Medha said “Ho! my dear king, through these perceptions of these senses, every living being has the knowledge of this manifest universe”. Yes all of us have our sense perception, we have the knowledge of this universe.The object of this sense perception can reveal itself in various ways. The manifest universe is there, but the sense perception of individuals can reveal that manifest universe in various ways. How?
Answer is- some creatures are blind by day, others are blind by night, some see equally by day and night. In the same way, humans are endowed with power of perceptions, better than others. Not only human beings – cattle, birds and animals and all other living creatures also perceive this universe. The awareness that humans have, the birds and beast also possess. It is similar. The animal’s awareness and human’s awareness are similar. What is this? Medha compared humans to birds and animals?
Wait!. To distinguish between ordinary knowledge as the king understands and higher spiritual knowledge (they are 2 different things), Medha begins with the example of sense perception. Our knowledge in its most concrete form, whatever the king expresses in ordinary knowledge, Medha is trying to put spiritual knowledge in it with an example of sense perception. He points out that animals have sensory awareness like or similar to humans. Although the faculty’s of perception differ according to the genus and species. The sense perception, awareness is same, the faculty of perception( The Principal Distinctions of Duty or Virtue-judgment, discriminative feeling, mental activity, and moral preference) differ.
Despite those differences, both human awareness and non human awareness are expressions of the same underlying concepts. The sense perception awareness all are the same but faculties of perception differ, between different species. Even with these differences also, the awareness of the humans and non human awareness are the expressions of the same consciousness. What this means is everything is one. There is the same consciousness everywhere. You can see everywhere that same Atman ‘Brahman’ ( the supreme existence or absolute reality) resides. Nothing else. Their expression is the same but their perception is different- 2 different things. Their perceptions are different as per different genus and species, but all of them express their expressions of the same underlying consciousness.
kaṇamōkṣādṛtān mōhātpīḍyamānānapi kṣudhā॥50॥
mānuṣā manujavyāghra sābhilāṣāḥ sutān prati
lōbhāt pratyupakārāya nanvētān kiṃ na paśyati॥51॥
tathāpi mamatāvartē mōhagartē nipātitāḥ
Look at these birds. Those feelings are the pangs of hunger. They are hungry. But, out of delusion, while still dizzy themselves, they are dropping the food through the beaks/throats of their young ones. They are hungry but they still take care of their young ones. Dropping food into their beaks. Ho! My dear king! Humans long for offspring. They want sons and daughters. Expecting something in return. Humans have a desire for their offspring, that they will support us tomorrow. In this manner, humans are hurled into whirlpools of emotions and passion. Don’t you see this. These birds are not like this. It feeds their young ones, the young ones grow up and are gone then these birds forget them.
It’s a delusion. How does that come about? With the power of Mahamaya. Who produces the continuing cycle of this fantasy world.
Medha says in the more complex area of behaviour, that birds ignore their hunger for the sake of satisfying their offsprings. But humans are not like that. Hoping for future rewards, harboring ulterior motives, they want to have childrens. That’s the difference. It is not that birds are “ chintanay parahita” (thinking about the welfare of others), it’s not that way, and birds are scheming. No, But birds act out of instinct. That’s all. They don’t think that I want to help my child or it’s my child, I have to feed- NO! NO!. it’s their basic instinct they act. That’s the difference. So birds, animals are superior to us, in that perspective. Birds act out of instinct. But humans possess the additional faculty of reason and will. He has a reason to feed. A reason to beget a child. Birds have no reason. It’s out of instinct they behave.
What Medha wants to demonstrate is that even those forms of awareness that relate to delay or belong to the category of lower knowledge are subject to “moha “ – delusion. This is inherent in the world because of the lower knowledge, that may increase moha. Even the basic acts of -seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling and touching- they don’t reveal an objective world as it is- No! It’s a god experience. Even the acts of seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling and touching are flawed experiences. They are not true. It becomes more flawed and brings more confusion when you try to bring in these experiences with a sense of reasoning to the world. The more you go for emotions, memories, logic and reasoning, it gives you more imperfect data of the universe. The person who has no reasoning etc may be having less illusion than intelligent people like us. Because these additional filters, makes it draw more wrong conclusions. Very important. This kind of- more wisdom, logic, emotion, reasoning given by us may result in taking more than one path through different times. That’s why less logical people are more spiritual. The emotions can paint anything. Emotion is something, which can make anything look anything. Memory is selective at best and rarely impartial resulting with ego, with motivation of self interest, desire or expectation. Because all knowledge, as we understand, is very relative to something and hence imperfect. That’s why we are indeed subject to delusion.
What’s the cause of this delusion? – Goddess Mahamaya. Mahamaya has covered us, that gives us the delusion. She too wants us to reach her, but she covers us first with delusion. Very interesting thing is: the word “MahaMaya ” comes only once in the whole of Durga sapthashati. Maya is the power that produces the cyclic flow, these streams of birth and death. It is the power that projects the sense of personal identity, ego etc.,. Mahamaya, puts clouds on the unity with divinity. This Mahamaya is ruling us. Whether we want it or not. So we lost our vision of reality. That’s why Mahamaya is mentioned. And it never repeats.
mahāmāyā prabhāvēṇa saṃsārasthitikāriṇā॥52॥
tannātra vismayaḥ kāryō yōganidrā jagatpatēḥ।
My dear King Suratha and Samadhi! Don’t be astonished! don’t worry! The same Mahamaya is yoga nidra also. The sleep of vishnu- who is the lord of the world. By her, this world is deluded.
Why did Saptashati mention that “ Vishnu went yoganidra? ” Who is Vishnu? : Lord of the world. The lord is deluded, he is into maya. That means by her mahamaya ‘the world is deluded “’. It’s not Vishnu who is taking yoganidra. Vishnu is the embodiment of the world- Lord of the world, who protects the world, who sustains the world. But by telling that Vishnu is in yoga nidra because of mahamaya, the communication is very simple. This mahamaya is making this world itself in delusion.
Devi
– She created this universe. In every particle of it she exists. She creates life cycles. Then she covers us with mahamaya that binds us in these bondages creating delusion. She is
Note: The article is based on the Jnana Yajna sessio
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also known as “Amba Stuti” – They are introduced as one-verse query from Siva who asks about the means of achieving what is desired, and a one verse response from the Goddess who says she will proclaim the relevant discipline ( sadhana ) by revealing Amba Stuti which consists of the seven verses indicated. is also a beautiful hymn written in the saptashati which is said to be the mixture of the three hymns i.e., Kavacham, Argala stotram, Keelakam and also Rahasya parvam (Murthy Rahasyam and Vaikrutika Rahasyam).It is said that Lord Shiva had recited this shloka to Parvathi at her attainment of BramhaGyaan. This shloka plays an important role in Devi Saptashati. It is at the ending of the book.