[3]: 254 Etymologically, pratyabhijñā is formed from prati- ("re-") + abhi- ("closely") + *jñā ("to know"), so the meaning is "direct knowledge of one's self," "recognition.
[3]: 254 The Pratyabhijñā system had a period of intense development between the ninth and the eleventh centuries,[6]: 409 with a lineage of masters and disciples who wrote treatises and mystical poetry.
The name of the school is derived from the title of this work; in the rest of India, the whole Kashmiri Shaivite philosophy was sometimes referred to by the name Pratyabhijñā Śāstra.
[9][8] The disciple of Abhinavagupta, Kshemaraja, wrote a digest of the Pratyabhijñā philosophy called Pratyabhijñāhṛdayam,[4]: 3 [6]: 305 The Essence of Re-cognition, which is the most popular introduction to the system.
[citation needed] With regard to the problem of how the world comes by, Utpaladeva rejects the Advaita Vedānta theory of eternal and independent ignorance (avidyā),[10] which affirms that brahman (the absolute consciousness) is being affected by avidyā (eternal ignorance) by superimposition, with a resulting enslavement of the inactive, subject consciousness to worldly life.
A liberated jīva, in Advaita Vedānta, is freed from the universe—but here, in Kashmir Shaivism, the universe appears as the real I-consciousness, a mass of consciousness and bliss.
[4]: 24 In the context of Kashmiri Shaivism, Pratyabhijñā is sometimes classified as śāmbhavopāya[11] (the path of Shambhu, i.e., Śiva), and at other times as aṇupāya (the non-path).
[10] In his philosophical treatise Īśvara-pratyabhijñā-kārikā, Utpaladeva also rejects the vasana theory (the dream model of the world) of the Sautrāntika school of Buddhist philosophy; he suggests another model for idealism: Śiva, who is pure consciousness, manifests all objects internally, by virtue of his free will, svātantrya, and the objects appear as real and external to limited beings.
The difference in Pratyabhijñā is that the cause of manifestation is not an eternal separate principle of ignorance (avidyā), but the will of Śiva, and the creation itself is ontologically real, not just an illusion.
[20][21] Paradoxically, even though ābhāsas have the nature of consciousness, they also exist externally on account of being manifested through the occultation power (maya) by Śiva.
[22] An advanced meditator is capable of seeing the world as ābhāsa, a flash of consciousness (cit) and bliss (ānanda), identical with his own self (ātman) and non-differentiated (abheda).
The theory of svātantrya affirms that Śiva, the fundamental Reality, appears as distinct subjects and objects, but this does not conceal his real nature.
[26] In order to open jīvātman towards external objects it is placed within the subtle body, also known as the mental apparatus or puryaṣṭaka – the eight gated fortress of the soul.
The eight gates are the five elements – earth, water, fire, air, aether plus the sensorial mental (manas), ego (ahamkāra) and intellect (buddhi).
[26] The māla (meaning "dirt" or "impurity") [28] theory states that the infinite self, atman, is reduced and limited by three forces produced by Śiva.
[33] Of the three limitations, only the first one, āṇava māla, which is the basis of the other two, is impossible to surpass through effort alone, without the help of divine grace (śaktipāt).
Its essence is limitation of the power of action and the illusion of individual agency, the effect of which is the accumulation of karma in the causal body.
The middle has multiple meanings here: in its most basic form, it refers to the psychic channel passing through the spine (suṣumnā nādī) which is physically the central axis of the body.
This process is described with such metaphors as "hathapaka" meaning violent digestion, devouring something whole, in one gulp[45] and "alamgrasa" – complete consumption of the experience.
The most direct application of pañca-kṛtya (the observation of the five actions of consciousness) is Vikalpa Kshaya, literally meaning "dissolution of thoughts".
Dualizing thought constructs must be eliminated and in their place the light and ecstasy of pure awareness shines as the real nature of cognition.
[43] Repeating the gesture of vikalpa-kṣaya with all thoughts, as they appear, there is a gradual transformation at the subconscious level (causal body), leading towards identity with Śiva.
In order to capture the underlying consciousness on the surface of which vikalpas have their play, the yogi enters a state of surrender, or, in other words an "alert passivity", because the use of force in this case would only lead to more mental agitation.
An accumulation of repeated experiences of identification with ātman in a state of intoxication with bliss form the foundation for stable samādhi.
[61] Vaha-cheda (cutting the two vital currents, prāṇa and apāna) leads to illumination by resting the ascending and descending vayus in the heart.
[62] By bringing a cessation to the dualizing activity of prāṇa and apāna, equilibrium is reached, and in this superior condition the true nature of the heart shines forth.
This paradoxical concept acts as a mechanism to induce a moment of hiatus in the mental activity, when the tension and pain are cleared.
Śakti-saṅkoca is an illumination technique based on the activation of the heart (the locus of projection of Atman) by retraction of one's energies back into their source.
After letting the sense-organs reach to external objects, by bringing them back into the heart, all the energies of the five senses are accumulated inside (pratyāhara).
[54] Just like a scared tortoise brings its limbs back into the shell, so the yogi should retract his Śaktis (energies of the senses) into ātman.