Trika

Kashmir Shaivism tradition is a 20th century umbrella-term for a body of Sanskrit exegetical literature from several non-dualist Shaiva- Shakta tantric and monistic religious traditions, often used synonymously for the Trika-school or the "Philosophy of Recognition" ('' Pratyabhijnad''). These traditions originated in Kashmir after 850 CE, as an adaptation to upper-class Hindu norms of 'wild' tantric Kaula traditions. Trika Shaivism later spread beyond Kashmir, particularly flourishing in the states of Odisha and Maharashtra.

Defining features of the Trika tradition are its idealistic and monistic '' pratyabhijna'' ("direct knowledge of one's self," "recognition") philosophical system, propounded by Utpaladeva (c. 925–975 CE) and Abhinavagupta (c. 975–1025 CE), and the use of several triades in its philosophy, including the three goddesses Parā, Parāparā, and Aparā.

While Trika draws from numerous Shaiva texts, such as the Shaiva Agamas and the Shaiva and Shakta Tantras, its major scriptural authorities are the ''Mālinīvijayottara Tantra'', the ''Siddhayogeśvarīmata'' and the ''Anāmaka-tantra.'' Its main exegetical works are those of Abhinavagupta, such as the '' Tantraloka'', ''Mālinīślokavārttika'', and ''Tantrasāra'' which are formally an exegesis of the ''Mālinīvijayottara Tantra'', although they also drew heavily on the Kali-based Krama subcategory of the Kulamārga. Another important text of this tradition is the '' Vijñāna-bhairava-tantra,'' which focuses on outlining numerous yogic practices.

Kashmir Shaivism shares many parallel points of agreement with the lesser known monistic school of Shaiva Siddhanta as expressed in the Tirumantiram of Tirumular. it also shares this branch's disagreements with the dualistic Shaiva Siddhanta school of Meykandar, which scholars consider to be normative tantric Shaivism. The doctrines of Kashmir Shaivism were very influential on the Shri Vidya tradition of Shaktism.

Nomenclature

''Kashmir Shaivism'' is an umbrella-term for several non-dualist Shaiva- Shakta tantric religious traditions that flourished in Kashmir after 850 CE. ''Trika Shaivism'' is one of these traditions, named after the use of several triades in its philosophy. Other schools of Shaivism that existed in Kashmir are Kula, Krama, the ''Pratyabhijnad'' philosophy, and the "Doctrine of Vibration" (''spanda'').

History

Origins (9th century CE)

Kashmir Shaivism originated in Kashmir after 850 CE, as a domestication of Kaula tantric movements, adapting its views and practices to normative upper-caste Hinduism. As Lawrence notes, " Radical practices were toned down, concealed under the guise of propriety, or interpreted as metaphors of internal contemplations."

One result of this domestication-process was the composition, by monistic Saivite Brahmins, of "increasingly systematic manuals of doctrines and practices on the model of Sanskrit scholastic texts ('' shāstras''). This textual development began with the ''Shiva Sutras of Vasugupta'' (9th cent. CE) and the ''Spandakārikā'' (9th cent. CE), which are the central texts of the ''Spanda system'', interpreting Shakti as ''spanda'', "cosmic pulsation," the active and creative energy of Shiva.

The ''Shiva Sutras'' appeared to Vasugupta in a dream, according to tradition. The ''Spandakārikā'' was either composed by Vasugupta (c. 800-850 CE) or his student Bhatta Kallata (9th cent. CE). These were a Śākta Śaiva attempt to present a non-dualistic metaphysics and gnostic soteriology, in opposition to the dualistic exegesis of the Meykandar school of Shaiva Siddhanta, while remaining in agreement with the monistic view expressed in the older and arguably more authoritative Tirumantiram of Tirumular.

Growth and flowering (900-1200 CE)

The main theologians of Trika Shaivism are those of the Pratyabhijñā (Recognition) school of Shaiva non-dual philosophy.

