Shivaism - Laya - Tantra

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Kashmir Sivaism

 

The Sivaism is strictly speaking the oldest spiritual path. The

archeological discoveries at Mohenjo Daro and Harappa reveal Sivaism

to have an ancient history of thousands of years. Traces of it can be

found under different names in all genuine spiritual paths.

 

This is easy to understand if we remember that Siva is that aspect of

God that manifests as the Great Initiator or the Great Saviour of the

beings enchained by ignorance and suffering. We can say that any

aspiration and passionate prayer for spiritual growth and liberation

is addressed to this aspect of the Divine. In India, this aspect is

known as Siva ( " The Good and The Kind " ). Any manifestation of the

Divine liberating Grace comes from Siva. In any process of spiritual

breakthrough, whether we know it or not, it is actually the grace of

Siva that manifests.

 

Sivaism has lots of ramifications and forms. In India we can find

three main forms: Víra-Saiva, mostly developed in central India,

Siva-Siddhanta in the South of India and Advaita-Siva in Kashmir

(North of India). The latter is the most pure and elevated form of

Sivaism known to the present time. There are many aspects that are

common to these three main branches of Sivaism but there are also many

important differences between them.

 

This article refers especially to the Advaita-Siva system as it was

known and practiced in Kashmir.

 

The tradition of Kashmir Sivaism was transmitted during centuries from

master to disciple only, from " mouth to ear " . The first great initiate

recorded in history of this extraordinary spiritual path was Vasugupta

(end of VIII century & #8211; beginnning of IX century B.C.). Vasugupta

formulated for the first time in writing the principles and main

doctrines of this system. After Vasugupta, the esoteric litterature of

Kashmir Sivaism explosively blossomed and lasted for almost four

centuries, during which it became very voluminous and it reached an

exceptional philosophical depth.

 

The first fundamental work of Sivaism, traditionally attributed to

Vasugupta, is Siva Sutra, a collection of extremely elegant and

precise aforisms, completely unintelligible for the uninitiate. This

fundamental work describes the main spiritual modalities to reach the

state of spiritual liberation. According to Siva Sutra there are three

main paths to the supreme goal: The Path of Siva, The Path of Sakti

(or The Path of Energy) and the Path of the Individual. Siva Sutra is

considered to be a revelation coming directly from Siva.

 

This work outlines a more direct and quick spiritual path in which the

appeal to the Divine Grace has an essential role. Vasugupta says that

he found Siva Sutra written on a rock that miraculously came out of a

lake. He read and memorized it, after which the stone went back into

the depths of the lake.

 

This phenomenon of miraculous revelation of a spiritual text is not

singular. The Tibetan tradition often mentions " treasure texts " , works

of spirituality that have no physical author and which were found as

such, either as a manuscript in a cave or as inscriptions on stones or

trees. Such a " treasure text " is for example Bardo Thödol (somehow

innacurately translated as & #8217;The Tibetan Book of the Dead & #8217;).

 

Another important work of Kashmir Sivaism, attributed to Vasugupta, is

Spanda Karika & #8211; the verses (Karika) about the supreme Divine creative

vibration (spanda) & #8211; work which is a genuine esoteric treatise on

resonance.

 

In general, the whole written tradition of Sivaism can be divided in

three fundamental parts: Agama Sastra, Spanda Sastra and Pratyabhijna

Sastra.

 

1. Agama Sastra are those writings that are considered as being a

direct revelation from Siva. These writings were first communicated

orally, from Master to the worthy Disciple. They include essential

works such as MalénivijayaTantra, Svacchanda Tantra, Vijnana Bhairava

Tantra, Ratnamala Tantra, Mrgendra Tantra, Rudrayamala Tantra, Siva

Sutra and others. There are also numerous commentaries to these works,

Siva Sutra having most of them.

 

2. Spanda Sastra are those writings that contain the most important

doctrines of the system. The main work of this category is Spanda

Karika of Vasugupta, which has many commentaries. Out of these many

commentaries, two are of major importance: Spanda Sandoha (this

commentary talks only about the first verset of Spanda Karika), and

Spanda Nirnaya (which is a commentary of the complete text).

