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by Dr. C. L.
Raina
 The
circuitous upper valley of Vitasta, is the famous
Kashmir in the Himalayan region. There are Harimukh (
Haramukta ) and Amarnath mounts, branches off from the
great Himalayas a little further east, proceeds due
south and encircling the sources of Vitasta, turns north
west, where it is called Pir Pantsal or Panchaldhara now
Banihal range ). These lesser mountains of the Himalayas
surround the valley of Kashmir on all sides; leaving
only a narrow outlet for the Vitasta at Baramulla.
Kashmir valley is thus surrounded by the Himalayas and
Vitasta has been the life and source for the
socio-economic welfare of Kashmir. The climate of
Kashmir is fine to suit the spring, summer and autumn
season while the winter season makes the inhabitants of
Kashmir to be in their homes. At the fag end of winter
Kashmiri Hindus observe the Maha Shivaratri with great
pomp and show associated with the belief and tradition
of the union of Siva and Shakti. Many mythological
stories are connected with the celebration of the Maha
Shivaratri popularly known in Kashmir as Herat. Should
we believe that Harmukta, Amarnath cave or Ma Shivaratri
are the impact of Saivism for which Kashmir enjoys a
special position in the globe for giving a dynamic
philosophy of day to day living ? Is it closely related
to Vedanta System or the Sankhya System or its
obligation is due to Shakti worship that we see in every
corner of Kashmir or because of the impact of Tantra
fold prevalent in Kashmir. Kashmir is one of the Shakti
pithas among fifty pithas mentioned in Lalita
Sahasranama. Such questions need a rationalistic
approach of study rather to believe in tradition and
myth.
Dr. Radhakrishnan
has very truly said that spiritual life was the true
genius of India. Those who made the greatest appeal to
the Indian mind were not the military conquerors, not
the rich merchants or the great diplomats but the holy
sages, the rishis who embodied spirituality at its
finest and purest. The great sages and seers or the holy
men had the vision to realise the truth according to the
need and requirement of the time. Ekam Sat, Vipra Bahuda
Vadanti stands true in the highly rationalistic age. It
is, therefore, no wonder why Kashmir could give its own
philosophy of Saivism.
Philosophy in its
widest etymological sense means " love of
knowledge. " It tries to know things that
immediately and remotely concern man. What is the real
nature of man ? What is the end of this life ? What is
the nature of this world in which he lives? Is there any
creator of this world ? How should man livein the light
of his knowledge of himself, the world and God ? These
are some of many problems that have been discussed
threadbare in the Siva philosophy. It is easily
intelligible because it does believe in the existence of
matter and spirit. Life is worth knowing and hence worth
enjoying. There seems to be vision of truth ( darshana
). According to Rabindranath Tagore in " The Spirit
of India, " " Brahman is Truth, Wisdom and
Infinite-Satyam, Jnanam Anantam Brahma. Peace is in
Brahma, goodness is in Brahma and the unity of all
things. He who is one, who is above all colour
distinctions, who dispenses the inherent needs of men of
all colours, who comprehends all things from their
beginning to the end. Let Him unite us to one another
with wisdom which is the wisdom of goodness.
The Saiva
philosophy is typical of the entire range of Hindu
thought. It subscribes to the belief in three padarths
or categories viz., God, Soul and the bonds and thirty
six tatvas ( principles ). It varies from idealistic
monism and the pluralistic realism. It recognises thirty
six principles as against the twenty four of the Sankhya
and Yoga system. Panchratra also recognises twenty four
principles. According to Pauskara Agma- "The
Advaita Vedanta reckons thirty six principles, but the
new principles in this scheme are not independent
principles, being for the most part, modification of one
principal, Vayu the cosmic force. "
We have the five
gross elements known as "Mahabutas"- ether,
air, fire, water and earth; the last possesses the five
qualities of sound, touch, colour, taste and odour;
ether has sound alone. These qualities are called "
Tanmatras ". According to "Paushkara-Agma
" and Sivajnanamahapadyam, it is very much of an
idealistic view of susbstance. The tanmatras are
themselves evolutes of that variety of individuation (
ahankara ) wherein the quality of darkness and inertia (
tamas ) is predominant. This variety of " Ahankara
" is also called bhutadi, since it is indirectly
the cause of the elements. According to Sankhya "
manas " is recognised to be an organ of both sense
and action. Ahankara is itself derived from "
Buddhi " or intellect. It is the determining
faculty and self-derivative. Buddhi, Ahankar, manas and
chitta constitute the internal organs. Thus the twenty
four impure principles are known as " Bhogya-kanda."
