Somananda

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use Indian English Somananda (875–925 CE)<ref>The Krama Tantricism of Kashmir, Navijan Rastogi, page 104</ref> was one of the teachers of Kashmir Shaivism, in the lineage of Trayambaka, and the author of the first philosophical treatise of this school (the Template:IAST).<ref name=hksbnp>History of Kashmir Shaivism, B N Pandit, page 27</ref> A contemporary of Bhatta Kallata,<ref name="B.N. Pandit p. 27">History of Kashmir Saivism - B.N. Pandit, p. 27</ref> the two were the first of the Kashmiri Shaivites to propose the concepts of non-dual Shaivism in a rigorous and logical way. Somananda lived in Kashmir—most probably in Srinagar,<ref name="B.N. Pandit p. 27"/> where most of the later philosophers of the school lived—as a householder.

Lineage

File:The Lineage of Somananda.png

The Lineage of Somananda

There is considerable myth surrounding the origins of Somananda. He claimed himself to be a descendant of the sage Durvasa, who had received from Shiva the spiritual mission of keeping the tradition and secrets of Agamic Shaivism alive. It is said that Durvasa created his son—the aforementioned Tryambaka—directly from his own mind (similarly to the way that Athena was said to have been created directly from the mind of her father, Zeus, in Greek mythology). In turn, Tryambaka also created a son directly from his mind; this process continued for 15 (total) generations until eventually terminating with the father of Sangamaditya, who took a woman as a wife. Three further generations hence, the birth of Somananda took place.<ref>The Philosophy of Saivism 2 - S. Kapoor, p. 431</ref><ref name="B.N. Pandit p. 18">The Mirror of Self-Supremacy or Svatantrya-Darpana - B.N. Pandit, p. 18</ref> Somananda thus claims a divine spiritual ancestry and investiture.

Somananda was the disciple of Vasugupta, another important Shaivite master and the author of the Shiva Sutras, one of the fundamental texts of non-dual Shaivism. Bhatta Kallata, author of the Template:IAST—another important and well-known text in the tradition—was a contemporary of Somananda's, and a fellow disciple of Vasugupta's.<ref>The Pratyabhijna Philosophy - G.V. Tagare, p. 123</ref><ref>History of Kashmir Saivism - B.N. Pandit, p. 29</ref> Each of these two disciples of Vasugupta—that is, both Somananda and Bhatta Kallata—initiated their own schools of monistic Shaivism: Template:IAST and Template:IAST, respectively.<ref>The Krama Tantricism of Kashmir - N. Rastogi, p. 129</ref><ref>The Philosophy of Saivism 2 - S. Kapoor, p. 415</ref>

The apparent difference between the extant texts from these rival disciples, however, is mainly to be found in the scope, or focus, of each—rather than in the essence. While Somananda's Template:IAST has a philosophical bent, Bhatta Kallata's Template:IAST is more practice-oriented, and shorter in length.<ref>The Triadic Heart of Siva - P.E. Muller Ortega, p. 44</ref>

Somananda's most significant disciple was Utpaladeva.<ref>According to Abhinavagupta, Utpaladeva was Somananda's son. Utpaladeva, however, calls himself the son of Udayākara. See Ganesh Vasudeo Tagare, The Pratyabhijñā Philosophy, p. 11.</ref> Utpaladeva wrote a number of texts to continue and develop his teacher's work, including the Template:IAST, of which Abhinavagupta's Template:IAST is a commentary; Utpaladeva also commented upon the Template:IAST of his teacher.<ref>The Ubiquitous Siva: Somananda's Sivadrsti and His Tantric Interlocutors, Nemec, John</ref> Following Utpaladeva came Lakshmanagupta, and then Abhinavagupta, whose work became considered the epitome of the Kashmiri Shaivite tradition.<ref>The Krama Tantricism of Kashmir - N. Rastogi, p. 137</ref><ref name="ReferenceA">The Pratyabhijna Philosophy - G.V. Tagare, p.</ref> Abhinavagupta took teachings from all the schools of Shaivism known to him—including, in the main, both that which had originated with Somananda, and that which had been initiated by Bhatta Kallata—and was said to have attained spiritual liberation himself, after which he took on the immense task of uniting all of these schools into one coherent system. Abhinavagupta's main work—in which he provides a detailed exposition of this project's results—is the Template:IAST.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

Philosophy

Based on the profundity of his writings, it is supposed that Somananda attained the highest spiritual realization; from such a position, he was able to compose texts of deep understanding and insight. Minute attention for detail, and a great capacity to express in clear terms even the most difficult points, are both apparent in his works.<ref name="B.N. Pandit p. 30">History of Kashmir Saivism - B.N. Pandit, p. 30</ref> When examining opposing views, he makes an effort to understand them in their own terms, and to present them fairly; he then goes on to explain—with subtle logic—exactly how they are refuted.<ref name="B.N. Pandit p. 31">History of Kashmir Saivism - B.N. Pandit, p. 31</ref>