 

3. Pratyabhijna Sastra are those writings which have mainly a

metaphysical content. Due to their extremely high spiritual and

intellectual level, this part of the written tradition of Sivaism is

the least accessible for the uninitiated. Nevertheless, this corpus of

writings refer to the simplest and most direct modality of spiritual

realization. Pratyabhij & #239;ä means & #8217;recognition & #8217; and refers to the

spontaneous recognition of the divine nature hidden in each human

being (atman). The most important works in this category are: Isvara

Pratyabhijna, the fundamental work of Utpäladeva (who is a central

figure of the Sivaism tradition & #8211; he combined in a harmonious way the

impetuous and endless love for the Divine and the most refined

rational knowledge and metaphysical discernment), and

PratyabhijnaVimarasini, a commentary to Isvara Pratyabhijna. Isvara

Pratyabhijna means in fact the direct recognition of the Heart (i.e.,

essence), meaning the direct recognition of God-The-Father inside

ourselves. Before Utpaladeva, his master Somananda wrote Siva Drsti

( & #8217;The Vision of Siva), a devotional poem written on multiple levels of

meaning.

 

All these three branches of the Sivaism tradition were put together by

a mind of genius & #8211; the most brilliantly outstanding personality and

the one who reached the highest spiritual realization on this path:

the great Initiate and Liberated Abhinavagupta. Among his important

works, the most important is Tantraloka ( & #8217;The Divine Light of

Tantra & #8217;), a work in verses which is a majestic synthesis of genius of

the whole tradition of Sivaism. Abhinavagupta succeeded almost

miraculously to smooth out all the apparent differences and asperities

that existed among the different branches and schools of the Kashmir

Sivaism of before him. Thus he offers a unitary, coherent and complete

vision of this system.

 

Tantraloka was commented and expanded upon by another important

exponent of the Kashmir Sivaism who lived a few centuries after

Abhinavagupta. We are referring to Jayaratha.

 

Tantraloka has a major importance for the whole tradition of Sivaism.

Abhinavagupta realized that this work is very difficult to understand

for an ordinary disciple, and therefore he composed a summary of it in

prose called Tantrasara ( & #8217;The Essence of Tantra & #8217;).

 

The schools of Sivaism have an attitude that most of the time do not

conform to the accepted brahmanic tradition. Sivaism is not

exclusively based upon the Veda-s, therefore it cannot be said that

Sivaism is a prolongation of the Veda-s. Sivaism has discovered a new

path toward God that is even more profound than the one outlined in

the Veda-s. The main differences between these two systems come from

the introduction of the concept of Sakti, The Power or The Energy of

God. This concept does not appear in the Veda-s with the same clarity.

Compared to the Veda-s, Sivaism is a new spiritual path that is more

direct and that can offer the highest realisation here and now, in

this lifetime.

 

There are many important schools of Sivaism, some of buddhist origin,

some that are dualistic (Sivaism is monistic), etc. The highest of

these Schools are grouped in the Trika School. Trika is a quintessence

of the Kashmir Sivaism. The word & #8217;trika & #8217; means & #8217;trinity & #8217;

in Sanskrit,

and its meaning is that everything has a triple nature. At the highest

level, this trinity can be resumed to: God (Siva), Sakti & #8211; God & #8217;s

creative Energy, and Anu - the Individual & #8211; the reflection of Siva -

Sakti, the limited projection of the Godhead (anu means & #8217;atom & #8217;, but

not in the sense used by physics, but in the sense of an elementary

individual substance which reflects the order of the world).

 

The whole Creation comes from the Supreme Will of God (Siva), through

its reflection in Sakti. Then, this archetypal creation differentiates

itself into endless anu & #8211;s, who will, at their turn, create in a

semi-mechanical way (according to their specific dominant resonances)

their own world in which they exist.

 

Trika is made up of several spiritual schools. The oldest

(historically speaking) of these schools is called Krama. In sanskrit,

& #8217;krama & #8217; means & #8217;process & #8217;, & #8217;order & #8217; or

& #8217;succession & #8217;. The basic idea of

this system is that the road to perfection has certain stages or

steps. Each of these steps is governed by an aspect of the Divine.

Therefore, God is actually present all the way, but each new step

reveals a more profound face of Him. The Krama system is based upon

the concept of Sakti as the Supreme Creative Energy of Siva, and even

more specific, upon a certain aspect of Sakti which is related to

succesion and time. This aspect of Sakti is none other than the Great

Cosmic Power of Time and Eternity & #8211; Kali. The Krama School presents a

new facet of Kali: in this system, Kali is not only one of the Great

Cosmic Powers out of ten, but Kali is seen as being The Supreme Divine

Power (ParaSakti). (Remember that each Cosmic Power can lead the

aspirant to the supreme state).

 

Another very important school of Sivaism is the Kaula School. In

Sanskrit, & #8217;kaula & #8217; means & #8217;community & #8217;, & #8217;(restricted)

circle (of

initiates) & #8217;, & #8217;family & #8217; or & #8217;totality & #8217;. This is a

tantric (left hand)

school par excellence, and here Sakti plays a paramount role. The

Kaula teachings make the skeleton of Tanträloka and Tantrasära. Among

all his spiritual Masters, Abhinavagupta mentions more often and

considers the most important Sambhunatha, a Kaula School Master.

