Indian Philosophy v2.c27.s2.3

v2.c27.s2.3

Śiva is everlasting, since he is not limited by time. He is omnipresent. He works through his śakti, which is not unconscious but conscious energy—the very body of God. This body is composed of the five mantras,¹ and subserves the five functions of creation, sustenance and destruction of the universe, obscuration or embodiment (tirodhāna) and liberation of the souls. His knowledge is ever-shining and immediate. According to the Pauṣkara Āgama, Śakti, called Kuṇḍalinī (the coiled), or śuddhamāyā, is that from which Śiva derives his functions and in which his being is grounded. Śakti is the intermediate link between Śiva pure consciousness and matter the unconscious. It is the upādhi, the cause of the differentiation of Śiva’s functions.² It is the cause of the bondage of all beings from Ananta, who is next only to Śiva, downwards, and also of their release. Śakti, often called Umā, is but the reflex of Śiva, and not an independent existence. The Absolute in itself is called Śiva, and the Absolute in relation to objects is called Śakti. In the Siddhānta, Śiva is not only the Absolute of metaphysics, but the God of religion. He is the saviour and guru, and he assumes this form out of his great love for mankind. He is the God of love.³