Kashmir Shaivism - The Revival of Kashmir Shaivism in The 20th Century

The Revival of Kashmir Shaivism in The 20th Century

Kashmir Shaivism went underground for a number of centuries. While there may have been yogis and practitioners quietly following the teachings, there were no major writers or publications after perhaps the 14th century. In the 20th century Swami Lakshmanjoo, himself a Kashmiri Brahmin, helped revive both the scholarly and yogic streams of Kashmir Shaivism. His contribution is enormous. He inspired a generation of scholars who made Kashmir Shaivism a legitimate field of inquiry within the academy.

Acharya Rameshwar Jha, a disciple of Swami Lakshmanjoo, is often credited with firmly establishing the roots of Kashmir Shaivism in the learned community of Varanasi. Rameshwar Jha with his extraordinary creativity, innate familiarity with the ancient texts and personal experiences was able to provide easy access to abstruse concepts of non dualistic Kashmir Shaivism to the layman and scholars alike. His original writings of sanskrit verses have been compiled and published as books Purnta Pratyabhijna and SamitSwatantram.

Nor should the contribution of Swami Muktananda be overlooked. While himself not belonging to the direct lineage of Kashmir Shaivism, Muktananda felt a great affinity for the teachings which were validated by his own direct experience. He encouraged and endorsed Motilal Banarsidass to publish Jaideva Singh's translations of Shiva Sutras, Pratyabhijnahrdayam, Spanda Karikas and Vijnana Bhairava. He also introduced Kashmir Shaivism to a wide audience of western meditators through his writings and lectures on the subject.