This is actually not the case in the tantrika tradition. At least not according to the Kaula Nathas. It is true that there exists some individuals practicing tantrika for their own benefit and gain only, but this would be true for any tradition, left or right.
The Kaula Nathast uses theses expressions in relation to practice, not in relation to the goal. The uniting goal of every Kaula Nath is the realization of true peace, true freedom and true happiness, and I guess this goes for most yogis and humans in general.
In India the right-hand path and left-hand path are called Dakshinachara and Vamachara, respectively.
Dakshinachara is what is most commonly practiced, both in the east and west. A follower of the Dakshinachara goes to the temple, says his or her prayers, read the scriptures and follows the priests rules and regulations. In this case, most hindus, christians, muslims and jews must be said to be followinging the Dakshinachara. Indian yogis and tantrikas approves of this path, but since it does not require much effort it is said to take many lifetimes to complete.
The Vamachara is not so commonly practiced, either in the east or west. The practitioner of Vamachara is one wants to experience for him- or herself, who experiements and reflects over this existence in a more active way. There are similar people also here in the west, for instance the gnostic christians, the muslim sufis and the cabbalistic jews. These were all mystics who experimented with the laws of nature, who sought to reveal the hidden mysteries and who arranged situations where they could experience the deeper secrets of life for themselves.
The Kaula Naths fits into this latter category of Vamacharins. We seek also the deeper and hidden truth of this existence, and we do it by applying many different means. We use pujas or kriyas (forms of rituals and exercises), mantras (sound), yantras (geometrical "machines") and tantras (treatisies on topics related to tantrika practices). We also apply a certain degree of magick in order to make our progress faster.
Many misunderstand "tantra" to be some kind of sexual gymnastics for achieving prolonged orgasms and a better sex life. But this kind of "Californian Tantra" is not what real tantrika is about. It is true that sex is given a central place in the tantrika tradition, but there is a great difference between how sex is viewed in tantrika and how it is viewed by the "californians".
If you look around you, you will see that sex has a great presence in existence. Sex is the force that lies behind all creation, and it is the force that makes nature display Her great beauty and creativity. This kind of kind of sex is a force, it is not sexual. It is importand to understand that tantrikas understand sex as a natural force of nature. The sexuality we se displayed everywhere in our western culture is a creation of the mind. This sexuality is an intellectualization of the sex force, but has little to do with with the natural force itself that the tantrikas seek to understand.
Tantrikas are natural people and if you look at their symbols it is almost always directly related to nature and Her processes. Shiva and Shakti; Man and Woman; Stars and Planets; Life and Death; Animals and Plants, (and the list goes on).
These are symbols of nature and the tantrikas tries to dive deep into them through ritual and practice in order to understand the deeper realities behind them. Not to become the greatest scientists or the greatest magicians, but in order to understand life and what we are part of. It is all part of the most ancient questions man has ever asked: who am I? Where did I come from? Where to will I go? What is the meaning of all this?
In India the right-hand path and left-hand path are called Dakshinachara and Vamachara, respectively.
Dakshinachara is what is most commonly practiced, both in the east and west. A follower of the Dakshinachara goes to the temple, says his or her prayers, read the scriptures and follows the priests rules and regulations. In this case, most hindus, christians, muslims and jews must be said to be followinging the Dakshinachara. Indian yogis and tantrikas approves of this path, but since it does not require much effort it is said to take many lifetimes to complete.
The Vamachara is not so commonly practiced, either in the east or west. The practitioner of Vamachara is one wants to experience for him- or herself, who experiements and reflects over this existence in a more active way. There are similar people also here in the west, for instance the gnostic christians, the muslim sufis and the cabbalistic jews. These were all mystics who experimented with the laws of nature, who sought to reveal the hidden mysteries and who arranged situations where they could experience the deeper secrets of life for themselves.
The Kaula Naths fits into this latter category of Vamacharins. We seek also the deeper and hidden truth of this existence, and we do it by applying many different means. We use pujas or kriyas (forms of rituals and exercises), mantras (sound), yantras (geometrical "machines") and tantras (treatisies on topics related to tantrika practices). We also apply a certain degree of magick in order to make our progress faster.
Many misunderstand "tantra" to be some kind of sexual gymnastics for achieving prolonged orgasms and a better sex life. But this kind of "Californian Tantra" is not what real tantrika is about. It is true that sex is given a central place in the tantrika tradition, but there is a great difference between how sex is viewed in tantrika and how it is viewed by the "californians".
If you look around you, you will see that sex has a great presence in existence. Sex is the force that lies behind all creation, and it is the force that makes nature display Her great beauty and creativity. This kind of kind of sex is a force, it is not sexual. It is importand to understand that tantrikas understand sex as a natural force of nature. The sexuality we se displayed everywhere in our western culture is a creation of the mind. This sexuality is an intellectualization of the sex force, but has little to do with with the natural force itself that the tantrikas seek to understand.
Tantrikas are natural people and if you look at their symbols it is almost always directly related to nature and Her processes. Shiva and Shakti; Man and Woman; Stars and Planets; Life and Death; Animals and Plants, (and the list goes on).
These are symbols of nature and the tantrikas tries to dive deep into them through ritual and practice in order to understand the deeper realities behind them. Not to become the greatest scientists or the greatest magicians, but in order to understand life and what we are part of. It is all part of the most ancient questions man has ever asked: who am I? Where did I come from? Where to will I go? What is the meaning of all this?
As a Kaula Nath I use ritual settings to create situations where I can experiment with the forces of life through symbolic representations. These forms can be anthropomorphic gods and goddesses, geometrical structures or inner and outer sounds. Through rituals I experiment with these forces and enliven them within my own being. One of the yogis in our lineage said that the most important faculties in man is Imagination, Insight and Intuition. It is through these three "Super Faculties" we as human beings can engage in the ritual practices of our mystical nature and benefit from them. But they always has to be worked on in direct relations to our own lives.
Last year I did much work on Kali Ma in relation to the death of my zen teacher. He died of heart failure and at the funeral I discovered that my relationship with death was not so clear and easy as I initially thought.
What I did was that I engaged in a kind of meditative dialouge with Kali Ma. I did much mantra japa with her mantra Krim Kalikaye Namaha. This mantra I repeated during everyday activities and as I did so I ideated how everything that I saw around me one day would turn into ashes. The people around me, buildings, the earth itself and the whole of cosmos, everything. What this led to was some insights that was of great importance and value to me.
One of the insights was that I understood that death itself is a fiction. There is no death. Yes, people will disappear but the Life Stream itself will never end. I saw that out of the dead new life was sprouting continuously. I realized that the very soil I was walking, this "creamtion ground", was the ashes of my ancestors (on a collective level, including humans, animals, plants and minerals). But this "ashes of the dead" was at the same time the womb of the living. It was only my attachment to form that made me think that there is such a thing as death. In reality there is only a continuous stream of life, shifting shapes and expressions through time and space. This made we at ease with the fact that I too one day will have to give up my form. I am a father and realized that in order to let my daughter experience this magic and wonderful place called earth, I need to make space for her to live. I need to give up my form so that the new generations have space to live.
Fore some this might sound like a depressive outlook on life, but for me it had the opposite effect. I realized the importance of being present in the Now and rejoice in everything that is happening. And even though I knew this truth from before, it got a stronger emergency for me after the Kali Bhakti Sadhana.
Tantrikas do acknowledge the reality of dual existence as we experience it here and now, at the same time they never forget the universal perspective that we are All One, Shiva-Shakti.
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