The history and core themes of tantra are introduced in the third section of chapter 1. Let me again emphasize its richness and complexity. A chronology for tantric literature has been determined by scholars only roughly.1
There is Hindu, Buddhist, and Jaina tantra, and complex interactions and dependences among authors with a tantric perspective. In practically all yoga traditions, there is what I call the tantric turn. Although today there are sects of Vaishnavism and Shaivism that perform pujas (rites of worship), etc., grounded in old scriptures called Tantras and Agamas, the texts mention many rituals and alchemical practices that researchers have looked for but not found.2 There is little that is distinctively tantric, as perhaps is fitting given its spirit of inclusivism. Tantric scriptures do not reject the authority of the Upanishads or the Gita or even the Yoga Sutra, for that matter (although Abhinava Gupta, for one, is very critical of the Yoga Sutra). The distinctively tantric line is that these teachings are incomplete or too difficult or in another way inappropriate for our day, the Dark Age, the Kali Yuga—or, in modern tantric teachings, inappropriate for our complex and noisy homes and workplaces—at least compared to tantric teachings and practices that are appropriate for our times.
Here our focus must be mainly arbitrary. We shall sample the work of the great yoga master and Kula philosopher, Abhinava Gupta, who lived in Kashmir in the tenth and eleventh centuries. With Abhinava in particular, aesthetics, spiritual metaphysics/theology, ethics within yoga teachings, and professional exegesis and epistemology all reach high points not only within tantra as a movement but also within classical literature as a whole. The tantric development that has probably the profoundest overall cultural impact, the occult psychology, is not much addressed by him, though it is present in many of the sacred texts he recognizes. A yogic or “subtle” or occult body comprised of “canals,” nadis for prana and shakti, along with chakras, “wheels” or centers of occult consciousness and energy exchanges, became systematized in tantra, though hardly at a stroke. I shall discuss the tantric psychology in the next section, in connection with the Hatha Yoga Pradipika (c. 1400, which, by the way, quotes Abhinava). This ordering of topics is mainly for convenience; one should not think that earlier tantric literature—pre-Abhinava—contains no expressions of the distinctively tantric psychological or physiological system. In this appendix, I shall try to take more of a philosophic overview, with a tilt toward the Kaulism of Abhinava.
According to scholar Alexis Sanderson, in tantra’s early history in Kashmir rituals were reformed and “aestheticized” in Kaulism.3 This judgment is broadly in accord with that of the scholar of classical aesthetics Edwin Gerow, who finds the Vedantic philosophy of Brahman to be “aestheticized” in the case of Abhinava.4 This, the premier Kaula philosopher, brought together at least three prominent streams of tantric practice and ritual, the early Kaula (the “Familial,” from kula, “family”) with two other Shaivite groups, the Trika (the “Triadic”) and the Krama (the “Sequential”).5 These “streams” are not really sects but rather traditions of practice and teaching. Abhinava also synthesized these views with two further textual and philosophic lines (in texts not associated with particular rituals and pratices), the Spanda, the “Vibration” view (the world is a tremor in the divine consciousness) and the Pratyabhijna, “Recognitive” view (liberation is like recognizing something from your past, the self, atman, that you have forgotten).
Abhinava wrote prolifically in aesthetics and metaphysics, but not so prolifically about yogic practices. Perhaps, as some have surmised, he considered certain Tantras to be sufficiently clear in that regard.6 Still, he was influential as a guru as well as a writer. He is a prime source for the yoga of art and beauty discussed in chapter 5, although he hardly makes what we said explicit. The little he says explicitly about practices centers not on rasa but on four ways, upaya, to experience the unitive consciousness.7 But my claim in chapter 5 was not that Abhinava lays out a rasa yoga but rather that one is implicit in much of what he says—as well as in the practices of countless artists offering their performances to the divine, in the spirit of karma yoga.8
Moreover, we cannot do justice to all the many dimensions of Abhinava’s contributions—more than twenty-six major compositions, including a commentary on the Gita that is terrifically subtle along with philosophic works such as the Tantraloka, “Light on Tantra,” that are terrifically long.9 We shall try to flush out the convergence of aesthetics and yoga (or Yoga) in Kaulism and Abhinava.
