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| Kamalakara Mishra with students |
(from "Kashir Shaivism - the central philosophy of Tantrism"):
Kamalakara Mishra: The most significant contribution of Tantra is in the axiological field — the field of values. The Tantric seers, like Indian seers in general, were aware from the beginning that there are two basic sets of values in life. One is the ethical value of goodness or morality and the other is the material value of pleasure or happiness. The former is technically called śreya, meaning “the good,” and the latter Is preya, or “the pleasant.” In the Indian system there are four values: dharma (morality), artha (money), kāma (satisfaction of desires), and moksa (self-realization). Morality comes under "the good"; money and satisfaction of desires fit under "the pleasant."
The seers were also aware that in actual life there is a dichotomy between "the good" and "the pleasant"; people have to undermine or sometimes even totally suppress "the pleasant" in favor of “the good." The seers were therefore quite clear that a value system that is merely "good" with no element of "the pleasant" is not practical. Therefore, they sought to discover a system that synthesized within itself both "the good" and "the pleasant,” or truth and beauty, or the good of oneself and the good of others. They found the answer in what is called Self-realization, or moksa. Moksa is not an otherworldly value, but the ground of overall success in life. All talent and all power to work efficiently and gracefully in every walk of life come from the Self, just as all the electric power that moves fans and lights lightbulbs comes from the powerhouse. All creativity, artistic or otherwise, springs forth from the Self. It is from the Self that the illumined understanding of anything comes to the mind as a spontaneous flash in a phenomenon technically called pratibhā. Therefore, the more a person is in line with the Self, the more the power flows. Thus, a person of Self-realization will be a better teacher, a better philosopher, a better scientist, a better leader, a better businessperson, a better manager, and so on.
Self-realization incorporates within itself both morality and the satisfaction of desires. Morality is naturally present in moksa for two reasons. First, the Self that is attained in moksa is naturally good. That is why it is called Śiva (literally “the benign”). It would be illogical to think that bad actions could spring forth from a naturally benign self. Ramakrishna Paramahansa used to say that just as only honey can drop from a honeycomb, only good actions can spring forth from the Siva-state.
Second, in the state of moksa, or Self-realization, one feels one's unity with all. “He becomes one with all.” [sarva-bhūtātmabhūtātmā -BG 5.7] It is quite natural for such a person to do good to all.[sarvabhūtahiteratāh - BG 5.25] What obstructs the Self is called ignorance (ajñāna). Ignorance is defined as the sense of duality (dvaitha-prathā or bheda bhuddha). It is the sense one has that something or someone is “other.” [dvaitaprathā tadajñānaṃ tucchatvādbandha ucyate - Tantraloka 1.30] When this sense of duality is dispelled and one’s unity with all is realized — that is, universal love is attained — then one of the most essential characteristics of Self-realization is achieved.
It is obvious that selfishness, or the sense of duality, is the root of all immorality. One can exploit a person only when one considers him or her as other than oneself. But if one considers that person a part of oneself, how can one exploit him or her? A Self-realized person will not exploit or harm anyone, as Self-realization is a state of perfect universal love. On the contrary, he or she will help all. Thus, Self-realization is a state of natural, spontaneous morality.
Self-realization synthesizes within itself both the satisfaction of desires and morality, both "the pleasant" and "the good." In Self-realization one’s own best interest and the good of others become one; it is a state that is at once both good and pleasant. In our empirical experience, too, we can find at least one phenomenon that is an example of this synthesis: the phenomenon of love. In love, the good of the lover and the good of the beloved person become one. A mother, for example, feels her oneness with her child and feels happy in the happiness of the child. Love naturally prompts good action by the lover toward the beloved. Moreover, besides prompting beneficial activity towards the beloved person, love gives immense satisfaction and joy to the lover him or herself. The rapture of love is so deep that only a true lover can fully understand it. To use a phrase from Shakespeare, “It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.” Love is the very nature of the Self, and a person of Self-realization will be a true lover. Love is the chief characteristic of the saints and sages who have achieved some amount of Self-realization. The more we realize the Self, the greater is the natural flow of love in us.
The uniqueness of the Tantric conception of moksa, or Self-realization, is twofold. First, according to Tantra, moksa is not an otherworldly value, it is the ground of overall success in every walk of life. This corrects the misconception that moksa is somehow separate from the present life. Second, moksa, according to Tantra, does not consist merely of “the good” but is a synthesis of both what is good and what is pleasant. This notion of moksa modifies the popular Indian classification of the four values of life. According to the popular classification, money (artha) and the satisfaction of desires (kāma) co e under “the pleasant” and morality (dharma) and Self-realization (moksa) both come under “the good." But according to the Tantric classification, morality alone comes under “the good" - as moksa is really a synthesis of both "The good" and "the pleasant" and is thus a value higher than even "the good."
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