Tantra Yoga

By Chris Gladwell

In the beginning she rested as Shakti, the formless unmanifest, floating like a golden egg on the ocean of the silent, still and eternal Void.

Endless and awesome power spontaneously flickered within her as she as both latent and undifferentiated continued to rest, containing within herself the power seeds of all universes and all time.

Spontaneously she explodes into manifestation as she flowers into the evolved cosmos of separate vibrant dancing parts, then slowly reaching the completion of full blossoming withdraws herself back into her centre in the process of dissolution or pralaya.

Throughout all of eternity, like cosmic day and night the multiverses alternately expand into energy and matter and resolve back into herself as primal energy, the hiryanagharba.

Within her great heart rest her forms of Lakshmi, Kali and Saraswati, these energies of matter and form (tamas), movement and transformation (rajas) and serene grace (sattvas) weave in a balance of harmony.

In manifestation her forms both create, sustain and destroy as they permeate the whole cosmos, woven through the heart of all energy, matter and life, so this universe as we know it rests in, unfolds from and returns to her awesome heart.


From the Sabdabrahman or soundless sound reflected in the human heart chakra as anahata or the unstruck sound arises the causal sound or Nada as the vibration of undifferentiated wisdom and intelligence that sparks into evolution this cosmic unfolding. From this vibration of OM, there arises a deep primal shudder running through the resting equanimity of Shakti and rajas arises and the process of manifestation begins.

Out of this movement and cosmic vibration Shakti splits into two fields of force as being, Nada and Bindu. Bindu is the male pole, Shiva the centrifugal ground of being as consciousness from which Nada operates. Nada as vibration expands outward in centripetal flow, female, she is nature unfolding the manifest million forms of this universe.
This polar duality in unity provides the forces of magnetism, gravity, levity that hols together the phenomenal world in their state of vibrating molecules.

Cosmic evolution flowing from the superconscious, unmoving, beyond knowing and un-manifest into both the unconsciousness and conscious of the moving, knowable and manifest universe.

The journey of the individual in Yoga is a stepping into greater consciousness and beyond the beyond into super-consciousness. It is always a return from perceived separation to that source which is in our hearts, reflected as a balance of Shiva and Shakti with the upward and downward triangles in Anahata (heart) chakra of the six pointed star.


In Tantra, since all is a facet of the divine there can be no impurity, everything, every event, every experience can then become grist to the mill, an opportunity for greater and endless awakening into eternal super-consciousness.


The first practices of Tantra include Yoga asana practice as initiated by the Lord of Yogis Shiva (consciousness) and initiated again through his re-incarnation as the great Tantric master Adinath. Adinath taught Matsyendranath who taught Gorakshanath. These famous Tantric masters of the Nath lineage formulated many practices and techniques to assist the knower to step into greater wisdom and love.


Yoga asana is the first of these.

Tantra can mean weaving, the experiences of life being an opportunity for awakening. Tantra can mean liberation or awakening through expansion, this is different to the ascetic practices of denial, abstention and belief in impurity.
Tantra can also mean technique, in this way teachers outline parameters within which the students as knowers then engage with and explore, experiencing in their own mind and body the results of their exploration.


Tantra uses Mantra as a prime tool. Mantra meaning both Mind expansion and also protection from mundane or small mindedness is the use of specific vibratory patterns to free the limited small mind into greater and more expansive awareness. Traditionally a teacher will empower a mantra and then initiate the student into its use.


Tantra also uses Yantra as its tool. Yantras are geometric often colourful diagrams that represent the sacred geometric movement from the source through the bindu or seed into manifestation. The movement flows from one-point (bindu) into the first possible enclosure of space the triangle and from there into the wide circles of possibility before manifestation in the square of the earth element. Different Yantras represent different feminine and masculine energies.


Tantra uses visualisation as a means to embody and actualise, to remember ones existence as divine.


Tantra uses the focus of one pointed concentrated mind (dharana)to step beyond limiting conceptual frames into greater freedom of awareness.
Tantra uses massage and also spontaneous dance. The dance is the counterpoint of the linear Yoga asana practice and unfolds the tensions of perceived or felt separation into greater spaciousness.

Experiencing oneself as space, knowing one self as empty of concept, as empty of separate inherent existence, the whole of life becomes the play of practice and presence with no outcome and no goal.

Sitting in sacred silence, one just sits, there is nothing to be attained that is not already here, sitting merely rests us in this spacious presence.

Sacred sexuality may also be used as a playfulness and tool to rest in deeper presence, yet like licking honey off the razors edge, such practices can easily drop beings into greater egoic belief in their own power, their own magic, their own strength. In truth, from a place of ‘realised emptiness’, power, strength and magic are all possible manifestations of love and wisdom and merely flow as functions of the all pervading divinity. They rest exclusively in no-one and belong exclusively to no-one. So as no-one we may freely play with licking honey off the razors edge.

Tantra is a means to bring into everyday presence, into the marketplace, into the home, into the whole world the super-conscious.

Christopher teaches the various aspects of TantraYoga on his retreats, the foundations are asana practice, dance and silent sitting.

chris@theartofyoga.co.uk

Sree Chakra ( Sacred Geometry )

Sree Yantra  


One of the greatest Sacred Geometry symbols is the Sree Chakra. Man is a miniature Universe. The great Shakespeare alluded to this principle as " little man's world", viz Man as Microcosm, wherein he copies the structure of the great Universe.

