Throbbing Sphuratta in the Philosophy of Kashmir Shaivism

Sunlight filtering through the leaves can serve as a helpful analogy

Throbbing Sphuratta in the Philosophy of Kashmir Shaivism — AI Image by Author.

When I wander in nature, the Japanese word “komorebi” (木漏れ日) always amazes me. Its meaning is related to sunlight filtering through the tree leaves, making patterns on the ground below that are complicated and always changing. This simple yet deep natural thing connects me strongly with the idea of “Sphuratta” in the philosophy of Kashmir Shaivism, flourished in Kashmir, India, between the 8th and 12th centuries CE.

Sphuratta

I’m really interested in how Kashmir Shaivism defines Sphuratta. It’s often translated as “pulsing” or “vibrating”, but also as “bright flashes popping out”. This Sphuratta is the never-ending, ecstatic unfolding of divine consciousness, both in the universe and inside me. When I watch the komorebi, I feel I can make out a deep link between this dance of light and leaves, and the Sphuratta. It’s a resonance that pushes me to understand reality better.

The Pratyabhijna School is a very important philosophical current within Kashmir Shaivism. This school thinks quite differently from other Indian traditions. It goes against the idea of the illusory Maya that Adi Shankara in Advaita Vedanta talks about. It disagrees with Samkhya philosophy’s view of Prakriti as an independent evolving thing that produces effects.

Bright intermittent flashes

According to the principles of the Pratyabhijna School, the vibrations of consciousness known as sphuratta, described as “bright intermittent flashes,” demonstrate that the manifest aspects of the universe are in reality the infinite possibilities already latent within the very heart of Brahman. This vision underscores that the Divine is not to be conceived as a transcendent and separate entity but as radically immanent in the cosmic reality.

Pulsating

Thus, while Shankara proposes an overlaid illusion (Maya) upon the true nature of the Self, and Samkhya delineates an independent evolutionary nature (Prakriti), the Pratyabhijna School affirms that the divine consciousness is intrinsically present and pulsating in every manifest aspect of existence. The vibrations of Sphuratta reveal how the phenomenal world is nothing but the dynamic expression of a self-producing divine unity.

This non-dualist perspective emphasizes the intimate connection between the Divine and the world, rejecting the dichotomy between transcendence and immanence. Rather, it recognizes how the Absolute is at once the inexhaustible source and the living fabric that permeates all things.

In the view of the Pratyabhijna School, the manifest universe is not an illusion to be overcome, but the very self-revelation of the divine Self, in an incessant dance of light and shadow, of finite and infinite.

Komorebi GIF — Sunlight filtering through the leaves — by Wattpad

Komorebi and Sphuratta

In both the phenomena of Komorebi and Sphuratta, I find a reminder that the solid world around me is, at its core, an expression of a vibrant and ever-becoming energy. The fleeting patterns of komorebi highlight the impermanent and mutable nature of reality, just as Sphuratta underscores the dynamism of consciousness, its ceaseless flow of creative energy that gives rise to the innumerable forms and experiences that constitute my world. I am captivated by the web of interconnection of all things, in which every element pulsates to the rhythm of the divine.

When I pause to meditate, I feel I can begin to perceive the subtle pulsations of my consciousness, just as the sunlight filters through the leaves. In those moments of deep inner stillness, my awareness glimpses the glow of my true nature, momentarily piercing the shadows of limited perception. It is like experiencing an echo of komorebi within myself — a sense of light and shadow produced among the leaves, of movement and stillness, that reveals the boundless, creative expanse of consciousness that I am.

And…so?

The beauty of komorebi, as a purely physical, natural phenomenon, can serve as a helpful analogy to better understand the vibrant concept of sphuratta.

Aligning with nature’s rhythms, we discern life’s sacred dance within and around. In light and shadow’s interplay, I see the divine’s ceaseless, ecstatic expression animating all.

This sphuratta, this pulsation of consciousness, is not confined to the external realm, but resonates within the very core of my being, calling me to align with the rhythms of the cosmos.

“..Self-apprehending consciousness is the very self of consciousness.

It is the supreme word (para vak) which always manifests itself by

itself. It is freedom (svatantrya). It is the supreme power of the

highest self. This consciousness is vibratory light (sphuratta). It

is absolute reality (mahasatta) which is beyond spatial and temporal

distinctions. This consciousness being the universal essence is

called the Heart of the Lord..”

(Abhinavagupta)

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