Kashmiri Shaivism or Trika

A Criticism of Orientology, as exemplified by Andre Padoux's "Vac: The Concept of the Word in Selected Hindu Tantras" and the contemporary writings of other Orientologists as Alexis Sanderson, from a Traditional Viewpoint

Aparāparā, Parā and Aparā on the trident.

This is an article to aid Orientology to move onwards and advance scholarship. It is not intended in any other manner, that is, to undermine any one or criticize others for the sake of it. Not only is this article to advance scholarship, but also spirituality. That is, aspiring practitioners should know that the accuracy of their practice is important if they are undertaking a spiritual journey. How can an inaccurate doctrine lead one to liberation, except the mere belief that one is liberated? Thus this article is also to aid spiritualists, especially Shaivites, and especially Kashmiri Shaivites, to have a correct understanding of their ideology.

This article criticizes not only Orientology's infamous methodology in studying the Indic, Buddhist and other Asiatic traditions, but also their inability to understand the Veda, Agamas, and the Tantras. We are also pointing towards a new direction in these studies, which is the traditional or natural stand, as represented by these authors, different to that of the orthodoxy of India today.

We are also criticizing the inability of Orientologists to move forward and use modern information, that is, Psychology and Sociology. The Orientologists' sense of the world is colonial and many Orientologists are trapped within a sense of Supremacy and the fossilized culture of the colonial past. Often the conservatives of the West, in their eagerness to prove their false sense of supremacy, pursue this career.

This false sense of Supremacy is based on latent fear. It is narcissist and dysfunctional as far as Psychology understands. The fact that the institution of Orientology has not progressed yet is of grave concern, as it is only this branch of study that perpetuates hate, which has its roots in self hate. This self hate is, in a sense, the hate towards other's progress that Orientologists see as rivalry and they instead put others down so as to feel useful to humanity... (continues)

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