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Principle of Shakti in Kashmir Shaivism (Study)

by Nirmala V. | 2016 | 65,229 words

This page relates ‘Jnana and Kriya: The Powers with Mutual Interdependence� of the thesis dealing with the evolution and role of Shakti—the feminine principle—within the religious and philosophical framework of Kashmir Shaivism. Tantrism represents an ancient Indian spiritual system with Shakti traditionally holding a prominent role. This study examines four major sub-streams: Kula, Krama, Spanda, and Pratyabhijnā.

Go directly to: Footnotes.

Part 2.8 - ñԲ and : The Powers with Mutual Interdependence

Sequentially, śپ is the cause of ñԲśپ and ñԲśپ is that of śپ. All the three Śپ were unitary and conjoined in the pre-manifest state, whereas the ñԲ and got separated afterwards from the primary manifestation i.e.,

dzԲԻ岹 says that the knowledge and action are the very life of the living beings;

“ज्ञान� क्रिया � भूताना� जीवतां जीवन� मतम् ॥�

ñԲ� kriyā ca bhūtānā� jīvatā� īԲ� matam ||[1]

Advent of these two Śپ could be viewed as no doubt as came out of desire. The ñԲ and śپs may be presupposed to have been constituted of three stages. The first stage is the cognition of his own self (stmocchalattā) by the supreme Ś as a result of the eagerness (ᾱñ) happened to him. The Second is the rise of urge to the limitation i.e., through the creation of the universe (jagannirmāṇecchā). In the third stage, Ś-in the form of manifestations-pervades into the worldly ñԲkriyās as the knowing and recognizing of the ultimate. These stages are visibly comprised of the characteristics of the three Śپ. Even though, by the actual nature, the first phase is columned as ñԲśپ, it is a type of action (of knowing)-and hence is to be stated as . And the eagerness happened to Ś is devoid of specific causes and external temptations represent . The second one is , and it obviously is a . becomes pertinent only when it is cognized as . Meanwhile the cognized desire in the third turns to the śپ which is urged by the desire to act.[2]

Monistic Ś doctrine outwardly presents ñԲ and together as they are inter-depended each other in almost all contexts. These forms of Śپ are prominent in the monistic Śٱ domains especially in the stream of ʰٲⲹñ. The scriptures like Īśٲⲹñ fabricated the structure of their contents in accordance with the reciprocal inter-dependence of the very two significant forms of Śپ. There the key topic of discussion viz., ʰٲⲹñ is also envisioned as jñānakriyāśaktirūpa (being in the form of knowledge and action).

The ñԲśپ is viewed as the omniscience and śپ as the omnipotence of the universal supreme. 

Knowledge and action, being inseparable from it, are self–established, self-illuminating and directly perceptible:

ते� आन्तरी क्रियाशक्तिः ज्ञानवदे� स्वत� सिद्धा स्वप्रकाशा, सै� तु स्वशक्त्या प्राणपुर्यष्टकक्रमेण शरीरमपि संचरमाणा स्पन्दनरूप� सती व्यापारात्मिका मायापदेऽपि प्रमाणस्� प्रत्यक्षादेर्विषय� �

tena āntarī kriyāśakti� jñānavadeva svata� siddhā svaprakāśā, saiva tu svaśaktyā prāṇapuryaṣṭakakrameṇa śarīramapi saṃcaramāṇ� spandanarūpā satī vyāpārātmikā māyāpade'pi pramāṇasya pratyakṣāderviṣaya� |

, Vol. 2, p. 198.

Śٱ monism considers insentient as depended upon the sentient, which is a type of consistency grounded on the powers of knowledge and action. 

Action is cognizable by others only when it manifests itself through a body:

तत्र ज्ञानं स्वत� सिद्धं क्रिया कायाश्रिता सती �
परैरप्युपलक्ष्ये� तयान्यज्ञानमूह्यते �

tatra ñԲ� svata� siddha� kriyā kāyāśritā satī |
parairapyupalakṣyeta tayānyajñānamūhyate ||
[3]

Īśٲⲹñ, I.1.4.

Although all these references confirm the mutual relation and co-existence of ñԲ and , deviation in their position also can be noticed where ñԲ is placed above the .

This evidently intends the subordination of Śپ. K. C. Pandey observes that;

The phenomena of knowledge and action are similar in so far as both presuppose the existence of subject, object and means. But action can be viewed more objectively than knowledge.[4]

Footnotes and references:

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[1]:

It is dzԲԻ岹 who gave prominence to the concept of śپ in Śdṛṣṭi According to Utpaladeva, the implication of śپ as the first and foremost manifestation of Ś is improper. For him, śپ was not much important that it is found to be dissolved in and it transcends ñԲ and .

[2]:

The third verse of Īśٲⲹñ,—�kartari jñātari stmanyādisiddhe maheśvare | Ჹḍāt Ծṣe� vidadhīta ka� ||”—can also be explained with the help of this perspective. The three terms kartari, jñātari and stmani respectively refer to the powers of , Jnāna and which hierarchically placed in a reverse order viz., sarjanakriyā (the acting of creation), sarjanajñāna (knowing of creation) and sarjanecchā (Desiring the action).

[3]:

This inseparability between ñԲ and inspired Abhinavagupta to bring the latter first in his commentary of the above mentioned verse thus: “All the three forms of cognitions I know, I knew and I shall know shine on the background of self-luminous self-consciousness only. In the cognitive experience, such as I know, there is consciousness (not only of the self-luminous self but) of association with a stir (Spanda) also. � This stir is technically called վś. It is the power of action.� , Vol. 3, pp.16-17. The same thing is explained in other words by dzԲԻ岹 as: �ṭād󲹰pi ṭa� پ sā kriyā |“cf. IPK, I. 8. 10-11 and Śdṛṣṭi I. 20-21. Raffaele Torella, (Ed.), The Īśٲⲹñ, p.23 rephrases Abhinavagupta’s Īśٲⲹñ屹ṛtśī in this context as, “In fact, from the previous arguments, in the case of jñātṛtva, jñāna is acknowledged and only the existence of a subject is denied (and should the latter exist, the possibility of a relation between the two is denied), whereas in the case of 첹ṛt even kriyā itself is denied. It is replied that the example tends to show their equality as regards being kalpita; and it is added that ñԲ is essentially also-because of the verbal root it contains -and that therefore the confutation of also implies the confutation of that particular that is ñԲ, which places them on the same plane.�

[4]:

., Vol. 3, p.63.

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