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Suhrawardī, Abhinavagutpa and the Metaphysics of Light SUHRAWARDĪ, ABHINAVAGUTPA AND THE METAPHYSICS OF LIGHT by Kirk Templeton A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the California Institute of Integral Studies in Partial Fulfillment of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Philosophy and Religion with a concentration in Asian and Comparative Studies California Institute of Integral Studies San Francisco, CA 2013 I certify that I have read SUHRAWARDĪ, ABHINAVAGUPTA AND THE METAPHYSICS OF LIGHT by Kirk Templeton and in my opinion this work meets the criteria for approving a dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for Doctor of Philosophy in Philosophy and Religion with a concentration in Asian and Comparative Studies at the California Institute of Integral Studies. Jim Ryan, Ph.D., Chair, Asian and Comparative Studies Bahman Shirazi, Ph.D., Faculty, California Institute of Integral Studies Mohammad Azadpur, Ph.D., Professor, San Francisco State University ©2013 Kirk Templeton Kirk Templeton California Institute of Integral Studies, 2013 Jim Ryan Ph.D., Committee Chair SUHRAWARDĪ, ABHINAVAGUPTA AND THE METAPHYSICS OF LIGHT ABSTRACT The doctrine of the metaphysics of Light was a powerful current of thought that flowed through Western philosophy from ancient times down through the Renaissance. It taught that reality was essentially and fundamentally Light, not in a metaphorical but in a proper sense. Moreover, this Light was understood to both emanate being and illuminate cognition. The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate the possibility that the doctrine of the metaphysics of Light also appeared in the systems of two other philosophers: Shihāb al-Din Suhrawardī, a Persian philosopher of the 12th century, and Abhinavagupta, a great Kashmir Śaivite philosopher of the tenth century. Suhrawardī worked within the Islamic philosophical tradition and so had direct historical connections with the Neoplatonic sources of the metaphysics of Light in the West. He also claimed Persian, Egyptian, Babylonian and Indian sources for his Light doctrine. Abhinavagupta had no attested historical connections with either Suhrawardī or Neoplatonism. Yet there are iv remarkable and striking similarities in the systems of Suhrawardī and Abhinavagupta in both ontology and epistemology that identify them with the doctrine of the metaphysics of Light. The situation with regard to cosmology is more complex. Suhrawardī enunciates a system of emanation similar to that of his Neoplatonic forbearers. Abhinavagupta enunciates a system of emanation, but its categories are radically different from Neoplatonism. Combined with Suhrawardī’s invocation of ancient sources, this suggests that both Suhrawardī and Abhinavagupta taught a true metaphysics of Light, but that the context of the doctrine itself should be extended beyond Neoplatonism to include traditions from Iran and India. v Acknowledgements First and foremost, my deepest thanks go to my guru and fellow śakta Jim Ryan, who first introduced me to the wonders of Indian thought, and whose patience and wisdom have guided me throughout this project. He embodies in fullest measure the ideal of the integral scholar. I owe a similar profound debt to Mohammad Azadpur, who opened the treasure house of Islamic philosophy to me. Bahman Shirazi has been a constant source of deep insight and knowledge expressed with a constant and gentle grace and good humor. I must also acknowledge Mark Dyczkowski, who has honored me with both his teaching and friendship, and John Glanville, my magister in the magnificent edifice of Thomism. Both my Sanskrit and spirit have benefitted immeasurably from the teaching and friendship of Shanta and Indira Bulkin. No scholar’s work is his alone and to the extent that there is any virtue and value in these pages, it derives in great measure from what I have gleaned from the scholarship and support of my collegues at CIIS, especially Stephan Julich, Aaron Weiss, Sean MacCracken and Kundan Singh. Finally I must thank my daughter Sara, whose love and laughter have lighted my way on our travels together along the Golden Road to Samarkand. vi ॐ ऐँ श्री सरस्वत्यै नमः स्तौमम त्ववां त्ववां च वन्द े मम खल ु रसन 車 नो कद चित ् त्यजेथ 賈 vii List of Abbreviations Bhagavad Gītā BG Augustine, Confessions Conf Aristotle, De Anima DeAn Alexander of Aphrodisias, De Anima DeAn(Al) Diogenes Laertes, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers DL Plotinus, Enneads Enn Emerald Tablet of Hermes ET Avicenna, Fī Maqāmāt al-‘ārifīn FMā Suhrawardī, Ḥikmat al-Ishraq ḤI Utpaladeva, Īśvara-pratyabhijñā-kārikā ĪPK Abhinavagupta, Īsvara-pratyabhijñā-vimarśini ĪPv Suhrawardī, Kitāb al-mashāri’ wa’l-muṭāriḥat KMM Avicenna, Kitab al-Nafs KN Kashmiri Series of Texts and Studies KSTS Al-Ghazālī, Mishkāt al-Anwar MA