The Journal of Hindu Studies Volume Issue 2014 [Doi 10.1093%2Fjhs%2Fhiu023] Stephen, M. -- The Dasaksara and Yoga in Bali

8/9/2019 The Journal of Hindu Studies Volume Issue 2014 [Doi 10.1093%2Fjhs%2Fhiu023] Stephen, M. -- The Dasaksara and

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TheDasaksaraand Yoga in Bali

Michele Stephen*

Independent scholar

*Corresponding author: [email protected]

Abstract: In Bali today one encounters many kinds of yoga, most of it comingfrom outside sources and geared to tourist needs and tastes. At the same time,yoga is a term that occurs in Balinese contexts far removed from these Western

influences, most saliently in the Balinese tradition of sacred texts. This articlefocuses on a group of esoteric practices based on the ten sacred syllables(dasaksara), showing that such practices clearly predate modern reform move-ments and constitute nothing less than the back bone of a distinctly Javo-Balinese yoga grounded in Tantric doctrines derived from South Asia.

The term yoga has become part of Western popular culture and carries its ownparticular meanings in that context. In Bali today one comes across all kinds of

yoga, most of it coming from outside sources and geared to tourist needs andtastes. Balinese interest in this imported yoga is attested to in the many popularpublications on the topic in Indonesian to be found in supermarkets and booksshops throughout the island. At the same time, yoga is a term that occurs inBalinese contexts removed from these recent Western influences, most salientlyin the Balinese written tradition of sacred texts. Confusion inevitably arises overthe use of the term yoga, even amongst Balinese themselves, since not only isthe term used quite differently in these different contexts, but also because the

yoga referred to in the Balineselontartexts was, and still is, essentially esoteric andsecret knowledge not available to the general populace. In other words, the ma-

jority of Balinese, i.e. those who are not able to read the texts which are written inlanguages no longer spoken, are themselves confused as to what is the nature ofthe yoga referred to in the Balinese scriptures, and how it might relate to the ideasand practices described as yoga by the foreigners who come seeking it in Bali. Iexamine here a group of esoteric practices, which clearly predate modern reform-ism, showing that they constitute nothing less than the backbone of a distinctively

Javano-Balinese yoga grounded in Tantric doctrines derived from South Asia.Ten sacred letters (dasaksara),1 together with theongkara(O:) form the basis of

various mystic and contemplative practices described in Balinese lontartexts usu-

ally categorised astutur. Although thedasaksaraare not unknown in the literature,the practices based on them are much richer, more extensive, more cohesive, andmore deeply grounded in philosophical and ritual elements deriving from South

The Author 2014. Oxford University Press and The Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies. All rights reserved.For permissions, please email [email protected]

The Journal of Hindu Studies 2014;138 doi:10.1093/jhs/hiu023

The Journal of Hindu Studies Advance Access published July 7, 2014

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Asia, than has so far been acknowledged or, I think, even recognised by Westernscholars.2 This article examines these practices, discusses their uses, and points toelements that clearly derive from Tantric Saivism.3 My aim is not to identify

specific Sanskritic or South Asian texts as the sources of the Balinese materiala task that must await future research by textual scholarsbut rather to identifycommonalities in symbolic patterns and modes of thought. I will, however, drawattention to certain striking parallels with theLinga P+ra>athat might indicate acommon textual source or actual derivation.

The Balinese yoga texts

Although thedasaksaraare referred to in many Balineselontar, these texts remain

largely unknown and inaccessible to Western scholars. Acri (2006, 2011a, 2011b,2013) has recently drawn attention to the key importance of two categories oflontartexts, thetuturand tattva, pointing out that these provide nothing less thanthe basis for a Balinese scriptural corpus. Although a few tattvahave been trans-lated into English (Acri 2011b, p. 153), the tuturand the usada textsthose mostoften dealing with thedasaksarahave been almost entirely passed over (Stephen2005, p. 104; Acri 2006, pp. 20809;2011b, pp. 14349). Transcriptions and trans-lations into Indonesian of several tutur, however, have now been published bygovernment agencies in Bali,4 indicating their importance in Balinese eyes and

making such material more widely available.My interest in these obscure texts came about indirectly. As a cultural anthro-pologist I did not expect when I began research in Bali to have to engage seriouslywith textual material, other than what had been published in translation. I soonfound, however, that the Balinese I consulted, regardless of whether they weresimple farmers or educated elite, kept referring me to the lontartexts whenever Iasked about such matters as dreaming and states of consciousness, the topic of myresearch. Since the texts clearly constituted the ultimate authority on such mat-ters in Balinese eyes, I felt I had to know something about what they might con-tain. As little material existed in translation in English, I commissioned a Balinesescholar expert in Old Javanese, the language of the texts, to translate some for meinto Indonesian. The manuscripts I obtained that referred to dreams and states ofconsciousness were almost invariably concerned with magic or with what the textsthemselves described as yoga. Based on my previous work on dreams inMelanesian cultures (Herdt and Stephen 1989;Stephen 1995), I was not surprisedby the first, but I was intrigued by the latter, as what I then knew about Balineseculture did not suggest that such played a prominent role prior to modern revi-sionist trends in Bali. The tuturtexts proved to be puzzling, but also fascinating,and because the material they covered seemed so important yet still largely un-

known, I continued to seek them out. If nothing else, I reasoned, they wouldprovide me with the basis of information on which to question knowledgeableBalinese. The more I attempted to engage with the lontartexts, the more I began to

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realise that without a clearer understanding of them, not only dreams and states ofconsciousness but the essential nature of Balinese religion would remain largelyunknown territory, despite all that has been written and published on that topic. I

persisted with the texts, despite the difficulties of dealing with transcriptions andtranslations, simply becauseeven in this rough formthey threw so much lighton the social actions I could observe.

In the course of my searches I came across many texts referring to yoga and tothedasaksara(see Appendix). I found that they fell roughly into two basic groups.There were those concerned mainly with death, dying, and achieving liberation(moksa) and those concerned with healing, protection, and obtaining magicalpowers. At first I thought I was dealing with quite separate mystical practicesbut eventually it became clear that the various texts were describing different

parts of the same practiceone part dealing with uses in life, and the other withdeath. Two texts I obtained,Siwa Linga SuksmaandTutur Aji Saraswati,5 focus just onthedasaksara, providing a description of their nature and origins, and instructionsas to how to use them to achieve health and healing in life, and to achievemoksaatdeath. A third text I obtained, the Tutur Tungked Gumi, which deals with thedasaksaraamong several other topics, also clearly demonstrates the link betweenthe rituals to be used in life and those related to death, as does a fourth unpub-lished text, the Tutur Sayukti.

