Anusara yogis don’t hang out in cremation grounds, but we seek to embody Tantric philosophy, orient ourselves around Tantric texts, and perform Tantric practices. We follow many of Tantra’s fundamental principles, but adapt them to modern Western society.
Let’s start by defining Tantra: it’s a technology for expansion of Spirit. Tantra uses the manifest world as a means to experience Enlightenment. Unlike other yoga philosophies, Tantric Enlightenment doesn’t transcend the everyday world; it points us back to it, in a more joyful, appreciative way.
Although yoga and Tantra are living, ever-evolving traditions, there are key distinguishing principles of Tantric philosophy that transcend historical, cultural, and religious parameters. For example: tantrikas identify everything, absolutely everything, as Supreme Consciousness and Creative Power—including body, mind and Spirit.
Anusara yoga’s Shiva-Shakti Tantra philosophy is easily identifiable as Tantric. We teach that Spirit is Good, Free, Full, Pulsating, All-Knowing and Blissful. We teach that yoga is a practice that celebrates this Supreme Spirit as it manifests in ourselves and the world around us. We teach that humans have the common desire to experience the freedom of our true nature. We teach that through skillful action, we can reflect upon and joyfully recognize who we really are, who we always have been and what we may yet become.
In this way, Anusara yoga holds a tradition that has been around for thousands of years, yet is still as relevant and applicable today in our 21st century as it was at its inception. John Friend didn’t invent these ideas: he learned them over a lifetime of study and practice.
Lila is the Sanskrit word for Divine Play, Life is about Infinite Play... Passion, Beauty, Creativity, Freedom & Joy in the Present Moment
Showing posts with label Tantra. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tantra. Show all posts
Leaves Of Anusara, Roots Of Tantra. ~ Emma Magenta & Bernadette Birney
Leaves Of Anusara, Roots Of Tantra. ~ Emma Magenta & Bernadette Birney
A Conversation: the Living Tradition of Tantra.
Emma: Hey Bern, did you read that EJ blog on Tantra and Walt Whitman? I appreciate Horton’s talented writing, but I found her view of Tantra limited.
Bernadette: I did read the article, and I think her article offers a great opportunity to clarify what Tantra is, and why Anusara yogins self-identify as tantrikas.
Emma: Truly! Tantra is a vast tapestry of esoteric philosophy and practice, and has meant different things to different people during its complex, 2,000-year history.
[ed's note: this discussion of tantra does not appear to include Buddhist tantra or Vajrayana tradition or lineage, which was the focus of my personal comment in support of Carol Horton's original article. I also discussed this issue in some depth with John Friend personally in LA this month—it was a fun and informative conversation.]
Having taught Anusara yoga for 10 years, we both know that Tantra cannot be reduced to three practices from one particular epoch and location, as Horton writes in her article. Anusara yogis don’t hang out in cremation grounds, but we seek to embody Tantric philosophy, orient ourselves around Tantric texts, and perform Tantric practices. We follow many of Tantra’s fundamental principles, but adapt them to modern Western society.
Bernadette: Let’s start by defining Tantra: it’s a technology for expansion of Spirit. Tantra uses the manifest world as a means to experience Enlightenment. Unlike other yoga philosophies, Tantric Enlightenment doesn’t transcend the everyday world; it points us back to it, in a more joyful, appreciative way.
Although yoga and Tantra are living, ever-evolving traditions, there are key distinguishing principles of Tantric philosophy that transcend historical, cultural, and religious parameters. For example: tantrikas identify everything, absolutely everything, as Supreme Consciousness and Creative Power—including body, mind and Spirit.
Anusara yoga’s Shiva-Shakti Tantra philosophy is easily identifiable as Tantric. We teach that Spirit is Good, Free, Full, Pulsating, All-Knowing and Blissful. We teach that yoga is a practice that celebrates this Supreme Spirit as it manifests in ourselves and the world around us. We teach that humans have the common desire to experience the freedom of our true nature. We teach that through skillful action, we can reflect upon and joyfully recognize who we really are, who we always have been and what we may yet become.
