Tantra Vimarśa

॥ॐ तत्-सत्॥

जानामि धर्मं न च मे प्रवृत्ति-
र्जानाम्यधर्मं न च मे निवृत्तिः।
त्वया स्वामिनः! हृदि स्थितेन्
यथा नियुक्तोऽस्मि तथा करोमि॥
अन्तरायतिमिरौघशान्तये स्वेष्टशक्तिकरुणाऽरुणाप्रभम्।
सन्तनोतु मुनिवृन्दसेवितम् भावगम्यमनिशं शिवं महः॥
करुणापूरितचित्तां सच्चिद्रूपां परां दिव्याम्।
ब्रह्मसहचरीं तुर्यां बगलाशक्तिं प्रणौमि सौभाग्याम्॥¹

When the word Tantra is uttered, a layman visualizes a gory scenario of human skulls, blood, alcohol, meat, śmaśāna and copulation in the presence of a mystic in a mysterious atmosphere. The real picture of Tantra is quite different and much more profound than the one mentioned above. The Mandirās across Bhārata i.e. Śrī Śaradā Pīṭha of Kaśmīra to Śrī Tirupati BālāJī and Śrī Mīnākṣī Ambala Devī of south or Śrī Kāmākhyā Kāmarūpa of Assam and Śrī Jagannātha Svāmī of East to Śrī Somanātha and Śrī Dvārakādhīśa of west; all of them subscribe to the Tantra mārga during nitya pūjā and other temple rituals. It shall be noted that the practice of Tantra sādhāna is an inherent part of every school of thought in Bhāratavarṣa, as we will see in subsequent sections of this piece.. Whatever is mentioned in the beginning is merely the glimpse of big Tantra sect. The complete sādhanā paddhati of Bhāratavarṣa is Tantra based.

Even if this statement receives objection, we observe that the sādhāna of Śaṅkara Vedānta, i.e. Śravaṇa, Manana and Nididhyāsana is a Tāntrika procedure. The former two have aspects of Aparā and Parāparā Tantra pūjā and Nididhyāsana comprises Parā pūjā.

The paddhati of Bhakti and Karma Yoga also include significant aspects of Tantra sādhanā. On the path of Yoga sādhanā, the supreme objective is the realisation of Parā tattva through the awakening of Kuṇḍalinī also involves Tāntrika vidhi.

तदोकोऽग्रज्वलनं तत्प्रकाशितद्वारो विद्यासामर्थ्यात्तच्छेषगत्यनुस्मृतियोगाच्च हार्दानुगृहीतः शताधिकया17॥
The heart of erudite splendours at the time of departure. Being glorified with splendour and graced by Parameśvara the soul thinks of Brahmaloka by the virtue of Vidyā. Then it leaves body from 101 Mūrdhanya artery.

The fundamental motive of all traditions in Sanātana Dharma is mokṣa. There are two ways of achieving such noble departure, first, by following the vows (anusthānās) of Dharma to leave the body via suṣumnā at time of death, and second, by gaining spiritual attainment while alive. The energy that graces us with spiritual awakening is Kuṇḍalinī - the supreme mother of this world.

Now the question is, why is mokṣa attained only when the ātman leaves the body through the suṣumnā? The answer is given in various Veda and Āgama scriptures in details. Here, we will take a brief dive into Mahāmaheśvara Ācārya Abhinavagupta Jī’s explanations from his magnum opus Śrī Tantrāloka Ch. – 6 and onwards.