Sree Yantra is a symbol of the Microcosm. The Bindu or the Central Dot is the Absolute Self and the other geometrical patterns like the triangle, rectangles etc are the Forms of Manifestation, Shakti. The mystery of the Universe is contained in the Sree Yantra.

Sree Yantra

Sree Yantra is a masterpiece and a master plan of manifestation. The Central Dot is the Absolute Self from which everything emanates. As above, so below, as within, so without, as the microcosm, so the macrocosm !

Sree Vidya is often pictured as a Goddess, the Goddess symbolically residing in the Sree Yantra. Adhyatma Vidya Vidyanam Sree Vidya - the greatest of all esoteric knowledge is She !

Tantra VII

Tantra & The 18 Sciences of the Philosophia Perennis

The 18 varieties of Knowledge ( Vidya ) are all the gross manifestations of Tantra.

Everything has been reduced to the biune principles of Consciousness and Force and this Union of Being and Becoming is the Universe.

The 18 Vidyas ( types of Knowledge) are

The Six Auxiliary Sciences - Vedanga Sastras ( Astrophysics, Kalpa, Nirukta, Phonetics, Grammar, Poetics)

The Six Main Sciences - The Four Vedas - ( Rik, Sama, Yajus & Atharva ) -

Poorva Meemamsa This deals with Karma Kanda

Nyaya Shastra Logic

Mythology - The 18 Treatises of Mythology

Ethics - The Science of Character

Ayurveda - The Science of Medicine

Dhanur Veda - Archery

Gandharva Veda Musicology

Artha Sastra Economics

The six auxiliary sciences have been defined as Apara Vidya ( Relative Knowledge ).

The six main sciences as they deal with the Absolute have been defined as Para Vidya ( Absolute Knowledge ).

Absolute Knowledge and Relative Knowledge together constitute the supreme knowledge.

Integral Knowledge is the confluence of Absolute, Relative and Transcendental knowledge ( Sujnana, Vijnana & Prajnana ).

Vijnana - Relative Knowledge -

Knowledge of Relative Being is Physical Science. All scientific knowledge is relative

Sujnana - Absolute Knowledge. Knowledge of the Absolute; knowledge philosophic.

Prajnana - Knowledge or rather the experience of Transcendence. Experiential Knowledge.

Astrophysics ( Jyothish ) consists of three main brances -

Siddhanta ( Astronony ), Samhita ( Philosophy ) & Hora ( Astrology ). All of them belong to Relative Knowledge.

All sciences barring Vedanta ( The Science of the Absolute ) & Yoga ( The Science of Transcendence ) are relative by nature.

Mythology is the adumbration of philosphic verities. Sir Philip Sydney writes in " An Apologia for Poetry " that the great seers and mystics of yore hid Great Secrets in symbolic stories. ( " which of purpose were written darkly, lest by profane wits it might be abused"). Aurobindo in the Secret of the Veda writes that " this Wisdom is unfit & dangerous to the ordinary human mind and liable to perversion & loss of virtue, if revealed to vulgar and unpurified spirits". Hence the Seers hid the Mysteries in symbolic stories like the Iliad and the Odyssey, the Ramayana & the Mahabharata, books which deal with the Inner War in Man !


The Hidden Foe ( Ego) lodged in the human breast
Man must overcome or miss his higher fate
This is the inner war without escape.


More quality information about spiritual Books & CDs can be had from http://www.astrologiavedica.com/html/Books.htm



Economics, the Science of wealth, is considered as the 18th science. Among the Four Purusharthas ( Wealth, Ethics, Desire, Salvation ), wealth was considered important because without that the body cannot sustain. "Wealth is the fuel of outer life" averrs Artha Sastra, a treatise on economics. Weath is foremost and is the basis of Kama ( Desire ), Dharma ( Ethics ) & Moksha ( Salvation ) !

Sound Symbol of the Absolute art Thou

And the eternal Basis of Vedas triune

The Threefold Deity of Shakti Divine

O Fair Beloved of the Pure Existent !

Artha Sastra ( Economics ) while highlighting the importance of Wealth also warns about its hidden dangers and the pain involved in making money. On the positive side, the merits of Wealth are extolled

The wealthy man alone has friends

All relatives are produced by wealth!

Admired is he who is wealthy

And this world's true scholar !

On the negative side, the pain involved is highlighted. Making money is not a bed of roses !

Money begets pain in getting

In the keeping pain and fretting

Pain in loss and pain in spending

Damn the trouble never ending !


Tantra does not condemn the three Ws ( Wealth, Wine and Women ) as evil. Man gets fulfillment through the satiation of desires and only after enjoying finite bliss can he aspire for Infinite Bliss ! Karma gets exhausted after the desires for the mundane are fulfilled and man after becoming blase turns within to the Bliss of the Absolute Self !

Integral Consciousness am I, the primal Self !

In me there is neither Ego nor the Supreme Relative !

The Cosmic Power is all in all

As the Supracosmic Transcendence, Her Play is known only to Herself ! Unknown to even the Seers, Her ways are inscrutable ! The 18 sciences are She !

The boat divine to cross this wordly ocean

Thou abidest in all as intelligence

Heaven hides nothing from Thy view, nor Hell

O Quintessence of all the 18 sciences !