In this way, Anusara yoga holds a tradition that has been around for thousands of years, yet is still as relevant and applicable today in our 21st century as it was at its inception. John Friend didn’t invent these ideas: he learned them over a lifetime of study and practice. No matter how much we like Walt Whitman, we can’t attribute the origination of these ideas to him, either.
Emma: Which begs the question, what is the origin of these ideas? Fortunately, John Friend has always encouraged Anusara yoga teachers to study with experts. We’re blessed to have scholars in our community (like Douglas Brooks and Paul Muller-Ortega, to name two) who are grounded in Western academia, yet informed by serious, life-long sadhana, or spiritual practice.
Because of our studies, we are able to answer questions about the roots and history of Tantra in its full spectrum. We’re better able to honor our past, live fully in the present, and serve the future. Because of our studies, we know we’re participating in and co-creating a rich tradition, rather than randomly making up ideas and calling them Tantric because it’s exotic.
Historically, Tantra emerged from a rich environment of Shiva worshippers (some of whom were known as “Kapalikas”) who were originally active in the 2nd – 5th century CE. These early “Shaivites” courted disapproval through outrageous behavior. They practiced in cremation grounds, where the veil between life and death was thinnest, and believed that violation of conventions brought them closer to the incomprehensible heart of the Divine.
Tantra then evolved in a number of different directions. In the south, a philosophy called “Sri Vidya” began to coalesce around the 8th century. A little later, Northern India saw the flowering of a form of Tantra called “Kashmir Shaivism.” At some point, in certain circles, the highly unorthodox nature of early, proto-Tantra went through a rehabilitation. External, more transgressive practices were refined and translated into internal rituals of meditation.
Some scholars refer to more socially acceptable forms of Tantra as “right-handed”, and more transgressive forms as “left-handed”. The convention-shattering, “left-handed” practices have given Tantra a reputation for black magic that persists even in modern-day India. However, the “left-handed” path is just one aspect of Tantra—it is extremely limiting to evaluate all of Tantric philosophy according to the behavior of one group at one point in time. You don’t have to hang out in cremation grounds to be tantrika!
Anusara yoga doesn’t generally identify with “left-handed” Tantra. However, there are aspects of Anusara yoga that are unconventional, even by the lights of the yoga community. Our Shiva Shakti Tantra considers the manifest world to be a blessing. We radically affirm life’s fundamental value by looking for the good first. We acknowledge and integrate life’s darkness by honoring the full spectrum of experience. We cultivate a wild creative freedom by playing and expanding the edge. These are not necessarily the predominant values of our society. Like our forebears, Anusara yoga is willing to explore unconventionality. We just don’t do it by smearing ourselves with ashes.
Bernadette: That’s Anusara philosophy, but not all modern yogas hold the same ideas to be true! Pigeonholing all traditions in the same category does a disservice to the marvelous diversity of modern yoga. It’s simply inaccurate to say all modern yoga philosophy is Tantric.
For example, the Advaita Vedanta tradition teaches that the manifest world we can see, touch, and experience is an illusory distraction from the fundamental Unity of the universe. The Classical yoga tradition considers the manifest world to be a very real yogic obstacle, a minefield of attachments and aversions that distracts us from eternal Spirit.
This is very different from the Tantric point of view, but when Anusara yoginis study the history of yoga, we study Advaita Vedanta and Classical Yoga, too. As tantrikas, we approach our selves, our world, and our practice differently, yet we readily acknowledge that we are indebted to many traditions. Tantra’s conversational partners have played significant roles in evolving the modern dialogue of yoga: you and I couldn’t be having this conversation, today, had other traditions not had it first.
Anusara yoga honors our shared history, and the genuine diversity of the great ocean of yoga traditions. We know we stand on the shoulders of giants! Embodying these living teachings in the present, rather than embalming them, we carry the conversation of yoga forward into the future.
Emma: Well, Bern, it’s been divine having this conversation with you.
Bernadette: Always a pleasure, fellow tantrika.
