Tantra & the Teachings of Kashmir's Abhinavagupta by Linda Johnsen

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Namaskar Mitra,

 

Tantra and the Teachings of Kashmir's Abhinavagupta

http://esamskriti.com/html/inside.asp?cat=680&subcat=679&cname=kashmiri_tantra

 

By Linda Johnsen Courtesy Yoga International www.yimag.org

"A thousand years ago one of the greatest and most influential yogis of all time

produced a great body of literature that addressed these problems in a practical

way. His name was Abhinavagupta. He was the consummate master in a field of

spirituality much discussed but little understood here in the West: Tantra

Yoga.

Abhinavagupta was born in Kashmir to an illustrious family of scholars around

950 C.E. He was brilliant, and so passionate about learning that he sought out

the best teachers of his time. Latter he would advise yoga students, “Be

like the bee that gathers pollen from many flowers and then makes its own

honey. Learn from the greatest masters you can find, then practice and

assimilate what you’ve learned.”

Around 800 C.E. the Siva Sutra, a set of aphorisms explaining the essential

nature of consciousness and how you can experience it for yourself, was

revealed to a North Indian sage named Vasugupta. Expanding on the Shiva Sutra,

Vasugupta composed the Spanda Karika, which describes the limitless power of

awareness and what happens when you master it. These two classics deal

respectively with Shiva, the “male” or passive element of reality,

and Shakti, the female” or active component of the universe.

To appreciate Abhinavagupta’s perspective on spiritual practice, we need

to understand how he views consciousness and its special powers. Covered are -

Consciousness & Creative Power.

Five veils of Consciousness.

Four Stages of Spiritual Practice.

Active Spiritual Life.

Yoga students don’t need to turn their backs on relationship to be

spiritual and shouldn’t say they need to cultivate

“non-attachment” in order to avoid commitment or responsibility.

Shiva is not just consciousness, it’s also bliss, and that bliss finds

expression in loving, supportive human relations.

 

Nor is the world a bitter illusion we ought to shun. Our world is the play of

Shiva and within that play each of us has been assigned a role. Active

engagement with the world, helping make it a better place, is a worthy and

important practice for yoga students.

 

There’s no need to beat yourself over the head because you experience

desire. Accept them as healthy expressions of the life energy of the universe

itself. But direct them carefully and respectfully and without unrealistic

expectations.

 

“All talent and all power to work efficiently and gracefully in every walk

of life comes from Shiva, the Self, just as all the electric power that moves

fans and lights lightbulbs comes from the powerhouse.”

 

For the student who worries her spiritual practices might not be as effective as

someone else’s Abhinavagupta would advise her that there are different

levels of yoga practice. Each is specifically designed for the particular stage

of development a student has reached so far."

 

Linda Johnsen, M.S., is the author of Meditation is Boring? Putting Life in Your

Spiritual Practice; The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Hinduism; Alpha Teach

Yourself Yoga; and A Thousand Suns, a book on ancient Indian astrology. Her web

address is www.ThousandSuns.org.

 

See you the site, share the wealth, with Prem and Om

sanjeev

 

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