AGAMAS
H.H. Shri Kumarswamiji
The Agamas are of three kinds. The Shivagamas, the Shaktyagamas and
the Vaishnavagamas according as they treat of the deity Shiva, Shakti
and Vishnu as the object of worship. The Agamas are also called
Tantras and there is practically no difference between the two names
specially between the Agamas of the Shiva and Shakti schools, both of
them are believed to have been delivered by Shiva to his consort-
Parvati. Generally the Shaivagamas are called Agamas and Shaktyagamas
are called Tantras. Yet Shaivagamas have an independent status and
their origin is as old as three thousand years. The Shivagamas are 28
in number. But all of them are not available, few of them are
available. Besides 28 principal Shivagamas there are many secondary
Agamas which intend to explain the subject matter of the principal
Agamas.
In connection with the Agamas two important questions arise - the age
of the Agamas and the contents of the Agamas. As regards the first
question, the age of the Agamas can well be determined from the
reference made to them in various works. Harita, a writer of Smriti
and Kalidas the world famous sanskrit poet refer to the Shivagamas and
both of them lived in the first century of the Christian era. Various
Puranas namely Skanda Purana, Sutasamhita, Brahmagita and Shiva Purana
mention the Agamas. In Kurma Purana a reference is made to the fact
that Shri Krishna was taught Agamic Philosophy by Upamanyu. In the
Shanti Parva and Drona Parva of Mahabharata, reference has been made
to the Shivagamas. In Maitrayana Upanishad Agamic literature is
referred to twice. The Swetashwetopanishad is certainly an Agamic
Upanishad later followed by other Agamic Upanishads like Atharva
Shiras and Kaivalya. From all this foregoing account it can well be
concluded that the Agamas have their origin in times almost coeval
with the Aranyakas.
The Aranyakas which form part and parcel of the Vedas and the Agamas
confront each other as two independent modes of thought. This fact is
brought into bold belief, when we take into consideration the contents
of the Vedic religion and the contents of the Agamic religion.
1. The Vedic religion consists in the performance of sacrifices with
all rites and rituals, while the Agamic religion consists in the
worship of the deity - Shiva, Shakti and Vishnu.
2. The Vedic deities were the forms of nature and the Vedic religion
was a system of propitiation of those nature powers. Powers by means
of sacrifice offered into fire regarded as the mouth of the deities;
while Agamic deity was personal deity that controlled the forces of
nature.
3. The oblations in the case of Vedic worship were consumed by the
deities through their mouth, the fire; while the Agamic deities took
only the subtle portion of the offerings exhibited to them as Prasad
or consecrated food.
4. The Vedic religion was polytheistic and the different deities were
invoked for different purposes because each Vedic deity has a
different function in the scheme of the universe; while the Agamic
religion being monotheistic only one deity was worshipped, that had
all the functions of the universe in his or her hands.
5. The Vedas consist of the Mantras addressed to the different deities
and recited during the performance of the sacrifices in honour of
those deities; while the Agamas contain prayers consisting of various
names of the deity and salutations addressed to the deity.
6. The Vedic Worship consisted of the offering made to Gods, while the
Agamic worship was personal service rendered to the God, like washing,
decking and feeding them.
7. The Vedic Gods being the forces of the nature had no physical
representation, while the Agamic deities were represented by means of
a visible emblem or image.
8. There is no trace in the hymns of the temple worship, while the
worship of the idols in temples is purely Agamic. The Vedic religion
is the fire cult while Agamic religion is the deitic cult.
9. The Vedas kept the door of religion restricted to some people while
the Agamas kept the door of religion open to all without any
distinction.
10. The Agamas treat the Yoga Philosophy and Yogic practices which are
all together absent in the Samhitas or Vedic hymns.
The contents of the Shivagamas are divided into four parts namely
Charya, Kriya, Yoga and Jnana. The Charya and Kriya parts describe the
names of worship of Shiva with love and adoration but as the
discipline of love or Shakti has to be supplemented by some
psychological discipline in the form of yoga practice, the third part
of every Agama deals with yoga. The fourth part of the Agama deals
with jnana but jnana in the sense of exposition of the philosophical
principles underlying the Agama teaching. The Charyapada represents a
Marga, the path of the servant following the master. The servantship
is the discipline of the Charya-pada. It consists in the search of God
in the world and has for its aim the objective worship of a material
idol. The singing of the glories of God the extension of the honour
and hospitality to the servants of God constitute the chief marks of
the first part. The Kriyapada represents the Satputramarg the path of
son serving the will of his father. It is the higher step of
worshipping God under the mental image. In this stage the rites are
indicative of purification of the mind and heart. The worshipper
behaves towards God as a son does towards his father with a
combination of purity and piety. Yogapada represents Sahamarga which
indicates the spirit of an associate. Here the worshipper behaves
towards God as an associate. The whole spirit of the worshipper is
being affiliated to God through the practice of Yoga or meditation.
