanam, Anantam Brahma (Brahman is Truth, Consciousness and Infinite).
Shankaracharya interprets this Upanishadic doctrine of the Absolute as the Non-dual
Being in whom the world of the many is a mere appearance ascribed by Ignorance
and not actually existing. For practical purposes, he gives a prima facie reality
(Vyavaharika Satta) to the world of the many and to God, who is its cause. But this
God (Saguna-Brahman) is distinguished from the Absolute, and His reality belongs
to the same order as that of the world of the many that are said to be His creation.
When Ignorance is overcome by proper metaphysical insight, the aspirant realizes
that what he considered as his I is really the Absolute Brahman into whom the
apparent world and its God too resolve. It is comparable to the appearance of a
snake in semi-darkness, and its disappearance in its substratum, the rope, on the
removal of darkness. Both the world and God conceived as its cause are sublated
and are realized as having had no real existence.
Ramanuja totally differs from such interpretation of the Upanishadic doctrine which
militates against the ultimacy of God and the supremacy of devotion. He criticises
severely the theory of Ignorance and the compartmentalisation of Reality into
Paramartha (ultimate) and Vyavaharika (relative or practical). To the question, what
is the locus of Ignorance, there is no credible answer from the Advaitin. If it is
Brahman, Brahman becomes loaded with evil and becomes unworthy as a spiritual
goal. If it is the jiva (individual spirit), the same defect persists, as the jiva in its real
nature is one with Brahman according to advaita. If it is an entirely different category,
dualism is the result. Besides, the jiva is caused by the upadhis (adjuncts)
superimposed on Brahman, and these upadhis are the products of Ignorance. Thus
Ignorance must precede the jiva and cannot therefore be conceived as located in it.
To describe Ignorance as a category that is neither existent nor non-existent nor a
combination of both is to speak a language unknown to logical thinking.
Ramanuja directs a devastating attack against the doctrine of a sublatable God who
is less than the Absolute or the Supreme Being, against the theory of Ignorance

which is without a definite locus and which cannot be described as existent or nonexistent or a combination of both, and against the compartmentalization of Reality
into Paramartha (the ultimately real) and Vyavaharika (the relatively real), which
means only that the latter is illusory.
Ramanujas greatness consists in bringing to bear his Sanskritic and Veda-oriented
ideology and methodology on the purely devotional heritage of the alvars, and thus
creating what is called Ubhaya-Vedanta [meaning two-fold Vedanta], which is
significant in the whole world of philosophy, as also in the limited sphere of the Tamil
land.
As explained by Swami Tapasyananda, It was his great ambition to bring about a
union between the emotional religion of the alvars and the Vedantic methodology of
philosophic exposition which had become current in the scholarly world after the
advent of Shankaracharya and his commentaries on Vedantic texts. He could not
himself fulfill this work in his life, but towards the end of his life he came across
Ramanuja and recognized in him the competent Vedic scholar who could do it.
Overjoyed upon hearing of Ramanujas separation from his former guru, Yamuna
sent Mahapurna, one of his closest disciples, to go and bring the brilliant student to
him from Kanchipuram.
Reaching Srirangam after four days of travel, Ramanuja and Mahapurna
encountered a long funeral procession which they learned was carrying the body of
Yamuna to the cremation grounds. Despite his will to live until Ramanujas arrival,
the great Vaishnava saint had passed away.

LAKSHMI SRIDHARAN
The murti of Sri Ramanuja inside the Adikesava Perumal Temple at his birthplace,
Sripurembudur.
Hearing this tragic news, Mahapurna and Ramanuja fell to the ground and wept.
After a few moments, forgetting his own grief, Mahapurna led Ramanuja by the hand
to Yamunas side. I have at least been able to see Yamunacharya, Ramanuja
uttered. Falling silent, he scanned the body and discovered that the thumb and two
fingers of the right hand were curled. Intrigued by the strange sight, Ramanuja
wondered if the sage had some special message to express, and asked aloud to the
gathering if the guru had told them of some important wishes that had been