Further, in Saiva
system, there are seven mixed principles where Mula
Prakriti is termed as " Prakriti-Maya ". It is
the product of " Ashudda Maya and it evolves
primarily into three principles- Kala (Time), Niyati
(Destiny) and Kala. Time is an independent Principle. In
experience, we observe that even when all necessary
causes are present, the effect is not produced except
with the passage of time. We find that time matures and
time heals. Destiny sees that every soul has its due in
the matter of the enjoyment of its appropriate fruit.
Kala is the instrument whereby the darkness that
envelopes soulsis removed in part. It has two functions
to evolve into "Mula Prakriti " and on the
other into Vidya ( knowledge) and Raga (attachments)
Kala, Niyati, Kala, Vidya and Raga are termed as five
sheaths or pancha kanchukas. According to Tattva Traya
Nirnaya the five Kleshas are called Pumsatva Mala or
human impurities and the soul is admitted to be known as
Purusha Tattva.
The pure
principles are five. Siva Tattva is the first of these
and the cause of the rest - Shakti, Sadasiva, Ishwara
and Shuddhvidya. Shivatattva is one, pervasive and
eternal, it is the resultant of both knowledge and
action and happens to be the cause of other pure
principles. It is not however to be identified with
Siva. Neither Siva himself nol his inherent Shakti can
be directly the cause of any principles as they would
then be the cause liable to tranformation and affected
by interness. Thus Shivatattva is an evolution through
" Maha Maya " or cosmic force quite different
from "Ashuddh maya" as mentioned earlier. Dr.
Burnett has translated the Aghora Siva's commentary on
the Tattva Prakasha in the following manner " Even
the realistic school has to admit maya to be a parigraha
shakti. While, however, the idealistic school draws what
seems to be the natural inference and compares the
product to the reflection in a mirror.... Aghora Siva
condemns it as an interpolation According to him Lhere
is an order of evolution and involution even among the
pure principles.
Souls are
naturally infinite, pervasive and omniscient, yet they
experience themselves as limited, finite and little
knowing. This is due to the bonds of " anava "
Karma and Maya. Souls which have all the three kinds of
bonds are called Sakalas. Those for whom Maya alone has
been resolved by the involution of the worlds in the
periodical deluges are called Pralaya Kalas.
God is pure,
omnipotent, omniscient, gracious, enternally free from
bonds. He is both the material and the efficient cause
of the world; through his Shaktis. He is the material
cause and in His own nature the efficient cause. Souls
in their essential nature are the same as God but their
potencies are concealed by beginningless " Anava.
" The ignorance of souls can be removed partially
through the bodies, instruments provided by "
Ashuddha Maya "- the physical world around us. God
functions through His own energy called the energy of
concealment ( Tirodham Shakti ). Through mere mementum
or through the residue of Prarabdha Karma, the physical
body may persist for a while after spiritual
illumination; but it does not fetter the enlightened
soul since it is not cognised as such. The attainment of
Sivatva may be understood as complete merger in Siva or
the realisation of an identity of essence in spite of
differencein existence.
The origins of
Saivism or the roots of Saivism are found in pre-Aryan
society. The hold of Saivism extends not only over the
whole of India, from the Indus valley to Bengal but
beyond the northern mountains to central Asia. The
characteristics of Saivism are the exaltations of Siva
above all other gods, the highly concrete conception of
the deity and a close relationship between Sivaand his
devotees. On the one hand, Siva is identified with the
eternal Absolute, formless. On the other hand, he is the
God of all gods, potent for good and evil. He is "
Girish ", " Ishan " and " Maheshwara
" the supreme Lord. In Rig Veda, he is known as
Rudra,
<verses>
"
Prostrations to the Lord, the Master of the Universe,
the great God, the three eyed one, the destroyer of
Tripura, the extinguisher of the Trika fire and the fire
of death, the blue-necked one, the Victor over Death,
the Lord of all, the ever peaceful one, the glorious God
of gods. He is attained by Tapas or austerity and comes
to our refuge and frees us from all bondage."
