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Tantrāloka
''Tantrāloka'' () is a treatise of Abhinavagupta, a writer and philosopher of the Kashmir Shaivism school of Hindu philosophy. Overview The work contains the synthesis of the 64 monistic '' āgamas'' and the different schools of tantra. It discussed both ritualistic and philosophic aspects in 37 chapters; the first chapter contains the essential teachings in condensed form. On account of its size and scope it is considered an encyclopedia of the nondual school of Hindu tantra. A more abridged and concise version of the Tantrāloka, also written by Abhinavagupta, is the Tantrasāra. ''Tantrāloka'' was written in the 10th century and gained greater worldwide prominence towards the end of the 19th century with the publishing and distribution of the Kashmiri Series of Texts and Studies and prominence of Swami Lakshmanjoo, who taught the text and its oral tradition to scholars and seekers alike. Its complete translation into Italian, edited by Raniero Gnoli, is now at its sec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abhinavagupta
Abhinavagupta (Devanāgarī अभिनवगुप्तः; c. 950 – 1016 CE) was a philosopher, mystic and aesthetician from Kashmir. He was also considered an influential musician, poet, dramatist, exegete, theologian, and logicianRe-accessing Abhinavagupta, Navjivan Rastogi, page 4 – a polymathic personality who exercised strong influences on Indian culture. Abhinavagupta was born in a Kānyakubja Brāhmin family of scholars and mystics whose ancestors immigrated from Kannauj on invitation by the great king of Kashmir, Lalitaditya Muktapida. He studied all the schools of philosophy and art of his time under the guidance of as many as fifteen (or more) teachers and gurus. In his long life he completed over 35 works, the largest and most famous of which is '' Tantrāloka'', an encyclopedic treatise on all the philosophical and practical aspects of Kaula and Trika (known today as Kashmir Shaivism). Another one of his very important contributions was in the field ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kashmir Shaivism
Kashmir Shaivism tradition is a 20th century umbrella-term for a body of Sanskrit learning, Sanskrit exegetical literature from several Nondualism, non-dualist Shaivism, Shaiva-Shaktism, Shakta Tantra, tantric and Monism, monistic religious traditions, often used synonymously for the Trika-school or the "Philosophy of Recognition" (''Pratyabhijna, Pratyabhijnad''). These traditions originated in Kashmir after 850 CE, as an Sanskritization, adaptation to upper-class Hindu norms of 'wild' tantric Kaula (Hinduism), Kaula traditions. Trika Shaivism later spread beyond Kashmir, particularly flourishing in the states of Odisha and Maharashtra. Defining features of the Trika tradition are its Idealism, idealistic and Monism, monistic ''pratyabhijna'' ("direct knowledge of one's self," "recognition") philosophical system, propounded by Utpaladeva (c. 925–975 CE) and Abhinavagupta (c. 975–1025 CE), and the use of several triades in its philosophy, including the three goddesses Par ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shaktipata
Shaktipata () or Shaktipat refers in Hinduism to the transmission (or conferring) of spiritual energy upon one person by another or directly from the deity. ''Shaktipata'' can be transmitted with a sacred word or mantra, or by a look, thought or touch – the last usually to the ajna chakra or agya chakra or third eye of the recipient. ''Shaktipata'' is considered an act of grace (''Anugraha'') on the part of the guru or the divine. It cannot be imposed by force, nor can a receiver make it happen. The very consciousness of the god or guru is held to enter into the Atman (Hinduism), Self of the disciple, constituting an initiation into the school or the spiritual family (Kaula (Hinduism), kula) of the guru. It is held that ''shaktipata'' can be transmitted in person or at a distance, through an object such as a flower or fruit. Etymology The term shaktipata is derived from Sanskrit, from ''shakti'' "(psychic) energy" and ''pāta'', "to fall".''Abhinavagupta : the Kula ritual ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tantra
Tantra (; ) is an esoteric yogic tradition that developed on the India, Indian subcontinent beginning in the middle of the 1st millennium CE, first within Shaivism and later in Buddhism. The term ''tantra'', in the Greater India, Indian traditions, also means any systematic broadly applicable "text, theory, system, method, instrument, technique or practice". A key feature of these traditions is the use of mantras, and thus they are commonly referred to as Mantramārga ("Path of Mantra") in Hinduism or Mantrayāna ("Mantra Vehicle") and Guhyamantra ("Secret Mantra") in Buddhism. In Buddhism, the Vajrayana traditions are known for tantric ideas and practices, which are based on Indian Tantras (Buddhism), Buddhist Tantras. They include Tibetan Buddhism, Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Chinese Esoteric Buddhism, Japanese Shingon Buddhism and Nepalese Newar Buddhism. Although Southern Esoteric Buddhism does not directly reference the tantras, its practices and ideas parallel them. In Bud ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christian De Vietri
Christian de Vietri (born 14 July 1981) is an Australian artist known for his large-scale public sculptures and traditional artwork based in Śilpaśāstra. In 2024, he published ''Trika Maṇḍala Prakāśa'', the first comprehensive exposition of the mandalas described in Abhinavagupta’s Tantrāloka. Education Christian de Vietri attended Hale School, a boys' secondary school located in the northern suburbs of Perth. In 2001, De Vietri completed a Bachelor of Fine Art degree at Curtin University. He was included annually on the Vice Chancellor's list as an academic commendation during his undergraduate years. As part of his training he then studied online for a graduate diploma from an Art College in Marseilles. De Vietri undertook and graduated from the Columbia University Master of Fine Art program in 2009. As part of this program, he was mentored by the artist Liam Gillick. De Vietri studied Kashmir Śaivism under the tutelage of Christopher H. Wallis, Mark S. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Raniero Gnoli
