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| Great VASUGUPTA (8th century CE) of Kashmir who gave divine Shiva Sutras to the world | | |
Nikhil Gupta
In medieval times there were large number of Guptas living in Kashmir and in adjoining areas . The Guptas at that time were highly educated and very proficient in sanskrit . The Guptas of Kashmir were also highly meditative in nature and engaged in SHIVA-Realisation and thus rose the unique Shaiva tradition of Kashmir . The Guptas of Kashmir were highly devoted to Shaiva bhakti through meditation and inner pious way where soul transcends to the inner higher planes. The Shaiva-Guptas of Kashmir thus formulated the theory of universal God Shiva who is ever pulsating in all the manifestations of the creation . Kashmir Shaivism emphasizes a blend of philosophical inquiry and practical spirituality. Practices include inward meditation and yogic techniques aimed at self-recognition and the realization of one’s unity with Divinity i.e. Shiva. The core texts of Kashmiri Shaivism i.e Shiva Sutras and Spanda Karikas were given by a purest soul named VASUGUPTA who lived in Kashmir around 8th century CE ( common era). The Shiva Sutras attributed to the Kashmiri native great Vasugupta are a foundational text of Kashmir Shaivism and a spiritual tradition. These 77 sutras or aphorisms divided into three sections describe the nature of the consciousness, the individual self, and the Supreme divine reality. Vasugupta’s compilation of the Shiva Sutras is considered a seminal work in the Kashmir’s and in fact the world’s Shaiva tradition. The Shiva Sutras themselves are terse and enigmatic requiring the guidance of an awakened soul to unlock their deeper meaning. They cover a range of topics like the nature of consciousness and the importance of self-inquiry. The pious and noble Vasugupta gave a spirituality where one can prove for oneself the perennial spiritual truths that lie behind most religions and many philosophies and go far beyond them . The great Vasugupta gave the path of the audible life stream or the eternal SPANDA - the path of God-realization as designed by the Shiva himself. The great Vasugupta postulated through the divine Shiva Sutras that because the Divinity Shiva is one and because all human beings have descended from the same one Shiva, the path back to the Shiva can only be one via the Spanda i.e the science of vibration or the audible life stream or the sound current which is the dynamic and creative manifestation of Shiva. It resounds throughout the creation and can be contacted in every human being as beautiful celestial music at a point of concentration which is an inner spiritual point . This point can be contacted only when the mind is made completely still through the practice of Shiva Sutras depending upon one’s stage of spiritual evolution . The Shiva Sutras are the most important scripture of Kashmir Shaivism and they explain the nature and cause of bondage and the means of liberation from bondage of the cycle of birth and death . These divine Shiva Sutras manifested themselves through pious soul Vasugupta and they have universal applicability and prescribe a path of meditative effort for everybody. A person can be from any caste or religion and still if he or she follow divine Shiva Sutras with sincerity, he or she can meet the eternal universal power . Due to their universal applicability they are called as Sutras. In essence Vasugupta states that “everything is Shiva”. Vasugupta’s Kashmir Shaivism says that our manifested universe is nothing but vibrations of consciousness i.e. sound current. Modern string theory of physics which acts as crucial bridge between Quantum physics and Einstein’s general theory of relatively also proposed the same idea that everything is made of vibrating strings like fundamental entities. Every thing is fundamentally a vibration. The Shiva Sutras and the ensuing school of Kashmir Shaivism saw itself as independent of the Vedic mainstream schools of thought and went beyond the rules of the Vedics . Just by doing good karmas or pious deeds one cannot attain Saivahood and thus the Shiva Sutras of Vasugupta go beyond the good or bad karmas and emphasize on one-pointed meditation to master the sound current or Spanda which is the essence of the universe. The later spiritual masters and the medieval bhakti saints also emphasized on mastering the sound current to meet the eternal power. The bhakti saints gave their own names for that eternal power whereas the great Vasugupta called that eternal power as Shiva and for Him everything was Shiva.
It was in the 8th century CE that VASUGUPTA was born in Kashmir. It is well known that in Kashmir we find great people with GUPTA surname such as Abhinavagupta, Vasugupta, King Parvagupta, King Kshemagupta and King Abhimanyugupta. There is a tendency among many people to claim Guptas of Kashmir as brahmins whereas we definitely know that King Parvagupta and his successors were kshatriya by caste. We also know that the Great Abhinavagupta and the Great Vasugupta never called themselves as brahmins and thus they were Guptas with great knowledge. About Vasugupta’s personal life it is known that he lived near Mahadeva Mountain in the valley of the Harvan stream behind what are now the Shalimar Gardens in Srinagar, Kashmir. He was attached to eternal Shiva and studied the Shaiva agamas and was in search for the answers and in this quest he found the Divine Shiva Sutras. One theory is that the noble Vasugupta received the Shiva Sutras in a dream through a Siddha Purusha or semi-divine being. Another theory is that Eternal Shiva came to him in a dream and instructed him to go to a certain rock on which he would find the teachings inscribed. This rock called as Shankarpal i.e. Rock of Shiva is located in a stream in modern day Dachigam National Park in Srinagar. This Shankarpal Rock holds great significance in Kashmir Shaivism. This sacred site is where Eternal Shiva revealed the Shiva Sutras to noble Vasugupta in the 8th century CE and it symbolizes the divine connection between Shiva and Vasugupta. The site represents the essence of Kashmir Shaivism emphasizing the role of grace of master in spiritual growth and this grace can’t be achieved through personal effort but rather bestowed upon the chosen devotee as experienced by Vasugupta at Shankarpal Rock. Due to love and devotion it is still visited by Shiva devotees. The third theory is that the Shiva himself taught the Siva-Sutras to Vasugupta in a dream. Whatever the truth - the Shiva sutras are of divine origin or revelation and are not considered the product of the human mind and greatest Shiva Bhakta Vasugupta wrote down all the 77 Shiva Sutras for the benefit of the humanity. Later Vasugupta authored one more text known as “Spanda Karika” or the science of vibration and prescribed a path of one pointed meditation for attaining Saivahood. The Spanda karikas are nothing but a commentary on the Shiva Sutras and both were composed by the noble Vasugupta who proposed that through meditation of the Divine the disciple gains experience of the power of the Word or sacred sound vibrations i.e. Spanda. As per noble Vasugupta’s divine Shiva Sutras both knowledge and ignorance are bondage and a real yogi or disciple goes beyond these to experience the Divine and attain Saivahood. We all should be thankful to noble Vasugupta for giving Divine Shiva Sutras to the world and also try to experience the divine Spanda though meditation.
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