unsatisfied in his life. Mahapurna then explained to Ramanuja that, yes, indeed, his
Acharya had many times expressed three aspirations:
1) To perpetuate the doctrine of saranagati, complete surrender to the personal
Deity; 2) To write a commentary on the Brahma Sutras of Sage Vyasa to bring out
the real Vishishtadvaita meaning within them; 3) To perpetuate the names of
Parashara (author ofVishnu Purana) and saint Shadakopa (a poet-saint also known
as Nammalvar).
Without hesitation, Ramanuja promised boldly that he would fulfill these ambitious
goals. Holy sage, addressing his figure, if this is thy mind, I promise I shall carry it
out, provided I have the health, provided thy grace is on me, and provided God
grants my prayers. (Govindacharya).
And as he did so, the saints curled fingers straightened one by one. At that moment,
Ramanuja accepted Yamunacharya as his manasika acharya, silent teacher.
Witnessing these vows and the miraculous uncurling of Yamunacharyas fingers, the
whole assembly in one voice declared, Sire, doubt not that the sages grace is fully
upon you; the very power and glory of his spirit will enter into you; you are the fit
successor to him for furtherance of our faith. We all anoint you for the task. Once
the funeral rites were performed, Ramanuja took leave of Mahapurna.
Yamunacharyas death was a severe blow to Ramanuja; he left for Kanchi without
even seeing Lord Ranganatha. It is chronicled of Ramanuja that he often used to
express to his holy assembly that If I had been permitted for one single day to be in
the living company of Sri Yamuna, I would have constructed a staircase to Heaven
and procured free admission to all thereto (Govindacharya).
Transcending Social Barriers
Social structure in eleventh-century India was quite different from what it is now. Only
members of the brahmin caste were allowed to perform puja in Hindu temples. And
the lowest members of the social hierarchy, the untouchables, were not allowed to
enter temple premises at all. Brahmins did not entertain non-brahmins in their
homes. Ramanuja had no regard for the caste system, and he never ceased seeking
instruction from those who were qualified to give it, regardless of caste.

NAINEE SHAH
Standing at the base of a temple gopuram just moments after his japa initiation,
Ramanuja shouts out to the masses the sacred and secret mantra Om Namo
Narayana.
After the cremation of Yamuna, Ramanuja returned to Kanchi where he devoted his
time to serving Lord Varadaraja and associating with Kanchipurna, a saintly devotee
he had known and respected from a young age, all the while paying little attention to
his wife and his family duties. Though Ramanuja beseeched Kanchipurna to be his
guru, the latter humbly declined and instead deferred him to Mahapurna for further
training. Thus, one year after Yamunas grand departure, Ramanuja was formally
brought into the Vaishnava fold in a rite in which Mahapurna impressed the seal of
Vishnus conch on his arms. For the following six months in Kanchipuram, he studied
with Mahapurna the sacred Divya Prabandham, 4,000 devotional Tamil verses
composed by the twelve Alvar saints.

LAKSHMI SRIDHARAN
The Thirunarayanapuram Temple in Melkote, a sacred kshetra in Karnataka where
Ramanuja resided for twelve years.
Meanwhile,

Rakshambal

was

understandably

disturbed

by

her

husbands

indifference to their life together since his return from Srirangam. Unwavering in her
brahmin orthodoxy, she was also irreconcilably opposed to his mingling with
Kanchipurna and other non-brahmins. There were several incidents in which she
insulted non-brahmins, including Kanchipurna, his wife and Mahapurna. Unable to
endure this, Ramanuja, still somber over his gurus death, separated from her,
sending her home to her parents.
Resolving that he had had enough of worldly life, Ramanuja undertook the rites for
entering into the holy order of sannyasins at the Varadaraja Temple in the company
of Kanchipurna, with the Deity, Lord Varadaraja, as his guru. Thereafter, staying for
some time as head of the monastery in Kanchi, he began giving discourses on
Vedanta and Vaishnavism to the many disciples who were drawn to his presence.

