PREFACE

NAMANTO ADIGURU SHANKARA, SRI GANESHA , MA DASMAHAVIDYA NAMAN TO POSITIVE ENERGIES FOR RENDERING HELP & NAMAN TO NEGATIVE ENERGIES FOR NOT OBSTRUCTING

09 FACTS TO INTRODUCE THIS BOOK .....

13 OCTOBER,2018

A BIRD'S EYE VIEW OF TRUE TANTRA IN HINDUISM

1-Sanskrit literature can be classified under six orthodox heads and four secular heads. SIX ORTHODOX HEADS ARE; - (i) Sruti, (ii) Smriti, (iii) Itihasa, (iv) Purana, (v) Agama, (vi) Darsana; FOUR SECULAR HEADS----- (i) Subhashita, (ii) Kavya, (iii) Nataka and, (iv) Alankara. 2-WHAT IS AGAMA ?- The Agamas are theological treatises and practical manuals of divine worship. The Agamas include Tantras, Mantras, and Yantras. These are treatises explaining the external worship of God, in idols, temples, etc. All the Agamas treat of... (i) Jnana or Knowledge (ii) Yoga or concentration (iii) Kriya or making (iv) Charya or doing 2-1-They also give elaborate details about the ontology, cosmology, liberation, devotion, Meditation, philosophy of Mantras, mystic diagrams, charms and spells, temple-building, image-making, domestic observances, social rules, and public festivals. 3-WHAT ARE THE THREE SECTION OF AGAMAS ? - The Agamas are divided into three sections: the Vaishnava, the Shaiva, and the Shakta. The three chief sects of Hinduism, viz., Vaishnavism, Shaivism, and Shaktism, base their doctrines and dogmas on their respective Agamas. The Vaishnava Agamas or Pancharatra Agamas glorify God as Vishnu. The Shaiva Agamas glorify God as Shiva and have given rise to an important school of philosophy known as Shaiva Siddhanta. The Shakta Agamas or Tantras glorify God as the Mother of the world under one of the many names of Devi.

3-1-The Agamas do not derive their authority from the Vedas, but they are not antagonistic (opposite) to them. They are all Vedic in spirit and character. That is the reason why they are regarded as authoritative. 4-WHAT IS CULT?--

Cult means "worship," also "a particular form of worship,..."care, cultivation, worship.. 4-1-WHAT IS SHAKTA CULT ?-- The Tantra Agamas belong to the Shakta cult . They glorify Shakti as the World-Mother. They dwell on the Shakti (energy) aspect of God and prescribe numerous courses of ritualistic worship of Divine Mother in various forms. There are seventy-seven Agamas. These are very much like the Puranas in some respects. The texts are usually in the form of dialogues between Shiva and Parvati. Among the existing books the Mahanirvana Tantra is the most famous. 5-WHAT IS TANTRA YOG ? - Tantra Yoga had been one of the potent powers for the spiritual regeneration of the Hindus. When practised by the ignorant, unenlightened, and unqualified persons, it has led to certain abuses; and there is no denying that some degraded forms of Shaktism have sought nothing but magic, immorality, and occult powers.

5-1-An example of the perverted expression of the truth, a travesty of the original practices, is the theory of the five Makaras (Pancha Makaras);-Madya or wine, Mamsa or flesh, Matsya or fish, Mudra or symbolical acts, and Maithuna or coition. The esoteric meaning of these five Makaras is: "Kill egoism, control flesh, drink the wine of God-intoxication, and have union with Lord Shiva". 5-2Tantra explains in great detail the knowledge concerning Tattva (Truth or Brahman) and Mantra (mystic syllables). It saves (Trayate). Hence it is called Tantra. 5-3-The Tantras are not books of sorcery, witchcraft, magic spells, and mysterious formulae. They are wonderful scriptures. All persons without the distinctions of caste, creed, or colour may draw inspiration from them and attain spiritual strength, wisdom, and eternal bliss.