A Conversation: the Living Tradition of Tantra.
Emma: Hey Bern, did you read that EJ blog on Tantra and Walt Whitman? I appreciate Horton’s talented writing, but I found her view of Tantra limited.
Bernadette: I did read the article, and I think her article offers a great opportunity to clarify what Tantra is, and why Anusara yogins self-identify as tantrikas.
Emma: Truly! Tantra is a vast tapestry of esoteric philosophy and practice, and has meant different things to different people during its complex, 2,000-year history.
[ed's note: this discussion of tantra does not appear to include Buddhist tantra or Vajrayana tradition or lineage, which was the focus of my personal comment in support of Carol Horton's original article. I also discussed this issue in some depth with John Friend personally in LA this month—it was a fun and informative conversation.]
Having taught Anusara yoga for 10 years, we both know that Tantra cannot be reduced to three practices from one particular epoch and location, as Horton writes in her article. Anusara yogis don’t hang out in cremation grounds, but we seek to embody Tantric philosophy, orient ourselves around Tantric texts, and perform Tantric practices. We follow many of Tantra’s fundamental principles, but adapt them to modern Western society.
Bernadette: Let’s start by defining Tantra: it’s a technology for expansion of Spirit. Tantra uses the manifest world as a means to experience Enlightenment. Unlike other yoga philosophies, Tantric Enlightenment doesn’t transcend the everyday world; it points us back to it, in a more joyful, appreciative way.
Although yoga and Tantra are living, ever-evolving traditions, there are key distinguishing principles of Tantric philosophy that transcend historical, cultural, and religious parameters. For example: tantrikas identify everything, absolutely everything, as Supreme Consciousness and Creative Power—including body, mind and Spirit.
Anusara yoga’s Shiva-Shakti Tantra philosophy is easily identifiable as Tantric. We teach that Spirit is Good, Free, Full, Pulsating, All-Knowing and Blissful. We teach that yoga is a practice that celebrates this Supreme Spirit as it manifests in ourselves and the world around us. We teach that humans have the common desire to experience the freedom of our true nature. We teach that through skillful action, we can reflect upon and joyfully recognize who we really are, who we always have been and what we may yet become.
In this way, Anusara yoga holds a tradition that has been around for thousands of years, yet is still as relevant and applicable today in our 21st century as it was at its inception. John Friend didn’t invent these ideas: he learned them over a lifetime of study and practice. No matter how much we like Walt Whitman, we can’t attribute the origination of these ideas to him, either.
Emma: Which begs the question, what is the origin of these ideas? Fortunately, John Friend has always encouraged Anusara yoga teachers to study with experts. We’re blessed to have scholars in our community (like Douglas Brooks and Paul Muller-Ortega, to name two) who are grounded in Western academia, yet informed by serious, life-long sadhana, or spiritual practice.
Because of our studies, we are able to answer questions about the roots and history of Tantra in its full spectrum. We’re better able to honor our past, live fully in the present, and serve the future. Because of our studies, we know we’re participating in and co-creating a rich tradition, rather than randomly making up ideas and calling them Tantric because it’s exotic.
Historically, Tantra emerged from a rich environment of Shiva worshippers (some of whom were known as “Kapalikas”) who were originally active in the 2nd – 5th century CE. These early “Shaivites” courted disapproval through outrageous behavior. They practiced in cremation grounds, where the veil between life and death was thinnest, and believed that violation of conventions brought them closer to the incomprehensible heart of the Divine.
Tantra then evolved in a number of different directions. In the south, a philosophy called “Sri Vidya” began to coalesce around the 8th century. A little later, Northern India saw the flowering of a form of Tantra called “Kashmir Shaivism.” At some point, in certain circles, the highly unorthodox nature of early, proto-Tantra went through a rehabilitation. External, more transgressive practices were refined and translated into internal rituals of meditation.
