Abhinavagupta and the Birth of Kashmiri Śaivism
In the ninth century (c. 800–850 AD), a venerable saint and scholar named Vāsugupta had a dream in which Lord Śiva appeared to him and told him the whereabouts of a rock with a series of teachings inscribed on it. These teachings, named Śiva sūtras, form the foundation of Kashmir Śaivism which Vāsugupta taught the philosophy of to his disciples. This is the origin of Śiva sūtras of Vāsugupta, and the beginning of the writings on Kashmir. Kashmir Śaivism is a monistic philosophy that describes the highest truth as supreme Śiva. Its basic tenet is that the entire universe is composed of conscious energy, expressed in various forms. Śiva is Chaitanya, the everlasting and all-pervasive conciousness. All that is experienced in the world is Śiva. This system deals with the threefold principle of God, soil and matter, and therefore also called Trika Śāśana or simple Trika.
śuddhavidyodayāc cakreśatvasiddhih ||
Fulfilment of being the lord of the world arises from pure knowledge.vitarka ātmajñānam ||
Reflection is knowledge of the self.bhūtakañcukītadāvimukto bhūyah patisamahparah||
The snake of the world, which has recently casts its skin, is then again like the supreme Lord.
After Vāsugupta came Abhinavagupta, arguably one of the greatest philosophers that ever lived, born about a century later (924–1020 CE), and at the request of his guru, Śambhunātha, wrote Tantraloka and Tantrasara, expanding upon the Trika system.
As an original thinker, he denounced the belief which laid emphasis on caste restrictions in relation to spiritual practice. This idea was best expressed by Abhinavagupta in one of his concluding verses of his commentary on Patanjali’s Paramarthasara:
“O my devotees! On this path to Supreme Bhairava, whoever has taken a step with pure desire, no matter if slow or intense; it does not matter if he is a Brahmin, a sweeper or an outcaste, anybody can become one with Para-Bhairava.”
Having achieved the eight great siddhi powers Abhinavagupta exhibited the six illustrious spiritual signs of Rudra Śakti samavesha: unswerving devotional attachment to Śiva; full attainment of mantra siddhi; control over the five elements; capacity to accomplish any desired end; complete mastery over the science of rhetoric and poetry; and the spontaneous dawning of knowledge of all philosophies.
The poet Madhuraja asserted that Abhinavagupta was the incarnation of Bhairava-nātha Śiva. Abhinavagupta is considered the pride of Kashmir and the authority on all aspects of Śaivism.
Sources: śivasūtra:
- The Shiva Sutra of Vasugupta Sanskrit with Transliteration and English Translation by Gerard D. C. Kuiken
- Introduction to Kashmir Shaivism by Swami Tejomayananda
Further Reading:
https://shaivam.org/english/eng-sk-shiva-sutra-gerard.pdf
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