Ardhanarisvara: Androgynous Siva.

Chennai Museum
painting from Exoticindia.com HE16.jpg
 Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna page 240
884. No one can say what Sachchidananda is like. That is why He first
took the form of Ardhanarisvara (half man and half woman). Do you
know why He did so? It is to show that both Prakriti and Purusha are
Himself. At a step still lower, Sachchidananda became several Purushas
and Prakritis.

This form representing the male and female halves transcends the distinction between and
limitation of male and female and takes the transcendent Lord to a level above and beyond the
gender which is Brahman, realization of which means liberation. This is a fusion of Siva and
Sakti (Bindu and Nada). Sakti part is golden, while Siva part is snow-white. Androgynous Siva
wears gender-specific apposite earrings, Nakhra Kundala on the right ear and Patra Kundala on
the left ear. According to Saiva saint poets, he is Ammai-Appar, Mother and Father.

Androgyny: The west says that Brahma converted himself into two persons: the first male,
Manu Svayambhuva and the first female, Satarupa. It regards the Biblical Adam as androgynous
and one of his ribs gave rise to Eve. Page 48-49 Harper's Dictionary of Hinduism. Now you
know why Adam is getting ribbed for his role in the creation of Eve.

April 3, 2008:

In Science Channel, there was a presentation of Chimera (XX plus XY) in the same newborn
baby. This is a truly androgynous baby or Hermaphrodite. The TV special reports: Babies are
being born split (not literally) right down the middle, half black and half white, a testicle on one
side and a vagina on the other. Explore the extraordinary medical phenomenon that causes two
different babies to fuse together in the womb. The explanation is as follows. Originally two
sperms fertilized two eggs of the mother all at the same time, the father's X bearing sperm
fertilizes the X-bearing egg and the father's Y-bearing sperm fertilizes the X-bearing egg. Now
we have two separate fertilized eggs (XX and XY), (not) destined to become a girl and a boy.
Nature decides otherwise; the two embryos come together and became one embryo (A Chimera)
resulting in a baby who has the testis on one side and ovary on the other side and an ambiguous
genitalia. The same baby has on the abdomen a line in the midline the left side is lighter and the
right side darker giving us the clue that this baby is two babies in one.

Sakti is also known as Girija. "A" is Siva; "Ham" is Sakti and in combination, it is AHAM,
"I." Siva part is male form (Pum rupa), Sakti is Sivon Mukhi (turning towards Siva). The
relationship between the two is called Mithah Samavaya, mutual agreement or obligation, by
which Sakti (Nada) turns and looks up to Siva (Bindu) for beginning creation. There is another
interpretation: Siva aspect is mere Consciousness, Jyoti, in whose proximity, she (Sakti and
Nada), desirous of change, becomes heavy (ghanibhuya) and assumes the form of Bindu. She, in
the Bindu form, divides to become Bindu on the right side and Visarga on the left side: the male
and the female aspects. Visarga = creation. Ham is Bindu and Sah is Visarga; Hamsa is the
Mantra; its original form before inversion is So-Ham. Sa-ham = "She I am." Go to >> Mantra -
Om Namasivaya>> for more details. Hamsa (personified or deified) is the union of Purusa and
prakrti, Consciousness and matter, Siva and Sakti. We are back to Siva-Sakti in Hamsa, who as a
Devata resides in Sahasrara Chakra and receives stuti (praise) from Saivas, Saktas, and
Vaishnavas, who (the last one) call it Parama Purusa, while the Hari-Haras (worshippers of
united Vishnu and Siva) call it Hari-Hara.

