Tantra
Scientific studies have proven that with passing time the life span and strength of beings is diminishing. Ancient texts describe the life of earlier beings to span over centuries but as the yugas changed, the strength, vitality, and life span of beings of Kaliyug has come to a fraction of what it used to be.
The mystical science of tantra stands most relevant in this age, when life spans are short and people do not live till ripe old ages to perform sadhnas earlier rishis used to perform. It is the shortest route to liberation in this age. Tantric sadhnas yield results there and then. Siddhis are granted instantaneously.
The Most Misunderstood Science
Tantra is the most misunderstood of all spiritual sciences. Tantra is a combination of two words, tanauti or expansion and trayati or liberation. It is the science of liberation in modern times. Unfortunately, today tantra is connoted to kamasutra and sexual gratification. Nothing can be more demeaning and ironical than presenting a Tantric, the master of the senses and physical matter, as a slave of the senses and material accomplishments.
No tantric practice involves any ritual of harming another being by means of Bali or sacrifice. Rather it is about self conquest, conquering your desires and mastering yourself, strengthening your weakness.
The Genesis of Tantra
Adiyogi Bhagwan Shiv first gave the science of Tantra and Yoga to Mata Parvati. Thence Bhagwan Shiv and Devi Parvati united as Ardhnareshwar, Shiv and Shakti, which form the basis of Tantra. Practices in Tantra bring these twin forces into an equilibrium and the ultimate state of reality is achieved.
Body is the Vehicle
In Tantra, the body is taken as an aid, a vehicle, a machine which enables your journey. Ratnasara Tantra explains he who realises the truth of the body can then come to understand the truth of the universe. Kularnava Tantra has also emphasized that the human body is the most difficult to come by, both Devtas and Pitris (spirits) desire it, as it can take you to boundless states, and therefore the human birth is the most precious to attain.
Mantras and Yantras
Tantra uses the twin tools of mantras (codified sounds) and yantras (diagrammatic representations of sounds) in specific procedures. Every tantric sadhna is attributed to a specific energy, has its specific beej mantra and invokes the specific shakti which resides in that mantra, which is represented in the geometrical patterns of a yantra.
Learn More
Let's try and understand it first with the help of chakras in a human being. There are seven major chakras in a human being. The first one is mooladhar, at the perineum, the base of Sushumna nadi running along your spine. It is depicted as a 4 petal lotus flower. It has its beej mantra- lum and is associated with the element earth. So it has a name, a form and shakti, the energy called Dakini. Dakini opens the doorway into the Sushumna nadi, the subtle channel, through which Kundalini Shakti, the serpent power rises to pierce the eight chakras and endows one with knowledge of Tattwas, elements. Similarly, the rest of the chakras are attributed to their respective beejmantras, yantras, elements and shakti. Tattwa shudddhi abhyasa reveals the subtle aspects of these elements and chakras to the devoted sadhak even in today's age
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The Kiln of Niyam
Tantra requires strict discipline and adherence to time/niyam. For specific objectives, there are a specific number of chants, specific times of the day and a correct pronunciation. Tantra is very systematic and follows a specific rhythm. One has to maintain a specific posture, generally Siddhasana or Padmasana. Even the place of the sadhna is very specific; there are certain sadhnas which cannot be performed at home, or in domestic environments.
The Panch Makaras
Many tantrics talk about panch-makaras or 5 elementary practices viz. madya, mansa, matsya, mudra and maithuna. In Tantra, the practices and techniques are generally described allegorically or symbolically, the Guru deciphers the symbols and techniques and gives an insight to the disciple of such practices.
1.Madya
Madya which literally means wine or intoxication actually stands for the nectar which drips from bindu visarg when deeper practices and pranayamas are performed.
2.Matsya
Matsya represents the movement of prana through Ida and Pingala nadis as a result of the practice of pranayamas. Ida and Pingala crisscross like the movement of fish, which stands for Matsya. They establish balance in the body for Kundalini, the serpent power to move in Sushumna nadi.
3.Mudra
Mudra is gesture/posture, and here it stands for Khechari mudra, where the tongue is rolled up to touch the soft palate, which releases pranic energy to reach the bindu from where the nectar drips.
4.Mansa
Mansa or meat is generally understood as offering meat - animal or human sacrifice but tantra is far away from such practices which inflict even the slightest amount of pain on any being. Bali is offering what is yours and even your own body is not yours, you possess only one thing and that is your ichcha/desire. So Mansa symbolises sacrificing yourself by winning over your desires.
5.Maithuna
Maithuna which is misunderstood to be sexual intercourse is actually the union of Shiv and mother in the form of Kundalini Shakti, the ultimate state of dhyan called samadhi and it requires complete control over your physical senses.
