]■[ “Spanda System.” ]■[
⎯ The fourth system, which comprises the Trika philosophy, is called the Spanda system. The word spanda means “movement.”
“The Spanda school recognizes that nothing can exist without movement. Where there is movement there is life, and where there is no movement that is lifelessness.”
They realize that there is movement in wakefulness, dreaming, deep sleep, and turya. Though some thinkers argue that there is no movement in deep sleep the philosophers of the Spanda system realize that nothing can exist without movement.
The teachings of the Spanda system, which is an important practical system, are found embodied in the “Vijnana Bhairava Tantra,” the “Svacchanda Tantra,” and in the 6th chapter of the “Tantraloka.”
The Spanda System was introduced in Kashmir by the great sage Vasuguptanatha at the beginning of the 8th century A.D. Vasuguptanatha is the author of both the “Shiva Sutras” and the “Spanda Karikas.” The disciple of Vasuguptanatha was Kallata.
Some teachers think that the “Spanda Karikas” were not composed by Vasuguptanatha but rather by his disciple Kallata. This theory, however, is absolutely incorrect.