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by Dr. R. K. Kaw
PART I
Kashmir
Shaivism & Its Three
Divisions:Kashmir  Shaivism on the whole, represents a particular
religio-
philosophical school of the valley. There are three main divisions of the school
corresponding to the division of its literature into three Shastras : (1) the
Agama Shastra, (2) the Spanda Shastra and (3) the Pratyabhijna Shastra. No. (1)
Agama Shastra is believed to be of divine origin. To this class chiefly belong
the following works : Malini, Vijya or Vijayettara, Svacchanda Tuntram, Vijnana
Bhairava, Ananda Bhairava (lost), Mrgendra, Matahga, Netra, Naishvasa,
Svayambhuva, Rudra-yamala, Vidyarnava, etc. Shiva-sutras which were revealed
later by the sage Vasugupta are said to be the most important part of the Agama
Shastra. The next two divisions of the Shaiva Shastra emerged as a result of
development of human thought concerning the main Shastra of divine origin (Agama
Shastra). The line of thought was developed by two acharyas Bhatta Kallata (9th
century) and Somananda, contemporary of Vasugupta (850-900 A.D.), in two
different directions while Kallata handed down the doctrine as a system of
religion, Somananda supplied the logical reasoning in their support and thus
founded a system of Advaita philosophy of the Shaivas on the basis of what was
at first , taught as a system of faith.
Thus there appeared the other two
Shastras,
(2) Spanda-shastra founded by Kallata and
(3) Pratyabhijna-shastra commenced by Somananda.
The three Shastras, all together, are generally
known as Trika Shastra (a shastra comprising three classes). It is rightly
observed that, out of these three, Pratyabhijna only is the 'philosophy proper
of the Trika'. There has been a controversy among scholars regarding the name of
the philosophical system of Shaiva Shastra. They think that all these names
Trika, Spanda and Pratyabhijna are the designations of one and the same system.
These scholars seem not only to have not observed the distinction between these
different systems, but have failed to notice that Pratyabhijana system only is
the philosophical school of the Kashmir Shaivas. The special literature that
developed around the two schools Spanda and Pratyabhijna is given in brief as
follows :-'Spanda Karika' and its 'Vrtti' by Kallata, Vivrti by Ramakantha,
Pradipika by Utpala, , Spanda-Sandoha' by Kshemaraja and 'Spanda-Nirnaya' also
by Ksemaraja are the main works of Spanda school. 'Shivadrashti' by Somananda, 'Ish.
Pratyabhijna Karika' with 'Vrtti' (gloss) and 'Siddhitrayi' by Utpaladeva, 'Pratyabhijna-Vimarshini'
(in two volumes), 'Pratyabhijna-Vivrti-vimarshini' (in three volumes) and 'Paramarthasara'
by Abhinavagupta, 'Pratyabhijna-hrdayam' with commentary by Kshemraja and 'Bhaskari',
a commentary on Pratyabhijna Vimarshini', in two volumes, by Bhaskaracharya,
comprise mainly the Pratyabbijna Shastra. All these works are published in
Kashmir Series of 'Texts and Studies (KSTS), except Bhaskari, Vols. I and 2
which are published as Nos. 82 and 83 of 'The Princess of Wales Sarasvati'
Bhavana Texts, Allababad, 1938, 1950'.
Distinctive Features
& Contents of Trika Shastra (in brief)
Shaivism comprehends all those systems of thought
which evolved from Shaivagamas and Shaiva Tantras. A Shaiva system means any
system based on Shaiva Tantras or Agamas. Sixty-four systems of the Shaiva cult
are mentioned in the Shaiva scriptures of Kashmir which include the Trika as one
of them. As said above, Trika is a triad, a group of three divisions of Kashmir
Shaivism, Agama, Spanda and Pratyabhijna. These three Shastras can broadly be
divided into two systems only, a system of religion or particular faith of
Shaivas, which can significantly be distinguished as Shaivism, and a system of
philosophical thought grown in Kashmir among the followers of Shaivism or Shaiva
cult, which is rightly known as Pratyabhijna Philosophy. It was Pandit
Madhusudan Koul the learned editor of KSTS, who for the first time pointed out
in his Preface to Ish. Partyabhijna Vimarshini, Vol. I, that Pratyabhijna is the
philosophy proper of the Trika system. The philosophical content of the Trika is
first presented as Prityabhijna system by Madhavacharya in his
Sarvadarshana-samgraha (14th Century) on the basis of title of the main treatise
of the system, Pratyabhijna Karika by Utpaladeva. Dr. S. Radhakrishnan also
includes 'the Pratyabhijna system' as one of the philosophical systems in his
Indian Philosophy, Vol. II, for the apparent reason.