To complete his conversion to Vaishnavism, Ramanuja was encouraged by

Mahapurna to seek initiation from Thirukottiyur Nambigal (a.k.a. Gostipurna) into
formal recital of the sacred eight-syllable mantra, Om Namo Narayanaya. Nambigal
taught Ramanuja the meaning of Charama shloka, the noblest of all passages in
the Bhagavad Gita. However, he hesitated to give him mantra initiation. Ramanuja
had to make eighteen trips seeking this initiation before gaining the confidence of the
guru, who swore him to secrecy before imparting the mantra. Ramanuja! Keep this
mantra a secret. It is powerful. Share it only with disciples who have proven
themselves worthy. Ramanuja promised his guru that he would not share itbut it
was a promise he could not keep.
Desiring that all souls might enjoy the eternal bliss of Lord Narayana, Ramanuja
immediately called all the village together, irrespective of caste and creed, to
assemble in front of a temple. Standing atop the entrance gate with the gopuram
towering behind him, he shouted out the mantra at the top of his voice. This blatant
disobedience to his guru was an unforgivable sin, one for which he could be
condemned, but Ramanuja was willing to suffer personal torment if his transgression
meant that millions of people could attain salvation by hearing the sacred mantra.
When Nambigal learned of this, he became angry; but when Ramanuja stood before
him and clasped the gurus feet in humility, he realized the extent of his devotees
selfless compassion, then embraced Ramanuja and blessed him.
At Home in Srirangam
Ramanuja settled in Srirangam. After further training from Yamunas disciples, he
succeeded the great Yamunacharya as administrator of Srirangam Math and Temple.
He conversed with the temple Deity, Lord Sriranganathan, more than once. During
one conversation the Lord granted him the title Udaiyavar, ownerpossessor of
mukti (salvation) and Vaikuntha (Lord Vishnus heavenly abode). In gracious
response, Ramanuja requested the Lord to grant these blessings to all His devotees.
While at Srirangam Yatiraja (as Ramanuja was known in later years) gave
discourses on the hymns of the Alvar saints, preached his Vishishtadvaita philosophy
and composed important philosophical works in Sanskrit. He also held debates with
leading advocates of opposing schools of thought, defeating and winning them over
to his way of thinking.

NAINEE SHAH
Ramanuja seeks the blessings of Lord Varadaraja in Kanchi, having renounced
worldly life and taken initiation to enter into the holy order of Hindu sannyasins as a
lifetime celibate monk.

As explained by Vedic Knowledge Online, Thousands of people flocked to him every

day to hear his lectures. He cleansed the temples, settled the rituals to be observed
in them, and rectified many social evils which had crept into the community. He had
a congregation of 700 sannyasins, 74 dignitaries who held special offices of ministry,
and thousands of holy men and women who revered him as Guru. He inducted lakhs
of people to the path of bhakti and a highly moral and disciplined life. He gave
initiation to all people. He was now seventy years old, but was destined to live many
more years, establish more maths, construct more temples and spread his teachings
to many more thousands of people.
Ramanujas

most

significant

literary

work

was

his

commentary

on

BadaranayasVedanta Sutra, the earliest known (ca 400 bce) systematization of

Vedanta. Its aphorisms are extremely terse and philosophically cryptic, without
explanation. Closely referencing Bodhayanas seminal commentary of the Sutra,
Ramanuja explained and interpreted the verses according to the devotional
philosophy of his tradition.
As he commenced the work, entitled Shri Bhashya, Ramanuja told his disciples: I
can now refute the doctrines of these wrong-headed persons who think that the mere
intellectual understanding of the great Vedic statements like That thou art and I am
Brahman is enough for final beatitude of liberation. I have also to explode the views
of those Jnana-karma-Samucchayavadins who admit the great efficacy of yajna,
dana, tapas and karma along with the understanding of these statements. I have to
establish that the purport of the Vedas and the Vedanta is the attainment of liberation
through dhyana, upasana and bhakti. For all this, I shall begin writing the Shri
Bhashya (from Life of Shri Ramanuja, by Swami Ramakrishnananda, Ramakrishna
Math, Chennai).
All-India Pilgrimage
Swami Tapasyananda provides a summary of Ramanujas travels following his
magnum opus. After completing the Shri Bhasya, accompanied by a large number
of his disciples, Ramanuja went on an all-India pilgrimage, which was also of the
nature of a digvijaya[victory tour], confronting philosophers of other schools of
thought and spreading Vaishnavism among them. He first visited all the holy centers
of Tamil land and of Kerala and gradually moved northwardvisiting Dvaraka,
Mathura, Vrindavana, Shalagrama, Saketa, Badarikasrama, Naimisa, Puskara and at
last the Sharadapitha in Kashmir. The Pandits of Sharadapitha had acrimonious

