Yoga of Synthesis in Kashmir Shaivam

Author(s): S S Toshkhani
Publisher: S S Toshkhani

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the use of mental power (chitta-shakti or vimarsha-shakti) to go beyond the illusion of duality created by thought-constructs. Practicing it, the yogi has to bring mental activities like contemplation, creative imagination, reflection, conviction etc. into play to regain the awareness of the plenitude of pure subjective consciousness. Shāktopāya is also called jñānopāya or the Way of Knowledge because it calls for the use of knowledge or rather correct reasoning (sattarka or bhāvanā) to remove ignorance about the nature of one's real self.
But the basic thrust of Shāktopāya is towards concentrating on and developing some pure positive idea or shuddha vikalpa to drive impure concepts or ashuddha vikalpas away from one's mind. Abhinavagupta has given an example of what a shuddha vikalpa could
be like:
"That which is unlimited consciousness transcending all limited expressions of Reality from earth right up to Shiva, that alone is the highest Reality; that am I. Therefore I am both transcendent to and immanent in the universe.»lxiv
It could be a powerful thought such as, “I am omnipotent and omniscient Shiva, and none other.” It is important for the yogi while developing this thought to eliminate all doubts and conflicting notions that may arise in his subconscious and achieve certainty about his awareness of his divine nature. He should therefore contemplate deeply on the idea and repeat it again and again so that “it is fixed in the mind” and becomes part of his existence.
Such psycho-spiritual techniques are employed in Shāktopāya to purify thought so that ignorance is removed and the true nature of the self is gradually revealed to the aspirant. One pure thought gives rise to another similar thought till his state of awareness is heightened through pure reasoning to realize the self. But thought as we know is associated intimately with speech, the medium through which we can communicate our image of the world around us. In fact the whole objective world of perceptions is a
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