AKTIPTA IN SAIVISM

K.S.Balasubramanian

Each doctrine has its own philosophy and techniques to

attain the highest Truth. All philosophies aim at the same goal
viz. release from bondage and realization of the Absolute. A true
spiritual seeker is concerned with the attainment of Absolute
Reality. He may follow any technique or discipline. But the
important thing is that he reaches the state of equality where he
realizes and experiences the oneness of everything in this
universe.
Indian philosophical systems usually stress the need for
specific disciplines that gradually mould the entire range of
psycho-physical functions, into higher levels of consciousness.
The religious schools propounded by great cryas belonging to
Santanadharma have drawn much inspiration from the Vedic
and Upanishadic tradition and have succeeded in presenting the
scheme of spiritual culture as a well-knit system that do not
advocate any accidental or unaccountable occurrences of
human evolution.
In spite of this, however the doctrine of sudden or
instantaneous transformation of human being has also been
described in Indian tradition. Numerous examples can be cited
for this phenomenon though some of them have not been looked
at by great commentators and modern scholars due to various
reasons. The method or technique used to effect such a
transformation is known as aktipta or aktinipta in Saivism.
This term has been translated in many ways. For example.
 2

Wayne Surdam translates its as the fall of grace 1 and it is

sudden influx, says N.N. Sen Gupta 2
and it is referred to as
divine grace by
L.N. Sharma.3 It means, according to Swami Muktananda.
transmission of spiritual power (akti) from the Guru to the
disciple: spiritual awakening by grace. 4

This process of spiritual transmission was known to

Buddhists also. According to Chou Hsiang-Kuang, Bodhidharma
first reached the Chinese territory in the Sung (Liu) dynasty (420-
478 A.D.). Bodhidharmas purpose and technique of teachings
may be summarized as follows
1. A special transmission outside the scriptures
2. No dependence upon words and letters
3. Direct pointing to the soul of man and
4. Seeing into ones own nature 5

In Sufism also we find references to such phenomenon,

even before 8th cent. A.D. This technique is known to them as
tavajjoh 6
and has been used by great Sufi Masters over the
centuries. Let us look into this aspect of spiritual transmission in
Saivism.
aktipta in Kashmir Saivism

1
Journal of Oriental Research Vol.42-46. K.S.R.I.,. Chennai .1987, pp.57-65.
2
Proceedings and Transactions of the Tenth All India Oriental Conference.
1941,pp.264-65.
3
Kashmir Saivism, Bharatiya Vidya Prakashan, Delhi. 1996, p 344.
4
Secret of the siddhas. SYDA Foundation, N.Y., 1980, p.217.
5
Dhyana Buddhism in China, Indo-Chinese Literature Publications.
Allahabad, 1960, p.19.
6 Yogis in Silence: The great Sufi Masters, By R.K. Gupta, B.R. Paperback,
Delhi, 2002,p.32-3.
6
 3

There are many references to akti pta in the works of the

great preceptor of Kashmir Saivism, Abhinavagupta.. In
pratyabhij school it is said that one of the ways of realization
pursued by the adherents is anupya or the way without
technique. This does not imply that no disciplines or methods of
inner purification are prescribed. It only means that when a s
dhaka or an aspirant has applied himself to God-realisation to
the best of his ability, with total surrender to God, the divine
current or energy automatically and suddenly sets in him. A word
from the guru may open up new vistas of spiritual life

Abhinavagupta says:
su: hv YQqmw: wutw n
wwjum yw wjtwou m
qquwm
um: u ytw: 7

A corresponding incident can be shown here from the life of

the great Tamil Saivite preceptor Umpati ivcrya who was
transformed by listening to the words of his preceptor Maraij
na Sambandhar - Paapakalil paka kuruan pokir.
The principle underlying the attainment of the sudden
awakening by aktipta is elucidated by Kemarja in
Pratyabnijhdayam. It is said that when one fixes his attention
on the inner consciousness, restraining his mind from wandering

7
Tantrasra , hnika 2, Kashmir series of texts and studies, Bombay, 1918,
p.8.
8
.The Vtulanthastra with the Vtti of Ananda aktipda, Kashmir Series of
test and sutra No. 39,1923, p.3.
 4

on other objects there occurs suddenly higher planes of spiritual

experience:
u mj : Zmro wqt
jm jmw Ztu .. jw
Otxy mumumm ytwt
yum 7a

Shasa school
Such realization comes without any sequential progress or
8
order, as the Vtulanthastra (1-2) says:

