६

The Light of the Tantras

Therefore, it is said that in the "fresh"—meaning the first—"creation," which occurs in the Pure Way shuddhādhva|The 'Pure Path' or 'Pure Way'; the higher levels of manifestation where the divine will acts directly without the obscuration of limited individuality:

"In the Pure Way, Shiva is the Agent..." original: 'śuddhedhvani śivaḥ kartā...'

According to this principle, because Shiva himself is directly perceived there, it is said: "She whose radiance original: 'mahaḥ' is the expansion of light characterized by absolute fullness."

In this Non-dual Tradition advaya-naya|The school of thought (specifically Trika Shaivism) which holds that there is no ultimate difference between the individual, the world, and God, the Lord himself—by the greatness of his own Absolute Freedom svātantrya|The sovereign, self-dependent power of consciousness to act and create without external causes—makes the world appear as if it were separate, even though it is not actually separate from him. The world's essence is "mere appearance." Thus, it is stated that this Absolute Freedom, which depends on nothing else, is the sole cause of the world’s diversity.

It is unreasonable to claim that ignorance original: 'avidyā' or karmic impressions original: 'vāsanā' are the causes of the world's diversity. This is because those concepts are undermined by the logical contradictions of "difference" and "non-difference" In this system, if ignorance is different from God, it creates a dualism; if it is the same as God, it cannot be 'ignorance.' Therefore, only God's free Will can be the cause. Therefore, although the Lord possesses infinite powers such as Consciousness original: 'cit' and the rest, they are all merely his own vibration sphuraṇa|The rhythmic pulsation or 'sparking' of divine consciousness. Because Absolute Freedom is the most predominant of these powers, it is specifically mentioned here. As will be stated later:

"Therefore, He is joined with the power of Absolute Freedom; this is the direct rule." original: 'tena svātantryaśaktyaiva yukta ityāñjaso vidhiḥ'

And what is the nature of the Progenitor Shiva? It is said: he is "of full body" original: 'bharita-tanuḥ'. "Full" means characterized by total completeness, resulting from the cessation of all desires.