In this excerpt from the Shiva Sutras - The Supreme Awakening, third awakening, verse 29, Swami Lakshmanjoo clarifies who is the one inserting knowledge in others.
In fact, only that person who has become just like Śiva,28 being always busy in his daily routine with internal recitation (ajapa) and ruling his own wheel of energies, can be helpful in illuminating others. He explains this in the next sūtra:
29. yo‘vipastho jñāhetuśca //
The one who rules the wheel of energies becomes the cause of inserting knowledge in others.
The master who has established sovereignty over the wheel of energies (śakticakra) is not played by these energies but is instead the player. The wheel of energies is classified in two segments: the energies pertaining to cognition (jñānendriyas), and the energies pertaining to action (karmendriyas). This master is the player of both these kind of energies. They do not play with him as they do with us. Whatever our sensual energies ask for or demand, we are bound to obey them. But he is not like that. He maintains dominion over these energies and so he becomes the cause of inserting real knowledge into others. This is the meaning of this sūtra.
[Commentary:]
Those who are ignorant are protected in their own way by this wheel of energies. These śakti cakras protect these ignorant souls by providing them with taste, with form, with touch, with smell, and with whatever else they need. This so-called protection is not really protection because it provides them with these sensual pleasures.
In sūtra 19 of this Third Awakening of the Śiva Sūtras, these energies are said to be the mothers of these ignorant people. In that sūtra, these energies are called māheśvaryādi śakticakraṁ, which means those energies, māheśvarī, khecarī, gocarī, dikcarī, bhūcarī, etc., concerned with the organic field.
To say that a master has sovereignty over these energies is to say he is not played by them. On the contrary, he is the player and he becomes the cause of inserting knowledge into others.
In the present sūtra, the Sanskrit word jñā means the energy of knowledge (jñānaśakti). For those who are his disciples, this master becomes the source of knowledge and by the energy of that knowledge, he becomes successful in inserting knowledge into his disciples.
The person who is influenced by the wheel of energies, which means who is dependent on his senses, is not able to protect himself, so how could he possibly protect others? He is constrained to follow the demand of his senses, so how could he possibly elevate others? He could not. It is impossible.
In this sūtra, you will also find the Sanskrit word yo which is derived from the Sanskrit pronoun yat (who). In Sanskrit, whenever yat is found, then the pronoun tat must also be added to complete the sentence. Therefore, Yo’yam avipasthaḥ, “the one who governs this wheel of energies” . . . sa, “that master” . . jñānaprabodhanahetu, “becomes the cause of inserting knowledge into others.” So it is well said in sūtra 28 of this Third Awakening, dānamātmajñānam, “he gives knowledge of the self to others.”
Some commentators explain this sūtra in another way.
They say this sūtra must be explained according to the words and letters as follows. Take the first word yo’vipastho. Because of the yo sound in yogīndra, yo indicates yogīndra, the foremost yogī. Vi indicates vijñānam “knowledge,” pa indicates “state,” stha refers to “the one who is established in that state.” Now the last word jñāhetuśca. Jña means “who knows that.” He indicates heyaḥ, “what is to be abandoned.” Tu indicates tucchatā, “that which is abandoned is differentiated perception.” And the visargaḥ (ḥ) refers to visargaśaktiḥ, creative energy. The word ca does not mean “and” here but rather indicates “one who does this.”
So with this in mind, this meaning now emerges from this sūtra:
That yogīndra who (vimarśaśaktyā), by the energy of his awareness (svarūpātmavijñānapadasthaḥ) is established in his own nature of God consciousness, becomes the knower and the doer. He can perceive and differentiate what is to be achieved and what is to be discarded and he does not own that which is to be discarded.
We, however, do not accept this explanation. So, if we do not accept this explanation then why include it? From my point of view, Kṣemarāja should not have included it. After all, if one begins including incorrect explanations then they could be introduced for every sūtra. I am only including it because it is part of Kṣemarāja’s commentary.
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28. As seen in sūtra 25, this yogī is not one with Śiva, he is “just like Śiva”. He will become one with Śiva immediately upon leaving his physical body.
Source: Shiva Sutras - The Supreme Awakening, third awakening, Verse 29
revealed by Swami Lakshmanjoo
Copyright © John Hughes
