DETAILED STUDY OF SHIVA SUTRA - I.5

Udyamo Bhairavaḥ उद्यमो भैरवः (sūta I.5)

Udyam means moving upwards. It refers to the sudden rush of overflowing consciousness.  It is like the water moving up with great force in an artificial fountain. The usage of the word ‘Consciousness’ is to be understood from the next word Bhairava. Bhairava means Śiva. The sudden emergence of Śiva consciousness like a flash is the reward to the aspirant’s ability to fix his individual consciousness on the Self within. Spiritual practice makes the aspirant perfect and he is rewarded for his perfection. There is a penultimate state, the state where the aspirant is totally pervaded by the consciousness of Śiva and this penultimate state is known as pratibhā, the flash of His Light.

This upward movement Śiva consciousness is due to the manifestation of Consciousness of Śiva as the universe. When this happens, Śiva neutralises all His powers or śakti-s (not Śakti, His veiling power) and dissolves all the thought processes causing dyads or dualism.  The obscured Light of Śiva is revealed. In other words, when the Supreme Consciousness of Śiva pervades the aspirant, he realizes that he is Śiva.  This state of udyama is possible only if the entire concentration is fixed on the Bhairava within him and not externally. There is no point in seeking Him outside his body, as Śiva is within, causing bliss and illumination.

This aphorism subtly conveys that realising Him is not possible by practice alone. The Grace of Śiva is absolutely essential to reach this state, beyond normal state of human mind.

{Further reading on pratibhā: The Self performs five acts - sṛṣṭi, sthiti, saṁhāra, tirodhāna and anugraha (creation, sustenance, dissolution, annihilation and grace or re-creation). But the krama system says that svātantryasaṁvit Śakti, also known as the absolute power of freedom of Paramaśiva, substitutes tirodhāna and anugraha with anākhya and bhāsā. Anākhya approximately refers to the state of turya (the fourth state of consciousness as per Advaita) and bhāsā refers to the fifth state of consciousness turyātīta. The state of bhāsā is also known as pratibhā. Pratibhā has been used differently in different contexts. It is the spiritual power that makes the aspirant to attain Śiva, by making him apathetic to normal sensory powers. The illumination of pratibhā increases with practice. While gaining higher illumination on one side, it begins to destroy the power of māyā on the other side.  In other words, knowledge begins to dawn on him gradually, corresponding to the brightness of pratibhā. Though there is no change in the illumination of pratibhā, it is the aspirants practice in gaining knowledge that determines the brightness of pratibhā to him. It is said that pratibhā is primarily to draw attention to the subjective basis (mind) of the objective consciousness.

Kaṭha Upaniṣad (II.ii.15) uses the word bhāsā (the verse is discussed in the previous aphorism). It says, “tasya bhāsā sarvamidaṁ vibhāti” which means that by Its Light, everything else is lighted. The Upaniṣad endorses the point of view of Trika philosophy, which says that Self Illumination of Śiva alone is realized by a yogi. Both Trika and Advaita agree on the point of Self-illumination of Śiva.}