There is a distinction between the path of Yoga, which believes in a oneness, and the path of Tantra, which believes in a oneness. Both Yoga and Tantra are legitimate. Both paths are striving to awaken the kundalini and experience the Divine impulse all the way back to the God Consciousness. The path of Yoga wants to stay focused on the absolute God Consciousness, while the path of Tantra wants to dance and delight in the love and beauty of Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram triune nature of life and God, inclusive of both the essence and form. All Tantric practices are designed to develop a greater appreciation and worship of God wholistically, while Yoga practices are designed to experience and worship God as the absolute Satyam Consciousness that always has been, is now, and forever shall be.
The Tantric path teaches that all life is legitimate, including the appreciation of the senses and the base instincts. Because Tantra includes these four primal instincts in its study of God, there has been a great amount of misunderstanding about this path, mostly about the inclusiveness of sexuality. In order to understand these practices, we must accept the four primal instincts as legitimate. In the path of Tantra, the four primal instincts are transformed: 1) The need for getting our prana from food is transformed into also utilizing prana attained directly through the medulla oblongata.[1] 2) The need for sleep is transformed into being in harmony, and the wakefulness of the turiya state.[2] 3) The self-preservation instinct is transformed into the realization of our eternal Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram nature, which is attained when we are able to “be ye still and know that I am God.” 4) The procreation instinct is transformed into the harmony and creative force of Shiva and Shakti realization, for the expression of our dharma and the fulfillment of our Soul’s contribution to God Consciousness, The procreation instinct’s sacredness is inclusive of sex, love, and developing this love into a love of family, including the individual’s and family’s contribution to society. The procreation instinct is meant to develop from Sex into Love and then into Prayer (appreciation), which are the stepping-stones to Transcendence and liberation (mukti).
At this time in the Yuga System, there seems to be a great amount of focus on sexuality. Sexuality is pleasurable beyond just the stimulation of nerve endings, and it also includes instincts of our heart/mind. The sexual focus will also awaken all five senses simultaneously. Normally only one sense (hearing, sight, taste, touch, smell) is being utilized at a time, but with the stimulation of sexuality, all five senses come awake simultaneously. When we add the sensual pleasure of sexuality, along with the illusion of completeness[3] that comes along with the procreation instinct and is part of this instinct, this instinct becomes the most powerful of the primal instincts, which is the instinct for preservation of the species. The procreation instinct also escalates from desire of sexual union into the desire to experience human affection or love. It then continues to escalate into the desire to fit into a larger group (children and family), for the purpose of the successful survival of the species. This instinct for procreation and the pleasure of sexuality is meant to expand from pleasure and joy into that of love and stability of family, and into each person’s appreciation and development of their contribution to society. The path of Tantra strives to appreciate the carnal desires of food and sex, but also strives to see the limitation of these pleasures when compared to the joy of Love, Prayer, and Transcendence. Both men and women can get lost in the limitation of the procreation instinct unless they can transform this instinct into a completion of a Wholistic life.
The Tantric process includes the enjoyment of food and sexuality (in a rajasic-to-sattvic manner), which leads the carnal pleasure back upward to the second chakra to include human affection, love, and the feelings of the connection of the human family, and the creativity of the Astral creation. Then it continues the ascension, leading this awareness from the pleasure and connection of the Physical and Astral upward to the third chakra and the harmony, beauty, and perfection of form of the Causal realm. Continuing ascending upward, it then leads to the bliss and joy of unconditional love of the Soul at the fourth chakra. This Tantric process continues upward into the bliss and ecstasy of the Holy Stream at the fifth chakra. Then it continues upward to the intense ecstasy, and knowledge, and liberation into the perfection of God of the Christ/Krishna Consciousness at the sixth chakra. Continuing upward, one then comes to the ultimate Ecstasy, the realization of our absolute eternal pure Satyam (God) Consciousness. When practiced with discipline, the Tantric process leads the awakened kundalini from the gross carnal desire and pleasure of the primal instincts of Sex into Love, Prayer, and Transcendence, into the Sacredness of Shakti and Shiva, and the absolute God Consciousness.
Tantra teaches us how to lead the kundalini energy upward, and also how to transform and enjoy all four primal instincts without attachment to the form. With Pranayama, the need for food is brought into harmony, is brought inward and upward. We learn not only about good nutrition, and which foods bring in the most prana, and how prana nurtures the body, heart, mind, and spirit. We learn the pranayama techniques and practices that bring in pure prana directly through the medulla oblongata. This is an inward and upward journey. Tantra addresses the need for sleep (rest), including the restful and recharging alpha state, and the aware integration of the dream state (yoga nidra), and ultimately the fully awakened turiya state. Tantra addresses the self-preservation instinct with the practices (meditation) that help us to become aware of our Wholistic nature and our eternal Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram Soul. We learn to turn the self-preservation instinct inward and upward, and realize and harmonize our eternal nature of Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram with our dharma.
