Continued---------
The entire Bhakti movement in general, Nirguna Saint poets in particular during the middle age,took the idea of the supremacy of Guru from Tantra sastra and equated him with God. The much quoted couplet of Sant Kabir in which he gives precedence to Guru over lord himself with the plea that it was through Guru that the lord was realized is too well-known to be repeated. It is the Guru who effects " Sakti Sanchar'. with electrified transmission of him own Tejas the Guru provides the necessary boost for the launch of spiritual flight towards the starry stretches. It was the wonder touch of Ramkrishna Param Hans that gave Narendra Vivekanand-the first glimpse or feel of the supreme bliss in which Param Hans permanently dwelt. This is what Visvasara Tantra says, the appearance of Guru is the root of Dhyana , the lotus foot of Guru is the root of Puja, the word of Guru is the root of Mantra and the grace of Guru is te root of Siddhi. Yogini Tantra says that Guru is the manifestation of the Absolute. It is his pleasure and his competence that decide the final outcome of the spiritual journey. The grossest sin in Tantra is the slandering of Guru and there is no expiation force. Guru has to be chosen with the greatest care and the search for a guru can take a searcher to distant lands and wildernesses. There are two broad divisions of preceptorial order. There are Siksa Gurus and there are diksa gurus. In exceptional cases these two identities get merged in one and a living God in the form of a Guru is traced. Tantric preachers of the highest standing-padmasambhava, Sant Rakshita Dipankara, Sambhota, Matsyendra, Nadapada , Nagarjuna etc. Belong to this order, But enlightened souls do not visit the planet earth very frequently and as such a sadhaka is to have a firm grasp on the theoretical aspects under the guidance of a sastra expert and then sit at the feet of a competent Diksa guru who would initiate him in kriya-oriented Tantra. For Tantra as already pointed out is not only meditation. It in a Natural science as well as a performing art. Kularnava Tantra speaks of six kind of gurus. These Kinds however haven't got distinguishing outlines and tend to overlap. They seem to be spirals of ascent and have been presented in perceptional order in a symbolic manner. These kind carry the names of Preraka, Suchaka, Vachaka, Darsaka, Siksaka and Bodhaka. They, as the very names suggest are closely inter related and can be treated as diversified sets of tantric performance which a guru is to make operative.
Tantra Sastra like medicine and astrology is verifiable at every step. It is not the chase of will-the-wisp. This is why it has been called-Pratyaksha sastra. It is based upon a set of doctrines and its efficacy can be tested by any individual at any time and any stage. In Tantra Sastra theory does not occupy the three fourths of stage. Rathore Theory retires after performing the introductory part and then kriyas occupy the central stage and continue to play ad-infinitum. The Tantra provides for a graded system of Sadhana according to the competence-adhikara of the seeker. It does not horrify the seeker of truth in early stages with subtleties of upnishadic nature. Spiritual exhortations of epigrammatic coinage such as the part that makes up the individual comes out of the whole and the stuff of which it is made is of such a transcendental nature that the whole remains whole, in spite of something being taken out of the whole. Again though what is taken out is but a part,it is as whole as the original. The axioms of Mathematics relating to the whole and the part do not apply to the absolute and its manifestation( lsavasyopanishad ) do not distract him from performance of preliminary nature that would open the complexities of more rewarding kriyas and resultant body control leading to mental discipline. With puja, Japa and Dhyana-as revealed to him by his Diksa guru-The Tantra Sadhaka reaches the Siddhi stage. This stage itself has many steps and for every upward climb specialpractices of breath,body,word senses and mind control and required. Let it be understood that the Siddhi realization is only a trap,a mirage and those who get bewitched get lost. Of course, Siddhi realization does give a consciousness of the right direction that would lead to the next higher stages. Siddhis of great Tantrics have been major factor in popularising Tantra among masses. There is however a mighty difference between the concept of a Siddha in popular mind and the concept of Siddha as enunciated in tibetan Tantric tradition which will be outlined in due course to emphasise the essential oneness of Tantra thought .
