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

Product Information

Intro to Awareness Cultivation: Learn how to cultivate awareness on all layers of your personhood. A good course to establish or deepen your daily meditation practice.

A massive labor of love by a Westerner who has devoted his life to the study and practice of the profound path that goes by the name of Tantra. One thing that's surprising for the non-expert (at least for this one!) is how little is known about these teachings even in their native India and how close they came to extinction as recently as the 20th century. The author is part of a small but determined movement to change this, and he sends out a call for more scholars to join in this vital work. Special types of meditation that aim to transform the individual to an embodiement of the divine after a short span of time This whole existence is One Reality: Consciousness alone - unbroken by time, uncircumscribed by space, unclouded by attributes, unconfined by forms, unexpressed by words, and unaccounted for by the ordinary means of knowledge. For it is the cause, through its Will alone, by which all these sources of limitation - from time to the ordinary means of knowledge - attain their own natures. This Reality is free and independent, a mass of bliss, and That alone am I; thus the entire universe is held as a reflection within me."Stretches our awareness and our capacity for joy (modern interpretation but in the same sprit as the roots) Spiritual practice is most successful when you enjoy it for its own sake, experiencing it as a celebration of the Divine you nature rather than as a means to an end." Freedom means actually experiencing the divinity in each moment, which is the same as not wanting the present moment to be any different from the way it is." layer - vastu? - stuff around you, like you car or possessions, suffering comes by attaching yourself to this stuff.

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.

Become a Sadhaka Member for unlimited content

My issue is the author's haughty tone, particularly his gripes with Christianity. To compound this, he uses a handful of quotes from texts to claim the egalitarian and transgressive practices of tantric communities, making all efforts to absolve them of any forms of discriminatory practice. I'm not inclined to believe the claims that these communities did not uphold caste and gender prejudices, as would have been commonplace in brahminical society at that time. There's no evidence of widespread practice of Tantra by lower caste communities, leaving little room for the fantasy of a revolutionary religious system. In addition, the claims about Shaivism being a Tantrik doctrine are in contradiction of most mainstream Indian history, given that it continues to occupy a large role in the traditional Vedic fold.