(Abhinavagupta had other Masters, for example Laksmanagupta).

 

The third fundamental system of Kashmir Sivaism is Spanda. This system

is also centered around Sakti, here also called Spanda.

 

Therefore, from the Initiation point of view, the central role is not

palyed by Siva but by Sakti. This is not paradoxical because in the

spiritual vision of Sivaism, Siva and Sakti are not two separate

realities. Siva and Sakti are two-in-one, and they seem separate only

for the ignorant and limited mind that is subjected to duality. In

truth, Siva is Sakti and Sakti is Siva; when we have consciousness,

there is also energy. When we have energy, there is consciousness who

animates that energy. Therefore, for the aspirant to spiritual

liberation, the instrument (path) is Sakti and not Siva. Siva is the

transcendent aspect of the Divine, being beyond any mental

representation. Anything we could imagine about Siva is not Siva,

because Siva cannot be defined, cannot be thought, cannot be evoked.

He is beyond anything we could imagine, desire or think. We cannot

relate directly to Siva, but we can get to Him through Sakti, which

represents the immanent aspect of the Divine. God is both transcendent

and immanent. If God would be only transcendent, it results that

Creation would be without God, in other words it would be governed by

somebody else, which is absurd. God is also immanent (present in the

world), in the Heart (i.e., center) of each particle, of each human

being. For the ignorant, God is hidden, invisible, but a spiritually

awakened being perceives God everywhere. This is why the esoteric

tradition of Kashmir Sivaism is also called Mahaguhya, term that can

be translated as & #8217;The Supreme (maha) secret (guhya) & #8217; but also

& #8217;The

Supreme (maha) non-secret (aguhya) & #8217;. These two mysterious aspects of

God (Transcendence and Immanence) are called Siva and Sakti

respectively. We can get to Siva through Sakti, and for this we can

start exactly from where we are, from our level of consciousness. And

even if Siva is reflected inside each of us as atman, we aspire toward

this Siva with our mind, desires, affection, etc., therefore with

something that is not Siva per se. This is the great miracle of Sakti:

Sakti is present both at the human level and at the cosmic level.

Sakti is the link between man and God. Sakti is the magical thread

that has one end in the transcendency of Siva and the other end in the

manifested worlds. If Sakti would not exist, there would be nothing to

connect us with God.

 

Besides these three main spiritual schools (Krama, Kaula, Spanda) of

the Trika system, there is another one, more recent, called also " the

easy and very short path " , which is accessible only to the very few

who have the appropriate level of inner preparation. This school is

called Pratyabhijna & #8211; the direct recognition of the Divine neature.

Therefore, Pratyabhijna is the fourth way of the Kashmir Sivaism

tradition (do not mistake it with the Fourth Way of Gurdjieff !!).

Pratyabhijna comprises not so much techniques as it defines and

induces through direct transmission certain inner attitudes that are

necessary for instantaneously awakening the Divine Consciousness in

us. This system shows very clearly that we are in fact not looking for

anything else that what we already are (the Divine Supreme Self). In

other words, we are looking for ourselves. Then why go outside us? We

must only become fully aware of ourselves and remember (at an

experiential level) that we are always one with God. This is all that

must be done. This fundamental remembrance (Pratyabhijna) of God is

the crowning of any genuine spiritual path: once you are on the

threshold of ecstatically merging into God, only there do you remember

(recognize) your essential, divine nature.

 

In general, it can be said that the Kashmir Sivaism has two main

historical periods: one before Abhinavagupta and one after

Abhinavagupta. Before Abhinavagupta, the different schools of Sivaism

still had many doctrinal differences between them. These differences

were the result of different visions of the different spiritual

principles. Owing to Abhinavagupta, the Kashmir Sivaism tradition

became unitary and very strong. Unfortunately, this did not last long

after his time. The continuator of Abhinavagupta & #8217;s lineage was

Ksemaraja, his direct and most important disciple. After Ksemaraja,

the tradition of Sivaism gradually extinguished in Kashmir. It had

another boost about 300 years after Ksemaraja, in the South of India,

where lived a few great initiates in this spiritual path: in the first

place, the illustrious Jayaratha, who magistrally commented upon

Tantraloka, then Bhattanarayana, who wrote a very profound initiatic

poem called Stavacintamani ( & #8217;The Sacramental Sanctuary of the Jewel of

the Divine Love & #8217;). The last continuator of the Sivaism tradition in

Kashmir was Swami Brahmacharin Laksman Joo, who died in 1992. Laksman

Joo had a phenomenal memory, he knew by heart the whole Tantraloka

with all its commentary, along with other traditional texts.