Tantra VI

Tantra - The Left Hand Path of Love

The word sinister in Latin means the left handed path. Even though some puritans have defined the Left handed path as Satanic, it is only logical to assume that we cannot live without the left hand ! Will we cut our left hand off ? Man knows only two paths. The Right Handed Path and the Left Handed Path ! In classical philosophy, the Right Handed Path is the path of Philosophy & Religion. The Left Handed is that of Satan !
The two paths - the Way of Mammon and the Flesh & the Way of Being and of Bliss - are known in Sanskrit as Preyas and Sreyas, as Bhoga & Yoga. All men like Bhoga ( the Way of Mammon ). At the same all aspire for the kingdom of Heaven ( Yoga ). Cant we fuse these 2 paths ? That Fusion, that mighty blend is Tantra !

It is generally believed that man cannot serve two masters God & Mammon. But man is a composite creature. A mixture of good and evil ! " All mixed " said Shaw. Who is there who is cent percent good and who is there who is cent percent evil ? One poet had the audacity to declare that we are serving both masters !

Tantra has been defined as the Left Hand Path of Love. Left refers to the negative Polarity of Yin as contrasted with the positive polarity of Yang. Tantra does not believe in self-abnegation or renouncing sensual pleasures to gain the bliss of the Self. By integrating normal desires along with our super-normal desires ( the desire for Self-fulfillment & Self-empowerment ), we can become one with Truth.

By indulging in finite pleasures, the Tantric satiates all his desires. Tantra gives both Bhukti (mundane pleasures) & Mukti ( heavenly bliss ). Tantra is not the Path of Self-abnegation but of gratifying normal desires without renouncing the supernormal.

It is only when we approach the Supreme in His dual aspect - dual but inseparable ( Sat and Tat ) - that Truth becomes manifest to the inner experience. The first aspect was developed by the Vedantins. The latter aspect was developed by the Tantrics. Only a blend of both, or a combination of both, can pave the way for Integral Knowledge !



The Six Forms of Tantra

Six Systems of Tantra have existed in India from time immemmorial.

They are

1) Soura - The Sun - symbolic of the Inner Sun, the Self - is the
chief Deity
2) Kaumara _ Subramanya is the chief Deity
3) Ganapatya - Ganapathi is the chief Deity
4) Vaishnava - Lord Vishnu is the Chief Deity
5) Saiva - Lord Siva is the chief Deity
6) Saktheya - Shakti, the Mother Goddess is the Chief Deity.

In the Soura system, the chief Deity is the Sun, emblematic of the Inner
Sun, the Almighty Self !.

His great transparent mirror, Self !

He by whom the three states of Consciousness are illumined
Waking state, dreaming & dreamless sleep
And who encompassess all Three as Transcendence
To that King of the inner Solar Logos, I bow !

In the Kaumara system, the chief Deity is the six-faced Skanda. ( His
six faces represent the six seasons ? ). In the Ganapatya, Ganapathi is
the main Deity ( elephant symbolising the Macrocosm and human body
the microcosm? ) and in the Vaishnava system, Lord Vishnu, as the
Preserver, is the Deity ( His Four hands the Fourfold Veds? ).

The most prevalent form of Tantra is the Saktheya wherein the Mother
Divine is worshipped. There are many who say that Saktheya is the only
relevant system in the Kali Yuga ( the Era of the Anti-Christ ) & the other
five systems are ineffective bacause of the predominance of evil in the
present era. Evil formidable, Evil triumphant!

Different Yantras are prepared based on the system the Tantra expert is
following. For instance, the Tripura Sundari Yantra is Shakthaite, the
Sudarshana Yantra is Vaishnavite etc.

The body of the Ancient art Thou
Thy true form is as Transcendence
Thou bewitches all by Thy Maya
O Queen Regal of the Almighty !

Sublimation of Sexual Energy

In Tantra, Retas or Sexual energy is transmuted into Ojas ( Divine
Energy ) & stored in the brain. This requires severe continence.

The sexual energy thus sublimated becomes a potent force and pulls us from
death to Immortality & realises in this body of earth the luminous kingdom
of Heaven ! This is the master Secret of all Yoga and Tantra. In his book
" The Psychology of Sex", Havelock Ellis mentions that creativity can be
enhanced by continence. The seminal energy consists of Ojas ( light), Tejas
( heat ) & Vidyut ( electricity ). The Golden Halo around the Sage is a
manifestation of this Ojas ! Thoreau remarks that " Chastity is the
flowering in man ". Continence or Brahmacharya is declared by the Vedas
as the first step towards the mind's approximation to Godhead !

The Universe entire is upheld by Thee
Universal Nature is Thy name !
Thou art that which is to be Known
O Lady of the Attributes Six !

Vedic Astrology is another manifestation of this mighty Science. The nine
revolving heavens protend good & evil for the world. International Astrology
is known as Mundane Astrology & its principles are slightly different from
Natal Astrology.


The Cause of all Universes & the Trinity
Inscrutable are Thy ways even to Thy chosen
The Cosmos is merely Thy infinitesimal expression
O Manifest Force of the Unmanifest, O Primordial Nature !

She is the creatrix, she is the mediatrix, she is the dispensatrix and the
executrix of the absolute mechanism of Universal Justice.

We have to understand that this knowledge, which was preserved by the
Tantric Masters, was lost due to the cyclical upheavals of Time. Spurious
Tantrics, pretending to be genuine Tantrics, invaded the scene and the
sanctity was lost. Now is the time to redeem this noble science from
degeneration. Tantric knowlege is now degenerating in India. The tendency
we see in India is that many people, pretending to be Tantric scholars, are
fooling the public. The so called social leaders are not interested in
preserving this great knowledge with the result that Tantra has fallen so low that none would do her reverence !

