History of Indian Philosophy

SR No.: 007593
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Surendranath Dasgupta
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Publication Year: 1922
Total Pages: 2517
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 125 MB

Page 2481

XXXVIII] Saiva Philosophy according to Bhoja 169 caused by māyā which again is neither existent nor non-existent as it falls within the definition of illusion. The different forms of Saiva school have to be spun out for the purpose of avoiding this contradiction between religion and philosophy.
The category of Siva, from which spring the five pure categories spoken of above (sadāśiva, etc.), is called also the bindu, the pure energy of knowledge and action beyond all change. It is supposed that this pure siva or bindu or mahāmāyā is surcharged with various powers at the time of creation and it is in and through these powers that the māyā and its products are activated into the production of the universe which is the basis of the bondage of the souls. This movement of the diverse energies for the production of the universe is called anugraha or grace. By these energies both the souls and the inanimate objects are brought into proper relation and the work of creation goes on. So the creation is not directly due to Siva but to His energy. The difficulty is further felt when it is said that these energies are not different from God. The will and effort of God are but the manifestations of His energy?
The different moments of the oscillation of God's knowledge and action are represented as the different categories of sadāśiva, īśvara, vidyā. But these moments are only intellectual descriptions and not temporary events occurring in time and space. In reality the category of Siva is identical all through. The different moments are only imaginary. There is only the category of Siva, bristling with diverse powers, from which diverse distinctions can be made for intellectual appraisala.
In the Sāmkhya system it was supposed that the prakặti, out of its own inherent teleology, moves forward in the evolutionary process for supplying to all souls the materials of their experiences, and later on liberates them. In the Siddhānta systems the same idea is expressed by the word anugraha or grace. Here energy is to co-operate with grace for the production of experience and for liberation. The fact that Siva is regarded as an unmoved and immovable reality deprives the system of the charm of a personal
1 Thus Srīkumāra says, quoting from the Mātanga-parameśvara (p. 79):
tad uktam mātange:
patyuḥ śaktih parā sūkşmā jāgrato dyotana-kşamā,
tayā prabhuh prabuddhātmā svatantrah sa sadāśivah. tattvam vastuta ekam siva-samjñam citra-sakti-sata-khacitam, Śakti-vyāpsti-bhedāt tasyaite kalpitā bhedāḥ. Tattva-prakāśa II, 13.