Aham, a concept of

Kashmir Shaivism Kashmir Shaivism or Trika Shaivism, is a nondualist tradition of Shaiva-Shakta Tantra which originated sometime after 850 CE. Since this tradition originated in Kashmir it is often called "Kashmiri Shaivism". It later went on to become a pan- ...

, is defined as the supreme heart ',, Jaideva Singh, page 78 transcendent

Self The self is an individual as the object of that individual’s own reflective consciousness. Since the ''self'' is a reference by a subject to the same subject, this reference is necessarily subjective. The sense of having a self—or ''selfhoo ...

, supreme I awareness or infinite consciousness. The space of ''Aham'' is where ''khecarī mudrā'' (free movement in the space of the heart) is realised. ''

Khecarī mudrā ' (Sanskrit, खेचरी मुद्रा) is a hatha yoga practice carried out by curling the tip of the tongue back into the mouth until it reaches above the soft palate and into the nasal cavity. In the full practice, the tongue is mad ...

'' is considered the supreme state of spiritual evolution.

Substrate of creation

When

Śiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hi ...

wants to create, the first step is said to be the creation of an interior space (the space of his heart) - a matrix of energies that will be the substrate of the new world. This place is called ''Aham'' which means "I" in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...

. Thus the absolute first creates the

divine Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.divine< ...

person, ''Aham'', and from this divine person will appear the manifestation itself. ''Aham'' is identical to ' (the wheel of phonematic energies), essential nature of all categories from '' '' (earth) to '' '',. ''Aham'' is the final resting place, dwelling place, abode of all beings, receptacle of the world.

Ultimate mantra

Another definition of ''Aham'' is that of primordial mantra, transcendental mantra, the so-called heart-bīja (mantra of the heart) - force and power of consciousness. As the supreme mantra, ''Aham'' is closely related to ''matravīrya'' (the potency of mantra). Thus the realization of ''Aham'' confers power over any mantra., Jaideva Singh, page 195

United form of Shiva and Shakti

In ''Aham'', the supreme (para) aspect of

Śakti In Hinduism, especially Shaktism (a theological tradition of Hinduism), Shakti ( Devanagari: शक्ति, IAST: Śakti; lit. "Energy, ability, strength, effort, power, capability") is the primordial cosmic energy, female in aspect, and r ...

is realized. ''Aham'' is the ''Śakti'' of ''Śiva'' or in other words, the expansion of Śiva. Another way of describing ''Aham'' is as the union of ''Śiva'' and ''Śakti'', the emotive(''visarga'') aspect of the Supreme (''anuttara'').

Etymology

Aham is formed of A+HA+M, a triad of ''Śhiva'' (A), ''Śakti'' (HA) and bindu (M). M is the final point, union of ''Śiva'' and ''Śakti'', where they dissolve into ''Paramaśiva''. The

triangle A triangle is a polygon with three edges and three vertices. It is one of the basic shapes in geometry. A triangle with vertices ''A'', ''B'', and ''C'' is denoted \triangle ABC. In Euclidean geometry, any three points, when non- colline ...

of A+HA+M is the essence of the ''Trika'' system. A+HA+M form the ' (seed of emission), a mantra that is identical to the energy of expansion and creation., Jaideva Singh, page 13 ''Aham'' can also be defined as: A = ''abedha'' (non-differentiation), HA = ''bheda'' (differentiation) and M = ''bhedābheda'' (differentiation cum non-differentiation).

Maha, the mirror image of Aham

On the other hand, ''Maha'', mirror image of ''Aham'', is formed of Ma+Ha+A, and represents the ' (seed of reabsorption) - the mantra that is identical to the process of spiritual evolution, or in other words reabsorption of the manifestation back into the absolute. In ''Maha'', Śakti (Ha) enters bindu (M) (the limited being) and reunites it with the Supreme (A)., Jaideva Singh, page 182

References