First let us look at verses from the Kularnava Tantra, the tantra of “The Surge of the Kula, the Family, the All,” the title of which is more commonly rendered “Ocean of the Kula.” This text allows an overview before turning to Abhinava’s work. This popular Agama may have been contemporaneous with Abhinava or more probably appeared a century or so later (c. 1100). He does not mention it among the scriptural sources of his philosophy (more than twenty Agamas, according to the count of K.C. Pandey).10
Like many other Agamas, the Kularnava Tantra (KT) is structured as a dialogue between Shiva and the Goddess, with the Great God teaching the Devi principles and methods of yoga, and enjoining her to teach them herself to help human beings of good will and resolve. The KT has been said to be “without doubt the most important of its class,”11 that is, of the later Agamas that are in this way dialogically structured. It is often quoted in still later literature, the experts tells us, and its style and language are clear and crisp but also light and cheerful, with many simple symbols and analogies. Some of it has been translated, and almost the entire text nicely summarized by M. P. Pandit.12 Of the text’s seventeen chapters, I present below verses from the first two. In the notes, some interpretive problems are addressed and further background given.
From the Kularnava Tantra
1.1. Seated on the peak of Mount Kailasa, the God of Gods, the World Guru, the Supreme Lord, whose bliss is transcendent, was approached and questioned by Parvati (the Goddess).
Shri Devi said:
1.2. O Blessed, O God of Gods, O Lord, who have ordained the five ritual acts, all-knowing, you whom it is easy to love, you who love as loves a mother all who in you take refuge!
1.3. O Lord of the Family (kula), Supreme Ruler, O Ocean of the nectar of compassion, in what is not your essence, in wild transmigratory existence, there are those fouled by every kind of pain and suffering.
1.4. In various types of embodiment, endless living hosts are born and die. For them, there is no freedom (no moksha, no “spiritual liberation”).
1.5. They are afflicted by pains and sufferings continually; there is never anywhere a truly happy person. O Deva, tell me by what means, Lord of Lords, by what method (upāya) can a person be free?
Shri Ishvara (the “Blessed Lord,” Shiva) said:
1.6. Listen, Goddess (Devi), I will tell you, I will answer the question you ask. Merely from hearing what I have to say, a person can be liberated from samsara, from transmigration.
1.7. There is, Devi, the Auspicious (shiva, “kind,” “agreeable”), the status of the Highest that is Whole, Integral, whose own form is the Supreme Brahman (the Absolute)—all-knowing, all-doing, Lord of all, pure, without a second.
1.8. Self-luminous, without beginning or end, without flaw, changeless, beyond the beyond, transcendent of the gunas, (in itself) being, consciousness, bliss. Every living thing is a part of That.
1.9. Living things are characterized by beginningless (spiritual) ignorance, like sparks (thrown away) from a fire (forgetful of the whole, their origin). They are differentiated by circumstances of birth determined by karma, talents, and so on.
1.10. Controlled by their own good and bad deeds that result in pleasures and pains, they obtain a body connected to this and that kind or species, a life span, and enjoyment born of karma.
1.11. Every rebirth they get this, coming to be humans of dull consciousness. Beloved, the subtle body is imperishable up to liberation.
1.12. Plants, worms and lotuses, birds, wild beasts, humans of thirteen different characteristics, and then, in order, like that, there are those who are seeking liberation.
1.13. Having held and held—restraining a thousand times—the bodies of four types (physical, breath, lower-mind, and higher-mind), from good action having become a human being, liberation would be got if one has Knowledge (of the Whole).
1.14. Among the eighty-four-hundred-thousand bodies that are possible for the embodied, Knowledge of reality is not had by any without a human birth.
1.15. O Parvati, here among thousands of (types of) births taken by even more thousands, occasionally a creature attains the human level from accumulation of merit (by action).
