Siva Sutra | Chaitanyam Atma
Welcome to our second instalment in our Living Sutras
This selection is derived from one of the most unique, insightful and helpful documents devoted to human development and evolution. The Siva Sutras from Kashmir in northwest India were given to the great yogi Vasuguptacharya in the eighth century.
Siva appeared to Vasugupta in a dream and directed him to a rock near Mahadev mountain, overlooking a beautiful valley near Shrinigar. Here the sage found the 77 inscribed sutras and disseminated these teachings to his students. They have come to form the heart of the unitive or nondual Trika scriptures of Kashmir Shaivism. The Trika system instructs on the inseparable union between the Absolute, the individual and the world or creation.
The Siva Sutras consist of three sections and begin with a foundational instruction that sets the basis for all ensuing guidelines and practices for sadhana or enlightening living. This first sutra is “Chaitanyam atma,” which means that the nonconditional Reality underling and present everywhere and at all times (Chaitanya) also abides within every person as our true Self. My own teacher, Baba Muktananda echoed this understanding in his often repeated instruction, “God dwells within you as you.”
Many spiritual traditions do not recognize that the Sacred is identical with the essential nature of you and me. This non-dualistic approach is often actually present within the teachings of the great beings who inspired the development of various spiritual traditions. For example, Jesus taught that “the Kingdom of Heaven is within you” and “the way (the path of Self-Realization) to the Father (Chaitanyam) is through the Son (atma). ”
The non-dual teachings convey that the most fundamental essential quality of our humanity is completely at one with pure Consciousness. Our most intimate feeling of existence arises from an inner sense of just “being” that precedes the conjured personal constructs and crafted limited identities we all adhere to. For example, we say “my body” or “my thoughts” and “my feelings”… But who or what is that “my” being referred to? Is there an awareness present in every aspect of personal experience yet somehow not enmeshed by them?
Yoga asserts that areas of experience are perceived and known by a lucid presence that observes all phenomena but is not dependent upon them to be. That means you exist even without thoughts and emotions (as when you are in deep sleep). And we know that there can be lucid presence of being even if there is no sense of body awareness, as in a comatose state. This awareness that transcends all personal considerations is called the Seer or the Witness.
In the Trika system this lucid presence is called “purno’ham vimarsha”, which means the “pure whole I am awareness” that is independent of personal identity usually obscures the real I. This is the “I am That I am” of the Old Testament (Exodus 13) and also found in the Sama Veda as Tat Tvam Asi (thou art That), and more centrally, the real source of identity present in every moment. The pure lucid state of knowingness runs like a thread through waking, dreaming, and deep sleep states, attendant to all discreet states of consciousness. The Knower observes each experience we have yet also extends beyond them into boundless and radiant blissful Consciousness.
The goal of the Siva Sutras is to reveal the ever-present One who silently and lovingly embraces each of us through pure awareness. This same presence pulsates as the “aware universe,” and that which we call God, the Universal Self or by whatever name has meaning for you. It all boils down to this: God, the universe and you are one. “Chaitanyam atma” can be our wake up call, our meditation and object of deep reflection.
By taking the time to simply become sensitive to Aham, the “pure I am” awareness subtly pulsating within us, we may come to know ourselves as we truly are. Here’s a dharana or tuning in practice that reorients us towards Atman…
Adopt a posture of attentiveness. This can be done sitting quietly or even mindfully moving, as long as awareness is subtle and not consumed by interaction with external stimulation. Become aware of the cyclic rhythm of breathing and attend to it through observance. Let the mind settle and allow mental activity to subside. Now we focus on feeling- allowing sensate impulses to come to the foreground of our attention. As this occurs more refined nuances of energy flow become more evident. Feel the very essence of Life coursing through you. This presence has nothing to do with any thought or emotion. This immediate knowing is at the very core of I amness, free of association or linking with all the overlays of personal identity. Go more deeply allowing the feeling of just being to become immersive.
Continue to practice this dharana regularly. It will bring a sense of freedom and expansiveness when we discover we are not who we think we are. When the real Self emerges, we will discover our true home, in the timeless Light that suffuses all things. Contemplation of Chaitanyam atma leads us there. As the numinous poet Kabir reminds us, wherever you go if you can’t find where your soul is hidden, for you the world, the Self and God will never be real!