A comparative view of the two
Philosophies
by Jankinath Kaul "Kamal"
 The
six systems of Hindu Philosophy are Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Saankhya, Yoga, Mimaamsa
and Vedanta. There are also many other schools of thought in India, but all are
the variations of these six systems termed the Hindu Philosophy. To understand
this clearly, we have to realize that the basis of all the schools of Indian
Thought is the same which we call the Ultimate Reality, Supreme Consciousness,
Brahman, Siva, Allah or God. All these schools of thought several conclude on
common concepts which are :-
i) All accept the central cycle
of Nature, which is without beginning or end. This consists of vast phases of
Creation, Sustenance and Dissolution.
ii) All accept that life and
death are but two phases of a single cycle to which the soul is bound. This is
because of the ignorance of the true nature of things.
iii) All accept Dharma as the
moral law of the universe that accounts for these central cycles of Nature, as
well as the destiny of the human soul.
iv) All agree that knowledge of
the self is the path to freedom and that Yoga is the method to attain final
liberation.
All the schools of thought are,
thus, but the fundamental interpretations of the Ultimate Reality. They are so
inter-related that the hypothesis and the method of each is dependent upon that
of the other. They are, in no way, contradictory to one another, as they all
lead to the same practical end, the knowledge of reality and liberation of soul.
<verses>
'To get rid of evil and to
attain permanent and supreme bliss', is the innate desire of every creature in
the world.
Here is an attempt made to study
a comparative view of the two schools of Indian thought, namely the Advaita
Vedanta of Shankara and the Kashmir Shaivism, as these have great affinities
with one another. Both advocate monism. Fundamentally, they have a single
conception, but each develops it individually to suit particular minds. The
physical reason for their individual development, apart from that of the mental,
may be due to Historical background and Geographical situation of each.
Badarayana, probably, founded
Vedanta in the plains of India while Durvasa expounded Trika Shaiva in the
Himalayan ranges, the two being sobre and sentimental respectively. Vadanta is
an enquiry into the nature of the Ultimate Reality while Shaivism discusses the
nature of this ultimate Reality and explains the cause of the initial impulse in
nature. The sources of Vedanta are Vedas and those of Shaivism are the Tantras,
which give supplementary explanations to Vedic thought. Both are said to be of
divine authorship. No doubt, they are the revelations favoured to great sages
and seers of this ancient land. But neither objects the postulates of either of
these.
Both of these evolved
philosophies seem to have had prevailed in this beautiful land of Kashmir since
the very early times i.e. the first century A. D. or earlier. This is evident
from a keen observation of the performances of daily and occasional rites and
rituals by the Kastimiri Pandits even upto this day. Hymns from the Vedas and
recitations from the Tantras are included in all kinds of such performances,
simultaneously. Even later hymns like Mukundamala- a hymn to Lord Vishnu, and
Sivamahimnastotram- a hymn to Lord Siva - the supreme deities of the two
philosophies, are recited and worship offered simultaneously by devotees in
traditional way. By this we understand that people in this land of Kashyapa have
from the very early times been accommodating perhaps because of their gift of
intelligence from Nature. They always assimilated what came their way. According
to Dr. Aurel Stien," the Brahmins absorbed Buddhist Faith and lived in
harmony with their brethren who were converted to this faith in the valley. Thus
the old religion here seems to have been polytheistic, of course, with special
inclination towards ritualistic Shaivism.
Kula system of Shaivism,
advocating the highest form of Siva had been introduced here in the fourth
century A. D. Krama system of Shaivism, connected with Raja-Yog, and Kundalini
Yoga, which stress that vital air and mind are interdependent, also had been
introduced here early.
Then, Sankaracharya (788-820 A.
D.) visited this valley in the first two decades of the ninth century. He only
re-established the true faith of Upanishads called the Vedantas. To check
further deterioration caused by the split in Buddhisn, he explained the
Upanishads in a system on the basis of Brahma Sutras in its commentary. He gave
Vedanta Philosophy the right footing when he wrote his valuable commentaries on
the ten principal Upanishads and the Bhagwadgita. He composed a number of hymns
to different deities like Saraswati. Krishna, Skanda and so on, to give the
unilateral direction to multi- farious faiths in the whole country. He gave
practical instructions that worship of different deities leads to the same goal,
the Ultimate Truth on realization.
