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O)rika Saivism
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Moti Lal Pandit
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The importance of Kashmir Saivism lies in the
fact that an independent school of Saivism,
with its own specific ethos and orientation,
emerged from the soil of Kashmir during the
eighth century of our era, which till the end of
twelfth‘century made great strides both
philosophically and theologically. The type of
Saivism that emerged during the eighth
century is deeply rooted in the religious
outlook of Tantrism. It is the Tantric religious
outlook which has served as the substratum for
the flowering of various schools of Saivism,
and which ultimately terminated in the rise of
such philosophical schools as the Spanda and
the Pratyabhijnia.
The author of the book has made every
attempt at explaining as comprehensively as
possible the complex theoretical thinking of
the Trika. The Trika, although non-dualistic in
orientation, does not obliterate the existence of
the person, and that is why it accepts Reality as
being of the nature of I-consciousness.
According to Trika, Reality is both prakasa
and vimarsa, and so the world we live in is an
actual manifest condition of the Absolute. Also
its theology of divine kenosis discloses that
God is not far away from us, but as light of
consciousness constitutes our essential nature.The Trika Saivism of Kashmir
The importance of Kashmir Saivism lies in the fact that an independent school
of Saivism, with its own specific ethos and orientation, emerged from the soil
of Kashmir during the eighth century of our era, which till the end of twelfth
century made great strides both philosophically and theologically. The type of
Saivism that emerged during the eighth century is deeply rooted in the religious
outlook of Tantrism. It is the Tantric religious outlook which has served as the
substratum for the flowering of various schools of Saivism, and which ultimately
terminated in the rise of such philosophical schools as the Spanda and the
Pratyabhijia,
‘The author of the book has made every attempt at explaining as com-
prehensively as possible the complex theoretical thinking of the Trika. The Trika,
although non-dualistic in orientation, does not obliterate the existence of the
person, and that is why it accepts Reality as being of the nature of L-con-
sciousness. According to Trika, Reality is both prakdsa and vimarga, and so the
world we live in is an actual manifest condition of the Absolute. Also its theology
of divine kenosis discloses that God is not far away from us, but as light of
consciousness constitutes our essential nature.
Moti Lal Pandit, being a Kashmiri Pandit, had the opportunity of studying the
philosophical and Tantric traditions of Trika from various teachers both in and
outside the Valley. Trained as a theologian and in modern humanities and
classical languages, he has accordingly been the communicator of today’s
Hinduism and Buddhism when they encounter the modern world. His many
books include: Towards Transcendence; Being as Becoming; Transcendence
and Negation: A Study of Buddhist Compassion and Christian Love; Beyond
the Word; Stinyata, The Essence of Mahayana Spirituality; In Search of the
Absolute; and The Hidden Way: A Study in Modern Religious Esoterism