Shaiva Kali: One Hundred Eighteen

The subtle insights of Kashmir Shaivism align remarkably with modern embodied cognition. In both traditions, the mind is not conceived as some abstract, body-disconnected entity; rather, it is understood as a self-organizing, living process profoundly connected to body and environment.

Philosophers Francisco Varela and Evan Thompson, in their theory of Enactive Cognition, explain that the mind is essentially an autopoietic or self-producing system, which constructs itself through its very actions. The mind is not a reflection of some ready-made or fixed reality; instead, it continuously creates reality through its own experience and responses. Just as life builds its own structures—maintaining itself, changing, and reorganizing anew—consciousness too is an unceasing flow, constantly engaged in processes of self-creation, reconstruction, and recognition.

This very conception finds its counterpart in Kashmir Shaivism—in Shiva's spontaneous spanda (svābhāvika spanda). Here, consciousness is not merely static light; it is a joyous vibration that creates the world in its own exuberance and knows itself through that creation. Shiva contains possibility within himself, and when that possibility becomes dynamic, it transforms into Kali—consciousness embodied, as power and manifestation.

Thus, in the language of Shaivism, Shiva and Kali, and in the language of modern science, mind and body—both are two aspects of the same ultimate unity. Consciousness is never outside the body; nor is the body ever outside consciousness. Within one resounds the infinite echo of the other.

Antonio Damasio states in The Feeling of What Happens, "There is no disembodied mind; the mind is embedded in the brain, and the brain is embedded in the body." That is, mind is the extended form of the body itself—thought, feeling, memory—all are deeply interconnected with the body's nervous system. This perspective aligns remarkably with Shaivism's conception of the consciousness-body relationship. There it is said that consciousness (Shiva) never exists without its power or body (Kali); nor is power complete without its conscious foundation. These two are eternally united—two aspects of the same reality: static and dynamic, internal and external, light and its reflection.

Damasio further states, "The self, identity, and personality are not ready-made entities; they are products of countless biological and neural processes." That is, our sense of 'I' is also formed through the active interaction of body and brain. Kashmir Shaivism expresses this same truth at a more profound existential level—the 'soul' is not some static substance, but emerges from the mutual interaction of Shiva (consciousness) and Shakti (movement). This soul is not an object; it is a moving relationship, a self-exploring action.

Shiva is called Svātantrya-śakti—that is, the power of supreme free will or self-governance. Consciousness is itself free, itself creative, itself the determiner of its own laws. It is not controlled by any external cause. This concept resonates deeply with modern enactivism or self-organization theory, as both assert—consciousness or mind is not some static entity, but a self-organized, active process that constructs itself through its own experience.

Enactivism states that organisms and minds do not merely reflect reality; they construct it through interaction with their environment. That is, knowing means participating, and through participation "reality" takes shape. Consciousness here is an active, body-dependent, context-dependent process—never controlled from outside, but spontaneously organized from within.

Similarly, Kashmir Shaivism declares—Shiva-consciousness is not subject to any external power; he is his own source, his own movement, his own regulator. This autonomous power of action is called Svātantrya-śakti—where consciousness freely creates, sustains, and dissolves.

Thus, as enactivism states—"Knowledge means the interaction of body and environment," so too Shaivism declares—"Consciousness means the inner dialogue of Shiva and Shakti." Both are two forms of the same truth: consciousness is a living, self-organizing dance—where knowing, being, and creating flow ceaselessly into one another.

Consciousness is not the result of external command; it is an autonomous self-organization—a living system that creates its own balance and meaning. Kashmir Shaivism's Shiva-Shakti theory and modern embodied cognition both reveal two sides of the same truth: consciousness and body are not separate, but manifest through each other. Without Shiva there is no Kali, and without Kali there is no Shiva—the radiance of consciousness and the movement of body dance in one unbroken vibration.

When we consider cognitive science and Kashmir Shaivism together, a profound parallel emerges—particularly between Kali's arising or consciousness's creative flow and modern psychology's Flow State.

Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi explains "flow" as a state where a person becomes completely absorbed in an activity. Attention becomes so focused that self-consciousness fades, the sense of time alters, and "I" and "action" become one. This is a state of effortless, absorbed concentration, where there is no feeling of thought or effort—only spontaneous action.

This experience is actually the mental reflection of Kali's arising power. Kali, especially in her forms as Raktakali and Samharakali, expresses that state of consciousness where complete absorption in action occurs and the distinction between doer and deed dissolves. Just as in flow, fear, self-doubt, or excessive self-judgment disappear, so in Kali's dance the boundaries of ego and duality melt away—consciousness becomes free, alive, and joyous.

