Kashmir Shaivism, Herath, Castism

Had an interesting conversation with a Kashmiri Uncle of mine . Excerpts of the conversation , I am pasting below - Enjoy maadi.. Good reading ..
On Herath Mubarak
me: HI uncle
what is herath mubarak ?
Avtar: Heerath in Kashmiri language means Sivratri....it is our main festival like people have Diwali
Kashmir is the land of Shaivism .

On Kashmir Shaivism
Avtar : Kashmir Shaivism is a bit different...
me: oh ok . thanks for that gyaan . just a doubt . siva is the destructor . why would people worship shiva as the main deity
Avtar: In our cocept of Shiva.....nothingness...everything came from nothing and goes back to the same. sum total of everything is ZERO.
me: hmm . ok . so you pray Shiva to create the emptiness ?
Avtar: There is a book "Being & Nothingness" by Existentialist writer Jean Paul Sartre..
me: ok . let me chck that out
Avtar: Included within the broad umbrella of the various Hindu philosophies, Kaśmir Śaivism is a school of Śaivism categorized by various scholars as monistic idealism (absolute idealism, theistic monism, realistic idealism, transcendental physicalism or concrete monism). In other words, there is only one reality, that is Cit - consciousness. The world and the souls are identical to Cit. Matter is not separated from consciousness, but rather identical to it. There is no gap between God and the world, including living beings. The world is not an illusion (as in Advaita Vedanta), only the perception of duality is the illusion.Kashmir Shaivism arose during the eighth or ninth century CE. in Kashmir and made significant strides, both philosophical and theological, until the end of the twelfth century CE. Kashmir Shaivism is remarkable through its ethos and orientation, a veritable cosmography of consciousness.Kashmir Shaivism is the philosophical basis for Hindu tantra, which is symbolized by the Shri Yantra.The first Kashmiri Shaiva texts were written in the early ninth century CE.
As a monistic tantric system, Trika Shaivism, as it is also known, draws teachings from shrutis, such as the monistic Bhairava Tantras, Shiva Sutras of Vasugupta, and also a unique version of the Bhagavad Gita which has a commentary by Abhinavagupta, known as the Gitartha Samgraha. Teachings are also drawn from the Tantraloka of Abhinavagupta, prominent among a vast body of smritis employed by Kashmir Shaivism.In general, the whole written tradition of Shaivism can be divided in three fundamental parts: Āgama Śāstra, Spanda Śāstra and Pratyabhijñā Śāstra.[26]1. Āgama Śāstra are those writings that are considered as being a direct revelation from Siva. These writings were first communicated orally, from the master to the worthy disciple. They include essential works such as Mālinīvijaya Tantra, Svacchanda Tantra, Vijñānabhairava Tantra, Netra Tantra, Mgendra Tantra, Rudrayāmala Tantra, Śivasūtra and others. There are also numerous commentaries to these works, Śivasūtra having most of them.2. Spanda Śāstra, the main work of which is Spanda Kārikā of Vasugupta, with its many commentaries. Out of them, two are of major importance: Spanda Sandoha (this commentary talks only about the first verses of Spanda Kārikā), and Spanda Nirṇaya (which is a commentary of the complete text).[28]3. Pratyabhijñā Śāstra are those writings which have mainly a metaphysical content. Due to their extremely high spiritual and intellectual level, this part of the written tradition of Shaivism is the least accessible for the uninitiated. Nevertheless, this corpus of writings refer to the simplest and most direct modality of spiritual realization. Pratyabhijñā means "recognition" and refers to the spontaneous recognition of the divine nature hidden in each human being (atman). The most important works in this category are: Īśvara Pratyabhijñā, the fundamental work of Utpaladeva, and Pratyabhijñā Vimarśinī, a commentary to Īśvara Pratyabhijñā. Īśvara Pratyabhijñā means in fact the direct recognition of the Lord (Īśvara) as identical to one's Heart. Before Utpaladeva, his master Somānanda wrote Śiva Di (The Vision of Siva), a devotional poem written on multiple levels of meaning.[29]
All the four branches of the Kashmiri Shaivism tradition were put together by the great philosopher Abhinavagupta (approx. 950-1020 AD[30]). Among his important works, the most important is the Tantraloka ("The Divine Light of Tantra"), a work in verses which is a majestic synthesis of the whole tradition of monistic Shaivism. Abhinavagupta succeeded in smoothing out all the apparent differences and disparities that existed among the different branches and schools of Kashmir Shaivism of before him. Thus he offers a unitary, coherent and complete vision of this system. Due to the exceptional length (5859 verses[31]) of Tantraloka, Abhinavagupta himself provided a shorter version in prose, called Tantrasara ("The Essence of Tantra").
some references in Wikipedia..
me: that was good . I will read on the same
Avtar: kashmir Shaivism is explained by a great Sanskrit Scholar" Abhinavguptacharya" who was born in Kashmir....

Castism
Avtar: the origins of Brahminism lie in Kashmir.
me: oh ok . basic question . are the Gods Brahmins.. hmm.. no these are human created.
so some saint in Kashmir created the castes ?
Avtar: Brahminism is not casteism....anyone who is knowledgeable in the knowledge of vedas and upanishads is a brahmin.....we donot have any other castes in kashmir.. so casteism is non existant there....
me: thats a interesting concept . wow
Avtar: When whole of India was converted into Buddhism after Ashoka reign....it is in Kashmir that Buddhists were defeated in a face to face debate....and the result was that Hinduism came back to india full steam..
me: ok
Avtar: Shankaracharya also visited Kashmir in those days....travelled on foot from Cochin
me: hmm
Avtar: all the way to Kashmir
me: ok..
Avtar: Kashmir was once the citadel of Sanskrit literature and philosophy...it produced thinkers like Kalhana, Abhinavguptacharya, Kshemendra, Bhanbhatt, charvaka, panini, patanjali...to name a few...even kalidasa was originally from kashmir but worked in the cour of Harshvardhan at ujjain
none of them preached casteism
me: ok..
Avtar: it is the basically the minset that is trained into reasong, questioning, analysis and synthesis.....u can be from anywhere....guru is a guru...
me: true
guru can be of any caste too
Avtar: The greatness og Hindu thought lies in its freedom to question anything....that is why.....they are strong....not closed mentally...
me: hmm
yes
Avtar: Read Sir. Robert Oppenheimer who developed the atomic bomb...he was well versed in SANSKRIT.....and had Bhagwadgita by his bedside when he died....read him...
me: ok.
Avtar: Read Professor Arnold Toynbee...who wrote a study of History....or Will Durant who wrote our Oriental Heritage.... you will begin to appreciate what I am saying
me: ok will do.
I have a month also to spend time reading :)
Avtar: Majja ayega.....knowledge is endless....
me: yes.
Avtar: Read Professor S Radhakrishanan'S "Indian Philosophy" or the 6 schools of Indian philosophy...
me: hm..
Avtar: i loaded with heavy stuff... nice talking to u.....enjoy.
me: no.. that was knowledge . thanks for the same. I can explore now. thank you again
Avtar: keep well take care.... ..