Stanzas on Vibration

In his Doctrine of Vibration, the author presents a synthesis of Kashmir Shaivism—an overview with Spanda as the central theme. Spanda is the vibratory dynamism of the absolute consciousness. In this book the author focuses on the school of Kashmir Shaivism that presents this doctrine as its cardinal principle and whose literature consists essentially of the works translated here.

In his Introduction and in his exposition of the four commentaries, the author shows both how the Spanda tradition contributes to the other schools of Kashmir Shaivism and how it is different from them. He presents for the first time a detailed treatment of this tradition and an analysis of its development. The aim is to offer a method that affords access by the general reader to the wonderful world of the Spanda Yogi through which she travels to the liberating realization of her authentic identity vibrant with the vitality of the universal pulse of Shiva.

Mark S. G. Dyczkowski took his first degree at Banaras Hindu University and then his doctorate at Oxford. He is presently associated with Sampurnananda Sanskrit University in Varanasi. He is the author of The Doctrine of Vibration: An Analysis of the Doctrine and Practices of Kashmir Shaivism; The Canon of the Saivagama and the Kubjikā Tantras of the Western Kaula Tradition; and Aphorisms of Śiva: The ŚivaSūtra with Bhāskara's Commentary, all published by SUNY Press.