Senior Assistant Professor

Department Of History

Jammu University, Jammu

 Jammu & Kashmir, India 

Abstract

Abinavagupta, who lived between the close of the ninth and the early part of the tenth century in Kashmir, was in many ways, a man of extraordinary intellectual and spiritual talents. A descendant from the illustrious lineage which had a long tradition of scholarship and sincere devotion to Shaivite religion and philosophy, Abinavagupta rose to the rank of an Acharya and made original contributions to a host of disciplines besides literary criticism and aesthetics. His greatest contribution, which remains alive in several regions of our country even today,  is his brilliant exposition of the systematic form of the integral tradition of Saivism.   He wrote in a non-dual tantric tradition devoted to the deity Śiva and retinues of divine powers, in which the individual initiate is meant to continually deepen their identity with Śiva (the divine light of consciousness) who discloses the universe through Śakti (Śiva’s creative power of self-awareness). This was also an example of an artful identification of his name with Śakti (abhinava) and Śiva (gupta), who are united in him. Abhinava provided, before the advent of Islam, an inimitable explication of the soul of spiritual-intellectual culture in the language or idiom of a tradition that was soon to be pushed to the margins of history. His systematized non-dualistic Kashmir Saivism, however, remains a unique school of philosophy that can be compared to any major philosophical school which developed in the world in terms of rigor, consistency, breadth, and applications.

The implications of his words and thoughts are not confined to the realm of religion and philosophy alone; embedded in his writings are also the essentials of the political and cultural situations of   Kashmir. His nuanced understanding of the wide spectrum of the cultural, religious, and scholastic traditions of his time comes out of the references that he makes in his works to the contemporary linguistic, literary, and other cultural traits of Kashmir.  Understanding the history and culture of Kashmir by deciphering Abhinav Gupta’s diverse traditions of thoughts and praxis, its inner coherence embodied in his life work that we have inherited within this contemporary global context gives penetrating insights.

All these points to a rich possibility for historians and his writings and philosophy do constitute valuable source material for the study of the different dimensions of the cultural history of the early history of Kashmir.  The primary focus of the Chair, therefore, would be on   Reinterpreting the History of Kashmir through the innovative contribution of Abhinav Gupta.

Objectives

1.     The prime aim is to explore the internal coherence of the metaphysical philosophical theories; praxis and   the world view of Abhinav Gupta by extracting the essential concepts and its inter-connectedness which would give insights into the Indian traditions and culture.

2.     Rediscovering and understanding India’s rich cultural heritage synthesized by Abhinav gupta’s Shaivdarshana and to situate its universal significance.

3.      Understanding the processes of development of the Cultural Ecosystem of India through the life and works of Abhinav Gupta which has Pan Indian moorings.

4.     Investigating the social patterns embodied in his work which gave autonomy and agency to the subalterns through dissemination of Sanskritic scholarship for sustenance and Permanence of their status in the society

5.     His works and practices called for Inter religion, inter-faith intellectual harmonious communication - the utmost prerequisite for the cultural unity of India.

6.     Further, Abhinavgupta as a polymath, can be situated as a role model for a trans-disciplinary approach. He was well aware of the importance of an interdisciplinary approach as a dramatist linguist, geographer, historian, and anthropologist. He qualifies as the role model for our New Education Policy (NEP.)

7.     Using his works on religion and philosophy to reconstruct the Pre-Islamic history of Kashmir

8.     Exploring the p[ossibility of relocating Kashmir in the larger processes of the religious and cultural history of our country.

A Biographical Sketch

He was the decedent of a great Shaivite scholar of Kanauj, Attrigupta, who was invited by king Lalitaditya to settle in Kashmir. His family had a long tradition of Shaivite scholarship.

 He received the teachings of grammar from Narasinghagupta his learned father, Vamanath, Bhutiraja Lakshman gupta, Induraja, Bhatta –Tota were the other exemplary scholars of Kashmir from whom he acquired the sacred knowledge of shaivdarshana and its various ramifications like brahmavidya dualistic cum monistic karma and Trika etc. He was regarded as a distinguished philosopher, aesthetist, saint, and an outstanding practitioner of monistic Shaivism.

He mastered subjects like metaphysics and poetry at a very young age and also bestowed with the sobriquet of Yoginibhu- possessing all the eight powers explained in shastras.

The range of his scholarship is very intense and expansive. A distinguished poet, grammarian, expert on dramaturgy, aesthetician, historian, and musicologist, Abhinabgupta was an innovator, as his name suggests, in almost all facets of learning. He classified Kashmir Shaivism into four systems -Karma deals with space and time, Spanda with the movement, Kula deals with science, Pratyabhigyan with the school of recognition. As an expert player of nada and vina, he developed the discipline of musicology not only for the worldly purpose of entertainment but for attaining higher consciousness.

