[Reader-list] LITERATURE - Kashmir: The Abode of Wisdom

[Pawan Durani]

Kashmir: The Abode of Wisdom

"From the beginning of time men have sought the solution to a
three­-faced mystery: the mystery of origin, the mystery of present
being and the mystery of destiny. Usually their search has been
directed outwards amongst the data of sense experience; backwards into
the apparent certainty of the accomplished, forwards to the
speculation into the indeterminate future".

Thus says the author of the book Man, the Measure of All Things, Shri
Krishna Prem. From time to time in every country some wise men have
tried to penetrate this "mysterious tremendous". They have in their
own way made a quest for truth and expressed it, often in poetry and
art. They are the apostles of true wisdom.
Philosophical wisdom and religion have their different fields in the
Occident but not in the Orient. Here wise men have not wasted their
breath in logically proving the existence of the Supreme Reality. They
have tried, in the words of L.P. Jacks, "to raise the faculty of
insight to the requisite pitch for penetrating the disguising of
deity".
Like Jammu, Kashmir, too, has been fortunate in having been the abode
of wisdom. Shaivism of Kashmir is a distinct philosophy and wisdom in
its own right, which originated and flourished in Kashmir. The
Celestial Valley also cradled in its arms a unique type of Hindu
mysticism and Muslim Sufism.
KASHMIRI SHAIVISM
It is not possible to penetrate the thick veil of obscurity that hangs
round the beginnings of Kashmiri Shaivism. Nevertheless, it traces its
origin to the Shiva-Sutra, which is ascribed to Lord Shiva himself.
The Sutras were revealed to Vasugupta, who lived between 8th and the
9th century A.D. Among his followers were Kallata, Somananda and
Abhinavgupta, who, too, have written their treaties on Shaivism.
According to the philosophy of Kashmiri Shaivism the Ultimate Reality
is Shiv or Shambu. He is the Self of all beings, moving and nonmoving.
He is immanent, that is permanently pervading the universe, inherent
in it but, at the same time, transcendental, that is surpassing the
universe. Shiva is the Reality beyond which there is nothing. He is
Pure Consciousness (Chaitanya), Absolute Experience (Para-samarit) and
the Supreme Lord (Paramesvara), from whom the world comes into being
as the reflection. Abhinavgupta in Paramarthsara has illustrated it
thus : "As syrup, molasses, jaggery, sugar-balls, candy, etc. are all
like juice of the sugar-cane, so the diverse conditions are all of
Shambu, the Super Self". Abhinavgupta again says: "As in the orb of a
mirror pictures such as those of a town or a village shine which are
inseparable from it and yet are distinct from one another and from it,
so from the perfectly pure vision of the Supreme-Bhairava, this
universe void of distinction appears distinct from that vision".
The universe is thus but the self-manifestation of Shiva by his own
free will and is ingrained in it. The immanent aspect of Shiva is
called Shakti, which is, it may be noted, not an independent entity,
but his creative energy. It is five-fold: (i) Chit-Shakti, the power
of intelligence or self-luminosity (ii) Ananda Shakti, the power of
independence which is bliss (iii) Iccha-Shakti, the volition which
makes Purma Shiva feel supremely able and irresistible will so that he
can do or create something (iv) Jnana-Shakti, the power of knowledge
by which Shiva brings all objects in conscious relations with himself
and with one another (v) Kriya-Shakti, the power of action by which he
can assume all kinds of forms.
Man's bondage is due to the ignorance (ajnana) of the Reality. The
individual soul though identical with the Supreme suffers in this
world, because it has forgotten its real nature and considers itself
to be finite; though independent, it identifies itself with the body.
The way to the liberation from bondage lies in the soul's recognition
of its identity with the Ultimate Reality. Though the individual soul
is but the universal soul but it must recognise it. The soul which
recognises its oneness with Shiva or God, enjoys pure bliss. This is
possible through yogic meditation. Madhavacharya makes it clear by
saying that a love-torn lady is very eager to meet her lover. But the
presence of her lover can give her no gratification unless she
recognises him to be her lover and possessing the virtues she heard
of. He says, "in like manner, though the personal self is manifested
as identical with the Universal Soul, its manifestation effects no
complete satisfaction so long as there is no recognition of those
attributes (of Param Shiva); but as soon as it is taught by a
spiritual director to recognise in itself the perfection of Mahesvara,
his omniscience, omnipotence and other attributes, it attains the
whole phenomena of being".
Mokasa, therefore, consists of in returning to the purity of
consciousness. Abhinavgupta says, "When thus the imagination of
quality has vanished, and he (the released soul) has surmounted the
Maya, he is merged in Brahman, as water in water, as milk in milk". It
is through contemplation that one can realise it.
KASHMIRI MYSTICISM
Mysticism in Kashmir is unique. There are Hindu mystics whose
principles and methods resemble or are identical with Muslim saints
and darveshes. There are also Muslim Rishis or Sufis who have been
influenced by Kashmiri Shaivism and Hindu thought. But both the sects
believe that there is an "organic process which involves the perfect
consummation of the love of God, the achievement here and now of the
immortal heritage of man or it is the art of establishing his
conscious relation with the Absolute".
The known Hindu mystics are Lai Ded, Rupa Bhavani, Parmanand, Lakshman
Joo and Krishna Razdan, etc. Lal Ded is eminent among them all. The
Muslims call her Lalla Arifa and say that she became a Muslim mystic.
Undoubtedly she attacked idol worship and other practices ofthe
Brahmans. She was born in the middle of 14th century, when Sultan
Alaud-Din, who ascended the throne in 1347 A. D., ruled over Kashmir,
Lalla has expressed her thoughts in verse and her mysticism is based
on Kashmiri monistic Shaivism. In many of her verses she speaks of her
yogic sadhana and discipline of breath. Parmanand after about five
centuries, adores her thus:

