Kashmir Shaivism Quotes

Starting from the source of vibrant Consciousness, the first two tattvas of Shaivism are (1) Shiva tattva and (2) Shakti tattva. It is important to understand at the beginning that these two tattvas are only linguistic conventions and are not actually part of creation. According to the deep yogic experience of the sages of this philosophy, there is no difference between Shiva tattva and Shakti tattva. They are both actually one with Paramasiva. They are considered to be two tattvas only for the convenience of philosophical thinking and as a way of clarifying the two aspects of the one absolute reality, Paramasiva. These two aspects are Shiva, the transcendental unity, and Shakti, the universal diversity. The changeless, absolute and pure consciousness is Shiva, while the natural tendency of Shiva towards the outward manifestation of the five divine activities is Shakti. So, even though Shiva is Shakti, and Shakti is Shiva, and even though both are merely aspects of the same reality called Paramasiva, still, these concepts of Shiva-hood and Shakti-hood are counted as the first two tattvas. These two tattvas are at the plane of absolute purity and perfect unity. — B. N. Pandit, Specific Principles of Kashmir Shaivism (3rd ed., 2008), p. 73.

Each tattva represents a more gross or slower vibration than the one before it. The whole universe is thus the same material, Chiti or Consciousness, vibrating at different frequencies.

The essential nature of samvit is the subtle stir of spanda. The introverted and extroverted movements of spanda cause samvit to manifest itself in both the noumenal and phenomenal aspects of creation. These two aspects of samvit are known in Shaivism as Shiva (transcendent) and Shakti (universal). Shiva and Shakti are the two names given to the monistic Absolute (Paramasiva) when it is being considered in its dual aspects of eternal and transcendent changelessness (Shiva), and the ever-changing and immanent manifestation of universal appearances (Shakti). — B. N. Pandit, Specific Principles of Kashmir Shaivism (3rd ed., 2008), p. 17–18.

As the pre-eminent spokesman for Kashmir Shaivism, Abhinavagupta’s view opposes Shankara’s Vedanta. Where Shankara’s Vedanta says that this world is a trap and an illusion, Shaivism says it is the embodiment of the Divine.

We live and enjoy the vitality (virya) of consciousness to the degree in which we are sensitive to the beauty of things around us. Each aesthetic experience, had with mindfulness and a disciplined intention directed towards heightening our general level of aesthetic sensitivity, brings us a little closer to the sustained wonder of the pulsation (spanda) of consciousness which permeates all experience.

It is important to understand that, according to Kashmir Shaivism, this analysis of all phenomena into thirty six tattvas is not an absolute truth. It has been worked out by the authors of the philosophy as a tool of understanding for the ever-active and inquiring mind and as a form for contemplative meditation. Through further analysis, the number of tattvas can be increased to any level. Similarly, through synthesis, they can be decreased down to one tattva alone. In fact this has been done in the Tantraloka, where one can find doctrines of contemplation on fifteen, thirteen, eleven, nine, seven, five, and as few as three tattvas as well. The practitioners of the Trika system use only three tattvas in the process of a quick sadhana: Shiva representing the absolute unity, Shakti representing the link between duality and unity, and Nara representing the extreme duality. [Shakti is the path through which Shiva descends to the position of Nara and the latter ascends to the position of Shiva.] Finally, a highly advanced Shiva yogin sees only the Shiva tattva in the whole of creation. However, since the contemplative practice of tattvadhvadharana used in anava upaya includes meditation on all thirty sex tattvas, that is the number commonly accepted by the Shaivas of both northern and southern India. — B. N. Pandit, Specific Principles of Kashmir Shaivism (3rd ed., 2008), p. 79.

The whole universe is thus the same material, Chiti or Consciousness, vibrating at different frequencies.

The Absolute is Consciousness. It is always Self-conscious, meaning it is always aware of itself and its divine nature. The Self-awareness of the Absolute is a subtle form of activity which has two essential qualities. First, Consciousness is Self-luminous; the light of Consciousness (prakasa) requires no other source of illumination. This is Its aspect of jnana or knowing. Second, the process of becoming aware of Itself (vimarsa) is the Absolute’s aspect of action (kriya). The action is a kind of subtle stir that gives rise to joy and the creative impulse. This subtle movement is not a physical motion or any form of mental restlessness. Rather, it can be described as a spiritual stirring that corresponds to the sensation everyone has at moments of direct self-awareness during peak experiences. This stirring of Self-awareness is spanda. It makes Absolute Consciousness vibrant and expansive, and it is this activity that is the basic source of all creative manifestation. Everything that exists, sentient and insentient, is a result of this stirring of spanda. — B. N. Pandit, Specific Principles of Kashmir Shaivism (3rd ed., 2008), p. xx-xxi

any beginning student of Śaiva Tantra must become acquainted with Sanderson’s work, beginning with the easier introductory pieces: “Shaivism and the Tantric Traditions,” “Power and Purity among the Brahmins of Kashmir,” and “EPHE Lectures: Long Summary,” all available on alexissanderson.com.

Abhinavagupta does not prescribe a hermit’s life for that Shiva yogin, who is free to live without restrictions, to remain in the household, and to participate in pleasures of the senses and the mind within the limits of the currently acceptable social standards. In other words, one is free to live a normal life and at the same time to pursue some method of Trika yoga. As soon as the seeker’s practice in yoga yields the experience of Self-bliss, worldly enjoyments automatically lose their power and fascination, and one’s senses develop a spontaneous indifference, known as anadaravirakti, to former pleasures. Once seekers have become expert practitioners in the experience of Self-bliss, they are able to move freely through worldly enjoyments without any fear of spiritual pollution. Such enjoyments can actually serve to further illumine the extraordinary experience of Self-bliss. As Abhinavagupta explains: The mind (of a Shiva yogin) does not become wet (or stained) from within, just like the rind of a dried gourd which has no opening, even if it dives deep into the water of sensual pleasures.

According to Shaivism, anupaya may also be reached by entering into the infinite blissfulness of the Self through the powerful experiences of sensual pleasures. This practice is designed to help the practitioner reach the highest levels by accelerating their progress through the sakta and sambhava upayas. These carefully guarded doctrines of Tantric sadhana are the basis for certain practices, like the use of the five makaras (hrdaya) mentioned earlier. The experience of a powerful sensual pleasure quickly removes a person’s dullness or indifference. It awakens in them the hidden nature and source of blissfulness and starts its inner vibration. Abhinavagupta says that only those people who are awakened to their own inner vitality can truly be said to have a heart (hrdaya). They are known as sahrdaya (connoisseurs). Those uninfluenced by this type of experiences are said to be heartless. In his words: “It is explained thus—The heart of a person, shedding of its attitude of indifference while listening to the sweet sounds of a song or while feeling the delightful touch of something like sandalpaste, immediately starts a wonderful vibratory movement. (This) is called ananda-sakti and because of its presence the person concerned is considered to have a heart (in their body) (Tantraloka, III.209-10). People who do not become one (with such blissful experiences), and who do not feel their physical body being merged into it, are said to be heartless because their consciousness itself remains immersed (in the gross body) (ibid., III.24).” The philosopher Jayaratha addresses this topic as well when he quotes a verse from a work by an author named Parasastabhutipada: “The worship to be performed by advanced aspirants consists of strengthening their position in the basic state of (infinite and blissful pure consciousness), on the occasions of the experiences of all such delightful objects which are to be seen here as having sweet and beautiful forms (Tantraloka, II.219).” These authors are pointing out that if people participate in pleasurable experiences with that special sharp alertness known as avadhana, they will become oblivious to the limitations of their usual body-consciousness and their pure consciousness will be fully illumined. According to Vijnanabhairava: “A Shiva yogin, having directed his attention to the inner bliss which arises on the occasion of some immense joy, or on seeing a close relative after a long time, should immerse his mind in that bliss and become one with it (Vijnanabhairava, 71). A yogin should fix his mind on each phenomenon which brings satisfaction (because) his own state of infinite bliss arises therein (ibid., 74).” In summary, Kashmir Shaivism is a philosophy that embraces life in its totality. Unlike puritanical systems it does not shy away from the pleasant and aesthetically pleasing aspects of life as somehow being unspiritual or contaminated. On the contrary, great importance has been placed on the aesthetic quality of spiritual practice in Kashmir Shaivism. In fact, recognizing and celebrating the aesthetic aspect of the Absolute is one of the central principles of this philosophy. — B. N. Pandit, Specific Principles of Kashmir Shaivism (3rd ed., 2008), p. 124–125.

