Pratyabhijñāhṛdayam -Heart of Recognition

Svacchanda Nath  ( Shiva Mahadeva, Kashmir Shaivism )

Now is expounded the Pratyabhijnahrdayam

प्रत्यभिज्ञाहृदयम्
Pratyabhijñāhṛdayam

-Heart (hṛdayam) of Recognition (pratyabhijñā)-
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The Pratyabhijnahrdyam prepared by Ksemaraja, the disciple of Abhinavagupta, serves as a digest to the prtyabhijna philosophy of Self Re-cognition in the Kashmir Shaiv Darsana.The following texts have been taken from Shri Jaideva singh's translation.

My friend Randhir bhan has painstakingly and with thorough devotion , given the sutras in sanskrit. At most places, i have added a few of my notes.




चितिः स्वतन्त्रा विश्वसिद्धिहेतुः॥१॥
Citiḥ svatantrā viśvasiddhihetuḥ||1||

1) Citih, which is absolute consciousness, (and latent with power to do),
by its own free will (svatantrya/independence), is the cause of manifestation, preservation, and again re absorption or withdrawal of the Universe into itself also called dissolution.



This is a description of Godhead, and before time and space are created, it alone is, in itself. It is Citih, or Para Samvit , perfect Prakasa Vimarsa ,it is all knowing, omniscient, and all powerful, omnipotent.

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स्वेच्छया स्वभित्तौ विश्वमुन्मीलयति॥२॥
Svecchayā svabhittau viśvamunmīlayati||2||

2) By Her own power, she unfolds the Universe on her own screen.



This is a direct statement on the understanding of Kashmir Shaivism, that God is both the efficient, as well as material cause of the Universe, that is to say, He creates out of his own will, on his own self, there is no extraneous material, and even the analogy of the potter and the pot of clay, fails here, since the potter emanates or projects out of himself, not out of clay.

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तन्नानानुरूपग्राह्यग्राहकभेदात्॥३॥
Tannānānurūpagrāhyagrāhakabhedāt||3||

3) That Universe, so unfolded, is manifold , consisting of many subjects, who are objects for the others in reciprocal differentiation.



The potter was one, the projector was one, but the pots are many, the projection features many. The various projections, though coming from the same source, and thus essentially the same, are different from the other, like one is a conical pot, the other rounded the third triangular and so on. When they view the other as an object, they see others as different from themselves, and therefore begin to be more difference than identity. Spiritually, this means that the manifold creation gets adapted to each other as subject and object in a reciprocal manner, in my perception you are my object, but in yours, I am an object, you are the subject that views me. Or, simply, that even though we are all essentially the same, but still no two people are alike. Thus, the identity of the oneness of Citih has been veiled (vilaya).

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चितिसङ्कोचात्मा चेतनोऽपि सङ्कुचितविश्वमयः॥४॥
Citisaṅkocātmā cetano'pi saṅkucitaviśvamayaḥ||4||



4) (But) even while he has been reduced to such individual experients,
each individual has the Citi contracted within him, as Citta.



So even while each Experient finds himself limited from birth, and/or limits himself in life, it doesn’t mean that he doesn’t have the primal consciousness in him, he always does ,albeit in a contracted manner. The fact is, one cannot survive without the Citi, that gone, the body would be lifeless.



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चितिरेव चेतनपदावरूढा चेत्यसङ्कोचिनी चित्तम्॥५॥
Citireva cetanapadādavarūḍhā cetyasaṅkocinī cittam||5||



5) Thus does Citi contract itself in conformity to the object of consciousness, Cetaya.
Such that in the high Experient of Sadashiva, there is predominance of Prakasa Vimarasa, that is, light (pure knowledge)
and power (the power of knowledge knowing itself),
but in the Pasu (a soul bound by ignorance of its divine nature, using its ability as a human, and thus akin to a lower species of animal)
there is predominance of the contraction, and therefore great dullness.

By Dhyana(contemplation, meditation) one may loosen the contraction and advance to a higher stage.



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तन्मयो मायाप्रमाता॥६॥
Tanmayo māyāpramātā||6||

6) Even the Mayapramata, highly deluded being, consists of Citta.





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स चैको द्विरूपस्त्रिमयश्चतुरात्मा सप्तपञ्चकस्वभावः॥७॥
Sa caiko dvirūpastrimayaścaturātmā saptapañcakasvabhāvaḥ||7||



7) And thus, though He is one, he becomes two, three, and many.
As is said in the Taittiriya Upanishad, for Brahman as source of all, he desired, may I be many, may I be born!

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तद्भूमिकाः सर्वदर्शनस्थितयः॥८॥
Tadbhūmikāḥ sarvadarśanasthitayaḥ||8||

8) Thus too, it becomes easier to understand the positions of various systems of philosophy. They are only various reaches of that consciousness of Self.