1.16. Having attained the difficult to obtain, the human status, step by step, one who does not carry himself across (to the further shore of liberation), well, who is worse than he?
1.17. Therefore, having obtained the best birth as well as excellence of talents and faculties, if you do not know what is good for yourself, you are going to harm yourself. (By listening to what is being revealed, you can learn what is good for yourself.)
1.110. Some want the Advaita (Nondual view), and others prefer the Dvaita (Dual view). Neither group knows my truth, which goes beyond both.
1.111. There are two paths, to bondage and to liberation. One is the path of “It’s mine,” and one is the path of not-“It’s mine,” the nonpossessive. By the path of “It’s mine” a creature is bound. It is not the case that one becomes liberated by the path of “It’s mine.”
1.112. That karma which is not for bondage is the Knowledge that liberates. Karma, action, that is other than that leads to exhaustion. Knowledge that is other than that is nothing but skillful craftsmanship.
1.113. So long as desire and the like burn, so long as there are (untoward) mental dispositions, vectors of transmigration, so long as the faculties are unsteady, what is the point of telling the truth of things?
1.114. So long as you have to try very hard, so long as the effort is intense, forced, or impulsive, so long as you are thinking about what you are going to do, thinking about your resolve, so long as your mind is not steady, what is the point of a telling of the truth?
1.115. So long as there is identification with the body, so long as there is myness, so long as there is not the compassion of the guru, why then a telling of the truth?
1.116. So long as the truth has not been found, people do tapas, make pilgrimages, chant, sing praises, and so on, and the stories of the Vedas, the Shastras, and the Agamas are necessary.
1.117. Therefore, with every effort, in every state of consciousness, at all times, be one, Devi, who takes her stand in the truth, if you would desire self-realization, the liberation of the self.
The blessed Devi said:
2.1. O Lord of the Family (Kula), you who for every living being are the ocean of compassion, yes, indeed, I do desire to hear. The Dharma of the Kula, the Way of the Family that you have indicated has not by you been made clear.
2.2. Speak to me the Mahatmya (the “Importance,” a succinct statement of the essence) of this Dharma that you say is the supreme way. Speak to me the Mahatmya, as conceived by you, of (the text named) the “Upper Road of the High Tradition.”13 If you care about me, Supreme Ruler, tell me about this.
The blessed Lord said:
2.3. Listen, Devi, I will explain what you of me implore. By merely hearing this, one will become dear to the yoginis.14
2.4. I didn’t tell this to Brahma, Vishnu, or Guha, the royal seer. I say it to you because I love you. You are a person whose mind is one-pointed, exclusively intent on listening.
2.5. What I am about to say has come down in a sequence (of teachers), a lineage, firmly established (originating) in (one of) my “five mouths.”15 In its deepest sense it is unsayable. Even so, I am going to tell you.
2.6. By you too this must be kept protected. It is not to be given to just anyone. It is to be given to a practitioner of bhakti yoga or a devoted student. Otherwise, a falling away will occur. (You will lose the secret, if you tell it to just anyone.)
2.7. The Vedas are superior to all other teachings (about ordinary life), better than the Vedas is the Vaishnava teaching, the Shaivite is better than the Vaishnaiva, and better than the Shaivite is the Right-handed tantric.
2.8. The Left-handed is superior to the Right-handed, the Siddhanta better than the Left-handed. The Kaula is better than the Siddhanta. Nothing is better than the Kaula.16
2.9. O Goddess, this is more secret than secret. This is the essence of the essence. This is better than the best. O Goddess, it is the Kula (the Family), the word of Shiva, come down directly from ear to ear, hearer to hearer.17
2.10. The Kula Dharma has been extracted by me stirring with the staff of Knowledge the ocean of the Vedas and Agamas, stirred by me who knows their essence, Devi.
2.11. The Dharmas (the teachings, paths), sacrifices, pilgrimages, vows and the like (undertaken in spiritual endeavors) in all their diverse portions are unified (in the end sought). (Similarly) because of its unity, the Kaula Dharma, among these, is the best, O dear one.
