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..:: Tantra II ::..
"The Right Hand
Path"
By
Alan Schneider
Tantric scholar David Gordon White has defined Tantra as follows:
“Tantra is that Asian body of beliefs and
practices which, working from the principle that the universe we
experience is nothing other than the concrete manifestation of the
divine energy of the Godhead that creates and maintains that universe,
seeks to ritually appropriate and channel that energy, within the human
microcosm, in creative and emancipatory ways.”
The
Right Hand Path of Tantra is the true method
of attaining Ascension in the Spirit through the practice of the Yoga
lifestyle. In order for this path to be understood, Yoga itself must be
understood, not merely as a methodology of physical practice, but as a
methodology of spiritual transformation.
Arguably the first record of Yogic practice is Patanjali’s
Yoga Sutras, probably composed in the sixth century B.C. This is
the source of the “Eight Limbs”, or methods, that define the Yoga
lifestyle. These are:
1) Yamas – moral restraints consisting of
nonharming, truthfulness, nonstealing, chastity, and greedlessness.
2) Niyamas – self restraints consisting of internal
and external purity, contentment, austerity, study, and devotion to
God.
3) Asanas – postures which are specifically designed to
render the practitioner resistant to the effects of dualistic
thought processes and physical expressions.
4) Pranayama – breathing techniques designed to focus
consciousness, produce vitality, and extend life.
5) Pratyahara – suppression of sensory responses to
stimuli, thereby supporting detachment from the material condition.
6) Dharana – concentration on a selected spiritual object
or process to the exclusion of everything else in the environment,
thereby enabling recognition of spiritual manifestation.
7) Dhyana – transcendent meditation characterized by
unification of consciousness.
8) Samadhi – spiritual ecstasy experienced in the state of
complete non-dual awareness of God.
The Sharada-Tilaka-Tantra (a Right Hand text) adds to
the Eight Limbs in certain key areas:
1) Yamas – additionally include compassion, rectitude,
patience, stability, and moderate consumption, and replaces greedlessness with cleanliness.
2) Niyamas – additionally include sacred tradition,
charity, worship, acceptance of the holy teachings, modesty,
discernment, mantra recitation, and ritual offerings.
3) Asanas – particular stress placed on the cross-legged
Lotus Posture for spiritual attainment and practice.
4) Dhyana – focused meditation on a specific Deity.
5) Samadhi – deep contemplation of the unitary identity
of the personal mind (ego) and God.
The discerning reader may note here that the Tantric
additions to the Eight Limbs tend to render Patanjali’s system more
ritualistically determined by incorporating elements that, taken as
a whole, are much more literal in their scope and application. The
original tenets of the Eight Limbs could be practiced by a spiritual
hermit living in isolation in the jungle quite effectively – the Tantric
additions are social modifications geared toward group
involvement and practice, making them ideal for a temple or ashram
environment. This hints at a fundamental shift in emphasis from a small
group of relatively isolated practitioners to large numbers of students
in popularized social settings. Tantra was streamlined Yoga for
the “masses”, as opposed to the privileged classes. It is perhaps not
surprising that this interpretation eventually progressed to the Left
Hand Path of direct sexual involvement and expression – an ultimate
statement of mass appeal, but so diluted with prurient interest that its
effectiveness as a spiritual practice became very questionable.
The focus of spiritual development in both Right Hand Tantra
and Kundalini Yoga has remained spiritual ascension. Some more detailed
observations regarding this process would be in order at this time – the
following discussion will provide this additional information to the
reader.
The Kundalini has been characterized as residing in a
dormant form in the First Chakra, Muladhara. The conditions that
will activate this dormant condition into manifestation are still not
well understood today. Certain kinds of spiritual or environmental
stress are almost unquestionably involved. Environmental stress here
includes psychological factors as well as financial, social, or physical
ones. The spiritual factor is frequently the discovery within the
individual consciousness of a void of meaning affecting many
areas of life – such a void is generally quite uncomfortable and
generates an ongoing search for “the solution” to this troubling
condition. Personal Karma is also felt to be a factor by many
“authorities” (i.e. Seers, Gurus, and Yogis) – we tend to awaken to the
Kundalini when we are in Karmic readiness for the experience, having
passed through the required sequence of sufferings in previous
incarnations to have attained the requisite level of awareness for
Kundalini functionality. The practice of any Yoga may be a factor
– the intentional (or inadvertent) stimulation of Muladhara by
certain Asanas can awaken the Kundalini. A trauma occurring at a
critical stage in life can also supply the needed jolt to achieve the
activation event. What this all boils down to is that God knows when we
are ready to begin the journey back home, the journey of Ascension, and
sends us His message at that time through the Kundalini activation event
in whatever form it may take.