Nada is substrate and Bindu is substance. Nada is gold and Bindu is gold jewelry. Nada and
Bindu are One. Remember, Siva is static; Sakti is dynamic and creative. Siva is Being (Sat) and
Sakti is Becoming. Siva and Sakti exist in Ninmala Turiya state (Stainless Purity). Sakti has no
feet, but moves faster than air; she has no ears, but hears; she has no eyes, but sees; she has no
tongue, but tastes-- Mahakali stotra. Kali, the sakti of Siva is both gentle and ferocious, Siva and
Sakti

Nada and Bindu (Sakti and Siva), female and male principles, are present in every created being
in this universe. What is dominant in a human (being) determines the geno- and phenotypical sex
of the individual. Before the fetus differentiates into male and female, it has all the necessary
primitive organs and devices to go either way or other ways. When Bindu is dominant (XY
genotype), the fetus becomes male under the raging fervor of Bindu which attenuates the female
structures (Mullerian duct system). When Nada is dominant (XX genotype) the male structures
(Wolffian Duct System) attenuate and a female fetus emerges. Each person still has the residual
principle of the opposite sex in him or her. When both principles are present, the product is
androgynous.

Siva aspect is said to possess down-turned digit of the moon dripping nectar. Siva and Sakti are
the cotyledons of a pea in a sheath (pea with a skin), the sheath being Maya, removal of which
shows the unitary existence of a pea as two cotyledons; in like manner when Maya is removed,
unmanifest Siva and Sakti transform from latency to Siva and Sakti. (In another instance, Siva
and Sakti were compared to the two halves of the grain of gram covered by sheath.)
Siva and Sakti are compared to gold and gold ornaments; they are same; Sakti has a multitude of
manifestations, while Siva is hypostasis. Siva is the foundation (Consciousness) in a canvas;
Sakti is the images on the canvas.

When it comes to worship of Ardhanarisvara, some worship the Siva aspect and some worship
the Sakti aspect. Siva is Saktiman (Holder of Power), though he is inert. Siva is Sava (dead body)
without Sakti. All that power in creation, maintenance, and dissolution rests with Sakti (Nada),
though the Great Mother does not exist without Siva or Saktiman. All that infused sakti that
exists in man is manifest in prakrti, manas and jivatma (matter, mind, and life), a limitation of
SatChitAnada or Being, Consciousness and Bliss. The full expression of SatChitAnanda comes
to jiva when it transcends the name and form, mind and matter. Siva is Stasis and Sakti is
Dynamism. Where there is stasis, movement tips the scale, where there is dynamism, stasis is
rest. He is whole (Purna) and She is not whole (Apurna); He is Nishkala and Sakti is Sakala; He
is One; She is many; He is Infinite and She renders the Infinite into finite; He is formless and
She renders the Formless into myriad forms; He is the Supreme Power; He is SatChitAnanda;
She is SatChitAnadayamayi; She transforms, mutates, veils and reveals it. This transformation is
evident when Siva Sakti originating from Parasamvit undergoes a vertical step-down
transformation from Siva Tattva to Sakti Tattva to Sadasiva Tattva to Isvara Tattva to Suddha
Vidya Tattva, each one retaining its status and potency, but the latter compared to the former is
of lesser Consciousness. In this step-down process, the Siva Consciousness undergoes
transformation and dilution (less pure).

When Kundalini Sakti rises from Muladhara plane to Sahasrara plane, all tattvas and devatas
dissolve in her: this is involution; Ardhanarisvara residing in Visuddha Chakra dissolves in
Kundalini Devi, who unites with Paramasiva after passing through the Knot of Rudra at Ajna
Chakra.

When Siva is worshipped in the form Ardhanariswara (half male, half female) with four arms
giving boons, the devotee experiences all the joys of Sivaloka and receives the power of Animaa
(ability to assume a minute form), the appropriate knowledge lasting as long as the moon and
stars, and liberation. (Linga Purana 76.34-37.)

Sarada says that there are seven saktis: Paramesvara as Satchidananda, Siva, Sakti, KArana
Bindu, KArya Bindu, KArya NAda, and Bija. Another source in relation to Kundalini Yoga says
that there are corresponding seven Saktis: Unmani, Samani, Anji, Mahanada, Nada,
Ardhachandra, and Bindu. A combination of all these Saktis with Om gives a list of 12 Saktis:
UnmanA, SamanA, VyApika, Anjani, Mahanada, Nada, Nirodhini, Ardhachandra, Bindu, Ma-
KAra, U-KAra, A-KAra. Kundalini Power for more details.

