Camatkara: The Hidden Path (Igor Kufayev)

[My 4-star review of Camatkara: The Hidden Path by Igor Kufayev.]

This book, by spiritual teacher Igor Kufayev, was sent to me to review by someone who values my opinion. Because it is a short book--130 pages--I decided to read it twice before reviewing it. In short, this book is an interesting and worthwhile read, even though it is teeming with statements I find problematic. Because it’s a unique, copacetic, and informative read, I’d give it 4 stars on a 5-star rating scale.

I’ll start my review with “the bad” in the book, then cite “the good,” and conclude with a summary.

THE BAD

Kufayev writes: “This is Camatkara—the perpetual sense of wonder. It is the delight that rises spontaneously from the void of the heart, from the core of our being, whenever and wherever we behold beauty in any of its forms. Therefore seek beauty and you will find God.”

Why is the title of the book Camatkara: The Hidden Path? Because spiritual traditions do not teach it as a path. And they don’t because seeking beauty is not a tenable spiritual path. Even Kashmir Shaivism, the tradition that Kufayev’s teachings are based on, does not teach it as a path (one of the Four Means). And, of course, attachment to beauty—for example, in the form of a beautiful woman, can lead many to suffering and delusion, rather than to God.

Kufayev’s apotheosis of beauty makes no sense. He writes: “For beauty here, cannot be separate from truth… what is set to save the world is the realization of beauty, as an ability to cognize truth in the most direct of ways.”

Truth—which Kufayev cannot properly define—can be cold, hard, and ugly. For example, there is nothing beautiful about recognizing sobering facts; for example, that Dr. Anthony “Start the Virus, Sell the Cure” Fauci not only funded the gain-of-function research that produced the COVID virus, but that his Big Pharma-supporting lies and propaganda regarding the “vaccine” (which is NOT a vaccine, but genetic engineering) has kill millions of people, with millions more to follow. In short, it is absurd to conflate truth and beauty.

Unbeknownst to Kufayev, there can be no appreciation of “beauty” except in relation to ugliness. And what initially appears as beautiful can lose its appeal when our (always limited) senses become numb to it, or our taste changes. The Islamic terrorists (and mega-millions of Muslims) who saw beauty, in the World Trade Center towers being toppled and thousands of Americans being incinerated are proof that beauty does equate to, let alone lead to, truth

Kufayev writes: “If everything is made out of Consciousness and is Consciousness, as Consciousness, how can there be any ‘nature’ of ultimate reality? Therefore, Nothing exists that is not Siva. Nothing exists that is not ultimate reality. This understanding alone, when truly cognized, has the capacity to unveil and liberate our perception, which is at the base of all our experiences.”

Unbeknownst to Kufayev, everything that exists is NOT Siva, but merely a manifestation of Siva, or Being-Consciousness. If your BM is Siva, why do you flush it down the toilet instead of worshiping it? Everything manifest that exists is NOT ultimate reality, but phenomenal reality, which appears and disappears. Ultimate, unmanifest reality neither appears nor disappears, but subsists outside space-time.

Kufayev writes: “As soon as the object of experience is being perceived, it collapses back onto itself.” This is complete nonsense, as is much of what Kufayev says.

Kufayev writes: When one is able to tap into this deeper perception, one no longer sees the object as separate from the subject.” Again, more nonsense. Separate subjects and objects is an immutable reality in phenomenal existence.

Kufayev writes: “What we call, by definition, a “spiritual experience,” is simply the reversal of one sort or another, where the tattvas begin to collapse back into their preceding order.” Wrong. A spiritual experience is only the direct, conscious experience of Spirit, or Shakti, itself.

I could go on and on commenting on what I perceive as “bad” takes by Kufayev on spirituality and spiritual path, but because this is just a book review and not a book, I’ll move on to the “good” takes he provides.

THE GOOD

Kufayev makes some good arguments for Tantra:

“This echoes the tantric understanding that energy cannot be destroyed, but it can be transformed. And this potential for transformation is in relation to everything, including the internal work we do individually. Whatever stands in the way of our freedom cannot be ‘gotten rid of,” it has to be transmuted.”

“One of the ways of looking at spiritual work in terms of what it truly represents is being able to metabolize undigested impressions and experiences and integrate them all into the fabric of our awareness.”

From the Tantric perspective, all the limitations we are faced with in life are meant to be offered into the fire of self-awareness. Nothing that stands in our way of freedom and happiness must be offered into that flame.”

Kufayev, interestingly, contrasts the views of Advaita Vedanta and Kashmir Shaivism regarding individual creativity. He argues that the Advaita Vedanta does not “afford the possibility of considering creativity as being anything other than causal in its essence.” In contrast, he cites the foundational Kashmir Shaivism guru-philosopher Abhinavagupta, of whom Kufayev writes: “Not only did he rehabilitate the creative act, he redefined the purpose of life and restored the integrity of being human.”

