200 Hours Yoga Teacher Training School in Rishikesh: What is Tantra? A brief introduction on Tantra Sastra

It is no doubt to say that in present time yoga is practiced in almost every corner of the world, but we do not really see any transformation in the consciousness of mankind everywhere. Then the question arises where does the fault lie? Is it in our practice method? It is more likely that the fault lies in the way we practice our yogic sadhana. Most of the time Human mind is very curious to take many things at a time a bit of this and a bit of that in the practice of our sadhana. In order to eliminate this way of doing yoga, we have to give greater attention to the philosophy and practices of tantric science, which is known as the source of yoga. Tantra is also known as a way of Living and Loving. There is no use in just having a bird’s eye view of a subject as vast as tantra, which has viewed existence from every angle or point of view. Through this in depth study of the pattern of creation, its manifestation, its cause, and effect in relation to the individual, the tantrics discovered the missing link which unifies the individual and the cosmos.

Second, Once they have realized the way to bridge the gap, the tantrics devised methods and practices to guide others. Although most of these methods are very ancient, they have practiced by yogis and sadhakas according to the time and space for the base on which they were need to be developed and emphasized to develop the inner experience for the evolution of an individual; not limited knowledge, but living breathing experience.

All of these methods of tantra sastra are very systematic and precise for those yogis and sadhakas (Aspirants) who wants to gain a living breathing experience and live a very balanced and blissful life.

The aim of tantra is summarily defined in the word itself. Tantra has been derived from the combination of two Sanskrit words: tanoti which means expansion and trayati which means liberation. This means that tantra is the method to expand the mind and liberate the dormant potential energy. In order to understand tantra, we have first to understand exactly what is meant by the expansion of mind and liberation of energy.

We have to understand one thing; the range of our experience related to the inner and outer world is usually severely limited. We can only see, hear, feel, taste and smell through the use of our physical senses. If one of our senses is impaired, our experience and knowledge related to that sense is restricted and hampered. Therefore, perception and cognition are totally and mercilessly dependent on the senses. This is a limiting adjunct in our lives because knowledge derived through the senses is restricted by the boundaries of time, space, and object. Time, space and object exist only as categories of the individual mind. If there is no individual mind, there is no time or space or object, and vice versa. These three categories of mind are finite and cannot be regarded as the source of infinite knowledge. As long as we function through the realm of the senses and mind, we cannot break these finite and restricting boundaries.

Now let me explain about these two type of experience Subjective and Objective. What is a Subjective experience? For example, if you wish to see the beauty of lotus flower, it is very necessary to have the flower in front of your open eyes; to smell its fragrance, it is necessary to take it closer to the nose. Similarly, to taste the sweetness of chocolates, they have to be eaten. This type of experience is called objective because it is dependent on the presence of an object, the senses and the mind in relation to both of them.

On the other hand, there is a range of experience when you can see with your eyes closed, taste in the absence of food, hear the sound of music without any instrument to cause it. That is a purely subjective experience and it is unbound by the categories of finite mind. Hence that the knowledge gained through a subjective experience is for more accurate and precise than that gained through an objective experience, because it is the consequence of an expanded mind.

Expansion of mind means that which allows anyone to experience beyond the realm of the senses, time, space and matter. In that realm, you are unbound by distance and time. One can travel into the past or future and know the happenings at places where you are not physically present. This is known as an expansion of mind but it is unattainable as long as you are bound by sensorial experience. Mind operating through the senses and ego categorizes all experiences according to raga and dwesha or likes and dislikes. This imposition of the mind creates a distortion of the knowledge received from any experience and does not allow for growth of the pure and refined knowledge.

Knowledge gained through the expanded mind slowly evolves and finally culminates into intuitive knowledge, it is a true knowledge. But we need to be patience and practice gradually in order to gain the true knowledge because the expansion of mind does not happen in one day. One has to go through long experiences some mild, some intense, some pleasant, some unpleasant. It is a gradual growth which finally culminates in absolute knowledge or Brahma Jnana.

The basis of Tantric Sadhana:

The essence of tantric sadhana is classified into three stages of upasana “worship”. The tantric believes that every act however mundane, if offered to the higher force within oneself or abounding in the universe, becomes meaningful and a medium through which he can transform his awareness.

These three stages of worship are as follows:

Shuddhi (Purification): purification is the very essential stage in tantric sadhana. When we talk about purification that is purification of the gross, subtle and psychic elements or tattwas.
Sthiti: Illumination resulting through concentration, which is achieved by refining or purifying the elements.
Arpana: Unification with the higher force within oneself, or realization of the cosmic consciousness.

It is clear that Shuddhi (purification) is the basis of all tantric sadhanas, whether they are based on vamachara, kaulachara or vedachara practices. These are the three major categories of tantric sadhana and they have all emphasized the requirement of shuddhi as an integral part of spiritual practice and evolution.

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