Spirituality - Volume 1

By Gabriel Pradiipaka

I am very happy to present you, dear reader, this series of books about Spirituality in general. These books are being published in several volumes. In them, from volume to volume, Gurujī, little by little, increases the depth and difficulty of his Teachings. Why? In order to give you a very systematic spiritual knowledge by including more and

• Language: English
• Publisher: István Tamás Énisz
• Release date: Apr 9, 2021
• ISBN: 9781637329139

Gabriel Pradiipaka

Gabriel Pradīpaka, the founder and leader of the spiritual movement "Parabhairavayoga" and its organization called "Parabhairavayoga Foundation", is a Guru with many followers around the world. His spiritual name, Pradīpaka, means "the one who sheds light", the one who sheds light on the secret meaning of sacred scriptures. Gabriel Pradīpaka belongs to the lineage of Bhagavān Nityānanda whom he views as his Grandguru. He considers Svāmī Muktānanda Paramahaṁsa to be his main Guru. And he sees Svāmī Lakṣmaṇa Joo as his Non-dualistic Kashmir Shaivism Guru. Inspired by the task of Svāmi Muktānanda Paramahaṁsa who brought Non-dualistic Kashmir Shaivism to the West, Gurujī has taken on the mission of introducing people all over the world to the treasure of this amazing Teaching. Gurujī was born in Rosario, Argentina, in 1963. He studied and worked in the famous Siddha Yoga community led by one disciple of the great Svāmī Muktānanda until 1989. Then, during 1989-1991 and 1995-1997 he studied, taught and worked under the guidance of one teacher. In 1997 Gurujī embarked on his own path as teacher of Non-dual Shaivism of Kashmir (Trika) and began to help spiritually-oriented people in the process known as "Self-realization" or "Final Liberation". He became Guru in 2010 after attaining Liberation. Being a fully Self-realized yogī, Gabriel Pradīpaka is capable of awakening the spiritual potential of seekers through Śaktipāta, Divine Grace bestowal, which help them transcend their limitations. Proficient in Sanskrit, Gurujī translates primordial texts of ancient Non-dualistic Kashmir Shaivism Masters, teaches Trika and Sanskrit. Among his translations are: Śivasūtra-s, Abhinavagupta's Paramārthasāra, Vasugupta's Spandakārikā-s and Kṣemarāja's Spandanirṇaya, Pratyabhijñāhṛdayam and Śivasūtravimarśinī, etc. He is right now also in the process of translating the full Tantrāloka. His teachings and translations are available on his website (published in 6 languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Hungarian, Russian and Hindi) at www.sanskrit-trikashaivism.com Gurujī wrote his own scriptures in full agreement with the teachings of Trika: Svātantryasūtram, Parabhairavayogasaṁsthpanapracodanam along with its short commentary, and many others. Visit www.parabhairavayoga.org, the official Parabhairavayoga Foundation website, home of Parabhairavayoga based on the teachings of Gurujī.

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Spirituality

Attaining Supreme Happiness

Volume 1

Treasures of spirituality

Copyright © 2021 Gabriel Alfonso Arce

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher.

ISBN: 978-1-63732-913-9

Cover artwork by Deliisium (2021)

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Editing by Georgina Klómer, Balázs Zubák

First printing edition 2021.

Published by Gabriel Pradīpaka (Gabriel Alfonso Arce)

[e-mail]

www.parabhairavayoga.org

Spirituality

Attaining Supreme Happiness

Volume 1

The first volume of an exploration into the unfathomable Ocean of Universal Consciousness

by

Gabriel Pradīpaka

(Founder of Parabhairavayoga)

2021

Parabhairavayoga

Specially dedicated to Parabhairava, the Lord of the whole universe as well as one’s own Self

Gabriel Pradīpaka

Foreword

I am very happy to present you, dear reader, this series of books about Spirituality in general. These books are being published in several volumes. In them, from volume to volume, Gurujī, little by little, increases the depth and difficulty of his Teachings. Why? In order to give you a very systematic spiritual knowledge by including more and more Sanskrit, more and more quotes from different scriptures accompanied with his detailed explanations, and such. Gurujī is making this great effort for two reasons: To reconnect spiritual aspirants with their own Self and to make Trika Shaivism knowledge up to date and fully alive.

