Svātantrya (from the Sanskrit sva meaning self and tantram meaning dependence – 'self-dependency', or ' free will ') is the Kashmiri Shaivite concept of divine sovereignty. Svātantrya is described as an energy that emanates from the Supreme ( Paramaśiva ), a wave of motion inside consciousness ( spanda ) that acts as the fundament of the world, or in another view, the original word ( logos , pārāvak). It does not use any external instrument as it itself is the first stage of creation.
32-835: [REDACTED] Look up swatantra in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Swatantra may refer to: Svatantrya , concept in Hinduism Svatantrika–Prasaṅgika distinction , doctrinal distinction in Tibetan Buddhism Swatantra Party , an Indian liberal political party that existed from 1959 to 1974 Swatantra Bharat Paksh , a liberal party in Maharashtra, India Swatantra 2014 , fifth international free software conference event, organized at Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala Swatantra Dal ,
64-527: A justification for humility. In a meditation prescribed in Vijñana Bhairava Tantra , one is supposed to unite vital energy ( prāṇa ) with svātantrya in the mystical force center that exists 12 finger widths above the head, dvadaśānta . Svātantrya has a number of synonyms such as: maheśvaraya (from maheśvara which means supreme lord), or aiśvarya (similarly, from the word Iśvara which also means Lord). It has been personalized as
96-673: A political party in Sikkim Swatantra Nepali , a Nepali-language weekly newspaper in India Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Swatantra . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Swatantra&oldid=1204633107 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
128-537: A powerful spiritual charge. Some of the subjective attributes of the light of consciousness, in synthesis, are: "liquid", "blissful", "immaculate", "blinding", "enveloping" and "weightless". Here are but a few of the many accounts: Stavacintāmaṇi by Bhaṭṭa Nārāyaṇa is an intensely devotional text of Kashmir Shaivism. Here are some quotes referring to the light of consciousness : In his translation of Pratyabhijnahridayam uses such formulations : A mystical experience of Ramakrishna , representing
160-452: Is a concept in Indian philosophy translated by various authors as "light", "luminosity", "shining forth", "manifestation", "splendour", "light of consciousness" and so forth. In Buddhist philosophy , the term was used to refer to the self-reflexive nature of awareness. In late Yogacara Buddhist philosophy , prakāśa was used to refer to the true nature of mind , the luminous mind , which
192-478: Is above all, it is still present in the manifestation, in every aspect of it. Thus prakāśa is said to be both transcendent and immanent . According to Jonardon Ganeri , the concept was introduced by the Buddhist philosopher Dignāga (c.480–c.540 CE). For Dignāga and his follower Dharmakīrti , the idea refers to Svasaṃvedana , the inherent reflexivity or self-aware nature of consciousness. This means that in
224-432: Is described as an absolute power of action, or, absolute power of freedom. This power arises from the mirror-like ability of the supreme consciousness ( caitanya ) to contain images ( vimarśa ) – the whole universe being a mere image shining inside this unique god-consciousness. Svātantrya has a number of traditional attributes such as: perfect fullness (of the energy of will), self-sufficiency, autodetermination,
256-603: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Svatantrya In antithesis with the Vedantic concept of Brahman , which is a mere conscious witness without effective power, being inflicted by the illusory power (or maya of the Brahman), in the Kashmiri Shaivite viewpoint creation is actively willed into existence by the supreme consciousness ( Śiva ) by
288-549: Is equated to pārāvak , the creative logos / logos spermatikos . In the mystical practices of Kashmir Shaivism, svātantrya is both the sovereign will of Śiva , solely deciding the descent of divine grace ( śaktipāt ) and the will of the adept as s/he becomes more and more submerged into the divine. According to Kashmir Shaivism, spiritual realization is more than a state of illumination (defined as pure witness , non-dual consciousness or atma-vyapti ). Full spiritual realization means to know bliss ( ānanda ) and to control
320-421: Is identical – all actions emerge from a state of perfect unity with Śiva from now on. This is the culmination of the Kashmiri Shaivite spiritual practice. Such an adept does not need to expend energy to maintain this state of consciousness because it has become natural. From this point of view, everything is made of forms of consciousness, identified with the consciousness of Śiva at this stage. This energy