debates with him, but he was able to convert the ruler of Kashmir to his faith. Here
Ramanuja had a vision of Hayagriva, one of the Divine Incarnations. Then he went to
Kasi, where he stayed for some time and won over many learned men to his faith.
Continuing south to Shripurushottama-Kshetra, now known as Puri, he founded
there a monastery called Embar Math. The scholars of that place, who controlled the
temple, refused to face him in debate for fear of defeat. He next went to Ahobila,
situated on Garuda mountain, where he established a monastery. Next he worshiped
Narasimha-Murti at Isalinga, and afterwards reached the temple of Venkatachalapati
at Tirupati. There he settled, through his superhuman powers, a dispute on the
question whether the image of the temple was of Siva or Vishnu, in favor of
Vaishnavas. He then returned to Srirangam via his old residence of Kanchipuram
where he did obeisance to Varadaraja.

NAINEE SHAH
To Ramanujas amazement, Govinda, fearless and full of compassion, removes a
thorn that has pierced the tongue of a deadly cobra.

Twelve Years in Melkote, Karnataka

Ramanujas influence grew in the years to follow, and he gained a huge number of
followers. Yadava and other advaitins, including the Chola king Kulothunga I (who
considered him a threat to Saivism) continued to plot against him. The king intended
to force this leader of Vashnavism to sign a declaration endorsing Lord Siva as the
supreme God. When the king summoned Ramanuja to his court, Ramanujas
shishyas convinced him to flee to safety. He escaped to Melkote, in Karnataka,
where he is credited with rebuilding and renovating the Thirunarayanapuram Temple.
There he gained the favor of the Jain king Bitrideva of the Hoysala dynasty by curing
his daughter of an illness. Later, in a visionary dream, Lord Narayanan told him He
was buried in the ground under a nearby anthill. Bitrideva helped Ramunuja recover
the statue of the Lord, which had earlier been thrown out of the temple by Muslim
invaders. Ramanuja reinstalled the sacred murti in the sanctum, where it remains to
this day.
Ramanuja still needed an utsava murti, a Deity image made specifically to be
paraded through the streets during festivals. This was needed in order to celebrate
festivals properly. Once again the Lord appeared in his dreams, this time telling him
the temples original utsava murti of Cheluvanarayana was currently in the
possession of a sultan in Delhi. Ramanuja, now 80 years old, made the tiring journey
to Delhi and asked the king to return the murti. The king asked him to identify it, but it
could not be found.
Ramanuja called out, Adiyen Vareer Enthan Selva Pillai (Please come out, my
darling child). Miraculously, the three-foot-tall Cheluvanarayana statue came running
from the chamber of the princess and sat on Ramanujas lap. Ramanuja brought Him
back to Thirunarayanapuramfollowed by the Muslim princess, who could not bear
to be separated from her beloved Lord. She remained in Melkote serving Narayana
to the end of her life. To this day she is honored at the temple there as Bibi Nachiyar.

NAINEE SHAH
Ramanuja scribes his commentary on the Brahma Sutras, formulating a
Vishishtadvaita interpretation of this terse summation of Vedanta written by
Badarayana around 400 bce.
Ramanuja remained in Thirunarayanapuram for twelve years. As the administrator of
temple activities, he devoted himself to community development and introduced
several new festivals, including the Diamond Crown Festival. He involved the people
of Melkote in all temple activities, daily pujas, rituals and annual festivals, embracing
people of every caste and economic status in the service of Thirunarayana. He
called the tribal people thirukulathatar, family members of Goddess Lakshmi. He
was loved and respected by one and all.
When the cruel king Kulothunga I finally passed away, Ramanuja desired to return to
his beloved Srirangam. But the people of Melkote begged him to stay in
Thirunarayanapuram. In response, Ramanuja created a bronze image of himself
which was formally installed in a shrine in the temple. He also brought 52 Bhattars