See File Tattvas-36 for details on Tattvas. TATTVAS-36

Transformation of Supreme Consciousness: Dumb-down of Super Consciousness of Siva to

mere human consciousness

0: Parasamvit = High Voltage Pure Consciousness. Aham and Idam are unitary ( "I" and "This")

1. Siva Tattva = SatChitAnanda Aham. It is the Chit (Consciousness) aspect of SatChitAnanda;

Consciousness is inward-looking - the Status of "I" (Subject). It is said that Aham ("I") stood for
the love of Self for the Self. Idam (This) is the potential Parasakti. Aham is the inert or static
aspect of Consciousness, meaning it forms the substratum or the support (hypostasis) of the
manifest universe. It is like the riverbed in a river, the canvas in a painting, the skeleton in a
body. They are not visible but without them (support) the entities do not exist. His Will is His
brush, His body is the canvas, and the world is the picture painted on his body. Here
Consciousness is the Subject and the object(s) is lurking -- manifestation is in potential state and
the kinetic state of Siva is under check. Panchadasi defines Idam as follows: All that are
perceived by the sensory organs, motor organs, the mind, Buddhi, and scriptures come under
IDAM (Panchadasi 2.18)
2. Sakti Tattva: Sakti or Energy produces a strain or stress (deformation) on the Universal
Consciousness of Siva Tattva. The Consciousness loses its unitary existence; it becomes bifid:
aham and Idam, I and this, subject and object, positive and negative, anabolism and catabolism.
This kinesis is like that of an athlete bursting into a catapultic sprint, and a painter pouring forth
his energy (heart, mind, and soul) on the canvas with nimble deft paint strokes. That is Sakti
Tattva, energy called Ananada of SatChitAnanda. It is no more unitary existence of Supreme
Oneness; with the emergence of Sakti, it has become a world of two, Aham and Idam. Siva's
Ananda (Bliss) welled up from the three corners of his heart, Iccha, Jnana and Kriya and rose to
his face to witness his own splendor called Sakti. Siva's Iccha, Jnana and Kriya (Will,
Knowledge, and Action) know no limitation: Supreme Will and Confidence, Supreme
Knowledge, and Supreme Execution in a logical sequential fashion. This logical element is one
of the mainstays of Saiva Siddhanta showing the cascading descent of Siva Tattva to Sakti Tattva
to Sadasiva Tattva, to Isvara Tattva and to Suddha Vidya Tattva.

Tirumular says that Jnana rose from Siva and Iccha and Kriya rose from Sakti.

0-1-2: Parasamvit, Siva Tattva, and Sakti Tattva are non-dual states

3. Sadasiva Tattva = Grace, "This" (Idam) Consciousness is outward-looking.

4. Isvara or IsaTattva = Mahesvara, concealment. "I" (Aham) is inward looking.
5. Suddha Vidya Tattvam = Aham and Idam = "I and This" of equal emphasis. Creation,
Preservation and dissolution. Suddha Vidya = Pure Knowledge.

Man is Siva and Sakti in human form, a degenerate (more politely -- very dilute) version of
SatChitAnanda; Ananda is yet to be acquired. More correctly, Human consciousness is a
contracted form (Sam-Koca) of Siva's Consciousness. It has possibilities with the potential for
expansion, though it is at the bottom of Infinite Consciousness or Pure Consciousness. As you
noticed, even gods (in Suddha Tattvas) have a contracted version of Siva's Consciousness. The
contraction in us is due to Sakti imposing the limitation in the way of mind and matter and
veiling. Yoga and worship help raise it to its perfect expression, which soars above the
limitations of mind, matter and earthly life and becomes SatChitAnanda (Being, Consciousness,
Bliss).

Sakti's essential nature is portrayed in the following actions: It is because of their Saktis --
Brahmani, Vaisnavi and Rudrani--, Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra create, maintain and dissolve this
universe. Siva is the seed and She is the Womb. He is Light and She is Fire.

