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Light on Tantra of Kashmir Shaivism, Abhinavagupta's Tantraloka
Volume 4, Chapter Five

Revealed by Swami Lakshmanjoo

The Tantrāloka is a voluminous masterwork of the 10th-century philosopher-saint Abhinavagupta. It is a veritable encyclopedia of non-dual Shaivism, a spiritual treasure-trove containing a glorious synthesis of all the schools that make up Kashmir Shaivism, also known as Trika.
 
Previously, in chapter two of the Tantrāloka, Abhinavagupta delineated the means (upāya) of anupāya (lit., no means) for the immediate recognition (pratyabhijñā) of God consciousness, and in chapters three and four, he detailed śāmbhavopāya (the means of Śiva) and śāktopāya (the means of Śiva’s energy) for the realization of Universal God consciousness. 

From this fifth chapter onwards, Abhinavagupta directs our attention to the various practices associated with the so-called lowest upāya, āṇavopāya, the means pertaining to the individual (aṇu). Swamiji informs us, however,

“You should not think when you adopt the means of āṇavopāya you are adopting the inferior means. It is not inferior means, it is actually the real means, the real way.”