SHIVA IS EVERYWHERE: DHARANA 91 Dharana 91: Wherever the mind goes whether towards the exterior or towards the interior, everywhere there is the state of Shiva. Since Shiva is omnipresent, where can the mind go (to avoid Him)? No dharana is more useful to the meditator than this one. When confronted by a restless mind, negative thoughts or impenetrable blocks, reflecting that even these things are nothing but Shiva, is the most effective method.

All of the blissful and beautiful aspects of the Absolute are present in each and every person and living thing, but they remain dormant because they are hidden behind the mask of maya. In other words, we are all blinded to this inner bliss and beauty by our limited sense of who we are, and by the habit of directing so much of our attention out into the world. Everyone can have momentary glimpses of inner bliss when they experience something that is extremely pleasing to the senses and the mind. But usually these situations are fleeting and simply leave a person unfulfilled and longing for more. They then pursue the outer object in an attempt to rediscover the blissful state, not realizing that the source of bliss is within and need not be attached to an outer stimulus at all. This inner beauty can be discovered and contacted at will through simply turning our attention within, and through the various practices outlined in this yoga. — B. N. Pandit, Specific Principles of Kashmir Shaivism (3rd ed., 2008), p. 123.

In his discussion of Trika Yoga Abhinavagupta begins with the most advanced approach, and then presents successively easier methods one by one in descending order. This is another example of his particular approach to yoga. His intention is to make the best and the quickest method of yoga immediately available to all aspirants. If they succeed at the highest level, they need not go through the long chain of lower stages. However, if certain aspirants feel that they cannot handle the most advanced path successfully, then they are free to move along a more structured path and to choose any of the methods that accommodate their psychophysical capacity. The important point is that spiritual students should not assume that they are not fit for the most advanced method. Why should people resort to riding on a bullock cart when an airplane is at their disposal? If, however, they are unable to handle the superior vehicle successfully, they can choose some other more appropriate form of transportation. — B. N. Pandit, Specific Principles of Kashmir Shaivism (3rd ed., 2008), p. 94–95.

According to the Trika system, yoga is that theological practice which helps in attaining the realization of absolute unity between the practitioner and Absolute Reality, that is, between the yogin and God. As it says in the Malinitantra: The unity of one (a finite being) with another (Almighty God) is called yoga by Shiva yogins (Malinivijayatantra, IV.4). Practitioners of yoga are advised to realize their forgotten true nature and to recognize themselves as none other than the Absolute, Paramasiva. This realization is said to be readily attainable through Trika yoga, when aided by both an intense devotion for the Lord and by the correct theoretical knowledge of the pantheistic absolutism of Shaiva monism. Theoretical knowledge removes the yogins’ mental confusion and misconceptions about Reality, and devotion refines their hearts so that they become capable of actually feeling and experiencing the truth of Shaiva monism. The yoga of Abhinavagupta is thus an integral process of developing both the head and the heart. People with no mental clarity cannot understand the truth, while those without heart cannot digest. — B. N. Pandit, Specific Principles of Kashmir Shaivism (3rd ed., 2008), p. 95–96.

In normal terms, the opposite of a yogi is a bhogi, a pleasure seeker. It is Shaivism’s claim that it offers both yoga and bhoga, both spiritual freedom and enjoyment of the world. No wonder then, that the great Shaivite master Abhinavagupta is also the principle articulator of the rasa theory of art. It is a truly Shaivite approach to accept all emotions, both negative and positive, as part of the fabric of life and to enjoy their interplay, not seeking to eliminate any of them, while remaining anchored in higher Consciousness. If the yogi is Shiva seeking purity and control, the artist is Shakti, tolerant as a mother, cherishing even the apparently negative aspects of life.

He begins talking to Himself inside of Himself, playing two parts as the student and the teacher or as Shiva and Shakti. ‘Hmm, why are things like this?’ ‘Well here’s why’. Becoming both, He has a dialogue within Himself. When we turn within we can still hear that rumbling, vibratory monologue. It is the fundamental vibration of the mind within. Whatever is in Shiva is in you, whatever divine powers are in God are in you. To truly get there you have to become unlimited. You have to let go of limitation, you have to let go of ego, you have to let go of ignorance. It is not a trivial process. The Mahartamanjari says: This is the way that the error of ordinary persons who think, ‘I am not the Lord’, is dissipated. This is an error with respect to the Self who shines always as the ‘I’. One repeats to them, ‘You are Shiva, gifted with the free power of Consciousness and activity: this world depends on you as a kingdom on its king. It is in you that the world shines, in you that it resides. It is you as Consciousness that the world has as its basis: from which it arises and into which it is reabsorbed. There is no world here without you. Only your awareness makes the world so for you. Contemplate this until conviction dawns. The Shiva Sutras say that such conviction is realisation of the Self. Shivo’ham. I am Shiva. All this arises and has its being in my awareness!

The kanchukas explain what happened to Shiva so that He became us. Since Shiva has five shaktis or powers—chit, ananda, iccha, jnana, kriya—it is reasonable to assume that the five kanchukas are limitations of each of the divine shaktis. It is easy to see that jnana shakti is limited by vidya kanchuka (divine knowledge/limited knowledge); iccha shakti is limited by raga kanchuka (completeness/desire); and kriya shakti is limited by kalā kanchuka (omnipotence/limited action). It is less obvious that Chit Shakti has to do with kāla or time, and ananda shakti has to do with space. However, Chit is pure, expanded Consciousness without thought-forms and time begins with thought-forms. And ananda, bliss, is the same as svatantrya, or freedom, and this is diminished by being closeted in a particular space.

Wherever you go, you are accompanied by your posse—your mind, emotion, senses and body and you are always at the centre of those entities. Shaivism tells us in Spanda Karikas, I.6–8, that the senses are inert in themselves, like the chess pieces, and only derive energy from the Self. This image of the Lord or the Self at the centre surrounded by an entourage of Shaktis is a compelling one. In a sense Shaivism’s goal is to make us be aware of this position: the Self as the source is always the centre of all experience. Shaivism tells us that when we don’t hold ourselves at the centre we lose energy or, in terms of this image, we lose control of our own shaktis. I call this the Shiva position or the Shiva asana (seat or posture). This Shiva asana is not different from Douglas Harding’s headless one nor from Somananda’s Shiva drishti. It is easily expressed by the Shaiva mandala (see opposite).

Theistic absolutism and realism are the basic ontological principles of Kashmir Shaivism. In this philosophy everything that exists is real, and yet is spiritual as well, because everything is the manifestation of an absolute reality, described as pure, eternal, and infinite Consciousness. According to the ancient authors of this philosophy, the essential features of Consciousness are Its infinite, divine, and joyful vitality, and the inclination to manifest Its powers of creation, preservation, dissolution, obscuration, and revelation. The vibrant, creative quality is the divine essence of God. Consciousness is also described as luminous. It illuminates Itself and is always aware of Itself and everything within It. The ancient masters refer in various ways to this One creative force out of which everything emerges. It is known most commonly as the Ultimate, Absolute Reality, Consciousness, Paramasiva, and God. Yet, according to Kashmir Shaivism, Paramasiva cannot be fully described or clearly thought over because, being infinite in nature, He cannot be confined to any thinking or speaking ability. No words can fully describe Him, no mind can correctly think about Him, and no understanding can perfectly understand Him. This is His absoluteness, and Kashmir Shaivism considers this absoluteness to be one of His key attributes. Because the Absolute cannot be fathomed with the intellect or through ordinary logical reasoning and philosophical speculation, the ancient masters relied on revelation (darsana) in deep yogic states to arrive at their understanding and truths of Reality. Working from the foundation of absolute non-dualism, they discovered Paramasiva within their own consciousness; looking within they found the Whole. They were able to transcend the ordinary limited vision of the individual self, and to discover the universal Self. Since this Self of each individual is claimed to be none other than the Absolute, and because God and the Self are understood as one, this philosophy is truly theistic. — B. N. Pandit, Specific Principles of Kashmir Shaivism (3rd ed., 2008), p. 15–16.

