The Hermeneutic Analysis of Religious Experience as Expounded in Jnanamirta Kattalai - Part 1

THE ATTRIBUTES OF PATI

The attributes (or distinguishing features) of Pati, Pacu and Pasam will be described.

Because the pacus are not autonomous, the pacas are physical, but Pati is autonomous; we shall describe the attributes of Pati, Pacu and Paca in that order. 

Hence now the characteristics of Pati:

1.1 Pati is In-Itself (corubam) and In-the - World. The Pati In-Itself does not have a beginning, a middle and a terminus; does not have a gross or subtle form; it is not also a Nothingness (cunya rupam); does not have individuating or identifying guna or features; it is one, immobile, an Integral cat-cit-ananta, a Vastness beyond the universe; the Pure; the Transcendent to all the five basic cosmic processes.

1.2 Now Pati In-the world (tadattam) is the causal agent of the five processes of origination of the cosmos, being there-as-the world, involution, the engulfing of pacus in transcendental ignorance and liberating them from it.

1.3 The power as One, as the Eternal and in itself as Desire, Consciousness and Activity will be one with Civa that is Pati inseparably like heat of fire. It differentiates itself into many like Parai and so forth. Because of these differentiations, Civa too will appear as Cattar, Uttiyuttar and Piraviruttar.

1.4 Cattar is the power purely as a potency, a being without the intentions and inclinations yet to bring about the cosmos. In view of there being no Power differentiation, Cattar is Nishkala (Unmanifested). Pure consciousness is its only body. Cattar is also known as Ilayar.

1.5 Now Uttiyuttar is Civa with the intention to bring about the Cosmos.

There is now Power as Consciousness and Activity coming together. It' s bodies are five Brahmas i.e. Isan and so forth that rise when the five energies of Parai, i.e, Desire, Consciousness and Activity conjoin the cutta maya.

In view of its association with the different forms of pacas it is cakalan (manifested); in view of its linkage with the different forms of Energy, it is also a nishkala (unmanifested); hence it is a cakala-nishkala (manifested-unmanifested). He is also known as Catacivan and Pokan.

1.6 Now Piraviruttar is Civa who has begun the creation of the cosmos. For effecting this, the Activity-Power must be dominant. Therefore, there will be less of Consciousness-Power but more of Activity-Power. As He is associated with different forms of pacas, He is a cakalan. He is also known as Maheswara and the Supreme controller (atikarar).

1.7 Hence the Pati, has the nine (archetypal) forms: Civa, Cakti, Nata, Bindu, Catasiva, Maheswara, Rudra, Vishnu and Brahma that are nishkala, cakala-nishkala and cakala. Of these the Cakti is the Power of Civa, Bindu the Energy of Nata. The Cakti of the remaining murtis are: Monomani, Mahesai, Uma, Lakshmi and Sarasvathy. All these are differentiations of Civa-Cakti. The Energy is the body, the tool and location of Pati.

1.8 The following are the premises for the above conclusions:

a) The world of material bodies and who are male, female, haemorphrodite and so forth are products like pots and so forth and therefore there must be a Supreme Agent as the causal agent.

b) The maaya is material: the psyches are non autonomous and function with delimited consciousness and activity. Therefore, there must be a Supreme Agent who 'works' on these objects.

c) The psyches are delimited by the Constraints (malas) and the Supreme Agent is without any such constraints or finitizers. Hence He stands, like oil in sesame seed, one with the psyches without alienation, providing the body, organs and so forth from the Cutta and Acutta maya in accordance with karma of the psyches using his Power that is forever with him.

1.9 The attribution of Agency to Pati does not mean that He must be, like the potter, with utensils. This need not be the case. Like Time, He could be an abstract entity causing however, the cosmic processes. If He is said to have a body then there must be another Agent for creating that body and so forth. Therefore, Pati is an Agent without any utensils (upathis). The embodied Mahesvara and so forth are intermediate agents.

Like the sun that remains unaffected but causing the blooming of lotus, the withering of ambal, the hardening of clay, the melting of butter and so forth, by Its mere presence, the Agent one with the Power that is directed towards the cosmic processes, causes all the cosmic processes.

1.10 The activity of Pati as Cattar is to bestow paramukti to those Egos in a very advanced stage of Caktinipatam, and establish in aparamukti those Egos in some form of advanced stage of Caktinipatam.

With His power he will create the sound forms from the cutta maya, also objects and essences from the Civa tattuvas and cakti tattuvas, various object realms, and body, organs and so forth for the psyches that are in these different cosmic realms. Standing in Bindu tattva, He will effect the Catasiva tattva and making Catasiva the Lord of this, He will stand one without separating and bring about all the processes.

1.11 Now the activities of Catasiva who stands as the Utyuttar. Always bestowing Grace, and liberating the Vinjnanakalar type of egos that are in an advanced stage of Caktinipatam and bestowing paramukti; bestowing grace and to those Egos in advanced stages of Caktinipatam, illuminating the cognitive activities in the Civa tattuva and so forth that is consistent with the degree of liberation they have attained thus causing them to become paramuktas, being similar to Civa, anucatasivas, vittiyesuras, and rudras; through the five 'faces' of Isa and so forth, revealing the transcendental consciousness (parajnanam) as Vedas and Agamas such as Kamika and so forth; standing in catakkiya tattuva, generating Isvara tattuva, and cosmic realms (puvanas) out of it; and to the Lords of these realms such as anantar, the eight vittiyesuras producing the bodies and organs; making Mahesvara the Lord of the Isvara tattuvam; standing there generating the cutta vittya tatvas and producing bodies and organs to the millions of mahamantras who are in the Cutta vittyas.

