order to eventually be granted liberation, the putraka should be detached
with eveness of behavior, and serve his teacher, his god, and the sacred fire, while
the sa ̄dhaka is an ascetic (tapasvin) whose consciousness is one-pointed in his
repetition of mantra to attain his goal. The a ̄ca ̄rya must teach and so cannot
spend too much time on his practice of repetition and meditation (Mat.
Carya ̄pa ̄da 4. 2–17). Although this is a schematic structure, it does have some
bearing on the social world, although the sa ̄dhaka, as Brunner has observed, is
a “personnage oubliée” in modern India. Private practice is nevertheless still
important on the S ́aiva path and not only ritual, but yoga and meditation are a
part of this.
Private Yoga
While it is often not meaningful to draw a hard distinction between private ritual
and yoga, there are nevertheless practices beyond the basic daily ritual structure
that can be undertaken. Many dualistic Tantras have sections on yoga (the
yogapa ̄da), often virtually identical to the yoga of Patañjali, and some S ́aiva
Siddha ̄nta texts are devoted to yoga, such as Jña ̄napraka ̄s ́a’s S ́ivayogaratna
(Michaël l 1975). But in nondualistic S ́aivism there is a particular emphasis on
various kinds of yoga practice beyond the ritual obligations of the initiate. These
practices are categorized into four methods or ways (upa ̄ya): the “non-means” or
the pathless path (anupa ̄ya), the divine means (s ́am.bha ̄vopa ̄ya), the way of energy
(s ́a ̄ktopa ̄ya), and the individual means (a ̄n.avopa ̄ya) (see Dyczkowski 1987:
163–218). This structure, the oldest description of which is in the Ma ̄linı ̄vijay-
ottara Tantrawhere they are called “immersions” or “possessions” (sama ̄ves ́a)
(MVT 2.21–3), was used by the monistic S ́aivas Abhinavagupta and Ks.emara ̄ja
as a lens through which to view the earlier tradition. Thus Ks.emara ̄ja uses the
scheme as a way of organizing the S ́iva Su ̄tras. The classification of the three
upa ̄yasrelates to the three perceived human and divine faculties of desire or will
(iccha ̄), cognition (jña ̄na), and action (krı ̄ya ̄). Thus the s ́am.bha ̄vopa ̄yais linked
to desire or will as the sudden upsurge of emotion and instinct that shatters
thought construction, thereby enabling the adept to perceive the nonduality of
consciousness. This can be achieved through extreme situations of fear or
through inducing pain by scratching the arm with a sharp instrument (VB 93),
through the arising of sexual desire (VB 41, 73) and so on. Abhinavagupta even
says that thought-shattering energy (vı ̄rya) can arise in the heart upon seeing a
loved one unexpectedly (PTV p. 16). In fact any emotional situation is potentially
transformative.
Thes ́a ̄ktopa ̄ya,in contrast to the s ́a ̄mbhava, which is without thought con-
struction (nirvikalpa), is achieved by using the faculty of cognition. By focusing
on a pure thought construction (s ́uddhavikalpa) that corresponds to a true state
of affairs, such as “I am S ́iva” or “I am omnipresent” (VB 104), the mind is
gradually purified until the truth of the claim is existentially realized.
the s ́aiva traditions 221