 Acharya
Abhinavagupta
Abhinavagupta
was a great scholar and Shaiva
teacher, who possessed knowledge
in all matters relating to Kashmir
Shaivism. The versatility of this
genius was recognised in his own
time. He was one of the best
authorities on Shaiva philosophy
and various branches of Sanskrit
literature.
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Utpaladeva
Very
little is known about Utpala, the
great mystic Saint of Kashmir,
except that he might have lived
somewhere in Nauhatta (Navyut) in
Srinagar. From some authors on
Kashmir Shaivism and his
contemporaries we find that he was
a Brahmin and lived a married life
around the middle of 900 A.D. He
was the son of Udayakar.
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 Lal
Ded
Kashmir
has produced many saints, poets
and mystics. Among them, Lal Ded
is very prominent. In Kashmir,
some people consider her a poet,
some consider her a holywoman and
some consider her a sufi, a yogi,
or a devotee of Shiva. Sume even
consider her an avtar.
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 Rupa
Bhawani
Rupa
Bhawani was the second great
mystic poet of 17th century. She
had a great and deep experience of
ups and downs of life. The worldly
sufferings showed her the path of
spiritual life. Her spiritual
'Guru' was her father Pandit
Madhav Joo Dhar who initiated her
into the mysteries and practices
of yoga.
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 Krishna
Joo Razdan
Razdan
Sahib is proud of Kashmiri
language which is the
principal medium of his
poetic expression. He
regards it dearest to the
Mother Goddess. He is
convinced that salvation for
Kashmiris is attainable only
by singing praises of the
Mother Goddess in Kashmiri
language. Razdan Sahib's
poetry objectifies his
perpetual struggle for
comprehending the mysterium
tremendum enveloping man all
around.
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 Bhagwan
Gopinathji
Bhagwaanji
was veritably God in the human
form. This became unmistakably
evident to the discerning among
his devotees who found him
ever-absorbed in the universal
consciousness. He would come
down to our plane of
consciousness only when prompted
to answer queries by the seekers
and would then instantly return
to his exalted state of divine
bliss.
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 Swami
Lakshman Joo
It
is only when you met him, as I
did for an interview in 1971,
that you would feel his
irresistible charm emanating
from that sweet child-like
innocence which hid from our
naked eye his spiritual and
philosophic attainments. As a
man, he was upright, humble
and very generous. Hundreds
and thousands flocked to him
for succor and he was not
found wanting in this respect.
Many an afflicted found solace
in his presence.
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 Swami
Govind Kaul
His
devotional lyrics reveal
that he was deeply
influenced by the
thought-current of
Mansurul-Halaj as well and
he freely used the popular
idiom of his own Kashmiri
dialect, being a blend of
Sanskrit, Persian and
Arabic. His songs are rich
in imagery, and the
vocabulary he employs to
convey his inner experiences
suggests, unmistakably, how
he too must have followed
the same spiritual path that
Lalleshwari had treaded
several centuries before
him.
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 Pandit
Raghu Nath Kukiloo
While
he had fathomed the depths
of the Shakta philosophy of
Kashmir, which he would
interpret in his own unique
manner, Pandit Kukiloo's
understanding of the
Vedantic and Shaiva
philosophies was equally
profound.
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Saint-Poet
Mirza Kak
After Lal Ded, Sahzanand and
Roopa Bhawani, the Valley was again blessed with the birth of one more
saint- poet Mirza Kak, who continued the Vakh parampara in Kashmir. Vakhs
are the quintessence of spiritual and religious sayings and utterances of
mystics and saints.
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 Janki Nath Kaul
'Kamal'
Born at Drabiyar, Srinagar, in 1914, Shri
Jankinath Kaul 'Kamal' was well known as an
accomplished scholar through his writings in the
fields of Kashmir Shaivism and Vedanta, which have
received countrywide recognition. He attained fame
and popularity as a versatile and talented writer
and earned for himself a position of special
esteem because of his qualities of dedication and
selfless service.
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 Dinanath
Yaksh
The Sanskritic Shastras have survived in
India as a part of the Vedic ritualistic culture. The Vedic ritualism has
been a text-based culture. In the development of this ritual-culture a
variety of sciences emerged as a part of it thus making it richer. These
sciences were a part of a living tradition survived by the respective
experts called Pandits. >>>
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 Professor
Baljinath Pandit
was born in the year 1916 in a village called Kulgam situated in the
district of Anantnag in Kashmir. His parents were Pandit Aftabram Pandit
and Srimati Amaravati. He did his primary and secondary education from a
school in his native village Kulgam. He completed his high school
education at an early age since he was an exceptionally intelligent boy.
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 Nilkanth
Gurtoo
He was born on 2 January, 1925 in
Srinagar (Kashmir) and was a son of Pandit Tarachand Gurtoo. He was
initiated into Sanskrit studies by Pandit Maheshwar Nath Nehru. Pandit
Jankinath Dhar (Vanaprastha) of Arya Samaj taught him the Astadhyayi of
Panini. Later, he learned advanced texts of Sanskrit grammar and
linguistics with Pandit Lalkak Langoo and Pandit Sarvadananda Handoo of
Dharmarth Council taught him several texts of Sanskrit literature. >>>
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 Virendra Qazi
Due to grace of God and love and admiration of people, Virendra Qazi is making original contribution in Indian Tantra
Shastra. Kashmir Shaivism is very popular in US and Europe with research at leading universities. He presents this philosophy in common man’s language and he is getting overwhelming response from all over the world. Last year in August, Midland Broad Casting Corporation, Leister, UK, recorded his lecture on Kashmir
Shaivism, which was shown all over UK.
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