01: Śiva-Śakti: the One and Only – Merit to worship

Meaning

Only if accompanied by  Śakti (Śivaḥ śaktyā yuktḥ  yadi bhavati),  even Lord Śiva (Śivaḥ dēvaḥ) is deemed powerful (śaktaḥ), to create the world (prabhavituṁ);   if that has not happened (ēvaṁ  na cēt), Lord is not capable (na kuśalaḥ), even to make the tiniest movement (spanditum-api), is that not so (na khalu)!  Therefore (ataḥ),  how is it possible (katham prabhavati), for anyone who has not attained the merits (akr̥ta-puṇyaḥ), to pay obesiance (praṇantuṁ) or to recite hymns in  praise (stōtuṁ vā), to You (tvām), Who is adored by (ārādhyāṁ),  even – the supreme gods – Hari, Hara and Brahma et al (hari-hara-viriñcādiabhir-api)! [How am I to gain such merit!]

Commentary (1)

It is said that only when  Śakti unites with Śiva, the Supreme Being, Paramēśvara,  can create, sustain, or act. Without Śakti, He cannot even stir the slightest movement! This idea may raise questions in the minds of some Śaiva devotees: “Are we calling our Lord Śiva powerless in the name of  Śakti worship?”

Likewise, some Vedantic thinkers may feel uneasy: “Are we implying that the ‘Nirguna Brahman’, the attributeless Absolute is an inert, inactive principle?”  There is no need for such concern, for the truth expressed here is one that everyone can accept. Such doubts arise only when Śiva and  Śakti are seen as two separate entities — but in truth, Śiva and  Śakti are not different at all.

The very first hymn begins with the word Śiva-Śakti, to declare right at the outset that the two are inseparable, and that everything is contained within the Supreme, which is Śiva. To confirm this, venerable Achārya begins His wonderful ‘Śivānandalaharī’,  by addressing the Śakti with the term ‘kaḻābhyāṃ’.

The word Śiva itself means auspiciousness, and because this first verse begins with the name Śiva, it also serves as a ‘Mangala Charanam’ — an auspicious invocation and blessing. The central purpose of all these hymns is therefore to express the grand truth of Śiva– Śakti union.

When it is said that “Śiva cannot act without Śakti,” it does not imply weakness. The meaning is far deeper. Śiva, the Supreme Brahman, pervades all — there is no place devoid of Him, no moment in time without Him. If He fills all space and time, how can He move anywhere! To move implies entering a place where one was not before — but there is no place where Śiva is absent! Hence, the Fullness that is Śiva is described as immovable and still.

But if Śiva is still and all-pervading, is He then lifeless — a corpse? Certainly not! An inert object has no awareness of itself. The power of knowing itself, that self-luminous awareness, is ‘citŚakti’ — and that very CitŚakti is Śiva Himself. He is not inactive because He “knows nothing,” but because He is the very knowing itself. There is nothing apart from Him to be known — therefore, He simply is, as pure, motionless Bliss.

Then arises the question — how, then, did these moving worlds come into being? Where do they abide? How did the awareness within the listener asking these questions arise? Whence came the listener’s body, the world, and the very mind that inquires, “Who am I?”

The answer to this is ‘Parāśakti ’—the Power of Brahman! Śakti is the cause of everything. If one feels “I am powerless,” how can one ever possess self-respect? It is Śakti alone that is capable of animating everything; it is She who is capable of bestowing everything. When we worship a divine form, is it not because that specific form possesses a sublime Power (Śakti)? Therefore, no matter which divine form we worship, we are truly worshipping the Power within that form.

In that sense, all prayers and rituals, regardless of the deity they are intended for, ultimately become an offering to Parāśakti  Herself. This is why practitioners of Śāktism respect those who worship other divine forms, viewing them also as Śāktā (worshippers of Power).

Thus, Śakti alone is worthy of praise! And is that Power not the very strength of ‘Para-Brahman’, who is Śiva? One who possesses power is called ‘Śaktimān’. Therefore, all hymns offered to Śakti ultimately reach Śiva, who manifests that Power. The Supreme Being, Śiva, is the foundational power known as ‘Oṃkāra’.   Consequently, all rituals and hymns are dedicated to both Śakti and Śiva. The primordial sound ‘Oṃ’ represents the Supreme Reality that is Śiva. To illuminate this subtle truth, the prefix “Oṃ” is placed before all mantras.

Whether one prays ‘Oṃ Murugā Śaraṇam’, ‘Oṃ Kṛṣṇāya Namaḥ’,  ‘Oṃ Śrī Rāmachandrāya Namaḥ’, or ‘Oṃ Durgā Devi Śaraṇam’, all worship offered to many forms ultimately belongs rightfully to Mother Parāśakti , who is the very power of those forms. Furthermore, those offerings ultimately reach the formless Supreme Being—denoted by the primordial sound ‘Oṃ’, through whose vital power Mother Parāśakti  bestows Her grace.

If Śiva and Śakti are one, why is it taught to view them as two and to praise their union as the ultimate Supreme Bliss (Paramānanda)?

The Supreme Reality is eternally all-pervading (Sat), shining only as pure consciousness (Cit) because there is nothing else to be known, and existing as absolute bliss (Ānanda) due to that perfect fulfillment. Such a Being must surely be motionless! The Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad teaches this Supreme Śiva to be Ekātma-Pratyaya-Sāram—the singular Saccidānanda.

If that is so, how did all these diversities, different worlds, and living beings arise?

Out of compassion to provide an answer, the Vedas reveal a joyful miracle that defies explanation. It is a tiny pulse (spandanam) that arose within the Supreme Being, who is hailed as the Infinite Light (prakāśaḥ)! The surge produced by that pulse is Parāśakti , the Brahma-Śakti. It is only through the awakening of this Power that the Supreme Reality knows Itself as “I” (the self-radiant Prakāśa) and as “Mine” (the manifestation of power, Śaktivilāsa).