The Kashmir Shaivism as a whole,
iocluding the faith and philosophy of the school, is presented in Trika Shastra.
It is so called (Trika) as, according to Paratrimshika, it deals with the triple
principle, Shiva, Shakti and Anu; or Pati, Pasha and Pashu; or Nara, Shakti and
Shiva; or Para, Apara and Parapara. It is called Trika for the reason that its
chief authority is the triad consisting of three chief Agamas, Siddha, Namaka
and Malini (Tantraloka I, 36), or for another reason that it includes all the
three systems, Bheda (dualism), Abheda (non-dualism) and Bhedabheda
(dualism-cum-non-dualism). It is also called Trika for the reason that it
teaches the threefold method of Agamic realization, viz. Shambhavopaya,
Shaktopaya and Anavopsya. It has also been already stated that Trika is a triad
consisting of Agama, Spanda and Pratyabhijna schools of Kashmir Shaivas. The
terms referred to in this para, which are derived from Agamas, cannot be
explained in this short article. (See, K. C. Pandey, Abhinavagupta An Historical
& Philosophical Study, 170 ff. and J. C. Chatterji, Kashmir Shairism, 1 fn.
2 )
Agama Shastra:
Geoerally speaking, Agama-Shastra is mostly Sadhana-Shastra; i. e., it mainly deals with ritualistic and mystic practices.
Usually, every Agama consists of four sections or Kandas (1) Vidya or Jnana
Kanda (Section dealing with secret knowledge), (2) Yoga Kanda (Section dealing
with Yoga discipline, processes of concentration and breathing exercises-pranayama),
(3) Kriya Kanda (Section dealing with action, viz, ritualistic performances) and
(4) Carya Kanda (Section pertaining to forms of worship). The works belonging to
Agama Shastra of Kashmir, mentioned above, include in their dogmatic contents
certain philosophical speculations also. Some of them are mostly devotional.
Some of them give the rudiments of Kashmir Shaivism and teach certain methods,
mystical practices (upayas) for achieving lower and higher Siddhis (occult
powers) and the glories of liberated life. These methods prescribed in various
Shaivagamas are called Shambhavapaya <missing text> Shastra of Trika
generally gives an exposition of these three methods or ways (upayas) of
realization.
The Shiva-sutras are believed to
be a Rahasyagama-shastra-samgraha (a compilation of secret Agama Shastra) being
a work of Shiva Himself. They, therefore, form the most important part of the
Agama Shastra to which is attributed divine authorship. According to tradition,
recorded by Kshemaraja, the sutras were found, by the sage Yasugupta inscribed
on a rock at the foot of Mahadeva mountain, about 12 miles from Srinagar. It is
said that Shrikantha, an incarnation of Shiva, wishing to do a favour to
suffering humanity by the revelation of the traditional sacred lore which
unfolds the three means of emancipation, appeared once before Vasugupta in a
dream and told him about these sutras engraved under a big stone and also the
way to reveal them. The sutras were thus revealed to Vasugupta who copied them
to teach to his disciples. The sutras are divided in three sections, dealing
with the three means of liberation, Shambhava, Shakta and Anava. Guru Vasugupta
taught them to Kallata and others. Kallata taught them to Kshemaraja who added a
commentary, called Vimarshini, to the sutras.