2.12. For, as rivers (all) enter the ocean whether they go straight or wind, just like that all observances enter the Kula.
2.13. As you can put the footprint of any living creature into the footprint of an elephant, so, dear one, all the (spiritual) philosophies (darshana) fit into the Kula.
2.14. And insofar as copper is similar to gold, in that way another observance is similar to the Kula Dharma.
2.15. As of all rivers there is no equal to the Ganga, just so there are no observances equal to the Kula Dharma.
2.23. If a yogin, then not at all could one enjoy the world. If enjoying the world, then not at all could one be skilled in yoga. The Kaula is of the nature of enjoyment and yoga. Therefore, dear one, it is universal.18
2.24. If one follows the Dharma of the Kula, O Queen of the Family, enjoyment becomes yoga immediately, misbehavior art (the good deed), and transmigratory existence (all of life) liberation.19
2.33. Knowledge of the Kula (the Family, the Whole, the All) shines forth for a person whose thought and emotion (chitta) have been purified, for the one of spiritual peace who serves the guru in action, for the zealous devotee, for the one who lives in secret.
2.34. The person whose love and devotion (bhakti) stays firm, for the blessed guru, for the Kula teachings, for Kaulas, for the Kula’s supports, that person is one for whom Knowledge of the Kula comes to shine.
2.35. Through faith, culture, joy, and the like, right behavior and vows that are firm, by righteous acts protecting the guru’s instructions, Knowledge of the Kula is obtained.
2.36. For the unfit, for one yet unready for deep Knowledge of the Kula, it (bhakti) won’t stand long at all (even if he or she seems to grasp what I am saying). Therefore, consider carefully what’s to be said, the Knowledge of the Kula by me presented (in words).
2.52. The Way, the Dharma, of the Kula, dear one, if harmed harms (the offender), if protected protects. If honored, it will make honored in an instant. Therefore, don’t reject it.
2.61. Mere trees live. Deer and birds live. The person whose mind is based in the Kula Dharma, well, that person (really) lives (in the fullest sense of the word).
2.62. Days come and go for one unmindful of the Kula Dharma. Like the bellows of an ironsmith, though breathing he doesn’t (really) live.
2.70. People who are wealthy and fortunate, whose karma is meritorious, good people, as well as yogins and yoginis, well, Devi, the Knowledge of the Kula (the Whole) can shine forth for them too, by (your) grace.
2.71. People who are the best of the human lot, venerable, generous, content in their accomplishments, in the hearts and minds of such people I make Knowledge of the Kula appear.
2.72. All (contemplative) visiting of places of light, all plunging into mysteries at holy crossings (tirtha) brings one into the Kula Dharma as well as any sacrificial performance or ritual.
2.77. For a person who knows the Kula (the “All”) knows everything (worth knowing), even if he has left the Vedas and the Shastras behind. A person may know the Vedas, the Shastras, and the Agamas, but if he does not know the Kula he doesn’t know anything.
2.78. Only those who are your bhaktas, your devotees, know the greatness of the Kula, not others. Only the chakora bird (singing to the moon in love with it), not others, knows the moonbeam.
2.83. The world is made of Shiva and Shakti. The Kaula teaching is founded on the world. Therefore, it is the best of all. What a universal, comprehensive teaching!
2.84. The six philosophies (Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Samkhya, Yoga, Mimamsa, and Vedanta) are limbs of my body, feet, belly, hands, head. He who carves divisions in them breaks my body.
2.85. Just these are also six limbs of the Kula. Therefore, know the Vedic Shastras to be Kaula in character.
2.86. According to all the philosophies (properly interpreted), there is a single Divine who grants results. Dear one, the Divine grants enjoyment and liberation within this family (kula) of human beings.
2.87. The Kula teaching may run against the wisdom of the world, O Queen of Siddhas, O Queen of accomplished yogins and yoginis. But, dearest, it is a knowledge source because it is the result of (yogic) perception.