Somānanda (875-925) wrote the ''Śivadr̥ṣṭi'', "the first work of full-fledged scholastic philosophy" of the Trika school. Utpaladeva (c. 900–950 CE) and Abhinavagupta (c. 950–1016, a student of one of Utpaladeva's disciples) developed the Pratyabhijñā-system into its mature form. Utpaladeva's ''Īśvarapratyabhijñā-kārikā (Verses on the Recognition of the Lord)'' is one of the main works of this tradition, but was overshadowed by the work of Abhinavagupta. Thus, according to Torella, "Abhinavagupta's ''Īśvarapratyabhijñā-Vimarśinī'' and the ''Īśvarapratyabhijñā-Vivr̥ti-Vimarśinī'' (a commentary on Utpaladeva’s Vivr̥ti on his own ''Īśvarapratyabhijñā-Kārikā'' and Vr̥tti) are generally considered the standard works of the Pratyabhijñā." Torella notes however, that "most of Abhinavagupta’s ideas are just the development of what Utpaladeva had already expounded."

Abhinavagupta's tantric synthesis was the most influential form of the tantric "Kashmir Shaivism". It brought together elements from the following sampradayas (lineages): the Trika, Pratyabhijñā, the Kaula Krama, and Shaiva Siddhantha.

Abhinavagupta wrote numerous other works on Shaiva tantra. His '' Tantrāloka'', ''Mālinīślokavārttika'', and '' Tantrasāra'' are mainly based on the ''Mālinīvijayottara Tantra'', although they also drew heavily on the Kali-based Krama tradition of the Kulamārga. Abhinavagupta's ''Tantrāloka'' is probably his most important work. According to Christopher Wallis, "the ''Tantrāloka'' is a monumental explication of Tantrik practice and philosophy in over 5,800 verses. It is encyclopedic in its scope though not organized like an encyclopedia, for instead of just enumerating theories and practices, it brings them all into a coherent framework in which everything has its place and everything makes sense in relation to the whole."

One of Abhinavagupta's students, Kshemaraja, is also an important figure who authored the short '' Pratyabhijñāhṛdayam'' (''The Essence of Self-Recognition'').

Jayaratha (1150–1200 CE) wrote a commentary on the '' Tantrāloka''.

Decline (1200 CE - 20th century)

After 1200 CE, the institutional basis and support for the Shaiva and Buddhist Tantric tradition mostly disappeared with Islamic conquests of the region leading to the slow decline and contraction of the tradition, though especially the Kaula-influenced lineages continued to be passed down and practiced by wandering ascetics well into the 18th century, due to their non-institutionalized structure.

The number of major writers and publications declined after approximately the 14th century, although writers such as Rājānaka Ānanda Kavi, Anantaśaktipāda, Śivopādhyāya, Bhāskarakaṇṭha, Rājānaka Lakṣmīrāma, and Harabhaṭṭa Śāstri continued to produce important commentaries on core Kashmiri Shaiva texts into the early 20th century.

20th-century revival

In the 20th century Swami Lakshman Joo, a Kashmiri Hindu, helped revive both the scholarly and yogic streams of Kashmir Shaivism. His contribution is enormous. He inspired a generation of scholars who made Kashmir Shaivism a legitimate field of inquiry within the academy.

Acharya Rameshwar Jha, a disciple of Lakshman Joo, is often credited with establishing the roots of Kashmir Shaivism in the learned community of Varanasi. Rameshwar Jha with his creativity, familiarity with the ancient texts and personal experiences provided access to concepts of non-dualistic Kashmir Shaivism. His writings of Sanskrit verses have been published as the books ''Purnta Pratyabhijna''Pratyabhijna Press Varanasi, Publishers Arun Krishna Joshi, Vijay Krishna Joshi, Nichi bag Varanasi and ''Samit Swatantram''.

Lilian Silburn (1908–1993) was a French Indologist specialising in Kashmir Shaivism, Tantra and Buddhism. Working together with Louis Renou, she translated from Sanskrit and published the core scriptures of Kashmir Shaivism, including ''Shiva Sutras of Vasugupta'', '' Vijnana Bhairava Tantra'', and others, many being first-ever translations of the recently discovered texts. Silburn, a student of Lakshman Joo, authored ''Kundalini: The Energy of the Depths, A Comprehensive Study Based on the Scriptures of Nondualistic Kasmir Saivism'' (Shaiva Traditions of Kashmir, State University of New York Press, 1988).

Swami Muktananda, although not belonging to the direct lineage of Kashmir Shaivism, felt an affinity for the teachings, validated by his own direct experience. He encouraged Motilal Banarsidass to publish Jaideva Singh's translations of ''Shiva Sutras'', ''Pratyabhijnahrdayam'', ''Spanda Karikas'' and ''Vijnana Bhairava'', all of which Singh studied in-depth with Lakshman Joo. He also introduced Kashmir Shaivism to a wide audience of western meditators through his writings and lectures on the subject.

