Siva Sutra S1.11

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Siva Sutra S1.11

 

S1.11 The power of virility is enjoyment of the three (waking, dreaming, and

sleeping states).

"tritaya bhoktâ vîresah"

triad enjoyed power-of-virility

 

vîresa - chief of heroes, one who is emancipated

 

vîrya - vitality, vigor, energy, splendor, luster, dignity, manliness, valor,

strength, power, virility, semen virile, tremendous enthusiasm, indomitable

will;

 

vîr - to be powerful or valiant, display heroism

 

vî - to approach eagerly, excite, set in motion

 

The power of virility, the thrill of life, is the enjoyment of waking,

sleeping and dreaming. What is the power of virility and where does it come

from? Answers to such type of questions will be coming up soon in later

sutras.

 

However, this is a good opportunity to take up significant other matters

about finding meaning in these so very abstract sutras. First, one would

normally want to translate a sutra, all sutras, as simply and as literal as

possible, and for this sutra S1.11, that might well be:

 

"The chief of heroes is he who enjoys the three states of consciousness." or

as, "The emancipated one enjoys the three states of consciousness." Although

such statements are very nice, especially for the first few readings by a

beginner, it is hard to see a flowing of context from the previous sutra to

the next sutra with such elementary statements as these. However, we find

that the essence of this emancipated hero, of this one who finds enjoyment

among the three states of consciousness, is about the dynamic flowing of vî,

vîr, and vîrya due to the progressively deeper immersions in turiya state (as

later sutras will bring out). The subject matter of this sutra is really

about the awareness of these eager flowing forces of excitement, vitality,

valor, and virility that produce this emancipated hero, more or less as first

translated above. Moreover, I think that such things were simply understood

by the sutra authors. One does not need to start from scratch at every

following sutra expression, especially once we start getting in at these

subtler levels.

 

However, there is yet an even more important reason to be choosing the more

subtle version of translation for S1.11 above, namely, because of the power

of sound itself, indeed, the first guiding bedrock around which Siva Sutra is

founded, sutra S1.4:

 

S1.4 Knowledge is based upon the power of sound

"jñâna adhisthânam mâtrkâ"

knowledge based-upon power-of-sound

 

Sanskrit is a language that was originally spoken and sung, as distinct from

the read and think only patterns of modern academia, though it still is (must

be) spoken and sung in consciousness transformation ritualistic protocols.

To find out more for oneself through personal experience, it is worth

intoning Sanskrit words out loud, for instance, sequentially as written with

depth and feeling to see how one's interpretation of meaning can change,

perhaps ever so slightly, this way or that way.

 

What happens when S1.11 is sounded-out? S1.11: "tritayabhoktâvîresah".

Toward the end of a lovely rhythmic singsong we come to eight syllables: 'a a

vi i rr e sha hh'. Whatever the affectations of the Sanskrit words â, vî,

vîr, vîrya, vîre, and vîresah, the sounds of each of them trumpet out loudly

as we move through the sequential sound bytes. So from the vantage point of

sound affectations upon the subtle and physical bodies, each of the sounds

are received sequentially, offering continually updated affectations on the

receiver (the hearer). The receiver has therefore heard the sequential

affectations of all the individual sounds and integrated them appropriately,

in spite of whatever way we may choose to chop up the sounds into specific

dictionary words for the intellect to fuss over.

 

The academic Sanskrit community is not much impressed with such arguments,

which is probably why they dislike getting into verbal Sanskrit, if at all.

However, they openly acknowledge that they know nothing about 'ritual' and

such verbalization affectations. However, Vedic and Rosicrucian and a host

of other traditions know otherwise. The awareness, the experiences, and the

subtle values of mâtrkâ and sabda are critically important throughout the

Siva Sutras, indeed, they are its very basis as stated in S1.4. Hence,

before continuing, it is worth noticing some superb additional insights from

Yoga Sutra Y1.9 on sabda and, indeed, on interrelationships between sabda,

jñâna, and vikalpah, about which we have recently spent much time in earlier

sutras:

 

Y1.9 Imagination is that knowledge which follows verbal soundings but which

is devoid of corresponding objects.

"sabda jñâna anupâtî vastu sûnyo vikalpah"

verbal-sound knowledge follows objects devoid imagination

 

The thing is, like mâtrkâ in S1.4, sabda here plays some sort of role as the

great communicator, the linking thread tying together various facets of

creation. Here in Y1.9 sabda is the apparent cause of vikalpa itself.

Imagination is somehow tied to sounds, to the fundamental language sound

bytes, devoid of sensory information. Siva Sutra will yet have much to say

about this, after which we can return again to Y1.9, another of the more

prodigious sutras.

 

This mâtrkâ-sabda insight is new domain for the western mind. It is also new

domain for much of mid-east and eastern mind, though differently, in that

habituation patterns about sabda related things are well ingrained through

the influence of religions (which seem always to water down the truths of

reality to a least common denominator). Thus, even the eastern mind

(sometimes closer to Sanskrit sources) may not easily support the more subtle

concepts of sabda, it all depends. While it is true that the Lord is the

Lord, by whatever name, nevertheless, different vocabularies from different

cultures do bring forward different flavors, some of which may well be more

subtle and universally applicable to all of mankind. Siva Sutra seems to

fill this bill, especially if its tenets can offer greater appreciation and

thus the possibility of bringing together those two worldwide threatening

rivalries called Science and Religion. In this respect, Siva Sutra seems

very modern.

 

jai guru dev,

 

Edmond