352-442: Is termed Sākāravada , the view that ultimare reality is radiant (prakāśa) consciousness along with its images or manifestations . The concept of prakāśa is important in non-dual Shaivism . In Advaita Vedanta , it is known as Svayam prakāśa . In Trika Shaivism , prakāśa, the uncreated light of awareness, is the essence of God , Śiva . Its function is to illuminate, to make manifest. However, Kashmir Shaivism declares that
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#1732797871211384-494: Is the ultimate truth , the ultimate reality . In Kashmir Shaivism prakāśa is identified with God , Śiva . Paul E. Murphy describes it as, "luminous and undifferentiated consciousness," and Paul Muller-Ortega glosses it as "primordial light beyond all manifestations". For the Shaivas, prakāśa is considered supreme, ultimate, unsurpassable, but as such it cannot be described as pure transcendence , because even though it
416-402: Is the risen form of Kundalini . The practitioner's mantras have spiritual efficacy. The practitioner's heart ( hṛdaya ) is the receptacle of all objects. Kashmir Shaivism doctrine affirms that nothing can compel Śiva to bestow the final spiritual realization – it is solely based on the unconditioned svātantrya , or, from the opposite perspective, there is no obstacle that can separate
448-485: The Tantraloka states: "by the means of the splendid light that shines in the immaculate heart, one obtains union with Śiva," and also "the yogi who has had the experience of the great light enters into the condition of being of the nature of Śiva." There is no way a personal experience of prakāśa could be fully conveyed into words, but mystics, both ancient and modern, have tried to do so, because such words carry
480-513: The Goddess ( Devi ), the virginal feminine deity Uma (virginity being a symbol of existence outside the reach of the profane world) and the playful goddess Kumārī . Other scriptures also refer to svātantrya as the Glory of Siva on account of it being identical to the 'ocean' of uncreated light ( prakāśa ) and cosmic bliss ( ānanda ) – cidānanda-Ghana . Prakasa Prakāśa
512-475: The attributes of good or bad) – and this is an attitude that defines the discipline of karma yoga . All the spiritual paths ( upāyas ): that of Śiva ( śāmbhavopāya ), that of Śakti ( śāktopāya ) and that of the human ( āṇavopāya ) are subsumed under the umbrella of svātantrya as it is the sole mediator of divine grace. The adept who has attained svātantrya is beyond the need for formal meditation – that is – to meditate or to act in everyday life
544-462: The concept of consciousness as light or luminosity. The term prakāśa is often glossed and explained through various other terms, including: Abhinavagupta (c. 950 – 1016 CE), the great exegete of Kashmir Shaivism, says in his Tantraloka that "consciousness is formed of light and beatitude" Furthermore, for Abhinava, knowledge of prakāśa is central to the Saiva soteriological process. Thus,
576-504: The disciple from becoming one with Śiva because s/he has svātantrya which is the ultimate power that cannot be impeded by anything. Thus, in Kashmir Shaivism there is this paradoxical concept that nothing needs to be done, as the supreme realization can appear without effort, but also, no matter what effort one undertakes, one cannot compel Śiva to liberate anyone ( ātman ). This is not an invitation to abandon hard work but
608-429: The energies ( śakti ) and the mantras (or, the so-called śiva-vyāpti ). The root of spiritual efficiency is svātantrya , the operative, dynamic aspect of the absolute. An adept who reaches spiritual illumination needs to learn how to stabilize the experience. The Kashmir Shaivism scriptures declare that stability is based on the assimilation of the energy of svātantrya . Thus, while the incipient practitioner aims for
640-535: The energy of will ( icchā śakti ). Then come the energies of knowledge ( jñāna śakti ) and action ( kriyā śakti ) and together with the energy of consciousness ( cit śakti ) and the energy of bliss ( ānanda śakti ) they form the supreme pentad of creation, the so-called "pure creation". Everything related to consciousness is also related to svātantrya . Speech is seen in Kashmir Shaivism as differentiated in four classes : external ( vaikharī ), mental ( madhyamā ), subtle ( paśyanti ) and supreme ( parā ). Svātantrya
672-424: The experience of the nondual consciousness, more advanced ones focus on the assimilation of all the energies into non-duality. Svātantrya being the root of all energies, it becomes automatically the final step of the spiritual practice. The will of such an advanced practitioner becomes more and more efficient as it identifies with the will of Śiva . Resulting actions are necessarily without base in egoism (without