Jnanapada represents Sanmarga which means the attainment of Sayujya or
atonement with God. In this condition the subject and the object
become indistinguishable and the worshipper becomes possessed of
Samadhi or trance. In the Sahamarga the worshipper starts with the
idea of being similar to God and attains similarity which by the
Sanmarga expands into Sayujya or atonement.
The main three Agamic Schools, Shiva, Shakti and Vaishnava maintain
three ultimate realities, namely
1. A supreme being with male or female aspect predominant.
2. The group of individual souls.
3. The objective universe as real.
These three realities are given different names in the three different
schools.
All the three schools agree in opposing and demolishing the Mayawada
or the illusion theory of the Vedanta. Thus says Pauskaragama: "If the
world is an illusion of the conscious being the effected world will be
a hollow reality. How can the world which is established to be really
existing by all methods of proofs be a false transaction of
consciousness?"
The Agamas do not regard the world as a false show. The universe is
real because, as there is absolutely no difference between Brahma and
the universe, just as there is no difference between a pot and clay of
which it is made, the reality of the universe necessarily follows from
the reality of Brahma. Intense devotion or sincere Bhakti to deity
forms another common feature of the three Agamic Schools. The movement
of Agamic devotion gave rise to the art of temple building and the
making of the images which in India, in south India especially has
reached a higher order of perfection. It also gave rise to devotional
lyric poetry full of poetic imagery. So also music, singing and
dancing developed fast under the influence of the Agamas.
Dr. Radhakrishna in his "Outlines of Indian Philosophy" has observed
thus:
"This living Hindu religion of today from Cape Comorin to the remotest
corners of Tibet is essentially Tantric. Even the genuine Vedic rites
that are preserved and are supposed to be derived straight from the
Vedas, namely the Sandhya, have been modified by the addition of
Tantric practice."
The two streams of thought, the Agamic and the Vedic gradually
gravitated towards each other. After running side by side for long
time they acted and reacted on each other and modified each other's
practice in religion. Attempts were later made to reconcile the
differences between them and to establish the unity of thought in
Hinduism.
Historically considered Virashaivism is a fine and full blown flower
of Shaivism. For Shaivism as well as for Virashaivism the 28
Shivagamas are the scriptures. But Virashaivism considers the latter
two parts of the Agamas as scriptural authority. Since the end portion
of the Agamas is regarded as authority Virashaivism is known as
Agamanta. Shiva is the worshipping deity for Shaivism and Virashaivism
in the form of Linga. The Shaivas worship Shivalinga in the temples
while the Virashaivas wear the miniature form of Shivalinga known as
Ishtalinga. The Linga worn on the body is made of light grey slate
stone and to be kept intact all through the wearer's life, it is
coated all over with the fine durable black paste prepared out of
certain ingredient. The coating is called Kanti or covering. The Linga
is worshipped by placing it on the palm of the left hand. This is the
subjective mode of worship in which the devotee and the divine are
facing each other. Linga is three fold; Bhavalinga, Linga the ideal
corresponding to the causal body of the devotee, Pranalinga, Linga the
vital corresponds to the subtle body of the devotee. Ishtalinga, Linga
the gross or the physical corresponds to the gross body of the
devotee. The devotee starts with the worship of Istalinga and reaches
by stages the Pranalinga and the Bhavalinga with the idea of his being
a part and parcel of God through all the stages when he reaches
atonement with God or Shiva.
Anatomy speaks of the plexuses in the human body. These plexuses which
are otherwise known as Chakras, are the network of the autonomic
nervous system. The Plexuses are said to have petals as the lotus
have. Physiologically the petals are no other than the branches of
nerves shooting from the ganglia in different directions for the
regular functioning of the different parts of the body. Prana runs
through these branches and activates the different parts of the body
in the particular locality in which a plexus is situated.
