The Triadic Heart of Śiva: Kaula Tantricism of Abhinavagupta in the Non-dual Shaivism of Kashmir

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SUNY Press, Jan 1, 1989 - Religion - 330 pages

This book explores one of the most explicit and sophisticated theoretical formulations of tantric yoga. It explains Abhinavagupta's teaching about the nature of ultimate reality, about the methods for experiencing this ultimate reality, and about the nature of the state of realization, a condition of embodied enlightenment. The author uncovers the conceptual matrix surrounding the practices of the Kaula lineage of Kashmir Shaivism.

The primary textual basis for the book is provided by Abhinavagupta's Parātrīśikā-laghuvṛtti, a short meditation manual that centers on the symbolism of the Heart-mantra, SAUḤ.

 

Contents

1 Introduction and Methodological Considerations
1
2 The Historical Context
25
3 The Symbol of the Heart in India Prior to Abhinavagupta
64
4 The Heart as Ultimate Reality
82
Kula
100
Vibration and Emissional Power
118
7 The Heart and Natural Metaphors
142
8 The Heart as Mantra
162
The Heart Attained
182
APPENDIX
203
NOTES
233
BIBLIOGRAPHY
293
INDEX
317
V
329
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About the author (1989)

Paul Eduardo Muller-Ortega is Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Michigan State University.

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