2.88. And perception is directed to the generation of knowledge in the case of all beings with breath, dear. All bad reasoners (“bad” in opposing Kula teachings) are defeated by the force of perceptual evidence.
2.89. Who indeed knows what is not perceived, what will be, or to whom it will occur? Verily only that which is the fruit of perception is the best philosophy.
2.113. Such a vision of the Kula (the Whole) is obtainable through the guru’s grace. Your bhaktas alone, not others, have it, know it, know that which gives enjoyment and liberation.
2.117. If a human could really attain perfection (siddhi) through wine drinking, then let all the riffraff get perfection who’d love to do nothing but drink wine.
2.118. If by merely eating meat (spiritual) merit would accrue, then all the meat eaters in the world would enjoy (spiritual) merit.
2.119. O Queen of the Gods, if liberation could really be had by sexual enjoyment, then just any creature could be liberated by having sex.
2.120. In no case is the path to be blamed, the path of the Kula, Great Goddess. It’s those lacking good behavior that are to be blamed here, not others (practitioners of Kaula rituals whose behavior is good).
2.121. Otherwise is the behavior described by me (above) of one who is on the Way of the Kula. Goddess, deluded people thinking themselves learned are wayward when acting otherwise (than acts the true Kaulika as described).
2.122. You may walk on the edge of a sword, you may hang on to the neck of a tiger, you may hold a (poisonous) snake and carry it—these are all easier than living (in the right way) in the Kula.20
The selections now from Abhinava Gupta belong to two different genres of literature. The first is a type of poem, a stotra, hymn of praise, followed by a remarkable prose passage on aesthetics. A similar poem translated by Paul Mueller-Ortega comes from the same collection of nine poems edited by K.C. Pandey and reproduced in Devanagari characters.21 My translation and understanding, I should like to acknowledge, benefit from both Mueller-Ortega’s and Pandey’s work, as well as from a French translation and commentary by Lilian Silburn.
Professor Silburn explains the poem in lucid detail in her commentary, uncovering multiple senses and interpretations as well as echoes of earlier tantric literature.22 In notes, I mention several points of hers. She also identifies an overall theme of alignment of the microcosm of the human individual with the macrocosm of the reality of Shiva/Shakti. Shakti engages in creative, supportive, and ecstatically reabsorptive activities (see in particular verse 6). Silburn brings out the image of the thousand-petaled lotus that is indeed there, suggested pretty explicitly though not in so many words: the infinitely petaled “wheel,” or chakra, namely, the lotus above the head that spreads in all directions from a central axis or hub where sits Shiva/Shakti, Bhairava/Bhairavi. Note, however, in verse 3, “Bhairava-Bliss” (bhairavananda) is said to be “seated in the lotus of the heart.” Combining the images, one would have Bhairava illumining the central channel, sushumna, or perhaps raining down from the outside, penetrating the heart center.
Concerning the word deha in the title, which means body, clearly it is not just the body made of matter (annamaya kosha) that is intended by Abhinava, who stations divinities in the pranic, mental, and occult bodies as well as associated parts of the physical frame.
Finally, whether or not there is a secondary sense of the word chakra, wheel, in the title (and I agree with Silburn that there is), the primary sense is the ritual act of saluting a circle of divinities, turning to address each in turn. Although all our experience and all factors in and causes of experience are, in the philosophic conception, included in the eight goddesses’ offerings, the particular forms those offerings take are in the language of the poem the best of whatever factor, a distilled essence or finest example (see, e.g., verse 6, 10, 11, 12, or 13).
Hymn to the (Circle of) Divinities Seated in the Body
1. (Shiva’s elephant-headed son, Ganesha, god of beginnings) the Leader of the Assembly (of Shiva and Shakti’s retinue), honored by the multitudes divine and undivine, delighted in the bestowal of what one regards as a boon, and worshipped at the outset of hundreds of treatises of philosophy, him I salute who is manifest in (up-)breath (energy, prana).23
2. Vatuka (Shiva’s other son, Karttikeya, the young ascetic), whose feet are touched by real heroes, yoginis, siddhas in (all) lineages, by whom the troubles of the well-behaved are taken away, him I salute who is picked out in down-breath (energy, apana).
