ABHINAVAGUPTA’S HERMENEUTICS OF THE ABSOLUTE ANUTTARAPRAKRIYA BY BETTINA BAUMER

Posted by : Utpal Publications Wednesday, August 28, 2013

The Paratrisika Vivarana by the great Kashmiri philosopher and mystic Abhinavagupta is an extensive commentary on the Paratrisika Tantra, and it is one of the most profound texts, not only of non- dualist Kashmir Saivism, but of Indian philosophy and mysticism in general. The present work attempts to make this difficult text accessible, by calling out the important themes and offering an interpretation. The main focus is on the understanding of the Absolute (Anuttara) and the ways to realize it. The central theme of mantra also leads to a mysticism of language with its philosophical implications. All these reflections and practices are inscribed in the theory that “everything is related to the totality”, “every part contains the whole of reality” (sarvam sarvatmakam). It is this holistic vision of Abhinavagupta, based on the Tantras, which makes this work so relevant in our times of fragmented aspects of life and knowledge in search of integration. No doubt, in the view of the Tantra and of Abhinavagupta, language and mantra provide the key.

This fascinating book is an important contribution to studies and interpretations on Kashmir Saivism, its spirituality and philosophy and on Abhinavagupta in particular.

Dr. Bettina Baumer, indologist from Austria and Professor of Religious Studies (Visiting Professor at several universities), living and working in Varanasi since 1967, is the author and editor of number of books and over 50 research articles. Her main fields of research are non- dualistic Kashmir Saivism, Indian aesthetics, temple architecture and religious traditions of Orissa, and comparative mysticism. She has been Coordinator of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, Varanasi, and Fellow, Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla. She has been translated important Sanskrit texts into German and English.