These books are therefore a complete encyclopedia of Spirituality. Systematizing this divine spiritual knowledge in his usual consistent manner, Gurujī explains at first everything in a very simple way. Next, he starts to gradually increase the difficulty. On that account, his Teachings will be understandable to spiritual aspirants of different degrees, since the complexity will increase from volume to volume in a gradual way.

Because of his spiritual name —Pradīpaka, one who throws light—, Gurujī sheds light on the meaning of the scriptures and on spirituality as a whole. So, it is his essential nature the real doer of all this. The reader will receive books featuring a wide range of topics, e.g. the different theories regarding the origin of the universe, spiritual ignorance, Guru and disciple, different Indian philosophies, universal manifestation, Sanskrit language, explanations of Parabhairavayoga’s scriptures, etc.  With the help of all this divine Knowledge you can put the teachings into practice right away. Gurujī will explain to you how to do it.

Goal of life is Liberation. In human history, many people have always searched for freedom. However, according to Trika Shaivism, that is not real Liberation. Real Liberation does not mean that your body should be free from some prison and things like that. Real Liberation amounts to attaining His Svātantrya or Absolute Freedom (i.e. the Absolute Freedom of the Free Lord). In this way, this pure Knowledge revealed by Gurujī through this series of books will then lead you to Liberation, to your Absolute Freedom, and never to more bondage!

Natalia Ambikā

Wife of Gurujī

January, 2021 – Moscow, Russian Federation

Preface to the First Edition

I am very pleased to present for the first time this book which deals, in several volumes, with spirituality as a whole.

Take these volumes as a kind of handbook for all the spiritual aspirants (sādhaka-s) who are desirous to quickly advance in their spiritual path. I am taking them from the very beginning up to the final Goal known as Liberation (spiritual enlightenment). This highest Goal is full of the greatest Happiness and Freedom. It consists in perceiving that all is Yourself appearing in those forms. So, the entire universe is beheld as one with the blessed Lord of all, who is your own Self.

A life devoid of this attainment of Liberation is like a body without a head, i.e. absolutely useless. You have come to this little planet to realize your divinity and not for any other thing. Therefore, your main Goal has to be always the revelation of your internal Beauty and its reflections in the form of the whole universe. There is no other achievement which is greater than that.

I have had to work hard in order to present a series of volumes in which I increase the difficulty very gradually for the reader to firmly advance in his search of the Supreme Self. That is why, though Sanskrit is rather minimal in the first volume, it becomes more frequent in the remaining volumes. My purpose is to help the spiritual aspirants in their problems and not to simply rejoice myself in a scholarly treatise only understood by an elite.

I am speaking always from the viewpoint of Trika Shaivism, a philosophical system that was extensively developed in Kashmir, India. Another name for this philosophy is, therefore, Non-dual Shaivism of Kashmir or plainly Kashmir Shaivism (despite the last designation is not completely accurate).

I received the Śakti or Power of my Guru, Svāmī Muktānanda Paramahaṁsa, thirty-seven years ago, which opened my eyes to my own Self. Six years after that, in 1989, I started my serious studies in Trika Shaivism and Sanskrit. In short, I have been studying and teaching Trika Shaivism and Sanskrit for the last thirty-one years. In 2010, I became a Guru after receiving His full Grace. And in 2016, I founded Parabhairavayoga (a new Yoga based on the glorious teachings of Trika Shaivism).

May you have so much delight reading this book as I had writing it!

Iti Śivam – May there be welfare for all!

Gabriel Pradīpaka

Parabhairavayoga Founder

December, 2020 – Moscow, Russian Federation

Introduction

Before starting with this introduction, I want to express my heartfelt thanks to Balázs Zubák, Georgina Klómer and my wife, Natalia Ambikā, for their invaluable help in the making of this book.

