What is Kashmir Shaivism (Trika Philosophy)?

Guest post by Satyarth Pandita

I want to begin this article by thanking you, dear reader, who, after reading the article’s title, chose to read it instead of skipping it like many other readers. There must be perhaps something striking about the title that was perceived intriguingly by your conscious or your unconscious, something impulsive that made you want to read the words of this text and make sense. Perhaps it was the word Kashmir that struck some chords of your brain; perhaps it was the word Shaivism that triggered the (a)theistic regions of your brain or perhaps the word philosophy, or perhaps you chose to read it just for the sake of reading. Whatsoever the reason, I hope the readers will read the article to its end and be inspired to become Shiva. But I want to clear certain things here and now; I am not an expert to write something on a subject like this because there already have been many scholars extraordinary and highly advanced mystics who have already delved deep to the bottom of this ocean. But I believe that their readership is subjected to selective literary coteries, which has reached a dwindling number in the present time. This is not the first article on this subject, nor does this include my interpretation of any of the original texts on this subject. Instead, this article aims to provide a kaleidoscopic view of all that has been written about the philosophy of Kashmir Shaivism till now. To state the words of Michael Madhusudan Dutt, “In matters literary, old boy, I am too proud to stand before the world in borrowed clothes. I may borrow a neck-tie, or even a waist coat, but not the whole suit.” I, therefore, present this article to the readers as a bouquet containing flowers of Kashmir Shaivism plucked from different philosophical gardens of India.

Since the very beginning, Kashmir has been the cradle of various philosophies, the seat of the Goddess of learning. It was in this valley of Kashmir that Abhinavagupta (the great master of Kashmir Shaivism) appeared at that point of time when Shaivism had taken deep roots in the soil of Kashmir. Around 10-11 CE, Shaivism had become so embedded in the psyche of the Kashmiri populace that it had branched itself into various philosophical schools of thought such as Spanda, Pratyabhijna, Krama and Kaula. Thus, this task of integrating the above schools of thought under one shed was taken up by Abhinavagupta in his magnum opus ‘Tantralok’ or ‘The Light on the Tantras’, and the collection of these branches of a singular tree came to be known as the Trika Shaivism. Therefore, Trika Shaivism can be considered as a part of the whole (Kashmir Shaivism). The readers may, however, note that the terms Kashmir Shaivism and Trika are sometimes used interchangeably. But how did Kashmir Shaivism actually come into being? According to legend, Lord Shiva appeared in a dream to a venerable teacher by the name of Acharya Vasugupta, who lived in Kashmir in the 9th century. Lord Shiva told Vasugupta that He had inscribed secret teachings on a huge rock and that he should find this rock and spread these teachings to those who were worthy to receive them. The teachings inscribed on the rock were uncovered by the sage and came to be known as the Shiva Sutras, a set of 77 aphorisms on yoga. They are the seed of the philosophy and discipline of Kashmir Shaivism. The corpus of work in Kashmir Shaivism is a commentary on these sutras or an expansion of them. This is the origin of the Shivasutras and the beginning of the writings of Kashmir Shaivism.

The word “Shaivism” is derived from Shiva, which is the name given to the Ultimate Reality. Thus, the philosophy of Kashmir Shaivism describes the highest truth as supreme Shiva. Shiva is Chaitanya, the everlasting and all-pervasive consciousness. All that is experienced in the world is Shiva. Kashmir Shaivism is a philosophy of experience. The purpose of this doctrine is to show the individual the path to the right knowledge by overcoming his deep-rooted ignorance and casting aside his limitations. The philosophy is called “Kashmir Shaivism” because the Shivasutras on which it is based were revealed in the valley of Kashmir, and many of the philosophers who studied and wrote about the system lived in that area. The word ‘Trika’ means ‘three-fold’ because it analyses the nature of Shiva, Shakti and Nara, or God, soul and matter. Shiva is God; Shakti is God’s I-consciousness, and Nara is man (human). Trika is the pure Kashmiri philosophy enunciated by ancient Rishis of the valley, and it teaches that Shiva, Shakti and Nara are not different from one another. It states that Man and God are one and the same. In fact, just the supreme self, known as Shiva in this philosophical system, is the self of the entire universe.

The primary literature of the Shaivite philosophy may be broadly classified into three groups: 1)Agama-believed to be revelations (writing inspired), if not inspired by God; 2)Spanda– it lays down the critical doctrines of the system, expanding the revelations and 3)Pratyabhijna– it interprets those doctrines reasonably and logically.

