SvÃÂtantrya (from the Sanskrit sva meaning self and tantram meaning dependence â 'self-dependency', or 'free will') is the Kashmiri Shaivite concept of divine sovereignty. SvÃÂtantrya is described as an energy that emanates from the Supreme (Paramaà Âiva), a wave of motion inside consciousness (spanda) that acts as the fundament of the world, or in another view, the original word (logos, pÃÂrÃÂvak). It does not use any external instrument as it itself is the first stage of creation.
In antithesis with the Vedantic concept of Brahman, which is a mere conscious witness without effective power, being inflicted by the illusory power (or maya of the Brahman), in the Kashmiri Shaivite viewpoint creation is actively willed into existence by the supreme consciousness (Ã Âiva) by the means of his irresistible will-force (SvÃÂtantrya). This is an important aspect of the Pratyabhijna school of Kashmir Shaivism.
SvÃÂtantrya is a concept that goes to the root of many spiritual matters in Kashmir Shaivism, like, the divine sovereignty of à Âiva (God), consciousness (caitanya), creative power (vimarà Âa), mantric efficiency and Kundalini.
In its acception of divine sovereignty, svÃÂtantrya is described as an absolute power of action, or, absolute power of freedom. This power arises from the mirror-like ability of the supreme consciousness (caitanya) to contain images (vimarà Âa) â the whole universe being a mere image shining inside this unique god-consciousness.
SvÃÂtantrya has a number of traditional attributes such as: perfect fullness (of the energy of will), self-sufficiency, autodetermination, the power of doing and undoing â essence of the subject, supreme creativity, sovereignty, source of knowledge (jñÃÂna) and action (kriyÃÂ) and being beyond contradictions: it exists beyond laws of any kind and is the source of all laws in the universe.
The Kashmir Shaivism theory of creation affirms that the world was willed into existence by the sovereign force of à Âiva. Thus, the world has no external causes outside à Âiva's SvÃÂtantrya. This power creates multiplicity (mÃÂyÃÂ) from the original unity of the absolute, and as such, it exists inside and beyond mÃÂyÃÂ. It is the seed of the universe, the matrix (mÃÂtrkÃÂ) of generative phonemes, the ultimate creative force.
Disclaimer: on this topic there is a certain amount of melding and unification of the seemingly distinct concepts of will, freedom, consciousness, speech and bliss in the speciality texts. This is due to the insufficient ability of common language to describe the mystical states of consciousness.
The prakÃÂà Âa-vimarà Âa theory affirms the world is based on two principles: the self shining conscious light (prakÃÂà Âa) and its ability to contain a reflection of itself and of the creation (vimarà Âa). To reflect itself is to know absolute bliss (ÃÂnanda) â thus, free will (svÃÂtantrya), conscious reflection (vimarà Âa) and bliss (ÃÂnanda) are three concepts describing the same reality. Bliss (ÃÂnanda) is the internal state of consciousness, its natural state. The same is true of svÃÂtantrya: it too is a fundamental quality of the subject.
SvÃÂtantrya is the first stage of creation, an undifferentiated energy, or, looking from bottom up, we could also say that it is the force that unifies all the energies of creation. The first creation of svÃÂtantrya is the energy of will (icchàà Âakti). Then come the energies of knowledge (jñÃÂna à Âakti) and action (kriyàà Âakti) and together with the energy of consciousness (cit à Âakti) and the energy of bliss (ÃÂnanda à Âakti) they form the supreme pentad of creation, the so-called "pure creation".
Everything related to consciousness is also related to svÃÂtantrya. Speech is seen in Kashmir Shaivism as differentiated in four classes : external (vaikharë), mental (madhyamÃÂ), subtle (paà Âyanti) and supreme (parÃÂ). SvÃÂtantrya is equated to pÃÂrÃÂvak, the creative logos / logos spermatikos.
In the mystical practices of Kashmir Shaivism, svÃÂtantrya is both the sovereign will of à Âiva, solely deciding the descent of divine grace (à ÂaktipÃÂt) and the will of the adept as s/he becomes more and more submerged into the divine.
According to Kashmir Shaivism, spiritual realization is more than a state of illumination (defined as pure witness, non-dual consciousness or atma-vyapti). Full spiritual realization means to know bliss (ÃÂnanda) and to control the energies (à Âakti) and the mantras (or, the so-called à Âiva-vyÃÂpti). The root of spiritual efficiency is svÃÂtantrya, the operative, dynamic aspect of the absolute.
An adept who reaches spiritual illumination needs to learn how to stabilize the experience. The Kashmir Shaivism scriptures declare that stability is based on the assimilation of the energy of svÃÂtantrya. Thus, while the incipient practitioner aims for the experience of the nondual consciousness, more advanced ones focus on the assimilation of all the energies into non-duality. SvÃÂtantrya being the root of all energies, it becomes automatically the final step of the spiritual practice.
The will of such an advanced practitioner becomes more and more efficient as it identifies with the will of à Âiva. Resulting actions are necessarily without base in egoism (without the attributes of good or bad) â and this is an attitude that defines the discipline of karma yoga.
All the spiritual paths (upÃÂyas): that of à Âiva (à ÂÃÂmbhavopÃÂya), that of à Âakti (à ÂÃÂktopÃÂya) and that of the human (ÃÂá¹ÂavopÃÂya) are subsumed under the umbrella of svÃÂtantrya as it is the sole mediator of divine grace. The adept who has attained svÃÂtantrya is beyond the need for formal meditation â that is â to meditate or to act in everyday life is identical â all actions emerge from a state of perfect unity with à Âiva from now on. This is the culmination of the Kashmiri Shaivite spiritual practice. Such an adept does not need to expend energy to maintain this state of consciousness because it has become natural. From this point of view, everything is made of forms of consciousness, identified with the consciousness of à Âiva at this stage. This energy is the risen form of Kundalini. The practitioner's mantras have spiritual efficacy. The practitioner's heart (há¹Âdaya) is the receptacle of all objects.
Kashmir Shaivism doctrine affirms that nothing can compel à Âiva to bestow the final spiritual realization â it is solely based on the unconditioned svÃÂtantrya, or, from the opposite perspective, there is no obstacle that can separate the disciple from becoming one with à Âiva because s/he has svÃÂtantrya which is the ultimate power that cannot be impeded by anything. Thus, in Kashmir Shaivism there is this paradoxical concept that nothing needs to be done, as the supreme realization can appear without effort, but also, no matter what effort one undertakes, one cannot compel à Âiva to liberate anyone (ÃÂtman). This is not an invitation to abandon hard work but a justification for humility.
In a meditation prescribed in Vijñana Bhairava Tantra, one is supposed to unite vital energy (prÃÂá¹Âa) with svÃÂtantrya in the mystical force center that exists 12 finger widths above the head, dvadaà ÂÃÂnta.
SvÃÂtantrya has a number of synonyms such as: maheà Âvaraya (from maheà Âvara which means supreme lord), or aià Âvarya (similarly, from the word Ià Âvara which also means Lord). It has been personalized as the Goddess (Devi), the virginal feminine deity Uma (virginity being a symbol of existence outside the reach of the profane world) and the playful goddess KumÃÂrë. Other scriptures also refer to svÃÂtantrya as the Glory of Siva on account of it being identical to the 'ocean' of uncreated light (prakÃÂà Âa) and cosmic bliss (ÃÂnanda) â cidÃÂnanda-Ghana.