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Swami Lakshmanjoo
Observatory Reflection
posted by the Consciousness Observatory
posted by the Consciousness Observatory
is known as the tattvas, or elements. In Vedanta we are told that
there are only twenty-five tattvas; however, in Saivism we
know that there are really thirty-six tattvas. These thirty six
tattvas are the most important points for entering into Saivism.
I will give the explanation of the tattvas in the manner of rising
not descending . We must rise up to Parama Siva. I prefer
rising, not descending, so we must rise. I will, therefore,
explain the grossest element 'earth' first and then proceed to
explain subtler and subtler elements, until we reach the subtlest
element, t'ie finest, which is Parama Siva.
36 TATIVAS - 36 ELEMENTS
Panca mahiibhiitas - Five Great Elements
prithvi = earth
jala = water
tejas = fire
viiyu = air
iikiisa = ether
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KASHMIR SHAIVISM "The Secret Supreme"
Paiica tanmiitras - Five Subtle Elements
gandha = smell
rasa = taste
rupa, = form
sparsa = touch
sabda = sound
Paiica karmendriyas - Five Organs of Action
upastha creative
payu = excretion
piida = foot
piil}i = hand
viik = speech
Paiica jiiiinendriyas - Five Organs of Cognition
ghriil}a = nose, organ of smelling
rasana = tongue, organ of tasting
cak~u = eye, organ of seeing
tvak = skin, organ of touching
srotra = ear, organ of hearing
Anta~kara1Jas - Three Internal Organs
manas
buddhi~
ahamkiira
prakriti
puru~a
=
=
=
=
=
mind
intellect
ego connected with
objectivity
nature
ego connected with
subjectivity
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Thirty Six Elements (Tattvas !
Sar kaiicukas - Six Coverings
niyati = limitation of place
kiila = limitation of time
raga = limitation of attachment
vidyii = limitation of knowledge
kalii = limitation of action (creativity)
miiyii = illusion of individuality
Suddha tattvas - Pure Elements
suddha vidyii = 1-ness in I-ness-Thisness in
Thisness
isvara = Thisness in I-ness
sadiisiva = I-ness in Thisness
sakti = I-ness
siva = I-ness (Being)
We will begin, therefore, from the lowest degree of the
tattvas, which are the gross tattvas. The gross tattv(ls are called
the paiica-mahiibhiitas, the five great elements. They are the
tattvas of prithvi (earth), jala (water), tejas (fire), viiyu (iiir),
and iikiisa ( ether). The element "ether" is not a perceptible element,
such as the elements earth, air, fire, and water. Rather, it
is space, unoccupied space. It gives you room to move. It is
that element in which the other four gross elements have room
to exist. We could say that it is a special vacuum which is filled
by the other four great elements. These tattvas are gross and
are called mahiibhiitas (great elements) because the whole universe
is based on these five elements.
After the five mahiibhiitas, you move up to the five tanmiitras.
The five tanmiitras correspond to the five mahiibhiitas.
Gandha tanmiitra arises from the element of earth (prithvi tattva).
The word gandha means "smell"; however, it is not exact-
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KASHMIR SHAIVISM "The Secret Supreme"
ly smell, it is the abode of smell, where smell liv~s. And that
abode of smell is called ganda tdnmatra. '1 he next tanmiitra,
rasa tanmiitra, has come out from the element of water (jala
mahiibhuta). Rasa tanmiitra is the residence of the impression
of taste (rasa). And then from the element of fire (tejas mahiibhuta)
issues forth rupa tanmiitra. Though the word rupa
means form, rupa tanmiitra is not exactly form; it is the residence
of form, where the impression of form resides. This residence
·is called rupa tanmiitra. From the element of air (viiyu
mahiibhuta) rises sparsa tanmiitra, which is the tanmiitra of
touch, the sensation of touch. This tanmiitra is the residence of
the sensation of touch. And finally, rising from the element of
ether ( iikiisa mahiibhuta) is sabda tanmiitra, the tanmiitra of
sound. This is the residence of the sensation of sound.
After the five tanmiitras come the five tattvas, which are
known as the five karmendriyas, the five organs of action.
These organs of action are viik, pii,:ii, piida, piiyu, and·upastha.
The first karmendriya is viik tattva, the organ of speech. Next
is piini tattva. The word piini means "hand." Pii,:ii is that organ
of action by which you take and give. Then comes piida tattva.
The word piida means "foot." It is the organ by which you
move about. It is the organ of locomotion. Next is piiyu tattva,
which is the active organ of excretion. It is the organ of passing
stools. The fifth and last karmendriya is upastha tattva.
Upastha tattva is that karmendriya, that organ of action which
is the active organ of sex and urination, the organ by which sex
is performed and by which one urinates.
