About Book
Introduction To The Second EditionThe opportunity to bring out the Second Edition has been utilized for adding an offset picture of Abhinavagupta and four new Chapters, besides giving a more complete account of his life, works and historical background of his thought.The authenticity of the picture in paint lies in its being a faithful representation of the pen-picture, drawn by his pupil, Madhuraja Yogin, who was present at the celebration of the 'recognition of Abhinavagupta as the spiritual head of all the Saiva sects by the contemporary great spiritualists, both male and female.The picture has a religio-philosophical significance; because it presents him as a typical follower of the Kula system. Two 'Dutis', each with a jar of Siva-Rasa, a kind of intoxicant, in the right hand and a lotus-flower and a citron-fruit in the left, are waiting upon him and dance, song and music are going on in front of him; but his mind, being in touch with the Reality, is experiencing the spiritual bliss, and the expression of his eyes stands as a witness to it. For, the characteristic feature of the Kaulism is that it denies antagonism between sensuous joy and spiritual bliss (Ananda); recognises the former to be a means to the latter; and emphatically asserts that it is meant for the few, who are highly proficient in the Raja-Yoga as distinct from the heath-Yoga, who have such a control over the mind that they can withdraw it from the stimulating object even at a time when it is being enjoyed most and concentrate it on the tip of Susumna.It has an aesthetic significance. Abhinavagupta is a well recognised authority on Saivaism in general and on poetics, dramaturgy, music, aesthetics and the three monistic systems of the Saiva philosophy, dealt with in the present edition, in particular, on account of the 48 works which his powerful pen produced. The picture presents his as a practic