This article will concentrate on achieving union with the Godhead by meditating on the Triadic attributes of the Godhead based on Indian spiritual schools.
The communion with the Godhead is addressed from the perspective of the Shaivite school which is based on the triadic form of the supreme God represented by the divine triad viz Brahma, Vishnu, and Rudra.
Within the Shaivite schools, god is said to have five attributes and conducts five actions which we will briefly look into.
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- Chit (Consciousness) – Chit literally translates to consciousness, god is pure consciousness or God is self-affirming or self-aware all-pervading consciousness.
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- Ananda ( Bliss) – God is endowed with awareness in the form of bliss. Simply said the supreme godhead is complete and perfect due to the fact that he is capable of accomplishing anything.
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- Icha (Will) – The supreme self-aware Godhead has the power of will inherent in him, this is the will to create or manifest the entire cosmos out of his own awareness.
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- Jnana (Knowledge) – This corresponds to the omniscient aspect of God, knowledge here refers to the knowledge of objective universe, knowledge about the multitudes of the objects which makes up the cosmos.
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- Kriya (Action) – This is the power to freely act. This corresponds to the omniprovident aspect of the Godhead. He alone is free to manifest anything from his awareness. This corresponds to the actual act of creation.
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The above-said qualities are represented as five different god forms or deities namely Brahma, Vishnu, Rudra, Ishwara, and Sada-Shiva. While the supreme Godhead endowed with these attributes is called a Para-Shiva or Parama-Shiva or in certain contexts Para-Bhairava etc.
The triadic god forms Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra are given utmost importance in practice, since the triadic form is the active principle of the Godhead. Now let me explain some of the methods used in traditional Shaivsim to become aware of these qualities within and without.
Triad As Our Own Self
The triad of Brahma Vishnu and Rudra apart from being knowledge, action and will respectively is also considered the triadic manifestation of pure consciousness in the form of subject, cognition, and object. Objective knowledge is attributed to Vishnu, cognition as Brahma and Rudra as the subject or the self.
Traditionally Brahma is given the aspect of the creator and the process of cognition, owing to the fact that divine providence manifests the universe through pure awareness, Vishnu is given the aspect of sustenance because he represents the objective world, Rudra who represents the will of the Godhead is the subject here and is considered as the destroyer. The entire objective reality abides in the divine subject alone,Rudra destroys the false sense of distinction between the subject and object hence he is the destroyer and represents the subjectivity in the triad.
A Practice to Follow
- Sit in a comfortable position and contemplate on the cognitive faculties of self and the five sense organs which help us to perceive the outside reality as the divine head Brahma the creator.
- Contemplate the objective knowledge perceived through the sense organs as Vishnu which represents the power to sustain an object.
- Finally, contemplate on the self as Rudra who is the ultimate subject and the ultimate observer.
Prolonged practice of this simple exercise will culminate in the realization that the object resides in the subject alone. The illusory distinction between the subject and object vanishes after that. Eventually, the practice brings about the ultimate realization that all object in the form of knowledge arises, abides, and takes repose in the supreme subjective awareness of the Godhead.
The triad of Brahma Vishnu and Rudra apart from being knowledge, action and will respectively is also considered the triadic manifestation of pure consciousness in the form of subject, cognition and object. Objective knowledge is attributed to Vishnu, cognition as Brahma, and Rudra as the subject or the self.
Traditionally Brahma is given the aspect of the creator and the process of cognition, owing to the fact that divine providence manifests the universe through pure awareness, Vishnu is given the aspect of sustenance because he represents the objective world, Rudra who represents the will of the Godhead is the subject here and is considered as the destroyer. The entire objective reality abides in the divine subject alone,Rudra destroys the false sense of distinction between the subject and object hence he is the destroyer and represents the subjectivity in the triad.
- Sit in a comfortable position and contemplate on the cognitive faculties of self and the five sense organs which help us to perceive the outside reality as the divine head Brahma the creator.
- Contemplate the objective knowledge perceived through the sense organs as Vishnu which represents the power to sustain an object,
- Finally, contemplate the self as Rudra who is the ultimate subject and the ultimate observer.
Prolonged practice of this simple exercise will culminate in the realization that the object resides in the subject alone. The illusory distinction between the subject and object vanishes after that. Eventually, the practice brings about the ultimate realization that all object in the form of knowledge arises, abides, and takes repose in the supreme subjective awareness of the Godhead.
Contemplation Of Individual Godheads
Franz Bardon in his title, Initiation Into Hermetics mentions methods to achieve concrete union with the Godhead. This method is similar to that.
Firstly, let us have a look at Lord Vishnu and his iconography. He is represented with a blue hue, but is said to be of dark hue in the scriptural descriptions and has four arms. Within his four arms, he holds a conch, mace, lotus, and a disc. Let us have a look at the attributes represented by this iconography.
- The Mace is the representation of the primordial knowledge of the determinate cosmos and the principle of time which creates and destroys the immanent cosmos. This Mace is a principle of limitations as time also gives rise to the limited empirical souls in the cosmos. From a theurgical point of view, the very mace which gives rise to empirical souls is also the principle that connects the empirical souls and the cosmos eternally to the supreme lord.
- Conch shell represents the dynamic activity of the divine head which culminates in the manifestation of the objective cosmos, it is also called Panchajanya which literally translates as the originator of the five elements (Earth, Water, Fire, Air, Akasha) which makes up the physical world.
Contemplation of the Above Triad within the Body
This is the final stage of this particular spiritual exercise. The adept should try this meditation only after gaining mastery over the last two spiritual exercises. The Godheads are meditated on the body together one after the other and their attributes are accumulated on the different parts of the body, and the faculties represented by the three god forms accumulated on different parts of the body.
Within Shaivite doctrines, the above triad Rudra, Brahma, and Vishnu are said to represent the fire, sun and moon. I am not going deeper into those aspects since that will take the article away from the current topic. The human body is also said to contain three regions viz:
- The region of fire,
- The region of the sun
- The region of the moon.
The Glabella and the part behind it is said to be the region of the moon, and the god from Vishnu along with his attributes should be meditated and concretized in this part.
- The heart center is the region of the sun and the god from Brahma and his attributes should be dynamited in this part of the body.
- The base of the spine/coccyx, perineum,
- And the genitals constitute the region of fire, and the god from Rudra and his attributes should be dynamized in this part
- .Finally the adept should contemplate himself as one with the three aspects of the supreme god and finally achieve union by intense meditation on the three aspects of the supreme represented by the three god forms. The adept should repeat this spiritual exercise frequently so that he becomes totally convinced with an unshakeable faith that he is one with the Supreme God to such a degree that he should be able to dynamize any of the above said attributes within and without at any given time.
Advanced method 1:
Another advanced method is to meditate on the mantras of the above three god forms and to dynamize the power of the mantras in the three parts of the body.
Advanced Method 2:
One more advanced method is to realize these principles within ourselves and to contemplate the three phases of breath viz inhalation, retention, and exhalation. Inhalation is Rudra or withdrawal of awareness from objectivity, retention as the sustenance or Vishnu, and the exhalation is Brahma which is the creation or emanation of awareness towards objectivity. Another advanced method that is used, is to contemplate on the thoughts and the interval between two thoughts which is traditionally called as Sandhia Vandhana, Sandhi means interval or gap.
This advanced method is used to develop inner awareness by being aware of the gap or interval between two thoughts or breaths.
Prolonged practice helps us to realize the subjective principle Rudra as our own self, and the process of cognition and object to be one with the subject.
Note :- The above three god forms have multiple complex forms and manifestations each representing very specific attributes of the supreme principle, which are beyond the scope of this short article.