The next five tattvas are the five organs of cognition
(knowledge) and are known as the fivejniinendriyas. These are
the mental organs with which we experience the world. These
five organs are ghrii,:ia, rasanii, cak~u, tvak, and srotra. The
first jniinendriya is ghrii(ia tattva. The word ghrii,:ia means
"nose." The use of the word nose does not refer to breathing;
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'
Thirty Six Elements (Tattvas)
rather, nose is used here to indicate smell. This is the organ of
cognition by which you smell. It creates odors. The next tattva
is rasanii tattva. Rasanii means "tongue." Here the use of the
word tongue does not refer to speech but to taste because,
athough speech also comes from the tongue, it is an organ of
action, not an organ of cognition. Rasanii tattva is that organ of
cognition by which you taste. It creates flavors. Now follows
cak.ru tattva. The word cak.ru means "eye." It is that organ of
cognition by which you see. It creates form (riipa!J). The fourth
jiiiinendriya is tvak tattva. Tvak means "skin." It is the organ of
cognition by which you feel. It creates touch. The last organ of
cognition is srotra tattva. Srotra means "ear." It is that organ of
cognition by which you hear. It creates sound.
All of the above twenty elements;-the five mahiibhiitas,
the five tanmiitras, the five karmendriyas, and the five jiiiinendriyas,-
are called gross elements. They are all objective elements.
The following elements, as we continue rising in our
explanation of the tattvas, are said to be objective cum subjective
elements. You should understand though that, in Sa1v1siii',
aITlhe elements are really objective elements. They are called
objects. Only that Super Being is subjective. Yet, as the following
elements are a bit more connected to subjectivity than
the former, we say that they are objective cum subjective elements.
Now we rise to the three tattvas which are known as the
anta!Jkara,:ias. The word anta!Jkara,:ias means "internal
organs." The three internal organs are manas (mind), buddhi!J
(intellect), and aharizkiira (ego).
Manas tattva, the element of mind, is said in Sanslqit to be
sarizkalpasiidhana, the means by which you create thought.
This could be any thought, such as, "I am going there, I will go
there, I have done this, I have done that." This is the action of
manas. The action of buddhih tattva, the element of intellect, is
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KASHMIR SHAIVISM "The Secret Supreme"
to confirm whether I should do this or not. This is the field of
the confirmation of the rightness of any proposed action,
whether intellectual or moral, because, first, you must determine
the rightness of a proposed decision or action and then
make a choice dependent on this rightness. You ask yourself
internally, "Should I perform this action or not? Is this the right
decision or not?" The buddhi will reply to you, "No, you
should not do it," or "Yes, you should do it." "This is bad, it is
wrong to do it." "This is good, you should do it." "This answer
is right, this answer is wrong." All this is done by the intellect.
Aharizkiira tattva is the element of ego which is connected
with objectivity. When you attribute any action or knowledge
to your self, such as, "I have done this and it was a mistake, I
have done that and I ought not to have done it," or "I did a
wonderful thing today which will benefit me a lot," this is the
action of aharizkiira tattva. It creates limited "I" consciousness,
the limited ego which is connected with objectivity.
Rising still further, we come to the two tattvas of prakriti
and puruea. These two tattvas are interdependent. Prakriti is
dependent upon puruea and puruea is dependent upon prakriti.
Prakriti is the element which is known as "nature." It is the
field where the three tendencies arise and flow forth. These
three tendencies are known as the three gu,:zas, the three qualities.
They are, respectively sattva, rajas, and tamas. Prakriti is
the combination of these three gu,:zas but without any distinction.
The three gu,:ias emerge from prakriti and thus it is ·said
that the three gu,:ias are not in the field of the tattvas. They are
not to be considered as tattvas because they are created by
prakriti. Tattvas are creators, they are not created. It is, therefore,
not the gu,:ias which are tattvas but their creator prakriti.
And that which responds to that prakriti, which owns that
prakriti, is called puruea.
Up to this point, I have explained twenty-five tattvas; five
mahabhiitas, five tanmatras, five karmendriyas, five jnanen-
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Thirty Six Elements (Tattvas)
driyas, three anta!Jkarai:ias, prakriti, and puru$a. This is the
limit of the Vedantin's understanding of the tattvas. They say
that there are only twenty-five tattvas. Yet in Saivism, nothing
as yet has happened. All these tattvas exist in the field of maya,
in the field of objectivity.
In Saivism, puru$a is not a realized soul. Puru$a tattva is
bound and limited just as ahamkara tattva is. The only difference
between puru$a and ahamkara is that puru$a is connected
with subjectivity and ahamkara is connected with objectivity.