Tantra V

The Law of the Mount

The Tantric lives on the Mount & fulfills the Law of the Mount. Therefore comes to him Wisdom, Grace and sovereign power, transcending anything his uninitiated fellowmen can yet conceive. His standards are high; aesthetic, moral & ethical. He is there to see that the world does not fall into greater corruption than its present state.

Initiates are the salt of the earth, the light of the world because without their leavening presence, the world would sink into greater corruption than it at present suffers. It is his Wisdom and knowledge which balances the evil and sin of this world.

His light and life is given to balance here

The dark account of mortal Ignorance !

The Initiate is he in whom a higher law hath been revealed. His aim is the Absolute Self, which is the Via, the Veritas and the Vita ( The way, the Truth, the Life ). He has to reduce his Ego and control his desires, lest the negative aspect in him becomes the dominant player. For erasing the Ego, he indulges in selfless service. His desires are controlled by an indomitable Will power.

In the inital stage of Tantra one can feel that some mighty force, not situated in the body but possessing it, is thinking for him and feeling for him and that his entire body is moved by that great force and not by himself. When he progresses in Tantra, he rises in Awareness to the highest Cosmic level and becomes one with the Universal Consciousness. the popular world cannot come upto the Law of the Mount, the Mount of higher ethical and moral values, but then he has to set an example for others to follow. He becomes a personification of the principle " Example is better than precept". All the tantric techniques he has undergone had made him the perfected Initiate, ready to don the garb of the Redeemer. He knows the task that lies before him is immense, but then he is ready to die for it.

Hard is the World Redeemer's heavy task

The whole world becomes his adversary,

Those whom he came to save are his enemies

Those he would thus save are his adversaries.

This world is in love with its own Ignorance

Its darkness moves away from its Saviour Light I

It gives the cross in payment for the crown !

Despite the immense opposition he faces, he is undaunted.

He still keeps to the high and difficult road

That sole leads to the Eternal's peaks !

He knows that the opposition & the enormous difficulties which he faces are merely parts of the process and tests of fidelity. He knows the tantric processes and the great struggle for supremacy between the black & white opposites of good and evil, light and darkness, prosperity and adversity is fought out within ourselves. We are the place where the great battle is fought, where all the worlds meet but then his aim is conquer the negative aspect with the positive aspect; what is known in Tantra as the conquest of the lower self by the Higher Self.



This esoteric wisdom should be preserved for the initiated few. He has been instructed to hide this Science from the unfit, from the profane as this science can only be taught to worthy men because the misuse of it & the powers arising from it is conducive to general and personal evil. Tantra reckons that this wisdom is unfit and dangerous to the ordinary human mind and liable to perversion and loss of virtue if revealed to vulgar & unpurified spirits. Hence the ancients veiled this Wisdom with symbolism and allegory, lest it fall into hands of the immoral. Only the initiated or the pure can comprehend its subtle mysteries. Therefore Tantric philosophy is often veiled in symbolism, myth & allegory.

Behind all manifested phenomena is the Unmanifest Self, which is hidden, hidden and hidden. Worldly intelligence seeks this Sanctuary in vain. All is undecipherable to the unprepared. He can see nothing, read nothing in its interior ! Such a knowledge must perforce be occult, because the mysteries of the Universe are not for the laity. To a mind divinely intoxicated, Tantra becomes the Voice of the Universe which dicates its furthur thought. That Point where Truth, Art & Science meet is only accessible to the Tantric divinely intoxicated mind !

The Sevenfold Mode of Cosmic Existence

Tantra recognises the septenary priciples that pervade the Universe. They are

Matter

Mind

Life

Supermind

Existence

Consciousness

Bliss

The ancients had called these seven principles the seven colours of the light of Divine Consciousness, the seven Rays of the Infinite. They constitute the entire fabric of the Universe, Not only are they one in their reality but inseparable in the sevenfold variety of their action. The lower trilogy of Life, Mind and Matter are only instruments of the higher divine quartenary of Existence-Consciousness-Bliss-Supermind. Mind is merely an instrumentation of the Supermind, only a subordinate action-power of the Supermind.

The Higher Trilogy of Being-Knowledge-Bliss is what all heavens and Nature yearn!

The Bliss for which the world's derelict sorrows yearn

The Light of the which the world's Ignorance is the shade !

The aim of Tantra is to transcend the gross physical plane and rise to the realm of Spirit, that of Being-Knowledge-Bliss. Even though external symbols are used, the path is the way of Intuitive experience. Behind the phenomenal world is the transcendental Reality which Intuition alone can see. Tantra becomes the scientia ultima, the ultimate science which can lead man to Self- Actualisation. The Lord descending into earthly existence is all this. All this that is is the Universal Life. Humanity we see is the body of the Lord. It is He in manifestation. The entire Universe is His play. He did not create the world, but had become the world, with Matter as the lowest principle and pure Being as the highest. Tantra recognises this hidden Being-Knowlege-Bliss at the heart of all things and shows the way to spiritual salvation.

Tantra IV

Tantra - The Serpentine Ascent Part IV

Self Actualisation is the Goal

Immortality or Self-Actualisation, which is the Ultimate aim of Tantra, is achieved by the aspirant due to Tantric sadhanas. He will not fall into the trap of selfish temptations He will exhibit divine Love, patience and fortitude, the qualities of a perfected Initiate. He will not use his siddhis for selfish ends. He will be ready to redeem the world from its vices and will be Saviour of all mankind

Lo ! steadfast a lamp burns sheltered by the wind

Such is the likeness of the Yogi's mind

Freed from sense-storms and burning bright to Heaven

When mind broods placid, soothed with holy wont,

When Self contemplates Self and in itself

Hath comfort !