In his hymn to Dakshinamurti,
Sankara's conception ultimate reality is the same as that of Pratyabhijna,
reintroduced by Somananda and Utpalacharya, in Kashmir. To examine a comparison,
let us study the following:
<verses>
"He, in whom this universe,
prior to its projection was potentially present like a tree in a seed, and by
whom it was wrought to its multiform by the magic, as it were, of His own will
or in the manner of a great Yogi out of His own power, to that Supreme Being,
embodied in the auspicious and benign Guru, I offer my profound
salutation."
And
<verses>
"By His own will the
Supreme Lord, the essence of Knowledge (Supreme Consciousness) projects
causelessly like the Yogi into this multiformal world."
Again, in the first stanza of
the Dakshinamurti Stotra, Sankar, says:
<verses>
which means: "Who, by Maya
as by dream, sees Himself the universe which is inside Him, like unto a city
that appears in a mirror, (but) which is manifested as if without." In the
commentary to this stanza in his book entitled 'The Hymns Of Sankara', Dr. T.M.P.
Mahadevan points out: "It is to be noted that in this hymn Sankara employs
certain key-terms and concepts of the Pratyabhijna system known popularly as
Kashmir Shaivism. The illustration of the mirrored city is found in the
pratyabhijna works". Thus the people of Kashmir seem to have been
influenced by the Vedanta Philosophy of Sankara as well as by the ancient
Shaivism which later developed into Kashmir Shaivism.
Earlier two great Shaiva
families of Sangamaditya and Atrigupta had migrated into Kashmir, when King
Lalitaditya (699-736 A. D.) ruled here. They practised Tantric Shaiva rituals.
These had already influenced the thought of people here when Shankara's Tantric
Philisophy spread and influenced the Trika also. This leads us to think that
Shankara must have had personal touch with some founder-writers here. To
illucidate this we quote the following passage from the book entitled 'Abhinavagupta
- An Historical & Philosophical Study' by Prof. Dr. K. C. Pandey :
"On the authority of the
Rajatarangini (Ch. V, 66) we know that Bhatta Kallata, the pupil of Vasugupta,
was a contemporary of Avantivarman, King of Kashmir (855-883 A.D). There he is
referred to as 'Siddha.' It is, therefore, evident that at that time he was an
old man of established reputation. Vasugupta, the teacher of Kallata, therefore,
it is natural to suppose, belonged to the preceding scholastic generation
extending from about 825 to 850 A. D. We shall, therefore, not be wrong if we
say that Vasugupta gave a systematic form to the philosophical ideas of the
monistic Tantras in his Siva Sutras in the next decade after Shankaracharya's
visit to Kashmir towards the end of the second decade of the 9th century A.
D." - (Page 154)
Thus, the mixed faith that the
people of Kashmir had professed so for developed into a philosophical system
when Vasugupta and Somananda gave Spanda and Pratyabhijna thoughts during the
middle and latter part of the 9th century respectively. The Trika system of
philosophy which had appeared on this earth through Durvasa, was in this way
re-introduced by Siva's will, for the welfare and spiritual development of the
people of Kaliyuga. Srimat Swami Lakshman Joo, in one of his lectures on Kashmir
Shaivism says, "Like Vedanta, this system endeavours to remove the innate
ignorance that separates the individual from the universal."
Then, what are the points of
difference between these two established philosophies?
There is no difference so far as
the aim of both is concerned. Both the monistic philosophies aim at the
realization of the Ultimate Reality, which one calls Parabrahman and the other
calls Parama Siva. So Paramasiva or Parameshwara is that ultimate Reality, which
the Vedas declare as "This world came out from the Eternal Existence which
is one, the only and without the second."
<verses>
But there are points of
difference in so far as their composition is concerned. On the basis of Sankhya,
the two philosophies hold that the universe comprises of tattwas (or
categories).
Twenty three are common in both:
Five Bhutas - (Elements)
Five Jnanendriyas (Organs of
cognition)
Five Karmendriyas (Organs of
action)
Five Tanmatras (subtle elements)
Three Antahkaranas (internal
organs)-Mind, Intellect & Ego.
The points of difference are:
i) In Vedanta the twenty-fourth
category is Prakriti and the twenty-fifth is the Purusha, which is known as the
Supreme Being (Parameshwara). He is ever pure and is not tainted with the stain
of worldly corruption, just as no amount of dirt can ever alter the chemical
purity of gold in a gold ring. Therefore, soul or self in Vedanta means the
universal Soul, Paramatman or Supreme Spirit. This is identified with Purusha,
the efficient cause of the manifest world. It brings all change by its mere
presence as the sun brings forth the spring flowers.