The specific impetus to explore the dasaksara, and to write this article, came

about as a result of my ethnographic observations of Balinese death rituals(Stephen 2010). It was when I discovered the ten sacred letters inscribed on sym-bols of the dead persons body (pangawak) (SeeFig. 14) and painted on the shrouds(kajang) in which the body is wrapped, that I realised they were the same symbols Ihad previously seen in written texts and that they appeared to provide a summaryof the yoga expounded there. To check my observations I consulted a number ofBrahmana priests (pedanda), considered to be the experts in such matters, whoconfirmed my assumptions that the dasaksara used on these mortuary symbolswere in essence summaries of yoga described in texts. At this point it seemedworthwhile to return to the texts I had collected and read them from this newperspective.

TheAji Saraswatitext

I have chosen to base the discussion here on a transcription and translation intoIndonesian of the Tutur Aji Saraswati6 published by the Dinas Kebudayaan Bali in2004. This is a comparatively short text comprising three slightly different ver-sions of essentially the same material, with only the last version offering instruc-tions concerning death.7 The material covered in the Aji Saraswati is almost

identical to that contained in the unpublished Siwa Linga Suksma, including theinstructions concerning death; either might have provided the source of the other.I have chosen to use the published version as it is more easily available and less

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dependent on my interventions. The structure indicates that the text, like manyotherlontar, is a collection of notes complied on similar or related topics, presum-ably copied originally from different manuscripts, the scribe being unwilling to

summarise or synthesise the different accounts. Based on comparison with severalother texts (see Appendix), I consider the Tutur Aji Saraswatias providing a clear,representative statement of the dasaksaraand their uses.

The yogic meditation described in the Aji Saraswati consists in the contractingof the multiplicity of creation, and the body of the practitioner, to the oneAbsolute, O:, often said to be the greatest mantra in all Hinduism (Danielou1991, p. 39;Flood 1996, p. 222). The process begins with two of the most reveredmantra of Saivism, thepancabrahmans and them+la-mantra, in Bali referred to asthe panca brahma and the panca tirta (Nala 2006, p. 118). The five syllables

comprising each combine to give rise to the ten (dasa) aksara. The ten lettersare then compressed to the three components of theO:A, U, Mand finally toO:, until all is absorbed into n@da and Paramasiva. Thus in its basic form, thepractice described in this Balinese text is classically Saiva and Tantric, as will beimmediately apparent to those readers familiar with Saiva philosophy. We areevidently dealing with the yoga of reabsorption, or laya yoga, whereby themultiplicity of the created universe is returned to the unity from which itoriginated. White (1996, pp. 334) expresses this cosmological view with consid-erable sensitivity:

. . .yoga was a remounting of those stages through which the absolute poureditself out to form our manifold universe. This universe was a continuum, asingle reverberation, out of the primal essence that was brahman, down intosubtle (s+kXma) and gross (sth+la) forms of life and matter. All was intercon-nected, both structurally and materially; and because all being contained atrace of absolute brahman (in the form of the individual soul, the @tman)within, all was potentially, and thereby virtually, one with the universal es-sence. Yogic practice, meditation and insight (jn@na) were the means to realiz-ing, in the gnoseological sense of the word, this inner potential.

It is within such a framework of thought that the Balinese yoga texts need to beplaced.

TheTutur Aji Saraswaticovers the following topics, each of which I will discuss insome detail.

1. The origins of thedasaksara2. Preliminary practices3. Visualising the ten letters

4. Compressing the ten letters to the two5. Using therwa bineda in life;6. Dissolving theO: and facing death.



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The origins of theDasaksaraand the cosmic significance of sound

The Aji Saraswati text begins by referring to the origins of the aksara. The ten

letters, it explains, derive from a compression of the 18 letters of the Balinesesyllabary, plus amodre and aswalita character.8 The syllabary itself is divine, thetext shows, emanating from Sang Hyang Sandhirekha (Secret Letter/Sign), who isstated to be the god of gods, and to be present in the tips of the hair (Aji Saraswati,p. 29). From Sang Hyang Sandhirekha emerges Ekajalaresi, whose yoga createsSang Hyang Rahu.9 Sang Hyang Rahu brings into existence all kala (Skt: k@la), aterm which indicates not only demons and destructive forces in general, but alsotime. Then with the emergence of time, Sang Hyang Ketu10 brings into existencethe syllabary consisting of the eighteen letters HA NA CA RA KA DA TA SA WA LA

MA GA BA NGA PA JA YA NYA, adding a swalita and a modre to make a total oftwenty letters.Since he is identified as the god of gods, Sang Hyang Sandhireka evidently

refers to Paramasiwa, who is the highest level of the godhead and in othersimilar texts is said to exist in the human body in the tips of the hair.11

Giving Paramasiwa the title of Holy Secret Letter/Sign (Sang HyangSandhireka) emphasises that the potential for the emergence of the syllabaryis contained in the very highest and most pure point of creation. I am not ableto identify Ekajalaresi, but since he is identical with, or emanates directly fromParamasiwa, and since the demon time is produced by his yoga, it is clear hemust be a form of Siwa, as it is Siwa/Siva who creates time (Danielou 1991, p.201).12 The next entity to emerge is Sang Hyang Ketu (Holy Sign) who is attrib-uted with actually bringing the syllabary into being. This indicates that theletters of the syllabary themselves emerged with the existence of time, andfrom the same divine source. Following the logic of the emanation of thetattva according to Saiva cosmology, these three titlesSandhireka, Ekajalaresi,Ketushould be understood as referring to different levels of emanation of Siwa,and can be equated with Paramasiwa, Sadasiwa, and Siwa, or Siwa Guru, titlesmore commonly employed in the tuturliterature.