Some scholars refer to more socially acceptable forms of Tantra as “right-handed”, and more transgressive forms as “left-handed”. The convention-shattering, “left-handed” practices have given Tantra a reputation for black magic that persists even in modern-day India. However, the “left-handed” path is just one aspect of Tantra—it is extremely limiting to evaluate all of Tantric philosophy according to the behavior of one group at one point in time. You don’t have to hang out in cremation grounds to be tantrika!
Anusara yoga doesn’t generally identify with “left-handed” Tantra. However, there are aspects of Anusara yoga that are unconventional, even by the lights of the yoga community. Our Shiva Shakti Tantra considers the manifest world to be a blessing. We radically affirm life’s fundamental value by looking for the good first. We acknowledge and integrate life’s darkness by honoring the full spectrum of experience. We cultivate a wild creative freedom by playing and expanding the edge. These are not necessarily the predominant values of our society. Like our forebears, Anusara yoga is willing to explore unconventionality. We just don’t do it by smearing ourselves with ashes.
Bernadette: That’s Anusara philosophy, but not all modern yogas hold the same ideas to be true! Pigeonholing all traditions in the same category does a disservice to the marvelous diversity of modern yoga. It’s simply inaccurate to say all modern yoga philosophy is Tantric.
For example, the Advaita Vedanta tradition teaches that the manifest world we can see, touch, and experience is an illusory distraction from the fundamental Unity of the universe. The Classical yoga tradition considers the manifest world to be a very real yogic obstacle, a minefield of attachments and aversions that distracts us from eternal Spirit.
This is very different from the Tantric point of view, but when Anusara yoginis study the history of yoga, we study Advaita Vedanta and Classical Yoga, too. As tantrikas, we approach our selves, our world, and our practice differently, yet we readily acknowledge that we are indebted to many traditions. Tantra’s conversational partners have played significant roles in evolving the modern dialogue of yoga: you and I couldn’t be having this conversation, today, had other traditions not had it first.
Anusara yoga honors our shared history, and the genuine diversity of the great ocean of yoga traditions. We know we stand on the shoulders of giants! Embodying these living teachings in the present, rather than embalming them, we carry the conversation of yoga forward into the future.
Emma: Well, Bern, it’s been divine having this conversation with you.
Bernadette: Always a pleasure, fellow tantrika.
The Secret about Tantra & Sex
An article from Elephant Journal, on Tantra
by Ramesh Bjonneson
Jul 24, 2011
http://www.elephantjournal.com/2011/07/the-secret-about-tantra-and-sex/
The spiritual practice of Tantra, this practical path of self-realization, has often been misunderstood and misrepresented. In ancient India, for example, Tantra was often practiced at night in secret by Vedic priests who were bound by dogma not to admit to its powerful transformative effects. In part because Tantra often was practiced in secret at night, it is often associated with black magic in India. In the West, however, we often equate Tantra with sex. But why?
According to noted yoga scholar Georg Feuerstein: In the West,Tantra has most commonly been reduced to “a mere discipline of ritualized or sacred sex. In the popular mind, Tantra has become the equivalent to sex. Nothing could be farther from the truth!”
People in the West sometimes flippantly equate the transcendental bliss achieved in Tantric samadhi (Oneness with Consciousness) with the physical pleasure of sex.
The reason for this misunderstanding has mainly arisen from a lopsided interpretation of the so-called Five M’s. “It is so called,” writes Feuerstein, “because the names of the five ‘ingredients’ or ‘substances’ (draya) in the ritual all start with the letter M: Madya (wine or liquor), Matsya (fish), Mamsa (meat), Mudra (parched grain) and Maithuna (sexual intercourse).
These Five Ms are also referred to as the ‘five principles’ (panca tattva).” Feuerstein decribes how the first four ingredients of these so-called ”left-handed path” practices of Tantra are “all thought to have an aphrodisiacal effect,” although “scholars have speculated a great deal” about the fourth ingredient.
“The final ritual ‘ingredient,’ Maithuna,” he writes, “epitomizes the entire Tantric program… The sexual union between male and female practitioner… the utterly blissful transcendental identity of Shiva and Shakti, God and Goddess.”
But that does not mean, as the mythmakers will want us to believe, that sex epitomizes the entire Tantric program!