In Tantra literature, there are five Sivas: Sadasiva, Isa, Rudra, Vishnu, and Brahma; all of them
are described as "Five Great corpses" because they are all inert without Sakti. It is like the king
without kingdom; it is like Oracle of Omaha without his billions. Siva is Sava (corpse, Sava
Rupa); hence, Sakti Devi is portrayed as standing on Sava-Siva. The Five Great Corpses
(pancha-maha-preta) become inanimate objects upon which Devi sits, reclines, presides, and
merges as Consciousness. Siva is the couch; Sadasiva is the mattress; Isa is the pillow; Isa,
Rudra, Hari (Vishnu), and Brahma are the four legs of the couch. Tripurasundari reclines or sits
majestically on the couch. (See the painting from ExoticIndia.com) Sundari is united with Higher
Siva, Paramasiva in Pranava, AUM. The Nada (Chandrabindu/ Nadabindu) over the Omkara is
the couch, on which Paramasiva in his Bindu form is reclining. Chandrabindu is Nada and
Bindu, Sakti and Siva in one unit. The erotic and sometimes morbid symbolism is illustrative of
Sakti's power.

The crescent moon with the dot is Chandrabindu

(Nadabindu) or the couch of Tripurasundari in union
with Paramasiva. The icon presents five components:
A, U, M, Nada (the Crescent), and Bindu (the dot).
Just imagine the crescent moon being the couch! Nada
is Sound, Bindu is the derivative of Nada and the
source of the universe. Nada is called Visvamata or
Mother of the Universe; Bindu is Duhkha Hara or
Pain Killer or remover of pain. This idea from
antiquity (actually a revealed knowledge) makes one
consider that the Big Bang came from Nada-Bindu, a
dot.

As you may notice, the Pure Consciousness in its step-down process becomes the Spirit in the
first five Spiritual Tattvas (1-5), then becomes knowledge in the seven knowledge Tattvas (6-
12), and matter in the 24 Anma Tattvas ((13-36). Tattva #12 is the human soul, which has limited
knowledge and wears and sports the Anma Tattvas for its everyday life on this earth. Go to
Tattvas-36 for the list. This descent is called evolution and the retrograde ascent by the Yogi is
called involution or absorption of all Tattvas by Kundalini Devi while the Yogi ascends from
Muladhara Chakra to Sahasrara Chakra and goes from matter, to knowledge to Higher
Consciousness.