Somananda was a householder, and his system was accordingly designed to be applied by people in the midst of everyday life; he rejected practices which require seclusion and the renunciation of society.<ref>The Pratyabhijna Philosophy - G.V. Tagare, p. 126</ref>

Somananda is mainly remembered as the first preceptor of the Template:IAST school.<ref>The Krama Tantricism of Kashmir - N. Rastogi, p. 3</ref> He defined the theoretical aspects of Template:IAST in his main work, the Template:IAST; his son, Utpaladeva, refined and developed it, leaving the task of bringing it to completion and integrating it with the other schools of Kashmir Shaivism to the great master Abhinavagupta.<ref>History of Kashmir Saivism - B.N. Pandit, p. 41</ref>

His philosophy is both idealistic-monism and theistic;<ref name="B.N. Pandit p. 31"/> in essence, he states that "everything is Shiva".<ref>The Pratyabhijna Philosophy - G.V. Tagare, p. 10</ref><ref name="B.N. Pandit p. 34">History of Kashmir Saivism - B.N. Pandit, p. 34</ref> Besides being all things, Shiva is also Template:IAST: that is, consciousness-bliss. He is in possession of an absolutely free will, Template:IAST, with which he creates the manifestation of all without the use of any external instruments or materials. He manifests through his powers of knowledge and action.<ref>The Pratyabhijna Philosophy - G.V. Tagare, p. 11</ref>

The notion of Template:IAST is central to Somananda's philosophy. The free will of Shiva is manifested as energy, called Template:IAST, which emanates from Shiva himself and is the stuff from which the world is created; thus—being ontologically anterior to the world—it is beyond any obstacles.<ref>The Cult of Divine Power - J. Sinha, p. 31</ref> When Template:IAST begins the process of manifestation it subdivides into a number of ontological categories or substances called tattvas, 36 in number: thus, in Somananda's doctrine, the world is considered real (rather than illusory, as generally posited by the other monistic-idealistic spiritual schools).

The written work of Somananda is not restricted to philosophical system-building, but contains also an account of the positions held by rival philosophical schools, and a series of refutations of the same. For example, Somananda disagrees with the gross realism of the Template:IAST system, the subtle realism of Samkhya, and the idealism of Vedanta or of the Buddhist Template:IAST.<ref name="B.N. Pandit p. 34"/> In his view, the universe is an appearance—yet not one of Maya (illusion), but rather of the free will of Shiva; hence, in reality, the universe is Shiva himself.<ref name="B.N. Pandit p. 34"/> Similarly, instead of postulating a principle of beginning-less ignorance, or Template:IAST—as in Template:IAST—Somananda holds that it is though the free will of Shiva (Template:IAST) that ignorance appears. Ignorance is thus not an ontological reality, but an epistemological phenomenon.<ref name="B.N. Pandit p. 31"/><ref>History of Kashmir Saivism - B.N. Pandit, p. 33</ref>

Works

Somananda was the author of the first philosophical treatise on monistic Shaivism—the Template:IAST—a work in seven chapters.<ref name="B.N. Pandit p. 27"/><ref name="B.N. Pandit p. 18"/> It starts by describing the eternal nature of Shiva<ref name="B.N. Pandit p. 26">History of Kashmir Saivism - B.N. Pandit, p. 26</ref> and the creation of the universe. The author expounds a theory of non-differentiation—unity of subject and object, everything being of the nature of consciousness, Template:IAST.<ref>The Pratyabhijna Philosophy - G.V. Tagare, p. 8</ref> A large portion of the book is dedicated to the exposition, analysis and critique of various religio-philosophical systems and ideas: the Vivarta theory of the grammarians; the Śākta approach to the ultimate reality; the nuance of the differences between the author's own approach and the Template:IAST principle of monism; the Template:IAST concept of ignorance; and the fundamental principles of all the other major spiritual schools of the time.<ref name="B.N. Pandit p. 30"/> At the close, Somananda describes the history of Kashmiri Shaivism and of his own family.<ref name="B.N. Pandit p. 26"/>

Other texts by Somananda include a commentary on his own Template:IAST and on the Template:IAST (entitled Template:IAST—not to be confused with the more well-known work of the same name by Abhinavagupta).<ref>The Pratyabhijna Philosophy - G.V. Tagare, p. 12</ref>

External links

• Bibliography of Somananda's works, Item 466 Template:Webarchive, Karl Potter, University of Washington