Purification Following the Six Paths

Upamanyu said

After bathing and finishing his other rites, as the acharya instructs, he goes near Shiva's mandala and joins his hands. As on the day before, everything is done up to the binding of the eyes, but without the worship. The guru shows him the mandala. With eyes bound, the disciple scatters flowers, and the guru names the places where the flowers fell. As before, he is taken to the garlanded mandala. The guru worships Ishana and offers oblations in Shiva's fire. If the disciple had a bad dream, the fault must be calmed with a hundred, fifty or twenty-five oblations of the basic mantra. The thread tied to his hair is loosened and allowed to hang as before. Through the kala of Nivritti, Adhara is worshipped, and with oblations the lord of speech is worshipped. He bows to the lord of speech and to Sati, who pervades Nivritti. Within the mandala he worships the divinity and makes three oblations. Then comes the symbolic rite in which the child is born at once as every kind of living species, along with the rites of striking and sprinkling the disciple's body. The guru takes his self and places it in the twelve-petalled lotus. With the basic mantra and the mudras the texts give, the acharya mentally joins the self to every species at once. There are fourteen kinds of species: eight kinds of gods, five lower kinds and humans. The child's intelligence is made to enter them all together. By the norms he takes the disciple's self and places it in the goddess of speech. So that this conception may happen, he worships the divinity and bows to him, makes oblations and completes the process after remembering him. In this way the rites of birth according to past karma, uprightness, disposing of enjoyment and gaining supreme pleasure are performed. To win freedom from birth and accomplish the cleansing of all enjoyment, the instructor makes three oblations and prays to the divinity. The body carries inauspicious marks because of enjoyment and objects, and must be purified and the disciple freed from the three Pashas. These severe Pashas are cut and he is freed from bondage. In this way the disciple's consciousness is made wholly clean.

A complete oblation is made, and Brahma is worshipped in the fire. With three oblations the guru gives him word of Shiva's command: "Grandfather, this one is going to Shiva's supreme destination. By Shiva's great command, let there be no obstacles for him." Saying this and worshipping, he releases him. Next he worships Mahadeva with three oblations. Nivritti has purified the disciple's self. As before, he takes it, raises it and merges it into the self of the thread. Next he worships the lord of speech, makes three oblations, bows and releases him. With Nivritti done, he merges it with the kala of Pratishtha, with simultaneous worship and three oblations, thinking of the disciple's self entering Pratishtha. Having invoked Pratishtha, he does everything as before. He pictures the all-pervading goddess of speech filling everything, her face like the full moon's disc. As before, everything is completed. He informs Vishnu of the command of Shiva, the supreme self, and with Vishnu's release he does all the same for Vidya. As before, he pictures the union of Vidya with Pratishtha, and in order pictures the god and goddess of speech pervading all. As before, he makes a complete oblation in the blazing fire and ends this part. He then does the worship and the rest according to the Nilarudra Upanishad. By the method given earlier, following Shiva's command, this rite is concluded. To draw out any darkness in austerities, he then turns to Shanti. Resorting to the kala of Vidya, he beholds its pervasion. As before, he invokes the lord of speech in his own self, who is like the rising sun and lights the ten directions. Having completed the rites as before, he invokes and worships the divinity Maheshvara, makes oblations and instructs his mind to obey Shiva's commands. Releasing Maheshvara, he completes the rites for the other kalas. Ending with the kala of Shantyatita, he beholds its pervasion and pictures the lord of speech filling his own self, like the disc of the sky. As before, he ends with a complete oblation. Having completed everything by the rules, he worships Sadashiva and tells him of the command of Shambhu, who is infinite in his deeds. As before, he thinks of Shiva standing on his head. Having worshipped the lord of speech, bowed and released him, he sprinkles the disciple's head with auspicious water.

He pictures Shantyatita and the others dissolving into the tattva of Shakti, who is supreme, beyond the six paths and pervading them. He thinks of Shiva's Shakti, bright as ten million suns, and brings the disciple, pure as crystal, before her. By the path in Shiva's texts, he washes the scissors. Together with the thread the instructor cuts off the tuft, places it in cow dung, and offers it as an oblation in Shiva's fire. With the basic mantra ending in "vaushat" he washes the scissors and his hands again. The disciple's consciousness is returned to his body. The child bathes and rinses his mouth, with blessings pronounced over him. He enters the mandala and lies flat like a rod. If there have been any lapses in the worship, the proper rites of purification are done: three oblations with a mantra for the one spoken of. There may also have been lapses in uttering the mantras; to purify these, mantras are said in a barely audible voice, three oblations made and the lord of the gods worshipped. Next he chants mantras in his mind and offers three oblations. With Amba, Shambhu is worshipped in the mandala. The guru offers three oblations, joins his hands and prays: "Bhagavan, by your favour the purification along the six paths has been done. That being done, let him go to your undecaying abode."

After this he repeats the earlier steps, from the joining of the nadi to a complete oblation. The elements are purified, the moving and still, the hot and cold, by meditating on the one who pervades all. Having cut the knots of the elements and their presiding deities, he unites the elements with supreme Shiva and does japa on him. The body is purified and burned, then flooded with drops of nectar. Having purified the body in this way, he sets the self on the path. Right at the start he places the kala of Shantyatita, which pervades the paths, on the child's pure head. Shanti goes on the face, Vidya between throat and navel, Pratishtha down to the knees, and Nivritti below that. He then contemplates these. With Shiva in his self, he uses the seed mantras as a string for the placement. He realizes and invokes the divinity in the lotus of the heart and worships him. The guru hopes that Shiva will always stay steadily in the child's presence. He fills the child with Shiva's energy and good qualities, makes three oblations and says, "Be pleased and grant him anima and the other powers." He prays for the qualities of omniscience, contentment, understanding without beginning or end, constant Shakti, self-rule and endless powers. He takes the divinity's leave and meditates on the lord of the gods in his heart. In order he sprinkles the disciple with water from the pots, Sadyojata and the rest. As before, he seats the disciple and worships Shiva. Having obtained Shiva's permission, he gives him knowledge of Shiva and ash. Beginning with "Aum" and ending with "Namah" he performs samputa. Knowledge of Shakti is just this, the union of Shiva and Shakti. He teaches him the name of the rishi, the metre, the divinity, the nature of Shiva and Shivaa, the worship, and Shambhu's enclosures and seat. He worships the lord of the gods once more and informs Shiva, "May all I have done be properly accomplished." With the disciple, the guru lies flat like a rod on the ground before the divinity, and before the radiance blazing like fire inside the mandala. In order he then worships all the assistant priests who deserve it, and, according to his wealth, rewards the assistants and officiating priests. If he wants his own welfare, he should not be deceitful about wealth.