By Victor M Fontane
In the Indian system, the total number of petals corresponds to the number of letters in the Sanskrit alphabet, and the number of petals of any specific lotus is determined by the arrangement of the Nādīs (energy channels) around it. These petals, in addition, are carriers of subtle sonorous powers, and are fifty in number, like the letters of the Sanakrit Alphabet, which, as a representation of all words and language, is that by which all the ideation that creates the world. It is also said that mastery of the centers can produce various Siddhis or powers with respect to the predominant elements there. And this is, in fact, alleged. Pandit Ananta Shastri says: “Every day we can meet several people who rub shoulders with us on the streets or in the bazaars and who, with all sincerity, tried to reach the highest plane of bliss, but fell victim, along the way, of the illusions of the psychic world, and stopped at one or another of the six chakras. The chakras are of various degrees of realization, and are seen to possess some power not found even in the best intellectual of the ordinary career of humanity. The mere fact of awakening the Serpentine power does not mean much, from the point of view of spiritual Yoga. From the point of view of the higher Yogis, nothing really important is achieved until the Ājnā Chakra (third eye) is reached. Here, again, it is said that the Sādaka whose Atma is nothing more than a meditation on that lotus “becomes the creator, preserver and destroyer, of the three worlds.” However, it is said that this is nothing more than praise which in Sanskrit literature is as often devoid of reality as it is in our ordinary life. Although much is gained here, it is not until the Tattvas (elements or principles of reality) of this center are also absorbed, and complete knowledge of the Sahasrāra ,Crown Chakra, is acquired, that the Yogi attains what is both his goal and the motive of his work, the cessation of rebirth that follows the control and concentration of the Chitta (feeling) in the Shivasthānam (serpent power), the Abode of Bliss.
It should not be assumed that simply because the Serpentine Fire has been awakened, one has become a Yogi or has achieved the end of Yoga. The main characteristic of the Indian systems, and what constitutes their true depth, is the primary importance given to consciousness and its states. It is these states that create, sustain and destroy worlds. Brahmā, Vishnu and Shiva are the names of the functions of the one Universal Consciousness that operates in us. And whatever the means employed, it is the transformation of the lower into higher states of consciousness that constitutes the process and the fruit of Yoga and the cause of all its experiences.
However, in this and other matters, we must distinguish practice and experience from theory. It is possible that a similar experience can be obtained through various modes of practice, and an experience may in fact be a true one, although the theory that may be given to explain it is incorrect. All that manifests is power (Shakti) as Mind, Life and Matter. Power implies a possessor of power (Shaktimān). There is no Bearer without Power, nor Power without Power Bearer. The Power Bearer is Shiva, the Power is Shakti, the Great Mother of the Universe. There is no Shiva without Shakti, nor Shakti without Shiva. The two, as they are in themselves, are one. Each one of them is Being, Consciousness and Bliss. These terms are chosen to denote the ultimate Reality, because the Being or the “I”, unlike the particular terms of the Being, cannot be thought. “Being”, is also “being conscious” and, finally, the perfect Being-Consciousness is the All, and the unlimited Being is Bliss. These three terms represent the ultimate creative Reality as it is in itself. By imposing these terms of Name (Nāma) and Form (Rūpa) or Mind and Matter, we have the limited Being-Consciousness and the Bliss that is the Universe. What then about Power when there is no Universe? It is then Power to Be, to self-preserve and resist change. In evolution it is Power to become and change, and in its manifestation as forms it is as material cause, the changing Becoming of the Worlds. Becoming is not equal to God, because it is a finite form and He is the formless infinite. But the essence of these forms is the infinite Power that is equal to the infinite Possessor of Power, it is He who puts the Power and creates the Universe. Rest implies activity and activity implies rest. Behind all activity there is a static background. Shiva represents the static aspect of Reality and Shakti the mobile aspect. The two, as they are in themselves, are one. Everything is Real, both immutable and changing.
Man is, therefore, as to his essence, the Bearer of static Power, or, Shiva, which is pure Consciousness; and, like Mind and Body, it is the manifestation of the Power of Shiva, or Shakti or Mother. It is therefore Shiva-Shakti. He is, as he is, an expression of Power. The object of Sādhana or Worship and Yoga is to elevate this Power to its perfect expression, in the sense of unlimited experience. One way of doing it is Yoga, by which man exchanges his limited or worldly experience for that which is the Unlimited All (Pūrna) or Perfect Bliss.
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