This entire creation (whose dust particle is this universe) is made of two kāla (time) and deśa (space) adhvā.² The Kāla adhvā has three further parts:

• Varṇa
• Pada
• Mantra

The Deśa adhvā has three parts too:

• Kalā
• Tattva
• Pura

All of them reside in prāṇa:

अध्वा समस्त एवायं षड्विधोऽप्यतिविस्तृतः।
यो वक्ष्यते स एकत्र प्राणे तावत्प्रतिष्ठितः॥5॥

There are two modes of kalama of these adhvās. One is krama and another one is akrama. This Kāla of the form of krama and akrama is called as Parā Saṁvida.She alone is the Parā Śakti Bhagavatī Śrī Kālī, exalted by the Devās:

क्रमाक्रमात्मा कालश्च परः संविदि वर्तते।
काली नाम परा शक्तिः सैव देवस्य गीयते॥7॥

This Parā Śakti Saṁvida only vibrates as prāṇa vṛtti in external world. While deliberating the world as separate from her, she resides as Viśvottīrṇa, like the vastness of space and hence she is called as śūnya. When the yogī deliberates netī-netī (neither bhāva nor abhāva; the mid-stream suṣumnā) he earns the supreme state.

नेति नेति विमर्शेन योगिनां सा परा दशा॥10॥

The great Gurus have said that this Parā Saṁvid alone transformed herself into prāṇa upon which the manifest world is dependent for its sustenance.:

तेनाहुः किल संवित्प्राणे परिणता तथा।
अन्तःकरणतत्त्वस्य वायुराश्रयतां गतः॥12॥

Hence, the kāla adhvā is merely a display of Saṁvid Śakti who could be realised when the seeker traverses through the suṣumnā. In 8^th chapter Mahāmaheśvara Ācārya Abhinavagupta Jī further says that all adhvās, entire creation, arteries and cakra etc. are evolved from Saṁvida only.:

संविद्द्वारेण तत्सृष्टे शून्ये धियि मरुत्सु च।
नाडीचक्रानुचक्रेषु बहिर्देहेऽध्वसंस्थितिः॥4॥

Hence, it is must for the seeker to know about all the adhvās and then to dissolve them in reverse order (dissolve subordiante in the Lord of adhvā). The deha shall be dissolved in prāṇa and the prāṇa shall be dissolved in Buddhi. This Buddhi dissolves in Saṁvida and the seeker is liberated from this web of world baked by fire of pralaya:

ज्ञात्वा समस्तमध्वानं तदीशेषु विलापयेत्।
तान् देहप्राणधीचक्रे पूर्ववद्गालयेत्क्रमात्॥7॥
तत्समस्तं स्वसंवित्तौ सा संविद्भरितात्मिका।
उपास्यमाना संसारसागरप्रलयानलः॥8॥

Life enters the body through the suṣmnā, hence that is also the path of liberation. The scriptures tell us that the suṣmnā evolved first, followed by other essential arteries which constitute the body.

Kuṇḍalinī

Kuṇḍalinī, the Visarga Śakti of Śiva rests in the Mūlādhāra. She is coiled 3½ times over the paścimābhimukha³ liṅga. The 3½ coils represent prameya, pramāṇa, pramātā and pramā respectively. Kuṇḍalinī Śakti comprises various types like Śakti Kuṇḍalinī, Prāṇa Kuṇḍalinī and Parā Kuṇḍalinī. Further classifications exist based on how the seeker wishes to attain her grace.

Tantra Sādhanā

Tantra practice is divided into two ways: extrinsic and intrinsic. The extrinsic practices include various practices like japa, pūjā, śravaṇa and manana whereas Nirvikalpa stage and Nidadhyāsana are intrinsic procedures. Hence, we can say that every method of worship has basic to advanced elements of Tantra sādhanā.

Apart from other religions like Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism, in Sanātana dharma under sākāra worship there are five principle Deities. All other forms of Devatā are manifested from these five alone. These five are:

1. Śiva
2. Śakti
3. Viṣṇu
4. Gaṇeśa
5. Saura

These five together are called as Pañcamahādeva or Pañcāyatana:

गणेशश्चापि सूर्यश्च विष्णू रुद्रस्तथैव च।
पूजयेन्मध्य ईशानी पञ्चायतनमीदृशीम्॥

The destination of all the sādhanā-s is to lead the sādhakā to the formless nirvīkalpa samadhi state. The Sādhanā of these five deities have multiple variations within the tradition. We will look at those schools one by one.