According to Indian tradition, there is only one Ultimate Reality, but there are six fundamental interpretations of that Reality known as Shad Darshans or the Six systems of philosophy. These constitute India’s six classic philosophical schools: Nyaya, Vaiseshika, Samkhya, Yoga, Purva-Mimamsa and Uttara-Mimamsa (or Vedanta). Apart from these philosophical schools, Kashmir Shaivism occupies a unique position in Indian philosophy and differs from the rest in certain ways. To give the reader a clear picture of how Kashmir Shaivism differs or contradicts the schools mentioned above, I shall explain by giving an example (of Vedanta and Kashmir Shaivism) on the lines of Indian cosmological theories. According to the Advaita Vedanta school, their theory of creation is that of appearance, according to which there is actually no creation at all. As creation does not exist, it only appears to exist. What we think exists is, therefore, mere facts. This appearance of the universe is linked to the dream objects that appear in a dream. The objects of a dream seem to be real as long as the dream lasts. The objects of the dream, however, disappear once the dream comes to an end. One finds a striking resemblance between this theory and the statement made by the pre-socratic Parmenides of Elea “The world as we know it is illusory”.

On the other hand, the central premise of Kashmir Shaivism is that there is only one Ultimate Reality, and it is the sovereign will of God that is the cause of the manifest universe. This theory of creation is known as the principle of sovereign will (of God). Kashmir Shaivism holds that the world is born of Him, and He is the very fibre of its existence. The world under this doctrine is not a dream. It is real because Shiva manifests Himself in the world. Thus Shiva is within the world as well as beyond the world. Shiva, by his own free will, sends forth the universe from his own being, imparts existence to it, and again withdraws it into Himself. The cosmological structure of Trika Shaivism is based upon the 25 Samkhya categories of existence (tattva/elements). It, however, adds 11 more categories and thus, in Kashmir Shaivism, the total number of manifestational categories become 36, of which the highest category is Paramshiva, and the lowest one is that of the phenomenal world. Kashmir Shaivism believes in the existence of numerous realms besides our empirical world, and these realms are thought to be inhabited by beings invisible to the naked eye. To give the reader an idea of the nature of these tattvas or elements, I shall name a few of them, to wit: Five Great Elements (earth, water, fire, air, ether), Five Subtle elements (smell, taste, form, touch, sound), Five Organs of Action (creative, excretion, foot, hand, speech) etc. Thus, Paramshiva transcends all these 36 tattvas and exists as the pure being unaffected by all time, space, and causation
while standing as the support and substratum of everything.

Kashmir Shaivism constructs a pure monism that assumes a single Reality (the Ultimate Reality) with two aspects, one transcending the universe (prakasha) and the other operating through it (vimarsha). According to this philosophical approach, every entity owes its existence to Shiva. Shiva as absolute God is pure light (prakasha) or the spiritual light of consciousness. On account of this light of consciousness, we are able to know what is to be known. Prakash is the aspect of self-realization which illuminates everything. Nevertheless, the Absolute as consciousness is not only light but also reflection (vimarsha). The reflective aspect of the Absolute discloses its dynamic nature. It is in and through reflection that the Absolute appears as phenomena. Vimarsha is the aspect that uses prakash to survey itself. The universe, as well as whatever there is in the universe, is the self-manifestation of the Absolute. This Ultimate Reality, according to the Trika system, is the core of all things and is known by the name of Paramshiva (the Supreme Shiva). He is beyond all manifestations; He is beyond the limitations of form. He is beyond change, always remaining transcendental and undiminished. The luminosity of the Absolute represents its static aspect. As the essence of light is reflection, so the Absolute shines forth as God through the five cosmic powers of manifestation, preservation, withdrawal, obscuration and revelation. It is through the reflective aspect that the Absolute expresses its five cosmic powers. At the conceptual level of thought, this aspect is known as Shakti, which in terms of religious devotion, is symbolized by the Goddess. It is shakti that imparts the necessary dynamism to the otherwise passive Shiva. The word Shakti is derived from the root “shak” meaning to be capable of; therefore, it is the power of consciousness to act or active aspect of consciousness. It is the cause of all motion and change observed throughout the manifest universe. Shakti, according to the Kashmir Shaivism, is the universal energy that brings all things into being; and as such, it is considered to be the feminine aspect of nature, the “Mother of the Universe.” In yogic parlance, Shakti is known as kundalini Shakti. It works ordinarily in all living beings. According to Arthur Avalon, “Kundalini is the state Shakti which is the individual’s bodily representative of the great cosmic power (Shakti) that creates and sustains the universe.”

