Tantra, Yoga, & Meditation

Another important “Hindu Renaissance’' figure who was influenced by Tantric ideas was Aurobindo Ghose. As Bolle remarks, “Crucial symbolisms in Aurobindo’s (Yoga) system are of a Tantric character”, despite his tedious urge for conceptualization, which was partly due …

At this juncture, let us take a more detailed look at Rabindranath Tagore's views about Tantrism. At the outset, we may point out here that his Shantiniketan complex is situated near Tarapitha in the Birbhum district of modem West Bengal; this whole area is one i…

Pole Massage       The positive poles in the body also work in the manner that is similar to the poles of a battery. The poles in the body are responsible for sending and receiving sexual energy. Positive poles massage concentrates on these poles that are present in the body a…

For tantra, for all seeking, there are layers of awareness. If I embrace you, first you will become aware of my touch upon your body; not of my love, my love is not so gross. And ordinarily we never become aware of love. We are aware only of the body in movement. We …

We are already that which we will be, which we should be, which we are to be. The future is already hidden in the present; the whole possibility is here in the seed. Only a window has to be broken, only a small surgical operation is needed. If you can understand this, that spi…

There was also another group of Shaktas who were more concerned with religious praxis than with the Tantric texts. Many of these were illiterate; of these, mention may be made of Sarvananda in Tripura, Gosain Bhattacharya in Dacca, and the female Shakta saint Jayadurga or Ardhakali i…

HOW IS IT POSSIBLE THAT BY SIMPLY BECOMING AWARE AT A PARTICULAR POINT IN THE BREATHING PROCESS ONE CAN ATTAIN ENLIGHTENMENT? HOW IT IS POSSIBLE TO BECOME FREE FROM THE UNCONSCIOUS BY JUST BEING AWARE OF SUCH A SMALL AND MOMENTARY GAP IN THE BREATHING?       This questio…

The goal of the tantric massage is to let you transcend the physical boundaries and attain a state of total consciousness of your body, mind and soul. This is a state of awareness and pure bliss. Therefore, the methods that are made use of would alternate between massage and m…

Rammohan’s conception of “the theistic Brahmo, the cornerstone of his reformation movement”, was very likely based on the published work of Ram Ram Basu. Rammohan’s contribution to the “Hindu Renaissance” is significant. His view of the Hindu tradition is an interest…

WHEN BREATH IS ALL OUT (UP) AND STOPPED OF ITSELF, OR ALL IN (DOWN) AND STOPPED – IN SUCH UNIVERSAL PAUSE, ONE’S SMALL SELF VANISHES. THIS IS DIFFICULT ONLY FOR THE IMPURE.  But then it is difficult for everyone because, he says, THIS IS DIFFICULT ONLY FOR THE IMPURE. But who …

WHENEVER IN-BREATH AND OUT-BREATH FUSE, AT THIS INSTANT TOUCH THE ENERGY-LESS, ENERGY-FILLED CENTER.       We are divided into the center and the periphery. The body is the periphery; we know the body, we know the periphery. We know the circumference, but we do not know where the center i…

Tantrism has been neglected till quite recently. It was Sir John Woodroffe’s work at the beginning of this century that helped to make it respectable, despite which, however, serious Tantric studies are still only beginning. In this chapter, I propose to examine social attitudes…