Śaiva mata

The Śaiva traditions are of three types i.e. Dvaita (Dualistic), Dvaitādvaita and Advaita. They have evolved from the permutation and combination of five heads of Bhagavāna Śiva which are Īśāna, Tatpuruṣa, Sadyojāta, Vāmadeva and Aghora. ParamaŚiva discoursed ten Dvaitaāgamas, eighteen dvaitādvaitaāgamas and sixty-four Advaitaāgamas from these heads. The three streams have various schools within amongst them a few are as given below. These names are as given in SarvaDarśanaSaṁgraha:

• Nakulīśa Pāśupata
• Māhśevara Darśana
• Pratyibhijñā(Trika)
• Raseśvara

Apart from it there are other schools also which are Siddhānta Śaiva, Vīraśaiva and Ekavīra Śaiva. Nātha Sampradāya and Siddha schools are also part of Śaiva darśana.

Śakta mata

नम॑स्ते अस्तु वि॒द्युते॒ नम॑स्ते स्तनियि॒त्नवे॑।
नम॑स्ते अ॒स्त्वश्म॑ने॒ येना॑ दू॒डाशे॒ अस्य॑सि॥१॥
नम॑स्ते प्रवतो नपा॒द॒ यत॒स्तपः॑ स॒मूह॑सि।
मृ॒डया॑ नस्त॒नूभ्यो॒ मय॑स्तो॒केभ्यस्कृधि॥२॥
प्रव॑तो नपा॒न्नम॑ ए॒वास्तु॒ तुभ्यं॒ नम॑स्ते हे॒तये॒ तपु॒षे च कृणमः।
वि॒द्मे ते॒ धाम॑ प॒रमं गुहा॒ यत् स॑मु॒द्रे अन्तर्निहि॑तासि॒ नाभिः॑॥३॥
यां त्वा॑ दे॒वा असृ॑जन्त॒ विश्व॒ इषुं॑ कृण्वा॒ना अस॑नाय धृ॒ष्णुम्।
सा नो॑ मृड वि॒दथे॑ गृणा॒ना तस्यै॑ ते॒ नमो॑ अस्तु देवि॥४॥⁴

The concept of the worship of divine Energy is as old as Bhārata is. The worship of Śakti is to worship the real Citi or Sva of Śiva which when transformed as citta, leads to a union with the Śiva-tattva. The motive of Śakti Sādhanā is to attain the same Śiva being of self.

She is worshipped as the Vidyuta, the one who echoes as word, she only appears as Vajra which slays the bonds of avidyā. Being Vidyuta she only resides as Kuṇḍalinī in Mūlādhāra while being coiled 3½ times.

She manifests in nine forms as the nava-nāda, the primordial sounds of the universe -

गौ॒रिर्मि॑मायसलि॒लानि॒तक्ष॒त्येक॑पदीद्वि॒पदी॒साचतु॑ष्पदी।
अ॒ष्टाप॑दी॒नव॑पदीवभू॒वषी॑स॒हस्रा॑क्षरापर॒मेव्यो॑मन्॥⁵

The nine pada or steps of Śakti are akin to nine nāda. It is also She who becomes the one with thousand feet in Sahasrāra. This Nāda only appears as Vāka which are Parā, Paśyantī, Madhyamā and Vaikharī.

च॒त्वारि॒वाक्परि॑मिताप॒दानितानि॑विदुर्ब्राह्म॒णायेम॑नी॒षिणः॑।
गुहा॒त्रीणिनिहि॑ता॒नेड्ग॑.यन्तितु॒रीयं॑वा॒चोम॑नु॒ष्या॑वदन्ति॥४५॥⁶