Kashmir Shaivism has been called the religion of grace. It is through divine grace that the seeker of salvation is enabled to reach his esoteric goal of libration in terms of realizing his unity with the supreme consciousness, namely, Paramshiva. The final cosmic activity of God is said to be that of revelation, or the stage in which He reveals Himself as He is, as a consequence of His grace. The take of Kashmir Shaivism on God’s grace is that it should be seen as the mainspring of an individual’s search for liberation. However, the system maintains that grace should not be treated as being the result of one’s religious deeds. Grace is purely a gift from God; the descent of grace upon an individual occurs according to His free will. While pouring down His grace upon people, God does not necessarily take into consideration whether they have sinned or not. Grace is meant for the sinner primarily. Thus, the divine grace of God may be seen as the initial pointy of movement towards salvation. Though phenomenal existence is a manifestation of divine nature, it must be transcended because it is a state of limitation or imperfection. The three states of waking, dreaming and deep sleep, which comprise the whole of phenomenal life, are painful and constitute the realm of toil and suffering. During these states, freedom is reduced to a subordinate position. Therefore, the state of liberation, which is the fourth state called (turiya), is highly sought after. It is a state of spiritual revelation. There is, however, a still higher state of spiritual illumination that is known as the (turiyatita) that is, beyond the Fourth. Liberation is sought only upon the negation of bondage. Although in reality, there is no bondage, the individual is bound as long as he continues to feel limited. If he does not feel bound, he has no real problem. However, as long as he maintains a sense of ego and identity with the body, he remains in the realm of limitation and has to put forth self-effort to overcome his trials and sufferings. And this suffering acts as an essential stimulus for spiritual awakening. The final release or liberation consists of the realization of the absolute freedom or perfection. The attainment of freedom is possible only when one transcends the realm of Maya. Liberation is the recognition of one’s own true nature- the original, innate, pure I-consciousness. When an individual has this awareness, he knows his real nature and attains the bliss of the Universal Consciousness or Shiva-Consciousness. The highest form of bliss, according to Kashmir Shaivism, is Jagadananda or Lokananda, the bliss of the world, in which the whole world appears to the liberated soul as the embodiment of Shiva.

Kashmir Shaivism represents one of the most luminous attainments of the spiritual endeavour to relate human with the divine, being conceived as the happy marriage of the abstract with the realistic world of human experience. If one were to describe or explain the central idea and substance of Kashmir Monistic Shaivism, then one is often reminded of the observation made by Swami Utpalacharya, a distinguished Shaivite, who said, “I would bow in reverence before that great bhaktha, who performs no japa nor undertakes any dhyana but who finds Shiva in everything and everywhere.”

In the concluding part of the article, I would like to state a verse from Abhinavagupta’s Paramarthasara:

“It is in me that this universe reveals itself, like vases and other objects in a spotless mirror. From me, everything arises, just as the many different dreams arise from sleep. It is I whose form is this universe, just as a body has hands, feet, and sense organs. It is I who shines in everything, like a light shining in different forms.”

Thus, it would be apt to say that Kashmir Shaivism is the pinnacle of all philosophy, that there is nothing beyond it.

References:

• Swami Lakshmanjoo, Kashmir Shaivism: The Secret Supreme
• Nand Lal Shah, Kashmir Trika Philosophy and other Thoughts
• Swami Tejomayananda, Introduction to Kashmir Shaivism
• Moti Lal Pandit, Trika Shaivism: An Introduction
• Swami Shankarananda, The Yoga of Kashmir Shaivism: consciousness is everything
• Prof. Navjivan Rastogi, Introducing Kashmir Shaivism

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Satyarth Pandita is a BS-MS undergraduate student at an Indian Institute. He is doing his major in Biological Sciences. For him, the journey of writing began with sending short stories and paintings to ‘Springer'(Monthly Children’s Magazine) and now many of his short stories, essays and articles have been published in the state newspapers like ‘Daily Excelsior’, ‘State Times’ and in magazines like ‘Kitaab’,  ‘All Ears’, ‘Ayaskala’ , and ‘TheStoryVault’.

Follow Satyarth on Twitter: @panditasatyarth