To appreciate the implications of such cryptic statements about origins, theyshould be placed more generally within the context of Saiva Tantric traditionsconcerning sound, the word, and the emanation and reabsorption of the uni-verse. The creative power of sound, and the letters which manifest it, are givengreat prominence in Brahmanical thought (Danielou 1991, pp. 3740; Flood 1996,pp. 22829), and especially in Tantric traditions (Padoux 1990). White (1996, p.43) refers to the phonematic emanation of the universe that characterisesTantric speculation. According to Hoens (1979, p. 90), In no human civilizationspeculation on sound and word has played such a lasting and important role as

in the Indian culture. Sound plays a key role in theories of how the entirecosmos emerges from a single point and periodically returns to it. In theSaiva view, cosmic creation takes place in several orderly stages, each stage of

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emanation being termed a tattva. The classic Saiva system lists 36 tattva(Padoux 1990, p. 77), although the actual number varies according to differentsources and traditions (Acri 2011a, p. 427). Creation starts from a pure, undif-

ferentiated, perfect Consciousness termed Paramasiva. The rule of emanation isthat the more subtle entities give rise to more coarse entities, until finally theoriginal pure Divine Consciousness devolves through many complex steps intothe gross material world (Davis 1991, pp. 435). At the same time, the tattvamay be reabsorbed back into their origins, which provides the logic for the

yoga of reabsorption. Versions of these theories concerning the emanationand reabsorption of the tattva are known in Bali and are described andexpounded in texts termed tattwa, such as the WPhaspati-tattwa (Acri 2011a,pp. 61931).

According to the various Tantric traditions, the sound (sabda) that is experi-enced in the material world is derived from more subtle potentials that precede itin the process of cosmic emanation. The production of human speech mirrors thecosmic process (Hoens 1979, pp. 968; Flood 2006, p. 152). Padoux (1990, p. 51)explains:

The process of emanation, related to speech, is variously described dependingon texts and schools; however, it appears generally as unfolding from an initialluminous vibration or sound (n@da), which is an extremely subtle state of pure

phonic energy, which through a series of transformations will become lesssubtle, forming a concentrate or drop (bindu) of sound-energy, from which,when it divides itself, worlds, humans, and language will come forth. Thiscreative evolution of the Word is also described as occurring through foursuccessive stages, or else through the gradual emergence of fifty phonemes(var>a), the mother energies (m@tPk@) of creation.

Sound, and the letters that represent it, do nothing less than bring into being allthe myriad objects contained in the material world. The letters themselves aresaid to be eternal, akXara (Danielou 1991, pp. 23738; Padoux 1990, p. 13): thesame term is employed in the Javano-Balinese texts we are considering. InKu>nalina yoga the fifty phonemes/graphemes of the Sanskrit syllabary, repre-senting the total contents of the universe, are depicted on the petals of the lotusthat comprise the six cakras in the human body. As these cakras are pierced bythe roused Ku>nalina, the universe, with its contents, are reabsorbed back alongwith the letters into her. Clearly, the idea that the material world is brought intobeing, and can be returned to its origins via lettered sound, is central toKu>nalina yoga.

Such may not be the source from which the Javano-Balinese texts derive, since

recent research by Acri (2006, 2011a) indicates a Saiddh@ntika origin for themrather than the non-dualist Kashmiri traditions that are usually associated withthe Ku>nalina yoga described by Padoux and others. Nevertheless, the Balinese



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practices, which have been dubbed Alphabet mysticism by some Western scho-lars, are evidently grounded in very similar concepts concerning the nature ofsound, speech and the eternal letters. As it is the case in early Saiddh@ntika

Sanskrit literature, the Ku>nalina force is not referred to by name inthe Balinese texts considered, which rather use epithets like amPtasanjawanathe nectar of immortality; nevertheless, the yoga both the Sanskrit andBalinese sources describe is based on visualising the reabsorption of the lettersof the syllabaryonly in this case it is the letters of theBalinese syllabary.

Preliminary practicesYamas,Niyamas, andPr@>@y@ma

The next section of the Aji Saraswati text consists of a brief but significantreference to preliminary yoga practices (Aji Saraswati, p. 29). It states that themodrecharacter along with nine letters (HA NA CA RA KA DA TA SA WA) becomethe dasasila, the Ten Virtuous Form of Conduct, while the swalita and thenine remaining letters (LA MA GA BA NGA PA JA YA NYA) become thedasabayu, the Ten Breaths. The two meet and thus give rise to the TenLetters (dasaksara). This rather condensed statement needs unpacking to appre-ciate its import.

Thedasasalaare defined in theOld Javanese-English Dictionary(Zoetmulder 1982, p.377), as per theWPhaspati-tatttwa(Sudarshana Devi 1957, p. 106), as the ten kindsof good conduct and are listed thus:

ahings@ akrodha

brahmacarya gurususr+X@

satya sauca

awyawah@rika @h@ral@ghawa

astainya apram@da

While noting that the term dasasala does not occur in the South Asian Sanskritliterature, Nihom (1995, p. 213) identifies the ten kinds of good conduct as the 5

yamas and 5 niyamas listed in the Panc@rthabh@Xya commentary to theP@supatas+tra, which itself is likely to represent a reelaboration of earlier versionsof the list found in S@nkhya and P@tanjala Yoga texts. Recent studies by Acri(2011a, pp. 51415, 2013, pp. 245) have also explored and confirmed these par-allels. Furthermore, as Nihom (1995, p. 211) observes, the WPhaspati-tattwaexpli-citly sets out that the dasasalaare to be understood and used as the foundation ofa yoga practice:

S@dhana means the yogic path, which has as effect the ten salas. The ten salaspromote yoga. . . . . The tensalas guard theyogaswarain hissam@dhi(SudarshanaDevi 1957, p. 106).

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The dasasala are thus the moral injunctions and restraints prescribed for theBalinese yogin as preparatory for undertaking a yoga practice.

In turn, thedasabayuprove to be the 10 winds (pr@>a) in the body as specified in

Sanskrit texts belonging to several different Saiva traditions (cf.Acri 2011a, p. 458),as well as in the system of Classical, i.e. P@tanjala, yoga. We find in the WPhaspati-tattwa(Sudarshana Devi 1957, p. 93) that the ten winds are listed as pr@>a, ap@na,

sam@na, ud@na, wy@na, n@ga, k+rma, kPkara, dewadatta, dhananjaya. The control ofthese ten winds or breaths,pr@>@y@ma, constitutes the very first of the six stages,parts or ancillaries constituting Saiva yoga (Xanangayoga) known from bothSanskrit and Javano-Balinese sources.

