upaya
उपाय upāya'Means' or method to liberation. Non-dual Kashmir Shaivism grades the means to the capacity of the aspirant: anupaya (the means-less, sudden recognition), shambhavopaya (through pure awareness/will), shaktopaya (through energy, thought and mantra) and anavopaya (through breath, body and concentration). Most of the Vijnana Bhairava's techniques are shakta and anava means.
Where this term appears
- The Vijnana Bhairava Tantra Lineages
…traloka , sorted the paths to it into a famous scheme of "means," the upayas , graded not by difficulty but by how much of a handhold the seeker still needs.
- What is Shaktipat? Lineages
The second is the neat table mapping the nine grades onto the four upayas , the means of realisation.