Situating his life works-Tantraloka and Tantrasaar

Shaiva's philosophy expounded in his magnum opus Tantraloka is the knowledge of various dimensions and processes of Kashmir Shaivism. The foundation of these works is not only philosophical but also a guide to the seeker of truth regarding the ways and the process which constituted four upayas for the realization of ultimate reality. Tantra proposes to take one’s body as a laboratory for the realization of divine. In Kashmir’s place consciousness, the lord Shiva is the master of all tantra manifested in bhairavahood .

He compiled all strands of Shavism which was propounded by earlier scholars like Somadeva, Utpal Deva which were in a scattered form and converged them into a school of thought and integrated them in a new concept that gave historicity of tantric consciousness of Kashmir as one integral system to be adopted as per the convenience/ qualities of the sadhaka. He compiled the Historical evolution of place consciousness in Tantraloka andTantrasaar which constitutes the history of the region and its people, their mannerisms, customs education - the entire gamut of human deeds. This process continued and his work was carried forward by twelfth century scholar Rajanaka jayarth who wrote extensive commentary on it.

Abinavagupta injected new meaning into Shaiva's philosophy. As an original thinker, he shattered into pieces the established beliefs which laid heavy emphasis on caste and gender differentiations and restrictions in relation to spiritual practices. He took to task those philosophical systems which held the prerequisite for those rigorous spiritual disciplinary systems which made the quest for enlightenment the legitimate right of a chosen few. He abhorred the idea that spiritual revelation was only possible in purely monastic surroundings and householder had to wait till the last phase of life for spiritual pursuits.

This idea was best expressed by Abhinav Gupta in one of his verses “O my devotees on this path of supreme vairava whosoever has taken the step with pure desire, no matter if that desire is slow or intense, it does not matter if he is a Brahmin, if he is a sweeper, if he is an outcaste or anybody he becomes one with parabhirav. His ideas were radical of his times but since he spoke from the level of direct experience, no one was capable of refuting him.

Abhinav Gupta was an innovative performer in the plane of Kashmir Shaiva's image.

In the contemporary world, freedom has become the self-deceptive pretext for unleashing of greed across an increasingly predatory globalizing culture. His idea of freedom in the contemporary context is subject to violent contestation against the inescapably racist project of mass enslavement. The great exemplary scholar Abhinavgupta teaches us that universal emancipation is still working itself out through world history which implies that inalienable freedom could be self-attained beyond the limits of all identity politics. Vhairavahood could be experienced by anyone. Everyone is potent to be Vairava. Hence, Kashmir’s place consciousness is the realization of bhairava hood

Today, however, Hinduism is increasingly denounced as the deceptive superstructure of oppressive caste hierarchy that still relegates a huge section of Indian society to the margins of impurity. Abhinav Gupta paradoxically but systematically demolishes the traditional image and self-understanding of orthodox Brahmin as the most formidable obstacle to self-realization. Brahmins in Varna hierarchy as the intellectual caste, monopolized the knowledge, were acknowledged as custodian of Sanskrit values and prohibited its dissemination in popular culture.  The concept of Tantra eroded the class consciousness and propounded equality by giving the choice of vairava to the people as ultimate reality by subtly redefining its rituals and processes. Tantraloka gave exalted place to scavenger, sweepers, and their counterparts in the Vairava mandalas-revered as Vhairavi during the celebrated shivaratri festival.

Further, deliberate redefinition of rituals and processes for its rapid and widespread dissemination, he expressed it through the semiotics of the great Brahmin (mahabrahman)  , clown (vidushaka ,)a semblance with humour and this contradiction invites us to rethink varnashrama dharma not as static social order but as evolving Civilizational project .Further, it helps us to understand the cosmopolitan society of Kashmir devoid of caste and class.

Foundation of his theatrics built upon Baharat muni’s natyashatra frame work where he formulated theory of humour, translated in to cross cultural anthropology of ritual of clowning as public expression of transgressive sacrality. This work serves to rethink the psychology sociology and semiotics of humour which has universal significance.

His elaboration of tenets of classical theatre exemplifies the breath of vision and creative energies deployed in this enterprise. His commentary aims to show how such public entertainment furthers the general pursuit of happiness purusartha. Similarly, the doctrine of recognition is addressed to all regardless of social status and religious affiliations as universal means of salvation. Abhinav gupta concept of humour resonated in Sanskrit drama, poetry, in Hindu mythology and spiritual praxis signified the richness of Indian culture.

Further, in Tantrasaar, he compiled variety of topics which has bearing on spiritual discipline for different stages of spiritual aspirants. The work contained the seed which continued the process of spiritual praxis of the Kashmir society.