In the Yajur Veda
~Taittiriya Samhitta, " VI 2 3, however we meet
with stories concerning Rudra's exploits such as killing
the "Asuras" and destroying their "Tripura."
Due to the
advancement of Hindu mathematics, it has been felt to
simplify the highest Truths in the symbolic fashion.
Lingam has been the emblem of Siva. Is the Sivalinga a
phallus? The worship of the Linga as a symbol once
started, there was little to prevent a confusion in the
popular mind between this and the cult of phallus and
legends came to be invented of the origin of the worship
of Linga as the phallus of Siva. Barth is of the opinion
that these lingas are perhaps theleast offensive to look
at. Anyhow, they are the least materialistic and if the
common people make fetishes ofthem, it is nevertheless
true that the choice of these symbols by themselves to
the exclusion of every other image was, on the part of
certain founders of sects such as Basava, a sort of
protest against idolatry. In other words, the Puranic
exaltation of Linga worship over image worship, the
former leading to release and the latter only to some
variety of prosperity. The Linga purana version is due
to Siva becoming a pillar of fire, whose top and bottom
could not be seen by Brahma and Vishnu.
Siva is known as
Pashupati ( the lord of creatures ). Abhinav Shankara in
his Rudrabhashya lays the foundation for the tenets of
Saivism concerning pati, pashu and pasha ( bondage ).
Kaivalya Upanishad describes Sivayoga as a means of
realease. Saivism closely agrees with the Sankhya in its
dogmatics and with the Yoga sehool in its practical
discipline.
Role of Shakti in
Saivism is clear from Lalita, Bhawani and Rajina
Sahasranam. Sri Chakra worship stands a witness to the
unification of Shakti and Siva. Sri Chakra is the symbol
of the infinite.
Sri Aurobindo in
his book-philosophic work Savitri-has sung the praises
of the symbol of the infinite as under:
The unseen
grew visible
to student eyes,
Explained was the immense
Inconscients Scheme
Audacious lines were traced
upon the Void;
The infinite was reduced to
Square and Cube
Arranging symbol
and significance
They framed the Cabbla of Cosmic Law,
The balancing line discovered of
Life's technique
And structured her magic and
her mystery.
- Savitri ( 11:11 )
Consciousness in
the spirit and it is responsible for the Truth and
Bliss. Arunopanishad says : " Realise in us the
microcosm, Thy form of Macrocosm. Make me know again
". In Saiva system we ean't ignore the Shakti, the
energy force of Siva.
Shankara in
Soundarya Lahari explains the unification of Siva and
Shakti in the following fashion:
<verses>
Sri Chakra is
verily the macrocosm as well as the microcosm, is the
body of the two in one, Siva Shakti. Sri Aurobindo
emphasised it as under:
"This is
the knot that ties together the
stars;
The two who are one and the Secret of
all power,
The two who are one are the might and
right in things "
- Savitri ( 1.4 )
In Kashmir Saivism
is known as " Trika Philosophy " or Trika
Shasua. Trika Shastra symbolises the same Trayambhaka
Sampradaya or Rahasya Sampradaya. Trika accepts the most
important triad Siva, Shakti and Anu or atom (matter) or
again Siva, Shakti and Nara or lastly of the godesses
Para, Apara and Paratpara. It also explains nondual (abheda),
non-dual cum dual (bhedaabedha) and dual (bheda).
This system has
two main branches Spanda and Pratibijna. The Trika is
also known as " Svantryavad ", "
Svantantriya " and Spanda expressing the same
concepts. Abhyasvada is another name of the system. It
is called Kashmir Saivism, because it enriched its
culture, literature and spiritual integrity.