SHANTA RASA Shanta rasa is Abhinavagupta’s specific contribution. He believes that this rasa underlies all the others as the most basic and independent. When you experience any rasa at its highest level it turns into shanta rasa, the feeling of serenity. It is as though the different emotions are waves on the ocean and the ocean itself is peace. All the different rasas, then, are permutations of the one underlying rasa, shanta. A Shaivite author wrote: At the moment of shock, when we experience the terrible rasa or the odious rasa or the moment of joy in musical elevation, the mind becomes still. Then the light of our true nature, the Self, flashes forth and illumines our consciousness with its brilliance. According to Abhinavagupta, shanta rasa arouses a mental condition that brings transcendental bliss. He says that shanta rasa cannot be presented directly. You have to sneak up on it through laughter, heroism, fear or other intense emotion. He adds, the only way it can be presented directly is to portray a great yogi at the point of realisation.

When a person sets up his inner world so that he is aware only of his thought and ignores his feeling, he may become very strong. He may be able to live and even sacrifice himself for an ideal. On the other hand, a person who emphasises his feeling far beyond thought will shift and change like the sand in a desert windstorm. Thought should be strong and based in the strongest of all thought: the G-Statement, but even then it should stay in touch with feeling. Feeling grounds and humanises thought. Some spiritual paths stress the primacy of thought and the denigration of feeling. Even when their system of thought is noble, such paths tend to become dry, cold and somewhat ruthless. Practitioners of such paths often have to spend time reintegrating with their feeling side before attaining perfection. Gurdjieff says that mere knowledge is a function of only one centre, the intellectual centre, while real understanding is a function of three centres: the intellectual, the emotional and the moving, or vital centre. The Shiva Process work, therefore, always attempts to bring thought and feeling together and to move them towards action. A person’s understanding is expressed in action that flows from harmonised thought and feeling.

Baba Muktananda also gave a lot of importance to the concept of matrika, though in a less aesthetic and more practical way. He urged the yogi to become aware of the subtle play of matrika though careful Self-observation. Seeing how matrika works in his inner world to create his experience of life, the yogi slowly learns to control matrika and turn it in the right direction. He writes: Just as matrika helps us to contract, it also helps us to expand ourselves. The moment one understands the matrika shakti and its work, one is no longer a human being. When the matrika shakti expands within, in this very body one becomes Shiva. Sit quietly and watch the play of matrika shakti. Watch how the matrika gives rise to letters, how the letters compose words, how the meaning of the words create images in the mind; watch how you become involved in these images. The yogi pursues matrika shakti; he watches it and makes it steady. He brings it under his control, he manipulates it any way he likes. He turns evil thoughts into good thoughts. The matrika shakti works according to his will. Such a yogi is called a conqueror of the senses. Another aphorism in the Shiva Sutras, II.7, says: Matrika chakra sambodhah When the Guru is pleased he grants full knowledge of matrika.

Kashmir Shaivism also developed an integrated and effective method of spiritual practice that includes intense devotion, the study of correct knowledge, and a special type of yoga unknown to other systems of practical philosophy. These three approaches are meant to be carefully integrated to produce a strong and vibrant practice. Yoga is the main path that leads to Self-realization, theoretical knowledge saves yogins from getting caught at some blissful but intermediary level of spiritual progress, and devotion provides them the strength and focus with which to digest correctly the powerful results of yoga and so avoid their misuse. This is a practice for both the mind and the heart. The teachings offers offer a fresh and powerful understanding of life that develops the faculties of the mind, while the devotional aspects of Kashmir Shaivism expand the faculties of a student’s heart. Combined together, both faculties help students reach the highest goal to which Shaiva yoga can dead them. The yoga system of Kashmir Shaivism is known as the Trika system. It includes many methods of yoga, which have been classified into three groups known as sambhava, sakta, and anava. Sambhava yoga consists of practices in direct realization of the truth, without making any effort at meditation, contemplation, or the learning of texts. The emphasis is on correct being, free from all aspects of becoming. This yoga transcends the use of mental activity. Sakta yoga consists of many types of practices in contemplation on the true nature of one’s real Self. Anava yoga includes various forms of contemplative meditation on objects other than one’s real Self, such as the mind, the life-force along with its five functions (the five pranas), the physical form along with its nerve-centers, the sounds of breathing, and different aspects of time and space. Trika yoga teaches a form of spiritual practice that is specific to Kashmir Shaivism. This system, along with its rituals, has been discussed in detail in Abhinavagupta’s voluminous Tantraloka, which is one of the world’s great treatises on philosophy and theology. Unlike many other forms of yoga, the Trika system is free from all types of repression of the mind, suppression of the emotions and instincts, and starvation of the senses. It eliminates all self-torturing practices, austere vows or penance, and forcible renunciation. Shaiva practitioners need not leave their homes, or roam as begging monks. Indifference (vairagya) to worldly life is not a precondition to for practicing Trika yoga. Sensual pleasures automatically become dull in comparison with the indescribable experience of Self-bliss. This is a transforming experience that naturally gives rise to a powerful form of spontaneous indifference to worldly pleasures. Finally, regardless of caste, creed, and sex, Trika yoga is open to all people, who through the Lord’s grace, have developed a yearning to realize the truth, and who become devoted to the Divine. — B. N. Pandit, Specific Principles of Kashmir Shaivism (3rd ed., 2008), p. xxiii-xxiv

What is this Self, and how did the Shaiva philosophers of Kashmir experience It? They assert that the Self alone has absolute existence. This Self is within every human being, and in recognizing and experiencing It within ourselves, we are actually at one with the divine. What is more, the Self exists within us at all times, whether or not we recognize and experience It. As living beings we are always aware of our own existence, and the experience of existing is always present in us. Further, we never require the help of any aids in feeling our own existence. Even when we are in a state of deep dreamless sleep in which the senses and the knowing mind and intellect are no longer functioning, the Self continues to experience Itself as a witness to this state. Had the Self not existed as a witness during this time, how could we, upon awaking, recollect the void experienced in deep sleep? Thus the Self is always self-existent, self-evident, and self-conscious, and is Itself Its own proof. Shaiva philosophers, relying on their experiences of deep revelation (turya) during meditation, assert that the Self is Consciousness, and that Consciousness is actually a kind of stirring. It is not physical or psychic in nature, but it is described as a spiritual stir or urge. All living beings feel in themselves this urge in the form of a will to know and to do, and so we are always inclined toward knowing and doing. We can recognize this urge in all forms of life, even in a healthy newborn baby, or in a chick just hatched out of an egg. Knowing, the first urge, is itself an action, or something we do. The act of doing, the second urge, cannot occur without knowing. Yet neither of them is possible without willing. Willing is a sort of extroverted stirring of the above mentioned natural and subtle urge of Consciousness (Sivadrsti, I.9, 10, 24, 25). This stirring appears as a vibrative volition known in Kashmir Shaivism as spanda. It is neither a physical vibration like sound or light, nor mental movement like desire, disgust, or passion. Rather, it is the spiritual stirring of Consciousness whose essential nature is a simultaneous inward and outward vibration. The inward and outward movements of spanda shine as subjective and objective awareness of I-ness and this-ness respectively. The inward stirring shines as the subject, the Self, the transcendental experience of the pure “I”, while the outward stirring illuminates the object, the other, the immanent “that-ness” and “this-ness” of phenomena. Because of this double-edged nature of spanda, the pure Self is experienced in both its transcendental and immanent aspects by yogins immersed in the state of Self-revelation (turya). Beyond turya, one can experience the state of Paramasiva, known as pure Consciousness (turiyatita). Paramasiva, the Ultimate, is that Self illuminated within us by the glowing awareness of Its own pure Consciousness. There It shines as “I”, which transcends the concepts of both transcendence and immanence. It is “I” and “I” alone. It is the infinite and absolutely perfect monistic “I”, without any sense of “this-ness” at all. Shaivism uses the term samvit to describe this pure “I”. Samvit consists of that superior luminosity of pure Consciousness, which is known as prakasa and as its Self-awareness, known as vimarsa. The “I”, existing as samvit and samvit alone, is absolutely pure ptentiality, and is the real Self of every living being. Samvit is not the egoistic “I”. The egoistic “I” revolves around four aspects of our being: (1) deha, the gross physical body, (2) buddhi, the fine mental body, (3) prana, the subtler life force, and (4) sunya (the void of dreamless sleep), the most subtle form of finite, individual consciousness.

