The Guru as Śiva

This article introduces and analyzes the Gurustutiratnāvalī, a sophisticated eighteenth-century Sanskrit hymn composed by Govinda Kaula of Kashmir in praise of his teacher’s teacher, the prolific author Sāhib Kaula. It evaluates the evidence for Govinda Kaula’s dating, lineage, and literary activity and presents the first published edition and translation of select verses of his Gurustutiratnāvalī based on four manuscripts. The analysis of the hymn focuses on the ways the author equates a specific guru in his lineage—Sāhib Kaula—with the supreme deity Śiva. Using this hymn as a starting point, the article considers the history of guru-praise (gurustuti) and guru-devotion (gurubhakti) in Kashmir as well as in South Asia more broadly. Lastly, it suggests that further work on this lineage and the religious dynamics of the eighteenth and nineteenth century will prove crucial for helping us understand the emergence of what came to be popularly known as “Kashmir Śaivism.”

The Concept of Karma in the Philosophy of Hindu Tantrism. Part I

The tantric interpretation of karma is in many ways in line with general Indian be­liefs. Karma is a complex causal mechanism that enslaves souls, which itself, in turn, is based on the activities of these souls. The actions of the soul arise from karmic impulses, which prepare it for a certain experience. Tantra knows the vari­ous classifications of karma (as valuable as neutral) and karmic fruits, as well as bodies into which souls enter under the influence of karma. Karma is “sleeping” and “waking up”. The Supreme God controls karma for his own purposes, provid­ing the souls with their well-deserved living conditions; the unfolding of the world itself correlates with an increase in karmic activity. In Kashmir Śaivism, karma be­comes one of the three main types of enslavement of individuals (kārma-mala) and a direct source of saṃsāra. “Karma is the cause of saṃsāra” (Abhinavagupta). Karma is a part of the universal restrictive mechanism, niyati (Utpaladeva). The distinction between an action that carries karmic consequences (karma) and an ac­tion that doesn’t carry such consequences (kriyā) can also be considered a tantric contribution to the concept of karma. Representatives of the Nātha school under­stand karma as a part of the physical body and distinguish five types of karma.

The Concept of Karma in the Philosophy of Hindu Tantrism Part II

The tantric interpretation of karma is in many ways in line with general Indian be­liefs. Karma is a complex causal mechanism that enslaves souls, which itself, in turn, is based on the activities of these souls. The actions of the soul arise from karmic impulses, which prepare it for a certain experience. Tantra knows the vari­ous classifications of karma (as valuable as neutral) and karmic fruits, as well as bodies into which souls enter under the influence of karma. Karma is “sleeping” and “waking up”. The Supreme God controls karma for his own purposes, provid­ing the souls with their well-deserved living conditions; the unfolding of the world itself correlates with an increase in karmic activity. In Kashmir Śaivism, karma be­comes one of the three main types of enslavement of individuals (kārma-mala) and a direct source of saṃsāra. “Karma is the cause of saṃsāra” (Abhinavagupta). Karma is a part of the universal restrictive mechanism, niyati (Utpaladeva). The distinction between an action that carries karmic consequences (karma) and an action that doesn’t carry such consequences (kriyā) can also be considered a tantric contribution to the concept of karma. Representatives of the Nātha school under­stand karma as a part of the physical body and distinguish five types of karma

Stotra as Tradition

Part of the enduring appeal of the stotra form has been the way that it has enabled specific communities to creatively negotiate Kashmir’s literary and religious pasts. This chapter analyzes stotras in the seventeenth and twentieth centuries to explore how hymns have functioned as part of tradition as a process. In the seventeenth century, Sāhib Kaul’s devotional poetry provides evidence for how one community of immigrants to Kashmir integrated themselves into a complex religious and literary culture while using its Maithila Śākta heritage as a resource for innovation. In the twentieth century, Swami Lakshman Joo promoted the study and practice of stotras in influential ways. Lastly, the chapter argues that stotras have been pivotal to the configuration of “Kashmir Śaivism” as a distinct regional tradition.

Hindu philosophy

Hindu philosophy is the longest surviving philosophical tradition in India. We can recognize several historical stages. The earliest, from around 700 bc, was the proto-philosophical period, when karma and liberation theories arose, and the proto-scientific ontological lists in the Upaniṣads were compiled. Next came the classical period, spanning the first millennium ad, in which there was constant philosophical exchange between different Hindu, Buddhist and Jaina schools. During this period, some schools, such as Sāṅkhya, Yoga and Vaiśeṣika, fell into oblivion and others, such as Kashmir Saivism, emerged. Finally, after the classical period only two or three schools remained active. The political and economic disturbances caused by repeated Muslim invasions hampered intellectual growth. The schools that survived were the Logic school (Nyāya), especially New Logic (Navya-Nyāya), the grammarians and, above all, the Vedānta schools. The central concerns of the Hindu philosophers were metaphysics, epistemological issues, philosophy of language, and moral philosophy. The different schools can be distinguished by their different approaches to reality, but all considered the Vedas (the sacred scriptures) authoritative, and all believed that there is a permanent individual self (ātman). They shared with their opponents (Buddhists and Jainas) a belief in the need for liberation. They used similar epistemic tools and methods of argument. In contrast to their opponents, who were atheists, Hindu philosophers could be either theists or atheists. Actually we can observe an increased tendency towards theistic ideas near the end of the classical period, with the result that the strictly atheistic teachings, which were more philosophically rigorous and sound, fell into disuse. Hindu metaphysics saw ātman as part of a larger reality (Brahman). Because these views of the world differed, they had to be proved and properly established. Accordingly, logical and epistemological tools were developed and fashioned according to the needs and beliefs of individual philosophers. Most agreed on two or three sources of knowledge: perception and inference, with verbal testimony as a possible third. In this quest for philosophical rigour, there was a need for precision of language, and there were important philosophical developments among the grammarians and the philosophers who explained the Vedas (the Mīmāṃsakas). A culmination of these linguistic efforts can be seen in the philosopher of language Bhartṛhari. One of his greatest accomplishments was the full articulation of the theory that a sentence as a whole is understood in a sudden act of comprehension. It is customary to name six Hindu schools, of the more than a dozen that existed, thus lumping several into a single school. This is particularly the case with Vedānta. The six are listed in three pairs: Sāṅkhya–Yoga; Vedānta–Mīmāṃsā; Nyāya–Vaiśeṣika. This does not take account of the grammarians or Kashmir Saivism. In their quest for freedom from rebirth, all the Hindu schools operated within the same framework. Their ultimate goal was liberation. How much they were truly engaged in the quest for liberation apart from their philosophical preoccupations is not always clear, yet they never doubted its real possibility.

The Lord of the Heart: Abhinavagupta's Aesthetics and Kashmir Śaivism

Indian aesthetics owes much to the genius of Abhinavagupta (fl. c. 950–1025), whose aesthetic theory combined elements of Tantric exegesis, philosophy, poetics, musicology, and mysticism. His aesthetics is also based on the cosmology of the Śaivagamas, as shown in the benedictory verses to his commentary on the Nātyaśāstra, Abhinava Bhāratī, where he invokes Śiva in the form of the cosmic and human elements (tattva). Abhinavagupta also uses the similes of the world drama and world picture to show the interconnectedness of theology and the arts, since Śiva is the Divine artist. Moreover, the doctrine that "everything is connected with everything else" provides a basis for an understanding of art in which even a fragment can reflect the beauty of the whole. Aesthetics also assumes the freedom of the artist to create, as well as the joy that emanates from a work of art—a joy directly connected with spiritual bliss.