Chapter 1
Listen well! In the Beginning I, the Great Life (Maha Satta) Alone Existed: the One Ever-Living, Nameless, Unfathomed Ocean of Being Who Eternally Is before all other things. Surveying My Infinite Self, I Eternally rejoiced at My Sheer Brightness and Might. It was by My Brightness that My Self was known and seen; and by My Might I established Myself as the Only Existing One (Ekam). (1.36)
Being the One and Only, I wished in My Heart to be Many. My Thought was made firm by My Desire and was uttered as My Word of Power. Thereby what My Heart Wished was brought to pass. My Radiance spread forth into the World and filled the Skies like gemstones and gold. Thus My Divine Brightness and Might were manifested in a multitude of ways. (1.37)
I, the One Lord, through My Play of Darkness and Light bring forth everything in sight. All created things are but sparks of My Divine Light. A part of Me, of My Infinite Self, lies hidden in all things. (1.42)
Having created a thought, through repetition man identifies therewith and believes himself to be that, regardless of his true nature. O Sages of broad understanding! Man is called Man (Manu) because he is determined by his Mind (Manas). Verily, what Man thinks, that he becomes. Under the influence of material existence, the Self who is by birth a God, thinks himself to be a Man, and a Man he at last becomes. (1.55)
As the Sky does not become soiled through contact with clouds and the Sun is ever untouched by darkness, even so the various activities of the mind such as thoughts, feelings or sense perceptions, do not affect the Perfect Self. Only the mind and the body, being by nature imperfect, are affected thereby. (1.69)
Wise men regard this Universe as being made of knowledge. For it arises from the waves of thought dancing upon the surface of the Ocean of Universal Consciousness. That Great Intelligence Which is Boundless and Radiant Beyond Measure, fashions thought from Its rays of light. Thought gives rise to perceptions; and perceptions make up the objects of the World. (1.71)
I Myself am that Great Lord (Maheshvara), Whose Lordship is attainable through Yoga. I am the Unseen Master of the Cosmic Magic (Maya), the Greatest God. I am glorified in the true Scriptures as the Self of all and having faces in all directions. I am the Perfect One Who See all things from Above, the Witness of all that passes. (1.98)
Chapter 2 That which is known as Matter or Material Energy (Prakarti) gives birth to the Material Universe (Jagat) beginning with the Intellect and ending with the particularised forms. The Life-Principle called Soul (Atma) enjoys the attributes of Matter as he interacts with it, and falls under its spell. (2.14)
As the Wind as it rushes over the Sea stirs the water into waves, so the Will of the Self rushing over the tranquil Sea of Matter stirs its waters into life. Waves of thought, feeling and perception arise therefrom and from that, the World is born. What was unseen comes to sight and what was unmade is brought to pass: thus the unborn springs to life. (2.17)
But the Yogi who is a Knower of the Self, knows that his Self alone endures and that Matter, from which all things in this World arise, is but his own material half: dividing Itself twofold, the Self becomes on one side the observer and on the other that which is observed. (2.38)
When the moment of Creation has come and the Great Time (Maha Kala), the Great Life (Maha Satta), begins to measure out His Unmeasured Glory by dividing It as it were into measurable parts, that, O Sages! is when limited Time (Kala) is born. By the measuring out (Kalana) of the Lord’s Unmeasured Glory, measured life springs into being. Time ignites the spark of life in all things. (2.56)
Thus, in every Moment of Time (Kala-Anu) an Atom of Life (Jiva-Anu) comes into being and lives in the World. The span of Time required for the living Atom to take birth from the Ocean of Infinite Life is the smallest measure of Time. It is known to the Lord and to the Awakened Ones who are endowed with Sight Divine. (2.57)
Commentary by Shri Somananda The Power Whereby Spirit creates the Worlds: This is a point that is emphasised time and again in all Yogic texts. The World is a Creation of the Universal Consciousness, which accounts for its qualities of coherence and oneness. At the same time however, the individual consciousness or Soul creates its own, psychological, image or replica of the World, each Soul according to his capacities of perception and conception as well as position in time and space that he occupies in relation to the World and to other Souls. This individual creation accounts for the qualities of limitedness and distinctiveness in different individuals’ experience of the World and its various planes. Creation, therefore, takes place at two levels: Universal and individual. Though the higher and inner processes of creation only become apparent through Spiritual or psychological analysis of human experience, the material aspects of the same are clearly observable in everyday life. The Earth, for example, is already present as a creation of the Universal Consciousness (or some Higher Force unknown to man) whereas houses, pots, tools etc., are created by the individual out of the pre-existing, naturally occurring materials such as stone, mud, wood or metal. The two forms of Creation also differ in another essential respect that has important moral implications. While the Universal always takes place in absolute harmony with the Universal Will, this is not always so in the case of individual creation. Universal Will is admitted to be present, for example, in the creation of agricultural implements whereby the individual produces food for himself and his family, but absent in the creation of weapons whereby an individual or group of individuals may threaten, oppress or destroy others for selfish purposes. This also answers the fundamental question as to what is right or wrong, lawful or unlawful, in terms of Universal (or Divine) Law: an action is lawful when and to the extent that it is done in Unity with Divine Will. What Divine Will is, we may know by means of the three universally recognised means of knowledge: firstly, Scriptural Authority (which includes the pronouncements of divinely inspired Spiritual leaders); secondly, Reasoning; and thirdly, Intuition or Inspiration (Inward Illumination, Yogically speaking).
