Vijñānabhairava is a Trika and Tantra Scripture, wherein Śiva teaches His Consort Śakti, one hundred and
twelve methods of contemplations to realize Him. As far as Trika Philosophy is
concerned, it uses many complicated Sanskrit words and unless one understands
the meaning of technical Sanskrit words in detail, it could be difficult to
understand the full glory of this great Scripture. A sincere attempt has been
made in this book to avoid all complicated words and make the teachings of Śiva
as simple as possible. The main idea of this book is to discuss about one
hundred and twelve contemplations in very simple terms, without loosing sight
on the focus of this sacred Scripture. All these contemplations can be easily
practiced at home.
The entire text is in the form of divine conversation between Śiva
and Śakti. Śakti asks Her Lord Śiva and gets clarifications on some of Her
doubts and that is how this ancient Scripture has come into existence. The text
has one hundred and sixty three aphorisms. Mind is the only factor in God
realization. When a practitioner is able to dissolve his mind into the supreme
consciousness of Bhairava, he becomes Bhairava himself. Tantra is based on the
principle of accepting one as himself. In
yoga one has to dissolve himself into That. The aim of both tantra and yoga are
the same, realising the Self within, but the path taken by both are different.
For practicing tantra, one need not have extensive knowledge. Understanding
certain technical terms are necessary to achieve rapid progress. In yoga one
has to fight against the principles of nature but in tantra one continues to
remain with the nature. However, practice is important in both.
As far as possible, Sanskrit alphabets have been avoided and
are used only in a very few places. However, IAST (International Alphabet for
Sanskrit Transliteration) format is used through out the book, so that original
glory of Sanskrit pronunciation is not lost. The basic idea of the book is to
explain the teachings of Śiva in simplest terms possible and the book does
not dwell at length about Trika Philosophy.