(priests) from Srirangam to perform the daily worship. To this day the priests carry
out all temple activities according to the traditions set forth by him. There he is
equally revered with the Deity Thirunarayana, and his birthday is grandly celebrated
each year. Shri Vaishnavas seek blessings from the bronze Ramanuja murti before
worshiping at the Deity sanctums.
Nine Literary Works

amanuja wrote to fulfill the wishes of Yamunacharya and to fulfill the vision
of Ubhaya Vedanta. His nine books are considered to be nine precious gems
(navaratna) in the world of Vaishnavite Hindu philosophy. 1) Vedanta Sangraha, an
exposition of Vedanta; 2) Shri Bhashya, a commentary on the Brahma Sutras;
3) Vedanta Sara (Essence of Vedanta), an appendix to Shri Bhashya; 4) Vedanta
Dipa (Light

of

Vedanta),

another

appendix

and

commentary

to Shri

Bhashya; 5) Gadhya Thrayam (or Vaikunta Gatyam), a description of Vaikuntha (the

abode of Vishnu); 6) Shri Ranga Gadhyam, a prayer surrendering to the feet of
Sriranganatha; 7) Saranagati Gadhyam, an imaginary dialogue between Ramanuja,
Lakshmi and Narayana; 8) Nithya Grantham, daily activities to be performed by
Vaishnavas; and 9) Gita Bhashya, a commentary on the Bhagavad Gita.
All nine works were written in Sanskrit. Though Ramanuja spoke and discoursed in
the Tamil language, he does not seem to have written anything in his native tongue.
His Final Message
Returning to Srirangam, the aged acharya continued to serve Lord Sriranganathan
and all His devotees. As a polemicist and philosopher, he devoted the remainder of
his life to proving the Vedantic legitimacy of the popular conception of a personal
Deity with an approachable identity.
At the ripe age of 120, Ramanuja prayed to Sriranganathan for moksha, liberation.
His parting words to his devoted disciples were:
Worship holy men exactly as you would do in the case of your spiritual preceptor.
Have sincere faith in the teachings of the great Acharyas of yore. Never be slaves to
your senses. Be not satisfied with the acquisition of worldly knowledge. Go on
reading repeatedly the books dealing with the greatness of God and the wonders of
His creation. If perchance you are favored with scintillating wisdom by the gurus

grace, then the attraction of the senses will cease for you. Learn to treat all your
feelings with indifference. Enjoy the utterance of the names and glories of Gods
devotees with as much relish as the utterance of Gods names and glories. Bear in
mind that he who renders service to Gods devotees attains God speedily. Therefore,
unless you dedicate yourself to the service of God and His devotees, you will not be
saved, however wise you may be. Do not consider the life of a Vaishnava as a
means for acquiring any selfish advantage. You must endeavor to realize the ideal.

CREDIT: UNKNOWN
This granite murti of Sri Ramanuja is enshrined in the Cheluvanarayan Vishnu
Temple at Melkote.

Devote a portion of the day, at least one hour, to the contemplation of the greatness
of your spiritual preceptor and some time every day to the reading of the sacred
writings of the alvars or the acharyas. Always seek the company of those that pursue
the path of self-surrender to God and avoid the company of those that say, There
are other paths leading to salvation. Do not associate with people who are always in
quest of filthy lucre and sense enjoyment, but mingle with the devotees of God to the
extent possible. Whoever looks upon the sacred images of God as mere stones, his
own spiritual teacher as an ordinary human being, eminent devotees as high or low
according to the caste of their birth, the holy water that has touched the feet of God
and has as a consequence acquired the power to purify and purge one of all sins as
ordinary water, the sacred mantras as a collection of sounds, and the Supreme Lord
of all the worlds as one not higher than the Devaslet him be considered an
unworthy person fit only for purgatory (from Sri Ramanuja, Swami Tapasyananda).

NAINEE SHAH
Near the same temple, Ramanuja discovered and unearthed the parade murti of
Lord Cheluvanarayana which was thrown out of the temple centuries before by
Muslim mauraders.

