Think of Tantrāloka as a cosmic toolkit where every term unlocks a door into Kashmir Shaivism’s inner sanctum. Here are the heavy hitters:

• Spanda (“vibration”): Portrays reality as a pulsating dance of consciousness, not a static void. In today’s world of biofeedback gadgets, this ancient idea feels shockingly modern—like tuning into the universe’s own playlist.
• Pratyabhijñā (“self-recognition”): Holds that liberation happens when the soul realizes its identity with Shiva. Picture the latest self-help craze, but with metaphysics that date back over a millennium.
• Tattvas (36 principles): Starts from pure consciousness (Śiva) and cascades down through mind, elements and limitation (pāśa). It’s a psychocosmic blueprint—akin to a spiritual periodic table.
• Icchā-Jñāna-Kriyā (will-knowledge-action): The dynamic triad that fuels creation. Modern neuroscience might map these to intention, cognition and behavior, but Abhinavagupta made the correlation centuries ago.
• Prakāśa-Vimarśa (light-reflection): The self-illuminating nature of consciousness and its self-awareness. Think of prakāśa as the screen, vimarśa as the movie projected onto it.
• Abhāsa (“appearance”): Describes how the Absolute seems to manifest in myriad forms without losing its essence—much like a single actor playing countless roles on a Netflix series.
• Śakti-Śiva interplay: Emphasizes the inseparability of power and pure consciousness—no Shakti, no show. It’s the ultimate power couple, long before social media influencers took center stage.
• Cakra-system elaboration: Builds on traditional seven wheels but adds subtle layers like the manaḥ and avidyā cakras, detailing routes for energy to ascend. Wellness retreats have nothing on this roadmap.
• Mantraprakāśa (“mantra-illumination”): Goes beyond mere recitation; it’s a deep dive into phonetic psychospiritual engineering.

These aren’t just dusty Sanskrit buzzwords but living ideas. As tantric yoga surges in popularity—think sold-out workshops from London to L.A.—Abhinavagupta’s terms remain the secret sauce, proving that sometimes the oldest recipes yield the richest flavor.