Kshemaraja says: Let people of great intelligence closely understand the Goddess Consciousness who is simultaneously of the nature of both revelation (unmesha) and concealment (nimesha). The best attitude is to regard everything that happens in the group as the play of Chiti. Revelation is Shiva and confusion is also Shiva. However, there is always recourse to A-Statements, statements of present feeling. An A-Statement (I feel mad, sad, bad, scared or glad), is already at a higher level than a statement in which the A-Statement is not acknowledged or expressed. A person might be angry and not know it. That anger will colour all his opinions and attitudes and distort them. The simple statement, ‘I am angry’, is much closer to the truth and also much less destructive. Making A-Statements keeps thought closely tied to feeling. If thought wanders away from feeling, that is, if it is unconscious of the feeling underlying it, it can and does create universes of delusion. When thought is tied to feeling, it becomes much more trustworthy. If I were to look for a scriptural justification of the concept of the A-Statement, I would point to the remarkable verse (I.4) from Spanda Karikas: I am happy, I am miserable, I am attached—these and other cognitions have their being evidently in another in which the states of happiness, misery, etc., are strung together. Notice the A-Statements (I am happy, etc.). Of course, the point that Vasugupta is making has to do with the old debate with the Buddhists. He is saying that these cognitions or A-Statements must exist within an underlying context, the Self. The Buddhist logicians denied the existence of a continuous Self, saying that each mind moment was essentially unrelated to every other one. Leaving that debate aside, the verse suggests the close connection of the A-Statement with the Self. The participant in Shiva Process work makes an A-Statement, understanding that with it he comes to the doorway of the Self, which underlies it. I think of the A-Statement as a kind of Shaivite devotional ritual. The Shaiva yogi sacramentalises every movement and gesture of life and by making a perfect articulation of present feeling, he performs his sacrament to the presence of divinity in that moment. Once the A-Statements are found, expansion takes place via B-Statements, any statements that uplift, and G-Statements, those B-Statements that are scriptural or come from higher Consciousness. Without G-Statements the inquiry might be merely psychological, or rooted in the mundane. Without A-Statements we are building an edifice on shaky foundations. Balance is needed. Mandala of the Hierarchy of Statements. Self-inquiry leads to more subtle and profound understanding. A-Statements set the foundation of present feeling, B-Statements draw on inner wisdom and G-Statements lift the inquiry to higher Consciousness.

Self-realised yogi are confined to the periphery of his Consciousness and do not affect his inner being. (Shiva Sutras III.33) Tat pravrittau api anirasah samvetri-bhavat Even though he is engaged in activity he is totally unattached to it and remains unmoved because he is established in the awareness of the supreme Self.

Self-realised yogi are confined to the periphery of his Consciousness and do not affect his inner being. (Shiva Sutras III.33) Tat pravrittau api anirasah samvetri-bhavat Even though he is engaged in activity he is totally unattached to it and remains unmoved because he is established in the awareness of the supreme Self. (Shiva Sutras III.32)

In general, the Shaivite authors were extremely practical and tolerant. They respected the methods developed by all traditions of yogis, even their ostensible opponents. The Vijnanabhairava, for example, mixes techniques that are clearly Shaivite, ‘Everything is Shiva’, with others that are redolent of Buddhism, ‘Meditate on the Void’. A true Shaivite embraces all because Shaivism includes all.

A crow, even in heaven, would eat shit!’ The mind is like that crow; even in the most favourable circumstances, the mind loves to dwell on negativity. You have to train the mind to eat good thoughts. This is the practice of looking for what is expansive and uplifting.

Living the Shaivite life implies constant attention to energy. When we move in the right direction, energy increases and expands. When we go in the wrong direction, we become depleted. All the negative matrikas and negative emotions deplete us. Abhinavagupta says that it is not thought that is the real problem, but doubt. Doubt creates a block in Consciousness. The mind says, maybe this, maybe that; maybe yes, maybe no. This creates a tension and freezes a person at the place of doubt. He no longer flows in Consciousness. In fact, Consciousness is hidden by uncertainty. He cannot move until the doubt is overcome or turned away. I have already quoted Shiva Sutras I.17, which says: Vitarka atmajnanam The knowledge of the Self is conviction. Only certainty leads to knowledge of the Self, and certainty only comes from higher things, not from the world of opinion. The Shiva yogi lives his life with courage and passion. If you are in the woods with two paths leading away from a clearing, like the hero in the famous poem by Robert Frost, if you are full of doubt and do not act, then you never leave the clearing. A Shaivite knows that all roads lead to Shiva, and Shiva has infinite faces. He knows that it is far better to take either path and walk it. If it is the wrong path, he will learn it quickly enough. In the highest sense there can be no wrong choice since there is nowhere to wander away from Shiva.

I often use the metaphor of the ‘doorway’: this path is a doorway to Consciousness; this practice is a doorway to Shiva; this attitude is a doorway to the Absolute; the Guru is the doorway to God. I realised that I unconsciously held this metaphoric vision of life. Shiva is close at hand just behind the veil, just behind the door. So the Shaivite, in his life as in his yoga, should act courageously, knowing that everything that he needs will come. At the same time, he must be sensitive and aware and accept the feedback that comes from the world, which is nothing but Chiti. Do the yoga that you understand at the level that you understand it and do it with full conviction.

HANDLING DESIRE—THREE STRATEGIES: DHARANAS 73, 74 AND 75 This set of three dharanas on desire is useful for sadhana and illustrates the Vijnanabhairava’s universal and eclectic approach. Dharana 73: Having observed a desire that has sprung up, the aspirant should put an end to it immediately. It will be absorbed in that very place from which it arose. Here, a desire, having arisen, is renounced by the aspirant. This is the yogic approach of cutting off unwanted vikalpas. It is effective if you have a strong mind or a weak desire. Dharana 74: When desire or knowledge (or activity) has not arisen in me, then what am I in that condition? In verity, I am (in that condition) that Reality Itself (i.e., Consciousness-bliss). (Therefore the aspirant should always contemplate ‘I am Consciousness-bliss’.) Thus, he will be absorbed in that Reality and will become identified with it. Here, the meditator observes his condition before desire, knowledge or activity has arisen. He identifies with the transcendental and not the personal reality. This is the Vedantic approach. Dharana 75: When a desire or knowledge (or activity) appears, the aspirant should, with the mind withdrawn from all objects (of desire, knowledge, etc.) fix his mind on it (desire, knowledge, etc.) as the very Self, then he will have the realisation of the essential Reality. Here is the Shaivite or Tantric approach. Instead of getting rid of the desire (as in 73) or focussing on the reality prior to desire (74), he focuses on the desire itself, seeing it as the Self, as Chiti. He turns his mind away from the thing that is desired to focus on the feeling of desire itself. Through contemplative awareness he will experience that desire as a wave or pulsation of Consciousness. In comparison, in the yogic approach, the desire is seen as a problem to be chopped off. In the Vedantic approach it is seen as an illusory superimposition on the underlying reality. In the Shaivite approach, the desire is fully entertained and honoured as Chiti Itself. While I am clearly enchanted by the Shaivite approach, all three of these weapons should be in the arsenal of a great meditator.

