Śivasaṃhitā 5.156

This verse makes a striking claim: mere remembrance—smaraṇa—is sufficient to give rise to the knowledge of Brahman. The Śivasaṃhitā here aligns with the non-dualist insight that liberation is not a distant achievement but a recognition of what already is. The obstacle is not ignorance of something external but forgetfulness of the Self, and the remedy is simply sustained recollection.

The word smaraṇa carries rich connotations across Sanskrit literature. In devotional contexts it refers to one of the nine forms of bhakti; in philosophical ones, it approaches the sustained nididhyāsana (deep meditation) recommended in Advaita Vedānta. Brahmajñatva—the state of possessing Brahman-knowledge—is expressed as something that ‘arises’ (prajāyate), spontaneously born from the act of remembering, not constructed through effort.

Historically, this verse reflects the Śaiva synthesis that characterizes the Śivasaṃhitā: hatha techniques are not ends in themselves but preparations for the higher recognition of non-dual awareness. The text consistently frames bodily and prāṇic practices as scaffolding to be eventually dissolved in the direct knowledge of Brahman, making smaraṇa the culminating gesture of the entire yogic path.