Modern neuroimaging research also supports this parallel. It has been found that in flow states, the brain's Self-Referential Cortical Network or Default Mode Network (DMN)—which is connected to self-monitoring and self-identity—shows significantly reduced activity. This reduction is consistent with "ego dissolution," where the boundaries of "I"-sense are temporarily lost and only conscious action flows.

Thus, flow and arising—both concepts are different languages for the same consciousness-process. Modern science calls it the highest level of attention and creativity; Shaivism calls it the supreme delight of consciousness's vibration—Kali's dance, where knowing, doing, and being merge together.

In meditative traditions, "pure consciousness" or nirvikalpa samadhi refers to a state where consciousness exists without any object or thought as support. This is such profound stillness where the mind is silent yet completely awake—no thoughts, yet awareness remains intact.

Modern research also finds evidence of this experience. Philosopher and neuroscientist Thomas Metzinger and his colleagues' research shows that skilled meditators can indeed experience a kind of "pure awareness state"—a state of consciousness without any ego-sense or self-monitoring. They have identified this state through silence, clarity, stillness, and wakeful presence.

From Kashmir Shaivism's perspective, Kali's ultimate forms—especially Mahakali—symbolize this very "consciousness resting in itself." Mahakali absorbs all impressions, thoughts, or mental movements; then the mind no longer moves toward any object, but rests in Shiva's pure nature—that is, in chit or pristine awareness.

Modern neuroscience finds correspondence here too. According to "Minimal Phenomenal Experience (MPE)" theory, the simplest and most fundamental state of consciousness is such awareness where there is no external object or concept—only naked conscious presence.

Kashmir Shaivism says precisely the same thing. According to them, at the heart of every experience lies Shiva—pure chit, which may be veiled by mental fluctuations but is never destroyed. When that veil is removed through meditation, consciousness shines in its true nature—this state is the goal of Shambhavopaya practice, where the practitioner rests in their inherent awareness without any external support.

Thus, both ancient Shaivism's "chit-sthiti" and modern neuroscience's "pure awareness state" reveal one truth: the deepest level of consciousness is not thought or ego, but silent, non-dual, transparent presence—where mind, body, and world merge in one undivided radiance.

Kali's theory of dissolution or extinction profoundly corresponds with ego-transcendence experiences described in modern neurotheology and social neuroscience. In this state, the individual feels that their personal "I"-sense has dissolved—consciousness seems to expand into limitless unity.

Andrew Newberg's neuroimaging research is particularly significant in this regard. He scanned the brains of deep meditation practitioners and devotional seekers and found that their parietal lobe—which helps determine the boundaries between body and environment—showed significantly reduced activity. This creates that experience where the boundaries of body-mind-world dissolve, and the individual feels a limitless, supreme connection—as if "I and the world are not separate."

Sayad Mansur (2014), analyzing religious and mystical experiences, found three common characteristics—

1. A profound spiritual awe,

2. A sense of unity with the universe, and

3. The dissolution of time, space, and fear.

These three experiences are essentially the mental counterpart of Kali's dissolution-dance—where time stops, fear disappears, and the boundary called "I" melts away.

Research by Judson Brewer and his colleagues on meditation shows that in skilled meditators, the Default Mode Network (DMN)—the center of self-monitoring and self-thought—remains quiet even outside active practice. This reduction in self-referential thinking points precisely to that state known in tantric language as Kali's dance of absorption—where ego, time, and the constructed forms of the world dissolve one by one.

In this state, practitioners or meditators often speak of feeling—"I am nothing" or "I am everything." These apparently contradictory statements are actually two languages for one truth—when ego-boundaries dissolve, the individual experiences themselves not merely as void, but as all-pervading consciousness. This echoes Mahakali's supreme principle—where it is said, "Nothing is born, nothing dies; all is merely consciousness at play."

Modern neuroscience and Shaiva theory together indicate that consciousness's ultimate culmination is this ego-dissolution and great connection—where individual consciousness transcends its boundaries and rests in Shiva's infinite awareness. Kali's dissolution symbolizes this infinite return—where both world and "I" are absorbed into one undivided, radiant ocean of consciousness.

Shadow integration—the path to light through darkness. One of Kali's distinctive features is her fierceness—she does not push darkness away, but embraces it. This symbolic attitude profoundly corresponds with Carl Jung's famous concept of "Shadow" in psychological terms. Jung states that however civilized, controlled, or rational human consciousness may appear, hidden in its depths lie aspects it refuses to acknowledge—fear, anger, lust, inferiority, guilt, envy—all together, this unconscious aspect is its "shadow."