Essential Spanda: The Heart of Trika Philosophy

Spanda means “pulsation” or “vibration.” It is a central stream within the Trika philosophy of Kashmir and expresses a vision of reality as dynamic and alive. From this view, Shiva—pure Consciousness—is not static but ever-pulsating, allowing the world to rise and fall in endless rhythm. Spanda is a full philosophical system, complete with its own metaphysics and epistemology. It is also the foundation for the philosophy of Shakti.

In this course, Acharyaji reads Spanda Saṃdoha, a key text in this tradition. It is Kṣemarāja’s commentary on the opening verse of the Spanda Kārikā. Unlike broad survey courses that summarize major texts, this one takes an analytical approach. It focuses closely on each word of Kṣemarāja’s writing. The course is divided into two parts.

The first part includes three introductory lectures. Although Spanda Saṃdoha itself serves as an introduction, these initial talks are meant for complete beginners and offer the context needed to understand the heart of this philosophy of dynamism.

The second part includes eight lectures that explore the text in detail, line by line.

The fourth and final sessions of the live course were devoted to open discussion and each lecture also included a 30-minute Q&A period.

This self-paced course contains 11 video lectures and 13 Q&A recordings.

Section 1: Introduction to Spanda

Lectures 1-3
Open Discussion

Section 2: Spanda Saṃdoha

Lectures 4-11
Open Discussion