Tantrik philosophy for the layman: what is the cause of liberation?

The great Tantrik scholar-sage Abhinavagupta (Kashmīr Valley, c. 1000 CE) gave us a most extraordinary definition of spiritual liberation — the goal of all yoga — in his masterwork “Light on the Tantras” (Tantrāloka), a definition that stripped it of its religious and intellectual trappings:

“Liberation (mokṣa) is not different from the Self as it is in its real nature, infinitely free. It is neither a insignificant trifle nor something to make a big deal about. Thus a separate name for it is not even needed.” || 1.31

In other words, since liberation (in other contexts also called “awakeness” or “awareness”, bodha) is your already-existent true nature, we shouldn’t really have a technical term for it (like “enlightenment”), for that risks making it into an object, a thing-to-be-attained, distant from ourselves. In reality, it is already who You really are. So how does one discover and fully access one’s true nature? Through humbly realizing our view of reality is woefully incomplete:

“To begin with, in our [Tantrik] system, it is declared in all the scriptures that incomplete view (ajñāna) is the cause of the cycle of suffering, and full insight (jñāna) the sole cause of liberation.” || 1.22

This is the lynchpin of Abhinavagupta’s whole philosophy. Since the only “problem” is ignorance (which he defines as incomplete view in 1.25) the only cause of liberation is INSIGHT into the true nature of reality. But this insight (jñāna) is not a thought; it is nonverbal, nonconceptual (nirvikalpa) clear seeing. That insight is the only thing that must be sought after, he tells us: all other forms of religious activity are simply ways to pass the time, like toys for children. (But Abhinava taught that even ritual activity could be a way of cultivating insight, though it usually isn’t.)

How do we know that Abhinava is not talking about any form of conceptual, verbalizable knowledge when he uses the word jñāna? Because he says:

“[Our root-scripture,] the Mālinīvijayottara, refutes vain speculation concerning which form of intellectual knowledge might liberate, [since all of it is] subsequent to the activation of the cycle of suffering (saṃsāra) [and so cannot address its cause]; it states simply that when there is an absence of this [ignorance], there is liberation.” || 1.24

So by removing ignorance — both in the sense of firmly held beliefs that are out of alignment with reality, and awareness which is not all-encompassing — insight automatically arises. How could it be otherwise, if the insight we are talking about is nonconceptual direct seeing of the nature of reality? Our focus should be on expanding our view of things to be more all-encompassing (Abhinava would have loved the “Blind Men and the Elephant” story), as well as dissolving mental constructs (vikalpas; he discusses this in-depth elsewhere in his work). Note how different both approaches are to the usual religious agenda of thinking the “right” thoughts (call it dogma, belief, or doctrine, it’s the same). He goes on to define liberating insight in this way:

“That which reveals an ever-fuller awareness of the reality-to-be-known, together with the principles (tattva) [that constitute it], is what I call “[true] insight,” (jñāna) which [naturally] becomes ever more all-encompassing, and brings to cessation the various cycles of suffering.” || 1.32

My commentary on these four key verses:

So, in summary, the nondual Tantrik path presents us with a radical proposition: that we are already liberated beings, and our only problem (ever) is lack of awareness or misplaced attention. Consider this:

Simply put, we are conditioned to pay more attention to what is both peripheral and ephemeral (that which can be named), and less attention to what is central and abiding (that which cannot be named, and therefore is given no value by culture). For example, by paying attention to our identity constructs (“I am an American”, “I am a Hindu”, “I am good person”, etc.), we give them energy (the power of consciousness!), which makes them “grow” disproportionately in our awareness, which makes us give them more energy, until we are convinced of their reality. We forget that they are nothing but thoughts. But if we simply learn to give as much (or, preferably, more) attention to the changeless ground of all thoughts, the “sky” in which the clouds of thoughts and feelings and identities come and go, then over time its stillness and presence become more and more powerful and tangible. Then you realize directly what Abhinava is talking about: that you already ARE liberated, in your real nature. The fact that you are currently using that freedom to strengthen your “stories” until they appear real and binding only proves his point. You are so free, you are free to be bound.

What, you ask, is the “changeless ground” of all your thoughts and feelings? Well, that’s impossible to put into words (the tradition just called it śivatva or “God-ness”), so you have to find out for yourself. I call it the “ground” because all internal phenomena (thoughts etc.) emerge out of it and merge back into it; it seems “changeless” because it is a field of infinite potential, an emptiness pregnant with the possibility of everything — so since it isn’t a thing, a phenomenon, or an experience, it is “changeless”. As Ramana Maharshi put it: “Thoughts come and go. Feelings come and go. Find out what it is that remains.” When you see reality from the perspective of the changeless ground of your being, THAT is “insight” in Abhinavagupta’s sense of the word.

These four verses can be seen in their original context here.

Originally published at hareesh.org.