Trika, on the other hand, adds
thirteen more tattwas to the twenty-three of Sankhya. These are:
Prakriti - the world of
difference which has the quality of being affected,
Purusha - the limited
individual,
Six Kanchukas or sheaths - They
are the limiting adjuncts on the individual in respect of space, Knowledge,
interest, time and authorship.
So far this is all impure
knowledge.
Five more tattwas are considered
to be in the field of Pure- knowledge. These are the five energies Parama Siva
called consciousness, bliss, desire, knowledge and Action. Kashmir Shaivism
postulates the single reality of Siva with two aspects - one Transcendental and
the other Immanent like two sides of one and the same coin. The first is beyond
manifestation. But both are real as the effect cannot be different from the
cause. It is said:
ii) Vedanta discusses the
relationship of God, Matter and World. The central theme of the Vedanta Sutras
is the philosophical teachings of the Upanishads, which concern the nature of
these three relative principles. This includes the relation between the
universal soul and the individual soul. Shankaracharya explained, for the
practical purposes, this union in his monumental commentaries in the 8th century
A. D.
The system of Kashmir Shaivism
deals with the three-fold principle of God, Soul and Matter, which gives it the
name Trika. Vasugupata ( 9th century A. D. ) received the Siva- Sutras by
inspiration and explained these to preserve for man the principle of monism
which existed in the Tantras, also known as Agamas. This revived an
understanding of truth in its ultimate form.
iii) In Vedanta, Maya, is a
means of operation. It is not a substance. It is the force which creates
illusion of non-perception in nature. It is the dividing force or we may call it
the finitising energy which creates form in the formless. The world is known as
Maya because it has no reality. It is only an appearance of fleeting forms. The
real is never affected by the unreal as the ground is never made wet by a
mirage. Maya is ignorance (avidya) when it operates the individual mind. It
vanishes when the knowledge of reality dawns just as the morning mist dissipates
on rising of the sun.
In Kashmir Shaivism Maya is the
power of contraction of the five universal modes of consciousness, called the
Kanchukas or sheaths. The power of contraction works thus:
Eternal Existance contracts
into time
All-pervasiveness contracts into Space
All-completeness contracts into desire
All-knowledge contracts into limited knowledge
and, All-powerfulness contracts into limited
power
Maya-shakti, as it is called here,
produces Purusha and Prakriti which together establish the dual world of mind
and matter. Here it is termed Maya-Granthi, as it becomes the cause of bondage.
As un- divided power of Siva, Maya is not separate from the reality either. As
the gross power of consciousness it is called Maya-Shakti, which grants
liberation to the contracted soul. The influence of Maya is evident in the law
of Nature. Every period of action is followed by a period of rest just as sleep
follows action.
iv) In Vedanta we are required
to pass through the four-fold discipline which consisis of: viveka -
Discrimination vairagya - Dispassion shat-sampat - Right conduct (six-fold ) :-
a) Mental quietness; b) Taming the mind; c) Abstinence; d) Endurance; e)
Confidence; and f) Steadiness.
mumukshutwa - Desite for
liberation. (Tattwabodha of Shankaracharya) 2(b).
There are also three kinds of
students who advance towards self-realization. They are those :
i) who act with zeal
and faith,
ii) who act for the good of humanity,
iii) who are immersed in meditation.
But in Shaivism it is said: <verses>
'There is no consideration of
first being worthy of it. There is no restriction of caste, creed of colour for
getting admission to this shaiva order. This naturally must mean that it is the
intelligent who can grasp this advanced philosophy, being the lastest
development on all the others. For the fine intellects no restriction is
imposed. But there are grades in Diksha-initiation. They are :
1. Samayik - when the
disciple is given the training of proper discipline.
2. Putrak - when spiritual knowledge is imparted
to the disciple.
3. Acharya - when the disciple becomes Acharya
(preceptor) and imparts knowledge to other disciples.