Al-Fārabi, Mābadi’ ārā Ahl-Madina al-Fādila MFā Maheśvarānanda. Mahārthamañjarī MM Avicenna, Manṭiq al-mashriqīyīn MMq Mahānirvānatantra MnT Suhrawardī, al-Mashāri’ wa’l-Muṭāraḥāt MwM viii Duns Scotus, Ordinatio Ord Parmenides, Proem Parm Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations PI Abhinavagupta, Paramārthasāra PS Parātrīśikā Vivaraṇa PTv Kṣemaraja, Pratyabhijñāhŗdayam PrHr Plato, Republic Rep ṚgVeda ṚV Aquinas, Summa Contra Gentiles SCG Avicenna, Kitab al-Shifā Shifā Iśvarakṛṣṇa, Sāmkhya Kārikā SK Śiva Śūtra ŚSū Spanda Kārikās SpK Abhinavagupta, Tantrāloka TĀ Abhinvagupta, Tantrasāra TS Bhatṛhari, Vākyapadīya VP Zoroaster, Yasna Yas Vyasa, Yoga Bhāṣya YB Patañjali, Yoga Sūtra YS ix TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………………………………iv Acknowledgements……………………………………………………………………………………….vi Dedication…………………………………………………………………………………………………….vii List of Abbreviations…………………………………………………………………………………….viii Chapter 1: Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………..1 Purpose and Contribution of the Study…………………………………………………9 Review of Scholarship………………………………………………………………………….12 Methodological Considerations……………………………………………………………22 Limitations of the Study……………………………………………………………………….31 Structure of the Study………………………………………………………………………….35 Chapter 2: The Historical Context……………………………………………………………………39 Neoplatonism and Indian Philosophy—The Question of Influence………..43 Suhrawardī and Abhinavagupta in Historical Context…………………………..56 Suhrawardī: Life and Works…………………………………………………………….……78 The Historical Context of the Metaphysics of Light in Suhrawardī’s Ḥikmat al-Ishrāq……………………………………………………………………………………83 Abhinavagupta: Life and Works…………………………………………….…………….116 x The Historical Context of Light in Abhinavagupta’s Anuttara Trika Kula…………………………………………………………………………………………………… 121 Conclusions Concerning the Question of Context ……………..………………..132 Chapter 3: Light and Being………………………………………………………………………………139 Light and Being in Suhrawardī’s Ḥikmāt al-ishrāq………………………………..143 Light and Being in Abhinavagupta’s Anuttara Trika Kula……………………. 164 Comparing Light and Being in Suhrawardī’s Ḥikmat al-ishrāq and Abhinavagupa’s Anuttara Trika Kula……………………………………………….…..182 Chapter 4: Light and Cognition..……………………………………………………………….…....190 Light and Cogntion in Suhrawardī’s Ḥikmāt al-Ishrāq………………………..…196 Light and Cognition in Abhinavagupta’s Anuttara Trika Kula……………….211 Comparing Light and Cognition in Suhrawardī’s Ḥikmat al-ishrāq and Abhinavagupa’s Anuttara Trika Kula……………………………………………………227 Chapter 5: Light and Emanation………………………………………………………………………232 Light and Emanation in Suhrawardī’s Ḥikmāt al-ishrāq………….…………….237 Light and Emanation in Abhinavagupta’s Anuttara Trika Kula……………..245 Comparing Light and Being in Suhrawardī’s Ḥikmat al-ishrāq and Abhinavagupa’s Anuttara Trika Kula……………………………………………………257 Chapter 6: Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………….267 References……………………………………………………………………………………………………..284 xi CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION The term “metaphysics of light” was first coined by Clemens Baeumker in 1916 (McVoy Grossteste 87). It has been employed ever since in studies of the Western history of philosophy to designate a powerful and pervasive current of philosophical, mystical and theological thought that runs right through European culture from ancient times down to the Renaissance. In terms of scholarly practice, it has been used most often, perhaps, within the study of Medieval Philosophy, but even there it has been admitted of having a wider application. The purpose of this study is to investigate the possibility that the doctrine of the metaphysics of Light also appeared in the systems of two other philosophers: Shihāb al-Din Suhrawardī, a Persian philosopher of the 12th century, and Abhinavagupta, the great Kashmir Śaivite philosopher of the tenth century. The possibility of extending the doctrine to non-Western philosophers in this way may also have implications for how the doctrine is understood within the Western academy and this issue will also be examined. In Western scholarship, the doctrine is typically traced to Greek philosophy, for as a major scholar of the tradition, James McVoy, has written: 1 “As a symbol for human knowledge, the interplay of light and sight is omnipresent in Greek intellectual culture and its heirs” (“Light” 126). Arguably, elements of the doctrine could be found in Parmenides (fl. c. 5th century BCE) with his use of light and darkness as cosmological principles. While Plato (429- 327 BCE) was not himself an explicit exponent of the doctrine, his treatment of light and the sun were so seminal that the metaphysics of Light1 has been associated with Platonism ever since. Philo of Alexandria (20 BCE-50 CE) taught the doctrine, along with other Middle Platonists such as Clement of Alexandria (c. 150-215 CE)
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