The teachings of Kashmir Shaivism are so rich and detailed, with / in their descriptions of the ascent of individual consciousness to universal God consciousness (Paramashiva) that Kashmir Shaivism has been aptly described as “the mystical geography of awareness.” It includes a highly developed system of spirituality that emphasizes not only the intellectual understanding of its philosophy, but also the direct realization, the direct experience, of its truth.
For the Kashmir Shaiva, the very nature of truth, its defining characteristic, is that it is unlimited and universal. The human intellect, on the other hand, is limited and individual, and as such, it cannot contain within its grasp that reality which transcends it. For the Kashmir Shaiva, truth, being universal, cannot actually be expressed or revealed through language. Any attempt to define and contain it with the spoken word only limits it. If truth is to be known and understood, it must be experienced through direct realization.
Kashmir Shaivism offers many different practical approaches to the realization of the ultimate reality. These approaches vary depending on the ability of the seeker. In the sacred and purely monistic Tantric text “Vijnana Bhairava,” the Lord, Bhairava, sets out one hundred and twelve techniques of spiritual practice to be used by an aspirant eager to realize the divine universal reality. These secret practices are revealed by Bhairava as he answers the questions posed to him by his consort Bhairavi, the Divine Mother.
The narrative begins with Devi, feigning ignorance, speaking to the Lord Bhairava telling him that, even though she has heard all the various theories and explanations of the nature of reality, she still has doubts and is not completely satisfied. She implores Bhairava, “What is the real essence of the way we have to tread? Please, O Lord, remove my doubts entirely.”
Bhairava answers by telling Devi that she has asked the question that is worth asking. He says it is a question–a secret question–that is the real essence of all Tantras. He then continues by explaining that all the processes illuminated in the Tantras are not meant for great or highly elevated souls, but for those who are not completely developed. He emphasizes that all these processes are just to begin with. “You begin with them and then leave them aside.” This is because in reality the supreme state is not achieved by the support of means (upaya). It happens automatically by the independent grace of Bhairava.
All means exist within the world, which is bound by time, space, and formation, while the supreme state, the state of Bhairava, is beyond the limitation of space, time, and formation. It can’t be described. It is beyond thought and cannot be perceived through the mind. It is the state of unlimited, universal subjectivity. In fact, this real state of Bhairava is actually the state of Bhairavi, His supreme Shakti (energy). Why? We are told that whenever you search for the reality of Bhairava you can’t find it, because the real state of Bhairava is actually the real state of the knower. It can’t be found because it is always the perceiver, not the perceived. When you have a desire to perceive this state you can only perceive it when it comes down one step lower in the state of Bhairavi.
So in answering Devi’s question –“What is the real essence of the way we have to tread?”– Bhairava will teach her one hundred and twelve ways to enter in the universal and transcendental state of consciousness. And because Bhairavi is the way, then all of these ways, these means, reside only in the field of Bhairavi, Shakti, not in the field of Bhairava. But what is the relationship of Bhairavi to Bhairava? Is Bhairava superior to his Shakti, Bhairavi? To answer this, Bhairava tells us in verse eighteen that, “just as there is no differentiation found between energy and the holder of energy, so also, there is absolute unity between Bhairava and Bhairavi.” And so, because of the unity of Bhairava and Bhairavi, you can experience the identity between the energy and the holder of energy by entering in the state of energy, Bhairavi.
In order to grasp the meaning of the phrase “divine universal reality,” and to attempt to understand the means for its attainment as embodied in the unity of Bhairava and Bhairavi, and as expressed in the one hundred and twelve spiritual practices, it will be helpful to briefly examine the non-dual cosmology and soteriology of this profound tradition.
to be continued...
by John Hughes, from the Introduction to the Vijnana BhairavaLabels: Bhairava/Bhairavi, Vijnana Bhairava