– Parameshvarananda
Rasēśvara mārga is more a science than a School of Philosophy. It does not propound any new metaphysical, ethical or epistemic theory. But still, it is included amongst the systems of philosophy, even by such a great authority as Mādhava in his Sarvadarśana-saṅgraha, because it is concerned with a way to final emancipation (mukti). In fact, Mādhava himself begins by referring to the acceptance by this system of the essential identity of the individual self with the Supreme, in common with some other Shaiva systems.
Although Mādhava represents this to be a Shaiva system, yet it would be a mistake to think that the discovery of different methods of processing and purifying mercury so as to make it efficacious in giving perdurable body to the user of it, was exclusively made by the followers of Shaivism only. No doubt the Shaivas made the largest number of discoveries, but others also made substantial contributions to mercurial science. In some of the available works, which are collections of researches on mercury, we find references to the contributors to this science, other than the Shaivas. Thus, Rasōpaniṣad, which aims at giving the essence of the practices prevalent in different schools, mentions, besides Vātula, which is one of the recognized śaivāgamas, such schools as Prābhrata, Brāhma, Vaiṣṇava, Aindra, Shāṅkara, Shaukra, and Br̥haspati mata. And Mādhava himself refers to the admission of the perdurable body by the followers of Vaiṣṇavism, such as Garbhaśrīkānta Miśra, who admits that the body of Narasimha is perdurable and that it was actually seen as such by Sanaka and others.
The Buddhists also made substantial contributions to it. Nāgārjuna is said to have gone abroad, brought mercury from there, processed and purified it so as to make it capable of converting iron into gold. He is also mentioned in the list of the persons, who became Siddhas in consequence of the use of the purified mercury. He is also referred to as an original contributor to the mercurial science among twenty-seven such persons by Vāgbhaṭa in his Rasaratna-samuccaya.
The tradition of mercurial science seems to have persisted for centuries. In the list of the authorities and contributors, in addition to the names unknown to the history of Sanskrit literature, there are names of well-known persons as well. And there is sufficient evidence to justify the identification of the persons referred to therein, with the historical. Two such names are Nāgārjuna and Govinda Bhagavatpāda. The research on mercury, therefore, seems to have been carried on for about six hundred years. The results of these researches are contained in a large number of books, available even now on the subject.
The original material on the subject is found mainly in the śaivaāgamas or tantras, and subsequent works are mostly based on them. In some of the Tantras, there is a mere reference to the processing and purifying of mercury. For instance, in the Rudrayāmaḷa Tantra which is primarily concerned with yogic practices as related to different chakras, there is nothing more than a mere reference to the mercurial science or pārada sādhana. Such references seem to be referred to in the Rasārṇava, which is a very authoritative work on the Rasēśvara system because Mādhava quotes from it mostly.
It may be pointed out here that the Rasārṇava, as we have it in the printed edition, is fairly authoritative and seems to be a faithful copy of the text, as Mādhava had it before him. All the five quotations from the Rasārṇava, occurring in the Sarvadarśana saṅgraha, are found in the Rasārṇava (Chaukambha Edition).
Similarly, Rasōpaniṣad is simply a digest of a bigger work called Rasamahōdadhi, consisting of thirty chapters. It refers to Nāgārjuna as a great authority. And Vāgbhaṭa in his Rasasamuccaya distinctly refers to it as the first of those works, on which his digest on Rasa is based. He quotes from the Rasahr̥daya also. The verses quoted from this work in the Sarvadarśana-saṅgraha are found in the printed edition of Rasaratna-samuccaya.
The persistence of the tradition of processing and purifying mercury in various ways for different purposes, and its association with great names in the history of Sanskrit literature such as Nāgārjuna and Govinda Bhagavatpāda, should compel us to think seriously of the subject. Not only is there a vast literature on the subject, but also there are references to Siddhas which the mercurial science aimed at producing and actually produced, as referenced in popular works in Sanskrit literature. The Ratnāvalī of Harṣa and the Mr̥cchakaṭika of Shūdraka, who probably belonged to the beginning of the Christian era, refer to Siddha and his powers. Kallaṭa and Sōmānanda are well-known Siddhas amongst Kashmir Shaiva philosophers. Govinda Bhagavatpāda, the teacher of Shaṅkarācārya, was a recognized Siddha.
But there is a prejudice against the authenticity and correctness of the statements, which are found in Sanskrit works, particularly when they deal with scientific subjects; and more so if they belong to the Tāntric literature. No doubt the Tāntric literature, even when dealing with a scientific subject, such as chemistry, is not free from the influence of religion. But even assuming, for the sake of argument, that the Tāntric literature lacks the spirit of the science of today and contains extremely exaggerated statements about the powers of the chemical processes and preparations, of which it talks, are we justified in totally ignoring it?