Once the Kundalini becomes active in Muladhara, it must
first subsume, or assimilate that psychic center. The initial
stage in this process is the ongoing practice of the Asanas used by any
school of Yoga. The purpose of postural Yoga of any variety is to render
the physical form suitable as a spiritual vehicle for the Atman, or Soul
(in more familiar Western terms) as it rediscovers God as its
source. This assimilation process at the level of Muladhara can be quite
intense, requiring changes of employment, relationships, and religious
venues to bring the material characteristics of the practitioner’s life
into a sufficiently “auspicious” configuration supporting further
spiritual growth. It is at this level that the considerations of
Patanjali’s Yoga lifestyle become pertinent to the student as guidelines
for ongoing progress.
As the Kundalini “rises” (nominally along the spinal
column), the next psychic center to be encountered is Svadisthana,
customarily associated with the genitalia, and the physical pleasure
experienced in the sex act. It is at this level that Tantra can so often
become fixated on Left Hand practice, temporarily stalling the progress
of the Kundalini Energy along the Right Hand path. Human beings are
frequently prone to this diversion, particularly in their youthful
years, and may choose to follow the Path of the Householder as
defined in traditional Hindu culture, by marrying and raising a family,
thus placing Yoga in a lower priority. It is a significant part of the
collective human Karma to produce offspring – Hinduism even holds this
as one of our most sacred obligations – and, in the material sense, is
the obvious evolutionary motive for our dual sexual manifestation.
However, I must observe here that, once the Kundalini is activated and
begins rising, the process can neither really be reversed, nor halted
indefinitely, and will inevitably resume “Shakti’s Journey”. This also
is our Karma, and the return to God is Mahadharma – our most important
and sacred action in life, the motive for all existence. The attainment
of Samadhi and God-Realization is the ultimate human achievement,
and definitive spiritual goal during incarnation.
So it is that Svadisthana can and will be assimilated
eventually, and this assimilation will be expressed in Right Hand
practice, however enthralled with the Left Hand we may have been. Once
this has taken place, an enormous amount of Kundalini is made available
for the subsequent journey to Manipura and the Higher Chakras.
Manipura is the center associated with the naval point, and
considered to be the focus of the “vital fires” of the organism,
including the processes of digestion, absorption, and excretion, and
that most significant “vital fire” seen in social operations in
the world of Maya. It is here that we seek power and prestige in this
final expression of the worldly illusion – external human society and
culture. The individual who has mastered and assimilated Svadisthana
will be profoundly empowered to operate to great advantage in Manipura,
becoming a social leader as a captain of industry, a spiritual pundit,
business manager, or civic authority of the community, the nation, or
the world. At this stage of manifestation, the Inner Light of the
individual has frequently become apparent to the others surrounding him
or her as personal charisma that can be very captivating.
However, an issue here is that this condition also appeals to the to the
ego as an opportunity for social manipulation, and the Kundalini can be
stalled and/or diverted to that end in Manipura. The result is
the advent of a false leader who is really only motivated by personal
gain – not Ascension. There are many, many accounts in the annals of
Hinduism of even Gurus who fall prey to this phenomenon,
callously exploiting their devotees for every manner of material
advantage by the inappropriate use of their personal magnetism. As the
ancient saying says ”Pride goeth before the Fall”, and megalomaniac
power-hunger is the deepest pit of all! Let the Seeker be warned...
When and if the spiritual pitfalls associated with Manipura
are successfully negotiated by the practitioner – by maintaining a
humble, self-effacing, and reverent attitude toward all of creation –
the Great Leap into the first genuinely transcendental center is
possible – entry into the consciousness of Anahata, the Heart Chakra. It
is at this point that the real work of spiritual growth associated with
the ascending Kundalini Energy takes place, as we learn the most
difficult lesson of compassion for all of the sentient creatures
in this life of struggle and suffering – the Veil of Tears so often
referred to in the Western spiritual tradition. And so often, it is...
At the Heart Center, we begin to experience genuine concern
for the other beings of flesh around us, along with the awareness that
we all are struggling with many of the same demons in this life –
loneliness, ill-health, rejection, perhaps poverty, perhaps addiction,
perhaps despair, and that this is the collective burden of everyone,
not solely the afflicted. It is at the level of Anahata that we learn to
reach out to each other, possibly for the sake of soliciting assistance,
but much more significantly, to offer assistance as well. Anahata
teaches us that we are all brethren in the spirit, and that unselfish
love is the most beautiful condition that anyone can ever experience in
this life.
