Sambodhi 1983 Vol 12

Author(s): Dalsukh Malvania, H C Bhayani, Nagin J Shah
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

Page 65

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Y. S. Shustri
Upanışads 20 also. There are many later Upanişads which have developed the same idea of mother goddess, that centre round Sakti regarded as Bralunan and became the Philosophical basis of Sakta Tantra.
There are thiee Subschools within the Sakta Tantia, Viz., Kaula, Mifra and Sumaya and they liave their own independent treatises Kuula group has 64 treatises with various commentaries. Mišia group has eight Agamas.22 These two schools emphasize external worship and their methods are mostly used to acquire material power and prosperity. Really it is some of the followers of Kaula gioup who have brought bad pame to Tanıra literature.
These two groups are considered as non-Vaidika by traditional Tantric writers like Sankara, Laksmichara and others, sriwdyopasakas are warned not to follow these paths, 23 The Samaya group is most important among tlie Sakta Tantias on account of its pluilosophical height and its purified method of worship. This group of literature points the way to liberation along with material prosperity. This samaya method of Sakti woship is accepted as the supreme path of realisation of Advaita by Adi Sankar. Its path is purely internal, though, as a first step in the spiritual advancement, it prescribes external worship of diagrain and image. The main source of this Samaja method is five treatises known as Subhagamapancaka, whose authors are the great Sages, Vasistha, Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanatkumara and Suka. 24 In adition to these five treatises, there are innumerable texts, such as Vamakesvara, Tantraraja, Saundarja lahari etc., and many commentaries which propagate philosophy and practice of Srividya.2 5 The main aim of our present papei is to bring out the finest philosophy and path of Sadhana of this Samaya group of literature.
The word Samaya is interpreted as either 'He (Supreme Brahman) is' or "She is' (Goddess) with me. It means that one has to think constanly that he is always one with the ultimate Reality. He has to identify himself with the Supreme Brahman Samaya is also commonly explained is offering worship to a cakra in the ether of the 26 heart. This internal vorship is considered as the supreme by all the great Yogins. It is a sigher kind of worship consisting of inward prayer, deep meditation and Solemn contemplation.
In this Tantra, the "Sakti is a synonym of Brahman of the Vedāntic hought. She may be called Brahman or Mahāšaktı or Universal Mother. The same Brahman of the Upanişads is termed as Tripura or Mahā