Aesthetic Philosophy of Abhinavagupta

Abhinavagupta propound his Aesthetic philosophy in light of his Tantric philosophy. Tantrism is non-dualistic as it holds the existence of one Reality, the Consciousness. This one Reality, the Consciousness, is manifesting itself in the various forms of knower and known. According to Tantrism the whole process of creation and dissolution occurs within the nature of consciousness. In the same way he has propounded 'Rasadvaita darsana' the Non-dualistic philosophy of Aesthetics. The Rasa, the aesthetic experience, lies in the consciousness, is experienced by the consciousness, and in a way, it itself is experiencing state of consciousness. As in Tantric metaphysics, one Tattva, Siva, manifests itself in the forms of other Tattvas, so the one Rasa, the Santa, assumes the forms of other Rasas, the Santa, assumes the forms of other Rasas and finally dissolves in itself. The present book traces and explains the connecting points, the running threads, between Abhinavagupta's Tantric philosophy o Reality and Aesthic Philosophy logically, philosophically and critically.