1.12 Now the activities of Pathi as Pravirutta: bestowing paramukti to those Paralayakalars who are in advanced stages of caktinipatam; removing all the karmas of the egos advanced in Caktinipatam, leaving only the constrain of supervision (atikaram) and making them rudras and puvanesvaras; disturbing the acutta maya and generating the tattuvas:- Mayai, Time, Order (niyati) and Kalai; generating object realms out of these tattvas; producing bodies and organs for those who are in these tattvas; in conjunction with Parameswara generating Prakirti, Vittai and Araga from Mayai; generating Purusha tattva from Kalai and so forth; disturbing Prakirti and differentiating the gunas; in conjunction with Parameswara, creating the Trimurties Brahma, Vishnu and Nilarudra on the left shoulder, right shoulder and the chest using the gunas rajasa, satvika and tamasa; generating; establishing and annihilating the twenty four tattvas starting with the gunas and endings with the Prakirti.

1.13 This Supreme Agent comes as the Cattar and Utyuttar among the sudha attuvas, as the Praviruttar that's anantesurar among the acutta attuvas.

NOTES as per the numbering above: 

1.0 The terms Pati, pacu and paca are central technical terms in Saiva Siddhanta that began to appear in post Sangkam classics particularly in Tirumantiram that also contains the essences of this school of thought. Pati literally means the Lord, the Being with Supreme Power. The terms pacu and paca are derived from the Tamil root pac- meaning to bind, fasten, glue and so forth as in pacai (paste. Pacu, is the psychic entity that is bonded, delimited, finitized and constrained. Pacas are those entities which thus finitize the inherently nonfinite psyches or egos.

1.1 The Corubam and Tadattam are the transcendent and immanent aspects of Pati. Pati-In-Itself is Pati understood as a transcendent Reality whereby what it is in itself is grasped. The understanding of Pati through its phenomenal presentations, how it is present in the world as an immanent reality there is Tadattam. These two modes of understanding Pati can also be seen to arise from the historical and ahistorical modes of human understanding.

1.2 Desire, Consciousness and Activity are forms of Power (Sakil) that are termed Icca Sakti, Jnana Sakti, and Kriya Sakti. These are forms of Energy or the Aristotelian Energia, that from which the dynamics of the world processes are derived.

The Cattar is the state of Being of Pati in absolute intentive withdrawal, closed within Itself, containing everything only as pure possibilities. The state of Being with Intentiveness is Uttiyuttar and the state of Being active in the world enacting the drama of life is Piraviruttar.

1.7 The nine forms of Pati can be understood as the primordial archetypal forms in which Pati is present in the world for effecting whatever there as realities. The term murti is taken here as equivalent in meaning to the notion of archetype, understood as Imago Dei. The murties are also termed Civa Tatvas See sec. 2 and 3

1.8 Mayai here is derived from the Tamil maal or maay meaning death, darkness and so forth. Acutta Mayai is the primordial stuff, the end substance that is obtained when all the physical realities are resolved.

The Cutta Mayai is also a substance but unlike accutta mayai, it is that from which originate the symbolic and non symbolic languages, mantras and so forth without which cognition in general are impossible. It also termed Kudilai.

The term malam, a key term in Saiva Siddhanta is also derived from the above roots. Here it meaans the substance that surrounds human understanding and breeds ignorance. Malam, speaking metaphorically, is that which introduces DARKNESS in human understanding.

1.10 Para Mukti is the absolute End-State-of- Being of the psychic entities. The intermediate End-States akin to the final and with which it can be mistaken, constitute Apara Mukti. 'Para' here means the transcendent, the overriding, the absolute and so forth

By caktinipatam is meant the flow of Arul or Numen- the Power transfer that not only illuminates but also simultaneously lifts up the human psyche from its beastial state into the humane and later into the divine. This happens with the awesome encounter with the sacred whereby the sacredness itself is transferred in appropriate measures to the human psychical beings.

1.11 Cakalar, Pralayakalar and Vinjnakalar are terms of classification used to distinguish the psyches in terms of malas. The cakalar are the psyches existing with all the three malas of anavam, kanmam and mayai. Pralayakalar are those without the illusion breeding mayai; vinjnakalar without mayai and kanmam, and hence only with anavam.

The term kalar is derived from Tamil. kal, meaning to learn or practice an art. Competencies to learn and understand are used here to classify individuals into these types. (See sec. 2.15-2. 18 ) Thus these classifications are ultimately hermeneutical in their origins.

1.12 Attuva means the way, the approach. The Supreme Agent presents ways and means for the finite psyches to learn and understand, reduce ignorance and thereby get rid off the finitude. The ways and means that afford transcendence towards the Absolute State of Being is cutta attuva; the remaining acutta attuva.

Loganathan @ Ullaganar

( editing and re-paragraphing by his student )

( Image of Nadaraja taken from wikipedia , with thanks )