Chapter VII
VIRASAIVISM AND KASHMIR SAIVISM
Virasaivism
Virasaiva philosophy is only Sakti Visishtadvaita philosophy. It is a phase of Agamanta. It underwent radical changes in the hands of Sri Basavanna and his colleagues. Basava was the Prime Minister to a Jain king named Bijjala who ruled over Kalyan (1157-1167) which is sixty miles from Gulbarga in Karnataka State. Basavanna was a magnetic personality. He exercised tremendous influence over the people. He held a spiritual conference. Three hundred Virasaiva saints assembled. There were sixty women saints also. Akka Mahadevi, the illustrious lady saint was also present on that grand occasion. Virasaivism became Lingayatism in the hands of Basava. Lingayatism is the special faith of the Karnatic Virasaivas. Sharanas are the saints of the Lingayat faith or cult. Virasaivism or Lingayatism shows the way to attain the Lakshya or Lord Siva. Lord Siva, Lord Subrahmanya, king Rishabha, Santa Lingar, Kumara Devi, Sivaprakasa had all expounded lucidly this system of philosophy. Viragama is the chief source for this system of philosophy. Those who embrace this faith, live in great numbers in Karnataka. Ordinary Saivites keep the Sivalinga in a box and worship it during the time of Puja. The Lingayats keep a small Linga in a small silver or golden box and wear it on the body with the chain attached to the box. Wearing the Linga on the body will remind one, of the Lord and help His constant remembrance. The Christians wear the cross in the neck. This also has the same object in view. Sakti in Virasaiva philosophy is identical with Siva. Sakti works. Siva is the silent witness. Siva is infinite, self-luminous, eternal, all-pervading. He is an ocean of peace. He is stupendous silence. Siva illumines everything. He is all-full and self-contained. He is ever free and perfect. The whole world is an expression of the Divine Will. In Virasaiva philosophy, the world movement is not an illusion, but an integral play.
Kashmir Saivism
This is known by the name Pratyabhijna system. The Agamas are the basis for Kashmir Saivism. The Agamanta called Pratyabhijna Darsana, flourished in Kashmir. The twentyeight Agamas were written in Sanskrit in the valley of Kashmir, in order to make the meaning clear to every one. This Agamanta arose in North India long before Jainism came into prominence. Then it spread westwardly and southwards. In Western India, it was known by the name Vira Mahesvara Darsanam, and in South India, it was called Suddha Saiva Darsanam. Siva is the only reality of the universe. Siva is infinite consciousness. He is independent, eternal, formless, secondless, omnipresent. Siva is the subject and the object, the experiencer and the experienced. The world exists within consciousness. God creates by the mere force of His Will. Karma, material cause like Prakriti, Maya which produce illusion, forms, etc., are not admitted in this system. God makes the world appear in Himself just as objects appear in a mirror. He is not affected by the objects of His creation, just as the mirror is not affected by the reflected image in it. He appears in the form of souls by His own wonderful power inherent in Him. God is the substratum of this world. His activity (Spanda or vibration) produces all distinctions. Siva is the changeless Reality. He is the underlying basic substratum for the whole world. His Sakti or energy has infinite aspects. Chit (intelligence), Ananda (bliss), Iccha (will), Jnana (knowledge) and Kriya (creative power) are Her chief aspects. Sakti functions as Chit, then the Absolute becomes the pure experience known as Siva Tattva. The Ananda of Sakti functions and life comes in. Then there is the second stage of Sakti Tattva. The third stage is the will for self-expression. Then comes the fourth stage, Isvara Tattva with its power and will to create the world. It is the stage of conscious experience (Jnana) of being. In the fifth stage, there is the knower and also the object of knowledge. Action (Kriya) starts now. This is the stage of Suddha-vidya. There are thirtysix Tattvas or principles in this system. Bondage is due to ignorance (Ajnana). The soul thinks: ‘I am finite’, ‘I am the body.’ It forgets that it is identical with Siva and that the world is wholly unreal apart from Siva. Pratyabhijna or recognition of the reality, is all that is needed for attaining the final emancipation. When the soul recognises itself as God, it rests in the eternal bliss of oneness with God. The liberated soul is merged in Siva, as water in water, or milk in milk, when the imagination of duality has disappeared. Vasu Gupta (eighth century A.D.) wrote the Siva Sutra and taught it to Kallata. Siva Drishti written by Somanatha may be considered equal in merit to Tirumandiram of Tirumular. Vasu Gupta’s Spanda Karika, Somanatha’s Siva Drishti (930 A.D.), Abhinava Gupta’s Paramarthasara and Pratyabhijna Vimarsini, Kimaraja’s Siva Sutra Vimarsini are some of the important works of this school. They accept the Siva Agamas and the Siddhanta works as authoritative. They modify them in the light of Sankara’s Advaita. Somanatha’s Siva Drishti, Utpala’s Pratyabhijna Sutra and Abhinava Gupta’s works support non-dualism.
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