The '' Vijnana Bhairava Tantra'', a chapter from the ''Rudrayamala Tantra'', was introduced to the West by Paul Reps, a student of Lakshman Joo, by including an English translation in his book '' Zen Flesh, Zen Bones''. Cast as a discourse between the god Shiva and his consort Devi or Shakti, it presents 112 meditation methods or centering techniques ('' dharana''s).

The four key Trika mandalas from Abhinavagupta’s ''Tantrāloka,'' previously considered indecipherable, were translated, decoded and illustrated by Christian de Vietri in his 2024 book titled ''Trika Maṇḍala Prakāśa''.

Philosophy

file:Maker unknown, India - Bhadrakali within the Rising Sun - Google Art Project.jpg, A painting of goddess Kali from Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir, c. 1660-70, from a Tantric Devi series attributed to Kripal of Nurpur (active c. 1660 - c. 1690). Philadelphia Museum of Art

Influences

Trika Shaivism is a Nonduality, nondual idealistic and monistic theism, influenced by the works of the Saiva monist Vasugupta (c. 800–850 CE), and numerous Śaiva scriptures such as the Agamas, the Śaiva- Śakta Tantras and Kaula scriptures. The Trika philosophical system of ''Pratyabhijñā'' is presented in the works of Somānanda (c. 900–950 CE), Utpaladeva (c. 925–975 CE), Abhinavagupta (c. 975–1025 CE) and his disciple Kṣemarāja (c. 1000–1050).

According to Christopher Wallis, the philosophy of Trika Shaivism also adopted much of the ontological apparatus of Sāṅkhya school, such as its system of 25 ''tattvas,'' expanding and reinterpreting it for its own system of 36 tattvas. Another important source for Trika is the monistic theism of Tirumular's Shaiva Siddhanta. The Saivas also were influenced by the work of Buddhist Vijñānavāda and Pramanavada philosophers, especially Dharmakirti, who was also taken as a primary non-Saiva opponent and whose doctrines were sometimes absorbed into the ''Pratyabhijñā'' system.

Triads (trika)

An important element of Trika Shaivism's theology is the use of several triads (symbolized by the trident) in its description of Absolute and phenomenal reality, hence the name ''trika''. There are several triads described in Trika-works of thinkers like Abhinavagupta including,
* Three realities: Śiva, the Supreme Transcendent), Śakti, the creative force, immanent in creation, the link between the macrocosm and the microcosm, and , the limited atom or individual, a complete image of the ultimate, the microcosm of the macrocosm.The Trika Śaivism of Kashmir, Moti Lal Pandit, pag. 13 In Kashmiri Shaivism, the Goddess Shakti is incorporated in Shiva, the ''shaktiman'' ("possessor") of the creative force of Shakti. The human identity with Shiva is realized through Shakti, "by assuming his mythic agency in emanating and controlling the universe through Shakti."
*Three powers: ''Icchā'' (will), ''Jñāna'' (knowledge), and ''Kriyā'' (action). Any action of any being, including God, is subject to these three fundamental energies. Iccha or Will is in the beginning of any action or process. Jnana by which the action is clearly expressed first in mind, before it is put into action. Then comes Kriyā, the energy of the action.
* Three entities: ''pati'' ( Śiva), ''pāśa'' (bondage), ''paśu'' (soul)
* Shakti Triad or Three Goddesses: Parā (transcendence), Parāparā (transcendence and immanence) and Aparā śakti (immanence)
* Three aspects of knowledge: ''Pramatri'' (the subject), ''Pramana'' (the modalities of knowledge) and ''Prameya'' - the known object
* Three states of consciousness: ''jāgrat'' (waking), ''svapna'' (dreaming) and ''suṣupti'' (dreamless sleep)
* Three-fold spiritual path: ''Śāmbhavopāya'', ''Śāktopāya'' and '
* The transcendental triad: ''prakāśa'' (luminosity), '' vimarśa'' (dynamics),''sāmarasya'' (homogeneous bliss)
* The three impurities: āṇavamala, māyā, karma

