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to categorize gods on the basis of the Tree of Life becomes unstuck. Ganesha is a good
example. One might argue that he has a Jupiterean aspect, as he is associated with wealth.
However, he is also Mercurial, since he is a scribe. He also battles demons (Mars), rules
obstacles (Saturn), and is often given as the guardian of the Muladhara Chakra (Earth). He has
at least 32 popular forms and there are more that can be discovered through practical
experience.
Sorcery and Demons
I have discussed devotional puja at length since it is the major approach I have used to Tantric
ritual so far. This is not to say that there are no other forms. In The Earth Mother (1989), Pupul
Jayakar describes a "Witches' Spell" from the Atharva Veda which involves familiar elements
such as the creation of an image of the target of the spell, the recitation of mantra over a period
of days, and so forth:
"To propitiate the goddess, rites were enjoined for the preparation of a Kunda or
fire-pot, which took the form of a yantra, symbolic of the yoni. An oblation of
Ghee (Clarified Butter) and brown sugar was offered to the Kunda. The witch put
on garlands of red, sweet-smelling oleander, wore red garments, and lay facing
South. The mantra, called the whisper spell, was then used to invoke:
'Om reverence Rudra, Om, O pungent one, thou of the pungent leaf, blessed, Asuri
reddish one, thou of the red garment, O daughter of Atharvan, none-terrific one,
non-terrific wonder-worker, smite, smite, burn, burn, cook, cook, crush, crush, so
long burn so long cook until you have brought (name) into my power. Svaha.'
Jayakar, p60.
The above litany is used to invoke the 'Asuri Woman' - a form of the goddess Durga.
A more extreme form of ritual is related in Sudhir Kakar's "Shamans, Mystics & Doctors"
(1991). This is sadhana (practice) directed towards a demoness named Karna. The sadhna is
carried out over three days before the new moon. It requires ten days of preparation, and a
further ten days of ritual after the sadhana is completed. For ten days the practitioner abstains
from all the sacred acts prescribed for a Brahmin. He did not clean his teeth, change his clothes,
and used the same dirty plate for each meal. In the three days of the sadhana itself, the
practitioner satisfies his thirst by drinking his own urine, and satisfies his hunger by eating his
own feces. On the first night of the sadhana, the practitioner locks the doors of his house. He
lights eleven large oil lamps in his room. He wears a string of fifty-four bones which he has dug
up from the cremation ground at night, and holds a similar string in his hands. Facing south, he
begins to recite (japa) a mantra 115 times. He urinates and defacates without breaking the
repetition, and rubs the shit and piss over his body. Finally, the practitioner relates how he is
visited by "an attractive woman, twenty-five to thirty years old, completely naked& ". She sits
next to him, fondles his penis, smears both their bodies with his feces, and disappears when he
has finished the recitation of the mantra. On the third day, she "incited" him to have intercourse
with her. Upon commencing his final period of japa, she appears again, sits down on his lap,
and defecates & urinates all over him, again, smearing him body with her urine and feces. She
then tells the practitioner "Whenever I want intercourse I'll come to you and you will have to
satisfy my desire. Whenever you ask a question I'll whisper the answer in your ear." Kakar's
correspondent writes that, as a result of this sadhana, he can no longer perform the sacred tasks
and rituals of a Brahmin, but that his astrology business has boomed, due to the powers of the
demoness in giving him knowledge of his clients' past and future and in drawing more clients
towards him.
This ritual is interesting for several reasons. Firstly, it violently confronts and trangresses
orthodox Hindu taboos concerning cleanliness and ritual purity - in fact I would think it would
have a similar effect on most westerners! Secondly, this sadhana is based again, on
identification which the entity which is the focus of the practice. The practitioner behaves in
such a manner as to become acceptable to the demoness, his practice culminating in a kind of
hieros gamos which, for the Brahmin, is as shameful as it is ecstatic. The result of this sadhana
is that, while he becomes prosperous, he has effectively become an 'outcast' in society.
Ananda and Lila
The term 'lila' is used to denote divine play, sport or dalliance, and the gods are often referred to
as being in this state in their relationship to the Universe. In aspiring to the divine play of the
gods, the tantric seeks to become unfettered and unconditioned. In playing, you leave behind
the perception of the 'ordinary' world, and enter a magical world. As divine players in this
world, the gods are joyous, graceful and spontaneous beings, taking delight in the universe.
Related to this idea of divine play is that of 'ananda' - which is usually translated as meaning
'bliss'. When we try and approach bliss in this sense, we need to be quite careful with terms and
distinctions. For example, many people think of bliss states such as samadhi as being
characterized by a fugue-like withdrawal from the world. But the tantric goal is not about
retreating from the world, but enjoying it. For myself, I rather like the definition of Ananda given
in Kakar, p166-167, by a correspondent:
"The true tantrik is always in a state of nonsuppression and enjoyment. The purpose of
every moment of life is to experience ananda. Ananda is active enjoyment of everything
that comes your way. & A tantrik has only those desires which the environment is
ready, willing and in a position to satisfy. This is not because he denies any of his wishes
or rationalizes them later, but because he has developed his capacity for attention and is
intensely aware of where he is and what he is doing at every moment of time."
Hence Tantric magic places great stress on enhancing awareness of one's senses, of one's
physical presence, of the world around us, of identifying and integrating the fetters of habit,
restriction, attachment - the 'obstacles' which impede us from experiencing ananda. Tantra is a
path of Psychosomatic Alchemy, which starts with the basic premises of sensuality and worship,
pleasure, energy and compassion. This alchemy is dynamic, demonstrating that the body is a
seething cauldron of activity: neural firestorms flicker across the brain in milliseconds; complex
molecular transactions take place within an instant, the heart sheds energy like a furnace. Tantric
magic encompasses all the so-called techniques of Gnosis, from silent contemplation of a
cobweb at dawn to frenzied ecstasy. One of the core virtues of Tantra is Compassion, arising
out of empathic identity with the species, the Earth, and beyond. This embedded 'openness' to
the world is metamorphic, deepening vision, strengthening the heart. As such, systems of control
based on fear and blind obedience have always viewed Tantra as suspicious, if not seditious.
Sources
The Earth Mother - Pupul Jayakar, Penguin Books
The Tantric Tradition - Agehananda Bharati, Rider Books
Tantra Magick - Mandrake of Oxford
Kali's Child - Jeffrey J. Kripal, University of Chicago Press
Shamans, Mystics & Doctors - Sudhir Kakar, University of Chicago Press
The Tantras: Part One - Katon Shual, Nuit-Isis No.#9
The Sword and the Flute - D. R. Kinsley, Motilal Banarsidas Publishers
The Yoga of Power - Julius Evola, Inner Traditions [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]