In Pursuit of Tripura Rahasya
What is the difference between Shakti and Balam? What are the three aspects of psyche that Tripura Rahasya speaks about?
When I was shifting houses, I thought this twiggy fellow might not survive, although I had one last twig of hope. And today morning, he greeted me with life in abundance:) Over the last few weeks in my ongoing Yoga Sutra Studies with my mentor Raghu Ananthanarayanan, I have been deeply fascinated by Tripura Rahasya.
The Tripura Rahasya is an ancient text on the nature of the mind and its transformation. It has a woman as its main protagonist. It talks about the creation from the infinite, primordial unmanifest energy. This breaks further into three forms—the Iccha Shakti- the force of emotions, Gyana Shakti - the force of intellect and Kriya Shakti - the force of action. These interact with each other, creating time and manifestation.
At this point, it is important to emphasize the difference between Balam and shakti. Both sound the same no?
Balam is outer strength, whereas shakti is an inner force that comes from touching the deep wellspring within.
When we feel deeply evoked by a cause, when we see injustice in our midst, we are moved by our iccha shakti. When we are drawn by curiosity to enquire deeply or when we enjoy the process of discovery we are moved by jnyAna shakti. When we feel the rush of adrenaline, we are responding to the awakening of the kriya shakti.
During exile, when Pandavas undergo various forms of tapas, they are nurturing and enhancing their shakti. They dialogue with various sages about the meaning of life. Some give advice on how to take care of the body, others help them renew their commitment to dharma and so on. The acquisition of weapons they acquire during these interactions symbolises this aspect.
A leader who moved millions by the sheer force of his shakti was Mahatma Gandhi. His heroic life is a testament to the power of Shakti.
When we look at Duryodhana’s behaviour before the war, it is clear that he relies on balam and does not comprehend shakti. Shakti and Balam are not binary. Both are essential. A leader with inner conviction needs to forge good alliances and understand timing. She has to leverage social status and position. However, when the actions and strategies are energised by inner forces, mere Balam becomes brittle.
There are three forms of balam namely yoga balam- the strength of alliances with powerful friends; kAla balam- the strength of time especially timing; Asana balam- the strength of position and rank. In several discussions the Pandavas have in the forest, they plan out how they will create powerful alliances. Arjuna goes to the four corners of Bharat, creates alliances, and marries the princesses of the kingdoms to cement these alliances.
There are several instances in Mahabharata, especially during the exile, when Bhima is thirsty for impulsive action and Yudhishtra speaks about timing and readiness. Time used for preparation and learning is potential energy. Yudhishtra also speaks about the need for Pandavas to evoke the inner conviction of the people, whom they seek alliances with because they do not have positional power, being deposed kings.
Tripura Rahasyam also speaks at great length about three aspects of your psyche - the actor, the mirror and the witness. These correspond with three levels of the psyche - the 'manas', the 'ahamkAram' and 'buddhi'.
One way we practice this in our Yoga sessions is by playing the three roles in the spaces we hold in groups of 3. The actor is the role I play at the moment. The Mirror is a Sakhi, who is helping me see what it is, without an iota of judgement
Comedians have terrific 'sakhi' presence and that is one reason, why we love them so much
The Witness is the Sakshi bhaav, who is simply watching the entire dialogue unfolding between the actor and the mirror. This is easier said than done - as the witness is holding the space in all its potentialities as gently as the soil that held the lone twig in all these weeks when nothing seemingly was happening on the surface. Carl Rogers once put it best - “listening with a listening where the other becomes what he(she) is meant to be”
The mind according to Yoga consists of three layers. The deepest is called buddhi, the next layer is called ahamkAra and the most superficial is called manas.
Yoga unfolds when all these three layers are aligned. And when that alignment happens, life flows in abundance.
As beautifully as this leaf.