If we return to the cryptic statement in the Aji Saraswati that the ten sacredsyllables emerge when the ten virtuous forms of conduct and the ten winds

meet, we can appreciate that this should not be read as a meaningless orpurely mythological account of origins. What it states is that the dasasala(yama and niyama) along with pr@>@y@ma (control of the ten bodily breaths),combine to provide the foundation of the yoga practice based on the ten syl-lables. Evidently the Aji Saraswati text takes for granted a familiarity with themoral injunctions, physical restraints, postures and breath control that are thenecessary pre-requisites, and therefore just briefly refers to them (as we haveseen, they are described in detail in other Balinese texts, such as the WPhaspati-tattwa), and proceeds without further ado to describe the practices involving the

dasaksara.In popular Western understandings, yoga is considered to be primarily a set ofphysical techniques for exercising and cleansing the body, but in fact these bodilytechniques only constitute preliminary efforts to fit the adept for the mental andspiritual disciplines that are his primary goals. The classical yoga of Patanjalicomprises eight stages or ancillaries (aXb@nga yoga), the first four stages beingconcerned with actions: yamas, niyamas, @sanas, and pr@>@y@ma. The remainingfour stages consist of deepening stages of mental concentration and meditativeconsciousness:praty@h@ra, dh@ra>@, dhy@na, and sam@dhi (Gupta 1979, p. 165; Acri2011a, pp. 51011,2013, pp. 1824). In Saiva, as well as Buddhist, Tantric circles,

yoga was usually considered to consist of six stages, with the rest regarded aspreliminaries;13 furthermore, the focus on bodily postures in Hatha yoga was re-garded somewhat disdainfully by T@ntrikas (Gupta 1979, p. 165).S

:

ana>gayoga, theyoga of six stages, omitted theyamas, niyamas, and @sanas, while adding an extrastage of meditative consciousness termedtarka(reflection) (Vasudeva 2004, pp.36972,2011a, p. 511). Since this is the kind most commonly found in Indonesiaand Bali (Ensink 1974, pp. 19899;Acri 2011a, p. 510;2013, pp. 1822), and given thetreatment of the yamas andniyamas as mere preliminaries, it seems only reason-able to assume that the Aji Saraswati describes a form of Xana>ga yoga such as

described in theWPhaspati-tattwa. How the five stages of consciousness involved inXana>gayoga might relate to the specific instructions given in theAji Saraswatiwillbe discussed later.



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Visualising the ten letters: investing the body with the emanated universe

Having established the divine origins of the letters and briefly referred to the

moral injunctions and physical disciplines, including breath control (pr@>@y@ma/ the ten bayu) required to undertake the tasks about to be described, the AjiSaraswatitext moves directly to instructions for visualising the letters in the bodyof the practitioneri.e. instructions for the first stage of mental concentration tobe achieved. Each letter is assigned a specific organ of the body, a direction and acolor (Aji Saraswati, p. 21):

SA is on the heart, east, white is the color

BA is on the liver, south, red is the colorTA is on the kidneys, west, yellow is the colorA is in the north, on the gall bladder, the color is blackI is in the base of the liver and is five coloredNA is in the lungs, southeast, the color is pinkMA is in theurung-urung gading,14 southwest, orange is the colorSI is the northwest, on the spleen, the color is greenWA is in the northeast, in the chest cavity, the color is blueYA is in the centre on the top of the liver, and has five colors.

This provides specific information as to how and where the letters are to bevisualised and the precise order in which they are to be placed in the body. Twosteps are involved: first the cardinal directions (east, south, west, north, in thatorder) and the centre are visualised and then the intermediate directions (south-east, southwest, northwest, northeast) and centre (seeFigs 1and2).

Though not explained in the text, presumably because it was self-evident tothe Balinese s@dhaka, the ten letters are not simply randomly selected letters ofthe syllabary, but in fact are ten syllables making up two of the most famousSaiva mantra: the pancabrahmans, SA, VA/BA, TA, A, I, and the m+la-mantra,

nama$ siv@ya. As is well known, mantras play a key role in Tantric Saivism,being considered to represent in sound form the particular energies andpowers of deities (Tucci 1961, pp. 467). Deities thus have mantra bodies.Siva is said to operate in the material realm via this mantra body of power(Davis 1991, p. 48).

The five brahmamantra, or pancabrahmans, are based on five aspects of Siva, inhis Sad@siva form, viz. Sadyoj@ta, V@madeva, TatpuruXa, Aghora, and `s@na, eachrepresenting one of Sivas fundamental activities in the world. `s@na possessesthe activity of grace, TatpuruXa the activity of veiling, Aghora that of reabsorp-

tion, V@madeva of maintenance and Sadyoj@ta of emission (Davis 1991, p. 48).The five are also linked to the five directions, five colours, and associated withthe linga, the supreme manifestation of Sivas power, an association which is

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famously represented in the 6th century temple to Siva at Elephanta(Kramrisch 1981, pp. 17879; Collins 1988, p. 91;). Siva as the ruler of thefive directions of space Danielou (1991, pp. 21011) is represented by thefive brahmamantras, which may become separate deities. Davis (1991, p. 50)explains that Saiva texts establish a whole series of associative connections

linking the brahmamantras to the five kal@

s, the five elements, the thirty-sixtattvas, the parts of the body, the worlds, and so on: in short, to all basicconstituents of the cosmos. Kramrisch (1981, pp. 18283) provides a diagram-matic summary of Siva as the five mantra, demonstrating these and furthercorrespondences, and concludes that they hold the total reality of Siva, tran-scendent and immanent.

The m+la, or root mantra of Saivism, nama$ siv@ya, is explained thus byKramrisch (1981, p. 182):

Five is the sacred number of Siva. Each of the five letters or syllables of themantra of Siva,nama$siv@ya, has its equivalents on many levels of realization,while together the five syllables say Obeisance to Siva, signifying the assentand total commitment to Siva by his devotee.

Figure 1. Visualising the five aksara - SA, BA, TA, A, I.



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In theLinga P+ra>a (10.4853), Siva declares:

I am to be adored by the twice-born in the form of the five-faced deity with thefive-syllabled mantra (Shastri [ed.] 1973, p. 47).

