Abhinavagupta's Paramarthasara: Essence of the Supreme Truth (22 photos)
Yogaraja's introductory verse to the Paramarthasara :
May the supreme Lord always be victorious. He is never born, but is eternally existent. He is well-versed in the art of self-concealment, and despite his being of the nature of massive consciousness, he assumes the form of the world.
On being requested by learned persons, I, Yogaraja, am writing this explanatory commentary on The Essence of the Supreme Truth (Paramarthasara) written by my teacher Abhinavagupta, adding logical arguments. Considering the purpose of the scriptures to be the achievement of the destruction of the sea of impediments, which are due to the dominance of the false identification of the Self with the physical body, and which causes doubts and uncertainties, the author Abhinavagupta expresses, at the very outset, his yearning for the supreme Lord by giving up his worldly form, that of a limited experiencer, and securing his union with his divine essence that is of the nature of pure consciousness and bliss. This is the essence of all scriptures.
-Paramarthasara
note:
The Supreme Lord is you, who are reading this here and now. The Supreme Lord is not someone living far away, in a distant frontier, or residing in a different world or time, and so on and on. Your world or universe is nothing but a coagulation of the essential nature of yourself (the Supreme Lord or Self). All the objects around you are the forms emanated from yourself, though you are a compact mass of Consciousness. It is crucial to understand this truth in the way I stated it, or you will never understand what this scripture deals with. It deals with the Supreme Lord or Self, i.e. with You, reader. If you think that it is dealing with "someone else", you will interpret the teachings to be given by the sages inadequately. I am making this point very clear from the start, because the Supreme Lord (You) are a skillful and clever in the art of playing to conceal Your own Self, viz. Your true identity.
May the supreme Lord always be victorious. He is never born, but is eternally existent. He is well-versed in the art of self-concealment, and despite his being of the nature of massive consciousness, he assumes the form of the world.
On being requested by learned persons, I, Yogaraja, am writing this explanatory commentary on The Essence of the Supreme Truth (Paramarthasara) written by my teacher Abhinavagupta, adding logical arguments. Considering the purpose of the scriptures to be the achievement of the destruction of the sea of impediments, which are due to the dominance of the false identification of the Self with the physical body, and which causes doubts and uncertainties, the author Abhinavagupta expresses, at the very outset, his yearning for the supreme Lord by giving up his worldly form, that of a limited experiencer, and securing his union with his divine essence that is of the nature of pure consciousness and bliss. This is the essence of all scriptures.
-Paramarthasara
note:
The Supreme Lord is you, who are reading this here and now. The Supreme Lord is not someone living far away, in a distant frontier, or residing in a different world or time, and so on and on. Your world or universe is nothing but a coagulation of the essential nature of yourself (the Supreme Lord or Self). All the objects around you are the forms emanated from yourself, though you are a compact mass of Consciousness. It is crucial to understand this truth in the way I stated it, or you will never understand what this scripture deals with. It deals with the Supreme Lord or Self, i.e. with You, reader. If you think that it is dealing with "someone else", you will interpret the teachings to be given by the sages inadequately. I am making this point very clear from the start, because the Supreme Lord (You) are a skillful and clever in the art of playing to conceal Your own Self, viz. Your true identity.
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