To reach this Ultimate Level, tantric techniques alone are not sufficient. Love of the Supreme and renunciation of the Seven Negative Passions are a must.

Devoid of the Seven Deadly Sins ( Lust, greed, anger, jealousy, sloth, covetousness & attachment), with unflinching affiliation to the Supreme Self, he serves all human beings as his brothers and sisters, by the Law of Love and by the Law of Justice !

His light and life is given to balance here

The dark account of mortal Ignorance !

Astrology is a close affiliate of Tantra. Suppose a person has Jupiter in the 8th. There is no use if he turns to Tantra and becomes an initiate. Such a person should turn to other subjects ! Knowledge of a man's temparament is given by Astrology as Trikala Jnana ( Knowledge of Past, present and future ) is decreed by Yoga

Astro-Therapy used in Vedic Astrology is essentially Tantric. The images of the planetary energies are propitiated on the days assigned to them. We find that Thursday is ruled by Thor or Jupiter; Saturday by Saturn, Sunday by the Sun etc. If Saturn is the tormentor, Astro Therapy is prescribed for Saturn and remedial measures are prescribed to be done on Saturdays !

More quality information about Vedic Astrology & an Astrological
Analysis can be had from http://www.astrologiavedica.com/html/vedichoroscope.htm

Tantra, Mantra & Yantra

A mantra is defined as that which saves the chanter and that which floats in the mind. The aspirant who chants the mantra is freed from the problems which vex him. The mind moves aw ay from the problem areas and he feels contented and whole. This is the psychological basis of Mantra Yoga. A mantra inscribed on a silver or gold plate is called a talisman or Yantra. It is duly energised by one who is well versed in Tantra by means of Puja ( worship of Deity ). This worship may take 10 to 41 days, depending on the Tantrik expert. Yantras are diagramatic patterns about Manifestation. The Central Dot or the Bindu represents the Absoulte Self and the geometrical figures are Its different levels of manifestation. The circles, the triangles, the rectangles and the lotuses seen in the Yantra represent the energy vortexes in the human body. The Five Great Elements, the seven states of Consciousness, the six Chakras plus the Crown Chakra , all these are symbolised as mathematical figures in the Yantra. The Central Dot is the Self, from which everything emanates !

More quality information about Tantra & Yantras can be had from http://www.astrologiavedica.com/html/yantra.htm

The divine Conscious Force is infinite in Her powers and personalities. The mighty Four are Her manifestations!

She as Time - Kali ( Kalaswaroopini or Time Eternal )

She as Wisdom - Saraswathi

She as Wealth - Lakshmi

She as Valour - Parvathi

Primordial Nature art Thou !

The Universe is merely Thy infinitesimal Part !

The Cause of all the worlds triune

Even to the Trinity Thou art Unknown !

Consort of the Infinite art Thou

The base of the Universe as Maya

All things in the Universe Thou movest

And Self-Actualisation is Thy boon !

Material Prosperity blossoms

Due to Thy Grace !

A regal mansion, subordinates galore

Are all Thy gifts, O Mighty Mother !

Spiritual Progress also

Is effected by Thy Grace !

Progress, worldly and divine

How strange is Thy Grace !

What we see today as Astrology, Gemology, Numerology, Vedic Architecture ( Vastu ),Ayurveda etc are all the gross manifestations of Tantra. This is the most original science of the human race which contains all the primitive mysteries of Science !

More information about Mundane Astrology & Transit Forecast can be had
from http://www.eastrovedica.com/html/transat.htm




All are brethern and all systems are different radii of one circle, designed to lead man from the circumference and the surface of life to the One Central Light, the Self ! Veda - Tantra - Veda - This is the equation. The first Veda refers to book knowledge or knowledge acquired from books. Tantra refers to practical knowlege, how to attain to Transcendence. The third refers to Experiential Knowledge which is the state of the Self. The physical, mental and spiritual levels are all sustained by the One Universal Life. That is why it is called as a Universe. Otherwise it will be called as a Multiverse ! That therapy using Prana is called Pranic Therapy. It is more or less Auric Healing. The disease affected parts of the body will be shown as black spots in Kirlian Photography. What the therapist does is to empower the patient with Prana, which is stored by him as a result of continous mediatation and the dark spots will move away.

More information about Pranic Therapy can be had from http://www.astrologiavedica.com/html/pranicmain.htm

Tantra III

Tantra & Vedanta

The Upanishads deal with the Science of the Absolute and Upanishadic philosophy is called Vedanta.

Veda means knowledge and Anta means end. The end of Knowledge is practical transcendental experience.

In the void of Mind involute

The fleeting Universe rises and floats

And sinks back into the current "I" ( Vivekananda - The Hymn of Samadhi )

While Vedanta focusses on Sat, the Existence aspect of Being, Tantra focusses on Chit, the Knowledge aspect of Being. The whole Universe is the play and display of this mighty Consciousness Force known as Chit Shakti in the Tantras. While Yoga talks about five sheaths or koshas, according to Tantra, life is an unfoldment of the Self through six energy centres called chakras. These six energy centres exist in our subtle physical body. The Serpentine Power known as the Kundalini (which lie coiled as a serpent in humans), can be awakened by Meditation. When awakened, She rises from the Root Chakra to the Crown Chakra to liberate Man.