There are four Vāka which are known by the Yogīs. Three reside in subtler forms while humans speak the fourth one. These vāka only are called as Kāmarūpa pīṭha or Svayaṁbhūliṅga, Pūrṇāgirī Pīṭha or Bāṇaliṅga, Jālandhara Pīṭha or Itaraliṅga and Uḍḍīyāna Pīṭha or Paraliṅga respectively. These four are also called as Śāntā, Vāmā, Jyeṣṭhā and Raudrī.⁷ Being in Dvaita stage it is must for seeker to earn the merits of Yoga. When someone surrenders self to her, he never treads on wrong path. Bhagavatī herself protects her children; this is the meaning of second Śruti mentioned in the beginning. When the Yogī worships this mighty mother, she bestows upon him all her grace for she resides in the great ocean of the cavity of his heart⁸. We offer salutations to the weapons of this mighty Śakti for she holds them for our protection. It is the same Śakti who resides in one or the other form in various devatās,⁹ and appears as the One whenever required.

These four śrutis of a sūkta as given in Atharvaveda show the complete cycle of delusion of Śiva and then his recognition of his Sva.

There is one more Sūkta in Vaidika scriptures, Ākūti sūkta which talks about the Icchā, Jñāna and Kriyā Śakti¹⁰ and says that they are the Śakti of one Devī Ākūti.

Śakti is the manifestation of Citi of Brahma that first appears as Cid then Ānanda, Icchā, Jñāna and Kriyā. These are written as अ, आ, इ, उ and ए respectively. These are the vowels and with consonant they are called as Mātṛkā Cakra. This Mātṛkā Cakra manifests as this world as a display of the Śakti of Śiva. The world is an image that is displayed by Śakti in Śiva’s own heart. She becomes the mirror of this magnificent display. It shall be understood that there is no Bimba (object) whose Pratibimba the world is. This is merely the amorous play of Śiva and Śakti. The only reality is you who resort in the body. Eternally, it is you within whose heart the Śakti has created the world. Icchā, Jñāna and Kriyā are also known as Parā, Parāparā and Aparā. These three are the three spikes of a trident called Trika Triśūla. Above this trident resides Bhagavatī Śrī Unmanā, who is also hailed as Parābhaṭṭārikā, she only is Citi. This trident manifests as Pañcapretāsana. The Bhagavatī Śrī Tripura Sundarī graced on the Pañcapretāsana is the pictorial depiction of this stage of Śakti. However, that is a subject of separate discussion. The Parābhaṭṭārikā Bhagavatī mentioned here is of nirākāra form (Formless); Parābhaṭṭārikā only appears in sākāra forms as Daśa Mahāvidyā:

1. Bhagavatī Śrī Kālī
2. Bhagavatī Śrī Tārā
3. Bhagavatī Śrī Mahātripura Sundarī
4. Bhagavatī Srī Bhuvaneṣvarī
5. Bhagavatī Śrī Tripura Bhairavī
6. Bhagavatī Śrī Ccchinnamastā
7. Bhagavatī Śrī Dhūmāvatī
8. Bhagavatī Śrī Bagalāmukhī
9. Bhagavatī Śrī Mātaṅgī
10. Bhagavatī Śrī Kamalā

The Krama Daraśana of Kāśmīra talks about twelve forms of Śrī Kālī. These are mentioned in scriptures like Cidgagana Candrikā, Śrīmat Tantrāloka and Śrīmat Kramanaya Pradīpikā. The references pointed in this article are to direct seekers to deeper reading and reflection.

Parābhaṭṭārikā alone appears as Nava Durgā:

1. Bhagavatī Śrī Śailaputrī
2. Bhagavatī Śrī Brahmacāriṇī
3. Bhagavatī Śrī Candraghaṇṭā
4. Bhagavatī Śrī Kūṣmāṇāḍā
5. Bhagavatī Śrī Skandamātā
6. Bhagavatī Śrī Kātyāyanī
7. Bhagavatī Śrī Kālarātrī
8. Bhagavatī Śrī Mahāgaurī
9. Bhagavatī Śrī Siddhidātrī

Parabhāṭṭārikā only appears as Trī Śakti:

1. Śrī Mahākālī
2. Śrī Mahālakṣmī
3. Śrī Mahāsarasvatī

She also manifests as Bhagavatī Śrī Kubjikā whose sādhanā vidhāna is unique though the Siddhānta is same.