His works not only insisted on the primacy of tradition (agama) over reasoning but also suggested the validity of all traditions and their respective adherents even if they did not belong to a single hidden root. In this way, he talks about universal tolerance, synthesis, and harmony instead of contradictions. He further warned against the mixing of traditions and goes further to the level that (agama) tradition is conditioned by the unique circumstances of its emergence. Hence he establishes the place consciousness of Kashmir, its tradition that is tantric which the realization of vhairavahood is. Thus, the history of Kashmir is linked with the deep understanding of the origin of Kashmir’s tantric praxis, evolution of all these different schools-Trika, Pratyabhigyan Spanda and kula and the evolution of various metaphysical theologies. In short, tantric evolution of Kashmir is history of Kashmir.

This provides us with the most viable shared platform for inter-religious and inter-faith dialogue. Kashmir Shavism sanskritised Buddhism, developed the Buddhist school of thought in tune with the indigenous tantric realities in the region of Kashmir. They adopted the iconography of Kashmir Shavism and synergised it which was not anti sanatan. Kashmiri pundits like Kumarjiva and others were the missionary shaivite who acted as Buddhist preachers and harmonised the inter faith and inter-religious intellectual communications. They integrated territorial boundaries and envisioned cultural unity of India.

Abhinav Gupta’s philosophical commentary on Anadaverdhan’s Dhvanyaloka, and Bhratamuni’s Natya Shastra are considered as his major works on poetics and drama which reflect his quest into the nature of aesthetic experiences. Abhinav Bharati, which is his pioneering work on Indian dramatics, points out the nature of aesthetic experience beyond worldly experience and used the term aloukik to distinguish it with mundane nature of aesthetic pleasure. He, thus, epitomized in himself the diverse talents of a philosopher, rhetorician and a critique on dramaturgy. He gave a new concept in classical Indian aesthetic- Rasa- as emotive aesthetic with all pervasive influence in theories of painting, sculpture dance, poetry and drama.

He suggested that the strong undertone of every facet of culture and aesthetic has the capacity to produce various meanings.  The aim of entertainment and pleasure is superficial. Instead, this pleasure must not bind the soul to the body. Thus, he attributed divinity to all arts which de-individualises the individual by freeing him from the mundane and raises him to the level of aloukik that has universal application.

His works crafted a forceful work ethics and tried to establish that real work of art is no less than divine pleasure and one has to constantly struggle and detach oneself to reach this state. Similarly, a true connoisseur of arts has to learn to detach his work from its surroundings and happenings and view it independently. This idea was best expressed by Abhinav Gupta in one of his concluding verses of Patanjali Paramerthasara.

Kashmir society gradually refined with the evolution of different strands of Kashmir Shavism. Abhinav Gupta’s integration and compilations established a well defined social history of the region. Reading Abhinav Gupta is about historical and social evolution of Kashmir which tells us its social moorings, the ritualistic praxis performed by every house hold in Kashmir. The entire social system adopted this tantric undercurrent which penetrated every home of this region. History of Kashmir cannot be understood without Shavism which is integral to historical evolution of Kashmir.

Further, Kashmir Slavism with various adaptations defined the cultural boundaries of India as it travelled to various parts of India- north, east, west and south. The region as centre of Sanskrit learning and its aesthetic place consciousness flowed to other parts of India which contributed in the integration of the cultural ecosystem of India.

There is no other profound interpreter of the History of Kashmir like Abhinav Gupta who intuitively understands the culture language, music rituals, and its sacred geography. His works Tantraloka and Tantrasaar qualify him not only as a great shaivite scholar but also as a social historian.  Tantraloka is a chronicle of tantric practices mirroring existing social and cultural patterns which qualifies him not only as a philosophical shaivite scholar, but also as a descriptive sociologist, historian and anthropologist. He mapped the history of Kashmir through the evolution of culture and religious practices.  Place consciousness and mind consciousness worked in tandem in Kashmir.

References

1.     John Hughes (ed,) Kashmir Shaivism –the Secret Supreme , SUNY Press , 1985

2.     Abhinav gupta ;The Aesthetic Experience according to Abhinava gupta , ed, and trans. Trans. Raniero Gnoli, 2^nd edition , Varanasi, chokhamba Sanskrit series , 1968.

3.     Allen, Keith Maurice, Casuality in Kashmir Saivism ; A Tanslation and  study of Abhinav gupta’s Tantraloka chapter Nine verses 1-49and jayaratha commentary . unpublished .m.a. thesis presented at the university of Texasat Austin , 2003.

4.     Miriam levering ed, Rethinking Scripture , Essay from a Comparative Perspective , Newyork Press , 1989.

5.     Mukund Ram Shatri (ed), Tantrasara of Abhinav Gupta , Bani Prakashan , Delhi     1982, reprint (Kashmir series of text and studies .17 )