- M M Balajinnatha Pandita

Kashmir Shaivism recognizes several systems of practice resulting in the liberation of a being. The Shaiva āgamas count the main paths of such practice in an order of higher merit as those of Vedācāra, Shaivācāra, Vāmācāra, Dakṣiṇācāra, Kaulācāra, Maatācāra and Trikācāra. Vedācāra is the practical path of realization of the truth as discussed in Vedic Upaniṣadas. It consists of Devayāna and Pitṛyāna courses of elevation. Shaivācāra is the practice of devotional worship of Shiva in the form of Liṅga or idol, assisted by the practice of Pātañjala Yoga. Vāmācāra is the typical Tantric method of sādhanā, conducted with the help of five makāras. Being very attractive and sweet to the senses and mind, it is named vāma, the beautiful. Dakṣiṇācāra consistes of Tantric sādhanā conducted under a puritanic discipline, without the use of wine etc. It is, virtually, the same path of practice known in the south as Samayācāra. Being opposed to Vāmācāra, it is called Dakṣiṇa. Kaulācāra also involves the use of five makāras, but, unlike Vāmācāra, it is not conducted and practiced, openly, publicly and shamelessly, without any hesitation, but practiced secretly, in closed-door compartments, called Kulachakras. The character of Matācāra is not known, clearly, at present. It must have been the practical path of sādhanā, taught in the eight monistic āgamas known as Matāṣṭaka. The highest path of practice is the Trikācāra, based on the three āgamas of the highest standard, named as Siddha Tantra, Mālinī Tantra and Nāmaka Tantra. The essence of such Tantras has been drawn by Abhinavagupta and presented to aspirants of the highest degree in the form of works like Tantrāloka, Tantrasāra, Parātriśikā vivaraṇa and Mālinīvijaya Vārtika. A Tantric text named Vjñānabhairava also deals with it. Trika has been discussed in Shivasūtra, Shivasūtra vārtika of Bhāskara and the Spandakārikā. Works on the Krama method of Shāktopāya also belong to the Trika system. Abhinavagupta gives Trika a much higher place than Kaula system. Trika consists of theoretical studies and practical Trikayoga, both, being conducted with an immensely devotional attitude towards Paramaśiva. Such knowledge and devotion help its yogic practice in impressing, deeply, the philosophy of theistic absolutism on, both the head and the heart of an aspirant and results, generally, in the attainment of liberation while the aspirant is yet living in a moral form (Jīvanmukti). A frequent practice in the intuitive realization of one’s divine nature, conducted with the help fo Trikayoga, results in the development of divine powers, while one is still living in flesh and blood and leads to absolute unity with Paramaśiva after the aspirant sheds off his mortal form.

Patatañjali starts with the lowest practice in Yoga and leads a practitioner, step by step, to the highest type of Samādhi. But Abhinavagupta starts with the highest type of Trikayoga and comes down, step by step, to its lower varieties. Acārya Amṛtavāgbhava used to say that one should not try to board a bullock cart, when an airplane may be available. He used to advise intelligent aspirants to try the highest type of Yoga, and to come down to a lower one, only when a person fails in grasping and practicing the highest one. The highest type of Trikayoga is known as Shāmbhavopāya. It is a practice in such a use of one’s strong will-power, which carries him directly to the highest step in the Turīya state. A practitioner of such Yoga feels, for the time being, that he is none other than the Almighty Paramaśiva, consisting of infinite and pure consciousness, vibrating outwardly such powers of His Godhead which appear in the form of the five divine activities of creation etc. Mind, withdrawn from its objective activities of thinking etc., the practitioner turns towards the self and is lost in the brilliant luster of pure consciousness. The exactly real nature of the self is then realized, intuitionally, without the help of any mental apparatus. Shāmbhava yoga is thus a practice in being the absolute and not in any type of mental becoming. Its practice transcends the activities of the whole mental apparatus. Mind, intellect and ego get dissolved, for the time being, in the practice of such intuitional realization of the self, by the self. A special psycho-physical posture, known as Shāmbhavī Mudrā, is helpful to a Yogin in the start of such practice. A practitioner has to be sufficiently careful and vigilant in its practice, so that he is not caught into sleepy states. If he falls into a state of dreamless sleep, his practice shall come down either to that of the Zen Yoga of Bodhidharma, or to the Nirbīja Samādhi of Patañjali. Such practices do not at all reveal to a Yogin his absolutely divine nature. Since a Yogin has neither to do anything, nor to do anything in its practice, but has to realize directly his pure, infinite and divine nature. Such Shāmbhava Yoga, in the aspect of its perfection, has been termed by Abhinavagupta as Anupāya Yoga of the Trika system. As has been said before, it was practiced by ancient sages. Lord Durvāsas taught it to Sri Kṛṣṇa. He discussed it in detail in the sixth chapter of his Bhagavadgītā. One highly esoteric item of such yoga practice has been described by Yājñavalkya in his smṛti. Its detailed aspect is discussed in a dialogue between him and Gārgī, and such such dialogue has been quoted by Saṅkarācārya in his commentary on Svetāśvatara Upaniṣad.

