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:
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.
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