Abhinavagupta
A figure from the books
#Abhinavagupta
Abhinavagupta · c. 950–1016 CE
In the books · 2 chapters
Who this is
Philosophy and aesthetics — the great synthesizer of the non-dual Śaiva traditions now called Kashmir Śaivism, and the most influential theorist of art India ever produced.
“One Kashmiri wrote the definitive account of the tantric path to God and the definitive account of why audiences weep at plays — and argued they were the same book, because in the theatre and in the universe alike, the whole show exists so that consciousness can recognize itself and shiver with delight at the recognition.”
The big idea, in the book's words:
“You are not a person searching for God; you are God playing at being a person, and liberation is simply recognizing it. Art works the same way — a sad play delights you because, tasting grief that belongs to nobody, consciousness is tasting itself.”
From the books
- The Great IndiansAbhinavagupta is Chapter 86 of Vol 3, Early Medieval India.
- The Great PhilosophersAbhinavagupta is Chapter 76 of Vol 2, Late Antiquity & the Early Medieval World.
Read the chapters
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