Kashmir Shaivism: A Philosophy of Being and Becoming

The Shaiva Thinkers Of Kashmir Have So Conceived The Absolute As To Be A Synthesis Of Being And Becoming Simultaneously, Which Is To Say That Paramsiva As Absolute Is Characterized By Such Two Movements As Would Delineate The Idea Of It Being A Massive Ocean Of Creativity. In Order To Establish That The Absolute Is The Embodiment Of Being And Becoming, The Trika Shaivas Made Use Of Such Metaphysical Ideas As Would Establish It To Be, On The One Hand, Of The Nature Of Luminous Consciousness, And, On The Other Hand, Self-Cognitive Awareness. The Luminous Aspect Represents The Beingness Of The Absolute, Whereas The Cognitive Awareness Denotes The Becoming Aspect. It Is The Becoming Aspect That Represents The Dynamic Nature Of The Absolute, Which Translates Itself Into The Actual Manifestation Of Categories That Are Constitutive Of The Objective Universe. The Absolute As Consciousness Would Mean That It Is Such A Metaphysical Principle That Is Changeless While Being Itself As The Background Of All The Changes That Are Experienced At The Phenomenal Level. It Is The Cognitive Awareness, Represented By The Idea Of I-Consciousness, That Initiates The Process Of Becoming In And Through The Absolute. In This Manner Is Represented Such A Compact Idea Of The Absolute As Would Express The Fullness Of Being.