Parasamvit and pratyabhijna: an onto-epistemic enquiry in Trika Philosophy

Abstract

Śaivism is one of the largest and most significant Hindu denominations. The eminence of Śaivism as a sampradāya in religion and philosophy is unparallel. The research highlights one of the significant schools within Śaivism which derives its teachings from the sixty-four monistic Tantras, popularly known as ‘Trika Śaivism’ or ‘Trika school’. The Government of India, in the 19th Century, ordered a German Indophile, Georg Bühler, to lead a literary expedition in Kashmir. The vast literature on the indigenous religious philosophy of Śaivism was discovered in 1875. The study of the Trika system has its prominence in the fields of History, Indology, Linguistics, Sanskrit, and philosophy flourished since the 20th Century. The study concentrates on a specific research gap, which is two-fold in nature. Firstly, establishing the Trika school as a philosophy with a Tantric foundation. Secondly, in establishing the former, a philosophical comprehension of the practical ways of liberation is prescribed in the Trika philosophy. The Trika school represents a combination of monistic philosophy and tantric practices. But a comparative approach (sattarka) is applied to understand the Trika school as a philosophical school. The four selected Indian philosophical schools are Sāṅkhya, Advaita Vedānta, Yogācāra, and Sābdika philosophy. The research gap leads to two main research objectives. Firstly, to discuss the various facets that shaped Trika Philosophy which allowed other Philosophical schools to come within its ambit and enrich it. Secondly, to take into account the inclusive nature of Trika Philosophy to provide a comprehensive conceptualization of Parāsamvit or Consciousness. The three philosophical and qualitative research methodologies applied are Textual Analysis, Conceptual (Philosophical) Analysis and Critical Enquiry. In the present study, the translations of seven primary Trika texts - Śiva Sūtras, Spanda Kārikās, Śivadṛṣṭi, Vijñānabhairava, Īśvarapratyabhijñākārikā, Īśvarapratyabhijñāvimarśini, and Pratyabhijñāhṛdayam are used. The research enables us to view Śiva or Parāsamvit not as a Vedic deity but as a comprehensible, definable, and achievable Ultimate Reality. The philosophy put forth by the Trika school not only v establishes Śiva or Parāsamvit as the Ultimate Reality but also the way to achieve Śiva. The misconception of the Trika philosophy being Tantric in nature is cleared. The understanding of the Trika school in terms of a complete philosophy with a traditional foundation is explored. This is also the main contribution of the present research work. The research contribution is also in terms of the comprehension of Tantric epistemology in terms of Anugraha, Śaktipāta, Dīksā, and upāyas with Pratyabhijñā as the underlying factor. Pratyabhijñā according to the Trika philosophy is the means well as the end. The practical and achievable path of sādhāna is misinterpreted as peculiar or Tantric in nature. The general misinterpretation of the denomination of the Trika school to the portrayal of the Trika school as Tantric or religious in nature is clarified in the present research.