Two other prominent types of Shāmbhava Yoga have been dealt with in works like Tantrāloka. These are termed as Mātṛkā and Malinī. The absolute consciousness is, in fact, bearing the whole show of phenomenal existence and all functions related to it within its spiritual luster of self-awareness, in the manner of multifarious reflections. That is the truth about phenomenal existence. In order to realize such truth, a Shivayogin, while practicing a superior variety of Shāmbhava Yoga, puts in action his strong power of will, and, as its result, finds his own pure self, consisted of pure and infinite consciousness, bearing the reflections of his own divine powers shining in the form of the whole phenomenal existence. Finding intuitionally his pure consciousness, made immensely beautiful and charming by such reflections, he becomes merged into a highly sweet variety of self-bliss. Enjoying his such divine and blissful nature, he feels that he has after all attained the final goal of life and the highest result of Yoga Sādhanā. Such a Yogin is to be adored as Paramaśiva Himself, living in physical form. This is a superior variety of Shāmbhava Yoga called the Mātṛkā Yoga. The word Mātṛkā denotes the Indian alphabet. The Yogin concerned discovers his pure self as Paramaśiva, shining in the form of ‘a’ sound termed as Anuttara. Then he discovers the sounds from ā to aḥ as identical with his divine powers. The created Tattvas, right from earth to Sadāśiva, shine as identical with consonant sounds from ka to ha or kṣa. Seeing intuitively his infinite and pure consciousness, made charmingly beautiful by the reflections of his divine powers shining in the forms of Tattvas and sounds, the Shāmbhava Yogin experiences the highest type of self-satisfaction. Such a Yogin attains Jīvanmukti or liberation while living in the world. He does not require any more effort in any theological practice. Living up to the complete exhaustion of his prārabdha karman, he devotes the remaining portion of his mortal life to writing books on Tantra, teaching curious students and initiating worthy disciples.

There is one more important variety of Shāmbhava Yoga in accordance with which a Shivayogin sees the alphabetical sounds, his divine powers and their reflections mixed together is an absolutely irregular order of succession, startig with the sound of ‘na’ and ending in the sound ‘pha’, with all other sounds, both consonants and vowels arranged in an irregular order. The Yogin has a revelation of the self bearing the alphabetical sounds, along with their reflections appearing as Tattvas, in a disturbed order and in doing so, experiences quickly the sweet taste of the direct recognition of his divine nature. Such Shāmbhava Yoga is known as Mālinī Yoga. Being closer to the exact situation of the phenomenon, it is quicker in delivering its results and yields both Bhukti and Mukti simultaneously. It has therefore enjoyed greater popularity among the Siddhas of Kashmir. Acārya Abhinavagupta has explained it in his commentary on Parātriśikā (known incorrectly as Parātriṃśikā). A few more types of Shāmbhava Yoga have been taught by Lord Bhairava in Vijñānabhairava, for instance, taking hold of the connecting link (consisting of pure consciousness) between any successive mental ideas; withdrawing one’s attention from all objective elements and discovering his real nature through an attentive vigilance towards his self-awareness shining in the heart; discovering one’s pure self awareness in between the states of waking and dreaming; and withdrawing one’s mind from constant momentary ideations. But only the above mentioned two varieties of Yoga have so far been discussed in such works.

