Introduction
The ancient tradition of Kashmir Shaivism is a non-dual (advaita) school of philosophy, which takes as its source the ninety-two Tantras of Lord Shiva. These include Bhairava, Rudra and Shiva Tantras.
Adherents also know this philosophical tradition as Trika. because it encompasses the three-fold science of man and his world. The three elements of Trika are Shiva, Shakti and Jiva. Shiva is the creator, Shakti, his energy, the means of creation, and jiva, the limited individual, the result.
With these elements are three primary energies: “parā (supreme) energy, parāparā (medium, or the combination of highest and lowest energy) and aparā (lowest) energy. These three energies are also known to be the energy of will, the energy of knowledge and the energy of action. These three energies represent the three-fold activities of the world: knower, knowing, and known.”
John Hughes states that the teaching of Kashmir Shaivism is rich and detailed in what it reveals… “that it is said to be the mystical geography of awareness.”
“It includes a highly developed system of spirituality that emphasizes not only the intellectual understanding of its concepts but also the direct realization, the direct experience, of its truth.”
“For the Kashmir Shaiva aspirant, the very nature of truth is that it is unlimited and universal. The human intellect, on the other hand, is limited and individual. As such it cannot contain within its grasp that reality which transcends it. Any attempt to define and contain it with the spoken word only limits it. If truth is to be known and understood, it must be experienced through direct realization.”
Cosmology
Understanding the attainment of moksha in Kashmir Shaivism requires some understanding of non-dual cosmology.
In brief… “Kashmir Shaivism is a monistic or non-dual tradition so, in describing the nature of reality, the Kashmir Shaiva explains that there is actually only one Being, known as Lord Shiva. This Being is the nature and existence of all beings.”
“The Shaiva also explains that the objective world, although experienced as being separate from one’s self and limited, does not have a separate existence and it is not actually limited. This objective world comprised of the collection of objects, cognitions, and limited subjects is nothing but the expansion of the energy of Shiva. It is not separate from Shiva’s energy. Lord Shiva is the energy holder and the objective universe is His energy.”
Hughes inquires, “But what is the relationship of Lord Shiva to His energy?” Swami Lakshmanjoo clarifies this by making a distinction between Shiva and His Shakti.
“Shakti is this whole objective universe—which includes not only the objects of perception and the means of perception, but also the limited subjects or perceivers attached to those objects—and that Shiva is that reality from which this universe issues forth.”
“And yet it is said that Shiva and Shakti are not aware that they are separate. Why? Because in reality they are not separate at all, they are one, just as fire is one with its heat.”
There is a distinct difference between Kashmir Shaivism and Advaita Vedānta, even though both teach non-dualism…
Advaita Vedānta’s proposition is that “this universe is untrue and unreal, that it is a false projection of the magical principle of illusion known as māyā.”
In opposition, Kashmir Shaivism argues that if Shiva is real, how could an unreal substance emerge from something that is real? If Shiva, the ultimate essence of existence, is real, then His creation must also be real. For the Kashmir Shaiva this universe is just as real as its creator.
Kashmir Shivaism’s non-dualism however, creates a dilemma. According to Hughes, if the universe is as real as its creator, then how does the Creator create this diverse and seemingly separate universe as one with Himself?
“To explain this apparent incompatibility, Kashmir Shaivism proposes the theory of reflection. This theory explains that the universe is created in the same way as the image of an object, such as a house, can be reflected in a mirror. In the case of Shiva, however, there is no object such as the house which exists independently from the mirror of God consciousness; nothing can exist outside of God consciousness, because only God consciousness exists.”
To summarize: “Lord Shiva creates the objective world through the expansion of His Shakti, His energy, which is absolutely one with Shiva. The universe is manifested in His own nature, like a reflection in a mirror, by His own absolutely independent will.”
Concealing and Revealing His Nature
Hughes poises a central question which sheds light on the means of attainment (moksha) in Kashmir Shaivism: Why has Lord Shiva created this external objective world, this manifestation of supreme energy, in His own nature?
“Trika Shaivism teaches that Shiva has manifested this external world in His own nature for only one reason—Just to recognize His own nature. This whole universe is the means to recognize Lord Shiva. You can recognize Lord Shiva through the universe. You cannot recognize Lord Shiva by abandoning the universe. This objective universe, therefore, is a means, a tool, to be used to realize the Universal reality of Shiva.”
Paradoxically Shiva is ignorant of His own nature because he exists in the “full splendor of His God consciousness“. He wants His own nature to be recognized. This recognition gives Him great joy. It is Shiva’s play to seemingly leave His own nature so that He can find it and enjoy it again.”
To lose Himself in creation and to find Himself again, Shiva expands his God Consciousness in a process “known as nimesha (closing) and unmesha (opening). It is the supreme energy of God which gives rise to nimesha and unmesha. Nimesha is the withdrawal of His God consciousness, and unmesha is the expansion of His God consciousness. Both of these states are contained within Shiva simultaneously.”
What does Shiva find when He rediscovers His own nature?
“For the Kashmir Shaiva, this is the real essence of this teaching. Lord Shiva loses His nature only to find it again—and when He does He realizes that it was already there.”
“Shiva experiences that there was never really any separation from His God consciousness. Separation only seemed to exist. For Kashmir Shaivism this is the greatest mystery of existence and Lord Shiva’s supreme act.
Bondage through Ignorance
In creating this world Shiva conceals His real nature. How does He do this? “(Shiva) hide(s) Himself in the particularity of the world. As a particular individual, Shiva loses the real undifferentiated knowledge of His real Self and possesses only differentiated knowledge of particularity.”
