Continued------
Siddha Cult has to be understood in the context of vajra yana thought as it is closely associated with it. Vajrayana sprang up from Mahayana which was the main philosophic pursuit of the academics in the universities of Vikramsila, Nalanda and Odantipura in fifth and sixth century A.D.for over a thousand years the austere teachings of Buddha had held the sway over the guilds of monks. Times had changed and the middle path suggested by Buddha did not offer any scope for experimentation. The control over senses had continued for too long and the mass phychology demanded the display of powers bordering on the super-sensuous. It was at this stage that the Tantric element entered significantly into the teaching of the great founder. Nalanda was founded around 425 A.D. and vikramsila a little later than Nalanda. These universities were known for excellence during those days just the way Harvard and Oxford are known in the modern Context. It was difficult to get an entry into the portals of these universities are entrance tests were conducted by Dwar-pandits at each one of the four entry points. The univarsity of Vikramasila achieved eminence during the regime of king Samkara ( 955-983 A.D. ) It is on record that the great Ratnakara Santi ( Acharya Santi ) Controlled the Eastern gate, Mahapandita Prajna Karamati regulated the entry at western gate and the greatest of them all Mahapandit Nada Pada screened the desirous scholars at the Northern gate. Obviously it were only the very deserving who could make a point. The reputation of Nalanda was as great , If not greater , as that of Vikramasila. Nalanda at that time was busy with numerous Mahayana deities it's reputation reached Tibet and the Tibetan Monarch sent Thom-misambhota- the greatest genius and scholar of Tibet who gave the country its script , to Nalanda around 640 A.D. to learn Tantra Sastra and to develop a script for Tibetans. Tibet had already a religion of murmuring spells 'Bon '. This cult of murmuring spells ' Bon ' ( pronounced pean ) was the most widely accepted faith in Tibet before the advent of Buddhism. Naturally the Tibetan monarch felt interested in Tantra-cult and sent the most capable of allscholars, sambhota, to India. sambhota's visit to India has been repeatedly mentioned in Tibetan records of the time. Of many divinities that were being studied at Nalanda the one that appealed to Sambhota'simagination was Avalokitesvara . The concept of Bodhisattva had taken deep roots in Mahayana tradition. Avalokitesvara,a manifestation of Buddha was said to reside on mount ' Potalka ' somewhere in south India. Sambhota is said to have made a trip to south India and perhapsgot a vision of Avalokilesvara. It has however not been ascertained as to where mount'Potalka ' stood although both Indian and Tibetan sources suggest that It was in south India. Different opinions have been expressed about the exact location of the mountain. According to Chunningham it was a Malakuta, a tract between Tanjore and Travancore. Nanda Lal Deo fixes it at western ghat, N. Dutta at Kottayam and some other locate it in Dhanyakataka. We hace discussed mount potalka with some details because the Dalai Lama's place in Lha-sa was named Potalka for the dalai Lama is considered to be an incarnation of Avalokitesvara. We have also talked of Tantric tradition in Tibet with some details for while discussing Tantra Sastra we can not overlook Tibetan tradition which, infact,runs parallel to Indian thought and is very much similar to it . We have already stressed the point that Tantra is not region specific nor race specific. The fact that many of our Tantric texts have been recovered from Tibetan Monasteries make it all the more relevant that Tibetan tradition should not be over-looked. Sambhota took Avalokitesvara from India to Tibet more specifically from Nalanda and South India but Sambhota gave India Tara -the most sought after female deity of the school of Tantrics.
(Continued in next issue )
Siddha Cult has to be understood in the context of vajra yana thought as it is closely associated with it. Vajrayana sprang up from Mahayana which was the main philosophic pursuit of the academics in the universities of Vikramsila, Nalanda and Odantipura in fifth and sixth century A.D.for over a thousand years the austere teachings of Buddha had held the sway over the guilds of monks. Times had changed and the middle path suggested by Buddha did not offer any scope for experimentation. The control over senses had continued for too long and the mass phychology demanded the display of powers bordering on the super-sensuous. It was at this stage that the Tantric element entered significantly into the teaching of the great founder. Nalanda was founded around 425 A.D. and vikramsila a little later than Nalanda. These universities were known for excellence during those days just the way Harvard and Oxford are known in the modern Context. It was difficult to get an entry into the portals of these universities are entrance tests were conducted by Dwar-pandits at each one of the four entry points. The univarsity of Vikramasila achieved eminence during the regime of king Samkara ( 955-983 A.D. ) It is on record that the great Ratnakara Santi ( Acharya Santi ) Controlled the Eastern gate, Mahapandita Prajna Karamati regulated the entry at western gate and the greatest of them all Mahapandit Nada Pada screened the desirous scholars at the Northern gate. Obviously it were only the very deserving who could make a point. The reputation of Nalanda was as great , If not greater , as that of Vikramasila. Nalanda at that time was busy with numerous Mahayana deities it's reputation reached Tibet and the Tibetan Monarch sent Thom-misambhota- the greatest genius and scholar of Tibet who gave the country its script , to Nalanda around 640 A.D. to learn Tantra Sastra and to develop a script for Tibetans. Tibet had already a religion of murmuring spells 'Bon '. This cult of murmuring spells ' Bon ' ( pronounced pean ) was the most widely accepted faith in Tibet before the advent of Buddhism. Naturally the Tibetan monarch felt interested in Tantra-cult and sent the most capable of allscholars, sambhota, to India. sambhota's visit to India has been repeatedly mentioned in Tibetan records of the time. Of many divinities that were being studied at Nalanda the one that appealed to Sambhota'simagination was Avalokitesvara . The concept of Bodhisattva had taken deep roots in Mahayana tradition. Avalokitesvara,a manifestation of Buddha was said to reside on mount ' Potalka ' somewhere in south India. Sambhota is said to have made a trip to south India and perhapsgot a vision of Avalokilesvara. It has however not been ascertained as to where mount'Potalka ' stood although both Indian and Tibetan sources suggest that It was in south India. Different opinions have been expressed about the exact location of the mountain. According to Chunningham it was a Malakuta, a tract between Tanjore and Travancore. Nanda Lal Deo fixes it at western ghat, N. Dutta at Kottayam and some other locate it in Dhanyakataka. We hace discussed mount potalka with some details because the Dalai Lama's place in Lha-sa was named Potalka for the dalai Lama is considered to be an incarnation of Avalokitesvara. We have also talked of Tantric tradition in Tibet with some details for while discussing Tantra Sastra we can not overlook Tibetan tradition which, infact,runs parallel to Indian thought and is very much similar to it . We have already stressed the point that Tantra is not region specific nor race specific. The fact that many of our Tantric texts have been recovered from Tibetan Monasteries make it all the more relevant that Tibetan tradition should not be over-looked. Sambhota took Avalokitesvara from India to Tibet more specifically from Nalanda and South India but Sambhota gave India Tara -the most sought after female deity of the school of Tantrics.
(Continued in next issue )
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