Shuddha Vidya

The name 'Shuddha Vidya' and the yantra (logo) for this sacred space are inspired by the profound insights of Ācārya Abhinavagupta of Kashmir (10th Century CE). In his framework of the 36 tattvas, Śuddha Vidyā is the fifth and last among the 'pure tattvas' (śuddha tattvas). This symbolism is reflected in the pentagonal form of the sacred logo.

 

At the base of the logo rests a verse from the Āchārya’s own words: 'yatra sāmarasyataḥ sthitā' (where they rest in equipoise....). 

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The Āchārya here points to the subtle equipoise between 'Aham' (the timeless pulse of “I am”) and 'Ayam' (the transient identification of “this”). It is neither the wave wholly severed from the ocean, nor the wave wholly dissolved back into it — but the liminal, shimmering threshold where they coexist. This is like a newly waxing crescent Moon barely freeing itself from the Sun’s embrace — just luminous enough to be seen, yet almost merging with its source. That tender threshold where Śiva and Śakti meet in non-dual embrace is Shuddha Vidya.

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The sacred form depicted in the logo expresses this vision. The greenish-blue left leg descends toward the world, embodying Śakti — Consciousness reaching outward, touching the field of the senses. The golden-orange right leg folds inward, symbolizing Śiva — Awareness drawn back to its transcendent stillness. In their posture is the eternal rhythm of immanence and transcendence, forever intertwined. The luminous crescent moon adorning the head embodies non-dual wisdom: where the fleeting sense of ‘this’ shines gently against the eternal horizon of ‘I am.'

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Cradled in the murti's divine hands is the Veeṇā — the ancient Indian instrument —signifying Parā Vāk: The Primordial Word. Not speech as human tongues utter, bound by contact, grammar, or meaning — but the flawless vibration of Divine Will; the first intention that breathed the universe into being.

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From the crown chakra of this equipoised form flows Gaṅgā — the blissful, perennial stream of wisdom — descending to purify and uplift the karmic realm entangled in harsh dualities. The seat is a delicate lotus in full bloom — radiant emblem of the human heart flowering into childlike innocence and boundless compassion.​ In deep reverence to Āchārya Abhinavagupta — philosopher, yogin, and seer of divine aesthetics — this vision of Shuddha Vidya is offered, not as abstraction, but as living wisdom for seekers today.

 

The mystical pattern of this yantra (logo) itself arose as a quiet revelation during meditation — a reminder that this work is guided not merely by populist notions of desirability, but by the deeper current of intuition and grace.​

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    भेदसंविदहन्तेयं यत्र सामरस्यतः स्थिता ।
    शुद्धा विद्या त्वसौ ज्ञेया शिवैक्याभेददायिनी ॥

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Where the luminous sense of “I-am” and the finite sense of “this” rest in equipoise, there shines Shuddha Vidya — the pure wisdom that bestows non-dual union with Śiva (one's true nature).

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~Āchārya Abhinavagupta