In actuality, the spirit of Tantra implies that ordinary activities and enjoyments such as eating, playing, writing, and sex are seen as relative expressions of the Absolute. They are thus imbued with sacredness and spirituality.
In other words, eating large amounts of certain kinds of food or having excessive sexual activity will not automatically intensify one’s spiritual vision. Tantra sees nothing wrong with seeking pleasure as this indeed is the underlying reason for our quest for the ultimate spiritual pleasure, or ananda (bliss). But these mundane pleasures, according to Tantra, are not to be mistaken for the ultimate spiritual union with Brahma, which is the goal of yoga. Moreover, practiced in excess, sexual activity tend to turn us into compulsive slaves rather than liberated souls.
We humans desire and deserve endless pleasure, but pleasure derived solely from the senses, from material things, are limited. Why?
First, the source of pleasure, the physical world, is limited. You may only have so much money or so much sex, it’s not in endless, infinite supply. Thus these finite things cannot satisfy our infinite desires.
Secondly, the mind derives pleasure from objects as long as that object satisfies our karma (or samskaras), that is, our desires are based on unfulfilled fruits of our past actions. But once those past, unfulfilled needs have been fulfilled, we look for new enjoyments.
Thirdly, our sense organs, which enjoy sensual and physical pleasure are themselves limited. They will wear out, get old, used up. What used to feel or taste so good will, after a few dozen or a thousand repetitions, feel somewhat lackluster and boring.
We humans continually look for new stimuli, for new ways to get satisfaction (hence the advertising industry, right? But if you do your yoga right, sooner or later you will realize that nothing in this physical world can give us pleasure forever. The real spiritual pleasure, the real source of love and happiness comes from within, from the spirit world, not from the senses.
Thus the misconception in Western New Age circles that sexual Tantra represent some special pathway to sacred spirituality is contrary to the inner essence of this ancient and sublime practice. Because true, lasting pleasure comes, according to Tantra, not from physical objects and attachments, but from the inner heart of spirit, from the breath within the love-maker’s breath.
The left-handed path as described by Feuerstein above, was originally prescribed by Shiva as a path of moderation–not excess, as is often the case at expensive seminars promoting what Feuerstein calls Neo-Tantrism, and others humorously refer to as California Tantra. This latter from of Tantra is generally a mixture of sex positions from the Kama Sutra (which is not a Tantric text, by the way) mixed with breathing techniques and visualizations. In other words, a potpourri of methods having scant links to the path of Tantra.
The main idea behind the practice of the left-handed path is to practice spirituality (sadhana) while in the midst of enjoyments. It was both prescribed as a means of reducing one’s intake of wine and meat and, at the same time, to harbor Divine feelings while relishing their delights, and ultimately to rise above the transient nature of these earthly pleasures all together.
And for the more serious yogis, those who want more than material wealth and a great looking body, the Five M’s have a different, more subtle meaning. As Feuerstein writes: “In the right-hand schools [the Five M’s] are understood symbolically and are completely internalized.”
Here is a brief overview–based on ancient Tantric slokas (aphorisms)–of how to interpret the the Five Ms when they are internalized:
Madhya (wine)–to enjoy the sudha or somadhara, which, while in deep meditation, is a hormonal secretion from the pineal gland. A second meaning is that it refers to the spiritual aspirant’s ecstatic or intoxicated love of God.
Mamsa (meat)–one who has control over his or her speech, or one who surrenders all actions–good, bad, sinful, righteous, or wicked–to God, is said to be a practitioner of mamsa yoga.
Matsya (fish)–refers to the subtle science of pranayama (breathing exercises), and also to the feeling of deep compassion arising in a spiritual person’s heart.
Mudra (grain)–avoidance of bad company, as bad company leads to bondage and good company leads to liberation.
Maethuna (intercourse)–the purpose of maethuna yoga is to raise the Shakti (divine energy, also called kundalini ), located at the lowest vertebra of the spine, and unite it with Shiva in the spiritual energy center at the top of the head, near the pineal gland.
