Tantra
Yoga had been one of the potent powers for the spiritual
regeneration of the Hindus. When practised by the ignorant,
unenlightened, and unqualified persons, it has led to certain
abuses; and there is no denying that some degraded forms
of Saktism have sought nothing but magic, immorality, and
occult powers. An example of the perverted expression of
the truth, a travesty of the original practices, is the
theory of the five Makaras (Pancha Makaras);-Madya or wine,
Mamsa or flesh, Matsya or fish, Mudra or symbolical acts,
and Maithuna or coition. The esoteric meaning of these five
Makaras is: "Kill egoism, control flesh, drink the
wine of God-intoxication, and have union with Lord Siva".
Tantra
explains (Tanoti) in great detail the knowledge concerning
Tattva (Truth or Brahman) and Mantra (mystic syllables).
It saves (Trayate). Hence it is called Tantra.
The
Tantras are not books of sorcery, witchcraft, magic spells,
and mysterious formulae. They are wonderful scriptures.
All persons without the distinctions of caste, creed, or
colour may draw inspiration from them and attain spiritual
strength, wisdom, and eternal bliss. Mahanirvana and Kularnava
Tantras are the important books in Tantra Sastra. Yoga Kundalini
Upanishad of Krishna Yajurveda, Jabala Darsana, Trisikha
Brahmana, and Varaha Upanishad are useful for getting knowledge
of Kundalini Sakti and the methods to awaken it and take
it to Sahasrara Chakra at the crown of the head.
The
Tantra is, in some of its aspects, a secret doctrine. It
is a Gupta Vidya. You cannot learn it from the study of
books. You will have to get the knowledge and practice from
the practical Tantrikas, the Tantric Acharyas and Gurus
who hold the key to it. The Tantric student must be endowed
with purity, faith, devotion, dedication to Guru, dispassion,
humility, courage, cosmic love, truthfulness, non-covetousness,
and contentment. Absence of these qualities in the practitioner
means a gross abuse of Saktism.
The
Sakti Tantra is Advaita Vada. It proclaims that Paramatman
(Supreme Soul) and Jivatman (individual soul) are one. The
Saktas accept the Vedas as the basic scriptures. They recognise
the Sakta-Tantras as texts expounding the means to attain
the goal set forth in the Vedas.
Tantra
Yoga lays special emphasis on the development of the powers
latent in the six Chakras, from Muladhara to Ajna. Kundalini
Yoga actually belongs to Tantric Sadhana which gives a detailed
description about this serpent-power and the Chakras (plexus).
Entire Tantric Sadhana aims at awakening Kundalini, and
making her to unite with Lord Sadasiva, in the Sahasrara
Chakra. Methods adopted to achieve this end in Tantric Sadhana
are Japa of the Name of the Mother, prayer, and various
rituals.
According
to the philosophy of Tantra, the entire universe is a manifestation
of pure consciousness. In manifesting the universe, this
pure consciousness seems to become divided into two poles
or aspects, neither of which can exist without the other.
One
aspect, Shiva, is masculine, retains a static quality and
remains identified with unmanifested consciousness. Shiva
has the power to be but not the power to become or change.
The
other aspect, Shakti, is feminine, dynamic, energetic and
creative. Shakti is the Great Mother of the universe, for
it is from her that all form is born.
According
to Tantra, the human being is a miniature universe. All
that is found in the cosmos can be found within each individual,
and the same principles that apply to the universe apply
in the case of the individual being.
In
human beings, Shakti, the feminine aspect is called Kundalini.
This potential energy is said to rest at the base of the
spinal cord. The object of the Tantric practice of Kundalini-yoga
is to awaken this cosmic energy and make it ascend through
the psychic centres, the chakras, that lie along the axis
of the spine as consciousness potentials. She will then
unite above the crown of the head with Shiva the pure consciousness.
This union is the aim of Kundalini-yoga : a resolution of
duality into unity again, a fusion with the Absolute. By
this union the adept attains liberation while living which
is considered in Indian life to be the highest experience
: an union of the individual with the universe.
In
Tantrism the state of ultimate bliss is a transcendence
of dualities male-female, energy-consciousness, Shiva-Shakti...