tqq tvi tZwu

This text belongs to Shasa school. Shasa literally means
forceful or sudden happening. According to Navjeevan Rastogi,
from Saivite point of view, it stands for the highest state of
inspiration of self-revelation which needs no
preliminary preparation. The commentator on Vtulanthastra,
Ananta aktipda, terms this school as mahshasacarasamprad
ya (school dealing with the great shasa). The notion of shasa,
the means for sudden and forceful realization of the Self, was
known to Abhinavagupta, as he refers to it while dealing with
mudrs in the thirty second hnika of Tantrloka. Here he refers
to a text Bhargaikh, in support of his view on Khecarmudr 8

which is said to be the highest and also consisting of eight

varieties. He says that in Shasa school, Vrabhairava is the
highest state of Khecarmudr.
yyZw Ojmmutt
9
8
t hj j ti: Zm uu TA. XXXII.
64.
 5

--------------------
wsw yu hj rowo
on wm s h v
9
Further he says:

yytZw lm
wt qmuw u
u womro swm mw u
w swy t 10

Three means of aktipta or anupya

The texts on Kashmir Saivism such as ivastras, M
linvijayottara tantra and Tantrloka, describe three upyas
viz.
i.mbhava, ii. kta, iii. ava
(i) mbhava vea:

jm jmuw
Zmrom:
qmpn w: swp ywm:
11

9
10 ibid. 61-62.
10
Ibid. pp.3662 - 63. It may be noted here that in the texts on Haha yoga,
we do not find the eight varieties of khecar , though it is said to be the
best among the mudr (vide. Hahayogapradpik I.43). But kualin is
described as aapraktirp by many texts on Hahayoga.
11
Tantrloka p .168.
7a
Pratyabnijhdayam Motila Banarsidass, Delhi, 1963
 6

When a person does not think of anything and his Self or

Consciousness is awakened by ones guru it is known as mbhav
vea.
(ii) kta vea:
The state of the mind which is experienced by the mere
contemplation of
the unuttered syllable 12
is called kta vea

jm wm jmyw wjmu
u ytwtm Q:
ypsoum 13

(iii) ava vea:

When one recites the praava or Aum by reconstructing it in
the proper manner of enunciation and meditates on its vara
(syllable) sthna (position), the experience one derives is known
as ava vea. 14

A brief survey of the above references point out the fact

that though Kashmir Saivism stresses the principles of anupya
(or non-method) and shasa (suddenness), there seems to have
been well defined methods for the attainment of higher
consciousness.

12
This is ajap gyatr
13
Mlinivijaya.
14
Such a mode of contemplation is recommended in ancient Yogic texts like
Yogayjavalkya, (VI.8-10)
 7

It may be noted in this connection that Yogic texts are silent

on this aspect of aktipta or Yogic transmission. In Yoga v
siha, however, we find an interesting description of Yogic
transmission where Vivmitra addresses Vasiha on seeing R
ma being given the experience of higher consciousness by
Vasiha through mbhava vea. Here three means of
transmission viz. by touch, sight and word have been mentioned.
It is said that both the preceptor and the disciple should be
equally competent to enable this phenomenon to take place.

wy ts rq ty
w Qqm mm w
mt
m qm m qu
u
ku: ytw sw y :
---------------------
Zutw u Zuk
t
swq un uu ywFxtYtq 15

II. aiva gama

aiva gamas opine that the individual soul (tman) when
freed from the bonds that encompass it, is essentially composed

15
Yogavsitha VI.a.128.60-62
 8

of the nature of iva. The soul as long as it is bound by the pa is

termed a pau. Its release is possible only through initiation or
dk. The power to accomplish this release is known as ivas
anugrahaakti or ivas grace. The descent of such power on the
pau is termed aktipta or aktinipta.
The agamas argue that since human power is limited,
anugrahaakti of iva is required for the liberation of individual

soul. Even Kaha upaniad 16

says: utwx wm
m vu:
But for this to happen the pa must first reach a state of
ripeness enabling them for separation from the soul (malaparip
ka). The common metaphor used is that of the necessity for the
ripening of the inner kernel of a grain of rice before the outer
husk can be removed by some outside agent. 17

There is a difference of opinion in Agamic texts regarding

the actual occurrence of aktipta. Somaambhupaddhati, the
earliest of the manuals on aivapaddhatis says that aktipta
takes place at the time of dk ceremony.18 But the later
authors including Aghoraivcrya, whose paddhati is also known
as Kriykramadyotik, which is widely used in south India, claims
that the aktipta occurs spontaneously in the inner core of the
devotees heart. It is only following this occurrence that the nirv
adk (the initiation for liberation) should be performed. 19