As aspirant who may not be quick enough to practice any variety of Shāmbhava Yoga, can take up some variety of Shākta Yoga. Such Yoga consists of practices in mental contemplation of the truth about one’s self and all phenomena as discussed by expert Yogins in their philosophical works such as Shivadṛṣṭi, Iśvarapratyabhijñā, etc. Such contemplation is performed in several ways as Homa, Yāga, Vrata, Snāna etc., all of which are symbolic in character. For instance, the infinite consciousness is contemplated upon as an infinite, holy fire and all mental and physical phenomena are offered to it as oblations by means of mere contemplation and this is the Homa in Shāktopāya.

With average type of practitioners it becomes very difficult to practice the absorption of the whole phenomenal existence, which is wonderfully vast and multifarious in its character - into their fine and pure I-consciousness, by means of such contemplations. Shivānandanātha, the master of some northern center of Shaivism (Uttapīṭha), probably situated in Kashmir, discovered an easier type of Shāktopāya. He classified the whole existence into three categories of Pramātṛ, the knowing subject, Prameya, the object to be known and Pramāṇa, the means of knowing. Each of these three was to be further contemplated upon in four aspects of creation, preservation, absorption and that of its existence in the transcendental reality. The phenomenon was, thus, analyzed into 3 X 4 = 12 categories and the practice of Shāktopāya was taught to be conducted with respect to such twelve categories of the phenomenal existence, one by one in turn (krama). Such comparatively easier method of Shāktopāya became highly popular under the name Kramanaya. Such a practitioner had to arouse his creative energy named Kālī and absorb through her all the twelve categories of phenomenal existence. This Kramanaya came to be known as Kālīnaya and the twelve aspects of such energy came to be worshiped as twelve Kālīs, eulogized in the two Kramastotras of Siddhanātha and Abhinavagupta. This easier type of Shāktopāya has been discussed in detail in the fourth chapter of Tantrāloka as the first and the foremost variety of Shāktopāya.

Next in turn comes āṇavopāya, the means of liberation suited mostly for finite beings called aṇu. Its system has been classified into five types of contemplative practice termed as Dhyāna or Buddhi-Dhyāna, Uccāra, Karaṇa, Dhvani and Sthānakalpanā.

A Dhyānayogin has to contemplate the unity of pramātṛ, prameya and pramāṇa in his heart and has to visualize such unity as a brilliant fire of consciousness surrounded by the above mentioned twelve Kālīs as its flames moving to and fro. Then he has to contemplate that these divine powers named Kālīs, while coming into contact with outward objects through the outlets of senses and organs, conduct the activities of creation, preservation, absorption and unification with the Absolute with respect to such objects. A regular practice in constant repetition of such contemplative meditation makes the impression of divine powers conducting the divine activities so deep upon the practitioner that he realizes himself as none other than the Absolute, conducting such activities with respect to the whole phenomenal existence. That is the wonderful Dhyāna yoga of Kashmir Shaivism explained as such by Abhinavagupta and learnt as such by him from Sri Shambhunātha of Jālandharapīṭha at Kangra. Such Dhyāna-yoga is not found in any other Yoga system.

