69. SAIVA BASIS OF ABHINAVA'S ÆSTHETICS 75

SAIVA BASIS OF ABHINAVA'S ÆSTHETICS 75

thought by some. He was a critic of the Vedanta. His æsthetic theory accordingly is not based on the Vedanta but on the Saiva Philosophy. We shall, therefore, give a brief account of his general philosophy, with a little detailed exposition of those points which have a direct bearing on his æsthetics. / RATIONAL MYSTICISM OF ABHINAVAGUPTA. Abhinavagupta may be spoken of as a mystic in so far as he discards all pluralism in his system and holds the Reality to be Absolute unity, thoroughly indescribable, identical with the equally indescribable essence of human soul and to be realisable through intuition, attainable through disciplined life. But he is a rationalist also, inasmuch as he rationally justifies what mystic vision reveals. Thus he is a rational mystic, because his philosophical ideas are based not only on super-sensuous experience but also on Reason.

HIS IDEALISM. He may also be called an idealist in so far as he holds (i) that Reality is ideal and not sensuous, (ii) that all knowledge is conceptual ; that the object of knowledge is nothing more than a mere configuration of universals, (iii) that the universal is real; it is not subjective; it is not a product of individual mind; it has an independent being and is known through reason alone, (iv) that Reality is distinct from appearance, the former has absolutely independent being, but the latter depends upon the former, (v) that thought and being are identical; there is nothing apart from thought; thought itself is thing, (vi) that objective and subjective reasons are identical; the process of the world- reason is identical with that of the reason operative in the individual mind.

76 гогтентая CHAPTER Iİ

PLACE OF OTHFR SCHOOLS OF THOUHT IN ABHINAVA'S SYSTEM. Like Hegel, Abhinavagupta also assigns definite places to other systems in his philosophy. Thus he holds that the highest spiritual principle, grasped by the Vedantins, the Brahman, is nothing but the Sadasiva, the third category of his system. Buddhism in general, he places at the level of Buddhi Tattva. The highest principle of Nihilistic Buddhism he identifies with Sunya Pramata. And the ultimate principle of the Sankhya he holds to be the same as the Purusa Tattva, as conceived by him. The fact is that he has incorporated in his comprehensive system, the fundamentals of both the Sankhya and the Vedanta systems. Thus he borrows twenty-four categories and Purușa from the Sankhya, the Maya from the Vedantin and adds to them ten more categories; five of which are transcendental and the remaining five are limitations of the individual subjects. Thus we have the thirty six categories of his system. At the top of them all he places his Absolute (Anuttara), of which the categories are mere manifestations. MYSTIC CONCEPTION OF THE ABSOLUTE (ANUTTARA). We have already said that Abhinava is a rational mystic. His Absolute is not only what reason by its very nature is forced to admit, but also what pure spiritual experience reveals. From mystical point of view it is the Reality, beyond which there is nothing. It is, therefore, free from all limitations. It is indefinable in terms of ordinary everyday life. It cannot be spoken of as "this" or "that" or as "not -- this" or "not-that". The limited mind cannot grasp it, and, therefore, no talk about it is possible. It is not a thing to be perceived or conceived, but simply to be realised. Whatever word or words we may use to indicate its nature, we fail to convey the idea of its real