Yoga of Synthesis in Kashmir Shaivam

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

Page 40

should use the body as a support, concentrating one-pointedly on this network of nerves all of which are linked to the central channel sushumnā which is the last external form of the inner vibrations of the power of consciousness. One can thus have an encounter with the Cosmic Self residing in this very body, perceiving one's unity with its vibrating consciousness that pervades all things.
Under the category of objects external to the body are listed a large number of things including mandala, sacred ground (sthandila), receptacle, rosary, book, Shivalinga, skull (tūra),cloth (pat), painted image ( pusta), idol (pratimā) and form (mūrti). Concentration of mind on any one of these can also lead to the experience of the essential unity of existence. And with this experience gained through the techniques of anavopāya, thought constructs begin to dissolve and the nature of reality reveal itself more and more clearly till the yogi attains Shiva-consciousness which is his ultimate goal. It will not be difficult to see that the yoga at the anavopāya level with its emphasis on the instrumentality of the aspirant's body subsumes most of the constituents of Patañjali's classical yoga.
SAMĀVESHA
All the three soteriological categories of practice lead progressively to the experience of mystical absorption (samāvesha) at different levels, depending upon the intensity of shaktipäta or descent of Shiva's grace. At the level of anupāya, the goal and the path become one and samāvesha with Shiva is always experienced. Functioning in a complementary manner, the categories flow smoothly into each other. Thus, ānavopāya culminates into shāktopāya and shāktopāya in turn shades into shămbhava which on its part fuses into anupāya which is almost synonymous with liberation, being based on direct and immediate intuition of reality. The aspirant can thus start from any of these means that suits his level of awareness, his eligibility depending on the degree of shaktipāta he has received. That is why Abhinavagupta characterizes this four-fold "upāya-yoga" as "a unique feature of the Trika path." This model of yoga developed by