In Buddhist art, the portrayals of the Buddha are suffused with shanta rasa, a sense of transcendental peace, as are the Hindu depictions of Lord Shiva in meditation. One movie is brought to mind that strikes me as a yogic parable—The Truman Show. It seems to me reminiscent of the life of the Buddha, though told in a curious way. Truman’s entire life is a television show. Unknown to him, the community where he lives is actually a giant stage set and all the people in his life—including his wife and co-workers—are actors. People in the outside world avidly follow Truman’s every move, and everything is under the control of a Svengali-like director, of whom Truman is unaware. Truman’s controlled environment is like the Buddha’s. Both were shielded from the truth since birth. As cracks in the edifice of untruth start to appear they begin to wake up. They look around and inquire, ‘What’s going on?’ In a great leap both leave their lives and, risking everything, go through a doorway into the unknown. Of course, while the Buddha went through the door that led to enlightenment, Truman went through the door that led to the backlot of a movie studio. Both stories are parables of our soul’s journey of awakening. We discover that things are completely different from the way we thought, and we wake up to a new reality. But we can only follow Truman to the point where he makes that heroic choice. That is his enlightenment.

Abhinavagupta comments more soberly: The organs of sight, hearing, taste and smell are subtly present in earth and the other elements belonging to lower levels of reality, the highest among them being still within the sphere of maya, whereas touch resides at a higher level of energy as an indescribable, subtle sensation ceaselessly yearned for by the yogi. There is a correspondence between touch, kundalini energy and prana (the breath). To experience true samavesha is to experience ecstasy or bliss (ananda). While bliss is difficult to experience in ordinary life, the Shaivites insist that it underlies everything and is available in every moment. Thus, even in pain, even in adversity, the Shaivite will search for that ananda by means of samavesha. Bliss

A SUMMARY OF MALAS AND UPAYAS Karma mala says, ‘I am the body’. This is counteracted by anavopaya, which says, ‘I am free!’ Anavopaya is the sadhana of the body. Mayiya mala says, ‘I am the mind’. This is countered by shaktopaya, which says, ‘I am Shakti’. Shaktopaya is the sadhana of the mind. Anava mala says, ‘I am a person, a jiva’. This is countered by shambhavopaya, which says, ‘I am Shiva’. Shambhavopaya is the sadhana of the Self.

Karma can prevent us from discovering the spiritual path. Baba used to say that only when a person’s karmas were balanced, that is, when there was roughly an equal amount of good and bad karma, could he receive shaktipat, or divine awakening. Too much good karma or too much bad karma creates attachment to the external world. A person with a lot of good karma basks in the good life, while a person with a lot of bad karma completely focuses on his material or physical lacks. The corresponding yoga is called anavopaya, ‘the way of the body’. Literally translated this is the ‘means’ or yoga of the bound soul (the body). Anavopaya, therefore, is the cultivation of right actions on the level of the body. It includes karma yoga, which is the yoga of service; ritual worship (puja); hatha yoga; and pranayama, yogic breathing exercises. All of these sort out the physical body or how we conceive of ourselves as the body. Anavopaya helps us balance our bodily karmas. Meditation on the chakras or points in the body, on the breath, on objects in the world or deities are all within the scope of anavopaya.

The five processes fall into two groups. Creation, sustenance and dissolution are one group, parallel to the Hindu trinity of Brahma (creation), Vishnu (preservation) and Shiva (destruction). They tell the life story of everything, while the second group, concealment and grace, has to do with the spiritual condition of oneness or separation.

Abhinavagupta in his work on language mysticism, Paratrishika Vivarana, says that everything in the universe is of the form of the Trika, the three. It is Shiva, Shakti and nara (nara—the individual, and everything that is not Shiva and Shakti). This triad is reflected in the grammatical structure first person (I), second person (you) and third person (he, she or it). Abhinava says that the first person is always Shiva. When the first person has a counterpart and becomes dual, then the second person is always Shakti. When the two become many, the third person is always nara. The first person is of primary importance, the second next, and then the third.

The three shaktis—will, knowledge, and action—are always related. First you want to do something, then you figure out how, then you do it. The movement is from the interior to the exterior.

These are conceptual entities designed to deal with certain philosophical issues. It is well to remind ourselves not to impute to them ontological status, else we get caught in these intellectual structures rather than keeping our attention on the experience they point to.

Thought and feeling are the only two inhabitants of our inner world. The thought aspect gives strength and invulnerability, while the feeling aspect softens and humanises. Thought and feeling are two poles in the polarity of truth and kindness. Both truth without kindness and kindness without truth should be avoided.

Shaivite meditative technique called layabhavana, gross tattvas are dissolved into their underlying, more subtle tattvas. Shaivite Self-inquiry is a kind of layabhavana meditation, a peeling of the onion of awareness so that surface appearances are continually stripped away, revealing a deeper resonance of truth underneath.

In the state of separation, or jivahood, a human being wanders the world alone. He may have a wider identification with his family, nation, ethnic or religious group and these give him a relatively higher purpose. The Guru is one who is in integral relationship with the whole universe. He has attained Shiva samavesha and stands at the very centre of Consciousness. The connection with such a Guru gives a seeker a reliable reference point to Consciousness. An intelligent seeker will let the nuances of his relationship with the Guru show him when he is moving towards oneness, and when he is moving towards separation.

Spanda Karikas II.1 says: Tadakramya balam mantrah sarvajnabalashalinah Pravartante ’dhikaraya karananiva dehinam Baba Muktananda’s colourful and informal translation of this aphorism was, ‘The mantra is the power of everything and everyone. The mantra is all-knowing and can do anything’. Jaideva Singh’s translation is, ‘Mantras derive their power from the spanda principle and finally dissolve in it’. For Baba, mantra was a method for tapping the deep source of inner energy and bringing its life to the surface of things. He considered the repetition of a mantra received from an awakened teacher to be a streamlined, easy and almost effortless path. There is tremendous emotional power in language. In fact, thought and feeling are two sides of the same coin. Thought or language is a container of feeling: words and ideas shape emotion and create upliftment or contraction. The wrong kind of language (or thought) pinches feeling and creates emotional pain, while the right kind of language is a fitting vehicle of feeling, and given such a vehicle, feeling becomes free to expand and soar. Language has the binding power of ignorance (Shiva Sutras I.2: Jnanam bandhah: Knowledge is bondage) and also the mysterious freeing power of the master of matrika. Mantra is a key method for liberating the practitioner from illusion. Do not underestimate it.

In Shiva, knowledge is perfect, will is perfect, ability is perfect, feeling is perfect. In Shiva there is no time but only eternity. In Shiva too, there is no space as we know it, but only omnipresence. There is total freedom, svatantrya. There is no sequence of events, no steps, nothing outside of Shiva Himself. There is no cause and effect. Everything is known at once in its totality. In Shiva, past and future do not exist separately from the present. In Shiva, other places do not exist separately from this place. In Shiva there is no ‘there and then’, only ‘here and now’. The early Shaivite masters measured time with thought. They held that the smallest unit of time is the ‘moment’, which is the time it takes to have one thought. A meditator soon discovers that past and future are products of his mind alone. He sees that meditation is a struggle to become present. When the mind moves towards future possibilities or broods over past events there occurs a subtle but real diminution of energy. But when the mind stays present, energy is enhanced and uplifted. In every activity in life our enjoyment and our efficiency are increased the more present we are. Whether the activity is watching a movie, playing a sport or making love—the more present we are, the more vivid, full and enjoyable it is. Being present clearly has something to do with our interest in whatever we are doing, and that can affect our emotional engagement with it. Although the Self is ultimately the source of all love and interest, it takes a while to truly focus on it because we are beguiled by false possibilities and superficial goals.