India had a culture, long before the period, to which the cultural history of any of the advanced western nations which have developed various sciences to the modern extent, could be traced. She knew of chemicals, she had her chemistry, metallography, metallurgy, mineralogy, and medical system. If, therefore, we want to know, what Indian genius did on these subjects in the distant past, the only source that we can refer to is the Tāntric.
The religious element that we find mixed up with the treatment of a scientific subject, is nothing but the reflection of the main tendency of the period, during which the tantras were written. And the exaggerated statements about the powers of chemical processes and preparations, even if they be accepted to be such, can well point to the ideals of chemistry and other sciences.
The Rasēśvara system presents the crowning phases of the Indian system of medicine, called Ayurvēda. Among the eight well-recognized branches of Ayurvēda, Rasāyana is well-known. The Rasēśvara system presents an advance on the earlier conception of Rasāyana. According to Charaka, Rasāyana was efficacious in prolonging life, strengthening memory, etc. And restoring youth. But the Rasēśvara system holds that Rasēndra (mercury) processed and purified, in accordance with the ways and means stated in the authoritative texts on the system, is capable of granting immortality to the user.
The Rasēśvara system maintains that alchemy is an effective science. It asserts that mercury, processed and purified duly, if mixed with another metal such as iron, copper, silver, etc. in the proportion of one-thousandth of the total weight of the other metal, converts it into gold. It gives information about everything that is necessary for such processing and purification of mercury. It states the medicines, metals, and mechanical contrivances necessary for the said purpose. It gives color, taste, and smell and other details to identify the herbs. It states the characteristics of the places where they can be found.
It holds that metals can be given any color, that the original color of any metal can be changed, and states the ways and means of doing so. It classifies vegetables, plants, and trees on the basis of their metallic content. It states the characteristics of the regions where mines of different metals exist and the ways and means of purifying metals. It claims to give very correct ways and means of processing and purifying mercury, which if and when used, makes the body of the user such as can walk on water, can go thousands of miles without feeling fatigued, as cannot be bound and restrained by iron chains, cannot be cut or pierced by any weapon and cannot be burnt by fire; as can fly in the air, can talk to gods in heaven and can come back to earth.
According to this discipline, there is no antagonism or opposition between science and religion, they go hand in hand. There are certain religious practices to be maintained and certain religious rites to be performed in order to attain success in processing and purifying mercury so as to get freedom from death, diseases, and old age through its use. The internal repetition of a certain set of sounds (mantra japa), the spiritual initiation, and worship of the phallic form of shiva made of mercury (Rasaliṅga) are all necessary. And finally, success in the undertaking depends upon His Grace. It recognizes varṇa dharma and admits that birth in a higher varṇa makes a man better fitted to follow this system, but holds that birth in a lower varṇa is no barrier; that a śūdra can follow this system as well as can a Brāhmaṇa. It asserts the importance of the teacher, emphasizes the necessity of devotion to him, and warns against the dangers of attempting practice without the supervision of the teacher.
The philosophy on which mercurial science is based is different from that which serves as the basis of the medical science as presented by Charaka. The origin of Ayurvēda, as a science, which aims at preserving the health of the healthy and curing the diseases of the suffering, is traced to the Atharvaṇa Veda. But the philosophy, on which the science was based in the early stages, as we find in Charaka samhitā, was a mixture of the principle of the Vaiśēṣika and the Sāmkhya, with slight modifications. Thus, we find acceptance of the Vaiśēṣika categories, universal, particular, substance, quality, action, and inherence by Charaka. The three means of right knowledge, perception, inference, and verbal testimony are admitted, though apart from them, reason (yukti) also is acknowledged as a valid means. The theory of perception is identical to that of the Vaiśēṣika. Three types of inference, as found in the Nyāya, are admitted.
Charaka follows the Sāmkhya in presenting the twenty-four constituents of puruṣa. But here he identifies puruṣa with prakr̥ti, for the simple reason that both are avyakta. In presenting puruṣa in the light of Vaiśēṣika, however, he talks of puruṣa as a configuration of six, i.e., five elements with the principle of sentience (cētanā) as the sixth. He talks of cētanā also as a dhātu. He holds that puruṣa is of two types: (1) the one that is a mere configuration, as stated above; and (2) the other, which is a mere principle of sentiency and as such is beginningless, causeless, and eternal; it has objective knowledge, only when it is associated with the means of knowledge. It is pervasive.