Mayai is one of Siva's energies that veils spiritual truths from souls. The soul has an inherent
impurity, Anava, which has to be shed before Grace is conferred on an aspirant. Anava is ego, I-
ness and Mine-ness; there is only one EGO in this Universe and that is Siva. There cannot be two
egos clashing with each other. It is like saying that there can be only one president in the nation
and not two presidents. As long as the soul has this Anava-ego, spiritual truths will not be
revealed. Shedding it is the step towards gaining spiritual knowledge and Grace. Breaking the
coconut in a temple is symbolic of breaking your ego in front of God. Ramakrishna
Paramahamsa says in Sayings of Ramakrishna, sayings 99-100, page 45, egotism is like a cloud
that keeps God hidden from our sight. As long as ego veils the heart God cannot shine upon it.
Rama is like God, Sita is Maya behind him, Lakshmana is Jiva behind Sita; in that predicament
how could Lakshmana see Rama? Lakshmana moved to the side to look at Rama.
Para Brahman is without attributes; Brahman with Mayai is Isvara (manifest Brahman or Siva);
Brahman with avidya (ignorance) is the individual soul (Jiva). Definition of Brahman is more
complex than what is apparent. To be Brahman is not to have any attributes (Nishkala). Where
do these Maya and Ignorance come from? Are they grafted on Brahman? What is their origin or
source? For Brahman to have Maya and ignorance negates or degrades his status. There are
several explanations. It is said that Maya is the body of Brahman and Avidya is the body of Jiva.
Tat Tvam Asi = That thou art. Tat is Isvara or Brahman with Maya as his body or Upadhi
(limitation or adjunct); Tvam is Jiva ( individual soul) with Avidya (ignorance) as its body. Jiva
becomes Brahman when Maya is eliminated from Brahman and Avidya (Ignorance) from Jiva;
Maya and Avidya are actually Avastu (not a substance, non-existent). Brahman is
Consciousness (Cit) in his unmanifest form; in his manifest form he sports his Maya aspect;
Avidya makes him Sakala (many forms and names in this universe). Maya, as inscrutable sakti,
is said to be pure Sattva (goodness), and Avidya contributes the sheaths (Kosas). Sankara says
that all this is Brahman, the hypostasis; and the rest is Maya (illusion). What we perceive with
our senses is Maya and appearance; it is a state of mind. There is truth in that, according to
Sankara followers. Without mind there is no world. Sankara establishes the unity of Isvara and
Jiva by eliminating Maya from the former and Avidya from the latter. But a Sakta (believer in
Sakti) is an inclusive person and does not eliminate anything; all is Brahman, Atma is Siva,
Atma's body and mind are Siva Sakti. Siva as Parabraman is Siva Sakti (Cit Sakti) without
action; Siva as Isvara is Siva Sakti exercising Maya Sakti which is movement and change. Sakta
talks about Paravastu (Supreme substance) and says that their is no sakti without Siva and no
Siva without Sakti. Siva, the Mayin, is not affected by Maya. It is like the heat in the sun; heat
never bothers the sun. To a Sakta, Cit and Maya Saktis are Siva Consciousness, variable in their
scope. Sankara's Isvara is shrouded in unconscious Maya , while Sakta's Isvara is all Himself
projecting Sakti. Sankara's Brahman is the common denominator when you subtract Maya from
Isvara and Avidya from Jiva. There are many views on this subject. Brahman is Vivarta cause
(abiding, moving) and Maya is the Saha Kari, cooperative cause. (Vivartavāda is assertion of the
Vedanta doctrine which maintains the development of the Universe from Brahma(n) as the sole
real entity, the phenomenal world being held to be a mere illusion or maya.) Maya originates
from Brahman and that being so, Maya Sakti cannot be unreal. Brahman is Vivarta cause;
Brahman is the hypostasis of illusion through Maya; Maya is Parinama (transformational) cause.
This Maya is like the Laser Show. There is another twist. Brahman, Maya, and Avidya form a
braid which creates the world and beings. Ramanujacharya does not believe Brahman as the
repository of Maya and Avidya. Ramanuja puts the following question: How could it possible
that Avidya (Ignorant) Brahman produces a Maya (unreal) world? To Ramanuja, Brahman is the
Soul; the universe and beings are his body. Krishna in Bhagavad-Gita makes everything simple
and straightforward. 10.36: I am the fraud of the gambler; of the splendid, I am the splendor; I
am victory; I am the resolve (of the resolute); I am the absolute virtue of the virtuous. This says
everything; He is the essence in the good, the bad, the ugly and the indifferent. He is knowledge,
He is ignorance, He is illusion, He is the world, He is the Universe, He is the Cosmos, He is
Time, He is Beyond Time, He is Beyond the beyond.

7.8: I am the taste in the water, O Son of Kunti I am the light in the moon
and the sun, the prānava (AUM) in the Vedas, sound in the ether and the
virility (manhood) in men. Bhagavadgita
7.9: I am the pure fragrance of the earth; I am the brightness in the fire; I
am the life in all the living entities; I am the tapa (austerity) in ascetics.

7.10: O son of Partha, know me to be the eternal (Sanātanam) seed of all

living beings; I am the intelligence of the intelligent; I am the brilliance of
the brilliant.

7.11: I am strength of the strong, devoid of passion and desire. I am carnal

desire in all within the principles of dharma (duty, virtue and
righteousness), O Arjuna.
9.16: I am the ritual; I am the sacrifice; I am the oblation; I am the
medicinal herb; I am the mantra; I am certainly the melted butter; I am the
fire; and I am the offering.