I had a transforming insight. I realised I might not be able to have the meditation I want to have, but I can always have the meditation I am having. Instantly, my approach changed. With the lens of this insight, I saw how much I had been at war with myself and at war with reality. I saw that I had to surrender to what was so, respecting it all as Shiva. The insights of Shaivism had perhaps precipitated this moment. If every thought, every feeling, every sensation, every thing were Shiva, why would you reject something and seek something else? In doing so, you would be dishonouring Shiva, you would be killing Shiva to get to Shiva.

green. His route may be circuitous and difficult, but he can always get home. The one indispensable thing is that he must locate his ball. I started to surrender into each moment in meditation. I told myself ‘Be present, everything is Shiva’. My war-cry became, ‘Be with what is’. I felt that I had to transcend time by entering more fully into the present moment. To do this, I minutely observed my experience in the moment. I saw that while thought might lead me away from being present, feeling was a reliable indicator of presentness, since it could never be of the past or future. When I sat to meditate, I examined feeling within my body. I noticed that it tended to cluster in various chakras, like the navel, the heart and the third eye. From this inquiry the A-Statement developed as a technique for becoming present (I feel sad, I feel glad). Getting

Getting in touch with the present moment is indispensable in true meditation, because the present moment is the doorway to the infinite. Making an A-Statement, we enter that doorway.

The third dream is the yogic dream of being present. It is not a dream at all, but an awakening. It marries the dream to what actually is. It sees Shiva in every moment and accepts with maturity the difficulties of life. This yogic vision sacramentalises life and can truly be achieved only by inner work. In meditation, as well as in life, whatever the situation, it is good to accept it as though you have chosen it. That way, you make the present moment your ally, not your enemy. Use every bit of your power to come into harmony with present time, or to search for the harmony that is hidden in present time.

Another way to describe this inward movement is to note that the aspirant moves from his outer life in physical reality back through the bodies. He goes from the physical body to the subtle body. From there he goes to the causal body. His destination is the supracausal body, the abode of the Self. Rolling up the universe in this fashion, the yogi conquers time and space and consequently conquers death. He finds what is permanent at the core of all that decays. He achieves samavesha or absorption in Consciousness. Conquering the kanchukas he discovers to his amazement and delight, ‘I am immortal and all-pervasive. I am Shiva, indeed!

Equally we should remember that the structures of Shaivism are also maps and while maps have something to do with reality they are not the same as reality.

In the sentence, ‘I am That’, we can already see the seeds of separation. We have a subject and an object, which clearly are distinguishable. If ‘I’ equals ‘That’, there exists also the possibility that ‘I’ might not equal ‘That’ under certain conditions. Maya is the principle of separation and limitation. It is also the principle of negation. Linguistically a ‘not’ comes in. The new statement is ‘I am not That.’ Going through that tunnel of separation means that the principal of negation comes in. What does that ‘not’ mean? It means that the ‘I’ is separate from the ‘That’. Shiva now feels separate from His universe.

What is interesting about this scheme is that, again, it comes from the inside out rather than from the top down. Where do you look for tattvas one to five? Not in heaven, you look for them within yourself. There is nowhere else to look. The universe is the opening out of Shiva, which is the opening out of each of us. To contemplate this understanding and connect with it is to become a real Shaivite. It is to look around and say: This world is generated from within me. This is the transforming vision and practice of Shaivism.

O My Love! Due to your awaking there is a awaking (manifestation) of the world. Due to your slumber there is sleep (disappearance) of it. Therefore all this existing and non-existing world is identical with you - not different from you.

In the natural state of anupaya, even bondage and liberation are seen to be illusions of the mind. When grace descends through anupaya, this very universe is utterly transformed. Nothing happens to the universe, only to the viewer.

Kshemaraja’s first two sutras in Pratyabhijnahridayam say: Supremely independent, universal Consciousness is the cause of the universe. Of its own free will, this universal Consciousness unfolds the universe on its own screen. The basic stuff of the universe is universal Consciousness. The physicists would say it is universal energy, but Shaivism says that not only is this energy energetic, but it is also conscious. It is aware; it is not material. You know by direct experience that you have Consciousness. It sits firmly on your neck. You’ve got a miraculous capacity to see, to understand, to think and to contemplate. Western science seems to assume that Consciousness evolved from matter. Shaivism says that Consciousness is primary and prior to all matter. Everything in the universe is part of universal Consciousness; there is nothing apart from it.

But with the fifth sutra it gets bad. Suffering begins. Chiti Itself, Consciousness Itself, descending from its stage of perfect expansion, becomes chitta (the mind) through the process of contraction. Now our hero has his first really bad day. Universal Consciousness becomes chitta, your mind. This is a significant statement. Universal Consciousness, which creates and underlies the whole universe, has become your little mind. The ocean has withdrawn and left a puddle on the beach. But it is the same water. Your mind, your awareness, is exactly like universal Consciousness. There is not one bit of difference between them, except that it’s a smaller, more limited thing. There is something else here: the hint that by examining awareness you can know the highest truth. You can know Shiva by examining your own awareness.

Someone once complained to a sage about how long the path was—it seemed to have no end. The sage said, ‘It’s not the path that is long but your ignorance is long!’ He could also have said that the path is exactly as long as your ignorance. Shiva Sutras 1.17 says: vitarka atmajnanam Conviction is knowledge of the Self. To gain that conviction we must continually bathe our minds in higher wisdom.

Pure awareness can be found in the space between two thoughts and also the space between two breaths. It is also the background of the mind that is prior to the mind. It is the witness of the mind or the container of the mind. Maheshwarananda says: The intermediary state suspended between the object left and that which one hasn’t yet attained there, O Mother! is that which (the yogis) consider to be Your nondual reality. The space between two thoughts is a pause so the slate can be clean and another thought can come. You have to clean the whiteboard before you write your next thing. That little space between two thoughts is pure awareness.

Abhinavagupta says: Discursive, dualistic thought certainly is discourse, but in its deeper nature, it is awareness (vimarsha). Such an understanding gives us an incentive to look behind thought to find something greater. In the final phase of shaktopaya the seeker uses a high thought to carry him out of the realm of thought altogether into the stillness, the Consciousness that is the background of discursive thought. Abhinavagupta explains that the Consciousness of an individual is limited to his mind and therefore functions under the influence of maya, creating separation and duality. He says, however, that if he adopts a thought like: ‘I am present everywhere, everything is in me’, then by means of persevering determination his thought-form, though dominated by maya, eventually leads him to the thought-free state.

Shaivism tells us always to take the highest view possible. We hear of the highest, most direct means first. If we can’t absorb that there are other means available. It is not that we spend years perfecting our anavopaya and then move up. We seek our toehold as near the summit as we can manage. We hear of the highest truth first. If we can grasp it, fine; if not, the next lower means is offered. Finally, we will rest in the yoga perfectly suited to our personality and level of development. This is the compassion of Shaivism: it honours all beings with the understanding that since everyone is divine in his inner nature, no one is too dull to hear the highest truth first. That truth and its related techniques will resonate somewhere within the seeker even if he is not yet ready to understand or use them. There will be some benefit and the terrain will have become more familiar. The higher means, being closer to God, as it were, contain more of His light and energy. Fundamentally, the whole philosophical system and practice of the Trika is an instrument for communicating divine grace in the form of illumination, peace and joy. The teachings are given in the knowledge that it is likely that the mind of the aspirant cannot yet grasp them.

Our essential awareness is always pure, but the physical-mental-emotional sheath that overlays it has acquired knots and contractions. Our vision has to be cleansed so that it may return to pure awareness. That is the process of spirituality. It is particularly the realm of meditation and inquiry. Pratyabhijnahridayam Sutra 6 continues the discussion of contraction: Tanmayo maya pramata The empirical self governed by maya, consists of chitta. Loosely translated, this sutra says, you are your mind. As an individual, jiva, you are the sum total of your attitudes, your emotions, your experiences and your likes and dislikes. You are a programmed mind. This is the story of the bound soul. Our bondage is our programming. It is an heroic act to crawl inside your own mind and deprogramme yourself! What a noble enterprise! How ecstatic when you actually do a little bit of it, when you untie a knot. The mind is not the true Self. The Self, awareness, is prior to the mind. The mind is an object, the Self is the subject. We identify with our mind much more closely than we identify with our body. We think our attitudes are us. But the Self is beyond the mind. We can observe our mind from the witness perspective and see that our thoughts are simply output that our minds produce.

Abhinavagupta says: At a certain level of Consciousness, knowledge and action, although evident, are contracted. A blazing energy is (revealed within) the one who dedicates himself to removing the burden of this contraction. This is perfect Self-inquiry. Contraction (mala) shows up directly in our body as tension. A yogi can approach the tension he experiences within himself directly through inquiry, and with sufficient skill and insight, unblock himself (upaya). Since Shaivism asserts that ‘everything is Consciousness’, it follows that even our blocks are nothing but Consciousness. They are tense bundles of thoughts and feelings that can be unpacked by direct inquiry.

