Freedom Through Union with the Pure Principle — Shiva Sutra 1.16

Presented as an alternative method (indicated by the word 'va,' meaning 'or'), this sutra describes a second pathway to the same liberating recognition discussed in the previous sutra: through shuddhatattva-sandhana, sustained union or absorption of awareness with the pure Shiva-tattva, the practitioner attains apashu-shakti, the power or condition of being 'not an animal,' that is, freed from the bound, limited, herd-like condition of the ordinary pashu, or unliberated individual soul. Kshemaraja explains that 'pashu' in tantric terminology designates the bound being who identifies exclusively with the finite body-mind complex, subject to the constraints of Maya's kanchukas discussed in sutra three, likened to cattle bound by a rope of ignorance to the post of limited selfhood. By contrast, sustained meditative union with shuddha-tattva, the first, purest principle of manifestation closely identified with Shiva's own essential nature prior to the descent into the impure tattvas of differentiated experience, dissolves this bound condition, granting the practitioner the freedom and sovereignty characteristic of a liberated being no longer subject to such constraint. This sutra is presented as an alternative to the heart-centered absorption of sutra fifteen, suggesting that Kashmir Shaivism recognizes multiple valid approaches suited to different temperaments: some practitioners may find heart-centered meditation more accessible, while others may progress more readily through direct contemplative identification with the pure principle itself. Practically, this method might involve sustained contemplation on one's essential identity as Shiva-tattva itself, repeatedly returning attention to this pure, unconditioned aspect of being whenever awareness of limitation or bondage arises, gradually replacing habitual identification with the pashu-condition with steady recognition of one's true, unbound nature as pure consciousness.