Opening to Absolute Consciousness. A four-module course on the founding text of Kashmir Śaivism, and a view of reality that makes contemplative practice make sense.
4 modules · 3 bonus lectures · start any time
The text broadly considered the founding scripture of Kashmir Śaivism is the Śiva Sūtras. Composed by Vasugupta and regarded by the tradition as a “revealed” text, or āgama, it is one of the great foundational texts of yoga philosophy.
This course is for modern practitioners looking for a context of knowledge that situates the experience of individuality within a larger picture of reality. The Śiva Sūtras offer an inspiring account of how to cultivate meaning in this lifetime, one that resists being reduced either to religious doctrine or to the cosmic meaninglessness of a relativistic worldview.
From fragmentation to integration: forge a connection between the microcosm and the macrocosm.
Explore the Śiva Sūtras as a foundational text of yoga philosophy, and why it may be the most central text of all.
How Reality organizes itself in the emanationist cosmology of Śaiva Tantra, compared with other accounts of how reality works.
The key non-dual thinkers, where they overlapped and diverged, and how the Tantric traditions relate to the Pratyabhijñā.
The central yoga practices of the tradition behind the Sūtras: mantra recitation and meditation.
How non-dual Tantric teaching applies to modern householder life.
Recite the Śiva Sūtras over two weeks and begin carrying them with you in practice.
The non-dual philosophy of Kashmir Śaivism and its fundamental principles: the 36 tattvas, and the conception of mind (citta) as the “I-maker” (ahaṃkāra), the pre-egoic awareness space (buddhi), and the mind that meets the world (manas). We begin with the early verses of the third chapter.
Reality as the “dancer” through the image of Śiva as Naṭarāja. How the Sūtras’ practices cultivate the experience of oneself as a refined aesthete (sahṛdaya), the four esoteric practices of dissolution that correspond to the limbs of aṣṭāṅga yoga, and the so-called yogic superpowers.
The four levels of the Word and the methodology of “melting” particular to the Tantric path. The highest Word is the vibratory fabric of Reality itself; our speech is its contraction. Speech, mantra and vibration as gateways to Tantric fulfilment.
The kañcukas that occlude our understanding of the ultimate, and the three malas that arise from the sense of being nothing more than an individual. Māyā, which in the Śaiva-Śākta tradition is not unreal but an expression of śakti, the power of Consciousness.
With Pandit Rajmani Tigunait
Tantra demolishes the wall between mundane and spiritual experience. On the firm foundation of unitary consciousness, its practices offer both bhoga (pleasure) and mokṣa (liberation), here and now.
With Swami Khecaranatha
The non-dual understanding of kuṇḍalinī as both the individuated expression of the Divine and the means to liberation, and the dynamic relationship between Consciousness and energy at the heart of Tantric practice.
With Mary Reilly Nichols
Mary’s personal encounters with Śiva over 40 years, woven with myths, poet-saints and scripture, and how Śiva symbolism holds Tantric keys of liberation for seekers of every background.
Founding Director, Embodied Philosophy
Meditation teacher, writer, philosophy educator, and Founding Director of Embodied Philosophy. His guiding mission is to re-imagine the modern role of the yoga teacher in alignment with the teachings, texts and traditions of yoga’s profound history.
Jacob is a doctoral candidate at the University of Oxford, researching Pratyabhijñā philosophy with Diwakar Acharya and Monima Chadha. He holds an MPhil in Classical Indian Religions from Oxford, an MA in Philosophy from the New School for Social Research, and an MSc in Political Theory from the London School of Economics. He received dīkṣā into a Tantric form of meditation in 2015, studies with Kashmir Śaivism scholar-practitioner Paul Muller-Ortega, and is a devoted practitioner of the Śaiva-Śākta darśana.
A course like this would usually be priced at $149. We offer it by donation so that anyone who wants to study these teachings can. If you’re in a more fluid financial position, you help subsidize those who aren’t. No one is turned away for lack of funds.
Covers your place and helps fund a scholarship for someone who needs it.
A meaningful offering that honors the exchange and keeps these teachings open.
Pay what you can, from $1. Your participation is the offering.
You’ll enter your amount at checkout. Every offering receives the full course and all bonuses.
Refund requests within 30 days are fully honored.
No. Every Sanskrit term is translated and explained, and the course builds the philosophy from the ground up. Longtime students will find plenty of depth.
You get immediate access to all four modules and the three bonus lectures. Watch at your own pace; there are no live sessions and access does not expire.
Choose the amount that fits your situation at checkout. The tiers are a guide: larger offerings help fund scholarships, and no one is turned away for lack of funds. Everyone receives the same course.
You’ll receive an email right away with your access details. If anything goes wrong, reply to that email and our team will help.
Refund requests made within 30 days of purchase are fully honored. Write to hello@embodiedphilosophy.com and we’ll issue your refund within 5 business days.
śivo ’ham
Four modules on the founding text of Kashmir Śaivism.
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