The very first sutra
emphatieally declares that man's consciousness in its essential nature, is Atman
(Caitanyam atma) and the Atman itself is Shiva, the great Lord. Maheshvara (atmaiva
shivah). Apart from & few highly philosophical declarations made in the
Shiva-sutras as a protest against the nihilistic doctrines of certain schools of
Buddhism and against the doctrine of dualism (bheda) taught by some schools,
they constitute a practical treatise devoted to the unfoldment of the three ways
of liberation (upayas), mentioned above, (upaya-pra- kashanam). They also give
the rudiments of Kashmir Shaivism, such as malas (impurities) and pasas
(fetters), characteristics of various types of perceivers, transmigratory
subjects, Pati (free-soul) and Pasu (soul under bondage), different state of
common perceivers and extraordinary states (turya, the fourth state and
turyotita, beyond the fourth state) as experienced by the Yogis, and so on.
Spanda Shastra:
The original text belonging to this Shastra (Spanda-karika)
and the literature that subrequently developed on it, have already
been<missing text> seem to be the work of Kallata. The Spanda-shastra lays
down the main principles, as enumerated in the Shiva-sutras, in a greater detail
and in a more amplified form, without giving philosophical reasonings in their
support. In fact, the Spanda system owes its origin to the Shiva Sutras and
concerns itself with their elucidation and popularisation. The author describes
Spanda as that power of consciousness which infuses life into the physical
senses. An object when sensed has no basis apart from consciousness. Spanda
Karikas (verses) are 51 in number in which the fundamental principles of Shavism,
as aphoristically given in the Shiva Sutras, are epitomised. The basic idea
underlying the Spanda-Shastra is that Shiva's Spanda (energy) out of its own
nature manifests on the backgroud of its own pure self the whole universe
comprising the thirty-six tattvas (principles or categories of objective
reality) from the earth upto Parama Shiva. According to this doctrine, the world
is a play of energy force or vibration, which appears to be in confirmity with
the modern science. It is not an illusion, the result of error in perception (avidya)
as the Vedantins suppose. Their doctrine that 'vishva yan-na tad eva brahma'
(what is not the world, that is Brahman) is rejected by the Spanda school.
Pratyabhijna Shastra:
It is not necessary to give glimpses of Pratybhijna
Shastra here, as it is separately dealt with in detail in the Part II of this
paper which is exclusively concerned with this philosophical school of Kashmir.
Here it will be remarked that metapysical reasoning (tarka) is the essence of a
philosophical system. It is this philosophical content of the system that
Utpaladeva presents in a bold relief, and in a systematic order, relevating the
religious dogmatism of the school to a subordinate position, having devoted only
a few sutras of his work (in Agamadhikara) to the latter aspect of the school.
Pratyabhijna has been admitted to be a taraka shastra (a system of logic and
philosophy).
Tantraloka - a
Compendium of Trika Shastra:
Tantraloka, by Abhinavagupta, includes the contents
of all the three branches of Kashmir Shaivism (Trika-Shastra), viz. Agama,
Spanda and Pratyabhijna in a summarised form. The Tantraloka is a most
voluminous work of Abhinavagupta, composed in verse, and forms an encyclopaedia
of the Trika Shastra. The Tantra-sara, by the same author, is just a brief
summary of the Tantroloka, written in easy prose. It is an excellent
introduction to Tantraloka. The first Ahnika (Chapter) of Tantraloka is chiefly
philosophical. It opens with an explanat:on of the first two Shiva-sutras and
defines the key-word 'Caitanyam'. This Caitanyam is emphatically declared to be
the Atman, 'the one nuclear core in every personality, the one central point of
reference in each and every experience, the deepest depth of the sub- conscious
in each vividly concious personal ego'. The same chapter of the work gives also
the definitions and explanations of various other terms. The next four chapters
of the work deal, in detail, with the same three upayas (methods or ways of
realization) which constitute the three sections of the Shiva-sutras. According
to Abhinavagupta, the three means or methods described are those of Abheda
(non-dualism), Bhedabheda (dualism-cum-non-dualism) and bheda (dualism)
respectively. The Pratyabhijna is said to be another way of realization, a way
of mere knowledge (awareness) and reasoning (tarka), denominated by him as 'Anupaya
marga' viz., requiring no practical performance of any kind, ritualistic, mystic
or yogic, or even devotion and worship of any sort. Abhinavngupta says, this
last method (Anupaya-marga) is the highest of all the methods, called also
Anuttara, i. e. above the first three methods (tato pi paramam jnanam
upayadi-vivarjitam..anuttaram ... ihocyate). Various philosophical topics like
time, space, the nature and division of the thirty-six 'tattvas' (principles of
creation), the principle of 'Maya' and its five offshoots, etc., are also dealt
within the different chapters of this work. The rest of the work deals with
various ritual practices and forms of worship.
