Relevance of Kashmir Shaivadarshana

The world is having an increased and value based interaction with Kashmir
Shaivadarshana. This association has continuously been going on over a hundred years
particularlyin the west and it seems that profound benefits of this discovery which lays
stress on one’s own ability to recognise oneself and what the world knows as the
Pratyabijna is a paradigm shift and seems to be a renaissance of sorts to which the
world is earnestly responding to .

But is Shaivadarshana or Abhinavagupta relevant?

Providence by her grace chose Abhinavagupta (975-1050) A.D to accord glory to valley
of Kashmir. He not only synthesised all schools of earlier Indian Shaiva and Buddhist
philosophical traditions but lived his own postulates and profound spiritual truths he so
brilliantly advocated. He was the single most colossal figure in the pre- medieval world
who combined literature ,yoga, tantra philosophy etc, thereby according luster to an
already existing shining and dynamic spiritual tradition. Abhinavagupta not only
continued to augment the flow in the river of consciousness but imparted an exemplary
volume and intensity to it. The spiritual treasure and corpus he created is and can guide
us through these tumultuous waters that the human existence finds itself in. During
these times when wars, genocides politics, economic crisis, poverty,depression and lack
of respect for the planet have marred the quality of our life, when compassion from
human heart has depleted, when cloning, artificial intelligence and robotics and their
likely thrust in the days to come will take the ground under our feet and evaporate
whatever is left of human consciousness, it is during this crisis Shaivadarshana and
Abhinavagupta’s contribution creates hope and imparts sense to deal within an
increasingly fragmenting and negatively changing world.

Before deliberating on Shaivadarshana and Abhinavagupta’srelevance to the present
it is important to get an idea about spiritual cum existential river called Shaivadarshana.
It is always an evolving field and is always a dynamic process combining Vedanta, its
own ‘Agamic’ corpus and essential truths of Spanda and Pratyabijna which are unique
to it. There is no distinction to be made on the basis of caste, colour, sex while making
an outreach and accessibility of this treasure to the desirous. Thus the assumption that
the Buddha’s teachings have provided a substratum to Shaivadarshana cannot be said
to be not true.

Unfortunately in our process of discourse, there is always an urgency and immediacy
to refer to texts and also most of which it seems to be in a mere verbal way. While
quoting from the scriptures or commentaries is necessary, it is equally important to
thoroughly examine the truth, context and import of these teachings. This like all
manners of study does and should take time. The notable quality that makes
Shaivadarshana unique is its adaptability across time and thatit combines both
consciousness (Chaitanya) and dynamism (Spanda) to explain the inner and the outer.
Hence in the Trika scheme of things that is the Individual, Shakti and the Absolute the
transcendent contains the manifest. The dichotomy of thought processes propounded
by the religions so far has felt short to explain the same. The same has been
smoothened by Shaivadarshana and according to it Paramshiva is understood as the
absolute, the ultimate consciousness that creates, maintains, destroys, conceals and
reveals all existence and all experience. The goal of this tradition is to realize that one is
Paramshiva who transcends everything physical, mental and emotional. Thus in the non
dual Shaivic traditions of Kashmir there is a term “Samvitsamaavesha” which can be
translated into immersion into supreme consciousness that suggests the realisation of
identification with Paramshiva as the ultimate goal. Saivites who are essentially thus
non dualistic understand the human being to be a contraction of Supreme
Consciousness called Paramshiva and all meditative and other techniques are employed
with an objective to retrace this contraction and to expand consciousness. Of course the
words that the writer is using here are not the thing. You can call that by whatever
name you will. The word is not the thing. Meditation or ritualistic practice may be
important but perhaps more important is the perfected reasoning and liberated grace of
Shiva, says (Muller Ortega)..

Deconditioning human mind

Krishnamurthy, a great thinker of our times although apparently never a Shaivite,
has laid stress on the de-conditioning of human mind and researchers like Bakhtin
supplement his seminal insight that even though one’s understanding may begin with
one’s own culture and an exploration of how it has been shaped by the horizons of the
past and various other cultures or any other world view, it can still pave way for the
study of enhanced understanding. Fixed ideas or conditioning may thus have to be
dissolved.
Unmistakably Abhinavagupta time and again reaffirms that the Indian thought
process even though it is scriptural, the scripture is ‘Apaurusheya” that is it can’t be
attributed to anybody as it is also ‘ Anadi ‘ that is without beginning. Being aware of the
same he on many occasions has demonstrated that Budha or Kapila both founders of
Buddhism and Sankhya have derived from same eternal and authorless transmission.

