Digest of Paramacharya's Discourses on Soundaryalahari (DPDS -30)

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Namaste.

Recall the Note about the organization of the ‘Digest’,

from DPDS – 26 or the earlier ones.

V. Krishnamurthy

A Digest of Paramacharya’s Discourses on Soundaryalahari -

30

(Digest of pp.909 - 915 of Deivathin Kural, 6th volume, 4th

imprn.)

 

 

The aksharas, alphabets, are very important for ShAktam.

Each letter has a basic sound principle associated with it.

The very creation is by the vibration of sound waves. The

elemental principle of ‘AkAsha’ produces, through

vibration, subtle sounds, and from these sounds creation

starts, from that the mantras, and the vedas that are full

of mantras. The subtle principle underlying AkAsha, that

is, the tanmAtra associated with AkAsha, is ‘sound’ . The

key concept in ShAktam is the cycle of evolution and

involution and so, the sound principle runs as its

life-line. On one side Shaktam has the artha-prapancham,

the universe of matter, where the fundamental principles

are Shiva-tattvam, Shakti-tattvam, sadAshiva-tattvam,

Ishvara-tattvam and shuddha-vidyA tattvam – which take you

through the evolutionary stage from the para-brahman to the

universe of matter and being. On the other side there is

the sabda-prapancham, the unvierse of sound. It starts from

the most subtle one called ‘parA’. Including this there are

five ‘sound’ (shabda) principles. After ‘parA’ there is

‘pashyantI’, then ‘madhyamA’.

 

The subtle sound ‘parA’ cannot be heard by human ear and

cannot be vocalised by human voice. It is in fact the root

source, the substratum, of all sounds. When that gets a

little focussed – just a little – and materialised, it

becomes ‘pashyantI’. In other words, what was ‘without

purpose’ and was just plain and simple sound-root, namely,

‘parA’ , became inclined towards being heard and being

spoken and so in that direction ‘solidified’ slightly and

thus ‘pashyantI’ arose. So ‘pashyantI’ has a purpose!. The

very word itself means ‘seeing’, ‘looking forward’. ‘parA’

had no purpose; but when the ‘purpose’ arises, it becomes

‘pashyantI’.

 

Next comes the actual subtle sound, called ‘madhyamA’. This

is not produced by any human voice. It arises by itself.

This is therefore midway between the subtle sound of

‘pashyantI’ and the actual sound of the human voice, which

is physical. Hence the name ‘madhyamA’, which means ‘what

is in the middle’. This is a self-generated sound. It is

therefore also called ‘anAhata’. ‘Ahata’ means ‘what is

forced or externally generated’. That which is not forced

or not generated externally, is the ‘anAhata’ sound.

 

All that is externally generated is ‘Ahata’. In this

category come all sounds, that human voice produces, by the

vibration of air through the larynx, and all instrumental

noises produced by the blow of air or by beat of drum or by

the friction of matter with matter, metal with metal.

 

After parA, pashyantI, and ‘madhyamA’ comes the speech

that man produces with effort. This is called ‘vaikharI’.

This is classified into two: just mere noise is called

‘dhvani’ --- when a child cries, or when we just laugh

loudly or weep aloud; that which is recognisable as ‘such

and such a sound’ is called ‘varNa’. This ‘varNa’ is the

akshara or the alphabet. There are 51 specified aksharas.

 

The five principles of the artha-prapancham are usually

equated with the five sound principles. In fact the latter

are more important, because it is by the vibration of these

sounds that the artha-universe began.

 

Now let us come to the five elemental principles in which

Ambaal manifests Herself in the kundalini cakras. Starting

from mulAdhAra, upwards to the vishuddhi chakra, the

tattvas of earth, water, fire, air and AkAsha are

proceeding from the concrete to the subtle ones. This is

the artha-prapancham. The five elemental sound principles

are also manifested in the kundalini Chakras, but in the

reverse order. It is in the mulAdhAra chakra that the most

fundamental sound energy ‘parA’ is present. So from the

mulAdhAra to vishuddhi, they go from the subtle to the

concrete, thus ending up with the most concrete one of the

human voice, namely, the ‘varNa’ category of vaikhari.

 

The 51 sounds of the alphabet are called ‘mAtRkAs’. The

word ‘mAtRkA’ means ‘mother’. An young mother who moves and

mingles with us in our own childish world is called

‘mAtRkA’. A royal mother with a higher status is called

‘mAtA’. She is the ‘mahA-rAjnI’ of LalitA-sahsranAma. But

She is also the ‘mAtRkA-varna-rUpiNI’, meaning She is in

the form of the varnas (=aksharas) or the mAtRkAs. In

ShAkta scriptures the aksha-mAlA and the book are

indicative of the shabda-prapancham. That is why ambaal is

holding them in the other two hands.

 

The ShrI vidyA mantras are made up of pure aksharas only.

It is the Mother Goddess Herself who takes the forms of

these sounds. Those who do the mantra-japa are being

blessed by Her through these sounds. Her Grace makes even

the kundalini yoga achievable by the vibrations of the

nADIs at the japa of the mantras. We, in addition, get many

of our other desires fulfilled. Not only this. By repeating

these sound vibrations we get even the darshan of Her

physical form.Thus Her entire leelA takes place in this

universe of sounds and sound vibrations. All that I said

now is about the aksharas only.

 

When we combine these aksharas in various combinations we

get the various words and nAmas and also the stotras. In

fact even the Vedas arose like this.

 

In the ShrI vidyA mantra there are three ‘kUTas’, spheres

of influence. The first one is called ‘vAgbhava-kUTam’. It

means that it arises from ‘vAk’, speech. The entire mantra

is the form of ambaaL. And in that form, the face is

‘vAgbhava-kUTam’. In the scriptures and stotras of ShAktam,

it is very often said that She gives ‘excellence of speech’

to Her devotees. In this very sloka (#15) that is what it

says. Why all this importance to this Grace of the Goddess?

Let me explain.

(To be Continued)

Thus spake the Paramacharya.

 

PraNAms to all advaitins and devotees of Mother Goddess.

profvk

 

 

 

 

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Prof. V. Krishnamurthy

My website on Science and Spirituality is http://www.geocities.com/profvk/

You can access my book on Gems from the Ocean of Hindu Thought Vision and

Practice, and my father R. Visvanatha Sastri's manuscripts from the site.