It is thus more exact to describe Tantra as a comprehensive spiritual science, which is what the word Tantra itself implies. The etymological meaning of Tantra is as follows: tan means to expand and tra means to liberate.
Thus Tantra is the spiritual science which liberates the spiritual practitioner or yogi from limitations, from the mind trapped in delusions, be they physical, mental or spiritual.
Tantra is thus a path, not about sexual indulgence, but a path which personify the very essence of yogic nondualism, of seeking the ultimate and infinite pleasure: oneness, or union with the Divine in everything we see and touch and love.
It is not surprising, then, that this path literally means the path of liberation!
According to Tantra, the omnipresent reality we call God, Spirit, or Brahma from which everything has been created and toward which everything longs to return, is always with us, is always only one breath away, one mantra away from our attention. So, if we pay attention, then anyone, says Tantra, with a human body and a human mind can transcend ordinary existence and realize life’s ultimate moment of pleasure–the cosmic effulgence of God, Spirit or Brahma. Realize it here and now. In this body, on this very earth. Not in heaven, not tomorrow, but Now!
by Ramesh Bjonneson
Jul 24, 2011
http://www.elephantjournal.com/2011/07/the-secret-about-tantra-and-sex/
The spiritual practice of Tantra, this practical path of self-realization, has often been misunderstood and misrepresented. In ancient India, for example, Tantra was often practiced at night in secret by Vedic priests who were bound by dogma not to admit to its powerful transformative effects. In part because Tantra often was practiced in secret at night, it is often associated with black magic in India. In the West, however, we often equate Tantra with sex. But why?
According to noted yoga scholar Georg Feuerstein: In the West,Tantra has most commonly been reduced to “a mere discipline of ritualized or sacred sex. In the popular mind, Tantra has become the equivalent to sex. Nothing could be farther from the truth!”
People in the West sometimes flippantly equate the transcendental bliss achieved in Tantric samadhi (Oneness with Consciousness) with the physical pleasure of sex.
The reason for this misunderstanding has mainly arisen from a lopsided interpretation of the so-called Five M’s. “It is so called,” writes Feuerstein, “because the names of the five ‘ingredients’ or ‘substances’ (draya) in the ritual all start with the letter M: Madya (wine or liquor), Matsya (fish), Mamsa (meat), Mudra (parched grain) and Maithuna (sexual intercourse).
These Five Ms are also referred to as the ‘five principles’ (panca tattva).” Feuerstein decribes how the first four ingredients of these so-called ”left-handed path” practices of Tantra are “all thought to have an aphrodisiacal effect,” although “scholars have speculated a great deal” about the fourth ingredient.
“The final ritual ‘ingredient,’ Maithuna,” he writes, “epitomizes the entire Tantric program… The sexual union between male and female practitioner… the utterly blissful transcendental identity of Shiva and Shakti, God and Goddess.”
But that does not mean, as the mythmakers will want us to believe, that sex epitomizes the entire Tantric program!
In actuality, the spirit of Tantra implies that ordinary activities and enjoyments such as eating, playing, writing, and sex are seen as relative expressions of the Absolute. They are thus imbued with sacredness and spirituality.
In other words, eating large amounts of certain kinds of food or having excessive sexual activity will not automatically intensify one’s spiritual vision. Tantra sees nothing wrong with seeking pleasure as this indeed is the underlying reason for our quest for the ultimate spiritual pleasure, or ananda (bliss). But these mundane pleasures, according to Tantra, are not to be mistaken for the ultimate spiritual union with Brahma, which is the goal of yoga. Moreover, practiced in excess, sexual activity tend to turn us into compulsive slaves rather than liberated souls.
We humans desire and deserve endless pleasure, but pleasure derived solely from the senses, from material things, are limited. Why?
First, the source of pleasure, the physical world, is limited. You may only have so much money or so much sex, it’s not in endless, infinite supply. Thus these finite things cannot satisfy our infinite desires.