When She ( Kundalini ), the miscrocosmic power of the macrocosmic Shakti, rises from from the Root Chakra & reaches the other Chakras, siddhis or paranormal powers maniest. Clairvoyance, clairaudience, distant healing, the ability to see Auras & ultimately Trikala-jnana ( the power to know Past, Present & future ) all manifest in the aspirant. The aspirant should not be intoxicated by these siddhis. If he tries to exhibit the siddhis or paranormal powers, he may not reach the Goal of Life. Instead he should ignore these powers of the mind & continue his Tapas till he is liberated.

Once the Golden Serpent rises, your thinking will change.Your perceptions will change. Then you need not rely on books. Then your mind will become your book. This wonderful phenomenon called the mind is a repository of endless knowledge. Once the Kundalini via the Sushumna rises, we reach a transcendental plane. The main aim of the Yogi is to open the Sushumna.

Tantra is inextricably linked with Veda. Tantra is derived from 2 Sanskrit words Thanu Visthare ( to expand one's Consciousness ) & Thran Rakshane ( to liberate one from darkness ). Veda is derived from the Sanksrit Vid ( to know, particularly one's Self )

What is the use of knowing everything

If one doesn't know the Self ?

Is there any substratum for the Universe? Yajnavalkya, the greatest Seer before Buddha, told Maitreyi that it is the Self, for which all Heavens and Nature yearn ! It is not for wealth's sake that wealth is loved, it is for the sake of the Self. It is not for fame's sake that fame is loved; it is for the sake of the Self! This Self is to be known; this Self is to be comprehended!

Five types of Vid have been identified


Vid Sathayam ( Knowledge of Being, Ontology )

Vid Vicharena ( Knowledge of Thought, Epistemology)

Vid Labhe ( Knowledge of Self-Gain )

Vid Chetnakhyana Nivaseshu ( Knowledge of Consciousness )

Vid Jnane ( Knowedge of the Self )


Science is derived from the Latin "Scire" which means to know. Scientia means knowledge and Science means organised knowledge. So Science and Veda are synonyms. Tantra is that special knowlege which expands and liberates !

Five branches of Tantra have been identified

1) Sasthra _ Ontology and Epistemology - The Science of Being

2) Kriya _ Techniques for the Centrallisation of the Self

3) Yoga _ Includes Pranayama, Asanas and Kundalini Yoga

4) Charcha _ Standardisation of knowledge through conference of Tantra scholars

4) Vijnana _ Experiential Knowledge of the Absolute Self

Sasthra

Sasthra is the mighty Encyclopaedia of the Seers ( Rishies ) who cognised philosophic verities in higher states of Consciousness. They wrote treatises on the subject and 64 Tantras have been identified. It is true that this Tantric knowledge was lost due to the cycles of Time. Now is the time to redeem it !

Kriya

These are Tantric techniques and the norms to be followed for making Yantras. Also for centrallising the Self.

Yoga

' One who knows not Pranayama should not do Puja " averrs Tantra. He who has integrated the Tripod of Life, Body, Mind and Self alone should be a Tantric. Priority is given to Yogic techniques and to Kundalini Yoga, techniques to arouse the Serpent Power which lies dormant at the Root Chakra.

Charcha

To standardise knowledge, to reach an ideological convergence despite the many systems in Tantra and to develop the Science through practical research and intuitive experience, Charcha ( conference amonst Tantrics ) is needed.

Vijnana

Vijnana is Applied Wisdom. The Fire of the Lamp, which is an external symbol, should be integrated with the Fire within ( the Fire of the Absolute Self ). The aspirant begins with the equation that the Knowledge, Known and Knower are different on the dualistic level. Through Tantric processes, Knowledge, Known & the Knower become One ultimately ( Jnathru Jnana Jneya Abheda Bhavanam Sree Chakra Poojanam ) and the non-dualistic level is achieved.

In Yogic Psychology, red is the color of Rajas, White the color of Satva & Blue is the color of Tamas Rajas is humanity, Satva divinity & Tamas, bestiality. These are the triune attributes of Nature which vex the mind perpetually.

More information about Transcendental Philosophy & Yoga can be
had from http://www.eastrovedica.com/html/yoga.htm


As the bestower of prosperity Thou art as red as Coral

As fair as Luna when Thou grantest Wisdom !

As blue hued when Thou embark on destruction

I take refuge in Thee, O Generatrix of worlds triune !

Tantra is the protecting mother of Astrology. All astrologers are aware of Tantric techniques which remove mortal dross and raise the Serpent Power !

More information about Mundane Astrology & Transit Forecast can be had
from http://www.eastrovedica.com/html/transat.htm

Tantra II

Tantra - The Serpentine Ascent - Part II

There is a common notion that Tantra deals with Sex & the term denoted for this in the New Age is Sacred Sexuality.

The Union of Nature ( Prakriti ) & Intelligence ( Purusha ) is the base of all Indian Philosophy. ' The entire Universe is nothing but He & She" said Aurobindo. It is a continuum of Conscioussness-Force. The Universe is regarded as a Union of Nature and Her Lord.

All Nature is a wide enamoured pause
Hoping for Her lord to touch, to clasp, to be!

On the breast of the static Absolute ( Purusha ), She sports as dynamic Time !

His breast He offers for Her Cosmic Dance
Over our lives which are the shivering theatre !

With such a philosophical background, Tantra becomes a formidable Art to protray Cosmic Union. Sex is the union of male and female & Tantra represents the Union of the male and female components of the Ultimate.