"Lalleshwari, unique in her practice of the Yoga of Dvaadashaanta Mandala,
Realising anaahaata, naada binds Om
Attained the Supreme Bliss of Ananda".

The central principle of Hindu mysticism is love, so it is of Lal Ded
and others. They all understand it "as the ultimate expression of the
self's most vital tendencies, not as the superficial affection or
emotion". It is, in fact, "a total dedication of the will, the deep
seated desire and tendency of the soul towards its Source".
Parmanand, another great Hindu mystic, also believed in this
principle. He belongs to what has been termed "Lila-group" of Hindu
mystics and has composed songs in praise of the Lila, that is, play of
personal God, mainly Krishna and Shival. His poems and those of his
followers are devotional in nature and saturated with mysticism. "The
Universe exists; it is real and is good. Indeed all creation is an
overflowing of God's joy, a Lila, a Shiva's Dance". They do not
believe in asceticism or renunciation. They don't care for outward
formality and lay stress on inward experience. They believe in
enjoyment rather than renunciation in the tradition of Kashmiri
Shaivism:

"Rass is when Love's expanse broadens into an ocean;
Rass is an equipoise mid sour and sweet;
Rass is where there is no trace of sin.
Our dance is devotion, yoga or jnana.
Our dance is samadhi in "wakeful activity".

Swami Parmanand (URL)

Parmanand has very clearly expressed the aim and method of Hindu
mysticism in the following verse:

"To seek unity with God is to venture forth
And hazard all, to experience self within..."
and he goes on to say:
"And shut it (mind) in, and turn its gaze inwards,
Commune with the Self within, the subtle
All-composing Chit which inhabits all that is,
And in which all things live and move"

KASHMIRI SUFISM
Sufism came to Kashmir from Iran and it got greatly influenced by
Hindu thought. The Reality, according to the Sufis, is one and Allah
is the Supreme Truth and all else is illusion and transitory. A Sufi
says:

"Be not entrapped by the existence
The Universe is but a fib of fancy".

Among the famous Sufis are Sheikh Nur-ud-Din, popularly known as Nund
Rishi, Shah Gafoor, Shah Qalandar, Naima Sahib, Shams Faqir and Socha
Kral, etc. They all believe that God is present everywhere. His light
is present in every particle. A man must have the eye to observe it.
Nund Rishi says:

"How can the kite hunt the hawk?
How can the barren woman feel the ardour of mother's love?
How can the faggot, like the candle, flash into a flame?
How can the fly feel the martyrdom of the moth?"

"I am He" is the main idea of Kashmiri Sufism. Man is just the
manifestation of that High Reality, i.e., God. Thus man's destination
is the same source of whom he is the manifestation.
There are, according to Sheikh Attar, six stages in this path : (1)
Amar, i.e. renunciation (2) Ishq, love of God (3) in the third stage
the seeker kills all kinds of desires and temptations. He leaves even
sleep. (4) In the fourth stage the man delves deep into the truth and
meditates on the virtues of God. He tries to know God perfectly. He
sees Him in every sight. (5) Then in the fifth stage he acquires
excellence and he is in a state of ecstasy and his eyes get fixed on a
single point. (6) In the last stage he reaches his destination and
gets the real purpose of being face to face with Reality. Thus
Kashmiri Sufis say Annaual-Haq, (I am the Truth) and Vajood ul
makhlook ain ul Khaliq that means, all the objects of the world are
all but the manifestation of one Allah. Rehman Dar, the great Sufi
sings:

"Blossomed has the land of the Divine;
Shines like the sun
All the nature has brightened
With the splendour of His Grace."
Again, Naima Saib, another Sufi says:
"Drop emerges from drop
All is but a vast sea.
Himself the sea, Himself the moon
Himself the shining flame".

There are the ideas of a Hindu mystic as well. In Kashmir we find that
both the Hindus and the Muslims go with reverence to the shrines of
Lal Ded, Nund Rishi, Dastgeer Sahib and Meisha Saib, etc.

Source: The Rich Heritage of Jammu and Kashmir

Studies in Art, Architecture, History and Culture of the Region

By Prof. Somnath Wakhlu

A. Kashmir Shaivism:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/KashmirShaivism/