And
4. Siddha- - The perfect being. (vide Tantraloka)
3 (c)
v) Divine Grace is anugraha in
Vedanta and shaktipaata in Kashmir Shaivism. Both the philosophies understand it
to be unconditional. They are in complete agreement on this point. Vedanta says
that intellectual power, study of the Vedas and even spiritual instruction are
persuaded by divine grace alone :-
<verses>
'It is by Lord's grace that one
is led to monistic practices.' Again, the Upanishads declare :-
<verses>
'Atma can be realized by him
whom He favours and to whom He reveals Himself.'
In Shaivism also it is
Shaktipaata that makes self- recognition possible.
<verses>
'One is directed towards the
preceptor as if tethered with a rope' .
<verses>
'There is no human effort to
earn shaktipaata'.
It is the independent will of
Lord Siva to grant shaktipaata or divine grace to any one at any place and at
any time.
vi) Badarayan's viewpoint is the
outcome of the various schools of thought of his day, as there existed
Ashmarthya, Audulomi, Kaashakritsna and others who had held different views
previously. His is the accepted classic of the Vedanta system to-day. It was
endorsed and expanded by Gaudapada and Shankaracharya through Maandukya karikas
and Prasthanatrayi respectively. Vidyaranya held the same view in his
Panchadashi.
Likewise, we find that the
polytheistic faith with greater inclination towards Shaivism developed into
Kashmir Shaivism or Trika philosophy with the advent of Vasugupta and
Somanandanatha. This peculiar philosophy developed in Kashmir and includes
almost all the previous thoughts. It was further adored by Kallata, Utpalacharya
and later by Abhinavaguptapada. Siva-Sutra, Sivadrishti, Spanda, Ishwara-
pratyabhijnavimarshini need special mention in this context. Besides this,
Abhinavagupta's Tantraloka and Paratrimshika Vritti form the encyclopaedia of
Kashmir Shaivism.
To sum up, if we study both
these philosophies with interest and zeal, we shall find that both lay stress on
the practical aspect, which is realization of the Self. Both enable all to
realise the teachings during one's own lifetime. Their individual developments
lead to the common goal - Realization of the Supreme Reality - where there is no
experience of dualiLy and hence no sorrow. It is the state of absolute bliss. It
is the stateless state. The vedas declare :-
<verses>
Truth is one but the wise give
it in many ways'.
Although Kashmir Shaivism can
hardly be grasped until all the six systems of philosophy are comprehended, yet
no such system of India will be complete without this. No doubt, Tantras
suffered a great criticism from the western and eastern scholars, due to their
esoteric or symbolic character. But thanks are due to Sir John woodroffe (Arther
Avalon), who was the first to defend the outraged Tantras. In the foreword to
his book entitled 'The Garland of Letters', Dr. T. M. P. Mahadevan (professor
Emeritus, Centre of Advanced study in philosophy, University of Madras) writes
:-
"The decent Indian mind
that had developed a deep-rooted prejudice against the Tantras became awake to
their excellence after the pioneering work of this great foreigner.''
He made their meaning clear and
helpful for understanding the culture of India. Therefore, it is imperative that
this line of traditional literature should properly be understood. Then it will
be convincing to the common man that Kashmir Shaivism gives the detailed
analysis of the ultimate Reality, which Vedanta already explained on the basis
of Saankhya Philosophy.
REFERENCES
1. Stein, Dr. Aurel,
Rajatarangini (Tr.)
2. Adi Shankara, (a) Dahshinamurti Stotra
(b) Tattwabodha.
3. Abhinavaguptapada, (a)
Ishwarapratyabhijnya Vimarshini (b) Paramartha-sara, and (c) Tantraloka. Pub.
The Kashmir Series of Texts & Studies, Srinagar.
4. Mahadevan, Dr. T. M. P. The Hymn to Sanhara, Madras, Pub. Ganesh & Co.
5. Kaul, Jankinath, "Trika Shasana Ka Aavirbhava,' in MALINI, Pub. Kashmir Shaiva Institute, Gupta
Ganga, Kashmir
1870.
6. Pandey, Dr. K, C., Abhinavagupta - an
Historical & Philosophical Study, Pub. Chowhhamba Sanskrit Series office,
Varanasi.
7. Lakshman Joo, Swami; Lectures on Kashmir
Shaivism (unpublished)
8. Chandogya Upanishad
9. Dattaatreya, Avadhoota Gita.
10. Mundaha Upanishad.
11. Woodroffe, Sir John. The Garland of Letters.
Madras, Pub. Ganesh & Co.
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