Kashmir Shaivaism

By J. C. Chatterji

Subjects: Philosophy
Series: SUNY series in Cultural Perspectives
Paperback : 9780887061806, 200 pages, October 1986
Hardcover : 9780887061790, 200 pages, November 1986
Out of print (Hardcover)

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Table of contents

Preface
Foreword

PART I: THE MAIN DOCTRINES OF THE SYSTEM
The Atman
The Process of Manifestation
The Transcendent Parama Shiva

The Universal Experience
Five Principles of the Universal Subject-Object
The Shiva Tattva
The Shakti Tattva
The Sadakya Tattva
The Aishvara Tattva
The Sad-Vidya

The Limited Individual Experience
Maya and Her Progeney: The Six Kanchukas

The Principles of Limited Individual Subject-Object
The Purusha
The Prakriti and the Gunas

Principles of Mental Operation: Buddhi, Anankara, and Manas

The Means and General Principles of Sensible Experience: The Five Senses, Five Powers of Action, and Five General Objects of Perception
The Principles of Materiality: The Five Bhutas
Summary and Conclusion

PART II: HISTORY AND LITERATURE
Some Books on Kashmir Shaivism

Description

J. C. Chatterji's book is a brief introduction to the nature of ultimate reality and the manifestation of the universe according to the Trika System. It also covers, briefly, the history of this advaita Shaiva philosophy of Kashmir. First published in 1914 as the first book in "The Kashmir Series of Texts and Studies," it is still the clearest introduction to the Tattvas of the Trika.

Since the lower twenty-five of the thirty-six Trika Tattvas represent the entire universe from the Samkhya point of view, here also is a very clear exposition of the Samkhya Tattvas. The only difference is that, while the Purusha and the Prakriti are the final realities for Samkhya, they are but derivatives according to the Trika, which, carrying the analysis further, recognizes eleven additional Tattvas above the Purusha.