Krishnamurthy calls the same as Choice less Awareness and in that ,the perception of
truth gets unfolded.
Now how does Shaivadarshana explain the manifestation that is the universe? This
tradition unequivocally advocates that Absolute Reality’s Swabhava the Spanda Shakti unfolds the universe ofTattvas” and during the times of cosmic manifestation
which is behind the interplay of 36 tattvas beginning with prithvi, jala,tejas, vayu and
akash assumes a subtler organisation ,gets down to further subtler levels corresponding
to five subtle elements for example gandha (smell),rasa (taste), rupa,(form) ,sparsha
(touch) and shabda (sound). This subtlety moves onwards and onwards but the
supreme principal (Para Tattva ) retains its pure ,peaceful and indestructible quality.
The 37th tattva accords the innate power to these 36 tattvas just like the crystal even
though it assumes different hues and colours but at the same retains its own essential
nature.
Says Abhinavagupta in Paramarthasara :“That the diversity in the universe with
manifold bodies of gods, men, animals and plants is like a crystal assuming a multi
coloured form. This naturally is the outcome of his innate powers and might’’.

Abhinavagupta could so proclaim as he does everything with authority but can the
modern science verify this insight if it proceeds with its own processes and structure in
place ? That is the moot point. This should neither be confused with some vital force
theory on the basis of which science may try to undermine it nor should it in no way
,repeat no way undermine and belittle the scientific approach and mind. Infact unlike
the present mode in which science operates through its methods, Shiavadarshana
cannot be standardized on mass scale. Being highly individualistic it operates in one’s
own field of consciousness and incorporates power of the self to guide and be the
master of one’s own destiny. Considering this can there be an interface between
science and Shaivadarshana to harness the human energy for bettering its condition?.
The academic environment needs to ponder and build a consensus.
Baljinath Pandita, a great Shaivite scholar of our age, in his noteworthy treatise “
History of Kashmir Shaivism’’ while referring to Ishwarpratyabijna of Utpaladeva
mentions that subtle esoteric thought or nature of Kriya, of Paramshiva is the way and
manner of the manifestation of movement, relativity, time, space etc. He further goes
on to add that the Shaivite theory establishes that absolute existence shines through its
own psychic lustre of what is called as pure “I” consciousness and lies beyond the
scope of all worldly means of knowledge.Ideally the Ultimate Reality has been termed
as Prakashvimarshmaya . That is the Ultimate Reality and its manifestation are

Undivided One and Vimarsha is the power of that Absolute Principle by which it gets
aware of itself. In essence it can be said to be the highest or ultimate creativity .Now
why does the individual self get caught up in the limited experience? Shaivas attribute
this to Maya Tattva, where the word Maya here denotes to measure out . This mental
classification of discrimination and division draws a veil or avarna over the self which
otherwise is Paramshiva.
Then writer may have said much of this in a mere verbal way that has come to us
from the great masters, but if the students are caught young and under the care of
very adept hands, the need for understanding the finer points of the Ultimate Reality
explained to them, not only will they develop necessary wherewithal to deal with the
complexities posed by modern times but they will contribute creatively also. This also
means that the inertia or the negative doubt which the contemporary generation is
experiencing and comes to believe this ignorance of division as truth will be delivered
free of it and then perhaps we will set our priorities right which at the moment seem to
be misplaced.
Another challenge of our age is the phenomenon of “Obsolescence”. This can be
gauged by the fact that the amount and kind of knowledge and application the world
generates in the morning gets obsolete by the evening. Our current lifestyles and
priorities seem to reinforce this beliefthat the world is there for exploitation and this
forces us to stand fragmented and is giving rise to myriad imbalances. This instability
which creates a visible disorder the way we conduct our life, forces us to appreciate the
beauty of stillness which we so desperately are clamouring for. We surely can refer to
Shloka 16th of Parmarth .That is this kala this niyati is something that is kala. I know
that is vidya. I know it completely: this hex ad of cloaks which includes maya is known
as the interior organ of the finite soul.
Now analysing this with respect to the distress created by this phenomenon of
obsolescence is the result of the very structure which forces us which in fact is our
ignorance to relentlessly pursue things without a creative dimension and makes the
stillness of our nature or simply the constitution of our existence as its victim. This is
the mala which obscures the Chaitanya.
Therefore. maintaining a continuity of the same all schools of Indian philosophical
discourse and Shaivadarshana including its Aagamic texts beginning from Vigyan
Bhairav Tantra onwards have laid stress on getting acquainted with what may be called
the “quality of stillness” or simply the “Silence”. In this state the real perception takes
birth. However, that is beyond words and is not a thing of discussion. It is here that
creativity is said to bloom. This state where perception unifies this quality of Silence is