The lives of all the real Saints and Sages are
literal statements of the power of the Heart in human affairs when it
has been opened by the Kundalini, allowing it to blossom into the
magnificent structure that God intended it to be. Hinduism teaches that
the Atman – the Soul – begins in the Heart, and radiates outward
from there to the whole world. At least in the case of the Sage, pure
consciousness and innocence of motive are displayed in all personal
actions, and hopefully these traits will also be displayed in the
actions of others who seek Enlightenment as well. The open Heart is the
first step to be taken toward all of the following Chakras, as higher
consciousness becomes a living reality. One simply cannot say enough
about the importance of this center – it is the spiritual pivot upon
which existence rests and rotates.
If the Heart Chakra can be successfully opened by the
practice of the moral principals of Yoga in this life, then the gateway
is opened to all that is to follow – Vishudda, the Throat Chakra,
Ajna, the Brow Chakra, and finally the Gem of Consciousness,
Sahasrara, the Golden Throne of God. Let us briefly touch upon these
three Superlative Centers.
Vishudda is associated with mantra chanting as the preferred
method of demonstrating love for God, but this activity extends to
all spiritual communication, including the spoken, and written word
devoted to the sacred task of Enlightenment. The first expression of
existence in Hindu cosmology was a vibration that subsequently
expressed all of creation – the syllable OM. This is not merely a
sonic vibration, but a visual and existential one as well. OM expresses
the totality of existence to the person ascended enough to perceive its
manifestation in the cosmos.
When the Ascending Kundalini reaches Ajna, opening that
Chakra, the vision of the Holy Radiance is attained. The working process
here is that of Yantra, or visual representations of the Divine
Manifestation. This includes the many versions of the Chakras in all of
the Hindu traditions, the extensive and varied depictions of Gods and
Goddesses, Angels, and Saints around the world, and many more
specialized designs constructed to define the Action and Presence of God
manifesting on the material plane. Of these latter, the Sri Yantra is
perhaps the best known example. In this depiction, the Holy Presence is
shown as a complex pattern of interlocking triangles radiating forth
from a central point as the expression of God accomplishing Creation
through OM as the vibratory medium! The most important thing to remember
about Ajna is that it is considered the essence of the Third Eye in
Hinduism, an Eye that is all seeing because it looks into the Soul and
witnesses God thereby. So we could say that Sahasrara can be “seen”
through Ajna, using the Kundalini Energy to empower perception.
There is a difference of opinion among the aforementioned
“authorities” regarding the last, and final step in the Ascension
process. Some of the Seers claim that the Kundalini itself is powerful
enough to carry the practitioner beyond the confines of his body into
Sahasrara, located as it is above the head. Others say that the process
stops at Ajna, where we must wait until we are sufficiently ego-free (in
other words, capable of experiencing non-dual awareness) to be deemed
worthy of the Presence of God, whereon eon He will come to us
as the Manifestation of Love at the Ground of all Being. I personally
feel that this latter is the case – God must take us on the last stage
of the journey, and will when we are ready. He knew when we were
ready to begin the Kundalini consciousness journey, and He knows
when we are ready to finish it.
The great Bengali Avatar Ramakrishna once observed that all
faiths are equally valid as expressions of God. The general
consensus of interpretation regarding this comment is that the
sincerity of the practitioner is the key to the outcome of any
religious practice, and particularly the application of Ascension
techniques. It is quite possible to achieve the Hindu level of Samadhi
in any other tradition by the persistent individual who affirms a
sacred life through daily practice and devotion to God. The author has
encountered accounts of comparable states of religious ecstasy to
Samadhi in Sufi, Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Daoist, Native American,
ancient and modern tribal South American and African, and Zoroastrian
traditions, to name a few. In every case, it was the sincerity of
devotion and strength of faith that enabled the phenomenon to manifest.
Hinduism simply has a long standing tradition of this type of
transcendental experience of God as a major tenet of faith, and this
generates a uniquely supportive cultural environment for spiritual
exploration.
