Kundalini Splendor

(image from source)

I think tantra is one of the most misunderstood terms/practices among us. I personally am quite suspicious of workshops that purport to teach "tantra," an ancient practice which required the aspirant to spend years of spiritual preparation before one was eligible to participate.

Here is one description of tantra:

Tantra is that Asian body of beliefs and practices which, working from the principle that the universe we experience is nothing other than the concrete manifestation of the divine energy of the Godhead that creates and maintains that universe, seeks to ritually appropriate and channel that energy, within the human microcosm, in creative and emancipatory ways. (David Gordon White)


Ancient tantra comes in both sexual and non-sexual forms. Baba Hari Dass (who taught Ram Das yoga) calls himself a Tantric. He is, as far as I am aware, celibate. Others call themselves Tantric (and I am one of these) who do energetic practices (totally non-sexual, except for a slightly erotic feeling) to move the bliss currents through the body, though it might affect only arms or eyes or head or whatever. And others do practice sexual tantra, during which the partner literally takes on the aura of the god or goddess.

I think when we have inner "fantasies" of the god or goddess arriving as a love object, that is tantra. Indeed, one tantric practice is that which set off my awakening--inner visualization of the god and goddess in union, the yab-yum so prevalent in Eastern culture. Some tantrics used a human partner, others a mental image.

I think Western goddess worship is also a form of tantra, since that too awakens deep energetic (and often erotic) responses.

All of this is fascinating, of course, as we try to unravel the connection between the various levels, the human and the divine, and discover to our amazement that creative energy is also love energy, and that in the full embrace of kundalini we experience what is indeed "unconditional love."

And, as I have mentioned before, I don't really do much of this anymore, as I focus on other things, and find that my "natural energies" have calmed down. But still it is an area of interest, as we continue to confront the Mystery.

I also suspect that many of us who have these intense, unexpected awakenings are ancient tantrics coming down again. Hence the ease of the (initial) awakening experience, the understanding of the sexual/spiritual connection, and the sense that this is a gift to be used in some way for the good of the world (to raise the vibrational level, among others.)

Here are two books which illustrate the connection between the vibrations on the personal level and those of the cosmos. They are ancient descriptions of how the universe began as pulsation (and, strangely, the rishis' theory was close to that of modern physics, I think.) The two books are, presumably, translations of the same text, but they read like two totally different volumes. Both are worthwhile.

"The Yoga of Vibration and Divine Pulsation" (tr.Jaideva Singh) is "A Translation of the Spanda Kirikas" It is published by the State University of New York Press and has a Foreward by Paul E. Muller-Ortega (and this is brilliant). Should be available on Amazon.

The other is:

"Yoga Spandakarika: The Sacred Texts of the Origins of Tantra," (tr. Daniel Odier, who is still living.) (Also on Amazon)


These are highly esoteric spiritual texts, not quick reads. I love them both, for they speak to me in a very deep way. They are part of the Shiva Shutras, the fundamental texts of Kashmiri Shaivism, my favorite tradition in its pure form.

I would start with the Odier text. It is much easier to follow. The Jaideva Singh is for those who wish to go much deeper into the technical implications of this ancient theory, which holds that "spanda" or pulsation is the source of the the material universe.

And--for an overview and more readily available discussion of tantra check out the entry on wikipedia, the useful internet encyclopedia. (www.wikipedia.org)