Philosophical nucleus
of Trika-Shastra:
Trika Shastra, comprising the said three divisions
of Kashmir Shaivism, represents, in its philosophical context, a concept of
positivism in a theistic outlook in contradistinction to the absolute monism of
Vedanta. According to the school, Shiva, the Ultimate Reality, is the prolific
cause and 'essence and identity' (Self) of every thing. He abounds in bliss and
consciousness (nirvrta-cit) and is endowed with sovereignty of will, omniscience
and omnipotence (aniruddha-iccha-pra- sarah prasarad-drkkriya sivah). He is
everything and yet beyond everything, or He is both immanent (Vishvamayah) and
transcendent (Vishvottirna). Time, form and space do not limit him, for He is
above all mutution and change. 'Pashu' (a living being) being the fragment of
the inter-related whole is no other than Shiva Himself, but is in a state of
limitation and self-forgetfulness. Recognition of the state of Shivahood
(divinity) restores the original state of absolute perfection to an individual (Pashu).
This is his state of Moksha (liberation). The Pasu has taken on three impurities
(Malas) which are responsible for obscuring the divine within him. When these
three impurities get dissolved, he realizes the divine within him in its
crystalline purity.
PART II
Pratyabhijna School and
its Teachers:
In fact, the religio-philosophical school of
Kashmir Shaivism is very old. Though its inception or introduction in Kashmir is
shrouded in mystery, it was prevalent there long before the time of Ashoka
(273-232 B. C. ). Eighth and ninth centuries of tha Christian era seem to have
witnessed a religious upheavel in Kashmir. This followed a phiolosophic
renaissance in the valley. Kashmir was then a meeting ground of the various
philosophical currents. It is from the conconrse of the then prevailing
thought-currents flowing from various schools of Buddhists, Vaidikas, the
Shaivas and Shaktas, the Vaiyakaranas (Grammarians) the Samkhyas, the Naiyayikas,
the Vedantins and the expounders of the Yoga system, that a monistic school of
philosophy, distinctly known as Pratyabhijna Shastra emerged in the valley among
the followers of Shaiva cult. The Kashmir Shaivas, the originators of the
Pratyabhijna system, have incorporated in it most of the ideas from the said
systems and have propounded their various doctrines in a technique of their own
derived from the Shaivagamas, which distinguish the system from the other
systems.
Somananda was indeed the
founder of the Pratyabhijna School which takes its name from the 'Pratyabhijna
karika' by Utpaladeva, the disciple of the former. The credit of being the
founder of the school goes to Somananda, for the reason that it is he who, for
the first <missing text>
a treatise (prakarana) on Shaiva philosophy.
Utpaladeva was in fact the systematiser of Somananda's thought. Like
Shankaracharya, a commentator of Badarayana's School of Vedanta, Abhinavagupta
(another luminary among the celebrities of Kashluir Shaivism) gets the credit of
being the expounder of Pratyabhijna system. We are in possession of his two
commentaries? one short namely 'Vimarshini' and the other long (Vivrti-vimarshini
), on the 'Pratyabhijana Karika' of Utpaladeva. Somananda flourshed in the later
part of the ninth century A. D., Utpaladeva in the first part of the tenth
century and Abhinavagupta in the last part of tho tenth and the first part of
the eleventh century.