Nirmalamai, the commentator on this text has also described

16
Kaha.up.ll.23: also Muaka. Up.III.2.3.
17
Saktinipta section in the Kriydpik. pp.140-42.
18
Somaambhupaddhati. Vol. III. 3.
19
Kriykramadyotik, with the comm. of Nirmalamai, Chidambaram,
1927, pp.264.67
 9

this process elaborately. He observes. Here malaparipka (the

ripening of malas) is
the cause of aktipta and the latter is the cause of the dk
which is the form of grace.

tvqq: Qqmu m: y j
q u:
Traditionally four degrees of aktipta are mentioned:
Tvratara (more intense). tvra (intense) manda (mild) and
mandatara (very mild). Texts like Kriydpik and
nagurudevapaddhati extend the possibilities to many more
divisions such as mandatvra, mandatvratara and so on. 20

The Agamic texts also give the effects of various degrees of

aktipta. Trilocana, the commentator on Somaambhupaddhati
for example, says, tvratara results in immediate liberation;
tvra in fainting: manda in trembling and mandatara in
horripilation.

mm mwm ytQ: mw
t, t q: , tm
tjtumm jmmu swmun :
21

According to Aghoraivcrya, the guru or the preceptor

should observe the behaviour of the seeker who has lived with
him, to ensure that aktipta has occurred. Then the disciple is
initiated.

20
p.141 and xvi.1-9 respectively
21
Somaambhupaddhati, III.7
 10

tvqq Qqm j w
yq : w
wom 22

The guru recognizes that aktipta has occurred in the

disciple by perceiving in him an eagerness for liberation, dislike
for the existing world and his devotion to the devotees of lord iva
and so on. Thus, Mgendra gama says:

ux Q: qmuq
wu
mx mvtyu tQ
x swnm
sQb wsQx my wo
23

A question may be asked here. If the aktipta is capable of

removing the mala which is the cause of the cycle of births and
deaths, does the person obtain immediate liberation? (as opined
in Somaambhupaddhati) Why should he wait for the removal
of final bonds at the time of nirva dk? aivaparibh, 24

22
Kriykramadyotik, p.264
23
Mgendrgama, Vidypda 4 -5
24
aivaparibh of ivgra Yogin, University of Madras, 1982, p.288
wttQ qot wb
ujmp uqw tmu Onm:
 11

explains that the aktipta which was originally mild (manda)

becomes intense as the individual spends his life in accordance
with Agamic injunctions. He is then fit for the nirva dk that
removes all his accumulated karma (sacitakarma). Thus we
see that the deserving condition of the disciple, the aktipta,
the dk all contribute in bringing the disciple to a state of
ivattva. The same is echoed by Trilocancrya in his Siddhntas
rvali thus:

tv v qw qmm w
Q swpOt
x :uy w sk
mmpu u
q y u um wq
ukumww
qmp q u
ytujtxp mm

III. aiva Siddhnta:

In the Tamil tradition of aiva philosophy and practice,
popularly known as aivasiddhnta, ivas grace or anugrahaakti
has been highlighted by great preceptors like Appar, Cuntarar

Qqmm mw swm
 12

and others. In Tamil literature dealing on Saivism, we come

across passages where aktipta or aktinipta has been
described. As shown already, the awakening of the inner Self of
Umpati ivcrya is attributed to the words of his preceptor. Um
pati in turn, it is
described, liberated a plant by means of aktipta and also a
devotee of lord iva Pensmbn.
ivajnabodham of Meykaadevar, consists of just twelve
stras in Tamil elucidating the principles of aiva siddhnta. In the
eighth stra it is said:
ImX YPu AVoR] Y[okR]j
RmRp Unj RYjp EQojRh
AuVm CuUu AWu LZp NU.
The lord appearing as guru to the soul which had advanced
in tapas (austerity), instructs him that he has wasted himself
living among the savages of the five senses; and on this, the soul
understanding its real nature leaves its former associates and not
being different from Him (the lord) becomes united to His feet
25

Here it is emphasized that the guru is the lord in human

form. The five senses are equated to the hunters and the
commentators explain that the gurus instruction to the disciple
and the latters realization of his real nature is like that of the
reminder by the king to the prince, who was lost and was
brought up by the hunters, that he was indeed the prince. The
person realizes immediately that he is indeed the prince. This is
similar to the quotation daamastvamasi in Advaita philosophy.

25
ivajabodha cemporu Sri Kasi Matham. Tiruppanantal. 1958, p.8.
 13

IV. A passage quoted from ta samhit classifies this

process of aktipta into four categories viz. gross, subtle, subtler
and the subtlest, which correspond to the Yogic transmission by
touch, sight, word and thought power.

