Recognition (Pratyabhijñā)

Pratyabhijñā means 'recognition,' and it gives the Recognition school of Kashmir Shaivism its name. Its claim is striking: you do not have to become divine or attain anything you lack — you already are the supreme consciousness, Śiva, and have only forgotten it. Liberation is the sudden recognition of this ever-present identity, like recognizing a long-lost beloved standing right in front of you. The means is insight, not strenuous effort.