the state where one previously known as ‘Anu’ gets qualified to proclaim that he/she is
‘Paramshiva’. Even being in the realisation that one is taking up a journey towards the
summit called Paramshiva is itself full of pleasant wonder, unfolding Rahasya after
Rahasya or mystery along the way. Such an existence becomes a repository of ‘ Satyam
Shivam Sundaram’. Such a realised existence treats the phenomenon of obsolescence
as its own activity which is always peripheral while the core is resplendent with the
power of the truth. To such an existence, the phenomenon of obsolescence is the very
sugar of life and its ‘Svabhava’..

Shloka 24th of Paramarthasara perhaps illustrates this:-

That is how to know defilement. There is a supreme veil (Maya Mala) consisting of five
‘Kanchukas’ or ‘coverings’ and a gross external veil (Karma mala) in the form of a body.
In this way, the self is enveloped by the three tier sheath. Upon getting enlightened,
the perception of such a person shines forth through this sheath and one does not
know thus of any division between one’s power and its projection as the world. To such
an existence, this projection called universe and everything associated with it that
resides in the heart and this heart knows it as supreme intelligence. This is the core of
Abhinava’s ‘Pratyabijna’ . Thus there is no division between the empirical and the real
self. Whatever follows in this state is beyond the scope of discourse. Alternatively it
may also mean, even if one may have to perform the same action as one was
performing before as an ‘Anu’, nevertheless its quality will be totally different. Thus, no
dichotomy exists in Parmashiva’s Chit, Anand, Iccha, Gyana and Kriya shakti.
However, having said this we may add that real perception does not happen in a
vacuum. Humanity needs real preceptors or teachers who have the power to bestow
their grace on us. At the moment, the contemporary world, having ignored this, is
confronting the resultant mess it has created.
Another formidable challenge that the writer would like to emphasize is the similarity
between computers and the human brain. It seems to me the present and clear danger.
Humanity has collectively failed to realise the implications of artificial intelligence
replacing the human consciousness in the very near future. Can this rob us off our own
self or consciousness? The way the development of computers is taking place at a
faster pace, a corresponding decline and deterioration in human consciousness is also
visible. The world needs to prioritize a strategy for the same.
Shaivadarshana suggests a retreat not the kind to enforce a ban but to withdraw
from the current meaninglessness to a life pregnant with meaning.It is also to put on
record that Shaivadarshana has nothing to do with any organised religion or cultural
conditioning. It is a movement in time, therefore, always a dynamic process. One can

pursue any religion but still be a Shaiva, because; being a Shaiva means to be at the
core; thus the truth.
The Writer makes it clear to the readers that they are at liberty to reject whatever has
been said in this paper, because the writer believes that doubt can be central to life
and an attitude of negation upon negation has the power to affirm truth. Self
knowledge continues to be the liberating force always.
Finally, the writer would like to emphasise some analogy vis- a- vis the condition of the
world and human existence as portrayed in Gotham city in the movie series ‘Dark
Knight Trilogy’. Here the protagonist portrayed by Bruce Wayne, tells his butler
companion, Alfred, and quote :

“Master, why do we fall?” “So that we can rise again.” Pat comes the answer.

Understanding the condition, that we find ourselves in, would therefore implore and
make a call from this platform: “Utishtha, Uthistha, uthistha….. Rise again, Oh! Shiva!…
Rise again. Shiva, rise again!”.