Interview A Tantric Shaiva

[NobodyYouKnow]

...or just interview me. I'm so bored, I thought I would hop on the bandwagon.

Go for it.

 

[Sumit]

I am student of tantra. Your experience with tantra and which tantric scripture you like most.

 

[NobodyYouKnow]

I am student of tantra. Your experience with tantra and which tantric scripture you like most.

Thank you for replying.

The first book I ever read about the subject (as a teenager) was The Serpent Power by Arthur Avalon (Sir John Woodroffe) - published by the Theosophical Society.

From there, I studied the works of Pundit Gopi Krishna reading Kundalini, the Evolutionary Energy in Man:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gopi_Krishna_(yogi)

Then I studied Soundarya Lahari by Adi Shankaracharya - the first real work of Tantra based on the Divine Goddess.

After that, I read my favourite Tantric Scripture - Vijnana Bhairava Tantra which was all about Dhyana, Dharana and the process of concentration during Tantric meditation. This was taught by Shiva to Parvati.

Now, I am half way through the Maha Maheshwari Tantra and enjoying that, but I guess it would be the VBT and also parts of The Serpent Power and the Tibetan Book of the Dead.

 

[apophenia]

So in a word (OK, maybe 23 words), what is the motivator for your tantric practice ?

 

[NobodyYouKnow]

So in a word (OK, maybe 23 words), what is the motivator for your tantric practice ?

To know and understand the primal form of Lord Shiva through association with His Cosmic Energy (Shakti) to reconcile the personal and impersonal form of Brahman where no other approach has served that purpose so far.

Okay, more than 23 words. lol

 

[Sumit]

Thank you for replying.

The first book I ever read about the subject (as a teenager) was The Serpent Power by Arthur Avalon (Sir John Woodroffe) - published by the Theosophical Society.

From there, I studied the works of Pundit Gopi Krishna reading Kundalini, the Evolutionary Energy in Man:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gopi_Krishna_(yogi)

Then I studied Soundarya Lahari by Adi Shankaracharya - the first real work of Tantra based on the Divine Goddess.

After that, I read my favourite Tantric Scripture - Vijnana Bhairava Tantra which was all about Dhyana, Dharana and the process of concentration during Tantric meditation. This was taught by Shiva to Parvati.

Now, I am half way through the Maha Maheshwari Tantra and enjoying that, but I guess it would be the VBT and also parts of The Serpent Power and the Tibetan Book of the Dead.

Good to see someone interested in Tantra :namaste
Do you believe Guru is must for one moving on this path or we can just keep going with devotion in our deity? Did you ever experienced Kundalani Shakti?

 

[apophenia]

To know and understand the primal form of Lord Shiva through association with His Cosmic Energy (Shakti) to reconcile the personal and impersonal form of Brahman where no other approach has served that purpose so far.

Okay, more than 23 words. lol

Near enough for jazz

 

[NobodyYouKnow]

Good to see someone interested in Tantra :namaste
Do you believe Guru is must for one moving on this path or we can just keep going with devotion in our deity? Did you ever experienced Kundalani Shakti?

Thank you. I do believe that a Guru is very important and if you can find a good one, it will only benefit you ultimately.

Such practices are not to be attempted by the novice without guidance, however if you have had some guidance in the past, are aware of the dangers and what/not to do, you can manage a lot of it on your own, but still...having a Guru is the best idea.

We can keep going with devotion to our own Deity, but it's always nice to have an authoritative figure confirm or nullify certain experiences on the path if we lack the discrimination (viveka) within ourselves to do that.

I have experienced Kundalini Shakti, but mine was a spontaneous awakening that went awry (as most cases of this is). I was too young, too impatient...it took years to actually get the train 'back on track' as it were and I had to do that through the practice and application of Kriya Yoga. :namaste

 

[NobodyYouKnow]

Near enough for jazz

Cool. I was just hanging out at Sid's Cafe, sorry it took a while to get back to you.

 

[Nyingjé Tso]

Vanakkam,

I am tantra student too xD

Do you worship/sadhana/study only Shiva/Saiva scriptures or do you include other deities in your practice ?

Did Shiva came to you or did you came to Him ?

Many tantric I've met until now are Shakta, there is much less people primarily focused on Shiva, it's surprising !


Aum Namah Shivaya

 

[NobodyYouKnow]

Vanakkam,

I am tantra student too xD

Do you worship/sadhana/study only Shiva/Saiva scriptures or do you include other deities in your practice ?

Did Shiva came to you or did you came to Him ?

Many tantric I've met until now are Shakta, there is much less people primarily focused on Shiva, it's surprising !


Aum Namah Shivaya

Thanks for your questions.

I mainly worship Shiva and study Shaiva scriptures, as I have been a Shaiva for a very long time and I was happy worshiping Lord Shiva until I hit a snag- the best way to know/please Lord Shiva is through the worship of Devi (Shakti).

At first, I was strictly monotheistic, so incorporating Goddess worship into my daily Sadhana was rather unusual to say the least, but I soon developed love and passion for Kali Ma and started to worship both Shiva and Shakti - as it was meant to be, then finally incorporated worshiping both forms in one as Sri Ardhanarishwar....representing the union of Shiva and Shakti in one Deity - the true essence of Tantra right there:

So, I mostly worship Sri Ardhanarishwar, along with Kala Bhairava and Bhairavi/Dakini. I also worship various planetary deities. I can't tell if I came to Shiva or He came to me...I think we both found each other, in a way.

I hope this explains it.