Kala in Sanskrit means Time and Kali is She who is of the nature of Time Eternal. Everything is created by Time, preserved by Time and destroyed by Time and it She who is the Sole Doer.

"He who forces Time will be pushed back by Time
He who yields to Time will find Time on his side"

Life is regarded as the unfolding of the Self at six different levels of consciousness known as Chakras in the magnificent Tantric Model. In mundane people the unfolding takes place only at the first three chakras which represent procreation, metabolism & speech; the higher three chakras remain latent. The awakening of the higher chakras results in the unfolding and fulfillment of Life Divine. When the Kundalini, the Serpentine Power inherent in humans, rises from the Root Chakra ( Muladhara ) to the Crown Chakra ( Sahasrara ), man achieves Cosmic Consciousness.

The Spirit shall take up the human play
The earthly life become the Life Divine!

Ancient Tantric treatises give priority to the Fivefold Worship ( The Pancha Makara Pooja ), the Five Great M's which are to be worshipped.

Madyam Mamsam cha Meenam cha
Mudra Maidhunameva Cha
Eka Pancha Makarasyur
Naranam Moksha Dayaka

Madyam _ Wine

Mamsam - Flesh

Meenam - Fish

Mudra - A Yogic Pose

Maidhuna - Copulation

Madyam is Wine and there is a saying in Latin " In Vino Veritas " ( There is

truth in Wine ).

Bacchus' blessings are a treasure

And drinking is the soldier's pleasure !

Alcohol, taken in small quantities is the exciter of the "Yes"

function in man. It can make man one with Truth.

Mudra is a Yogic Pose. Yoga is derived from the word Yuj which means to unite.

Meena means fishes. Mamsa means flesh. Traditionally, in other systems which are considered divine like Yoga, non veg food is eschewed. But not so in Tantra.

Maidhuna is Copulation. Sex was considered as Lust in puritan philosophies. But not so in Tantra. "Sex is spiritual, it is something that comes out of the depths of your being " says Dr Maxwell Maltz, founder of Psycho- Cybernetics.

These 5 Ms are the five elements which are used by Tantra for Cosmic Union.

The Symbolic Meaning behind the Five Great M's

It is to be noted that Mamsam ( Flesh ) is symbolic. The Sanksrit Soham means ' I am He '. Mamsa means the same Mam ( I am ) and Sah is He.

The Wine referred to here is the Wine of Bliss. The Copulation referred here is the Divine Copulation.

No doubt sex is the microcosmic representation of Cosmic Union. In this sense Tantra becomes Sacred and divine. It is the Sacred Art & hence the holiest of all Holy Sciences !

Vedic Astrology is another manifestation of Tantra. The knowledge of the planets and the constellations is esoteric and Tantra is the main affiliate of Astrology. Celestial transit influences produce mundane effects which can be unveiled by Mundane Astrology

Tantra and Vedanta are sister sciences. One deals with Sat ( the Absolute
aspect of Being ) & the other with Chit, which is both absolutely relative
and relatively absolute.

It is said that She is the representative of Absolute Knowledge ( Brahma Jnana) and She sports in the garden of the Upanishads !

Thou exist as prosperity in the houses of the righteous

As mental tension galore in the houses of the profane !

In the Seers as Intelligence, as Morality & Ethics in the good

Infinite are Thy works and Grace, O Mother Divine !

Tantra I

Tantra - The Serpentine Ascent - Part I

Occult Vibratory Chemistry existed in India by the name of Tantra.

Tantra is derived from two Sanskrit words - Thanoti ( to expand ) & Trayate ( to liberate). This Science has the power to expand and liberate !

Expansion means to grow beyond one's boundaries. Expansion upto Infinity. Thanothi means the expansion of Consciousness ad infinitum.Individual consciousness should expand to Universal Consciousness for mergence in
the Supreme Self.

Trayate means to liberate, to liberate man from bondgage, from the Seven Deadly Sins which bind him to the sublunar world. The purging of mortal dross is a must for Self-Actualisation and the " inner enemies of man " Lust, greed, anger, jealousy, sloth, covetousness & attachment ) are the real blocks in the way of Self Actualisation

Liberation is not possible without expansion of Consciousness. When our individual Consciousness expands to Cosmic, we feel whole & are liberated from the thraldom of matter.

The Upanishadic Philosophy was based on the Five Concentric Sheaths known as the Five Koshas. The outermost concentric Sheath, the Anna Maya Kosha, is known as the Material Sheath. It envelopes the other four sheaths -
vital, mental, intellectual & bliss.

Tantra, on the other hand, speaks about the Six Chakras, dynamoes of Cosmic
Energy in the human body.

These Chakras are ( in ascending order)

1. Root Chakra ( Muladhara )
2. Anal Chakra ( Manipura )
3. Solar Plexus Chakra ( Swadhistana )
4. Heart Chakra ( Anahata )
5. Throat Chakra ( Vishuddhi )
6. Eyebrow Chakra ( Ajna )

The Five Great Elements ( Earth, air, water, fire & ether ) & Mind reside
in the Six Chakras.

Earth-Principle resides in the Root Chakra
Water-Principle resides in the Navel Chakra
Fire-Principle resides in the Solar Plexus Chakra
Air-Principle resides in the Heart Chakra
Ether-Principle resides in the Throat Chakra
Mind-Principle resides in the Eye Brow Chakra.