The second variety of āṇavayoga is known as Ucārayoga, practice of which is targeted towards the five functions of one’s life force. Such functions are known as Prāṇa, Apāna, Samāna, Udāna and Vyāna. The character of such functions is quite different from that, which has been assigned to them in Nyāya Shāstra. In accordance with Kashmir Shaivism, these are the five functions of the process and activity of living, going on in the four states of Jāgrat, Svapna, Suṣupti and Turyā. All types of activities of elimination, conducted through one’s body, senses, organs, mind, intellect etc., and the movements of respiration are taken in Trika system as Prāṇa and such types of assimilation. Such a function of animation in which both elimination and assimilation become one, as in Suṣupti, is termed as Samāna. There is a function of Prāṇa which is experienced as a movement of illumination, or rather revelation, going on through one’s spinal cord, reducing to ashes all mental ideation and proceeding ahead towards the self-evident pure consciousness, shining beyond all mental concepts. Such a function of Prāṇa is termed in Kashmir Shaivism as Udāna. It proceeds ahead and attains the position of all-pervading infinite and pure aspect of Prāṇa, known here as Vyāna. Such approach to the five Prāṇas is prevalent in Kashmir Shaivism alone. Most probably a portion of the fourth chapter of Bhagavadgītā may also have been aimed at such delineation of these five functions of Prāṇa and may have been based on the knowledge imparted to Sri Kṛṣṇa by sage Durvāsas.

The experience of such functions of Prāṇa result in the sweet taste of six varieties of self bliss, discovered only in the Trika system:

(i) Direct realization of the finite but pure I-consciousness results in the experience of Nijānanda

(ii) The revelation of its being free from the trinity of (a) finite subjecthood, (b) objecthood and (c) the means to know and to do, gives rise to another variety of self-bliss termed as Nirānanda

(iii) The reduction of Prāṇa and Apāna into their unitary form known as Samāna, gives rise to the self-bliss known as Parānanda

(iv) The full-fledged position of Sāmāna reveals the unity of all objective phenomena and such position yields a higher type of self-bliss called Brahmānanda

(v) The Udāna function of animation enlightens a still higher type of pure self-bliss called Mahānanda

(vi) Vyāna, revealing the infinite consciousness as the real essence and the eternal aspect of every thing, gives rise to Cidānanda

Beyond these six categories of the gradually higher types of Yogic bliss, lies the infinite and eternal self-bliss which is termed as Jagadānanda. It is that infinite bliss of the Absolute Reality, which is responsible for the manifestation of the five divine activities of creation etc. The experience of such categories of self-bliss is the result of Ucārayoga of the Trika system.

The third variety of āṇava yoga is known as Karaṇa Yoga. It consists of self-contemplation conducted with the help of meditation on certain nerve centers, nerve-complexes, physical positions (Mudrās) etc. It has not been clarified in detail by any author. Abhinavagupta says that Karaṇa is a highly secret doctrine and must therefore be learned directly from the Guru. In fact, the essence of all varieties of Yoga discussed earlier cannot be grasped or brought into practice even though delineated clearly. Therefore, there is no danger of their being misused. But the process of Karaṇa yoga, taking one’s gross body as the focus of meditation, can easily be grasped even by an unworthy practitioner, who may misuse it, as did the ancient demons like Tāraka, Hiraṇyakaśipu and Rāvaṇa. Therefore, it has been kept a secret.

Below Karaṇa is the position of Dhvani Yoga. It is nearly the same as the Surata (Surat Shabd) Yoga of the present day Radhasaomis and the ancient Kabir panthins. Shaivas however add the contemplation of unity with the Absolute to it. Another variety of this Yoga is known as Varṇa Yoga in which several types of hues are seen by pressing one’s eyelids. As Dhvani and Varṇa do not reveal one’s identity with the Absolute, these have not been discussed at length in the Tantrāloka.

The lowest category of Trika Yoga is termed as Sthāna Kalpanā, in which, time and space are made targets of contemplative meditation. The successively longer and longer units of time, even up to the long ones of universal creation and absorption, are contemplated upon as being contained in one breathing time of the Yogin. In the same way, all the regions of the outward existence in the universe are, gradually, seen through imagination as being contained in one’s own physical form. Such practices help in shaking off the bindings of time and space and in leading an aspirant to the revelation of his infiniteness. Both time and space are to be meditated upon in their three aspects of grossness, subtleness and fineness. Time is calculated through ideas. Ideas can be measured though words, syllables, and letters, called Pada, Mantra and Varṇa. Space can be measured through the conception of Bhuvanas, Tattvas and Kalās as the finer form of Tattvas. These are the paths of objective meditation, known as Shaḍadhva Yoga.