One consciousness Being unfolds as the multiplicity of the world

The basic theology of Trika's Recognition school, as summarised by Utpaladeva in ''Īśvarapratyabhijñā-Kārikā'' (Verses on the Recognition of the Lord), is as follows:

The school's theology is expressed by Kshemaraja in his ''Pratyabhijñā-hṛdayam'' (''The Heart of Recognition'') as follows:

Spanda

Trika theology regards consciousness as active and dynamic, described as the spontaneous vibration or pulsation (''spanda'') of universal consciousness, which is an expression of its freedom (''svātāntrya'') and power ('' Śakti''). Because of this, though this philosophy is idealist, it affirms the reality of the world and everyday life, as a real transformation (''parinama''), manifestation or appearance (''ābhāsa'') of the absolute consciousness. The Absolute is also explained through the metaphor of light (''prakasha'') and reflective awareness (''vimarsha'').

Pratyabhijna

Central to Trika Shaivism is ''Pratyabhijñā'', "recognition." Etymologically, ''pratyabhijñā'' is formed from ''prati-'' ("re-") + ''abhi-'' ("closely") + *''jñā'' ("to know"), so the meaning is "direct knowledge of one's self," "recognition."

The central thesis of this philosophy is that everything is a manifestation or unfolding of absolute consciousness, termed '' Śiva'', and it is possible to "re-cognise" this fundamental reality and be freed from limitations, identified with Śiva and immersed in bliss. Thus, the slave (''paśu'': the human condition) shakes off the fetters ('' pāśa'') and becomes the master (''pati'': the divine condition).

Pratyabhijna, the 'philosophy of recognition', as outlined by thinkers like Utpaladeva, teaches that though the identity of all souls is one with God (Isvara) or Shiva (which is the single reality, Being and absolute consciousness), they have forgotten this due to Maya or ignorance. However, through knowledge one can recognize one's authentic divine nature and become a liberated being.

The modern scholar-practitioner of Shaiva Tantra, Christopher Wallis outlines the metaphysics and theology of non-dual Shaiva Tantra thus:

This single supreme reality is also sometimes referred to as '' Aham'' (the heart). It is considered to be a non-dual interior space of Śiva, support for the entire manifestation, supreme mantra and identical to Śakti.

Kali

In Kashmir Shivaism the highest form of Kali is Kalasankarshini who is nirguna, formless and is often show as a flame above the head of ''Guhya Kali'' the highest gross form of Kali. In Nepali Newar arts, both form and formless attributes of Kali is often envisioned in a single art form showing the hierarchy of goddesses in their tradition. In it Guhyakali image culminates in flame, with Kalasankarshini, the highest deity in the sequence, who consumes time within herself and is envisioned solely as a flame representing Para Brahman.

Comparison with Advaita Vedanta

Kashmir Shaivism and Advaita Vedanta are both non-dual philosophies that recognize Universal Consciousness (''Chit'' or ''Brahman''), but have different views on the relation between this highest Reality and the phenomenal world. In Advaita Vedanta, only this consciousness (Brahman) is ultimately Real, whereas the phenomenal world is considered to be ''Maya'', illusion, creating a fundamental ontological problem. In Kashmir Shaivism, all things are a manifestation of this Consciousness, and the phenomenal world (''Śakti'') is real, existing and having its being in Consciousness (''Chit'').

Jaideva Singh lists seven key differences between Advaita and Kashmir Shaivism, where in Kashmir Shaivism,
# the absolute is active, rather than passive,
#the world is a real appearance, rather than false (mithyā),
# grace (anugraha) has a soteriological role,
# the ātman is present in the human body in dynamic form (spaṇda), rather than as a pure witness (sākṣī),
# the methods include all four upāyas, rather than solely emphasize Śāmbhavopāya,
# ignorance (avidyā) is uprooted at both intellectual (bauddha) and personal (paurusha) levels, rather than just the intellectual level, and
# liberation (muktī) is not an isolation from the world (kaivalya) but an integration into world which appears as Shiva.

Practice

Prerequisites

Since it is a Tantric tradition, a necessary prerequisite for Trika yogic practice is tantric initiation or dīkṣa. The ''Mālinīvijayottara Tantra,'' a major source for the tradition, states: "Without initiation there is no qualification for Saiva yoga."

