Moksha in Kashmir Shaivism

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As Abhinavagupta tells it, when Lord Shiva is completely alone,

bereft of his creation, he exists in the full splendor of his God

Consciousness. He does not need to recognize his own nature, because

it is already there. Nevertheless, he wants his own nature to be

recognized. This recognition gives him great joy. But, because it is

already there, there is nothing to recognize. So, in order to

recognize his nature, Shiva must become ignorant of his nature. He

must seemingly separate himself from his nature. It is only then that

he can experience the joy of recognizing it.

 

This, Kashmir Shaiva's say, is the play of the universe. Because of

Lord Shiva's freedom, his Svatantrya, this universe is created solely

for the fun and joy of this realization. It is Shiva's play to

seemingly leave his own nature so that he can find it and enjoy it

again. This is the dance of Shiva, the joyous game in which he is

continuously creating this universe--to lose himself and then find

himself.

 

In order to seemingly depart from his own nature, to lose himself in

his creation, he must withdraw his God Consciousness. And in order to

find himself, he must again expand his God Consciousness. This

process is known as nimesa (closing) and unmesa (opening). It is the

supreme energy of God which gives rise to nimesa and unmesa. Nimesa

is the withdrawal of his God Consciousness, and unmesa is the

expansion of his God Consciousness. Both of these states are

contained within Shiva simultaneously.

 

By withdrawing his God Consciousness, Shiva conceals himself in his

creation. Only Shiva has this power, the power of his own Svatantrya,

to totally disregard and hide his own nature and then to find it

again. But what is it that he finds when he rediscovers his own

nature? He finds, upon realizing his own nature, that it was already

there. For the Kashmir Shaiva, this is the real essence of this

teaching. Lord Shiva loses his nature only to find it again--and when

he does he realizes that it was already there.

 

He wants, in the external universe that he has created, to completely

disconnect his God Consciousness and then to realize that it was

never disconnected. For although it is disconnected, in the real

sense, it is not disconnected at all. In finding it he realizes that

it was never lost. He experiences that there was never really any

separation from his God Consciousness. Separation only seemed to

exist. For Shaivism this is the greatest mystery of existence and

Lord Shiva's supreme act.

 

 

In clarifying this process, Lakshmanjoo tells us that what this yogi

is experiencing is the fusing of his/her inner and outer worlds in

the oneness of God Consciousness. He says that the aspirant's I-

Consciousness, his/her universal Consciousness, is diluted in

consciousness-of-this, consciousness of the external world, and

consciousness-of-this is diluted in I-Consciousness. Here the

fullness of I-Consciousness absorbs "thisness," external objectivity,

and produces the oneness of internal mystical trance (samadhi) and

external experience (vyutthana). The nature of this yogi and the

external world become one. They are experienced as being completely

united, one with the other. There is absolutely no difference between

them. This process of krama-mudra--resulting in the absolute oneness

of universal Consciousness and the outer world--is the state of

absolute independence. The yogi, in this state, experiences that the

internal world of mystical trance and the external world are

absolutely the same. This independence and absolute oneness gives

rise to the state of jagad-ananda (universal bliss).

 

To further explain this state of jagad-ananda, Abhinavagupta

says, "My master Shambhunatha described jagad-ananda as the state

that is completely unencumbered, where bliss (ananda) is found

shining, where it is universally strengthened by the Supreme I-

Consciousness of God, and where the six limbs of yoga--bhavana,

dharana, dhyana, pratyahara, yoga, and samadhi--are no longer used or

required."

 

This aspirant, whose being has become absolutely independent

(svatantratmaka) and who possesses the state of jagad-ananda, is said

to be a jivanmukta, a being who is liberated while living. In the

Bodhapancadasika, Abhinavagupta tells us that when the aspirant

attains real knowledge of reality, which is the existent state of

Lord Shiva, that is final liberation. What is this real knowledge?

Real knowledge exists when the aspirant comes to understand that this

whole objective universe of diversity and duality is just a trick,

the play of Lord Shiva. That does not mean that it is a trick which

creates an unreal world. For the Trika Shaiva liberated yogi the

world does not disappear as the teachers of Advaita Vedanta like to

proclaim. The goal is not the world-oblivion of kaivalya (isolation).

We have seen how this objective world is just as real as Lord Shiva.

The trick lies in the fact that it causes the limited individual to

experience this world of diversity as the only reality. Real

knowledge exists when the aspirant becomes one with God

Consciousness, which is the same as attaining perfect Self-knowledge.

In possessing real knowledge he/she knows that the world of

differentiation is not actually different from Shiva, the supreme

reality.

 

The cycles of bondage and liberation are both one with Lord Shiva. It

is only his trick that we think that some souls are bound in

ignorance while others are elevated. As only Lord Shiva exists, there

is not any second thing that could cover or bind him. It is only his

play that we think that this covering of diversity actually exists as

a separate reality which covers him. There is not a second being or

reality. His trick, therefore, is our trick. Why? Because we are Lord

Shiva. We have concealed ourselves in order to find ourselves. This

is his play, and therefore it is our play.

 

This is clearly illuminated by the concept of anupaya. The Sanskrit

word anupaya literally means 'no upaya.' We have already seen that in

Kashmir Shaivism there are three upayas, sambavopaya, saktopaya, and

anavopaya. In addition to these three upayas another called anupaya

is also mentioned. As the name implies, anupaya is not actually an

upaya, for in anupaya there are no means. The one who has attained

anupaya has only to observe that nothing is to be done. Just to be is

enough. In anupaya the aspirant experiences that everything is filled

with his own God Consciousness. In fact, anupaya is the unexplainable

reality of the liberated aspirant. In anupaya the Shaiva yogis are

filled with the realization that they were never ignorant and are

therefore not now liberated. They know that nothing was lost and

nothing is gained. What could they have been ignorant of and what are

they liberated from? They experience that it was their own play,

their trick that they appeared ignorant before and liberated now.

They know that they are Shiva and that this world is their own

playground.

 

~Moksa and the means of its attainment in Kashmir Shaivism

By John Hughes

 

 

LoveAlways,

 

Mazie

[Guest guest]

, "mazie_l" <sraddha54@h...> wrote:

> As Abhinavagupta tells it, when Lord Shiva is completely alone,

> bereft of his creation, he exists in the full splendor of his God

> Consciousness. He does not need to recognize his own nature,

because

> it is already there. Nevertheless, he wants his own nature to be

> recognized. This recognition gives him great joy. But, because it

is

 

Namaste,IMO,

 

There is Big Siva and little Siva, and then there is Sakti etc.

 

Sakti/Maya being the means of projecting this illusion. To many,

Siva is Nirguna Brahman, who enjoys not a thing. Being immersed in

Sakti is somewhat like being in Savikalpa Samadhi, it is not

final...Om Sakti....Saktidass.