Chapter 3
Everything is immersed in Me and I am the Soul of all. Assuming the form of all the various Gods, I receive all sacrificial offerings and dispense the appropriate rewards. (3.7)
Pious and learned men, who are well-versed in the Sacred Lore, see Me here itself. For, I am ever present near those who worship Me with devotion. Whether of noble or lowly birth, all men who observe their duties and worship Me with devotion are rewarded by Me with that Supreme Abode which is but the Bliss of the Self Divine. (8)
O holy ones! as rays from the blazing Sun, as sound from a musical instrument, as pulses from a beating heart, even so the Material World notwithstanding its appearance of permanence is emitted by Me, the Lord, every moment anew. (3.19)
Chapter 5
Stationed in the heart of all beings, I animate the Entire Universe by My Power of Action according to My Infinite Wisdom. (5.16)
Chapter 6
The object is made of the Five Material Qualities (Bhuta-Gunas) which are well-known to the Wise. They are Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Space. They are born of the Mind in this way. That activity of the Mind that gives rise to the experience of an emptiness that spreads out in all directions like the Sky and wherein other things may be seen to exist, is the Quality of Space (literally, Sky, Akash-Guna). That which gives rise to the experience of nearness or distance, location in space and movement, is the Quality of Air (Vayu-Guna). That which gives rise to the experience of form, shape and size, is the Quality of Fire (Agni-Guna). That which gives rise to the experience of softness, moisture and fluidity, is the quality of Water (Apas-Guna). And that which gives rise to the experience of solidity, stability and firmness, is the Quality of Earth (Dhara-Guna). (6.6)
All objects of the senses are known by these Five Qualities. When an object such as a Water-Jar is perceived, it is seen to spread out and fill up a portion of space as well as being surrounded by emptiness and being itself empty, either partly or fully, inside. Thus the Mind-created Quality of Sky (or Space) is plainly seen in the perception of Jar. The Quality of Air is manifest in the Jar’s nearness or distance in relation to other objects and to the perceiver himself. The Quality of Fire is likewise clearly perceived in the Jar’s form, shape and size. The Quality of Water is perceived as being absent in the Jar itself but present in the water contained therein. And the Quality of Earth is perceived in the Jar’s stability and firmness that make it an earthlike experience, as it were. (6.7)
Thus it is established that an object consists of the Five Material Qualities I have described. If they ask you, My Lord, is a Jar not made of clay? Say to the doubter: Verily, what is true of the Jar that also is true of clay. For, the physical things called, Earth, Water and the rest that make up clay are themselves the product of the Five Qualities. And these are made of Mind as explained before. All material objects are made of the Mind-created Qualities. There shall be no doubt about this. (6.8)
From the will to live, Knowledge and Action are born. Verily, both Knowledge and Action are born of desire. Desire is the activity of the Mind. And the Mind is that aspect of the Soul which desires. For, when the Soul rests in himself, he is happy, peaceful and still. But when he desires a thing he rests not till he has obtained the object of his will. (6.21)
Light (Sattva) is knowledge. Darkness (Tamas) is insentience. Activity (Rajas) is the combination of the two. They are experienced as pleasure, insentience and pain, respectively. (6.27)
When a man has a perception of a person dear to him as being near him, his mind is pleasurably affected. He thinks to himself, Happy indeed am I. This is the Primary Quality called Pleasure. (6.28)
When he is devoid of all perception, as when intoxicated or in deep sleep, his mind is overcome by dark numbness. He thinks nothing at all. This is the Primary Quality called Insentience. (6.29)
But when he perceives himself alone, without the dear one, his mind is tormented with pain. He thinks to himself, Alas, my dear one is gone. Unhappy indeed am I. This is the Primary Quality called Pain. (6.30)
Thus, Pleasure is consciousness of a desired object, Insentience is absence of consciousness and Pain is consciousness combined with the absence of the desired object. They are the constituent elements of all experience in worldly existence. (6.31)
Having performed an action with a view to obtaining some object or another, one is bound to the result of one’s action according to the Inexorable Law of Cause and Effect (Karma). But that Action which springs from Knowledge (and not ignorance), which is selfless and is aimed at Me, the Highest Goal, leads to Liberation and not to bondage. (45)
Ignorance, Egotism, Passion, Aversion and Attachment shall be known as Bondages (Pashas). They obscure the Soul’s Light of Knowledge and lead him to perform actions that bind him to his painful condition. (6.46)
Maya (Cosmic Illusion) is the sole cause of these Bondages. It is the Divine Power (Shakti) whereby I (Shiva) Create Limited Existence. Through My Power of Maya, I (Shiva) first bring forth the Unmanifested Material Potentiality whereof all material things are born. Through the Power of Maya, I (Shiva) divide Myself into Spirit, the Conscious Soul, and Matter, the unconscious Object. (6.47)
I Alone Am the Eternal Supreme God. I Am at once Matter and Spirit and their products such as the Intellect and the rest, too. I Alone Am the Bondage and the Creator of Bondage; I Who Create both Bondage and the Bound Souls; I Who Know everything but Am known to none. I Am the Primordial and Ever-Living Ancient One. (48)
O you who are Tigers amongst men! of My Own Free Will I Envelop Myself in Maya, even as the Sun envelopes himself in Clouds. Like the Sun behind the Clouds I surround Myself with the Veil of Maya and hide Myself from the World. (6.49)
Divested of My Light, the whole World goes to sleep. Having put the Souls to sleep, I the Ever Awake, enchant them all with My Great Dream. Verily, there is no greater Work of Magic than the World wherein all Souls dream. (6.50)
As many birds build their nests in a great Tree, so countless Sleeping Souls weave the dream of their lives in Maya’s Great Abode of Slumber. As cave-dwellers dwell in their caves within a great Mountain, so myriads of Dreaming Souls dwell within the Great Cave of Maya which is the Souls’ own Heart. The Yogi who knows this, meditates upon the Truth within his heart and beholds the Greatest Light. (54)