Kufayev also, interestingly, elaborates on the Theory of Rasas developed by Bharata Muni. Kufayev writes:

“In the Natyasastra, Bharata Muni describes eight main rasas: the amorous (love), the humorous (joy), the pathetic (sadness), the furious (fury), the heroic (valor), the terrifying (fear), the wondrous/odious (disgust), and the marvelous (wonder). Each of these rasas is unique, and each brings about a certain psychophysical state of being when deliberately invoked through a work of art.”

Abhinavagupta applied the eight rasas to Kashmir Shaivism, and identified a ninth; Kufayev explains:

“In addition to the eight rasas, Abhinavagupta also identified a final, ninth rasa: santa or santam, which stands for that deep sense of relaxation, calmness and repose one “falls into” in the aftermath of an aesthetically charged experience. At times spoken of as an “aesthetic rapture,” Santa Rosa propels one’s consciousness through successive stages being pulled in, immersion, engagement, absorption and satisfaction, just as in the classical yogic process exemplified by concentration (dharana), meditation (dhyana) and absorption (samadhi). These stages culminate in santa rasa, the “flavor of peace,” as a satisfying convergence of experience.”

Kufayev continues on the theory of Rasas:

“It's hard to imagine the development of classical art forms without Bharata Muni’s treatise on drama, yet it is to Abhinavagupta that we are truly indebted for applying the Theory of Rasas to the experience of our divine essence in any creative act, something which has made Kashmir Shaivism into an artist’s philosophy. The recognition of santa rasa essentially rehabilitated creativity and kept it from being dismissed as a mere psychic tendency…

“The Theory of Rasas produced one of the most unusual of Tantric practices: Rasa Sadhana, which stands in stark contrast to other esoteric views on the origin and purpose of human emotions. Instead of maintaining an attitude of indifference towards the full range of emotional states. Tantra works with all of them.”

Kufayev’s discourse on Tantra includes the role the body plays in the transformation of consciousness. He also considers tantra’s other distinctive feature: “Its vast knowledge of the subtler realm where the physical body--made up of seven tissues of plasma, blood muscle, fat, bone, marrow and reproductive fluid---is but an outer manifestation. Often referred to as spiritual anatomy the intricate network made of countless pathways of prana, and its principle wheels of energy, together, comprise the subtle body. The subtle body is a repository of psychic impressions, a storehouse of subconscious material that lies at the basis of all our thinking, feeling, and behavior neatly hidden beneath the surface of what we often call ‘the human condition.’”

Most importantly, Kufayev understands that the essence of Kashmir Shaivism pertains to receiving Grace (Saktipat). He writes:

“When it comes to immersion into divine Consciousness, it is all down to Grace. Literally, the degrees of immersion could be seen as expressions of the descending power of Grace (Saktipat). The intensity of Grace is what determines the way all these states are experienced. Moreover, the intensity of the grace-descending power of Siva is inseparable from the rising power of bliss (Ananda).”

Kufayev understands that Enlightenment boils down to being possessed by the Divine. He writes:

“To continue, it would serve us to redefine Samavesa by giving the term more of a cutting-edge interpretation as an act of repossession. Which in relation to the psychological side of the process could be viewed as being taken over by the power that is foundational to that which we consider ourselves to be in a state of forgetfulness. It is a mysterious process spoken of in Tantra as re-possession by the Deity.”

Unfortunately, regarding the Divine Means (Sambhava upaya) that leads to Sambhava-samavesa (immersion into Siva-consciousness), Kufayev’s description of it virtually apes Kashmir Shavism scholar Jaideva Singh’s, and is not only verbally clumsy, but lousy and inaccurate. Kufayev writes:

“The operating principle of this immersion is Iccha-Sakti as the power of Will directed towards the Ultimate reality. It requires infusing everything with I-Consciousness as Pure Subjectivity at the core of all that is experienced, in a thought-free awareness, embracing everything within oneself in n undifferentiated manner of absorption into the bliss of one’s own Self.”

If Kufayev wants to get clear on the direct Divine Means to enter into Samavesa, he should read my books Electrical Christianity and Radical Dzogchen.

SUMMARY

The Good in this book well outweighs the Bad. Moreover, the book provides unique information and perspectives that I hadn’t previously encountered in my deep and wide reading. The physical book itself is a work of art, crafted to be an aesthetically pleasing object. And the writing, for the most part, is also pleasing. I think highly enough of this book that I am contemplating including it on my Spiritual Reading List.