Om Namah Shivaya

 

[Fireside_Hindu]

Namaste, NYK,

I have tried to understand what Tantra actually is for a while and still find myself confused. Can you explain how Tantric practices are difference from other Hindu practices?

:camp:

 

[NobodyYouKnow]

Namaste, NYK,

I have tried to understand what Tantra actually is for a while and still find myself confused. Can you explain how Tantric practices are difference from other Hindu practices?

:camp:

Namaste. :namaste

Sorry it took a while to get back to you on this, but I wanted to just talk about general stuff in other forums for a couple of days and just chill out.

Tantric practices generally focus on Mother Goddess in Her most forceful/fierce aspect and also on Lord Shiva as being the 'Purusha' to Her 'Prakriti'. It's all about latent and potent forces, momentum and inertia.

I managed to get involved in Tantra the other way around (Shakti through Shiva), but it's still all the same thing in the end. There is no difference between Shiva and Shakti.

Tantra is different from general Hinduism in the fact that it is more 'esoteric' and goes behind name and form (or a combination of name and form) to reveal the final, yet hidden Truth of all things, which some simply call Brahman or Achintya....the unknowable...unfathomable...

The practice of Tantra is all about reconciling opposite polarities to transcend that pair of opposites.

It's like when you see the form of Yin (Shakti) and Yang (Shiva), there's a little bit of Yin in the Yang part, and a little bit of Yang in the Yin part...this is the Tantra. This is showing us that no concepts are as 'black and white' as they first appear and where all the 'grey bits' are, is where we should be looking for answers.

In essence, Tantra is Dvaitic in approach - it concentrates on the polarity of 'Male/Female' as opposed to the intellectual pursuit of a 'Personal vs Impersonal God'. In the case of Tantra, both Deities or Cosmic Energies are personal, until they combine as One, at which point, Tantra becomes Advaitic, as one realises Brahman.

So, how that relates to Hinduism, at a very basic level, it relates to a lot of it, but over the years, this core philosophy became refined and corrupted.

Thanks for your question.

 

[NobodyYouKnow]

In addition to the above, a lot of 'Ritual Tantrics' (I only learned the very basics of this), work with a lot of Sanskrit astrological symbology, Kavacham, Mandalas and Bija Mantras etc. I know a few, but I was never interested in it all that much...I do like this one though:

I think it's associated with the Vishuddhi Chakra (Throat Centre) IIRC - something about the vibrational power of speech used positively or negatively...

Yeah, as I said, I learned a little bit...

This is another main difference from standard Hinduism. Some of us also practice Ayurveda and ancient medicine...yeah, some of us.

That was all just too much for me to learn and remember.

 

[NobodyYouKnow]

Tantra Yoga - yeah, I decided to focus more on that instead.

Another difference from mainstream Hinduism, apart from the basic beliefs, the philosophy, the rituals is that most of those who practice Tantra have a strict Raja Yoga regime!

I am not talking about just exercise postures, but a 'ritual' of certain procedures they have individually perfected over the years that get them into that state of total meditative awareness.

Certain breathing rituals (Pranayamas), certain Kriyas (Trataka, Bhastrika), certain Mantras used/chanted...each has their own unique way....and I went that way.

I mean, my brain could only learn so much and I 'knew' that half-way through reading Chhandogya Upanishad in my teens.

 

[Fireside_Hindu]

Thank you for replying to my question.

So Tantra is more ritual based and more about uniting what at first appears to be polar opposite entities. Whereas "mainstream Advaita Hinduism" is about the individual soul merging with Brahman?

How did people start associating sex with Tantra? Is it an extrapolation of the male/female polarity part?

:camp:

 

[NobodyYouKnow]

Thank you for replying to my question.

So Tantra is more ritual based and more about uniting what at first appears to be polar opposite entities. Whereas "mainstream Advaita Hinduism" is about the individual soul merging with Brahman?

How did people start associating sex with Tantra? Is it an extrapolation of the male/female polarity part?

:camp:

Yes to both questions. Tantric Sex is only one small part of Tantric practice. It isn't all that relevant either - I am a brahmacharin (celibate).

There's one catch though - something that a lot of people don't know about - during Tantric Sex, once the union is made, you are not permitted to move at all, or to climax....which is a bit difficult while still maintaining the 'mood'.

Anyway, it's an extrapolation/representation of the union of Shiva and Shakti in the Sahasrara Chakra...made popular by many stone relief carvings at temples like Kajuraho....books like Kama Sutra....people who think that this is 'all there is to it'.

There's a lot of misconception surrounding Tantra, mostly concerning sex and Siddhis (magic powers). I hope to dispel those myths in this thread.

Again, I thank you for your question. :namaste

 

[dyanaprajna2011]

Quick question, well, maybe two: from my understanding, Shaivism is non-dualistic, is this correct? If so, what are some major similarities and differences between Shaivism and Advaita?

 

[Vinayaka]

Quick question, well, maybe two: from my understanding, Shaivism is non-dualistic, is this correct? If so, what are some major similarities and differences between Shaivism and Advaita?

Sorry to jump in... NYK, ask me top leave if you want ...

There are several schools, some may be dualistic in nature... Shaivism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia is a very basic summary.

I follow monistic Saiva Siddhanta, but most Saiva Siddhantins are pluralists.

 

[dyanaprajna2011]

Sorry to jump in... NYK, ask me top leave if you want ...

There are several schools, some may be dualistic in nature... Shaivism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia is a very basic summary.

I follow monistic Saiva Siddhanta, but most Saiva Siddhantins are pluralists.

Thanks.