Another faith that has a similar capability to
produce Ascension, although not necessarily as a primary foundation
piece in its belief structure, is Judaism. The Jewish mystical tradition
is referred to as Cabala (one of several alternative spellings), and has
as its fundamental image, or Yantra, the Tree of Life diagram. I
have achieved Ascension using this system, a Native American system of
nature images, and Buddhist meditation techniques on three separate
occasions in my life, but the last occurrence was Cabalistic, and the
most complete. This took place in 1997 in Arizona, and was identified as
a Kundalini process by my spiritual guide at the time, although I was
working heavily with Cabala trance manifestation on that occasion. It is
quite probable that the correct set of spiritual symbols (or
archetypes, as Carl Jung called them) will produce Samadhi in
conjunction with a supportive practice in any faith, even in the
case of a wholly personal faith having no social underpinning
whatsoever. Now, what that set of symbols will be for a given
practitioner may be a quite esoteric consideration, but not at all
beyond the realm of discovery for the determined investigator.
The symbolic key in my case was the Tetragrammeton, the
so-called Unpronounceable Name of God, nominally portrayed as YHVH in
the related literature. Over a period of some months, I had been
studying this expression with the intention of learning as much as
possible about the Name, its spiritual history, and the potential
effects of expressing It in some form on the consciousness of the
practitioner – myself in this case. This investigation included
several intervals of meditation on the sequence of letters involved,
including Mantra chanting using that same sequence. What I now know is
that the outcome of all of these procedures was cumulative over the
period in question, and was building up what was certainly at the very
least a Kundalini-like potential, predominantly in my personal
unconscious. The eventual result was the spontaneous release of that
potential in the form of a full Ascension experience over my
Christmas vacation in 1997.
What was God like as a personal presence, rather than
an abstract concept? The Presence that I contacted was almost
exactly like the depiction of the Chakra Sahasrara in appearance, with
the exception that what I saw was a Being composed of living light,
not static material. After passing through a series of preliminary
visions that I now understand were examinations of my consciousness on
successively more subtle levels, the world of form simply dissolved,
revealing the splendor of the Thousand Petaled Lotus – Sahasrara –
floating in the Primal Void. This “structure” was the sole occupant of
the Void, and seemed to be expanded to cosmic proportions in all
directions, but still was paradoxically perceptible from my perspective.
There was still some sense of dimensionality present, and I had a
perception of the expanse of Sahasrara as I drifted toward it, drawn by
some type of attractive force. Although I had no sense of my body, I
nonetheless had a profound sense of observation through vision at this
stage of the experience – Sahasrara was an immense manifestation that
dominated my entire state of being, whatever that state may have been.
As I literally floated through the Petals of Light
surrounding the Lotus, I had the unmistakable impression of contacting
the Angels of the Heavenly Host as intelligent forms of expression, of
literally passing through their Individual Minds as I traveled along,
drawing ever closer to the Heart of the Lotus of Divine Manifestation. I
heard an indescribably beautiful chorus of thousands of adoring voices
singing in Praise of God in an Angelic language that I did not
recognize, but still somehow understood. The Heart of the Lotus I was
approaching was the Essence of God, located at the very center of
Sahasrara, and appeared as a ball of intense white light, surrounded by
a golden halo – a really incredibly beautiful vision of the Divine.
After passing through the Host of Light, I was dissolved into some kind
of essential consciousness, a consciousness of innocence and grace, and
was absorbed into the Heart of the Lotus, literally drawn into the Mind
of God, and allowed to experience the Pure Divine Essence therein.
That essence was the most profound expression of
unconditional Love and acceptance that I have ever experienced. I was
completely enveloped in a field of White Light and Absolute Love that
seemed to extend forever everywhere. It was the most incredible,
delightful, blissful condition imaginable! It was grace and peace beyond
all grace and peace – the unequivocal state of the non-dual
manifestation of Love and Light. I have never known such utter and
complete joy and contentment as that which I experienced in the Presence
of God – it was the Ananda, the Bliss, of Samadhi, as Shakti
finally reunited with Her beloved husband in Heaven.
I floated in that state for an indeterminate length of time
– if it could be said that I was experiencing time at all – before
passing briefly into another state of consciousness that was like ike
no-consciousness-at-all – the Primal Void – and then found myself
standing in my living room on Christmas morning! And all of this
incredible sequence of higher and higher perceptions of greater and
greater profundity of expression began with a meditation focused on YHVH
on Christmas vacation! Such is the power of the Name. Believe me, I
know there is a God...
So it is that, by following what were essentially Yogic and
Right Hand Tantric practices which activated the Kundalini Energy, I was
able to stand in the Holy Presence and experience full Ascension into
the Light. I believe that this Light is of the same quality and
significance for all human beings everywhere, and always will be, and
that we can have access to the Source of All Love and Light by
practicing love and compassion among each other while still present in
the carnate form here on the material plane of expression. All it takes
is a little faith and a lot of determination!
- With Love, Alan -
(CR2007, Alan Schneider)
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