Spanda Karikas: The Divine Creative Pulsation

by Jaideva Singh

The present book is of the supreme significance from four points of view.

Firstly, it breaks a new ground in Indian philosophy. According to it, the Self is not simply witnessing consciousness as maintained by Sankhya, Patanjala Yoga, Vedanta, but an active force of Spanda.

Secondly, the ultimate reality is not simply a logical system, a mysterious background of bloodless categories, but spanda or living, throbbing Energy, the Divine creative Pulsation, the source of all manifestation, physical or superphysical. It should be of particular interest to science which has now come to the conclusion that matter is only an expression of electrical energy. Spanda maintains that all energy is, in its ultimate analysis, only an off-shoot of spiritual energy.

Thirdly, the work elaborates the dynamic side of consciousness and serves as a commentary on the Siva Sutra.

Forthly, it gives hint of a new kind of yoga for the realization of self.

Dr. Jaideva Singh has re-edited the text and the commentary with he assistance of his guru Swami Laksmana Joo. He has provided an English translation of both the text and Ksemaraja's commentary. He has thrown, in his notes, new light on many subtle points of the text and the commentary and given lucid exposition of each verse.

About the Author:

Jaideva Singh was a great scholar in musicology, philosophy and Sanskrit. He was awarded Padma Bhushan by the Government of India in 1974. After retirement he dedicated the later part of his life to the study with Kashmir Saivism. He published several books in Hindi and English translations of Kashmir Saiva texts, such as Siva-Sutras, Spanda-Karika, Pratyabhijnahrdayam, Vijnanabhairava.

The Spamdakarikas are a number of verses that serve as a sort of commentary on the Siva-sutras. According to Saivagama, the Divine Conscioussness is not simply cold, inert intellection. It is rather spanda, active, dynamic, throbbing with life, creative pulsation. Reviewer: jph_835 (see more about me) from Sierra Golds Like Shakti for Shiva, like Venus for Mars, the Spanda-Karikas are required reading for the person who has delved into Jaideva Singh's compilation of the Siva Sutras.

Reviews:

"The Spanda-Karikas are Sri Vasugupta's commentary verses on the Siva Sutras he had received from Lord Shiva. 52 in all, here in this book they are wedded to Sri Ksemaraja's commentaries, plus a bonus 53rd verse from Sri Ksemaraja. Cool hey?!! 11 centuries before music companies started dishing our free bonus album CDs, or MacD's gave the world that extra decked Big Mac, the Kashmiri Saivites had known all about bonus goodies. :-)"

"The texts are all expertly translated by the incredibly meticulous and conscientious Jaideva Singh. Here, and in his Siva Sutras & Pratyabhijnahrdayam too, Singh (pupil of Lakshman Joo; the last doyen of the Kashmir Trika lineage) really took pains to clarify the teachings of the Trika sect; carefully differentiating the Trika teachings from the strawman fallacies made out of them by careless Western academics. You will be hard challenged to find a better preserver and defender of the Trika philosophy elsewhere."

"While the Siva Sutras laid out the foundational doctrines of the Trika sect, describing Supreme Lord Shiva's relationship to the material world and sentient beings, the Spanda Karikas elucidate instead primarily on Lord Shiva's power or ParaShakti, his divine consort. Together, the Siva Sutras and Spand Karikas constitute the cornerstones of Trika philosophy."

"This is all I can offer as an intro to the Karikas. You need to study them yourself to get the gist of the Spanda doctrines. They can't be easily summarized."

"Aum Parashaktiye Namaha! Aum Namah Sivaya!"