Although domesticated into a householder tradition, Kashmir Shaivism recommended a ''secret'' performance of Kaula practices in keeping with its tantric heritage. This was to be done in seclusion from public eyes, therefore allowing one to maintain the appearance of a typical householder.

The ''Mālinīvijayottara Tantra'' outlines several major preconditions conferring the authority to practice Yoga:

The Yogin who has mastered posture ndthe mind, controlled the vital energy, subdued the senses, conquered sleep, overcome anger and agitation and who is free from deceit, should practise Yoga in a quiet, pleasant cave or earthen hut free from all obstructions.

Six ''laksyas''

Numerous texts, including the Mālinīvijayottara Tantra, outline six "varieties of the goal" or "targets" (laksyas) of yogic practices, mainly:
* Contemplation of void (''vyoman''), which bestows all Perfections and liberation.
* Contemplation of body (''vigraha''), which bestows the coercion of deities like Visnu or Rudra
* Contemplation of drop ('' bindu''), which bestows sovereignty over Yogins
* Contemplation of phoneme (''varna''), which bestows the Perfection of mantra
* Contemplation of world (''bhuvana''), which bestows regency of a world
* Contemplation of resonance (''dhvani''), which leads to isolation and liberation.

Each of the goals is given specific practices. For example, in the ''Mālinīvijayottara Tantra,'' perfecting the Void is said to be reached by moving the mind and vital energy (through the use of mantric resonance) through two groups of three voids located along the central channel (which are also correlated with a system of six cakras), reaching to the region above the head. Different scriptures outline different lists of voids and their location in the body. The practice of resonance deals with various sounds, and how the yogin is to focus on a specific sound and its resonance within the central channel.

Regarding mantra, different Saiva tantras and texts teach different mantras and bija (seed) mantras. These mantras are generally intoned (''uccara'') at different positions in the body along the central channel (such as at the heart, throat, forehead, etc). The ''Diksottara tantra'' for example, teaches the intonation of the ''' haṃsá mantra, beginning in the heart region. Some texts teach "a lineal ascent through the heart, the throat, the palate, and the forehead, culminating with the transcendence of sonic experience as the 'Limit of Resonance' 'nadanta''in the cranium is pierced." Other texts have the mantric energy follow the breath through the nose outside the body.

Yogas

Since Trika Saivism is a synthesis of various traditions, its texts, such as the Mālinīvijayottara Tantra, distinguish four different types of Saiva yoga. According to Somadev Vasudeva:

Two of these have been assimilated from the Tantras of the Siddhanta which has two schools, one monist and the other dualist .the conquest of the reality-levels (''tattvajaya''), which has been transformed into a radically new type of yoga based on the fifteen levels of the apperceptive process, and, .the yoga of six ancillaries (''ṣaḍaṅgayoga''), which is taken over with only minor variations. The third is .Kaula yoga with its system of four immersions (pindastha, padastha, rupastha and rupatita) and as a fourth may be counted .the three types of possession (avesa) taught in the Trika (anava, sakta and sambhava) which are innovatively presented as three meta-categories under which all yogic exercises can be subsumed.

The conquest of the tattvas

In Trika texts as well as those of other Saiva schools, it is common to formulate the process of yogic conquest of the realities (tattvas) as a series of Dhāraṇās. Dhāraṇās ("introspections") are "complex sequences of meditative practices" which focus on a series of contemplations on a "hierarchy of apperceptive states designed to bring him ever closer to the level of the highest perceiver, Shiva". This hierarchy of meditations and visualizations is based on the Shaiva schema of the 36 tattvas. According to Somadev Vasudeva, the procedure can be described thus:

The Yogin starts by disengaging the mind from external stimuli and then fixes it upon a tattva uch as earth, water, etcwith ever deepening absorption. He attains an internalised vision of the reality, and compares it with his authoritative, scriptural knowledge of the highest level. By means of tarka easoning an ontological value judgement, he discerns that it is different from Siva and thus transcends it. The Yogin’s ascension inevitably brings him to the reality which is Siva at the zenith of all paths.

One example of the meditation on the tattva of buddhi (intellect) from the ''Mālinīvijayottara Tantra'' is as follows:

Contemplating in the heart a lotus with colour of the rising sun, with eight petals containing the ight bhavasof dharma etc., and a pericarp, he Yogin’sintellect becomes steady within a month. Within six he becomes a knower of the Sruti (scripture). Within three years he himself becomes an author of scriptures. Contemplating his own hysicalform there (in the heart), he perceives the principle of intellect.