The present book (the first volume of this collection) deals with the first spiritual teachings to be given to beginners and middle aspirants in general. The structure of the book is now abridgedly explained:

Spiritual ignorance (the root of all the problems): A concise but deep explanation of the origin of all the problems in one’s own life. Its name in Sanskrit is Āṇavamala (impurity related to the aṇu or atomic self —i.e. the limited individual—). This spiritual ignorance consists of two aspects: Pauruṣājñāna (ignorance about the Self) and bauddhājñāna (intellectual ignorance). The first aspect is only removed by the Grace of Parabhairava (the Supreme Self), and the second aspect is removed by studying the sacred Parabhairava’s scriptures.

Self — Power of the Self and limited individual (the eternal triad): One of the reasons why Trika (lit. triple) Shaivism is called so is because it is a philosophical system which explains the nature and mutual relationship of Śiva (the Self), Śakti (Power of the Self) and nara (the limited individual). In this chapter I explain exactly that then.

Adapting the ancient teachings to the modern times (a necessary task): While the Truth is always one and the same thing, the way this Truth is explained changes across the centuries. In this chapter I made a great effort to show ancient teachings in a new light.

Learning to think rightly (using one’s own intellect properly): In this chapter I analyze several concepts that are completely erroneous. I teach about the Highest Reality, the limited individual, etc.

Guru and disciple (the eternal pair): The characteristics of the true Guru-s, the false Guru-s and the spiritual aspirants are studied here to a certain extent.

Removing elementary doubts (basic doubts in beginners): Several common doubts that beginners in spirituality very usually have are fully answered in this chapter.

Confusion between Vedānta and Trika Shaivism (differences between these two well-known viewpoints): Here I specially explain in detail the main differences between Advaitavedānta and Trika Shaivism.

Learning to reason adequately (Using the intellect in the right way): When you have bauddhājñāna (intellectual ignorance) still not removed, you reason wrongly. Here I teach how to reason in a proper way about some topics.

The 36 categories of universal manifestation (a very brief explanation of the tattva-s): The 36 categories or tattva-s is a complex subject-matter I will fully explain in the second volume of this collection. Anyway, I present in this chapter an enumeration together with a concise description of each of them.

Dealing with some ideas (using the right reasoning in practice): Previously I taught you how to reason rightly. Now I teach you how to use that right reasoning in practical matters.

FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions): 80+ questions (and their respective answers) about a variety of spirituality-related topics.

Tattvic charts (the framework of the manifestation): A number of charts showing the arrangement of the 36 categories of universal manifestation.

Sanskrit alphabet (the alphabet of the sacred language): Here it is shown the entire Sanskrit alphabet both in original devanāgarī (signs) and IAST transliteration.

Guide to pronunciation (learn to pronounce Sanskrit adequately): By means of this simple guide, the rudiments of a proper Sanskrit pronunciation are taught here.

Guru Gabriel Pradīpaka

Parabhairavayoga founder

December, 2020 — Moscow — Russian Federation

Spiritual ignorance

The root of all the problems

Spiritual ignorance is the source of all your problems. You may blame any other factors for your misery, but you are wrong. For example: You may blame other people like the origin of your troubles, you may blame weather, the movement of planets, destiny, etc. Anyway, I say that the source of your suffering, wherever you live on this little planet, is always your inherent spiritual ignorance.

Or you can go deeper into your exploration of the real root of your ordeal and think that it is your own physical body which is the source of all this suffering. Or even you may start to think that the source is your ego, always occupied in gaining power over other people. Or also you might come to think that the innumerable meaningless thoughts in your mind are the cause of your trouble. Or you can go beyond all that and start to consider the accumulated impressions of all your actions to be the source of your affliction. Or, why not, even God Himself could be the source of all your trouble. Anyway, a fact remains: Spiritual ignorance is the source of all your problems.

Or you may even think this way: My present problems are here because I cannot yet solve them all. Accordingly, you make enormous efforts to finally resolve them. However, soon you realize that new problems will come to you. So, you will have to keep resolving problems after problems through that course of action. In a nutshell, you cannot get rid of all the trouble once and for all, but you rather replace problems with more problems. If solving problems were the solution to problems, why do you keep having them then? As a result, a fact remains: Spiritual ignorance is the source of all your problems.

