Kashmir Shaivism

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". 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 philosophical system, propounded by Utpaladeva and Abhinavagupta, 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 [Tantras (Hinduism)#Classes of Hindu Tantra|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".

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. This textual development began with the Shiva Sutras of Vasugupta and the Spandakārikā, 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 or his student Bhatta Kallata. 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.
File:Kashmir, stele con shiva e parvati, x-xi secolo.jpg|thumb|Shiva and Parvati, Kashmir, 10 or 11th century.

Growth and flowering (900-1200 CE)

The main theologians of Trika Shaivism are those of the Pratyabhijñā school of Shaiva non-dual philosophy.
Somānanda wrote the Śivadr̥ṣṭi, "the first work of full-fledged scholastic philosophy" of the Trika school. Utpaladeva and Abhinavagupta developed the Pratyabhijñā-system into its mature form. Utpaladeva's Īśvarapratyabhijñā-kārikā 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 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 : 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.
Jayaratha 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 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, 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 and Samit Swatantram.
Lilian Silburn 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 Kasmir Saivism.
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.
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

Influences

Trika Shaivism is a nondual idealistic and monistic theism, influenced by the works of the Saiva monist Vasugupta, 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, Utpaladeva, Abhinavagupta and his disciple Kṣemarāja.
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 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. In Kashmiri Shaivism, the Goddess Shakti is incorporated in Shiva, the shaktiman 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, Jñāna, and Kriyā. 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, pāśa, paśu
Shakti Triad or Three Goddesses: Parā, Parāparā and Aparā śakti
Three aspects of knowledge: Pramatri, Pramana and Prameya - the known object
Three states of consciousness: jāgrat, svapna and suṣupti
Three-fold spiritual path: Śāmbhavopāya, Śāktopāya and
The transcendental triad: prakāśa, vimarśa,''sāmarasya''
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, is as follows:
The school's theology is expressed by Kshemaraja in his Pratyabhijñā-hṛdayam as follows:

Spanda

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

Pratyabhijna

Central to Trika Shaivism is Pratyabhijñā, "recognition." Etymologically, pratyabhijñā is formed from prati- + abhi- + *jñā , 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 shakes off the fetters and becomes the master.
Pratyabhijna, the 'philosophy of recognition', as outlined by thinkers like Utpaladeva, teaches that though the identity of all souls is one with God or Shiva, 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. 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, but have different views on the relation between this highest Reality and the phenomenal world. In Advaita Vedanta, only this consciousness 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 is real, existing and having its being in Consciousness.
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,
grace has a soteriological role,
the ātman is present in the human body in dynamic form, rather than as a pure witness,
the methods include all four upāyas, rather than solely emphasize Śāmbhavopāya,
ignorance is uprooted at both intellectual and personal levels, rather than just the intellectual level, and
liberation is not an isolation from the world 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 the 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" of yogic practices, mainly:

Contemplation of void, which bestows all Perfections and liberation.
Contemplation of body, which bestows the coercion of deities like Visnu or Rudra
Contemplation of drop, which bestows sovereignty over Yogins
Contemplation of phoneme, which bestows the Perfection of mantra
Contemplation of world, which bestows regency of a world
Contemplation of resonance, 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 two groups of three voids located along the central channel, 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 mantras. These mantras are generally intoned at different positions in the body along the central channel. 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' 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, 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, which is taken over with only minor variations. The third is Kaula yoga with its system of four immersions and as a fourth may be counted the three types of possession taught in the Trika 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 as a series of Dhāraṇās. Dhāraṇās 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 with 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 , 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 from the Mālinīvijayottara Tantra is as follows:

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

Yoga with six ancillaries (''ṣaḍaṅgayoga'')

Trika yoga generally uses a system of six "limbs" or ancillaries 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” with the object of contemplation."
These six subsidiaries as outlined by the Mālinīvijayottara Tantra, are:

Prānāyāma, control of the "breath" or "vital energy", includes various forms of inhalation, exhalation, kumbhakah, as well as proper posture, defined as either lotus or some other seated posture. The practice of udgatha 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. Four are taught: Fire, Water, Sovereign and Nectar.
Tarka, defined as "the ascertainment of what is to be cultivated and what is to be rejected."
Dhyāna, 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 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 cannot rouse him."
Pratyāhāra, complete withdrawal of the mind

In the Mālinīvijayottara Tantra '','' 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 Enlightenment

The practice of utkrānti, also called "yogic Enlightenment ", 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 to reach total immersion into the divine:

āṇavopāya, the embodied method or individual method, which emphasizes various techniques which make use of the body, breath, centers of the subtle body and the imagination and focuses on the power of action. This method includes most of the usual methods of classical yoga: meditation, prāṇāyāma, visualization, mantras, meditation with seed syllables, activation of the subtle centers, yogic postures, and meditative ritual performance. 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 and the cultivation of wisdom, that is, modes of understanding that are in alignment with reality." This method mainly works with the power of knowing and emphasizes the use of the power of cognition to purify and refine our mental constructs 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 of consciousness. It is a non-conceptual 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 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, 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 [Bhagavad Gita|] 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 ', ', ', ', ', ', [Shiva Sutras (Kashmir Shaivism)|] and others. There are also numerous commentaries to these works, ' having most of them.
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: ', and '.
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. 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 as identical to one's Heart. Before Utpaladeva, his master Somānanda wrote ', a devotional poem written on multiple levels of meaning.

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 form of Shaktism which is influential in northeastern Indian regions, such as in Bengal, Orissa, and Nepāl.