Process of Creation (SruShTi krama)

  The process of Creation is beautifully explained in 'Soundarya Lahari' by Acharya Sri Shankara Bhagavadpada. The very first stanza that starts like- ShivaH shaktyaa yuktO yadi bhavati shaktaH prabhavitum... .. ..| explains how even Shiva on His own is incapable of stirring without the help of 'Shakti'. But, who or what is this Shakti? 'Shakti', for all practical purposes is 'Energy', power, motive power or just the support! In fact, everything is 'Energy' only. Nothing can stir without the power of 'Shakti'. Does it mean that Shiva needs some external power for all His actions and depends on Shakti? Does He possess His own Energy, power, strength, Will-power to move or not? This seems to be a strange proposition that Lord Shiva also needs some external support! Not only Shiva, even Hari and Virinchi (brahma) need external support for their respective function of sustenance and dissolution! This is only to praise the Devi Tripura Sundari, Raja Rajeshvari, Parameshvari and nothing more than that! It is accalimed in all Vedic texts that 'Purusha' is Supreme and His own power manifests as 'Shakti'. Even Lord Shiva is perplexed when he does not realize that it is His own prowess and not some one else that is the Shakti, power behind creation, sustenance and dissolution. 

  Here, in Soundarya lahari, the Lord Shiva is presented as subservient to Shive and Shive is the supreme sovereign power! Shiva is depicted as some one incapable of moving without the support of Shive! It is in fact the other way round. Unless Shiva comes out of His transcendental meditative trance and opens His eyes there is nothing that one can imagine. Hence, the Shiva Purana and other scriptures narrate the story of Rati Devi and Manmatha sent by the Gods and Goddesses to waken up Shiva from His penance! We know the consequences of disturbing Shiva and how Manmatha is reduced to ashes! despite losing the physical body, Manmatha is blessed with the boon of exercising His power of creation, by mere glance. This is the beginning of the story, A glance of Devi towards Shiva, started the sensuous objective world!

 Thus the story goes on to describe how the  objective world is created and it functions due to the meeting of the eyes ( even a side glance) of Purusha and Prakruti (Pradhana). However, Purusha is full, complete, and needs no compliment or external support. But the problem is that this 'purusha' is ignorant and not aware of his own true nature, the Self. The moment the purusha becomes aware of his true nature and realizes that he is unborm, immortal, eternal and always Indepenedent, he ceases to exist as a mortal, subject to repeated births and deaths in an illusory world bound by time and space. 

  One should strive to attain Atma sakshatkara and meditate on brahmn.