Bhagavad Gītā: The divine knowledge of Parābhairava 💗🌹
In Kashmiri Śaivism, the Bhagavad Gītā is not just a story from a distant battlefield but a living dialogue that unfolds within the heart of every human being.
Here, Kṛṣṇa is understood not as a separate deity but as the very voice of Parābhaírava, the supreme Śiva, who speaks from the depths of universal consciousness itself. Parābhaírava reveals the gita through Kṛṣṇa.
When Arjuna trembles in confusion, due to doubt & despair, he represents all of us. He is every soul caught in the struggles of life, torn between duty, fear, love, and attachment.
The war of Kurukṣetra is not only fought with armies & weapons but is reimagined as the battlefield of our own awareness, where ignorance and wisdom, bondage and freedom, stand face to face.
In this vision, the Gītā’s message is not abstract philosophy but a compassionate hand extended by Śiva through Kṛṣṇa, leading the weary soul back to the recognition (pratyabhijñā) of its true nature.
The teachings on action, devotion, meditation, and knowledge are all different ways of dissolving the illusion of separation and rediscovering the self as one with the supreme Śiva.
As Abhinavagupta explains in his Gitā Samgraha, the Gītā’s heart is unbroken awareness of the self; nothing less than Śiva’s timeless instruction whispering within us, turning despair into awakening.
🔺Oṁ Bhairavāya Namaḥ 🔺
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
Brahman is a Vedāntic concept, non-doing, non-acting, & attributeless consciousness. Śāktās dont follow Vedanta.
In Śāktism, Devī is Parā, Aparā, & Parāparā Śakti. The ultimate reality is not inert Brahman, but Chit-Śakti – consciousness that is dynamic, self-aware, & creative.
Unlike Vedāntic Brahman, which is merely the silent witness, Devī is both consciousness (Śiva) & Śāktī. She is not only sat-cit-ānanda but also icchā, jñāna, and kriyā. For this reason, She is called Pañca-kṛtya-parāyaṇā, the one devoted to the five cosmic acts.
For Śāktas, it is not the case that we see a Nirguṇa Brahman, as in Vedānta, assuming forms for the sake of devotion by appearing as five principal deities: Devī, Śiva, Gaṇeśa, Sūrya, and Viṣṇu, so that devotees may worship according to their disposition.
Kālī and Lalitā are not separate goddesses but two faces of the same absolute Śakti.
In Śrīvidyā and Kaula Tantra, Lalitā Tripurasundarī is the serene, supremely beautiful aspect of the divine mother. She rules over creation with grace, order, & the sweetness of śṛṅgāra rasa.
Kālī is the fierce, time-dissolving aspect of that very same Śakti. She stands beyond creation, stripping away illusion through raw transcendence & the raudra rasa of annihilation.
One is the stillness of the ocean under moonlight, the other its roaring, all-consuming waves.
They are not opposites but complementary, Lalitā is Kālī in repose, & Kālī is Lalitā in motion beyond time.
In the highest non-dual understanding, the devotee sees that the one who smiles in beauty as Lalitā is the same who dances in wild freedom as Kālī.
Meaning: She whose sweet speech puts to shame the melody of the Vīṇā of Sarasvatī.
~ Srī Lalitā Sahasranāma 🌙🌹
This name glorifies the supreme sweetness and power of Lalitā Devī's speech, or more subtly, her sound, Nāda.
It’s a profound metaphysical point in Śrīvidyā and Tantra, where the Devi's speech is not just literal words but represents Divine Vāk (Speech) in its highest form, spanning all four levels; Parā, Paśyantī, Madhyamā, and Vaikharī.
Sarasvatī is the goddess of wisdom, rules over Vāk. But Lalitā is the origin of even Sarasvatī as she is Mahātripurasundarī, the source of all Śaktis.
Her speech or casual dialogue, so sweet, so filled with rasa (nectar), & truth, that even Vīṇā of Sarasvatī is left humbled.
Apart from the understanding that women are manifestations of Śakti and are associated with the Kula (Śakti) principle, while men are linked to Akula (Śiva), there is a deeper significance to this symbolism.
Just as Śakti keeps Śiva engaged with his own creation, his very nature, so too does a woman keep a man grounded in the material world. The material realm is not an impediment to spiritual growth; rather, it is the very foundation upon which spiritual progress is built.
In Tantra, the material world is not seen as negative or illusory, but as a divine manifestation, an extension of the Supreme Consciousness.
It is meant to be experienced with awareness, and through that embodied bliss, liberation becomes possible.
Aham Vimarshini is the Self-Reflective Power of Consciousness in Kashmiri Shaivism. It is one of the most exquisite and profound concepts in Kashmiri Shaivism.
While Aham Brahmāsmi of Advait Vedanta reveals the oneness of the individual with the Absolute in Advaita Vedanta.
Aham Vimarśinī in Kashmiri Shaivism explores how that Absolute becomes aware of itself through its own Saktī and expresses itself as the universe.
Aham Vimarshini encapsulates the dynamic interplay between the supreme Self (Siva) and its power of self-awareness (Saundaryalahari).
Only when Siva is aware of his qualities and about his own self, only then he's capable of creation.