With the practices of Tantra, we bring our focus to the Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram nature of God and Soul, transforming the downward Divine impulse and desires into an inward and upward awareness of our Wholistic nature. What may start with the four primal instincts develops into a connection with energy, life, love, appreciation and joy. One begins to feel a connection with all life, inclusive of the Physical, Astral, Causal, Soul, Holy Stream, Christ/Krishna Consciousness, and God Consciousness. Becoming aware of the interwovenness of all life is the goal of Tantra, and is what all true spirituality strives to attain. Being in harmony with the triune nature of the God Consciousness includes the awareness of the eternal formless pure Satyam Consciousness, and the pure Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram nature of the Soul, along with the Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram essence of all life. We study and work to accept and understand how to appreciate our eternal nature and also have an appreciation of the temporary patterns of living energy. This is what Swami Rama refers to as “touching and perfecting both the inner life as well as the outer life.”
Tantra is the only tradition or path that acknowledges the legitimacy, beauty, and joy of both the eternal and the temporary, Shiva ever in union with Shakti. The Tantric practices include the practices of perfecting the four primal instincts, of purifying them and bringing them into an ascension up the cerebral-spinal system. We then have the identification with the Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram nature of all life, starting with the nature of our Soul, and unfolding into the nature of God. This identity with the triune nature is not something we will attain after a few short years, and may take the sincere aspirant a whole lifetime. Sri Chitrabhanu once said that if the goal is worth attaining, the journey is worth making. If you want to live within the ecstasy of God, in the beauty of God, then one will make the effort to practice love, harmony, beauty, and joy, in order to attain this state of Divine Consciousness.
We choose to follow the precepts of the Realized Souls, as the precepts are founded in the practical and sacred practices of realizing our Wholistic nature. There is no single universal book that is complete for the Tantric path because each Tantric student is in a different place in their exploration of God, and this must be taken into consideration in guiding the student inward and upward to be in harmony with their dharma. Guidance of a Realized Soul through darshan or upanishad[4] is necessary to understand which desires can be dropped and gone beyond, and which desires must be transformed into a rajasic-to-sattvic pattern and fulfilled, thereby being in harmony and fulfilling one’s dharma.
Desire fuels the path of Tantra. Desire for the Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram nature of God is the fuel that the Tantric path utilizes to move forward in exploring, learning, and growing. This continuous evolution is attained when the Tantric student has developed nonattachment to the fruits of their efforts by developing selflessness, and an appreciation and reverence of Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram nature of life. Experiencing the Sacred Fire,[5] the desire for exploring the Satyam Consciousness wholistically, becomes the Tantric’s passion.
Tantra is not a rigid or repetitive practice. It is a living experiment or exploration, a journey starting with our awareness of the triune nature of the Soul the triune nature and expanding into the Wholistic nature of God. This is the very reason it is important to study with a Realized Soul. A Realized Soul will have realized the knowledge of the teachings he is sharing, and suggest practices which help the student’s evolution. With the path of Tantra, as with the path of Yoga, one must have trust and faith in the Guru-preceptor, and follow the precepts to the harvest of those teachings, which will be the realization of our oneness with the absolute God Consciousness.
According to Hazrat Inayat Khan, there is only one sin, which is to take a breath without the awareness of God. When you have ideas or beliefs of being completed by something in the external, this is part of the downward and outward flow, and is under the influence of Original sin. It is legitimate, but its harvest will bring both pleasure and pain. When we reverse the current to an inward and upward journey, this will also be pleasurable, enjoyable, and delightful while also being in harmony with our dharma. With the upward ascending current we transform and transcend our limitations, and go beyond the duality of pleasure and pain. The path of Tantra is referred to as the path of Ecstasy because the aspirant’s life becomes about realizing our eternal nature of Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram. This goal becomes the foundation upon which all our desires to explore and enjoy life is built.
[1] The medulla oblongata is located at the base of the brain, where the brain and spinal cord meet. It contains the nerve centers that control breathing and circulation. On a subtler level, it is where the prana, the pure energy or life force, enters the Physical and Astral bodies.
[2] Turiya state: The superior state of Consciousness that is beyond the awake, dreaming, and subconscious states, and is attained through harmonization and deep meditation.
[3] This “illusion of completeness” of the male/female relationship comes from the procreation’s realistic desire for completion of the egg and sperm, and not from the reality that another can complete us.
[4] Guidance of a Realized Soul may come through darshan or upanishad. Darshan is the presence of a Realized Soul or Holy One’s Consciousness, holy sight. Upanishad means “sitting close” to one’s nature, the nature of God, which is done with the vibrations and teaching of the Holy Ones and Realized Souls. One does not necessarily need to be in the physical presence of a Holy One or Realized Soul (as this is not always possible) to experience upanishad.
[5] Sacred Fire: To be in love with love, to be in love with all life, to love only God (or the triune essence of God) is the Sacred Fire.