Inception of
Pratyabhijna Philosophy:
Notwithstanding his devotion to the secret doctrine
of monistic Shaivagamas handed down to him traditionally from his ancestors,
Somananda revolted against the prevailing schools of thought, including certain
sections of Shaivas themselves. He summarily criticised the various schools of
Buddhism, the Jainism, the Samkhya, the Nyaya and Vaisheshika, the Vaivakarana
nnd the monistic Vedanta. It appears that Somananda was against the traditional
ideas ahout the divinity, the meaning and purpose of life, the human activities
and behaviours on earth, the real significance of 'moksha' (salvation or
liberation) and the like. Somananda seems to have conceived of re-interpreting
religio-philosophic thought in vogue in his day and laid the foundation of a new
school in its pristine purity, eclectic in its essence and containing the noble
truths and glorious spiritual and humanistic values of ancient Vedantic thought.
This new school came later to be known as 'Pratyabhijna School' (the doctrine of
Recognition) after the title of the main treatise on the system, composed by
Somananda's disciple Utpaladeva. The doctrine propounded in this school is
indeed a reform and revaluation or reappraisal of Indian religio-philosophical
thought .
Brief Idea of
Pratyabhijna Doctrine:
The strict sense of the term 'Pratyabhijna' is
recognition, but in the system, it comprehends the sense of awareness,
consciousness, realization, 'knowledge in practice' or practical use of
knowledge. Pratyabhijna school thinks that man is ignorant (unaware) of the very
nature of one's own Self (Shiva-Atman), viz. his inner being, the profounder
faculty within him, and its power of 'Iccha' (Will), 'Jnana' (knowledge, Thougt)
and 'Kriya' (Action), viz., man's abilities with which he is endowed by
Providence. The school believes that the powers (saktis) or abilities with which
man is born in this world, comprise his supreme (divine) inheritence. It is only
then, when he becomes aware of his divine inheritence, that he can make the best
use of it in making his life successful and felicitous.
Pratyabhijna is, in its essence,
a deep and systematic study of man as microcosm and the world he lives in as
macrocosm. In it, there is a perfectly scientific analysis of all the human
faculities, man's entire physical, mental and spiritual organisms and that of
the One Objective Reality (Parama Shiva) into thirty six primary realitives
indispensable for the constitution of the universe and processes of creation,
etc. The system being broad-based, tackles all the problems of human interest
and lays great stress on the spiritual values of life. It is thus a school of
'Spiritual Pragmatism'.
Utpala, the second teacher of
the system, tells us that the Pratyabhijna philosophy is ravealed to him by the
grace of the Lord (katham cit asadhya maheshvarasya dasyam), and it is for the
good of humanity (janasya upakaram icchan) that he expounds the doctrine. He
says with emphasis that man should recognise himself, viz., be aware of his
inner being (Self) and his deeper faculties of 'knowledge' and 'action' (drkkriyatmika
Sakti), if he desires to make his life all prosperous and blissful (samasta
sampat samavapti hetum tat pratyabhijnam upapadayami). Our profounder faculties
remain hidden from us due to lack of knowlege or experience and owing to innate
forgetfulness (moha) on our part. The Prityabhijna is directed to removing the
veil of ignorance from us and turning our attention towards the deeper faculties
within us. The teacher believes that the faculties of thought and action
comprise the very life of man (jnanam kriya hi bhutanam jivatam jivanam matam).
In the real sense of the term, knowledge in that which is transformed into
action, or practical use of which is made in one's life. Pratyabhijna says
(hints) with emphasis that knowledge put into action or practice is really
meaningful.
