“What is this Self, and how did the Shaiva philosophers of Kashmir experience It? They assert that the Self alone has absolute existence. This Self is within every human being, and in recognizing and experiencing It within ourselves, we are… — Balajinnatha Pandita Copy Share Image
“Since all people, regardless of categories, are Shiva Himself appearing in that form, all gods, supergods, masters of higher worlds (bhuvanas), purer beings in the plane of vidya, and the superior authorities ruling there are able to exercise their grace on beings who are spiritually below them. In fact, any persons who are spiritually advanced can bestow their grace on… — Balajinnatha Pandita Copy Share
“The ancient sages of Kashmir Shaivism did not look for the truth only in logic and intellectual speculation. They relied much more on their experiences during deep yogic states to guide them in understanding and clarifying age-old philosophical dilemmas. They discovered the Absolute within themselves and found that they were one with it. They studied the Self that lay beyond… — Balajinnatha Pandita Copy Share
“In his discussion of Trika Yoga Abhinavagupta begins with the most advanced approach, and then presents successively easier methods one by one in descending order. This is another example of his particular approach to yoga. His intention is to make the best and the quickest method of yoga immediately available to all aspirants. If they succeed at the highest level,… — Balajinnatha Pandita Copy Share
“According to Abhinavagupta, a yogin who is established in the understanding and experience of supreme non-dualism, sees only one reality shining in all mutually opposite entities like pleasure and pain, bondage and liberation, sentience and insentience, and so on, just as an ordinary person sees both a ghata and a kumbha as only one thing (a pot) expressed through different… — Balajinnatha Pandita Copy Share
“God, being total consciousness, is at all times both aware of Himself, and of the reflections shining within Him. Being absolutely independent and free,… — Balajinnatha Pandita Copy Share Image
“While aesthetic richness has prevailed in Indian spiritual life form ancient times, there has also been a parallel puritanical aspect among Indian people. This puritanism was prevalent in various traditions of monks, and evolved into the systems of Buddhism and Jainism. Monks of these two religious paths prohibited the use of objects that were pleasing to the senses, and prescribed… — Balajinnatha Pandita Copy Share
“All of the blissful and beautiful aspects of the Absolute are present in each and every person and living thing, but they remain dormant because they are hidden behind the mask of maya. In other words, we are all blinded to this inner bliss and beauty by our limited sense of who we are, and by the habit of directing… — Balajinnatha Pandita Copy Share
“Bondage and liberation is another important issue that Kashmir Shaivism has clarified in a unique manner. Most of the other schools of Indian philosophy assert that all beings are responsible for their own misery and can only attain liberation through their own efforts. But Kashmir Shaivism, while advocating personal effort for the attainment of freedom from limitation, finds the basic… — Balajinnatha Pandita Copy Share
“It is important to understand that, according to Kashmir Shaivism, this analysis of all phenomena into thirty six tattvas is not an absolute truth. It has been worked out by the authors of the philosophy as a tool of understanding for the ever-active and inquiring mind and as a form for contemplative meditation. Through further analysis, the number of tattvas… — Balajinnatha Pandita Copy Share
“[T]his philosophy [of Kashmir Shaivism] posits a transcendental Absolute that is theistic in nature. This Absolute is not some separate divine source, but is… — Balajinnatha Pandita Copy Share Image
“Kashmir Shaivism asserts that all phenomena that ever appear in the universe enjoy an eternal existence within Absolute Consciousness. Because time and space do… — Balajinnatha Pandita Copy Share Image
“God, bearing the whole psycho-physical existence as reflections, is also not involved in any transformation of His essence. He remains pure Consciousness alone while… — Balajinnatha Pandita Copy Share Image
![“[T]his philosophy [of Kashmir Shaivism] posits a transcendental Absolute that is theistic in nature. This Absolute is not some separate divine source, but is identical with the Self of every being. Nor is It just some inert, Self-absorbed form of Consciousness. It is vibrant, luminous, Self-aware…” quote by Balajinnatha Pandita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/2c5/balajinnatha-pandita-24889_absolute_t-his-philosophy-of-kashmir-shaivism-pos_1644936.jpg)