What is a problem? It is something causing affliction. A fact in itself is not a problem. A fact has to be somehow linked to a particular person experiencing that fact in order for it to become a real problem or even the opposite. This is why the same fact means different things among different people. The same fact could make a person laugh in one country and make another person cry in a different country. Therefore, you could start to think that the link between a person and a fact is the source of your problems, but you are wrong once again. It is not!

The source of the whole trouble is much deeper that all that and its name is spiritual ignorance or, in Sanskrit, Āṇavamala (lit. impurity of a limited individual). I will explain Sanskrit to a certain extent later on. For now you should understand that this ignorance is not related to objects, whether they are subtle (e.g. ego) or gross (e.g. physical body, external things). It is not related to any object at all.

In order to remove ignorance about objects you have to go to schools, universities and so on. There you learn many things about different objects such as mind, body, electricity, atoms, etc. Despite all that effort, your spiritual ignorance stays the same. It cannot be eliminated by that type of knowledge. You need a special kind of instruction to do so.

So, what is this spiritual ignorance? It is ignorance about the Self. In simpler terms: It is ignorance about what you are essentially. When you finally come to realize your essence, all of your troubles abandon you forever as ghosts from a haunted house. But if you do not realize that, you will always be in trouble regardless of the state of your body, mind, environment, bank account, social status and the like. Nobody is happy in this world if this spiritual ignorance is not successfully removed. You can have all the money of the world, all the praises and bodily health, etc., but a deep sense of unsatisfaction will accompany you always. Supreme Happiness cannot be attained by cultivating all those external things. It ensues a person only when he can move beyond his own spiritual ignorance. This teaching has been given over the millennia, by different wording, but the vast majority of people seem not to understand it yet. The proof of this misunderstanding in them is that they are all the time very interested in money, praises, bodily health and all that which is just external.

That simple teaching is the first thing you must understand if you want to attain a state free from spiritual ignorance. This blessed State is called in many ways across the traditions: Enlightenment, Liberation, the attainment of Supreme Happiness, etc. All in all, it has to do with the achievement of Absolute Freedom, with the complete identification with the Universal Spirit. I will call this Universal Spirit Parabhairava now, i.e. the Supreme Bhairava. Why? Because this is one of the names given to Him in my tradition.

Therefore, as you do not know your true nature, you are always in trouble whether you are a beggar or a trillionaire. This spiritual ignorance is very powerful indeed, but it is NOT impossible to be removed. It can be effectively removed, but for it to happen in you, you need first to study its nature:

Spiritual ignorance is divided into two aspects:

Pauruṣājñāna (lit. about the Self + ignorance, i.e. ignorance about the Self).

Bauddhājñāna (lit. intellectual + ignorance, i.e. intellectual ignorance).

Ignorance about the Self means that you consider the Self to be the not-Self. What does it mean? That you consider that the Self (You, in the highest sense) has become many (e.g. many people around you, many external objects, etc.). In other words, the Self has apparently abandoned His eternal solitude and became many things, i.e. there is a spreading out of multiplicity.

In order to remove this aspect of the spiritual ignorance you need the Grace of the Self (Parabhairava, i.e. You in the highest sense). Without His Grace there is no way to cross over this obstacle. Here all of your efforts are rendered completely useless. The removal of this aspect has to do directly with realizing that the Self is always ‘one’ and never became many at all. Multiplicity of ‘selves’ is false as the Self constantly shines in full unity. This is the experience. Anyway, I repeat, the removal of this aspect of the spiritual ignorance depends entirely on the Grace of this Self and is never the outcome of human efforts, however hard they may be.

Intellectual ignorance means that you consider the not-Self to be the Self. What does it mean? That you consider that the not-Self (e.g. body, vital energy flowing through your breath, etc.) is the Self (You, in the highest sense). All in all, you are identified with your body, breath, etc. to the extent that you are sure that if the body dies, you die with it, that if your breath stops, you cease to exist, and so on.