Thepancabrahmans and them+lamantra are among the most frequently employed,and considered to be the most efficacious, of all Saiva mantra. To impose (ny@sa)these mantra on to some entity is to give that entity the powers of S iva, to enable

it to act as a Siva (Davis 1991, p. 48). The Linga P+ra>a (27.37) instructs thatworshipping the linga involves identifying with Siva by the use of these twomantras:

[the devotee must] transform himself into the body of lord Siva and begin toworship him.After purifying the body, he shall perform the rite of Ny@sa of them+lamantras.Everywhere the five Brahmans (Sadyoj@ta etc.) shall be fixed with the Pra>avain order.In the highly splendid aphorism viz., Nama$Siv@ya the Vedas are present insubtle form. Just as the holy fig tree is present in the subtle seed of Nyagrodhaso also the great Brahman is present in the great and splendid aphorism, all byHimself in a subtle form (Shastri [ed.] 1973, p. 107).

Figure 2. Visualising the ten aksara - SA, BA, TA, A, I, NA, MA, SI, WA, YA.

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Composed of the two supreme mantra in combination, as specified here in theLinga P+ra>a to be used especially for the worship of Siva, the Balinese dasaksaraare evidently a most powerful invocation of the deity.

Should the reader be inclined to think that such understandings were notavailable to the Balinese adept, we find explicit explanations in Balinese textsof the significance of the pancabrahmans as the body of Sad@siwa. Describing theemanation of the cosmos from paramasiwatattwato the next level, the WPhaspati-tattwarefers to Sad@siwa as residing in the centre of a lotus composed of his four

sakti (cadusakti). From the centre of the lotus, Sad@siwa utters mantra as he takesform, the mantra constituting his body`s@na as the head, TatpuruXa as themouth, Aghora as the heart or liver (hati), W@madeva as the genitals,Sadyoj@ta as the body, and with the syllable AUM as the whole (Sudarshana

Devi 1957, p. 78). This list is virtually identical to analogous lists found inSanskrit Saiva Tantras as well as P+ra>as of Saiva persuasion, among which isthe Linga P+ra>a (17.82):

`s@na for his coronet, TatpuruXa for his face, Aghora for his heart, V@madeva forhis private parts, Sadyoj@ta for his feet (Shastri [ed.] 1973, p. 64).

When the adept is instructed in the Aji Saraswati to recite the aksarasSA BA TAA Iand to visualise them in his body, it is clear that he is bringing the cosmos

into being in his inner reality and divinising his own body. The process iscontinued with the adept visualising the letters of the m+la-mantra in hisbody, following the order of the intermediate directions, beginning with NA isthe south-east and ending with YAin the centre. In the case of both mantra, theplacement is from left to right, or clockwise (pradaksina), indicating the processof cosmic emanation is taking place. The five directions and the five aksaras thusexpand out to become ten aksaras, representing the multiplex totality of theemanated universe (Fig. 2).15

Ma>nalas, and the nawa sanga

Tucci (1961, pp. 4950) in his classic study ofma>nalanotes that the five faces ofSiva, each assigned a different colour and direction, form the five segments of ama>nalathe four cardinal directions and the centre. The ma>nala, Tucci (1961, p.23) observes, represents the whole universe in its essential plan, in its process ofemanation and of reabsorption. It is not a static plan of space, but is revolvingaccording to the movements of emanation away from the centre and reabsorptionback towards the centre. The usual representation is a flower, usually the lotus.

The four or eight petals of the flower arranged around the centre symbolize thespatial emanation of the One to the many (Tucci 1961, p. 27). It is a symbolcommon to both Saiva and Buddhist Tantrism. The Linga P+ra>a (77.8694)



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of thedasaksaraon the internal organs suggests the well-known Tantric practice ofny@sa, which plays an important role in Saiva ritual in achieving the divinisation ofthe body. It consists of touching parts of the body while intoning mantra, thus

transforming the physical body into a body of mantra such as that possessed bySiva (Brooks 1990, p. 270;Davis 1991, pp. 478). Extensive use ofny@sais made inanother Balinese yoga text, S+rya-Sevana, which forms the daily practice of the

pedanda Siwa(Stephen n.d., pp. 1315).17

In imposing the brahmamantra and the m+la mantra on himself, the Balineseadept identifies himself with Sad@siva in the lotus, whom, as we have alreadyobserved, is described in the WPhaspati-tattwa as emanating his mantra body bymeans of the brahmamantra. Once the world in the self has been manifested inall its magnificence in the inner vision of the adept, and the emanation of

the universe is complete, the next task is to follow the cosmic path ofreabsorption.

Compressing the ten letters to the two: reabsorbing the body and universe

The letters are now to be imagined as turning in the opposite direction, indicatinga contraction of the universe and of the body. The adept is instructed to compressthe tenaksaras to five, in fact back to thepancabrahmans,SA, BA, TA, A, I. 18 This isachieved by visualising the rotation of the syllables so that WA entersA,SIenters

TA, MA enters BA and NA enters SA (Fig. 3). The instructions concerning the ro-tation indicate the specific direction in which it must be made. Whereas in the firsttwo steps the syllables were placed clock-wise (pradaksina) on the directions,symbolising outward expansion, they are now rotated in the opposite direction,anti-clockwise (prasawya), indicating the return or reabsorption.

In the next step, the five letters are compressed into three, thetri aksara. This isachieved by again rotating the syllables in a specific way, SA entering BA, i.e.moving in a clockwise direction; and TA moving to A, also clockwise (Fig. 4). Weneed to remember that the adept is picturing these movements in his mind. In thisway SA and BA combine to become A, TA and A become U, and YA and Iin thecentre becomeMA. The original circle orma>nalaformed by the ten syllables nowbecomes a vertical line (Fig. 5) composed of the three letters A, U, M, which rep-resent the three sounds that make up the sacredOM

:

. 19 To each of these letters theadept must now add theardhacandrasymbol (shaped as a half moon), the windhu(bindu, represented by a circle) and the n@da (a pear-shaped dot). This additionchanges the pronunciation of each letter, so that A U MbecomesANG UNG MANG,which constitutes the tri aksara (Fig. 6).

Following this, the adept must compress the tri aksara to become two. This isachieved by visualising the syllable UNGchanging to become AH, which then as-

sumes the form of anongkarasymbol standing on its head (ongkara sungsang). Thesyllable ANG becomes ongkara ngadeg, an ongkara standing upright in the usualmanner. The middle element,MANG, must be thought of as disappearing intos+nya



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Figure 3. Compressing the tenaksara to five.

Figure 4. Compressing the fiveaksarato three.

