Kashmir Shaivism

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You have new messages (last change).

Kashmir Shaivism is the school of Shaivism with the very purest monistic vision, the essence of which is "to realize that God and individual are one"[1]. While scholarly beliefs claim the philosophy arose during the eighth century, it is traditionally thought that Kashmir Shaivism began with the Sat Yuga[2]. As a monistic Tantric system, Trika Shaivism, as it is also known, draws teachings from shrutis, such as the monistic Bhairava Tantras, Shiva Sutras, and also a unique version of the Bhagavad Gita specifically with commentary by Abhinavagupta, known as the Gitartha Samgraha. Also, teachings are drawn from the Tantraloka of Abhinavagupta, prominent among a vast body of smritis, employed by Kashmir Shaivism.

Contents

[edit] Siva, the Great Initiator

As the philosophy of Kashmir Shaivism is deeply rooted in the Tantras, the lineage of Kashmir Shaivism begins with Siva himself. According the tradition, as the knowledge of the Tantras were lost by the time of Kali Yuga, Siva took the form of Srikanthanath at Mt. Kailash, where he fully initiated Durvasa Rishi, into all forms of the Tantrika knowledge, including abheda (without differentiation), bhedabheda (with and without differentiation), and bheda (differentiated), as described in the Bhairava Tantras, Rudra Tantras, and Siva Tantras, respectively. Durvasa Rishi searched for an adequate pupil to initiate, and failed to do so, and thus he created three "mind-born" sons, and initiated the first son, Tryambaka fully into the monistic abheda philosophy of the Bhairava Tantras, which is known as Kashmir Shaivism.[2]

[edit] The Siva Sutra

The tradition of Kashmir Shaivism was transmitted during centuries from master to disciple only, from "mouth to ear". The first great initiate recorded in history of this spiritual path was Vasugupta (860–925 BC). Vasugupta formulated for the first time in writing the principles and main doctrines of this system. After Vasugupta, the esoteric literature of Kashmir Shaivism explosively blossomed and lasted for almost four centuries, during which it became very voluminous and it reached an exceptional philosophical depth.

The first fundamental work of Shaivism, traditionally attributed to Vasugupta, is the Shiva Sutras of Vasugupta, a collection of 77 elegant and precise aphorisms, completely unintelligible for the uninitiated. These sutras are considered to be a revelation coming directly from Siva.

This work outlines a more direct and quick spiritual path in which the appeal to the Divine Grace has an essential role. According to myth, Lord Shiva told Vasugupta in a dream, to go to a rock on Mahadev Mountain. He went there and when he touched the rock, it turned over where there were written these 77 revelations. That rock, called Shankarpal, is supposedly still there today. Others say Vasagupta received these statements in deep meditation. Kashmir Shaivites believe that the Shiva Sutras are a direct transmission from a higher level of Consciousness.

[edit] Classification of the written tradition

In general, the whole written tradition of Shaivism can be divided in three fundamental parts: Agama Sastra, Spanda Sastra and Pratyabhijna Sastra.

1. Agama Sastra are those writings that are considered as being a direct revelation from Siva. These writings were first communicated orally, from the master to the worthy disciple. They include essential works such as Malénivijaya Tantra, Svacchanda Tantra, Vijnana Bhairava Tantra, Ratnamala Tantra, Mrgendra Tantra, Rudrayamala Tantra, Siva Sutra and others. There are also numerous commentaries to these works, Siva Sutra having most of them.

2. The main work of this category is Spanda Karika of Vasugupta, which has many commentaries. Out of these many commentaries, two are of major importance: Spanda Sandoha (this commentary talks only about the first verses of Spanda Karika), and Spanda Nirnaya (which is a commentary of the complete text).

3. Pratyabhijna Sastra are those writings which have mainly a metaphysical content. Due to their extremely high spiritual and intellectual level, this part of the written tradition of Shaivism is the least accessible for the uninitiated. Nevertheless, this corpus of writings refer to the simplest and most direct modality of spiritual realization. Pratyabhijïä means "recognition" and refers to the spontaneous recognition of the divine nature hidden in each human being (atman). The most important works in this category are: Isvara Pratyabhijna, the fundamental work of Utpäladeva (who is a central figure of the Shaivism tradition – he combined in a harmonious way the impetuous and endless love for the Divine and the most refined rational knowledge and metaphysical discernment), and Pratyabhijna Vimarasini, a commentary to Isvara Pratyabhijna. Isvara Pratyabhijna means in fact the direct recognition of the Heart (i.e., essence), meaning the direct recognition of God-the-Father inside ourselves. Before Utpaladeva, his master Somananda wrote Siva Drsti (The Vision of Siva), a devotional poem written on multiple levels of meaning.

[edit] Prominent Sages of Kashmir Shaivism

[edit] Abhinavagupta

All these three branches of the Shaivism tradition were put together by the great philosopher Abhinavagupta (c. 975-1025 AD). Among his important works, the most important is the Tantraloka ("The Divine Light of Tantra"), a work in verses which is a majestic synthesis of the whole tradition of Shaivism. Abhinavagupta succeeded in smoothing out all the apparent differences and disparities that existed among the different branches and schools of the Kashmir Shaivism of before him. Thus he offers a unitary, coherent and complete vision of this system.

