The following pages represent a very laudable attempt to unravel the mysteries of the Science of Mantras and of the Matrikas which constitute their essence.
In ancient cultures of the world-Indian, Jewish (Qabalist), Pre-Hellenic, Egyptian, Babylonian, Median etc.,-the efficacy of sound as a potent factor for producing desired results of an unusual and marvellous type was recognised. In India, how- ever, not only among the Vedic and Tantric Sadhakas, but also in outside circles (e. g. Shabara etc.), we observe, besides the appreciation of the potency of sound as a practical subject of study, a spirit of systematic and careful investigation into the philosophy of sound in the shape of Mantra. We are reminded in this context of the wonderful analysis of Vak, Vocal and supra-Vocal, in our ancient scriptures.
As a matter of fact, the earliest school of yogic discipline is traditionally identified with the Way of Bhairava (Srotas), which is based on a hidden knowledge of a, combining in itself the elements of knowledge and action both. It is techni- cally known as the path of , which is logically prior to ज्ञान and क्रिया.
It is a pleasure to find that the writer of the present book took up this obscure but most important study and has laid the interested world under a deep debt of obligation by the publi- cation of the results of his researches in this field. His work consists of eight chapters as follows:-
The first chapter is more or less of an introductory nature. It deals with the meanings of the words and я and furni- shes a short bibliography of the earliest literature from diffe- rent points of view. The next two chapters, called IT, sum up the main teachings of the Tantras on the conception of
and on its different varieties. In this connection he has given a brief and admirable exposition of gar which is
( 8 )
¤-7.
the quickening spirit in every . It may be observed that er as a symbol represents not only the entire field of Matrikas manifested from to as a series of discrete forces, following one another in succession, but also their emergence as a self- aware continuum, holding within it the entire creation as one with itself.
The two chapters which follow discuss on the different aspects of art with their outer menifestation as phonic rays popularly known as a or letters of the alphabet. The sixth chapter dwells on the way in which the development of the Matrika Varnas is effected. The seventh chapter of the book treats of the aforesaid Varnas and the objects developed by them. So far an attempt has been made to give a detailed ana- lysis, on the basis of ancient texts, of the question of in its different phases. The eighth and concluding chapter contains a very interesting discourse on the philosophy of . Here we find a short but useful summary of several facts regarding this philosophy, including their classification, their defects, the method of removing these defects etc.
The writer has based his work on older Tantric Texts inclu- ding most of the important works published in the Kashmir Sanskrit Texts Series and in the Tantric Texts Series of Arthur Avalon. He has also utilised works like प्रपन्चसार and शारदा- fa with their commentaries. But he does not seem to have made much use of the literature of सिद्धान्तशैव, वीरशैव, पाशुपत,
, and schools, including the school etc., whose views on Mantras and Matrikas may in some respects be found to be useful, not only as original but also as supplementary contributions.
f has a very important part to play in the spiritual regeneration of man. The status of the soul influenced by af, differs substantially from that attained by it, without such af. Matrika as an integral power is really the name of , which is identical with the unique consciousness of the Supreme Self or f and may be justly represented as His As पूर्णाद्दन्ता it serves as the Matrix of world manifestation in the sense in which the One realizes Itself
Free Will ( स्वातन्त्र्य )
( 9 )
as many, and realizes the many as verily the One. There is nothing to stand in its way. But to an ordinary human soul tainted by, it is the basic factor in the genesis of Vikalpas in the mind, and as such it is intimately associated with the so- called six psychic centres in the human organism. From this point of view, I functions properly only after the obscura- tion (fa) of the Lordship of the Atman has been effec- ted by its self-alienation in the beginning of Creation.
The knowledge of an ordinary man is invariably coloured by the play of the Matrikas—न सोऽस्ति प्रत्ययो लोके यः शब्दानुगमादृते . The aim of 4, as of every other Sadhana, is to neutralize the effects of Matrikas, so that the attainment of fafalh gla may become possible. For this the primal necessity is that the
should be potent and living-it should not be merely a string of dead letters, but should be infused with the freshness of vitality inherent in a. This process implies an act of ene- rgizing and must be attained by any means. It is a difficult subject and requires close study and careful practice under the guidance of a competent Master.
I am hopeful that the study of this small book, though it may be of a preliminary character, will awaken an intelligent interest in spiritual-minded people and help them in pursuing the subject further with greater and greater thoroughness.
Sigra, Varanasi
Gopinath Kaviraj