In this way, the Divine Mother, as that very Brahman-Śakti, becomes the pure mirror that allows Brahman to admire Its own beauty. Thus, the surge of this Brahman-Śakti is the cause for the “Manifestation of Godhood” (Īśvatva-Prakaṭanam). This is why the Vedas praise the Supreme Being as the Great Light (Prakāśa) and Parāśakti  as the Lamp of Brahman-Light (Vimarśa–Rūpiṇī).

Parāmbikā, who is the manifestation of power (Śaktivilāsa), creates everything based on the primordial pulse of Brahman (Brahma-Spandanam). In doing so, She bestows upon the Supreme Being the identity of ‘The Cause of the Universe’ (Jagatkāraṇam).

Therefore, if Śiva is the seed, Śakti is the sprouted seed! These two are not different. For this reason, Śiva initiates a surge within His own ‘Svātantrya Śakti’, His completely unimpeded, absolute freedom—and through that, He bestows grace as Parāmbikā, the ‘Vimarśa-Rūpiṇī’ , the reflective form of Brahman’s light.

It is Parāmbikā alone who exists as the Brahma-Jñāna (Divine Wisdom) that allows one to realize oneself as Brahman. This is why the Lalita Sahasranāma hails the Mother as ‘Śiva-jñāna-pradāyinī’, The Bestower of the Knowledge of Śiva shown as the 727 name.

Creating, sustaining, dissolving, concealing, and bestowing grace upon innumerable worlds, bodies, and beings — Parāśakti performs an unending divine play. Because she carries out this wondrous activity with elegance. ‘Lalitam’ and joyous spontaneity ‘Leela’, she is adored as the Mother of the Universe, bearing the sacred name  ‘Śri Lalita Paramēśvari’.  Where then are all these worlds, bodies, and living beings created and sustained? Where else could they exist but within Paramēśvara Himself? Since Paramēśvara pervades everything, all existence must necessarily abide within Him.

One might argue, “No, the worlds exist in the cosmic space; it is the vast expanse — ‘outer space’ — that contains everything!” Yet Vedanta declares that even this “space” is a creation of the Divine Mother’s energy — Śakti. It teaches that the mind is like a bedspread upon which the sheet of space is unrolled and rolled up again. In deep sleep, when the mind ceases to function, there is no sense of space at all. In dream, too, the “space” we perceive is but a projection spread within the mind itself.

Therefore, it is our mind that creates our world for us — and the mind itself, ever restless and immeasurable, is a dynamic manifestation of the Divine Energy. This ever-changing, motion-filled power is the Maya Śakti, the compassionate play of Paramēśvari — the Supreme Goddess.

Does that mean that Parāśakti  alone, through her Maya, performs all acts of creation, sustenance, and destruction? Yes — the hymn begins precisely by revealing this truth.

Yet, presiding as the witness to this divine sport of the Mother stands Śiva, the Supreme Brahman. The sacred Sanskrit word Śrī also means auspiciousness, prosperity, fullness, and radiance. Hence the divine name Śrī Lalitā Paramēśvari  can be understood as: the Supreme Power, Paramēśvari of Paramēśvara, who performs the radiant divine play (Lalita), taking Śrī — the auspicious fullness that is Brahman — as her witness and source.

The Divine Mother,  Śrī Lalitā Paramēśvari , in her cosmic play, performs five sacred acts — creation, preservation, dissolution, concealment, and grace. To fulfil these, she manifests through five powers.

According to her divine will, Brahmadeva serves as the force of creation, Viṣṇu as the force of preservation, and Rudra  as the power of dissolution. To conceal the true nature of existence behind the veil of ignorance, avidya, Lord Maheśwara wields His  Māyā-Śakti as his weapon. And Sadāśiva, as boundless grace, liberates all created beings. These five deities function as the instruments of the Divine Mother’s will.

In Śrī Lalitā Sahasranāma, it is said that without the Mother’s grace — that is, without her divine play — even these five gods remain lifeless, inert corpses (panca-prētā). Such is the magnitude of her power and glory!

Bhagavān  Śankarā, in wonder and reverence, expresses this truth:

“When even the great Trinity — Brahma, Viṣṇu, and Rudra — serve you, O Parāśakti , how magnificent must you be! If such mighty deities bow before you, how can I, a humble being destitute of good deeds, ever worship or praise you?”

Venerable Bhagavatpada thus places this very question at the heart of the hymn — not out of despair, but to awaken in us humility and surrender. He then reveals two essential means for the devotee: worship (pranantum) and praise (stotum va).

To worship means to place oneself completely at the divine feet in total surrender. To praise God means to gain knowledge of the divine and to celebrate that wisdom with love and awe. Hence, the highest devotion (parabhakti) is worship born of discipline and insight — reverence guided by humility and divine understanding.

The hymn itself gives the answer to our doubt — “Have we truly done any worthy act to deserve the worship of Śakti?” The very fact that we are now studying the peerless verses of Saundaryalaharī shows that we have indeed earned this blessing through the merit of past deeds. To hold this sacred garland of hymns in our hands is itself a sign of divine grace and spiritual fortune. Thus, we are not unworthy beings — we are those whom the Mother herself has chosen to worship her.  Still, our heart must say, “O Mother, what should I do to deeply know and realize Thee? Become my Guru of Wisdom! If Sri Vidyā means the knowledge that unites one with Śri — the Supreme Brahman — then is it not Thy very sacred name?” This, indeed, is the intense yearning that this hymn plants in the seeker’s heart.

Thus Ends Verse 1