परमार्थसार (महामाहेश्वर अभिनवगुप्त - त्रिक-दर्शन, अद्वैत शैव साधना एवं सान्वय सटीक)

16 Paramārthasāra of Abhinavagupta
adopt Śākta methods of sādhana for the sake of a quick self-
recognition. Śaivism and Śāktism are thus simply two aspects of
one and the same philosophy, the former one giving greater
importance to the theoretical knowledge of the Truth and the
latter one to that practical sādhanā which yields as its final result
the actual self-experience of the Truth. Philosophers like Bhaṭṭa
Kallaṭa, Somānanda and Abhinavagupta can be taken as both
Śaivas and Śāktas. Bhaṭṭa Pradyumna, the Śākta philosopher, has
been mentioned by Utpaladeva as a Śaiva and a Svayūthya, that
is, a philosopher belonging to his own rank, the rank of Śaivas.
Such Śaiva/Śākta authors were all these philosophers from Śiva-
nandanātha and Maheśvarānanda to Sāhib Kaula. The sur-
name Nātha was generally adopted by such Śākta/Śaiva practi-
tioners. Lalleśvarī, who was a master of religio philosophic lyric
poetry composed in Kashmiri language, was a follower of Śaivism.
She gave start to an order of saints following the sādhanā of both
Śaivism and Sufism. Members of such order are still roaming
about in Kashmir. The tradition of writing commentaries and
minor works on Śaivism continues still in the Valley and an
example of it is the Svātantryadarpaṇa by the writer of these pages.
It is a new textbook of Kashmir Śaivism written in Kārikā style.
The basic philosophy of Abhinavagupta is theistic absolutism.
He accepts the monistic and absolute pure consciousness as the
only eternal reality and establishes Godhead as the very essential
nature of such monistic reality. It is in fact beyond the reach
of mind, intellect and speech and is thus the absolute truth.
But the manifestation of all phenomena is due to its divine
power which is its basic nature and therefore it is the Almighty
God. It is the only infinite, eternal and perfect I-consciousness
which is not to be taken as ego, but as pure self-awareness. Being
eternal and infinite, it is not conditioned by time and space. Being
absolutely self dependent, it is not bound by any rules of causa-
tion and does not require anything other than it for the sake of
the conduct of the activities of Godhead. Such activities are
creation, preservation, dissolution, obscuration and revelation. The
first three run the whole universe, the fourth one pushes souls
towards self oblivion and the fifth one inspires in them the true
knowledge of the whole phenomenon. Conducting such divine
activities it is accepted as God.
The aspect of the pure and perfect I-consciousness of the Abso-