The Trika tradition of Kashmir Shaivism places Lord Shiva at the center of the matrix of Being & Becoming: there is only one Being, Shiva, who is the nature & existence of all beings, filled with the infinite light of universal consciousness. The external world is also seen as a reflection of this Shiva consciousness, the theory of reflection, where creation (Shakti) is not external or independent of God consciousness, but is a mirror of the Shiva principle. This interplay of soul & world is defined as Shiva's first "dynamic" impulse, awakening from his "static" samadhi, where there is no external world to manifest. Through Shiva's divine play with Shakti, Shiva is able to recognize his own universal consciousness.

Each being knows its Shiva nature, it is completely obscured by the mind and its incessant act of thought. To transcend the mind is to find the nature of Shiva within oneself, that is, to realize that the "You" & the "I" are actually the same.

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