Tantra Illuminated: The Philosophy, History, and Practice of a Timeless Tradition

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The primary elements of Śaiva Tantrik yoga—including cakras, the ‘ energy body’, kuṇḍalinī, prāṇāyāma, mantra, mudrā, and deity yoga—have not only survived, today they pervade the entire world of modern yoga, albeit often in highly simplified or distorted forms, accompanied by a near-total ignorance of the tradition from which they are derived. Now this teaching is not very popular in the West, partially because we value not telling people what to think or believe, but also because the View teachings are not well understood. The popular opinion, then, is that yoga will do its work regardless of what viewpoint you hold, since yoga transcends the mind. This is true but to a very limited extent. It is also true that yoga can only take you so far if its attainments are being used to reinforce a skewed or misaligned view of reality. This explains why some great yogis in medieval India became sorcerers, drunk on power; and why some prominent yogis today, similarly deluded, have manipulated their students and wielded their power for personal gain. Yoga (and even more so Tantrik Yoga) gives power, and that power can magnify whatever is present: it makes a good person into a saint and a jerk into an even greater and more effective jerk. Realizing this fact, which accounts for so much otherwise disillusioning behavior in the world of yoga, we may begin to take a leaf out of ancient India's book and require students to be well-versed in right View before they are considered intermediate, let alone advanced. Also good to know was that originally the only sex related to tantra had to do with a small aspect about overcoming aversion so could more easily have forgiveness and compassion for all beings. Samāveśa: Possession or Liberation?“ at the annual South Asia Conference, University of California at Berkeley, Spring 2007. The lush and verdant Kashmīr Valley was the original setting for the Recognition school, and one of the key heartlands of nondual Śaiva Tantra. [1]The writings of Tantrik authors from Kashmīr are often collectively referred to as “Kashmir Shaivism,” but this is a modern term, and in fact there was nothing specifically Kashmiri about the Śaiva Tantrik tradition. However, certain schools of thought within nondual Śaiva Tantra, like the Recognition and Spanda schools, did originate in the Kashmīr Valley, where the rulers were faithful patrons of the tradition.

iii] For both points, see Sanderson’s monumental “The Śaiva Age,” published in Genesis and Development of Early Tantrism, edited by S. Einoo. But the ego is essentially a fiction, because all that really exists is the flux of phenomena in each present moment."Budhi is not localized in the brain but extends trough the body so sanskaras of different kinds are distributed throughout the body and can be released by physical as well as mental practices of yoga. Without the practice of yoga, the gut instinct in we place so much trust my in fact be based in fear and lead us astray. This fullness of being is not accomplished by a quantitative accumulation of good experiences, it is your natural state. It is a esses by finding the primal root of your desire far deeper than any particular wanting and letting it explode with the realization that ultimately you simply desire to be the whole of what you are. This section serves to summarize the vision of reality that is central to the nondual Saiva Tantra and which undergirds and empowers all the practices that constitute the path. In the Indian tradition, the first and most crucial step on the spiritual path is getting oriented to the View ( darsana) of the path that you will walk. The Sanskrit word darsana is often translated as "philosophy," but the connotations of that English word miss the mark. Darsana means worldview, vision of reality, and way of seeing; it is also a map of the path you will walk. We may understand the importance of View-orientation through an analogy: You might have all the right running gear, a snappy outfit and the best shoes, and you might be in great shape, but none of that will matter if you are running in the wrong direction. By contrast, if you first get properly oriented so that you are moving in the right direction, even if you go slow or have a funny walk, you'll still get there in the end. Thus, orientation to the View is crucial even for those whose interest in the Tantra is entirely practical, for practice that is not founded on and aligned with right View ( sad-darsana) is said to be fruitless. Note that "right View" is also the first step of the Noble Eightfold Path of Buddhism. The divine has 2 aspects: .Trancendant=Shiva; personified as male divinity; pure consciousness, non personal utterly transcendent of all limitations or qualities, beyond the reach of senses, speech, and mind- the singular light of awareness. The quiescent and peaceful ground of all that is. I found this book deeply satisfying on a personal level, because I have explored quite a bit of spiritual/metaphysical territory, and NŚT mirrors my own personal conclusions almost exactly. What a strange relief to be reminded I'm not alone in my view of the world, and so eloquently.

What makes a practice indisputably tantric is that it envolves diades and their mantras that are revealed in explicitly tantric scriptures. Tantra stresses sensual meditations - meditative savoring of food and music, as well as slowed down and ritualized acts of refined awareness like the Japanese tea ceremony - that allow us to cultivate our ability to let the senses meet their objects fully. In nondual Śaiva Tantra, this is called 'feeding the goddesses of the senses'. When fed properly, the 'goddesses' reward you by suffusing your awareness with aesthetic rapture ( chanakara), increasing your capacity to experience beauty. The whole world becomes more vivid and real, more radiantly lovely, more full of life-energy..." Let's get clear: Having right View does not mean the ability to recite doctrine accurately. It means having marinated your mind and heart in the spiritual teachings until they illuminate your experience of reality. It means holding the teachings close until they become your beloved friends and allies, your unfailing supports. It means being able to offer them to others in your own way, through your own unique words and actions. (Note well though, being a good speaker of the View does not necessarily indicate inner attainment.) Finally, it means having seen through the pitfalls of wrong understanding that drain the teachings of their uplifting power.You discover that what the mind really wants is to stop wanting and that will never happen until you realize and experience the whole of what you are. Access-restricted-item true Addeddate 2023-05-25 00:44:15 Autocrop_version 0.0.14_books-20220331-0.2 Bookplateleaf 0002 Boxid IA40945611 Camera USB PTP Class Camera Collection_set printdisabled External-identifier

On this path there is no such thing as negative emotions, emotions I don’t like or I shouldn’t be having. Cast away the notion that this state of mind is better and you should be feeling this or that. We accept what is we work with what comes. All emotions are energy and all energy can empower you.The fourth grade of śaktipāta leads a person to take initiation, though his perception of the divinity of his real Self is not as firm as a third-grade recipient, because it is difficult for him to break through his conditioned convictions and mental constructs of reality. Nonetheless, through the gradual ripening of his insight through practice, the fourth-grade recipient merges with the Divine upon leaving the body. This and the following grades account for the majority of people on the path. (By “the path” I do mean to imply that there is really only one path of spiritual transformation, regardless of what name it is given or which religion or culture it is articulated within.) The fifth and sixth grades are received by those who are ready for the spiritual life but who also have a strong desire for worldly enjoyment and prosperity. They thus seek, and find, a teacher who can support them in both endeavors. They practice a yoga that leads them to enjoyment and then to liberation, at the time of leaving the body or shortly thereafter. The three lowest grades of śaktipāta are received by one whose desire for enjoyments is stronger than for liberation. These grades of awakening grant one access to the path to enjoyment through yoga, culminating in liberation in a future life. These grades are not given much attention in the texts, but it is important to note here that what grade of śaktipāta you receive is not due to how “worthy” you are but to how intense your longing for awakening is in relation to your longing to enjoy “the good life.” Though the latter is described as the If the Light of Consciousness had no Reflectivity, it would necessarily be powerless ( anīśvara) and inert. And this very Power of Reflective Awareness ( vimarśa) is proclaimed & taught in the scriptures under these names: Hareesh teaches classical Tantric philosophy and Tantric practices, meditation, Sanskrit, and mantra-science to an engaged online community of practitioners. He is the Founder of tantrailluminated.org, an online learning portal where all his courses and teachings are available. He also offers workshops, retreats and classes in person in Portugal and around the world.