A Shaivite aphorism says that Shakti is the doorway to Shiva. If the Self is Shiva, the mind and its language is Shakti.

To repair the mind we have to bring in appropriate, true thoughts. We have to expand our philosophical awareness and get rid of our negative thoughts, moving to positive thoughts. Abhinavagupta says: Whoever wishes to have access to the divine nature, should first of all purify his thoughts. This is achieved by contemplation—the old limited concepts are slowly replaced by the higher truths by means of constant contemplation done with imaginative fervour.

ASANA Now I shall instruct you regarding the nature of asana or seat. Although by 'asana' is generally meant the erect posture assumed in meditation, this is not its central or essential meaning. When I use the word 'asana' I do not mean the various forms of asana’s such as Padmasana, Vajrasana, Svastikasana, or Bhadrasana. By 'asana' I mean something else, and this is what I want to explain to you. First let me speak to you about breath; about the inhaling breath-apana, and the exhaling breath-prana. Breath is extremely important in meditation; particularly the central breath-madhyama-pranan, which is neither prana nor apana. It is the center of these two, the point existing between the inhaling and exhaling breaths. This center point cannot be held by any physical means, as a material object can be held by the hand. The center between the two breaths can be held only by knowledge-jnana – not discursive knowledge, but by knowledge which is awareness. When this central point is held by continuously refreshed awareness – which is knowledge and which is achieved through devotion to the Lord – that is, in the true sense settling into your asana. On the pathway of your breath maintain continuously refreshed and full awareness on and in the center of breathing in and breathing out. This is internal asana. (Netra Tantra) Asana, therefore, is the gradual dawning in the spiritual aspirant of the awareness which shines in the central point found between inhaling and exhaling. This awareness is not gained by that person who is full of prejudice, avarice, or envy. Such a person, filled with all such negative qualities, cannot concentrate. The prerequisite of this glorious achievement is, therefore, the purification of your internal egoity. It must become pure, clean, and crystal clear. After you have purged your mind of all prejudice and have started settling with full awareness into that point between the two breaths, then you are settling into your asana. When in breathing in and breathing out you continue to maintain your awareness in continuity on and in the center between the incoming and outgoing breath, your breath will spontaneously and progressively become more and more refined. At that point you are driven to another world. This is pranayama." (Netra Tantra) After settling in the asana of meditation arises the refined practice of pranayama. ‘Pranayama’ does not mean inhaling and exhaling vigorously like a bellow. Like asana, pranayama is internal and very subtle. There is a break less continuity in the traveling of your awareness from the point of asana into the practice of pranayama. When through your awareness you have settled in your asana, you automatically enter into the practice of pranayama. Our Masters have indicated that there are two principle forms of this practice of ‘asana-pranayama’, i.e. cakrodaya and ajapa-gayatri. In the practice of ajapa-gayatri you are to maintain continuously refreshed full awareness-(anusandhana) in the center of two breaths, while breathing in and out slowly and silently. Likewise in the practice of cakrodaya you must maintain awareness, which is continually fresh and new, filled with excitement and vigor, in the center of the two breaths – you are to breathe in and out slowly, but in this case with sound. ― Swami Lakshmanjoo

Mātṛikācakra is the theory of the alphabet. This theory teaches us that the whole universe is created by God, Lord Śiva, as one with, and not separated from, His own nature. He has created this universe in His own Self as the reflection of His sweet will.

This text, and Kashmir Shaivism, state that union with God is not a meeting of two; it is a meeting of one. When the mind is stilled, our ego disappears and the state of God appears within us. Liberation is nothing but the awareness of our true nature.

Their vision, their perception, heretofore limited, becomes unlimited. The mode of their actions becomes absolutely unique. They see each and every action in their God consciousness. They exist in the state of sadasiva. Each and every action of their life becomes glorious. This is the awareness that comes from the practice of pratibimba.

Swatantrya Shakti is one with God consciousness. There are not two elements, such as the mirror and the object which is reflected in the mirror. The reflected and the reflection are one. The mirror which is the absolutely independent will of God(swatantrya) us God consciousness

Since all people, regardless of categories, are Shiva Himself appearing in that form, all gods, supergods, masters of higher worlds (bhuvanas), purer beings in the plane of vidya, and the superior authorities ruling there are able to exercise their grace on beings who are spiritually below them. In fact, any persons who are spiritually advanced can bestow their grace on a person who is below them in spiritual progress. The shaktipata exercised by supergods like Brahma or Vishnu, who wield their authority inside the plane of maya, cannot lead to moksha but only to a superior type of bhoga. The form of shaktipata exercised by Isvara or Sadasiva, or by various incarnations of them like Anantanatha, Gahanesa, Srikanthanatha, or Umapatinatha can lead to the attainment of moksha. However, this shaktipata results in a gradual liberation known as kramamukti. Only an intense (tirva) type of shaktipata, exercised by God Himself, can result in quick liberation. — B. N. Pandit, Specific Principles of Kashmir Shaivism (3rd ed., 2008), p. 90.

Perfectly pure beings, having evolved the world through their own natural vilasa [exuberant divine play], and offering all things as oblations to the sacred fire of their own pure and perfect Consciousness, excel all while drinking deep the nectar of the blissfulness of their own vilasa, vibrating within their heart” (Amritavagbhava, Atmavilasa, IV.24). Such a yogin takes up the limitations of the world, absorbs them into himself, and offers them into the sacred fire of pure I-consciousness. The ability to thus transform the mundane and limited into the finest and purest is the highest goal of all life. — B. N. Pandit, Specific Principles of Kashmir Shaivism (3rd ed., 2008), p. 132–133.

While aesthetic richness has prevailed in Indian spiritual life form ancient times, there has also been a parallel puritanical aspect among Indian people. This puritanism was prevalent in various traditions of monks, and evolved into the systems of Buddhism and Jainism. Monks of these two religious paths prohibited the use of objects that were pleasing to the senses, and prescribed forcible control of the mind and senses, suppression of the emotions and instincts, and renunciation of worldly enjoyments. Those monks who became experts in this austere type of penance often developed supernatural psychic powers like telepathy and hypnotism. Even though Patanjali denounced the attainment of such powers (siddhis) as being impediments to liberation (Yogasutra, IV.36-37) still they tended to have considerable influence on people from all walks of life. Brahmanic thinkers were inflienced as well, but wisely accommodated the ideals and practices of these monks by placing them into the renunciatory and seclusionary periods of a practitioner’s later lifetime (the third and fourth stages which follow the student and householder stages). Tantric theologians did not accept puritanism. Instead they propagated a spiritual path that focused on the simultaneous attainment of enjoyment (bhukti), and liberation (mukti). They accepted both of them as the goal of human life, and developed philosophies and methods that could be followed equally by both monks and householders. They did not approve of any form of forcible control or repression of the mind, emotions, and senses, but rather emphasized that such practices could create adverse reactions that might simply deepen a practitioner’s bondage. — B. N. Pandit, Specific Principles of Kashmir Shaivism (3rd ed., 2008), p. 118.

That which separates us from God is ignorance.

These statements of limitation are not superficial mental ideas, they are held deep within. But Shaivism tells us that they do not reflect our deepest truth.

[T]his philosophy [of Kashmir Shaivism] posits a transcendental Absolute that is theistic in nature. This Absolute is not some separate divine source, but is identical with the Self of every being. Nor is It just some inert, Self-absorbed form of Consciousness. It is vibrant, luminous, Self-aware, and above all, creative. — B. N. Pandit, Specific Principles of Kashmir Shaivism (3rd ed., 2008), p. 19.