Tantraloka was commented and expanded upon by Jayaratha, another important exponent of the Kashmir Shaivism who lived a few centuries after Abhinavagupta.

Tantraloka has a major importance for the whole tradition of Shaivism. Abhinavagupta realized that this work is very difficult to understand for an ordinary disciple, and therefore he composed a summary of it in prose called Tantrasara ("The Essence of Tantra").

[edit] Four Schools of Kashmir Shaivism

[edit] Krama

Historically, the oldest school of Kashmir Shaivism, Krama in Sanskrit, means 'process', 'order' or 'succession'. The basic idea of this system is that the road to perfection has certain stages or steps. Each of these steps is governed by an aspect of the Divine. Therefore, God is actually present all the way, but each new step reveals a more profound face of Him. The Krama system is based upon the concept of Sakti as the Supreme Creative Energy of Siva, and even more specific, upon a certain aspect of Sakti which is related to succession and time. This aspect of Sakti is none other than the Great Cosmic Power of Time and Eternity – Kali. The Krama School presents a new facet of Kali: in this system, Kali is not only one of the Great Cosmic Powers out of ten, but Kali is seen as being The Supreme Divine Power (ParaSakti). (Remember that each Cosmic Power can lead the aspirant to the supreme state).

[edit] Kula

Another very important school of Kashmir Shaivism, Kula, in Sanskrit, means 'family' or 'totality'. This is a tantric (left hand) school par excellence, and here Sakti plays a paramount role. The Kaula teachings make the skeleton of Tanträloka and Tantrasära. Among all his spiritual Masters, Abhinavagupta mentions more often and considers the most important Sambhunatha, a Kaula School Master. (Abhinavagupta had other Masters, for example Laksmanagupta). Swami Lakshman Joo was of this direct lineage of masters and disciples.

[edit] Spanda

The third fundamental system of Kashmir Shaivism, Spanda, is also centered around Sakti. Therefore, from the Initiation point of view, the central role is not played by Siva but by Sakti. This is not paradoxical because in the spiritual vision of Shaivism, Siva and Sakti are not two separate realities. Siva and Sakti are two-in-one, and they seem separate only for the ignorant and limited mind that is subjected to duality. In truth, Siva is Sakti and Sakti is Siva; when we have consciousness, there is also energy. When we have energy, there is consciousness who animates that energy. Therefore, for the aspirant to spiritual liberation, the instrument (path) is Sakti and not Siva. Siva is the transcendent aspect of the Divine, being beyond any mental representation. Anything we could imagine about Siva is not Siva, because Siva cannot be defined, cannot be thought, cannot be evoked. He is beyond anything we could imagine, desire or think. We cannot relate directly to Siva, but we can get to Him through Sakti, which represents the immanent aspect of the Divine. God is both transcendent and immanent. If God would be only transcendent, it results that Creation would be without God, in other words it would be governed by somebody else, which is absurd. God is also immanent (present in the world), in the Heart (i.e., center) of each particle, of each human being. For the ignorant, God is hidden, invisible, but a spiritually awakened being perceives God everywhere. This is why the esoteric tradition of Kashmir Shaivism is also called Mahaguhya, term that can be translated as 'The Supreme (maha) secret (guhya)’ but also 'The Supreme (maha) non-secret (aguhya)'. These two mysterious aspects of God (Transcendence and Immanence) are called Siva and Sakti respectively. We can get to Siva through Sakti, and for this we can start exactly from where we are, from our level of consciousness. And even if Siva is reflected inside each of us as atman, we aspire toward this Siva with our mind, desires, affection, etc., therefore with something that is not Siva per se. This is the great miracle of Sakti: Sakti is present both at the human level and at the cosmic level. Sakti is the link between man and God. Sakti is the magical thread that has one end in the transcendence of Siva and the other end in the manifested worlds. If Sakti would not exist, there would be nothing to connect us with God.

[edit] Pratyabhijña

The Pratyabhijña school, which in Sanskrit, literally means "to spontaneously, once again, recognize and realize your Self" is a unique school, as it does not have any upāyas (means), that is, there is nothing to practice; the only thing to do is recognize who you are. This "mean" can actually be called anupāya, Sanskrit for "without means".

Though this school thrived until the beginning of the Kali Yuga, it was eventually lost due to a lack of understanding of the school, until, in the 8th Century CE, the Kashmir Shaivite master, Somānanda revived the system.[3]

[edit] Learning and practicing Kashmir Shaivism today

[edit] Contemporary Teachers and Schools

[edit] Some Pundits and Indian Researchers

  • Hemendra Nath Chakravarty, Varanasi (India)
  • Makhan Lal Kokiloo, Delhi (India)
  • Kanti Chandra Pandey, Government College, Dharamshala (India)
  • Thakur Jaidev Singh (1893-1986) (India)

[edit] Major Western Academic Researchers

[edit] References

  1. ^ Ishwar Ashram Trust
  2. ^ a b Lakshmanjoo (2003). Kashmir Shaivism: The Secret Supreme. 1stBooks, 87-93. ISBN 1-58721-505-5.
  3. ^ Lakshmanjoo pp130-131

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../k/a/s/Kashmir_Shaivism_f2d0.html"