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Figure 5. The threeaksara become A, U, MA.

Figure 6. A, U, MA becomes ANG, UNG, MANG.



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(emptiness) and becomes windhu(Fig. 7). Having thus reduced the three syllablesto two, namely ongkara sungsang and ongkara ngadeg (Fig. 8), they must now belocated in the adepts body. The ongkara ngadeg is to be pictured on the chest,

throat, and tongue, while theongkara sungsangis to be imagined on the forehead,eyebrows, the space between the eyebrows, and the nose (Fig. 9). The text statesthat the reversed ongkara takes the form ofamerta and the standing ongkara theform of fire: these constitute the rwa-bhineda (two different, the split two) (AjiSaraswati, p. 36).

Using theRwa Bhinedain life

Once therwa-bhinedahas been clearly established in the adepts inner vision it can

be used to several different ends according to the Aji Saraswati. These include:protecting the self from magical attack, purifying the self of sickness and sin, andpurifying and healing others.20

Protecting the self from magical attack by placing the soul in the heart

The text (Aji Saraswati, p. 22) explains that the rwa-bhinedaconsists of twoongkara:ongkara ngdeg, which has the nature of fire that burns all impurities, and ongkara

Figure 7. ANG, UNG, MANG are compressed to become ANG and AH.

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Figure 8. ANG and AH becomeongkara ngdegandongkara sungsangrespectively.

Figure 9. Ongkara ngadegand ongkara sungsang, therwa-bhineda, visualised as placed in the body.



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sungsang, which has the nature of amerta.21 These are linked to the syllable ANG,located at the navel, andAHat the crown of the head. The adept must see in his mindthe two meeting, water falling on fire and producing vapour, which becomes the

atmaor soul (Fig. 10).22 Once the soul appears, the adept must take it and place it inhis heart. Safely stored there, the text explains, it cannot be found by any enemy,including those with magical powers, sorcerers and witches. Finally, the adept mustvisualise the sky and earth becoming one. This action of realising the atmain visibleform and then enclosing it in the safety of the heart is presented as an aim in itself,serving to protect the practitioner from all enemies and mystical attack.23

Purifying the self of sickness and sin

In order to purify the self from sickness and sin, the adept is instructed to visualisethe arrangement of the ten letters as previously described, i.e. to start the visua-lisation again at the beginning (Aji Saraswati, p. 23). When the ten are reduced tothe two, therwa-bhineda, he must imagine flames like a mountain in the sky andthat all the dirt in his body is firewood and oil that he puts into the fire (Fig. 11).Then he imagines that all the sickness and impurities have been reduced to ashesand recites the mantraOng awighna win@s@ya namah.

Figure 10. Using therwa-bhineda: fire and water meeting in the body to produce vapour, whichbecomes the soul and must be placed in the heart.

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The visualisation is continued by imaginingamertain a precious water container(dyun manik)24 located in the brain (seeFig. 12). Reciting the syllables ANG AH, theadept causes the amerta to flow down, whereupon it transforms into theongkara

sungsang (the reversed ongkara) located in the upper part of the cranial vault(diagram 12). The flow continues to the end of the nose and falls on to the n@daof theongkara ngadeg, which is on the end of the tongue, (Fig. 12) and then collectsin thewindhu rahasyamukha (a cavity at the base of the neck) and is then termedthecucupu mas(the golden phial).25 Then the adept must imagine that theamertaisfilled with clouds and that the phial containing it breaks. He imagines that amertais raining everywhere, and that this rain washes away all the ashes of his sickness,falls into the river and is washed to the sea (Fig. 13). He must imagine that the flowis to thepuser tasik (the centre of salt/the ocean) which is located at the hairs onthe first joint of the big toe and from there flows out into the bhuwana agung(theexternal world) (Aji Saraswati, p. 24).

The adept, having used this practice to cleanse himself of all sickness andimpurities, is now prepared to set up a place to worship whoever is his chosen

deity (Aji Saraswati, p. 24).26 He is enjoined to purify himself every night by usingtherwa-bhineda(Aji Saraswati, p. 36), indicating that the rituals the text describesare part of a regular spiritual practice ors@dhana.

Figure 11. Using the rwa-bhineda: all dirt and sin in the body is burnt up and reduced to ashes.



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Healing and purifying others

The text clearly states that the same method used to purify and heal the self can beused to treat other people. However, the instructions given are somewhat cryptic.They begin with a mantra to make holy water, while holding flowers and a kal-

pika.27 Then there is a mantra to say when sprinkling thetirta(holy water) on thepatient, then three mantra to recite when making offerings that are given as partof the rite,28 followed by three more mantra to be used in various ways (AjiSaraswati, pp. 2627). These passages of the text are more like disjointed notesthan the clear instructions that have preceded them. The other two versions (AjiSaraswati, pp. 3233; 38) say even less on the topic. However, what is clear is thatthe adept is to heal others by first purifying himself with the yoga practice of fireand water based on therwa-bhineda, and thus empowered for the task, he proceedsto make holy water to give to the patient by investing this water with the power of

mantra. In other words, the adept through his yoga practice is able to transfer theamertathat he has accessed within himself to a mediumwaterwhich can sub-sequently confer purifying and vivifying properties to another person.29

Figure 12. Causing theamertastored in the brain to flow down into the golden phial at the baseof the throat.

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The role of thedasaksarain healing rituals has been referred to in several recentstudies by Western scholars (Lovric 1987, pp. 703; 756; Zurbuchen 1987, p. 96;Rubinstein 2000, p. 59;Hobart 2003, pp. 21519), who indicate that such practicesare part of the living culture, and not mere textual curiosities.

Ku>nalina,khecaramudr@, andbhed@beda(unity in difference)

These purifications with fire, washing away of ashes, reversals, meetings of nosewith tongue, secret containers ofamertain the brain, and flooding of the body withamertato purify and heal that are described in the Aji Saraswatiwill seem only toofamiliar to those conversant with the Tantric literature from South Asia.

It is clear that visualising the rwa-bhinedais the aim of the compression of thedasaksaraand that meditating on it is the means to obtaining and exercising yogicpowers in life (cf. Ensink 1974, pp. 20205). The Aji Saraswati text provides no

explanation of the nature of the rwa-bhineda, beyond stating that it is composedof the twoongkaraand represents fire and amerta. This is presumably because theadept is assumed to already understand, as is explained in other Balinese texts,

Figure 13. Visualising the golden phial breaking, releasing the amerta to flow down the body,washing away the ashes to the sea.