The Microscomic representative of the Macrocosmic Shakti ( Cosmic Power ), the Kundalini, sportest as the Six principles in the Six Chakras in Her Cosmic Play.

O Infinite Power ! Thou art the Mind-principle in the Eye brow Chakra
In the Throat Chakra , Thou sport as the Ether-principle
In the Heart Chakra, Thou sportest as Air- principle
In the Solar Plexus Chakra, Thou art Fire-principle
In the Navel Chakra , Thou exist as Water-principle
In the Root Chakra, Thou art the Earth _Principle, O Mighty Mother !
And in the Crown Chakra, Thou sportest blissfully with thy beloved Consort !

She lies coiled in human beings as the Coiled Serpent Power ( Kundalini). She rises during Mediation and Yogic processes.

Her rise can be felt by the meditator. When She rises, a subtle warmth will be felt in the body. Voice changes. Voice becomes musical, " propertied as the tuned spheres". The personality of the native becomes very attractive due to the influx of Jupiterian energy. Wisdom and learning grace the individual. When She rises furthur, torrential bliss will be felt. And when She reaches the Crown Chakra, it is Cosmic Consciousness for the native !

She sports as Universal Power in the Macrocosm; and in the microcosm as the coiled Serpent Power!

Infinite Power of the Absolute art Thou!
The Cause of the Universe as Maya
The entire Creation is Thy Play
Thy blessing is Bliss Absolute !

The essence of all sciences art Thou
All women Thy manifestations !
The visible Universe Thou art
And the dormant Serpentine Power !

One of the pioneers in Tantra Research was Sir John Woodroffe , who had written many scholarly treatises on the subject. His magnum opus is the "Serpent Power", which is a scientific treatise about the Kundalini. His
practice of Tantra endowed him with personal magnetism. He became the cynosure of all eyes. There was a special lustre on his face, he possessed the Golden Tongue of Good Report & there was a spiritual halo around him. He had developed his Auric Field ( the human electro-magnetic field ) due to Tantric techniques and bacame a dynamo of spiritual energy. His masterly book is a scientific diagnosis about Tantra.

The heart and vocal nervous centers are intimately related physiologically. Bhava Shuddhi or purity of Heart makes the voice innocent and musical. The true Initiate is he whose voice is true and who possesses the Golden Tongue of Good Report!

The Cosmic Shakti is the Force behind the Universe & the entire Universe is her play & display. Kundalini is Her microcosmic representation. She has been depicted as the Mother Goddess in Pagan philosophies.

Nature is visible Intelligence; Intelligence is invisible Nature. The Spiritual & the Natural are not different. That which is spiritual is natural in its ascent & cause. That which is natural is spiritual in its descent and being.

She is the female component of the Ultimate and all systems deal with the male and the female components of Reality. The male component is He ! Consciousness and Force, the Supreme Self and Nature, Matter and Spirit, Being and Becoming, the One and the Innumerable, the Formless and then a delirium of Forms - She and He, two in one, inseparable ! He, outside Time, outside Space, pure Being, pure Consciousness, the Great White Silence wherein everything is contained in a state of involution, contained, yet formless !

She flings forth from Him in an outburst of joy, again to find Him playing in Time, She and He, two in one , inextricable! Can Nature exist without her Lord ? Can He exist without Nature ?

This is the Purusha and Prakriti of Sankhya, the Brahman and Maya of Vedanta , the Sive and Shakti of Tantra !

Without Him, I exist not
Without Me, He is unmanifest ! - The Mother of Auroville

It is due to Her Grace that a man becomes a material success. It is She who gives the successful man the indomitable Will Power needed for success.

On the other hand, it is also Her Grace which giveth spiritual success. It is She who gives the devotee the necessary Self-knowledge, makes him do altruistic acts & leads him to Self-Actualisation. In other words, She has two aspects, material & spiritual and Her Grace is absolutely necessary for success in both the spheres. .

It is said that She, as the Prakriti ( Nature ) of Purusha ( Supreme Self), is the base of the Universe & when She becomes supremely pleased with the devotee, confers on him Self-Actualisation !

She is the Creatrix, She is the Mediatrix, She is the Dispensatrix and the Executrix of the absolute mechanism of Universal Justice.

Power is Divine and not to be condemned

It is this Power aspect of Consciousness which India has depicted as the Divine Mother. It is a mistake of the ethical and the religious mind to condemn Power as something unworthy because it is in its very nature corrupting and evil. Despite arguments to the contrary ( Power corrupts and absolute Power corrupts absolutely), Power, Shakti, Will is the mover of the worlds and basically is spiritual in origin and divine in character !

A Power to call Eternity into Time
And make the body's joy as vivid as the soul's !.

The highest philosophic concept is that of the Philosopher-King, he who possesses powers both eternal and temporal. They were known as Raja-Rishies in India. Lord Rama, Lord Krishna, King Janaka were all Raja-Rishies. Marcus Aurelius & Augustus Caesar in the West were also reputed Philosopher-Kings. They did not renounce power !

Tantra as related to Astrology

Tides are caused by the Moon. The human body is 65% water. ( Even the Archbishop of Canterbury is 65% water ). If Moon can effectuate tides, what effect will he have on the human body which is predominantly water? And what about the effects of other planets ?

More information about Mundane Astrology & Transit Forecast can be had
from http://www.eastrovedica.com/html/transat.htm

The Wisdom of Tantra

The Wisdom of Tat ( Being ) should be fused with Wisdom of Chit ( of Tantra ). Then alone will it become integral knowledge !