All these forms of Bhagavatī are a representation of the stage of Dvaitādvaita. As the sākāra svarūpa of Brahmavidyā, they might appear different but are essentially manifestations of the same Supreme tattva. When any of these forms is worshipped by a seeker, while knowing the fact that he is worshipping sākāra svarūpa of Brahmavidyā he finally attains the Anuttara stage.

The worship practices of these forms are divided by Parama Śiva in six ways, for the sake of seekers. These six paths are called as Ṣaḍāmnāya, the six Āmnāya evolved from the mighty heads of Bhagavāna are:

1. Pūrva Āmnāya
2. Paścima Āmnāya
3. Dakṣiṇa Āmnāya
4. Uttara Āmnāya
5. Ūrdhva Āmnāya
6. Anuttara Āmnāya

All of them have their different attributes which are mentioned in scriptures like Śrīmat Tantrāloka. There are infinite āmnāya to reach to the supreme stage. These six are mentioned as per our eligibility as sādhakās. Mahāmaheśvara Ācārya Abhinavagupta Jī says that even if some sarvavāka siddha attempts to explain all the srotasa, he would get tired but would not be able to explain all the srotasa:

अपि सर्वसिद्धवाचः क्षीयेरन्दीर्घकालमुद्गीर्णाः।
न पुनर्योन्यानन्त्यादुच्यन्ते स्रोतसां संख्याः॥३१४॥¹¹

Hence, it is the duty of pupil to ask his Guru for his āmnāya krama and then shall begin the worship with full devotion for Guru and Bhagavatī. Seeker shall never discriminate between the Guru and Bhagavatī if the seeker aims the Para tattva.

The Śakti sādhanā makes you realize that this entire world is your own play. This ization dawns through jñāna. Jñāna is again of two types, Śāstra jñāna and Pauṁsna jñāna (earned by realisation in short). There are various solutions to realise this fact, these are:

• Anupāya
• Śāmbhavopāya
• Śāktopāya
• Āṇavopāya

The first one means, no solution. This is the objective of sādhanā. The second stage is the Nirvikalpa stage, this again is a high-level stage in which someone rarely reaches. The next two stages are for the seekers. These have furthermore solutions which shall be known from the respective texts only. The able Guru only decides at what level the disciple is and makes him begin the sādhanā.

The Śakti sādhanā can also be categorized as follows:

• Parā: The state in which seeker resorts as one with Parama Śiva
• Parāpara: The state in which the seeker shall contemplate that he is one with Parama Śiva.
• Apara: All extrinsic sādhanā including hymn recitation, Yoga, japa, devatā-pujan, Śaiyā sādhanā, Śmaśāsna sādhanā and extrinsic Cakra worship of all types. These practices slowly removes the notion of duality however as per Śrī Gurudeva the japa is the most simple and full proof way to attain the objective.

Śakti Sādhanā tradition comprises various ways, which are called as ācāra. The famous ācāras are:¹²

• Vedācāra
• Śaivācāra
• Vāmācāra
• Dakṣiṇācāra
• Kulācāra
• Kaulācāra
• Trikācāra

There is another category which is as¹³:

• Vedācāara
• Vaiṣṇavācāra
• Śaivācāra
• Dakṣiṇācāra
• Vāmācāra
• Siddhāntācāra
• Kulācāra

All these ācāras have their separate lineages and definition of Parātattva, the seeker any ācāra, no matter what his stage is, shall first take dīkṣā of another ācāra he wishes to adopt and then he shall begin his sādhanā anew.

Interestingly, seekers also are categorised as per their bhāva:

• Paśu
• Vīra
• Divya

These sādhanā techniques awaken the Kuṇḍalinī of seeker, this makes seekers eligible for realisation of supreme truth. The Kuṇḍalinī jāgaraṇa is for sure, no matter seeker is follower of Jñāna mārga, Bhakti mārga, Karma mārga, Prema mārga, Raja Yoga etc.