This happens because you do not know about the scriptures composed by venerable Parabhairava (e.g. Mālinīvijayottaratantra, Svacchandatantra, etc.) and the subsequent literature (e.g. Śivasūtra-s, Spandakārikā-s, etc.). Consequently, to study that kind of scriptures is absolutely fundamental. By their deep study, you come to realize that effectively the body, the breath and such are not You at all. Therefore, the removal of this aspect of spiritual ignorance can be accomplished by means of efforts unlike the first aspect whose only factor for its removal was His Grace.

Many people on this planet believe that there is only one life and next heaven, hell and so on. According to the teachings I am explaining, that belief is wrong. As a matter of fact, one lifetime is not effective to explain all that happens to a person. It really is a succession of lifetimes in different bodies. So, one leaves a body and almost always gets immediately a new one. I said almost always because sometimes (rarely really), one manages to ascend to heaven or to descend to hell. But heaven or hell are temporary phases and not places wherein one will be eternally, as the usual belief states.

Therefore, this moving from one body to the next one is a kind of transmigration. Hence, it is called in Sanskrit: Saṁsāra (lit. transmigration). Anyway, the meaning of this term is more extensive as it involves not only the moving from one body to another body after death, but also every movement during one lifetime (e.g. from a young body to an old one, from one thought to another thought, etc.). As a result, the scope of Saṁsāra is much more comprehensive than the mere process of leaving a body at the time of dying in order to take a new one.

But what is the root of this Saṁsāra? It is Āṇavamala (spiritual ignorance). Consequently, the removal of Āṇavamala in its two aspects of pauruṣājñāna (ignorance about the Self) and bauddhājñāna (intellectual ignorance) leads to the cessation of Saṁsāra or transmigration. This is called Liberation (Mokṣa or Mukti).

The term Liberation is then liberation from Saṁsāra or transmigration. The presence of Āṇavamala (specially the pauruṣājñāna aspect) in a person forces to transmigrate from one body to another. When both aspects of Āṇavamala are removed, one gets Liberation right here and right now. This is called Jīvanmukti (Jīvat + mukti = while living + Liberation) or Liberation while living. But, if only the pauruṣājñāna aspect is removed, there is anyway Liberation, but the person will have to wait for death in order to enjoy it. In a nutshell, if only pauruṣājñāna is removed, there is Liberation but not right here and right now like in Jīvanmukti, but after dying (after leaving the present body).

On the contrary, if only bauddhājñāna is removed, then you become a scholar (someone who is an expert in the scriptures -Parabhairava’s scriptures in this case-) but you are not liberated from Saṁsāra. All in all, you will have to take another body after leaving the present one at the time of death.

The ideal situation is then to dissolve both aspects of the spiritual ignorance in order to attain Final Beatitude (also called Liberation, the achievement of Absolute Freedom, etc.). Anyway, as I said before, Liberation has mainly to do with the removal of pauruṣājñāna (ignorance about the Self), while the removal of bauddhājñāna has mainly to do with providing stability to your state of Liberation so you can enjoy your liberated State right here and right now (during your current lifetime) without having to wait for death. I will explain this now even again:

When bauddhājñāna is removed, Liberation while living (Jīvanmukti) is still not with you. And if only pauruṣājñāna is removed, then you have to wait for death of the body to enjoy Liberation. Therefore, the cause of Liberation (whether while living or after dying) is always the removal of pauruṣājñāna or ignorance about the Self, viz. to think that the Self has become many.

In the next table, you can see all the possibilities with respect to Liberation. For example, if pauruṣājñāna is not removed, there is no Liberation, even if you succeeded in removing bauddhājñāna by a serious study of the Parabhairava’s scriptures. Or else, if you remove pauruṣājñāna but not bauddhājñāna, you are liberated but have to wait for death to arrive in order to enjoy your Liberation. There is another category of liberated ones: The ones who get Liberation and immediately die, i.e. due to the intensity of their State of Liberation, they are forced to abandon the body. Very well, the table now:

Table 1 - Pauruṣājñāna and bauddhājñāna – Possible combinations

To summit it up, the two types of ignorance are the two aspects of Āṇavamala (spiritual ignorance): Pauruṣājñāna (ignorance about the Self) and bauddhājñāna (intellectual ignorance). To generate a full state of Liberation right here and right now, both aspects must be removed. The first aspect is always taken away by the Grace of Parabhairava (with the help of Guru during the process of Śaktipāta – lit. descent of Power), while the second aspect is removed by a serious deep study of the Parabhairava’s scriptures.