3. (The fearsome form of Shiva) Bhairava-Bliss (ananda), who is made of consciousness, whom, seated in the lotus of the heart, the goddesses of the senses worship always with (offerings of) objects experienced internally, I salute him.
4. The true Guru (sad-guru), who takes the form of vigilance, unsullied (no matter what the activity), who by the force of intelligence (dhi) reveals to bhaktas the whole universe as the path of Shiva, constantly I salute him.
5. (The fearsome form of Shakti) Bhairavi-Bliss, who in the form of self-consciousness (vimarsha) plays (lilam karoti) ceaselessly bringing up, appearing as, and chewing up the universe, I salute her.24
6. Brahmani (the Divine), seated on the petals of (Indra) the lord of the gods, saluting Bhairava with flowers of certitude, constantly I bow before her who is the rational mind (buddhi).25
7. Shambhavi (the Kind, Parvati), seated on the petals of Agni (Fire), worshipping Bhairava with flowers of pride, forever I salute her who is egoism, the
Mother.26
8. Kaumari (the Young Woman), roaming the southern petals (of Yama, Death), forever expressing adoration for Bhairava with flowers of imagined possibilities, whose essence is the lower mind (manas, the sensuous mind), I salute her.27
9. I forever bow before Vaishnavi (Vishnu’s feminine side), the Shakti, who takes the form of sound (words and music); roaming the petals of the southwest (i.e., of Nirriti, goddess of destruction), with flowers of sound she adores Bhairava.
10. I honor Varahi (the Female Boar) who assumes the form of the organ of touch; making her station the westerly petals (of Varuna, god of waters), she delights Bhairava with flowers of touch, heart-stealing flowers of touch.
11. Indrani (wife of Indra and the right pupil), who, in a body sitting on the petals of the Maruts (the Winds), worships Bhairava with flowers of the color spectrum, the very best, I salute her in her body of sight.
12. I honor Chamunda (Durga with the terrifying tongue dangling down from her mouth), who is picked out in the tongue as the organ of taste; abiding in the (lotus) buds of (Kubera) master of wealth, she worships Bhairava with foods of all the combinations of the six flavors.
13. At every moment I bow before the Great Lakshmi (goddess of beauty and fortune), who, seated on the petals of the Lord, adores Bhairava spreading diverse fragrances, Great Lakshmi, who is named in the nose as the organ of smell.
14. I salute the one named the self (atman), honored in the six philosophies, infusing the thirty-six categories, granting siddhis, the proprietor of the field (the witness).28
15. The wheel of divinities roaming my own body thus I sing, the wheel (chakra) pulsating as the essence of experience, settled in everywhere (but) forever (absolutely) near, arising (and talked about) continually.
The second selection is from Abhinava’s famous commentary on the Natya Shastra, which has been edited in Sanskrit and translated by J. L. Masson and M. V. Patwardhan in their book, Shantarasa.29 The translation below is thus doubly indebted to their work. But it is a fresh effort, hopefully more accessible than theirs, with which I have compared it almost word by word. For background, see the second section of chapter 5. Further background is provided in some of the notes. The immediate context is examination of the thesis, endorsed by Abhinava, that there are not only eight rasas, or kinds of aesthetic relishing, but nine, to include shanta rasa, the relishing of the spiritual peace (shanti) that is the result of discovery of the atman, the primordial self.
(Opponent:) What, then, is the (corresponding) ordinary, abiding emotion (for the rasa of spiritual peace, shanta-rasa)?
We answer: It is just knowledge of reality (i.e., the self, atman). Insofar as this is the means to liberation (moksha), it is appropriately thought of as enduring (spiritual realization is not transitory, unlike other “knowledges,” jnana). And knowledge of reality is just knowledge of the self (atman).