(Continued in Next issue )
The entire Bhakti movement in general, Nirguna Saint poets in particular during the middle age,took the idea of the supremacy of Guru from Tantra sastra and equated him with God. The much quoted couplet of Sant Kabir in which he gives precedence to Guru over lord himself with the plea that it was through Guru that the lord was realized is too well-known to be repeated. It is the Guru who effects " Sakti Sanchar'. with electrified transmission of him own Tejas the Guru provides the necessary boost for the launch of spiritual flight towards the starry stretches. It was the wonder touch of Ramkrishna Param Hans that gave Narendra Vivekanand-the first glimpse or feel of the supreme bliss in which Param Hans permanently dwelt. This is what Visvasara Tantra says, the appearance of Guru is the root of Dhyana , the lotus foot of Guru is the root of Puja, the word of Guru is the root of Mantra and the grace of Guru is te root of Siddhi. Yogini Tantra says that Guru is the manifestation of the Absolute. It is his pleasure and his competence that decide the final outcome of the spiritual journey. The grossest sin in Tantra is the slandering of Guru and there is no expiation force. Guru has to be chosen with the greatest care and the search for a guru can take a searcher to distant lands and wildernesses. There are two broad divisions of preceptorial order. There are Siksa Gurus and there are diksa gurus. In exceptional cases these two identities get merged in one and a living God in the form of a Guru is traced. Tantric preachers of the highest standing-padmasambhava, Sant Rakshita Dipankara, Sambhota, Matsyendra, Nadapada , Nagarjuna etc. Belong to this order, But enlightened souls do not visit the planet earth very frequently and as such a sadhaka is to have a firm grasp on the theoretical aspects under the guidance of a sastra expert and then sit at the feet of a competent Diksa guru who would initiate him in kriya-oriented Tantra. For Tantra as already pointed out is not only meditation. It in a Natural science as well as a performing art. Kularnava Tantra speaks of six kind of gurus. These Kinds however haven't got distinguishing outlines and tend to overlap. They seem to be spirals of ascent and have been presented in perceptional order in a symbolic manner. These kind carry the names of Preraka, Suchaka, Vachaka, Darsaka, Siksaka and Bodhaka. They, as the very names suggest are closely inter related and can be treated as diversified sets of tantric performance which a guru is to make operative.
Tantra Sastra like medicine and astrology is verifiable at every step. It is not the chase of will-the-wisp. This is why it has been called-Pratyaksha sastra. It is based upon a set of doctrines and its efficacy can be tested by any individual at any time and any stage. In Tantra Sastra theory does not occupy the three fourths of stage. Rathore Theory retires after performing the introductory part and then kriyas occupy the central stage and continue to play ad-infinitum. The Tantra provides for a graded system of Sadhana according to the competence-adhikara of the seeker. It does not horrify the seeker of truth in early stages with subtleties of upnishadic nature. Spiritual exhortations of epigrammatic coinage such as the part that makes up the individual comes out of the whole and the stuff of which it is made is of such a transcendental nature that the whole remains whole, in spite of something being taken out of the whole. Again though what is taken out is but a part,it is as whole as the original. The axioms of Mathematics relating to the whole and the part do not apply to the absolute and its manifestation( lsavasyopanishad ) do not distract him from performance of preliminary nature that would open the complexities of more rewarding kriyas and resultant body control leading to mental discipline. With puja, Japa and Dhyana-as revealed to him by his Diksa guru-The Tantra Sadhaka reaches the Siddhi stage. This stage itself has many steps and for every upward climb specialpractices of breath,body,word senses and mind control and required. Let it be understood that the Siddhi realization is only a trap,a mirage and those who get bewitched get lost. Of course, Siddhi realization does give a consciousness of the right direction that would lead to the next higher stages. Siddhis of great Tantrics have been major factor in popularising Tantra among masses. There is however a mighty difference between the concept of a Siddha in popular mind and the concept of Siddha as enunciated in tibetan Tantric tradition which will be outlined in due course to emphasise the essential oneness of Tantra thought .
(Continued in Next issue )
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