Continued ----------------
In Indian thought -Chronology one more positive aspect of Tantra Practice was the fact, that if one got the right type of Guru, one did not need to undergo long period of the preparatory training. The critics can pick a point here and say that by opening the doors to laity Tantra Sastra fell down a step or two from the high pedestal it stood on and got itself polluted. But let them remember that the quest for one's inner energy is the fundamental right of every individual and not the monopoly of the privileged few.
One of the most weighty factors that establishes the supremacy of the Tantra Sastra in the modern context of life standards is its balanced approach towards Samsara-the material world with all its paraphernalia. Unlike the great Shankara's philosophy of treating the world as illusion-Maya and as suchto be shunned and discarded Tantra treats it is a stepping stone towards higher bliss. True , that the world is not the ultimate end-truth , that sensuous pleasures are not a enduring substance yet they have to be lived and enjoyed without getting lost in them and they have to be made the stimulants of higher mental activities that would lift a true Sadhaka from morass to sublimity in due course of time. Samsara is not a hill for a Tantric. He knows that it is there and it would continue to be there. It can not be escaped as imaginary escapes lead to boomeranged bondages. The universe is not Maya but an expression of Brahman in the eyes of a Tantric rightly perceived it never veils but reveals Brahman . It is the required material and chosen field for Sadhana. Tantra Sastra does not see a hell in women. It takes her to be an embodiment of divinely charged components. It is through the sensuous that supersensuous is to be attained. This attitude in its sweep and range can provide even a non-practising Tantra believer with the ideal code of conduct for the journey of life. A Tantric ,it is widely believed , gets acquainted with the supersensuous powers of nature. These Powers like the woven matrix of the universe are both good and bad. He, if he has learnt to walk on the razor's edge-a spiritualbalancing of the highest order,teaches himself how to utilize the services of the high towards off the evils of the low. After all , the path thad leads to ultimate reality, is through the crowded happenings of the material world,and impediments on the way have to be cleared off. This knowledgeis essential for the pilgrim on the path to Shaktipeeth Tantra Shastra therefore is not total renunciation . It is not an exclusive penance of total isolation. It is a sastra to be made applicable to the happpenings around with a view to increasing the total goods against the total evil. A Tantric therefore is a highly gifted versatile individual who is adept at numerous techniques of sublime order and has a very deep acquaintance with related disciplines of Alchemy, Astronomy, Astrology, Herbiology and Metallurgy. He is in touch with the cosmic laws of nature . He was first in the world to use Mercury, snake- poison and the metals as medicine. But before he becomes an adept , a sidha, a divinity in human form , a Bodhi Sattva in Buddist tradition, he must have got the blessing and transmitted Tejas -superior energy of a true preceptor -a guru . Let us have a look at the concept of Guru outlined in tantra texts. Infact , the importance of Guru was already there in Vedanta and Tantra being a Pratyaksha sastra neededa guru all the more. In Taittiriyopanishad Acharya has been placed on equal pedestal with mother and father. ' Matra Devo Bhav. " " Pitra Devo Bhav. " " Acharya Devo Bhav. " In Tantra Sastra Guru is the manifesation of Mahakala . He rises a step higher from Vedantic hierarchy.This might be because of excessive increase in the number of bliss seekers most of whom must have been men and women without roots in the spiritual traditions.
(Continued in next issue )
In Indian thought -Chronology one more positive aspect of Tantra Practice was the fact, that if one got the right type of Guru, one did not need to undergo long period of the preparatory training. The critics can pick a point here and say that by opening the doors to laity Tantra Sastra fell down a step or two from the high pedestal it stood on and got itself polluted. But let them remember that the quest for one's inner energy is the fundamental right of every individual and not the monopoly of the privileged few.
One of the most weighty factors that establishes the supremacy of the Tantra Sastra in the modern context of life standards is its balanced approach towards Samsara-the material world with all its paraphernalia. Unlike the great Shankara's philosophy of treating the world as illusion-Maya and as suchto be shunned and discarded Tantra treats it is a stepping stone towards higher bliss. True , that the world is not the ultimate end-truth , that sensuous pleasures are not a enduring substance yet they have to be lived and enjoyed without getting lost in them and they have to be made the stimulants of higher mental activities that would lift a true Sadhaka from morass to sublimity in due course of time. Samsara is not a hill for a Tantric. He knows that it is there and it would continue to be there. It can not be escaped as imaginary escapes lead to boomeranged bondages. The universe is not Maya but an expression of Brahman in the eyes of a Tantric rightly perceived it never veils but reveals Brahman . It is the required material and chosen field for Sadhana. Tantra Sastra does not see a hell in women. It takes her to be an embodiment of divinely charged components. It is through the sensuous that supersensuous is to be attained. This attitude in its sweep and range can provide even a non-practising Tantra believer with the ideal code of conduct for the journey of life. A Tantric ,it is widely believed , gets acquainted with the supersensuous powers of nature. These Powers like the woven matrix of the universe are both good and bad. He, if he has learnt to walk on the razor's edge-a spiritualbalancing of the highest order,teaches himself how to utilize the services of the high towards off the evils of the low. After all , the path thad leads to ultimate reality, is through the crowded happenings of the material world,and impediments on the way have to be cleared off. This knowledgeis essential for the pilgrim on the path to Shaktipeeth Tantra Shastra therefore is not total renunciation . It is not an exclusive penance of total isolation. It is a sastra to be made applicable to the happpenings around with a view to increasing the total goods against the total evil. A Tantric therefore is a highly gifted versatile individual who is adept at numerous techniques of sublime order and has a very deep acquaintance with related disciplines of Alchemy, Astronomy, Astrology, Herbiology and Metallurgy. He is in touch with the cosmic laws of nature . He was first in the world to use Mercury, snake- poison and the metals as medicine. But before he becomes an adept , a sidha, a divinity in human form , a Bodhi Sattva in Buddist tradition, he must have got the blessing and transmitted Tejas -superior energy of a true preceptor -a guru . Let us have a look at the concept of Guru outlined in tantra texts. Infact , the importance of Guru was already there in Vedanta and Tantra being a Pratyaksha sastra neededa guru all the more. In Taittiriyopanishad Acharya has been placed on equal pedestal with mother and father. ' Matra Devo Bhav. " " Pitra Devo Bhav. " " Acharya Devo Bhav. " In Tantra Sastra Guru is the manifesation of Mahakala . He rises a step higher from Vedantic hierarchy.This might be because of excessive increase in the number of bliss seekers most of whom must have been men and women without roots in the spiritual traditions.
(Continued in next issue )
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