And this is knowledge of the self as an object, as it were, that is distinct (from other objects).30 For otherwise the self as something else would ipso facto be the same as the not-self (which is absurd).… Just the self is here the (corresponding) ordinary, abiding emotion (sthayin for sthayi-bhava, implying the self can be felt as an emotion, bhava, literally, “state”), the self, i.e., who is (intrinsically) connected to unsullied characteristics of knowledge, bliss, and so on.…
If it is asked why the self should be counted separately (from the other abiding emotional states, since, as already argued, it is implicated in every emotional state), we answer that it is separately and distinctly enjoyed when it is (enjoyed in itself) not in connection with tasting (other bhavas and corresponding rasas).31…
…Therefore, knowledge of reality is simply the true nature of the self (its native state), which is tranquility (shanti). Further, sexual feeling and the rest (of the ordinary abiding emotions) are thus just particulars of (relative) sullying coloration. Admittedly, the self is understood as pure, of unmixed character. On the strength of the evidence of samadhi (yogic trance), one understands it as homogeneous. Nevertheless, upon returning to everyday consciousness, a person is tranquil, at peace. As it has been said (Yoga Sutra 3.10), “That transformation is borne along tranquilly because of (restriction-causing) samskaras (becoming dominant).”32
Furthermore, the whole range of ordinary and extraordinary states of mind (states and fluctuations of thought and emotion, chitta) can be used dramatically as subordinate transitory emotions supporting (the aesthetic transformation of) this abiding emotion characterized by knowledge of reality. And dramatically it does have symptoms (indications), those fostered by such things as practice of the yamas and the niyamas (of the Yoga Sutra).… It does dramatically have stimulants too, the grace of God and so on.…
Furthermore, the person (who knows the self), for whom what has to be done has been done with regard to the person’s own self-interest, well, such a person makes effort solely in the furtherance of others’ welfare. Therefore, being energetic (which is the abiding emotion transformed dramatically into the heroic rasa) with such a person (depicted dramatically) would take the form of a wishing, along with effort on his or her part that has helping others as goal. An additional subsidiary (dramatically considered) is the (enlightened) person’s being focused on others through compassion.
Just for this reason, some (philosophers) identify (a rasa of) compassionate heroism, on the strength of compassion being (dramatically) a transitory supporting emotion (for the rasa of spiritual peace, shanta rasa); others identify it as dharmic (righteous) heroism.
Objection: Being energetic lives on egoism, but being at peace has the character of relaxing, loosening egoism.
(Abhinava:) Wrong. For using even a (diametrically) opposed emotion (dramatically) as a transitory supporting emotion (as, for example, disgust supporting the rasa of love) is not unsuitable (depending on the plot).… There is no psychological state whatsoever without energy. To think there could be one without desire, effort (etc.) would invite citing a stone as the untoward consequence.
And it is for this reason that insofar as a person has, with respect to his or her own self, truly fathomed it, both high and low (both in its universal nature and in particular), there would be nothing left to be done (and still the person would act). It follows from this that giving on the part of those whose hearts are at spiritual peace, such giving as proceeds wholeheartedly, holding nothing back, not the body (or even life), in order to help someone else, is not opposed (dramatically) to shanta rasa.…
…Vedic scriptures and “sacred memory” (e.g., the Bhagavad Gita) say alike that liberation can occur in all the (prescribed) stages (ashrama) of life for those who know (the self). So it has been declared, “If delighted in honoring the gods and goddesses and grounded in knowledge of reality (i.e., the self), fond of guests (treating them graciously), even a (benighted) householder making ceremonial offerings to ancestors is liberated.”
Not only this but also (there is the following evidence:) bodhisattvas, who are persons who know reality (i.e., know the self though it is conceived as nirvana, who thus according to Buddhist doctrine are souls who could disappear), appear again even after (their enlightenment) in a body that is perfectly appropriate for them in their intention, dharmic (righteous) and born out of concern for others’ welfare, whose only consequence would be others actually being helped.