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#1732797871211704-482: The insufficient ability of common language to describe the mystical states of consciousness. The prakāśa-vimarśa theory affirms the world is based on two principles: the self shining conscious light ( prakāśa ) and its ability to contain a reflection of itself and of the creation ( vimarśa ). To reflect itself is to know absolute bliss ( ānanda ) – thus, free will ( svātantrya ), conscious reflection ( vimarśa ) and bliss ( ānanda ) are three concepts describing
736-445: The luminous pure mind, which is also a reflexive awareness ( svasamvedana ), is the only thing which is real, all appearances are illusory and false. This view is termed the nirākāravāda ("without images", also known as alikākāravāda) view of Yogācāra. It holds that ultimate reality is a pure luminosity, a prakāśa without any cognitive images or appearances. Appearances only arise from cognitive distortions and are always illusory, while
768-492: The means of his irresistible will-force ( Svātantrya ). This is an important aspect of the Pratyabhijna school of Kashmir Shaivism . Svātantrya is a concept that goes to the root of many spiritual matters in Kashmir Shaivism, like, the divine sovereignty of Śiva (God), consciousness ( caitanya ), creative power ( vimarśa ), mantric efficiency and Kundalini . In its acception of divine sovereignty, svātantrya
800-415: The nature of prakāśa is "self apprehension" ( vimarśa ), or, to reflect upon itself. Thus, according to Kṣemaraja , "If the supreme light were devoid of this free and spontaneous self-referential capacity, it would be powerless and inert". Thus, prakāśa and vimarśa form a couple at the supreme level, identified respectively with Śiva and Śakti . Kashmir Shaivism accords a very important role to
832-505: The object shines due to its nature (prakāśa (ka) rūpeṇa); it is not illuminated by anything else ( Pramāṇavārttikālaṃkāra ). In his Prajñāpāramitopadeśa, Ratnākaraśānti says that the self-nature (ātmabhūtaḥ) of all phenomena is prakāśa. He states that all phenomena which are experienced must have radiance ( prakāśa ), which is the capacity to appear (pratibhāsa). Without this capacity for shining forth that consciousness has, nothing could appear to consciousness. For Ratnākaraśānti, prakāśa,
864-403: The original unity of the absolute, and as such, it exists inside and beyond māyā . It is the seed of the universe, the matrix ( mātrkā ) of generative phonemes, the ultimate creative force. Disclaimer: on this topic there is a certain amount of melding and unification of the seemingly distinct concepts of will, freedom, consciousness, speech and bliss in the speciality texts. This is due to
896-506: The power of doing and undoing – essence of the subject, supreme creativity, sovereignty, source of knowledge ( jñāna ) and action ( kriyā ) and being beyond contradictions: it exists beyond laws of any kind and is the source of all laws in the universe. The Kashmir Shaivism theory of creation affirms that the world was willed into existence by the sovereign force of Śiva . Thus, the world has no external causes outside Śiva's Svātantrya . This power creates multiplicity ( māyā ) from
928-563: The process of being aware of any object, consciousness also illuminates itself at the same time. Zhihua Yao writes that the concept has older roots in the Mahasanghika school's view of an inherently pure luminous mind . In late Indian Yogācāra Buddhist philosophy , "Prakāśa" is often used to describe a feature of the nature of mind , i.e. the luminous mind which is the ultimate reality in Yogacara idealist metaphysics. The term
960-399: The same reality. Bliss ( ānanda ) is the internal state of consciousness, its natural state. The same is true of svātantrya: it too is a fundamental quality of the subject. Svātantrya is the first stage of creation, an undifferentiated energy, or, looking from bottom up, we could also say that it is the force that unifies all the energies of creation The first creation of svātantrya is
992-412: The ultimate reality is a radiant imageless consciousness. Jñānaśrīmitra meanwhile sees both prakāśa and its manifestations (all apparent phenomena) as being real. For him, something unreal cannot emerge or manifest from something real. Thus, he argues that all ākāras (mental images, appearances, cognitive aspects) are also real, since they are manifestations of something real, that is prakāśa. This view
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1024-403: Was used by Indian Yogacara thinkers like Prajñākaragupta (8th-9th century), Jñānaśrīmitra (fl. 975-1025 C.E.) and Ratnākaraśānti (late-10th century to mid-11th century), both well known scholars at Vikramashila university. According to Prajñākaragupta, all phenomena are ultimately prakāśa: From the standpoint of the highest truth, nothing shines that is not luminosity (prakāśa)...Also,
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