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Tantra-yoga refers to the spiritual disciplines that constitute the vast and complex
Tantric tradition of India. The term Tantra itself is
derived from the verb root tan which means 'to spread, stretch or expand' or sometimes
'do in detail', and can be translated as loom, warp, that which is woven, rule,
ritual, doctrine, scripture or religious treatise. All of these meanings find their
reflection in the spiritual and cultural movements that have contributed to a tradition
that has drawn upon a multiplicity of previously existing religious rituals, spiritual
practices, religious doctrines and philosophical principles, and woven them into
a novel synthesis that seeks the Divine through the mundane. In more general terms,
though, the term tantra can refer to the Tantric tradition as a whole, to particular
schools of thought and practice within that tradition, or to the Tantric scriptures
themselves (which may also be referred to as agamas, or 'what has come down from
tradition').
The origins of Tantra are obscure, though there is general agreement that it emerged
in the form that we currently recognise it within the Hindu, Buddhist and Jain traditions
sometime around the middle of the first millennium CE, reaching maturity by about
1000 CE. By this time Tantra had become influential in philosophy, literature and
iconography, as well as among ascetics and yogins. However some scholars and proponents
of Tantra have argued that the Tantras are at least as old as the Vedas, pointing
out that there is evidence to suggest that goddess worship, which is one of the
defining characteristics of Tantra, was present in Vedic times.
Setting aside the issue of the relative ages of the Vedic and Tantric traditions,
these two interrelated currents of Indian spirituality have been sharply distinguished
by orthodox Hinduism which accepts the authority of the Vedas. Features of Tantra
such as its rejection of the caste system, the status it gives to the feminine principle
and the inclusion of women in its religious rituals and practices, and especially
the spiritual practice of ritual sexual union (both actual and symbolic), are considered
heresies by orthodox Hindus who regard the Tantric tradition as a whole as nastika
or heterodox.
Given the enduring prestige of the Vedas in India, it's not surprising that Tantra
describes its relation to the Vedic tradition quite differently. The Mahanirvana
Tantra, an esteemed eleventh century Hindu Tantric text, does not position itself
in opposition to Vedic revelation but holds that the worth of Vedic principles and
practices cannot be fully appreciated in the current age. The Vedas are said to
have been given for the first of the four yugas (ages or cycles of the world), the
satya or krta, which was an era of truth (satya) and virtue. In the second or treta-yuga
and the third or dvapara-yuga these two qualities diminish to a point where the
Vedic rites lose their effectiveness. Tantra is prescribed for the final or kali-yuga,
which is the present age, characterised as it is by spiritual ignorance, greed and
suffering.
At the risk of oversimplifying an incredibly rich, varied and complex tradition
that remains to be adequately researched and documented, what distinguishes Tantra
from other Indian spiritual traditions is its attempt to bring existing spiritual
practices and doctrines from many different paths into a comprehensive synthesis
with elements that had been marginalised by orthodox Hinduism. The motive behind
this project was the perceived need to promote all possible means in order to meet
the spiritual challenges of the kali-yuga.
Accordingly the Tantras appropriated what was thought to be suitable for the age
from Vedic rituals and mantras, the monistic philosophy of the Upanisads, the bhakti
cults of the Puranas, and the methods documented by Patanjali in his Yoga-sutra.
The various systems of sadhana (from the verb root sadh = 'to go straight to the
goal') or 'means of realisation' that resulted from these appropriations combined
yoga, bhakti, jnana, karma, mantra and ritual with practices maligned by established
spiritual conventions.
These latter practices included most notoriously the so-called panca-makara or 'five
m's': the consumption of wine (madya), meat (mamsa), fish (matsya) and parched grain
(mudra) in a ceremonial context that culminated in a consecrated sexual ritual between
female and male initiates (maithuna). This practice was not a feature of all schools
of Tantra, but it is emblematic of Tantra's guiding principle that the Absolute
can be realised in and through the human body. This principle subverts the tendency
towards worldly renunciation in orthodox Hinduism and reverses its disregard for
sexuality, the feminine, the human body and indeed physical existence as a whole,
which in orthodox thought is the crucible of suffering.
Tantra's reverence for the human body is indicative of its refusal to accept the
traditional opposition between the enjoyment of worldly experience (bhoga or bhukti)
and spiritual liberation (moksa or mukti). For instance where classical yoga urges
us to suppress the activation of samskaras or latent behavioural patterns in order
to transcend the world given to us by the senses, Tantra encourages us to enter
more fully into that world and realise that all spurs to action are the play of
the Divine (lila).
The Tantric approach is therefore neither to oppose our desires and inclinations
nor to indulge or identify with them, but to shape their expression into a form
of sadhana that seeks a living unity with the Divine. By recognising that everything
'that is' is an expression of the Divine, the dualism between the Absolute and worldly
experience is dissolved. Liberation (moksa) is then no longer a matter of overcoming
our attachment to the life of the senses through renunciation, but of transforming
that life by realising the primordial unity of the totality of experience.
The Philosophies of Hindu Tantra
As mentioned above, Tantra developed along similar lines within the Hindu, Buddhist
and Jain traditions. The most significant strands of Hindu Tantra are associated
with the Vaisnava, Saiva and Sakta religious cults, though there are other schools
of Tantra within and besides these. These three religious movements worship the
gods Visnu and Siva and the goddess Sakti respectively. All three devas (from the
verb root div = 'to shine') or deities are mentioned in the Vedas, however the development
of their worship into the religious cultures that contributed to the flowering of
Tantra around 1000 CE, which took place over more than two millennia, also included
non-Vedic influences.
As the personal God of the Vaisnavas, Visnu is also worshipped in the form of his
incarnations which include Rama, the hero of the epic Ramayana, and Krsna whose
teachings are contained in the Bhagavad-Gita which is an episode from India's other
national epic, the Mahabharata. This strongly theistic tradition encourages the
development of a personal relationship between the devotee and the deva which involves
the intense devotional love and complete surrender that characterises Bhakti-yoga.
Bhakti (from the verb root bhaj = 'to love, worship, revere') is also important
for Saktas and Saivas, however where the distinction between the devotee and the
deva that is central to any devotional relationship remains even after moksa (liberation)
for Vaisnavas, Saktism and Saivism hold that moksa dissolves this distinction in
the ultimate unity of Siva and Sakti. Vaisnavism is therefore addressed in more
detail in the article on Bhakti-yoga, and the focus of what follows will be the
philosophies and practices of the Saiva and Sakta tantric cults.
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