Ow nv yt ytm ytmt j
tm:
q sx yq
kwm jmo mm 26 a

Examples of the hen hatching its egg by means of touch, fish

protecting its off- spring by means of keeping them under its
vision, and the tortoise laying its eggs in a pit, covering it by sand
and protecting them by its thought power are also given in this
text.
V. A few incidents from our literature and personal lives of saints
can also be cited in this connection.
(i) Lord Kas transmission to Arjuna in the battle field.
Though we do not have direct reference to aktipta either in the
Mahbhrata or in the Bhagavad gt, where in the eleventh
chapter, the cosmic form of the lord is described, it is hinted at in
the verse,

tu Zy mwku
q q mttum 27
the word tmayogt gives us a clue that there might have been
the transmission from lord Ka to Arjuna from heart to heart.

2
6 a. q. by V.D. Gulavani in his Transmission of spiritual power, Kalya
Kalpataru. Vol.VII.No.1.1940, p.272.
 14

(ii) In the life of di akara.we have the incident of Toakc

rya, whose
Inner Self was awakened by the great preceptor with the result
that he spontaneously started reciting the famous Toakakam
(written in Toaka metre).
In Tibetan Buddhism this phenomenon was known, as stated
already.
(iii) The reference in the
Yogavsiha where R
ma was transformed by
Vasiha has been described already.
(iv) In the third canto of Kirtrjunya of Bhravi, Vysa
arrives at the Dvaitavana where Pavas are staying. The
instruction given by Vysa to Arjuna and the latters
experience as being awakened as if from a slumber has
been vividly described by Bhravi in the following verse:

u j m uumtu mt
mq: Zsw wmm y:
uu mwx mp wsy
26
ytOttvw ju j:
Here the greatness of Vysa is depicted by the term
tapaprabhvat and of Arjuna by the word yogyatama. The word
sadya suggests that the effect was immediate. The word

26
Kirtrjunya, III.26.
29. For more details see The Silence of the Yogis: The great Sufi Masters by
R.K. Gupta.
 15

tattveu has been commented upon by Mallintha to mean the

twenty four principle of Skhya and Yoga metaphysics.
(v) The incident of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa
transforming his disciple
Narendranath into a great saint Swami Vivekananda by means of
Yogic transmission is well known.
(vi) The technique of Yogic transmission has been passed
on from
Masters to their disciples in Sufism, especially, in the tradition of
Nakshbandh, to which the great Sufi saint Moulana Rumi belongs,
for over one thousand years. It is referred to as Tavajjoh. In this
system the seeker is advised to meditate in the heart and the
transmission by the Master is directed to his (seekers) heart,
taking him to various higher levels of consciousness. 27

(vii) Muktananda of 20th

century, a disciple of
Nityananda introduced
this
method of aktipta in north India and also in U.S.A and to
seekers from many countries. He says that his method is similar
to Kashmir Saivism.28 Here it is essentially the transmission by
touch.
27
30. For more details see The Path of the Siddhas by Muktananda
and Meditation Revolution a monumental work on Muktanandas
contribution in this regard by a group of scholars. Pub. by Muktabodha
Research Institute.
28
 16

(viii) Finally it may be

mentioned that it is
through Sahaj Marg
system
of Rja yoga, this process of Yogic transmission has been made
available for seekers from more than ninety countries. This is
called prhuti in this system. Prhuti is defined as utilization
of the divine energy for the transformation of human being.
The uniqueness of this technique in this system is as follows:
(i) It is heart to heart transmission
(ii) The guru offers his own spiritual attainments to all
the seekers irrespective of colour, caste, creed, sex,
nationality, religion etc.
(iii) To receive this one has to only open his heart.
(iv) Women are also equally eligible.
(v) Since this transmission is from one heart to another,
there is no necessity for the seeker to be in the
physical presence of the guru as is the case with
lower levels of transmission by touch, sight and
word.
(vi) The guru chooses many individuals across the globe,
both men and women and appoints them as
preceptors (trainers), who are endowed with the
capacity to transmit the divine energy.
(vii) There is no limitation of time and space for
experiencing this unique flow of transmission.
(viii) It avoids the pitfalls and risks as described in other
Yogic texts.
 17

(ix) One need not undergo rigorous study of scriptures,

engage in debates, perform austerities, rituals,
sacrifices etc., to experience higher consciousness,
since the transmission takes him directly to these
levels.
(x) One need not renounce the worldly life.

Conclusion: Thus we see that the technique of aktipta has

been in vogue in Saivism, Buddhism and Sufism for more than a
millennium, under different names. Great Masters assure that
this method is the simplest, safest and shortest path in taking the
seeker to the Ultimate Reality. It can only be experienced and
cannot be described in words. It is noteworthy that this is
continued even now, though under different names.