Influence Today

wami Tapasyananda provides this summary: It is important to point out that

Ramanujas devotional philosophy had in a way a much wider field of operation than
South India or Tamil Nadu. Many sects of North Indian Vaishnavism also had their
origin in his teaching. Ramananda (1300-1411), the fountainhead of monotheism and
Rama cults of North India, was a follower of Ramanujas sect and was initiated into
Vishishtadvaita. He went early on pilgrimage to the North and stayed there for
several years. On his return, the caste-conscious Vaishnavas of the South could not
entertain him in their community. He was a spiritual liberalist who did not recognize
caste as a factor in spiritual competence. Therefore he settled in Benares, and was
practically the guru, the spiritual stimulator, of the twelve great leaders of the
Vaishnava cult of the North. They belonged to all castes and included a cobbler and
a Muslim. The most illustrious of them was Kabir, who worked for the unification of
Vaishnavaism and Islamic monotheism. Another disciple, Ravidas, a cobbler by birth,
initiated the celebrated Mira Bai into the meaning of bhakti. Sena, a barber by caste,
converted the Raja of Bandogarh into Vaishnavism. Dana was a Jat, and Pipa a
Rajput prince. In later days, great leaders of monotheistic devotion, like Tulsidas and
Dadu, got their inspiration from Ramanujas teachings.
From Ramanuja.org, we read, Ramanujas supreme effort resulted in a systematic
presentation of Vishishtadvaita. His genius also led to the development of a
complete system which synthesizes the concept of God with the philosophy of the
impersonal Absolute. The followers of Ramanuja are called Shri Vaishnavas. This
term is not exclusive to Iyengars (a major sect among Brahmins of South India). Also
among South Indians are a set of followers called Shattada Shri-Vaishnavas of nonBrahmin origins. Followers of Ramanuja (or at least those who include him in the
lineage of their earlier acharyas) can be seen far and wide in different parts of India
including Gaudiya Vaishnavas of Bengal and the Swaminarayans of Gujarat.
Vaishnava pathashalas and colleges all over India, as well as elsewhere, include
Ramanujas philosophy in their curricula. Several Vaishnava organizations are
propagating Shri Vaishnavism in Europe, Russsia and North and South America.
The tradition begun by Ramanuja of reciting Divya Prabandham continues in
Sriranganadhars temple and other Vishnu temples to this day. Sriperumbudurs
Adhikesava Perumal temple at Ramanujas birthplace is one of the holiest places of
worship for Shri Vaishnavites. Ramanuja is equally revered with the Perumal Deity

there, and a bronze statue of Ramanuja is under the same roof as Adhikesava,
Shridevi and Bhudevi. There is a small shrine to Ramanuja next to the temple. In
virtually all Vaishanava temples there is statue of Ramanujacharya, including
Mukthinath, Nepal, where Ramanujacharya himself installed the main Deity icon,
which is made of saligram.
Swami Vivekananda, who introduced Hindu thought to the Western world at the turn
of the twentieth century, commented, Ramanuja, with a most practical philosophy,
great appeal to the emotions, an entire denial of birthrights before spiritual
attainments and appeals through the popular tongue, completely succeeded in
bringing the masses back to the Vedic religion. (The Historical Evolution of India).
This speaks volumes about Ramanuja as a great visionary, a humanitarian, a
philosopher and a guru.
Resources
Sri Ramanuja, His Life, Religion & Philosophy, by Swami Tapasyananda, Sri
Ramakrishna Math, Mylapore, Madras
Life of Sri Ramanuja, by Swami Ramakrishnananda, Sri Ramakrishna at, Mylapore,
Madras, 1959 (translated from Bengali by Swami Budhananda)
The Life of Ramanujacharya, the Exponent of the Vishishtadvaita Philosophy, by
Akondaville Govindacharya, Kapalee Press, Madras, 1906
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Lakshmi and Tim Sridharan were brought up with great emphasis on Hindu
traditions, culture and values by devout Tamil Brahmin parents in Madras, Tamil
Nadu, and now live in San Jose, California. In preparation for this article, they traced
the life path of Ramanuja through Tamil Nadu and Karnataka during a visit to India in
December of 2013. While this is their first joint venture in writing, Lakshmi has
published many articles on a variety of subjects, including Indian tradition and
culture.