When Āṇavamala is completely removed, there is no more Saṁsāra or transmigration as its root-cause has been extirpated. All in all, one does not take any new body by force, as before, but only at will.

According to sage Patañjali (the famous author of Yogasūtra-s or the aphorisms of Yoga), knowledge can be acquired in three ways:

Direct experience.

Inference.

Testimony.

If one manages to remove pauruṣājñāna by His Grace, one will have the direct experience that effectively the Self exists and is only one. But if one did not remove bauddhājñāna or intellectual ignorance, he will have to wait for mother death to arrive in order to enjoy his state of Liberation. Accordingly, since one did not remove the intellectual ignorance, his knowledge about the Parabhairava’s scriptures is imperfect. Therefore, he cannot appropriately use testimony to describe and demonstrate his state of Liberation.

If one manages to remove bauddhājñāna by an arduous study of the Parabhairava’s scriptures, then one becomes a scholar and can easily get knowledge by testimony. In other words, he can refute arguments by the force of his knowledge about the scriptures.

If one manages to remove both ignorance about the Self and intellectual ignorance, then one is a Great Master, proficient in acquiring knowledge about the Self by means of direct experience, inference and testimony. According to the Great Sage Abhinavagupta, there are three categories of Guru-s:

Great Master (fully liberated from Āṇavamala right here and right now)

Scholar (liberated from bauddhājñāna)

Liberated who must wait for death to enjoy his Liberation (liberated from pauruṣājñāna)

A spiritual aspirant, then, should always look for the first kind of Master, and if this is impossible, then he should find a scholar. The third category of Guru is not advised at all due to his lack of knowledge about the scriptures of Holy Parabhairava.

But how is this spiritual ignorance working in real life? It is a sense of imperfection, of not being full. It is this constant unsatisfaction accompanying every person on this planet. If someone cannot perceive it, he is either a liberated person or a fully ignorant one. These teachings are meant for people who perceive this constant unsatisfaction or lack of fullness, and who accordingly want to remove it once and for all. This kind of people is called spiritual aspirants.

There is a common situation showing the position of different types of people when facing an usual argument mainly maintained by the atheists (e.g. the Buddhists):

The universe came out of nothingness. It came from a void and will return to a void.

Now, imagine a person who is a theist (he believes in the Self) but whose spiritual ignorance (i.e. his Āṇavamala) is in full vigor. In other words, he thinks that the Self has become many and that the body, the vital energy, etc. are himself. Next, when he is confronted with that common argument about nothingness or void as being the source of all that exists (all in all, nonexistence is the origin and end of all that exists), he will of course disagree. Anyway, he has a problem with exhibiting proof. He will say something like this: I believe in God! or I believe in a superior Reality!, etc. The other person who presented the argument about nonexistence as the source of existence will reply:

Show that superior Reality to me then!.

And this believer in a superior Reality will not be able to satisfactorily prove his point because of his inherent spiritual ignorance. He will mention, for example, the innumerable galaxies in this universe, the wonder of life, etc., as a proof that a superior Reality does really exist. But all these things do not constitute a solid proof of His existence. The atheist will refute them all easily.

Now, imagine that that argument about nothingness (nonexistence) as being the source of all that exists in presented to one who managed to get liberation from pauruṣājñāna (ignorance about the Self) but who still retains bauddhājñāna (intellectual ignorance). He will say:

No, that is not true!.

But the one arguing that nonexistence is the origin of existence will reply: Why?. And the dialogue will continue in this way:

Because I am experiencing the Self as the Source of all that exists. This Self is no void or nothingness at all.

The other person will want direct proof of that experience: Sure? Show that to me!.