He asserts that knowledge and action and fruition of the latter, as well as pleasure, pain, ignorance, birth, and death, are related to puruṣa, which is of the nature of a configuration, as has been stated above. The relation of puruṣa, as pure sentiency, with other tattvas, is due to the predominance of rajas and tamas. When, therefore, because of the predominance of pure sattva, they are case aside (nirākr̥ta), the main is on the sure way to liberation. He states the means to purify sattva, which, when purified, shines like the sun, free from dust, cloud, and mist, like a lamp in a breezeless place. Consequently, true knowledge (satya buddhi) arises, the veil of ignorance is torn, the mind withdraws from the external objects and rests on the ātman, the reality is grasped and the liberation is attained. The liberated sees no difference between himself and the objective world.
The Rasēśvara system does not follow the technique of the Nyāya or Vaiśēṣika. It adopts the technique of dualistic Shaivism. We have so far not found in the available literature any section that can give a clear idea of the fundamentals of the Rasēśvara as a system of philosophy. We can, however, get a glimpse of the system from stray philosophical references and they clearly demonstrate that it is a Shaiva system.
Thus, in the Rasārṇava, we find references to śaktipāta and pāśa. Isha and Sadāśiva are also mentioned. Rasabhairava, as an object of contemplation, is presented in the same terms as those in which is Shiva is presented: that is, an embodiment of Sadyōjāta, Vāmadēva, Aghōra, īśāna, and Tatpuruṣa. It also talks of Bindu, nāda, śakti, unmanā and Paramavyōma. It speaks of liberation as the attainment of similarity with Shiva.
In the context of metaphysics, it presents Mahēśvara, the Highest Lord, as omniscient and omnipotent, essentially subtle (sūkṣmarūpa) and free from all impurities (niranjana). Here we find the dualistic tendency mixed up with the voluntaristic. Mahēśvara is represented to create and annihilate everything by His will. The entire universe springs from Him has its being in Him and is essentially identical with Him.
The individual self, as has been stated earlier, is admitted to be essentially identical with the supreme. It has innate impurities and can attain freedom from them through His Grace. It can acquire an immortal and unaging body, made up of mercury and mica, through the use of the said metals, processed and purified in accordance with the directions given in the texts. It can attain liberation in the very lifetime on the earth and have the supernatural powers referred to earlier.
The Rasēśvara system holds that through the use of the processed and refined mercury an unaging, non-decaying or immortal and divine body can be acquired; that this body is made up of pure mercury and mica and as such is different from that which is made up of flesh, blood, and bones; that the acquisition of the former does not mean the loss and destruction of the latter; on the contrary, when the mercurial divine body is got, the physical body itself, which is the abode of the divine, becomes so strong that there is no fear of accidental death.
Accordingly, it holds that the liberation in life (jīvanmukti) is the consciousness or awareness of the identity of the soul, which is within the unaging and immortal body, with Shiva (ajarāmara dēhasya śivatādātmya vēdanam).
It is very skeptical about the liberation after death, which is promised by some schools of thought. It says that there is no direct evidence to convince us that the liberation after death does certainly take place, so that we can follow the path pointed out by these systems, without any doubt in the mind about the attainment of the objective. It condemns vāmamārga as a way to liberation. It is antagonistic to Aghōra pantha.
If we consider different texts of the school together, we find that it admits gradual liberation (kramamukti). Thus, the first stage seems to be liberation in life (jīvanmukti). Here there is awareness of the qualitative identity of the individual in the perdurable body with the Brahman. Here the duality of the individual and the Universal persists, much as does the distinction between the actor on the stage and the imaginary hero, with which he identifies himself. A soul that has a mercurial body is free to realize perfect identity with Shiva in respect of all attributes, at its own will.
It also believes that the soul that has a mercurial body goes to the world of shiva at the end of universal annihilation (pralayānta). Thus, it also seems to talk of liberation which is technically called sālōkya. It this admits three stages to of liberation or three types of liberation: (1) jīvanmukti, (2) sālōkya and (3) śivatā (gamana). It holds that the mercurial body of the Siddha dissolves just where the divine bodies of the gods do. The final stage of liberation is the attainment of similarity with Shiva. It is, therefore, a dualistic system.
It admits that true knowledge is the means to final emancipation; but asserts that such knowledge is not possible without the practice of yoga, the control over breath. The successful practice of yoga, however, requires a healthy and perdurable body. Such a body can be got through the use of Rasēndra only. Hence Rasēndra is the basic means to liberation; because yoga, without which the true knowledge is not possible, depends upon it.