Like the Hill and the climbers, each successively exalted Darsana is like the climber who has already traversed the path and is now on top, he can see Panoramically (wholly) at what stage the other is, but not vice versa.
Thus a Carvaka, or gross materialist, will tell the believer of soul,
'show me your soul', let me test it, and so on ,and the spiritualist will insist, that everything that is transient, is more like a dream, less of a reality. Swami Vivekananda, said they both think that the other is a dreamer!
And, in all honesty, at all times, no one Darsana deliberated misleading; they actually spoke of the vision, as they saw, much like only one who has seen the moon in its entire phases, will know the truth that it is always full, it only appears to wax and wane. The man who has only seen a crescent, will find it difficult to talk of a full moon, and vice versa.
So too, the non dualism of Kashmir Shaiv is Paradvait, Dvait and Advait both. Thus Shiva spoke of the dual as well as non dual Tantras.



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चिद्वत्तच्छक्तिसङ्कोचान्मलावृतः संसारी॥९॥
Cidvattacchaktisaṅkocānmalāvṛtaḥ saṁsārī||9||





9) Consequently, highest Shiva who's reality, is all consciousness ,because of such limitation of his own Sakti, becomes a mala (dross) covered Samsarin.
The travelling soul is covered with Mala because of constriction of His power(Sakti).



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तथापि तद्वत्पञ्चकृत्यानि करोति॥१०॥
Tathāpi tadvatpañcakṛtyāni karoti||10||

10) For even in the limited state of Jiva, Shiva does retain the five acts, in a limited way, and it is all his perception of what happens as :

· Sristi (projection),

· Sthiti (maintenance or preservation),

· Samhara (dissolution or re -absorption back to the pristine),

· Vilaya ( veiling of the divine nature by Malas) ,and

· Anugraha ( revelation of the divine by grace).



There may be a cat, but for you it comes into existence when you see it, so you give it its Sristi (creation) in your world. If you were to close your eyes, the cat would still be in the world, but not in your world for then. if you remember the cat you are preserving it , maintaining it by memory. and so on. therefore, in a limited way you are still playing Shiva



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आभासनरक्तिविमर्शनबीजावस्थापनविलापनतस्तानि॥११॥
Ābhāsanaraktivimarśanabījāvasthāpanavilāpanatastāni||11||



11) And so on you go, manifesting, relishing, experiencing, dissolving etc







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तदपरिज्ञाने स्वशक्तिभिर्व्यामोहितता संसारित्वम्॥१२॥
Tadaparijñāne svaśaktibhirvyāmohitatā saṁsāritvam||12||

12) To be a samsari means to be deluded by one's own power , because of ignorance of such authorship of the fivefold act. Samsari aka traveling soul is bewildered and infatuated by his own powers as ignorance leads him into delusions.
Since this power of delusion or concealment is Vilaya, obscuration or
forgetfulness of one's divine nature, one should understand that the very recognition that one is deluded, marks Anugraha, grace, and the process of re-cognition of one's (lost) nature begins.

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तत्परिज्ञाने चित्तमेवान्तर्मुखीभावेन चेतनापदाध्यारोहाच्चितिः॥१३॥
Tatparijñāne cittamevāntarmukhībhāvena cetanāpadādhyārohāccitiḥ||13||

13) And as the process ripens, through Sadhanas and methods ,acquiring the full knowledge of the five fold act accrues, and Citta expands from its contracted form to become Citti itself.



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चितिवह्निरवरोहपदे छन्नोऽपि मात्रया मेयेन्धनं प्लुष्यति॥१४॥
Citivahniravarohapade channo'pi mātrayā meyendhanaṁ pluṣyati||14||

14) It can be seen that the fire of citti, keeps burning the fuel of the known objects.

Citti is ever at work! taking you back to your pristine consciousness. but you may accelerate this, by roasting, as they say, the chestnut over and over again..! The fuel is partially consumed by the fire of Citti though its still delusional and is in inferior stage.



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बललाभे विश्वमात्मसात्करोति॥१५॥
Balalābhe viśvamātmasātkaroti||15||

15) In the re -assertion of that power, it, through the aspirant, accomplishing the prasara, or outgoing (expansion) of the divine senses,
comes to fulfillment ,such that it makes the entire universe its own by assimilation.
Ballabbhe vishvaatmasatkaroti, the world is the same as your pristine SELF. That is, he assimilates universe to himself.



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चिदानन्दलाभे देहादिषु चेत्यमानेष्वपि चिदैकात्म्यप्रतिपत्तिदार्ढ्यं जीवन्मुक्तिः॥१६॥
cidānandalābhe dehādiṣu cetyamāneṣvapi cidaikātmyapratipattidārḍhyaṁ jīvanmuktiḥ||16||



16) Liberation while one retains his physical body.
When this bliss of cit is attained, there accrues a lasting acquisition (a stability) of identity with cit, even while having the body, and this is jivanmukti.