9.17: I am the father of this world, the mother, the supporter, and the
grandfather. I am the object of knowledge, and the purifier. I am Omkara
(the syllable AUM or OM), Rg, Sama, and Yajur Veda.

9.18: I am the goal, the sustainer, the Lord, the witness, the abode, the
refuge, the selfless friend, the creation, the dissolution, the resting place,
the repository, and the imperishable seed.

9.19: I give heat; I withhold and send forth rain. I am immortality and
certainly death. I am Sat (Being) and Asat (non-being), O Arjuna.
10.20: I am the Atma O Gudakesa (Arjuna) seated in the hearts of all living
beings. I am the beginning, also the middle, and certainly the end of all
beings.

10.21: Of the Adityas, I am Vishnu. Of the lights, I am the radiant sun. Of

the Maruts, I am the Marici. Of the stars, I am the moon.

10.22: Of the Vedas, I am the Samaveda. Of all the gods, I am the

Vasavah. Of all the Indriyas (senses), I am the mind. I am consciousness in
living beings. Vasava is Indira.
 10.23: Of the (eleven) Rudras, I am Sankara (Lord Siva). (I am) Vitteso
(Kubera) of the yaksas and Raksasas. Of the (eight) Vasus, I am Fire. I am
Meru of all mountaintops or peaks.

More on Maya as the origin of the Tattvas.

Brahman Mayai is the material cause of the universe and therefore is substratum of matter. In its
primal state, it is subtle, impalpable, imperceptible, indestructible, formless (arupa), eternal and
all-pervasive. It is like Ether, the stem substance. Whether Ether and Mayai are the same or not, I
am not sure, but an intriguing thought. In its manifest form, Mayai is of prodigious fecundity and
has names and forms-- the universe around us. Matter comes and goes, transforms and mutates;
but Mayai remains the same.

Siva and Sakti are one; Sakti is the dynamic force that moves animate and inanimate objects. It is
the movement in cosmos and movement in the atom; it is movement in the animated ones, the
living souls.

Thirgnanasambandar (TS) was a great Tamil poet-saint (643C.E. to 659A.D). When he was three
years of age, his father left him on the steps of the temple tank for a dip in the water. The child
panicked and cried when he saw his father dip into the water and not come up. Soon Siva and
Parvati appeared to him and Siva asked Parvati to give him the expressed milk from her breast
for the crying child in a golden cup. The child stopped crying upon imbibing the milk; when the
father came up to him and upon seeing a milk mustache on the child, he asked the child to show
the person who gave the milk. He even wielded a stick in a threatening manner; in answer to his
father's question he broke out in poem and recited a song at the tender age of three saying that
the Milkman was wearing a rolled palmyra leaf ear ornament, was riding a bull, was wearing
ashes on his body and a young moon on his locks, stole his heart... This song was interpreted in
many ways. The milk that he imbibed was fortified with Sivagnanam or Siva's wisdom or gnosis.
To the author (me), it appears that gnanam is cognate with gnosis. The ear ornament that the
child saw was usually worn by Uma indicating that the child saw vision of Ardhanarisvara and
the left ear of Uma. Ardhanarisvara is the Mother-Father figure --Ammai-Appan. TS was
regarded as the son of Siva.

You may wonder how a three year old can compose poetry. Here is an example of what I
watched on TV.

TODAYShow.com contributor
updated 11:31 a.m. ET, Mon., March. 10, 2008

Elizabeth Barrett is to all appearances your standard 17-month-old girl, complete with
wisps of gossamer hair so blond it’s almost white and the unsteady gait that is the definition of a
toddler. As her parents and two other adults talk earnestly around her, she paws through a couple
of large-format children’s books on a table, blissfully unaware of the conversation around her.
Then TODAY’s Ann Curry holds up a sheet of paper with the word “HAPPY” printed in big,
block letters and asks Elizabeth to read it. She read it and identified many other words.