Mahanirvana and Kularnava Tantras are the important books in Tantra Shastra. 5-4-The Shakti Tantra is Advaita Vada. It proclaims that Paramatman (Supreme Soul) and Jivatman (individual soul) are one. The Shaktas accept the Vedas as the basic scriptures. They recognise the Shakta-Tantras as texts expounding the means to attain the goal set forth in the Vedas. Tantra Yoga lays special emphasis on the development of the powers latent in the six Chakras, from Muladhara to Ajna.

5-5-Kundalini Yoga actually belongs to Tantric Sadhana which gives a detailed description about this serpent-power and the Chakras (plexus). Entire Tantric Sadhana aims at awakening Kundalini, and making her to unite with Lord Sadashiva, in the Sahasrara Chakra. Methods adopted to achieve this end in Tantric Sadhana are Japa of the Name of the Mother, prayer, and various rituals. 6-WHAT IS THE ELIGIBLITY OF A SADHAK?- The qualifications of the disciple are purity, faith, devotion, dispassion, truthfulness, and control of the senses. He should be intelligent and a believer in Vedas. He must abstain from injury to all beings. He must be vigilant, diligent, patient, and persevering. He must be ever doing good to all. 7-WHAT IS TANTRA SADHANA ( PRACTICE)?- BHUTA SHUDDHI...Bhuta Suddhi is an important Tantric rite. It means purification of the five elements of which the body is composed. The Sadhaka (aspirant) dissolves the sinful body and makes a new divine body. He infuses into the body the life of the Devi. Nyasa is a very important and powerful Tantric rite. It is placing of the tips of the fingers of the right hand on various parts of the body, accompanied by Mantra. 7-2-KAVACHA...In Kavacha the one Brahman is invoked by different names in order to protect different parts of the body. For example, Parabrahman is thought of as in the Sahasrara Padma in the head. The Supreme Lord is meditated upon in the heart. Protector of the world, Vishnu is invoked to protect the throat, so that the aspirant may utter the Mantras of his Ishta Devata. 7-3-MUDRA..Mudra is ritual of manual gestures. Mudra gives pleasure to the Devatas. There are 108 Mudras. In welcoming (Avahana) the Devata an appropriate gesture is made. In making offering (Arghya) Matsya Mudra is made. The right hand is placed on the back of the left and the two thumbs are extended finlike on each side of the hands. Similarly, there are Mudras for the various acts done during the worship. 7-4-YANTRA...Yantra takes the place of the image. It is an object of worship. Yantra is a diagram, drawn on paper. It is engraved on a metal sheet also. A Yantra is appropriated to a specific Devata only. Various Yantras are peculiar to each Devata. They are various designs according to the object of worship. Yantra is the body of the Devata. All the Yantras have a common edging called Bhupura. They have a quadrangular figure with four doors, which encloses and separates the Yantra from the external world. 7-4-A-The Sadhaka first meditates upon the Devata or Deity and then arouses the Devata in himself. He then communicates the Divine presence thus aroused to the Yantra. When the Devata has been invoked into the Yantra by the appropriate Mantra, the vital airs (Prana) of the Devata are infused there in by the Pranapratishtha ceremony. The Devata is thereby installed in the Yantra.

