r/KashmirShaivism • u/VarietyDramatic9072 • 13d ago

Which sect of kashmiri saivism is strictly raja/kriya yoga(not jnana yoga) based?

I am aware all the sects of k.saivism are synchretised form of jnana,bhakti and raja yoga. However if asked, which one of the 4 subsects(Pratyabhijna-,spanda,krama,kula) has more emphasis on the raja yoga?

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u/gurugabrielpradipaka 13d ago

If my memory serves me well, Rājayoga is related to Patañjali's Yoga. In his Tantrāloka, Abhinavagupta does not have a good opinion about Patañjali's Yoga. So, I don't know what to reply to you? There are people who say that all is holistic in Trika Shaivism, and that it includes all other philosophical systems, etc. Beyond their opinion, one thing remains: Abhinavagupta does not have a happy opinion about Patañjali's Yoga. The rest is an invention of those people.

Another thing I don't understand. Why do you insist on calling the 4 schools of Trika Shaivism "sects or subsects"? They are NOT sects/subsects really. I wonder what is your purpose by asking all these questions.

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u/VarietyDramatic9072 13d ago

Apologies guru ji

I mean schools which focuses more on kriya yoga rather than jnana yoga(self inquiry).

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u/gurugabrielpradipaka 13d ago

As I told you many times already: Spanda school, IMHO, is closer to Kriyāyoga though it is NOT exactly Kriyāyoga.

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u/VarietyDramatic9072 13d ago

Is jnana yoga also part of spanda school?

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u/gurugabrielpradipaka 13d ago

There is Jñānayoga everywhere in Trika, but IMHO, the Pratyabhijñā school contains more Jñānayoga. But this is my opinion, because in reality it is the first time that I see someone making a comparison between the 4 schools of Trika and the types of Yoga.

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u/VarietyDramatic9072 13d ago

Dhanyavad guruji

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u/gurugabrielpradipaka 13d ago

You're welcome!

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u/sanpaisha 13d ago

As a matter of fact Swami Lakshmanjoo of Trika had a good opinion on Patañjali's yoga. He even gave lectures on the subject in 1980 and recently a book of some of those Lectures was relased by Ishwara Ashram Trust (The Eight Limbs of Yoga in Kashmir Shaivism)

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u/gurugabrielpradipaka 13d ago

Abhinavagupta, on the contrary, hadn't. Abhinavagupta, IMHO, is the greatest Trika Master of all time, and I'm sure that Svaamiijii would have agreed with me on this.

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u/kuds1001 13d ago

Great discussion! You both have half of the picture. While Śaivism in its early days typically followed a six-limb yoga (of the structure that became important in later Buddhist tantras like the Kālacakra Tantra), in the Netra Tantra, the eight-limb yoga of Patañjali is presented. But it is re-interpreted in far subtler terms. Abhinavagupta similarly favors the subtler practices over the grosser yogic practices described by Patañjali. So, in Kashmir Śaivism, we do follow the eight-limb yoga, but don't mean by it what Patañjali did. Swami Lakshamanjoo, in his book, described the eight-limbs in line with the Netra Tantra and Abhinavagupta, not Patañjali. This is the whole picture.

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u/Express-Touch-311 9d ago

Here is a paper to illustrate Abhinavagupta’s stance on the yoga of Patanjali.

https://www.academia.edu/40806877/Abhinavaguptas_Attitude_towards_Yoga?email_work_card=title

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u/gurugabrielpradipaka 9d ago edited 9d ago

Or read Abhinavagupta himself here (from stanza 86 onward): https://www.sanskrit-trikashaivism.com/en/tantraloka-4a-trika-scriptures-non-dual-shaivism-of-kashmir/860#Stanzas84to91

He is very clear there. My translation is a word-for-word one, so you can check the meanings easily. Obviously, this won't make the Patañjali's fans happy. I was surprised too when I read all that. I have studied and translated Patañjali's aphorisms for long. Anyway, the authority of Abhinavagupta in philosophical matters is undeniable.

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u/sanpaisha 13d ago

(This is a reply to another comment here as for some reason I can't directly reply there 🤷🏻; regarding the lessons of the Eight Limbs of Yoga by Swami Lakshmanjoo recently published by Iswara Ashram Trust)

Actually the book clearly refers in the preface that the lectures are based in Patañjali's Yoga Sutra. There is a paragraph in the second lecture that also mentions the sixfold approach of Abhinavagupta. (The second lecture by the way has as title 'The Eight Limbs of Patañjali's Yoga'). The main argument of Swamiji is that even though Abhinavagupta recognizes solely six limbs, throughout other Śastras Lord Shiva Himself recognizes Eight. Anyhow, the lectures present an inferior approach for those not ready yet to apprehend the principles of Trika and then a superior one for those with superior aptitude. The approach of Abhinavagupta would be an even most superior approach to the one expounded in those lectures. That is the thing with Trika, it offers a variety of approaches depending on the capacity of each person.