This process of veiling himself from Himself is maya or ignorance. “Ignorance, for Kashmir Shaivism, is not the absence of knowledge. Instead, ignorance is said to be the non-fullness of knowledge.”
“The Kashmir Shaiva tells us that knowledge is always present in our conscious lives but it is limited knowledge. Real knowledge, which is in essence unlimited, is Self–knowledge.The Kashmir Shaiva argues that every limited being must have some knowledge because no one could exist without knowledge. Knowledge, being identical with consciousness, is the essence of reality.”
Means (Upāya)
Kashmir Shaivism has identified three methods or means (upāya) used to enter Universal consciousness from individual limited consciousness…
“The first and supreme means, for aspirants with very refined awareness, is called shāmbavopāya, the means associated with Shiva.”
Tenth century Kashmiri mystic, Abhinavagupta, defines shāmbavopāya as that upāya in which the aspirant achieves entry into Supreme consciousness. He does this by preserving thoughtlessness and by the grace of his master. This entrance is achieved without adopting any practices such as thought, mantra, or meditation. Shāmbhavopāya is considered to be the most refined upāya.
“The second, for aspirants with medium power of awareness, is called shāktopāya, the means associated with Shakti.”
With Shāktopāya the aspirant achieves mystical entry through concentrating on the Supreme Being that is “found in between any two actions without action; this practice is called centering.” To achieve centering, “the aspirant must develop great firmness of awareness.”
“For the Kashmir Shaiva, what is important is that between the end of one thought or perception, and the beginning of another there is a gap. It may be ever so momentary but there is a gap. And—this is most important—within this gap shines that Universal Reality of Shiva, which lies in the background and is the ground of all diversity.”
“The third means, for aspirants with inferior awareness, is called āṇavopāya.”
“Āṇavopāya is defined as that upāya where mystical entry takes place through concentration on parts of the body, contemplation, recitation, taking the support of the breath, and mantras.”
Āṇavopāya is considered an inferior means because it is associated with the individual. Transitioning from limited particular consciousness to Universal consciousness depends on the strength or awareness and ability of the aspirant.
In Kashmir Shaivism, there are many ways to attain the single goal: “mystical absorption in the shāmbhava state.”
What is the shāmbhava state? “The shāmbhava state is where the yogi becomes instantly established in Supreme consciousness. For the Kashmir Shaiva, all absorption in the reality of God consciousness is, in the end, the absorption of the shāmbhava state.”
What determines which upāya the aspirant is qualified for? Swami Lakshmanjoo explains…
“The secret is the strength of awareness of the perceiver. Strength of awareness means to possess such power of subjective consciousness that the practitioner’s one-pointed subjective awareness is not overshadowed, either by objective experience or thoughts.”
In the ordinary, day to day mind, objects of perception overshadow the perceiver. One is aware only of what one’s thinking about, and is completely unaware of the perceiver who is perceiving. This is ignorance, which is overshadowed by the world of diverse objects and is completely unaware of Universal Nature.
“Thus, human beings live their lives completely absorbed in the objective or cognitive worlds. Although we might say, ‘I am seeing a butterfly,’ in actual fact the ‘I’ is eclipsed by the act of seeing and what remains is ‘seeing a butterfly.’ In other words, the subject is lost, completely absorbed, in the act of perception.”
“Developing strength of awareness means gaining the ability to think thoughts and experience perceptions without losing self–awareness.”
Hughes emphasizes that though there are a variety of means (upayas), all lead to the state of one transcendental consciousness.
According to tenth century Kashmiri mystic, Abhinavagupta, “Moksha only exists when your ‘being’ becomes absolutely independent.”
What is this “independence” which is the necessary condition of moksha? It is complete unbridled freedom: “freedom to will, freedom to know, freedom to do… According to Abhinavagupta, a yogi can only be said to be liberated when he possesses this absolute independence.”
For this complete independence to exist, nothing must limit or overshadow Universal consciousness. The “yogi must experience the same state of Universal consciousness, the same independence, in the external world as he does in the mystical absorption of the shāmbhāva state”
Until a yogi attains this state of absolute freedom, he or she has not attained moksha or true liberation.
“Swami Lakshmanjoo in discussing the supreme mystical absorption of shāmbhāva explains how the yogi’s internal mystical trance becomes fused with and transforms his external experience. He tells us that this process begins when the yogi experiences the state of internal mystical awareness, i.e., when he is relishing the fullness of his God consciousness. At that moment, he is pulled out into the world of external experience. His eyes open and he experiences the world, but this external experience is different. This external experience is now filled with the oneness of Universal consciousness.”
“Everywhere he looks, whatever he sees is filled with God consciousness. Then again his eyes close and he is drawn inside. And then again, after a few moments he is drawn outside and opens his eyes experiencing the world filled with the oneness of God.”
“The yogi cannot stop this process. Even though he may try to stop this process he cannot. This process of going from inside to outside, back inside, and again outside is automatic and continues for some time.”
To clarify this astounding process, Swami Lakshmanjoo states that the yogi’s inner and outer worlds are fused in the oneness of Universal God consciousness.
“The nature of this yogi and the external world become one; they are experienced as being completely united, one with the other. There is absolutely no difference between them. This process of krama–mudrā, resulting in the absolute oneness of God consciousness and the external world, is the state of absolute independence. The yogi, in this state, experiences that the internal world of mystical trance and the external world are absolutely the same. This independence and absolute oneness gives rise to the state of jagadānanda (Universal bliss).”