Yoga with six ancillaries (''ṣaḍaṅgayoga'')

Trika yoga generally uses a system of six "limbs" or ancillaries (''aṅgas'') which are seen as subsidiary to the principle conquest of the tattvas. This system was adopted from the Saiva Siddhanta as well as in Pāñcarātra scriptures such as the ''Jayakhyasamhita''. According to Somadeva Vasudeva, in Trika, ''ṣaḍaṅgayoga'' "is to be understood as a collection of helpful or even indispensable yogic techniques which enable the prospective Yogin to achieve the required “coalescence” or “identification” (''tanmayata'', lit. the “consisting-of-that-ness”) with the object of contemplation."

These six subsidiaries as outlined by the ''Mālinīvijayottara Tantra,'' are:

* Prānāyāma, control of the "breath" or "vital energy" (prana), includes various forms of inhalation, exhalation, kumbhakah, as well as proper posture (asana), defined as either lotus or some other seated posture. The practice of ''udgatha'' (eruption) is also taught, which is a "process whereby the retained air is propelled or launched upwards from the navel-region so that it strikes the head."
* Dhāranā (fixations or concentrations). Four are taught: Fire, Water, Sovereign (defined as bindu and nada) and Nectar (fixating upon a lunar disc above the cranium which drops divine nectar into the central channel, filling the body).
*Tarka (judgment or reasoning), defined as "the ascertainment of what is to be cultivated and what is to be rejected."
* Dhyāna (meditation), defined as "attentive contemplation on Siva" or "a focused stream of awareness directed towards the judged and thus accepted reality".
*Samādhi, a deep absorption that arises from prolonged (the text states 48 minutes) and "firmly established" meditation, in which the yogin "becomes as though non-existent. He reaches a state where he becomes as though dead, from which even intense sounds and other such ense datacannot rouse him."
*Pratyāhāra, complete withdrawal of the mind

In the ''Mālinīvijayottara Tantra'' (chapter 17)'','' these are seen as six progressive steps leading to complete identification with the object of meditation. It is important to note that different Saiva tantras outline different forms of the six ancillaries, and "there is no consensus as to their order, their definition or even their subdivisions" among the different tantras.

Yogic suicide

The practice of ''utkrānti'', also called "yogic suicide", is also taught in nondual Saiva Tantras like the ''Mālinīvijayottara Tantra,'' which uses the vital energy rising through the central channel to end one's life and proceed to union with Siva. The text says that this abandonment of the body can be done at the end of one's life, after one has mastered all that one has set out to achieve.

Four ''upayas''

To attain ''moksha'', ''sādhana'' or spiritual practice is necessary. Trika texts describes four major methods (''upāya''-s) to reach total immersion (samāveśa) into the divine:Kamalakar Mishra'', Kashmir Shaivism, The Central Philosophy of Tantrism'', p. 339-350Wallis, Christopher (2013). ''Tantra Illuminated'', pp. 346-350.

# ''āṇavopāya'', the embodied method or individual method, which emphasizes various techniques which make use of the body, breath, centers of the subtle body ( chakras) and the imagination and focuses on the power of action (kriyā-śakti). This method includes most of the usual methods of classical yoga: meditation ( dhyāna), prāṇāyāma, visualization, mantras, meditation with seed syllables (varṇa-uccāra), activation of the subtle centers, yogic postures (karaṇa), and meditative ritual performance (pūjā).Wallis, Christopher (2013). ''Tantra Illuminated'', pp. 383-409 In the Tantrasāra, Abhinavagupta defines this method as "that which is applied in the spheres of imagination, prāṇa, the body, and external things. There is absolutely no difference among these methods in that the practice of any of them may yield the supreme fruit."
# ''śāktopāya'', the empowered method, or the method of the power of consciousness. Wallis writes that this method "focuses on shedding mental constructs that are not in alignment with reality (aśuddha-vikalpas) and the cultivation of wisdom, that is, modes of understanding that are in alignment with reality (śuddha-vikalpas)."Wallis, Christopher (2013). ''Tantra Illuminated'', pp. 357-83 This method mainly works with the power of knowing (jñāna-śakti) and emphasizes the use of the power of cognition to purify and refine our mental constructs (vikalpas) and the energy of our thoughts and emotions so as to bring them into full alignment with the truth.
# ''śāmbhavopāya'', the method of consciousness. This method is a way of grace which works with the pure will (icchā-śakti) of consciousness. It is a non-conceptual (nirvikalpa) method, which may work with everyday experiences, bija mantras or certain simple techniques to access the divine, such as gazing at the sky, becoming absorbed in a powerful emotion or the practice of "catching hold of the first moment of perception."Wallis, Christopher (2013). ''Tantra Illuminated'', pp. 350-57 Wallis defines it as an "immediate intuitive apprehension of the total flow of reality as it is, free of thought-constructs, dawning within awareness already whole and complete (pūrṇa), even if momentary."
# ''anupāya'' the ‘methodless’ method. Wallis explains this as a very rare case in which "a śaktipāta awakening so intense that one single teaching from a true guru is enough to stabilize that awakening permanently."

