Indian Philosophy v2.c27.s3.22

v2.c27.s3.22

Recognition (pratyabhijñā) of the reality is all that is needed for release. If the individual soul is one with the universal soul, it may be asked, why is the recognition of the fact necessary? Mādhava answers the question by an analogy. A love-sick woman is not consoled by the mere presence of the lover, she must recognise him to be so. The bondage of ignorance is overcome only by this recognition. When the soul recognises itself as God, it rests in the mystic bliss of oneness with God. According to the Spanda school, the soul gains knowledge through intense yogic contemplation, realises the supremacy of Śiva in the universe and becomes absorbed in the mystic trance of peace and quietness. The three methods of gaining release mentioned in the Śiva Sūtra belong to the Śaiva, the Tantra and the Yoga.