These varied aspects of Śakti Sādhanā are great boon to humanity, which are treasured by our great ṛiṣis since ages. Those who are blessed to tread on this path only are called as Śākta. The beauty of Śakti Sādhanā is that no matter what you call yourself, if you are practising any sādhanā within Sanātana dharma you are somehow doing Śakti sādhanā. One will also find the presence of Śākta darśana in Buddhism and its influence in Jainism and Sikhism. For instance, in Sikhism, the 10th Guru of the order himself wrote the scripture on Śakti sādhanā titled Śrī Daśama Grantha Sāhib, published from Lucknow and available with a Hindi translation today.

Vaiśṇava Mata

There are three schools of Tantra in Vaiṣṇava Mata. These are:

1. Bhāgavata
2. Pāñcarātra
3. Vaikhānasa

These three continue to be practiced world-wide by the followers of the Vaiṣṇava Mata. The Āgama scriptures of these schools are widely available with us.

Gāṇapatya

The worshippers of Śrī Gaṇeśa are called as Gāṇapatyas. The tradition of Śrī Gaṇeśa worship is quite common and there are a lot of scriptures available which comprise of Mantra, Stotra, Sahasranāma and Kavaca as well as Yogic sādhanās. The Śrī Śakti Saṁgama Tantra (1.6.139) talks about the eight schools of Śrī Gaṇeśa Sādhanā however the names are not given. There is list of Śrī Gaṇeśa Tantra-s also in the Paryāya Nirṇaya section of the same scripture. He is also worshipped as per Advaita traditions. The Diṇḍima commentary of Śaṅkara Digvijaya of Ānandagiri talks about six schools of Śrī Gaṇeśa. These are:

1. Śrī Mahāgaṇapati.
2. Śrī Haridrā Gaṇapati.
3. Śrī Uccchiṣṣṭa Gaṇapati.
4. Śrī Navanīta Gaṇapati.
5. Śrī Svarṇa Gaṇapati.
6. Śrī Santāna Gaṇapati

Saura Mata

Once upon a time, the Saura sādhanā prevailed in Bhārata. There were prominent places of Saura mata and the Siddhāśrama is one such place where even today the seekers practice Saura Sādhanā. The Veda Gāyatrī sādhanā is essentially the worship of Savitā Deva Sūrya. Śrī Śakti Saṁgama Tantra talks about the five schools within this tradition, however, does not mention the names. Nowadays, the Saura sādhanā is restricted to a very few esoteric Siddhas. This tradition also comprises Advaita and Dvaita sādhanā etc.

Apart from these there are Tāntrika practices of Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs also.

To conclude, the elaborations are a glimpse of the pervasiveness of Tantra as a sādhanā-paddhati and why it is imperative that we begin to understand what its key principles are.

Endnotes

1. Brahma Sūtra 4.2.17
2. Sir John Woodroffe has explained this in detail in his scripture “Garland of Letters.”
3. Backward facing
4. A.V. – 1.3.2
5. R.V. – 1.164.41
6. R.V. – 1.164.45
7. Śakti Sādhanā, Tantrika Vangmaya Mein Sakta Drishti, Bihar Rajbhasha Parishat, M.M. Gopinath Kaviraj
8. Sudha sindhu of Dahara Ākāśa
9. This is explained by Ācārya Abhinavagupta in his great work Śrī Tantrāloka also.
10. वेद में शक्ति तत्त्व, श्री स्वामी जी, लेख संग्रह २०१४, दतिया (Veda meiṁ Śakti Tattva, Lekha Saṁgraha – 2014, Datia)
11. Śrīmat Tantrāloka – 8
12. Śrīmat Tantrāloka Viveka – 4.47 – 48
13. Zakat Darśanam, Pt Chakreshwar Bhattacharya Doloi