The Trika is a
spiritual philosophy. Its concepts are experience
concepts. Its greatest exponents are yoginies of high
stature who showed wonderful insight into abstruse
points of philosophy.
(
Pratybigna-Karika I-38 )
This system is a
statement based on experience about the nature of
Reality and a way of Life. Among the Agamas,
Malinivijaya, Sivachanda, Vignan Bhairva, Ananda Bhairva,
Mrigendra, Matang, Netra Svayambhu and Rudrayamala
happen to be the chief ones, they were written to stop
the propagation expounding a purely advaitic metaphysics
of Siva Sutra revealed to a sage called Vasugupta ( 9th
century ).
The Pritigna
Shastra is really the philosophic branch of Trika.
Siddha Somananda, the disciple of Vasugupta is credited
with adopting the method of giving an elaborate
treatment of his own views. Parmartha Sara and Tantra
Sara both by Abhinava Gupta and Pritibigna Hridya are
three but important works of the school: Tantraloka.
According to the
Trika, the Shastras have eternal existence. It means
wisdom, self-existent and impersonal. It is also known
as ' Shabda ' and ' Vak. ' Shastra is authority
according to Tantrasara, told or revealed by the Supreme
Lord. Therefore, Shabda creates or manifests every
thing. Reality is ineffable and beyond any descriptions.
Trika tries to formulate a philosophy about its nature.
Siva and Shakti are not two separate realities. Kalidasa
in Raghu Vamsa refers to Siva and Shakti as "
Jagtah Pitarau Vande Parvati Parameshwarau ". Like
fire and its burning power, Siva and Shakti are the same
identical facts though they are spoken of as distinet (
Siv Drishti III. 7 ). Shakti is known as Swantriya and
the principles of universal manifestation of five fold
aspects as Chit Shakti- the power of self consciousness
entails Ananda enjoyment and wonderment on the part of
Siva, bliss gives rise to Ichha, desire to create, then
Jnana or knowledge leading to Kriya Shakti will to act.
According to Tantrasara, some times, Chit and Anada
Shaktis are kept in background; Icha, Jnana and Kriya
are taken to be the principal powers.
Universe is Siva's
Krida or play. Siva's self imposition of limitation upon
Himself and also His breaking the fetters and returning
to His own native glory are both Krida and play. Siva as
Shakti manifests Himself as a correlated order of
knowers, knowables and means of knowledge. The limited
individual is subject to ignorance, which according to
Trika is two fold viz. paurasha and bandha. The descent
of the force of grace achieves two purposes: first
pasa-kshya, the destruction of fetters and secondly
Sivatva yoga - the restoration of Shiva-hood. The most
important of this is Diksha orinitiation. The Trika says
that is a result of Shaktipat, one is brought to a real
Guru. It awakens the " kriya-shakti " in the
limited soul. There are four " upayas " or
means of attaining the supreme goal. They are "anupaya;
Sambhava, Sakta and Anav upaya ". Due to Shaktipat
or descent of grace in a very intense degree, everything
needed for the realisation, beginning from the
liquidation of the atomic impurity down to the
recognition of the state of Paramashiva may be achieved
by the aspirant immediately and without going through
any Sadhna or discipline. Samvid is the only reality,
knowledge of duality is nothing in itself and can be
removed through the rise of Shuddha Vikapa of Nirvikalpa.
"
Dhyana means
meditation in the hear space or " Hriday-Akash
" on the Supreme Reality. By the process of
meditation the whole field of knowables is swallowed up
and absorbed into the knower. Uccara means the directing
the pranta or vital force upwards in the process of
meditation. Through these already experienced means, the
limited individual attains the rich treasures of his own
true Self.
The Trika does not
stop with the deliverance of the Soul from Maya from lhe
delusion of duality. It gose to the concept of the
divinisation of the Soul which means the recognition of
its own identity with Parmashiva.
The Trika
philosophy promises to satisfy both matter and spirit.
It does not give independent reality to Prakriti. It is
a stage in the evolution of the universe out of
parmashiva. The Trika is a virgin field of research and
wilt repay the most conscious labour of philosopher for
many years to come.
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