And this puru$a is entangled and bound in five ways, which
are the five kaiicukas: niyati, kala, raga, vidya, and kala.
First, there is niyati tattva. The function of niyati tattva is to
put the impression in puru$a that he is residing in a particular
place and not in all places. You are residing in a houseboat near
the First Bridge and you are not residing simultaneously at
lshiber near Nisha!. You are residing,in Kashmir; you are not
residing simultaneously in Australia or Canada. This is the limitation
which niyati tattva causes for puru$a; that one is residing
in a particular place and not everywhere.
Next comes kala tattva. The word kala means "time." The
action of kala tattva is to keep puru$a in a particular period, the
victim of being in a particular period. For instance, you are 25
years old, I am 64 years old, and he is 43 years old. This limitation
is the result of the action of kala tattva.
The third tattva by which puru$a is limited is known as raga
tattva. Raga means "attachment." This is that attachment
which results from not being full. The action of raga tattva is
to leave the impression in puru$a that he is not full, that he is
not complete, and that he must have this or that to become full.
He feels a lack which he must fill. This is the function of raga
tattva in limiting puru$a.
The fomth tattva which limits puru$a is vidya tattva. Vidya
means "knowledge." The action of vidya tattva is to put the
impression in puru$a that he has this or that particular and lim-
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KASHMIR SHAIVISM "The Secret Supreme"
ited knowledge, that he is not all-knowing for he knows only
some limited things.
The fifth and final bondage and limitation for puru$a is kalii
tattva. Ka/ii tattva creates the impression in puru$a that he has
some particular creativity, some particular artistic talent. He
has mastered the· art of writing, or the art of music, or the art of
medicine; however, he does not have unlimited creativity. He
is good at some things and not all things.
These five bondages of puru$a are caused by puru$a's ignorance
of his own nature. And this ignorance is another tattva,
which is known as miiyii tattva. These five tattvas are created
by miiyii for puru$a. That puru$a who is the victim of miiyii,
therefore, does not know his .own real nature and becomes
bound and entangled by these five (kancukas) and thus
becomes a victim of prakriti. He takes on individuality and
becomes a limited individual.
These five tattvas plus miiyii are known as $at kancukas (the
six-fold coverings). These are the six coverings which bind and
entangle and, therefore, limit puru~a. He is not limited by only
one covering but by six and these coverings must be removed,
and this is done automatically by the grace of the Master.
Through this grace, at the time of real knowledge, miiyii is
transformed into His sakti, His great energy. In His glory, miiyii
becomes the glory of Parama Siva. When puru$a realizes the
reality of his nature, miiyii becomes glory for him.
We have completed our examination of those tattvas, from
the antaJ;kara,:zas to miiyii, which are connected with objectivity
cum subjectivity. We will now rise to those tattvas which
are connected with pure subjectivity. This is the subjective
course to be entered into by puru$a for rising from pure subjectivity
to purer subjectivity to purest subjectivity.
Pure subjectivity is found in the tattva known as suddhavidyii
tattva. This exists when puru$a actually realizes his own
nature. And yet that realization is not stable; it is flickering, it
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Thirty Six Elements (Tattvas)
is moving. This is the realization at the level of suddhavidya
tattva. This realization is in motion. Sometimes you realize it,
sometimes you forget it. And the experience (paramarsa) of
suddhavidya tattva is, "I am Siva, this universe is in duality.
This universe is unreal, I am Siva." This is the impression
which comes in suddhavidya tattva and it is pure subjectivity.
Now purer subjectivity will come in the next two tattvas,
isvara tattva and sadasiva tattva. In isvara tattva, you realize,
"This universe is my own expansion. This universe is not an
illusion, it is my own expansion." The realization which takes
place in sadasiva tattva is the same as the realization which
takes place in isvara tattva, but more refined. In sadasiva tattva,
you realize,"! am this whole universe." This is the difference
between these two impressions. In isvara tattva, you have
the impression, "This universe is my own expansion," whereas
in sadasiva tattva, you will find "I myself am this whole
universe." These two tattvas comprise subjectivity in a purer
form.
Now in the final two tattvas, we come to subjectivity in its
purest form. These two tattvas are the interdependent tattvas:
sakti tattva and siva tattva. The impression which comes in
these two tattvas is only I, the pure I, the universal I. It is not
"this universe is my own expansion" or "I am this whole universe."
No, it is just I, pure I, universal I.
Last is that Being which does not come in the cycle of
tattvas that Being called Parama Siva. Parama Siva is not only
found in siva tattva or in sakti tattva. It is not only here, not
only there. You will find It everywhere. You will find It from
the lowest tattva to the highest. It is all levels, and therefore no
level. It is everywhere, that is why It is nowhere. The one
Being who is everywhere, It is nowhere.