The lowermost Chakra is the basis plexus called Muladhara. It has four
branches or petals and the shape of a triangle. The second Chakra is
Swadisthana which is situated in the pelvic region and it has six
petals. The third Chakra is the Solar plexus with ten petals and its
location is in the region of the navel. The fourth Chakra is the
Anahata which has twelve petals and is located in the region of the
heart. The fifth Chakra is Vishuddhi situated in the region of the
throat and it has sixteen petals. The sixth is Ajna Chakra which has
two petals and is situated between eyebrows. This is called plexus of
command.
In the process of Yoga the centres have a fixed physiological use and
a general function. The Muladhara governs the physical down to the
subconscient. The abdominal centre the Swadisthana governs the lower
vital. According to Virashaivism these two Chakras represent the
domain of Ishtalinga and are respectively occupied by the sub-forms of
Istalinga -- Acharlinga in the Muladhara and Gurulinga in Swadisthana.
This is the place of Tyaganga. The navel centre or Manipura governs
the larger vital and the heart centre or Anahata governs the emotional
being. These two form the vital or the intermediate plane. According
to Virashaivism this is the plane of Bhoganga and is the domain of
Pranalinga or the vital because the vital force of consciousness
functions here. The throat centre or Vishuddhi governs the expressive
mind, here consciousness assume concrete form of the sound. The centre
between the two eyebrows governs the will. According to Virashaivism
this is the plane of Bhavalinga - the higher intellectual plane.
The human body is identified with Tyaganga with Ishtalinga working
behind it. The autonomous nervous system with Bhoganga with Pranalinga
working behind it; the central nervous system or cerebrum with Yoganga
with Bhavalinga working behind it. The bodily mechanism is Tyaganga
because it is to be directed towards the higher and in performance to
the demands of matter. Here the Istalinga aids the soul when it
becomes conscious of the higher end. Full faith in the divinity in the
spirit of submission is the means to that end. The faith in relation
to Shakti or the devotee is Shraddha which develops into Nishtha or
singleness of purpose of Mahesha. In the first stage Acharlinga, the
practical and in the second stage Gurulinga, the perceptive are
aroused for giving the soul and an insight into the spiritual truth.
This is the first process of sublimation in the upward march of the
soul. Here the soul is purified and divested of the thoughts of the
worldly life. Acharlinga and Gurulinga are connected with Adhara
Chakra and Swadisthana Chakra with the corresponding awakening of the
powers in them.
The intermediate plane is the plane of Bhoganga, the soul in the stage
of enjoyment. This is the psychic plane, the plane of Pranalinga. In
this stage the soul has the co-operation of Pranalinga, for his
further development. Here the soul has the enjoyment of material world
in so far as it is necessary for the substance of the body which is
the basis of all life - temporal or spiritual. In this plane the truth
that material enjoyment and spiritual experience are in no way
inconsistent but are mutually helpful, is demonstrated. The enjoyment
of the soul is in company with Pranalinga so that everything that the
soul takes or enjoys is in the first instance dedicated to Linga and
is then taken as Prasad or consecrated food. Here conscious aspiration
is the means to the objective of atonement of the divinity, with its
two sub-division of Avadhana, the undivided attention fixed on the
divinity in contemplation and Anubhava or partial experience of the
divine life. The two forms of Shakti invoke the aid of two
modifications of Pranalinga - Shivalinga the gracious and Charalinga
the itinerant. Prasadi is the third modification of the soul which
strives with undivided attention to earn the grace of God in his
aspect as Shivalinga. So also the Pranalinga - the fourth modification
of the soul attentively meditates on divinity and attains the stage of
partial experience of the divine life. Here the form of Shakti is
called Anubhava Bhakti, the experiential stage of the spiritual life.
The two modifications of Pranalinga, Shivalinga and Charalinga are
connected with Manipura Chakra and Anahata Chakra with a corresponding
sublimation of their powers.
The third plane is the plane of the highest intelligence. This is the
plane of Yoganga to which the soul rises up gradually step by step.
Here the soul is in the stage of regaining his oneness with the
universal consciousness. Here he secures the help and co-operation of
Bhavalinga, the ideal. Yoganga in its two modifications, Sharana and
Aikya strives for regaining his essential oneness with the divinity.
The two forms of Bhakti, Anandbhakti and Samarasabhakti invoke the aid
of the two forms of Bhavalinga - Prasadlinga, the peaceful and
Mahalinga, the great. Prasadalinga and Mahalinga are connected with
Vishuddhi Chakra and Ajna Chakra with a corresponding awakening of
powers in them.
Article from book: Unto The First, by H. H. Shri Kumarswamiji