Even if that liberated one from pauruṣājñāna could transmit such an experience to the person postulating that all arose from nothingness, this would be of no use generally. Why? Because someone who postulates that the Self is mere nothingness or void does not have the power to tolerate a direct revelation of his spiritual essence. If the transmission were to take place, he would become unconscious like in deep sleep. All in all, the ones who believe in the void as the Highest Reality are put in that very void. They cannot access the Light of the Self. They are wretched creatures devoid of enough divine Grace.

In a nutshell, the person who removed pauruṣājñāna but still retained bauddhājñāna cannot prove that the Self (God) does exist. He cannot do it in a way which is understandable to the person who does not have his high state of consciousness. This is so because he still has intellectual ignorance, because his intellect has yet not been forged by the Parabhairava’s scriptures.

Now, what about a scholar?, i.e. what about someone who has removed his bauddhājñāna or intellectual ignorance, but who still retains pauruṣājñāna? The scholar, due to the force of his scriptural knowledge will say:

Nothingness cannot be proved!.

So, he will not try to prove the existence of the Self but refute nothingness (void or nonexistence). He will then say:

How did you know about that void or nonexistence?.

The one postulating that nothingness is the source and end of all that is existing will say that this knowledge was passed onto him by his teachers, or maybe that he himself had that knowledge directly. Suppose that he was mentioning his teachers like this:

That knowledge was passed onto me by my spiritual teachers (in person or by books, etc.).

So, the scholar will reply:

If those teachers had perceived nothingness directly, then there would not be any remembrance of it. One cannot remember nothingness without existing during the experience. And if one exists during the experience of nothingness, that is not real nothingness. Even postulating that the teaching about nothingness was passed through an uninterrupted lineage of teachers, at least one teacher at the beginning had to experience nothingness directly. But if he could speak about his experience, that means that he remembered it. And if he remembered it, he had to exist during such an experience.

Hence, absolute nothingness never exists, because there is always ‘someone’ perceiving it. If nobody perceived it, how could you know about nothingness then? And if somebody perceived it, that person had to exist during the experience of nothingness. Therefore, your declaration that the universe came out of nothingness or a void and will return to that void is not valid, because you cannot prove nothingness. Even if you conceive nothingness to be something completely devoid of everything, there is always a reality there... you!... who is perceiving it. Consequently, that is never absolute nothingness.

As a result, one can say that he does not know what the Source of everything is, but this ignorance is not a solid proof that the Source Itself is nothingness (i.e. nonexistence).

This argument about nothingness or void coming from Buddhists and similar atheists was refuted centuries ago. There is nothing new about this. Anyway, even now, in the 21st century, they persist on their ignorance by postulating the argument of the void once again. The atheistic void puzzles the minds of people whose bauddhājñāna (intellectual ignorance) is fully in action, but it is not at all bewildering the minds of those who are without it. Because the minds of these blessed beings have been forged by the Fire of the Parabhairava’s scriptures, in which it is taught how to easily refute the arguments of the atheists.

The absolute void simply does not exist because there is always someone perceiving it. If there is someone, then it is not absolute void as the Buddhists and other atheists try to inculcate. Therefore, if the absolute void existed, then nobody should perceive it, nobody should know about it. As this is never happening as atheists postulating the absolute void evidently know it, directly (by direct experience) or indirectly (by inference or testimony), the absolute void is never absolute due to the presence of a knower or perceiver. Oh well, this is so foolish that it is incredible that many people still think that the absolute void is the Highest Reality, i.e. that there is no real Highest Reality but an absence of It in the form of that void. As a matter of fact, the Highest Reality (the Self, God, Parabhairava, etc.) is the Knower of that void.

So, that nothingness or void means the absence of the Self. In the above example, the scholar, due to his absence of intellectual ignorance, know how to reason properly and can even present quotes of scriptures to back up his reasoning. He cannot be bewildered by any nonsensical arguments about the Highest Reality as being a void.

People can say whatever they wish, but they have to prove it. For example, I can say that there is no CPU in my desktop computer, but in the end, I cannot prove it and it is finally another nonsense. In the same way, one cannot really say anything about the Highest Reality without any serious support. In this, most people are very careless. One cannot speak about the