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that such represents the basic duality in the self and the universe (seeSoebadio1971, p. 11). The two different, fire and amerta, are pradana and purusha, thecreative principles that give rise to the individual soul and the physical universe;

they are the god and goddess, Siwa and Uma in the self (Stephen 2005, pp. 712,107, 114; Nala 2006, pp. 13132). To bring about their meeting or unionas incausingamertato fall on fire to make apparent the soul, or to consume the bodywith fire and then flood it with amertais to gain control of the this creativepotential in the self for yogic ends. Although the term Ku>nalina is not employed,nor is any serpent power referred to, nevertheless, the rising of fire up from thenavel to meetamertafalling from above, conveys the same significance, the unionof god and goddess to obtain the nectar that purifies, heals and brings new life.Acri (2011a, p. 533) makes reference to similar practices relating to amPta and

Ku>nalina in other Javano-Balinese texts.White (1996, pp. 24052) has identified as a key theme in Tantric thought that of

bhed@bhedaunity in difference. Images of polar opposites existing in the body,he shows, take many formsserpents, birds, the substances used in alchemy,wellsbut the opposites represented are the same:

Above, male semen, moon, soma, nectar, Siva, fluidity and coolness are identi-fied with an upper well; and below, female uterine blood, sun, fire, energy, theGoddess, desiccation, and heat . . . (White 1996, p. 243).

The aim of yogic practice in all cases is to unite the two and thus obtain the longlife, health and magical powers that are conferred by the nectar that flows fromthis meeting. Therwa-bhinedaof the Balinese texts is clearly an expression of thesame pervasive theme in yogic thought; indeed the very term means the twodifferent and derives from Sanskrit. Previously (Stephen 2005, p. 97), I havedrawn attention to therwa-binedaas an important concept in Balinese mysticismbut one which did not appear to have a clear Saiva or Tantric parallel. Evidentlythis assessment needs revising as the additional material present here demon-strates a close correspondence with Tantric themes (see e.g. Goudriaan 1979, p.54;White 1996).

The symbol used to designate the rwa-bhineda, the two ongkara meeting at thehead, with the upper element reversed to achieve this, and the description of theirlocation on head, nose, throat, and tongue, and the meeting of nose and tongue,bring to mind another well known ritual of Habhayoga referred to as thekhecaramudr@ (White 1996, pp. 25258). This practice involves the turning back-wards of the tongue until it enters the opening at the back of the soft palate (theinside of the nose meeting the tip of the tongue), with the aim of thereby releasingthe flow of nectar stored in a secret place in the head (Flood 1996, p. 100;White

1996, p. 254;Mallinson 2007, pp. 1824).The burning up of the body, reducing it to ashes and then washing these away

withamertafrom the golden phial at the base of the neck as described in the Aji

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Saraswatialso closely resembles Tantric rituals ofbh+tasuddhi(Gupta 1979, p. 136;White 1996, p. 272;Flood 2000, pp. 50911) in which the elements of the body arepurified by fire and water.Bh+tasuddhiplays an important role in Tantric rituals in

the process of preparing the divinised body, through which the adept will act as adeity. It aims to purify the five bh+ta (or elements, earth, water, fire, wind, andether) that comprise the physical body by reabsorbing them to their source. Just aswe find in theAji Saraswatitext, it involves the removal of the soul, the burning ofthe body to ashes and the washing away of the ashes. However, the bh+tasuddhidescribed in South Asian sources is usually preparatory to creating a divine bodycomposed of mantra and usually followed by the ritual ofny@sa, (Gupta 1979, p.136;Brooks 1990, p. 270;White 1996, pp. 17980) where the mantras are imposed toform the mantra body. Another Balinese text, S+rya-Sevana (Hooykaas 1966), de-

scribes rituals identical withbh+tasuddhiand ny@sa(Stephen n.d., pp. 115), so wehave other evidence that these rituals are known in Bali, but the dasaksara prac-tices seem to combine the same elements in a different way, beginning with theimposition of mantra, then moving to manipulations of fire and amerta.

The aim of all these various practices, be they Ku>nalinayoga,layayoga or theBalinese yoga of the rwa-bhineda described here, is to access the nectar or amPtathat exists in the human body as a secret potential. The yogin strives to initiateand control the flow of the divine liquid, either flooding his body with it, ordrinking it to obtain power and bliss (Mallinson 2007, pp. 21). In this way he

prevents aging and disease, obtains magical powers (siddhi) and even immortality.Furthermore, the adept is able to transfer to or use these powers on behalf ofothers. As White (1996, p. 272) puts it:

The tantric worshipper or initiate who has transformed his own being throughthese processes becomes capable, in turn, of transforming other beings, indeed,the entire universe, through his limitless powers.

In subsequent work,White (2009) has radically revised the recent Western idea-lisation of yogins as purely holy men and spiritual teachers, demonstrating insteadtheir prowess in all kinds of magic including sorcery and black magic. Gavin Flood(2003, pp. 21112) also draws attention to the importance of magic in the Tantras.

Given these new understandings of the sinister side of the yogins role, theproliferation of the Balineseaksarapractices into magic and even sorcery becomesmore comprehensible. In the Balinese usada texts, which are as little known toWestern scholars as thetuturtexts,30 are to be found endless elaborations on theaksaraas the basis of healing rituals (e.g.Nala 2006), including, according to Nala(2006, p. 130), rites to kill.31 Popular understandings of yoga would tend to obscurethis connection between yoga and magic. The extraordinary embellishments and

elaboration of the dasaksara in the usada texts, the wariga (calendars)32 and themagic texts demonstrates that these practices, far from being modern import-ations, are woven into the very fabric of traditional Balinese culture.33



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The rwa-bhineda clearly expresses classic Tantric themes familiar from SouthAsian Sanskrit sources. The symbol of the twoongkarareversed so they meet at thehead may well be a Javano-Balinese innovation devised as part of the process of

adapting Sanskritic teachings to Javano-Balinese scripts. By means of it the wholeyoga practice of thedasaksaracan be expressed in the form of written symbols.