Supreme Inheritence of
Man:
Conception of the macrocosm in the Pratyabhijna
system is based on a very deep study of the microcosm. The system believes that
'Maheshvara', the Great Lord or Divine Father of all this creation, endowed with
'Mahesvarya' or Svatantrya-Shakti' (Sovereignty or Thought and Action) with
which he executed the acts of creation, etc. of this orderly world. This 'Svatantrya-Shakti'
or creative power of the Lord is two-fold, comprising 'Prakasha' and 'Vimarsha',
viz. power of manifestation and power of perception or concretisation,
functioning respectively as Universal Consciousness (Psychical Power) and
Universal Energy (Physical Power or Objective Reality), technically called
'Shiva' and 'Shakti'. The former, i. e. Universal Consciousness assumes three
forms: Power of Remembrance (Smrti-shakti), Power of Knowledge (Jnana-shakti)
and Power of Differentiation (Apohana-shakti). The latter. i. e. Universal
Energy functions as Powcr of Action (Kriya- Shakti) of the Lord. This is
governed by three universal laws of Nature - the law of Division (Bhedabheda),
the law of Perception (Mana-tat-phala meya), and the law of Causation (Karsna
karya). The Transcendental Lord (Vishvottirna) thus concretises or materialises
Himself into this created world (becomes Vishvamaya, the cosmos) by evolving
thirty-six 'Tattvas' or primary realitics from the One Objective Reality, the
primordial natural force principle or Prima Materia of all thirgs. As the Lord
is conceived to be endowed with Svatantrya-shakti, viz. Sovereignty of will and
psychical and physical powers to make Him potent to execute all creative
activity which accounts for the emanation of macrocosm with ever-new creations
of infinite sentient and insentient beings from His Own Self or Being, so is
every individual created being ( as microcosm ) endowed with its potential
powers (faculties) of will, cognition and action, including psychical powers of
remembrance, knowledge and differentiation (Samrti-shakti; Jnana-shakti and
Apohana-shakti) and its physical powers (Kriya-shakti) as supreme inheritence
from his Divine Father-Maheshvara to make him potent to perform all creative
activity in his life time. It is 'recognition' or awareness and right use of
one's divine faculties (supreme inheriterce) with which man is born in this
world that make his life felicitous and blissuful (evam atmanam estasya samyag
jnana - kriye tatha, janan yathepsitan pashyan janati ca karati ca). The fact is
that the Self (being a spark of the divine) is the pivot of one's life and
Self-recognition is the means of achieving one's all fortunes and success in
life (samasta-sampat samavapti-hetum; janasya-ayatna siddhyartham).
Pratyabhijna Values
(human & spiritual):
Pratyabhijna is one of the greatest humanistic
movements of Kashmir, which might well be called the 'Philosophy of Humanism'.
It is a wonderful synthesis of nearly all earlier systems of India's philosophic
thinking, and is completely free from 'negativism' and escapism' of certain
schools of Vedantins and from the 'nihilism' of some Buddhist schools. It is
most realistic in its attitude to life. It is a most dynamic system in which
emphasis is laid on what is called Svatantrya, the complete autonomy of thought
and action as the goal of life. It may also be called a school of Spiritual
Pragmatism, because its doctrines have a practical bearing upon human interests,
besides having its main direction to the spiritual elevation of humanity,
Pratyabhijna lays emphasis on human values and cardinal virtues as are given, in
brief, below:
Spiritual & Moral
Values in Pratyabhijna:
According to Pratyabhijna, human beings are by
nature divine. They are the sparks of the divine, children of God. The whole
mankind forms one family (manavah bandhavah sarve). It is by self discipline
(culture) and clean moral life that man can unveil the divine qualities in his
personality. Love of God in this school means love of human beings, of one's
fellow -men. He who loves God, loves everybody and looks on all men as equals.
Love of God is to be translated into service of one's fellow - men and into such
acts are as conducive to the good and benefit of one and all. Gentleness,
righteousness, sympathy, friendliness and honest dealings with one another are
qualities or virtues necessary for good life. Pratyabhijna promotes the eternal
values of peace and freedom and human dignity beneficial to the common man in
their application to life. These values are stated in terms like 'sarva-shivata'
(which signifies that the personality of every human individual is divine or
sacred), 'sarva-samata' ( meaning that all men are born equal ) 'sarva -
svatantrya' (i.e. all men are born free) and so on. Thus the doctrine lays
emphasis on 'liberty, equality and fraternity' which is the famous motto of 'the
civilized world today. Above all, Pratyabhijna directs man to working for peace
and tranquility of the world (Vishva-Shanti) an following that as truth which is
conducive to the good and benefit of the whole humanity.
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