This means that one does not have do die, or lose the physical body, to attain to the subtler realms and consciousness itself, the great promise is to attain to the essence here, in this body, and be free from the delusion of life as one earlier thought it to be. Indeed , the reverse seems to be true, if you die without knowing God while alive, there's little chance, you'll come back to birth , knowing him .



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मध्यविकासाच्चिदानन्दलाभः॥१७॥
Madhyavikāsāccidānandalābhaḥ||17||

17) By the sustained development of this centre(of consciousness) ,by the sustenance of this stability on Samvit itself, there is lasting of the bliss.

Now this seems like a repetition, but Shaiv Darsana has the understanding of Vipula, the thickening of that stability on centeredness. Like an actor who goes over his lines over and over, who gets used to playing the role of king, becomes natural about it. while Advait Vedanta goals "Sat Chit Ananda", consciousness, blissed at knowing itself as the ultimate,Kash Shaiv exhorts to reach Cid Ananda Ghana, consciousness blissed thickly, densely! like a forest of bliss consciousness! after having scaled the ultimate truth that doesnt change. ( So Sat,is understood, to be present in the statement...Sat Chid Ananda Ghana!)
Even in traditional yogi literature, once one reaches Sahasrara, the crown chakra (in the human body at the place over the head ,
in geography, Kailash..and so on), by definition itself, the lotus of thousand petals opens,
here thousand denotes Anant, infinite...The Vedantic realization, is called Atma Vyapti, and the thickened Ghana, Vipula, Shaivic goal , is Shiva Vyapti.
One who has Atma Vyapti, has full knowledge of the self, but lacks the powers, while one who has Shiva Vyapti, gets the dynamics also.
The lesser realization is about pure being, the higher realization is about being and becoming, both.
To repeat, again, Prakasa, and prakasavimarsa both, Advait, or Paradvait.



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विकल्पक्षयशक्तिसख़ोचविकासवाहच्छेदद्यन्तकोटिनिभालनादय इहोपायाः॥१८॥
Vikalpakṣayaśaktisaṅkocavikāsavāhacchedadyantakoṭinibhālanādaya ihopāyāḥ||18||

18) For the development : Upayas are given for dissolving all thoughts, constriction and unveiling of power.

At this point the Pratyabhijna gives a few means beginning with sukhopaya, or anupaya, which cannot be taught,and then gives a few other methods, as sadhanas to reach at one ment with Shiva. Since the methods may be found in the successive upayas, it is better to get versed with the Upayas for detail.






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समाधिसंस्कारवति व्युत्थाने भूयो भूयश्चिदैक्यामर्शान्नित्योदितसमाधिलाभः॥१९॥
Samādhisaṁskāravati vyutthāne bhūyo bhūyaścidaikyāmarśānnityoditasamādhilābhaḥ||19||

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19) By reflecting upon the Oneness with Cit experienced in samadhi, there is the lasting bliss even in vyutthana.

Samadhi is to go into the deepest meditation, and merge with pristine consciousness. Vyuthana is when you arise from that Samadhi.
Samadhi passes on its effects to Vyutthana,
and Kashmir shaivism says that by constant reflection on that Oneness with cit, as experienced in samadhi,
we are lead to a permanent state of samadhi, even while not in meditation.
You may call samadhi 'being in meditation', and vyutthana 'meditation in being'.
Such alternation of swinging between the actual inner state of smadhi, and the externalised reflection over it, is called Krama mudra.
Regular practice of this inner-outer swing, of krama leads to the permanent state of Bhairava avastha,
which is to simply know, that inner or outer..all is siva.







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तदा प्रकाशानन्दसारमहामन्त्रवीर्यात्मकपूर्णाहन्तावेशात्सदा सर्वसर्गसंहारकारिनिजसंविद्देवताचक्रेश्वरताप्राप्तिर्भवतीति शिवम्॥२०॥
Tadā prakāśānandasāramahāmantravīryātmakapūrṇāhantāveśātsadā
sarvasargasaṁhārakārinijasaṁviddevatācakreśvaratāprāptirbhavatīti śivam||20||

20) By attainment of such krama mudra and bhairava,as a result of entering into the perfect I -consciousness or Self,
which is in essence Cit and ananda and also of the nature of power of the great mantra,there accrues Lordship over the group of the deities of consciousness that bring about all emanation and re absprbtion of the Universe.All is the nature of Siva.


When one is completely established in Siva consciousness in Samadhi and Vyutthan,One gains Lordship over every power of emanation and re absorbtion that arises from consciousness,because, all is the nature of Siva.

~ Shail Gulhati Author of  SHIVA, The Ultimate Time Traveller.