Essence of the Supreme Reality: Abhinavagupta's Paramarthasara - Paperback

by John Hughes (Editor), Swami Lakshmanjoo (Author)

In this multimedia study set, Swami Lakshmanjoo, the fully realized philosopher saint of the long concealed and secret tradition known as Kashmir Shaivism, translates and illuminates Abhinavagupta's Paramarthasara. Originally a work of Patanjali, Abhinavagupta chose to revise and update this revered treatise in order to reveal the profundities of the Trika Shaivite doctrine. In the conclusion of the Paramarthasara Abhinavagupta tells us, "I have kept this Paramårthasåra, in brief words, in one hundred verses. But although it is only one hundred verses in body, in the volume of knowledge it is more than ten million verses." Abhinavagupta's Paramårthasåra encapsulates the essential teachings of the more difficult and challenging Kashmiri Shaiva works such as his voluminous Tantråloka and Utpaladeva's Ishvarapratyabijna. Unlike these treatises, however, Abhinavagupta's Paramarthasara does not indulge in exacting dialectic or concise logical argumentation. Rather, it is a straightforward piece intended primarily for novices and yet it is highly beneficial even for the more advanced Shaivite practitioner. Abhinavagupta reveals Kashmir Shaivism's unique understanding of the One and the Many and prescribes highly advanced and effective means for recognizing our true identity as the One. Swami Lakshmanjoo chose to reveal the Paramarthasara because, as Abhinavagupta tells us, the Paramarthasara contains the complete essence of the teachings of Kashmir Shaivism. In this direct and clear-cut explanation, Swamiji reveals and clarifies the essential teachings of this profound philosophical and practical tradition.