God, bearing the whole psycho-physical existence as reflections, is also not involved in any transformation of His essence. He remains pure Consciousness alone while appearing as infinite phenomena. The whole universe exists in the transcendental aspect of God, shining there as infinite, pure, and blissful I-Consciousness. It shines within Him as Him alone, and not as anything other than Him . . . . The Universe exists in Him as pure Consciousness alone, just as all milk products are present in milk in the form of milk alone. All that is, shines within Him as “I” alone. In Him there is no trace of “this-ness” or “that-ness”. Rather, it is the outward reflections of His divine powers that appear as “this-ness”. — B. N. Pandit, Specific Principles of Kashmir Shaivism (3rd ed., 2008), p. 19.

God, being total consciousness, is at all times both aware of Himself, and of the reflections shining within Him. Being absolutely independent and free, He is able to create infinite reflections on His own, and does not require any external agent to help manifest the reflections. — B. N. Pandit, Specific Principles of Kashmir Shaivism (3rd ed., 2008), p. 20.

The ancient sages of Kashmir Shaivism did not look for the truth only in logic and intellectual speculation. They relied much more on their experiences during deep yogic states to guide them in understanding and clarifying age-old philosophical dilemmas. They discovered the Absolute within themselves and found that they were one with it. They studied the Self that lay beyond the mind and the ego, and found that It was divine, creative energy. God was not some distant ruler or some inert entity. These sages realized and recognized that He was within everything, was the vitality of life itself, and was always the one transcendent Reality as well. In this way Kashmir Shaivites taught the principle of theistic absolutism. For centuries Indian philosophers have been debating whether this world is real or an illusion. In the process of watching the unfolding of their own creative energy during meditation, the sages of Kashmir found the source of all creation, and witnessed how everything in this universe evolves from this one absolute Reality into manifestation which is also real. Because all creation exists within the Absolute, they established the principle of spiritual realism. — B. N. Pandit, Specific Principles of Kashmir Shaivism (3rd ed., 2008), p. x

The Shaivism of Kashmir teaches a system of yoga that leads to the highest level of Self-realization and yields a revelation of the innermost secrets of the nature of the Self. In the practice of this yoga, the student is able to pass beyond the various levels of susupti and turya that we have been describing and finally to become immersed in the blissful experience of the Self as one with Absolute Consciousness. The student of Kashmir Shaivism discovers that what others experience as the void is actually pulsating with divine creative energy and that this creative energy is their very essence. Further, these practitioners experience everyone (pramatr) and everything (prameya) as the Absolute Lord, endowed with infinite divine potency and joyfully manifesting the whole universe. They see everything as His divine play, and recognize that everything is actually He. This totally monistic view of the world was termed “immediate non-dualism” (pratyaksadvaita) by Narasimhagupta, father of the famous eleventh-century philosopher, Abhinavagupta. Immediate non-dualism sees total unity even in mundane perceptions. Those who live in this state of unity do actually see monism with their eyes and feel it through all their senses. — B. N. Pandit, Specific Principles of Kashmir Shaivism (3rd ed., 2008), p. xvii-xviii

Kashmir Shaivism asserts that all phenomena that ever appear in the universe enjoy an eternal existence within Absolute Consciousness. Because time and space do not exist for the Absolute, these phenomena do not exist within Consciousness in the same way that things exist in a room. Rather, they exist and shine within the Absolute as pure Consciousness. For example, a plant exists in a seed in the form of the potential of the seed to appear as a plant. The whole universe exists within Absolute Consciousness in the form of its divine potency. Consciousness is capable of appearing as anything and everything in the universe by Its own free will. Therefore, the philosophy asserts that all things have an eternal and absolutely real existence within pure and absolute Consciousness. This approach is known as spiritual realism and is another example of a theory that is particular to Kashmir Shaivism. Spiritual realism is considerably different from the realism of other philosophical systems, for instance material realism of the Nyaya-Vaisesika and Samkhya schools. Also, this realism should be differentiated from certain forms of idealism in both India and Europe. These idealists generally consider phenomenal existence to be the outward manifestation of past mental impressions appearing like things in a dream. According to Kashmir Shaivism, the things of this world are not a dream because they enjoy a concrete existence in time, present a common target for the activities of many people, and serve a particular function. The things of this world are real for all practical purposes. In other words, the authors of Kashmir Shaivism have worked out a pragmatic realism. — B. N. Pandit, Specific Principles of Kashmir Shaivism (3rd ed., 2008), p. xxi-xxii

Bondage and liberation is another important issue that Kashmir Shaivism has clarified in a unique manner. Most of the other schools of Indian philosophy assert that all beings are responsible for their own misery and can only attain liberation through their own efforts. But Kashmir Shaivism, while advocating personal effort for the attainment of freedom from limitation, finds the basic source of both bondage and liberation in the divine creative expression of God. In this philosophy, the world and our lives are often described as a divine drama or play in which Paramasiva is the sole producer, director, and cast of characters. He is everything wrapped up in one. It is He who, in the initial parts of His divine play, obscures His divinity and purity, appears as an ordinary person with limitations, and becomes progressively denser and more ignorant as a result. But in the final part of this play, He bestows His divine grace on the person He appears to be. This person then turns away from misery, becomes interested in spiritual philosophy, comes into contact with a teacher, receives initiation into spiritual practices (sadhana), attains correct knowledge of the theoretical principles of absolute non-dualism, practices yoga, and develops an intense devotion for the Lord. Finally this person recognizes that he is none other than the Lord Himself. — B. N. Pandit, Specific Principles of Kashmir Shaivism (3rd ed., 2008), p. xxii

By March 1948 Sheikh Abdullah was the most important man in the Valley. Hari Singh was still the state’s ceremonial head – now called ‘sadr-i-riyasat’ – but he had no real powers. The government of India completely shut him out of the UN deliberations. Their man, as they saw it, was Abdullah. Only he, it was felt, could ‘save’ Kashmir for the Union. At this stage Abdullah himself was inclined to stress the ties between Kashmir and India. In May 1948 he organized a week-long ‘freedom’ celebration in Srinagar, to which he invited the leading lights of the Indian government. The events on the calendar included folk songs and poetry readings, the remembrance of martyrs and visits to refugee camps. The Kashmiri leader commended the ‘patriotic morale of our own people and the gallant fighting forces of the Indian Union’. ‘Our struggle’, said Abdullah, ‘is not merely the affair of the Kashmir people, it is the war of every son and daughter of India.’59 On the first anniversary of Indian independence Abdullah sent a message to the leading Madras weekly, Swatantra. The message sought to unite north and south, mountain and coast, and, above all, Kashmir and India. It deserves to be printed in full: Through the pages of SWATANTRA I wish to send my message of fraternity to the people of the south. Far back in the annals of India the south and north met in the land of Kashmir. The great Shankaracharya came to Kashmir to spread his dynamic philosophy but here he was defeated in argument by a Panditani. This gave rise to the peculiar philosophy of Kashmir – Shaivism. A memorial to the great Shankaracharya in Kashmir stands prominent on the top of the Shankaracharya Hill in Srinagar. It is a temple containing the Murti of Shiva. More recently it was given to a southerner to take the case of Kashmir to the United Nations and, as the whole of India knows, with the doggedness and tenacity that is so usual to the southerner, he defended Kashmir. We in Kashmir expect that we shall continue to receive support and sympathy from the people of the south and that some day when we describe the extent of our country we shall use the phrase ‘from Kashmir to Cape Comorin’.60

So, the creative energy for the universe is the destructive energy for shiva- it is the revealing energy for the universe and the concealing energy for Lord Shiva. And the destructive energy for the universe is the creative energy for shiva i.e it is the concealing energy for the universe and the revealing energy for Lord Shiva. Para kundalini is the supreme visarga of Shiva. As you know from studying the theory of matrikachakra, visarga(:) comprises two points. The points are said to be Shiva and Shakti. In the real sense, however these points are not shiva and shakti: they are the revealing point and the concealing point

In our trika saivism kundalini which is that internal serpent power existing in the shape of a coil is divided into three ways. The supreme kundalini is called para kundalini. This kundalini is not known or experienced by yogins. It is so vast and universal that the body cannot exist in its presence. It is only experienced at the time of death. It is the heart of Shiva. The whole universe is created by para kundalini, exists in para kundalini, gets its life from para kundalini and is consumed in para kundalini