7-5-UPACHARA...The materials used or acts done in Puja are called Upachara. They are sixteen in number, viz., (1) Asana (seating of the Devata); (2) Svagata (welcoming of the Devata); (3) Padya (water for washing the feet); (4) Arghya (water for ablution); (5) Achamana (water for sipping); (6) Madhuparka (honey, ghee, milk, and curd); (7) Snana (bath); (8) Vastra (cloth); (9) Abharana (jewels); (10) Gandha (perfume); (11) Pashpa (flowers); (12) Dhupa (incense); (13) Dipa (light); (14) Naivedya (food) and Tambulam (betel); (15) Nirajana (Arati); and (16) Vandana (prostration and prayer). 7-6-Sadhakas are of three kinds, viz., Pasu (animalistic), Vira (valorous), and Divya (divine). 8-WHAT IS MYSTERY OF THE PANCHA TATTVA ?- The Pancha Tattva is essential for the worship of Shakti. The Pancha Tattvas are Madya, Mamsa) ,Matsya, Mudra and Maithuna. As they all commence with the letter M, they are vulgarly called Pancha-ma-kara or five M's. The Pancha Tattvas, the five elements of worship destroy great sins, Maha-pataka-nasanam. 8-1-The Pancha Tattvas have not their literal meaning. The meaning differs according as they refer to the Tamasic (Pasu), Rajasic (Vira) or Sattvic (Divya) Sadhanas respectively. a-Wine refers the intoxicating knowledge of Brahman or the Absolute ;a symbol to denote the Supreme, eternal Bliss of Yoga knowledge, or knowledge of Atman (Atma-jnana). b-The union of Shiva and Shakti in the upper brain centre known as Sahasrara or thousand-petalled lotus is Maithuna. c-Mamsa (meat) is the act by which the aspirant consecrates all his actions to the Lord. d-Matsya (fish) is that Sattvic knowledge by which the Sadhaka sympathises with the pleasure and pain of all beings. c-Mudra is the act of abandoning all associations with evil which leads to bondage. 8-2-Wine is fire; flesh is air; fish is water; cereal is earth; Maithuna is ether. 8-3-For external worship. Milk, ghee, honey are all substitutes for wine. Salt, ginger, sesamum, white beans, garlic are substitutes for meat. White brinjal, red radish, masur (a kind of grain) and red sesamum are substitutes for fish. Paddy, rice, wheat and grain are Mudra. Offering of flowers with the hands formed with a particular Mudra is Maithuna [pairing, coupling]. 8-4-The Sadhaka thinks that he has got a Deva body. This is Bhuta- Suddhi. Various Nyasas are performed. Mental worship is performed of the Devi who is thought of as being in red raiment seated on a red lotus. Her dark body is like rain-cloud. Her forehead is shining with the light of the crescent moon. Japa of Mantra is then done. 8-5-The Vaidika Dharma is very strict on this point of cohabitation ..it is a sin . It forbids not merely actual Maithuna but Ashtanga or eightfold Maithuna namely Smaranam (thinking upon it), Kirtanam (talking of it), Keli (play with --), Prekshanam (making eyes at --), Guhya-bhashanam (talking in private with ), Sankalpa (wish or resolve for union), Adhyavasaya (determination towards it), Kriyanishpatti (actual accomplishment of this act). 8-6-A Tantric can have copulation [Maithuna] with his wife. He calls his wife his Shakti. Wife is a house-goddess Griha-lakshmi or Griha-devata united to her husband by the sacramental Sanskara of marriage. She should not be regarded as an object of enjoyment. She is his partner in life (Ardhangini). The union of a man and his wife is a veritable sacred scriptural rite.Tantra yoga is a type of yoga that employs various rituals to study the universe through the human microcosm. 9-TANTRA IN NUTSHELL;-

Tantra yoga originates from a worship of the Hindu deities that represent the dynamic and static principles of the universe: Shakti (dynamic, creative, feminine) and Shiva (static, destructive, masculine). Tantra yoga practitioners seek to comprehend the continual play between these principles.

9-1-Tantra yoga seeks to balance - not renounce - human instincts in an attempt to reach enlightenment. Tantra's rituals encourage its participants to build up kundalini energy in the top chakras so it “spills from the top.

MY REQUEST;-

While attempting this book, care has been taken to avoid ambiguity, by expressing everything in simple language, without resorting to complicate things by adding Sanskrit Shlokas etc. I am grateful to Prakhar ji, because of him, it is online today. I am not a scholar, only a simple bhakt, so it is requested to overlook my mistakes.

To write something about LORD SHIVA & SHAKTI (TRUE TANTRA)is daring ;but being a bhakt ,its my effort ,which needs your blessings...

THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO ''JAGATMATA KAMAKHYA''..