Somananda
Pratyabhijna (Recognition) · c. 875-925 CE
Somananda was a Kashmiri Shaiva philosopher and the teacher of Utpaladeva. His principal work, the Shiva-drishti ('Vision of Shiva'), laid the philosophical groundwork for what his student would formalize as the Pratyabhijna or Recognition school. Somananda's central argument was that the entire universe is nothing other than Shiva's own self-expression -- that Shiva is not merely a transcendent deity but the very substance of all experience, recognizing himself through the act of creation. This view permeates the Tantrasara, particularly in Abhinavagupta's teaching that the Light of Consciousness is both singular and independent, assuming all forms while retaining its formless nature.
Key Teachings
- •The entire universe is Shiva's creative self-expression, not separate from him.
- •Shiva recognizes himself through the act of creation -- the world is his self-awareness in action.
- •There is no gap between the absolute and the relative; Shiva is equally present in all states and all things.
- •Philosophy and direct experience must work together; intellectual understanding supports and is completed by direct recognition.