Texts

According to Mark S. G. Dyczkowski, Kashmiri Trika Shaivism looks to three scriptures "as its primary authorities", the ''Mālinīvijayottara Tantra'', the ''Siddhayogeśvarīmata and the Anāmaka-tantra.''

As a monistic tantric system, Trika Shaivism, as it is also known, draws teachings from shrutis, such as the monistic '' Bhairava Tantras'', Shiva Sutras of Vasugupta, and also a unique version of the '' '' which has a commentary by Abhinavagupta, known as the '' Gitartha Samgraha''. Teachings are also drawn from the '' Tantrāloka'' of Abhinavagupta, prominent among a vast body of '' smritis'' employed by Kashmir Shaivism.

In general, the whole written tradition of Shaivism can be divided in three fundamental parts: ''Āgama Śāstra'', ''Spanda Śāstra'' and ''Pratyabhijñā Śāstra''.

1. '' Āgama Śāstra'' are those writings that are considered as being a direct revelation from Siva. These writings were first communicated orally, from the master to the worthy disciple. They include essential works such as ', ', ', ', ', ', '' '' and others. There are also numerous commentaries to these works, ' having most of them.The Trika Shaivism of Kashmir, Moti Lal Pandit, pag. X

2. ', the main work of which is ' of Bhatta Kallata, a disciple of Vasugupta, with its many commentaries. Out of them, two are of major importance: ' (this commentary talks only about the first verses of '), and ' (which is a commentary of the complete text).

3. '' Pratyabhijñā Śāstra'' 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 Shaivism is the least accessible for the uninitiated. Nevertheless, this corpus of writings refers to the simplest and most direct modality of spiritual realization. ''Pratyabhijñā'' means "recognition" and refers to the spontaneous recognition of the divine nature hidden in each human being ( atman). The most important works in this category are: ', the fundamental work of Utpaladeva, and ', a commentary to '. ' means in fact the direct recognition of the Lord (''Īśvara'') as identical to one's Heart. Before ''Utpaladeva'', his master Somānanda wrote ' (''The Vision of Siva''), a devotional poem written on multiple levels of meaning.The Trika Shaivism of Kashmir, Moti Lal Pandit, pag. XI

Influence

The Trika Shaiva tradition was widely influential on other Indian religious traditions, particularly the Haṭha-yoga traditions, such as the Nāth school of Gorakṣa and the Dasanāmī Sannyāsins, which draw much of their yogic practice and ideas of the subtle body from Trika scriptures.

Trika Shaivism also strongly influenced Shakta traditions. Śrīvidyā, which likely originated in Kashmir, relied heavily on Trika philosophy in its seminal explanatory texts like the Yoginīhṛdaya and received commentaries by Trika masters like Jayaratha, and became an influential tradition on mainstream Hinduism, flourishing with institutional support in South India. Another tantric tradition influenced by Trika was the post-classical Kalikula (family of ''Kali'') form of Shaktism which is influential in northeastern Indian regions, such as in Bengal, Orissa, and Nepāl.

See also

* Shri Vidya
* Lalleshwari
* Swami Lakshman Joo
* Bhagwan Gopinath

Notes

References

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External links

David Peter Lawrence (2005) ''Kashmiri Shaiva Philosophy'', Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy

{{Authority control

Hindu denominations
Theistic Indian philosophy
Advaita Shaivism
Nonduality
Yoga styles