Nevertheless, Laksman Joo did not have the spiritual realization and

force of Abhinavagupta. About Abhinavagupta it is said that he was an

incarnation of Siva. From the beginning, he was extremely strong, both

in his mind and in his direct experimentation of spiritual states.

Abhinavagupta was a prolific writer and even today he is unanimously

accepted in India as one of India & #8217;s greatest philosophers and

aesthetician (he also wrote extensively about art and aesthetics).

According to his theory of aesthetics, the essence of genuine art is

not differrent from the essence of spiritual search. Even today, his

aesthetic work remains unique and it is the highest expression of

Indian aesthetics. He succeeded to unify all visions and doctrines in

a unitary corpus and to give them a common spiritual fundament.

 

Abhinavagupta was born around 950 a.d. and he lived until the IXth

century a.d. The date and place of his passing away are not known.

There is a legend that says that he went together with a big number of

his disciples into a cave and from that day on neither he nor his

remaining disciples were ever seen again. It is believed that they

translated into a parallel dimension and left the physical plane.

 

The Kashmir Sivaism is the most pure, elevated and direct spiritual

path. It is extremely interesting to note that this path is very close

to the esoteric christianity. In Kashmir Sivaism, just as in

Christianity, the main emphasis is placed on the Divine Grace and on

the awakening of the Heart. There are many accounts about the fact

that Jesus actually travelled, during the & #8217;missing 18 years & #8217;,

through

India and Tibet and that he stayed for a long time in Kashmir,

according to some tibetan documents. Even though there is a gap of

many centuries from the time of Jesus since the first works on the

Kashmir Sivaism were put on paper, there are nevertheless striking

similarities between the teachings of Jesus and the teachings of

Kashmir Sivaism.

 

Kashmir Sivaism also has a very strong tantric influence. Moreover, it

can be rightly said that the tradition of the Kashmir Sivaism is the

most pure and elevated form of tantrism. In Kashmir Sivaism, just as

in tantrism, the main idea is that everything is intimately related to

everything else, like in a holographic model of the universe. In this

way, every aspect of Creation, even the most insignifiant, is closely

and directly related to any other aspect. In this vision, the whole

Universe is in fact a gigantic web of virtual resonant fields that

occur between each anu ( & #8217;atom & #8217;) of the Universe and all the other

anu-s. In both tantric and modern quantum physics vision, both space

and time have a holographic structure, and this means that every

particle of space virtually contains, due to specific resonances, all

the other particles. Thus, the part is reflected in the whole and the

whole is reflected in the part. In the same way, each particle of time

(each & #8217;moment & #8217;) contains in it all eternity. By deeply knowing one

single moment, we can know the whole eternity, and by knowing deeply

one single atom we can know the whole universe. This is possible

because of resonance and it is not by chance that NATHA & #8217;s teachings

are fundamented on the Law of Resonance, just like the teachings of

the Kashmir Sivaism are fundamented on the concept of Spanda

( " vibration " or " resonance " ). It is deeply significant that nowadays

resonance becomes more and more important in modern science. The

contribution of Gregorian Bivolaru, the spiritual guide of the

Romanian Yoga School (MISA) & #8211; of which NATHA is a branch - is

essential and unique because he introduced for the first time the

concept of resonance in yoga. This concept gives a unitary structure

to the entire Yoga system and it also sheds a clarifying light upon

the doctrines of Kashmir Sivaism.

 

The holographic reflection of the whole in every part is fundamented

by the concept of Sakti & #8211; divine energy & #8211; the cosmic, vital, human

and

spiritual force that can manifest in an endless array of forms that

are structured on the hierarchies of Creation. Even though the powers

of God are infinite, the Kashmir Sivaism tradition says that basically

these powers can be reduced to three main essential aspects, called:

the Supreme Divine Subjective Energy (ParaSakti), the Divine Energy

that is both Supreme (Subjective) and non-Supreme (Objective)

(Para-ParaSakti) and the Divine Energy that is non-Supreme (Objective)

(AparaSakti). These three fundamental energies, that are nothing else

than three distinct manifestations of the same unique Energy of God,

represent in fact the essence of the three ontological levels of the

Whole Creation. These three levels are: (a) the transcendent (purely

subjective) level & #8211; this level is purely in the intimacy of the

Divine, and it is summarized by ParaSakti; (b) the level that is both

transcendent (subjective) and immanent (objective) & #8211; this level is

summarized by Para-ParaSakti; © the immanent (purely objective)

level, summarized by AparaSakti.AparaSakti is the essence of the whole

created world, that is differentiated into subject and object.

 

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