Sivoham: Advaitic Union

Sarva jnanothra Agamam [Sarvajnanottara-Agama?] says (sutra-2) that God and the individual self are in abhedadvaitic union, or in bhedadvaitic union or in visitadvaitic bhedabheda union in respective postulates. But the Siddhanta mukti-Shuddha avastha’ mukti—is considered the highest form of mukti wherein the individual self remains together with unchanging Brahman in non-separable union.

Shivajnana Munivar elaborates (Sutra 9-2) that advaitic mukti—Shuddha advaitic mukti—is bestowed upon the individual self through ‘Sivoham Bhavana ’by Grace of God. The individual self becomes sat when it is united with ‘sat ’and remains‘asat ’when it is united with ‘asat ’. When the self sees and realizes it to be ‘asat ’, it rejects ‘asat’ by its maturity. Then it searches for ‘sat ’ in its own consciousness and realizes the Lord by getting rid of its impurity within. It is similar to the poison being removed by effective meditation on garuda . The potency of garuda removes the poision. The potency of Lord Shiva also psychologically rewards such meditation. To meditate on Him is to become inseparable from Him by the daily practice of the spell. Here the spiritual master (Guru) appropriates within himself ‘Sivoyam’—‘This is Shiva’. He tells the disciple Shivattvamasi—‘thou art Shiva’. He also instructs the disciple to meditate on the true meaning of the grand expression of Siddhanta in the form–‘Sivoham ’—‘I am Shiva’.

Siddhanta does not lead us here to conclude that the individual self and Lord in advaitic union are equal. When the self possesses the gross body which is the transformation of the gross elements, it is called bhutatma . Then it treats of the variations of speech and when the self contacts these variations, it is called antaratma , (the self within).The same self when it contacts the evolutes which are of subtle nature, it is called tattvatma (the self in the form of evolutes). Even among the evolutes, it has different names with respect to the evolutes which it contacts and identifies with. The self is called purusha when it experiences the world. Owing to the contact of wordly things, when it experiences pleasure, pain or indifference, it is called jivatma (the living self). This self when it thinks of the various spells that denote the various kinds of living beings is called mantratma (the self of the spell). Thus the self contacts itself and identifies with things that are different or separate from it. Separation means things objectified by it.

When the self is not one of these five natures, it identifies with the Primal Being by means of meditative identity and is called Paramatma (the great self). Thus Sarva Jnanothra Agama explains the nature of the self. This nature has already been indicated in the expression, ‘The self has the nature of the thing which it contacts and depends upon’. Of these six kinds, the first five are artificial depending upon adventitious conditions. The Paramatma ,the sixth, which is the result of meditative identity, is natural because of the class of sentiency that is common to both the individual self and the Primal Being. Finally, the work says that the man who has meditative identity sees the Primal Being in his own self through the eye of Grace in abundance. He perceives the true nature of all things, gets liberated from the internal impurity of eternal nature and experiences infinite Bliss thereupon.

The individual self is like a crystal. It assumes the nature of the thing with which it is in contact. It absorbs and reflects the light of the sun and remains as though it is sun itself, but it cannot function as a sun.