The Essence of Tantra: IntroductionThis post presents the first section of Abhinavagupta’s Tantrasāra (“The Essence of the Tantras”), namely, its introduction (upodghāta). I’ve been working on this text for sixteen years, and finally have reached a translation that I’m satisfied with. I think it’s clear enough as to need little explanation. However, let me give…
Near Enemy #1: Everything Happens for a ReasonWhat are ‘near enemies to the truth’? Borrowing this phrase from Buddhism, I use it to refer to slightly distorted versions of spiritual teachings—statements that are close to a profound and subtle truth, but are distorted just enough to make a big difference over time. When we’re talking…
The Recognition Sutras: the story of a miracleOne thousand years ago in the valley of Kashmīr, a great tāntrika, Rājānaka Kṣhemarāja, wrote his masterpiece: the Pratyabhijñā-hṛdayam, which means “the essence of the Recognition philosophy” or “the heart of the teachings on Recognition”—recognition, that is, of oneself as an expression of the universal divine Consciousness. The Recognition…
Why spiritual growth does not lead to enlightenmentWith my practitioner hat on (rather than my academic one), in this post I’m going to explain why spiritual growth doesn’t lead to enlightenment; but of course a lot hinges on what we mean by those terms. First of all, we should get clear that ‘enlightenment’ is in…
The power of subtle impressions (samskaara theory)The yogic theory of saṃskāras, or subliminal impressions of past painful or pleasurable experiences, is one of India’s most fascinating contributions to our understanding of human psychology. Briefly, when we experience aversion to a painful experience, or attachment to a pleasurable one, then an impression of that experience is…