Dissolving theO:and facing death

The final section of the Aji Saraswati deals with the yogic means to face death.Using the aksara in life, as we have seen, requires reabsorbing the self and theuniverse to the creative duality of therwa-bhineda, fire (api) and amerta, ANG AH,

purusa/pradana. By bringing about various meetings between these pairs, the selfand the external world can be purified and vivified, conferring health, long life,and bliss.

At death, the text explains, one can choose which of several heavens onemight prefer. In the self, the rwa-bhineda must now be reversed so that AH ison the navel and ANG above (see Fig. 14 for the placement of the dasaksara onthepangawak, a symbol of the body at death). Instead of bringing about a meet-ing of the two, as is required for the uses in life, the creative duality must nowbe separated, allowing the soul to return quickly to heaven (Aji Saraswati, p. 38).Meditation on the aksara MANG will lead to the heaven of Iswara, onANG to theheaven of Brahma, on UNG to the heaven of Wisnu, while meditation on ONG(drawn in the text as a circle surmounted by the ardhacandra, windu andnada) isrequired to achieve Siwas heaven. After enjoying two thousand years in heaven,the adept will return to world as a great teacher or as a noble member of aruling family.

Alternatively, the adept can chose to achieve mokXa, ultimate freedom from thecycle of births and deaths, by meditating on the reabsorption of the ongkara. Thisinvolves the identifying of ones liver, gall bladder, and heart with the componentsof the upper part of theongkarai.e. theardhacandra(half moon), thewindu(circle)and thenada(pear-shaped dot). These three in turn must be assimilated to Siwa,Sadasiwa, and Paramasiwa, thus when the heart is visualised as dissolving into thenada, so the soul is dissolved into Paramasiwa or s+nya, the final dissolution (AjiSaraswati, pp. 3839). The Aji Saraswati does not attempt to explain these corres-pondences between the adepts internal organs, the parts of the ongkaraand thelevels of the godhead but simply assumes knowledge of them. However, they arethe subject of other texts such as those mentioned earlier; the Jn@nasiddh@nta inparticular provides very extensive explanations of correspondences between theparts of the body, the parts of the ongkara, and the tattva, the stages of the em-

anation of the universe (see, e.g.Soebadio 1971, p. 147). According to the principlethat what is in thebhuana alit(microcosm) is the same as what is contained in thebhuana agung(macrocosm), the whole universe is present in the human body, thus

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meditation upon the appropriate parts brings about cosmic consequences, namely

guiding theatmato its ultimate goal.Unlike the sections on the uses in life, this section on facing death consists of

statements of possibilities rather than instructions for practice, and represents but

Figure 14. A line drawing of thepangawak, symbol of the body of the deceased, inscribed with thedasaksaraand ANG and AH.



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a bare summary of information given in other more comprehensive texts dealingwith death and liberation, such as the Jn@[email protected] The focus of the medita-tions is giventhe aksara, Ang Ung Mang and so on, and the pra>avabut precise

methods are lacking. The reader of the Aji Sarawatiwould need either to consult aguru or search for other texts in order to gain further guidance at this point. WhatI think this version of the Aji Saraswati shows is that the adept who aims toundertake a full s@dhana leading ultimately to mokXa must first establish a yogapractice with the daily rituals of burning by fire and flooding withamerta, therebyexperiencing deep meditation, until finally he will be well prepared to enter

sam@dhiand face death when the time comes.The logic of the practice, as a whole, as constituting a cosmic reabsorption, or a

form of laya yoga, now becomes apparent. It begins with the syllabary and the

dasaksara as the embodied selfand the manifested physical universeandthen returns the many to the creative duality from which all originatedtherwa-bhineda/purusa/pradana. When death comes, this duality is returned to One,theOngkara, which is finally absorbed back into the divine and ultimate conscious-ness from which all originated, Paramasiwa. This mirrors the cosmic process ofemanation and reabsorption as described in other Balinese texts, such as theWPhaspati-tattva and the Bhuwanakosa (3.80, Gautama 2009, p. 29), which statessuccinctly: All the world with its contents emerges from the Lord Siwa and dis-appears back into the Lord Siwa (sakweh ning jagat kabeh, mijil sangkeng Bhab@ra

Siwa ika, lana ring Bhab@ra Siwa ya).The O:or O:k@ra, the oldest and most venerated of all Hindu mantras (Padoux

1990, p. 14), is considered to be the sound of the absolute which manifests thecosmos (Flood 1996, p. 222). Meditation on the dissolution of the O:at death is aclassic theme, attested to in a famous quotation from the Bhagavad-Gat@(8.1213):

Closing all the gates, locking up the mind in the hPdaya,Fixing his breath within the head, rapt in yogic meditation;Who so departs leaving the body uttering AUMBrahman in one syllable

repeatedly thinking on Me [Krishna], he reaches the highest state.(trans.Gandhi 2003, p. 70)

Thus theLinga Pur@>a(91.44-45, 4952) describes how the yogin must meditate ontheO:at the time of death:

If he becomes exhausted due to the practice of dh@ra>@, the wind begins tofunction upwards. He shall fill the body with the wind along with theO:[email protected] yogin identifying himself with the O:k@ra shall merge himself in imper-ishable being. He shall become imperishable thus.The yogin identical with the O:k@ra becomes identical with the imperishableBeing. Pra>ava is the bow, ?tman is the arrow and Brahman is the target. Itshould be pierced by one who does not err. He shall be concentrated therein as

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in regard to the arrow. The single-syllabled word O: is hidden in the cavity(Shastri [ed.] 1973, p. 483).

This description echoes similar passages of Javano/Balinese texts, such as chapters5 and 10 of theJn@nasiddh@nta. Although theAji Saraswatidoes not employ preciselythese words, they offer a perfect metaphor for the practices it describes. The

pra>ava, including ardhacandra, windhu, and nada, provides the bow to projectthe soul to the ultimate goal, Paramasiwa/mokXa. An analogous simile is foundin theTattvajn@na(seeAcri 2011a, p. 552). These similarities with theLinga Pur@>a,and other parallels described earlier, such as the use of the pancabrahman-mantrasand them+la-mantra, the five faces of Sad@siva, the directions and colours, and thema>nala symbolism, all combine to suggest that the Linga Pur@>aitself a late

medieval pastiche including porti

Documents

The Journal of Hindu Studies Volume Issue 2014 [Doi 10.1093%2Fjhs%2Fhiu023] Stephen, M. -- The Dasaksara and Yoga in Bali