NAME – Acharya Abhinavagupta’s (“Siva incarnate to enlighten the people”)

Born – He lived in Kashmir about the end of 10th and the beginning of 11th centuries (950 – 1016) AD. Parents – He was born to Kashmiri Brahmin. Father – Narasimhagupta a great Shaiva teacher and Mother – Vimalakala family of Scholars and Mystics. Childhood – He was born in a family of distinguished scholars and devout followers of the spiritual path, early age he was trained in Sanskrit grammar, logic and literature. He had several teachers, the main among them being Lakshmanagupta. He chose a celibate life, and traveled widely, acquired knowledge in different branches of learning including faiths such as Buddhism and Jainism, apart from Shaivism to which he contributed significantly. Contributions – Abhinavagupta’s works fall into multiple sections – manuals of religious ritual, philosophical works and philosophy of aesthetics. Among them are tantra works, stotra-s (devotional hymns), vivarana (epistemological analyses) texts, elucidations of established concepts and practices, critical texts and commentaries on poetics, dramaturgy and aesthetics, all of which are original reflections. The Tantraloka or Light on the Tantras,which appears to have been written after Abhinavagupta had attained enlightenment, is one of the great accomplishments in Indian theology. Abhinavagupta’s contribution to aesthetic is his analysis of eight types of rasa (the emotional experience of poetry or drama). He explored how the appreciation of art, music, poetry and literature was heightened by the removal of moha (ignorance) and how their beauty was enhanced through knowledge of Brahman. He was a master of the Kula school of Shaivism, but wrote commentaries elucidating various texts and schools of thought. His ability to clarify the meaning of ancient texts through the application of reason and logic, through his personal experience of religious practice, helped to popularize Kashmiri Shaivism. Madhuraja the devotee of Abhinavagupta writes that – Lord Shree-Kantha-Nath Shiva Himself appeared in Kashmir in the form of Abhinavagupta to enlighten the people(incarnation of Bhairava-Nath Shiva) He is the pride of Kashmir, as his works and teachings continue to deeply influence the discerning people. He is said to have chosen his own death by vanishing into a cave in Birwa village on the Gulmarga range. References: http://www.ikashmir.net/abhinavagupta/index.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abhinavagupta https://indiathedestiny.com/icons/poets-writers/abhinavagupta-life-history/
Saints & Mystics