Count Raniero Gnoli (20 January 1930 – 5 May 2025) was an Italian orientalist, indologist and historian of religion. Biography A student of Giuseppe Tucci and Mario Praz, Raniero Gnoli was a Professor of Indology at the University of Rome La Sapienza from 1964 to 2000, as well as dean of the School of Oriental Studies at the same university. Famous Sanskritist, his scope of research covered the theologies and religious philosophies of India, especially those related to Tantric Shaivism (i.e., Kashmir Shaivism), medieval schools of Buddhist logic, and doctrines mentioned in ''Kālacakratantra''. Gnoli was also the first to translate many texts belonging to the Indian religious traditions from Sanskrit into Western languages, contributing decisively to a more precise definition of the relevant terminology. He remained the only one in the world to have translated the voluminous work '' Tantrāloka'' written in the 10th century by Indian philosopher Abhinavagupta. An ex ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tattva (Shaivism)
The tattvas in Indian philosophy are elements or principles of reality. Tattvas are the basic concepts to understand the nature of absolute, the souls and the universe in Samkhya and Shaivism, Shaivite philosophies. Samkhya philosophy lists 25 tattvas while later Shaivite philosophies extend the number to 36. Tattvas are used to explain the structure and origin of the Universe. They are usually divided into three groups: ''śuddha'' (pure tattvas); ''śuddhaśuddha'' (pure-impure tattvas); and ''aśuddha'' (impure tattvas). The pure tattvas describe internal aspects of the Absolute (philosophy), Absolute; the pure-impure tattvas describe the soul and its limitations; while the impure tattvas include the Prakriti, universe and living beings that assist the existence of soul. Overview ''Tattva'' () is a Sanskrit word meaning 'thatness', 'principle', 'reality' or 'truth'. Samkhya philosophy enumerates only 25 ''tattva''s; twenty-four ''ātma tattva''s along with ''purusha'', which i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Moksha
''Moksha'' (; , '), also called ''vimoksha'', ''vimukti'', and ''mukti'', is a term in Jainism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Sikhism for various forms of emancipation, liberation, '' nirvana'', or release. In its soteriological and eschatological senses, it refers to freedom from '' saṃsāra'', the cycle of death and rebirth. In its epistemological and psychological senses, ''moksha'' is freedom from ignorance: self-realization, self-actualization and self-knowledge. In Hindu traditions, ''moksha'' is a central concept and the utmost aim of human life; the other three aims are ''dharma'' (virtuous, proper, moral life), '' artha'' (material prosperity, income security, means of life), and '' kama'' (pleasure, sensuality, emotional fulfillment). Together, these four concepts are called Puruṣārtha in Hinduism. In some schools of Indian religions, ''moksha'' is considered equivalent to and used interchangeably with other terms such as ''vimoksha'', ''vimukti'', '' kaivalya'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kundalini
In Hinduism, kundalini (, ) is a form of divine feminine energy (or ''Shakti'') believed to be located at the base of the spine, in the '' muladhara''. It is an important concept in Śhaiva Tantra, where it is believed to be a force or power associated with the divine feminine or the formless aspect of the Goddess. This energy in the body, when cultivated and awakened through tantric practice, is believed to lead to spiritual liberation. Kuṇḍalinī is associated with the goddess Parvati or Adi Parashakti, the supreme being in Shaktism, and with the goddesses Bhairavi and Kubjika. The term, along with practices associated with it, was adopted into Hatha Yoga in the 9th century. Mallinson, James. "Śāktism and Haṭhayoga." In: Goddess Traditions in Tantric Hinduism: History, Practice and Doctrine, edited by Bjarne Wernicke-Olesen London: Routledge, 2016. pp. 109–140. It has since then been adopted into other forms of Hinduism as well as modern spirituality and New ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Turiya
In Hindu philosophy, ''turiya'' (Sanskrit: तुरीय, meaning "the fourth"), also referred to as chaturiya or chaturtha, is the true self (''atman'') beyond the three common states of consciousness (waking, dreaming, and dreamless deep sleep). It is postulated in several Upanishads and explicated in Gaudapada's '' Mandukya Karika''. Upanishads ''Turiya'' as 'the fourth' is referred to in a number of principal Upanishads. One of the earliest mentions of the phrase ''turiya'', "fourth", is in verse 5.14.3 of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (7th-6th century BCE), referring to a 'fourth foot' of the '' Gayatri Mantra'', the first, second and third foot being the 24 syllables of this mantra: According to Raju, chapter 8.7 through 8.12 of the Chandogya Upanishad (7th-6th century BCE) , though not mentioning ''turiya'', 'anticipate' the Mandukya Upanishad and it's treatment of ''turiya''. These verses of the Chandogya Upanishad set out a dialogue between Indra and Virocana, in se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mark S
Mark may refer to: In the Bible * Mark the Evangelist (5–68), traditionally ascribed author of the Gospel of Mark * Gospel of Mark, one of the four canonical gospels and one of the three synoptic gospels Currencies * Mark (currency), a currency or unit of account in many nations * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1928 * Finnish markka (), the currency of Finland from 1860 until 28 February 2002 * Polish mark (), the currency of the Kingdom of Poland and of the Republic of Poland between 1917 and 1924 German * Deutsche Mark, the official currency of West Germany from 1948 until 1990 and later the unified Germany from 1990 until 2002 * German gold mark, the currency used in the German Empire from 1873 to 1914 * German Papiermark, the German currency from 4 August 1914 * German rentenmark, a currency issued on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
