User:Visarga/Svatantrya

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[edit] Freedom

The concept of Kaula is intimately connected to that of self sufficiency and freedom[1]. Autonomy is emergent from the way a Kula (group) is formed: its composing parts are not random or unconnected but rather complementary to each other, forming a family or unity in their ensemble. Paradoxically freedom is attained inside web like connections of the Kula because the Kula, being complete in itself, is free; it doesn't need anything exterior to be fulfilled.

[edit] Freedom emerges from the heart

Kaula's basic method is the experience of the freedom of consciousness [2] in the heart. As freedom is gradually related to the exterior reality, body, mind and soul, it ultimately reflected in the center of the being - the consciousness, as Kechari Mudra. This mudra (attitude) means "the ability of consciousness to freely move (charati) about in the space (kha) of the heart"[3]. When such an attitude is successfully realized, one's consciousness can experience at will all the facets of ananda (bliss), aham (the heart) and the universe, at all its levels.

[edit] Ultimate form of freedom

To be spiritually evolved is considered here equal to being truly free. Absolute freedom is to be found only in the revelation of one's spirit and the union of the spirit with God, a state described in the terms Atma-vyapti: resorption into the pure consciousness of the Spirit (Atman) and Shiva-vyapti: resorption into the supreme consciousness of Shiva[4]. To be free is to be absolved from the necessity of rebirth, or in other words unconditioned by karmic restraints.

As consciousness expands, there is a stage where it passes into the so called pure reality, a level that is considered to exist beyond time and space, where the powers of knowledge and action are unfettered and there are no conditioning desires or needs to be fulfilled, but rather bliss is directly present in consciousness.[5] This is the place of the true freedom in the vision of the Kaula system.

[edit] Social deconditioning

At a social level deconditioning is realized by detaching from the traditional restrictions with regard to what is considered pure and impure, what is considered an acceptable way of expressing love and sexuality and through the adoption of the spiritual family with the guru as the spiritual father, playing from now on a role more important than one's blood-related family.

The freedom cherished by the participants in a Kaula family should not be confused with rebelliousness and anarchy - it is freedom from interior mental and egotistic limitations and from exterior social and cultural preconceptions. One of the most important aspects of this freedom is asserted in the esoteric and often radical sexual practices; contrary to the majority of spiritual paths, the Kaula way doesn't reject sex as sin but integrates it as a major vector of spiritual practice. Because its approach is often misunderstood, Kaula has been traditionally a practice reserved for the few, an elite formed of those who can shed their ingrained conditionings and adopt a tantric or alchemical perspective on the corporal practices.

The traditional connotations of the concept of freedom are social (freedom to associate), political (freedom of opinion) and physical (freedom to move). In Kashmir Shaivism freedom is understood as interior rather than exterior: freedom to access one's spiritual inheritance[6].

[edit] Tantric body alchemy related to becoming free

At the mental level freedom is attained in a process of gradual expansion. The bodily alchemy involving the awakening of Kundalini through asana, pranayama, mudra or mantras prepare the disciple through the amplification and sublimation of the vital and mental energy, and with it, the elevation of one's consciousness. The culmination of this process is the spiritual illumination which is the moment one penetrates with consciousness into his spiritual heart (aham).

[edit] Living in a state of freedom

At the level of the spiritual heart the disciple learns to recognize Śiva as the ultimate reality, identical to himself, his mind and even the exterior reality. From now on, one lives in a pure world, a world that is described as a compact mass of consciousness(cit) and bliss(ananda). The practices pertaining to consciousness are explained in such traditional texts as Vijñāna Bhairava Tantra, Spanda Kārikās and Śiva Sūtras.

[edit] Freedom pertaining to Shiva himself

Ultimately, Kashmir Shaivism describes freedom as svātantrya - that is freedom to create, maintain and destroy the universe pertaining to Śiva himself. In Kashmir Shaivism it is considered that Śiva is above any restriction or conditioning, and thus he proceeds to the creation of the universe of his free will, as a playful expression of his spirit (lila), unlike, for example, Veda, where there is the conception that maya (cosmic illusion) is superimposed upon the brahman (absolute), inducing a sort of illusory creation. Thus, here, creation is considered real, and the will to create is considered free and unfettered. Svatantrya is identical to Ananda(supreme bliss) and vimarśa(reflexive consciousness/auto-consciousness).

[edit] Citations

  1. ^ Muller-Ortega 1989, p. 59
  2. ^ Muller-Ortega 1989, p. 60
  3. ^ In Sanskrit: Khe carati iti kecharī, Singh 2000, p. 5
  4. ^ Silburn 1988
  5. ^ Lakshman-Jee 1988, p. 3, 9
  6. ^ Muller-Ortega 1989, p. 60

[edit] References

  • Muller-Ortega, Paul (1989), The Triadic Heart of Siva, Albany: State University of New York Press, ISBN 0887067875 
  • Singh, Jaideva (2000), Paratrisika Vivarana by Abhinavagupta; the Secret of Tantric Mysticism, City: Motilal Banarsidass Pub, ISBN 8120804724 
  • Lakshman-Jee, Swami (1988), Kashmir Shaivism: The Secret Supreme, SUNY Press, ISBN 0887065759 
  • Silburn, Lilian (1988), Kundalini: The Energy of the Depths : A Comprehensive Study Based on the Scriptures of Nondualistic Kasmir Saivism, SUNY Press, ISBN 0887068014