Secondly, the mind derives pleasure from objects as long as that object satisfies our karma (or samskaras), that is, our desires are based on unfulfilled fruits of our past actions. But once those past, unfulfilled needs have been fulfilled, we look for new enjoyments.
Thirdly, our sense organs, which enjoy sensual and physical pleasure are themselves limited. They will wear out, get old, used up. What used to feel or taste so good will, after a few dozen or a thousand repetitions, feel somewhat lackluster and boring.
We humans continually look for new stimuli, for new ways to get satisfaction (hence the advertising industry, right? But if you do your yoga right, sooner or later you will realize that nothing in this physical world can give us pleasure forever. The real spiritual pleasure, the real source of love and happiness comes from within, from the spirit world, not from the senses.
Thus the misconception in Western New Age circles that sexual Tantra represent some special pathway to sacred spirituality is contrary to the inner essence of this ancient and sublime practice. Because true, lasting pleasure comes, according to Tantra, not from physical objects and attachments, but from the inner heart of spirit, from the breath within the love-maker’s breath.
The left-handed path as described by Feuerstein above, was originally prescribed by Shiva as a path of moderation–not excess, as is often the case at expensive seminars promoting what Feuerstein calls Neo-Tantrism, and others humorously refer to as California Tantra. This latter from of Tantra is generally a mixture of sex positions from the Kama Sutra (which is not a Tantric text, by the way) mixed with breathing techniques and visualizations. In other words, a potpourri of methods having scant links to the path of Tantra.
The main idea behind the practice of the left-handed path is to practice spirituality (sadhana) while in the midst of enjoyments. It was both prescribed as a means of reducing one’s intake of wine and meat and, at the same time, to harbor Divine feelings while relishing their delights, and ultimately to rise above the transient nature of these earthly pleasures all together.
And for the more serious yogis, those who want more than material wealth and a great looking body, the Five M’s have a different, more subtle meaning. As Feuerstein writes: “In the right-hand schools [the Five M’s] are understood symbolically and are completely internalized.”
Here is a brief overview–based on ancient Tantric slokas (aphorisms)–of how to interpret the the Five Ms when they are internalized:
Madhya (wine)–to enjoy the sudha or somadhara, which, while in deep meditation, is a hormonal secretion from the pineal gland. A second meaning is that it refers to the spiritual aspirant’s ecstatic or intoxicated love of God.
Mamsa (meat)–one who has control over his or her speech, or one who surrenders all actions–good, bad, sinful, righteous, or wicked–to God, is said to be a practitioner of mamsa yoga.
Matsya (fish)–refers to the subtle science of pranayama (breathing exercises), and also to the feeling of deep compassion arising in a spiritual person’s heart.
Mudra (grain)–avoidance of bad company, as bad company leads to bondage and good company leads to liberation.
Maethuna (intercourse)–the purpose of maethuna yoga is to raise the Shakti (divine energy, also called kundalini ), located at the lowest vertebra of the spine, and unite it with Shiva in the spiritual energy center at the top of the head, near the pineal gland.
It is thus more exact to describe Tantra as a comprehensive spiritual science, which is what the word Tantra itself implies. The etymological meaning of Tantra is as follows: tan means to expand and tra means to liberate.
Thus Tantra is the spiritual science which liberates the spiritual practitioner or yogi from limitations, from the mind trapped in delusions, be they physical, mental or spiritual.
Tantra is thus a path, not about sexual indulgence, but a path which personify the very essence of yogic nondualism, of seeking the ultimate and infinite pleasure: oneness, or union with the Divine in everything we see and touch and love.
It is not surprising, then, that this path literally means the path of liberation!
According to Tantra, the omnipresent reality we call God, Spirit, or Brahma from which everything has been created and toward which everything longs to return, is always with us, is always only one breath away, one mantra away from our attention. So, if we pay attention, then anyone, says Tantra, with a human body and a human mind can transcend ordinary existence and realize life’s ultimate moment of pleasure–the cosmic effulgence of God, Spirit or Brahma. Realize it here and now. In this body, on this very earth. Not in heaven, not tomorrow, but Now!
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