PH 9 cidvat–tac–chakti-saṃkocāt malāvṛtaḥ saṃsārī
cid-vat: full of Consciousness
tat: that
śakti: power
saṃkocāt: due to contraction, limitation
mala: impurities
āvṛtaḥ: covered, impure, limited
saṃsārī: a person who experiences saṃsāra, worldly existence, transmigrating soul
Consciousness is covered by impurities due to the contraction of its powers and becomes a transmigrating soul.

In his introduction to this ninth sūtra of the Pratyabhijñā-hṛdayam (PH) Kṣemarāja points out the discrepancy between the highest consciousness and limited individuality and seeks an explanation of the mechanisms which create that limitation. PH 9 says: “Consciousness is covered by impurities due to the contraction of its powers and becomes a transmigrating soul.”

“Consciousness” refers once again to Citi, the highest absolute Consciousness. As in PH 5, there is the idea of contraction (saṃkocāt). Here, the contraction of the power of the absolute Śakti, is explicitly mentioned. Then this sūtra elaborates on the process of contraction: the individual is covered by malas, the impurities (mala–āvṛtaḥ). The result is that the individual becomes a transmigratory soul (saṃsārī). So here, as in the fifth sūtra, is described this process of contraction which creates the individual. But PH 9 goes further by delineating some mechanisms for that contraction, as well as some consequences. Kṣemarāja specifically points to the malas to describe the limitation that hampers the freedom of Consciousness.

This contraction is described as a veiling or concealing. Mala literally means “taint, impurity, dust, dirt, or dross.” The malas are what cover, conceal, and limit the pure, full, and free Consciousness. There are three types of malas: the āṇava-mala, the māyīya–mala, and the kārma–mala. These are how the Tantric tradition explains the limiting conditions that contribute to ignorance, trap us in our surface life, and hamper the free expression of the heart. Āṇava–mala is the mūla–mala, the “root covering,” the primal limiting condition that reduces the universal consciousness to an aṇu, a limited being. This root contraction yields the two other malas. They can be thought of as progeny or consequences of the āṇava–mala. I have heard the āṇava–mala likened to an earthquake, which shifts the plates in the earth, and the other two malas are like the resulting tsunami.

This essay addresses the first mala, the āṇava–mala, which is the primal limiting condition that reduces the absolute Consciousness to the individual, the aṇu. The inherent nature of the Absolute is svatantra, absolutely free, and out of that freedom the Highest chooses to conceal itself. The One becomes the many. The wave arises, as though separate from the ocean of Consciousness. We each become the aṇu, an individual, which is limited through the crimping this āṇava–mala creates. Aṇu means “individual,” but it also means “small” like an atom, so there can be a feeling of being small, feeling less than full. This can lead to a sense of a lack of fulfillment as well as a sense of imperfection.

For the vast sky or the ocean of Consciousness to embody—to materialize—it has to shape itself and take on a covering of skin. What was unlimited is squeezed into limitation. It could feel like going barefoot all summer then having to squash your feet into winter shoes or bundling up with clothing that’s too tight so that movement that was once unlimited now feels constricted and less free.

That constriction has experiential consequences. Without the freedom to do or be anything, we have the experience of being imperfect, incomplete, unsatisfied, and incapable. We feel imperfect due to separation from the Perfect. From this root contraction of the āṇava–mala, the thought arises, “I am separate.” We feel disconnected from Source. There is a sense of loss, a vague feeling that there is more, and an experience that something is lacking. We feel empty because of separation from fullness/pūrṇatva. This can be experienced as feelings of inadequacy, unworthiness, or a lack of self-esteem.

As negative as this sounds, it can also be the impetus for a desire to reconnect with the Highest. Feeling a lack, we seek fulfillment. This can manifest in many ways, including how we might feed the ego or seek experiences or use drugs or sex or food to fill us up. Or we can turn toward the Highest, toward reconnecting with that which is the source of all fulfillment. It is this sense that there is something more that turns us toward teachers, teachings, and practices to help us reconnect with that Source.

Reflect and Explore

How do you see the malas operating in your life?

Specifically, consider the āṇava mala:

• When do you feel the most unworthy, small, or imperfect?

• When do you feel the most worthy, full, or complete? What helps manifest that feeling?