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Shiva Sutras The Supreme Awakening
This spiritual treasure, gifted by God to the sage Vasagupta
for the upliftment of human kind, is considered to be one
of Kashmir Shaivism's most important scriptures.
The Shiva Sutras are divided into three parts. And according
to Kshemaraja, the commentator, the three parts correspond
to the three means (upayas) for the attainment of liberation
as revealed by Kashmir Shaivism. These upayas are the means
for traveling from individual limited consciousness to universal
God consciousness.
The first and highest means, for highly qualified aspirants,
is called shambavopaya. The second, for aspirants of
medium qualifications, is called shaktopaya. And the
third, for inferior aspirants, is called anavopaya.
Thus, the first awakening
of the Shiva Sutras explains shambhavopaya; the second
awakening explains shaktopaya, and the third
awakening explains anavopaya.
Drawing from the Malinivijaya Tantra Abhinavagupta
defines shambhavopaya as the upaya wherein the aspirant
achieves entry into supreme consciousness just by the grace
of his master, without adopting any process. He does not use
thought (dhyana), mantra, or any other aid to
meditation. Shaktopaya he defines as the upaya where
the aspirant achieves mystical entry (samavesha) through
contemplation of that mental object which cannot be spoken
or recited. Anavopaya he defines as the upaya
where mystical entry takes place through concentration on
parts of the body, contemplation (dhyana), recitation,
taking the support of breath (uccara), and mantras.
The means of traveling from limited consciousness to universal
consciousness depends on the ability of the aspirant. Abhinavagupta
tells us that the aspirant should always try for the highest
and best thing first. Thus, in his Tantraloka, he has defined
and elaborated the highest upaya, shambavopaya,
first. His descriptions of shaktopaya and anavopaya
follow.
And so it is that the Shiva Sutras also start with the highest
and most refined means.
 Shiva
Rock (Shankaropal), where fifteen hundred years ago, the Shiva
Sutras were revealed to the Sage Vasugupta
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Copyright © 2012 Universal
Shaiva Fellowship (USF), John Hughes
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